Sã/Adjectives

=Sã Adjective Structures=

As with nouns, the structure of the adjective simplified, but not to the same extent. -Tel is still a morphological element which translates as "too" while the augmentative and diminutive elements have retained the original meaning of "very" and "not" very while also taking secondary meanings, e.g. "very big" may also be "large", with a slightyl fine distinction, i.e. the "very big" meaning is used with things that are bigger than expected while the "large" meaning is used as the standard adjective for things which are always considered "very big".

-Tel
This suffix will become [el] after a consonant which would cause gemination, e.g. [d], [l], [r], [n], [t], [s], [z], etc. but would also cause some vowels to rise and a change in the sound of the final consonant. For example, [kus] (good) would become [kussel] in Sangi then [kusel] in pre-Stage 1 and then [kuʃel] in Stage 1 and remain as such in later forms. [piʔ] on the other hand would form as follows from Sangi through the pre-Stage 1 and through the later 3 stages:

[piktel]>[piktel]>[piktsel]>[piksel]>[piksel]

Augmentatives
The augmentatives no longer have a regularl yset pattern, as a result of sound changes meaning the suffix's vowel can change the previous consonant but, as said above, they also have a dual meaning depending on what noun it is used with. For example, a "very big" dog and "a normal sized" elephant will use the same adjective [pikoʔ] from [pikop]. So "[taʔ pikoʔ]" means "very big dog" while "[elpen pikoʔ]" means "large elephant" in the sense that an elephant is always large.

Comparison
As there is no initial consonant mutation remaining in Sã there is no distinct negative adjectival inflection. Instead, only the inflected forms remain and the negative form is replaced by the antonym of a given adjective. The suffixes which remain are:

-[ʁ], V[:] - The comparative

-[s] - The superlative

-[iʃ] - The equative

-[ara] - The comparative of comparison

-[asa] - The superlative of comparison

-[(j)asa] - The equative of comparison

Unlike in Sangi, affective vowel changes means that all the vocal suffixes affect the vowels of the adjectival stem. The (j) in [(j)asa] also caused the final consonant to change, as it derives from an earlier [iesa] in which the [ie] became [je] before the change in sound of the consonants. So to use the example [kus]:

[kus]>[kusʁ]>[kus:]>[kuʃiʃ]>[kusara]>[kusasa]>[kuʃasa]

As you can see, the final two forms are distinguished only by a difference in [s] and [ʃ]. In adjectives with unaffected final consonants the [j] is still seen.