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one of my new projects

From:Jeffrey Jones <jsjonesmiami@...>
Date:Thursday, March 9, 2006, 23:36
Clauses are chained, with the last providing tense and aspect information
and the first providing the argument shared by the clauses, if any. The
ending of the verb also indicates whether the verb is final, non-final,
adverbial, a relative clause verb, or a complement clause verb (in those
few cases where complement clauses are used).

Verbs of assertion require evidential suffixes. If an evidential or modal
suffix is followed by the yes/no interrogative, the implied argument of the
evidential or modal is 2nd person rather than 1st person. Perception can be
expressed only through evidentials. To indicate a perceiver other than the
one normally implied, a "setup" clause must precede, changing the meaning
of the 1st and/or 2nd person pronouns.

Argument-role inversion is used, except that inversion is marked as a
suffix to the noun of the first argument phrase, rather than on the verb.
(Yet, reflexive and reciprocal are marked on the verb.) The first argument
(of a mono-di-transitive verb) takes a non-inversion suffix otherwise. The
second argument of a ditransitive verb takes an indirect object suffix. The
noun forms not marked for case are direct objects. The subject of an
intransitive verb acts like a direct object for some verbs and like a non-
inverted subject for others.

Pronouns are proclitic, except under circumstances, which include when
they're focused and when the pronoun must take the inversion suffix.

Pronouns are marked for singular and plural; for nouns, the plural is
usually the less marked number.

There's other stuff, such as causatives, but that's probably enough for now.

Jeff

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Henrik Theiling <theiling@...>