Voice marking | Proper marker | yes | FYI: The language has the indefinite object prefixes: ma- and ti- that can function as a voice marker. See Charney (1993: 128).
There is also considerable disagreement on how descriptive work should label and treat such constructions – which in turn display an essential degree of cross-linguistic variation. Charney’s Comanche grammar, for instance, calls the relevant morphemes “indefinite object” (Zuninga & Kittila 2019: 106).
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Voice marking | Lookalike marker | no | |
Voice marking | Synthetic marker | yes | The indefinite object prefix ma- and ti- can function as a voice marker. 'Ma- is more definite than ti- and tends to be used when the implied object is human. The prefix ti- is used when the implied object is nonhuman' (Charney 1993: 128). |
Voice marking | Analytical marker | no | |
Flagging | S-argument flagging | no | Comanche has marked absolutive
=pi, =pih, -pi, -pih
(Charney 1993: 48)
TOP marker -tsa
Intransitive sentences consist of a predicate and one nominal. The predicate is generally a verb, which may be suffixed by any of the elements in the aspect system (Charney 1989: 222).
The subject of the main clause is in a subjective form (Charney 1989: 287).@The author often uses the subjective case or subjective form. The subjective form remains unflagged. (KJ).
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Flagging | P-oblique flagging | n/a | |
Flagging | P-oblique unflagging | n/a | |
Flagging | P-oblique flagging variation | n/a | |
Indexation | S-argument indexed | n/a | |
Indexation | S-argument indexation conditioned | n/a | |
P-individuation properties | Incorporated P is generic (non-specific) | yes | Incorporated nouns (...) are found fairly often in Comanche and are generally used to describe habitual activities (Charney 1993: 123).
FYI: Comanche has TYPE 1 (KJ).
Incorporation Type 1:
Since IN's do not refer to specific entities, these constructions tend to be used in contexts without specific, individuated patients. They may be *generic statements; or *descriptions of on-going activities, in which a patient has been incompletely affected; or habitual activities in which the specific patient may change; or projected activities, in which the specific patient is not yet identifiable; or joint activities, where an individual agent incompletely affects a particular patient; or activities directed at an unspecified portion of a mass (Mithun 1984: 856). |
P-individuation properties | Incorporated P is indefinite (non-specific) | no | |
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 | P unexpression: P omission
(Charney 1993: 136)
[tatɨtsahkɨnaʔetɨ nɨɨ]
ta=-tɨtsaHkɨna-ʔe-tɨ= nɨɨ
indf=subj-sew-ʔe-gen:asp I
‘I sew.’ (spoken by someone who sews habitually)
FYI: Generic interpretation occurs when the verb has the GENeric aspectual marker (Charney 1993: 128). |
P-individuation properties | Eliminated P is indefinite (non-specific) | yes | P unexpression: P suppression
(Charney 1993: 128-129)
a.
[hakaniti ɨnnɨ návukuwáʔa tsahanIka]
hakaniti ɨnnɨ nápukuwá-ʔa tsahani-h/H/ka
how=obj you car-obj drive-stat:asp
‘What kind of car do you drive?’
b.
[ke nɨ rɨtshaniwaitɨ]
ke nɨɨ tɨ-tsahani-wai-tɨ=
neg I tɨ-drive-ur:asp-gen:asp
‘I’m not going to drive.’
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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 | |