Hrmitt distinguishes between nominal conjunctions, which connect nouns or noun phrases, and clausal conjunctions, which connect clauses.
4.8.1. Nominal Conjunctions
Nominal conjunction is indicated by the conjunction he or its colloquial variant hei, interposed between the respective noun phrases. For example:
sheŋt
seven
cheŋ
man
he
and
vaht
eight
fraht
woman
This particular phrase is a colloquial expression for “a group of people”.
When the subject of a verbal clause consists of a conjunction of nouns or noun phrases, it appears separately; subject incorporation on the verb is not employed in this case.
tzapjakusmi shestu sheŋt cheŋ he vaht fraht.
tzapjak-us-mi
feet-3pl.p-v
shest-tu
here-dat
sheŋt
seven
cheŋ
man
he
and
vaht
eight
fraht
woman
A group of people came here.
The indirect object shestu here appears before the conjunction of subject noun phrases; this is an exception to the general word order in verbal clauses where indirect objects follow the subject and any direct objects. See section 4.12.
4.8.2. Clausal Conjunctions
Clausal conjunctions always occur clause-initially, preceding the verb in a verbal clause, or preceding the subject noun phrase in an adjectival or nominal clause.
4.8.2.1. Conjunction with ne
The clausal conjunction ne introduces a clause subsequent to the previous clause.
ehrlunetmi, "ŋat dahshtopfi!" ne tzapjaketmi vvat.
ehrlu-et-mi,
tongue-3sg-v
"ŋat
imp.3sg
dahsht-opf-i!"
trouble-neg-pred
ne
and
tzapjak-et-mi
feet-3sg-v
vvat.
away
He said, "Goodbye!" And walked away.
4.8.2.2. Negative Conjunction with vdau
The negative conjunction vdau introduces a clause describing negative consequences or results of an action:
ŋuŋgataumi nai movaumi buftunu, vdau dahshtauni.
ŋuŋ-at-au-mi
bowels-abl-1sg.p-v
nai
how
mov-au-mi
wall-1sg.p-v
buf-tu-u,
body-3sg.p-pat
vdau
conj.neg
dahsht-au-ni.
trouble-1sg-become.v
I tried to stop him, but could not.
The phrase vdau dahshtni is frequently used in the past tense to indicate failure or inability. It literally means to become trouble, or to get into trouble or malfunction, and is used in the sense of being unable to complete an action because one ran into trouble along the way, or one got into a state of inability to complete the action.
Sometimes the phrase also indicates interrupted action:
tzapjaktumi fai blopftu, vdau dahshtuni.
tzapjak-tu-mi
feet-3sg.p-v
fai
where
blopf-tu,
river-dat
vdau
conj.neg
dahsht-tu-ni.
trouble-3sg.p-become.v
He was walking under the river, but could not continue.
balaŋgusmi hramdu, vdau dahshtusni.
balaŋ-us-mi
shuttle-3pl.p-v
hram-tu,
city-dat
vdau
conj.neg
dahsht-us-ni.
trouble-3pl.p-become.v
They were riding a shuttle to the city, but trouble befell them.
Here, it is not that the action could not be carried out, but rather that it could not be carried out in full.
Note that vdau does not always signify contrast, unlike “but” in English. It is used for all consequent or subsequent events that the speaker evaluates negatively, even when it does not contrast with the preceding clause:
hrveruhmi voluŋgu, vdau shpraggtuvoluŋni.
hrver-uh-mi
gun-4pl.p-v
voluŋ-u,
spaceship-pat
vdau
conj.neg
shpragg-tu-voluŋ-ni.
bomb-3sg.p-spaceship-become.v
The spaceship was shot, and is about to explode!
In the English translation, “and” is used because the second clause does not contrast the first; in Hrmitt, however, vdau is used because it describes a negative consequence.
4.8.2.3. Positive Conjunction with glau
The positive conjunction glau introduces a clause describing the positive outcome of an action.
ŋuŋgataumi nai movaumi buftunu, glau tzapjaktumi bufaunat.
ŋuŋ-at-au-mi
bowels-abl-1sg.p-v
nai
how
mov-au-mi
wall-1sg.p-v
buf-tu-nu,
body-3sg.p-pat
glau
and
tzapjak-tu-mi
walk-3sg.p-v
buf-au-at.
body-1sg.p-abl
I tried to stop him, and he went away.
Just as with vdau, the choice of using glau depends on whether the speaker evaluates the outcome of an action positively. Thus, it may be used even when it contrasts with the previous clause. For example:
hrveruhmi voluŋgu, glau voluŋgu dahshtopfi.
hrver-uh-mi
gun-4pl.p-v
voluŋ-u,
spaceship-pat
glau
conj.pos
voluŋ-u
spaceship-pat
dahsht-opf-i.
trouble-neg-pred
The spaceship was shot, but was unharmed.
In the English translation, “but” is used because the second clause contrasts with the first. In Hrmitt, however, glau is used rather than vdau, because the speaker considers the fact that the spaceship was unharmed a positive outcome.
4.8.2.4. Assertions with hosh
The conjunction hosh introduces a clause that the speaker asserts is true, often in the context of contradicting what another speaker just said. It roughly translates as “it did happen”, “yeah you did”, “you did too”, often carrying accusatory overtones.
tzapjakaunopfmi ishtautu.
tzapjak-au-opf-mi
feet-1sg.p-neg-v
ish-tau-tu
house-2sg.p.dat
I did not go to your house.
hosh tzapjaktaumi!
hosh
did_too
tzapjak-tau-mi
feet-2sg.p-v
You did go!
4.8.3. The conjunctive pronoun ag
When two conjoined clauses share the same object but differ in the verb, the pronoun ag is used in the second clause where the object noun phrase would have been repeated. For example:
pogistucheŋmi bufaunu, vdau pogtumi agaunu.
pog-is-tu-cheŋ-mi
stick-tip-3sg.p-man-v
buf-au-u,
body-1sg-pat
vdau
but
pog-tu-mi
stick-3sg.p-v
ag-au-u
also-1sg.p-pat
The man poked me with a stick, and hit me with the stick too.