The Ancestral Sentence

An Introduction To The Ancestral Sentence

An Ancestral sentence could contain any or all of the five categories of clause, in this order:

  • First Clause (Mood/Evidence/Discourse)
  • Second Clause (Content/Theme/Topic)
  • Third Clause (Content/Rheme/Comment)
  • Fourth Clause (Content/Meme/Takeaway)
  • Fifth Clause (Final Mood/Evidence/Discourse)

The Ancestral First Clause

If present, the first clause expressed the narrator’s introductory perspective on the content or context of the sentence. It was nestled within the mV=MOOD=mV circumclitic mood marker, where the quality of the vowel selected indicated the initial grammatical mood of the sentence: irrealis, interrogative, imperative, realis, or gnomic.

This first clause could contain one or more of the following:

  • A discursive word or phrase
  • A dubitative word or phrase
  • An emotive word or phrase
  • An evidential word or phrase
  • An exclamative word or phrase
  • An interjective word or phrase
  • A negative word or phrase
  • An optative word or phrase
  • A perceptive word or phrase
  • A positive word or phrase

Note: The default viewpoint could be switched to the perspective of another, if appropriate. The defaults were:

  • Irrealis: 2nd person
  • Interrogative: 2nd person
  • Imperative: 2nd person
  • Realis: 1st person
  • Gnomic: 3rd person

The Ancestral Second Clause

If present, the second clause placed salient content (typically the theme or topic of the sentence) in forethought position, in an emphatic process often referred to as left-dislocation. It was nestled within the kV=ROLE=kV circumclitic argument marker, where the quality of the vowel selected indicated the semantic role of the phrase the second clause contained: direct cause, main event, direct effect, or indirect effect.

The Ancestral Third Clause

If present, the third clause expressed the main content of the sentence, in the form of the five possible phrase types. Each phrase was nestled within its own kV=ROLE=kV circumclitic argument marker, where the quality of the vowel selected signalled the semantic role of that phrase: direct cause, main event, direct effect, or indirect effect.

The Ancestral Fourth Clause

If present, the fourth clause placed salient content (typically the key meme or takeaway of the sentence) in afterthought position, in an emphatic process often referred to as right-dislocation. It was nestled within the kV=ROLE=kV circumclitic argument marker, where the quality of the vowel selected indicated the semantic role of the phrase the fourth clause contained: direct cause, main event, direct effect, or indirect effect.

The Ancestral Fifth Clause

If present, the fifth clause expressed the narrator’s conclusory perspective on the content or context of the sentence. It was nestled within the mV=MOOD=mV circumclitic mood marker, where the quality of the vowel selected indicated the final grammatical mood of the sentence: irrealis, interrogative, imperative, realis, or gnomic.

This fifth clause could contain one or more of the followng:

  • A discursive word or phrase
  • A dubitative word or phrase
  • An emotive word or phrase
  • An evidential word or phrase
  • An exclamative word or phrase
  • An interjective word or phrase
  • A negative word or phrase
  • An optative word or phrase
  • A perceptive word or phrase
  • A positive word or phrase

Note: The default viewpoint could be switched to the perspective of another, if appropriate. The defaults were:

  • Irrealis: 2nd person
  • Interrogative: 2nd person
  • Imperative: 2nd person
  • Realis: 1st person
  • Gnomic: 3rd person

Note: The sentence’s opening and closing moods needn’t agree. For example, a sentence that began in the realis mood could end up in the interrogative mood, effectively inviting confirmation from the listener in the form of a tag question.

Examples Of The Ancestral Sentence

An Example Of The Ancestral Dynamic Sentence

Look, he’s crossing the river.

An Example Of The Ancestral Stative Sentence

Wow, I’ve never seen her so happy.

An Example Of The Ancestral Associative Sentence

I hear she came here by canoe.

An Example Of The Ancestral Attributive Sentence

Oh, her eyes are the color of the forest, truly.

An Example Of The Ancestral Conditional Sentence

You know, if you want to catch a clam, you have to dig deep.

An Example Of The Ancestral Equative Sentence

A(o) and B(o) (a)are(a) X(o) and Y(o).

Please note: In an equative sentence, the main event marker is empty. The marker itself effectively serves as a copula.

An Example Of The Ancestral Negative Sentence

No, we have no bananas.

An Example Of The Ancestral Presentative Sentence

Yes, I know there’s a bear in that cave.

Please note: In a presentative clause, the main event marker is empty. The marker itself effectively serves as a copula.

An Example Of The Ancestral Reciprocal Sentence

Oh my gods, they’re kissing each other all over.

An Example Of The Ancestral Reflexive Sentence

I last saw her bathing herself in the river.

An Example Of The Ancestral Reflexive Causative Sentence

A(i) causes A(e) to X(a).

It’s said she finds herself very funny.

The Ancestral Utterance Marker

Comparanda:

Austronesian infixes
Gourmanché mass nouns
Navajo negatives


Posted

in

,

by

Tags: