jeff_l
(Jeff_L)
#1
300 7 Verbal morphology
c. short imperfective system
Short Imperfective (Shlmpf)
Imperative (Imprt)
Hortative (Hort)
The three "systems" are based on morphology, not (just) on meaning.
The Imprt has special 2Sg, 2MaPl, and 2FePl forms. All other stems are
inflectable in the sense that they can take the full set of pronominal subject
prefixes and suffixes. A minor exception is that special perfectives of many
adjectival verbs can take subject suffixes but not prefixes.
In French-language scholarship, the Resit is often referred to as "l'intensif
de raccompli." Likewise, the LoImpfP is referred to as "l'intensif de
l'inaccompli." The two "intensives" have some ablaut features in common,
namely χ-pcl (accent) and χ-pcl (V-lengthening).
I use "long imperfective" to designate a set of stems characterized by
ablaut formatives including at least one consonantal increment (prefixation of
-t- or internal gemination). The short imperfectives and the perfectives lack
these consonantal increments; they are distinguished from each other by stem
vocalism, except that adjectival verbs often have an irregular perfective stem.
The basic grammatical difference between the Shlmpf and the LoImpfP is that
the Shlmpf functions as a dependent form, either preceded by a Future particle
or occurring in add-on clauses following an independent clause. The English
present tense of stative verbs ('they know', 'it is green') usually translates into
Tamashek as Resit (rather than LoImpfP). The LoImpfP is therefore typically
used for habitual aspect, and for ongoing activities (e.g. progressives).
Inflectable verb stems take default accents, with three exceptions. First,
an ablaut accent formative occurs in the Resit (but not other perfective) and
LoImpfP (but not other long imperfective) stems (§7.2.2.2, §7.2.5.1). Second,
unaugmented V-final verb forms combine with V-initial suffixes to produce
words with surface penultimate accent, suggesting both the stem-final V and
the suffix-initial V are counted for purposes of Default Accentuation (though
they are later contracted into a single surface V); see §3.3.1.2 and §7.3.1.3-4.
This is compatible with Default Accentuation, but the latter must apply at a
pre-surface level. Third, these unaugmented V-final verbs undergo Stem-Final
i/A-Deletion (29) (§3.1.2.4) in the short imperfectives, and for a subset of
these verbs (specifically, the light stems, e.g. -vCCi>), the resulting stem-final
CC cluster is resyllabified (Final-CC Schwa-Insertion (44), §3.2.4); in the T-ka
dialect this resyllabification entails a shift of accent to the inserted schwa (i.e.
onto the stem-final syllable); see §3.3.1.2, §7.3.1.3. With these exceptions,
inflected verb stems (and inflected forms) are transcribed below with default
accent ("v"). If an unaccented inflected verb has fewer than three syllables, a
phrasal accent will appear on any preceding particles within the accentual
phrase. Thusl-bsa 'he vomited', negative war i-bsa 'he did not vomit' with
phrasal accent on the Neg particle.
