Difference between revisions of "Biak/Grammar"
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romawa<n> yedya<det><dem><1p><3sg><px1sg> | romawa<n> yedya<det><dem><1p><3sg><px1sg> | ||
| − | + | {{morphTest|romawa{{tag|n}} det{{tag|det}}{{tag|pos}}{{tag|p3}}{{tag|px1sg}}{{tag|spc}} | |
This example deals with the possessor is 3S (3rd row) and the possessed is | This example deals with the possessor is 3S (3rd row) and the possessed is | ||
3SG (1st column): | 3SG (1st column): | ||
Revision as of 01:30, 5 March 2021
Contents
Word Classes
- Nouns
n - Verbs
v - Pronouns
prn - Adverbs
adv - Prepositions
pr - Interjections
ij - Numerals
num - Conjunctions
- Topic markers
- Exclamations
Note the absence of adjectives in Biak
Grammar Points
Verb number/person inflection
Verbs combine with pronomial subject affixes (mainly prefixes, a few infixes) that express number and person of the subject. In addition to singular and plural, Biak also has a dual and a paucal. For 1st person dual and plural, Biak also distinguishes between inclusive and exclusive. There are at least three ways to combine verbs with pronomial affixes, and this is mainly determined by the beginning of the verb stem.
CC-initial
Example: «srow» (meet)
srow<v><p1><sg> ↔ yasrow
srow<v><p2><sg> ↔ wasrow
srow<v><p3><sg> ↔ isrow
srow<v><p1><du><ex> ↔ nusrow
srow<v><p1><du><inc> ↔ kusrow
srow<v><p2><du> ↔ musrow
srow<v><p3><du> ↔ susrow
srow<v><p3><pc> ↔ skosrow
srow<v><p1><pl><exc> ↔ nkosrow
srow<v><p1><pl><inc> ↔ kosrow
srow<v><p2><pl> ↔ mkosrow
srow<v><p3><pl><an> ↔ sisrow
srow<v><p3><pl><inan> ↔ nasrow
V-initial
Example: «arok» (be straight)
arok<v><p1><sg> ↔ yarok
arok<v><p2><sg> ↔ warok
arok<v><p3><sg> ↔ darok
arok<v><p1><du><ex> ↔ nuyarok
arok<v><p1><du><inc> ↔ kuyarok
arok<v><p2><du> ↔ muyarok
arok<v><p3><du> ↔ suyarok
arok<v><p3><pc> ↔ skarok
arok<v><p1><pl><exc> ↔ nkarok
arok<v><p1><pl><inc> ↔ karok
arok<v><p2><pl> ↔ mkarok
arok<v><p3><pl><an> ↔ sarok
arok<v><p3><pl><inan> ↔ narok
CV-initial
Note that the pattern for CV-initial verbs is not so predictable. For some words, the inflection is determined lexically; for instance, «so» (throw) is inflected according to the CV-pattern, while «so» (follow) is inflected according to the CC-pattern.
Example: «so» (throw)
so<v><p1><sg> ↔ yaso
so<v><p2><sg> ↔ swo
so<v><p3><sg> ↔ syo
so<v><p1><du><ex> ↔ nuso
so<v><p1><du><inc> ↔ kuso
so<v><p2><du> ↔ muso
so<v><p3><du> ↔ suso
so<v><p3><pc> ↔ skoso
so<v><p1><pl><exc> ↔ nkoso
so<v><p1><pl><inc> ↔ koso
so<v><p2><pl> ↔ mkoso
so<v><p3><pl><an> ↔ siso
so<v><p3><pl><inan> ↔ naso
Givenness
Givenness is marked by «an», and the allomorph «nan». «an» is used if the preceding word ends in a consonant, while «nan» is used after vowels.
rum<n> an<det><p3><sg> ↔ rum anya
kpu<n> an<det><p3><sg> ↔ kpu anya
waw<n> an<det><p3><sg> ↔ waw anya
ikoi<n> an<det><p3><sg> ↔ ikoi nanya
Noun Specificity
Nonspecificity is used to refer to entities that do not yet exist in this world. It is marked by the use of nonspecific articles -o for singular and -no for plural.
yuk<n><nspc><sg> ↔ yuko
yuk<n><nspc><pl> ↔ yukno
Specificity is marked with pronominal articles attached to the end of a noun phrase.
They are closely related to free personal pronouns and pronominal affixes:
| free personal pronoun | pronominal article | |
|---|---|---|
| 1SG | aya | ?/=ya-i |
| 2SG | aw | aw-ya/=aw-i |
| 3SG | i | =ya/=i |
| 1DU.INC | ku | =ku-ya/=ku-i |
| 1DU.EX | nu | =nu-ya/=nu-i |
| 2DU | mu | =mu-ya/=mu-i |
| 3DU | su | =su-ya/=su-i |
| 3PC | sko | =sko-ya/=sko-i |
| 1PL.INC | ko | =ko-ya/=ko-i |
| 1PL.EX | inko | =inko-ya/inko-i |
| 2PL | mko | =mko-ya/mko-i |
| 3PL.AN | si | =s-ya/=s-i |
| 3PL.INAN | na | =na |
Wardo<n><spc><p1><pl><ex> ↔ Wardoinkoya
yuk<n><spc><p1><sg> ↔ yukya
The pronominal articles are found in the final position of the noun phrase (not necessarily the noun itself):
for<n> ba<rel><spc><p3><sg> ↔ for vebaya
Complex Articles
Biak also has complex articles that act as their own words, indicating givenness, number/gender/specificity,
Possession (Alienable/Inalienable)
Biak makes a formal distinction between alienable and inalienable (mainly restricted to certain body parts, kinship terms, and locational nouns) possession.
Alienable Possession
The possessive pronominals consist of the possessive formative ve inflected for person, number, and gender of the possessor, and the article closing off related to the (person,) number, and gender of the possessed. This table illustrates the construction of possessive pronominals.
| Possessor↓ Possessum→ | SG | DU | PC | PL.AN | PL.INAN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1SG | (a)ye=d-i/=d-ya | (a)ye=su-ya/-i | (a)ye=sko-ya/-i | (a)ye=s-ya/-i | (a)ye=na |
| 2SG | be=d-i/=d-ya | be-=su-ya/-i | be=sko-ya/-i | be=s-ya/-i | be=na |
| 3SG | v<y>e=d-i/=d-ya | v<y>e=su-ya/-i | v<y>e =sko-ya/-i | v<y>e =s-ya/-i | v<y>e =na |
| 1DU.INC | Ku-ve=d-i/=d-ya | ku-ve=su-ya/-i | ku-ve=sko-ya/-i | ku-ve=s-ya/-i | ku-ve=na |
| 1DU.EX | nu-ve=d-i/=d-ya | nu-ve=su-ya/-i | nu-ve=sko-ya/-i | nu-ve=s-ya/-i | nu-ve=na |
| 2DU | mu-ve=d-i/=d-ya | mu-ve=su-ya/-i | mu-ve=sko-ya/-i | mu-ve=s-ya/-i | mu-ve=na |
| 3DU | su-ve=d-i/=d-ya | su-ve=su-ya/-i | su-ve=sko-ya/-i | su-ve=s-ya/-i s | su-ve=na |
| 1PC | sko-ve=d-i/=d-ya | sko-ve=su-ya/-i | sko-ve=sko-ya/-i | sko-ve=s-ya/-i | sko-ve=na |
| 1PL.INC | ko-ve=d-i/=d-ya | ko-ve=su-ya/-i | ko-ve=sko-ya/-i | ko-ve=s-ya/-i | ko-ve=na |
| 1PL.EX | (i)nko-ve=d-i/=d-ya | (i)nko-ve=su-ya/-i | i (i)nko-ve=sko-ya/-i | (i)nko-ve=s-ya/-i | (i)nko-ve=na |
| 2PL | mko-ve=d-i/=d-ya | mko-ve=su-ya/-i | mko-ve=sko-ya/-i | mko-ve=s-ya/-i | mko-ve=na |
| 3PL.AN | se=d-i/=d-ya | se=su-ya/-i | se=sko-ya/-i | se=s-ya/-i | se=na |
| 3PL.INAN | nbe=d-i/d-ya | nbe=su-ya/-i | nbe=sko-ya/-i | nbe=s-ya/-i | nbe=na |
The following example indicates that the possessor is 1G (first row) and the possessed is 3SG (first column):
romawa<n> yedya<det><dem><1p><3sg><px1sg> {{morphTest|romawa<n> det<det><pos><p3><px1sg><spc> This example deals with the possessor is 3S (3rd row) and the possessed is 3SG (1st column):
ikák<n> an<det><dem><p3><sg><spc><prox> snonsnon<n> det<det><pos><px3sg><spc> ↔ ikák anine snosnon vyedya
