Rashintu grammar
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This public article was written by [Deactivated User], and last updated on 24 Jul 2024, 10:55.
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1. Rashintu grammar
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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.
Article created in: February 2022
The Rashintu language (natively called raśiinṭu raśiinṭu) is a Northern Desanian language spoken by an ethnic minority in northwestern Nesyania. The total number of L1 speakers is about 55,000, most of them being bilingual in Nesyanian (or trilingual in Nesyanian and Keranian) as well.
Its closest relative is Kasewayan – they share many grammatical features, however they are completely separate languages and their mutual intelligibility is quite low.
The native name of the language comes from Old Desani ra-hi imito meaning simply “our language” or “our speech”. Sometimes an exonym, zėmaymaayaś zəmaymaayaś, is used; it was derived from the Keranian name of the Zemai mountain range, Zmaymáyan.
Rashintu nouns have number (singular, dual and plural), case (nominative, accusative, dative, genitive, instrumental, locative, ablative, translative, comitative) and, typically for a North Desanian language, gender/class (human or non-human).
Classes
Nouns are divided into two classes: human and non-human. They use separate case/number markers and verb forms depending on their class.
timety guu kuṭel.Unlike in the Kasewayan language, body parts in Rashintu are not treated as animate.
Timety guu kuṭel.
time-ty
human-PLPlural (number)
more than one/few.HUMHuman (gender/class)
human or belonging to human guu
plant kuṭ-el
eat-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.HUMHuman (gender/class)
human or belonging to human
People eat plants.
rizeha guu kuṭiil.
Rizeha guu kuṭiil.
riz-eha
horse-PLPlural (number)
more than one/few.NHUMNon-human (gender/class) guu
plant kuṭ-iil
eat-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.NHUMNon-human (gender/class)
Horses eat plants.
Nominal cases
There are nine grammatical cases in Rashintu; this is the largest number of cases in the entire language family. Their evolution was likely influenced by the Nesyanian language.
All cases are marked with suffixes, except for GENGenitive (case)
possessive, which is marked with a prefix, ḍe-, added to the basic, nominative form of a noun (it is the same for both classes and both numbers).
NOMNominative (case) TRANS subject, INTR argument | ACCAccusative (case) TRANS direct object; patient | DATDative (case) indirect object; recipient, beneficiary, location | INSTRInstrumental (case) 'with' 'using' | LOCLocative (case) 'in, on, at' etc | ABLAblative (case) away from | TRANSLTranslative (case) becoming | COMComitative (case) 'together with' | |
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SGSingular (number) one countable entity.HUMHuman (gender/class) human or belonging to human |
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SGSingular (number) one countable entity.NHUMNon-human (gender/class) |
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PLPlural (number) more than one/few.HUMHuman (gender/class) human or belonging to human |
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PLPlural (number) more than one/few.NHUMNon-human (gender/class) |
'in, on, at' etc’ instead of *rudyəmy.
Usage of the cases
Below are some simple examples of the use of the grammatical cases.
now lemme just use some of the sample sentences from the Nesyanian grammar article, because after writing four other similar articles I'm out of ideas
Nominative
The default case, marking the subject of a verb:
aad limśema.Accusative
Aad limśema.
aad
child limś-ema
laugh-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.HUMHuman (gender/class)
human or belonging to human
The child is laughing.
Marks the direct object of a verb:
aadėdy ṭareru.However, when the object is a whole category and not a certain entity, the nominative form (in singular number) is used instead.
Aadədy ṭareru.
aad-ədy
child-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient.HUMHuman (gender/class)
human or belonging to human ṭar-eru
see-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.1PFirst person plural (person)
we (inclusive or exclusive)
We (can) see the child.
śimaaliis ipal ayśirśiim.Dative
Śimaaliis ipal ayśirśiim.
śimaal-iis
cat-1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I ipal
fish ayśirś-iim
like-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.NHUMNon-human (gender/class)
My cat likes fish.
Marks the recipient of an action:
aadėr ḍe śebeṭėw, ṭeemury.Genitive
Aadər ḍe śebeṭəw, ṭeemury.
aad-ər
child-DATDative (case)
indirect object; recipient, beneficiary, location ḍe
DEMDemonstrative
e.g. this/ that śeb-eṭəw
give-IMPImperative (mood)
command.2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you) ṭeemury
please
Give it to the child, please.
Marks the possessor:
ḍecaad naamri ḍey lune ima.Instrumental
Ḍecaad naamri ḍey lune ima.
ḍe-caad
GENGenitive (case)
possessive-girl naamri
little ḍey
this.PSOPersonal (person) lune
sister ima
COPCopula
used to link the subject of a sentence with a predicate.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.HUMHuman (gender/class)
human or belonging to human
This is the little girl's sister.
Marks the means by which the subject accomplishes an action:
iilėd umab ḍeliichėn.Locative
Iiləd umab ḍeliichən.
iiləd
3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.NHUMNon-human (gender/class).ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient uma-b
hand-INSTRInstrumental (case)
'with' 'using'.NHUMNon-human (gender/class) ḍel-iichən
hold-PTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech.1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I
I held it with my hands.
Used with most adpositions indicating location:
śimaal jhetwamy be haśim.Ablative
Śimaal jhetwamy be haśim.
śimaal
cat jhetwa-my
table-LOCLocative (case)
'in, on, at' etc be
on haś-im
sleep-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.NHUMNon-human (gender/class)
The cat is sleeping on the table.
Denotes movement away from something:
liisakawun baaraluuchelen.It is also used as a comparative case:
Liisakawun baaraluuchelen.
liisakaw-un
danger-ABLAblative (case)
away from baa-raluuch-elen
PFVPerfective (aspect)
completed action-run_away-PTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.HUMHuman (gender/class)
human or belonging to human
They ran away from the danger.
maayha uluṭun śeyṭi yem.Translative
Maayha uluṭun śeyṭi yem.
maay-ha
mountain-PLPlural (number)
more than one/few ulu-ṭun
tree-PLPlural (number)
more than one/few.ABLAblative (case)
away from.NHUMNon-human (gender/class) śey-ṭi
old-COMPComparative (comparison)
e.g. 'better' yem
COPCopula
used to link the subject of a sentence with a predicate.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.NHUMNon-human (gender/class)
Mountains are older than trees.
Equivalent to ‘(changing) into X’ or ‘becoming X’, expresses change in state of a noun:
umikamḍi uumbiḍu rele.Comitative
Umikamḍi uumbiḍu rele.
umikam-ḍi
teacher-TRANSLTranslative (case)
becoming uumb-iḍu
want-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you) rele
become
You want to become a teacher.
Equivalent to ‘with X’ or ‘accompanying X’:
ḍeraaṭ datyayṭee reṭėw gaminėr.
Ḍeraaṭ datyayṭee reṭəw gaminər.
ḍeraaṭ
GENGenitive (case)
possessive.1PFirst person plural (person)
we (inclusive or exclusive) datyay-ṭee
friend-COMComitative (case)
'together with'.HUMHuman (gender/class)
human or belonging to human reṭəw
HORTHortative (mood)
'let's...' gam-inər
go-FTFuture tense (tense)
action occurring after the moment of speech.1PFirst person plural (person)
we (inclusive or exclusive)
Let's go there with our friend.
The distinction between exclusive and inclusive 1PFirst person plural (person)
we (inclusive or exclusive) pronouns was lost in Rashintu. There are seven other pronominal cases. Most pronouns have irregular declension due to sound changes.
1SFirst person singular (person) speaker, signer, etc.; I | 1PFirst person plural (person) we (inclusive or exclusive) | 2SSecond person singular (person) addressee (you) | 2PSecond person plural (person) addressee (plural) | 3SThird person singular (person) neither speaker nor addressee.HUMHuman (gender/class) human or belonging to human | 3PThird person plural (person) neither speaker nor addressee, they/them.HUMHuman (gender/class) human or belonging to human | 3SThird person singular (person) neither speaker nor addressee.NHUMNon-human (gender/class) | 3PThird person plural (person) neither speaker nor addressee, they/them.NHUMNon-human (gender/class) | |
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NOMNominative (case) TRANS subject, INTR argument |
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ACCAccusative (case) TRANS direct object; patient |
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DATDative (case) indirect object; recipient, beneficiary, location |
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GENGenitive (case) possessive |
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INSTRInstrumental (case) 'with' 'using' |
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LOCLocative (case) 'in, on, at' etc |
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ABLAblative (case) away from |
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COMComitative (case) 'together with' |
Possessive
Possessive pronouns, unlike in Kasewayan, preceed the possessee. They are used mostly in literary and formal language; informally, either possessive suffixes or personal pronouns in their GENGenitive (case)
possessive forms are used.
1First person (person) speaker, signer, etc; I | 2Second person (person) addressee (you) | 3Third person (person) neither speaker nor addressee.HUMHuman (gender/class) human or belonging to human | 3Third person (person) neither speaker nor addressee.NHUMNon-human (gender/class) | |
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SGSingular (number) one countable entity |
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PLPlural (number) more than one/few |
1First person (person) speaker, signer, etc; I | 2Second person (person) addressee (you) | 3Third person (person) neither speaker nor addressee.HUMHuman (gender/class) human or belonging to human | 3Third person (person) neither speaker nor addressee.NHUMNon-human (gender/class) | |
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SGSingular (number) one countable entity |
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PLPlural (number) more than one/few |
Interrogative
The three basic interrogative pronouns are ye ‘what’, iiś ‘who’ and yaaty ‘which’. They decline for case, but not number.
NOMNominative (case) TRANS subject, INTR argument | ACCAccusative (case) TRANS direct object; patient | DATDative (case) indirect object; recipient, beneficiary, location | GENGenitive (case) possessive | INSTRInstrumental (case) 'with' 'using' | LOCLocative (case) 'in, on, at' etc | ABLAblative (case) away from | COMComitative (case) 'together with' |
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Relative
All interrogative pronouns have their relative equivalents: ka for ‘what’, kee for ‘who’ and kaaś for ‘which’. They can be declined for case as well.
NOMNominative (case) TRANS subject, INTR argument | ACCAccusative (case) TRANS direct object; patient | DATDative (case) indirect object; recipient, beneficiary, location | GENGenitive (case) possessive | INSTRInstrumental (case) 'with' 'using' | LOCLocative (case) 'in, on, at' etc | ABLAblative (case) away from | COMComitative (case) 'together with' |
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Rashintu verbs have tense (past, present and future), aspect (imperfective and perfective, the former is the default/unmarked one while the latter is marked with a prefix), person and number.
The infinitive verb ending is -in or -en (sometimes rendered as -ən due to sound changes).
Tense and aspect
Each conjugation suffix indicates tense, person and number at the same time.
1SFirst person singular (person) speaker, signer, etc.; I | 1PFirst person plural (person) we (inclusive or exclusive) | 2SSecond person singular (person) addressee (you)/2PSecond person plural (person) addressee (plural) | 3SThird person singular (person) neither speaker nor addressee.HUMHuman (gender/class) human or belonging to human | 3SThird person singular (person) neither speaker nor addressee.NHUMNon-human (gender/class) | 3PThird person plural (person) neither speaker nor addressee, they/them.HUMHuman (gender/class) human or belonging to human | 3PThird person plural (person) neither speaker nor addressee, they/them.NHUMNon-human (gender/class) | |
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Present | -ər [əɾ] | -əl [əl] | |||||
Past | |||||||
Future |
The default, unmarked grammatical aspect is IPFVImperfective (aspect)
'interrupted or incomplete'. PFVPerfective (aspect)
completed action in non-present actions is marked with a prefix, baa- (derived from

ḍaabėś arwed buśchėn.
Ḍaabəś arwed buśchən.
ḍaabəś
such arwe-d
book-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient.NHUMNon-human (gender/class) buś-chən
read-PTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech.1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I
I was reading such a book. / I used to read such a book. (the action either has not been completed or was repetitive)
ḍaabėś arwed baabuśchėn.
Ḍaabəś arwed baabuśchən.
ḍaabəś
such arwe-d
book-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient.NHUMNon-human (gender/class) baa-buś-chən
PFVPerfective (aspect)
completed action-read-PTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech.1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I
I read such a book. (a complete action)
Tyen- is used to mark POTPotential (mood)
likely events, ability:
ḍaabėś arwed tyenbuśchėn.
Ḍaabəś arwed tyenbuśchən.
ḍaabəś
such arwe-d
book-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient.NHUMNon-human (gender/class) tyen-buś-chən
POTPotential (mood)
likely events, ability-read-PTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech.1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I
I could read such a book. / It was possible I would read such a book.
Negation
Negation in IPFVImperfective (aspect)
'interrupted or incomplete' and PFVPerfective (aspect)
completed action aspects in the indicative mood is marked with a dummy auxiliary, bin, with a negative prefix attached to it (an identical feature exists in Kasewayan):
1SFirst person singular (person) speaker, signer, etc.; I | 1PFirst person plural (person) we (inclusive or exclusive) | 2SSecond person singular (person) addressee (you)/2PSecond person plural (person) addressee (plural) | 3SThird person singular (person) neither speaker nor addressee.HUMHuman (gender/class) human or belonging to human | 3SThird person singular (person) neither speaker nor addressee.NHUMNon-human (gender/class) | 3PThird person plural (person) neither speaker nor addressee, they/them.HUMHuman (gender/class) human or belonging to human | 3PThird person plural (person) neither speaker nor addressee, they/them.NHUMNon-human (gender/class) | |
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Present | |||||||
Past | |||||||
Future |
raal daagėd geem ṭarin.
Raal daagəd geem ṭarin.
raal
man daag-əd
dog-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient.NHUMNon-human (gender/class) gee-m
NEGNegative (polarity)
not.AUXAuxilliary.PRESPresent tense (tense)
current-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.HUMHuman (gender/class)
human or belonging to human ṭar-in
see-INFInfinitive (TAM)
non-tensed verb
The man does not see the dog.
raal daagėd geembėm ṭarin.
Raal daagəd geembəm ṭarin.
raal
man daag-əd
dog-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient.NHUMNon-human (gender/class) geemb-əm
NEGNegative (polarity)
not.AUXAuxilliary.PTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.HUMHuman (gender/class)
human or belonging to human ṭar-in
see-INFInfinitive (TAM)
non-tensed verb
The man did not see the dog.
raal daagėd gėbimma ṭarin.
Raal daagəd gəbimma ṭarin.
raal
man daag-əd
dog-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient.NHUMNon-human (gender/class) gəb-imma
NEGNegative (polarity)
not.AUXAuxilliary-FTFuture tense (tense)
action occurring after the moment of speech.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.HUMHuman (gender/class)
human or belonging to human ṭar-in
see-INFInfinitive (TAM)
non-tensed verb
The man will not see the dog.
Voice
Passive
Passive voice is marked by the particle nwəy (dialectally nuuy), equivalent to the verb “to become” in other Desanian languages (compare Kasewayan nowen, Keranian nwin etc.). It has only one form and does not mark the person and number of the subject. Passive constructions are created by adding nwəy to the past participle form of the verb.
gaśildway ḍenumayir hajhiṅėb raamay nwėy.To mark a non-present tense, the dummy auxiliary bin is used.
Gaśildway ḍenumayir hajhińəb raamay nwəy.
Gaśildway
PRProper
marks a noun as referring to a unique entity ḍe-numa-yir
GENGenitive (case)
possessive-group-1PFirst person plural (person)
we (inclusive or exclusive) hajhiń-əb
leader-INSTRInstrumental (case)
'with' 'using' raam-ay
choose-PSPARTPast participle nwəy
PASSPassive voice (valency)
be verb-ed
Gashildowai has been chosen as the leader of our group.
an arwed baaṭeśmėn. ḍe arwe aneeb ṭeśay nwėy bemin.
An arwed baaṭeśimən. Ḍe arwe aneeb ṭeśay nwəy bemin.
an
3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.HUMHuman (gender/class)
human or belonging to human arwe-d
book-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient.NHUMNon-human (gender/class) baa-ṭeś-mən
PFVPerfective (aspect)
completed action-write-PTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.HUMHuman (gender/class)
human or belonging to human ḍe
PROXProximal (proximity)
close to speaker arwe
book aneeb
3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.HUMHuman (gender/class)
human or belonging to human.INSTRInstrumental (case)
'with' 'using' ṭeś-ay
write-PSPARTPast participle nwəy
PASSPassive voice (valency)
be verb-ed be-min
AUXAuxilliary-PTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.NHUMNon-human (gender/class)
He/she wrote a book. This book was written by him/her.
Reflexive and reciprocal
Reflexive voice is marked with pronouns, equivalent to English ‘myself’, ‘yourself’ etc. They do not decline for case and there is no distiction between human and non-human pronouns in the 3rd person.
1SFirst person singular (person) speaker, signer, etc.; I | 1PFirst person plural (person) we (inclusive or exclusive) | 2SSecond person singular (person) addressee (you) | 2PSecond person plural (person) addressee (plural) | 3SThird person singular (person) neither speaker nor addressee | 3PThird person plural (person) neither speaker nor addressee, they/them | |
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Pronoun |
raalad uutake mye ṭėm baaṭarmėn.Reciprocal actions are marked with reflexive pronouns too, adding the adverb atulńe “mutually; together; each other”:
Raalad uutake mye ṭəm baaṭarmən.
raalad
boy uutake
mirror mye
in ṭəm
himself baa-ṭar-mən
PFVPerfective (aspect)
completed action-see-PTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.HUMHuman (gender/class)
human or belonging to human
The boy saw himself in a mirror.
timaalha atulṅe ṭėl mulil.
Timaalha atulńe ṭəl mulil.
timaal-ha
cat-PLPlural (number)
more than one/few.NHUMNon-human (gender/class) atulńe
one another ṭəl
themselves mul-il
lick-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.3PThird person plural (person)
neither speaker nor addressee, they/them.NHUMNon-human (gender/class)
The cats are licking each other.
Copula
WIP.
Auxiliary verbs
WIP.
Derivational morphology
WIP.
Adjectives preceed the noun they describe and do not decline for case or number. Many of them end with a palatal (or palatalized) consonant.
The comparative suffix is -ṭi (rendered as -eṭi after palatalized consonants). The superlative suffix is -chii (which is quite unusual among the Desanian languages; in Kasewayan and Keranian, the superlative form is marked with a circumfix).
lihaś ‘beautiful’Some adjectives have irregular COMPComparative (comparison)
lihaśeṭi ‘more beautiful’
lihaśchii ‘the most beautiful’
e.g. 'better' and/or SUPSuperlative (comparison)
English 'most', '-est' forms.
Overview
The most common adverbalizer is -uy (derived from Old Desani âne/âni, so a cognate of Kasewayan -uni, Keranian -áni and Saridzani -uń). It can be added to various parts of speech. When deriving an adverb from an adjective, the adverbalizer replaces the adjective ending.
ḍeegəś ‘loud’ → ḍeeguy ‘loudly’
niir ‘night’ → niiruy ‘at night’
daśiḍen ‘to be hungry’ → daśiḍuy ‘hungrily’
Adverbs derived from adjectives (and some verbs) can be compared like their adjectival equivalents:
ziluy ‘happily’
ziluyṭi ‘more happily’
ziluychii ‘most happily’
Interrogative and relative adverbs
Relative and interrogative adverbs are identical.
adverb | English meaning |
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When used in a question, they are put right before the main verb (see the Main clause section).
Like other languages of the family, Rashintu is an agglutinative/fusional, head-final language. The default word order is SOV, however, thanks to the noun declension, it can be relatively free depending on the context. For example, OSV can be used to put emphasis on the object, VSO – to emphasize the action done, etc.
As the person and the number are marked on the verb, Rashintu is a pro-drop language as well.
Declarative
Basic declarative clauses are SV by default.
lagii agiiryėm.
Lagii agiiryəm.
lagii
bird agiiry-əm
fly-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.NHUMNon-human (gender/class)
The bird flies.
lagii num baagiiryemėn.
Lagii num baagiiryemən.
lagii
bird num
far_away ba-agiiry-emən
PFVPerfective (aspect)
completed action-fly-PTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.NHUMNon-human (gender/class)
The bird flew away.
lagii uumbim agiiryėn.
Lagii uumbim agiiryən.
lagii
bird uumb-im
want-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.NHUMNon-human (gender/class) agiiry-ən
fly-INFInfinitive (TAM)
non-tensed verb
The bird wants to fly.
Negative
Like in the Kasewayan language, negation in Rashintu is constructed with a dummy auxiliary, added before the main verb. Meanwhile, the main verb takes an impersonal form (root) ending with -i or -e.
lagii geebim agiirye.
Lagii geebim agiirye.
lagii
bird gee-bim
NEGNegative (polarity)
not-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.NHUMNon-human (gender/class) agiirye
fly
The bird does not fly.
lagii num gembim agiirye.
Lagii num gembim agiirye.
lagii
bird num
far_away ge-mbim
NEGNegative (polarity)
not-PTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.NHUMNon-human (gender/class) agiirye
fly
The bird did not fly away.
lagii geebim uumbi agiiryėn.
Lagii geebim uumbi agiiryən.
lagii
bird gee-bim
NEGNegative (polarity)
not.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.NHUMNon-human (gender/class) uumbi
want agiiry-ən
fly-INFInfinitive (TAM)
non-tensed verb
The bird does not want to fly.
Interrogative
Unlike Kasewayan, Rashintu does not use any interrogative auxiliary verbs. Questions are marked with a particle, ey, placed at the beginning of a clause, and a reversed sentence order (putting the main verb first, VSO instead of SOV).
ey agiiryėm lagii?This question particle can also be used as an equivalent of ‘whether’ or ‘if’.
Ey agiiryəm lagii?
ey
QInterrogative
question agiiry-əm
fly-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.NHUMNon-human (gender/class) lagii
bird
Does the bird fly?
ey num baagiiryemėn lagii?
Ey num baagiiryemən lagii?
ey
QInterrogative
question num
far_away ba-agiiry-emən
PFVPerfective (aspect)
completed action-fly-PTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.NHUMNon-human (gender/class) lagii
bird
Did the bird fly away?
ey uumbim agiiryėn lagii?
Ey uumbim agiiryən lagii?
ey
QInterrogative
question uumb-im
want-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.NHUMNon-human (gender/class) agiiry-ən
fly-INFInfinitive (TAM)
non-tensed verb lagii
bird
Does the bird want to fly?
uu ḍeśėd geṭuseke ey tyenḍapike.
Uu ḍeśəd geṭuseke ey tyenḍapike.
uu
until ḍeśəd
now ge-ṭuse-ke
NEGNegative (polarity)
not-know-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I ey
if tyen-ḍapi-ke
can-come-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I
I don't know yet if I can come.
Relative
As mentioned before, interrogative adverbs are identical to their relative equivalents, while the pronouns ye ‘what’, iiś ‘who’ and yaaty ‘which’ turn into ka, kee and kaaś, respectively. They are placed at the beginning of a relative clause. The word order of the clauses does not change; it remains SOV (VSO in the interrogative clause if there is one).
ramun yem iye bėgėd baamilemen.(sample sentences taken from different translations)
Ramun yem iye bəgəd baamillemen.
ramun
mystery yem
COPCopula
used to link the subject of a sentence with a predicate.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.NHUMNon-human (gender/class) iye
why bəg-əd
city-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient.NHUMNon-human (gender/class) baa-mil-emen
PFVPerfective (aspect)
completed action-leave-PTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.HUMHuman (gender/class)
human or belonging to human
Why he has left the city is a mystery.
reed yaagėr yem uumbike yen.
Reed yaagər yem uumbike yen.
reed
home yaagər
where.RELZRelativiser (derivation) yem
COPCopula
used to link the subject of a sentence with a predicate.PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.NHUMNon-human (gender/class) uumbike
want-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I yen
be-INFInfinitive (TAM)
non-tensed verb
Home is where I want to be.
ey ṭusedu edy yaagėr lagiiha ziiril?
Ey ṭusedu edy yaagər lagiiha ziiril?
ey
QInterrogative
question ṭus-edu
know-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you) edy
2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you) yaagər
where.RELZRelativiser (derivation) lagii-ha
bird-PLPlural (number)
more than one/few.NHUMNon-human (gender/class) ziir-il
live-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.3PThird person plural (person)
neither speaker nor addressee, they/them.NHUMNon-human (gender/class)
Do you know where the birds live?
ṭapelu uniim pakka timaj ḍurhamy aw uniḍu enkaay.
Ṭapelu uniim pakka timaj ḍurhamy aw uniḍu enkaay.
ṭapelu
evil un-iim
begin-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.NHUMNon-human (gender/class) pakka
when.RELZRelativiser (derivation) tima-j
person-PLPlural (number)
more than one/few.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient ḍur-hamy
thing-PLPlural (number)
more than one/few.LOCLocative (case)
'in, on, at' etc aw
as un-iḍu
begin-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you) enkaay
treat
Evil begins when you begin to treat people as things.
caadėdy ṭarike, raal keer petanėd śiimba.
Caadədy ṭarike, raal keer petanəd śiimba.
caad-ədy
girl-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient.HUMHuman (gender/class)
human or belonging to human ṭar-ike
see-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I raal
man kee-r
who.RELZRelativiser (derivation)-DATDative (case)
indirect object; recipient, beneficiary, location petan-əd
hat-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient.NHUMNon-human (gender/class) śiimba
give.PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.HUMHuman (gender/class)
human or belonging to human
I see the girl the man gives the hat to.
Subordinate clauses
Subordinate clauses are constructed in a similar way as in Kasewayan. They are marked by the particle neṭ placed in the beginning of the clause. In standard Rashintu the main clause always comes first.
baahaḍuuntilėniis neṭ ge tyenḍapel.
Baahaḍuuntiləniis neṭ ge tyenḍapel.
baa-haḍuunt-ilən-iis
PFVPerfective (aspect)
completed action-inform-PTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech.3PThird person plural (person)
neither speaker nor addressee, they/them.SUBSubject (argument)-1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I.DODirect object (case/role) neṭ
SBRCSubordinate clause (syntax)
marks a subordinate clause ge
NEGNegative (polarity)
not tyen-ḍap-el
POTPotential (mood)
likely events, ability-come-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.3PThird person plural (person)
neither speaker nor addressee, they/them.SUBSubject (argument)
They told me (that) they could not arrive.
eec nėkaśkary neṭ tiic ṭarichėnem.
Eec nəkaśkary neṭ tiic ṭarichənem.
eec
1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I nəkaśkary
sure neṭ
SBRCSubordinate clause (syntax)
marks a subordinate clause tiic
before ṭar-ichən-em
see-PTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech.1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I.SUBSubject (argument)-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.DODirect object (case/role)
I am sure (that) I've met him before.
Conditional clauses
The conditional mood marker is zuy (it can be considered a defective auxiliary verb, derived from Old Desani zohi- ‘to will; to intend’). It is placed before the main verb, which is conjugated in present tense for future conditional and in past tense for past conditional constructions.
ita eḍii baaṭarinkė, edyar kamjed zuy śebike.
Ita eḍii baaṭarinkə, edyar kamjed zuy śebike.
[iˈt̪ɑ æˈɖiː ˈbɑːʈɑɾiŋkə æˈd̪ʲɑɾ kɑmˈd͡zæd̪ zuj ɕæˈbikæ]
ita
if eḍii
2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you).ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient baa-ṭar-inkə
PFVPerfective (aspect)
completed action-see-FTFuture tense (tense)
action occurring after the moment of speech.1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I edyar
2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you).DATDative (case)
indirect object; recipient, beneficiary, location kamje-d
gift-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient.NHUMNon-human (gender/class) zuy
CONDConditional (mood)
would śeb-ike
give-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I
If I see you, I will give you a gift.
iita eḍii baaṭarichėn, edyar kamjed zuy śebichėn.
Ita eḍii baaṭarichən, edyar kamjed zuy śebichən.
[iˈt̪ɑ æˈɖiː ˈbɑːʈɑɾit͡ɕən æˈd̪ʲɑɾ kɑmˈd͡zæd̪ zuj ɕæˈbit͡ɕən]
ita
if eḍii
2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you).ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient baa-ṭar-ichən
PFVPerfective (aspect)
completed action-see-PTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech.1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I edyar
2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you).DATDative (case)
indirect object; recipient, beneficiary, location kamje-d
gift-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient.NHUMNon-human (gender/class) zuy
CONDConditional (mood)
would śeb-ichən
give-PTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech.1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I
If I saw you, I would give you a gift.
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