Infixes, Part 3 - Are We Done Yet?
As we’ve seen, many kinds of information can be communicated via infixes. So far we’ve covered tense (answers when the verb happens) and affect (how the speaker feels about the verb or other circumstantial information). This chapter will introduce one more type of information that is needed to continue with the fundamentals.
In this chapter, we will answer these questions:
- What is aspect?
- What is the subjunctive?
- Where do these infixes go?
- What are the combined infixes?
1. “What is aspect?”
At its heart, aspect answers the question “is the action completed?”. This is completely separate from tense- it is possible for something to be done in the future, present, or past. As you probably guessed, aspect is communicated via infixes.
First up, <er>. This is called imperfective, or ongoing. This refers to something that has begun, but has not yet finished. English’s closest approximation of this concept is the structure “is/was/will be <verb>-ing”.
First up, <er>. This is called imperfective, or ongoing. This refers to something that has begun, but has not yet finished. English’s closest approximation of this concept is the structure “is/was/will be <verb>-ing”.
|
po tul
[s]he runs |
po t<er>ul
[s]he is running (and continues to run) |
When you are no longer <er>, you are <ol> - perfective, or completed/finished. This is an action that has concluded. The English approximation of this is a little messy because we often associate completed actions with past tense. To be fair, there can be some overlap between these ideas.
|
po tul
[s]he runs |
po t<ol>ul
[s]he ran (and finished running / is no longer running) |
In addition to these two aspects, there is another idea that is very related: the subjunctive.
2. “What is the subjunctive?”
The subjunctive describes things that are uncertain - things that are not objective facts, such as possibilities, wishes, or hypotheticals. It is often called possibility mode, which is a great way to think about it. This can take many forms in English, but most commonly it is represented as “may <verb>” or “might <verb>”.
In Na’vi, we use the infix <iv> for the subjunctive.
In Na’vi, we use the infix <iv> for the subjunctive.
|
po tul
[s]he runs |
po t<iv>ul
[s]he may run (but may not) |
The subjunctive infix will become more important in the future, as it is often required by the grammar.
3. “Where do these infixes go?”
The aspect and subjunctive infixes both go in position <1>, which you may remember as the same place where tense infixes go. As a reminder, it is before the penultimate vowel (or, due to a lack of 3-syllable root verbs, before the first vowel). Just like tenses, you can use both aspect and affect.
|
fo t<er>aron
they are hunting (and continue to hunt) |
fo terarängon
they are hunting (and continue to hunt) (arg!) |
But, you can also combine them with tense! As mentioned before, tense and aspect are independent pieces of information. However, they occupy the same infix position. In the situations where you need to specify both when something happened and how complete it was, we turn to combined infixes.
4. “What are the combined infixes?”
Combined infixes contain two types of information that would normally occupy the same infix slot. This is to say that tense, aspect, and the subjunctive can be included in the same infix. Combined infixes follow a consistent set of rules that make them easier to remember. First, the consonant of the aspect is put in between the letters of the tense.
While this may seem quite complex and a lot to remember, it can be thought of as an extension of the pattern we learned to remember the tense infixes.
Begins with |
A or Ì |
far vs near |
Middle is |
R or L |
ongoing vs complete |
Ends with |
M or Y |
past vs. future. |
The subjunctive works a little differently. This time, the consonant of the merged infix is inserted in <iv>. This means we lose near/far information when combining tenses, but still preserve past/future. In addition to tense, the subjunctive can also be combined with the aspects! However, One cannot combine the subjunctive, aspect, and tense at the same time. That would be way too much information if you ask me!
*<iyev> is a bit different, because <iyv> would not create valid words in the Na’vi phonetics system. Additionally, both <ìyev> and <iyev> are valid.
Think like the Na’vi!
Only use a combined infix if both pieces of information are important to communicating your point! Less is more!
Only use a combined infix if both pieces of information are important to communicating your point! Less is more!
Now that we’ve covered all these complex infixes, I must stress that these are not very commonly used. As discussed in previous chapters, languages generally keep things simple. If information is not critical to communicating meaning, it doesn’t have to be included. Many beginners will “over-infix” their statements when first learning about combined infixes. Just because you are in a generally good mood doesn’t mean everything has to take <ei>. Not everything done in the past needs an <ìlm> or <alm>.
Let’s say we are trying to communicate that you ate some delicious fish yesterday. An over-infixed version of this sentence might look like such:
Let’s say we are trying to communicate that you ate some delicious fish yesterday. An over-infixed version of this sentence might look like such:
trram oel payoangti y<alm><ei>om
When I read this, I get “Yesterday, in the past, I ate fish (and finished eating it) and this made me happy”. I don’t know about you, but I sure don’t talk like this regularly. So, let’s trim the fat. Firstly- since we already specified that this happened yesterday (trram), we no longer need to specify a tense. <am> and <ìm> aren’t very precise, or at least not as precise as stating outright the day it happened. Secondly, is <ei> really required? Sure, it may have been a delicious fish meal, but unless that was the highlight of your day or you are especially proud of this thing, then <ei> can be let go too. Trimming out these pieces, we get a much simpler sentence:
trram oel payoangti y<ol>om
Yesterday, I ate (and finished eating) fish. So, the question then becomes: how important is it to specify that you finished eating the fish? This is ultimately something that would come down to conversational context.
Think like the Na’vi!
Double check your sentences to see if there’s information that could be implied. No need to say the same thing twice!
Double check your sentences to see if there’s information that could be implied. No need to say the same thing twice!
In Summary
1. What is aspect?
Aspect answers the question “is the action completed?”
Ongoing aspect - <er> infix
Complete aspect - <ol> infix.
2. What is the subjunctive?
The subjunctive refers to a verb that is uncertain, be it a wish, prediction, guess, or hypotheticals. It is required by some parts of the grammar that will be covered in later chapters. It uses the <iv> infix.
3. Where do the infixes go?
Aspect and subjunctive both go in position <1>, the same place that tense information can go. This is before the first vowel.
3. What are the combined infixes?
If both tense and aspect information are to be used, use a combined infix.
The aspect infix’s consonant is placed between the two letters that make up the tense infix.
<arm> <ìrm> <ìry> <ary>, and <alm> <ìlm> <ìly> <aly>.
When combining with the subjunctive, the consonant of the tense is added between the subjunctive. It can also be combined with aspect by placing the consonant of the aspect in the same manner.
<imv> <iyev>/<ìyev> <irv> <ilv>
Aspect answers the question “is the action completed?”
Ongoing aspect - <er> infix
Complete aspect - <ol> infix.
2. What is the subjunctive?
The subjunctive refers to a verb that is uncertain, be it a wish, prediction, guess, or hypotheticals. It is required by some parts of the grammar that will be covered in later chapters. It uses the <iv> infix.
3. Where do the infixes go?
Aspect and subjunctive both go in position <1>, the same place that tense information can go. This is before the first vowel.
3. What are the combined infixes?
If both tense and aspect information are to be used, use a combined infix.
The aspect infix’s consonant is placed between the two letters that make up the tense infix.
<arm> <ìrm> <ìry> <ary>, and <alm> <ìlm> <ìly> <aly>.
When combining with the subjunctive, the consonant of the tense is added between the subjunctive. It can also be combined with aspect by placing the consonant of the aspect in the same manner.
<imv> <iyev>/<ìyev> <irv> <ilv>
