o yis Active and passive clauses
Focus, subjects and the active voice
The natural focus of an O Yis clause lies around the verb and, in particular, on the words that immediately follow the verb. For the most part the subject of the clause (agents of a transitive verb; undertakers or experiencers of intransitive verbs) is also the focus of the clause - these clauses are active voice clauses.
Other words in a clause can be emphasised by raising the tone and adding emphasis (for instance by preaspirating any stops present in the word) when speaking - this is often used when the speaker wishes to emphasise the importance of the action itself, or for emphasising a nominative or accusative pronoun ahead of the verb.
Accusative, oblique and modifying nouns can be emphasised by using their near or distant articles in place of the basic article. Nouns can also be intensified by adding an appropriate quantifier. Some speakers may also choose to repeat the noun (several times if necessary) to add emphasis - this is known as full reduplication; reduplication can also be used to emphasise a verb.
- Xhimbe gliq gliq e doc som de petyr m'nib fjazg irat roN harf
- himbe gliq gliq e doc som de petyr m'nib fjazg irat roŋ harf
- himbə gliq gliq ə ðɔs ʦɔm ðə pətɐɾ m'nib fjæʒg iɾæt ɾɔŋ hæɾf
- Peter really wants to poke that dog with this stick
Focussing on direct objects: the passive voice
When the speaker wishes to emphasise the importance of the patient of a transitive verb, the simplest way is to cast the entire clause in the passive voice. This is achieved by:
- » moving the patient phrase closer to the verb, at the expence of the agent phrase (known as 'promoting to subject');
- » adding the appropriate passive suffix to the verb; and
- » turning the agent into an oblique noun phrase by adding the postposition itau to it.
- » Where the agent was already being referenced by a pronoun, that pronoun will move from the beginning of the clause to the end of it.
- Xhiuk vollok rec rean n'iin maav ze cmal itau
- hiuk vollok rec rean n'ín máv ze cmal itau
- hiuk wɔlːɔk ɾəs ɾəæn n'iˑn mæˑw ʒə smæl itæu
- a little cat was seen by the girl
- Xhimbe gliqit e doc som in harf de petyr itau m'ni fjazg irat
- himbe gliqit e doc som in harf de petyr itau m'ni fjazg irat
- himbə gliqit ə ðɔs ʦɔm in hæɾf ðə pətɐɾ itæu m'ni fjæʒg iɾæt
- the dog would be poked by Peter, with the stick
- Xal hauk to kaNkek g'doc trop o fezg em di Daan rag itau
- al hauk to kaŋkek g'doc trop o fezg em di dzán rag itau
- æl hæuk tɔ kæŋkək g'ðɔs tɾɔp ɔ fəʒg əm ði ʤæˑn ɾæg itæu
- Jane's door was knocked on twice by me
Focussing indirect objects in a clause
No oblique object can ever be promoted to a subject - a situation which is also true for any object that modifies another object in any way. To place the focus of the clause on these words the whole clause needs to be reconfigured so that the verb and its attendant objects are relativised onto the oblique or nominalised object (using the appropriate relative article for that verb), which as a result is moved to the start of the clause. Most dialects also require that a nominalised pronoun be used as a placeholder in the clause to show where the oblique would normally have been placed:
- Xy riDa ipjamid uN hauk tiiNa di maar o cen
- y ridza ipjamid uŋ hauk tíŋa di már o cen
- ɐ ɾiʤæ ipjæmið uŋ hæuk tiˑŋæ ði mæˑɾ ɔ sən
- it was to town that Mary rode
- Xin faect itoxol uN hauk tiiNa di maar o cen y riDa ipjamid
- in faect itoxol uŋ hauk tíŋa di már o cen y ridza ipjamid
- in fæəst itɔxɔl uŋ hæuk tiˑŋæ ði mæˑɾ ɔ sən ɐ ɾiʤæ ipjæmið
- it was on a horse that Mary rode to town
- Xuram irt uN hauk tiiNa di maar o ran y riDa ipjamid
- uram irt uŋ hauk tíŋa di már o ran y ridza ipjamid
- uɾæm iɾt uŋ hæuk tiˑŋæ ði mæˑɾ ɔ ɾæn ɐ ɾiʤæ ipjæmið
- it was for me that Mary rode to town