Pášmeit Àskhài Latx'eùn

[Shemtov]

I. Introduction:
Pášmeit Àskhài Latx'eùn is an isolate spoken on the same Island as 'ohtęk'r̄tṛm'm̄tłeš, being spoken in the Páš Valley towards the East side of the North-Central Mountain range, which seperates the Notheast Islandic Linkage and Northwest Islandic Linkage of the West Linkage of Peninsularian. It seems to have been last surviving Pashic language, the language before Peninsularian speakers invaded the island, Peninsularian's urheimet being around what is now the border between the Mainland and Tip-South Islandic Linkages. Pášmeit Àskhài Latx'eùn has influenced the Northeast Islandic Linkage, making it Ergative, have a voicing contrast, and tone, among other features of Northeast Islandic, and they have borrowed words from each other. Extinct Pashic languages have formed a substratum in Northwest Islandic, leading it to be split-erg.

II: Phonology and Romanazation:
/p t k ʔ/ <p t k '>
/pʰ tʰ kʰ/ <ph th kh>
/tʼ kʼ/ <t' k'>
/b d/ <b d>
/bʱ dʱ/ <bh dh>
/ɓ ɗ/ <b' d'>
/t͡s ʈ͡ʂ t͡ʃ/ <c tx č>
/t͡sʰ ʈ͡ʂʰ t͡ʃʰ/ <ch txh čh>
/t͡sʼ ʈ͡ʂʼ t͡ʃʼ/ <c' tx' č'>
<d͜z ɖ͜ʐ d͡ʒ><dz dž ǰ>
<d͜zʱ ɖ͜ʐʱ d͡ʒʱ><dzh džh ǰh>
<θ s ʂ ʃ h> <ŧ s x š h>
<z ʐ ʒ> <z ž j>
/m n ŋ/ <m n ŋ>
/r r̝/ <r ř>
/l j w/ <l y w>

/i e u o a/ <i e u o a>
/ai au eu əɨ oi/ <ai au eu ə oi>

/˥ ˧ ˩/ <V́ V V̀>
<|> indicates, for example, stop+glottal stop cluster, so they are not read as ejectives or Ingressives.

Phonotactics: (C)(C)V(C)
Permited initial clusters: /sp st sk spʰ stʰ skʰ stʼ skʼ zb zd ps pʂ pʃ ks kʂ kʃ/

III Nouns:
1. Cases:
Páš Àskhài Latx'eùn divides it's nouns into many noun clases, but for the purpose of case their are only three Genders: Animate, Inanimate, and Locative.
Animate and Inanimate nouns can take Ergative marking, while Locatives cannot, showing instead Lative, Ablative and Perlative.
Animate noun: Páš "A human":
Absolutive Singular: Páš
Absolutive Plural: Páš'àil
Ergative: Pášŧə
Ergative Plural: Pášthai

Inanimate Noun: Kaŋab "Raspberry":

Absolutive Singular: Kaŋab
Absolutive Plural: Kaŋab|'ə̀
Ergative: Kaŋabsái
Ergative Plural: Kaŋabtx'i

Locative Noun: B'eŧ "Kind of spiritual site carved out of the Mountainside"
Locative singular: B'eŧ
Lative singular: B'eŧlí
Ablative singular: B'eŧmí
Perlative.singular: B'eŧ'àl
Locative Plural: B'eŧhai
Lative Plural : B'eŧle
Ablative Plural: B'eŧmìn
Perlative.Plural: B'eŧ'élà

[Shemtov]

2. Personal Pronouns:
Absolutive:
1P Singular: Nə̀
1P Plr: Meu
2P Sing: Yə́
2P Plural: Thu
3P Sing Animate: J̌ó
3P PLR Animate: J̌ai
3P sing inanim: Wí
3P PLR inam:Wə
3P Sing LOC: Hau
3P Plr LOC: Hai

Ergative:
1P Singular: Nə̀ŧ
1P Plr: Meuŧ
2P Sing: Yə́ŧ
2P Plural: Thuŧ
3P Sing Animate: J̌óŧ
3P PLR Animate: J̌ó'ai
3P sing inanim: Wís
3P PLR inam:Wətx

3. Numbers 1-20 (The language has a base-20 system):
1. K'ər
2. Řaiŋ
3. Məŋ
4. Nəŋ
5. Čeut
6. Čeur
7. Lə
8. K'ət
9. Təl
10 B'althas
11. B'althask'ər
12. B'althasřaiŋ
13. B'althasməŋ
14. B'althasnəŋ
15. B'althasceut
16. B'althasceur
17. B'althaslə
18. B'althask'ət
19. B'althastəl
20: Thas

4. Classifying Pronouns:
For numbers, and possessives, Animates and Inanimates are divided up into several sub-classes, that take special Classifying Pronouns.
Examples:
'ix "Male human"
Hà "Female human"
C'eu "edible"
Džhó: Tool made out of wood"

For example:
Məŋ 'ix pášmeit|'ail
"Three Paš speaking men"

5. Definiteness:
The bare noun is assumed to be definite:
Páš
"The human"
Páš'àil
"The Humans"

To make a noun indefinite, you put "K'ər [CLASSIFYING PRONOUN]" before it. Even though K'ər means "One" it is still used in this function for plurals.
K'ər 'ix páš
"A man"

K'ər 'ix páš'àil
"some men"


6. Possesion:
Possesive contructions are formed by POSSESSOR 'às-CP POSSESSED:
Pášmeit 'as'ix kaŋab|'ə̀
"The Páš-speaking man's raspberries"
Literally:
""The Páš-speaking man, his raspberries"

[Shemtov]

IV: Verbs
Verbs are marked for TAM, Ergative arguement (for Transitives), and Absolutive Arguement:
Ergative markers:
1P Singular: Nòi
1P Plr: Mòi
2P Sing: Yòi
2P Plural: Thòi
3P Sing Animate: ∅
3P PLR Animate: J̌oi
3P sing inanim: Zbu
3P PLR inam:Zdo


Absolutive Argument:
1P Singular: Néu
1P Plr: Méu
2P Sing: Yéu
2P Plural: Théu
3P Sing Animate: ∅
3P PLR Animate: J̌éu
3P sing inanim: Zbi
3P PLR inam: Zde


Tense-aspect Markers:
Past: Sto
Past perfect: La
Past Habitual: Hej
Past Momentine: Sk'ei
Past Inchoative: J̌hò'
Past Terminative: B'ol
Present:∅
Present Habitual: Sok
Present Momentine: Kòwì
Present Inchoative: J̌hóin
Present Terminative: Pxai
Future: Lak'


Example Sentences:
Sk'einòič'akal zbalam
Sk'ei-nòi-∅-č'akal zbalam
PST.MOM-1P-3P-kill cougar
"Suddenly, I killed the cougar"

K'ər st'i zbalamŧə pxaiǰéuč'akal páš'àil
K'ər st'i zbalam-ŧə pxai-∅-ǰéu-č'akal páš-'àil
one CLS cougar-ERG PRSNT.TERM-3P-3P.PLR-kill-person-PLR.ABS
"A Cougar stopped killing people"

Zbalam lak'c'aŋ
Zbalam lak'-∅-c'aŋ
Cougar FUT-3P-die
"The cougar will die"

[Shemtov]

IV2: The Existential Verb/Copula:
A. General Copula/Existential for Animates:
The General Copula, which is also the Existensial Verb for Animates, is <Mat'> It is unusual in that even as an intransitive Existensial, it takes ergative marking. This may be due to it being the last remnant of an antipassive system, while the active Existensial is lost, or it may be the common "transitive" use of it as Copula's influence; I as a conlanger have not decided on the in-universe explanation.
Zbalam'àil hejǰoimat' Pášmeit
"There were often Cougars in Pášmeit [valley]."

Nòimat' k'ər 'ix Pášmeit
"I am a Pášmeit"

B. The existensial for inanimates:
Inanimates have two existensial: One for things of greater vertical then horizantal measure, like trees, pillars, mountains etc., <Dhotx'>, which when applied to animates means "Standing" and one for things with greater horizantal measurement, <Čhiř>, which when applied to animates means "Lying down":

K'ər mo 'amudh dhotx' b'eŧ
"There is a pillar in the B'eŧ"

K'ər mo b'amoh čhiř b'eŧ
"There is an altar in the B'eŧ"

[Void]

I always enjoy your anthropologically-loaded conlangs, Shemtov. A read excerpt would be great.

[Shemtov]

I always enjoy your anthropologically-loaded conlangs, Shemtov. A read excerpt would be great.

Thanks. I hope you can tell the influences- Jacaltec + Indo-Aryan for the Phonology and Morphologically Jacaltec+Nahuatl with a bit of Algonquian and Sinitic- though that last one is more of a logical extension of the Jacaltec classifier system.

[Shemtov]

IV3: Mood:
Moods can be divided into two categories: Evidentials and Non-Evidentials. The Non-Evidentials have two forms for transitives and intransitives. The Evidentials are probably due to Peninsularian Influence, esspecially given that the inferential suffix is probably a borrowing of the Peninsularian Deductive. The Moods are suffixes. The zero-marked verb is direct knowledge.

Evidentials:
Inferential: -lək
Hearsay: -Màz
Quotative: -ŧat'
Gnomic: -phó

Non-evidentials:
Transitive:
Optative: -'ohó
Imperative: 'a'á
Subjunctive: -'ím
Dubatative: -xèm
Hypothetical: -'eph

Intransitive:
Optative: -zár
Imperative: -'ekh
Subjunctive: -džhak
Dubatative: -'emá
Hypothetical: -pšàr

The Subjunctive is used for the protasis of condiotional sentences, which come after the apodeisis.

Examples:
Sk'eič'akalmàz zbalam
"Suddenly, it is said, he killed the cougar"

Sk'eič'akalphó zbalam
"It is known to all that he suddenly killed the cougar"


č'akal'a'á zbalam
"Kill the cougar!"

Zbalam lak'c'aŋzár
"May the cougar die!"

Zbalam lak'c'aŋ, Sk'eimak'ak'džhak
"If he suddenly stabbed the cougar, it will die."

[Shemtov]

A note on animacy:
Some naturally inanimate nouns are animate, given cultural significance. For example, the Cranberry <Čóŋabuk'> juice which grows in the swamps of Northeast part of the valley is combined with Birch sugar <Lut'> to make an alcoholic drink <Phèlcól>which is used a libation and entheogen; therefore all of the three above words are animate.
Insects are animate if a. they are edible b. if harmful or c. colourful. Therefore <Lút'> Myrmecocystus sp. (Honey ants) and <Dhak'ò>, Solenopsidini sp. (fire ant) are animate, <Zbàlam> Linepithema sp. are not.

[Shemtov]

IV4: Valency
Valency is an important gramatical category in Pášmeit Àskhài Latx'eùn.
For Inanimate patients, there is suppletion for transitives vs. intransitives. As an example:
'esən "To eat/drink (intran.)" st'ol "To eat/drink (Trans.)
Lak'néu'esən
"I will eat/drink"
Lak'nòizdest'ol kaŋab|'ə̀
"I wil eat cranberries"

This suppletion is shown also in adversitive verbs for Animate patients
c'aŋ "to die" č'akal "to kill" ŋò "To be injured" sk'iŧ "to injure"

In non-adversitive verbs with an animate patient if it is a verb that ussually takes a animate object, one form is used. Máŕó "To love" However, to detransitive it, if it ends in a vowel, the vowel is dropped:
Nòiyéumáŕó
"I love thee"

Néumáŕ
"I am in love"

If the verb can be used for both animates and inamate patients, the Transitive is the same as the inanimate transitive:
Lak'nòist'ol phèlcól
"I will drink Phèlcól"

To form ditransitives, the first syllable (minus coda, minus the most sonorant member of a cluster) is reduplicated:
Lak'nòit'ost'ol phèlcól páš
"I will give the phèlcól for the man to drink"

Benefactives with intransitive inanimate direct objects are formed the same way:
Lak'nòizdet'ost'ol kaŋab|'ə̀ Pášmeit|'ail
"I will eat raspberries for the sake of the Pášmeit community"

Benefactiveswith animate patients are formed by reduplication, and if the vowel is monophthong, diphthonganazation. i>ai e>eu a>ə o>oi u>au:
Lak'nòit'oist'ol phèlcól páš
"I will drink phèlcól for the man"

[Shemtov]

IV5: Derectionals
If the person is going in a certain direction to do the action, a Directional is inserted between the TA and the person Marker.
The most common are the pair -me'al- "From the speaker" and -li- "Towards the speaker":
Lak'me'alyòist'olmàz phèlcól
"They say you will leave to drink Phèlcól"

Lak'liyòist'olmàz phèlcól
"They say you will come to drink Phèlcól

Location nouns can be incoperated in the directional slot to emphasize the place of the action:

Lak'b'eŧnòist'ol phèlcól
"It is in the B'eŧ that I will drink Phèlcól"

Lak'nòist'ol phèlcól b'eŧ
"I will drink Phèlcól in the B'eŧ "

[Shemtov]

V: Derivational morphology:
1: Verbal Nouns:
Verbal are all considered animate.
Verbal Nouns come in a number of classes:
a. Infinitive: The act of doing of the verb. This is formed by adding Kxoi to the verb stem:
Phèlcól 'asb'ə̀ kxoist'olŧə mat' dhós 'asdhó
"Drinking Phèlcól is divine"

b. Singular Infinitive: This is an infinitive that means that the act is done once. It is formed the same way as class a but with the TA marker inserted before the stem:
Kxoisokc'aŋŧə mat' páš'àil 'as'ix
"Man is mortal"

Literally "To habitually die is of mankind"

I will post more latter.

[Shemtov]

V1 (continued)
c. The Passive Participle. This indicates an object that undergoes an action. The prefix is ŋeu.
Example:
ŋeuc'aŋ
"Corpse; Carrion"

Zbalam 'asbem ŋuec'aŋ'ə̀ nòizbilak'siphalu
"I will skin the cougar's corpse"

d. The Animate Active Participle. This is means an animate noun that does the action. The Prefix is Sphá.
Example:
Spháč'akal
"Murderer; Killer"

Néuǰho'ŧakàl. Nə̀ŧ mat' spháč'akal
"I do confess now. I am a Murderer"

e. The Inanimate Active Participle. This denotes the tool used to preform the action. The prefix is Juk.
Example:
Jukc'akal
"War-Sword"
(Note they have roots for swords not used for war: ŋeŋal "Ceremonial sword" (anim.) T'a'ara "Dull sword for practice or sport" Wixtaimaz "Defensive sword")
f. The Locative Participle. This denotes a place where an action takes place. The suffix is -li.
Example:
Verb stem K'acar "To harvest"
K'acarli
"Field; Orchard"

[eldin raigmore]

I like, and am impressed by, that system of participles!
Question: Would “instrumental participle” perhaps be more to-the-point than “inanimate active participle”?