Ithkuil: A Philosophical Design for a Hypothetical Language

Chapter 5: Verb Morphology

The Ithkuil verbal formative (termed “verb” in this chapter for simplicity’s sake) is the workhorse of the language, inflecting for twenty-two different morphological categories. These include the eight categories shared by all formatives and already discussed in Chapter 3: Configuration, Affiliation, Perspective, Extension, Focus, Essence, Context, and Designation. Additionally the following fourteen categories apply solely to verbs: Illocution, Valence, Version, Conflation/Derivation, Format, Modality, Level, Case-Frame, Validation, Phase, Sanction, Aspect, Mood, and Bias. The verb can also theoretically take any number of the over 1300 affixes available to formatives. Such affixes are analyzed in Chapter 7.

The full structure of a Ithkuil verbal formative is tripartite, i.e., having three distinct words, these being an aspectual adjunct, a conflation (or valence) adjunct, and the verb itself. In simple sentences, either or both of the two adjuncts may be missing. The following extreme example of a fully inflected Ithkuil verb illustrates all 22 morphological components of the tripartite structure:

____

______Listen!

A highly stilted but approximate English translation of the above, capturing as many of the nuances of the Ithkuil phrase as possible, would be: ‘…despite apparently being on the verge, contrary to the allegation, of just so happening to want to succeed in vowing to maybe return periodically to the honorable practice of superlative architecture for others to follow by example’

In this chapter we will examine eight of the 14 morphological categories particular to verbal formatives. The six categories specific to aspectual adjuncts will be described in Chapter 6.

Illocution refers to what in linguistics is usually termed types of speech acts, i.e., the general purpose of a statement such as whether it is an assertion, a command, a declaratory pronouncement, a question, a warning, etc. This is a category which is not generally marked within Western languages in any consistent grammatical sense, the nearest equivalent grammatical category usually being Mood. In Ithkuil, Mood (which will be discussed in Chapter 6) functions in a much narrower grammatical range than in Western languages. When the moods of Western language actually relate to types of speech acts, the equivalent function in Ithkuil is shown by the category of Illocution.

There are seven illocutions in Ithkuil: ASSERTIVE, DIRECTIVE, COMMISSIVE, EXPRESSIVE, DECLARATIVE, INTERROGATIVE and ADMONITIVE. They distinguish the type of speech act being performed by the speaker, with a specific focus on the type of commitment being made on the part of either the speaker or the hearer to the truth or purpose of the utterance. They are marked by a consonantal affix to the verb which immediately follows the Affiliation/Extension/Conflation prefix (see Section 5.4.1) and precedes the C1 radical consonant. The illocutions and their prefixes are described below.

The ASSERTIVE illocution is unmarked by any affix. The ASSERTIVE is used to express propositions which purport to describe or name some act, event, or state in the real world, with the purpose of committing the hearer to the truth of the proposition. Thus, an utterance in the ASSERTIVE illocution is one that can be believed or disbelieved, and is either true or false. Such utterances would include general statements, descriptions, and explanations.

The DIRECTIVE illocution is marked by the affix -’- (i.e., the glottal stop). For stems whose C1 radical is a single stop or affricate consonant (i.e., plus corresponding ejectives or aspirates) in mutational grades 1 through 8, this illocution is shown by gemination of the initial consonant of C1 consonantal form rather than by a glottal stop (e.g., aqqwet, not a’qwet). The DIRECTIVE illocution is for the purpose of committing the hearer to undertake a course of action represented by the proposition, where the proposition describes a mental wish, desire, or intention on the part of the speaker. Thus, an utterance in the DIRECTIVE is one that is neither true nor false because it is not describing something that purports to exist in the real world; rather, it describes an act or situation which can potentially be made real, i.e., that can be fulfilled or carried out. Such utterances include commands, orders, and requests and would generally be marked in Western languages by either the imperative, optative, or subjunctive moods. The commitment on the part of the hearer is not belief or disbelief, but rather whether to obey, comply with, or grant.

The COMMISSIVE illocution is marked by the affix -n- (with alternative affixes -m- or -- where euphonically appropriate). Preceding a C1 form beginning with -n-, -r-, or --, the affix -m- is used. The COMMISSIVE illocution is similar to the DIRECTIVE above, except that the listener and the speaker are the same person, i.e., the statement is a wish or command directed at oneself as in a promise, vow, pledge, oath, contract, or guarantee.

The EXPRESSIVE illocution is marked by the affix -f-, with alternate forms -- or -z- where euphonically appropriate or where necessary to avoid confusion with a geminated C1 form (i.e., azvar and afar rather than afvar and affar). The EXPRESSIVE is used for various types of specialized utterances where the truth-value of the proposition is taken for granted and the commitment imposed upon the hearer is one of acceptance or non-acceptance. Such utterances include welcomes, offers, congratulations, condolences, and apologies.

The DECLARATIVE illocution is marked by the affix -ç- with alternate forms -p-, -t- or -k- where euphonically appropriate and/or to avoid confusion with a geminated C1 consonantal form. The DECLARATIVE is used for utterances whose purpose is to themselves effect a change upon the real world, based upon convention, cultural rules, law, subjective authority, or personal authority or control of a situation. The commitment imposed upon the hearer is one of recognition or non-recognition. Such utterances include declarations, announcements, proclamations, and various “performative” expressions. Certain languages mark this function of a verb using a mood known as hortative. Examples would be: I dub thee “Clown Master”!, The king will hear all grievances at noon each day, This court is now in session, We hereby declare this treaty null and void!

The INTERROGATIVE illocution is marked by the affix -r- with alternate form -n- used where euphonically appropriate and/or to avoid confusion with a geminated C1 consonantal form. The INTERROGATIVE is used for utterances corresponding to questions in other languages. Questions, as such, do not exist in Ithkuil. All inquiries and interrogatives are treated as a type of directive in which the speaker tells the addressee to validate the truth of an assertion or provide missing information specified by an interrogative affix to a formative, i.e., when using the INTERROGATIVE, one is not asking Would you like to dance with me? Rather, one is expressing what can only be translated either a specialized command (State whether) you will dance with me or a specialized assertion (I inquire whether) you will dance with me. One does not say What’s your name?, but rather Tell me your name.

Indeed, Ithkuil has no words corresponding to the English words ‘question’ or ‘ask,’ the nearest equivalents being derived from the words for ‘investigation’ and ‘determine.’ Consequently, there is no question mark used at the end of the sentence, nor does the pitch of the voice rise as is usual with Western languages when asking questions. The commitment on the part of the listener in regard to the INTERROGATIVE is one of compliance or non-compliance in divulging the information sought, and the truth value of the utterance is neutral pending the reply.

The ADMONITIVE illocution is marked by the affix -l- with alternate forms -- or -- used where euphonically appropriate and/or to avoid confusion with a geminated C1 consonantal form. The ADMONITIVE is used for admonitions and warnings, corresponding to English phrases such as ‘(I) caution you lest…,’ ‘(I) warn you against…,’ or ‘Be careful not to….’ The utterance is neither true nor false because it describes only a potential act or situation which may occur unless avoided. The commitment on the part of the hearer is to assess the degree of likelihood of the potentiality, followed by a choice whether to heed or ignore/defy the utterance.

5.1.8 Examples of Illocution in Use

___Listen!

In Ithkuil, the term Valence is used to refer to the manner of participation of two separate entities or parties to any given verb, i.e., participation by one party automatically implies participation by another party to the same act, event, or state in either a parallel, corollary, or complementary fashion. Such dual participation occurs naturally in the verbs of world languages and is the province of what is known as “co-active” verbs. While all languages implicitly have co-active verbs, Ithkuil explicitly shows this dual participation in a formal and systematic way. To illustrate the concept of co-activity in English compare the following pairs of sentences:

1a) I found an old man.		1b) I found an empty can.
2a) I threw the ball at Sam.		2b) I threw the ball at the window.
3a) I performed in front of her.		3b) I performed in front of the wall.

Note that the first member of each sentence pair has an animate object of the verb (an old man, Sam, and her), while the second member of each pair has an inanimate object (an empty can, the window, and the wall). Now compare this set of sentence pairs to the similar set below:

1c) I met an old man.		1d) * I met an empty can.
2c) I threw Sam the ball.		2d) * I threw the window the ball.
3c) I entertained her.		3d) * I entertained the wall.

The asterisk * indicates that the second sentence of these pairs is semantically unacceptable to English speakers. Why?

The second set of sentence pairs parallel the first set except that the verbs find, throw at, and perform have been replaced by the semantically similar meet, throw, and entertain. Nevertheless, the use of inanimate objects with these latter three verbs appears unacceptable. The reason is that the verbs in the first set are “mono-active,” i.e., they do not require that the object participate in the action in any way, whereas the verbs in the second set are “co-active,” requiring that the object participate in the action along with the subject. Thus, while I can find an old man without the old man doing anything about it or even being aware of it, I cannot meet an old man without the old man also meeting me. I can throw a ball at Sam without Sam noticing, but if I throw Sam a ball it implies that he is expected to participate by catching it. Similarly, I can perform in front of someone even if they’re asleep, but I can’t entertain them unless they are participating in the situation by observing me.

The participatory relationship involving the second party of a co-active verb differs depending on the context. It can be a parallel relationship (i.e., both parties participate identically) as implied by the English adverb ‘together’ in He and I jog together, or a reciprocal relationship as in the sentence I met the old man (i.e., and so he met me) or in verbs used with the adverbial phrase ‘each other,’ as in We love each other. The relationship can be one of accompaniment as in I played along with him (e.g., as he sang), or a complementary relationship as in I threw Sam the ball (i.e., and so he caught it).

Other sorts of co-active relationships are possible. It is the differences in these relationships that are systematized in Ithkuil into the category called valence. In English and other languages co-activity is rarely explicit and systematic (the use of adverbs such as ‘together,’ ‘each other,’ or prefixes such as ‘out-’ as in out-perform are some exceptions), and when lexified within a verb itself, are implicitly specific to that verb, giving rise to monoactive/co-active pairs such as find/meet, throw at/throw, perform/entertain, etc.

In Ithkuil, co-activity is explicitly shown morphologically, and the types of co-active relationships, i.e., the valences of the verb, are systematic and fully productive for all verbs. As a result, no mono-active versus co-active lexical distinctions are necessary, i.e., all verbs can function monoactively as well as co-actively.

There are fourteen valences in Ithkuil: the MONOACTIVE, PARALLEL, COROLLARY, RECIPROCAL, COMPLEMENTARY, NONRELATIONAL, DUPLICATIVE, DEMONSTRATIVE, RESISTIVE, IMITATIVE, CONTINGENT, PARTICIPATIVE, INDICATIVE, and MUTUAL. Valence is shown by the initial vocalic affix to a type of adjunct known as either a valence adjunct or a conflational adjunct, depending on whether the verb manifests a derivative conflation (explained later in Sec. 5.4). For now we will concentrate solely on the valence adjunct form. Thirteen of these fourteen vocalic prefixes signify co-active relationships while the first constitutes a neutral valence corresponding to monoactivity. The initial prefix also indicates the additional morphological category of Version, a separate morphological category described later in Section 5.3.

The form of a valence adjunct is Vv + , where Vv is the vocalic prefix signifying the valence and version of the verb. These prefixes are shown below in Table 12. Following the table are explanations of each valence. It should be noted that placement of a glottal stop infix -’- between the Vv prefix and assigns positive focus +FC to the main verb.

Table 12: Valence / Version* Prefixes


* see Section 5.3 below for an explanation of Version

The fourteen valences are explained as follows:

The MONOACTIVE valence is the default valence and indicates a lack of co-activity, i.e., no participation by a second party is implied.

The PARALLEL valence indicates that a second party is engaging in the same activity as the first party at same time. It would be used in translating sentences such as The children all sang together, We both went jogging on the parkway.

The COROLLARY valence is similar to the PARALLEL, except that the second party engages in related activity at the same time as the first party, rather than the same activity. It would be used in translating sentences such as The children played in the yard (i.e., each child engaged in a different play activity) or The band played my favorite song (implying that not everyone in the band was playing the same instrument, or perhaps that someone in the band sang as opposed to playing an instrument).

The RECIPROCAL valence indicates identical activity by each party directed at the other, thus translating the English adverbial phrases ‘each other’ and ‘one another,’ as in They looked at each other, The clown and the grocer despise one another.

The COMPLEMENTARY valence indicates that the second party performs a complementary activity to that of the first party. By “complementary” is meant an activity different from that of the first party, but necessary to complete the whole of the joint activity, i.e., the “other half” of the joint activity. This is exemplified in sentences such as The man and his son played catch, Hortense took me into the woods, The clown read the children a story, where ‘played catch’ implies the complementary activities of throwing and catching, ‘took (into the woods)’ implies someone leading while the other follows, and ‘read’ implies a reader and an audience.

The NONRELATIONAL valence indicates that a second party engages in a completely unrelated activity from the first, i.e., an incidental or circumstantial co-activity. There is no direct way to exemplify this valence in English translation other than to add a periphrastic clause such as ‘while the other did something else’ as in He shaved while she did something else. The way an Ithkuil sentence would utilize this valence would be in sentences overtly constructed to say, for example, ‘They were in the house’ with the NONRELATIONAL valence rendering a connotation of ‘…where one party was doing one thing while the other did something else.’

The DUPLICATIVE valence indicates that the second party copies or repeats the activity of the first party, as in the sentences Let’s draw a picture (i.e., I’ll draw it first, then you draw the same picture), They both read that book (i.e., first one, then the other), I bought a new car (i.e., and now someone else is buying a new car, too).

The DEMONSTRATIVE valence indicates that the first party demonstrates for the second party how to do something or what to do. Thus an Ithkuil sentence constructed as We played chess with the verb in the DEMONSTRATIVE valence would mean ‘I showed her how to play chess,’ while the sentence constructed as They fought us in this valence would mean ‘They taught us how to fight.’

The RESISTIVE valence indicates that the second party resists or attempts to avoid participating in the activity of the first party. This sense can sometimes be suggested in English using the adverbs ‘anyway,’ ‘nevertheless,’ or adverbial phrases such as ‘just the same,’ as in sentences such as We took the children to see the clowns anyway (i.e., they didn’t want to go), They fed me liver just the same (i.e., I can’t stand liver), Nevertheless, he told us the story (i.e., despite our not wanting to hear it).

The IMITATIVE valence indicates that the second party mimics, imitates, or attempts to duplicate the activity of the first party. The Ithkuil sentence The clown juggled three balls for the child in the IMITATIVE valence implies that the child attempted to juggle the balls as well.

The CONTINGENT valence indicates that the second party engages in the next or dependent phase of a multi-part activity, the specific activity being dependent on context. Thus the Ithkuil sentence I started the campfire for my friend in the CONTINGENT implies that the friend then performed the next logical step, i.e., he cooked the food.

The PARTICIPATIVE valence indicates that the parties take part in an activity involving a greater whole, translatable by the English phrase ‘take part in.…’ Thus, the Ithkuil sentence They raced in the PARTICIPATIVE means ‘They each took part in the race.’

The INDICATIVE valence indicates that the second party perceives a cue, nuance, or implication from the first party’s activity. Thus the sentence I looked at her in the INDICATIVE would mean ‘She understood what I meant from my looking at her’ while the sentence I spoke to them would mean ‘They gleaned what I really meant from my words.’

The MUTUAL valence indicates that both parties alternate performing an activity, as in She and I take turns cleaning or They both alternate teaching the beginning and advanced classes.

5.2.15 Examples of Valence in Use

Listen!

Version refers to a six-way aspectual distinction indicating whether the verb refers to an act, event or state which is goal- or result-oriented, and/or whether it has been successfully actualized subsequent to one’s initial intention. Like many Ithkuil morphological categories, version addresses semantic distinctions which are usually rendered by lexical differentiation (i.e., word choice) in other languages.

Version is shown by one of six forms of the vocalic valence prefix to a conflational adjunct as previously discussed and shown in Sec. 5.2, Table 12). The six versions are PROCESSUAL, COMPLETIVE, INEFFECTUAL, INCOMPLETIVE, POSITIVE and EFFECTIVE. They are explained below.

The PROCESSUAL describes all acts, conditions, or events which are ends in themselves and not goal-oriented, i.e., are not focused on an anticipated outcome or final purpose toward which a progressive effort is being made. It is the default or neutral version and is shown by the first form of the valence prefix (as shown in Table 12) or, where there is no conflational or valence adjunct, is unmarked.

The COMPLETIVE describes acts, conditions, or events which achieve, or are intended to achieve, an anticipated outcome, i.e., which are oriented toward the achievement of some purpose, outcome, or final state. Such a distinction is usually handled by word choice in Western languages. The dynamism of version can be seen in the following comparisons:

PROCESSUAL COMPLETIVE

hunt to hunt down
to be losing to lose
to study to learn
to be winning to win
to strive for to accomplish, achieve
to risk to defeat the odds; win
to work to build, construct, make
to displace; infiltrate infest, to take over; vanquish
to pour out to drain
to remove (incrementally) to eliminate
to increase to maximize
to read to read to the end; finish reading
to decrease minimize
to flank to surround
to enlarge to make gigantic
to spread upon or over to cover, engulf, envelop
to shrink miniaturize
to chase to catch up to
to eat eat all up
to pursue to capture
to compete to win
to be pregnant to give birth
to throw at to hit (with a throw)
to run low on to run out of, deplete
to grow to grow up
to use use up
to possess, hold to keep
to tear/ rip to tear/rip up or to pieces
to join together to unify
to accelerate, speed up to achieve maximum speed
to pour into to fill (up)
to bleed to bleed to death
to run to run all the way
to descend, go down to get to the bottom
to brighten to illuminate
to decelerate, slow down to stop
to search for, seek to find
to polish to burnish
to practice to perfect
to darken to make dark
to ascend, rise to reach the top
to explore to discover

This version, the INEFFECTUAL, and the next, the INCOMPLETIVE, operate in parallel fashion to the PROCESSUAL and the COMPLETIVE versions respectively but are specific to acts, events, or states initially expressed (whether explicitly or implicitly) as unrealized intentions, attempts, desires, needs, etc., often in conjunction with a modality affix to the verb (see Sec. 5.5). Such “unrealized” verbs are exemplified in the following sentences: I want to dance, She needs to work, I tried to finish, She must find him, I choose to celebrate. Each of these sentences in itself does not specify whether the action was “realized” or not, i.e., just because I want to dance doesn’t necessarily mean that I actually do dance; her need to work doesn’t tell us by itself whether she in fact will work, etc.

The INEFFECTUAL version indicates that the outcome of an “unrealized” PROCESSUAL verb is unsuccessful. Thus the sentence I want to dance in the INEFFECTUAL would be translated as I want to dance but I’m not going to, while the sentence I tried to eat in the INEFFECTUAL means I tried to eat but couldn’t.

The INCOMPLETIVE version indicates that the outcome of an “unrealized” COMPLETIVE verb is unsuccessful. It functions identically to the INEFFECTUAL, except that it refers to a verb that is result/goal-oriented, as illustrated in the comparative chart shown above for the COMPLETIVE version. Thus, the sentence I tried to eat in the INCOMPLETIVE means I tried to eat all of it but couldn’t.

Complementing the INEFFECTUAL, the POSITIVE version indicates an intention brought to reality. Thus the sentence I want to dance in the POSITIVE would be translated as I want to dance and so I’m going to, while the sentence I tried to eat in the POSITIVE means I succeeded in eating something.

Likewise, the EFFECTIVE version complements the INCOMPLETIVE, indicating the same successful effort implied by the POSITIVE version, only applied to goal-/result-oriented verbs. Thus I wanted to finish in the EFFECTIVE implies that the desire was successfully carried out; I tried to eat in the EFFECTIVE means I succeeded in eating it all up.

5.3.7 Examples of Version in Use

Listen!

Many languages, including English, are able to combine two separate meanings into a single verb, a process termed conflation. This is illustrated in the following English sentences:

1. He bicycled south. = He traveled south by bicycle.
2. She dolled herself up. = She made herself look as pretty as a doll.
3. They’re shelving the books. = They’re putting the books on the shelf/shelves.
4. Slide me a beer. = Give me a beer by sliding it (e.g., along the bar).

The above sentences show four verbs which respectively carry inherent senses of vector movement, transformation, positioning/placement, and giving. The patterning of such “conflated” verbs is usually random and haphazard in any given language. For example, the English to bicycle in sentence (1) means ‘to travel by means of bicycle,’ not ‘to make a bicycle’ or ‘to be a bicycle.’ On the other hand, the verb to doll up does not mean to ‘travel by doll,’ but rather ‘to make appear like a doll.’ Yet, to shelve means ‘to place on a shelf,’ not ‘to travel by means of shelves’ or ‘to make appear like a shelf.’ And none of the verbs in the first three sentences connotes the idea of giving or conveyance as does slide in sentence (4).

As can be seen, verb conflation is essentially a “short-cut” way of combining an unspoken primary verbal sense (such as movement, transformation, placement, giving, etc.) with an overtly expressed verb that conveys a secondary sense such as means, manner, or location. This can be formally notated for our four sentences above as follows:

He [1: (TRAVEL+past tense) south] [2: (BY-MEANS-OF) bicycle]
= He bicycled south.

She [1: (CAUSE-TO-RESEMBLE+past tense+reflexive)] [2: (IN-THE-MANNER-OF) doll]
= She dolled herself up.

They [1: (PUT+progressive) the books] [2: (TO-LOCATION-OF) shelves]
= They’re shelving the books.

[1: (GIVE+imperative)] a beer [2: (BY-MEANS-OF) sliding] to me
= Slide me a beer.

Note that the particular unspoken covert and overt senses (shown by the numerals 1 and 2 in the above analyses) are specific to any given verb and must be subjectively learned by the listener, i.e., a speaker of English must learn that to hand means to GIVE by MEANS of one’s hand, but to shoulder does not mean to GIVE by MEANS of one’s shoulder.

Thus, while conflation of verbs presents a potential opportunity for instantiating verbs with patterns of overt and covert meaning, the lack of systemization prevents one from knowing with certainty what pattern to use when attempting to interpret the usage of a verb form. For example, imagine an English speaker using a new verb form such as ‘to apple,’ as in Let’s ‘apple’ today. Would this mean to pick apples?, to eat apples?, to plant apples?, to bake apples?, to buy apples?, to turn something into an apple?, to wear apple-related clothing? Without a standardized system of conflation, the meaning of such a form could only be learned from hearing others using it in context.

Ithkuil systemizes verb conflation into a complex, productive scheme, in which a verb can convey any of eight covert senses, called formats, which can then conflate with seven primary overt senses and 245 derivative overt senses to theoretically yield 2016 possible semantic combinations. In this manner the Ithkuil verb corresponding to English to shelve, can by systematic conflation be made to indicate meanings as diverse as:

Note, however, that being completely systematic for all verbs, the Ithkuil conflation system generates forms which, for any particular verb, will often be semantically questionable, even anomalous, e.g., to travel by shelf, to taste of shelves, to make as warm as a shelf, to spend time as a shelf, etc. (The fact that such semantically anomalous forms are morphologically permissible presents no problem from a logical perspective and is inherent in human language, as exemplified in English by morphologically permissible but semantically anomalous forms such as ‘re-laugh’ or ‘co-beer.’)

The specifics of primary conflation, format, and derivative conflation are detailed in the following sections.

5.4.1 (Primary) Conflation

Primary Conflation, which we will hereafter simply termed Conflation, refers to seven overt senses with which the main verb conflates. These conflations are shown in conjunction with Affiliation and Extension by a vocalic prefix to the main verb. We previously encountered these prefixes for nouns in Table 11 of Sec 3.4. Here, these prefixes are expanded to include the seven primary conflations. The senses of the seven conflations are explained in Table 13 below, while the prefixes themselves are shown in Table 14.

Table 13: Conflations

Table 14: Conflation Prefixes by Extension & Affiliation


* This a- prefix is optional if the nominal versus verbal status of the formative can be determined from other morphological elements or if the meaning of the phrase or sentence is clear regardless of knowing the formative's nominal or verbal status.

5.4.2 Format

As described above, any conflated verb carries both an overt sense and a covert sense. The covert sense constitutes the format of the verb. Format is shown by variation in the - suffix to a valence adjunct, as previously described in Sec. 5.2. The eight formats are explained in Table 15 below along with their respective suffixes to a valence adjunct.

The astute reader may have noted in Table 14 above that the prefixes for the OPERATIVE conflation are the same as the default (i.e., “conflation-less”) Extension/Affiliation prefixes for nouns previously shown in Table 11 of Sec. 3.4. One may ask, then, how one knows whether or not these particular prefixes are meant to show OPERATIVE conflation on a formative. The answer is that, in the absence of one of the formats below, the prefixes do not indicate such conflation.

Table 15: Format Suffixes to Valence/Version Adjuncts

LABEL	FORMAT	SUFFIX	EXPLANATION (COVERT SENSE OF VERB)
SCH	SCHEMATIC	-	Indicates that the verb specifies the manner of the conflated primary sense, e.g., I’m speeding through the book = reading speedily; Clouds blanketed the city = cover like a blanket
ISR	INSTRUMENT-ATIVE	-	Indicates the means, cause, or instrument of causation of the conflated primary sense, e.g., I clubbed him = I hit him with a club; She drove him there = She transported him there by driving
ATH	AUTHORITIVE	-	Indicates that the verb specifies the indirect/enabling cause or circumstance which gives rise to the conflated primary sense, e.g., He sang her cares away = his singing allowed her to forget her cares
PRC	PRECURRENT	-	Indicates that the verb specifies an initial event immediately preceding or continuing on into the conflated sense, where the overt sense is not the cause of the conflated sense, i.e., the conflated sense would have occurred anyway, e.g., I bought some lunch (conflated sense: EAT)
RSL	RESULTATIVE	-	Indicates that the verb specifies the concurrent result of the conflated sense, i.e., an event which occurs in conjunction with the conflated sense but is also caused by it, e.g., The plane crashed into the water (conflated sense: FLY)
SBQ	SUBSEQUENT	-	Indicates that the verb specifies the subsequent cause-and-effect result or purpose (not the concurrent result) of the conflated sense, e.g., I’ll look in on the stew (conflated sense: GO [to kitchen])
CCM	CONCOMITTANT	-	Indicates that the verb specifies an incidental simultaneous event having no causal relationship, e.g., She wore jeans to church (conflated sense: GO); He sweated through her recital (Conflated sense: LISTEN)
OBJ	OBJECTIVE	-	Indicates that the verb specifies the Patient (see Sec. 4.1.1) of the underlying conflated sense, e.g., She dusted the table (conflated sense: REMOVE); They fish that river each spring (conflated sense: GATHER/COLLECT)

5.4.3 Derivation and Conflation Adjuncts

In addition to the seven primary conflations signified by vocalic prefix to the verb, there are 245 additional overt conflation senses which utilize the same seven verbal prefix patterns in conjunction with an additional conflation adjunct preceding the verb. Because these 245 conflations are derived by adding a special adjunct to the verb along with the same verb prefixes of the seven primary conflations, they are called derivations, to distinguish them from the seven conflations. Note that when a derivation is present (evidenced by a conflation adjunct), it is the derivation that determines the conflative meaning of the verb, not the conflation shown by the main verb.

The conflation adjunct used with these derivations is the same adjunct as the valence adjunct already analyzed in Section 5.2. By adding an additional consonantal prefix and the consonantal format suffix from Sec. 5.4.2 above, we generate the following formula:

CN + VV + CK, where:

VV = A vocalic prefix signifying the valence and version of the verb, as previously described in Sections 5.2 and 5.3 above and shown in Table 12. In its basic form, VV always begins either with a vowel, w + vowel, or y + vowel.

CN = A single consonant form signifying a pattern of derivative conflation, whose exact meaning is dependent on which of the seven primary conflation patterns is shown by the vocalic prefix of the verb itself. For example, where CN is p, the actual conflationary meaning differs depending on whether the main verb shows the OPERATIVE, STATIVE, MANIFESTIVE, DESCRIPTIVE, ACTIVE, POSITIONAL or INCHOATIVE pattern. Additionally, each CN has three variations depending on whether VV above begins with a vowel, begins with w- or with y-. Where Vv begins with a vowel, the first form of CN (labelled CN1) is used; where Vv has an initial w-, the second form of CN (labelled CN2) is used and the initial w- to Vv is dropped; where Vv begins with y-, the third form of CN (labelled CN3) is used and the initial y- to Vv is dropped.

For example, the forms of CN = p are as follows: CN1 = p, CN2 = b, and CN3 = p’. Thus, combining CN = p with the valence adjunct forms ei, wei, and yei we get the following results:

p + ei = pei

p + wei = bei

p + yei = p’ei

CK = One of the eight format suffixes shown in Sec. 5.4.2 above, indicating the covert sense of the conflated verb.

Examples of basic conflation adjuncts are bram, téu, wiu, llëu, and cÿua.

The following tables show the CN prefixes and the overt senses associated with these derivations.

Tables 16-1 through 16-40: Derivations

CN1	CN2	CN3	CONFLATION PREFIX OF MAIN VERB	CONFLATIVE MEANING OF DERIVATION
		’	OPERATIVE	get, induce to
			STATIVE	depend upon
			MANIFESTIVE	model, emulate
			DESCRIPTIVE	resemble (behaviorally)
			ACTIVE	touch, feel
			POSITIONAL	distribute
			INCHOATIVE	build, construct

CN1	CN2	CN3	CONFLATION PREFIX OF MAIN VERB	CONFLATIVE MEANING OF DERIVATION
q		q’	OPERATIVE	have (someone do something)
			STATIVE	analyze, reason
			MANIFESTIVE	have order, delineate
			DESCRIPTIVE	have three-dimensional form or shape of
			ACTIVE	strike, impact, hit
			POSITIONAL	contain
			INCHOATIVE	grow, raise

CN1	CN2	CN3	CONFLATION PREFIX OF MAIN VERB	CONFLATIVE MEANING OF DERIVATION
f	v	p	OPERATIVE	persuade, cajole
			STATIVE	learn, study
			MANIFESTIVE	substitute (identity)
			DESCRIPTIVE	have or take shape, form or outline of, e.g., the posse ringed them in
			ACTIVE	shake, spasm
			POSITIONAL	enclose
			INCHOATIVE	strive, pursue

CN1	CN2	CN3	CONFLATION PREFIX OF MAIN VERB	CONFLATIVE MEANING OF DERIVATION
		t	OPERATIVE	influence
			STATIVE	remember
			MANIFESTIVE	play role of, act as
			DESCRIPTIVE	texture
			ACTIVE	touch
			POSITIONAL	inhabit, store
			INCHOATIVE	ameliorate, repair, fix

CN1	CN2	CN3	CONFLATION PREFIX OF MAIN VERB	CONFLATIVE MEANING OF DERIVATION
			OPERATIVE	urge, motivate
			STATIVE	see
			MANIFESTIVE	declare, pronounce
			DESCRIPTIVE	compare
			ACTIVE	derive
			POSITIONAL	inundate with, overwhelm
			INCHOATIVE	strengthen

CN1	CN2	CN3	CONFLATION PREFIX OF MAIN VERB	CONFLATIVE MEANING OF DERIVATION
x		k	OPERATIVE	hint at, suggest
			STATIVE	hear
			MANIFESTIVE	present
			DESCRIPTIVE	impute, ascribe
			ACTIVE	gather, collect
			POSITIONAL	shelter
			INCHOATIVE	enhance, improve

CN1	CN2	CN3	CONFLATION PREFIX OF MAIN VERB	CONFLATIVE MEANING OF DERIVATION
l		q	OPERATIVE	attract
			STATIVE	smell, have odor of
			MANIFESTIVE	exemplify, provide model for
			DESCRIPTIVE	imitate, mimic, act like
			ACTIVE	kill
			POSITIONAL	release, let out
			INCHOATIVE	open, reveal (physically make visible/available)

CN1	CN2	CN3	CONFLATION PREFIX OF MAIN VERB	CONFLATIVE MEANING OF DERIVATION
l	l	h	OPERATIVE	work, toil
			STATIVE	have aura or air of
			MANIFESTIVE	explain, show how
			DESCRIPTIVE	wave
			ACTIVE	prove, demonstrate
			POSITIONAL	lift, ascend, raise
			INCHOATIVE	reveal (figuratively), let know

CN1	CN2	CN3	CONFLATION PREFIX OF MAIN VERB	CONFLATIVE MEANING OF DERIVATION
h		hh	OPERATIVE	command
			STATIVE	be ill, be sick
			MANIFESTIVE	support (figurative)
			DESCRIPTIVE	imbue with
			ACTIVE	create art, compose
			POSITIONAL	lower, descend
			INCHOATIVE	join, connect

CN1	CN2	CN3	CONFLATION PREFIX OF MAIN VERB	CONFLATIVE MEANING OF DERIVATION
		h	OPERATIVE	choose, select
			STATIVE	engage in
			MANIFESTIVE	acknowledge
			DESCRIPTIVE	different(iate)
			ACTIVE	follow/disciple
			POSITIONAL	pull, draw
			INCHOATIVE	fuse, blend, mix

CN1	CN2	CN3	CONFLATION PREFIX OF MAIN VERB	CONFLATIVE MEANING OF DERIVATION
			OPERATIVE	try out, ‘taste’
			STATIVE	please, enjoy
			MANIFESTIVE	visit
			DESCRIPTIVE	have height, be tall
			ACTIVE	manage, oversee
			POSITIONAL	destination
			INCHOATIVE	illuminate

CN1	CN2	CN3	CONFLATION PREFIX OF MAIN VERB	CONFLATIVE MEANING OF DERIVATION
			OPERATIVE	facilitate
			STATIVE	occupy space, ‘cover’
			MANIFESTIVE	project, emanate
			DESCRIPTIVE	have depth, be deep
			ACTIVE	surrender, succumb
			POSITIONAL	arrive
			INCHOATIVE	be new

CN1	CN2	CN3	CONFLATION PREFIX OF MAIN VERB	CONFLATIVE MEANING OF DERIVATION
			OPERATIVE	support (physically)
			STATIVE	value, have value
			MANIFESTIVE	honor, respect
			DESCRIPTIVE	have length, be long
			ACTIVE	experiment, test
			POSITIONAL	spread, overtake
			INCHOATIVE	react

CN1	CN2	CN3	CONFLATION PREFIX OF MAIN VERB	CONFLATIVE MEANING OF DERIVATION
c		c’	OPERATIVE	ally (with)
			STATIVE	relish, adore
			MANIFESTIVE	sanction
			DESCRIPTIVE	have volume, have size
			ACTIVE	cover, apply
			POSITIONAL	conceal, hide
			INCHOATIVE	enlarge, increase

CN1	CN2	CN3	CONFLATION PREFIX OF MAIN VERB	CONFLATIVE MEANING OF DERIVATION
		’	OPERATIVE	do right, best thing
			STATIVE	experience, undergo
			MANIFESTIVE	emphasize
			DESCRIPTIVE	have weight or mass
			ACTIVE	uphold, preserve
			POSITIONAL	seek, search, look for
			INCHOATIVE	shrink, decrease

CN1	CN2	CN3	CONFLATION PREFIX OF MAIN VERB	CONFLATIVE MEANING OF DERIVATION
	j	’	OPERATIVE	respond, reply
			STATIVE	behave
			MANIFESTIVE	encounter
			DESCRIPTIVE	be rectilinear, be squarely aligned
			ACTIVE	maintain
			POSITIONAL	circle, revolve, orbit
			INCHOATIVE	clean

CN1	CN2	CN3	CONFLATION PREFIX OF MAIN VERB	CONFLATIVE MEANING OF DERIVATION
l	r	dr	OPERATIVE	conduct, hold (e.g., a meeting)
			STATIVE	hang, suspend
			MANIFESTIVE	carry
			DESCRIPTIVE	learned in
			ACTIVE	render harmless, subdue
			POSITIONAL	set aright, position optimally
			INCHOATIVE	cook, prepare food

CN1	CN2	CN3	CONFLATION PREFIX OF MAIN VERB	CONFLATIVE MEANING OF DERIVATION
l	r	l	OPERATIVE	hold
			STATIVE	opine
			MANIFESTIVE	tolerate
			DESCRIPTIVE	argue
			ACTIVE	send
			POSITIONAL	be perpendicular, be at right angle to
			INCHOATIVE	approach

CN1	CN2	CN3	CONFLATION PREFIX OF MAIN VERB	CONFLATIVE MEANING OF DERIVATION
l	r	l	OPERATIVE	harass, bother
			STATIVE	lay, lie
			MANIFESTIVE	hide
			DESCRIPTIVE	endanger
			ACTIVE	assault, attack
			POSITIONAL	avoid
			INCHOATIVE	treachery

5.4.4 Examples of Conflation, Derivation and Format in Use

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