Cednìtıt

Cednìtıt [ ɕɛtnjʌ̀tʰəʔ ]
Period	c. 0 YP
Spoken in	Potantrommo Bay, in southeastern Tuysáfa
Total speakers	unknown
Writing system	unknown
Classification	T1 languages   Cednìtıt
Typology
Basic word order	OV/SOV
Morphology	agglutinating/polysynthetic with some fusion
Alignment	NOM-ACC
Credits
Created by	Treskro

Cednìtıt (ca-dnittobcì lit. the-dust-language) is a T1 language spoken in southeastern Tuysáfa. The exact location is located slightly west of the main focus area of Cursed Relay 2, against the southern coastline of a bay area called Potantrommo (potantrommo [pʰotʰantʰommo] lit. it-flows-into-this-place). It is a descendant of Proto-T1 and was created for the reconstruction relay. Though Cednìtıt is actually the endonym of speakers of what they call ca-dnittobcì, due to similarities between the two words it will be referred to as Cednìtıt throughout this article. Cednìtıt is related to West Yalan, East Yalan, Omari, Hkətl’ohnim, Tumetıęk and the Northeastern Bay Language.

The lexicon can be found here.

Phonology

Phoneme inventory

Consonants

Consonants in parentheses are considered allophonic.

	labial	dental	alveolar	retroflex	velar	glottal
plosive	p pʰ	(t̪ t̪ʰ)	t tʰ	ʈ ʈʰ	k kʰ	(ʔ)
nasal	m	(n̪)	n	ɳ	ŋ
fricative	ɸ	s̪~θ	ɕ	ʂ	x
liquid	ʋ		r l

• /p t̪ t ʈ k/ are written b d d dr g
• /pʰ t̪ʰ tʰ ʈʰ kʰ/ are written p t t tr k
• word final glottal stops are written as aspirated plosives
• l r are usually pronounced [ʋ], depending on the source word.
• /ɸ s̪ ɕ ʂ x/ are written f th c sr x
• /ʋ/ is written w

Vowels

The Cednìtıt vowel inventory is as follows.

	front	central	back
high	i		u
mid	e	ə	o
low		a

Additionally, there are two low tone diphthongs /jʌ̀ ʋʌ̀/.

Phonotactics

A basic syllable consists of an onset, nucleus, and coda. Of these, only the vowel is obligatory.

Onset

Valid onsets may consist of the following combinations:

• nothing
• any single consonant
• any fricative followed by any nasal
• /θ/ followed by any fricative
• any coronal plosive followed by a fricative at the same POA: /t̪θ t̪ʰθ tɕ tʰɕ ʈʂ tʰʂ/ <dth tth dc tc dsr tsr>. These function basically as a series of coronal affricates.
• any aspirated plosive followed by a nasal at a different POA.
• all of the above followed by the glide /ʋ/ <w>
• <l> is pronounced [ʋ] in onsets

Nucleus

Valid nuclei consist only of single vowels or the low tone diphthongs /jʌ̀ ʋʌ̀/. Compounding or affixing that results in two vowels adjacent to each other is resolved by:

• epenthetic [ʋ~w] is inserted after /a o u/ and spelled <w>
• epenthetic [a] is inserted after /ə, jʌ̀, ʋʌ̀/ and spelled <a>
• epenthetic [w] is inserted after /i e/ and spelled <w>

Coda

Valid codas may consist of the following combinations:

• nothing
• any single consonant
• any coronal plosive followed by fricative at same POA
• <l>, which is pronounced [l]
• the glide /ʋ/ followed by a nasal
• nasal followed by plosive at same POA
• fricative followed by /t/
• /r/ followed by a plosive

Allophony

Cednìtıt practices coronal harmony, where all coronal consonants in a "word" (including root and bound affixes, but not including clitics) conform to the point of articulation the first coronal consonant in the word. It should be noted that [t̪] and [n̪] are not phonemic and thus trigger alveolar harmony. The three coronal series are as follows:

• Dental: t̪ t̪ʰ n̪ s̪~θ <d t n th>
• Alveolar: t tʰ n ɕ <d t n c>
• Retroflex: ʈ ʈʰ ɳ ʂ <dr tr nr sr>

Because spelling is based on principles of phonemes, the word <owdrubthık> /oʋʈupθək/ is pronounced [oʋʈupʂəʔ].

• Final plosives become glottal stop [ʔ]

• /l/ is [ʋ] in all positions except word finally.
• /r/ is [ʋ] as a coda or in a coda cluster.

• Some dialects lower high vowels in positions adjacent to velar consonants.
• Initial plosives are often dropped when found in onset clusters with nasals. The nasal takes the POA of the plosive.
• unstressed vowels may be diphthongized or centralized; /i u e o ə a/ > [jɪ wʊ jə wə ɔ aj/aw] > [ɪ ʊ ə ə ɔ æ ɒ]
• word final /i e ə/ are devoiced adjacent to voiceless consonants, and eventually dropped completely.
• /ɸ/ > [f] adjacent to dental consonants

• Neutral Vowel Allophony
  • [ɨ] following front vowels and /ɕ/; [ʌ] following /ʋ/
  • Coda morphs:
    • /ə/ > [ʋ] > [w] / [a,o,u]_
    • /ə/ > [a] / [ə, jʌ̀, ʋʌ̀]_
    • /ə/ > Ø / [i, e]_
    • [n t tʰ] > [ɾ] / V_ə
    • [ŋ k kʰ] > [ŋʷ kʷ kʰʷ] / V_ə
  • [ə] elsewhere.

• Assimilation
  • Sequences of two consecutive plosives across morpheme boundaries results in deletion of plosive on bound morpheme and geminate consonant on the stem. (wit + pnim [stem] > wippnim)
  • Sequences of two consecutive fricatives across morpheme boundaries results in deletion of fricative on bound morpheme and geminate consonant on the stem. (ox [stem] + thu > oxxu)
  • Sequences of obstruent + nasal across morpheme boundaries results in deletion of obstruent and geminate nasal. (it + ne > inne)

Morphology

Nouns

Cednìtıt inflects for animacy/definiteness, and case. These affixes generally follow a simple template of <root>-DEF.A/I-CASE

Animacy and Definiteness

The following chart lists The definite article =ca has largely become an indicator of animacy. It has, in effect, fused with original animate/inanimate affixes to the point that the animacy of the noun is only specified when a specific instance of the noun is being introduced.

Animacy/Definiteness is only specified for third person arguments.

	singular	plural
Animate	-co	-ncu*
Inanimate	-ca	-nca

• -ncu often becomes -nco by analogy.

Case

Cednìtıt inflects rather simply for case, generally employing only three main affixes.

Nominative	(unmarked)	used to mark subjects of clauses.
Accusative	-(a)n (nasal assimilates to POA of final obstruent -ip > -im. The allomorph -an is used after nasals)	used to mark direct objects of transitive clauses
Oblique	-ı (after consonants and [i])/-w (after vowels)	used to mark secondary objects of ditransitive clauses. Also used in some genitive constructions.

Pronouns

Because pronominal prefixes are present as verbal affixes, pronouns are often dropped in the first and second persons, but can be useful in distinguishing between third person arguments because of their similarity.

Nominative

	singular	plural
1	dop	ithep
2	ıwp	nudep
3a	both	both
3i	poth	poth

Accusative

	singular	plural
1	tom	thim
2	ìm	num
3a	om	om
3i	om	om

Oblique

	singular	plural
1	odci	idthi
2	ıdci	udci
3a	doc	doc
3i	tco	tco

Possessive Prefixes

Possessives in Cednìtıt are indicated by modifying prefixes on the noun, indicating the possessors. Only animate nouns can act as possessors; inanimate nouns form compounds using the genitive construction.

	singular	plural
1	e	de
2	thı	di
3a	mupu	o

• Note: Nouns beginning with mu-, nu-, or ŋu lose u- when a prefix is attached. ie. nusrip ear → ensrip my ear

Compounding

Compounding is a simple method of combining multiple nominals to form a more complex meaning. The most common construction takes the form of <HEAD>-OBL/GEN-<MODIFIER>, forming a general genitive compound. The genitive marker is often elided when the second part of the compound begins with a vowel, resulting in a simple concatenation of the two nouns.

Examples:

• dteŋ hair + paxı lion → dteŋıpaxı mane
• ar star + cowo summit, peak → arıcowo North Star (?)

Verbs

Cednìtıt verbal morphology is significantly more complex than nominal morphology. Verbal complexes are formed using the following template:

-3	-2	-1	0	1	2	3
pronoun	modal	preverb	stem	adverb/aspectual marker	voice	deverbalizer
prefix						valence

Pronoun Prefixes

Cednìtıt employs several sets of pronominal prefixes. The first is used for simple subjects, indicating the person, number, and animacy of subjects of intransitive clauses. Tense marking, which is differentiated between nonpast and past tenses, is incorporated into the pronoun prefixes.

Subject Pronouns

Nonpast					Past
		singular	plural				singular	plural
1		e	de		1		tr(u)	u
2		ù	di		2		a	t(u)
3	anim.	o	o(n)		3	anim.	th(ı)	ù
	inan.	o(m)	o(n)			inan.	p(o)	ù

• Additionally, the definite article ca can also be used as a particle which marks appositives and relative clauses when it is prefixed before nominalized predicate.
  • cadnittobcìw onen edadthakıxt.
    ca=dnit-dobcì-w o-ne-n eda-dthak-ıxt
    DEF=dust-language-OBL speak-NOMINALIZER-ACC 1s>3si-have.ability-NEG
    I don't have the ability to speak Cednìtıt.

Subject>Object Pronouns

In transitive and ditransitive clauses, the roles of the subject and primary object must be specified.

Nonpast
subj\obj	1s	1p	2s	2p	3sa	3pa	3si	3pi	rflxs	rflxp
1s		ec(e)	ì	ec(i)	mo	no	ed(a)	ed(a)	ece
1p	de		dì	dc(i)	do	do	dc(ì)	dc(ì)		dege
2s	we	w(e)	ù	ìc	ùm	ùn	ùd(a)	ùd(a)	ùcı
2p	de	dc(e)	dì	dc(i)	dì	dì	dc(a)	dc(a)		digi
3sa	oh	ttho	io	tco	om	on	ot(a)	ot(a)	oco
3pa	ne	oth(e)	ù	oc(i)	mo	no	od(a)	od(a)		ogo
3si	me	oth(e)	ù	oc(i)	mo	no	ob(a)	ob(a)	onco
3pi	ne	oth(e)	ù	oc(i)	mo	no	od(a)	od(a)		ogo
Past
subj\obj	1s	1p	2s	2p	3sa	3pa	3si)	3pi	rflxs	rflxp
1s		tsr(e)	ù	tsr	tro	tro	dr(a)	dr(a)	trucu
1p	we		u	uc(i)	mu	nu	ud(a)	ud(a)		ugu
2s	e	ath(e)	ù	ac(i)	ma	na	ad(a)	ad(a)	aca
2p	te	tth(e)	tù	tc(i)	to	to	tud(a)	tud(a)		tugu
3sa	the	th(e)	thù	th(i)	tho	tho	thıd(a)	thıd(a)	thıcı
3pa	we	w(e)	ù	ìc	ùm	ùn	ùd(a)	ùd(a)		ùgı
3si	pe	pth(e)	pù	poc(i)	pom	pon	pth(a)	pth(a)	poco
3pi	we	w(e)	ù	ìc	ùm	ùn	ùd(a)	ùd(a)		ùgı

Modal Affixes

Cednìtıt employs various modal infixes/particles to provide nuances on the meaning of the verb.

Potential	-tthon-	denotes ability or potential for action to occur in the future. Often functions as a future tense marker, though it can also be combined with past tense pronoun prefixes.
Volitional	-r(u)- -w(u)-	denotes desire for a nominal, or desire for oneself or someone/thing else to perform an action
Subjunctive	-(o)sr-	denotes possible future outcome, implies possibility, but not absolute certainty. Certainty is of a lesser and more neutral degree than that which is implied by the Potential modal marker, which is skewed towards the fulfillment of the specified situation.
Imperative	-wit-	indicates command

Preverbs

Preverbs indicate various relationships between nominal arguments and specify manners in which actions are performed. Many verb stems associate heavily with specific preverbs to form lexicalized idiomatic compounds.

	Affix	Referent Case	Usage
	-o-	ACC	towards, near, antibenefactive
	-ath(ga)-	ACC	away, apart, into pieces, benefactive
	-rı(x)-	OBL	up (imperfect)
	-rıw-	ACC*	above, onto
	-gı-	OBL	down (imperfect)
	-gıw-	ACC*	below, underneath
	-t(a)n-	ACC*	into
	-gim-	ACC*	out of, through
	-em-, -en-		across, along exterior surface, around, beside (without interaction)
	-ut-	OBL	without
	-wot-	OBL	wavering, no clear direction (also refers to habitual states so overcooked that they are taken to be inalienable truths at the moment of utterance)
	-(i)wk-	OBL	inside, within, with (instrumental)

[*] With transitivizing suffix -(i)nt, if necessary.

Verbal Stems and Aspect Markers (Circumstantials)

Unlike previous affixes, which are generally true prefixes (or infixes for preverbs), circumstantials are fusional in nature and may cause minor stem changes depending on the interaction between the final sounds and circumstantial affixes. In some cases, circumstantial affixes can be used to form lexical verbal compounds. For the most part, Cednìtit uses circumstantials as aspectual markers, indicating level of completion and level of volition.

Indicative

The indicative form is used to describe general events in sequence. It consists of a pronominal marker and the bare form of the stem, though it can never be combined with prefixes marking past tense.

• wucu pull → mupunsrip edawucu I pull on his/her ear

Aspect

Cednìtit differentiates five aspects: prospective, inceptive, imperfective, progressive, and perfective. These can all be used to describe events in the present and past tenses.

Prospective is in anticipatory state which announces an intention for some action to occur.

• For consonantal stems, -e is suffixed:
  tenir make → edatenire I intend to make (something)
• For non-consonantal stems, the final vowel is fronted. < i e u > become -i, and all other vowels become -e.
  xene breathe → ùxeni you intend to breathe
  xwù kill → thexwe he intended to kill me

Inceptive refers to the point in time in which events have just begun.

• Consonantal stems: -i is suffixed:
  ıdcap lie down → ùwıdcapi they started to lie down
• Coronal stems : final coronal consonant is dropped, -dci is suffixed:
  dcıt stare at → udcıdci we started to stare at you
• Non-consonantal: final vowel is dropped, -ic is suffixed:
  wınti shine upon → tthowıntic (the sun) begins to shine down upon us

Imperfective refers to events in progress at the time of reference but not yet completed.

• Consonantal: -ı is suffixed. If final consonant is preceded by a sonorant, it undergoes lenition: plosive > fricative; nasal/sonorant+plosive > nasal/sonorant(geminate):
  cıt run → ocıcı they are running
  aŋk apologize → ìaŋŋı I'm sorry (to you)
• Non-consonantal: final vowel is dropped, -ı is suffixed, triggering lenition of the final consonant:
  noranti wash, clean → wontan donorannı we are washing the dog

Progressive describes events advancing towards a specific goal, or advancing towards the state describe by a stative verb.

• Consonantal: -a is suffixed. If final consonant is preceded by a sonorant, it undergoes lenition:
  rìwul be drunk → erìwulla I am getting (becoming) drunk
  triŋ rule over → otriŋŋa he will (soon) be ruling over us
• Non-consonantal: final vowel is dropped, -a is suffixed, triggering lenition of the final consonant:
  cuctcu be dry → ırnca ocuctca the flowers are drying out

Perfective marks actions which have been completed or have ended.

• Consonantal: -thu is suffixed, assimilating as a fricative at the same POA of the final consonant.
  exp be tanned → expfu I am completely tanned
  neck climb (a mountain) → truneckxu I finished climbing (the mountain)
• Coronal: -thu is suffixed, again, with th assimilating as a fricative at the same POA of the final consonant.
  xowt pillage → ùdaxowtcu they completely pillaged it
• Non-consonantal: -thu is suffixed:
  xwù kill → thıxwùthul she was murdered (passive)

Voice

Though lexical verb stems usually have a specific valence with assigned roles for subject and object(s), these can be modified through the use of voice markers, which are affixed to the verb complex. Valence affixes also exist; however, many distinctions are lexical in nature.

-(a)l-	stative passive voice marker. Original subject and primary object exchange roles.
-(a)wk-	dynamic passive voice marker.
-k(a)-	causative for intransitive stems. Also marker for dynamic verbs.
-ca-	causative for transitive stems.

Deverbalizer/Valence

-n(i)t-

transitivizer for intransitive verbs. Also used as a comparative suffix (see below).

(to be expanded)

Derivational Morphology

Verb > Noun

• Xne - general verbal nominalizer, the way one Xs (marginal) - -n assimilates to POA of final plosive, if applicable, and causes it to become a geminate nasal
  • thın walk > thınne walking, or thınne gait
• Xcu, Xtcu, Xdcu - abstract nominalization of X - final syllable removed if it does not end with a coronal plosive or nasal
  • tenir create, make > tencu idea, something that has been created
  • oxtı honor (someone) > oxtcu honor
• Xmı, Xemı - occupation or person associated with non-stative verb X- m assimilates to POA of final plosives or nasals and causes final plosives to become nasals. The form Xemı replaces final vowels of roots that end in < i e ı>.
  • xwù kill > xwùmı killer, murderer
  • guth dig, farm > guthmı farmer
  • fak hit, fight > faŋŋı fighter, warrior

Noun > Noun

• X(o)rt - related to X
  • triŋìme king > triŋìmort be kingly, be royal, be regal

Syntax

Basic word order is SOV. Pronouns are usually only present for emphasis or for introducing an actor in a sentence. Third person pronouns are also often used to differentiate between singular, plural, animate and inanimate third person nouns.

Noun Phrases

Noun phrases head consist of a nominal head, inflected for case, which are preceded by modifiers in the form of verbal compounds.

owancu

o-ancu

3s.A.PRS-be_white

aco

a-co-Ø

horse-DEF.ANIM.SG-NOM

the white horse

onowp

o-nowp

3p.A.PRS-be_calm

paxı

paxı-Ø

lion-NOM

calm lion(s)

In noun phrases with only a single argument and a stative verb, it is common to attach the uninflected noun directly to the front of the stem, precluding the need for pronominal prefixes on the verb. In this case, definiteness is not marked as a suffix on the noun and is no longer distinguished; instead, emphasis is placed on the entire compound, which gains the relativizer ca= (also c'=) and a nominalizing suffix (usually -ne). Relative clauses will be covered in more detail later.

c'

ca

REL

awancune

a-ancu-ne

horse.DEF.ANIM.SG-be_white.NOMINALIZER

white horse

ca

ca

REL

paxınowmme

paxı-nowp-ne

lion-be_calm-NOMINALIZER

calm lion(s)

Verbal modifiers are not limited to stative verbs.

iowathgathınna

io-athga-thın-a

3s.A.PRS>2s-away-walk-PRG

both

both

3s.a.NOM

the one (person/animal) walking away from you

Though first and second pronouns are generally not necessary, they may be included for emphasis, especially when the noun phrase is to be used as an embedded phrase within a longer sentence.

Numerals

For the most part, numbers and ordinal clauses pattern similarly to stative verbs and adjectival phrases.

Cednìtit has a base-10 counting system.

1.	ot	11.	otanatr
2.	nıt	12.	nıtanatr	20.	nanıt
3.	tha	13.	thanatr	30.	nantha
4.	gep	14.	gepanatr	40.	naŋep
5.	we	15.	wenatr	50.	nanwe
6.	dok	16.	dokanatr	60.	nanok
7.	ù	17.	ùnatr	70.	nanù
8.	fe	18.	fenatr	80.	name
9.	ola	19.	olanatr	90.	nanola
10.	anatr			100.	enetr

Numbers from 21-99 are formed by compounding the units digit with the corresponding tens digit. An epethentic <a> is inserted before the tens digit if preceded by a consonant.

21

ot-

one-

ananıt

twenty

otananıt

75

we-

five-

nanù

seventy

wenanù

Values greater than 100 are formed in a similar manner, with the multiplier for the 100s digit preceding enetr hundred.

101

ot-

one-

enetr

hundred

ot enetr

819

olanatr

nineteen

fe-

eight-

enetr

hundred

olanatr fenetr

To specify a specific quantity of a noun, the number root is inflected as a typical verb root, taking the appropriate person agreement prefix. The noun whose quantity is being specified only denotes singular or plural when a definite article is being employed. In any other case, the noun remains uninflected except for case. Note special suppletive vocabulary for definite and ordinal forms for 1 and 5.

paxı lion

	Number	Definite	Ordinal
ot one, un begin	paxı owot	paxıco owun1	ca paxunne1
nıt two	paxı onıt	paxıncu onıt	ca paxınınne
tha three	paxı otha	paxıncu otha	ca paxıthane
gep four	paxı ogep	paxıncu ogep	ca paxıgemme
we five, fak hit, strike, slap	paxı owe	paxıncu ofak2	ca paxıfaŋŋe2
dok six	paxı odok	paxıncu odok	ca paxıdoŋŋe
ù seven	paxı owù	paxıncu owù	ca paxùne
fe eight	paxı ofe	paxıncu ofe	ca paxıfene
ola nine	paxı owola	paxıncu owola	ca paxıwola
anatr ten	paxı owanatr	paxıncu owanatr	ca paxıwanannre
nanıt twenty	paxı onanıt	paxıncu onanıt	ca paxınanıt
otananıt twenty-one	paxı owotananıt	paxıncu owunananıt1	ca paxunananıt1
wenanù seventy-five	paxı owenanù	paxıncu owenanù (no suppletion)	ca paxıwenanù (no suppletion)

¹Uses the root un begin
²Uses the root fak hit, strike, slap

Basic Clauses

Intransitive Verbs: the simplest construction consists of an intransitive or stative verb and a single nominal argument.

efwuŋ

e-fwuŋ

1s.PRS-fall

I am falling.

fmolıxtncu

fmolıxt-ncu-Ø

monster-DEF.ANIM.PL-NOM

ùrìwul

ù-rìwul

3p.A.PST-be_drunk

The evil monsters were drunk.

Transitive Verbs take an additional argument, and have polypersonal agreement as per the pronominal prefixes described earlier. Third person nominal arguments take appropriate case suffixes

triŋìmeco

triŋìme-co-Ø

king-DEF.ANIM.SG-NOM

ensripan

en-srip-an

1s.POS-ear-ACC

thıddenthık

thıd-denthe-ık

3s.A.PST>3s.I-cut-INTENS

The king sliced my ear off.

Ditransitive Verbs function similarly to transitive verbs, the only difference being that an additional nominal argument is added, taking the role of indirect object (recipient) or instrumental (by means of). Verbal morphology does not receive any affixes to agree with the oblique argument; oblique case pronouns are used instead.

enìbitan

e-nuìbit-an

1s.POS-rope-ACC

doc

doc

3s.A.OBL

draŋuxedthu

dra-ŋuxedı-thu

1s.PST>3p.I-lend-PERF

I lent him my rope.

Relative Clauses

Relative clauses can be thought of as glorified versions of noun phrases. Cednìtit has three relative particles, which precedes the modifier clause. The full relative clause precedes the noun which is being modified.

• ca is a general use particle, and is found before clauses modifying abstract nominals:
  • ca dìomuìxınal dacuŋŋe the heresy you forced us to perform
• cin is found before clauses modifying animate nouns:
  • cin oxosr xa bcìm the man who can pick me up
• sru is used before clauses modifying inanimate concrete nouns:
  • sru owotak ne the cloud that is floating

Comparatives

Cednitıt circumfixes n(u)t- -n(i)t around a bare stative verb stem to form a comparative verb. It should be noted that the two individual parts of this affix fit within the general verbal template, with n(u)t- patterning with as a preverb in the -1 slot and -n(i)t in the +3 valence slot. This essentially forms a transitive verb with the two subjects being compared taking the role of subject and object, where the subject exhibits the quality in question in a greater quantity or intensity.

entthun

en-tthun-Ø

1s.POS-skin-NOM

thıntthunan

thın-tthun-an

2s.POS-skin-ACC

obantıwdint

oba-nt-ıwd-int

3s.I.PRS>3s.I-COMP-be_dark_TRANS

My skin is darker than your skin.

exnutowant

eh-nut-owa-nt

3s.A.PRS>1s-COMP-clean-TRANS

She is cleaner than I am.

Simple comparisons between two noun phrases are not necessarily limited to stative verbs. When other intransitive verbs and transitive verbs are used in comparative constructions, the meaning "more often" or "more" is implied.

othentotint

othe-nt-ot-int

3p.A>1p-COMP-sleep-TRANS

They sleep more than we do.

The original object of a transitive verb is moved to the oblique case, while the original subject of the verb becomes the object of comparison. The noun taking the nominative case is the one that performs the activity in question more often than the original subject.

enunan

en-un-an

1s.POS-brother-ACC

tcotcancaw

tcotca-nca-w

berry-DEF.I.PL-OBL

mantdruxent

ma-nt-druxe-nt

2s.PST>3s.A-COMP-remove-TRANS

You used to pick berries more often than my brother.

Stative Verbs & Adjectivals

The status of adjectivals in Cednìtit is debatable. In many situations, adjectivals function simply as stative verbs, following verbal morphology and using the same derivational affixes. However, there are also situations in which the same roots function independent of the verb template and directly modify nouns or other verbs. Most notably, these situations include but are not limited to comparative constructions and noun modifiers.

Interrogatives

Yes-No Questions

Simple yes-no questions have two forms, depending on whether the expected answer is affirmative or negative. The affirmative form uses the interrogative verb ca after a nominalized verb complex. ca is almost exclusively found in the forms oca or poca (past), which simply prefixes the third person singular inanimate prefix to the verb, which denotes the nominalized verb as subject.

• Q

acıdci

a-cıt-i

2s.PST-run-INCEP

poca

po-ca

3si.PST-INT.AFF

Did you start to run?

• A

trucıdci

tru-cıt-dci

1s.PST-run-INCEP

(Yes,) I started to run

The negative equivalent to ca is owk, a transitive verb with a literal meaning to be without. Usage of owk is similar to that of ca, but requires polypersonal agreement. The nominal subject is the same as the subject of the nominalized verb, while the action itself takes the accusative (3si). Because the expected answer is negative, the question is often associated with conveying a sarcastic or exasperated tone.

• Q

okmart

o-kmart

3sa.NPST-eat

otowk

ota-owk

3sa.NPST>3si-INT.NEG

Does he not eat?

• A

okmartıxt

o-kmart-ıxt

3sa.NPST-eat-NEG

(No,) he doesn't eat.

For both ca and owk, answers do not necessarily need to repeat the nominalized verb; instead, the interrogative verb can be repeated to answer yes or no. Therefore, in the previous examples, poca (it occurred), and otowk he is without it [the act of eating] are also valid responses.

Content Questions

Questions which expect a more specific response use a series of interrogative particles to denote the type of content expected as a reponse. The most basic of these is the "what" series: tca, tcin, and tsru pattern with the relative clause particles ca (clauses and abstractions), cin (animates), and sru (inanimates). Following the placement of the interrogative verbs in the previous section, the "what" series directly follow the noun phrase or nominalized verb that is being modified. In all three cases, these particles are treated as verbs which take a dummy third person subject that can be either animate or inanimate, singular or plural, depending on the situation.

bcìm

bcìm-Ø

person-NOM

otcin

o-tcin

3a.NPST-Q.A

Who is (that) person? (Which person is that?)

kùdthec

kùdthec-Ø

drink-NOM

otsru

o-tsru

3.NPST-Q.I

What is that drink? (What are those drinks?)

ùdasrıne

ùda-drı-ı-ne

2s.NPST>3si-do-IMPF-VN

otca

o-tca

3si.NPST-Q

What are you doing?

The following is a non-exhaustive list of all interrogative verbs which function similarly to the ones shown above.

[] (animate) [] (inanimate)	whose (possessive)
tca (generic, clausal) tcin (animate) tsru (inanimate)	who, what, which
tin	which one (ordinal) [in]
tcam	when [camunne]
tekwıt	what day [kwıt]
tecbi	where [cbi]
teca	why, whither (expects a goal as response) [eca]
tra	how [ra]
dcıcu	how many, how much (coll) [dıcu]

Sample Text

Paxıco

paxı-co-Ø

lion-DEF.A.SG-NOM

ca fmùwuncumbanen

ca fmùwu-ncu-muba-ne-n

REL large_animal-DEF.A.PL-be.all-VN-ACC

onctriŋ

on-c-triŋ

3sa.NPST>3pa-beyond-rule

The lion rules all the beasts

c'odrubthık,

ca o-drubth-ık

REL 3sa.NPST-strong-INTENS

ca mupundcù

ca mupu-nudcù

REL 3sa.POS-chest

obùl,

o-bùl

3si.NPST-thick

ca trì

ca trì

REL waist

okı,

o-kı

3si.NPST-slim

because he is very strong, thick of chest, slim of waist

ca ocınne

ca o-cın-ne-Ø

REL 3sa-run-VN-Ø

otthonethen

o-tthon-ethen

3si.NPST-POT-fast

eca

eca

because

and runs fast.

Ùda

ùda

3s.NPST>3si

paxıco

paxı-co

lion-DEF.A.SG

ofdcomont.

o-fdco-mont

3sa.NPST-young-EVID

Well, there is this young lion.

sru

sru

REL

srowinnew

sro-in-ne-w

day-each-VN-OBL

tmennin

tmen-nin

be.morning-each

petcan

pet-ca-n

forest-DEF.SG.I-ACC

ottanthındci

ot-tan-thın-dci

3s.A.NPST>3si.I-into-walk-INCEP

He always goes out into the forest in the morning

cin

cin

REL

fmùwınnencuw

fmùwu-ıt-ne-ncu-w

large_animal-be.another-VN-DEF.P.A-OBL

ocodrubthkipric

oco-drubth-kiprı-ic

3s.A.RFX.NPST-strength-compare-INCEP

and compares himself to those who are the other beasts with regards to strength.

Sru

sru

REL

srowinnew

sro-in-ne-w

day-each-VN-OBL

cin

cin

REL

pithmocon

pithmo-co-n

victor-DEF.SG.A-ACC

thowotıtuthu

tho-wot-ıt-uthu

3sa.NPST>3sa-PVB-become-PERF

thıcoc.

thı-coc

3sa.PST-return

And every day he would return the victor.

Thıpithtuthu

thı-pitht-uthu

3sa.PST-win-PERF

thıcocucu

thı-coc-uthu

3sa.PST-return-PERF

sroncaw,

sro-nca-w

day-DEF.P.I-OBL

mupuwmım

mupu-ımım-Ø

3s.A.POS-mother-NOM

thomadci

tho-mat-ci

3sa.PST>3sa-praise-INCEP

Every day that he would return victorious, his mother would praise him:

Exwım!

e-ıxwım

1s.POS-child

Thafk

thı-afk-Ø

2s.POS-neck-NOM

obùl!

o-bùl

3si.NPST-thick

Thıtrì

thı-trì-Ø

2s.POS-waist-NOM

okı!

o-kı

3si.NPST-slim

Thındcù

thı-nudcù-Ø

2s.POS-chest-NOM

ofinde!

o-finde

3si.NPST-large

"Gaddrubthan"

Gaddrubth-an

strongman-ACC

ìcowgı!

ì-cowgı

1s.NPST>2s-name

"Son of mine! Thick of neck! Slim of waist! Large of chest! I name you "He-man"!

Ùda

ùda

2s.NPST>3si

srowocı,

sro-ot-ı

morning-one-IMPF

cin

cin

REL

paxıdconeco

paxı-dco-ne-co-Ø

lion-young-VN-DEF.S.A-NOM

nuftan

nuft-an

muscle-ACC

thıdawotsrı,

thıda-wot-tri-ı

3sa.PST>3pi-HAB-stretch-IMPF

But one day, the young lion was stretching as usual,

thomacı:

tho-wot-mat-ı

3sa.PST>3sa-HAB-praise-IMPF

"Thındcù

thı-nudcù-Ø

2s.POS-chest-NOM

ofinde!

o-finde

3si.NPST-large

Thafk

thı-afk-Ø

2s.POS-neck-NOM

obùl!

o-bùl

3si.NPST-thick

Bthacıpaxı

bthacı-paxı-Ø

arm.OBL-lion-NOM

ùwadth!

ù-adth

3pi.NPST-powerful

Thıtrì!"

thı-trì-Ø

2s.POS-waist

okı

o-kı

3si.NPST-slim

and she praised him as usual, "Thick of chest! Thick of neck! Lion-armed! Slim of waist!"

Thomatuthu

tho-mat-uthu

3sa.PST>3sa-praise-PERF

thıwo:

thı-o

3sa.PST-say

"Fmùwathŋŋencon

fmùwu-athŋŋe-nco-n

large_animal-others-DEF.P.A-ACC

ùnutdrubthint

ùn-nt-drubth-int

2s.NPST>3pa-COMP-strong-TRANS

ekoŋ."

e-koŋ

1s.NPST>blindly_follow

She finished praising him and said, "I truly believe that you are the strongest of all the beasts.

Sru

sru

REL

srowinnew

sro-in-ne-w

day-each-VN-OBL

petcan

pet-ca-n

forest-DEF.SG.I-ACC

ottanthın

ot-tan-thın

3s.A.NPST>3s.I-into-walk

ococ

o-coc

3s.A.NPST-return

Every day you go out into the forest and return,

ca

ca

REL

fmùwuncun

fmùwu-ncu-n

large_animal-DEF.A.PL-ACC

ùnctriŋŋe

ùn-c-triŋ-ne

2s.NPST>3pa-beyond-rule-VN

ateneku

atene-ku

truth-that

wewoŋ

we-oŋ

2s.NPST>1s-show

and show me that you are truly king of the beasts.

Ogù,

o-gù

3s.I.NPST-contrary

ca

ca

REL

petcan

pet-ca-n

forest-DEF.S.I-ACC

ùdatthon

ùda-tthon

tanthın

tan-thın

into-go_out

sroca

sro-ca-Ø

day-DEF.S.I-NOM

otthon

o-tthon

3s.I-POT

comfa.

com-a

occur.PROG

But, a day will come when you go out into the forest,

idca

idca

there

cin

cin

REL

otthon

o-tthon

3s.A-POT

wotthınıxt

wot-thın-ıxt

waver-walk-NEG

xi

xi

nor

muputrìxa

mupu-trìxa-Ø

3s.POS-head-NOM

srùw

srù-w

shoulders-OBL

ogıwfdutal

o-gıw-fdut-al

3s.I.NPST>3s-below-carry-PASS

ocoŋ

o-coŋ

3s.A.NPST-small

mìwin

mìwi-n

creature-ACC

ùmosr

um-osr

2s.NPST>3s-SUBJ

ınoxxu.

ınox-thu

meet-PERF

and there you will meet a small creature which walks straight and carries his head above his shoulders.

Wewıppnım,

we-wıt-pnım

2s.NPST>1s-IMP hear

exwım!

e-ıxwım

1s.POS-child

Thındcù

thı-nudcù-Ø

2s.POS-chest-NOM

ofinde!

o-finde

3si.NPST-large

Thafk

thı-afk-Ø

2s.POS-neck-NOM

obùl!

o-bùl

3si.NPST-thick

Thıtrì

thı-trì-Ø

2s.POS-waist

okı!

o-kı

3si.NPST-slim

Listen, Son of mine! Thick of chest! Thick of neck! Slim of waist!,

cin

cin

REL

idrnokucoŋan

idrno-ku-coŋ-an

thing-that-be.small-ACC

ùmtthonınox

ùm-tthon-ınox

2s.NPST>3sa-POT-meet

sro

sro

day

the day you meet that little thing,

srokun

sro-ku-n

day-that-ACC

dricco

dric-co-Ø

sun-DEF.ANIM-NOM

otagimfwuŋŋit,

ota-gim-fwuŋ-nit

3sa.NPST>3si-out.of-fall-TRANS

ùcocowk.

ù-coc-owk

2s.NPST-return-without

on that day the sun will set while you have not returned.

ocoŋ

o-coŋ

3sa.NPST-be.small

idrnoku

idrno-ku

thing-that

"bcìm"

bcìm-Ø

person-NOM

ocowgıl.

o-cowgı-al

3sa.NPST-name-PASS

The name of that little thing is called 'man'.

Source of the sample text: Roy S. Hagman, Nama Hottentot grammar, Bloomington/Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1977.