Sgaw Karen · tâ — Thing, Nominalizer, Expletive

The word tâ is one of the most useful words in Sgaw Karen. Its core meaning is 'thing', but from there it has developed into a grammatical workhorse: a nominalizer that turns verbs into nouns, an impersonal pronoun, an expletive subject for weather verbs, and a marker in agent-demoting constructions.

If you master tâ, you'll be able to understand and create a huge range of expressions.

1. Noun: 'thing'

In its most basic use, tâ is a noun meaning 'thing'. It can be possessed and modified like any other noun.

jə-tâ
my-thing
"my thing, for me" (with benefactive)

jə-tâ mà
my-thing do
"my work"

2. Nominalizer: turning verbs into nouns

This is the most important grammatical function of tâ. When placed before a verb, it creates a noun meaning "the thing that verbs" or "the action of verbing". This is completely productive—you can do this with almost any verb.

tâ-ʔɔ̂ˀ thing-eat = food

tâ-θāˀ.wîˀ thing-sing = song

tâ-kwɛ̄ˀ thing-write = writing

tâ-mī thing-sleep = sleep (n.)

tâ-kô thing-be.hot = heat

tâ-kʰīˀ thing-be.dark = darkness

tâ-mà thing-do = job, work

tâ-lɛ̀-tʰɔ̂ˀ-lɛ̀-tʰɔ̄ thing-go-up-go-long = development

tâ-ʔɔ̂ˀ ɣè
thing-eat good
"The food is good."

jə-θāˀ.wîˀ tâ
I-sing thing
"I'm singing."

Notice that in the second example, tâ acts as a dummy object for the verb θāˀ.wîˀ ('sing'). Many verbs in Sgaw Karen require an object, and tâ fills that role when there's no specific thing to mention.

3. Impersonal pronoun: 'one', 'someone', 'something'

tâ can be used as an impersonal pronoun, similar to English 'one' or French 'on'.

nə-môˀ-ʔɔ̂ˀ-θāˀ tâ
you-want-eat-heart something
"Do you want to eat something?"

tâ tɛ̄ wɛ̄ dâˀ tə-blɔ̄ nêˀ
someone tell REF EMPH one-time that
"Once upon a time..." (lit. "someone told once...")

4. Expletive: 'it' with impersonal verbs

tâ serves as a dummy subject for verbs that describe weather and environmental conditions. This is like English 'it' in "it's raining".

tâ-kô
it-hot
"it is hot"

tâ-kʰīˀ
it-dark
"it is dark"

tâ-sù
it-rain
"it rains"

5. In relative clauses

tâ often appears as the head noun in relative clauses introduced by lə̄.

tâ lə̄ jə-ʔɔ̂ˀ ʔɔ̀ wîˀ
thing that I-eat it like
"things that I like (to eat)"

tâ lə̄ ʔə-ɣè
thing that good
"thing which is good"

6. In demonstratives

tâ combines with demonstratives to form common pointing words.

tâ-ʔì
thing-this
"this"

tâ-nêˀ
thing-that
"that"

7. Agent-demoting / patient-defocusing marker

In some constructions, tâ can be used to demote the agent or focus on the patient, similar to a passive voice.

tâ-plì
thing-afraid
"be afraid (of things)" (vs. active fearing)

tâ-tɔ̂-ʔɔ̀-kɔ̄ˀ-mɨ̂-nì-dɛ̄ˀ
PASS-beat-him-every-day
"he was beaten every day"

sʰɔ̄-wɛ̄ˀ tâ
chicken-scratch thing
"the chicken is scratching / chickens scratch" (generic activity)

8. As third person pronoun (rare)

In some contexts, ʔə-tâ (3rd person prefix + tâ) can be used as a third person pronoun meaning 'he' or 'him'.

ʔə-tâ
3-thing
"he, him"

Summary table

Function	Example	Meaning
Noun 'thing'	jə-tâ	my thing
Nominalizer	tâ-ʔɔ̂ˀ	food
Impersonal pronoun	tâ tɛ̄ wɛ̄	someone told
Expletive	tâ-kô	it is hot
Demonstrative	tâ-ʔì	this
Patient marker	tâ-tɔ̂-ʔɔ̀	he was beaten
3rd person pronoun	ʔə-tâ	he, him

Summary

tâ is the ultimate utility word in Sgaw Karen. Its core meaning is 'thing', but it has grammaticalized into:

1. Nominalizer: Turns any verb into a noun (tâ-ʔɔ̂ˀ 'food')

2. Impersonal pronoun: 'one', 'someone', 'something'

3. Expletive subject: For weather and environmental verbs (tâ-kô 'it's hot')

4. Demonstrative base: tâ-ʔì 'this', tâ-nêˀ 'that'

5. Passive-like marker: Demotes the agent, focuses on the patient

When you see tâ, ask yourself: is it a real thing, a grammatical marker, or a dummy subject? The answer will tell you what's happening in the sentence.