Thulean

Introduction

Description

The Thulean language (endonym: Minegkatsi) has an agglutinative and polysynthetic morphology. Its morphosyntactic alignment is split intransitive with the fluid-S subtype. It is left-branching and double-marking. Thulean is a language isolate and has not been proven to belong to any established language family, although speculative suggestions of links between it and Uralic or Uralo-Siberian have been made in the past. It is spoken by the Selhat or Thuleans and has a total number of speakers exceeding 30 million.

The Thurse

Thurse is the collective name in English for the European pygmy phenotype. Thurse males and females are similar in stature and have an average height of between 135 to 140 cm. They are pale-skinned with the distinctive, dark stripes for which their clade is best known and have straight or wavy hair. Red hair is more common among the Thurse than any other phenotypical group. High androgyny among Thurse males and high neoteny generally are also notable traits. The Thurse belong to several ethnic groups, the largest of which is the Selhat or Thuleans who occupy Thule (endonym: Telku) the northernmost of the British Isles. The Thurse phenotype is believed to have originated in the Hercynian forest zone of central Europe, diverging from other Palaeolithic populations in Europe approximately ten thousand years ago. The Thurse have no connection with the pygmy populations of the tropics.

Influences

The phonology is inspired by Finnish and Quenya phonaesthetics but twisted towards my sensibilities. I just love lateral obstruents, you know? And I'm not excessively fond of /f/. The morphology is heavily influenced by Yupik and Inuktitut.

Goals

My intention is to create a polysynthetic elflang that is relatively easy for me to pronounce and which won't have a grammar too conplex for me to use. We'll see how it goes.

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Phonology

Orthography

Thulean is written in the Latin script. The orthography is phonemic but does show the effects of sandhi and consonant gradation. The current alphabet was adopted in 1898 and underwent its last revision in 1965. The orthography is listed in the tables below:

1) Consonants

		Labial	Alveolar		Palatal	Velar		Glottal
			Central	Lateral		Plain	Labialised
Sonorant	Nasal	m	n		nj	g	gw
	Liquid		r	l	lj
Stop	Fortis	pp	tt	ttl	ttj	kk	kkw
	Lenis	p	t	tl	tj	k	kw	x
Fricative	Fortis		ss	ssl	ssj	qq	qqw
	Lenis		s	sl	sj	q	qw
Approximant		v			j	h	w

2) Vowels

		Front	Back
Monophthong	High	i	u
	Low	e	a
Diphthong		ai	au

Note that the glottal stop is not written word-initially. The geminate palatal and labialised velar nasals are written "nnj" and "ggw" respectively. The geminate palatal liquid is written "llj".

Consonants

Thulean has 35 consonant phonemes which according to WALS is a large inventory. These are listed in the table below:

		Labial	Alveolar		Palatal	Velar		Glottal
			Central	Lateral		Plain	Labialised
Sonorant	Nasal	/m/	/n/		/ɲ/	/ŋ/	/ŋw/
	Liquid		/r/	/l/	/ʎ/
Stop	Fortis	/pp/	/tt/	/ttɬ/	/ttʃ/	/kk/	/kkw/
	Lenis	/p/	/t/	/tɬ/	/tʃ/	/k/	/kw/	/ʔ/
Fricative	Fortis		/ss/	/ɬɬ/	/ʃʃ/	/xx/	/xxw/
	Lenis		/s/	/ɬ/	/ʃ/	/x/	/xw/
Approximant		/v/			/j/	/h/	/w/

Vowels

Thulean has 4 vowel phonemes which according to WALS is a small inventory. There are also 2 diphthongs. The consonant to vowel ratio is 8.75 which according to WALS is high. The vowels are listed in the table below:

		Front	Back
Monophthong	High	/i/	/u/
	Low	/ɛ/	/ɑ/
Diphthong		/ai/	/au/

Allophony

1) Fortis obstruents are realised as their corresponding lenis obstruents in intervocalic position.

2) /p, t, ʧ, k, kʷ, s, ʃ, x, xʷ/ are voiced in intervocalic position.

3) /tɬ/ is realised as [dð] in intervocalic position.

4) /ɬ/ is realised as [θ] in onset position following a coda consonant of /n, r/.

5) /ɬ/ is realised as [ð] in intervocalic position.

6) /x/ is realised as [ʃ] in coda position.

7) The geminate clusters /mm, nn, ɲɲ, ŋŋ, ŋŋʷ, rr, ll, ʎʎ/ realised as [mb, nd, ɲʤ, ŋg, ŋgʷ, rd, ld, ʎʤ].

8) /ɑ/ is realised as [ɔ] before a liquid coda.

Prosody

Stress

Thulean has stress accent. Primary stress falls within the root. Open syllables without a diphthong are light; open syllables with a diphthong or closed syllables are heavy. Fortis obstruents close the syllable preceding them. If the first syllable of a root is heavy then the primary stress falls there otherwise it falls upon the second syllable of the root. In compound nouns, the primary stress falls within the second root.The stress placement within a root is fixed.

Intonation

Secondary stress falls upon every alternate syllable after the primary stress. This gives Thulean a broadly iambic rhythm. Thulean does not have phonemic tone.

Phonotactics

1) The syllable template in Thulean is CV(C).

2) Permitted syllable codas:

a) Morpheme-medial only: /ɲ, ŋ, r, l, ʎ, p, s/

b) Morpheme-medial and morpheme-final: /m, n, t, k, x/

3) Fortis obstruents may not occur in word-initial position.

4) Fortis plosives may not occur in the onset of closed syllables.

5) Consonant clusters may have no more than two segments.

6) Consonant clusters may only occur across syllable boundaries.

7) But suffixes may begin with a consonant cluster.

8) Permitted consonant clusters as per table below:

	m	n	ɲ	ŋ	ŋʷ	r	l	ʎ	p	t	tɬ	ʧ	k	kʷ	ʔ	s	ɬ	ʃ	x	xʷ	v	j	h	w
m	mm								mp						mʔ						mv
n		nn								nt	ntɬ				nʔ	ns
ɲ			ɲɲ									ɲʧ						ɲʃ
ŋ				ŋŋ	ŋŋʷ								ŋk	ŋkʷ	ŋʔ				ŋx	ŋxʷ			ŋh
r						rr			rp	rt	rtɬ	rʧ	rk	rkʷ	rʔ	rs	rɬ	rʃ	rx	rxʷ	rv	rj	rh	rw
l							ll		lp	lt			lk	lkʷ	lʔ	ls			lx	lxʷ	lv		lh	lw
ʎ								ʎʎ				ʎʧ						ʎʃ
p																ps			px
t																ts			tx
t																ks			kx
s									sp	st	stɬ	sʧ	sk	skʷ
x									xp	xt	xtɬ	xʧ	xk	xkʷ

9) High vowels may not occur before a liquid coda.

10) /i/ may not occur after an onset of /j/.

11) /u/ may not occur after an onset of /w/.

12) Diphthongs may not occur in a closed syllable.

13) Diphthongs may not precede a fortis obstruent.

14) Diphthongs may not precede /j, w/.

Consonant Gradation

1) Consonant gradation is word-internal lenition that effects the following:

a) Fortis obstruents

b) Lenis plosives following a sonorant coda or a vowel

2) Consonant gradation is triggered by the closing of a syllable which begins with the above classes of obstruents.

3) The sequences of consonant gradation are as per the tables below:

a) Fortis obstruents, and lenis plosives following a liquid:

GRADE I	GRADE II	GRADE III
pp	p	v
tt	t	r
ttɬ	tɬ	l
tʧ	ʧ	j
kk	k	h
kkʷ	kʷ	w
ss	s
ɬɬ	ɬ
ʃʃ	ʃ
xx	x
xxʷ	xʷ

b) Lenis plosives following a nasal:

GRADE I	GRADE II
mp	mb
nt	nd
ntɬ	ld
ɲʧ	ɲʤ
ŋk	ŋg
ŋkʷ	ŋgʷ

4) Consonant gradation occurs after metathesis from sandhi but before sandhi proper.

Sandhi

1) Sandhi is the term given to interactions between consonants at morpheme boundaries.

2) If a triconsonantal cluster should result from suffixation then an epenthetic /E/ is inserted after the first segment of the triconsonantal cluster.

3) All other sandhi interactions are resolved as per the table below:

	m	n	ɲ	ŋ	ŋʷ	r	l	ʎ	p	t	tɬ	ʧ	k	kʷ	ʔ	s	ɬ	ʃ	x	xʷ	v	j	h	w
m	mb	nd	ɲʤ	ŋg	ŋgʷ	rd	ld	ʎʤ	mp	nt	ntɬ	ɲʧ	ŋk	ŋkʷ	mʔ	ns	nθ	ɲʃ	ŋx	ŋxʷ	mv	ɲ	ŋh	ŋʷ
n															nʔ
t	nt		ɲʧ	nt	ŋkʷ	rt	tɬ	ʎʧ	pp	tt	ttɬ	tʧ	kk	kkʷ	tt	ts	tɬ	ʧ	tx	kkʷ	kʷ	ʧ	tx	kʷ
k	ŋk			ŋk		rk	lk								kk	ks			kx				kx
x	ŋx		nʃ	ŋx	ŋxʷ	rx	lx	ʎʃ	ʃp	ʃt	ʃtɬ	ʃʧ	ʃk	ʃkʷ	xʔ	ss	ɬɬ	ʃʃ	xx	xxʷ		ʃ	xx	xʷ

4) If owing to suffixation a high vowel should precede a liquid coda then it is lowered to its corresponding low vowel.

Morphology

General Notes

Thulean morphology has the following constituents:

1) Roots: these are divided into nominal and verbal roots. The latter are divided into transitive and intransitive categories.

2) Postbases: these are derivational or adjunctival suffixes which directly follow the root. They are scope-ordered.

3) Inflectional affixes: these bear functions such as case, number, possession, agent, patient, tense amongst others. The usual bread and butter, nuts and bolts stuff that inflection does.

4) Particles: Conjunctions, interjections and other miscellany that do not fit into the above categories.

Nominal Structure

1) Noun template:

case prefix + nominal or verbal root + postbase(s) + number suffix + possessive suffix or indefinite suffix + demonstrative suffix

2) A minimally inflected noun has a case prefix and a number suffix.

Cases

Nominal Case Declension

Case	Prefix	Function	Examples
Absolutive	Ø-	Marks the nominal citation form Marks the O argument of a transitive verb Marks the stative S argument of an intransitive verb Marks the recipient of a ditransitive verb
Ergative	a-	Marks the A argument of a transitive verb Marks the active S argument of an intransitive verb Marks the possessor of a possessive noun phrase
Instrumental	ki-	Indicates the use of an instrument or tool Marks the the focus of an intransitive verb of perception, cognition or affection of stative S arguments Marks direct causal arguments Marks the theme of a ditransitive verb
Locative	jet-	Indicates location or place Indicates time, event, or occasion Marks the locative comitative Marks the verbal infinitive in periphrastic constructions
Allative	nu-	Indicates direction, goal, or destination Marks the focus of an intransitive verb of perception, cognition or affection of active S arguments Encodes spatial or temporal relations in conjunction with terminative markers (e.g. up to, until, as far as) Marks the beneficiary of an action
Ablative	pik-	Indicates motion away from Indicates origin Indicates distance from a reference point Indicates time since an event occurred Encodes partitive relations (part of, made from, some of) Marks the focus of intransitive malefactive/adversarial verbs Encodes aversive case relations (for fear of, lest, in case of)
Perlative	me-	Indicates motion through, across or along Indicates path, means or mode of transport or transmission Indicates duration Marks the instrumental or collaborative comitative Marks indirect causal arguments
Equative	sin-	Indicates similarity in manner, likeness or composition Encodes comparative marking (as, than) Serves as a topicalizer (e.g. regarding, concerning, about, as for)

Number

1) For the purposes of number, Thulean nouns are divided into count nouns and mass nouns.

2) For count nouns there are two systems of number:

a) singular-plural

b) collective-singulative

3) The singular-plural system works as it does in most European languages, the singular form of the noun is default and marks a single instance of that noun. The plural form marks multiple instances of that noun. Eg:

SG: kattu = cat

PL: katut = cats

4) With the collective-singulative system the collective form of the noun is default and marks multiple instances of that noun. The singulative form marks a single instance of that noun. Collective nouns usually indicate entities that are found in groups. Eg:

COL: makku = pigs

SGV: makuq = pig

5) Mass nouns are considered to be pluralia tanta and thus use the collective-singulative system. The collective form indicates a lump or mass and the singulative form indicates a part of that lump or mass. Eg:

COL: ninta = water

SGV: ninnuq = a drop or sip of water

6) Number suffixes:

a) After vowel:

PL: -t

SGV: -q

b) After consonant or before suffix:

PL: -ta

SGV: -qe

Possession

1) Pronominal Possession:

This is indicated by the following set of suffixes:

1SG: -nne

2SG: -gke

3SG ANIM: -nte

3SG INAN: -mme

4SG ANIM: -lle

4SG INAN: -nse

1PL EXCL: -gka

1PL INCL: -ppa

2PL: -kka

3PL ANIM: -tta

3PL INAN: -mma

4PL ANIM: -lka

4PL INAN: -ksa

2) Nominal Possession:

This is indicated by the following construction:

NOM + possessor possessum + pronominal possessive suffix eg:

akimet katunte = the woman's cat

The Indefinite

1) The indefinite suffix -li imparts the meaning of a, a certain, some, any.

2) Used with the ablative case has the meaning any of, any one of. Eg:

pikselhat telli = any one of the people

pikselhat talki = any of the people

3) When used with 3rd and 4th person pronouns creates indefinite pronouns. Eg:

telli = someone, anyone (3SG)

salki = some people, any people (4PL)

Demonstratives

1) Thulean has four demonstrative suffixes which encode the following distances:

a) The proximal citerior which marks a person or object near the speaker.

b) The distal citerior which marks a person or object near the addressee.

c) The proximal ulterior which marks a person or object away from both speaker and addressee but within visual range.

d) The distal ulterior which marks a person or object away from both speaker and addressee but outside visual range.

2)The demonstrative suffixes are as follows:

PROX CIT: -tsi

DIST CIT: -psu

PROX ULT: -tje

DIST ULT: -nja

3) By attaching the demonstrative suffixes to personal pronouns a set of demonstrative pronouns can be created. Eg:

minetsi = this thing

tukenja = yon people out of sight

Gender

1) Thulean has two genders, animate and inanimate.

2) The animate gender contains nouns referring to people, animals and dynamic physical phenomena such as fire or wind.

3) The inanimate gender contains the residuum.

4) Nouns are not overtly marked for gender but they govern the appropriate pronouns, possessive suffixes and verbal pronominal markers. Eg:

paslanti kattu = the pretty cat

helkammu ninta = the hot water

Other resources

Thulean Lexicon

ahaq = fire

anja = copper, small change

apa = to be not, negative auxiliary

aqqa = to hate (stative), to dislike (active)

arhanta = silver, money, cash

arqa = to eat

ausa = gold

avalla = apple

ekwa = horse

eqpe = to taste (stative), to savour (active)

esak = salmon

esel = leaves

gaxala = to heal, to doctor

-halla = augmentative

-hansle = too much, excessively

hanta = to give

helka = to be hot (stative), to warm up (active)

isanna = iron

issit = hair

jaipiq = fishes

jakken = boat

janaq = man

jiggat = to drink

kai = but

kallun = witch, sorcerer

karvanta = wagon, cart

katen = chains

kategkarvanta = train

kategwala = laser

kattu = cat

kimet = woman

kinje = to love (stative), to like (active)

-kwepsu = never

kwetsala = feathers

kwetta = portion, share

lakka = duck

latju = thug, bravo

-limut = should, must, ought

-lkwa = white, blonde

maiset = to mislead

-mak = can, able to

makku = pigs

makkusluse = pork

maslen = bread

-mmelet = black, brunette

ninta = water

njara = to purr

numme = to be red

nutje = eels

palka = to go

pantju = to buy

passla = be beautiful

patata= potatoes

pattu = hare

pattuhalla = donkey

penikkelu = pencil

penta = to fill

qaneq = willows

qaste = world

qintu = to see (stative), to watch (active)

-qpak = dimunitive

qwakka = fuck

qwenestera = window

qwestu = winds

russla = spirit, soul

-rusta = red, ginger

selka = person

sinnak = fox

slaka = maggots

slasu = to hear (stative), to listen (active)

slatan = wing

-slempi = certain, sure

sluse = meat, flesh

sukkaru = sugar

sunik = snow

tagka = tin

taha = sword

tamate = tomato

tjakalat = chocolate

tjave = to feel (stative), to touch (active)

tlanta = children

unnu = pillow

unnujakken = hovercraft

uruk = foreigners

vagwa = to find (stative), to seek (active)

vakkan = rain

vassli = wasp

vasslislatan = helicopter

velara = wolves

verak = badger

-verri = new, young, fresh

-vinja = old, mature, wise

wala = light

wervu = amber