Re: THEORY: Ergativity and polypersonalism

Chris Bates nucecóópa:

>For example, in Swahili the passive is -w- I believe, inserted
>before the final mood marking vowel. So there's a little less
>wastage there.
That is correct but, and not negating what you have said, it's a
bit more involved than that.  Verbs ending in -aa, -oa, and -ua
insert -li- or -le- as well.

soma (read) - somwa (be read)
jua (know) - juliwa (be known)
toa (take out) - tolewa (be taken out) N.B. the vowel harmony.

Verbs of Arabic origin take -iwa or -ewa.
jibu (answer) - jibiwa (be answered)
samehe (forgive) - samehewa (be forgiven)

Charlie
http://wiki.frath.net/User:Caeruleancentaur