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Location and direction
Location and direction in Tsi
Prepositions
Tsi has three 'true postpositions' whose meanings are quite broad and non-specific:
Hųų - directional ‘to, up to, into, towards’.
(1) Tsààd hųų - towards, into Tsat
Aŋŋo - locative ‘at, in, inside, by’
(2) Tsààd aŋŋo - in Tsat
Ro - affective (benefactive/malefactive) or genitive.
(3) Tsààd ro mà - the gate of Tsat
(4) Qʰotsààd ro - for the people of Tsat, the Tsatians
Locational verbs
It also possesses a set of 'locative verbs', which are similar in behaviour to the equivalent category in other regional languages. These have two forms, one historically derived from the old imperfective and one from the perfective. In liturgical/inscriptional Tsi, perfective forms (with -d) are used postpositionally:
(5) rlàŋŋạ ɢǃòn-tʰo lʰod to-srob là bà
squadron Qon=PROX be_around up-tent raise ANIM
the groups of soldiers camped around Qon
(6) bàq-bàq mad so-qǂʰo tšo
terror_bird be_before down-heel set
He braced himself (lit. 'put down his heel) in front of the terror bird
The -d forms can also be used as independent locative verbs with the meaning of 'to be' + a preposition in English:
(7) šušų yeb cçę ạnnạ ro qǂʰò
shushun be_in ANIM 1sg GEN house
Shushun is at my house
Introducing two new constituents these verbs typically appear initially, a rare example of verb-initial syntax:
(8) mad g|í Tsààd ro mà ŋ|oŋ|o àà!
be_before INAN Tsat GEN gate, clamour MOD
There's a great noise out in front of the gates of Tsat!
As has become the default construction in other Tsiic languages, Tsi can also essentially annex the forms without -d to a main verb in a serial construction. This is a valency-modifying operation, transforming the adverbial into an object of the verb. This often adds a different nuance to the sentence. Compare (9) with (5) for example - (9) serialises the verbal form for 'around'. Whilst the basic meaning is the same, (9) gives the implication of a deliberate surrounding, perhaps for a siege:
(9) rlàŋŋạ to-srob là lʰo bà ɢǃòn-tʰo
squadron up-tent raise be_around ANIM Qon=PROX
the groups of soldiers camped around Qon
'Qon', as object, can now be incorporated into the verbal complex provided it meets the requirements (i.e. relative backgrounding, previous mentions etc). (10) shows prefixing of the directional affix to Qon, which is now unmodifiable and thus must lose its demonstrative:
(10) ɢǃòn to-srob là gi ŋìngga-ŋǃè! yè rlàŋŋạ to-ɢǃòn srob là lʰo bà
Qon up-tent raise said commander_of_80! so squadron up-Qon tent raise be_around ANIM
Set up camp around Qon! said the commander. So the soldiers put up their tents around Qon...
In normal spoken Tsi, the forms without -d are typically also used in 'postpositional' contexts. Likewise, the distinction between true postpositions and locative verbs is somewhat blurred, especially with ro, which is commonly productively serialised for both genitive and benefactive uses:
(11) qa-'ni ŋǃè ɢǃònù ro! (compare the more correct ạnni ro aqa-ŋǃè ɢǃònù)
apart=3sg head split DAT
split his head open! (=split his head up for him!)
Directional prefixes
There are several directional prefixes which attach, in the absence of any other elements, to the main verb. These should not be mistaken for adpositions or, strictly speaking, locatives of any kind. Inasmuch as they carry independent meaning, they express direction. The initial a- rarely appears in speech:
(a)ya-: around, backwards and forwards
(a)to-: upwards, forwards
(a)šo-: backwards, downwards
(a)qa-: apart, into parts, in all directions at once
However, these prefixes cannot be freely applied to any verb and with many verbs (šo-dòg 'spit', ya-dgo 'mix' etc) the combination of root and prefix is lexicalised. Some roots only appear with prefixes: aqa-qǃʰo 'scatter' for example.
Syntactically directional prefixes appear in the first position in the verbal complex. As such, they prefix to nouns incorporated in the verbal complex where they exist:
(12) ya-quuŋ dgo cçę
round-mud mix ANIM
He is mixing mud
Prepositions
Tsi has three 'true postpositions' whose meanings are quite broad and non-specific:
Hųų - directional ‘to, up to, into, towards’.
(1) Tsààd hųų - towards, into Tsat
Aŋŋo - locative ‘at, in, inside, by’
(2) Tsààd aŋŋo - in Tsat
Ro - affective (benefactive/malefactive) or genitive.
(3) Tsààd ro mà - the gate of Tsat
(4) Qʰotsààd ro - for the people of Tsat, the Tsatians
Locational verbs
It also possesses a set of 'locative verbs', which are similar in behaviour to the equivalent category in other regional languages. These have two forms, one historically derived from the old imperfective and one from the perfective. In liturgical/inscriptional Tsi, perfective forms (with -d) are used postpositionally:
(5) rlàŋŋạ ɢǃòn-tʰo lʰod to-srob là bà
squadron Qon=PROX be_around up-tent raise ANIM
the groups of soldiers camped around Qon
(6) bàq-bàq mad so-qǂʰo tšo
terror_bird be_before down-heel set
He braced himself (lit. 'put down his heel) in front of the terror bird
The -d forms can also be used as independent locative verbs with the meaning of 'to be' + a preposition in English:
(7) šušų yeb cçę ạnnạ ro qǂʰò
shushun be_in ANIM 1sg GEN house
Shushun is at my house
Introducing two new constituents these verbs typically appear initially, a rare example of verb-initial syntax:
(8) mad g|í Tsààd ro mà ŋ|oŋ|o àà!
be_before INAN Tsat GEN gate, clamour MOD
There's a great noise out in front of the gates of Tsat!
As has become the default construction in other Tsiic languages, Tsi can also essentially annex the forms without -d to a main verb in a serial construction. This is a valency-modifying operation, transforming the adverbial into an object of the verb. This often adds a different nuance to the sentence. Compare (9) with (5) for example - (9) serialises the verbal form for 'around'. Whilst the basic meaning is the same, (9) gives the implication of a deliberate surrounding, perhaps for a siege:
(9) rlàŋŋạ to-srob là lʰo bà ɢǃòn-tʰo
squadron up-tent raise be_around ANIM Qon=PROX
the groups of soldiers camped around Qon
'Qon', as object, can now be incorporated into the verbal complex provided it meets the requirements (i.e. relative backgrounding, previous mentions etc). (10) shows prefixing of the directional affix to Qon, which is now unmodifiable and thus must lose its demonstrative:
(10) ɢǃòn to-srob là gi ŋìngga-ŋǃè! yè rlàŋŋạ to-ɢǃòn srob là lʰo bà
Qon up-tent raise said commander_of_80! so squadron up-Qon tent raise be_around ANIM
Set up camp around Qon! said the commander. So the soldiers put up their tents around Qon...
In normal spoken Tsi, the forms without -d are typically also used in 'postpositional' contexts. Likewise, the distinction between true postpositions and locative verbs is somewhat blurred, especially with ro, which is commonly productively serialised for both genitive and benefactive uses:
(11) qa-'ni ŋǃè ɢǃònù ro! (compare the more correct ạnni ro aqa-ŋǃè ɢǃònù)
apart=3sg head split DAT
split his head open! (=split his head up for him!)
Directional prefixes
There are several directional prefixes which attach, in the absence of any other elements, to the main verb. These should not be mistaken for adpositions or, strictly speaking, locatives of any kind. Inasmuch as they carry independent meaning, they express direction. The initial a- rarely appears in speech:
(a)ya-: around, backwards and forwards
(a)to-: upwards, forwards
(a)šo-: backwards, downwards
(a)qa-: apart, into parts, in all directions at once
However, these prefixes cannot be freely applied to any verb and with many verbs (šo-dòg 'spit', ya-dgo 'mix' etc) the combination of root and prefix is lexicalised. Some roots only appear with prefixes: aqa-qǃʰo 'scatter' for example.
Syntactically directional prefixes appear in the first position in the verbal complex. As such, they prefix to nouns incorporated in the verbal complex where they exist:
(12) ya-quuŋ dgo cçę
round-mud mix ANIM
He is mixing mud