[(Aux) Verb (Neg) CP-S CP-Possessive]
Possessive Case
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To use the Láadan possessive, you must first decide what sort of "ownership" is involved. Is it because of birth, as with "my arm" or "my mother?" If so, add the ending "-tha."
Is it for no known reason--for example, a task that you just ended up with somehow, inexplicably, and that is now "your" work? Then the proper ending is "-the."
Is it a phony ownership, marked in English by "of" but really involving no possession, as in "a heart of stone" or "a collection of books?" If so, use the ending "-thu."
Is it by luck, by chance? Use the ending "-thi."
In any other situation, when ownership is due to law or custom or anything not included in the other forms, use the ending "-tho." You would use "-tho" if you were not certain of the reason but were quite sure there was one and that it was legitimate.
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Next, realize that the Possessive will always be part of some bigger Case Phrase. When you say "He stole the jewels of the Queen," the Object is the whole sequence "the jewels of the Queen," of which "of the Queen" is only a part. This means that, except for those case categories which have a zero ending in Láadan (Subject and Identifier), you will first add the possessive ending and then the case-marker ending of the larger CP. [...] The Possessive marker will always come before the other ending.
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Finally, you cannot add the Possessive markers directly to the name of a person or animal. Instead, you add a pronoun to carry the case ending--like this:
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Bíi eril eb le belid withethoth wa.
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I bought the woman's house.
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Bíi eril eb le belid Méri bethoth wa.
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I bought Mary's house.
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The sequence "Méri bethoth" is literally "Mary | She + Possess + Object," you see. You cannot say "Mérithoth" to mean "Mary + Possess + Object." (Note that this rule does not apply to names of places and of times--only living or once-living beings.)
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Vocabulary
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-tha
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Suffix (CP): Possessive, by birth
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-the
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Suffix (CP): Possessive, for no known or acknowledged reason
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-thi
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Suffix (CP): Possessive, by chance
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-thu
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Suffix (CP): "False" possessive (Partitive); also used to mean "about"
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-tho
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Suffix (CP): Possessive, for all other reasons, including law, custom, etc.
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Additional Vocabulary
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belid
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house
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eb
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to buy; to sell
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ith
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light
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óol
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moon
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rosh
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sun
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Examples
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Báa mehéthe oma?
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Are the hands clean?
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Báa mehéthe oma netha?
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Are your (by birth) hands clean?
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In practical terms, what we are doing when we make a Láadan case phrase possessive is inserting the possessor + the possessive ending between the thing possessed and its case ending: This leaves the thing possessed standing alone without its case ending.
This may seem awkward at first because English expresses the possessive by stating the possessor first and the thing possessed afterward; arguably, this indicates that the possessor is more important in English while the thing possessed is more important in Láadan.
In the above example pair, "oma" is the Subject of the sentence before it's made possessive; "oma" is actually "oma" (hand) + "-Ø" (Subject ending). When we insert "ne" (you) + "-tha" (possessive by birth or growth), the "-Ø" remains at the end of the sequence (on "netha"); "oma" now has no case ending at all.
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Bíi mebalin ra rul wa.
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The cats are not old.
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Bíi mebalin ra rul bethi wa.
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Her (by chance) cats are not old.
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Bíi eril yod babí yuth wa.
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A bird ate fruit.
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Bíi eril yod babí yu letheth wa.
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A bird ate my (no known reason) fruit.
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In this pair of sentences it's easier to see that "lethe" [le (I) + -the (possessive, no known reason)] is inserted between "yu" (fruit) and "-th" (Object case ending). The result is that "yu" is left with no endings at all and is followed by "letheth" [le (I) + -the (possessive, no reason) + -th (Object)].
Another way to help explain Láadan possessives is to note that in the English "A bird ate my fruit," the Object isn't simply "fruit," but the phrase "my fruit". It consists of four grammatical elements: I + Possessive (= "my") | Fruit + Object (= "fruit;" the Object marker is transparent in English). In the corresponding Láadan Object phrase "yu letheth," the same four elements are present, just in a somewhat different configuration: Fruit | I + Possessive (no known reason) + Object. The Object ending occurs at the end of the phrase because the whole phrase is the Object, not just the noun.
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Bíi them le itheth wa.
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I need light.
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Bíi them le ith roshethuth wa.
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I need the light of (no real ownership) the sun.
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Báa áya dala?
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Is the plant beautiful?
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Báa áya dala bebáatho?
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Whose (other valid reason) plant is beautiful?
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Did the word "bebáatho" confuse you? In a wh-question, the item of information being requested is represented by "bebáa" with various case endings. Here, the item of information being requested is "owned by whom:" "bebáatho."
Exercises
Translate the following into English.
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1 |
Bíi eril néde den onida letha leth wáa.
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2 |
Bíi eril duyod rul ebalátho babí denáthoth wa.
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3 |
Báa wolaya womazh bebáathi be?
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4 |
Báa owahul ana omáthe?
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5 |
Bíi áya ith roshethu, óolethu, i ashethu wa.
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6 |
Bíi thal ra dadem mudathu wa.
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Incorporate the Láadan for the English noun phrase into the sentence; translate the sentence into English before and after.
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7 |
Bíi mebalin thul wa.
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the child's parents
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8 |
Bíi eríli bel wohada wohothul dimeth wáa.
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container of soil, no real ownership
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9 |
Báa eril dom áana héena?
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their (many of them) heart-sibling
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10 |
Bíi nédeshub doth sherídan wohóoha wohomideth wa.
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Anna's niece
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11 |
Báa aril bédi naya berídan netha áwitheth?
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whose baby
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12 |
Bíi Láadan dan wa.
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language of women (by gift)
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Of course, in #10, you didn't try to add the possessive suffix directly to Anna's name. We don't do that in Láadan; instead we follow the name with "be" and add the suffix(es) to the pronoun.
#12 has a "trick question" component: "ownership by gift" is one of the meanings included in "-tho" (possessive: all other reasons, including law, custom, etc.).
Translate the following into Láadan.
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13 |
The insect feared the strength of (no real possession) the animal.
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14 |
The green leaves of the plant are not fragrant.
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15 |
Whose hair will the worker be able to braid?
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16 |
Is the peace-maker's (no reason) pearl very safe?
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17 |
Did you clean the clothing of (by chance) the dancer's granddaughter?
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18 |
The education-specialists recorded your (few of you) speech.
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Did you successfully form a word in #17 for "to clean" as distinct from "éthe" (to be clean)? We have the prefix, "dó-" (cause to); so "dóhéthe" would be "to cause to be clean" or "to make clean" or simply "to clean."
And in #17, were you able to form the word for "dancer?" If "to dance" is "amedara" then "one who dances" or "dancer" would be "amedarahá" [amedara (to dance) + -á (doer)].
Also in #17, we see our first "multiple possessive" in the phrase "clothing of (by chance) the dancer's granddaughter." The clothes are the Object of the sentence and belong to the granddaughter; the granddaughter, in turn, "belongs to" the dancer. An illustration might be in order. "Clothing" as an Object would be "budeth" (Clothing + Object). "Granddaughter's (by chance) clothing" as an Object would be "bud hóowithethith" (Clothing | Grandchild + Possessive: chance + Object)--remember that the Object suffix would move to the end of the phrase (after the Possessive suffix). The entire phrase "clothing of (by chance) the dancer's granddaughter" (still an Object) would be "bud hóowithethi amedaraháthath" (Clothing | Grandchild + Possessive: by chance | Dancer + Possessive: by birth + Object).
In #18, did you have any trouble with the word "speech?" If we simply use "di" (to say; to speak; to talk) as a noun, it would mean "saying/speaking/talking" or "speech." This word does not refer to "a speech" meaning "an address given before an audience," but rather "speech" meaning "speaking, in general."
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Answers
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1
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My (by birth) family wanted to help me.
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2
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The baker's cat tried to eat the assistant's bird.
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3
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Whose (by chance) red car is it?
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4
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Is the teacher's (no known/acknowledged reason) food very warm?
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5
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The light of (partitive) the sun, the moon and the star(s) is beautiful.
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6
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The picture of (no ownership) the pig isn't good.
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7
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The parents are old.
Bíi mebalin thul háawithetha wa.
The child's parents are old.
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8
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Long ago, a laughing grandmother took a container.
Bíi eríli bel wohada wohothul dim donithuth wáa.
Long ago, a laughing grandmother took a container of soil.
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9
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Did the heart-sibling remember to sleep?
Báa eril dom áana héena benetho?
Did their heart-sibling remember to sleep?
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10
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A niece intends to follow the weary horse.
Bíi nédeshub doth sherídan Ána betha wohóoha wohomideth wa.
Anna's niece intends to follow the weary horse.
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11
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Will your aunt promise to care for the baby?
Báa aril bédi naya berídan netha áwith bebáathath?
Whose baby will your aunt promise to care for?
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12
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Láadan is a language.
Bíi Láadan dan withetho wa.
Láadan is a language belonging to women.
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13
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Bíi eril héeya zhub do midethuth wáa.
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14
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Bíi mehaba ra mewoliyen womi dalatha wa.
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15
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Báa aril thad boóbin halá delith bebáathath?
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16
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Báa yomehul nem shonáthe?
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17
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Báa eril dóhéthe ne bud hóowithethi amedaraháthath?
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18
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Bíi eril meri ehomá di nezhethoth wáa.
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