45.1. Reflexive and inchoative -SET/-SOT
Models
| 1) | W̱ELEQSET | ‘wrap oneself’ |
| 2) | ĆȺSET | ‘make for oneself’ |
| 3) | XEĆSOT | ‘figure oneself out’ |
| 4) | QEN¸OȽSET | ‘watch out for oneself’ |
| 5) | ḰEL¸NEU¸EL¸SET | ‘talk to oneself’ |
| 6) | MÁ¸ȻEȽSET | ‘hurt oneself; get hurt’ |
| 7) | ĆEḴSOT | ‘get big’ |
| 8) | QÁSSET | ‘become hot’ |
| 9) | X̱IL¸EM¸SET | ‘become a rope’ |
| 10) | TSESET | ‘get near; approach’ |
| 11) | ONEȽSET | ‘come to an agreement’ |
| 12) | KÁWESET | ‘get punished; pay oneself’ |
| 13) | KÁWESETTEṈ | ‘be punished by someone’ |
‣ 1 Before beginning this section, review §13.1 the idea of ‘reflexive’ and §35.1 on the reflexive use of the middle.
‣ 2 The word ‘reflexive’ is related to the word ‘reflect,’ as a mirror reflects oneself. Any grammatical item that refers to the ‘self’ is reflexive. The models 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 here show the reflexive use of the ‑SET/‑SOT suffix that you saw in §13.1. The models 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 have the ‑SET/‑SOT suffix, but the meaning does not involve ‘self.’ Model 6 has both interpretations.
‣ 3 The term for the second meaning of model 6 and the primary meaning of models 7 through 12 is ‘inchoative.’ Each refers to a change of state—‘becoming.’
‣ 4 The translation for the inchoative interpretation is usually ‘become’ or ‘get.’ Some words, however, have the ‘change of state’ meaning without being translated with ‘become’ or ‘get.’ Model 10, for example, can be translated as ‘approach’ without the ‘get.’ Model 11 is usually translated as just ‘agree’ or ‘obey.’ ONEȽSET LE¸ ȽTE could be translated ‘We came to an agreement’ or ‘We agreed’ or ‘We obeyed.’ Nevertheless, you can see that the ‘change of state’ idea is still in the sentence.
‣ 5 The change of state meaning of ‑SET/‑SOT typically refers to an internal change. That is, the change happens on its own and is not deliberately caused by an external force. So a word like ĆEḴSOT ‘get big’ means something gets big by itself, as, for example, a child growing up. There is a prefix TW̱E‑ that also means ‘become’ but is not limited to internal change (§54).
‣ 6 The translation of ‑SET/‑SOT as reflexive ‘self’ or inchoative ‘become’ depends on stem that it is attached to. If it is attached to a verb stem, generally the interpretation is ‘self.’ If it is attached to an adjective as in models 7 and 8 or a noun as in model 9, the translation will invariably be ‘become.’ Some such as models 6 and 12 can be translated either way.
‣ 7 Models 10 and 11 are based on verbs TES ‘arrive there’ and ONEȽ ‘obey, agree.’ These have the ‘become’ translation; a ‘self’ translation for these just would not make sense.
‣ 8 Model 13 is based on model 12. KÁWESETTEṈ shows that the ‑SET/‑SOT suffix can be followed by other suffixes. Here we have ‑T‑EṈ, the transitive ‑T and the passive ‑EṈ.
‣ 9 The ‑SET form of the suffix is much more common. The ‑SOT form occurs only on zero stems (§34).
 | I¸SOT TŦE NE SḴAXE¸. | ‘My dog got better.’ |
 | STOṈET LE¸ OĆE? | ‘What was the matter?’ |
| W̱ELEQSET ¸E ȻSE X̱IL¸LEM | ‘He wrapped himself in rope |
| I¸ CELÁL I¸ ₭Í. | and almost died.’ |
| ÁĆENÁ! | ‘My goodness!’ |
| 45.1A. Look up these words and make an original sentence with each. 1. ȽÁĆSET 2. I¸AḴSET 3. ÁLEW̱SET 4. ŚÁMESET 5. SI¸ÁM¸SET 6. XEĆSOT 45.1B. Explain how each of those words show the ideas ‘reflexive,’ ‘inchoative,’ or both. |