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{{construction}}
{{construction}}
{{Infobox language
{{Infobox language
|image = Asaari.png
|image =  
|imagesize = 250px
|imagesize = 100px
|name = Asaari
|name = Kandi
|nativename = Lha asáari, Asáari
|nativename = Kāndi tsūyi
|pronunciation = /ɬa at͡sá͜aʀɪ/
|pronunciation = kaːndɪ t͡suβ̞ʝɪ
|region = [[w:North America|North America]]
|creator = User:Waahlis
|states = [[w:USA|United States of America]]
|setting = Unknown conworld
|speakers = 21,020
<!-- |region = West Africa
|date = 2012
|states = Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso -->
|familycolor = American
|speakers = 4 million
|fam1 = [[Asaari|Lhisan]]
|date = 2015
|ancestor = [[Asaari#Proto-Lhisan|Proto-Lhisan]]
|familycolor = Afro-Asiatic
|dia1 = Asaari proper
|fam1 = Jasi-Jivan
|dia2 = Virginia Asaari
|fam2 = Tanisi
|dia3 = Carolinian Asaari
|ancestor = Proto-Kandi
<!-- |map = Agartha.jpg -->
|clcr = qts
<!-- |mapcaption    = Map picturing the Agartha region in Transcaucasia, crossing the borders of [[w:Armenia|Armenia]], [[w:Azerbaijan|Azerbaijan]] and [[w:Georgia|Georgia]]. -->
|script1       = Latn
|iso1 = as
|agency        = ''Aytšin Tatšūkkāndi''
|iso2 = aas
|iso3 = aas
|script       = [[w:Thai script|Thai]], [[w:Latin script|Latin]]
|agency        = [[Asaari#Tsárapi áyasáari|Tsárapi áyasáari]]
|notice = IPA
|notice = IPA
}}
}}
'''Kāndi''', or '''Tsan''' (''kāndi tsūyi'' or ''tsani tsūyi'') is a language spoken by the Tsan people. It belongs to the Tanisi language family and is thus distantly related to the [[Ris]] language. Kandi is a heavily [[w:agglutinative language|agglutinating]] with a complex verbal morphology. The language has repeatedly been analysed as lacking [[w:nouns|nouns]] and [[w:adjectives|adjectives]] altogether, in favour of [[w:verb|verb]]s.


'''Lha asáari''', or simply '''Asáari''', '''Asaari''' /at͡sá͜aʀɪ/ is a language spoken in the eastern [[w:United States of America|United States of America]]. It is not known to be related to any extant language and is thus a language isolate. The name, '''Lha asáari''' /ɬa at͡sá͜aʀɪ/ simply means "the ocean blue language", or "the language that is ocean blue".  
Slightly dated versions of the language were featured in the [[Third Linguifex Relay/Tsan|third]] and [[Fourth Linguifex Relay|fourth Linguifex relay]]s. These are probably not a good source for the constructed language, but they do give the reader an impression of Kandi's evolution.
==Background==
The language was supposedly first documented scholarly by the Belgian linguists Émile d'Ivoire and his Scottish colleague John Glenn Crossing, both of which were experienced in the field of the related Jivan languages, including for example the [[Ris]]. They first encountered the Kandi people in the early 19<sup>th</sup> century south of the Caspian Sea, in what is now Northern Iran. The Kandis dwelled in small villages intentionally isolated from the rest of the country. Crossing recognised the language's syntactic pecularities and conjectured it could be related to the Jivan languages, a then rather unfounded speculation.


Asaari is a heavily [[w:agglutinative language|agglutinating]] or [[w:polysynthetic language|polysynthetic language]], with a complex verbal morphology. The language has repeatedly been analysed as lacking [[w:nouns|nouns]] and [[w:adjectives|adjectives]] altogether, in favour of [[w:verb|verb]]s. Asaari is a [[w:tonal|tonal]] language with a limited vowel inventory, and an extensive array of consonants.
The Kandi language, which the natives had not given a name, was eponymously named after the speakers themselves; '''''kāndi''''' meaning ''handy'' in the language. The word is most likely related to Jávva '''''gánne''''', Wok '''''khaṃ'''''  and Ris '''''san''''', and can be traced back to the hypothetical Proto-Jasi-Jivan form '''''*kʰãn'''''. The name soon stuck with the Kandi people, although quite a few still call the language '''''kitsūyiwīn''''', ''our language''. That name is hardly very catchy though.


The language is being constructed by [[User:Waahlis|Waahlis]] to represent is fierce love for tones, voiceless consonants, and the voiceless lateral fricative.  
==Phonology==
The Kandi inventory has been documented and assessed repeatedly since the 19<sup>th</sup> century, the foremost scholar in the field being the Belgian linguist Émile d'Ivoire. This page uses a standard notation where C is a consonant, N a nasal consonant, and V is a vowel. Features are indicated by square brackets [ ] and plus or minus signs, ±. Phonemic sounds are marked with slash brackets / / and more deeply analysed sounds are marked with square brackets [ ].
===Phonemic inventory of vowels and consonants===
The following is the Kandi inventory of consonants, as analysed by d'Ivoire, a model nowadays serving as standard when analysing the language.  


I also wish to make it clear that this language has '''no connexion what so ever''' to the invented language and species of [[w:Asari (Mass Effect)|Asari]], in the video game Mass Effect! The name is purely coincidental as Asaari is derived from the word for "blue" in the language (Yes, I'm aware the species of Mass Effect also happen to be blue...), which was propably inspired from the European word "[[wikt:azure|azure]]". The final "-i" is a relativising suffix. No connexions, okay!?
==Phonology==
===Consonants===
Asaari has 23 consonants, called '''tsínáa''' /t͡sɪ́ná͜a/, traditionally categorised into the following groups:
*'''màaráyi''' /mɑ̀ⁿːʀájɪ/ - "shaking" or [[w:voiced consonants|voiced consonants]].
**'''mháasi''' /m̥á͜ɑsɪ/ - "smooth" or [[w:approximant consonants|approximants]] and voiced [[w:nasal consonants|nasal consonants]].
*'''tuáaqi''' /tʼá͜ɑcɪ/ - "shocking" or [[w:ejective consonants|ejective consonants]].
*'''tsamàaráyis''' /t͡samɑ̀ⁿːʀájɪs/ - "non-shaking" or [[w:voiceless consonants|voiceless consonants]].
**'''yéelhàyi''' /jɛ́͜əɬɑ̀ⁿjɪ/ - "gliding" or [[w:fricative consonants|fricatives]] and voiceless [[w:nasal consonants|nasal consonants]].
**'''quáasi''' /qá͜ɑsɪ/ - "stopping", that is [[w:stop consonants|stop consonants]].
**'''sitsàayi''' /sɪt͡sɑ̀ːⁿjɪ/ - "jumping" or [[w:affricate consonants|affricates]].
{| class="bluetable lightbluebg" style="width: 700px; text-align: center;"
{| class="bluetable lightbluebg" style="width: 700px; text-align: center;"
|+'''Asaari consonants'''
|+'''d'Ivoire model'''
|-
|-
! colspan="2" rowspan="2"|
! colspan="2" rowspan="2"|
! colspan="1" rowspan="2"|Bilabial
! colspan="1" rowspan="2"|Bilabial
!Dental
!Dental
! colspan="2"|Alveolar
! colspan="3"|Alveolar
! rowspan="2"|Palatal
! rowspan="2"|Dorsal
! colspan="1" rowspan="2"|Uvular
 
! rowspan="2"|Glottal
! rowspan="2"|Glottal
|-
|-
!central
!<small>central</small>
!<small>central</small>
!<small>central</small>
!<small>lateral</small>
!<small>lateral</small>
!<small>palatal</small>
|-
|-
! rowspan="2"|Nasals
! rowspan="1" colspan="2" |Nasals
!<small>voiceless</small>
|'''mh''' /m̥/
| colspan="2" rowspan="1"|'''nh '''/n̥/
|
|
|
|
|-
!<small>voiced</small>
|'''m''' /m/
|'''m''' /m/
| colspan="2" rowspan="1"|'''n''' /n/
| colspan="2" rowspan="1"|'''n''' /n/
Line 76: Line 58:
|
|
|- align="center"
|- align="center"
! rowspan="2"|Stops
! rowspan="3"|Stops
!<small>ejective</small>
|'''pu ''' /pʼ/
| colspan="2"|'''tu '''/tʼ/
|
| colspan="2" | '''qu '''/cʼ ~ qʼ/
|
|-
|-
!<small>voiceless</small>
!<small>voiceless</small>
Line 88: Line 64:
| colspan="2"|'''t''' /t/
| colspan="2"|'''t''' /t/
|
|
| colspan="2" |'''q''' /c ~ q/
|
|''' ' ''' /ʔ/
|'''k''' /k/
|
|-
|-
! rowspan="2"|Affricates
!<small>voiced</small>
!<small>ejective</small>
| '''b''' /b/
| colspan="2"| '''d''' /d/
|
|
|
|
|'''tsu''' /t͡sʼ/
| '''g''' /g/
|'''tlu '''/t&#620;'/
|'''tshu '''/t͡ɕʼ/
|
|
|
|-
|-
!<small>voiceless</small>
! rowspan="1" colspan="2"|Affricates
|
|
|
|
|'''ts''' /t͡s/
|'''ts''' /t͡s/
|'''tl '''/t͡ɬ/
|'''tl '''/t͡ɬ/
|'''tsh '''/t͡ɕ/
|''''''/t͡ɕ/
|
|
|
|
|-
|-
! rowspan="1"|Fricatives
! colspan="2"|Fricatives
!<small>voiceless</small>
|
|'''ph''' /ɸ ~ pɸ/
|
|'''th '''/θ ~ tθ/
|'''s''' /s/
|'''s''' /s ~ ts/
|
|'''lh '''/&#620;/
|'''š '''/ɕ/ · '''y''' /ʝ/
|'''sh '''/ç ~ &#597;/
|'''x''' /x/
| colspan="2" |'''h''' /χ ~ h/
| '''h''' /h/
|-
|-
! colspan="2" style="background: ;"|Approximant
! colspan="2" style="background: ;"|Approximants
|'''w''' /β̞/
|
|
|
|
|'''l''' /l/
|
|'''ǧ''' /ɰ/
|
|
|'''l''' /l/
|-
| '''y''' /j/
! colspan="2" style="background: ;"|Trills
|'''r''' /&#641; ~ &#640;/
|  
|colspan="5"|'''r''' /ʀ~r/
|
|
|}
|}


===Vowels===
Asaari has three main vowels, /a/, /ɪ/ and /ɛ/. The vowels can all bear tone. The tones may change the vowels' qualities and articulation; these allophones are enclosed in square brackets. Vowels may be long or short. Long vowels are written twice in the native orthography.
{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="bluetable lightbluebg" style="width: 400px; text-align:center"
|+'''Asaari vowels'''


D'Ivoire standardised the phonemic inventory of vowels in the language, as per his conclusion that there were three phonemic short vowels, /i/, /a/, /u/, and three phonemic "long" vowels. The quality of the long vowels is rarely realised as the same as their short counterparts however, but it is likely that they once only differed in quantity, making vowel length a truly distinctive feature.
{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="bluetable lightbluebg" style="width: 550px; text-align:center;"
|+ '''d'Ivoire model'''
|-
|-
!
|-
!style="width: 45px; "|
!style="width: 45px; "|<small>short</small>
!style="width: 45px; "|<small>long</small>
|-
! style="" |Close front unrounded
| '''i''' /i/
| '''ī''' /iː/ [iː]
|-
! style="" |Open back unrounded
| '''a''' /a/
| '''ā''' /aː/ [ɔ]
|-
! style="" |Close back rounded
|'''u''' /u/
|'''ū''' /uː/ [u͜β̞]
|-
|}


! Front
==Phonotactics==
The composition of Kandi words and syllables is restricted, and phonemes undergo a few morphophonemic changes when interacting across morpheme boundaries. Due to the the synthetic nature of the language, some enclitics and affixes may be obscured because of these changes. The morphophonology is highly dependent upon various assimilations, syncope and a few epenthetical vowels.


! Near-front
===Syllable structure and morphophonology===
The minimal Kandi syllable is simply V, and the maximal structure is CrVCC, where V may be either long or short. In case the following syllable begins with a consonant, the resulting cluster is simplified.


! Central
The Kandi consonant cluster VCCV is subject to a few rules.
 
*All nasal plosives N (C[stop][+nas]) voice both preceding and following stops P (C[stop][-nas]).
! Near-back
::NP[-voice] > NP[+voice]
 
::P[-voice]N > P[+voice]N
! Back
*
|-
! Close


{| class="bluetable lightbluebg mw-collapsible"
! rowspan="2" | Initial Consonant
! colspan="20" | Final Consonant
|- 
! m
! n
! p
! t
! k
! b
! d
! g
! s
! š
! tl
! ts
! tš
! h
! x
! w
! ǧ
! y
! l
! r
|- 
! m
| mm
| mb
| mb
| nd
| ng
| mb
| nd
| ng
| ss
| šš
| ndr
| ns
| nš
| mm
| nǧ
| mm
| nǧ
| nn
|
| ndr
|- 
! n
| nd
| nn
| mb
| nd
| ng
| mb
| nd
| ng
| ss
| šš
| ndr
| ns
| nš
| nn
| nǧ
| mm
| nǧ
| nn
|
| ndr
|- 
! p
|mb
|mb
|pp
|pt
|
|bb
|pt
|
|ps
|pš
|
|
|
|pp
|pš
|ppuh
|bb
|pp
|
|
|- 
! t
|
|
|pt
|tt
|tš
|ttuh
|tt
|dd
|ts
|tš
|ttl
|tts
|ttš
|tt
|tš
|ttuh
|dd
|dd
|tl
|tr
|- 
! k
|ǧm
|ǧn
|
|št
|kk
|guh
|št
|gg
|ks
|kš
|
|ts
|tš
|x
|x
|kkuh
|gg
|gg
|
|
|- 
! b
|mm
|mm
|pp
|ud
|uǧ
|w
|ud
|uǧ
|
|
|
|
|
|bb
|ux
|w
|uǧ
|bb
|
|
|- 
! d
|
|
|pt
|tt
|kk
|duh
|dd
|gg
|ss
|šš
|ttl
|tts
|ttš
|dd
|ǧǧ
|duh
|dd
|tl
|tr
|- 
! g
|ǧm
|ǧn
|pp
|tt
|kk
|guh
|dd
|gg
|ks
|kš
|
|
|
|guh
|g
|
|
|- 
! s
|šm
|
|sp
|st
|ks
|suh
|st
|ks
|ss
|šš
|
|
|
|ss
|šš
|suh
|x
|
|
|- 
! š
|šm
|
|šp
|št
|kš
|šuh
|št
|kš
|ss
|šš
|
|
|
|šš
|šš
|šuh
|x
|
|
|- 
! tl
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|- 
! ts
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|- 
! tš
|
|
|
|
|[ɨ̃]
|
|
|
|
|-
!Near-close
|
|
|'''ı''' /ɪ/
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
!Close-mid
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
!Mid
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
!Open-mid
|'''e''' /ɛ/, [ɛ̃]
|
|
|
|
 
|- 
! h
|
|
|
|
|-
|pp
!Near-open
|tt
 
|kk
|pp
|tt
|kk
|ss
|šš
|ttl
|tts
|ttš
|x
|x
|w
|ǧǧ
|yy
|ll
|rr
|-
! x
|ǧm
|ǧn
|šp
|št
|x
|šp
|št
|kš
|ss
|šš
|
|
|
|
|
|
 
|x
|x
|xuh
|x
|
|
|
|
|-
|-
!Open
! w
 
|mm
|'''a''' /a/
|mm
 
|bb
|ud
|uǧ
|bb
|ud
|uǧ
|us
|uš
|
|
|
|
|
|
 
|w
|[ɑ̃]
|
|}
|w
 
|
===Diphthongs===
|w
There are three so called "'''diphthongs'''¨" in the language. This is however merely a traditional name, as the diphthongs have long since collapsed into long vowels. Originally, these were homogeneous diphthongs, composed of doubled vowels.
 
{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="bluetable lightbluebg" style="width: 550px; text-align:center"
|+'''Asaari vowels and diphthongs'''
|-
! colspan="3" rowspan="1"| Monophthongs
 
|-
 
|'''i''' /ɪ/
 
|'''e''' /ɛ/
 
|'''a''' /a/
|-
! colspan="3" rowspan="1"| Diphthongs
|-
|'''ii''' /ɪː/
 
|'''ee''' /ɛː/
 
|'''aa''' /aː/
|-
|}
 
===Tone===
There are three phonemic [[w:tone|tone]]s in Lha asáari, the '''high''' (˦), '''medium''' (˧), or '''default''', and the '''low''' (˨) tone. The tones have immense effects on the qualities of the vowels.
*Short and long vowels with the high tone are pronounced with a glottal closure, that is, a coda glottal stop, /ʔ/. The long vowels are diphthongised - this is the sole trace of the homogeneous diphthongs.
*Low tone vowels are nasalised. This nasalisation is phonetically marked with a superscript minuscule "n", so that the nasalisation marking does not coincide with the tone diacritics.
 
{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="bluetable lightbluebg" style="width: 550px; text-align:center"
|+'''Asaari vowels and diphthongs'''
|-
! colspan="2" rowspan="1"|
 
! colspan="3" rowspan="1"| Monophthongs
 
! colspan="1" rowspan="4"|
 
! colspan="3" rowspan="1"| Diphthongs
|-
! rowspan="3"| Quality
! Medium tone
 
|'''i''' /ɪ/
 
|'''e''' /ɛ/
 
|'''a''' /a/
 
|'''ii''' /ɪː/
 
|'''ee''' /ɛː/
 
|'''aa''' /aː/
|-
!High tone
 
|í /ɪ́ʔ/
 
|'''é''' /ɛ́ʔ/
 
|'''á''' /áʔ/
 
|'''íi''' /ɪ́͜ɨʔ/
 
|'''ée''' /ɛ́͜əʔ/
 
|'''áa''' /á͜ɑʔ/
|-
!Low tone
 
|'''ì''' /ɨ̀ⁿ/
 
|'''è''' /ɛ̀ⁿ/
 
|'''à''' /ɑ̀ⁿ/
 
|'''ìi''' /ìⁿː/
 
|'''èe''' /ɛ̀ⁿː/
 
|'''àa''' /ɑ̀ⁿː/
|-
|}
 
 
==Orthography==
The Asaari natively use the [[w:Vai syllabary|Vai syllabary]] to write amongst themselves. This modified syllabary is called the '''Asaari abugida'''.
 
The [[w:abugida|abugida]] symbols are composed of one onset consonant and one vowel. Vowels carrying different tones are perceived as proper vowels and do thus have their own symbols. There are a few gaps in the syllabary, since some combinations are not possible in the language, or have been lost.
 
{| class="bluetable lightbluebg" style="width: 650px; text-align: center;"
! colspan="13"|Asaari abugida
|-
! colspan="2" rowspan="3"|
 
! colspan="11"|Vowel
|-
! colspan="3" rowspan="1"| -a
 
! colspan="3" rowspan="1"| -e
 
! colspan="3" rowspan="1"| -i
|-
!/a/
 
!/áʔ/
 
!/ɑ̀ⁿ/
 
!/ɛ/
 
!/ɛ́ʔ/
 
!/ɛ̀ⁿ/
 
!/ɪ/
 
!/ɪ́ʔ/
 
!/ɨ̀ⁿ/
|-
! rowspan="21"|Onset
 
!(none)
 
|ꕉ
 
|ꕱ
 
|ꕊ
 
|ꔀ
 
|ꖺ
 
|ꗢ
 
|ꕪ
 
|ꖷ
 
|ꔧ
|-
!p-
 
|ꕐ
 
|ꕑ
 
|ꕒ
 
|ꔅ
 
|ꔆ
 
|ꗩ
 
|ꗨ
 
|ꔇ
 
|ꗪ
|-
!t-
 
|ꔎ
 
|ꔐ
 
|ꔒ
 
|ꕚ
 
|ꕜ
 
|ꖁ
 
|ꕽ
 
|ꕾ
 
|ꘅ
|-
!q-
 
|ꖏ
 
|ꔫ
 
|ꖐ
 
|ꗛ
 
|ꗜ
 
|ꗝ
 
|ꖴ
 
|ꖵ
 
|ꖶ
|-
!'-
 
|ꖋ
 
|ꗘ
 
|ꖍ
 
|ꗗ
 
|ꗘ
 
|
 
|
 
|ꖱ
 
|ꖲ
|-
!ts-
 
|ꔋ
 
|ꔌ
 
|ꔍ
 
|ꕗ
 
|ꕘ
 
|ꕙ
 
|ꗯ
 
|ꗱ
 
|ꗲ
|-
!tl-
 
|ꕪ
 
|ꕌ
 
|ꕭ
 
|ꔞ
 
|ꔟ
 
|ꔠ
 
|ꘃ
 
|ꘄ
 
|ꘆ
|-
!tsh-
 
|ꖉ
 
|ꗉ
 
|ꗊ
 
|ꗋ
 
|ꗍ
 
|ꖑ
 
|ꖨ
 
|ꖪ
 
|ꖳ
|-
!ph-
 
|ꕓ
 
|ꕔ
 
|ꕖ
 
|ꔈ
 
|ꔉ
 
|ꔊ
 
|ꗫ
 
|ꗬ
 
|ꗮ
|-
!th-
 
|ꕞ
 
|ꔕ
 
|ꔖ
 
|ꕠ
 
|ꕡ
 
|ꖇ
 
|ꗻ
 
|ꗽ
 
|ꔺ
|-
!s-
 
|ꔻ
 
|ꕦ
 
|ꕧ
 
|ꗳ
 
|ꔿ
 
|ꔛ
 
|ꖤ
 
|ꗿ
 
|ꘀ
|-
!lh-
 
| -
 
|ꖆ
 
|ꖃ
 
| -
 
|ꔳ
 
|ꔱ
 
| -
 
|ꘇ
 
|ꔦ
|-
!sh-
 
| -
 
|ꕨ
 
|ꕩ
 
| -
 
|ꔜ
 
|ꔝ
 
| -
 
|ꘁ
 
|ꘂ
|-
!h-
 
| -
 
|ꕬ
 
|ꕍ
 
| -
 
|ꔂ
 
|ꕅ
 
| -
 
|ꗤ
 
|ꗥ
|-
!l-
 
|ꕿ
 
|ꖻ
 
|ꖼ
 
|ꔵ
 
|ꗓ
 
|ꗕ
 
|ꕳ
 
|ꖅ
 
|ꕴ
|-
!y-
 
|ꖢ
 
|ꖣ
 
|ꖎ
 
|ꔬ
 
|ꔭ
 
|ꕸ
 
|ꖝ
 
|ꖞ
 
|ꗄ
|-
!r-
 
|ꕀ
 
|ꕁ
 
|ꕂ
 
|ꖙ
 
|ꕏ
 
|ꖗ
 
|ꗏ
 
|ꖿ
 
|ꖽ
|-
!m-
 
|ꕎ
 
|ꕮ
 
|ꕯ
 
|ꔃ
 
|ꕆ
 
|ꕇ
 
|ꗦ
 
|ꘈ
 
|ꘉ
|-
!n-
 
|ꕺ
 
|ꕻ
 
|ꗇ
 
|ꗅ
 
|ꗆ
 
|ꕼ
 
|ꖟ
 
|ꔨ
 
|ꖡ
|-
!mh-
 
|ꕰ
 
|ꕃ
 
| -
 
|ꕈ
 
|ꕄ
 
| -
 
|ꘊ
 
|ꘋ
 
| -
|-
!nh-
 
|ꗁ
 
|ꗂ
 
| -
 
|ꕶ
 
|ꕷ
 
| -
 
|ꖛ
 
|ꖜ
 
| -
|}
 
===Punctuation===
===Logograms===
 
==Grammar==
Asaari has a fairly complex grammar; it lacks the common definition of a noun. Instead, all nouns are so called "nominals" verbs conjugated in a certain pattern.
===Syntax===
==Morphology==
===Verbs===
 
====Nominals====
Nominals are a conjugation of verbs that function primarily as nouns. A nominal is most often defined as a [[w:Predicative expression|predicative verb]], nominal or adjective, but may also include other [[w:predicates|predicates]].
=====Predicative=====
The predicative construction of a nominal has a usage most often analogous to an English [[w:copula|copula]], used in a predicative expression.
*''It is dog.'' - '''mées'''
*''Sara is a girl.'' - '''Sáralhinàa'''
*''The house was crushed.''- '''tlátasiquarasíy'''
 
=====Relative=====
The relative construction of an Asaari nominal is equivalent to a modifying [[w:relative clause|relative clause]]. In the language, this is used to create objects, but also to modify other arguments.
*''That which is a dog''
*''Did you see her who is Jonna?'' or ''Did you see Jonna?''
*''The man who was angry kicked the tree.''
 
=====Applicative=====
=====Benefactive=====
=====Malefactive=====
=====Conjugation=====
{| class="bluetable lightbluebg collapsible collapsible" style="background: none repeat scroll ; text-align: center; width: 95%; height: 100%;"
|-
! colspan="12" |Noun
 
|-
| colspan="3" | -
 
| colspan="3" |/-/
 
| colspan="6" |...
 
|-
! colspan="2" rowspan="3" |Person
 
! colspan="7" |Singular
 
! colspan="7" |Plural
 
|-
! colspan="2" |1<sup>st</sup>
 
! colspan="2" |2<sup>nd</sup>
 
! colspan="3" |3<sup>rd</sup>
 
! rowspan="2" |1<sup>st</sup>
 
! rowspan="2" |2<sup>nd</sup>
 
! rowspan="2" |3<sup>rd</sup>
 
|-
! masculine
 
!feminine
 
!masculine
 
! feminine
 
!masculine
 
!feminine
 
!neuter
 
|-
! rowspan="8" |Indicative
 
! colspan="11" style="width: 12%;"|
 
|-
! style="width: 12%;"|<small>Object enclitics</small>
 
| style="width: 12%;"| -''yi''
 
| style="width: 12%;"| -''yiis''
 
| style="width: 12%;"| -''shi''
 
| style="width: 12%;"| -''shiis''
 
| style="width: 12%;"| -''ar''
 
| style="width: 12%;"| -''saár''
 
| style="width: 12%;"| -''íir''
 
| style="width: 12%;"| -''ʾin''
 
| style="width: 12%;"| -''ʾíih''
 
| style="width: 12%;"| -''ʾsíir''
 
|-
! colspan="11" style="height: 3px;" |
 
|-
! style="height: 3px;"|Predicative
 
| colspan="11"|'''See non-past perfective conjugation'''
 
|-
! style="height: 3px;"|Relative
 
|''sí-''
 
|''sí-yih''
 
|''shá''-
 
|''shá-yih''
 
|''yée-''
 
|''yée-yih''
 
|''-i''
 
|''sí-ʾi''-
 
|''shá--i''
 
|''i-ʾ-i''
 
|-
! style="height: 3px;"|Applicative
 
|''àsí''
 
|''àsí-yih''
 
|''àshá''-
 
|''àshá''-''yih''
 
|''àyée-''
 
|''àyée-yih''
 
|''à-i''
 
|''àsí--i''
 
|''àshá--i''
 
|''àʾi--i''
 
|-
! style="height: 3px;"|Benefactive
 
|''sí-yáa''
 
|''sí-yáayih''
 
|''shá-yáa''
 
|''shá-yáayih''
 
|''yée-yáa''
 
|''yée-yáayih''
 
|''-yáa''
 
|''sí-ʾiyáa''
 
|''shá-ʾiyáa''
 
|''-ʾiyáa''
 
|-
! style="height: 3px;"|Malefactive
 
|''tsá-''
''yáa''
 
|''tsá-yáayih''
 
|''tshá-yáa''
 
|''tshá-yáayih''
 
|''shé-yáa''
 
|''shé-yáayih''
 
|''ʾi-yáa''
 
|''tsá-''
''ʾiyáa''
 
|''tshá-ʾiyáa''
 
|''ʾi-ʾiyáa''
|}
===Verbs proper===
{| class="bluetable lightbluebg collapsible collapsible" style="background: none repeat scroll ; text-align: center; width: 80%; height: 100%;"
|-
! colspan="12" |Verb
 
|-
| colspan="3" |''-''
 
| colspan="3" |/-/
 
| colspan="6" |...
 
|-
! colspan="12" |Participles
 
|-
! colspan="3" |Non-Past
 
| colspan="9"|''-áyyah''
 
|-
! colspan="3" |Past
 
| colspan="9"|''-áayan''
 
|-
! colspan="2" rowspan="3" |Person
 
! colspan="7" |Singular
 
! colspan="7" |Plural
 
|-
! colspan="2" |1<sup>st</sup>
 
! colspan="2" |2<sup>nd</sup>
 
! colspan="3" |3<sup>rd</sup>
 
! rowspan="2" |1<sup>st</sup>
 
! rowspan="2" |2<sup>nd</sup>
 
! rowspan="2" |3<sup>rd</sup>
 
|-
! masculine
 
!feminine
 
!masculine
 
! feminine
 
!masculine
 
!feminine
 
!neuter
 
|-
! rowspan="10" |Indicative
 
! colspan="11" style="width: 12%;"|
 
|-
! style="width: 12%;"|<small>Object enclitics</small>
 
| style="width: 12%;"|''-yi''
 
| style="width: 12%;"|''-yiis''
 
| style="width: 12%;"|''-shi''
 
| style="width: 12%;"|''-shiis''
 
| style="width: 12%;"|''-ar''
 
| style="width: 12%;"|''-saár''
 
| style="width: 12%;"|''-íir''
 
| style="width: 12%;"|''-'in''
 
| style="width: 12%;"|''-'íih''
 
| style="width: 12%;"|''-'íir''
 
|-
! colspan="11" style="height: 3px;" |Past
 
|-
! style="height: 3px;"|Perfective
 
|
|
|
|
 
|- 
! y
|mm
|mm
|pp
|tt
|yy
|bb
|dd
|yy
|ss
|šš
|ttl
|tts
|ttš
|yy
|x
|w
|ǧǧ
|yy
|ll
|rr
|- 
! l
|
|
|
|
|
|
 
|tl
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
! style="height: 3px;"|Imperfective
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 
|ll
|
|
 
|luh
|
|
 
|ll
|ll
|
|
 
|- 
! r
|ndr
|ndr
|
|
 
|tr
|
|
|
|
|-
! style="height: 3px;"|Retrospective
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 
|rr
|
|
 
|ruh
|
|
 
|rr
|rr
|
|
|}


|-
==Syllable structure and phonological processes==
! colspan="11" style="height: 3px;"|Non-Past


|-
==Grammar==
! style="height: 3px;"|Perfective
Kandi exhibits what’s called [[Tsan#Predicate/argument flexibility|predicate/argument flexibility]]; all content words equivalent to English verbs, nouns and adjectives, can fill the role as predicate or as argument of a clause. The flexibility is due to that the lemma form of all content words corresponds to a predicative expression. All content words have a subject, which in the default is the third person: For example, the word for "dog" is ''kshawí'', but it is also equivalent to "it is a dog".


|''á-''
In essence, the distinction between noun and verb is blurred. All content words may be conjugated and form verbal phrases, they may modify each other, and they all have one of three [[w:grammatical gender|grammatical gender]]s.


|''á-yih''
The Kandi grammar consists of a variety of grammatical prefixes and suffixes, all of which fit in a strict affixation template. The Tsan affixation template looks as follows:


|''là-''
:{{sc|genitive}}–{{sc|mood}}–{{sc|plural}}–[Content word]–{{sc|applicative}}–{{sc|case}}–[[Tsan#Grammatical gender|{{sc|gender}}]]–[[Tsan#Core affixes|{{sc|core}}]]–{{sc|specifier}}


|''là-yih''
===Core affixes===
The Kandi conjugation is rather a form of affixation of relevant arguments, aspects, cases, and moods. The core affixes are the main reason behind the Tsan predicate/argument flexibility, and they consist of a ''gender part'' and a ''stative'' or ''dynamic part''.


|''àra-''
The stative affixes convey a state of being, or function as a copula. The dynamic affixes transform a word into a more verb-like construction, and insinuates some sort of action. These two core affixes are mutually exclusive, and a word can only be affixed with one of them at a time.
 
|''àra-yih''
 
|''-''
 
|''na-''
 
|''ha-''
 
|''ya-''


What may make many linguists get the hiccups is the seemingly ignorant mixes of nominal and verbal categories. In Tsan, however, these are not important distinctions.
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="bluetable lightbluebg mw-collapsible  mw-collapsible" style="width: 500px; text-align:center;"
|-
! colspan="7"|Stative and dynamic affixes
|-
! colspan="2" rowspan="2"|<small>person</small> →
! scope="col"|1
! scope="col"|2
! scope="col"|3.PROX (3)
! scope="col"|3.OBV (4)
! scope="col"|0
|-
| ''-w-''
| ''-k-''
| -
| ''-y-''
| ''-h-''
|-
! colspan="7"|Stative
|-
! scope="row"|<small>same</small>
| ''-á-''
| ''-wá''
| ''-ká''
| ''-í'' (''Vy'')
| ''-yá''
| ''-há''
|-
! scope="row"|<small>different</small>
| ''-í-''
| ''-wí''
| ''-kí''
| -
| ''-yi''
| ''-hí''
|-
! colspan="7"|Dynamic
|-
|-
! style="height: 3px;"|Imperfective
! scope="row"|<small>same</small>
 
| ''-u-''
|''-''
|''wu-''
 
|''ku-''
|''tí-yih''
|''u-''
 
|''yu-''
|''tlá-''
|''hu-''
 
|''tlá-''
 
''yih''
 
|''-''
 
|''-''
 
''yih''
 
|''é-''
 
|''tí-ʾi-''
 
|''tlá-ʾi-''
 
|''-ʾi-''
 
|-
|-
! style="height: 3px;"|Retrospective
! scope="row"|<small>different</small>
 
|''-a-''
|''ràa-''
|''wa-''
 
|''ka-''
|''ràa-yih''
|''a-''
 
|''ya-''
|''-''
|''ha-''
 
|''-yih''
 
|''yása-''
 
|''yása-yih''
 
|''àari-''
 
|''ràa--''
 
|''qà-''-
 
|''àari--''
 
|-
|-
! colspan="2" |Irrealis
|}


|''páa-''


|''páa-yih''
====Grammatical gender====
Kāndi has a peculiar system of grammatical gender. The genders are purely natural: Women are feminine {{sc|f}}, men and males are masculine {{sc|m}}, and everything else is neuter {{sc|n}}.


|''qáa-''
Do note, however, that the grammatical gender is not marked. Rather, there is a form of ''dual marking''. The gender of the subject of a content word is marked as either the "same" or "different" to that of the speaker. If the subject gender is the same as that of the speaker, it is marked as the ''same'' {{sc|sam}}, whereas if the subject gender is different to that of the speaker, it is marked as "different" {{sc|diff}}.


|''qáa-yih''
It is standard to assume a {{blue|male}} speaker in stories. A male speaker is assumed in all examples on the page unless otherwise stated.
{{gloss/indexable
|phrase = katsa
|IPA = [ˈkat͡sa]
| morphemes = katsa-{{red|∅}}
| gloss = songbird.N-3SG.{{red|DIFF}}
| translation = It is a songbird.
| index = 11
}}{{gloss/indexable
|phrase = agūrri{{blue|y}}
|IPA = [aˈɣu͜βɾɪj]
| morphemes = agūrri-{{blue|y}}
| gloss = boy.M-3SG.{{blue|SAM}}
| translation = It is a boy.
| index = 12
}}{{gloss/indexable
|phrase = tšanuk{{blue|ā}}n
|IPA = [t͡ʃanuˈkaːn]
| morphemes = tshanu-k-{{blue|ā}}-n
| gloss = horse.M-2-{{blue|SAM}}-PL
| translation = You are horses.
| index = 13
}}The system is sometimes more versatile than the English grammatical gender. In the last example (13), we are able to deduce that the speaker in this instance is a male, since he is of the same gender as the speaker.
{{gloss/indexable
|phrase = thūrrina
|IPA = [θu͜βrẽna]
| morphemes = thūrrina-{{red|∅}}
| gloss = women.F.IRREG-3.{{red|DIFF}}
| translation = She is a woman.
| index = 14
}}


|''yée-''
====Predicative complements====
=====Simple predicative expressions=====
In Kandi, the predicative complement of an expression is equivalent to the predicate itself. All content words are predicates in their own right, due to a copula suffix. This copula is a null suffix in the third person proximate, but it congruates with the subject. The subject does not need to be independent, and is only marked on the predicate.


|''yée-yih''
{{gloss/indexable
|phrase = katsa
|IPA = [ˈkat͡sa]
| morphemes = katsa-∅
| gloss = songbird.N-3SG.PROX.HO
| translation = It is a songbird.
| index = 1
}}{{gloss/indexable
|phrase = katsawí
|IPA = [ˈkat͡sajiɨ̯]
| morphemes = katsa-wí
| gloss = songbird.N-1SG.HE
| translation = I am a songbird.
| index = 2
}}{{gloss/indexable
|phrase = katsayín
|IPA = [ˈkat͡saʝẽː]
| morphemes = katsa-yín
| gloss = songbird.N-2PL.HE
| translation = You are songbirds.
| index = 3
}}


|''tháa-yih''
=====Predicative nominatives=====
If the subject of the expression is stated independently, it is marked with a specifier, (SPEC), which roughly translates as the English relative determiner ''that which'', or the construction ''it is […] that is […]''. The post-vocalic form is ''–n'' and the post-consonantal form is ''–i''.


|''páa--''


|''qáa--''
The predicative complement, or predicate, agrees with the topic. The topic, most often the subject, is marked with the third person singular homus suffix, as well as the specifier.


|''tháa--''
{{Scriptgloss/indexable
|script = ᎭᎱ ᎧᏊᏪ:
|phrase = yan katsawí
|IPA = [ʝʌ̃ʔ ˈkat͡sajiɨ̯]
| morphemes = ya-∅-n katsa-wí
| gloss = 1SG.M-3SG.PROX.HO-SPEC songbird.N-1SG.HE
| translation = I am a songbird.
| index = 2.5
}}{{Scriptgloss/indexable
|script = Ꮡ:Ꮾ ᏡᎪᏕ:
|phrase = yóni tsháatlí
|IPA = [ˈʝɒ̃ʔi ˈt͡ɕaːt͡ɬiɨ̯]
| morphemes = yón-∅-i tsháatli-í
| gloss = 1SG.M-3SG.PROX.HO-SPEC nice.N;3SG.PROX.HE
| translation = John is nice.
| index = 2.6
}}{{Scriptgloss/indexable
|script = Ꮡ:Ꮾ ᎪᏌᎪ
|phrase = yóni anda
|IPA = [ˈʝɒ̃ʔi ˈʌ̃tʼa]
| morphemes = yón-∅-i anda-∅
| gloss = 1SG.M-3SG.PROX.HO-SPEC man.N-3SG.PROX.HO
| translation = John is a man.
| index = 2.7
}}


|-
=====Predicative accusatives=====
! colspan="2"|Imperative
Kandi has one copula, and one copula only.  In English you may find a variety of related verbs with similar function to the main copula ''to be''; for example ''to feel'', ''to seem'' and ''to become''. In Tsan, the semantics of these verbs are all conveyed by means of modifying the copula with evidentials, mood markers, applicatives and other constructions.


|''tsí-''
Typically, what may be percieved as an increase in valency is marked with the copula and an appropriate applicative-like affix. The former subject is always demoted to the object or patient.


|''tsí-yih''
{{Scriptgloss/indexable
|script = Ꮡ:Ꮾ Ꮝ:ᎪᎭᏌ:
|phrase = yóni sáayandá
|IPA = [ˈʝɒ̃ʔi saːˈʝʌ̃tʼaː]
| morphemes = yón-∅-i sáay-anda-∅
| gloss = John-3SG.PROX.HO-SPEC 3PL.REP-man.N-3SG.PROX.HO
| translation = They call John a man.
| index = 2.8
}}{{Scriptgloss/indexable
|script =
|phrase = yóni wandátsu
|IPA = [ˈʝɒ̃ʔi β̞atʼaːt͡su]
| morphemes = yón-∅-i <wúu>-anda-∅<tsu>
| gloss = John-3SG.PROX.HO-SPEC <1SG.CAUS>-man.N-3SG.PROX.HO-<1SG.CAUS>
| translation = I made John a man.
| index = 2.9
}}{{Scriptgloss/indexable
|script =
|phrase = sáayayómbá
|IPA = /saːʝaˈʝɒ̃pʼaː/
| morphemes = sáaya-yón-wá
| gloss = 3PL.REP-John-1SG.HO
| translation = They call me John.
| index = 2.10
}}


|''tshá-''
====Intransitive clauses====
When you accept that two content words in a predicative expression co-function as predicate and subject, it is not difficult to imagine other clauses with one core argument. The simplest are the corresponding English intransitive clauses. Tsan makes an important dichotomy between stative and dynamic content words.


|''tshá-yih''
=====Stative clauses=====
Stative predicates, such as ''to hang'', ''to lie'', ''to be on fire'', ''to taste like'' and ''to know'' are almost exclusively expressed by means of the copula suffix. See also [[Tsan#Predicative complements|predicative complements]], which is an equivalent interpretation.
{{Scriptgloss/indexable
|script =
|phrase = tátshuyi kákawiká
|IPA = [ˈta:t͡ɕʊʝi ka:ˈk͡xajika:]
| morphemes = tátshuy-∅-i kákawi-ká
| gloss = guard.N-3SG.PROX.HO-SPEC fire.N-3SG.OBV.HO
| translation = The guard is burning [up].
| index = 3.11
}}{{Scriptgloss/indexable
|script =
|phrase = téndatshiwí...
|IPA = [tə̃ːtʼaˈt͡ɕijiː]
| morphemes = ténda-tshi-wí
| gloss = knowing.N-DUB-1SG.HE
| translation = I am not sure I know.
| index = 3.12
}}


|''shà-''
=====Dynamic clauses=====
Dynamic predicatives on the other hand, including '' to run'', ''to lay'', ''to put on fire'', ''to savour'',  and ''to learn'', are formed with a conjugating dynamic prefix, acting in the same manner as the copula.
{{Scriptgloss/indexable
|script =
|phrase = tátshuyi yáakákawi
|IPA = [ˈta:t͡ɕʊʝi ʝa:ˈka:k͡xaji]
| morphemes = tátshuy-∅-i yáa-kákawi
| gloss = guard.N-3SG.PROX.HO-SPEC DYN.3SG.OBV.HO-fire.N
| translation = The guard is burning [something].
| index = 3.13
}}{{Scriptgloss/indexable
|script =
|phrase = wáaténdatshi...
|IPA = [ɰa:tə̃ːtʼaˈt͡ɕi]
| morphemes = wáa-ténda-tshi
| gloss = DYN.1SG.HE-knowing.N-DUB
| translation = I am not sure I learn [anything].
| index = 3.14
}}{{Scriptgloss/indexable
|script =
|phrase = yáanti katsan
|IPA = [ʝaːˈʔani ˈkat͡sʌ̃]
| morphemes = yáa-anti katsa-∅-n
| gloss = DYN.3SG.OBV.HO-walking.N songbird.N-3SG.PROX.HO-SPEC
| translation = The songbird walks.
| index = 3.15
}}


|''shà-yih''
=====Flexibility of arguments and predicates=====
 
It is in these dynamic and static clauses that Tsan first exhibits its flexibility of arguments. By simply switching the prefixes of the content words, the meaning is reversed or changed drastically.
|'''í-''
{{Scriptgloss/indexable
 
|script =
|''t'í-''
|phrase = tátshuyá kákawin
 
|IPA = [ˈta:t͡ɕʊʝa: ˈka:k͡xajẽ]
|''tl'í-''
| morphemes = tátshuy-∅ kákawi-n
 
| gloss = guard.N-3SG.OBV.HO fire.N-3SG.PROX.HO-SPEC
|''-'í''
| translation = The fire is a guard.
|}
| index = 3.16
}}{{Scriptgloss/indexable
|script =
|phrase = yáatátshuy kákawin
|IPA = [ʝa:ˈta:t͡ɕʊʝ ˈka:k͡xajẽ]
| morphemes = yáa-tátshuy kákawi-n
| gloss = DYN.3SG.OBV.HO-guard.N fire.N-3SG.PROX.HO-SPEC
| translation = The fire is a guard.
| index = 3.17
}}{{Scriptgloss/indexable
|script =
|phrase = yáakatsa antin
|IPA = [ʝaːˈk͡xat͡sa ˈʔanẽ ]
| morphemes = yáah-katsa anti-∅-n
| gloss = DYN.3SG.OBV.HO-songbird.N walking.N-3SG.PROX.HO-SPEC
| translation = *The walk songbirds.
| index = 3.18
}}


==See also==


[[Category:Languages]][[Category:Conlangs]][[Category:Polysynthetic]][[Category:Asaari]]
{{Seealso/qts}}
[[Category:Languages]][[Category:A priori]][[Category:Tsan]][[Category:User:Waahlis]][[Category:Jasi-Jivan languages]]

Latest revision as of 21:33, 4 July 2021

Kandi
Kāndi tsūyi
Pronunciation[kaːndɪ t͡suβ̞ʝɪ]
Created byWaahlis
SettingUnknown conworld
Native speakers4 million (2015)
Jasi-Jivan
  • Tanisi
    • Kandi
Early form
Proto-Kandi
Official status
Regulated byAytšin Tatšūkkāndi
Language codes
CLCRqts
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.

Kāndi, or Tsan (kāndi tsūyi or tsani tsūyi) is a language spoken by the Tsan people. It belongs to the Tanisi language family and is thus distantly related to the Ris language. Kandi is a heavily agglutinating with a complex verbal morphology. The language has repeatedly been analysed as lacking nouns and adjectives altogether, in favour of verbs.

Slightly dated versions of the language were featured in the third and fourth Linguifex relays. These are probably not a good source for the constructed language, but they do give the reader an impression of Kandi's evolution.

Background

The language was supposedly first documented scholarly by the Belgian linguists Émile d'Ivoire and his Scottish colleague John Glenn Crossing, both of which were experienced in the field of the related Jivan languages, including for example the Ris. They first encountered the Kandi people in the early 19th century south of the Caspian Sea, in what is now Northern Iran. The Kandis dwelled in small villages intentionally isolated from the rest of the country. Crossing recognised the language's syntactic pecularities and conjectured it could be related to the Jivan languages, a then rather unfounded speculation.

The Kandi language, which the natives had not given a name, was eponymously named after the speakers themselves; kāndi meaning handy in the language. The word is most likely related to Jávva gánne, Wok khaṃ and Ris san, and can be traced back to the hypothetical Proto-Jasi-Jivan form *kʰãn. The name soon stuck with the Kandi people, although quite a few still call the language kitsūyiwīn, our language. That name is hardly very catchy though.

Phonology

The Kandi inventory has been documented and assessed repeatedly since the 19th century, the foremost scholar in the field being the Belgian linguist Émile d'Ivoire. This page uses a standard notation where C is a consonant, N a nasal consonant, and V is a vowel. Features are indicated by square brackets [ ] and plus or minus signs, ±. Phonemic sounds are marked with slash brackets / / and more deeply analysed sounds are marked with square brackets [ ].

Phonemic inventory of vowels and consonants

The following is the Kandi inventory of consonants, as analysed by d'Ivoire, a model nowadays serving as standard when analysing the language.

d'Ivoire model
Bilabial Dental Alveolar Dorsal Glottal
central central lateral palatal
Nasals m /m/ n /n/
Stops
voiceless p /p/ t /t/ k /k/
voiced b /b/ d /d/ g /g/
Affricates ts /t͡s/ tl /t͡ɬ/ /t͡ɕ/
Fricatives s /s/ š /ɕ/ · y /ʝ/ x /x/ h /h/
Approximants w /β̞/ l /l/ ǧ /ɰ/
Trills r /ʀ~r/


D'Ivoire standardised the phonemic inventory of vowels in the language, as per his conclusion that there were three phonemic short vowels, /i/, /a/, /u/, and three phonemic "long" vowels. The quality of the long vowels is rarely realised as the same as their short counterparts however, but it is likely that they once only differed in quantity, making vowel length a truly distinctive feature.

d'Ivoire model
short long
Close front unrounded i /i/ ī /iː/ [iː]
Open back unrounded a /a/ ā /aː/ [ɔ]
Close back rounded u /u/ ū /uː/ [u͜β̞]

Phonotactics

The composition of Kandi words and syllables is restricted, and phonemes undergo a few morphophonemic changes when interacting across morpheme boundaries. Due to the the synthetic nature of the language, some enclitics and affixes may be obscured because of these changes. The morphophonology is highly dependent upon various assimilations, syncope and a few epenthetical vowels.

Syllable structure and morphophonology

The minimal Kandi syllable is simply V, and the maximal structure is CrVCC, where V may be either long or short. In case the following syllable begins with a consonant, the resulting cluster is simplified.

The Kandi consonant cluster VCCV is subject to a few rules.

  • All nasal plosives N (C[stop][+nas]) voice both preceding and following stops P (C[stop][-nas]).
NP[-voice] > NP[+voice]
P[-voice]N > P[+voice]N
Initial Consonant Final Consonant
m n p t k b d g s š tl ts h x w ǧ y l r
m mm mb mb nd ng mb nd ng ss šš ndr ns mm mm nn ndr
n nd nn mb nd ng mb nd ng ss šš ndr ns nn mm nn ndr
p mb mb pp pt bb pt ps pp ppuh bb pp
t pt tt ttuh tt dd ts ttl tts ttš tt ttuh dd dd tl tr
k ǧm ǧn št kk guh št gg ks ts x x kkuh gg gg
b mm mm pp ud w ud bb ux w bb
d pt tt kk duh dd gg ss šš ttl tts ttš dd ǧǧ duh ǧ dd tl tr
g ǧm ǧn pp tt kk guh dd gg ks ǧ ǧ guh g ǧ
s šm sp st ks suh st ks ss šš ss šš suh x š
š šm šp št šuh št ss šš šš šš šuh x š
tl
ts
h pp tt kk pp tt kk ss šš ttl tts ttš x x w ǧǧ yy ll rr
x ǧm ǧn šp št x šp št ss šš x x xuh ǧ x
w mm mm bb ud bb ud us w w w
y mm mm pp tt yy bb dd yy ss šš ttl tts ttš yy x w ǧǧ yy ll rr
l tl ll luh ll ll
r ndr ndr tr rr ruh rr rr

Syllable structure and phonological processes

Grammar

Kandi exhibits what’s called predicate/argument flexibility; all content words equivalent to English verbs, nouns and adjectives, can fill the role as predicate or as argument of a clause. The flexibility is due to that the lemma form of all content words corresponds to a predicative expression. All content words have a subject, which in the default is the third person: For example, the word for "dog" is kshawí, but it is also equivalent to "it is a dog".

In essence, the distinction between noun and verb is blurred. All content words may be conjugated and form verbal phrases, they may modify each other, and they all have one of three grammatical genders.

The Kandi grammar consists of a variety of grammatical prefixes and suffixes, all of which fit in a strict affixation template. The Tsan affixation template looks as follows:

genitivemoodplural–[Content word]–applicativecasegendercorespecifier

Core affixes

The Kandi conjugation is rather a form of affixation of relevant arguments, aspects, cases, and moods. The core affixes are the main reason behind the Tsan predicate/argument flexibility, and they consist of a gender part and a stative or dynamic part.

The stative affixes convey a state of being, or function as a copula. The dynamic affixes transform a word into a more verb-like construction, and insinuates some sort of action. These two core affixes are mutually exclusive, and a word can only be affixed with one of them at a time.

What may make many linguists get the hiccups is the seemingly ignorant mixes of nominal and verbal categories. In Tsan, however, these are not important distinctions.

Stative and dynamic affixes
person 1 2 3.PROX (3) 3.OBV (4) 0
-w- -k- - -y- -h-
Stative
same -á- -wá -ká (Vy) -yá -há
different -í- -wí -kí - -yi -hí
Dynamic
same -u- wu- ku- u- yu- hu-
different -a- wa- ka- a- ya- ha-


Grammatical gender

Kāndi has a peculiar system of grammatical gender. The genders are purely natural: Women are feminine f, men and males are masculine m, and everything else is neuter n.

Do note, however, that the grammatical gender is not marked. Rather, there is a form of dual marking. The gender of the subject of a content word is marked as either the "same" or "different" to that of the speaker. If the subject gender is the same as that of the speaker, it is marked as the same sam, whereas if the subject gender is different to that of the speaker, it is marked as "different" diff.

It is standard to assume a male speaker in stories. A male speaker is assumed in all examples on the page unless otherwise stated.

katsa
[ˈkat͡sa]
katsa-
songbird.N-3SG.DIFF

It is a songbird.

(11)

agūrriy
[aˈɣu͜βɾɪj]
agūrri-y
boy.M-3SG.SAM

It is a boy.

(12)

tšanukān
[t͡ʃanuˈkaːn]
tshanu-k-ā-n
horse.M-2-SAM-PL

You are horses.

(13)

The system is sometimes more versatile than the English grammatical gender. In the last example (13), we are able to deduce that the speaker in this instance is a male, since he is of the same gender as the speaker.

thūrrina
[θu͜βrẽna]
thūrrina-
women.F.IRREG-3.DIFF

She is a woman.

(14)


Predicative complements

Simple predicative expressions

In Kandi, the predicative complement of an expression is equivalent to the predicate itself. All content words are predicates in their own right, due to a copula suffix. This copula is a null suffix in the third person proximate, but it congruates with the subject. The subject does not need to be independent, and is only marked on the predicate.


katsa
[ˈkat͡sa]
katsa-∅
songbird.N-3SG.PROX.HO

It is a songbird.

(1)

katsawí
[ˈkat͡sajiɨ̯]
katsa-wí
songbird.N-1SG.HE

I am a songbird.

(2)

katsayín
[ˈkat͡saʝẽː]
katsa-yín
songbird.N-2PL.HE

You are songbirds.

(3)


Predicative nominatives

If the subject of the expression is stated independently, it is marked with a specifier, (SPEC), which roughly translates as the English relative determiner that which, or the construction it is […] that is […]. The post-vocalic form is –n and the post-consonantal form is –i.


The predicative complement, or predicate, agrees with the topic. The topic, most often the subject, is marked with the third person singular homus suffix, as well as the specifier.


  • ᎭᎱ ᎧᏊᏪ:
    yan katsawí
    [ʝʌ̃ʔ ˈkat͡sajiɨ̯]
    ya-∅-n katsa-wí
    1SG.M-3SG.PROX.HO-SPEC songbird.N-1SG.HE

    I am a songbird.

(2.5)


  • Ꮡ:Ꮾ ᏡᎪᏕ:
    yóni tsháatlí
    [ˈʝɒ̃ʔi ˈt͡ɕaːt͡ɬiɨ̯]
    yón-∅-i tsháatli-í
    1SG.M-3SG.PROX.HO-SPEC nice.N;3SG.PROX.HE

    John is nice.

(2.6)


  • Ꮡ:Ꮾ ᎪᏌᎪ
    yóni anda
    [ˈʝɒ̃ʔi ˈʌ̃tʼa]
    yón-∅-i anda-∅
    1SG.M-3SG.PROX.HO-SPEC man.N-3SG.PROX.HO

    John is a man.

(2.7)


Predicative accusatives

Kandi has one copula, and one copula only. In English you may find a variety of related verbs with similar function to the main copula to be; for example to feel, to seem and to become. In Tsan, the semantics of these verbs are all conveyed by means of modifying the copula with evidentials, mood markers, applicatives and other constructions.

Typically, what may be percieved as an increase in valency is marked with the copula and an appropriate applicative-like affix. The former subject is always demoted to the object or patient.


  • Ꮡ:Ꮾ Ꮝ:ᎪᎭᏌ:
    yóni sáayandá
    [ˈʝɒ̃ʔi saːˈʝʌ̃tʼaː]
    yón-∅-i sáay-anda-∅
    John-3SG.PROX.HO-SPEC 3PL.REP-man.N-3SG.PROX.HO

    They call John a man.

(2.8)


  • yóni wandátsu
    [ˈʝɒ̃ʔi β̞atʼaːt͡su]
    yón-∅-i <wúu>-anda-∅<tsu>
    John-3SG.PROX.HO-SPEC <1SG.CAUS>-man.N-3SG.PROX.HO-<1SG.CAUS>

    I made John a man.

(2.9)


  • sáayayómbá
    /saːʝaˈʝɒ̃pʼaː/
    sáaya-yón-wá
    3PL.REP-John-1SG.HO

    They call me John.

(2.10)


Intransitive clauses

When you accept that two content words in a predicative expression co-function as predicate and subject, it is not difficult to imagine other clauses with one core argument. The simplest are the corresponding English intransitive clauses. Tsan makes an important dichotomy between stative and dynamic content words.

Stative clauses

Stative predicates, such as to hang, to lie, to be on fire, to taste like and to know are almost exclusively expressed by means of the copula suffix. See also predicative complements, which is an equivalent interpretation.

  • tátshuyi kákawiká
    [ˈta:t͡ɕʊʝi ka:ˈk͡xajika:]
    tátshuy-∅-i kákawi-ká
    guard.N-3SG.PROX.HO-SPEC fire.N-3SG.OBV.HO

    The guard is burning [up].

(3.11)


  • téndatshiwí...
    [tə̃ːtʼaˈt͡ɕijiː]
    ténda-tshi-wí
    knowing.N-DUB-1SG.HE

    I am not sure I know.

(3.12)


Dynamic clauses

Dynamic predicatives on the other hand, including to run, to lay, to put on fire, to savour, and to learn, are formed with a conjugating dynamic prefix, acting in the same manner as the copula.

  • tátshuyi yáakákawi
    [ˈta:t͡ɕʊʝi ʝa:ˈka:k͡xaji]
    tátshuy-∅-i yáa-kákawi
    guard.N-3SG.PROX.HO-SPEC DYN.3SG.OBV.HO-fire.N

    The guard is burning [something].

(3.13)


  • wáaténdatshi...
    [ɰa:tə̃ːtʼaˈt͡ɕi]
    wáa-ténda-tshi
    DYN.1SG.HE-knowing.N-DUB

    I am not sure I learn [anything].

(3.14)


  • yáanti katsan
    [ʝaːˈʔani ˈkat͡sʌ̃]
    yáa-anti katsa-∅-n
    DYN.3SG.OBV.HO-walking.N songbird.N-3SG.PROX.HO-SPEC

    The songbird walks.

(3.15)


Flexibility of arguments and predicates

It is in these dynamic and static clauses that Tsan first exhibits its flexibility of arguments. By simply switching the prefixes of the content words, the meaning is reversed or changed drastically.

  • tátshuyá kákawin
    [ˈta:t͡ɕʊʝa: ˈka:k͡xajẽ]
    tátshuy-∅ kákawi-n
    guard.N-3SG.OBV.HO fire.N-3SG.PROX.HO-SPEC

    The fire is a guard.

(3.16)


  • yáatátshuy kákawin
    [ʝa:ˈta:t͡ɕʊʝ ˈka:k͡xajẽ]
    yáa-tátshuy kákawi-n
    DYN.3SG.OBV.HO-guard.N fire.N-3SG.PROX.HO-SPEC

    The fire is a guard.

(3.17)


  • yáakatsa antin
    [ʝaːˈk͡xat͡sa ˈʔanẽ ]
    yáah-katsa anti-∅-n
    DYN.3SG.OBV.HO-songbird.N walking.N-3SG.PROX.HO-SPEC

    *The walk songbirds.

(3.18)


See also

Tsani language
Orthography Cree syllabary
Phonology IPA for TsanPhonology
Grammar GrammarArgumentsSyntax
Vocabulary Basic vocabularySwadesh list
Numerals
Example texts The Lord's PrayerThe North Wind and the SunThe Tower of BabelThe Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Geneaology Tanisi languagesProto-Tanisi