(no subject)

[moonflower77]

 

 voice can be defined as one of the ways of expressing the relationship between the subject and the object (the agent and the patient) that are available in a language.

1) specific-object voice

the subject takes one of the non-nominative cases (see case list for the first declension of nouns), while the direct object takes the nominative case. the verb agrees with regard to person and number with the direct object. 

2) generic-object voice

formed using the prefix inɛ- ~ ɛna- (instead of the specific object markers for the direct object)

the subject takes the nominative case. the direct object takes one of the non-nominative cases, usually the orientative-dative, instrumental or locative case, depending on the lexical meaning of the verb in question. 

gɨm tinɛtɛjkɨrkɨn orvɛtɨ i am making a sleigh (lit. to, for, toward a sleigh)
muri mɨtinɛrɛtɨrkɨn kimitjɛ we are transporting the load (lit. by, with, using the load)
a'achekɨt inɛgɨnritɨrkɨt qaak the young men are guarding the reindeer (lit. at the reindeer's)

note that the verb agrees with regard to person and number with the subject, and not the direct object.

compatible with any tense and mood forms.

3) potential-object voice

formed using the suffix -tku ~ -tko. not to be confused with:

a) some forms of the specific-object voice, e.g. pɛlätkotɨk "you (pl.) are leaving us", nɨpɛlätkojgɨt "you (sg.) are leaving us".
b) the derivational suffix used for forming denominative verbs: valätkok to work with a knife [valɨ knife, valä-], ɨ'tvɨtkuk to hunt in a boat [ɨ'tvjɛt boat, ɨ'tv-]
c) aspectual suffix -tku ~ -tko, used to refer to an action of lowered intensity that happens with interruptions, in separate intervals (may have connotations like: repeatedly + weakly, once in a while, slowly, gradually, little by little, rarely, etc.): talätkok to rap, tap, knock (repeatedly) [taläk to hit, to strike], piŋkutkuk to hop, lop (repeatedly) [piŋkuk to jump]

all of these are omonymous to the potential-object suffix and might share the same origin, but have a completely different meaning.

compatible with any tense and mood forms.

a verb in a form of the potential-object voice does not refer to an object altogether. it merely indicates that the action is characterized by a general directness toward an object; this is seen as an inherent property of the action, while the object as such becomes irrelevant.

usually, there is no lexical direct object. it is implicit, but not mentioned. if mentioned, the direct object takes the orientative-dative, instrumental or locative case  depending on the lexical meaning of the verb in question, while the subject takes the nominative case. the verb agrees with the subject with regard to person and number. its capacity to govern several nouns (objects) simultaneously is limited; if in the specific-object or generic-object voice a verb may have more than one object, in the potential-object voice, as a rule, the object can only be one. if we take a sentence that means "i am transporting meat for / to my friends", then gɨm tinɛrɛtɨrkɨn tɛkichgɛ tomgɛtɨ would be the norm. on the other hand, gɨm tɨrɛtɨtkurkɨn tɛkichgɛ tomgɛtɨ, though possible to use, is an exception that violates the grammatical rules of the language. the much more acceptable options would be either gɨm tɨrɛtɨtkurkɨn tɛkichgɛ "i am transporting meat (lit. by, with, using meat)" or gɨm tɨrɛtɨtkurkɨn tomgɛtɨ "i am transpoting my friends (lit. to, for, toward my friends)" [note the difference between the literal and actual meaning of the orient.-dat. case in the second example, as well as the difference between its meaning here and in the sentence above, constructed using the generic-object voice]. 

pɛläk "to leave, to abandon" (TR):

tɨpɛlärkɨnat (i) am leaving (them - specific entities) [specific-object voice]
tɛnapɛlärkɨn (i) am leaving (them - non-specific objects) [generic-object voice]
tɨpɛlätkorkɨn (i) am leaving (something, someone) [potential-object voice]

derivative stem (TR) formed from ɛjmɛvɨk "to approach, to come closer" (INTR):

tɨnɛjmɛvɨrkɨnɛt (i) am bringing (them - specific entities) closer [specific-object voice]
tinɛnɛjmɛvɨrkɨn (i) am bringing (them - non-specific objects) closer [generic-object voice]
tɨnɛjmɛvɨtkurkɨn (i) am bringing (something, someone) closer [potential-object voice]

transitive usage of the verb vetjak "to butt (with one's horns)" (INTR):

vɛtjatɨrkɨnɛn (he) is butting (him - a specific entity) [specific-object voice]
ɛnavɛtjatɨrkɨn (he) is butting (him - a non-specific entity) [generic-object voice]
vɛtjatɨtkorkɨn (he) is butting (something, someone) [potential-object voice]