Phonology:
Regular consonants:
/m̥ mʲ m/ /n̥ nʲ n/ /ŋ̊ ŋʲ ŋ/
/p pʲ b/ /t tʲ d/ /k kʲ g/
/f fʲ v/ /s sʲ ʃ/ /x xʲ ɣ/
/l̥ lʲ l/
Tonal consonants:
/ʙ r ʀ/
Tones: rising ´, falling `, and steady ¯
Vowels:
/i e æ u o ɑ/
/f fʲ v/ allophonically realized as bilabial [ɸ ɸʲ β] when preceded or followed by a bilabial trill /ʙ/
Syllable structure:
(C)TV(C)
(C)VT(C)
Most syllables include both the initial and final C. Near-exclusively monosyllabic roots.
EDIT: some grammatic particles are CV or CVC, with no trill.
Grammar:
Ergative-Absolutive (though the first time round, I seem to have forgotten this halfway through)
SVO
Cases: (with dr̄un, ‘ten’)
Ergative: dr̄una
Absolutive: dr̄un
Genetive: dr̄unin
Vocative: dr̄une
No distinction between singular and plural for non-pronouns. If quantity is important, it is stated eg:
ŕaa ne gaŕš bʀ̄em kʲʙ̀̀an̥
I-ERG past read two book
‘I read two books’
Adjectives agree with nouns, and the copula (‘to be’) can be dropped:
xʀ́ætʲa gir̄b-kʙ̀̀ækʲa l̥uʙ́v
new-ERG fly-person-ERG good.ABS
‘The new pilot is good’
Pronouns:
These have separate singular and plural forms. Third person employs switch reference. Polite forms are used mostly in high-register speech.
Code: Select all
| sing | plu | polite
1p | ŕa | r̀̀æ | (r̄i)
2p | ʙ́o | ʙ̀̀e | ʙ̄o
3p | ʀ́u | ʀ̀̀i | ʀ̄o
| ʀ́a | ʀ̀̀æ | ʀ̄æ
There is no proper passive voice; however, there is an equivalent of sorts to the english ‘one’: ur̄.
Counting:
35 = five and three tens, (kʀ̀̀ut ŋo xoŕ dr̄un)
Questions:
Yes-no questions are formed by appending ɣu to the end:
ʙ́oa xʀ́ætʲ ɣu?
thou-ERG new.ABS query
Are you new?
Sample usage:
ʀ́́ua ar̄ɣ ʀ́́a ŋo ŕaa šog.
3ps.erg see 4ps.abs and 1ps.erg also
S/he sees him/her and I do, too.
ʀ́ua kʲi ar̄ɣ ʀ́a ŋo ŕa ɣu?
3ps.erg future.tense see 4ps.abs and 1ps.abs question
Will s/he see him/her and me?
Code: Select all
dŕune, ŕa gaŕš O Drun, I read
ʙ̄oa ʙ̄an kaʙ̄š You are a corpse
ge ʙ̄oin kʙ̄otʲ But Your glory
læ gʀ̀̀ut mʲaʀ̀n ʀ̀otʲ Shall return some day
Gloss:
dŕune, ŕa gaŕš
Dŕun-VOC I.ERG read
ʙ̄oa ʙ̄an kaʙ̄š
you.polite-ERG emphasis corpse/dead.ABS
*ge ʙ̄oin kʙ̄otʲ
but you.polilte-GEN glory/shine
læ gʀ̀̀ut mʲaʀ̀n ʀ̀otʲ
far.future return some/one/a day.ABS
Thoughts? Suggestions? Anything I've missed?
A lot of the more complex syntax is still undecided. It'll be an isolating lang, and the phonology and syllable structure will remain, but nothing else is really set in stone. So: tones on consonants, feasible ɣu?