Biwdiw morphology
- Main article: Biwdiw
This page gives an extensive description of Biwdiw morphological features.
Nouns
Nouns in Biwdiw language end almost exclusively in a vowel or in the recurring -iw diphthong. A certain number of nouns, mostly loanwords, may unusually end in a consonant; in this case a euphonic vowel, -u-, is added at the end of noun before the normal declension endings.
Nouns are grouped into two declension classes: animate nouns or class I and inanimate nouns or class II. The first class generally includes nouns indicating animate beings, namely capable of intentional motion or action, while the second 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, there are some logical-semantical exceptions, like the word hɛčo, wind, ňuli, love, or sjɛňu, light, which freely shift from a class to the other during the history of the language, depending on the overall cultural perception of the nouns' animateness degree, being thus regarded as lifeless objects or concepts or as moving entities.
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 three morphological numbers for almost all nouns, singular, dual, and plural.
The dual number is used when two entities are mentioned (or when these entities are usually found in couple):
līlušū subɛnu I see dogs (three, four, some, many, …)
līlušū subɛhiw I see two dogs (it cannot be any other number)
In this case, the usage of the numeral hɛgiw, two, is not required. It can be used, however, to highlight the value of the numeral.
līlušū hɛgiw subɛhiw I see two dogs (the amount of two is purposedly highlighted)
The dual number is not a continuously stable feature per se in the history of Biwdiw language. It is largely used in the classical period, while it tends to be always introduced by the numeral in the first later period. It begins to die out in the texts of the later period, except for the texts in the western area, where it is still widely used well into the earlier modern period.
Cases
Biwdiw nouns do decline, according to an active-stative system with 6 cases:
| Agentive | This case marks primarily the subject of a transitive verb. It is also used to mark the subject of an intransitive verb, which displays a certain degree of activity, will or intention in performing the said action or in being in a certain state. It can be used only with nouns belonging to the class I. |
| Passive | This case marks primarily the direct object of a transitive verb. It is also used to mark the subject of an intransitive verb, which displays no degree of activity, will or intention in performing the said action or in being in a certain state. It is regarded as the base form of the noun, and it is used as the vocative form. |
| Ablative | This case marks primarily a natural and unintentional belonging (for example, body parts), without any sign of will of possession, or an inverse belonging. It also marks the point of origin of a movement (motion from a place). It is also used to mark the direct object of an infinitival form of a verb, marking thus the direct object of the negated form of a transitive verb. |
| Genitive | This case marks an intentional possession, from subjects with a clear and active will. It can be used only with nouns belonging to the class I. |
| Dative | This case marks primarily the indirect object. It can also mark the final point of a movement (motion toward a place), and, in a broad sense, the final purpose of an action or a state. |
| Causative | This case marks the reason or the cause, which are the source of an action or a state. |
The cases are usually classified in 3 groups:
- Primary main cases: agentive, genitive
- Secondary main cases: passive, ablative
- Oblique cases: dative, causative
Other types of clause complements are conveyed using various prepositions, which can select one or more cases.
Class II nouns can be also declined in another case, named instrumental, which marks the tool or the instrument which are used to perform an action or to be in a certain state. However, this case has already fallen out of use in the classical period, its meaning being replaced by the preposition čīg. Some declined forms survive well into this period, but already crystallized in an adverbial role.
In some declension tables the endings of the instrumental case are shown for the sake of completeness, but they are always marked as obsolete.
Noun declension
Nouns are declined in case and number by adding the following endings to the base form of the noun:
| -liw | -hiwliw | -nuliw | |||||
| - | -hiw | -nu | - | -hiw | -nu | ||
| -šu | -hiwšu | -nušu | -šu | -hiwšu | -nušu | ||
| -rɛ | -hiwrɛ | -nurɛ | |||||
| -xjɛ | -hiwxjɛ | -nuxjɛ | -xjɛ | -hiwxjɛ | -nuxjɛ | ||
| -ku | -hiwku | -nuku | -ku | -hiwku | -nuku | ||
| -kjɛ1 | -hiwkjɛ1 | -nukjɛ1 | |||||
1 These forms are deemed as obsolete and rapidly vanishing from current usage.
Some examples are shown below: a class I noun, bɛbju, father, and a class II noun, sōgu, house.
| bɛbjuliw | bɛbjuhiwliw | bɛbjunuliw | ||||||
| bɛbju | bɛbjuhiw | bɛbjunu | sōgu | sōguhiw | sōgunu | |||
| bɛbjušu | bɛbjuhiwšu | bɛbjunušu | sōgušu | sōguhiwšu | sōgunušu | |||
| bɛbjurɛ | bɛbjuhiwrɛ | bɛbjunurɛ | ||||||
| bɛbjuxjɛ | bɛbjuhiwxjɛ | bɛbjunuxjɛ | sōguxjɛ | sōguhiwxjɛ | sōgunuxjɛ | |||
| bɛbjuku | bɛbjuhiwku | bɛbjunuku | sōguku | sōguhiwku | sōgunuku | |||
| sōgukjɛ1 | sōguhiwkjɛ1 | sōgunukjɛ1 | ||||||
1 These forms are deemed as obsolete and rapidly vanishing from current usage.
As for the rules, the endings for the primary main cases cannot be added to a class II noun, while the endings of the already obsolete instrumental case cannot be added to a class I 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
Attributive adjectives are always placed before the nouns they specify, while predicative adjectives tend to be placed before the secondary verbal position.
čōbāliw wīruliw hiwmēx soguxjɛ the young man is going home
wīru çɛn čōbā the man is young
All 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.
çōbārɛ wīrurɛ rēhu sōgu mēhiws hūm biwgu bjɛčiw the young man’s new house is located in the nearby village
Declension of qualifying adjectives
Example: rēhu, new
| rēhuliw | rēhuhiwliw | rēhunuliw | |
| rēhu | rēhuhiw | rēhunu | |
| rēhušu | rēhuhiwšu | rēhunušu | |
| rēhurɛ | rēhuhiwrɛ | rēhunurɛ | |
| rēhuxjɛ | rēhuhiwxjɛ | rēhunuxjɛ | |
| rēhuku | rēhuhiwku | rēhunuku | |
| rēhukjɛ1 | rēhuhiwkjɛ1 | rēhunukjɛ1 | |
1 These forms are deemed as obsolete and rapidly vanishing from current usage.
Numerals
The numeral system relies on a decimal base.
Cardinal numerals
The first ten cardinal numbers are noun-like forms on their own:
| ʂāhu | |
| hɛgiw | |
| miwgō | |
| gōli | |
| šāgi | |
| tūlɛ | |
| xɛšɛ | |
| čuhi | |
| ʈōǰu | |
| pēhu |
Numerals from 11 to 19 are built with the construction NUM + pēhu + nɛ:
| ʂāhupēhunɛ | |
| hɛgiwpēhunɛ | |
| miwgōpēhunɛ | |
| gōlipēhunɛ | |
| šāgipēhunɛ | |
| tūlɛpēhunɛ | |
| xɛšɛpēhunɛ | |
| čuhipēhunɛ | |
| ʈōǰupēhunɛ |
The numerals for (one) hundred and (one) thousand are noun-like forms on their own:
| ňācju | |
| wiwhā |
The numerals for the multiples of tens, hundreds and thousands are built with the construction NUM + pēhudjunu / ňācjudjunu / wiwhādjunu, with some irregularities:
| hɛgiwpēhudjuhiw | hɛgiwňācjudjuhiw | hɛgiwiwhādjuhiw | |
| miwgōpēhudjunu | miwgōňācjudjunu | miwgōwiwhādjunu | |
| gōlipēhudjunu | gōliňācjudjunu | gōliwiwhādjunu | |
| šāgipēhudjunu | šāgiňācjudjunu | šāgiwiwhādjunu | |
| tūlɛpēhudjunu | tūlɛňācjudjunu | tūlɛwiwhādjunu | |
| xɛšɛpēhudjunu | xɛšɛňācjudjunu | xɛšɛwiwhādjunu | |
| čuhipēhudjunu | čuhiňācjudjunu | čuhiwiwhādjunu | |
| ʈōǰupēhudjunu | ʈōǰuňācjudjunu | ʈōǰuwiwhādjunu |
The numeral for “million” is formed from the word wiwhā. Numbers above the millions have no name and are specified by the lesser numerals.
| wiwhālu |
This form is treated as a regularly declinable noun:
| miwgō wiwhālunu | |
| hɛgiwpēhudjuhiw šāgi wiwhālunu |
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.
hɛgiw wiwhāluhiwxjɛ čɛl pūgɛnušu to two millions people
Composite numbers are built by just putting them beside, without any conjunction, in descending order:
- 1985: wiwhā ʈōǰuňācjudjunu čuhipēhudjunu šāgi
When cardinal numbers have an adjective-like function, or when they are used as as simple count forms, they are meant as indeclinable forms (except for "million").
ūdjušu miwgō mācudiwnurɛ sōgu my three friends' house
ʂāhu, hɛgiw, miwgō, gōli, ... one, two, three, four, ...
Every numeral, however, can also have a pronominal function. In this case, they are declined in the required case. They display a complete declension set, not belonging inherently to one of the two classes, varying whether they refer to a I class noun (animated class) or to a II class noun (inanimated). They are declined only in the singular declension.
miwgōrɛ sōgu the house of both (of them)
Ordinal numerals
Ordinal numerals are formed by adding the comparative ending -rō to the cardinal numeral form, with some irregularities:
| ʂāhurō | |
| hɛgiwrō | |
| miwgōrō | |
| gōlirō | |
| šāgirō | |
| tūlɛrō | |
| xɛšɛrō | |
| čuhirō | |
| ʈōǰurō | |
| pēhurō |
The ordinal numeral for “millionth” is regularly formed from its corresponding cardinal forms, while its multiples are formed by unifying the separated forms in an only adjectival word:
| wiwhālurō | |
| miwgōwiwhālunurō |
If the numeral form is composite, the ending is added only to the last numeral form:
- 25th: hɛgiwpēhudjunu šāgirō
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:
| - | |
| čūpu | |
| miwgōgū | |
| gōligū | |
| šāgigū | |
| tūlɛgū | |
| xɛšɛgū | |
| čuhigū | |
| ʈōǰugū | |
| pēhugū | |
| ʂāhupēhunɛgū | |
| hɛgiwpēhunɛgū | |
| hɛgiwpēhudjuhiwgū | |
| tūlɛpēhudjunugū | |
| miwgōňācjudjunugū | |
| ʈōǰuwiwhādjunugū |
The fractional numeral for “millionth” is regularly formed from its corresponding cardinal forms, while its multiples are formed by unifying the separated forms in an only adjectival word:
| wiwhālugū | |
| miwgōwiwhālunugū |
If the numeral form is composite, the ending is added only to the last numeral form:
- 25: hɛgiwpēhudjunu šāgigū
Distributive numerals
Distributive numerals are formed by adding the derivative ending -riǰē to the cardinal numeral form:
| ʂāhuriǰē | |
| hɛgiwriǰē | |
| miwgōriǰē | |
| gōliriǰē | |
| šāgiriǰē | |
| tūlɛriǰē | |
| xɛšɛriǰē | |
| čuhiriǰē | |
| ʈōǰuriǰē | |
| pēhuriǰē | |
| ʂāhupēhunɛriǰē | |
| hɛgiwpēhunɛriǰē | |
| hɛgiwpēhudjuhiwriǰē | |
| tūlɛpēhudjunuriǰē | |
| miwgōňācjudjunuriǰē | |
| ʈōǰuwiwhādjunuriǰē |
The distributive numeral for “million” is regularly formed from its corresponding cardinal forms, while its multiples are formed by unifying the separated forms in an only adjectival word:
| wiwhāluriǰē | |
| miwgōwiwhālunuriǰē |
If the numeral form is composite, the ending is added only to the last numeral form:
- 25: hɛgiwpēhudjunu šāgiriǰē
Multiplier numerals
Multiplier numerals are formed by adding the derivative ending -rigu to the cardinal numeral form:
| ʂāhurigu | |
| hɛgiwrigu | |
| miwgōrigu | |
| gōlirigu | |
| šāgirigu | |
| tūlɛrigu | |
| xɛšɛrigu | |
| čuhirigu | |
| ʈōǰurigu | |
| pēhurigu | |
| ʂāhupēhunɛrigu | |
| hɛgiwpēhunɛrigu | |
| hɛgiwpēhudjuhiwrigu | |
| tūlɛpēhudjunurigu | |
| miwgōňācjudjunurigu | |
| ʈōǰuwiwhādjunurigu |
The multiplier numeral for “million” is regularly formed from its corresponding cardinal forms, while its multiples are formed by unifying the separated forms in an only adjectival word:
| wiwhālurigu | |
| miwgōwiwhālunurigu |
If the numeral form is composite, the ending is added only to the last numeral form:
- 25: hɛgiwpēhudjunu šāgirigu
Verbs
The verbal system of Biwdiw 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 (Rimp) and the perfective root (Rprf). The perfective root is usually derived from the imperfective one through an introflexive process of vowel switching:
CV1CV2C → CV2CV1C
Example:
Rimp = gɛgug- → Rprf = gugɛg-
In addition to vowels, the diphthongs -jɛ-, -ju- and -iw- can be switched:
Rimp = čiwgul- → Rprf = čugiwl-
Rising diphthongs -jɛ- and -ju- can trigger the palatalization of some consonants. Thus, irregular root forms may often appear:
Rimp = cɛgil- → Rprf = ʈigjɛl-
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 = hūgāsus- → Rprf = hūgusās-
Rimp = ʂēhiwšōr- → Rprf = ʂiwhēšōr-
Rimp = xjɛcɛgilig- → Rprf = xjɛʈigjɛlig-
Monosyllabic roots, like çɛň-, 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). This rule may apply to some loanwords.
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 hɛ-, known as augment, which conveys the past tense, while non-past actions are marked by its absence.
Rimp = gagok- → Rimp-past = ʔagagok-
There are also three analytic verbal forms, compound tenses with the auxiliary verb çɛňiwgɛ, to be, and an infinitival form: an imperfective future, a perfect resultative and a plusquamperfect resultative.
There are four verbal moods and three non-finite forms:
- Moods: indicative, subjunctive, optative, potential
- Non-finite: infinitive, agentive participle, passive participle
The citation form of verbs is the present imperfective infinitive, marked by the ending -iwgɛ, 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. | |
| 2nd sing. | |
| 3rd sing. | |
| 1st dual | |
| 2nd dual | |
| 3rd dual | |
| 1st plur. | |
| 2nd plur. | |
| 3rd plur. | |
In the 3rd singular person, one of the endings displays two possible forms, -jɛc or -jɛc. After some consonants this ending appears as -ɛc, and palatalizes the previous consonant, or it is added to an already palatalized consonant without further effects.
cɛgiliwgɛ → cɛgiʎɛc to say → he/she/it says
lilušiwgɛ → lilušɛc to see → he/she/it sees
The different moods are formed by adding the following infixes to the verbal root, before the personal endings:
- indicative: Ø
- subjunctive: -iwň-
- optative: -uš-
- potential: -jɛʈ- / -jɛʈ-
The potential mood infix displays the same irregularities as the 3rd singular person ending and it follows the same rules. All modal infixes merge with the 3rd singular person ending:
- -iwň- + -jɛc = -iwňɛc
- -uš- + -jɛc = -ušɛc
- -jɛʈ- + -jɛc = -jɛcɛc
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: -iwgɛ
- agentive participle: -īdu
- passive participle: -jugiw- / -jugiw-
The passive participle ending displays the same irregularities as the 3rd singular person ending and it follows the same rules.
The infinitival form is meant as a class II noun.
