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Grammatical Concept: Internal Volition

While Asaxi handles External Force (“Must”) using the Imperative Prefix xăhè-, it handles Internal Volition (“Want”) and Necessity (“Need”) using Sentence-Final Particles.

These particles wrap the entire proposition, indicating the speaker’s internal drive or requirement regarding the event.

1. The Particle Inventory

ParticleMeaningFunctionLogic
Want / DesireVolitionalInternal desire for the event to happen.
Need / RequireNecessitativeInternal requirement or lack of option.
nỏwăNot wantNeg. VolitionalActive lack of desire.
nỏwëNot needNeg. NecessitativeLack of necessity (“Don’t have to”).
_(Note: “Must” is handled by the Coercive Voice **[[xăhè (Particle)xăhè-]]**, which remains a prefix)._])]

2. Syntactic Structure (Head-Final)

Like ken (Can), these particles appear at the very end of the clause.

Formula:

[Subject] ... [Verb] + [Particle]

Examples:

A. Want ()

To wo shěsonů wă. SUBJ 1SG read WANT “I want to read.” (Similar to jåshěsonů, but emphasizes the feeling of want over the action).

B. Need ()

To wo haśù wë. SUBJ 1SG run NEED “I need to run.”

C. Lack of Necessity (nỏwë)

To no xoxo nỏwë. SUBJ 2SG depart NOT-NEED “You don’t have to leave.” / “You don’t need to leave.”


3. The nỏ Negation Rule

A specific phonological rule applies to these particles. Because and begin with the semi-vowel /w/, the standard negative particle shifts to nỏ.

  • Rule: + wnỏw…
  • Forms:
    • + nỏwă.
    • + nỏwë