Siye

Siye
Pronounced:	['ʃi.je]
Timeline and Universe:	EJL Universe, Late 22nd century CE
Species:	Indigenous Martian Humanoid
Spoken:	Mars
Total speakers:	20,000,000 (est.)
Writing system:	syllabic
Genealogy:	Tide:* Tiye Siye
Typology
Morphological type:	Agglutinating/Polysynthetic
Morphosyntactic alignment:	Split Ergative
Basic word order:	SOV
Credits
Creator:	Linguarum Magister

Phonology and Orthography

Phonology

/m/ [m], > [ⁿ]/V_#, V_C

/n/ [n]

/p/ [p], > [pʰ]/#_, [f]/_u, [ç]/_i

/t/ [t], > [tʰ]/#_, [ʦ]/_u, [ʦʰ]/#_u

/k/ [k] > [kʰ]/#_, [x]/_u, [ʧ]/_i, [ʧʰ]/#_i

/s/ [s] > [ʃ]/_i

/w/ [v]

/y/ [j]

/l/ [l]

/h/ [placeholder after /m/ [ⁿ]]

/i/ [i]

/im/ [ɪⁿ]

/e/ [e]

/em/ [ɛⁿ]

/a/ [a]

/am/ [aⁿ]

/o/ [o]

/om/ [ɔⁿ]

/u/ [u]

/um/ [ʊⁿ]

Vowel Dominance

Siye Vowel Dominance indicates which vowel will dominate in a vowel-vowel sequence. The Vowel Dominance hierarchy is listed below: /u/ > /o/ > /a/ > /e/ > /i/

The 3rd person animate subject prefix of the verb is -i- and therefore vanishes most of the time after the object prefixes. It is, however, present in /yi-/ and /umhi-/ and /tumhi-/.

Stress Placement

A Siye noun receives a primary accent on the first syllable. Thus /laye silime/ receives primary accents on /la/ and /si/. A Siye verb receives a primary accent on the first syllable of the verb root. Thus /pelekopuyamma/ receives a primary accent on /ko/. If the root is monosyllabic, the number suffix does not receive stress, If the root is polysyllabic, the number suffix does receive stress. From the number suffix onward, secondary accents occur every other syllable, with the caveat that only the first syllable of a suffix can receive an accent.

Isoglosses

The Valley in which Siye is spoken stretches halfway across the Martian equator, so there are variations in speech along its length. The primary isogloss is the boundary line between nouns that use the Nominative and Accusative and those that use the Ergative and Absolutive. In Standard Siye, the dialect of the City in the Central Province and the variety on which this article is based, only pronouns and personal names can use Nominative and Accusative forms. As one travels east the range of the Nominative decreases; as one travels west towards the Mountain, the opposite occurs. Thus, all varieties of SIye use /le, la/ for the first person pronouns. All but the Far Eastern Province and the Lake use /pe, sa/ for the second person pronoun. The Mid-Eastern Province and points west place all pronouns, regardless of number, in the Nominative category. Standard Siye, from the Central Province, adds personal names to the Nominative category. The Near Western Province requires that nouns denoting humans must be in the Nominative category, reducing the number of complex cases in the spoken version of the western dialects. The Mid-Western Province treats all animate nouns as Nominative, and the Far Western Province is full nominative under the "contamination" of Ulok.

Diachrony: From Tiye to Siye

Tiye, the immediate ancestor of Siye, did not differ greatly from Siye. Tiye possessed two extra phonemes: /d/, which only appeared in initial position in native words) and /b/, which only appeared before /a/ in native words. /b/ and /d/ in other positions, and any instances of /r/, are indications of the extensive borrowing that the language endured before its current dominance. The Tiye female derogatives /yeda/, /deda/, and /tera/ are all borrowings, the sisters of the Tiye word /daye/, when the dying planet Kiba had more languages. The name of the language, Tiye, shows that /t/ was allowed before /i/. The following changes occurred in the transition from Tiye to Siye:

/d/ [d] > /l/ [l]

/t/ [t] > /s/ [s]/_i

/b/ [b] /w/ [w] > /w/ [ʋ]

/r/ [r] > /l/ [l]

Thus the Tiye words /daye/ and /date/ and the loanwords /yeda/, /deda/, and /tera/ became the native Siye terms /laye/, /late/, /yela/, /lela/, and /tela/. Although Tiye was (relatively briefly) a written language, the Guild of Scholars was founded centuries later, when Siye had penetrated to the Central Province; by that time the Tiye loanwords had become native Siye words.

Nominal Morphology

Cases

Core Cases

1a. NOMINATIVE (NOM): -0 NOM: Pronouns, Personal Names

The Nominative Case in Standard Siye is used for the subject of an intransitive clause and the subject of a transitive clause, provided that the noun is either a pronoun or a personal name. Where a Siye dialect draws the line between Nominative/Accusative and Absolutive/Ergative, in other words, where the split of the split-ergative occurs, is the primary isogloss between Siye dialects.

1b. ABSOLUTIVE (ABS): -0 ABS: Everything Except Pronouns and Personal Names

The Absolutive Case is used for the subject of an intransitive clause and the object of a transitive clause, provided that the noun is not a pronoun or a personal name.

2. ACCUSATIVE (ACC): -a, -0, -ha

The Accusative Case is used for the object of a transitive clause, provided that the noun is either a pronoun or personal name. -ha occurs after syllables containing a nasal vowel. The Accusative Case is vulnerable to the depredations of vowel dominance, and therefore has a -0 surface form. Many personal names in Standard Siye have either a separate Accusative form in -a or no difference between Nominative and Accusative

3. ERGATIVE (ERG): -ya, -na

The Ergative Case is used for the subject of a transitive clause, provided that the noun is not a pronoun or a personal name. -na follows a syllable contained a nasal consonant or a nasal vowel; -ya follows otherwise. This is a remnant of the period in which the Siye-speakers were a conquered people.

Peripheral Cases

4. GENITIVE (GEN): -ne

The Genitive Case is used to describe alienable possession or an accidental characteristic of a object. There is an archaic form -e, which is found in place names such as Luse.

5. POSSESSIVE (POSS): -me

The Possessive Case is used to describe inalienable possession or an essential characteristic of an object. The Possessive Case, unlike the other Cases, precedes rather than follows the grammatical number suffix. The reason for this anomaly is not clear, and many a scholar of the Guild has written his first professional linguistic essay on this topic.

6. ABLATIVE (ABL): -sum

The Ablative Case is used to describe motion away from a point or origin from a particular location. It is also used to describe the origin of a person (although the Genitive and Possessive are also used for this) or reason of a condition.

7. LOCATIVE (LOC): -kem

The Locative Case is used to describe a location, or, in ditransitive clauses, the object being transferred or the price of the object in the Absolutive Case (more rarely, Accusative Case).

8. (AL)LATIVE/DATIVE (ALL): -su

The Dative Case is used for the inanimate indirect object of a main clause and the inanimate direct object of a Causative Construction clause when the verb of the Causative Construction clause is in the perfective aspect.

9. DATIVE-BENEFACTIVE (DAT): -tu

The Dative Case is used for the animate indirect object of a main clause and the animate direct object of a Causative Construction clause when the verb of the Causative Construction clause is in the perfective aspect.

10. INSTRUMENTAL (INS): -ki

The Instrumental Case is used to describe the means by which something is done. This case is only used with Inanimate nouns in Standard Siye; therefore it is rude to use the Instrumental Case with an Animate nouns. The Instrumental Case is used for the inanimate direct object of a Causative Construction Clause when the verb of the clause is in the perfective aspect. Prior to 2192, the postposition /eki/ (e+INS) plus an animate noun in the Genitive Case was used for the animate equivalent. In 2192, the Animate Instrumental case (14. -neki) was authorized to replace this construction.

11. ADVERBIAL (ADV): -ku

The Adverbial Case converts roots into adverbs. The Guild of Scholars treats this as a case rather than a separate part of speech.

12. EQUATIVE (EQ): -pu

The Equative Case is used to describe the second noun or adjective in a predicate statement. It is also used as a vocative external to the core arguments of the clause.

13. COMITATIVE (COM): -ni

The Comitative Case is used to describe accompaniment. It also serves as the primary nominal form of 'and', thus contrasting with the primarily verbal form -(h)(a)m.

Newly Authorized Cases

As of 2192,the following cases were declared legal for formal writing. All of them are the result of contractions between the Genitive Case and postpositions that began with e-.

14. ANIMATE INSTRUMENTAL (ANS): -neki

The Animate Instrumental Case is used for the demoted animate agent of the subordinate clause in a Causative Construction.

Le ineki liyo elelipunama.

le-0 i-neki liyo-0 e-le-li-pu-sum-na-ma

1-NOM 3-ANS food-ABS 4-1-eat.IMPFV-SG-CAUS-DIR.UP-IMPFV.POS.REALIS

I will feed him (=I will cause him to eat the food)

15. ELATIVE (ELA): -nesum

The Elative Case is used for motion out of a location.

Laye silinemsum itupusuna.

laye-0 sili-nemsum i-tu-pu-tu-na

woman-ABS house-ELA 3-go.PFV-SG-DIR.ALL-PFV.POS.REALIS

The woman came out of the house.

16. INESSIVE (INE): -nemkim

The Inessive Case is used for position inside of a location.

Laye silinemkim ikupununa.

laye-0 sili-nemkim i-ku-pu-nu-ma

woman-ABS house-ILL 3-sleep.IMPFV-SG-DIR.DOWN-IMPFV.POS.REALIS

The woman came out of the house.

17. ILLATIVE (ILL): -nemtu

The Illative Case is used for motion into a location.

Laye silinemtu itupusuna.

laye-0 sili-nemtu i-tu-pu-su-na

woman-ABS house-ILL 3-go.PFV-SG-DIR.ABL-PFV.POS.REALIS

The woman went to the house.

Complex cases

Complex cases occur when Suffixaufnahme places an Accusative -a after another case suffix which ends in a vowel. These are not official cases, and therefore illegitimate and immoral, but it is necessary to recognize these forms when in the the western provinces or handling a document from that region.

5. ACCUSI-GENITIVE (AGEN): -na (<-ne-a)

6. ACCUSI-POSSESSIVE (APOSS): -ma(< -me-a)

7. ACCUSI-ABLATIVE (AABL): -sumha (< -sum-a)

8. ACCUSI-LOCATIVE (ALOC): -kemha (< -kem-a)

9. ACCUSI-(AL)LATIVE/DATIVE (AALL): -su (< -su-a)

10. ACCUSI-DATIVE (ADAT): -tu (<-tu-a)

11. ACCUSI-INSTRUMENTAL (AINS): -ka (<-ki-a)

12. ACCUSI-ADVERBIAL (AADV): -ku (<-ku-a)

13. ACCUSI-EQUATIVE (AEQ): -pu (<-pu-a)

14. ACCUSI-COMITATIVE (COM): -na (<-ni-a)

Grammatical Number

Grammatical Numbers:

NULL (NL): -ku, -hu, -u

The Null Number refers to the absence of a particular thing. When used with an adjective, the Null Number changes an adjective to its opposite, although where "opposite" in this situation indicates reversal or absence depends on the noun.

SINGULAR (SG): -0

The Singular Number is used with singular nouns, some abstract nouns, and mass nouns. It is also the citation form of a Standard Siye word.

DUAL (DU): -so

The Dual Number is used to refer to exactly two things. Although pairs of items, such as eyes, are normally in the Dual Number, the Dual Number does not inherently indicate a pair.

PAUCAL (PAUC): -ke

The Paucal Number refers to a group which is smaller than that of Plural Number but more than the Dual Number. This is a culturally determined distinction.

PLURAL (PL): -lo

The Plural Number refers to a group, larger than that of Paucal Number. This is the generic plural in Siye.

PANTIC (PAN): -ka

The Pantic Number refers to all of a certain thing. It is also used as an ethnic or group designation.

Structure: ROOT-NUMBER-CASE, except for the Possessive Case, in which case the order is ROOT-CASE-NUMBER.

Definiteness and Numeral Placement

Siye nouns are inherently definite.

tupi-ya bird-ERG the bird

An indefinite noun requires a following /tum/.

tupi tum-na bird INDEF-ERG a bird

Adjectives follow the noun. (The dashes are visible for clarity of construction)

tupi tuki-ya bird white-ERG the white bird

tupi tuki tum-na bird white INDEF-ERG a white bird

The demonstrative /me/ provides further definition.

tupi tuki me-na bird white DEF-ERG this/that white bird

The numeral one, as all numerals do, precedes the verb. Siye numerals are definite.

tum tupi-ya 1 bird-ERG one bird

so tupi-so-ya 2 bird-DU-ERG two birds

ko tupi-lo-ya 5 bird-PL-ERG five birds

ko tupi-lo me-na 5 bird-PL DEF-ERG those five birds

Pronouns

In Standard Siye, all the pronouns have a nominative-accusative contrast rather than an ergative-absolutive one. The accusative form is used exclusively for the Accusative case; peripheral cases use the same form as the nominative. Most accusative forms end in /a/.

le, la: 1st person (1)

pe, sa: 2nd person (2)

/pe/ and /sa/ derive from different pronominal roots.

i, ya: 3rd person animate (3)

Some members of the Guild of Scholars believe that /i/ derives from a deictic particle which supplanted /e/ as the primary 3rd person form.

e, a: 3rd person inanimate (4)

mu: 3rd person indefinite (INDEF)

/mu/ is both Nominative and Accusative, animate and inanimate.

Non-standard pronouns

Non-standard pronouns are the ergative-absolutive forms used in the eastern provinces in lieu of the nominative-accusative ones. In documents other than contracts and academic works, non-standard pronouns may appear.

peya, pe: 2nd person (Far Eastern Province, Lake)

Note that non-standard /pe/ (absolutive) is identical to standard /pe/ (nominative).

iya, i: 3rd person animate (Eastern Provinces, Lake)

Note that non-standard /i/ (absolutive) is identical to standard /i/ (nominative). /iya/ appears frequently in folk songs, even those composed by speakers of Standard Siye, as a strengthened form of /i/, which is monosyllabic, a lone vowel, and lowest on the vowel dominance hierarchy.

eya, e: 3rd person inanimate (Far Eastern Province, Mid-Eastern Province, Lake)

Note that non-standard /e/ (absolutive) is identical to standard /e/ (nominative). /eya/ appears outside of the eastern dialects much less frequently than /iya/.

muna, mu: 3rd person indefinite (Far Eastern Province, Mid-Eastern Province, Lake)

Note that in those dialects the ergative and absolutive forms of the 3rd person indefinite are distinct. Since the emergence of vowel dominance, there has been a small but vocal faction in the Guild of Scholars (the "Munayamlo") which advocates the use of /muna/~/mu/ to resolve ambiguities in current Standard Siye.

Verb and Participle Structure

Verb Structure

The maximal Siye verb consists of two prefixes, a verb root, and seven suffixes. The prefixes, root, and suffixes interact extensively with each other to form verb phrases that would require several words in English.

Prefixes

The two prefixes are the pronominal prefixes: one for the object pronoun, and one for the subject pronoun. Pronominal prefixes work on a nominative-accusative basis.

There are two conjugations in Standard Siye: the yi-conjugation and the ya-conjugation. The yi-conjugation is the basic conjugation, while the ya-conjugation is used when the object of the clause is topicalized. The object prefix and the subject prefix can combine according to the rules of vowel dominance. If you are correcting a text using non-standard pronominal prefixes, this can be very confusing.

1. Object Prefix

The object prefix is used to indicate the person of the grammatical object of the clause. The object prefix can change depending on whether the verb is yi-conjugation or ya-conjugation. The last form in each list is the ya-conjugation form. The others are yi-conjugation forms.

le-, la-: 1st person (1)

pe-, sa-: 2nd person (2)

i-, y-, ya-: 3rd person animate (3)

/i-/ is used before a subject prefix beginning in a consonant. /y-/ is used before a subject prefix beginning in a vowel. /ya-/ appears before either a consonants or a vowel.

e-, a-: 3rd person inanimate (4)

mu-: 3rd person indefinite (INDEF)

/mu-/ is the object prefix before all subject prefixes except /-(h)i-/ or /-(h)e-/ (for its replacement, see below). Many Siye-speakers, however, intensely dislike the neologism, and prefer to rely on pronouns and nouns to avoid ambiguities.

tum-: 3rd person indefinite (INDEF.ACC)

In Standard Siye, /tum-/ replaces /mu-/ before the 3rd person suffixes /-(h)i-/ or /-(h)e-/ in order to eliminate ambiguity. There are many Scholars, however, including the "Mooneys", who despise this neologism.

um-: reflexive (REFL)

Although the reflexive prefix is listed as an object prefix, reflexivity is a valency-changing operation. A reflexive verb form, therefore, although it has the prefixes of a transitive verb, is actually intransitive.

2. Subject Prefix

The subject prefix is used to indicate the person of the grammatical subject of the clause, for both transitive and intransitive verbs. The subject prefix is identical to the yi-conjugation form of the object prefix.

-le-, -l-: 1st person (1)

/-l-/ appears before vowel-initial verb roots.

-pe-: 2nd person (2)

/-p-/ appears before vowel-initial verb roots.

-i-, -y-, -hi-, -0-: 3rd person animate (3)

/-y-/ appears before vowel-initial verb roots. -hi- appears between /tum-/ or /um-/ and a consonant-initial vowel root. Vowel dominance and the weak position of /i/ within the hierarchy often results in the deletion of the 3rd animate subject prefix /-i-/. The Guild of Scholars insists that this is a case of a deleted /i/ rather than a zero-marked morpheme /0-/, because intransitive verbs, which vowel dominance does not effect, maintains the subject prefix /i-/. There is no zero-marked morpheme for intransitive verbs.

-e-, -eh-: 3rd person inanimate (4)

/-eh-/ breaks the rules of vowel dominance by appearing as a separate syllable before vowel-initial verb roots. Vowel dominance and the weak position of /e/ within the hierarchy often results in the deletion of the 3rd animate subject prefix /-e-/. The Guild of Scholars insists that this is a case of a deleted /e/ rather than a zero-marked morpheme /0-/, because intransitive verbs, which vowel dominance does not effect, maintains the subject prefix /e-/. There is no zero-marked morpheme for intransitive verbs.

-mu-, -m-: 3rd person indefinite (INDEF)

/-m-/ appears before vowel-initial verb roots.

Root

Siye verb roots are the "heart" of the verb. The roots are often less defined than equivalent English verbs, because both causative suffix and the directional suffixes derive new stems from the root. The meaning of the stem may not be apparent from the meaning of the root. The primary accent of the verb is on the first syllable of the verb root. Polysyllabic verb roots may end in any syllable except those homophonous with the grammatical number suffixes (ku, pu, so, ke, lo, ka).

Consonant-Initial Root

Consonant-initial roots are the most common form of roots.

Vowel-Initial Roots

Vowel-initial roots are less common than consonant-initial roots. The rules of vowel dominance are suspended at the ligature between the subject pronoun prefixes and the vowel-initial roots, since the verb root is the more important component.

Suppletive Roots

Although there are a limited number of suppletive roots in Siye, the suppletive roots encompass most of the most common verbs. Since some of these verbs are highly productive in their derivational interactions between the root, the causative suffix, and the directional suffixes, it can appear to the SSL learner that the Siye verb consistents of nothing but suppletive verbs.

If a verb root is suppletive, the suppletion marks a division between the perfective and imperfective aspects.

Suffixes

4. Grammatical Number

The grammatical number suffix in Standard Siye works on a nominative-accusative basis if the verb is imperfective and therefore agrees with the subject of a transitive clause (there is only one noun in an intransitive clause and therefore no choice). If the verb is perfective, however, the grammatical number suffix works on an ergative-absolutive basis and agrees with the grammatical object of the transitive clause. When the noun with which the grammatical number suffix must agree is indefinite or unknown, the default number is singular. The grammatical number suffix is obligatory in a Siye verb.

-ku-: null number (NUL)

-pu-: singular number (also indefinite) (SG)

-so-, -s-: dual number (DU)

/-s-/ is only used before the continuative suffix /-u-/ or the tense marker /-ulu-/.

-ke-: paucal number (PAUC)

-lo-, -l-: plural number (PL)

/-l-/ is only used before the continuative suffix /-u-/ or the tense marker /-ulu-/.

-ka-: pantic number (i.e., all); sometimes ethnic (PAN)

-pi-: exclusive marker (replaces dual, paucal, plural) (EXCL)

The exclusive marker -pi- may replace the dual, paucal, or plural number if and only if the dual, paucal, or plural number is marked on the noun with which the verb agrees in number.

/-k-/ (null, paucal, pantic), /-p-/ (singular, exclusive) are found before the continuative suffix /-u-/ or the tense marker /-ulu-/ in non-standard Siye. The Guild of Scholars, however, has ruled the ambiguity too confusing for Standard Siye.

5. Causative

-sum-: causative

6. Derivatives

This is a semiproductive category and Terrestrial researchers are discovering new ones

-hi-, -nam-: 'begin to X'. -hi- occurs after -sum-; -nam occurs everywhere else.

-(h)u-,-tam-: 'continue to X'. -u occurs after -s- and -l-; -hu occurs after -sum-; -tam occurs everywhere else.

-ka-: 'intend to X'

-neme-: 'stop X-ing'

-te-: 'want to X'

-teka- 'should/must X' (+me, +meku)

-to-: negative imperative 'do not X'. -to- must combine with a negative aspect/polarity/tense marker.

-ulu-: tense marker. -ulu- plus perfective aspect suffix -n- creates a definite past tense; -ulu- plus imperfective aspect suffix -m- creates strong future tense.

-wi-: positive imperative 'do X'

-yam-: 'able to X'

-yem-: iterative 'again'

7. Directionals

-ki-: 'in place'

-na-: 'up'

-nu-: 'down'

-su-: 'away from'

-tu-: 'towards'

The other suffixes are fairly self-explanatory, but -ki- probably requires some clarification. The suffix -ki- places emphasis on the stationary nature of the verb. Examples:

eletomtuna I bought it

eletomsuna I sold it

eletomkina I kept it in stock

8 & 9. Aspect (8) & Polarity (9)

-ma-: imperfective positive realis

-na-: perfective positive realis

-me-: imperfective positive subjunctive

-meku-: imperfective negative subjunctive

-ne-: perfective positive contrafactual

-neku-: perfective negative contrafactual

-mu-, -mew-: imperfective negative realis. -mew- occurs before the coordinative suffix -am.

-nu-, -new-: imperfective negative realis. -new- occurs before the coordinative suffix -am.

10. Relational

-(a)me: Relative 'who/what/which/that'

-(e)ki: Purpose, 'so that', Result, 'with the result that'

-(e)kem: Temporal, 'when'

-(e)su: Apodotic, 'then'

-(e)sum/-(e)sunam: Conditional, 'if

-(e)ya: Explanatory, 'because'

-umo: positive interrogative (dial. -(a)mo, Eastern Provinces, Lake)

-ukumo: negative interrogative (dial. -(a)mo, Eastern Provinces, Lake)

These suffixes and the coordinative suffix are clause final, rather than verb-final. A sentence with OVS word order, i.e., one in which the subject is the final word, will take these suffixes even though the nouns retains its original case.

11. Coordinative

-(h)(a)m: 'and'. The coordinative suffix is -ham after a syllable containing a nasal consonant; -am after a syllable ending in the vowels -i or -e; -m after a syllable containing ending in vowel -u. The expected form -sum 'then and' is homophonous with -sum 'if', so the Standard Siye form of 'then and' is -sunam (< -su-ni-am). A pronominal root combined with a coordinative suffix is considered in Siye grammar to be a special form of pronoun.

12. Negative (floater)

-ku: negative

Positions 1 and 2 often combine due to Vowel Dominance. There are two conjugations, yi-conjugation and ya-conjugation. The ya-conjugation is object-prominent. Position 3 is often suppletive depending on aspect (Position 8). Position 4 reflects the subject if the verb is imperfective, the object if the verb is perfective. It is mandatory even in the singular number. Position 5 is often derivational and triggers the Causative (Syntactical) Construction in originally transitive verbs. Position 6 is derivational; each suffix may be associated with a particularly aspect. Position 6 triggers the Causative Construction in specific cases. Position 7 is sometimes derivational, sometimes not, usually mandatory. Position 8 and 9, usually combine into one syllable. Position 10 usually indicates a subordinate clause or a matrix clause in a conditional statement. Position 11 indicates parallel clauses and may combine with Position 8/9 or Position 10. Position 12 is a mobile suffix used to disambiguate certain negative statements or strengthen an already negative statement.

Participle Structure

1. Root

2. Causative

3. Derivatives

4. Directionals

5. Aspect

6. Mode

7. Nominalizer

-ki: passive, instrumental

-kim: locative

-yam: active, ergative

8. Grammatical Number

9. Case

Positions 2, 3, and 4 are only present if necessary. Position 7 has three variants, active, passive, and locative. A participle lacks the Object and Subject Prefixes of a verb in a relative clause.

Syntax

Syntax

Basic syntax is SAOV and uses a yi-conjugation verb. The indirect object and other non-core arguments precede the Direct Object.

(le) lesupusuma. I will leave.

(le) yete iluluwepuma. I will find the fruit.

le layeketu tupiso iletomsosuna. I sold the two birds to the girl.

If the Direct Object is fronted, shifting the word order to OASV, the verb changes from yi-conjugation to ya-conjugation.

yete (le) yaluluwepuma. The fruit is what I will find.

tupiso le layeketu yaletomsosuna. The two birds are what I sold to the girl.

If the Indirect Object is fronted, the verb remains yi-conjugation and the word order changes to IOSV..

layeke metu yetelo le iletomlosuna. That girl, she's the one to whom I sold the fruit.

If the Subject requires more prominence, the verb remains yi-conjugation, but the subject follows the verbs.

lesupuwisuma lam (<le-am) petampuwisuma. 'Tis I must go, and you must bide.

yete iluluwepuma le. 'Tis I who will find the fruit.

layeketu tupiso iletomsosuna le. 'Tis I who sold the two bird to the girl.

neneka yiyokanana tupisoyam (< tupisoya-am) 'Twas the birds that ate the bugs.

As the forms /lam/ and /tupisoyam/ illustrate, the postponing of the subject results in clause-final suffixes affixing to the subject rather than the verb.The explanatory suffix -ya is the most misleading of these.

nusu laye imelo yikoputemu i. He does not want to see his sisters.

nusu laye imelo yikoputemu iya ... because he does not want to see his sisters.

Basic Word Order and the Coordinative Suffix

Spoken Siye usually strings together clauses using the relational suffixes or the coordinative suffix.

Transcript from a tale from the marketplace.

“(Le) amakimsu letuputunam (la) um lumsa tumna layempumam letu i eyekena ... “

“So, I went to the market, and a foreigner spotted me, and he said ...”

Line from a folktale (adapted):

Ya ilekepununa le i laye lemepu ekimputekakimekuya.

I have murdered her because she would not be my bride.

Relative Clauses

The core vocabulary of Siye is extremely small. Relative clauses, formed with the relative suffix -(a)me, are a method of expanding a noun phrase. The nominalized noun phrase derives from a composite structure of Verb + Relative Suffix + Resumptive Pronoun. The nominalized noun phrase is always singular, but takes its animacy from the head noun of the relative clause.

Laye (ya) le yalekemputuname ilekepununa le.

I have murdered the woman I loved.

/yalekemputuname/ has no overt case marking because the noun phrase is in the absolutive case.

Laye ya (le) yaliputumameya leya umsatu tumhitumpusumtuna.

The woman I love has married another man.

The verb /yaliputumameya/ ends in /ya/, not /na/, because it derives from /yaliputuma-ame-iya/. The resumptive pronoun /iya/ has no nasal component, and therefore takes as the ergative suffix /-ya/ rather than /-na/. /yaliputumaya/, without the relative clause suffix /-(a)me/, derives from /yaliputuma-(e)ya/, the explanatory suffix.

Laye yaliputumaya leya umsatu ya iletumpusumkatuna (yaletumpusumkatuna)

Because I love the woman, I have resolved that she not marry another manl

Causative Construction

The causative suffix is -sum-.

If -sum- is added to a transitive verb, the cases of the core arguments from the original clause depend on the aspect of the verb.

If the verb is imperfective, the originally nominative or ergative subject of the original clause becomes dative or allative, while the originally accusative or absolutive object of the original clause remains accusative or absolutive.

If the verb is perfective, the opposite occurs. Position 6 suffixes take the Causative Construction except when the Object of the Causative Construction is the same as the Subject of the Causative Construction.

The causative form of a verb often translates into a different English verb than the basic form. Some Siye causative forms are lexicalized and treated as separate from the basic form; others are not, where the meaning of the Siye basic form is simply broader than that of English. The above comments apply to either type.

Examples with -sum-

(Le) lusili elekopuma. I see the city.

Le lusili eleyempuma. I saw the city.

(Le) petu lusili elekopusumma. I showed you the city.

Le lusilisu (sa) pelekopusumna. I showed you the city.

Examples with -te- and -ka-

(Le) keno elekoputema. I want to see the book.

Le keno eleyempukana. I have resolved to see the book.

(Le) petu keno elekoputema. I want you to see the book.

Le kenosu (sa) peleyempukana. I have resolved that you see the book.

Examples with -yam-

(Le) sa peleyopuyammu. I cannot hear you.

Le like layeke peme (sa) peleyopusumyamna. I can tell you about the death of your sister.

Kumayam ya isupusumtuyamma. The chief may able to summon him.

Postpositions

When cases are insufficient, Siye uses postpositions. Postpositions are nouns that have been grammaticalized and therefore have a limited assortment of case suffixes. The noun is in the Genitive Case, less commonly, the Possessive Case, depending on factors such as alienability and saliency. Locative postpositions are the most common. Although the postpositions refine the ablative-locative-allative trinity of the case system, the endings on the postpositions are -tu/-kim/-sum.

Postpositions: -tu/-kim/-sum

Cases: -su/-kem/-sum

Directional Suffixes: -tu/-ki/-su

Ekiwa pewakine emkimpu ekimpukima. The heart is inside the body.

Le silisu letuputuna. I went to the house.

Le siline emtu letuputuna. I went inside the house.

Le silisum letupusuna. I came from the house.

Le siline emsum letupusuna. I came out of the house.

Tupiloya siline tekim itupilonama. The birds are flying above the house.

Tupiloya kemhusakine tetu i ukulo yililonameki itupilonama. The birds are flying down to the river that they might eat the fish.

Tupiloya kemhusakine tesum ukuloni itupulonama. The birds are flying up away from the river with the fish (in their mouths).

Purpose and Result Clauses

Both purpose and result clauses use verbs ending in -(e)ki. Purpose clauses, however, are embedded within the matrix clause, while result clauses follow the matrix clause.

Susumsuyam lusilisu itupusuna.

The messenger went to the city.

Susumsuyam lusilisu i kumayam yikopumeki itupusuna.

The messenger went to the city to see the chief.

(The purpose of the trip was to see the chief)

Susumsuyam lusilisu itupusuna i kumayam yikopumeki.

The messenger went to the city and saw the chief.

(The purpose of the trip was not to see the chief, but it was a result of the messenger going to the city).

The result clause is similar in meaning to the following Siye sentence.

Susumsuyam lusilisu itupusunam i kumayam yiyempuna.

The messenger went to the city and saw the the chief.

Of these three compound statements, the first indicates intention, but not necessarily result; the second indicates result, but not intention; the third indication a connection between the two clauses but leaves the nature of that connection vague.

Temporal Clauses

A clause with a verb ending in -(e)kem usually precedes the matrix clause.

Le layeke ekimpukimakem, le laye lu lemetu eleyepusumkina: pala lekimpumumo?

When I was a little girl, I asked my mother: what will I become?

Explanatory Clauses

A clause with a verb ending in -(e)ya may precede or follow the matrix clause.

I la nimuku leyepusumkinaya, le itu a elemupusuna.

Because he asked nicely, I gave it to him.

Itu a le elemupusuna, la nimuku leyepusumkinaya i.

I gave to him (not you) because he asked nicely.

Conditional Clauses

In a conditional statement, the protasis clause with a verb ending in -(e)sum precedes the apodosis clause with a verb ending in -(e)su or -(e)sunam.

Peso yete upepome ipelisonamesum, pelisosumnumasu.

If you two eat the fruit of the tree, you will die.

Conditional clauses can use both aspects and both polarities of Position 8 & 9

Ya pe yapeyempunesum, pe ya ipekemputunesu.

If you had seen her, you would have loved her.

I me enupumusum, ya le yalelipusumnumasu.

If he does not do this, I will kill him.

Pe kumayamlo epesipunumesum, sa ilo sasisumtumesu.

If you insult bosses, they will take you to court.

Multiple clauses ending in -sum and -su may be strung together using the coordinating suffix -(h)(a)m.

Le lusilike mesum lesupusumasumham lusilisu lesuputumasum, le tunamaki eluluwepumesu.

If I leave this village and go to the big city, I might find success.

Interrogative Clauses

Interrogative clauses end in -umo if positive or neutral and in -ukumo if negative. There is a dialectal form -(a)mo which the astute reader may notice in older texts. The interrogative clause is usually the matrix clause. It is found in the company of result clauses, purpose clauses (in conjunction with an interrogative clause, result clauses and purpose clauses are indistinguishable), temporal clauses, explanatory clauses, and conditional clauses.

Ilo ililonumeki, pe ilotu liyo epemupumukumo?

Will you not give them food, so that they will die?

Leso mu mulelipisonameki, liyo le aluluwetekamumo?

Should I find food, that we two might eat?

Le yemku lesupulutumakem,pe la lapetumpusumhulutumumo?

When I surely return, will you marry me?

Letu laye umsa ikimpukimaya, la pe lapetumpusumtekutumukumo?

Do you not want to marry me because you have another wife?

Sa le koki salesupusumnamesum, la pe koki lapesupusumnamumo?

If I help you, will you help me?

Reported Speech

Siye shows reported speech as it was said (with grammar corrected, of course) preceded by a sentence containing a verb of speaking or asking. The quoted speech is the inanimate direct object of the main clause and is considered to be in the paucal number.

laye lu peme letu eyekena: itu peya pomi keke ekimpukekima.

Your mother said to me: she is (too) young.

le laye lu pemetu elemuketena: layeke peme iletumpusumtekatume.

I asked your mother: I would like to marry your daughter.

pe letu epesime: petu le lekimpulukima.

You should say this to me: I will surely be yours.

There are numerous examples of reported speech in the text section.

Siye Texts