Wihəs

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Wihəs
[ˈwìhəʃ]
Period -200 ÷ 200 YP
Spoken in Western Tuysáfa
Total speakers c. 500.000
Writing system unknown
Classification Leic
Typology
Basic word order SVO
Morphology agglutinative, fusional
Alignment neutral (nouns), accusative (verbs)
Credits
Created by Pole, the

Wihəs (the tongue), also known as Yòiñə eiw our speech or Wimoañə eiw speech of Wimoañtə, is one of the Leic languages. It was the first Leic language published.

See also: the lexicon, the CBBCR VI text.

Background

It is spoken in the western part of Tuysafa, in an area neighbouring Wendoth languages to the west, Vijiš to the south, Pyvyy to the north and Endayin and Arósen tayīgan to the east.

Speakers of Wihəs call themselves Wimoañtə (singular: Wimo).

Phonology

Consonants

labial dental palatal velar pharyng. glottal
nasal /m/ /n/ /ɲ/ ‹ñ
stop /p/ /t/ /k/ [ʔ] ‹
fricative /ʃ/ ‹s /h/
sonoric /r/
/l/
/j/ ‹y /w/ /ʕ/ ‹x
  • [ʔ] ‹› appears epenthetically between two vowels.
  • /h r l/ do not appear word-initially.
  • /ɲ/ is pronounced [ŋ] in some dialects.
  • /ʕ/ is actually pronounced [ɰˤ] or [ʁˤ] in most varieties.

Vowels

Monophthongs

front central back
close /i/ /u/
mid /e/ /ə/ /o/
open /a/

Diphthongs

front central back
centering /eə/ ‹ea /oə/ ‹oa
front-closing /eɪ/ ‹ei /aɪ/ ‹ai /oɪ/ ‹oi
back-closing /aʊ/ ‹au

Syllables

(C)(C)V(C) type syllables are permitted.

The word stress is always initial. It can bear either high or low tone. However, the two do not always contrast:

  • It is always low after /w ʕ/ and after stop-nasal and stop-sibilant consonant clusters.
  • It is always high after /p t k/.
  • After /m n ɲ ʃ j/ and null-onsets it can be either — high tone is unmarked and low tone is marked by grave accent.

The tone contrast after null-onsets has been neutralized in some dialects. In some earlier works, the low tone in such position is not marked. (E.g. àmuw indeed can be written as amuw.)

A vowel can be preceded by one of /j w/. Sequences of two glides are prohibited, however.

Consonant clusters

Permitted consonant clusters include:

-p -t -k -m -n -s
p- pp pt pk pm pn ps
t- tp tt tk tm tn ts
k- kp kt kk km kn ks
m- mp mt mk mm mn ms
n- np nt nk nm nn ns
ñ- ñp ñt ñk ñm ñn ññ ñs
s- sp st sk sm sn ss
r- rp rt rk rm rn rs
y- yp yt yk ym yn ys
w- wp wt wk wm wn ws
x- xp xt xk xm xn xs


Notes:

  • Clusters in black are allowed in all positions.
  • Clusters in green are permitted only word-medially, e.g. oohu.
  • Clusters in gray are permitted only word-finally, preceding an obligatory schwa, e.g. meimastə.
    • There are some exceptions to that one, however, including mostly inflected forms of nouns conforming to that rule. For example, a noun ippə needle has its plural form ippoi needles. (It is due to the analogical leveling. Some dialects employ a more archaic plural variant, imamau.)

Morphophonology

Adding several inflectional affixes causes preceding consonants to be mutated — this process is called lenition:

plain m n ñ p t k s w x y r h
mutated w l x m n ñ r h


Another morphophonological process involves vowels: monophthongs are mutated by diphthongization:

plain i ə u e a o
mutated ei oi au ea ai oa

Morphology

Pronouns

Personal pronouns

1sg 1pl 2sg 2pl 3sg an 3sg inan 3pl an 3pl inan
N. yə̀ yòiñtə mau mauñtə sai mòañtə na
G. yòimə yòiñə maumə mauñə mài sai mòañə nai
D. yə̀ha yòixaha mauña mauxaha mìha saima mòaxaha naha
L. yòiwu yòiñmu mauwu mauñmu mèiwu saiwu mòañmu naiwu
Ab. yə̀wə yòixawə maun mauxawə mìwə sain mòaxawə nawə
V. yòiya yòixaiya mwoiya mauxaiya mèiya sauya mòaxaiya naiya

Table of correlatives

dem. proximal oi mì
this one
oi sai
this thing
oi
this, here
oisaiw
now
sàrai
in that way
dem. distal kaiyə mì
that one
kaiyə sai
that thing
kaiyə
that, there
wihe
then
interrogative kmi
who
ñə̀rai
what
ñə̀
which
yaiyə
where
ta
when
ñòa
how
relative mèiw
who
sauw
what
mow
which
koiw
where
wiheaw
when
sàrauw
how
indefinite mìhi
someone
saiwi
something
ñə̀hi
some
yaiyəhi
somewhere
tahi
somewhen
koawi
somehow
alternative tmi
somebody else
nàrai
something else

other
nàiyə
somewhere else
nàna
another time
nàixoa
in another way
universal yàuñtə
everybody
yàuna
everything
yài
all
yàimi
everywhere
koi
always
yàwə
in every way
negative mumo
nobody
mauna
nothing
mu
no, none
muhaimi
nowhere
muñoi
never
muhawə
in no way


The correlatives from the first two columns are declined as regular nouns, with an exception of yàuñtə, yàuna and mauna:

N. yàuñtə
everybody
yàuna
everything
mauna
nothing
G. yàuñə yàun maun
D. yàuñmu yàuwu mauwu

Nouns

Nouns have two numbers and three cases: nominative, genitive(-ablative) and dative(-locative).

There is also a separate definite paradigm.

Definite

The definite is created by adding wi before the noun.

Genitive and dative singular instead are formed by adding ai and oiwu, respectively, to an uninflected noun.

Singular indefinite

monophthongs diphthongs
G. sg -wə -n
D. sg -ha -wu
-p -t -s -k -w -x -y -h -m -n / -ñ
G. sg -wə -xə -yə -n -wə -xə -yə -n -hoan -hain
D. sg -pmu -tmu -smu -kmu -wmu -xmu -ymu -mu -hoawu -haiwu
-eim / -eam -ein / -ean
-eiñ / -eañ
-oim / -aim -oin / -ain
-oiñ / -aiñ
-aum / -oam -aun / -oan
-auñ / -oañ
G. sg -yoan -yain -oan -ain -woan -wain
D. sg -yoawu -yaiwu -oawu -aiwu -woawu -waiwu

Nominative is unmarked.

Genitive is marked by:

  • suffixing -wə after monophthongs
  • suffixing -n after diphthongs
  • changing final p t s w x y to wə xə yə
  • changing final k h to n
  • changing final m n ñ to oan ain ain
    • preceding ei ea are changed to y
    • preceding oi ai are deleted
    • preceding au oa are changed to w
    • monophthongs are followed by h

Dative is marked by:

  • suffixing -ha after monophthongs
  • suffixing -wu after diphthongs
  • changing final p t k s to pmu tmu kmu smu
  • changing final w x y h to wmu xmu ymu mu
  • changing final m n ñ to oawu aiwu aiwu
    • preceding ei ea are changed to y
    • preceding oi ai are deleted
    • preceding au oa are changed to w
    • monophthongs are followed by h

Plural

-i -u -e -a -o -ei / -ea -oi / -ai -au / -oa
N. pl -ei -oi -au -ea -ai -oa -yoi -oi -wau
G. pl -ein -oin -aun -ean -ain -oan -yoin -oin -waun
D. pl -eiwu -oiwu -auwu -eawu -aiwu -oawu -yoiwu -oiwu -wauwu
-p -t / -k -s -w -x -y / -h -m -n / -ñ
N. pl -mau -roi -rei -hau -hoi -hei -wau -‘oi
G. pl -maun -roin -rein -haun -hoin -hein -waun -‘oin
D. pl -mauwu -roiwu -reiwu -hauwu -hoiwu -heiwu -wauwu -‘oiwu

Nominative is marked by:

  • changing final i ə u e a o to ei oi au ea ai oa
  • changing final ei ea to yoi
  • changing final oi ai to oi
  • changing final au oa to wau
  • replacing word-final p t k s with mau roi roi rei
  • replacing word-final w x y h with hau hoi hei hei
  • replacing word-final m n ñ with wau ‘oi ‘oi

Genitive is marked by attaching -n to the N. pl form.

Dative is marked by attaching -wu to the N. pl form.

Collective

Collective forms end in -ñtə in nominative, -ñə in genitive and -ñmu in dative. They behave syntactically as plural nouns, however they don't have a singular form.

N. coll. -ñtə
G. coll. -ñə
D. coll. -ñmu

Examples

aiwo
human
aiwoañtə
people (coll.)
yahai
bone
xət
wall
ñoam
bull
worain
boat
singular
N. aiwo - yahai xət ñòam worain
G. aiwo - yahain ñwòan worain
D. aiwoha - yahaiwu tmu ñwòawu woraiwu
plural
N. aiwoa aiwoañtə yahoi roi ñòawau worai‘oi
G. aiwoan aiwoañə yahoin xəroin ñòawaun worai‘oin
D. aiwoawu aiwoañmu yahoiwu xəroiwu ñòawauwu worai‘oiwu
singular def.
N. wi aiwo - wi yahai wi xət wi ñòam wi worain
G. ai aiwo - ai yahai ai xət ai ñòam ai worain
D. oiwu aiwo - oiwu yahai oiwu xət oiwu ñòam oiwu worain
plural def.
N. wi aiwoa wi aiwoañtə wi yahoi wi xəroi wi ñòawau wi worai‘oi
G. wi aiwoan wi aiwoañə wi yahoin wi xəroin wi ñòawaun wi worai‘oin
D. wi aiwoawu wi aiwoañmu wi yahoiwu wi xəroiwu wi ñòawauwu wi worai‘oiwu

Adpositions

All the adpositions govern nouns in genitive.

There are three neutral adpositions and eight locative adpositions.

Neutral adpositions

Neutral adpositions are uninflected:

  • tauh near
  • tusə around, outside
  • toi against

Locative adpositions

Locative adpositions are inflected in three “orientations”: stative-lative, ablative and perlative:

at ~ to from via
in, inside poi peiña womoi
on, surface pau puha wopu
above saw saha woraw
below xoina xoilaha wohoila
front yòi yə̀ha wohə
back anoi anəha wohanə
left oim oinaha wohoina
right sòim sòinaha ùroina

Verbs

Each verb has at most these forms:

  • active participle, acting as the citation form and the imperative;
  • non-past, past and conditional variants of the following:
    • active finite forms of singular animate, singular inanimate and plural;
    • passive participle, acting as impersonal or passive finite forms disregarding number and animacy.

Basic verbs

tak to be is the non-past copula.

ñoiya to be, there is is used elsewhere in the non-past tense. It has a negated counterpart: mwoiya.

pow and miw are the past and conditional counterparts.

participle tak ñoiya mwoiya pow miw
singular animate tañə ñoiya mwoiya pohi mihi
singular inanimate ñoiyahə mwoiyahə pohu mihu
plural taktə ñoit mwoit powtə miwtə

Regular verbs

Single consonant stem

The stem can be either identical to the citation form (e.g. wotsəw to be caused by light, mok to feel, to smell) or given in the wordlist (e.g. meimas, meimek- to flow, kət, kəhet- to be dark, pau, paun- to go).

Additionally, past and conditional stems do always belong to this paradigm.

Singular animate:

  • -i is added after labials, elsewhere
  • lenition is applied

Singular inanimate:

  • -u is added after labials, elsewhere
  • lenition is applied

Plural:

  • -tə added

Passive:

  • added

Past stem:

  • lenition is applied
  • -ow- is added

Conditional stem:

  • stem-final t n are changed to r, else lenition is applied
  • -u‘iw- is added after labials, -ə‘iw- elsewhere


active participle wotsəw mok meimas kət pau
singular animate wotsəhi moñə meimeñə kəhenə paulə
singular inanimate wotsəhu moñə meimeñə kəhenə paulə
plural wotsəwtə moktə meimektə kəhettə pauntə
passive wotsəwə mokə meimekə kəhetə paunə
past stem wotsəhow- moñow- meimeñow- kəhenow- paulow-
conditional stem wotsəhu‘iw- moñə‘iw- meimeñə‘iw- kəherə‘iw- paurə‘iw-
Consonant cluster stem

The citation form usually ends with a schwa. The stem is always listed (e.g. yə̀pə, yə̀pm- to be lazy, owə, owñ- to be salty).

Singular animate:

  • -i is added after labials, elsewhere

Singular inanimate:

  • -u is added after labials, elsewhere

Plural:

  • -ət added

Passive:

  • added

Past stem:

  • -ow- is added

Conditional stem:

  • stem-final t n are changed to s
  • -u‘iw- is added after labials, -ə‘iw- elsewhere


active participle yə̀pə owə
singular animate yə̀pmi owñə
singular inanimate yə̀pmu owñə
plural yə̀pmət owñət
passive yə̀pmə owñə
past stem yə̀pmow- owñow-
conditional stem yə̀pmu‘iw- owñə‘iw-
Phantom consonant stem

A type of stems that have a final consonant appearing only in several forms. Apart from that the stem can be either identical to the citation form (e.g. mùhai(ñ) to be silent, worai(m) to travel by boat) or formed irregularly (e.g. sahətə, sahənau(m)- to tan [a hide], pmiw, pmiho(h)- to teach).

Singular animate:

  • -i is added after labials, elsewhere

Singular inanimate:

  • -u is added after labials, elsewhere

Plural:

  • consonant disappears; -t is affixed

Passive:

  • consonant disappears; -m is affixed

Past stem:

  • lenition is applied
  • -ow- is added

Conditional stem:

  • stem-final n is changed to y
  • -u‘iw- is added after labials, -ə‘iw- elsewhere


active participle mùhai worai sahətə pmiw
singular animate mùhaiñə woraimi sahənaumi pmihohə
singular inanimate mùhaiñə woraimu sahənaumu pmihohə
plural mùhait worait sahənaut pmihot
passive mùhaim woraim sahənaum pmihom
past stem mùhaixow- woraiwow- sahənauwow- pmihohow-
conditional stem mùhaiñə‘iw- woraimu‘iw- sahənaumu‘iw- pmihohə‘iw-
Vowel stem

The stem is the citation form (e.g. yə̀hamu to rule, saroimo to eat, kohaunə to cobble, ksə to think, kñəkmi to stuff animals). It always ends with a monophthong.

Singular animate:

  • no affix

Singular inanimate:

  • -hə is added after i e and ə a (preceded by s r y)
  • -hu is added after u o ə a
  • final ə a are labialized to u o before -hu

Plural:

  • -t is affixed

Passive:

  • i e are changed to ei ea
  • ə a and u o are changed to au oa
  • ə a preceded by s r y are changed to oi ai

Past stem:

  • -‘ow- is added
  • final ə a are labialized to u o (unless preceded by s r y)

Conditional stem:

  • -‘iw- is added
  • final ə a are labialized to u o (unless preceded by s r y)


active participle yə̀hamu saroimo kohaunə ksə kñəkmi
singular animate yə̀hamu saroimo kohaunə ksə kñəkmi
singular inanimate yə̀hamuhu saroimohu kohaunuhu ksəhə kñəkmihə
plural yə̀hamut saroimot kohaunət ksət kñəkmit
passive yə̀hamau saroimoa kohaunau ksoi kñəkmei
past stem yə̀hamu‘ow- saroimo‘ow- kohaunu‘ow- ksə‘ow- kñəkmi‘ow-
conditional stem yə̀hamu‘iw- saroimo‘iw- kohaunu‘iw- ksə‘iw- kñəkmi‘iw-

Irregular verbs

active participle we
to have
xa
to change
oi
to say
yòi
to live
sàhe
to do
meina
to do wrong
singular animate wehi xahə eiñə yòiñə sàhe meina
singular inanimate wehə sàhehə meinohu
plural wet xat eit yòit sàt meit
passive wem xam eim yòim sàm meim
past stem wehow- xañow- eixow- yòixow- sàhe‘ow- meino‘ow-
conditional stem wehi‘iw- xahə‘iw- eiyə‘iw-
yoimiw-
yòiyə‘iw-
yòimiw-
sàhe‘iw- meino‘iw-
myoamiw-


  • yoimiw-, yòimiw- and myoamiw- are archaic dialectal variants.


There are also a few verbs without full inflection. They have only two forms: indicative and conditional:

  • kahyea to be murdered brutally, conditional form: kahyeamiwə;
  • mwai to be left, to remain, conditional form: mwaimiwə;
  • sea to be offending, displeasing, conditional form: seamiwə.

Derivation

There are several derivational suffixes in Wihəs:

Core derivation

- (zero derivation from the passive form) — forms patient nouns from verbs, e.g.:

  • pmiho(h)- to teachpmihom learner
  • yə̀narə to attachyə̀naroi something attached; attachment


~ -h — forms agent nouns from verbs, e.g.:

  • kuha to be to the westkuhah westerner
  • yə̀pm- to be lazyyə̀pmə idler

Several other irregular patterns also exist, e.g. kñəkmi to stuff animalskñəkmə taxidermist.


-u ~ -w — forms abstract nouns from concrete nouns and verbs, e.g.:

  • mèami mastermèamiw superiority
  • mèhean- to be blindmèheanu blindness

Some instances of such nouns have fossilized irregular forms, e.g. sàiyəha to dinesàiyəxu meal, dinner.

Gender derivation

-(m)ean (causes lenition) — forms feminine nouns, e.g.:

  • yàmu ruleryàmumean female ruler, queen
  • yaim loveryaiwean female lover

An equivalent suffix with a honorific meaning exists: -(m)yauñu, e.g. yàmu ruleryàmumyauñu honorable queen.


-(m)eawo (causes lenition) — forms masculine nouns, e.g.:

  • aiya singeraiyameawo male singer
  • yaim loveryaiweawo male lover

An equivalent suffix with a honorific meaning exists: -(m)eaxu, e.g. yàmu ruleryàmumeaxu honorable king.

Other nominal derivation

-(ə)wə (causes lenition) — forms names of animal cries, e.g.:

  • tahə wolftahəwə wolf's howl
  • we catwewə cat's meow (also irregular wehiwə)


-(ə)xñə (causes lenition) — forms names of places, e.g.:

  • Wimo a Wihəs personWimoxñə Wihəs territory
  • sàñoiñ- to cooksàñoixəxñə kitchen


-ñtə — forms collective nouns (added to the plural form), e.g.:

  • aiwo humanaiwoañtə people
  • ñat brother (archaic) → ñaroiñtə brothers, brotherhood

Nouns formed this way don't have a singular form and are declined in a different way from other plural nouns.


-(oi)nu (causes lenition and diphthongization) — forms possessive nouns, e.g.:

  • yàmu ruleryàmaunu what belongs to the ruler; ruler's possessions
  • saiyap pottersaiyamoinu what belongs to the potter; potter's tools


-(p)meayə — forms names of animal offspring, e.g.:

  • we catwepmeayə kitten (also irregular wemeayə)
  • nàt beavernàtmeayə young beaver

Numbers

Cardinal and ordinal numerals

Where the numerals appear in pairs, the one to the right represents the corresponding ordinal numeral. Otherwise they are the same.

1. mohi · moayəhi 11. mèamo · myòimo
2. e · eayə 12. mèhe · mèayəhe 20. eñoi
3. pai · peañ 13. mèpə · mèmeañ 30. pñoi
4. nàhi · nàiyəhi 14. màila · mèala 40. nàñoi
5. nòamo · nwòimo 15. màiloamo · màilwoimo 50. nòamoñoi
6. nàhe · nàiyəhe 16. màilahe · màilaiyəhe 60. nàheñoi
7. nòpə · nòmeañ 17. màilopə · màilomeañ 70. nòpñoi
8. aila · eala 18. mèna · mèheala 80. ailañoi
9. ailoamo · ailwoimo 19. mènoamo · mènwoimo 90. ailoamoñoi
10. koi(we) 100. yə̀n · yə̀hein

Numbers 21÷99 can be formed in one of two ways:

  • A corresponding numeral from the 11÷19 column has its initial m- / màil- replaced with w- / mn- and then is attached the respective “tens” numeral, e.g. pñoi 30 + màiloamo 15pñoimnoamo 35 [!].
  • A more regular way involves attaching an unchanged 1÷9 numeral, e.g. pñoi 30 + nòamo 5pñoi-nòamo 35.

Fractional numerals

Regular fractions are created by prefixing t- ~ sə(h)-, often causing lenition.

yəs half is irregular.

11. tmeamo
2. yəs 12. tmehe 20. səheñoi
3. səmai 13. tmepə 30. səpñoi
4. tnahi 14. tmaila 40. tnañoi
5. tnoamo 15. tmailoamo 50. tnoamoñoi
6. tnahe 16. tmailahe 60. tnaheñoi
7. tnopə 17. tmailopə 70. tnopñoi
8. səna 18. tmena 80. sənañoi
9. sənoamo 19. tmenoamo 90. sənoamoñoi
10. səñoi(we) 100. səhən

Notes:

  • In some dialects initial tmail-, tme- of the teens are replaced with more transparent səñoimn-, səñoiwe-.

Syntax

Noun phrase

The word order of noun phrases is:

  • (determiner)(quantifier)(attributive)head noun(genitive)(adpositional phrase)(relative clause)


Articles occupy the slot of the determiners:

  • oi nòamo yàhə ñoi these five beautiful womenwi nòamo yàhə ñoi the five beautiful women
  • nà taiwu for another studentoiwu tai for the student


A quantifier can be simply a numeral (e kau two rabbits), a strict quantifier (sàra mèaya most birds), an attributive verb used for quantification (səka tmei sərəwu more new visitors) or even a measure phrase (pai ahihu pumi piheah three cups of good tea/tonic).


Attributive can be either a verb in its citation form (active participle) or its passive form:

  • komaunu ñoiyə an attractive girl (cf. komaunu to attract, ñoiyə komaulohi a girl attracts)
  • komaulowə ñoiyə an attracted girl (cf. ñoiyə komaulowə a girl is attracted)


A genitive possessive modifier can be conditionally moved to the det/art slot — but only if it comprises only one word and there is no other determiner or article:

  • wi noirə yòimə the boyfriend of mineyòimə noirə my boyfriend
  • wi wome kaiyə nə̀hə aiwowə the snake of that old man → **kaiyə nə̀hə aiwowə wome that old man's snake

An exception is when two single word possessives are joined:

  • yòiñə soi mauñə wohaiñu our and your freedom


A 3rd person pronoun can take place of a noun:

  • wihehe ñarə a wise boywihehe mì a wise one
  • yài aiwoa all menyài mòañtə all, everybody (cf. yàuñtə everybody)

In the vocative, however, 2nd person is used more commonly:

  • maumohi mì tall onemaumohi mwoiya oh, you tall one

Cases

There are six cases in Wihəs, although only three are distinct in nouns.


Nominative is used for both subjects and objects. (The morphosyntactical alignment is neutral in nouns — it is marked with word order and verbal agreement, though.) It is also the citation form of nouns.

  • tañə we. It is a cat.
  • tañə mèanə. It is a dog.
  • Mèanə moawe we. A dog chases a cat.


Genitive is used mainly for relational and possessive constructions:

  • paunu ñoiwewə a madman's home
  • ñoiw ñoiyəwə a girl's beauty

It is also used with adpositions:

  • tusə yòimə around me
  • peiña ai menə from the town


Dative is used mostly for denoting the recipient/beneficent in the role of an indirect object:

  • sai sai yə̀ha give it to me
  • mì nə̀nsa‘ohi mauxaha he lied to you all


Locative is used to mark the exact location or proximity:

  • yə̀ sàhe sai yòiwu I will do it at my place
  • ñoiya ehə eaxə naiwu there is much space in them

For nouns, adpositional phrases or (rarely) dative forms are used instead:

  • sai pohu oiwu yəy it was near the neighbor / at the neighbor's
  • mòañtə pukñu‘owtə pau ai oañu I slept on the roof


Ablative is used to mark the movement from:

  • məñi sai yə̀wə take it from me
  • sai wohoilo‘ohu nawə it came from them

Similarly, it is replaced with nouns in genitive or adpositional phrases:

  • məñi sai (oi) woañoin take it from (these) soldiers
  • sai wohoilo‘ohu peiñ’ai wuraiw it came from the magic


Finally, vocative is used in addressing the listener. For nouns, the nominative form is used.

  • mwoiya hey, you
  • yòimə wuhə my son

Adpositional phrases

An adpositional prase is constructed from one of the eleven adpositions and a noun (or a noun phrase) in genitive. They act predominantly as prepositions:

  • poi ai weñow at home, in the house

Sometimes, however, for stylistic reasons, the order can be reversed:

  • ai weñow poi in the house


Sometimes, the noun is ommited and the sole adposition is acting as an adverbial modifier:

  • yə̀ pukñə poi oi weñowə I sleep in this buildingyə̀ pukñə poi (oi) I sleep (here) inside
  • wi əhə oim nà sai the hand on the left of the other onewi əhə oim the left hand ~ the hand on the left


In the rapid speech many adposition create contracted forms with the definite genitive article ai, in particular:

  • poi ai in the and pau ai on the having a shared variant p’ai at the;
  • adpositions ending in ə a undergoing ellision, e.g. tusə aitus’ai, yə̀ha aiyə̀h’ai &c.

Simple sentences

The basic clause syntax is:

  • subjectverb(object)(other modifiers)

I some cases, a modifier can be placed before the subject:

  • Oisaiw yə̀ nàiya sai. Now I see it.


Other modifiers can be indirect objects (noun phrases in oblique, e.g. dative), adpositional phrases or verbs in attributive forms (used as adverbs):

  • Mau məñi‘ohi sai yə̀wə. You took it from me.
  • Mòañtə wiheimo‘iwtə ainə. They would possibly return. ~ They could return.


The clause is negated using the particle mu before the verb.

  • Yə̀ nàiya sai. I see it.
  • Yə̀ mu nàiya sai. I can't see it.

The verb ñoiya has a separate negated counterpart mwoiya:

  • Ñoiya kahe. There is a sheep.
  • Mwoiya kahe. There is no sheep.

Copula and existential clauses

There are two verbs acting as copula: tak and ñoiya.

tak is used to connect two nouns or noun phrases:

  • oi poaxa tañə we this pet is a cat
  • yə̀ tañə peayəs I am a fool

With genitive and locative phrases, however, ñoiya is used:

  • mì ñoiya oi he is here
  • kaiyə na ñoit yòimə those are mine


ñoiya can be used on its own, meaning to exist:

  • wi xəha ñoiyahə the sun exists


ñoiya is used with other types of existential clauses, as well, with the main noun phrase following the verb:

  • ñoiyahə xəha there is a sun
  • poi ai weñow ñoiya ohu in the house there is a sword

Possessive clauses are formed that way. They consist of the possessor in genitive, the existential verb and the main noun phrase (the possessee). The verb agrees with the latter:

  • yòimə ñoiya xoawi I have a daughter
  • yòimə ñoit yàhoa I have children

Questions

Polar questions are made by adding ñə̀ to the end of a clause:

  • Wi ñoiwu aunansahə. The sky is grey.
    Wi ñoiwu aunansahə ñə̀? Is the sky grey?


The positive reply is tak.

  • Sai koiñuhu ñə̀? Is it wrong?
    Tak, sai koiñuhu. Yes, it is wrong.

The negative reply is mu.

  • Mau koñaulə yə̀ ñə̀? Will you marry me?
    Mu, yə̀ mu koñaulə mau. No, I will not marry you.

Imperatives

Imperatives are created using an uninflected verb:

  • Yòiñtə pau. Let's go. (Cf. Yòiñtə pauntə. We go.)

In vowel stems it means that the imperative and the singular animate indicative forms are identical:

  • Mì pakanə. Let him/her work. or He/she works.


In the 2nd person singular, the subject is usually omitted:

  • Kaiñənaiw ñàsohau. Undress completely.

Complex sentences

Conjunctions

The three basic correlative conjunctions are:

  • soi and, so, therefore
  • yòi but, and
  • woña or

The basic relative conjunction is:

  • ñəp that, which

Complement clauses

Complement clauses are constructed using the conjunction ñəp:

  • Yə̀ nàiya, ñəp mau nòwe. I see that you are happy.


It can be used to create causative sentences:

  • Mau maumi, ñəp maumə aiña peiñə. You make that your father laughs. ~ You make your father laugh.

Relative clauses

In Wihəs there is a class of relative pronouns used to form complex sentences:

mèiw who

  • Yə̀ saraha aiwo, mèiw kahəno‘ihi mauña. I know a man that will help you.

sauw what

  • Sai knohehohu yə̀ha, yə̀ nàiya sauw. I like what I see. ~ It pleases me what I see.

koiw where

  • Yòiñtə mwai, koiw yòiñtə womaumət ainə. We stay where we can rest.

wiheaw when

  • Yə̀ ñoiya tauh maumə, wiheaw sai sauwu. I will be with you when it happens.

sàrauw how

  • Sai mu knohehohohu mòaxaha, sàrauw mau eixohi kaiyə sai. They didn't like the way you said that. ~ It didn't please them how you said that.


There is also a relative determiner mow.