Kunke
General Description
Kunke is a nominative-accusative SOV language which combines:
1. trial number
2. inverse number marking
3. orientation prefixes
4. areal prefixes.
5. disjoint prefixes
Number and Orientation
Number
Number | Direct | Inverse |
---|---|---|
-0 | -aah |
Orientation
Orientation | Vertical | Horizontal | Squatting |
---|---|---|---|
osi- | osuw- | hii- |
Commentary
Kunke has inverse number marking. Each stem is inherently singular, dual, or plural. The inherent number, called DIRECT, is zero-marked and lexically determined. Both non-inherent numbers, called INVERSE, are indicated by the inverse number suffix '-aah'. Stems consist minimally of an orientation prefix and a root.
The basic meaning of the root 'nasah' is 'long wooden thing' and it is inherently singular; thus 'osinasah' means 'tree', 'osinasahaah' 'trees (dual or plural)', 'osuwnasah' 'stick', 'hiinasah' 'branch'.
'Ruwsa' 'eyes' is inherently dual. 'Siwosuwsuwsa' means 'eyes (dual). 'Siuwosuwsuwsuayaah' means 'eye(s) (singular and plural)'. 'Siuwosizhuwsa' means 'downward eye; modesty', 'siuhiizhuwsa' 'upward-glancing eyes; insolence'.
'Runwu' 'water' is inherently plural. 'Osuwsunwu' means 'water (flat)', 'osizhunwu' means 'water (vertical)', and 'hiizhunwu' means 'water (squatting)' 'Osuwsunwuyaah' means 'drop of water (in river)', 'osizhunwuyaah' 'raindrop', and 'hiizhunwuyaah' 'waterfall (because of the shift from horizontal to vertical').
Possessive Prefixes
Possessive Prefixes | Generic | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Reflexive | Reciprical | Areal | Disjoint | Inverse Disjoint |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
siu- | nue- | iih- | asa- | uwi- | aek- | eur- | aas- | uos- |
There are possessive prefixes in Kunke. One of them, 'siu-', seen above in words such as 'siuyosuwsuwsa' ‘eyes (du)’, is used with inalienably possessed objects, such as body parts and relatives. It is frequently used to create nouns.
'nue-' is the first person prefix.
'iih-' is the second person prefix.
'asa-' is the third person prefix. It is often replaced by the options below.
'uwi-' is the reflexive third person prefix. First and second reflexives use 'nue-' and 'iih-'.
'aek-' is the reciprocal person prefix.
'eur-' is the areal third person prefix, used when the possessor is areal, spatial, or temporal.
'aas-' is the disjoint prefix. The disjoint prefix replaces 'asa-' (and only 'asa-') when both the possessum and the possessor are both in the direct (zero-marked) form and are not identical.
'uos-' is the inverse disjoint prefix. The inverse disjoint form replaces 'asa-' (and only 'asa-') when the possessum is inverse and the possessor is direct.
A disjoint prefix to replace 'asa-' when the possessum is direct and the possessor is inverse does not exist.
Thus:
'osizhena' ‘daughter’ from 'osi-rena':
'siwosizhena' ‘daughter’
'nueyosizhena' ‘my daughter’
'iihosizhena' ‘your daughter’
'asayosizhena' ‘his/her/their daughter’
'uwiyosizhena' ‘his/her/their own daughter’
'aekosizhenayaah' ‘each other’s daughters’
'euzhosizhena' ‘area daughter; foundling; prostitute’
'aasosizhena' ‘his/her/their daughter (possessum is direct)’
'uososizhenayaah' ‘his/her/their daughter (possessum is inverse)’
Genitives
Genitive | Alienable | Inalienable |
---|---|---|
-ia | -iko |
There are two genitive suffixes, one alienable '-ia', the other inalienable '-iko'. A piece of jewelry owned by the warrior’s daughter would produce 'iihosizhenayia hiikuaw' ‘your daughter’s jewelry’, but her neck, 'ruta', would produce 'iihosizhenayiko siuyosizhuta' ‘your daughter’s neck’.
Verbal Structure
Kunke verbs have the following structure:
switch reference-(disjoint)-subject-root-object-tense.
Switch reference
Switch Reference | Remote Past | Past | Present | Future |
---|---|---|---|---|
Same Subject | une- | ohru- | uuh- | hue- |
Different Subject | uno- | our- | uuw- | oha- |
Switch reference does not apply to the first verb in a series of clauses. The switch-reference prefixes encodes tense as well as change of subject.
Verbal Duoplurals
Verbal Affixes | Generic | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Reflexive | Reciprocal | Areal | Disjoint |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | ook- | nue- | iih- | asa- | uwi- | aek- | eur- | aas- |
Non-Singular | hue- | iti- | wao- | iho- | uwi- | aer- | iar- | uos- |
Verbs are inherently singular and therefore have explicit duoplural forms for numbers and persons. The singular forms are the same as the possessive prefixes listed above, except for the Generic. The duoplural forms are different, except for the Reflexive, which is the identical in singular and non-singular.
If the subject is different from that of the previous sentence, the verbal disjoint prefix must follow the the switch reference prefix.
An areal suffix after the verb root refers to the number (singular or duoplural) of the direct object. A verbal disjoint suffix after the verb refers to the number (singular or duoplural) of the omitted direct object.
Tense Suffixes
Tense Suffixes | Remote Past | Past | Present | Future |
---|---|---|---|---|
-iet | -iur | -iun | -ihu |
Sentence Examples
1.
osihoshet osuwsena ihoosuwasayet aasosuwwehsi unesisoyeuzhiet
osi-horhet osuwsena iho-osuw-asa-iet aas-osuw-wehsi une-siso-eur-iet
warrior housemaid NSG-see-SG-RPST DJT-house RPST.SAME-seize-AREA-RPST
The warriors saw the housemaid and seized her house.
2.
osihoshetaah osuwsena ihoosuwasayet aasosuwwehsi unesisoyeuzhiet
osi-horhet-aah osuw-rena iho-osuw-asa-iet aas-osuwwehsi unesiso-eur-iet
warrior-INV housemaid NSG-see-SG-RPST DJT-house RPST.SAME-seize-AREA-RPST
The two warriors saw the housemaid and seized her house.
3.
osihoshetaah osuwsena asayosuwasayet aasosuwwehsi unesisoyeuzhiet
osi-horhet-aah osuw-rena asa-osuw-asa-iet aas-osuw-wehsi une-siso-eur-iet.
warrior-INV housemaid SG-see-SG-RPST DJT-HORZ-building RPST.SAME-seize-AREA-RPST
The warrior saw the housemaid and seized her house.
4.
osihoshet osuwsenayaah ihoosuwasayet asayosuwwehsi unesisoyeuzhiet
osi-horhet osuw-rena-aah iho-osuw-asa-iet asa-osuw-wehsi une-siso-eur-iet
warrior housemaid-INV NSG-see-SG-RPST 3-house RPST.SAME-seize-AREA-RPST
The warriors saw the housemaids and seized their house.
5.
osihoshetaah osuwsenayaah ihoosuwihoyet asayosuwwehsi uneyihosisoyeuzhiet
osi-horhet-aah osuw-rena-aah iho-osuw-iho-iet asa-osuw-wehsi une-siso-eur-iet
warrior-INV housemaid-INV NSG-see-NSG-RPST DJT-house RPST.SAME-seize-AREA-RPST
The two warriors saw the housemaids and seized the house of some other person. The two warriors saw the housemaids and seized the house of some other people.
5a.
osihoshetaah osuwsenayaah ihoosuwasaiet asayosuwwehsi uneyihosisoyeuzhiet
osi-horhet-aah osuw-rena-aah iho-osuw-asa-iet asa-osuw-wehsi une-siso-eur-iet
warrior-INV housemaid-INV NSG-see-SG-RPST 3-house RPST.SAME-seize-AREA-RPST
The two warriors saw the housemaids and seized the house of some other people.
6.
osihoshetaah osuwsenayaah asayosuwihoyet asayosuwwehsi uneyasasisoyeuzhiet
osi-horhet-aah osuw-rena-aah asa-osuw-iho-iet asa-osuw-wehsi une-asa-siso-eur-iet
warrior-INV housemaid-INV SG-see-NSG-RPST 3-house RPST.SAME-seize-AREA-RPST
The warrior saw the housemaids and seized their house.
7.
osihoshet osuwsena ihoosuwasayet aasosuwwehsi unoyuossisoyeuzhiet
osi-horhet osuw-rena iho-osuw-asa-iet aas-osuw-wehsi uno-uos-siso-eur-iet
VERT-warrior housemaid NSG-see-SG-RPST 3-house RPST.DIFF-NSG.DJT-seize-AREA-RPST
The warriors saw the housemaid and some other people seized her house.
8.
osihoshet osuwsena ihoosuwasayet aasosuwwehsi unoyaassisoyeuzhiet
osi-horhet osuw-rena iho-osuw-asa-iet asa-osuw-wehsi uno-aas-siso-eur-iet
warrior housemaid NSG-see-SG-RPST 3-house RPST.DIFF-SG.DJT-seize-AREA-RPST
The warriors saw the housemaid and some other person seized her house.
9.
osihoshet osuwasiwaah ihosisoyazhihu
osi-horhet osuw-asiw-aah iho-siso-iar-ihu
warrior field-INV NSG-seize-AREA.NSG-FUT
The warriors will seize the fields.
10.
osihoshet uososuwasiwaah ihosisoyazhihu
osi-horhet uos-osuw-asiw-aah iho-siso-iar-ihu
warrior INV.DJT-field-INV NSG-seize-AREA.NSG-FUT
The warriors will seize her fields.
Lexicon
asa - (sg) asa 'to see'; hiiyasa 'observation'
asiw (sg) -'area of agriculture'; asiw 'to cultivate'; osiyasiw 'vine trellis'; osuwasiw 'field'; hiiyasiw 'vineyard'
hoshet (< hor-het) (pl) - osihoshet 'band of warriors'; osihoshetaah 'warrior(s)'; euzhosihoshet 'mercenaries'
kuaw (pl) - 'collection of shiny things'; osikuaw 'necklace'; osuwkuaw 'diadem'; hiikuaw 'jewelry'; hiikuawaah 'piece of jewelry'
kunke (pl) - kunke 'to speak'; osikunke 'the Kunke speaking community'; osikunkeyaah 'a speaker of Kunke; dialogue participant'; osuwkunke 'Kunke-speaking ancestors'; osuwkunkeyaah 'an ancestor; tradition (communication between living and late participants);
nasah (sg) - 'long wooden thing'; osinasah 'tree'; osinasahaah 'trees'; osuwnasah 'stick'; hiinasah 'branch'
rena (sg) - 'girl, daughter'; osizhena 'girl'; siwosizhena 'daughter'; osuwsena 'housemaid'; euzhosizhena 'foundling; prostitute'
runwu (pl) - 'water'; runwu 'be wet, make wet'; osizhunwu 'rain'; osizhunwuyaah 'raindrop'; osuwsunwu 'water'; osuwsunwuyaah 'drop of water (in river)'; hiizhunwu 'spray'; hiizhunwuyaah 'waterfall(s)'
ruta (sg) - 'round protrudance'; ruta 'to protrude, intrude, enter'; siwosizhuta 'neck'; siwosuwsuta 'nose, ear'; siuhiizhuta 'limb'
ruwsa (du) - 'eye'; siwosizhuwsa 'modesty'; siwosuwsuwsa 'eyes'; siwosuwsuwsa 'eye(s) (sg/pl)'; siuhiizhuwsa 'insolence'
siso (du) - 'seize, grab with both hands'; siso 'to seize'; osisiso 'a lifting'; osuwsiso 'a pulling towards'; hiisiso 'a reaching in and pulling out'
wehsi (sg) - 'building'; wehsi 'to build'; osiwehsi 'tower'; osuwwehsi 'building, house'; hiiwehsi 'buttress'