Tsaavalu Grammar: view article

Menu 1. Phonology 2. Pronouns 3. Nominal morphology 4. Prepositions 5. Adjectives 6. Case & number 7. Verbal Morphology 8. Tense and aspect 9. Mood and Negation 10. Little-v and Agreement

Tsaavalu is a popular dialect of Achiyitqan, spoken in the warmer southern state of Tsaabkulbaa, the most populous state in Aciyitqána. It popularly spoken in Tigáatgiaqits, the largest city in the country, and is often referred to as the Tigáatgiaqits Dialect or Tigáaqalu.

For this article, ACY refers to the Achiyitqan language overall, SACY to Standard Achiyitqan, and TSA to Tsaavalu. For comparison and slightly more detailed notes and more examples, see the SACY articles on Nouns, Verbs, and Pronouns.

[edit] [top]Phonology

Overall the phonology of Tsaavalu resembles the standard dialect, but there a number of differences. A brief overview is presented here: for more information, see the Tsaavalu phonology article.

Consonants
- /b d g/ → /p t k/ between two unvoiced sounds
- [dʒ] → /ʒ/
- /b d g/ → /v ð ɣ/ elsewhere
- [nj, ŋj] → /ɲ/ <ń>
- /hs/ → /s:/ when final
- nasal place assimilation to following stops or fricatives
- glides do not delete after other consonants
- no word-final devoicing
Vowels
- [ɪ ɛ ɑ] → /ɪ ɛ ɑ/
- /á/ → /ǽ/
- /iw ɪw/ /ew ɛw/ → /u/ /o/ except before vowels
- /u/ /o/ → /ʉ/ /ɵ/ (short)
Tones
- retains all phonemic high tones
- long-high tones distinguished from long-falling or long-rising
Orthographical differences (romanization)
- /ʃ/ <ɥ> → <x>.
- /ɲ/ <ń>
- /ʒ/ <j>

[edit] [top]Pronouns

Subject pronouns can be suffixed to the verb, and object pronouns (and other nouns) can be incorporated into it. Subject suffixes are used in almost all cases in Tsaavalu, with very few instances of standalone subject pronouns; these generally only surface if another little-v device forces it.

Subject pronouns		1	2	3.AN	3.MOD	3.IN	5
SG	Standalone	'ip	tán	si	sik	'a
SG	Suffixed	-(a)p	-t(í)	-s(i)	-sik(a)	-a
PL	Standalone	mu	his(a)	it(i)	sit	ci	kaxi
PL	Suffixed	-ma	-h(i)	-it(i)	-sit(a)	-ix(i)	-kax

The Fifth Person is used for the "general they," e.g. "they say that" or "it is said that" or "everyone knows that" etc.

Object pronouns		1	2	3.AN/MOD	3.IN
SG	Standalone	iwa	nag	isk	aak
SG	Incorporated	'i(w)-	ta-	is-	(w)aa(k)-
PL	Standalone	mun	hun	isnu	iqun
PL	Incorporated	mun-	ha-	qi-	qey-

Non-pronominal incorporated objects must be indefinite and otherwise unmarked; they can be glossed as singular or plural or thought of as mass nouns. Often if an object is incorporated the resulting verb refers to a frequent action or general occurrence.

Indirect object pronouns
	1	2	3
SG	pu	naav	sig
PL	mig	sikka

Pronominal possessive suffixes
	1	2	3.AN	3.MOD	3.IN	5
SG	-(i)p(i)	-(i)t(i)	-is	-si	-ya
PL	-mi	-hi	-yi	-yi	-qi	-ix

[edit] [top]Nominal morphology

Noun structure:

article - preposition - adjective - ROOT - case & number - determiner

The definite affix k(i)- is always the very first component, where present. There is no indefinite article.

If it is attached directly to the root, and the root begins with /t/, it replaces the initial /t/, as in ka+tée → kée 'the sky' and ka+tuh → kuh 'the fish.' This does not occur if a preposition or adjective also appears on the noun, e.g. ka+mime+tuh → kamimetuh, *mimekuh 'the cute fish.' It does not occur with adjectives or prepositions that begin with /t/ either: ka+tsoo+ɥíun → katsooɥíun, *ksooɥíun 'the furious person.'

The other articles have simpler phonological rules, and are as follows:

partitive	xa-
negative	yu-
collective	ké-
proximal	da-
distal	co-

All of these articles can co-occur with the definite, and the proximal and distal (which are demonstratives) can co-occur with any of the other articles.

[edit] [top]Prepositions

Prepositions in Achiyitqan follow the definite affix. Prepositions cannot stack, and cannot attach to anything but a noun. There are some prepositions with have a similar-looking verbal particle counterpart, but most do not.

Affix	Spatial	Temporal	Other
DAT	to, at	in
tai-	on, at
vi-	over, above	at
al-	in, inside, into	on, during
aa-	under, below, down		ka+aa→kawa
so-			translative
xo-	through
kex-	by, near, against, next to, alongside
'at-	before, in front of, ahead, forward
gai-	behind	beginning	origination
sál-	beyond, past
'o-	to, towards	from
he-	from, away, off of, out of, outside of
laŋ-			comitative
ya-			instrumental
dea-	at every, from one to the next
nau-			benefactive
ŋat-	across, opposite	ending
nuŋ-	following, after, next
dax-			about, topic

[edit] [top]Adjectives

Attributive adjectives are usually tacked directly onto the noun root. (Predicative adjectives behave identically to verbs (see below).

Multiple adjectives can be strung onto the same noun if they have an 'and' sense. For example, k-'ott-kiin-gól 'the big red dog.' However, or-sense attributive adjectives take the following pattern: 'ott el k-kiin-gól (big or the-red-dog) 'the big or red dog.' This is the only instance in which attributive adjectives can appear alone.

[edit] [top]Case & number

Achiyitqan nouns inflect for number (SG/PL) and case (NOM/ACC/DAT/GEN) with one fused suffix. There are several inflection paradigms depending on the class and animacy of the noun.

Both class and animacy are inherent, fixed, and do not change. However, animacy is easier to tell - usually - because it has a semantic component.

Animate nouns are generally things which can move about of their own volition, e.g. people, deities, and most animals. At the opposite end of the animacy scale are the inanimate nouns, which are sedentary - rocks, buildings, tools, etc.

The middle animacy class, called the moderate, includes things which move (but not of their own volition), such as fluids; some 'lesser' animals, like insects, and other small creatures that tend to move in large groups (rodents, fish); and most abstract concepts.

The nonsemantic classes are S, N, and I-type nouns. These are not marked overtly on the noun but must be memorized. Inanimate and moderate nouns can only fall into S- and N- class. N- and I- class nouns tend to be high-frequency and/or culturally important words. In comparison to SACY, TSA's noun paradigm has greatly simplified.

Animacy-Class-Case Paradigm
Animacy		Animate			Moderate		Inanimate
Class		S	N	I	S	N	S	N
Nominative	SG	Ø		-i	Ø
Nominative	PL	-yi			-sii	-nii	-(o)n(e)
Accusative	SG	Ø			-sk	-l	-sk	-l
Accusative	PL	-s	-un	-is	-t	-sun	-t	-sun
Dative	SG	-ix			-dei
Dative	PL	-ika	-iŋa	-ińa	-dis		-qa
Genitive	SG	-ka						-ki
Genitive	PL	-ki

[edit] [top]Verbal Morphology

Verb structure:

NEG • mood1 • tense • aspect • incorp. object • ROOT • little v • mood2

Unlike in SACY, there are no negation+mood combinations that both fall behind the verb. However, there are a number of modal SACY auxiliaries which have become prefixes in TSA and fit behind the still-initial NEG particle.

[edit] [top]Tense and aspect

There are five main tense and two main aspects in Tsaavalu, down from six tenses and three aspects in SACY. These form eight fused particles.

There is also a non-finite tense and two secondary temporal aspects.

Tense/aspect	progressive	perfective	inceptive	cessative
remote past	ii-	itiy-	'e-	vi-
past	t(u)-	tiy-
immediate present	kiha-	N/A
present	Ø	gu-
future	ma-	mu-
gnomic	a-

TSA has lost the Remote Future, and the distinction between simple and progressive aspects. The unmarked verb form is the Progressive Present rather than the Simple Past. The Infinitive is also unmarked and indistinguishable from the PROG-PRES. The Immediate Present Perfective has been lost.

The remote past is used in a manner loosely similar to 'a long time ago' in English. It can be used as hyperbole.

Óxokaimyaaco eyólmi iiqulciún... óxoka-imya-o-co eyól-mi ii-qulciún ancient-king-NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity-that army-1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.PLPlural (number)
more than one/few.GENGenitive (case)
possessive REMRemote past (tense)
'a long time ago'.PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech-defeat '(Long ago,) that ancient king defeated our army...' dué in'anicussesun cihéas... dué in'ani-cusse-sun ci-héa-s because impossible-threat-PLPlural (number)
more than one/few.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient REMRemote past (tense)
'a long time ago'.PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech.PROGProgressive (aspect)
be verb-ing-ask-3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity 'because he was making impossible threats...' initiispagématóni'a. in-itiy-s-pagé-ma-tó-ni'a NEGNegative (polarity)
not-REMRemote past (tense)
'a long time ago'.PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech.PERFPerfect (aspect/tense)
have verb-ed-3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.ANAnimate (gender/class)
alive, moving-understand-1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.PLPlural (number)
more than one/few-CNSQConsequential (mood)
'then, and therefore'-acceptably 'so we had underestimated him.' Iyakitóiss. ii-aki-tóiss REMRemote past (tense)
'a long time ago'.PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech-eat-long.time 'I ate forever ago / I haven't eat in ages'

The past (non-remote) is for any actions which occurred before the moment of speaking, within the speaker's lifetime, and not during their early childhood.

Tumúls palkqa t-múl-s k-palk-qa PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech-go-3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.ANAnimate (gender/class)
alive, moving.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity mountain-INInanimate (gender/class)
for non-living things.PLPlural (number)
more than one/few.DATDative (case)
indirect object; recipient, beneficiary, location 'She went to the mountains.' Tiiqaampapga, immúlptó. tiy-qaamp-p-ga, in-múl-p-tó PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech.PROGProgressive (aspect)
be verb-ing-realize-1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity-CONDConditional (mood)
would, NEGNegative (polarity)
not-go-1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity-CNSQConsequential (mood)
'then, and therefore' 'If I had realized, I wouldn't have gone.' Kaŋi intuyaikcé' k-aŋ-i in-t-yaik-cé' DEFDefinite
"the"-cat-SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument NEGNegative (polarity)
not-PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech-happy-seem 'The cat didn't seem happy (for awhile)'

Present tense verbs occur in the general present; in the perfective aspect it often takes on a meaning of the immediate past (something which just occurred). It can also be used to convey intent for the immediate future (something is in planning/ about to happen), especially in the progressive.

Tóóp móosdin taiqaig. tów-p móos-din tai-qaig see-1SGUnknown code tree-PLPlural (number)
more than one/few.DATDative (case)
indirect object; recipient, beneficiary, location at-there 'I see trees over there' Liggayit gutagtúal. ligga-yi-t gu-tag-túal sibling-PLPlural (number)
more than one/few.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument-2Second person (person)
addressee (you).SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.GENGenitive (case)
possessive PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.PERFPerfect (aspect/tense)
have verb-ed-here-arrive 'Your sibling has/just arrived' Cu'map cu'm-ap PRESPresent tense (tense)
current-buy-1SGUnknown code 'I buy / am about to buy' Kihmis mut K-hmis mut DEFDefinite
"the"-man-SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument run 'The man is running / about to run'

The immediate present generally translates to 'right now.' It is most often accompanied by the imperative mood to add a sense of urgency to a command. When combined with stative verbs, it indicates that a state is only temporary.

Kihanaid! kiha-naid IMMImmediate (tense)
'immediate or near future'.PRESPresent tense (tense)
current-come 'come here right now!' Kihamapap. kiha-map-p IMMImmediate (tense)
'immediate or near future'.PRESPresent tense (tense)
current-sad-1SGUnknown code 'I'm sad right now' Kihanaids. kiha-naid-s IMMImmediate (tense)
'immediate or near future'.PRESPresent tense (tense)
current-come-3SGUnknown code 'he is on his way here, he is coming'

Future verbs take place anytime after the utterance; the remote future has been lost in TSA.

Matatówapnimmu. ma-ta-tów-ap-nimmu FUTFuture (tense)
action occurring after the moment of speech-2SGUnknown code-see-1SGUnknown code-tomorrow 'I'll see you tomorrow.' Muwaatówsxua mu-aa-tów-s-xua FUTFuture (tense)
action occurring after the moment of speech.PERFPerfect (aspect/tense)
have verb-ed-3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.INInanimate (gender/class)
for non-living things.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity-see-3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.ANAnimate (gender/class)
alive, moving.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity-now 'she will have seen it by then' Knaqíńyi micool id'uknimiŋa k-naqíŋ-yi mic-ool id-'uk-nim-iŋa DEFDefinite
"the"-goose-PLPlural (number)
more than one/few.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument FUTFuture (tense)
action occurring after the moment of speech.PROGProgressive (aspect)
be verb-ing-fly ten-two-day-DATDative (case)
indirect object; recipient, beneficiary, location.PLPlural (number)
more than one/few 'the geese will be flying in two weeks'

The non-finite tenses are the infinitive and the gnomic. The infinitive is used almost exclusively in subordinate clauses, where it serves as a verbal complement, and it is unmarked. The gnomic conveys timeless truths. Neither can be combined with other aspects.

Nihstá mut? níhs-ta mut? enjoy-2SGUnknown code.QInterrogative
question run? 'Do you like running / to run?' Apsuccawép. a-psucca-wé-p GNOGnomic (aspect/mood)
common, timeless truths-treat-love-1SGUnknown code 'I love treats' Lisyi aool. lis-yi a-ool bird-PLPlural (number)
more than one/few.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument GNOGnomic (aspect/mood)
common, timeless truths-fly 'Birds fly.'

The non-core aspects are the inceptive and the cessative. The inceptive refers to the beginning of an action or entering a state, while the cessative denotes stopping of an action or exiting of a state. Either can appear with any of the core fused tense/aspect morphemes, which they follow directly behind. The form of the inceptive is e-, with optional glottal stops before or after to separate it from other vowels (unlike most morphemes, which simply allow hiatus). The cessative is quite simply bi-.

Iiviyuhls ii-vi-yuhl-s REMRemote past (tense)
'a long time ago'.PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech-CESSUnknown code-smoke.pipe-3SGUnknown code.ANAnimate (gender/class)
alive, moving 'he stopped smoking a long time ago' Ma'e'asep tu'ulaqa ma-e-'ase-p tu'ula-qa FUTFuture (tense)
action occurring after the moment of speech-INCEPInceptive (aspect)
beginning of an action-cook-1SGUnknown code hour-SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.DATDative (case)
indirect object; recipient, beneficiary, location 'I'll start cooking in an hour'

[edit] [top]Mood and Negation

The negative is in-. Some moods appear before the verb stem, initially or after negation, while most appear nearer the end of the verb.

Moods
declarative	Ø
interrogative	á#
int. reasoning	-éá
imperative	V: if V-final
optative	-na
admonitive	-tsa
conditional	-ga
consequentive	-tó
causative	-q
capacitative	án-
debitive	'al-

The declarative is the simple an unmarked realis mood, used for most sentences.

'ip tulúe kiqittei 'ip t-lúe k-qitt-dei 1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument walk DEFDefinite
"the"-house-DATDative (case)
indirect object; recipient, beneficiary, location.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity 'I walked to the house.' 'ip intlúe. 'ip in-t-lúe 1SGUnknown code.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument NEGNegative (polarity)
not-walk 'I didn't walk.

Interrogatives are also unmarked, except for a shift in pitch-accent to the final syllable of the verb compound, and, again, take the basic negation prefix. The interrogative reasoning mood, which is similar to English "why?" questions, takes the affix -éá.

Diatiutá? dia-tiw-ta? this-want-2Second person (person)
addressee (you).SG_INT? 'Do you want this?' Immúlsít? in-múl-sit? NEGNegative (polarity)
not-go-3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.MOD_INT? 'It isn't going?' Aanáiqtéá? aa-náiq-t-éá? 3SGUnknown code.INInanimate (gender/class)
for non-living things-help-2SGUnknown code-why? 'Why did you help it?' Immúlsitéá? in-múl-sit-éá? go-3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.MODModerate (animacy)
not-quite-animate-why? 'Why didn't it go?'

The imperative expresses orders or prohibitions. The imperative does not have an overt morphological marker unless it has a final vowel, which is lengthened. However, it always appears sentence-initially, unlike the normal basic SOV word order, and blocks tense or subject pronouns from appearing.

Tagnaid! tag-naid! here-come! 'Come here!' Luwnippaa iwa luwnippa-: iwa adore-IMPImperative (mood)
command 1SGUnknown code.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient 'Adore me.' Inaakakii. in-aa-aki-: NEGNegative (polarity)
not-3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.INInanimate (gender/class)
for non-living things-eat 'Don't eat it.'

The admonitive (-tsa) translates as "should, must" and in SACY is used expressly to make warnings. In Tsaavalu it has also gained a necessitative meaning, although the usage differs slightly; with proper ADM, there are no person markers and it is understood as addressed to the second person; for the NECS, person and tense markers are used.

Xiiltsa. xiil-tsa stay-ADM 'You should stay.' Indaantsa. in-daan-tsa NEG-leave-ADM 'You mustn't go.' Xiiltítsa xiil-t-tsa stay-2.SG-ADM 'You need to stay.' Akiptsa. aki-p-tsa eat-1.SG-ADM 'I need to eat.'

The optative (-na) is used to express desires and wishes, or to make requests. For requests, the second person and present tense marker are not required.

Múlapna qilndei. múl-p-na qiln-dei go-1SG-want home-DAT 'I want to go home' Sken 'iwpína. sken 'iw-pí-na salt 1SG-give-OPT 'Please give me the salt.' Intuuwapna. in-tuuw-p-in-na NEG-PRES-learn-1SG-OPT 'I don't want to learn.'

The conditional (English "if") takes the affix -ga. The conditional goes on the verb of the major clause. It is almost always paired with the consequentive mood (-tó), although the consequentive can also occur under other major clause types.

Tagnaittíga, tóloppító naav. tag-naid-t-ga, tólo-p-pí-tó naav PRESPresent tense (tense)
current-here-come-2Second person (person)
addressee (you).SGSingular (number)
one countable entity-CONDConditional (mood)
would, candy-give-1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity-CNSQConsequential (mood)
'then, and therefore' 2Second person (person)
addressee (you).DATDative (case)
indirect object; recipient, beneficiary, location 'If you come here, I will give you some candy.' Inkihatagnaidtaga, tapnuhtó. in-kiha-tag-naid-ta-ga, ta-p-nuh-tó NEGNegative (polarity)
not-IMMImmediate (tense)
'immediate or near future'.PRESPresent tense (tense)
current-here-come-2Second person (person)
addressee (you).SGSingular (number)
one countable entity-CONDConditional (mood)
would, 2SGUnknown code-hit-CNSQConsequential (mood)
'then, and therefore' 'If you don't come here right now, I'll hit you.' Tisyestap, tudenatós. t-is-yest-ap, dena-tó-s. PAST-3.SG-push-1.SG, PAST-fall-CNSQ-3.SG 'I pushed him, so he fell.' Tisláttap, intudenatós. t-is-látt-ap, in-t-dena-tó-s. PAST-3.SG-save-1.SG, NEG-PAST-fall-CNSQ-3.SG 'I saved him, so he didn't fall.'

The causative mood can be used in two ways: intransitive or transitive. In effect it functions as a little v (valency) device, but it fits into the mood slot and can co-occur with subject suffixes, unlike other little v devices. The causative promotes the direct object of the clause to the agentive role.

Ataa tutsiqapaq ataa t-tsiq-p-q 2Second person (person)
addressee (you).SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient PASTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech-smile-1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument-CAUSCausative (valency/mood)
cause an action to occur, force another argument to act 'I made you smile / You smiled because of me' Tisnuilpaq kiqoxisk t-is-nuil-p-q k-qox-sk PASTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech-3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.ANAnimate (gender/class)
alive, moving.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient-put.out-1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument-CAUSCausative (valency/mood)
cause an action to occur, force another argument to act DEFDefinite
"the"-fire-SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.MODModerate (animacy)
not-quite-animate.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient 'I made him put out the fire'

A causative clause is often followed by a consequentive one. The capacitative, adapted from the "can" AUX, takes the form án-, and fits after the negative prefix.

Inántóóp. in-án-tów-p NEG-CAP-see-1.SG 'I can't see.' Áńxiiqŋgílt ? án-xiiq-ŋgil-t-? CAP-sour-taste-2.SG 'Can you taste the sour(ness)?'

The debitive has a meaning of "should, ought" which is less "intensive" or necessitative than the admonitive, and is generally seen as a suggestion rather than a warning or command.

'alnuloiit'ah 'al-nuloi-it-'ah DEB-sing-3.AN.PL-RECP 'They should sing together.' In'allasst sikka in-'al-lass-t sikka NEG-DEB-long_for-2.SG 3.AN.PL.DAT 'You shouldn't long for them.'

[edit] [top]Little-v and Agreement

Little-v functions in Achiyitqan are the transitive passive, reciprocative, reflexive, and the intransitive passive. None of these can co-occur with suffixed subjects, so standalone subjects are required in sentences with marked little-v functions. The transitive passive is simply -omi and the reciprocative just -'ah, while the reflexive is hey -'a and the intransitive passive is hey -kiit - requiring an auxiliary as well as the suffix. These can be used in situations like the following:

'ip iska tnuhomi! 1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument 3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.MODModerate (animacy)
not-quite-animate.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech-hit-TRTransitive (valency)
has two arguments.PASSPassive voice (valency)
be verb-ed 'It hit me / I was hit by it!' Pu tnuhom'ah 1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.PLPlural (number)
more than one/few.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech-hit-RECPReciprocal (valency)
arguments act on each other 'we hit each other' Taa hey gonuh 2Second person (person)
addressee (you).SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument RFXReflexive (valency)
argument acts on itself PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.PROGProgressive (aspect)
be verb-ing-hit 'you're hitting yourself' 'ip hey nuhkiit 1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument RFXReflexive (valency)
argument acts on itself hit-ITUnknown code.PASSPassive voice (valency)
be verb-ed 'I was hit'

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