User:Najahho/High Valyrian Adjectives

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Adjectives agree in gender, case and number (though they don't have paucal or collective forms) with the noun they modify. Their declension is similar to that of nouns, but with a couple differences, and variable gender. As a result they are not arranged into "declensions" as nouns are, rather they are said to be in "classes." The first class distinguishes all four genders, the second and third classes lump them together into two groups.

Adjectives may precede or follow a noun, with the exception of certain determiners and demonstratives, which almost always precede.[1] If such an adjective follows its noun, it gives it a more "official" feel.[2] In some cases this might be done for simple emphasis. When an adjective is "postpositive," that is, when it follows the noun it modifies, it has the complete set of endings. However, when it is "prepositive," meaning it precedes the noun, the endings are shortened and more prone to fall together.

Instrumental/comitative merger

Many High Valyrian declension classes merge the instrumental and comitative (for instance, the second uses the originally comitative -omy for instrumental, and the third uses the original instrumental -oso for the comitative.) When an adjective modifies such a noun, it will adopt the same merger. Thus:

vala kirine
"happy man" 		loktys kirine
"happy sailor" 		issaros kirine
"happy person"
Instrumental valosa kirinose loktomy kirinome issaroso kirinose
Comitative valoma kirinome loktomy kirinome issaroso kirinose

Degrees of comparison

The equative, meaning "equally X," or "as X" is formed with an ending like -pa adj. I. For "as X as Y," use the instrumental case:

Sȳndroso lykāpa, myrdomy aderpa, iēdrosa gīdāpa. — "Quiet as a shadow, swift as a deer, calm as still water."

To say "as X a Y as Z" or "as X as Z Y", one can also use hen with the dative (the differences to the usage above are unclear):

Yn kesys tubis hen mirro tubiot sȳrpys issa. — "But today is as good a day as any."[3]

The equative is also used in some appositive constructions, see below.

The comparative, meaning "more X," or "X-er" is formed with an ending like -kta adj. I. For "than" use an instrumental of comparison.

The superlative, meaning "most X," or "X-est" is formed with an ending like -je adj. II.

Note that no matter what class the base noun is, the equative and comparative will always be class I adjectives, and the superlative will always be class II.

Irregular comparison

In most languages there are some adjectives with irregular or suppletive degrees of comparison. Thus far, there is only one High Valyrian adjective known to do this, namely litse "pretty":

  • eq. līspa "equally pretty"
  • comp. līsta "prettier"
  • sup. līje, prettiest.

The equative in apposition

The equative is apparently also called for when an adjective is used in an appositive manner. Our only example so far is Ȳghāpī īlōn rāelza "He holds us safe." Ȳghāpī "safe" is put in the equative because it refers back (or rather forward) to īlōn "us" (note that it is in the same case and number), but does not modify it directly. A good rule of thumb might be to use the equative whenever you have an adjective that could be preceded by a comma and the word "being" in English ("He holds us, being safe"), but we are far from clear on the usage.[4] It is likely that the equative will be used in other constructions as well, perhaps in sentences like "He made things worse."

Adverbs

Adverbs are formed with the suffix -ī. For Class I this is added to the aquatic form (resulting in -irī), for II and III it is added to the solar/lunar (remaining -ī.)[5]

Substantives

Unlike many languages, High Valyrian cannot simply use adjectives as nouns, without first converting them by changing the endings. This form can be called the substantive. There are two types of substantive:

  1. Type 1 substantives are lunar or solar in form, and "individuative": they generally refer to something concrete and countable, e.g. dovaogēdy "unsullied," dohaeriros "slave."
  2. Type 2 substantives are terrestrial or aquatic in form: they generally refer to something abstract and/or uncountable, or places e.g. gaomilaksir "mission," obūljarion "surrender."

However, DJP stated in an early comment that while this nominalizaton strategy always applies to participles and demonstrative adjectives (e.g. dovaogēda > dovaogēdy, bisa > bisy), other adjectives may also be nominalized by zero-derivation[6]. Presumably this means that the substantive of an adjective such as biare "happy" may be either biare (n. 4lun) or biaros (n. 3sol). Even so, the exact conditions for when this applies are unclear.

Class I

Class I adjectives can generally have stems of any form. The one issue is that they may not end in anything that will create an unacceptable cluster in the oblique aquatic forms.

Kasta -ys -on -or, "blue, green."

Prepositive

Singular Plural
Lunar Solar Terrestrial Aquatic Lunar Solar Terrestrial Aquatic
Nom. kasta kastys kaston kastor kasti kastys, -yz[7] kasta kastra
Acc. kaste kasti kaston kastor kastī kastī kasta kastra
Gen. kasto kasto kasto kastro kasto(t)[8] kasto kasto kastro
Dat. kasto(t)[8] kasto(t)[8] kasto(t)[8] kastro(t)[8] kasto kasto kasto kastro
Loc. kastā kastȳ kasto(t)[8] kastro(t)[8] kasto kastī kasto kastro
Ins. kastos kastos kastos kastros kastos kastos kastos kastros
Com. kastom[9] kastom[9] kastom[9] kastrom[9] kastom[9] kastom[9] kastom[9] kastrom[9]
Voc. kastus kastys kastos kastos kastis kastys, -yz[7] kastas kastas

Postpositive

Singular Plural
Lunar Solar Terrestrial Aquatic Lunar Solar Terrestrial Aquatic
Nom. kasta kastys kaston kastor kasti kastyzy kasta kastra
Acc. kaste kasti kaston kastor kastī kastī kasta kastra
Gen. kasto kasto kasto kastro kastoti kastoti kastoti kastroti
Dat. kastot kastot kastot kastrot kastoti kastoti kastoti kastroti
Loc. kastā kastȳ kastot kastrot kastoti kastī kastoti kastroti
Ins. kastosa kastosy kastoso kastroso kastossi kastossi kastossi kastrossi
Com. kastoma kastomy kastomo kastromo kastommi kastommi kastommi kastrommi
Voc. kastus kastys kastos kastos kastis kastyzys kastas kastas

Degrees of comparison

  • Equative: kastāpa adj. I "as blue, as green"
  • Comparative: kastykta adj. I "bluer, greener"
  • Superlative: kastāje adj. II "bluest, greenest"

Adverb

  • kastirī
  • Equative: *kastāprī (speculative, could be *kastāpirī).
  • Comparative: kastȳtrī[10] (rather than *kastyktirī).
  • Superlative: *kastājī

Substantive

  • Type 1: kasty, n. 2lun.
  • Type 2: kastir, n. 5aq.

Bona-type

If the stem of a type I adjective ends in n or m, nasal deletion applies to the aquatic forms. By far the most common of these are bona and kona "that." Others include dōna "sweet," qana "sharp," tōma "five," trūma "deep." Other than this peculiarity, the bona type is identical to the regular Type I; thus the postpositive forms look like this:

Singular Plural
Lunar Solar Terrestrial Aquatic Lunar Solar Terrestrial Aquatic
Nom. bona bonys bonon bonor boni bonyzy bona bōdra
Acc. bone boni bonon bonor bonī bonī bona bōdra
Gen. bono bono bono bōdro bonoti bonoti bonoti bōdroti
Dat. bonot bonot bonot bōdrot bonoti bonoti bonoti bōdroti
Loc. bonā bonȳ bonot bōdrot bonoti bonī bonoti bōdroti
Ins. bonosa bonosy bonoso bōdroso bonossi bonossi bonossi bōdrossi
Com. bonoma bonomy bonomo bōdromo bonommi bonommi bonommi bōdrommi
Voc. bonus bonys bonos bonos bonis bonyzys bonas bonas

If the stem ends in m, the result will be br rather than dr, e.g. trūmor → trūbra.

Bisa-type

If the stem of a type I adjective ends in z (as is the case for aorist passive participles), a sound change occurs in the aquatic forms that turns *zr to j. Likewise, if the stem already ends in j, the r will simply drop, turning *jr to j.

If the stem ends in s the change may also occur, but in most cases it will be optional.[11]

Singular Plural
Lunar Solar Terrestrial Aquatic Lunar Solar Terrestrial Aquatic
Nom. bisa bisys bison bisor bisi bisyzy bisa bisra, bija
Acc. bise bisi bison bisor bisī bisī bisa bisra, bija
Gen. biso biso biso bisro, bijo bisoti bisoti bisoti bisroti, bijoti
Dat. bisot bisot bisot bisrot, bijot bisoti bisoti bisoti bisroti, bijoti
Loc. bisā bisȳ bisot bisrot, bijot bisoti bisī bisoti bisroti, bijoti
Ins. bisosa bisosy bisoso bisroso, bijoso bisossi bisossi bisossi bisrossi, bijossi
Com. bisoma bisomy bisomo bisromo, bijomo bisommi bisommi bisommi bisrommi, bijommi
Voc. bisus bisys bisos bisos bisis bisyzys bisas bisas

Class II

The vast majority of Class II stems end in j, l, n, ñ, or r. There seem to be some rare exceptions to this rule, but thus far none are known. Stems may end in multiple consonants, e.g. mirre "any," morghe "dead." Stems that end in ñ have a terrestrial/quatic form that ends in -or instead of -ior (e.g. idañe, -or).

Kirine -ior "happy"

Prepositive

Singular Plural
Lunar Solar Terrestrial Aquatic Lunar Solar Terrestrial Aquatic
Nom. kirine kirinior kirini kiriniar
Acc. kirine kirinior kirini kiriniar
Gen. kirino kirinȳr kirino kirinȳ
Dat. kirino(t) [8] kirinȳr kirino kirinȳ
Loc. kirinē kirinȳr kirino kirinȳ
Ins. kirinos kirinȳs kirinos kirinȳs
Com. kirinom[9] kirinȳm[9] kirinom[9] kirinȳm[9]
Voc. kirines kirinios kirinis kirinīs

Postpositive

Singular Plural
Lunar Solar Terrestrial Aquatic Lunar Solar Terrestrial Aquatic
Nom. kirine kirinior kirini kiriniar
Acc. kirine kirinior kirini kiriniar
Gen. kirino kirinȳro kirinoti kirinȳti
Dat. kirinot kirinȳrot kirinoti kirinȳti
Loc. kirinē kirinȳrot kirinoti kirinȳti
Ins. kirinose kirinȳso kirinossi kirinȳssi
Com. kirinome kirinȳmo kirinommi kirinȳmmi
Voc. kirines kirinios kirinis kirinīs

Degrees of comparison

  • Equative: kirimpa adj. I "as happy"
  • Comparative: kirinkta adj. I "happier"
  • Superlative: kirinje adj. II "happiest"

Adverb

  • kirinī "happily"

Substantive

  • Type 1: kirinos, n. 3sol.
  • Type 2: kirinion, n. 3ter.

Sȳz-type

A small subset of type II adjectives, whose stems end in r, have an unexpected lun/sol.nom/acc.sing. ending in z. Members of this class include sȳz sȳrior "good," and dāez dāerior "free." Aside from this anomaly, they are entirely regular type II adjectives, so, postpositively:

Singular Plural
Lunar Solar Terrestrial Aquatic Lunar Solar Terrestrial Aquatic
Nom. sȳz sȳrior sȳri sȳriar
Acc. sȳz sȳrior sȳri sȳriar
Gen. sȳro sȳrȳro sȳroti sȳrȳti
Dat. sȳrot sȳrȳrot sȳroti sȳrȳti
Loc. sȳrē sȳrȳrot sȳroti sȳrȳti
Ins. sȳrose sȳrȳso sȳrossi sȳrȳssi
Com. sȳrome sȳrȳmo sȳrommi sȳrȳmmi
Voc. sȳres sȳrios sȳris sȳrīs

Other forms

The adverb is sȳrī, and the equative is sȳrpa. Therefore it is nearly certain that the comparative is *sȳrkta and the superlative is *sȳrje.

Class III

Class III stems usually (but not always) end in a consonant cluster. The vast majority of then stems end in l, n, r, or v. There are some rare exceptions, such as endie -ior "western."

Eglie -ior "high"

Prepositive

Singular Plural
Lunar Solar Terrestrial Aquatic Lunar Solar Terrestrial Aquatic
Nom. eglie eglior eglī egliar
Acc. eglie eglior eglī egliar
Gen. eglio eglȳr eglio eglȳ
Dat. eglio(t)[8] eglȳr eglio eglȳ
Loc. egliē eglȳr eglio eglȳ
Ins. eglios eglȳs eglios eglȳs
Com. egliom[9] eglȳm[9] egliom[9] eglȳm[9]
Voc. eglies eglios eglīs eglīs

Postpositive

Singular Plural
Lunar Solar Terrestrial Aquatic Lunar Solar Terrestrial Aquatic
Nom. eglie eglior eglī egliar
Acc. eglie eglior eglī egliar
Gen. eglio eglȳro eglȳti eglȳti
Dat. egliot eglȳrot eglȳti eglȳti
Loc. egliē eglȳrot eglȳti eglȳti
Ins. eglȳse eglȳso eglȳssi eglȳssi
Com. eglȳme eglȳmo eglȳmmi eglȳmmi
Voc. eglies eglios eglīs eglīs

Degrees of comparison

  • Equative: eglipa adj. I "as high"
  • Comparative: eglikta adj. I "higher"
  • Superlative: eglije adj. II "highest"

Adverb

  • eglī "highly"

Substantive

  • Type 1: eglos, n. 3sol.
  • Type 2: eglion, n. 3ter.

Notes

  1. ↑ "Right, so that's why it's the default that adjectives can be in both places except for modifiers (even though the latter are older)" "Oh, and by modifiers I mean determiners/demonstratives" -DJP, IRC
  2. ↑ "All adjectives can be postpositive if they want, but especially those that are more determinative in nature generally come before the noun, unless you want to sound...official?" —DJP, IRC
  3. ↑ [1]
  4. ↑ See, for example, https://twitter.com/Dedalvs/status/438052842121592832
  5. ↑ Cf. Elat k’Athivezhofari: "Nēdenka is a Class I adjective, which means that it takes a suffix -irī to become an adverb."
  6. ↑ http://www.dothraki.com/2013/04/sesir-urnebion-z%c8%b3hon-keliton-issa/#comment-1244
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 The form is kastyz before a vowel, h, or a voiced consonant.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 8.8 The -t is omitted before a consonant, but retained before a vowel.
  9. ↑ 9.00 9.01 9.02 9.03 9.04 9.05 9.06 9.07 9.08 9.09 9.10 9.11 9.12 9.13 9.14 9.15 In the oldest variety of the language, the form is -m no matter which consonant follows it, unless the noun it modifies has not merged the comitative into the instrumental case, in which case it ends in -s. This form is the one taught in the Duolingo course. In later stages of the language, this -m changes to -n when the following word begins with a non-labial consonant.
  10. ↑ https://dedalvs.tumblr.com/post/134348169425/hi-there-im-sprekenze-dick-from-the-question
  11. ↑ http://dedalvs.tumblr.com/post/118971485709/hi-i-was-wondering-how-you-would-say-stories-can#comment-2032888591
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