Adverbisena

Adverbisena is a term used in linguistics and the study of constructed languages to refer to a proposed class of adverbial morphemes and adverbial forms that encode discourse stance or evidentiality. The name blends adverb with a suffix -sena, a notional morphology indicating stance. The concept is used to categorize adverbs that affect the speaker's attitude toward the proposition or the source of information, rather than merely modifying the manner of an action.

In morphology, adverbisena forms are often realized as suffixes attached to adjectives or verbs, or as separate clitic particles. They may vary in marking to indicate certainty, attitude, or reported information. Syntactically, adverbisena can be clause-level modifiers, appearing in initial or medial positions, and can scope over the entire clause.

Semantically, adverbisena captures evidentiality and stance, encoding the source of information or the speaker’s attitude toward the proposition. Distinctions exist between evidential adverbisena and stance adverbisena; some languages may fuse them with degree or mood adverbs. Cross-linguistic variation is common, with different languages using distinct morphologies or positions to realize adverbisena.

Examples in theoretical descriptions include sentences where an adverbisena element accompanies an adjective or functions as a discourse marker. For instance, in a hypothetical language, a form denoting apparent evidence might attach to an adjective: The test was difficult-sena, meaning “The test was evidently difficult.” Another form might attach to a verb or serve as a sentence-initial discourse particle: Quickly-sena, the plan will work, meaning “Honestly, the speaker believes the plan will work.”

See also: adverb, evidentiality, stance, conlangs.