12.1 Relativization 639(738) a. [iAdad osae-nen]
[DemACentrip go.Reslt-Partpl.Pl]
'those-Ma who (=whoever) have come' [T-md]b. [t-iAdad t-osae-t
[F-Dem-\Centrip 3FeSgS-go.PerfP-Parpl.FeSg]
'that one-Fe who (=whoever) comes' [T-md]c. [i-\tt i-ssan-aen]
[Dem-\3MaSgO 3MaSgS-know.Reslt-Partpl.MaSg]
'whoever knows it' [Gao]
(also expressible as [ereAtt i-ssan-asn])d. [i tattae-nen di-ha]
[Dem eat.LoImpfP-Partpl.Pl here]
'whoever (= someone who) eats here' [K-d]e. ae-halssAsar-as i-tattae-n,
[Sg-man-\Instr-3Sg 3MaSgS-eat.LoImpfP-Partpl.MaSg],
mer lAsar-as i-sassae-n
or Dem-\Instr-3Sg 3MaSgS-drink.LoImpfP-Partpl.MaSg
'a man who eats with it, or one who drinks with it' [Hm]In (738.c), i-ssdn-asn (with lengthened α due to Resit ablaut) shows no
stem-ablaut modifications vis-ä-vis main-clause verbs. The same is true of the
LoImpfP stem in (738.d), which preserves the ablauted full vowel α and fails
to undergo Rightward Accent Shift. These facts show that a relative (otherwise
headless) headed by 1 is treated as indefinite rather than definite. This, plus
the presence of a distinct feminine variant, distinguishes this indefinite 1 from
the invariant and syntactically definite ι used in relatives headed by a lst/2nd
person pronoun (§12.1, above). (738.e) shows that thel relative can occur in
parallel to a preceding indefinite, but noun-headed, relative. The "i in this case
may be omitted, hence mevAsar-ss ... in this example.
12.1.6.3 Nonhuman (ä)The common nonhuman equivalent begins with a. This can be analysed as a
minimal demonstrative stripped of gender marking (cf. MaSg w-ά, FeSg t-ά).
It is arguably identical to the ά used as Focus particle.