Thursday 17 August 2017

Qoroion language



Qoroion language

Orthography

The orthography is generally identical to that which is found in English, with a few significant exceptions:

-          x - /ʃ/
-          j - /ʒ/
-          c - /tʃ/
-          tj - /dʒ/
-          h - /χ/
-          q - /q/
-          w - /ṽ/
-          a - /a/
-          an - /ã/
-          e - /ɜ/
-          ē - /ʏ/
-          i - /i/ (/j/ after vowels)
-          o - /ɔ/
-          on - /ɔ̃/
-          ow - /ɔ̃f/
-          u - /ʊ/

Noun marking and plurals

The sentence order is generally Object-Verb-Subject, although with the handful of verbs that lack specific interrogative forms, this (often, but not necessarily) becomes Object-Subject-Verb.
All words are marked in a certain manner, depending on the position they have in the sentence – for example, whether they are used at the very end of a clause/sentence, or the very end of a paragraph. Nouns are additionally marked to show the sentence is interrogative, or in conjunction with the verb, imperative. These endings are:

-          -i = imperative/interrogative
-          -k = clause-final
-          -m = topic-final

Nouns also have two kinds of plural – the usual kind found in English, to denote an unknown amount of the object, and a collective plural, to denote “all” or, with mass nouns, the “entirety” of the object. All nouns in the singular form end in either a consonant or “-o”, so for example “goho” (“cup”) becomes “goxu” in the plural and “goha” in the collective, and “kos” (“cat”) becomes “kosu” and “kosa”.

Noun irregularities and possible cases

In topic-final singular nouns, a final “s” becomes a “x”, and correspondingly “z” becomes “j”. For stop consonants at the end of c-f and t-f singular nouns, an “-o-“ is placed between the final consonant and the marker, e.g. “od”, “odok”.

When followed by “u”, the “h” sound becomes “x” and “q” becomes “c”, as demonstrated with “goho”-“goxu” and “laqo”-“lacu” (“river”).

A handful of nouns, including pronouns and essential nouns such as “man” (“od”), are declined for dative (motion towards) and ablative (motion away from) cases. For example:


Singular
Plural
Collective
Nominative
Od
Odu
Oda
Dative
Odij(-k, -im)
Odoj
Odaj
Ablative
Odir(-k, -m)
Odor
Odar

Pronouns will be discussed later.

Verb tenses and conjugations

All verbs end in “-i” in the infinitive form, or “-e” when clause or topic-final. The average interrogative-lacking verb follows this pattern:

Omi/ome = to ask


Regular
Topic/clause final
Suffixes
1st sg.
Oma
Omaie
Habitual reg.
-ti
2nd sg.
Somi
Somie
Past reg.
-hon
3rd sg.
Omeh
Omehe
Future reg.
-l
1st pl.
Omu
Omuie
Habitual cf.
-te
2nd pl.
Soma
Somaie
Past cf.
-hue
3rd pl.
Om
Omie
Future cf.
-le

The “s-“ prefix for the second person changes to “x-“ before a consonant, and “xte-“ before another sibilant sound.

For verbs with interrogatives, these patterns are followed:

Dali/dale = to throw out


Regular
Topic/clause final
Interrogative
Suffixes

1st sg.
Dala
Dalaie
Dalav
Habitual reg.
-ti

2nd sg.
Xdali
Xdalie
Xdaliv
Past reg.
-hon

3rd sg.
Daleh(-el)
Dalehe
Dalev
Future reg.
-l

1st pl.
Dalu
Daluie
Daluv
Habitual cf.
-te
Habitual in.
-it
2nd pl.
Xdala
Xdalaie
Xdalav
Past cf.
-hue
Past in.
-ihon
3rd pl.
Dal
Dalie
Dalow
Future cf.
-le
Future in.
-il

Imperative verbs take, before them, the particle “en”, e.g. “en xdal”(“throw it away!”), or the subject pronoun in imperative form, while negatives require the modal verb “ci/ce” to be inflected and the relevant verb to remain the same. 

Adjectives and adverbs

Adjectives are largely indeclinable, except of course for their position in the sentence, for which they are treated like nouns. However, all adjectives must end in a consonant. 

Adverbs are equivalent to their adjective forms, but are themselves followed by the postposition “zon” (in the manner of (irregularly, not inflected for postposition)) and placed following the verb.

Postpositions

Postpositions are the equivalent of English prepositions, but come after the noun. Postpositional nouns generally come at the start of the sentence.

Examples:

-          jax – towards
-          or – away from, out of
-          dit – in
-          dēt – outside, around
-          lan – before, near to
-          oqan – behind, far from
-          taj – for, in honour of
-          aniv – because of

Tuesday 15 August 2017

Fan Vari language



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