Nkwu: Difference between revisions

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'''{{PAGENAME}}''' (endonym: '''''tembadu ~~hānkwu~~''''' [~~te̞ˈmbaɾu ˈhaːŋkwu~~]) is a language spoken by the Nkwu people of Bū.

'''{{PAGENAME}}''' (endonym: '''''tembadu yonkwu''''' [tɛˈmbɐɾʊ ˈjɔŋkwʊ]) is a language spoken by the Nkwu people of Bū.

==Name==

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The morphology of {{PAGENAME}} is agglutinative, with syntactic relationships within a sentence marked by prefixes and lexical derivation achieved by prefixes, infixes and suffixes on bases.

Words are built on a ~~root morpheme~~ called a ''base''. Bases are neither inherently nominal nor verbal and can be used freely with either kind of morphology with no change in meaning.

Words are built on a stem called a ''base'', which may consist of a single root morpheme or many morphemes together. Bases are neither inherently nominal nor verbal and can be used freely with either kind of morphology with no change in meaning.

===Personal ~~Markers~~===

===Personal Prefixes===

The first element added to both nominally and verbally inflected words is the personal ~~marker~~. These provide pronominal information about grammatical person, definiteness, specificity and rank, an inflectional dimension that will be further explained below.

The first element added to both nominally and verbally inflected words is the personal prefix. These provide pronominal information about grammatical person, definiteness, specificity and rank, an inflectional dimension that will be further explained below.

Personal ~~markers~~ may be divided up into simple and compound ~~markers~~. Simple ~~markers~~ are only used for singular referents in the first and second persons. In the 3rd person, personal ~~markers~~ do not give information about number. This means that '''''n-''''' and '''''w-''''' explicitly mean "I" and singular "you" respectively and cannot be used for "we" or plural "you", whereas '''''l-''''', a third person ~~marker~~, could be used for either a singular referent ("he", "she" or "it") or plural referents ("they").

Personal prefixes may be divided up into simple and compound prefixes. Simple prefixes are only used for singular referents in the first and second persons. In the 3rd person, personal prefixes do not give information about number. This means that '''''n-''''' and '''''w-''''' explicitly mean "I" and singular "you" respectively and cannot be used for "we" or plural "you", whereas '''''l-''''', a third person prefix, could be used for either a singular referent ("he", "she" or "it") or plural referents ("they").

{| class="bluetable lightbluebg"

|+ '''Simple Personal ~~Markers~~'''

|+ '''Simple Personal Prefixes'''

|-

! Prefix !! Person !! Rank !! Definiteness !! Specificity

Line 175:

|}

First and second person plurals are indicated essentially by combination of two simple ~~markers~~. For example, the inclusive first person plural "we (including you)" is formed by combining the first person ~~marker~~ '''''n-''''' with the second person ~~marker~~ '''''w-''''', producing '''''nw-'''''. Exclusive first person plurals, "we (not including you)" are formed by combining the '''''n-''''' of the first person with the definite third person ~~marker~~ of the appropriate rank, for example '''''nj-''''' means "we" in the sense of "he/they (dominant) and I". Second person plurals are similarly formed, with the exclusive 2nd person ~~marker~~ '''''vw-''''' used only for cases when every member of the group referred to is being addressed. Additional members of the group being referred to who are not being addressed will be indicated instead with a combination involving the appropriately ranked third person definite ~~marker~~, such as '''''dw-''''' "you and he/they". Additionally, the ~~marker~~ '''''ndjw-''''' combines both first and second persons with the third person, A-ranked ~~marker~~, thus referring to a large group of all grammatical persons and meaning roughly "we all", "people", "everyone" or "one".

First and second person plurals are indicated essentially by combination of two simple prefixes. For example, the inclusive first person plural "we (including you)" is formed by combining the first person prefix '''''n-''''' with the second person prefix '''''w-''''', producing '''''nw-'''''. Exclusive first person plurals, "we (not including you)" are formed by combining the '''''n-''''' of the first person with the definite third person prefix of the appropriate rank, for example '''''nj-''''' means "we" in the sense of "he/they (dominant) and I". Second person plurals are similarly formed, with the exclusive 2nd person prefix '''''vw-''''' used only for cases when every member of the group referred to is being addressed. Additional members of the group being referred to who are not being addressed will be indicated instead with a combination involving the appropriately ranked third person definite prefix, such as '''''dw-''''' "you and he/they". Additionally, the prefix '''''ndjw-''''' combines both first and second persons with the third person, A-ranked prefix, thus referring to a large group of all grammatical persons and meaning roughly "we all", "people", "everyone" or "one".

The following table shows all personal ~~markers~~.

The following table shows all personal prefixes.

{| class="~~wikitable~~"

{| class="bluetable lightbluebg"

|+ Simple and Compound Personal ~~Markers~~

|+ Simple and Compound Personal Prefixes

|- style="font-weight:bold;"

! colspan="3" | Simple Person ~~Markers~~:

! colspan="3" | Simple Person Prefixes:

! colspan="3" | Compounded with 1:

! colspan="3" | Compounded with 2:

|- style="font-weight:bold;"

| ~~Marker~~

| Prefix

| Gloss

| Translation

| ~~Marker~~

| Prefix

| Gloss

| Translation

| ~~Marker~~

| Prefix

| Gloss

| Translation

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| colspan="7" style="background-color:#ffccc9;" | "we all", "everyone", "one", "people"

|}

Speakers who merge /ⁿdʒ/ with /ⁿʒ/, pronouncing both as [nd͡ʒ] do not distinguish between '''''ndj-''''' (1+3A-) and ''''''nj-''''' (1+3B-) in speech. Likewise, the small minority of speakers who pronounce /ⁿl/ as [nd] do not distinguish '''''nd-''''' (1+3C-) from '''''nl-''''' (1+3D). These distinctions are retained in writing and, where necessary, may also be carefully pronounced.

=====Rank=====

Third person definite referents are assigned a ''rank'' any time they are referred to. These ranks are not permanent attributes of the referents but are rather context-dependent assignments within a discourse that depends on the speaker's perceived and expressed relations between the referent and other third person referents. When a single 3rd person referent is mentioned, the rank depends only on the speaker's perception of the referent, however when there are two or more referents, ranks may be assigned that would otherwise not be used in order to differentiate between multiple referents within a discourse and express their ranks ''relative to one another.''

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{| class="bluetable lightbluebg"

! ~~Marker~~ !! Gloss !! Designation !! Default Use in Isolation

! Prefix !! Gloss !! Designation !! Default Use in Isolation

|-

| '''''dj-''''' || A / NOB || "Noble" || Referents of great social, financial or political standing who are likely to be able to bring about significant hardships on others due to means other than physical strength

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| '''''l-''''' || D / SUB || "Subordinate" || Weaker animate referents with perceived low combat abilities

|-

| '''''d-''''' || E / INAN || "Inanimate" || Inanimate referents and, hyperbolically, animate referents regarded as physically ineffectual

| '''''t-''''' || E / INAN || "Inanimate" || Inanimate referents and, hyperbolically, animate referents regarded as physically ineffectual

|}

A useful way to conceptualise the typical assignment of ranks is with the question "who would win in a physical fight"? Physically larger, stronger and more active referents are assigned a higher rank. The highest rank, A, the "noble" rank, indicated with the ~~marker~~ '''''dj-''''', is an exception, dependent not on physical strength but rather social, financial or political power. A referent marked with '''''dj-''''' is not necessarily physically dominant over other referents, but a conflict with an A-ranked individual could lead to more significant consequences for lower ranked referents than the physical prowess of the A-ranked referent alone would afford them. "Weighty" abstract concepts may be referred to using '''''dj-''''' when there is no person in the discourse assigned to this rank.

A useful way to conceptualise the typical assignment of ranks is with the question "who would win in a physical fight"? Physically larger, stronger and more active referents are assigned a higher rank. The highest rank, A, the "noble" rank, indicated with the prefix '''''dj-''''', is an exception, dependent not on physical strength but rather social, financial or political power. A referent marked with '''''dj-''''' is not necessarily physically dominant over other referents, but a conflict with an A-ranked individual could lead to more significant consequences for lower ranked referents than the physical prowess of the A-ranked referent alone would afford them. "Weighty" abstract concepts may be referred to using '''''dj-''''' when there is no person in the discourse assigned to this rank.

When groups are referenced under one prefix, the highest rank within the group is used by default.

===Nominal Morphology===

Nouns are formed with the following structure: <code>[personal prefix]-[case prefix]-[base]</code>. The presence of a case prefix instead of a predicative prefix distinguishes nouns from verbs.

Other traditionally nominal categories such as number (plural and singular) are indicated by inflections of the base itself and thus apply equally to verbal morphology. These will be handled in the [[{{PAGENAME}}#bases|section on bases]].

====Case Prefixes====

Nouns in {{PAGENAME}} can inflect into four cases grammatical cases.

{| class="bluetable lightbluebg" style="font-weight:bold;"

|- style="font-weight:normal;"

! Case

! Prefix

! Example

! Meaning

|-

| style="font-weight:normal;" | Absolutive

| -e-

| style="font-style:italic;" | tembuda

| style="font-weight:normal;" | "the house(s)"

|-

| style="font-weight:normal;" | Ergative

| -a-

| style="font-style:italic;" | tambuda

| style="font-weight:normal;" | "by the house(s)"

|-

| style="font-weight:normal;" | Dative

| -ua-

| style="font-style:italic;" | tuambuda

| style="font-weight:normal;" | "to the house(s)"

|-

| style="font-weight:normal;" | Genitive

| -o-

| style="font-style:italic;" | tombuda

| style="font-weight:normal;" | "of the house(s)"

|}

===Verbal Morphology===

Finite verbs are formed with the following structure: <code>[personal prefix]-[predicative prefix]-[base]</code>. The presence of a predicative prefix instead of a case prefix distinguishes nouns from verbs.

Other traditionally verbal categories such as tense, aspect and mood are indicated by inflections of the base itself and thus apply equally to nominal morphology. These will be handled in the [[{{PAGENAME}}#bases|section on bases]].

====Predicative Prefixes====

Finite verbs in {{PAGENAME}} can carry one of four predicative prefixes as show in the table below.

{| class="bluetable lightbluebg"

|-

!

! Independent

! Adverbial

|-

! Absolutive

| '''-i-'''

| '''-u-'''

|-

! Ergative

| '''-ai-'''

| '''-au-'''

|}

The independent forms are used in independent clauses and dependent clauses introduced by a complementiser. The dependent forms are used in adverbial clauses. For examble, the independent verb form '''''timbuda''''' means "it is a house" whereas the adverbial '''''tumbuda''''' is more equivalent to "(with) it being a house".

The absolutive and ergative forms of of the predicative prefixes indicate the case of the preceding personal prefix. Compare the following examples

:{|

|-

| colspan="9" | '''Nigu.'''

|-

| n- || i- || gu

|-

| 1- || PRED- || be.eaten

|-

| colspan="9" | "I get/got/will get eaten."

|}

:{|

|-

| colspan="9" | '''Naigu.'''

|-

| n- || a- || i- || gu

|-

| 1- || ERG- || PRED- || be.eaten

|-

| colspan="9" | "I eat / ate / will eat."

|}

The ability to indicate either the absolutive or the ergative argument on the verb allows either one to be emphasised.

:{|

|-

| colspan="9" | '''Tigu tembu langeu'''

|-

| t- || i- || gu || t- || e- || mbu || l- || a- || ngeu

|-

| 3E- || PRED- || be.eaten || 3E- || ABS- || bug || 3D- || ERG- || cat

|-

| colspan="9" | "The bug got eaten by the cat."

|}

:{|

|-

| colspan="9" | '''Laigu tembu langeu'''

|-

| l- || a- || i- || gu || t- || e- || mbu || l- || a- || ngeu

|-

| 3D- || ā- || PRED- || be.eaten || 3E- || ABS- || bug || 3D- || ERG- || cat

|-

| colspan="9" | "The cat ate the bug."

|}

===Morphology of Modifiers===

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{private}}
-'''{{PAGENAME}}''' (endonym: '''''tembadu hānkwu''''' [te̞ˈmbaɾu ˈhaːŋkwu]) is a language spoken by the Nkwu people of Bū.
+'''{{PAGENAME}}''' (endonym: '''''tembadu yonkwu''''' [tɛˈmbɐɾʊ ˈjɔŋkwʊ]) is a language spoken by the Nkwu people of Bū.
 ==Name==
@@ Line 135: / Line 135: @@
 The morphology of {{PAGENAME}} is agglutinative, with syntactic relationships within a sentence marked by prefixes and lexical derivation achieved by prefixes, infixes and suffixes on bases.
-Words are built on a root morpheme called a ''base''. Bases are neither inherently nominal nor verbal and can be used freely with either kind of morphology with no change in meaning.
+Words are built on a stem called a ''base'', which may consist of a single root morpheme or many morphemes together. Bases are neither inherently nominal nor verbal and can be used freely with either kind of morphology with no change in meaning.
-===Personal Markers===
+===Personal Prefixes===
-The first element added to both nominally and verbally inflected words is the personal marker. These provide pronominal information about grammatical person, definiteness, specificity and rank, an inflectional dimension that will be further explained below.
+The first element added to both nominally and verbally inflected words is the personal prefix. These provide pronominal information about grammatical person, definiteness, specificity and rank, an inflectional dimension that will be further explained below.
-Personal markers may be divided up into simple and compound markers. Simple markers are only used for singular referents in the first and second persons. In the 3rd person, personal markers do not give information about number. This means that '''''n-''''' and '''''w-''''' explicitly mean "I" and singular "you" respectively and cannot be used for "we" or plural "you", whereas '''''l-''''', a third person marker, could be used for either a singular referent ("he", "she" or "it") or plural referents ("they").
+Personal prefixes may be divided up into simple and compound prefixes. Simple prefixes are only used for singular referents in the first and second persons. In the 3rd person, personal prefixes do not give information about number. This means that '''''n-''''' and '''''w-''''' explicitly mean "I" and singular "you" respectively and cannot be used for "we" or plural "you", whereas '''''l-''''', a third person prefix, could be used for either a singular referent ("he", "she" or "it") or plural referents ("they").
 {| class="bluetable lightbluebg"
-|+ '''Simple Personal Markers'''
+|+ '''Simple Personal Prefixes'''
 |-
 ! Prefix !! Person !! Rank !! Definiteness !! Specificity
@@ Line 175: / Line 175: @@
 |}
-First and second person plurals are indicated essentially by combination of two simple markers. For example, the inclusive first person plural "we (including you)" is formed by combining the first person marker '''''n-''''' with the second person marker '''''w-''''', producing '''''nw-'''''. Exclusive first person plurals, "we (not including you)" are formed by combining the '''''n-''''' of the first person with the definite third person marker of the appropriate rank, for example '''''nj-''''' means "we" in the sense of "he/they (dominant) and I". Second person plurals are similarly formed, with the exclusive 2nd person marker '''''vw-''''' used only for cases when every member of the group referred to is being addressed. Additional members of the group being referred to who are not being addressed will be indicated instead with a combination involving the appropriately ranked third person definite marker, such as '''''dw-''''' "you and he/they". Additionally, the marker '''''ndjw-''''' combines both first and second persons with the third person, A-ranked marker, thus referring to a large group of all grammatical persons and meaning roughly "we all", "people", "everyone" or "one".
+First and second person plurals are indicated essentially by combination of two simple prefixes. For example, the inclusive first person plural "we (including you)" is formed by combining the first person prefix '''''n-''''' with the second person prefix '''''w-''''', producing '''''nw-'''''. Exclusive first person plurals, "we (not including you)" are formed by combining the '''''n-''''' of the first person with the definite third person prefix of the appropriate rank, for example '''''nj-''''' means "we" in the sense of "he/they (dominant) and I". Second person plurals are similarly formed, with the exclusive 2nd person prefix '''''vw-''''' used only for cases when every member of the group referred to is being addressed. Additional members of the group being referred to who are not being addressed will be indicated instead with a combination involving the appropriately ranked third person definite prefix, such as '''''dw-''''' "you and he/they". Additionally, the prefix '''''ndjw-''''' combines both first and second persons with the third person, A-ranked prefix, thus referring to a large group of all grammatical persons and meaning roughly "we all", "people", "everyone" or "one".
-The following table shows all personal markers.
+The following table shows all personal prefixes.
-{| class="wikitable"
+{| class="bluetable lightbluebg"
-|+ Simple and Compound Personal Markers
+|+ Simple and Compound Personal Prefixes
 |- style="font-weight:bold;"
-! colspan="3" | Simple Person Markers:
+! colspan="3" | Simple Person Prefixes:
 ! colspan="3" | Compounded with 1:
 ! colspan="3" | Compounded with 2:
 |- style="font-weight:bold;"
-| Marker
+| Prefix
 | Gloss
 | Translation
-| Marker
+| Prefix
 | Gloss
 | Translation
-| Marker
+| Prefix
 | Gloss
 | Translation
@@ Line 292: / Line 292: @@
 | colspan="7" style="background-color:#ffccc9;" | "we all", "everyone", "one", "people"
 |}
+Speakers who merge /ⁿdʒ/ with /ⁿʒ/, pronouncing both as [nd͡ʒ] do not distinguish between '''''ndj-''''' (1+3A-) and ''''''nj-''''' (1+3B-) in speech. Likewise, the small minority of speakers who pronounce /ⁿl/ as [nd] do not distinguish '''''nd-''''' (1+3C-) from '''''nl-''''' (1+3D). These distinctions are retained in writing and, where necessary, may also be carefully pronounced.
 =====Rank=====
 Third person definite referents are assigned a ''rank'' any time they are referred to. These ranks are not permanent attributes of the referents but are rather context-dependent assignments within a discourse that depends on the speaker's perceived and expressed relations between the referent and other third person referents. When a single 3rd person referent is mentioned, the rank depends only on the speaker's perception of the referent, however when there are two or more referents, ranks may be assigned that would otherwise not be used in order to differentiate between multiple referents within a discourse and express their ranks ''relative to one another.''
@@ Line 298: / Line 301: @@
 {| class="bluetable lightbluebg"
-! Marker !! Gloss !! Designation !! Default Use in Isolation
+! Prefix !! Gloss !! Designation !! Default Use in Isolation
 |-
 | '''''dj-''''' || A / NOB || "Noble" || Referents of great social, financial or political standing who are likely to be able to bring about significant hardships on others due to means other than physical strength
@@ Line 308: / Line 311: @@
 | '''''l-''''' || D / SUB || "Subordinate" || Weaker animate referents with perceived low combat abilities
 |-
-| '''''d-''''' || E / INAN || "Inanimate" || Inanimate referents and, hyperbolically, animate referents regarded as physically ineffectual
+| '''''t-''''' || E / INAN || "Inanimate" || Inanimate referents and, hyperbolically, animate referents regarded as physically ineffectual
 |}
-A useful way to conceptualise the typical assignment of ranks is with the question "who would win in a physical fight"? Physically larger, stronger and more active referents are assigned a higher rank. The highest rank, A, the "noble" rank, indicated with the marker '''''dj-''''', is an exception, dependent not on physical strength but rather social, financial or political power. A referent marked with '''''dj-''''' is not necessarily physically dominant over other referents, but a conflict with an A-ranked individual could lead to more significant consequences for lower ranked referents than the physical prowess of the A-ranked referent alone would afford them. "Weighty" abstract concepts may be referred to using '''''dj-''''' when there is no person in the discourse assigned to this rank.
+A useful way to conceptualise the typical assignment of ranks is with the question "who would win in a physical fight"? Physically larger, stronger and more active referents are assigned a higher rank. The highest rank, A, the "noble" rank, indicated with the prefix '''''dj-''''', is an exception, dependent not on physical strength but rather social, financial or political power. A referent marked with '''''dj-''''' is not necessarily physically dominant over other referents, but a conflict with an A-ranked individual could lead to more significant consequences for lower ranked referents than the physical prowess of the A-ranked referent alone would afford them. "Weighty" abstract concepts may be referred to using '''''dj-''''' when there is no person in the discourse assigned to this rank.
+When groups are referenced under one prefix, the highest rank within the group is used by default.
 ===Nominal Morphology===
+Nouns are formed with the following structure: <code>[personal prefix]-[case prefix]-[base]</code>. The presence of a case prefix instead of a predicative prefix distinguishes nouns from verbs.
+Other traditionally nominal categories such as number (plural and singular) are indicated by inflections of the base itself and thus apply equally to verbal morphology. These will be handled in the [[{{PAGENAME}}#bases|section on bases]].
+====Case Prefixes====
+Nouns in {{PAGENAME}} can inflect into four cases grammatical cases.
+{| class="bluetable lightbluebg" style="font-weight:bold;"
+|- style="font-weight:normal;"
+! Case
+! Prefix
+! Example
+! Meaning
+|-
+| style="font-weight:normal;" | Absolutive
+| -e-
+| style="font-style:italic;" | tembuda
+| style="font-weight:normal;" | "the house(s)"
+|-
+| style="font-weight:normal;" | Ergative
+| -a-
+| style="font-style:italic;" | tambuda
+| style="font-weight:normal;" | "by the house(s)"
+|-
+| style="font-weight:normal;" | Dative
+| -ua-
+| style="font-style:italic;" | tuambuda
+| style="font-weight:normal;" | "to the house(s)"
+|-
+| style="font-weight:normal;" | Genitive
+| -o-
+| style="font-style:italic;" | tombuda
+| style="font-weight:normal;" | "of the house(s)"
+|}
 ===Verbal Morphology===
+Finite verbs are formed with the following structure: <code>[personal prefix]-[predicative prefix]-[base]</code>. The presence of a predicative prefix instead of a case prefix distinguishes nouns from verbs.
+Other traditionally verbal categories such as tense, aspect and mood are indicated by inflections of the base itself and thus apply equally to nominal morphology. These will be handled in the [[{{PAGENAME}}#bases|section on bases]].
+====Predicative Prefixes====
+Finite verbs in {{PAGENAME}} can carry one of four predicative prefixes as show in the table below.
+{| class="bluetable lightbluebg"
+|-
+!
+! Independent
+! Adverbial
+|-
+! Absolutive
+| '''-i-'''
+| '''-u-'''
+|-
+! Ergative
+| '''-ai-'''
+| '''-au-'''
+|}
+The independent forms are used in independent clauses and dependent clauses introduced by a complementiser. The dependent forms are used in adverbial clauses. For examble, the independent verb form '''''timbuda''''' means "it is a house" whereas the adverbial '''''tumbuda''''' is more equivalent to "(with) it being a house".
+The absolutive and ergative forms of of the predicative prefixes indicate the case of the preceding personal prefix. Compare the following examples
+:{|
+|-
+| colspan="9" | '''Nigu.'''
+|-
+| n- || i- || gu
+|-
+| 1- || PRED- || be.eaten
+|-
+| colspan="9" | "I get/got/will get eaten."
+|}
+:{|
+|-
+| colspan="9" | '''Naigu.'''
+|-
+| n- || a- || i- || gu
+|-
+| 1- || ERG- || PRED- || be.eaten
+|-
+| colspan="9" | "I eat / ate / will eat."
+|}
+The ability to indicate either the absolutive or the ergative argument on the verb allows either one to be emphasised.
+:{|
+|-
+| colspan="9" | '''Tigu tembu langeu'''
+|-
+| t- || i- || gu || t- || e- || mbu || l- || a- || ngeu
+|-
+| 3E- || PRED- || be.eaten || 3E- || ABS- || bug || 3D- || ERG- || cat
+|-
+| colspan="9" | "The bug got eaten by the cat."
+|}
+:{|
+|-
+| colspan="9" | '''Laigu tembu langeu'''
+|-
+| l- || a- || i- || gu || t- || e- || mbu || l- || a- || ngeu
+|-
+| 3D- || ā- || PRED- || be.eaten || 3E- || ABS- || bug || 3D- || ERG- || cat
+|-
+| colspan="9" | "The cat ate the bug."
+|}
 ===Morphology of Modifiers===