Negative Complements

Use of cu’i yi no one to fill the object argument in a sentence is avoided where possible, thus verbs have a negative complement, i.e.: a syntactically positive word with a semantically negative meaning.

Lulanaku ju’i sisa.

.Wln$ / Yi / Ss.

lulani -aku ju’i sisa.

monarch-aug link nudity.

lit. “The emperor is wearing nudity.”

“The emperor isn’t wearing anything.”

These complements can form compounds with the noun.

Musa harusa.

.Us / hws.

musa harusa.

sun accompany-solitude.

lit. “The Sun is with solitude.”

“The Sun is alone.”

When using such an object, the sentence can use either positive or negative auxiliaries without changing the meaning.

ʔi sajja funi! / ʔi sajja lanu!

.i / s;j / lI . i / s;j / vN.

’i sajja funi! / ’i sajja lanu!

speak silence fut;negfuture negative! / speak silence fut’dyn!

lit. “Speak silence!”

“Be quiet!”