Abbreviations used in this guide[]
NP: noun phrase
VP: verb phrase
1: 1st person singular
2: 2nd person informal
2H: 2nd person honorific
0: 0 person
3': 3rd person topical
3^: 3rd person retrogressive
1E: first person exclusive
1I: first person inculsive
Po: posessor
S: subject
Do: direct object
Io: indirect object
As: absolutive
Uas: unabsolutive (typically not marked in morpheme glosses)
Al: ablative
Lo: locative
Da: dative
Irr: irrealis
Rea: realis (unmarked by default on verbs)
Co: Continuous (always marked by both verb stem and prefixes but only the prefix marking is shown in glosses)
Mo: Momentous (always marked by both verb stem and prefixes but only the prefix marking is shown in glosses)
Po: Potential
Vo: Volitional
St: Stative
Tr: Transitive
Itr: Intransitive
Dtr: Ditransitive
R: relative (ta means nearby-1R, as in relative to the first person, te means nearby-2R, as in relative to the second person
xor: exclusive or
ior: inclusive or
Inq: Inquisitive
Neg: Negative
Prn: Pronominal
Cop:Copula
Pl: plural
F: free
Ts: human
Yy: inhuman
M: inanimate object
W: machine
Sx: location
Ch: mass
ChT: change topic
Aug: augment
Dim: diminishment
Sentence structure[]
The minimal sentence in Metin contains a Predicate, which heads a verb phrase. Here are examples of what would translate as a predicate in Metin
It rains, that is a dog, I give flowers to the children.
Predicates have valence, which indicates how many arguments the predicate may take and what forms they may ha.
Univelent: it rains 1there:
The noun phrase[]
In Metin, all full noun phrases, or noun phrases which can stand by themselves in a sentence, contain a head noun, which must be case marked, and are always the first word of their respective noun phrase. There can be only one head noun per noun phrase. The head noun of a noun phrase must bear case markings to indicate its role in the sentence. A case marked noun is said to be in the absolutive. A head noun together with its optional descriptive phrases (adjectives phrases, verb phrases, demonstratives, and other words or phrases which describe the head noun and come after it) is referred to as the head phrase. A head phrase all by itself is all that is necessary to make a full noun phrase. To the head phrase may be appended further subphrases, noun phrases which are appended to the head noun phrase and play the same role in the sentence. Subphrases cannot stand by themselves in a full phrase. They must have a case marked head phrase standing before them. The noun which heads a subhead phrase is called a subhead noun, and is placed into the "caseless case", or unabsolutive case. Subphrases can have descriptive phrases attached after them just as a head noun phrase can. A noun phrase which contains only a head phrase with no subhead noun phrases is called a simple noun phrase. A noun phrase which contains head noun phrases and attached subhead noun phrases is called a compound noun phrase.
Multiple full noun phrases that share identical case markings and are part of the same verb phrase must be combined into a complex noun phrase.
Forming absolutive and unabsolutive nouns.[]
Nouns can form the unabsolutive in several ways. Some completely lose their absolutive prefix, some keep a reduced form of this prefix, and a small class of nouns, like yúus, loses their pitch accent in the unabsolutive. The vowels shown in parentheses are epenthetic vowels which tend to disappear when the preceding word ends with a vowel or nasal and the following consonant in the root of the noun is dissimilar from the first consonant of the unabsolutive word's prefix.
tsimee-s(į)mee: person
įhhuska-huska: shirt
m(į)héá-héá: bridge
chacxó-sh(ą)cxó: beverage
hulaj-laj: shoulders
útchaw-t(į)chaw: train
yúutsaa-yuutsaa: eye
sxutl'an-sx(į)tl'an: city
The unmarked, or naked absolutive is used for full noun phrases that hold nominative or accusative roles in the sentence. 3 of the noun cases in Metin are marked using prefixes that come before the noun and after its class prefix, if present. These are the prefixal cases, and comprise the dative, ablative, and locative. In addition, there are numerous case markers in Metin which require case markers that come after the noun, the suffixal cases.
Posessors[]
Both absolutive and unabsolutive nouns can bear posessive suffixes. These suffixes distinguish alienable and inalienable posession. These suffixes go before any case suffixes or logical suffixes.
| Posessor | Alienable | Inalienable |
|---|---|---|
| 1st person singular | oh | u |
| 1st person exlusive | in | un |
| 1st person inclusive | ił | uł |
| 2nd person | ájá | ájáh |
| Noun phrase | e | i |
| 3rd topic | é | éh |
| 3rd conrastive | en | eh |
| Inquisitive | iz | itsih |
| Relative | unmu | unmuh |
| Indefinite | - | aa |
yúutsu: my eye (inalienable)
yúutsájáh: your eye
yúutseh: Her eye
įhta įhhuskayiz?: Whose shirt is this?
tsisuhitsih?: Whose friend (are you)?
yúutsaa: an eye, eyes( in general. Eyes must be posessed, so the suffix -aa is obligatory. Nouns which require inalienable suffixes are marched as such in the dictionary
Some nouns can take on both the alienable and inalienable suffixes, using the alienable suffixes implies a sense of detachibility or self-containedness
yúutsoh: my camera yúutsu: my eye
jxįl: a recorder jxįlaa: an ear
chagułé: his covering, something he is wearing chagułéh: his, its skin, a coat (of paint)
When a noun is posessed by another noun phrase, it is marked either with the alienable suffix -e or the inalienable suffix -i. The posessing noun phrase is placed in the absolutive.
yúutsi tsuoobhii: The woman's eye
yúutse tsuoobhii: The woman's camera
The usage of the relative suffixes -unmu and -unmuh is fairly complicated and is discussed in the relative clause section.
Description of nouns[]
Noun adjective compounds[]
The combination of a noun and an adjective can be turned into a compoun word by the concept suffix -íís
mrabhí qoo: A white suit (any kind of suit which is white)
mrabhí qooyíís: A whitesuit (The kind of suit worn by a matron)
Noun noun compounds
All noun-noun compounds require a suffix of relationship. As with all metin noun constructions, the first noun is the head noun
ooc: First noun is constructed or suited for usage by the second noun.
ą́sh: First noun is made of second (mass) noun (replaces sh(ą) of second noun if present).
íw: First and second noun go together (bow and arrow, hills and valleys, etc.)
mą: noun is both things at once| hǫmązhąng: numeric name (both a number and a name)
Noun verb compounds
noun - uu - verb: noun's main purpose is to verb
Compound noun phrase[]
A compound phrase consists of one absolutive (head) noun phrase and one or more unabsolutive noun phrases, linked to head phrase with by the logical suffixes -mi/in(and), -lú/úl (exclusive or or), -dį/įd(inclusive or),and -bhon (not). Bhon also sees usage in simple noun phrases, in sentences like "No man ever goes there". These 3 suffixes are the very last suffixes that can occur on a noun, after posessive suffixes.
oawa tsiwio sįnmomi.
people As-mother-1P father-1P-and
Here are my mother and father.
chaqéz shącxódį?
As-food Uas-drink-ior
(Do you want) some food and/or something to drink?
lac'uincaayns wáák'úa sxuimixtl'an sxkíélúz.
drive-1I.Po-fly throughout-today DA-mixt'an kíé-xor
We have enough time fly to Mixtl'an or Kíé today, but not both.
hatxuns muo tsiplerbhon
3s.Itr-be.asocial always Ts.As-good.citizen-no
No good citizen spends all of their time away from people.
Dummy logical noun phrases
Dummy logical noun phrases are used to communicate concepts like everything, nothing, or only. They consist of a logical suffix appended to a meaningless noun.
minbhon: Only (means "and not anything)
muchebhai oawions minbhon
1IDO-3S.Tr-govern Ts.Pl.As-ancient.people all-no
Only the eldest govern us.
Grouping[]
A compound noun phrase or plural simple noun phrase can play its role in the verb phrase either as a whole group or as a collection of separate individuals. A collection of separate individuals is the default interpretation of a plural noun phrase.
yédánh oamee
3Ov.tr-separate As.pl-person
He removes the people from each other (each person is now separate)
To make a plural noun phrase into a group, the infix -jo- is placed after the first noun prefix and before the first noun stem.
yédánh oajomee
3'.tr-separate As.Ts.pl-Group-person
He isolated the people (the people remain together in a group, but separate from something else)
jo can be extended to group together all of the elements of a compound noun phrase.
yétee tsimniu swiumi
3'.tr-reward As.Ts-father-1Po.Ia Ias.Ts-mother-1Po.Ia-and
She rewards my mother and father (each is rewarded separately)
yétee tsijomniu swiumi
3'.tr-reward As.Ts-Group-father-1Po.Ia Ias.Ts-mother-1Po.Ia-and
She rewards my mother and father (they share in the reward
Complex noun phrase
A complex noun phrase has multiple head nouns, each of which may further have unabsolutive noun phrases attached to them. The noun phrase which compose a complex noun phrase must be joined by the conjunctives mijá (and), lújá (exclusive or), and dujá (inclusive or).
hétunɮ mciar lúí mijá įhzáu chuot eetlág.
3.M-Tr-place As.M-plate blue and As.M-cup green Lo.M-table
He's placing blue plates and green cups on the table.
yint'oąítuyns tewįtie sxuiręę́je tsuooduia dujá sxuiręę́je tsuoowio
3'Do-2S-place.irrealis this-by.you-few LO-bedroom-P AL-Duia ior LO-bedroom-P AL-mother-1P
You can put those in Duia's room or mom's room.
When the same noun heads multiple NPs linked by já, lújá, or dujá, the noun does not need to be repeated in every já phrase. Thus, the above sentence can be shortened to
yint'oąítuyns tewįtie sxuiręę́je tsuooduia dujá tsuoowio
You can put those in Duia's room or mom's (room).
Descriptive phrases[]
There are many varieties of descriptive phrase in Metin. Descriptive phrases go after the noun or noun phrase they describe exclusively. A descriptive phrase has at least 1 argument (monovalent), for the noun or noun phrase they describe, but some types take more.
Conjunctions
and: ming, minx ... mig
xor: lúng , lúnx ... lúg
ior: dįng, dįnx ... dįg
Direct descriptive phrase[]
A direct descriptive phrase has an arity of 1. These phrases resemble English adjectives.
mta mkxįyaon ǫ́hwaaf
As-thing-this-1R As-towel fluffy
Here's a fluffy towel.
The adjectives perceived as the most "essential" go closest to the noun, in approximately this order. The word xi comes after the "true" essential adjectives, before numbers and demonstratives
class/substance > shape > surface features > color> beauty >age> size >xi> number > demonstrative > possessor
bhaa bhábhanw ming góos!
Cop shiny and smooth and
It's both shiny and smooth!
Adjectives can be preceded by the long forms of evidential prefixes.
tsimee ta áazsuh.
As.Ts-person at.hand-1R seems-friend
She seems friendly
hécxǫ ooji oozáu ienfánma.
3'.Pr.Tr-drink As.water Al.M-cup looks-shiny
He's drinking water from a shiny-looking cup.
Polyvalent Descriptive phrases[]
Descriptive phrases with a valence greater than 1, or polyvalent descriptive phrases, are used in constructions like "A city rich in culture" or "A dress vibrant in color".
Yen phrases[]
Yen phrases are prefixed with yen- and are bivalent. They demand an ablative noun phrase to follow immediately after. This construction is very productive and used far more extensively than its English counterpart.
sxugį́taang yenmíír unwji
As.Sx-land St-abundant Al-water
a land with abundant water
sxutl'an yenmíír uęęme tsoiu
As.Sx-city abundant Al.Pl.Ts-people rare
A city full of uncommon people
tsitxá yenjáie chontsíx tj'axkúzmį
As-man beautiful Al-hair Us-clothes-and
A man with beautiful hair and clothing
Descriptive verbs[]
Verbs can be used to head descriptive phrases. The verb must have no non-pronoun arguments or any adverbial phrases associated with it. The verb will have the 0 subject prefix, with the dummy h/hį prefix which precedes continuative verbs with 0 subject and no disjunct prefixes ommitted.
Examples with intransitive verbs[]
tsimnah tas hétl'úę́g oadáánmiye
3'.Pr-dine As.Ts-father be.happy As.Pl.Ts-family-0P-with
The happy father has lunch with his family
łigaa ɮí sxeuttl'an tiin z̨a
1E.Pr-stick.out in Lo.Ts-city crowded this-1R
We stand out in this crowded city.
Transitive verbs in these constructions take indefinite objects, giving a different meaning than their intransitive counterpart
tas: happy | etas: "makes something happy", joy-bringing
tsimee tas: A happy person | tsimee etas: A person who brings joy to those around them
tsimee tsííl: Lost person | tsimee etsííl: Forgetful person
ooji móíg: Swirling water | tsibhii emóíg: A woman twiddling with something
Noun phrase assignment[]
Noun phrases can be assigned to other noun phrases using the suffixes ízaa, ízi ... zii, and úzu ... zuu, which are added to the head noun like other vowel initial suffixes such as the posessive suffixes.
ímaa is used to assign a noun to a special pronoun, a short abbreviation which will stand for the noun phrase in later sentences. Special pronouns are usually ordinal numbers combined with a noun class prefix, though they can also be other short nouns. Special pronouns are always a single noun and lack any internal structure beyond class prefix and stem. íshaa does the same thing as ímaa but in addition places the attached noun phrase into the proximate person.
ízi ... zii encloses a proniminal phrase, an abbreviation for a more complex noun phrase that can have as much internal structure as a noun phrase. íz̨hi ... z̨hii, in addition, places that pronominal phrase into the proximate person.
úzu ... zuu is used to define new words in a conversation or document, words which are expected to be remembered indefinitely. úz̨hu z̨huu also places the attached noun phrase into the proximate person.
úen sxeutmetin oameyúzu oagoz̨ zuu ring jing idió klóh.
Doc Lo.Sx-Metin.nation As.Ts.Pl-person-Def As.Ts.minor Def.Ech live more.than 26 year
People in the Metin nation who are less than 26 years old are known as "oagoz" (minors).
úen sxeutmtin oameyúz̨hu oagoz̨ z̨huu ring jing idió tsii oayintebhęęw oaruwint-síéns.
Doc Lo.Sx-Metin.nation As.Ts.Pl-person-Def As.Ts.minor Def.Ech live more.than 26 years Ts.Ech Ts.Pl-3p.O-govern.Hab Ts.Pl-3p.O-parent.Hab
People in the Metin nation who are less than 26 years old are known as minors and are wards of their parents.
Noun phrase time order[]
Several noun phrases which participate in the same verb phrase but at different points in time can be conjoined by time markers, which are placed in before the noun phrases they head. A sequence of Noun phrases headed with time markers forms a type of complex noun phrase known as a chronological complex noun phrase.
yaá: first
qei: and then
mełyá, t'ainyá, zxuingýa, (Ordinal)yá: 2nd, 3rd, 4th, Xth
(Time) muá: At (time)
(Time) inzx (time) moinjxá: From time to time
mua (verb phrase) muyaá: During, at (verb phrase). [Exact meaning depends on the aspect of the verb phrase].
Verbs phrases[]
In the Metin language, both nouns and verbs can "head" a verb phrase. The differences between the two are more a matter of semantics than of grammar. Nouns, when used as predicates, can take subject prefixes, tense markers, evidential prefixes, and other markers as verbs do. A nominal predicate is treated as a stative verb meaning "to be NOUN". Nominal predicates, when modified by adjectives and such, must enclose their modifiers with an echo pronoun as verb phrases do.
Copular sentences[]
As-NP (bhaa) As-NP
tsimee z̨a tsimetin
As.Ts-person that-1R As.Ts-Metin
That person is Metin. (neutral tone)
tsimee z̨a bhatsimetin
That person is Metin (adressee had thought they looked like another ethnicity)
bha- is prefixed to predicate the second NP in copular sentences, which makes the first noun phrase the topic. Topicalizing the first noun phrase means that the first NP is the second noun phrase in exclusion to several other alternatives; eg; That person is Metin, (not Ishnna or some other ethnicity). bha is usually used to correct people, and can sound somewhat rude.
d̨ha- transforms a statement into a question. It is prefixe to the NP in question, which is moved to the front of the sentence, as the object of a question is always the topic. d̨ha- questions are often responded to with bha- answers with identical word orders
dhątsimeez̨a tsii tsimetin?
Inq As.Ts-person that-1R As.Ts-metin
Is that person Metin? (One of the people the asker is referring to is Metin but the asker is uncertain which)
dhątsimetin tsimee z̨a
Inq As.Ts-Metin As-person that-1R
Is that person Metin? (The person being referred to is of ambiguous ethnicity)
Negative copular sentences[]
Míinmi negates a copular sentence. It may occur in the same position as bhaa.
Míntsigaw tsimee z̨a
Neg-Ts-person As.Ts-person that-1
That person is not a commoner (sounds neutral).
tsimee z̨a míntsigaw
As.Ts-person that-1 Neg-Ts-person
That person is no commoner (addressee screwed up and mistook a noble for a commoner)
Mínd̨ha- is the negative of d̨ha-.
tsui mínd̨hach'ééye tsuootsyájen mįn miyaa?
As.ts Neg-Inq-As.phone-3Po Ab.ts-child-2Po m.echo As.m-at.hand-1
Isn't this her daughter's phone?
mínd̨hatsíaasuhájá
Neg-Inq-As.ts-1s-friend-2Po
Am I not your friend?
Evidentials in Copular Sentences[]
The full from of the evidential (ienmi, uonmo, etc...) is placed at the beginning of the sentence.
uǫtlo tsitxen tsijueng
hearsay As.Ts-Txen As.Ts-scientist
Txen is a scientist (so-I-hear).
The long form of the evidential prefix (ien-, uon- etc.) may also be prefixed to bha.
uǫlbha tsitxen tsijueng
hearsay-Corrective As.Ts-Txen As.Ts-scientist
I hear Txen is a scientist. (not whatever you thought he was)
Locative sentences[]
Simple locative sentences[]
preposition--Lo NP--As locative object NP
oon tsuarme z̨a sxudhááy ghe
above Lo.Ts-person that As.Sx-staircase that.Inv-2R
The staircase is above that guy. (the staircase can't be seen from where the adressee is)
prepositional Prn--As locative object NP
sxutxienme sxuoomíxtl'an muyo
As-forum-P Al-Míxtl'an under.you
Under you is the forum of Mixtlan.
When the prepositional NP is first, the location of the object. It is the word order exculsively used when answering "where" questions. When the locative object NP is first, the identity of the noun is emphasized. This word order is typically used to point out interesting or important objects
Ellipted locative sentences[]
The object of a locative sentence may be ellipted.
oozó
behind.you
It's behind you.
ɮí oowji
inside Al-water
It's in the water.
Locative sentences with multiple prepositional NP's[]
The prepositional NP's are listed in sequence from general to specific.
bhuay yerrao bhiminz sxuarmunz pli sxuaɬtoó isin qoo
inside Lo-town near Lo.Ts-Munz through Lo.Ts-garden As-path white
The white path is in the city, going through the garden near Munz's place.
Relative clauses[]
When the topic is the subject, direct object, or indirect object of multiple clauses in direct sequence.[]
In this situation, each of the successive clauses is strung together with the verb always in initial position. The verb of the first clause will agree with the topic using a 3' personal prefix, the other verbs will agree with the topic with a 0 personal prefix. As always, the topic of such a sentence will be placed at the very front.
tsiyáang liiépxú tsijué txaápxen
As.Ts-youth 3'.Tr.Pr-see 3'.Itr.Pr-enter
The youth who sees Jué is coming in
Adjective conjunction[]
Multiple simple adjectives can be simply stated in sequence.The adjectives perceived as the most "essential" go closest to the noun, in approximately this order.
class/substance>shape>surface features> color> beauty >age> size >xi> number > demonstrative>posessor
The conjunction xi will come after the "true" essential adjectives and before numbers, demonstratives, and posessors.
inmáabhai tsuiya įhhuskaye gít'iyaon ty'uy xi tsįtxen janzja.
Seen-again-Itr-0-C-wear this.person ABS-shirt-his wrinkle-2D red xi Txen that.same-1R.
I see her wearing Txen's same wrinkled red shirt again.
The conjunction 'iiz' links together multiple complex adjectival phrases, and is obligatory when a noun phrase is modified more than one possessor or complex adjectival phrase. It acts as a sort of logical and.
jįmií timinz sxeutmixtl'an iiz jáie
As-apartment near-R Lo.Ts-Mixtl'an and beautiful
Beautiful apartments that are near Mixtl'an
This conjunction can be compounded with lúz (xor) and dį (ior) to form iilúz and iidį respectively.
bhaang jįmií timinz sxeutmixtl'an iilúz jáie, chį miínmang jįmií timinz sxeutmixtl'an iiz jáie
There.are As-apartment near-R Lo.Sx-Mixtl'an xor beautiful, but There.aren't As-apartment near-R Lo.Ts-Mixtl'an and beautiful
There are not beautiful apartments near Mixtl'an. (There are apartments near mixtl'an or beautiful, but there aren't apartments near mixtl'an and beautiful).
Verb conjunction[]
wos: and
los: xor
dos: ior
Time phrases[]
In Metin, specific points of time (like dates) are always named with ordinal numbers. Durations of time, however, are quantified with cardinal numbers, fitting in general with the Metin principle of using ordinal numbers for names and cardinal numbers for quantities.
Dates[]
Years, or klóh[]
The current, unmarked Metin calendar system gives year 1 as being 88,376 years in the past, the year in which the People of the stars first landed on Fuuyo.
Compound sentences[]
Expressing temporal relationships between verbs[]
The prefix dí is used to identify the verbal action which came before. The exact meaning of dí varies based on the aspect of both the previus and following actions. dí implies that the previous action caused the next action. tl'ú does not make this implication.
dí affixed to a momentous verb[]
lidíépxú tsitiys tsid̨úken hįtsun
dí-3os-sees As.Ts-student As.Ts-teacher 0-nervous
The student sees his teacher and is nervous
Habitual nouns[]
Nouns which preform or undergo a verbal action periodically are expressed by prefixing a fully conjugated continuous verb with an absolutive prefix such as tsi, eey, m-, we-, or cha-, depending on whether the noun in question is human, servile/inhuman, a tool, a machine, or a mass respectively.
la-0-caayn: To pilot it
tsi-laacaayn
As.Ts-0s-pilot
A pilot (human)
eey-laacaayn
As.Yy-0s-pilot
A pilot (servile)
tsi-laácaayn
As.Ts-3os-pilot
S/he who pilots, S/he is a pilot
tsi-lǫǫhcaayn
As.Ts-1s-pilot
I who pilot, I am a pilot
oa-laanwcaayn:
As.Pl.Ts-1Es-pilot
We who pilot, we are pilots.
Habitual nouns phrases with arguments[]
Habitual nouns can take the arguments that the verbs they are derived from can. The structure of a habitual nouns phrase is thus:
Habitual nouns- arguments -freeform absolutive that agrees with the habitual noun.
tsimee ta tsilaáncaayn oaxúéfiish cxinmaaz tsii kpagiíndjhac jyahóé tsoiu xi jhęú xi
As.Ts-person this As.Ts-3's-pilot As.pl.Ts-gamesman-ChT Dat.Pl.Sx-wilderness part As.Ts.F Prp-Ben-3's-search As.pl.Yy-creature rare and strange and
This person flies gamesmen out into the wilderness so that they might search for rare and unusual creatures for them (their clients).
tsilaáncaayn oaxúéfiish cxinmaaz tsii
a As.Ts-3os-pilot As.Pl.Ts-gamesman-ChT Da.Pl.Sx-wilderness As.Ts.F
S/he who flies gamesmen out into the wilderness
Purpose clauses[]
Purpose clauses contain an irrealis verb prefixed with kpa-
Topic introduction and change[]
A topic is the NP about which a portion of discourse is about. 3' personal prefixes always refer to the role of the topic in a sentence. The simplest way to introduce and or change a topic is to place the topical NP at the very beginning of the sentence. When a new topic is introduced by placing it initially in the sentence, such as Oawions (the higher ups) in the 3rd line, the 3' personal prefixes will be referring to the role of the higher ups rather than that of the old topic tsisuhoh tsiMaang (my friend Maang). The old topic (my friend Maang) will then be referred to using the 3^ personal prefixes.
tsisuhoh tsiMaang hémǫǫ sxeutLuu. giínthaa koiwions. tsidíchįpxú tǫ́nk'í tsii, wos díipleh, chįtee.
As.Ts-friend-1p As.Ts-Maang 3's.Pr-dwell Lo.Sx-Luu. Ben-3's.Pr-work As.Pl.Ts-higher.ups. As.Ts-because-3'do-0s.Pr-see every-day As.Ts.F, and.V because-3's.Pr-does.as.a.good.citizen.does, 3'do.0s.Pr-reward.
My friend Maang lives in the city of Luu. There she works for some higher ups. Because they see her every day, and because she is diligent and resepctful, they reward her.
inkx'odíijaíe meité, kx'ojxochęhjooj sxeuttsiyé jxaa fiǫǫhtas, inmęndífiaamíír mtsiyé iyyątsiyémi dįįn
tsánto.
SeeE-so-because-0s.Pr-beautiful home-3'p, so-with-3'do-1s.Pr-hang.out Lo.Sx-place-3'p very-1s.Pr-happy SeeE-because-very-0s.Pr-abundant As.M-thing-3'p Uas.Yy-servile-3'p-and interesting various.
So her home is very beautiful, and I have a lot of fun hanging out there, as she has a great variety of interesting things and serviles.
imingoqimoózii euzhín. oawions ázkx'ointeéndés sxutsiyen tsiyenmi iyyątsiyenmi. ioshdímiswéé, eshplehmisziinzx.
HearE-despite-subversive-3's-say in.private. As.Pl.Ts-higher.ups InfE-so-3^io-3's.Mo.Dtr-punish.Ire As.Ts-place-3^p Uas.M-thing-3^p-and Uas.Yy-servile-3^p-and. HopE-3^s.Pr-reasonable.Ire, HopE-in.line-3^s.Pr-say.Ire.Inc
But I hear her say many subversive things in private. So I worry the higher ups will punish her, and take away her things and serviles. I hope she is reasonable, and starts talking about more in line things.
Changing the topic with the suffix -iish[]
This is an alternative to introducing a new topic by placing it in the initial position in a sentence. Notice how the 3' personal prefix refers to the first topic, tsid̨ukoh (my boss) in the first sentence, but after the -iish suffixed noun oameyiish is introduced the 3' personal prefix refers to the oameyiish tsoiu (strange people) in the following verb.
tsid̨ukoh uǫlépxú oameyiish tsoiu k'íǫx. gidiíxuij héłens sxeuttien.
As.Ts-boss-1p HeaR-3's.Pr.Tr-see As.Pl.Ts-people-ChT strange yesterday. 3's.Pr-wander 3's.Pr-high Lo.Sx-forum.
My boss told me she saw some strange people yesterday. They (the strange people) were wandering about high in the forum.
Verbal derivational morphology[]
The stative and continuative[]
Stative verbs describe a "quantity" of some sort.
hįcxú mciar
3-Hot.St As.m-plate
The plate is hot.
hįcxú kitsię mciar
3-Hot 63-+ As.m-plate
The plate is 63 degrees (which is hot);
Stative verbs can be modified with the augment (y)i'u and the diminishment (w)'ox. The augment(Aug) indicates that the observation is greater than normal. The diminishment (Dim) indicates the oppositve. Some verbs have the meaning of the augment and diminishment "built in", such as cxú (hot), vs ló (cold), which are equivalent to chótliu (high temperature) and chótlox (low temperature) respecitvely.
'mtoó tįtia uor'shúóye, mtoó tįtie shúówox
As.m-plantr near-group-1 Ev.test-rooted.in.St-Aug, near-group-2 rooted.in-Dim
These plants are really rooted in the dirt, but the plants by you are easy to pull out.
(y)iu and (w)ox have the proverbal forms yuu and oox respectively, forms used when the verb in a sentence is implied rather than stated. For example, both sentences above have the same verb shúó. A common rhetorical device when stating multiple similar sentences in sequence in Metin is to eliminate every repeated word in the subsequent sentences and only leave behind the parts that have changed. The above sentences can succesively be shortened to
'mtoó tįtia uor'shúóye, mtoó tįtie oox
mtoó tįtia uorshúóye, tįtie oox
mtoó tįtia uorshúóye, je oox.
Continuative verbs describe a change in that quantity. When paired with continuative verbs, (y)iu and (w)ox have hte meanings of posititve and negative change, respectively. Positive change is usually implied by default, making (y)iu unnecessary in most situations.
hįcxuu(yiu) mciar
3-Hot.Co As.m-plate
The plate heats up.
mtoótin tįtia aánzshúuyiu us, ja tét oox
As.m-plant-kind near-group-1 Ev.Inf-root.Co-Aug morning, Id-1 evening Dim
This kind of plant over here takes root in the morning and the roots wither away in the evening.
Storytelling grammar[]
Stories that are told mostly restricted to the perspectives of one or several people are told in First person narrative. In these stories, ó, the first person pronoun, is reassigned to the perspective character in the story instead of the storyteller. Stretches used in this way are signaled by the introducer
ó "character name". I, character.
When perspective switches to another person in the story, the same construct is used.
ó "2nd character". I, 2nd character
When the speaker wishes to return perspective back to themselves they say
ohóo. I, myself.
The second person pronoun, ąt, , is reserved for getting the listener's attention, 2nd person narrative is considered gramatically incorrect in Metin.
Imperative grammar[]
Imperative language like protocols uses an ommission of subject marking to indicate instructions to be carried out by the reader/listener. The following other persons are unique to imperative language.
3 imperative: This subject is a 3rd person that the commanded is supposed to recruit/order to carry out the verb marked with it.
2-1 hortative: This subject is used on verbs that the commanded is supposed to do with the commander. It can often be translated as "let's verb" or "help me verb" in English.
2-3 cooperative: This subject is something the commanded is supposed to do together with helpers. It roughly means "get 3 to help you verb" or "verb with 3".
1 imperative: An infrequent imperative person, these are instructions the commanded is supposed to get their commander at some point.
Noun morphology[]
| Sxu nouns | Dwelling | City surface | Rural area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Absolutive | sxumií | sxułk'aan | sxuyiic |
| Ablative | sxuoomií | sxuoołk'aan | sxuoowiic |
| Dative | sxinmií | sxintlįk'aan | sxinciic |
| Locative | sxeutmií | sxeutlįk'aan | sxeutj'iic |
| Unabsolutive | sxmií | sxįłk'aan | sxiic |
Correlatives[]
| Unmarked Absolutive | tsíí, okáá | míí, yíí | iyyáá, ijáá | sxuáá, cxuáá | cháá | wéé |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Usage | human referents, highly productive (has singular and plural forms, separate by comma) | used to nominalize verbs, highly productive | high machine referents, highly productive
(has singular and plural forms, separate by comma) |
locations, highly productive
(has singular and plural forms, separate by comma) |
mass substances, unproductive | vehicles, large machines (productive) |
| Ablative | tsuóó, okóó | óó | iyyóó, ijóó | sxuóó, cxuóó | chóó | wóó |
| Dative | tsuéé, okéé | íín | iyyéé, ijéé | sxuéé, cxuéé | chíín | wúún |
| Locative | tsuláá, ołkáá | úún | iɮáá, jiláá | sxíí, cxíí | chúút | wúút |
| Unabsolutive | sįtsíí, oxkáá | mįmíí | yiyyáá, yijáá | sxįsxuáá, sxįcxuáá | shįcháá | wuwéé |
| Time | Manner (adverbial prefix) | Instrument (adverbial prefix) | Quantity (integral) | Quantity (real) | Ordinality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| yííng | jhíí | kíí | fúú | kpúú | fuín |
Interrogatives[]
Interrogatives are formed from the corresponding correlatives by suffixing ga
tsíí ga: who
tsuóó ga: from who
yíí ga: what
sxuóó ga: whence
sxíí ga: where
sxuéé ga: whither
yííng ga: when
fúú ga: how many
kpúú ga: how much
fuín ga: whichth
Extraction[]
Metin clauses operate on the process of "extraction" from a given event or condition.
Take the phrase:
maupxúun oame eeyanh sxiitien
In the town square, there were people that saw a servile.
From this statement, 4 things can be extracted.
- The people (subject)
- The town square (location)
- The servile (object)
- See (verb)
Each of these four elements can be extracted from its position in the sentence to form a relativized noun or verb. It is moved to the front, and its old position is reoccupied with a relative pronoun or proverb that agrees in noun class / gesture class with what it replaces. In addition, if an accusative noun phrase is extracted, an indexing argument agreemnt is added to the preverbal gesture. Typically, this relative pronoun/proverb is placed at the end of the clause it was extracted from. Verb extraction is a much more complex process and will be discussed in more detail later.
oame maupxúun eeyanh sxiitien okáá: People who saw a servile in the town square (or more literally, "The people who they saw a servile in the town square")
eeyyanh mauypxúun oame sxiitien iyyáá: A Servile that was seen by people in the town square ("The servile that people saw it in the town square")
sxutien maupxúun oame eeyanh sxíí : A Town square in which people saw a servile ("The town square that people saw a servile in it")
maupxúun huu oame eeyanh mawáá: The witnessing that was done by people to a servile in the town square ("They saw the people the servile that which they did")
In theory an almost unlimited quantity of information can be extracted from a given phrase
ming maupxúun oame eeyanh yííng: Some time when people saw a servile in the town square ("When people saw a servile in the town square then")
Multiple elements may be extracted from a given sentence, separated by yi. The correlative of the final extracted noun will be moved to the end, while the others will be not be moved.
jaud̨ueh oame yi eeyanh maupxúun okáá iyyáá : The people and servile that the people saw the servile they bought it.