Seuna suffixes and some grammar

There are only two consonants allowed to terminate a word. These are s and n. Each of them has a number of functions when it is appended to a word.

-s

1) Appended to a noun, this puts the noun in the vocative case. Used mostly with the 464 personal names.

2) When appended to an object it makes the object definite. (Remember when we have SVO the subject is definite, and when we have VSO the subject is indefinite)

We could get way with no indefinite pronouns ? What about peripheral arguements ? Get hold of some    typological surveys on discourse.

3) When appended to an adjective, it gives the comparative.

4) When appended to an verb, it shows that the truth of the statement is "inferred" (it is an evidential marker).

-n

1) When making compound words from two nouns, it is infixed. For example ;-

kloganjutu = shoe size

2) When suffixed to an adjective , it makes a noun. For example ;-

black

hau

to black one

haun

3) When suffixed to an pronoun , it makes a noun. For example ;-

my shoe

kloga mi

that shoe is mine/my one.

kloga min

4) When appended to an verb, it is an evidential marker meaning "reported".

5) When suffixed to an verb in its base form (actually a noun) it makes a noun. For example ;-

to drink

solbe

a drinker

solben

Some grammar

Predicates can not be adjectives. They must be nouns. Hence you can not say "He is good". But you must say "He is a good one".

The reason for this is because I want to be able to drop the copula in the present tense without creating any ambiguity. Let me explain.

"the big man's beer" is rendered beer man big in Seuna. However this could be reanalysed [beer man] big which would be "the man's beer is big" if adjective predicates are allowed. This ambiguity is avoided when you must say "the man's beer is a big one".

Index

1. Introduction to Seuna
2. Seuna : Chapter 1
3. Seuna word shape
4. The script of Seuna
5. Seuna sentence structure
6. Seuna pronouns
7. Seuna nouns
8. Seuna verbs (1)
9. Seuna adjectives
10. Seuna demonstratives
11. Seuna verbs (2)
12. Asking a question in Seuna
13. Seuna relative clauses
14. Seuna verbs (3)
15. Methods for deriving words in Seuna
16. List of all Seuna derivational affixes
17. Numbers in Seuna
18. Naming people in Seuna
19. The Seuna calendar
20. Seuna units