Difference between revisions of "Western Abenaki and English/Contrastive Grammar"

Revision as of 15:00, 27 April 2023

Animacy

Nouns and verbs are tagged with animacy, and there are different verbs depending on whether the subject/object are animate or inanimate.

Noun Animacy

• Lobster
  • ^sȣgaiwios<n><nn>/lobster<n>
• Apple
  • ^aplesa<n><aa>/apple<n>
• Nuts
  • ^pagȣnisal<n><nn><pl>/nut<n><pl>

Verb Animacy

Verb animacy differs depending on the animacy of the subject.

• put aside
  • beskaaka<vb><tv><aa><o_3sg_def_aa>
  • beskato<vb><tv><nn><o_3sg_def_nn>

Plural Agreement

Adjectives and verbs must agree with the relevant noun in plurality

Adjective Plurality

Verb Plurality

First Person Possessive, First Person Subject

In Western Abenaki, the first person possessive marker is a prefixed n’. In English, this is simply the word "my." Similarly, a first person subject is marked on a verb with the same prefixed n’. In English, this is the word "I."

• • N’cape - my coffee
    • ^cape<n><nn><px1sg>/coffee<n><px1sg>$
    • the "my" will be extracted in the Structural Transfer lab
  • n’wlômawaldamen - I believe
    • ^n’wlômawaldamen<vb><tv><nn><s_sg1>/believe<vb>
    • The "I" will also be extracted