Rrób Tè Jĕhnò

To Be Continued... CatDoom is still working on this article. The contents are incomplete and likely to undergo changes.

Rrób Tè Jĕhnò [rǒp̚ tʰêː tɕən̥ôː]
Period	c. 1 YP
Spoken in	Tuysáfa Northwest Coast
Total speakers	unknown
Writing system	none
Classification	Ronquian  Rrób Tè Jĕhnò
Typology
Basic word order	SV/VOS (see below)
Morphology	agglutinate/polysynthetic
Alignment	NOM-ACC
Credits
Created by	CatDoom

Rrób Tè Jĕhnò ("Tongue of the People of Jĕhnò") is a Ronquian language spoken along the wooded coastline north of the Wendoth-speaking regions of western Tuysáfa. Its speakers are farmers and fishers inhabiting a collection of chalcolithic statelets consisting of small, shifting villages oriented around a permanent ritual and political center. They are particularly notable for having developed an elaborate system of astrology facilitated by earthworks and standing stones marking astronomical alignments.

Phonology

Rrób Tè Jĕhnò has a large phonemic inventory consisting of 62 consonants and 8 vowel qualities, including a number of typologically unusual segments. The language exhibits only slight dialectical variation across its range, suggesting a relatively late expansion from a smaller speech community.

Consonants

	Labial	Dental	Alveolo-Palatal	Retroflex	Velar	Uvular	Glottal
Aspirated stop	p /pʰ/	t /t̪ʰ/		tr /ʈʰ/	k /kʰ/	kh /qʰ/
Ejective stop	p' /p'/	t' /t̪'/		tr' /ʈ'/	k' /k'/	kh' /q'/
Lenis stop	b /p/	d /t̪/		dr /ʈ/	g /k/	gh /q/
Aspirated affricate		c /t̪s̪ʰ/	q /tɕʰ/	cr /ʈʂʰ/
Ejective affricate		c' /t̪s̪'/	q' /tɕ'/	cr' /ʈʂ'/
Lenis affricate		z /t̪s̪/	j /tɕ/	zr /ʈʂ/
Voiceless nasal	hm /m̥/	hn /n̥/	hny /ɲ̊/	hnr /ɳ̊/	hng /ŋ̊/
Voiced nasal	m /m/	n /n/	ny /ɲ/	nr /ɳ/	ng /ŋ/
Aspirated fricative	hf /fʰ/	hs /s̪ʰ/	hx /ɕʰ/	hsr /ʂʰ/	hv /xʰ/*
Lenis fricative	f /f/	s /s̪/	x /ɕ/	sr /ʂ/	v /x/		h /h/
Voiceless approximant	hw /ʍ/		hy /j̊/
Voiced approximant	w /w/		y /j/	r /ɻ/
Voiceless trill		hr /r̥/
Voiceled trill		rr /r/				gr /ʀ/
Aspirated lateral fricative		hl /ɬ̪ʰ/	hly /ɬʲʰ/	hlr /ꞎʰ/
Lenis lateral fricative		dl /ɬ̪/	dly /ɬʲ/	dlr /ꞎ/
Lateral approximant		l /l̪/	ly /ʎ/	lr /ɭ/

• /xʰ/ is an extremely marginal phoneme, and many speakers do not distinguish it from /x/

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	ĭ i /i iː/		ŭ u /u uː/
Close-Mid	ĕ e /e eː/		ŏ o /o oː/
Mid		ĕ /ə/
Open-Mid	ăĭ ai /ɛ ɛː/		ăŭ au /ɔ ɔː/
Open		ă a /a aː/

Short vowels are only marked in open tonic syllables, as vowel length is not distinctive in other positions. The reduced vowel /ə/ is represented with the same character as the short vowel /e/, but as /ə/ never appears in tonic syllables the ambiguity is minimal.

Phonotactics

Full syllables in Rrób Tè Jĕhnò have the canonical form CVS, where S may be any of /p t k q/. Vowel length is distinguished only in open, tonic syllables. Onset clusters consisting of a labial obstruent followed by /ɻ/ or /l/ are permissible.

Reduced syllables have the form Cə, and have the same range of onset consonants as full syllables.

Pitch Accent

Content morphemes in Rrób Tè Jĕhnò each have a single stressed or “tonic” syllable, which is marked with either a high or low tone. Unless preceded by a syllable bearing the same tone, these tones are usually realized as rising or falling pitch contours, respectively. This phonologically distinguishes them from ‘atonic’ particles and bound morphemes, which are realized with a non-distinctive level pitch.

In polysyllabic words the accent most commonly falls on the final syllable, but there are no strict constraints on the position of the tonic syllable. When a non-final syllable is accented, however, it is invariably an open syllable with a long vowel. Within the boundaries of a morpheme, pre-tonic syllables are invariably reduced, while morpheme-final syllables and monosyllabic bound morphemes are never reduced.

High tone accent is marked on long vowels with an acute (as in á), and low tone with a grave (à). Short vowels are marked with a breve (as on the vowel chart above) in high-tone syllables, and with a circumflex (â) in low-tone syllables.

Allophony and Phonetic Detail

• Lenis obstruents are usually voiced between sonorants. This applies to coda stops when the following word begins with a vowel. Initial lenis obstruents may be weakly voiced as well, particularly when the preceding word ends in a vowel.
• Ejective consonants are relatively weakly articulated, and in some cases may be easily mistaken for tenuis stops. They are generally distinguished as having a voice-onset times intermediate between those of the corresponding aspirated and lenis consonants.
• Coda stops are unreleased when they precede a word beginning in a consonant.
• In rapid speech the alveolar trills tend to be pronounced as flaps [ɾ, ɾ̥] intervocalically, while /ʀ/ typically becomes [ɣ ~ ʁ] in all positions.
• Some speakers tend to elide word-initial reduced vowels in words with more than two syllables, particularly in rapid speech. In this case, plain obstruents following the elided vowel may retain their voicing, creating a marginal phonemic contrast between lenis and voiced obstruents.

Types of Words

Verbs

Rrób Tè Jĕhnò makes a basic distinction between transitive and intransitive verbs; a transitive verb may not be used in an intransitive construction without explicit derivational modification, and vice versa. The main exception to this are passive voice constructions, described below. Each verb root also has an attributive form, which never takes further inflection. Attributive verbs serve a role similar to English adjectives and adverbs, modifying the meaning of another element of the clause.

The Verb Template

Verbs in Rrób Tè Jĕhnò inflect for tense, aspect, and mood primarily through the use of prefixes and suffixes, which conform to the following basic template:

-6	-5	-4	-3	-2	-1	0	1	2
clitic	tense	mood	aspect	causation	(frequency)	stem	(frequency)	aspect
pronoun			prefix					suffix

Of these elements, only the stem is required in all verb phrases, although transitive verbs must also take a clitic pronoun.

Clitic Pronouns

Rrób Tè Jĕhnò personal pronouns each have two forms: a phonologically independent form (described below) and a criticized form that attaches to the verb. Clitic pronouns can and frequently do act as the sole argument of an intransitive verb, and generally must be used with transitive verbs, agreeing in animacy and person with the subject noun (if any). See, however, exceptional case marking below.

Rrób Tè Jĕhnò has twelve personal pronouns for animate referents, marking four numbers (singular, dual, trial, and plural) in the first, second, and third persons. In contrast, it has only two pronouns for inanimate referents: the third person collective (or "transnumeral") and third person singularity. The contexts in which these pronouns are used is described later in this document; the cliticized forms of each are described in the following table. The first form of each clitic is used before consonants, while the second is used before vowels.

animate						inanimate
	singular	dual	trial	plural			collective	singulative
1	nya-/ny-	na-/nad-	hnya-/hny-	hai-/hay-		1
2	mo-/m-	me-/med-	hmo-/hm-	wo-/worr-		2
3	ji-/j-	gu-/gud-	hna-/hn-	qi-/q-		3	do-/d-	ĕdo-/ĕd-

Tense

Rrób Tè Jĕhnò uses five prefixes to mark tense. These are most commonly used in conjunction with mood and/or aspect markers, in order to specify that an action takes place or a state comes into being at a time other than, or more specific than, the general time frames assumed by those grammatical categories.

Past	-hye- -hyerr-	used as a general past tense marker, particularly for verbs taking place in the relatively distant past.
Recent Past	-hĕhye- -hĕhyerr-	optionally used to denote recent events and states.
Present	-hĕcri- -hĕcr-	denotes events currently taking place or present states of being, and most commonly used to emphasize the immediacy or urgency of a statement.
Near Future	-tĕt’a- -tĕt’-	similar to the recent past, the near future is optionally used to emphasize that an event or state will occur soon.
Future	-t’a- -t’-	used as a general future marker, particularly for verbs taking place in the relatively distant future.

Mood

Rrób Tè-Jĕhnò regularly makes use of six modal prefixes, each of which corresponds phonetically and semantically to an independent verb. With transitive verbs, these prefixes always refer to the needs, desires, and abilities of the subject; in order to form other types of modal constructions the corresponding independent verbs are used (see below). In the absence of a tense prefix or other explicit temporal reference, modal prefixes imply that the event or state described by the verb has not yet begun.

Commissive	-re- -rel-	corresponding to ré, "intend," the commissive mood expresses that the subject expects or intends to perform the described action or enter the described state.
Imperative	-dlo- -dl-	corresponding to dlŏ, "get," the imperative mood expresses that the subject needs or is required to perform the described action or enter the described state.
Optative	-nye- -nyeg-	corresponding to nyèg, "wish," the optative mood expresses that the subject hopes to perform the described action or enter the described state.
Potential	-dra- -dr-	corresponding to dră, "be able," the potential mood expresses that the subject has the ability or potential to perform the described action or enter the described state.
Precative	-ga- -g-	corresponding to gă, "request," the precative mood expresses that the subject is requesting to perform the described action or enter the described state. When the subject is a first person pronoun, the precative mood is used to ask for permission.
Volitional	-a- -arr-	corresponding to á, "want," the volitional mood expresses that the subject wants to perform the described action or enter the described state.

The distinction between the commissive, optative, and volitional moods is relatively subtle, but generally fairly straightforward. The commissive mood expresses, like the potential mood, that the subject has the ability to bring about the event or state described by the verb, and furthermore that he or she intends to do so. It does not, however, imply any particular opinion regarding the verb, positive or negative. The optative mood expresses that the subject would be pleased if the event or state came to pass, but implies that he or she does not have the ability to bring them about. The volitional mood implies both that the subject would be pleased if the even or state came to pass, and that he or she has the ability to bring them about, or at least to make them more likely. In other words, the optative mood denotes a passive desire, while the volitional mood denotes something that the subject is striving toward.

Aspect Prefix

Five aspect-marking prefixes may fill this "slot” in the verbal template. Note that terms like “past” and “present” are here used to refer to times relative to the ‘main’ time frame of the action. In the absence of an explicit temporal reference, this is the present, or the indefinite future if a modal prefix is used as well.

Progressive	-sro- -sr-	expresses that the action or state described by the verb began in the past and is presently continuing.
Extended Progressive	-hngau- -hngaw-	expresses that the action or state is presently continuing and has been for a long time. May be used to express boredom, frustration, or irritation with a present activity or state of affairs.
Inceptive	-do- -dow-	express that an action or event is presently beginning. This prefix is never used with stative verbs.
Stative Inceptive	-lo- -l-	expresses that a state or condition is presently beginning, often serving a role similar to the English word "become." This prefix is never used with active verbs.
Experiential	-t'u- -t'ug--	expresses that the subject has experienced the described state or event or performed the described action before. The experiential aspect is most often used to assert that the subject of the clause has knowledge or skill in a particular area.

Causation

The causative prefix rri-/rril- expresses that the subject of the clause is causing the direct object to perform the action or enter the state described by the verb.

Frequency

Positions -1 and 1 in the verb template are not differentiated by the types of morphemes they may contain; rather, the position of frequency-marking morphemes in the inflected verb depends on the semantics of the verb stem. With transitive verbs, frequency marking comes before the verb stem, while it comes after the stem in intransitive verbs.

Indefinite frequencies are marked using the morphemes dĕnre “often,” dĕdre “sometimes,” dĕnru “rarely, seldom," dĕre “never,” and dĕnra “always.” When used as suffixes following a coda stop, the coda deletes and the initial d is fortified to t.

Morphemes for marking definite frequencies are formed from numerals by subjecting the onset consonant to lenition (as in forming the construct state of nouns; see below), shifting it to the retroflex place of articulation if it is a dental, palatal, or velar consonant, and attaching the prefix dĕ-. So the morpheme for “once” would be dĕbig (reduced to dĕbi- as a prefix before consonants), “twice” would be dĕtru (which shifts to the irregular form dĕtroy- before vowels), “three times” would be dĕdrugh/dĕdru-, and so forth. Irregular forms are listed in the lexicon.

The Interrogative Mood

The interrogative mood is marked using the infix ‹ĕhr›, which follows the onset consonant of the first syllable of the stem. With stems beginning in a vowel the prefix hr- is used, coming after any other prefixes applied the verb. The interrogative mood is used in forming polar ("yes or no") questions.

• mohyehá "you (sg.) prayed" → mohyehĕhrá "did you (sg.) pray?"

• jirelág "he/she intends to come" → jirehrág "does he/she intend to come?"

The Iterative Aspect

The iterative aspect is formed by reduplicating the verb stem, effectively compounding it with itself (see "compounding," below). The accent, in this case, falls on the first instance of the syllable that would be accented in the unmodified stem if the verb is transitive, and the second if it is intransitive. This is used to express that the subject performs an action regularly or has performed it many times in the past.

• mecég "you two wander" → mecezĕcég "you two are always wandering around"

• jihyegrág jĭ "he/she hurt himself/herself" → jihyegrádrag jĭ "he/she hurt himself/herself regularly"

Aspect Suffix

Four aspect-marking suffixes related to the ending of an action or state may occupy this “slot” in the verbal template. The use of one of these suffixes implies that the verb took place in the indefinite past, unless a modal prefix or an explicit temporal reference is used as well.

Cessative	-hwe	expresses that an action or state has come to an end. With telic verbs, it expresses that the activity described was not completed and may, depending on the context, carry the implication of failure. Following a coda stop, the suffix reduced to -e and the coda becomes aspirated. A preceding d becomes tr, while a preceding g becomes p.
Completive (Telic)	-xegh	used with telic verbs (active verbs that imply a natural end point) not related to movement to express that the action described has been completed, placing emphasis on the present consequences of its completion. When following a final stop, the stop deletes and the suffix becomes -hxegh.
Completive (Atelic)	-gra	semantically similar to the telic completive suffix, but used with verbs of motion and all atelic verbs. A preceding gh deletes, while gr shifts to r following b and fuses with stem-final d and g, resulting in zr and dr, respectively.
Perfective	-ma	used to describe a state or action as a simple whole without placing any particular emphasis on its ending or completion. Following a coda stop, the stop deletes and the suffix becomes -hma.

Attributive Verbs

Attributive verbs are regularly formed by fortifying the onset of an otherwise unmodified verb root:

Initial plain stops, affricates, and fricatives (except /h/) become aspirated:

• ĕrà dá "a vixen is cunning" → ĕrà tá "a cunning vixen"

Initial voiced nasals become voiceless:

• cè ngàì "a person is different" → cè hngàì "a different person"

Initial aspirated and ejective stops and affricates take the prefix Sə-, where S represents a plain stop or affricate homorganic with the onset (/t̪ə-/ is used before both dental and retroflex stops):

• rrĕcàì p’ĕzríg "a promise is secret" → rrĕcàì bĕp’ĕzríg "a secret promise"

Initial /h/ is replaced with /kʰ/:

• grég há "a woman prays" → grég ká "a praying woman"

Initial voiced liquids (including /r/ and any lateral approximant or voiced trill) other than /ʎ/ are replaced with /ʈ/:

• rrĕrĕdráú rró "a puppy is content" → rrĕrĕdráú dró "a content puppy"

Initial /w/ is replaced with /p/, and initial /j/ and /ʎ/ with /tɕ/:

• tréd wób "a male dog is lazy" → tréd bób "a lazy male dog"
• rréb yágh "a boy is happy" → rréb jágh "a happy boy"

Initial /r̥/ becomes /ʈʰ/:

• kà hràì "a snake is fast" → kà tràì "a fast snake"

Aspirated fricatives and voiceless nasals and approximants usually remain unchanged:

• rrĕkĕtr’íg hmà "a jewel is precious" or "a precious jewel" (depending on context)

The prefix /tɕ-/ is used with verb roots beginning in /i/ or /e/:

• dré íb "a bird is foolish" → dré jíb "a foolish bird"

The prefix /k-/ is used before any other vowel:

• féd ĕrà "a warrior is naked" → féd gĕrà "a naked warrior"

A number of verbs have irregular attributive forms, which are listed in the lexicon.

As in the examples given above, attributive verbs primarily function as deverbal adjectives, and usually follow the nouns they modify. With intransitive verbs, the semantics of the attributive form are relatively straightforward, describing the attributes or behavior of the modified noun. With transitive verbs, the attributive verb is generally interpreted as passive and perfective.

ré

vase

gĕku

ATTR/break

a broken vase

When used to modify the head noun in a genitive construction, the attributive precedes the noun instead of following it.

nâ

CNSTR/mother

bĕnà

children(COLL.)

hngù

ATTR/be.kind

the mother of the kind children

hngù

ATTR/be.kind

nâ

CNSTR/mother

bĕnà

children(COLL.)

the kind mother of the children

In any case, a relative clause may always be used in place of an attributive (see "relative clauses" below).

ĕdróg

hunter

hmo

REL.AN

lŭ

be.silent

a hunter who is silent

nâ

CNSTR/mother

bĕnà

children(COLL.)

hmo

REL.AN

jingù

3S.AN-be.kind

the mother of the children, who is kind

This method is considered more cumbersome and attributive verbs are generally preferred in everyday speech. However, relative clauses are often used for clarity in potentially ambiguous contexts, since the process of forming attributives can result in the phonetic merger of phonologically similar verbs.

Adverbs

Rrób Tè Jĕnhò has a small class of adverbs, which includes markers of degree and spatial deixis.

Jijàìma

3S.AN-go.from.1-PFV

bĕp’ég.

maybe

Maybe he left.

Nyagasrŏ

1S-PREC-stand

dríd?

here

May I stand here?

Attributive verbs may also act as adverbs, specifying the manner in which an action takes place.

Zrà

Zrà

mèg

turn

hsrúg.

ATTR/be.slow

Zrà turns around slowly.

Jikhúb

3S.AN-eat

tràì

ATTR/be.fast

fi

DEF.IN

tr’éd

meat

gi

DEF.AN

hnră.

tiger

The tiger eats the meat quickly.

Nouns

The most fundamental distinction in Rrób Tè Jĕhnò nouns is based on animacy, which has a great deal of influence on how a verb behaves grammatically. Each noun also has two distinct forms or "states": the absolute and the construct.

Animacy

Rrób Tè Jĕhnò makes a simple binary distinction between animate and inanimate noun referents. Nouns describing people, animals, and spiritual beings, including terms referring to groups of animals or people collectively, are classified as animate. The animate class also encompasses nouns describing body parts, phenomena related to the weather and the ocean, and regularly occurring periods of time such as day and night and the seasons of the year. Most other things, including man-made and naturally occurring objects and substances, abstract concepts, and collective terms for human occupations and activities, are classed as inanimate.

Nouns themselves are not overtly marked for animacy, but pronouns, articles, and relativizers have different forms which agree with the animacy of their referents, and nouns of each class are marked differently as the agents of passive verbs. Grammatical number is also handled differently depending on the class of noun being counted, with animate nouns being marked for four numbers and inanimate nouns for two. Furthermore, number marking in inanimate nouns is always optional, while animate pronouns are always explicitly marked for number.

State

Each noun stem has two forms, referred to as the “absolute” and “construct” states. The absolute state is considered to be the less-marked form of the verb, and is used for most nouns that aren't involved in genitive constructions, as well as verbs acting as the dependent element (the "possessor") in such a construction.

The construct state is used to mark the head nouns in genitive constructions, as well as in the formation of nominalizers and locative constructions. Genitive relationships are formed by placing the head noun (the "possessed" noun) in the construct state and following it immediately with its dependent.

The construct state is formed through consonant mutation, usually by lenition of the onset consonant. The regular outcomes of this process are as follows:

Aspirated stops and affricates lenite to the corresponding “plain” consonant:

• qí ‘face’ →‎ jí dă "mother’s face"

Plain stops and affricates lenite to plain (central) fricatives at the same place of articulation, with the exception of /ts/, which lenits to /ɕ/, and /q/, which lenits to /h/:

• bĕ "beer" → fĕ mò "your beer"

Plain fricatives lenite to approximants or trills, with both /s/ and /ɕ/ becoming /r/, /x/ becoming /j/, and /h/ becoming /ʀ/:

• féd "warrior" → wéd sĕwĕgrég "warrior of the queendom"

Voiceless nasals become voiced:

• hnyèg "foot" → nyèg zéd "rabbit's foot"

Voiceless approximants and trills become voiced and prefixed with the reduced vowel /ə/:

• hwó "bow" → ĕwó bă "father's bow"

Ejectives generally lenite to plain stops and affricates in high-tone and atonic syllables and to voiced nasals in low tone syllables, with both /ts’/ and /tɕ’/ becoming /ɲ/:

• p’ŏ "descendant" → bŏ Ká "descendant of the Goddess"
• c’è "claw" → nyè ghĕnà "bear’s claw"

Nouns beginning with a voiced approximant or nasal generally remain unchanged:

• rrúd "mouth" → rrúd p’àù "lion’s mouth"

Although these alternations are the most common, there are a large number of nouns with irregular forms in the construct state. Among the more common irregular alternations are plain stops that alternate with voiced nasals, aspirated stops that alternate with aspirated fricatives, and “fortis” consonants that remain unchanged in the construct state. Aspirated fricatives behave particularly irregularly during construct state formation, with no one pattern of alternation being exceptionally common.

It is worth noting that possessives are generally used significantly less often in Rrób Tè-Jĕhnò than in English, often being left to context. For instance, when kinship terms are used in a statement they are assumed to refer to relatives of the speaker (when the kinship term acts as the subject of a clause) or the subject (when the term is used as another sort of argument) in the absence of an explicit genitive construction.

jifàù

3S.AN-sing

sràù

song

dă

mother

[my] mother sings a song

xe

NEG

gughĕkhó

3D.AN-respect

bă

father

those two don't respect [their] father

Similarly, terms referring to specific political or social roles are interpreted as referring to the individuals who fill those roles within the community of the speaker or subject of a statement.

ĕwĕgrég

queen

nà

be.wise

the queen is wise

Locative Use of the Construct State

A small, closed category of nouns may form construct states with locative meanings:

Absolute	Abs. Gloss	Construct	Locative
hfáb	"skin"	gráb	"on the surface of, on top of, on"
qéd	"embrace"	jéd	"along, alongside"
bú	"hand"	mò	"near"
hnyèg	"foot"	nyèg	"at"
jĕ	"eye"	nyě	"in front of, across from, facing, within sight of"
pàù	"head"	bàù	"at the top of, above"
srĕ	"guts"	rĕ	"in, inside of"
rrúd	"mouth"	rrúd	"through"
xí	"waist"	rrí	"around"
cĭ	"neck"	zĭ	"behind, at the back of"
cră	"sole, palm"	zră	"below, under, at the bottom of"
wí	"air"	wí	"outside of, distant from"

A few nouns are purely locative in meaning, such as tréb "left," fríd "right," pó "north," and nĕlréd "south". In the absolute state, these refer to the direction itself, while in the construct they are used as locatives:

• bó nò "to the north of the ocean"

Nominalizers

In Rrób Tè Jĕhnò subordinate clauses that behave as noun phrases must be introduced with a noun in the construct state, which serves to nominalize the entire subordinate clause. Only a few nouns are regularly used for this purpose:

Absolute	Abs. Gloss	Construct	Use
céb	"event"	zéb	a general nominalizer of factual or hypothetical events
c’í	"reason"	zí	nominalizes clauses describing cause, motivation, and purpose
vŭ	"fact"	yŭ	nominalizes known, factual, usually past events and states
kè	"job"	gè	nominalizes tasks and regular activities
mògh	"help"	mògh	nominalizes goals to which an action constributes
zé	"idea"	xé	nominalizes concepts, plans, purposes, and hypothetical events
sré	"intention"	ré	nominalizes intended future events in hortative constructions
p’ĭ	"manner"	bĭ	nominalizes manner subclauses and descriptions of methods
gàù	"place"	vàù	nominalizes locative subclauses
sáí	"word(s)"	rráí	introduces reported speech
tú	"story"	dú	introduces the topic or summary of a story

Number

Although the number of subject nouns is primarily marked using clitic pronouns, any animate noun may optionally be pluralized using the prefix nye-, which may be emphasized using the reduplicated form nyĕnye-.

jizáú

3S.AN-capture

nyĕnyezéd

many-rabbit

gi

DEF.AN

ĕdróg

hunter

the hunter catches many rabbits

Inanimate nouns may also be modified by nyĕnye-, and may be marked for the singulative number using the prefix p’i-.

Pronouns and Determiners

Personal Pronouns

Pronouns in Rrób Tè Jĕhnò mark three grammatical persons (first, second, and third) and, for animate referents, four numbers (singular, dual, trial, and plural). The trial number is used formally to refer to exactly three referents. Informally, however, it is often used to refer to a small number of referents that number more than two, but not exactly three. This is roughly analogous to the use of the English word “couple” (which literally denotes a group of two) in informal phrases like “me and the guys hung out and drank a couple beers.”

Inanimate pronouns are marked for only two numbers: the collective, which is typically interpreted as referring to either a collective group of objects or an indefinite quantity of an uncountable substance, and the singulative, which refers to a specific member of such a group or a measure of such a substance. The collective is somewhat misleadingly named, however, as, in the absence of an explicit quantifier, it is basically transnumeral, ambivalent with regard to number. Notably, when its referent is a man-made item such as a tool, weapon, or boat, the collective pronoun is understood as singular by default, and the singulative pronoun is not generally used.

The independent forms of each pronoun are shown on the following table. These are most commonly used as the objects of transitive clauses and in Exceptional Case Marking constructions (see below); pronominal subjects of transitive and intransitive verbs are usually cliticized to the verb (see "clitic pronouns" above).

animate						inanimate
	singular	dual	trial	plural			collective	singulative
1	nyâ	nàd	hnyâ	háí		1
2	mò	mèd	hmò	wó		2
3	jĭ	gúd	hnâ	qĭ		3	dŏ	ĕdŏ

Reflexive and Reciprocal Constructions

Rrób Tè Jĕhnò has no reflexive pronouns, and forms reflexive constructions by using coreferential personal pronouns as both arguments of a transitive verb. When a dual, trial, or plural pronoun is used in this manner the resulting clause is often interpreted as reciprocal. Reciprocal constructions may optionally be explicated through the use of an independent pronoun as the subject of the clause.

Indefinite Determiners

Rrób Tè Jĕhnò lacks simple indefinite pronouns (such as the English ‘someone’ or ‘something’), instead making use of two indefinite determiners: ĕsro (used with animate referents) and ĕhsro (used with inanimate referents). These are used in conjunction with nouns, most commonly generic “dummy nouns" like cè, ‘person’ and có, ‘thing,’ but more specific nouns may be used as well.

Definite Articles

Rrób Tè Jĕhnò makes use of two definite articles: gi, used with animate referents, and fi, used with inanimate referents. There are no corresponding indefinite articles; nouns are assumed be be indefinite in their least-marked form.

The definite article is generally not used to mark head element of a genitive construction, nor with kinship or political terms that are implicitly possessed by the subject or speaker. When the definite article refers to the dependent element of a genitive construction it precedes the head noun (which is in the construct state) rather than between the two elements. When the definite article is used with a noun that is typically implicitly possessed, it serves to negate that possession.

Demonstratives

Demonstratives in Rrób Tè Jĕhnò distinguish two levels of spatial deixis, but are unmarked for the animacy and number of their referents. The determiner su, ‘this, these,’ refers to objects relatively near the speaker, while gu, ‘that, those,’ refers to objects farther away. A third demonstrative, hnu, is best translated as ‘the other,’ and is used to distinguish between multiple objects regardless of their distance from the speaker.

Rrób Tè Jĕhnò demonstratives are strictly adnominal, but demonstrative pronouns may be formed by pairing the appropriate determiner with a generic noun. For instance, one might refer to gu có, "those things," or su xég, "this creature."

Indefinite Quantifiers

• c'ĕ "any (of many)"; t'ód "either (of two)"; dĕt’ód "any one of three"; kĕdĕt’ód "any two of three"
• gú "some, a few (of many)"; ngàì "some, a few (of a collective group), a little, a small amount of"
• zĕ "every, the entire"; nàd "both"; hnâ "all three"; nà "all (of many)"
• dlréd "each (of a collective group)"; gréd "the entirety of, all (of a collective group)"

The following table summarizes which quantifiers are used with which grammatical numbers:

		any	few	all
animate	sg	c'ĕ		zĕ
	du	t’ód		nàd
	tr	(kĕ)dĕt’ód		hnâ
	pl	c’ĕ	gú	nà
inanimate	coll	c’ĕ	ngàì	gréd
	sgv	c’ĕ		dlréd

Numerals

Rrób Tè Jĕhnò has a senary or "base-6" counting system, with unique terms for the multiples of 6 as high as 36. Other numerals are formed through a somewhat irregular form of compounding, as shown on the following table:

1.	p’íg	13.	dlĕbíg	25.	crĕbíg
2.	kú	14.	dlĕgú	26.	crĕgú
3.	t’úgh	15.	dlĕdúgh	27.	crĕdúgh
4.	pé	16.	dlĕbé	28.	crĕbé
5.	fàì	17.	dlĕwàì	29.	crĕwàì
6.	dlyă	18.	khó	30.	c’é
7.	dlyĕbíg	19.	khĕbíg	31.	c’ĕbíg
8.	dlyĕgú	20.	khĕgú	32.	c’ĕgú
9.	dlyĕdúgh	21.	khĕdúgh	33.	c’ĕdúgh
10.	dlyĕbé	22.	khĕbé	34.	c’ĕbé
11.	dlyĕwàì	23.	khĕwàì	35.	c’ĕwàì
12.	dlád	24.	crà	36.	srégh

Numerals above 36 are formed using the conjunction ne, "and," to coordinate srégh (which remains independently accented) with a second numeral to be added to it. Beginning with gĕsregh, "72," numerals are compounded before srégh, acting as multipliers. These undergo the same initial consonant lenition found in the second element of additive compounds. Under this system, 100 is gĕsrégh ne crĕbé, 1000 is zrĕdĕhsrégh ne p’íg, and 1296 (36x36) is rĕhsrégh.

Ordinal Numerals

Rrób Tè Jĕhnò has only two dedicated ordinal numerals, which pattern syntactically as quantifiers: hmèg, "first," and hsŏ, "second." Other ordinals are formed as locative constructions using the construct-state noun nyèg, here meaning "at." "The third man" would therefore be gi có nyèg t’úgh, literally "the man at three."

Prepositions and Conjunctions

In Rrób Tè Jĕhnò Prepositions and conjunctions take the form of particles usually consisting of a single atonic syllable. The distinction between particles and clitics is somewhat ambiguous here, as function words in Rrób Tè Jĕhnò phonetic properties similar to dependent morphemes. In addition to being toneless, particles always end in a short, open syllable, though a number exhibit latent or "muted" coda consonants. These consonants are pronounced only when the particle is followed by a word beginning in a vowel, in which case they are syllabified as onsets on the following syllable rather than codas on the particle. Particles without a latent consonant are sometimes reduced to a single consonant before vowel-initial syllables in rapid speech, but this is considered irregular and usually only occurs with very common phrases.

Syntax

Simple Sentences

Intransitive Clauses

Intransitive clauses in Rrób Tè Jĕhnò minimally consist of a subject noun followed by an intransitive verb, giving SV word order. A clitic pronoun may be used in place of a noun or full pronoun.

Jigă.

3S.AN-clap

He claps [his hands].

Gi

DEF.AN

hmô

baby

yég.

sleep

The baby sleeps.

Transitive Clauses

Clauses containing transitive verbs have a basic order of VOS in Rrób Tè Jĕhnò, though the obligatory use of clitic pronouns suggests an underlying subject-initial syntax.

Jĕqó

3S.AN-cook

dlyíd

stew

dă.

mother

Mother cooks stew.

Hmohyezĕhrí

2T-PST-Q/play

hxí

game

rréb?

boy

Were you three boys playing a game?

The Passive Voice

Transitive verb stems may be passivized by omitting the clitic pronoun and including only one argument with the verb. The result is essentially an intransitive clause that has been syntactically reversed.

kh’ĕma

hit-PFV

nyâ!

1S

I’ve been hit!

A second noun phrase may be included as the agent of a passive noun by marking it with the preposition dre (if animate) or wo (if inanimate). Again, the normal syntax of the clause is reversed, with the agent preceding the patient.

Ĕrŭma

bless-PFV

dre

by

Ká

Goddess

nyâ.

1S

I have been blessed by the Goddess.

Copulas

The verb srŏ, "stand," is used as a general copula in Rrób Tè Jĕhnò, behaving as a transitive verb in that context.

Jisrŏ

3S.AN-stand

féd

warrior

Zrà.

Zrà

Zrà is a warrior.

When used to express a locative meaning, an appropriate noun in the construct state is paired with the object noun.

Gusrŏ

3D.AN-stand

fi

DEF.IN

wí

CNSTR/air

ĕtò

house

fă.

brother

My two brothers are outside the house.

Jisrŏ

3S.AN-stand

fi

DEF.IN

bàù

CNSTR/head

lyéd

deciduous tree(s)

t’ă.

grandmother

Grandmother is at the top of the tree.

The verb hngàù, "sit," may optionally be used in place of srŏ in locative copular clauses to emphasize that the position of the subject is permanent.

Ĕdohngàù

3SGV.IN-sit

rĕ

CNSTR/guts

yàì

meadow

fi

DEF.IN

ĕgĕká.

megalith.

The megalith is in a meadow.

As Rrób Tè Jĕhnò lacks a class of adjectives per-se, statements that would be phrased as adjectival predicates in English are generally expressed with stative intransitive verbs, requiring no copula. This is also the case for some common professions, which are typically identified using the active intransitive verb describing their characteristic activity.

Já

sky

gú.

be.grue

The sky is grue (blue/green).

Bă

father

dróg.

hunt

My father hunts/is a hunter.

Directional Motion Verbs

Rrób Tè Jĕhnò has a complex set of seven deictic motion verbs marking the person of the origin or destination:

	Destination (come towards)	Origin (go away from)	No destination/origin
1st person	c’ĭ "come/go towards speaker"	gàì "go away from speaker"
2nd person	mâ "come/go towards listener"	k’áí "go away from listener"
3rd person	lŏ "come/go towards somewhere other than speaker or listener"	báí "go away from somewhere other than speaker or listener"	cég "go nowhere in particular, wander"

Additionally, a number of verbs mark movement in other directions relative to the location of the subject of a clause, including sĕwŏ "ascend, climb," pă "go down, descend," xó "go upstream," and zí "go downstream."

Directional motion verbs form an irregular grammatical category. On the one hand, they may act as the core of intransitive verb phrases:

Gi

DEF.AN

tréd

dog

hnàù

ATTR/be.same

t'uc’ĭ.

EXP-come.to.1

The same dog has come to me before.

However, they may also behave as transitive verbs if a second verb phrase is included to indicate the specific destination of the movement. In this case.

Nyat’amâ

1S-FUT-come.to.2

ĕtò.

house

I will come to your house. (lit. "I will come to the house where you are."

The destination or origin of movement is often implied rather than explicitly stated, but one may specify both by combining motion verbs as sequential events (see below).

Directional motion verbs may also modify other active verbs, indicating the direction of the action. In this case, they become cliticized and behave as bound morphemes attached to the verb they modify, following the phonological rules for compounds (see below):

Moghúgrak’ai

2S-kick-COM-go.from.2

fi

DEF.IN

ball.

ATTR/be.same

You have kicked the ball away [from yourself].

Oblique Participants

Rrób Tè-Jĕhnò has no ditransitive verbs, and indirect objects must always be introduced through the use of a preposition or ECM construction.

Dative and Benefactive

Dative participants are marked with the preposition dlo, "for, to".

Guhnàì

3D.AN-share

tr’éd

meat

dlo

to

hnyè

clan

rrĕgód.

royal.couple

The royal couple serve meat to their clan.

Benefactive participants are marked with the preposition u(gh), "for the benefit of".

Jirràù

3S.AN-share

fi

DEF.IN

tú

stories

úb

ATTR/be.old

u

for

háí

1P

gi

DEF.AN

ĕtr’úg.

priestess

The priestess recites the old stories for our benefit.

Antibenefactive participants are marked with the preposition gra(g), "to harm".

Xe

NEG

jisód

3S.AN-give

zĭ

food

gra

harm

bí

son

}

gi

DEF.AN

dă.

mother

The mother withholds food to harm her son.

Instrumental

Instrumental participants are marked with the preposition wo, "with, by, using".

Nyabĕpè

1S-love

mò

2S

wo

with

dĕ

entire

túb.

heart

I love you with my entire heart.

Comitative

Comitative participants are marked with the preposition fa, "with," while anticomitative participants are marked with rre, "without".

Gusrogĕtr’óg

3D-PROG-hunt

nyehnrâ

PL-tiger

fa

with

Zrà

Zrà

fă.

brother

My two brothers are hunting tigers with Zrà.

Morelŏ

2S-COM-Q/come.to.3

trúb

festival

rre

without

nyâ?

with

Do you intend to go to the festival without me?

Locative

Locative participants, which are noun phrases describing the location at which an action takes place, rather than nominal complements describing the location of an object, are marked with the preposition sro paired with an appropriate noun in the construct state.

Jifàù

3S.AN-sing

sràù

song

sro

at

gi

DET.AN

mò

CNSTR/hand

jéd

fire

grég.

woman

A woman sings a song near the fire.

Note the difference in emphasis between this example and the following, which includes the locative as part of the subject noun phrase:

Jifàù

3S.AN-sing

sràù

song

grég

woman

mò

CNSTR/hand

jéd.

fire

A woman near the fire sings.

If the action described in the clause involves motion but nevertheless takes place at a single location the preposition ce(g) is used instead.

Haizú

1PL-dance

hxú

dance

ce

around

gi

DEF.AN

rrí

CNSTR/waist

jéd.

fire

We dance a dance around the fire.

Destination and Origin

Rrób Tè Jĕhnò uses a set of prepositions derived from verbs of directional motion to mark oblique participants representing the origin or target of an event or action. These are identical to the corresponding verbs, save that they are not independently accented and cég becomes ce(g).

Jilyĕcă

3S.AN-shoot

nyè

arrow(s)

lo

at.3

hnrâ

DEF.AN

Zrà.

Zrà

Zrà shoots arrow(s) at a tiger.

Negation

Negation Rrób Tè Jĕhnò is marked through the use of a versatile particle, xe. When placed at the beginning of a clause, this particle negates the verb used in the clause:

Xe

NEG

su

this

nyò

shirt

ríb

be.black

This shirt is not black.

In clauses with transitive verbs, xe may be placed directly before the subject or object (or both) in order to exclude that specific argument. When the subject is so included, the resulting phrase indicates a contrast with another argument, which may be explicitly included in the clause or left implicit:

Xe

NEG

jidlŏ

get

hfég

thanks

gi

DEF.AN

ĕnròd.

servant

The servant did not receive thanks.

Jidlŏ

get

xe

NEG

hfég

thanks

gi

DEF.AN

ĕnròd.

servant

The servant received no thanks.

Jidlŏ

get

hfég

thanks

xe

NEG

gi

DEF.AN

ĕnròd.

servant

It wasn't the servant who received thanks.

Jidlŏ

get

xe

NEG

hfég

thanks

xe

NEG

gi

DEF.AN

ĕnròd.

servant

It wasn't the servant who received no thanks.

Interrogatives

While yes-or-no questions in Rrób Tè Jĕhnò are handled with the interrogative infix ‹ĕhr›, as described above, non-polar questions are formed using the stative verbs hràì, "be what" (referring to inanimate nouns) and hráú, "be who" (referring to animate nouns). These are irregular in that they are always fronted in the clause, rather than following their subject, and never take pronominal prefixes. Likewise, in the attributive form they precede the noun they modify rather than following it as normal.

Hráú

be.who

mò?

2S

Who are you?

Hráú

be.who

bráú?

weather

What's the weather like?

Hràì

be.what

gu

that

có?

thing

What is that thing?

Jidrĕhma

3S.AN-make-PFV

fi

DEF.IN

céb

event

tráú

ATTR/be.who

xég?

creature

What creature did this? (lit. “what creature made the aforementioned event?”)

General questions regarding location are formed using the phrase tràì gàù "what place," before the subject and a copula marked in the interrogative mood. More specific location questions use a fronted locative construct state and may use other nouns in place of "place."

Tràì

ATTR/be.what

gàù

place

jisrĕhrŏ?

3S.AN-Q/stand

Where is he?

Rĕ

CNSTR/guts

tràì

ATTR/be.what

ĕtò

house

jisrĕhrŏ?

3S.AN-Q/stand

Which house is he in?

Other adverbial interrogatives conform to the same syntax.

Tràì

ATTR/be.what

dlréd

ATTR/time

trúb

festival

srĕhrŏ?

Q/stand

When is the festival?

Complex Sentences

Clause Coordination

Coordinating conjunctions such as o, "and," e, "or," and q’e, "but" are placed clause-initially. Note that these conjunctions cannot used to link noun phrases within a clause.

Gi

DEF.AN

rréb

boy

mríd

be.brave

o

and

gi

DEF.AN

nògh

girl

nà.

be.wise

The boy is brave and the girl is wise.

Nò

ocean

hĕcró,

PRS-be.calm

q’e

but

rrĕfŭ

storm

tĕt’ac'ĭ.

NFUT-come.to.1

The sea is calm [now], but soon a storm will come.

Coordination and Conjunction of Noun Phrases

For all non-subject noun phrases, coordination is accomplished through the use of the conjunction ne, "and, with".

Nyanyè

1S.see

ĕkă

elephant

ne

and

hnrâ.

tiger

I see an elephant and a tiger.

This conjunction is not used with sentence subjects; instead, the preposition fa, "together with" is used, immediately following with the subject noun phrase.

Gi

DEF.AN

cè

ewe

fa

together.with

gi

DEF.AN

hlyíg

sow

nyé

scream

ú.

ATTR/be.bad

The ewe and the sow scream terribly.

"Or" relating to noun phrases is expressed using the preposition rro. This particle may be used to mark both oblique participants and subjects.

Modracáb

2S-POT-take

p’imò

SGV-apple

rro

or

p’ihnàì.

SGV-pear

You may have an apple or a pear.

Jihyedradígh

3S.AN-PST-POT-kill

su

this

dré

bird

ĕrà

fox

rro

or

srég.

wolf

It may have been a fox or a wolf that killed this bird.

"But" is not distinguished from "and" when coordinating noun phrases, and fa (along with the negative particle, if necessary) is used to express both meanings.

Sequential Events

Closely related sequences of events sharing the same subject may be coordinated using the conjunction to. When transitive verbs are coordinated in this manner, only the first is marked with a clitic pronoun.

Nyahĕcridlok’áí

1S-PRS-IMP-go.from.1

to

and

c’ĭ

come.to.1

ĕtò.

house

I must leave you now and go [to my] home.

In many cases, verbs coordinated as sequential events may be interpreted as statements of cause and effect.

Jirrĕfáma

3S.AN-drop-PFV

to

and

kŭ

break

ràì.

vase

He/she dripped the vase, breaking it.

In any event, it is always possible to express sequential events by dividing them into separate clauses coordinated with the conjunction o. This typically serves to indicate that the events or actions described are unrelated, but it can also serve to break up a complex sequence of related verb in order to make them easier to parse.

Nyahĕcridlok’áí

1S-PRS-IMP-go.from.2

o

and

nyadloc’ĭ

1S-IMP-come.to.1

ĕtò.

house

I must leave you now, and I must go [to my] home.

Exceptional Case Marking

Exceptional case marking or "ECM" in Rrób Tè-Jĕhnò (named for a syntactically similar type of construction in English, despite the lack of morphological case marking) is a type of subordination in which the object of the main verb in a clause acts as the subject of a subordinated verb phrase. These constructions follow the formula VP1 NP2 VP2 (NP3) NP1, in which NP1 is the subject noun phrase of the first verb phrase (VP1), NP2 is the object of VP1 and the subject of VP2, and NP3 is the object of VP2 when the verb in VP2 is transitive. NP2 is always a noun or free pronoun, and the verb in VP2 never takes a clitic pronoun, even if transitive.

The first verb phrase of an ECM construction must be transitive, while the second verb in the construction may be transitive or intransitive, but cannot be marked for the passive voice. Despite these restrictions, ECM constructions are used in marking numerous grammatical categories in Rrób Tè-Jĕhnò, including certain kinds of modality, causation, comparison, and reported speech.

Relative Clauses

Rrób Tè Jĕhnò introduces relative clauses through the use of a relativizer particle agreeing with the animacy of the noun modified by the clause. The relativizer hmo is used with animate nouns, while bĕp’o is used with inanimate nouns.

Modality

In Rrób Tè Jĕhnò, the commissive, imperative, optative, and volitional mood affixes indicate the intentions, needs, hopes, and desires of the subject of a clause. In order to express other types of modality, the corresponding full verbs must be used in an ECM construction.

Nyanyèg

1S-wish

mò

2S

jàì.

go.from.one

I wish that you would leave.

Já

3S.AN-want

nyâ

1S

tĕt’ág

NFUT-return

dă.

mother

Mother wants me to return soon.

Requests and Orders

Direct orders and instructions may be expressed using a bare verb stem.

Jàì!

go.from.1

Leave!

This, however, is usually considered brusque and impolite, and is generally used only when the urgency of the situation or the heightened emotional state of the speaker prohibit a more complex construction. When issuing instructions to social subordinates, the imperative mood affix is usually used with a second person subject.

Modlojàì.

2S-IMP-go.from.1

Leave. (lit. "You must leave.")

When the speaker wishes to use a more deferential tone while still expressing authority, an ECM construction using the verb ré, "intend," may be used.

Nyaré

1S-intend

mò

2S

jàì.

go.from.one

I expect you to leave.

Requests are normally constructed using the verb gă, "request."

Nyagă

1S-request

mò

2S

jàì.

go.from.one

Please leave.

Using the verb á, "want," is generally considered more forceful and less polite, and is typically only used when speaking to friends or family members. Conversely, the verb nyèg, "wish," is often used when speaking to a social superior, being considered more deferential than a direct request.

Temporal Reference

While Rrób Tè Jĕhnò verbs may be morphologically marked for tense, verb phrases may be assigned more specific time frames through the use of the preposition fe and a temporal noun. Note that the verb is not marked for tense in these constructions.

nyalyĭmo

1S-pull-PFV

gi

DEF.AN

cè

ewe

fe

during

lyàìma.

morning

I milked the ewe in the morning/I milked the ewe this morning.

The attributive verbs yàì "be next" and ĕrĕ, "be previous" may follow the temporal noun to specify its relationship with the present time.

nyalyĭxegh

1S-pull-CPL

gi

DEF.AN

cè

ewe

fe

during

lyàìma

morning

yàì.

ATTR/be.next

I will have milked the ewe [by] next morning.

In order to refer to specific times further from the present, ordinal numerals are used in addition to these attributives.

nyalyĭ

1S-pull

gi

DEF.AN

cè

ewe

fe

during

hsŏ

second

plŭ

day

yàì.

ATTR/be.next

I'll be milking the ewe two days from now.

Indefinite time references simply use the indefinite quantifier c’ĕ, "any."

Modohíb

2S-INC-realize

xé

CNSTR/idea

nyǎ

1S

fe

during

c’ĕ

any

plŭ.

day

Someday you will begin to understand what I mean.

Temporal references describing the duration of an event are instead marked with the preposition fau.

Jiq’àìmo

3S.AN-stay-PFV

sro

at

fi

DEF.IN

rĕ

CNSTR/guts

pád

village

fau

for

dlyă

six

plŭ

day

nè.

nomadic.band

The nomadic band stayed in the village for six days.

Adverbial Clauses

Adverbial clauses in Rrób Tè Jĕhnò are coordinated with the verb phrases they modify using conjunctions consisting of a nominalizing construct state noun prefixed with a fused grammatical particle.

Reason

Adverbial clauses describing an agent's reason or motivation for performing an action or being in a state are generally expressed using the conjunction baizí, corresponding to the English "because."

Jibè

3S.AN-like

gi

DEF.AN

nògh

girl

baizí

because

jingù

3S.AN-be.kind

zĕ

every

cè.

person

Everybody likes the girl because she is kind.

In order to express that an action is motivated by a specific past event, the conjunction baiyŭ may be used instead, which might be roughly translated as "because of the fact that..."

Hairrĕzríhma

1PL-attack-PFV

qĭ

3PL.AN

baiyŭ

because

qihyegĕnìxegh

3PL.AN-PST-steal-TCPL

nyehlyíg

PL-CNSTR/sow

háí.

1PL

We attacked them because they had stolen our pigs.

Just as a nominalized clause behaves syntactically as a noun phrase, a simple noun phrase may serve a function similar to a reason clause.

Haibáí

1PL-go.from.3

fi

DEF.IN

lyég

deciduous.forest

baizí

because

hnră.

tiger

We left the forest because of a tiger.

Reason clauses are frequently topic-fronted (see topicalization, below).

Purpose

A clause describing the purpose of an action is typically coordinated with the conjunction lozí, corresponding roughly to the English phrase "in order to..."

Haisrolŏ

1PL-PROG-come.to.3

pád

village

jéd

CNSTR/embrace

nò

ocean

lozí

to

Haiq’épĕgh

1PL-trade

có.

thing

We are going to the village by the ocean in order to trade things.

In order to express that an action contributes toward a larger, more complex task or goal the conjunction lomògh may be used instead, translating roughly as "to help in..."

Drĕmo

make-PFV

su

this

yú

tool

dre

by

bă

father

lomògh

to.help

jizó

3S.AN-cut

gáú.

bead

This tool was made by [my] father to help him carve beads.

As with reasons, purposes may be expressed using noun phrases rather than whole clauses.

Nyasĕrrĕtá

1S-add

hmàd

egg

lozí

for

ĕdlĕdrĕ.

stickiness

I add egg[s] for stickiness.

Result

Clauses describing the results of an action or event may be coordinated with rrizéb if the result is an immediate reaction, or grarégh if the result develops gradually over time.

Nyawé

1S-lose

fi

DEF.IN

kí

digging.stick

sro

at

fi

DEF.AN

rĕ

CNSTR/guts

hsà,

coniferous.forest

rrizéb

so

dă

mother

hyelocéd.

PST-INC-be.angry

I lost the digging stick in the forest, so [my] mother became angry.

Nyegrég

PL-woman

ĕhfĕhfú,

ITER/complain(intr.)

grarégh

so

nyecó

PL-man

hwŏ

stand.up

to

and

báí

go.from.3

qĭ.

3PL.AN

The women complained and complained, so the men got up and walked away from them.

Manner Subclauses

Subclauses describing the manner in which an action is carried out or an event takes place are coordinated with the conjunction febĭ.

nyĕqóxegh

1S-cook-CPL

fi

DEF.IN

khúb

meal

febĭ

as

mohmàù

2S-instruct

nyâ.

1S

I have cooked the meal the way you instructed me to.

Temporal Subclauses

Temporal subclauses are introduced using the same prepositions as temporal reference noun phrases, in conjunction with the nominalizer zéb, "event of..."

Jiloyágh

3S.AN-INC-be.happy

fe

during

zéb

CNSTR/event

jĕsrí

3S.AN-slay

gi

DEF.AN

hnră

tiger

Zrà

Zrà

dă.

mother

Zrà's mother became happy when he slew the tiger.

Topicalization

Rrób Tè Jĕhnò permits topic fronting as a method of drawing attention to new topic of discussion or emphasizing the role of a particular element of the cause. The topicalized element is simply moved to the beginning of the sentence, while the order of the other constituents remains unchanged. In practice, only oblique noun phrases and nominalized clauses are regularly fronted, while differences in dynamic stress and relative intonation are more commonly used to place emphasis on one of the core arguments of a predicate.

Heavy Constituent Shift

Complex relativized and nominalized clauses may be shifted in order to make a sentence easier to parse. The subordinate clause is moved to the end of the sentence, and a pronoun fills its normal position in the main clause. In the case of a nominalized clause, the collective inanimate personal pronoun is used. In the case of a relative clause, the referent of the clause is moved as well and a personal pronoun agreeing with the number and animacy of the referent is used in its place.

Derivation

Rrób Tè Jĕhnò has a rich inventory of derivational morphemes and processes. In many cases, more than one productive method exists for deriving a particular meaning from an existing word, as speakers of the language have supplemented their native systems of derivation with affixes borrowed from the Wendoth languages.

Note that derivational suffixes in Rrób Tè Jĕhnò gain a rising pitch accent following accented short vowels in open syllables, causing the formerly accented vowel to reduce to ĕ.

Nouns

Diminuitives are regularly formed from nouns in one of two ways. The first is onset retroflexion, characterized by the following processes:

• Initial non-retroflex affricates and dental stops become retroflex affricates
• Initial velar stops become retroflex stops (in some lexicalized diminutive nouns, these have shifted to retroflex affricates instead)
• Initial uvular stops shift to gr
• Initial labial obstruents are followed by the infix ‹r›
• Initial h shifts to hr
• Initial central fricatives other than f and h become retroflex sibilants
• Initial lateral fricatives become retroflex
• Initial approximants are replaced with ĕrr

Diminuitives are typically used to refer to young members of an animal species, and as terms of endearment or mockery.

hlyíg "sow" → hlríg "piglet"

t’ă "grandmother" → cr’ă "little grandmother" (term of endearment)

có "man" → cró "little man" (pejorative)

The second method for forming diminutives, typically used with noun stems beginning in nasals or retroflex consonants, or when the former method would introduce unwated ambiguity, uses the suffix -wi. This is reduced to -i following stems ending in a stop, with the following effects on the coda:

• Final b and gh remain unchanged
• Final d becomes dr
• Final g becomes b

mù "deer" → mùwi "fawn"

ĕcrég "wanderer" → ĕcrĕbĭ "planet (astronomical)" (literally "little wanderer")

Augmentatives are formed from nouns using the prefix rrĕ-, rr- before an initial vowel. They are more typically used to indicate authority, importance, or strength, rather than mere physical size.

hnyè "family, clan" → rrĕhnyè "royal or chiefly family"

ĕtr’úg "priestess, sage" → rrĕtr’úg "high priestess"

Agent nouns may be formed from verb stems in one of two ways, both of which produce a noun describing a referent who habitually performs the action described by an active verb or is consistently characterized by a stative verb. The first method is to shift any initial dental, palatal, or velar consonants to their retroflex counterparts and apply the prefix ĕ-. With verb stems beginning in a vowel, the prefix ĕrr- is used instead.

cég "go nowhere in particular, wander" → ĕcrég "wanderer"

dróg "go hunting, be a hunter" → ĕdróg "hunter"

The second method uses the suffix -nu. If the verb stem has a final stop it deletes and the suffix becomes -hnu.

ĕjí "be afraid" → ĕjínu "coward"

ĕwáígh "complain, gripe" → ĕwĕhnŭ "whiner"

Many agent nouns have been conventionalized over time, most often using the former of these two processes. However, the use of the suffix is generally more productive with verbs lacking an established agent noun.

Nouns for products or results of verbs may be formed using the suffix -id, -hid after a vowel. Note that many verbs have lexicalized result nouns which may be used instead of or in addition to nouns formed with -(h)id.

bí "jump, leap (verb)" → bíhid "jump, leap (noun)"

Instrumental nouns may be formed from verbs through consonant mutation and/or the use of a prefix, depending on the form of the verb stem. The resulting noun refers to a physical tool or ingredient used in performing the action described by a modified active noun, or to an object characterized by the quality described by a modified stative noun.

• Stem-initial plain stops, affricates, and fricatives (except for h) become aspirated and take the prefix ĕ-
• Initial voiced nasals become voiceless and likewise take the prefix ĕ-
• Before aspirated and ejective stops and affricates, the prefix ĕSĕ- is used, where S represents a plain stop or affricate homorganic with the onset (ĕdĕ- is used before both dental and retroflex stops).
• Before aspirated fricatives and voiceless nasals, the prefix ĕ- is used on its own
• Initial h is replaced with ĕk
• Initial voiced liquids (including r and any lateral approximant or voiced trill) other than ly are replaced with ĕdr
• Initial w is replaced with ĕb, and initial y and ly with ĕj
• Initial hr is replaced with ĕtr
• The prefix ĕj- is used with verb stems beginning in i or e
• The prefix ĕg- is used with verb stems beginning in any other vowel

Note that the result of this process is typically identical to the attributive form of the modified verb, save for the addition of ĕ-.

dlyĭ "mold (from clay)" → ĕhlyĭ "mold, form (noun)"

zó "cut" → ĕcó "knife, cutting tool"

Alternatively, the suffix -wa may be used, which interacts with coda stops in the same manner as -wi.

hnè "fill" → hnèwa "funnel"

Verbs

Antipassives may be formed from transitive verbs using the prefix nĕ-, which is reduced to n- before vowels. This has the effect of reducing the valency of the verb, such that it behaves in all ways as an intransitive verb. A similar meaning may also be expressed by using a noun representing the result or product of a transitive verb as the object of that verb.

dă

mother

nĕfàù

AP-sing

mother sings

jĭfàù

3S.AN-sing

sràù

song

dă

mother

mother sings [a song]

Verbs of opposite effect may be formed using the infix ‹ĕzr›, which also triggers the palatalization of some onset consonants.

• Initial dental stops become dental affricates
• Initial velar stops become alveolo-palatal affricates
• Initial velar and coronal nasals and laterals become the corresponding palatal consonants
• Initial velar and coronal fricatives become x
• The prefix zr- is used with verb stems beginning in a vowel

The derived term has the same valency as the original verb, and expresses either an antonym of the unmodified verb or the reversal of the action described thereby.

ĕrŭ "bless" → ĕrĕzrŭ "curse"

dlŭ "tie, bind" → dlyĕzrŭ "loosen, untie"

Adjective-like verbs may be formed from nouns using the prefix nĕ-, which causes initial dental, palatal, and velar consonants to shift to the retroflex place of articulation. Before nouns beginning in a vowel, the prefix becomes nr-. The result is a stative verb describing the condition of resembling or being similar to the modified noun. The precise nature of this similarity tends to be fairly idiosyncratic to the particular noun modified.

dlúd "sand" → nĕdlrúd "be granular"

hlyó "slime" → nĕhlró "be slimy"

k’íb "chalk, white color" → nĕtr’íb "be pale, whitish"

ĕré "circle" → nrĕré "be round, be circular"

Compounding

Several types of compound are regularly formed in Rrób Tè Jĕhnò, though all obey the same basic phonological rules. When a word with a final stop is compounded before a word beginning in a consonant, the resulting cluster is generally resolved according to the following patterns:

• Final stops elide before voiceless nasals and aspirated fricatives
• Final stops assimilate to the place of articulation of a following aspirated or ejective stop, and an epenthetic schwa is inserted between the two consonants
• Final stops elide before plain stops, affricates, and fricatives and voiced nasals, causing the following consonant to undergo fortition to an aspirated stop or fricative or a voiceless nasal
• Before a voiced liquid other than ly, final stops undergo retroflection, as in diminutive formation
• Before hr, final stops are retroflexed and aspirated
• Clusters with w and hw are resolved as with the diminutive suffix -wi, becoming aspirated before the latter
• Final stops are platalized before y and hy, as in the formation of verbs of opposite effect, becoming aspirated before the latter, after which the approximant is elided

The accent normally falls on the final syllable of a compound unless the first element of the compound ends in an open syllable with a long vowel, in which case the syllable with the long vowel is accented. Vowels in atonic syllables are reduced, becoming ĕ, unless in the final syllable of the compound.

Nominal compounds fall into three basic categories:

• Compounds consisting of a noun in the construct state followed by a noun in the absolute state are generally similar in meaning to a noun phrase containing the two nouns.

• Compounds consisting of two nouns in the absolute state typically represent something that is characterized by both component nouns, with neither being the clear "head".

• Compounds consisting of a noun in the construct state followed by verb refer to an instance of the noun characterized by the verb. This type of compound has limited productivity, being used almost exclusively with intransitive verbs, particularly stative verbs.

Verbal compounds are less common than nominal compounds, and less regular in terms of their semantics.

Sample Text

The following is a formalized version of a traditional story told in communities all along Tuysáfa's northwest coast. The setting for the story is Grĕpàì, a country of high mountains and primeval forests that is the home of the "First People" (RTJ. Hmèg Tè), the mythical ancestors of the Northwest Tuysáfan languge speakers. In the mythology of the Tè Jĕnhò the First People are said to have lived in intimate contact with the fá, spiritual beings that inhabit and lend animacy to the various creatures and natural forces of the world. The greatest of the terrestrial fá is Wég, the animating spirit of the land itself, though even Wég is ultimately subservient to the sky goddess Ká, the primary deity of Tè Jĕhnò religion.

Text

Ká hyeyég, o dosrŏ rĕ vób gréd grĕhnò. Xe hmèd ngè sro gráb já. Ngàxegh ghŭ lyàì Hmèg Tè, o xe qit’úg cí bĭ qirrĕfĭ jéd. Qitĕră to ĕzríb rrú.

Jisrŏ fá hmo jinòd Wég Mòg. Jisĕwŏ p’ihsà to nyè wí jéd gŭ, o jibáí tràì lozí jilĕdlré gi wí. Fe zéb jibáí ró jĭ to ág, jikh’ád ĕdŏ Mòg, p’izĕkhă mè bĕp’o jisĕdŏ ĕdŏ lye rrĕgré jáí bĕp’o qijáí ĕdŏ gi tè. Qilŏ to sĕdŏ cé drú ne dĕt’ă lye fi rrí p’izĕkhă fá hngàì, ngĕnge zéb jihnè jáí wí o qidĕzráhwe gi tè. Qinĕdágh to lá to nĕfàù to nĕzú ce gi rrí jéd Hmèg Tè.

Jihyelŏ rĕ jáí Hnră, to rrilŏ jĭ yé mù ĕwŏ hmo jirrimà jĭ. Jisĕdŏ gi mù lye fi rĕ khă lozí jĕqó jĭ Hnră, q’e dohmô gi jéd to xe dígh ghŭ jĭ fi tr’éd. Fi jáí hyelodĕzrá, o jihmô zĕ jĕ vób. Qidĕzrá dŭ rrizéb nèd dlă cè hmo qihngáú gŭ gi wí jéd, o xe qidradáí mò sáí. Gi nyecè ĕjí o qimê nyecè mò qĭ to rrilŏ jĭ qĭ, grarégh tr’ĕ gi tè o qilosrŏ nyĕnyĕzĭ mè. Qidodáí sáí hngàì zĕ zĭ, o fe bĭ fi céb tr’ĕ rrób Hmég Tè o jilosrŏ nyĕnyesób hmo haihĕcrúb qĭ.

Gloss

Ká

Goddess

hyeyég,

PST-sleep

o

and

dosrŏ

3COL.IN-stand

rĕ

CNSTR/guts

vób

darkness

gréd

entire

grĕhnò.

world

The Goddess slept, and all the world was in darkness.

Xe

NEG

hmèd

star

ngè

shine

sro

at

gráb

CNSTR/skin

já.

sky

No stars shone in the sky.

Ngàxegh

give.birth-TCOMP

ghŭ

barely

lyàì

ATTR/be.new

Hmèg

First

Tè,

People

o

and

xe

NEG

qit’úg

3PL.AN-know

cí

already

bĭ

CNSTR/manner

qirrĕfĭ

3PL.AN-ignite

jéd.

fire

The First People were newly born, and they did not yet know how to make a fire.

Qitĕră

3PL.AN-shiver

to

and

ĕzríb

complain.about

rrú.

cold

They shivered and complained that they were cold.

Jisrŏ

3S.AN-stand

fá

fá

hmo

REL.AN

jinòd

3S.AN-serve

Wég

Wég

Mòg.

Squirrel

Squirrel was one of the fá who served Wég.

Jisĕwŏ

3S.AN-go.up

p’ihsà

SGV-coniferous.tree

to

and

nyè

see

wí

CNSTR/light

jéd

fire

gŭ,

ATTR/be.distant

o

and

jibáí

3S.AN-go.from.3

tràì

ATTR/be.quick

lozí

to

jilĕdlré

3S.AN-examine

gi

DEF.AN

wí.

light

He climbed a tree and saw the light of a distant fire, and hurried away to investigate the light.

Fe

during

zéb

CNSTR/event

jibáí

3S.AN-go.from.3

ró

CNSTR/task

jĭ

3S

to

and

ág,

return

jikh’ád

3S.AN-carry

ĕdŏ

3SGV.IN

Mòg,

Squirrel

p’izĕkhă

SGV-coal

mè

ATTR/be.small

bĕp’o

REL.IN

jisĕdŏ

3S-put

ĕdŏ

3SGV.IN

lye

on

rrĕgré

CNSTR/middle

jáí

dwelling

bĕp’o

REL.IN

qijáí

3PL.AN-dwell.in

ĕdŏ

3SGV.IN

gi

DEF.AN

tè.

people

When he returned from his quest, Squirrel carried a single small coal, which he placed in the center of the shelter where the people lived.

Qilŏ

3P-come.to.3

to

and

sĕdŏ

put

cé

grass

drú

ATTR/be.dry

ne

and

dĕt’ă

firewood

lye

on

fi

DEF.IN

rrí

CNSTR/waist

p’izĕkhă

SGV-coal

fá

fá

hngàì,

ATTR/be.different

Other fá came and added dry grass and firewood,

ngĕnge

until

zéb

CNSTR/event

jihnè

3S.AN-fill

jáí

dwelling

wí

light

qidĕzráhwe

3PL.AN-feel.cold-CESS

gi

DEF.AN

tè.

people

until the shelter was filled with light and the people were no longer cold.

Qinĕdágh

3PL-chat(INTR)

to

and

lá

laugh

to

and

nĕfàù

sing(INTR)

to

fire

nĕzú

dance(INTR)

ce

around

gi

DEF.AN

rrí

CNSTR/waist

jéd

fire

Hmèg

first

Tè.

people

The First People talked and laughed and sang and danced around the fire.

Jihyelŏ

3S.AN-PST-come.to.3

rĕ

CNSTR/guts

jáí

dwelling

Hnră,

Tiger

to

and)

rrilŏ

CAUS-come.to.3

jĭ

ATTR/pull

yé

CNSTR/body

mù

deer

ĕwŏ

ATTR/be.big

hmo

REL.AN

jidígh

3S.AN-kill

jĭ.

3S.AN

Then Tiger came in, dragging the body of a huge deer he had killed.

Jisĕdŏ

3S.AN-put

gi

DEF.AN

mù

deer

lye

on

fi

DEF.IN)

rĕ

CNSTR/guts

khă

hearth

lozí

to

jĕqó

3S.AN-cook

jĭ

3S.AN

Hnră,

Tiger

q’e

but

dohmô

3SGV.IN-cover

gi

DEF.AN

jéd

fire

to

and

xe

NEG

dígh

extinguish

ghŭ

barely

jĭ

3S.AN

fi

DEF.IN

tr’éd.

meat

He put the deer in the hearth to cook it, but the meat ended up covering the fire and almost putting it out.

Fi

DEF.IN

jáí

dwelling

hyelodĕzrá,

PST-INC-be.cold

o

and

jihmô

3S.AN-cover

zĕ

every

jĕ

eye

vób.

darkness

The shelter became cold, and it was too dark to see.

Qidĕzrá

3PL.AN-feel.cold

dŭ

really

rrizéb

so

nèd

teeth

dlă

rattle

cè

person

hmo

REL.AN

qihngáú

3PL.AN-sit

gŭ

ATTR/be.far

gi

DEF.AN

wí

CNSTR/air

jéd,

fire

o

and

xe

NEG

qidradáí

3PL.AN-POT-say

mò

ATTR/be.good

sáí.

word[s]

The people far from the fire were so cold that their teeth chattered and they could not speak well.

Gi

DEF.AN

nyecè

PL-person

ĕjí

be.afraid

o

and

qimê

3PL.AN-hold

nyecè

PL-person

mò

CNSTR/hand

qĭ

3PL.AN

to

and

rrilŏ

CAUS-come.to.3

jĭ

ATTR/pull

qĭ,

3PL.AN

The people were frightened and took ahold of those within arm’s reach, pulling them close,

grarégh

so

tr’ĕ

divide

gi

the

tè

people

o

and

qilosrŏ

3S.AN-INC-stand

nyĕnyĕzĭ

many-group

mè.

ATTR/be.small

and so they became divided into many small groups.

Qidodáí

3PL.AN-INC-say

sáí

word[s]

hngàì

ATTR/be.different

zĕ

every

zĭ,

group

Each group began to speak differently from the others,

o

and

febĭ

as

fi

DEF.IN

céb

event

tr’ĕ

divide

rrób

CNSTR/tongue

Hmég

first

Tè

people

o

and

jilosrŏ

3S.AN-INC-stand

nyĕnyesób

many-tongue

hmo

REL.AN

haihĕcrúb

1PL-PRS-hear

qĭ.

3S.AN

and in this way the tongue of the First People became divided into the many tongues that we hear today.

Lexicon

Rrób Tè Jĕhnò Lexicon