Wamesa/Grammar

Wamesa Pronouns

The Wamesa pronouns are as follows:

Person ............Cardinal Form

1 p. sg. . . . . . yau

2 p. sg. . . . . . au

3 p. sg. . . . . . i

1 p. du. in. . . . nan(d)u

1 p. du. ex. . . . amu(n)

2 p. du. . . . . . man(d)u

3 p. du. . . . . . san(d)u

1 p. tr. in. . . . ta-

1 p. tr. ex. . . . ama-

2 p. tr. . . . . . me-

3 p. tr. . . . . . se-

1 p. pl. in. . . . tata(t)

1 p. pl. ex. . . . ama(t)

2 p. pl. . . . . . mia(t)

3 p. pl. hum.. . . sia(t)

3 p. pl. non-hum.. si

Human-ness

In Wamesa, morphemes indicate whether something is a human <hum> or non-human <nohum>. However, this only affects the 3pl forms of a word.

• eat<v><3pl><hum> ↔ setapi
• eat<v><3pl><nohum> ↔ siapi
• blue<adj><3pl><nohum> ↔ siverawana

"They (nonhuman) are blue"

Wamesa Verbs

Wamesa verbs (<v>) conjugate in a way similar to the pronouns:

Person ............Prefix (Infix) Form

1 p. sg. . . . . . i-, y-

2 p. sg. . . . . . bu-, -u-

3 p. sg. . . . . . di-, -i-

1 p. du. in. . . . tu(n)-

1 p. du. ex. . . . amu(n)-

2 p. du. . . . . . mu(n)-

3 p. du. . . . . . su(n)-

1 p. pl. in. . . . ta(n)-

1 p. pl. ex. . . . ama(n)-

2 p. pl. . . . . . me(n)-

3 p. pl. hum.. . . se(n)-

3 p. pl. non-hum.. si

As such, they ought to be tagged with one of <p1>, <p2>, and <p3>, and one of <sg>, <du>, and <pl>.

Inclusivity in Wamesa

Inclusivity (<incl>, <excl>) in Wamesa affects 1du and 1pl (1sg is always exclusive by nature), and indicates whether the listener is included in the narrator's group.

• cut<v><1du><incl> ↔ tupera
• cut<v><idu><excl> ↔ amupera
• cut<v><1pl><incl> ↔ tapera
• cut<v><1pl><excl> ↔ amapera

In addition to conjugating with verbs, inclusivity can affect the use of pronouns:

1 p. du. in. . . . nan(d)u

1 p. du. ex. . . . amu(n)

1 p. pl. in. . . . tata(t)

1 p. pl. ex. . . . ama(t)

Wamesa Number

Wamesa pronouns, adjectives, and verbs undergo alternation as a result of number. When indicating the number of nouns, articles are attached, rather than changing the actual form of the noun. The Wamesa system includes singular (<sg>), dual (<du>), (trial (<tr>),) and plural (<pl>).

Number in Pronouns

Pronouns in their cardinal form undergo alternations based on number. Take, for example, the <p2> pronoun in <sg>, <du>, and <pl> forms:

2 p. sg. . . . . . au

2 p. du. . . . . . man(d)u

2 p. pl. . . . . . mia(t)

Sometimes, there are multiple forms of each number, depending on other factors. As we see below, inclusivity and human-ness play a part in the form of pronouns:

1 p. du. in. . . . tu(n)-

1 p. du. ex. . . . amu(n)-

3 p. pl. hum.. . . se(n)-

3 p. pl. non-hum.. si

There are actually trial forms of all three persons, as below. However, these are very rare and conjugate as <pl> forms when with a verb.

1 p. tr. in. . . . ta-

1 p. tr. ex. . . . ama-

2 p. tr. . . . . . me-

3 p. tr. . . . . . se-

Wamesa Articles

There are two types of articles in Wamesa - definite and indefinite - but they behave slightly differently than in English. Perhaps most importantly, they can attach to adjectives to turn the resulting phrase into a noun.

Definite Articles

The definite article (<def>) in Wamesa has a few forms: pai<sg>, pasanu<du>, and pasiat<pl>. Some examples are as follows:

• child<n><def> ↔ antum-pai

"The child"

• fish<n><def> ↔ dian-pai

"The fish"

• eye<n><du><def> ↔ re-pasanu

"The two eyes"

• Windesi people<n><def> ↔ Windesi-pasiat

"The Windesi people"

Exception:

• person<n><du><def> ↔ sinitu-pa

Indefinite Articles

The indefinite article(<indef>) in Wamesa is pesi. Examples below:

• man<n><indef> ↔ muan-pesi

"A man"

• big<adj><indef> ↔ baba-pesi

"Something big"

pesi is almost always inert, but it occasionally found in its dual and plural forms:

• woman<n><du><indef> ↔ babin-pesi-sanu

"Some two women"

• night<n><pl><indef> ↔ diru-pesasi

"Some nights"