Editing Mohawk language (section)

==Grammar==
[[File:Mohawk no-swimming sign.jpg|thumb|A warning sign in Mohawk]]

Mohawk words tend to be longer on average than words in English, primarily because they consist of a large number of [[morphemes]].

Mohawk expresses a number of distinctions on its pronominal elements: person (1st, 2nd, 3rd), number (singular, dual, plural), gender (masculine, feminine/indefinite, feminine/neuter) and [[Inclusive and exclusive we|inclusivity/exclusivity]] on the first person dual and plural. Pronominal information is encoded in prefixes on the verbs; separate pronoun words are used for emphasis. There are three main paradigms of pronominal prefixes: subjective (with dynamic verbs), objective (with stative verbs), and transitive.

There are three core components to the Mohawk proposition: the noun, the predicate, and the particle.<ref name=":0"/>

Mohawk words can be composed of many morphemes. What is expressed in English in many words can often be expressed by just one Mohawk word, a phenomenon known as [[polysynthetic language|polysynthesis]].

===Nouns===
Nouns are given the following form in Mohawk:<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title = A Grammar Of Awkwesasne Mohawk|last = Bonvillain|first = Nancy|publisher = National Museum of Man, National Museums of Canada|year = 1973}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title = A Thousand Words Of Mohawk|last = Michelson|first = Günther|publisher = National Museum of Man, National Museums Of Canada|year = 1973}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title = One thousand useful Mohawk words|last = Maracle|first = David|publisher = Audio-Forum|location = Guilford, Conn}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
!Nominal Prefix
!Noun Stem
!Nominal Suffix
|}

Noun prefixes give information relating to gender, animacy, number and person, and identify the word as a noun.

For example:

1) '''oʼ'''nenste   "corn"

2) '''o'''ienʼkwa  "tobacco"

Here, the prefix  ''o-'' is generally found on nouns found in natural environments. Another prefix exists which marks objects that are made by humans.

3) '''ka'''nhoha     "door"

4) '''kaʼ'''khare  "slip, skirt"

Here, the prefix ''ka-'' is generally found on human-made things. Phonological variation amongst the Mohawk dialects also gives rise to the prefix ''ga-''.

Noun roots are similar to nouns in English in that the noun root in Mohawk and the noun in English have similar meanings.

(Caughnawaha)

5) –eri-  "heart"

6) –hi- "river"

7) –itshat- "cloud"

These noun roots are bare. There is no information other than the noun root itself. Morphemes cannot occur individually. That is, to be well-formed and grammatical, ''-eri-'' needs pronominal prefixes, or the root can be incorporated into a predicate phrase.

Nominal suffixes are not necessary for a well-formed noun phrase. The suffixes give information relating to location and attributes. For example:

Locative Suffix:

8) i. onuʼtaʼ              "hill"

ii. onutaʼ'''ke'''  "'''on''' the hill"

9) i. onekwvhsaʼ       "blood"

ii. onekwvhsaʼ'''ke'''   "'''in''' the blood"

Here the suffix < -ke > denotes location.

Attributive Suffix:

10) kvjyʼ                  "fish"

11) kvjaʼ'''koʼwa'''       "sturgeon" or "big fish"

Here, the suffix ''-koʼwa'' denotes an augmentative suffix, which increases the attribute of the noun in question.

===Verbs===
Mohawk verbs are one of the more complex parts of the language, composed of many morphemes that describe grammatical relations. The verb takes the following structure:<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />
{| class="wikitable"
!Pre-Pronominal Prefix
!Pronominal Prefix
!Reflexive And Reciprocal Particle
!Incorporated Noun Root
!Verb Root
!Suffixes
|}
Mohawk grammar allows for whole prepositions to be expressed by one word, which we classify as a verb. The other core elements (subjects, objects, etc.) can be [[incorporation (linguistics)|incorporated]] into the verb. Well-formed verb phrases contain at the bare minimum a verb root and a pronominal prefix. The rest of the elements are not necessary.

Tense, aspect and [[linguistic modality|modality]] are expressed via suffixes on the verb phrase as well.

Some examples:

{{interlinear|number=(12)
|top= katorats
|k- atorat- s
|1SG- hunt HAB
|"I hunt"}}

This is composed of three parts; the pronominal prefix, the verb root and a suffix which marks aspect. Mohawk seems to prefer aspect markers to tense to express grammaticalisation in time.

{{interlinear|number=(13)|abbreviations=TRLOC:translocative
|top= nyaʼtsvshayayaʼkeʼ
|n-  yaʼ-  t-  v-   s-    ha-   yahyaʼk- eʼ
|PTV TRLOC DU- FUT- ITER- noun- verb-    {root suffix}
|"…where he will cross over again from here to there…"}}

This example shows multiple prefixes that can be affixed to the verb root, but certain affixes are forbidden from coexisting together. For example, the aorist and the future tense affix will not be found on the same well-formed sentence.

{{interlinear|number=(14)|abbreviations=ROOT:root
|top= vsenataraʼ
|v- se- natahr- aʼ
|FUT NOM-PRO VB-ROOT {momentary ASP suffix}
|"You will make a visit"}}

{{interlinear|number=(15)|abbreviations=ROOT:root
|top= asenataraʼ
|a-   se-     natahr-  aʼ
|COND NOM-PRO VB-ROOT {momentary suffix}
|"You should make a visit"}}

{{interlinear|number=(16)|abbreviations=ROOT:root
|top= sanatahruneʼ
|sa-     natahr- u-   hneʼ
|ACC-PRO VB-ROOT STAT {momentary suffix}
|"You were visiting"}}

Here, different prefixes and suffixes are used that mark tense, aspect and modality.

Most grammatical relations in Mohawk are expressed through various different affixes onto a verb. Subjects, objects, and relationships between subjects and objects are given their own affixes. In Mohawk, each transitive relationship between subjects and objects are given their own prefix. For example:

{{interlinear|number=(17a)
|ku- noruhkwa
|I-you love
|"I love you"}}

{{interlinear|number=(17b)
|ri- noruhkwa
|I-him love
|"I love him"}}

{{interlinear|number=(17c)
|ke- noruhkwa
|I-it/her love
|"I love it/her"}}

Each of these affixes are denoting a transitive relationship between two things. There are more affixes for denoting transitive relationships like "we-they", they-us (inclusive/exclusive), etc.

===Noun incorporation===

One of the features of Mohawk called ''noun incorporation'' allows a verb to absorb a noun into it. When incorporation happens, an epenthetic ''a'' can appear between the noun root and the verb root.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> For example:

{{interlinear |number=18)
|Owiraʼa wahrakeʼ ne oʼwahru
|Baby      ate        the  meat
|}}

With noun incorporation:

{{interlinear |number=19)
|Owiraʼa wah'''a'''ʼwahrakeʼ
|Baby     meat-ate
|}}

{{interlinear |number=20)
|top= Waʼeksohareʼ
|waʼe -ks -ohareʼ
|{} dish wash
|"She dish-washed"}}

{{interlinear |number=21)
|top= Waʼkenakt'''a'''hninuʼ
|waʼke -nakt -a -hninuʼ
|{} bed increment buy
|"I bed-bought"}}

{{interlinear |number=22)
|top= Wahanaʼtar'''a'''kwetareʼ
|waha -naʼtar -a -kwetareʼ
|{} bread increment -cut
|"He bread-cut"}}

Most of these examples take the epenthetic vowel ''a''; it can be omitted if the incorporated noun does not give rise a complex consonant cluster in the middle of the word.