Japhug and English/ContrastiveGrammars

1. For clauses with transitive verbs, in Japhug the object generally precedes the verb (and follows the subject). In English however the object follows the verb.

• (jya) βzaŋsa tonɯpandʑi. → (eng) (They) made friends (with each other).

(jya) βzaŋsa<n><ind> tonɯpandʑi<v><du> → (eng) They<prn><sbj><pl> made<vblex> friends<n><pl>

(Note: Japhug intransitive verbs require an object but not a subject, unlike in English.)

• (jya) kɯkɯra xuexiao ɲɯrganɯ. → (eng) Those (the children) like school.

(jya) kɯkɯra<dem><prox><pl> xuexiao<n><ind> ɲɯrganɯ<v><sens><pl> → (eng) These<dem><prox><pl> like<vblex> school<n>

2. Japhug generally uses postpositions to express relative position (i.e., locative postpositions zɯ, tɕu and ri), whereas English uses prepositions.

• (jya) jonɯɕe tɕe, tʂu ɲɤmtsɯr. → (eng) They went, and on the road they were hungry.

(jya) jonɯɕe<v><ifr><auto> tɕe<lnk>, tʂu<n> tɕu<post><loc> ɲɤmtsɯr<v><ifr> → (eng) They<prn><sbj> went<vblex>, and<lnk> on<p><loc> the<det><def> road<n> they<prn><sbj> were<aux><past> hungry<vblex>

• (jya) ambro ɯjme zɯ kɤzo. → (eng) Land on my horse's tail.

(jya) ambro<n><px1sg> ɯjme<n><px3sg> zɯ<post><loc> kɤzo<v><imp> → (eng) Land<vblex> on<p><loc> my<adv> horse's<n><poss> tail<n>

3. The negation prefix and causative prefixes (among other verb prefixes) in Japhug would generally need to be expressed using separate words in English, like "not" or "cause to". In the case of the (simple) negative prefix, generally the adverb "not" would need to be added before the verb; if no auxiliary is present, the auxiliary "did" (agreeing with tense) would be added too. In the case of the causative prefix, an additional verb like "caused (to)" would need to be added before the "original" subject of the verb (i.e., "cat" in the sentence "I caused the cat to purr.").

• (jya) aʑo mɯpɯrɤʑia. → (eng) I was not present.

(jya) aʑo<prn><1sg> mɯpɯrɤʑia<v><neg><pst> → (eng) I<prn><1sg> was<aux><pst> not<adv><neg> present<vblex>

• (jya) ɯʑo kɯ nɤʑo pɯ́wɣsɯmtoa. → (eng) They caused me to see you.

(jya) ɯʑo<prn><3sg> kɯ<post><erg> nɤʑo<prn><2sg> pɯ́wɣsɯmtoa<v><ipfv><inv><caus><1sg> → (eng) He<prn><3sg> caused<vblex><pst> me<prn><1sg><obj> to<aux> see<vblex> you<prn><2sg>

4. Japhug verbs can take dual (-ndʑi) and plural (-nɯ) indexation suffixes, that can take the place of second or third person dual/plural pronouns as the object of the verb. E.g., a clause can consist of an intransitive verb alone, with a dual prefix in place of its argument. However it doesn't always do this, it can simply be an agreement with the object(s).

• (jya) ɕɤrɯ nɯ ʁnɯtɤrtsɯɣ toβzundʑi tɕe. → (eng) They made two piles from the bones.

(jya) ɕɤrɯ<n> nɯ<dem> ʁnɯtɤrtsɯɣ<n> toβzundʑi<v><ifr><du> tɕe<lnk> → (eng) They<prn><pl> made<vblex><pst> two<adj> piles<n><pl> from<p> the<det><def> bones<n><pl>

5. (No hard rule) Certain adverbs in English (like "together") generally come after the verb, whereas their equivalents in Japhug generally come before.