Conlang Relay 19/Tmaśareʔ

by Jan Strasser

Tmaśareʔ text

Śita kehka weyoʔ ehipę twemoʔćkamątase. Takwateʔ kehkeʔ yelta peńehcmąkta: "Pśikwe weyoʔ emanǫʔ tewi tma twesąʔćkakwekse, tkekera cą ćosąhcaʔǫce." - "Yǫco cańe menaloʔknęceʔi," hanimąkse śiro kehkeʔ.

Ćma śeʔ twehakwaćkaloʔwase kąʔęta komąʔma. Yeyapomiloʔkta kwakwiʔ kekehka, śeśi ca kohpco cakwe cwoʔlahcapǫkta: "Seʔ kwe cmę weyoʔ emanǫʔ tewi cahma kyehcayąpaʔnęceʔi. Tma kyehcanęceʔi, pahpątanęceʔi, tkwe ca ceńopahnętąʔi. Pśikwe cohenęcǫʔi kekera hą cą tkwe cpeńenętąʔi, pśikwe ikweʔątwissemǫʔ kǫpe." Kekehka somoloʔta, ca yeʔcoloʔwa hą kąʔęta komąʔma.

Yocǫtomoʔ kwoco eńoranąhcayaho kąʔęta. "Weyoʔ emanǫʔ tewi cahma ktanąʔǫcmo, ca ńępoʔǫcmo ciʔyąki lǫhiʔnaʔma, caca hą twileʔkakahpa." Takwaro kehkeʔ śeśi sacepǫkse: "Nehi, rapśikwe cą ćeltahcayąʔkwenęceʔi!" - "Yǫco cańe ćawiloʔknąʔi koʔ," hanimąkse śiro kehkeʔ.

Ląćeyeśoʔ kwoco eńopahcayaho komą. "Weyoʔ emanǫʔ tewi cahma kpahoʔǫcmo, ca coheʔǫcmo śekmǫ tąctakcǫ tąckikihpo tąćoyonayękwi." Takwaro kehkeʔ śeśi sacepǫkse: "Yekwe, rapśikwe cą koʔ ćeltaćiʔnęcihma!" - "Kąta hayehco ćawiʔną cą," hanimąkse śiro kehkeʔ.

Translation

English

Two rocks were located at the shoulder of a hill. One rock said to the other one: "Those things which I assume to be located in the area behind the nose of the hill, I am curious about them." - "Unfortunately, we will never know," answered the second rock.

However, a blackbird and a mouse were nearby. They heard the words of the rocks (lit. 'they word-heard the rocks'), and they suggested this for their benefit: "But we can go to the land behind the nose of the hill. We will go there, we will explore it, and we will come back to you. And then we will tell you what we have discovered, so that you become familiar with those things." The rocks agreed, and the blackbird and the mouse went away.

After a short while, the blackbird returned. "I have flown to the land behind the nose of the hill, and I have observed a wide river and a green valley, and also some tall trees." The first rock said this: "Alas, if only we could see those things!" - "Unfortunately, we will never be happy at all," answered the second rock.

After many days, the mouse also returned. "I have walked to the land behind the nose of the hill, and I have found nothing but the same grass and worms and beetles." The first rock said this: "Oh no, we really do not want to see those things!" - "Now we will always be happy," answered the second rock.

English translation of previous text

(Ithkuil, by John Quijada)

Two rocks were situated at the slope of a hill. The first rock said, "I'm curious about the area beyond the hill." The second rock replied, "We will never know."

A small distance away there were a bird and a mouse. Hearing this, they said, "Hey, you two rocks! We are able to go to the area beyond the hill. We will go there and come back, and then we will describe to you what we have observed so that you know these things." The two rocks said, "We agree with this", and the bird and the mouse left.

After a while, the bird returned and said, "I have flown to the area beyond the hill, and I have seen a fairly wide river, and also a green valley, and also a tall tree." The first rock said, "If only we could see those things!" The second rock said, "We will never be happy."

After many days, the mouse returned and said, "I have walked to the area beyond the hill, and I have only seen lots of the same grass and seeds and crawling bugs." The first rock said, "We do not want to see such things." The second rock said, "We will always be happy."

Interlinear gloss

Śita

śi-ta-Ø

two-CL.II-ABS

kehka

kehka-Ø

rock-ABS

weyoʔ

weye-oʔ

hill-GEN

ehipę

e-hipę-Ø

3SG.POSS-shoulder-ABS

twemoʔćkamątase.

twe-moʔ-ćka-mą-ta-se

LOC-at-DUR-REP-3.II-3.VII

Two rocks were located at the shoulder of a hill.

Takwateʔ

takwa-ta-eʔ

one-CL.II-ERG

kehkeʔ

kehka-eʔ

rock-ERG

yelta

yel-ta-Ø

other=CL.II-ABS

peńehcmąkta:

peńe-hca-mą-kta

tell-towards-REP-3>3.II

One rock said to the other one:

"Pśikwe

pśikwe-Ø

OBV.VII.PL-ABS

weyoʔ

weye-oʔ

hill-GEN

emanǫʔ

e-maną-oʔ

3SG.POSS-nose-GEN

tewi

tewi

behind

tma

tma-Ø

there-ABS

twesąʔćkakwekse,"

twe-sąʔ-ćka-kwe-kse

LOC-in-DUR-ASS-3>3.VII

"Those things which I assume to be located in the area behind the nose of the hill,"

"tkekera

r=ke~kera-Ø

that=PL~item-ABS

cą

cą

EMPH

ćosąhcaʔǫce."

ćosą-hca-ʔo-ɴce

be_curious-towards-DIR-1SG>3.VII

"I am curious about them."

"Yǫco

yǫco

unfortunately

cańe

cańe

never

menaloʔknęceʔi,"

mena-loʔ-nęce-ʔi

know-EVID-1PL>3.VII-IRR

hanimąkse

hani-mą-kse

respond-REP-3>3.VII

śiro

śi-ro

two-ORD

kehkeʔ.

kehka-eʔ

rock-ERG

"Unfortunately, we will never know," answered the second rock.

Ćma

ś=ma-Ø

this=place-ABS

śeʔ

śeʔ

however

twehakwaćkaloʔwase

twe-hakwa-ćka-loʔ-wa-se

LOC-nearby-DUR-EVID-3.I-3.VII

kąʔęta

kąʔęta-Ø

blackbird-ABS

komąʔma.

komą-Ø=ʔma

mouse-ABS=and

However, a blackbird and a mouse were nearby.

Yeyapomiloʔkta

yeya-<pomi>-loʔ-kta

hear-<word>-EVID-3>3.II

kwakwiʔ

kwakwe-eʔ

OBV.I.PL-ERG

kekehka,

ke~kehka-Ø

PL~rock-ABS

They heard the words of the rocks, (lit. 'they word-heard the rocks')

śeśi

śeśi-Ø

this.VII.SG-ABS

ca

ca

and

kohpco

kohpco

accordingly

cakwe

cakwe-Ø

PROX.II.PL-ABS

cwoʔlahcapǫkta:

c-woʔla-hca-pǫ-kta

BEN-come_up_with-towards-SENS-3>3.II

and they suggested this for their benefit:

"Seʔ

sa-eʔ

1PL-ERG

kwe

kwe

but

cmę

cmę

CIRC

weyoʔ

weye-oʔ

hill-GEN

emanǫʔ

e-maną-oʔ

3SG.POSS-nose-GEN

tewi

tewi

behind

cahma

cahma-Ø

land-ABS

kyehcayąpaʔnęceʔi."

k-ye-hca-yąpa-ʔo-nęce-ʔi

LAT-go-towards-ABIL-DIR-1PL>3.VII-IRR

"But we can go to the land behind the nose of the hill."

"Tma

tma-Ø

there-ABS

kyehcanęceʔi,

k-ye-hca-nęce-ʔi

LAT-go-towards-1PL>3.VII-IRR

pahpątanęceʔi,

pahpąta-nęce-ʔi

explore-1PL>3.VII-IRR

tkwe

tkwe-Ø

2PL-ABS

ca

ca

and

ceńopahnętąʔi."

c-eńopaho-nętąh-ʔi

BEN-return-1PL>2PL-IRR

"We will go there, we will explore it, and we will come back to you."

"Pśikwe

pśikwe-Ø

OBV.VII.PL-ABS

cohenęcǫʔi

cohe-nęce-ǫʔi

discover-1PL>3.VII-CPL:IRR

kekera

ke~kera-Ø

PL~item-ABS

hą

hą

then

cą

cą

EMPH

tkwe

tkwe-Ø

2PL-ABS

cpeńenętąʔi,"

c-peńe-nętąh-ʔi

BEN-tell-1PL>2PL-IRR

"And then we will tell you what we have discovered,"

"pśikwe

pśikwe-Ø

OBV.VII.PL-ABS

ikweʔątwissemǫʔ

ik-weʔą-twih-se-mę-oʔ

2PL.POSS-familiar-become-3.VII-VN-GEN

kǫpe."

kǫpe

towards

"so that you become familiar with those things."

Kekehka

ke~kehka-Ø

PL~rock-ABS

somoloʔta,

somo-loʔ-ta

agree-EVID-3.II

ca

ca

and

yeʔcoloʔwa

ye-ʔco-loʔ-wa

go-away-EVID-3.I

hą

hą

then

kąʔęta

kąʔęta-Ø

blackbird-ABS

komąʔma.

komą-Ø=ʔma

mouse-ABS=and

The rocks agreed, and the blackbird and the mouse went away.

Yocǫtomoʔ

yocǫ=tomo-oʔ

early=period-GEN

kwoco

kwoco

after

eńoranąhcayaho

eńo-raną-hca-ya-ho

again-fly-towards-VIS-3.I

kąʔęta.

kąʔęta-Ø

blackbird-ABS

After a short while, the blackbird returned.

"Weyoʔ

weye-oʔ

hill-GEN

emanǫʔ

e-maną-oʔ

3SG.POSS-nose-GEN

tewi

tewi

behind

cahma

cahma-Ø

land-ABS

ktanąʔǫcmo,"

k-raną-ʔo-ɴce-mo

LAT-fly-DIR-1SG>3.VII-CPL

"I have flown to the land behind the nose of the hill,"

"ca

ca

and

ńępoʔǫcmo

ńępo-ʔo-ɴce-mo

observe-DIR-1SG>3.VII-CPL

ciʔyąki

ciʔ=yąki-Ø

wide=river-ABS

lǫhiʔnaʔma,

lǫ=hiʔna-Ø=ʔma

green=valley-ABS=and,

caca

caca

also

hą

hą

then

twileʔkakahpa."

twi=leʔ=ka~kahpa-Ø

some=tall=PL~tree-ABS

"and I have observed a wide river and a green valley, and also some tall trees."

Takwaro

takwa-ro

one-ORD

kehkeʔ

kehka-eʔ

rock-ERG

śeśi

śeśi-Ø

this.VII.SG-ABS

sacepǫkse:

sace-pǫ-kse

say-SENS-3>3.VII

The first rock said this:

"Nehi,

nehi

alas

rapśikwe

ra=pśikwe-Ø

that=OBV.VII.PL-ABS

cą

cą

EMPH

ćeltahcayąʔkwenęceʔi!"

ćelta-hca-yąpa-kwe-nęce-ʔi

see-towards-ABIL-ASS-1PL>3.VII-IRR

"Alas, if only we could see those things!"

"Yǫco

yǫco

unfortunately

cańe

cańe

never

ćawiloʔknąʔi

ćawi-loʔk-ną-ʔi

be_happy-EVID-1PL-IRR

koʔ,"

koʔ

indeed

hanimąkse

hani-mą-kse

respond-REP-3>3.VII

śiro

śi-ro

two-ORD

kehkeʔ.

kehka-eʔ

rock-ERG

"Unfortunately, we will never be happy at all," answered the second rock.

Ląćeyeśoʔ

ląc=ye~yeśe-oʔ

many=PL~days-GEN

kwoco

kwoco

after

eńopahcayaho

eńo-paho-hca-ya-ho

again-walk-towards-VIS-3.I

caca

caca

also

komą.

komą-Ø

mouse-ABS

After many days, the mouse also returned.

"Weyoʔ

weye-oʔ

hill-GEN

emanǫʔ

e-maną-oʔ

3SG.POSS-nose-GEN

tewi

tewi

behind

cahma

cahma-Ø

land-ABS

kpahoʔǫcmo,"

k-paho-ʔo-ɴce-mo

LAT-walk-DIR-1SG>3.VII-CPL

"I have walked to the land behind the nose of the hill,"

"ca

ca

and

coheʔǫcmo

cohe-ʔo-ɴce-mo

discover-DIR-1SG>3.VII-CPL

śekmǫ

śekmǫ

only

tąctakcǫ

tąc=taka-cǫ-Ø

same=grass-COLL-ABS

tąckikihpo

tąc=ki~kihpo-Ø

same=PL~worm-ABS

tąćoyonayękwi."

tąc=yo~yonayękwi-Ø

same=PL~beetle-ABS

"and I have found nothing but the same grass and worms and beetles."

Takwaro

takwa-ro

one-ORD

kehkeʔ

kehka-eʔ

rock-ERG

śeśi

śeśi-Ø

this.VII.SG-ABS

sacepǫkse:

sace-pǫ-kse

say-SENS-3>3.VII

The first rock said this:

"Yekwe,

yekwe

but_not

rapśikwe

ra=pśikwe-Ø

that=OBV.VII.PL-ABS

cą

cą

EMPH

koʔ

koʔ

indeed

ćeltaćiʔnęcihma!"

ćelta-ći-ʔo-nęce-ihma

see-OPT-DIR-1PL>3.VII-NEG

"Oh no, we really do not want to see those things!"

"Kąta

kąta

now

hayehco

hayehco

always

ćawiʔną

ćawi-ʔo-ną

be_happy-DIR-1PL

cą,"

cą

EMPH

hanimąkse

hani-mą-kse

respond-REP-3>3.VII

śiro

śi-ro

two-ORD

kehkeʔ.

kehka-eʔ

rock-ERG

"Now we will always be happy," answered the second rock.

Vocabulary

Lexemes

morpheme	class	meaning	notes
ca	cj	and
cą	adv	indeed, really, by contrast
caca	cj	also, furthermore, in addition
cahma	n.VII	land, region, area
cakwe	pron	proximate 3rd person pronoun (class II plural)
cańe	adv	not at all, never
ciʔ-	adj	broad, wide
cmę	cj	as, under the circumstance that
cohe-	v.mt	find, discover
ćawi-	v.it	smile, be happy, enjoy oneself
ćelta-	v.mt	see, notice
ćma	n.coll.VII	here
ćosą-	v.mt	focus on, feel attracted to, be curious about
eńo	adv	again, repeatedly, back
hą	cj	then, next
hakwa-	adj	close, nearby, on the near side
hani-	v.mt	answer, reply, respond to
hayehco	adv	always, every day, forever
hiʔna	n.VII	valley
hipę	n.ip.VII	shoulder, side, edge
kąʔęta	n.I	blackbird
kahpa	n.VII	tree
kąta	adv	now, instantly, immediately
kehka	n.II	rock, boulder, large stone
kera	n.VII	thing, object, item, instance (inanimate)
kihpo	n.V	worm, snail
koʔ	adv	indeed, really, completely
kohpco	adv	as a result, accordingly
komą	n.II	mouse, hamster	(pl. kokmą)
kǫpe	pp	towards, in the direction of, in order to
kwakwe	pron	proximate 3rd person pronoun (class I plural)
kwe	cj	but, however
kwoco	pp	after, since
leʔ-	adj	high, tall
lǫ-	adj	green, warm, fertile
maną	n.ip.II	nose, tip, corner	(pl. mǫną)
mena-	v.mt	know, understand
moʔ	pp	on, at, near
nehi	intj	alas! oh dear! (expression of regret)
ńępo-	v.mt	observe, watch
paho-	v.it	go, walk
pahpąta-	v.mt	search at/in, make one's way through, explore
peńe-	v.mt	say towards, tell, inform
pomi	n.VII	word, statement, speech, utterance	(pl. poʔmi)
pśikwe	pron	obviative 3rd person pronoun (class VII plural)
raną-	v.it	fly
sa	pron	1st person plural pronoun
sąʔ	pp	at, in
sace-	v.mt	say, speak
somo-	v.it	confirm, approve, agree
śeʔ	cj	however, by contrast
śekmǫ	adv	only, merely
śeśi	pron	demonstrative pronoun (class VII singular)
śi	num	two
tąc-	adj/dem	same, identical
takcǫ	n.coll.VII	grass
takwa	num	one
tewi	pp	behind, beyond, further away than
tkwe	pron	2nd person plural pronoun
tma	n.coll.VII	there
tomo	n.VII	period of time, era, generation	(pl. totmo)
weʔą-	v.mt	know, meet regularly, be familiar with
weye	n.VII	hill
woʔla-	v.mt	draft, plan, come up with
yąki	n.VII	river
ye-	v.it	go, move
yekwe	cj	but not, not at all
yel-	adj/dem	other, different
yeśe	n.VII	day
yeya-	v.mt	hear
yocǫ-	adj	early, soon, young, quick
yǫco	adv	sadly, unfortunately, a pity that
yonayękwi	n.II	bug, beetle, ant (any predominantly crawling insect)
=ʔma	cj	and, also (postclitic)

Prefixes

morpheme	meaning	notes
c-, ca-	benefactive applicative
e-	3rd person singular possessor
ik-, ikw-	2nd person plural possessor
k-, ke-	lative applicative
ląc=	quantifier: "many"	(proclitic)
ra=, t=	demonstrative: "that, those"	(proclitic)
tw-, twe-	locative applicative
twi=	quantifier: "some, a few"	(proclitic)

Suffixes

morpheme	meaning	notes
-Ø	absolutive case
-(ɴ)-	agreement: 1st person singular ergative	(surfaces as nasalization on the preceding vowel)
-co	adverbializer: "related to X"	(may delete preceding vowel)
-ći-	modal: optative
-ćka-	durative/situational verbalizer: "do X for a certain period of time"
-eʔ, -ęʔ, -iʔ	ergative case	(deletes preceding vowel)
-hą	adverbializer: "in the manner of X"
-hca-	directional: orientation towards focus
-hma, -ihma	negative	(may delete preceding vowel)
-k-	agreement: 3rd person ergative
-kwe-	evidential: assumption or speculation
-loʔ-, -loʔk-	evidential: physical or situational evidence
-mą-	evidential: hearsay	(may delete preceding vowel)
-mę	verbal noun	(may delete preceding vowel)
-mo	completive/perfect	(may delete preceding vowel)
-ną-	agreement: 1st person plural absolutive
-nę-	agreement: 1st person plural ergative	(may delete preceding vowel)
-oʔ, -ǫʔ	genitive case	(deletes preceding vowel)
-ǫʔi	completive/perfect + irrealis	(deletes preceding vowel)
-pǫ-	evidential: non-visual sensory perception
-ro	ordinal number: "-th"
-se, -ce	agreement: 3rd person class VII absolutive
-ta-	agreement: 3rd person class II absolutive
-tą-, -tąh-	agreement: 2nd person plural absolutive
-twih-, -twis-	inchoative verbalizer ("become X")
-wa	agreement: 3rd person class I absolutive
-ya-	evidential: visual perception
-yąpa-, -yąʔ-	modal: abilitative
-ʔco-	directional: orientation away from focus
-ʔi	irrealis	(conditional meaning when used with "assumption" evidential)
-ʔo-	evidential: direct participation or general knowledge

Phonology

The transcription scheme is fairly similar to standard Americanist usage, except that acute accents are used instead of carons to denote palatal consonants:

Consonants:     ‹p t c ć k ʔ›   /p t ʦ ʧ k ʔ/
                ‹    s ś   h›   /    s ʃ   h/
                ‹m   n ń    ›   /m   n ɲ    /
                ‹w l r y    ›   /w l ɾ j    /

Vowels:         ‹i e a o›       /i e a o/
                ‹  ę ą ǫ›       /  ẽ ã õ/

Morphophonological processes are mostly covered by the different allomorphs listed for certain morphemes. However, some further processes are worth mentioning here:

• Vowel deletion: Fairly often a vowel will be deleted depending on the prosodic structure of the word; morphemes which may trigger this are marked in the glossary.
• Palatalization: /j/ coalesces with preceding /ʦ s n/ into /ʧ ʃ ɲ/.
• Nasalization: /w ɾ l j/ become /m n n ɲ/ when preceded by a nasalized vowel.
• Fortition: /ɾ/ becomes /t/ when immediately preceded by one of /p t ʦ ʧ k/.

Grammar

Tmaśareʔ is a fairly synthetic, mostly head-final, morphologically ergative language. Most bound morphemes are more or less agglutinative, but this is obscured to some extent by various morphophonological alternations. The language uses both prefixes and suffixes, with the latter clearly predominating.

Nominals

• There are seven noun classes, which are cross-referenced on verbs, pronouns, and cardinal numerals. Groups of nouns from different classes may be referred to by any of the individual classifiers depending on the most salient member; this usage is sometimes carried over into other parts of the same discourse even if only a non-matching member of the group is being targeted.
• Nouns inflect for three cases (absolutive, ergative, genitive), which are marked with suffixes.
• Nominal plurals are usually formed with initial reduplication. Irregular plural forms are mentioned in the wordlist. Note that the reduplicated syllable may end up in the middle of a word if further prefixes and/or proclitics are added.
• Tmaśareʔ distinguishes between alienable and inalienable possession. Alienably possessed nouns are simply preceded by their possessor, cast in the genitive, whereas inalienably possessed nouns obligatorily take a possessive prefix indicating the number and person of the possessor.
• Demonstratives and quantifiers are proclitics, which precede any other affix on the noun or pronoun they refer to. Demonstratives can also be used pronominally; in this usage they take a noun class marker agreeing with their head, and also inflect for case.
• Cardinal numerals agree in case and noun class with their head noun, which appears in the singular form.
• Adjectives are not a seperate word class. Most adjectival concepts are expressed by attributive prefixes, which are added before the (possibly plural-marked) noun stem, but after any possessive prefixes and deictic proclitics. Nouns may take several adjectival prefixes at the same time.
• Semantically specialized nominals can also be formed by head-final compounding with a noun stem as the head. The dependent stem in nominal compounds may be both nominal or verbal.
• Pronouns exhibit a proximate/obviative distinction in the 3rd person, which can help to keep track of several 3rd person arguments in a narrative.

Verbs

• The general order of morphemes within a verb is as follows:

  -1: applicative prefix (optional)

  0: root

  1: derivational suffixes (optional)

  2: incorporated noun (optional)

  3: directional suffix (optional)

  4: causative (optional)

  5: modality (optional)

  6: evidentiality (mandatory in verbs not marked as interrogative or irrealis)

  7: ergative agreement (mandatory in transitive verbs)

  8: absolutive agreement (mandatory)

  9: aspect (optional)

  10: negation (optional)

  11: interrogative or irrealis (optional)

• 3rd person arguments are tracked on the verb by noun class, but not by number. Ergative 3rd person arguments do not take noun class concord.
• In verbs with an applicative prefix, the applicative object takes up the primary absolutive slot, replacing the subject/patient in this regard. However, if there is no agent, the verb will take "ergative" agreement referring to the intransitive subject. If both arguments are 3rd person and belong to different noun classes, absolutive noun class markers will be used for both of them.
• Some types of subclauses are built with nominalized verb forms, in which the subject (of intransitive verbs) or the agent (of transitive verbs) are not referenced by normal agreement suffixes, but instead by prefixes identical in form to those indicating inalienable possession. Nominalized verbs may take full verbal inflection between the possession prefix and the nominalizing suffix; however, evidentiality marking is optional.
• Most transitive verbs can also be used intransitively simply by omitting the ergative argument and its agreement marker. The resulting intransitive predicate is typically semantically passive or reflexive.

Syntax

• Noun phrases are mostly head-final, with numerals, genitives, adpositional attributes, and relative clauses preceding the head noun.
• Adpositional phrases are postpositional; they generally require their object to inflect for the genitive case.
• The typical constituent order is Agent - (Recipient) - Patient - (Applicative) - Verb.
• Adjuncts (postpositional phrases with adverbial function) usually appear in clause-final position, following the verb.
• Any noun phrase or adjunct may be topic-fronted.
• Noun phrases may also be right-dislocated to after the verb, especially if the remaining pre-verbal NP(s) is/are modified by a relative clause.
• Pronouns in the absolutive or ergative case are often omitted (i.e. Tmaśareʔ is a pro-drop language).
• Relative clauses are formed exactly like ordinary clauses, but they always feature an introductory pronoun agreeing in noun class and number with the relativized nominal. This pronoun, which takes case markers according to the role of its referent within the relative clause, may not be dropped.
• Conditional clauses are signalled by the use of both the assumption evidential suffix and the irrealis suffix. They are otherwise syntactically identical to main clauses.
• Adverbs and conjunctions are usually placed after the head of the first constituent in a clause (Wackernagel's position). If there is no overt constituent, they may be placed clause-initially; adverbs may also be moved to pre- or postverbal position. When more than one adverbs and/or conjunctions appear in a sentence, they are typically placed immediately next to each other.
• Serial verb constructions can be formed to describe a series of closely related events; this is done by concatenating several fully inflected verbs (which must refer to the same primary absolutive argument) and adding the enclitic conjunction =ʔma to the last of the serialized verbs.
• Nominal, adjectivial and adpositional predication is achieved by converting the predicate into a verb through a variety of derivational suffixes. As an extension of this, adjectivial and adpositional stems can also be used to form head-final verbal compounds with a verb stem; they typically take on an adverbial function with regard to the action described by the verb stem.
• In order to focus the action of a transitive verb on its agent, nouns in the semantic roles of patient or theme can be incorporated into the verb. This has the effect of backgrounding the incorporated noun, reducing the valency of the verb by one, and promoting the ergative argument to absolutive if no other absolutive argument is present. Noun incorporation can be combined with other valency-changing operations such as causativization and/or applicativization. However, it doesn't play a prominent role in this text.

Links

• Tmaśareʔ grammar sketch