spatial words

[roger]

There is a noun pa'o "side". It looks like this means spatial "side" as in "which side?", "left side", etc, not as in anatomical flank/ribs, but that is not clear. Anyway, it appears to form several spatial derivations:

  fäpa "top" N
  kllpa "bottom" N
  mìfa (either stress) "inside" N, ADV
  wrrpa "outside" N, ADV

I'm guessing that the fä in fäpa is the f in the adposition fkip "up among". It's also found in the adverb

  nefä "up" (direction) ADV

to go with our existing nekll "down".

Then from (I presume) hapxì "part" and our andative/venitive? prefixes/serial verbs kä, za, we get:

  zapxì "front" (front part or section) N
  käpxì "rear" (rear part or section) N

Interesting that coming is in front and going is in back.

We've got another new kä derivative,

  käsatseng "out there" ADV

Don't know if that's dissimilation from the other ts or what. It wouldn't seem to be lenition after kä, since there's no lenition in käpxì (unless lenition would've applied to kähapxì, with subsequent contraction??)

I wonder if we get a corresponding ^??zafìtseng "in here"?

PS. Note also long-known ta'em "from above". I wonder if there's a ^??ne'em "to above" that's distinct from nefä "upwards", like tswayon nefä "fly upwards, ascend" vs. ^??tswayon ne'em toruk "fly above the leonopteryx".

[omängum fra'uti]

Tsaw nìhawng käsatseng lu...

(Yay, translating idioms literally! )

Maybe the sa in käsatseng is plural, since out there is a big thing with many places.

[Swoka Swizaw]

These updates are just wonderful. Thanks.

[roger]

Maybe the sa in käsatseng is plural, since out there is a big thing with many places.

Nice thought! I've been asking for plurals of our interrogatives & demonstratives, but haven't gotten an answer yet.

[Kemaweyan]

Irayo. Oeru frakrr prrte' lu fwa mipa aylì'ut tse'a oel Set oe zene tslivam tsayut nìwotx

[Taronyu]

Did you ask whether mìfa was the noun and mìfa was the adverb? Seems like a valid question, given the way Frommer gave them to us.

[NeotrekkerZ]

zapxì "front" (front part or section) N
   käpxì "rear" (rear part or section) N

Interesting that coming is in front and going is in back.

I've been thinking for a while now about za when used as a prefix.  It seems to indicate motion/actions towards the body:

'ärìp to move
za'ärìp to pull (move towards the body)

munge to take
zamunge to bring (to take towards the body)
This is a little iffy, but I was taught in English that you "take it to someone else, but bring it to me."

This makes zapxì seem very natural to me, as I think of my body in terms of the front and not the back.

[roger]

Did you ask whether mìfa was the noun and mìfa was the adverb? Seems like a valid question, given the way Frommer gave them to us.

Didn't ask.

Wrrpa is also given an "N, ADV". I assume mìpa is the same, just w variable stress as several other words are. Otherwise I presume one would be listed under N and one under ADV.