Snowball

[Click]

Test your conlang's passive voice!

English:

You throw a snowball.
A snowball is thrown.
A snowball is thrown by you.

Kàipói:

Lai matì xahái no póio.
[lai̯˧ bɐ˧.ʤĩ˨ ʔɐ˧.ɦai̯˦ dɔ˧.bʷoi̯˦.o˧]
2SG throw ball GEN snow
You throw a snowball.

Matì xahái no póio.
[bɐ˧.ʤĩ˨ ʔɐ˧.ɦai̯˦ dɔ˧.bʷoi̯˦.o˧]
throw ball GEN snow
A snowball is thrown.

Matì cì lai xahái no póio.
[bɐ˧.ʤĩ˨ ʃɪ̃˨.lai̯˧ ʔɐ˧.ɦai̯˦ dɔ˧.bʷoi̯˦.o˧]
throw INS 2SG ball GEN snow
A snowball is thrown by you.

[Xing]

E kome a ngo ta koalaki.
PRS throw ERG 2s SG snowball
"You throw a snowball"

E kome ta koalaki.
PRS throw SG nowball
"A snowball is thrown"

E kome ta koalaki a ngo.
PRS throw SG snowball ERG 2s
"A snowball is thrown by you"

- I'm not sure whether the last one shows a true passive voice or not. It depends on which one is the subject, "you" or "snowball". I have to do some more work on this before I can decide.

[Click]

Xing wrote: - I'm not sure whether the last one shows a true passive voice or not. It depends on which one is the subject, "you" or "snowball". I have to do some more work on this before I can decide.

I think the subject in the last sentence is "snowball" (I learned so in school).
"by you" may be an instrumental, but I am not too sure.

[Xing]

Xing wrote: - I'm not sure whether the last one shows a true passive voice or not. It depends on which one is the subject, "you" or "snowball". I have to do some more work on this before I can decide.

I think the subject in the last sentence is "snowball" (I learned so in school).
"by you" may be an instrumental, but I am not too sure.

Wow, you studied Wakeu in school?

I may be so, but It may also be that "you" is the subject, and "snowball" is the direct object (just that the order has been reversed).

Which one it is depends on the subjecthood criteria. In Wakeu, those will consist - among other things - of various tests regarding raising and control. I am not finnished with those yet, so I can't tell at the moment which one is the subject in the last sentence.

[xinda]

Cednìtit

Lowìndthun ùdasrù.
low-ı-ìndthu-an ùda-srù
ball-OBL-snow-ACC 2s.NPST>3si-throw
You throw a snowball.

Lowìndthu mosrùl.
low-ı-ìndthu-Ø mo-srù-l
ball-OBL-snow-NOM 3si.NPST>3sa-throw-PASS
A snowball is thrown.

Lowìndthu ùsrùl.
low-ı-ìndthu-Ø ù-srù-l
ball-OBL-snow-NOM 3si.NPST>2s-throw-PASS
A snowball is thrown by you.


雪の玉を投げる。
yuki=no tama=o nage-ru
snow=GEN ball=ACC throw-NPST.INFM

雪の玉が投げられる。
yuki=no tama=ga nage-rareru
snow=GEN ball=NOM throw-PASS.NPST.INFM

雪の玉はあなたに投げられる。
yuki=no tama=wa anata=ni nage-rareru
snow=GEN ball=TOP 2s=by throw-PASS.NPST.INFM

[Click]

Xing wrote: - I'm not sure whether the last one shows a true passive voice or not. It depends on which one is the subject, "you" or "snowball". I have to do some more work on this before I can decide. I think the subject in the last sentence is "snowball" (I learned so in school). "by you" may be an instrumental, but I am not too sure. Wow, you studied Wakeu in school?

No no no!
I thought you wrote that the last sentence of the TC I made was not a true passive, so I just said what I learned in school about the passive voice.

[ol bofosh]

Alahithian

On hefert vavep bekifisa.
[oɳ ˈhe.feɾt ˈva.vep be.ki.ˈfi.sa]
2s throw-PRS a.ball snow-ADJ
You throw a snowball.

Hefert vavep bekifisa.
[ˈhe.feɾt ˈva.vep be.ki.ˈfi.sa]
throw-PRS a.ball snow-ADJ
A snowball is thrown.

Hefert vavep bekifisa on zin.
[ˈhe.feɾt ˈva.vep be.ki.ˈfi.sa oɳ ziɳ]
throw-PRS a.ball snow-ADJ 2s by
A snowball is thrown by you.

Literally each one translates as "you throw ball snowy", "throw ball snowy" and "throw ball snowy by you".

[DanH34]

Zidhgebzhail - Adapting the vocab for my standard test clause. For I am lazy.

(1)
ozil azefa Ain
oz-il az-ef-a Ø-Ai-n
man-ERG.SG.M.TOP woman-ACC-SG.F.FOC PRS-see-SIMPLE
Man sees woman.

(2)
aza h[ar]-Ain
az-Ø-a h[ar]-Ø-Ai-n
woman-ABS-SG.F PASSIVE-PRS-see-SIMPLE
Woman is seen.

(3)
azefa ozil Ain
az-ef-a oz-il Ø-Ai-n
woman-ACC-SG.F.TOP man-ERG.SG.M.FOC PRS-see-SIMPLE
Woman, man sees.

The only difference between (1) and (3) is in the top-comment structure of the clause. There is no grammatical way to add an agent to a passive clause in Zidhgebzhail.

[kiwikami]

HyPry
This is dealt with in HyPry's usual, overly-verbose fashion - the slightly shorter colloquial versions, where applicable, are in red.

C óérourou A zeð ʒuı ʃpra uhe'œrkxrı.
"Rı Zeð ʒuı ʃpra uhe'œrkxrı."
DEF state[2]-ERG-2 general_timeline throw INDEF-ACC snow state[natural solid]-ACC-ball .
personal_timeline[2] throw INDEF-ACC snow state[natural solid]-ACC-ball .
You throw a snowball.

A zéð ʒua ʃpra uhafœrkxrı.
general_timeline throw\PASS INDEF-ACC_PASS snow state[natural solid]-ACC_PASS-ball .
A snowball is thrown.

A zéð ʒua ʃpra uhafœrkxrı ce óérœ'œrou.
"Rı Zéð ʒua ʃpra uhafœrkxrı."
general_timeline throw\PASS INDEF-ACC_PASS snow state[natural solid]-ACC_PASS-ball DEF-ERG_PASS state[2]-ERG_PASS-2 .
personal_timeline[2] throw\PASS INDEF-ACC_PASS snow state[natural solid]-ACC_PASS-ball .
A snowball is thrown by you.

[Lambuzhao]

Rozwi -


a) Ihm koašre o belaunbuma.
[ʔiʰm k°ɒʃ.ɾɛ ʔo be.lɒ̃ʊ̃n.bũ.mɒ]
2SG.NOM throw-PRS.2SG DEF.SG bomb<ice>-ACC.SG
You throw a snowball.

b) Eno belaunbum yek koašryetoš.
[ʔẽ.no be.lɒ̃ʊ̃n.bũm jɛk k°ɒʃ.ɾje.tɔʃ]
DEF.NOM.SG bomb<ice>-NOM.SG be-PRS.3SG throw-PST.PASS.PTCP.SG
A snowball is thrown.

c) Eno belaunbum yek koašryetoš boi ihmu.
[ʔẽ.no be.lɒ̃ʊ̃n.bũm jɛk k°ɒʃ.ɾje.tɔʃ]
DEF.NOM.SG bomb<ice>-NOM.SG be-PRS.3SG throw-PST.PASS.PTCP.SG PRP 2SG.GEN
A snowball is thrown by you.

[Jackk]

Chudihr

echlofeini iautfo.
/e'xloɸe͡ini 'ja͡utɸo/
[e'xɫɔɸejni 'jawtʷɸo]
snowball-s.ACC.INDEF throw-2s.IMP
You throw a snowball.

echlofein ir iautes.
/e'xloɸe͡in ir 'ja͡uteθ/
[e'xɫɔɸejd̚ ir 'jawteθ]
snowball-s.NOM.INDEF PASS throw-NOMLZER
A snowball is thrown.

echlofein nuf ir iautes.
/e'xloɸe͡in 'nuɸ ma 'ja͡uteθ/
[e'xɫɔɸej'n:uɸ mai̯ 'jawteθ]
snowball-s.NOM.INDEF 2s.DAT PASS throw-NOMLZER
A snowball is thrown by you.

[thetha]

Kàmo:
Himàmigà kàso
CL.2-throw-2S stone
You throw a stone.

Himàmi kàso.
CL.2-throw stone
A stone is thrown.

Himàmi tií agà kàso.
CL.2-throw wrt 2S stone
A stone is thrown by you.

None of these are strictly passive, but the second and third could certainly be interpreted that way. There's no definite way to indicate the passive voice in the language. Also it'd be silly for me to have a word for snowball in this language, since they live in a desert.

[xijlwya]

Test your conlang's passive voice!

You throw a snowball.

A snowball is thrown.

A snowball is thrown by you.

Mága
paktás kíb botól shétira kha
throw 2SG sphere snow GEN
You throw a snowball.

paktás zen botól shétira kha
throw OMISSON sphere snow GEN
A snowball is thrown.

paktás zen botól shétira kha ga kíb pa
throw OMISSION sphere snow GEN REL 2SG REL
A snowball is thrown by you.

I used a rather reduced relative clause here to add the missing agent. This would seem very strange to a native speaker of Mága I guess, because "zen" means that what is added afterwards is meant to not be mentioned.

[Tsiasuk-Pron]

Itlani:

Koymekerisova spoyyare.
snow-sphere-small ACC.SG throw PRES. 2nd SG
You throw a snowball.

Koymekerís spoyyira.
snow-sphere-small NOM.SG throw PASS.PRES. 3rd SG
A snowball is thrown.

Koymekerís bashay spoyyira.
snow-sphere-small NOM.SG you ABL.SG throw PASS.PRES 2nd SG

Itlani verbs and participles are governed by a thematic vowel - "a" for active forms and "i" for passive forms.

spoyyaru - I throw
spoyyiru - I am thrown

[Lambuzhao]

Sūðrasāl -


a) Würve ðe uon Floðebæll.
[wyʶ.βə ðe ʷɔ̃n floʊ.ðə.bæl:]
throw-PRS 2SG.NOM INDEF.N.SG snow.ball-SG
You throw a snowball.

b) Is uon Floðebæll vïrveght.
[ɪs ʷɔ̃n floʊ.ðə.bæl: βajʁ.βɛɣt]
Be-PRS.3SG INDEF.N.SG snow.ball-SG throw-PST.PTCP.SG
A snowball is thrown.

c) Is uon Floðebæll üv ðj vïrveght.
[ɪs ʷɔ̃n floʊ.ðə.bæl: yβ ðɪj βajʁ.βɛɣt]
Be-PRS.3SG INDEF.N.SG snow.ball-SG PRP 2SG.OBJ throw-PST.PTCP.SG
A snowball is thrown by you.

[Creyeditor]

Pøplish:

Ak flan vos-ta-kruf.
[ʔak flan vɔs.ta.kruf]
2SG throw ball-OBJ-snow
You throw a snowball.

Trosh flan vos-ta-kruf.
[trɔʃ flan vɔs.ta.kruf]
3SG throw ball-OBJ-snow
A snowball is thrown. (Somebody throws a snowball)

Ex vos-ta-kruf, ak flan trosh.
[ɛks vɔs.ta.kruf, ʔak flan trɔʃ]
be ball-OBJ-snow, 2SG throw 3SG
A snowball is thrown by you. (It's a snowball, you throw. )

There is no real passiv, so I used an alternative construction.

[Click]

Akònài:

Láliòpe.
[lá.ʎì̯ò.bē]
lá-liò-pe
2SG-stone-throw
You throw a stone.

Liòpe.
[ʎì̯ò.bē]
liò-pe lá
stone-throw
A stone is thrown.

Liòpeí lá.
[ʎì̯ò.bē.í lá]
liò-pe-í lá
stone-throw-INS 2SG
A stone is thrown by you.

Since the Akònái live in a near-tropical climate, there is no word for snow so I'll use the word for stone.

[mbrsart]

Hra'anh
Present-tense indicative passives sound weird in Hra'anh for some reason. Fortunately enough, "throw" takes tense marking only for FUT.

Tish iah senobol kituie.
[tɪʃ jɑx sɛ.ˈno.bol ki.ˌtu.jɛ]
tish iah senobol ki-tuie
2SG.ERG a snowball INF-throw
You throw a snowball.

Kituie iah senobol.
[ki.ˌtu.jɛ jɑx sɛ.ˈno.bol]
A snowball is thrown.

Kituie iah senobol ke tir.*
[ki.ˌtu.jɛ jɑx sɛ.ˌno.bol kʼɛ ˈtiɾ]
ki-tuie iah senobol ke tir
INF-throw a snowball APPL 2SG.ABS
A snowball is thrown by you.

*Saying this will get you pelted with rotten fruit in some circles. Not literally, but still. It's very marked, and it makes you sound like a moron.

[Prinsessa]

Vanga:

Due to the importance of the passive/inanimate and intransitive constructions to express a lot of things that would be solved in very different ways in most other languages, Vanga doesn't offer as much room to play with this as English does.

Vynduwous azáluttuhmauzi.
wy‹›nd-wó‹›w-ˤh-z azá‹›l-ʷ‹›tt-ʷf-m-ˤ‹w-z›i
You throw a snowball.
to_snow-be_round-3P-INAN to_throw/send/bring-INIT-TRA-2P-OBJ<3P-INAN>
[ˈʋʏnːʊ̯wɔʊ̯s̻ ˈɑz̻ɑːɾʊ̯tːʊ̤̯̃ɸpm̥ˌɑʊ̯z̻ɯ̯]

Azáluttas vynduwous.
azá‹›l-ʷ‹›tt-ˤh-z wy‹›nd-wó‹›w-ˤh-z
A snowball is thrown.
to_throw/send/bring-INIT-3P-INAN to_snow-be_round-3P-INAN
[ˈɑz̻ɑːɾʊ̯tːɑs̻ ʊ̤̯ˈwʏnːʊ̯wɔʊ̯s̻]

So far, no problems. However, the final one ('a snowball is thrown by you') is not as simple. Were we try to express it in a way that mimics the English usage, we would end up with this:

Azáluttasami vynduwous.
azá‹›l-ʷ‹›tt-ˤh-z-ˤ‹m›i wy‹›nd-wó‹›w-ˤh-z
A snowball is thrown on/at you.
to_throw/send/bring-INIT-3P-INAN-OBJ<2P> to_snow-be_round-3P-INAN
[ˈɑz̻ɑːɾʊ̯tːɑs̻ˌɑmːʊ̯ ˈwʏnːʊ̯wɔʊ̯s̻]

What we need to do is to use the auxilary verb a‹›fs- ('to do'). This means that the construction will not really be passive in the same sense as in English, perhaps, but it would be the way to translate the syntax into Vanga as closely as possible (the word between {curly braces} may be used to further emphasise that the action was carried out by the 2PS referent).

Azáluttas vynduwous apsḿ {ahm}.
azá‹›l-ʷ‹›tt-ˤh-z wy‹›nd-wó‹›w-ˤh-z a‹›fs-m {(a)‹›f-m}
A snowball is thrown by you.
"A snowball was thrown, and it was you who did it."
to_throw/send/bring-INIT-3P-INAN to_snow-be_round-3P-INAN TOP-to_do-2P {PERS-2P}
[ˈɑz̻ɑːɾʊ̯tːɑs̻ˌɑmːʊ̯ ˈwʏnːʊ̯wɔʊ̯s̻ ˈɑʊ̯p͡s̻m̩ {ˈɑ̃ʊ̯̃ɸpm̥}]

[Iron]

Dakate vaulajamenet.
/dɑkɑtɛ vɑulɑjɑmɛnɛt/
2SG.throw.PRS ACC.snow_ball
You throw a snowball.

Vaulajameni qedakato.
/vɑulɑjɑmɛni xɛdɑkɑto/
snow_ball 3SG.throw.PAS-PRS
A snowball is thrown.

Vaulajameni qedakato ëšiks.
/vɑulɑjɑmɛni xɛdɑkɑto eʃiks/
snow_ball 3SG.throw.PAS-PRS INS.you.SG
A snowball is thrown by you.

Another option is Vaulajamenejadukalijašužïnate, which means "you (sg.) are a snowball thrower."

Spoiler:

Vaulajameni - snowball
Vaulajamenejadukal - snowball throw
Vaulajamenejadukalijaš - snowball thrower
Vaulajamenejadukalijašužïnat - to be a snowball thrower
Vaulajamenejadukalijašužïnate - you (sg.) are a snowball thrower