NOV JUL Aug 18 2012 2014 2015 4 captures 13 Nov 09 - 18 Jul 14

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Vocabulary

Additional Vocabulary

Possessive Case

[(Aux) Verb (Neg) CP(–Possessive)–S CP(–Possessive)–Obj | –Ident]

Examples

In practical terms, what we are doing when we make a Láadan case phrase possessive is inserting the possessor + the possessive ending between the thing possessed and its case ending. This leaves the thing possessed standing alone without its case ending. In the following examples, look for the •; that’s where the possessive content will be inserted.

This may seem awkward at first because English expresses the possessive by stating the possessor first and the thing possessed afterward; arguably, this indicates that the possessor is more important in English while the thing possessed is more important in Láadan.

In the above example pair, “oma” is the Subject of the sentence before it’s made possessive; “oma” is actually “oma” (hand) + “–Ø” (Subject ending). When we insert “ne” (you) + “–tha” (possessive by birth or growth), the “–Ø” remains at the end of the sequence (on “netha”); “oma” now has no case ending at all.

In this pair of sentences it’s easier to see that “lethe” [le (I) + –the (possessive, no known reason)] is inserted between “yu” (fruit) and “–th” (Object case ending). The result is that “yu” is left with no endings at all and is followed by “letheth” [le (I) + –the (possessive, no reason) + –th (Object)].

Another way to help explain Láadan possessives is to note that in the English “A bird ate my fruit,” the Object isn’t simply “fruit,” but the phrase “my fruit”. It consists of four grammatical elements: I + Possessive (= “my”) | Fruit + Object (= “fruit;” the Object marker is transparent in English). In the corresponding Láadan Object phrase “yu letheth,” the same four elements are present, just in a somewhat different configuration: Fruit | I + Possessive (no known reason) + Object. The Object ending occurs at the end of the phrase because the whole phrase is the Object, not just the noun.

Notice that the Identifier case here—and the Subject in the next example set—have those “null surface form” case endings. So the possessive phrase has no apparent case suffix

	Bíi rabalin woshane worul [worul•Ø] wa.		The furry cat is young.
	Bíi rabalin woshane worul lethe wa.		My (no reason) furry cat is young.
	Bíi rabalin woshane worul Ána bethe wa.		Anna’s (no reason) furry cat is young.

Notice, in the third of this set, that the name of a living or one-living person or animal doesn’t take suffixes directly. We must insert the pronoun "be" following the name and apply the suffixes to the pronoun instead.

Also notice that, in this example set, the speaker knows or acknowledges no reason why this cat should belong either to me or to Anna; that’s why she chose to use the possessive suffix “–the.”

Did the word “bebáatho” confuse you? In a wh-question, the item of information being requested is represented by “bebáa” with various case endings. Here, the item of information being requested is “whose” or “owned by whom:” “bebáatho.”

To Recap

There are two key concepts to be internalized in dealing with the possessive in Láadan. First, we must realize that what in English is called a “case phrase” consists in Láadan of a noun or noun phrase with a suffix denoting its case. So, the Object in a sentence consists of a noun plus the suffix “–th.” In exactly the same way, the Subject or the Identifier in a sentence consists of the noun and a “null” or “zero” suffix. Linguistically, there is a suffix there, but it’s invisible (a linguist would say it “has a null surface form”). The same applies to relativized verb-and-noun pairs; the case ending goes on the noun.

Second, the possessive becomes a part of the case phrase by being inserted between the noun and its case ending. This leaves the noun without an ending of its own; in this situation, linguistically speaking, the noun does not have an ending—not even one with a “null surface form.” The ending for the possessive case phrase is now on the possessive word—the entire phrase, not just the noun, fulfills the case rôle.

Exercises

Translate the following into English.

Incorporate the Láadan for the English noun phrase into the sentence; translate the sentence into English before and after.

Of course, in #10, you didn’t try to add the possessive suffix directly to Anna’s name. We don’t do that in Láadan; instead we follow the name with “be” and add the suffix(es) to the pronoun.

#12 has a “trick question” component: “ownership by gift” is one of the meanings included in “–tho” (possessive: all other reasons, including law, custom, etc.).

Translate the following into Láadan.

Did you successfully form a word in #17 for “to clean” as distinct from “éthe” (to be clean)? We have the prefix, “dó–” (cause to); so “dóhéthe” would be “to cause to be clean” or “to make clean” or simply “to clean.”

And in #17, were you able to form the word for “dancer?” If “to dance” is “amedara” then “one who dances” or “dancer” would be “amedarahá” [amedara (to dance) + –á (doer)].

Also in #17, we see our first “multiple possessive” in the phrase “clothing of (by chance) the dancer’s granddaughter.” The clothes are the Object of the sentence and belong to the granddaughter; the granddaughter, in turn, “belongs to” the dancer. An illustration might be in order:

budeth [bud•th]		“Clothing” as an Object would be “budeth.”
Clothing + OBJ
bud	hóowithethi•th	“Granddaughter’s (by chance) clothing” as an Object would be “bud hóowithethith”—remember that the Object suffix moves to the end of the phrase (after the Possessive suffix).
Clothing	Grandchild + Possess:chance + OBJ
bud	hóowithethi	amedaraháthath	The entire phrase “clothing of (by chance) the dancer’s granddaughter” (still an Object) would be “bud hóowithethi amedaraháthath”
Clothing	Grandchild + Possess:chance	Dance + Doer = Dancer + Possess:birth + OBJ

In #18, did you have any trouble with the word “speech?” If we simply use “di” (to say; to speak; to talk) as a noun, it would mean “saying/speaking/talking” or “speech.” This word does not refer to “a speech” meaning “an address given before an audience,” but rather “speech” meaning “speaking, in general.”

Answers