Wokuthízhű Grammar
Wokuthízhű is a polysynthetic language. It is mainly head-final and the basic word order is subject-object-verb (SOV). It features polypersonal agreement.
Nouns
Nouns in Wokuthízhű decline for three numbers and eight cases.
Number
The numbers are singular, dual, and plural. There is an animate plural and an inanimate plural form.
Case
The cases are natural, unnatural, allative, ablative, instrumental, locative, superessive, and avertive.
Natural vs. unnatural
As the name implies, the natural case is used when the noun is doing something expected or unsurprising, and the unnatural case in the opposite situation. Since animate nouns are usually agents, and inanimate nouns are usually objects, the natural case is used with animate subjects and inanimate direct objects, and the unnatural case is used with inanimate subjects and animate direct objects. For example:
- Ch'ükí kayá thíkű. "The mouse pokes the tree."
Since both nouns have their usual role, both appear in the natural case in the example above.
- Kayení ch'üküní thíkű. "The tree pokes the mouse."
Since our usual expectations are subverted above, both nouns appear in the unnatural case.
The unnatural case can also be used in intransitive sentences, when the information conveyed by the sentence as a whole is surprising in some way. Compare the following two sentences:
- Ch'ükí thi. "The mouse is sleeping."
Above, the mouse is sleeping, with no indication that this is unexpected or unusual.
- Ch'üküní thi! "The mouse is sleeping!"
In the above example, the mouse is also sleeping, but this is somehow contrary to expectations or the ordinary state of things; it may for example have overslept.
Adjectives
Wokuthízhű has a closed class of prefixal classifiers which fill the role of adjectives. The classifiers are categorized into several classes depending on how they interact with a following segment. To be used predicatively, these classifiers must be turned into stative verbs.
Verbs
Verbs in Wokuthízhű conjugate for tense, aspect, polarity, and evidentiality. They can also optionally be marked for modality. The tenses are present, immediate, and future; the aspects perfect and imperfect; and the polarities positive and negative. Verbs agree with their subject, direct object, and indirect object in person and number. The semantic interpretation of a verb varies depending on the animacy of its arguments.
Modality
Wokuthízhű has a series of modality modifiers, which convey the mode or manner in which something is done. This is a type of inflection, which may also be be described as derivation (a process which forms new verbs). See the examples below:
- Ch'üki swazá mívo. "The mouse ate a cherry."
- Ch'ükí swazá mít'obvo. "The mouse slowly ate a cherry."
- Ch'ükí swazá mít'onyibvo. "The mouse slowly ate a cherry thoroughly."
- Ch'ükí swazá mít'onyimósálabvo. "The mouse slowly ate a cherry thoroughly, as is tradition."