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Re: THEORY: Ergativity and polypersonalism

From:caeruleancentaur <caeruleancentaur@...>
Date:Thursday, January 20, 2005, 13:20
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