Grammar of Silindion

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Historical Silindion Grammar.

This article is a work in progress.
The contents may be tentative, incomplete, inaccurate, in need of elaboration, subject to later revision, or just plain sketchy.

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 This will eventually contain a grammar of the Silindion language according to the following plan:

    A) Letters and Orthography
    B) Phonology
        1) Vowels and Consonants of Silindion
          a) Vowels
          b) Stops
          c) Fricatives
          d) Other
        2) Historical Development 
          a) Vowels
          b) Consonants
          c) Lenition 
          d) Stress
             i. Syncope
             ii. Metathesis
        3) Vowel Harmony 
    C) Morphology
        1) Case Usages in Silindion
        2) Nouns 
            a) Vowel Stems 
            b) Consonant Stems
            c) Rare or Irregular Stems
        3) Demonstratives
        4) Personal Pronouns
            a) Nominative 
            b) Oblique Stem
            c) Enclitic 
            d) Possessive 
            e) Possessive Enclitics
        5) Non-personal Pronouns
            a) Interogative
            b) Other
        6) Relative Particles and Prefixes
        7) Adjectives
            a) Base form
               i. derivation from nouns
               ii. non-derivative
            b) Comparative
            c) Superlative
            d) Equative Constructions
            e) Prefixes with Adjectives
        8) Tense Usages 
        9) Verbs
             a) Stem Classes
             b) Infinite Forms
                 i. Infinitives
                 ii. Participles
                      1) Present
                      2) Past
                 iii. Gerunds
                      1) Nominal 
                      2) Conjunctive
                      3) Anterior
                      4) Abessive
                      5) Adjectival
             c) Active Finite Forms
                i. Present Classes
                ii. Imperfect
                iii. Past Classes
                iv. Optative/Future
                v. Subjunctive
                    1) Present
                    2) Past
             d) Passive Finite Forms
                i. Present 
                    1) Impersonal 3s
                ii. Imperfect
                iii. Past
                iv. Optative/Future
                v.  Subjunctive
                    1. Present
                    2. Past
          10) Prepositions
          11) Adverbs 
              i. non-derived
              ii. derived from nouns
              iii. derived from adjectives
          12) Numerals
              i. basic forms
              ii. composition forms
              iii. ordinals
          13) Conjunctions 
        D) Syntax That Is Not In Morphology


Case Usage

Silindion nouns can be inflected in 14 cases. The cases are nominative, accusative, genitive, dative, ablative, locative, allative, comitative, instrumental, copulative, essive, topical, adjectival. The last case, the benefactive, is an extension of the dative, and is not in use in the modern language, except for in some grammatical tracts. In older forms of the language, it is widespread in the usage given below. The topical is also called relative, since it relates one noun to another, as explained below.

  • Nominative indicates the subject of a verb. It is also used adpositionally, as in <Nanthalonis, i nista> "Nanthalonis, the king".
  • Accusative indicates the object of a verb. It also indicates motion through a place or time, and is used with prepositions such as ‹ono› "through", ‹pero› "across" or ‹erë› "during".
  • Genitive indicates the possessor. It is also used with various prepositions, such as ‹ess› "inside of" or ‹omë› "because of". It is also used as the object of a few verbs, namely <anëallo> "to promise", which is intransitive in High Silindion.
  • Dative indicates the indirect object and the person or thing for which an action is done. The last usage is called the benefactive use, and in Old, Middle and some High Silindion texts, is indicated by an extra ‹-r› to the dative ending. An example of this is, <nistanu> "to the king" (dative) => <nistanur> "for the king" (benefactive).
  • Ablative indicates separation, and is mostly used to translate 'from'. It is used with prepositions such as ‹ka› "away from" or ‹eis› "from out, out of". It is also used as the object of a few verbs, namely <moniello> "to hear", which is intransitive in High Silindion. In comparative constructions it introduces the standard. An example of this usage is the following, <ëan i nari më pantio nattolim> "this bird is smaller than the other". The word <nattolim>, indicating meaning "than the other".
  • Locative indicates place. It is used with prepositions such as ‹o› "in", ‹a› "at", ‹emë› "on", ‹eiva[n]› "within", ‹ina› "near" and many others. Metaphorically it also indicates time, and thus is used with prepositions like ‹nor› "before". It is also used, with the preposition <ompo> "over", to indicate the object of the verb <línyello> "to play an instrument". An example of this usage is, <lir empindo ompo i yalmavi> "the cantor plays upon a harp".
  • Allative indicates motion towards a place. It is used with prepositions like ‹noro› 'towards' or ‹noss› "into". It is also used as the animate agent in passive sentences.
  • Comitative means 'together with'. If two or more nouns are animate, they may be connected by adding the comitative suffix to the last noun. An example of this usage is, <pëa mëamma> "a father and a mother". Occasionally this usage is seen with inanimate nouns as well.
  • Instrumental indicates the instrument with which something is done, or how something is done. Thus it means both 'using X' and 'by doing X'. It also indicates what something is made out of. It is not often used with animate nouns.
  • Copulative is attached to a noun or interrogative pronoun to form sentences meaning 'X = Y'. An example of this is, <i nar lavando> "the man is a hunter". It is only used to link two [pro]nouns together, not a [pro]noun with an adjective.
  • Essive is attached to a predicate nominative or interrogative pronoun to form sentences meaning 'It = Y'. That is, when the predicate nominative is the only element present. It is mostly used with a definite predicate, although indefinite predicates may occur as well. An example of this is, <kirmeihya> "it is my ship" (<- <kirma> "ship"). The essive also means 'as' or 'when', such as in the following sentence, <nópië, asui Eril nëa némpian niva> "as a poet, Eril created many beautiful poems" (<- <nopio> "poet"). Finally, in Poetic High Silindion only, the essive may be used to derive an adjective from a noun. However, in Low Silindion this is done with the adjectival. In some poems, the essive seems to have the same meaning as the topical, depending on translation.
  • Relative/Topical indicates the topic of the sentence. In this sense, it can be translated as 'as for X' or 'about X'. Most of the time however, the relative is used to derive an adjective meaning 'X-like', such as the word ‹rilitma› "jewel-like". The topical is also used to mean 'as X', after an equative adjective. Another use of the relative is to mean 'but' after the conjunction ‹në› "and". However, this use is restricted to sentences of the form 'X, but as for Y'. An example of this is, <ihyotma, ë niva, në tahyotma, ië nukil> "today, (it) is beautiful, but (as for) yesterday, (it) was cloudy" (<- <tahyón> "yesterday").
  • Adjectival derives an adjective from a noun. Mostly the meaning is transparent, such as in the following examples, <vierya émëa> "forest paths, paths of the forest" (<- <ema> "forest"), <nerendo núkëa> "wilderness dweller, dweller in the wilderness" (<- <nuko> "wilderness"). However, sometimes the meaning is not that obvious, such as in the following examples, <sílnëa> "silver" (<- <silni> "star"), <ílië> "holy" (<- <ilë> "god").

Verbal Stem Classes

In Silindion, verbs are conjugated somewhat differently according the stem class the verb belongs to, which references the last phonological element in the word, be it glide, consonant, or vowel. Usually, despite other changes in the word morphologically, the stem sound stays constant. In only a few cases does this not happen:

1) The verb piello "to touch". The stem for much of the verb is <pia->. Thus it is an a-verb. However, in the past tense, the stem is <pik->, as in <aphiksi> "he touched".

2) The verbs <rallë>, <yallë>, <nellë>, <ullë>, <sellë> "to seem", <sellë> "to clasp", <nillë>, <sillë>, <onëallë>, <këallë>, <fayallë, <hyallë>. These verbs have alterations which either delete or add elements to the stem of the verb. These alterations will be dealt with in the appropriate section below.

3) The verbs <askello> "to shake hands" and <terskello> "to hammer" have i-stems, <aski-> and <terski->, despite the lack of _i_ in the infinitive.

4) The verbs <motyello> "to hind", and <thiello> "to cover", have certain properties in common which will be discussed later.

5) Finally, various regular morphophonemic changes may affect the stem, under certain conditions, especially in athematic forms such as the present or past tense.

Verbs with stems ending in a vowel may end in the following vowels or vowel/consonant combinations: -a, -ya, -ma, -o, -ëo, -u, -i, -ē, -e

Those stems ending in <a>, <ya>, or <ma> are not formally distinct from each other in any way. Those ending in <ē> are distinct as a class from those ending in <e> only in the present, which is thematic (as opposed to athematic for most e-stems), the gerund, the past participle, and the imperfect. Of course, since the gerund and the past participle serve as the stems for the various gerunds and the passive voice respectfully, the two types differ in those places as well.

ē-STEMS <nëallo> <nién> <nina> <nirë>
INFLECTION INFINITIVE PRESENT 3RD S. GERUND PAST PARTIC.
e-STEM TYPE <diello> <den> <dena> <derë>


Those stems in <o> differ from those in <eo> only due to the presence of an _e_ in ëo-verbs, which becomes _i_ in the subjunctives, optative/future and past (where the past tense is an -aj-past). 

    -ëo                                -o
<sanëollo> "to kill     <ilniello> "to cause to bloom"
<saniéin> "he may kill" <ilnéin> "he may cause to bloom"
<saniéin> "he will kill" <ilnéin> "he will cause to bloom"


Verbs ending in the following consonants or consonant combinations may be termed the "consonant stems": -T, -t (unchangeable) -D, -âw1, -âw2, -aw, -w, -v, -G, -K, -n, -rn, -m, -mn, -ng, -r, -l, -s, -st, -sk, -ay, -y.

Gerunds

In Silindion, there are six different gerunds, which are mostly used to indicate the relation of one action to the action of the main verb. The action may be either be coinciding with the main verb or anterior to it. The action may be why the main verb is done, that is, a purpose clause. These are the sorts of relations that the gerund can express in Silindion. There types of gerunds are the following, nominal, anterior, abessive, anterior, conjunctive, necessitive, adjectival.

Nominal Gerund

The nominal gerund is formed by adding the ending <-na> to the stem of the verb. For vowel stems this is not a major obstactle, as the following examples show:

  • <mi-> "to fall" -> <mina> "falling"
  • <yalma-> "to harp" -> <yalmana> "harping"
  • <lissu-> "to live" -> <lissuna> "living"
  • The nominal gerund is a d_stem in vowel verbs like this.

For consonant verbs, there are some consonant assimilations that take place when the gerund ending is added.

Stem Type Assimilation Example
T-STEMS -T+na -> -nta <peT-> "to eat" -> <penta> "eating"
D-STEMS -D+na -> -nda <siD-> "to sit" -> <sinda> "sitting"
N-STEMS -n+na -> -nna <lin-> "to play" -> <linna> "playing"
P-STEMS -p+na -> -mpa <nep-> "to sing" -> <nempa> "singing"
B-STEMS -b+na -> -mba <reB-> "to row" -> <remba> "rowing"


The nominal gerund is normally used as a noun, and may take case endings, which are either d-stem endings or a-stem endings. An example of its usage is:

ahwáteisi liu pentán
aug.-DO-past-1st.sing. perfect particle eat-gerund-accusative 
"I have just finished eating"

Another usage of the nominal gerund is as a substitute to full complement clauses, which are usually formed with the conjunction <ta> and the indicative or subjunctive. Examples of this usage are the following:

avavissi i lio ninmanye
aug.-RUMOR-past.3rd.sing. the woman MARRY-gerund-topical-3rd.sing.possessive 
"The woman rumored that she would get married"
sunu sinti tandán i nistari
WANT-impersonal.passive ME-dative RULE-gerund-accusative the KING-genitive 
"I want the king to rule"

Conjunctive Gerund

This gerund is used to express events that occur simultaneously with the main verb, that is, it can translate clauses beginning with "while". It can also have the circumstantial connotations, likes "since" or "because". It is formed by adding the prefix <i-> to the nominal gerund stem. With verbs beginning in a vowel, the prefix becomes the on-glide <y->.


  • <til-> "to see" -> <issilda> "while seeing"
  • <empi-> "to chant" -> <yempina> "while chanting".

In its simultaneous function, it is often accompanied by the conjunction <ve> "as".

Examples: 

<isompa, en filiello iss>  "because he's sleeping, he can't come here" (circumstantial)
<vë yempina, rophonë i nimán> "as he was singing, he was watching the crowd" (simultaneous)

As the examples show, it is essentially timeless, and can show simultaneous or circumstantial action in the present, past or future.

Abessive Gerund

This Gerund is used to express events that have not occured. It is used as the negative of both the anterior gerund and the conjunctive gerund. It can also be used as a negative of the nominal gerund. It is usually translated by "without". It is formed by adding the prefix <en-> to the nominal gerund stem. This prefix assimilates to verbs beginning in l, s, p, f, v, m, and r. A further change occurs in verbs beginning with hw and th. In these verbs, the prefix becomes <e->, and the initial combinations become sw and st respectively. In verbs beginning with h, the the initial changes to k. Verbs beginning with other consonants undergo no change.

  • <lissu-> "to live" -> <ellissuna> "without living"
  • <sat-> "to raise up" -> <essanta> "without raising up"
  • <pay-> "to be vigilant" -> <empaina> "without being vigilant"
  • <fat-> "to do" -> <efanta> "without doing"
  • <vuk-> "to weave" -> <evunka> "without weaving"
  • <mew->> "to glitter" -> <emmeuna> "without glittering"
  • <runi-> "to soar" -> <errunina> "without soaring"
  • <hyeK-> "to fight" -> <esyenka> "without fighting"
  • <thR-> "to cover" -> <estarna> "without covering"
  • <hum-> "to soothe, calm" -> <enkumma> "without calming"
  • <til-> "to see" -> <entilda> "without seeing"
  • <del-> "to bundle" -> <endelda> "without bundling"
  • <yat-> "to happen" -> <enyanta> "without happening"
  • <nalpin-> "to play piano" -> <ennalpinna> "without playing piano"

Examples: 

<enostona, ahwingi pero i nirnë> "without breathing, he swam across the river." [conjunctive negative]
<empurnonya, varilië i laro sammanna> "by not speaking, the thief was condemned to death." [nominal negative]

Active Finite Forms

Imperfect

The Imperfect has one formation for all types of stem. For vowel stem verbs, the imperfect is athematic, except for ē-stems. For consonant stems and ē-stems, itis a thematic formation, consisting of a variable theme vowel _V_ followed by the tense suffix, <-në>. The theme vowel is usually the same as the present theme vowel. In those cases where the present tense of the verb is athematic, the theme vowel is the same as the root vowel. Some verbs with _u_ as the root vowel use _o_ as the theme vowel.

Examples:

  • <tad> "to rule" -> <taranë->
  • <fat> "to do" -> <fatanë->
  • <yaT> "to become" -> <yassanë->
  • <rev> "to row" -> <revenë->
  • <til> "to see" -> <tilinë->
  • <rop> "to watch" -> <roponë->
  • <muK> "to sail" -> <muonë->
  • <pur> "to speak" -> <puronë->

Subjunctive

The Subjunctive has one formation for all types of stem. In the present, it is formed by suffixing <-i> to the stem of the verb. In the case of a-stems, o-stems, e-stems and ē-stems, the vowels coalesce into _ei_. For ëo-stems, the vowels coalesce to become _iei_. In the case of i-stems and u-stems, the vowels coalesce to become _i_.

Examples:

  • <yalma-> "to play the harp" -> <yalmei->
  • <ilno-> "to make bloom" -> <ilnei->
  • <lē-> "to show" -> <lei->
  • <de-> "to gather" -> <dei->
  • <dorëo-> "to finish" -> <doriei->
  • <moni-> "to hear" -> <moni->
  • <lissu-> "to live" -> <lissi->

Consonant verbs take the suffix <-i>, the final consonant of their stem undergoing modification according to the discussion found in the historical phonology section.

Some Examples:

  • <muK-> "to sail" -> <mui->
  • <tad-> "to rule" -> <tari->

The past subjunctive is formed by augmenting the stem and suffixing <-u>. In the case of a-stems, this combination becomes _o_. In the case of o-stems, this combinations becomes _u_. In the case of e-stems and ē-stems, this combination becomes _ëu_. In the case of all stems ending with _o_ and _u_, the suffix itself disappears in combination.

  • <yalma-> "to play the harp" -> <ayalmo->
  • <ilno-> "to make bloom" -> <eilno->
  • <lē-> "to show" -> <alëu->
  • <de-> "to gather" -> <adëu->
  • <dorëo-> "to finish" -> <adorëo->
  • <moni-> "to hear" -> <amoniu->
  • <lissu-> "to live" -> <alissu->

The final consonant of consonant verbs undergoes the same modification as in the subjunctive present, if any modication at all can occurs.

  • <eT-> "to lack" -> <eissu->
  • <neP-> "to roar" -> <anephu->

Some verbs ending in the consonant _w_, have two alternative forms for this tense, one reflecting a more recent analogical change, the other being the historically developed form.

  • <daw-> "to roar" -> <adau-> or <adavu->
  • <diw-> "to be powerful" -> <adiu-> or <adivu->
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