Langs and Conlangs

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.

A. nome=S	S come out, appear
B. nome=A=O	A pull O out, make O come out
C. auxiliary V-nome	let V

Nome is in some ways the opposite of deye, and comes from the verb no and the obsolete particle me ‘in’, though nowadays it means more ‘come out’ or ‘pull out’. As an auxiliary, it is used for an indirect or weak causative ‘let V’.

Nome is not used with the auxiliaries da or no.

Nome-nome=A=O is ‘let O appear’.

Sentences with nome as a main verb.

Sentences with nome as an auxiliary verb.

Causatives are the most common valency increasing construction in Xunumi-Wudu, being created in three ways: by directly transitivizing an intransitive verb, by using the auxiliary deye, and by using the auxiliary nome. Deye and nome can be applied to transitive verbs as well, demoting the original A argument to O, and either removing the original O or relegating it to a peripheral phrase marked with du.

The other valency increasing construction, the applicative (adding an O argument to an intransitive) is not used, though one could argue that the audience O with se is optional and thus creates an applicative construction when present.

Tomorrow: kanne and wo.

A. deye=S	S go out, leave, fade
B. deye=A=O	A make O go out, leave, fade
C. auxiliary V-deye	make V

Deye is derived from the verb da ‘go’ and the obsolete particle ye ‘out’.

Deye is not used with the auxiliary no.

Deye as an auxiliary is the strong causative, implying a use of force,  not necessarily physical, to make V happen. It can be used with any verb.

Deye-deye=A=O is ‘A make O fade, leave, disappear’.

Sentences with deye as a main verb.

Sentences with deye as an auxiliary verb.

Tomorrow: nome.

A. auxiliary V-dape	V again
B. auxiliary V-seppe	fail to V
C. dape-seppe=S	S stumble, trip

Dape and seppe occur only as auxiliaries, except for dape-seppe ‘stumble, trip’, which is the only time dape appears as a primary verb. The obstacle stumbled upon or tripped over is marked with su.

Dape as an auxiliary can also mean ‘back, behind, after’ as in

D. da-dape=A=O	A follow, go after O
E. se-dape=A(=O)	A say back, reply to O

Dape is derived from da plus the particle pe ‘from’.

Seppe is used to mean try but fail to V, or intend but then end up not V-ing. Some less transparent constructions are:

F. da-seppe=S	S avoid, shun, fail to go (AVOIDED=du)
G. se-seppe=S	S misspeak

Seppe is derived from sede and pe.

Sentences with dape.

Sentences with seppe.

Tomorrow: deye.

A. data=S	S fall
B. data=A=O	A make O fall
C. dello=S	S rise
D. dello=A=O	A make O rise; A raise, lift O
E. data-data=S	S fall and fall
F. dello-dello=S	S rise and rise

Data is da plus the obsolete particle ta ‘down’ and dello is degi plus the obsolete particle lo ‘up’. Data implies a non-volitional downward movement in contrast to nota. Dello is neutral in volitionality, probably because of gravity. It takes effort to overcome gravity. Again, location wherein the motion is taking place is marked with su and destinations are marked with du.

Neither verb uses the auxiliaries nolo or nota.

Dello can be compounded with the body part instrumentals kuwu ‘hands’ and bana ‘feet’ to produce:

G. kuwu-dello=A=O	A pick up O
H. bana-dello=A=O	A kick (up) O

Dello can also be compounded with doŋi ‘eye’ to produce:

I. doŋi-dello=S

S wake up; S open one’s eyes

Doŋi-dello is always intransitive. It is possible that kuwu-dello and bana-dello have intransitive forms ‘raise one’s hand(s)’ and ‘lift one’s foot’, but I’ve had no cause to use those yet, so maybe not.

Sentences with data.

Sentences with dello.

Tomorrow: dape and seppe.

A. nolo=S	S climb, ascend
B. nota=S	S descend (volitionally)
C. nolo=A=O	A make O climb, ascend
D. nota=A=O	A make O descend
E. nolo=CS	CS be more ATTRIBUTE
F. nota=CS	CS be less ATTRIBUTE
G. auxiliary V-nolo	V more (and more), increasingly V
H. auxiliary V-nota	V less (and less), decreasingly V
I. nolo-nolo=S	S climb higher and higher
J. nota-nota=S	S descend lower and lower

These two verbs, opposites, pattern together. Nolo is no plus the obsolete particle lo ‘up’ and nota is no plus the obsolete particle ta ‘down’. Nota is never used to mean ‘fall’ as it implies deliberate descent. Nolo likewise denotes deliberate ascent.

As auxiliaries, neither is used with the verbs of stance. Nor are they used with each other.

Sentences with nolo as a main verb.

Sentences with nota as a main verb.

Sentences with nolo as an auxiliary verb.

Sentences with nota as an auxiliary verb.

Tomorrow: data and dello.

A. no=S	S come, go along
B. no=A=O	A send for, summon O
C. auxiliary V-no	come and V
D. imperative no!	V-phrase, come!

No is a single-syllable verb meaning ‘come’. In the rare cases when it is not followed by an auxiliary nor has a rational animate subject, the form of no is nodu. Arguments for no are the same as with da. The main difference between da and no is deictic. No implies motion towards the speaker or observer. It is also used for motion along a path parallel to something else.

no can be used as an auxiliary to mean ‘come and V’. Like da, it is not used with the verbs of stance (sede, tene, degi) nor with any verbs denoting mental activity (dullo, callo, canno). It is also not used with da or with itself.

Kuno-no, rather than meaning ‘come and get’ is used to mean ‘come with’ or ‘bring’.

Imperative no! is a single syllable word, which is allowed as it is considered an interjection. It can be appended to a verb phrase to make it imperative. For example: Kuno=di=nu, no! ‘You get the thing, do!’ or ‘Get the thing!’. This is more polite than using da! It might be used by a parent towards a child, for example, or an elder person towards a much younger person. It has the urgency of da! but is tempered by affection.

Sentences with no as a main verb.

Sentences with no as an auxiliary verb.

Sentences with no! the interjection.

Tomorrow: nolo and nota.

A. da=S	S go
B. da=A=O	A send O; A make O go
C. auxiliary V-da	go and V
D. imperative da!	V-phrase, do!

Da is a single-syllable verb meaning ‘go’. In the rare cases when it is not followed by an auxiliary nor has a rational animate subject, the form of da is dodu. Arguments for da include the subject, the person or thing going, and the following possible peripheral phrases: the point of origin marked with pe, the destination marked with du, a companion marked with ne, a path of travel also marked with ne, and a location wherein this is all taking place marked with su.

Da can be used as an auxiliary to mean go and V. It is not used with the verbs of stance (sede, tene, degi) nor with any verbs denoting mental activity (dullo, callo, canno). It can be used with itself da-da, which can mean ‘travel’ (with an A set subject) or ‘wander’ (with an O set subject).

Dunno-da ‘go and see’ generally is used to mean ‘hunt’, and kuno-da, rather than meaning ‘go and get’ is used to mean ‘go with’ or ‘take’.

Imperative da! is a single syllable word, which is allowed as it is considered an interjection. It can be appended to a verb phrase or a clause to make it imperative. For example: Kuno=di=nu, da! ‘You get the thing, do!’ or ‘Get the thing!’. This is the most basic and strongest form of imperative, and is not considered to be polite. It would never be used towards someone one has any respect for.

Sentences with da as a main verb.

Sentences with da as an auxiliary verb.

Sentences with da! the interjection.

Tomorrow: no.

A. se=A=O X	A say (to O) X
B. se=S	S speak, make a communicative noise

Se means ‘say’, and the subject is the person speaking. The object of se is always the audience. X can be reported speech or a topic. Reported speech is in a complement clause. The complement clause is marked by dodu only when it is indirect speech. Direct quotes do not use a complement clause marker. The topic is referenced in a peripheral phrase marked with ne. The O argument, the audience, can be elided, though it usually isn’t.

Se also has an intransitive construction that refers to making a communicative noise of some sort. Again, the subject is the speaker or the noise-maker. If an audience is needed, it is put in a peripheral phrase marked with du. Again, the topic of the speaking can be referenced in a peripheral phrase marked with ne.

Xunumi-Wudu does not allow regular spoken words to have only a single syllable. However, since se has to have a subject enclitic, and since things that speak tend to be rational animates, this is not an issue. When se takes an auxiliary, it forms a compound with the auxiliary, se-sede ‘be talking’ so that the full word is no longer a single syllable.

Sentences with se.

Tomorrow: da.

A. callo=A=O	A think on O; A think that CoCl
B. canno=A=O	A feel O; A feel that CoCl
C. ADJ canno=S	S feel ADJ
D. callo-canno=A(=O)	A expect (of O) dodu CoCl
E. auxiliary V-callo	seem to V, almost V

Callo comes from casa ‘belly’ and the obsolete particle lo ‘up to’. Canno comes from casa ‘belly’ and the verb no ‘come’. Both verbs cover mental activity, and differ in that callo denotes volitional or deliberate mental activity, and canno non-volitional or non-deliberate mental activity. So, while callo generally means ‘think’ and canno ‘feel’, daydreaming or the sort of non-volitional thinking that we all sometimes engage in would be described with canno.

Both callo and canno can take an O that is a noun phrase or a complement clause. The complement clause will not take an overt marker. Only with callo-canno, which has a built-in and occasionally elided O uses a complement clause with the complement clause marker dodu, derived from da ‘this’ and du ‘to, for’.

Canno has an alternate construction C, which is only used with adjectives (or adverbs) like gehe ‘good’ and basa ‘bad’. In these cases, since the expected O is an adjective, there is no O clitic on the verb, making it an intransitive construction. Generally the subject of canno is marked with an O clitic, since feeling is non-volitional. If the source or cause of the feeling is expressed, it is put in a peripheral phrase marked with pe.

Sentences with canno.

Sentences with callo as a main verb.

Sentences with callo as an auxiliary verb.

Tomorrow: se.