Jeʂtəra morphology

Main article: Jeʂtəra

This page gives an extensive description of Jeʂtəra morphological features.

Nouns

Nouns in Jeʂtəra language end almost exclusively in a vowel. A certain number of nouns, mostly loanwords, may unusually end in a consonant; in this case a euphonic vowel, -ə-, is added at the end of noun before the normal declension endings. On rare occasions other vowels, derived from the original language of the loanword, are used in this euphonic role.

Nouns are grouped into two declension classes: the so-called ergative class or class I and inactive class or class II. The ergative class generally includes nouns indicating animate beings, namely capable of intentional motion or action, while the inactive class includes inanimate objects or entities. As a rule, we can sketch out the following scheme:

• class I: human beings, animals, deities
• class II: plants, objects, ideas, feelings, senses, perceptions

A noun is not irreversibly included in one of the two classes, as nouns lack clear morphological marks for each class.

For example, the word ṕiəḱe, water, and rūro, fire are more than often included in the class I. In earlier texts plants are consistently included in the class II, as entities unable to move, while in the later period some plant names can shift to the class I, as living beings.

Despite the general lack of morphological markers in the basic forms, being thus unable to distinguish the two classes, the declension patterns depend on which class a noun belongs to.

There are two morphological numbers for almost all nouns, singular and plural.

Cases

Jeʂtəra nouns do decline, according to an ergative-absolutive system with 6 cases:

Case	Meaning
Ergative	This case marks the subject of a transitive verb. It can be used only with nouns belonging to class I.
Absolutive	This case marks primarily the direct object of a transitive verb. It is also used to mark the subject of an intransitive verb. It is regarded as the base form of the noun, and it is used as the vocative form.
Genitive	This case marks possession and belonging, either intentional, unintentional, or indirect. It can also mark the origin or the source, usually limited to nouns with a locative meaning or place names.
Dative	This case marks primarily the indirect object. In a broad sense, it can also mark the final point of a movement (motion toward a place), usually limited to nouns with a locative meaning or place names.
Causative	This case marks the reason or the cause, which are the source of an action or a state.
Abessive	This case marks the tool or the instrument which are absent while performing an action or being in a certain state. It can be used only with nouns belonging to the class II.

The cases are usually classified in 4 groups:

1. Primary main cases: ergative
2. Secondary main cases: absolutive
3. Primary oblique cases: genitive, dative, causative
4. Secondary oblique cases: abessive

Other types of clause complements are conveyed using various prepositions, which can select one or more cases.

During the history of the language the abessive case slowly loses its vitality in use as a grammar case, being reduced to ad adverbial/adjectival form in later texts.

Noun declension

Nouns are declined in case and number by adding the following endings to the base form of the noun:

	Class I		Class II
	singular	plural	singular	plural
ergative	-liə	-liəno
absolutive	-	-no	-	-no
genitive	-ra	-rano	-ra	-rano
dative	-xə	-xəno	-xə	-xəno
causative	-xəw	-xəwno	-xəw	-xəwno
abessive			-giəl	-giəlno

Some examples are shown below: a class I noun, papəw, father, and a class II noun, sōgo, house.

	papəw		sōgo
	singular	plural	singular	plural
agentive	papəwliə	papəwliəno
passive	papəw	papəwno	sōgo	sōgono
genitive	papəwra	papəwrano	sōgora	sōgorano
dative	papəwxə	papəwxəno	sōgoxə	sōgoxəno
causative	papəwxəw	papəwxəwno	sōgoxəw	sōgoxəwno
abessive			sōgogiəl	sōgogiəlno

As for the rules, the endings for the abessive case cannot be added to a class I noun, while the endings for the ergative case cannot be added to a class II noun.

Adjectives and pronouns

Adjectives closely resemble the noun form, mostly ending in a vowel and showing the same exceptions of nouns. Pronouns, instead, may exhibit different forms in the root form.

Adjectives

Both attributive and predicative adjectives are always placed after the nouns they specify, with a few exceptions.

līro jōpā
the young man

ʔəɳ līro jōpā
the man is young

Prepositive adjectives agree in case and number with the noun they specify, being declined with the nominal endings. They thus display a complete declension set, not belonging inherently to one of the two classes. Attributive adjectives, conversely, agree with the noun they specify, being declined with a different set of ending.

	singular	plural
ergative	-l	-liən
absolutive	-	-n
genitive	-r	-r
dative	-x	-x
causative	-x	-x
abessive	-	-n

This declension pattern display a substantially poorer set of endings. Number is not conveyed in the primary oblique cases, while the endings of the abessive case are the same of the absolutive case.

mēʔiəs sōgo rēʔo līrora jōpār ʔūm ləḱiə piəko
the young man’s new house is located in the nearby village

Declension of qualifying adjectives

Example: rēʔo, new

	attributive declension		predicative declension
	singular	plural	singular	plural
ergative	rēʔol	rēʔoliən	rēʔoliə	rēʔoliəno
absolutive	rēʔo	rēʔon	rēʔo	rēʔono
genitive	rēʔor	rēʔor	rēʔora	rēʔorano
dative	rēʔox	rēʔox	rēʔoxə	rēʔoxəno
causative	rēʔox	rēʔox	rēʔoxəw	rēʔoxəwno
abessive	rēʔo	rēʔon	rēʔogiəl	rēʔogiəlno

Numerals

The numeral system relies on a decimal base.

Cardinal numerals

The first ten cardinal numbers are noun-like forms on their own:

digit	noun form
1:	ʂāʔo
2:	ʔakiə
3:	miəkō
4:	gōle
5:	ṕāge
6:	ðūla
7:	haʂə
8:	ḱəwʔe
9:	ʈōjəw
10:	fēʔo

Numerals from 11 to 13 are built with the construction NUM + fēʔo:

digit	noun form
11:	ʂāʔofēʔo
12:	ʔakiəfēʔo
13:	miəkōfēʔo

Numerals from 14 to 19 are built with the construction fēʔo + NUM:

digit	noun form
14:	fēʔogōle
15:	fēʔoṕāge
16:	fēʔoðūla
17:	fēʔohaʂə
18:	fēʔoḱəwʔe
19:	fēʔoʈōjəw

The numerals for 20 is a noun-like form on their own, being actually a loanword:

digit	noun form
20:	ʔatrū

Numerals for 30, 50, 70 and 90 are built with the construction NUM + fēʔot́əw:

digit	noun form
30:	miəkōfēʔot́əw
50:	ṕāgefēʔot́əw
70:	haʂəfēʔot́əw
90:	ʈōjəwfēʔot́əw

Numerals for 40, 60 and 80 are built with the construction 2 / 3 / 4 + ʔatrūt́əw:

digit	noun form
46:	ʔakiəʔatrūt́əw
60:	miəkōʔatrūt́əw
80:	gōleʔatrūt́əw

The numerals for (one) hundred and (one) thousand are noun-like forms on their own:

digit	noun form
100:	ɳāt́əw
1000:	liəʔā

The numerals for the multiples of hundreds and thousands are built with the construction NUM + ɳāt́əwt́əw / liəʔāt́əw, with some irregularities:

	hundreds	thousands
2x:	ʔakiəɳāt́əwt́əw	ʔakiəliəʔāt́əw
3x:	miəkōɳāt́əwt́əw	miəkōliəʔāt́əw
4x:	gōleɳāt́əwt́əw	gōleliəʔāt́əw
5x:	ṕāgeɳāt́əwt́əw	ṕāgeliəʔāt́əw
6x:	ðūlaɳāt́əwt́əw	ðūlaliəʔāt́əw
7x:	haʂəɳāt́əwt́əw	haʂəliəʔāt́əw
8x:	ḱəwʔeɳāt́əwt́əw	ḱəwʔeliəʔāt́əw
9x:	ʈōjəwɳāt́əwt́əw	ʈōjəwliəʔāt́əw

All cardinal numerals up to these forms are meant as invariable.

The numeral for “million” is a loanword. Numbers above the millions have no name and are specified by the lesser numerals.

digit	noun form
1,000,000:	t́ənt

This form is treated as a regularly declinable noun:

digit	noun form
3,000,000:	miəkō t́əntəno
25,000,000:	ʔatrū ṕāge t́əntəno

If this numeral is used as a simple count form, it is declined in the passive case. Inside of a structured sentence, it is declined according the case required by its syntactical role. Nouns adjoining such numerals are introduced by the preposition čɛl and are declined in the ablative case.

ʔakiə t́əntəxəno fūkarano
to two millions people

Composite numbers are built by just putting them beside, without any conjunction, in descending order:

• 1985: liəʔā ʈōjəwɳāt́əwt́əw gōleʔatrūt́əw ṕāge

Ordinal numerals

Ordinal numerals are formed by adding the ordinal ending -lo to the cardinal numeral form:

digit	adjective form
1st:	ʂāʔolo
2nd:	ʔakiəlo
3rd:	miəkōlo
4th:	gōlelo
5th:	ṕāgelo
6th:	ðūlalo
7th:	haʂəlo
8th:	ḱəwʔelo
9th:	ʈōjəwlo
10th:	fēʔolo
11th:	ʂāʔofēʔolo
12th:	ʔakiəfēʔolo
20th:	ʔatrūlo
30th:	miəkōfēʔot́əwlo
60th:	miəkōʔatrūt́əwlo

The ordinal numeral for “millionth” is regularly formed from its corresponding cardinal forms, by adding the epenthetic vowel -ə-, while its multiples are formed by unifying the separated forms in an only adjectival word:

digit	adjective form
1,000,000th:	t́əntəlo
3,000,000th:	miəkōt́əntəlo

If the numeral form is composite, the ending is added only to the last numeral form:

• 25^th: ʔatrū ṕāgelo

Fractional numerals

Fractional numerals are formed by adding the derivative ending -gū to the cardinal numeral form, with the exceptions of the numeral one, and an irregular suppletive form:

digit	full form
1:	-
2:	ḱūfo
3:	miəkōgū
4:	gōlegū
5:	ṕāgegū
6:	ðūlagū
7:	haʂəgū
8:	ḱəwʔegū
9:	ʈōjəwgū
10:	fēʔogū
11:	ʂāʔofēʔogū
12:	ʔakiəfēʔogū
20:	ʔatrūgū
30:	miəkōfēʔot́əwgū
60:	miəkōʔatrūt́əwgū

The fractional numeral for “millionth” is formed by adding the epenthetic vowel -ə-, before adding the regular morpheme -gū, while its multiples are formed by unifying the separated forms in an only word:

digit	full form
1,000,000:	t́əntəgū
3,000,000:	miəkōt́əntəgū

If the numeral form is composite, the ending is added only to the last numeral form:

• 25: ʔatrū ṕāgegū

Multiplier numerals

Multiplier numerals are formed by adding the derivative ending -gū to the cardinal numeral form, with the exceptions of the numeral one, and an irregular suppletive form:

digit	full form
1:	ʂāʔore
2:	ʔakiəre
3:	miəkōre
4:	gōlere
5:	ṕāgere
6:	ðūlare
7:	haʂəre
8:	ḱəwʔere
9:	ʈōjəwre
10:	fēʔore
11:	ʂāʔofēʔore
12:	ʔakiəfēʔore
20:	ʔatrūre
30:	miəkōfēʔot́əwre
60:	miəkōʔatrūt́əwre

The multiplier numeral for “million” is formed by adding the epenthetic vowel -ə-, before adding the regular morpheme -gū, while its multiples are formed by unifying the separated forms in an only word:

digit	full form
1,000,000:	t́əntəre
3,000,000:	miəkōt́əntəre

If the numeral form is composite, the ending is added only to the last numeral form:

• 25: ʔatrū ṕāgere

Verbs

The verbal system of Jeʂtəra language is based on the fundamental dichotomy between imperfective aspect and perfective aspect. This distinction is conveyed by two different verbal roots for every verbal meaning, the imperfective root (R_imp) and the perfective root (R_prf). The perfective root is usually derived from the imperfective one through an introflexive process of vowel switching:

CV1CV2C → CV2CV1C

Example:

Rimp = gagok- → Rprf = gogak-

In addition to vowels, the diphthongs -iə- and -əw- can be switched:

Rimp = ʔīsəwg- → Rprf = ʔəwsīg-

In disyllabic verbal root, all vowels are involved in the switching process.

However, multisyllabic verbal roots can be formed through morphological derivation by adding prefixes or suffixes or both of them. These morphological affixes are usually not involved in the switching process. The vowel involved are those belonging to the original disyllabic root:

Rimp = giəhēmon- → Rprf = giəhomēn-

Rimp = kəlokōr- → Rprf = koləkōr-

Rimp = həʈəgelōr- → Rprf = həʈegəlōr-

Monosyllabic roots, quite rare, are usually not involved in the vowel switching process, being thus deemed as invariable roots without a perfective form (or without an imperfective form, in the very rare case when the base meaning is intrisically perfective).

Irregular roots, mostly loanwords, derive their perfective form by adding the morpheme -iək-:

Rimp = akar- → Rprf = akariək-

Another distinction is made, on a temporal level, between a non-past tense, generally called “present”, and a past tense, by means of the prefix ʔa-, known as augment, which conveys the past tense, while non-past actions are marked by its absence.

Rimp = gagok- → Rimp-past = ʔagagok-

When the root begins with a vocalic phoneme, an adjoining consonant, usually -ʔ-, is added between the augment and the verbal root.

Rimp = akar- → Rimp-past = ʔaʔakar-

There are three verbal moods and three non-finite forms:

• Moods: indicative, subjunctive, conditional
• Non-finite: infinitive, active participle, passive participle

The citation form of verbs is the present imperfective infinitive, marked by the ending -əme, added to the imperfective root in its present form. From such form the imperfective root can be inferred and can be changed in its perfective equivalent.

The following personal endings are then added to the various aspectual and temporal forms. In this way, verbs show their agreement with the clause subject in person and number:

1st sing.	-ol
2nd sing.	-er
3rd sing.	-ət́
	-
1st plur.	-olon
2nd plur.	-eron
3rd plur.	-ət́on
	-on

The different moods are formed by adding the following infixes to the verbal root, before the personal endings:

• indicative: Ø
• subjunctive: -iəɳ-
• conditional: -oṕ-

The non-finite verbal forms are meant as nominal/adjectival forms of the same verbs. They do not add the personal endings, but they are declined as nouns or adjectives with the nominal declension endings.

As verbal forms can, however, be formed on both roots and add the past prefix. They can also add the modal infixes before their typical endings.

The non-finite endings are:

• infinitive: -əme
• agentive participle: -īto
• passive participle: -əwkiə-

The infinitival form is meant as a class II noun.