Kobardon - Lingua Franca used in Frédauon

[Creyeditor]

Conative Alternations

Some combinations of verbs and objects can participate in the conative alternations. This is an alternation between an transitive verb plus a direct object (non-conative) and an intransitive verb plus an indirect object (conative). Note that indirect objects have the same semantic role but are marked with the particle ut. The regular structure implies a change of state, a successful action or telicity, whereas the conative structure implies a failure, a sense of trying, or atelicity. The construction is antipassive-like, but the verb is not marked with a special affix. This construction also influences aspect. Conative constructions are often associated with an imperfective interpretation, whereas non-conative constructions are associated with a perfective interpretation. The aspectual interpretation is very prominent in post-classical Kobardon.

(39) Example of the conative alternation
a. Aiem ut koteti.
a-iem ut ko-tet-i
1SG.S-run to 1SG.POSS-neighbour-SG.INDEF
`I try to catch up with a neighbour of mine.'
b. Aiemo koteti.
a-iem-o ko-tet-i.
1SG.S-run-3.O 1SG.POSS-neighbour-SG.INDEF
`I (out)run with a neighbour of mine.'

[Omzinesý]

Conative Alternations

Some combinations of verbs and objects can participate in the conative alternations. This is an alternation between an transitive verb plus a direct object (non-conative) and an intransitive verb plus an indirect object (conative). Note that indirect objects have the same semantic role but are marked with the particle ut. The regular structure implies a change of state, a successful action or telicity, whereas the conative structure implies a failure, a sense of trying, or atelicity. The construction is antipassive-like, but the verb is not marked with a special affix. This construction also influences aspect. Conative constructions are often associated with an imperfective interpretation, whereas non-conative constructions are associated with a perfective interpretation. The aspectual interpretation is very prominent in post-classical Kobardon.

(39) Example of the conative alternation
a. Aiem ut koteti.
a-iem ut ko-tet-i
1SG.S-run to 1SG.POSS-neighbour-SG.INDEF
`I try to catch up with a neighbour of mine.'
b. Aiemo koteti.
a-iem-o ko-tet-i.
1SG.S-run-3.O 1SG.POSS-neighbour-SG.INDEF
`I (out)run with a neighbour of mine.'

Nice that Kobardon is still active!

Semantically the constructions resemble control and noncontrol forms in some Amerindian languages. But it's better to do that syntactically. Syntax is too little used.

[Creyeditor]

Thanks
It's actually inspired by English again. In English there is a contrast between 'I shot the bear' and 'I shot at the bear'. In Kobardon it's just slightly more systematic.

[Creyeditor]

Just something I forgot on my last post.

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Differential Object Marking and the Conative Alternations
The interaction of the conative alternation with differential object marking leads to some exceptions from the general pattern. Since constructions with transitive verbs and a direct object are not possible for definite human object, a form with an intransitive verb and a definite human indirect object is ambigious between a conative and a non-conative interpretation. Similarly, constructions with a transitive verb and an inanimate indefinite direct object are also ambigious, since the corresponding intransitive verb + indirect object construction is ungrammatical.

Transitive verb + direct object
definite human: impossible
indefinite human: non-conative
animate: non-conativ
definite inanimate: non-conative
indefinite inanimate ambigious

Intransitive verb + indirect object
definite human: ambigious
indefinite human: conative
animate: conativ
definite inanimate: conative
indefinite inanimate: impossible

[Creyeditor]

Ditransitive verbs

Kobardon does not feature any proper ditransitive verbs. No verb has two direct objects. Verbs of transfer and similar actions either allow a recipient argument or a theme argument as their direct object. No verb allows both arguments.

(40) Examples of verbs of transfer and verbs of speech
a. Verbs with an inherent theme object
akébo vt I say s.th, I tell s.th., I state s.th., I remark s.th, I utter s.th., I declare s.th.
aiúrzbo vt I give s.th., I contribute s.th, I donate s.th
abreso[/b][/b] vt I reveal s.th., I disclose s.th., I show s.th.
abrófo vt I report on s.th.
b. Verbs with an inherent recipient object
abardo vt I speak to someone, I talk to someone, I converse with someone
apuko vt I teach s.o., I instruct s.o., I tutor s.o., I train s.o., I educate s.o.
agomo vt I advise s.o., I counsel s.o.
asófinto vt I whisper to s.o.
asónto vt I shout at s.o., I scream at s.o.

In order to express such a meaning, an argument has to be added as an indirect object. Theme roles are added by the particle et about. Recipient roles can be introduced using the particle ut to. In both cases the new prepositional phrases need to follow the object. Which argument is coded as the direct object of the verb is lexically conditioned, i.e. it depends on the verb in question. Conversely, the indirect object that can be added will be a recipient only for verbs with inherent theme direct objects, and a theme will be added to verbs with inherent recipient direct objects.

(41) Examples with added themes and added recipients
a. Akébo mífirba ut kotetibus.
a-kéb-o mífirb-a ut ko-tet-ibus.
1SG.S.tell-3.O joke-INDEF.SG to 1SG.POSS-neighbour-SG.DEF
`I told my neighbour a joke.'
b. Abardo koteti et mífirba.
a-bard-o ko-tet-i et m\=\i firb-a.
1SG.S-speak-3.O 1SG.POSS-neighbour-SG.INDEF about joke-SG.INDEF \\
`I spoke to a neighbour of mine about a joke.'

These indirect objects can variably be ordered with other adverbials. This means that they can be split from the direct object.

(42) Examples with split added themes and added recipients
a. Akébo mífirba fridat ut kotetibus.
a-kéb-o mífirb-a fri-at ut ko-tet-ibus
1SG.S-tell-3.O joke yesterday to 1SG.POSS-neighbour-SG.DEF
`I told my neighbour a joke yesterday.'
b. Abardo koteto fridat et mífirba.
a-bard-o ko-tet-i frida-t et mífirb-a
1SG.S-speak-3.O 1SG.POSS-neighbour-SG.INDEF yesterday-SG about joke-SG.INDEF
`I spoke to a neighbour of mine about a joke yesterday.'

[Creyeditor]

tl;dr on verbal syntax:

• A syntactic distinction between semantically (potentially) identical direct (unmarked) and indirect object position (introduced by a particle).
• Indirect objects are different in that adverbials can intervene between them and their verb, plus indirect objects can be cognate objects.
• For some verbs, adverbials can also intervene between a direct object and a modifying particle phrase.
• There are complex alternations between direct and indirect objects based on definiteness, animacy, and telicity.
• Ditransitive verbs have either the theme or the recipient as the indirect object.

[Creyeditor]

Adjectives
Attributive adjectives can precede or follow the noun they modify. The distinction between the two positions is based on restrictiveness. Restrictive adjectives are those that help identify the referent of a noun. They restrict the set of possible referents and provide crucial information for identifying them. Restrictive adjectives always follow their head noun.

(43) Restrictive adjectives
a. Gomon iépan
gom-on iép-an
parliament-SG.DEF previous-SG.DEF
`the previous parliament'
b. Negedagon griban
ne-ge<da>g-on grib-an
2.POSS-cloth<aug>-DEF.SG nice.to.touch-DEF.SG
`my soft jacket'

Non-restrictive adjectives on the other hand provide additional information on their head noun, which is not crucial for identifying them. The information is not meant to help restricting the set of possible referents. Non-restrictive adjectives precede their head noun.

(44) Non-restrictive adjectives
a. Bukan kogirenzon
buk-an ko-girenz-on
well_known-SG.DEF 1.POSS-populism-SG.DEF
`my populism, which is well-known'
b. Gruran unikirnon puka
grur-an uni-kirn-on puk-a
serpentine-SG.DEF 3POSS-finger-DEF.SG teacher-SG.INDEF
`The serpent-like finger of a teacher.'

Adjectives include words that refer to number or quantity, i.e. numerals and quatifiers. These can in principle also occur before or after the noun. In practice they mostly precede them.

(45) Quantifying adjectives
a. Kēnkan vīrnon desōnt.
kēnk-an vīrn-on de-sōnt
all-SG.DEF crowd-SG.DEF 3SG.S-shout
`All the people shouted.'
b. Nērgan vīrnon desōnt.
nērg-an vīrn-on de-sōnt
many-SG.DEF crowd-SG.DEF 3SG.S-shout
`Many of the people shouted.'

Adjectives can also show marking for comparison. Comparison is usually expressed using the elative-augmentative form of an adjective. Recall that elative-augmentative is formed with the post-nuclear infix <tu>. In isolation, this form expresses a sense of being `very X', where X is the modified adjective. A comparative construction can be built by introducing a standard of comparison. The standard of comparison is expressed by a prepositional phrase introduced by the particle in from.

(46) Elative + in from as a comparative
Unikirnon puka demiio gruturan in drinza.
uni-kirn-on puk-a de-mii-o gru\mangles{tu}r-an in drinz-a
3.POSS-finger-DEF.SG teacher-SG.INDEF 3SG.S-COP.ADJ-3.O serpentine<AUG.EL>-SG.DEF from swamp_eel-SG.INDEF
`The finger of a teacher is more serpentine than a swamp eel.'

The elative is often also used instead of a superlative form. If a more concrete superlative form is neccessary, a special standard of comparison in kénkon than all can be used. This parallel to English phrases such as `better than everyone'.

(47) Simple Elative or Elative + in from + kénkon the entirety
a. Unikirnon puka demiio gruturan.
uni-kirn-on puk-a de-mii-o gru\mangles{tu}r-an
3POSS-finger-DEF.SG teacher-SG.INDEF 3SG.S-COP.ADJ-3.O serpentine<AUG.EL>-SG.DEF
`The finger of a teacher is the most sepertine.'
b. Unikirnon puka demiio gruturan in kénkon.
uni-kirn-on puk-a de-mii-o gru<tu>r-an in kénk-on
3POSS-finger-DEF.SG teacher-SG.INDEF 3SG.S-COP.ADJ-3.O serpentine<AUG.EL>-SG.DEF from entirety-DEF.SG
`The finger of a teacher is the most sepertine of (them) all.'

The standard of comparison can be freely ordered with respect to other adverbials. This is true for comparative and superlative constructions. This is exemplified with the negative adverb in (48).

(48) Ordering of adverbials and standards of comparison
a. Unikirnon puka demiio gruturan sirat in drinza.
uni-kirn-on puk-a de-mii-o gru<tu>r-an sira-t in drinz-a
3POSS-finger-DEF.SG teacher-SG.INDEF 3SG.S-COP.ADJ-3.O serpentine<AUG.EL>-SG.DEF NEG-SG from swamp_eel-SG.INDEF
`The finger of a teacher is not more serpentine than a swamp eel.'
b. Unikirnon puka demiio gruturan in drinza sirat.
uni-kirn-on puk-a de-mii-o gru<tu>r-an in drinz-a sira-t
3POSS-finger-DEF.SG teacher-SG.INDEF 3SG.S-COP.ADJ-3.O serpentine<AUG.EL>-SG.DEF from swamp_eel-SG.INDEF NEG-SG
`The finger of a teacher is not more serpentine than a swamp eel.'
c. Unikirnon puka demiio gruturan sirat in kénkon.
uni-kirn-on puk-a de-mii-o gru<tu>r-an sira-t in kénk-on
3POSS-finger-DEF.SG teacher-SG.INDEF 3SG.S-COP.ADJ-3.O serpentine<AUG.EL>-SG.DEF NEG-SG from entirety-DEF.SG
`The finger of a teacher is not the most sepertine of (them) all.'
d. Unikirnon puka demiio gruturan in kénkon sirat.
uni-kirn-on puk-a de-mii-o gru<tu>r-an in kénk-on sira-t
3POSS-finger-DEF.SG teacher-SG.INDEF 3SG.S-COP.ADJ-3.O serpentine<AUG.EL>-SG.DEF from entirety-DEF.SG NEG-SG
`The finger of a teacher is not the most sepertine of (them) all.'

[Omzinesý]

Nice that Kobardon is still active!

[Creyeditor]

Thank you I hope some people are still reading my dry walls of text

[Creyeditor]

Prepositional Phrases

Prepositional phrases are introduced by particles and can modify nouns. This use of particles can be described as prepositional in that they closely mirror adpositional meanings in other languages. Prepositions precede the noun phrase they belong to. Prepositional phrases modify a noun phrase that precedes them. Prepositional phrases are different from adverbial clauses in that prepositional phrases only consist of a possibly complex noun phrase.

(49) Example of a prepositional phrase
Pukus ik genzon
puk-us ik genz-on
teacher-PL.DEF in tavern-SG.DEF
`the teachers in the tavern'

Relational nouns can make a locational relation more specific. They are modified by a possessor that acts as the ground. Prepositions precede the complex nominal phrase then.

(50) Example of a relational noun
Pukus et unidrimfon genzon
puk-us et uni-drimf-on genz-on
teacher-PL.DEF at 3.POSS-front-SG.DEF tavern-SG.DEF
`the teachers in front of the tavern'

[Creyeditor]

The post on adjectives made me realize that large parts of this should not go in the nominal symtax part and should probably be added to the section on copular clauses. I also decided that complex adjectival attributive construction (the very big man, the proud-of-his-son dad, the larger-than-me woman) will need to use relative clauses. That means I need to expand my section on relative clauses before posting it.

[Creyeditor]

Relative clauses

Relative clauses in Kobardon are introduced with the particle ut at their beginning. They employ a gapping strategy, i.e. there is neither an overt relative pronoun in the relative clause, nor a resumptive pronoun. In place of the missing argument, there is just a gap. Note, however, that the relative clauses are still finite in that their verb agrees with its arguments. The head noun always precedes the relative clause. In their simplest form, relative clauses can modify subjects and objects.

(51) Simple relative clauses
a. Kronon ut dekémaba
kron-on ut de-kém-aba
town-SG.DEF REL 3SG.S-destroy-PASS
the town, that was destroyed
b. Pukus ut seiépo
puk-us ut se-iép-o
teacher-PL.DEF REL 3PL.S-remember-3.O
the teachers, who remember it

If a relative clause takes a a head noun that is inside a prepositional phrase, relative clause formation is more complex. The preposition does not occur at its regular position in the relative clause. Instead, it is fronted and occurs right after the complementizer ut. Possessors cannot be relativized.

(52) complex relative clauses
a. Trúfifon ut o bivírn
trúfif-on, ut o bi-vírn
break-SG.DEF REL during 1PL.S-gather
`The break during which we gathered'

Relative clauses are also used in place of agent nominalizations in other languages. The head of these nominal phrases is usually an indefinite pronoun de/es if the noun phrase has an indefinite referent. If the noun phrase referent is definite, a definite third person pronoun den/ses is used. This construction was often conflated into a complex agent nominalization prefix deutde-, deute-, ote- or ute- in post-classical Kobardon.

(53) Relative clauses as agent nominalization
a. De ut debánzo
de ut de-bánz-o
INDEF.SG REL 3SG.S-marry-3.O
`bride (lit. one who marries someone)'
b. De ut dezírn
de ut de-zirn
INDEF.SG REL 3SG.S-be.home
`resident, host (lit. one who is at home)'

Complex adjective constructions need to be expressed as relative clauses. This means that many relative clauses include adjectives and the adjectival copula as well as additional material. The adjectives agrees with the head noun of the relative clause in number and definiteness. This is exemplified in the following sentences.

(54) Complex adjectival phrases as relative clauses
a. Teti ut demiio gerzar iobat
tet-i ut de-mii-o gerz-ar iob-at
neighbour-SG.INDEF REL 3SG-COP.ADJ-3.O supportive-SG.INDEF loudly-SG
`a loudly supportive neighbour'
b. Pukus ut semiio tírnur dakam
puk-us ut se-mii-o tírn-ur dak-am
teacher-DEF.PL REL 3PL-COP.ADJ-3.O united-DEF.PL willingly-PL
`the willingly united teachers'

[Creyeditor]

Adnominal Possessors

Pronominal possessors are marked with prefixes directly on the possessed noun. Non-pronominal possessors are juxtaposed to a possessed noun with its possessor prefixes. The possessum precedes the possessor. This ordering is less strict than other schemata. The order possessor before possessum is also attested, albeit much rarer. This construction is used for body part, kinship, and ownership relations. It can also be used for some part-whole relations and some social relations. Note that the pronominal possessor can be reintroduced by a possessiv pronoun if the possessor is focused, as in (55).

(55) Pronominal possessors
a. Koteti
ko-tet-i
1SG.POSS-neighbour-SG.INDEF
`a neighbour of mine'
b. Koteti kon
ko-tet-i kon
1SG.POSS-neighbour-SG.INDEF 1.SG.POSS
`neighbour of MINE'

(56) Nominal possessors
Uniteti pukon
uni-tet-i puk-on
3POSS-neighbour-SG.INDEF teacher-SG.DEF
`a neighbour of the teacher'

Possessors can be stacked. All possessed nouns are marked with a single possessor marking prefix each. The order is as expected and generally stricter in order to avoid confusion.

(57) Stacked possessors
Uniteti unipukon nifigi
uni-tet-i uni-puk-on nifig-i
3POSS-neighbour-SG.INDEF teacher-SG.DEF child-SG.INDEF
`a neighbour of the teacher of a child'

Note that another construction has very similar, yet more general semantics. Using the particle et to introduce a preposition phrase often indicates a more general sense of belonging together, e.g. part-whole relationships.

(58) et-construction
brófa et mídama
bróf-a et mídam-a
report-SG.INDEF about university-SG.INDEF
`university report'

[Creyeditor]

Basic Nominal Word Order
Nominal syntax involves noun phrases centered around a root with nominal inflection, i.e. a head noun. The order in the noun phrase is mixed with regards to headedness. Attributive adjectives precede or follow their head noun --- depending on their restrictiveness --- but prepositional modifiers and relative clauses always follow it. Possessors mostly follow their head noun. The order between prepositional modifiers, possessors and adjectives is not fixed. Note that ad-adjectival modifiers cannot occur on attributive adjectives.

(59) Gruran unikirnon puka
grur-an uni-kirn-on puk-a
serpentine-SG.DEF 3.POSS-finger-DEF.SG teacher-SG.INDEF
`The serpent-like finger of a teacher.'

[Creyeditor]

tl;dr on nominal syntax:

• Adjectives follow or precede nouns depending on information structure.
• Other modifiers always follow their nouns.
• Relative clauses - introduced by ut and using a gap strategy - are used for any complex nominal modification. Word order changes if prepositions interact with them.
• Nouns have possessor prefixes (also used for relational nouns) and adjectives have augmentative/elative infixes (used for comparisons, etc).

[Omzinesý]

It's always hard to comment well described langs.

What do you find the most interesting construction in your lang?

[Creyeditor]

Wow, that's a great question. As for nominal morphology, I like the variable order of adjectives and the relative clauses with prepositions.
In general, I like the parts where two thibgs that I came up with independently interact in interesting ways. I like object splitting because it follows from variable order of adverbs and not distinguishing certain adnominal and adverbial prepositional phrases. I also like the interaction between differential object marking and the conative.

[Omzinesý]

I started going through you syntax and finding the delicious parts you mentioned.

How do you distinguish subject and object in relative clauses? Are 'a bear that he killed' and 'the bear that killed him' identical?

[Creyeditor]

Thanks for the compliment and the question. I have actually been thinking about this. I think a relative clause with pro-drop of S subject and object will be ambiguous. I thought that you can include pronouns to disambiguate. The non-dropped pronouns are usually used in focus constructions. Maybe this will make it boringly similar to English. It could also be the opposite. I don't know which one if these is the better option. The English-like option feels better:

Kurda ut desirto
kurd-a ut de-sirt-o
giant.ostrich-INDEF.SG REL 3SG.S-kill-3.O
'a giant ostrich that he killed' and also 'the giant ostrich that killed him'

Kurda ut desirto no
kurd-a ut de-sirt-o no
giant.ostrich-INDEF.SG REL 3SG.S-kill-3.O 3.SG.O
'the giant ostrich that killed him'

Kurda ut den desirto
kurd-a ut den de-sirt-o
giant.ostrich-INDEF.SG REL 3SG.S 3SG.S-kill-3.O
'a giant ostrich that he killed'

Oh, and of course you could also use the passive, which easily disambiguates.

Kurda ut desirtaba
kurd-a ut de-sirt-aba
giant.ostrich-INDEF.SG REL 3SG.S-kill-PASS
'a giant ostrich that was killed'

This made me add another giant bird. I might call it the bear bird.

Edit: I don't have the dictionary with me. I might add the actual words later.

Edit: I added the actual words.

[Creyeditor]

Compounding
Compounding is used only very marginally in Kobardon. It is not part of the regular morphology. Instead it is employed to derive proper names of a person, a place, a planet or a deity. Compounds are generally right-headed. Nevertheless, in compounds formed from simple proper names and titles, titles always follow the names.

(60) Compounding in proper names
a. Nempridandon
Nem-pridand-on
Nem(PN)-ruler-DEF.SG
`Nempridandon (name of the sun godess)'
b. Nonsiurzus
nons-iurz-us
sun-gift-PL.DEF
`Nonsirzus (name of a dynasty)'
c. Kirnkrodanon
kirn-krodan-on
first.one-city-DEF.SG
`Kirnkrodanon (name of a city)'