Bùllyùḇùg
Compositions
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Bùllyùḇùg is a predominantly agglutinating, and is an inflectionally, derivationally, and syntactically head-final language of ergative/absolutive alignment. It features a noteworthy verbal complex involving a highly marked auxiliary verb with a comparatively unmarked main verb. The word order is fairly free, but there is a preference for Verb-Initial default.
Verbs
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The Verb Complex
[(modal)] [(future)] [auxiliary-agent-patient] [verb-(past)]
The verb phrase is made up of 4 parts. Firstly, there is a slot for any applicable modal particles. Following this is where the future tense particle goes, if applicable. Next is the obligatory auxverb, which agrees polypersonally with the agent and patient. Lastly is the verb itself, with past tense affix, if applicable.
golù inimaŋwa ȏgabȏŋ - "language is communal"
The Main Verb
The verb itself is very simple. It takes a suffix for the past tense and uses a preverbal particle to mark future tense. Besides these two alterations nothing else morphological is done to the verb.
The Auxverb
The auxverb is the location of most of the marking. The shape of the auxverb's root marks whether the verb is perfective or imperfective, with each form indicating different aspectual distinctions.
The Clitic Personal Pronouns
The auxverb can also hold up to two clitic personal arguments, which have case-marked forms.
The Modals
The Realis mood is unmarked; and many varieties of Irrealis are marked with modals that precede future tense marker and the auxiliary. More than one can occur in a verbal phrase.
Nouns
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The Noun
Nouns and nouns phrases in Bùllyùḇùg mirror the morphology of verbs. The noun itself is left entirely bare, with the morphology being affixed to an article or determiner which precedes the noun. There is no morphological marking of number, you simply use the singular or plural articles, or a numeral.
Articles, Determinatives, Quantifiers, and Correlatives
determiners
- interrogative
- possessive
In addition, the article also bears the case marking, and this is especially common in relational clauses involving gerunds or participles. "you saw the frog from the swamp" ag(abl.def.sg) gawag o (abs.def.sg) wug gobdi boŋa
Adjectives and Adverbs
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The Adpositions
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ASPECT
Simple/Negative/Atelic
- gobodi ola = i hear you
- gobodi olaŋa = i heard you
- ya gobodi ola = i will hear you
- gobodi hȃola = i do not hear you
- gobodi hȃolaŋa = i did not hear you
- ya gobodi hȃola = i will not hear you
- grllubodi ola = i do not hear you (atelic)
- grllubodi olaŋa = i did not hear you (atelic)
- ya grllubodi ola = i will not hear you (atelic)
Perfect/Atelic/Discontuous Past
- gogllbȃlu daoŋa = he placed it (simple past)
- grllugllbȃlu daoŋa = he unsuccessfully attempted to place it (atelic past)
- gmagllbȃlu daoŋa = he had placed it (it is still so) (past perfect)
- grnugllbȃlu daoŋa = he had placed it (it is no longer so) (atelic past perfect)
Inceptive/Terminative/Continuous
- gozogllbȃlu daoŋa = he began to place it
- gozogllbȃlu dao = he begins to place it
- ya gozogllbȃlu dao = he will begin to place it
- gadagllbȃlu daoŋa = he finished placing it
- gadagllbȃlu dao = he finishes placing it
- ya gadagllbȃlu dao = he will finish placing it
- yuŋgllbȃlu daoŋa = he was placing it
- yuŋgllbȃlu dao = he is placing it
- ya yuŋgllbȃlu dao = he will be placing it
Habitual/Continuous
- yurbyolu łaŋḻorab = she develops it, habitually (several discrete instances over a period of time, with internal composition)
- yuŋbyolu łaŋḻorab = she develops it, continually (one extended period of time, with internal composition)
- gozobyolu łaŋḻorab = she begins to develop it
- gadabyolu łaŋḻorab = she finishes developing it
- yezebyolu łaŋḻorab = she is beginning to develop it
- yaḏabyolu łaŋḻorab = she is finishing developing it
Durative
- *gimiyo ŋ̇waŋ, gabȏŋaŋ = as she walked, she talked
- gimigllbalu gada daoŋa, gadabyolu łaŋḻorabaŋ = while he finished placing that, she finished developing this
*the Durative allows for the auxverb’s arguments to be inherited from the first clause to the second.
MODALITY
Subjunctive
- ɗȃ gogllbȃlu dao = he may place it
Conditional+Subjunctive
- ŋȃi gmagllbȃlu gadaŋ, ɗȃ gmagllbȃlu daoŋa = if he had finished it, he may have placed it
- ŋȃi gmagllbȃlu gada, ɗȃ gogllbȃlu dao = if he has finished it, he may place it
- ŋȃi ya gogllbȃlu gada, ɗȃ ya gogllbȃlu dao = if he finishes it (in the future), he may place it (later)
Conditional+Inferential
- ŋȃi gmagllbȃlu gadaŋ, ḏo gmagllbȃlu daoŋa = if he had finished it, he would have placed it (COND past perfect, INFR past perfect)
- ŋȃi gogllbȃlu gadaŋ, ḏo gogllbȃlu daoŋa = if he finished it, he would have placed it (COND past, INFR past)
- ŋȃi gogllbȃlu gadaŋ, ḏo gogllbȃlu dao = if he finished it, he would place it (COND past, INFR nonpast)
- ŋȃi ya gogllbȃlu gada, ḏo ya gogllbȃlu dao = if he finishes it, he would/will place it (later) (COND nonpast, INFR future)
Optative/Counteroptative
- ḇo ya gogllbȃlu dao = hopefully he will place it
- ḇo ya gmagllbȃlu dao = hopefully he will have placed it
- ḇo ya gogllbȃlu hȃdao = hopefully he will not place it
- ḇo ya gmagllbȃlu hȃdao = hopefully he will not have placed it
Potentive/Dubitative
- ɗ̱i gmagllbȃlu daoŋa = it is likely (that) he had placed it
- ɗ̱i gmagllbȃlu dao = it is likely (that) he has placed it
- ɗ̱i ya gmagllbȃlu dao = it is likely (that) he will have placed it
- hȃɗ̱i gmagllbȃlu daoŋa = it is doubtful (that) he had placed it
- hȃɗ̱i gmagllbȃlu dao = it is doubtful (that) he has placed it
- hȃɗ̱i ya gmagllbȃlu dao = it is doubtful (that) he will have placed it
Optative/Counteroptative and Potentive/Dubitative, like the Durative, may appear with or without auxiliaries or verbs when the verbal constructions “agree” across clauses. in which case they are assumed to inherit any arguments, aspectual info, or tense from the context of a pre-established clause, as follows:
- ṙegu gmagllbȃlu dao? ḇo (gmagllbȃlu dao) = has he placed it? hopefully (he has placed it)
- ṙegu gmagllbȃlu dao? hȃḇo (gmagllbȃlu hȃdao) = has he placed it? hopefully not (he has not placed it)
- ṙegu gmagllbȃlu dao? ɗ̱i (gmagllbȃlu dao) = has he placed it? (it is) likely (he has placed it)
- ṙegu gmagllbȃlu dao? hȃɗ̱i (gmagllbȃlu dao) = has he placed it? (it is) doubtful (he has placed it)
Imperative/Jussive
- dabba golu dao = place it!
- dabba golu hȃdao = don’t place it!
- ḡuru golu dao = please, place it
- ḡuru golu hȃdao = please, don’t place it
Imperative/Jussive can also appear as clauses within their own right, without auxiliaries, and even less commonly without their verbs.
- dabba yuṟu = clean, now! (no auxverb, no arguments)
- dabba hȃyuṟu = don’t clean! (no auxverb, no arguments)
- ḡuru yuṟu = please, clean (no auxverb, no arguments)
- ḡuru hȃyuṟu = please, don’t clean (no auxverb, no arguments)
- ob mawai gobdi yuṟu! dabba! = you, clean the house! go! (no auxverb, no verb, arguments implied thru context)
- ob mawai ṙegu dimi gobdi yuṟu? ḡuru! = should i clean the house? please! (no auxverb, no verb, arguments implied thru context)
- ob mawai ṙegu dimi gobdi yuṟu? hȃ ḡuru = should i clean the house? please don’t! (no auxverb, no verb, arguments implied thru context)
Interrogative
- ṙegu gogllbȃlu daoŋa = did he place it?
- ṙegu gogllbȃlu dao = does he place it?
- ṙegu ya gogllbȃlu dao = will he place it?
- ṙegu gmagllbȃlu daoŋa = had he placed it?
- ṙegu gmagllbȃlu dao = has he placed it?
- ṙegu ya gmagllbȃlu dao = will he have placed it?
Debitive
- dimi gogllbȃlu dao = he should place it
- ṙegu dimi gogllbȃlu dao = should he place it
- dimi gmagllbȃlu daoŋa = he should have placed it
- ṙegu dimi gmagllbȃlu daoŋa = should he have placed it?
Necessitive
- naba gogllbȃlu dao = he must place it
- ṙegu naba gogllbȃlu dao? = must he place it?
- naba gmagllbȃlu dao = he must have placed it
- ṙegu naba gmagllbȃlu dao? = must he have placed it?
Debitive/Necessitive are similar to the previously described moods, the modals can stand alone if the arguments of the verbal constructions “agree” across two clauses, seen below:
- ŋȃi naba gmagllbȃlu daoŋa, ɗ̱i (gmagllbȃlu daoŋa) = if he must have placed it, (he) will likely (have placed it)
- ŋȃi dimi gmagllbȃlu daoŋa, ɗ̱i (gmagllbȃlu daoŋa) = if he should have placed it, (he) will likely (have placed it)
- ŋȃi gmagllbȃlu hȃdao, dimi (gmagllbȃlu daoŋa) = if he has not placed it, (he) should (have placed it)
Reflexives
- gobowo dama = i understand myself
- gobaiai dama = we understand ourselves
- gobidi dama = you understand yourself
- gobanna dama = you all understand yourselves
- gobullu zal = it hurts itself
- gobyoyo yuṟuŋa = she cleaned herself
- gogllbȃgll yuṟuŋa = he cleaned himself