how to form comparative degree of adverbs

chung
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how to form comparative degree of adverbs

Postby chung » 2013-05-21, 14:35

As I slowly study Northern Sámi, I've started to wonder how adverbs are formed, and in particular how to form the comparative and superlative degrees of them.

There's a chapter in Davvin 4 devoted to forming the comparative and superlative of adjectives but very little on adverbs anywhere apart from a note showing how to identify them by virtue of their ending -t. The summary on Oahpa! doesn't have much information either, unfortunately and I can't quite see how it's done on the strength of their two examples.

Oahpa! - Manner Adverbs
Adverbs can also be derived from comparative and superlative adjectives in the same manner:

Dus lea 'čábbát' čála go mus. Don čálát 'čábbábut' go mun.
(You have nicer handwriting than I do. You write more nicely than I do.)

Ánte lea 'jođáneamos'. Ánte bargá jođánepmosit.
(Ánte is the quickest. Ánte works the most quickly.)


I would appreciate very much an informed explanation.
Chung
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Virankannos
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Re: how to form comparative degree of adverbs

Postby Virankannos » 2013-05-28, 21:15

Manner adverbs in Sámi are formed with the suffix -(i)t. There are three ways depending on the word type:

1) Adjectives with an even number of syllables (in Gen-Acc):
  • weak grade
  • stem-final i > e / stem final u > o
  • diphthong simplification (ie > i / uo > u / ea > e / oa > o)
  • add -t
Examples: čeahppi > čehpet, headju > hejot, (oanehaš :) oanehažža- > oanehaččat

2) Adjectives with an odd number of syllables
  • inflectional stem without the final -a (ie. Gen-Acc form) + it
Examples: (garas :) garrasa > garrasit (NB: in comparative forms just add -t: (buoret :) buorebu > buorebut)

3) "Contracted" adjectives (like čáppis)
  • Gen-Acc form + t
Examples: (čáppis :) čábbá > čábbát, (jierbmái :) jierbmá > jierbmát

Exception to the rule is buorre, which has the adverb form bures

chung
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Re: how to form comparative degree of adverbs

Postby chung » 2013-05-31, 15:01

Hmm... Is the pattern then that I add the adverbial suffix -(i)t to the corresponding adjective (even for comparatives and superlatives)?

If so, it then reminds of the Hungarian way.

E.g. gyors "fast", gyorsabb "faster", leggyorsabb "fastest"
gyorsan "quickly", gyorsabban "more quickly", leggyorsabban "most quickly"
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Virankannos
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Re: how to form comparative degree of adverbs

Postby Virankannos » 2013-06-02, 9:24

chung wrote:Hmm... Is the pattern then that I add the adverbial suffix -(i)t to the corresponding adjective (even for comparatives and superlatives)?
In a nutshell, yes.


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