Anthologica Universe Atlas / Forums / Department of Creativity / tsi scratchpad / Tsi verbs and verbal morphology
Tsi verbs and verbal morphology
The Tsi verbal complex can be quite elaborate. It consists of, minimally, a main verb (i.e. a single lexical item), which can be simple (a verbal element alone) or complex (including directional prefixes and lexicalised nominal elements). The verb itself can carry certain inflections, and the complex as a whole can also include auxiliaries and serial verbs. The order of elements is approximately:
Directional prefix - incorporated objects - negative - nominal element - main verb - serial verb - auxiliary
Main verb
A single main verb can appear on its own grammatically. Generally speaking, this is only acceptable if the verb is perfective and has an animate object or when the verb is a bare (and somewhat impolite) imperative:
(1) là
lift_up
(he) lifted (him) up/lift (him) up!
The main verb may be a 'compound' verb with a nominal element. In inscription Tsi these are predominantly formed with the largely semantically empty light verb χad.
(2a) ŋáá ọχad
teeth do
(he) bit (him)
In spoken Tsi this is typically reduced to a suffix (-χ or -ọχ after vowels), which is very productive in forming new verbal derivations:
(2b) ŋáá-χ
teeth-VB
(he) bit (him)
The main verb may also include a compulsory (lexicalised) directional prefix, which attaches to the first element in the verbal complex (with the exception of the negative):
(3a) ato-là
up-raise
erect (the tent)!
It can also include a causative prefix ampa- (often reduced to ma- or just m- in speech):
(4a) ato-ampa-là
up-CAUS-raise
make (them) put up (their tents)
In spoken Tsat Tsi these prefixes often trigger gemination of a non-geminated initial consonant:
(3b) to-llà
up-raise
erect (the tent)!
(4b) to-mma-là
up-CAUS-raise
make (them) put up (their tents)
Morphology of the verb
The imperfective-perfective and andative-venitive morphology which plays so prominent a part in the verbal morphology of related languages only now exists in Tsi in frozen lexical pairs. Other than the directional prefixes discussed elsewhere, there is only one major inflectional affix which attaches to verbs, -x/-ç (derived from the historical irrealis inflection). This is used with all subordinating conjunctions and with the classical negative:
(5) ŋǃè ọχ qǃʰạ!
head do.SUB NEG
do not give commands!
(6a) aya-dgo-x cçę-ç içç aŋŋo
around-mix-SUB ANIM-SUB NOM in
while he was mixing it...
Whilst in inscription Tsi it appears on all verbs, the tendency in spoken Tsi is towards two constructions. The first attaches the suffix to the final element of the verbal complex and leaves the other verbs unmarked:
(6b) ya-dgo cçę-ç (içç) aŋŋo
mix-SUB ANIM-SUB (NOM) in
while he was mixing it...
The other construction disallows serial and auxiliary verbs entirely:
(6c) ya-dgo-x (içç) aŋŋo
mix-SUB (NOM) in
while he was mixing it...
Both 4b and 4c show the common tendency in spoken Tsi to reanalyse -ç/x as a contraction of the nominaliser içç and drop the nominaliser (although etymologically they are totally separate).
In inscription Tsi some verbs have irregular subordinate forms, including the omnipresent ọχad whose form is ọχ. Other verbs containing a final dental derived from the perfect also regularly lose it in subordination. As is evident from the examples above, this affix is well into the process of reanalysis as a clitic and these irregular forms are generally being levelled out. Nonetheless, some speakers still use the irregular forms in constructions like the following:
(7) ma cçę-ç ro
sit.ANIM ANIM-SUB GEN
When he sat down
Other speakers however accept mad here.
Negative
In spoken Tsi, verbs are negated with pʰò, a reduced form of the word for 'never'. This is a relatively recent addition to the verbal complex, and is an exception to the general rule that the directional prefix is always the first element in the verbal complex:
(8) pʰò qa-k!a bà
NEG apart=chop take
He didn't chop it (the wood)
When nouns are incorporated into the verbal complex, however, this sometimes results in a shift of the directional prefix to before the negative:
(9a) qa-mdòt pʰò k!a bà
apart=wood NEG chop take
He didn't chop the wood
This coexists with the equivalent construction with an initial negative:
(9b) pʰò qa-mdòt k!a bà
NEG apart=wood chop take
He didn't chop the wood
Inscription Tsi uses the postposed qǃʰạ, as seen in (4).
Honorific
The three etymological classifiers mentioned previously, (o)q!ʰạ, (o)hạ and (o)hąą, are all used in modern Tsi as honorifics. Although in their etymological role as classifiers none of them referred primarily to humans, (o)q!ʰạ is used in speech to refer to significant social superiors and (o)hạ to refer to inferiors. (o)hąą, originally used for animals, is used in a very derogatory form of address. These honorifics are extremely versatile in their syntax, and one of the places they can appear is within the verbal complex:
(10) pʰò qa-mdòt k!a hąą bà jòò?
NEG apart=wood chop HNR take why?
Why didn't you chop the wood?! (from a master to a menial slave)
Although this use of classifiers was ungrammatical in the form of Tsi cultivated into Inscription Tsi, the semantic gap left by their absence - and the discomfort this inevitably caused Tsi scribes and bureaucrats - has meant that this usage has found its way into written language as well.
Serial verbs
The 'serial verb' slot is the freest and the vaguest. The name 'serial verb' is probably more of a diachronic one than a synchronically appropriate one: most serial verb constructions in Tsi as in related languages are grammaticalised to a greater or lesser degree. There are two major kinds of serial construction, locative (applicative) and adverbial.
We have already discussed the locative serial verbs elsewhere. These have an essentially applicative meaning, adding an additional locational object to verbs:
(11) rlàŋŋạ to-srob là lʰo bà ɢǃòn-tʰo
squadron up-tent raise be_around ANIM Qon=PROX
the groups of soldiers camped around Qon
Adverbial constructions typically add an additional nuance which can often be approximated by translating the serial as an adverb of manner. They rarely have entirely transparent meanings, however:
(12) ŋǃee ɢǂʰuɢǂʰu tsà Tsààd-tʰo ay!
go sweat ANIM Tsat-PROX MOD!
He's going (all that way) to Tsat!
Auxiliary verbs
I've already discussed the three main auxiliary verbs (tsa/cçę, g|í, bà) elsewhere, which are effectively aspect/animacy markers (imperfective/animate subject, imperfective/inanimate subject, perfective/inanimate object respectively). Auxiliary verbs differ from serial verbs in that the verbs that they govern (the 'main verb') can be coordinated with one another under one auxiliary. The majority of Tsi sentences will have one of these auxiliary verbs. In a main clause, only perfective verbs with animate objects can appear without an auxiliary, though as mentioned some 'affective' verbs typically take dzo:
(13) Ka-ro-'n maŋ dzo ạnnạ
man=that=1sg hit give 1sg
The man hit me!
There are a few auxiliaries which can replace these, adding additional nuance, as with k!ạ ('pat'), which is perfective, usually with inanimate objects, and expresses the ease or simplicity of doing something:
(14) g!u k!ạ mde bàq-bàq ay?!
string_up pat one terror_bird MOD!?
You caught a terror bird, just like that?
Causatives
Tsi has two causative prefixes, one 'distal' ((a)xo-) and one 'direct' ((a)mpa-). Unlike English Tsi does not distinguish between 'make' and 'let', at least not with its core causative morphology. Rather, the semantic distinction is to do with the extent of participation in the action by the causer. The 'direct' causative expresses a closer participation and is the default. Often the former can be translated with 'have X do something', although the most appropriate translation is very context-dependent. 15a might be said for example of an officer present at the scene, whilst 15b might perhaps be said of an order received from afar.
(15a) ato-srob ampa-là rlàŋŋạ hųų
up-tent CAUS-raise squadron to
he made the squadron put up their tents
(15b) ato-srob axo-là rlàŋŋạ hųų
up-tent DST-raise squadron to
he had the squadron put up their tents
Not only physical distance but also metaphorical distance plays a role, and the distal causative is often used to preserve the dignity of the ritually pure, sometimes to the extent of being added where a strictly causative reading is not necessarily accurate. (16) might be used even where the prince threw the objects out himself.
(16) ŋ|ʰu q!ʰạ axo-q!òp oq!ʰạ bà shạạq
prince HON DST-throw_out HON take stained_with_menstrual_blood
his majesty the prince threw out the bloodstained (clothes)
his majesty the prince had the clothes thrown out
The syntax of causatives is relatively straightforward. The object remains the same, but the original subject is demoted to an indirect object followed by the postposition hųų. This additional object can easily be dropped.
Directional prefix - incorporated objects - negative - nominal element - main verb - serial verb - auxiliary
Main verb
A single main verb can appear on its own grammatically. Generally speaking, this is only acceptable if the verb is perfective and has an animate object or when the verb is a bare (and somewhat impolite) imperative:
(1) là
lift_up
(he) lifted (him) up/lift (him) up!
The main verb may be a 'compound' verb with a nominal element. In inscription Tsi these are predominantly formed with the largely semantically empty light verb χad.
(2a) ŋáá ọχad
teeth do
(he) bit (him)
In spoken Tsi this is typically reduced to a suffix (-χ or -ọχ after vowels), which is very productive in forming new verbal derivations:
(2b) ŋáá-χ
teeth-VB
(he) bit (him)
The main verb may also include a compulsory (lexicalised) directional prefix, which attaches to the first element in the verbal complex (with the exception of the negative):
(3a) ato-là
up-raise
erect (the tent)!
It can also include a causative prefix ampa- (often reduced to ma- or just m- in speech):
(4a) ato-ampa-là
up-CAUS-raise
make (them) put up (their tents)
In spoken Tsat Tsi these prefixes often trigger gemination of a non-geminated initial consonant:
(3b) to-llà
up-raise
erect (the tent)!
(4b) to-mma-là
up-CAUS-raise
make (them) put up (their tents)
Morphology of the verb
The imperfective-perfective and andative-venitive morphology which plays so prominent a part in the verbal morphology of related languages only now exists in Tsi in frozen lexical pairs. Other than the directional prefixes discussed elsewhere, there is only one major inflectional affix which attaches to verbs, -x/-ç (derived from the historical irrealis inflection). This is used with all subordinating conjunctions and with the classical negative:
(5) ŋǃè ọχ qǃʰạ!
head do.SUB NEG
do not give commands!
(6a) aya-dgo-x cçę-ç içç aŋŋo
around-mix-SUB ANIM-SUB NOM in
while he was mixing it...
Whilst in inscription Tsi it appears on all verbs, the tendency in spoken Tsi is towards two constructions. The first attaches the suffix to the final element of the verbal complex and leaves the other verbs unmarked:
(6b) ya-dgo cçę-ç (içç) aŋŋo
mix-SUB ANIM-SUB (NOM) in
while he was mixing it...
The other construction disallows serial and auxiliary verbs entirely:
(6c) ya-dgo-x (içç) aŋŋo
mix-SUB (NOM) in
while he was mixing it...
Both 4b and 4c show the common tendency in spoken Tsi to reanalyse -ç/x as a contraction of the nominaliser içç and drop the nominaliser (although etymologically they are totally separate).
In inscription Tsi some verbs have irregular subordinate forms, including the omnipresent ọχad whose form is ọχ. Other verbs containing a final dental derived from the perfect also regularly lose it in subordination. As is evident from the examples above, this affix is well into the process of reanalysis as a clitic and these irregular forms are generally being levelled out. Nonetheless, some speakers still use the irregular forms in constructions like the following:
(7) ma cçę-ç ro
sit.ANIM ANIM-SUB GEN
When he sat down
Other speakers however accept mad here.
Negative
In spoken Tsi, verbs are negated with pʰò, a reduced form of the word for 'never'. This is a relatively recent addition to the verbal complex, and is an exception to the general rule that the directional prefix is always the first element in the verbal complex:
(8) pʰò qa-k!a bà
NEG apart=chop take
He didn't chop it (the wood)
When nouns are incorporated into the verbal complex, however, this sometimes results in a shift of the directional prefix to before the negative:
(9a) qa-mdòt pʰò k!a bà
apart=wood NEG chop take
He didn't chop the wood
This coexists with the equivalent construction with an initial negative:
(9b) pʰò qa-mdòt k!a bà
NEG apart=wood chop take
He didn't chop the wood
Inscription Tsi uses the postposed qǃʰạ, as seen in (4).
Honorific
The three etymological classifiers mentioned previously, (o)q!ʰạ, (o)hạ and (o)hąą, are all used in modern Tsi as honorifics. Although in their etymological role as classifiers none of them referred primarily to humans, (o)q!ʰạ is used in speech to refer to significant social superiors and (o)hạ to refer to inferiors. (o)hąą, originally used for animals, is used in a very derogatory form of address. These honorifics are extremely versatile in their syntax, and one of the places they can appear is within the verbal complex:
(10) pʰò qa-mdòt k!a hąą bà jòò?
NEG apart=wood chop HNR take why?
Why didn't you chop the wood?! (from a master to a menial slave)
Although this use of classifiers was ungrammatical in the form of Tsi cultivated into Inscription Tsi, the semantic gap left by their absence - and the discomfort this inevitably caused Tsi scribes and bureaucrats - has meant that this usage has found its way into written language as well.
Serial verbs
The 'serial verb' slot is the freest and the vaguest. The name 'serial verb' is probably more of a diachronic one than a synchronically appropriate one: most serial verb constructions in Tsi as in related languages are grammaticalised to a greater or lesser degree. There are two major kinds of serial construction, locative (applicative) and adverbial.
We have already discussed the locative serial verbs elsewhere. These have an essentially applicative meaning, adding an additional locational object to verbs:
(11) rlàŋŋạ to-srob là lʰo bà ɢǃòn-tʰo
squadron up-tent raise be_around ANIM Qon=PROX
the groups of soldiers camped around Qon
Adverbial constructions typically add an additional nuance which can often be approximated by translating the serial as an adverb of manner. They rarely have entirely transparent meanings, however:
(12) ŋǃee ɢǂʰuɢǂʰu tsà Tsààd-tʰo ay!
go sweat ANIM Tsat-PROX MOD!
He's going (all that way) to Tsat!
Auxiliary verbs
I've already discussed the three main auxiliary verbs (tsa/cçę, g|í, bà) elsewhere, which are effectively aspect/animacy markers (imperfective/animate subject, imperfective/inanimate subject, perfective/inanimate object respectively). Auxiliary verbs differ from serial verbs in that the verbs that they govern (the 'main verb') can be coordinated with one another under one auxiliary. The majority of Tsi sentences will have one of these auxiliary verbs. In a main clause, only perfective verbs with animate objects can appear without an auxiliary, though as mentioned some 'affective' verbs typically take dzo:
(13) Ka-ro-'n maŋ dzo ạnnạ
man=that=1sg hit give 1sg
The man hit me!
There are a few auxiliaries which can replace these, adding additional nuance, as with k!ạ ('pat'), which is perfective, usually with inanimate objects, and expresses the ease or simplicity of doing something:
(14) g!u k!ạ mde bàq-bàq ay?!
string_up pat one terror_bird MOD!?
You caught a terror bird, just like that?
Causatives
Tsi has two causative prefixes, one 'distal' ((a)xo-) and one 'direct' ((a)mpa-). Unlike English Tsi does not distinguish between 'make' and 'let', at least not with its core causative morphology. Rather, the semantic distinction is to do with the extent of participation in the action by the causer. The 'direct' causative expresses a closer participation and is the default. Often the former can be translated with 'have X do something', although the most appropriate translation is very context-dependent. 15a might be said for example of an officer present at the scene, whilst 15b might perhaps be said of an order received from afar.
(15a) ato-srob ampa-là rlàŋŋạ hųų
up-tent CAUS-raise squadron to
he made the squadron put up their tents
(15b) ato-srob axo-là rlàŋŋạ hųų
up-tent DST-raise squadron to
he had the squadron put up their tents
Not only physical distance but also metaphorical distance plays a role, and the distal causative is often used to preserve the dignity of the ritually pure, sometimes to the extent of being added where a strictly causative reading is not necessarily accurate. (16) might be used even where the prince threw the objects out himself.
(16) ŋ|ʰu q!ʰạ axo-q!òp oq!ʰạ bà shạạq
prince HON DST-throw_out HON take stained_with_menstrual_blood
his majesty the prince threw out the bloodstained (clothes)
his majesty the prince had the clothes thrown out
The syntax of causatives is relatively straightforward. The object remains the same, but the original subject is demoted to an indirect object followed by the postposition hųų. This additional object can easily be dropped.