16.1 Personal Pronouns
The Alashian pronominal system stands in stark contrast to the pronominal systems of its closely-related Semitic cousins. Centuries of close contact has resulted in Alashian undergoing a significant degree of metatypy with respect to Cypriot Greek, meaning Alashian's pronominal system has been restructured so that it has a nearly one-to-one structural and syntactic correspondence to the Cypriot Greek model.
Three cases are represented in the personal pronouns, the only vestige of morphological case marking in Alashian: the nominative, accusative, and a merged genitive/dative (which will be called the 'genitive' for short). The nominative and accusative pronouns come in both full/emphatic and clitic forms, while the genitive pronouns lack clitic forms.
| Nominative (Full) |
Nominative (Clitic) |
Accusative (Full) |
Accusative (Clitic) |
Genitive | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Sg | ετζεί 'ečī |
τζε če |
ιώ yā |
νι ni |
λιή lie |
| 2 Sg Masc | άττα 'ətha |
τα ta |
κυώ kwā |
κα ka |
λάκ lak |
| 2 Sg Fem | ίσ̄σ̄ε 'išše |
σ̄ι ši |
τζιώ čyā |
τζι či |
λάτζ lač |
| 3 Sg Masc | ηού hū |
ου 'ū |
υώτ wāt |
ου 'ū |
λού lū |
| 3 Sg Fem | ηεί hī |
ει 'ī |
ιώτ yāt |
ει 'ī |
λών lān |
| 1 Pl | νώνυ nānu |
νω nā |
νυώ nuwā |
νω nā |
λάν lan |
| 2 Pl Masc | άττυν 'əthun |
αττυν 'əthun |
κυνώ kunā |
κυν kun |
λάκαν lakan |
| 2 Pl Fem | ίσ̄σ̄ιν 'iššin |
ισ̄σ̄ιν 'iššin |
τζινώ činā |
τζιν čin |
λάτζεν lačen |
| 3 Pl | ηυών huon |
ουν 'ūn |
ηυμώ humā |
ουν 'ūn |
λών lān |
The clitic forms are always unstressed, and so never show any accent marks.
16.2 Possessive Suffixes
Possessive suffixes are largely a feature of archaic Alashian, today surviving only in a few fixed expressions. They are added directly to the construct form of the noun being possessed and indicate a pronominal possessor. Each suffix has two forms, one used after words ending in a consonant and one used after words ending in a vowel.
| Alashian Possessive Suffixes | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Sg | -ει/-νει -ī/-nī |
1 Pl | -ιν/-ν -in/-n |
| 2 Sg Masc | -ικ/-κ -ik/-k |
2 Pl Masc | -καν -kan |
| 2 Sg Fem | -ιτζ/-τζ -ič/-č |
2 Pl Fem | -τζεν -čen |
| 3 Sg Masc | -ου/-ιου -ū/-yū |
3 Pl Masc | -αν/-ιαν -an/-yan |
| 3 Sg Fem | -ω/-ιω -ā/-yā |
3 Pl Fem | -αν/-ιαν -an/-yan |
The following tables demonstrate the use of the possessive endings with the singular noun 'abā “father” (construct 'abat) and the plural noun yadī “hands” (construct yadē). The former is used quite frequently in the modern language, while the latter is more archaic.
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16.3 Reflexive Pronoun
The reflexive pronoun simply consists of the noun nafse “breath” (originally, “soul, spirit”) with the appropriate possessive suffixes. Naturally nafse appears in its plural form nefās when the subject is plural.
| The Reflexive Pronoun | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Sg | ναφσεί nafsī |
1 Pl | νεφώσιν nefāsin |
| 2 Sg Masc | νάφσικ nafsik |
2 Pl Masc | νεφώσκαν nefāskan |
| 2 Sg Fem | νάφσιτζ nafsič |
2 Pl Fem | νεφώστζεν nefāsčen |
| 3 Sg Masc | ναφσού nafsū |
3 Pl Masc | νεφώσαν nefāsan |
| 3 Sg Fem | ναφσώ nafsā |
3 Pl Masc | νεφώσαν nefāsan |
16.4 Demonstrative Pronouns
Alashian has two levels of demonstrative pronouns, proximal (“this/these”) and distal (“that/those”). They mark gender in the singular, but have a single genderless form in the plural.
The demonstrative pronouns and adjectives have distinct (though related) forms, with the pronouns having a prefix historically related to the definite article and various suffixial flotsam that no longer has a clear purpose. The demonstrative adjectives, unlike most other adjectives, do not show any sort of state agreement at all.
| Alashian Demonstratives | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proximal | Distal | ||||
| Pronoun | Adjective | Pronoun | Adjective | ||
| Masc Sg | αδ̄δ̄εκώ 'aḏḏekā |
δή dē |
Masc Sg | ανού 'anū |
ηού hū |
| Fem Sg | αδ̄δ̄ιτζεί 'aḏḏičī |
δίτ dit |
Fem Sg | ανεί 'anī |
ηεί hī |
| Pl | αδ̄ήλεκ 'aḏēlek |
δέλε dele |
Pl | ανυών 'anuon |
ηυών huon |
16.5 Interrogative Pronouns
Alashian has two interrogative pronouns, as well as a number of interrogative adjectives and adverbs.
The interrogative pronouns are μώ mā “what?”, used with inanimate referents, and μιή mie “who?”, used with animate referents. These decline in all three cases, though they do not contrast number:
| Interrogative Pronoun Declension | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | Accusative | Genitive | |
| μώ “what?” | μώ mā | μώτ māt | λιμή limē |
| μιή “who?” | μιή mie | μείτ mīt | λιμεί limī |
There are three interrogative adjectives and determiners: ιή yē “which, what? (animate)”, έδα 'eda “which, what, what kind of? (inanimate)”, and κάν kan “how much, how many?”. They each have a full adjectival declension (though kan lacks plural forms), although the first two are somewhat irregular:
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Interrogative adverbs are non-declining, and include μασή masē “when?”, ήκα 'ēka “where?”, and βεμώ bemā “how?”. “Why?” is expressed using μώ mā, the same word as the nominative form of “what?”.
16.6 Correlatives Tables
The above information dealing with pro-forms and determiners, along with other minor classes of determiners, may be summarized in a series of correlatives tables.
| Interrogative | Proximal | Distal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Determiner | ιή/έδα yē/'eda |
δή dē |
ηού hū |
| Quality | ιή/έδα yē/'eda |
κααδ̄δ̄εκώ ka'aḏḏekā |
καανού ka'anū |
| Person | μιή mie |
αδ̄δ̄εκώ 'aḏḏekā |
ανού 'anū |
| Thing | μώ mā |
αδ̄δ̄εκώ 'aḏḏekā |
ανού 'anū |
| Place | ήκα 'ēka |
ηών hān |
θών ṯān |
| Direction | αδ ήκα 'ad 'ēka |
κυώ kuo |
αδών 'adān |
| Origin | βνε ήκα bne 'ēka |
βνε ηών bne hān |
βνε θών bne ṯān |
| Time | μασή masē |
αππών 'əphān |
πλέ ple |
| Amount | κάν kan |
δη πυώς dē puos |
ηου πυώς hū puos |
| Way | βεμώ bemā |
κάκ kak |
κάκ kak |
| Reason | μώ mā |
βεαδ̄δ̄εκώ be'aḏḏekā |
βεανού be'anū |
16.6.1 Interrogative Forms
The interrogative forms have for the most part already been discussed. The 'determiner' (“which? what?”) and 'quality' (“what kind of?”) are both handled by the adjectives yē and 'eda, depending on the animacy of the noun being described. The 'person' (“who?”) and 'thing' (“what?”) fields are filled by the native pronouns mā and mie, which have cognates in most modern Semitic languages. The distinction between mā and mie is also a question of animacy.
The interrogative of place (“where?”) is handled by the adverb 'ekā, which etymologically consists of an adjective *ʔay- “which” (cf. Alashian yē) and an adverb *kā “here”. 'Eka is used for location only; the interrogatives of direction (“whither? to where?”) and origin (“whence? from where?”) consist of prepositions plus 'eka: 'ad 'eka (lit. “towards where?”) and bne 'eka (lit. “from where?”).
The interrogative of time (“when?”) is masē, another native form with cognates in a number of Semitic languages. The interrogative of amount (“how much? how many?”) is kan, which behaves as a noun and will typically appear in the construct state accompanied by whatever is being quantified. The quantified noun always appears in the singular, regardless of logical number.
The interrogative of way (“how?”) is bemā, which simply consists of the clitic instrumental preposition be- “with” and the pronoun mā “what?”. The interrogative of reason (“why?”) is simply mā, having acquired an idiomatic adverbial function alongside its more typical pronominal one.
16.6.2 Proximal Forms
Proximal forms have the basic meaning of “this”; that is, they reference something in close proximity to the speaker.
The proximal determiner (“this”) is simply the quasi-adjective dē, which shows agreement in gender in number. Its pronominal equivalent, 'aḏḏekā and its other forms, fill the roles of the 'person' (“this person, this one”) and 'thing' (“this thing, this one”) categories. It also has two variants derived using prepositions, ka'aḏḏekā “such, like this” (and its feminine and plural counterparts) and be'aḏḏekā “for this reason, therefore” (usually always masculine singular).
The 'place' and 'direction' forms are primitive Semitic forms: hān “here” and kuo “hither, to here”. The proximal adverb of origin, however, employs the preposition bne “from”: bne hān “hence, from here”.
The adverb 'əphān “now” is directly related to the noun pān “time, instance, occurrence” with what was once a definite article prefixed, though the connection between the two words is not readily apparent to most Alashian speakers.
The proximal quantifier is dē puos “this amount [of]”, which consists of the demonstrative “this” plus the noun puos “amount, total”, borrowed from Greek πόσο “how much?”.
The proximal adverb of way is kak “thus, this way”, which etymologically consists of the preposition ka- “like” and the locatival adverb *kā “here”.
16.6.3 Distal Forms
The distal forms have a basic meaning of “that”, referencing something more distant from the speaker, whether physically or metaphorically. These closely parallel the proximal correlatives in their formation.
As with the proximals, a number of these forms are directly derived from the demonstratives. The determiner hū “that” is the distal demonstrative adjective, while the distal 'person' and 'thing' categories are filled by the distal pronouns such as 'anū “that person, that thing, that one”. The 'quality' and 'reason' categories are filled with pronouns augmented by a clitic prepositions, namely ka'anū “that kind of, like that” and be'anū “for that reason, therefore”.
The distal adverb of place is ṯān “there”, a primitive Semitic form. The directional adverb is 'adān “thither, to there”, which historically consists of the preposition 'ad “toward” + ṯān. The adverb of origin is phrasal: bne ṯān “thence, from there”.
The distal adverb of time is ple “then”, a loanword from Cypriot Greek πιλαί “already”, which in both languages also serves as a general marker of the perfect aspect.
The distal quantifier is hū puos “that amount, that much”, clearly built on the same model as dē puos “this amount, this much”. The adverb of way is kak “that way, like that, thus”, and is not distinguished from the proximal adverb of way.
| Indefinite | Negative | Universal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Determiner | ρ̄άδ řad |
ήμα 'ēma |
κάλ kal |
| Quality | κάαρ̄αδ ka'ařad |
ήμα 'ēma |
καλ τείπ kal tīp |
| Person | ρ̄αμμιή řammie |
μιμμώ mimmā |
καλ άρ̄αδ kal 'ařad |
| Thing | ρ̄αμμώ řammā |
μαμμώ mammā |
κάλ kal |
| Place | ηαλ ρ̄άδ μακκούν hal řad məkhūn |
ηαλ ήμα μακκούν hal 'ēma məkhūn |
ηαλ κάλ μακκούν hal kal məkhūn |
| Direction | ρ̄άδ μακκούνα řad məkhūna |
ήμα μακκούνα 'ēma məkhūna |
κάλ μακκούνα kal məkhūna |
| Origin | βνε ρ̄άδ μακκούν bne řad məkhūn |
βνε ήμα μακκούν bne 'ēma məkhūn |
βνε κάλ μακκούν bne kal məkhūn |
| Time | πών pān |
μαζμώ mazmā |
παχεί paxī |
| Amount | ριδ̄μυώς riḏmuos |
ήμα πυώς 'ēma puos |
κάλ πυώς kal puos |
| Way | βερ̄άδ μυώδ beřad muod |
βεήμα μυώδ be'ēma muod |
βεκάλ μυώδ bekal muod |
| Reason | βερ̄άδ λούχ beřad lūx |
βεήμα λούχ be'ēma lūx |
βεκαλ λούχ bekal lūx |
16.6.4 Indefinite Forms
The indefinite forms mark an unknown or inspecific quantity or quality, either because the speaker does not know (e.g., “I saw something strange”) or simply is not revealing the information (e.g., “I saw someone you know”). Most Alashian indefinites involve the numeral ('a)řad “one” in some form.
The indefinite determiner “some, some kind of” is simply řad, the same as the adjectival form of “one”. Despite the illogic of it, řad may freely appear with plural endings if modifying a plural noun.
The indefinite pronouns marking persons and things consist of an assimilated řad fused with the interrogative pronoun: řammie “someone”, řammā “something”. These decline in the same manner as the interrogative pronouns they were based on.
The indefinite marker of quality is the adverb ka'ařad, which literally means “like one” or “like something”. Analogy likely played some role in its adoption.
All of the indefinite locative and directional adverbs are phrasal. “Somewhere” is hal řad məkhūn, literally “at some place”. The directional “to somewhere” is řad məkhūna, featuring a frozen non-productive directional suffix *-a, eliminating the need for a preposition. “From somewhere” is, not surprisingly, bne řad məkhūn, literally “from some place”.
Alashian has a number of indefinite adverbs of time. The one shown in the chart is pān, which means “once” or “sometime”, implying a single indefinite occurence sometime in the past. Indefinite future occurrences are generally handled with the idiom yūn hal hayyūnuoš, literally “a day out of days”. Multiple indefinite occurrences (i.e., “sometimes”), whether past of future, are generally handled with pānien, the plural form of pān.
The last few indefinites are loanwords. The indefinite quantifier “some, some amount” is riḏmuos, derived from Greek αριθμός “a number [of]”. The indefinite adverb of manner is beřad muod “somehow, in some manner, by some means”, where muod ultimately comes from French mode. The indefinite adverb of reason is beřad lūx “for some reason”, with lūx coming from Greek λόγος.
16.6.5 Negative Forms
Most of the negative correlatives feature a negative suffix *-ma or *-mā, which is related to the interrogative mā “what?”; this is a fairly common Semitic construction, where sentences like “What is in my hand?” come to mean “There is nothing in my hand”. All of these negative forms must be accompanied by a negated verb (double negation).
The *-ma/*-mā suffix is seen most clearly in the negative pronouns mimmā “nobody” and mammā “nothing”, both of which are non-declining. The negative determiner/adjective of quality, 'ēma “no, no kind of” also uses it; note that this form acts as a prenominal particle or adjunct more than an adjective, since it also does not decline. The adverb of time, mazmā “never”, is derived from masē “when?” + *-mā, but has undergone some vowel reduction and assimilation.
All other negatives are phrasal and employ 'emā: hal 'ēma məkhūn “nowhere”, 'ēma məkhūna “to nowhere”, bne 'ēma məkhūn “from nowhere”, 'ēma puos “no amount of”, be'ēma muod “in no way”, be'ēma lūx “for no reason”.
16.6.6 Universal Forms
The universal correlatives all have the basic meaning of “all” or “every”. Many of these forms revolve around the adjective kal “all, every”.
There are only two universal correlatives that are not phrasal. One is kal, which means “all” or “every” when used attributively or “everything” when used nominally; it also has a derivative adjective kalī “each”. The other is paxī “always”, derived from Greek εποχή “period, age, epoch”.
The following forms are phrasal: kal tīp “every kind of”, kal 'ařad “everyone, each”, hal kal məkhūn “everywhere”, kal məkhūna “to everywhere”, bne hal məkhūn “from everywhere”, kal puos “every amount of”, bekal muod “in every way, by all means”, bekal lūx “for every reason”.
| Indeterminate | Alternative | |
|---|---|---|
| Determiner | ήμα 'ēma |
χάρ xar |
| Quality | ήμα 'ēma |
άλλυν 'allun |
| Person | μιμμώ mimmā |
αλλιμιή 'allimie |
| Thing | μαμμώ mammā |
αλλιμώ 'allimā |
| Place | ηαλ ήμα μακκούν hal 'ēma məkhūn |
ηαλ χάρ μακκούν hal xar məkhūn |
| Direction | ήμα μακκούνα 'ēma məkhūna |
χάρ μακκούνα xar məkhūna |
| Origin | βνε ήμα μακκούν bne 'ēma məkhūn |
βνε χάρ μακκούν bne xar məkhūn |
| Time | μαζμώ mazmā |
αλλιπαχεί 'allipaxī |
| Amount | ήμα πυώς 'ēma puos |
χάρ πυώς xar puos |
| Way | βεήμα μυώδ be'ēma muod |
βεχαρείς bexarīs |
| Reason | βεήμα λούχ be'ēma lūx |
βεχάρ λούχ bexar lūx |
16.6.7 Indeterminate Forms
The indeterminate forms have the basic meaning of “any”. They are completely identical to the negative forms; the two are distinguished only by the polarity of the main verb, with positive verbs giving indeterminate meaning and negative verbs giving negative meaning.
16.6.8 Alternative Forms
The alternative correlatives mean “other” or “else”. There are two main stems at work: the native Semitic xar “other” and the Greek prefixial 'alli-, from Greek άλλος “other”.
The alternative determiner is simply the adjective xar “other, another”. The qualitative alternative is the loaned Greek adjective 'allun “another kind of”.
The pronouns feature the prefix 'alli- attached to an interrogative base: 'allimie “someone else, another”, 'allimā “something else, another”. A similar form is seen in 'allipaxī “some other time”, though this is instead created from the base paxī “now”.
All other forms are phrasal: hal xar məkhūn “somewhere else”, xar məkhūna “to somewhere else”, bne xar məkhūn “from somewhere else”, xar puos “some other amount”, bexar lūx “for some other reason”. The adverb of alternative method, bexarīs “another way, differently” is also technically phrasal, but is formed from the noun xarīs “otherness, difference”, a nominalized form of xar.