Micamo's Magnificent Mithara Blog!
Posted: 17 Dec 2014 09:56
Well, you folks asked for it, so here it is. Mithara changes according to my whims quite often, so I'll try to only talk about things that are more or less set in stone. Affixes and vocabulary will probably change, as are things I haven't specifically talked about yet (and sometimes things I have). I'll probably contradict myself; If I do, and you're confused, ask and I'll clarify.
First up: Noun Incorporation!
A transitive verb can always incorporate its object:
šiƛašk̓iš
sh-i-dush-k'ish
1s.A-REAL-cat-pet
I pet/am petting the cat.
Some intransitive verbs can incorporate their subjects. All so-called "descriptive" verbs fall into this category; In Mithara, any word can be used in the place of a verb stem to create a predicate meaning "to be X"; I call such predicates descriptive verbs.
ʔiceckʷil̕
i-chi-ckwil'
REAL-house-white
The house is white.
ʔiƛuskayus
i-dush-kayus
REAL-cat-domestic_animal
The cat is a domestic animal.
Intransitive verbs denoting an activity are among the class that usually can't incorporate their subjects:
*niƛašm̓ał
ni-i-dush-m'az
PERF-REAL-cat-work
The cat worked.
"Possessor raising", where an external object NP is interpreted as the possessor of the incorporated object, is generally impossible in Mithara, with three exceptions. First, descriptive verbs allow possessor raising:
Skalir ʔipa:sks̓x
skalir i-paash-ks'x
NAME REAL-dog-be.sick
Skalir's dog is sick.
Second, there is a small class of special nouns (mostly body part words) that, when incorporated, always allow possessor raising, even in a transitive verb:
Skalir šiqʷnx̓i:
skalir sh-i-qwn-x'ii
NAME 1s.A-REAL-hand-cut
I cut Skalir's hand.
Note, however, that "double incorporation" is utterly impossible in this case:
*šipa:šqʷnx̓i:
sh-i-paash-qwn-x'ii
1s.A-REAL-dog-hand-cut
I cut the dog's paw.
Third, either of these can also allow possessor raising when they take part in verb serialization (more on this later):
x̱ʷiša:n skalir ʔanipa:sks̓xt
xhwishaan skalir a-ni-i-paash-ks'x-t
witch NAME 3>3-PERF-REAL-dog-be.sick-CAUS
The witch made Skalir's dog sick.
skalir šineyiqʷnx̓i:t
skalir shi-ni-y-i-qwn-x'ii-t
NAME 1s.P-PERF-2s.A-REAL-hand-cut-CAUS
You made me cut Skalir's hand.
Mithara is a "Type IV" incorporating language, under Mithun's classification. This means that modifiers can be external, and external NPs can be coreferent with the incorporated object (with the external NP usually more specific)
nišep̓ikšt sel̕es
ni-sh-i-p'iksh-t sel'-es
PERF-1s.A-REAL-bread-make two-CL:ROUND
I made two loaves of bread.
akʷeʔ ƛ̕xay̓ nišełukyan
akwe' d'xay' ni-sh-i-zuk-yan
all red_salmon PERF-1s.A-REAL-fish-eat
I ate all the red salmon.
Note also that Mithara inflectionally treats transitive verbs that incorporate an object as grammatically transitive:
ʔaniłakyan
a-ni-i-zuk-yan
3>3-PERF-REAL-fish-eat
He ate the fish.
(a- is an allomorph of the usually null 3.P prefix, which only occurs when the agent is also third person. A minor detail, but a complication to building inflectionally correct verbs nonetheless.)
The final thing I'm gonna talk about here today is verb serialization; Mithara handles complex, multi-predication clauses by incorporating a lower predicate into the higher, predicate-selecting verb.
yinešiyaqriwax̱̓p
yi-ni-sh-i-yaq-riwaxh'p
2s.P-PERF-1s.A-REAL-kill-decide
I've decided to kill you.
As we've seen above incorporated noun can be "dragged along" into the higher predicate. However, if the lower predicate is transitive, the agent of the lower predicate raises to object of the higher predicate (and can thus be incorporated), and then the lower predicate (along with its own IN) incorporates. This is the only situation in which transitive agents can ever be incorporated:
nišešw̓ilčxʷč̕aθ
ni-sh-i-sw'il-chxw-t-y'ath
PERF-1s.A-REAL-boy-arrow-make-teach
I taught the boy to make arrows.
nišemiθp̓ekš̕kʷskit
ni-sh-i-mith-p'iksh'-kwski-t
PERF-1s.A-REAL-man-bread-sell-CAUS
I made the man sell the bread.
Alright, so any ideas on what you guys want to hear about next? Feel free to ask any questions you might have about any of this stuff, by the way.
First up: Noun Incorporation!
A transitive verb can always incorporate its object:
šiƛašk̓iš
sh-i-dush-k'ish
1s.A-REAL-cat-pet
I pet/am petting the cat.
Some intransitive verbs can incorporate their subjects. All so-called "descriptive" verbs fall into this category; In Mithara, any word can be used in the place of a verb stem to create a predicate meaning "to be X"; I call such predicates descriptive verbs.
ʔiceckʷil̕
i-chi-ckwil'
REAL-house-white
The house is white.
ʔiƛuskayus
i-dush-kayus
REAL-cat-domestic_animal
The cat is a domestic animal.
Intransitive verbs denoting an activity are among the class that usually can't incorporate their subjects:
*niƛašm̓ał
ni-i-dush-m'az
PERF-REAL-cat-work
The cat worked.
"Possessor raising", where an external object NP is interpreted as the possessor of the incorporated object, is generally impossible in Mithara, with three exceptions. First, descriptive verbs allow possessor raising:
Skalir ʔipa:sks̓x
skalir i-paash-ks'x
NAME REAL-dog-be.sick
Skalir's dog is sick.
Second, there is a small class of special nouns (mostly body part words) that, when incorporated, always allow possessor raising, even in a transitive verb:
Skalir šiqʷnx̓i:
skalir sh-i-qwn-x'ii
NAME 1s.A-REAL-hand-cut
I cut Skalir's hand.
Note, however, that "double incorporation" is utterly impossible in this case:
*šipa:šqʷnx̓i:
sh-i-paash-qwn-x'ii
1s.A-REAL-dog-hand-cut
I cut the dog's paw.
Third, either of these can also allow possessor raising when they take part in verb serialization (more on this later):
x̱ʷiša:n skalir ʔanipa:sks̓xt
xhwishaan skalir a-ni-i-paash-ks'x-t
witch NAME 3>3-PERF-REAL-dog-be.sick-CAUS
The witch made Skalir's dog sick.
skalir šineyiqʷnx̓i:t
skalir shi-ni-y-i-qwn-x'ii-t
NAME 1s.P-PERF-2s.A-REAL-hand-cut-CAUS
You made me cut Skalir's hand.
Mithara is a "Type IV" incorporating language, under Mithun's classification. This means that modifiers can be external, and external NPs can be coreferent with the incorporated object (with the external NP usually more specific)
nišep̓ikšt sel̕es
ni-sh-i-p'iksh-t sel'-es
PERF-1s.A-REAL-bread-make two-CL:ROUND
I made two loaves of bread.
akʷeʔ ƛ̕xay̓ nišełukyan
akwe' d'xay' ni-sh-i-zuk-yan
all red_salmon PERF-1s.A-REAL-fish-eat
I ate all the red salmon.
Note also that Mithara inflectionally treats transitive verbs that incorporate an object as grammatically transitive:
ʔaniłakyan
a-ni-i-zuk-yan
3>3-PERF-REAL-fish-eat
He ate the fish.
(a- is an allomorph of the usually null 3.P prefix, which only occurs when the agent is also third person. A minor detail, but a complication to building inflectionally correct verbs nonetheless.)
The final thing I'm gonna talk about here today is verb serialization; Mithara handles complex, multi-predication clauses by incorporating a lower predicate into the higher, predicate-selecting verb.
yinešiyaqriwax̱̓p
yi-ni-sh-i-yaq-riwaxh'p
2s.P-PERF-1s.A-REAL-kill-decide
I've decided to kill you.
As we've seen above incorporated noun can be "dragged along" into the higher predicate. However, if the lower predicate is transitive, the agent of the lower predicate raises to object of the higher predicate (and can thus be incorporated), and then the lower predicate (along with its own IN) incorporates. This is the only situation in which transitive agents can ever be incorporated:
nišešw̓ilčxʷč̕aθ
ni-sh-i-sw'il-chxw-t-y'ath
PERF-1s.A-REAL-boy-arrow-make-teach
I taught the boy to make arrows.
nišemiθp̓ekš̕kʷskit
ni-sh-i-mith-p'iksh'-kwski-t
PERF-1s.A-REAL-man-bread-sell-CAUS
I made the man sell the bread.
Alright, so any ideas on what you guys want to hear about next? Feel free to ask any questions you might have about any of this stuff, by the way.