The PAM (polarity, aspect, and mood) suffixes are an essential feature of Siye, the language of the Simayamka. Their complexity derives from a long history of linguistic change. Professor Kewim Lempinim of the Guild of Scholars has been kind enough to provide a systematic analysis of that history, for the moral improvement of the grammar of Simuyamka (those who do not speak Siye), Sinimmuyamka (those who do not speak it well), and Sinammayamka (those who are learning Siye). I have translated it in a less moralistic manner than the version in the original language. I have also omitted Professor Lempinim’s diatribe against White Bluff Siye, an abomination in the eyes of the Guild, which is meaningless without a more profound knowledge of Simayam morality. I apologize for the all the nasal doublets: these are translations of Guild technical terms which I could render either in the longer forms below or in less pronounceable forms such as -Ne and -Neku.

“Thank you for attending this lecture. It is an easy gamble that you will be better for it. The fundamental distinction between the imperfective and the perfective aspects is m vs n. At one stage, the PAM suffix was only an A suffix. The suffix -me indicated imperfective aspect, while the suffix -ne indicated perfective aspect. The negative was still external. At this point, the default mood was realis (unlike the modern irrealis -ne) and the default polarity was positive. The metrical foot system, already based on trochees and dactyls had two levels: primary stress and secondary stress. Primary stress lay on the initial metrical syllable (extra-metrical syllables will be addressed in a later lecture). Secondary stress could lie elsewhere, as long as the feet remained trochees and dactyls.

The floating suffix -ku, from uku ‘nothing’, was added to -me and -ne to create PA suffixes –meku and -neku. Since this -ku was a floating suffix, it was ‘weaker’ than -me and -ne, and therefore could receive stress at all. This was called a secondary suffix. Remember that the only allowable feet were trochees and dactyls, so the new suffixes -meku and -neku could only be a trochee or the latter two syllables of a dactyl. As yet, this had a minimal effect on the metrical structure of the verb.

Another floating suffix, the energetic suffix -a, became a secondary suffix, but originally only in the positive polarity. The new suffixes -mea and -nea were born, and suffered under the same restrictions as -meku and -neku. The energetic suffix indicated a degree of emphasis beyond that indicated by the original suffixes -me and -ne.

The popularity of -mea and -nea led to the analogous creation of new PA suffix -meu and -neu, which were derived from -me and -ne and the other syllable of uku. These four PA energetic suffixes (-mea, -nea, -meu, and -neu) were so popular that their energetic meaning was bleached to a prosaic realis use. The original prosaic suffixes, at the same time, were weakened to irrealis mood.

In an altogether moral world, the evolution would have ceased at that point. Alas, morality in language requires constant vigilance. Since the PAM suffixes -me and -ne were now irrealis mood and positive polarity, and negative polarity was indicated by the secondary suffix -ku, speakers reinterpreted all the -me and -ne components of the PAM suffixes as irrealis. If this were the case, then the PAM suffixes -meu and –neu contained irrealis rather than realis mood. The original negative suffixes -meku and -neku, although they remained irrealis and correct, were marginalized even further and could have disappeared.

The descent into irrealis of -meu and -neu left a negative gap in the realis mood. Since both -u and -ku were valid secondary suffixes for negative polarity, four new PAM suffixes were born: -meau, -neau, -meaku, -neaku. Each dialect chose either -meau and -neau or -meaku and -neaku. The creation of these suffixes sparked a revolution in the metrical structure of the verb. Since the only allowable feet were trochees and dactyls, the new suffixes had to be their own separate foot, that foot determined the metrical structure of the rest of the verb. The primary stress remained unmoved, but the other secondary stresses were governed by the PAM suffix.

Up to this point in the history of the language, the default structure of the verb root was a root of one to three syllables. A directional suffix following the pronominal suffix was optional and could be expressed externally. Since a three-syllable verb root formed its own dactylic foot, the following one-syllable pronominal suffix always received secondary stress.

The creation of the latest, dactylic PAM prefixes caused a verb with a three-syllable root and no directional suffix to have two dactyls separated by a single syllable. This was obviously unmetrical. The counterpart with a directional suffix did not suffer in a similar fashion. The directional suffix, therefore, became an integral part of the ‘extended root’ of the verb in original three-syllable verb roots. This integration of the directional suffix then spread to the verb roots of one and two syllables, reversing the default pattern of the verb root. A few extremely common verb roots without directional suffixes remained in use. The directional suffix, now integrated to the verb root, attracted secondary stress where possible. Ironically, this stress attraction was not possible with the presence of the negative suffixes which had triggered this integration.

The Great Vowel Contraction, which will be covered more thoroughly in a later lecture, once again shattered the moral balance of the trochaic-dactylic metrical structure. The distinction between realis and irrealis mood disappeared in the negative polarity in dialects that used spoken -mu and -nu rather than -maku and -naku versus -meku and -neku. Final syllables with secondary stress appeared, rendering half of the basic paradigms immoral and unmetrical. For brief time, mood was once again rendered external to the verb in the -mu and -nu dialects. Sometimes individuals wrote the realis and irrealis homophones differently, as -me’u and -ma’u.

Soon, the two dialects mixed together. The irrealis form -meku replaced irrealis -mu, and -mu specialized to indicate only realis. Even this left a variety of metrical patterns that were difficult to remember, so secondary stress returned to the directional suffix wherever possible.

I hope this lecture has been useful. Please return next week for the lecture on the Great Vowel Contraction.”

 

 

 

This series of posts are an attempt to take to an idea from the Crazy Conlang Ideas on Facebook and make it usable.

The crazy idea is: “gendered noun language”. Not gendered as in masculine and feminine, gendered as in “the indicators of nominal category are the same as the person marking on the verb.”

The initial attempt at description was as above: the clitics that indicated person were identical to those that indicated nominal category. The 1st person clitic attached to the root for ‘father’ indicated ‘biological father’; the 2nd person clitic similarly attached indicated ‘father-in-law’, a non-biological but nonetheless real relationship; the 3rd person clitic so attached indicated ‘Father, community leader’, someone who fulfilled a similar role for the broader community whether or not the individual was related to the speaker.  I would have provided glosses, but the initial draft is no more, and that’s a good thing.

The loss of the initial draft made me think while I was reconstructing it: why was it so hard to relate the personal endings with the categories of nouns? What underlying theory could justify such a strange and thorough-going behavior? Then I realized that I been trying to implement the theory in the reverse order. The personal meaning of the clitics, although it was the most distinct aspect of the surface form, was secondary. I had to start with the gender category of the clitics, and explain their origin. This origin was not as conventional personal clitics nor as categorical ones, but as deictic markers!  It is not uncommon for 3rd person deictics to evolve into personal pronouns, but the ancestors of the “current” speakers of this language had taken this deictic shift to another level: a minimally three-level deictic system had been transformed into a personal system for the verbs and a gendered system for the nouns.

What were the implications for the language from this revelation? Firstly, the original, more conventional, pronoun system was long gone and irrecoverable.  Certainly, I could create something ex nihilo, but it would have no effect on the current state of the language, so why would I do it? Secondly, if the origin of the current pronouns was based on clitics, there was no need for three separate roots for person; a single root PRONOUN would do. Thirdly, if spatial deictic clitics could provide the source for the personal number clitics and the noun gender clitics, other deictic clitics in the same slot normally associated exclusively with pronouns could interact with nouns in interesting ways.

The PAM in PAM suffix stands for polarity, aspect, and mood. This is a heavy load for one or two syllables to bear. Various adverbial suffixes interact in different ways with “aspects” (if you’ll excuse the pun) of the PAM suffix.

Aspect is the easiest portion of the PAM suffix to extract from the verb. The two aspects of Siye are perfective and imperfective; –n– for the perfective and –m– for the imperfective. The perfective aspect indicates an activity treated as a completed event, and therefore usually past, while the imperfective aspect indicates an activity treated as an on-going event. Some adverbial suffixes, such as –ka-, require the perfective aspect, while others, such as –tam-, require the imperfective aspect. Yet others, such as –te-, change their meaning depending on the aspect of the verb.

Umlekipusumkanuna.

Unglechifusungkanuna.

I have decided to be baptized.

Elaputetuma!

Elafutetsuma!

I want to buy it!

There are only two possibilities for polarity – positive and negative. Separating the polarity of the PAM suffix from its mood is nearly impossible. The positive PAM suffixes are –ma-, -me-, -na-, and –ne-. The negative PAM suffixes are –mu-, -meku-, -nu-, and –neku-. Some converbal suffixes, such as –neme- plus the imperfective aspect, can reverse the polarity of the PAM suffix!

Salipunemetuma.

Salifunemetsuma.

I can’t stop loving you.

The two moods of Siye are realis and irrealis. Realis covers statements of fact and imperatives, while irrealis covers subjunctive and contrafactual moods. PAM suffixes which contain –a- or –u- are realis. PAM suffixes which contain –e- or –eku- are irrealis. Certain adverbial suffixes, such –yosa- and –yosaku-, require irrealis mood.

Lusilisum itupuyosakusumeku.

Lushilisung itsufuyosahusumehu.

Certainly she has never left the city.

If this were not sufficiently complicated, two clause-final suffixes, interrogative –umo and connective –m, -am, or –ham, obscure the system of the PAM suffix. These are clause-final suffixes, rather than verb-final suffixes, but Siye is nearly always verb-final, converting these clause-final suffixes into verb-final suffixes. The strength of the vowel u in the vowel dominance hierarchy eliminates the a and e in the PAM suffixes so that a positive question appears as a negative question. An inability to differentiate between positive and negative questions was not acceptable to the Guild of Scholars, so they adopted one of the solutions in the Valley – the false negative –umo acquired the double negative –ukumo as the true negative. In the Lake area, a different solution emerged – -umo became a true negative and –amo was created as a positive form. This solution, unfortunately, was not adopted by the Guild of Scholars. The –a- in the connective –am suffix, likewise, overwhelms the irrealis –e- of the realis PAM suffixes. This obscurity has never been resolved; thorough knowledge of the language is the only method of handling it.

Ukuka ipetomkasunumo?

Uhuka ipetongkasunumo?

Have you sold all the fish? (NOT: Haven’t you sold all the fish?)

Ukuka ipetomkasunukumo?

Uhuka ipetongkasunuhumo?

Haven’t you sold all the fish?

Lake dialect:

Uhuka ipetomkasunamo?

Uhuka ipetongkasunamo?

Have you sold all the fish?

The aspect of the PAM suffix controls the choice of the pronominal number prefix (Position 4) in transitive or ditransitive verbs. If the aspect is imperfective, the pronominal number prefix will agree with the number of the grammatical subject of the clause. If the aspect is perfective, the pronominal number prefix will agree with the grammatical direct object of the clause. Intransitive and reflexive verbs only have one argument with which to agree.

Peke luka ukakem pesukekima.

Peke luka ukakeng pesukechima.

You few will wander upon the whole earth.

Isoya laka lakosotuma.

Isoya laka lakosotsuma.

The two of them will spot all of us.

Isoya laka layemkatuna.

Isoya laka layengkatsuna.

The two of them have spotted all of us.

The adverbial suffix –like- is translated ‘to fail to X’.

Nesakam eletupuyosamlikesuna.

Nesakang eletsufuyosanglikesuna.

I failed to deliver the letter.

The adverbial suffix –likeku-, composed of –like- and –ku-, is translated ‘to do X successfully’

Nesakam eletupuyosamlikekusuna.

Nesakang eletsufuyosanglikehusuna.

I delivered the letter successfully.

The suffix –mulu- is translated ‘to do X in vain’. This suffix is not the same as –like-; -like- places emphasis on the failure to do X, while –mulu- places emphasis on the futility of the action, whether completed or not. The futility need not be the failure to do X, but possibly the futility of accomplishing X in the face of Y.

Epepipusummulunama.

Epepipusummulunama.

You will learn it in vain. (You accomplish the learning, but not the task for which you acquired the learning.)

When –mulu- is combined with other adverbials to created new adverbials, however, it does have the sense of failure. The suffix –muluyam- is translated ‘to try’ and is composed of –mulu- ‘in vain’ and –yam- ‘to be able’. This suffix requires the imperfective aspect.

Eki epuluwepumuluyamtumumo?

Echi efuluvefumuluyangtsumumo?

Have you tried to find it?

The suffix –muluka- is translated ‘to fail to do what one has resolved to do’. This suffix requires the perfective aspect.

Eki nimulo elekelomulukanana.

Eki nimulo elekelomulukanana.

I have failed to do many good things that I had resolved to do.

These adverbial suffixes indicate how many times the action of the verb was performed. The suffix –tum- indicates that the action was performed once, -so- that it was performed twice, and –mum-/-mnu- that it was performed more than three times; the exact number is indicated by a number in the adverbial case before the verb.

There are certain peculiarities, however, against which one must stand on guard. The suffix –tum- with the perfective aspect indicates that the action is done once. The same suffix with the imperfective suffix indicates that the action was or will be done in one continuous action. The suffix –so- works in a similar vein: with perfective aspect, it indicates that the action is done once, with imperfective, that the action has two parts.

Pe ipekaremputumnuna.

Pe ipekarengfutsungnuna.

You judged him once.

Pe epenuputumnama.

Pe epenufutsungnama.

You did this in one session.

Pe me epesapusotuna.

Pe me epesafusotsuna.

You listened to it twice.

Pe me epeyofusotuma.

Pe me epeyofusotuma.

You listened to it in two parts (because there was an intermission).

The challenge with the suffix –mum-/-mnu- is more severe, particularly to the neo-Victorian sensibility of early 23^rd century Terrestrial culture. The form –mum- is used after a nasal vowel, the form –mnu- after an oral vowel. A recurring problem for the many converbal suffixes in Siye is homophony, and in this case, homophony of a most distressing kind! The suffixal form –mnu- of the suffix –mum-/-mnu- is homophonous and exists under the same conditions as the suffixal form –mnu- of the suffix –hom-/-mnu- ‘to do X lasciviously’. This unfortunate circumstance is a bane to prudes and a boon to poetasters.

I la pewaku ileyepumnutuna.

I la pevahu ileyefungnutsuna.

Thrice she called me.

or

Thrice she spoke in dulcet tones.

First, a brief elaboration on –ka-. –ka– means ‘to have resolved to do something’, and therefore there is a temptation to interpret this resolution as purely external. This is a mistake. –ka– is in the same family of suffixes as –te– and –teka-, both expressions of internal state. The suffix –ka– is similar; although it is certainly possible to have an external expression of an internal state, it would be inappropriate to use –ka– of one who promised insincerely. In such a case, one would use the promissory suffix –kom-, to be discussed in a future post. This is not merely a grammatical nicety; the Simayamka ethical concept of ‘imaka’ combines both external and internal states.

Le koki iletulosumkanana.

Le kochi iletsulosungkanana.

I have resolved to help them.

Le koki iletulosumkomnana.

Le kochi iletsulosungkongnana.

I have promised to help them.

Further suffixes in this family are –teku– and –kaku-. These suffixes are derived from –te– and –ka-, respectively, with the addition of the negative suffix –ku-. –teku– does not mean ‘to not want to X’ (that would be –te– plus the PAM suffix –nu), but rather ‘to fear X happening’, where X must be a verb rather than a noun. Its origin, however, is shown by the requirement that the PAM suffix be in the imperfective aspect.

Leliketekunuma.

Leliketehunuma.

We (few) are afraid to die.

Lasiketekunumu.

Lashiketehunumu.

He is not afraid to insult us few.

The suffix –kaku-, from –ka– ‘to have resolved to X’ and the negative suffix –ku-, is translated ‘to waver on doing X’. ‘To waver’ would seem an imperfective notion, but the etymology of the suffix shows through because the suffix –kaku– requires the perfective aspect. It does so, however, only in the meaning ‘to waver at doing X’. The suffix –kaku– with the imperfective aspect is used to indicate that the subject of the verb is unreliable at performing the task designated by the verb.

Esu yiyemsosumkakutuna.

Esu yiyengsosungkahutsuna.

I hesitate to show them (2). I waver at causing them (2) to see it.

Layeke mena enupukakunama.

Layeke mena enufukahunama.

This girl is an unreliable worker.

Leyake mena enuluwepukakutuma.

Leyake mena enuluvefukahutuma.

This boy is an unreliable tracker.

The adverbial suffix –yosa– ‘supposedly’ takes the irrealis mood in the PAM (polarity-aspect-mood) suffix. Although –yosa– can be used with a neutral tone of voice, its lexical meaning encourages its use in less than sincere statements. The suffix –yosa– with a negative irrealis PAM suffix is translated ‘certainly’. Again, this suffix can be used sincerely, but is more often used sarcastically. If a Siye-speaker wishes to use –yosa– with a negative verb, she must use –yosaku-, the inverse form with the positive but still irrealis, PAM suffix.

Nusu imena ususo eyosoyosanane.

Nusu imena ususo eyosoyosanane.

His sibling supposedly ate the two chickens.

Nusu imena ususo eyosoyosakunane.

Nusu imena ususo eyosoyosahunane.

His sibling supposedly did not eat the two chickens.

Nusu imena ususo eyosoyosananeku.

Nusu imena ususo eyosoyosananehu.

His sibling certainly ate the two chickens.

Nusu imena ususo eyosoyosakunaneku.

Nusu imena ususo eyosoyosahunanehu.

His sibling certainly did not eat the two chickens.

A set of adverbial suffixes whose meanings are related, but nonetheless are non-intuitive for the English speaker are –lo-/-te- ‘to practice’ and -lote- ‘to pretend’. The first thing to note about these suffixes is that –lo- occurs with the imperfective aspect, and –te- occurs with the perfective aspect. The connection of –te- ‘to practice’ with the perfective aspect prevents confusion with –te- ‘to want’ with the imperfective aspect. Similarily, -lo- ‘to practice’ will follow, at a minimum, the pronominal number suffix, and therefore cannot be confused by native speakers with –lo-, the plural pronominal number suffix. The second thing of importance is that –lo-/-te- negates as a regular suffix does, that is, using the PAM (polarity-aspect-mood) suffix, but –lote- belongs to the class of ‘inverse suffixes’ and therefore forms its negative by suffixing the floating negative suffix –ku- to –lote- to form –loteku- ‘to perform authentically’.

Epesikelonamukumo?

Epeshikelonamuhumo?

Aren’t you (few) practicing your singing?

Eleyekatenana.

Eleyekatenana.

We all practiced our singing.

Epeyelolotenana.

Epeyelolotenana.

You (many) pretended to sing (but were actually goofing around)

Samnikem elesikalotekunama.

Sangnikeng eleshikalotehunama.

Now you will all genuinely sing (because I’m the choir director)

Nulotenamaki (nulotenamachi) – toy (that with which you pretend to do X)

Kelotenanaki (kelotenannachi) – play (the activity of playing)

Kimlotekimakim (Chinglotechimaching) – play area

Ilokimayam (Ilochimayang) – cad (one who pretends to love)

The suffixes -mmu-/-num- and -numu- are a pair of adverbial suffixes (Position 6) that make a distinction that English renders as separate words are –mmu-/-num- ‘allow’ and –numu- ‘permit’. The negative meanings of these suffixes are ‘hinder’ and ‘forbid’, respectively. The suffix -mmu-/-num- carries no legal implication, whereas –numu- has legal force behind it. The suffixal form –mmu- is used after a syllable with an oral vowel, -num- is used after a nasal vowel (one that ends in /m/). Both –mmu-/-num- and –numu- trigger the Causative Construction, provided that the Causor and the Causee are different. The suffix remains in the converbal slot (Position 6). In the imperfective aspect, the one who permits (or allows, or hinders, or forbids) something is the Causor in the Nominative or Ergative Case, the one who is permitted is the Causee in the Instrumental or Animate Instrumental Case, and the thing affected is the Recipient in the Accusative or Absolutive Case. In the Perfective aspect, the one who permits (or allows, or hinders, or forbids) something is the Causor in the Nominative or Ergative Case, the one who is permitted is the Causee in the Absolutive or Accusative Case, and the thing affected is the Recipient in the Dative or Allative Case.

Le pesoneki yetelo elelipummunama.

Le pesonechi yetelo elelifungmunama.

I allow you two to eat the pieces of fruit.

Le yetelosu saso ileyosommunana.

Le yetelosu saso ileyosongmunana.

I allowed you two to eat the pieces of fruit.

Le pesoneki yetelo elelipummunamu.

Le pesonechi yetelo elelifungmunamu.

I will hinder you two from eating the pieces of fruit.

Le yetelosu saso ileyosommunanu.

Le yetelosu saso ileyosongmunanu.

I hindered you two from eating the pieces of fruit.

Le pesoneki yetelo elelipunumunama.

Le pesonechi yetelo elelifunumunama.

I permit you two to eat the pieces of fruit.

Le yetelosu saso ileyosonumunana.

Le yetelosu saso ileyosonumunana.

I permitted you two to eat the pieces of fruit.

Le ikatu saso salekesosumnumnuna.

Le ikatsu saso salekesosungnungnuna.

I allowed you to kill all of them.

Le pesoneki yetelo elelipunumunama.

Le pesonechi yetelo elelifunumunama.

I forbid two from eating the pieces of fruit.

Le yetelosu saso ileyosonumunana.

Le yetelosu saso ileyosonumunana.

I have forbidden you two from eating the pieces of fruit.

Le ikatu saso salekesosumnumununa.

Le ikatsu saso salekesosungnumununa.

I authorized you to kill all of them.

Nummunamuyam – bureaucrat

Nummunamaki – bribe

Nunumunamayam – one who can authorize

Nunumunamakim – office

Kenumunanakim – the place/project authorized

Kenumunanaki – permit (the actual form) to do something

In Siye, the suffixes -te-, with the imperfective PAM suffix, and -ka-,  with the perfective PAM suffix, as well as -teka- with the irrealis PAM suffix are closely connected. The specification of aspect is critical here, because -te- with the perfective PAM suffixes is associated with a different cluster of suffixes.

The suffix –te– with the imperfective aspect indicates ‘to want to do X’. The polarity and mood can vary. Examples using the suppletive verb -yo-tu- (imperfective) -sa-tu- (perfective) ‘to hear’. -yo- witth the perfective is from the suppletive verb ‘to eat’. -sa- with the imperfective is from the suppletive verb ‘to (get) wet’ ‘to drink’.

eleyoputetuma.

eleyofutetsuma.

I want to listen to it.

eleyoputetumesum.

eleyofutetsumesung.

If I wanted to listen to it.

The suffix –ka- with the perfective aspect indicates ‘to have resolved to do/be X’.  The polarity and mood  of the suffix can vary.

elesapukatuna.

elesafukatsuna.

I have resolved to listen to it.

elesapukatune.

elesafukatsune.

If I had not resolved to listen to it.

The suffix -teka- is translated differently depending on the aspect of the verb. If the verb is irrealis, it is translated ‘I would like to X’. Certain districts, whose speakers have received a poor education, use -te- and the irrealis PAM  suffix for -teka- and the irrealis suffix, even while using -teka for the perfective!

eleyoputekatume.

eleyofutekatsume.

I would like to listen to it.

X eleyoputetume.

X eleyofutetsume.

I would like to listen to it.

X elesaputekatunneku.

X elesafutekatsunehu.

I wouldn’t have liked to listen to it.

If -teka- is paired with a realis PAM suffix, the verb should be translated, ‘must X’. Certain districts, whose speakers have received a poor education, use -wi and the perfective PAM  suffix for -teka- and the irrealis perfective suffix, even while using -teka- for the imperfective!

eleyoputekatuma.

eleyofutekatsuma.

I must listen to it.

elesaputekatunu.

elesafutekatsunu.

I did not need to listen to it.

X elesapuwitunu.

X elesafuvitsunu.

X I did not need to listen to it.