Voice: voice
| Values: | Act | Appl | ApplPass | ApplRcp | ApplRefl | Pass | Rcp | Refl |
In Khoekhoe, Voice is a feature of verbs.
One verb may have a combination of voice markers, in this case a layered feature is used: Voice[1] (for the value of the first voice suffix), Voice[2] (for the value of the second voice suffix), etc.. For example, ǃgâibahe is annotated with Voice[1]=Appl|Voice[2]=Pass
Act: active
The underlying value. The subject of the verb is the doer of the action (agent), the object is affected by the action (patient).
Examples
- Saras ge ariba ra ǃao. “Sara is afraid of the dog.”
- Saras ge ǂgūro ǀuisa go ǂnoa. “Sara threw a stone.”
Pass: passive
Used the verb has the passive suffix -he, which decreases the valency of the verb by one. The subject of the verb is affected by the action (patient). The doer (agent) is either unexpressed or it appears as an oblique dependent.
Examples
- Nē ǁgabas ge Kompas ti ra ǂgaihe. “This tool </b>is called</b> a compass.”
- Petrub ge Marias xa ge mîǁamhe. “Peter was offended by Maria.”
Appl: applicative
Used when the verb has the applicative suffix -ba, which increases the valency of the verb by one. It promotes the oblique argument to the core object argument (patient).
Examples
- Petrub ge Mariasa ge mîba… “Peter told Maria…”
- Tita ge ǁnā ǃkhaib khoena sîsenba tama hâ. “I don’t work for the agency.”
Rcp: reciprocal
Used when the verb has the reciprocal suffix -gu, which decreases the valency by one. It is used with plural subject, all members are doers (agents) and undergoers (patients), acting upon each other.
Examples
- Goman ge ǂgâsa ra ǁkhonagu. “The cows are shove each other (at) the entrance.”
- ǁîn ge ǁgorob ǃna hâ ǂhoron ai ra dāǃangu. “At the manger they trample each other to death on the last drop (of water)?”
Refl: reflexive
Used when the verb has the reflexive suffix -sen, which decreases the valency of the verb by one. The doer (agent) acts upon itself.
Examples
- ǃKhūb ge ǁnān aitsama ra huisen ǂgaona ra hui. “The Lord helps those willing to help themselves.”
- ǀAwaǃnamtse, dawasen ǁkhāts a? “Colonel, would you turn (yourself) around, please?”
ApplPass: combination of applicative and passive voices
Used when the verb has the applicative suffix -ba followed by the passive suffix -he. This combination does not change the valency of the verb, but the oblique argument becomes the doer (agent).
Examples
- Petrub ge nē hems xa a ǃgâibahe. “Peter likes (is good with) his shirt”
- Mîbahe ta ge ge… “I was told that…”
ApplRcp: combination of applicative and reciprocal voices
Used when the verb has the applicative suffix -ba followed by the reflexive suffix -gu. This combination does not change the valency of the verb. It is used with plural subject, all members are doers (agents) and undergoers (patients), acting upon each other.
Examples
- _ǀGam ǁgâura ge ra ǃgâi xūna mîbagu. _ “Two houses tell each other good things.”
ApplRefl: combination of applicative and reflexive voices
Used when the verb has the applicative suffix -ba followed by the reflexive suffix -sen. This combination does not change the valency of the verb, but the doer (agent) acts upon itself.
Examples
- ǁîb ge audosa go ǁamabasen. “He bought for himself a car.”
- Sâuǁkhāsibab ge nî ūǂuibasen. “He should take some insurance out on himself.”
Voice in other languages: [abq] [am] [arr] [bej] [bg] [bor] [ceb] [cs] [el] [eme] [en] [fi] [fr] [gn] [gub] [ha] [hu] [hy] [jaa] [ka] [ky] [myu] [pay] [qpm] [qtd] [quc] [ru] [sv] [tl] [tpn] [tr] [tt] [u] [uk] [urb] [urj] [xcl]