Seebee

Seebee Seebee
Pronounced:	[seːˈbeː]
Species:	Human
Spoken:	Ḍaihodoo
Genealogy:	Choogoan Seeḅee
Typology
Morphosyntactic alignment:	Nominative-accusative
Basic word order:	SOV
Credits
Creator:	Qwynegold
Created:	2008

Verbal Morphology

There are 61 verb classes in Seebee. One class contains irregular verbs, and is abbreviated Irr. in the Seebee dictionary. The other classes consist of three types, 3 in the first type (denoted by the Roman numerals I, II and III), 2 in the second type (denoted by the lower case letters a and b) and 10 in the third type (denoted by upper case letters or by Arabic numerals). These types together make up 60 classes (3×2×10). Each regular verb belongs to each of the three types. For example, ʻkau (buy) is of class I-a-3.
Verbs in class I are 1-2 syllables long, verbs in class II are 2 syllables, and verbs in class III are 2-3 syllables. Class II and III verbs have two alternative stems, 1 and 2, while class I verbs have only one stem. Different conjugations call for different stems.
Verbs in class a have final stress, while verbs in class b can be stressed on any syllable, including the final. However, monosyllabic verbs are unstressed if they belong to class a, and stressed if the belong to class b.
The final type of class has the following categories: B, G, L, M, N, S, 1, 2, 3, 4. Verbs in classes B, G, L, M and N have their lemma form end in -bu, -gu, -lu, -mu and -nu respectively. Verbs in class S end with -s. Verbs in class 1 and 2 end with ·. The difference is that in some conjugations, this · turns into -g- if the verb is class 1, and -d- or -j- if the verb is class 2. Verbs in class 3 end with -au, -iu, -oo, -ue or -uu. Verbs in class 4 end with -lu, but they conjugate differenly than verbs in the L class.
There are nine different conjugations in Seebee. Tenses, polarities, moods and politeness levels, and combinations thereof not covered by one of these nine conjugations are expressed by a combination of one of the nine conjugations and some periphrastic words.

Conjugation Forms

Seebeee verbs can take one of the following six conjugation forms. Suffixes are typically added to these forms. The lemma form and the periphrastic form can be used without a suffix, while the other forms require a suffix.

Lemma

This is the form under which verbs are listed in the dictionary. The lemma form has stem 1. The lemma used alone has two meanings. 1: An infinitive, the lemma infinitive. 2: Present-positive-familiar.
The lemma followed by ʻdes stands for present-positive-polite. To form the past-positive-polite, the lemma is followed by deshta. Other words that are combined with the lemma include Seebee#to·, Seebee#ʻmo, Seebee#mae ʻni, Seebee#kaḷa, Seebee#noḍe, Seebee#naḷa, Seebee#daḷue, Seebee#deṣhue, Seebee#kaṃo, Seebee#ʻka ʻdoo ʻka, Seebee#ʻshi, Seebee#ʻna, Seebee#ʻto, Seebee#hoḍo and Seebee#laṣhii.

Familiar Conjugation

This conjugation form is used for the familiar-negative and familiar-hortative. A word in this form must take a suffix (either -ax/-nai for familiar-negative or -ue for familiar-hortative) to be grammatical. One could say that in this conjugation, the familiar politeness level is expressed in the stem change itself.

Familiar Conjugation

	I-B, I-G, I-L, I-M, I-N				I-S	I-Z	I-1	I-2	I-3	I-a-4	I-b-4
Rule	u → Ø				s → ṣ		· → ġ	· → ḍ	u → Ø[1] (NEG), Vu → Vː[1] (HORT)	lu → Ø
Lemma	yoḅu				sas		ʻi·	u·	ʻkau	neḷu	ṃilu
FAM	yoḅ-				saṣ-		iġ-	uḍ-	ka- (NEG), kax- (HORT)	ne-	ṃi- (NEG), mi- (HORT)
Class	II-B, II-G, II-L, II-M				II-S	II-Z	II-1	II-2	II-3	II-a-4	II-b-4
Rule	u → Ø[2]				s → ṣ[2]	z → ẓ	· → ġ[2]	· → ḍ[2]	u → Ø[1][2] (NEG), Vu → Vː[1][2] (HORT)	lu → Ø[2]
Lemma	ỵogu					huẓu	aḷu·		aḷau	kuḷu	ḥyilu
FAM	yoġ-					huẓ-	luġ-		la- (NEG), lax- (HORT)	ku-	ḥyi- (NEG), hyi- (HORT)
	III-B	III-G	III-L	III-M	III-S	III-Z	III-1	III-2	III-3	III-4
Rule	stem 2 + ḅ	​stem 2 + ġ	stem 2 + ḷ	stem 2 + ṃ ​	stem 2 + ṣ		stem 2 + ġ	stem 2 + ḍ	stem 2[1] (NEG), stem 2 + ː[1] (HORT)	lu → Ø (NEG), lu → ỵ (HORT)
Lemma			kadaḷu		goạs		haḷa·		koṇau	shaḅelu
POL			kadaḷ-		go·aṣ-		halaġ-	​	kona- (NEG), konax- (HORT)	shaḅe- (NEG), shabe- (HORT)

1. ↑^{1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5}An epenthetic consonant is often required between the stem and the suffix. What the consonant is depends on the last vowel of stem as follows:

   i, ii → [j], written <y>

   u, uu → [v], written <v>

   a, ax, e → [ʔ], unwritten or written <·> depending on the word

   In some cases <·> is used for marking hiatus

2. ↑^{2.0, 2.1, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6, 2.7}If the word begins with a lone vowel, i.e. the first syllable consists of only a monophthong, then this monophthong is deleted.

In this table, classes that funtion similarly have been grouped together. The rule shows what part of the stem's end turn into what. An upper case V stands for any vowel and Ø for nothing. Examples follow with first words in their lemma form and then in the familiar conjugation form. A worded explanation follows:

• In classes B, G, L, M, N the final -u is removed before the suffix is added. Stress is moved to the final syllable (to the suffix). If the verb is of class II, an initial lone vowel is also deleted from the stem.
• In classes S and Z, no change happens at the stem end. But stress is moved to the final syllable (to the suffix). If the verb is of class II, an initial lone vowel is deleted from the stem.
• In class 1, the final -· is replaced by -ġ. Stress is moved to the final syllable (to the suffix). If the verb is of class II, an initial lone vowel is also deleted from the stem.
• In class 2, the final -· is replaced by -ḍ. Stress is moved to the final syllable (to the suffix). If the verb is of class II, an initial lone vowel is also deleted from the stem.
• In class 3, different changes take place depending on whether it is the negative or hortative suffix that is added. The negative suffix -ax simply causes the final -u to be dropped from the stem. The hortative suffix -ue causes the final -u to be dropped and the vowel before that becoming long. (Note that the long form of a is ax.) Both suffixes may require the insertion of an epenthetic consonant between the stem and the suffix, and in both cases stress is moved to the final syllable (to the suffix). If the verb is of class II, an initial lone vowel is also deleted from the stem.
• In classes I-a-4 and II-a-4, the final -lu is deleted. Class 4 verbs take -nai instead of -ax as the negative suffix. Stress is moved to the final syllable (to the suffix). If the verb is of class II-a-4, an initial lone vowel is also deleted from the stem.
• In classes I-b-4 and II-b-4, the final -lu is deleted. Class 4 verbs take -nai instead of -ax as the negative suffix. If the hortative suffix is used, stress is moved to the final syllable (to the suffix). But if the negative suffix is used, stress is kept in its original location. If the verb is of class II-b-4, an initial lone vowel is also deleted from the stem.
• In class III-4, the final -lu is deleted if the negative suffix is used, or replaced by -ỵ if the hortative suffix is used. (In another analysis one could say that the -ỵ is part of the suffix rather than this stem.) Class 4 verbs take -nai instead of -ax as the negative suffix. Stress is moved to the final syllable (to the suffix).

Polite Conjugation

This conjugation pattern is used for the polite-negative and polite-hortative (marked by the suffixes -ṣee and -ṣhue respectively), and cannot be used without a suffix. One could say that the polite politeness level is expressed in the stem change itself. The stress of all verbs is moved to the final syllable (the suffix) in this conjugation form.

Polite Conjugation

	I-B, I-G, I-L, I-M, I-N	I-S	I-Z	I-1	I-2	I-3	I-4
Rule	u → a	s → sha		· → ga	· → ja	Vu → a	Vlu → a
Lemma	yoḅu	sas		ʻi·	u·	ʻkau	ṃilu
POL	yoba-	sasha-		iga-	uja-	ka-	ma-
	II
Rule	stem 1 → stem 2
Lemma	ỵogu
POL	oya-
	III
Rule	stem 1 → stem 2
Lemma	haḷa·
POL	​ hada-

In this table, classes that funtion similarly have been grouped together. The rule shows what part of the stem's end turn into what. An upper case V stands for any vowel. Examples follow with first words in their lemma form and then in the polite conjugation form. A worded explanation follows:

• For verbs in classes I-B, I-G, I-L, I-M and I-N the final -u is replaced by -a before the suffix is added.
• In class I-S the final -s is replaced by -sha.
• In class I-1 the final -· is replaced by -ga.
• In class I-2 the final · is replaced by -ja.
• In class I-3 the final diphthong is replaced by -a.
• In class I-4 only the initial consonant of the word remains, and to this -a is added.
• In class II and III, the second stem is used and the suffix is simply added without any other modifications.

Past-Conjunctive Conjugation

This conjugation pattern is used for the past and conjunctive forms (marked by the suffixes -a and -e respectively). A stem with this conjugation may not be used without either suffix.

Past-Conjunctive Conjugation

	I-a-B[1]	I-b-B	I-a-G[1]	I-b-G	I-a-L[1]	I-b-L	I-a-M[1]	I-b-M	I-N[1]	I-a-S[1]	I-b-S	I-Z	I-a-1[1]	I-b-1	I-a-2[1]	I-b-2	I-a-3[1]	I-b-3	I-a-4[1]	I-b-4
Rule	ḅu → ḍ	bu → ːd	ġu → iḍ	gu → id	ḷu → tṭ	lu → tt	ṃu → ḍ	mu → ːd	ṇu → ḍ	s → shṭ	s → sht		· → iḍ	· → id	· → tṭ	· → tt	u → tṭ	u → tt	ḷu → ḍ	lu → d
Lemma	yoḅu		kaġu	ṇugu	uḷu		fuṃu	ỵomu	shiṇu	ʻos	ṣas		ʻka·	ḳa·		ụ·	ʻkau	ḳau	neḷu	ṃilu
PST/CONJ	yoḍ-		kaiḍ-	ṇuid-	utṭ-		fuḍ-	ỵood-	shiḍ-	oshṭ-	ṣasht-		kaiḍ-	ḳaid-		ụtt-	katṭ-	ḳatt-	neḍ-	ṃid-
	II-a-B	II-b-B	II-a-G	II-b-G	II-a-L	II-b-L	II-a-M	II-b-M		II-a-S	II-b-S	II-Z	II-a-1	II-b-1	II-a-2	II-b-2	II-a-3	II-b-3	II-a-4	II-b-4
Rule	ḅu → ḍ[2]	bu → ːd[2]	ġu → iḍ[2]	gu → id[2]	ḷu → tṭ[2]	lu → tt[2]	ṃu → ḍ[2]	mu → ːd[2]		s → shṭ[2]	s → sht[2]	ẓu → shṭ[2]	· → iḍ[2]	· → id[2]	· → tṭ[2]	· → tt[2]	u → tṭ[2]	u → tt[2]	ḷu → ḍ[2]	lu → d[2]
Lemma	soḅu	ḷabu	maġu	ỵogu	shkaḷu	ṇolu	shuṃu	ḷamu				huẓu		aḷu·			aḷau	oṃue	tiḷu	ḥyilu
PST/CONJ	soḍ-	ḷaxd-	maiḍ-	ỵoid-	shkatṭ-	ṇott-	shuḍ-	ḷaxd-				hushṭ-		ḷuid-			latṭa	ṃott-	tiḍ-	ḥyid-
	III-a-B	III-b-B	III-a-G	III-b-G	III-a-L	III-b-L	III-a-M	III-b-M		III-a-S	III-b-S	III-Z	III-a-1	III-b-1	III-a-2	III-b-2	III-a-3	III-b-3	III-a-4	III-b-4
Rule		bu → ːd	ġu → iḍ[2]	gu → id[2]	ḷu → tṭ[2]	lu → tt[2]	ṃu → ḍ[2]	mu → ːd[2]		s → shṭ[2]	s → sht[2]	ẓu → shṭ[2]	· → iḍ[2]	· → id[2]	· → tṭ[2]	· → tt[2]	u → tṭ[2]	u → tt[2]	ḷu → ḍ[2]	lu → d[2]
Lemma
PST/CONJ

1. ↑^{1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.8, 1.9, 1.10}Monosyllabic verbs in this group are stressless, although such verbs only exist as irregular forms.
2. ↑^{2.0, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, 2.9, 2.10, 2.11, 2.12, 2.13, 2.14, 2.15, 2.16, 2.17, 2.18, 2.19}If the word begins with a lone vowel, i.e. the first syllable consists of only a monophthong, then this monophthong is deleted.

The rule shows what part of the stem's end turn into what. Examples follow with first words in their lemma form and then in the polite conjugation form. A worded explanation follows (with stress change explanations at the end):

• In classes a-B, a-M, a-N the final -ḅu, -ṃu or -ṇu is replaced by -ḍ.
• In class b-B and b-M the final -bu or -mu is replaced by -d, and the vowel before this -d is lengthened. (Note that the long form of a is ax.)
• In class G and 1 the final -gu or -· is replaced by -id.
• In class L and 2 the final -lu or -· is replaced by -tt.
• In class S and Z, the final -s or -zu is replaced by -sht.
• In class 3 the final vowel is replaced by -tt. If the verb ends with -ue, the -ue is replaced by -ott.
• In class 4 the final -lu is replaced by -d.
• If a class II verb begins with a lone vowel, this vowel is deleted.
• In class I-a the stress is moved to the final syllable (to the suffix). But if the verb is monosyllabic, it will be stressless. Verb forms that are monosyllabic in this conjugation are all irregular though.
• In classes I-b, II-b, III-b-4 the stress is on the initial syllable.
• In class II-a and III-a the stress is moved to the final syllable (to the suffix). (Monosyllabic forms do not exist.)
• In class III-b (except for III-b-4) the stress is on the penultimate syllable.

Imperative Conjugation

This conjugation is used only for expressing the familiar imperative, and thus is only used with one suffix: -e (or -o in case of class 4 verbs). Since there is only one suffix, and the conjugated stem cannot be used alone, the fully conjugated familiar imperative is shown in the following table.

Imperative Conjugation

	I-B, I-G, I-L, I-M, I-N, I-Z	I-S	I-1	I-2	I-3	I-4
Rule	u → e	s → se	· → ge	· → de	u → e	u → o
Lemma	yoḅu	ṣas	ʻi·	u·	ʻkau	ṃilu
IMP.FAM	yoḅe	ṣase	iġe	uḍe	ḳae	ṃilo
	II-B, II-G, II-L, II-M, II-Z	II-S	II-1	II-2	II-3	II-4
Rule	u → e	s → se	· → ge[1]	· → de[1]	u → e	u → o
Lemma	ỵogu		aḷu·		aḷau	kuḷu
IMP.FAM	ỵoge		ḷuge		aḷae	kuḷo
	III-B, III-G, III-L, III-M, III-Z	III-S	III-1	III-2	III-3	III-4
Rule	u → e	s → se	· → ge	· → de	u → e	u → o
Lemma	kadaḷu		haḷa·		koṇau	shaḅelu
IMP.FAM	kadaḷe		halaġe		koṇae	shaḅelo

1. ↑^{1.0, 1.1}If the word begins with a lone vowel, i.e. the first syllable consists of only a monophthong, then this monophthong is deleted.

In this table, classes that funtion similarly have been grouped together. The rule shows what part of the stem's end turn into what. Examples follow with first words in their lemma form and then in the polite conjugation form. A worded explanation follows (with stress change explanations at the end):

• In classes B, G, L, M, N, Z, 3, the final -u is replaced by -e.
• In class S, -e is added to the end of the verb.
• In class 1, the final -· is replaced by -ge.
• In class 2, the final -· is replaced by -de.
• In class 4, the final -u is replaced by -o.
• In class a, the stress is moved to the final syllable (to the suffix).
• In class I-b and II-b, the stress is on the initial syllable.
• In class III-b the stress is kept on its original position.

Periphrastic Conjugation

The periphrastic conjugation is used when a verb is compounded with another verb. The first verb, which can be any verb in the language, is conjugated into the periphrastic form. The choice for the second verb is limited. This verb adds an aspectual meaning to the first verb. Further conjugations are carried by the second verb. A verb in the periphrastic form can also be used alone, in which case it stands for an infinitive. In this conjugation, stress is moved to the final syllable. But monosyllabic verbs are stressless.

Periphrastic Conjugation

	I-B, I-L, I-M, I-N, I-3	I-G	I-S	I-Z	I-1, I-2	I-4
Rule	u → i	gu → ji	s → sh		-	lu → ∅
Lemma	yoḅu	ṇugu	ṣas		ʻi·	ṃilu
PPH	yoḅi	nuȷ̈i	ʻsash		ʻi·	ʻmi
	II-B, II-L, II-M, II-N, II-3	II-G	II-S	II-Z	II-1, II-2	II-4
Rule	u → i	gu → ji	s → sh	stem 2-ush[1]	-	lu → ∅
Lemma	aḷau	ỵogu		huẓu	aḷu·	ḥyilu
PPH	aḷai	yoȷ̈i		haẓush	aḷu·	ʻhyi
	III-B, III-L, III-M, III-N, III-3	III-G	III-S	III-Z	III-1, III-2	III-4
Rule	u → i	gu → ji	s → sh		-	lu → ∅
Lemma	kadaḷu
PPH	kadaḷi

1. ↑^1.0The final vowel in the second stem is replaced by -ush.

In this table, classes that funtion similarly have been grouped together. The rule shows what part of the stem's end turn into what. ∅ stands for nothing, and - for no change. Examples follow with first words in their lemma form and then in the periphrastic conjugation form. A worded explanation follows:

• In classes B, L, M, N, 3, the final -u is replaced by -i.
• In class G, the final -gu is replaced by -ji.
• In class S, the final -s is replaced by -sh.
• In class Z, the verbs second stem is used, with -ush replacing the last vowel of the stem.
• In class 1 and 2, the periphrastic form is the same as the lemma.
• In class 4, the final -lu is deleted, making it identical to the familiar conjugation form.

Tense, polarity and politeness

Seebee has two tenses: past and non-past. Polarity is either positive or negative. Positive polarity is used in affirmative statements or questions, and negative polarity is used for negation.

There are several levels of politeness which are different registers that are used depending on the status of the person one is talking to or about. The lowest level is the familiar speech. This register is used when talking with member's of one's own family. This includes parents and siblings, as well as members of the extended family that are the same age or younger than oneself. It is also used when talking to close friends that are younger or the same age as oneself, to pets, to servants and other people below one's social status. When familiar speech is used towards someone outside of these groups, it can convey either intimacy or rudeness, depending on the relation between the two people.

The polite speech is the "default" politeness level used when speaking to strangers or other people towards whom familiar speech would be inappropriate.

Seebee lacks complete conjugation paradigms for all combinations of tense, polarity and politeness. To overcome this, various forms of the copula is used together with available conjugations, as the following table shows.

Combinations of tense, polarity and politeness

	FAM	POL
PST-POS	ḷutta	aḷud deshṭa
PST-NEG	luġax datṭa	alaṣee deshṭa
NPST-POS	aḷu·	aḷud ʻdes
NPST-NEG	luġax	alaṣee

To summarize, the above combinations consist of the following morphemes:

• FAM.POS.PST: The past-conjunctive stem and the suffix -a (FAM.PST). The positive polarity is zero-marked.
• FAM-NEG-PST: The familiar stem (FAM), the negative suffix -ax or -nai (NEG), and datṭa (FAM.PST).
• FAM-POS-NPST: The lemma form. Both the familiar politeness (FAM), positive polarity (POS) and non-past tense (NPST) are zero-marked.
• FAM-NEG-NPST: The familiar stem (FAM) and the negative suffix -ax or -nai (NEG). The non-past tense (NPST) is zero-marked.
• POL-POS-PST: The lemma form and deshṭa (POL.PST). The positive polarity is zero-marked.
• POL-NEG-PST: The polite stem (POL), the negative suffix -ṣee (NEG), and deshṭa (POL.PST).
• POL-POS-NPST: The lemma form and ʻdes (POL.NPST).
• POL-NEG-NPST: The polite stem (POL) and the negative suffix -ṣee (NEG). The non-past tense is zero-marked.

Hortatives and Imperatives

The polite hortative can be directed either toward oneself, indicating an offer to do something, or it can be an encouragement for the addressee to do something with the speaker, as in English let's-constructions.

Combinations of hortative/imperative and politeness

	FAM	POL
HORT		alaṣhue

Conjunctive

The most basic type of conjunctive is a verb with the past-conjunctive stem and the suffix -e. This verbform is used for connecting two verbs. One use of it is to express that someone does two things. The first verb is in the conjunctive form, and the second verb follows it, taking tense and politeness conjugations. Note that the subject of both verbs need to be same.

Another use is for compounding verbs. Some verb compounds are lexical in nature, and in some cases the second verb has a more grammatical meaning, as in ḥyitte ṃilu (to try to cut, literally "cut and see").

Verbs using the past-conjunctive stem do not carry tense or politeness, but the conjunctive can be combined with some clitics and particles, as explained under the following headings.

Even if (CONJ-mo)

A verb with the conjunctive suffix and the clitic -mo expresses the idea of "even if" or "no matter how".

After an Event (CONJ kaḷa)

To express that something happened/happens after another event, the first event is expressed with a verb in the conjunctive form followed by kaḷa, and then a phrase describing the second event. The subject does not need to be the same in both verb phrases.

Desiderative Mood

The desiderative mood is expressed by adding -noṃu to the verb's periphrastic form. Noṃu is a class a-M verb, and can be further conjugated to indicate e.g. tense.

Specifying the Time of Events Relative to Other Events

To specify when something happened, the word to· is used between two verb phrases. If the subject in the second phrase is the same as in the first phrase, it is dropped. When translating a construction like this into English, the word when or while would be used in the beginning of the first phrase.
The word to· has two allomorphs: A stressed ṭo· after class a verbs, and an unstressed ʻto· after class b verbs. The verbs in the two phrases receive the same tense. Usually the familiar poliness level is used, because the politeness is defined by the verb in the second phrase. But in a more formal situation, a polite form can be used before to·, especially when the second phrase is in honorific form.

Another way to specify time is with the word toḷo, which is also placed between two verb phrases. The verb before toḷo can have the conjunctive form followed by -lu toḷo, in which case a time right at which something happened is specified, or the verb can have non-past tense in which case it specifies when something is about to happen, or it can have past tense, in which case it specifies an event which something happened right after. Just as with to·, the verb usually has familiar politeness, but polite forms can be used as well. (In the case of CONJ-lu toḷo, the polite form would be CONJ-mas toḷu.)

See also After an Event (CONJ kaḷa).

Seem to

To express what seems to happen, the word midai is placed after a verb in any tense and polarity, familiar form. Midai has the two allomorphs ṃidai, after class a verbs, and miḍai, after class b verbs. The construction can be made polite by adding ʻdes after midai, while in the familiar politeness level midai can end the sentence as is.

Particles

If (ṃosh)

The particle ṃosh is used at the beginning of conditional clauses. The structure used is ṃosh VP₁ to VP₂. VP₁ contains the condition. When polite speech is used, the verb in this phrase may be in either familiar or polite form. Otherwise the verb has the same politeness level as the verb in VP₂. VP₂ expresses the consequence of the condition.