10. Râo hí chaq? / On which day?
This lesson covers adverbs and prepositions, formed using the hiatus tone.
Conversation
Sîaobo: Náo <nao99@telesom.aq>
Côm: Táısaq <taisaq@telesom.aq>
Râq: Geq úmo chéq ba
Râo: 2025n 9j 21ch, 11:05Jadı,
Geq jîm úmo chéq râqkeoı ké rom nıq ba.
Deq geq súq jí râo hí chaq?
Rıa ké guaıkua jıbo bîe ké rıqchaq, shîu ké dıochu. Kéo, jıa poa ké guaırıaq râo ké kuaochaq.
Laojaı jí báq juo suqbo nha.
Jıbı Náo.
Vocabulary
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| kıa | ▯ is red |
| naraq | ▯ is orange |
| lue | ▯ is yellow |
| rıq | ▯ is green |
| kuao | ▯ is cyan |
| mıo | ▯ is blue |
| loa | ▯ is purple |
| jım | ▯ is brief |
| nheoı | ▯ is long (in time) |
| chéq | each other |
| kua | ▯ is a room |
| guaıkua | ▯ is an office |
| guaırıaq | ▯ is a workplace |
| lao | ▯ waits for ▯ |
| laojaı | ▯ eagerly awaits ▯ |
| juo | ▯ is a message/letter |
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| kıachaq | ▯ is a Monday |
| naraqchaq | ▯ is a Tuesday |
| luechaq | ▯ is a Wednesday |
| rıqchaq | ▯ is a Thursday |
| kuaochaq | ▯ is a Friday |
| mıochaq | ▯ is a Saturday |
| loachaq | ▯ is a Sunday |
| fíachaq | pronoun: yesterday |
| síechaq | pronoun: tomorrow |
| rao | ▯ is simultaneous with ▯ |
| shıu | ▯ is before ▯ |
| bıe | ▯ is after ▯ |
Adverbs
When we say a single-slot verb in the hiatus tone, it becomes an adverb. Adverbs go right after the verb, or at the end of the clause.
Kaq jí ké toa jîm. / Kaq jîm jí ké toa.
I look at the words briefly.Marao jí jâı. / Marao jâı jí.
I dance happily.
Remember the tones? Jâı is pronounced as two syllables, like “já-àı.”
Marao jí jâı. / Marao jâı jí.
I dance happily.
Tonal morphemes
The hiatus tone is a tonal morpheme: basically, an invisible word, pronounced not as consonants and vowels, but by changing the tone of the next word. On some level, it makes sense to picture the hiatus tone coming “before” the word jaı:
Marao jí ^ jaı. / Marao ^ jaı jí.
I dance happily.
We can think of ^ as a particle that you put before a verb to make an adverb. And this perspective becomes sensible when we consider how to turn a multi-word verb into an adverb. Consider jaq jaı, which contains the degree word jaq “very”:
Marao jí jâq jaı. / Marao jâq jaı jí.
I dance very happily.
The underlying structure is now ^ jaq jaı, and so it is jaq’s tone that gets modified.
Marao jí ^ jaı.
↓
Marao jí ^ jâı.
Marao jí ^ jaq jaı.
↓
Marao jí ^ jâq jaı.
Eventive vs. subject-sharing
In marao jí jâı, it’s me who’s happy, but in kaq jí ké toa jîm, it’s not me who’s brief. What’s going on?
If the verb being turned into an adverb can describe events, the adverb is eventive, meaning it applies to the event being described by that sentence.
Marao jí jîm.
I dance, and the dancing is brief.
(jîm is eventive, because events can be brief.)
Otherwise, the adverb is subject-sharing, and it says what the subject is or does while participating in the event.
Marao jí jâı.
I dance, and I am happy.
(jâı is subject-sharing, because events can’t be happy.)
Prepositions
If the verb being turned into an adverb has two slots, then saying it in the hiatus tone will turn it into a preposition. The exact same rules apply as for adverbs, regarding their location and interpretation. The only difference is that a preposition has an object after it.
Prepositions can be eventive…
shıu
▯ is before ▯Marao jí shîu ké nuaq.
I dance before the night.
I dance, and the dancing is before the night.
(shîu is eventive, because events can shıu.)
…or subject-sharing:
kaqsı
▯ looks at ▯Hıaı kâqsı súq jí.
I laugh looking at you.
I laugh, and I look at you.
(kâqsı is subject-sharing, because events can’t kaqsı.)