Votian/Conditional

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Conditional mood

Person	Singular	Plural
1.	-iksi-n	-iksi-mmak
2.	-iksi-t	-iksi-ttak
3.	-iksi-	-iksi-vat

• The very same endings of the first and second person are used in all moods and tenses.
• Only the third person of singular is different from the present tense and has no marker at all in the conditional mood.
  • The third person of plural has in the conditional mood the same ending as in the present tense, even though it is derived from a suffix of present participle of indicative with a plural nominative marker t.
• All those endings follow the vowel harmony rules like in the present tense e.g. meneizimmä (" (if) we would go ") vs. tuлe̮izivaD (" (if) they came ").

Pronunciation

The final vowel of this morpheme may be omitted .

• e̮лe̮issi ~ e̮лe̮is̄   (" (if) she was ")

Pronunciation of conditional suffix varies according to consonant gradation principles.

1. -isi- , -izi- in most of the ( Western Votic ) dialects e.g. jättäizin (" (if) I would leave "), meneizimmä (" (if) we would go "), e̮лe̮iziD (" (if) you were ") X antaisi   (" (if) she would give ")
2. -issi- , -izi- in some other dialects ( Lempola ) e.g.
   1. e̮лe̮izin (" (if) I was ") X e̮лe̮issi ~ e̮лe̮is̄   (" (if) she was ")
   2. pitäizin (" (if) I would hold ") X pitäis̄   (" (if) he would hold ")
   3. ehtīzin (" (if) I would manage ") X ehtīssi   (" (if) he would manage ")
3. -issi- , -isi- in some other dialects ( Eastern Votic ) e.g.
   1. antaisimma (" (if) we would give ") X antaissi   (" (if) she would give ")

The conditional morpheme -iksi- may be doubled > -iseiksi- (after a long vowel with primary stress). Notice, that vowel e̮ alternates with e according to vowel harmony rules. E.g.

1. sā-iksi-n > saise̮izin (" (if) I would get "), jō-iksi-t > je̮ise̮iziD (" (if) you would drink "), lȫ-iksi-mmak > leiseizimmä (" (if) we would hit "), jǟ-iksi-ttak > jäiseizittä (" (if) you would stay ")
2. Nevertheless it occurs with other stems too e.g. etti лe̮pe̮ttaisizivat ̮ se̮  ̨ ā (" that they should stop the war " Lempola ).

Phonological history

1. The first part (-ise-) of doubled conditional morpheme is used by Finnic north-east i.e. Finnish , Karelian , Vepsian and Ingrian dialects . It may be related to protosami * -ńD́Ž́ potential.
2. The second part (-ksi-) of doubled conditional morpheme is used by Finnic south-west i.e. Estonian , South Estonian and Livonian dialects . It may be related to protosami * -ktš conditional.

Morphophonology

The conditional morpheme takes a vowel stem e.g.

1. makaissi ('would sleep' conditional ) ~ makā ('Sleep!' - singular) X magatkā ('Sleep!' - plural).
2. pake̮ne̮issi ('would flee' conditional ) ~ pake̮ne̮ ('Flee!' - singular) X page̮tkā ('Flee!' - plural).

Thus any verbal stem is always in the strong grade in conditional.

• лuke̮issi ('would read' conditional ) ~ лuke̮a ('to read') ~ лuke̮assa ('Somebody reads.') ~ лuke̮gā ('Read!' - plural) X лuge̮G ('Read!' - singular)
• vs. makaissi ('would sleep' conditional ) ~ makā ('Sleep!' - singular) X magatkā ('Sleep!' - plural) ~ magata ('to sleep') ~ magatassa ('Somebody sleeps.')

Unlike i of imperfect tense, i of the conditional morpheme does not change quality of preceding short vowels.

• E.g. e̮ + -i- > e̮i: лuge̮mma ('We read.') > лuke̮issi ('would read' conditional ).

Dialectal alternatives

• Votic of Ingria
  • Eastern Votic dialect
    • Pronunciation of conditional suffix varies according to consonant gradation principles: -issi- , -isi- e.g. antaisimma (" (if) we would give ") X antaissi   (" (if) she would give ")
  • Western Votic dialects
    • Pronunciation of conditional suffix varies according to consonant gradation principles: -isi- , -izi- in most of the ( Western Votic ) dialects e.g. jättäizin (" (if) I would leave "), meneizimmä (" (if) we would go "), e̮лe̮iziD (" (if) you were ") X antaisi   (" (if) she would give ")
    • Hill dialect:
      • Pronunciation of conditional suffix varies according to consonant gradation principles: -issi- , -izi- in some dialects ( Lempola ) e.g. e̮лe̮izin (" (if) I was ") X e̮лe̮issi ~ e̮лe̮is̄   (" (if) she was ")

Other Finnic dialects

The first person of singular

• Standard Finnish : luk-isi-n ('I would read.')
• Vesjegonski Karelian dialects : lug-izi-n ('I would read.')
• Vepsian dialects : lug-iži-ń ('I would read.')
• Ingrian dialects : lukk-īZi-n ('I would read.')
• Standard Estonian : loe-ksi-n ('I would read.')
• South Estonian Räpina dialects : loe-sse ('I would read.')
• Eastern Livonian dialects : lugù-ks ('I would read.')

The first person of plural

• Standard Finnish : luk-isi-mme ('We would read.')
• Vesjegonski Karelian dialects : lug-izi-mma ('We would read.')
• Vepsian dialects : lug-iži-mai ('We would read.')
• Ingrian dialects : luG-izi-(m)man ('We would read.')
• Standard Estonian : loe-ksi-me ('We would read.')
• South Estonian Räpina dialects : loe-sse ('We would read.')
• Eastern Livonian dialects : lugù-ks-mə̑ ('We would read.')

The second person of singular

• Standard Finnish : luk-isi-t ('You would read.')
• Vesjegonski Karelian dialects : lug-izi-t ('You would read.')
• Vepsian dialects : lug-iži-d́ ('You would read.')
• Ingrian dialects : lukk-īs-t ('You would read.')
• Standard Estonian : loe-ksi-d ('You would read.')
• South Estonian Räpina dialects : loe-sse ('You would read.')
• Eastern Livonian dialects : lugù-ks-t ('You would read.')

The second person of plural

• Standard Finnish : luk-isi-tte ('You would read.')
• Vesjegonski Karelian dialects : lug-izi-tta ('You would read.')
• Vepsian dialects : lug-iži-tai ('You would read.')
• Ingrian dialects : luG-izi-tta ('You would read.')
• Standard Estonian : loe-ksi-te ('You would read.')
• South Estonian Räpina dialects : loe-sse ('You would read.')
• Eastern Livonian dialects : lugù-ks-tə̑ ('You would read.')

The third person of singular

• Standard Finnish : luk-isi ('She would read.')
• Vesjegonski Karelian dialects : lug-īś ('She would read.')
• Vepsian dialects : lug-iž ('She would read.')
• Ingrian dialects : lukk-īZ ('She would read.')
• Standard Estonian : loe-ks ('She would read.')
• South Estonian Räpina dialects : loe-sse ('She would read.')
• Eastern Livonian dialects : lugù-ks ('She would read.')

The third person of plural

• Standard Finnish : luk-isi-vat ('They would read.')
• Karelian dialects use indefinite voice instead : lugie-tta-iś ('They would read.').
• Vepsian dialects : lug-iži-ba ('They would read.')
• Ingrian dialects : luG-izī-D ('They would read.')
• Standard Estonian : loe-ksi-d ('They would read.')
• South Estonian Räpina dialects : loe-sse ('They would read.')
• Eastern Livonian dialects : lugù-ks-tə̑' ('They would read.')

Negative conditional

Person	Singular	Plural
1.	eni -iksik	emmak -iksik
2.	eti -iksik	ettak -iksik
3.	epi -iksik	evat -iksik

Negative expressions are made of an auxiliary negation verb followed by a main verb.

• The negation verb has the following indicative and conditional forms according to the number and person of the subject: eni, emmak, eti, ettak, epi, evat.
  • See the present tense negation chapter about dialectal and morphophonological alternatives of them.
• The main verb is represented by it's third person of singular i.e. conditional without additional personal endings e.g. en лauлoiz (" (if) I would not sing "), eväd лauлoiz (" (if) they would not sing ").

The negation verb will be conjugated in various moods. See other negation lessons about this matter.

Other Finnic dialects

The first person of singular

• Standard Finnish : en luk-isi ('I would not read!')
• Vesjegonski Karelian dialects : en lug-īś ('I would not read!')
• Ingrian dialects : en lukk-īZ ('I would not read!')
• Standard Estonian : ei loe-ks ('I would not read!')
• South Estonian Räpina dialects : ei loe-sse ('I would not read!')
• Eastern Livonian dialects : äB lugù-ks ('I would not read!')

The first person of plural

• Standard Finnish : emme luk-isi ('We would not read!')
• Vesjegonski Karelian dialects : emmä lug-īś ('We would not read!')
• Ingrian dialects : emmä lukk-īZ ('We would not read!')
• Standard Estonian : ei loe-ks ('We would not read!')
• South Estonian Räpina dialects : ei loe-sse ('We would not read!')
• Eastern Livonian dialects : äB lugù-ksmə̑ ('We would not read!')

The second person of singular

• Standard Finnish : et luk-isi ('You would not read!')
• Vesjegonski Karelian dialects : et lug-īś ('You would not read!')
• Ingrian dialects : eD lukk-īZ ('You would not read!')
• Standard Estonian : ei loe-ks ('You would not read!')
• South Estonian Räpina dialects : ei loe-sse ('You would not read!')
• Eastern Livonian dialects : äD lugù-ks ('You would not read!')

The second person of plural

• Standard Finnish : ette luk-isi ('You would not read!')
• Vesjegonski Karelian dialects : että lug-īś ('You would not read!')
• Ingrian dialects : että lukk-īZ ('You would not read!')
• Standard Estonian : ei loe-ks ('You would not read!')
• South Estonian Räpina dialects : ei loe-sse ('You would not read!')
• Eastern Livonian dialects : ät̄ lugù-kstə̑ ('You would not read!')

The third person of singular

• Standard Finnish : ei luk-isi ('She would not read!')
• Vesjegonski Karelian dialects : ei lug-īś ('She would not read!')
• Ingrian dialects : ei lukk-īZ ('She would not read!')
• Standard Estonian : ei loe-ks ('She would not read!')
• South Estonian Räpina dialects : ei loe-sse ('She would not read!')
• Eastern Livonian dialects : äB lugù-ks ('She would not read!')

The third person of plural

• Standard Finnish : eivät luk-isi ('They would not read!')
• Karelian dialects use indefinite voice instead e.g. Vesjegonski Karelian dialects : ei lugie-tta-iś ('They would not read.').
• Ingrian dialects : eiväD lukk-īZ ('They would not read!')
• Standard Estonian : ei loe-ks ('They would not read!')
• South Estonian Räpina dialects : ei loe-sse ('They would not read!')
• Eastern Livonian dialects : äB lugù-kstə ('They would not read!')

Indefinite voice

Mood	Negation verb	Main verb ending
Conditional		-ttaiksi
Conditional negation	epi	-ttaiksik

Morphophonology

• The vowel a alternates with ä according to vowel harmony rules.
  • pan+taiksi > pantaissi ('Somebody would put.' )
  • pes+taiksi > pestäissi ('Somebody would wash.' )

Indefinite voice suffixes take a consonant stem if available.

Verbal stem is therefore always in the weak grade.

• лuge̮-ttaissi ('Somebody would read') X лuke̮kā ('Read!' - plural imperative)
• vs. magat-taissi ('Somebody would sleep') X makā ('Sleep!' - singular imperative) ~ magatkā ('Sleep!' - plural) .

t component of indefinite voice suffixes stays geminated only after unstressed vowels e.g. tako+ttaiksi > tagottaissi ('Somebody would beat.').

•   ̄ + ttaiksi > taiksi: e.g. sā-taissi ('Somebody would get.') < sā-ttaiksi.
• t + ttaiksi > ttaiksi: e.g. tšiuzat-taissi ('Somebody would molest.') < tšiusat-ttaiksi.
• h + ttaiksi > htaiksi: e.g. teh-täissi ('Somebody would make.') < teh-ttaiksi.
• s + ttaiksi > staiksi: e.g. pes-täissi ('Somebody would wash.') < pes-ttaiksi.
• л + ttaiksi > лtaiksi: e.g. tuл-taissi ('Somebody would come.') < tuл-ttaiksi
• l + ttaiksi > ltaiksi: e.g. pidel-täissi ('Somebody would hold.') < pitel-ttaiksi
• r + ttaiksi > rtaiksi: e.g. sur-taissi ('Somebody would die.') < sur-ttaiksi.
• n + ttaiksi (after primary stress) > ntaiksi: e.g. pan-taissi ('Somebody would put.') < pan-ttaiksi.
  • n + ttaiksi (elsewhere) > ttaiksi: e.g. apat-taissi ('Somebody would acidify.') < appan-ttaiksi.

In front of any indefinite voice marker (except present tense indefinite voice) the stem-vowel a alternates with e̮ and ä alternates with e e.g. ve̮tta+ttaiksi > ve̮te̮ttaissi ('Somebody would take.'), leütä+ttaiksi > levvettäissi ('Somebody would find.').

The final vowel of this morpheme is often omitted depending in it's position in a sentence .

• ve̮te̮ttaissi ~ ve̮te̮ttais̄ ~ ve̮te̮ttais   ("Somebody would take.")

Dialectal alternatives

Dialectal alternatives of the negation verb epi were described in the lesson about present tense negation e.g. ep tuлtaissi vs. ei tultas ('Nobody would come.') .

ss of the suffix may be degeminated in some dialects e.g. ve̮tta+ttaiksi > ve̮te̮ttaisi ~ ve̮te̮ttais ('Somebody would take.'), iho+ttaiksi > ihottaisi ('Somebody would grind.'), anta+ttaiksi > anne̮ttaisi ('Somebody would give.').

• Votic of Ingria
  • Eastern Votic dialect
    • A metanalytic morpheme -k has been added to the conditional negation e.g. ettäg  ̮ e̮лe̮issiG ('You wouldn't be.'), ep  ̮ e̮лtaissiG ('Nobody would be.' indefinite voice ). The suffix -k is probably borrowed from the present tense negation here, where it was a present tense marker .

See also

• Grammar of Votian dialects (syllabus)
• Imperfect tense

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