Like operators, quantifiers are treated as nouns, in that they take oblique case marking and occur in noun phrases headed by determiners. Quantifiers may stand alone, or they may occur as part of a compound with another noun denoting the set being quantified over (e.g., compare ten yite "everything", ten yite halma "every book"). The following is a more or less complete list of the quantifiers in Tokana:
ante "much, many, a lot (of)" iakme "any, anything" kekua "each, each and every" miote "all, the whole/entire (thing)" mulhte "enough" sepe "some, a few, a little, not much/many" tsama "most" tunte "no, none, nothing" yite "every, everything, all" anehte "more, most" anifte "as much (as), as many (as)" iakante "so much, so many" miante "how much, how many" tsuohante "too much, too many" tsyiante "not enough"
For additional discussion and examples of tunte, iakme, and iakante, see section 3.1; for anehte and anifte, see 3.6.3; and for miante, see 2.5.1.
Many of these quantifiers can be used either with mass nouns or with count nouns:
ante halma "many books" ante pami "a lot of food" sepe halma "a few books" sepe pami "a little food"
When a quantifier phrase is specific, then it must be headed by a determiner. If a count noun is being quantified, then a plural determiner is used, and if a mass noun is being quantified, then a singular determiner is used:
ten yite halma "every book" te yite pami "all the food" ten miote halma "all the books, the whole group of books" te miote pami "all the food, the whole amount of food"
The only exception is kekua, which behaves like English each in that it only occurs with singular count nouns:
te kekua halma "each book" ne kekua moiha "each girl"
The quantifier always precedes the quantified noun, as in the above examples. When a noun phrase containing a quantifier occurs in an oblique case (dative, instrumental, ablative), it is the quantifier rather than the quantified noun which receives case marking (cf. section 2.3). Consider the following examples, where the quantifier is in its dative case form while the quantified noun lati "children" is unmarked:
Isai yitè lati laliuhun the:Dat all-Dat children play-want-Cpl "All the children wanted to play" Ne Elim hielesa tsamai lati the:Abs Elim see-Pst-the:Pl:NA most-Dat children "Elim was seen by most of the children"
In English, many quantifiers can take complements headed by the preposition of, followed by a definite noun phrase, as in most of the children, some of the children, each of the children. This is known as the partitive construction. Tokana lacks partitives of this type; however, analogous expressions can be formed in other ways. For instance, with quantifiers like ante "much/many", sepe "some", tunte "no, none", and anehte "more", the use of a determiner may indicate that the quantifier refers to some subset of a previously mentioned set (as discussed in 2.1). This is semantically equivalent to an indefinite partitive such as some of the children in English:
ante lati "many children" se ante lati "many of the children" (or "the many children") sepe pami "some food", "a bit of food" te sepe pami "some of the food" (or "the bit of food")
Phrases of the following type are also possible, with the quantified noun in the ablative case (se ante isaul lateu is literally something like "many from the [set of] children"):
se ante isaul lateu "many of the children" te sepe itaul pameu "some of the food" ten tunte itenul halmau "none of the books"
Certain quantifiers, such as kekua "each", miote "all, the whole", tsama "most", and yite "every", always take a determiner:
te kekua halma "each book" ten miote halma "all the books" ten tsama halma "most books" ten yite halma "every book"
Partitive expressions using these quantifiers (e.g. each of the books) are formed with the quantified noun in the ablative case:
te kekua itenul halmau "each (one) of the books" ten miote itenul halmau "all of the books" ten tsama itenul halmau "most of the books" ten yite itenul halmau "every one of the books"
Each of the quantifiers above also has a form ending in -on, which is used to denote a set of animate entities (people or animals). These forms, listed below, usually occur without a following quantified noun:
anton "many (people)" iakmon "anyone" kekuon "each (person)" mioton "everyone" mulhton "enough (people)" sepon "some, a few (people)" tsamon "most (people)" tunton "no-one" yiton "everyone" anehton "more, most (people)" anifton "as many (people)" iakanton "so many (people)" mianton "how many (people)" tsuohanton "too many (people)" tsyianton "not enough (people)"
Examples:
Sa mioton mele fisehthimeu te yli the:Erg everyone help-Cpl plant-Res the:Abs grain "Everyone helped plant the grain" Heun anton hostanat itai tukiate be-Cpl many dance-Dep the:Dat funeral-Dat "There were many people dancing at the funeral"
Quantifiers may also take the temporal prefix in- (see section 4.3) to form adverbials which quantify over times:
inante "often, much of the time" iniakme "(at) any time, ever" inkekua "each time" immiote "always, all the time, the whole time" immulhte "often enough" itsepe "sometimes, occasionally, a few times" intsama "mostly, most of the time, usually" intunte "never" inyite "every time" inanehte "more often" inanifte "as often (as)" iniakante "so often" immiante "how much (time), how often" intsuohante "too often" intsyiante "not often enough"
Examples:
Mai etai Kemothasie inante I:Abs go-the:NA Kemothasi-Dat often "I go to Kemothasi often" Mai intunte ietotihi Kemothasie I:Erg never Foc-go-Neg-the:NA Kemothasi-Dat "I never go to Kemothasi"
These adverbials may take noun complements (or 'objects') in the dative case, yielding expressions such as inkekua ilmè "each month", inyite hune "every night", immiote umè "(for) the whole year", and intsama lohe "most days". For example:
Mai inkekua ilmè etai Kemothasie I:Abs each:time month-Dat go-the:NA Kemothasi-Dat "I go to Kemothasi each month"
These temporal adverbials can also take clausal complements, with the verb in the dependent order form (section 3.3.1). Such complements serve to modify (or further specify) the time(s) at which the event in question takes place:
inante tahankima ne Mafe often visit-Dep-we:NA the:Abs Mafe "often (when) we visit Mafe" intsama athpanna lempekne most:times play-Dep-she:NA lempek-Inst "usually (when) she plays the lempek" [a musical instrument]
Examples:
Kim eta sihanat kunoi inante tahat ne Mafe we:Abs go swim-Dep lake-Dat often visit-Dep the:Abs Mafe "We often go swimming in the lake (when we) visit Mafe" Ani uhna intsama athpat lempekne she:Erg sing most:times play-Dep lempek-Inst "She usually sings (when she) plays the lempek"
Adding the prefix aun- to these forms produces adverbials which quantify over situations or eventualities:
auninante "often, in many cases" auniniakme "ever, in any case" auninkekua "in each case" aunimmulhte "often enough, in enough cases" aunitsepe "sometimes, occasionally, in some cases" aunintsama "usually, in most cases" aunintunte "never, in no case" auninyite "always, in all cases"
These aun- forms may also take clausal complements (note the use of the reduplicated form kakal in these examples, to indicate men in general rather than a specific man; cf. section 2.2.2):
Inai kakale yma luan hiem aunintsama liunoinat the:Dat man:Redup-Dat has hair grey in:most:cases old-become-Dep "Men usually have grey hair when they get old" lit. "The man has grey hair in most cases (when he) becomes old" Aunintsama liunoinat, inai kakale yma luan hiem in:most:cases old-become-Dep the:Dat man:Redup-Dat has hair grey "Usually when he gets old, a man has grey hair"
Notice the difference in meaning between, say, intsama and aunintsama. Though both are translated as "usually", the former quantifies over times (e.g. times when one plays the lempek, as in the above example), while the latter quantifies over possibilities or cases (e.g. cases where a man gets old). For more discussion of the aun- adverbials, and of the related elements aun "if" and aunim "when, whenever", see section 4.2, which deals with conditional clauses.
In addition to adverbials, certain quantifiers are used to form degree words. These are discussed in section 3.10.
The nouns huste "same (one)" and iat "other (one)" should also be mentioned here. These pattern with the quantifiers morphologically and syntactically, even though they do not exactly carry a quantificational meaning. Examples are given below:
huste "same (one)" huston "same (person)" ihuste "(at) the same time" iat "other (one)" iaton "other (person)" iniat "(at) another time" te huste halma "the same book" iat halma "another book" te iat halma "the other book" Na Mafe'lh na Sakial uiman huston the:Erg Mafe-and the:Erg Sakial love-the:Abs same:one "Mafe and Sakial are in love with the same person" Ami malhe iat halma I:Erg read-Pst other book "I read another book" Te pehkai homa tsuò ahnalhkun, ha ami iasè iat the:Abs first bread too Rel-dry-Cpl so I:Erg eat-Pst-the:Abs other "The first loaf of bread was too dry, so I ate the other one"
As the following examples show, iat may be used in combination with a regular quantifier, in which case it corresponds to English other or else:
tunton iat "no-one else" iakme iat "anything else" inkekua iate lò "every other day"
Note finally that in colloquiual speech, it is common to insert the dummy element tsan "thing, body" between the quantifier and the quantified noun. This element does not seem to add anything to the meaning of the expression, but merely makes it more 'idiomatic':
ante tsan halma "many books" (lit. "many thing book") inyite tsanne lò "every day" (lit. "everytime thing-Dat day") Ami malhe iat tsan halma I:Erg read-Pst other thing book "I read another book"
Like other quantifiers, numerals in Tokana are treated morphologically as nouns, which take case marking and head noun compounds. This is shown in the following example, where hen "two" takes dative case in agreement with the dative determiner (notice that in the second sentence, the quantified noun iha appears in its unmarked form):
Ikyine hene imè'n inioktahma? you:Pl:Dat two:Dat when-Qu Foc-return-intend "When do you two intend to return?" Ami uthmete halma isai hene iha I:Erg give-Pst-the:Pl:Abs book the:Pl:Dat two-Dat woman "I gave the books to the two women"
The Tokana names for the numbers are formed in a somewhat different way from English. The cardinal numbers 1-12 are given here, along with the tens from 10 to 120:
es "one" tam "ten" hen "two" henta "twenty" ehte "three" ehteta "thirty" kin "four" kinta "forty" kian "five" kianta "fifty" ihtà "six" ihtata "sixty" kelu "seven" keluta "seventy" niò "eight" niohta "eighty" teiek "nine" teiekta "ninety" tam "ten" kunma "one hundred" elhu "eleven" elhuta "one hundred and ten" (or "eleventy") huoi "twelve" huoita "one hundred and twenty" (or "twelfty")
Names for the numbers from 13-19, 21-29, 31-39, etc., are formed by combining names from the tens column above with the following 'bound' forms of the units. Here the element -pa- (-pan- before vowels) is related to the positional noun pama "top (of)":
espa(n)- "one" ihtapa(n)- "six" hempa(n)- "two" kelupa(n)- "seven" ehtepa(n)- "three" niohpa(n)- "eight" kimpa(n)- "four" teiekpa(n)- "nine" kianypa(n)- "five"
Examples:
ehtepatam "thirteen" (lit. "three on ten") kimpatam "fourteen" (lit. "four on ten") kianypatam "fifteen" (lit. "five on ten") ihtapatam "sixteen" kelupatam "seventeen" niohpatam "eighteen" teiekpatam "nineteen" espahenta "twenty-one" (lit. "one on twenty") hempahenta "twenty-two" (lit. "two on twenty") ehtepahenta "twenty-three" kimpahenta "twenty-four" etc. ihtapanehteta "thirty-six" kelupanehteta "thirty-seven" niohpanehteta "thirty-eight" etc. niohpateiekta "ninety-eight" teiekpateiekta "ninety-nine" espanelhuta "one hundred eleven" (lit. "one on eleventy") hempanelhuta "one hundred twelve" (lit. "two on eleventy") niohpahuoita "one hundred twenty-eight" (lit. "eight on twelfty") teiekpahuoita "one hundred twenty-nine" (lit. "nine on twelfty")
Larger numbers can be formed using the elements kunma "(one) hundred" and tolok "ten thousand". Note that there is no word for "thousand"; the Tokana count tens of hundreds instead. Examples:
hen kunma "two hundreds" (200) ehte kunma "three hundreds" (300) tam kunma "ten hundreds" (1,000) kinta kunma "forty hundreds" (4,000) espakinta kunma "forty-one hundreds" (4,100) hen tolok "two ten-thousands" (20,000) ehte tolok "three ten-thousands" (30,000) tam tolok "ten ten-thousands" (100,000) niohta tolok "eighty ten-thousands" (800,000) kimpaniohta tolok "eighty-four ten-thousands" (840,000) kunma tolok "one hundred ten-thousands" (1,000,000) huoita tolok "twelfty ten-thousands" (1,200,000) hempahuoita tolok "twelfty-two ten-thousands" (1,220,000)
More complex numbers are formed by conjoining simpler numbers using ki "and". Note that in such constructions, tens precede hundreds, and hundreds precede ten-thousands (this is the opposite of the English order):
kimpakinta ki kunma four-on-forty and hundred "one hundred forty-four" niohpateiekta ki teiekpatam kunma eight-on-ninety and nine-on-ten hundred "nineteen hundred and ninety-eight" espanihtata ki kianypahenta kunma ki niò tolok one-on-sixty and five-on-twenty hundred and eight ten-thousand "eight ten-thousands, twenty-five hundreds and sixty-one" (82,561)
Note that compound numbers (such as hen kunma "two hundred(s)") are treated as compound nouns, in that oblique case marking only appears on the first word of the compound:
Ami uthme pami isai hene kunma iha I:Erg give-Pst food the:Pl:Dat two-Dat hundred woman "I gave food to the two hundred women"
For complex numbers containing ki, case marking appears on each conjunct. The noun being quantified may appear either after the first conjunct - i.e. before the first ki - or at the end. Thus, the following sentences are both correct (where kimpakinta "forty-four" and kunma "hundred" are each suffixed with the dative case ending):
Ami uthme pami isai kimpakintai iha ki kunmai I:Erg give-Pst food the:Pl:Dat forty-four-Dat woman and hundred-Dat "I gave food to the 144 women" lit. "I gave food to the forty-four women and a hundred" Ami uthme pami isai kimpakintai ki kunmai iha I:Erg give-Pst food the:Pl:Dat forty-four-Dat and hundred-Dat women "I gave food to the 144 women" lit. "I gave food to the forty-four and a hundred women"
Ordinal numerals are formed from the cardinal numerals by prefixing pe- (or peh- before vowels) to the first element: E.g. pehen "second", pehehte "third", pekelupahenta "twenty-seventh". Like cardinal numerals, ordinal numerals are nouns which may take case endings. (Note that the word for "first" is not *pehes, but the irregular form pehkai.)
Kim itai pekiane lò niokte we:Abs the:Dat fifth-Dat day return-Pst "We returned on the fifth day" Kim itai pekianypakintai lò niokte we:Abs the:Dat forty-fifth-Dat day return-Pst "We returned on the forty-fifth day" Kim itai pekianypakintai ki kunmai lò niokte we:Abs the:Dat forty-fifth-Dat and hundred-Dat day return-Pst "We returned on the one hundred and forty-fifth day"
This prefix pe- is also found on three other nouns which denote members of a sequence:
pehise "next (one)" E.g.: itai pehisè lò "on the next day" pekame "previous (one)" pekunthe "last (one), final (one)"
Fractions are formed from the cardinal numerals by using the prefix lho- (or lhoh- before a vowel): E.g. lhohen "(one) half", hen lhohehte "two thirds", ehte lhokin "three quarters".
Temporal adverbials referring to numbers of events can be formed from the cardinal numbers using the prefix ife- (ifek- before vowels): E.g. ifekes "once", ifehen "twice", ifekehte "three times":
Ne Han ifekimpahenta itahunma the:Abs Han twenty-four:times Foc-visit-Cpl-I:NA "I have visited Han twenty-four times"
Adverbials referring to numbers of cases can be formed by adding the prefix aun- to the ife(k)- forms: E.g. aunifekes "once, in one case", aunifekehte "in three cases":
Tai tiefu aunifekehte imeskun that:Abs only in:three:cases Foc-happen-Cpl "In only three cases did that happen"
Finally, adverbials referring to the position of an event within a sequence of events ("for the Xth time") are formed by adding im- to the ordinal numeral: E.g., impehkai "for the first time", impehen "for the second time", impehespanihtata "for the sixty-first time", impekunthe "for the last time".
In English, spatial and temporal relationships between two objects or events are generally indicated by means of prepositions (on, in, beside, under, through, before, during, after, etc.). In Tokana, these same relationships are generally indicated by a special class of nouns called spatial nouns, appearing in one of the oblique cases (dative, instrumental, or ablative).
For example, in English, location at an enclosed space is indicated by the preposition in (Han is sitting in the room), while movement terminating at an enclosed space is indicated by the preposition into (Han is walking into the room), movement starting from an enclosed space is indicated by the preposition out of (Han is walking out of the room), and movement which traverses an enclosed space is indicated by the preposition through (Han is walking through the room). In Tokana, all four of these relationships are conveyed using the spatial noun him "inside, interior", marked with one of the oblique cases. For example:
Ne Han uitha itai hime kotu the:Abs Han sit the:Dat inside-Dat room "Han sits in the room" lit. "Han sits at the inside (of the) room" Na Han pentai hime kotu the:Erg Han run-the:NA inside-Dat room "Han runs into the room" lit. "Han runs to the inside (of the) room" Na Han pentai himu kotu the:Erg Han run-the:NA inside-Abl room "Han runs outof the room" lit. "Han runs from the inside (of the) room" Na Han penta itan himne kotu the:Erg Han run the:Inst inside-Inst room "Han runs through the room" lit. "Han runs via the inside (of the) room"
All four of the above sentences contain the complex noun phrase te him kotu "the inside (of the) room". In the first two sentences, this noun phrase appears in the dative case (itai hime kotu), indicating either location at the interior of the room (i.e. in the room) or movement terminating at the interior of the room (i.e. into the room), depending on the verb. In the third sentence, the noun phrase appears in the ablative case (itaul himu kotu), indicating movement away from the interior of the room (i.e. out of the room). And in the fourth sentence, the noun phrase appears in the instrumental case (itan himne kotu), indicating movement which neither begins nor terminates at the interior of the room, but which includes the interior of the room as part of its path or trajectory (i.e. through the room).
Spatial nouns may either occur as the head noun in a compound - e.g. te him kotu, literally "the room interior" - or they may precede a specific noun phrase headed by a determiner in the ablative case, as shown below. (These two constructions are more or less interchangeable.)
te him itaul kotou the:Abs inside the:Abl room-Abl "the inside of the room" lit. "the inside from the room"
Occasionally, the spatial noun will take a 'possessor' in the dative case, headed by a clitic determiner:
te himi kotoi the:Abs inside-the:NA room-Dat "the inside of the room" lit. "the room's inside"
This last construction is most commonly found when the noun phrase which the spatial noun combines with a noun phrase consisting of just a determiner (interpreted as a pronoun):
itai ekasema
the:Dat side-Dat-my:NA
"beside
me"
lit. "at my side"
itai
ekaseko "beside you" ("at your side")
itai ekasena "beside him/her"
("at his/her side")
itai ekasehi
"beside it" ("at its side")
itai
ekasekma "beside us" ("at our
side")
The following is a list giving the most common spatial nouns:
him "inside, interior (of an enclosed
space); indoors"
ysma
"outside, exterior (of an enclosed space); outdoors"
pama "top, area on top, (horizontal)
surface"
piau "top, summit,
apex, highest point"
kasu
"side, (vertical/sloping) surface"
kusta
"foot, base, bottom"
kuma "face, front (side)"
kutsmu "spine, back (of a four-legged
animal), underside (of a boat)"
lom
"area under, underside"
ypia
"area over, area above"
ynal
"area in front (of), area before"
ysam "area in back (of), area
behind/after"
ekas "area
beside, area next to"
iontsy "middle, midst, interior (of a non-enclosed
space)"
kusu "area
between/among"
ampio
"periphery, surrounding area"
uslaut
"edge, boundary, area at the edge (of); starting/ending
point"
pelai "area
beyond"
lonkasu "ceiling, top (of
an enclosed space), roof (of a cave, etc.)"
luma "bottom (of an enclosed space, e.g.
a hole), floor/bed (of a river, etc.)"
nyhui "surface (of a body of
water)"
Some examples, showing the uses of these forms, are given below. These examples are grouped according to the case-form in which the noun phrase appears - dative of location, dative of movement, ablative, and instrumental:
(1) Dative of location: Dative case is used when the spatial noun phrase denotes the location at which the event takes place. Some example sentences are given here:
Ten halma utima itai pamai totsat the:Pl:Abs book lie the:Dat top-Dat table "The books are lying on (top of) the table" Ne peilan uitha itai piaue palahta the:Abs bird sit the:Dat top-Dat tree "The bird is perched on top of the tree" Te kyuahtoi sena itai kasoi malo the:Abs carving hang the:Dat side/surface-Dat wall "The carving is hanging on the wall" Na kelis muelhe itai kustai palahta the:Erg girl sleep-Pst the:Dat foot/base-Dat tree "The girl sleep at the foot of the tree"
Additional examples:
itai lome katia "under the house" itai ypiai katia "above the house" itai ynale katia "in front of the house" itai ysame katia "behind the house" itai ekase katia "beside the house" itai iontsyi loka "in the middle of the forest" itai ampioi loka "around/surrounding the forest" itai uslaute loka "at the edge of the forest" itai pelaie loka "beyond the forest"
Note also the following examples with kusu "area between/among":
itai kusoi katiahi tiesate the:Dat between/among-Dat house-the:NA city-Dat "among the houses of the city" itai kusoi itaul sihu'lh itenul lonu the:Dat between/among-Dat the:Abl river-Abl-and the:Pl:Abl hill-Abl "between the river and the hills" lit. "in the space between from the river and the hills"
Kusoi can also be used by itself, in which case it means "all over the place":
Lhomun anton tolhat kusoi be:there-Pst many:people stand-Dep between/among-Dat "There were many people there standing all around"
(2) Dative of movement: The dative case is also used when the verb denotes a motion event, and the spatial noun indicates the endpoint of motion - i.e., position/location where the moving object ends up:
Asi etei ysmai katia they:Erg walk-Pst-the:NA outside-Dat house "They walked out of the house" Ami solhè halma itai pamai tostat I:Erg throw-Pst-the:Abs book the:Dat top-Dat table "I threw the book on(to) the table" Ami tesenè kyuahtoi itai kasoi malo I:Erg hang-Pst-the:Abs carving the:Dat face-Dat wall "I hung the carving on the wall" Na peilan uastei piaue palahta the:Erg bird fly-Pst-the:NA top-Dat tree "The bird flew to the top of the tree" Ani etei ynale katia she:Erg walk-Pst-the:NA front-Dat house "She walked to the front of the house" Ani etei iontsyi loka she:Erg walk-Pst-the:NA centre-Dat forest "She walked to the centre of the forest"
(3) Ablative: Ablative case is used when the verb denotes an event of motion, and the spatial noun indicates the starting point of that motion. Some example sentences are given below:
Te halma tiause itaul pamau totsat the:Abs book fall-Pst the:Abl top-Abl table "The book fell off the table" lit. "The book fell from the top of the table" Te kyuahtoi tiause itaul kasou malo the:Abs carving fall-Pst the:Abl surface-Abl wall "The carving fell from the wall" lit. "The carving fell from the (horizontal) surface of the wall" Kim kahtalhate itaul kumau tomla we:Abs climb:down-Pst the:Abl face-Abl mountain "We climbed down off (the face of) the mountain" itaul lomu katia "from under the house" itaul ysamu katia "from behind the house" itaul iontsyu loka "from the middle of the forest" itaul pelaiu loka "from beyond the forest" itaul lumau moin "from the bottom of the ocean"
(4) Instrumental: Instrumental case is used with the verb denotes an event of motion, and the object which is in motion traverses the space denoted by the spatial noun. (Such constructions correspond to prepositions like through, across, along, over, under, etc., in English.) Examples:
Sa mifo kaklale itan pamane totsat the:Pl:Erg ant crawl-Pst the:Inst top-Inst table "The ants crawled across the table" Na mikal sihane itan nyhuine sihkunu the:Erg boy swim-Pst the:Inst surface-Inst river "The boy swam across the river" lit. "The boy swam via the surface of the river" Ami solhè naka itan pamane siyhu I:Erg throw-Pst-the:Abs stone the:Inst surface-Inst field "I threw the stone across the field" Na peilan uaste itan ypiane palahta the:Erg bird fly-Pst the:Inst area:above-Inst tree "The bird flew over the tree" lit. "The bird flew through the area above (the) tree" Se tenù hepane itan ekasne kunu the:Pl:Abs people go:along-Pst the:Inst side-Inst lake "The people went along the side of the lake" Kim talhate itan kumane tomla we:Abs climb-Pst the:Inst face-Inst mountain "We climbed (on) the mountain" or "We climbed along the face of the mountain"
Compare also the following pair of sentences:
Na ikei pentei lome katia the:Erg dog run-Pst-the:NA under-Dat house "The dog ran under the house" lit. "The dog ran to the area under the house" Na ikei pente itan lomne katia the:Erg dog run-Pst the:Inst under-Inst house "The dog ran under the house" lit. "The dog ran through the area under the house"
The first sentence (where lom takes the dative case) means that the dog ended up under the house as a result of running, while the second sentence (with lom in the instrumental case) means that the dog traversed the area under the house, winding up on the other side.
Spatial nouns are occasionally used by themselves, without an accompanying noun, when the latter can be inferred from context, as in the following example:
Ne humi etei munai kaklalei hime the:Abs badger go-Pst-the:NA burrow-Dat crawl-Pst-the:NA inside-Dat "The badger came to its burrow (and) crawled inside"
Also included in the class of spatial nouns are the terms for left hand and right hand, near and far, and the cardinal directions:
klion "left hand" heut "north"
then "right hand" is "south"
set "west"
ute
"area nearby" tsim
"east"
lama "area far
away"
Tai kespema
klione
it:Abs carry-Pst-I:Abs left:hand-Dat
"I carried it in
[my] left hand"
Kim misle
thene
we:Abs turn-Pst right:hand-Dat
"We turned to the
right"
Te halma utima itai thene
nankopo
the:Abs book lie the:Dat right:hand-Dat
water:jug
"The book is lying to the right of the water jug"
lit.
"The book is lying at the water jug('s) right hand"
Asi sulhtai lamai itaul
pulu
they:Erg live-the:NA far:away-Dat the:Abl
village-Abl
"They live far away from the village"
Na Sakial punie heute
the:Erg Sakial
travel-Pst north-Dat
"Sakial travelled (to the)
north"
Note that the terms for the cardinal directions, heut, is, set, tsim (which the Tokana borrowed from another language) are rarely used. Generally the Tokana orient themselves with respect to the local terrain and/or the path of the sun, rather than the points of the compass. Some common spatial nouns which make reference to such features include:
sihafaut "area downstream"
sihkasout "area upstream"
ilaltaut "area towards the
ocean"
ufialhaut "area away from
the ocean"
sisihtaut "area
towards the (nearest) river"
ufispaut
"area away from the (nearest) river"
ahuafaut "area in the direction of the
sun's movement across the sky"
(roughly west or
southwest)
ahokasout "area in the
opposite direction from the sun's movement across the sky"
(roughly east or southeast)
Examples of sentences containing these terms are given below:
Na Sakial punie ufialhaute the:Erg Sakial travel-Pst away:from:shore-Dat "Sakial travelled away from the shore" Na Sakial sulhta sihkasoute itaul Tenmothaiu the:Erg Sakial live upstream-Dat the:Abl Tenmothai-Abl "Sakial lives upstream from Tenmothai"
Additional examples:
ufialhaute itaul
katiau "away from shore from that house"
(i.e. in the opposite direction of the ocean from that house)
sisihtaute ikimul "towards the river
from us"
(i.e. in the direction of the
river with respect to our position)
These nouns are all derived from common verbs of motion. I list some of these verbs below:
sihafana "go downstream, follow the current (of a river)" sihkasuana "go upstream, go in the opposite direction of the current" ilalta "go towards the shore" ufialha "go away from the shore" sisihta "go down to the (nearest) river" ufispa "come up from the (nearest) river"