Eventive Morphology

Eventive Inflectional Morphology

Eventives are a broad class of lexemes in Nova. They may be defined as transient events and things in the universe. They are conveniently broken into these subclasses; verbals, statives, nominals, injunctives, pronominals, locators, and cyclicals. Because the last three are often formed from single morpheme (integer) roots, they are treated on the page devoted to Inflected Integer Morphology. The other four classes are all formed from multiple incohate morphemes and are treated on this page. Lexical morphology of Eventives is treated on the Basic Morphological Processes Page

Aspect
Because aspect is common to verbs, nominals, statives, cyclicals, and locators, it is discussed here rather than recurrently as each of those lexical categories is taken up below. Aspect is the judgement of the completeness of an event. It answers questions such as Is it finished, has it begun, does it continue? When used with nominals it can be equated with English phrases such as ex-X, former X, X to be, newly X, and so forth.

-pal About to/almost to X.
-s� Cessative aspect marks cessation of an act. It comes or is coming to an end.
-n� Continuative aspect indicates that an action continues usually without a foreseeable end. It differs from the imperfective in that its emphasis is on the continuing as opposed to not yet completeness. This is the aspect usually used with living human beings.
-tt'� Eternal aspect marks existence without beginning or end.
-w� Imperfective* aspect indicates that an action is not yet complete. Compare this with the continuative aspect above. This is the aspect normally used with non-human living beings.
-ptong In a state of X.
-si Inceptive aspect focuses on beginning. It indicates that an event has begun without indicating any degree of completion or ongoingness.
-lho Iterative aspect marks events that occur over and over again.
-p'� Momentaneous aspect marks a momentary event.
-ttat No longer, previously.
-w�r Not yet doing/being X.
-kit Not yet but should do/be X.
-t'a Not yet for a long time, though expected...
-pe Perfective* aspects marks completion of an event. This is 0-form only with verbs.
-da Perpetual aspect marks an event that has a beginning but which will go on forever.
-bhi Preparative aspect marks an event that is about to begin.
-tt� Restorative aspect indicates that an event is a returning to a former state.

Nominal Inflectional Morphology
The Nova nominal lexeme has the form ROOT-(derivational morphemes)-number-case-aspect. Absolute case and imperfective aspect are optionally (and usually in casual speech) 0-form. It should also be remembered that Nova nominals are obligatorially marked by articles which precede the nominal that they govern. Traditionally these have been considered integers and are covered in the discussion of integer morphology below.

Number marking in nominals
Nova may be said to mark only 2 forms of number but an infinite number of quantities. The 2 basic number markers are these;

-t� definite number
-q'i indefinite number

Nova does not mark the simple, one (singular), more than one (plural) dichotomy that is common to non-Nowan languages that mark number. Definite number that is a quantity known or apparent to both speaker and listener is not further marked. When the listener is unawares of the quantity, it is further marked in one of two ways. Monomorphemic numbers are incorporated into the nominal and may take the place of the definite number marker. Polymorphemic numbers follow the nominal.

an pa.du-q'i the birds (an unknown quantity)
an pa.du-n� the 6 birds
an pa.du-t� the birds (a quantity known to both speaker and listener)

Nominal Cases
Nova has 8 cases, most distinguishing nominal relationships that are rather alien to western ideas of proper case functions. They will be discussed individually below. When two nominals immediately follow each other or are seperated only by n� 'and', and are in the same case, only the first needs to be marked for case. No words other than articles may intervene between the nominals in such cases.

-nga absolute
-ye attributive
-fa benefactive
-dta passive
-rha reciprocal
-qe reflexive
-me relative/active
-ho vocative

Absolute Case: This case is used for the denotation of actor without control. Most commonly this means the subject of an intransitive verb or stative.; 'a-thi-hor.ge-c�-w� an yar.ba-nga- n�; The boy is sleeping.
Attributive Case: This case is used for ascribing generalized involvement without control in a sentence. A common use is as the 'object of a preposition'. It is used with space relators to establish locations of objects or processes. It should not be confused in this instance with Locators which are an entirely different lexical class and which refer to geographical locations.; Related to the above are examples where it used in passive constructions where the actor (from our point of view) is of lower rank (in Nova terms of control) than the patient (from our point of view). Other uses include appositives and as the 'object' of a stative.; a-thi-y�n.mon-she-da an no.wa.pan-ye- n� fi an he.kin-q'i-ye-da.; Nowapan's mountains are very high.; 'a-dt�-k�.dt�-ji-ttil-pe an yar.ba-dta-n� n�l in li.du-ye-n�; A dog bit the boy.; 'ur-dt�-h�n.q'a-shi-'i-s� bdu- q� p�n-ptu-�e wo-ye an g�.dha- fi-n� an pa.du-nga-w�; A bird landed on her arm.
Benefactive Case: This case is used to mark indirect objects and those for whom an action is performed.; 'a-bd�-ph�.lo-ji-ng�-pe ne-me an li.du-fa-n� in ghe.du-nga-w�; I gave the dog a bone.
Passive Case: This case is used for both the object of a transitive verb and for the subject of a passive construction involving an actor of lesser rank than the patient.; 'a-bd�-s�.qa-ji-h�ng-pe ta-me in xu.lu-q'i-dta-n�; He ate some roots one by one.; 'a-dt�-k�.dt�-ji-ttil-pe an yar.ba- dta-n� in li.du-ye-n�; A dog bit the boy.
Reciprocal Case: This case is used when 2 objects act upon one another.; 'a-lhi-lhe.x�-she-w� an dha.ma-rha- n� n� an dha.ba-(rha)-n�; The woman and the man love one another very intensely. (Second nominal's case marking is optional.)
Reflexive Case: This case is used when an object acts upon itself.; 'a-zhu-k�.lo-ji-ttil-pe ta-qe; He cut himself.
Relative/active Case: This case is used for the direct or indirect subject of a transitive verb. Note that when an appropriately ranked owner is specified as the indirect subject, a passive sentence structure is not required.; 'a-bd�-s�.qa-ji-h�ng-pe ta-me in xu.lu-q'i-dta-n�; He ate some roots one by one.
Vocative Case: This case is used for calling. It is the equivalent of 'hey you!' It is common to leave off aspect markers although in certain kinds of narrative they might be necessary.; an yar.ba-h�; Hey, boy!

Verbal Morphology
Basic verbal morphology follows this model; assertion- intention-ROOT-(optional deriving morphemes and instrumental morphemes)-realization-intensity-aspect.

Assertion Assertion is the measure of how certain the speaker is of the event in question.

mne According to memory
wha Auditory, sounds like...
'o Conjectural, stated by conjecture
j� Contradictive, its impossible that...
je Dubitive, I think he...
nor I heard that..., hearsay
j� Inferrential/circumstancial, it is assumed, conceded
'� interrogative assertion
yhe It is doubtful, dubious
mu Maybe yes, maybe no
'ur Narrative (used in myth, stories)
nq� :not, negative assertion
yhu Noninvolved, I report but don't vouch
'a Objective/factual, know from actual witness/knowledge
'al Performative, speaker did/does it
yin Personal knowledge with tinge of doubt, as when challenged
'�r Physical evidence suggests/implies
'�l Presumptive, guess
'um Reconfirmational, addressee knows matter spoken by speaker
ttel Revelative, in a dream
whi Speculative, maybe he...
'i Subjective/expective, don't know from fact, infer
yhi Tentative, might, may never the less
who That's the way it is or must be
h�r Uncertain visual..., looks like
'u Usitative, thats what usually happens
yha Visual, direct observation

Intentionality
Intentionality is another aspect of the judgement of the control of the event/action by the actor. Here is measured the intention behind the actor.

bha Compete at X
bdo Contemplative/considerative, is thinking about doing.
zhu Fortunative, did by luck, unintentionally.
q�l Go and/to
bd� Intentive*, did it intentionally.
qit Look forward to
dt� Opportunative, had the chance to do.
pti Pretensive, pretends to do.
whu Propositive, does purposely, more emphasis on an expected outcome than the Intentive.
bhe Tentative, does tentatively waiting to see the results.
ng�l Try a little
bd� Try at all costs
ng� Try despite difficulty
n�r Try not to

Realization
Realization indicates the degree to which an event/action has been carried through to its logical or more aptly, its intended conclusion. Realization should not be confused with aspect with which it can interact in many subtle and interesting ways.

pt'i Almost/be danger that
ttut Apt to X
p�r Be good at X so success is expected
pt�r Be liable to
l� Be supposed to
pang Can easily
lhon Can no longer
lom Cannot but fail
q�ng Cannot but succeed
rem Cannot/never X
t'e Fermitive carries the sense of "I almost succeeded in doing..."
k�n Impotential indicates a sense of "tried but failed".
h� Infermitive carries the sense of "I almost failed at doing..."
k� Inhibitive indicates failure due to constraints. A sense of "I tried but was prevented from doing..."
k'� Latent indicates an event/action that has not yet been attempted or tried but carries a since of "I could if I really wanted to..."
yut Need no longer
h�l Not be easy X
ngim Not be liable to
m�r Not likely to X
ji Postpotential* indicates successful or logical conclusion to an event.
ki Potential indicates the event/action has not yet been concluded and its success is unknown.

Intensity
Intensity is the judgement of the rate at which an event/action occurs or moves to completion.

n�r Carefully/exactly
she Celeritive, great intensity
shi Diminitive, diminishing intensity
m�ng Gradually more and more
pt�n Half heartedly
ng� Just enough
�i Magnitive , increasing intensity
c� Mediocrative*, moderate/average intensity
ci Not enough
h�ng One by one/gradually
ttil Set about/dynamic state/all at a go
tt�l Take a long time
vo Tarditive,low intensity

Verbals use the same aspects as other eventives, however for verbals, the perfective aspect is optionally 0-form rather than the imperfective.

Injunctive Morphology
Injunctives are irrealis eventives that roughly correspond to English imperatives. Because they are entirely irrealis, they require a different inflectional model than verbals or statives. Their model is as follows; ROOT-mode-aspect. They do require arguments and transitives may require two. Injunctives use the standard set of aspects. Mode (formerly called Voice) is the unique inflection for Injunctives.
Mode

n� Admonitive mode
h�ng Anti-precative mode
nq� Argumentative mode
d� Debetive mode
yo Exhortative mode
do Imperative mode
��Instructive mode
dho Optative mode
fu Permissive mode
v� Precative mode
k�l Preventive mode

The English in the meanings listed below should not be taken too literally. It is included too give the sense of the mode's usage. The same basic sentences, one transitive and one intransitive, are shown with each mode.

The admonitive mode, -n�, carries the sense of "I warn you that you should do it".: s�.qa-n�-kit ta-ye an p'a.th�-t�- dta-s�; I warn you, eat the berrycakes!; ptur.q'a-n�-si tt'e-t'� ta-ye; I warn you, start running!
The anti-precative mode, h�ng, carries the sense of "I ask you not to.": s�.qa-h�ng-kit ta-ye an p'a.th�-t�- dta-s�; I ask you not to eat the berrycakes!; ptur.q'a-h�ng-si tt'e-t'� ta-ye; I ask you not to start running!
The argumentative mode, nq�, implies assertion against another's disagreement. "I still say you should do it.": s�.qa-nq�-kit ta-ye an p'a.th�-t�- dta-s�; You should eat the berrycakes!; ptur.q'a-nq�-si tt'e-t'� ta-ye; You should start running! The debetive mode, -d�, corresponds to the English 'ought' as in "You ought to do it."; s�.qa-d�-kit ta-ye an p'a.th�-t�- dta-s�; You ought to eat the berrycakes!; ptur.q'a-d�-si tt'e-t'� ta-ye; You ought to start running!
The exhortative mode, -yo, carries the sense of "Come on, lets do it.": s�.qa-yo-kit ta-ye an p'a.th�-t�-dta- s�; Come on, lets eat the berrycakes!; ptur.q'a-yo-si tt'e-t'� ta-ye; Come on, lets start running!
The imperative mode, -do, is similar to the basic English imperative. "Do it.": s�.qa-do-kit ta-ye an p'a.th�-t�-dta- s�; Eat the berrycakes!; ptur.q'a-do-si tt'e-t'� ta-ye; Start running!
The instructive mode, -nt�, is used for teaching and instructing, "Do it this way.": s�.qa-nt�-kit ta-ye an p'a.th�-t�- dta-s�; Eat the berrycakes like this!; ptur.q'a-nt�-si tt'e-t'� ta-ye; Start running in this manner!
The optative mode, -dho, has the sense of expressing a wish or desire. "I wish you would do it" or "I want to do it.": s�.qa-dho-kit ta-ye an p'a.th�-t�-dta-s�; I wish you would eat the berrycakes!; s�.qa-dho-kit ne-ye an p'a.th�-t�-dta-s�; I wish (or want) to eat the berrycakes!; ptur.q'a-dho-si tt'e-t'� ta-ye; I wish you would start running!
The permissive mode, -fu, grants permition, "You may do it.": s�.qa-fu-kit ta-ye an p'a.th�-t�-dta-s�; You may eat the berrycakes!; ptur.q'a-fu-si tt'e-t'� ta-ye; You may start running!
The precative mode, -v�, is the polite sense, "Please do it.": s�.qa-v�-kit ta-ye an p'a.th�-t�-dta-s�; Please eat the berrycakes!; ptur.q'a-v�-si tt'e-t'� ta-ye; Please start running!
The preventive mode, -k�l, is the sense of, "Prevent or prohibit him from doing.": s�.qa-k�l-kit ta-ye an p'a.th�-t�-dta-s�; Don't eat the berrycakes!; ptur.q'a-do-si tt'e-t'� ta-ye; Don't start running!

Stative Morphology
Statives inflect along this model; assertion-reality-ROOT -intensity-aspect. Statives are eventtives that are longer in duration than Verbals but shorter in duration than Nominals. Most statives have one or more arguments. They also include many of what are in English, abstract nouns, gerunds, adjectives, and some adverbs. Statives have only one unique inflectional category, Reality

jo Irrealis
thi Realis

Reality is the simple judgement of whether an event is actually occurring. Realis statives are real events, Irrealis are hypothetical events.

'a-thi-lhe.x�-she.pe wo.me zu.dta'he loved her'
'a-jo-lhe.x�-she.pe an x�.mor-ye-kit 'love is a complex emotion'.

Revised August 29, 2001

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