Ákat actions: the guests at the feast

A feast is not a feast without guests. For the Ákat action, the key guests are the agentive and patientive objects directly involved in the action. More details on these object cases can be found on the Ákat objects webpage.

The Ákat action phrase requires that the person and number of both agentive and patientive objects are demonstrated within the action. This is achieved through agent and patient markers which follow the action root.

Person

Ákat has six types of person:

• The first person refers to the self, or the group within which the self is included. Ramajal personal pronouns such as I and we can be considered to be first person.
• The second person refers to the directly addressed. In Ramajal, you is a second person personal pronoun.
• The third person is used to show objects that are being referred to. The Ramajal third person personal pronouns are he, she and they.
• The alternate third person is the same as the third person, above.Ákat often uses the alternate third person (sometimes called the fourth person) to refer to a different third person involved in the discourse. More information on persons can be found in the personal objects section of the object classes webpage.
• The inanimate third person is used mainly for inanimate agent and patient objects. The Ramajal equivalents are it and they.
• The absent person is peculiar to both Telik and Nakap lineage languages, and is used to mark the absence of an agent or patient from an intransitive clause - all Ákat verbs require an agent marker and a patient marker - even intransitive verbs.

Do not make the assumption that the agent and patient particles should reflect the case of the agent and patient objects they refer to - the rules governing the use of agent and patient particles in the verb are completely separate from noun classes. A SA class object can be represented in the verb by either a third person, alternate third person or even an inanimate third person particle. The apparent similarity between the dangerous things class prefixes and the alternate third person particles are purely coincidental - a historical remnant, nothing more.

Number

Number refers to the number of the agentive and patientive objects involved with the action. Just as with objects, agent and patient markers can be singular, paucal, plural or undetermined. Note that the nullar number is handled differently, and nullar objects usually require a singular marker on the action.

Note also that number is accumulative: if there are two singular agentive objects (for example 'a man' and 'a woman') directing an action, the agent marker will require a paucal number. Paucal in this case means 'more than one, but less than six'.

Agent markers

C	g	M	G	v	V	a	D	p	E
tense+ conjunctions	agentive class	modality	agentive root	action class +aspect	action root	agent marker	agentive determiner	patient marker	evidentiality marker

Particle	Person	Number	Translation
-na-	first	singular	I
-ne-	first	paucal	we both|few
-no-	first	plural	we all
-á-	second	singular	you
-é-	second	paucal	you both|few
-ó-	second	plural	you all
-à-	third	singular	he, she - animate objects
-è-	third	paucal	they both|few
-ò-	third	plural	they all
-za-	alt third	singular	he, she - animate objects
-ze-	alt third	paucal	they both|few
-zo-	alt third	plural	they all
-da-	inan third	singular	it - inanimate objects
-de-	inan third	paucal	they both|few
-do-	inan third	plural	they all
-ù-	absent	n/a	[no translation] - used with intransitive actions
-du-	absent person	n/a	[no translation] - used with transitive actions

Patient markers

C	g	M	G	v	V	a	D	p	E
tense+ conjunctions	agentive class	modality	agentive root	action class +aspect	action root	agent marker	agentive determiner	patient marker	evidentiality marker

Particle	Person	Number	Translation
-ahm-	first	singular	me
-ehm-	first	paucal	us both|few
-ohm-	first	plural	us all
-am-	second	singular	you
-em-	second	paucal	you both|few
-om-	second	plural	you all
-al-	third	singular	him, her - animate objects
-el-	third	paucal	they both|few
-ol-	third	plural	they all
-as-	alt third	singular	him, her - animate objects
-es-	alt third	paucal	they both|few
-os-	alt third	plural	they all
-at-	inan third	singular	it - inanimate objects
-et-	inan third	paucal	they both|few
-ot-	inan third	plural	they all
-ul-	absent	n/a	[no translation] - used with intransitive actions
-ut-	absent person	n/a	[no translation] - used with transitive actions

Agentive incorporation

C	g	M	G	v	V	a	D	p	E
tense+ conjunctions	agentive class	modality	agentive root	action class +aspect	action root	agent marker	agentive determiner	patient marker	evidentiality marker

It is not enough for the Ákat action to marked for agentive and patientive objects. Wherever possible, the action phrase will also incorporate the agent itself within its word boundary.

There is a limit to the size of the agent that can be incorporated - no more than a single object word comprising of a maximum of three core concept roots. Longer agent phrases, and agents that include modifier objects or relative clauses, are instead redefined as agentive obliques and placed ahead of the verb.

When the agent is incorporated into the action, it is incorporated 'as-is', with no phonological changes required to the object. Incorporating an agent does have an effect elsewhere in the action phrase - specifically on the agentive determiner.

Examples

C	g	M	G	v	V	a	D	p	E
tense+ conjunctions	agentive class	modality	agentive root	action class +aspect	action root	agent marker	agentive determiner	patient marker	evidentiality marker

• hmáhcovnaal àxuq
• I liked the cat
• hmáhcováel èixuq
• you liked the cats
• hmýhcovàyl ỳxuq
• she liked cats
• hmáhqabneat ákus
• we cooked the meal
• hméxesdahcovgádè!al àcus
• the men laughed at the dog
• hméxesdahcovgádè!dahm
• the men laughed at me