-вал
Mongolian
Alternative forms
- -бал (-bal)
Etymology
Probably from -в (-v) + л (l) [1]
Pronunciation
(Ulaanbaatar) IPA(key): /βəɮ/
- Regardless of the variable orthographic representation of this suffix it is always pronounced roughly the same due to the spirantization of /b/ and reduction of non-initial short vowels.
Suffix
-вал • (-val) (Mongolian spelling ᠊ᠪᠠᠯ (-bal))
- The conditional converb.
- Тог тасарвал лаа асаадаг. ― Tog tasarval laa asaadag. ― When the electricity is cut, the candle is lit.
- Аавийг ирвэл бид хамт хоол иднэ. ― Aaviig irvel bid xamt xool idne. ― If father comes we will eat together.[2]
Usage notes
- The conditional converb is oftentimes considered disjunct, meaning that the subject of the first clause is not the same as that of the second clause, but it can be used in same-subject constructions as well. If the subjects are different, the subordinating subject takes the accusative case (example 2 above). If the subjects are the same they are often omitted.
Inflection
Vowel harmonic forms of -вал
| back vowel | front vowel | |
|---|---|---|
| unrounded | -вал -val | -вэл -vel |
| rounded | -вол -vol | -вөл -völ |
References
- Janhunen, Juha (2012) Mongolian (London Oriental and African Language Library; 19) (in English), John Benjamins Publishing Company, page 167
- Kullman, Rita; D. Tserenpil (1996) Mongolian Grammar (in English), Hong Kong: Jensco Ltd., page 161