Miskito/Grammar
Contents
Parts of Speech
Nouns
Determiners/Articles
In Miskito, the determiner follows the noun rather than precedes it like in English. In Miskito, ba and na are used as articles interchangeably depending on the proximity of the noun. "Na" is used if the noun is closeby. For example,
- aras<n><sg><def><dst>|aras ba : if the horse is distant, or
- aras<n><sg><def><prx>|aras na : if the horse is nearby (proximate).
- aras<n> ↔ aras
- ilili<n> ↔ ilili
- daktar<n> ↔ daktar
- sika<n> ↔ sika
- luhpia<n> ↔ luhpia
- bip<n> ↔ bip
- gul<n> ↔ gul
- aian<n> ↔ aian
- ba<det><def><dst> ↔ ba
- na<det><def><prx> ↔ na
- ap<det><ind> ↔ ap
- kum kum<det><ind> ↔ kum kum
Additionally, kum (a), kum kum (some), and ap (some) are used as articles in the exact same way. For instance,
- aras<n><sg><ind>|aras ap : some horse. Also written as
- aras<n><sg><ind>|aras kum kum
Plural
The plural marker is "nani". To make a noun plural, "nani" should be used after the noun. If there is an article, it will follow the noun and the plural. For example,
- {{aras<n><pl><def><dst>|aras nani ba}} : the horses
- {{ilili<n><pl><def><dst>|ilili nani ba}} : the sharks
- {{luhpia<n><pl><def><dst>|luhpia nani ba}} : the children
- {{luhpia<n><pl><def><dst>|luhpia nani ba}} : the children
- nani<det><pl><def> ↔ nani
Personal Pronouns
Miskito distinguishes three persons with a distinction for inclusive/exclusive in the first person plural.
- yang<prn><p1> ↔ yang
- man<prn><p2> ↔ man
- witin<prn><p3> ↔ witin
The plurals are formed by adding the general plural determiner "nani", except for the inclusive first person plural.
- yawan<prn><p1><pl> ↔ yawan (inclusive)
- yang<prn><p1><pl>|yang nani (exclusive)
- man<prn><p2><pl>|man nani
- witin<prn><p3><pl>|witin nani
Gender
Gender should be placed directly after the noun. If there is an article, it will follow the noun and gender. "waitna" is used for male, "mairin" is used for female, and "wainhka" is used for male (animal). For example,
- aras<n><f><sg><def><dst>|aras mairin ba
- aras<n><m><sg><def><prx>|aras wainhka na
- tuktan<n><m><sg><def><dst>|tuktan waitna ba
- mairin<det><hu><f> ↔ mairin
- wainhka<det><hu><m> ↔ wainhka
- waitna<det><nh><m> ↔ waitna
Plural and Gender
In the case both plural and gender are used, the sequence is noun followed by gender followed by plural followed by determiner. For example,
- bip<n><f><pl><def><dst>|bip mairin nani ba
- aras<n><m><pl><def><prx>|aras wainhka nani na
- tuktan<n><m><pl><def><dst>|tuktan waitna nani ba
Adjectives
Adjectives in Miskito should be tagged <adj>.
In Miskito, there are two types of qualified adjectives.
- Accidental qualities. When we say dus kum (a tree); wahya kum (a leaf), or sadik kum (a grapefruit), we don’t know the color or size of the item.
- Explicative Qualities – these adjectives denote permanent specific qualities of the noun.
Different to Spanish and English, the explicative adjective comes after the noun. When the noun refers to a person, some qualified adjectives can optionally precede the noun. In these cases, the noun takes the constructive state.
Comparative Adjectives
There are comparatives for inferiority, superiority, and equality.
For comparative adjectives of inferiority, we use Kau wiria + wal
- Nikarawa<n><sg><def><dst><comp><adj>|Nikarawa ba kau wiria tara sa Tech wal : Nicaragua is less big than the US
- Nikarawa<n><sg><def><dst><comp><adj>|Utla ba kau wiria sirpi sa dus wal : The house is less small than the tree
For comparative adjectives of superiority, we use Kau + wal
- Gul<n><sg><def><dst><comp><adj>|Gul ba kau mana sa aian wal : Gold is more expensive than iron
For comparative adjectives of equality, we use Pali + Baku
- Sika<n><sg><def><dst><comp><adj>|Sika ba nit pali sa daktar baku : The medicine is as necessary as the doctor
Categories of Words Used Above
- kau<adv> ↔ kau
- wiria<adv> ↔ wiria
- wal<post> ↔ wal
- mana<adj> ↔ mana
- pali<adj> ↔ pali
- sirpi<adj> ↔ sirpi
Miskito Verb Tenses
Verbs in Miskito should be tagged <v>. The person tags needed will be <p1>, <p2>, <p3>.
The stem of a verb comes from removing the -aia suffix from the infinitive. Conjugation for most tenses is formed by combining a verb stem with a set of endings. The set of endings follow a general pattern for most cases, except when the verb stem ends in a vowel.
Simple Past
The simple past tense of verbs is formed by combining a verb stem with a set of endings: -ri, -ram, -an, -n (third person i-stem verbs).
«prukaia» (to hit) with the stem «pruk»- ends in a consonant:
- prukaia<v><past><p1> ↔ prukri
- prukaia<v><past><p2> ↔ prukram
- prukaia<v><past><p3> ↔ prukan
«buaia» (to rise/get up) with the stem «bu»- ends in a vowel «u»:
- buaia<v><past><p1> ↔ buri
- buaia<v><past><p2> ↔ buram
- buaia<v><past><p3> ↔ buan
«diaia» (to drink) with the stem «di»- ends in a vowel «i»:
- diaia<v><past><p1> ↔ diri
- diaia<v><past><p2> ↔ diram
- diaia<v><past><p3> ↔ din
Plural personal pronouns (e.g. 'We', 'They') utilize the same verb conjugations as the singulars. The construction just adds 'nani' to the singular pronoun: <n> + nani + <v>. So, if 'nani'
«pulaia» (to play) with the stem «pul»- ends in a consonant:
- pulaia<v><past><p1> ↔ pulri
- pulaia<v><past><p2> ↔ pulram
- pulaia<v><past><p3> ↔ pulan
- pulaia<v><past><p1><pl>|yang nani pulri
- pulaia<v><past><p2><pl>|man nani pulram
- pulaia<v><past><p3><pl>|witin nani pulan
Present 1
Present 1 expresses an ongoing action or an imminent action at the time of speaking. For regular verbs, -una, -uma, -uya are added to the verb stem; -suna, -suma, -suya, for i-stem verbs.
«aiwanaia» (to sing) with the stem «aiwan»- ends in a consonant:
- aiwanaia<v><pprs><p1> ↔ aiwanuna
- aiwanaia<v><pprs><p2> ↔ aiwanuma
- aiwanaia<v><pprs><p3> ↔ aiwanuya
«piaia» (to eat) with the stem «pi»- ends in a vowel «i»:
- piaia<v><pprs><p1> ↔ pisuna
- piaia<v><pprs><p2> ↔ pisuma
- piaia<v><pprs><p3> ↔ pisuya
Example sentence:
Yang miskitu aisuna. "I am speaking Miskitu."
Present 2
Present 2 is the general present tense. For regular verbs, -isna, -isma, -isa are added to the verb stem; -sna, -sma, -sa, for vowel-stem verbs.
«alkaia» (to grab) with the stem «alk»- ends in a consonant:
- alkaia<v><pres><p1> ↔ alkisna
- alkaia<v><pres><p2> ↔ alkisma
- alkaia<v><pres><p3> ↔ alkisa
«briaia» (to have) with the stem «bri»- ends in a vowel «i»:
- briaia<v><pres><p1> ↔ brisna
- briaia<v><pres><p2> ↔ brisma
- briaia<v><pres><p3> ↔ brisa
Example Sentence:
Yang miskitu aisisna. "I speak Miskito."
