Ákat actions: banquets gone and to come
The temporal worldview of the Telik peoples can be divided into two parts - that which has gone before, and that which is/will be. This is shown in the grammar of the Telik languages, including Ákat, by just two formal action tenses.
A common metaphor for the passage of time is the lit candle: while the wick and the wax can be shaped to whichever desire people may wish them to be, once the flame has passed along the candle's length all that remains is the memory of the shape of the candle. Past events are said to be able to influence future plans just as the molten wax can dribble down the sides of the candle yet to burn. This metaphor fits well with the widespread Telik cognitive metaphor associating the passage of time with downward movement, the need to plan for the future by tending to the ground, and the belief that memories are a function of the wind and the skies. Indeed, Telik (and Nakap) astrology views the stars as a historical record which can be consulted to learn lessons from the past, rather than as an oracle for predicting an unknown future - not that astrology has much credence in modern Telik societies.
The Ákat language marks the past tense with a syllabic hm near the start of the action phrase. The non-past tense remains unmarked. The tense marker actually formes part of the action scope particle, making the formation of past tense actions not quite as simple as some Nakap philosophers would like to see.
Specifying when an event takes place
This paucity of tenses does not, however, prevent Ákat speakers from being able to talk about the whole range of temporal events. Instead of relying on formal tenses to pinpoint the occurrance of an action in the continuum of time from the distant past to the distant future, people modulate the formal tenses with a combination of moods (some of which implicitly indicate future actions), and oblique temporal objects - in effect adverbs - placed directly after the action phrase and before any patientive object. Indeed, there is still some (heated) debate among Nakap philosophers and Ákat grammarians about whether these oblique objects should be treated as a constituent part of the action: the object can directly attach itself to the action phrase, or be separated from it by a hyphen or a space.
Various combinations of the following particles and roots are often used as oblique temporal objects:
| oblique particles | object words | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| kii | distant future | nyset | time |
| xynsi | near future | àset | year |
| xyl | current time, also near past | àhnxiset | season |
| tii | distant past | áset | day |
Examples
| example | translation | example | translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| tiiòiset | many years ago | tiinyset | a long time ago |
| xylèiset | a few years ago | xylnyset | some time before |
| tiièisetehnif | three years ago | xylèisetehnif | only three years ago |
| tiièisetehnit | two years ago | tiiàset | last year |
| tiiàhnxiset | last season | tiióset | many days ago |
| xyléset | a few days ago | tiiésetehnif | three days ago |
| xylésetehnif | only three days ago | tiiésetehnit | two days ago |
| tiiáset | yesterday | xylnaset | just a moment ago |
| kiiáset | tomorrow (as in "we've got plenty of time: I'll do it tomorrow") | xynsiáset | tomorrow (as in "the deadline is tomorrow!") |
| xynsinuset | in just a moment | kiiàset | next year |
| kiinyset | sometime in the future | xylnuset | now |