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Nkwu: Difference between revisions
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=====Rank===== | =====Rank===== | ||
Third person definite referents are assigned a ''rank'' any time they are referred to. | Third person definite referents are assigned a ''rank'' any time they are referred to. These ranks are not permanent attributes of the referents but are rather context-dependent assignments within a discourse that depends on the speaker's perceived and expressed relations between the referent and other third person referents. When a single 3rd person referent is mentioned, the rank depends only on the speaker's perception of the referent, however when there are two or more referents, ranks may be assigned that would otherwise not be used in order to differentiate between multiple referents within a discourse and express their ranks ''relative to one another.'' | ||
From highest to lowest, the ranks are as follows. | |||
{| class="bluetable lightbluebg" | |||
! Marker !! Gloss !! Designation !! Default Use in Isolation | |||
|- | |||
| '''''dj-''''' || A / NOB || "Noble" || Referents of great social, financial or political standing who are likely to be able to bring about significant hardships on others due to means other than physical strength | |||
|- | |||
| '''''j-''''' || B / DOM || "Dominant" || Large, physically imposing animate referents who are likely to be able to beat most others in physical combat | |||
|- | |||
| '''''d-''''' || C / INT || "Intermediate" || Animate referents of perceived average abilities in physical combat | |||
|- | |||
| '''''l-''''' || D / SUB || "Subordinate" || Weaker animate referents with perceived low combat abilities | |||
|- | |||
| '''''d-''''' || E / INAN || "Inanimate" || Inanimate referents and, hyperbolically, animate referents regarded as physically ineffectual | |||
|} | |||
A useful way to conceptualise the typical assignment of ranks is with the question "who would win in a physical fight"? Physically larger, stronger and more active referents are assigned a higher rank. The highest rank, A, the "noble" rank, indicated with the marker '''''dj-''''', is an exception, dependent not on physical strength but rather social, financial or political power. A referent marked with '''''dj-''''' is not necessarily physically dominant over other referents, but a conflict with an A-ranked individual could lead to more significant consequences for lower ranked referents than the physical prowess of the A-ranked referent alone would afford them. | |||
[[Category:Languages]] | [[Category:Languages]] | ||
[[Category:Conlangs]] | [[Category:Conlangs]] | ||