Eastern Lartau. Aspect

[GBR]

[edit]Added an intro! Also some changes to the body of the text, courtesy of Micamo[/edit]

Introduction

Eastern Lartau (EL) is the native language group of the south eastern region of The Empire of United Sutzian Kingdoms, or sūtzì naókoō huātaù kootsoò põntsoõ. This grammar will focus on the standardised form, used throughout the Union for administrative, governmental and religious purposes.
Standard Lartau (simply lártaū, or occasionally laõkén lártaū Monk’s Lartau, and SL hereafter) is something of an anomaly, since it is simultaneously the lingua franca and most widely spoken language of the union, and also devoid of any native speakers, at least in the form presented here. Grammatically and phonetically, the language has most in common with a slightly archaic, literary form of Keitsoò Lartau, a dialect spoken in the mountainous regions south-west of the capital. Because of its position as a formal and holy language it is particularly impervious to loan words and displays a greatly reduced rate of change, compared to other variants. However, SL is still a spoken language, and as such innovation and development are still present. Furthermore, religious treatise and dogma texts are transcribed from memory, and are periodically adjusted by the monastic body, opening up the way for limited regional variation and new lexemes.
SL grammars have been written natively, with an emphasis on prescription and reform over description, and issued particularly to monasteries at the outer edges of the Empire. Thanks in part to these grammars and also the demands of a lingua franca that spans such a large area, SL displays an unusual level of regularity in it’s most formal setting.

Verbs

Verbs in EL do not mark for any sort of agreement, and outside of compounding and reduplication, exhibit no morphological marking on the stem. Instead, grammatical function is addressed with independent particles, auxiliaries or lexical strategies.
All main verbs of EL fall into one of three classes — Active (AC), Stative (ST), and Eventive (EV) — which govern their interaction with other parts of the verbal phrase. Through compounding, verbs can be reassigned to another class, a function used productively and extensively.
Aspectual markers come in the form of phrase final particles. Most usually this situates them immediately after the clause’s main verb, though in relative, modal, and object-focused clauses this may not be the case.

Class

(Throughout this section, glossed verbs are marked for their class. For the sake of clarity, this glossing is only included where deemed relevant in the rest of the paper)

Active

Active verbs are the most prototypical verbs in EL, describing temporally unstable concepts, often with clear changes in the patient, and high levels of agency in the subject. It is also the largest verbal class.
Verbs from other classes turned into Active verbs will usually be used to describe a change of state (St→Ac) or to give temporal depth to an event (Ev→Ac). This latter usage overlaps somewhat with the Durative Aspect discussed below[ed] but not in this post [/ed]. There are two ways of making Active verbs from those that are not; to compound the verb with keī to change (ex. b), or with naò to reveal (ex. c, d, e). The former is used for transitive constructions where the subject is making a change to the patient and has much in common with Causatives, and the latter is used mostly in intransitive clauses to describe a spontaneous or self-regulated change or action.

a)
luà dōn kàn põndaár
slave attack.Ac PERF broad-man
The slave attacked the master.

b)
õliī keīkei kàn nãmtau
that-woman change-be.red.Ac PERF this-thing
She painted this red (lit. ‘redded’ it).

c)
dèr naòmeē kàn
fruit reveal-ripe.Ac PERF
The fruit has ripened (as opposed to ‘is ripe’).

d)
laõkën naòdõ tseõ kèn
monk reveal-meet.Ac eat PERF
The monks met over a meal.

e)
duániùr naònoō lā siútzoò so liūwãr
white-river reveal-flow.Ac from be.peaceful-mountain through narrow-bay
The Duániùr River runs from the Siútzoò Mountains to Liūwãr.

Stative

Stative verbs describe properties or conditions, and function most usually as adverbials, though they can also be more time stable events e.g:

a)
duániùr hoõ duá hoõ
white-river NEG be.white.St NEG
The Duániùr River is not white.

b)
duániùr qeù noō
white-river be.fast.St flow.St
The Duániùr River flows quickly.

The verb yaó to sit, to be is used to stativise other verbs. Ac→St verbs describe continuous events or are used as adjuncts, given context.

c)
niīpao yaówēr sīn dèn
boy-child sit-play.St behind house
He’s playing out back.

d)
õdaár yaópõn lár hūtau yaókeī maó
that-man sit-broad.St speak.Ac think-thing sit-change.St GNO
His words are strong, but his mind is changeable.

Ev→St verbs mark the state reached upon completion of an event.

e)
liī õliī yaótsà kàn
woman that.woman sit-ordain PERF
She was an ordained nun (but no longer is).

f)
koo yaóhaò nende
king sit-do EV:go
The king has arrived (and is here still).

Example (f) illustrates double-reclassification in EL. The basic, Active verb de to go has first been eventivised (see below), and then once again reclassified to form a stative. The verb haò to do acts as a sort of ‘place-holder, ’ to distinguish the construction from a regular serialised verb complex. By way of comparison, de has been simply stativised in (g), and haò removed in (h).

g)
koo yaóde
king sit-go
The king is going/coming.

h)
?koo yaó nende
?king sit EV:go
?The king sits then arrives.

Eventive

Eventive verbs form the smallest class, and describe actions or events that can be thought of as points in longer, coherent occurrence, and punctual actions. In this way they most closely resemble the inchoative or cessative aspects of other languages, though no distinction between the inception and completion of a verb is made in EL, thus:

a)
õdaár nende kàn
that-man EV=go PERF
He left/arrived.

The above example also illustrates that the eventiviser nen is the only class changing compound that is no longer used in it’s own right as a verb. In this sense it can be thought of as an enclitic.

b)
õliī qo kàn
that-woman finish.Ev PERF
She’s finished.

c)
õdaár nendoà
that-man EV=run
He’ll start running.

d)
õdaár hoõ nenhēm kàn qē hoõ
that-man NEG EV=cut PERF lumber NEG
He didn’t finish cutting the lumber.

Eventives formed from statives describe the limits of an attribute or state.

e)
miū hoõ nenhaò deïnoa sīn nãmtèn hoõ
book NEG EV=do be.possible-read.St until this-place NEG
The book is illegible up to this point.

(And that's it for now. That last example is me seeing how far I can push things. Anyway, comments welcome, open-armedly)

[GBR]

Been working on Aspect over the past few days. I'm sure there are lots of holes, and I'd be happy for you to point them out for me [:)]

Aspect

SL distinguishes 4 aspects grammatically, 3 marked, and one unmarked. Unlike modal auxiliaries, aspect particles do not effect word order. The particle occurs immediately after the main verb in most instances, though in modal, dependent and object-focus constructions, the particle becomes clause final. The meaning varies somewhat depending on the class of the head verb.

Imperfective Ø

Imperfective active verbs describe habitual, incomplete, continuous or serial actions.

a)
odaár doà
õ-daár doà
that-man run
He runs/will run/used to run.

b)
õlií hēm doo
õ-liī hēm doo
that-woman cut-Ø pig
She (cuts/will cut/used to cut) pork.

Unmarked stative verbs likewise mark a simple state. Most prototypically, they are used to describe a current state, though they can also be used to describe unchanged, or presumably unchanged past states:

c)
dèr kei
dèr kei
fruit be.red
The fruit is red.

d)
pīnneò tzoònoár mar liū
pīn-neo tzoò-noár mar liū
behind-now mountain-gap exceed narrow
The mountain pass was too narrow.

In combination with reclassification compounds, imperfectives can also be used to describe incomplete or continuos actions.

e)
sūsū yaópaàn ta qei
sū-sū yaó-paàn ta qei
bird-bird sit-fly into east
The birds are flying east

Imperfective eventive verbs describe incomplete or future events:

f)
sīnkèn hoõ dō õdaár hoõ
sīn-kën hoõ dō õ-daár hoõ
in.front-person NEG meet that-man NEG
I haven’t met him.

g)
pīnneò õlií hoõ nende so nãmtën
pīn-neo õ-liī hoõ nen-de so nãm-tèn
behind-now that-woman NEG EV-go out.from this-place
She didn’t leave.

h)
nenno
nen-no
EV-sleep
(I/you/he/she/they etc) will fall asleep.

Perfective kàn

Perfective verbs are marked with the particle kàn, and describe completed events and actions or changed states.

a)
pīnneò kẽn tseõ kàn wān
pīn-neo kẽn tseõ kàn wān
behind-now person eat PERF cow
The person ate beef.

b)
sīnneò naí tsùn õdaár lā xeó kàn yé qeùdon
sīn-neo naí tsùn õ-daár lā xeó kàn yé qeù-dōn
in.front-now SUBJ drop that-man down sword PERF then fast-attack
When he has surrendered, we will strike.

Perfective stative verbs describe conditions and states that were but no longer are.

c)
dõruú heer kàn
meet-group be.young PERF
The council was once young (composed of young members).

d)
miū kei kàn
book be.red PERF
This book was red.

Perfective eventives, predictably, describe completed events. Perfective can be used in future time frames to explicate the sequence of events.

e)
sīdiī õlií pér kàn wó sīn sīnkèn nende
sī-diī õ-liī pér kàn wó sīn sīnkèn nende
in.front-song that-woman give PERF ivory in.front in.front-person EV-go
Tomorrow I'll go when she's given me the ivory.

Durative tē

Durative verbs focus on the action as an event occurring over a period of time. It differs from the perfective and imperfective in so much as it focuses on the period during which the event has taken place, rather than it's completion or incompletion. Likewise, it is differentiated from the stative class, which focus on the state of performing an action or being in a given condition. Metaphorically, it could be said that statives' temporality has depth, but are solid, whereas duratives are deep and hollow. It can also be used to mark an action which contains other actions.

a)
naódaār tsàlõ siúnōn tē naù
naó-daár tsà-lo siú-non tē naù
holy-man sanctify-light peaceful-contemplate DUR glow
During meditation, St. Tsa Lo would glow.

b)
nãn hoõ zon deì xēngaì hoõ ziu naī
nãn hoõ zon deì xēn-gaì hoõ ziu naī
sky NEG know hillock stand-thing NEG kiss meadow
Unaware of Dei's presence, Nan kissed Nai.

c)
õdaár diī tē
õ-daár diī tē
that-man sing DUR
He sang a while

Durative aspect used in conjunction with a stative verb focuses on the period of the state, and again can be used to place one verb in the temporal structure of another. Furthermore, durative statives can be used for oppositional constructions, as in (f).

d)
siú tē no
siú tē no
be.peaceful DUR sleep
Sleep when it’s quiet (SL saying)

e)
õdaár tseō hoõ meē tē dèr hoõ
õ-daár tseō hoõ meē tē dèr hoõ
that-man eat NEG ripe DUR fruit NEG
He ate the fruit before it was ripe (lit. ate not ripe fruit)

f)
teo xeór tē tám
teo xeór tē tám
grain insufficient DUR do.best
The grain is insufficient, but we’ll do our best.

Durative aspect gives a degree of temporal depths to the otherwise more or less punctual eventive class of verbs. It is analogous to ‘as she was…’ in English.

g)
õdaár qo tē gám dù
õ-daár qo tē gám dù
that-man finish DUR fall ACC
He fell as he was finishing.

Accidental dù

Unlike the other aspects, accidental aspect does not effect a nouns temporal structure in any way. However, it behaves in every other way like an aspectual marker — same clausal position, cannot occur with other aspectual markers or be compounded in any way, meaning varies depending verb class, e.t.c. — and so has been treated in this portion of the grammar.
Accidental aspect can be used to mark both unintentional and unexpected actions and events. In spoken SL, it can also be used to indicate displeasure at an action or event, though the usage is considered non-standard and colloquial.

a)
õdaár tsùn dù xeí
õ-daár tsùn dù xeí
that-man drop ACC sword
He dropped his sword.

When used with a stative verb, the accidental aspect describes an undesirable condition. Despite the similarity between (b) and (c), the latter is markedly colloquial, as the implication is one of distaste, but the effect verb is active.

b)
sīnkèn yaódoà dù
sīn-kèn yaó-doà dù
in.front-person sit-run ACC
I’m running (unfortunately).

c)
siīnkèn doà dù
sīn-kèn doà dù
in.front-person run ACC
Don't want to, but I've got to run.