8,638
edits
Lahob languages: Difference between revisions
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
m
→Common characteristics
| Line 48: | Line 48: | ||
It is difficult to point out general characteristics common to all Lahob languages because of the high divergence between the Core Lahob ones and the Chlouvānem branch. General traits are: | It is difficult to point out general characteristics common to all Lahob languages because of the high divergence between the Core Lahob ones and the Chlouvānem branch. General traits are: | ||
* A complex morphosyntactic alignment based on triggers, present with seven triggers in Proto-Lahob and retained with no change in classical Chlouvānem, and varyingly modified in other languages, typically with a few less voices (among modern languages, the only ones that retain the full set of triggers are some Southern Chlouvānem languages, notably including the Hālyanēṃṣi vernacular). The most typical trigger system surviving among Core Lahob languages is patient-agent-locative(-instrumental). | * A complex morphosyntactic alignment based on triggers, present with seven triggers in Proto-Lahob and retained with no change in classical Chlouvānem, and varyingly modified in other languages, typically with a few less voices (among modern languages, the only ones that retain the full set of triggers are some Southern Chlouvānem languages, notably including the Hālyanēṃṣi vernacular). The most typical trigger system surviving among Core Lahob languages is patient-agent-locative(-instrumental). | ||
* Unmarked SOV word order (with S being the direct-case argument selected by the trigger) and consistently head-final. A change to SVO has however taken place in the central Core Lahob area (i.e. all Łogawenek languages, most Central Lahobic ones | * Unmarked SOV word order (with S being the direct-case argument selected by the trigger) and consistently head-final. A change to SVO has however taken place in the central Core Lahob area (i.e. all Łogawenek languages, most Central Lahobic ones, and a few Nayzehenyn ones) and, independently, in the Near Eastern Chlouvānem languages. | ||
* All Lahob languages express location by means of numerous verbs with changing prefixes in order to convey the sense of different English prepositions; motion verbs have two series of these prefixes, one lative and one ablative. | * All Lahob languages express location by means of numerous verbs with changing prefixes in order to convey the sense of different English prepositions; motion verbs have two series of these prefixes, one lative and one ablative. | ||
* Verbs are typically a closed class: most Lahob languages have a very small set of verbs in common use, and use many of those as light verbs with other roots in order to form newer meanings; verbs can typically only be formed by other verbs, and only with causative, applicative, or frequentative meanings. Chlouvānem is a partial exception, because while sharing the same restrictions to forming new verbs it has some hundreds of verb roots in common use. Some vernaculars, particularly the Jade Coastal ones, however, have developed on their own traits closer to other Lahob languages, particularly the heavy use of light verbs. | * Verbs are typically a closed class: most Lahob languages have a very small set of verbs in common use, and use many of those as light verbs with other roots in order to form newer meanings; verbs can typically only be formed by other verbs, and only with causative, applicative, or frequentative meanings. Chlouvānem is a partial exception, because while sharing the same restrictions to forming new verbs it has some hundreds of verb roots in common use. Some vernaculars, particularly the Jade Coastal ones, however, have developed on their own traits closer to other Lahob languages, particularly the heavy use of light verbs. | ||