Difference between revisions of "Wamesa/Grammar"

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==Wamesa Pronouns==
 
 
The Wamesa pronouns are as follows:
 
The Wamesa pronouns are as follows:
 
<tt>
 
<tt>
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: 3 p. pl. hum.. . . se(n)-  <br/>
 
: 3 p. pl. hum.. . . se(n)-  <br/>
 
: 3 p. pl. non-hum.. si <br/></tt>
 
: 3 p. pl. non-hum.. si <br/></tt>
As such, they shall be tagged with one of {{tag|p1}}, {{tag|p2}}, and {{tag|p3}}, and one of {{tag|sg}}, {{tag|du}}, and {{tag|pl}}.  
+
As such, they shall be tagged with one of {{tag|p1}}, {{tag|p2}}, and {{tag|p3}}, and one of {{tag|sg}}, {{tag|du}}, and {{tag|pl}}.
 +
 
 +
===Subject Agreement FINISH===
 +
Wamesa does subject agreement by simply applying the appropriate prefix (or infix) to the verb. For nouns, the subject does not change form:
 +
* {{morphTest|eagle{{tag|n}} big{{tag|adj}}{{tag|p3}}{{tag|sg}}|kankani bieba}}
 +
:: "The eagle is big"
 +
* {{morphTest|child{{tag|n}}{{tag|def}} cut{{tag|v}}{{tag|p3}}{{tag|sg}} bag{{tag|n}}{{tag|def}}|antum-pai piera rotang-pai}}
 +
:: "The child cuts the bag"
 +
Pronoun subjects undergo alterations when agreeing with their verbs:
 +
* {{morphTest|write{{tag|v}}{{tag|p1}}{{tag|sg}}{{tag|unacf}}|yau yimbui}}
 +
:: "I'm about to write"
 +
It should be noted, though, that although these constructions are grammatical, pronoun deletion is recoverable, so speakers would probably say the above phrases without the pronouns.
  
 
==Human-ness Done==
 
==Human-ness Done==
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* {{morphTest|orphan{{tag|n}}{{tag|p2}}{{tag|poss}}|memu antum}}
 
* {{morphTest|orphan{{tag|n}}{{tag|p2}}{{tag|poss}}|memu antum}}
  
==Aspect==
+
==Aspect Done==
Wamesa includes a few aspects.
+
Wamesa handles a few aspects.
 
===Habitual Aspect===
 
===Habitual Aspect===
 
Habitual aspect ({{tag|hab}}) in Wamesa is subtle. It is marked by the prefixes ''i-, ri-'' and ''ti-'' for {{tag|sg}}, {{tag|du}}, and {{tag|pl}}, respectively, and is often equated to the imperfect tense in English. In Wamesa, however, it has little to do with tense, and more to do with the fact that the situation is habitual or spanned a long time:
 
Habitual aspect ({{tag|hab}}) in Wamesa is subtle. It is marked by the prefixes ''i-, ri-'' and ''ti-'' for {{tag|sg}}, {{tag|du}}, and {{tag|pl}}, respectively, and is often equated to the imperfect tense in English. In Wamesa, however, it has little to do with tense, and more to do with the fact that the situation is habitual or spanned a long time:
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* {{morphTest|come{{tag|v}}{{tag|p3}}{{tag|pl}}{{tag|caus}}|sunrondama}}
 
* {{morphTest|come{{tag|v}}{{tag|p3}}{{tag|pl}}{{tag|caus}}|sunrondama}}
 
:: "They made it come"
 
:: "They made it come"
 
==="Yet" Aspect===
 
The affix ''pa'' (not to be confused with the determiner) is used to mark the "yet" aspect:
 
* {{morphTest|stone{{tag|n}} fall{{tag|v}}{{tag|yet}}|
 
  
 
==Participials Done==
 
==Participials Done==
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:: "He cut Inuri to pieces" (Inuri became in pieces)
 
:: "He cut Inuri to pieces" (Inuri became in pieces)
  
 +
==Miscellaneous Words Done==
 +
===Negation===
 +
In Wamesa, negation of a clause ({{tag|neg}}) is handled by putting ''va'' (sometimes transliterated ''ba'') at the end. Note that ''va'' can only be placed at the end, interspersing it somewhere in the middle yields ungrammaticality:
 +
* {{morphTest|stop{{tag|v}}{{tag|p3}}{{tag|sg}}{{tag|caus}}{{tag|neg}}|dionmoyar i va}}
 +
:: "She could not make it stop"
 +
* {{morphTest|hit{{tag|v}}{{tag|p1}}{{tag|sg}}{{tag|neg}}|yau irorai va}}
 +
:: "I didn't hit it"
 +
 +
==="Yet" Aspect===
 +
The affix ''-pa'' (not to be confused with the determiner) is used to mark the unaccomplished past ("not yet") aspect ({{tag|unacp}}):
 +
* {{morphTest|stone{{tag|n}} fall{{tag|v}}{{tag|unac}}|rebuki-pai tiauwapa}}
 +
:: "The stone hasn't fallen yet"
 +
* {{morphTest|see{{tag|v}}{{tag|p1}}{{tag|sg}} bird{{tag|n}}{{tag|unac}}|yau iserei ayapa}}
 +
:: "I haven't seen the bird yet"
  
 +
==="About to" Aspect===
 +
The infix ''-i(t)-'' is used to mark the unaccomplished future ("about to") aspect ({{tag|unacf}}):
 +
* {{morphTest|run{{tag|v}}{{tag|p1}}{{tag|sg}}{{tag|unacf}}|yau yitapai}}
 +
:: "I'm about to run"
 +
* {{morphTest|write{{tag|v}}{{tag|p1}}{{tag|sg}}{{tag|unacf}}|yau yimbui}}
 +
:: "I'm about to write"
  
 
[[Category:Grammar documentation]]
 
[[Category:Grammar documentation]]
 
[[Category:Wamesa]]
 
[[Category:Wamesa]]

Revision as of 20:57, 8 February 2017

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

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 shall be tagged with one of <p1>, <p2>, and <p3>, and one of <sg>, <du>, and <pl>.

Subject Agreement FINISH

Wamesa does subject agreement by simply applying the appropriate prefix (or infix) to the verb. For nouns, the subject does not change form:

  • eagle<n> big<adj><p3><sg> ↔ kankani bieba
"The eagle is big"
  • child<n><def> cut<v><p3><sg> bag<n><def> ↔ antum-pai piera rotang-pai
"The child cuts the bag"

Pronoun subjects undergo alterations when agreeing with their verbs:

  • write<v><p1><sg><unacf> ↔ yau yimbui
"I'm about to write"

It should be noted, though, that although these constructions are grammatical, pronoun deletion is recoverable, so speakers would probably say the above phrases without the pronouns.

Human-ness Done

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><p3><pl><hum> ↔ setapi
  • eat<v><p3><pl><nohum> ↔ siapi
  • talk<v><p3><pl><hum> ↔ setikaviora
"They (human) use it to talk over there"
  • blue<adj><p3><pl><nohum> ↔ siverawana
"They (nonhuman) are blue"

Inclusivity Done

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.

Inclusivity in Verbs

  • cut<v><p1><du><incl> ↔ tupera
  • cut<v><p1><du><excl> ↔ amupera
  • cut<v><p1><pl><incl> ↔ tapera
  • cut<v><p1><pl><excl> ↔ amapera

Inclusivity in Pronouns

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 Done

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 Done

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 for <sg>, pasanu for <du>, and pasiat for <pl>. Some examples are as follows:

  • child<n><def> ↔ antum-pai
"The child"
  • sick<adj><def> ↔ bepota-pai
"The sick one"
  • 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 Done

Intensity in Wamesa is usually handled by reduplication on the verb. To indicate intensity, verbs reduplicate a portion of their stem, usually a single, coda-less syllable. Verbs can either be intensified (<int>), or regular intensity.

  • go quickly<v><p1><sg> ↔ ira saira
"I go quickly"
  • go quickly<v><p1><sg><int> ↔ ira sasaira
"I go very quickly"
  • hot<adj><p1><sg> ↔ yau imase
"I'm hot"
  • hot<adj><p1><sg><int> ↔ yau imamase
"I'm very hot"

Intensity of a situation is also handled by reduplication in the verb. In fact, sometimes multiple parts of a sentence can be altered to add intensity.

  • leech<n><v> ↔ riopai piau
"There is a leech"
  • leech<n><int><v> ↔ ririopai piau
"There are many leeches"
  • leech<n><v><int> ↔ ririopai sipau
"There are very many leeches" (verb is intensified)
  • leech<n><int><v><int> ↔ ririopasi sipau
"There are extremely many leeches" (verb and noun are intensified)

Possession Done

Possession affects nouns in Wamesa. The nouns undergo alterations depending on whether they belong (<poss>) to <p1>, <p2>, or <p3>; <sg>, <du>, or <pl>.

  • mouth<n><p1><sg><poss> ↔ sore-pat
  • mouth<n><p2><sg><poss> ↔ soremi
  • mouth<n><p3><sg><poss> ↔ soreni
  • mouth<n><p1><pl><incl><poss> ↔ tansoremi
  • mouth<n><p1><pl><excl><poss> ↔ amansoremi
  • mouth<n><p2><pl><poss> ↔ mensoremi
  • mouth<n><p3><pl><poss> ↔ sensoremi

Irregularity

Sometimes, possession is handled with separate words. This evokes an archaic feeling, as the words come from old Austronesian influence. For this reason, these possessives are found in hymns and the like:

  • Lord<n><p2><poss> ↔ nomu Sjen
  • elder brother<n><p2><poss> ↔ nemu babai
  • orphan<n><p2><poss> ↔ memu antum

Aspect Done

Wamesa handles a few aspects.

Habitual Aspect

Habitual aspect (<hab>) in Wamesa is subtle. It is marked by the prefixes i-, ri- and ti- for <sg>, <du>, and <pl>, respectively, and is often equated to the imperfect tense in English. In Wamesa, however, it has little to do with tense, and more to do with the fact that the situation is habitual or spanned a long time:

  • make<v><p3><sg><hab> fire<n> ↔ riuri ya adia-pai
"He made a fire again"
  • Windesi<n><pl> hunt<v><p3><pl><hab> pig<n> ↔ Windesi-pasiat sentimun pimuna
"The Windesi people hunt pigs" (and have done so for a while)

Causative Aspect

Causative aspect (<caus>) is handled by the prefixes on-, ron- and ton- for <sg>, <du>, and <pl>, respectively, which are actually just elided forms of the conjugations of the verb one, to cause.

  • stop<v><p3><sg><caus> ↔ dionmoyar
"She made it stop"
  • come<v><p3><pl><caus> ↔ sunrondama
"They made it come"

Participials Done

In Wamesa, the prefix be- attaches to stems (usually adjectives), to indicate that the actor is in the state of being whatever is marked, or transitioning into the state of being whatever is marked. It shall be tagged with <>.

  • sick<adj><part> ↔ bepota
"Being sick"
  • sick<adj><part><def> ↔ bepota-pai
"The sick one"
  • sick<adj><v><p3><sg> ↔ piota
"He is sick"
  • sick<adj><part><v><p3><sg> ↔ biepota
"He is getting sick"

This construction also seems to be used for resultatives:

  • cut<v><p3><sg> Inuri to pieces<part> ↔ pieran Inuri bierabibam
"He cut Inuri to pieces" (Inuri became in pieces)

Miscellaneous Words Done

Negation

In Wamesa, negation of a clause (<neg>) is handled by putting va (sometimes transliterated ba) at the end. Note that va can only be placed at the end, interspersing it somewhere in the middle yields ungrammaticality:

  • stop<v><p3><sg><caus><neg> ↔ dionmoyar i va
"She could not make it stop"
  • hit<v><p1><sg><neg> ↔ yau irorai va
"I didn't hit it"

"Yet" Aspect

The affix -pa (not to be confused with the determiner) is used to mark the unaccomplished past ("not yet") aspect (<unacp>):

  • stone<n> fall<v><unac> ↔ rebuki-pai tiauwapa
"The stone hasn't fallen yet"
  • see<v><p1><sg> bird<n><unac> ↔ yau iserei ayapa
"I haven't seen the bird yet"

"About to" Aspect

The infix -i(t)- is used to mark the unaccomplished future ("about to") aspect (<unacf>):

  • run<v><p1><sg><unacf> ↔ yau yitapai
"I'm about to run"
  • write<v><p1><sg><unacf> ↔ yau yimbui
"I'm about to write"