Morphology of Tsunem

The morphology of Tsunem is the study of how words are derived from roots and trough which system this derivation results in the possible meanings of the word. Since roots do not present themselves in languages as such and the variety of word forms do, it would be more accurate from a descriptive point of view to argue that the morphology aims at identifying the different forms in which a word can occur in a sentence and how these different forms are linked to the different meanings these words express. Once the system is explained, either way of reasoning works.

Consonant root and vowel patterns

All words in Tsunem can be related to their so-called roots. These roots are used for grammatical purposes but they do not actually present themselves in speech. The roots consist of consonants and the consonants of one root can be found back in al the words that derived from it. A clear example of a group of words with the same root is: kenosa 'to affirm' (verb),nukasa 'to strengthen oneself physically' (verb), kuusan 'strength, firmness' (noun), sekon 'affirmation' (noun), keisan 'integrity' (noun), kasan 'firmly' (adverb); from these the root consonants n, k and s can be constructed. They can change order. Since some sounds change owing to sandhi rules, not all roots are always clearly visible. In many places a voiceless plosive becomes voiced. When 'n' and 'k' are placed after one another they form the cluster 'nqg' and not 'nk'.

The vowels that are inserted between the consonants of the roots follow a certain pattern. This pattern is determined not by the order in which they occur between the consonants but by the hierarchy in which they are placed with each consonant. In every root is a consonant hierarchy. This hierarchy depends on the strength of the consonants. Groups of consonants can be made. They are from strong to weak: nasals (m, n, ny, nq), plosives (p, t, ky, k), fricatives (f, s, sy, x) and approximants (w, r, ly and rq). When more consonants from one group occur in one root, the first is the strongest.

The order of the consonants does not change the root meaning, eg. the roots n-k-s, n-s-k, k-n-s, k-s-n, s-n-k and s-k-n are the same. Since every vowel is related to its hierarchical place and not to its absolute place, vowel stay with their consonant when consonants change order.

e.g. The stem núkisa 'to strengthen' is the same stem as kinúsa; however, the stem nakúsi 'strong' is different (it is an adjective). In the first and the second the u stands with n, the i stands with k and the a stands with s, but in the third u stands with k and i with s and a with n, which makes it a different stem derived from the same root.

Verbs

Verbs are morphologically distinct from other word classes because all vowel patterns for verbs consist of at least three vowel, whereas nouns and adverbs often have two vowels; and in the verb the main vowel (V) stands with the strongest consonant.

• The first stem: -V-a-a is for the intransitive verb: the subject is the agent and the voice is active. A medium or reflexive meaning has to be derived from the con/text.

• The second stem -V-i-a or V-e-a is for the mono-transitive verb: the subject is the patient and the first object is the agent, irrespective of the fact whether the verb is active or passive.

• The third stem: -V-i-u or V-e-o is for the di-transitive verb: the subject is the recipient, the first object is the patient and the second object is the agent.

If the main vowel is i, ii, or e, ei; then the vowel pattern of the third stem complies with the vowel harmony and changes to V0-i-ü or Va-e-ö respectively.

• The fourth stem: n-V-0-0 is derived from the first, second or third stem by adding a nasal before the strongest consonant. It is the remainder of a modal inflexion system in Old Tsunem. It is used with certain modal verbs. Combined with the fifth stem it can be used as an adverbial.

• The fifth stem: -aV-0-0 is derived from the first, second, third stem or fourth stem by adding an ‘a’ between the strongest consonant and the main vowel. This forms the complement stem, which can be used to complement a noun, an adverb or a complete sentence. The fifth stem occurs always and only in dependent clauses and phrases.