5,468
edits
(292 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown) | |||
Line 7: | Line 7: | ||
|name = Minhast | |name = Minhast | ||
|nativename = Minhastim Kirim | |nativename = Minhastim Kirim | ||
|creator = Anyar | |creator = User:Anyar | ||
|pronunciation = | |pronunciation = 'min.hast | ||
|setting = Earth | |setting = Earth, [[wikipedia:North Pacific |North Asian Pacific ]] | ||
|states = Minhay | |states = Minhay | ||
|speakers = 26,232,430 | |speakers = 26,232,430 | ||
Line 16: | Line 15: | ||
|familycolor = panlaffic | |familycolor = panlaffic | ||
|fam1 = Nahenic | |fam1 = Nahenic | ||
|fam2 = Minhaic | |fam2 = Shakhtabaric | ||
|nation = | |fam3 = Neino-Minhaic | ||
| | |nation = Minhastim Karak | ||
|scripts = * [[wikipedia:Abugida|Native Abugida (Širkattarnaft)]] | |||
* [[wikipedia:Hangeul|Hangul]] | |||
* [[wikipedia:Hanzi|Mandarin (Hanzi)]] | |||
* [[w:Latin script|Latin (Ammerkast System]] | |||
}} | }} | ||
Line 28: | Line 31: | ||
== Introduction == | == Introduction == | ||
[[File:Map of the Twelve Speakers of Minhay.jpg|thumb|Map of the Twelve Speakers of Minhay]] | [[File:Map of the Twelve Speakers of Minhay.jpg|thumb|Map of the Twelve Speakers of Minhay]] | ||
Minhast '' (Minhastim kirim'', lit. ''"Minhast-speak")'' is the spoken language of the Republic of Minhay, | Minhast '' (Minhastim kirim'', lit. ''"Minhast-speak")'' is the spoken language of what was formerly the Republic of Minhay, now officially known as the ''Minhastim Karak'', "The Tribal Abode of the Minhast Nation". Minhast boasts a robust speech community of nearly 28 million people, approximately three million of them living in expatriate communities, with the largest concentrations residing in the Ming Empire, the Kingdom of Koguryeo, the Rajahnate of Kirmai, the Sultunate of Daligan, Italy, Australia, and Canada. Significant numbers also exist in other members of the European Union, principally in the Scandinavian nations Sweden and Norway, followed closely by France and the United Kingdom. Originally there was a sizable community in the United States, concentrated in New York, but internal political developments, including the rise of xenophobia and nativism, have caused many to either return to the Minhastim Karak, or disperse to other lands. | ||
The language is divided into two major branches, Upper Minhast and Lower Minhast, each of which is divided into several smaller dialects, such as the Salmon Speaker variant of the Upper Minhast dialect, and the Osprey Speaker variant of the Lower Minhast dialect. The subject of Minhast dialectology has sparked much research and controversy; more details on the research of dialectology may be found in [[Minhast/Dialectology]] | The language is divided into two major branches, Upper Minhast and Lower Minhast, each of which is divided into several smaller dialects, such as the Salmon Speaker variant of the Upper Minhast dialect, and the Osprey Speaker variant of the Lower Minhast dialect. The subject of Minhast dialectology has sparked much research and controversy; more details on the research of dialectology may be found in [[Minhast/Dialectology|Minhast Dialectology]] | ||
Located just 1,232 km from northeast Japan, this Northeast Asian language bears few if any similarities with its nearest neighbors, the former Yamato Empire (Japan), the Kingdom of Koguryeo (Korea) and Moshir | Located just 1,232 km from northeast Japan, this Northeast Asian language bears few if any similarities with its nearest neighbors, the former Yamato Empire (Japan), the Kingdom of Koguryeo (Korea) and Ainu Moshir(the Ainu Democratic Federation). Two other languages in the island nation, [[Peshpeg]] and [[Ín Duári]] (Golahát), both of which are moribund, are also unrelated; any similarities existing between the two languages and Minhast are due to areal features, with Minhast as the dominant influence. Linguists investigated possible relationships with the Altaic and Native North American languages, but failed to find any conclusive evidence. Words from Paleosiberian languages, principally Ainu, Nivkh and Chutchki, appear in the lexicon, however these have been identified as loanwords, albeit some of the loans appear to be very old, e.g. Minhast ''siħ'' ("trace") vs Nivkh ''zif'' ("tracks"). | ||
For these reasons, Minhast had long been classified as a language isolate. However, in a breakthrough study by Ming Wei and Jaeng Tae-Moon at the Department of Linguistics in Beijing Imperial University discovered shared features between Minhast, the Northwest Pacific language [[Nankôre]], and the Native American language [[Nahónda]], the latter two languages also having been classified as language isolates. These languages have thus been grouped together into a language family called Nahenic, from the reconstructed form ''*nāhen'', meaning "people". Fossilized verbalizer morphemes affixed to body parts, the relatively intact preservation of the form of the Causative affix and its relative position in each language's verbal template, and cognate sets and sound change correspondences demonstrated these far-flung languages as having a common ancestry. A major impediment to discovering Minhast's relationship to other languages was hampered by the paucity of literature on Nankôre; it was through the extensive documentation of this language by Brian Mills, from the Department of Indian Anthropology and Linguistics at the University of North Carolina that provided the material needed to link Minhast with Nankôre and Nahónda. Dialectal analysis conducted by Napayshni Tashunka of the University of the Lakota Nation has further contributed to the reconstruction of the Nahenic language family, particularly with data gathered from the Stone Speaker dialect, a divergent dialect which he argues should be classified as a separate language under a larger grouping, the Minhastic branch. | For these reasons, Minhast had long been classified as a language isolate. However, in a breakthrough study by Ming Wei and Jaeng Tae-Moon at the Department of Linguistics in Beijing Imperial University discovered shared features between Minhast, the Northwest Pacific language [[Nankôre]], and the Native American language [[Nahónda]], the latter two languages also having been classified as language isolates. These languages have thus been grouped together into a language family called Nahenic, from the reconstructed form ''*nāhen'', meaning "people". Fossilized verbalizer morphemes affixed to body parts, the relatively intact preservation of the form of the Causative affix and its relative position in each language's verbal template, and cognate sets and sound change correspondences demonstrated these far-flung languages as having a common ancestry. A major impediment to discovering Minhast's relationship to other languages was hampered by the paucity of literature on Nankôre; it was through the extensive documentation of this language by Brian Mills, from the Department of Indian Anthropology and Linguistics at the University of North Carolina that provided the material needed to link Minhast with Nankôre and Nahónda. Dialectal analysis conducted by Napayshni Tashunka of the University of the Lakota Nation has further contributed to the reconstruction of the Nahenic language family, particularly with data gathered from the Stone Speaker dialect, a divergent dialect which he argues should be classified as a separate language under a larger grouping, the Minhastic branch. | ||
Typologically, Minhast is an ergative, polysynthetic language. Verbal morphology is highly aggluginative and performs noun incorporation and other complex valence operations. Unmarked word order is SOV. Ergativity surfaces both at the morphologic and syntactic levels. Both its ergative< | Typologically, Minhast is an ergative, polysynthetic language. Verbal morphology is highly aggluginative and performs noun incorporation and other complex valence operations. Unmarked word order is SOV. Ergativity surfaces both at the morphologic and syntactic levels. Both its ergative<ref>The overwhelming majority of ergative languages display some nominative-accusative characteristics. This feature is called split ergativity. Minhast is unusual from a morphological standpoint in that the split seems to be absent throughout its grammar, save for a split appearing in the third person inaniminate pronominal affixes in transitive verbs, and in possessive constructions. However, looking more closely at the rest of the pronominal agreement affixes, the segment corresponding to agents/possessors shows no difference with that of the absolutive pronominal affixes for intransitive verbs. This provides evidence that Minhast does possess split ergativity, the split manifesting in the pronominal agreement affixes. Splits in ergative languages are language-specific: some languages display nominative-accusative alignment based on tense-aspect features, others in the semantics of the NP (particularly along animacy lines), and others in pronominal agreement markers, as in the case of Minhast.<br/><br/> | ||
Classical Minhast provides the most conclusive evidence that split ergativity was prevalent in the pronominal agreement markers; a submorpheme -i- is consistently found in the agent segment of the portmanteau affixes throughout the majority of first and second persons, with a couple exhibiting tripartite alignment. This submorpheme originally occurred in the patient segment in Old Minhast inscriptions, but this submorpheme migrated to the agent segment due to various sound changes, transforming the formerly unmarked agent segment into a marked nominative. The marked nominative form also occurred in intransitive verbs, thus split ergativity in Minhast can be ultimately traced to the agreement affixes, even though the submorpheme was lost due to further phonological reductions by the end of Early Modern Period.</ref> and polysynthetic characteristics have generated much academic research in comparative and theoretical linguistics. | |||
<!-- | <!-- | ||
Line 46: | Line 51: | ||
=== Phonemic Inventory === | === Phonemic Inventory === | ||
The following chart contains the consonants in the Minhast phonology. | The following chart contains the consonants in the Minhast phonology. Dialectal variants are marked with an asterisk (*): | ||
<div style="text-align: center;"> | <div style="text-align: center;"> | ||
Line 124: | Line 122: | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
The phonemes /q/ and /χ/ are found only in the Seal and Wolf Speaker dialects. These phonemes occur in only a handful of words; their origin is unknown, although an Eskimoan-Aleutian language, most likely from Central Siberian Yup'ik source, has been proposed. The Wolf Speakers acquired these phonemes from contact with the Seal Speakers, and they are found almost exclusively in words of Seal Speaker origin, although some of these phonemes have seeped into words originally of Salmonic origin, e.g. /qaraq/ instead of expected Salmonic /karak/, particularly in the Wolf Speaker northwestern and western regions adjoining Seal Speaker Country. | |||
The Seal Speaker, Wolf Speaker, Horse Speaker and Gull Speaker dialects have either acquired or developed /ɣ/ or [ɣ]. The origin of this phone in the Seal Speaker dialect is unknown, and occurs in only a handful of words, nevertheless it is phonetically distinct. Again, a possible Central Siberian Yup'ik source has been hypothesized. In the Horse Speaker dialect,the phone [ɣ] occurs as a result of assimilation of /rx/ clusters; however the phone has not acquired phonemic status. In the Gull Speaker dialect, /ɣ/ evolved as a merger of /rg/ and /gy/ and has become a distinct phoneme. A notable example is ''Anyāğ'' for the Stone Speaker city Āhan Yarg, but it is also noticeable in words originally beginning with V-rg- sequences, e.g. ''irgum'' → ''ğum'' "nail" (c.f. Salmon Speaker ''argunni'' "nail"). | |||
The phoneme /f/ is a minor phoneme in non-Stone Speaker dialects and never occurs word-initially. Its occurrence is most noticeable in the nominalizer ''=naft'', although in some dialects, particularly the Lower Minhast dialects, [ħ] has started replacing /f/. In the Gull Speaker dialect, it is /x/ that has replaced /f/ in its entire lexicon, including in the nominalizer ''=naft'', now realized as ''=naxt''. The Stone Speaker dialect, however, has preserved /f/, allowing it even in word-inital position; moreover, it occurs in high frequency, perhaps as a result of influence from a substratum language. | |||
The phone /ħ/ is a minor phoneme in the Upper Minhast dialects, occurring most often in the Horse Speaker dialect, although it too occurs in the Salmonic dialects, albeit in smaller frequencies. In the Horse Speaker dialect, /ħ/ preceded by a vowel causes the vowel to lengthen, whereas no such lengthening occurs in the few Salmonic words the phoneme exists. The Salmonic dialects allow /ħ/ in initial position, as in the noun /'ħan:u/, a hawk endemic to northeastern Minhay. Between the Salmonic and Stone Speaker dialects, initial /ħ/ consistently occurs in Salmonic words with Stone Speaker cognates starting with an initial /f/. | |||
Otherwise, the phone is treated by the other dialects as an allophone of /h/, and occurs frequently under predictable phonotactic rules, such as when /h/ geminates, e.g. ''saħħat'' "sharp-edged object", or certain sequences resulting from morphological alternations, as in ''-hyi-'' where the /ħ/ surfaces and geminates, and also triggers the glide /j/ to change to /i:/, or /ɪ/ in CVCC syllables, e.g. ''wandiraħħ'''i'''ššabu'' ("She began to cry, and still is"), not ''*wandira'''ħy'''iššabu'. | |||
{{Minhast_Vowels_IPA}} | {{Minhast_Vowels_IPA}} | ||
<br/> | <br/> | ||
Vowel length in Minhast is distinctive. Devoiced vowels occur as allophones frequently, based on regular phonotactic rules: | Vowel length in Minhast is distinctive. Devoiced vowels occur as allophones frequently, based on regular phonotactic rules: | ||
Line 192: | Line 198: | ||
<li>Minhast has a strong tendency to form intermedial clusters, providing that Rules #1-#3 are observed. If necessary, an epenthetic vowel may be added before or after the syllable to create these syllabic patterns, e.g. ''uš<span style="text-decoration:underline;color:blue;font-weight:bold">u</span>ntahu'' "You hit it." vs. ''ušnu'' "He hit it." (from the verb root ''ušn-'' "to hit").</li> | <li>Minhast has a strong tendency to form intermedial clusters, providing that Rules #1-#3 are observed. If necessary, an epenthetic vowel may be added before or after the syllable to create these syllabic patterns, e.g. ''uš<span style="text-decoration:underline;color:blue;font-weight:bold">u</span>ntahu'' "You hit it." vs. ''ušnu'' "He hit it." (from the verb root ''ušn-'' "to hit").</li> | ||
<li>The tendency to form intermedial consonant clusters creates complex assimilation interactions that nevertheless are predictable and almost always regular. These interactions are illustrated in | <li>The tendency to form intermedial consonant clusters creates complex assimilation interactions that nevertheless are predictable and almost always regular. These interactions are illustrated in the following table: | ||
{{Minhast_Phonotactics_Template}} | {{Minhast_Phonotactics_Template}} | ||
</li> | </li> | ||
<li>Vowels are classified according to a "weak-strong" gradient, where the "strong" vowels are more resistant to syncope than neighboring "weak(er)" vowels. All long vowels are by definition "strong", so the weak-strong gradient really applies to short vowels | <li>Vowels are classified according to a "weak-strong" gradient, where the "strong" vowels are more resistant to syncope than neighboring "weak(er)" vowels. All long vowels are by definition "strong", so the weak-strong gradient really applies to short vowels (see table "Vowel Gradients"). | ||
</li> | </li> | ||
Line 207: | Line 210: | ||
{| class="bluetable lightbluebg mw-collapsible mw-collapsible" | {| class="bluetable lightbluebg mw-collapsible mw-collapsible" | ||
|+'''Vowel Gradients''' | |||
! Initial Pattern | ! Initial Pattern | ||
! Final Contraction | ! Final Contraction | ||
Line 276: | Line 280: | ||
=== Orthography === | === Orthography === | ||
Minhast has three official writing systems, the indigenous ''Širkattarnaft'' script that predominates the country today; and the Hanzi and Hangeul scripts, which historically served for international trade and commerce, still continues that function today. A Latin-derived script, the ''Ammerkast'' system, is restricted primarily to Western audiences, particularly in academia. Recently, it has seen increasing use in popular media exported to countries using the Latin script. Other scripts, such as the Arabic and Cyrillic systems, are used only in niche areas. | |||
Historically, the first script to be used was the Chinese ''Hanzi'' writing system, imported into the country by traders from the Ming Empire and the Kingdom of Koguryeo. The writing system was not used to transcribe the Minhast language; correspondence by Minhast writers was in conducted in Mandarin instead, as the Minhast had trouble adapting Hanzi to represent their highly polysynthetic language. | |||
The first Austronesian traders, mainly from the Philippine kingdoms of the Rajahnate of Kirmai and the Sultunate of Daligan, brought with them their Brahmic derived script, the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baybayin ''Baybayin'']. This script, an abugida, was better suited in transcribing the Minhast language, and it was adapted and modified by the Minhast to what would later become today's ''Širkattarnaft''. | |||
Hangul arrived considerably late after its creation by the Korean monarch King Sejong of the Joseon dynasty. It was introduced into Minhay in the early 17th century to the Gull Speakers. The Gull Speakers had been using a modified, cursive form of the ''Širkattarnaft'' for a few centuries, but it started to be used in the Gull Speaker city and principal trade center, Kissamut. Just as in the case of the Baybayin, the Hangul characters were modified by the Gull Speakers to include sounds not found in the Korean language. As the Gull Speakers wrote the ''Sirkattarnaft'' in a cursive style, the Hangul characters were likewise modified to a cursive style unique to the Gull Speakers. This script, called the ''Gurrēsespir'' (lit. "the hand of Koguryeo"), exists alongside the ''Širkattarnaft'' and enjoys great popularity in the Gull Speaker prefectures, given the Korean influence on Gull Speaker society. | |||
Although Minhay had entered the modern era relatively late in the 1980's, the ''Širkattarnaft'' has been attributed to the high literacy rate of the people that has existed since the mid-1700's, today approaching 95% in most estimates. The retention of Hanzi and the Gull Speaker variant of Hangul is a byproduct of the era's geopolitics: the Minhast, led by both the Gull Speakers and the Salmon Speakers, wished to retain and strengthen their ties to the Sino-sphere as a counterweight to Western colonialists who had repeatedly attacked Minhay in attempt to conquer the region. Official correspondence to the Western nations, even after they ceased hostilities and expressed their desire to normalize relations with Minhay, the Minhast maintained a hostile attitude and would correspond with Western nations using only the Hanzi and Hangul scripts, sent via intermediaries from the Sino-sphere or their Austronesian trade partners. | |||
==== Native Script - the Širkattarnaft ==== | |||
The ''Širkattarnaft'' is the official script of Minhay, used in governmental and legal documents. It is also the principal script used in media and personal correspondence throughout all the Prefectures. The following graphic shows the present-day standardized ''Baybayin'' from which the modern ''Širkattarnaft'' was derived.: | |||
'''The Baybayin''' | '''The Baybayin''' | ||
Line 317: | Line 321: | ||
Baybayin_vs_Tašširkantaft.jpg| | Baybayin_vs_Tašširkantaft.jpg| | ||
</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
==== Hanzi and Hangul Scripts ==== | |||
The Hangul and Hanzi scripts predominate in official correspondence with Minhay's historic allies and trade partners, the Kingdom of Goguryeo and the Ming Empire. Both are also used with other East Asian countries that use them. | |||
The Gull Speakers are the principal group that use these East Asian scripts, as they achieved dominance in international commerce amongst all the other Minhast groups. Mandarin and Korean, and to a lesser extent, Japanese, are both widely taught in Gull Speaker schools as a second language, especially in the Gull Speaker prefectural capital Kissamut. The Salmon Speakers are the second group that use the Hanzi and Hangul systems most often; the scripts are used almost exclusively with their Ainu neighbours, who use the Japanese ''kana'' script, which is virtually unknown to the Minhast; the disastrous Tokugawa Wars, which led to the defeat, occupation, and annexation of over 90% of Honshu and significant swaths of Kyushu by the Goguryeo-Ainu alliance, cut off Minhay from Japan. The isolation of Japan by Goguryeo's effective blockade prevented the importation of the Japanese scripts into Minhay. | |||
==== Ammerkast Script ==== | |||
A variation of the Latin script, called "Ammerkast", is used in for consumption by Western countries and non-Western countries that use a Latin-based writing system. It is derived from the Americanist system, an alternative phonetic system to the IPA, which dominates much Afro-Asiatic and Native North American linguistics. It remains predominant in linguistic publications. It is also found in foreign trade documents and correspondence with Western and Westernized countries. A recent development is its growing use in popular media exported to Western/Westernized countries. | |||
While the Ammerkast system is an adaptation of the Americanist phonetic notation, one innovation is the grapheme <ħ>, which was adopted from IPA. Note the glottal stop <'> is usually not written unless there is a hiatus between two adjacent vowels. | |||
{| class="bluetable lightbluebg" | |||
|- | |||
! | Ammerkast Characters | |||
|- | |||
| a, ā, e, ē, i, ī, u, ū, ('), b,p,f, d, t, g, k,x n, m, l,r, z, s, š,h, ħ, w,y | |||
|- | |||
|} | |||
== Nouns == | == Nouns == | ||
Line 441: | Line 463: | ||
|} | |} | ||
<br/> | <br/> | ||
The Honorific vocatives forms originated from the age-based social hierarchy in traditional societies, but in urban | The Honorific vocatives forms originated from the age-based social hierarchy in traditional societies, but in Minhay's urban areas, particularly in the capital Aškuan and the military city Yikkam min Akk, they have been re-appropriated; for example, forms originally used for older individuals are now used to de-escalate conflict between an employee and their employer, an individual interacting with law enforcement, etc. The honorific used depends on social and situational context. | ||
The honorifics most often used are ''behet'', used to address elders, ''innāt(u)'' (for males) | The honorifics most often used are ''behet'', used to address elders, ''innāt(u)'' (for males) and ''šūri'' (for females), both of which are used by older people to address young adults outside their social groups. These may be joined to their head nouns in a ''min'' construction, e.g. ''<u>Innātu min</u> Kawwat/<u>Innātu'''m'''</u> Kawwat'' (no exact English equivalent, often translated as "Kawwat, my fine young man..."), or as clitics, ''=behet'' and ''=(i)nnāt(u)''. The clitic ''=behet'' often does not trigger morphophonemic alternations, e.g. ''Urya'''<u>tb</u>'''ehet'' "Madame Uryat" (as opposed to expected ''Urya<u>'''pt'''</u>ehet''). | ||
The honorific ''innātu'' is used exclusively by speakers of Upper Minhast, although this form is often used alongside the ''innāt'' form by speakers of the Lower Minhast dialects too. In Modern Standard Minhast, both forms are used, and the form used is based on personal preference. | The honorific ''innātu'' is used exclusively by speakers of Upper Minhast, although this form is often used alongside the ''innāt'' form by speakers of the Lower Minhast dialects too. In Modern Standard Minhast, both forms are used, and the form used is based on personal preference. | ||
The use of ''kazlam'' "friend" as an honorific among same-aged peers has arisen in the urban centers, a usage not found in the Prefectures. It is used even among strangers as a form of social courtesy. | |||
Addressing someone by their tribal affiliation, e.g ''Gāl min Kirmast'' "Horse Speaker", ''Duyyi min Kirmast'' "Salmon Speaker", is common in the Prefectures. When used in the urban centers, especially among same-aged peers, it is used as a means of creating a polite form of social distance, or alternatively, a term of affection among friends from different tribal groups. | |||
====Oblique Cases==== | ====Oblique Cases==== | ||
Line 512: | Line 538: | ||
! Type I | ! Type I | ||
|gāl | |gāl | ||
|gal | |gal- | ||
| | | | ||
-gal- | -gal- | ||
|galde, | |galde, galyār | ||
|horse | |horse | ||
|- | |- | ||
! rowspan="3"| Type II | ! rowspan="3"| Type II | ||
|marua | |marua | ||
|marū | |marū- | ||
| | | | ||
-mar- | -mar- | ||
Line 527: | Line 553: | ||
|- | |- | ||
|yarea | |yarea | ||
||yarē | ||yarē- | ||
| | | | ||
-yar- | -yar- | ||
Line 534: | Line 560: | ||
|- | |- | ||
|simmia | |simmia | ||
|simmī | |simmī- | ||
| | | | ||
-simm- | -simm- | ||
Line 725: | Line 751: | ||
|- | |- | ||
! 3rd Feminine Sg. | ! 3rd Feminine Sg. | ||
| | | iššide <br/> išše | ||
| | | išši | ||
| | | iššē- <br/> iššey- | ||
| - | | -šši <br/> -išši | ||
|- | |- | ||
! 3rd Neuter Animate Sg. | ! 3rd Neuter Animate Sg. | ||
Line 818: | Line 844: | ||
! colspan="2" | Independent | ! colspan="2" | Independent | ||
! rowspan="2"| Attributive | ! rowspan="2"| Attributive | ||
! colspan="2" | Clitic | ! colspan="2" | Clitic <ref>In the Upper Minhast dialects, the Attributive forms are used more often than the clitic forms.</ref><ref>Although demonstrative clitics usually displace postpositional clitics from their noun head, postpositional clitics may remain attached to their noun heads, followed by the postpositional clitic, e.g. ''takkisap'', vs. ''taksapki'' "in this way; like that".</ref> | ||
! rowspan="2"| Comments | ! rowspan="2"| Comments | ||
|- | |- | ||
Line 827: | Line 853: | ||
|- | |- | ||
! Proximal | ! Proximal | ||
| sap | | sap | ||
| sapte | | sapte | ||
| sapim, sap min | | sapim, sap min | ||
| =sap | | =sap<br/> =sā, =sa | ||
| =sapte | | =sapte, =sapt | ||
| this one, near the speaker | | this one, near the speaker | ||
|- | |- | ||
! Medio-proximal | ! Medio-proximal | ||
| nax | | nax | ||
| | | naxte | ||
| naxtim | | naxtim | ||
| =nax | | =nax | ||
| =naxt | | =naxte, =naxt | ||
| this/that one near the listener | | this/that one near the listener | ||
|- | |- | ||
! Distal | ! Distal | ||
| waššī | | waššī <br/>suxta | ||
| wašt(e) | | wašt(e) <br/>suxt(e) | ||
| waššim | | waššim <br/>suxtam | ||
| =waš | | =waš <br/>=suxta | ||
| =wašt(e) | | =wašt(e) <br/>=suxt(e) | ||
| far from both speaker and listener | | far from both speaker and listener | ||
|- | |- | ||
! Invisible | ! Invisible | ||
| kiryit | | suxta <br/>kiryit | ||
| kirte | | suxt(e) <br/>kirte | ||
| kiryit min | | suxtam <br/> kiryit min | ||
| =kirit | | =suxta <br/> =kirit | ||
| =kiryit | | =suxt(e) <br/> =kiryit | ||
| n/a | | n/a | ||
|} | |} | ||
Line 884: | Line 910: | ||
|- | |- | ||
! style="text-align:left"| 3rd Feminine Sg. | ! style="text-align:left"| 3rd Feminine Sg. | ||
| | | eyhašši | ||
| | | tārašši | ||
| kāmul/ | | kāmul/assakkišši | ||
|- | |- | ||
! style="text-align:left"| 3rd Neuter Animate Sg. | ! style="text-align:left"| 3rd Neuter Animate Sg. | ||
| eyhaš | | eyhaš | ||
| tāraš | | tāraš | ||
| kāmuš/ | | kāmuš/assakš | ||
|- | |- | ||
! style="text-align:left"| 3rd Neuter Inanimate Sg. | ! style="text-align:left"| 3rd Neuter Inanimate Sg. | ||
Line 940: | Line 966: | ||
''Menhakkem nasxēreħ inkunnuħkēmaran'' "The fourth one among them went into the forest." | ''Menhakkem nasxēreħ inkunnuħkēmaran'' "The fourth one among them went into the forest." | ||
Numbers even have intransitive verbal forms, meaning "There were X number of us/you/them." The cardinal, ordinal, and verbal forms are summarized below: | |||
{| class="bluetable lightbluebg mw-collapsible" | {| class="bluetable lightbluebg mw-collapsible" | ||
Line 1,001: | Line 1,027: | ||
| šiktāz | | šiktāz | ||
| šiktezāx | | šiktezāx | ||
| -- | | -šiktāz-an | ||
|- style="" | |- style="" | ||
! style="" | twelve | ! style="" | twelve | ||
| sen | | sen | ||
| senāx | | senāx | ||
| -- | | -sen-an | ||
|- style="" | |- style="" | ||
! style="" | thirteen | ! style="" | thirteen | ||
| halk | | halk | ||
| halkāx | | halkāx | ||
| -- | | -halk-an | ||
|- style="" | |- style="" | ||
! style="" | fourteen | ! style="" | fourteen | ||
| duggalk | | duggalk | ||
| duggalxāx | | duggalxāx | ||
| -- | | -duggalk-an | ||
|- style="" | |- style="" | ||
! style="" | fifteen | ! style="" | fifteen | ||
Line 1,046: | Line 1,072: | ||
| šentāz | | šentāz | ||
| šentezāx | | šentezāx | ||
| - | | šentāz-an | ||
|- style="" | |- style="" | ||
! style="" | twenty-one | ! style="" | twenty-one | ||
| šentāz-u-šum | | šentāz-u-šum | ||
| šentāz-u-manāx | | šentāz-u-manāx | ||
| -- | | šentāz-ammā šum-an | ||
|- style="" | |- style="" | ||
! style="" | twenty-two | ! style="" | twenty-two | ||
Line 1,108: | Line 1,134: | ||
| ---- | | ---- | ||
|} | |} | ||
====Fractions==== | ====Fractions==== | ||
Line 1,127: | Line 1,152: | ||
|- style="" | |- style="" | ||
! style="" | half | ! style="" | half | ||
| | | kāmak | ||
| | | kāmakian | ||
|- style="" style="" | |- style="" style="" | ||
! style="" | third | ! style="" | third | ||
Line 1,145: | Line 1,170: | ||
Note the upper bound is "tenth" ''(erritt)'', not "twentieth", the expected form given Minhast's vegisemal system; instead, this set demonstrates a decimal pattern. The secondary fractions bear no resemblance to their primary counterparts, having originated from different roots. Additionally, the verbal forms display some irregularity, as in '' | Note the upper bound is "tenth" ''(erritt)'', not "twentieth", the expected form given Minhast's vegisemal system; instead, this set demonstrates a decimal pattern. The secondary fractions bear no resemblance to their primary counterparts, having originated from different roots. Additionally, the verbal forms display some irregularity, as in ''kāmak<span style="font-weight:bold;color:blue;text-decoration:underline">i</span>an'' vs the expected ''kāmakan'', ''hadde<span style="font-weight:bold;color:blue;text-decoration:underline">ħ</span>ħan'' instead of the expected ''haddehan'', and ''<span style="font-weight:bold;color:blue;text-decoration:underline">irt</span>an'' instead of the expected ''errittan''. | ||
== Verbs == | == Verbs == | ||
Line 1,179: | Line 1,204: | ||
Interrogative verbs are an unusual feature of the Minhast verbal system, and are rare cross-linguistically but may be found in other languages such as Takic, a North American language from the Uto-Aztecan family. In many languages, certain interrogative words co-occur with certain verbs with high frequency. Using English as an example, the verbs in the questions "What happened?", "Where are you going?", "Why did you do it?" illustrate that certain verbs, when they take a WH-word as an argument, have a statistically higher probability of picking one or two WH-words above others. In Minhast, the Interrogative Verbs serve as a shortcut, precluding the need for constructing a whole interrogative sentence with at least two constituents, the WH-word and the verb it is serving as an argument to. | Interrogative verbs are an unusual feature of the Minhast verbal system, and are rare cross-linguistically but may be found in other languages such as Takic, a North American language from the Uto-Aztecan family. In many languages, certain interrogative words co-occur with certain verbs with high frequency. Using English as an example, the verbs in the questions "What happened?", "Where are you going?", "Why did you do it?" illustrate that certain verbs, when they take a WH-word as an argument, have a statistically higher probability of picking one or two WH-words above others. In Minhast, the Interrogative Verbs serve as a shortcut, precluding the need for constructing a whole interrogative sentence with at least two constituents, the WH-word and the verb it is serving as an argument to. | ||
Interrogative verbs can either be zero-valent (i.e. an Impersonal Verb), as in ''"Innearaš?" >> *inea-ar-an=š'' [what.happened-PAST-INTRANS=IRREAL] ("What happened?"), univalent, e.g. ''"Nassuriattaharaš?" >> *nassuriat-tah-ar-an=š'' [what.did.do-2S.ABS-PAST=IRREAL] ("What did you do?"), or even divalent, i.e. transitive, e.g. ''"Išpinassuriattaharuš?" >> *šp-nassuriat-tah-u=š'' [CAUS-what.did.do-2S.ERG+3MS.ABS-TRANS=IRREAL] ("What did you make him do?). Interrogative Verbs can be inflected for tense, aspect, person-number (for univalent verbs), and in some cases, theme, as illustrated in the last example. | Interrogative verbs can either be zero-valent (i.e. an Impersonal Verb), as in ''"Innearaš?" >> *inea-ar-an=š'' [what.happened-PAST-INTRANS=IRREAL] ("What happened?"), univalent, e.g. ''"Nassuriattaharaš?" >> *nassuriat-tah-ar-an=š'' [what.did.do-2S.ABS-PAST=IRREAL] ("What did you do?"), or even divalent, i.e. transitive, e.g. ''"Išpinassuriattaharuš?" >> *šp-nassuriat-tah-u=š'' [CAUS-what.did.do-2S.ERG+3MS.ABS-TRANS=IRREAL] ("What did you make him do?). | ||
Interrogative Verbs can be inflected for tense, aspect, person-number (for univalent verbs), and in some cases, theme, as illustrated in the last example. Moreover, the Irrealis marker ''-š'' is obligatory. | |||
Where person-number marking is allowed, both second and third person singular/plural marking predominate; first person marking is infrequent. Many of these verbs appear to have a default tense, usually in the past but sometimes in the future, even though the verb has no explicit tense marking, e.g. ''maymaštahaš'' seems to have a default past tense even though the past tense affix ''-ar-'' does not appear; however if the past tense affix appears, the verb remains well-formed. Present tense meaning, if intended, is usually recoverable from context or discourse. | Where person-number marking is allowed, both second and third person singular/plural marking predominate; first person marking is infrequent. Many of these verbs appear to have a default tense, usually in the past but sometimes in the future, even though the verb has no explicit tense marking, e.g. ''maymaštahaš'' seems to have a default past tense even though the past tense affix ''-ar-'' does not appear; however if the past tense affix appears, the verb remains well-formed. Present tense meaning, if intended, is usually recoverable from context or discourse. | ||
Line 1,292: | Line 1,319: | ||
|} | |} | ||
==== Phenomenological Verbs ==== | |||
=== Verb Template === | === Verb Template === | ||
The Minhast verb is divided into three major segments: the Preverb, the Verb Core, and the Terminatives. Each of these segments are divided into smaller sections or "slots", as they are termed in Minhastic linguistic literature. | The Minhast verb is divided into three major segments: the Preverb, the Verb Core, and the Terminatives. Each of these segments are divided into smaller sections or "slots", as they are termed in Minhastic linguistic literature. | ||
{ | {{Minhast_Verb_Template}} | ||
==== Preverb 1 Scalar Operator Affixes ==== | ==== Preverb 1 Scalar Operator Affixes ==== | ||
Line 1,344: | Line 1,339: | ||
| ta- <br/> ta'- <br/> t- <br/>tara-, tarra-, tabbina- | | ta- <br/> ta'- <br/> t- <br/>tara-, tarra-, tabbina- | ||
| no, not <br/><br/><br/>never, never again; not at all | | no, not <br/><br/><br/>never, never again; not at all | ||
|- | |||
! Immediacy | |||
| ussa- | |||
| now, immediately | |||
|- | |- | ||
! Contradictory | ! Contradictory | ||
Line 1,370: | Line 1,369: | ||
|- | |- | ||
! Additive | ! Additive | ||
| - | | -nuħħ- | ||
| also, even | | also, even | ||
|- | |- | ||
Line 1,416: | Line 1,415: | ||
==== Preverb 2 Locational Affixes ==== | ==== Preverb 2 Locational Affixes ==== | ||
This slot contains deictic markers indicating where an event took place in relation to the speech participants. Some affixes can be traced to the independent deictic particles, e.g. ''-ssaha-'' < ''sappu'' "here", ''-yašša-'' < ''wašia'' "yon". This slot is <u>not</u> found in the Gull, Salmonic and Horse Speaker dialects, nor in Classical Minhast. Instead, they occur after the verb root, in the Terminatives slot. It is unclear whether the locational affixes in those dialects are older than the ones in Modern Standard Minhast and the other dialects. On the one hand, some of the Preverb 2 affixes have no obvious relationship with their independent particle counterparts, e.g. ''-xitta-'' "there" vs. ''naš'', which would suggest the Preverb 2 variants are older, whereas their counterparts in the Terminatives slot are etymologically transparently related to the extant independent particle variants. However, it is generally agreed the Terminatives slot is older, as its affixes follow a strict templatic order, whereas the affixes in the other slots between the scalar operators (Slot 1) and applicative affixes (Slot 5) are scope ordered and their affixes apparently derived through earlier noun incorporation processes. | This slot contains deictic markers indicating where an event took place in relation to the speech participants. Some affixes can be traced to the independent deictic particles, e.g. ''-ssaha-'' < ''sappu'' "here", ''-yašša-'' < ''wašia'' "yon". This slot is <u>not</u> found in the Gull, Salmonic and Horse Speaker dialects, nor in Classical Minhast. Instead, they occur after the verb root, in the Terminatives slot. It is unclear whether the locational affixes in those dialects are older than the ones in Modern Standard Minhast and the other dialects. On the one hand, some of the Preverb 2 affixes have no obvious relationship with their independent particle counterparts, e.g. ''-xitta-'' "there" vs. ''naš'', which would suggest the Preverb 2 variants are older, whereas their counterparts in the Terminatives slot are etymologically transparently related to the extant independent particle variants. However, it is generally agreed the Terminatives slot is older, as its affixes follow a strict templatic order, whereas the affixes in the other slots between the scalar operators (Slot 1) and applicative affixes (Slot 5) are scope ordered and their affixes apparently derived through earlier noun incorporation, verb serialization, and other accretive processes. | ||
{| class="bluetable lightbluebg" | {| class="bluetable lightbluebg" | ||
Line 1,489: | Line 1,488: | ||
==== Preverb 3 Mood-Aspect-Manner Affixes ==== | ==== Preverb 3 Mood-Aspect-Manner Affixes ==== | ||
This slot contain numerous affixes that serve myriad functions, not just conveying mood and aspect, but also manner. The table below lists the most common affixes, but there are close to | This slot contain numerous affixes that serve myriad functions, not just conveying mood and aspect, but also encoding manner and other adverbial semantic information. The table below lists the most common affixes, but there are close to four hundred other affixes not listed here that may occur in this slot, such as the affix ''-xp-'' (to enjoy), -''ruxt-'' (to like), -''kašk-'' (do well, c.f. ''kaškakan'' to do something skillfully, perform skillfully), -''yunn-'' (to fall short, fail, c.f. ''yurunan'' to reach out to something out of reach) etc. | ||
Unlike other verb slots, where the affixes are strictly ordered in relation to each other, the affixes in the Preverb 3 slot exhibit free order, or to be more precise, they are scope-ordered. Within this slot, a given affix exhibits scope over the element immediately to its right. With few exceptions, several affixes may occur simultaneously, limited only by whether the combination "makes sense", i.e. the resulting semantic meaning is felicitous. | Unlike other verb slots, where the affixes are strictly ordered in relation to each other, the affixes in the Preverb 3 slot exhibit free order, or to be more precise, they are scope-ordered. Within this slot, a given affix exhibits scope over the element immediately to its right. With few exceptions, several affixes may occur simultaneously, limited only by whether the combination "makes sense", i.e. the resulting semantic meaning is felicitous. | ||
The positional variability within this slot traces back to an earlier stage in the language when these affixes were originally independent words in either a preposed-''wa'' construction, or verb-verb apposition structure. These older analytic structures were eventually reanalyzed and gramatticalized, ultimately fusing both phonetically and morphologically into the verb complex. | |||
{| class="bluetable lightbluebg mw-collapsible" | {| class="bluetable lightbluebg sortable mw-collapsible" | ||
|- | |- | ||
! | ! Type | ||
! scope="col" style="width: 100px;" |Affix | ! scope="col" style="width: 100px;" |Affix | ||
! Meaning | ! Meaning | ||
Line 1,503: | Line 1,503: | ||
! Expective | ! Expective | ||
| -naš- | | -naš- | ||
| supposed to | | supposed to <br/> expect to <br/> to wait for | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
Line 1,529: | Line 1,529: | ||
# As this verb form creates a transitive clause, the Controller becomes the ergative argument and the Controllee becomes the absolutive argument. | # As this verb form creates a transitive clause, the Controller becomes the ergative argument and the Controllee becomes the absolutive argument. | ||
# The ''-sassi-'' allomorph surfaces when immediately followed by an affix starting with /s, ʃ/, as in the Causative ''-šp-'' affix, e.g. ''Sassišpikallutekarūš'' "I wanted to make him eat" (i.e. I wanted to feed him), or with affixes that start with a consonant cluster such as the Cessative ''-kš-'', e.g. ''Sassikšikallutekarūš'' "I wanted him to stop eating". | # The ''-sassi-'' allomorph surfaces when immediately followed by an affix starting with /s, ʃ/, as in the Causative ''-šp-'' affix, e.g. ''Sassišpikallutekarūš'' "I wanted to make him eat" (i.e. I wanted to feed him), or with affixes that start with a consonant cluster such as the Cessative ''-kš-'', e.g. ''Sassikšikallutekarūš'' "I wanted him to stop eating". | ||
The Desiderative II affix evolved from the fusion of the Desiderative I affix with the Causative during the Late Classical Minhast period or shortly after, when the Desiderative and the Causative were regularly combined to express different-subject "to want" structures; c.f. Classical Minhast ''Šakišpikallutekarunuš'' "I wanted to cause him to eat" for "I want him to eat". | |||
|- | |- | ||
! Aversive | ! Aversive | ||
Line 1,548: | Line 1,549: | ||
! Abilitative-Cognitive | ! Abilitative-Cognitive | ||
| -kmiz- | | -kmiz- | ||
| know how to be; know how to do | | know how to be/become; know how to do | ||
| Denotes knowledge of attaining a state or carrying out and action | | Denotes knowledge of attaining a state or carrying out and action | ||
|- | |- | ||
Line 1,578: | Line 1,579: | ||
!Inchoative | !Inchoative | ||
| -saxt- <br/> -sax- | | -saxt- <br/> -sax- | ||
| to become | | to become | ||
| | | The Inchoative is primarily used to denote changes of state with stative verbs, e.g. ''saxpayyarkurran'' "He became black from the ashes", from the root ''-kūr-'' "to be black". | ||
The form ''-sax-'' is used when followed by a stop, e.g. ''saxtaharran'' "He became green" (from ''tahāl-'' "be green"), or /h,ħ/, e.g. ''Saxušuran'' "He became blue" (from ''hušur-'' "be blue") . Voiced stops become devoiced. In some dialects this form is used whenever followed by any consonant. | |||
The Inchoative is also used to derive the middle voice from transitive verbs, e.g. ''Yahamb saxaradaran'' "The fish pot broke", c.f. ''Yahamb harattarru'' <!-- from harad (to break st) --> "He broke the fish pot." | |||
|- | |- | ||
!Simulative | !Simulative | ||
| -šupn- | | -šupn- <br/>-šu- (+CC) | ||
| to resemble | | to resemble | ||
| Often found in combination with the verb root ''kifrak'' (to be the color of) + NI, meaning "to be x-colored", e.g. ''šupnikifrakteslakmahan'' (to be algae-colored); also appears in complex verbs signifying "to play", "to pretend", etc | | When used with semantically active verbs, it conveys performing an action in the manner indicated, e.g. ''Šukkirmektahuš'' ("Speak as I do"), ''Šupnikirimtahaš'' ("Speak like this) ''Šupnikirimtahampiš'' , ("Say it like this"). With stative verbs, it conveys being in like or similar to the state indicated, e.g. ''Ruppumakide uryataran šupnikūran/Ruppumakte uryataran šukkūran'' ("His face is as black as obsidian/He is incomprehensible/inscrutable"). | ||
Often found in combination with the verb root ''kifrak'' (to be the color of) + NI, meaning "to be x-colored", e.g. ''šupnikifrakteslakmahan/šukkifrakteslakmahan'' (to be algae-colored); also appears in complex verbs signifying "to play", "to pretend", etc. | |||
When used with common food items, it derives the idiom, "To taste like", e.g. ''Šuttirappian'' "It tastes like tilapia" (also meaning, "This is boring"). | |||
<!-- | |||
DOC:: Derived from verb root "-šupn-" (to resemble; to mirror), c.f. Nankõre "hompe" (to stand next to something) | |||
--> | |||
|- | |- | ||
! rowspan="3"| Qualitatives | ! rowspan="3"| Qualitatives | ||
Line 1,610: | Line 1,624: | ||
|- | |- | ||
!Excessive | !Excessive | ||
| -(ha)pm(a)- | | -(ha)pm(a)-<br/>-ntatta- | ||
| very, extremely, too much | | very, extremely, too much | ||
| | | | ||
# The full form ''-hapma-'' predominates in the Upper Minhast dialects. It occurs somewhat infrequently in Modern Standard Minhast, where the ''-pm(a)-'' form is preferred. | |||
# The ''-ntatta-'' form is derived through partial reduplication of the Intensive ''-nta-'', inherited from Salmonic/Horse Speaker origins. | |||
|- | |- | ||
! Habitual | ! Habitual | ||
Line 1,635: | Line 1,651: | ||
|- | |- | ||
!Completive | !Completive | ||
| -šmuxt- | | -šmuxt-, -šmux- <br/>-šnux- | ||
| to finish | | to finish | ||
| Indicates completion | | Indicates completion | ||
Line 1,664: | Line 1,680: | ||
The Inverse Volitional affix interacts with the semantics of the verb root. If a verb root semantically implies the Agent has no control over an event, or the event is by happenstance and not by deliberate intent, the Inverse Volitional derives a verb that implies the Agent has control of an event or is actively seeking to determine its outcome. As an illustration, the verb root ''-sar-'' (to see) implies happenstance, where as the addition of the Inverse Volitional affix, yielding the form ''kaħsaran'' < ''-kah-sar-'' changes the meaning to "to look at" or even "to stare at". In contrast, the verb root ''-misk-'' (to be ill) semantically implies lack of control. Adding the Inverse Volitional Affix plus the Reflexive-Benefactive ''-sakšar-'' to yield the form ''kaħmisiksakšaran'' < ''-kah-misk-sakšar'' changes the meaning to "to deliberately infect oneself in order to play hooky". | The Inverse Volitional affix interacts with the semantics of the verb root. If a verb root semantically implies the Agent has no control over an event, or the event is by happenstance and not by deliberate intent, the Inverse Volitional derives a verb that implies the Agent has control of an event or is actively seeking to determine its outcome. As an illustration, the verb root ''-sar-'' (to see) implies happenstance, where as the addition of the Inverse Volitional affix, yielding the form ''kaħsaran'' < ''-kah-sar-'' changes the meaning to "to look at" or even "to stare at". In contrast, the verb root ''-misk-'' (to be ill) semantically implies lack of control. Adding the Inverse Volitional Affix plus the Reflexive-Benefactive ''-sakšar-'' to yield the form ''kaħmisiksakšaran'' < ''-kah-misk-sakšar'' changes the meaning to "to deliberately infect oneself in order to play hooky". | ||
The Preverb | The Preverb 4 affixes are restricted to this position in the verb template. Other than the Verb Core, the only affixes that can follow this slot are the Applicative affixes, located in the Preverb 5 slot. Additionally, the Preverb 4 affixes usually do not occur together; when they do, the resulting verb implies a sense of sloppiness on the part of the Agent. | ||
{| class="bluetable lightbluebg" | {| class="bluetable lightbluebg" | ||
Line 1,680: | Line 1,696: | ||
==== Preverb 5 Applicative Affixes ==== | ==== Preverb 5 Applicative Affixes ==== | ||
The Preverb | The Preverb 5 slot contains exclusively the Applicative Affixes. These affixes are used to change the argument structure of a clause by increasing its valency, or by changing an oblique NP to core status as an Absolutive argument. The process of using an Applicative affix is often called "Applicative Formation", although other linguists prefer to use the term "Applicative Voice". This article will use the term "Applicative Formation" to emphasize that the argument structure of the clause is being changed by use of the Applicative affix. The Applicatives are used to promote an oblique argument to the Absolutive. | ||
All of the Preverb | All of the Preverb 5 affixes are mutually exclusive. Moreover, they are tightly bound to the next segment of the verb complex, namely the Verb Core; no affixes may intervene between the Applicative affixes and the Verb Core. Because of this strong connection to the Verb Core, it has been argued that the Applicatives be reclassified under the Verb Core segment. | ||
Although the Applicative Affixes encode spatial or directional information like the Oblique case clitics, they do not resemble them in form. The location and tight binding of these affixes belie their origins as the remnants of incorporated nouns from Proto-Nahenic; supporting evidence of this comes from the existence of independent cognate nouns in Nankôre, such as ''rahko'' "gift", ''macihi'' "hand", and ''nahko'' "room, enclosure", which is also cognate with the Minhast locative interrogative ''nakkī'' "where". | Although the Applicative Affixes encode spatial or directional information like the Oblique case clitics, they do not resemble them in form. The location and tight binding of these affixes belie their origins as the remnants of incorporated nouns from Proto-Nahenic; supporting evidence of this comes from the existence of independent cognate nouns in Nankôre, such as ''rahko'' "gift", ''macihi'' "hand", and ''nahko'' "room, enclosure", which is also cognate with the Minhast locative interrogative ''nakkī'' "where". | ||
Line 1,690: | Line 1,706: | ||
! Case Role | ! Case Role | ||
! Affix | ! Affix | ||
! Example | |||
|- | |- | ||
! Dative | ! Dative | ||
| -dut- | | -dut- <br/> | ||
-utt- | -utt- <br/> | ||
-tuCC-, -tuCt-<ref>This variant, originally from the Salmonic and Osprey dialects in the Nammawet region, has rapidly spread in the expatriate communities and now has gained popularity amongst Millennials in the Urban Colloquial dialect. The ''-tuCC-'' allophone surfaces a geminate voiceless stop, whereas the ''-tuCt-'' form surfaces with a preceding fricative or sonorant, per Minhast's overall tendency to devoice consonants. C.f Nammawet Salmonic ''Tukkirmekarun'' vs. Iskamharat Salmonic ''Duktirmekarun'', both meaning "I spoke to him"; Nammawet Osprey Speaker ''Tuštinnanku'' vs. Dayyat Prefecture Osprey Speaker ''Duštinnanku'', both meaning "I spread it before him." </ref> | |||
| | |||
{{Gloss | |||
|phrase = Anxekt duktirmekaru. | |||
| IPA = | |||
| morphemes = anxea=ek=de dut-kirim-ek-ar-u | |||
| gloss = brother=1S.AGT+3S.PT=GEN DAT.APPL-speak-1S.AGT+3S.PT-PST-TRNS | |||
| translation = I spoke to my brother. | |||
}} | |||
|- | |- | ||
! Benefactive | ! Benefactive | ||
| -rak- | | -rak- | ||
| | |||
{{Gloss | |||
|phrase = Anxekt rakkirmekaru. | |||
| IPA = | |||
| morphemes = anxea=ek=de rak-kirim-ek-ar-u | |||
| gloss = brother=1S.AGT+3S.PT=GEN BEN.APPL-speak-1S.AGT+3S.PT-PST-TRNS | |||
| translation = I spoke on behalf of my brother. | |||
}} | |||
|- | |- | ||
! Instrumental | ! Instrumental | ||
| -mat- | | -mat- | ||
| | |||
|- | |- | ||
! Locative | ! Locative | ||
| -n- | | -n- | ||
-naħk- | -naħk- <br/> | ||
-nak-<sup>†</sup> | |||
|- | |- | ||
! Commitative | ! Commitative | ||
| -ngar- | | -ngar-<br/> | ||
-ggar-<br/> | -ggar-<br/> | ||
-gar- | -gar- | ||
|- | |- | ||
! Ablative | ! Ablative | ||
| -raħk- | | -raħk-<br/> | ||
-rak-<sup>†</sup> | |||
|- | |- | ||
! Malefactive | ! Malefactive | ||
| -nusk- | | -nusk- | ||
|} | |} | ||
<sup>†</sup>''These forms are used when the following syllable starts when followed by another syllable starting with ''/k/'' | |||
==== Verb Core ==== | ==== Verb Core ==== | ||
Line 1,732: | Line 1,771: | ||
===== Incorporated Noun ===== | ===== Incorporated Noun ===== | ||
Like many polysynthetic languages, such as Ainu and the Iroquioan languages, Minhast employs noun incorporation (NI) extensively to carry out various processes: derivation, case modification and valence operations, and discourse manipulation. The motivating factors for NI is a complex topic which is dealt separately in [[Minhast/Noun_Incorporation]]. | Like many polysynthetic languages, such as Ainu and the Iroquioan languages, Minhast employs noun incorporation (NI) extensively to carry out various processes: derivation, case modification and valence operations, and discourse manipulation. The motivating factors for NI is a complex topic which is dealt separately in [[Minhast/Noun_Incorporation|Noun Incorporation]]. | ||
Noun incorporation is the process whereby a noun lexeme is absorbed into the verb complex. The noun is stripped of any inflectional markers and is then inserted immediately after the verb root. The noun is essentially treated as a verbal affix and plays an important morphological role. The incorporated noun is subject to complex morphophonemic sandhi, as described earlier in the [[Minhast#Phonology|Phonology]] section; moreover, most nouns have a reduced incorporating form, as in the case of ''-rupmak-'' << ''ruppamak'' (face). These reduced forms are highly irregular and must be memorized. | Noun incorporation is the process whereby a noun lexeme is absorbed into the verb complex. The noun is stripped of any inflectional markers and is then inserted immediately after the verb root. The noun is essentially treated as a verbal affix and plays an important morphological role. The incorporated noun is subject to complex morphophonemic sandhi, as described earlier in the [[Minhast#Phonology|Phonology]] section; moreover, most nouns have a reduced incorporating form, as in the case of ''-rupmak-/-rumpak-'' << ''ruppamak'' (face). These reduced forms are highly irregular and must be memorized. | ||
Not all nouns can be incorporated. Proper nouns and many kinship terms, e.g. ''anxea'' (brother) cannot be incorporated. Similarly, toponyms and demonyms cannot be incorporated. Only one lexical noun root can be incorporated at a time. | Not all nouns can be incorporated. Proper nouns and many kinship terms, e.g. ''anxea'' (brother) cannot be incorporated. Similarly, toponyms and demonyms cannot be incorporated. Only one lexical noun root can be incorporated at a time. Nouns functioning in most case roles can be incorporated, but such incorporation interacts with the semantics of the verb, e.g. Locatives are restricted to locomotive and positional verbs, while Datives are restricted to donor verbs. The incorporation of Instrumentals and Datives usually do not affect valency, as the Patient argument slot of the clause remains open. However, as in most incorporating languages, Agents cannot be incorporated. | ||
<!-- | <!-- | ||
Line 1,769: | Line 1,808: | ||
===== Pronominal Affixes ===== | ===== Pronominal Affixes ===== | ||
The pronominal affixes present one of the greatest challenges to the students of the Minhast language due to their inherent complexity in structure and morphosyntax. These affixes are agreement markers for the core arguments, i.e. the Ergative and Absolutive arguments. In addition to marking the syntactic roles of the core arguments, gender, animacy, and number are also encoded by the pronominal affixes. These affixes, along with the role affixes, also serve to identify the verb as transitive or intransitive, and thus must agree with the appropriate Transitive affix (see below). For the transitive verb, the pronominal affixes present greater complexities than those of the intransitive verb - the transitive affixes, representing both the ergative and absolutive arguments of the clause, are portmanteau affixes; although some patterns can be discerned from this fusion of the segments representing the ergative and absolutive components, the transitive pronominal affixes are mostly irregular and have to be memorized individually. As expected, the affixes may change shape due to the sound changes created by adjacent morphemes. However, many of these sound changes deviate from the normal assimilation patterns described earlier in | The pronominal affixes present one of the greatest challenges to the students of the Minhast language due to their inherent complexity in structure and morphosyntax. These affixes are agreement markers for the core arguments, i.e. the Ergative and Absolutive arguments. In addition to marking the syntactic roles of the core arguments, gender, animacy, and number are also encoded by the pronominal affixes. These affixes, along with the role affixes, also serve to identify the verb as transitive or intransitive, and thus must agree with the appropriate Transitive affix (see below). For the transitive verb, the pronominal affixes present greater complexities than those of the intransitive verb - the transitive affixes, representing both the ergative and absolutive arguments of the clause, are portmanteau affixes; although some patterns can be discerned from this fusion of the segments representing the ergative and absolutive components, the transitive pronominal affixes are mostly irregular and have to be memorized individually. As expected, the affixes may change shape due to the sound changes created by adjacent morphemes. However, many of these sound changes deviate from the normal assimilation patterns described earlier in [[Minhast#Syllabic_Structure_and_Phonemic_Interactions|Phonology]]. | ||
Animacy marking is differentiated for the neuter genders only, as the masculine and feminine genders are inherently animate and thus require no special marking. Both the masculine and the feminine 3rd person plurals have merged into one common gender, while the gender for animate and inanimate neuter nouns are still distinguished. Remnants of a split ergativity can be found in the third person neuter animate singular, where the submorphememe of the portmenteau affix for the patient is derived from an earlier ''*-tir-'' Accusative form, as opposed to the expected form ''-mah-''. | Animacy marking is differentiated for the neuter genders only, as the masculine and feminine genders are inherently animate and thus require no special marking. Both the masculine and the feminine 3rd person plurals have merged into one common gender, while the gender for animate and inanimate neuter nouns are still distinguished. Remnants of a split ergativity can be found in the third person neuter animate singular, where the submorphememe of the portmenteau affix for the patient is derived from an earlier ''*-tir-'' Accusative form, as opposed to the expected form ''-mah-''. | ||
Line 1,791: | Line 1,830: | ||
|- | |- | ||
! style="text-align:left"| 2nd Sg. | ! style="text-align:left"| 2nd Sg. | ||
| -ta- | | -tah-<br/>-ta-<br/> -t- | ||
|- | |- | ||
! style="text-align:left"| 3rd Masculine - Common Sg. | ! style="text-align:left"| 3rd Masculine - Common Sg. | ||
Line 1,797: | Line 1,836: | ||
|- | |- | ||
! style="text-align:left"| 3rd Feminine Sg. | ! style="text-align:left"| 3rd Feminine Sg. | ||
| - | | -šš- | ||
|- | |- | ||
! style="text-align:left"| 3rd Neuter Animate Sg. | ! style="text-align:left"| 3rd Neuter Animate Sg. | ||
| -Ø- | | -Ø-<br/> -s- | ||
|- | |- | ||
! style="text-align:left"| 3rd Neuter Inanimate Sg. | ! style="text-align:left"| 3rd Neuter Inanimate Sg. | ||
Line 1,821: | Line 1,860: | ||
|- | |- | ||
! style="text-align:left"| 3rd Neut. Inanim Pl. | ! style="text-align:left"| 3rd Neut. Inanim Pl. | ||
| -mah- | | -mah- <br/> -ma- | ||
|} | |} | ||
Line 1,853: | Line 1,892: | ||
| -nes- <br/>-ness- <br/> -ness(V)- <br/> -ne- <br/> -sn(e)- | | -nes- <br/>-ness- <br/> -ness(V)- <br/> -ne- <br/> -sn(e)- | ||
| The ''-nes-'', ''-ness-'', and ''-ness(V)-'' forms are preferred in Modern Standard Minhast, most Upper Minhast dialects, and the Gull Speaker dialect. These are the only forms found in Classical Minhast. ''-nes-'' is used when immediately followed by a consonant, ''-ness-'' when followed by a vowel, and '' -ness(V)-'' when followed by a consonant cluster; the epenthentic vowel in the ''-ness(V)-'' form usually echoes the vowel of the next syllable, e.g. ''kallutek-ness'''<u>a</u>'''-mp<u>'''a</u>'''māš iknatumanek-ness-aš'' "I will eat something and then return home." | | The ''-nes-'', ''-ness-'', and ''-ness(V)-'' forms are preferred in Modern Standard Minhast, most Upper Minhast dialects, and the Gull Speaker dialect. These are the only forms found in Classical Minhast. ''-nes-'' is used when immediately followed by a consonant, ''-ness-'' when followed by a vowel, and '' -ness(V)-'' when followed by a consonant cluster; the epenthentic vowel in the ''-ness(V)-'' form usually echoes the vowel of the next syllable, e.g. ''kallutek-ness'''<u>a</u>'''-mp<u>'''a</u>'''māš iknatumanek-ness-aš'' "I will eat something and then return home." | ||
The allomorph ''-sn(e)-'' is also found in Modern Standard Minhast, but is in practice rarely used. This allomorph is of Stone Speaker origin. | |||
|- | |- | ||
! Distal Future | ! Distal Future | ||
Line 1,883: | Line 1,924: | ||
{{Gloss | {{Gloss | ||
|phrase = Tenkūr | |phrase = Tenkūr wandiraħħiššabu <!-- **Yes, notice that /ħ/ here is a phoneme, not an allophone, despite compensatory lengthening; this is true for both Upper Minhast and MSM --> | ||
|IPA = | |IPA = | ||
| morphemes = tenkūr wa=ind-raħy- | | morphemes = tenkūr wa=ind-raħy-šš-ab-u | ||
| gloss = morning CONN=INCEP-cry-DISTR-3SF-IMPF-TRANS | | gloss = morning CONN=INCEP-cry-DISTR-3SF-IMPF-TRANS | ||
| translation = She started crying earlier this morning and hasn't stopped since (lit. This morning she begins crying still) | | translation = She started crying earlier this morning and hasn't stopped since (lit. This morning she begins crying still) | ||
Line 1,894: | Line 1,935: | ||
{{Gloss | {{Gloss | ||
|phrase = Tenkūr | |phrase = Tenkūr waxtixriraħħitaššabu. <!-- ** Yes, notice that /ħ/ here is a phoneme, not an allophone, despite compensatory lengthening; this is true for both Upper Minhast and MSM --> | ||
|IPA = | |IPA = | ||
| morphemes = tenkūr wa=xt-xr-raħy-tar- | | morphemes = tenkūr wa=xt-xr-raħy-tar-šš-ab-u | ||
| gloss = morning CONN=INCEP-ITER-cry-DISTR-3SF-IMPF-TRANS | | gloss = morning CONN=INCEP-ITER-cry-DISTR-3SF-IMPF-TRANS | ||
| translation = She has been crying on and off since this morning and hasn't stopped (lit. This morning she begins to continue to cry on and off and is still crying) | | translation = She has been crying on and off since this morning and hasn't stopped (lit. This morning she begins to continue to cry on and off and is still crying) | ||
Line 1,906: | Line 1,947: | ||
The Distributed-Periodic aspect marker, often translated as "from time-to-time" or when used with discrete time references ("every Thursday") indicates that the action, event, or state occurs with some sort of periodicity. If the periodicity is predictable (e.g. "every Thursday"), it often co-occurs with the Habitual affix. The Distributed-Periodic does not indicate punctual or durative information, as they may occur ad-hoc in both telic and atelic verbs. Durative and punctual information is instead indicated by separate affixes, the Semelfective and the Durative; these affixes are derivational in nature and occur in a different slot in the verb template. | The Distributed-Periodic aspect marker, often translated as "from time-to-time" or when used with discrete time references ("every Thursday") indicates that the action, event, or state occurs with some sort of periodicity. If the periodicity is predictable (e.g. "every Thursday"), it often co-occurs with the Habitual affix. The Distributed-Periodic does not indicate punctual or durative information, as they may occur ad-hoc in both telic and atelic verbs. Durative and punctual information is instead indicated by separate affixes, the Semelfective and the Durative; these affixes are derivational in nature and occur in a different slot in the verb template. | ||
===== | ===== Participial ===== | ||
The | The Participial slot is a small segment of the verb template, consisting of only one affix, ''-x-''. Past literature on the language variously placed them in the Tense-Aspect slot, whilst others placed in the Transitivity. Current practice is to place it in its own slot, as the affix can co-occur with the affixes of either slot yet does not semantically correspond to either. Its uses vary, sometimes forming an embedded clause of a causal sentence, e.g. ''Iknakara<u>x</u>an išpisaxtikaraššaru'' "My departure saddened her/By departing, I saddened her", a temporal subordinator, e.g. ''Redaktān iknatahara<u>x</u>an išpiharsummektarundurkilmakš!'' "When you went with that man you shamed us all/In going out with that man you shamed us all!", and occasionally in Modern Standard Minhast but more often in Lower Minhast, it may convey concurrent actions, i.e. circumstantial clauses, e.g. ''Luktarabampi, išpisaxtikurgadešlekarba<u>x</u>an'' "He was cooking while I concentrated on my studies" (lit. "He was cooking in the time I was causing myself to become strong in mind")<ref>Notice that the Participial affix allows breaking the S/O pivot, as demonstrated in the two preceding examples.</ref>. It is often used in conjunction with the Habitual affix ''-asum-'' and nominalizer ''=naft'' to derive professions, as in ''asumišpinakkallutixnaft'' "chef, cook" (lit. "one who habitually causes others to eat for their benefit"). | ||
{| class="bluetable lightbluebg" | {| class="bluetable lightbluebg" | ||
|- | |- | ||
! colspan="2"| | ! colspan="2"| Participial | ||
|- | |- | ||
! Affix | ! Affix | ||
Line 1,918: | Line 1,959: | ||
|} | |} | ||
These affixes serve to mark the verb's transitivity. The Detransitivizer combines with other affixes, such as the Reflexive, Reciprocal, and the Antipassive. The Detransitivizer occurs oftentimes when NI has taken place, provided that the totality of the verb's valence operations did not promote a former Absolutive argument to Ergative case, which may happen if the Applicative affixes and/or the Causative surface, as in ''Redadde kaslub dutittaħšitipraru'' ("The man gave the dog some meat", lit: The man the dog he-meat-gave-towards). | The Participial also creates deverbals, which nominalizes a verb stem. This nominalization in turn may be incorporated into a matrix verb. Five requirements must be satisfied before the nominalization can be incorporated: | ||
#All ''wa=''-binding is stripped from the nominalization; | |||
#Tense-Aspect markers are stripped from the verb complex; | |||
#The affixes from the Transitivity and Terminals slots are stripped from the nominalization; | |||
#The pronominal affixes are stripped and the nominalization inherits its polypersonal referencing from its matrix verb; | |||
#A linker morpheme ''-n-'' in the matrix verb precedes the embedded nominalization; | |||
#The nominalization is inserted into the NI slot of the verb template. | |||
The following text illustrates the incorporation of a nominalization with the Participial: | |||
{{Gloss | |||
|phrase = Izzesparaktirekt tankuryār išpisaxnuwassuk<u>n</u>išpisaxxalamiħyišatti<u>xx</u>iššaru. | |||
| IPA = | |||
| morphemes = izzesparak-tirek=de tankūr=yār šp-saxt-nuwassuk-n-[šp-saxt-kalam-iħy-šatt]-x-rti-ar-u | |||
| gloss = canoe.ABS-3NS.INAN.ACC+1S.NOM=GEN eels=ABL CAUS-INCH-contain-LNK-[CAUS-INCH-be.high-in.air-RFLX-PTCP]-3S.INAN.PT+3S.INDEF.AGT-PST-TRNS | |||
| translation = My hovercraft is full of eels, <span style="font-style:normal">lit.</span> "My canoe, my flying one, someone filled it with eels." | |||
}} | |||
Deverbals formed by the Participial can incorporate nouns, and serve as modifiers to the head of an NP. Thus, a truly complex nominal can be created, as in the following example: | |||
{{Gloss | |||
|phrase = išpisaxxalamiħyišattima<u>xx</u>im izzesparaktirekte | |||
| IPA = | |||
| morphemes = šp-saxt-kalam-iħy-šatt-mah-x=min izzesparak-tirek=de | |||
| gloss = INCH-be.high-in.air-RFLX-3NS.INAN.NOM-PTCP=CONN canoe-3S.INAN.ACC+1S.NOM=ERG | |||
| translation = my hovercraft | |||
}} | |||
Notice that the pronominal ''-mah-'' resurfaces, which is allowed since this complex is not incorporated. | |||
Interestingly, it appears that noun incorporation can occur recursively in these deverbals formed by the Participial, such as in the next example, the result of a speech game between two speakers: | |||
{{Gloss | |||
|phrase = Nireppa nišwakanaft kalluntirruspanniyaxpaxinnipsaspeksespiriškissartahabuš. | |||
| IPA = | |||
| morphemes = Nireppa nišwak-∅-an=naft kallut-n-[[n-ruspar-niyaxpa-x]-n-[n-psa-subek-sespir-šk-x]]-x-sar-tah-ab-u=š | |||
| gloss = little.bear.ABS be.white-3MS.NOM-INTR=NMLZ eat-LNK-<nowiki>[</nowiki>[LNK-play-in.fountain.grass-PTCP]-LNK-[LNK-[MIT-hold-in.hand-PARTIAL.CTRL]-PTCP]-PTCP-look-3MS.ACC+2S.NOM-IMPF-TRNS=IRR | |||
| translation = Watch the white cub eating playing in the grass with the stick he's barely holding onto. | |||
}} | |||
As a deverbal, they can also form compounds: | |||
{{Gloss | |||
|phrase = išpisaxturasmiħyišattimaššumbat | |||
| IPA = | |||
| morphemes = šp-saxt-urasm-iħy-šatt-mah-x-šumbat | |||
| gloss = INCH-be.high-with.star-RFLX-3NS.INAN.NOM-PTCP-arrow | |||
| translation = the starship | |||
}} | |||
===== Transitivity Affixes ===== | |||
These affixes serve to mark the verb's transitivity. There are two verbalizers<ref>The transitive and intransitiver suffixes are descended from Old Minhast participle affixes, *''-ɪ'nun'' and *''-ɪ'nan'', respectively, which in turn are ultimately derived from the Proto-Nahenic auxiliaries, ''*ne'nok'' "do", and ''*ya'na:ʔ'' "be"</ref>, a Detransitivizer and a Transitivizer, and the Antipassive. | |||
The Detransitivizer combines with other affixes, such as the Reflexive, Reciprocal, and the Antipassive. The Detransitivizer occurs oftentimes when NI has taken place, provided that the totality of the verb's valence operations did not promote a former Absolutive argument to Ergative case, which may happen if the Applicative affixes and/or the Causative surface, as in ''Redadde kaslub dutittaħšitipraru'' ("The man gave the dog some meat", lit: The man the dog he-meat-gave-towards). | |||
Line 1,931: | Line 2,023: | ||
! Detransitivizer | ! Detransitivizer | ||
| -an- <br/> -ēn-<br/> -en + C <br/> -ean <br/> -ā <br/> -ē | | -an- <br/> -ēn-<br/> -en + C <br/> -ean <br/> -ā <br/> -ē | ||
| The ''-ēn-'' and ''-en'' + C forms are non-pausal forms for when the preceding vowel is ''-e-'' or ''-ē-''. <br/>Otherwise, the combination ''-ean'' occurs if the verb is sentence-final and no other affix follows. The forms ''-ā'' and ''-ē'' are seen only in the poetry of Classical Minhast and | | The ''-ēn-'' and ''-en'' + C forms are non-pausal forms for when the preceding vowel is ''-e-'' or ''-ē-''. <br/>Otherwise, the combination ''-ean'' occurs if the verb is sentence-final and no other affix follows. The pausal forms ''-ā'' and ''-ē'' are seen only in the poetry of Classical Minhast and the Upper Minhast Fox Speaker dialect. | ||
|- | |- | ||
! Transitivizer | ! Transitivizer | ||
| -u- <br/> <br>-ū- <br/> -un- | | -u- <br/> <br>-ū- <br/> -un- | ||
| The archaic form ''-un-'' is often seen in Salmon Speaker and Wolf Speaker speech, and frequently in Horse Speaker poetry. The | | The archaic form ''-un-'' is often seen in Salmon Speaker and Wolf Speaker speech, and frequently in Horse Speaker poetry. Moreover, the nominalizer clitic ''=naft'' triggers the ''-un-'' allomorph in all Upper Minhast dialects. When the ''-un-'' variant surfaces among MSM speakers, it occurs chiefly during nominalization among people originally hailing from the northern prefectures. <br/><br/>The allomorph ''-ū-'' occurs when the verb root ends with an ''-i-'', e.g. ''išpikaggi-'' (to hang on a wall or pole). The allomorph originally occurred only when there were no intervening affixes, i.e. the final vowel of the verb root immediately preceded ''-ū-'', but now it occurs even if other affixes intervene between the root's final vowel and the transitivizer, e.g. ''išpinikaggi-sikyalar-''<u>'''ū'''</u>, "He hangs up a painting/photo for him". | ||
|- | |- | ||
! Antipassive | ! Antipassive | ||
Line 1,972: | Line 2,064: | ||
Some languages with evidential verbal affixes require their appearance, but in Minhast the evidential affixes are optional. Moreover, they have corresponding particles that may appear in their place. If the evidential affixes appear at the end of the verb complex, the Irrealis marker ''-š-'' cannot appear with the any of the Hearsay or Inferential evidentials, simply because the ''-š-'' has already fused with the base morpheme. The Visual evidentials, if accompanied by ''-š-'', convey the meaning, "It appears to be..."; without it, they convey the meaning, "I know this because you (and I) have witnessed this." If the Scriptive appears with ''-š-'', it either indicates that the speaker does not believe what was written, or that what was written turned out to be incorrect; thus it becomes a sort of counterfactual marker. The counterfactual meaning can be reinforced if the Scriptive is followed by the Unexpected marker ''-kil-'' + ''-š-'', e.g. ''Ušnaruškattekiš << *ušn-ar-u-škatte-kil-š'' (hit-PST-TRANS-SCRIP-UNEXP-IRREAL) "It was reported (in the newspaper) that he hit him...''(but) instead''...," or "Had he hit him, as was reported in the newspaper..." | Some languages with evidential verbal affixes require their appearance, but in Minhast the evidential affixes are optional. Moreover, they have corresponding particles that may appear in their place. If the evidential affixes appear at the end of the verb complex, the Irrealis marker ''-š-'' cannot appear with the any of the Hearsay or Inferential evidentials, simply because the ''-š-'' has already fused with the base morpheme. The Visual evidentials, if accompanied by ''-š-'', convey the meaning, "It appears to be..."; without it, they convey the meaning, "I know this because you (and I) have witnessed this." If the Scriptive appears with ''-š-'', it either indicates that the speaker does not believe what was written, or that what was written turned out to be incorrect; thus it becomes a sort of counterfactual marker. The counterfactual meaning can be reinforced if the Scriptive is followed by the Unexpected marker ''-kil-'' + ''-š-'', e.g. ''Ušnaruškattekiš << *ušn-ar-u-škatte-kil-š'' (hit-PST-TRANS-SCRIP-UNEXP-IRREAL) "It was reported (in the newspaper) that he hit him...''(but) instead''...," or "Had he hit him, as was reported in the newspaper..." | ||
{| class="bluetable lightbluebg | {| class="bluetable lightbluebg mw-collapsible" | ||
|- | |- | ||
! colspan = "2" | Function | ! colspan = "2" | Function | ||
Line 1,980: | Line 2,072: | ||
! rowspan="9" |Evidentials | ! rowspan="9" |Evidentials | ||
! Factive | ! Factive | ||
| -∅- <br/>-št(a)- | | -∅- <br/>-ne <br/>-št(a)-<br/>-štanne | ||
| Referred to as the Gnomic, Aorist, and Neutral in other comparative linguistics material, the term Factive is used due to the influence of Iroquoian linguistic literature, since early treatises of Minhast were conducted by experts in the Iroquoian languages, who noticed structural and typological similarities between the two otherwise different language groups. | | Referred to as the Gnomic, Aorist, and Neutral in other comparative linguistics material, the term Factive is used due to the influence of Iroquoian linguistic literature, since early treatises of Minhast were conducted by experts in the Iroquoian languages, who noticed structural and typological similarities between the two otherwise different language groups. | ||
|- | |- | ||
Line 2,032: | Line 2,124: | ||
| Indicates the speaker is determined that the state or event shall be fulfilled; if accompanied by a negator, it conveys the meaning "never". The "-warāš-/-waraš-" forms occur when preceded by the Transitivizer ''-u''; in the Upper Minhast dialects, excluding the Seal and Elk Speaker dialects, the underlying ''n''-form of the Transitivizer surfaces, e.g. ''Ušneknesunwaraš'' ("I will definitely hit him!") | | Indicates the speaker is determined that the state or event shall be fulfilled; if accompanied by a negator, it conveys the meaning "never". The "-warāš-/-waraš-" forms occur when preceded by the Transitivizer ''-u''; in the Upper Minhast dialects, excluding the Seal and Elk Speaker dialects, the underlying ''n''-form of the Transitivizer surfaces, e.g. ''Ušneknesunwaraš'' ("I will definitely hit him!") | ||
|- | |- | ||
! rowspan=" | ! rowspan="7" | Deictics and Locationals | ||
|- | |- | ||
! Proximal | ! Proximal | ||
| -sāhā<br/>-asāhā<br/>-ssāhā | | -sāhā<br/>-asāhā<br/>-ssāhā | ||
| rowspan="4"| These forms are found only in the Salmonic and Horse Speaker dialects, and Classical Minhast. These lects do not have the deictic affixes found in the Preverb 2 slot, although the meanings and usage are virtually identical. They are listed here because of Classical Minhast's prestige status.<br/><br/> To complicate matters further, the Gull Speaker dialect has its deictic verbal affixes in this slot too, but their forms are different. | | rowspan="4"| These forms are found only in the Salmonic and Horse Speaker dialects, and Classical Minhast. These lects do not have the deictic affixes found in the Preverb 2 slot, although the meanings and usage are virtually identical. They are listed here because of Classical Minhast's prestige status.<br/><br/> To complicate matters further, the Gull Speaker dialect has its deictic verbal affixes in this slot too, but their forms are different. Interestingly, the Gull Speaker affixes are cognate with [[Nankôre#Deictics| Nankôre deictic particles]], whereas cognates with other Minhast dialects have thus far been wanting. | ||
|- | |- | ||
! Medio-Proximal | ! Medio-Proximal | ||
Line 2,047: | Line 2,139: | ||
| -hurtāhā | | -hurtāhā | ||
|- | |- | ||
! colspan="2" | Imperative | ! Cislocative | ||
| -sušma- | |||
| May also convey a ventive sense, e.g. "inward, inside" | |||
|- | |||
! Translocative | |||
| -tarħa- | |||
| May also convey an andative sense, e.g. "outward, outside" | |||
|- | |||
! colspan="2" | Emphatic Imperative | |||
| -ška | | -ška | ||
| The Emphatic Imperative is usually used in cases of urgency, such as emergencies. Outside that, it is considered course or otherwise rude. Combining it with the Declarative/Intentive Absolute ''-rawaš-'' makes it egregiously so, e.g.: ''Yekayektahurwaška!'' "Lick me!" (obsc.) | | The Emphatic Imperative is usually used in cases of urgency, such as emergencies. Outside that, it is considered course or otherwise rude. Combining it with the Declarative/Intentive Absolute ''-rawaš-'' makes it egregiously so, e.g.: ''Yekayektahurwaška!'' "Lick me!" (obsc.) | ||
Line 2,058: | Line 2,158: | ||
! Purposive | ! Purposive | ||
| -nimmā <br/>-pannamā-<br/>-pannamāš- | | -nimmā <br/>-pannamā-<br/>-pannamāš- | ||
| English translation: "in order to". The Irrealis ''-š'' may cliticize to this affix under certain conditions, such as for non-past tenses, hypothetical statements, counterfactuals, and any other situation where the verb marked by ''=nimmā'' was not realized. <br/><br/>The allomorph ''-pannamā'' is a portmanteau of the Antipassive with the Purposive, ''-pi'' + ''-nimmā''. Similarly, the form ''-pannamāš-'' is a fusion of the Antipassive, Purposive, and Irrealis markers, ''-pi'' + ''-mā'' + ''-nimmā-'' + ''-š''. However, if any of the Evidentials, Miratives, Deictics, or Imperatives appear, the portmanteau cannot be used, | | English translation: "in order to". The Irrealis ''-š'' may cliticize to this affix under certain conditions, such as for non-past tenses, hypothetical statements, counterfactuals, and any other situation where the verb marked by ''=nimmā'' was not realized. <br/><br/>The allomorph ''-pannamā'' is a portmanteau of the Antipassive with the Purposive, ''-pi'' + ''-nimmā''. Similarly, the form ''-pannamāš-'' is a fusion of the Antipassive, Purposive, and Irrealis markers, ''-pi'' + ''-mā'' + ''-nimmā-'' + ''-š''. However, if any of the Evidentials, Miratives, Deictics, or Imperatives appear, the portmanteau cannot be used. Instead, the Antipassive marker must appear immediately before the Intransitive suffix, whilst the Irrealis marker appears in verb-final position, unless the nominalizer ''-naft'' appears, in which case the Irrealis is placed before the nominalizer. | ||
|- | |- | ||
! Quotative | ! Quotative | ||
| -namā | | -namā | ||
| | | Marks the following clause as direct speech, usually translated as "saying", or "thus, he said". This affix allows for the breaking of the S/O pivot. | ||
|- | |- | ||
<!--! Indirect Quotative | <!--! Indirect Quotative | ||
Line 2,072: | Line 2,172: | ||
! Consequential | ! Consequential | ||
| -dur- <br/> -dūr- | | -dur- <br/> -dūr- | ||
| Indicates the clause is a direct result of the preceding clause. May or may not be preceded by a ''-mā'' clause. If the Irrealis ''-š'' is attached, the affix's final consonant elides to the Irrealis, yielding the form ''-duš/dūš''. | | Indicates the clause is a direct result of the preceding clause. May or may not be preceded by a ''-mā'' clause. If the Irrealis ''-š'' is attached, the affix's final consonant elides to the Irrealis, yielding the form ''-duš/dūš''. | ||
|- | |- | ||
! colspan="2" |Irrealis | ! colspan="2" |Irrealis | ||
| -š- | | -š- | ||
| This affix marks the VP as an unrealized and/or hypothetical state or event. It is used in interrogatives, hortatives, and imperatives. Additionally, this affix, combined with the Consequential affix and certain sentential particles to form hypothetical and conterfactual clauses. This affix tends to elide any consonant before it; when it does, the vowel is lengthened, although this is usually not reflected in the orthography. | | This affix marks the VP as an unrealized and/or hypothetical state or event. It is used in interrogatives, hortatives, and imperatives. Additionally, this affix, combined with the Consequential affix and certain sentential particles to form hypothetical and conterfactual clauses. This affix tends to elide any consonant before it; when it does, the vowel is lengthened, although this is usually not reflected in the orthography. | ||
<br/>The Irrealis is required with certain affixes, such as the Desiderative and allied forms, the | <br/>The Irrealis is required with certain affixes, such as the Desiderative and allied forms, the Inclinative, all Future tenses, and evidentials.<br/><br/> | ||
The Irrealis is multifunctional. In addition to marking uncertain outcomes semantically inherent in the aforementioned affixes, it is used to form conditional clauses, marking the first clause (protasis) along with the general subordinator ''-mā'', as well as the following clause (apodosis) in conjunction with the Resultative ''-dūr'', e.g.''Iknatahanessammā-š, tamašiktaħnessun-dūš'', "If you go, he will hunt you down". It is also the usual way of forming imperatives, e.g. ''Hittaduytahā-š!'', "Give him some salmon!" | |||
|- | |- | ||
! colspan="2" height="70" | Nominalizer | ! colspan="2" height="70" | Nominalizer | ||
Line 2,086: | Line 2,187: | ||
== Derivation == | == Derivation == | ||
With the morphological complexity of the Minhast verb, capable of encoding various grammatical categories like gender, number, transitivity, tense, aspect, valence, mood, and many other functions, it is striking that derivational morphology is sparse. | With the morphological complexity of the Minhast verb, capable of encoding various grammatical categories like gender, number, transitivity, tense, aspect, valence, mood, and many other functions, it is striking that derivational morphology is sparse when compared to other languages. Nevertheless, Minhast does have derivational mechanisms that vary between productive processes, as well as the remnants of older processes that have now become fossilized and are considered independent roots in their own right. | ||
=== Noun Augmentation === | |||
In Modern Standard Minhast and the majority of dialects, [[Minhast#Augmentive_Nouns|Augmentation]], along with [[Minhast#Type_I_Noun_Incorporation_Derivation|Type I Noun Incorporation]], is the most prevalent form of derivation. Augmentation, in addition to its primary function of deriving larger versions of the noun root, can derive mass or collective nouns. Apart from its use in deriving a larger version of its base noun, derivation of new, semantically different nouns via augmentation does not occur on an ad-hoc basis, as is the case in NI-derived lexical items, but where a perceived need to describe a new objects and phenomena. As a result, augmentative nouns may differ between dialects, or even between local speech communities within the same dialectal region. This is a characteristic of "institutionalized" lexification. | |||
Besides deriving mass or collective nouns, the Augmentive is one way of creating new technological terminology, e.g.: | |||
*''arrarar'' telescope (lit. "big eye", from '' ar'' "eye") | |||
*''iptartaras'' bulldozer, backhoe (from ''iptas'' "hoe") | |||
Augmentation is restricted in most dialects to nouns roots or in instances where the root carries a corresponding semantically nominal meaning. Otherwise, augmentation of roots that are carry strictly verbal semantics cannot be nominalized by the standard nominalizer ''=naft''. However, some Lower Minhast dialects can derive nouns from verbal roots through the augmentation process, provided that the deverbal Participial affix ''-x-'' has been applied before augmentation. | |||
=== Type I Noun Incorporation === | |||
Another major mechanism for deriving new vocabulary is through exploiting the language's extensive use of noun incorporation. A subtype of NI, called "Type I Noun Incorporation", is exploited to create verb-noun compounds to derive new vocabulary. Through this process, new verbs ''and'' nouns may be formed. | |||
A few common Type I Noun Incorporation formations are used to derive instrumental, locative, and manner nouns: | A few common Type I Noun Incorporation formations are used to derive instrumental, locative, and manner nouns: | ||
*Instrument: Verb root + ''-sesp'' (from ''sepsir'' "hand"), e.g. ''kirismesp'' (lit. "speak-hand", i.e. "phone, cellular") | *Instrument: Verb root + ''-sesp'' (from ''sepsir'' "hand"), e.g. ''kirismesp'' (lit. "speak-hand", i.e. "phone, cellular") | ||
*Location: Verb root + ''-kia(n)/-tappe'' (from ''kian''/''tappe'' "place"), e.g. ''kirinkian'' (lit. "speak-place", i.e. "auditorium"). < | *Location: Verb root + ''-kia(n)/-tappe'' (from ''kian''/''tappe'' "place"), e.g. ''kirinkian'' (lit. "speak-place", i.e. "auditorium"). <ref>The Salmonic dialects have an alternative suffix, ''-anki'', for deriving locative nouns, e.g. , ''saranki'' (lit. "see-place", i.e. "observation deck"). This suffix also appears in eastern varieties of the Horse Speaker dialect, an apparent development from dialectal mixing.</ref>,<ref>In the Gull Speaker dialect, Locative nouns are derived by adding the suffix ''-ru'' which elides with any preceding consonant and triggers gemination, e.g. ''kirir<u>ru</u>''. The Gull Speaker ''-ru'' is not derived from Type I incorporation but is instead a bonafide affix that may have come from a substratum language.</ref> | ||
*Manner: Verb root + ''-tak'' (from "style; way of doing something), e.g. ''kirimtak/kirintak'' (lit. "speak-way", i.e. "presentation", as in a business presentation/proposal; "delivery, oratory style") | *Manner: Verb root + ''-tak'' (from "style; way of doing something), e.g. ''kirimtak/kirintak'' (lit. "speak-way", i.e. "presentation", as in a business presentation/proposal; "delivery, oratory style") | ||
Line 2,128: | Line 2,240: | ||
Derivations resulting from a verb root plus one or more verbal affixes, be it a nominalization or otherwise, cannot undergo NI. | Derivations resulting from a verb root plus one or more verbal affixes, be it a nominalization or otherwise, cannot undergo NI. | ||
--> | --> | ||
The Diminutive had been long falling out of use, but has been revived in the modern language to coin new terms as well: | The Diminutive had been long falling out of use, but has been revived in the modern language to coin new terms as well: | ||
*''iptis'' forceps (also from ''iptas'' "hoe") | *''iptis'' forceps (also from ''iptas'' "hoe") | ||
Partial or full reduplication of verb roots may derive intensive | === Gender-number Differentiation === | ||
Gender-number differentiation, the assignment of different grammatical genders and/or number to a lexical root, is exploited frequently to derive collective and mass nouns, and their corresponding count forms. Typically, a lexically collective or mass noun is assigned as a neuter inanimate singular noun, whilst their singulative forms are assigned to either to the third person masculine singular form, or the third person '''plural''' feminine form. The pluralization of the singulative forms usually involves assigning them to the neuter animate singular form. | |||
===Reduplication=== | |||
Partial or full reduplication of verb roots may also derive intensive or atelic verbs. They may also create onomatopoeic verbs, or in place of the Mitigative affix, attenuate the intensity of a verb: | |||
*''yakyakan'' (to be stranded) < ''yakan'' (to be still, static, unmoving) | *''yakyakan'' (to be stranded) < ''yakan'' (to be still, static, unmoving) | ||
*''nurruran'' (to pour) < ''nurran'' (to spill) | *''nurruran'' (to pour) < ''nurran'' (to spill) | ||
=== Affixal Derivation === | |||
==== Telicity ==== | |||
A process for deriving new verbs occurs via application of the Telicity affixes, the Durative ''-ħtaš'' and the Semelfactive ''-minn-''. Technically telicity is a type of aspect, but unlike other aspect markers, which can be spontaneously employed in a single utterance, these affixes serve a more derivational purpose; their function is chiefly semantic as opposed to syntactic. For example, the verb root ''-dāwap-'' "to drip", when prefixed with the Durative, creates the derived verb ''-ħtaštāwap-'', which means "to trickle", and the verb root ''-sar-'' (to see) becomes ''-ħtassar-'' (to watch). Examples of derivation with the Semalfactive include ''-minnisasšši-'' "to sit down" from the verb root ''-sašši-'' "to sit" and ''-minnittaħš-'' "to seize (violently)" from the verb ''-ittaħš-'' "to take, to have"<ref>Semantically, "to take" is a semelfactive verb, but semantic bleaching of ''-ittaħš-'' has occurred with this root, originally meaning "to take" in Classical Minhast. Classical Minhast used the verb root ''-kta-'' (properly, "to own") to secondarily express "to have". In the modern dialects where ''-kta-'' survives, it either retains its original meaning, or "to steal" (Osprey Speaker dialect), "to pick up from the ground" (Salmonic and Horse Speaker dialects), and "to gain, to come into possession (usually by purchase, barter, or other form of trade)" (Gull Speaker dialect).</ref>. | |||
One major derivational affix that is associated with nouns is the suffix ''-ast'', which forms demonyms. Ironically, the word ''Minhast'' was not derived from this affix; it was derived from Proto-Minhast ''Nēn u θyatsə'' or ''Nēn u θyats'', which means "The True People Who Use the Spear" (c.f. Nankôre ''nan'' "human", Nahónda ''non, nahón'' "the People"). | ==== Other Affixes ==== | ||
*The Salmonic dialects retain the Classical Minhast suffix ''-anki'' for deriving locative deverbals, e.g. ''saranki'' (lit. "see-place", i.e. "observation deck"), although there is a growing preference for using Type I noun incorporation in the Salmon Speaker dialect due to Horse Speaker influence. (See earlier discussion on Type I verb-noun derivational compounding). The Wolf Speaker dialect, in contrast, overwhelmingly prefers ''-anki''. This suffix appears rarely in Modern Standard Minhast, and only in words of Salmonic origin. | |||
*In the Gull Speaker dialect, ''-ru'', derives locative nouns from verbs. This suffix is the hallmark of the dialect, although the suffix has appeared in the City Speaker dialect, and its use appears to be increasing. (See earlier discussion on Type I verb-noun derivational compounding). | |||
*The Gerundial ''-x-'' is becoming more frequently used, particularly for forming technological terminology. | |||
*One major derivational affix that is associated with nouns is the suffix ''-ast'', which forms demonyms. Ironically, the word ''Minhast'' was not derived from this affix; it was derived from Proto-Minhast ''Nēn u θyatsə'' or ''Nēn u θyats'', which means "The True People Who Use the Spear" (c.f. Nankôre ''nan'' "human", Nahónda ''non, nahón'' "the People", ''yatsa'' "spike"). | |||
==== Fossilized Suffixes ==== | |||
A few non-productive derivational suffixes occur occasionally in the standard language, with increasing frequency in the Upper Minhast dialects. These affixes are considered fossilized, but Classical Minhast texts indicate they could be generated spontaneously. The most common ones found in the standard language are: | A few non-productive derivational suffixes occur occasionally in the standard language, with increasing frequency in the Upper Minhast dialects. These affixes are considered fossilized, but Classical Minhast texts indicate they could be generated spontaneously. The most common ones found in the standard language are: | ||
* ''-(u)mbāt'': found mostly in collective nouns, and some abstract nouns. These nouns come from Salmonic dialects and Classical Minhast sources; | * ''-(u)mbāt'': found mostly in collective nouns, and some abstract nouns. These nouns come from Salmonic dialects and Classical Minhast sources; | ||
* ''-ummāt, -mmāt'': also found mostly in collective nouns, and some abstract nouns. These nouns come from Horse Speaker sources and are cognate with Salmonic ''-(u)mbāt''; | * ''-ummāt, -mmāt'': also found mostly in collective nouns, and some abstract nouns. These nouns come from Horse Speaker sources and are cognate with Salmonic ''-(u)mbāt''; | ||
* ''- | * ''-(u)m/(u)n'': derives locative nouns, e.g. ''aldu-<u>m</u>'' "school" (from ''aldu'' "learn" + ''-m'') and sometimes verbal nouns. Survives with some frequency in some Salmon Speaker toponyms and a few rare instances in the Horse Speaker dialect; the Gull Speaker cities Bundarun and Bayburim are believed to be a combination of the Gullic ''-rū'' affix plus this apparently Upper Minhast-derived suffix. | ||
* ''-pnis'': habitual activities; words containing this suffix indicate Upper Minhast origins; | * ''-pnis'': habitual activities; words containing this suffix indicate Upper Minhast origins; | ||
* ''-niwak'': habitual activities that occur daily; sometimes indicates a profession. Most noticeable in the term ''hupniwak'', tools associated with carrying out daily functions, e.g. a flint stone for lighting fire (this term has also become a derogatory term for the City Speakers, since they serve as "tools" for administering domestic policy); | * ''-niwak'': habitual activities that occur daily; sometimes indicates a profession. Most noticeable in the term ''hupniwak'', tools associated with carrying out daily functions, e.g. a flint stone for lighting fire (this term has also become a derogatory term for the City Speakers, since they serve as "tools" for administering domestic policy); | ||
* ''-pa'': a deverbal that tends to denote abstract activities requiring several actors, e.g. ''nuyye-'' (to form an alliance), ''nuyye-pa'' (politics) | * ''-pa'': a deverbal that tends to denote abstract activities requiring several actors, e.g. ''nuyye-'' (to form an alliance), ''nuyye-pa'' (politics). C.f. Nankôre ''Hôkun Pe''' "tribal council, meeting place". | ||
* ''-uyyi''/''-ūy'': found mostly in abstract and some place nouns. Derived respectively from Horse Speaker and Salmon Speaker sources, words containing these fossilized suffixes have not been adopted in great numbers into Modern Standard Minhast due to speakers from other dialects having pronunciation difficulties with the ''uy(yi)'' sequence. | |||
* ''-a'': affix for deriving concrete, usually domestic and other common items, from a stative verb root, e.g. ''hamašni-a'' "mattress/cushion", from ''hamašni-an'', "to be comfortable to sit/lie/stand/lean/rest on" | |||
<!-- | <!-- | ||
Line 2,237: | Line 2,357: | ||
| hambarin | | hambarin | ||
| hambanem | | hambanem | ||
| | | hambessum <br/> hambāssatum | ||
|} | |} | ||
Line 2,255: | Line 2,375: | ||
These structures use an S/A pivot for the coreferrent NP of each clause, rather than the expected S/O pivot. This is an example of split ergativity manifesting at the syntactic level in Minhast, which is otherwise very strict in maintaining ergativity at both the morphological and syntactic levels. | These structures use an S/A pivot for the coreferrent NP of each clause, rather than the expected S/O pivot. This is an example of split ergativity manifesting at the syntactic level in Minhast, which is otherwise very strict in maintaining ergativity at both the morphological and syntactic levels. | ||
===Demonstrative | ===Demonstrative Particles=== | ||
The demonstrative | The demonstrative particles can be divided into two classes, a spatial class and a temporal class. Both classes, with a few exceptions, have at least three forms, an independent form, and two forms for preposed ''wa='' and postposed ''wa='' constructions. | ||
The spatial class also has an Interjective form, usually best translated as "Here ''x'' is/are!", "There ''x'' is/are!" The forms that are bound by the ''wa='' Connective always require a clause to bind to. In contrast, the Interjective forms must immediately precede standalone NPs, thus they are not bound by the ''wa='' Connective and cannot be followed by or embedded within a clause. | |||
Note that the Interjective forms are derived from different roots. The particle ''ne'' often follows them to provide additional reinforcement, e.g. ''Eyha ne''. In some dialects, ''ne'' cliticizes to the Interjective form, accompanied with gemination, e.g. ''Eyhanne'' /eɪhan:'e/. Note irregular pronunciation, with stress falling on the ultimate syllable. | |||
{| class="bluetable lightbluebg" | {| class="bluetable lightbluebg" | ||
|+ Spatial Deictics | |+ '''Spatial Deictics''' | ||
|- | |- | ||
! Type | ! Type | ||
Line 2,284: | Line 2,408: | ||
| wašša= | | wašša= | ||
| wassaše | | wassaše | ||
| kāmu/kammu/aššak | | kāmu <br/> kammu <br/> aššak | ||
|- | |- | ||
! Invisible | ! Invisible | ||
Line 2,293: | Line 2,417: | ||
|} | |} | ||
Just as Minhast has an array of deictic markers that encode proximity and distance from the speaker, the language has an array of particles encoding temporal relations: | |||
{| class="bluetable lightbluebg" | {| class="bluetable lightbluebg" | ||
|+ Temporal Deictics | |+ '''Temporal Deictics''' | ||
|- | |- | ||
! colspan="2" | Type | ! colspan="2" | Type | ||
Line 2,304: | Line 2,430: | ||
|- | |- | ||
! colspan="2" | Present | ! colspan="2" | Present | ||
| attim | | | ||
# attim | |||
# damikmān | |||
| attim wa= | | attim wa= | ||
| wattim | | wattim | ||
| now | | | ||
# now | |||
# at this very moment | |||
|- | |- | ||
! rowspan="2" | Past | ! rowspan="2" | Past | ||
! Proximal | ! Proximal | ||
| runa | | | ||
# runa | |||
# damikmān<ref>C.f. Classical Minhast ''dam-km-ar-an'' (lit. they fell to the ground, spilled, scattered on the floor)</ref> | |||
| runa wa= | | runa wa= | ||
| warruna | | warruna | ||
| just | | | ||
<span style="padding-left:30px">just a while ago</span> | |||
|- | |- | ||
! Distal | ! Distal | ||
| demaħt | | | ||
# demaħt | |||
# damikman | |||
| demaħte wa= | | demaħte wa= | ||
| n/a | | n/a | ||
| a long time ago | | | ||
# a long time ago | |||
# once upon a time | |||
|- | |- | ||
! rowspan="2" | Future | ! rowspan="2" | Future | ||
! Proximal | ! Proximal | ||
| sukku | | | ||
# sukku | |||
# damikmān | |||
| sukku wa= | | sukku wa= | ||
| wassukku | | wassukku | ||
| soon | | | ||
<span style="padding-left:30px">soon</span> | |||
|- | |- | ||
! Distal | ! Distal | ||
| saħrap | | | ||
# saħrap | |||
# damikman | |||
| saħrap wa | | saħrap wa | ||
| wassaħrap | | wassaħrap | ||
| | | | ||
# <span style="padding-right:30px">sometime later, months or <br/>perhaps even years later</span> | |||
# perhaps later | |||
|} | |} | ||
{| class="bluetable lightbluebg" | As tense in Minhast is relative, all temporal particles operate under a relative time reference, a reference based not on the speech act, but on the connected discourse of the speaker's narrative. | ||
|+ Other Temporal Adverbs | |||
|- | The particle ''damikmān'' can refer to the recent past, present or future time as well, dependent on its exact semantic meaning from the tense marker in the verb, whereas the other temporal markers mark explicit time spaces independent of the verb's tense marker. | ||
! Type | |||
! Independent Form | Native speakers report that ''damikmān'' conveys a hightened sense of uncertainty because of its sole reliance on the verb's tense marker, but based on both data from both recorded speech and texts, the particle oftentimes appears to mark definite endpoints in relation to a reference point that is recoverable by all speech participants. | ||
! Preposed ''Wa='' Form | |||
! Postposed ''Wa='' Form | One final note on ''damikmān'': the particle always appears at the head of a clause and cannot be preceded by a ''wa''-Construction, nor can it be followed by a ''wa''-Construction. | ||
! Meaning | |||
|- | Textual examples of the use of ''damikmān'' illustrate how the particle derives its semantic meaning in marking a time reference: | ||
! Proximal | |||
1) Example of Remote Past: | |||
{{Gloss | |||
|phrase = Damikmān Anyar iknatūmašnerrannimmāš raħkibayherradikminessuš. | |||
|IPA = | |||
| morphemes = damikmān anyar kna-∅-šerr-an-nimm-mā-š raħk-bayhe-redad-km-ness-u-š | |||
| gloss = PTCL PN.ABS go-NOM-RMT.PST-INTR-PURP-SUB-IRR APPL.ABL-seek.help-men-3S.ACC+3P.NOM-FUT-TRN-IRR | |||
| translation = On that day, Anyar went [to Attum Attar] to seek help from their men. | |||
}} | |||
2) Example of Recent Past: | |||
{{Gloss | |||
|phrase = Damikmān Izzye išpisaxlaxmakkarusašša. | |||
|IPA = | |||
| morphemes = damikmān izzye šp-saxt-laxmakk-ar-u-sašša | |||
| gloss = PTCL father CAUS-INCH-anger-PST-INTR-SEMB | |||
| translation = It seems that he angered Dad a few days ago. | |||
}} | |||
3) Example of Future: | |||
{{Gloss | |||
|phrase = Damikmān Yešker hanessanwašša. | |||
|IPA = | |||
| morphemes = damikmān yešker ha-ness-an-wašša | |||
| gloss = PTCL PN come-FUT-INTR-INFER | |||
| translation = Yešker should be arriving soon. | |||
}} | |||
{| class="bluetable lightbluebg" | |||
|+ Other Temporal Adverbs | |||
|- | |||
! Type | |||
! Independent Form | |||
! Preposed ''Wa='' Form | |||
! Postposed ''Wa='' Form | |||
! Meaning | |||
|- | |||
! Proximal | |||
| tūmeymasn | | tūmeymasn | ||
| n/a | | n/a | ||
Line 2,429: | Line 2,610: | ||
|- | |- | ||
! wahēk, wahēki | ! wahēk, wahēki | ||
| | | Sequential/Topic Shifter | ||
| Often translated as "behold", or " | | Often translated as "behold", "thus", "and then", or "after that", this particle also functions similar to the verbal affix ''-mā'' general subordinator to connect sequential clauses. However, unlike ''-mā'', the Absolutive argument in the ''wahēk'' clause need not be correferential to that of its matrix clause; in fact, correference between the Absolutive in the ''wahēk'' clause is dispreferred. More often then not, it allows the S/O pivot to be broken and the core arguments change syntactic roles, i.e. the Absolutive argument becomes the Ergative or an oblique argument, and any Ergative argument assumes Absolutive status. The ''wahēk'' argument is also often used to introduce new topics. <br/> | ||
The ''wahēki'' form is found only in Classical Minhast, and in Salmon Speaker, Wolf Speaker, and Horse Speaker poetry. | The ''wahēki'' form is found only in Classical Minhast, and in Salmon Speaker, Wolf Speaker, and Horse Speaker poetry. | ||
|- | |||
! e, ye | |||
| Hesitation | |||
| Usually translated as "um" | |||
|- | |- | ||
! a, aħ | ! a, aħ | ||
| | | Confirmational | ||
| Confirms that the speaker has understood the immediate preceding statement made by the listener. | | Confirms that the speaker has understood the immediate preceding statement made by the listener. | ||
|- | |- | ||
! ne, neħ | ! ne, neħ | ||
| Presentational | | Presentational | ||
| Somewhat similar to the Proximal Demonstrative particles, this particle is used | | Somewhat similar to the Proximal Demonstrative particles, this particle is often used when the speaker physically presents an object for view to the listener. <br/><br/> It may be used as an Interruptive, with the approximate meaning "hey". It is also used, especially with the verb marked with one of the Mirative affixes, to express slight exasperation, usually translated as "look", as in: ''Neħ, hatā' wattaksapki iknataharanaft tanusillekunkildūr'' "Look, I don't know why you left (the party) like that." | ||
|- | |- | ||
! šenek | ! anne | ||
| Focus | |||
| Roughly equivalent to English "so". | |||
|- | |||
! še, šenek | |||
| Interruptive | | Interruptive | ||
| Used to politely prompt the listener to let the speaker resume talking, best translated as, "Pardon me/Excuse | | Used to politely prompt the listener to let the speaker resume talking, best translated as, "Pardon me/Excuse me/Wait”. The longer form ''šenek'' is encountered in formal speech. | ||
|- | |- | ||
! anda | ! anda | ||
| Interruptive | | Interruptive | ||
| Similar to the interruptive function of ''šenek'', this particle is used to forcefully break a long-winded monologue by the other speech participant, with the connotation of “If you'd shut up a minute and let me speak...!” | | Similar to the interruptive function of ''šenek'', this particle is used to forcefully break a long-winded monologue by the other speech participant, with the connotation of “If you'd shut up a minute and let me speak...!”<br/> | ||
In the Horse Speaker dialect, this is actually a polite interruptive, and depending on context is synonymous with ''ana'' (see below). | |||
|- | |- | ||
! ayyak | ! ayyak | ||
| Formal Vocative | | Formal Vocative | ||
| When spoken, said to greet and elicit a response; also often found in the greeting of formal letters | | When spoken, said to greet and elicit a response; also often found in the greeting of formal letters. | ||
|- | |- | ||
! wannā'(a) | ! wannā'(a) | ||
Line 2,492: | Line 2,682: | ||
| Connective | | Connective | ||
| This is actually a verbal clitic, not a particle. It is always used in conjunction with ''kāra'' (see previous entry on ''kāra'') | | This is actually a verbal clitic, not a particle. It is always used in conjunction with ''kāra'' (see previous entry on ''kāra'') | ||
|- | |||
! nixā' | |||
| Connective | |||
| Usually translated as "now, therefore", c.f. Italian ''allora'', ''quindi''. | |||
|- | |- | ||
! šukna | ! šukna | ||
Line 2,515: | Line 2,709: | ||
! sarakmampš | ! sarakmampš | ||
| Evaluative-Disapproval-Conclusive | | Evaluative-Disapproval-Conclusive | ||
| Particle which summarizes the entire points of the narrative, both speaker and hearer, upon which s/he bases the final conclusion of disapproval. Often translated as "Look at all that's been said. It's ridiculous, this situation/your argument..." etc., or more colloquially, "This is just a bunch of crap." Derived from the noun ''sarakm'' (garbage) | | Particle which summarizes the entire points of the narrative, both speaker and hearer, upon which s/he bases the final conclusion of disapproval. Often translated as "Look at all that's been said. It's ridiculous, this situation/your argument..." etc., or more colloquially, "This is just a bunch of crap." Derived from the noun ''sarakm'' (garbage). | ||
Note that the last syllable ends in the otherwise inadmissible consonant cluster -CCC- | Note that the last syllable ends in the otherwise inadmissible consonant cluster -CCC-, a hallmark of the City Speaker dialect. | ||
|- | |- | ||
! se(ħ) | ! se(ħ) | ||
Line 2,533: | Line 2,727: | ||
! daffāk wanyūš | ! daffāk wanyūš | ||
| Dismissive | | Dismissive | ||
| A vulgar form of ''niyūšue'', predominant in the City Speaker dialect | | A vulgar form of ''niyūšue'', predominant in the City Speaker dialect. | ||
|- | |- | ||
! hamman | ! hamman | ||
| Dissent/Interruptive-Disapproval | | Dissent/Interruptive-Disapproval | ||
| Another Interruptive particle, used to convey strong dissent | | Another Interruptive particle, used to convey strong dissent. | ||
|- | |- | ||
! hayye | ! hayye | ||
Line 2,592: | Line 2,786: | ||
| Assertive | | Assertive | ||
| This is properly an interjection and appears at the end of the sentence ''without'' a ''wa='' Connective. When used in conjunction with a verb marked with the Irrealis, ''ka'' transforms the sentence into the Emphatic Imperative (see below). Outside the Emphatic Imperative, this particle is otherwise rare, appearing only in Classical Minhast and some extremely conservative varieties of the Salmon Speaker dialect. The ''ka'' particle also has variants that appear as verbal affixes, e.g. ''-ka-'',''-kka'' and ''-nka''. These affixes are also rare, again appearing mostly in Classical Minhast and conservative Salmon Speaker subdialects. | | This is properly an interjection and appears at the end of the sentence ''without'' a ''wa='' Connective. When used in conjunction with a verb marked with the Irrealis, ''ka'' transforms the sentence into the Emphatic Imperative (see below). Outside the Emphatic Imperative, this particle is otherwise rare, appearing only in Classical Minhast and some extremely conservative varieties of the Salmon Speaker dialect. The ''ka'' particle also has variants that appear as verbal affixes, e.g. ''-ka-'',''-kka'' and ''-nka''. These affixes are also rare, again appearing mostly in Classical Minhast and conservative Salmon Speaker subdialects. | ||
|- | |||
! ussa | |||
| Assertive-Immediacy | |||
| Usually translated as "now", this particle differs from ''attim'' "now, just recently" in that it is restricted to hortatives or imperatives. Example: ''Attim wakkirišmattimmaran'' "We just spoke to each other", vs. ''Ussa kirimtahaš'' "Say something, now!" | |||
|- | |- | ||
! nikā' | ! nikā' | ||
Line 2,611: | Line 2,809: | ||
! ni, nī | ! ni, nī | ||
| Interrogative-Polarity | | Interrogative-Polarity | ||
| Used for yes-no interrogative sentences, this particle is not bound in ''wa='' Connective structures, and can appear anywhere in a clause; the appearance of the ''ni'' particle is governed by scopal considerations, governing all elements, including clauses, to its left. This is a rare particle, appearing in Classical Minhast, | | Used for yes-no interrogative sentences, this particle is not bound in ''wa='' Connective structures, and can appear anywhere in a clause; the appearance of the ''ni'' particle is governed by scopal considerations, governing all elements, including clauses, to its left. This is a rare particle, appearing in: | ||
* Classical Minhast, where it is obligatory; | |||
* Occasionally in the Salmon Speaker dialects as the verb clitic ''=šni'' (a fusion of the Irrealis ''=š'' + ''ni'') to indicate incredulity, and requires the co-occurrence of the Mirative verbal affix ''-kil-''; | |||
* Pervasively in the Horse Speaker dialect, particularly when the speaker wishes to convey or emphasize assertiveness, or is simply older than the speech recipient; unless speaking to their parents and siblings, younger speakers must use the polite interruptive ''anda'' when using ''ni'', otherwise they will be considered rude. | |||
|- | |||
! ana | |||
| Interruptive-Deferred | |||
| Originally restricted to the Horse Speaker dialect, it has now been adopted into the City Speaker dialect; usually translated as, "wait a minute", "not now". Etymologically derived from ''anda''. | |||
|} | |} | ||
Line 2,664: | Line 2,869: | ||
The particle ''sukkādi'' has often been classified as an interjection that conveys the speaker's determination to carry out an act, but is always accompanied by a verb marked with either the ''-kilwāš-'', ''-kilmakš-'' or ''-rawāš-'' Mirative affixes. Since ''-rawāš-'' is itself a Mirative that indicates the speaker's determination, ''sukkādi'' would seem to be an intensifier. However, this interpretation is problematic as the Mirative affix is obligatory; the absence of the Mirative makes the statement ungrammatical. Native speakers who are fluent in foreign languages have difficulty explaining the meaning or role of the particle or come up with contradictory answers. It is interesting that the particle is observed among speakers of high status, so there appears to be sociolinguistic factors involved in its usage, but the exact nature has yet to be determined. | The particle ''sukkādi'' has often been classified as an interjection that conveys the speaker's determination to carry out an act, but is always accompanied by a verb marked with either the ''-kilwāš-'', ''-kilmakš-'' or ''-rawāš-'' Mirative affixes. Since ''-rawāš-'' is itself a Mirative that indicates the speaker's determination, ''sukkādi'' would seem to be an intensifier. However, this interpretation is problematic as the Mirative affix is obligatory; the absence of the Mirative makes the statement ungrammatical. Native speakers who are fluent in foreign languages have difficulty explaining the meaning or role of the particle or come up with contradictory answers. It is interesting that the particle is observed among speakers of high status, so there appears to be sociolinguistic factors involved in its usage, but the exact nature has yet to be determined. | ||
''Sukkādi'' does not require binding by the ''wa='' clitic; in fact ''wa | ''Sukkādi'' does not require binding by the ''wa='' clitic; in fact ''wa-''binding is rare in spoken speech; even in Classical Minhast literature, ''wa-'' binding is quite infrequent, if not as rare. The particle is quite mobile and can be inserted between any of the constituents of a clause. Its position in a clause appears to be totally independent of scopal considerations: | ||
{{Gloss | {{Gloss | ||
Line 2,674: | Line 2,879: | ||
}} | }} | ||
==== '' | ==== ''Wēš'' ==== | ||
''Wēš'' cannot be bound by the ''wa''- Construction. In terms of syntax, its position is quite free as ''sukkādi'' and has the same scopal qualities. ''Wēš'' is often translated as "well then", "come on", "therefore", or sometimes "we'll see". In some cases it appears to be mild hortative particle, but more often it seems to be an acknowledge that the topic of discussion remains unresolved, inevitable, or to indicate even resignation. This might explain why it is often translated as the conjunction "but" by native speakers: | |||
{{Gloss | {{Gloss | ||
|phrase = | |phrase = Karħawwaksakšarħakabampi wēš Ikkūne yentikarakyamikminesampiš | ||
|IPA = | |IPA = /karhaw:aksakʃarhakab'ampi weʃ ɪk:'u:nɛ yɛntɪkarakyamikminɛs'ampiʃ/ | ||
| morphemes = | | morphemes = kara-hawwak-sakšar-hak-ab-an-pi wēš Ikkūne yent-kara-kyam-km-nes-an-pi | ||
| gloss = | | gloss = PREP-confront-BEN.REFL-1P.INCL.ABS-IMPF-INTRANS-ANTI wēš leader still-PREP-aim.and.strike-3P.ABS-FUT-INTRANS-ANTI-IRREAL | ||
| translation = | | translation = We prepare the Resistance, but the Ikkūne still plan to strike ''OR'' We prepare the Resistance; I expect them to strike nonetheless. | ||
}} | }} | ||
Notice that ''wēš'', like ''wahēk'', appears to be a topic switcher and can invert the roles of the core arguments. | |||
Notice that ''wēš'', like ''wahēk'', appears to be a topic switcher and can invert the roles of the core arguments. | |||
<!-- | <!-- | ||
Line 2,730: | Line 2,905: | ||
=== Word Order === | === Word Order === | ||
Minhast is an SOV language, but within a clause, constituent order is quite free, although there are certain trends as well as restrictions. One noticeable trend is that core NPs | Minhast is an SOV language, but within a clause, constituent order is quite free, although there are certain trends as well as restrictions. One noticeable trend is that core NPs as arguments tend to be adjacent to each other. Oblique arguments tend to be placed after the core NPs but before, so that unmarked word order is SOXV (where X stands for the OBL argument). This observation can be verified statistically by reviewing of the corpus of texts and spoken speech, and this observation holds for almost 60%, close to one standard deviation of all text and recorded speech sampled. XSOV order is the second most common arrangement found, accounting for close to 20% of all observations. This order is typically used to introduce new information into the discourse. OSV and OSXV are used to emphasize the absolutive argument, accounting for 15%. OXSV orders tend to make speakers from the more conservative dialects in Upper Minhay cringe, although they will concede that those arrangements are grammatical. These arrangements account for the remaining 5% of observations. | ||
What is almost inviolable,at least in multi-clausal sentences, is the position of the verb's clause-final position. The main reason for this restriction is most likely because the verb, being extremely suffix-laden, includes clause-linking and coordinating affixes which occur in the Terminatives slot of the Minhast verb template. Thus, the verb serves to mark clause boundaries and coordinate compound and complex sentences, hence the predominance of the verb's clause-final position. Nevertheless, verbs do occur in non-final position under the following circumstances: | What is almost inviolable,at least in multi-clausal sentences, is the position of the verb's clause-final position. The main reason for this restriction is most likely because the verb, being extremely suffix-laden, includes clause-linking and coordinating affixes which occur in the Terminatives slot of the Minhast verb template. Thus, the verb serves to mark clause boundaries and coordinate compound and complex sentences, hence the predominance of the verb's clause-final position. Nevertheless, verbs do occur in non-final position under the following circumstances: | ||
Line 2,783: | Line 2,958: | ||
! and | ! and | ||
| suttu/sut<br/> [NP]=s + [NP]<br/> [NP]<sub>1</sub>=s + ...[NP]<sub>n</sub> + suttu | | suttu/sut<br/> [NP]=s + [NP]<br/> [NP]<sub>1</sub>=s + ...[NP]<sub>n</sub> + suttu | ||
| [Clause] <sub>1</sub>+ [Clause]<sub>2</sub> <br/>[ | | [Clause] <sub>1</sub>+ [Clause]<sub>2</sub> <br/>[Nominalized clause]<sub>1</sub> + suttu wa=[Clause]<sub>2</sub> | ||
|- | |- | ||
! but | ! but | ||
Line 2,791: | Line 2,966: | ||
! or | ! or | ||
| xan<br/> xandaš | | xan<br/> xandaš | ||
| [ | | [Nominalized clause]<sub>1</sub> + xan wa=[Nominalized clause]<sub>2</sub> | ||
|} | |} | ||
Line 2,800: | Line 2,975: | ||
|phrase =Alan wassakikmanaft, Ru'awwankan suttu wantaslapimmakikminesankilwašša | |phrase =Alan wassakikmanaft, Ru'awwankan suttu wantaslapimmakikminesankilwašša | ||
| IPA = | | IPA = | ||
| morphemes = Alan wassaki-km-an-aft, Ru'awwam | | morphemes = Alan wassaki-km-an-aft, Ru'awwam=kan suttu wa=nt-silap-mmak-km-nes-an-kilwaš=š | ||
| gloss = PN fell.dead.to.the.ground-3P.ABS-INTR-NMLZ and CONN=INTENS-ride-ASSOC-3P.ABS-FUT-INTR-MIR=IRREAL | | gloss = PN fell.dead.to.the.ground-3P.ABS-INTR-NMLZ PN=COMM and CONN=INTENS-ride-ASSOC-3P.ABS-FUT-INTR-MIR=IRREAL | ||
| translation = Alan (and Yešker) who were slain (that day), ''together'' may they ride hard with the Black Horse! ''("Rest in peace")'' | | translation = Alan (and Yešker) who were slain (that day), ''together'' may they ride hard with the Black Horse! ''("Rest in peace")'' | ||
}} | }} | ||
Line 2,826: | Line 3,001: | ||
| ''tazer min erakmast >> tazer min erak-mass=de '' (the birds' feathers) | | ''tazer min erakmast >> tazer min erak-mass=de '' (the birds' feathers) | ||
|- | |- | ||
! | ! Demonym NPs | ||
| NP= | | NP=DEMONYM + min + NP | ||
| ''Canadastim rakne''>> kanada=ast min rakne'' (Canadian tourists) | | ''Canadastim rakne''>> kanada=ast min rakne'' (Canadian tourists) | ||
|- | |- | ||
Line 2,976: | Line 3,151: | ||
{{Gloss | {{Gloss | ||
|phrase = | |phrase = sayyeššite | ||
| IPA = /saj: | | IPA = /saj:ɛʃ:'ɪtɛ/ | ||
| morphemes = sayyet- | | morphemes = sayyet-šši=de | ||
| gloss = sister-3FS.ACC+3MS.NOM=ERG | | gloss = sister-3FS.ACC+3MS.NOM=ERG | ||
| translation = His sister | | translation = His sister | ||
Line 3,011: | Line 3,186: | ||
| IPA = /asunkas:asakʃarɪskɛn:ɛs:a's:ɪ'ʃtɛ/ | | IPA = /asunkas:asakʃarɪskɛn:ɛs:a's:ɪ'ʃtɛ/ | ||
| morphemes = asum-kar-sakšar-skem-ness=š=de | | morphemes = asum-kar-sakšar-skem-ness=š=de | ||
| gloss = HAB- | | gloss = HAB-wheel-RFLX.BEN-3S.NEUT.INAN.NOM-FUT=IRR=ERG | ||
| translation = the car which they will be owning together | | translation = the car which they will be owning together | ||
}} | }} | ||
Line 3,019: | Line 3,194: | ||
| IPA = /asunkassakʃarɪskɛmartɛ/ | | IPA = /asunkassakʃarɪskɛmartɛ/ | ||
| morphemes = asum-kar-sakšar-skem-ar=de | | morphemes = asum-kar-sakšar-skem-ar=de | ||
| gloss = HAB- | | gloss = HAB-wheel-RFLX.BEN-3S.NEUT.INAN.NOM-PST=ERG | ||
| translation = their former car, the car that had once been theirs | | translation = their former car, the car that had once been theirs | ||
}} | }} | ||
Line 3,044: | Line 3,219: | ||
To express the Comparative, Minhast employs a very different structure than English. Minhast uses a two-clause construction. The Comparee occurs in the first clause and is in the Absolutive, with the Standard expressed as an oblique Dative argument. The verb for that clause is an intransitive attributive verb. This verb serves as the Quality and is linked to the second clause with the General Subordinative clitic ''=mā''. The second clause of the construction contains either the verb ''annuk-an-pi'' (to have the greater portion) or ''isp-an-pi'' (to have the lesser portion). These are the Marker verbs, and are detransitivized with the Antipassive marker ''-pi-'' in order to match the valency of the Quality verb. | To express the Comparative, Minhast employs a very different structure than English. Minhast uses a two-clause construction. The Comparee occurs in the first clause and is in the Absolutive, with the Standard expressed as an oblique Dative argument. The verb for that clause is an intransitive attributive verb. This verb serves as the Quality and is linked to the second clause with the General Subordinative clitic ''=mā''. The second clause of the construction contains either the verb ''annuk-an-pi'' (to have the greater portion) or ''isp-an-pi'' (to have the lesser portion). These are the Marker verbs, and are detransitivized with the Antipassive marker ''-pi-'' in order to match the valency of the Quality verb. | ||
The following example demonstrates a comparative clause construction: | |||
{{Gloss | |||
|phrase = Anyar Narramitaran šimūzabammā annukabampi | |||
| IPA = | |||
| morphemes = Anyar Narramit=aran šimūz-ab-an=mā annuk-ab-an-pi | |||
| gloss = Anyar=ABS Narramit=DAT to.be.hungry-IMPF-INTRANS=SUB have.greater.share-IMPF-INTRANS-ANTI | |||
| translation = Anyar is hungrier than Narramit <span style="font-style:normal">(lit. "Anyar compared to Narramit is hungry, he has the greater share").</span> | |||
}} | |||
The formation of the Superlative is rather straightforward in Minhast. It is similar to the Comparative clause structure, with few modifications. First, the Standard is dropped. The Dative oblique argument also dropped from the clause, and the Distributive affix is appended to both the Quality and the Marker verbs to indicate that the Quality extends across an entire set that implicitly represents the Standard, as in the sentence following sentence: | |||
{{Gloss | |||
|phrase = Anyar redadaran sararampā, paħpartarabammā annuktararan | |||
| IPA = | |||
| morphemes = Anyar redad=aran sar-ar-an-pi=mā paħpār-tar-ab-an=mā annuk-tar-ar-an | |||
| gloss = Anyar.ABS men=DAT see-PAST-INTRANS-ANTI=SUB to.be.tall-DISTR-IMPF-INTRANS | |||
| translation = Anyar saw (some) men, he was strong than them <span style="font-style:normal">(lit. "Anyar saw some men, he was strong ''across'' (each one)").</span> | |||
}} | |||
Notice that the agreement of transitivity between both the Quality and Marker verbs follow the standard rules of creating an S/O pivot to indicate that both Standard and Quality verbs refer to the same Absolutive argument. As far as Minhast is concerned, formation of a Comparative or Superlative phrase structure is simply another instance of valence operations that the language regularly employs. Thus, the Minhast structure for both Comparatives and Superlatives can be compared vis-a-vis English as follows: | Notice that the agreement of transitivity between both the Quality and Marker verbs follow the standard rules of creating an S/O pivot to indicate that both Standard and Quality verbs refer to the same Absolutive argument. As far as Minhast is concerned, formation of a Comparative or Superlative phrase structure is simply another instance of valence operations that the language regularly employs. Thus, the Minhast structure for both Comparatives and Superlatives can be compared vis-a-vis English as follows: | ||
Line 3,176: | Line 3,367: | ||
}} | }} | ||
For non-coreferent arguments as the O-argument, the other dialects nominalize the non-focus clause (the clause containing the secondary core argument of the entire discourse unit< | For non-coreferent arguments as the O-argument, the other dialects nominalize the non-focus clause (the clause containing the secondary core argument of the entire discourse unit<ref>A discourse unit is defined as a series of contiguous sentences where a clearly identifiable Subject is coreferential across all clauses in the sentence series.</ref>) embedded in the matrix clause, which corresponds to focus clause. The verb of the non-focus clause must also be transitivized by the Comitative Applicative ''-ngar-''. Other valence operations, such as NI and AF take place as necessary to maintain the S/O pivot which corresponds to the focus clause. | ||
{{Gloss | {{Gloss | ||
Line 3,184: | Line 3,375: | ||
| gloss = COM.APPL-eat-PST-IMPF-TRANS-NMLZ INVERSE.VOL-see-box-PST-IMPF-INTRANS | | gloss = COM.APPL-eat-PST-IMPF-TRANS-NMLZ INVERSE.VOL-see-box-PST-IMPF-INTRANS | ||
| translation = While the other one ate, he watched tv. ''(lit. "The one (non-focus) who ate beside him (focus), he (focus) tv-watched.")' | | translation = While the other one ate, he watched tv. ''(lit. "The one (non-focus) who ate beside him (focus), he (focus) tv-watched.")' | ||
}} | }} | ||
===== Purposive ===== | ===== Purposive ===== | ||
Line 3,213: | Line 3,401: | ||
{{Gloss | {{Gloss | ||
|phrase = | |phrase = Duxtim nukarpiyar ikšākekarampanamā ruwassektaharuš. | ||
|IPA = | |IPA = | ||
| morphemes = | | morphemes = duxt=min nukarpi=yar ikšāk-ek-ar-an-pi-namā ruwas-ektah-ar-u=š | ||
| gloss = three CONN day=ABL | | gloss = three=CONN day=ABL request-1S.ABS-PST-INTRANS-QUOT help-1S.ABS+2S.ERG-PST-TRANS=IRRREAL | ||
| translation = Three days ago I asked you for help. | | translation = Three days ago I asked you for help. <span style="font-style:normal"> (lit: "From three days I asked, 'You help me'").</span> | ||
}} | }} | ||
Line 3,223: | Line 3,411: | ||
{{Gloss | {{Gloss | ||
|phrase = | |phrase =Duxtim nukarpiyar hakminesaš. | ||
|IPA = | |IPA = | ||
| morphemes = | | morphemes =duxt=min nukarpi=yar ha-km-nes-an=š | ||
| gloss = three CONN day=ABL come-3P.ABS-FUT-INTRANS=IRREAL | | gloss = three=CONN day=ABL come-3P.ABS-FUT-INTRANS=IRREAL | ||
| translation = Three days from now they will have arrived. (lit: "From three days they will come") | | translation = Three days from now they will have arrived. <span style="font-style:normal">(lit: "From three days they will come")</span> | ||
}} | }} | ||
Line 3,233: | Line 3,421: | ||
{{Gloss | {{Gloss | ||
|phrase = Sapim duxt min | |phrase = Sapim duxt min nukarpiki intarsattabedustimmaraš. | ||
|IPA = | |IPA = | ||
| morphemes = Sap=im duxt min nukarpi=ki ntar-sattabe-dust-mm-ar-an=š | | morphemes = Sap=im duxt min nukarpi=ki ntar-sattabe-dust-mm-ar-an=š | ||
Line 3,241: | Line 3,429: | ||
Note that the only differentiation between "ago" and "from now" is the verb tense. For "during", the demonstrative may be omitted, but in actual speech and texts the demonstrative appears more frequently than in the omitted construction. | Note that the only differentiation between "ago" and "from now" is the verb tense. For "during", the demonstrative may be omitted, but in actual speech and texts the demonstrative appears more frequently than in the omitted construction. | ||
== Special Topics == | |||
This article is a broad description of the Minhast language, but there are special topics that deserve their own article. Minhast morphosyntax especially is described in even finer detail. | |||
* [[Minhast/Dialectology|Dialectology]] | |||
* [[Minhast/Noun Incorporation|Noun Incorporation]] | |||
* [[Minhast/Diachronic Changes|Diachronic Changes]] | |||
== Idiomatic Phrases == | == Idiomatic Phrases == | ||
Line 3,254: | Line 3,449: | ||
* ''Hambin bāk wa=...'' It's none of your business (that)... | * ''Hambin bāk wa=...'' It's none of your business (that)... | ||
* ''Hambin bak wattāħ!'' It's none of your business! | * ''Hambin bak wattāħ!'' It's none of your business! | ||
* '' | * ''Hambakkattāħ!/Hambaktaħ!'' It's none of your business! (City Speaker slang, contraction of ''Hambin bak wattāħ'') | ||
* ''Ēlā hatā' min ādan?'' You can't make up your mind, can you? (lit. "The yes and no of which?", the rational deriving from "Yes? No? Which one?" | * ''Ēlā hatā' min ādan?'' You can't make up your mind, can you? (lit. "The yes and no of which?", the rational deriving from "Yes? No? Which one?" | ||
* ''Lātimbān?'' You can't make up your mind, can you? (City Speaker slang, contraction of ''Ēlā hatā' min ādan'' | * ''Lātimbān?'' You can't make up your mind, can you? (City Speaker slang, contraction of ''Ēlā hatā' min ādan'') | ||
* ''Matti wabbakš?'' And your point is? | * ''Matti wabbakš?'' And your point is? | ||
* ''Humme wattāħ/wattaħtem!'' Hail!! | * ''Humme wattāħ/wattaħtem!'' Hail!! | ||
Line 3,265: | Line 3,460: | ||
* ''Aktamtamaš!'' Bon appetit (lit. "Enjoy the taste of your food, y'all") | * ''Aktamtamaš!'' Bon appetit (lit. "Enjoy the taste of your food, y'all") | ||
* ''Saššattarħaknessāš'' Good bye (lit. "We shall see each other soon.") | * ''Saššattarħaknessāš'' Good bye (lit. "We shall see each other soon.") | ||
* ''Āš min nayafnayār...'' Five years ago (lit. "From five years") | |||
== Texts == | == Texts == | ||
Line 3,279: | Line 3,475: | ||
# Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.<br/><br/> | # Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.<br/><br/> | ||
# Mattim šūmī min kirim šarraktī, irriyērum kastarmaharaban. | # Mattim šūmī min kirim šarraktī, irriyērum kastarmaharaban.<br/>matti=min šūmī=min kirim šarrat=kī, irriyērum kas-tar-mah-ar-ab-an | ||
# Wahēk, redad wayyaħna min ambunistikī yalkikmiraban, Šinarkī takušš naħkisaššiatikkenaru, sappu. | # Wahēk, redad wayyaħna min ambunistikī yalkikmiraban, Šinarkī takušš naħkisaššiatikkenaru, sappu.<br/>wahēk redad wayyaħna=min ambunisti=kī yalki-km-ar-ab-an šinar=kī takušš naħk-saššia-tikken-ar-u sappu | ||
# Indikirišmattararannamā: "Iggar išpisaxtakyatapirmannēruš." Mattim iggar, hambin banak. Mattim issik, hambin nayyapi. | # Indikirišmattararannamā: "Iggar išpisaxtakyatapirmannēruš." Mattim iggar, hambin banak. Mattim issik, hambin nayyapi.<br/>nd-kirim-šattar-ar-an=namā iggar šp-saxt-akyat-āpir-manne-ar-u=š, matti=min iggar hambi=min banak, matti=min issik, hambi=min nayyapi. | ||
# Indikirišmattararannamā: "Hawassabummurratħakaš, šuxtānaran tuyye amandimahampinaft hawassaptirħakuš. Hintirissakšarmakkakannimmāš šarratim suharaktikī | # Indikirišmattararannamā: "Hawassabummurratħakaš, šuxtānaran tuyye amandimahampinaft hawassaptirħakuš. Hintirissakšarmakkakannimmāš šarratim suharaktikī tandikaħsaħpitarikmaš."<br/>nd-kirim-šattar-ar-an=namā, hawassab-ummurrat-ħak-an=š, šuxtān=aran tuyye amandi-mahan-pi=naft hawassab-tirħak-u=š, <hintiris>-sakšar-makkak-an=nimmā=š šarrat=min suharak=de=kī ta=nd-kaħ-saħp-tar-km-an=š. | ||
# Wahēk, Šuxtānim Ikkūne hārannimā, ummurrat sut tuyyēran sararampi, išpiħyimannarunaft sarmannaru. | # Wahēk, Šuxtānim Ikkūne hārannimā, ummurrat sut tuyyēran sararampi, išpiħyimannarunaft sarmannaru. | ||
# Wahēk, Šuxtānim Ikkūne kirimarannamā: "Sapim redad šūmikman, šūmī min kirimaran ittaħšikman, indikanawikmabampi, rearan markanawikminesampiš." | # Wahēk, Šuxtānim Ikkūne kirimarannamā: "Sapim redad šūmikman, šūmī min kirimaran ittaħšikman, indikanawikmabampi, rearan markanawikminesampiš." | ||
Line 3,289: | Line 3,485: | ||
# Attim waggabgabalaram hittinristirħaku, Šuxtānim Ikkūnē kirimseššente išpikšempiharu, šarrat min suharaktillidēran išpiknatarkennaru. | # Attim waggabgabalaram hittinristirħaku, Šuxtānim Ikkūnē kirimseššente išpikšempiharu, šarrat min suharaktillidēran išpiknatarkennaru. | ||
=== | === Kaymawākan === | ||
This | This epic Wolf Speaker song tells the story of Kaymawākan, the Ghost Deer. He died many years ago, when he was a doe who had given birth to a fawn. A hunter slew her daughter, an egregious act of ''innūy''. She died of heartbreak, but rather than returning to the ''Turħatūman'', the Spirit World, she roamed the earth in mourning. One day she vowed revenge, and she twisted the smoke<ref>A shamanic ritual whereby the shaman lights a fire and moves their hand through the smoke as if weaving.</ref> and transformed into a mighty buck. From that point on, he pursued hunters who intruded into his realm, the mighty mountains of the Kilmay Rī. To this day, Wolf Speakers come upon frozen corpses with multiple stab wounds, the snow around them stained with bloody hoof prints. | ||
Sappim birīh suttu yiptikī asumambunekan; | |||
Kimalaški asumambunekan | |||
Wakpe intasuntakkimannaft | |||
Naħkasumambunku | |||
Wayhekī | |||
Šarrat tarampilaban. | |||
<blockquote> | Wahek, matti makkutirtaħte, | ||
Sappu waamburrunataharan | |||
Saxtidutyatawamtaħkaru, | |||
"Bakran tamaškektahabu?" | |||
Kirišmararannamā, "Nakkitaħš?" | |||
Hambin xānim kayyūn marišpinušillekmahu | |||
Išpihipsalasibbatittaharu | |||
Kiantittaħte dustindirupputahekaru | |||
Kianki šullumtahekaru, | |||
Mattitittaħte amandisiħtirkaru | |||
Tamarsartakaru, | |||
Wahek mattitittaħte amandisiħtirkaru | |||
Išpikyamšarekaran, | |||
Bastetallutsakšarekaran. | |||
Išpintahuslapallutsakšarekaran, | |||
Bašbayāk bastetallutsakšarekaran | |||
Wahek, marwastanaft | |||
Tarasmanesaššawaš | |||
Tuytahatahanaft, | |||
Išpisaššarankilwāš | |||
Kimalaš tatannuykiwataħpitahan | |||
Sap ambunkimalaštahaban | |||
Nuskikungaħtakkultasnabu | |||
Eyha, wahek kadduttahan! | |||
Rubwakankilwāš, | |||
Hittitittaharu wammīn | |||
Kahallatalluttartaharan | |||
Yiptia naħkkahallatalluttartaharu | |||
Išnittaħšimattahabu | |||
Yusnakarrawaš. | |||
Inditamaškataku, | |||
Hatā' martubbataban | |||
Wahek, yiptiki kaddutahan | |||
Eyhak, nirraktaku, | |||
Waheki umyasalluttakukilwāš | |||
Suyyeknataħte kuddumtaku | |||
Šandaħtahan, | |||
Eyha, wastane dawapabammā, | |||
Išpiskaħyiptian... | |||
Bisiraztakummā, | |||
Waheki mattuyekammā, | |||
Iħtaššarekan. | |||
Sappu wahunnetirekte, | |||
Naš waššumbattaħte. | |||
Waheki iħtaħšittallutekaban, | |||
Kuttariyekaban, | |||
Waheki hištarkeħretahaban, | |||
Huttuytirekte dāwapwastanemahabanaft, sartirtahabu. | |||
--------------------- | |||
Translation | |||
--------------------- | |||
Among these mountains I walk this path | |||
In the deep snow | |||
In the depths of the forest | |||
Where the pines grow thick; | |||
The land sleeps | |||
Under this white blanket. | |||
Then I see your tracks, | |||
You walked this path not long ago; | |||
You strike my curiosity; | |||
Why are you following me? | |||
I ask myself where you are, | |||
A question only these trees can answer. | |||
A rustle alerts me, | |||
I turn in the direction | |||
Where I first heard you; | |||
I sense your presence | |||
Although I cannot see you, | |||
I know you are here. | |||
I ready myself | |||
I ready my weapons; | |||
I have honed them meticulously, | |||
I have honed each their killing edge; | |||
That which bleeds shall not survive | |||
These sharpened edges. | |||
In your overconfidence | |||
You foolishly reveal yourself, | |||
But you walk these woods | |||
Not knowing the dangers | |||
That await you in the forest, | |||
Thus you slip on the ice. | |||
I seize this opportune advantage | |||
You foolishly granted me, | |||
Your weapons are now scattered | |||
Spread across the snow; | |||
You run to reclaim them | |||
But it is too late for you. | |||
I give chase, | |||
You cannot outrun me; | |||
You stumble and fall, | |||
Now I stand over you; | |||
I plunge down my weapons, | |||
They pierce your heart. | |||
You crawl away, | |||
Your blood spills, | |||
It colors the snow red; | |||
I charge at you again, | |||
I stab you once again, | |||
Then I step back and watch. | |||
Your bow lies here | |||
And your arrows lie there, | |||
But I still hold onto my weapons; | |||
I shake them at you | |||
As you give me the deathstare; | |||
My antlers dripping with your blood are the last thing you see. | |||
=== Urasmaran Niniwāzintaheknesuš - "I Will Shoot the Stars for You" === | |||
This Horse Speaker song, beloved by many Speakers across Minhay, has many variations, but this Wolf Speaker rendition is the most popular one. | |||
<blockquote> | |||
Yaxna išpiduħtawassapsespirekaran | |||
<br/> Išpikmizekabunimmā silapkālampiš | |||
<br/> Yakaran unnuzarampi, takki amandirumpakaran. | |||
<br/> Ittašširedadeknenaru, ittašširedadekaru. | |||
<br/> Ezyatarnesrikemmikte tahaswattehakkemaru, | |||
<br/> Gāl min Kirmastek, suttu Dūy min Kirmast wammīn. | |||
<br/> Wahēk, yattušattarammabammā, tazem aydakyukkuraraban. | |||
<br/> Gālinnaran rununkarabampi, reyriktaran beytāksabbiekarampi. | |||
<br/> Wahēk, sisiblūlaran durdakimmaran, karaktirimmideki raknetaraban, | |||
<br/> Intapayradnennaru, utumtakaraban. | |||
<br/> Išpiyašekarumā, wahēk iħmatekte kirinnamā, "Henkutaharaš?" | |||
<br/> Wahēk, rakne Hanim kirim indikirimaraban, | |||
<br/> Intasunikmiskirimimman; | |||
<br/> Irriyērummannide tarak, | |||
<br/> Bitummakimmandūr. | |||
<br/> Wahēk, indeškiabaran, innuntuannimannarabammā, | |||
<br/> Kirkarimabannamā: "Hatā' warredad tanakkurikmabaškilmakš! | |||
<br/> "Hatā' warredad tapuħtatakimmakikmabaškilmakš!" | |||
<br/> "Sapim kayhata tartararak suttu kuldukuradak! Wahēk, marrattanessaš, warrā'e! | |||
<br/> "Iknapirtannessaš!" | |||
<br/> Wahēk, iħmatekte neššimaran tamarkirimrērum wakkeyl; | |||
<br/> Ittaħšikunnarayarammā ušinnassadarampikilwāš! | |||
<br/> Indihayrahabammā, indiniššukaraban, haznam gubburād wayyattax! | |||
<br/> Wahēk, iħmatekte biarammā kirimnamā, "Ayayakiššultahaš, ayayahunnetahaš wammek | |||
<br/> "Sisiblūl muškiniššukhakuš." | |||
<br/> Baxtutekaran, duštullumekaru. | |||
<br/> Muntehimmaran, wahēk kirimnamā, "Gālekte, karurasmeknesuš?" | |||
<br/> Wahēk, išpikaħmadruppumakeknenumā nakkureknaru. | |||
<br/> Kirmekarunamā: "Urasmaran niniwāzintaheknesuš!" | |||
<br/> Wahēk, Minhayki tasungesmeku haznam gubburād taktirt. | |||
</blockquote> | |||
=== Sapim Tayatta ("This Poison") === | |||
This is a Horse Speaker poem, also known as “The Shaman Answers the Friar” | |||
<blockquote> | |||
Matti waddanua hittimtaru,<br/> | Matti waddanua hittimtaru,<br/> | ||
Tayatta min dannua išpisassambelampi.<br/> | Tayatta min dannua išpisassambelampi.<br/> | ||
Line 3,409: | Line 3,774: | ||
</blockquote> | </blockquote> | ||
=== Šānī min Kuhakna Annamikmanaft Laxmakkikman - "Two Cranky Old Men" === | === Šānī min Kuhakna Annamikmanaft Laxmakkikman - "Two Cranky Old Men" === | ||
The Vadi texts from the [[Vadi#Example_texts|''Kalapái Scriptum'']] consist of correspondence involving two Vadi-speaking farmers who were embroiled in a boundary dispute between their neighboring properties near the end of the nineteenth century. The majority of the texts consist of letters laced with insults and ad-hominems between the neighbors, Sorvin and Éro, with increasing pettiness and immaturity as their lawsuit dragged on. Another set consist of correspondence to Dog Speaker neighbors who could translate Vadi to Minhast. These letters were appeals to the prefect, accompanied with maps and other documentation supporting their territorial claims, in hopes that the prefect would issue a judgment to the respective plaintiff. | The Vadi texts from the [[Vadi#Example_texts|''Kalapái Scriptum'']] consist of correspondence involving two Vadi-speaking farmers who were embroiled in a boundary dispute between their neighboring properties near the end of the nineteenth century. The majority of the texts consist of letters laced with insults and ad-hominems between the neighbors, Sorvin and Éro, with increasing pettiness and immaturity as their lawsuit dragged on. Another set consist of correspondence to Dog Speaker neighbors who could translate Vadi to Minhast. These letters were appeals to the prefect, accompanied with maps and other documentation supporting their territorial claims, in hopes that the prefect would issue a judgment to the respective plaintiff. | ||
The prefect, Baraz min Annu, found himself unwillingly dragged into the fray, as the dispute was causing havoc in Sakkeb Prefecture, his childhood home. The prefect finally intervened after a forest fire, purportedly caused by arson by one of the litigants, broke out and spread to the outskirts of Reštem Township before being put out by a fortuitous rainstorm. | The prefect, Baraz min Annu, found himself unwillingly dragged into the fray, as the dispute was causing havoc in Sakkeb Prefecture, his childhood home. The prefect finally intervened after a forest fire, purportedly caused by arson by one of the litigants, broke out and spread to the outskirts of Reštem Township before being put out by a fortuitous rainstorm. | ||
Prefect Annu was known as a fair and progressive leader of his day, but the squabble aggravated him immensely, as his nephew Taššir recorded in his unfinished satirical novel. The Minhast texts from the prefectural records and Taššir's writings did not provide any direct linguistic information on the now-extinct language, but are valuable in their own right as historical material of Dog Speaker Country from the pre-Unification era. | Prefect Annu was known as a fair and progressive leader of his day, but the squabble aggravated him immensely, as his nephew Taššir recorded in his unfinished satirical novel. The Minhast texts from the prefectural records and Taššir's writings did not provide any direct linguistic information on the now-extinct language, but are valuable in their own right as historical material of Dog Speaker Country from the pre-Unification era. | ||
==== Hayyur's Complaint ==== | ==== Hayyur's Complaint ==== | ||
Hayyur, a Dog Speaker from Sakkeb Prefecture, wrote a letter to his Prefect, begging to be released from his service as a courier between the [[Vadi#Introduction|Vadi]] litigants quarreling in a land dispute in the late 19th century. The following text is from a passage indicating his increasing frustration with his Vadi neighbors: | Hayyur, a Dog Speaker from Sakkeb Prefecture, wrote a letter to his Prefect, begging to be released from his service as a courier between the [[Vadi#Introduction|Vadi]] litigants quarreling in a land dispute in the late 19th century. The following text is from a passage indicating his increasing frustration with his Vadi neighbors: | ||
{{Gloss | {{Gloss | ||
|phrase = Sapim naridim kuhakna, bakran iyyatixrisipsapsuħraktartirkabukilmaksaš? | |phrase = Sapim naridim kuhakna, bakran iyyatixrisipsapsuħraktartirkabukilmaksaš? | ||
| IPA = | | IPA = | ||
| morphemes = sap=im narid=im kuhakna bakran yyat-xr-sipsab-suħrak-tar-tirek-ab-u-kilmaksa=š | | morphemes = sap=im narid=im kuhakna bakran yyat-xr-sipsab-suħrak-tar-tirek-ab-u-kilmaksa=š | ||
| gloss = PROX.DEM=CONN old.men=CONN fool why NEC-ITER-transport-paper.item-DISTR-3S.INAN.ACC+1S.NOM-IMPF-TRNS-MIR.FRUSTRATION=IRR | | gloss = PROX.DEM=CONN old.men=CONN fool why NEC-ITER-transport-paper.item-DISTR-3S.INAN.ACC+1S.NOM-IMPF-TRNS-MIR.FRUSTRATION=IRR | ||
| translation = These stupid old men, why must I keep on going back on forth bringing them their letters? | | translation = These stupid old men, why must I keep on going back on forth bringing them their letters? | ||
}} | |||
==== Prefect Baraz min Annu Berating Sorvin ==== | |||
Baraz min Taššir, the nephew of Prefect Annu, upon hearing his uncle complain on multiple times of the troublesome Vadi litigants, became quite fascinated about the farmers' dispute and their subsequent machinations. In one of the chapters of his unpublished novel, he confessed of eavesdropping on various meetings between the prefect and the two litigants. The following passage is an excerpt from his book "Two Cranky Old Farmers": | |||
{{Gloss | |||
|phrase = Tašpintaknataheknessuš, tašpintaknaknessuš. Marentaħmankilmakš, yattax! Ikšitamaškidustitahemāš! | |||
| IPA = | |||
| morphemes = ta-šp-nt-kna-tahek-ness-u=š ta-šp-nt-kna-k-ness-u=š maren-taħm-an-kilmakš yattax kš-tamašk-dust-tahem-an=š | |||
| gloss = NEG-CAUS-INT-go-2S.ACC+1S.NOM-FUT-TRNS=IRR NEG-CAUS-INT-go-3S.ACC+1S.NOM-TRNS=IRR be.pest-2P.NOM-INTR-MIR.FRUSTRATION DEPR CESS-stalk.and.hunt-REC.ADVERS-2P.NOM-INTR=IRR | |||
| translation = I don't plan on throwing you off your land, and I'm not planning on throwing him off his land. You two pests should leave each other alone! | |||
}} | |||
==== Ikkūne Mikayayya min Nattaxxawan's Jest ==== | |||
Ikkūne Nattaxxawan, the supreme leader of Salmon Speaker Country, was on his way to Prefect Annu's office to discuss the events of the Hara Incident. He and his entourage had to take a detour from the main road, which had been washed out by a typhoon. They encountered Sorvin, as the path from his farm intersected the narrow road Nattaxxawan's party had taken. Nattaxxawan and his entourage ultimately ignored Sorvin and continued on their way to Biktāt, the prefectural capital. | |||
While having dinner with Annu, he spoke of Sorvin's tenaciousness, which included a pile of letters awaiting him in his guest quarters. Again, Taššir recorded the lawsuit-related events that transpired, this time between the Ikkūne of Salmon Speaker Country and the troublesome Vadi farmer: | |||
{{Gloss | |||
|phrase = Wahēki ambuntirtaħtemidde asuħmipsayalkimakkemunaft attiaħtimmahabu.<br/>Eyhā, redad saxtuxtikuldarabasaššinaft hanarammā, nembāħš kassirazarampisaššimā, <br/>intariknaksiraššumbatinnaru, intariknaksiraššuhapinnaru.<br/>Tayentisirazimmarummā, intaxrigabgabalaranaft sapim kuhakna šullumirrērumimmarunnamā:<br/>Ēru min nirzennide min uyākašire iyyatišpinuskikaddaramtuš mek, nesit min akkikī. <br/>Sassiduktirinnennuwaššanamā: sattabemtuška.<br/>Tašakšullumrrērummarampā, kibbutimmarammā, išpiyašnennarummā, intašmuzimmaran, wammīn. <br/>Wahēk, Biktātaran hammaran, eyhā addum suharakaran intaduštirkaktarukil dustaššakmarabukil.<br/>Surfun min sespirennide širkatennarunamāš:<br/>Irriyērum išpihepraħtahuš, Nankikkūnēran, mek. <br/>Kirimtahannamāš: Ēru nehiktahunnimmāš, <br/>tasummakidde sespirkiddeki išpitirtahudūš.<br/>Kaslub min Kirmastim Karak min redad šarkirimarabannamā<br/>sisiblūl min ikkūne nankikkūnedaħš marsakkēdarrērunnessaš! | |||
| IPA = | |||
| morphemes = <br/>wahēki ambun-tirtaħtem=de asum-hipsa-yalk-makkem-u=naft attiaħ-timmah-ab-u<br/>saxt-tuxtikuld-ar-ab-an-sašš=naft han-ar-an-mā nem=dāħš kar-siraz-ar-an-pi-sašš-mā<br/> ntar-knak-siraz-šumbat-nn-ar-u ntar-knak-siraz-šuhap-nn-ar-u<br/>ta-yent-siraz-mm-ar-u-mā nt-xr-gabgabal-ar-an=naft sap=min kuhakna šullum-irrērum-mm-ar-u-namā<br/>Ēru min uyākašire min niriz=enn=de yyat-šp-nusk-kaddara-mt-u=š mek nesit min akk=ki<br/> sassi-dut-kirim-nenn-u-wašša=namā sattabe-mt-u-ška<br/>ta-šak-šullum-irrērum-mm-ar-an-pi-mā kibbut-mm-ar-an-mā šp-yaš-nenn-ar-u-mā nt-šimūz-mm-ar-an wammīn<br/>wahēk biktāt hā-mm-ar-an eyhā addua min suharak=aran nt-dut-širkat-ek-ar-u dut-sašši-ar-ab-u-kil<br/>surfun min sespir-enn-de širkat-enn-ar-u=namā=š<br>irriyērum šp-hepraħ-tah-u=š nankikkūne=aran mek <br/>kirim-tah-an-namā=š ēru mek neħk-tah-u-nimmā=š tasum=mak=de sespir=k=de=ki šp-bi-tirtah-u-dūr=š<br/>kaslub min kirim=ast=min karak min redad šar-kirim-ar-ab-an-namā<br/>sisiblūl min ikkūne nankikkūne=daħš mar-sakkēda-rrērum-ness-an=š | |||
| gloss = <br/>so road-2S.ACC+3P.NOM=ERG HAB-MITG-walk-3P.ACC+3P.NOM-TRN=NMZ be.burden.upon-3P.INAN.ACC+3P.INAN.NOM-IMPF-TRN<br/>behold man INCH-bite.disease-INTR-SEMBL=NMZ come-PST-INTR-SUBORD 1P.EXCL=MAL PREP-attack-PST-INTR-ANTI-SEMBL-SUBORD<br/>INCIP-REACT-attack-arrow-3MS.ACC+1P.EXCL.NOM-PST-TRN INCIP-REACT-attack-sword-3MS.ACC+1P.EXCL.NOM-PST-TRN<br/>NEG=however-attack-3MS.ACC+1P.EXCL.NOM-PST-TRN-SUBORD INT-ITER-babble-IMPF-PST-INTR=NMZ DEM.PROX=CONN fool hear-words-3MS.ACC+1P.EXCL.NOM-IMPF-TRN=QUOT PN CONN name=3S.ANIM.ACC+3MS.NOM=ERG CONN <br/>bandit NEC-CAUS-MAL.APPL-happen-3MS.ACC+2P.NOM-TRN=IRR please<br/>brook CONN river.intersection=LOC DESID2-DAT.APPL-say-1S.ACC+3MS.NOM-PST-TR-INFER=QUOT kill-3MS.ACC+2P.NOM=TRN=EMPH.IMP<br/>NEG-DESID-hear-word-1P.EXCL.NOM-PST-INTR-ANTI-SUBORD <br/>pass.through-1P.EXCL.NOM-PST-INTR-SUBORD CAUS-stop-1P.EXCL.ACC+3MS.NOM-PST-TRN-SUBORD INT-hungry-1P.EXCL.NOM-PST-INTR that.is.why<br/>behold place.name COMPL-come-1P.EXCL.NOM-PST <br/>behold place.name=DAT come-1P.EXCL.NOM-PST-INTR behold many CONN letter=DAT INT-DAT.APPL-wrote-1S.ACC+3MS.NOM-PST-TRN-MIR.UNEXPECTED <br/>DAT.APPL-sit-1S.ACC+3P.INAN-PST-IMPF-TRN-MIR.UNEXPECTED<br/>PN CONN hand-3S.ANIM.ACC+3MS.NOM=ERG write-3S.ANIM.ACC+3MS.NOM-PST-TRN=QUOT<br/>word CAUS-good-3S.INAN.ACC+2S.NOM-TRN-SUBORD=IRR prefect PN=DAT please <br/>say-2S.NOM-INTR=QUOT=IRR PN please throw.away-3MS.ACC+2S.NOM-TRN-PURP=IRR field-3P.INAN.ACC+1S.NOM=ERG hand-3P.ANIM.ACC+1S.NOM=ERG=LOC CAUS-return-3P.INAN.ACC+2P.NOM-TRN-RSLT-IRR<br/>dog CONN speak=DNYM=CONN tribal.territory CONN man RFLX-says-3S.NOM-PST-IMPF-INTR=QUOT<br/> foreigner CONN regional.leader district.leader=MAL ABIL-win-word-FUT-INTR=IRR<br/> | |||
| translation = I see you have a problem of lawlessness in some of your less travelled roads. A man, apparently suffering from a rabid dog bite, ambushed my party. Some of us nearly shot him full of arrows, and others nearly ran him through with their šuhapna. But we held fast and listened to this yapping fool tell us to do something about a dangerous bandit named Eró lurking just beyond the crossing at the brook. I imagine he wanted me to have him put to death. We ignored him, as we were very hungry and were already impatient with this delay. <br/><br/>Strange then it is when after we arrived here safely at Biktāt, I find a pile of letters waiting for me. Letters from a man named Sorvin pleading me to "put in a kind word to Prefect Annu" to have Éro "disposed of", and that the lands that Éro had stolen be returned back to him. Apparently this citizen of Dog Speaker Country thinks that the authority of his own Prefect can be overriden by the word of a foreign Ikkūne! | |||
}} | }} | ||
=== | === Dūy Yakmani "Salmon for Yakma Soup" === | ||
Early in the morning, I was fishing and caught a salmon in the Kashmak River. It was a big, fat one, and I knew it would make good yakma soup for dinner. So I killed it and put it in my basket, and I began my journey home, heading up the mountain carrying the salmon over my shoulder, but then I saw storm-clouds and soon the rains began to pelt me. I found a small cave and took shelter in it, and then I took out the salmon and lay it aside so I could make a fire. I took the salmon out and began to clean it, it was a female and filled with roe. | |||
Ayakna ubarrāsekabampamā, dūyaran ehahekampi, kašmakki ehaheku, arruššan sakwaštan, yakmaran saxtihayyuštinesaš, saxtimurrešnesašnaft irraktuyeku, wahēk intušindūyekan, ayayadūyekan, indiknatūmanekammā, hūraran indiħyekan, reyriaktipār sipsambuyekammā, iyuššitaran sarekampamā, intadutyusapakmahummā, dumyaharan sarekampi, yapkekan, uzzattuyekan, bastettuyekanimmā, isangarekan. Wahēk, uzzatekunimmā, inditayyisakšareku, alluakan. | |||
==== | == Addenda == | ||
=== Footnotes=== | |||
{{reflist}} | |||
=== Table of Abbreviations === | |||
== Table of Abbreviations == | |||
{| class="bluetable lightbluebg sortable mw-collapsible" | {| class="bluetable lightbluebg sortable mw-collapsible" | ||
Line 3,486: | Line 3,860: | ||
! style="text-align:left" | OBL | ! style="text-align:left" | OBL | ||
| Oblique argument | | Oblique argument | ||
|- | |- | ||
! style="text-align:left" | NOM | ! style="text-align:left" | NOM | ||
Line 3,544: | Line 3,915: | ||
| Partitive | | Partitive | ||
|- | |- | ||
! style="text-align:left" | | ! style="text-align:left" | REFL | ||
| Reflexive | | Reflexive | ||
|- | |- | ||
Line 3,635: | Line 4,006: | ||
|} | |} | ||
== Credits == | === Credits === | ||
I would like to thank [[User:Nicolasstraccia|Nicolás Straccia]] for providing me inspiration and help on developing the Minhast dialectology. | I would like to thank [[User:Nicolasstraccia|Nicolás Straccia]] for providing me inspiration and help on developing the Minhast dialectology. | ||
== | === External Websites === | ||
Future Official Website at Conlangs.org (a work in progress): | |||
https://minhast.conlang.org/ | |||
==== YouTube ==== | |||
= | |||
=== YouTube === | |||
Music Videos: | Music Videos: | ||
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sed5FRn1sGU Urasmaran Niniwāzintaheknesuš "I Will Shoot Even the Stars For You" (cc)] | *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sed5FRn1sGU Urasmaran Niniwāzintaheknesuš "I Will Shoot Even the Stars For You" (cc)] | ||
Line 3,650: | Line 4,018: | ||
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlMott2bDhE Yusap min Laham "Rain Song" (cc)] | *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlMott2bDhE Yusap min Laham "Rain Song" (cc)] | ||
=== Sound Cloud === | ==== Sound Cloud ==== | ||
*[https://soundcloud.com/nickcamporillo/the-black-horse-carries-my-beloved-with-drum The Black Horse Carries My Beloved] | *[https://soundcloud.com/nickcamporillo/the-black-horse-carries-my-beloved-with-drum The Black Horse Carries My Beloved] | ||
*[https://soundcloud.com/nickcamporillo/gaggadi-min-sumbatide-a-thousand-arrows Gaggādi min Sumbātide "A Thousand Arrows"] | *[https://soundcloud.com/nickcamporillo/gaggadi-min-sumbatide-a-thousand-arrows Gaggādi min Sumbātide "A Thousand Arrows"] | ||
*[https://soundcloud.com/nickcamporillo/a-mothers-tale?in=nickcamporillo/sets/minhast-songs Menā' min Darattillide "A Mother's Tale"] | *[https://soundcloud.com/nickcamporillo/a-mothers-tale?in=nickcamporillo/sets/minhast-songs Menā' min Darattillide<ref>On 1/2023, the 3NEUT.INAMIM + 3FS affix was changed to '-tišš-' to create a diachronic link with Nankôre, via the Nankôre-Minhast sound correspondence -r-/-šš- . So the realised form is "Darrattiššide"</ref> "A Mother's Tale"] | ||
=== Mirrors === | ==== Blogs ==== | ||
Tumblr: | |||
[https://suyampamit.tumblr.com/ Suyampamit] | |||
==== Mirrors ==== | |||
The Minhast language is mirrored at these other sites | The Minhast language is mirrored at these other sites | ||
edits