Mehēla Grammar
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This public article was written by [Deactivated User], and last updated on 19 Mar 2017, 16:16.
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2. Mehēla Grammar
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3. Mehêla Morphology
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4. Mehêla Numbers
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5. Mehêla Phonology
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This article is a work in progress! Check back later in case any changes have occurred.
This article is a work in progress! Check back later in case any changes have occurred.
Mehēla is a language with split ergative morphosyntactic alignment and almost no inflectional morphology. The split is based on volition, i.e whether the agent did the action on purpose or not. The basic word order is SOV, but the object can be fronted for focus. A subject of an intransitive verb is unmarked.
Takō kuwaje.
person sleep
'The person sleeps.'
For transitive verbs there are two different options. The first is that the subject is unmarked, and the object is marked by the accusative postposition a, or ha if the previous word ends in /a/. The rule is that this happens when the subject performed the action with some kind of intent. If (h)a is used with a pronoun, then they are written as on word. That is simply an orthographic convention and has no impact on pronounciation.
Ka sukulā ha togo.
1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I chocolate ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient eat
'I eat chocolate. (on purpose)'
Wahe nea nūko.
MSDTMesiodistal (proximity)
distal to first and second persons.PNPronoun.PLPlural (number)
more than one/few 2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you)=ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient see
'They look at you.'
The other option is that the subject is marked by the ergative postposition te, and the object is unmarked. The general rule is that this happens when the subject performed the action without intent, or that it happend accidentally or incidentally. As with (h)a it is written together as one word with pronouns.
Kate sukulā togo.
1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I=ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent chocolate eat
'I eat chocolate. (maybe because I'm addicted or because I thought it was something else)'
Wahete ne nūko.
MSDTMesiodistal (proximity)
distal to first and second persons.PNPronoun.PLPlural (number)
more than one/few=ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent 2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you) see
'They see you.'
It should be emphasised that it's the volition of the transitive subject that determines the case marking, not anything else. So if I burn down a forest on purpose the sentence below is still correct since the forest didn't have a say in whether to burn down or not. In fact, inanimate subjects almost always trigger accusative alignment in the clause, except for when they are being anthropomorphised.
Kukūsi te āo ōasa.
forest ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent fire turn_into
'The forest burned down.'
Mehēla is non pro-drop, so all verb arguments must be explicitly stated in normal main clauses.
There are 11 normal postpositions in Mehēla, all having multiple uses. Most of these have negative variants, used to negate a clause and at the same time indicate the focus. There are also a large number of compound postposition for more precise meanings. Postpositional phrases can of course be adjuncts in clauses, but unlike in English most can't modify NPs directly, like how the house in Spain has the PP in Spain that modifies the NP the house. The PP must instead be put in a relative clause that modifies the NP. Exactly how relative clauses work is explained further down, but the only difference in practice is that the copula (h)e must be put between the postposition and the modified NP. The rule for (h)a and te that says that they are written together with pronouns does not apply to any other postpositions.
| Postpositions | |||
| Positive | Negative | Can modify NPs? | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ERGErgative (case) TRANS subject; agent | te | No | |
| ACCAccusative (case) TRANS direct object; patient | (h)a | No | |
| PTVPartitive (number) 'some of' or for mass nouns | no | hāno* | Yes |
| INSTInstrument (gender/class) tool, machine | mahā | hāmā | No |
| COMComitative (case) 'together with' | to | hāto | No |
| ADVAdverbial e.g. English '-ly' | (h)o | hajo | No |
| GENGenitive (case) possessive | le | hāle | Yes |
| LOCLocative (case) 'in, on, at' etc | ki | hāki | No |
| ALLAllative (case) 'to, onto' | su | hāsu | No |
| ABLAblative (case) away from | gā | hāgā | No |
| ITRTIntrative (case) 'between, amidst' | pake | hāpake | No |
| *Can not be used when modifying NPs. | |||
Postpositional phrases, when used as adjuncts in a clause, come after the verb in most cases, but can also occur clause-initially. Sometimes a PP (excluding the ones headed by te/(h)a) can be a verb argument, in which case it is placed together with the other arguments; the exact position depends on the verb.
Wa mahōko hokō ki.
MSDTMesiodistal (proximity)
distal to first and second persons.PNPronoun.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity sit chair LOCLocative (case)
'in, on, at' etc
'He/She sits on a chair.'
Ka mahōko tīa hāki.
1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I sit table NEGNegative (polarity)
not.LOCLocative (case)
'in, on, at' etc
'I don't sit on a table.'
Mehēla only has first and second person pronouns. The demonstrative pronouns can be used as third person pronouns. The plural forms of all pronouns are only used with animate antecedents, where they are obligatory. To indicate plurality with inanimate antecedents you can place the optional plural particle mea after the corresponding singular pronoun.
There is a four-way distinction between demonstratives. The proximal is used for things near the speaker and the mesioproximal for things near the listener. The mesiodistal and distal are two degrees of relative distance, physical or otherwise, from both the speaker and listener. Things that are more likely to be distal are:
- Things that are physically further away
- Things less relevant to the discourse
- More abstract objects
If there is only one thing in the discourse away from both the speaker and the listener the mesiodistal will be used for concrete objects and the distal for abstract objects. Only when multiple such things are in the discourse can the other one be used. Note that abstract objects are not necessarily mesiodistal or distal. An idea that the speaker had would be proximal, for example.
| Personal pronouns | ||
| SGSingular (number) one countable entity | PLPlural (number) more than one/few | |
|---|---|---|
| 1First person (person) speaker, signer, etc; I | ka | ilo |
| 2Second person (person) addressee (you) | ne | nehe |
| Demonstratives | ||||
| Pronoun SGSingular (number) one countable entity | Pronoun PLPlural (number) more than one/few | Determiner | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PROXProximal (proximity) close to speaker | jeke | jēhe | je | |
| MSPRMesioproxal (proximity) proximal to second person | gaka | gāha | ga | |
| MSDTMesiodistal (proximity) distal to first and second persons | wa | wahe | me | |
| DISTDistal (proximity) far from speaker (and addressee) | wōni | wōnihi | mōki | |
Mehēla has four marked voices: passive, antipassive, locative applicative, and instrumental applicative. The names of the applicatives should not be taken literally, they are both quite general in their use. The passive and antipassive decrease the valency by one and turns the object and subject into the single argument respectively. They are used with transitive verbs only, in contrast with the applicatives which can be used with both intransitive and transitive verbs. They promote some oblique to object position and remove the original object in the case of transitive verbs. Exactly which oblique is being promoted depends on the verb and type of applicative. The same volition distinction exist for verbs in one of the applicative voices as for any other transitive verb in the active voice.
The argument removed with the passive or antipassive can be reintroduced as an oblique, but the original object from verbs put in an applicative voice can only be reintroduced if the new object is being relativised.
| Prefix | Postp. of chômeur | |
|---|---|---|
| Passive | ti- | mahā |
| Antipassive | ko- | no |
| Instrumental Applicative | lo- | (h)a* |
| Locative Applicative | sā- | (h)a* |
| *The object can only be reintroduced if the new object is being relativised. | ||
This section is out of date!
There are two different postpositions used for when an NP modifies another NP. The postposition is placed between the NP's, but the modified NP can sometimes be left out if it can be inferred from context.
Possession
The possession postposition na is used for actual ownership or belonging.
Ka na onata
1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I GENGenitive (case)
possessive dog
'My dog'
Ūhe na sōe
man GENGenitive (case)
possessive eye
'The man's eye'
Description
The description postposition le is mainly used when the dependent in some way describes or specifies the head. It is often used when English would use noun compounding. It is always used when specifying family members.
Hepele le kusi
apple STATStative (case)
attribute assignment tree
'Apple tree'
Mehēla le nonōa
saint.helena STATStative (case)
attribute assignment language
'The language of Saint Helena'
Quantity
When describing a quantity of something, le is used together with the partitive unknown.
Hutu le imaja unknown
bowl STATStative (case)
attribute assignment fresh.water PTVPartitive (number)
'some of' or for mass nouns
'A bowl of fresh water'
Note the order of the nouns. We're describing the water as being enough to fill a bowl, not the bowl as being filled with water.
Adjectives precede the nouns they modify.
Wuki asua sīwa.
brown bird fly
'The brown bird is flying.'
They can also take the postposition le and be used like a genitive construction. In this construction the adjective X gets a sense that the noun itself doesn't have property X, but rather that it is characterised by X or full of X-ness.
Ilo ōjeke puēge le pojo kēa to.
1PFirst person plural (person)
we (inclusive or exclusive) FUTFuture (tense)
action occurring after the moment of speech happy STATStative (case)
attribute assignment new year COMComitative (case)
'together with'
'We will have a happy new year.'
The year won't be happy, but it will be full of happyness (to us).
Mehēla uses the copula e, or he if stressed or if the previous word ends in /e/. It behaves like a intransitive verb, but is only mandatory in a few situations, and optional in most other. When a copula is not used, word order is very strict. When optional it is most often omitted but using it frees up word order, which can be useful. A nominal sentence usually involves a postpositional phrase due to the fact that the copula is intransitive.
Predicative Nominals
The copula is optional in predicative nominal sentences. Normally it's omitted, but using the copula here allows you, but not requires you, to front the predicate for focus. The NP to be used in the predicate takes the adverbial postposition (h)o.
Tōta mōlihī o.
cake lie PTVPartitive (number)
'some of' or for mass nouns
'The cake is a lie.'
Mōlihī o tōta e.
lie PTVPartitive (number)
'some of' or for mass nouns cake COPCopula
used to link the subject of a sentence with a predicate
'The cake is a LIE. / A lie is what the cake is.'
It is also possible to simply juxtaposing the two NPs without anything else. The meaning of this construction is that the NPs are identically the same, as opposed to being identified as a member of a set.
Ka ūhe.
1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I man
'I am the man.'
Ka ne le tāta.
1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I 2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you) GENGenitive (case)
possessive father
I am your father.
Predicative Adjectives
Predicative adjectives are formed like normal nominals. The copula can be used as above.
Wa le tihu mā o.
3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.PROXProximal (proximity)
close to speaker GENGenitive (case)
possessive nose red PTVPartitive (number)
'some of' or for mass nouns
'His nose is red.'
Predicative Postpositional Clauses
Predicative postpositional clauses are formed in a similar fashion, but with other postpositions than (h)o, also with an optional copula. Mehēla often uses this kind of construction for when English would use verbs like have, use, go or come.
Kihine hihīma wuki to.
girl hair brown COMComitative (case)
'together with'
'The girl has brown hair.'
Ka Suwēlie gā.
1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I Sweden ABLAblative (case)
away from
'I come from Sweden.'
Comparatives
Comparatives are formed using a serial verb construction with the copula and the verb tēo 'pass, exceed'.
Gelo e kilō ho kihine a tēo.
fish COPCopula
used to link the subject of a sentence with a predicate big ADVAdverbial
e.g. English '-ly' girl ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient exceed
'The fish is bigger than the girl.'
Seōga he wē o kotēo pitilo to.
everything COPCopula
used to link the subject of a sentence with a predicate good ADVAdverbial
e.g. English '-ly' ANTIPAntipassive voice (valency)
valency is decreased by one-exceed colour COMComitative (case)
'together with'
'Everything is better with colours.'
Superlatives
Superlatives are formed using partial initial reduplication on the adjective. Exactly how this kind of reduplication is formed is explained here. The reduplicated forms can also be used as nouns, meaning they can be modified by a relative clause.
Ka Nūla gā e wewē o.
1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I Earth ABLAblative (case)
away from COPCopula
used to link the subject of a sentence with a predicate SUPSuperlative (comparison)
English 'most', '-est'~good ADVAdverbial
e.g. English '-ly'
'I'm the best in the world.'
Ilo pipīlō ho.
1PFirst person plural (person)
we (inclusive or exclusive) SUPSuperlative (comparison)
English 'most', '-est'~healthy ADVAdverbial
e.g. English '-ly'
'We are the healthiest'
Equatives
Only S or O can be relativised in Mehēla, i.e relativisation works ergatively. This is done by simply omitting that argument. The relative clause precedes the noun and may optionally be preceded by the relativiser gehe. The relative clause must have the main verb last, i.e. directly preceeding the head noun.
Kuwaje ūhe te sukulā luōpo.
sleep man ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent chocolate like
'The man that sleeps likes chocolate.'
Kate gehe nea po nūko ūhe gālea.
1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I=ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent RELZRelativiser (derivation) 2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you)=ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient PFVPerfective (aspect)
completed action see man love
'I love the man that saw you.'
The copula is always explicit in relative clauses. Relativisation with the copula is for most postpositions the only way for PPs to modify NPs, as explained above.
Wuki hihīma to e kihine
brown COLCollective (number)
'group or mass entity'~hair COMComitative (case)
'together with' COPCopula
used to link the subject of a sentence with a predicate girl
'The girl with brown hair'
Other noun phrases can be made available for relativisation by changing the voice of the verb.
Ka sālōa gumōa
1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I INSTRInstrumental (case)
'with' 'using'.APPLApplicative voice (valency)
promotes an oblique argument-live house
'The house I live in'
Nehe le mohu no kohapū ona.
2PSecond person plural (person)
addressee (plural) GENGenitive (case)
possessive friend PTVPartitive (number)
'some of' or for mass nouns ANTIPAntipassive voice (valency)
valency is decreased by one-bite dog
'The dog that bit their friend'
This strategy of using an applicative voice in order to allow things to be indirectly relativised is very useful, but has two problems:
- It can lead to ambiguity that can't be resolved through context. There are only two applicative voices, but a larger amount of postpositions.
- How would you say something like 'The island I am on'? The strategy above would suggest we put the copula in the locative applicative voice and say *'Ka sāe muēa' (1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I LOCLocative (case)
'in, on, at' etc.APPLApplicative voice (valency)
promotes an oblique argument-COPCopula
used to link the subject of a sentence with a predicate island). This is ungrammatical since the copula can't change voice.
These two problems have the solution: work in progress...
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