Re: Screeve question

On Sat, 26 Jul 2003 17:04:02 -0400, Mike Ellis <nihilsum@...> wrote:

>To whoever may have the info:
>
>  For the two languages I'm forcing myself to work more on, I want to use
>a "screeve" system like Georgian does. I understand that these "screeves"
>combine some features of tense and aspect. And I like how not
>every 'aspect' is available to each 'tense', and thus the "screeve" system
>is nicely messier than a straightfoward tense/aspect "grid" might be. But I
>don't really understand how they work! There are some Georgian grammar
>sites out there; one in particular is very large and shows how to *form*
>each screeve but has little information on the *use* of each one.
>  Can someone tell me more about how the Georgian "screeves" (or a conlang
>with a similar screeve system) are used?
>
>M
I take it that the site you mention is www.armazi.demon.co.uk/georgian?  In
any case, 'screeves' are basically combinations of tenses, aspects, and/or
moods.  The three main screeve series are distinguished by aspect: Series I
is the 'Present Series' (but a better name would be 'Progressive Series'),
Series II is the 'Aorist Series,' and Series III is the 'Perfect Series.'
From what I understand the first two series are used much more often than
the third.  What screeve you're using is indicated by the screeve marker,
which is kind of like the 'thematic vowel' in Proto-Indo-European, but more
complex.  But there are other things that indicate screeves beside the
screeve markers.

I think the best way to show you is to illustrate using some examples.  One
of the most important distinctions in Georgian verbs is aspect, i.e.
progressive (durative) vs. aorist (momentary/punctual).  Most Georgian
verbs are root-aorists, and have derived progressive stems using one of
several suffixes.  A relative few verbs don't have derived progressive
stems, such as ts'er- 'write'.  Here's the paradigm for ts'er- in 1sg and
3sg:


1sg

Present: v-ts'er 'I write / am writing it'
Imperfect: v-ts'er-d-i 'I was writing it'
Future: da-v-ts'er 'I will write it'
Aorist: da-v-ts'er-e 'I wrote it'
Present Subjunctive: v-ts'er-d-e 'that I write it'
Future Subjunctive: da-v-ts'er-d-e 'that I will write it'
Conditional: da-v-ts'er-d-i 'I would write it'
Optative: da-v-ts'er-o 'may I write it'


3sg

Present: ts'er-s 'he writes / is writing it'
Imperfect: ts'er-d-a 'he was writing it'
Future: da-ts'er-s 'he will write it'
Aorist: da-ts'er-a 'he wrote it'
Present Subjunctive: ts'er-d-s 'that he write it'
Future Subjunctive: da-ts'er-d-s 'that he will write it'
Conditional: da-ts'er-d-a 'he would write it'
Optative: da-ts'er-o-s 'may he write it'


Here's a verb with a derived progressive stem, khat'- 'paint'.


1sg

Present: v-khat'-av 'I paint / am painting it'
Imperfect: v-khat'-av-d-i 'I was painting it'
Future: gada-v-khat'-av 'I will paint it'
Aorist: gada-v-khat'-e 'I painted it'
Present Subjunctive: v-khat'-av-d-e 'that I paint it'
Future Subjunctive: gada-v-khat'-av-d-e 'that I will paint it'
Conditional: gada-v-khat'-av-d-i 'I would paint it'
Optative: gada-v-khat'-o 'may I paint it'


3sg

Present: khat'-av-s 'he paints / is painting it'
Imperfect: khat'-av-d-a 'he was painting it'
Future: gada-khat'-av-s 'he will paint it'
Aorist: gada-khat'-a 'he painted it'
Present Subjunctive: khat'-av-d-s 'that he paint it'
Future Subjunctive: gada-khat'-av-d-s 'the he will paint it'
Conditional: gada-khat'-av-d-a 'he would paint it'
Optative: gada-khat'-o-s 'may he paint it'


Hope this helps.

- Rob

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