Tova language: Difference between revisions

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For example: ''itulavsan'' 'greatest god' → ''utlavsan'' 'greatest gods'.
For example: ''itulavsan'' 'greatest god' → ''utlavsan'' 'greatest gods'.
==== Definiteness ====
The feature of the ''definite'' in Tova is used to specify that something is identifiable. There are two ways of forming the definite in Tova.
===== ''A'': Beginning consonant =====
If a word begins in a consonant, like ''laskan'' 'ruler', the rule is to take the vowel closest to the start of the word, which is /a/ in this example, and prefix it to the word, then, the first consonant is geminated. So, by these rules, the definite of ''laskan'' 'ruler' is ''allaskan'' 'the ruler'. The length of vowels is preserved.
===== ''B'': Beginning vowel =====
If a word begins in a vowel, like ''umjás'' 'act of writing', the rule is to take the consonant closest to the start of the word, which is /m/ here, and then it is prefixed to the word. By these rules, the definite of ''umjás'' 'act of writing' is ''mumjás'' 'the act of writing'.
===== Order of application =====
If a word is going to be both ''plural'' and ''definite'' (and by default, in the unmarked nominative), the pluralization occurs first and then it is definitized. For example, the true definite plural of ''itulsan'' is ''tutlasan''. If a noun is plural, definite, and in a case that is not the nominative, the order is ''pluralization → definitization'' → ''case application''. For example, the plural, definite, and accusative of ''takúseç'' is ''tatkúseççit''.
=== Adjectives and adverbs (modifiers) ===
In Tova, most adjectives and adverbs are derived from nouns, which themselves are mostly derived from roots. Adjectives and adverbs are not distinct in their forms, so the rest of this section will refer to both ''adjectives'' and ''adverbs'' as '''modifiers'''.
==== Derivation ====
Most modifiers are formed with a simple ''-u'' suffix from the noun that they are derived from. For example, ''dh-s-r'' – relating to goodness → ''dhusur'' 'good (n.)' → ''dhusuru'' 'good (adj.)'. This is a simple rule and there are no exceptions or irregularities.
==== Inflection ====
Modifiers, when used like adjectives, are pluralized just like nouns, and they agree with the nouns that they modify. For example, from the section above, the plural of the modifier ''dhusuru'' is '''''dhusurunu'''''.
Adjectival modifiers take the same cases as nouns, and behave exactly like nouns in terms of inflection.
Here is a table showing an example declension (excluding possessive forms) of an adjectival modifier.
{| class="wikitable"
|+Declension of ''dhusuru'' 'good'
! rowspan="2" |
! colspan="2" |Indefinite
! colspan="2" |Definite
|-
!Singular
!Plural
!Singular
!Plural
|-
!Nominative
|''dhusuru''
|''dhusurunu''
|''uddhusuru''
|''uddhusurunu''
|-
!Accusative
|''dhusurut''
|''dhusurunut''
|''uddhusurut''
|''uddhusurunut''
|-
!Dative
|''dhusururi''
|''dhusurununi''
|''uddhusururi''
|''uddhusurununi''
|-
!Genitive
|''dhusuruk''
|''dhusurunuk''
|''uddhusuruk''
|''uddhusurunuk''
|-
!Comitative
|''dhusurul''
|''dhusurunul''
|''uddhusurul''
|''uddhusurunul''
|-
!Inessive
|''dhusurus''
|''dhusurunus''
|''uddhusurus''
|''uddhusurunus''
|-
!Adessive
|''dhusurur''
|''dhusurunur''
|''uddhusurur''
|''uddhusurunur''
|-
!Ablative
|''dhusuruźu''
|''dhusurunuźu''
|''uddhusuruźu''
|''uddhusurunuźu''
|-
!Vocative
|''dhusurure''
|''dhusurunune''
|''uddhusurure''
|''uddhusurunune''
|}