Volume IX: Dictionary — Chapter 7: Grammatical Affixes
"The root is what you say. The affix is how you answer for it." — Grammarian Sharin-El, on the system of evidentiality
Related sections: → see [Volume IV, Ch.03, "Grammar Overview"], → see [Volume IV, Ch.04, "Noun Cases"], → see [Volume IV, Ch.06, "Evidentiality"]
7.1 General Principle
Sha’Ruun is an agglutinative language: meanings are strung onto the root by suffixes in a strict order:
Affix order
- Noun: stem (including derivation)
- Number
- Case
- Verb: stem (including derivation)
- Aspect (if expressed)
- Tense
- Number
- Evidential
Agglutination makes morphemes recognisable within a chain. Homonymy remains possible; a suffix’s position and grammatical context also determine its function.
A nominal chain: khal-ar-ak-sha — “actors” as agents of a transitive action. A nominal stem takes number and case. A finite verb has a separate order: stem, aspect when expressed, tense, number, evidential.
7.2 Case Suffixes (14)
| # | Case | Suffix | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nominative | -∅ | subject | xha'ruun |
| 2 | Ergative | -sha | agent of a transitive verb | xha'ruun-sha |
| 3 | Accusative | -thar | direct object | xha'ruun-thar |
| 4 | Dative | -ven | recipient | xha'ruun-ven |
| 5 | Genitive | -mor | possession | xha'ruun-mor |
| 6 | Instrumental | -khal | instrument | xha'ruun-khal |
| 7 | Comitative | -rass | accompaniment | xha'ruun-rass |
| 8 | Ablative | -tor | motion from | xha'ruun-tor |
| 9 | Inessive | -the | location in | xha'ruun-the |
| 10 | Superessive | -vex | location on | xha'ruun-vex |
| 11 | Allative | -khar | motion toward | xha'ruun-khar |
| 12 | Translative | -el | transformation into | xha'ruun-el |
| 13 | Essive | -en | in the capacity of | xha'ruun-en |
| 14 | Terminative | -mor-thal | limit, up to | xha'ruun-mor-thal |
7.3 Number Suffixes (3)
| Number | Suffix | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | -∅ | xhari | a sapient being |
| Dual | -sha | xhari-sha | two sapient beings |
| Plural | -ak | xhari-ak | sapient beings (many) |
The dual is obligatory for an identified pair (two hands, two spouses, the moons Serrin and Thel) — using the plural in place of the dual is considered a gross error.
7.4 Tense Suffixes (4; stem-and-tense examples)
| Tense | Suffix | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Past | -ak | khal-ak | acted |
| Present | -en | khal-en | acts |
| Future | -mor | khal-mor | will act |
| Timeless | -el | khal-el | always acts (a truth) |
The marker -el expresses a generalisation. A stem carrying it is not yet a complete finite declarative: the clause also requires its evidential marker.
7.5 Evidential Suffixes (4, obligatory)
| Type | Suffix | Meaning | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct | -ven | "I saw/heard it myself" | personal observation |
| Quotative | -thar | Exact quotation | Source’s words |
| Inferential | -zal | "I conclude from traces" | inference from evidence |
| Reportative | -mor | "I was told" | another's testimony |
Omitting evidentiality is not permitted in a finite declarative clause — a verb without it is perceived as unfinished. In judicial practice, changing the evidential suffix changes the legal weight of testimony (→ see [Volume III, "The Legal System"]).
7.6 Derivational Suffixes
| Suffix | Meaning | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| -ar | bearer, agent | vexal-ar | worker |
| -en | process, state | vex-en | production |
| -in | diminutive, singulative | xar-in | child |
| -ak | collective, multitude | venmor-ak | archive |
| -i | quality, property | khar-i | shining |
| -a | verbal stem | vex-a | to create |
| -an | relational adjective | khar-an | luminous |
| -o | result of an action | vex-o | creation |
| -ri | possessing the trait | xha-ri | sapient |
| -el | abstraction, unity | ven-el | truthfulness |
7.7 Negation and Modality
| Affix | Type | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| tor- | prefix | negation | tor-khal-en (does not act) |
| -torel | suffix | absolute negation | khal-torel (never acts) |
| -khar | suffix | optative | khal-khar (let it act) |
| -thar | suffix | obligation | khal-thar (must act) |
| -ven? | suffix | interrogative | khal-ven? (does it act?) |
| -sha-el | suffix | possibility | khal-sha-el (can act) |
Negation via tor- ("away, from") is the language's only prefix; every other affix is suffixal.
Chapter Summary
| Category | Affixes |
|---|---|
| Cases | 14 |
| Numbers | 3 |
| Tenses | 4 |
| Evidentiality | 4 |
| Derivation | 10 |
| Negation and modality | 6 |
| Total | 41 |
Affix order helps distinguish morpheme functions. Nouns and verbs have different chains; position and context disambiguate suffixes with the same form.