Glossary

1ST PERSON

Form referring to the speaker. Often translated into English as "I" (singular) and "we" (plural).

2ND PERSON

Form referring to one or more listener; Often translated into English as "you".

3RD PERSON

Form referring to an additional participant, not the speaker or addressee; Often translated into English as "he" or "she" (Ute does not make a similar distinction between gender.).

ABSOLUTIVE

An affix that indicates that the word, not ending with a case, is a noun.

ADVERB

Part of speech that modifies a verb or verb phrase (e.g. quickly, happily).

AFFIX

Parts of a word that attach to a root to give meaning (i.e. PREFIX or SUFFIX).

ALIENABLE

Possessed object that is or can be separated from its possessor. Opposite of INALIENABLE.

ASPECT

Describes verbs in relation to specific period of time (e.g. habitual, imperfective, inchoative, etc.).

ASSOCIATIONAL

Indicates association of an object or event with another, often translated into English as "with"

CASE

Inflectional category that marks a word's role in relation to other parts of the sentence.

CAUSATIVE

An affix that indicates that a subject either causes an action to take place or changes a state.

CLAUSE

A grammatical unit smaller than the sentence.

COMPOUND

A word formed by combining two or more words.

CONJUNCTION

A word that joins two or more distinct clauses or sentences.

DEMONSTRATIVE

Locates a word in relation to the speaker. Often translated into English as "the", "a", "this", or "that."

DERIVATIONAL

An affix that attaches to a root or word in order to form the meaning of a new word.

DIACRITIC

Any mark in writing additional to a letter (e.g. the accent on ü)

DIALECT

A distinct variety of a language, especially one spoken in a specific area.

DIRECTIONAL

An affix that indicates movement to a location.

EXCLUSIVE

Person marking indicating that the listener is excluded. Opposite of INCLUSIVE.

HABITUAL

Indicates that the action is, or was, repeated. Frequently translated into English as "always," "frequently," or "generally."

INALIENABLE

Possessed object that is an inherent part of the possessor and cannot be separated. Opposite of INALIENABLE.

INCHOATIVE

Expresses the beginning of an action, typically of its own accord. Often translated into English as "becomes…"

INCLUSIVE

Person marking indicating that the listener is included. Opposite of EXCLUSIVE.

INFLECTIONAL

An affix that is used to add grammatical information to a word.

INTERJECTION

A short, expressive exclamation.

INTERROGATIVE

Indicates that a word or phrase has question force.

INTRANSITIVE

A type of verb that only relates to a single noun or its equivalent (e.g. She jumps.). Opposite of TRANSITIVE.

IRREALIS

An affix that indicates indefiniteness and/or futurity, that an action hasn't happened or is unlikely to happen.

LOCATIVE

Indicates location in reference to a point or location in space (e.g. at, on, etc.).

MORPHEME

Unit of grammar smaller than a word.

MORPHOLOGY

The study of word formation and its representation within different languages.

NOMINALIZER

An affix that attaches changes a word into a noun.

NOUN

Part of speech that includes persons, places, or things.

NUMERAL

A word form denoting a number.

OBJECT

Participant in a sentence that is the experiencer, undergoer, or receiver of an action. Opposite of SUBJECT.

OBJECT CASE

An affix that marks a noun as the subject of a sentence. In Ute, this is the voicing of the final vowel.

PART OF SPEECH

A category to which a word is assigned based on its function within a sentence (e.g. noun, verb, etc.).

PARTICLE

Part of speech that includes uninflected words with minimal or no affixes.

PASSIVE

An affix that reduces the number of objects a verb can take by one. Often translated into English as "by", as in "He was seen by his mother" (as opposed to "His mother saw him").

PERSON

Grammatical category that distinguishes participants within a sentence; see 1ST PERSON, 2ND PERSON, 3RD PERSON.

PHONOLOGY

The study of sound systems and their representation within different languages.

PLURAL

Indicates more than one person or object

PLURAL SUFFIX

A suffix indicating that the subject or object of a predicate is plural when suffixed to a verb; also indicates plurality of a noun when suffixed to one.

POSSESSIVE

An affix that marks a noun as being possessed by someone/something.

PREDICATE

Part of a sentence that includes the verb and what is being said of the subject (e.g. the predicate is italicized in the sentence Molly likes to go swimming).

PREFIX

An affix that comes before the word or morpheme to which it is joined. Opposite of SUFFIX.

PRONOUN/PRONIMINAL AFFIX

A word or suffix that replaces a noun in a sentence.

QUANTIFIER

A word or affix that specifies a quantity or amount without being as specific as a numeral. Examples in English include some of, all, and none.

REFERENTIAL

A form of a word used when talking about another person, place, or thing.

REFLEXIVE

An affix that indicates an action referring back to the subject of a sentence (e.g. Bill washed himself).

SPATIOTEMPORAL LOCATIVE

Indicates a location in either time or space.

STATE/STATIVE

Describes a persisting state or situation. Opposite of ACTION/ACTIVE.

STEM

A form to which affixes are added in order to create a word. Carries the primary meaning of the word.

SUBJECT

Participant in a sentence that is the actor, agent, or causer of an action. Opposite of OBJECT.

SUBJECT CASE

An affix that marks a noun as the subject of a sentence. In Ute, this is the devoicing of the final vowel.

SUBORDINATION

Coordination of two or more clauses or sentences in a way that one clause is dependent on the other.

SUFFIX

An affix that comes after the word or morpheme to which it is joined. Opposite of PREFIX.

SYNTAX

The study of grammatical relations between elements within a sentence.

TEMPORAL

Indicating or involving an element of time.

TENSE

Indicates the time of an action, event, etc. in relation to the moment of speaking.

TIME ADVERBIAL

A suffix that attaches to time-related words to indicate relation to the predicate.

TRANSITIVE

A type of verb that relates to more than one noun or its equivalent, typically having both a subject and an object (e.g. She hugs him). Opposite of INTRANSITIVE.

VARIANT

Used to describe an alternative to the standard. Variation can apply to pronunciation, word choice, word order, or dialect differences.

VERB

Part of speech that includes actions, events, or states of being.

VOCATIVE

An affix or form of a word used to invoke or address a person or thing.