Adverbial clause marking - What is this called?

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Davush
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Adverbial clause marking - What is this called?

Post by Davush »

Hello,

I am thinking of using this verbal suffix in a conlang, but I am not sure what it would be called or its usage should be more generalised?

The suffix is -la, and its used with certain adverbial clauses (if, when, since, etc.)

wolo xajaq-la...
if 2.go-LA(?)
If you go...

coro mamé-la
when 1.come-LA(?)
When I come

rinyan mxéhan-la
because 2.come.PAST-LA
Because/Since you have come...

So far, I haven't intended to use this with all adverbial clauses as it is only triggered by certain conjunctions.

Any comments or examples from natlangs with a similar feature would be welcome.

Thanks
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Lao Kou
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Re: Adverbial clause marking - What is this called?

Post by Lao Kou »

Reminds me of Géarthnuns "sho" which is labelled a "particle", but I think of it as an explicit verbal comma (IOW, it looks okay to me). But that's a conlang which doesn't pretend naturalism.

It also reminds me slightly of Japanese -ra (maybe just a sound association?): ittara - if you go, but that doesn't span across the full terrain you've laid out.
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gach
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Re: Adverbial clause marking - What is this called?

Post by gach »

Many languages construct at least some adverbial clauses using nominalised verb forms, see for example the following Finnish example,

Lähde-n heti käy-tyä-ni ensin koto-na.
leave-SG1 immediately visit-NF-SG1.POSS first home-ESS
"I will leave immediately after going home first."

Different authors like to use different labels for these forms, such as infinitives or converbs, but you can also call them by more specific names, especially if they serve other functions as well. In the case of these nominalised anterior temporal clauses in Finnish, the verb form in question is the partitive case (-a/ä) of the passive perfect participle (-tu/ty).

Your examples seem to have person inflection on the la-forms of the verbs. The nominalised verb forms are commonly distinct from the finite person inflected verb forms so that they don't share at least the same person marking with them. In the Finnish example above, the subject of the adverbial clause is marked on the nominalised verb käytyäni, but the marking is different from the finite verb lähden by being treated as the possessor of the verb (hence the use of a possessive suffix).

You could also have more clitic like nominalisers that attach onto whole regularly formed finite clauses to mark them for subordination. I can't think of any language where you'd get that and also have person marking on the verbs but without person marking you could look Kurtöp for example. This language has a nominalising verb suffix -si/zi that's used in constructing clauses describing anterior action,

Tsheni igu-the co-zi boi bi-shang.
then letter-DEF make-NF 3.ERG give-PFV
"So after making the letter, they gave it."

The suffix -si does affect the morphology that you can use on the verb but it seems that the subjects of these clauses are expressed in the same manner as in the finite clauses (with the wubject in the ergative case),

Nga-i nya tshotma co-zi ma-zu.
1-ERG fish curry make-NF NEG-eat
"I didn't cook and therefore didn't eat fish curry."

So some type of a nominaliser suffix could be a good interpretation for the la-forms, but do first consider what other tasks the suffix might have and also how does it interact with the person marking on the verb. That should help you in the naming.
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Salmoneus
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Re: Adverbial clause marking - What is this called?

Post by Salmoneus »

I would call it the subjunctive. If that sounds too irrealis for you (as your form is used in irrealist cases but also some realis ones), perhaps 'conjunctive' would appear more neutral. Latin at least uses the subjunctive for both "if" and "when" clauses - I'm not sure it uses it with "because", but it does with "although", and other languages uses it with "because" I'm sure.

Latin also used it to express volition, wishes, and potentials, but you needn't. Though it wouldn't be hard to imagine: if "mamé" essentially means "that I come", then "mamé!" could easily be used as "(would) that I come!", or "(if it were) that I come!" or "(it may be) that I come!".
Davush
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Re: Adverbial clause marking - What is this called?

Post by Davush »

Thanks, I think 'conjunctive' sounds quite appropriate.

Although the languages gach mentioned do not show person marking on these forms, I imagined this suffix as originally being a verbal suffix meaning only 'if' (possibly from an eroded form of 'wolo') which did not require the separate conjunction, but then its usage became more generalised and it appears both with a conjunction and person marking. This conlang also uses serial verb constructions with person marking present so it seems to be a feature of the language to have redundant person marking.
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