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15_NPCP and The Agglutinative Block

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Grammatical Concept: Noun-Preceding Case-Particles (NPCP) & The Agglutinative Block

Asaxi utilizes a system of Noun-Preceding Case-Particles (NPCP) to manage case marking, noun modification, and syntactic roles. Noun phrases operate on a strict Left-Branching Agglutinative logic.

This system allows for the creation of an Agglutinative Particle Block: a chain of prefixes that defines exactly “what” the noun is doing, “what” it is made of, and “where” it is, before the noun is even spoken.

Rules

1. Particle Classification There are two types of NPCPs, distinguished by their binding strength to the Noun:

  • Relational Particles (Case): These define the syntactic role of the noun (e.g., Subject, Owner, Tool, Direction). They stand as separate words if followed immediately by a Noun.
  • Fusing Particles (Lexical): Specifically the particle ga. This particle modifies the meaning of the noun itself (creating a compound/attribute). It always fuses with the following element.

2. The Fusion Rule (The Block) Any particle followed immediately by another particle must fuse into a single block, regardless of type.

  • Relational + Relational: They merge (e.g., måmå + ni → måmåni).
  • Relational + Fusing: They merge (e.g., to + ga → toga).
  • Particle + Locative Prefix: They merge via a bridge (e.g., izo + o- → izowo-).
  • Exception (The Break): If a Relational Particle is followed directly by a Head Noun, fusion stops, and they remain separated by a space (e.g., ni shěsokam).

3. Vowel Hiatus

  1. If the Attributive particle ga and the following noun both start with a, they merge,
    • Eg. ga + apo (red) = gapo
  2. If the Attributive particle ga is followed by any other vowel, hiatus is allowed,
    • Eg. ga + o (blue) = gao
  3. Bridges (w/x) are only strictly required when attaching to Locative Prefixes.

Syntactic Structure

Formula (Maximal Expansion): [Determiner]+[Agglutinative Block]−[Head Noun]

The Particle Block Internal Order: [Relational Stack]+[Attributive ga]+[Modifier Noun]+[Bridge]+[Locative Prefix]

Logic: The “Role” (Case) wraps the “Definition” (Attribute/Modifier), which wraps the “Position” (Locative), which attaches to the “Object” (Head Noun).

The Inventory

ParticleTypeFunctionMeaning / English Equivalent
toRelationalNominativeSubject marker (Objective).
ăRelationalSubjectiveSubject marker (Internal/Felt).
dhèRelationalTopic/PatientPassive Voice marker.
sèRelationalGenitiveOf / ‘s / Belonging to.
băRelationalInstrumentalUsing / With / Because of (Causal).
záRelationalComitativeWith / Accompanied by.
dåRelationalDativeTo / For (recipient).
niRelationalAllativeTo / Towards (destination).
izoRelationalAblativeFrom / Out of (source).
måmåRelationalTerminativeUntil / Up to (limit).
ăniRelationalTopicalAbout / Concerning / Regarding.
gaFusingAttributiveMade of / -type (lexical modifier).

1.1 The Dual Function of to

The particle to serves two distinct functions depending on its position:

  1. Subject Marker: When it initiates a Noun Phrase.
  2. Nominal Linker: When it follows a Relational Particle block, connecting it to the head noun.

Exception: The Genitive Zero-Link When using the Genitive particle sè (Of/Belonging to), the linker to is optional and frequently dropped. The possession relationship is considered strong enough to bind the phrase directly to the Head Noun.

  • Full Form: Sè John to shěso (“John’s book”).
  • Efficient Form: Sè John shěso (“John’s book”).
  1. Basic Modification (The Compound) Context: A book made of blue material (Bluebook). Gaoshěso. ATTR-blue-book “Blue-book.”
  2. Relational Case (Simple) Context: John (as the possessor). sè John. ASSOC John “Of John”
  3. The Passive Topic (dhè) Context: The tree (as the receiver of chopping). Dhè kjèpo… TOP tree “The tree (was)…”
  4. The Fused Block (Complex)** Context: The red book (which is the Subject) located here. To onýj gapowo-shěso… SUBJ DEF.COLD ATTR-red-here-book ”The Red-Here-Book (Subject)…”
  5. Nested Structure (Possession of a Modified Noun) Context: I see John’s green book. To wo sè John gavishěso ijo. SUBJ 1SG ASSOC John ATTR-green-book see “I see John’s green-book.”
  6. Motion Towards (ni) Context: I am going to the library.
    • Note: ni acts as a relational particle followed by a noun, so a space is used. To wo ni shěsokam xoxo. SUBJ 1SG ALL library depart “I depart to the library.”
  7. Motion From (izo) Context: The book is from the library.
    • Note: izo fuses with the locative prefix o- via the bridge w. Onýj o-shěso izowo-shěsokam xiŕa. DEF.COLD here-book ABL-here-library EXIST “The book is from-the-library-here.”
  8. Complex Path (Relational Stacking)** Context: I walk from the house up to the tree.
    • Note: måmå (Until) and ni (To) are both Relational Particles. Per Rule 2, they fuse into måmåni. Izo kamm måmåni kjèpo aśù. ABL building TERM-ALL tree walk “I walk from building as-far-as-to tree.”
  9. The Topical Argument (ăni) To wo ăni no ŕima. SUBJ 1SG [ABOUT 2SG] think “I think about you.”

Ga-Modified Noun and Adjectival Noun Disambiguation

Because the ga particle creates descriptive words, it is easy to confuse it with the standard morphological adjective system (suffixes -nă / -nýj). However, they carry distinct semantic logic.

  • Morphological Adjectives (Simile): Describe Behavior or Abstract Quality. They imply the subject acts like the root or shares a trait with it.

  • Ga-Modified Nouns (Constitution): Describe Biology, Material, or Category. They imply the subject is physically made of or classified as the root.

Comparative Examples Root Word: jýnnshá (Hyena)

  1. The Morphological Adjective (Behavior) John jýnă shá xiŕa. John hyena-ADJ person EXIST “John is a chatty person.” Logic: John is a person, he behaves like a hyena (he is talkative/loud).

  2. The Ga-Modified Noun (Classification) John gajýnnshá xiŕa. John ATTR-hyena-person EXIST “John is a hyena-person.” Logic: John is a specific type of creature (perhaps a hybrid or a specific clan member). It defines his essential constitution, not just his personality.

  3. The Root Identity (Fact) John jýnnshá xiŕa. John hyena EXIST “John is a hyena.” Logic: John is not a human. He is literally a hyena.

5. Predicative NPCPs (The Validity Slot Integration)

While Relational Particles usually appear before a noun to mark its case, they can also be moved to the end of the sentence, placing them immediately before the Stative Particle (xiŕa).

When placed here, they fuse with xiŕa. This changes the definition of the relationship with the assertion of existence, creating complex “To Be” predicates.

The Logic: Instead of saying “The book exists [of John]” (Adjectival), you say “The book [is-of] John” (Predicative). ,

  1. Note that if you decide to drop xiŕa entirely, the NPCP doesn’t have anywhere to go, so it stays with John Eg.
    • John sèŕa - John’s
    • Sè John. - John’s

The Predicative Fusion Table

When a Relational Particle meets xiŕa, they fuse into a single Predicative Verb.

ParticleBase Meaning+ xiŕa (Fusion)Definition / Translation
sèOf / BelongingsèŕaTo be owned by / To be yours
dåFor / TodåŕaTo be for / To be intended for
izoFromizoŕaTo be from / To originate from
băBy / UsingbăŕaTo be caused by / To be made by
záWithzáŕaTo be with / To accompany
niTowardsnìŕaTo be leading to / To be destined for

Usage Examples

1. Predicative Possession (sèŕa)

To shěso John sèŕa. SUBJ book John POSS-EXIST “The book belongs to John.” (Lit: The book is-of John).

2. Predicative Origin (izoŕa)

To wo shěsokam izoŕa. SUBJ 1SG library ABL-EXIST “I am from the library.” (Lit: I exist-from the library).

3. Predicative Purpose (dåŕa)

To apo John dåŕa. SUBJ apple John DAT-EXIST “The apple is for John.”

6. Epistemic Stacking (The Truth Layer)

These Predicative NPCPs can further stack with Validity Particles (such as ná “Not” or xă “Indeed”) to form a dense Epistemic Block. This allows the speaker to assert the truth, falsehood, or probability of the relationship in a single final word.

The Hierarchy:

[Polarity/Truth] + [Relational Case] + [xiŕa]

When stacking, the Polarity particle attaches to the front of the fused Predicate. Take note of how xi is dropped from xiŕa in the following examples:

Negative Stacking (ná-)

Applies negation to the relationship.

  • sèŕa (Belongs to) → násèŕa (Does not belong to).
  • dåŕa (Is for) → nádåŕa (Is NOT for).

To gaoshěso John násèŕa. “The blue book does not belong to John.”

Emphatic Stacking (xă-)

Applies absolute certainty to the relationship.

  • izoŕa (Is from) → xăizoŕa (Is INDEED from).

Wo gaŕo xăizoŕa. “I am absolutely from a city!”

Complex Stacking (Double Particles)

In rare cases, multiple particles may stack to express complex nuances, such as “Not made by.”

  • ná (Not) + bă (Instrumental) + xiŕa (Exist) → nábăŕa.

Yośýstèm yomåsháma nábăŕa. “The societal system is not made by humans.

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