Monday 19 December 2016

19th Lexember Word

aspá [äɕˈpäˑ], transitive (causative) verb: “to put, to place“

Originally posted by artemispanthar

Hey, it’s not so often I manage to work in a GIF of my current favourite cartoon :P.

Interestingly, this verb is simply the regular causative form (albeit one using an old, nowadays non-productive causative suffix) of the verb ás: “to be, to exist“, a verb also used to mark location. In other words, aspá literally means: “to cause to be (in a certain location)“. This is in fact a common characteristic of Haotyétpi: that it does not have a single verb for “to put”, but instead uses the causative forms of various position verbs, depending on the situation. In particular, aspá is only used when putting things on flat, non-enclosed surfaces (the floor of a room does count as “non-enclosed”, by the way).

Like many commonly used verbs, aspá has a plural form, used when the object of the verb is plural: armó.

Kaáspi seásyo aspán mik mare n’ ás?: “Where should I put this?“

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