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. . . . tatoru

1 p. tr. ex. . . . amatoru

2 p. tr. . . . . . metoru

3 p. tr. . . . . . setoru

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

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)

Number

Wamesa pronouns, 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 same goes for when adjectives are converted into nouns by adding articles to them. 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. . . . nan(d)u

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

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

3 p. pl. non-hum.. si

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

1 p. tr. in. . . . tatoru

1 p. tr. ex. . . . amatoru

2 p. tr. . . . . . metoru

3 p. tr. . . . . . setoru

Number in Verbs

Verbs conjugate based on the number of persons acting.

eat<v><p2><sg> ↔ buapi

eat<v><p2><du> ↔ murapi

eat<v><p2><pl> ↔ metapi

Sometimes, number morphemes are infixes:

cut<v><p2><sg> ↔ puera

cut<v><p3><sg> ↔ piera

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"

Intensity

Intensity in Wamesa is usually handled by reduplication.

Intensity in Verbs

ira saira i go quickly ira sasaira i go very quickly yau imase im hot yau imamase im very hot