Scythian Grammar
2 Verbs
The Scythian verb is quite like the Ganžas verb system, but it has expanded its range of formations, and reanalyzed forms into new meanings. There are 3 primary verb classes, each splitible into two different subtypes, although this system, based on the infinitive, is increasingly unwieldy, with a better distinction being drawn between transitive and intransitive verbs, a distinction which partly coincides with some of the old categories, but also cuts across others. There is also another split among all verbs, those which alternate between
z and
r between the Aorist and all other tenses, traceable to the common western Evropean sound change which converts a cluster of stop or fricative plus
r to the corresponding voiced sound.
The old system of dividing verbs based on their infinitive, still adhered to, is increasingly obsolete, given a few facts about the conjugations:
The I class verbs, mostly consisting of doublets as it was, has unified with one form of the verb continuing to be used widely, with the other serving as an alternate meaning of the infinitive, e.g. maran 'die' and marane 'to commit suicide, to die purposefully'. It is a seemingly random selection which spelling is standardized, as šumane 'sew' is the normal infinitive form of the verb, while šuman is uneducated at best. This distinction is entirely literary, as Scythian does not pronounce written final vowels.
The IIa class is mostly based on derivatives of kaǧê 'do, make' and naǧê 'see' such as sikaǧê 'create wonders, storywrite' and mernaǧê 'patrol'; the IIb series is mostly used in Southern, and southern importations into the standard, such as partaǧan 'to ascend, climb mountains', Southern paṭaǧan. There is no difference between the conjugations of the forms.
The III conjugation is a grab bag, mostly consisting of the irregulars aǧīn, êiê, mariê, and their derivatives.
Example verbs:
Ib | bêzan drink | maran die
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IIa | kaǧê do, make | naǧê see |
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2.1 Present
I | S | P | S | P
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1 | bêzan | bêzamaz | maran | marmaz
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2 | bêzaǧ | (bêzasta) | maraǧ | (marasta)
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3 | bêzad | bêzand | marad | marand
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II | S | P | S | P
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1 | karin | karīmaǧ | nên | nêmaǧ
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2 | kareǧ | (karesta) | naleǧ | (nalesta)
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3 | karad | karand | nalad | naland |
The present system has little changed since ancient times. The principle difference is the loss of the second person plural inflection, in favor of a construction using the pronoun
aǧê and the 3rd plural inflection; the east and southern dialects do tend to retain the separate inflection more, with some of the dialects bordering on the Central area using
aǧê plus the second person inflection.
2.2 Aorist
I | S | P | S | P
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1 | bêzan | bêzamaz | mazan | mazmaz
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2 | bêzast | (bêzasta) | mazast | (mazasta)
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3 | bêzat | bêzan | mazat | mazan
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II | S | P | S | P
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1 | karen | karemaǧ | nalen | nalemaǧ
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2 | karest | (karesta) | nalest | (nalesta)
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3 | karet | karen | nalet | nalen |
The Aorist is the least-used of the tenses, its functions being primarily taken over by the old Preterit; that being said, the language does maintain an imperfect distinction aspectwise: the verb
lôbiê (etymologically 'have') is used with the active and passive preterit participles to distinguish perfect aspect when necessary:
Aγalāz lôbiôd ôgênôzi, dên... The snow had finished falling from the mountain(s), when…
2.2 Preterit
I | S | P | S | P
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1 | babêzan | babêzama | mamran | mamrama
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2 | babêzast | (babêzasta) | mamrast | (mamrasta)
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3 | babêzôt | babêzar | mamrôt | mamrar
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II | S | P | S | P
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1 | čagô | čagamaǧ | nanlô | nanlamaǧ
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2 | čagast | (čagasta) | nanlast | (nanlasta)
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3 | čagôt | čagar | nanlôt | nanlar |
The Preterit tense, descended from the Proto-Indo-European Perfect, has undergone a levelling in the I class, adopting the endings of the Aorist; the II class has retained the older endings, as well as its own distinctive forms (a feature of its verbs being so commonly used).
2.3 Future
I | S | P | S | P
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1 | bêzanin | bêzanima | maranin | maranima
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2 | bêzanist | (bêzanista) | maranist | (maranista)
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3 | bêzanid | bêzanin | maranid | maranin
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II | S | P | S | P
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1 | kaǧên | kaǧêma | naǧên | naǧêma
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2 | kaǧêst | (kaǧêsta) | naǧêst | (naǧêsta)
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3 | kaǧêd | kaǧên | naǧêd | naǧên |
The future tense is derived from the infinitive with the addition of a truncated version of
êiê 'go'.
2.4 Class III: Irregular verbs
The Old Ganžas language had a great many irregular verbs (not to mention the previously mentioned varied infinitives), but a few stand out: these are
asyim (be),
aiyāi (go),
maryāi (carry),
kardyai (do, make), and
laubyāi (have, hold). Their conjugations are quite, odd to say the least, particularly in the case of
esyim and
maryāi. In a great many cases,
eiyāi copies
esyim, and
kardyai partially follows
maryāi, but it is best analysed as a different conjugation, given it has many verbs which follow its pattern, and indeed its pattern is generally recognised as the model for the II conjugation. It is primarily included here because in Modern Scythian, it displays features which are only to be found among the irregulars, namely the form of the 1st person plural in
–maǧ instead of the I conjugation ending
–maz, a feature of unknown origin; it is not found until the early Middle Ganžas period, when it begins to show up in popular dramas. By the Early Modern Scythian Period, it was fully established in the II and III conjugations.
2.4.1 Present
| aǧin | êiê | mariê | lôbiê
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1 | zên | in | mam | lôbīn
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2 | aǧ | êǧ | maǧ | lôbiǧ
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3 | zad | zêd* | mad | lôbid
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4 | azamaǧ | imaǧ | marmaǧ | lôbimaǧ
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5 | zmasta | êasta | masta | lôbiasta
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6 | zmand | iand | mand | lôbiar |
*this form is a contamination from its counterpart
zad.
2.4.2 Aorist
| aǧin | êiê | mariê | lôbiê
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1 | azan | en | man | lôbien
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2 | azast | est | maǧ | lôbiest
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3 | azat | et | marat | lôbiat
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4 | azazamaǧ | emaǧ | marmaǧ | lôbiemaǧ
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5 | azmasta | esta | masta | lôbiesta
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6 | azmant | en | mant | lôbier |
2.4.3 Preterit
| aǧin | êiê | mariê | lôbiê
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1 | azô | iô | mamrô | lôbô
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2 | asta | êst | mamrast | lôbest
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3 | azôt | iôt | mamrôt | lôbaut
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4 | azamaǧ | iêmaǧ | mamraǧ | lôbimaǧ
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5 | zmasta | iesta | manzda | lôbiasta
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6 | zmar | er | mamar | lôbiar |
2.4.4 Future
| aǧin | êiê | mariê | lôbiê
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1 | aǧinīn | êiên | mariên | lôbiên
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2 | aǧinêǧ | êiêǧ | mariêǧ | lôbiêǧ
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3 | aǧinêd | êiêd | mariêd | lôbiêd
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4 | aǧinimaǧ | êimaǧ | mariêmaǧ | lôbiêmaǧ
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5 | aǧinêsta | êista | mariêsta | lôbiêsta
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6 | aǧinand | êand | mariênd | lôbiênd |
2.5 Participles
The participle system is changed little from Ganžas times. The present active participle is formed by palatalizing the last consonant in the stem, and adding the
–a of declension 1. This is a direct descendant of the Ganžas form
–ias, which had a near-homophone in the demonstrative pronoun
yas which could also be suffixed to verbs (to produce a noun), with a very simple distinction between them: the verbal
–ias palatalized consonants, while the nominal raised and fronted vowels:
maǧa 'dying' versus
mera 'death'.
The past participle is a quite old form, deriving directly from Proto-Indo-European
*-t-os, through Ganžas
–tas. It survives today as the past passive suffix
-da. A newer, active passive has been formed, based off the old future active in
-us-, and, with allowances for sound changes, has the form
-uzi:
marada 'dead(pass)’ versus
marôzi 'having died'.
2.6 Infinitives
OG | MS
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Ia | -(a)nte | -ne
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Ib | -antam | -(n)an
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IIa | -dyai | -ǧê
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IIb | -dyam | -ǧan
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IIIa | -yāi | -jê <-iê>
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IIIb | -yim | -jin <-īn> |
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2.7 Verb Affixes
Old Ganžas had quite an array of verbal suffixes and prefixes. Many made changes in the inflection of the word they were appended to, such as
mar-, a general causative which changed the verbal class to IIa.
{To Be Expanded}