Stilio/Morphology
Parseltongue uses a system of cases similar to Latin or Estonian. Nouns and verbs are not marked for number or gender, but there are four noun-classes as well as four verb-classes.
Nouns
There are four 'core' cases - Nominative, Accusative, Agentive and Patientive - and five 'oblique' cases - Dative, Possessive, Partitive, Genitive, and Ablative. The definite article is a prefixed /s/, while indefiniteness is marked in the verb.
The oblique cases function generally like Indo-European cases, but with some notable exceptions.
- Dative
- Some linguistics prefer to call this the "topico-dative" because it can function similarly to the Japanese は/wa, or the Korean 는/은. These instances are typically best translated as "in regards to" or "as for". Otherwise, the Dative is often equivalent to the English prepositions "to, for, by, with, from" and/or indicates the Indirect Object.
The other four cases fall under the 'genitive' umbrella in many languages
- Partitive
- Like the Uralic languages, the partitive means "some of" or "part of" or "any". It cannot, however, be used for the object of an atelic action. 'Half of my possessions’; ‘some of the branches’; ‘the poor among of the people’
- Possessor
- Like the English 's. This is the subjective genitive. "Love of God" would have to mean (in this case) "God's love", not "my love of God"
- Genitive
- This can be Epexegetical or Attributive/Descriptive.
- Ablative
- Objective Genitive, "concerning, against, about, on, from", separation, adverbial
Pronouns
'Measure words' can also be used as pronouns, with or without numbers attached.
| Case | Form | Ex. |
|---|---|---|
| N | ||
| A | ||
| A | ||
| P | ||
| D | madas | |
| P | ||
| P | ||
| G | ||
| A |
| Case | Form | Ex. |
|---|---|---|
| N | gasas | tzoægasas // You fell. |
| Acc | gasgg | kxvgasgg // You are green. |
| Abs | gassi | sayhagassi hœd / You (will) Leave him (alone)! |
| Pat | gassa | haceagassa cig / You (will) go away! |
| D | gassaas | to you |
| Par | gashh | |
| Pos | gasy | |
| G | gas | /She is longer than you |
| Abl | gasswa | |
| V | gass | / You who rattle, rattle! |
Verbs
All verbs have a lexically contained expectation for which case the subject will be in. Hence, all verbs are active or passive and volitional or non-volitional by default, which will also indicate which paradigm it follows. When given an unexpected case, intentionality or casuality will be signified:
| Active Non-Volitional | Passive Non-Volitional | Active Volitional | Passive Volitional | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | Involuntary Agent | Involuntary Cause | Unintentional Agent | Unintentional Cause |
| Accusative | Direct Object | Descriptive | Unintentional Patient | Pseudo-Passive Object |
| Agentive | Agent! | Cause! | Ergative Subject | Intentional Cause |
| Patientive | Intentional D.O. | Pseudo-Passive Agent | Absolutive Obj | Stative |
Verbs inflect for an astronomical eight persons:
| # | Name | Person | Demon. | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -1 | Negative | No one | None | Never |
| 0 | Indefinite | Someone/anyone | Some | Some time |
| ½ | Dim. Proximal | My mid-section | This poor | "These days" |
| 1 | Proximal | I | This | Now |
| 1½ | Mesioproximal | We (you and I) | This* | "Just now" |
| 2 | Mesiodistal | You | That | Then |
| 3 | Distal | He/She/It | Yon | "That time" |
| 4 | Obviative | Him | Other | "That other time" |
As with nouns, Parseltongue verbs do not mark number. Tense is assumed or conveyed via adverbs.
Aspect is either imperfective or perfective. There are three mood: Indicative - for independent clauses; Subjunctive - for dependent clauses; and Illocutionary - for magical or imperative clauses. The subjunctive is very plain, conjugating only for aspect, but not person or evidentiality.
All indicative/independent verbs in Parseltongue must be marked for evidentiality. Snakes senses are (in decreasing order of assuredness):
- Taste/Smell
- Snakes extend their tongues into the air/water and pull "smells" into their mouths, where their "noses" (Jacobsen's organs) are. This gives them a very refined and directional sense. Knowledge obtained this way is the most certain and so is most analogous to human's "I see" or "I know".
- Heat/IR
- Snakes have special sensors where other animals' "noses" would be which detect heat or Infra-red radiation. Snakes report not "seeing" a field - as humans do with sight - but "feeling" the nearness and/or warmth of things. This is most akin to a human saying "I feel like you are ..." or "I sense not everyone in the room agrees with ...".
- Hear/Vibration
- A snake's entire body functions like an "ear", sensing vibrations. This knowledge is very accurate, but because it comes from their whole body (not just their head) it is more like "gut knowledge". Magic causes snakes internal ear to hear external speech. Only a Parselmouth magician may speak to a snake and be heard. For the rest of us (Muggles and non-Parselmouth magicians) Parseltongue may be learned and spoken amongst ourselves only.
- Sight
- Most snakes have poor vision, with a majority not being binocular. This mood is used metaphorically as a person would say, "I suppose" or "I guess".
To be at
| -1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1½ | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smell | ||||||||
| IR | ||||||||
| Hear | tsæ | tsv | mæ | mœ | sa | |||
| Sight | ||||||||
| Imperative | saa | |||||||
