Symiric

A forum for all topics related to constructed languages
Post Reply
User avatar
Void
sinic
sinic
Posts: 300
Joined: 15 Aug 2016 16:15
Location: Taqlarmakan

Symiric

Post by Void »

Symiric (/səmɨrɨk/; Symiric: süm, IPA: [sym]) is the language spoken in Symir. Linguistically, Symiric is the most pervasive of all the Yrmic languages. It belongs to the High Symiric branch of Yrmic languages. The Symirians are indigenous to, and primarily inhabit, the Kola Peninsula, a region that straddles the northeasternmost part of Europe. It is spoken primarily by Symirians; a minority lives in Finland, Russia, and Sweden. Most speak Symiric at home.

Highland Symiric (Symiric: Vokmá jaroz, Highland Symiric: Ymir waqhas, Ymirsuddan) is a descendant of the Symiric language family. It is spoken in Armenia and Turkey, by a minority. The language split up from Old Symiric at around the 8th or 9th centuries. Its vocabulary is mostly of Symiric origin, with a few Armenian, Turkish, and Avestan loanwords. Most Highlanders are Eastern Orthodox, and a minority is Muslim.

This is the Symiric consonantal system, using symbols from the IPA:

Nasal m n ŋ
Plosive p b t d k g
Fricative θ ð s z ʃ ʒ x (ç) ʁ
Approximant ʋ l j
Trill r

Almost every consonant may be geminated, written by doubling a single letter grapheme: ⟨bb⟩ for [bː], ⟨pp⟩ for [pː], ⟨ss⟩ for [sː] etc., or by doubling the first letter of a grapheme cluster: ⟨tth⟩ for [θː], ⟨ggh⟩ for [ʁː], etc.

Symiric has eight pairs of corresponding short and long vowels. Their phonetic values do not exactly match up with each other, so ⟨e⟩ represents /ɛ/ and ⟨é⟩ represents /e:ː/; likewise, ⟨a⟩ represents /ɑ/ while ⟨á⟩ represents /aː/.

As in Finnish, Turkish, or Mongolian, vowel harmony plays an important part in determining the distribution of vowels in a word. Symiric vowel harmony classifies the vowels according to front vs. back assonance and rounded vs. unrounded for the front vowels. Excluding compound words, Symiric words have either only back vowels or front vowels due to these vowel harmony rules. These rules are reflected mostly in morphological processes, such as derivation and conjugation.

Close i • i: • y • y: u • u:
Mid e: • ø: o:
Open-Mid ɛ • œ ɔ
Open a: ɑ

While [i iː] are front unrounded vowels, they are considered to be "neutral vowels" in Symiric vowel harmony. Therefore if a word contains back vowels, neutral vowels may appear alongside them. However, if only neutral vowels appear in a stem, the stem is treated as though it is of front vowel assonance and all suffixes must contain front vowels.

During various morphological processes, short middle vowels often syncope, e.g. jaroz "language) » jarzot "languages."

Volhavar ja arhan
("The King and the God")
Spoiler:
Mala erdüh volhavar armoban. Grílü volhavar velis. Réhnele irnelen ardhailan: “Sülkimbü rúsud veli!” Vaghla ardhai volhavarsud: “Ulvaghzak Ahsundul arhan.” Ókurmulu volhavar Ahsundul arhan, éghréhnelmeg ezdüh arhandul. “Künzek rús, Ahsun attai!” Günkívile Ahsun arhan serktelen. “Sis gríthük?” - “Gríthür velis.” - “Samba,” vaghla Ahsun ithû arhan. Süllü volhavaran kunsiva velis.

Sentence by sentence:

Mala erdüh volhavar armoban. Grílü volhavar velis.
[ˈmɑlɑ ˈɛrdyç ˈʋɔlxɑʋɑr ˈɑrmɔbɑn gri:ly ˈʋɔlxɑʋɑr ˈʋɛlis]
be-3SG.PST once king child-ABES want-3SG.PST king son-ACC
"Once there was a childless king. The king wanted a son."

Réhnele irnelen ardhailan: “Sülkimbü rúsud veli!”
[ˈreːçnɛlɛ ˈirnɛlɛn ˈɑrðɑi̯lɑn ˈsylkimby ˈruːsud ˈʋɛli]
ask-3SG.PST his-ABL priest-ABL birth-PASS.SUBJ-3SG.FUT 1SG.LAT son
"He asked his priest: “May a son be born to me!”"

Vaghla ardhai volhavarsud: “Ulvaghzak Ahsundul arhan.”
[ˈʋɑʁlɑ ˈɑrðɑi̯ ˈʋɔlxɑʋɑrsud ˈulʋɑʁzɑk ˈɑxsundul ˈɑrxɑn]
say-3SG.PST priest king-LAT pray-2SG.COND-FUT Ahsun-LAT god
"The priest said to the king: “Pray to the god Ahsun.”"

Ókurmulu volhavar Ahsundul arhan, éghréhnelmeg ezdüh arhandul.
[ˈoːkurmulu ˈʋɔlxɑʋɑr ˈɑxsundul ˈɑrxɑn ˈeːʁreːxnɛlmɛg ˈɛzdyç ˈɑrxɑndul]
approach-3SG.PST king Ahsun-lat god pray-REFL now god-LAT
"The king approached the god Ahsun to pray now to the god."

“Künzek rús, Ahsun attai!” Günkívile Ahsun arhan serktelen.
[ˈkynzɛk ruːs ˈɑxsun ˈɑtːɑi̯ ˈgyŋkiːʋilɛ ˈɑxsun ˈɑrxɑn ˈsɛrktɛlɛn]
hear-2SG.COND-FUT 1SG.ACC Ahsun father descend-3SG.PST Ahsun god sky-PL.ABL
"“Hear me, father Ahsun!” The god Ahsun came down from heaven."

“Sis gríthük?” - “Gríthür velis.” - “Samba,” vaghla Ahsun ithû arhan.
[sis ˈgriːθyk griːθyr ˈʋɛlis ˈsɑmbɑ ˈʋɑʁlɑ ˈɑxsun ˈiθyː ˈɑrxɑn ]
what-ACC want-2SG.AOR want-1SG.AOR son-ACC be-SUBJ-3SG.FUT say-3SG.PST Ahsun bright god
"“What do you want?” “I want a son.” “Let this be so,” said the bright god Ahsun."

Süllü volhavaran kunsiva velis.
[ˈsylːy ˈʋɔlxɑʋɑrɑn ˈkunsiʋɑ ˈʋɛlis]
birth-3SG.PST king-GEN lady son-ACC
"The king's lady bore a son."

Ahsun ("Snake") is the serpent god of wisdom, fertility, and the moon. He is also known as Irvošir (“The White”), Vokun Ürjö (“The Great Serpent”), and Ithû (“The Bright”). He is considered to be the main god of the Symiric pantheon. He is the child of Dúhir ("Depth"), and sibling to Moghun ("Spider"), the god of lies, murder, plots, and sex.
The text is outdated, but updating it is not a very stimulating thought.

Feel free to ask anything or... laud covertly.
Last edited by Void on 23 Nov 2017 03:21, edited 4 times in total.
User avatar
Void
sinic
sinic
Posts: 300
Joined: 15 Aug 2016 16:15
Location: Taqlarmakan

Re: Symiric Language

Post by Void »

What I want to talk about next are some minimal historical sound changes, and semantic reevaluations based on Symiric theology.

(MS - Modern Symiric, OS - Old Symiric, PS - Proto-Symiric)

ürjö [ˈyrjœ] - snake, serpent (from Old Symiric *yrjô, from Proto-Symiric *yrjëwös, from *yr- "ash") - the snake is the most important animal in Symiric mythology. Ahsun (an archaic word for "snake") is the Symiric god of wisdom, fertility, and the moon.

ürm [yrm] - ash (from Old Symiric *yrmä, from Proto-Symiric *yr- "ash") - the Symirians originally came from Yrm, a land far to the north, considered to be covered in ash. Thence the religious importance of ash (and why ürjö has ür-).

ürek [ˈyrɛk] - cinder, ember (from Old Symiric *yrkä, from Proto-Symiric *yr- "ash" + *-kas fossilised nominalising suffix)

Another interesting semantic development:

šar [ʃɑr] - blood; kin (from Old Symiric *šara, from Proto-Symiric *śaras; related to MS *šerö "vein"

šerö [ˈʃɛrœ] - blood vessel, vein (botanical/anatomical) (from Old Symiric *šärô, from Proto-Symiric *śärwös); related to MS šar "blood"

čer [tʃɛr]
  • 1. body
  • 2. physique
  • 3. anatomy
  • 4. corpse, dead body (formal)
From Old Symiric *čärä, from Proto-Symiric *tëśäris (*të- "with"), related to *śaras "blood"

Note how both ürjö and šerö have the underlying PS suffix *-wos. It is most likely related to the PS essive *-wo (MS -a) and instrumental *-wa (MS -va).

Another word with that suffix is kirmö "worm," most likely from PS *kirulas "to rot" and the same suffix (*kirulas + *-wos = *kirmëwös > *kirmô > kirmö)
User avatar
Void
sinic
sinic
Posts: 300
Joined: 15 Aug 2016 16:15
Location: Taqlarmakan

Re: Symiric Language

Post by Void »

I don't want to rush the grammar, so I'll just share some lexicon between two Symiric languages.

Symiric (High Symiric branch)

Zarbala ardhai volhavarsud álangglos.
[ˈzɑrbɑlɑ ˈɑrðɑi̯ ˈʋo̞lxɑʋɑrsud ˈa:lɑŋ:lo̞s]
write-3SG.PST priest king-LAT=to letter-ACC
The priest wrote a letter to the king.

Tulgudic (Tulsuvic branch)

Zochŕe zrabło srachłos włochse.
[ˈzɔxɬe ˈzrabwɔ ˈsraxwɔs ˈvwɔxsɛ]
priest send-3SG.PST letter-ACC king-DAT
The priest wrote a letter to the king.

Tulgudic zochŕe "priest" is cognate to Symiric zahrai "ritualist." The words comes from Proto-Symiric *zahrajas "ritual-performer," from *zahr- "ritual" and *-ajas agent suffix (-je in Tulgudic, -ai in Symiric).

Tulgudic zrabył "to write" is cognate to Symiric zarbal "to write."

Tulgudic srachoł "letter" is cognate to Symiric sarhul "to follow." The words comes from Proto-Symiric *sarhulas. Symiric álanggol comes from Old Symiric *ālaŋŋola, eventually from Proto-Symiric *ajkulas "to go" and the instrumental noun suffix -vol.

Tulgudic włoch "king" is cognate to Symiric volh "ruler" (-avar is an augmentative suffix). The suffixes -se and -sud are also cognate. The words come from Proto-Symiric *wolhas.
User avatar
sangi39
moderator
moderator
Posts: 3024
Joined: 12 Aug 2010 01:53
Location: North Yorkshire, UK

Re: Symiric Language

Post by sangi39 »

Konungr wrote:Tulgudic srachoł "letter" is cognate to Symiric sarhul "to follow." The words comes from Proto-Symiric *sarhulas. Symiric álanggol comes from Old Symiric *ālaŋŋola, eventually from Proto-Symiric *ajkulas "to go" and the instrumental noun suffix -vol.
Not too many of the sound changes are hard to see, but I was just wondering what happened to *ajkulas+vol for it to become *ālaŋŋola.

And generally, quite enjoying this language [:)] It has a sort of has an Ugric feel to it, rather than a Finnic one, which I find really cool for a language isolate spoken in the Kola peninsula.
You can tell the same lie a thousand times,
But it never gets any more true,
So close your eyes once more and once more believe
That they all still believe in you.
Just one time.
User avatar
Void
sinic
sinic
Posts: 300
Joined: 15 Aug 2016 16:15
Location: Taqlarmakan

Re: Symiric Language

Post by Void »

sangi39 wrote:
Konungr wrote:Tulgudic srachoł "letter" is cognate to Symiric sarhul "to follow." The words comes from Proto-Symiric *sarhulas. Symiric álanggol comes from Old Symiric *ālaŋŋola, eventually from Proto-Symiric *ajkulas "to go" and the instrumental noun suffix -vol.
Not too many of the sound changes are hard to see, but I was just wondering what happened to *ajkulas+vol for it to become *ālaŋŋola.

And generally, quite enjoying this language [:)] It has a sort of has an Ugric feel to it, rather than a Finnic one, which I find really cool for a language isolate spoken in the Kola peninsula.
Thank you. I'm hoping to one day get around writing some fantasy literature, but I always needed a conlang for it. The Kola Peninsula Symiric is the more natural explanation (for NationStates; hence the absolute lack of loanwords).

I guess I just didn't write that down: *alāŋŋola (misplaced the macron) is from *al- "away" + *ajkungulas (causative form of *ajkulas). So basically, *alajkungulas + -wolas = *alajkungwolas > *alajkuŋŋola > *alāŋŋola > alánggol.
User avatar
sangi39
moderator
moderator
Posts: 3024
Joined: 12 Aug 2010 01:53
Location: North Yorkshire, UK

Re: Symiric Language

Post by sangi39 »

Konungr wrote:
sangi39 wrote:
Konungr wrote:Tulgudic srachoł "letter" is cognate to Symiric sarhul "to follow." The words comes from Proto-Symiric *sarhulas. Symiric álanggol comes from Old Symiric *ālaŋŋola, eventually from Proto-Symiric *ajkulas "to go" and the instrumental noun suffix -vol.
Not too many of the sound changes are hard to see, but I was just wondering what happened to *ajkulas+vol for it to become *ālaŋŋola.

And generally, quite enjoying this language [:)] It has a sort of has an Ugric feel to it, rather than a Finnic one, which I find really cool for a language isolate spoken in the Kola peninsula.
Thank you. I'm hoping to one day get around writing some fantasy literature, but I always needed a conlang for it. The Kola Peninsula Symiric is the more natural explanation (for NationStates; hence the absolute lack of loanwords).

I guess I just didn't write that down: *alāŋŋola (misplaced the macron) is from *al- "away" + *ajkungulas (causative form of *ajkulas). So basically, *alajkungulas + -wolas = *alajkungwolas > *alajkuŋŋola > *alāŋŋola > alánggol.
Ohhh, so the does the -jku- element just elide to nothing?
You can tell the same lie a thousand times,
But it never gets any more true,
So close your eyes once more and once more believe
That they all still believe in you.
Just one time.
User avatar
Void
sinic
sinic
Posts: 300
Joined: 15 Aug 2016 16:15
Location: Taqlarmakan

Re: Symiric Language

Post by Void »

sangi39 wrote:
Konungr wrote:
sangi39 wrote:
Konungr wrote:Tulgudic srachoł "letter" is cognate to Symiric sarhul "to follow." The words comes from Proto-Symiric *sarhulas. Symiric álanggol comes from Old Symiric *ālaŋŋola, eventually from Proto-Symiric *ajkulas "to go" and the instrumental noun suffix -vol.
Not too many of the sound changes are hard to see, but I was just wondering what happened to *ajkulas+vol for it to become *ālaŋŋola.

And generally, quite enjoying this language [:)] It has a sort of has an Ugric feel to it, rather than a Finnic one, which I find really cool for a language isolate spoken in the Kola peninsula.
Thank you. I'm hoping to one day get around writing some fantasy literature, but I always needed a conlang for it. The Kola Peninsula Symiric is the more natural explanation (for NationStates; hence the absolute lack of loanwords).

I guess I just didn't write that down: *alāŋŋola (misplaced the macron) is from *al- "away" + *ajkungulas (causative form of *ajkulas). So basically, *alajkungulas + -wolas = *alajkungwolas > *alajkuŋŋola > *alāŋŋola > alánggol.
Ohhh, so the does the -jku- element just elide to nothing?
Well, it does lengthen the preceeding /a/, but essentially, yes. Syncope and elision are very common, to the point where I can barely keep track of them. Unprofessional, I know.
User avatar
Void
sinic
sinic
Posts: 300
Joined: 15 Aug 2016 16:15
Location: Taqlarmakan

Re: Symiric Language

Post by Void »

I have done some progress on both Symiric and Highlander Symiric, or Ymirsuddan. It's agglutinative but not as polysynthetic as Symiric. It also has nasalised vowels (a minority dialect has lost them).

Taqhun juumlok zaarkǫdadur.
[ˈtaɰun ˈjuːmlɔk ˈzaːrkɔ̃dadur]
cow lead-3SG.PST-PASS slaughterhouse-LAT
The cow was led into the slaughterhouse.

Arzas salzala ja terwele iri gazy süwärär.
[ˈarzas ˈsalzala ja ˈtɛrwɛlɛ ˈiri ˈgazɨ ˈsywærær]
priest stargaze-3SG.PST and write-3SG.PST 3SG-ANIM.POSS-ACC discover-ACC book-LOC
The priest studied the stars and wrote down his findings in a book.

Ka walhumyr kaar sa jol darbas; sitir wordarbul ruusu sal ymǫd.
[ka ˈwalħumɨr ka:r sa jɔl ˈdarbas sitir ˈwɔrdarbul ˈruːsu sal ˈɨmɔ̃d]
that monk be-3SG.PRS yonder good blacksmith; sword smith-3SG.PST=that 1SG.DAT be-3SG.PST great
That monk over there is a great blacksmith; the sword that he had made for me was great.

Symiric:

Jomuks síšor jörgösttût.
[ˈjomuks ˈsiːʃor ˈjørgøstːyːt]
lead-3SG.PST-PASS cow slaughterhouse-LAT=in
The cow was led into the slaughterhouse.

Sahlizálak ardhai ja tervek gazújatas sûrret.
[ˈsɑxlizaːlɑk ˈɑrðɑi̯ jɑ ˈtɛrʋɛk ˈgɑzuːjɑtɑs ˈsyːr:ɛt]
stargaze-3SG.PST-HAB priest and write-3SG.PST-HAB discover-3SG.POSS-ACC.PL book-LAT=in
The priest studied the stars and wrote down his findings in a book.

Sa ka valhomiroh kar jol makrai; sal sitir makrallor rúsud arjun.
[ˈsɑ kɑ ˈʋɑlxomirox kɑr jol ˈmɑkrɑi̯ sɑl ˈsitir ˈmɑkrɑlːor ˈruːsud ˈɑrjun]
be-3SG.PRS that monk yonder good blacksmith; be-3SG.PST sword smith-3SG.PST=that 1SG.DAT great
That monk over there is a great blacksmith; the sword that he had made for me was great.
User avatar
Void
sinic
sinic
Posts: 300
Joined: 15 Aug 2016 16:15
Location: Taqlarmakan

Re: Symiric Language

Post by Void »

So, I've decided that instead of organising the language into one small and messy post, I'll just post long and winded descriptions and treat this as my blog.

I'll start with the phonology.

Phonology

Stress is always initial, including prefixes.

Consonants

This is the Symiric consonant system:

Nasal: /m n ŋ/ ⟨m n ng⟩
Plosive: /p b t d k g/ ⟨p b t d k g⟩
Fricative: /θ ð s z ʃ ʒ x ʁ/ ⟨th dh s z š ž h gh⟩
Affricate: /tʃ/ ⟨č⟩
Approximant: /ʋ l j/ ⟨v l j⟩
Trill: /r/ ⟨r⟩

Almost every consonant may be geminated (with the exception of /ʋ j/), written by doubling a single letter grapheme: ⟨bb⟩ for [bː], ⟨ss⟩ for [ʃː] etc., or by doubling the first letter of a grapheme cluster: ⟨tth⟩ for [θː], ⟨ggh⟩ for [ʁː], etc.

/x/ is usually pronounced [h] word-initially, [ç] around front vowels, and [ħ] elsewhere.

Vowels

Symiric has seven pairs of corresponding short and long vowels. Their phonetic values do not exactly match up with each other, so ⟨e⟩ represents /ɛ/ and ⟨é⟩ represents /eː/; likewise, ⟨a⟩ represents /ɑ/ while ⟨á⟩ represents /aː/

This is the Symiric vowel system:

Close: /i i: y y: u u:/ ⟨i í ü û u ú⟩
Mid: /ɛ eː ø øː ɔ oː/ ⟨e é ö ô o ó⟩
Open: /ɑ a:/ ⟨a á⟩

Symiric has two systems of vowel harmony that strictly govern the distribution of vowels within words and suffixes. Backness harmony requires all vowels within a word to be either back or front. Rounding harmony requires a vowel to be rounded if it appears in a syllable immediately following a rounded vowel. While almost all affixes are affected by backness harmony, not all are affected by rounding harmony.

Mid vowels often undergo syncope, whenever they are unstressed and their elision does not create illegal clusters. Close and open vowels undergo syncope only if they are historically epenthetic. Examples:
  • miroh [ˈmirɔx] "brother" (from Old Symiric mirho) + -t /t/ plural suffix→ mirhot [ˈmirxɔt] "brothers"
  • ašar [ˈɑʃɑr] "black" (from Old Symiric ašra) + -ungul /uŋul/ causative verbal suffix → ašrangul [ˈɑʃrɑŋul] "to blacken"
  • ragiž [ˈrɑgiʒ] "voice" (from Old Symiric ragʒi) + -t /t/ plural suffix → ragžit [ˈrɑgʒit] "voices"
  • vógol [ˈʋoːgɔl] "coal" (from Old Symiric wōglo) + čus /tʃus/ chemical suffix → vógločus [ˈʋoːglɔtʃus] "carbon"
These are the diphthongs that the Symiric phonology permits:

/ɑi̯ ɑu̯ ɛi̯/ ⟨ai au ei⟩

Diphthongs merge with long vowels /a: a: e:/ before geminate consonants and consonant clusters.

Assimilation

Assimilation is an important part of Symiric phonology, due to its agglutinative nature.
  • In a cluster of consonants ending in an obstruent, obstruents change their voicing according to the last one, e.g. sebek "wound" /sɛbɛk/ + -ungul → sebküngül /sɛbkyŋyl/ [ˈsɛpkyŋyl] "to wound"
  • Nasals assimilate to the place of articulation of the following consonant (this is often not expressed in writing), e.g. kén /ke:n/ "image" + -var /ʋɑr/ augmentative suffix → kénver /ke:nʋɛr/ [ˈkeːmʋɛr] "motion picture"
  • Coronal-initial (/t d θ ð s z ʃ ʒ tʃ/) affixes assimilate to any preceding coronal consonants (unless they form a "legal" cluster, such as /st zd ʃt ʒd/), e.g. rath /rɑθ/ "grave" + -sud /sud/ dative case suffix → ratthud /rɑθsud/ [ˈrɑθ:ud] "for the grave"
  • Long consonants become short when preceded or followed by another consonant, e.g. volhhol /ʋɔlxːɔl/ [ˈʋɔlxɔl] "royal artefact"
  • /x/ becomes [ç] in front vowel words, e.g. teher /tɛxɛr/ [ˈtɛçɛr] "cargo"
  • /ʁr rʁ/ become /ʁ:/, e.g. purogh /purɔʁ/ "basic" + -ungulpugghungul /purʁuŋul [ˈpuʁːuŋul] "to simplify"
Vocabulary

miroh - brother (from Old Symiric mirho)
ragiž - voice (from Old Symiric ragʒi)
vógol - coal (from Old Symiric wōglo)
vógločus - carbon (from vóglo "coal" + čus "kin; -gen, chemcial suffix"
sebek - wound (from Old Symiric sebke)
kén - image (from Old Symiric kânä)
kénver - motion picture (from kén "picture" + -var augmentative suffix)
rath - grave (from Old Symiric raŧa)
volhhol - royal artifact (from volhhul "to rule; govern" + -vol substantive instrumental suffix)
teher - cargo, burder (from Old Symiric tährä)

ašar - black (from Old Symiric ašra)
purogh - basic, simple (from Old Symiric purxa)

ašrungul - to blacken (from ašar "black" + -ungul causative verbal suffix)
sebküngül - to wound, injure (from sebek "wound" + -ungul causative verbal suffix)
pugghungul - to simplify (from purogh "basic" + -ungul causative verbal suffix)
User avatar
Void
sinic
sinic
Posts: 300
Joined: 15 Aug 2016 16:15
Location: Taqlarmakan

Re: Symiric Language

Post by Void »

Morphology

Symiric is an agglutinative language. Most grammatical information is given through affixes, mostly suffixes. Thus, nouns (including pronouns and numerals) as well as any modifying adjectives, can be declined by a large number of grammatical cases. The cases generally correspond to the prepositions found in Indo-European languages. Therefore, the use of prepositions and postpositions is rather restricted.

Cases

Nominative

The nominative case marks the subject of a verb or the predicate noun or predicate adjective, as opposed to its object or other verb arguments. It is unmarked.

The plural form is -t. The infix -i is usually used with other cases.

Examples:

Tervel ambar sûrös. - “The man is writing a book.”
Ághnelet zahrajat. - “The priests are praying.”

Accusative

The accusative case marks the direct object of a transitive verb. The case is sometimes used with prepositions and postpositions. The accusative’s characteristic suffix is -s.

Examples:

Tervel ambar sûrös. - “The man is writing a book.”
Ejel ašugh pörün börgis. - “The bard drank cups of wine.”

The accusative can take on the enclitic -rag/-reg which creates an oppositional (English “against, anti-”) phrase, e.g. sathar vótsorag - “I am against apples.”

Genitive

The genitive case marks a noun as modifying another noun. It often marks a noun as being the possessor of another noun. However, it also marks other relationships other than possession: certain verbs may take arguments in the genitive case, or other prepositions or postpositions may use it. The genitive’s characteristic suffix is -n or -jan/-jen. The plural form is -jat/-jet.

The possessor comes before the possessed noun.

Examples:

Temirdenejen süver. - “The veterinarian’s book.”
Söpröjet tevet. - “The fishes’ eyes.”

Dative

The dative case marks the indirect object of a transitive verb. The case is also used where English would use “for,” “for the benefit of,” “for the purpose of,” e.g. The dative’s characteristic suffix is -sud, -süd. The plural form is -ttud/-ttüd.

Examples:

Tervel ardhai úgnolos volhosud. - “The priest wrote a letter to the king.”
Šarhal druzur öldünjesüd. - “The soldier bled for his homeland.”
Sa olvadó darvattud. - “The metal is for the rings.”

Instrumental

The instrumental case indicates that a noun is the instrument, or means, by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes something. The instrumental’s characteristic suffix is -va, -ve (the /ʋ/ assimilates to any preceeding consonant). The plural form is -tta/-tte.


Jôl úghon lóva. - “The messenger arrived by horse.”
Úhoth moghai dolhotta. - “The assassin kills with daggers.”

Comitative

The comitative case denotes accompaniment; equivalent to English “in company with” or “together with.” The comitative’s characteristic suffix is -nál/-nél.

Examples:

Sa siverzü rižjeinél. - “The she-wolf is with her cubs.”
Sub arhantírai kiranál. - “The theologian is walking a dog.”

Locative

The locative case indicates a location. It corresponds to the English prepositions “at,” “by,” e.g. The locative’s characteristic suffix is -r. If the stem’s final consonant is /r/, or if it’s a monosyllabic word with /r/, then the locative suffix becomes -l.

Examples:

Mér öldör. - “I am home.”
Mé kether ruklor. - “The knife is by the table.”
Mét mežet rathal. - “The cats are by the grave.”

The locative case can take on several enclitic particles, which specify the location. These enclitics are also used in the lative and ablative cases, with their respective meaning.
  • The enclitic -t corresponds to English “in,” e.g. mél melzüngir ardhastarat - “the slave was in the temple.”
  • The enclitic -m corresponds to English “on; on the topic of, about” e.g. mém miskar verhekrem - “the ritual will be on the roof,” sa süver ürjötröm - “the book is about snakes.”
  • The enclitics -gun/-gün correspond to English “under, beneath; less than,” e.g. mér öldörgün - “I am under the house,” sath kagh ságurgun - “five is less than eight.”
Lative

The lative case indicates motion to a location. It corresponds to the English prepositions “to,” “towards.” The locative’s characteristic suffix is -d. The plural form is -tul/-tül.

Examples:

Aikar öldöd. - “I am going home.”
Aikal volgarvádai berestjed. - “The butcher went to his shop.”

The lative case can take on several enclitic particles, which specify the location.
  • The enclitic -t corresponds to English “into.”
  • The enclitic -m corresponds to English “onto.”
  • The enclitics -gun/-gün correspond to English “beneath.”
  • The enclitics -kád/-kéd correspond to English “through.”
  • The enclitics -vár/-vér (non-assimilating) correspond to English “around.”
Ablative

The ablative case indicates motion from a location. It corresponds to the English preposition “from.” The locative’s characteristic suffix is -ran/-ren. If the stem’s final consonant is /r/, or if it’s a monosyllabic word with /r/, then the locative suffix becomes -lan/-len.

Examples:

Áklar sérelen. - “I went from the village.”
Jôl okral megghören. - “The bear came from the cave.”
  • The enclitic -t corresponds to English “into.”
  • The enclitic -m corresponds to English “onto.”
  • The enclitics -gun/-gün correspond to English “beneath.”
Essive

The essive case has several purposes.
  • It expresses a definite period of time during which something happens or during which a continuous action was completed.
  • It denotes a temporary location, state of being, or character in which the subject was at a given time; equivalent to English “as a.”
The essive’s characteristic suffix is a repetition of the last vowel. Vowel-final words have the vowel lengthened. The plural is the vowel + -ta/-te.

Examples:

Salar armo. - “When I was a child,” “as a child
Zathamuk sitris aldgötrö. - “You will get the sword on Monday.”

The essive case can take on the enclitic -ra/-re (or -la/-le), that indicates a change in the state of a noun, with the sense of “becoming” or “change to.” It’s also used with the meaning of “in (a language),” e.g. meh ghár nahrala - “the fire turned to water,” or ašrala pénzere - “(to turn) into a black hole.”

Comparative

The comparative case indicates a likeness to something. The comparative case’s characteristic suffix is -mur/-mür.

Examples:

Koršunnur. - “Like a walrus.”
Sa mež lihumur. - “The cat is like a lion.”
Sat druzurot ghúžurimur. - “The soldiers are like beasts.”

Abessive

The abessive case expresses the lack or absence of the marked word. It is the opposite of both the instrumental and comitative cases. The abessive’s characteristic suffix is -ban/-ben.

Examples:

Vársalut péret sitríben. - “The men fought without swords.”
Sa ambarsöthür zárkoban. - “The cannibal is heartless.”

Terminative

The terminative case specifies a limit in space, as well as conveys the goal or aim of an action or a person. The case corresponds to the English “until; as far as.” The terminative can be used with time, but it is seen as archaic or even incorrect. However, it is often used with parts of speech to create a temporal word, e.g. ezdüh “now,” from ez “this.”

The terminative’s characteristic suffix is -duh/-düh. The plural form is -ttuh/-ttüh.

Examples:

Áklan ölddüh. - “We walked as far as home.”
Post Reply