640
edits
Thangha': Difference between revisions
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
→Verbs: Default Voice
(Verbs started) |
(→Verbs: Default Voice) |
||
| Line 226: | Line 226: | ||
==Verbs== | ==Verbs== | ||
All verb conjugation is done using prefixes. Verbs do not inflect for tense, but [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telicity Telicity] plays a central role in verb conjugation. Verbs can also be inflected into a number of different grammatical voices: | All verb conjugation is done using prefixes. Verbs do not inflect for tense or mood, but [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telicity Telicity] plays a central role in verb conjugation. Verbs can also be inflected into a number of different grammatical voices: | ||
{| class="wikitable" | {| class="wikitable" | ||
| Line 240: | Line 240: | ||
| Adjutative || mʲaɲəʔpaⁿ- || ʎəpaⁿ- | | Adjutative || mʲaɲəʔpaⁿ- || ʎəpaⁿ- | ||
|} | |} | ||
===Default Voice=== | |||
====Transitive Sentences==== | |||
For transitive sentences, the most common word order is [Subject] Verb [Direct Object] [Prepositional Objects] e.g. | |||
/kʷəʔˈta-ɟa ʎə-ˈkəʔta ˈʀʷəʔtʷəʔ/ | |||
[kʷʊʔˈtæ-ɟæ ʎɪ-ˈkətːa ˈʁʷɔtːʷʊʔ] | |||
dog-ERG ATEL-bite bone.ABS | |||
The dog was biting a / the bone. | |||
Note that this construction is only used when a) the subject is definite (where English would use "the") and b) the subject is not topicalised (i.e. in cases where Japanese would use "ga" and not "wa"). See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topic_and_comment, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topic-prominent_language and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_grammar#Topic.2C_theme.2C_and_subject:_.E3.81.AF_wa_and_.E3.81.8C_ga. | |||
=====Subject Topicalisation===== | |||
In transitive sentences where the subject is definite and is also topicalised (i.e. in a case where English would mark it with "the" , and Japanese would mark it with "wa"), the subject takes the absolutive case e.g. | |||
/kʷəʔˈta ʎə-ˈkəʔta ˈʀʷəʔtʷəʔ/ | |||
[kʷʊˈtːa ʎɪ-ˈkətːa ˈʁʷɔtːʷʊʔ] | |||
dog ATEL-bite bone.ABS | |||
The dog was biting a / the bone. | |||
This sentence differs from the previous one (which has the ergative marker -ɟa) in that, without -ɟa, it simply describes the dog and what it is doing, whereas with -ɟa, it is more likely to be an answer to a question (overt or implied) asking something like "Who / What was biting the bone?" | |||
=====Object Topicalisation===== | |||
Objects of such transitive sentences can be topicalised by moving them to the front of the sentence (this precludes subject topicalisation, a sentence can only have one topic). This is usually used in situations where English would use the passive voice e.g. | |||
/ˈʀʷəʔtʷəʔ kʷəʔˈta-ɟa ʎə-ˈkəʔta/ | |||
[ˈʁʷɔtːʷʊʔ kʷʊˈtːæ-ɟæ ʎɪ-ˈkətːa] | |||
bone.ABS dog-ERG ATEL-bite | |||
The bone was being bitten by the dog. | |||
=====Subject Deletion===== | |||
Thangha' is a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pro-drop_language Pro-drop language]. In particular, it is common to delete the subject of transitive sentences if it is obvious from the context e.g. | |||
/ʎə-ˈkəʔta ˈʀʷəʔtʷəʔ/ | |||
[ʎɪ-ˈkətːa ˈʁʷɔtːʷʊʔ] | |||
ATEL-bite bone.ABS | |||
It (or he/she/they) was biting a / the bone. | |||
====Intransitive Sentences==== | |||
Word order in intransitive sentences is more flexible, depending on a number of factors. | |||
=====Full Noun Phrases===== | |||
These come before the verb if the subject is topicalised e.g. | |||
/ˈʂaⁿsəʔ mʲaɲəʔ-ˈɫʷuːʂa/ | |||
[ˈʂɑnsəʔ mʲæɲɘʔ-ˈɫʷoːʂɑ] | |||
boss TEL-fall | |||
The boss dropped to the ground (where the main point of the sentence is to say what the boss did) | |||
If the subject is not topicalised, they come after the verb e.g. | |||
/mʲaɲəʔ-ˈɫʷuːʂa ˈʂaⁿsəʔ/ | |||
[mʲæɲɘʔ-ˈɫʷoːʂɑ ˈʂɑnsəʔ] | |||
TEL-fall boss | |||
The boss dropped to the ground (where the main point of the sentence is to say who dropped to the ground) | |||
=====Pronouns===== | |||
In intransitive sentences, subject pronouns almost always come after the verb e.g. | |||
/mʲaɲəʔ-ˈɫʷuːʂa ˈʔəʔkʷa/ | |||
[mʲæɲɘʔ-ˈɫʷoːʂɑ ˈʔʊʔkʷa] | |||
TEL-fall 1PS.SG.NOM | |||
I dropped to the ground. | |||
It is important to note that the above sentence implies that the speaker dropped to the ground of his/her own free will. This is because, when it comes to pronouns, Thangha' is a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active%E2%80%93stative_language Fluid-S Language]. When the subject of an intransitive sentence performs the action of his/her own free will, the nominative pronouns are used. However, if the action is involitional, the accusative pronouns are used. In this case, the pronoun comes after the verb if it is not topicalised e.g. | |||
/mʲaɲəʔ-ˈɫʷuːʂa ˈʔacəⁿ/ | |||
[mʲæɲɘʔ-ˈɫʷoːʂɑ ˈʔæceⁿ] | |||
TEL-fall 1PS.SG.ACC | |||
I fell to the ground (not of my own free will, where the main point of the sentence is to say who fell to the ground) | |||
Accusative pronouns can be fronted to the start of the sentence as topics e.g. | |||
/ˈʔacəⁿ mʲaɲəʔ-ˈɫʷuːʂa/ | |||
[ˈʔæceⁿ mʲæɲɘʔ-ˈɫʷoːʂɑ] | |||
1PS.SG.ACC TEL-fall | |||
I fell to the ground (not of my own free will, where the main point of the sentence is to say what he/she did) | |||
A few dialects allow similar fronting of nominative pronouns, but this is not common. | |||
=====Subject Deletion===== | |||
As with transitive sentences, subjects of intransitive sentences can be freely deleted if they are obvious from context e.g. | |||
/mʲaɲəʔ-ˈɫʷuːʂa/ | |||
[mʲæɲɘʔ-ˈɫʷoːʂɑ] | |||
TEL-fall | |||
I/you/he/... fell to the ground. | |||