unit i, set i origin. unit i, set i: origin in this set you will learn the constructions used to...

Unit I, Set I

Origin

Unit I, Set I: Origin


• In this set you will learn the constructions used to talk about where people and things are from.



• Because this is the first unit, there is a lot of preliminary information to present, so this presentation is longer than most.




• Here you will learn about:




• Here you will learn about:

– nouns and verbs in Aymara

– the first three persons of the person system

– sentence suffixes and simple sentence construction

– asking questions and giving answers

– talking about origin of people and things

A note on nouns and verbs


• In Spanish and English, you’re accustomed to thinking of nouns and verbs as just that – nouns and verbs, or in other terms, people or objects and actions.


• In Spanish and English, you’re accustomed to thinking of nouns and verbs as just that – nouns and verbs, or in other terms, people or objects and actions.

• In Aymara that is also the case, as you will learn as we go along. And, just as in Spanish and English, the ways in which verbs and nouns behave and the kinds of suffixes they can take depends on what they are doing in the sentence.


• In Spanish and English nouns can be made plural:

– one apple two apples

– una casa dos casas





• In Aymara nouns can be possessed:

– uta “house” utaja “my house”







• In Spanish and English, we use verbs to indicate who the agents or actors are:

– I talk, she talks

– hablo, habla







• In Spanish and English, we use verbs to indicate who the agents or actors are:

– I talk, she talks

– hablo, habla

• In Aymara, though, the verbs indicate not only who the agent or actor is, but also who the object or recipient is:

– parlta “I talk to her”

– parlitu “she talks to me”


• In all of these languages, sometimes we want to use nouns as verbs and verbs as nouns.



– In English nouns and verbs switch back and forth easily. We can do so by adding prefixes of suffixes.

• For example, “to teach” is a verb, but if we add –er we get the noun “teacher.”

• “Walk” is a verb, but we can add an article like “a” to get a noun, “a walk.”



– In English nouns and verbs switch back and forth easily. We can do so by adding prefixes of suffixes.

• For example, “to teach” is a verb, but if we add –er we get the noun “teacher.”

• “Walk” is a verb, but we can add an article like “a” to get a noun, “a walk.”

– In Spanish we can add suffixes to turn a noun into a verb with the suffix –ear.

• For example the noun gato (“cat”) becomes a verb gatear (“to crawl” i.e., like a cat).

• Or we can use the suffix –dor to make a verb into a noun or even an adjective. The verb torear (“to bullfight”) can take the suffix to become a noun, toreador (“bullfighter”). Or the verb hablar (“to talk”) can become an adjective: hablador (“talkative”).


• Aymara also has ways to turn nouns into verbs and verbs into nouns.



• These two processes are called:

– verbalization (a noun becomes –and acts like– a verb)

– nominalization (a verb becomes –and acts like– a noun)






• Sometimes this happens more than once in a single word, like Akankiritwa, (“I am from here”): in this case, a noun becomes a verb that becomes a noun that becomes a verb again!







• The forms that result from all of these changes are either nouns or nominal verbs.







• The forms that result from all of these changes are either nouns or nominal verbs.

– They do not ever become “real” verbs, or what we’ll call full verbs. Nor do they ever take the whole complement of verbal suffixes. They remain either genuinely a part of the noun system or as part of an adjunct to the noun system, which is therefore why we call them nominal verbs. Additionally they never mark more than four persons.


• We will explain these changes in more detail in future units. For now though, you need to know what we mean when we refer to “nominalization” and “verbalization”.



• Additionally, it will help you to be able to recognize a few of the primary means of verbalization and nominalization in Aymara.




– Verbalizing suffixes

• –ka (locative, indicating location)

• long vowel (identity)




– Verbalizing suffixes

• –ka (locative, indicating location)

• long vowel (identity)

– Nominalizing suffix

• –iri (someone who does something)

Persons in Aymara

Persons in Aymara

• Aymara uses different person pronouns and verbal conjugations, depending on who is being talked about.

Persons in Aymara


• While English and Spanish use a three-person system and mark for singular and plural numbers (I ~ we, you ~ you all, she/he ~ they), Aymara uses a four-person system that does not mark for number.

Persons in Aymara



• Marking number in Aymara is optional

– If number is not marked it is usually because it is not important.

Persons in Aymara



• Marking number in Aymara is optional

– If number is not marked it is usually because it is not important.

• In this unit you are introduced to 1st, 2nd and 3rd persons.

– 1 = naya = first person, “I or we, but not you”

– 2 = juma = second person, “you”

– 3 = jupa = third person, “she, they, he; neither you nor I, but human”

– The 4th person (jiwasa) is presented in Unit III, and represents “we, both you and I”.

See Gramática, VIII 1.21; VII 3.11.1 for more information.

Sentence suffixes

Sentence suffixes

• One of the interesting things about the Aymara language is that there are sentence suffixes.

Sentence suffixes


• In English and in Spanish we most frequently indicate what kind of sentence we’re producing by the melody of our voice, or by the punctuation we use in writing.

Sentence suffixes


• In English and in Spanish we most frequently indicate what kind of sentence we’re producing by the melody of our voice, or by the punctuation we use in writing.

• For example, the simple series of words:

I went downtown yesterday

– Can be a declarative sentence, a statement of fact, by lowering your voice at the end, as in “I went downtown yesterday.”

– Can be a question by raising your voice at the end, as in “I went downtown yesterday?”

– Or can be a non-sentence, (a clause as part of a larger sentence), by keeping your voice level at the end in anticipation of further information, as in “I went downtown yesterday… and bought a shirt.”

Sentence suffixes

• Aymara does not indicate sentence type with intonation as English and Spanish do.

Sentence suffixes


• Instead, Aymara uses a series of suffixes that tell you what kind of a sentence you are listening to.

Sentence suffixes



• Although intonational and melody changes exist in Aymara, they do not mark the grammar.

Sentence suffixes




• If you do not use the sentence suffixes in Aymara to mark your grammar, your Aymara is not grammatical or could be perceived as rude.

Sentence suffixes





– The one type of sentence that does not require sentence suffixes is the rude command. In other words, using no sentence suffix means issuing a rude command.

Sentence suffixes





– The one type of sentence that does not require sentence suffixes is the rude command. In other words, using no sentence suffix means issuing a rude command.

– Remember, then, the importance of learning and knowing these sentence suffixes for your interactions with Aymara people.

• One type of question requires a particular intonation pattern as well as sentence suffixes. This is the alternative question, which you will learn in Unit II. You do not need to worry about this structure just yet.

Sentence suffixes

Sentence suffix types


• There are five basic sentence suffixes in Aymara.



• Four of these specifically define the most common types of sentences and are presented in this unit.

– Each of these four will be described in more detail in the following slides.

• -sa: information interrogative

• -ti: yes/no interrogative

• -wa: personal knowledge suffix

• -ti: negative suffix









• The fifth sentence suffix that you will learn is –xa, which is a suffix of many functions. For now, it will be the other half of any sentence with any of the four suffixes above, indicating the topic of the sentence.









• The fifth sentence suffix that you will learn is –xa, which is a suffix of many functions. For now, it will be the other half of any sentence with any of the four suffixes above, indicating the topic of the sentence.

• You should try very hard to internalize these suffixes as much as possible, since they occur in almost every Aymara sentence and are the basic building blocks of the grammar.

Information Interrogative –sa


This suffix is used when asking an information question.


This suffix is used when asking an information question. These questions are those that ask who, what, when, where, why, how, etc.


This suffix is used when asking an information question. These questions are those that ask who, what, when, where, why, how, etc. Note though that the interrogative pronouns in Aymara to which –sa attach

are not exact translations of the pronouns that we use for informational questions in English or Spanish.




You will learn these pronouns throughout the units. For now, however, just be able to recognize the –sa suffix in informational questions.




You will learn these pronouns throughout the units. For now, however, just be able to recognize the –sa suffix in informational questions. For example:

• Kunasa? (“What is it?”) [from kuna “what”]

• For this one must answer with information rather than a simple yes or no answer:

• Utawa. (“It is a house.”) [from uta “house”]

A note on question marks


As you are learning, one of the interesting features of Aymara is the use of sentence suffixes. These suffixes are used to indicate what kind of sentence is being spoken, i.e., a question or an answer, etc.



Since this information is included in the sentence grammar itself, this means that the use of some punctuation marks, like the question mark (?) is actually not necessary in Aymara, like it is in English or Spanish.



Since this information is included in the sentence grammar itself, this means that the use of some punctuation marks, like the question mark (?) is actually not necessary in Aymara, like it is in English or Spanish.

People who know Aymara, when writing in Aymara, do not use question marks since they are redundant. As you are seeing, every sentence that is a question is marked with an interrogative suffix, so there is no need for additional marking in the punctuation.

Yes/No Interrogative –ti


This suffix is used when asking a question to which you expect only a “yes” or “no” answer.



In other words, all the other information relevant to this question is information the speaker already knows.



In other words, all the other information relevant to this question is information the speaker already knows.

For example: Utati? (“Is this a house?”) [from uta “house”]

One can answer jisa (“yes”) or janiw (“no”). These are minimal answers. There are other ways to answer in Aymara,

as you will learn in future units.

Personal Knowledge Suffix –wa


• “Data source” is a major category of the Aymara language. What this means is that you indicate in every sentence how you know what you are talking about.



• We will return to this in later units.




• For now, you need to know that the suffix –wa is used in answering questions, both in the affirmative and the negative.





• What this suffix also says is that you know what you are talking about because you have experienced it.






• For pedagogical purposes, we pretend in these materials that you have experienced more that you have, so that you can participate fully in the exercises.







• However, remember that this suffix –wa indicates personal knowledge. In later units you will learn what to say when you do not have personal experience.







• However, remember that this suffix –wa indicates personal knowledge. In later units you will learn what to say when you do not have personal experience.

• For now, pretend you already have some personal experience among the Aymara!

Equational sentences and suffixes


• What is an equational sentence?


• What is an equational sentence?• Essentially, it is a sentence with a subject and a use of the "to be” verb in

English.



English.

• They are called equational sentences because they resemble arithmetical equations in their A=B construction.



English.


• An example of an equational sentence is something like:

A potato is a kind of food.



English.



• The subject (A) is “a potato”, while “is” is the conjugation of the verb “to be”. “A kind of food” is the other half of the equation, the (B) component.




English.



• The subject (A) is “a potato”, while “is” is the conjugation of the verb “to be”. “A kind of food” is the other half of the equation, the (B) component.


A = B


• In the equational sentences you will see in this unit, you will learn how to talk about origin, about where you and other people are from.



• There are a number of different aspects of the sentence that you will need to be aware of. The following slides present examples of what is discussed here.




• Aymara equational sentences are marked with the –xa suffix on one half and the –wa (personal knowledge) suffix on the other half.




• Aymara equational sentences are marked with the –xa suffix on one half and the –wa (personal knowledge) suffix on the other half.

– Remember that the –xa sentence suffix is the 5th suffix type. It has many functions, which you will study one at a time as you proceed through the course. In this case, –xa marks the person whose origin you are discussing.

Question formation

Question formation

• There are many types of Aymara questions.

Question formation


• Here you are introduced to the Aymara information question which is marked with the suffix –sa.

Question formation



• The information that is given in answer to the question is marked with the –wa suffix.

Question formation




• Notice that in each question you have a first part marked with –xa and a second part marked with –sa.

Question formation





• In the following question-answer pairs, note the occurrence of the suffix markers. They are marked in a different color so you can spot them more easily.

Question formation





• In the following question-answer pairs, note the occurrence of the suffix markers. They are marked in a different color so you can spot them more easily.

• Remember that in some cases the vowels can be dropped, so you might only be able to observe the original consonant of the suffix.

Question formation - examples


• Question: sa…..xa, Answer: xa…..wa

– Kunas akaxa? (“What is this?”)

– Akax alujamintuwa. (“This is an inn.”)





• Question: K″iti/ta/sa…xa, Answer: xa…ta/wa

– K″itits nayaxa? (“Who am I?”)

– Jumax mamatwa. (“You are a mother.”)








• Question: K″iti/sa…..xa, Answer: xa….wa

– K"itis jupaxa? (“Who is he?”)

– Jupax chachawa. (“He is a man.”)











• Question: ta/sa…xa, Answer: xa…ta/wa

– K″ititas jumaxa? (“Who are you?”)

– Nayax chachatawa. (“I am a man.”)














• Question: xa…sa, Answer: xa…wa

– Jumax kawkinkiritasa? (“Where are you from?”)

– Nayax Wuliwyankiritwa. (“I am from Bolivia.”)














• Question: xa…sa, Answer: xa…wa

– Jumax kawkinkiritasa? (“Where are you from?”)

– Nayax Wuliwyankiritwa. (“I am from Bolivia.”)

*Note that in these examples there is no 3p marking – it is unmarked.*

Sentence construction: origin


• In addition to the –xa and –wa suffixes, there are some other changes you have to be aware of in sentences construction.



• In the verbalized noun –kiri– is inserted to mark the place of origin.




• –k– verbalizes the preceding noun, which consists of the word for the place of origin plus the suffix –na, which means “in” or “from”.





• This -k- causes the preceding vowel to be deleted, but –iri– then renominalizes the form.






• This renominalization is agentive, meaning “one who (does)”.






• This renominalization is agentive, meaning “one who (does)”.

See Gramática, IX; VIII for further information.


• Let’s illustrate this with an example. Assume we want to talk about where someone is from, such as “She is from here”, which is Jupax akankiriwa in Aymara.



• The basic construction is:




aka -vna -cka- -ciri -wa

“here” “in” >V “one who”

(>N)

sentence suffix

Akankiriwa




• This is an example of a noun that has gone through verbalization (“to be located in”) and then been nominalized (“one who…”) again.



(>N)

sentence suffix

Akankiriwa





– The >V makes the vowel from –na drop.



(>N)

sentence suffix

Akankiriwa





– The >V makes the vowel from –na drop.

– 3p is unmarked so this form does not need to reverbalize, it can remain a noun and no person marker is needed.



(>N)

sentence suffix

Akankiriwa


• To vary this sentence to talk, for example, about yourself or someone else, certain changes are required, but the basic construction remains the same.



• To talk about you (2nd person) or me/I (1st person), you need to reverbalize the form – in other words, add a long vowel after –iri-.




• After the long vowel, you can add the person forms. Remember that these often carry their own morphophonemic requirements.





– For example, if anything follows –ta in 1st person nominal verbs, the /a/ of that suffix is dropped.






– Another example is that if the vowel that is to be dropped is a long vowel, only the length is dropped and a regular vowel remains.






– Another example is that if the vowel that is to be dropped is a long vowel, only the length is dropped and a regular vowel remains.

– You will see examples of these kinds of requirements in the following examples and throughout the exercises.


• For example, let’s say “I am from here,” which is Akankiritwa in Aymara.



aka -vna -cka- -iri -v¨ - ctac -wa


>N

>V 1p sentence

suffix

Akankiritwa



• In this form, 1p is marked, so the noun has to be reverbalized in order to mark the person. Thus we have a noun that becomes a verb, that becomes a noun, that ends as a verb!



>N

>V 1p sentence

suffix

Akankiritwa




• Note that if the vowel to be dropped is a long vowel, then only the length is dropped and a plain vowel remains.



>N

>V 1p sentence

suffix

Akankiritwa




• Note that if the vowel to be dropped is a long vowel, then only the length is dropped and a plain vowel remains.

• The rules as to what causes vowel dropping within the morphological word are quite rigid and there are virtually no exceptions. You will see more examples of this vowel dropping as you proceed through the presentations and exercises.



>N

>V 1p sentence

suffix

Akankiritwa


• The reason we have to present such complex structures in the first unit is because the very first thing an Aymara person will ask you is kawkinkiritasa – “where are you from?”



• And you need to be able to ask this question too.



• And you need to be able to ask this question too.

• For now, it’s OK to memorize these forms without analyzing their formation and construction, but just remember that there is a lot of internal complication. We’ll be studying these various aspects throughout future units.

End of Set I

End of Set I

• Congratulations, you have completed the Set I presentation.

End of Set I

• Congratulations, you have completed the Set I presentation.

• You are now ready to complete the first set of exercises, in which you will practice the various structures you have just learned. This set of exercises focuses mostly on explaining the origin of people and things.

unit i, set i origin. unit i, set i: origin in this set you will learn the constructions used to...

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