1. Orthography
-
a = /ɑ/ (“a” in “are”)
-
i = /i/ (“ee” in “three”)
(/j/ after vowel)
-
o = /ɔ/ (“o” in RP “ore”)
-
u = /ʊː/ (long “oo” in
“cook”)
-
ṡ = /ɕ/ (“sh” in “sheep”)
-
ż = /ʑ/ (“s” in
“treasure” (sort of))
-
c = /ts/ (“zz” in “pizza”)
-
ċ = /tɕ/ (“might you”
said quickly)
-
j = /dʑ/ (“did you” said quickly)
-
h = /ç/ (“h” in “hue”)
-
ll = /ɬ/ (“l” while
breathing out through sides of mouth)
-
r = /ɾ/ (tapped “r”, as
in Spanish) (before consonants, pronounced /ɹ/, as in
American English)
-
rr = /r/ (rolled “r”)
-
ẏ = /ʲ/ (little “y” sound
after consonant – if an undotted “y”, then the initial consonant is pronounced
separately)
-
y = /j/ (“y” in “you”)
2. Nouns
2.1 Noun cases
Nouns can take up to five different cases:
-
Nominative: Refers to both the subject and
direct object of the noun.
-
Genitive: “of” the noun, or possessed by the
noun (similar to “’s” in English). Often used to show a temporary state in
which the noun exists, or the temporary predicate.
-
Comitative: “with” or “and” the noun it
immediately follows.
-
Locative: shows a physical state in which the
noun is placed – without adjectives to serve as prepositions, it means “at” or
“in”.
-
Perlative: “through”, “among” or “across” the
noun. This is doubled with the genitive in animate and non-featural nouns.
2.2 Noun classes
& plurality
Nouns are classed in terms of their animacy, permanence and
endings – for the latter, the majority of them end in consonants in the
nominative/nom. singular, but quite a few end in “u” or “o”. “Animate” nouns –
those which move either by themselves, such as animals, or are easily moved,
such as baskets – contrast with “inanimate” nouns. A few nouns are considered
“featural” due to their perceived immutability, such as mountains or water.
Only animate nouns distinguish for plurals, yet even this is
different to English – for example, two or three, or even a generic “few”, of
an object, as long as the context is understood, can be acceptably discussed in
the singular, in contrast with “many”, “most” or “all” in the plural. For
further explanation of number perception, a “numerals” section is included.
Plurals of inanimate and featural nouns are shown with the
article “ey” before the noun.
2.3 “-u” noun
declension
Inanimate example: vulu – road (same pattern for featural)
Animate example: kortu – wheel
|
Vulu
|
Kortu (sg.)
|
Kortu (pl.)
|
Nom
|
Vulu
|
Kortu
|
Korta
|
Gen
|
Vulor
|
Kortur
|
Kortar
|
Com
|
Vuluv*
|
Kortok*
|
Kortak*
|
Loc
|
Vuloi
|
Kortoi
|
Korti
|
Per
|
Vula
|
|
|
*Repetition of the initial consonant is an unusual feature
of the comitative with the u-stem and consonant – the initial consonant is
placed on the end of the word, as shown above. For those beginning in vowels,
the first consonant is used.
For words beginning in “r” or “rr”, the comitative ends in
“l” e.g. “rruf” (“cat”) becomes “rrufal” (“with the cats”)
2.4 “-o” noun declension
Featural: llo –
water
Inanimate: tano –
house
Animate: unṡako –
lamb
|
Llo
|
Tano
|
Unṡako (sg.)
|
Unṡako (pl.)
|
Nom
|
Llo
|
Tano
|
Unṡako
|
Unṡaka
|
Gen
|
Llur
|
Tanur
|
Unṡakur
|
Unṡakar
|
Com
|
Llai
|
Tanu
|
Unṡakoi
|
Unṡakai
|
Loc
|
Lloi
|
Tanoi
|
Unṡaki
|
Unṡak
|
Per
|
Lla
|
Tana
|
|
|
2.5 Consonant noun
declension
Featural: nab – pond
Inanimate: vost – tree
Animate: uncik - sheep
|
Nab
|
Vost
|
Uncik (sg.)
|
Uncik (pl.)
|
Nom
|
Nab
|
Vost
|
Uncik
|
Unciko
|
Gen
|
Nabor
|
Vostor
|
Uncikor
|
Uncikar
|
Com
|
Naban*
|
Vostav*
|
Uncikon*
|
Uncikan*
|
Loc
|
Nabo
|
Vosto
|
Unciki
|
Uncika
|
Per
|
Nabi
|
Vosti
|
|
|
*See u-stem notes
2.6 Loanword and
given name forms
Foreign loanwords, and given names, are generally only
declined in the genitive and comitative – for the former, “-on”, and the
latter, “-ai”.
3. Verbs
3.1 Verb tenses
and persons
Verbs do not take tenses entirely comparable to English:
-
Continual: a permanent, or potentially infinite,
action (“I always look out”)
-
Instant: an action occurring either once,
momentarily, or in the present (or immediate future) (“I look out now”)
-
Habitual: an action that takes place generally,
or repeatedly (“I often look out”). Often used to represent the past, although
equally to refer to present actions
These three forms can be further compounded with the potential
mood, similar to “can” or “could” (i.e. showing a possible action), and the
uncertain mood, to indicate an action that “might” or “would” occur or have
occurred.
Similarly, verb persons are not similar to English or many
Indo-European languages:
-
Contemporary (con.), the person occurring
closest to the speaker, either in time or physically – most often, identical to
“I”, but in terms of recalling a story, it may refer to the central character,
or something similar to saying “this one”.
-
Proximal (prox.), the person next nearest to the
speaker, often equivalent to the singular “you” (or most important second-person
in a conversation). It is also used to refer to the person acting directly on
the speaker or the contemporary noun in a sentence, even if that person is more
distant.
-
Distant (dist.), the person more distant from
the speaker. It can mean either the plural “you”, or another person not
addressed directly.
-
A “super-distant” can be arranged by duplicating
the ending of the distant, with some core verbs (e.g. “al” – “alal”, “o” – “oyo”,
“a” – “aya”). These are quite rare however.
3.2 Verb conjugation
The majority of the verbs take
“-ya” as an infinitive, but a small minority, particularly stative or emotional
verbs, take “-a” in this position.
“-ya” example: javya – (in order
to) be ready*
|
|
Continual
|
Instant
|
Habitual
|
Indicative
|
Con.
|
Javoi
|
Javat
|
Javi
|
Prox.
|
Javu
|
Javai
|
Jav
|
Dist.
|
Javal
|
Javo
|
Java
|
Optative
|
Con.
|
Javino
|
Javit
|
Javnẏa
|
Prox.
|
Javinu
|
Javani
|
Javna
|
Dist.
|
Javinil
|
Javoni
|
Javan
|
Uncertain
|
Con.
|
Ċabvoi**
|
Ċabvat
|
Ċabvi
|
Prox.
|
Ċabvu
|
Ċabvai
|
Ċabav
|
Dist.
|
Ċabval
|
Ċabvo
|
Ċabva
|
*For this verb, if the direct
object in the nominative is included, that object can be considered the subject
for the verb “to prepare”. However, it most normally takes the locative as an
indirect object, to indicate the time or place where the subject is ready.
**This form in all verbs replaces
the first consonant with its voiced-unvoiced counterpart, and then “-b-” before
the next consonant. Those beginning in consonants which lack this pair take “ṡ-“
in this position, and those beginning in vowels take “ṡ-“ before this vowel.
“-a” example: ulona – (in order
to) sense, notice
|
|
Continual
|
Instant
|
Habitual
|
Indicative
|
Con.
|
Ulonoi
|
Ulonut
|
Uloni
|
Prox.
|
Ulonu
|
Ulonat
|
Ulon
|
Dist.
|
Ulonai
|
Ulonot
|
Ulono
|
Optative
|
Con.
|
Ulonoino
|
Ulontut
|
Ulonẏa
|
Prox.
|
Ulononu
|
Ulontat
|
Ulonan
|
Dist.
|
Ulononai
|
Ulontit
|
Ulonon
|
Uncertain
|
Con.
|
Ṡublonoi
|
Ṡublonut
|
Ṡubloni
|
Prox.
|
Ṡublonu
|
Ṡublonat
|
Ṡublon
|
Dist.
|
Ṡublonai
|
Ṡublonot
|
Ṡublono
|
3.3 Negatives
Negatives are shown with the
article “dol” preceding the noun – with the continual, this means “never”, and
with the habitual, “not often”. To say the equivalent of “not always”, the
article “dayol” is preferred.
4. Adjectives, adverbs & prepositions
4.1 Adjective formation
Adjectives are rare – most often,
the genitive of a noun is used to indicate a possessive or something derived from
a location – but some (participles in particular) can be formed from
compounding – for example, “-like” (something “similar to” a noun) is formed by
adding the prefix “z-“ to an indeclinable form of the noun (e.g. “zrrufo” –
“cat-like”, from “rruf” (“cat”)). Participles are also formed in this way – for
example “llasi” (“I sing often”) becomes “zollas” (“singing” (often treated as
a declined noun)). Adjectives themselves are indeclinable, but largely end in
“-o”.
4.2 Demonstrative adjectives
Some declined adjectives are used
to indicate proximity in certain instances – for example, “za” to refer to
something between “nearby” and “distant”, also akin to “that” in English, and
its more distant partner “nu”. “Za” is declined as follows (“nu” is treated as
a featural u-stem noun):
-
Nom: za
-
Gen: zar
-
Com: zaṡ
-
Loc: zi
-
Per: zi
4.3 Prepositions
Prepositions, treated as
adjectives, can occur before the noun to indicate locative phrases, such as
“mo” (“under”, or “down” on its own) or “na” (indeclinable, “above” or
“higher”)
4.4 Adverbs
Adverbs, generally described as
“in the style of” the adjective, take “zyo-“ as a prefix, as a variant on “z-“
with most adjectives (note the distinctive “y” pronounciation).
4.5 Comparatives
Comparative adjectives are formed
with the prefix “do-“, and superlatives with “lẏo-“. These patterns can also be
applied to nouns for emphasis of the traits – for example, “the cattest (most
cat-like) of (with the) cats” (“lẏorruf rrufal”)
5. Numerals and assorted vocabulary
5.1 Numeral concepts and numbers 1-20
Numbers are treated very
distinctly from English, perhaps more comparable to the
Piraha language of the
Amazon.
They do not exist in the same manner of counting – although counterparts to
English numbers do exist, these are heavily divided compounds, and the majority
of speakers use the abstract original counting system, heavily depending on
context:
-
“Vo” – generally equivalent to “one”, but also
with nouns can mean “less than”, and in the context of discussing a “few”, can
paradoxically mean “none”. “Vo” can also take a meaning more similar to a “total”,
or “twenty” (the total number of fingers and toes).
-
“Ay” – refers to “halves” – any half of any
number. In the context of discussing a greater number, it refers to that
quantity halved, and so “-yayo” is often added to the end of proper numbers to
mean “… and a half”.
-
“To” – mostly ranges between two and five,
translated more generally as “a few” – in context, it can mean far more than
these values.
-
“Kro” – mostly ranges between six and twelve,
translated more generally as “a lot”. Again, this relies largely on the context
of the interaction.
-
“Ivo” – Any quantity of thirteen or greater
(although with the exception of twenty, see above), and generally means “all”
or “every”. If this refers to, say, a thousand, then “ay” would refer to five
hundred, and “kro”/”to” refer to progressively lower values.
The proper numbers 1-20 are:
1.
Vo
2.
Ato
3.
Ayto
4.
Oto
5.
To
6.
Akro
7.
Kakro
8.
Aykakro
9.
Aykro
10.
Ayokro
11.
Okro
12.
Kro
13.
Voyo
14.
Avo
15.
Vavo
16.
Ayvavo
17.
Ayvo
18.
Ayovo
19.
Ovo
20.
Vo/Voi
5.2 Vocabulary
-
to put together - vicya
-
to push, to go – dajya
-
to sail – latya
-
to ride – lakadya
-
to pick up -insya
-
field – kato
-
to look out – bosya
-
so that – lya (after verb)
-
horse – żon
-
to mount - każonya
-
book – rrah
-
mountain – navo
-
to allow – sota
-
to command – vodurya
-
to need – llupa
-
cat – rruf
-
kitten – urrof
-
water – llo
-
to be ready - javya
-
pond – nab
-
tree – vost
-
sheep – uncik
-
lamb - unṡako
-
house
– tano
-
road
– vulu
-
wheel
– kortu
-
to
imprison - suṡotya
-
to love – rrala
-
island – nalavo
-
to be, to be named – ṡta
- cow - mor
-
- wave - nos
- mother - amo
- father - kuko