Circumstantial voice

The Circumstantial voice allows a non-core (oblique) argument to be expressed as a LM , the former LM being demoted to an oblique (see below). In other words, it allows an oblique and the LM to change places, converting the oblique into a core argument. Any argument of a preposed, postpositional phrase can be promoted, and the erstwhile postposition appears between the auxiliary and the verb (in adverbial position). The verb itself is prefixed with the CIRC marker , and the combination postposition-circumstantial verb is considered to be a fused whole (note the absence of cejhan) which is indicated in transcription with a hyphen. For example, if we take the sentence,

the core arguments are and , and the argument is an oblique instrument in a postpositional phrase with . If we want to raise the argument to core position, we can do so with the CIRC voice, as follows,

with the (former) postposition occurring as a prefix on the circumstantial-marked verbal , and a special postposition on the demoted argument:

ANIMATE

ABSTRACT

marking a logical agent (AG) in oblique position

INANIMATE

marking a logical patient (PT) in oblique position

marking a logical accidental participant (AX) in oblique position

 

The raised LM will be case-marked normally to reflect its energetic involvement with the complex verb:

Such formations can equally be derived from notionally passive sentences.

Clearly, these things can be quite hard to translate in such a way as to maintain the implicature of the Qohenje expression. Just as with English passives, the oblique postpositional phrase is optional

Other examples

This last example is also acceptable with the negative prefix before the whole circumstantial verb formation:

The more common the circumstantial formation, the more likely speakers are to treat it like a lexical unit, and to thus prepose the negative (and other) affixes.

Note that the circumstantial voice offers a more precise way of indicating a non-core participant than simply making it the LM of a notionally intransitive verbal, e.g., the above example

could also be expressed somewhat more pedantically as

or indeed as