Advanced grammar
▲
0▲ 0 ▼ 0
This public article was written by [Deactivated User], and last updated on 3 Jan 2020, 14:35.
[comments] bholessonslesson 5
7. Derivation
9. Genders
10. General grammar
13. Interrogation
14. Irregularities
17. Ov and lightning
18. Ov anthem
19. Phonology
20. Sentences
23. Tones
25. Verb morphology
28. WIP
?FYI...
This article is a work in progress! Check back later in case any changes have occurred.
This article is a work in progress! Check back later in case any changes have occurred.
[top]Possession
Ov possession markers are affixal. They can apply either before or after any grammatical paradigm depending on euphony. They follow the consonantal harmonies.
Interestingly enough, Ov also distinguishes indirect possession versus direct possession. The distinction is sometimes referred to as concrete versus abstract possessees, but it is a bit more specific than that.
The former winds up being used more often: it applies on things that that are not held nor owned, nor could be (as in "my son" or "my problems"). The latter applies if the possessive relation is strict (as in "my dog" or "my house", things that actually belong or are held by someone).
Confusing the two can be really problematic, especially if you say "my son" with the direct possession paradigm; the law could want to have a word with you. While this is potentially awkward, using the direct possession where the indirect possession is expected can add a meaning of affection, for example "my friend" (or "my son", within the family circle) which can use both paradigms depending on the context and the intention of the speaker.
| 1S | 2S | 3S | 3NH | 1P | 2P | 3P | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No harmony | -ír | -or | -aië | -year | -ow | -aw | -uië |
| Plosive harmony | -ok | -ak | -em | -at | -ek | -ok | -ut |
| Fricative harmony | -ioś | -iyś | -iëf | -iaz | -iouc | -ievec | -iuvuc |
| 1S | 2S | 3S | 3NH | 1P | 2P | 3P | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No harmony | -ér | -oër | -aiël | -yeal | -el | -il | -ul |
| Plosive harmony | -ök | -äk | -in | -än | -én | -ön | -un |
| Fricative harmony | -iof | -iyf | -iëc | -iaś | -ieś | -ief | -iuf |
Unlike most Ov declensions that allow for assonantal endings, the possesive paradigms include at least one mandatory vowel. For epenthesis, it is allowed to add -w- before the ending, but not before the fricative endings that already input -i-).
Any feminine form can be made by adding -ta to those endings, but this is rare and optional.
More rarely, when the context is clear enough, possession can be shown by a simple -(V)ł construct state marker. Its most common use is to emphasize the fact that the possessee, indeed, is possessed.
noun being possessed, dickhead = It's my cat indeed, dickhead
noun being possessed, mister EEpenthetic
something 'meaningless' inserted for structural reasons judge VOCVocative (case)
'O [addressee]' = It is his wife indeed, your honour.
[top]Valence
An interesting feature of Ov is that every single verb is potentially transitive, for various reasons. That does not mean there is no intransitive verbs, of course; those are basically the same as in English.
Intransitive verbs used transitively look like romance languages' pronominal verbs in that their object is always a pronoun. That's why they are called pronominal verbs. But they are used in various ways unlike them.
Intransitive movement and action verbs used transitively express suddenty, precipitation or violence in the act.
speaker, signer, etc.; I 1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I.ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument = I suddenly go away / I rush out
speaker, signer, etc.; I 2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you).ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument = I eject you
speaker, signer, etc.; I 1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I.ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument cat-PLPlural (number)
more than one/few about = I vehemently argue about cats
Intransitive concept verbs used transitively express forcedness or difficulty.
speaker, signer, etc.; I 1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I.ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument = I deploy painful efforts to adapt / I adapt forcedly
speaker, signer, etc.; I 2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you).ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument = I train you harshly to adapt
Most verbs may express humility through transitivity, and therefore act as ditransitive (though both objects won't be marked absolutively if it is avoidable).
speaker, signer, etc.; I act-as-if<SBJVSubjunctive mood (mood)
desired or possible events> 1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I.ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument 2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you).BENBenefactive (case)
recipient of benefit = may I suggest that you act as if...
speaker, signer, etc.; I 1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I.ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument = I (humbly) apologize
Most verbs can express causativity through transitivity.
speaker, signer, etc.; I 1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I.ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument = I go to sleep
speaker, signer, etc.; I 2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you).ABSAbsolutive (case)
TRANS object, INTR argument = I put you to sleep (figuratively or not)
[top]Deponent pronouns
Ov uses grammatical persons unlike any Earth-born language relative to time. Indirect interlocutors are treated very exotically as they are 2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you) as long as they are present or witnessing the conversation; this is a situation where a pronoun becomes deponent. People absent from the conversation are treated as regular 3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.
| English | Ov | |
|---|---|---|
| First person | Oneself | |
| Second person | Direct interlocutor | Direct or indirect interlocutor |
| Third person | Absent or indirect interlocutor | Absent interlocutor |
| English | Ov |
|---|---|
| Hey B, I am A. Do you know C? He seems like a nice guy. | Hey B, I am A. Do you know C? You seem like a nice guy. |
If C were not part of the conversation, the structure would be the same as in English. Please note that it is not a discourse practice where you would always directly address the person whom the speech regards for reasons of politeness; 1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I may, in fact, address 2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you) directly even when mentioning a third and present interlocutor - but then, this third interlocutor will be treated as 2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you) too regardless.
The fact that Ov considers the third person a category for whomever you are not involved with is an unvariant and intrinsical concept of the language. That means that all interlocutors of a given person will always fall in the second person, which is oftentimes cleared up with context - by necessity or by choice. This works without a fourth person, and without conflation of time and space.
This allows for unusual behaviours. The most remarkable one is probably the fact that your own younger self falls into the third person category as well. That is, when referring to anyone in the distant past, including yourself, you use the third person.
| English | Ov |
|---|---|
| I was a shy kid | He was a shy kid |
| You were a shy kid | |
| He was a shy kid |
Linguists posit that this behaviour was originally motivated by dissociation of a current adult and experienced self from a younger and unexperienced self that was referred to as a deprecated personality, even despised, through social customs or taboos. This may have been later extended to the interlocutors as a mark of respect.
This behaviour is always true when mentioning a teenager or an adult at a time they were a child. The application of this behaviour to adults at a time they were already grown-ups is not codified and varies sociolectally or with speech register. Note that the structures ”you were a shy kid” and ”I was a shy kid” can be true when addressing someone who is still a child or if someone who is still a child is speaking, respectively. Again, the boundaries vary.
Comparably, it is considered extremely disrespectful and/or rude to address a present indirect interlocutor with the third person. An opposite phenomenon is true: referring to someone who is absent with the second person is a mark of respect or social deference.
[top]Equative vs formal adverbs
Ov can form equative adverbs as well as formal adverbs, also described as type one and type two.
”Move snailily¹” would mean ”move like a snail”; as in English, this is an equative adverb, possibly entailing a metaphor. It could imply ”move very slowly”.
”Move snailily²” would mean ”move as a snail would”. This is a formal adverb, that adds the assumption that a snail would be directly identified as the maker of the verb. It could imply ”move and leave mucus behind you”, or ”move with a shell on your back”, or ”advance by moving the way a snail does”.
In other words, type two adverbs would act non-metaphorically but rather through identification with the adverbee. In Ov, type one adverbs are called ”viliokstyndohrok itit kyhors kgä” (adverbs of metaphor) while type two adverbs are ”viliokstyndohrok ryhpzyś” (literal adverbs).
[top]Ergative marking in clauses with indirect objects
Ov is indecisive as to mark ergative in clauses with indirect objects. Those are clauses where the subject is linked to the verb with a postposition.
neither speaker nor addressee cat-ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent game = the cat plays a game
neither speaker nor addressee cat-(ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent) ball with = the cat plays with a ball
Both cases are remarkably interchangeable. In the administration, the ergative will always be specified but this is not connotated. Neither informal speech or authors tend to show a preference. However, the ergative is never marked with ”kgä”, ”about”.
[top]Any-
One cannot speak of ”any-” words in Ov without linking them to their construction.
- lämiot /læmjo̞t/ (place-INDIDIndefinite ideal (class)
word pertains to an indefinite (a/an/any) ideal or concept of something) → anywhere (static) - épblämiot /e̞ɪ̯plæmjo̞t/ (to-place-INDIDIndefinite ideal (class)
word pertains to an indefinite (a/an/any) ideal or concept of something) → anywhere (directive) - lumiot /lumjo̞t/ (person.INDIDIndefinite ideal (class)
word pertains to an indefinite (a/an/any) ideal or concept of something) → anyone / anybody - iod /jo̞d/ (thing.INDIDIndefinite ideal (class)
word pertains to an indefinite (a/an/any) ideal or concept of something) → anything - łasziauś /xɑɕɑws/ (way-INDIDIndefinite ideal (class)
word pertains to an indefinite (a/an/any) ideal or concept of something) → in any way
As you can see, all the ”any-” pronouns in Ov are formed by the INDIDIndefinite ideal (class)
word pertains to an indefinite (a/an/any) ideal or concept of something case of their corresponding noun. It's not tricky so far.
- Bair väi épblämiot = can.1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I <SBJVSubjunctive mood (mood)
desired or possible events>go anywhere(ALLAllative (case)
'to, onto') = I can / could go anywhere - Cenäsän kgi łasziauś = fix-FUTFuture (tense)
action occurring after the moment of speech.1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I it in_any_way = I will fix it somehow / in all sorts of way
Apart for lämiot that has its own dative-directive equivalent épblämiot, the ”any-” pronouns have a specific way of forming their dative-benefactive case.
lumiot /lumjo̞t/ (person.INDIDIndefinite ideal (class)
word pertains to an indefinite (a/an/any) ideal or concept of something) → anyone / anybody
word pertains to an indefinite (a/an/any) ideal or concept of something for) → to / for anyone
iod /jo̞d/ (thing.INDIDIndefinite ideal (class)
word pertains to an indefinite (a/an/any) ideal or concept of something) → anything
word pertains to an indefinite (a/an/any) ideal or concept of something BENBenefactive (case)
recipient of benefit) → to / for anything
łasziauś /xɑɕɑws/ (way-INDIDIndefinite ideal (class)
word pertains to an indefinite (a/an/any) ideal or concept of something) → in any way
word pertains to an indefinite (a/an/any) ideal or concept of something TOPTopic (syntactic)
the topic (key reference point) of a sentence) → for any way of doing it
- Nuksun kgi lumiot ś = give-FUTFuture (tense)
action occurring after the moment of speech.1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I it person.INDIDIndefinite ideal (class)
word pertains to an indefinite (a/an/any) ideal or concept of something for = I will / would give it to anyone - Kairas am iod tat = do-FUTFuture (tense)
action occurring after the moment of speech.1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I everything thing.INDIDIndefinite ideal (class)
word pertains to an indefinite (a/an/any) ideal or concept of something BENBenefactive (case)
recipient of benefit = I would change everything about anything - Płotson kcaír ołën kgi mäś łasziauś kgä = grant-FUTFuture (tense)
action occurring after the moment of speech.1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I <SBJVSubjunctive mood (mood)
desired or possible events>manage to it authorisation way-INDIDIndefinite ideal (class)
word pertains to an indefinite (a/an/any) ideal or concept of something TOPTopic (syntactic)
the topic (key reference point) of a sentence = I will grant an authorisation to any way of handling it
Negating an ”any-” word is sometimes seen as the only case where Ov makes use of a double negation, although the additional word, kahi (which usually translates as ”whole”) is more of an emphasizer than a negator.
- Bënkair väi épblämiot kahi = <NEGNegative (polarity)
not>can.1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I <SBJVSubjunctive mood (mood)
desired or possible events>go anywhere(ALLAllative (case)
'to, onto') whole = I can't / couldn't go anywhere - Cënkenäsän kgi łasziauś kahi = <NEGNegative (polarity)
not>fix-FUTFuture (tense)
action occurring after the moment of speech.1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I it in_any_way whole = I won't / wouldn't fix it in any way
- Nënkuksun kgi lumiot ś kahi = <NEGNegative (polarity)
not>give-FUTFuture (tense)
action occurring after the moment of speech.1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I it person.INDIDIndefinite ideal (class)
word pertains to an indefinite (a/an/any) ideal or concept of something for whole = I won't / wouldn't give it to anyone - Kënkairas am iod tat kahi = <NEGNegative (polarity)
not>do-FUTFuture (tense)
action occurring after the moment of speech.1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I everything thing.INDIDIndefinite ideal (class)
word pertains to an indefinite (a/an/any) ideal or concept of something BENBenefactive (case)
recipient of benefit whole = I wouldn't change everything about anything - Płënkotson kcaír ołën kgi mäś łasziauś kgä kahi = <NEGNegative (polarity)
not>grant-FUTFuture (tense)
action occurring after the moment of speech.1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I <SBJVSubjunctive mood (mood)
desired or possible events>manage to it authorisation way-INDIDIndefinite ideal (class)
word pertains to an indefinite (a/an/any) ideal or concept of something TOPTopic (syntactic)
the topic (key reference point) of a sentence whole = I won't grant an authorisation to any way of handling it
Comments
