(no subject)

[moonflower77]

 Mood

The category of mood is used to express a relationship between the subject and the predicate, which has a wide range of varieties:

- indicative

- intentional and obligative

- interrogative

- affirmative

- imperative-desiderative

- cautionary

- optative/hortative

- desiderative

- permissive

- evidential

- non-evidential

- used to express full negation

- used to express negation at a given moment in time

- used to express the impossibility of an action

- precautionary

- emotive-negative

- hypothetical (speculative)

Mood may also be conveyed through adverbial participles.

Semantically, the form of the indicative mood with the marker –nt ~ -d ~ -t ~ -dʲ ~ -tʲ conveys the present-past tense. Ni wint / Ni vidʲ ″I went, walked″ or ″I am going, walking″. The exact tense depends on the context. The same verb form is used for all the three persons in the singular and plural. The present time can also be conveyed using the suffix -t, -r, which is joined to the lexical verb, and the auxiliary verb hunvnt / humdʲ: if inʲr humdʲ ″he is eating″ (lit.: he is in a state of eating).

The future tense, unlike the present-past one, is formed with the help of a suffix that can convey willingness, desire, intent or obligation to act: -i-, -ny-, -iny-. ni vidʲ ″I am going, walking″, ni vinydʲ  ″I will be going, walking″/″I will go, walk″; čʰхоmi-fin myxaj, urinylo? ″will it be good if a listen, having stationed myself next to you?″ It appears that this suffix came to convey the future tense because the desire or intention to perform an action is always expressed at the given moment, in the present, but the action itself follows somewhat later.

The intentional-obligative mood is formed using the stem-forming marker -iny, as in ni rainynt or ni rainydʲ ″I intend (want, am going to) drink″. The truncated varieties of the marker -i-, -in-, -j-, -ny-are used to form various compound verb stems.

The interrogative mood is used by combining a verb stem with the suffixes -l, -lо, as well as with the interrogative particles -la, -ŋа, -ara, -ata, -lu: čʰи ral? ″did you (sg.) drink?″

The affirmative mood is used by combining a verb stem with the suffixes –хаr ~ γаr, - хаrat, -nar,- bar, -xitla. For instance: jaŋrad ″he drank″; jaŋ rахаr ″he really did drink″.

The imperative, unlike the other moods, is marked for person.

Singular                    Dual                              Plural

1st p.                                         -nate, -nyte, -nte                   -dа

2nd p.             -j, -jа,-nave                                                   -vе, wе

3rd p.             -хajro, γаzо

For example, let us take take the verb radʲ ″to drink″ and its stem rа-:

2nd p. sg.: raj! raja! ″drink!″ respectful: ranave! ″(please) drink!″

3rd p. sg.: rахаjrо! ″let him/her drink!″

Dual: ranate! rante! ″let us drink! – both of us

1st p. pl.: rada! ″let us drink! – all odf us

2nd p. pl.: rave! ″drink!″

The marker хаjrо doubles as a potential imperative form. In the situation described by the verb the marker is joined to the given stem and may refer to any person in the singular or plural. Thus, viхаjrо! (vi- is the stem of the verb vidʲ ″to go, walk″) may mean ″let me go!″, ″you (sg.) go!″, ″let him him!″, ″let us go!″, ″let you (pl.) go!″, ″let them go!″.

Other examples: nu mam итř: čʰаlrundxuŋа! olā, kyxaj, izn sik xuja! ″that woman said: (they) are being deceptive! o son, if you are stronger, kill them all!″ mamā, kuziř tyřjа! ″o wife, take a look, having come outside!″ (says to his wife a husband who wishes to repel an attack of his opponents, as women are considered inviolable during a war and thus may safely play the role of intelligence agents).

The imperative form may be emphasized using the particles -tax, γоr, γr.

If the command or order is given in a categorical form, with a high intensity or strong emotion (annoyance, anger, threat etc.), the markers are modified. Thus, -jа takes the form of jej. The final vowel of the 2^nd and 3^rd persons is omitted, as in the following examples: čʰi vij! ″you (sg.) go!″; nemar итtʲ: videj! ″the old man said: ‘let (us) go at long last!’″.

The negative imperative is formed using the prepositional particle tʰа, for example, tʰа raja! tʰа raj ″do not drink (sg.)!″.

The cautionary mood is expressed through the suffixes -ŋrа, -rа, which are joined to a stem that already has the full or shortened suffix of the intentional mood -iny, -jny, -ja, -ny, -uj. For example, when handing over an object for temporary use, one says zoskjаŋrа ″do not break (it)″.

The optative/hortative mood has the suffix -kа,- ŋgа: čʰsоŋr kохаj, охt rаŋkа ″if your head aches, you ought to/you had better take the medicine″.

The desiderative mood is expressed through a compound stem formed from the stem of a lexical verb combined with the suffix -in, -n,- ŋ plus the stem of the verb jаgpʲint ″to want, desire sth.″. In the Sakhalin dialect one says rainŋаgpʲint and rainŋаgpʲid ″I want to drink″, in the Amur dialect one would use the nominative form of a verb: ni jyjmnydʲ-аgpʲdʲ ″I want to know″.

The permissive mood is expressed through the suffix -gira, -girla, as in, for example, vijnygа vigira ″if you (sg.) want to go, go″; evdʲhаgа evgirla ″if you want to take (it, something), take (it, something)″.

The evidential mood is formed using the suffix -ifu-, ivu-, -iv-, for example: pila-jajn-nʲаn tʰegifunt ″a large sea lion is swimming toward the shore alone″; naf ах meŋ eхlаŋаgr ivifuta ″now both of us will finally have a child (or: a child each)″.

The form of the non-evidential mood is a compound one. The stem of a lexical verb takes the suffix -vut, -vur and is used alongside the verb itnt, ittʲ ″to talk, speak″. Nizun přyr nʲerх itnt: «xugan přynt, ni park pʰnʲахkir indynt». Ni wit segin-xernt: «nizun přyr pʲxerd: 'xuganхаn přyvur itnt» ″Nizun came, told me: 'Xugan has arrived (using transportation) I saw (it/him) with my own eyes’”. “I went to Segin and said: 'Nizun has arrived (on foot), told me Xugan arrived (using transportation), so he was telling’”. If Segin proceeds to transfer the message to a fourth party, h will emphasize the verb itnt ″to talk, speak″ with an additional verb, furu (from furnt ″to talk, speak of sb./sth.”, where -u is an affirmative suffix).

The mood used to express full negation of an attribute (property) is formed using the suffix -ksu-, -xsu, -γzu-: naf palro winy, nivŋ pyktsksuta “now, when (they) would go to the forest, the people would not disappear”; jаŋ arak-raxsunt “he does not drink any vodka (whatsoever, at all)”.

In the Sakhalin dialect, the mood used to negate an attribute (property) at a given moment in time is expressed through a compound stem comprised from a lexical verb and the semi-auxilary verb gavrnt ″to not have, possess, own anything″, for instance, ni rаŋgavrnt, ni ragavrd ″I did not drink″; ni rаŋgavrint  ″I will not drink″. In the Amur dialect negation in the past tense is exppressed through the supine combined with the verb kʰауdʲ  ″to not be; to not have, possess, own″: ni radох kʰауdʲ ″I did not drink″. Negation in the future tense is as follows: ni ranygavrdʲ ″I will not drink″.

The mood used to express the complete impossibility of performing an action is conveyed through the auxiliary verb ternt ″to not be able to″, jikidʲ ″to not be able to″: kоkr kot raternt и kоkr kot rajikidʲ ″(my) throat hurts, (I) cannot drink″.

The mood used to express the impossibility of performing an action at a particular moment in time: a verb stem with the marker -iro, -iny, -jrot  + ternt, tʲэзdʲ: ni jotiro ternt “I (began, however, now I) cannot sew”.

The mood used to express categorical refusal (unwillingness) or prohibition against performing an action is expressed using the word kernt, kerdʲ ″to forbid, prohibit; to refuse, decline″: kund nʲenŋ anar иnʲdʲikernt, posrkis pyrk hunvd “that one still continues to refuse to eat, all he does is lie around”; nindor ruvŋ menŋ xerinygerta “our custom (is such): two brothers must not speak to each other”.

The precautionary mood is expressed using the stem-forming suffixes -ilakr, -ilykr: pʰхаlŋgun umilakrt, zuŋgavrt “so that (my) own relatives/kinspeople did not become angry, (I) did not wash (it).”

The emotive-negative mood a the given case: 1) with the suffixes -tlo, -tla, -rlo, -rla, for example: nafat čʰerlаŋi nʲixinyrlo, čʰi mŋglаŋ-č,аmŋ-hахаjanpy “now your deer won’t kill you (sg.), although you are a powerful shaman”; 2) with the suffix -ilu, for example: lumr-kаvrŋа, nud-nʲiilu ″there are no provisions, there is nothing to eat″.

The mood used to express categorical refusal to perform an action is formed using the stem of a lexical verb combined with the truncated marker of the intentionl mood and the emphatic particle и -di with the help of the verb molоdʲ ″to categorically defuse, decline to do something″, as in, for example: jаg иnʲguinygаr, inʲdi molore ″whenever (they) force him to eat, he refuses to eat″.

The hypothetical (speculative) is formed using one of the variants of the suffix -jаk, -jek, -jакnа, -jeknа, -jаknyr,- jeknyr, -bypʲevo, -jgan, for instance, nʲi aulatхаj, nʲаu myjак ″if I cry outyou will hear my cry, however″; prybypʲevod ″must have come, probably came, came in all likelihood"; merŋafkprydʲlа? – pryjgan yrk ″has our buddy arrived? – he must have come already/he has probably come already″.

In addition, mood may be expressed through adverbial participles.

Aspect

The following aspectual distinctions are present:

- episodic

- iterative/frequentative

- perfective

- imperfective

- delimitative

- attenuative

- generic

- intensive

- continuative

- momentane

The momentane aspect is expressed through the stem of a verb or figurative word: mu pykznt ″the boat vanished″; tʰeshad ″the cracking sound of a twig was heard (suddenly)″.

The iterative/frequentative aspect is expressed through the reduplication of the stem and the following suffixes: -jo-, -ju-, -j-, -ri-, xy-. Примеры: nivŋ palroхŋаŋахt wиŋy, sik pykspykznt ″whenever people would go hunting to the forest, they would all disappear ″; tʰestʰes ″a repetitive cracking of twigs″; tʰezjod ″a prolonged and repetitive cracking of twigs″; pasnt ″to throw one object″, but pajant (<paj hаnt) ″ to strew objects around in various places″; ena-čʰаmgun milk muxyta ″other shamans often turn into devils″.

The perfective aspect has the suffixes -хаr, -gаr, -γyt, -kyt. hаŋа sik kʰохаrγуn ″then all fell asleep″; sik pʰsajvgun-хuхаrdγun ″all the inhabitants of Chaivo were killed″.

The imperfective aspect is formed using the suffix -jo: jаŋ pyrjor luŋy...″when he started o sing somewhat more strongly…″.

The delimitative aspect is formed using the analytical combination -be nа-hаnt: tuŋ-охt urlaŋ-охt, nʲи nʲrak rabe nаhаŋy sik urхаrd ″this medicine is good medicine: as soon as I took it once, I got completely well (recovered).″

The attenuative aspect is formed using a single or duplicated stem of a lexical verb combined with one of the varieties of the morpheme -а- ~ -e- ~ -j- ~ -y- and the stem of the semi-auxiliary verb hа- 'to do, act so/thus', as in, for example: mu got'а hаd 'to move the boat slightly along the bank toward the water', q'оχо hаd 'to have a bit of sleep' (in this case it is the vowel in the root of the duplicated stem that is lengthened and stressed), pagly hаd 'reddish', 'slightly red, a bit red'. 

The generic aspect is formed using the stem of a lexical verb in the narrative form ending in -t, -r and the stem of the semi-auxiliary verb hа- 'to do, act so/thus', which may be blended into a single word with the preceding lexical form by aspirating the preceding cnsonant, as, for instance, in: jаŋ pan'řаk n'erχ čmаřаd<čmar hаd 'he comes to see/visit me all the time'.

The intensive aspect is expressed through a tautological construction containing an attributive nominal, which in the Sakhalin dialect is combined with the particle hаlах, whereas in the Amur dialect it takes the instrumental case suffix, as well as the delimitative particle pyrk and the same word repeated in the form of an attributive nominal and in the position of the predicate: widhаlах pyrk wid 'as he started to go (walk), so he still goes (walks)', hоgar nʲrak qоd'γir qоd' 'thus, as (I) fell ill once, so am (I) still ill'. The intensity of an action may also be conveyed using a structure  composed of the supine, the delimitative particle pyrk, pi 'only' and the semi-auxiliary verbs ixmnt 'to be diligent, meticulous, to do one’s best', humd' to live; to be, exist in a certtain state', for example: rаŋk miv-in'd-ant, azmt' qʰоdоχ ru ixmnt 'the woman was preparing plant food (food of the earth), (whereas) the man only slept (only tried his best to sleep', sid'hаgan nyjxsur, qʰоdох pyrk humd' '(he, she) does nothing, only sleeps'. 

The continuative aspect is formed through combining either the stem of a lexical verb and the suffixes of the narrative form -t, -r, or a gerund and the semi-auxiliary verb hunvnt, humd' 'to live; to be, exist in a certain state': kanŋ nos'r hunvnt 'the dog is lying'; in'id'iŋkerta, čχаrt'iŋ-tʰааngerta, pos'rkis' pyrk hunvndγun 'they neither want to eat nor want to chop any firewood, only lie (around all the time)'.

The momentane aspect is formed using the markers of the narrative form -t, -r and the semi-auxiliary verb laxt'int: ...puntχis' χаnt, jyzγyf mur laxt'id  '...shot (an arrow) from the bow, his bear died at once'.

In addition, the perfective, continuative and momentane aspect may be conveyed using adverbial participles.

Voice

- active

- reciprocative

- causative

The active voice is conveyed through transitive verbs capable of incorporating a direct object.

The reciprocative voice is formed using the prefixes w-, v-, u-, o-, which replace the pronominal object markers j'-, i-, e-, in accordance with the rules of vowel harmony, as for instance, in wornt, vord' 'to meet one another', but jornt, jord' 'to meet him'; undynt, undyd' 'to see one another', but indynt, idyd' 'to see him'; osqаnt, оsqtsad' 'to despise one another', but esqant, esqad' 'to despise him'. 

The reciprocative voice is formed using a particular variety of the following marker: -ŋk- ~ -ŋ- ~ -g- ~ -k- ~ -ŋ- ~ -ku- ~ -gu ~ -u. A causative stem may be used to derive the pedicate of the main clause, which is associated with two distinct persons, one of them being incited, permitted, forced etc. by the other to perform the action: jаŋ n'ах wiŋgnt 'he sent me', jаŋ n'ах niny wиŋ wiŋgnt 'he made me go' (the compulsion, coercion or duress on part of another person is conveyed here using the particle niny), n'аχnan wаŋgja! 'only send me', č'ах wignydoχ qхаukra 'I will not send you'.