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Common (na Xafen): Difference between revisions
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*'''Causative (Na Weros Ajsy)''': Change "se" to "te" or "nox" to "hap." Adds an ergative core argument that is the causer of the action of the verb. | *'''Causative (Na Weros Ajsy)''': Change "se" to "te" or "nox" to "hap." Adds an ergative core argument that is the causer of the action of the verb. | ||
*'''Disintentive (Na Ikháppatys Ajsy)''': Change "nox" to "se" or "hap" to "te." Removes the dative indirect object from a ditransitive or semitransitive verb. The effect is to to make the action aimless or directionless. The disintentive would be used to convey ideas like "throw something away" as opposed to "throw something somewhere" in English. | *'''Disintentive (Na Ikháppatys Ajsy)''': Change "nox" to "se" or "hap" to "te." Removes the dative indirect object from a ditransitive or semitransitive verb. The effect is to to make the action aimless or directionless. The disintentive would be used to convey ideas like "throw something away" as opposed to "throw something somewhere" in English. | ||
*'''Benefactive (Na Happatys Ajsy)''': Change "se" to "nox" or "te" to "hap." Adds a | *'''Benefactive (Na Happatys Ajsy)''': Change "se" to "nox" or "te" to "hap." Adds a dative indirect object to a verb that is interpreted as the beneficiary of an action, or if introduced with the preposition 'erpa', is intended to be hindered or harmed by the action. | ||
====Copula and Existential Clauses (Naz Anys Lawt)==== | ====Copula and Existential Clauses (Naz Anys Lawt)==== | ||
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The former is a copular expression linking an adjective to the subject, and the latter is a copular expression using a noun. The null preposition is marked as ∅ in the gloss, and takes a nominative object, hence ny sinéon. | The former is a copular expression linking an adjective to the subject, and the latter is a copular expression using a noun. The null preposition is marked as ∅ in the gloss, and takes a nominative object, hence ny sinéon. | ||
===Nouns=== | ===Nouns and Pronouns=== | ||
The head of any noun phrase is its article. Articles are always mandatory, and are a closed class. All articles are also pronouns, and all pronouns are articles. Article/pronouns are the only declinable words in noun phrases. | |||
Common ostensibly doesn't have nouns in isolation. The basic syntactic units are noun phrases, with a determiner (article, in the case of nouns) and a 'head term' (na jenys jerekka). The articles can be used on their own, because they are also pronouns, but require a dummy head term 'yn' (na epális jerekka) if they are used in this fashion with any modifiers. | |||
Nouns inflect for the following, with all inflection carried on the determiner/article/pronoun particle associated with the noun phrase: | |||
*'''Case (na kyrakka)''': The syntactic role of the noun in the sentence, generally in relation to the verb. This will be explained more fully in the section on verbs. There are three "thematic" cases (nar pifitys kyrakka, literally 'game cases') that directly mark a role in relation to the verb) and one "non-thematic" case (na lat kyrakka, 'the outside case'). The cases are listed below. | |||
**Absolutive (Palikas): The subject of an intransitive verb or the object of a transitive verb. Can be thought of somewhat as the 'experiencer'. This is a thematic case. | |||
**Ergative (Skuruncas): The subject of a transitive verb. Can be thought of somewhat as the 'causer'. This is a thematic case. | |||
**Dative (Happatkiyas): The indirect object of a sentence. Common also uses this in common idioms for motion towards or into something, or for possession, and so it has some functions like a lative or genitive case as well. It can also indicate the beneficiary of an action. This is a thematic case. | |||
**Nominative (Poencas): Common grammarians insist on calling this case the Nominative, and so shall we, but the Common nominative does not function like a normal nominative case. It functions more like a prepositional case and is used to name things outside of any relation to a verb. It, too, can also function like a genitive case, or a vocative. It is the one non-thematic noun case. | |||
*'''Number (na tret)''': There are three numbers: | |||
**Singular (Atencas): One of something. The number 'one' can be used in addition to emphasize singularity or that the object is one out of a group. | |||
**Paucal (Cajre): A few of something, or, an exact number of something. If a numeric auxiliary determiner is used to count something, and the number is anything other than one (including zero, fractions or negative numbers), the paucal must be used. To count exactly one of something, again use the singular. Using the paucal tends to imply something is countable, even if the number isn't given. It also tends to imply that the referent is a part of a whole and not the whole. This is reflected in the Common name 'cajre', which means 'exact', rather than 'sajn', 'few', to describe his number. | |||
**Plural (Pawt): Many, a lot, but without the number specified. Sometimes used with a number to specify magnitude, but the use of the plural implies an estimate or inexact number in this case, as well as have a sense that the referent is the whole of something as opposed to a part.. Use of the plural implies something can't readily be counted. The plural/paucal distinction can also be used for inclusive/exclusive distinctions, as with Common's inclusive and exclusive equivalents of the pronoun 'we' in English. | |||
*'''Definiteness (rohájkysyn)'''. There are two kinds of definiteness: | |||
**Definite (rohájkys), the object being referenced is something specific. Approximately the same as using 'the' in English. May be used with auxilliary determiners that act as demonstratives to emphasize pointing something out. | |||
**Indefinite (ikrohájkys), no specific object is being referenced. When used with the singular, is like using 'a' in English. When used with the paucal or plural it is more like using 'some' - when used with the paucal without a number, it tends to have the sense of 'a little'. | |||
The interrogative/uncertain could arguably be a third type of definiteness in Common, because it acts exactly like the other two third person articles for definite and indefinite. However, the definite and indefinite particles are related to each other (actually historically, not in terms of a fictional history) and are treated as different than the interrogative article, which has a different origin, so the breakdown above is what is most used. | |||
A note on number: Common tends not to use mass nouns. If there is an idiomatic way to use the plural, Common tends to choose it. So a word like "mury," "hair," is treated like a singular hair, and to refer to a head of hair one would use the plural, "naz mury," much like French. Mass nouns tend to be things that are not naturally distinguishable as being composed of individual parts, like fluids. If it is necessary to count portions of a mass noun, like drops of water, a word for the portion is counted in the paucal or referred to in the plural, and then the substance is referred to periphrastically using the null preposition. | |||
In the following sections, each of the noun determiners/articles/pronouns will be detailed with their declensions and usage. The lemma, or dictionary entry, for each article is its absolutive singular form. | |||
===Modifiers=== | ===Modifiers=== | ||