Proto Vauqun-Adzovъd

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markski
rupestrian
rupestrian
Posts: 13
Joined: 03 Jul 2016 19:33

Proto Vauqun-Adzovъd

Post by markski »

So. I already made a post for this language on the bboard (I also have a link in my signature b/c of my immense humility). I covered quite a bit of morphology and phonology there, but recently I started working on syntax and I wanted to post the work I've done here.

The typical unmarked order of PVA is SOV

xsi dīr motje
dog bone eat
The dog is eating a bone
(note I don't gloss unmarked cases; if I did xsi would be NOM and dīr would be ABS)

hivnǫ vatti fohze
man-COL food-DAT need-COM.s.pres
Mankind needs food
(COM.S is "common singular"- verbs distinguish common s, common pl and neuter agreement suffixes.)
The COM.s.pres ending is typically -je, but here fohi + je → fohjje → fohze

Unmarked predicate clauses lack a finite verb and instead suffix an agreement desinence to the subject.

muroje murūt
water-COM.s water-ADJ
Water is wet


pēsāxit rvī seð
bird.NOM.pl-COM.pl.pres sky.LOC.s in
Birds are in the sky (could also be translated "there are birds in the sky," but "there is/are" phrases typically have a different construction covered later)
The COM.pl.pres ending is -it

However, there is also a finite copula used in more marked phrases. These sentences are ordered VSP instead of the expected SPV

ty, ajk vad ēkja
yes, be-NEU food good-NEU.ABS.s
yes, food is good

Indeed, whenever a verb is emphasized or marked it occurs clause initially.

Motiwa seh pasa?!
eat-COM.s.past you that-NEU.ABS.s
Did you EAT that?!

The COM.s.past suffix is -iwa

Of course, if you want to be extra emphatic about whatever crazy item your companion ate you could go as far as to use VOS order

Motiwa pasa seh?!
eat-COM.s.past that-NEU.ABS.s you?
Did you eat THAT?!

And, of course, since "you" does not bear an accusative ending and the verb agrees with the common gender, we still know very clearly who the subject is.

Yeah that's all I have for now. Later I'll do relative clauses and neuter subjects (in case you hadn't noticed neuter nouns are erg/abs)
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