Lozenge T.

58_Modifier Stacking & Euphonic Reduction

2 min read

Navigation:

Grammatical Concept: The Descriptive Chain

Asaxi allows speakers to stack multiple modifiers (Adjectives, Adverbs, or Constitutional Roots) to describe a single head. The grammatical handling of this stack depends on the Type of modifier used (Simile vs. Constitution) and their position in the list.

1. Stacking Qualitative Adjectives (Simile)

When using multiple Morphological Adjectives (-nă / -nýj) to describe a single noun or verb, they are listed sequentially before the head.

To maintain flow (Euphony), Asaxi employs a Comma-Reduction Rule for non-final adjectives in the chain.

  • The Reduction Rule:
    • Warm (-nă): Reduces to -na if not the final adjective.
    • Cold (-nýj): Reduces to -ný if not the final adjective.
    • The Final Element: Retains the full suffix (-nă / -nýj).

Example (Warm Chain): waona pjonă pja

  • Analysis: waonă (Homely) → waona (Reduced) + pjonă (Bright) + pja (Lights).
  • Meaning: “Bright homely lights.”

Example (Cold Chain): goný shěsonýj shěso

  • Analysis: gonýj (Heavy/Big) → goný (Reduced) + shěsonýj (Smart) + shěso (Book).
  • Meaning: “A big, smart book.”

2. Stacking Ga-Nouns (Constitution)

When using multiple Constitutional Compounds (ga-) to describe a single head, the speaker does not list full words (e.g., gadă gagapo shá). Instead, they fuse the Roots into a single compound word under the initial ga-.

  • Structure: ga + [Root 1] + [Root 2] … + [Head Noun]
  • Logic: The object is composed of all these elements simultaneously.

Example: gadăbwojohn

  • Analysis: ga + dă (Immensity) + bwo (Fat) + John.
  • Meaning: “Big Fat John” (A specific constitutional type of John).

Example: gapogo

  • Analysis: ga + apo (Red) + go (Rock).
  • Meaning: “Red rock.”

3. Mixed Modification (Simile + Constitution)

When using both types of modifiers, the Qualitative Adjectives (Simile) must come before the Constitutional Compound (Fact).

  • Order: [Reduced Adj] … [Full Adj] + [Ga-Compound]

Example: goný găxiŕonă gapogo

  • Analysis: goný (Hard/Rock-like [Reduced]) + găxiŕonă (Vibrant) + gapogo (Red-Rock).
  • Meaning: “A hard, vibrant red-rock.”

4. Extrapolation to Adverbs (Manner)

Since Asaxi Adverbs of Manner are structurally identical to Adjectives placed in the Pre-Verbal slot (See Note 28), this stacking rule applies to them as well.

  • Rule: If multiple adverbs modify the same verb, non-final adverbs undergo reduction.

Example: To wo ŕănabiný hjinýj aśù.

  • Gloss: SUBJ 1SG fast-RED quiet-FULL walk.
  • Meaning: “I walk quickly (and) quietly.”

Backlinks