I’m going through the Syntax Test Cases to help nail down a variety of constructions in my languages. I’ll be giving examples of these translations for the next few weeks.
Today, we’re looking at a Muipidan example:
Hnatays nï-mude ü-kibiïyte ï-t’umhma.
[ˈn̥a.tajs
hna-tays
PFV–3s.REFL
hna-tays
PFV–3s.REFL
nɨˈmu.də
nï=mude
GEN=turn
nï=mude
GEN=turn
ʏˈki.biˌɨj.tə
ü=kibi-ïy-te
ACC=head-MISC–DEF
ü=kibi-ïy-te
ACC=head-MISC–DEF
ɨˈtʼum.m̥a]
ï=t’umhma
INS=slowness
ï=t’umhma
INS=slowness
Slowly she looked around.
This sentence demonstrates Muipidan’s inclination towards “possessor raising”. Instead of saying “she turned her head”, the sentence moves the possessive pronoun “her” onto the verb itself, making it reflexive (hnatays nï-mude “one has turned oneself” instead of hnas nï-mude “one has turned”). The result is something like “she turned herself the head”.
The new words in this sentence are müdis “to twist” and kibiïyte “head”.