Classifiers
As there's not much to say about adjectives, this will probably be the meatier post until i start on verbs.
Classifiers in Retla fill in for all the relevant morphology on Noun Classes (i.e. Gender), Number, and, sometimes, definiteness.
1. What they look like:
Here i'll show you the most common classifiers, what kinds of nouns do they usually accompany and a prototypical example:
khu:
This classifier is typically used with people, but may be used in narrative to anthropomorphise characters (a translation of The North Wind and the Sun will come, in which there will be examples of that)
A very typical example would be:
mi khu ẕlip ji tra
three CL neighbor GEN 1s
my three neighbors
pi:
Used with children and maybe kitten animals.
val xu pi pi pjo trephil
play-IPFV
two CL child ouside here
Two children are playing outside
You might have noticed the word for children is homophonous with this classifier. A few more things are also homophonous in
pi and that can lead to phrases such:
pi pi pi pi pi
Many big children thought
tgu:
This is the classifier generally used for animals, a few, specific, animals might use different classifiers, but this is the most common one.
wi tgu pa
one CL cat
One cat
iplu:
This is one of the various form dependent classifiers, this one refers to rigid things where length is the most prominent dimension. Such as a stick, trees, most bones, etc. The prototypical object here is a stick.
thle iplu
The trees
ki:
This one is used for things that are roughly round, like eggs, oranges, etc.
ki ki ki
CL egg round
A round egg
toṣ:
Is the classifier used for things that have little width, like leaves and clothe.
toṣ toṣ ẕwiguj
Many cloaks
ith:
This is the classifier that handles things that don't have a definite shape, or are considered too formless to fit into the previous shape-related classifiers. Like wind, sand and dirt. Abstract concepts usually wound up here.
ith toxkh ŋuj
cold wind
thṣu:
This is the more general classifier, which can be used for pretty much anything that's not bigger than a man. It is also used to refer to multiple entities which would normally take different classifiers.
xu thṣu sar
Two hands
ins:
This is a leftover classifier like thṣu, but for things larger than a man. Like mountains and very large animals.
thuŋ ins re
The small mountains
Those are the most common classifiers. Others may exist, but the vast majority of words can be addressed with these.
2. How they are used
Here i'll treat the actual usage of the Classifiers in Retla.
2.1 Obligatory Places
Classifiers are Obligatorily inserted when the noun is being modified by a numeral or adjective. You can see that in the examples i used in the previous section.
With Numerals:
xu thṣu sar
two CL hand
Two hands
With Adjectives:
ith toxkh ŋuj
CL wind cold
cold wind
Classifiers are not needed along with relative clauses.
2.2.1 A Dance of Specificity (in the Singular)
Let's look at the parameters of Definiteness and Specificity, English articles treat Specific and Nonspecific Definite the same. And the same happens with Indefinites. Like this:
In Retla, on the other hand, the main split is one of Specificity, but Definiteness is contrasted in Specific nouns, like this:
0 stands for zero-marking.
wi is the numeral one, and
iŋpi patterns like a numeral. One could analyze it as as a definite variant of
wi.
Some examples for further clarification:
Indefinite, non-specific:
pija le gu
think-PASS ACC fish
Think of a fish
Indefinite, specific
xi wi toṣ gto tithi ta ki thle
exist
one CL leaf REL-NEG-fall LOC PROX tree
There's a leaf that doesn't fall in this tree
Definite, non-specific
zmel le kmo
search-IPFV ACC chief
I'm looking for the chief (whoever that may be)
Definite, specific
zmel le iŋpi khu kmo
search-IPFV ACC
DEF CL chief
I'm looking for the chief(, Mikaj)
2.2.2 A Dance of Plurals
With plurals, there's a different distinction. Probably not specificity nor definiteness.
The First Plural denotes a, normally large, potentially infinite number, while the second is a delimited amount (which can be very large nonetheless). They are translated the same, but when the plural word is the object of a verb, it affects the verb's telicity and, consequently, some aktionsart stuff i'm cooking up for the verbs.
You can see examples of both of them in Section 1.
Plural 1:
toṣ toṣ ẕwiguj
Many cloaks
Formed by doubling the Classifier (it then occupies both the Number and the Classifier slot).
Plural 2:
thle iplu
The trees
Formed by placing the Classifier after the Noun.
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Very cool!