Fire and Water

Tłupceqř tpcqduqnař i tpcgòŗqř magmas miņin.
[θʷtɬʷʰuɸtɕʰeχtʂ θpə̥ɕʷχʷtʷuχnɑʂ i θʷpʷŏ̥ɕʷkʷɤrχtʂ mɑɣmɑs miŋin]
tłu-one-p-ORD-hc-NRP.MP.IF-e-do-q-REFL-ř8.A.PL tp-quickly-hc-NRP.MP.IF-qdu-move-q-REFL-na-4.D.SG-ř8.A.PL iNP.SBJ tp-quickly-hc-NRP.MP.IF-gòŗ-harden-q-REFL-ř8.A.PL magma-magma-s8.DEF miņ-lake-i-Ø-n4.DEF
first_they:8.were.doing.sth quickly_they:8.were.moving.towards.it:4 as quickly_they:8.were.hardening the:8.magma the:4.lake.
The magma initially rushed to the lake and quickly hardened.

Tpcgoŗqř dy mon, heceģàt, tconrʼend.
[θpə̥ɕkərχtʂ tɨ mɤn hetɕʰeʁʷɑt θtɕʰɤɳtʂʼend]
tp-quickly-hc-NRP.MP.IF-goŗ-harden-q-REFL-ř8.A.PL dybut monsufficiently, hec-NRP.IF-e-do-ģàt6.DEF, t-P.PL-hc-NRP.MP.IF-o--nrʼe-approach-nd8.P.PL
quickly_they:8.were.hardening        but sufficiently, before.it:6.was.done, they:8.were.approaching.
But it was fast enough that it was approached before hardening.

Ņeņeģàt, hecqdundonow magmatʼ tmunija, hecenrʼendonow a hyŗija.
[ŋeŋeʁʷɑθ heɕχtundənəw mɑɣmɑtʼ θmuniʝa hetɕʰeɳtʂʼendənəw ɑ hɨriʝɑ]
ņeņ-NRF.IF-e-do-ģàt6.DEF, hec-NRP.IF-qdu-move-ndon-5.P.SG-ow4.A.SG magma-magma-tʼ4.IND.SG tmun-coast-ija5.DEF, hec-NRP.IF-e-Ø-nrʼe-approach-ndon-5.P.SG-ow4.A.SG aand hyŗe-middle-ija5.DEF
after.it:6.was.done, it:4.was.moving.it:5      a:4.wave.of.magma the:5.coast, it:4.was.approaching.it:5      and the:5.middle.
Then another magma-like wave moved toward the edge of the lake, approaching the middle.

Łrokmintř kêms, seektdsař májtk kròrògomps.
[ɬtʂɤxmint̪ʰʂ kʷʰømʷsʷ tsʼe:xθt̪ə̥sɑʂ mɑɔ̯ʝŏθkʷ xʷtʂʷodʐʷɤgɤmpʰs]
ł-D.PL-ro-P.SBJ-kmi-fill.with-nd-8.D.PL-(h)--ř8.A.PL kèm-rocks-sw8.IND.PL, h-PR.IF-sʼekt-send.to-d-6.P.SG-sa-7.D.SG-ř8.A.PL májd-danger-(h)--k(w)6.IND krò-P.MP.SBJ-ròg-house-o-Ø-mb-4/6.P.PL-(h)--s7.NMLZ
they:8.were.filled.with:them:8      some:8.rocks, they:8.are.sending.it:6.towards.it:7 some:6.danger  they:4/6.were.housed.by.it/them:7.
It endangered the harbor when it was filling the lake with rocks.

Dy, trpipuḽumpř wán yn troŗèmpř, kcplawyņqow miņin.
[tɨ θʂpʰipʰutɬʰumpʰʂ wɔnʷ ɨn θtʂəo̯rʷømpʰʂ kɕə̥̆ɸtɬɑɔ̯wuɴqʰɤw miŋin]
dybut, t-P.PL-rpi-P.C.SBJ-puḽ-boil-u-Ø-mb-4.P.PL-(h)--ř8.A.PL àw-water-n4.DEF ynby t-P.PL-ro-P.SBJ-ŗè-touch-mb-4.P.PL-(h)--ř8.A.PL, k-NEG-hc-NRP.MP.IF-plawyņ-overflow-q-REFL-ow4.A.SG miņ-lake-i-Ø-n4.DEF
but, they:8.caused.them:4.to.boil        the:4.water by they:8.were.touching.them:4, it:4.was.not.overflowing          the:4.lake.
But the lake did not overflow, because the magma boiled any water that it touched.

Kròkmínk ropułow kròdìrģàt, tacqdumbynaw kùŗiiw.
krò-P.MP.SBJ-kmi-fill.with-nw-1/4.P.SG-k(w)6(A.SG) ro-P.SBJ-puł-boil-ow1/4(A.SG) krò-P.MP.SBJ-dìr-hear-ģàt6.DEF, t-P.PL-hac-NRP.C.IF-qdu-move-mb-4.P.PL-y-Ø-(n)na-4/5.D.SG-ow1.A.SG kùŗii-wind-ow1.DEF
it:1/4.was.filled.with/by.it:6      it:1/4.was.boiling  it:6.could.be.heard, it:1.caused.them:4.to.move.towards.it:4/5 the:1.wind.
The sound of the water sizzling filled my ear, as the wind blew the rain to the ocean

Reģàt tkstsèņsekemb, kstlgàrán bynkstìqʼaw.
r-PR.S-e-do-ģàt6.DEF t-P.PL-kstw-PR.MP.IF-seņsek-scatter-e-Ø-mb4.P.PL, kstw-PR.MP.IF-lgàr-lift-a-Ø-nw1.P.SG byn-smoke-kstì-NP.MP.SBJ-qʼa-resemble-ow1/4.A.SG
while.it:6.is.done they:4.are.scattered,        it:1.is.lifted        it:1.resembles.smoke.
Now the water becomes scattered, but a big, smoke-like cloud is lifted.

Trpiqdumbow ropsègniw, pqdundonow.
t-P.PL-rpi-P.C.SBJ-qdu-move-mb-4.P.PL-ow1/4.A.SG ro-P.SBJ-psègni-be.shallow-ow1/4.A.SG, p-PR.C.IF-qdu-move-ndon-5.P.SG-ow1/4.A.SG
it:1/4.caused.them:4.to.move  it:1/4.was.shallow,        it:1/4.causes.it:5.to.move.
It pushes the shallow water with moving the new land.

Rtʼàmgow reģàt łrłasʼnàhow wán kstìhaņguw kŗestʼ kròpsʼogón míņtʼ sʼogija.
r-PR.S-(w)--tʼam-think.about-N-1/4.P.SG-g-2sg.A-ow1.DEF r-PR.S-e-do-ģàt6.DEF ḽ-mOPT-r-PR.S-ḽasʼ-carry.to-nw-1/4.P.SG-h--ow1/4.A.SG àw-water-n4.DEF kstì-NP.SBJ.MP-haņgu-be.strong-ow4.A.SG kŗes-storm-tʼ4.IND.SG krò-P.MP.SBJ-p-PR.C.IF-sʼog-ice-o-Ø-nw4.P.SG miņ-lake-tʼw4.GEN.SG sʼog-ice-ija5.DEF
you:SG.are.thinking.about.it:1/4.1        while.it:6.is.done it:1/4.might.be.carried.to.it:1/4      the:4.water it:4.is.strong            a:4.storm      it:4.was.made.to.freeze        of.the:4.lake the:5.ice.
I think about you when the water brings a strong storm to the ice of the frozen lake.

Pvpchqpye Vtsznxmqpye Zzxzzyx

A Kànnow translation of a Hlu fragment of the Zzyxwqnp epic that tells of the founding of Zzxzzyx. Very likely an anachronism, but it was nonetheless a handy text.

Řqʼoqʼy! mypʼyyksʼòqduuwow gròłsytjaawow, małebosqʼaqʼowow,
[ʂqʼʌqʼəɨ | mɨpʼɨːxʷtsʰʷoχʷdʷuːwəɸ gʷdʐəɬtsʰɨθdʑaːwəɸ | matɬʰebəsqʼɑqʼʌwəɸ]
Shquqou! Demon of the north, who laid waste to all he beheld,
řqʼoqʼyShquqou! mpʼy-demon(through-i-NF.ACT.NP-ksʼò-shadow-qdu-go-ow-C1A)-owC1.DEF gw-VEN-ro-NF.ACT.P-łsytʼ-north-ja-come-ow-C1.A.SG-owC1.DEF malʼ-truly-he-FP.IND.A-bos-everything-qʼaqʼ-destroy-ow-C1.A.PL-owC1.SG

Shquqou (< Rau /ʃqʌqɯ/) is simultaneously the protagonist and the main villain of the Vtsznxmqp, somewhat like Genghis Khan in the Târikh-e Jahângoshây, if the Târikh was bad poetry rather than prose. A historical figure, Shquqou was a priest of Qapi Mongkoush who assumed command over a combined Tsi and Rau army attacking the Narngic port city of Big Yeet and subsequently turned out to be both a religious fanatic and completely insane. In consequence, the relevant part of the Vtsznxmqp is mostly a long list of his war crimes interspersed with records of the sermons he delivered to the corpses. In this verse, he is introduced with the appropriate dramatism.

Linguistically, we are introduced to several specialties of Kànnow already. The word for "demon", "evil spirit" is literally "who moves through the shadows", originally possibly a taboo term, but now firmly lexicalised. Kànnow does not like overusing its possessive construction, instead producing something like "Shquqou! Demon who came from the north, who destroyed everything".

An artefact of Kànnow's morphological system is the frequency with which epithets end in -owow (a class 1 nominalization of an active verb with a class 1 agent). The preverb malʼ- in the final epithet serves as emphasis: who laid waste to all he beheld; its realization as mał- is due to the fact that except for the final element, MOA distinctions are neutralized in clusters. In this way, /h/ (when it occurs anywhere but the beginning of a word) acts as a sort of zero consonant, whose only surface realization is that it triggers cluster mechanics.

Řqʼoqʼy sgałán třpinyłr'eqnènowow, iġytktʼaaja Qʼotʼnasòo tkìmbyyja łṇàk'àksuṛġaán
[ʂqʼʌqʼəɨ sgatɬʰɔnʷ θʂpʰinɨɬtʂʼɛqʰʷnʷenəwəɸ | iʁɨtʰkʰtʼaːʝa qʼʌtʼnatsʰʷəː θʷkʷimbɨːʝa tɬʰŋʷɔkʼʷɔxʷsʷurʁaːɔ̯nʷ]
Shquqou who killed myriads, he is evilest among the red spears of Katnahl.
řqʼoqʼyshquqou sgał-myriad-nwC4.PL t-P.PL-rpi-NF.CAUS.IND-nal-man-r'éq-die-nen-C4.P.PL-ow-C1.A.SG-ow,C1.DEF, i-POSS-ġatk-spear-tʼa-C5.D.SG ijaC5.DEF qʼotʼnas-Katnahl-uuC5.ADJ.SG t-P.PL-kì-NF.MP.NP-mbyh-be_red-ah-C5.P.PL-ijaC5.DEF ł-D.PL-ṅk'à-most-ksw-INF.MP.FP-yṛġa-evil-ah-C5.D.PL-nwC1.P.SG

"Killed myriads" is more explicitly specified as "myriads of men" by incorporating the word for man into the verbal complex. Note the height harmony: -rpi-nal- assimilates to -rpi-nyl-; this process goes left-to-right (with two harmony sets < e a o > vs < i y u >) and is blocked by clusters. There are morphemes that are exempt from height harmony; a prominent example is the class 5 definite marker -ija (and not *-ijy).

The superlative is constructed by adding a dative to the normally univalent middle "be evil": "he is most evil to the red spears of Katnahl" (< Rau /qʌtnas/, 'people of the qutna', a generic term for the Rau religio-cultural zone, named after a holy plant of Qapi Mongkoush).

The zero consonant nature of /h/ can be seen in the fact that it disappears between vowels. This phrase contains a particularly egregious example: |mbyh-ah-ija| being realized as mbyyja, with the vowel hiatus resolving from left to right.

Eňeew ijyņuw małġyyblaknòw, rowesenán Pʼiqįeetʼén kmaapckʼołamnòw
[eɲeːɸ idʑɨŋʷuɸ matɬʰʁɨːbdɮaxʷnʷəɸ | dʐəwetsʰenɔnʷ pʼiχjeːtʼønʷ kʰmaːɸtɕʰkʼətɬʰamnʷəɸ]
He transgressed sorely against great Kömthag, he reduced the great city of Big Yeet to rubble.
eňe-Ainabe-owC1.DEF i-NF.ACT.NP-jáṇ-be_great-owC1.A mal'-truly-ġy-MALF-he-INF.ACT.FP-blak'-transgress-nw-C1.D.SG-ow,C1.A.SG, ro-NF.P.A-wese-great_settlement-na-C4.D.SG-nwC4.DEF p'iqįeet'-Big Yeet-nwC4.DEF kma-fully-hap-INF.CAUS.FP-ck'ołam-rubble-nw-C4.P.SG-owC1.A.SG

Eňeew (< Kett Ainabe) is a borrowed name for the supreme being in the general Antipodean cultural area; it serves here to translate Zzyxwqnp Kuntqx, the Vengic personification of Nature. "Reduce to rubble", in the Kànnow, is a zero derivation of ck'ołam, "rubble", with causative conjugation.

Kkìpʼymtaán nalén tcʼiņkàpłrytìninuw, sʼaaņusbiłc'aán ġatkuu tcʼiņkàpjandòw
[xʷkʰʷipʼɨmtʰaːɔ̯nʷ nadɮønʷ θtɕʼiŋʷkʰʷaɸɬdʐɨtʰʷininʷuɸ | tsʼaːŋʷusbiɬtɕʼaːɔ̯nʷ ʁatʰʷkʰʷuː θtɕʼiŋʷkʰʷaɸdʑandʷəɸ]
He gathered barbarians and men to him, he made peasants and spears come to him
k-barbarian(NEG-kì-NF.MP.NP-p'amt-understand-a-C1.A.PL)-énC1.INDEF.PL nal-man-énC1.INDEF.PL t-P.PL-c'iṇ-DISTR-gw-VEN-hap-INF.CAUS.FP-lrytì-be_together-nen-C1.P.PL-ow,C1.A.PL, s'a-HABIT-i-NF.ACT.NP-ṇus-earth-biłc'-dig_creases-a-C1.A.PL-énC1.INDEF.PL ġatk-spear-uuC5.INDEF.PL t-P.PL-c'iṇ-DISTR-gw-VEN-hap-INF.CAUS.FP-ja-on_foot-ndw-C8.P.PL-owC1.A.SG

It is difficult to say now who counted as a barbarian to the original author of the Vtsznxmqp. It is likely that both Rau and Tsi would have been foreign barbarians to the Vengic tribes, so the word "men" will have referred to Vengic or even Ziwanic speakers that were "recruited" by the advancing armies to swell the ranks as they prepared for siege on land.

In Kànnow, a barbarian is someone whose speech is not understood; similarly, as an originally nomadic people, there is no basic word for "farmer" or "peasant", but there are rather people who habitually dig furrows in the soil.

"Coordination" of objects is often achieved by the distributive preverb c'iṇ-, whose semantic effect is, in general, one of deindividualization. Note also that the venitive preverb in Kànnow is relative to the subject of the verb rather than to the speaker.

Tsʼaapraṛkmoṛnènow, tsʼaapkomgokmoṛnènow, malʼopkròqrʼałkmoṛà kkssèṇseka
[θtsʼaːpʰdʐarkʰmərʷnʷenəɸ | θtsʼaːpʰkʰəmgəkʰmərʷnʷenəɸ | matɬʼəɸxʷdʐʌχtʂʼaɬkʰmərʷa xʷkʰʷsʷtsʰʷeŋtsʰekʰa]
He threatened them with arrows, he threatened them with swords, they were so afraid to die that they did not scatter
t-P.PL-s'a-HABIT-hap-INF.CAUS.FP-raṛ-arrow-kmóṛ-fear-nen-C1.P.PL-owC1.A.SG t-P.PL-s'a-HABIT-hap-INF.CAUS.FP-komgo-sword-kmóṛ-fear-nen-C1.P.PL-owC1.A.SG mal'-truly-ob-such-krò-NF.MP.P-qr'ał-death-kmóṛ-fear-aC1.A.PL k-NEG-ksw-INF.MP.FP-seṇsek-scatter-aC1.A.PL

This phrase illustrates, on the one hand, the use of the nonfinite to background information. Rather than explicitly marking the act of scattering as a consequence, in Kannow one instead says: "being so very afraid to die, they did not scatter". It also provides a nice example of Kànnow's capacity for instrumental noun incorporation.

Sła Qʼotʼnasòo kkìp'ymtaaw łecadnènòw, sła Ciłewoo nalow łecadnènòw
[stɬʰa qʼʌtʼnatsʰʷəː xʷkʰʷipʼɨmtʰaːɸ tɬʰetɕʰadʷnʷenʷəɸ | stɬʰa tɕʰitɬʰewəː nadɮəɸ tɬʰetɕʰadʷnʷenʷəɸ]
He spoke to the barbarians like one does in Katnahl, to the men like one does in Cihlae
słalike Q'ot'nas-katnahl-uuC5.ADJ.SG k-barbarian(NEG-kì-NF.MP.NP-p'amt-understand-a-C1.A.SG)-owC1.DEF ł-D.PL-he-INF.ACT.IND.FP-cád-speak-nw-C4.P.SG-nén-C1.D.PL-ow,C1.A.SG, słalike Ciłe-cihlae-uuC5.ADJ.SG nal-man-owC1.DEF ł-D.PL-he-INF.ACT.IND.FP-cád-speak-nw-C4.P.SG-nén-C1.D.PL-owC1.A.SG

The word sła combined with something in the adjectival case has roughly the same effect as the French à la would have: he spoke to them à la Katnahlaise.