Subjects
A subject says who acts. It stands at the start of a word and makes the
word an action: agu is ear, and oxagu is I listen. This page lists
the subjects, and what each does to the word it starts.
The subjects §
Seven subjects stand alone. A modifier after a subject says more about who acts.
| Subject | Gloss | It says |
|---|---|---|
o |
1 |
someone, often me. It has no number |
i |
2SG |
you alone |
a |
3SG |
one who is not here |
sho |
1PL |
us |
shi |
2PL |
several of you |
sha |
3PL |
several of them |
u |
INF |
life itself, the infinite subject |
| Modifier | Gloss | After |
|---|---|---|
kei |
MASTER |
every subject but u |
yi |
TINY |
every subject but u |
lo |
WET |
every subject but u |
wi, nu, to |
NB, F, M |
o, i, a |
pi |
SG |
o: opi, me |
de |
DU |
o: ode, the two of us |
qa |
SINGULAR |
o: oqa, every one |
pe |
INDF |
a: ape, some of them |
A subject with its modifier acts as one subject:
o-de-zu ti-m
1-DU-love 2SG.POSS-ACC
'The two of us love you.'
The five vowels §
Five morphemes are a single vowel: o, i, u, y and a. Each has two
uses, told apart by its place. Before a root it is a prefix: a subject, or
an order for y. After a root it is a suffix: a mood.
| Vowel | As a prefix | As a suffix |
|---|---|---|
o |
1: oxagu, I listen |
PUSH: mao, hold, pushing away |
i |
2SG: ixagu, you listen |
CARE: lai, kiss gently |
u |
INF: life itself |
PULL: towards |
y |
IMP: yagu, Listen! |
DANCE: duthay, a dancing face |
a |
3SG: axagu, they listen |
LOVED: taken to the self |
As a prefix, a vowel joins a vowel with x. The y does not: before a
vowel it is a consonant, so y + agu is yagu. How a mood joins a
vowel is not settled: see the Moods page.
As a suffix, i, o and u are adverbs, and make the word an action.
a and y are adjectives, and the word stays a noun.
The possessives §
A possessive is a consonant and a subject: m for the first person, t
for the second, and s for the third. It stands before a noun: mo lapa,
my voice.
| Subject | Possessive | Gloss | It says |
|---|---|---|---|
o |
mo |
1.POSS |
my, our |
opi |
mipi |
1SG.POSS |
my, of me alone |
i |
ti |
2SG.POSS |
your |
a |
sa |
3SG.POSS |
their |
sho |
msho |
1PL.POSS |
our |
shi |
tshi |
2PL.POSS |
your, of several of you |
sha |
sasha |
3PL.POSS |
their, of several of them |
mipi was mopi, the m and the subject opi. It became mipi: the
i makes it smaller, and sets it apart from mo. It is the small, inward
my, as pi is the small I.
In sasha, the s and the sha cannot stand together: the same
consonant does not join itself. The a is repeated between them.
With the accusative m, a possessive is the object of an action: mo-m,
me, and ti-m, you.
A possessive after wu says mine, yours, theirs: wu-mo, wu-ti,
wu-sa, wu-mipi. The noun wu is emptiness, and the verb is to owe.
So wumo is both mine and what I owe. No one owns a thing for good in
a world bound by time: what is mine is also owed.
The rules §
A subject makes an actionSubjects
A subject before a root makes an action. The root takes its reading as a verb.
A plural subject makes an actiondiffers from legacy
The plural subjects sho, shi and sha make an action, like the others.
A subject with a modifier makes an actiondiffers from legacy
A subject keeps its role when a modifier follows it. The root after the modifier takes its reading as a verb.