Finalizers
We have already seen that finalizers are used in indicative sentences to strengthen a factual statement and give a sense of finality to the sentence. Now we shall examine finalizers more closely.
The finalizer is a morphologically distinct word usually synonymous with the main verb or the adjective in adjectival statements. The absence of the finalizer is often used to signal a non-indicative clause, as it lacks the reaffirmation of the predicate.
We have already seen that all adjectives and verbs have a corresponding finalizer. Most adjectives are paired with a unique finalizer. For example:
kuru nuri - hungry
tueri nueri - small, tiny
tiras huinin - white
Many verbs are also paired with a unique finalizer. For example:
tsana aniin - to speak
hamra aram - to see
juerat itu - to look at
tsuni ira - to find
However, some verbs have different finalizers that give different nuances of meaning. For example:
tapa bata - to walk
tapa anan - to walk up to the top
tapa ta'an - to walk down to the bottom
Some finalizers may also be shared by several different verbs. For example:
suran kora - to erupt lava non-explosively
putara kora - to overflow, to spill
akaisu kora - to bleed (profusely)
Some finalizers are similarly shared between verbs and adjectives. For example:
pamra asu - to run
tsat asu - fast
Finalizers are usually left untranslated, as they have no direct equivalent in English. Although native speakers do assign meanings to them, these meanings are nuances rather than facts, and usually should not be understood literally.
Zero-valent Sentences
Finalizers are also used in zero-valent constructions such as “to rain”. These are idiomatic expressions that lack a real verb but do have a finalizer. For example:
peira ta'an - It is raining.
baran saan - It is morning.
mubun murimuun - It is night.
siris tsatsan - Lightning flashes.
These set phrases exhibit some special behaviours:
In constructions involving isi, if one of these set phrases occur as an antecedent, an exception is made to the rule that finalizers always appear at the end of a sentence or clause. Normally, the antecedent lacks a finalizer in order to indicate it is an antecedent; however, in these set phrases the finalizer cannot be dropped without compromising the meaning. Hence, isi is placed after the finalizer in an overt gesture that it is an antecedent. For example:
urum isi tse nei muini, mubun murimuun isi.
urum sleep isi CNSQ tse 2SG nei RCP.F muini, FIN mubun night murimuun FIN isi. because Go to sleep; for night has fallen.
A similar mechanism is employed in conditional constructions involving era: the antecedent does not like a finalizer, but the finalizer cannot be dropped from these set phrases. Hence, era is placed after the finalizer to signal its non-consequential function. For example:
siris tsatsan era, jibin no kukai aha'.
siris lightning tsatsan FIN era, if jibin child no RCP.N kukai frighten aha'. FIN If lightning flashes, the child will be frightened.
The conjunction hena is placed between the noun and the finalizer in these set phrases. For example:
huu sa sisita tara' sei isin, mubun hena murimuun.
huu 1SG sa CVY.M sisita chat tara' 3SG sei CVY.F isin, FIN mubun night hena and murimuun. FIN I chatted with her, and night fell.
The interrogative marker ta also appears after the finalizer when a question is formed from these set phrases. For example:
baran saan ta?
baran morning saan FIN ta? Q Is it morning yet?
Idioms & Proverbs
The noun-plus-finalizer constructions also form the basis of many idioms in Tatari Faran. Some examples are:
kakari koko - an expression of contempt, spoken to those perceived as speaking foolish things. Literally, “nonsensical words are confused”. An approximate English translation might be, “And so the fool speaks foolishness again.”
jibin nari - “cute” or “funny”. Can also be understood as “And so the child has his/her fun”. Literally, “child cuteness” or “child fun”. An expression of amusement at someone's quiant or childish manner. Usually used of children, but can also be applied to adults, in which case it may sometimes carry undertones along the lines of “he's having so much fun because he's still young and innocent and hasn't seen the worst side of things yet”.
kura miin - a paradoxical expression, “satiated with hunger”, used to indicate that one is so hungry that the sense of hunger has numbed. It can also be used sarcastically on people who have been overeating in spite of vocal claims of self-restraint.
jain aman - “and so all is well”. An expression used to indicate that there is no problem, that all is well and taken care of. Similar to the English cliché “happily ever after”, except that the indefinite time is not implied, and so it is more generally applicable to different situations. Literally, “[It is] well cordially”. This expression is unusual in combining two finalizers.
airan imim - “wakefully asleep”. Another paradoxical expression composed of airan, “with freshness, with vitality”, and imim, “slumber”. This expression is used for describing that dreamy yet stubbornly awake mental state after a night's conscious effort not to fall asleep.
tatari aniin -
It makes sense
,That's true
,I agree
. Used to express agreement or consent. Sometimes used to conclude negotations as a way of sayingIt has been agreed!
,Settled!
.tatari bei'aniin -
It doesn't make sense
,I don't agree
,No deal
. Used to express disagreement or lack of consensus. Also spoken to foreigners and non-native speakers when correcting their speech, meaningwe don't say it like that
.
Repeated Exhortations
In colloquial Tatari Faran, sometimes an exhortation is repeated. For example, in English, a mother feeding a child might say, “Eat this, baby; swallow, swallow!” Similarly, in a ball game spectators may cheer the player to throw the ball. The equivalent in Tatari Faran is to repeat the finalizer:
bue'a tse na birap sa muun. muun, muun!
bue'a |
eat |
tse |
2SG |
na |
RCP.M |
birap |
food |
sa |
CVY.M |
muun. |
FIN |
muun, |
FIN |
muun! |
FIN |
Please swallow the food. Swallow, swallow!
tampa kiran tse ka bu'u sei tuu. Tuu, tuu!
tampa |
throw |
kiran |
young_man |
tse |
VOC |
ka |
ORG.M |
bu'u |
ball |
sei |
CVY.F |
tuu. |
FIN |
Tuu, |
FIN |
tuu! |
FIN |
Throw the ball, young man. Hurl it, hurl it!
Colloquial Addendums & Self-corrections
In formal Tatari Faran, the finalizer always appears at the end of a clause except for the aforementioned exceptions. In colloquial speech, however, this rule is more relaxed. Sometimes after uttering the finalizer and completing a clause, one may have an afterthought or wish to add further clarifying phrases. One way this is done by native speakers is to add a clarifying NP or postpositional phrase and repeating the finalizer of the previous clause:
diru kei tsana nara bata' na aniin. buta' ipai aniin.
diru |
girl |
kei |
ORG.F |
tsana |
speak |
nara |
PAST |
bata' |
chief |
na |
RCP.M |
aniin. |
FIN |
buta' |
hut |
ipai |
at |
aniin. |
FIN |
The girl spoke to the chief. At the hut, that is.
In casual speech, such addendums are sometimes also used as quick answers to clarifying questions:
- Speaker A:
-
kiran sa pamra buta' kei itan.
kiran young_man sa CVY.M pamra run buta' hut kei ORG.F itan. FIN The young man ran from the hut.
- Speaker B:
-
sii no?
sii what.Q no? RCP.N Where to?
- Speaker A:
-
marai nei itan.
marai forest nei RCP.F itan. FIN To the forest.
Note the matching of the finalizer itan in speaker A's reply with the finalizer in his original utterance.
A similar construction is used to correct oneself:
diru sei tapa misanan dei bata. bai, marai nei bata.
diru |
girl |
sei |
CVY.F |
tapa |
walk |
misanan |
village |
nei |
RCP.F |
bata. |
FIN |
bai, |
no |
marai |
forest |
nei |
CVY.F |
bata. |
FIN |
The girl walked to the village... no, to the forest.
Such constructions are only used in casual speech, however, and are avoided in formal settings and writing.
Pluralization
Some finalizers acquire the plural suffix hei- when their corresponding verb is reduplicated. For example:
diru sei tapa bata.
diru |
girl |
sei |
CVY.F |
tapa |
walk |
bata |
FIN |
The girl walks.
diru sei tapatapa heibata.
diru |
girl |
sei |
CVY.F |
tapa~tapa |
walk~walk |
hei-bata. |
PL-FIN |
The girl walks a lot.
In these cases, the prefix hei- may acquire stress, in spite of finalizers being unaccented as a rule.