Ame language

[k1234567890y]

Originally the Ame language is a part of the collaborative project Sahar, but as I have quitted Sahar recently, I am going to move it to my own conworld. Like Tolomako, Ame is a language with a "simple" phonology and an isolating morphology with a SVO prepositional word order.

Phonology
Below is the phonology of Ame and their romanization

Consonants:
Nasals: /m n ŋ/<m n g>
Plosives: /b t d k/<b t d k>
Fricatives: /(ɸ) s z ɕ h/<f s z sh h>
Affricates: /(t͡s) t͡ɕ d͡ʑ~ʑ/<ts ch dj>
Resonants: /ɺ j w/<r y w>

Note: in native words, /t͡ɕ/, /d͡ʑ~ʑ/ and /ɕ/ only occurs before /i/; /ɸ/ only occurs before /u/; /t/ /d/ /s/ never occurs before /i/; /h/ never occurs before rounded vowels; besides, in native words, words don't start with /b d ŋ z/.

Vowels:
Short: /ä e̞ i o̞ (u)/<a e i o u>
Long: /ä: e̞: i: o̞: (u:)/<aa ei ii ou uu>

Note: in native words /u/ and /u:/ only occurs after /ɸ/.

syllable structure: (C)V, vowel hiatuses of two vowels are allowed, the combinations /ei/ and /ou/ do not occur and they merge with /e:/ and /o:/ respectively.

Note: the combinations /ti/ /si/ /di/ /zi/ and /ho/ don't occur in native words and are replaced with [t͡ɕ] [ɕi] [d͡ʑi] [d͡ʑi] and [ɸu] respectively.

[k1234567890y]

Personal Pronouns

1st and 2nd personal pronouns of Ame have three cases; while all other pronouns and nouns don't distinguish case:

Below are the subject pronouns of Ame:
- first person singular: me
- second person singular: te
- third person singular/plural: tame
- first person exclusive dual: meni
- first person inclusive dual: temi
- second person dual: teni
- first person exclusive plural: mise
- first person inclusive plural: chimise
- second person plural: tese
- third person plural: tamedame

Below are the object pronouns of Ame:
- first person singular: mena
- second person singular: tena
- third person singular/plural: tame
- first person exclusive dual: menina
- first person inclusive dual: temina
- second person dual: tenina
- first person exclusive plural: misena
- first person inclusive plural: chimisena
- second person plural: tesena
- third person plural: tamedame

Below are the possessive pronouns of Ame:
- first person singular: imene
- second person singular: itene
- third person singular/plural: itamene
- first person exclusive dual: imenine
- first person inclusive dual: itemine
- second person dual: itenine
- first person exclusive plural: imisene
- first person inclusive plural: ichimisene
- second person plural: itesene
- third person plural: itamedamene

Interrogative Pronouns
- kai - what
- kare - who
- karene - whose
- kaine - which
- koraa - where
- kaisaa - when
- kori - how
- kayo - why
- magoshi - how much, how many

Demonstrative Pronouns
- This: ani
- That: ada

Indefinite Pronouns
Indefinite pronouns are pronouns used to express meanings like "anyone", "anything", "everyone", "everything", etc.

Most indefinite pronouns in Ame are derived from interrogatives, as many other languages do(another common way to derive indefinite pronouns is to derive them from generic nouns like "person", "thing", etc. but this is not used in Ame). Below are some interrogative pronouns of Ame:
- eikare - someone
- eikai - something
- eikai - some
- karekare - everyone
- kaikai - everything
- kaikaine - every
- okare - anyone
- okai - anything
- okaine - any

[k1234567890y]

Numerals
Below are basic numerals of Ame:
- ei - one
- nai - two
- natei - three
- enaa - four
- etai - five
- tarei - six
- tainai - seven
- nanaki - eight
- enaki - nine
- natai - ten
- natora - hundred
- tarina - thousand
- eiga - ten thousand

The formation of numerals are very regular and straightforward in Ame, comparable to that of Mandarin Chinese and Mapudungun:
- natai ei - 11
- natai nai - 12
- natai natei - 13
- natai enaa - 14
- natai etai - 15
- natai tarei - 16
- natai tainai - 17
- natai nanaki - 18
- natai enaki - 19
- nai natai - 20
- nai natai ei - 21
- nai natai nai - 22
- nai natai natei - 23
- nai natai enaa - 24
- nai natai etai - 25
- nai natai tarei - 26
- nai natai tainai - 27
- nai natai nanaki - 28
- nai natai enaki - 29
- natei natai - 30
- natei natai ei - 31
- natei natai nai - 32
- natei natai natei - 33
- natei natai enaa - 34
- natei natai etai - 35
- natei natai tarei - 36
- natei natai tainai - 37
- natei natai nanaki - 38
- natei natai enaki - 39
- enaa natai - 40
... and so on

numeral units of 100 and above must be preceded with a numeral, so 181 is ei natora nanaki natai ei, not *natora nanaki natai ei.

In fractions, numerators come first, denominators come after the numerators. The numerators and the denominators are connected by the preposition mi. For example:
- ei mi nanaki - 1/8
- natei mi etai - 3/5
- enaki mi natai - 9/10

[k1234567890y]

The Ame language is written in a logographic writing system. Below are some samples of the Ame script:

Spoiler:

[k1234567890y]

Word Order

- Basic Word Order: Subject-Verb-Object-Complements(SVOX)
- Adpositions are prepositions
- Adjectives, Numerals, Determiners percede the noun they modify, possessors and relative clauses follow the noun they modify
- Predicative negation precedes the verbal phrase.

Sentential Word Order

The basic word order is SVO, with five basic patterns of clauses:
1. Subject+Verb
2. Subject+Verb+Subject Complement
3. Subject+Verb+Object
4. Subject+Verb+Indirect Object+Direct Object
5. Subject+Verb+Object+Object Complement

Below are examples:
1. da sare meso - the girl swims.(interlinear: the girl swim)
2. da sare kezo ta da teina - the girl goes/went to the market.(interlinear: the girl go to the market)
3. da sare migo da eimoya - the girl sees/saw the queen.(interlinear: the girl see the queen)
4. da sare taso da ya eikaine hitaaka - the girl gives/gave the person some money.(interlinear: the girl give the person some money)
5. da sare sabo da nizo mi hadamou - the girl makes/made cakes out of flour.(interlinear: the girl make cake from flour)

Other complements might be added to the sentence for additional information of the action:

1. da sare meso maa na mimo - the girl swims in water.(interlinear: the girl swim inside at water)
2. da sare kezo ta da teina aina kaikaine aasa - the girl goes to the market everyday.(interlinear: the girl go to the market at every day)
3. da sare migo da eimoya omaasa- the girl saw the queen yesterday.(interlinear: the girl see the queen yesterday)

When there are conjunctions, conjunctions are placed at the initial position of the clause:
- da sare haaso asamaa tame imashi - the girl left because she was tired.(interlinear: the girl leave because 3.SG be.tired)
- da sare egako aana da eimoya kona heiko keza - the girl came when the queen was reading books.(interlinear: the girl come when the queen PROG read book)

To turn a clause into a yes-no question, one puts the particle aita in the initial position of a clause:
- aita da sare migo da eimoya omaasa- did the girl see the queen yesterday.(interlinear: Q the girl see the queen yesterday)

[k1234567890y]

Adpositions

Adpositions are prepositions, that means, they precede the noun of the adpositional phrase. For example:

The most basic prepositions are locational prepositions. There are three locational prepositions: na "in, on at", mi "from, of" and ta "to, towards".

na is used to indicate the stative location of the action or event. For example:
- hakara meso na mimo - fish swims in water.(interlinear: fish swim at water)

When the location is a time, na can be replaced with aina:
- da eimoya kekano Kemiko aina da eina aasa mi da enaana meira - the queen will visit Kemiko on the 1st Day of the 4th Month.(interlinear: the queen visit kemiko at the one-th day of the four-th month)

ta is used to indicate the destination of the action or event, or the recipient of the object in verbs indicating the giving of something, or to indicate a relationship after adjectives. For example:
- tame kakezo ta da teina - she walked to the market.(interlinear: 3.SG walk to the market)
- da sare kaso ei keita ta tamene kazari - the girl sent a letter to her teacher.(interlinear: the girl send one letter to 3.SG.POSS teacher)
- soko ei hedawa tokaimi ta tame - it is difficult for him to find a job.(find one job be.difficult to 3.SG)

mi is used to indicate the source of the action or event, or the possessor of an object, or the material in verbs indicating the creation of something. For example:
- tame egako mi Kemiko - she comes from Kemiko(interlinear: 3.SG come from Kemiko)
- da eimoya mi da sagi eisari - the queen of the country is beautiful.(interlinear: the queen of the country be.beautiful)
- da nizo yo sabo mi mou - the cake is made of powder(interlinear: the case PASS make of powder)

The three locational prepositions can be combined with certain locative nouns to indicate the location relative to the object of the preposition, the object of preposition follow the locative noun and they are connected with the preposition mi, and the locative nouns are preceded with the definite article da. Below are the locative nouns:

- heta - side
- ma - inside
- wata -outside
- ema -above
- ka - below
- meta - middle
- ha - front
- hara - behind
- noumera - left
- tarera - right
- neta - other side
- o - surrounding

For example:
- tamedame kezo ta da neta mi da ago - the went to the other side of the road.(the went across the road)(Interlinear: 3.PL go to the other.side of the road)
- tame migo da eimoya mi da ma mi da kimeka - he saw the queen from the inside of the car.(interlinear: 3.SG see the queen from the inside of the car)
- da sare ai saso ei kono na da ha mi da koza - the girl set a pole in front of the house.(Interlinear: the girl PST set one pole at the front of the house)

When the preposition is na or ta, the use of locative nouns can be replaced with locative adverbs, in this case, the locative adverbs precede the adpositions. For example:
- tamedame kezo netaa ta da ago - the went to the other side of the road.(the went across the road)(Interlinear: 3.PL go the.other.side to the road)
- da sare ai saso ei kono haa na da koza - the girl set a pole in front of the house.(Interlinear: the girl PST set one pole in.front at the house)

Below are the locative adverbs of Ame:
- hetaa - aside
- maa - inside
- wataa -outside
- emaa -above
- kaa - below
- metaa - amid
- haa - in front
- haraa - behind
- noumeraa - in the left
- tareraa - in the right
- netaa - on the other side
- oshii - around
- tainii - through
- anii - here
- adaa - there

Locative adverbs can stand alone expressing the location or the direction of an action. For example:
- tamedame kezo netaa - the went to the other side.

[k1234567890y]

Nouns

In Ame, nouns don't inflect according to case, number, definiteness, etc. the only way to tell the subject apart from the object in a sentence is word order when neither the subject nor the object are 1st or 2nd personal pronouns.

Like most languages, nouns can take modifiers. The order of modifiers is determiners - quantifiers - attributives - the head noun - possessions - relative clauses. Both of the demonstratives, possessive pronouns and the definite article can be the determiner; adjectives and verbs can be attributives, and for verbs used as attributives, the object of the verb precedes the verb itself.

For example:

- ani koza - this house(interlinear: this house)
- da yaki baba - the good grandmother(interlinear: the good grandmother)
- ada natei mawami onosare - those three little boys(interlinear: that three small boy)
- da meso sare - the swimming girl(interlinear: the swim girl)
- da ya-kako hakara - the man-eating fish(interlinear: the person eat fish)

To indicate the plural form of a noun, one may use the plural word moi, which occupies the position of quantifiers, and numerals and other quantifiers are not used when the plural word is used. For example:
- moi koza - houses
- ada moi koza - those houses
- moi motari koza - big houses

[clawgrip]

I've wondered about Ame, because you have posted very little on the grammar of the language. I will have to read up on this thread.

[k1234567890y]

I've wondered about Ame, because you have posted very little on the grammar of the language. I will have to read up on this thread.

ok (:

btw I think to write a reference grammar for Ame.

[k1234567890y]

Verbs and Adjectives
Verbs don't conjugate, adjectives don't decline, and adjectives are seen as stative intransitive verbs. While verbs don't conjugate and adjectives doon't decline, most verbs in Ame end in -o, some end in -i or -e or -ou; most adjectives end in -i.

Tense is not necessary, especially when such information is provided by the context; however, there are particles for tenses, aspects and moods, which may provide information about the tense, aspect and mood of a sentence when necessary. Below are the tense-aspect-mood particles:

Wai is used to indicate an event as a completed whole. For example:
- tame wai egako - he came/has come

Koi is used to indicate a completed action, it can also be used with predicatives other than verbs to indicate the meaning "already". For example:
- tame koi egako - he has come
- te koi awaki - you are already dead.

Kona is used to indicate an ongoing action. For example:
- da eimoya kona heiko ei keza - the queen is/was reading a book

Yaa is used to indicate an event that was once a fact but is no longer anymore. For example:
- tawara yaa mako na ani onasa - birds once lived in this forest.

The tense marker Ai is used to indicate that an event happened in the past, it can also be used with predicatives other than verbs. For example:
- Akari ai yamo e hakara - Akari caught a fish.
- da koza ai motari - the house was big.

when used with the aspect markers, the tense marker precedes the aspect marker:
- da eimoya ai kona heiko ei keza - the queen was reading a book

Besides the aspect markers, there is also a particle for indicating the irrealis mood, the mood marker yoi, which is used to indicate a counterfactual event. Unlike the tense-aspect markers, the use of the irrealis mood marker yoi is obligatory.

For example:
- chii Akari yoi techi, tame yoi teino e motari koza - if Akari were rich, she would buy a big house.
- da onosare okato noda tame yoi e sare - the boy wished that he were a girl.

when used with the tense marker and the aspect markers, it precedes the tense marker and the aspect markers:
- chii te yoi wai heiko da keza, te yoi yachi ada - if you had read the book, you would know that.

[k1234567890y]

Reduplication

Full reduplication is a productive morphological process in the Ame language. In Ame, full reduplication has the following purposes:
- for nouns, reduplication is used to indicate the plural or collective form of nouns.
- for verbs, reduplication is used to indicate the repititive or frequentative of the verb.
- for adjectives, reduplication is used to intensify the meaning of the adjective.

For example:
- ya - person
- yaya - persons, people

- kebo - to hit
- kebokebo - to hit repeatedly

- yaki - good
- yakiyaki - very good

The initial consonant the second component might undergo voicing in some words. For example:
- keiri - sour
- keiri-geiri - very sour

[k1234567890y]

Questions

In Ame, yes-no questions, or polar questions, are marked with the particle aita, which comes initially in a sentence. For example:
- da eimoya kona heiko ei keza - the queen is/was reading a book
- aita da eimoya kona heiko ei keza - is/was the queen reading a book?

Tag questions are formed by putting the negator ne at the end of a sentence:
- Akari ai yamo e hakara ne? - Akari caught a fish, didn't she?
- da koza motari ne? - the house is big, isn't it?

For question involving interrogatives, there are no word order inversals, and no additional words besides the interrogatives are used. For example::
- kare ai yamo e hakara? - who caught a fish?
- da sare migo kai? - what did the girl see?
when it comes to kori "how" and kayo "why", the interrogative is often placed in the initial position. For example:
- kori te setenochi ani? - how do you turn this on?
- kayo da kero ameiki? - why is the sky blue?

[k1234567890y]

Conjunction
In Ame, conjunctions are at the initial position of a sentence:
- hitaa tamedame nari! - but they are the same!
- aana tamedame egako, sabo e motari nizo - when they come, make a big cake.