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Further Topics in Vogu

Equational Sentences

Equational sentences link two nouns as a single entity; that is, both nouns in the sentence refer to the same thing. In English, this is indicated by the verb "to be", eg. "He is a man." Vogu also uses the verb u/re 'to be' for this: u IMu povek "He is a man", u ani gratmoN "I am a brewer."

In informal speech, this form is sufficient for all equational uses. In formal speech or writing, a distinction is made between permanent identity and temporary identity. Permanent identity refers to such things as gender, race, family relationships; the above form is used for these: u IMu povek, u IMu pobaDani "He is a man, he is my father". Temporary identity refers to offices or roles that one may fill (briefly or even for most of one's life); the same verb is used, but the noun denoting the role takes the postposition -etl: u ani Censetletl "I am a doctor," u IMu anirata pobatl "He is like a father to me," Re prabaset poSuSatl "Prabaset served as emperor."

In both cases, the negative of these expressions is given by the suffix -ak added to the verb: uk IMu pobaDani "He is not my father," jojmobri uk prabaset poSuSatl "Prabaset is not emperor today."

A variation of the equational sentence is the demonstrative sentence, indicated in English by forms of the phrase "This is...". For animate beings, Vogu uses the equational form with u noted above: uk IMu sensetl "This/he is not the teacher." But for inanimate objects, Vogu uses the predicate forms poteb and pondad of the dependent adjectives 'this' and 'that': upoteb Dabmag "This is a book." The negative uses the suffix -ak, as before, but places it on the noun, not the verb: upoteb Dabmagak "This is not a book."

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Locative Sentences

The locative sentence is often rendered in English by phrases using "There is/are". In Vogu, a different form is used for animate and inanimate nouns. Nouns referring to persons or other animate beings use the verb u 'to be': nasbri u mivek "There is a woman here." Nouns referring to objects take the verb etem 'to exist': nasbri utem Dabmag "There is a book here."

Both these forms imply temporary location. To express permanent location, the verbs ova and loZis 'to be located' are used for animate and inanimate nouns, respectively: jolIseQm Rova kabaDani "My family used to live in the town," jolIseQm uloZis nasponSana "There is a hospital in town."

The negative for all forms is simply the verb with -ak: nasbri uk mivek "A woman is not here," nasbri utmak Dabmag "There is no book here," nasbri uvak ani "I do not live here," jolIseQm uloZisak nasponSana "There is no hospital in town."

In informal speech, temporary location for persons is often rendered by a compound verb formed from re plus a locative postposition: reQm 'to be located at/in': urQmak IMu hwiSa "He is not at home" (note that the object of these verbs, the place where one is located, takes the general object postposition -a.

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Nominatives

Nominative verb phrases are those in which a verbal phrase (predicate and any associated subject, object, etc.) plays the part of a noun to the main verb of the sentence. These are of two types in Vogu: a gerundive phrase formed with the verbal suffix o- and a periphrastic form with the particle bUn. Both can be used in similar circumstances; the o-verb form is more common in speech and informal writing, but the bUn form is somewhat more flexible, since tense and mode can be indicated directly using it (the o-verb form typically takes only the prefix o-).

The gerund form is made by addition of the verb prefix o- to the verb stem; the prefix does not affect the accent or cause loss of fleeting vowel in the verb stem. The logical subject of the o-verb phrase takes the postposition -av, and any other nouns take their usual postpositions. The periphrastic form simply places the particle bUn before the verb phrase, which is otherwise unchanged. In both cases, if the subject of the nominative phrase is the same as that of the main verb, it can be omitted.

When used as the subject of the sentence, these forms need no other modifications. The nominative subject form is often rendered in English by a cleft sentence of the form "It is X that/to Y": uLaDap opul hwiSoS "It is good to go home." The periphrastic form is also the standard way of expressing non-present, non-active verbs in da-: da, bUn Repul IMu hwiSoS "Would that he had gone home." (Note that bUn is always preceded by a comma.)

These nominative phrases can also be used in oblique noun cases. The required postposition is added directly to the o-verb, while the periphrastic form uses the fixed phrase nat-, bUn, and the postposition is added to the word nat-. Gerund forms often have an adverbial function in the sentence, while periphrastic forms generally stand as subordinate clauses: opleStbla utyazat Gu poli "Before eating, we worship the gods.", Repul ani hwiSoS naduku, bUn kICadoZoN "I went home because it was starting to rain."

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Using Noun Complements

The fundamental principle of adjective agreement in Vogu is the noun complement. Every noun in Vogu has an associated noun complement, which is added to adjectives and participals to associate the modifier with the noun being modified. For the most part, noun complements can be easily determined from the first letter(s) of the noun (grammatical agreement). But the noun classes also have a semantic content, so there are occasions when the noun complement is other than expected (semantic agreement).

Common Nouns

There are few surprises here. Most common nouns exhibit strict grammatical agreement in their noun complement. Loanwords are the most likely to require semantic agreement, but many of these are scientific or technical and their semantic class is easy to determine.

Another case of semantic agreement with common nouns is when a noun is used metaphorically to refer to a different thing, usually a person. In this case, the noun complement appropriate to the person is used: nok pofajpuka Du 'You lazy nothing!'.

Nouns derived from animate nouns take the noun complement na-, while those derived from plant materials take mi-: amuko naCkyus 'tasty beef'.

Some nouns with different meanings take different noun complements for each meaning: avek a- 'person', avek ka- 'score (20 in number)'. Finally, some nouns take a noun complement different from the expected: bupoN po- 'hand' (where mi- would be grammatically correct). When the proper noun complement for a common noun cannot be deduced, it is always proper to use the complement na-.

When a list of common nouns is referred to by an adjective, the noun complement can vary. If all nouns in the list take the same noun complement, then the adjective referring to them all takes this same complement. If the nouns do not share the same complement, then the noun complement ka- is used. (This is one of the errors made most often by the Kadane themselves; in practice, you will be understood if you always use ka- for lists of nouns.) 

        dlISd e dliRa DaDani   'my spoon and bowl'
        Dmuha e bupoN kaDani   'my face and hands'

Animates

In the case of animate nouns, a distinction is made between variable and invariant nouns. Variable nouns are those which change their initial letters, depending on the gender of the animate being. The dictionary entry for such words is usually given in a-. This is changed to po- for male beings and mi- for female beings. The prefix a- is used for groups of mixed gender, or when gender is unknown or irrelevant. The noun complement of these nouns changes also to po- or mi-, as appropriate: 
        avek           'person'
        povek poLaDap  'good man'
        mivek miLaDap  'good woman'
        avekINu aLaDap 'good people'

Invariant animate nouns may begin with any noun prefix; the form of the word does not indicate gender. However, any following adjectives take the noun complement a-, po-, or mi- of the appropriate gender: 

        sensetl         'teacher'
        pol             'god'
        sensetl poLaDap 'good teacher (male)'
        pol miLaDap     'good goddess'

Large animals, and most domesticated ones, follow the same format. Those whose nouns begin in a- generally change noun prefix and noun complement to show gender, and those with invariant noun names change only the noun complement.

The names of small animals, insects and invertibrates, whose gender is generally unknown or irrelevant, behave somewhat differently. These names may begin with any noun prefix, including the gender prefixes, but their noun complement is always a-. If it necessary to refer to their gender, the adjectives gepo 'male' and gemi 'female' must be used. Plants are treated in a similar fashion: their names may begin with any noun prefix, but their noun complement is always mi-. 

        poluv aMagul      'big fish' 
        volDuzl aMagul    'big bass (fish)'
        anasis afajpa     'busy bee'
        anasis agpo       'drone (lit. male bee)'
        tiwi miptat       'green tree'
        rablowa miCkyus   'tasty apple'

Places

Placenames can be made up of nouns, adjectives, participals or combinations thereof. Frequently, these are nonce compounds, that is, compounds that appear nowhere else in Vogu. The noun complement is not derived from these words, however. The key to correctly using noun complements with placenames is to realize that each placename is accompanied in the Kadane mind by a class noun descriptive of the place, and that this is the noun which determines the proper noun complement. Even if the class noun is unexpressed, as frequently happens, one can usually determine the correct noun complement by knowing the type of place represented by the name. 
        ka- : roads, bodies of water, plains, buildings
        mi- : cities, planets
        po- : mountains
        na- : for other locations (from nastug 'place')

        (jolIs) juspoheZ miLubkar  'old Juspohezh (city)'
        (voteZ) voZiMi kaMagul     'big Vozhisni (river)'
        (voteZ) povek poLubkar kaMagul 'big Old Man (river)'

In the last example, note that povek poLubkar is a name; while it agrees within itself, the proper noun complement for the feature named Old Man is that for the noun 'river'.

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Using Participals

Participals are derived from the verb stem by the addition of the participle prefixes ha-, hi- and ho-. They replace the tense prefixes, but modal infixes may be used after them. When used adjectivally or substantively, they take the proper noun complement as the first affix in the word; however, the accent falls on the last verb infix before the stem, not on the vowel of the noun complement.

Participals can be used adjectivally by placing them after the noun and applying the proper noun complement. Since the participal is a verbal form, it can take following nouns with postpositions. This usage can be a type of relative phrase, but there are also many fixed forms which function as regular adjectives. 

        Cidi Dahobraka        'broken car'
        Dabmag DahasrednImt   'interesting book'
        povek pohalat Dabmaga 'man reading a book'

The participal can be used substantively without accompanying noun but with proper noun complement, to express nouns of agent: ahalat 'a reader'. While theoretically these words can also take accompanying nouns with postpositions, in practice this is a very marked use and only employed for specific effects.

Participals can also be used adverbially, either alone or as modifier of another verb. When used alone, they form impersonal sentences, eg., hadunyat 'I understand (lit. 'it is understood')'. When used to modify other verbs, their meaning varies depending on the tense: 

        Present: implies 'and' or 'in the manner of'
           loZis haspita  'be in bed asleep'
           lat haskat     'read carefully (lit. searchingly)'

        Future: implies 'in order to'
           loZis hispita  'go to bed (to sleep)'

        Past: implies 'because of', 'having been'
           pul hofonM nasponSaniS 'go to the hospital because sick'

The participals of 'to be' are formed on the stem re; if modal infixes are used, they replace the re. 

                hare        harak
                hire        hirak
                hore        horak
                hasre       hasrak
                hamo        hamok, etc.

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Adverbial Relatives

Relative phrases, whether adjectival or adverbial, generally contain two parts, an antecedant, which is the element in the main clause to which the relative refers, and the relative, which relates to the antecedant. This relationship is often obscured in English. In the sentence "I see who is here", the antecedant and relative have been wrapped into a single word "who", the expanded meaning of which is properly "the person who". While this example is adjectival, English does the same thing with adverbial relatives, as in "I go where I please" (properly "I go there, where I please").

This combination of both antecedant and relative into one word is not allowed in Vogu. Even in adverbial uses, Vogu requires that each element of the relative phrase be present. Tables of correspondances can be found that give antecedant and relative for many different adverbial concepts. 

            naMiS upul ani, naSguS ulekr
               "I go where I want (lit. "to there
               go I, to where I want")
            dagu Du nola, Retun na nagudav
               "Tell me how you did it (lit. "tell you the (means),
               did it by-which").

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Impersonal Sentences

Impersonal sentences are those containing an indefinite subject or object. Indefinite subjects can be indicated simply by conjugating the verb and leaving out an explicit subject:udoZdoN "It's raining", nasbri lo ukuku "It's quiet in here." Adjectives and participals used adverbially also constitute a form of the impersonal: hadunyat "It is understood", LaDap "It/that is good."

Another type of impersonal subject uses the noun avek 'person' as actual subject: ugu avek di, papul hematl "They say the priest is coming." Finally, the passive mode with no logical subject can stand for the impersonal: nasbri uduzuCat vogukadane "They teach Vogu here/Vogu is taught here."

The standard impersonal object is a substantive form of the demonstrative adjective -ole: nole. The substantive receives the proper postposition in use. In informal usage, the impersonal object is omitted unless required for clarity: Retun ani sab (nola) "I did it myself."

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Verbs Derived from re

The root form of the verb 'to be' is re. This verb can combine with many postpositions to form compound verbs. Although equational sentences using u take no postpositions, sentences using these compound verbs do require a postposition, usually -a to designate the direct object. 
        reta 'to accompany'
          urta IMu ana  'He accompanies me.'
        rerata 'be intended for'
          uratak kapleStoteb Da 'This food is not 
          intended for you.'
        reduku 'to be about, concerning'
          uduku Dagmag vova prabasetIf 'The book is 
          about the life of Prabaset."
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Verbs Derived from pul

Many Vogu words are formed by compounding of simpler words; this is especially evident in regards to motion verbs. For example, the verb pul simply means to be in a state of motion, either coming or going. To this verb can be added the regular postpositions of motion, to form a more precise verb of motion:

         pul     go, come
         puliS   approach, go to
         pulIlm  enter, go into
         pulIkm  exit, go out of

The important point to recall when dealing with these verbs is the proper postposition to give to any following nouns. When the naked verb pul is used, the noun must take a postposition appropriate to the type of motion intended. However, when the compound verb itself contains a motion postposition, then the general direct object postposition -a is used with any following noun:

        upul ani nasponSaniS  "I go to the hospital"
        upuliS ani nasponSana             "

The choice of which form to use is largely stylistic; there is little difference in meaning between the two, although compound verbs may be a bit more common in writing than in speech.

The verb pul is used here for illustration, but the same principle applies to all verbs of motion. The verb eDat 'to fly', for example, essentially means to be in motion while flying. The motion postpositions can be added to it, just as to pul: eDaDki 'to fly away'.

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Using Dependent Adjectives

Dependent adjectives have the form of suffixes. They can be used in a variety of ways. When used adjectivally with nouns, they are suffixed to the noun: mivekaM 'many women'. They can also stand alone, with proper noun complement: mivek miM 'many women.' This form is more common in writing than speech, and tends to lend more emphasis to the adjective. Any dependent adjective can be used independently in this way, including some that seem odd to us, such as the plural marker: mivekINu/mivek miNu 'women'.

Dependent adjectives with proper noun compement can also stand alone as a substantive (q.v.), without any accompanying noun: pondad 'that man'.

Dependent adjectives can also adverbially modify verbs, adverbs and whole phrases. When used adverbially, dependent adjectives can be used in the same two ways. They can be suffixed to a verb: ulataM ani 'I read a lot', or they can stand alone, with the noun complement na-: ulat ani naM. When used independently, they tend to gravitate to the end of the phrase. As adverbs, they can also modify adjectives or other adverbs, although in this case, they can only be used dependently: LaDapaM 'very happy', naMaM 'very much'.

Multiple dependent adjectives can be used, either dependently or independently: DabmagotebaDani/Dabmag Doteb DaDani 'this my book', Dagunokak/Dagu Danok Dak 'not a single word'. This is less common with verbs, since confusion can arise about whether the multiple adverbs are modifying the main verb or each other.

Finally, dependent adjectives can be used predicatively, after receiving the prefix po-: upoteb Dabmag 'This is a book', upokaben iSat 'What (lit. how much) is the price?' Many of these verb forms are used idiomatically.

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Substantives

Adjectives can not only modify nouns, they can stand alone like a noun. Such an adjective is called a substantive adjective. Some substantives are used ad-hoc, for only the duration of a sentence or conversation. In these cases, the noun for which they stand in has already been mentioned, and the substantive is a sort of short-hand for it. Demonstrative adjectives are frequently used this way: 
        cIlZ anita DabmaCduku 'I need a book.'
        ulZ Davep             'Which one?'
        Dandad; uLaDap Do     'That one; it's good'

The use of the adjective -ole as a type of third-person pronoun is an example of this construction.

Other adjectives are regularly used as substantives; in fact, there is no identifiable noun for which they stand in: aMalenk 'children (lit. 'littles')', kakal 'everything', akal 'everyone'.

Adjectives used substantively take whatever postposition is required. They can be modified by adjectives like any other noun:aMalenketa aLaDap 'with the good children', DandadaDani 'that one of mine.'

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Postpositional Adjectivals

This term refers to the fact that Vogu does not have the ability of English to turn virtually any noun or phrase into an adjective, to indicate concepts such as origin ('Georgia peaches'), composition ('iron rod'), purpose ('soup bowl'), and the like. Although adjectives can be formed from nouns by the word-forming prefixes ge- (implying possession: getranu 'mountainous') and pIna- (implying resemblance: pInago 'friendly, like a friend'), most Vogu adjectives are adjectives of quality or state only; consequently, the adjectival resources of Vogu may seem limited.

In reality, Vogu possesses the capacity to express these relationships, but they are rendered not as adjectives, but as postpositional phrases: 

                wesok rablowakm         'apple juice (from)'
                hubenzo cIvekIf         'human condition (of)'
                nakizn poGeblIkm        'gold knife (from)'
                DaCvton minCirata       'vegetable garden (for)'
                gaDa prabaseduku        'Prabaset's scriptures (about)'
                praba lumilav           'electric lighting (using)'
                Cwan patIseQm           'upper bed (at)'
                Dabmag naritata         'music book (with)'

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The Article and -ole/-o

There is no indefinite article in Vogu ('a, an' in English). As for the definite article, the adjective -ole is often glossed as 'the', but its meaning is really closer to 'the aforementioned, the topic under discussion'. In practice, this adjective is generally used to refer to a given noun after its first explicit reference, and is better translated in these cases as 'it': upoteb Dabmag. usrednImt Do. "This is a book. It is interesting."

To express the sort of definiteness implied by the English 'the', Vogu can use either of the demonstrative adjectives -oteb 'this' or -Indad 'that' along with the noun on first reference: Dabmagoteb, NuntaSIndad "this book, that pencil". Their emphasis is really stronger than English 'the', however. Among the Kadane demonstrative adjectives are generally omitted unless special emphasis is desired. With such unmarked nouns, the translator can supply 'a/an' or 'the' as the context seems to dictate.

When -ole is used as a third person pronoun or impersonal object, it can take a shortened form: -o. This form takes proper noun complements and postpositions, just like its longer counterpart. However, if the proper noun complement is a-, the long form -ole must be used instead. Postpositions are added directly to the stem. For the indirect object with noun complement D-, the long form is also used, presumable to avoid confusion with the pronoun Du with indirect postposition. 

                nole            no
                nola            na
                poli            pi
                Doleta          Dota
                Doli            -
                ale             -
                kolerata        korata

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Noun Lists and Connectives

One of the basic rules of Vogu syntax is that every noun must have a postposition to indicate its relationship to other words in the sentence (in this sense, the unmarked subject noun can be said to have a "zero-suffix" added to it). When one encounters lists of nouns, this principle must be observed.

There are two approaches to this. One can list each noun with proper postposition and unite them by using an independent connective particle, or place the postposition on only the first noun of the group, and add a connective suffix to all the other nouns of the list. (Note that the second method is applicable only when all the nouns in the list share the same postposition.) The most common connectives are:

        e         -Ilya     'and'
        Qe        -IQya     'or'
        na - dak  -Inyak    'but not'

Examples: 

   ulekh ani Dabmaga e NuntaSa             "I want a book and a pencil."
   ulekr ani Dabmaga NuntaSIlya                          "
   cIlZ anita DabmaCduku Qe Nuntasduku dyu "Do I need a book or a pencil?"
   cIlZ anita DabmaCduku NuntaSIQya dyu                  "
   ulekr ani Dabmaga na NuntaSa dak        "I want a book but not a pencil."
   ulekr ani Dabmaga NuntaSInyak                         "

The suffixed connective is more common in written than spoken language. If dependent adjectives are present on the nouns, the connective suffixes always come last. The connective suffixes cannot be used independently, since the connectives more closely resemble postpositions than adjectives. Note that the accent always falls on the last syllable of -Inyak.

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Apposition

An exception to the idea that every noun in a sentence requires a postposition (or connective suffix) is the appositional phrase. In this case, a group of nouns actually refers to a single entity, and so is treated like a single noun from a grammatical point of view. Names are an example of such appositional forms, as are nouns that state a class followed by the name of a member of that class. Any postposition required by the appositional group is given to only the first word in the group. An important exception is when the first element in the group is a pronoun: in this case, both pronoun and (first) following noun receive the postposition: 
        uvId ani danelwega tereNo  "I see Danelwegi terengo" (a person)
        udar ani Da povki noj      "I give it to the man, Noj."
        udar ani Da IMi powagi     "I give it to him, Powag."

This same form is used for the titles of books or designations given to buildings, vehicles or locations, all of which are considered types of names.

In the above types of appositives, both nouns referred simultaneously to a single entity. Another type of appositive provides supplemental information about a noun. Such phrases are often set off by commas in English; in Vogu, they are formed by placing the adverb nandad, which may be translated 'namely, that is', immediately after the noun to be modified. The noun or noun phrase which modifies follows the adverb. If a postposition is required, both nouns, before and after nandad, take it.

     urata kapleStoteb asina nandad SeZa.  
        "This food is for my children, the stars."
     udar ani cyaspela sensetli nandad noji
        "I congratulate my teacher, Noj."

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Active vs. Stative Verbs

In English, many verbs that describe a state have an analogous verb that describes the acquisition of that state: 'to be seated', 'to sit down'. In Vogu, only the stative verb generally exists, and one must use a paraphrase to express the active corresponding verb. One way to do this is to use the verbal initiative infix Ca-. Another is to use a periphrastic construction with the verb tun 'to do' (sometimes pul 'to go, to happen') and an adverbial future participal.

        ubaNtu ani           'I am sitting'
        uCabaNtu ani         'I sit down'
        utun hibaNtu ani           "
        uprosvi powya        'The sun is red'
        uCaprosvi powya      'The sun grows red'

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Use of Verb Prefix da-

In the past, Vogu employed the indicative and subjunctive aspects and had a full set of tense markers for each aspect. The tense prefixes u-, kI-, Re- and pa- are the tense markers of the indicative aspect. In present-day Vogu, only the prefix da- remains of the subjunctive. Thus, this prefix strictly speaking is the present tense marker of the subjunctive aspect, but most Vogu grammarians simply call it the concessive tense.

The concessive expresses unreality, wishes, things that may or may not come true. It is also used to render the polite imperative. Since this prefix represents only present tense, a periphrastic form with bUn is used to express other tenses.

        dapul ani                 'I might go (now)'
        dapul Du                  'Would that you would go'
        da, bUn Repul ani         'I might have gone'
        da, bUn papul IMu         'She might go (in the future)'

The concessive of 'to be' is technically dare, but is usually encountered in the shortened form da.

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Imperatives

There are two forms of the imperative, simple and formal. The simple imperative is used to give commands. The formal is a polite version of the imperative, more of a request than a command. The simple imperative is the same as the dictionary form of the verb, without tense markers. The formal imperative is formed with the concessive prefix da-. Negative imperatives add the suffix -ak to the verb. Adjectives and verbs of quality or state form the imperative in the same way. Dependent adjectives must prefix da- to the suffix stem (after adding po-); the more formal nature of the imperative with da- does not apply here. 
                pul Du          'Go!'
                dapul Du        '(Please) go.'
                tetnam Du       'Hide yourself!'
                datnam Du       'Please hide yourself.'
                Uguk            'Don't speak!'
                daguk           'Please don't speak.'
                baNtu Du        'Sit!'
                dabaNtu         'Won't you sit down?'
                kuku            'Be quiet!'
                dapoDani        'Be mine.'

The second-person pronoun is optional in these constructions. The imperative form of the verb 'to be' is re, but the negative uses the concessive form dak.

The imperative is classed as one of three forms of the optative aspect. These forms are the cohortative, imperative and jussive, corresponding to the three persons of the verb. The Vogu imperative is used for all three forms. A pronoun or noun can be added to make clear which form is intended. 

         cohortative    dapul ani     'Let me go'
                        dapul Gu      'Let's go'
         imperative     dapul Du/Ru   'Please go'
         jussive        dapul IMu     'May he/she go'
                        dapul INu     'May they go'

The formal version is given above, but of course the same meanings can be expressed in the simple imperative: pul IMu 'Let him/her go!'

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Comparisions

Adjectives and adverbs can be compared by addition of the comparative suffixes. These are inseparable suffixes and follow immediately after the adjective stem. Regarding adverbs, only adjective-derived adverbs may be compared; postpositional and particulate adverbs cannot be.

                -uQ     comparative
                -arL    relative superlative
                -iL     absolute superlative

The relative superlative means 'the most of a given group'; the superlative 'the most possible'.

When used with predicates, these suffixes are added to the predicate adjective. When the adverb is used independently, it must be suffixed to -aM first: ulatuQ/ulat naMuQ 'reads more'.

The postposition -Cem is used to refer to a compared item. It is used for all degrees of comparision, including the positive degree, so its translation depends on the degree. The postposition -av is used in comparisons to indicate the degree of difference; -etl is used to mark the standard for comparison.

        -Cem:   positive:    'as...as'
                comparative: 'than'
                superlative: 'of'

        uMagul mivek aniCem     'the woman is as big as me.'
        uMaguluQ mivek aniCem   'the woman is bigger than me.'
        umagularL mivek akalCem 'the woman is biggest of all.'

        upsokuQ IMu aniCem taQav huQu
           'He is taller than me by three huzg.'
        uLezruQ IMu aniCem opoluberetl
           'He is better than me at fishing'

The negative suffix -ak can be added to compared adjectives. If one wishes to negate the adjective before comparison, then the comparative must be used as a separate adverb, with corresponding change in meaning. Compare:

        uLaDapuQak IMu DuCem     'He is not better than you'
        uLaDapak naMuQ IMu DuCem 'He is worse than you'

The basic comparisons can be modified by adverbs, both particulate and adjectival, to render finer degrees of comparison:

        yeSo 'yet, still'
           ukukuQ yeSo 'It is even quieter'
        -banda 'every/always'
           uCakukuQbanda 'It's getting quieter and quieter'
        -alo 'few/not much'
           ukukuQalo 'It's not much quieter'

Implied comparisons are those in which there is no entity being compared to, but the context implies an unstated marker of the comparison. The postposition -etl is used in these constructions to indicate the standard of comparison.

                caQ daguletl           'first in size'
                Dabmag DacnaQ paDapetl 'second-best book'
                Repul kavtebSa naQetl jojyomu
                  'It happened two days ago (lit. before now by two days)'
                uLezra IMu opoluberetl 'He is skilled at fishing.'

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Reduplication of Adjectives and Adverbs

In Vogu, adjectives and adverbs can be reduplicated to provide more emphasis. The reduplicated adjective is always used adverbially and always follows the original adjective: mivek mikusivwi kusivwi 'a very beautiful woman'. If a dependent adjective is reduplicated, the repeated part must be used as a suffix: DabmagaMaM/Dabmag DaMaM 'very many books'.

If the reduplicated word is an adverb, an independent adjective simply follows the original word: Ugu kuku kuku 'Speak very quietly. A dependent adjective must be suffixed to the original adverb: lat naMaN 'read very much'. Finally, a reduplicated predicate adjective takes a following stand-alone adverb, where the adjective is dependent or independent: uLehonza Lehonza povek 'the man is very happy.'

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Adverbials and Base Nouns

An important class of locative and temporal adverbs are those formed by compounding a noun plus postposition. Some of these compounds are very old features of the language and so eroded that their components aren't always obvious. Some have in fact evolved into short forms that can be used as alternatives to the longer forms.

                nasbri (from nastug + -oteb + -kri)  'here'
                nabr                                   "
                kvrenkri (kavrem + -Indad + -kri)    'then'
                kvri                                   "

These adverbs are often compounded from a variety of postpositions, producing adverbs with greater specificity than their English counterparts: nasbri 'here', nasbiS 'to here', naSki 'from here'.

However, since the language can't accomodate ahead of time all the possible combinations of noun + postposition that might be required, all locative and temporal adverbs have simple noun counterparts, to which postpositions can be added. These are simple noun formations and do not display the eroding of their elements that the fixed compounds do:

         nasob      'here' (n.)
           nasbri   'here' (adv.)
           nasobdo  'as far as here' (ppn phrase.)

         kavteb     'now' (n.)
           katbri   'now' (adv.)
           kavtebla 'before now' (ppn phrase)

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Postpositions and Monosyllables

Most Vogu nouns are polysyllabic, and present little difficulty when adding postpositions and other suffixes. There are some monosyllables, however. When a -V(C) suffix is added to a -V monosyllabic noun, the letter w must be interposed: po sensetl 'Teacher Po' -> poweta sensetl 'with Teacher Po'.

Exceptions to this are the personal pronouns and short forms of the dependent adjective -ole, whose behaviour with postpositions is given elsewhere.

© 1998, Terrence Donnelly

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