-aato

See also: aato and Aato

Ye'kwana

Variant orthographies
ALIV	-aato
Brazilian standard	-aato
New Tribes	-aato

Alternative forms

-kaato, -yaato (allomorphs)

Etymology

Seemingly from -a (nonpast suffix) +‎ -to (plural verb suffix); however, compare -ato (“recent past imperfective non-third-person plural suffix”), apparently formed from the same morphemes but without the unexpected vowel lengthening. According to Cáceres, it is unclear if this suffix in fact presents a long vowel, or if it rather has a geminated consonant after the vowel, and more study is needed to determine if perhaps it is not formed with -to but a different plural suffix specific to the nonpast tense.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [-aːto]

Suffix

-aato

Forms the plural of the nonpast tense.

Usage notes

This suffix can cause syllable reduction. The suffix takes the form -kaato when the preceding syllable is reducible and has an onset of k, -yaato when the preceding syllable ends in i, and -aato in other contexts.

References

Cáceres, Natalia (2011) Grammaire Fonctionnelle-Typologique du Ye’kwana‎^[1], Lyon, pages 223–224