Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Tatediem: Pronominal Possession, Indirect Objects

Tatediem marks indirect objects - these can only be humans, btw - by a specific set of prefixes (that in part are 'subsumed' in the object slot, generally prefixing themselves to the object prefix with some level of assimilation).


123
mascfemmascfemmascfem
sg-heŋ--heŋ--win--wir--ŋme--har-
dual-hami--himi--sin--tir--ŋra--ŋar-
pl-hew--hig--cin--cin--ŋim--lar-

Which, by the way, reminds me that I have not yet given the personal pronouns! Here, feminines to the right, masculines to the left:

12
subjobjsubjobj
sg-ke-, -ke--her-, -hec--gi-, -gi--wir-, -ŋwiŋ-
dl-am-, -im--kiim-, -kaam--di-, -tin--sir-, -sin-
pl-eg-, -ic--xec-, -ki--gi-, -gi--cir-, -cir-

As for expressing possession, the object prefixes can be affixed between the gender prefix and the root of a noun. However, many dialects have opted for marking an empty verb-like particle in the vicinity with the gender of the possessed noun (as subject), and the dative prefix (or the object prefix for dative-less nouns) as the object. The verb is -gìan-, a verb that in some dialects also can serve as copula. It lacks all other markings except subject and object. 

Conversely, some dialects use -páhí-, 'possess', and have a somewhat different structure - the possessor as possessor, and the possessee as subject. If the possessor has a dative marker, the possessee is marked with that prefix in the subject slot, whereas if the possessor is of some other gender, the possessor has a subject-like marking and the possessum has an object marking.

Thus

ye-ŋəbs = the dog
ye-her-ŋəbs = my dog
ye-kiim-ŋəbs = the dog belonging to the two of us
ye-ŋim-ŋəbs - their dog
(assimilation often hits: yeki:ŋebs/yeki:mbs, yeŋiŋəbs/yeŋ:ibs) 
But also:
 (ye-)ŋəbs ye-heŋ-(g)ìan = a/the dog that belongs to me (assimilated as yeŋəbs yeŋ:ì:n)
(ye-)ŋebs heŋ-ye-páhí = a/the dog that I own (assimilates to yeŋəbs heypáí)
(ye-)ŋebs ku-l-páhí = the dog that belongs to neut1 noun 

Sometimes, the prefix relating to the possessum is omitted from -(g)ìan or páhí, if it is definite:
yeŋəbs heŋian
yeŋəbs kepáhí

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