Indirect Objects & Noun Incorporation
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IOs are incorporated into the verb
This public article was written by [Deactivated User], and last updated on 11 Feb 2021, 14:23.
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9. 2023 Goals
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10. 2023 Lexember Roundup
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11. 2024 Goals
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13. Captative verbs
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14. Collocations
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21. Culture: Food Rituals
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26. Demonstratives
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27. Discourse particles
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29. ergativity
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37. Intransitive Verbs
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Noun incorporation is somewhat rare in Nolwynn, as it happens only in specific situations. A verb joins with its object to create a new compound word. This is used in: forming false possession; with the verb gibxeey [“I give”]; and with other verbs that have objects.
Sometimes spelling changes [in the form of an epenthic letter] occur for ease of pronunciation.
Although incorporation is most common for verbs with objects, it can be used with intransitive verbs to convey false possession, usually in fixed collocated phrases. Examples of this type of incorporation include:
atxamera: a maid, a “cleaning girl”
atxi "she cleans" + mera "girl"
pxašefeyra: nova “bursting star”
pxaši "it bursts" + feyra "star"
kalomera: a chef’s assistant or waitress, a “cooking girl”
kalomi "she cooks" + mera "girl"
The pattern here is that the verb goes first, drops the pronoun, then tacks on the noun. The incorporated noun can have no more than two syllables, and the verb must have the pronoun part in the final syllable. The new creation is a noun.
Indirect objects in Nolwynn are sometimes incorporated into the verb. This is most commonly seen with the word gibx- "give" as in these examples:
nyona rewa Kxalina gibxikwaa
apple ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent Kxalina give<child>
Kxalina gave an apple to the child.
zola rewa zšeey gibxikwaa
water ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent IInterjection (POS) give<child>
I gave water to the child
But other verbs can be used too:
zatsa rewa Galyxa gazakama.
something ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent Galyxa say<goat>
Galyxa said something to the goat.
zšeey rewa Banke txapálora
IInterjection (POS) ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent Banke hit<branch>
Banke hit me with a branch
Note the epenthic -l-
Here are some examples demonstrating how these incorporated forms are still verbs:
zšeey rewa Banke txátxapálora
IInterjection (POS) ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent Banke hit<CONTContinuative (tense/aspect)
continuous or durational action><branch>
Banke keeps hitting me with a branch [continuous aspect]
nyona rewa Kxalina gibxanwikwaa
apple ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent Kxalina give<ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient><ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent>
Kxalina accidentally gave an apple to the child [accidental aspect]
Tulwyn tend not to phrase things with incorporation, preferring instead to use a preposition. You can avoid incorporating the indirect object by using a preposition like this:
Ikwa á zola gibxeeywe
child to water give.1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I<ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent>
I give water to the child
When incorporating indirect objects, the resulting new word is technically still a verb, even though it drops the pronoun.
The ergative infix is not used with these kinds of constructions.
During times when the Avoidance Language is used, Nolwynn speakers don't use incorporation, preferring instead the preposition style used by the Tulwyn. It's seen as safer because it is also more ambiguous and less direct.
Here are some other articles that describe other details about Nolwynn's verbs:
participles
intransitive verbs
indirect objects
grammatical moods
captative verbs
ergativity
converbs
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