Re: EXERCISE: Small grammar exercise

Philip Newton wrote:
> a) [Tom] goes by Underground.
I'll change this by "tiKiba goes by horse" :-)  (Well, technically a
six-legged horse-like creature), and assuming that Tom goes alone, and
that it's a habitual action
Q: Vuliitasva kimatasili subaa?
A: Vuliitasva kimatasili tiKiba.

Vulii-tas   -va pibaa-li   subaa / tiKiba
Go   -(s)he-Hab what -inst who   / tiKiba

> b) I show [Milly] [my new car].
I show tiKuilu my new horse. [Action occurs now]
Q: Lulassilkiku subaaz kimatasi kiklukua? (Who do I show my new horse
to?)
Q: Lulassilkiku tiKuiluz pibaa? (What do I show tiKuilu?)
A: Lulassilkiku tiKuiluz kimatasi kiklukua
Subaa-z   pibaa
Who  -dat what
Lulassi-l -ki      =ku    ti-Kuilu-z   ki-matasi ki-klu      =kua
Show   -it-NonPunct=I.nom G2-Kuilu-dat G4-horse  G4-new/young=my

> c) She felt [very unhappy].
Q: Faskuttilki tisnaz pibaa?
A: Faskuttilki tisnaz uafiliauvva ualuaa.
Pibaa
What
Fa-  takutti-l -ki       t- isna   -z   ua-filiauvva   ua-lua
Past-feel   -it-NonPunct G2-pronoun-dat G6-unhappiness G6-much
(Thus, literally, "She felt much unhappiness")

Two sound changes occur here.  First, the verb _takutti_ becomes
_skutti_ when a prefix ending in a vowel is added.  Second, _lua_
becomes _luaa_, in order to satisfy the stress rules, which are:
1.  Penultimate mora stressed
2.  Inflectional prefixes are never stressed
Thus, the vowel in _lua_ must be lengthened to make it a 2-mora word
which can bear stress.

> d) Miriam likes [strawberry] icecream.
TiDiga likes [blue] Malas.  [Mala is a kind of shell fish]
Q: Lauskulva tiDigal lafmalai lafmiklasbai?
A: Lauskulva tiDigal lafmalai lafmlali.
Lafmiklasbai
Laf- miklasbaa   -i
G5Pl-what.kind.of-pl
Lau-daku -l -va  ti-Diga-l   laf -mala-i  laf- mlal-i
Eat-enjoy-it-hab G2-Diga-erg G5Pl-mala-Pl G5Pl-blue-Pl
(Literally: She enjoys eating blue malas)

> e) [My] brother is [twenty years] old.
Q: Launitassi natassa subaaf uatianika uandusaslika? (Whose brother is
20 years old?)
Q: Launitassi natassaiua uatianika ualibaa? (How old is your brother?)
A: Launitassi natassakua uatianika uandusaslika.
Subaa-f
Who  -gen
Ua-libaa
G6-what/which
na-tassa  -iua
G2-sibling-your
Launi-tas  -ki       na-tassa  -kua ua-tiani-ka    ua-nadu-sasli-ka
Be.in-(s)he-NonPunct G2-sibling-my  G6-year -iness G6-12  -9    -iness
(Lit. "My brother is in the 21st year [of life]")

> f) [The children] take the bus to Oxford Circus.
> (Note: this is also interesting: In English, the question has to use
> the singular "Who takes"
I might also ask "Who all takes the bus" if I expect it to be a plural
response.  I just realized that it takes singular agreement anyways.
Odd.  :-)

The children go to the temple by horse
Q: Zabatan kimatasili subbai uakiviklus?
A: Zabatan kimatasili sussistai uakiviklus.
Subbai
Who.pla
Zaba-tan  ki-matasi-li   su*- sista      -i  ua-kiviklu-s
Go  -they G4-horse -inst G3Pl-child/slave-pl G6-temple -all

Zaba is used for movement in a social context, especially traveling or
pilgrimage (in later Uatakassi, it came to mean specifically "go on a
pilgrimage", but in Classical times, was still used for "travel")
For children, one could also say sunnasakului, lit. "young ones", but if
the context is clear, the word _susista_ is normally used.  Slave is a
secondary meaning

> g) [Last year] they spent their holidays [in Italy].
[Last year] they traveled [to Ziukau].
Q: Fazbatan uaZiukaus iazabaa? (When did they travel to Ziukau?)
Q: Fazbatan biibaas uatianika guatialnu? (Where did they travel last
year?)
A: Fazbatan uaZiukaus uatianika guatialnu.
iazabaa
When
biibaa-s
Where -all
Fa-  zaba     -tan  ua-Ziukau-s   ua-tiani-ka    guatia-l -nu
Past-go/travel-they G6-Ziukau-all G6-year -iness fall  -it-perf
(The year that has fallen = last year)
Note also, that gender prefixes are not normally used for places, most
people would simply say Ziukaus, but that's considered "wrong".

> h) He works very hard [because he wants to earn a lot of money].
Q: Maaklafkagustatasfa plassi pibaa?
A: Maaklafkagustatasfa plasta sukkussinitassi uamasuuli ualuali.
Plassi     pibaa
Because.of what
Maa- klaf-           kagusta-tas  -va  plasta
Very-with.difficulty-work   -(s)he-hab because
su-      kagussi-ni  -tas  -ki       ua-masuu -li   ua-lua -li.
AntiPass-earn   -want-(s)he-NonPunct G6-silver-inst G6-much-inst
(Literally "He works with great difficulty because he wants to earn a
lot of silver")

Kagussi becomes kkussi after a vowel-final prefix; kagusta undergoes the
same change

> i) She wanted to buy [a book].
Q: Fanimavinil pibaa?
A: Fanimavinil uifkal.
Fa-  nimava-ni  -l  u- ifkal
Past-buy   -want-it G6-book

--
"There's no such thing as 'cool'.  Everyone's just a big dork or nerd,
you just have to find people who are dorky the same way you are." -
overheard
ICQ: 18656696
AIM Screen-Name: NikTaylor42