Thank you Ahzoh!
It has been a while since I worked on Qutrussan, but I have updated the adjectives somewhat. I always find adjectives to be one of my least favourite aspects of conlanging, perhaps because it is one of the areas which I know little about outside of IE/Semitic languages. Anyway...
Adjectives Update
Qutrussan has very few purely adjectival roots. The vast majority of adjectives in Qutrussan are derived from nominals, many with the suffix –(q)qa 'possessing the quality of'. This can also be used in conjunction with locative cases to form 'attributive locatives' (if there is a better way of expressing this please let me know!).
lusam - beauty
lusamqa - beautiful
durru - power, strength
durruqqa - powerful
xēr - wealth, money
xērqa - wealthy, rich
There are also a small number of 'true' adjectival roots. Most of these are very common adjectives.
rōma - big
tsināi - small
pōta - fat
etc.
Many 'true' adjectives show reduplication or partial reduplication, with many having onomatopoeic origins.
mŭlmŭl - wet, slippery
qarqar - crunchy, jagged, rough
kiskis - shining, sparkling, bright
Attributive Adjectives
When used attributively, adjectives precede the noun they modify and do not show any agreement.
durruqqa mēna - the powerful woman
xērqa par - the rich man
tsināi tsēra - the small tree
kiskis shīar - the shining sun
As mentioned, there are also 'attributive locatives' which take the -qa suffix.
ksāddammăm - in the field
ksāddammămqa par - the man (who is) in the field
Several common 'true' adjectives have a reduced form which prefixes to the noun. They are perhaps better regarded as derivational prefixes, as they often lose some of the force of their original meaning.
rōma - rōm
tsināi - tsin
hana - han
etc.
Some of these prefixes no longer appear as independent adjectives, particularly:
īa - good, true, proper
qzō - bad, wrong, evil
īapar - a just man
qzōthīma - an ominous prophecy (i.e. evil speech)
When more than one -qa adjective is used attributively, the -qa suffix often only appears on the final adjective.
lusam(qa), durruqqa mēna - A beautiful, strong woman
Predicative Adjectives
When used predicatively, adjectives are nominalised with the suffix -tha. -qa adjectives are either -qqath, or -qtha, both being acceptable. As they are nominals, they inflect as regular nouns and therefore show number agreement.
rāma - rāmtha
durruqqa - durruqqath / durruqtha
par durruqqath yah - the man is strong (i.e. the man is a strong one)
paru durruqthi yūh - the men are strong (i.e. the men are strong ones)
kun hanath yah - the horse is old (i.e. is an old one)
Nominalised adjectives can be used as nominals in their own right, i.e. adjectives without a head.
lusamqaġ 'ūtsnun - I saw the beautiful one
Comparatives
Adjectives do not have separate comparative forms. ŭi /i/ 'more' may be used with -qa adjectives. True adjectives may take the prefix ziC- or ănă- (often pronounced nă-) which function as intensifiers. These suffixes do not receive stress.
ŭi durruqqa /i.ˈddurruqqa/ - stronger
zirrōma /dzi.ˈrrɔːma/ - very big, bigger
ănăttsināi /nəttsiˈnaːi/ - very small
The very common word ănnīa 'good, okay' comes from ănă + īa, although īa no longer appears independently.
To express 'than', the genitive is used with the postposition ūa 'from'.
par qaddziṇ-ūa ŭi durruqqa yah - the man is stronger than the child (i.e. the man is more strong from the child)
Introducing Qutrussan
-
gestaltist
- mayan
- Posts: 1617
- Joined: 11 Feb 2015 11:23
Re: Introducing Qutrussan
Nice to see a new post of yours. :) I also find adjectives very hard to do. Glad I'm not alone!
I like a few details about what you did. I like the reduplicated adjectives. I like the attributive locatives. That's something I've never tried, and definitely should. I like affixed true adjectives and it is what I'm doing for Īsmay, as well. In general, the variety of strategies you outline gives a feeling of naturalism.
One question: what is the underlying logic of alternation between forms durruqqath / durruqtha?
I like a few details about what you did. I like the reduplicated adjectives. I like the attributive locatives. That's something I've never tried, and definitely should. I like affixed true adjectives and it is what I'm doing for Īsmay, as well. In general, the variety of strategies you outline gives a feeling of naturalism.
One question: what is the underlying logic of alternation between forms durruqqath / durruqtha?
Re: Introducing Qutrussan
A Brief History of Classical Qutrussan
The following is a brief history of the rise and development of Classical Qutrussan. I will hopefully eventually update this with maps to illustrate, but for now I'm just noting that the Qutrussan Peninsula is a landmass slightly smaller than Europe (excluding Scandinavia) which sits almost entirely in a Mediterranean climate zone. It is bordered by the Zām Mountains to the East which form a natural barrier. It is part of a much larger continent.
Also, the history is written with the understanding that "present day" is the 'in-world present day', which is roughly 1500 after the codification of Classical Qutrussan.
Language Tree
Proto-Q and Early Migration Period
Proto-Q is believed to have been spoken around 7,000 years before present (YBP) in the arid region of the Great Rift Valley to the East of the Qutrussan Peninsular. Proto-Q speakers likely had already domesticated horses and camels, with settlements centred around the lakes and oases.
Around 6000 YBP, a large migration of Proto-Q speakers entered the Peninsula via the Zām Mountain range. The reasons for this migration are unclear, but there are myths which suggest a collapse of some sort in the Rift Valley region, possibly relating to the oases and lakes which supported a fairly large population in an otherwise harsh climate.
Proto-Q also continued to develop in-situ in the Rift Valley, known as Proto-Rift-Valley. This may have been several languages, and further migrations from the Urheimat occur at later stages.
This initial wave of migration then split into four large subgroups, three are named after the three tribal groupings they supposedly represented: Qutrus, Qosh and Qithrus. There was also an additional group: Zāmmic, named after the adjacent mountain range.
The three Q-groups appear to have then migrated roughly following the routes of the three main rivers flowing from the Zām Mountains, with Qutrussan being the Western-most branch, Qosshic the Central branch, and Qithrussic the Eastern-most branch. Zāmmic continued to develop in-situ in the inland highlands regions.
Either concurrent with the initial migrations, or several hundred years afterwards, there was a wave of migration along the Thīam (Southern Littoral) coast. This southern wave appears to have been pushed progressively further Westwards by the original inhabitants until they settled on the Western Isles, hence the 'Western-Isles' group which became isolated at a very early stage from all other Proto-Q branches.
The Thīammic Incursions
By around 5000 YBP, the four initial groups had become established in the peninsula having displaced any previously spoken languages. At this point Ancient Qutrussic, Qosshic, Qithrussic and Zāmmic languages seemed to have enjoyed roughly equal status. Language contact throughout the northern coastal cities was especially widespread.
By around 3500 YBP, Zāmmic appears to have become extinct, being replaced by Qutrussic and Qosshic which began to exert more influence.
Around 3000 YBP, a later migration from the Rift Valley region travelling via the Thīam (Southern Littoral) region of the Peninsula occurred, bringing a separate branch of Proto-Q to the Peninsula. Shortly after, there was a major incursion of Proto-Thīammic speakers northward into the Qutrus region. This was a decisive moment for Qutrus, which managed to defeat and incorporate the Thīammic speakers. Although this group of Thīammic speakers eventually switched to Qutrussan, they left a considerable impact on Qutrussan and influenced its development in several ways.
After the defeat of the Thīamnus, Qutrus began more aggresively asserting dominance over the Qosshic and Qithrussic regions to the East, emboldened by their newly expanded and militarily-adept population. Concurrent with the incursions from the South, there was a wave of migration from Qutrus Westwards, colonising the North-Western-most half of the Peninsula along the coast (with which it likely already had considerably contact), and forming a split with the already-established Qutrussan speaking region. The arid littorial region to the South was further colonised by Thīammic speakers around the same time, and this time they were not ousted by the original inhabitants.
Maturation of Classical Qutrussan
By ~2000 YBP, Classical Qutrussan is thought to have fully matured into the language as we know it today. The language is considered somewhat of a koiné, incorporating features from dialects throughout the region as well as allowing a plethora of alternate forms. It was also becoming widely recognised as the lingua france of the Peninsula as a whole, exterting considerable influence on both Qosshic and Qithrussic. The Qosshic peoples, with the backing of Qutrus, at this point began a military campaign into the Qithrus region, subjugating the Qithrussic region and pushing them out of the Peninsula proper towards the North-Eastern islands. Qithrussic shortly after became extinct on the mainland.
Classical Qutrussan was formally codified into its current written form by King Dāvush around 1500 YBP. It is clear that this codified written language was already archaic, with many of its features noted as already having dropped out of use in and around the capital. For example, the glottal stop /ʔ/ and pharyngeal /ʕ/ (preserved in the writing system) had disappeared from the spoken language, along with several other notable changes. Classical Qutrussan is also notable for the many variant forms it allows.
Since the codification, numerable “low” varities have developed, but Classical Qutrussan continues to be used as the official literary language of the Peninsula.
Timeline Summary:
-7000: Proto-Q splits into:
-6000: Common-Peninsular. Proto-Rift-Valley (PRV).
-5500: Proto-Western-Isles arrives via Thīam region, having split from PRV. Common Peninsular occupies most of the Eastern portion of the Peninsular.
-4000: Common Peninsular has now split into: Qutrussic, Qosshic, Qithrussic, Zāmmic.
-3000: Proto-Thīammic arrives, having split from PRV. Zāmmic goes extinct.
-2500: Classical Qutrussan now mature. Central Thīammic extinct. Souther Thīammic spreads along southern coast.
-1500: Codification of Qutrussan. Establishment of Qutrussan Empire encompassing whole Peninsula.
The following is a brief history of the rise and development of Classical Qutrussan. I will hopefully eventually update this with maps to illustrate, but for now I'm just noting that the Qutrussan Peninsula is a landmass slightly smaller than Europe (excluding Scandinavia) which sits almost entirely in a Mediterranean climate zone. It is bordered by the Zām Mountains to the East which form a natural barrier. It is part of a much larger continent.
Also, the history is written with the understanding that "present day" is the 'in-world present day', which is roughly 1500 after the codification of Classical Qutrussan.
Language Tree
Proto-Q and Early Migration Period
Proto-Q is believed to have been spoken around 7,000 years before present (YBP) in the arid region of the Great Rift Valley to the East of the Qutrussan Peninsular. Proto-Q speakers likely had already domesticated horses and camels, with settlements centred around the lakes and oases.
Around 6000 YBP, a large migration of Proto-Q speakers entered the Peninsula via the Zām Mountain range. The reasons for this migration are unclear, but there are myths which suggest a collapse of some sort in the Rift Valley region, possibly relating to the oases and lakes which supported a fairly large population in an otherwise harsh climate.
Proto-Q also continued to develop in-situ in the Rift Valley, known as Proto-Rift-Valley. This may have been several languages, and further migrations from the Urheimat occur at later stages.
This initial wave of migration then split into four large subgroups, three are named after the three tribal groupings they supposedly represented: Qutrus, Qosh and Qithrus. There was also an additional group: Zāmmic, named after the adjacent mountain range.
The three Q-groups appear to have then migrated roughly following the routes of the three main rivers flowing from the Zām Mountains, with Qutrussan being the Western-most branch, Qosshic the Central branch, and Qithrussic the Eastern-most branch. Zāmmic continued to develop in-situ in the inland highlands regions.
Either concurrent with the initial migrations, or several hundred years afterwards, there was a wave of migration along the Thīam (Southern Littoral) coast. This southern wave appears to have been pushed progressively further Westwards by the original inhabitants until they settled on the Western Isles, hence the 'Western-Isles' group which became isolated at a very early stage from all other Proto-Q branches.
The Thīammic Incursions
By around 5000 YBP, the four initial groups had become established in the peninsula having displaced any previously spoken languages. At this point Ancient Qutrussic, Qosshic, Qithrussic and Zāmmic languages seemed to have enjoyed roughly equal status. Language contact throughout the northern coastal cities was especially widespread.
By around 3500 YBP, Zāmmic appears to have become extinct, being replaced by Qutrussic and Qosshic which began to exert more influence.
Around 3000 YBP, a later migration from the Rift Valley region travelling via the Thīam (Southern Littoral) region of the Peninsula occurred, bringing a separate branch of Proto-Q to the Peninsula. Shortly after, there was a major incursion of Proto-Thīammic speakers northward into the Qutrus region. This was a decisive moment for Qutrus, which managed to defeat and incorporate the Thīammic speakers. Although this group of Thīammic speakers eventually switched to Qutrussan, they left a considerable impact on Qutrussan and influenced its development in several ways.
After the defeat of the Thīamnus, Qutrus began more aggresively asserting dominance over the Qosshic and Qithrussic regions to the East, emboldened by their newly expanded and militarily-adept population. Concurrent with the incursions from the South, there was a wave of migration from Qutrus Westwards, colonising the North-Western-most half of the Peninsula along the coast (with which it likely already had considerably contact), and forming a split with the already-established Qutrussan speaking region. The arid littorial region to the South was further colonised by Thīammic speakers around the same time, and this time they were not ousted by the original inhabitants.
Maturation of Classical Qutrussan
By ~2000 YBP, Classical Qutrussan is thought to have fully matured into the language as we know it today. The language is considered somewhat of a koiné, incorporating features from dialects throughout the region as well as allowing a plethora of alternate forms. It was also becoming widely recognised as the lingua france of the Peninsula as a whole, exterting considerable influence on both Qosshic and Qithrussic. The Qosshic peoples, with the backing of Qutrus, at this point began a military campaign into the Qithrus region, subjugating the Qithrussic region and pushing them out of the Peninsula proper towards the North-Eastern islands. Qithrussic shortly after became extinct on the mainland.
Classical Qutrussan was formally codified into its current written form by King Dāvush around 1500 YBP. It is clear that this codified written language was already archaic, with many of its features noted as already having dropped out of use in and around the capital. For example, the glottal stop /ʔ/ and pharyngeal /ʕ/ (preserved in the writing system) had disappeared from the spoken language, along with several other notable changes. Classical Qutrussan is also notable for the many variant forms it allows.
Since the codification, numerable “low” varities have developed, but Classical Qutrussan continues to be used as the official literary language of the Peninsula.
Timeline Summary:
-7000: Proto-Q splits into:
-6000: Common-Peninsular. Proto-Rift-Valley (PRV).
-5500: Proto-Western-Isles arrives via Thīam region, having split from PRV. Common Peninsular occupies most of the Eastern portion of the Peninsular.
-4000: Common Peninsular has now split into: Qutrussic, Qosshic, Qithrussic, Zāmmic.
-3000: Proto-Thīammic arrives, having split from PRV. Zāmmic goes extinct.
-2500: Classical Qutrussan now mature. Central Thīammic extinct. Souther Thīammic spreads along southern coast.
-1500: Codification of Qutrussan. Establishment of Qutrussan Empire encompassing whole Peninsula.