| 2.41.
Stem formation: Generally a bare root is used as stem. But the modifications
in roots to form differnt types of stems are very common. The processes
employed are secondary internal changes, reduplication, compounding,
prefixation, infixation and suffixation. The categories of stems described
below differ from each other in two ways - (i) by employing different
morphological processess for their formations, and (ii) by taking
different sets of affixes. The restrictions of tense aspect markers
may be predicted on these bases only, as to where they can be grouped
whether as traansitive or as intransitive. |
| 2.4.1.1. Transitive
stems: The transitive stems may be formed of either intransitive or
transitive roots. Semantically there can be several sub-groupings
within it: |
| (a)
Causative: |
| (i) By prefixing
/a-/, before a single syllabled transitive roots beginning with consonants,
as in- |
|
jom
|
‘to
eat’
|
had
|
‘to
cut (rope),
|
te
|
‘to
knit’
|
ged
|
‘to
cut (meat),
|
n
|
‘to
drink’
|
jal
|
‘to
lick’
|
|
har
|
‘to
drive (cattle)’
|
ni?
|
‘to
open (door)’
|
|
co?
|
‘to
kiss’
|
dul
|
‘to
pour (water)’
|
|
|
| (ii) In all
other cases, whether a root be transitive or intransitive, the post-position
rika ‘to do’ after the root as compound serves the function
of a causative, e.g., hiju? ‘to come’, but hiju? rika ‘to
make some one come’. |
| (iii) Likewise,
the postpositions [iri] or [ici] may be added to the transitive roots,
and are permissive in character i.e., the execution of the act caused
is not definite in this case. No grouping of roots can be done for
their distribution, which are used arbitrarily. |
| (b)
Reciprocal: |
/-pV-/, where V is
the preceding vowel, as infix is inserted into transitive roots after
the first vowel and then same vowel is made to follow before taking
other phonemes of the original form, e.g., om>opon ‘to give
to each other’, era >eperaN
‘to fight with each other’. |
| The reciprocal in
comound stems is formed by inserting /pV-/ in the above manner either
into both of the roots or sometimes into the principal root. |
| (c)
Benefactive: |
| The vowel/-a-/ is
sniffixed to the transitive root immediately following and before
taking the object in a verbal phrase. This is more an expression of
dative within the predicate, i.e., a marker for the indirect object
than a stem-forming mopheme. |
| (d)
Iteratative and Intensive: |
| In mundari both the
functions are performed by the same root and they employ two types
of formatives with the trasitive roots. |
| (i) Reduplication
of the first syllable of the root by placing it before the root itself
e.g., dal ‘to strike’ dadal ‘to strike repeatedly’
or ‘to strike intensively’. |
| (ii) Reduplication
of the first vowel of the root resulting in lengthening of it. The
iteratative expressed by this also indicates habit or custom. Similarly,
it may mean an attempt on part of the speaker in which case it takes,
[te] : [nel] ‘to see’ [neel] + [te] = [neelte]. |
This method of legthening
is even with such roots which are reduplicated, as in dadal?daal where
a habit is to be indicated as well as iteration is indicated.
|
