Phonology
Phonemes
Consonants
| Labial | Dental | Alveolar | Postaleolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Pharyngeal | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tenuis plosive | p | t tʲ | tɕ | k kʷ kʲ | q qʷ | ||||
| Aspirated plosive | pʰ | tʰ tʲʰ | tɕʰ | kʰ kʷʰ kʲʰ | qʰ qʷʰ | ||||
| Voiced plosive | b | d dʲ | dʑ | ɡ ɡʷ | |||||
| Ejective plosive | pʼ | tʼ tʲʼ | tsʼ tsʲʼ tɬʼ | tɕʼ | kʼ kʷʼ kʲʼ | qʼ qʷʼ | |||
| Voiceless fricative | f | s sʲ ɬ | ʃ ʃʷ | ɕ | xʲ | χ χʷ | ħ ħʷ | h | |
| Voiced fricative | z zʲ | ʑ | ɣʲ | ʁ ʁʷ | ʕ ʕʷ | ||||
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ||||||
| Liquid | r l | ʎ | |||||||
| Semivowels | w | j |
Vowels
| Front Unrounded | Front Rounded | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i iː | y yː | ɨ ɨː | u uː |
| Close-mid | e eː ẽ ẽː | ø øː ø̃ ø̃ː | ɘ̃ ɘ̃ː | o oː õ õː |
| Open-mid | ɛː ɛ̃ ɛ̃ː | œː œ̃ œ̃ː | ɔː ɔ̃ ɔ̃ː | |
| Near-open | æ̃ː | ɐ ɐː | ||
| Open | aː ã ãː | ɒ̃ː |
Orthography
Consonants
| Labial | Dental | Alveolar | Postaleolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Pharyngeal | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tenuis plosive | ⟨p⟩ | ⟨t⟩ ⟨ty⟩ | ⟨ky⟩ | ⟨k⟩ ⟨kw⟩ ⟨qy⟩ | ⟨q⟩ ⟨qw⟩ | ||||
| Aspirated plosive | ⟨ph⟩ | ⟨t⟩ ⟨tyh⟩ | ⟨kyh⟩ | ⟨kh⟩ ⟨kwh⟩ ⟨qyh⟩ | ⟨qh⟩ ⟨qwh⟩ | ||||
| Voiced plosive | ⟨b⟩ | ⟨d⟩ ⟨dy⟩ | ⟨gy⟩ | ⟨g⟩ ⟨gw⟩ | |||||
| Ejective plosive | ⟨pʼ⟩ | ⟨tʼ⟩ ⟨tyʼ⟩ | ⟨sʼ⟩ ⟨syʼ⟩ ⟨Łʼ łʼ⟩ | ⟨kyʼ⟩ | ⟨kʼ⟩ ⟨kwʼ⟩ ⟨qyʼ⟩ | ⟨qʼ⟩ ⟨qwʼ⟩ | |||
| Voiceless fricative | ⟨f⟩ | ⟨s⟩ ⟨sy⟩ ⟨Ł ł⟩ | ⟨Š š⟩ ⟨šw⟩ | ⟨šy⟩ | ⟨xy⟩ | ⟨x⟩ ⟨xw⟩ | ⟨Ḥ ḥ⟩ ⟨ḥw⟩ | ⟨h⟩ | |
| Voiced fricative | ⟨z⟩ ⟨zy⟩ | ⟨ry⟩ | ⟨ġy⟩ | ⟨Ġ ġ⟩ ⟨ġw⟩ | ⟨c⟩ ⟨cw⟩ | ||||
| Nasal | ⟨m⟩ | ⟨n⟩ | ⟨ny⟩ | ||||||
| Liquid | ⟨r⟩ ⟨l⟩ | ⟨ly⟩ | |||||||
| Semivowels | ⟨w⟩ | ⟨y⟩ |
Geminates are written the same as single consonants except that the first letter of the digraph/trigraph in question is doubled.
Vowels
| Front Unrounded | Front Rounded | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close | ⟨i⟩ ⟨Ī ī⟩ | ⟨Ü ü⟩ ⟨Ű ű⟩ | ⟨Ǝ ə⟩ ⟨Ǝ̄ ə̄⟩ | ⟨u⟩ ⟨Ū ū⟩ |
| Close-mid | ⟨e⟩ ⟨Ê ê⟩ ⟨in⟩ ⟨Īn īn⟩ | ⟨Ö ö⟩ ⟨Ǒ ǒ⟩ ⟨Ün ün⟩ ⟨Űn űn⟩ | ⟨Ǝn ən⟩ ⟨Ǝ̄n ə̄n⟩ | ⟨o⟩ ⟨Ô ô⟩ ⟨un⟩ ⟨Ūn ūn⟩ |
| Open-mid | ⟨Ē ē⟩ ⟨en⟩ ⟨Ên ên⟩ | ⟨Ő ő⟩ ⟨Ön ön⟩ ⟨Őn őn⟩ | ⟨Ō ō⟩ ⟨on⟩ ⟨Ôn ôn⟩ | |
| Near-open | ⟨Ēn ēn⟩ | ⟨a⟩ ⟨Â â⟩ | ||
| Open | ⟨Ā ā⟩ ⟨an⟩ ⟨Ān ān⟩ | ⟨Ōn ōn⟩ |
Morphology
Nominal Morphology
Noun Form
Stem-Diminutive/Augmentative-Singulative-Gender/Number-Inalienable Possession-Case
or
Stem-Adjective Formant
Cases
| Affix | |
|---|---|
| Absolutive | ∅ |
| Ergative-Ablative | s |
| Genitive | l |
| Dative | m |
| Locative | wo |
| Allative | d |
Obsolete Cases
| Affix | |
|---|---|
| Instrumental | ye |
| Comitative | p |
| Conditional | h |
| Comparative | x |
Gender/Number
| Gender | Number | Endings |
|---|---|---|
| Animate | Singular | -∅ |
| Animate | Plural | -ʸi/-u/-y |
| Inanimate | Singular | -t |
| Inanimate | Plural | -n |
Possession
Inalienable
| Person | Number | Gender | Endings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Singular | - | -ʷut/-ət/-wt |
| 1st | Plural | - | -ʷuš/-əš/-wš |
| 2nd | Singular | - | -ʷub/-əb/-wb |
| 2nd | Plural | - | -ʷun/-ən/-wn |
| 3rd | Singular | Animate | -ʸi/-yi |
| 3rd | Singular | Inanimate | -ʸi/-yi |
| 3rd | Plural | Animate | -ow |
| 3rd | Plural | Inanimate | -ey |
Singulative
| Endings |
|---|
| -ey |
Diminutive/Augmentative
| Endings | |
|---|---|
| Diminutive | -ł |
| Augmentative | -b |
Adjective Formant
| Endings | |
|---|---|
| "Like" Adjective | -l |
| Nisba | -ow |
Verbal Morphology
Negation
Negation is marked with the clitic sam, which is placed before any verb argument clitics.
Past
| Endings | |
|---|---|
| Past | -d |
Perfect
| Endings | |
|---|---|
| Perfect | -n |
Other Aspects
| Endings | |
|---|---|
| Perfective/Stative | -∅ |
| Imperfective | -y |
| Inchoative | -l |
| Terminative | -r |
Syntax
Articles
There is a definite article that precedes a noun which takes the following forms:
| An. Sg. | Inan. Sg. | An. Pl. | Inan. Pl. |
|---|---|---|---|
| qā | qa | qma | qan |
This is morphologically a verb with the stem qa.
Postpositions
| Postposition | Case | Meaning | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| a | locative | at (abstract location) | the verb a (be) |
| wo | ablative | from (abstract location) | the verb wa (come) |
| yi | allative | to (abstract location) | the verb i (go) |
| yi | locative | at (time) | the verb ird (happen) |
| ła | ablative | after (time) | the verb łġ (follow) |
| sʼo | allative | before (time) | the verb sʼwa (precede) |
| ga | locative | in | the verb a with the direction g (be in) |
| gwo | ablative | out of | verb wa with the direction g (come out of) |
| gyi | allative | into | the verb i with the direction g (go in) |
| ra | locative | on | the verb a with the direction r (be on) |
| ra | ablative | off of | the verb wa with the direction r (come off of) |
| ryi | allative | onto | the verb i with the direction r (go on) |
| ka | locative | at (location) | the verb a with the direction k (be at) |
| kwo | ablative | from (location) | the verb wa with the direction k (come from) |
| kyi | allative | to (location) | the verb i with the direction k (go to) |
| šye | locative | up (static) | the verb a with the direction šy (be up) |
| šye | ablative | from up | the verb wa with the direction šy (come from up) |
| šyi | locative | up (dynamic) | the verb i with the direction šy (go up) |
| šyi | allative | to up | the verb iwith the direction šy (go up) |
| bra | locative | down (static) | the verb a with the direction br (be down) |
| bra | ablative | come from down | the verb wa with the direction br (come from down) |
| bryi | locative | down (dynamic) | the verb i with the direction br (go down) |
| bryi | allative | to down | the verb i with the direction br (go down) |
| dna | locative | through (static) | the verb a with the direction dn (be through) |
| dna | ablative | from through | the verb wa with the direction dn (come from through) |
| dnyi | locative | through (dynamic) | the verb i with the direction dn (go through) |
| dnyi | allative | to through | the verb i with the direction dn (go through) |
| ara | locative | over/above (static) | the verb a with the direction ar (be over/above) |
| ara | ablative | from over/from above | the verb wa with the direction ar (come from over/above) |
| eryi | locative | over/above (dynamic) | the verb i with the direction ar (go over/above) |
| eryi | allative | to over/to above | the verb i with the direction ar (go over/above) |
| łʼa | locative | under/below (static) | the verb a with the direction łʼ (be under/below) |
| łʼa | ablative | from under/from below | the verb wa with the direction łʼ (come from under/below) |
| kyʼi | locative | under/below (dynamic) | the verb i with the direction łʼ (go under/below) |
| kyʼi | allative | to under/to below | the verb i with the direction łʼ (go under/below) |
| eye | locative | between (static) | the verb a with the direction ay (be between) |
| eye | ablative | from between | the verb wa with the direction ay (come from between) |
| eyi | locative | between (dynamic) | the verb i with the direction ay (go between) |
| eyi | allative | to between | the verb i with the direction ay (go between) |
| nye | locative | around (static) | the verb a with the direction ny (be around) |
| nye | ablative | from around | the verb wa with the direction ny (come from around) |
| nyi | locative | around (dynamic) | the verb i with the direction ny (go around) |
| nyi | allative | to around | the verb i with the direction ny (go around) |
| šwa | locative | beyond (static) | the verb a with the direction šw (be beyond) |
| šwa | ablative | from beyond | the verb wa with the direction šw (come from beyond) |
| šwu | locative | beyond (dynamic) | the verb i with the direction šw (go beyond) |
| šwu | allative | to beyond | the verb i with the direction šw (go beyond) |
| fa | locative | out/outside (static) | the verb a with the direction if (be out/outside) |
| fa | ablative | from out/from outside | the verb wa with the direction if (come from out/outside) |
| fi | locative | out/outside (dynamic) | the verb i with the direction if (go out/outside) |
| fi | allative | to out/to outside | the verb i with the direction if (go out/outside) |
| kʼa | locative | before (static) | the verb a with the direction kʼ (be before) |
| kwʼo | ablative | from before | the verb wa with the direction kʼ (come from before) |
| kyʼi | locative | before (dynamic) | the verb i with the direction kʼ (go before) |
| kyʼi | allative | to before | the verb i with the direction kʼ (go before) |
| pla | locative | after (static) | the verb a with the direction pl (be after) |
| pla | ablative | from after | the verb wa with the direction pl (come from after) |
| plyi | locative | after (dynamic) | the verb i with the direction pl (go after) |
| plyi | allative | to after | the verb i with the direction pl (go after) |
| ḥa | locative | by (location) | the verb xa (be near) |
| ḥa | ablative | from by (location) | the verb xa (be near) |
| ḥa | allative | to by (location) | the verb xa (be near) |
| bə̄ | locative | far from | the verb wbū (be far) |
| bə̄ | ablative | from far from | the verb wbū (be far) |
| bə̄ | allative | to far from | the verb wbū (be far) |
| syi | absolutive | like, as | the verb asyi (be like) |
| krā | absolutive | with (comitative) | the verb krā (be along with) |
| khrā | absolutive | without | the verb krā with the prefix s (not be along with) |
| ye | ablative | by (someone) | the verb a with the prefix i (make be) |
| dū | absolutive | about (topic) | the verb dū (be about) |
| xyī | absolutive | if | the verb xīqʼ (need) |
| la | absolutive | while, during | the verb alla (be during) |
| ḥe | absolutive | while (linking) | the verb xayt (be together with) |
| kʼla | absolutive | until | the verb alla with the direction kʼ (be during before) |
| ca | ablative | because | the verb sġa (cause) |
| ha | dative | in order to, so as to | the noun haġ followed by the verb w (have purpose) |
| sa | genitive | of (possession) | the verb sa (belong) |
| gye | genitive | of (partitive) | the verb rgya (be part) |
| ġrə | genitive | therefore | the noun ġrub followed by the verb w (have result) |
| hē | genitive | then | the adjective hāyl with suffix š followed by the verb w (have next) |
| bi | genitive | instead of | the noun tʼbi marked for possession in locative case with the postposition ga (in place) |
| sryē | dative | except for | the noun sryā followed by the verb w (have exception) |
| thra | ablative | from the direction of | the noun stra (direction) in instrumental case |
| thra | allative | towards | the noun stra (direction) in instrumental case |
| xnyi | absolutive | than | the verb xni (less, few) with comparative degree |
| po | absolutive | with (instrumental) | the verb paww (use) |
| kha | dative | for | the verb ška (give) |
| wu | ablative | against | the verb i with the direction u (go back) |
| kʼrye | dative | with respect to | the verb ikʼrya (relate) |
| pē | allative | nevertheless | the noun pyād with the verb xt followed by the postposition krā (with any case) |
| dra | ablative | versus, as opposed to | the verb drar (oppose) |
Compound Postpositions
| Compound Postposition | Case | Meaning | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| yirġan krā | absolutive | however | the adverb irġmə with the postposition krā (along with other) |
| pâša krā | absolutive | although | the adverb pâša with the postposition krā (along with though) |
| êytʼan krā | absolutive | much the less | the adverb aystʼmə with the postposition kra (along with in addition |
| krā plyi | absolutive | X by X | the postposition krā with the postposition plyi (after (dynamic) along with) |
Notes
The bare locative, ablative, and allative cases for locative purposes have fallen into relative disuse except for fixed frequent usages, e.g. ocwo, here, or yetho, today.
The instrumental case has fallen into disuse, replaced by the postposition po.
The comitative case has fallen into disuse, replaced by the postposition krā.
The conditional case has fallen into disuse, replaced by the postposition xyī.
The comparative case has fallen into disuse, replaced by the postposition xnyi.
The bare ablative case has fallen into disuse for because, replaced by the postposition ca.
The bare allative case has fallen into disuse for in order to/so as to, replaced by the postposition ha.
Pronouns
1st person
| Basic/Possessive | Emphatic | |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | ye | yēt |
| Plural | yen | yēnt |
2nd person
| Basic/Possessive | Emphatic | |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | ma | māt |
| Plural | mey | mēyt |
3rd person
| Basic/Possessive | Emphatic | Clitic | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Animate singular | da | dat | d- |
| Animate plural | dey | dēyt | dy- |
| Inanimate singular | na | nā | n- |
| Inanimate plural | nan | nan | nn- |
Reflexive
| Basic/Possessive | |
|---|---|
| Animate singular | ga |
| Animate plural | gey |
| Inanimate singular | pa |
| Inanimate plural | pan |
Indefinite
| Basic/Possesive | Emphatic | Clitic | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Animate singular | syi | syit | s- |
| Animate plural | syī | syīt | sy- |
| Inanimate singular | hə | hə̄ | h- |
| Inanimate plural | hən | hən | hn- |
Demonstrative
Nominal
Proximal
| Basic | Emphatic | |
|---|---|---|
| Animate singular | la | lat |
| Animate plural | ley | lēyt |
| Inanimate singular | lə | lə̄ |
| Inanimate plural | lən | lən |
Medial
| Basic | Emphatic | |
|---|---|---|
| Animate singular | qa | qat |
| Animate plural | qey | qēyt |
| Inanimate singular | qyi | qyī |
| Inanimate plural | qyin | qyin |
Distal
| Basic | Emphatic | |
|---|---|---|
| Animate singular | ša | šat |
| Animate plural | šey | šēyt |
| Inanimate singular | šyüw | šyűw |
| Inanimate plural | šyüwn | šyüwn |
Adjectival
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| Proximal | lə |
| Medial | qyi |
| Distal | šyüw |
Place
| Place | |
|---|---|
| Proximal | aġ |
| Medial | mā |
| Distal | īp |
Interrogative
Nominal
| Basic | Emphatic | |
|---|---|---|
| Animate singular | ḥa | ḥat |
| Animate plural | ḥey | ḥēyt |
| Inanimate singular | xwu | xwū |
| Inanimate plural | xwun | xwun |
Adverbial
| Adverb | |
|---|---|
| Reason | ḥâl |
| Method | ḥāš |
Adjectival
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| General | xyit |
| Partitive | xwūr |
Diachronics
/ɕ/ depalatalizes as [ʃ].
/i iː j/ palatalize preceding consonants, if they can be palatalized, and /u uː w/ labialize preceding consonants, if they can be labialized. Note that /p b f m n r l ɬ tɬʼ h/ cannot be labialized, and /w j/ cannot be labialized or palatalized. /i iː/ eject a preceding [j] initially and /u uː/ eject a preceding [w] initially.
Palatalization takes the form of acquiring palatal secondary articulation, except for the following:
| Phoneme | Palatalized as |
|---|---|
| tɬʼ | cçʼ |
| ɬ | ç |
| ʃ | ɕ |
| n | ɲ |
| r | ʑ |
| l | ʎ |
| h | ç |
Cw > Cʷ, Cj > Cʲ except for wː and jː.
χ χʷ ʁ ʁʷ > ħ ħʷ ʕ ʕʷ \ _{a aː o ɔː}
[+consonant -long]ə > ə[+consonant -long] \ _#
a > ɐ
ə > ɐ
Frontness/backness/rounding allophony of vowels develops, such that /i iː/ and /u uː/ merge as /ɨ ɨː/:
| Phoneme | Next to palatal/palatalized consonant | Next to labial consonant | Next to both | Next to neither |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ɐ | e | o | ø | ɐ |
| aː | ɛː | ɔː | œː | aː |
| ə | e | o | ø | ə |
| i u | i | u | y | ɨ |
| iː uː | iː | uː | yː | ɨː |
Prevocalic tenuis plosives in stressed syllables become aspirated.
Stress is moved to the penultimate syllable in all non-monosyllabic words.
x xʷ xʲ ɣ ɣʷ ɣʲ > χ χʷ χʲ ʁ ʁʷ ʁʲ
kʲ kʲʰ ɡʲ kʲʼ > tɕ tɕʰ dʑ tɕʼ
qʲ qʲʰ qʲʼ χʲ ʁʲ > kʲ kʲʰ kʲʼ xʲ ɣʲ
ç cçʼ > ɕ tɕʼ
∅ > ə \ [+plosive][+plosive]_#
[+labial +palatalized] > [-palatalized]
{[+dental +labialized] [+alveolar +labialized]} > [-labialized]
Postpositional clitics develop into case endings.
Development of definite article qa, inflected like an intransitive verb.
[-consonant -long] > [+long] \ _C{ɐ e ø o}C (where a legal sequence of phonemes would result from the elision of {ɐ e ø o}, starting from the end of a word)
ɐ e ø o > ∅ \ C_C (where a legal sequence of phonemes would result from the elision of {ɐ e ø o}, starting from the elision of a word)
Loss of nominal obviative marking, with proximate marking being used in all cases.
Development of the ablative case into an ergative case.
[-consonant] > [+nasal] \ _[+nasal]
[+consonant +nasal] > ∅ \ _[+consonnant]
[-consonant +nasal] > [-nasal] \_[+consonant +nasal]
ĩ ĩː ỹ ỹː ɨ̃ ɨ̃ː ũ ũː ẽ ø̃ õ ɛ̃ː ɐ̃ ɔ̃ː > ẽ ẽː ø̃ ø̃ː ɘ̃ ɘ̃ː õ õː ɛ̃ œ̃ ɔ̃ æ̃ː ã ɒ̃ː
p t tʲ tɕ k kʷ kʲ q qʷ > pʰ tʰ tʲʰ tɕʰ kʰ kʷʰ kʲʰ qʰ qʷʰ \ [-voiced +fricative]_[-plosive]
b d dʲ dʑ ɡ ɡʷ > p t tʲ tɕ k kʷ \ [-voiced +fricative]_[-plosive]
l > ɬ \ [+voiceless +fricative]_
[-consonant -long] > [+long] \ _{f s sʲ ɬ ʃ ʃʷ ɕ xʲ χ χʷ ħ ħʷ h}{[+plosive] ɬ}
f s sʲ ɬ ʃ ʃʷ ɕ xʲ χ χʷ ħ ħʷ h > ∅ \ _{[+plosive] ɬ}
z zʲ ʑ ɣʲ ʁ ʁʷ ʕ ʕʷ > s sʲ ɕ xʲ χ χʷ ħ ħʷ \ _[+obstruent]
z zʲ ʑ ɣʲ ʁ ʁʷ ʕ ʕʷ > s sʲ ɕ xʲ χ χʷ ħ ħʷ \ [+obstruent]_
[+plosive -aspirated +voiceless] > ʔ \ _[+plosive]
[+plosive] > [+ejective] \ ʔ_
[-consonant -long] > [+long] \ _ʔ
ʔ > ∅ \ _[+plosive]
[+consonant +long +obstruent +voiced] > [-voiced]
b d dʲ dʑ ɡ ɡʷ > p t tʲ tɕ k kʷ \ _[+obstruent]
b d dʲ dʑ ɡ ɡʷ > p t tʲ tɕ k kʷ \ [+obstruent]_
[-consonant -long] > [+long] \ [+consonant +long]
[+consonant +long] > [+consonant -long]
i iː y yː ɨ ɨː u uː e eː ø øː o oː ɛː ɐ ɐː ɔː > e eː ø øː ɘ ɘː o oː ɛ ɛː œ œː ɔ ɔː æː a aː ɒː \ {_{[+uvular] [+pharyngeal]} {[+uvular] [+pharyngeal]}_}
ẽ ẽː ø̃ ø̃ː ɘ̃ ɘ̃ː õ õː ɛ̃ ɛ̃ː ɔ̃ ɔ̃ː > ɛ̃ ɛ̃ː œ̃ œ̃ː ɜ̃ ɜ̃ː ɔ̃ ɔ̃ː æ̃ æ̃ː ɒ̃ ɒ̃ː \ {_{[+uvular] [+pharyngeal]} {[+uvular] [+pharyngeal]}_}
[-consonant +front +high]j[-consonant +front +high] > iː
[-consonant -front +high]w[-consonant -front +high] > uː
[-consonant +front +high]j > iː \ _{# [+consonant]}
[-consonant -front +high]w > uː \ _{# [+consonant]}
Formation of negative adverb san from NEG-exist-ADV s-a-m. This serves to reinforce the verb negative marking. This is then cliticized, after which the original negative marker is lost.
Postpositions develop in attributive usage.
Postposition clitics develop so that they can be used with clauses in addition to attributively.