Ventive
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The ventive is a grammatical category of the verb in some languages. It indicates that the action is performed in the direction of the speaker ("ventive" from Latin venire "to come"). The ventive is especially common in certain languages of the Ancient Near East, such as Akkadian and Sumerian, as well as in some languages in Caucasus, Northern Africa, and Oceania. The ventive is not limited to verbs expressing movement.
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[edit] Examples
[edit] Sumerian
While the so-called conjugational prefixes of Sumerian have been interpreted in different ways, one of the most common views involves the following analysis:
lugal mu-ĝen-Ø
"The king came"
But:
lugal ì-ĝen-Ø
king prefix(*)-go-3s.subject
"The king went (away)"
(*) The prefix ì- has no grammatical or lexical meaning. It is used, because each finite verb form must have at least one prefix.
The ventive prefix is also frequently used with verbs that do not express a movement:
lugal-e é mu -n-ŕú-Ø
king-ergative temple ventive-3s.agent-build-3s.patient
"The king built the temple (here)"
[edit] Lenakel
The Austronesian language Lenakel (spoken in Vanuatu) has not only a ventive suffix, but also a suffix that indicates that the action is directed towards the person addressed, as well as a neutral suffix that indicates that the action is directed neither towards the speaker nor towards the person addressed.
ieramɨra r-armwig m-ɨni-pa to kat-lau
chief 3pers-rise and-say-ventive dative inclusive-we-dual
"The chief rose and spoke to both of us."
[edit] Sources
- Edzard, Dietz-Otto: A Sumerian Grammar, Brill Academic Publishers, 2003, ISBN 90-04-12608-2.
- Lynch, John: A Grammar of Lenakel. (Pacific Linguistics Series B No. 55) The Australian National University, Canberra 1978.
