Grammatical Aspect and Tense
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A breakdown of verbal particles
This public article was written by [Deactivated User], and last updated on 9 Apr 2018, 17:09.
[comments] tzhtenseaspectverbs
Amanghu makes use of particles to mark both grammatical aspect and tense. Unlike varieties of true Chinese such as Mandarin or Cantonese, Amanghu has morphologically-distinct past, present, and future tenses. Amanghu features past and future particles. In many sentences, however, they are not used at all, particularly in the past tense.[top]Tense
Amanghu is distinguishable from varieties of true Chinese by the presence of particles that indicate tense. These particles are placed before the verb they mark, and function somewhere between an auxiliary verb and an inflected affix. In the majority of sentences, especially simple sentences in the past tense, these particles are not used. This is because tense is generally implied through other means. For example, the perfect aspect suggests that a verb is in the past tense unless context suggests otherwise. Additionally, tense particles are not used where the sentence is placed in a specific timeframe. For example, 「厶走上星期一」 "вие̎ сѡı дьаң се̎ıңг̆у-ки̎" /wié so̰ djaŋ sḛ́ŋgʰɯkí/: "I will go on Monday."
Present tense verbs are unmarked, while past tense verbs are preceded by 旦 юѡ̎н /ɥón/, and future tense verbs are preceded by 弗 щѡı /ʂo̰/. Although both particles have their own pronunciations, they are generally not pronounced in speech, except in archaic or emphatic contexts. Instead they affect lenition of the onset of the verb they affect. For example, the verb 吃 к̆а̎ /kʰá/ "to eat" becomes 旦吃 гк̆а̎ /gʰá/ in the past tense, and 弗吃 хк̆а̎ /xá/ in the future tense.
Lenition is very regular and occurs through either sonorization, where a phoneme becomes more voiced, and debuccalization, where a point of articulation of the phoneme moves towards the glottis. Past tense lenitions become more sonorized (that is, more voiced) and more debuccalized (that is, more glottised), while future tense lenitions do the opposite.
The following two tables show how phonemes change through this process. Again, changes to the right take place in the past tense, while changes to the left take place in the future tense.
[top]Aspect
Amanghu uses verb-ending particles to distinguish between four morphologically-distinct aspects: simple/perfect (see below), prospective, progressive, and gnomic. Simple/perfect verbs are unmarked, whereas the other three are marked by the particles 正 тиең /tieŋ/, 了 веı /wḛ/, and 有 хуе /xɯe/, respectively.
[top]Simple/Perfect Aspect
Unmarked verbs conflate simple and perfect aspects. The sentence 「厶上鎮走」 "вие̎ дьаң щаı сѡı" /wié djaŋ ʂa̰ so̰/ "I walked to town" has a more literal reading of "I had walked to town", indicating that the action occurred earlier than the time under consideration. Note that the example sentence does not use the past tense particle 旦 юѡ̎н, as the aspect particle implies that the action took place in the past. 旦 might be used, however, if you wanted to distinguish this sentence from an action in the present tense, or to specify that this action took place in the past.
The conflation of the perfect aspect is especially observable in the present tense, where "I walk" has a more literal reading of "I have (just) walked"; and in the future tense where "I will walk" has a more literal reading of "I will have walked", placing an emphasis on the consequence of the action rather than its undertaking. Consider the following example:
/wié lḭnkaŋ kji djaŋ bʰet so̰/
"I will watch a film and then walk home."
This can be literally read as "I will have watched a film and walked home". Note that Tienic doesn't use an equivalent of the word "then" in such a sentence or in any way separate the two actions by tense, as they are both considered to have occurred in the recent past of the timeframe in question. Consider also the following:
/wié kʰɯd kʰó̰b/
"I ate and then drank."
Again, this can be literally read as "I had eaten before drinking", but depending on the context could also be taken to mean "I had eaten and was in the process of drinking". That is, this sentence could declare a state where "drinking" is the current action, while "eating" is a concluded action.
In simple sentences involving only one main verb, such as the initial example, 「厶上鎮走」, the unmarked verb can usually be considered to take place in the simple aspect, but it is far more common to use the progressive particle when referring to actions which are still ongoing within the sentence's timeframe.
[top]Prospective Aspect
The prospective particle 正 тиең /tieŋ/ marks verbs as actions that are imminent or upcoming. It is the equivalent of the English "about to". Unlike the simple/perfect aspect particle, 正 does not imply any particular tense. The sentence 「厶吃正」 "вие̎ к̆уд тиең" /wié kʰɯd tieŋ/ "I am about to eat" is steadfastly present tense.
正 can also be used to refer to events that take place within an absolute timeframe. Consider the following:
/lɯ́ gɯ̰́ tieŋ djaŋ sḛ́ŋgʰɯsɯ̰́m/
"He will go home on Wednesday."
Note that the future tense particle 弗 is not used, as the sentence contextually establishes the timeframe to be in the future. This sentence is slightly different to the perfect aspect version of the sentence: in the perfect aspect, the act of going home is conclusive ("He will have gone home…"), while in the prospective aspect it is an action underway ("He will be about to go home…"). In most sentences, the distinction will be irrelevant, and 正 is most often used for declarations of intention for future actions. However, the unmarked simple/perfect aspect is used when referring to events that are more permanent, definite, or strongly-intended.
[top]Progressive Aspect
The progressive aspect is marked with the particle 了 веı /wḛ/. It's notable that this is typologically identical to the Standard Chinese perfective particle 了, with which it is a cognate. Despite their shared etymology, however, the two particles function very differently. The Amanghu 了 functions similarly to the English suffix "-ing", and is used for both progressive and continuous aspects.
了 is generally omitted in simple sentences where there is sufficient context or where it is not considered to be relevant. There is generally little meaningful distinction between the sentences 「厶吃」 "I eat" and 「厶吃了」 "I am eating", for example, if the addressee can see if one is still eating. 了 is still frequently used to distinguish an action from the perfect aspect. Note that the unmarked 「厶吃」 can be read as either "I eat" or "I have eaten", leaving it ambiguous as to whether the act of eating has concluded or not, but strongly implying that it has. 了 clears up this ambiguity and firmly declares the verb as an ongoing action.
The progressive aspect is also often used to establish a continuous timeframe as the context for sub-clauses or follow-up sentences. Consider this variation on a previous example:
/lɯ́ gɯ̰́ wḛ djaŋ sḛ́ŋgʰɯsɯ̰́m pɯ̰́ gwḛ́ta̰/
"He will be going home on Wednesday, carrying a bag."
There is little change from the use of the similar example in the prospective aspect, aside from the replacement of 正 with 了. However, the use of the progressive aspect places focus on the subject's journey home as the focus of the sentence. This example sets a timeframe – the duration of the subject's journey – and sets a another verb into that timeframe – the carrying of a bag.
[top]Gnomic Aspect
The gnomic particle 有 хуе /xɯe/ is used to declare general truths or aphorisms. For example, 「馬跑有」 "маı буı хуе" /ma̰ bɯ̰ xɯe/ "horses run" is a general claim about the nature of all horses. It is also used to declare axiomatic or even hypothetical and assumed truths, such as 「李師父亡老是有」 "Ру-си̎ба ма̎ң руı щуıң хуе" /ɻɯ síba máŋ ɻɯ̰ ʂɯ̰ŋ xɯe/ "Master Ru is not old", in a context where Ru's age or vitality is in question.
有 also functions as a marker for the aorist or preterite, declaring actions as having been fully completed in the past. Consider:
/wié lḭnkaŋ gji xɯe/
"I watched a film."
This is distinct from the unmarked perfect 「厶電影視」 "I have (just) watched a film", as it declares the verb to be complete.
[top]Other Aspects
As with all other languages, it's possible to express a range of other aspects in Amanghu even though there may not be specific particles to mark them as such. This is done by means of postpositions, secondary verbs, and other helper words and clauses.
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