kanne & wo

A. auxiliary V-kanne passive for transitive V
B. auxiliary V-wo not V
C. imperative wo! don’t!

Taking a small break here from da– and no– verbs to discuss another valency changing auxiliary.

Kanne creates the valency-decreasing passive construction by either removing the A argument or relegating it to a peripheral phrase marked by pe. It is not used with intransitive or copular verbs.

The other valency-decreasing construction, the antipassive (removes the O argument) is not used. Though one could, I suppose, leave off the O argument in the mental activity verbs callo and canno to make them intransitive. The O argument could even be relegated to a peripheral phrase marked with ne, making it a true antipassive construction.

So: increase valency with causatives (old A moved to O and old O marked with du) and applicatives (add an O to an intransitive), and decrease valency with passives (old A argument marked with pe) and antipassives (old O argument marked with ne).

Sentences with kanne.

Wo is the negative auxiliary. It is boringly regular. It can also form the negative imperative interjection ‘don’t’.

Sentences with wo.

I don’t have any sentences (yet) with wo! But, something like Gada cammedigo, wo! ‘Drink the water, don’t!’ would work.

Tomorrow: noye.