Tveðo

Todo

• yṇfi = truth
• nîr = water

Introduction

Tveðo is a Dravidian language spoken in Lõis's Madagascar. It is inspired by Welsh, chemical names and Medh Nghêl.

• 1-10: ont, rhant, mwnt, nant, aent, awr, êzh, eṭh, ompath, path
• 20-100: îrffath, mwffath, nawsffath, aeffath, awrffath, êzhffath, eṭhffath, toṇhwr, nwr

Phonology

Consonants

Tveðo consonants

		Labial	Dental	Alveolar	Retroflex	Velar	Glottal
Nasal	voiceless	mh /m̊/	nh /n̊/		ṇh /ɳ̊/	ngh /ŋ̊/
	voiced	m /m/	n /n/		ṇ /ɳ/	ng /ŋ/
Stop	voiceless	p /p/	t /t/		ṭ /ʈ/	c /k/
	voiced	b /b/	d /d/		ḍ /ɖ/	g /g/
Fricative	voiceless	ph, ff /f/	th /θ/	s /s/	sh, ṭh /ʂ/	ch /χ/	h /h/
	voiced	f /v/	dd /ð/	z /z/	zh, ḍḍ /ʐ~ɻ/
Liquid	voiceless		ll /ɬ/	rh /r̥/	ḷḷ /ꞎ/
	voiced		l /l/	r /r/	ḷ /ɭ/
Approximant		w /w/

Vowels

a â ae aw e ê ei i î o ô oe w y

Morphology

Pronouns

	Singular	Plural
1	nawn (gen. en)	nawncaḷ (acc. encaḷi, gen. encaḷ)
1 + 2		nawf (acc. nami, gen. nam)
2	nî	nîncaḷ
3 (animate)	awr	awrchaḷ
3 (inanimate)	ad	aechaḷ

Nouns

Tveðo nouns decline in 7 cases and two numbers. The declension system is rather complex as each noun displays several different principal parts and and ending allomorphs also vary based on the noun.

General noun paradigm
	Singular	Plural
Nominative	[0]	[2]c(h)aḷ
Accusative	[1]i (-ae after i)	[2]c(h)aḷi
Genitive	[3] + nasal mutation	[2]c(h)aḷ + nasal mutation
Dative	[1]ych	[2]c(h)aḷych
Instrumental	[1]ol	[2]c(h)aḷol
Ablative	[1]ynol	[2]c(h)aḷynol
Locative	[3]yl	[2]c(h)aḷyl

The declension might be best illustrated with example nouns:

pawl 'kind, type'
	Singular	Plural
Nominative	pawl	pawlchaḷ
Accusative	pawli	pawlchaḷi
Genitive	pawl + nasal mutation	pawlchaḷ + nasal mutation
Dative	pawlych	pawlchaḷych
Instrumental	pawlol	pawlchaḷol
Ablative	pawlynol	pawlchaḷynol
Locative	pawlyl	pawlchaḷyl

mara 'tree'
	Singular	Plural
Nominative	mara	marancaḷ
Accusative	marathi	marancaḷi
Genitive	mareth + nasal mutation	marancaḷ + nasal mutation
Dative	marathych	marancaḷych
Instrumental	marathol	marancaḷol
Ablative	marathynol	marancaḷynol
Locative	marethyl	marancaḷyl

maga 'son'
	Singular	Plural
Nominative	maga	magancaḷ
Accusative	magani	magancaḷi
Genitive	magen + nasal mutation	magancaḷ + nasal mutation
Dative	maganych	magancaḷych
Instrumental	maganol	magancaḷol
Ablative	maganynol	magancaḷynol
Locative	magenyl	magancaḷyl

myṭhi 'egg'
	Singular	Plural
Nominative	myṭhi	myṭhichaḷ
Accusative	myṭhiae	myṭhichaḷi
Genitive	myṭhi + nasal mutation	myṭhichaḷ + nasal mutation
Dative	myṭhich	myṭhichaḷych
Instrumental	myṭhiol	myṭhichaḷol
Ablative	myṭhinol	myṭhichaḷynol
Locative	myṭhiyl	myṭhichaḷyl

gwîḍ 'house'
	Singular	Plural
Nominative	gwîḍ	gwîṭhcaḷ
Accusative	gwîṭhi	gwîṭhcaḷi
Genitive	gwîṭh + nasal mutation	gwîṭhcaḷ + nasal mutation
Dative	gwîṭhych	gwîṭhcaḷych
Instrumental	gwîṭhol	gwîṭhcaḷol
Ablative	gwîṭhynol	gwîṭhcaḷynol
Locative	gwîṭhyl	gwîṭhcaḷyl

Adjectives

Adjectives do not agree with nouns but are conjugated like verbs in predicative position. Attributive adjectives are unmarked.

Examples of attributive adjectives:

• nall 'good'; peri 'big'; cinh 'small'; pazhae 'old'; pydi 'new'

Conjugation of predicative adjectives (present tense):

Personal endings
	Singular	Plural
1	-e	-w
2	-ae	-iaḷ
3.c	-or	-oḷ
3.n	-ad	-an

Example:

• 1sg: nalle; perie
• 2sg: nallae; periae
• 3sg.c: nallor; perior
• 3sg.n: nallad; periad
• 1pl: nallw; periw
• 2pl: nalliaḷ, periaḷ
• 3pl.c: nalloḷ, perioḷ
• 3pl.n: nallan, perian

Adverbs are formed from adjectives with the suffix -og: nallog 'well', pydiog 'again'.

Verbs

Person and tense suffixes

sei 'do'	Non-past
	Singular	Plural
1	sei·b·e	sei·b·w
2	sei·b·ae	sei·b·iaḷ
3.c	sei·b·or	sei·b·oḷ
3.n	sei·b·ad	sei·b·an

sei 'do'	Past
	Singular	Plural
1	sei·d·e	sei·d·w
2	sei·d·ae	sei·d·iaḷ
3.c	sei·d·or	sei·d·oḷ
3.n	sei·d·ad	sei·d·an

Example texts

UDHR, Article 1

Ell nabarchaḷ pidantaboḷ caṭhasog mel offonog medyffyl mel ŷrfichaḷyl. Awrchaḷ pesoḷ pagythezyw mel yḷḷananfi, mel gwêṇṭ coḷ naḍant orwar orwarych sagwdaren owiyl.

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act toward one another in a spirit of brotherhood.