Antarctican: Difference between revisions

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Antarctican
Antarctican is the most widely spoken language on the continent of Antarctica in the far future, at a time when
is spoken on the continent of Antarctica in the far future, at a time when
runaway global warming has melted the icecaps and rendered most of the rest of
runaway global warming has melted the icecaps and rendered most of the rest of
the word uninhabitable. It has been influenced by a variety of modern-day
the word uninhabitable. It evolved from [[Proto-Antarctican]], which in turn evolved from a mixture of a wide variety of modern-day languages, among them English, Spanish, Japanese and many East Asian languages.
languages, among them English, Spanish, Japanese and many East Asian languages.


It has a
It has a
Line 12: Line 10:


The
The
morphosyntactic alignment is split ergative, with noun suffixes following an
morphosyntactic alignment is split ergative (as is the syntax), with noun suffixes following an
ergative-absolutive system, but person marking on verbs following a
ergative-absolutive system, but person marking on verbs following a
nominative-accusative system. Nouns also inflect for alienable and inalienable
nominative-accusative system. Nouns also inflect for alienable and inalienable
Line 18: Line 16:
real marking of plurality of nouns.
real marking of plurality of nouns.


In the
In the verbal morphology, transitivity is clearly marked. Verbs also
verbal morphology, mirativity and transitivity are clearly marked. Verbs also
inflect for person and voice. Tense and aspect are much less important.
inflect for person and voice. Tense and aspect are much less important.


Line 30: Line 27:


The
The
pronunciation of each phoneme is listed in the tables below, followed by its
pronunciation of each phoneme is listed in the tables below, preceded by its
romanisation in brackets.
romanisation.


There are 11 monophthongs:
There are 11 monophthongs:
Line 48: Line 45:
|-
|-
! style="" |Close-mid
! style="" |Close-mid
|'''ie''' /e/  
|'''e''' /e/  
|'''e''' /ɘ/  
|'''oe''' /ɘ/  
| '''uo''' /o/
| '''o''' /o/
|-
|-
! style="" |Open-mid
! style="" |Open-mid
| '''ae''' /ɛ/  
| '''ae''' /ɛ/  
|'''oe''' /ɜ/  
|'''ao''' /ɜ/  
|'''o''' /ɔ/
|'''õ''' /ɔ/
|-
|-
! style="" |Open
! style="" |Open
|'''a''' /a/  
|'''a''' /a/  
|   
|   
| '''ao''' /ɒ/
| '''ã''' /ɒ/
|}
|}




And there are 17 diphthongs. 8 of these end in [j], and another 9 end in [w]:
And there are 16 diphthongs. 8 of these end in [j], and another 8 end in [w]:


{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="bluetable lightbluebg" style="width: 540px; text-align:center;"
{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="bluetable lightbluebg" style="width: 540px; text-align:center;"
Line 79: Line 76:
|-
|-
! style="" |Close-mid
! style="" |Close-mid
|'''iey''' /ej/  
|'''ey''' /ej/  
|'''ey''' /ɘj/  
|'''oey''' /ɘi/  
| '''uoy''' /oj/
| '''oy''' /oj/
|-
|-
! style="" |Open-mid
! style="" |Open-mid
| '''aey''' /ɛj/  
| '''aey''' /ɛj/  
|'''oey''' /ɜj/  
|'''aoy''' /ɜj/  
|
|
|-
|-
Line 107: Line 104:
|-
|-
! style="" |Close-mid
! style="" |Close-mid
|'''iew''' /ew/  
|'''ew''' /ew/  
|'''ew''' /ɘw/  
|'''oew''' /ɘu/  
| '''uow''' /ow/
| '''ow''' /ou/
|-
|-
! style="" |Open-mid
! style="" |Open-mid
| '''aew''' /&#ɛw/  
| '''aew''' /ɛw/  
|'''oew''' /ɜw/  
|'''aow''' /ɜw/  
|'''ow''' /ɔw/
|'''õw''' /ɔw/
|-
|-
! style="" |Open
! style="" |Open
Line 122: Line 119:
|}
|}


====Vowel phonation====
Vowels in Antarctican can have either modal, tense or breathy voice. Vowels with tense voice (marked with a glottal stop after the syllable e.g. /aʔ/) are pronounced with a high or rising pitch, and vowels with breathy voice (marked with a voiced /h/ after the syllable e.g. /aɦ/) are pronounced with a low or falling pitch. This distinction is phonemic e.g.
*kuow /kou/ - something absorbed in something else, absolutive
*kúow /kouʔ/ - bigot, absolutive
Tense voice cannot occur on high vowels /i/, /ɨ/, /u/, nor on diphthongs beginning with these vowels. Breathy voice cannot occur on low vowels /a/, /ɒ/, nor on diphthongs beginning with these vowels.


====Vowel length====
====Vowel length====


As well as vowel phonation, vowel length is also phonemic, on both monophthongs and diphthongs e.g.
Vowel length is phonemic, on both monophthongs and diphthongs e.g.




*kuow /kou/ - something absorbed in something else, absolutive
*kow /kou/ - something absorbed in something else, absolutive
*koow /koːu/ - a frozen object, absolutive


kuuow /koːu/ - a frozen object, absolutive


====Phonation restrictions====
====Vowel Phonation====
However, not every vowel can have every kind of phonation e.g. tense voice cannot occur on high vowels /i/, /ɨ/, /u/, nor on diphthongs beginning with these vowels. Similarly, breathy voice cannot occur on low vowels /a/, /ɒ/, nor on front vowels, nor on diphthongs beginning with these vowels. The permissible combinations of vowel quality and phonation are listed below:


{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="bluetable lightbluebg" style="width: 650px; text-align:center;"
Antarctican also has a pitch register system (like Burmese and Vietnamese). Modal, tense or breathy voice can occur on either short or long vowels. Vowels with tense voice (marked with a small pharyngeal stop after the syllable e.g. /aˤ/) are pronounced with a high or rising pitch, and vowels with breathy voice (marked with a small voiced /h/ after the syllable e.g. /aʱ/) are pronounced with a low or falling pitch. This distinction is phonemic e.g.
|+'''Monophthong phonation'''


|-
! style="width: 90px; "|
! style="width: 90px; "|Voice


! style="width: 90px; " |Front
*kow /kou/ - something absorbed in something else, absolutive
*ków /kouˤ/ - bigot, absolutive


! style="width: 90px; " |Central


! style="width: 90px; " |Back
Tense voice cannot occur on high vowels /i/, /ɨ/, /u/, nor on diphthongs beginning with these vowels. Breathy voice cannot occur on low vowels /a/, /ɒ/, nor on diphthongs beginning with these vowels.
|-
! rowspan="2"|Close
! style="" |Modal


| style="background-color: lightgreen;"|'''i''' /i/
The vowel õ /ɔ/ cannot take breathy voice, and when it takes tense voice, it is marked with a circumflex accent i.e. ô.


| style="background-color: lightblue;"|'''ue''' /ɨ/ from /i/


| style="background-color: lightgreen;"|'''u''' /u/
=====Floating Phonation=====
|-
! style="" |Breathy


|
Similar to floating tones in Bantu languages (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floating_tone), the beginnings of words in Antarctican can have floating phonation (unmarked for modal phonation, written with ' before the word for tense phonation, and ` before the word for breathy phonation). As an example, the following words are pronounced identically when not inflected:


| style="background-color: lightgreen;"|'''ùe''' /ɨɦ/


| style="background-color: lightgreen;"|'''ù''' /uɦ/
ká /kaˤ/ - coconut milk, absolutive
|-
! rowspan="3"|Close-mid
! style="" |Modal


| style="background-color: lightgreen;"|'''ie''' /e/
'ká /ˤkaˤ/ - fence, absolutive


| style="background-color: lightblue;"|'''e''' /ɘ/ from /e/


| style="background-color: pink;"| '''uo''' /o/ from /u/
However, when they take the prefix wa- (3rd person topicalised possessive), they are different:
|-
! style="" |Tense


| style="background-color: orange;"|'''íe''' /eʔ/


| style="background-color: orange;"|'''é''' /ɘʔ/
waká /wakaˤ/ - his / her coconut milk, absolutive


| style="background-color: orange;"| '''úo''' /oʔ/
'wáká /ˤwaˤkaˤ/ - his / her fence, absolutive
|-
! style="" |Breathy


|


| style="background-color: lightgreen;"|'''è''' /ɘɦ/
Words beginning with a glottal stop only ever have modal floating phonation e.g.


| style="background-color: lightgreen;"| '''ùo''' /oɦ/
ámáelái /ʔaˤmɛˤlaiˤ/ - prey, absolutive
|-
! rowspan="3"|Open-mid
! style="" |Modal


| style="background-color: lightblue;"| '''ae''' /ɛ/ from /a/
wa-ámáelái /waʔaˤmɛˤlaiˤ/ - his / her prey, absolutive (never wá-ámáelái)


|


| style="background-color: lightgreen;"|'''o''' /ɔ/
====Vowel Mutation====
|-
! style="" |Tense


| style="background-color: lightgreen;"| '''áe''' /ɛʔ/
When a process such as the above changes the phonation of a vowel, often its quality changes as well. E.g. the possessive prefix for inclusive "we" is yew- /jeu/, however, when it acquires tense voice, it becomes 'yáew- /ˤjɛuˤ/ e.g.


| style="background-color: lightgreen;"|'''óe''' /ɜʔ/


| style="background-color: orange;"|'''ó''' /ɔʔ/
yewká /jeukaˤ/ - our (including you) coconut milk, absolutive
|-
! style="" |Breathy


|
'yáewká /ˤjɛuˤkaˤ/ - our (including you) fence, absolutive


| style="background-color: lightgreen;"|'''òe''' /ɜɦ/


|
Also, the quality of a modally voiced vowel sometimes changes if the next vowel also has modal voice (this also depends on whether the intervening consonant is voice or voiceless). In the case of the prefix yew- /jeu/, this changes to yoew- /jɘu/ if the intervening consonant is voiceless (other than a glottal stop) e.g.
|-
! rowspan="2"|Open
! style="" |Modal


| style="background-color: lightgreen;"|'''a''' /a/
|


| style="background-color: pink;"| '''ao''' /ɒ/ from /ɔ/
tõn /tɔɴ/ - change (as in coins, money), absolutive
|-
! style="" |Tense


| style="background-color: lightgreen;"|'''á''' /aʔ/
yoewtõn /jɘutɔɴ/ - our (including you) change, absolutive


|


|
These changes are given in the table below:
|}
<br/>
*Vowels in green are found everywhere.
*Vowels in pink are phonemic at the end of words, where they mark ergative case, and are allophones elsewhere. They occur before another syllable beginning with a voiced consonant followed by a modally voiced vowel. The vowel that they are an allophone of is indicated afterwards.
*Vowels in blue are phonemic at the end of words, where they mark comitative case, and are allophones elsewhere. They occur before another syllable beginning with a voiceless consonant followed by a modally voiced vowel. The vowel that they are an allophone of is indicated afterwards.
*Vowels in orange are only found in reduplications.


Antarctican uses reduplication in its morphology, however it only partially reduplicates diphthongs, reducing them to monophthongs in the reduplicated syllable e.g.
*kúowntátu /kou&#628;&#660;ta&#660;tu/ – acquaintance, absolutive
*kúokúowntátu /ko&#660;kou&#628;&#660;ta&#660;tu/ – acquaintances (of each other), absolutive
When such diphthongs are truncated, it is always only the first part of it that is preserved e.g. /ei&#660;/ and /eu&#660;/ both shorten to /ei&#660;/. /oi&#660;/ and /ou&#660;/ both shorten to /o&#660;/ etc.
Vowels marked with an asterisk do not contrast for length.
There are similar restrictions on diphthongs:
{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="bluetable lightbluebg" style="width: 650px; text-align:center;"
|+'''Diphthong phonation /j/'''


{| class="wikitable"
|-
|-
! style="width: 90px; "|
! Tense voice !! Breathy voice !! !! Modal, normal !! Modal, before a voiced consonant followed by another modal vowel !! Modal, before a voiceless consonant followed by another modal vowel
! style="width: 90px; "|Voice
 
! style="width: 90px; " |Front
 
! style="width: 90px; " |Central
 
! style="width: 90px; " |Back
|-
! rowspan="2"|Close
! style="" |Modal
 
|
 
|
 
| style="background-color: lightgreen;"|'''uy''' /ui/
|-
! style="" |Breathy
 
|
 
| style="background-color: lightgreen;"|'''ùey''' /&#616;i&#614;/
 
| style="background-color: lightgreen;"|'''ùy''' /ui&#614;/
|-
! rowspan="3"|Close-mid
! style="" |Modal
 
| style="background-color: lightgreen;"|'''iey''' /ei/
 
| style="background-color: lightblue;"|'''ey''' /&#600;i/
 
| style="background-color: pink;"| '''uoy''' /oi/
|-
! style="" |Tense
 
| style="background-color: lightgreen;"|'''íey''' /ei&#660;/
 
| style="background-color: lightgreen;"|'''éy''' /&#600;i&#660;/
 
| style="background-color: lightgreen;"| '''úoy''' /oi&#660;/
|-
! style="" |Breathy
 
|
 
| style="background-color: lightgreen;"|'''èy''' /&#600;i&#614;/
 
|
|-
! rowspan="3"|Open-mid
! style="" |Modal
 
| style="background-color: lightblue;"| '''aey''' /&#603;i/
 
|
 
|
|-
! style="" |Tense
 
| style="background-color: lightgreen;"| '''áey''' /&#603;i&#660;/
 
|
 
|
|-
|-
! style="" |Breathy
| éy /ei&#740;/ || ùe /&#616;&#689;/ || || i /i/ || i /i/ || ue /&#616;/
 
|
 
| style="background-color: lightgreen;"|'''òey''' /&#604;i&#614;/
 
|
|-
|-
! rowspan="2"|Open
| óey /&#600;i&#740;/ || ùey /&#616;&#689;/ || || ii /i&#720;/ || ii /i&#720;/ || uue /&#616;&#720;/
! style="" |Modal
 
| style="background-color: lightgreen;"|'''ay''' /ai/
 
|
 
|
|-
|-
! style="" |Tense
| áe ~ áae /&#603;(&#720;)&#740;/ || òe ~ òoe /&#600;(&#720;)&#689;/ || || e ~ ee /e(&#720;)/ || e ~ ee /e(&#720;)/ || oe ~ ooe /&#600;(&#720;)/
 
| style="background-color: lightgreen;"|'''áy''' /ai&#660;/
 
|
 
|
|}
 
 
Same applies to the remaining diphthongs:
 
{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="bluetable lightbluebg" style="width: 650px; text-align:center;"
|+'''Diphthong phonation /w/'''
 
|-
|-
! style="width: 90px; "|
| á ~ áa /a(&#720;)&#740;/ || ào ~ àao /&#604;(&#720;)&#689;/ || || a ~ aa /a(&#720;) || a ~ aa /a(&#720;)/ || ae ~ aae /&#603;(&#720;)/
! style="width: 90px; "|Voice
 
! style="width: 90px; " |Front
 
! style="width: 90px; " |Central
 
! style="width: 90px; " |Back
|-
|-
! rowspan="2"|Close
| ów /ou&#740;/ || ù /u&#689;/ || || u /u/ || o /o/ || u /u/
! style="" |Modal
 
|
 
|
 
|
|-
|-
! style="" |Breathy
| óew /&#600;u&#740;/ || ùew /&#616;u&#689;/ || || uu /u&#720;/ || ow /ou/ || uu /u&#720;/
 
|
 
| style="background-color: lightgreen;"|'''ùew''' /&#616;u&#614;/
 
|
|-
|-
! rowspan="3"|Close-mid
| áo /&#604;&#740;/ || ò /o&#689;/ || || õ /&#596;/ || ã /&#594;/ || õ /&#596;/
! style="" |Modal
 
| style="background-color: lightgreen;"|'''iew''' /ew/
 
| style="background-color: lightblue;"|'''ew''' /&#600;u/
 
| style="background-color: lightgreen;"| '''uow''' /ou/
|-
|-
! style="" |Tense
| áey ~ áaey /&#603;(&#720;)i&#740;/ || òey ~ òoey /&#600;(&#720;)i&#689;/ || || ey ~ eey /e(&#720;)i/ || ey ~ eey /e(&#720;)i/ || oey ~ ooey /&#600;(&#720;)i/
 
|
 
|
 
| style="background-color: lightgreen;"| '''úow''' /ou&#660;/
|-
! style="" |Breathy
 
|
 
| style="background-color: lightgreen;"|'''èw''' /&#600;u&#614;/
 
| style="background-color: lightgreen;"|'''ùow '''/ou&#614;/
|-
|-
! rowspan="3"|Open-mid
| áy ~ áay /a(&#720;)i&#740;/ || àoy ~ àaoy /&#604;(&#720;)i&#689;/ || || ay ~ aay /a(&#720;)i/ || ay ~ aay /a(&#720;)i/ || aey ~ aaey /&#603;(&#720;)i/
! style="" |Modal
 
| style="background-color: lightblue;"| '''aew''' /&#603;u/
 
|
 
| style="background-color: pink;"|'''ow''' /&#596;u/
|-
|-
! style="" |Tense
| óy ~ óoy /o(&#720;)i&#740;/ || ùy ~ ùuy /u(&#720;)i&#740;/ || || uy ~ uuy /u(&#720;)i/ || oy ~ ooy /o(&#720;)i/ || uy ~ uuy /u(&#720;)i/
 
| style="background-color: lightgreen;"| '''áew''' /&#603;u&#660;/
 
|
 
| style="background-color: lightgreen;"|'''ów''' /&#596;u&#660;/
|-
|-
! style="" |Breathy
| áew ~ áaew /&#603;(&#720;)u&#740;/ || òew ~ òoew /&#600;(&#720;)u&#689;/ || || ew ~ eew /e(&#720;)u/ || ew ~ eew /e(&#720;)u/ || oew ~ ooew /&#600;(&#720;)u/
 
|
 
| style="background-color: lightgreen;"|'''òew''' /&#604;u&#614;/
 
|
|-
|-
! rowspan="2"|Open
| áw ~ áaw /a(&#720;)u&#740;/ || àow ~ àaow /&#604;(&#720;)u&#689;/ || || aw ~ aaw /a(&#720;)u/ || aw ~ aaw /a(&#720;)u/ || aew ~ aaew /&#603;(&#720;)u/
! style="" |Modal
 
| style="background-color: lightgreen;"|'''aw''' /au/
 
|
 
|
|-
|-
! style="" |Tense
| ôw ~ ôow /&#596;(&#720;)w&#740;/ || òw ~ òow /o(&#720;)u&#689;/ || || ow ~ oow /o(&#720;)u/ || õw ~ õow /&#596;(&#720;)u/ || ow ~ oow /o(&#720;)u/
 
|}
| style="background-color: lightgreen;"|'''áw''' /au&#660;/


|
====Phonation Restrictions====
 
However, not every vowel can have every kind of phonation e.g. tense voice cannot occur on high vowels /i/, /&#616;/, /u/, nor on diphthongs beginning with these vowels. Similarly, breathy voice cannot occur on low vowels /a/, /&#594;/, nor on front vowels, nor on diphthongs beginning with these vowels. The permissible combinations of vowel quality and phonation are listed in detail here ([[Antarctican/Phonation restrictions]]):
|
|}


===Consonants===
===Consonants===
Line 522: Line 289:


|- align="center"
|- align="center"
! rowspan="3"|Stops/Affricate
! rowspan="3"|Stops/Affricates


!<small>ejective</small>
!<small>ejective</small>


|'''pp '''/p'/
|'''pq '''/p'/


|'''ppy '''/p'&#690;/
|'''pqy '''/p'&#690;/


|'''tt '''/t'/
|'''tq '''/t'/


|'''ttl '''/t&#620;'/
|'''tql '''/t&#620;'/


|'''cch '''/c' ~ t&#597;'/
|'''cqh '''/c' ~ t&#597;'/


|'''kk '''/k'/
|'''kq '''/k'/


|
|
Line 555: Line 322:
|'''k''' /k/
|'''k''' /k/


|'''q''' /&#660;/
|'''-''' /&#660;/


|-
|-
Line 573: Line 340:


|
|
|-
|-
! rowspan="3"|Fricatives/Affricates
! rowspan="2"|Fricatives
!<small>ejective</small>


|
|
|'''tts '''/ts' ~ s'/
|
|
|
|
|-
!<small>voiceless</small>
!<small>voiceless</small>


Line 597: Line 350:
|'''fy '''/f&#690;/
|'''fy '''/f&#690;/


|'''s''' /s ~ ts/
|'''s''' /s/


|'''hl '''/&#620;/
|'''hl '''/&#620;/
Line 606: Line 359:


|
|
|-
|-
!<small>voiced</small>
!<small>voiced</small>
Line 613: Line 367:
|
|


|'''z''' /z ~ dz/
|'''z''' /z/


|
|
Line 640: Line 394:




*Prestopped nasals e.g. /tn/, /pm/ etc., pattern as voiceless and as nasals (and thus sonorants) in terms of the phonology.
*Consonants separated with a tilde (~) are not separate phonemes but are either allophones or in free variation e.g. /&#607; ~ d&#657;/ indicates that there is a single phoneme that can either be pronounced [&#607;] or [d&#657;]. The most common pronunciation is always listed first.
*The glottal stop is unmarked word initially (since all words must begin with consonants), and is marked by a hyphen elsewhere.
*Prestopped nasals e.g. /tn/, /pm/ etc., pattern as voiceless and as nasals (and thus sonorants) in terms of the phonology. They are only found between syllables with modal vowel phonation (or modal voice floating phonation if at the beginning of a word).  
*The placeless nasal /&#628;/ is only found at the end of syllables. Before a glottal stop or at the end of a phrase, it nasalises the preceding vowel. Otherwise it assimilates to the same place of articulation as the following consonant e.g. it becomes [n] before /d/, [m] before /b/ etc.
*The placeless nasal /&#628;/ is only found at the end of syllables. Before a glottal stop or at the end of a phrase, it nasalises the preceding vowel. Otherwise it assimilates to the same place of articulation as the following consonant e.g. it becomes [n] before /d/, [m] before /b/ etc.
*Voiced obstruents (stops, fricatives and affricates) are only found in three cases.
*Voiced obstruents (stops, fricatives and affricates) are only found in four cases.
:#Before a vowel with modal voice and at the beginning of a word.
:#Separating two syllables with modal voice (or a modal voice floating phonation if at the start of a word).
:#Before a vowel with modal voice, where the preceding syllable of the word has modal voice.
:#After a syllable containing breathy phonation (or a breathy voice floating phonation if at the start of a word) and before a syllable containing modal phonation.
:#Before a vowel with breathy voice, where the preceding syllable of the word has breathy voice.
:#Separating two syllables with breathy voice (or a breathy voice floating phonation if at the start of a word). In this case they are pronounced with breathy voice, like the murmured/voiced aspirated consonants of many Indian languages.
 
:#/z/ can also be found before vowels with tense voice.
In the latter case they are pronounced with breathy voice, like the murmured/voiced aspirated consonants of many Indian languages.
*Fricatives other than /s/ and /z/ (spirant / non-sibilant fricatives) are only found separating two syllables with modal voice (or modal voice floating phonation if at the beginning of a word), or separating two syllables with tense voice (or tense voice floating phonation if at the beginning of a word).
 
*Ejectives are only ever found separating two syllables with tense voice (or tense voice floating phonation if at the beginning of a word).
The same restrictions apply to the distribution of fricatives other than /s/, and of prestopped nasals except that they are never found in the 3rd case.
 
*Ejectives are only ever found between two vowels with tense voice (possibly with /&#628;/ separating them).
*Consonants separated with a tilde (~) are not separate phonemes but are either allophones or in free variation e.g. /s ~ ts/ indicates that there is a single phoneme that can either be pronounced [s] or [ts]. The most common pronunciation is always listed first.
*The velar nasals /k&#331;/ and /&#331;/ never occur at the beginning of words.
*The velar nasals /k&#331;/ and /&#331;/ never occur at the beginning of words.
*The alveolar stops /t/ and /d/, and the velar fricative /&#967;/ are never found before /i/ and /&#616;/ (with any phonation), nor before tense voice /e&#740;/ and /&#600;&#740;/, nor before diphthongs starting with these.
*The phoneme /l/ is pronounced as a palatal lateral [&#654;] before a high vowel, [&#633;] before a vowel with tense voice (high vowels cannot have tense voice), and [l] elsewhere.
*The phoneme /l/ is pronounced as a palatal lateral [&#654;] before a high vowel, [&#633;] before a vowel with tense voice (high vowels cannot have tense voice), and [l] elsewhere.
*Unpalatalised labial consonants can be velarised or doubly-articulated consonants (e.g. /p/ can be pronounced as [p&#736;] or [kp]). This is especially the case with /w/ and before front vowels).




Line 662: Line 416:
The soft consonants are the palatal consonants, the palatalized labial consonants, and the lateral consonants. All the other consonants are hard.
The soft consonants are the palatal consonants, the palatalized labial consonants, and the lateral consonants. All the other consonants are hard.


For example, the antipassive voice is formed by an infix that comes after the first consonant of a word. For words that begin with a hard consonant, the infix is '''iem''' /em/ (which contains a hard consonant) e.g.
For example, the antipassive voice is formed by an infix that comes after the first consonant of a word. For words that begin with a hard consonant, the infix is '''am''' /am/ (which contains a hard consonant) e.g.


*ziitlòeji /zi&#720;t&#620;&#604;&#614;&#607;i/ - to know (a person), mirative
*zuutlòeji /zu&#720;t&#620;&#600;&#689;&#607;i/ - to know (a person), indirect
*ziemiitlòeji /zemi&#720;t&#620;&#604;&#614;&#607;i/ - to know (a person), mirative, antipassive
*zamuutlòeji /zamu&#720;t&#620;&#600;&#689;&#607;i/ - to know (a person), indirect, antipassive


However, if the word begins with a soft consonant, the infix is '''imy''' /im&#690;/ e.g.
However, if the word begins with a soft consonant, the infix is '''emy''' /em&#690;/ e.g.


*pyiquu /p&#690;i&#660;u&#720;/ - to purify, mirative
*pyi-uu /p&#690;i&#660;u&#720;/ - to purify, indirect
*pyimyiquu /p&#690;m&#690;i&#660;u&#720;/ - to purify, mirative, antipassive
*pyemyi-uu /p&#690;em&#690;i&#660;u&#720;/ - to purify, indirect, antipassive
*hliqo /&#620;i&#660;&#596;/ - to perform, mirative
*hli-õ /&#620;i&#660;&#596;/ - to perform, indirect
*hlimyiqo /&#620;im&#690;i&#660;&#596;/ - to perform, mirative, antipassive (not *(hliemiqo) /&#620;mi&#660;&#596;/)
*hlemyi-õ /&#620;em&#690;i&#660;&#596;/ - to perform, indirect, antipassive (not *(hlemi-õ) /&#620;mi&#660;&#596;/)


===Phonotactics===
===Phonotactics===
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==Morphology==
==Distribution and Dialects==
 
Antarctican is spoken across a large continent, by a diversity of cultures. As would be expected, there is significant dialectical variation within the language. The differences are most pronounced in the vocabulary, less in the morphology, and even less in the syntax and phonology.
===Nouns===
 
Nouns decline into three cases, Absolutive, Ergative and Comitative. Absolutive case is unmarked while the other two use vowel changes on the final vowel and/or suffixes. Nouns can also take demonstrative and possessive prefixes.
 
====Ergative case====
How this case is formed depends on the phonation and frontness of the final vowel in the word.
 
=====Modally voiced final vowel=====
'''Final vowel is a back vowel'''
 
In this case, lower the back vowel e.g.
 
*ton /t&#596;&#628;/ - change (as in coins, money), absolutive
*taon /t&#594;&#628;/ - change, ergative
 
*duoliiengun /dole&#720;&#331;u&#628;/ - dragon, absolutive
*duoliienguon /dole&#720;&#331;o&#628;/ - dragon, ergative
 
If the final vowel is a diphthong that begins with a back vowel, then the start of the diphthong is lowered e.g.
 
*paehuown /p&#603;&#967;ou&#628;/ - dust, absolutive
*paehown /p&#603;&#967;&#596;u&#628;/ - dust, ergative
*yuenpiluoy - /j&#616;&#628;piloi/ - employee, absolutive
*yuenpiloy /j&#616;&#628;pil&#596;i/ - employee, ergative
 
 
'''Final vowel is not a back vowel'''
 
In this case the ergative suffix is '''–n''' /&#628;/, or '''–ga''' /ga/ if the noun already ended in '''–n''' e.g.*ziva /zi&#613;a/ - boat, absolutive
*zivan /zi&#613;a&#628;/ - boat, ergative
*myaewntayn /m&#690;&#603;u&#628;tai&#628;/ - mountain, absolutive
*myaewntayn-ga / m&#690;&#603;u&#628;tai&#628;ga/ - mountain, ergative
 
=====Final vowel has breathy or tense voice=====
For nouns where the vowel of the last syllable has breathy or tense voice, the situation is more complicated. They all take ergative suffixes of the form C V &#628;, where C is a consonant and V is a vowel. V is almost always /i/, except after /t/ or /d/, when it is /u/. However it is not possible to predict C, as shown by the examples below:
 
*tieyláae /teil&#603;&#660;&#720;/ - shirt, absolutive
*tieyláaesin /teil&#603;&#660;&#720;si&#628; / - shirt, ergative
*píey /pei&#660;/ - book, absolutive
*píeykin /pei&#660;ki&#628;/ - book, ergative
*kùe /k&#616;&#614;/ - goods, absolutive
*kùezin /k&#616;&#614;zi&#628;/ - goods, ergative
*rè /&#641;&#600;&#614;/ - red object, absolutive
* rèdun /&#641;&#600;&#614;du&#628;/ – red object, ergative
*kúow /kou&#660;/ - cup, absolutive
*kúowpin */kou&#660;pi&#628;/ - cup, ergative
*píeylánkáe /pei&#660;la&#628;&#660;k&#603;&#660;/ - blanket, absolutive
*píeylánkáetun /pei&#660;la&#628;&#660;k&#603;&#660;tu&#628;/ - blanket, ergative
*wùerù /w&#616;&#614;&#641;u&#614;/- frog, absolutive
*wùerùgin /w&#616;&#614;&#641;u&#614;gi&#628;/ - frog, ergative
 
While it may seem that the consonant inserted before the –in (or –un) suffix is random, there are some patterns. Firstly, the inserted consonant is always an obstruent (oral stop, affricate or fricative), and never a sonorant (nasal or approximant). Secondly, observe that, when the final vowel of the absolutive stem has tense voice, the inserted consonant is always voiceless, while if the final vowel of the absolutive stem has breathy voice, the inserted consonant is always voiced. These two rules hold across the language.
 
Also, for readers with knowledge of whatever language Antarctican borrowed the particular noun stem from, note that the “inserted” consonant almost perfectly corresponds with the consonant at the end of the word e.g. the word for “frog”, (''wùerù'' /w&#616;&#614;&#641;u&#614;/ in the absolutive case), is in fact descended from the English word “frog”. However, Antarctican does not like final consonants, so the final “g” was lost in the absolutive form. However in the ergative form, there is another vowel following the “g”, so it “reappears”, and the ergative form of the word is ''wùerùgin'' /w&#616;&#614;&#641;u&#614;gi&#628;/. A similar story happens with the “t” in the word for “blanket”, which is also derived from English.
 
====Stem changes====
However, for some of the nouns with breathy or tense voice on the final vowel of the absolutive stem, there are changes in the stem when they take the ergative suffix. These involve a change in vowel phonation to modal voice, and a change in vowel quality. e.g.
 
sitùen /sit&#616;&#628;&#614;/- wound caused by a sting (e.g. a bee or a jellyfish), absolutive
 
suetin-gin /s&#616;ti&#628;gi&#628;/ - wound caused by a sting (e.g. a bee or a jellyfish), ergative (not *sitùen-gin)
 
 
As a rule,
if the final vowel undergoes a change, and the second last vowel has the same
voicing as the final vowel, then they both change e.g.
 
qùylèn /&#660;ui&#614;l&#600;&#628;&#614;/ - island, absolutive
 
quoyliendun
/&#660;oile&#628;du&#628;/ - island, ergative (not *qùilèndun)
 
 
tùrèen
/tu&#614;&#641;&#600;&#720;&#628;&#614;/ - fashionable items, absolutive
 
tuoriiendun
/to&#641;e&#720;&#628;du&#628;/ - fashionable items, ergative
 
 
síeykúow
/sei&#660;kou&#660;/ - a small amount, absolutive
 
suekuhli /s&#616;ku&#620;i/ - a small amount, ergative
 
&nbsp;
 
If there
are even more consecutive syllables with the same voicing on the vowel, then
this rule applies to every single one of them e.g.
 
 
qámáeláy /&#660;a&#660;m&#603;&#660;lai&#660;/ - prey, absolutive
 
qamielaeykin /&#660;amel&#603;iki&#628;/ - prey, ergative
 
&nbsp;
 
The changes
in vowel quality and vowel voicing may appear random, but in fact they are not.
The vowel quality of the new vowel can be predicted using the table blow. The
vowels in the first two columns change to their equivalent in the third column
e.g. When sitùen changes to sitin-gin, we can see that ùe changes to i (first
column of the table).
 
However, if
the vowel is followed by a syllable beginning with a modally voiced consonant
before a modally voiced vowel, then the vowel from the fourth column is used
e.g. when qùylèn changes to quoyliendun, the ùy changes to uoy, since the next
syllable begins with a modally voiced consonant -l-, followed by a modally
voiced vowel -ie-.
 
Also, if
the vowel is followed by a syllable beginning with a voiceless consonant
followed by another modally voice vowel, then the vowel from the fifth column
is used e.g. when qámáláy changes to qamielaeykin, the á changes to ae, since
the next syllable begins with the voiceless -k-, followed by the modally voiced
-i-.
 
&nbsp;
 
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Tense voice !! Breathy voice !! !! Modal, normal !! Modal, before a voiced consonant followed by another modal vowel !! Modal, before a voiceless consonant followed by another modal vowel
|-
| íey || ùe || || i || i || ue
|-
| éy || ùey || || ii || ii || uue
|-
| áe / áae || è / èe || || ie / iie || ie / iie || e / ee
|-
| á / áa || òe / òoe || || a / aa || a / aa || ae / aae
|-
| úow || ù || || u || uo || u
|-
| éw || ùew || || uu || uow || uu
|-
| óe || ùo || || o || ao || o
|-
| áey / áaey || èy / èey || || iey / iiey || iey / iiey|| ey / eey
|-
| áy / áay || òey / òoey || || ay / aay || ay / aay|| aey / aaey
|-
| úoy / úuoy || ùy / ùuy || || uy / uuy || uoy / uuoy|| uy / uuy
|-
| áew / áaew || èw / èew || || iew / iiew || iew / iiew|| ew / eew
|-
| áw / áaw || òew / òoew || || aw / aaw || aw / aaw|| aew / aaew
|-
| ów / óow || ùow / ùuow || || uow / uuow || ow/ oow|| uow / uuow
|}
 
&nbsp;
 
There are many, many other nouns that decline according to this pattern.
All of the nouns that end in /&#628;/ or contain a long vowel in the final
syllable undergo vowel changes in the stem e.g.
 
táen /t&#603;&#628;&#660;/ - weather, absolutive
 
tenchin /t&#600;&#628;ci&#628;/ - weather, ergative
 
 
kòoe /k&#604;&#614;&#720;/ - membership card, absolutive
 
kaadun /ka&#720;du&#628;/ - membership card, ergative
 
 
However, the converse is not true. For nouns
with non-modally voiced final vowels, but that do not end in /&#628;/ or a long
vowel, some undergo vowel changes e.g.               
 
qùenòe /&#660;&#616;&#614;n&#604;&#614;/ - eel, absolutive
 
qinajin /&#660;ina&#607;i&#628;/ - eel, ergative
 
 
While others do not e.g.
 
 
kùe /k&#616;&#614;/ - goods, absolutive
 
kùezin /k&#616;&#614;zi&#628;/ - goods, ergative
 
&nbsp;
 
There are
some nouns that have identical absolutive forms, but are distinguished in the
ergative e.g.
 
 
ká /ka&#660;/ - fence, absolutive
 
kaechin /k&#603;ci&#628;/ - fence, ergative
 
 
ká /ka&#660;/ - coconut milk, absolutive
 
kátlin /kat&#620;i&#628;/ coconut milk, ergative
 
&nbsp;
 
<h5>Obstruent Voicing</h5>
 
If the
absolutive form has a voiceless obstruent (oral stop, affricate or fricative),
that is surrounded by breathy voice vowels (possibly with /&#628;/ separating
them), when the breathy voiced vowels acquire modal voice in the ergative form,
the voiceless obstruent does too, becoming modally voiced e.g.
 
 
nyùewsùeylèn /&#626;&#616;u&#614;s&#616;&#614;i&#614;l&#600;&#628;&#614;/ - New Zealand, absolutive
 
nyuuziiliendun /&#626;u&#720;zi&#720;le&#628;du&#628;/ - New Zealand, ergative
 
 
This
sometimes applies to word initial consonants as well e.g.
 
 
pùelùe /p&#616;&#614;l&#616;&#614;/ - bridge, absolutive
 
bilidlin /bilid&#622;i&#628;/ - bridge, ergative
 
 
pòey /p&#604;i&#614;/ - baby, absolutive
 
baybyin /baib&#690;i&#628;/ - baby, ergative
 
 
But sometimes it does not e.g.
 
 
pòey /p&#604;i&#614;/ - page, absolutive
 
paydlin /paid&#622;i&#628;/ - page, ergative
 
&nbsp;
 
If the
absolutive form of a noun has a voiceless obstruent (oral stop, affricate or fricative),
that is preceded by a syllable with a modally voiced vowel, and is followed by
a vowel with tense voice, if this tense voiced vowel becomes modally voiced in
the ergative form, then the voiceless obstruent before it acquires modal voice
too e.g.
 
 
yíeysitlíeynyíey /jei&#660;sit&#620;ei&#660;&#626;ei&#660;/ - mutton, absolutive
 
yíeysidlinyuekin /jei&#660;sid&#622;i&#626;&#616;ki&#628;/ - mutton, ergative
 
 
Here we can
see that the /t&#620;/ in the absolutive form has changed to /d&#622;/ in the
ergative form.
 
 
For word initial voiceless obstruents followed by tense voiced vowels in the absolutive
form, which change to modal voice vowels in the ergative form, sometimes this change
also occurs e.g.
 
 
támá /ta&#660;ma&#660;/- victim of a scam / swindle, absolutive
 
damaesin /dam&#603;si&#628;/ - victim of a scam / swindle, ergative
 
 
However others
do not e.g.
 
 
kán-kúow /ka&#628;&#660;kou&#660;/ - prisoner, absolutive
 
kan-gukin /ka&#628;guki&#628;/ - prisoner, ergative
 
&nbsp;
 
<h5>Sonorant Devoicing</h5>
 
Another
similar pattern occurs in sonorants. If, in the absolutive form, they are
preceded by a syllable with a modally voiced vowel, and followed by a breathy
or tense voiced vowel that changes in the ergative (to have modal voice), then the sonorant becomes
devoiced. /w/ becomes /f/, /l/ becomes /&#620;/, /j/ becomes /ç/, and /&#641;/
becomes /&#967;/, voiced nasals become prestopped e.g.
 
 
yuuwíey /ju&#720;wei&#660;/ - clothes, absolutive
 
yuufekin /ju&#720;f&#600;ki&#628;/ - clothes, ergative
 
 
qaetienòelùn /&#660;&#603;ten&#604;&#614;lu&#628;&#614;/ - heart, absolutive
 
qaetetnaluonzin /&#660;&#603;t&#600;tnalo&#628;zi&#628;/ - heart, ergative
 
&nbsp;
 
<h3>Comitative Case</h3>
 
How this is formed also depends on the frontness and phonation of the final vowel:
 
&nbsp;
 
<h4>Last Vowel of Abs. Form has Modal Voice</h4>
 
<h5>Last Vowel of Abs. Form is not a Back Vowel</h5>
 
In this
case, take the absolutive form, raise /a/ to /&#603;/ and centralise any other
front vowels e.g.
 
 
ziva /zi&#613;a/
- boat, absolutive
 
zivae /zi&#613;&#603;/
- boat, comitative
 
 
myaewntayn
/m&#690;&#603;u&#628;tai&#628;/ - mountain, absolutive
 
myaewntaeyn
/m&#690;&#603;u&#628;t&#603;i&#628;/ - mountain, comitative
 
 
qagiriey /&#660;agi&#641;ei/ - agreement, absolutive
 
qagirey /&#660;agi&#641;&#600;i/ - agreement, comitative
 
&nbsp;
 
<h5>Last Vowel of Abs. Form is a Back Vowel</h5>
 
In this
case, take the absolutive form, and suffix /pmu/ e.g.
 
 
ton /t&#596;&#628;/- change (as in coins, money), absolutive
 
tonpmu /t&#596;&#628;pmu/ - change (as in coins, money), comitative
 
 
duoliiengun /dole&#720;&#331;u&#628;/ - dragon, absolutive
 
duoliiengunpmu /dole&#720;&#331;u&#628;pmu/ - dragon, comitative
 
 
paehuown /p&#603;&#967;ou&#628;/ - dust, absolutive
 
paehuownpmu /p&#603;&#967;ou&#628;pmu/ - dust, comitative
 
 
yuenpiluoy - /j&#616;&#628;piloipmu/ - employee, absolutive
 
yuenpiluoypmu - /j&#616;&#628;piloipmu/ - employee, comitative
 
&nbsp;
 
<h4>Other Cases</h4>
 
If the last vowel of the absolutive form has tense or breathy voice, the comitative is formed differently. Here, it is formed by taking the ergative, deleting any final /&#628;/ or
/ga/ that had been inserted as a suffix, and then suffixing /&#660;u/ e.g. 
 
 
sitùen /sit&#616;&#628;&#614;/ - wound caused by a sting (e.g. a bee or a jellyfish), absolutive
 
suetin-gin /s&#616;ti&#628;gi&#628;/ - wound caused by a sting (e.g. a bee or a jellyfish), ergative
 
suetin-giqu /s&#616;ti&#628;gi&#660;u/ - wound caused by a sting, comitative
 
 
tieyláae
/teil&#603;&#660;&#720;/ - shirt, absolutive
 
tieyláaesin
/teil&#603;&#660;&#720;si&#628; / - shirt, ergative
 
tieyláaesiqu /teil&#603;&#660;&#720;si&#660;u/ - shirt, comitative
 
 
píey /pei&#660;/ - book, absolutive
 
píeykin /pei&#660;ki&#628;/ - book, ergative
 
píeykiqu /pei&#660;ki&#660;u/ - book, comitative
 
 
kùe /k&#616;&#614;/ - goods, absolutive
 
kùezin /k&#616;&#614;zi&#628;/ - goods, ergative
 
kùeziqu /k&#616;&#614;zi&#660;u/ - goods, comitative
 
 
rè /&#641;&#600;&#614;/ - red object, absolutive
 
rèdun /&#641;&#600;&#614;du&#628;/ – red object, ergative
 
rèduqu /&#641;&#600;&#614;du&#660;u/ – red object, comitative
 
 
kúow /kou&#660;/ - cup, absolutive
 
kúowpin /kou&#660;pi&#628;/ - cup, ergative
 
kúowpiqu /kou&#660;pi&#660;u/ - cup, comitative
 
 
píeylánkáe /pei&#660;la&#628;&#660;k&#603;&#660;/ - blanket, absolutive
 
píeylánkáetun /pei&#660;la&#628;&#660;k&#603;&#660;tu&#628;/ - blanket, comitative
 
píeylánkáetuqu /pei&#660;la&#628;&#660;k&#603;&#660;tu&#660;u/ - blanket, ergative
 
 
wùerù /w&#616;&#614;&#641;u&#614;/ - frog, absolutive
 
wùerùgiqu /w&#616;&#614;&#641;u&#614;gi&#628;/ - frog, ergative
 
wùerùgin /w&#616;&#614;&#641;u&#614;gi&#660;u/ - frog, comitative
 
&nbsp;
 
<h3>Pronominal Possession</h3>
 
Where
English would use possessive pronouns (“my”, “your”), Antarctican uses
possessive prefixes. The base forms of each are listed in the table below:
 
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Prefix !! Usage
|-
| myi- /m&#690;i/ || 1st person singular, 1st person exclusive plural
|-
| yiew- /jeu/ || 1st person inclusive plural
|-
| ti- /ti/ || 2nd person
|-
| wa- /wa/ || 3rd person, topicalised
|-
| si- /si/ || 3rd person, non-topicalised
|}
 
 
So, in the absolutive
case, “my clothes” or “our clothes” (not including you) would be myiyuuwíey /m&#690;iju&#720;wei&#660;/, “your clothes” would be tiyuuwíey /tiju&#720;wei&#660;/ etc.
 
&nbsp;
 
<h4>Phonation spreading</h4>
 
However,
with some nouns that have breathy or tense voice on their first vowel, the
voice “spreads” back to the prefix, changing the modally voiced vowel in the
base form to its tense voice or breathy voice equivalent (see the table before)
e.g.
 
 
kánkúow /ka&#628;&#660;kou&#660;/ - prisoner, absolutive
 
myíeykán-kúow /m&#690;ei&#660;ka&#628;&#660;kou&#660;/ - my prisoner, absolutive (not *myikán-kúow)
 
tíeykán-kúow /tei&#660;ka&#628;&#660;kou&#660;/ - your prisoner, absolutive (not *tikán-kúow)
 
 
pùelùe /p&#616;&#614;l&#616;&#614;/ - bridge, absolutive
 
myùepùelùe /m&#690;&#616;&#614;p&#616;&#614;l&#616;&#614;/ - my bridge, absolutive (not *myipùelùe)
 
tùepùelùe /t&#616;&#614;p&#616;&#614;l&#616;&#614;/ - your bridge, absolutive (not *tipùelùe)
 
&nbsp;
 
If, for any given word, phonation spreads onto one particular prefix, then it will spread
onto any prefix that attaches to that word e.g. there are no words that take
myíey- as their 1<sup>st</sup> person (exclusive) possessive prefix, but ti- or
tùe as their 2<sup>nd</sup> person possessive prefix.
 
&nbsp;
 
However, if, in the ergative form, the first vowel changes to no longer have breathy or
tense voice (i.e. it now has modal voice), then modally voiced forms of the
prefixes are always used when talking about possessing a noun in the ergative
case e.g.
 
 
kánkúow /ka&#628;&#660;kou&#660;/ - prisoner, absolutive
 
kan-gukin /ka&#628;guki&#628;/ - prisoner, ergative
 
myíeykán-kúow /m&#690;ei&#660;ka&#628;&#660;kou&#660;/ - my prisoner, absolutive
 
myikan-gukin /m&#690;ika&#628;guki&#628;/ - my prisoner, ergative
 
 
pùelùe /p&#616;&#614;l&#616;&#614;/- bridge, absolutive
 
bilidlin /bilid&#622;i&#628;/ - bridge, ergative
 
myùepùelùe /m&#690;&#616;&#614;p&#616;&#614;l&#616;&#614;/ - my bridge, absolutive
 
myibilidlin /m&#690;ibilid&#622;i&#628;/ - my bridge, ergative
 
&nbsp;
 
However, with other nouns, phonation never spreads e.g.
 
 
támá /ta&#660;ma&#660;/ - victim of a scam / swindle, absolutive
 
myuetámá /m&#690;&#616;ta&#660;ma&#660;/ - my victim of a scam / swindle, absolutive (not *myíeytámá)
 
&nbsp;
 
<h5>Prediction </h5>
 
If a noun
begins with a glottal stop (which does not count as either voiced or
voiceless), then phonation never spreads from it onto a prefix e.g.
 
 
qámáelái /&#660;a&#660;m&#603;&#660;lai&#660;/ - prey, absolutive
 
myiqámáelái /m&#690;i&#660;a&#660;m&#603;&#660;lai&#660;/ - my prey, absolutive (never *myíeyqámáelái)
 
 
qòepèn /&#660;&#604;&#614;p&#600;&#628;&#614;/ - one who is / was / is to be avenged, absolutive
 
myiqòepèn /m&#690;i&#660;&#604;&#614;p&#600;&#628;&#614;/ - my one who is / was / is to
be avenged, absolutive (never *myùeqòepèn)
 
&nbsp;
 
In other
cases, whether or not the phonation spreads onto the prefix cannot always be
predicted. The only time when it is possible to do so is for absolutive nouns,
if, in the ergative form, the first vowel loses its
breathy or tense phonation and becomes modally voiced. In this case, the rules
are given below:
 
&nbsp;
 
<h6>Sonorant Initial Stem</h6>
 
If the
absolutive stem begins with a sonorant (nasal or approximant), and that
sonorant becomes devoiced when the vowel after it acquires modal voice in the
ergative form, then the phonation never spreads in the absolutive form upon
taking a prefix e.g.
 
 
mòoe /m&#604;&#614;&#720;/ - betel nut, absolutive
 
pmaagin /pma&#720;gi&#628;/ - betel nut, ergative
 
myimòoe /m&#690;im&#604;&#614;&#720;/ - my betel nut, absolutive
 
 
Otherwise,
phonation always spreads if the word begins with a sonorant e.g.
 
 
máláeyáa /ma&#660;l&#603;&#660;ja&#660;&#720;/ - manners, absolutive
 
malieyaaetun /malej&#603;&#720;tu&#628;/ - manners, ergative
 
 
myíeymáláeyáa /m&#690;ei&#660;ma&#660;l&#603;&#660;ja&#660;&#720;/ - my manners, absolutive
 
&nbsp;
 
<h6>Stem starts with /s/</h6>
 
If the absolutive
stem begins with /s/, then tense voice never spreads when it takes a prefix
e.g.
 
 
síeykúow /sei&#660;kou&#660;/ - a small amount, absolutive
 
myisíeykúow /m&#690;isei&#660;kou&#660;/ - my small amount, absolutive (never *myíeysíeykúow)
 
 
sásaechin /sa&#660;s&#603;ci&#628;/ - stab wound, absolutive
 
myisásaechin /m&#690;isa&#660;sa&#603;ci&#628;/ - my stab wound, absolutive
 
&nbsp;
 
In the case
of absolutive nouns with breathy voice on the first vowel, if, in the ergative
form, the initial /s/ becomes voiced /z/, then the breathy voice spreads when
the absolutive form takes a prefix e.g.
 
 
sòemùe /s&#604;&#614;m&#616;&#614;/ - (major) wife, absolutive
 
zamibyin /zamib&#690;i&#628;/ - (major) wife, ergative
 
myùesòemùe /m&#690;&#616;&#614;s&#604;&#614;m&#616;&#614;/ - my (major) wife, absolutive (not *myisòemùe)
 
 
But if, in
the ergative form, the first vowel acquires modal voice but the initial
consonant stays as voiceless /s/, then in the absolutive form, the breathy
voice never spreads e.g.
 
 
sòepyùe /s&#604;&#614;p&#690;&#616;&#614;/ - speech (as in words, not a formal speech), absolutive
 
sabyishin /sab&#690;içi&#628;/ - speech (as in words, not a formal speech), ergative
 
myisòepyùe /m&#690;is&#604;&#614;p&#690;&#616;&#614;/ - my speech (as in words, not a formal speech), absolutive
 
&nbsp;
 
<h6>Other stems</h6>
 
If the
absolutive stem begins with another obstruent (oral stop, affricate or
fricative), and that obstruent stays voiceless even when followed by a modally
voiced vowel (in the ergative form), then tense phonation spreads when the
absolutive form takes a prefix e.g.
 
 
kánkúow /ka&#628;&#660;kou&#660;/ - prisoner, absolutive
 
kan-gukin /ka&#628;guki&#628;/ - prisoner, ergative
 
myíeykán-kúow /m&#690;ei&#660;ka&#628;&#660;kou&#660;/ - my prisoner, absolutive
 
 
táen /t&#603;&#628;&#660;/ - weather, absolutive
 
tenchin /t&#600;&#628;ci&#628;/ - weather, ergative
 
myíeytáen /m&#690;ei&#660;t&#603;&#628;&#660;/ - my weather, absolutive
 
 
But if the obstruent becomes voiced, then tense phonation cannot spread e.g.
 
 
támá /ta&#660;ma&#660;/ - victim of a scam / swindle, absolutive
 
damaesin /dama&#603;si&#628;/ - victim of a scam / swindle, ergative
 
myitámá /m&#690;ita&#660;ma&#660;/ - my victim of a scam / swindle, absolutive
 
&nbsp;
 
And vice versa, if the obstruent becomes voiced in the ergative form, then tense
phonation is blocked from spreading but breathy phonation spreads e.g.
 
 
pùelùe /p&#616;&#614;l&#616;&#614;/ - bridge, absolutive
 
bilidlin /bilid&#622;i&#628;/ - bridge, ergative
 
myùepùelùe /m&#690;&#616;&#614;p&#616;&#614;l&#616;&#614;/ - my bridge, absolutive
 
 
pòey /p&#604;i&#614;/- baby, absolutive
 
baybyin /baib&#690;i&#628;/ - baby, ergative
 
myùepòey /m&#690;&#616;&#614;p&#604;i&#614;/ - my baby, absolutive
 
&nbsp;
 
And if the
obstruent stays voiceless in the ergative form, then breathy voice does not
spread e.g.
 
 
pòey /p&#604;i&#614;/ - page, absolutive
 
paydlin /paid&#622;i&#628;/ - page, ergative
 
myipòey /m&#690;ip&#604;i&#614;/ - my page, absolutive
 
&nbsp;
 
<h4>Irregular Nouns</h4>
 
A handful of nouns are irregular, taking special forms whenever they are prefixed. These
can be divided up into a few categories.
 
&nbsp;
 
<h5>First Consonant Becomes /&#331;/</h5>
 
If the
initial consonant of a noun is /k/ or /g/, often it changes to /&#331;/ when
the noun takes a prefix. e.g.
 
 
gali /gali/ - hole, absolutive
 
myingali /m&#690;i&#331;ali/ - my hole, absolutive
 
&nbsp;
 
In such a case, if the first vowel has tense or breathy voice, then it always spreads
onto the prefix e.g.
 
 
kùe /k&#616;&#614;/ - goods, absolutive
 
myùengùe /m&#690;&#616;&#614;&#331;&#616;&#614;/ - my goods, absolutive
 
 
kíeyváy /kei&#660;&#613;ai&#660;/ - tongue, absolutive
 
myíeyngíeyváy /m&#690;ei&#660;&#331;ei&#660;&#613;ai&#660;/ - my tongue, absolutive
 
&nbsp;
 
<h5>Syllable Insertion</h5>
 
For a few nouns, an additional syllable is inserted between the prefix and the stem. The
consonant is unpredictable and depends on the noun, but the vowel is always
modally voiced /i/ and is never followed by /&#628; /. For any given noun, this
will be the same regardless of the prefix e.g.
 
 
bun /bu&#628;/ - pants, absolutive
 
myizibun /m&#690;izibu&#628;/ - my pants, absolutive
 
tizibun /tizibu&#628;/ - your pants, absolutive
 
&nbsp;
 
Tense voice is always blocked from spreading in such cases e.g.
 
 
tlíeynáe /t&#620;ei&#660;n&#603;&#660;/ - business, absolutive
 
myibyitlíeynáe /m&#690;ib&#690;it&#620;ei&#660;n&#603;&#660;/ - my business, absolutive
 
&nbsp;
 
But breathy voice will always spread onto both the prefix and the inserted syllable e.g.
 
 
pùey /p&#616;i&#614;/ - section, absolutive
 
myùetlùepùey /m&#690;&#616;&#614;t&#620;&#616;&#614;p&#616;i&#614;/ - section, absolutive
 
&nbsp;
 
<h5>Syllable Insertion and Nasalisation</h5>
 
Some words undergo both of the above changes when they take a prefix e.g.
 
 
gay /gai/ - gift, absolutive
 
myibyigay /m&#690;ib&#690;i&#331;ai/ - my gift, absolutive
 
&nbsp;
 
If the initial syllable of the unprefixed word has tense voice, then this spreads onto
the inserted syllable, but not onto the actual prefix e.g.
 
 
kúow /kou&#660;/ – bigot, absolutive
 
myipyíeyngúow /m&#690;ip&#690;ei&#660;&#331;ou&#660;/ – my bigot, absolutive (not *myíeypyíeykúow)
 
&nbsp;
 
If the initial syllable of the unprefixed noun has breathy voice, then this spreads on
to both the inserted syllable and the prefix:
 
 
kùeròe /k&#616;&#614;&#641;&#604;&#614;/- grudge, absolutive
 
myùepyùengùeròe /m&#690;&#616;&#614;p&#690;&#616;&#614;&#331;&#616;&#614;&#641;&#604;&#614;/
- my grudge, absolutive
 
&nbsp;
 
<h5>First Syllable Deleted</h5>
 
A considerable number of nouns lose their initial syllable when they take a prefix.
In such cases, the prefix always has tense voice e.g.
 
 
puekaay /p&#616;ka&#720;i/ - star, absolutive
 
myíeykaay /m&#690;ei&#660;ka&#720;i/ - my star, absolutive
 
 
fuekirami /f&#616;ki&#641;ami/ - swelling, absolutive
 
myíeykirami /m&#690;ei&#660;fiki&#641;ami/ - my swelling, absolutive
 
&nbsp;
 
The only words that undergo this process are ones that begin with a voiceless obstruent
(oral stop, fricative or affricate), immediately followed by modally voiced /&#616;/
or /i/, immediately followed by a second voiceless
obstruent. Many, but by no means all of these words originated in English,
where they began with clusters of /s/ + voiceless consonant. The proto language
did not like these clusters and so inserted a vowel to break them up. However
when they took a prefix this insertion was no longer necessary. A later sound change
put tense voice on all syllables which ended in a voiceless consonant, and
deleted that consonant e.g.
 
 
sitùen /sit&#616;&#628;&#614;/ - wound caused by a sting (e.g. a bee or a jellyfish),
absolutive
 
myíeytùen /m&#690;ei&#660;t&#616;&#628;&#614;/ - my wound caused by a sting (e.g. a bee or
a jellyfish), absolutive
 
 
suekiraeypi /s&#616;ki&#641;&#603;ipi/ - a scrape, absolutive
 
myíeykiraypi /m&#690;ei&#660;ki&#641;aipi/ - my scrape, absolutive
 
&nbsp;
 
<h5>Syllable Deletion with Ejectivisation</h5>
 
A similar but separate sound change applies to a few words, all of which have íey as
their first vowel, with the second vowel having tense voice. Like before, the
first vowel is deleted and the prefix takes tense voice. However, the consonant
immediately after the prefix changes to an ejective e.g.
 
 
síeypyíey /sei&#660;p&#690;ei&#660;/ - spit, absolutive
 
míeyppyíey /m&#690;ei&#660;p&#700;&#690;ei&#660;/ - my spit, absolutive
 
 
líeyká /lei&#660;ka&#660;/ - square, absolutive
 
myíeykká /m&#690;ei&#660;k&#700;a&#660;/ - my square, absolutive
 
&nbsp;
 
If the second syllable begins with /l/, then this always converts to /ts&#700;/ rather
than /t&#620;&#700;/ e.g.
 
 
chilúo /cilou&#660;/ - banner, absolutive
 
myíeyttsúow /m&#690;ei&#660;ts&#700;ou&#660;/ - my banner, absolutive
 
&nbsp;
 
<h5>Other irregular nouns</h5>
 
There are other nouns that behave in other ways to those described above when they take a
prefix. What happens needs to be remembered for each noun, however note that
the prefixes for irregular nouns always take tense voice e.g.
 
 
kíey /kei&#660;/ - mouth, absolutive
 
myíeytli /m&#690;ei&#660;t&#620;i/ - my mouth, absolutive
 
&nbsp;
 
<h3>Possession by a Noun</h3>
 
Antarctican
distinguishes alienable and inalienable possession ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Possession_(linguistics)#Alienable_and_inalienable ). Both are marked with prefixes on the possessed noun. These are wiey- for alienable possession and nu- for inalienable possession (the possessor always takes the absolutive case):
 
 
kùeròetùu /k&#616;&#614;&#641;&#604;&#614;tu&#614;&#720;/ - bone, absolutive
 
yini /jini/ - dog, absolutive
 
wieykùeròetùu yini /weik&#616;&#614;&#641;&#604;&#614;tu&#614;&#720; jini/ - the
dog’s bone, absolutive, alienable (i.e. the one that it eats, buries etc.)
 
nukùeròetùu yini /nuk&#616;&#614;&#641;&#604;&#614;tu&#614;&#720; jini/ - the dog’s bone,
absolutive, inalienable (i.e. the one that is a part of it)
 
&nbsp;
 
Where
English would compound nouns together, or use one to modify another.
Antarctican uses the alienable possessive construction e.g.
 
 
qaaehaan
/&#660;&#603;&#720;&#967;a&#720;&#628;/ - food, absolutive
 
wieyqaaehaan yini /wei&#660;&#603;&#720;&#967;a&#720;&#628; jini/ - dog food,
absolutive
 
&nbsp;
 
Whatever voice spreads from a noun onto a pronominal possessive prefix, also always does
so to an alienable or inalienable possessive prefix e.g.
 
 
kánkúow /ka&#628;&#660;kou&#660;/ - prisoner, absolutive
 
myíeykánkúow /m&#690;ei&#660;ka&#628;&#660;kou&#660;/ - my prisoner, absolutive
 
wáeykán-kúow /w&#603;i&#660;ka&#628;&#660;kou&#660;/ - prisoner, absolutive,
alienable possessive
 
 
pùelùe /p&#616;&#614;l&#616;&#614;/ - bridge, absolutive
 
myùepùelùe /m&#690;&#616;&#614;p&#616;&#614;l&#616;&#614;/ - my bridge, absolutive
 
wèypùelùe /w&#600;i&#614;p&#616;&#614;l&#616;&#614;/ - bridge, absolutive, alienable
possessive
 
 
mòoe /m&#604;&#614;&#720;/ - betel nut, absolutive
 
myimòoe /m&#690;im&#604;&#614;&#720;/ - my betel nut, absolutive
 
wieymòoe /weim&#604;&#614;&#720;/ - betel nut, absolutive, alienable possessive
 
 
pmaagin /pma&#720;gi&#628;/ - betel nut, ergative
 
myuepmaagin /m&#690;&#616;pma&#720;gi&#628;/ - my betel nut, ergative
 
weypmaagin /w&#600;ipma&#720;gi&#628;/ - betel nut, ergative, alienable possessive
 
&nbsp;
 
<h3>Reciprocal Possession</h3>
 
In Antarctican, there is no singular vs. plural marking. However, some nouns that imply
a relationship (e.g. friend, brother, enemy, coworker), have special forms to
indicate a pair or group of people / things where that relationship is
reciprocal e.g. where English would say “They are friends / brothers / enemies
/ coworkers (of each other)”.
 
These forms
are generally constructed by reduplicating the first syllable of the noun, in
the same “slot” where possession would be marked e.g.
 
 
buraza /bu&#641;aza/ - brother, absolutive
 
buburaza /bubu&#641;aza/ - brothers (of each other), absolutive
 
 
yieruoy /je&#641;oi/ - ally, absolutive
 
yieyieruoy /je&#641;oi/ - allies (of each other), absolutive
 
&nbsp;
 
However, the inserted syllable cannot have a long vowel, a diphthong, or end in /&#628;/.
If it would do so then it is truncated e.g.
 
 
duuolaa /do&#720;la&#720;/ - coworker, absolutive
 
duoduuolaa /dodo&#720;la&#720;/ - coworkers (of each other), absolutive
 
 
nayba /naiba/ - neighbour, absolutive
 
nanayba /nanaiba/ - neighbours (of each other), absolutive
 
 
kúowntátu /kou&#628;&#660;ta&#660;tu/ – acquaintance, absolutive
 
 
kúokúowntátu /ko&#660;kou&#628;&#660;ta&#660;tu/– acquaintances (of each other), absolutive
 
&nbsp;
 
The same rules about spreading and non-spreading of phonation onto possessive prefixes,
and the resultant vowel changes, also apply to the possessive prefixes e.g.
 
 
sátuozii /sa&#660;tozi&#720;/ – enemy, absolutive
 
myisátuozii /m&#690;isa&#660;tozi&#720;/ – my enemy, absolutive
 
sasátuozii /sasa&#660;tozi&#720;/ - enemies (of each other), absolutive
 
 
rùy /&#641;ui&#614;/- rival, absolutive
 
myùerùy /m&#690;&#616;&#614;&#641;ui&#614;/ - my rival, absolutive
 
rùrùy /&#641;u&#614;&#641;ui&#614;/ - rivals (of each other), absolutive
 
 
firiendun /fi&#641;e&#628;du&#628;/ – friend, ergative
 
myuefiriendun /m&#690;&#616;fi&#641;e&#628;du&#628;/ – my friend, ergative
 
fuefiriendun /f&#616;fi&#641;e&#628;du&#628;/ – friends (of each other), ergative
 
&nbsp;
 
A few nouns have irregular reciprocal possessive forms e.g.


Most speakers of Antarctican will also be bilingual in a second language that is only spoken in their local region. Typically, Antarctican will be used in more formal situations, and the local language used with family and friends. However, it is very common for regional varieties of Antarctican to borrow words from other local languages (which will typically have many similar features to Antarctican due to the [[Antarctican Sprachbund]]).


wùerèn /w&#616;&#614;&#640;&#600;&#628;&#614;/ - friend, absolutive
==Noun Morphology==
{{Main|Antarctican Nouns}}
Nouns inflect for case either through suffixation or a change of the final vowel, and possession (via prefixes). Unlike many European languages nouns do not inflect for either gender or number.
==Verb / Adjective Morphology==
{{Main|Antarctican Verbs}}
There is no distinction between adjectives and verbs in Antarctican. Instead of attributive adjectives like “good”, “bad”, “strong”,
“weak”, there are descriptive verbs meaning “to be good”, “to be bad” and so on.


fiwùerèn /fiw&#616;&#614;&#640;&#600;&#628;&#614;/ - friends (of each other), absolutive
==Syntax==


These arise from when the first vowel has breathy or tense voice, but the first consonant is underlyingly a voiced stop, a prestopped nasal, or a fricative other than /s/. These can only occur before modally voiced vowels, and are thus modified before the vowel with breathy or tense voice. But if the voicing is blocked from spreading onto the prefix, then the underlying consonant will surface there.
While on the surface [[Antarctican Syntax]] may look superficially similar to English (i.e. they both permit SVO sentences and place relative clauses after the noun), it is actually is quite different from English, being topic-prominent and syntactically ergative.


&nbsp;


[[Category:Languages]][[Category:Conlangs]]
[[Category:Languages]][[Category:Languages]][[Category:Antarctican]]

Latest revision as of 02:33, 20 January 2017

Antarctican is the most widely spoken language on the continent of Antarctica in the far future, at a time when runaway global warming has melted the icecaps and rendered most of the rest of the word uninhabitable. It evolved from Proto-Antarctican, which in turn evolved from a mixture of a wide variety of modern-day languages, among them English, Spanish, Japanese and many East Asian languages.

It has a complex phonology and morphophonology, especially in the vowel system. There are a lot of features not found in English e.g. a pitch-register system, phonemic vowel length, prestopped nasals, and ejective consonants. However in other ways the phonology is quite simple compared to English, with a very limited range of syllable shapes.

The morphosyntactic alignment is split ergative (as is the syntax), with noun suffixes following an ergative-absolutive system, but person marking on verbs following a nominative-accusative system. Nouns also inflect for alienable and inalienable possession, and they can undergo some quite complex stem changes. There is no real marking of plurality of nouns.

In the verbal morphology, transitivity is clearly marked. Verbs also inflect for person and voice. Tense and aspect are much less important.

The syntax is head-initial, and adjectives are not distinguished from verbs.

Phonology

Vowels

The pronunciation of each phoneme is listed in the tables below, preceded by its romanisation.

There are 11 monophthongs:

Antarctican monophthongs
Front Central Back
Close i /i/ ue /ɨ/ u /u/
Close-mid e /e/ oe /ɘ/ o /o/
Open-mid ae /ɛ/ ao /ɜ/ õ /ɔ/
Open a /a/ ã /ɒ/


And there are 16 diphthongs. 8 of these end in [j], and another 8 end in [w]:

Diphthongs ending in /j/
Front Central Back
Close uey /ɨj/ uy /uj/
Close-mid ey /ej/ oey /ɘi/ oy /oj/
Open-mid aey /ɛj/ aoy /ɜj/
Open ay /aj/
Diphthongs ending in /w/
Front Central Back
Close uew /ɨw/
Close-mid ew /ew/ oew /ɘu/ ow /ou/
Open-mid aew /ɛw/ aow /ɜw/ õw /ɔw/
Open aw /aw/


Vowel length

Vowel length is phonemic, on both monophthongs and diphthongs e.g.


  • kow /kou/ - something absorbed in something else, absolutive
  • koow /koːu/ - a frozen object, absolutive


Vowel Phonation

Antarctican also has a pitch register system (like Burmese and Vietnamese). Modal, tense or breathy voice can occur on either short or long vowels. Vowels with tense voice (marked with a small pharyngeal stop after the syllable e.g. /aˤ/) are pronounced with a high or rising pitch, and vowels with breathy voice (marked with a small voiced /h/ after the syllable e.g. /aʱ/) are pronounced with a low or falling pitch. This distinction is phonemic e.g.


  • kow /kou/ - something absorbed in something else, absolutive
  • ków /kouˤ/ - bigot, absolutive


Tense voice cannot occur on high vowels /i/, /ɨ/, /u/, nor on diphthongs beginning with these vowels. Breathy voice cannot occur on low vowels /a/, /ɒ/, nor on diphthongs beginning with these vowels.

The vowel õ /ɔ/ cannot take breathy voice, and when it takes tense voice, it is marked with a circumflex accent i.e. ô.


Floating Phonation

Similar to floating tones in Bantu languages (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floating_tone), the beginnings of words in Antarctican can have floating phonation (unmarked for modal phonation, written with ' before the word for tense phonation, and ` before the word for breathy phonation). As an example, the following words are pronounced identically when not inflected:


ká /kaˤ/ - coconut milk, absolutive

'ká /ˤkaˤ/ - fence, absolutive


However, when they take the prefix wa- (3rd person topicalised possessive), they are different:


waká /wakaˤ/ - his / her coconut milk, absolutive

'wáká /ˤwaˤkaˤ/ - his / her fence, absolutive


Words beginning with a glottal stop only ever have modal floating phonation e.g.

ámáelái /ʔaˤmɛˤlaiˤ/ - prey, absolutive

wa-ámáelái /waʔaˤmɛˤlaiˤ/ - his / her prey, absolutive (never wá-ámáelái)


Vowel Mutation

When a process such as the above changes the phonation of a vowel, often its quality changes as well. E.g. the possessive prefix for inclusive "we" is yew- /jeu/, however, when it acquires tense voice, it becomes 'yáew- /ˤjɛuˤ/ e.g.


yewká /jeukaˤ/ - our (including you) coconut milk, absolutive

'yáewká /ˤjɛuˤkaˤ/ - our (including you) fence, absolutive


Also, the quality of a modally voiced vowel sometimes changes if the next vowel also has modal voice (this also depends on whether the intervening consonant is voice or voiceless). In the case of the prefix yew- /jeu/, this changes to yoew- /jɘu/ if the intervening consonant is voiceless (other than a glottal stop) e.g.


tõn /tɔɴ/ - change (as in coins, money), absolutive

yoewtõn /jɘutɔɴ/ - our (including you) change, absolutive


These changes are given in the table below:


Tense voice Breathy voice Modal, normal Modal, before a voiced consonant followed by another modal vowel Modal, before a voiceless consonant followed by another modal vowel
éy /eiˤ/ ùe /ɨʱ/ i /i/ i /i/ ue /ɨ/
óey /ɘiˤ/ ùey /ɨʱ/ ii /iː/ ii /iː/ uue /ɨː/
áe ~ áae /ɛ(ː)ˤ/ òe ~ òoe /ɘ(ː)ʱ/ e ~ ee /e(ː)/ e ~ ee /e(ː)/ oe ~ ooe /ɘ(ː)/
á ~ áa /a(ː)ˤ/ ào ~ àao /ɜ(ː)ʱ/ a ~ aa /a(ː) a ~ aa /a(ː)/ ae ~ aae /ɛ(ː)/
ów /ouˤ/ ù /uʱ/ u /u/ o /o/ u /u/
óew /ɘuˤ/ ùew /ɨuʱ/ uu /uː/ ow /ou/ uu /uː/
áo /ɜˤ/ ò /oʱ/ õ /ɔ/ ã /ɒ/ õ /ɔ/
áey ~ áaey /ɛ(ː)iˤ/ òey ~ òoey /ɘ(ː)iʱ/ ey ~ eey /e(ː)i/ ey ~ eey /e(ː)i/ oey ~ ooey /ɘ(ː)i/
áy ~ áay /a(ː)iˤ/ àoy ~ àaoy /ɜ(ː)iʱ/ ay ~ aay /a(ː)i/ ay ~ aay /a(ː)i/ aey ~ aaey /ɛ(ː)i/
óy ~ óoy /o(ː)iˤ/ ùy ~ ùuy /u(ː)iˤ/ uy ~ uuy /u(ː)i/ oy ~ ooy /o(ː)i/ uy ~ uuy /u(ː)i/
áew ~ áaew /ɛ(ː)uˤ/ òew ~ òoew /ɘ(ː)uʱ/ ew ~ eew /e(ː)u/ ew ~ eew /e(ː)u/ oew ~ ooew /ɘ(ː)u/
áw ~ áaw /a(ː)uˤ/ àow ~ àaow /ɜ(ː)uʱ/ aw ~ aaw /a(ː)u/ aw ~ aaw /a(ː)u/ aew ~ aaew /ɛ(ː)u/
ôw ~ ôow /ɔ(ː)wˤ/ òw ~ òow /o(ː)uʱ/ ow ~ oow /o(ː)u/ õw ~ õow /ɔ(ː)u/ ow ~ oow /o(ː)u/

Phonation Restrictions

However, not every vowel can have every kind of phonation e.g. tense voice cannot occur on high vowels /i/, /ɨ/, /u/, nor on diphthongs beginning with these vowels. Similarly, breathy voice cannot occur on low vowels /a/, /ɒ/, nor on front vowels, nor on diphthongs beginning with these vowels. The permissible combinations of vowel quality and phonation are listed in detail here (Antarctican/Phonation restrictions):

Consonants

The pronunciation of each phoneme is listed in the table below, followed by its romanisation in brackets.

Antarctican consonants
Bilabial Alveolar Palatal Velar / Uvular Glottal / Placeless
plain palatalised central lateral
Nasals plain m /m/ my /mʲ/ n /n/ ny /ɲ/ ng /ŋ/ n /ɴ/
pre-stopped pm /pm/ pmy /pmʲ/ tn /tn/ cn /cɲ/ kn /kŋ/


Stops/Affricates ejective pq /p'/ pqy /p'ʲ/ tq /t'/ tql /tɬ'/ cqh /c' ~ tɕ'/ kq /k'/
voiceless p /p/ py /pʲ/ t /t/ tl /tɬ/ ch /c ~ tɕ/ k /k/ - /ʔ/
voiced b /b/ by /bʲ/ d /d/ dl /dɮ/ j /ɟ ~ dʑ/ g /g/
Fricatives voiceless f /f/ fy /fʲ/ s /s/ hl /ɬ/ sh /ç ~ ɕ/ h /χ ~ x/
voiced z /z/
Approximant w /w/ v /ɥ/ l /l ~ ɹ ~ ʎ/ y /j/ r /ʁ ~ ʀ/


  • Consonants separated with a tilde (~) are not separate phonemes but are either allophones or in free variation e.g. /ɟ ~ dʑ/ indicates that there is a single phoneme that can either be pronounced [ɟ] or [dʑ]. The most common pronunciation is always listed first.
  • The glottal stop is unmarked word initially (since all words must begin with consonants), and is marked by a hyphen elsewhere.
  • Prestopped nasals e.g. /tn/, /pm/ etc., pattern as voiceless and as nasals (and thus sonorants) in terms of the phonology. They are only found between syllables with modal vowel phonation (or modal voice floating phonation if at the beginning of a word).
  • The placeless nasal /ɴ/ is only found at the end of syllables. Before a glottal stop or at the end of a phrase, it nasalises the preceding vowel. Otherwise it assimilates to the same place of articulation as the following consonant e.g. it becomes [n] before /d/, [m] before /b/ etc.
  • Voiced obstruents (stops, fricatives and affricates) are only found in four cases.
  1. Separating two syllables with modal voice (or a modal voice floating phonation if at the start of a word).
  2. After a syllable containing breathy phonation (or a breathy voice floating phonation if at the start of a word) and before a syllable containing modal phonation.
  3. Separating two syllables with breathy voice (or a breathy voice floating phonation if at the start of a word). In this case they are pronounced with breathy voice, like the murmured/voiced aspirated consonants of many Indian languages.
  4. /z/ can also be found before vowels with tense voice.
  • Fricatives other than /s/ and /z/ (spirant / non-sibilant fricatives) are only found separating two syllables with modal voice (or modal voice floating phonation if at the beginning of a word), or separating two syllables with tense voice (or tense voice floating phonation if at the beginning of a word).
  • Ejectives are only ever found separating two syllables with tense voice (or tense voice floating phonation if at the beginning of a word).
  • The velar nasals /kŋ/ and /ŋ/ never occur at the beginning of words.
  • The alveolar stops /t/ and /d/, and the velar fricative /χ/ are never found before /i/ and /ɨ/ (with any phonation), nor before tense voice /eˤ/ and /ɘˤ/, nor before diphthongs starting with these.
  • The phoneme /l/ is pronounced as a palatal lateral [ʎ] before a high vowel, [ɹ] before a vowel with tense voice (high vowels cannot have tense voice), and [l] elsewhere.
  • Unpalatalised labial consonants can be velarised or doubly-articulated consonants (e.g. /p/ can be pronounced as [pˠ] or [kp]). This is especially the case with /w/ and before front vowels).


Consonant Harmony

Consonants in Antarctican can be grouped into two sets, soft and hard. Many affixes have two alternate forms, one with a soft consonant and one with a hard. When they attach to a word that begins with a soft consonant, the form of the affix with the soft consonant is used. If the word begins with a hard consonant, the form of the affix with the hard consonant is used. The soft consonants are the palatal consonants, the palatalized labial consonants, and the lateral consonants. All the other consonants are hard.

For example, the antipassive voice is formed by an infix that comes after the first consonant of a word. For words that begin with a hard consonant, the infix is am /am/ (which contains a hard consonant) e.g.

  • zuutlòeji /zuːtɬɘʱɟi/ - to know (a person), indirect
  • zamuutlòeji /zamuːtɬɘʱɟi/ - to know (a person), indirect, antipassive

However, if the word begins with a soft consonant, the infix is emy /emʲ/ e.g.

  • pyi-uu /pʲiʔuː/ - to purify, indirect
  • pyemyi-uu /pʲemʲiʔuː/ - to purify, indirect, antipassive
  • hli-õ /ɬiʔɔ/ - to perform, indirect
  • hlemyi-õ /ɬemʲiʔɔ/ - to perform, indirect, antipassive (not *(hlemi-õ) /ɬmiʔɔ/)

Phonotactics

Syllable structures are extremely limited, with only shapes being CV and CVɴ.


Distribution and Dialects

Antarctican is spoken across a large continent, by a diversity of cultures. As would be expected, there is significant dialectical variation within the language. The differences are most pronounced in the vocabulary, less in the morphology, and even less in the syntax and phonology.

Most speakers of Antarctican will also be bilingual in a second language that is only spoken in their local region. Typically, Antarctican will be used in more formal situations, and the local language used with family and friends. However, it is very common for regional varieties of Antarctican to borrow words from other local languages (which will typically have many similar features to Antarctican due to the Antarctican Sprachbund).

Noun Morphology

Main article: Antarctican Nouns

Nouns inflect for case either through suffixation or a change of the final vowel, and possession (via prefixes). Unlike many European languages nouns do not inflect for either gender or number.

Verb / Adjective Morphology

Main article: Antarctican Verbs

There is no distinction between adjectives and verbs in Antarctican. Instead of attributive adjectives like “good”, “bad”, “strong”, “weak”, there are descriptive verbs meaning “to be good”, “to be bad” and so on.

Syntax

While on the surface Antarctican Syntax may look superficially similar to English (i.e. they both permit SVO sentences and place relative clauses after the noun), it is actually is quite different from English, being topic-prominent and syntactically ergative.

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