Difference between revisions of "Mixe/Grammar"

From LING073
Jump to: navigation, search
(→‎Main parts of speech)
(→‎Morphology for transitive verbs)
 
(83 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)
Line 5: Line 5:
 
*[https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/handle/10125/4481/jany.pdf;jsessionid=C40A89F204744A496CE63E8B2FD9133A?sequence=1 paper on orthography - some examples; useful for "translating" between various texts, ipa, etc]
 
*[https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/handle/10125/4481/jany.pdf;jsessionid=C40A89F204744A496CE63E8B2FD9133A?sequence=1 paper on orthography - some examples; useful for "translating" between various texts, ipa, etc]
 
*Master's thesis on applicative constructions
 
*Master's thesis on applicative constructions
 +
 +
== Non-standard and less common tags used ==
 +
 +
{|
 +
! style="text-align:left;"| Tag
 +
! Meaning
 +
|-
 +
|<idt>
 +
|independent
 +
|-
 +
|<dep>
 +
|dependent
 +
|-
 +
|<icpl>
 +
|incompletive aspect
 +
|-
 +
|<cpl>
 +
|completive aspect
 +
|-
 +
|<irr>
 +
|irrealis aspect
 +
|-
 +
|<inv>
 +
|inverse construction
 +
|-
 +
|<ints>
 +
|intensifier
 +
|-
 +
|<o_sg1>
 +
|rowspan="3"|first/second/third person singular object
 +
|-
 +
|<o_sg2>
 +
|-
 +
|<o_sg3>
 +
|-
 +
|<a_sg1>
 +
|rowspan="3"|first/second/third person singular agent
 +
|-
 +
|<a_sg2>
 +
|-
 +
|<a_sg3>
 +
|-
 +
|< ins >
 +
|instrumental
 +
|-
 +
|<apl>
 +
|applicative
 +
|-
 +
|<inc>
 +
|inceptive
 +
|-
 +
|<des>
 +
|desiderative
 +
|-
 +
|<px2>
 +
|second person possessive
 +
|}
  
 
== Main parts of speech ==
 
== Main parts of speech ==
 
*determiners and demonstratives
 
*determiners and demonstratives
−
*: Demonstratives can function both as pronouns and as noun modifiers (ie. determiners).
 
−
**{{morphTest|jä{{tag|det}}{{tag|def}}|jä}} ''(the, those)''
 
−
**{{morphTest|xii{{tag|dem}}|xi}} ''(that)''
 
−
**{{morphTest|xii{{tag|prn}}|xii}} ''(that)''
 
−
**{{morphTest|yë'ë{{tag|dem}}|yë}} ''(these)''
 
−
**{{morphTest|yë'ë{{tag|prn}}|yë'ë}} ''(these)''
 
−
**{{morphTest|ja'a{{tag|dem}}|ja}} ''(that (distant))''
 
−
**{{morphTest|ja'a{{tag|prn}}|ja'a}} ''(that (distant))''
 
 
*verbs
 
*verbs
 
*nouns
 
*nouns
−
*: Nouns are divided into three classes: simple, derived, and compound. Derived nouns are nominalized verbs.
 
−
** {{morphTest|xëk{{tag|n}}|xëk}} ''(bean)''
 
−
** {{morphTest|'ök{{tag|n}}|'ök}} ''(dog)''
 
−
** {{morphTest|kumöön{{tag|n}}|kumööntömpä ''(citizen)''}}
 
−
** {{morphTest|jäyu{{tag|n}}|jäyu}} ''(person)''
 
−
** {{morphTest|limösnä{{tag|n}}|limösnä}} ''(alms)'' (very likely a Spanish loan)
 
 
*adjectives
 
*adjectives
−
*: Adjectives can occur before or after the noun phrase they modify. When they precede the NP, they are unmarked. When they occur after the NP, they are part of a relative clause introduced by the relativizer {{morphTest|juu'{{tag|rlt}}|juu'}}. Number isn't marked on adjectives, nor is aspect. Adjectives can also be reduplicated to express intensity.
 
−
** {{morphTest|poo'p{{tag|adj}}|poo'p}} ''(white)''
 
−
** {{morphTest|mu'uk{{tag|adj}}|mu'uk}} ''(wild)''
 
 
*aspectual proclitics
 
*aspectual proclitics
 
** {{morphTest|të{{tag|pro}}{{tag|perf}}|të}}
 
** {{morphTest|të{{tag|pro}}{{tag|perf}}|të}}
Line 38: Line 78:
 
** {{morphTest|m{{tag|enc}}|m}}
 
** {{morphTest|m{{tag|enc}}|m}}
 
*auxiliaries
 
*auxiliaries
−
** {{morphTest|kä'ä{{tag|aux}}|kä'ä}}  ''(negative auxiliary)''
+
** {{morphTest|kä'ä{{tag|aux}}{{tag|neg}}|kä'ä}} ''(negative auxiliary)''
−
** {{morphTest|xip{{tag|adj}}|xip}} ''(in there)''
 
−
** {{morphTest|yëk{{tag|n}}{{tag|pl}}|yëk-käätä}} ''(black bulls)''
 
 
*numerals
 
*numerals
 
*post-positions
 
*post-positions
  
−
== Sets of alternations or systems (grammar points) ==
+
== Determiners and demonstratives ==
 +
Demonstratives can function both as pronouns and as noun modifiers (ie. determiners). When determiners, they are reduced to a single CV syllable.
 +
*{{morphTest|jä{{tag|det}}{{tag|def}}|jä}} ''(the, those)''
 +
*{{morphTest|xii{{tag|dem}}|xi}} ''(that)''
 +
*{{morphTest|xii{{tag|prn}}|xii}} ''(that)''
 +
*{{morphTest|yë'ë{{tag|dem}}|yë}} ''(these)''
 +
*{{morphTest|yë'ë{{tag|prn}}|yë'ë}} ''(these)''
 +
*{{morphTest|ja'a{{tag|dem}}|ja}} ''(that (distant))''
 +
*{{morphTest|ja'a{{tag|prn}}|ja'a}} ''(that (distant))''
 +
 
 +
== Nouns ==
  
−
=== Verbs ===
+
Nouns are divided into three classes: simple, derived, and compound, which all take the same morphology.
−
{{comment|A couple things here.  First of all, POS tags need to come firsts, then subcategory, then grammatical tags.  Secondly, tag names should be kept short, ideally within 3 or 4 characters if possible.  You don't need to say whether something is obligatory or not, as that's a morphotactic thing and not a syntactic thing.  Also, if there are multiple properties you want to mark, separate them into separate tags. -JNW}}
+
* {{morphTest|xëk{{tag|n}}{{tag|sg}}|xëk}} ''(bean)''
−
Verbs are generally of the form: person.prefix - stem - time/aspect.suffix [https://www.sil.org/system/files/reapdata/65/55/00/65550069179862137561760454755644251082/mto_vocabulario.pdf p.303].
+
* {{morphTest|ꞌök{{tag|n}}{{tag|sg}}|ꞌök}} ''(dog)''
−
Like other Mixe-Zoquean languages, mto verbs are characterized as independent or dependent, which we respectively tag <idt> and <dep>. (Note that the Apertium tag <ind> marks indefiniteness, not independence.)
+
* {{morphTest|kumööntömpä{{tag|n}}{{tag|sg}}|kumööntömpä}} ''(citizen)''
−
{{comment|Still not sure if all verbs must be independent or dependent, or if a verb can be neither or unspecified.}}
+
* {{morphTest|jäyu{{tag|n}}{{tag|sg}}|jäyu}} ''(person)''
−
* {{morphTest|näjcx{{tag|v}}{{tag|idt}}{{tag|p2}}|mnäjcxp}} ''(you are going)''
+
* {{morphTest|limösnä{{tag|n}}{{tag|sg}}|limösnä}} ''(alms)'' (very likely a Spanish loan)
−
* {{morphTest|vaꞌan{{tag|v}}{{tag|p3}}{{tag|fut}}|vyaꞌanüt}} ''(he/she will say/tell)''
 
  
−
There are 20 possible morpheme positions for any given verb. These morphemes mark and include aspect/mood, person, negation, modals, intensifiers, valence-changers, the verb stem, adverbial, plural, inverse, still/also, completive vs incompletive vs irrealis, dependent vs independent, and aspectual enclitics (an enclitic is something like ''n't'' in English).
+
Inclusive nouns are marked with the first person inclusive tag.  
−
Apertium has tense/aspect tags, but none that seem to line up with the aspects used in mto. So, we tag nonobligatory aspect morphology <asp> (for now, but I haven't yet determined whether we need to tag this). <o_sg1> is a standard Apertium tag, denoting second person singular object. <a_sg1> is first person singular agent. <its> denotes intensifier morphology. < ins > is instrumental. <inv> is inverse. <cpl> is completive aspect. <icpl> is incompletive aspect. <lex> is a lexical affix (e.g MOUTH). <apl> is applicative. <irr> is irrealis mood. <inc> is inceptive. <des> is desiderative.
+
* {{morphTest|kostumbre{{tag|n}}{{tag|incl}}{{tag|pl}}|kostumbreamtä}}
  
−
* {{morphTest|näjcx{{tag|v}}{{tag|p3}}{{tag|pl}}{{tag|decisive}}{{tag|asp}}{{tag|fut}} |ñäjcxtinuvat}} ''(they also will go)''
+
Plurality is optionally marked with the suffix ''-tä''. Singular nouns are unmarked.
 +
* {{morphTest|ꞌök{{tag|n}}{{tag|pl}}|ꞌöktä}} ''(dogs)''
 +
* {{morphTest|jäꞌäxkäꞌäts{{tag|n}}{{tag|pl}}|jäꞌäxkäꞌätsïntä}} ''(axes)''
 +
* {{morphTest|pöx{{tag|n}}{{tag|sg}}{{tag|px2}}|mpöjxïn}} ''(your axes)''
 +
* {{morphTest|pöx{{tag|n}}{{tag|pl}}{{tag|px2}}|mpöjxïntä}} ''(your axes)''
  
−
* {{morphTest|vop{{tag|v}}{{tag|o_sg2}}{{tag|dep}}{{tag|its}}{{tag|ins}}{{tag|inv}}{{tag|pl}}{{tag|asp}}{{tag|cpl}}| mtuntukvojpjitinï ''(they already hit you a lot with)''}}
+
Nouns can also be marked to express relative location.
  
−
* {{morphTest|jöy{{tag|v}}{{tag|o_sg2}}{{tag|idt}}{{tag|its}}{{tag|its}}{{tag|ins}}{{tag|lex}}{{tag|apl}}{{tag|prs}}{{tag|inv}}{{tag|pl}}{{tag|irr}}{{tag|idt}}|mjää’ktuntuk’äjöyävääjnjïtup ''(wants to buy it from you once again)''}}
+
== Adjectives ==
 +
Adjectives can occur before or after the noun phrase they modify. When they precede the NP, they are unmarked. When they occur after the NP, they are part of a relative clause introduced by the relativizer {{morphTest|juu'{{tag|rlt}}|juu'}}. Number isn't marked on adjectives, nor is aspect. Adjectives can also be reduplicated to express intensity.
 +
*{{morphTest|pooꞌp{{tag|adj}}|pooꞌp}} ''(white)''
 +
*{{morphTest|muꞌuk{{tag|adj}}|muꞌuk}} ''(wild)''
 +
*{{morphTest|xip{{tag|adj}}|xip}} ''(in there)''
  
−
* {{morphTest|kots{{tag|v}}{{tag|tv}}{{tag|a_sg1}}{{tag|idt}}{{tag|neg}}{{tag|its}}{{tag|apl}}{{tag|icpl}}{{tag|idt}}|nkätunkojtsjip ''((people say) I really don't give advice to)''}}
+
== Verbs ==
  
−
* {{morphTest|kotsnäx{{tag|v}}{{tag|tv}}{{tag|a_sg3}}{{tag|idt}}{{tag|inc}}{{tag|des}}{{tag|icpl}}{{tag|idt}}|kyotsnäx’ukvä’änuväämp ''(he/she wants to start talking)''}}
+
=== Verbal overview ===
 +
Verbs are formed by adding various suffixes and prefixes to verb stems. At minimum, verbs are marked for aspect, transitivity, and person; the aspect and person affixes used depend on whether a verb is independent or dependent, so this grammatical feature is also tagged.
  
−
Verbal morphology is mostly agglutinative, but some morphemes fuse, likely for phonological reasons.
+
'''Independent''' and '''dependent''' are categories that describe verbal conjugation paradigms in Mixezoquan langauges. In general, idenpendent verbs are main verbs that are affirmative and are not preceeded by adverbs. Dependent verbs are the "elsewhere" case; the dependent conjugation paradigm is triggered by a variety of things, including the presence of preverb adverbs, quantifiers, verb auxiliaries, and negation.
−
* E.G 'y-' (p3) + 'näjcx' (go) = 'ñäjcx'
 
−
** {{morphTest|ñäjcx{{tag|v}}{{tag|p3}}|he/she goes}}
 
−
** NOTE: my current understanding is that ''ñäjcx'' can't stand alone. That is, it requires further morphemes to be grammatical.
 
  
−
=== Base verb forms ===
+
'''Completive''', '''incompletive''', and '''irrealis''' are aspects. Completive aspect is used for actions that have thoroughly been carried out; that is, it denotes the something has been completely completed. Incompletive aspect is used for on-going actions, or actions that aren't clearly bounded in time. Irrealis is used for actions/events that are not yet situated in time. For example, something that might happen but has not yet happened has not started, so it can't be ongoing or completed, so it is irrealis.
−
mto verbs fall into two categories: invariable and variable. Invariable verbs have regular base forms that don't change when they co-occur with other morphemes. Variable verbs, however, are irregular and do change depending on surrounding morphemes. Specifically, their forms may be dependent on morphology expressing inverse, aspect, mode, and valence-changing.
 
−
*{{morphTest|nöm{{tag|v}}|run}}
 
−
**{{morphTest|nöm{{tag|v}}{{tag|imp}}|nöm}}
 
−
**{{morphTest|nöm{{tag|v}}{{{tag|irr}}{{tag|idt}}|nöm}}
 
−
**{{morphTest|nöm{{tag|v}}{{tag|irr}}{{tag|dep}}|nöm}}
 
−
***{{morphTest|nöm{{tag|v}}{{tag|imp}}|nömï ''(run!)''}}
 
−
**{{morphTest|nöm{{tag|v}}{{tag|cpl}}{{tag|idt}}|nööm}}
 
−
**{{morphTest|nöm{{tag|v}}{{tag|icpl}}{{tag|idt}}|nööm}}
 
−
***{{morphTest|nöm{{tag|v}}{{tag|p2}}{{tag|idt}}{{tag|icpl_idt_iv}}|mnöömp ''(you run)''}}
 
−
***{{morphTest|nöm{{tag|v}}{{tag|p2}}{{tag|idt}}{{tag|cpl}}{{tag|idt}}|mnööm ''(you ran)''}}
 
−
**{{morphTest|nöm{{tag|v}}{{tag|icpl}}{{tag|dep}}|num}}
 
−
**{{morphTest|nöm{{tag|v}}{{tag|cpl}}{{tag|dep}}|nujm}}
 
  
−
*{{morphTest|pat{{tag|v}}|go up}}
+
Transitive verbs are either direct or inverse. This distinction relies on Totontepec's hierarchical structure. When a verb has more than one argument, the verb will agree with whichever argument is higher on the person hierarchy. The hierarchy is 1st>2nd>3rd_proximal>3rd_obviative, and is related to topicality. So, regardless of the grammatical function of an argument (say, whether it's a subject or object), a verb will agree with whichever argument is higher on the hierarchy. When a verb inflects for a subject argument, it is called '''direct'''. When a verb inflects for an object argument, it is called '''inverse'''. Inverse verbs get marked with additional morphology, denoted in this wiki with <inv>.
−
**{{morphTest|pat{{tag|v}}{{tag|imp}}|pat}}
 
−
**{{morphTest|pat{{tag|v}}{{tag|irr}}{{tag|idt}}|pat}}
 
−
**{{morphTest|pat{{tag|v}}{{tag|irr}}{{tag|dep}}|pat}}
 
−
**{{morphTest|pat{{tag|v}}{{tag|imp}}|pajt}}
 
−
**{{morphTest|pat{{tag|v}}{{tag|irr}}{{tag|idt}}|pajt}}
 
−
**{{morphTest|pat{{tag|v}}{{tag|irr}}{{tag|dep}}|pajt}}
 
−
**{{morphTest|pat{{tag|v}}{{tag|icpl}}{{tag|dep}}|pet}}
 
−
**{{morphTest|pat{{tag|v}}{{tag|cpl}}{{tag|dep}}|pejt}}
 
  
−
*{{morphTest|'oo'k{{tag|v}}|die}}
+
Many additional affixes can be added to verbs.
−
**{{morphTest|'oo'k{{tag|v}}{{tag|imp}}|'oo'k}}
+
* {{morphTest|nëjcx{{tag|v}}{{tag|idt}}{{tag|icpl}}{{tag|p2}}|mnëjcxp}} ''(you are going)''
−
**{{morphTest|'oo'k{{tag|v}}{{tag|cpl}}{{tag|idt}}|'oo'k}}
+
* {{morphTest|vaꞌan{{tag|v}}{{tag|idt}}{{tag|irr}}{{tag|p3}}|vyaꞌanüt}} (''(he/she will say/tell)'')
−
**{{morphTest|'oo'k{{tag|v}}{{tag|icpl}}{{tag|idt}}|'oo'k}}
+
* {{morphTest|vaꞌan{{tag|v}}{{tag|tv}}{{tag|dep}}{{tag|irr}}{{tag|p3}}|vyaꞌanüt}}
−
**{{morphTest|'oo'k{{tag|v}}{{tag|irr}}{{tag|idt}}|'oo'k}}
 
−
**{{morphTest|'oo'k{{tag|v}}{{tag|irr}}{{tag|dep}}|'oo'k}}
 
−
**{{morphTest|'oo'k{{tag|v}}{{tag|cpl}}{{tag|dep}}|'ëë'k}}
 
−
**{{morphTest|'oo'k{{tag|v}}{{tag|icpl}}{{tag|dep}}|'ëë'k}}
 
  
−
Person markers and tense/aspect markers depend on transitivity, whether it's in the "conjunctive" or "disjunctive" mode, and (for transitive verbs) whether a subject or object is being referred to.
+
There are 20 possible morpheme positions for any given verb. These morphemes mark and include aspect/mood, person, negation, modals, intensifiers, valence-changers, the verb stem, adverbials, plural, inverse, the meaning of still/also, completive vs incompletive vs irrealis aspect, dependent vs independent, and aspectual enclitics (an enclitic is something like ''n't'' in English). The following examples demonstrate some of the possible affix combinations and the resulting verb form.
−
{{comment|not yet sure what the difference b/w the 2 modes are. In fact, might just replace this w something closer to Guzman's explanation -Elizabeth}}
+
 
 +
* {{morphTest|vop{{tag|v}}{{tag|dep}}{{tag|cpl}}{{tag|inv}}{{tag|ints}}{{tag|ins}}{{tag|pl}}{{tag|o_sg2}}|mtuntukvojpjitinï}} ''(they already hit you a lot with)''
 +
 
 +
* {{morphTest|jöy{{tag|v}}{{tag|idt}}{{tag|irr}}{{tag|apl}}{{tag|inv}}{{tag|ints}}{{tag|ins}}{{tag|prs}}{{tag|pl}}{{tag|o_sg2}}|mjää’ktuntuk’äjöyävääjnjïtup}} ''(wants to buy it from you once again)''
 +
 
 +
* {{morphTest|kots{{tag|v}}{{tag|tv}}{{tag|idt}}{{tag|icpl}}{{tag|apl}}{{tag|neg}}{{tag|ints}}{{tag|a_sg1}}|nkätunkojtsjip}} ''((people say) I really don't give advice to)''
 +
 
 +
* {{morphTest|kotsnäx{{tag|v}}{{tag|tv}}{{tag|idt}}{{tag|icpl}}{{tag|inc}}{{tag|des}}{{tag|a_sg3}}|kyotsnäx’ukvä’änuväämp}} ''(he/she wants to start talking)''
 +
 
 +
Verbal morphology is mostly agglutinative, but some morphemes fuse for phonological reasons.
 +
* E.G 'y-' (p3) + 'nëjcx' (go) = 'ñëjcx'
 +
** nëjcx{tag|v}{tag|p3} >> ñëjcx
 +
Note that 'ñëjcx' requires further morphemes to be grammatical.
 +
 
 +
=== Verb stems ===
 +
Totontepec verbs fall into two categories: invariable and variable. Invariable verbs have stems that stay the same regardless of additional morphology. Variable verbs, however, are irregular and change depending on surrounding morphemes. Specifically, their form alternates depending on transitivity, dependency, and aspect.
 +
 
 +
The following bullet points are examples of verb stems with varying realizations. They are not words that can stand on their own. Those items preceeded by 'Eg.' are examples of fully formed, grammatical words that include a given stem alternation.
 +
 
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
!colspan="8"|Examples of verb stem alternations
 +
|-
 +
|Basic stem
 +
|imp
 +
|idt irr
 +
|dep irr
 +
|idt cpl
 +
|idt icpl
 +
|dep cpl
 +
|dep icpl
 +
|-
 +
|nöm (run)
 +
|nöm
 +
|nöm
 +
|nöm
 +
|nööm
 +
|nööm
 +
|nujm
 +
|num
 +
|-
 +
|pat (rise)
 +
|pat
 +
|pat
 +
|pat
 +
|pajt
 +
|pajt
 +
|pejt
 +
|pet
 +
|-
 +
|'oo'k (die)
 +
|'oo'k
 +
|'oo'k
 +
|'oo'k
 +
|'oo'k
 +
|'oo'k
 +
|'ëë'k
 +
|'ëë'k
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
Examples:
 +
*{{morphTest|nöm{{tag|v}}{{tag|imp}}|nömï}} ''(run!)''
 +
*{{morphTest|nöm{{tag|v}}{{tag|idt}}{{tag|icpl}}{{tag|inv}}{{tag|p2}}|mnöömp}} ''(you run)''
 +
*{{morphTest|nöm{{tag|v}}{{tag|idt}}{{tag|cpl}}{{tag|p2}}|mnööm}} ''(you ran)''
 +
 
 +
 
 +
Mto is an inversely hierarchical language, meaning that a verb can't agree with more than one argument at a time, regardless of transitivity. An intransitive verb agrees with its subject. A transitive verb agrees with whichever of its arguments is highest on the following hierarchy of person features: 1st>2nd>3rd(proximate)>3rd(obviative) (Gúzman, 35). When a verb has more than one 3rd-person referent, the more salient is called proximate, and the less salient obviative.
 +
 
 +
=== Obligatory verb morphology ===
 +
 
 +
Note that when surface and underlying form differ, the underlying form is indicated like so: /form/.
  
 
{|class="wikitable"
 
{|class="wikitable"
−
!colspan="6"|Basic verb morphology (p307)
+
!colspan="6"|Paradigm for person marking on verbs
 
|- style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;"
 
|- style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;"
 
|rowspan="2"|Mode
 
|rowspan="2"|Mode
Line 119: Line 217:
 
|Object indicated
 
|Object indicated
 
|-
 
|-
−
|rowspan="3"|Conjunctive
+
|rowspan="3"|Dependent
 
|1
 
|1
 
|n-
 
|n-
Line 135: Line 233:
 
|y- -jü
 
|y- -jü
 
|-
 
|-
−
|rowspan="3"|Disjunctive
+
|rowspan="3"|Independent
 
|1
 
|1
 
|#-
 
|#-
Line 151: Line 249:
 
|#- -jü
 
|#- -jü
 
|}
 
|}
−
 
−
Mto is an inversely hierarchical language, meaning that a verb can't agree with more than one argument at a time, regardless of transitivity. An intransitive verb agrees with its subject. A transitive verb agrees with whichever of its arguments is highest on the following hierarchy of person features: 1st>2nd>3rd(proximate)>3rd(obviative) (Gúzman, 35). When a verb has more than one 3rd-person referent, the more salient is called proximate, and the less salient obviative.
 
−
 
−
==== Transitivity ====
 
−
Verbs are intransitive by default. They are transitivized with a person-indicating prefix. [[https://www.sil.org/system/files/reapdata/65/55/00/65550069179862137561760454755644251082/mto_vocabulario.pdf p.304]]
 
−
{| class="wikitable"
 
−
! colspan="6"|Transitive form
 
−
|- style="font-style: italic"
 
−
| Verb
 
−
| Translation
 
−
| Person indicator
 
−
|-
 
−
|n'ixp äts
 
−
|'I'm watching (something)'
 
−
|n-
 
−
|-
 
−
|m'ixp mits
 
−
|'you're watching (something)'
 
−
|m-
 
−
|-
 
−
|y-ixp jë'ë
 
−
|'he/she is watching (something)'
 
−
|y-
 
−
|-
 
−
! colspan="6"|Intransitive form
 
−
|-
 
−
|ixp äts
 
−
|'I'm watching'
 
−
|none
 
−
|-
 
−
|m'ixp mits
 
−
|'you're watching'
 
−
|m-
 
−
|-
 
−
|ixp jë'ë
 
−
|'he/she is watching'
 
−
|none
 
−
|}
 
−
 
−
=== Other verb morphology (probably most useful for transducer stuff) ===
 
−
{{comment|Using our keyboard layout, "+i currently gives Ï, not lowercase i with an umlaut. Need to double check and fix if necessary.}}
 
−
{{comment|Need to add explanations for '''independent vs dependent constructions''' and '''inverse constructions''' and '''completive vs incompletive'''}}
 
−
When surface and underlying form differ, the underlying form is indicated like so: /form/.
 
  
 
==== Morphology for intransitive verbs (lack of <tv> = intransitive) ====
 
==== Morphology for intransitive verbs (lack of <tv> = intransitive) ====
−
{{comment|May need to change order of some of the tags, depending on whether they matter syntactically.}}
 
 
*Imperative verbs
 
*Imperative verbs
 
** Imperative <imp>: -ï
 
** Imperative <imp>: -ï
Line 216: Line 270:
 
**: {{morphTest|nëjkx{{tag|v}}{{tag|idt}}{{tag|irr}}{{tag|p2}}|mnëjkxup}} ''you will go''
 
**: {{morphTest|nëjkx{{tag|v}}{{tag|idt}}{{tag|irr}}{{tag|p2}}|mnëjkxup}} ''you will go''
 
*Verbs in dependent constructions
 
*Verbs in dependent constructions
−
**Incompletive <dep><icpl>: /-I/ → Ø (construction: kä'ä=m_) {{InlineComment| -I seems to sometimes show up phonetically, but generally doesn't. I haven't yet figured out how to predict when it will or won't be pronounced. Guzman notes that she uses uppercase letters for reconstructed morphemes. Might be that this is a silent morpheme that affects surrounding morphology. Or maybe it's better analyzed as a fusional feature. I.e. to form a dependent, incompletive, intransitive verb form, you don't add a <tv><dep><inc> morpheme; rather, the verb stem itself "changes" to reflects this.)}}
+
**Incompletive <dep><icpl>: /-I/ → Ø (construction: kä'ä=m_)
 
**: {{morphTest|nöm{{tag|v}}{{tag|dep}}{{tag|icpl}}{{tag|p2}}|mnum}} ''you (don't) run/you're (not) running''
 
**: {{morphTest|nöm{{tag|v}}{{tag|dep}}{{tag|icpl}}{{tag|p2}}|mnum}} ''you (don't) run/you're (not) running''
 
**: {{morphTest|pat{{tag|v}}{{tag|dep}}{{tag|icpl}}{{tag|p2}}|mpet}} ''you (don't) rise/you're (not) rising''
 
**: {{morphTest|pat{{tag|v}}{{tag|dep}}{{tag|icpl}}{{tag|p2}}|mpet}} ''you (don't) rise/you're (not) rising''
Line 230: Line 284:
  
 
==== Morphology for transitive verbs <tv> ====
 
==== Morphology for transitive verbs <tv> ====
−
{{comment|Should I tag transitive verbs <v><tv> or just <tv>?}}
 
  
 
*Imperative <tv><imp>: -ï  
 
*Imperative <tv><imp>: -ï  
Line 250: Line 303:
 
***: {{morphTest|pää't{{tag|v}}{{tag|tv}}{{tag|idt}}{{tag|cpl}}{{tag|inv}}{{tag|o_p2}}|mpäätju}} ''(he) found you''
 
***: {{morphTest|pää't{{tag|v}}{{tag|tv}}{{tag|idt}}{{tag|cpl}}{{tag|inv}}{{tag|o_p2}}|mpäätju}} ''(he) found you''
 
***Applicative + inverse <tv><idt><cpl><inv><apl>: /-ïx-ju-W/ → -ïx-ju
 
***Applicative + inverse <tv><idt><cpl><inv><apl>: /-ïx-ju-W/ → -ïx-ju
−
***: {{morphTest|pää't{{tag|v}}{{tag|tv}}{{tag|idt}}{{tag|cpl}}{{tag|inv}}{{tag|apl}}|mpäätïxju}} ''(he) found (it) for you''
+
***: {{morphTest|pää't{{tag|v}}{{tag|tv}}{{tag|idt}}{{tag|cpl}}{{tag|inv}}{{tag|apl}}{{tag|0_p2}}|mpäätïxju}} ''(he) found (it) for you''
 
**Irrealis <tv><idt><irr>: -up
 
**Irrealis <tv><idt><irr>: -up
 
**: {{morphTest|pää't{{tag|v}}{{tag|tv}}{{tag|idt}}{{tag|irr}}{{tag|a_p2}}|mpää'tup}} ''you'll find it''
 
**: {{morphTest|pää't{{tag|v}}{{tag|tv}}{{tag|idt}}{{tag|irr}}{{tag|a_p2}}|mpää'tup}} ''you'll find it''
 
***Inverse <tv><idt><irr><inv>: /-ju-up/ → -jup
 
***Inverse <tv><idt><irr><inv>: /-ju-up/ → -jup
−
***: {{morphTest|pää't{{tag|v}}{{tag|tv}}|mpää'tjup}} ''(he) will find you''
+
***: {{morphTest|pää't{{tag|v}}{{tag|tv}}{{tag|idt}}{{tag|irr}}{{tag|inv}}{{tag|o_p2}}|mpää'tjup}} ''(he) will find you''
 
***Applicative + inverse <tv><idt><irr><inv><apl>: /ïx-ju-up/ → -ïx-jup
 
***Applicative + inverse <tv><idt><irr><inv><apl>: /ïx-ju-up/ → -ïx-jup
 
***: {{morphTest|pää't{{tag|v}}{{tag|tv}}{{tag|idt}}{{tag|irr}}{{tag|inv}}{{tag|apl}}{{tag|o_p2}}|mpää'tïxjup}} ''(he) will find (it) for you''
 
***: {{morphTest|pää't{{tag|v}}{{tag|tv}}{{tag|idt}}{{tag|irr}}{{tag|inv}}{{tag|apl}}{{tag|o_p2}}|mpää'tïxjup}} ''(he) will find (it) for you''

Latest revision as of 19:45, 1 May 2022

Useful resources

Non-standard and less common tags used

Tag Meaning
<idt> independent
<dep> dependent
<icpl> incompletive aspect
<cpl> completive aspect
<irr> irrealis aspect
<inv> inverse construction
<ints> intensifier
<o_sg1> first/second/third person singular object
<o_sg2>
<o_sg3>
<a_sg1> first/second/third person singular agent
<a_sg2>
<a_sg3>
< ins > instrumental
<apl> applicative
<inc> inceptive
<des> desiderative
<px2> second person possessive

Main parts of speech

  • determiners and demonstratives
  • verbs
  • nouns
  • adjectives
  • aspectual proclitics
    • të<pro><perf> ↔ të
    • kë<pro><cfct> ↔ kë
  • aspectual enclitics
    • nä<enc> ↔ nä
    • nu<enc> ↔ nu
    • tä<enc> ↔ tä
    • äni<enc> ↔ äni
    • m<enc> ↔ m
  • auxiliaries
    • kä'ä<aux><neg> ↔ kä'ä (negative auxiliary)
  • numerals
  • post-positions

Determiners and demonstratives

Demonstratives can function both as pronouns and as noun modifiers (ie. determiners). When determiners, they are reduced to a single CV syllable.

  • jä<det><def> ↔ jä (the, those)
  • xii<dem> ↔ xi (that)
  • xii<prn> ↔ xii (that)
  • yë'ë<dem> ↔ yë (these)
  • yë'ë<prn> ↔ yë'ë (these)
  • ja'a<dem> ↔ ja (that (distant))
  • ja'a<prn> ↔ ja'a (that (distant))

Nouns

Nouns are divided into three classes: simple, derived, and compound, which all take the same morphology.

  • xëk<n><sg> ↔ xëk (bean)
  • ꞌök<n><sg> ↔ ꞌök (dog)
  • kumööntömpä<n><sg> ↔ kumööntömpä (citizen)
  • jäyu<n><sg> ↔ jäyu (person)
  • limösnä<n><sg> ↔ limösnä (alms) (very likely a Spanish loan)

Inclusive nouns are marked with the first person inclusive tag.

  • kostumbre<n><incl><pl> ↔ kostumbreamtä

Plurality is optionally marked with the suffix -tä. Singular nouns are unmarked.

  • ꞌök<n><pl> ↔ ꞌöktä (dogs)
  • jäꞌäxkäꞌäts<n><pl> ↔ jäꞌäxkäꞌätsïntä (axes)
  • pöx<n><sg><px2> ↔ mpöjxïn (your axes)
  • pöx<n><pl><px2> ↔ mpöjxïntä (your axes)

Nouns can also be marked to express relative location.

Adjectives

Adjectives can occur before or after the noun phrase they modify. When they precede the NP, they are unmarked. When they occur after the NP, they are part of a relative clause introduced by the relativizer juu'<rlt> ↔ juu'. Number isn't marked on adjectives, nor is aspect. Adjectives can also be reduplicated to express intensity.

  • pooꞌp<adj> ↔ pooꞌp (white)
  • muꞌuk<adj> ↔ muꞌuk (wild)
  • xip<adj> ↔ xip (in there)

Verbs

Verbal overview

Verbs are formed by adding various suffixes and prefixes to verb stems. At minimum, verbs are marked for aspect, transitivity, and person; the aspect and person affixes used depend on whether a verb is independent or dependent, so this grammatical feature is also tagged.

Independent and dependent are categories that describe verbal conjugation paradigms in Mixezoquan langauges. In general, idenpendent verbs are main verbs that are affirmative and are not preceeded by adverbs. Dependent verbs are the "elsewhere" case; the dependent conjugation paradigm is triggered by a variety of things, including the presence of preverb adverbs, quantifiers, verb auxiliaries, and negation.

Completive, incompletive, and irrealis are aspects. Completive aspect is used for actions that have thoroughly been carried out; that is, it denotes the something has been completely completed. Incompletive aspect is used for on-going actions, or actions that aren't clearly bounded in time. Irrealis is used for actions/events that are not yet situated in time. For example, something that might happen but has not yet happened has not started, so it can't be ongoing or completed, so it is irrealis.

Transitive verbs are either direct or inverse. This distinction relies on Totontepec's hierarchical structure. When a verb has more than one argument, the verb will agree with whichever argument is higher on the person hierarchy. The hierarchy is 1st>2nd>3rd_proximal>3rd_obviative, and is related to topicality. So, regardless of the grammatical function of an argument (say, whether it's a subject or object), a verb will agree with whichever argument is higher on the hierarchy. When a verb inflects for a subject argument, it is called direct. When a verb inflects for an object argument, it is called inverse. Inverse verbs get marked with additional morphology, denoted in this wiki with <inv>.

Many additional affixes can be added to verbs.

  • nëjcx<v><idt><icpl><p2> ↔ mnëjcxp (you are going)
  • vaꞌan<v><idt><irr><p3> ↔ vyaꞌanüt ((he/she will say/tell))
  • vaꞌan<v><tv><dep><irr><p3> ↔ vyaꞌanüt

There are 20 possible morpheme positions for any given verb. These morphemes mark and include aspect/mood, person, negation, modals, intensifiers, valence-changers, the verb stem, adverbials, plural, inverse, the meaning of still/also, completive vs incompletive vs irrealis aspect, dependent vs independent, and aspectual enclitics (an enclitic is something like n't in English). The following examples demonstrate some of the possible affix combinations and the resulting verb form.

  • vop<v><dep><cpl><inv><ints><ins><pl><o_sg2> ↔ mtuntukvojpjitinï (they already hit you a lot with)
  • jöy<v><idt><irr><apl><inv><ints><ins><prs><pl><o_sg2> ↔ mjää’ktuntuk’äjöyävääjnjïtup (wants to buy it from you once again)
  • kots<v><tv><idt><icpl><apl><neg><ints><a_sg1> ↔ nkätunkojtsjip ((people say) I really don't give advice to)
  • kotsnäx<v><tv><idt><icpl><inc><des><a_sg3> ↔ kyotsnäx’ukvä’änuväämp (he/she wants to start talking)

Verbal morphology is mostly agglutinative, but some morphemes fuse for phonological reasons.

  • E.G 'y-' (p3) + 'nëjcx' (go) = 'ñëjcx'
    • nëjcx{tag|v}{tag|p3} >> ñëjcx

Note that 'ñëjcx' requires further morphemes to be grammatical.

Verb stems

Totontepec verbs fall into two categories: invariable and variable. Invariable verbs have stems that stay the same regardless of additional morphology. Variable verbs, however, are irregular and change depending on surrounding morphemes. Specifically, their form alternates depending on transitivity, dependency, and aspect.

The following bullet points are examples of verb stems with varying realizations. They are not words that can stand on their own. Those items preceeded by 'Eg.' are examples of fully formed, grammatical words that include a given stem alternation.

Examples of verb stem alternations
Basic stem imp idt irr dep irr idt cpl idt icpl dep cpl dep icpl
nöm (run) nöm nöm nöm nööm nööm nujm num
pat (rise) pat pat pat pajt pajt pejt pet
'oo'k (die) 'oo'k 'oo'k 'oo'k 'oo'k 'oo'k 'ëë'k 'ëë'k

Examples:

  • nöm<v><imp> ↔ nömï (run!)
  • nöm<v><idt><icpl><inv><p2> ↔ mnöömp (you run)
  • nöm<v><idt><cpl><p2> ↔ mnööm (you ran)


Mto is an inversely hierarchical language, meaning that a verb can't agree with more than one argument at a time, regardless of transitivity. An intransitive verb agrees with its subject. A transitive verb agrees with whichever of its arguments is highest on the following hierarchy of person features: 1st>2nd>3rd(proximate)>3rd(obviative) (Gúzman, 35). When a verb has more than one 3rd-person referent, the more salient is called proximate, and the less salient obviative.

Obligatory verb morphology

Note that when surface and underlying form differ, the underlying form is indicated like so: /form/.

Paradigm for person marking on verbs
Mode Person Intransitive Transitive
Subject indicated Object indicated
Dependent 1 n- n- x-
2 m- x- m- -jü
3 y- tü- y- -jü
Independent 1 #- n- x-
2 m- m- m- -jü
3 #- y- #- -jü

Morphology for intransitive verbs (lack of <tv> = intransitive)

  • Imperative verbs
    • Imperative <imp>: -ï
      nöm<v><imp> ↔ nömï run!
      pat<v><imp> ↔ patï rise!
      nëjkx<v><imp> ↔ nëjkxï go!
  • Verbs in independent constructions
    • Incompletive <idt><icpl>: -p
      nöm<v><idt><icpl><p2> ↔ mnöömp you run/you're running
      pat<v><idt><icpl><p2> ↔ mpajtp you rise/you're rising
      nëjkx<v><idt><icpl><p2> ↔ mnëjkxp you go/you're going
    • Completive <idt><cpl>: /-W/ → Ø
      nöm<v><idt><cpl><p2> ↔ mnööm you ran
      pat<v><idt><cpl><p2> ↔ mpajt you rose
      nëjkx<v><idt><cpl><p2> ↔ mnëjkx you went
    • Irrealis <idt><irr>: -up
      nöm<v><idt><irr><p2> ↔ mnömup you will run
      pat<v><idt><irr><p2> ↔ mpatup you will rise
      nëjkx<v><idt><irr><p2> ↔ mnëjkxup you will go
  • Verbs in dependent constructions
    • Incompletive <dep><icpl>: /-I/ → Ø (construction: kä'ä=m_)
      nöm<v><dep><icpl><p2> ↔ mnum you (don't) run/you're (not) running
      pat<v><dep><icpl><p2> ↔ mpet you (don't) rise/you're (not) rising
      nëjkx<v><dep><icpl><p2> ↔ mnïjkx you (don't) go/you're (not) going
    • Completive <dep><cpl>: /-jI/ → Ø
      nöm<v><dep><cpl><p2> ↔ mnujm you didn't run
      pat<v><dep><cpl><p2> ↔ mpejt you didn't rise
      nëjkx<v><dep><cpl><p2> ↔ mnïjkx you didn't go
    • Irrealis <dep><irr>: -ït
      nöm<v><dep><irr><p2> ↔ mnömït you will not run
      pat<v><dep><irr><p2> ↔ mpatït you will not rise
      nëjkx<v><dep><irr><p2> ↔ mnëjkxït you will not go

Morphology for transitive verbs <tv>

  • Imperative <tv><imp>: -ï
    pää't<v><tv><imp> ↔ pää'tï find it!
    këë'ts<v><tv><imp> ↔ këë'tsï break it!
    pöx<v><tv><imp> ↔ pöxï cut it!
  • Independent constructions
    • Incompletive <tv><idt><icpl>: /-py/ → -p
      pää't<v><tv><idt><icpl><a_p2> ↔ mpäätyp you find it
      këë'ts<v><tv><idt><icpl><a_p2> ↔ mkïï'tsp you break it
      pöx<v><tv><idt><icpl><a_p2> ↔ mpujxp you cut it
      • Inverse <tv><idt><icpl><inv>: /-ju-py/ → -jup
        pää't<v><tv><idt><icpl><inv><o_p2> ↔ mpäätjup (he) finds you
      • Applicative + inverse <tv><idt><icpl><inv><apl>: /-ïx-ju-py/ → -ïx-jup
        pää't<v><tv><idt><icpl><inv><apl><o_p2> ↔ mpäätïxjup (he) finds (it) for you
    • Completive <tv><idt><cpl>: /-W/ → Ø
      pää't<v><tv><idt><cpl><a_p2> ↔ mpäät you found it
      • Inverse <tv><idt><cpl><inv>: /-ju-W/ → -ju
        pää't<v><tv><idt><cpl><inv><o_p2> ↔ mpäätju (he) found you
      • Applicative + inverse <tv><idt><cpl><inv><apl>: /-ïx-ju-W/ → -ïx-ju
        pää't<v><tv><idt><cpl><inv><apl><0_p2> ↔ mpäätïxju (he) found (it) for you
    • Irrealis <tv><idt><irr>: -up
      pää't<v><tv><idt><irr><a_p2> ↔ mpää'tup you'll find it
      • Inverse <tv><idt><irr><inv>: /-ju-up/ → -jup
        pää't<v><tv><idt><irr><inv><o_p2> ↔ mpää'tjup (he) will find you
      • Applicative + inverse <tv><idt><irr><inv><apl>: /ïx-ju-up/ → -ïx-jup
        pää't<v><tv><idt><irr><inv><apl><o_p2> ↔ mpää'tïxjup (he) will find (it) for you
  • Dependent constructions
    • Incompletive <tv><dep><icpl>: /-I/ → Ø
      pää't<v><tv><dep><icpl><a_p2> ↔ xpää'ty (he) does (not) find you
      • Inverse <tv><dep><icpl><inv>: /ju-I/ >> -jï
        pää't<v><tv><dep><icpl><inv><o_p2> ↔ mpää'tyjï (he) does (not) find you
      • Applicative + inverse <tv><dep><icpl><inv><apl>: /ïx-ju-I/ → -ïx-jï
        pää't<v><tv><dep><icpl><inv><apl><o_p2> ↔ mpää'tïxjï (he) does (not) find (it) for you
    • Completive <tv><dep><cpl>: /-jI/ → Ø
      pää't<v><tv><dep><cpl><a_p2> ↔ xpääty you did (not) find it
      • Inverse <tv><dep><cpl><inv>: /-ju-jI/ → -ji
        pää't<v><tv><dep><cpl><inv><o_p2> ↔ mpäätji (he) did (not) find you
      • Applicative + inverse <tv><dep><cpl><inv><apl>: /ïx-ju-jI/ → -ïx-ji
        pää't<v><tv><dep><cpl><inv><apl><o_p2> ↔ mpäätïxji (he) did (not) find (it) for you
    • Irrealis <tv><dep><irr>: -ït
      pää't<v><tv><dep><irr><a_p2> ↔ xpää'tït you will (not) find (it)
      • Inverse <tv><dep><irr><inv>: /-ju-ït/ → -jït
        pää't<v><tv><dep><irr><inv><o_p2> ↔ mpää'tjït (he) will (not) find you
      • Applicative + inverse <tv><dep><irr><inv><apl>: /ïx-ju-ït/ → -ïx-jït
        pää't<v><tv><dep><irr><inv><apl><o_p2> ↔ mpää'tïxjït (he) will (not) find (it) for you,