Tsakxa noun phrases

Nouns in Tsakxa are comparatively lightly inflected. Some analyses treat them as being declined for both case and number; however, Dawkins (1999), who wrote the most widely-accepted Grammar of Tsakxa, opposes this by noting numerous clitic-like properties assigned to these suffixes. There are two 'classes' of noun in Tsakxa, distinguished by their inflection for plural.

Inflection for number

There are three numbers distinguished in the nouns of the Central dialect of Tsakxa: singular, dual and plural. Other dialects may or may not distinguish the dual. Dawkins (1999) posits that the current numerical inflection system derived from an older system of classifiers that collapsed into suffixes, with the exception of the class two nouns, which retained older plural forms. The plural suffixes apply in effect to noun phrases rather than nouns as a class; the final constituent of a noun phrase takes the suffix - adjectives are undeclined when used predicatively. The only case in which more than one constituent is marked for number is when a class 2 noun takes an adjective, in which case the -t is applied to the adjective and the noun takes its irregular plural as usual.

Class 1 nouns

Class 1 nouns, or 'regular nouns', form their plural simply using the suffix -t (derived, according to Dawkins, from a classifier plus tum, 'many'):

paʔe -> paʔet - 'child' -> 'children'

In the case of nouns already ending in a consonant that cannot form a cluster with /t/ (/ç/, /t/), the suffix is preceded by a vowel that assimilates to the final vowel of the singular form:

sat -> satat - 'house' -> 'houses'

Those ending in a nasal consonant assimilate the /t/, resulting in no change:

pan -> pan - 'wolf' -> 'wolves'

The dual is formed by -f (according to Dawkins, derived from a classifier plus fi 'two'):

paʔe -> paʔef - child -> two children

Through epenthesis, following a stop other than /p/,' -f is usually found as an infix before the final consonant:

sat -> saft - 'house' -> 'two houses'

The f also causes a final bilabial stop (i.e. /p/) to assimilate:

tap -> taf - 'eye' -> 'two eyes'

Class 2 nouns

Class 2 nouns, variously called 'irregular nouns', 'strong nouns' and 'broken nouns' by grammarians, undergo a vowel change in the plural (but not the dual). According to Dawkins, this was the original system for the formation of plurals, thanks to an old system of vowel harmony which caused vowels to assimilate with the vowel of an initial prefix which he posits to be e- or perhaps originally i-. They form the dual identically to Class 1 nouns. All Class 2 nouns have an initial consonant followed by /a/.

In nouns beginning with any other consonant than /t/ or /p/, the plural is formed by a simple vowel change from /a/ to /e/:

mama -> mema - 'human' -> 'humans'

In nouns beginning with /t/, in addition to the vowel change, the /t/ lenites to /s/:

tap -> sep - 'eye' -> 'eyes'

In nouns beginning with /p/, the /p/ lenites to /f/:

pasak -> fesak - 'cooking-pot' -> 'cooking-pots'

Adjectives

All adjectives distinguish only the singular (including the dual) and plural, and are formed regularly with the -t suffix in exactly the same way as class 1 nouns:

epe metqu -> epe metqut - 'massive hat' -> 'massive hats'

tap wasa -> sep wasat - 'blue eye' -> 'blue eyes'

Case

Tsakxa nouns are sometimes described as being inflected for case. It is perhaps more accurate to say that there are a number of postpositioned particles and true postpositions that have cliticised and can phonetically assimilate with preceding noun phrases. These are totally regular in their affixation and there is no change between Class 1 and Class 2 nouns.

Ergative case

The ergative or active case, marked with the particle kxa, is used for volitional agents: that is, grammatical agents considered to be willingly engaged in the activity described by the verb. This is the only way to distinguish a number of distinct verbs in English: for example, Paʔ, Nunu-kxa utxu ('as for that, Nunu committed suicide') and Paʔ, Nunu utxu ('as for that, Nunu died') are only differentiated by the degree of volition exhibited by the agent.

Locative cases

The locative cases are really a highly comprehensive set of postpositions which phonologically assimilate with the preceding noun phrase.

ta: 'and', 'in company with', 'at', 'in' (a location), 'by', 'to' (with verbs of motion) assimilates to preceding nasal

fesak-ta - by the cooking pots, and the cooking pots

fesak wasat-ta - by the blue cooking pots

Mosaçan-na - 'in Moscow', 'near Moscow'

unqa: 'inside' (a hollow object), 'into' (with verbs of motion), causes preceding /t/ to assimilate to /s/, causes preceding vowel to assimilate to /u/

sas-unqa: 'in the house', 'into the house'

memu-unqa: 'inside people'

sat wasu-unqa: 'inside the blue houses'

ut: 'outside', 'near', 'out of' (with verbs of motion), causes preceding /t/ to assimilate to /s/, causes preceding vowel to assimilate to /u/

sas-ut: 'outside the house', 'out of the house'

fa, 'beneath', 'below', 'under', 'down (into)', 'down in the' (with verbs of motion), causes preceding /p/ to assimilate to /f/

kutqu-fa: 'down into the cave', 'under the cave'

atqe, 'above', 'on', 'onto' (with verbs of motion)

wespa-atqe: above the tents, on the tents

Personal suffix

The so-called 'personal suffix' is used in a number of contexts, most commonly to imply a form of motion towards the speaker. When used with nouns, it implies inherent possession. It is used consistently with parts of the body belonging to the speaker. It takes the form of -(s)u for male speakers and -(s)a for female speakers. It precedes locative cases.

sep-u - 'my eyes', literally 'eyes towards me'

Topical suffix

Whilst the topic itself is unmarked except through word order, there is a suffix (or rather a clitic) whose purpose is ill-defined in most grammars. It appears to imply some kind of connection to the topic. It is usually glossed as a possessive suffix, although its uses are far more wide-ranging than simply a marker of ownership. It is believed to have derived from a former reflexive pronoun or second third person pronoun that was used to discriminate in situations such as 'Anna gave Joan her (Anna's) book' and 'Anna gave Joan her (Joan's) book'. It is often used in the manner of a copula with stand-alone adjectives or noun phrases which modify topics.

Mosaçan, metqu-m! - As for Moscow, it's vast! (Moscow-TOPIC vast-TOP)

Ifan, sep-em metqu - Ivan has large eyes (Ivan-TOPIC eye.PLU-TOP large)

Ifan, sesu-em ta-ngxu - As for Ivan, I saw his sister (Ivan-TOPIC sister-TOP see-PERF)