Possession in Fou Tong I: Verbal possessives
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We discuss how the possession relations in Fou Tung are formed using the copula and dedicated verbs. Some features may change in process.
This public article was written by [Deactivated User], and last updated on 22 Nov 2022, 17:50. Editing of this article is shared with Germanic Conlangers.
[comments] [history] ftgpossession Some of the features in the language are subject to change
FYI:
Fou Tong is a Germanic conlang that derives almost all of its roots from Proto-Germanic language, with phonetics based on Mandarin Chinese.There are two ways to indicate possession in
Fou Tong: using the pronominal copula er and its past/future forms wa/be, and the dedicated verb hao - "have".The usage of er
The copula er is used to indicate inalienable possession.
Mǎi
[m‿
girl er
ɐ̀ʵ
be.PNMLPronominal (syntactic)
pronominalised noun phrase ai
ai̯
eye bu
pu
blue]
A/the girl has blue eyes.
Yù
[ɥ‿
woman er
œ̂ʵ
be.PNMLPronominal (syntactic)
pronominalised noun phrase tuo
tʰwo
two láo
lǎu̯
CLClassifier
quantifies and/or replaces nouns.human kìng
kʰîŋ
child]
A/the woman has two children.
If the possessor is given by a pronoun, the pronoun takes the oblique case:
Mj
[mj‿
1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I.DRDirect (case)
unmarked case, vs oblique or indirect er
ɚ
be ai
ai̯
eye biao
pjau̯]
brown.
I have brown eyes. Lit: To me are brown eyes.
[ɕj‿
3SMThird person singular masculine (person)
he.OBOblique (case)
marked case, vs. direct er
ɤ̃ʵ
be nang
naŋ
name Sìpé
sîpʰɤ̌]
Siegfried
He is known as Siegfried. Lit: Him name be Siegfried.
You
[jo‿
2PSecond person plural (person)
addressee (plural).OBOblique (case)
marked case, vs. direct er
u̯ʵ
be an
an
one ǒ
ô̌
CLClassifier
quantifies and/or replaces nouns.word pēi
pʰéi̯
question zao
t͡sau̯]
AFFAffirmative (polarity)
positive, opposite of NEG
You sure have a question. Lit: To you be a question though.
Interrogative pronoun huà/huang and demonstrative pronoun zì/zeng obey the same rule:
Huang
[xw‿
who.OBOblique (case)
marked case, vs. direct er
ɑ̃ʵ
be bái
pǎi̯
beard long
lʊŋ
long hùi
xwə̂i̯
white nà
nâ
nose ré?
ɻɤ̌]
red
Who has a long white beard and a red nose? Lit: To whom...?
Zeng
[t͡s‿
this.OBOblique (case)
marked case, vs. direct er
ɤ̃ʵ
be bái
pǎi̯
beard long
lʊŋ
long hùi
xwə̂i̯
white nà
nâ
nose ré.
ɻɤ̌]
red
That one has a long white beard and a red nose.
If the possessor is given by a proper name, it is followed by an appropriate personal pronoun in oblique case, and then by the verb er:
Jingqú
[t͡ɕiŋ.t͡ɕʰɥ‿
Grimilda er
ɚ̌‿
3SFThird person singular feminine (person)
she.OBOblique (case)
marked case, vs. direct er
:
be tua
tʰwa
two kìng
kʰîŋ
/CL.child sun
swən]
son
Grimilda has two sons.
Feelings and sensations are also formed using the er-construction:
Yun
[ɥ‿
1PFirst person plural (person)
we (inclusive or exclusive).OBOblique (case)
marked case, vs. direct er
ɚ
be kào
kʰau̯]
cold
We feel cold. Lit: Us is cold.
Zì
[t͡sî
this láo
lǎu̯
CLClassifier
quantifies and/or replaces nouns.human kìng
kʰj‿
child er
ɤ̃ʵ
be guá
kwǎ]
glad.
This child is glad.
The usage of hao
The verb hao is primarily used to indicate alienable possession. It follows the usual SOV scheme of
Fou Tong.Zu
[t͡su
2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you).DRDirect (case)
unmarked case, vs oblique or indirect an
an
one tao
tʰau̯
CLClassifier
quantifies and/or replaces nouns.pair shu
ʂu
shoe hao
xau̯]
have
You have a pair of shoes.
Mixed cases
The verbs er and hao can be used interchangeably, depending on the subjective value of the possession to the possessor. The verb er is then used when referring to the high value possessions, while hao is employed for low-value ones.
Yi
[ji
1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I.DRDirect (case)
unmarked case, vs oblique or indirect an
an
one rào
ɻâu̯
CLClassifier
quantifies and/or replaces nouns.vehicle kà
kʰâ
car hao
xau̯]
have
I have a car (one of many, don't really care).
But:
Mì
[mj‿
1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I.OBOblique (case)
marked case, vs. direct er
ɚ̂
be an
an
one rào
ɻâu̯
CLClassifier
quantifies and/or replaces nouns.vehicle kà
kʰâ]
car
I have a car (and I have spared for years to afford it and/or heavily depend on it).
Tenses
The tenses for possession verbs follow the same scheme as copula resp. regular verb:
The verb er is replaced with wa for the past and bi for the future:
Jingqú
[t͡ɕiŋt͡ɕʰɥ‿
Grimilda er
ɚ
3SFThird person singular feminine (person)
she.OBOblique (case)
marked case, vs. direct wa
wa
be.PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech tua
tʰwa
two wéi
wěi̯
CLClassifier
quantifies and/or replaces nouns.male bà
pâ]
husband
Grimilda had two husbands. (And their names were Sìpé/Siegfried and Atiu/Edsel, by the way)
The verb hao is preceded by wa resp. bi
Se
[sɤ
3SFThird person singular feminine (person)
she.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument an
an
one rào
ɻâu̯
CLClassifier
quantifies and/or replaces nouns.vehicle kà
kʰâ
car bi
pi
FUTFuture (tense)
action occurring after the moment of speech hao
xau̯]
have
She will have a car.
Non-possession
In most cases, the non-possession is formed using the forms of er
In case the possession is expressed by the form of er, the negation is formed by a preceding particle ne
Jingqú
[t͡ɕiŋt͡ɕʰɥ‿
Grimilda er
ɚ
3SFThird person singular feminine (person)
she.OBOblique (case)
marked case, vs. direct ne
nɤ
NEGNegative (polarity)
not wa
wa
PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech bi
pi
FUTFuture (tense)
action occurring after the moment of speech an
an
a wéi
wěi̯
CLClassifier
quantifies and/or replaces nouns.male bà
pâ
husband zhi-ze
ʈ͡ʂit͡se]
third
Grimilda wouldn't have had a third husband.
Mì
[mî
1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I.OBOblique (case)
marked case, vs. direct ne
n‿
NEGNegative (polarity)
not er
ɚ
be ō
ó
CLClassifier
quantifies and/or replaces nouns.word pēi
pʰéi̯]
question
I have no questions.
The non-possession with hao is formed by preceding the classifier with the particle nong - nothing, none:
Yì
[jî
1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I.DRDirect (case)
unmarked case, vs oblique or indirect nong
nʊŋ
none ō
ó
CLClassifier
quantifies and/or replaces nouns.word pēi
pʰéi̯
question hao
xau̯]
have
I don't have any questions. ✎ Edit Article ✖ Delete Article
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on 22/11/22 17:500[Deactivated User]Corrections in transcriptions
on 22/11/22 17:490[Deactivated User]Corrections in transcription
on 22/11/22 17:460[Deactivated User]Correction in transcription
on 22/11/22 17:45+2[Deactivated User]Corrections in transcription
on 22/11/22 17:42+1[Deactivated User]Changes in transcriptions
on 22/11/22 17:25+4[Deactivated User]Transcription change
on 22/11/22 17:160[Deactivated User]Title edit
on 22/11/22 17:150[Deactivated User]Tags edit
on 22/11/22 17:120[Deactivated User]Edit tags
on 09/08/22 22:13+1[Deactivated User]Change in translation
on 09/08/22 22:11+1[Deactivated User]Change in transcription
on 20/06/22 08:200[Deactivated User]typo
on 15/12/21 21:36-7[Deactivated User]Minor styling change
on 15/12/21 21:350[Deactivated User]Typo in IPA
