Adjuncts act similarly to auxiliary verbs or punctuation in that they provide further grammatical or semantic information regarding the associated formative(s).
Affixual adjuncts are typically used to rearrange the hierarchy of grammatical categories in Ithkuil, or to put focus on specific grammatical categories.
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Single–Affix Adjuncts follow an identical structure to Slot VII affixes (VXCS), but with an additional final vowel (VS) that indicates the affix's scope over relative to the succeeding formative. The possible VS values are as such:
| (a) | Adjunct acts as if it were the last Slot V affix. |
|---|---|
| u | Adjunct acts as if it were the first Slot V affix. |
| e | Adjunct acts as if it were the last Slot VII affix. |
| i | Adjunct acts as if it were the first Slot VII affix. |
| o | Adjunct has scope over the entire formative (incl. Context and Slot VIII + IX). |
| ö | Adjunct has scope over the entire formative and all other succeeding affixual and modular adjuncts. |
Examples of Affixual adjuncts in use:
Note that if the adjunct precedes a concatenated chain and has ultimate stress, or is monosyllabic, then it only modifies the leftmost concatenated formative as opposed to the parent formative.
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If more than one affixual adjunct is to modify one formative, the speaker can potentially reduce one syllable by merging them into a singular adjunct. Such adjuncts follow this structure:
(ë) + CSVX + CZ + VXCS ... + (VS) + [stress]
CZ is functionally identical to VS. Its values are:
| h | Adjunct acts as if it were the last Slot V affix. |
|---|---|
| 'h | Adjunct acts as if it were the first Slot V affix. |
| 'hl | Adjunct acts as if it were the last Slot VII affix. |
| 'hr | Adjunct acts as if it were the first Slot VII affix. |
| hw | Adjunct has scope over the entire formative (incl. Context and Slot VIII + IX). |
| 'hw | Adjunct has scope over the entire formative and all other succeeding affixual and modular adjuncts. |
Optionally, for phonetic diversity, if VS indicates the same type of scope as CZ, it can be replaced with -ai instead.
Stress functions identically to Single-Affix adjuncts. Affixes in VXCS scope over one another right-to-left, identically to Slot V and Slot VII affixes.
Modular adjuncts provide additional information regarding verbal grammatical categories or case–scope (typically conveyed by Slot VIII, structured as VNCN, in formatives).
The structure of a modular adjunct is as follows, where slots have hierarchical scope over each other from right to left:
(Cξ) + (VNCN + (VNCM)) + VN / VH + [stress]
Cξ behaves identically to stress in Affixual adjuncts; if marked with a y-, it indicates that the adjunct applies solely to the concatenated stem, and if marked with w-, it indicates that the adjunct applies to the parent formative.
VNCN and VNCM are functionally identical to Slot VIII in formatives*, with the exception that CM only indicates Pattern, instead of both Pattern and Mood/Case-Scope. In CM, Pattern I is marked with -ň-, and Pattern II is marked with -n-.
For VN / VH, if the adjunct is monosyllabic (i.e., Only Slot 4 or Slot 1 and 4 are in use), then it represents a lone Aspect; otherwise, it indicates Valence, Phase, Level, or Effect if the stress is penultimate. However, if the adjunct’s stress is ultimate, then it conveys scoping information (VH), which is detailed below:
| a | Adjunct has scope over Mood and Slot IX. |
|---|---|
| e | Adjunct has scope over Mood. |
| u/i | Adjunct has scope over the entire formative. |
| o | Adjunct has scope over the entire formative as well as any affixual adjuncts (do not use if any affixual adjuncts are marked as having scope over other adjuncts). |
Note that in the absence of a scope-marker, Modular adjuncts simply scope over Slot VIII; that is, unless Slot VIII is default, in which case it simply applies as if it were the formative's Slot VIII value.
Examples of Modular adjuncts in use:
Suppletive adjuncts indicate metarepresentational nouns. Its usage is best illustrated by examples below.
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Suppletive adjuncts follow the structure CP + VC, where VC is the case of the segment being identified by the adjunct. CP indicates the type of segment at hand, of which are described below.
| Carrier | Refers to an entity by its name. If the nature of entity being described is verbal or unknown to the addressee, then use the Carrier root instead (See: § 7.2). |
|---|---|
| Quotative | Indicates a quotation, as in "Last night, John told me, 'Tomorrow, look under the bed.'" Typically used alongside the Recollective validation. |
| Naming | Identifies a name as being referred as a name in and of itself, as opposed to one used to identify an attributed, existing entity, as with the Carrier adjunct, e.g., "Smith is the most common surname", "Should we name our child John?", "Her name is Mary". |
| Phrasal | Indicates a phrase that acts as a means to refer to another entity or action e.g., "Stop your stumbling-around-in-the-dark behavior", "Is that the actor who starred in that aliens-invade-but-die-after-discovering-chocolate movie?". Essentially acts as a "Type-2" case-frame where the phrase contained therein becomes a derived lexicalization. |
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CP + VC
| Suppletive Adjuncts | ||
|---|---|---|
| CAR = Carrier | QUO = Quotative PHR = Phrasal |
NAM = Naming |
| Suppletive Adjuncts | ||||||||||
| CAR | QUO | NAM | PHR | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| hl | hm | hn | hň | |||||||
Example of the Suppletive adjuncts in use:
Register adjuncts demarcate intra-narrative changes in the mode of personal communication from the perspective of a general narrative.
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Morphosynactically, Register adjuncts are identical to Suppletive adjuncts. There are six registers in Ithkuil.
| Narrative | Indicates a default narration or recantation of events. Unmarked. |
|---|---|
| Discursive | Indicates dialogue (without case, as opposed to the Quotative). |
| Parenthetical | Indicates a parenthetical aside or in-line footnote, e.g., "That artist’s paintings (you need to see his portraits) are sublime". |
| Specificative | Specifies the previous formative's proper name, e.g., "I met an eccentric man named John", "The town I visited, Veliky Ustyug, feels homely". |
| Exemplificative | Indicates an illustrative example for the preceding formative or phrase, e.g., "I tend to prefer primary colors, such as red, blue, and purple, over secondary ones". |
| Cogitant | Indicates silent, unspoken thoughts in a narrative, e.g., "'I'll quit my job if I win the lottery,' the man thought". |
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| Register Adjuncts | ||
|---|---|---|
| NRR = Narrative DSV = Discursive |
PNT = Parenthetical SPF = Specificative |
EXM = Exemplificative CGT = Cogitant |
| Register Adjuncts | ||||||||||
| NRR | DSV | PNT | SPF | EXM | CGT | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | ha | he | hi | ho | hu | |||||
Bias adjuncts, unlike previous adjuncts, independently act as a morphological category. They function similarly to English suprasegmentals, interjections, and mood–setting phrases to establish the tone of a statement or word.
Bias has scope over the preceding formative of an utterance; if none are present, i.e., it is word–initial, it has scope over the entire sentence. Optionally, a bias adjunct may be standalone to convey a singular emotion without any affected information.
The 61 bias adjuncts are:
| Accidental | Conveys a sense of serendipity in X, e.g., "As luck would have it...", "Fate has decided that...", "By chance..." |
|---|---|
| Archetypal | Indicates that the speaker views X as a negatively characteristic inclination or disposition of the subject, e.g., "What a...!", "Boy, does X ever...!", "Typical". |
| Admissive | Expresses an acknowledgement (not necessarily agreement) to a statement, e.g., "Mhm". |
| Annunciative | Indicates that a statement contains new information that the speaker believes will be meaningful to the addressee(s), e.g., "Guys, ...", "Guess what: ...", "Wait 'til you hear this!" |
| Anticipative | Expresses eagerness, e.g., "I can't wait (for...)!", "I'm looking forward...!" |
| Approbative | Expresses agreement, e.g., "Sure", "Alright", etc. |
| Apprehensive | Expresses dread or apprehension for an upcoming event, e.g., "I'm worried (of...)", "I've a bad feeling (about...)" |
| Arbitrary | Expresses impulse or whim, e.g., "To hell with it", "What the heck..." |
| Attentive | Expresses mild, potentially wry surprise, e.g., "Would you look at that", "Who would've thought that...?", "Well, I'll be!" |
| Comedic | Expresses amusement, e.g., "Ha-ha", "LOL!" |
| Contensive | Expresses self-righteousness, e.g., "I told you that...!", "You see?!" |
| Coincidental | Indicates coincidence (without any connotation), e.g., "It just so happened to be that..." |
| Corruptive | Expresses indignant moral condemnation of something perceived as flagrantly wrong or dishonest, e.g., "It's reprehensible that...!" |
| Corrective | Indicates a correction or clarification, e.g., "Not what I meant" (standalone), "What I meant was..." |
| Contemptive | Expresses infuriation or exasperation, e.g., "That's nonsense!", "It's utter poppycock that..." |
| Contemplative | Indicates an attempt at comprehending X, e.g., "That's odd", "I wonder how..." "Hmm". |
| Disconcertive | Conveys a sense of hesitation or uncertainty in committing oneself to X, i.e., "getting cold feet", e.g., "I'm unsure if...", "I'm not feeling good about this". |
| Dejective | Expresses despondency, e.g., "Damn...", "(sigh)" |
| Desperative | Conveys a sense of dread or hesitation in expressing X, e.g., "I don't know how to say this, but...", "I'm afraid that...", "I'm sorry to have to tell you, but..." |
| Diffident | Indicates downplaying to ease the addressee's expectations, e.g., "Sorry, it's only...", "It's nothing, just..." |
| Dismissive | Expresses rejection of the importance, relevance, or remarkability of something, e.g., "That's it?", "That's nothing." |
| Delectative | Expresses exultation, e.g., "Wheee!" |
| Dolorous | Expresses physical pain, e.g., "Ow!" |
| Disapprobative | Expresses disapproval, e.g., "It bothers me that...", "I don't like that...", "Unacceptable!" |
| Derisive | Expresses mockery, e.g., "Ha, X really thought that...", "How foolish!" |
| Dubitative | Expresses doubt or hesitation, but not dismissal, of the veracity of X, e.g., "Are you really sure that...", "I'm starting to doubt that/if..." |
| Euphoric | Expresses physical and mental pleasure simultaneously. |
| Euphemistic | Indicates a euphemism (i.e., a deliberately indirect statement as to be less distressing or offensive), e.g., "Let's just say that..." |
| Exasperative | Expresses irritation resulting from tedious reiteration, e.g., "Look, I'm trying to say that...", "Why can't you understand that..." |
| Exigent | Expresses urgency, e.g., "Hurry!", "Come on!", "It's now or never!" |
| Fortuitous | Expresses acquiescence to a state of affairs, e.g., "It could be worse", "All's well that ends well". |
| Fascinative | Expresses intrigue, e.g., "Wow!", "Cool!" |
| Gratificative | Expresses physical pleasure, e.g., "Ahh...", "Oh, there's nothing like..." |
| Indignative | Expresses infuration at being personally wronged or offended, e.g., "The nerve...!", "How dare...?!" |
| Infatuative | Expresses intense gratefulness, e.g., "Thank god for...!", "Praise be to...!" |
| Implicative | Expresses a sense of self-evidence, translatable as "Of course,...", "Needless to say,...", "It goes without saying that...". |
| Impatient | Expresses impatience, e.g., "Hurry up and...", "Do ... already". |
| Ironic | Indicates that X is ironically understated, sarcastic, or flippant, as in saying, "Well, that was fun!" after something harrowing. |
| Insipid | Expresses boredom, e.g., "Ugh...", "Mneh..." |
| Invidious | Expresses aggrievance due to personal unfair treatment, e.g., "...and I didn't?!", "How come ... and I don't?!" |
| Mnadatory | Expresses an ultimatum, e.g., "..., take it or leave it", "This is your last chance". |
| Manifestive | Expresses a psychological shift due to new information, e.g., "Well, then!", "So!" |
| Optimal | Indicates maximality, possibly hyperbolic in nature, e.g., a prolonged "so" or "totally" as in "That's totally a lie". |
| Pessimistic | Expresses dismissal of a proposition or advice, e.g., "Like X is going to work". |
| Propitious | Expresses surprise at the subversion of expectations, e.g., "It's a wonder that..." |
| Perplexive | Expresses bewilderment, e.g., "How in the world could...?", "How could this even happen?" |
| Propositive | Indicates a proposition, e.g., "For the sake of argument...", "Consider this:...", "What if..." |
| Prosaic | Expresses disappointment due to unmet expectations, e.g., "Meh..." as in "Meh, that book wasn't as good as they said it was". |
| Presumptive | Expresses certainty to a cause, e.g., "It can only mean one thing:...", "...and that's all there is to it!" |
| Reactive | Expresses awe, e.g., "Wow!", "My goodness!" |
| Reflective | Puts forward the speaker's perspective, e.g., "Think of it this way...", "As I see it..." |
| Resignative | Expresses defeat from the failure of an objective, e.g., "There goes any chance of...", "So much for..." |
| Repulsive | Expresses disgust, e.g., "Yuck!", "Eugh...", "Ew!" |
| Revelative | Expresses a sense of revelatory disclosure relative to past information, e.g., "No wonder...", "So that's why..." "Aha!" |
| Satiative | Expresses psychological satisfaction. |
| Suggestive | Indicates a polite suggestion, e.g., "Might I suggest that...", "Maybe we could...", "How about..." |
| Skeptical | Expresses incredulity, e.g., "You expect me to believe that...", "Yeah, right!" |
| Solicitative | Equivalent to English "please". |
| Stupefactive | Expresses shock at the overwhelming magnitude of something, e.g., "Jesus!", "Holy shit!" |
| Trepidative | Expresses, terror, e.g., "Oh no...", "Oh, dear...!" |
| Vexative | Expresses general vexation, e.g., "Oh, bother!" |
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Bias takes the form of a singular consonant form, CB.
| Bias Adjuncts | ||
|---|---|---|
| ACC = Accidental ACH = Archetypal ADS = Admissive ANN = Annunciative ANP = Anticipative APB = Approbative APH = Apprehensive ARB = Arbitrary ATE = Attentive CMD = Comedic CNV = Contensive COI = Coincidental CRP = Corruptive CRR = Corrective CTP = Contemptive CTV = Contemplative DCC = Disconcertive DEJ = Dejective DES = Desperative DFD = Diffident |
DIS = Dismissive DLC = Delectative DOL = Dolorous DPB = Disapprobative DRS = Derisive DUB = Dubitative EUH = Euphoric EUP = Euphemistic EXA = Exasperative EXG = Exigent FOR = Fortuitous FSC = Fascinative GRT = Gratificative IDG = Indignative IFT = Infatuative IPL = Implicative IPT = Impatient IRO = Ironic ISP = Insipid IVD = Invidious |
MAN = Mandatory MNF = Manifestive OPT = Optimal PES = Pessimistic PPT = Propitious PPX = Perplexive PPV = Propositive PSC = Prosaic PSM = Presumptive RAC = Reactive RFL = Reflective RSG = Resignative RPU = Repulsive RVL = Revelative SAT = Satiative SGS = Suggestive SKP = Skeptical SOL = Solicitative STU = Stupefactive TRP = Trepidative VEX = Vexative |
| Bias | ||||||||||
| ACC | lf | CTV | gvv | FOR | lzp | PPX | llh | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACH | mçt | DCC | gzj | FSC | žžj | PPV | sl | |||
| ADS | lļ | DEJ | žžg | GRT | mmh | PSC | žžt | |||
| ANN | drr | DES | mřř | IDG | pšš | PSM | nnţ | |||
| ANP | lst | DFD | cč | IFT | vvr | RAC | kll | |||
| APB | řs | DIS | kff | IPL | vll | RFL | llm | |||
| APH | vvz | DLC | żmm | IPT | žžv | RSG | msf | |||
| ARB | xtļ | DOL | řřx | IRO | mmž | RPU | šštl | |||
| ATE | ňj | DPB | ffx | ISP | lçp | RVL | mmļ | |||
| CMD | pļļ | DRS | pfc | IVD | řřn | SAT | ļţ | |||
| CNV | rrj | DUB | mmf | MAN | msk | SGS | ltç | |||
| COI | ššč | EUH | gzz | MNF | pss | SKP | rnž | |||
| CRP | gžž | EUP | vvt | OPT | ččk | SOL | ňňs | |||
| CRR | ňţ | EXA | kčč | PES | ksp | STU | ļļc | |||
| CTP | kšš | EXG | rrs | PPT | mll | TRP | llč | |||
| VEX | ksk | |||||||||
Bias adjuncts can sometimes be nested within or used alongside one another, as demonstrated below: