A Reference Grammar of Ikte
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This probably doesn't make any sense....
This public article was written by [Deactivated User], and last updated on 24 Nov 2022, 21:20.
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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.
Ikte, or Soyagir, is a language that is part of the Ikte-Mond family, spoken by approximately 20 million L1 speakers and 9 million L2 in the Norgaseki Republic and some other places with diaspora populations. A note is that this reference is only for Standard Ikte, meaning that many other dialectal forms may not be referenced. As this is a reference grammar, it may be updated while sections become obsolete due to the further development of the language. This guide will use only the Latin script.Consonants
18 consonants (and 3 that appear as allophones)
| Bilabial | Labiodental | Alveolar | Post-Alveolar | Palatal | Labio-velar | Velar | Uvular | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m /m/ | n /n/ | ng /ŋ/ | ||||||
| Plosive | p /p/, b /b/ | t /t/, d /d/ | k /k/, g /g/ | ||||||
| Fricative | f /f/, v /v/ | s /s/, z /z/ | š /ʃ/ | r /ʁ/ | h /h/ | ||||
| Affricate | ts /t͡s/, dz /d͡z/ | [tš /t͡ʃ/] | |||||||
| Lateral approximant | l /l/ | ||||||||
| Approximant | y /j/ | [w /w/] |
VOWELS
6 vowels with no length distinction. Some dialects nasalize vowels in syllables with a nasal coda.
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i /i/, [/y/] | u /u/ | |
| Near-close | |||
| Close-mid | e /e/, [/ø/] | o /o/ | |
| Middle | ë /ə/ | ||
| Open-mid | [/ɛ/] | ||
| Open | a /a/ |
/y/ is an allophone of /u/ when it comes after /j/, /i/.
/ø/ is an allophone of /o/ when it comes after /j/, /i/, or /e/.
/ɛ/ is an allophone of /e/ when it comes after /j/, /i/, or /u/.
Diphthongs of any two vowels are allowed, but certain combinations are more rare than others. Diphthongs between vowels of the same class (in the front or back) tend to be separated by /j/, a semivowel, but can occur.
Syllables at its most basic level are (C)V(C)(T) where C represents a consonant, V represents a vowel, and T represents a stop/fricative/nasal. When a stop comes at the end of a word, another stop, nasal, or another fricative cannot come before the stop. There can be two simultaneous fricatives, stops, or nasals at the end of a word, but they cannot be articulated in the same place (so /b/ and /p/ cannot be simultaneous at the end of a word), and no nasals can follow each other at the end of a word (alveolar and post-alveolar are considered to be in the same place of articulation in this case, as well as labio-dentals and bilabials). Double consonants are pronounced as if two separate syllables.
Stress primarily falls on the penultimate syllable of every phrase of the sentence. In this context, a phrase refers to the core part of each section of the sentence. Intonation differs from speaker to speaker and on a dialectal and sociolectal level. The following patterns are typical only in Standard Ikte.
Ex. Mother saw the dog.
Meolk|e ral noinedeim.
with marked stress: Méolk|e rál noinedéim.
Ex. What do you want to eat?
Amketges|yë?
with marked stress; Amkétges|yë?
All words that modify another are considered to be part of the phrase of the base word, while particles at the end of a sentence, particularly interrogatives, are considered to be separate from the phrase that it proceeds. The object and verb at the end of a standard sentence form a predicate, and are considered to be part of the same phrasal group.
This is how most sentences are spoken, although questions may have differing intonation, especially in non-standard speech. See interrogatives.
At its most basic level, the word order in Ikte is SOV, with verb-final word order being dominant in speaking (announcements, conversation, etc.) Phrases with pronouns often have their pronouns omitted. Word orders can change based on what is being emphasized.
Mother saw the dog.
SOV: Meolk e ral noinedeim.
mother DEFDefinite
"the".ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient dog see-1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I-REALRealis mood (mood)
actual, real events.PASPast
action occurred before moment of speech
Plain. Can be seen as slight emphasis on mother (the one who sees the dog)
VSO: Noinedeim meolk e ral.
see-1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I-REALRealis mood (mood)
actual, real events.PASPast
action occurred before moment of speech mother DEFDefinite
"the".ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient dog
Polite.
VOS: Noinedeim e ral meolk.
see-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee-REALRealis mood (mood)
actual, real events.PASPast
action occurred before moment of speech DEFDefinite
"the".ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient dog mother
Polite. Emphasis on the mother. Can be poetic.
SVO: Meolk noinedeim e ral.
mother see-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee-REALRealis mood (mood)
actual, real events.PASPast
action occurred before moment of speech DEFDefinite
"the".ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient dog
Polite. Emphasis on the dog. Can be poetic.
Alignment in Ikte is split ergative, where the realis and irrealis present, and realis past tenses use nominative-accusative, while the irrealis past tense uses ergative-absolutive alignment.
Ex. Mother goes.
Meolk ikte.
[DEFDefinite
"the".NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument] mother go-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee-REALRealis mood (mood)
actual, real events.PRSPresent tense (tense)
Ex. Mother sees the dog.
Meolk e ral noine.
[DEFDefinite
"the".NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument] mother DEFDefinite
"the".ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient dog see-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee-REALRealis mood (mood)
actual, real events.PRSPresent tense (tense)
Indirect objects follow the direct object.
In summary, a sentence in Ikte may look like this:
S (Ad) + O + I + V + Av + P
Subject (Adjective) + Object + Indirect Object + Verb + Adverb + Particle + (Negative)
Focus-prominence is found in certain situations including with evidentiality.
Focuses (which may be newly introduced information) at the beginning of the sentences are found only in evidential, quotative, jussive, debitive, temporal, and descriptive sentences that are not used with modifiers.
Ex. What is her name?
Te lonak kel olk ye?
DEFDefinite
"the".PREPPrepositional (case/POS)
general prep phrs/POS marker name with be-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.REALRealis mood (mood)
actual, real events.PRSPresent tense (tense) what
Ex. I heard her name is Eyamal. where "Eyamal" is the focus.
Eyamal te lonak kel olkë.
[FOCFocus (syntactic)
shows new or contrastive information] Eyamal DEFDefinite
"the".PREPPrepositional (case/POS)
general prep phrs/POS marker name with be-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.REALRealis mood (mood)
actual, real events.PRSPresent tense (tense)
Ex. I don't agree. Her name is Eyafimal where "her name" is the topic following negative affirmative.
Ëngos nal. Te lonak kel Eyafimal olkë.
Another example involving a question-answer series.
What did Sarte do?
Sarte fideim yek?
Sarte cooked the food (I heard he did it).
E yamkem imkefideim Sarte.
Sarte cooked the food (I know he did it).
Sarte e yamkem imkefideim.
Who cooked the food?
E yamkem imkefideim yëlk?
Sarte cooked the food.
Sarte e yamkem imkefideim.
What happened?
Imkefideim Sarte e yamkem.
An example from a government paper regarding produce safety.
As a result of the earthquake, bananas from Kerašak should not be eaten.
Tsayankimen Kerašak ha našepalkte payëk amketnes re nal.
banana.INDEFIndefinite
a nonspecific referent.PREPPrepositional (case/POS)
general prep phrs/POS marker Kerašak FOCFocus (syntactic)
shows new or contrastive information [DEFDefinite
"the".NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument] earthquake for eat-2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you)-DEBDebitive (mood)
'should'.PRESPresent tense (tense)
current PASSPassive voice (valency)
be verb-ed NEGNegative (polarity)
not
The bananas have been contaminated.
E nadkoras tsayankimel apo.
[FOCFocus (syntactic)
shows new or contrastive information] DEFDefinite
"the".ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient contamination banana.INDEFIndefinite
a nonspecific referent.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument have-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.REALRealis mood (mood)
actual, real events.PRESPresent tense (tense)
current
Ikte nouns can be declined into three cases, in the definite and indefinite categories. Ikte noun declension is relatively simple:
| NOMINATIVE | ACCUSATIVE | PREPOSITIONAL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| DEF | e/ë | te/të | |
| INDEF | (t)el/ël | (t)es/ës | (t)en/ën |
The vowel of the article changes based on the syllable it preceeds (if it is a definite declension) or the syllable that it follows (if it is an indefinite declension). If the syllable before/after contains an a, i, e, use e- type articles. If the syllable contains ë, o, u, use ë- type articles. This type of vowel harmony is a new innovation not present in the earliest forms of Ikte, as vowel harmony is not found in any fixed expressions/compound words.
Some nouns are derived from verbs in these patterns.
SA: m+bare infinitive+m
NA: a(N)+bare infinitive+(a)(N/k)
A: a(N)+bare infinitive
NOMINATIVE
The nominative is the subject of a transitive or intransitive verb, but can also denote the object of a verb in unaccusative and passive verb constructions. This case remains unmarked in the nominative definite, but is marked in the nominative indefinite. With the irrealis past, this marks the object of the transitive verb.
ACCUSATIVE
The accusative is the object of a transitive verb, but can denote the subject (agent) of a verb in the passive voice. The case is marked in both definite and indefinite forms.
PREPOSITIONAL
The prepositional (postpositional) case is a case formed from the collapse of the separate locative, genitive, dative, comitative, and ergative cases in Middle Ikte. This case marks that the noun will have a function like that of one of the 5 former cases. When used with intransitive movement verbs, it has an implied dative meaning, though postpositions after the noun. When used with stative verbs, and other transitive verbs, it has an implied locative meaning. This is also used to form the possessive (genitive) case and can be used with other prepositions to have different meanings. This case is used in irrealis past tense moods to mark the subject of a transitive verb like the ergative.
examples coming later...
A noun phrase has the following structure:
(Definite Article) + (Determiner) + Noun-(Indefinite Article) + (Adjective) + (Possessive Pronoun) + (Postposition)
Ex. My black cat on...
Mal opatal song yav
cat black 1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I.PREPPrepositional (case/POS)
general prep phrs/POS marker on
NOUNS WITH IRREGULAR DECLENSIONS
This originates from fossilized declensions which have originated from sound changes from Classical Ikte and even in the Proto-Ikte phase. Declension is somewhat irregular because of what are called O and A Class words, as certain words were prefixed (and some still are) with an "o" or "a/e" which influences. These do not appear on compound words, and trigger "vowel harmony" changes. These silent prefixes are vestigial remains of an older class system that divided nouns based on concepts and physical things, the division of which can be arbitrary. Cotic, a somewhat distant relative of Ikte preserves noun classes.
Currently fiddling around with noun declension, thinking of adding some changes to agentive affixes that modifies the declension in the indefinite through changes to the noun stem, hinting at a highly irregular form in older forms of Ikte, which cause all sorts of strange declension patterns as found in the pronouns.
Please note that these do not count when a word separates the article and the word in the definite case, where it will follow typical rules for the determination for the type of article used.
Verbs have three classes: NA verbs, SA verbs, and A verbs. These classify verbs based on their infinitive endings.
These class generally contain a specific type of verb, though exceptions do exist.
SA verbs contain intransitive movement verbs, transitive action verbs, and other verbs typically relating to moving, doing, or engaging (unergative verbs).
NA verbs are more mixed, but generally contain transitive action verbs, reflexive verbs, unaccusative verbs where the action happens to the agent of the verb not as a result of its own doing. This also contains intransitive action verbs, relating to abstract topics.
A verbs generally contain verbs of existence.
Each verb class has verb conjugations that are formed by removing the infinitive and adding the subject and then a suffix that indicates tense and mood. Some subjects and suffixes have elided and merged to become more fusional, but most pieces remain separate.
Ex. I went.
Iktesdeim
Go-1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I-REALRealis mood (mood)
actual, real events.PASPast
action occurred before moment of speech
There are no irregular stems.
There are 8 primary verb moods that exist in Ikte, with 1 realis and 6 irrealis moods.
REALIS: Things that have happened, and things that are happening. Concerns what is known. Future realis is limited to statements of truth, and this is considered to be evidentiality (and therefore must follow focus-prominence). Includes the indicative.
IRREALIS: Things that may happen now, later, or things that might have happened in the past. Concerns possibility. These verb moods are used in place of many auxiliaries, and in the A-class have begun to be treated as such. Verb auxiliaries involving permission, possibility, or requests must have the main verb put into an irrealis mood. Includes: the jussive, optative, potential, subjunctive, volitional, debitive, and necessitative.
SUMMARY OF IRREALIS MOODS
Jussive: Like the imperative for all subjects. Indicates a command, as a result of the subject's opinion. The command may come from an actual need but mainly comes from the reasoning of the subject. What the subject thinks to do.
Optative: Like "to hope," "wish," or "want" in English. Indicates a desire from the subject to do what they are saying, but it is not explicitly likely to happen. It may occur in poetry in place of the volitional "want," but can be found elsewhere in expressions.
Potential: Like "to be able to" in English. Indicates an ability or likely possibility for the subject to do what they are saying. It is likely to happen now or in the future. Needed for certain auxiliary verbs like "to allow"
Subjunctive: Like "could" or "might" in English. Indicates that the action the subject would like to take is hypothetical, and is needed for the conditional. It may happen with conditionals, but by itself also has a hypothetical meaning. This is also used for suggestions and requests. 3 conditionals exist based on if the action is likely to happen or not.
Conditional 1 (likely): subjunctive+potential
Conditional 2 (equal): subjunctive+subjunctive
Conditional 3 (not likely): subjunctive+optative
Volitional: Indicates that an action was intended (or not with the negative) by a subject. The subjects are doing this with intention. Also means "to want to..." as a meaning of intention to do something. It may or may not happen, but in most cases it indicates something more likely to happen then just a "wish" as it expresses intent.
Debitive: Indicates an obligation or duty to do something. Like the jussive, but instead comes as a result of circumstance. Can be replaced by the jussive in most cases. It indicates a meaning more immediate and more forcefully than the jussive. Indicates evidentiality.
Necessitative: Indicates an insistence, extreme desire, or plea, and like the jussive and optative combined.
*Notes about the Jussive and Debitive.*
The English phrase "ought to" is often translated to the jussive, but the phrase "ought to...because," is often translated to the debitive because it gives circumstance to the command. Use the following flow chart to determine which mood is appropriate.
For example, the phrase "we should eat" can be translated in 2 ways based on context.
We should eat (we might be hungry later).
Amkesore.
This uses the jussive.
We should eat (we are starving, there is a famine)
Amkesone.
This uses the debitive.
To see verb conjugations for all forms, please reference grammar tables (these will come soon).
Gerunds and Participles
The unproductive noun derivations mentioned before are a result of Classical Ikte participle formation, which allows the formation from nouns to adjectives. Now, the only productive derivational form for all verbs outside of a few irregular forms, is the pattern am-(a)n which is a circumfix that creates a past participle. However, this form is seldom used in favor of adjectives with similar meaning.
Ex. The exploded house was big.
Kenakan ambanakan kan deim.
house PTCP.PAS-explode-PTCP.PAS big PAS
The gerund uses a form with a particle se plus the infinitive plus l (if it ends with a vowel). Some in areas with non-standard dialects may use a different form if the gerund is a modifier (where if it refers to a noun or pronoun, it will conjugate to match what it refers to.
UNACCUSATIVE
Ex. The tree falls.
Te ankanfim doktefi ite.
DEFDefinite
"the".PREPPrepositional (case/POS)
general prep phrs/POS marker tree fall-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee-REALRealis mood (mood)
actual, real events.PRSPresent tense (tense) UNACCUnaccusative (voice)
voice that signals an accusative subject
If the subject of the sentence does not commence the action described to it, it is considered unaccusative, and has the affix "ite" added on, which is a shortening of "ka ite" the former long form of the passive voice. This is similar to the passive voice but without an object upgraded to an agent. This didn't exist in prior forms of Ikte, nor in Classical Ikte, which still uses an indefinite pronoun to represent the unaccusative. The subject takes the prepositional case.
PASSIVE I
Ex. I was hit by you.
ek palaksdeim me.
2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you).ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient hit-1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I-REALRealis mood (mood)
actual, real events.PASTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech PASSPassive voice (valency)
be verb-ed
If the object of the sentence is technically the agent of a transitive action verb, the affix "me" is added after the verb which denotes the subject to be the receiver of the action described by the verb. The object is promoted to the subject.
PASSIVE II
Ex. I was hit by you.
Fit palaksdeim me.
Do-2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you)-REALRealis mood (mood)
actual, real events.PRSPresent tense (tense) hit-1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I-REALRealis mood (mood)
actual, real events.PASTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech PASSPassive voice (valency)
be verb-ed
Lit. you do I was hit by (it)
This is a more formal way of forming the passive voice. In speaking, it is primarily used only with personal pronouns. The following is an example with a noun. This is longer and more complex so is typically not used, in favor of the first passive.
Ex. I was hit by mother.
Te meolk fi palaksdeim me.
DEFDefinite
"the".PREPPrepositional (case/POS)
general prep phrs/POS marker mother Do-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee-REALRealis mood (mood)
actual, real events.PRSPresent tense (tense) hit-1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I-REALRealis mood (mood)
actual, real events.PASTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech PASSPassive voice (valency)
be verb-ed
Lit. (from what) mother does I was hit by.
CAUSATIVE
Ex. He made me cook.
Imkemfideim pay hong fis.
cook-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.REALRealis mood (mood)
actual, real events.PASTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech CAUSCausative (valency/mood)
cause an action to occur, force another argument to act 3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.PREPPrepositional (case/POS)
general prep phrs/POS marker do-1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I-REALRealis mood (mood)
actual, real events.PRSPresent tense (tense)
BENEFACTIVE
He gave money for you
Kepo tang ipodeim tas.
Examine the following examples with the auxiliary taval or to allow.
Ex. Where are we allowed to go?
Iktesošes ka taval yësekot?
Go-1PFirst person plural (person)
we (inclusive or exclusive)-POTPotential (mood)
likely events, ability.PRSPresent tense (tense) indefinite allow-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee-REALRealis mood (mood)
actual, real events.PRESPresent tense (tense)
current where
Lit. We can go (that) one allows to where?
Ex. What are you allowed to eat?
Amketses ka taval yë?
Eat-2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you)-POTPotential (mood)
likely events, ability.PRSPresent tense (tense) indefinite allow-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee-REALRealis mood (mood)
actual, real events.PRESPresent tense (tense)
current what
Lit. You can eat (that) one allows what?
Ex. What does your mom allow you to do?
Fitsa meolk taval yë?
Do-2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you)-POTPotential (mood)
likely events, ability.PRSPresent tense (tense) mother allow-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee-REALRealis mood (mood)
actual, real events.PRESPresent tense (tense)
current what
Lit. You can do, (that) mother allows, what?
When auxiliaries are needed in order to express a verb mood that cannot be expressed with just a verbal affix, they always follow the verb that they modify. They also must be put into a certain verb form, typically the third person, in order to agree with what the verb intends (ex. "we dare to go" would be rendered "we go, dare ourselves). If the thing that does the auxiliary verb (what does the modifying) is unknown, then the verb has the subject ka, denoted as "indefinite."
NEGATIVES
Negative statements are formed using the negative particle nal after the verb. As there are no true independent forms of negative pronouns exist (they are formed with the negative particle also), using two negative particles in a sentence strengthens and amplifies the negative meaning. For example, the sentence "they don't eat anything" might be rendered as "they don't eat nothing." Double negatives do NOT cancel each other out.
Ex. They don't eat meat.
Mimkemes amkeu nal.
meat-INDEFIndefinite
a nonspecific referent.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient eat-3PThird person plural (person)
neither speaker nor addressee, they/them-REALRealis mood (mood)
actual, real events.PRSPresent tense (tense) NEGNegative (polarity)
not
Ex. They don't eat anything.
E makel nal amkeu nal.
DEFDefinite
"the".ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient anything NEGNegative (polarity)
not eat-3PThird person plural (person)
neither speaker nor addressee, they/them-REALRealis mood (mood)
actual, real events.PRSPresent tense (tense) NEGNegative (polarity)
not
or
E makel amkeu nal.
DEFDefinite
"the".ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient anything eat-3PThird person plural (person)
neither speaker nor addressee, they/them-REALRealis mood (mood)
actual, real events.PRSPresent tense (tense) NEGNegative (polarity)
not
VERB COMPOUNDING
Verbs can compound, as demonstrated with the examples listed before.
These compounds usually replace phrases that are used with infinitives (e.g start to, pleased to, etc.)
The "h" or "ha" is used to indicate an infinitive in a compound, as it separates it from the personal marking at the end of the verb, compound. These compounds can be very long.
Akbigirmëgatelohangorakneušes.
POLITENESS AFFIX "HAG"
The politeness affix "-hag" is used primarily with the 2S person marking to indicate respect in an order, command, or suggestion. It is also used when talking to significant people. Its usage is similar to the Cotic equivalent. It goes at the very end of the verb
Ex. I advise you to behave (in my respectful opinion).
Fikegithag yentelos
behave-2S.REAL.PRS-POL advise-1S.REAL.PRS.
Adjectives in Ikte do not decline for number and case. They directly follow the noun that they modify, and do not use the existence copula olkea. When expressing existence in the past tense or irrealis moods, particles from the third person forms are used.
Ex. The water is clear.
Royak gir.
[DEFDefinite
"the".NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument] water clear
Ex. The water was clear.
Royak gir deim.
[DEFDefinite
"the".NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument] water clear REALRealis mood (mood)
actual, real events.PASPast
action occurred before moment of speech
Ex. It is clear.
O gir.
[DEFDefinite
"the".NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument] clear
Some adjectives are derived from noun roots and verb roots, and can be seen with the suffix -(V)l. Adjectives and adverbs may be used interchangeably in most cases, especially when preceeded by the third person pronoun to construct an adverbial phrase.
Ex. He speaks clearly.
Girelo (o) gir.
speak-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee-REALRealis mood (mood)
actual, real events.PRSPresent tense (tense) (it) clear
The "o" can be omitted in very informal contexts.
However, adverbial forms exist, some of which are basic roots and some of which are derived from adjectives. These forms are used in writing and formal speech, but they do exist in more educated colloquial speech.
Ex. He speaks clearly.
Girelo girak.
speak-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee-REALRealis mood (mood)
actual, real events.PRSPresent tense (tense) clear-ADVAdverbial
e.g. English '-ly'
POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES
Possessive adjectives in English instead exist as genitive constructs in Ikte. These constructs take the form of the definite prepositional article first, the noun, and then pronoun in the prepositional case or possessor. These
Ex. His laughter is happy
Te yankehalom minna hong.
DEFDefinite
"the".PREPPrepositional (case/POS)
general prep phrs/POS marker laughter happy 3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.PREPPrepositional (case/POS)
general prep phrs/POS marker
Notice how the adjective directly follows the noun it modifies. The modifying adjective must always follow the noun directly, with other particles following the adjective.
Ex. Mother's poetry inspired me.
Te yakbigirmëgnem meolk eš sakanfideim.
DEFDefinite
"the".PREPPrepositional (case/POS)
general prep phrs/POS marker poetry mother 1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient inspire-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee-REALRealis mood (mood)
actual, real events.PASPast
action occurred before moment of speech
Some modifying adverbs are often replaced with adjectives (see above). However, many of these adverbs can be formed with a regular pattern with a suffix: -(V)k. However, some adverbs have completely different stems that do not fit this pattern. Adverbs may be used instead of adjectives in formal speech and writing when copulas are explicitly needed.
Ex. She speaks loudly.
Girelo kananalak.
speak-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee-REALRealis mood (mood)
actual, real events.PRSPresent tense (tense) loud ADVAdverbial
e.g. English '-ly'
Pronouns decline for case, but optionally for number.
The pronouns are:
| NOMNominative (case) TRANS subject, INTR argument | ACCAccusative (case) TRANS direct object; patient | PREPPrepositional (case/POS) general prep phrs/POS marker | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1SFirst person singular (person) speaker, signer, etc.; I | so | es | song |
| 1PFirst person plural (person) we (inclusive or exclusive) | soy | eši | sosi |
| 2SSecond person singular (person) addressee (you) | to | ek | tang |
| 2PSecond person plural (person) addressee (plural) | toy | epi | tagi |
| 3SThird person singular (person) neither speaker nor addressee | o | hor | hong |
| 3PThird person plural (person) neither speaker nor addressee, they/them | oy | yor | yari |
| 5Fifth person (person) indefinite or generic; one, "they" say that | ka | e ka or kar | te ka or kang |
| REFLReflexive (valency) argument acts on itself | -- | -ler | leng |
These pronouns are used with the definite articles to denote case. The indefinite pronoun is used in a number of constructions (see Verb Constructions) and refers to an entity unknown to the listener, but that may be known to the speaker. When the entity is known to the listener, the 3rd person pronoun is generally used without specific reference.
Pronouns can use definite but not indefinite articles.
POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS
These use the prepositional case pronoun and can be used with a copula (see section on which one to use).
Ex. It is mine.
Song olk.
1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I.PREPPrepositional (case/POS)
general prep phrs/POS marker exist-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee-REALRealis mood (mood)
actual, real events.PRSPresent tense (tense)
Can be thought of as "It exists to me."
REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS
With personal pronouns: Affixation is used with the accusative pronoun on verbs.
With 3rd person pronouns and with nouns: Affixation is used on verbs.
With the indefinite pronoun: No affixation, and goes to object position.
With verbs in past tense or irrealis moods:
A Class: The reflexive is added to the verb stem.
NA Class: No affixation, takes object position.
NA Class reflexive verbs are rare, and usually only come with the compound verb form fina
SA Class: The reflexive is added after the full verb form.
Ex. I hit myself.
Eposler.
hit-1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I.REALRealis mood (mood)
actual, real events.PRSPresent tense (tense)-REFLReflexive (valency)
argument acts on itself
Ex. Kal voted for himself.
Kal dolšladeimler
Kal voted.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.REALRealis mood (mood)
actual, real events.PRSPresent tense (tense)-PASPast
action occurred before moment of speech-REFLReflexive (valency)
argument acts on itself
Ex. He gives it to himself.
Hor leng ipo.
3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient REFLReflexive (valency)
argument acts on itself.PREPPrepositional (case/POS)
general prep phrs/POS marker give.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.REALRealis mood (mood)
actual, real events.PRSPresent tense (tense)
Interrogatives always come at the end of a phrase to make a non-polar question. Interrogatives have specific forms depending on what they are referring to, but can be substituted by yë , "what" if there is no need to be specific. In formal literature, the situation-specific interrogative is always used.
Ex. What to do you want to eat?
Amketges yë?
Eat-2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you)-OPTOptative (mood)
'wish, hope'.PRSPresent tense (tense) what
Ex. Who are you?
Olkës yëlk?
Exist-2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you)-REALRealis mood (mood)
actual, real events.PRSPresent tense (tense) who
To form polar questions, the question particle is used as if it were another interrogative. Also, informally, questions may be produced by putting emphasis more toward the last syllables of each phrase.
Ex. Is it good?
O minna yek?
3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee good QInterrogative
question
In colloquial speech it might be:
Ex. Is it good?
O minná?
3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee good [QInterrogative
question]
Note the accent over the "a" indicates stress on the final syllable, but in normal orthography this is unwritten.
ADJECTIVES
As described above, the copula is not used with adjectives, unless speaking formally, then an adverbial form is used in conjunction with the copula olkea.
SUBSETS
A copula can describe a noun existing as a subset of an entity (such as a type of..., occupation, etc.), and the copula olkea or "exist" is used in the realis present tense. However, gisa is used in the past tense and in the irrealis moods, unless it is inanimate, then the copula olkea is still used. This comes from a conflation of behaving as something is the same as existing.
Ex. A cow is an animal.
Kulel tsanates olk.
cow-INDEFIndefinite
a nonspecific referent.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument animal-INDEFIndefinite
a nonspecific referent.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient exist-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee-REALRealis mood (mood)
actual, real events.PRSPresent tense (tense)
Ex. He was the leader.
Yeinor gideim.
leader.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient do-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee-REALRealis mood (mood)
actual, real events.PRSPresent tense (tense)
LOCATION
In locative statements, the copula olkea is used in conjunction with the prepositional case in the realis mood, and is formed regularly.
Ex. We are here.
E saye olkëso.
DEFDefinite
"the".ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient here exist-1PFirst person plural (person)
we (inclusive or exclusive)-REALRealis mood (mood)
actual, real events.PRSPresent tense (tense)
In irrealis moods, locative statements are formed similarly, but with the copula nalktesa replacing the use of olkea.
EQUALITY
In statements of equality, where the subject and object of the sentence are described to be the same physically, this follows the same pattern as a sentence defining subsets, including mathematical equalities and properties. The particle "val" is often placed after the verb.
However, there is a difference between abstract equality and physical equality, the difference between which can be subjective. A short list is below.
Names, Proper Nouns: Uses a special construction, te lonak kel olkea..
Family Members: Uses a special construction for mothers only, te meolk fi.
Existing Objects: Uses a normal construction.
Ideas, Concepts, Human-made Groups: Uses a construction with gisa val.
Natural Groups (ethnicity): Uses a normal construction.
Body Parts: Considered part of the subset group, while the extremities and head are not, and use a normal construction.
Spirits, Religious Items: Uses a construction with gisa.
Temporal: Uses a special construction with noinesa.
Determiners are used in Ikte to define numerous qualities of a noun, including location and number. These are often used in conjunction with a definite article to express case, and decline like nouns with definite articles.
Ex. This house is mine.
Të kol kenakan song olk.
DEFDefinite
"the".PREPPrepositional (case/POS)
general prep phrs/POS marker this house 1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I exist-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee-REALRealis mood (mood)
actual, real events.PRSPresent tense (tense)
Can be thought of as: this house exists to me.
All determiners function similarly, and decline in place of nouns as the expression "... thing" has shortened to just the determiners. Determiners in indefinite form can be independent from a noun, as they form the phrase "... one"
The particle "ha" has three primary uses: affirming a true statement, indicating a noun that is stressed, and indicating the focus (although only used for the debitive/jussive verb moods and "in fact/indeed statments"). It is also used in polite conversations as a sentence-final particle that has a meaning somewhat similar to "please."
Ex. What do you want to eat? I want to eat eggs.
Ameifil amkeges ye?
HONHonourific
indicates respect for the addressee eat.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee-PRSPresent tense (tense).OPTOptative (mood)
'wish, hope' what
Ë koyuram amkesges ha.
DEFDefinite
"the".ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient egg eat-1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I-PRSPresent tense (tense).OPTOptative (mood)
'wish, hope' AFFAffirmative (polarity)
positive, opposite of NEG
Ex. He indeed ate the cake.
Eikanašem ha amkedeim.
cake AFFAffirmative (polarity)
positive, opposite of NEG eat.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee-REALRealis mood (mood)
actual, real events.PASPast
action occurred before moment of speech
Ex. He ate the cake (prefers to eat it).
Eikanašem amkedeim ha.
cake eat.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.REALRealis mood (mood)
actual, real events.PASPast
action occurred before moment of speech AFFAffirmative (polarity)
positive, opposite of NEG
Ex. He was eating the cake.
Eikanašem amkedeim.
cake eat.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.REALRealis mood (mood)
actual, real events.PASPast
action occurred before moment of speech
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