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Why should I learn Inyauk?
Inyauk is the language belong to the Inyauk people. It is a fairly easy to learn agglutinating language, and if you ever meet an Inyauk knowing some of their language may stop them from killing you.
The Sounds of Inyauk:
If you speak English, then speaking Inyauk with be a snap! All* of the sounds of Inyauk are in English and the syllable structure is much simpler.
Consonants:
Code: Select all
/p b t d k g ʔ m n ɲ f θ s ʃ x ʧ ʦ l ɾ w j/
<p b t d k g - m n ny f z s x h tx ts l r w j>
Code: Select all
/a i u/
<a i u>
Also there are two diphthongs.
Code: Select all
/a͡u a͡i/
<au ai>
Since it is an agglutinating language much of its grammar focuses on root words and the affixes which attach to them. The first step to learning Inyauk is learning the noun affixes.
Number: There are three number distinctions in Inyauk - singular, dual and plural. The singular is formed by leaving the root word unchanged. The dual is formed by infixing -ni- before the last consonant of the root. And the plural if formed by infixing -u- before the last consonant of the root.
For example, the root word for 'person' is 'ínyak.' Two people are 'ínyanik' and three or more people are 'ínyauk.'
Example:
ínyak --> ínya-ni-k
ínyak --> ínya<u>k
Practice: Please provide the dual and plural forms of the following nouns.
cat - náka
child - bát
green- íhda (It's a noun, I swear!)
friend - míraan
fruit - áak
Glottal Stop Insertion:
Inyauk has a regular stress pattern where the first vowel of the root is always stressed. I indicate this with an accent over the vowel. Stressed vowels must be isolated; they cannot be part of a diphthong or long vowel. In order to maintain this isolation a glottal stop is insert between the stressed vowel and any adjacent vowels.
Example:
náuka --> ná-uka
Practice: Complete the glottal stop insertion for the following words.
báut
áanik
áauk