| Voice marking | Proper marker | no | In Moloko, valence-changing operations are not achieved through morphological modifications of the verb (e.g. with causative, applicative, and passive affixes). Transitivity is a clause-level property that carries a grammatical function (Friesen et al. 2017: 177).
Moloko has a flexible valence system that allows variations in the transitivity of a given verb with no morphological marking (Friesen et al. 2017: 257). |
| Voice marking | Lookalike marker | no | |
| Voice marking | Synthetic marker | n/a | Moloko has a flexible valence system that allows variations in the transitivity of a given verb with no morphological marking (Friesen et al. 2017: 257). |
| Voice marking | Analytical marker | n/a | |
| Flagging | S-argument flagging | no | |
| Flagging | P-oblique flagging | n/a | |
| Flagging | P-oblique unflagging | n/a | |
| Flagging | P-oblique flagging variation | n/a | |
| Indexation | S-argument indexed | yes | The subject is always marked on the finite form of the verb, regardless of whether there is a free subject phrase in the clause. The subject pronominal marker in the verb can be the only indication of the subject in the entire clause (Friesen et al. 2017: 206).
Subject is indicated by a verbal prefix for singular subjects and third person plural. Plural subjects for first and second person are indicated by a combination of a prefix and a suffix (Friesen et al. 2017: 205).
|
| Indexation | S-argument indexation conditioned | no | |
| P-individuation properties | Incorporated P is generic (non-specific) | yes | (Friesen et al. 2017: 298)
b.
Mana écen bay.
Mana ɛ́-tʃɛŋ baj
Mana 3SG+IFV-hear NEG
‘Mana is deaf/doesn’t understand.’
c.
Mana écen sləmay bay.
Mana ɛ́-tʃɛŋ ɬəmaj baj
Mana 3SG+IFV-hear ear NEG
‘Mana is deaf/disobedient.’
|
| P-individuation properties | Incorporated P is indefinite (non-specific) | yes | (Friesen et al. 2017: 298, 295)
a.
Mana a-mənjar war
Mana 3SG-see child
‘Mana sees the child.’
b.
Mala a-mənzar ɛlɛ
Mala 3SG-see eye
‘Mala looks around attentively.’
The verb mənjar normally means ‘see’. With the incorporation of elé, the verb plus body-part construction has a more active experiential meaning in that the subject of the clause (Mala) is looking around attentively (Friesen et al. 2017: 297).
Since there can be no direct object, there is no explicit referential object as stimulus – the speaker is vague about what exactly Mala will look at (Friesen et al. 2017: 297).
(Friesen et al. 2017: 300)
Mana a-j-ay ma
Mana 3SG+PFV-speak-CL mouth/word
‘Mana greets.’
(Friesen et al. 2017: 301)
a.
Hawa a-sok-oy ahar
Hawa 3SG-point-CL hand
‘Hawa points.’
b.
Hawa a-sok-oy ma
Hawa 3SG-point-CL mouth/word
‘Hawa whispers.’
|
| P-individuation properties | Incorporated P can be referential | no | |
| P-individuation properties | Oblique is generic (non-specific) | n/a | |
| P-individuation properties | Oblique is indefinite (non-specific) | n/a | |
| P-individuation properties | Oblique can be referential | n/a | |
| P-individuation properties | Eliminated P is generic (non-specific) | yes | (Friesen et al. 2017: 282)
Mala á-mənzar
Mala 3SG+IFV-see
‘Mala sees.’ (i.e. he is not blind) / ‘Mala can be seen.’
The imperfective aspect in an intransitive clause presents a situation where a state or capability is expressed. For the verb mənjar ‘see,’ an intransitive clause in the Imperfective aspect can have an abilitative sense in that the subject Mala can see. It can also mean that the subject is visible (the subject expresses a semantic Theme) (Friesen et al. 2017: 290).
|
| P-individuation properties | Eliminated P is indefinite (non-specific) | yes | (Friesen et al. 2017: 286, 283)
a)
Hawa e-d-e ɗaf
Hawa 3sg+pfv-make-cl millet loaf
‘Hawa made millet loaf.’
b)
Hawa ede.
Hawa ɛ̀-d-ɛ
Hawa 3sg+pfv-prepare-cl
‘Hawa made [something].’
For the verb d-e ‘prepare,’ the subject of an intransitive clause is the semantic Agent, and the semantic Theme is unspecified (Friesen et al. 2017: 286).
(Friesen et al. 2017: 286)
Mana ɛ̀-tʃɛŋ
Mana 3SG+PFV-understand
‘Mana heard/understood (something).’
With cen ‘hear,’ an INTR clause in the Perfective aspect expresses an event where SBJ hears & understands (what they hear/understand may not be explicit in the clause).
|
| P-individuation properties | Eliminated P can be referential | no | |
| Oblique affectedness | Less affected oblique | n/a | |
| P-constraining properties | Animacy constrains oblique demotion | n/a | |
| P-constraining properties | Person constrains oblique demotion | n/a | |
| P-constraining properties | Number constrains oblique demotion | n/a | |