| Grammar Notes for Lesson 1 |
In this lesson, we will learn the first 7 Pronominal prefixes. We will also be introduced to the notion of alternating stems. Read through the notes below, then work through the exercises provided in the workbook.
| Section I: K-Class Pronominal Prefixes |
Mingo uses prefixes on the verb to express who is involved in a particular action or event -- either as the person performing the action, the one who is affected by that action, or both. In other languages, including English, this type of information is usually conveyed by pronouns (such as "I", "we", "you", "it", "them" and others). As such, we refer to these prefixes in Mingo as the Pronominal Prefixes. Mingo has more than 60 of these prefixes. In this lesson, we will learn 7 of them.
Look at these 2 words, taken for the dialogue at the beginning of this lesson:
| kyásö | -- | I'm called |
| syásö | -- | you're called |
As we can see, these two words are almost identical. The only difference is in the first sound, k- vs. s-. We can match this difference in the sounds with the difference in the meanings of the two words. The k- at the beginning of kyásö is the part that means "I"; while the s- at the beginning of syásö is the part that means "you". The part that is left over, -yásö is the part that means "be called (by a name)". Thus, k- and s- are our first two Pronominal prefixes.
We can see this pattern -- k- meaning "I" and s- meaning "you" -- in many other words.
| k | histha' | -- | I'm pushing it along |
| s | histha' | -- | you're pushing it along |
| k | o'katha' | -- | I poke it |
| s | o'katha' | -- | you poke it |
| k | yëtha' | -- | I hit it |
| s | yëtha' | -- | you hit it |
| k | yénôs | -- | I catch it |
| s | yénôs | -- | you catch it |
Once you know how to recognize the Pronominal prefix k- on a word, you can easily learn to make many other words simply by changing the beginning, using different Pronominal prefixes. There are 5 other Pronominal prefixes that end in k. Together, they form the K- Class of Pronominal prefixes. Examine the following words (note that all the K-Class prefixes include a meaning of "I" or "me"):
| k | yëtha' | -- | I hit it |
| ak | yëtha' | -- | it hits me |
| sk | yëtha' | -- | you hit me |
| hak | yëtha' | -- | he hits me |
| ök | yëtha' | -- | she hits me |
| hök | yëtha' | -- | they hit me |
The five new Pronominal prefixes are:
| ak- | it does something to me |
| sk- | you do something to me |
| hak- | he does something to me |
| ök- | she does something to me |
| hök- | they do something to me |
Thus, from any verb with the Pronominal prefix k- "I" on it, you can form 5 more related verb forms, simply by substituting one of the other K-Class Pronominal prefixes.
| Section II: Alternating Stems |
In Section I we learned how to change the Pronominal prefix on a verb to create new verb forms with related meanings. For many verbs, it is simply a matter of taking off one Pronominal prefix and putting on another. However, for many other verbs there is another step involved. In many cases, the Verb Stem can change slightly when a different Pronominal prefix is put onto the front of it. (Remember that the Verb Stem is that part of the verb left over once you've taken off the Pronominal prefix). Verb Stems that change based on the prefixes you put on them are called Alternating Stems. There are a number of different types of stem alternations in Mingo. In this lesson we will learn about the most common of them, the Short/Long Alternation.
The Short/Long Alternation affects the next-to-last, or "penultimate" syllable in the word. The alternation takes the short vowel of the penultimate syllable and changes it into the corresponding long vowel, under certain conditions. (Note that there is no change if the vowel in the penultimate syllable is already a long vowel). Whether the alternation takes place or not depends on whther the penultimate syllable is even-numbered or odd-numbered.
Take for example the word kehátë, I miss it (in the emotional sense, like your old car). It has three syllables (syllables are separated by a period), ke.há.të, and the vowel á in the penultimate syllable is long. However, look at the closely related form hakehatë, he misses me. It has four syllables, a.ke.ha.të, and the vowel a in the penultimate syllable a is short.
Now look at the following list of words. Odd-numbered syllables (i.e. the first, third, fifth...) are colored in gray, even-numbered syllables (the second, fourth...) are in red. The penultimate syllable is shown in italics. Not the alternation between short a and long á in the penultimate syllable.
| kyë | ö | nya | ni | I'm teaching it | |
| a | kyë | ö | nyá | ni | it's teaching me |
| skyë | ö | nya | ni | you're teaching me | |
| ha | kyë | ö | nyá | ni | he's teaching me |
| ö | kyë | ö | nyá | ni | she's teaching me |
| hö | kyë | ö | nyá | ni | she's teaching me |
What is the pattern we see? When the penultimate syllable is even-numbered (colored red in the table above), then the vowel of that syllable gets lengthened. However, when the penultimate syllable is odd-numbered (colored gray above), then the vowel of that syllable does not get lengthened, but remains short.
It is important to remember that not all verbs undergo the Short/Long Alternation (remember all the verbs from Section I, none of which alternate in this way). In time, we will learn how to predict which verbs will alternate and which won't, but for now it is best to just memorize which are which.