Seebee
| Seebee Seebee | |
|---|---|
| Pronounced: | [seːˈbeː] |
| Species: | Human |
| Spoken: | Ḍaihodoo |
| Genealogy: | Choogoan
|
| 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.
| 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) | |||||
- ↑1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5An 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
- ↑1.0, 1.1, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7If 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.
| 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.
| 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 |
- ↑1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.8, 1.9, 1.10Monosyllabic verbs in this group are stressless, although such verbs only exist as irregular forms.
- ↑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, 2.19If 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.
| 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 |
- ↑1.0, 1.1If 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.
| 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 |
- ↑1.0The 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.
| FAM | POL | |
|---|---|---|
| PST-POS | aḷud deshṭa | |
| PST-NEG | luġax datta | alaṣee deshṭa |
| NPST-POS | aḷu· | aḷud ʻdes |
| NPST-NEG | luġax | alaṣee |
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.
| FAM | POL | |
|---|---|---|
| HORT | alaṣhue |
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
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 verb preceding to· has non-past 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.)
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.
