tá (12_Discourse Markers in Asaxi)
tá
tá Status: proposed coinage (2026-06-12). Review before canon.
Grammatical function
- Type: Interjection (extra-syntactic)
- Function: Pain Exclamation
- Meaning: “Ouch!”, “Ow!” — sudden physical or emotional hurt.
Usage Note
Stands alone or before the clause; takes no particles or tense (see 62_Vocatives & Interjections in Asaxi). Emphatic gemination for severe pain: ttá! (cf. kè → kkè).
Pronunciation
IPA: /t̪ɑ/
Example sentence
Tá! Då wo nadaohè!
“Ouch! Give it back to me!” (då DAT + na- ITER + dao give + hè IMP)
Etymology
Exclamatory use of the canonical noun tètá (“pain, suffering, hurt”) — the bare noun shouted as a complete utterance (Existential Minimal: “Pain!”). The same root underlies kozètètá (regret — “past-hurt”) and tètáka (to fight).
Derived terms
- tètá (pain — the source noun, canon)