Abkhaz: A Comprehensive Self-Tutor

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Abkhaz A Comprehensive Self-Tutor

George Hewitt

2010 LINCOM EUROPA

Published by LINCOM GmbH 2010.

LINCOM GmbH Gmunderstr. 35 D-81379 Muenchen [email protected] www.lincom-europa.com webshop: lincom.eu All rights reserved, including the rights of translation into any foreign language. No part of this book may be reproduced in any way without the permission of the publisher. Printed in E.C. Printed on chlorine-free paper Die Deutsche Bibliothek - CIP Cataloguing-in-Publication-Data A catalogue record for this publication is available from Die Deutsche Bibliothek (http://www.ddb.de)

Cover photographs by the author. Front cover (bottom to top): The famous Besletka Bridge, located a short drive inland just to the south of the capital, Sukhum. Typical village-view. Here we see a maize-store framed against the mountains in a homestead in Durypsh in northern Abkhazia. Top of the 19th-century Russian Orthodox monastery at New Athos, located a 20-minute drive along the main highway to the north of Sukhum. Back cover: View towards the mountains from the bridge bringing traffic along the main highway into Sukhum.

Ари сышәкәы зхәыҷқәа аҧсуа бызшоа дзырҵо аҭаацза зегьы ирзыскуеит

Contents INTRODUCTION

9

Gco-linguistic Position

9

Phonology

9

Stress

14

History o f the Study o f the Abkhaz and its Scripts

16

Spelling-conventions

20

An Alternative Script

23

Acknowledgements and Recommended Reading

24

References

25

LESSON 1

29

The singular and plural forms o f nouns Cardinal numerals Noun-Adjective combinations Number-marking within the NP LESSON 2

40

The person pronouns The marking o f possession Postpositions and postpositional phrases Ordinals Temporal expressions Adjectives which stand before their nouns Quantifiers How to say 'full o f X' How to coordinate nouns/noun-phrases The days o f the week and other expression o f time LESSON 3 The markers for the subject o f intransitive verbs Monovalent Stative verbs in the Present tense The markers for the indirect object o f verbs Bivalent Stative verbs in the Present tense The negative form o f Stative verbs in the Present tense

50

The Present tense (affirmative and negative) o f the idcntity-copula LESSON 4

61

The formation o f Yes-No questions for Stative verbs in the Present The formation WH-questions for Stative verbs in the Present The formation o f tag-questions fo r Stative verbs in the Present The formation o f alternative questions for Stative verbs in the Present The formation o f relative expressions LESSON 5

75

The formation o f other WH-questions with Stative verbs in the Present The formation o f subordinate expressions o f Time, Place, Manner, Reason Telling the time The use o f the Adverbial case in question-formation The formation o f the Past tense (finite and non-finite, affirmative and negative) o f Stative verbs The formation o f relative expressions and questions in the Past tense o f Stative verbs LESSON

6

87

Present tense o f Dynamic verbs (finite and non-flnite, affirmative and negative) The formation o f relative forms based on the Present o f Dynamic verbs How to state the time 'at which' Agent-marking with transitive verbs (and the marking o f their direct objects) Detransitivisation-processes The formation o f reflexives How to form questions on reflexives The formation o f the verbal noun (Masdar) and o f abstract nouns How to express the notion 'manner o f VERBing' LESSON 7 How to form the Simple Past (or Aorist) o f Dynamic verbs (affirmative and negative, finite and non-finite) Relative forms based on the Aorist How to form the Past Indefinite o f Dynamic verbs (affirmative and negative,

99

finite and non-finite) How to form questions on both the Aorist and Past Indefinite How to form the Past Absolute (affirmative and negative) o f Dynamic verbs How to form the Absolute (affirmative and negative) o f Stative verbs Expressions for 'alone'; 'by oneself; 'oneself as Emphatic; 'by oneself; 'in person'; 'each separately' The morphology and syntax o f the comparative and superlative grades o f adjectives Equativc expressions Adverb-formation LESSON

8

110

The Imperfect tense (affirmative and negative, finite and non-finite) o f Dynamic verbs Relative forms based on the Imperfect How to form questions on the Imperfect Preverbs The function o f the a-grade vs the zero/reduced grade Root-extensions The morphology and associated syntax o f the verbs meaning 'begin' and 'finish' LESSON 9

125

The incorporation within the verb-form o f the Instrumental and Benefactive postpositions Other Relational Particles within verb-forms Adjective and nouns amalgamated with the verb-roots: -шьа-,-тә(ы)-, -xaPseudo-passives Stative passives Potential verb-forms How to express involuntary, accidental actions How to form Imperatives and Prohibitions LESSON 10 The Future I tense (affirmative and negative, finit and non-finite) o f Dynamic verbs

137

Relative forms based on the Future F The Future Absolute Questions (including Deliberative Questions) based on the Future 1 The Future I tense (affirmative and negative, finite and non-finite) o f Stative verbs Exhortations The Iterative suffix Protasis-formation and future conditions Present conditions for both Stative and Dynamic verbs Other functions o f protasis-forms: interrogative; dcbilive; complement to 'want'; possibility; permission; colloquialism for 'why not?' LESSON I I

148

The Perfect tense (affirmative and negative, finite and non-finite) o f Dynamic verbs The non-finite Perfect form o f Stative verbs Relatives formed on the Perfect Conjoining verbs for the meanings: 'both...and'; 'either...or'; 'neither...nor' The formation o f Causative verb-forms and the associated syntax The Stative passive o f Causative verbs The Resultative converb The formation o f Reciprocals in intransitive and transitive verbs LESSON 12 The Pluperfect tense (affirmative and negative, finite and non-finite) Relatives based on the Pluperfect The Future II tense (affirmative and negative, finite and non-finite) Relatives based on the Future II The Conditional I tense (affirmative and negative, finite and non-finite) Relatives based on the Conditional I The Conditional II tense (affirmative and negative, finite and non-finite) Relatives based on the Conditional II The formation o f past and unreal conditions Some other combinations with protasis-forms Interrogative and subordinate formations for the four tenses introduced in this lesson

162

LESSON 13

176

The formation and function o f the Subjunctive mood The construction for the remaining conditions The formation and function o f the Optative mood The formation and function o f the Evidential mood

LESSON 14

188

Subordinate expressions for the meanings: 'when'; 'after'; 'where/whithcr/whence'; 'how/as/like1; 'as soon as'; 'while'; 'until'; 'before'; 'since the time'; 'the reason why' Questions and exclamations o f the type 'what kind of?!' How to say 'ct cetera'

LESSON 15

202

Expressions o f Cause Remaining Absolutes How to say 'as if, as though' The Construction for Direct Speech How to make Indirect Statements Noun-complement ('that'-type) expressions

LESSON 16

217

Expressions o f Fear The formation o f the Purposive converb The Purposive Converb (in the role o f Complement) The Purposive Converb (to express an Indirect Command) The Purposive Converb (to express a Purposive) Other expressions o f Purpose How to say 'almost' How to express Results The temporal expression 'being on the point of...' LESSON 17 How to say 'Every time that' How to say 'Coinciding with'

233

How to say 'about/concerning' How to form Conccssive expressions How to form the equivalent o f Clausal Comparatives How to form Equative expressions How to say 'the more...the more' How to say 'let alone/far from' The element Заҵа Special uses o f the identity copula How to compose a letter LESSON 18

249

Indefinite Pronouns Indefinite Expressions Indefinite Adverbs How to say 'in case' How to say 'have no option but to' How to produce Echo Questions The suffixes -шьа-,-(р)ҭа/ҭра-,-ха-

LESSON 19

265

Remaining affixes: (a) Nominal; (b) Verbal; (c) Adverbial A final colloquialism LESSON 20

283

Texts (with vocabularies) APPENDIX

299

G R A M M A T IC A L SU M M AR Y

302

KEY TO THE EXERCISES

311

Introduction Geo-linguistic Position The North-West Caucasian language-family consists o f the three branches: Circassian, Ubykh, and Abkhaz. The family lakes its name from Ihe geographical spread o f its members across their historical homeland. In the wake o f Russia's completion o f its acquisition o f the North Caucasus in 1864, mass populalionmovemenis saw all the Ubykhs and most o f both the Circassians and Abkhazians abandon the Caucasus for life in diaspora-coinmunilies localcd in various parts o f Ihe Ottoman Empire but concenlraled in (what is today's) Turkey. Prior to that dale, ihe distribution o f Ihese peoples was as follows: speakers o f the Abkhaz dialects were localcd in the triangular pocket o f land in north-west Transcaucasia that is known to the world as Abkhazia, which, following its war with Georgia (14 August 1992 to 30 September 1993), became a de facto independent stale, achieving de iure recognition from Russia (and then Nicaragua) on 26 August 2008. The Republic o f Abkhazia is bounded by: the River Ingur, which separates it from Georgia's province o f Mingrelia; the Great Caucasus mounlain-range; and the Black Sea. Two dialects, T ’ ap’anta and Ashkharywa, traditionally described as sub-dialecls o f Abaza, were/are spoken across the Klukhor Pass in the geographical North Caucasus where their ancestors settled in what is today Karachay-Cherkcssia (Russian Federation) via waves o f migration out o f Abkhazia from ihe 141*1 to the 181^ cenlury. The Ubykhs, numerically always Ihe smallest o f the three spccch-communitics, occupied a small strip o f territory situated around the modern-day Russian city o f Sochi between ihe valleys o f the Bu and Hamish rivers. To the north o f ihe Ubykhs, the Circassian dialecl-groups slretchcd from the Black Sea and Kuban basin along (he foothills o f the mountains as far as the Ossetian-speaking areas in the central North Caucasus. Phonology A ll members o f the family are characterised by large inventories o f consonantal phonemes and correspondingly small numbers o f vowels. A ll Caucasian languages possess voiceless ejective consonants, where the basic buccal articulation (viz. Ihe movement o f the specch-organs in the mouth) is accompanied by a closure and opening o f the glottis (or vocal cords), which in isolation produces a glottal stop. Secondary features o f palatalisation (or the addition o f a palatal glide, viz. y-sound, lo the basic plain consonsant) and labialisation (or some accompanying movement o f (he lips) are also typical for North-West Caucasian. The lowest number o f consonantal phonemes in (his family is found in the East Circassian Kabardian dialect, whilst Ubykh boasted 80 (possibly 83, depending on one's analysis). The literary dialect o f Abkhaz (Abzhywa), based on the Abkhaz spoken from the capital Aqw ’ a (more widely known as Sukhum) south-eastwards down to the linguistic frontier with

9

Mingrclian (a sister-language Lo South Caucasian Georgian), has the following 58 (possibly 59) consonants:

The 58 (?59) Consonantal Phonemes of Literary Abkhaz (Abzhywa Dialect) Bilabial:

b

P

d

t

d°

t°

f to­

dz

ts

ts'

P' i

V

s

2

J

3

J°

3°

§

\

q’

X

И

qj’

xJ

ui

qO-

x°

Labio-dental: Alveolar:

Alveolo-palatal:

d j°

lc °

Ц:0'

Palato-alveolar:

d3

tj

tr

Retroflex:

4A

t§

Velar:

9

k

t§’ k'

9
cya жәлар penoc 'the Abkhazian people's epic' у(бр)и ашьха д(ы)у ашьапы 'the foot o f that large mountain' ҧҳәыс еибак лҧа зацәы 'а/one widow woman's only son' (ca(pa)) саҳәшьа еицбы лы(б)ла(қәа) ҧшӡақәа 'my younger sister's beautiful eyes' (да(ра)) рашьа еиҳабы ихцәы каҧшь 'their older brother's red hair' The same method o f linkage applies between (pro)nouns or NPs and postpositions. Postpositions perform the same function in Abkhaz as prepositions in English (viz. they indicate certain types o f relationship, often spatial) but arc placed after the entities they govern. Sometimes a postposition is attached directly to a non­ human noun in the singular (i.e. without any pronominal prefix) and might at first glance appear to be more akin to a case-ending, but substituting a plural noun usually reveals the element's true status. Consider: шьапыла 'on fool', which might look like an Instrumental case in -ла o f ашьапы '(the/its) loot', but, if Ihc noun is pluralised, we

42

gel ашьапқәа рыла 'with/by the/its le d '4 — note that when attached dircctly lo a singular noun, this postposition usually causcs the aniclc lo drop, but it is restored in the full poslpositional phrase o f ihe plural. A similar example occurs wilh -aa 'without; apart from' (e.g. гәыцрада 'without hope' vs агәыҕрақәа рыда 'without hopes'; ажьа цыхәада 'the rabbit without a tail'). One postposition where this test fails is -ka 'to', as in ааныка '(to) home', for an alternative postposition (-ахь) is called into service with the plural (viz. аанқәарахь 'to(wards) the houses'). When a noun ends in a vowel and (he following postposition begins with the 3rd person non-human prefix a-, the two words are usually run together. There follows a selection o f examples illustrating some o f the commonest postpositions: (ca(pa)) сзы 'for me'; acam; аба рзы5 'at

2

o'clock'

сааҭк ашьҭахь 'after an hour1; (ca(pa)) сышьҭахь 'behind me' ҳааны |а]аҧхьа 'before/in front o f our house' у(бр)и ашьха д(ы)у ашьапаҿы 'at the fool o f that large mountain' (ҳа(ра)) ҳакны = (ҳа(ра)) ҳҿы 'at our place = chez nous' х-класск ркны 'in class 3' (literally 'in 3 classes') [а]ашҭа^ы / [а]ашҭақәа рҿы6 'in the yard / in the yards' [а]автор скынтә 7 'from me, Ihe author' (cf. а(б)ри акынтә 'because o f this; for this reason') ақалақь [а]ахь 'to(wards) (he town/city'; ақалақьқәа рахь 'to(wards) the towns/cities' амшын atuka 'in (he direction o f the sea' зегь рацкьыс/раасҭа/реиҳа than everyone/all' адгьыл аҵа 'beneath the earth' ацла амца(н) 'beneath (he tree' (шәа(ра)) шәеиҧш8 'like you-PL' (ya(pa)) уцынхәрас/уцымхәрас 'instead o f you-MASC' аз-аврцә 'on this side o f the water = river' vs аӡ-нырцә 'on that side o f the water1 (ба(ра)) баан 'in your-FEM day'; [а]аибашьр[а ]аан 'during the war' асааҭхҧанӡа 'until/uplo 3 o'clock' (N.B. -нӡа never lakes the plural prefix p-) а(б)рантә(и) 'from here' ҳа(ра) ҳабжьара 'between us' 4Given what we shall discover later about verbal agreement, it might be preferable lo say that the agrcemcnt-prefix for a 3rd person singular noun-human entity is either a-, as in the table given above, or zero (viz. 0 -), and that the actual analysis o f forms like шьапыла is шьапы.0 .ла 'foot.it.by'. ^Alternative forms for the postposition are: -зыҳәа(н)/-зын. 6ln addition to its poslpositional function, -чы also exists as a nominal root meaning 'mouth, facc'. 7AIso found is скнытә. 8A peculiarity o f this postposition is that, i f the governed clement is a non-human noun, one would have expected the sequence /[а)аипш/ lo have been pronounced [ajpgl, whereas in fact it is pronounced (ejpg) and spelled accordingly as еипди.

43

зықь мааҭ pakapa 'about

1, 0 0 0

roubles (амааҭ)'; an alternative is to suffix -ka to

the numeral or NP concerned (e.g. зықька мааҭ 'about 1,000 roubles'; хымшка 'about 3 days') Let us now return to the numeral system and examine how Abkhaz forms its ordinals. The ordinals, which place objects in numerical sequence, are formed by suffixing -тәи lo Ihe non-human cardinals and by prefixing the article a- (optional from 'N th ' upward); for ' 1 0 0 th' and 'millionth', the indefinite article is placed before this suffix9. It follows from the above that the ordinal system does not differentiate between humans and non-humans, e.g. The ordinal system is as presented below: 1st 2

nd

[а|актәи / [а]ап,хьатәи

50ih

(а)аынаажәи жәабатәи

аабатәи

60th

(а)хынаажәатәи

3rd

ахҧатәи

70lh

(а)хынаажәи жәабатәи

4th

аҧшьбатәи

80th

(а)п,шьынеажәатәи

5lh

ахәбатәи

90th

(а)ҧшьымаажәи-жәабатәи

6 th

афбатәи

1 0 0 th

(а)шә(ы)ктәи

7th

абыжьбатәи

2 0 0 th

(а)аышәтзи

8 th

[а]аабатәи

300th

(а)хышәтәи

9th

ажәбатәи

400lh

(а)ҧшьышәтәи

1 0 th

ажәабатәи

500lh

(а)хәышәтәи

1 1 th

(а)жәеизатәи

600lh

(а)фышәтәи

1 2 th

(а)жәааатәи

700th

(а)быжьшәтәи

13th

(а)жәахатәи

800lh

(|а.])аашәтәи

14th

(а)жәиҧшьтәи

900th

(а)жә(ы)шәтәи

15th

(а)жәохәтәи

1 ,0 0 0 th

(а)з(ы)қьтәи

I 6 lh

(а)жәафтәи

2 ,0 0 0 th

(а)анызқьтәи

17th

(а)жәибжьтәи

3,000th

(а)хнызқьтәи

18th

(а)жәаатәи

8 ,0 0 0 lh

([а])аанызқьтәи

19th

(а)зеижәтәи [sic]

9,000th

(а)жәнызқьтәи

2 0 th

(а)аажәатәи

1 0 ,0 0 0 th

(а)жәанызқьтәи

30lh

(а)аажәи жәабатәи

millionth

(а)миллионктәи

31st

(а)аажәи жәеизатәи

2,006th

(а)анызқьи фбатәи

40th

(а)аынаажәатәи

5,127th

(а)хәнызқьи шәи аажәи бжьбатәи

The ordinals belong lo the group o f adjeclivcs which in Abkhaz precede their nouns, as does any olher adjective formed with this same suffix. And, when following adjeclivcs so formed, the noun w ill retain its own article, which, i f the NP requires a 9Some speakers seem not lo object to (he indefinite article (= primary num eral) -k- appearing ulso in multiples o f a 100 .

44

possessive marker, w ill be replaced by Ihe appropriate possessive prefix. Proposed adjcctives never lake a pluraliser to agree with a plural noun, e.g. аҧхьатәи ахзҭа '(ihe) first part1 актәи акласс '(the) first class' Аҧснытәи ааы '(the) Abkhazian wine' аҧхьатәи иҧҳәыс 'his first wife' ахәылҧазтәи (= ахәылбыҽхатәи) аиадәақәа '(the) evening stars' (cf. (а)хәылбыҽха '(in) the evening; ахәылҧаз 'in the evening') Temporal adjcctives, such as this last, sometimes do not themselves lake the article, but their nouns still do, unless it is replaced by a possessive prefix; the same is true for locative adjectives so formed, e.g. (а)шьыжьтәи аиадәа (the) Morning Star' (cf. ашьыжь '(the) morning'; шьыжьы 'in the morning') шьыжьымҭантәи амра ашәахәақәа '(the) rays o f the morning sun' (cf. ашьыжьымҭан '(the) morning'; шьыжьымҭан 'in the morning') шьыбжьонтәи ашоура '(the) midday heat' (cf. ашьыбжьон '(the) midday'; шьыбжьон 'at midday') шьыбжьышьҭахьтәи аҧша '(the) afternoon breeze' (cf. ашьыбжьышьҭахь '(the) afternoon’; шьыбжьышьҭахь 'in the afternoon') уахатәи ачара 'tonight's wedding-feast' (cf. yaxa 'tonight') иахьатәи агазеҭқәа 'today's papers' (cf. иахьа 'today') иацтәи ача 'yesterday's bread' (cf. иацы 'yesterday') жәацтәи [а]аизара 'the meeting the day before yesterday' (cf. жәацы

'2

days ago')

иахатәи быҧхыӡқәа 'уоиг-FEM last night's dreams' (cf. иаха 'last night') Уадәтәи акәты адкьыс иахьатәи акәтаҕь (еиҕь(ы)уп10) 'Better today's egg than tomorrow's chicken' (cf. уадәы 'tomorrow') уадаашьҭахьтзи ацатәхәы 'the lesson the day after tomorrow' (cf. уадәашьҭахь 'the day after tomorrow') сынтәатәи аҽаара 'this year's harvest' (cf. сынтәа 'this year') дыҧхтәи рҳамҭақәа 'their gifts o f last year' (cf. ҵыҧх 'last year') ҽаантәи аҭыжьымҭақәа 'next year's publications' (cf. ҽааны 'next year') аҽынтәи амш 'that day's weather' (cf. аҽиы '(on) that day1) уахынлатәи аус(ы)ура 'night work(ing)' (cf. уахынла 'by night') уажәтәи [а]аамҭа 'the present time’ (cf. уажәы 'now') ҽынлатәи сус(ы)ура 'my day(-time) work(ing)’ (cf. еынла 'by day') аратәи аҷкәынцоа 'local lads' (cf. apa 'here') уатәи шәус 'your-PL job over there' (cf. ya 'there') *®This is the Present tense o f the Stative verb meaning 'it is better’; see Lesson 3 for the structure o f such verti-fonns.

45

арҕьарахьтәи аоны 'ihc house on Ihe right' (cf. |а|арр>арахь 'to the right') армарахьтәи амаа 'the road on the left' (cf. [а|армарахь 'to the left') An almost similar adjective-forming suffix is -тә(ы), one o f whose functions is lo indicate the material oul o f which a noun is made. Adjeclivcs so formed also prcccdc their nouns, which this time do not, however, take their own article, and any possessive prefix attaches to the adjcclive. e.g. Аҳәынҭқарратә бызшәа 'the state-languagc' аҭцааратә ус(ы)урақәа 'research works' сыхьтәы мацәаз 'my gold ring' Аџьынџьтәылатә еибашьра11 д(ы)уӡза 12 'The Great Patriotic War (= World War II)' I f another preposed adjective follows one ending in -тәи, then this second adjective does not have to carry any article, but it preferably docs, e.g. Адснытәи (а)ҳәынҭқарратә университет 'The Abkhazian State University' Қырҭтәылатәи (а)пролетартә шәкәыаоцәа расоциациа 'the Association o f Proletarian Writers o f Georgia' Note атәым 'foreign' also precedes its noun (minus article), as in: атәым yaa '(the) foreigner' and атәым бызшәа '(the) foreign language' Other adjectives which precede their nouns are those indicating ethnicity and such 'pronominal' adjeclivcs as (д)аҽа 'other' (cf. the human pronoun (д)аҽазәы 'other person'), e.g. аҧсуа бызшәа / аҧсшәа '(the) Abkhaz (language)' ҳагыруа гәылацәа 'our Mingrclian neighbours' агыруа бызшәа / агыршәа '(the) Mingrelian (language)' аурыс жәлар 'the Russian people’ хаы(к) ақырҭуа ҭыҧҳацәа 'three Georgian girls' санглыз аызцәа ҧшьаы(к) 'my four English friends' (д)аеа шәкәык 'one other book' (д)аҽа оыџьа аҷкәынцәа 'two other/another two boys' Notice what happens w ilh the quantifier 'many'. In its simplest guise, it stands alter its hcad-noun, which is in the singular, adding the human classifier i f qualifying a human noun, e.g. ашәкәы рацәа 'many books' vs а ры ч рацәаа 'many thieves' It can, however, be turned into an adverb (by suffixing -ны and prefixing и-), whilst still appearing to function grammatically as an adjective, though perhaps the

1 'The citation-form is [а]аибашьра '(the) war'. 12Adjeclivcs can be intensified by ihc suffix - 3a, and reduplicating (he consonant increases the level o f imensificalion even further.

46

fundamental force o f (his modified ilcm could he captured by translating as 'in abundance', lor this lime ihc hcad-noun is marked for plurality, e.g. ирацәаны ашәкәқәа 'books in abundance' vs ирацәааны аҕьычцәа 'thieves in abundance' This modified adjective can stand immediately after its hcad-noun, in which case it loses its prefix, but, it can also 'float' around the sentence and stand away from the item it qualifies, in which ease the prefix is restored, e.g. ашәкәқәа рацәаны 'books in abundance' vs аҕьычцәа рацәааны 'thieves in abundance' The quantifier маҷк/маҷаык '(a) little, few' behaves in more or less the same way, cxccpt that its basic position can be deemed prc-nominal, but note that in the adverbial transform the primary cardinal suffix drops, e.g. маҷк ааы / (а)а-маҷк / имаҷны ааы / ааы маҷны 'а little wine' vs маҷеык ауаа / ауаа маҷаык / имаҷыаны ауав / ауаа маҷыаны 'few people' The quantifier ҧыҭк/ҧыҭеык 'a few' seems not lo undergo the adverbial transformation, e.g. п,ыҭк ацлақәа / ацлақәа ҧыҭк / (а)цла-ҧыҭк 'а few trees' vs ҧыҭаык ахәыҷқәа / ахәыҷқәа ҧыҭаык 'а few children' When referring to one o f a natural pair, in addition lo the suffix -к 'Г , the element a-, which in fact is the old Common North West Caucasian numeral for 'Г , is inserted immediately before the nominal root (e.g. сызлымҳак 'one o f my cars'; бызнапык 'one o f your-FEM hands'). Another instance where the old numeral for '1' survives is in the word for 'full'. But азна is not the normal adjcclive one might expect. Consider (he phrases аадәак азна ашыла 'a sack ([а|аадәа) full o f flour (ашыла)' and аҳаҧшьақәа рызна ааы 'storage-vessels (аҳаҧшьа) full o f wine (aau)'. The material which does the fillin g is the head o f the NP, whilst the entity filled is linked to the word for 'full' by means o f the appropriate possessive prefix . 11 To conjoin (pro)nouns either the suffix -и or the suffix -гь(ы) is attached to both/all o f the conjuncls; when conjoined, only the long form o f the personal pronouns (minus -a when the suffix is -гьы) is permitted, e.g.

'3 |t is d ifficult lo capturc in English whal might have been the original force o f these expressions. Perhaps the nearest one can come is by thinking o f the phrases here as equating to 'flour being one with a sack' and 'wine being one with the slorage-vessels (sunk in the ground)'.

47

уареи сареи14 / у а р гш саргьы 'you-MASC and I/me’; лани лаби / лангьы лабгьы 'her mother and father'. Note that, whilst Abkhaz can translate directly such phrases as 'Adgur and his friends', viz. Адгәыри иеызцәеи a common (perhaps commoner) synonym would be translatable by the decidedly odd English sequence 'Adgur's friends and he/him', viz. Адгәыр иаызцәеи иареи The words for 'both' are аабагьы (for non-humans) and асшџьагьы (for humans). By prefixing the aricle a- and (optionally but usually) suffixing -гьы one produces forms meaning 'all N U M E R A L' (e.g. ахп,а(гьы) 'all 3 (non-humans)' vs ахаык(гьы) 'all 3 (humans)'; ааышәк(гьы) 'all 200 (non-human)' vs авышәаык(гьы) 'all 200 (human)', where we note the obligatory presence o f the indefinite article/primary numeral in the

1 0 0 s).

The days o f the week (амчыбжь амшқәа) arc: Sunday

амҽыша

Thursday

аҧшьаша

Monday

ашәахьа

Friday

ахәаша

Tuesday

aeauia

Saturday

асабша

Wednesday

ахаша

To convcy the meaning 'on _D AY', either (a) use the citation-form without alteration or, and perhaps preferably, (b) make it dependent on the postposition -зы or (c) suffix -ҽны 'on the day' to the day-name in question (e.g. ахәаша / ахәашазы / ахәашаҽны 'on Friday'). For the notion '(regularly) on _DAYs' use the instrumental postposition, which, it w ill be recalled, causes loss o f the article (e.g. шәахьала 'on Mondays' = есшзахьа 'every Monday'). Some other useful temporal expressions are the following: а(б)ри амчыбжьа(зы) 'this week'; ес(ы)мчыбжьа 'every week'; мчыбжьык 'a week'; мчыбжьнакьак / мчыбжьынаӡак 'the whole week'; ашықәс ҿыц 'the New Year'; фы-шықәса '6 years'; ашықәсан 'that year'; шықәсыбжьах шықәсык 'every olher/sccond year'; алшықәсанык 'the whole year'; шықәсынаӡак / шықәснакьак 'the whole year; иуанашьҭахь / унашьҭахь 'three days hence'; иахь(а) шәны 'a week from today'; иахьантәарак 'the whole o f today'; иацынтәарак 'the whole o f yesterday'; уацә(ы)уха 'tomorrow night'; уацәы ахәылбыеха'tomorrow (in the) evening'; иаха ахәылбыҽха 'last (night in the) evening'; l4 Nolc that Ihe open vowel assimilates to ihe immediately following suffix -и by shifting lo -e-. This docs nol happen, i f Ihe open vowel is immediately preceded by the pharyngal fricativc ҳ-, e.g. аҳаи аҷышьеи 'wurp (аҳа) and wefl (аҷышьа)'.

48

иахьантәарак 'Ihc whole o f today'; |а|ааҧын / |а|аап>ынра '(in 1-*') spring'; ааҧынра зегь(ы) 'ihc whole spring'; аҧхын / аҧхынра '(in 16) summer'; алҧхынрак 'ihe whole summer'; п>хны мшык азы 'one summer's day'; аӡын / аӡынра '(in 17) winter'; алӡынрак 'Ihe whole winter'; ҭагалан 18 '(in) autumn'; ҭагалара зегь(ы) or ҭагалан зегьы 'the whole autumn'; амза 'moon'19; амзаҿа 'New Moon'; амзаҿа-цәырцра 'the waxing o f ihe New Moon'; амзаҭәы 'full moon'; амзаӡымҭа 'time before the New Moon'; амзаҭәымҭа ’(time o f the) full moon'; амзаҭахамҭа '(lime o f the) waning moon'; амзатә 'menstruation'. Exercises Translate into English___________________Translate into Abkhaz 1 . Сан

лыхьтәы мацәази баҳәшьа

1. The 4th road on the right

лы цкы каҧшьи

2. Tomorrow evening at 6 o'clock

2. Ашәкәыаацәа ҳзы

3. In these new rooms

3. Шәа(ра) шәҿы амҽыша(зы)

4. A little white cheese

4. Уаби уани ркынтә

5. In front o f these small houses

S. Аҧсышәалагьы Аурысшәалагьы

6

6.

7. Her 2nd husband

Ирацәааны Агырцәеи Ақырҵ^әа

. Before 11 o'clock in the morning

ҧыҭоыки

8.

7. Зама лашьцәа аыџьеи лареи

9. M y father's older sisters

8 . Асааҭ

10. By the rays o f the morning sun

аказы иахьа шәны

Thai (yonder) tree's large leaves

9. Жәымыз рышьҭахь 10. Баызцәа ^ыццәа рзы(ҳәа(н))

'^Though these two words are attested in Ihe sense o f 'in spring', this meaning is perhaps more naturally expressed as: [а]аап>ын азы / |а|аап,ынраз(ы). ,6Though these two words are attested in the sense o f 'in summer', this meaning is perhaps more naturally expressed as: аҧхын азы / аҧхынраз(ы). l7Though these two words are altcsted in the sense o f 'in winter', this meaning is perhaps more naturally expressed as: ajbiH азы / азынраз(ы). i 8 N.B. both the absence o f any article and ihe impossibility o f using the postpositional phrase) азы Tor it' with ihis noun to express ihe idea 'in aulumn'. l 9Cf. амз '(the) inonlh'.

49

Lesson 3

In this lesson you will learn about: • The markers for the subject o f intransitive verbs • Monovalent Stative verbs in the Present tense • The markers for the indirect object o f verbs • Bivalent Stative verbs in the Present tense • The negative form o f Stative verbs in the Present tense »The Present tense (affirmative and negative) o f the identity-copula______________

The verb is structurally the most complex and thus the most challenging part o f Abkhaz grammar. In order lo be able lo hold the simplest o f conversations, one needs lo be able to control a considerable amount o f morphology. But we shall do our besl lo introduce items as slowly as possible to enable learners to feel comfortable and confident about the forms they are being asked lo manipulate. There are two fundamental categories o f verb in Abkhaz. These arc the Slalive verbs and the Dynamic verbs. In this lesson the former w ill be introduced. Stative verbs, as their name suggests, indicate an ongoing state o f affairs (as opposed to actions, signalled by those in the Dynamic class). A ll Stative verbs are intransitive, but they may take two arguments: their subject and anolher argument. Sometimes this second argument seems to behave more like the subject, as we shall see below. As already mentioned, a verb’s arguments have their functions revealed by the system o f pronominal cross-referencing affixes attached lo the verb itself. How, then, is the subject o f intransitive (and, thus, all Stative) verbs marked? The initial slot in the verbal complex is the one that accommodates the relevant affix, and the affixes that cross-refcrcnce an intransitive verb's subject are these: Pronominal Markers o f Intransitive Subjects within the Verb SINGULAR 1 si

person

PLURAL

с(ы)-

Ҳ(а)-

2 nd

person (human male; indefinite)

y-

шә(ы)-

2 nd

person (human female)

б(ы)-

шә(ы)-

3rd person (human)

Д(ы)-

и-

3rd person (non-human)

и-

и-

I f ihc bracketed vowel is articulated (and, thus, written) with the 1st person singular consonant c-, il also emerges from its brackets alongside the other consonants in the above-table; otherwise the vowel is not written, even if one has the 3rd person human 50

singular аГПх д- immediately preceding a verbal root beginning with a dental plosive, where the limitations ol'the human vocal tract necessitate the articulation o f an anaptyctic vowel. I f a Stative verb is making an affirmative statement in the Present tense, the verb ends in a sequence o f two elements: -(ы)у-, the marker o f stativity, and -n, which indicates finileness (for Stative verbs in the Present tense). Verb-roots (like all roots in Abkhaz) end in either the open vowel -a or a consonant ± the close vowel -ы. The sequence 'open vowel + stative marker' is realised as |o:J and written -oy-1, whilst the addition o f the Stative marker lo a root ending in consonant ± the close vowel -ы is realised as [u :]2 and written -(ы)у-. We can now examine two illustrative conjugations which demonstrate these two patterns (the third column in the table shews the morphological composition o f the relevant forms). Both verbs have only the one (subject) argument, -хәыч(ы)- l-xw^ r ( sH here functions as the root '(be) little' and ends in a consonant + the close vowel -ы, whilst -ka- [-q'a-] ends in the open vowel and is one o f the language's copular roots meaning 'be (somewhere)': Paradigms for Affirm ative Monopersonal Stative Present Verbs

схәыҷ(ы)уп

s.)twatJ’o.w.p’

I am

сыкоуп

S9.q’n

you.Fem are

быкам

DQ.q’Q.m

укам

wa.q'a.m

дыкам

da.q’a.m

little you.Fem arc not little you.Masc

not ухәы ҷы м

W3.Xwal/'s.m

you.Masc

arc not little (s)he is not

are not дхәыҷым

d3.xw3lj’9.m

(s)hc is not

il is not little

ихәыҷым

)a.Xw3i;'s.m

il is not

икам

jg.q'a.m

we are not

ҳхәыҷым

hXwsl/’e.m

we are not

ҳакам

haq’am

шәхәыҷым

Jw.XwatJ’e.m

you.PI are

шәыкам

Jwe.q’a.m

ихәыҷым

i3.Xw»lJ'e.fn

they are no(

икам

jd.q'Q.m

liulc

little you.PI arc nol little they arc not

not

little ' ‘'The rool -xa- is used for headgear. '-‘’This is used for material on a page (адакьа) or in a newspaper (агазеҭ).

57

Paradigms for Negative Bipersonal SlaLive Present Verbs

I am not

ИСШӘЫМ

ps Jwsm

[ am not

wearing X you.Fem arc

ибшәым

ja.6.Jwa,m

you.Fem are not wearing

X

X и(ы)ушәым

jaw.Jws.m

you.Masc

are not

arc not

wearing X

wearing X

he is not

ишәым

js.nwa.m

илшәым

|a.l.Jwa.m

he is not

wearing X she is not

she is not

иашәым

j.a.Jwa.m

it is not

иаҳшәым

j.ahjwam

we are not

ja.wa.Jam

ишьам

ja.ja.Jam

илышьам

jala.Ja.rn

иашьам

j.a.Ja.m

иҳашьам

ia.ha.Ja.rn

ишәышьам

ja.Jwe.Ja.m

ирышьам

ja.re.Jo.m

wearing X ишәшәым

ja.Jw.Jwa.m

you.PI arc

not wearing

not wearing

X

X

they are not

иушьам

wearing X

wearing X you.PI are

ja.ba.Jam

wearing X

wearing X we are not

ибышьам

wearing X

wearing X it is not

js.sa.Jam

wearing X

not wearing

you.Masc

исышьам

иршәым

ja.r.Jwa.m

wearing X

they are not wearing X

Though not an obligatory component o f negation, negated verbs as often as not contain the suffix -ӡа-, such that the 1st person singular forms from the last two tables with this suffix would be: схәыҷӡам, сыкаӡам, исшәӡам, исышьаӡам, and any other Stative verb in the Present tense w ill pattern just as regularly. Note the standard reply to the question 'How are you?': Xap сыма(ӡа)м/ ҳама(ӡа)м 'I am/we are fine'. I f we take the two forms o f the primary cardinal акы 'one (non-human); something' and аӡәы 'one (human); someone', add the clitic -гьы 'and, also, even', and associate the resulting pronouns with a negated verb, then we have the Iranslationequivalents for 'nothing' and ’no-one', e.g. Аӡәгьы а(б)ра дыка(ӡа)м 'There is nobody here' (literally 'Not even one person is here')

58

Акгьы сҿы иҭа(ӡа)м ‘I have nothing in my mouth' (literally 'Not even one thing is in my mouth’) У(бр)и ап,ҳәыс лцза/лыбаа лтәым/лтәӡам That woman is pregnant' (literally 'That woman's skin (ацәа)/Ьопе (абаа) does not belong to her') Another copular root, which is used to identify the subject, is peculiar in more ways than one. Consider first its conjugation in the Present affirmative: Present Tense (Affirmative) for the Identity Copula

It's me

ca(pa) coyn

sa(.ra) s.a.w.p'

It's you-FEM

ба(ра) боуп

ba(.ra) b.aw.p’

It's you-MASC

ya(pa) yoyn

wa(.ra) w.aw.p’

It's him

иа(ра) иоуп

ja(.ra) j.a.w.p’

It’s her

ла(ра) лоуп

la(.ra) l.aw.p’

It's it

иа(ра) ауп

ja(.ra) aaw.p ’ 16

It's us

ҳа(ра) ҳауп

fra(.ra) ha.w.p’ 17

It's you-PL

шәа(ра) шәоуп

Jwa(.ra) f w.a.w.p’

It's them

да(ра) роуп

da(.ra) r.aw.p’

Quite contrary to expectations, the agrecment-affixes for this seemingly monopersonal copular root are those not o f Column I but o f Column II. Under negation the root alters from -a- to -акә(ы)-, but the agreement-pattern is the same, egPresent Tense (Negative) for the Identity Copula

It's not me

са(ра) сакәым

sa(.ra) s.a(.)kw’a.m18

It's not you-FEM

ба(ра) бакәым

ba(.ra) b.a(.)kw’e.m

It's not you-MASC

уа(ра) уакәым

wa(.ra) w.a(.)kw's.m

It's not him

иа(ра) иакәым

ja(.ra) j.a(.)kw’a.m

It's not her

ла(ра) лакәым

la(.ra) l.a(.)kw' 3.m

It's not it

иа(ра) акәым

ja(.ra) a.a(.)kw’a.m

It's not us

ҳа(ра) ҳакоым

fia(.ra) h.a(.)kw’a.m

It's not you-PL

шәа(ра) шәакәым

Jwa(.ra) Jw.a(.)kw's.m

It's not them

да(ра) ракәым

da(.ra) r.a(.)kw’3 .m

l6The two open vowels in succession prevent the raising and rounding to [o:] under the influence o f (he follow ing bilabial semi-vowel. l7Thc open vowel again fails to undergo raising and rounding, bccausc it is preserved in the immediate vicinity o f ҳ. l8The bracketed full stop is there to indicate that we are possibly dealing with a compound root.

59

Examples: (Ca(pa)) лашьеиҳаб сакәым/сакәзам, лашьеидб соуп

'1

am not her older

(|а|аиҳабы) brother; I'm her younger (|а|аиҵбы) brolher' А(б)ри сеыза бзиа иоуп = А(б)ри дысаызабзиоуп 'This is my good friend’ А(ба)рҭ соызцәа бзиақәа роуп These are my good friends' BUT А(ба)рҭ саызцәа бзиоуп/блақәоуп These friends o f mine are good (people)' The latler variant demonstrates that it is possible to underline the plurality o f an intransitive subject by placing the non-human pluraliser -қәа after the verbal root; this procedure is more common in relative expressions, as wc shall see in due course. Exercises Translate into English___________________ Translate into Abkhaz 1. Ҳашьцәа хә-класск рыкны итәоуп

1. The Abkhazian hunter is wearing a red hat

2 . Сышәкәқәа

шәкәардәқәа ирыҵоуп

2. We have a few trees in our garden

3. Сан ланд(ы)уцәеи лабд(ы)уцәеи

3. Your-MASC daughter is wearing a

рыҧсы ҭа(ӡа)м

beautiful dress

4. Амшын Еиқәа нырцә Ҭырқзтәыла

4. Those dogs do not have black eyes

ыкоуп 5. Уажәтәи аамҭазы аҧсыӡ радәа

5. T ’ aif and his wife are asleep in bed

амшын иҭа(ӡа)м 6.

У(бр)и аҧҳәыс сыҧшәма лоуп.

Уа(ра) уҧшәма леиҧш уигьы

6.

My (male) friend's daughter is wearing

a beautiful gold watch

дап>сыуа(ӡа)м 7. Ҳара Аҧсуаа атаым уаа ҧыҭаык

7. Those boys and girls are not my pupils

ҳалоуп 8 . Ахьшьцәа

ҧшьаык ашьха ашьапаҿы

8.

Their daughters want nothing

игылоуп 9. У(бр)и аҭакәажә ҷкәынаки ӡ^абки

9. Your-FEM mother and father do not

лымоуп. Иагырқәоуп/Иагырцәоуп

have many friends

10. Арҭ ахәыҷқәа ацкы кьашьқәа

10. Your-PL guests are sitting under that

рҭахым/р^ахӡам

big tree

60

Lesson 4

In this lesson you will learn about: • The formation o f Yes-No questions lor Stative verbs in the Present • The formation WH-questions for Stative verbs in the Present • The formation o f tag-qucstions for Stative verbs in the Present • The formation o f alternative questions for Stative verbs in the Present • The formation o f relative expressions______________________________________

So far all we have learned is how to make statements incorporating an affirmative or negated Stative verb in the Present tense. Let us now start to see how questions are produced. We have to distinguish between questions designed to elicit the answer 'yes' or 'no' and those requiring some specific information, these latter being usually termed WHquestions or Content-questions. Firstly, then, to form a Yes/No-qucstion on the Present tense o f a Stative verb, simply replace the finite ending -n with cither -ма or -y, and apply rising pilch to the verb's stressed syllable. The former of the two possible suffixes is the commoner, and only this variant w ill be used in simple Yes/No-qucstions in this book; a specific context requiring the second variant w ill be introduced later. In order to demonstrate (he pattern, the conjugations presented in Lesson 3 for the verbs 'bc(ing) little, a child', 'be(ing) (somewhere)', and two Iranslation-equivalenls for 'wear' arc transformed below into their corresponding interrogative forms. This fulsome treatment is probably unnecessary in view o f the regularity o f the patterning, but, given the complexity o f Abkhaz verbs, it w ill do no harm to have the complete conjugations available for quick reference. Paradigms for Yes/No-interrogative Monopersonal Stative Present Verbs

Am I little?

схәыҷ(ы)у-

S.xwatJ’8w.ma/

м а/

s.xw3t/’e wa.w

сы коум а/

sa.q’a.w.ma/

сыкоу(у)

so.q’a.wd.w

Are

быкоума/

bd.q'aw.ma/

you.Fem?

быкоу(у)

ba.q'a.wa.w

A m i?

схәыҷ(ы)у((ы)у)' Are

бхәыч(ы )у- bs.x^at/’d.w.ma

you.Fem

ма/

/bs.xw3tj’e.

little?

бхәыҷ-

W9.W

(ы)у((ы)у)

*Though morphologically two bilabial glides must be present in such forms, as only one is articulated, only one is written in the standard orthography; the pronunciation o f this form is: [sxwatj'u:].

61

Arc

ухәыҷ-

w9.xw9tj’a.w.

Arc

уко ум а/

wo.q'aw.ma/

you.Masc

(ы )ум а/

ma/we.xWal/‘®

you.Masc?

ykoy(y)

W0.q*Q.W9.W

little?

ухәыч-

W9.W

Is (s)he?

ды коум а/

do.q'a.w.ma/

дыкоу(у)

do.q’a.wd.w

икоум а/

p.q’aw.ma/

икоу(у)

jo.q'a.waw

ҳакоума/

haq’a.w.ma/

ҳакоу(у)

ho.q'a.waw

(ы)у((ы)у) Is (s)he

дхәыҷ-

cte.xwetj'e.w.ma

little?

(ы )ум а/

/daxw9tj’e.

дхәыҷ-

we.w

(ы)у((ы)у) Is it little?

ихәыч-

j8.xwatj'e.w.ma/

(ы )ум а/

j9.xwetJ’o.w9.w

Is it?

ихәыч(ы)у((ы)у) Are we

ҳхзыч-

little?

(ы )ум а/

ha.Xw®tJ’e.

ҳхәыҷ-

W9.W

Arc we?

fiXw®U’9

(ы)у((ы)у) Are you.Pl

ШӘХЗЫЧ-

Jw.Xw9tJ>w.

little?

(ы )ум а/

mo/;wXw3tJ*e

шәхәыҷ-

W3.W

Are you.Pl? шәыкоума/

/^ .q ’aw.ma/

шәыкоу(у)

Jwe.q’aw9,w

икоум а/

jd.q’a.w.ma/

икоу(у)

j9.q'aw9.w

(ы)у((ы)у) Are they

ихәыч-

jsxw3tj'ewma/

little?

(ы )ум а/

js.xwslj’awaw

Are they?

ихәыч(ы)у((ы)у)

Paradigms for Yes/No-intcrrogative Bipersonal Stative Present Verbs

Am I wearing X?

ИСШӘ-

)3SjwS.w.mo/

Am I

исышьоума

j9.s9./aw.ma/

(ы )ум а/

js.s./ws.ws.w

wearing X?

/исышьо-

J9.SQ./aW9.W

иешә(ы)у-

у(у)

((ы)у) Are

ибшә(ы)ума

jab.Jwe.w.ma/

Are

ибышьоума

j9.bo.Jaw.ma/

you.Fem

/

js.b.Jwe.waw

you.Fem

/ибышьо-

)9.ba.jQ.W9.W

wearing X?

ибшә(ы)у-

wearing X?

У(У)

((ы)у)

62

Are

иушә(ы)у-

Js.w./wa.w.mo/

Are

иушьоума/

ja.wo.ja.w.ma/

you.Masc

ма/

ja.w.Jwe.ws.w

you.Masc

иушьоу(у)

js.wd./a.wa.w

wearing X?

иушә(ы)у-

Is he

ишә(ы)ума

j9.j.Jwe.w.ma/

Is he

ишьоума/

js.ja./o.w.ma/

/

js.j.Jw8.ws.w

wearing X?

ишьоу(у)

j3.p/a.w».w

илшә(ы)у-

ja.LJws.w.ma/

Is she

илышьоума

|ә.1ә /Q.w.ma

ма/

ja.l./ws.w3.w

wearing X?

/илышьоу(у)

/ |3.li.ja.w3.w

wearing X?

((ы)у) wearing X?

ишә(ы)у((ы)у) Is she wearing X?

илшә(ы)у((Ы)у) Is it wearing иашә(ы)ума X?

/

|.a.Jwaw ma/

Is it wearing

иашьоума/

j.a.Jawrna/

jaJwawaw

X?

иашьоу(у)

j.a.Ja.waw

иашз(ы)у((ы)у) Are we

иаҳшә(ы)у-

(.ah/we.w.mo/

Are we

иҳашьоума

|з. ha/a.w.mo/

wearing X?

ма/

jah.Jwa.wa.w

wearing X?

/иҳашьо-

|3.ha(a.w3.w

иаҳшә(ы)у-

у(у)

((ы)у) Are you.Pl wearing X?

ишәшә(ы)у- |a.fw.Jw9.w.ma/ ма/

jsJw.Jwa.ws.w

js./ws.Jaw.ma

Are you.Pl

ишәышьоу-

wearing X?

ма/ишәы-

/

шьоу(у)

j».jw8.fa.w3.w

ишәшә(ы)у((ы)у) Are they wearing X?

иршә(ы)ума

js.r.Jwe.w.ma/

Are they

ирышьоума

ja.ra.Jaw.ma/

/

jar. Jws.w3.w

wearing X?

/ирышьо-

|3.rs. Ja.ws.w

иршә(ы)у-

у(у)

((ы)у)

Should the verb be negated, then the parallel interrogatives result from simply suffixing -и (or again -(ы)у), to the negated Present tense o f the relevant Stative verb, as in:

Paradigms for Negated Interrogatives o f Monopersonal Stative Present Verbs

Am I not

схәыҷыми/

s.xw3l/'anis.i/

little?

СХӘЫҶЫМ-

sxw3tj'3m3w

Am 1 not?

(ы)у

63

сыками/

sd.q'a.rna.j/

сыкам(ы)у

sa.q’anw.w

Are you.

бхәыҷыми/ b3.xwatj'a.ma.j/

Fern not

бхәыҷым-

ba.xwalj'a-

little?

(Ы)У

ma.w

Are you.

ухәычыми/ W3.xw3lJ’a.m3.j/

Masc not

ухәыҷым-

wa.xwatj'a-

little?

(Ы)у

тз w

Is (s)he not little?

Are you.

быками/

be.q’a.ms.j/

Fern not?

быкам(ы)у

ba.q'a.m9.w

Are you.

уками/

wd.q'ama j/

Masc not?

укам(ы)у

wo.q'ama.w

дыками/

da.q'a.md.j/

дыкам(ы)у

cto.q'aimw

иками/

je.q’ams.j/

икам(ы)у

jd.q’a.m».w

ҳаками/

hq.q'ama.j/

ҳакам(ы)у

ha.q'ams.w

дхәыҷыми/ daxw3lj’a ma.)/ Is (s)he not? дхәыҷым-

da.xwalj'ama.w

(Ы)у Is it not

ихәыҷыми/

ja.xwalj'a.ma.j/

little?

ихәыҷым-

ja.XwalJ'a.ma.w

Is it not?

(Ы)у Are we not

ҲХӘЫҶЫМИ/

hXwalJ’a.ma.j/

little?

ҲХӘЫҶЫМ-

hxwa(ra.rra.w

Are we not?

(ы)у Are you.Pl

шәхәыҷы-

Jw.XwalJ'e.ma.j/

Are you.Pl

шәыками/

/we,q’a.me.i/

not little?

ми/шәхәы-

;w.Xwat/,s.ma.w

not?

шәыкам-

Jwe.q’a.ma.w

ja.XwatJ'e.ma.j/

Are they

иками/

]d.q’ama.j/

ja.Xwal/'ama.w

not?

икам(ы)у

jo.q'o.rre.w

ҷым(ы)у Are they not ихәыҷыми/ little?

ихәыҷым-

(ы)у

(ы)у Paradigms for Negated Interrogatives o f Bipersonal Stative Present Verbs

Am I not

исшәыми/

ja.s./we.TO.l/

Am I not

исышьами/

J9.sd.ja.m3.j/

wearing X?

ИСШӘЫМ-

ja.s.Jwa.ma.w

wearing X?

/исышьам-

)3.s9.Jama.w

(Ы)У

(ы)у

Are you.

ибшәыми/

ja.b.Jwa.ma.|/

Fern not

ибшәым-

ja.b.Jwa.ma.w

wearing X?

(Ы)у

Are you.

ибышьами/

jabQ./ama.j/

Fem not

/ибышьам-

)ә.Ьә.|а.тә.ж

wearing X?

(Ы)у

Are you.

и(ы)ушәы-

ja.w.Jwa.ma.j/

Are you.

иушьами/

ja.WQ.Ja.ma.i/

Masc not

ми/

ja.w.Jwa.ma.w

Masc not

иушьам(ы)у

j9.w9.Jam9.w

wearing X?

и(ы)ушәы-

Is he not

ишәыми/

ja.j.Jwamaj/

Is he not

ишьами/

j9.j9./a.ma.j/

wearing X?

ишәым(ы)у

ja.).Jwa.ma.w

wearing X?

ишьам(ы)у

ja.pja.ma.w

wearing X?

М(ы)у

64

Is she not

илшзыми/

|ә1/wamj[/

Is she nol

илышьами/

jd.ld./a.ma.j/

wearing X?

ИЛШӘЫМ-

ja IJwa тә w

wearing X?

/илышьам-

js.b./ams.w

(ы)у

(ы)У Is it nol

иашәыми/

|.a./wa.ma.j/

Is it nol

иашьами/

wearing X?

иашәым-

j.a.Jwa.ma.w2

wearing X?

иашьам(ы)у

pajamsw

(ы)у Are we not

иаҳшәыми/

jari/wa.ma.j/

Are we not

иҳашьами/

ja.ha/ama.j/

wearing X?

иаҳшәым-

j.ah.Jwa.ma.w

wearing X?

/иҳашьам-

ja. ha.Jama, w

(ы)у

(ы)у

Are you.Pl

ишәшәыми

ja.fw.Jwe.ma.j/

Are you.Pl

ишәышьами

ja.Jwe.Jama.j/

nol wearing

/ишәшәы-

ja.Jw.Jwe.ma.w

not wearing

/ишәышьа-

ja./wa.Jama.w

X?

М(ы)у

X?

м(ы)у

Are they not

иршәыми/

ja.r. /wa.ma,j/

Are they nol ирышьами/

wearing X?

иршәым-

ja.r Jwa.ma.w

wearing X?

(ы)у

ирышьам-

ja.ra.Ja.maj/ ja.ra.Jamaw

(ы)у

The forms in -(ы)у are used in the same context as their non-negalive counterparts, as explained below. The force o f the remaining negative questions is such that they rather expect the answer 'yes' and perhaps thus equate more to an English tag-question o f the structure '1 am little/a child, aren't I?'. When negated verbs were introduced in Lesson 3, it was slated that the suffix - 3 a- often accompanies the true negative marker without any significant change o f meaning. And so, it might be anticipated that this suffix could be added to these negated interrogatives in the same way. This is not, however, the case. I f one inserts this suffix, the meaning shifts to a question rather expecting the answer 'no', thus equating to an English tag-question o f the type 'I am not little/a child, am I?' or perhaps 'So, I'm not little/a child then?', which in Abkhaz would be: схәычӡами? In order to be able to answer such questions one needs to know that 'yes' in Abkhaz is either ааи огаиеи, whilst 'no' is either мап or мамоу — one also hears for 'no' [?ai], where the initial glottal slop cannot be represented in wriiing, as the alphabet has no sign for this sound. This no doubt explains why the word is rarely encounlered in the written form o f ihe language; аи (without glollal stop) is rather an inlerjcclion, corresponding to 'eh'. Examples: Шәоызцәа а(б)ра икоума? М ап/мамоу, ааны икоуп 'Are your-PL friends here? No, they are al home'

2Or/|a.fiJwa тә.у1and /ja, h.Jwa.ma.W.

65

Гәында боума? Мап/мамоу, Амра соуп 'Arc you/is that (when talking by phone, for example) Gunda? No, I am/lhis is Amra' Бан ацкы иацәа лымами? Ааи/Аиеи, аха икьашь(ы)уп. А(б)ри акынтә аамҭала илшәым/илшәӡам 'Your mother has a green dress (ацкы), doesn't she? Yes, but (axa) it's dirty. For this reason she's not wearing it for the timebeing (аамҭала)' Ҳасасцәа адәахьы игылоума? Мап/мамоу, ааныцка ахәшҭаара нырцә-аарцә итәоуп 'Are our guests standing outside (адәахьы)? No, they are sitting inside (аоныцка) on this side and that o f the hearth' У(бр)и ашә бзиами? Ааи/А иви, даара ибзиоуп That cheese is good, isn’t it? Yes, it's very good' Ҳашәцәымҕӡами? М ап/мамоу, шәаҳцәымҕым/шәаҳцәымҕӡам3 'So, you-PL don't hate us then? No, we don't hate you' Беимаақәа кьашьума? М ап/М ом оу, ицқьоуп 'Are your-FEM shoes dirty? No, they are clean (ацқьа)' I f one wishes to ask an alternative question (viz. o f the type 'Do you VERB, or don't you VERB?'), one uses the forms in -y presented in the tables above, firstly nonnegated and then negated, with high-falling pilch on the stressed syllabic, e.g. А(б)ри аҭыҧ ҭацә(ы)у((ы)у) иҭацәым(ы)у 'Is this place (аҭыҧ,) free (аҭацәы) or nol? У(бр)и ацәца ҭә(ы)у((ы)у) иҭәым(ы)у 'Is that glass (ацәца) fu ll or not? The second verb need nol be the same as the first, in which case it w ill nol o f course be negated, e.g. Иҧхар(р)оу, ихьшәашәароу аӡын? 'Is (the) winter (аӡын) a warm time (аҧхар(р)а) or a cold lime (ахьшәашәара)?' We now have to examine the further changes to the verb's morphology when the question asked is o f the type 'who, whom, whose?' or 'what?'. I f the question seeks to identify a human participant, the suffix -да replaces both ihc Stative marker -y and the Finite Present tense suffix -n. I f the question pertains to the argument which is taken up in the verb by the Column I pronominal prefix, then Ihis prefixal slol is occupied by И-; i f the question pertains to the argument which is taken up in the verb by the Column II pronominal prefix, ihcn з- appears in this slot. High-falling pitch again characterises the stressed syllable. We can illustrate this by taking the roots employed so far to demonstrate the relevant verbal morphology. Consider:

■'Note the expected close vowel after the initial consonant shifts lo the open vowel in the immediate vicinity o f v

66

Patterning o f Who-lypc Questions on Ihe Column I Argument in Monopcrsonal Slalive Present Verbs

Who is

ихәыҷыда

Who is?

p.XwstJ-a.da

икапа

js.q'a.da

littlc/a child?

Patterning o f Who-lypc Questions on the Column II Arguments in Bipersonal Stative Present Verbs

Who is

изшәыда

)3z_/woda

wearing X?

Who is

изшьада

Js.z./oda

wearing X?

The negated equivalents o f these questions are produced by inserting the negative marker - m immediately before the interrogative suffix, e.g. Negated Who-type Questions on the Column I Argument in Monopersonal Stative Present Verbs

Who is not

ихәыҷымда

|а.хмә1Гв.пк1а

Who is nol?

нкамда

jo.q'a.mda

little/a child?

Negated Who-type Questions on the Column I Argument in Bipersonal Stative Present Verbs

Who is not

изшәымда

wearing X?

js.z.fwo.mda

Who is nol

изшьамда

]az.Jamda

wearing X?

I f the question is o f the Whal-lype, then one o f the suffixes -и, -зи, or -зеи replaces the Slalive Finite Present suffix -n, though the Stative marker -y itself is not in this case dropped, e.g. Patterning o f Whal-lype Questions on the Column I Argument in Monopersonal Stative Present Verbs

67

Whal is

ихәыч(ы)уи

jaxw3lj'e.waj/

little?

/

|axw»t/'e.w.za]

ихәыҷ(ы)у-

/ j3.Xw3t/'a.w.za)

з(е)и

What is?

икои4/

je.q'aws.j/

икоуз(е)и

jo.q'a.w.zs.j/ Ja.q'aw.zo.j

Patlerning o f What-type Questions on the Column II Argument in Bipersonal Stative Present Verbs

What is

изшә(ы)уи/

jaz.Jws.waj/

What is

изшьои/

jaz.fa.waj/

wearing X?

изшә(ы)у>

jaz.Jws.wazaj/

wearing X?

изшьоузи/

jaz.Jaw.zaj/

(е)и

j3.z./wa.W3.za.J

изшьоузеи

j3.z.faw.zQ.]

When such interrogatives arc negated, only the suffix -и is used, and it is immediately preceded by the negative marker - m without the presence o f the Stative marker -y. A moment's thought w ill be sufficient for readers to realise that this produces the same suffixal patterning as attested in negated Yes/No-questions. There is, however, an inlonalional difference: whereas negated Yes/No-questions cany rising pitch on the stressed syllable, negated What-type questions seem to incorporate two stressed syllables, the normal one (now secondarily stressed and marked in the tables below by underlining) plus the final syllabic, which also carries the questioning intonation. The reason for this may be that morphologically there are two homophonous elements following the negative marker, namely one marking a negated question, the other indicating that the question concerns a non-human actor (as suggested by the morphological breakdown in the tables below). Consider: Patterning o f Negated What-type Questions on the Column I Argument in Monopersonal Stative Present Verbs

What is not

ИХӘҶЫМИ

jaxwtj’ams.ja| What is not?

иками

Ig.q'ama.jaj

little?

^Though the bilabial glide is nol (normally) written, it is clear lhat this Slalive marker must be present at some level, as it causes the rounding o f the open vowel; were il not present, we would have *икеи One o f the texts in Lesson 20 contains the conjoined NP зықәра назахьоуи ахәыҷқзеи 'both persons o f full age and children', where the second word ends in the bilabial glide, being the marker оГ the nonfin ite Perfect, followed by -и, which here is the coordinating clitic. I f Ihis clitic is added to the nonrinite Stative Present, what happens? Consider this example: а(б)ра икоуииками 'both the onc/lhosc who is/are present here and the onc/lhosc who is/are not': here we sec lhat the bilabial glide is not dropped. However, il sometimes fails lo be wrillen even before the consonant-initial suffixes -зи and -зеи.

68

Patterning o f Negated What-type Questions on the Column II Argument in Bipersonal Stative Present Verbs

What is nol

ИЗШӘЫМИ

p l Jws m3 j3 j

Whal is nol

изшьами

pz.Jamaja.j

wearing X?

wearing X?

Since the Column II affix yields its place to 3 - when Wlio/Whal-lype questions arc formed, and since we also find affixes identical to those o f Column II external to verb-forms (viz. when they mark possession or the object o f postpositions), some readers might be wondering how questions are formed on possessors and postpositional objects. The answer is that the relevant prefix yields to 3 -, and the verbform patterns suffixally like the examples given above, e.g. Ашҭаҿы зца дыкада''? "Whose son is in the yard ([ajaur^a)?' Зыкны укада7 ’A t whose place are you-MASC?' I f one takes a question like: Быҧшәма дызмилаҭда? 'What is your husband's nationality (амилаҭ)?', it might seem more logical to say Бып>шәма дызмилаҭ(ы)уи?, since the question strictly pertains to the husband's (non-human) nationality rather than to the husband himself, and yet il is the first form quoted thal (oddly) comes to Ihe lips o f native speakers, cf. Уҧшәма дзыжалада? 'What is your wife's surname?', an entirely parallel structure, for which, however, the logical alternative is also common, namely: Уҧшәма илыжәлои/илыжәлоуз(е)и? Question-formation might seem to be complicated enough already, but we have not exhausted the possibilities. Questions o f the Who/What-type are actually built on the relative non-finile form o f the verb. The substitute-affix и- for Column I, which is not susceptible to deletion in the same way as its homophonous Column I counterpart, and the substitute-affix 3 - lor Column II are affixes which indicate that one is dealing with a relative structure, and they are inserted into non-finite verb-forms. The nonfinile form o f a Present tense Stative verb is produced by dropping the finite suffix -n. When the human question-forming suffix -да is added, the Stative marker drops; the negated Present non-finite Stative form ends in -m, which itself causes the Stative marker to drop, and the interrogative suffixes -да and -и are added after this negative suffix. The relative forms lor Stative verbs in the Present tense take the following shape:

5Li(crally: whoscj-sonj hej.is.who-is-hej?

69

Relative Farms Produced on the Column I Argument in Monopersonal Slutive Prcscn Verbs

the one

ихәыҷ(ы)у

je.xwatj's,w

the one

who/that

who/that

which is

which is

икоу

jaq’Q.w

little/a child

Relative Forms Produced on the Column II Arguments in Bipersonal Stative Present Verbs

the one

изшә(ы)у

the one

ja.z.Jwe.w

who/that

who/that

which is

which is

wearing X

wearing X

изшьоу

|a.z_Jaw

Negated Relative Forms Produced on the Column 1 Argument in Monopersonal Stative Present Verbs

the one

ИХӘЫҶЫМ

ja.Xwatf’e.m

the one

who/that

who/that

which is nol

which is not

икам

je.q’am

little

Negated Relative Forms Produced on the Column II Argument in Bipersonal Stative Present Verbs

the one

ИЗШӘЫМ

|a.z.Jwo.m

the one

who/that

who/that

which is not

which is not

wearing X

wearing X

изшьам

ja.z.Jam

A ll these forms may refer to pluralities and be translated accordingly (viz. 'those who are little' etc...), but, as already observed in passing, the plurality o f the relativised entity may be underlined by inserting the non-human pluraliser (even for human entities) after the root in such forms to produce: ихәыҷқәоу 'those which/who arc little/children' а(б)ра икақәоу 'those which/who arc here'

70

изшәқәоу 'ihosc which/who arc wearing X' изшьақәоу 'those which/who arc wearing X' ихәыҷқәам 'those which/who are not little/children' а(б)ра икақәам 'those which/who arc nol here' изшәқәам 'those which/who arc not wearing X ' изшьақәам 'those which/who are nol wearing X' Now that we know how lo form the relative non-finite correlates o f Slalive verbs in the Present tense, we can note that an alternative method o f producing questions o f the Who/Whal-variely couplcs ihesc non-finite structures with independent interrogative pronouns, which carry the high-falling pitch. They arc based on -арбан(у), where the hyphen is replaced by the appropriate Column I prefix to produce variants such as the following: А(б)ра икоу дарбан((ы)у) / Дарбан((ы)у) а(б)ра икоу? 'Who is here = Who is/Which is the one who is here?’ У(бр)и зшәым дарбан((ы)у) / Дарбан((ы)у) у(бр)и зшәым? 'Who is not wearing that = Who is /Which is the one who is not wearing that?' А(б)ра икоу арбан((ы)у) / Иарбан((ы)у) а(б)ра икоу? 'Whal is here = What is/Which is the one which is here?' У(бр)и зшәым арбан((ы)у) / Иарбан((ы)у) у(бр)и зшәым? 'Who is not wearing that = Whal is/Which is the one which is nol wearing lhai?' To emphasise the plurality o f a non-human entity one can employ -арбақәан((ы)у), as in: A(6)pa ика(қәа)м арба(қәа)н((ы)у) / Иарба(қәа)н((ы)у) а(б)ра ика(қәа)м? 'Whal are not here = Which are the ones that are not here?' These examples demonstrate that, in addition to asking for simple identification o f an entity (human or non-human, viz. 'Who?' or 'Whal?'), Ihe sequences can request selective identification ('Which one?'), i f from the conlext it is clear lhat more than one entity could be in the enquirer's mind. One final variant for asking a Who/What-type question couples the appropriate relativised verb-form with (a) дызусҭа(да)6 'Who is il?' (plural (и)зусҭцәада/(и)зусҭқәада 'Who are they?') for a Who-type question, and (b) (и)закәи/(и)закәыз(е)и7 'What is il?', e.g. A(6)pa икоу закәи/закәыз(е)и / Изакәи/Изакәыз(е)и а(б)ра икоу? 'What is here = Whal is lhat which is here?'

6The variant дызусҭда is also heard. 7The underlying analysis o f these forms would includc the Slalive marker -y, which is regularly nol pronounced (and thus not written) under the influence o f the immediately preceding labialiscd velar plosive, viz. /ja.z.a(.)kw'a.wa./ or /ja.z.a(.)kw-a.w.za/a.j/.

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The rool o f this Iasi interrogative pronoun is the form o f the idenlity-copula (introduced in Lesson 3) which appears under negation; as we sec here, il is also used for What-lype questions. This copular rool is peculiar in that it takes not the expected Column 1 sel o f affixes but rather those o f Column II, and so it is natural that the substitute-relative affix should be 3-. However, this interrogative pronominal form can incorporate a Column I affix also, which probably gives a clue as to the original structure o f this particular copula. A literal translation o f (и)закәи/ (и)закәыз(е)и would, thus, be something like: it.which.is.what-is-it?8 The interrogative pronominal stems -зусҭа(да)/-зусҭда, -зусҭцәада and -арбан((ы)у) can lake any Column I affix and form the appropriate question, e.g. Ба(ра) барбан((ы)у) 'Who/Which one are you-FEM?’ Шәа(ра) шәызусҭцәада 'Who are you-PL?' Since we have had lo introduce relative structures in order to appreciate the full range and nature o f interrogatives in Abkhaz, we are now in a position to use them as epithets o f nouns. Relative clauses function like complex adjectivcs in languages, such as English, where the clause contains a finite verb and, o f course, merits its categorisation as a 'clause' by the very presence within it o f a finite verb-form. In Abkhaz there is no finite verb, and the resulting relative structures behave like adjectives, standing either in front o f or after their head-noun, e.g. А ц кы каҧшь зшә(ы)у а(бр)и аҧҳәыс санхәа лоуп / А(бр)и аҧҳәыс ацкы каҧшь зшә(ы)у санхәа лоуп 'This woman (who is) wearing the/a red dress is my mother-in-law ([а]анхәа)‘ Examples: Аишәа иқә(ы)у ашәкәы хьанҭа зтәыда? Сабхәа итә(ы)уп 'To whom does the heavy (ахьанҭа) book (which is) on the table belong? It belongs to my father-inlaw' Ca(pa) скынтә ишәҭах(ы)уи9? Ба(ра) бкынтә акгьы ҳҭахым/ҳҭахӡам 'What do you-PL want from me? From you-FEM we want nothing' Ацла амцан игыл(ақә)оу зусҭ(цә)ада? У(ба)рҭ сҧаҧсацәа роуп 'Who are the ones (who are) standing beneath10 the tree? They are my stepsons (аҧаҧса)' Шәанаӡӡеи илыхьӡ(ы)у(з(е))и? Ҳанаӡӡеи Арда лыхьӡ(ы)уп 'What is your-PL foster-mother (|а]анаӡӡеи) called? Our foster-mother's name is Arda' Уаншьа ахьтәы мацәаз имами? Ааи/Аиеи, хҧа имоуп 'Your-MASC uncle (|а]аншьа = mother's brother) does have a gold ring, doesn't he? Yes, he has three1 ^For comparison, the analysis дызусҭа(да) is: ds.z.W3s.ta(.da) = (s)hc.whosc.job(-il-is).who-is-it?(.whois-it?), from which it is dear lhat the clement -ҭа comes from -да with voicing assimilation o f the initial voiced dental plosive under the influence o f ihe preceding voiceless sibilant. 9Also heaid is ишәҭахи. l0 U ierally 'at the base o f il' (а.мцан).

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Ҳаб иашьа ииҭах(ы)у амашьына арбан((ы)у)7 А(б)ри оума/аума 7 М ап/М амоу, у(б)ри ииҭах(ы)у а(б)ри оуп/ауп 'Which is ihc car which our uncle (= father's brother) wants? Is il this one? No, the one he wants is this one' А(б)ни асаыга зыҧсои/зып>соуз(е)и? А(б)ри жәа-мааҭк иаҧсоуп 'How much (= o f whal price an>ca) is lhat pen (ааыга) by you? This pen costs 10 roubles (амааҭ)' Рмоҭа Қарҭ дыкоума? М ап/М амоу, Акәа дыкоуп 'Is iheir grandchild (амоҭа) in Tbilisi (Қарҭ)? No, (s)he is in Sukhum (Акәа)' Axpa ила шәа(ра) шәҿы икаӡами? М ап/М амоу, а(б)ра ика(ӡа)м 'Axra's dog isn't with you-PL, by any chance, I suppose? No, it's nol here' Сыкьануьа зцоу акәардә шәа(ра) ишәтә(ы)ума? М ап/М амоу, саыза итә(ы)уп 'Is the chair under which my doll (акьанџьа) is lying yours-PL? No, it belongs to my friend' Exercises It m iglil be useful to begin by turning back to Lesson 3 and practising how to form a range o f questions o f the kind already explained on the Stative verbs introduced there. Translate into Enclish I . А(б)ри агазеҭ иан(ы)у иашоума?

Translate inlo Abkhaz 1. Do my neighbours hate me or nol?

М ап/М амоу, у(бр)и иаша(ӡа)м 2. Саыгақәа змада? Уа(ра) уоума

2. Who is Ihe man (who is) standing

у(ба)рҭ змоу? М ап/М амоу, са(ра)

behind you-FEM? He is my father. Who

иеыма(ӡа)м

are YOU-MASC?

3. Сыҵәца иҭои? У(бр)и аӡ оуп/ауп vs

3. Is your-MASC only son nol wearing

У(бр)и аӡы оуп/ауп

his new hat, then?

4. Аҧсны ҧшӡоума? Ааи/Аиеи, даара

4. Whal is on your-FEM plales? Grits

иҧшӡоуп. Ашьха д(ы)уқәа рацәаны

and beans are on them.

иҳамоуп 5. Аҧсны зегь радкьыс ид(ы)у(ы)у

5. Who wants these dogs? WE don't want

ақалақь арбан((ы)у)?/Иарбан((ы)у)

them

Аҧсны зегь раҵкьыс ид(ы)у(ы)у ақалақь? Ҳа(ра) ҳ(а)кны зегь радкьыс ид(ы)у(ы)у ақалақь Акәа11 ауп/оуп 6. У(бр)а игылоу аҷкәын дызусҭа(да)?

6. Whal is in ihc river? Are fish in it?

У(бр)и сп,а иоуп

No, nothing is in it

1'The word for 'capital' is |а]аҳҭнықапақь

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7. У(бр)а игылада? У(бр)а игылоу

7. Are those (who are) sitting inside

сыҧшәмеи сареи ҳмоҭа иоуп

your-MASC teachers? No, they are my pupils

8. А(б)ра икамда? А(б)ра ика(қәа)м

8. What are you-PL busy with? We are

рацзаауп

not busy with anything

9. А(6а)рҭ аанқәа зтәыда/А(ба)рҭ

9. Does your-MASC mother have the

аенқәа зтә(ы)у дарбан((ы)у)? А(ба)нт;

book containing those lovely stories?

аӡәгьы итәым/итәӡам

Yes, she has it at home

10. Са(ра) исҭах(ы)у ашәкәы

10. Who is that (out) in the sun? Thai's

шәымоу(у) ишәымам(ы)у. Иҳама(ӡа)м. my molher-in-law Баҳәшьа илымоуп

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Lesson 5

In this lesson you will learn about: • The formation o f other WH-questions with Stative verbs in the Present • The formation o f subordinate expressions o f Time, Place, Manner, Reason • Telling the lime • The use o f Ihe Adverbial case in qucslion-formalion • The formation o f the Past tense (Unite and non-finile, affirmative and ncgalivc) of Stative verbs • The formation o f relative expressions and questions in the Past tense o f Stative verbs

We shall now tackle Ihe remaining types o f question by illustrating them with Stative verbs in the Present tense. There are four interrogative elements which are inserted into the preradical structure o f the verbal complex. These are: шҧа- 'how?', з(ы)- 'why?', анба- 'when?', and аба- 'where?' (variants used in appropriate contexts arc: анбанӡа- 'till when?', абантә- 'from where, whence?', and абанӡа- 'to where, whither?'). They stand after the Column I affix in a verb-form that ends either in its simple non-finite form, though for questions in з(ы)- 'why?' one o f the What-type question-suffixes introduced in Lesson 4 is obligatory —

the How-type questions can also function as exclamations. One

conjugation is given in full below for each o f these four types: Conjugations Illustrating Questions o f Manner and Reason for Affirm ative Stative Verbs in the Present Tense

How little

сышҧахәы-

sa.&po.xwa-

am I? !1

ч(ы)у

t/’s.w

Why am I?

сзы кои /

S9.z9.q’aw9.i/

сзыкоуз-

S9.zd.q'Q.w.zd.j/

(е)и

sa.zd.q’Q.w.za.j

How little

бышҧахәы-

bag.pa.xw9-

Why are

бзы кои/

b.z9.q*aw9.j/

are

Ч(ы)у

tj’aw

you.Fem?

бзыкоуз-

b.z9.q’a.w.Z9.j/

(е)и

b.z9.q’a.w.zaj

you.Fem?! How little

ушҧахәы-

wa.g.pa.xw3-

Why are

уз ы к о и /

W9.z9.q’a.W9.j/

arc

Ч(ы)у

IJ's.w

you.Masc?

узыкоуз-

w9.z9.q’a.w.z9.j/

(е)и

wd.zd.q’a.w.zaj

you.Masc?!

1These forms can also express surprise that anyone should ihink Ihe subject to be small (e.g. 'How can 1 be thought to be small?').

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How little is ДЫШПАХӘЫ(s)he?!

Ч(ы)у

d3.g.po.xw3

Why is

дзы кои/

dzs.q'awa.l/

IJ'a.w

(s)he?

дзыкоуз-

dza.q'a.wza. |/

(е)и

dza.q'aw.za.i

How little is

ишҧахәы-

js.g.paxwa-

it?!

ч(ы)у

IJ'a.w

How little are we?!

Why is il?

изы кои/

ja.za.q'o.wa.j/

изыкоуз-

ja.zs.q'a.w.za.)/

(е)и

ja.za.q’a.w.za.|

ҳашҧахәы-

ha.g.paxws-

Why are

ҳзы кои/

haza.q'a.wa.j/

м(ы)у

IJ'a.w

we?

ҳзыкоуз-

haza.q'a.w.zsi/

(е)и

ha.zo.q'a.w.za.j

How little

шәышҧа-

JW3.g.pQ.-

Why are

шәзыкои/

Jwazaq'awa.|/

are you.Pl

хәыҷ(ы)у

XwatJ’a.w

you.Pl?

шәзыкоуз-

Jwa.za.q'a.w.za.j

(е)и

/ Jwa.za.q’a.w.za |

How little

ишҧахәы-

js.g.pa.xws-

Why are

изы кои/

ja.ze.q'a.wa.j/

are they?!

Ч(ы)у

t/'s.w

they?

изыкоуз-

ja.za.q’aw.za.)/

(е)и

ja.za.q'aw.za.j

Conjugalions Illustrating Questions o f Time and Place for Affirm ative Stative Verbs in the Present Tense

When do I

ианбасшә-

wear X?

(ы)у

When do

ианбабшә-

you.Fem

j.aabas Jwa.w

Where do I

иабасышьо-

la.ba.s^Jaw

wear X? Where do

У иабабышьо-

j.a.bab9.Jaw

you.Fem

У

j.aaba.b.Jwa.w

(ы)у

wear X?

wear X?

When do

ианбоушә-

you.Masc

(ы)у

|.an.ba.w./wa.w

Where do

j.a.bawa Ja.w

иабаишьоу3

j.abaj9.Jaw

j.abaisja.w

you.Masc wear X?

wear X? When does

иабаушьоу2

ианбеишә-

he wear X?

(ы)у

When does

ианбалшә-

she wear X?

(ы)у

When does

ианбашә-

il wear X?

(ы)у

j.an.bo.j,Jwa.w

Where does he wear X?

l.oabe.l.Jwa.w

j.an.ba.a.Jwa.w

Where does

иабалы-

she wear X?

шьоу

Where does

иабашьоу

fa.baa.Ja.w

il wear X?

2Note (hat ihc open vowel here resists rounding in front o f the bilabial glide, the pronunciation being [ja'bawa/o:J. 1Again note the resistance o f the open vowel to raising in front o f the palatal glide, Ihe pronunciation being [ja'bajajo:].

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When do we

ианбаҳшә-

wear X?

(ы)у

When do

ианбашә-

you.Pl wear

шз(ы)у

Where do

иабаҳашьо-

ia.ba hajaw

we wear X? Where do

У иабашәы-

j.o.ba/wa./a.w

you.Pl wear

шьоу

J.anba. h.Jwaw |.oaba./w/ws.w

X?

X? When do they wear

ианбаршә-

|.nribarjws w

(ы)у

Where do

иабарышьо-

they wear

У

j.a.barQ.jaw

X?

X?

The equivalent negative interrogatives pattern quite regularly, and so they are illustrated below only for the 1st person singular: Patterning for Questions o f Manner and Reason for Negative Stative Verbs in the Present Tense

How little

сышҧахәы-

ss.§.po.xw3-

Why am I

am I not?!

ҶЫМ

tj’a.m

not?

сзыками

ss.zo.q'a.maj

Patterning for Questions o f Time and Place for Negative Stative Verbs in the Present Tense

When do I

ианбасшәы-

not wear X?

M

|.an.ba.s.Jws.m

Where do I

иабасышьа-

not wear X?

M

j.aba.S9.|a.m

To form a complete sentence with a single word for this type o f question, the following words are used: избан 'why?' (and a typical answer to such a question would begin with избанзар or избан акәзар 'for the reason that'), ишҧа 'how; what did you say?', ианбв 'when?', and иаба 'where?', e.g. Римма а(б)ра дыка(ӡа)м. Избан? Избанзар/Избан акәзар Лӡаа дыкоуп. 'Rimma is not here. Why? Because she's in Pitsunda' Three o f the four interrogatives just introduced consist o f two elements, the second o f which -6a, which (almost) always carries stress, is the actual interrogative component — in шҧа- the -6- is devoiced to -ҧ- under the influence o f the preceding in-; in аба- the underlying form is ахьба-, from which the -хь- has been dropped. The fourth o f the above-interrogatives, despite its appearance, also in origin consisted o f two elements, namely зз(ы)-, where the first fricative is the relative-substitute for Column II affixes, and the second is the postposition зы- 'for', one o f the homophonous fricatives being dropped to simplify the sequence. The structural

77

difference between this last and ihe preceding three items explains why the non­ human interrogative suffix is obligatory with зы-. If one omits the question-forming -6a from the three interrogatives where il is used, one is left with the elements ш(ы)-, ан(ы)-, and ахь(ы)-, which, when placed inside the non-finite form o f the appropriate tense, build structures meaning, respectively: '(the way) how', '(the time) when', and '(the place) where' — the first and third o f these structures are widely used to form Abkhaz's equivalents to complemcnt-clauscs and thus equate to English 'that', as we shall see in due course. The fourth element з(ы)-, standing inside a simple non-finite structure, can also build a form meaning '(the reason) why'. Verb-forms constructed by such means are extremely common in Abkhaz, which has a love o f such defied sentence-types as the following: А(ба)с оуп/ауп ишыкоу 'Such = Like this (a(6a)c) is how it is' = 'li's like this' Аҳәаа нырцә оуп/ауп ap ахьгылоу 'On the other side o f the border (аҳәаа) is where ihe army (ap) is standing' Аибашьра аз(ы) акәым/акәӡам ҳаруаа аҳәаа аарцә изгылоу '(Because of) the war ([а]аибашьра) is nol the reason why our soldiers (аруааы) are standing on this side o f the border' Иахь(а) о уп/а уп аныҳәа анҳамоу Today is when we have the/a festival' In order to form a question meaning 'how much/many', either rnaka (шакааы for humans) or зака (закааы for humans) stands either alone or alongside the noun it qualifies, and the verb-form follows the pattern expected (in lerms o f its ending) for either a Whal-lype or a Who-type question, e.g. А е ы шака/зака ҭои аҧаҭлыка? or Ш ака/Зака а®ы ҭои ап,аҭлыка? 'How much wine (а®ы) is in the bottle (ап,аҭлыка)?‘ U Iaka/3aka шәҭах(ы)уи? 'How much do you-PL want?' Ааызцәа шакаn which case Ihere is no shift to [з|.

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I am nol

сцом /

s.tsa.(dza.)-

I am not

сыҧсуам/

sa.pa(dza)-

going

сцаӡом

wam

dying

сыҧсӡом

wam

The affirmative non-finile Presenl is produced by simply dropping the finite suffix -ит, and lo turn il into its relative guise the appropriate relative affix (и-, if relalivisalion is on the Column I argument, otherwise 3-) stands in its due slot: Patterns for the Formation o f the Non-finite Affirm ative Presenl Tense o f Dynamic Verbs (Relativised)

who/which

ИЦО

ja.tsa.wa

goes/is

who/which

иҧсуа

ja.p&wa

dies/is dying

going The negative relativised non-finile equivalent is produced by inserting the negative marker - m- inio the verb-complex so that it stands immediately before the rool, and with these particular rools there is a shift o f stress onto the relative prefix. egPatterns for the Formation o f the Non-finite Negative Presenl Tense o f Dynamic Verbs (Relativised)

who/which docs not go/is nol

имц(аӡ)о

je.mtsa-

who/which

имҧсуа/

jo.mps.-

(dza)wa

does not die/

имҧсӡо

(dza.)wa

is not dying

going In general, the whole gamut o f question-types already examined with Stative verbs arc formed in parallel ways with Dynamics. But il needs lo be emphasised that, since questions are formed on the non-finite stem, all negated questions in the Presenl tense for Dynamic verbs w ill contain Ihe negative marker immediately before the verbal root. In addition, i f ihe emphatic suffix -ӡа- is used in a negated Ycs/Noqucslion, one need not attach the queslion-suffix -и, so (hat both Шәымцазои and Шәымцаӡо convey the meaning 'Aren't you-PL going, then?' — ihe interrogative suffix is obligatory, if the emphatic suffix is absent (e.g. Шәымцои 'You-PL are going, aren't you?'). Questions asking 'Where?', 'How?' and ’When?' on a Dynamic verb-form can optionally lake ihe и-suffix used for questions o f the What-type, so lhal 'Where is (s)he going?' can be either дабацо or аабацои.

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Some rools exist in bolh Slalive and Dynamic format.s. Consider ihe following pairs: Some Slalive vs Dynamic Pairs Slalive____________________________ Dynamic дыцәоуп

(s)he is asleep

дыцәо(и)т

(s)he goes lo sleep

дгылоуп

(s)hc is standing

дгыло(и)т

(s)he gels up

дтәоуп

(s)hc is sitting

дтәо(и)т

(s)he sits down

игылоу

who/which is

игыло

who/which is

standing игыла(ӡа)м

getting up

who/which is nol

имгыл(аӡ)о

standing

who/which is not getting up

Further examples o f monopersonal intransitive Dynamic formations in the Present tense are: Идыдуеит 'It is thundering' (root -дыд(ы)-) Имацәысуеит 'It is lightning' (root -мацәыс(ы)-) Идыд(ы)-мацәысуеит 'It is thundering and lightning' Соыза дкәашо(и)т 'My friend is dancing' (root -кәаша-) Ахәыҷқәа хәмаруеит The children are playing' (root -хәмар(ы)-) Асаби/Ацшқа дҵә(ы)уо(и)т The baby (аҧшқа) is crying' (root -цә(ы)уа-) Бабацо(и)? Ааныка сцо(и)т 'Where are you-FEM going? I'm going home' (-ka 'lo') Аҳәарақәа зыҧ>ои? Избанзар, адәы иқә(ы)уп 'Why are the calves (аҳәыс 'calf) jumping/frolicking (root -ҧа-)? Because they are in (on) the Field' Уанду дыҧсуама? Ааи, axa макьана лыҧсы ҭоуп 'Is your-MASC grandmother dying? Yes, but for (he lime-being (макьана) she is alive' Шәхәыҷқәа акино ахь ицоу имцоу? 'Are your-PL children going to the cinema (акино) or not?' Ачарахь ҳцо(и)т. Иаауада? Зегьы аауеит 'We're going to the wedding (ачара). Who’s coming (root -aa-)? Everybody's coming' Ҳгәыла лыкны снеиуеит, axa хә-минуҭк рыла/уажзьгцәкьа сааиуеит 'I'm going/popping round (rool -неи-) to our (female) neighbour's, but I'll come (back) (rool -ааи-) in (-ла) 5 minutes/right (-цәкьа) now' Ҳашәҭқәа рҿы итәои? У(бр)и сыҷкәын иласба ауп 'Whal is silting (down) in our flowers (ашәҭ)? That's my son's puppy (аласба)' [Nole that the first verb in the Iasi example is ambiguous: il could be Stative or Dynamic. To clarify matters one could rephrase as follows: Итәоу зақәи? 'What is

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that which is sitling?' (Slalive) vs Итзо зақәи? 'Whal is lhal which is silling down?' (Dynamic) | In order lo slate Ihe lime at which something happens, the postposition 'for; at' is used in all cases except where the staled time is between 29 minutes and one minute to ihe hour, in which case the verb lor 'lack' is placed in its temporal non-finite form, c-g. Уаҳәшьа данбацәо(и)? (Асааҭ) жәаба рзы дыцәо(и)т 'When is your-MASC sisler going to sleep? She's going to sleep at 10 o'clock' Жәохә минуҭ (асааҭ) ааба рахь рзы акино ахь ҳамцои? М ап/М амоу, (асааҭ) ааба рыбжазы ҳцо(и)т 'We're going to the cinema at a quarter past seven, aren't we? No, we're going al half past seven' Акәа данбацо(и)? (Асааҭ) жәба аажәа мин(ы)уҭ анагу (= Фажәа мин(ы)уҭ анаг(ы)у (асааҭ) жәба рзы2) дцо(и)т 'When is (s)he going to Sukhum? (S)he's going al 20 minutes to nine' Intransitive Dynamic verbs can be bipersonal, just like Stativcs. The rool meaning 'hil' (-с(ы)-), though typically Iransilive in Indo-European languages, is one such verb in Abkhaz; the entity receiving the blow is the verb's indirect object, and, as one might predict, the relevant argument is marked in the verb by a Column II affix, as shewn by the following paradigms, firstly with constant 1st person singular subject, and then with a variety o f combinations o f subject and indirect object. Present Tense Conjugation o f the Bivalent Intransitive Verb 'hit'

сусуеит

s.we.s.wajt’

you-MASC

сбысуеит

s.ba.s.wajt'

I hit you-PL

сшәысуеит

I hit him

сисуеит

I hit you-

усысуеит

w.so.s.wajt’

(s)hc hits us

дҳасуеит

dhas.wa.jt’

s.Jwas.wajt'

you-FEM

брысуеит

b.ra.s.wa.jt’

S.je.S.WQ.jt'

it hits/they

ишәысуеит

|3.Jwa.s.wajt’

ҳшәысуеит

h.jwe.s.wajt’

ирысуеит

jara.s.wa.jt’

MASC I hit you-

hit me

FEM

hit them

hit you-PL 1 hit her

слысуеет

s.lo.s.wajt’

we hil you-

I hit il

сасуеит1

s.as.wa.jt’

it hits/they

PL

hil them

2Thc -зы here is because il is pari o f ihe 'illogical' method For expressing the time when il is X minules lo the hour and nol because Ihe time at which ihe event is happening is being stated. 3W ith Ihc indirect object ателефон 'the telephone' the meaning is '1 phone'.

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1 hit them

срысуеит

s.re.s.wajt’

you-PL hil

шәҳасуеит

Jw.has.wa.jt’

us

Two olher bivalent inlransilives are ihe verbs for 'reading' (rool -ҧхьа-) and ’hurting/causing pain lo' (-хь(ы)-), e.g. Ҳаҷкәын ашәкәқәа рацәаны дрыҧхьо(и)т 'Our son reads books in abundance' Ишәыхьуеи/Ишәыхьуаз(е)и? 'Whal's ihe matter w ilh you-PL/Where are you in pain?' Схы/Сымгәа/СыбБа/Схап,ыц/Сгәы/Сгәацәа/Счача/Сывара сыхьуеит 'M y head (axbi)/stomach (амгәа)/Ьаск (a6ija)/tooth (ахап,ыц)/ЬсаП (агәы)/ liver (araanaa)/kidney (a^a^ayside (авара) is causing me pain/hurts' Bui now we have to look al a category nol found with Stative verbs, and this is transitivity. Transitive verbs can be bipersonal, w ilh transitive subject (agent) and direct object, or tripersonal, with additionally an indirect object. As slated al the start o f these lessons, word-order is typically: Subjecl-(Indirect Object)-Direct ObjectVerb, but how does the verb accommodate the relevant personal affixes? The Column I affixes mark the direct object, the Column II affixes mark the indirect object, and a new set o f affixes (viz. those o f Column III) is employed to mark the transitive subject (agent). These Column 1П affixes are as follows: Column III Pronominal Markers for the Transitive Subject (Agent) o f Dynamic Verbs SING ULAR

PLURAL

1st person

с(ы )-/з-

(а)ҳ-/ҳ(а)-/аа-

2nd person (human male, indefinite)

y-

шз(ы)-/жә-

2nd person (human female)

б(ьг)-

шә(ы)-/жә-

3rd person (human male)

и-

р(ы )-/д (ы )

3rd person (human female)

л(ы)-

р(ы )-/д(ы )

3rd person (non-human)

(н)а-

р(ы )-/д (ы )

As can be seen al a glance, this set is very close to that o f Column II. Readers can continue lo ignore the д-varianl for the 3rd person plural bul need lo know about the two features that differentiate this set from Column II. Column III affixes stand immediately before the verbal root (or the infixed negative), and, i f the rool begins wilh a voiced consonant, the voiced variant is usually (bul nol always!) selected; the aa- for the 1st person plural derives via [4a] or [a4], the voiced pharyngal fricative (preserved in the divergent Abaza dialect) having been lost in standard Abkhaz. The variant with the nasal for the 3rd person non-human singular is employed i f the verb is tripersonal or contains a preverb (lo be discussed later). Let us look at the

conjugations for two bipersonal roots, one (-фа- 'eat') beginning wilh a voiceless consonant, Ihe other (-6a- 'see') beginning with a voiced consonanl, wilh constant 3rd person non-human singular or the homophonously marked 3rd person plural as direct object for 'eat' but w ilh varying direct objects for 'sec': Present Tense Conjugation o f the Bivalent Transitive Verbs 'eat' and 'see'

I cat it/them

исфо(и)т

you-MASC

иуфо(и)т

je.s.fa.wa(j)t’ I sec il/lhem

избо(и)т

js.s.ba.wa.-

субо(и)т

ss.w.ba.wa-

(Df eal it/them you-FEM

ибфо(и)т

js.w.lawa-

you-MASC

(i)t’

see me

ja.b.fawa(j)t’

eat it/them

you-FEM

(j)t’ дыббо(и)т

sec him/her ифо(и)т

he eats

jaj.fa.wa(j)t’

he sees us

(i)t’ ҳаибо(и)т

it/them

илфо(и)т

ja.l.ta.wa.(j)l'

she secs

иафо(и)т

it cats

j.a.ta.wa.(i)t’

it sees you-

(j)t’ уабо(и)т

MASC

ii/them иаҳфо(и)т

il/lhem ишәфо(и)т

il/lhem Ihcy eal

шәылбо(и)т Jwal.ba.wa.-

you-PL

it/ them

you-PL eat

haj.ba.wa(i)r

she eats

we eat

da.b.bawa-

ирфо(и)т

j.ahfa.wa-

we see you-

(j)t*4

wa.ba.wa(i)t’

баабо(и)т

b.ahba.wa-

FEM

(j)f5

ja jw.fa w a -

you-PL see

ижәбо(и)т

ja./w.bawa.-

(j)f

it/them

ja.r.fa.wa.(j)t'

they see us

it/them

(j)f ҳарбо(и)т

har.ba.wa(i)t'

Where the negative intervenes between Ihe Column III affix and a root wilh initial voiced consonanl, the voicing assimilation o f those Columnn III affixes susceptible to il is optional (e.g. ижәымбо = ишәымбо 'whom/what you-PL do not see'). Under relalivisation, з(ы)- is the rcplacemcnl-prefix for Column III affixes (e.g. изфода 'who is eating it/them?'). Coupling the verb 'see' with ihe root o f the adjective meaning 'good' (viz. -бзиа) produces the expression for 'love', e.g. Бзиа бызбо(и)т 'I love you-FEM' Бзиа узбо(и)т 'I love you-MASC' ^ O r/|a .M a .'w a .( j)t'/. 5 O r /bs. h b a 'w a .( j)t'/.

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Бзиа ҳаббома 'Do you-FEM love us?' Бзиа шәырб(аӡ)ом, шәырцзымқуп 'They don't love you-PL, they hate you-PL’ Note on stress: typically. Column I affixes are non-strcss-hearing (the patterning o f дыкоуп '(s)hc is' or o f дып>о(и)т '(s)he jumps' is unusual); typically. Column II affixes are potentially stress-bearing; typically, Column III affixes in non-causative verbs are non-stress-bearing (the 3rd person non-human singular a- is the exception); typically the Column I relative-subslilule prefix и- is stress-bearing; typically, the Column II and III relalive-subslitule prefix з(ы)- is non-stress-bearing — cf. the difference between: избода 'whom do I see? vs избода 'who sees it/them?'. Some transitive verbs, when their direct object is unspecified, have (а)кр(ы)'something' stand in the slot normally occupied by the Column I affix, e.g. Кранысфо/Кранызжәуа, ецәажә(аӡ)ом 'When I am eating/drinking (-жә(ы)-) (something), I don't speak (-цәажәа-)' However, an alternative strategy is simply lo dctransilivise the verb. Compare: У(бр)и ашәкәыааы ааымҭа бзиақәа иауеит 'That writer (ашәкәыааы) writes fine works/oevres/written materials (ааымҭа)' with: Есымша дыауеит 'Everyday (есымша) (s)he writes (-а(ы)-)'6, Two other pairs o f this sort are: Сан (ca(pa)) езы амаҭәақәа лӡахуеит 'M y mother is sewing (-ӡах(ы)-) clothes (амаҭәа) for me' vs Сан луадаҿы дӡахуеит 'Mother is sewing in her room (ауада)' Анхааы амхы ицәаҕәо(и)т 'The peasant is ploughing (-цәаҕәа-) the field (амхы)' vs Анхааы дцәаҕәо(и)т The peasant is (doing some) ploughing' Sometimes it is the entity undergoing the verbal activity (rather than the performer o f it) which remains constant in the process o f detransitivisation, e.g. Сыҧҳа ама/акәты лӡуеит 'M y daughter is baking (-ӡ(ы)-) bread (aMa)/frying the chicken' vs Афрынакны ача/Адырганакны акәты ӡуеит The bread is baking/chicken is frying in the oven (афрына)/рап (адырган)' Саҳәшьа акәац лжәуеит 'M y sister is boiling (-жә(ы)-) the meal (акәац)’ vs Акәац жәуеит 'The meat is boiling' Ахаҵа ианы иблит 'The man burnt (-был- or -блы-) his house down' vs Ианы блит 'His house burnt down' The prefix (а)кр(ы)- 'something' is not the only element which may replace a transitive verb's Column I affix. The reflexive marker -ҽ(ы)-, to which the appropriate

6 W illi Ihis example compare: Есымша дыауеит 'Kvcryday (s)he runs (-о(ы)-)'.

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possessive (i.e. Column II) prefix needs to he altachcd, cun also sland in (his position for some verbs, e.g. Ахаҵа иҽишьуеит The man is killing (-шь(ы)-) himself Аӡқаб лҽылкәабо(и)т The girl is bathing = washing (-кәаба-) herself This reflexive prefix cannot sland independently o f its verb. Those verbs which do not accommodate this marker use the noun fo r 'head' (-хы) wilh, o f course, the appropriate possessive (Column II) prefix. This method o f indicating reflexivily is obligatory i f the reflexive functions as anything other than Ihe verb's direct object, e.g. Аҧҳәыс асаркьаҿы лхы лбо(и)т = Аҧҳәыс лхы асаркьаҿы илбо(и)т 'The woman secs herself in the m irror (асаркьа)' Ахәыҷқәа рхы ивсуеит The children are hitting themselves'7 Should one wish lo ask a Whal- or Who-lypc question, which involves substituting the relative affix for the normal pronominal affix that correlates with the argument questioned, how does one cope wilh such examples as these, where the questioned argument has two affixes correlating with il (within and/or outside the vcrb-form)? In facl, both (or all) relevant affixes yield to their relative counterparts, e.g. Зҽызкәабода?8 'Who is bathing?' Асаркьаҿы зхы збоаа? 'Who sees himself/herself in the mirror?' Зцәа/Збаа зтәымда? 'Who is pregnant?' The verb 'give' (root -ҭа-) is, clearly, ihe prototypical iripersonal example. Presented below is its Present tense conjugation, firstly conjugating for changes to the transitive subject, keeping the direct objccl constant with 3rd person non-human singular or 3rd person plural affix, bul varying the indirect object, and secondly by mixing the references o f all three types o f affix: Present Tense Conjugation o f the Trivalent Transitive Verb 'give'

1 give

ибысҭо(и)т

it/them to

ja.be.s.ta-

we give

wa.(j)t’

him/her to

you-FEM

дбаҳҭо(и)т

d.b.ah.ta.wa(Dt*

you-FEM

you-MASC

ир(ы)уҭо-

ja.re.w.ta.-

give it/them

(и)т

wa.(j)f

he gives you-Fem lo

lo ihem

бсиҭо(и)т

b.sa.j.ta.wa.(j)t'

me

7This verb-phrasc is perhaps more usual in Ihe comcxt o f male mourners banging (heir heads in ritualistic sorrow at a funeral, in which case, o f course, ihe indirect object is functioning in its normal (and nol reflexive) sense. 8Note that (wo slress-pallerns are possible. 9One can analyse the form more deeply as /d.ba.fita.wa.(j)r/, with Ihc close vowel opening under the influence o f Ihe following pharyngal fricative.

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you-FEM

исыбҭо(и)т

give it/them

ja.sa.b.ta.-

she gives

СШӘЫЛҬО-

s./we.l.ta. -

wa.(j)t'

me lo you-

(и)т

wa(j)t'

lo me he gives

PL ишәиҭо(и)т

it/them lo

je./we.j.ta-

we give

шәраҳҭо-

Jw.r.ahtQ.-

wa.(j)t'

you-PL to

(и)т

w a (j)t'10

ҳрырҭо(и)т

Hre.r.tawa.-

you-PL

them

she gives

ишәылҭо-

ja.Jw8.l.la. -

il/lhem lo

(и)т

w a(j)t’

иаҳнаҭо(и)т

j.ahnata.-

il gives

waOJt’11

it/them lo it

they give us to them

(i)i'

you-PL it gives il/thcm to us

ианаҭо(и)т

j-anata.w a (j)f

you-PL give

иҳашәҭо-

js.fia.Jw.ta -

he gives

il/them to us

(и)т

wa.(j)t'12

il/them to

they give

иарҭо(и)т

j.a.r.ta.wa-

you-PL give

дҳашзҭо-

d.ha/w.ta.-

(i)f

him/her to

(и)т

w a(j)t'14

ииҭо(и)т

J.je.J.tawa(j)t’13

him

il/lhem lo il

us

Further examples o f bipersonal intransitive and either bipersonal or tripersonal transitive Dynamic verbs in the Present tense are: Ателефон бабасуа/бабасуеи? Сан лахь сасуеит 'Where are you-FEM ringing? I'm ringing (lo) my mother' Бзиа и(ы)убода/Бзиа и(ы)убо дарбан((ы)у)/дызусҭа(да)? Ҳариааы ип,ҳа бзиа дызбо(и)т 'Whom do you-MASC love? I love our teacher's daughter' Уани уаби акәац рфома? Ааи, ирацәаны ирфО(и)т 'Do your-MASC parents eal meat? Yes, ihey eal it in abundance' Ахәшә анбажәжәуа/анбажәжәуеи? Аҳақьым иансиҭо, изжәуеит 'When do youPL take (literally: drink) medicine (ахәшә)? I take il when the doctor (аҳақьым) gives il lo me' Ацаацәа ацәақәа зырҭ(ақә)ода? Рырцаацәа ирырҭо(и)т — (и)жә/шәымбо(и)? ’To whom are the pupils giving (the) apples? They are giving them lo their teachers — don't you-PL sec (it/them)?'

lO o r /jw гә.h.ta.wa.(ptV. 1'O r /|ә.fi'natawa.(j)t'/. wilh opening o f theclose vowel. ' 2Or /|a.’h3./w.ta.wa.(j)r/. ' ■'Note lhat only two оГ ihc underlying sequence o f three hoinophonous palatal glide prefixes are pronounced and written. ' 4Or /d ' ha. f w.ta.wa.(|)t’/.

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Ақәа (а)уеит 'It is raining' (lilcrally 'U is making/doing (rool -у(ы )-1’’) rain (ақәа)', where the referent o f the Column III agcnl-affix is unclear; presumably in origin il was 'sky, cloud, heaven, nalure' or some such inanimate entity) (cf. Асы ауеит 'It is snowing'; Акырцх ауеит 'Il is hailing') АП)Ш(а) асуеит 'The wind (аҧша) is blowing' (literally 'The wind is hilling il', where ihe referenl o f the Column II indirect object affix is unclear; presumably in origin it would have been something like адунеи 'the world') Аҭӡамц зшәуада? Ca(pa) исшәуеит/Са(ра) соуп изшәуа 'Who is painting (-шә(ы)-) the wall (аҭӡамц)? I'm painting il' Сахьгылоу жәбома? 'Do you-PL sec where I am standing?' Ҳазцо рдыруама? 'Do they know why we are going?' Ахә мариала ирҭиуеи? 'What are they selling cheaply? (lilerally 'sell (-ҭи-) al (-ла) a low/easy (амариа) price (ахә)') Ҳҳзыҳәқәа зшьуеи/зшьуаз(е)и? Абга-хәыҷқәа иршьуеит — у(ба)рҭ ирхароуп 'Whal is killing our pigeons (аҳәыҳә)? Foxes (абга-хәыҷы16) are killing them; il is their faull (axapa)' Ам ла/А ӡба/А хьҭа/А ш оура сакувит 'Hunger (амла)/ТЫге1 (аӡба)/А feeling o f cold (ахьҭа)/А feeling o f heat (atuoypa) is taking hold o f (-к(ы-)) me' = 'I'm feeling hungry/thirsly/cold/hot' [Note that by changing the verb lo the monopersonal intransitive 'die' we produce expressions for dying o f such causes, where the cause is neither an argument o f the verb nor governed by any postposition, such as the Instrumental, viz. А м л а /А ӡб а / Ахьҭа/Аш оура сыҧсуеит 'I am dying o f hunger/thirst/cold/heat'. Also note lhat '1 have a temperature' is Ашоура сымоуп] The verbal noun (otherwise called the infinitive or, in caucasology, the masdar) is formed for Dynamic verbs by placing the suffix -pa after the root, and, since nouns are typically accompanied by the article a-, this prefix completes the formation; this article can be replaced by a Column II possessive ргеПх in appropriate conlcxis. The masdar for Stalives requires an extra element, namely -заа-, placed between root and suffix, bul Stative masdars are ralher artificial and not commonly used in the language. Hereafter all verbs w ill be presented in ihe masdar ralher than just as a root. The masdar-forming suffix (or possibly a homonymous suffix) is used with adjectival roots to produce the associated abstract-noun. I f the masdar is negated, the negative formanl is infixed before ihe root for Dynamics bul placed between root and ihe additional clement -заа- in Stalives. Examples: атәара 'to sit down, silting down' vs амтәара 'not to sit down, nol sitting down' '-‘’ From ihc underlying morphological structure (viz. /;□.w.wajt'/) only one o f ihc conliguous bilabial semi-vowels is pronounccd and wrillcn. |6Абга-д(ы)у or ақалџьма is the word tor 'w o lf.

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атәазаара 'to hc/hcing seated' vs атоамзаара 'not to be/being seated' адырра 'to know, knowing, knowledge’ (cf. адыррақәа '(the) news', адырра >ҕыцқза '(the) latest news') аказаара 'to be, being' (сГ. A(6)pa аказаара сҭахӡам 'I don't want to be here') абара 'to see, seeing' (cf. Шәбара даара(ӡа) исҭах(ы)уп ‘I very much want to see you-PL') абзиара 'goodness, kindness' (cf. агәабзиара 'good health') абааҧсра 'evil, wretchedness, rottenness' (cf. абааҧсы 'evil, bad, rotten'; (А)бааҧ,сра злоу уааым 'He is not a man in whom there is anything rotten' = 'He's not a bad man') (Note in the last example lhat there is no place for a Column I affix, sincc we have more than a simple adjective qualifying the noun. If we add the anticipated д- lo give дуасшм, the meaning alters radically lo 'One in whom there is evil is nol a humanbeing', where the first two words form ihe subject ralher than serve as a complex epithet lo the head-noun, as they do in ihe quoted example] абзиабара 'love' (cf. бзиабарала wilh love') амазаара 'lo have, having1(cf. амазара 'wealth'; Аҧара рацәа амазаара бзиа илбоит 'She loves having a lot o f money (аҧара)') акрыфара 'to eat, eating in general' (cf. афара 'to cat, eating something specific') ауадаара 'difficulty' aapa 'to run/running' aapa 'quality o f wine' OR, more usually, 'lo write/writing' (cf. Ашәкәқәа рыара уадаа(ы)уп/мариа(ӡа)м The wriling o f books is difficult/not easy') аҧхьаӡара 'to count, counting' аҧхьара 'to read, reading' With the last three masdars compare their derivatives in -шьа, which, when added to a verbal root, produces a noun meaning 'method o f VERBing1: Шәкы ркынӡа аҧхьаӡашьа жәдыруама? М ап/М ам оу, axa ашкол аҿы аҧхьашьагьы, аеышьагьы, аҧхьаӡашьагьы уажәы иаҳцо(и)т 'Do you-PL know how lo count (аҧхьаӡашьа) up lo (-кынӡа) 100? No, but we are learning (anapa) how lo read (аҧхьашьа), write (ааышьа) and count al school (ашкол)' Exercises Translate into English___________________Translate into Abkhaz 1. Ишәцәаҕәои/Ишәцәа 1>әоз(е)и

1. Whom does your-FEM sister love?

шәара? Ҳамхқәа ҳцәаҕәо(и)т

She loves no-one

2. Акрыфара с а н а ^ ы ^ , алақәа рбара

2. What is your-MASC father giving lo

сҭахым/сҭахӡам

lhat woman? He's giving her some fish

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3. Адаацоа рырцаацәа абарбо(и)?

3. Who gives your-MASC mother

Ашкол аҿы ирбо(и)т

medicine? The doctor gives it to her,

4. Зыцкы лӡахуада бан?

4. Whal do your-PL children paint, when

when she has a temperature

il is snowing? 5. Уаб у(бр)и аҧҳәыс аҧара злиҭои?

5 .1 don't see where my friends are going

6. У(ба)рҭаҳәсақәа ирзуеи/ирӡуаз(е)и? 6. In spring ihe peasants plough their Ача рӡуеит

fields

7. Шәысасцәа Аҧсышәала ацәажәашьа 7. On Sundays we don't drink wine рдыруама? 8. Банд(ы)у дызҽ(ы)уи? Дызҽ(ы)у

8. What is baking in the oven? Bread is

здыруада? Анцәа идыруеит!

baking there; mother is baking it

9. Акәац афара бзиа ижәбома?

9. How many chickens does that w olf

М ап/М амоу, иаҳф(аӡ)ом

kill everyday?

10. А(бр)а аӡзгьы дахьыкам зхарада?

10. We'll see you-PL a week from today

Са(ра) исхароуп

in Sukhum

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Lesson 7

In this lesson you will learn about: • How lo form ihc Simple Pasl (or Aorisl) o f Dynamic verbs (affirmative and negative, finite and non-finile) • Relative forms based on the Aorist • How to form the Pasl Indefinite o f Dynamic verbs (affirmative and negative, finite and non-finite) • How to form questions on both the Aorist and Past Indefinite • How to form the Past Absolute (affirmative and negative) o f Dynamic verbs • How to form the Absolute (affirmative and negative) o f Stative verbs • Expressions for 'alone'; 'by oneself; 'oneself as Emphatic; 'by oneself; 'in person'; 'each separately' • The morphology and syntax o f the comparative and superlative grades o f adjectives • Equative expressions • Adverb-formation

Having learnt all about the Presenl tense forms o f Dynamic verbs, we now have to consider how Ihey form their Simple Pasl (or Aorisl) Indicative tense. The affirmative finite Aorist is formed quite simply by taking the Present tense and removing the Dynamic suffix -ya, as in; Patterns for the Formation o f the Finite Affirm ative Past Tense o f Dynamic Verbs

I went

s.tsa.jt’

сцеит

I died

СЫҦСИТ

se.ps9.jt’

But expectations perhaps founder when il comes lo negating Ihe Aorist, for the regular negative marker

-m -

is placed immediately before the root (and, Ihus, after any

Column III prefix present in a transitive verb-form), as in: Patterns for ihe Formation o f the Finite Negative Past Tense o f Dynamic Verbs

I did nol go

сымц(аӡ)-

samtsa.-

еит

(dza)jt'

I did nol die

сымҧсит/

sampsajt'/

сымҧсӡеит

sa.m.ps.dza.jf

Examples:

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Бзиала шзаабеит! 'Welcome!' (literally 'We saw you-PL well') Иацы абазар аҿы саыза иан дызбеит, аха иаб дс/зымб(аӡ)еит 'Yesterday I saw my (male) friend's mother at the market (абазар), bul I did not sec his father' Ак(ы)римфеит 'He didn't cat (anything)' The affirmative non-finite Aorisl is produced by simply dropping the finite suffix -ит, and lo turn it into its relative guise the appropriate relative affix (и-, if rclativisation is on the Column I argument, otherwise 3-) stands in its appointed slot: Patterns for the Formation o f the Non-finite Affirm ative Pasl Tense o f Dynamic Verbs (Relativised)

who/which

ица

jatsa

who/which

went

ИП.СЫ

ja.pss

died

Expectations are now nol frustrated when it comes lo forming the negative relativised non-finile equivalent, lor the negative marker - m - is inserted immediately before the rool, and with these particular rools there is a shift o f stress onto the relative prefix, e.g.

Patterns for the Formation o f the Non-finile Negative Past Tense o f Dynamic Verbs (Relativised)

who/which did nol go

имца(за)

jo.m.tsa(.dza)

who/which

имҧсы/

ja.mpsa/

did nol die

имҧсӡа

js.mps.dza

Before outlining queslion-formation, we need lo consider another pasl tense, the Pasl Indefinite. This has both finite and non-finite forms produced, as we shall see, in the normal way, but the finite forms behave ralher like non-finilcs insofar as they arc mostly used only when ultimately followed by a finite Aorist, which itself serves lo 'make the sentence', as Past Indefinites cannot do this in their own right. In other words, the meaning o f the Pasl Indefinite can be thought o f as incorporating the conjunction 'and' to make il a translation-equivalent o f 'X VERBcd and'. The subjects o f Ihe verbs in such sequences tend lo be identical, but this is not an absolute requirement. When it comes to the meaning o f ihe Pasl Indefinite's non-finile form, however, Ihcre is essentially no difference between the non-finile Past Indefinite and the non-finile Aorisl o f any given verb; sometimes one construction seems to favour the employment o f the one, whereas another construction might more often employ the other.

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The affirmative finite forms o f the Past Indefinite are produced hy replacing Ihe Aorist's finite ending -ит wilh the parallel finite ending -h, to give: Patterns for the Formation o f the Finite Affirm ative Pasl Indefinite Tense оГ Dynamic Verbs s.tsa.n

сцан

1 went and..

sapso.n

сып,сын

I died and..

Examples: Аҧҳәыс аҳәызба лган акәата/акыз лшьит The woman look (arapa) the knife (аҳәызба) and killed the duck (aKaaTa)/goose (акыз)' Саб дтәан асаламшәкәы даҧхьеит 'My father sal down and read ihc letter (асалам-шәкәы)' Аҭакәажә дыҧсын, лыуацәа дыржит The old woman died, and her relatives (aya) buried (ажра) her' Ахәыҷкәа акәараҿы пыҭк ихәмарын ааныка ицеит/ран ааныка илгеит The children played a little on the shore (акәара) and went home/..., and iheir mother took them home' As for negating the Past Indefinite, ihe regular negative marker - m- is placed, as for the Aorist, immediately before the root, and then the finite ending, consisting o f ihe (compound) formant -зт, replaces the affirmative form's final - h, as in: Patterns for ihe Formation o f the Finite Negative Pasl Tense o f Dynamic Verbs

I did not go and..

сымца(ӡа)-

sa.mtsa.-

I did not die

3T

(dza)z(.)t’

and..

сымҧсызт/ sam.psa.z(.)сымҧсӡазт

t’/samps.dzaz(.)t’

To illustrate natural examples o f a negated finite Past Indefinite we really need to introduce another verbal category first, and so we shall refrain from exemplifying this (admittedly rare) form for the time-being. The affirmalive non-finite Pasl Indefinite is produced by simply replacing the finite suffix

-h

with the non-finile marker -з, and to turn it into its relative guise the

appropriate relative affix (и-, if relativisation is on Ihe Column I argument, otherwise 3-) stands in its designated slot: Patterns for the Formation o f the Non-finite Affirm ative Past Indefinite o f Dynamic Verbs (Relativised)

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who/which

ja.tsaz

ицаз

who/which

ja.psa.z

ИЦСЫЗ

died

wenl

When il comes Lo forming Ihe negative relativised non-finite equivalent, the negative marker - m - occupies its normal non-finite slot (i.e. immediately before the root), and, again, wilh these particular roots there is a shift o f stress onto the relative prefix, e.g. Patterns for the Formation o f the Non-finite Negative Past Indefinite o f Dynamic Verbs (Relativised)

who/which

имца(за)з

jo.mtsa.-

who/which

имҧсыз/

jo.mpsaz/

(dza.)z

did nol die

имгьс^аз

jo.mps.dzaz

did not go

When il comes to forming a relative expression in the simple past for a Dynamic verb, it is more usual lo use the Past Indefinite (ralher than the Aorist) as base, e.g. Иацы абазар аҿы и(ы)убазаҧҳәыс саыза иан лоуп The woman you-MASC saw yesterday al the market is my male friend's mother' Акәац зымфақәаз мӡәеит Those we did not eal the meat did nol vomit (аӡәара)' We can now proceed to examine queslion-formation based on the Aorisl and Pasl Indefinite forms. For a synthetic Who-type question the да-suffix is either added al the end o f the (relativised) non-finile Aorisl base or inserted before the non-finite ending -3 in the equivalent Pasl Indefinite; since the analytic variant relies on a free­ standing relativised verb-form, this latter w ill preferably be the Past Indefinite, e.g. Абазар ахь ицаца(з)? (= Абазар ахь ицаз дарбан((ы)у)/дызусҭа(да)?) 'Who (is the one who) went lo the market?' Аҳа бызҭада(з)? (= Аҳа бызҭаз дарбан((ы)у)/дызусҭа(да)?) 'Who (is the one who) gave you-FEM the pear (а ҳ а )?' Аҳа зыбҭада(з)? (= Аҳа зыбҭаз дарбан((ы)у)/дызусҭа(да)?) 'To whom did you-FEM give the pear?VWho is the one to whom you gave the pear?' Зеызкәабада(з)? (= Зҽызкәабаз дарбан((ы)у)/дызусҭа(да)?) 'Who (is the one who) look a bath/shower?' One variant for a synthetic What-type question in the pasl places the interrogative suffix -и on the end o f Ihe relativised non-finile Aorisl, e.g. Иҧ,си? (= Иҧсызарбан((ы)у)/закә(ыз(е))и?) W hat (is il that) died?'

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Арцавцоа ирырҭеи? (= Ардаацза ирырҭаз арбан((ы)у)/зака(ыз(е))и?) Whal did they givc(/is il ihcy gave) lo the leathers?' or 'Whal did ihe Icachers give lo them?' Allcrnalively, we can express Ihesc questions as follows: Иҧсыз(е)и? 'Whal died?' Ардавцза ирырҭаз(е)и? 'Whal did ihey give to the teachers?' or 'Whal did Ihc teachers give lo them?’ What is the analysis o f these variants? Either -зи or -зеи is here being added to the relativised non-finite Aorisl base. Parallel questions based on the non-finite Pasl Indefinite produce: Иҧсыззи/Иҧсызыз? 'Whal died?', where either -зи is suffixed lo the relativised non-finile form or -зы- is inserted before the non-finite ending -з. There is also another variant, perhaps more restricted to the spoken language because, when written, orthographically we would appear lo be facing nothing more than the relativised non-finite Past Indefinite, but il is pronounced with lengthening o f (and secondary stress, i f normal stress falls elsewhere, on) the final syllable, which marks il out as the What-type interrogative based clearly on the Past Indefinite base, e-gИҧсыз? (pronounced [Jipso az|) 'Whal died?' (cf. Иҧсыз [jipsoz] арбан((ы)у)?) Арҵаьцәа ирырҭаз? (pronounccd | jirartaaz]) 'What did they give lo ihe teachers?' or 'What did the teachers give to them?' (cf. Арцаацәа ирырҭаз |jirertaz] арбан((ы)у)?) Yes/No-questions are produced in the normal way, which is lo say lhat -ма is suffixed to the non-finite Aorist or Pasl Indefinite for affirmative questions (e.g. дца(з)ма? 'Did (s)he go?'). For questions based on the negated non-finile forms, if the stem is lhat o f the Aorisl, the choice o f suffixes is between -и or -з(е)и, whereas, if the slem is that o f Ihe Past Indefinite, one can (i) one can use the simple non-finile form (with appropriate, high-falling pilch), (ii) insert -зы- before the non-finite ending -3, or (iii) add the suffix -ззи lo the non-finile ending, e.g. Амхы шәцәаҕәа(з)ма? 'Did you-PL plough the field?' Ибасымҳәеи/Ибасымҳәаз(е)и/Ибвсымҳәаз/ИбасымҳәазызИбасымҳәаззи? 'I told you-FEM, didn't I?' У(бр)и ашәкәы рылымҭазеи/рылымҭаӡаз(е)и/рылымҭаӡаз/рылымҭазазыз / рылымҭаӡаззи? 'She didn't give them that book, did she?' How-/Where-/When-type questions are formed by inserting respectively шп>а-, аба-, оганба- in iheir regular preradical slots into either the non-finile Past Indefinite ( without further change) or, perhaps preferably, ihe non-finite Aorist (with addition o f the Whal-type queslion-suffix -и); for Why-type questions з(ы)- stands in its appointed pre-radical slot within either (a) the non-finite Past Indefinite (with

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lengthening o f the final vowel), o r(h ) the non-finile Aorist accompanied by A N Y o f the What-type interrogative suffixes -и, or -зи, or -зеи. Examples: Шзышҧарбеи/Шәышҧарбаз? 'How did they see you-PL?' Дабацеи/Дабацаз? 'Where did (s)hc go?' Данбацси/Данбаҧсыз? 'When did (s)hc die?' Бызгылеи/Бызгылаз(е)и/Бызгылаз [bazgala az] 'Why did you-FEM get up?' The equivalent non-interrogatives simply place the prefixes ш(ы)-, ахь(ы)-, ан(ы)-, or з(ы)- in cither the non-finite Aorist (perhaps preferred for temporal expressions o f the When-type) or non-finite Pasl Indefinite (perhaps preferred for the three olher types o f expression). Examples: Шәшырба(з) аадыруеит 'Wc know how/thai they saw you-PL' Дахьца(з) рдыруеит 'They know where (s)he went' Ран данп>сы(з), зе гш цә(ы)уеит 'When their mother died, everyone cried' Апрезидент дахьааи(з) аума/оума бызгыла(з)? 'Is the reason why you gol up that (-ахь-) the president camc?' There is another verb-form which is extremely common and which is close in meaning (and, indeed, in appearance) to the Pasl Indefinite. This is the Pasl Absolule. Il ends in -ны, suffixed lo the non-finite Aorist stem. It equates in meaning to ihe English Past Participle 'having VERBed', from which il w ill be clear lhat it needs lo be followed by some finite verb-form to complete Ihe sentence, but, unlike the Past Indefinite, the final finite verb can be in any lense. A peculiarity o f the Past Absolute is lhat, i f the verb in question is iransilivc. its Column III agenl-affix is omitted. This is because in almost all cases in which ihc Past Absolute is used its subject w ill be the same as lhat o f the following verb. Examples: Аӡҕаб дгәааны ааныка дцеит The girl, having grown angry (агәаара), wenl home/weni home’ Зегьы џьашьатәыс иҧхьаӡаны аҧҳәызба дирҭан, ааныка дигеит 'Everyone having deemed (Past Absolule o f агьхьазара] it (sc. the deed done by the hero o f this talc) lo be a miracle (аџьашьатә), they gave [Past Indefinite] him the maiden (аҧҳәызба), and he look | Aorisl] her home.' Аӡқаб лсшзцәа ахьтәаз днеин(ы) дрыҳәеит 'The girl wenl to where her friends were silling and made appeal (аҳәара) to them' (wilh Ihe bracketed close vowel we have the Past Absolute for the meaning 'having gone lo...') Ашәарыца(а)цәа ачақәа шьны/ршьын рыҧсы ршьеит 'The hunters, having killed the quails (ача), sat down/Thc hunters killed the quails and rested (literally: rested (ашьара) their soul' The negated Pasl Absolute inserts the negative marker -m before ihe verbal rool and replaces the suffix -ны with -кәа(н); the meaning equates lo 'not having VERBed' or 'without having VERBed' or even 'wilhoul VERBing'; because o f the last meaning,

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Ihe verb-form can he used alongside a non-past verb-form. The Column III agentprcfix is nol always omitted with negated Absolutes. Examples: Акгьы мҳәакәа(н) дгылеит 'Without saying (аҳәара) anything, (s)he got up' Ипдәыс дымгакәа(н)/димгакәа(н), (иа(ра)) дцеит 'Without taking his wife, he left’ Исмыхькәа(н) — ишҧасмыхьуеи? Даараза исыхьуеит '(It) Not hurt(ing) me — how does il not hurt me? Il hurts me very much indeed (- 3 a)' Иуаҳамҭакәа(н) — ишҧауаҳамҭои? 1 '(Us) Nol giving il/lhem to you-MASC — how are we not going to give il/lhem Lo you-MASC?' Уа(ра) ҳабхәында заҵәы(к), амал умҭакәа(н), уахь уҳашьҭуама? 'Are we going lo send (ашьҭра) you-MASC, our only (зацәы(к)) brother-in-law ([а]абхәында2), thither (уахь) withoul giving you (some) wealth (амал)?' [N.B. абхәында is cither 'husband's brother' or 'wife's brother'] Stative verbs, which lack both the Aorisl and Pasl Indefinite o f Ihe Dynamic class, nevertheless also possess an Absolule. Their affirmative Absolule is formed by replacing the Presenl non-finite's suffix -y with -ны; the equivalent negative then suffixes -кәа(н) lo the negated (non-finite3) Presenl, which, il w ill be recalled, ends in -M .

Examples: Аҧҳәыс лп,а длыманы ахәшәтәырҭахь днеит The woman wenl (анеира) to the hospital (ахәшатәырҭа), having her son with her (= wilh her son)' Уахи-ҽни лымамкәа(н) aye луеит 'She works withoul disliguishing night and day (уахи-ҽни)’ (literally 'She does work (aye), not having night and day') Азәгьы длыцымкәа(н) дааит 'She camc w ilh no-one accompanying her' Акгьы сымамкәа(н) сааит 'I came w ilh nothing' Лцәа/Лыба(ы)-: Ақьаад ҧызжәеит 'I ripped (агукәара) the paper (ақьаад) in two' vs Ақьаад ҧызыжәжәеит 'I ripped the paper into many bits', where the notion 'many bits' is signalled by reduplication o f the consonant in the verbal root Сгәы п>жәо(и)т 'M y heart is tearing/being tom (in anger/annoyance)' Preverb -мааҧ(ы)-: Мықә ашҭакны аҿар рныҳәа мааҧыргеит 'They conducted (амаадгара) the youth-festival (аҿар рныҳәа) in M ykw Yard' Preverb -ҽп>ын-/-ҽп,ны-: Зиаск дыҽҧынгылеит '(S)he reached (= came to a stand) at ihe edge o f (аҽҧынгылара) a river' Preverb -хәа-: Ахәыҷы ap инеиуа дрыхәал>шуеит14 The child is looking at (ахәаҧшра) the army (ap) (which is) moving forward (анеира)' Ca(pa) ателевизор сахзаҧшуеит 'I am watching ihe TV' Preverb -кыд(ы)-: Аҭӡамц дкыдгылеит '(S)he stood alongside/up against (акыдгылара) the wall (аҭӡамц)'

1-C f. аҧхара 'warm up; give out heat' (e.g. Аҳауа п,хо(и)т 'The air (аҳауа) is wanning up'; Амра ҧхо(и)т 'The sun is wanning up'). l4Note the 3rd person plural Column II prefix agreeing with the singular (but semantically collective) noun ap 'army'.

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Ашышкамс аҭӡамц икыдлеит The ant (ашышкамс) went up (акыдлара) the wall' Preverb -ва-/-в(ы)-: Дсыватәеит '(S)hc sal (аватәара) alongside me' Дсывсит '(S)he passed beside (авера) me' Preverb -д(ы)-: Ацла ааны иадгылоуп The tree stands up against the house' Preverb -кә(ы)-: Ааны сакәшеит 'I passed around the outside o f (акәшара) the house' Preverb -(ана-/-a- the root meaning 'jump'.

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Ҳа(ра) и(ы)узеи;ьаҳшьо(и)т идегь ақзҿиарақәа 'Wc wish you-MASC further (ицегь) successes (ақәҿиара)' One mighl suppose thal we have Ihe same rool in ihe adjectival stem -ҧхамшьа, 'shameless', blit the verb w ilh the relevant sequence o f preverb and rool only exists as an intransitive, viz. Аӡҕаб дыҧхашьеит vs дыҧхамшьеит The girl felt vs did not feel shame (аҧхашьара)'; N.B. the powerful societal censure Иҧхашьароуп 'It is shameful' Another rool which crcatcs transitive verbs wilh incorporated adjective (or noun) in the prcverbal slot is -тә(ы)-, the resulting compound meaning 'render X ADJECTIVE/NOUN', e.g. Ачымазаеы деиҕьа/ыстәит 'I made the sick person (ачымазааы) better' Арҵаоы ацааы дрыцҳаитәит 'The (male) teacher made the pupil wretched' У(бр)и ахаца aye зегьы ҧхасҭеитәит 'That man ruined (аҧхасҭатәра) the whole work', cf. аҧхасҭа 'damage' The root -xa- 'become' similarly combines with adjectives or nouns in preverbal position lo produce intransitive verbs with the obvious meaning 'become ADJECTIVE/NOUN’, e.g. Aye зегьы ҧхасҭахеит 'The whole work became ruined' Ачымазааы деиқьхеит/дыбзиахеит 'The sick person got better/became well' Саыза дычмазаохеит 'M y friend became sick' Ирзымариахеи? 'What became easy (амариа) for them?’ Whilst there is no fully-fledged passive voice in the Abkhaz verbal system, the association o f this root w ilh a verbal rool (or slem) occupying the preverbal position provides an artificial means o f turning a transitive verb into an inlransilive pseudo­ passive, e.g. Aye кацахеит 'The work got done' (1бымхуазароуп 'You-FEM should not be taking their photo' Ахәыҷқәа аҳаҧы иҵамлароуп The children should not go into the cave' У(бр)и akapa рымфароуп They should not eat so much' Аца аӡәгьы давагыламзароуп 'No-one should be standing beside the maize-store (аца)' А(б)ра шәтәамзароуп 'You-PL should not be silting here' Parallel obligations in the pasL are expressed by the simple device o f shifting the tense o f the main copular verb from Present (-oyn) lo Past (акәын), which is written as a separate word, as in: Жәацы улбар акзын 'She should have seen you-MASC two days ago' У(бр)и ахаҳә ажәытә аырақәак анызар акәын 'There should have been some (-қәак) ancient (ажәьггә) inscriptions (ааыра) on that stone (ахаҳә)' У(бр)и аамҭазы aye зуар акәын 'A t that time I should have been working' Ашәҭқәа лзааихәар акәын 'He should have bought flowers for her' To negate a past obligation one can cither place the negative marker in its appropriate slot within the lexical verb or move it lo the main copular verb (giving the ending акә(ӡа)мызт), as in: А(б)рахь баазымгар акәын/баазгар акә(ӡа)мызт 'I should nol have brought youFEM here'

7Noie the choice o f strcss-palteming.

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Асааҭ жаеиза ыкан. Ҳаҷкәын у(бр)иаамҭазы у(бр)а дыкамзар акәы н/ дыказар акә(ӡа)мызт'11 was 11 o'clock. Our son should nol have been there al lhal lime' Ҳлықәымгәыҕыр акәын/Ҳлықәгәы^ыр акә(ӡа)мызт 'We should nol have placcd our hopes on her' А(ба)с лассы шәыхнымҳәыр акәын/шәхынҳәыр акә(ӡа)мызт 'You-PL should nol have returned so soon (лассы) as this (a(6a)c)' Ахәыҷы ашәақь икын. Икымзар акәын/икызар акә(ӡа)мызт. Ишҧакалеи? 'The (male) child was holding8 the gun. He should nol have been holding il. How did it happen?' The prolasis-forms examined above can also fu lfil the role o f complement lo ihe verb аҭахызаара 'want' in either the present or past; where the main and subordinate verbs share a subject and the subordinate verb has no more than two arguments, the masdar can be used in the role o f complement, but, where ihe subjects differ or the subordinate verb is more complex in terms o f its arguments, one has to resort to an alternative, such as the prolasis-form, as in: Ацара сҭах(ы)уп/сҭахын = сцар сҭах(ы)уп/сҭахын 'I want/wanted lo go' А(б)ра аказаара бҭах(ы)ума/бҭахызма? = А(б)ра быказар бҭах(ы)ума/бҭахызма? 'Do/Did you-FEM want to be here?' Абацә афара лҭах(ы)уп/лҭахын = Абацә лфар лҭах(ы)уп/лҭахын 'She wants/wanted to eat a medlar (абацә)' А(б)ри амаца шәырҭар рҭах(ы)уп/рҭахын They want/wanied lo give you-PL this pack o f cards (амаца)' Уани уаби ашәага умысхыр рҭах(ы)уп/рҭахын 'Your-MASC parents want/wanted me to take the measure (ашәага) o ff you' А д о б хәыҷы акьанџьа далахәмаруазар9 лҭах(ы)уп/лҭахын The lillle girl wants/wanted lo be playing with (алахәмарра) the doll (акьанџьа)' These same prolasis-forms can also stand alongside the verb акалара 'happen' lo indicate that the aclion described by the lexical verb is a possibility, e.g. А(б)ри акаб згар калома? Икалоит 'Is it possible for me to lake this pumpkin (акаб)? It is (possible)' Уҧшәма арахь амаа дықәзар калоит 'Your-MASC wife may be on her way here’ Быҧшәма цмааит. Ҳамшә дацәшәозар калома? Дацәымшәозароуп 'YourFEM husband hasn't come. Is it possible that he's afraid o f (ацәшәара) our bear (амшә)? He shouldn't be afraid o f il'

8Slalivc form (ик(ы)уп 'He is holding it/lhem') o f акра 'take hold o f; cf. the Dynamic Aorisl икит 'He look hold o f il/thcin'. ^Despite (he complexity o f the verb, the musdar алахзмарра 'play with it' is also possible.

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А(б)ри ахәыҷы ихаҧыц ихьуеит. У(6р)и акынтә ахаа ицоцәар кал(аӡ)ом 'This child has loolhachc. And

no,

it's not possible lor him to suck (ацәцәара)

anything sweet (axaa)' Putting the main verb in the Imperfect Indicative produces the construction 'X could have VERBcd/been VERBing', as in: Apyaa Жәыргьыҭынӡа ишымцаз здыруеит, axa ицар калон 'I know that (= -ш(ы)-) the soldiers didn't go as far as Zugdidi, but they could have (gone)' Уахынла ателевизор сахәаҧшуазар кал(аӡ)омызт — сыцәазар акәын 'I could not have been watching the T V at night (уахынла) — I had lo have been sleeping' An alternative lo the Present Indicative for the main verb is the Future I, as in: Адца насыгӡар/назыгӡар калап ‘It may be thal I shall fu lfil (анагзара) the obligation (адца)' У(ба)с икалар калап 'It may turn oul lo be so' The main verb indicating thal something is possible for someone is алшара, as in исылшо(и)т 'X is possible for me', where the root is -tua- and -л- is the preverb. Both the masdar and prolasis-lorm can be used (under the same conditions as explained above for the verb 'want') lo convey the action that is possible, e.g. А(б)ри ацаҧха бысҭар сылш(аӡ)ом 'I can't give you-FEM this key (ацаҧха)' Агылара улшома? 'Can you-MASC stand/gel up?' У(бр)и акацара зларылшои? 'How (literally: W ilh what) can they do that?' I f the oblique object o f this verb (i.e. the entity governed by the preverb) is shifted from -сы- to -a- (viz. the 3rd person singular Column II non-human affix), then we produce a verb, namely (и)алшо(и)т, which is equivalent to (и)кало(и)т in ihe sense o f 'it is possible' (though the referent o f the a-affix in (и)алшо(и)т is no longer transparent), e.g. Акгьы ҳарымҳәар алшо(и)т 'It's possible they won't icll us anything' Исашәҳәар алымшои? 'It's not possible for you-PL to tell (it/them lo) me, is il?' Ахәыҷқәа ашкол а*ҕы иказар алш(аӡ)ом 'The children can'l be in school' Аҕьычцәа ахьы ахьырцәахыз ҳарҳәар алшон, аха шьҭа ирылш(аӡ)ом — рып,сы ҭам 'The thieves (аҕьыч) might have told us where they hid (адәахра) the gold (ахьы), but they can'l now (already) — they are dead' The verb aypa 'do. make' can be used in the sense o f 'permit, allow'; the action permitted is the verb's direct object and is represented by a protasis-form, e.g. Инацәа ӡы хьшәашәак нақәҭәаргьы иан илуамызт 'His mother used nol to let even one drop o f cold (ахьшәашәа) water spill on (ақәҭәара) his finger (анацәа)'

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А к сышәымҭар шәымуазар/жоымуазар, у(6р)и шәҽы сышәҭ '1Г you-PL must give me somelhing (literally: are nol going to be able lo allow yourselves nol to give me something), give me that horse o f yours' I f the agent o f the main verb in (his construction is represented by the 3rd person singular non-human Column III prefix a- (again wilh non-(ransparenl reference), then wc obtain yet another expression o f possibility, as in: Ирымҭар амуит 'It was not possible for them not to give (= They had to give) il lo him' [The Iasi three examples are taken from folk-texls) Ҳаргьы Акәа ҳцар ам(ы)уӡои? 'It is possible for us loo to go lo Sukhum, isn't it?' This last collocation is the basis for a colloquialism which in terms o f meaning has elements o f a question, a statement o f possibility, and an Imperative. I f one forms the question 'Whal does it do/allow?' on the main verb here, one gels Иауеи/Иауаз(е)и? (in the Imperfect Иауаз? [jawa az]). These inlerrogatives, minus the initial и-prefix, fuse with a protasis-form to produce the relevant colloquialism. Consider the following examples: Бтәарауеи/Бтәарауаз(е)и?! 'Why don't you-FEM sit down?' (the context possibly being thal the addressee is tired and no-one else is about to occupy the seat(s) available) Зегьы a(6)pa ианыказ, ишәҳәарауаз у(бр)и?! 'You-PL might have said lhal/Why didn't you-PL say thal, when everybody was here?' (the context being that the addressees have said something after the departure o f those who would have been interested to hear it, and there was nothing to prevent the addressees speaking when thal potential audience was present) One final construction involving a protasis-form finds it in collocation wilh a main verb made up o f two roots which we have already met: -акә- 'be' and -xa- 'become'. This compound root is then placed in the Fulure I, and the meaning o f the resulting construction is 'probably X is/w ill be VERBing', as in: Саыза даауазар акәхап 'Probably my friend is/will be coming' Саыза амаа дықәзар акәхап 'My friend is probably en route' Exercises Translate into English 1. Иӡҕаб дрыцҳашәшьар, ишәҭах(ы)у шәзыкеицап. 2. Сеыза лыҧҳәыс аҧарақәа ламхафан зегь ҧхасҭалтәит. 3. Уан дыбзиамхар, илыхьыз лызуаҳәарым. 4. Баҳәшьа дзымцар, ба(ра) бсыццар калома? Икало(и)т/Икалап. 5. Ҳаы гәашәымҭар, ибзиоу ибзиам(ы)у шәзеилкаарым. 6. Утәарауеи?! Уааҧсеит. Уҧсы шьа! 7. А(ба)рҭ аацәақәа абазгари? Ашьҭаҵарҭа ианажь! 146

8. Аҧсны уажоы асы леиуазар алшома? Седро. 9. Сус сзаламгеит. А(б)ри акынтз сус уны сзалымгеит. 10. Арцааы ақьаад ҧылыжәжәар акәмызт. Trans laic into Abkha/. 1. I f we multiply three by seventeen, the answer is fifty-one. 2. The children should not have eaten all the apples. 3. Where are we to take the dog? I don't know, but don't lake il lo work! 4. I f you-FEM don't return from Moscow, you won't be able to see our new house. 5 . 1 have to stand up and pour the flour into the sack. 6. I f you-MASC don'l leave me alone, it's possible you'll accidentally perish at my hands! 7. Lei’s sit down! Let's say nothing! Let's do as your-FEM mother advised us! 8. Is it possible they believe everything wc told them? Who knows? 9. Pregnant women should not drink a lot o f wine. 10. I f sick people don't lake (= drink) their medicine, how are they going to get belter?

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Lesson 11

In this lesson you will learn about: • The Perfect tense (affirmative and negative, finite and non-finite) o f Dynamic verbs • The non-finite Perfect form o f Stalive verbs • Relatives formed on the Perfect • Conjoining verbs for the meanings: 'both...and1; 'cither...or'; 'neither...nor' • The formation o f Causative verb-forms and the associated syntax • The Stalive passive o f Causative verbs • The Resultative converb • The formation o f Reciprocals in intransitive and transitive verbs_________________

The Perfect Although Abkhaz is likely to use its Aorist (Simple Past) Indicative to translate the Perfect tense o f English, the language docs have a distinct Perfect Indicative o f its own. This is used to underline the fact thal the action has already taken place. The finile form for Dynamic verbs is produced by using the finite suffix -ит preceded by the Perfect marker -хьа-: Patterns for the Formation o f the Finite Affirm ative Perfect Indicative o f Dynamic Verbs

(s)he has

дцахьеит

datsa.xiajf

already

(s)he has

дыҧсхьеит

da.ps.xJa.jt'

already died

gone

To negate the finile Perfect Indicative, the negative marker occupies its preradical slot, and the compound ending -хьеит is replaced by -ц(т): Patterns for the Formation o f the Finite Negative Perfect Indicative o f Dynamic Verbs

(s)he has not

дымца-

damtsa.-

(s)he has not

дымгьсы-

da.mpsa-

already

(ӡа)ц(т)

(dza)ts(.t’)

already died

ц (т )/

ts(.t')/

gone

дымҧсӡа-

damps. -

u (t )

dzats(.1')

When it comes to forming the affirmalive non-finite Perfect Indicative, there are four variants: the finile ending -ит is replaced by -y, giving the suffixal sequence

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-хьоу; the finite ending is replaced by -ц, giving the sulTixal sequence -хьац; the finite ending is simply dropped to leave -хьа as the form's ending; the sequence -хьеит is replaced by -ц. Forms in -ц tend lo convey a nuance o f iterativity or repeated action. For the relative form the appropriate relative affix (и-, if relativisation is on the Column I argument, otherwise 3-) stands in its designated slot: Patterns for the Formation o f the Non-finite Affirm ative Perfect Indicative o f Dynamic Verbs (Relativised)

ицахьоу

who/which

ja .ts a .x ta -w

who/which

иҧсхьоу

ja .p s . x ia w

has already

/

/

has already

/

/

gone

ицахьа(ц)

j3 .t s a .x la ( .t s )

died

иҧсхьа(ц)

je .p s .x la ( .ts )

/

/

ицац

ja ts a ts

/

/

ИП)СЫ Ц

ja .p s a .ls

In forming the four variants for the negative relativised non-finite equivalent, the negative marker

-m -

occupies its normal non-finite slot (i.e. immediately before the

root), and, again, with these particular roots there is a shift o f stress onto the relative prefix: Patterns lor the Formation o f the Non-finite Negalive Perfect Indicative o f Dynamic Verbs (Relativised)

who/which

имца(ӡа)хь-

je.m.tsa.-

who/which

имп>с-

ja.rn.ps.-

has not

оу/

(dza)xia.w

has nol

(ӡа)хьоу/

(dza)xjaw

already

имца(ӡа)-

имп,с(ӡа)-

/

хьа(ц)/

/ ja.mtsa.-

already died

gone

хьа(ц)/

ja.rn.ps.-

имца(ӡа)ц

(dza)xia(.ts)

имҧсыц/

(dza.)xja(.ts)

/

имҧсӡац

/

ja . m t s a . -

ja.mpsa.ts/

(dza.)ts

ja.mps.dza.ts

Stative verbs do not have finite forms in the Perfcct, but they do have a non-finite affirmative form (the equivalent negative being very rare), wilh the suffix -ц attached directly to the rool. And so wc have such relative forms as: Pattern for the Formation o f the Non-finile Affirm ative and Negalive Perfect Indicative o f Stalive Verbs (Relativised)

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who has

икац

ja.q'a.ts

already been

who has nol

икамыц

je.q'a.ma.ts

already been

Ycs-No questions arc preferably formed on stems ending in -хьоу (for affirmatives) and -ц (for negatives), lo produce forms like: дцахьоума? 'Has (s)he already gone'?'; дыҧсхьоума? 'Has (s)hc already died?'; дымцаци? '(S)Hc has already gone, hasn't (s)he?'; дымцаӡаци? '(S)He hasn't already gone, has (s)hc?'; дымцсыци? '(S)He has already died, hasn't (s)hc?‘; дымҧсӡаци? '(S)He hasn't already died, has (s)he?\ Examples. А(ба)рҭ арцагатә цхыраагӡақәа шәрыҧхьахьоума? Аиеи, ҳрыҧхьахьеит 'Have you-PL already read these leaching (ардагатә) handbooks/aids (ацхыраагӡа)? Yes, we have (read ihem)' А(6)ри ашьабысҭа ҭыбхыр бҭах(ы)ума? Man, иҭысххьеит 'Do you-FEM want 10 photograph this fawn-deer (ашьабысҭа)? No, I've already taken its photo' Аҳақьым сан илзылиеааз ахәшә абакоу? Хьаас/Усс икабымдан! илжәхьеит 'Where is the medicine which the doctor (аҳақш м) prescribed (алоаара) for my mother? Don't (to a woman) worry about it (literally: don'l make it a cause o f pain = ахьаа or work = aye)! — she has already drunk it' Аизараҿы ика(қәа)да? Ика(қәа)ц ыкоуп 'Who are al the meeting? They are those who have been there as a rule already1 Аст(ы)удентцәа а(бр)и акамыршша амыдаҕьцәа рбар рҭахызар? Мамоу, ирбахьеит 'M ight the students want lo see the shell (амыдаҕьцәа) o f this snail (акамыршша)? No, they have already seen it' Макьана ҳахьымцац ҳцароуп 'We should go where we have not as yet already been' Макьана излымгац иалгароуп. Алгара акәым, макьана иагьаламгац(т)/(и)егьаламгац(т) They should finish what they have not yet finished. It is nol (a question of) finishing, they have not yet even (-агь(ы)-) started (it)!' We have already encountered the element -гь(ы) in the sense of'and, also, even’. Wc see in this Iasi example that in the slightly changed form -агь(ы)- (the open vowel being regularly raised and thus writlen as -e- under the influence o f the following palatalised consonant) il can stand within a verbal complex (alter the Column I personal prefix) with the same meaning. Placed within two conjoined verbal complexes, il equates to English 'both...and', as in: Ашәкәы егьааихәахьеит дегьаҧхьахьеит 'He has boih bought the book and read 11already'

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If Lhe conjoined verbs are negated, then the forms obviously equate in meaning to 'neither...nor', as in: А(б)ри ааыза ашәкоы егьааимхоац(т) дегьамып,хьац(т) 'He has neither bought nor read such a book as this (а(б)ри асьыза)' To complete the presentation o f such pairings, '(either)...or' in Abkhaz w ill be (ма)...ма, as in: Ҳаыза дабакоу? Ma дышьҭалахьеит, ма дмааӡац(т) 'Where is our friend? Either (s)hc has already gone to bed or (s)he has not come’ У(бр)и дандәықәла, аӡлагарахь дцар акәын ма ддәықәымлар акәын 'When (s)he went off, (s)he should/must have gone lo the (water-)mill (аӡлагара), or (s)he should nol have gone o ff Causatives How does Abkhaz construct causative sentences o f the type 'X makes Y VERB' or 'X causes/forces/compels/hclps Y lo VERB'? There is a special causative prefix -p-, which is added immediately before the root (or, in some cases where the lexical meaning is a function o f the combination o f a preverb with the root, before ihe preverb). Firstly, let us note that transitive verbs are formed this way from adjectives, e.g. ацқьа 'clean' (as in ашәцатәы цқьа 'clean clothing (ашәҵатәы)') => арыцқьара 'clean' (as in Арцааы аклассдоы лрыцқьо(и)т The female teacher cleans the blackboard (аклассҕәы)') алашьца 'dark' (as in ацых лашьца 'dark night (аҵых)') => арлашьцара 'darken' (as in Апдрда ауаҭах арлашьцо(и)т The curtain (аҧарда) darkens the room (ауаҭах)') абеиа 'rich' => арбеиара 'enrich' When il comes to verbs, i f the verb to which the causative prefix is added is intransitive, its basic arguments remain unaltered; the causalivised form simply lakes an extra Column III prefix to correlate with the causer, e.g. Аҭакаажә дтәеит The old woman sat down' vs Аҭакәажә дсыртәеит 'I sat the old woman down' Аҭакәажә ауаџьак дыҽҳәатәеит The old woman sal down at the hearth (ауаџьак)' vs Лыҧҳа аҭакәажә ауаџьак дыҽҳәалыртәеит 'Her daughter sal Ihe old woman down at the hearth' Итәа(қәа)з гылеит 'Those who were silting stood up' vs Аб итәа(қәа)з ахәыҷқәа зегьы иргылеит The father made all the children who were silting get lo their feel' Амагә ацаршьы хеит 'The sole (аҵаршьы) o f the boot (амагә) wore oul (axapa)' vs Сашьасшьацатәы ирхеит 'My brother caused my footgear (ашьацатаы) to wear out' 151

Аҳәынаҧқоа нцәеит The mice (аҳәынап,) were wiped out (анцоара)1vs Ацгзы аҳәынаҧқәа ннарҵәеит The cat wiped oul the mice' Ажәабжь ҿыцқәа срыхәаҧшуан '1 was watching ihe news (ажәабжь ҿыцқәа)' vs Сан ажәабжь ҿыцқәа срыхоалырҧшит 'Mother made me watch the news' Рани раби рыгхеит They lost/were deprived o f (arxapa) iheir parents (literally: their parents became lacking lo them)' vs Жәеиза шәкы иагҳархар, икало(и)т ҧшьынаажәи жәба 'I f wc subtract eleven from hundred (literally: if wc make 11 lacking to 100), ihe answer is eighty-nine' Дызлыси? ’Why did (s)he hit her?' vs Дылсырсит 'I made him/her hit her’, cf. Аҵәаан аирсит 'He planted ihe slake (адәаан) in il (= the ground)'; Анхааы ацә ажә иаирсит 'The peasant/farmer (анхааы) had the bull (аца) cover Ihe cow (ажә)' Аҳәса(қәа) ашәаҳәара иалагеит The women began to sing' vs Раыза аҳәса(қәа) ашәаҳәара иалалыргеит T heir female friend got ihe women lo start singing' Дсыхәеит '(S)he helped (ахәара) me' vs А(б)ри адырра џьаракыр бхы иабырхәома? Аиеи, ашкол аҿы схы иасырхәо(и)т 'Are you-FEM going lo make use o f (ахархәара) this knowledge (адырра) anywhere (џьаракыр)? Yes, I am going to use il in school' (N.B. thal 'use X' in Abkhaz is literally 'make X aid one's head/oneself) Зегьы илшо(и)т 'He can do everything/Everything is possible for him' vs У(бр)и илимыршо (= ихы иалимыршо) акгьы ыка(ӡа)м There is nothing which he cannot manage (= which he cannot render possible for himself)' Ататара сышәҭ! 'Give me the soft bit (ататара) (to a plurality)!' vs Аамҭа иамыртато хьаа1кал(аӡ)ом 'There is no pain which lime does nol soflen' What then happens, if the verb to be causativised is transitive, in which case, o f course, there w ill already be an agent-prefix occupying the Column III slot? What happens is that this causee is demoted lo ihe role o f indirect object o f the causalivised verb and is Ihus marked by the appropriate Column II affix; ihe causer naturally takes over the role o f the agent and is marked by the appropriate Column III affix. I f the causer is 3rd person plural, its affix w ill nol be -р(ы)- but the variant -д(ы)- presented as something lo be explained later in the affixal list in Lesson 6 — this substitution occurs whether the basic verb is transitive or intransitive; in fact, i f in a causalivised verb the indirect object is 3rd person plural, il too w ill be indicated by -д(ы)- rather than -р(ы)- (hence the presence o f this alternative in the corresponding affixal list in Lesson 3), e.g.

' Note the lack o f the articic on a noun when used in conjunction wilh a negated verb for Ihe meaning 'nol any'.

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Ацаацәа ирцои? 'What do pupils learn?' vs Арцаацәа2 апаацәа аҧхьареи аареи аҳасабреи ддырио(и)т Tcachcrs teach pupils reading, writing and maths (аҳасабра)' Ацаацәа ашьхақәа рбеит The pupils saw the mountains (ашьха)' vs Арцаацәа аҵаацәа ашьхақәа ддырбеит The teachers shewed the mountains to the pupils (literally: got the pupils to see the mountains)'; сГ. А(б)ни аӡәгьы и(ы)умырбан! 'Don't (to a man) shew that lo anyone!' From (his last verb il is possible lo produce a Stativc passive by dropping the Column III agent-prefix, and the resulting form is: А(б)ри аизгаҿы иарбоуп... 'In this collection ([а]аизга) it is (in a stale оГ having been) shewn (that...)', where the a-vowel is ihe 3rd person non-human Column II affix marking the (obligatory but here non-specific) indirect object Идырбоуп 'It is (in a slate o f having been) shewn to them' Ахацәа гылеит 'The men stood up' vs Аргылаацәа а(б)ри аан(ы )ҿыц дыргылеит 'The builders (аргылаа) built (= made stand) this new house' Ашә аатуеит 'The door opens ([а]аатра)' vs Ашә аадыртувит 'They are opening the door'; Ашә аарт(ы)уп The door is open' Ала ажьа акит The dog caught the rabbit (ажьа)' vs Унапы сыркы! 'Give me your-MASC hand (to hold)!'; cf. Ашә акуеит 'The door is shutting' (where the reference o f the 3rd person non-human agent-prefix is opaque) vs Агәашә аркы! 'Shut the gate (агәашә)!', Аденџьыр аумыркын! 'Don't (to a man) close the window (аҧенџьыр)!'; Ашә арк(ы)уп 'The door is shut'; Ааны амца акиг 'The house caught fire (амца)' vs Аҭыҭын амца аиркит 'He lit the tobacco', Алампа алыркит 'She lit Ihe lamp'; Сқьаадқәа зегьы сшәыра иасыркит 'I found room for all my papers in my salchel (ашәыра)' А(б)ри ацла абааррақәа рҿоуп (рҿы ауп) иахьазҳауа ’Il is in marshlands (абаарра) where/that this tree grows' vs Аҳәынҭқарра амал есышықәса иаҳаиаҳа иаздырҳауеит They increase ihe weallh (амал) o f the state (аҳәынҭқарра) more and more each year'; cf. this alternative way o f expressing multiplication with the one offered in Lesson 10: Хәба фынтә иаз(ы)урҳар, икало(и)т оажәи-жәаба 'I f one multiplies (you-MASC multiply) five by six, it w ill be/the result is thirty' Аӡы зжәит 'I drank some water' vs Аӡы сыржә! 'Give (to a (wo)man) me a drink o f waler!'

2 As w ill now be obvious, the Abkhazian words for 'pupil' and 'teacher' differ by virtue o f the presence in Ihe latter o f the causative marker, both being derived from the root -aa- 'Icam' plus agent-forming derivational suffix -в(ы).

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Аҳақьымцоа ачымазаа дҧыркеит 'The doctors operated on (= cut) (аҧкара) the sick person' = Аҳақьымцәа ачымазаа дыдҧсыркеит '1 got the doctors to operate on the sick person' Ахәыҷқәа рыдда карцеит The children did their homework (адца)’ vs Ран ахәыҷқәа рыдҵа длыркаҵеит T heir mother got the children to do their homework' (where wc note that the causative prefix now precedes the preverb, as indeed would the infixed negative, as seen in the next example); cf. Исҭахым с(ы)умыркацан! 'Don't (to a man) make me do what I don't want!' Лыбжьы смаҳаит 'I didn't hear her voice' vs Быбжьы сыбмырҳан! 'Don't let me hear your-FEM voice!' (the verb is placed here even though il is unclear whether il should be analysed as a transitive or bivalent intransitive verb, as discussed in an earlier lesson) I f one lakes the diclionary-entry арашәара 'weed' and considers the examples: Жәацы дбаҳауан, иацы драшәон 'Two days ago (s)hc was digging (абаҳара); yesterday (s)hc was weeding' vs Аџьықәреи/Аҧш ирашәо(и)т 'He is weeding the maize' one would probably suspect that the rool is -рашәа- and think no more about it. other than thal it exists in both an intransitive and a transitive guise. However, one has also lo consider ihe following: Ауҭракацаацәа руҭрақәа драшәон The vegetable-gardeners (ауҭракацаа) were weeding their vcgelable-plols (ауҭра)' where the д-variani for the 3rd person plural Column III agent-prefix proves thal ihe -p- is the causative formant rather than the initial consonant o f the root. The -p- to -д- transformation illustrated above does not happen i f the pronominal prefix in question precedes a preverb in the causalivised verbal complex. In иргәаладыршәеит 'They reminded (агәаларшәара) them o f it/them (= made it/lhem fall into their heart)', Ihe Column III agent prefix undergoes the shift, as it stands alter the preverb, whereas the Column II oblique objcct prefix does not, as it precedes the preverb. In ирзыргәаламыршәеит 'They could nol remind them o f it/them', neither prefix undergoes the shift, as both precede the preverb. We have been examining causative forms o f basic intransitive and transitive verbs. These basic verbs have so far been mono- or bivalent. What happens i f the basic verb is trivalent (for example, a dilransilive)? Though Abkhaz has no absolute ban on quadrivalent verbs, as exemplified by: Acac аҳкәажә асалам ҳазлиҭеит 'The guest gave greetings (асалам) lo the princess (аҳкәажә) on our behalf it docs not permit causatives lo be formed from ditransitives in the way described above. Instead the language resorts to a construction similar lo that o f English. The verb 'make, do' in either its non-causative or causative guise is used as main verb. 154

whilst ihe verb conveying the activity being caused stands in what is known as its Resullative form; if the causalivised option is selected for the main verb, then Ihe agent o f the embedded verb w ill also figure as indirect object o f ihis causative main verb. The Resullative probably developed from the non-finile Future I in its pa-variant through the suffixation o f -тәы. Added lo a verbal rool (or slcm), this suffix produces the equivalent to 'that which is to VERB/be VERBed', e.g. агьстәы 'creature (literally: that which is destined to die)' сы 'soul', which would make 'Abkhazian' literally 'soulperson' and 'Abkhazia' literally 'soul-land'. However, as noted in Footnote 6 o f Lesson I , Vjacheslav Chirikba has pointed oul lhal in the northern Bzyp dialect 'Abkhazian' is in phonctic transcription [opcwa] and 'Abkhazia' is [opens], whereas Ihe word for 'soul' is [apss], i.e. Ihe sibilants are different. Bzyp then provides the clue as to Ihe Irue etymology, which Chirikba links to the verb аҧсра 'die', phonetically laptsra] in Bzyp, and concludes thal the actual etymology o f the Abkhazians' selfdesignalion is 'mortal', whilst ihe name o f their country w ill originally have meant 'land o f the mortals'.

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Иусура цамырхит 'They deprived him o f his job (= sackcd him4)' vs Аиҳабыра иусура дамрымхыртә (и)карпеит/(и)ддыркацеит 'The government (|а]аиҳабыра) caused them nol lo sack him/prevented them Irom sacking him' Reciprocals Where an English senlencc contains the words 'each other' or 'one another', we are dealing with a category called reciprocality, holding between two o f the verb's arguments, one o f them usually (but nol obligatorily) being the subject/agent, and we shall now sec how Abkhaz adapls its verb-forms to accommodate this category. I f the iwo relevant arguments are indicated only by pronouns, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd person personal pronouns, if present, are reduplicated to give: ҳара-ҳара, шәарашәара, дара-дара5, respectively. But, as might by now be anticipated, the verb-form loo is affected, and regarding the verb's internal structure, as with some other features, wc have lo distinguish between transitive and intransitive verbs. Let us start with the intransitive class. In bivalent intransitives the reciprocal relationship w ill hold between the verb's subject and indirect (or, if dependent on a preverb, oblique) object. The normal column II affix representing the latter argument w ill be replaced by the reciprocal marker -аи- (usually pronounced [e:], unless preceded by ҳ-, in which case the open vowel is retained), as in: Ҳрыхәаҧшуан 'We were looking at them' vs (Ҳара-ҳара) ҳаихәап>шуан 'We were looking at each other/one another' Шәысзыӡырауама? 'Are you-PL listening lo me?' vs (Шәара-шәара) шәеизыӡырауама? 'Are you-PL listening to each olher/one another?’ Избысуазыз? 'Why were they hitting you-FEM?' vs Дара-Дара зеисуазыз?/Изеисуазыз? 'Why were they hitting each other/one another?' In the last verb exemplified the intransitive reciprocal affix retains its original function with the intransitive root -c- 'hit', replacing the verb's indirect object-prcfix. However, assuming we are not dealing wilh a homonymous affix, il has also taken on the role with this root o f a preverb, such that this preverb-root combination means 'quarrel (with)', as in: А(б)ри аҷкәын есқьынагьы деисуеит This boy is forever (есқьынагьы) quarrelling'; Амшын еисуеит The sea is surging'; Игәы еисуеит 'His heart is racing; he's agitated’; Узсеисуеи? 'Why are you-MASC quarrelling wilh me?’; Шәмеисын! 'Don't quarrel (w ilh one another/each other)!', where we see fusion between preverb/reciprocal formant and the root

4 Also possible for this is: Аусурантәихы цақәиҭыргзит (ахақәиҭтәра). “’ I f humans arc the participants, an alternative is азәи-азәи; for non-hunians the alternative is вки-аки.

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This preverb is also found in (а|аигәырҕьара 'look w ilh pleasure on, lake pleasure from, rejoice in', (а)аихырхәара 'bow down before', [а|аип>хыӡра 'dream o f, |а]аихсра 'shoot at', [а]аихара 'strain', and [а1аигӡара 'spare', as in: (Уа(ра)) yaapa ҳаигзырҕьо(и)т 'We lake great pleasure in your-MASC coming’ Иувихырхәада? 'Who bowed down before you-MASC?' Сбеиҧхыӡит 'I dreamt o f you-FEM' Шәақьла дхысуеит 'X shoots (ахысра) wilh a rifle (ашәақь)' vs Ажьақәа уреих(ы)с! 'Shool (to a man) at the rabbits!' Зны нак дахо(и)т, зны арахь дахо(и)т 'Now (зны) (s)he heads (axapa) thither (нак), now hither (арахь)'; Ахәыҷы акыка дахо(и)т The child sucks (axapa) the breast (акыка)'; Аҭыҭын сах(аӡ)ом 'I don'l smoke (axapa)'; аҭыҭын иах(ак,ә)о рзы авагон 'carriage for smokers' vs Аҽыз еихо(и)т axa изгыл(аӡ)ом 'The chestnui-coloured (аз) horse strains but cannot gel up'; Шәеиха ҧхьака 'Press forward (ҧхьака) (lo a plurality)!'; Ахәыҷы иан лахь деихо(и)т The child strains towards his mother'; Бмеихан! 'Don'l (lo a woman) strain6!', where again we see fusion o f preverb and rool Аҽқәа дреигӡом 'He doesn't spare the horses'; Умариа ибар, дуеигӡарым 'If he sees something easy/weak aboul you-MASC. he won't spare you1; Ухы уамеигӡан! 'Don't (lo a man) spare yourself!', where again there is fusion o f preverb with rool We know lhat the Causative formant (along wilh its associated Column III agentprefix) as well as the preradical negalive marker should split preverb from root, but, if we take the second verb from the six just illustrated and negate it in the Aorist, (he fact lhat the negative formant precedes the element -еи- suggests again (as noted for some examples presented above) thal the preverb has fused w ilh an already compound stem lo form one o f even greater complexity, e.g. Аҧҳәыс анцәа димеихырхәеит The woman did nol bow down before God' In some cases one can delect a clear semantic shift from literal to metaphorical meaning in verbs incorporating the reciprocal element -аи-. Consider [а]аиқәшәара, literally Tall upon one another/each other': Лассы-лассы ҳаиқәшәо(и)т 'We often meet (one another/each other)' Казшьала (и)еиқәшәом 'They don't suit one anolher/each other in temperament (аказшьа)' Ахә азы/Хаыла иеиқәымшәеит (= иеиламӡеит from | а|аилаӡара) They did nol come to an agreement on (-зы /-ла) the price (ахә)' Аҧсуа-аурыстә Жәар -- еиқәиршәеит A. Н. Генко 'Abkhaz-Russian Dictionary (ажзар) — A. N. Genko compiled it = compiled by A. N. Genko'

6Or, in the conlcxl o f a woman in labour. 'Don’l push!'.

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аизгаҿы иеиқәыршзоу атекстқәа 'ihe texts (атекст) brought together in the collection' У(бр)и ааныргылара иаҭах(ы)у амаҭәахә зегьы еиқздыршзеит 'They prepared/ organised/got ready all the material (амаҭзахәы) neccssary lor Lhat house­ building (ааныргылара)' Хшыала, дыррала деиқәшәоуп '(S)hc is equipped/endowed with intelligence (ахшыа) (and) learning (адырра)' Ацаразы шәеиқәшәоума? 'Are you-PL ready for going?' Apyaa аарлаҳәа иҧсы ҭаиы деиқзхеит The soldier (apyaa) only just (аарлаҳәа) survived ([а]аиқәхара) alive' vs Аҳақьым аҧсразы иказ деиқәирхеит 'The doctor saved the person who was set for/on the point o f death' The reciprocal affix in the last set o f examples appears in conjunction with the preverb -қә(ы)- 'on', and we are already familiar with it appearing alongside-л(ы)Trom inside' with the rool - k - 'grasp, hold' plus its rool-suffix -aa- in [а]аилкаара 'understand, find out', and we see it with same preverb in |а|аилыргара 'sort out, make sense of, pick out', e.g. Иарҳәаз изеилмыргеит 'He could not make sense o f what they told him' but il is used more widely. Consider its presence alongside two other preverbs -ҿ(ы)'from w ithin’ and -д(ы )- 'from under1in: Арзамаҭ дуаа-еилкьоуп - инапы иан(ы)уҵо зе гш бзианы (и)еиҿикаауеит 'Arzamat is a nimble-minded (|а]аилкьа) chap — everything you place in (андара) his hand(s) he organises well'; Аизара даара иеиҿкаан The meeting was (in a slate o f having been) very organised' Ишьапҳәа еидихит 'He stretched (|а]аидыхра) his legs'; Аты амдзыжзаақза еиднахит The owl (аты) stretched its wings (амдәыжәаа)'; Убҕаеидых! 'Slraighten your-MASC back (абқа)!' Readers w ill have noticed lhat some o f the examples adduced to illustrate the formant -аи- have been transitive, but the essentially INlransitive reciprocal marker is natural bccause the reciprocal relationship (whether literal or metaphorical) docs not involve the transitive subject (agent), holding rather between direct and indirccl/oblique objects. It is now lime, however, lo examine how reciprocalily is handled when the relationship is contracted between the transitive-subject (agent) and either the direct or indirect/oblique object o f the verb. Let us begin with bivalent transitives where reciprocalily has to hold between agent and direct object. Counter-intuitively, it is the agent-affix which yields its slot to the formant -аиба-, in most cases pronounced [e:ba], e.g. Бзиа ҳаибабо(и)т 'We love each other/one another'; Бзиа шәеибабо(и)т 'You love each other/one another'; Бзиа (и)еибабо(и)т They love each other/one another'

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Ҳаибадыруеит 'We know cach olhcr/onc anoihcr'; Шәеибадыруеит 'You know each olher/one another’; (И)еибадыруеит 'They know cach olhcr/one another'; Шоеибадыр! 'Get lo know cach other/one anoihcr! = A llow me to introduce you to each olhcr/one anoihcr!'; cf. Ҳзеибамдыр(и)т 'We could nol gel to know/rccognise cach other/one another', where the potential affix stands after the Column I affix, being the one lo identify the persons involved Ашәарыцацәа машәырла (машәыршақә) (и)еибашьит The hunters killed each olhcr/onc another by accident (амашәыр)'; |а]аибашьра, apart from mcaing 'kill each olher/onc another', is used as the noun 'war' (аџьынџьылатә аибашьра 'the Patriotic War') and as the verb lor 'fight', in which case it is intransitive, as in: Ҳаибашьцәа хьӡырҳзагақәа агьсадгьыл ахақәиҭреи ахьыҧшымреи рзы (и)еибашьуан 'Our renowned (ахьӡырҳәага) Fighters ((а)аибашыьы) were fighting for Ihe liberation (ахақәиҭра) and independence (ахьыҧшымра) o f the motherland (аҧсадгьыл)' — the verb can be used with an indirect object in the sense o f 'fight against’, as in: Среибашьуан (variant Срабашьуан) 'I was fighting (against) them'7 Take now the dilransilive verb аҭара 'give' with reciprocalily holding between agent and indirect object: Аҧара ҳаибаҭо(и)т 'We give (the) money to each other/one another' where it is still the agent-affix which yields lo the reciprocal formant. For another ditransitive 'say lo, tell' we have an option: eilher replace the agent-affix according lo the norm just described or replace the Column Г1 indirect object affix, and in this instance the reciprocal marker is preferably modified, as shewn in: Иреибаҳәо(и)т/(И)еибырҳәо(и)т They tell (il to) each other/one another' One might ask whether substitution o f the indirect object affix is also possible wilh the rool 'give'. The answer is thal il IS possible, but preferably only when reciprocalily holds between direct and indirect object, as in: (И)еибаҳҭеит 'We gave them; to each other/one anoiherj' This is something o f an anomaly, as the formant -аиба- usually only replaces cither the actual agent-affix (of Column III) or a Column II affix thal represents an agent at some level o f derivation, as when a transitive verb is causalivised. Consider ihe following: Ҳаибап>шәыркеит 'You-PL made us cut each other/one another' vs Ҳашәҧибаркеит 'You-PL made each olher/one another cut us', where the reciprocal prefix is modified lo -иба- when following a preverb (cf. Иҳақәибахмт 'Wej lifted it/them o ff (ақәхра) cach olher/one anoiherj' vs

7Givcn the different meanings that this verb can convey, an unambiguous way o f translating 'they killed each olher/one another', as in the llrst example o f this p a rtic u la r group, would be: (и)еибарп,с1!т, literally 'they caused each other/one another to die'.

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(И)еиқоаҳхит 'We lilted themj o ff each other/one anoiherj', though at a push this Iasi example could also have the meaning o f the immediately preceding one) Аҳзындзрақәа еибасыркит 'I fastened the buttons (literally: made them grip one another)' There is one last observation to be made about reciprocals in -аиба-, often (but nol necessarily) in conjunction with the causative marker. Consider the following: Акәҷарақәа еибархь(ы)ус(ы)ууа иалагеит 'The chicks (акзҷышь) all started whimpering (ахь(ы)ус(ы)ура)' Аҽқәа зегьы аыдибаркьеит/аадибаркьеит 'The horses all suddenly (a(a)-) shot o ff (адкьара) together' Ахәыҷқәа еибараит 'The children all ran (aapa)' Аҧстәқәа еибарс(ны) ицеит 'The animals went o ff in a mad dash (literally: making one another hit one another)' Егьырҭ аддыҳәа иналхибаҳәеит 'The others hauled one another onwards in sudden mass-movemenl (аддыҳәа) over (ахҳәара) her = They all surged in a mass over her' Though it is possible to translate these examples as reciprocals (e.g. 'The chicks started making one another whimper', etc..), the meaning is essentially merely that all the actanis acted together. Exercises Translate into English 1. Шәанбеибадыри? Баҳәшьа жәацы ҳаибалырдырит. 2. Ахьа (chestnut) бзиа изымбо уаа дҳамбац. Ииашоума? Саб ахьа адкьыс акакан еш>ьеишьо(и)т. 3. Кадатоыс иҳамои? Акгьы. Хьаас икашәымцан! Шәа(ра) каҵатәыс ишәымаз шзаызцәа икарцахьеит. 4. Аҳәыҳәқәа аҧш рҿабдартә (и)казцада/(и)бзыркаҵада? 5. Шәеиқәзыршоада? Ҵ ы пл Уадҳара ҳаҧсы анаҳшьоз, уашьа ҳаиқзиршәеит. 6. Аибашьра шҧалгеи? Исхашҭит. Исгзалашәыршәеи! 7. У(бр)и аҧҳәызба дзырыччои? У(бр)и дыччом. Ип>сыз лашьа дылдә(ы)уо(и)т. 8. Быӡқаб лнапы слыркыр, амашьына дҭартәаны ақалаҳь ахь дызгап. 9. Уоыза ақырҭцәа дырҿагыланы дреибашьуан. Уажәы дшәаны дӡыӡуеит. У(бр)и акара дзырӡызи? 10. Ажзаҧка ҳамоуп: ‘Зҧа дымҧсыц, уҧа диумырцз(ы)уан.’ Ижздыруазар (= Ижздыруама)? Translate into Abkhaz 1. I f one takes thiriy-sevcn from cighty-six, the answer is forty-nine.

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2. Is il possible for you-PL to shew me Ihe book you bought for your parents? 3. Why huvc the builders not already settled on a price lor building this new house? 4. Our son and our daughter have already clcancd their rooms. They have already washed (themselves). And so, they should be ready for going lo the cinema. 5. Let's listen lo these beautiful songs! No, I've already listened to them. Lei's wash our hands and eat! I've already washed mine. M y mother made me wash them. 6 . 1 would have organised everything for you-PL, but at lhat lime I became ill and was confined to bed. 7. The pupils have already forgotten everything that their teachers taught them. Can you-PL remind them (of il)? 8. Why didn't you-PL use the material which was in the yard? We didn’t see it. 9. Is the door open? Who opened it? M y son opened it. Why didn't YOU-M ASC open it. 10. Remain seated (to a plurality) without saying anything! Straighten your backs! Don't stretch your legs! There's no room here.

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Lesson 12

In this lesson you will learn about: • The Pluperfect lense (affirmalive and negalive, finile and non-finile) • Relatives based on the Pluperfect • The Future II lense (affirmative and negative, finile and non-finite) • Relatives based on the Future II • The Conditional I lense (affirmative and negalive, finite and non-finite) • Relatives based on ihe Conditional I • The Conditional II tense (affirmative and negative, finite and non-finile) • Relatives based on ihe Conditional II • The formation o f past and unreal conditions • Some other combinations with prolasis-forms • Interrogative and subordinate formations for ihe four lenses introduced in this lesson

This lesson w ill complete the description o f the lense-system.

The Pluperfect The finite form o f Ihe Pluperfect Indicative for Dynamic verbs, which translates the English 'had already VERBed', is produced by replacing ihe finite suffix o f the Perfect -ит w ilh - h : Patterns for the Formation o f the Finite Affirm alive Pluperfect Indicative o f Dynamic Verbs

(s)he had

дцахьан

da.tsa.xb-n

already

(s)he had

дыҧсхьан

da.ps.xkin

already died

gone

To negate the finite Pluperfect Indicative, the negative marker occupies its prcradical slot, and ihe compound ending -зт is placed after the ending -u o f the corresponding negated Perfect: Patterns for the Formation o f the Finile Negative Pluperfect Indicative o f Dynamic Verbs

162

(s )h c had

дымца-

d s .m .ts a -

(s )h c h ad

ДЫМҦ СЫ-

d s .m p s o -

n o l a lr e a d y

(ӡа)цызт

(d z a )ts a .-

n o t a lr e a d y

цызт/дым-

ts a . z ( . ) t ’/ d a . -

z (.)f

d ie d

ҧсӡацызт

m p s .d z a -

gone

ts a . z ( . ) t ‘

There are iwo variants for the affirmative non-finile Pluperfect. The relevant suffixal sequences are either -хьаз or -цыз. For the relative form the appropriate relative affix

(И -,

if relativisation is on the Column I argument, otherwise з-) stands in

its designated slot:

Patterns for the Formation o f the Non-finite Affirm ative Pluperfect Indicative o f Dynamic Verbs (Relativised)

who/which

ицахьаз

ja.tsa.xta-z

who/which

иҧсхьаз

ja.ps.xiaz

had already

/

/

had already

/

/

gone

ицацыз

ja.tsatsa.z

died

ИЦСЫЦЫЗ

ja.psa.tsa.z

To produce the negative relativised non-finite equivalent, the negative marker - m occupies its normal non-finite slot (i.e. immediately before the root), and, again, with these particular roots there is a shift o f stress onto the relative prefix, but in addition to the two suffixal sequences seen above in the affirmative non-finite Pluperfect one can now also select the sequence -хьацыз, e.g.

Patterns for the Formation o f the Non-finite Negalive Pluperfect Indicative o f Dynamic Verbs (Relativised)

who/which

имца(ӡа)хь-

jamtsa.-

who/which

имп,с-

ja.rn.ps.-

had not

аз/имца-

(dza.)xjaz/

had not

(ӡа)хьаз/

(dza.)xia.z

already

(ӡа)хьацыз

je.rn.tsa.-

already died

имҧс(ӡа)-

/ja.mps.-

/имца(ӡа)-

(dza)xia.-

хьацыз/

(dza)xJa-

цыз

tsaz/ja.m-

имҧс(за)-

tsa.z/ja.m.-

tsa.(dza.)-

цыз

ps.(dza)tsa.z

gone

tsa.z

Examples (for both finite and non-finite forms): Иасон аимцакьача дасхьан, Алиас уажәада дамысцызт 'Jason had already played (literally: hit) aymts’akl’acha (a type o f ball-game); Alias had not played il apart from (-да) now (уажәы)' 163

Асҭамыр иҽирхион/иҽеибиҭон, аха ашкол дагхахьан 'Aslainyr was gelling himself ready (аҽырхиара/аҽеибыҭара), bul he was (= had already become) lale for school' Данакеи ижәлар бзиа дырбон, ашәагьы ихырҳәаахьан 'His people loved Danaq’ej and had already composed aboul (ахҳәаара) him a song' Ашьхақәа ҭагаланшьҭахьтәи рымаҭәа-раыҭәа пшӡақоа рышәхыӡаахьан 'The mountains had been stripped o f (ашәхыӡаара1) their beautiful post-autumnal (ҭагаланшьҭахьтәи) apparcl/lrappings (амаҭәа-аыҭәа)’ Амра ашьхаиаавцын аҽыакыднахалахьан 'The sun had come up skirling (авҵра plus aa-) ihe mounlain(s) and fixed ilself alongside it (аҽкыдхалара) up there (a(a)-)' Цқьа имшацызт. Ааны аӡәгьы ҳамгылацызт 'Dawn had nol yet broken (ашара) properly (цқьа). A l home none o f us2 had yci risen' У(ба)скан ачанах закәыз рыздыруамызт, ацәцагьы рымбаӡацызт 'A l thal time (у(ба)скан) they (the ancienls] did not know whal a plate was, and they had not yel seen a glass (ацәца)' Абгахәыҷы аақәгьежьааит, axa излаҭалаз агәашә ыдҳалахьан The fox (абгахәыҷы) quickly (aa-) spun around on the spot (ақәгьежьаара), but the gate (агәашә) through which it (had) entered had slammed shut (адҳалара1*)' Заа иеилдыргахьаз арахәқәа ажәгәарақәа ирҭатәан The cattle (арахә) which they had early (заа) quartered ([а]аилыргара) were sealed in the cowpens (ажәгәара)' Амаамын зымбацызгьы рацәааны икан There were many folk who had nol yel even (-гьы) seen a monkey (амаамын)' Уаанӡа иабажәхьаз ахш, иабафахьаз аконфеҭ? 'Before then (уаанӡа) where had il drunk m ilk (axui) [andj where had it eaten sweets (аконфеҭ)?' Даара акыр инаскьахьаз Сасрыкәа иҽы аҵыхәа ааиҧыхьашәеит 'His horse's tail (ацыхәа) suddenly (aa-) fell into the hands (аҧыхьашәара4) o f Sasrykw'a [hero o f the national Nart epic], who had moved away (анаскьара) a considerable distance (даара акыр)'

The Future II

*Here -Ш О Х Ы - is Ihe preverb, -3- ihe rool, -aa- the root-suffix. 2The meaning 'none o f us' derives from Ihe combination o f Ihe free-standing азәгьы 'no-one1 wilh the subjecl-prefix ҳа- 'we'. •*Hcre -д- is the preverb, -ҳа- the root, -ла- Ihe rool-suffix. 4 Here -ҧыхьа- is ihe preverb, -шәа- the root.

164

The Fulure II is not especially common, conveying nuances o f obligation, likelihood, or probability. Its affirmative finite form is produced by adding the finite ending

-T

lo Ihe tense-marking suffix -hi:

Patterns for the Formation o f the Finile Affirm alive Future II Indicative o f Dynamic Verbs

(s)hc w ill

datsag.t’

дцашт

(s)he w ill

surely go

дыҧсышт

d3.psa.g.t’

surely die

To negate the finite Fulure II Indicative, the negalive marker simply replaces the affirmative finite suffix

-t ,

and the tense-marker lakes on its full form o f - ш а :

Patterns for the Formation o f the Finite Negalive Fulure II Indicative o f Dynamic Verbs

(s)he w ill

дца(за)шам

d a .ts a (d z a )-

(s)he w ill

дыҧсышам

d a .p s o .g a .m /

g a .m

surely not

/

d 3 . p s .d z a -

die

дыҧсӡашам

g a .m

surely nol go

The affirmative non-finite Future II Indicative simply loses Ihe finite suffix

-t ,

whilst the lense-suffix lakes on its full form o f -uia. For the relative form Ihe appropriale relative affix (и-, if relalivisation is on the Column I argument, otherwise 3-) stands in its designated slot: Patterns for the Formation o f the Non-finite Affirm ative Future II Indicative o f Dynamic Verbs (Relativised)

who/which

ицаша

who/which

иҧсыша

js .p s a .g a

w ill surely

w ill surely 8?

ja . t s a g a

die

-

To produce the negative relativised non-finite equivalent, ihe negalive marker

-m -

slots into its normal preradical position, and, again, with these particular roots there is a shift o f stress onto the relative prefix. With these non-finite forms (and with all other finite and non-finile forms lo be presented below) the intensifying suffix -ӡа- seems infelicitous:

165

PaUcrns fo r the Formation o f the N on-finite Negative Future II Indicative o f Dynamic Verbs (Relativised)

who/which

имцаша

jo.m.tsa.ga

who/which

w ill surely

w ill surely

nol go

not die

имҧсыша

J9.mps(s).§a

Examples (for both finite and non-finite forms): Man бцәыркышт They w ill surely say 'no' to you-FEM (= refuse you)'; cf. the Fulure I, which occurs in the same talc: Азныказы мап икып 'A t first (азныказы) he w ill refuse' Ажәа бааҧсқәа рҳәара далагашт '(S)he is bound to start uttering foul (абааҧсы) words' Аӡә дышәиааишам 'No-one surely w ill defeat/gain victory over (аиааира) youPL’ ' Уани уаби реиҧш еыза дуоушам 'You-MASC w ill surely not acquire/find anyone (ааыза) like (-еиҧш) your parents' Уа(ра) и(ы)уфаша ауп узышьҭоу 'What you-MASC are seeking (ашьҭазаара) is what you w ill probably/surely eat' А(б)ри аизгаҿы иарбоуп иҧиоу ажәаҳәақәа иҧиам ажәаҳәақәа рыла и(ы)уп>сахша 'In this collection are shewn direct (аҧиа6) sialcmenls ([а]ажәаҳәа) which you-MASC are (= one is)

10

replace (аҧсахра) with indirect

statements' Ацаацәа ирдыруазароуп иаҳа ҳасаб ззыр(ы)уша апринцип 'Students should know the principle(s) o f which they should lake more (иаҳа) account (аҳасаб)7’ Аабатәи, ахҧатәи акәшақәа рҿы иарбоуп ацаацәа аани акласси рҿы хыҭҳәаала ираыша 'In the 2nd [and] 3rd sections (акәша) is shewn what the students should write at home and in class using their imagination (ахыҭҳәаа)' Арцаеы аграмматиказы изхысуа ахәҭа иақәнагахаша атекстқәа алихуеит The teacher selects (алхра) the texts which should be(come) suitable (ақәнага = 'just desserts') to ihe pari (ахәҭа) which they are covering (literally: crossing over) (ахысра) in (= for) the grammar (аграмматика)' The C onditional 1

5The verb is a bivalent intransitive. 6Thc adjective is twice used in Ihis example in the form ol' a relativised Slative verb, firstly positive and then negated. 7Note lhat in the colloquialism ҳасаб аз(ы)ура 'take account o f (literally: make account for)' the noun lacks ihe article; cf. ҳасаб азджәуы! 'Take account o f il (to a plurality)!'.

166

This tense might be thought o f as a past equivalent to the Future I. Il sometimes equates lo the English 'would VERB; would have VERBed', but, as the Impcrfecl also is translalcablc in this way, the Imperfect is more commonly used. It is also sometimes found as a Fulure Perfect wilh the meaning 'w ill have VERBed' or even as a kind o f Future wilh the meaning 'w ill just VERB'. The affirmalive form o f the lense is produced by suffixing the finile ending the cnd-sequcncc

-h

lo the Future tense-marker - р ы lo give

-р ы н :

Patterns for the Formation o f the Finite Affirm ative Conditional I Indicative o f Dynamic Verbs

(s )h e w o u ld

дцары н

d a .ls c L rs .n

(s ) h c w o u ld

g o / w o u ld

d ic /w o u ld

have gone

h a v e d ie d

ды ҧ сры н

To negate the finile Conditional I, ihe affirmalive finile suffix

-h

d a .p s .r s .n

is replaced by the

composite ending -зт, and the negative marker stands between this ending and the Future tense-marker to give the end-sequence -рымызт: Patterns for the Formation o f the Finite Negalive Conditional I o f Dynamic Verbs

(s )h e w o u ld

дцарымызт

nol

da. t s a r s , т ә -

(s )h e w o u ld

дыҧсры-

d a . p s .r a .m a -

• z (.)f

nol

М Ы ЗТ

z (.)f

g o / w o u ld

d ie /w o u ld

not have

n ot have

gone

d ie d

The affirmalive non-finite Conditional I simply replaces the finite suffix

-h

with

its non-finite equivalent, namely -з. For the relative form the appropriate relative affix (и-, i f relalivisalion is on ihe Column I argument, otherwise 3-) stands in its designated slot: Patterns for the Formation o f the Non-finite Affirm alive Conditional I o f Dynamic Verbs (Relativised)

167

who/which

ицарыз

ja.tsa.ra.z

who/which

would

would

go/would

die/would

have gone

have died

иҧсрыз

js.ps.ra.z

To produce the negative relativised non-finite equivalent, the negative marker - m slot.s into its normal preradical position, and. again, w ilh these particular roots there is a shift o f stress onto the relative prefix: Paltems for the Formation o f the Non-finile Negative Conditional I o f Dynamic Verbs (Relativised)

who/which

имцарыз

ja.mtsa.ra.z

who/which

would nol

would not

go/would

die/would

nol have

not have

gone

died

имҧсрыз

js.mps.ra.z

Examples: Ашҭа сҭаларын 'I'll just go into (аҭалара) the yard (ашҭа)' Зны схы сыхьуеит иҳәаларын, зны сгәы сыхьуеит иҳәаларын 'Now (зны) he'd be in the habil (-ла-) o f saying "M y head aches"; now he'd be in the habil o f saying "M y heart's giving me pain"!'8 Икалаз уеизгьы уажәраанӡа ишәаҳарын 'A ll the same (уеизгьы) you-PL w ill have heard by now (уажәраанӡа) what happened1 Икарцарыз у(бр)и ихәыцит 'He thought oul (ахәыцра) what they would do' Ирхәыцрыз рзымоырит They didn't know what to think' The C onditional II This lense can be thought o f as a past equivalent lo the Future I. Its usage parallels thal o f ihe Conditional I to such an extent thal the iwo seem to be largely interchangeable wilh virtually no discernible difference in meaning. Thus, il sometimes equates lo the English 'would VERB; would have VERBed', but, as the Imperfect also is translaleable in this way, the Imperfect is more commonly used. It is also sometimes found as a Future Perfect wilh the meaning ‘w ill have VERBed' or even as a kind o f Fulure with the meaning 'w ill just VERB'. The affirmative form o f

8Fordirccl spccch (Oralio Recla) see Lesson 15.

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Ihe lense is produced by suffixing the finile ending - h lo ihe Future lensc-marker -ша to give the end-sequence -шан: Patterns lor the Formation o f the Finile Affirm ative Conditional II Indicative o f Dynamic Verbs

дцашан

(s)he would

da Isa. go. n

(s)he would

go/would

die/would

have gone

have died

дыҧсышан

To negate the finite Conditional II, the affirmative finite suffix

-h

dapso.gan

is replaced by

the composite ending -зт, and the negative marker stands between this ending and the Future tense-marker lo give the end-sequence -шамызт: Patterns for the Formation o f the Finite Negative Conditional II o f Dynamic Verbs

(s )h e w o u ld

дцашамызт

nol

d a ts a .g a -

(s )h e w o u ld

дыҧсыша-

d a psa. g a ­

m a z (.)t’

nol

М Ы ЗТ

m s. z ( . ) t ’

g o / w o u ld

d ie /w o u ld

n ot have

n o t have

gone

d ie d

The affirmative non-finile Conditional II simply replaces the finite suffix -h with its non-finite equivalent, namely -з. For the relative form the appropriate relative affix (И -,

i f rclalivisalion is on the Column I argument, otherwise

3 -)

stands in its

designated slot: Patterns for the Formation o f the Non-finite Affirm ative Conditional II o f Dynamic Verbs (Relativised)

who/which

ицашаз

jatsaga.z

who/which

would

would

go/would

die/would

have gone

have died

иҧсышаз

japsa.ga.z

To produce the negative relativised non-finite equivalent, the negalive marker - m slots into its normal preradical position, and, again, with these particular roots there is a shift o f stress onto the relative prefix:

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Patterns fo r the Formation o f the N on-finite Negative Conditional II ol' Dynamic Verbs (Relativised)

who/which

имцашаз

jemtsa.gQ.z

who/which

would not

would not

go/would

die/would

not have

not have

gone

died

имҧсшаз

jam.ps(3).ga.z

Examples (o f both finite and non-finite forms): Сцашан Ҭемыр иахь 'I'll just go lo Temur's' А(б)ри ииҳәашаз ҳәаны даналга,... 'When ihis person finished saying what he had lo say,...' Иа(ра) дызҭадыртәашаз ак(ы) абаказ? 'Where was ihere something in which they might seal him?' The instantiations o f the Conditional II in these last three examples could be substituted by the Conditional I, just as those instantialions o f the Conditional I given in the preceding sub-section could be substituted by the Conditional П.

Past and Unreal Conditions The conditions examined so far have been o f the real (vivid, immediate) type relating to the future or present. Wc can now consider those relating to the past and also survey unreal (vague, remote) conditions. The protasis-forming -зар has so far been encountered when suffixed lo the nonfinite Present tense o f Dynamic verbs or to the non-finile Present tense (minus final -y) o f Stalive verbs. It can also be attached to the non-finile Aorist to produce a real past condition and to the non-finile Perfect in -хьа (but minus the final -y) to produce a real Perfect condition, as in: Абҳәа-гәаҕьқоа уамхафазар, уажәыҵәкьа иҳауҳәароуп 'If you-MASC ate the plum stones (агәаҕь) accidentally, you must tell us right (-иәкьа) now' Ҳаҷкәын уахь днеихьазар, ирласны ателефон даҳзасуеит 'I f our son has already gone/reached (анеира) there, he w ill soon ring us' The combination o f -зар wilh the non-finite Aorist can even be used to create an unreal past condition, just as when attached lo the non-finite Slative Present it can produce an unreal past condition; both such formations arc seen in the next extended example: Ca(pa) сакәымзар, шәыҧҳа дышәзыҧшаауамызт, дшәыҧшаазаргьы, агәылшьап дышәзамхуамызт 'I f it had not been for me, you-PL would have

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been unable Lo find your daughter, and, if you had found (Vdid find) her, you would have been unable lo remove her from the dragon (агәылшьап)' In fact, even Ihe simple -p in association with the non-finite Aorist can form an unreal pasl condition, as in another example from the same lale thal furnished the preceding one: Агәылшьап сымшьыр, шәыҧҳа дышәзацыркьомызт 'Had I not slain the dragon, you-PL would have been unable lo wrench (ацыркьара1 -*) your daughter from its grasp' Conversely, in association with the non-finite Stative Present il can form a real pasl condilion, the choice o f verb in the apodosis clarifying the nature o f Ihe condition itself, e.g. Амра иацы а(б)ра дыказар, саргьы дызбон 'I f Amra had been here yesterday, I loo would have seen her' = UNREAL vs Амра иацы а(б)ра дыказар(гьы), са(ра) дзымбеит/дсымбеит '(Even) i f Amra was here yesterday, I didn't see her’ = REAL And, in association w ilh Ihe non-finite Aorist the formant -зар can even equate to a real perfect condilion, as in: Гәында-ҧшӡа адауажо даҳцәигазар, ca(pa) соуп ахьымӡҕ зд(ы)у 'I f the old ([а]ажә) ogre (адауы) has taken the Beautiful Gunda from us, I am the one on whom the shame (ахьымӡҕ) rests (адзаара)' As for the simple -p, in association with the non-finite Aorist, the protasis can even represent an unreal fulure condition, as in: Уаҵәы ҳаиҧылар, ап>ара бысҭон 'I f we were to meet (each other) (аҧылара10) tomorrow, I'd give you-FEM the money' But there is anoihcr protasis-forming suffix. This is the compound -зҭгьы, which is the most usual formant for producing an unreal condition. In association with the non-finile Present o f Dynamic verbs, the resulting protasis can be either unreal present o f progressive aspect (which means lhat the envisaged action would be ongoing) or real past progressive, e.g. У(бр)и адыс а(б)ра иалатәаны ашәа аҳәозҭгьы, зынӡа иџьашьахәхон 'If that bird were silling in il here and singing, il would be(come) an absolutely (зынӡа) amazing thing (аџьашьахәы)' Амаҭәақәа лыӡәӡәозҭгьы, хымҧада шәахьан 'I f she was washing clothes, it was surely (хымҧада) Monday' In association wilh the non-finile Aorisl, the sense produced is lhat o f either a real or unreal pasl condilion, e.g. y ln this verb ihe preverb is -цыр-, the root -кьа-. '«In Ihis verb Ihe preverb is -ҧ>ы-, the root -ла-.

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Дзаралхазҭгьы, игәы иазымычҳазт, иваныза ткәацзар акәхап 'II' lie became financially damaged (азаралхара), his heart could nol bear (ачҳара) it, and his spleen (аваныза) probably exploded (аткәацра)' Цьпьхтәи схәыл убазҭгьы (/убар), иагьа/егьа иџьоушьарын 'II'you-MASC hat seen my kohlrabi-cabbage (ахәыл) o f last year (ҵыҧхтәи), you'd have been really (иагьа/егьа) surprised (аџьашьара) al il' Suffixed to the non-finile Perfect (minus ihe final -y), the formanl provides a variant for an unreal pasl condition, as in: Жәацы ҳаиҧылахьазҭгьы (/ҳаигьылазҭгьы), аҧара бысҭон 'I f wc had met (each olher) the day before yesterday, I'd have given you-FEM the money' Suffixed lo Ihe non-finite Present o f Stalive verbs (minus the final -y), the formant can produce unreal present-future, unreal past, or real pasl conditions, as in: Ҧшьба аиазҭгьы, еиҳагьы иҕәҕәахон 'If it (sc. a 3-legged horse) had11 four (sc. legs), il would become even more powerful (аҕәҕәа)' Саида иацы а(б)ра дыказҭгьы, аҧсыӡ лҳарбон 'I f Saida had been here yesterday, we'd have shewn her the fish (ап>сыз)' А(б)ри уҭахызҭгьы, исоуҳәар акәын 'If you-MASC wanted this, you should have told me' The formations and possible meanings o f the various protasis-iypes are now summarised: -p + Aorist stem: V ivid Future, Vague Future, Vague Pasl; -зар + Present stem: V ivid Fulure, Vivid Present Progressive; -зар + Aorist stem: V ivid Pasl, V ivid Perfect; -зар + Perfect stem: Vivid Perfect; -зар + Stalive stem: V ivid Present, Vague Present-Future, Vivid Past, Vague Past; -зҭгьы + Present stem: Vague Present Progressive, Vivid Past Progressive; -зҭгьы + Aorist stem: V ivid Pasl, Vague Past; -зҭгьы + Perfect stem: Vague Past; -зҭгьы + Stalive stem: Vague Present-Future, Vague Past, V ivid Past. There are, in fact, two other combinations involving -зар, but these w ill be explained once the Subjunctive mood has been introduced in the next Lesson.

Combinations involving prolasis-forms In Lesson 10 we saw that protasis-forms are used in conjunction wilh a variety of verbs to create the means o f expressing such notions as obligation, possibility and probability. We have now encountered a wider range o f protasis-forms, and, naturally, 1 'The verb here translated as 'have' is literally ацазаара 'be underneath', so that the literal translation would be: i f four (legs) were beneath it,...'.

172

more such combinations than it was possible to discuss in Lesson 10 exist. One such occurred a lew lines above, viz. Иваныза ткәацзар акәхап 'His spleen probably burst' where we have -зар attached lo the Aorist stem for an expression o f probability: attaching Lhc same suffix lo the Perfect stem (minus final -y) would give us: Иваныза ткәацхьазар акәхап 'His spleen has probably already burst' An expression o f obligation can be produced by coupling the copula wilh a protasisform in -зар added lo the Perfect slem (minus final -y), as in: Ҳаҧ,ҳа дцахьазар акәым/акәымызт 'Our daughter should nol already be/have been gone' The same suffix wilh cither an Aorist or Perfcct stem can be conjoined with (и)кало(и)т 'it is possible', e.g. Ҳаҧҳа дцазар/дцахьазар кало(и)т 'It may be lhat our daughter went/has already gone' I f we wish to state lhat an ongoing (imperfcctivc) action was probably taking place in (he pasl, then the prolasis-marker -зҭгьы is attached to the Present stem o f either a Stalive (minus final -y) or a Dynamic verb, whilst the main verb is either Ihe Fulure I акәхап or its Condilional I equivalent акәхарын, as in: И ус даҿызҭгьы/аус иуазҭгьы акәхап/акәхарын 'He was probably engaged in his work/working’

Interrogative and subordinate formations for the Pluperfect, Future II, Conditional I and Conditional 11 The forms, some o f which are nol especially common, are formed on the relevant non-finile slem in ways that should by now be entirely predicable, though the case o f the Pluperfect is complicated by the variety o f negated non-finite stems. A selection for each o f the four tenses is presented below, all formed on the root -ца- 'go': Pluperfect Дцахьазма? 'Had (s)he already gone?' Дымцахьаз/Дымцахьазыз/Дымцахьаззи/Дымцахшцыз/Дымцахьац(ы)зыз/ Дымцахьац(ы)ззи/Дымцацыз/Дымидц(ы)зыз/Дымцац(ы)ззи '(S)He had already gone, hadn't (s)he?' Дымцаӡахьаз (etc...) '(S)He hadn't already gone, had (s)lie?1 Ицахьадаз/Ицацыдаз? 'Who had already gone?' Ицахьаз?|2/Ицахьазыз?/Ицахьаззи/Ицшыз? (etc...) 'What had already gone?' Ианбацахьаз/Ианбацацыз? 'When had il/they already gone?' ианцахьаз/ианцацыз... 'when it/they had already gone...’

*-W ilh lengthened final vowel to indicate that il is a question.

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Future II Дцашама? 'Should (s)hc go?' Дымцашеи/Дымцашаз(е)и? '(S)he should go, shouldn't (s)hc?' Дымцазашеи/Дымцазашаз(е)и? '(S)he shouldn't go, should (s)he?' Ицашада? 'Who should go?' Ицашеи?/Ицашаз(е)и? 'What should go?' Дызцашеи? 'Why should (s)he go?' дышцаша... 'how/that (s)hc should go...' Conditional 1 Дцарызма? 'Should (s)he have gone?' Дымцарыз/Дымцарызыз/Дымцарыззи? '(S)He should have gone, shouldn't (s)he?' Дымцаӡарыз/Дымцаӡарызыз/Дымцазарыззи? '(S)He shouldn't have gone, should (s)he?' Ицарыдаз? 'Who should have gone?' Ицарыз?/Ицарызыз?/Ицарыззи? 'What should have gone?' Дабацарыз? 'Where should (s)he have gone?' дахьцарыз... 'where (s)he should have gone...' Conditional II Дцашазма? 'Should (s)he have gone?' Дымцашаз/Дымцашазыз/Дымцашаззи? '(S)He should have gone, shouldn't (s)he?' Дымцазашаз/Дымцаӡашазьгз/Дымцаӡашаззи? '(S)He shouldn't have gone, should (s)he?' Ицашадаз? 'Who should have gone?' Ицашаз?/Ицашазыз?/Ицашаззи? 'What should have gone?1 Дышҧацашаз? 'How should (s)he have gone?' дышцашаз... 'how/that (s)he should have gone...' Exercises Translate into English 1. Иӡкаб дрыцҳаршьазҭгьы, ирҭахыз рзыкалцон/рзыкалцарын/рзыкалҵашан. 2. У(бр)иаамҭазы икашәдоз? Ҳҽеибаҳҭозҭгьы акәхап/акәхарын. 3. Сан дыбзиаха(хьа)зар, аӡәгьы акгьы зсеимҳәахьаци? 4. Баҳәшьа а(б)ра дыказҭгьы, ба(ра) дбыццозма/дбыццарызма? 5. Шәышә ҿыц гәаеҭахьазҭгьы, ибзиоу ибзиам(ы)у еилыскаауан/еилыскаарын/ еилыскаашан.

1пл

6. Сыҧшәма аҧешьара зынӡа илыздырӡом. Луадаҿы уажоы лыҧсы лшьозҭгьы, даара ибзиан. 7. Быҷкәынцәа икарымдақзашаз кард(ал)он. 8. Саызцәа бзианы издыруеит. Аӡәы ацхыраара иҭахызар, у(бр)и ицхраашт. 9. Бус (аура) балагахьазҭгьы, уажәраанӡа балгон/балгарын/балгашан. 10. Иуаыз арцааы даҧхьахьазар кало(и)т.

Translate into Abkhaz 1. Why didn't you-PL take the books which you should have read? 2. I f the children had not eaten all the apples, they would not have become ill. 3. They didn't know where they should take/have taken the fox. I f they had not taken it lo school, nobody would have seen il. 4. I f you-FEM had nol returned from Moscow, you would not have been able to see our new house. 5. I f wc had known lhat, wc wouldn't have shewn the papers to anyone. 6. I f you-MASC had not told us whai your friends were wearing, we should nol have been able to recognise (know) one anoihcr. 7. Thai was not ihe monkey which ate the apples I had bought in the market. 8. I f your-FEM stomach was aching, you should have told your parents. 9. Our grandmother was very ill the day before yesterday. She has probably already died. 10. About whom had the Abkhazians already composed some songs?

17S

Lesson 13

In this lesson you will learn about: * The Cormulion and f'unclion o f the Subjunctive mood * The construction for the remaining conditions • The formation and function o f the Optative mood • The formation and function o f the Evidential mood

Subjunctive The Subjunctive is marked by the suffix -аа(и)т. It can be added lo four Dynamic forms and one Slative. These arc the non-finite bases o f (i) the Aorisl, (ii) the Pasl Indefinite, (iii) the Imperfect, and (iv) the Pluperfect (all o f whose negative forms take the negalive marker infixed before the root), as well as (v) the Stative Pasl (where Ihe negative marker follows the rool). Apart from those based on ihe Aorisl slem, all ihe remaining Subjunclivcs have the suffix -аа(и)т attached to a sequence ending in -з; in such cases il is actually possible to omit the Subjunctive suffix itself. Should the Aorist stem end in -a or in -aa, this ending simply merges with the Subjunctive ending itself1. Patterns for the Formation o f the Subjunctive Mood (for the a-final roots -ца- 'go' and -ka- 'be')

Aorisl-based

дцаа(и)т

Affirm ative Past Indefinite-

дцаз(аа(и)т)

based Affirm ative Imperfect-based

дцоз(аа(и)т)

Affirm ative

Past Indefinite-

дымцаз(аа(и)т)

Imperfect-based

дымцоз(аа(и)т)

Negalive дцахьаз(аа(и)т)

Affirm ative Stative Past-based

дымцаа(и)т

based Negative

Affirm alive Pluperfect-based

Aorisl-based Negative

Pluperfect-based

дымцахьаз(аа(и)т)

Negative дыказ(аа(и)т)

Stalive Past-based

дыкамзаа(и)т/

Negative

дыкамыз

Patterns for the Formation o f the Subjunctive Mood (for Ihe consonant-final roots -П)С(ы)- 'die' and -шә(ы)- 'be wearing')

* Though in даиаа(и)т 'Let him/her come!' Ihe palatal glide seems lo substitute for the second open vowel o f the root -aa-.

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Aorisl-based

дыП)Саа(и)т

Past Indefinile-

дып,сыз(аа(и)т)

based Affirm alive Impcrfccl-based

Past Indefinilc-

дымҧсыз(аа(и)т)

Imperfect-based

дымп>суаз(аа(и)т)

Negative ды ҧ,схьаз(аа(и)т)

Pluperfect-based

ишәыз(аа(и)т)2

Stalive Past-based

дымҧсхьаз(аа(и)т)

ишәымзаа(и)т/

Negative

ишәымыз

Negative

Affirm ative Stative Past-based

дымп>саа(и)т

based Negative дып,суаз(аа(и)т)

Affirm ative Pluperfect-based

Aorisl-based Negative

Affirmative

Affirm ative

Far and away ihe commonest couplings are those w ilh the Dynamic Aorist and the Slative Past for the respective meanings 'Lei X VERB' (with reference to future lime) and 'Let X be the case' (with reference to a present, ongoing stale), e.g. Шәымаҳә ихьӡ ала иаирсаа(и)т иаӡоу аҵәамахә 'Let your-PL brother-in-law (амаҳә1) plant (арсра4) in his name (ахьз) the branch (амахә) o f an apple which is full o f sap (аза)!' А(б)ри нахые уанаҭа 6арақьаҭрахаа(и)т, у(ба)рҭ уашьцәа уаҳа рмоуаа(и)т! 'Hereafter (а(б)ри нахыс) let your-MASC family (аанаҭа) be(come) blessed wilh bountifulness (абарақьаҭрахара); let those brothers o f yours nol get anything more (уаҳа)!' Ианыҧсуа рзымдыраа(и)т! 'Let them nol know/find out when they will/are going to die!' Ҧшӡала и(ы)урхаа(и)т! 'Enjoy wearing it!' (said lo someone upon purchase o f a new article o f clothing, il literally means 'Let il be lhat you-MASC cause il to wear out (apxapa) in peace (п,шӡала)!'5) vs И(ы)умырхаа(и)т! 'God granl that you-MASC don’l live long enough to wear it oul!’ Уахьцо с(ы)увызаз(аа(и)т)! 'Lei me be your-MASC companion on your travels (literally: where you go)!'

2The wearer is assumed to be male for the purpose o f presentation. ■*The word also means 'son-in-law', an ambiguity also found with Georgian Umly. 4The verb is (he causative o f the root -c- 'strike', and so Ihe literal meaning is 'Lei him make the branch strike it (sc. the ground)'. 5 In Georgian ЗТ^гцопДзЗп! 'In peace (sc. wear it)!'.

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PaibXba ara ицаны(’ иаауа димаз(аа(и)т)! Иацахо цимамзаа(и)т/цимамыз! 'Let him among them (р-) who first (-аҧхьа) goes to the coast (ara) and comes hack have him/her7! Let the one who loses (auaxapa8) not have him/her!' Анцәа агәыраа шәақәимыршәаа(и)т! 'Let God not cause you-PL to meet (= fall upon) (ақәыршәара) sorrow (агәыраа)!' Нагӡара ақәзаа(и)т/ақәыз аҭынчра ад(ы)унеи зегь|ы| аҿы! 'Long live (literally: fulfilm ent (анагӡара9) be upon (ақәзаара)) peace (аҭынчра) throughout the whole world!' Ахашҭра рықәымзаа(и)т/рықамыз аибашьра иҭахаз! 'Let those who fell in (he war not be forgotten!' (literally: 'Let oblivion (ахашҭра10) not be upon those who perished (аҭахара1') in the war!') Хьӡи-цшеи рыгымзаа(и)т/рыгмыз ацеицәа! 'Let the young folk (аҵеи) not lack fame (ахьӡ) and renown (ап>ша)!' Аиааира амш шәыдныҳәалаз(аа(и)т)! 'Congratulations be (адныҳәалара12) yours-PL on victory (аиааира) day!’ When the suffix is used positively in combination with other stems, the meaning is 'Let X be happening!' or 'X is happening — so be it/let it be!" (with the Imperfect as base),' X happened — so be it/let it be!' (with the Past Indefinite as base), or 'X has already happened — so be it/let it be!' (with the Pluperfect as base), e.g. Исызҿылҭуаз(аа(и)т)! — У(бр)и лаха сыма(ӡа)м 'Let her be shouting lor (азҿыҭра) me! — I don't have lime for (axa) that one-FEM. Илгаз(аа(и)т)! — Уеизгьы игатәын 'She took it/them — so be it! It was/They were to be taken anyway (уеизгьы)' Дылгахьаз(аа(и)т)!— ca(pa) срыхьӡо(и)т 'She's taken him/her already — never mind/so be it! I'll catch up (ахьӡара11) with them' But, i f the suffix is attached to such stems when negated, the meanings are more straightforward, as seen in: У(бр)ахь дымцаз(аа(и)т)! 'Let him/her not be gone there!' ftSince reference is lo a single male, readers may be wondering why we do not have here ццаны as I he Past Absolute. This form is perfectly possible, bul, as the Absolute stands inside a relativised expression and as Abkhaz likes 10 rclativisc all affixes referring lo the head-noun o f the relative expression, the Column I affix д- has yielded to ils relative counterpart И-. 7 ln the tale from which this example is laken (Dzhamxwuxw, Son o f the Hind) a maiden is Ihc prize. 8The literal meaning o f 'become (-xa-) under (-na-) [it (a-))' is reminiscent o f the colloquial English 'go down = lose’. 1JWhere -на- is ihc preverb and -rja - the root. *®Wilh preverb -xa- and rool -шҭ-. 11With preverb -ҭа- and rool -xa-. 1-This verb consists o f preverb -Д-, rool -ныҳәа-, and rool-extension -ла-; in its Dynamic form one could say: Бымш-ира быдысныҳәало(и)т 'I congratulate you-FHM on your birthday (амш-ира)'. In the example above we have it in ils Stalivc transform; the meaning is something like 'Viclory-day be an objcct o f congratulation lo you-PL!'. 1^Thc rool is -3a-. whilst -хь- is ihe preverb.

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У(бр)ахь дымцоз(аа(и)т)! 'Let him/her nol be going llicrc (yet)!' У(бр)ахь дымцахьаз(аа(и)т)! 'Let him/her nol already have gone ihcre!' Bearing in mind a Staiivc example such as У(бр)а дтәаз(аа(и)т)! 'Let him/licr remain sealed ihcrc!', readers may be wondering what the relationship is between Ihc Stalive Subjunctive and the Staiivc Imperative. The question becomes even more pertinent, when one additionally considers that the ending -аа(и)т may optionally be added to the Slativc Imperatives in -з introduced in Lesson 9, so lhai an imperative such as Шәтәаз! 'Remain sealed (to a plurality)!' could also be expressed as Шәтәазаа(и)т! The conclusion lo be drawn from this is lhal in Abkhaz there is no essential dislinction for Stalives between the Subjunctive and Imperative moods. Remaining Conditions We left two proiasis-formations unexplained in Lesson 12, as we first had to introduce ihc Subjunctive mood. That done, we can now complete our survey o f conditions. The protasis-formant -зар can be added lo ihe non-finite Future I in -ры, which is then regularly accompanied by an apodosis formed by the Subjunctive. The context o f usage is when one is making an urgent plea to ihe addressee, as in: А(ба)рҭ зегьы ҳаҧсааит, а(б)ри бымфарызар! 'Lei all o f (this lot » 0 us perish, if you-FEM don't eal this! = You'll be the dealh o f us all, if you don't eat this! = PLEASE eal this (for all our sakes)!' The final type o f condition is perhaps the rarest — hence its introduction at this point. The protasis-formant -зар, usually accompanied by -гьы 'even', is suffixed to the non-finite Future II (in -ша). and the meaning is ’(even) i f X wanls/(had) wanted to VERB'. Only one example is quoted from literature by L. Ch’ k’ adua in her survey o f the usage o f lenses and moods in Abkhaz (from which ihe previous example too is taken). Thai example is taken from a folk-lale called Ҳаиҭ илакә 'Hajt's Tale (алакә)'. Haji is a sea-monster, and the relevant utterance arises when Hajt emerges from Ihe sea after the common expression o f frustration Ҳаиҭ, абааҧсы!, which equates to something like 'Oh, for goodness'/heaven's sake!' in English, falls from the lips o f a character in the story. Here is the example in its context: Дызусҭа сыхьӡ ҳәаны ҿызҭыз? - иҳәан, раҧхьа даагылт14. Уара аӡәгьы д(ы)умып>хьазеит, ухьӡ уасш имҳәаӡеит, иаҳҳәашазаргьы и ҳ а з д ы р ӡ о м иухьӡ(ы)у, иҳәеит алыгажә "'Who is the one who cried out (аҿыҭра) uttering my name?" he (Hajt) said, suddenly standing in front o f them. "No-one

,4Nole the reduced form for ihc Aorisl. The full form would be даагылеит, from which bolh ihc palatal glide o f Ihe finite ending and Ihe open vowel preceding il (here Ihe final element o f ihe root) have been dropped.

17Q

summoned (аҧхьара) you; nn-onc spoke your name; even if wc wanl(ed) to say it, wc don't know what your name is," said the old man (алыгажә)' Even i f the verb in the apodosis here is pul into (he past (иҳаздырӡомызт 'wc did not know it'), the form o f the protasis would remain unchanged but would be then translated into English as 'even i f wc had wanted lo say it'.

Optative The Optative is the mood employed to express a wish. The relevant suffix is -нда(з), and it may attach lo the non-finite forms o f (i) the Aorist (for future or past reference), (ii) the Dynamic Present (for present or future reference), (iii) the Perfect (minus the element -y, for perfect reference), all o f whose negative forms take the negative marker infixed before the root, as well as (iv) the Stalive Present (minus the element -y, for present or pasl reference). Patterns for the Formation o f the Optative Mood (for the a-final roots -ца- 'go' and -ka- 'be')

Aorisl-based

дцанда(з)

Affirmative Present-based

дцонда(з)

Present-based

дымцонда(з)

Negative дцахьанда(з)

Affirm ative Stative Present-

дымцанда(з)

Negative

Affirm ative Perfect-based

Aorisl-based

Perfect-based

дымцахьанда(з)

Negative дыканда(з)

based Affirm ative

Stative Present-

дыкамында(з)

based Negative

Patterns for the Formation o f the Optative Mood (for the consonant-final roots -ҧс(ы)- 'die' and -шә(ы)- 'be wearing')

Aorist-based

дыҧсында^)

Affirm ative Present-based

дыҧсуанда(з)

based Affirm ative

Present-based

дымҧсуанда(з)

Negative дыҦ)Схьанда(з)

Affirmative Stative Present-

дымп,сында(з)

Negative

Affirm ative Perfect-based

Aorist-based

Perfect-bascd

дымп,схьанда(з)

Negative ишәында(з)

Stalive Presentbased Negative

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ишәымында(з)

Examples: Ҳасас амла даҳцәагеит. Цьара акы ҳабырцҳанда(з)! Бысҭак бунда(з)! 'Hunger (амла) has carricd o ff from us our gucsl = Our guest is dying o f hunger. Would lhal/I w ish/If only you’d give us a bile lo eal (арцҳара15) somewhere (џьара)! Would lhat/I w ish/If only you'd ruslle up (literally: make) some (a serving of) grits (абысҭа16)!' У(ба)рҭ ахьцоз а(б)ри ала рганда(з)! 'Would thal/I w ish/If only they had lakcn this dog where they were going!' Ҿыцк аасхәан исшә(ы)уп. Уажәы бызбонда(з) нас, шьири! '[Caller on phone| I've bought something new and am wearing it. [Inlerlocuior on phone] Oo (шьири), would lhat/I w ish/If only I were seeing you-FEM now, then!' Ҳрыламшәонда(з) агыгшәыг! 'Would lhal/I wisl>/If only we aren't going lo fall among (алашәара) w ild beasts17 (агыгшәыг)!' Саргьы срылагыланда(з)! 'Would that/1 w ish/If only 1 too were/had been standing among them!' Дсыватәанда(з)! 'Would that/1 w ish/If only (s)he were seated/would sil down 18 beside me!' Ахәшә лыжәхьанда(з)! 'Would that/1 w ish/If only she had already taken (literally: drunk) the medicine (ахәшә)!' What happens, when the wish relates lo a progressive action in the past? One uses ihc Optative o f the Siative verb аҿызаара 'to be engaged in' in conjunction with the masdar o f the lexical verb concerned, e.g. А(б)ри аиыхәтәантәи ахсааҭк19 иск(ы)у ашәкәы аҧхьара са^ымында(з)! 'Would lhat/I w ish/If only I hadn't been reading the book I'm holding for these last (ацыхәтәантәи) three hours!' N.B. In his grammar o f Abkhaz, written in the late 1940s or early 1950s but published posthumously only in 2006, the distinguished caucasologist Nikolaj Jakovlev cites an Optative form combined with exhortative suffix -и, namely Уцәонда(з)и 'Would lhat/I w ish/If only you were going to sleep!' (p. 43), but such a coupling, assuming it is not a typological slip, is not really in recognised usage. Even further back one finds interesting examples o f the Optative in the very first grammar o f Abkhaz, written by the soldicr-linguisl Baron Petr Uslar before the great oulward migration from Abkhazia o f the bulk o f the native Abkhazian population in

,5The verb is the causative form o f ацҳара 'bile; lake a bile o f. which is a bivalent intransitive. l(rThis mush made o f maize (historically m illet) is the Abkhazians' staple food. l7Nolc lhal ihe noun for ‘wild beast' in the Abkhaz stands in the singular, whereas the affix corcfcrenlial with it in the verb is plural, which clearly illustrates how Abkhaz can employ Ihe singular for plural. ,8The context must decide whether the verb-form is to be treated as a Dynamic or Stative verb. l9Note the presence o f Ihe article before the cardinal.

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1864. The expression o f a wish olten carries the implication (hat something would follow from the fulfilment o f the wish. That makes a wish very close semantically lo a protasis, which states the circumstance in which the verbal action o f the apodosis becomes realisable. It is. thus, hardly surprising if a language should choosc a mechanism lo express a wish which is reminiscent o f ils means o f marking a protasis. So in Ancient Greek one o f two conjunctions used in protases is d 'if, and two markers o f a wish are: fide and tiyap', and in English, as we have seen, a wish may be introduced by the words 'if only!'. Now, one o f Ihc examples given by Uslar, who was working with Bzyp-spcaking informants, was the following (slightly adapted lo 111 Abzhywa morphology): Ca(pa) ҭарџьманс скалонда(з), умац з(ы)урын 'II' only I were (lo become) an interpreter (аҭарџьман), 1 would be at your-MASC service (literally: perform (aypa) your service (амац))!' (p. 32 o f Ihe 1887 publication) But this use o f the Optative in protasis-function is no longer deemed normal. The Optative would be replaced by the unreal prolasis-form скалозҭгьы 'if I were lo be(come)' or сыказҭгьы 'if I were', or even сҭарџьманызҭгьы 'if I were an interpreter'.

Evidential (Apparential/lnferential) To indicate lhal one is drawing an inference or that a statement is based not on the evidence o f one's own eyes but rather on hearsay, the Evidential (also known as Apparential or Inferential) mood is employed. Two compound-suffixes serve to mark this mood: -заап and -заарын (somelimes -зарын). From a formal point o f view, it is simplest to think in terms o f both these suffixes attaching to the following non-finite base-forms: the Present (minus final -y for Statives), the Aorist, Ihe Future II (albeit very infrequently), and the Perfect, giving the following set o f paradigms, where we sec lhal for the Dynamic formations the negative marker is infixed before the rool, whereas for the Stative it follows the root: Patterns for the Formation o f the Evidential Mood in -заап (for the a-final roots -ца- 'go' and -ka- 'be')

Negative

Affirm ative Present

дцозаап

X is evidently going (to go)

дымцозаап

X evidently isn't going (lo go)

182

Aorist

X evidently

дцазаап

дымцазаап

X evidently didn't go/hasn't

went/has gone

gone Future II

Perfect

дцашазаап

X evidently

дцахьазаап

дымцашазаап

X evidently

w ill probably

w ill probably

go

nol go

X has evidently дымцахьазаап

X evidently has

gone already

not already gone

Stative

дыказаап

X evidently is

дыкамзаап

X evidently is nol

Patterns for the Formation o f the Evidential Mood in -заап (for the consonant-final roots -п>с(ы)- 'die' and -шә(ы)- 'be wearing')

Negative

Affirmative Present

Aorist

дыҧсуазаап

дыҧсызаап

X is evidently

дымҧсуазаап

X evidently

dying/going lo

isn't dying/

die

going lo die

X evidently

дымҧсызаап

X evidently didn't die/hasn't

died/has died

died Future II

дыҧсышазаап

X evidently

дымҧсыша-

X evidently

w ill probably

заап

w ill probably nol die

die Perfect

дыҧсхьазаап

X has evidently дымҧсхьазаап X evidently has nol already

died already

died Stative

ишәызаап

He evidently is ишәымзаап

He evidently is

wearing X

nol wearing X

Patterns for the Formation o f the Evidential Mood in -заарын (for the a-final roots -ца- 'go' and -ka- 'be')

Negative

Affirmative

183

Present

Aorist

дцозаарын

дцазаарын

X evidently

дымцозаарын

wasn't going

go)

(lo go)

X evidently

дымцазаарын

дцашазаарын

X evidently

дымцашазаа-

X evidently

would go/have

рын

would not go/ have gone

gone Perfect

дцахьазаарын

X evidently

дымцахьазаа-

X evidently

had gone

рын

had not already gone

already Slative

дыказаарын

X evidently hadn'l gone

had gone Future 11

X evidently

was going (to

X evidently

дыкамзаарын

X evidently was not

was

Palterns for ihe Formation o f the Evidential Mood in -заарын (for the consonant-final roots -П)С(ы)- 'die' and -шә(ы)- 'be wearing')

Present

Affirm ative

Negative

дыҧсуазаарын X evidently

дымп,суазаа-

X evidently

рын

wasn't dying/

was dying/ going to die Aorist

Future II

дыҧсызаарын

дыцсышазаарын

Perfect

дыҧсхьазаарын

going to die

X evidently

дымҧсызаа-

X evidently

had died

рын

hadn'l died

X evidently

цымҧсыша-

X evidently

would die/have заарын

would nol die/

died

have died

X evidently

дымҧсхьазаа-

had already

рын

died Stalive

ишәызаарын

He evidently was wearing X

X evidently had not already died

ишәымзаарын

He evidently was not wearing X

Examples: Аҽцыс ан квҳан иҧсызаап 'It seems lhal (he mother o f the foal (аҽцыс20) collapsed and died'

20The plural is аецара(қәа).

Збаазтоымыз ҧҳәыск дрылазаарын, амоан па длоузаап 'А pregnani (literally: whose bone (абаа) did nol belong lo whom) woman was apparently amongst them, [and| she apparently gave birth to (aypa) a son on (- h) the road (амаа)' Шәара шәаыџьагьы мыцхәы шәқьиазаап 'You both are, it seems, exceptionally (мыцхәы) honourable (ақьиа)' Уа(ра) ayaapa здыруа уакәзаап 'You-MASC seem to be Ihe one who knows what it means lo be human (ayaapa)' Аасҭаа дмаалықьзаарын The devil (аасҭаа) apparently used lo be an angel (амаалықь)' Уаанӡаауааианыҧсуаз рдыруазаарын T ill then (уаанӡа) people apparently knew when they would/were going lo die' Ускан ашьха асы, ақәа, акырцх амуазаарын 'In ihosc days (ускан) it apparently used nol lo snow, rain or hail in the mountains' Аџь д(ы)у агәааараҿы амаҭ рыҭра карцазаарын The snakes (амаҭ) had evidently made their nesl (аҭра) in Ihe hollow (агәаоара) o f a large oak (аџь)' Ауааы иакара зылшо, ауаоы иакара злаӡо ад(ы)унеи аҿы даҽакы ыкамзаап 'Apparently there is not anything else ((д)аҽакы) in Ihe world with the capacity or endurance o f man (literally: which is capable o f (doing) as much as (akapa) man, which endures (алаӡара21) as much as man)' Аҽы абжьара ибжьыҧахьазаап 'The horse has apparently already jumped through (абжьыҧара22) the gap (абжьара) [sc. between clashing rocks]' Мацәазк иман, Гәында-ҧшӡа илҭахьазаарын 'He had a ring (амацәаз) — Gunda the Beautiful had apparently already given it lo him' Strange as it might seem, it is even possible to form a question on an Evidential. In the folktale The story o f ihe prince's son and the three sisters', recorded by Shota Salaq'aia in 1960 and published by him in 1975, we find this: Уара ушҧашазаари?! — лҳәеит. Уара узы сара сшазаап! — лҳәан, длеин лмабра ааихьылшьын, дшыказ даакалцеит "'How is il that you-MASC have come lo be created, i f created you were?!" she said. "I have apparently been created for you-MASC!" she said, went over (алеира), quickly drew over (ахьшьра) him her handkerchief (ачабра) and in a flash made him as he used to be' (p. 146) The finite ending -n o f the Evidential ending -заап behaves like the homonymous ending o f the Future I when transformed into the non-finilc base required for a conlcnt-queslion, which is lo say lhat the -n turns into -ры, on which the question

21 W ilh prevcrb -ла- and rool -ӡа-. 22W ilh preverb -бжь(ы)- and rool -n>a-.

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'how?' is Ihcn built in the normal way. Whal aboul 'ycs-по' questions? One can lake what is essentially a iwo-senlence sequence such as: Уаҧхьазаап — акә(ы)у? 'You-MASC (have) apparently read it. Is that so?' and then combine the question-forming suffix -y with the non-finite variant o f the Evidential lo give: Уаҧхьазаар(ы)у? 'Am I right in thinking lhal you-MASC (have) read it?' Readers w ill by now have realised that finite forms ending in - h arc turned into Iheir non-finite guise by replacing this - h with -3. The Evidential in -заарын is no different, and so a 'yes-по' question formed on a verb with this modal suffix ends in the sequence -заарыз(ы)у, as in: Уап>хьазаарыз(ы)у? 'Am I right in thinking that you-MASC had read it?' One can even lake a shorter cut to asking such questions by attaching the interrogative suffix direct to the finite forms, so thal alternatives lo Ihc lasl two examples would be: Уаҧхьазаап(ы)у? / / Уаҧхьазаары н(ы )y ? 21

Text for translation with associated questions Абнаҿы Ахәыҷқәа абнахь ицеит. У(ба)рҭ абна^ы акәыкәбаа рыкәшәозаарын. ©сааҭк рышьҭахь (и)еибарыаны ааныка ихынҳәит. Амаан ақәаршаы рыхьӡазаап. Ахәыҷқәа иршәыз рымаҭәақәа бааӡеит. Икарҵарыз? Рееилыхны ибааӡаз рымаҭәақәа дырбан рыҽдырбеит. Азцаарақәа: Ахәыҷқәа абацеи? Абнаҿы ирыкәшәозыз? Ианбахынҳәи? Амаан ирыхьӡазеи? Ирыхьзеи дара? Ааны икардази? Vocabulary абна

wood, forest

ахьӡара24

to overtake

акәыкәбаа

mushroom

амаҭәа

clothing

21Thc two-scnlencc question which began this particular discussion has the variant: Уаҧхьазаап - аума7 where the interrogative suffix is -ма attached to ihe copular rool -a- (as opposed to (he copular root -акә-, used with (he interrogative suffix -y). It seems thal fused variants with the ма-suffix are for some reason less acceptable. 24Preverb -ль-. root -3a-.

186

акошәара

lo gather

абааӡара

lo get wcl

ахынҳара2-1’

to return

аҽеилыхра26

to undress oneself

ақәаршаы

downpour

арбара

lo (cause lo) dry; lo cause to see = shew

Exercises Translate into English 1.

Цыҧх ҳаибадырында(з)!

2. Ахацәа рыҧсы ршьозаарын. 3. Ахәыҷқәа а(б)рантә акгьы рымгаа(и)т! 4. Ашәкәқәа ргахьеит. Ибзиоуп, иргахьаз(аа(и)т)! 5. Есымша ақәа (а)уеит. Аӡхыцра камлаа(и)т! 6 . Лыҷкәынцәа

икарцақәаша кард&заап.

7. Саыза лан дычмазаахеит. У(бр)и аҳәаа нырцә уажәы дыкамында(з)! 8.

Уаыза лан дыбзиаханы у(бр)игьы лыҷкәынгьы акгьы рыгымхаа(и)т!

9. Рус (уны) иалгахьанда(з)! 10.

Ҳасасцәа руадақәа рҿы рҽеиларҳәозаарын.

Translate into Abkhaz 1. Would lhat/I w ish/If only the war had already ended! 2. Let the teachers not take the books away from the children! 3. Would that/I w ish/If only we knew when wc arc going to die! 4. You-FEM have apparently forgotten my birthday. 5 .1 seem to forget it every year. Would that/I w ish/lf only 1 had remembered it yesterday! 6.

Let no-one go out! (= No-one is lo go out!)

7. You-FEM w ill be the death o f your parents, i f you don't drink this medicine! 8.

She had apparently already undressed. For this reason she did nol come down.

9. Would lhat/I w ish/If only her mother had seen her al that time! 10. Let your-PL friends say nothing about this!

2sPreverb -хын-, rool -ҳә-. 26The rool is -x-. Also present is the reflexive prevcrb -л(ы)-. Cf. аҽеилаҳәара 'to get dressed'.

and the reciprocal -аи-, which combines with ihc

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Lesson 14

In this lesson you will learn about: • Subordinale expressions for the meanings: 'when'; 'aller'; 'where/whilhcr/whence'; 'how/as/like'; 'as soon as'; 'while'; 'until'; 'before'; 'since ihe time'; 'ihe reason why' • Questions and exclamations o f the type 'what kind of?!’ • How to say 'el cetera' In Lesson 5 we investigated the formation o f questions o f the type 'How?' (= -шҧа-), 'When?' (= -анба-), 'Where?' (= -аба-) and 'Why?' (= -з(ы)-). We noted further that, i f one omits the question-forming -6 a from the three interrogativcs where it is used, one is left with the elements ш(ы)-, ан(ы)-, and ахь(ы)-, which, when placed inside the non-finite form o f the appropriate tense, build structures meaning, respectively: '(the way) how', '(the time) when', and '(the place) where'; the fourth element з(ы)-, standing inside a simple non-ftnite structure, can also build a form meaning '(the reason) why'. Wc shall now look more closcly at such non-interrogative sequences, though complement-structures (viz. those equating to clauses in English introduced by the conjunction 'that') w ill be left until Lesson 15.

Temporal expressions equating to 'when' The prefix ан(ы)- 'when' is most commonly found with the non-finite Present, Imperfect, or Aorist (as well as the Stative Past). Examples: Сан(ы)хәыҷыз, абнаҿы сыхәмаруан 'When I was small/a child, I used to play in the wood' Насыҧла, paapa лхаца даныкамыз (аамҭа1) иақәшәеит 'Fortunately (насыцла), their arrival here coincided with (ақәшәара2) (the time) when her husband was absent' Лаби асасцәеи анеицәажәоз-\ илаҳаит асасцәа зышьҭаз 'When her father and (he guests were talking to one another, she heard what the guests were after (ашьҭазаара)' У(ба)скан ауп рџьықәреиқәа есымша(аира) изеикарахоз анырдыр 'It's ihcn when they learnt the reason why their quantities o f maize kept becoming equal ([а]аикарахара) every day (есымша(аира))'

1I f the noun for 'time' (|а|аамҭа) is used, then the suffix -тәи 'belonging/pertaining to' may be added lo the temporal expression to give даныкамызтәи. 2Litcrally: ’It fell (-шәа-) upon (-қә(ы)-) it’. ■’ The second argument w ilh this verb normally has its pronominal prefix within the verbal complex governed by the vowel -a- 'lo', bul, when Ihe reciprocal affix -аи- occupies Ihe relevant slot, this is either dropped or absorbed within the vocal formants o f the reciprocal affix.

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This last example is an additional illustration o f Abkhaz's fondness for clefting. II' one wishes to form a simple question using the clefling technique, the copular root employed is -кә(ы)-, without the a-vowel usually prefixed lo it and also wiihout ihe avowcl usually integral lo the interrogative element -6 a, as in: Ианбыкз(ы)у данцо? 'When is it (that/when) (s)he is going?' (nol *Ианбакә(ы)у) A variant for ihis sequence, if and only if the lexical verb is intransitive, copics the affix appropriate lo the lexical verb's subject into the copula, where it rcplaccs the 3rd person singular non-human affix и- referring to the temporal expression. And so, Ihe alternative for the preceding example is: Данбыкә(ы)у данцо? 'When is it (that/when) (s)he is going?’ To add an element o f indcfinileness or non-specificness lo the temporal reference, the suffix -лак (some speakers preferring -лакь) can optionally be added to the (Dynamic) Aorist stem, and in such instances the temporal reference is no longer necessarily lo the past, e.g. Амла ианакы, аҳәыҳәқәа аца иадҧрылон 'When hunger look hold o f them, the pigeons (аҳәыҳә) would fly up beside (адҧрылара) the maizc-siore (aua)' vs (for the same temporal expression in an exactly parallel context): Амла ианаклак(ь), акәатақәа ааныка идәықәлон 'When hunger took hold o f them, the ducks (акәата) would set o ff (адәықәлара) homewards' Бани баби анааилак(ь), а(б)ри ацаҧха рыҭ! 'When your-FEM mother and father arrive, give them this key (ацап,ха)!' Оеы ca(pa) санақәтәоз, абҕа ҭынчын, атәым данақәтәалак(ь), аҽазеиқәыкуамызт 'When I used to sit on my horse, its back (абҕа) was calm (аҭынч); whenever a stranger (атәым) sat on it, it could not contain itself (аҽеиҳәыкра4)' Ажәытә а(ба)с икамызт: џьара сасык данааилак(ь), иҵарцон ма аҭырас ма аҧҳә ма аҭәа. Уажәы зегьы ирымоуп акҿыара, абамбалых цәарҭа 'In ancient times (ажәытә) it used not lo be like this (a(6 a)c): whenever a guesl came somewhere (џьара), they used lo place beneath (ацацара) him eilher reeds (аҭырас) or straw (аҧҳә) or hay (аҭәа). Now(adays) everybody has a bed-linenstore (акҿысара) [and] somewhere to sleep (ацәарҭа) made out o f (-лых) cotton (абамба)' For expressions o f the type ai the time o f VERBing', аан 'at the lime o f ii' is used as a frcc-slanding poslposition(al element) with the masdar, e.g. Аҭацаагара5 аан ирҳәо ашәа ‘ Уа Радеда’ ахьӡ(ы)уп The song they sing at the time o f bringing ([a|aarapa) the bride (аҭаца) is called "Wa Radeda'" 4ln lemis o f semantic primes, Ihis is quite elose lo English 'hold oneself together', as -к(ы )- = 'hold'. аҽ(ы)- = 'ilselP, -қә(ы>- = 'on', -аи- = 'one another'. 5N.B. аҭацаагарашәа '(ihc) bridal/wedding song'.

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Note in ihc previous example how ihe direct objcct (here, аҭаца) is fused with Ihe masdar (here, aarapa) lo indicate the generality of, in this instance, 'bride-bringing'. The fetching o f a specific bride would not be so expressed, being rendered as у(бр)и аҭаца лаагара 'ihc fetching o f that bride'. Cf. аҧсыӡкра 'catching fish = fishing'. The postposition -аан is nol restricted to accompanying masdars. The following example has it in association w ilh a simple noun (where -хаан is perhaps more usual, however): Сабд(ы)у иаан икалаз ус(ы)уп а(б)ри This is a mailer which occurred in my grandfather's lime' Another way o f expressing 'at the time o f VERBing' is lo use the Present Absolute (formed by suffixing -ны to the non-finite Present o f Dynamic verbs) with or without the postpositional support o f еип,ш 'as, like (il)'; i f the postposition is employed, Ihere is a tendency for ihe Present Absolute to lose its final close vowel, which gives ihe impression thal the postposition is actually governing the Imperfccl Indicative, e.g. Адҳәызба лҭәымҭа дынҭагылоны = Аҧҳәызба лҭәымҭа дынҭагылон(ы) еиҧш = Апдәызба лҭәымҭа данынҭагылоз (аамҭазы), хаца дцеит 'As Ihe maiden (ацҳәызба) was entering (аҭагылара) her prime (аҭәымҭа), she got married (literally: she man went)' Амра аӡы инӡаалоны = Амра аӡы инӡаалон(ы) еип>ш = Амра аӡы ианынӡаалоз (аамҭазы), аҕба абаҕәаза иаадгыл(еи)т 'As ihe sun was slowly (-H -) selling in (аӡаалара) ihe ocean, the boal came (-aa-) in to dock (адгылара) al the port (аба^әаза)’

Temporal expressions equating to 'after' The postpositional phrase) ашьҭахь 'after it' stands after a temporal expression for 'when' formed by Ihe prefix -ан(ы)-, e.g. Уаҳәшьцәа аиыӡ ашьҭахь икауцеи? 'After your-MASC sisters went missing (аӡра), whal did you do?' Уаҳәшьцәа аныӡлак(ь) ашьҭахь урышьҭамлан! 'After your-MASC sisters go missing, do nol go after (ашьҭалара) them!'

Locative expressions equating to 'where', 'whither', 'whence' The prefix -ахь(ы)- basically means 'where' but can be used as equivalent to 'whither'. It stands in a non-finite verb o f the appropriate lense, though for a simple past action the Past Indefinite is more commonly found than ihe Aorist, e.g. Бахьынхо(з)/Дахы 1>сыз здыруеит 'I know where you-FEM livc(d)/where (s)he died' To render the notion 'whither' quite specifically ihe relevant prefix is -ахьынӡа-, e.g. Бахьцо = Бахьынӡацо здыруеит 'I know where = whither you are going’ 190

Хкилак ицоз абырлаш ахьча иҭыҧ ахьынӡанаӡоз ҽынла еип>ш уахынлагьы иарлашон The pearl (абырлаш), which weighed (literally: was going) 3 kilos, lit up (= made shine) (арлашара6) ihe shepherd's place as far as il extended (внаӡара7) even by night (уахынла) just as by day (ҽынла)' For 'whcncc' the relevant prefix is -ахьынтә-, e.g. Бахьынтәаауа здыруеит 'I know whence you are coming' Иарбан бызшзоу/бызшәоуи/бызшәоуз(е)и а(б)ри ашәкәы ахьынтәеиҭабгаз? 'Which is the language from which (= whence) you-FEM translated ([а]аиҭагара8) this book?' Occasionally, the locative prefix -ахь(ы)- appears where the meaning is more temporal than locative (and, thus, -ан(ы)- might have been expected), but perhaps the reason why the locative prefix is selected is that the relevant verbs are verbs o f motion, e.g. Дыскит, axa амца сыкәшан сбылуа салагеит - иҳәеит ааны дахьааиз "’I caught hold o f him/her, but fin: spread all round (акәшара9) me, and I began to bum (абылра)," he said on his return home' Зыкәри Манчеи ааны иахьнеиз, Манча иаб раыџьагьы драцәажзо далагеит 'When Dzykw ,yr and Mancha arrived home, Mancha's father began speaking to them both' A defied question with the interrogative formant for 'where?' in the copula and the conjunctional formant for 'where' in the non-finite form follows the same pattern as explained above for a clefted question meaning 'when?' with the same absence o f the expected open vowel in the copular component, as in: Иабыкә(ы)у дахьцо? OR Дабьпсә(ы)у дахьцо? 'Where is it (s)he is going?' where again we note the possibility o f copying the intransitive subject affix into the copular component.

Expressions equating to 'how', 'as', 'like' In straight comparisons, where one action or stale o f affairs is compared to another, the action or stale with which ihe comparison is being made is formed by placing the manner-prefix -ш(ы)- 'as, like, how' in ils regular slot inside the non-finile form o f the relevant verb, which is followed by the postpositional phrase) еиҧш 'like, as it', as in:

^W hcrc -p- is the causative formant. 7 Where the rool is -ja-. 8 Where the rool is -ra- ’convey'. 4Where -ша(ы)- is Ihe rool.

Аҧсыӡ аӡы шакәыршоу еип>ш, аагьыл аҳауа акәыршоуп 'As water surrounds (literally: is in a slate o f having been made lo surround = акәыршара) fish, (so) air (аҳауа) surrounds (he world (адгьыл )' Аҧсабараҿы aye иамыхзаӡо аҕьҕьа зыргақәо рышьҭахь акгьы нхаӡом, имаасны ицаз адзыҕба а к гш шыннамыжьуа еиҧш 'Nothing lives on (анхара) in nature (аҧсабара) after those who, contributing (ахәара) nothing lo work (= do nothing useful), cause a (= give rise lo the sound o f (aprapa)) claller (аҕьҕьа), just as a train (адәыҕба) thal has passed (амеасра) and gone leaves behind (аныжьра) nothing' For a simple past action the non-finite Past Indefinite is preferred, e.g. Ишшәасҳәаз виҧш(дзкьа) икашәца! 'Do it/lhem (exactly) as I told you-PL!' Where a manner-clause is nol part o f a comparison but simply sets the context in which something else happens (and thus corresponds to English 'as', rather than 'like'), the appropriate non-finile verb-form (i.e. one containing the prefix -ui(bi)- 'as') can stand alone, allhough it may be optionally reinforced by акәымкәа(н) (literally 'it not being', for it is the negated Absolute o f the copular root -акә(ы)- 'be'), e.g. У(ба)с ишыказ (акәымкәа(н)), ҽнак ҧсҭҳәак аахылеит This is how things were when (literally: as ihings were so), one day (ҽнак) a cloud (аҧсҭҳәа) suddenly descended (ахылара10)' А(ба)с акыр дныкәахьан, дышнеиуаз (акәымкәа(н)), даацсеит 'In ihis fashion he had already journeyed (аныкәара) a considerable distance (акыр), [when], as he was travelling forward, he became tired ([a]aan>capa)' А(ба)с дыштәаз (акәымкәа(н)), а(б)ни аҽыхәа ааҧшын инаихәаҧшит 'As he was sitting like this, that grey(-horse) (аҽыхәа1') awoke ([а]ааҧшра12) and looked over (-на-) at (ахәаҧшра1*) him' Ишагзыдырцо (акәымкәа(н)) ауп аӡз даарылхны дама(ны) ишцо 'W ith them shooting at it (агәыдцара) is how il quickly (-aa-) selects (алхра) one from amongst them and goes o ff with him/her (sc. o f a monster snatching ils victim)' In the following example an Absolute is used in place o f one o f the manner-clauses. The verb in question (ақәиа(а)ра 'lie upon', root -иа-) is used both Dynamically and Statively. And so, in the example, which describes how a race-horse is running in a race, one could interpret il as either a Dynamic Past Absolute ('having lain very close upon Ihe ground') or a Stative Absolute ('lying very close upon the ground'): Адгьыл иқзиааӡаны акәын ишцоз 'Sticking absolutely (- 3 a-) close to the ground was how it was going' 10Where the root is -ла-. 11Where аҽы = 'horse' and ахәа = 'ash(-coloured)'. l2The root is -аап>ш(ы)-. ^W here the rool is -ҧш(ы)-.

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Clcl'lcd questions meaning 'how?' follow Ihe same patlem as already illustrated above for defied questions o f time and place, viz. Ihe expected open vowel is missing from both the usual interrogative formant for 'how?' and the start o f the copula, and, if the verb is intransitive, ils subjecl-alTix may replace the impersonal subjecl-marker и- "il’ al ihc start o f the copular component, as in: Ишп>ыкз(ы)у ҳашзымцо? OR Ҳашҧыкә(ы)у ҳашзымцо? 'How is it (how/lhat) we can't go?' A point lo note in these last examples is lhal in terms o f linear ordering within the preradical verbal complex the potenlial affix follows ihe conjunctional element 'how' (jusl, o f course, as il would wilh an interrogative like Ҳашҧазымцо? 'How can we not go?')

Temporal expressions equating to 'as soon as' In order to produce an expression meaning 'as soon as' ihe intensifying particle -цәкьа 'just, precisely, right', encountered in an earlier example (cf. уажәыдәкьа 'right now'), is used in association with the expression described above meaning 'how, as, like'. I f the temporal reference is lo the pasL, the non-finite Pasi Indefinite is used; if reference is to ihe future, Ihe non-specific suffix -лак(ь) is combined with the nonfinite Aorist; the postpositional phrase) еип>ш 'like, as il' is oplional. The intensifer can be placed in one o f three spots: (a) al the end o f the non-finite verb-form, (b) immediately before the Pasl Indefinite's non-finite ending -з, (c) at Ihe end o f ihe postpositional phrase), as in: Дышцазцәкьа (еиҧш) = Дышцаҵәкьаз (еип>ш) = Дышцаз еидшцәкьа, иаыза дааит 'As soon as (s)he went, his friend came' Ишааилакцәкьа14 (еиҧш) = Ишааилак(ь) еиҧигцәкьа, ацаҧха рышәҭ! 'As soon as they gel here, give them the key (to a plurality)!' The intensifies perhaps unsurprisingly, may attach lo parallel non-finite forms containing the temporal prefix -ан(ы)- in place o f the manner-prefix -ш(ы)-; when reference is lo ihe pasl, il is ihe non-finite Aorist which is, o f course, employed. In these cases the postpositional phrase) еигьш 'like, as it' may be used, and, if it is, the inlcnsifer may attach itself to il, as in: Данцаиәкьа (еип>ш) = Данца еиҧцгцәкьа, иаыза дааит 'As soon as (s)hc went, his friend came' Ианааилакдәкьа (еиҧш) = Ишааилак(ь) еиҧшиәкьа, ацаҧха рышәҭ! 'As soon as they get here, give them the key (to a plurality)!' There are iwo alternative ways o f forming an expression equaling to 'as soon as', though neither is common, being rather restricted to the kind o f expressive conicxt l4When the non-specific suffix has adjoined to il a consonant-initial element, ils voiceless velar ejectivc has lo be plain and cannot be palatalised.

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where in English one would find the interjection 'lo!' (vi/.. story-telling). Both variants make use o f 'yes-по' qucslion-lbrmulion. Either the interrogative suffix -ма is used or, when temporal reference is lo the pasl, Ihe protasis-formant -зар (in the interrogative function which, as we saw earlier, il can carry) may also be employed, as in: У(ба)рҭ цама, аҽцза ашҭа иааҭал(еи)т 'As soon as they went, lo! the horsemen came into the yard!’ У(бр)и Акәака днеизар, ақалақь агәҭа ауаа рацәа ибеит 'As soon as he reached Sukhum, lo! he saw many people in the cenlrc (агәҭа) o f town! When either o f these last two strategies is employed, il is essential lhal the fundamentally inlerrogalive sequences prcccdc Ihe main clause (i.e. the one containing ihe finite verb).

Expressions equating to the temporal notion 'while' The suffix -нацы 15 'while' is attached lo the non-finile Present o f either Dynamic or Stalive verbs to produce the relevant expressions, e.g. А(б)рабтәанацы, быбжьы бмырган! 'While you-FEM are sitting here, don't raise a sound (literally: cause your voice lo resound)!' Уан слацәажәонацы, аӡәгьы дыанамлеит 'While I was speaking to your-MASC molher, no-onc entered (ааналара)'

Expressions equating to the temporal notion 'until' The suffix -аанӡа 'until' is attached lo the non-finile Aorist stem to produce Ihe relevant expression, as in: У(ба)с есыуаха икарцон а(ба)рҭ аишьцәа, уахык дара ааыџьагьы ааи^аҳаанӡа 'Every night (есыуаха) these brothers continued doing so until one night they both (ааыџьагьы) suddenly (aa-) came face to face with (аҿаҳара16) each other' As is to be cxpected, even if the suffix is preceded by -aa, merging still takes place, as il did in the preceding example where the rool ended in just the open vowel, e.g. Раб даанӡа, дара а(б)ра иказ(аа(и)т)! 'Let them/They are to remain here until their father comes ([a|aapa)!

Expressions equating to the temporal notion 'before' As in many languages, there is no formal difference between expressions translated into English as 'until' and those translated as 'before', as is exemplified in ihe following:

l5Th e root is -ii(bi)-. as in the verb lime)' below. 16Where the root is -ҳа-.

anpa 'pass (of time)’; cf. temporal expressions meaning 'since (of

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У(бр)и дызбаанӡа, ахәышәтәырҭа дҭыргеит 'Before I saw him/her, they took him/her out o f the hospital (ахәышәтәырҭа) 1 Акрыбфаанӡа, бнапы ӡәӡәа! 'Before you-FEM eal (anything/something = акры-), wash your hand(s)!' Sometimes where English combines the preposition 'before' with a simple noun, Abkhaz w ill literally say 'before NOUN happened', as in: Адыдра калаанӡа, аҧсҭҳәақәа еиқәаҵәахеит 'Before the storm (literally: Before thunder (адыдра) happened)', the clouds (аҧсҭҳәа) turned (-xa-) black ( 1а]аиқәацәа)' Аибашьра калаанӡа, аҭынчра ҳаман 'Before the war. we had peacc (аҭынчра)'

Expressions equating to the temporal notion 'since (the time)' The suffix lo construct such expressions is the compound -ижьҭеи17, which is attached to the non-finite form o f the appropriate tense, e.g. А(б)ра дыкоижьҭеи 18 аҧхьара даҿ(ы)уп 'Since (s)he has been here, (s)hc has been busy reading (lilerally: is in reading)', attached here to the non-finite Stalive Present У(бр)и лҳзоижьҭеи аымчыбжьа пуеит 'She's been saying lhat for two weeks (literally: two weeks are passing (аҵра) since she is saying that)', attached here to the non-finite Dynamic Present У(бр)а дтәеижьҭеи (?дтәазижьҭеи) лыбжьы лыргаӡом 'Since she sat down there, she hasn't uttered (literally: isn'l uttering) a sound', attached here preferably lo the non-finite Aorist Indicative, though the Past Indefinite seems also to be feasible А(б)ра шәынхозижьҭеи (а)кыр ҵуеит 'Quite a time has passed (literally: is passing) since you-PL used to live here', attached here lo ihe non-finite Imperfect Indicative If the activity in temporal expressions o f this type is one that might have reoccurred, the non-finite verb-form can optionally be negated, as in: Дызбахьеижьҭеи/Дзымбахьеижьҭеи, аышықәса дхьан T w o years had passed since I had seen him/her', attached here to the non-finite Perfect Ҳаибабеижьҭеи(?Ҳаибабазижьҭеи) (а)кыр цуам 'Not a long lime has passed (literally: is not passing) since we saw each other'

*7ll is likely thal the analysis would set up an original sequence of: -и.шьҭа.и, being two instantiations o f ihe co-ordinating clitic -и 'and' surrounding шьҭа 'now', the first instantiation o f Ihe co-ordinating clitic properly attaching to Ihe non-finite (nominalised) verb-phrase equating to whal in English is Ihe actual temporal clause. I 8 A s in some other sequences the expected -y- (дыкоуижьҭеи) is not writlen.

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Ҳаибабеижьҭеи/Ҳаибамбеижьҭеи (?Ҳаибабазижьҭеи/Ҳаибамбазижьҭеи) (а)кыр ҵуеит 'Quite a lime has passed (literally: is passing) since wc saw each olher' Ибзызаижьҭеи/Ибзызмыоижьҭеи (?Ибзызаызижьҭеи/Ибзызмыаызижьҭеи) п,ыҭк цуеит 'А litlle while has passed (literally: is passing) since I wrole lo youFEM’ The compound suffix here may be replaced by ihe free-standing аахыс, which is Ihe short form o f ihe Past Absolute o f the verb ахысра 'pass (-c-) over (-х(ы)-)' (wilh the hilher-orientation preverb aa-), and in fact the full form o f Ihe Past Absolute (аахысны19) is not totally excluded from standing in this construction, e.g. Дхәыҷыз аахыс(ны) дыхьчоуп 'Since childhood (s)he has been (literally: is) a shepherd', here associated wilh the non-finite Stalive Pasl У(бр)и дыздыр(ыз) аахыс(ны) акгьы ҵуам 'No time has passed since I got lo know him/her', here associated wilh either the non-finile Aorist Indicative or the Pasl Indefinite The non-finile verb-form can be marked by the protasis-formant in -зар attaching lo an appropriate non-finite base, e.g. A ( 6 )pa инхозар аахыс(ны) шьарда цуеит They have been living here for a long time (шьарда)'; here the protasis-form allaches lo the non-finile Present Indicative base У(бр)и аҷкәын а(б)ра дтзазар аахыс(ны) - ‘hold’ is ашьатз 'гооС, foundation’. “ The analysis o f this verb-form is: causative o f -гыла- ‘ stand’ with preverb -кә(ы)- ‘on 1 and -шьа-, being Ihe first element in ашьапы ‘ foot', plus ргеПх анта- 'again'. And so, the meaning is literally ‘causing (o stand on (its) feel again’ . 17 Intransitive (passive) form in -xa- o f амааҧгара ‘ organise, conduct', where the root is -га-, -ҧ(ы)- the prcverb, and -маа- the root o f ihe noun амаа ‘ road’. и Though the names o f Ihe months in common usage are mostly borrowed from Russian and closely resemble their international equivalents, native terms have been (?re)introduced since Abkhazia gained its independence from Georgia on SO"* September 1993. These terms are used for official purposes. Here is the list: Ҧхынгәы Ажьырныхаа July January Нанҳәа Жәабран August February Хоажокыра Цәыббра September March Мшаҧы Жьтаара October April Абиара Лаҵара November May Ҧхынчкәын Рашәара December June By way o f contrast, the terms with wider cunency are as follows: July January И(ы)ул = Кәыркәа Иан(в)ар August Август = Нанх,оа Ҧервал = Ҧеруал February Март September Сентиабр = Цәыббра March Апрел October April Октиабр = Абҵара Мес November Ноиабр = Гьаргәаба May December И(ы)ун = Иуаноба Декабр = Кьырса June

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1. Шәыбжьы сахацыҧхьаза, Ломдок ханаибадыр (у(бр)и) аҧхынра сгәалашәо(и)т. 2.

Аҽы аӡы акынӡа иугаргьы, иузаржәӡом.

3. Асессиа аибашьраҿы аиааиреи Аҧсны ахьыҧшымреи 15-шықәса ахыҵра иазк(ы)уп. 4. Иаҳа ирацәааны апәақәа рфо(и)т алахакәа шакаа/закаа ирфаз аасҭа/раасҭа. 5. Ҳаызцәа хара аџьармыкьаҿы ханыказ иақәыршәаны ҳа ҳ(а)кны иахьааз азы у(ба)рт хамбеит. 6.

Бара иаҳа акәац рацәа бжәызаап сара Аслан абырскак ифо(и)т хәа сгәы

иаанагоз аасҭа. 7. Вова иаха лассы-лассы асалам-шәкәықәа иоуан Марина шака/зака рыҧхьара лылшоз аасҭа 8.

Иани иаби ракәым, иуацәа зегьы Ҭырқәтәылака игеит рҧсы ршьарц азы.

9. Заҵа шәара ишәҭаз адиақәа зегьы наимгзара, аус(ы)урагьы даламгеит. 10 . Адгәыр

иаҳа аҳәса рацәа бзиа ибоит иара шакааы/закааы бзиа дырбо

аасҭа/раасҭа.

Translate into Abkhaz 1. Although I want to tell you-PL what happened, Fam afraid that you won’t like it. 2. Every lime we see each other, you-FEM ask/entreat me to send letters to you more often. 3. Even i f our son sits here until tomorrow, he thinks he w ill be unable lo finish reading the newspaper. 4. Although he's a good lad, he doesn’t clean his room. 5. Ruslan saw (= was seeing) his daughter more often this year than he saw (= was seeing) his son last year. 6.

You-FEM evidently cooked more meat than I thought that Selma can cat.

7. Fewer women came to the meeting than were speaking to us at the cinema. 8. Far from receiving his daughter’s guests, he did nol even go to her wedding. 9. The more letters she writes, the more beautifully she writes.

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10. Even though Ihcsc girls know the answer, they w ill not say anything.

Translate into English Аҳәынаҧ Аҳәынаҧ ааны иашьцыл(еи)т. Уахынла аҭаацәа аныцәалакь, иаакылсуан. Афатә зтаз ад(ы)улаҧ италон. Хаа-бзаа иказ ирхалон. Иазыфоз афон, иаанхаз ҕәаҧсаны иахыҵны ицон. Уахык аҧшәма-ҧҳәыс даалаган, ахәынаҧкыга лыргыл(еи)т. Аҳәынаҧ ашьшьыҳәа ишааиуазгьы, арыцҳара ианиан ацәкьа иаҿашәеит. Аҧшәмаҧх,әыс данааи, аҳәынаҧ алакәа кылпыҵза иҧсны ишьтан. Vocabulary аҭаацәа

family

аҳәынаҧкыга

mousetrap

акылсра

pass (-С-) through

ашьшьыҳәа

carefully, slowly

narrow opening (-КЫЛ-)

афатә

food

арыцҳара

misfortune

ад(ы)улаҧ

cupboard

аниара

fall (-иа-) upon (-H-)

ахаа-бзаа

sweet goodies

ацәкьа

trap

[а]аанхара

stay, be left over

аҿашәара

fall (-шәа-) into (-ҾЗ-)

аҕәаҧсара

scatter (-гҕса-) all

акылпы-ц(за)

around (-ҕәа-)

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(very) bulging

Lesson 18

In this lesson you w ill learn about: ■ Indefinite Pronouns • Indefinite Expressions • Indefinite Adverbs • How to say ‘ in case’ • How to say ‘ have no option but to’ ■ How to produce Echo Questions ■ The suffixes -шьа, -(р)та/ҭра, -xa

Indefinites The characteristic mark o f indefiniteness is the ending -лак(ь) or -лакгьы. The former was introduced in the discussion o f temporal expressions meaning ‘ when’ , but its usage is not limited to that construction, where we saw the ending suffixed to the non-finite Aorist o f Dynamic verbs. When it is attached to anything other than the non-finite Aorist of Dynamic verbs, the suffix takes an additional element. This is -заа-, and the result o f this addition is the formant -заалак(ь) or -заалакгьы. (a) Pronouns To produce indefinite pronouns, take the interrogative stem -арбан ‘which one?’, add the suffix -заалак(ь) or -заалакгьы, and as prefix add the appropriate Column I pronominal affix for the meanings ‘any(one) (of them)’ , as in the following: Иарбанзаалак(ь)/Иарбанзаалакгьы ак(ы )aara! ‘Bring whichever one/anything!’ Урт рахьтә иарбанзаалак(ь)/иарбанзаалакгьы ак(ы) усҭо(и)т ‘I ’ll give youMASC any one o f them’ Capa иарбанзаалак(ь)/иарбанзаалакгьы ак(гьы) сҭахӡам ‘ I want nothing at all’ Иарбанзаалак(ь)/Иарбанзаалакгьы ак(гьы) изымҳәеит ‘ He could say nothing at all’ Дарбанзаалак(ь)/Дарбанзаалакгьы аӡәы икеииароуп ‘Anyone should do it/them’

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Дарбанзаалак(ь)/Дарбанзаалакгьы аӡо(гьы) дсымбароуп а(б)ра ‘ I should nol see anyone al all here’ The above-forms can be used adjectivally by placing the relevant noun between the pronominal base and the indefinite ending to produce forms like: Иарбан бызшәазаалак(ь)/Иарбан бызшәазаалакгьы еиликаауеит ‘ He understands any language’ Дарбан ҧх,әысзаалак(ь)/Дарбан ҧҳәысзаалакгьы дааигааит! ‘ Let him bring (= marry) any woman!' I f a quantity is involved, then the base o f the indefinite can be -закара, as in: Изакаразаалак(ь)/Изакаразаалакгьы ак(ы) сымам ‘I have absolutely no amount/nothing1 al all' Изакаразаалак(ь)/Изакаразаалакгьы ак(ы) иҭ! ‘Given him any amounl/somethi ng! ’ I f the base o f the indefinite is the stem o f the interrogative -закә(ы)уи ‘who/what is it?’ (viz. -закәы-), then the meaning is ‘Whatever/Whoever X might be’ , as in: Изакәызаалак(ь)/Изакәызаалакгьы ак(ы) сыҭ! ‘Whatever it might be, give me something!’ Изакәызаалак(ь)/Изакәызаалакгьы зҵаарак аҭак изыкамҵеит ‘ Whatever it might be, he could not answer a single question’ Изакәызаалак(ь)/Изакәызаалакгьы ак(ы) с(ы)уҭар, изгоит ‘Whatever it might be, if you-MASC give me something, I ’ll lake it’ Изакәызаалак(ь)/Изакәызаалакгьы ак(ы) иҳәааит! ‘Whatever it might be, let him say something!’ Дзакәызаалак(ь)/Дзакәызаалакгьы, дҽеи(за)м ‘Whoever (s)he might be, (s)he is no good (аҽеи)2’ Сзакәызаалак(ь)/Сзакәызаалакгьы, сышәтә(ы)уп ‘Whoever I might be, I am yours-PL’

1 Also possible is Ишакаразаалак(ь)/Ишакаразаалакгьы. 1 This adjective is most commonly mel when negated, as in examples like: Атагылазаашьа ҽе«(за)м

‘The situation (аҭагылазаашьа) is not good', though note: Ayau сеи ажәа ҽеи иҿыҵуент ‘ Fine words come From Ihc moult) оГa fine person’ .

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Sometimes, however, il is difficult to sec any difference in meaning between indefinites based on -арбан and those based on -закәы-. Consider, for example, the following: Абжьара(к)/Ана