Antarctican

Antarctican 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 the word uninhabitable. It has been influenced by a 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, focus and transitivity are 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, followed by its romanisation in brackets.

There are 11 monophthongs:

Antarctican monophthongs

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i /i/	ue /ɨ/	u /u/
Close-mid	ie /e/	e /ɘ/	uo /o/
Open-mid	ae /ɛ/	oe /ɜ/	o /ɔ/
Open	a /a/		ao /ɒ/

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

Diphthongs ending in /j/

	Front	Central	Back
Close		uey /ɨj/	uy /uj/
Close-mid	iey /ej/	ey /ɘj/	uoy /oj/
Open-mid	aey /ɛj/	oey /ɜj/
Open	ay /aj/

Diphthongs ending in /w/

	Front	Central	Back
Close		uew /ɨw/
Close-mid	iew /ew/	ew /ɘw/	uow /ow/
Open-mid	aew /&#ɛw/	oew /ɜw/	ow /ɔw/
Open	aw /aw/

Vowel length

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

• kuow /kou/ - something absorbed in something else, absolutive
• kuuow /koːu/ - a frozen object, absolutive

Vowel phonation

Vowels in Antarctican also have phonemic phonation. Modal, tense or breathy voice can occur on either short or long vowels. 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.

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 /kaʔ/ - coconut milk, absolutive

'ká /kaʔ/ - fence, absolutive

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

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

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

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

ámáelái /ʔaʔmɛʔlaiʔ/ - prey, absolutive

wa-ámáelái /waʔaʔmɛʔlaiʔ/ - 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 yiew- /jeu/, however, when it acquires tense voice, it becomes 'yáew- /jɛuʔ/ e.g.

yiewká /jeukaʔ/ - our (including you) coconut milk, absolutive

'yáewká /jɛuʔkaʔ/ - 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 yiew- /jeu/, this changes to yew- /jɘu/ if the intervening consonant is voiceless (other than a glottal stop) e.g.

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

yewton /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
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

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 below:

Monophthong phonation

	Voice	Front	Central	Back
Close	Modal	i /i/	ue /ɨ/ from /i/	u /u/
	Breathy		ùe /ɨɦ/	ù /uɦ/
Close-mid	Modal	ie /e/	e /ɘ/ from /e/	uo /o/ from /u/
	Tense	íe /eʔ/	é /ɘʔ/	úo /oʔ/
	Breathy		è /ɘɦ/	ùo /oɦ/
Open-mid	Modal	ae /ɛ/ from /a/		o /ɔ/
	Tense	áe /ɛʔ/	óe /ɜʔ/	ó /ɔʔ/
	Breathy		òe /ɜɦ/
Open	Modal	a /a/		ao /ɒ/ from /ɔ/
	Tense	á /aʔ/

• 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 /kouɴʔtaʔtu/ – acquaintance, absolutive
• 'kúokúowntátu /koʔkouɴʔtaʔtu/ – acquaintances (of each other), absolutive

When such diphthongs are truncated, it is always only the first part of it that is preserved e.g. /eiʔ/ and /euʔ/ both shorten to /eiʔ/. /oiʔ/ and /ouʔ/ both shorten to /oʔ/ etc.

Vowels marked with an asterisk do not contrast for length.

There are similar restrictions on diphthongs:

Diphthong phonation /j/

	Voice	Front	Central	Back
Close	Modal			uy /ui/
	Breathy		ùey /ɨiɦ/	ùy /uiɦ/
Close-mid	Modal	iey /ei/	ey /ɘi/	uoy /oi/
	Tense	íey /eiʔ/	éy /ɘiʔ/	úoy /oiʔ/
	Breathy		èy /ɘiɦ/
Open-mid	Modal	aey /ɛi/
	Tense	áey /ɛiʔ/
	Breathy		òey /ɜiɦ/
Open	Modal	ay /ai/
	Tense	áy /aiʔ/

Same applies to the remaining diphthongs:

Diphthong phonation /w/

	Voice	Front	Central	Back
Close	Modal
	Breathy		ùew /ɨuɦ/
Close-mid	Modal	iew /ew/	ew /ɘu/	uow /ou/
	Tense			úow /ouʔ/
	Breathy		èw /ɘuɦ/	ùow /ouɦ/
Open-mid	Modal	aew /ɛu/		ow /ɔu/
	Tense	áew /ɛuʔ/		ów /ɔuʔ/
	Breathy		òew /ɜuɦ/
Open	Modal	aw /au/
	Tense	áw /auʔ/

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/Affricate	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/Affricates	ejective			tqs /ts' ~ s'/
	voiceless	f /f/	fy /fʲ/	s /s ~ ts/	hl /ɬ/	sh /ç ~ ɕ/	h /χ ~ x/
	voiced			z /z ~ dz/
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. /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 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 three 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.

• Non-alveolar 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/ are never found before /i/ and /ʎ/ (with any phonation), nor before tense voice /eʔ/ and /ɘʔ/, 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.

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.

• ziitlòeji /ziːtɬɜɦɟi/ - to know (a person), verb-focus
• zamiitlòeji /zamiːtɬɜɦɟi/ - to know (a person), verb-focus, antipassive

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

• pyiquu /pʲiʔuː/ - to purify, verb-focus
• pyiemyiquu /pʲemʲiʔuː/ - to purify, verb-focus, antipassive
• hli-o /ɬiʔɔ/ - to perform, verb-focus
• hliemyi-o /ɬemʲiʔɔ/ - to perform, verb-focus, antipassive (not *(hliemi-o) /ɬmiʔɔ/)

Phonotactics

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

Noun Morphology

Case

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 /tɔɴ/ - change (as in coins, money), absolutive
• taon /tɒɴ/ - change, ergative

• duoliiengun /doleːŋuɴ/ - dragon, absolutive
• duoliienguon /doleːŋoɴ/ - 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 /pɛχouɴ/ - dust, absolutive
• paehown /pɛχɔuɴ/ - dust, ergative
• yuenpiluoy - /jɨɴpiloi/ - employee, absolutive
• yuenpiloy /jɨɴpilɔi/ - employee, ergative

Final vowel is not a back vowel

In this case the ergative suffix is –n /ɴ/, or –ga /ga/ if the noun already ended in –n e.g.*zivie /ziɥe/ - boat, absolutive

• zivien /ziɥeɴ/ - boat, ergative
• myaewntayn /mʲɛuɴtaiɴ/ - mountain, absolutive
• myaewntayn-ga / mʲɛuɴtaiɴga/ - 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 ɴ, 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 /teilɛʔː/ - shirt, absolutive
• tieyláaesin /teilɛʔːsiɴ / - shirt, ergative
• píey /peiʔ/ - book, absolutive
• píeykin /peiʔkiɴ/ - book, ergative
• `kùe /kɨɦ/ - goods, absolutive
• `kùezin /kɨɦziɴ/ - goods, ergative
• `rè /ʁɘɦ/ - red object, absolutive
• `rèdun /ʁɘɦduɴ/ – red object, ergative
• 'kúow /kouʔ/ - cup, absolutive
• 'kúowpin */kouʔpiɴ/ - cup, ergative
• píeylánkáe /peiʔlaɴʔkɛʔ/ - blanket, absolutive
• píeylánkáetun /peiʔlaɴʔkɛʔtuɴ/ - blanket, ergative
• wùerù /wɨɦʁuɦ/- frog, absolutive
• wùerùgin /wɨɦʁuɦgiɴ/ - 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 /wɨɦʁuɦ/ 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 /wɨɦʁuɦgiɴ/. 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 often a change in vowel quality (as given by the table in the phonology section). e.g.

'tùen /tɨɴɦ/- wound caused by a sting (e.g. a bee or a jellyfish), absolutive

'tin-gin /tiɴgiɴ/ - wound caused by a sting (e.g. a bee or a jellyfish), ergative (not *tùen-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.

ùylèn /ʔuiɦlɘɴɦ/ - island, absolutive

uoyliendun /ʔoileɴduɴ/ - island, ergative (not *qùilèndun)

tùrèen /tuɦʁɘːɴɦ/ - fashionable items, absolutive

tuoriiendun /toʁeːɴduɴ/ - fashionable items, ergative

 

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.

ámáeláy /ʔaʔmɛʔlaiʔ/ - prey, absolutive

amielaeykin /ʔamelɛikiɴ/ - prey, ergative

 

There are many, many other nouns that decline according to this pattern. Almost all of the nouns that end in /ɴ/ or contain a long vowel in the final syllable undergo vowel changes in the stem e.g.

'táen /tɛɴʔ/ - weather, absolutive

'tenchin /tɘɴciɴ/ - weather, ergative

kòoe /kɜɦː/ - membership card, absolutive

kaadun /kaːduɴ/ - membership card, ergative

However, the converse is not true. For nouns with non-modally voiced final vowels, but that do not end in /ɴ/ or a long vowel, some undergo vowel changes e.g.

ùenòe /ʔɨɦnɜɦ/ - eel, absolutive

inajin /ʔinaɟiɴ/ - eel, ergative

While others do not e.g.

`kùe /kɨɦ/ - goods, absolutive

`kùezin /kɨɦziɴ/ - goods, ergative

 

There are some nouns that have identical absolutive forms, but are distinguished in the ergative e.g.

'ká /kaʔ/ - fence, absolutive

kaechin /kɛciɴ/ - fence, ergative

ká /kaʔ/ - coconut milk, absolutive

kátlin /katɬiɴ/ coconut milk, ergative

 

Obstruent Voicing

If the absolutive form has a voiceless obstruent (oral stop, affricate or fricative), that separates two syllables with breathy voice (or a breathy voice floating phonation if word initial), when the breathy voiced vowels acquire modal voice in the ergative form, the voiceless obstruent does too, becoming modally voiced e.g.

`pùelùe /pɨɦlɨɦ/ - bridge, absolutive

bilidlin /bilidɮiɴ/ - bridge, ergative

`pòey /pɜiɦ/ - baby, absolutive

baybyin /baibʲiɴ/ - baby, ergative

`nyùewsùeylèn /ɲɨuɦsɨɦiɦlɘɴɦ/ - New Zealand, absolutive

nyuuziiliendun /ɲuːziːleɴduɴ/ - New Zealand, ergative

 

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 /jeiʔsitɬeiʔɲeiʔ/ - mutton, absolutive

yíeysidlinyuekin /jeiʔsidɮiɲɨkiɴ/ - mutton, ergative

Here we can see that the /tɬ/ in the absolutive form has changed to /dɮ/ 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 /taʔmaʔ/- victim of a scam / swindle, absolutive

damaesin /damɛsiɴ/ - victim of a scam / swindle, ergative

 

Sonorant Devoicing

Another similar pattern occurs in sonorants. If, in the absolutive form, they are preceded by a syllable with a modally voiced vowel (or modal voice floating phonation if word initial), 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 /ɬ/, /j/ becomes /ç/, and /ʁ/ becomes /χ/, voiced nasals become prestopped e.g.

yuuwíey /juːweiʔ/ - clothes, absolutive

yuufekin /juːfɘkiɴ/ - clothes, ergative

aetienòelùn /ʔɛtenɜɦluɴɦ/ - heart, absolutive

aetetnaluonzin /ʔɛtɘtnaloɴziɴ/ - heart, ergative

 

De-Ejectivisation

There are some Antarctican nouns that have ejectives in the absolutive form. As required by the phonotactics, they have tense voiced vowels both before and after (possibly with /ɴ/ intervening). However, sometimes in the ergative form, the tense voiced vowel after the ejective becomes modally voiced. In this case, the airstream mechanism changes from glottalic egressive (ejective) to pulmonic egressive (normal) e.g.

'kqúow /kʼouʔ/ - a small amount, absolutive

'kuhli /\kuɬi/ - a small amount, ergative

ráetqúowlíeykuetu /ʁɛʔtʼoleiʔkɨtu/ - something self-limiting, absolutive

ráetuoluekuetu /ʁɛʔtolɨkɨtu/ something self-limiting, ergative

'kíeychqíey /keiʔcʼeiʔ/ - a female name, absolutive

'kíeychuekin /keiʔcɨkiɴ/ - a female name, ergative

 

Comitative Case

How this is formed also depends on the frontness and phonation of the final vowel:

 

Last Vowel of Abs. Form has Modal Voice

Last Vowel of Abs. Form is not a Back Vowel

In this case, take the absolutive form, raise /a/ to /ɛ/ and centralise any other front vowels e.g.

zivie /ziɥe/ - boat, absolutive

zive /ziɥɘ/ - boat, comitative

myaewntayn /mʲɛuɴtaiɴ/ - mountain, absolutive

myaewntaeyn /mʲɛuɴtɛiɴ/ - mountain, comitative

agiriey /ʔagiʁei/ - agreement, absolutive

agirey /ʔagiʁɘi/ - agreement, comitative

 

Last Vowel of Abs. Form is a Back Vowel

In this case, take the absolutive form, and suffix /pmu/ e.g.

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

tonpmu /tɔɴpmu/ - change (as in coins, money), comitative

duoliiengun /doleːŋuɴ/ - dragon, absolutive

duoliiengunpmu /doleːŋuɴpmu/ - dragon, comitative

paehuown /pɛχouɴ/ - dust, absolutive

paehuownpmu /pɛχouɴpmu/ - dust, comitative

yuenpiluoy - /jɨɴpiloipmu/ - employee, absolutive

yuenpiluoypmu - /jɨɴpiloipmu/ - employee, comitative

 

Other Cases

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 /ɴ/ or /ga/ that had been inserted as a suffix, and then suffixing /ʔu/ e.g.

'tùen /sitɨɴɦ/ - wound caused by a sting (e.g. a bee or a jellyfish), absolutive

'tin-gin /sɨtiɴgiɴ/ - wound caused by a sting (e.g. a bee or a jellyfish), ergative

'tin-gi-u /sɨtiɴgiʔu/ - wound caused by a sting, comitative

tieyláae /teilɛʔː/ - shirt, absolutive

tieyláaesin /teilɛʔːsiɴ / - shirt, ergative

tieyláaesi-u /teilɛʔːsiʔu/ - shirt, comitative

píey /peiʔ/ - book, absolutive

píeykin /peiʔkiɴ/ - book, ergative

píeyki-u /peiʔkiʔu/ - book, comitative

`kùe /kɨɦ/ - goods, absolutive

`kùezin /kɨɦziɴ/ - goods, ergative

`kùezi-u /kɨɦziʔu/ - goods, comitative

`rè /ʁɘɦ/ - red object, absolutive

`rèdun /ʁɘɦduɴ/ – red object, ergative

`rèdu-u /ʁɘɦduʔu/ – red object, comitative

'kúow /kouʔ/ - cup, absolutive

'kúowpin /kouʔpiɴ/ - cup, ergative

'kúowpi-u /kouʔpiʔu/ - cup, comitative

píeylánkáe /peiʔlaɴʔkɛʔ/ - blanket, absolutive

píeylánkáetun /peiʔlaɴʔkɛʔtuɴ/ - blanket, comitative

píeylánkáetu-u /peiʔlaɴʔkɛʔtuʔu/ - blanket, ergative

wùerù /wɨɦʁuɦ/ - frog, absolutive

wùerùgin /wɨɦʁuɦgiʔu/ - frog, ergative

wùerùgiqu /wɨɦʁuɦgiɴ/ - frog, comitative

 

Pronominal Possession

Where English would use possessive pronouns (“my”, “your”), Antarctican uses possessive prefixes. The base forms of each are listed in the table below:

Prefix	Usage
myi- /mʲi/	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 /mʲijuːweiʔ/, “your clothes” would be tiyuuwíey /tijuːweiʔ/ etc.

 

Phonation Spreading

However, if the noun has a floating phonation, this will spread onto the prefix, and often cause a vowel change in it as well (see the table in the phonology section for a list of changes) e.g.

'kánkúow /kaɴʔkouʔ/ - prisoner, absolutive

'myíeykán-kúow /mʲeiʔkaɴʔkouʔ/ - my prisoner, absolutive (not *myikán-kúow)

'tíeykán-kúow /teiʔkaɴʔkouʔ/ - your prisoner, absolutive (not *tikán-kúow)

`pùelùe /pɨɦlɨɦ/ - bridge, absolutive

`myùepùelùe /mʲɨɦpɨɦlɨɦ/ - my bridge, absolutive (not *myipùelùe)

tùepùelùe /tɨɦpɨɦlɨɦ/ - your bridge, absolutive (not *tipùelùe)

Loss of Floating Phonation

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, if the floating phonation was the same as the what used to be on the vowel, then it is lost too e.g.

'kánkúow /kaɴʔkouʔ/ - prisoner, absolutive

kaen-gukin /kɛɴgukiɴ/ - prisoner, ergative

'myíeykán-kúow /mʲeiʔkaɴʔkouʔ/ - my prisoner, absolutive

myuekaen-gukin /mʲɨkɛɴgukiɴ/ - my prisoner, ergative

`pùelùe /pɨɦlɨɦ/- bridge, absolutive

bilidlin /bilidɮiɴ/ - bridge, ergative

`myùepùelùe /mʲɨɦpɨɦlɨɦ/ - my bridge, absolutive

myibilidlin /mʲibilidɮiɴ/ - my bridge, ergative

 

There are two exceptions to the above rule. The first is if the word begins with an ejective, in which case the ejectiveness is lost, but the floating phonation remains e.g.

'kqúow /kʼouʔ/ - a small amount, absolutive

'kuhli /kuɬi/ - a small amount, ergative

myíeykuhli /mʲeiʔkuɬi/ - my small amount, ergative

The second is for words that begin with consonant pronounced with breathy voice (voiced consonant before a breathy voiced vowel) e.g.

`byùe /bʲɨɦ/ - mouth, absolutive

`byijin /bʲiɟiɴ/ - mouth, ergative

myùebyùe /mʲɨɦbʲɨɦ/ - my mouth, absolutive

`myùebyijin /mʲɨɦbʲiɟiɴ/ - my mouth, ergative

Prediction of Floating Tone

As a rule, whether or not a noun has floating tone cannot 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:

 

Sonorant Initial Stem

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 there is only ever modal floating phonation before it in both cases e.g.

mòoe /mɜɦː/ - betel nut, absolutive

pmaagin /pmaːgiɴ/ - betel nut, ergative

myimòoe /mʲimɜɦː/ - my betel nut, absolutive

Otherwise, if a word begins with a sonorant, then it always has floating phonation that is the same as that on the first vowel e.g.

'máláeyáa /maʔlɛʔjaʔː/ - manners, absolutive

malieyaaetun /malejɛːtuɴ/ - manners, ergative

'myíeymáláeyáa /mʲeiʔmaʔlɛʔjaʔː/ - my manners, absolutive

 

Stem starts with /s/

If the absolutive stem begins with /s/, it can never have tense floating phonation e.g.

sásaechin /saʔsɛciɴ/ - stab wound, absolutive

myisásaechin /mʲisaʔsaɛciɴ/ - my stab wound, absolutive

 

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 word has breathy floating phonation e.g.

`sòemùe /sɜɦmɨɦ/ - (major) wife, absolutive

zamibyin /zamibʲiɴ/ - (major) wife, ergative

`myùesòemùe /mʲɨɦsɜɦmɨɦ/ - 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 both the absolutive form and the ergative, there is floating modal phonation e.g.

sòepyùe /sɜɦpʲɨɦ/ - speech (as in words, not a formal speech), absolutive

sabyishin /sabʲiçiɴ/ - speech (as in words, not a formal speech), ergative

myisòepyùe /mʲisɜɦpʲɨɦ/ - my speech (as in words, not a formal speech), absolutive

 

Other stems

If the absolutive stem begins with another obstruent (oral stop, affricate or fricative) followed by a vowel with tense voice, and that obstruent stays voiceless even when followed by a modally voiced vowel (in the ergative form), then the absolutive form has tense floating phonation e.g.

'kánkúow /kaɴʔkouʔ/ - prisoner, absolutive

kan-gukin /kaɴgukiɴ/ - prisoner, ergative

'myíeykán-kúow /mʲeiʔkaɴʔkouʔ/ - my prisoner, absolutive

'táen /tɛɴʔ/ - weather, absolutive

tenchin /tɘɴciɴ/ - weather, ergative

'myíeytáen /mʲeiʔtɛɴʔ/ - my weather, absolutive

But if the obstruent becomes voiced, then there is only ever floating modal phonation e.g.

támá /taʔmaʔ/ - victim of a scam / swindle, absolutive

damaesin /damaɛsiɴ/ - victim of a scam / swindle, ergative

myitámá /mʲitaʔmaʔ/ - my victim of a scam / swindle, absolutive

 

And vice versa, if the absolutive form of a noun begins with a voicless obstruent followed by a breathy voiced vowel, and that vowel becomes voiced in the ergative form, then the absolutive form has floating breathy phonation e.g.

`pùelùe /pɨɦlɨɦ/ - bridge, absolutive

bilidlin /bilidɮiɴ/ - bridge, ergative

`myùepùelùe /mʲɨɦpɨɦlɨɦ/ - my bridge, absolutive

`pòey /pɜiɦ/- baby, absolutive

baybyin /baibʲiɴ/ - baby, ergative

`myùepòey /mʲɨɦpɜiɦ/ - my baby, absolutive

 

And if the obstruent stays voiceless in the ergative form, then there is only ever floating modal phonation e.g.

pòey /pɜiɦ/ - page, absolutive

paydlin /paidɮiɴ/ - page, ergative

myipòey /mʲipɜiɦ/ - my page, absolutive

 

Nasalisation of Velar Initials

For some nouns that begin with /k/ or /g/, often it changes to /ŋ/ when the noun takes a prefix. e.g.

gali /gali/ - hole, absolutive

myingali /mʲiŋali/ - my hole, absolutive

 

In such a case, if the first vowel has tense or breathy voice, then it also has a floating phonation that is the same e.g.

`kùe /kɨɦ/ - goods, absolutive

`myùengùe /mʲɨɦŋɨɦ/ - my goods, absolutive

'kíeyváy /keiʔɥaiʔ/ - tongue, absolutive

'myíeyngíeyváy /mʲeiʔŋeiʔɥaiʔ/ - my tongue, absolutive

 

Possession by a Noun

Antarctican distinguishes alienable and inalienable possession. 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). Note that floating phonation affects these prefixes in the same way as any other:

`kùeròetùu /kɨɦʁɜɦtuɦː/ - bone, absolutive

yini /jini/ - dog, absolutive

`weykùeròetùu yini /wɘiɦkɨɦʁɜɦtuɦː jini/ - the dog’s bone, absolutive, alienable (i.e. the one that it eats, buries etc.)

`nùkùeròetùu yini /nuɦkɨɦʁɜɦtuɦː jini/ - the dog’s bone, absolutive, inalienable (i.e. the one that is a part of it)

 

Where English would compound nouns together, or use one to modify another. Antarctican uses the alienable possessive construction e.g.

aaehaan /ʔɛːχaːɴ/ - food, absolutive

wiey-aaehaan yini /weiʔɛːχaːɴ jini/ - dog food, absolutive

Reciprocal Possession

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 /buʁaza/ - brother, absolutive

buburaza /bubuʁaza/ - brothers (of each other), absolutive

yieruoy /jeʁoi/ - ally, absolutive

yieyieruoy /jeʁoi/ - allies (of each other), absolutive

 

However, the inserted syllable cannot have a long vowel, a diphthong, or end in /ɴ/. If it would do so then it is truncated e.g.

duuolaa /doːlaː/ - coworker, absolutive

duoduuolaa /dodoːlaː/ - coworkers (of each other), absolutive

nayba /naiba/ - neighbour, absolutive

nanayba /nanaiba/ - neighbours (of each other), absolutive

'kúowntátu /kouɴʔtaʔtu/ – acquaintance, absolutive

'kúokúowntátu /koʔkouɴʔtaʔtu/– acquaintances (of each other), absolutive

 

The voicing of the vowel of the reduplication is determined by what floating phonation the noun has e.g.

sátuozii /saʔtoziː/ – enemy, absolutive

myisátuozii /mʲisaʔtoziː/ – my enemy, absolutive

sasátuozii /sasaʔtoziː/ - enemies (of each other), absolutive

`rùy /ʁuiɦ/- rival, absolutive

`myùerùy /mʲɨɦʁuiɦ/ - my rival, absolutive

`rùrùy /ʁuɦʁuiɦ/ - rivals (of each other), absolutive

firiendun /fiʁeɴduɴ/ – friend, ergative

myuefiriendun /mʲɨfiʁeɴduɴ/ – my friend, ergative

fuefiriendun /fɨfiʁeɴduɴ/ – friends (of each other), ergative

 

A few nouns have irregular reciprocal possessive forms e.g.

wùerèn /wɨɦʀɘɴɦ/ - friend, absolutive

fiwùerèn /fiwɨɦʀɘɴɦ/ - friends (of each other), absolutive

These arise from when the first vowel has breathy or tense voice, but the first consonant is underlyingly a voiced obstruent or a prestopped nasal. These can only occur before modally voiced vowels, and are thus modified before the vowel with breathy or tense voice. But if word has floating modal phonation, then the vowel there will have modal voice and the underlying consonant will surface there.

 

Verb / Adjective Morphology

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

Focus

Verbs have a root form, from which various other base forms are derived. The two most important of these base forms are the verb-focus base and the noun-focus base. Below is a list of verb roots with their corresponding verb-focus and noun-focus bases:

 

duolieegi /doleːgi/ - to drag, intransitive, root

duoliieju /doleːɟu/ - to drag, intransitive, verb-focus

`tùlèezi /tuɦlɘɦːzi/ – to drag, intransitive, noun-focus

 

`rèdu /ʁɘdu/ - red, root

`rèdlu /ʁɘɦdɮu/ - red, verb-focus

`rèdù /ʁɘɦduɦ/ - red, noun-focus

 

'kiraeypyi /kiʁɛipʲi/ - to become scraped, root

'kiraeypyu /kiʁɛipʲu/ - to become scraped, verb-focus

'kiraeypùe /kiʁɛipɨɦ/ - to become scraped, noun-focus

 

Verb-Focus Base

This is used to put focus on the verb ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focus_(linguistics) ) i.e. when the most important "new" information that is being communicated to the listener is the action being done in the verb, rather than the nouns that are doing it or it is being done to. How it is formed from the root is regular, but the rules are somewhat complex and depend on whether the last syllable of the base begins with a soft or hard consonant:

Final Consonant is Soft

If the final consonant (not including any placeless nasal /ɴ/) is soft, infix -iq-/iʔ/ immediately after it e.g.

 

hlo /ɬɔ/ - to perform, root

hli-o /ɬiʔɔ/ - to perform, verb-focus

 

However, many vowels shift when this happens e.g.

 

íeypyii /ʔeiʔpʲiː/ - to spit out, root

íeypyi-iiey /ʔeiʔpʲiʔeːi/ - to spit out, verb-focus

 

inyieliie /ʔiɲeleː/ - to pierce, root

inyieli-aa /ʔiɲeliʔaː/ - to pierce, verb-focus

 

kivieluun /kiɥeluːɴ/ - to die, root

kivieli-iewn /kiɥeliʔeuɴ/ - to die, verb-focus

 

These vowel shifts are all in a roughly anti-clockwise directions around the vowel space. The shifts are listed below:

i /i/ -> ie /e/

ii /iː/ -> iey /ei/

ie /e/ -> a /a/

iie /eː/ -> aa /aː/

a /a/ -> u /u/

aa /aː/ -> uu /uː/

u /u/ -> i /i/

uu /uː/ -> iew /eu/

iey /ei/ -> ay /ai/

iiey /eːi/ -> aay /aːi/

ay /ai/ -> uy /ui/

aay /aːi/ -> uuy /uːi/

uy /ui/ -> ii /iː/

iew /eu/ -> aw /au/

iiew /eːu/ -> aaw /aːu/

aw /au/ -> uow /ou/

aaw /aːu/ -> uuow /oːu/

 

Final Consonant is Hard

If the final consonant (not including any placeless nasal /ɴ/) is hard, change it to be soft e.g.

 

yuentuoro /jɨɴtoʁɔ/ - to introduce oneself, root

yuentuolo /jɨɴtolɔ/ - to introduce oneself, verb-focus

 

However, many vowels shift when this happens e.g.

 

nangariew /naŋaʁeu/ - to flow, root

nangaluu /naŋaluː/ - to flow, verb-focus

 

'kirami /kiʁami/ - to swell up, root

'kiramyu /kiʁamʲu/ - to swell up, verb-focus

 

imuepu /ʔimɨpu/ - to sit down, root

imuepya /ʔimɨpʲa/ - to sit down, verb-focus

 

These vowel changes are often the reverse of what happens if the final vowel of the stem is a soft consonant. The vowel shifts are all roughly clockwise around the vowel space, and are listed below:

i /i/ -> u /u/

u /u/ -> a /a/

uu /uː/ -> aa /aː/

a /a/ -> ie /e/

aa /aː/ -> iie /eː/

ie /e/ -> i /i/ * For some words only, see below.

iie /eː/ -> ii /iː/

ii /iː/ -> uy /ui/

uy /ui/ -> ay /ai/

uuy /uːi/ -> aay /aːi/

ay /ai/ -> iey /ei/

aay /aːi/ -> iiey /eːi/

iey /ei/ -> ii /iː/

iiey /eːi/ -> ii /iː/

uow /ou/ -> aw /au/

uuow /oːu/ -> aaw /aːu/

aw /au/ -> iew /eu/

aaw /aːu/ -> iiew /eːu/

iew /eu/ -> uu /uː/

iiew /eːu/ -> uu /uː/

 

Vowel Phonation Changes

A few verb stems that end in a hard consonant and ie /e/ behave differently. If the consonant is an obstruent and the vowel is short, has modal voice and not followed by -n /ɴ/, then the syllable is deleted and voice put onto the preceding syllable(s). This voice is breathy if the deleted obstruent was voiced, and tense if it was voiceless e.g.

 

nuetuozie /nɨtoze/ - to be fed on, root

nitù /nituɦ/ - to be fed on, verb-focus

sibetie /sibɘte/ - to all be present, root

sipáe /sipɛʔ/ - to all be present, verb-focus (remember that Antarctican does not like voiced obstruents before vowels with breathy voice).

 

The breathy voice “spreads” backwards through the word, changing vowel phonation with it, until it hits a voiceless obstruent or prestopped nasal e.g.

 

maduozie /madoze/ - to give birth, intransitive, root

`mòetù /mɜɦtuɦ/ - to give birth, intransitive, verb-focus

 

nyiibie /ɲiːbe/ - to snow, root

`nyùue /ɲɨːɦ/ - to snow, verb-focus

 

san-gizie /saɴgize/ - to bleed, root

sòen-gùe /sɜɦɴgɨɦ/ - to bleed, verb-focus

 

Tense voice "spreads" backwards in a similar way, except that it passes through voiceless stops and not through voiced stops, fricatives, or prestopped nasals e.g.

daraekie /daʁɛke/ - to cover, root

tárá /taʔʁaʔ/ - to cover, verb-focus

 

Noun-Focus Base

This is used to put focus on the (non-topicalised) noun(s) in the sentence.

 

Regular Formation

The default way of forming it is by putting breathy voice on the final vowel of the base, and changing the vowel quality in the same way as normal e.g.

 

íeypyii /ʔeiʔpʲiː/ - to spit out, root

íeypyùey /ʔeiʔpʲɨiɦ/ - to spit out, noun-focus

 

This breathy voice “spreads” to the left until it hits a voiceless obstruent or a prestopped nasal e.g.

 

guowpieyiie /goupejeː/ - to suffer a setback, root

guowpèyèe /goupɘɦjɘːɦ/ - to suffer a setback, noun-focus

 

inyieliie /ʔiɲeleː/ - to pierce, root

ùenyèlèe /ʔɨɦɲɘɦleː/ - to pierce, noun-focus

 

kivieluun /kiɥeluːɴ/ - to die, root

kùevèlùun /kɨɦɥɘɦluːɴɦ/ - to die, noun-focus

 

Remember that Antarctican only permits voiced obstruents, prestopped nasals, and fricatives other than /s/, before vowels with modal voice. So if this vowel phonation change would produce such a forbidden sequence, then the consonant changes e.g.

 

hlo /ɬɔ/ - to perform, root

lò /lɔɦ/ - to perform, noun-focus

 

These changes do not affect phonation spreading though, as we can see from:

 

maduozie /madoze/ - to give birth, intransitive, root

`mòetùsè /mɜɦtuɦsɘɦ/ - to give birth, intransitive, noun-focus

 

nyiibie /ɲiːbe/ - to snow, root

`nyùeypè /ɲɨipɘɦ/ - to snow, noun-focus

 

san-gizie /saɴgize/ - to bleed, root

sòenkùesè /sɜɴɦkɨɦsɜɦ/ - to bleed, noun-focus

 

When a consonant such as a voiceless obstruent or prestopped nasal blocks the phonation spreading, if the vowel preceding it is /ɨ/ or /ɘ/ with modal voice (or a diphthong beginning with one), then fronts to /i/ or /e/ respectively e.g.

 

yuentuoro /jɨɴtoʁɔ/ - to introduce oneself, root

yintùrò /jiɴtuɦʁɔɦ/ - to introduce oneself, noun-focus

 

imuepu /ʔimɨpu/ - to sit down, root

imipù /ʔimipuɦ/ - to sit down, noun-focus

 

nuetuozie /nitoze/ - to be fed on, root

nitùsè /nituɦsɘɦ/ - to be fed on, noun-focus

 

pensaa /pɘɴsaː/ - to be lost in deep thought, root

piensòoe /peɴsɜːɦ/ - to be lost in deep thought, noun-focus

 

If the vowel is /ɛ/, or a diphthong starting with /ɛ/, before the blocking consonant, then it lowers to /a/ e.g.

'kiraeypi /kiʁɛipi/ - to become scraped, root

'kiraypùe /kiʁaipɨɦ/ - to become scraped, noun-focus

 

Final Syllable Replacement

In addition to this, some verbs lose their final syllable, which is replaced with –zi e.g.

 

duolieegi /doleːgi/ - to drag, intransitive, root

tùlèezi /tuɦlɘːɦzi/ – to drag, intransitive, noun-focus (-gùe has been replaced with -zi).

 

bilidli /bilidɮi/ - to make it across, root

pùelùezi /pɨɦlɨɦzi/ - to make it across, noun-focus

 

This process happens under well defined conditions. Both of the last two syllables of the verb root must have modal voice. Also the final vowel must be a short /i/ and not followed by a nasal vowel. The consonant immediately before this must be a voiced obstruent. And, in the proto-language, the verb root must have had pitch-accent on any syllable other than the final one.

 

Restrictive / Non-Restrictive Modifiers

When verbs / adjectives are used as modifiers, the verb-focus form is used when the modifier is non restrictive ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restrictiveness ), and the noun-focus form is used when the modifier is restrictive e.g. from the work tieyláae /teilɛʔː/ - shirt, we can say:

tieyláae `rèdlu /teilɛːʔ ʁɘɦdɮu/ – a red shirt (non-restrictive)

tieyláae `rèdù /teilɛːʔ ʁɘɦduɦ/ – the red shirt (restrictive)

Verbalisation

Antarctican has a very productive process for to convert a noun N into an intransitive verb root meaning “to become N” / “to be N / to do what N does”. How this is done depends on the voicing of the last vowel of the absolutive form of the noun

 

Last Vowel of Abs. Form has Modal Voice

In this case, the verb root is identical to the absolutive form e.g.

 

zivie /ziɥe/ - boat, absolutive

zivie /ziɥe/ - to be a boat, verb root

 

buraza /buʁaza/ - brother, absolutive

buraza /buʁaza/ - to be a brother, verb root

 

yuenpiluy - /jɨɴpilui/ - employee, absolutive

yuenpiluy - /jɨɴpilui/ - employee, verb root

 

Other Cases

However, if the final vowel of the absolutive form has tense or breathy voice, the verb stem is formed from the ergative form of the noun, minus any final –n e.g.

 

ùylèn /ʔuiɦlɜɴɦ/ - island, absolutive

uoyliendun /ʔoileɴdun/ - island, ergative

uoyliendu /ʔoileɴdu/ - to be an island, verb root

 

píey /peiʔ/ - book, absolutive

píeykin /peiʔkiɴ/ - book, ergative

píeyki /peiʔki/ - to be a book, verb root

 

támá /taʔmaʔ/ - victim of a scam / swindle, absolutive

damaesin /damɛsiɴ/ - victim of a scam / swindle, ergative

damaesi /damɛsi/ - to be a victim of a scam / swindle, verb root

 

mòoe /mɜɦː/ - betel nut, absolutive

pmaagin /pmaːgiɴ/ - betel nut, ergative

pmaagi /pmaːgi/ - to be a betel nut, verb stem

 

`pùelùe /pɨɦlɨɦ/ - bridge, absolutive

bilidlin /bilidɮiɴ/ - bridge, ergative

bilidli /bilidɮi/ - to be bridge / to make it across, verb stem

 

`pòey /pɜiɦ/ - baby, absolutive

baybyin /baibʲiɴ/ - baby, ergative

baybyi /baibʲi/ - to be a baby, verb stem

 

pòey /pɜiɦ/ - page, absolutive

paydlin /paidɮiɴ/ - page, ergative

paydli /paidɮi/ - to be a page, verb stem

Transitivity

 

Whether a verb is transitive or intransitive (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transitivity_(grammar)) is very important in Antarctican syntax. Unlike English, where a verb such as "drag" can either be used transitively (as in the sentence "He was dragging his pants along the ground"), or intransitively (as in the sentence "His pants were dragging along the ground"), Antarctican uses distinct verb roots for each case e.g.

 

duoliieju /doleːɟu/ - to drag, intransitive, verb-focus (as in "his pants were dragging along the ground")

dliieju /dɮeːɟu/ - to drag, transitive, verb-focus (as in "he was dragging his pants along the ground")

 

`tùlèezi /tuɦlɘɦːzi/ – to drag, intransitive, noun-focus

`tlèezi /tɬɘɦːzi/– to drag, transitive, noun-focus

 

Very commonly, transitive roots are formed from intransitive roots by deletion of the first vowel and the second consonant. And if, out of the first and second consonants, one was soft and the other hard, the first consonant is changed to agree in hardness / softness with the second (deleted) consonant e.g.

 

duolieegi /doleːgi/ - to drag, intransitive, root

dlieegi /dɮeːgi/ - to drag, intransitive, root

 

shinari /çinaʁi/ - to twist, intransitive, root

hari /χaʁi/ - to twist, transitive, root

 

The transitive roots are then inflected for focus e.g.

 

shinari /çinaʁi/ - to twist, intransitive, root

shinali /çinali/ - to twist, intransitive, verb-focus

yùenòerùe /jɨɦnɜɦʁɨɦ/ - to twist, intransitive, noun-focus

 

hari /χaʁi/ - to twist, transitive, root

hali /χali/ - to twist, transitive, verb-focus

ròerùe /ʁɜɦʁɨɦ/ - to twist, transitive, noun-focus

Voice and Object Marking

Grammatical voice is very important in Antarctican. It is conflated with pronominal object marking, both only affecting transitive verbs and usually using infixes that come immediately after the first consonant of the verb base. As with elsewhere in the language, these are not differentiated for number, although there is an inclusive and exclusive “us”.

Infixation

This is the default way of marking pronominal objects and grammatical voice. In each case there are two forms of the infix, one that contains a hard consonant that is used with verbs beginning with hard consonants, and another that contains a soft consonant that is used with verbs beginning with soft consonants. Note that there is no infix to mark 3rd person objects. Instead the antipassive voice is used. The infixes are listed below in pairs, with the hard version coming first and then the soft version.

Infixes for Voice and Object Pronouns

	Hard Form	Soft Form
1PS Exclusive	iem	imy
1PS Inclusive	as	iehl
2PS	os	ohl
who	ar	iel
what	ab	ieby
Reflexive	ier	il
Perfective Antipassive	ut / úow(tq)s (see below)	atl
Imperfective Antipassive	am	iemy
Superordinate	át(q)	áet(q)l

These come immediately after the first consonant of the verb base e.g.

damaehlu /damɛɬu/ - to scam / swindle, verb-focus

dosamaehlu /dɔsamɛɬu/ - to scam / swindle you, verb-focus

damaehlu /damɛɬu/ - to scam, verb-focus

diemamaehlu /demɛɬu/ - to scam me / us (not including you), verb-focus

All of the usual rules about phonation spreading apply e.g.

pyùu /pʲuːɦ/ - to purify, noun-focus

pyùemyùu /pʲɨɦmpʲuːɦ/ - to purify me / us (not including you, noun-focus

pyèlùu /pʲɘɦluːɦ/ - to purify who, noun-focus

The infixes with non-back vowels and voiceless consonants also undergo vowel mutation if the following vowel has modal voice. This is the exact same as has been described before for noun and verb prefixes e.g.

damaehlu /damɛɬu/ - to scam / swindle, verb-focus

daesamaehlu /dɛsamɛɬu/ - to scam / swindle us (including you), verb-focus

dieramaehlu /deʁamɛɬu/ - to scam / swindle oneself, verb-focus

If the first vowel of the verb base has breathy or tense voice, and the infix inserted would contain /ɬ/ (which can only occur before modal voice vowels), then it becomes /l/ and /tɬ/ respectively. However it still blocks the spread of the voicing e.g.

pyùu /pʲuːɦ/ - to purify, noun-focus

pyolùu /pʲɔluːɦ/ - to purify you, noun-focus

pyielùu /pʲeluːɦ/ - to purify ourselves (including you), noun-focus

The last example this is distinct from pyèlùu /pʲɘɦluːɦ/ - to purify who, noun-focus, which has breathy voice spreading onto the infix.

Note that, for the purposes of the syntax, using any of these infixes turns a transitive verb into an intransitive verb. This means that the subject of such an infixed verb can no longer take ergative case e.g.

• yuenpiluoy - /jɨɴpiloi/ - employee, absolutive
• yuenpiloy /jɨɴpilɔi/ - employee, ergative
• sowdla - /sɨudɮ/ - soldier, absolutive
• damasùe - /damas#616;ɦ/ - to scam / swindle, noun-focus

yuenpiloy damasùe sowdla

employee-ERG scam-NFCS soldier-ABS

An employee scammed a soldier

Above, we can see that the word for "employee" is in the ergative case, and must come before the verb. However, when the object is a pronoun, the word for "employee" must take the absolutive case e.g.

yuenpiluoy daesamasùe

employee-ABS <1PS.INC.OBJ>scam-NFCS

An employee scammed us (including you)

Antarctican also permits the subjects of intransitive verbs to come after the verb, so the following sentence is also grammatical (and perhaps more common):

daesamasùe yuenpiluoy

<1PS.INC.OBJ>scam-NFCS employee-ABS

An employee scammed us (including you)

Antipassive Voice

Antarctican has extremely productive antipassivisation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antipassive_voice). There are two infixes, which depend on whether the verb has perfective or imperfective aspect.

Perfective Antipassive

This is used for when the action described by the verb is not viewed as having any internal structure (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfective_aspect). It can be used for past, present or future actions e.g.

duetamasùe yuenpiluoy

<PFV.AP>scam-NFCS employee-ABS

An employee scammed / will scam (someone who does not need to be mentioned here).

However, remember that alveolar stops (e.g. /t/) can never occur before /i/ and /ʎ/ (with any phonation), nor before tense voice /eʔ/ and /ɘʔ/, nor before diphthongs starting with these. If a verb begins with a hard consonant followed by one of these vowels, a different infix is used, normally -úows- e.g.

inyieli-aa /ʔiɲeliʔaː/ - to pierce, verb-focus

úowsinyieli-aa /ʔouʔsiɲeliʔaː/ - to pierce, verb-focus, perfective antipassive

kivieliqiewn /kiɥeliʔeuɴ/ - to die, verb-focus

kúowsivieli-iewn /kouʔsiɥeliʔeuɴ/ - to die, verb-focus, perfective antipassive

sisíeychu /siseiʔcu/ - to stab, verb focus

súowsisíeychu /souʔsiseiʔcu/ - to stab, verb focus, perfective antipassive

However, if the first vowel of the verb root had tense voice, the ejective -tqs- is used instead e.g.

'kátla /kaʔtɬa/ - to make someone's acquaintance, verb focus

'kúowtqsátla /kouʔtsʼaʔtɬa/ - to make someone's acquaintance, verb-focus, perfective antipassive

íeypyi-iiey /ʔeiʔpʲiʔeːi/ - to spit out, verb-focus

úowtqsíeypyi-iiey /ʔouʔtsʼeiʔpʲiʔeːi/ - to spit out, verb-focus, perfective antipassive

Imperfective Antipassive

This is used for ongoing, habitual and repeated action (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperfective_aspect).

damamasùe yuenpiluoy

<IMPV.AP>scam-NFCS employee-ABS

An employee is / was / will be scamming (someone who does not need to be mentioned here).

Superordinate Voice

Like the antipassive, this also reduces a transitive verb's valency (the number of arguments it has, see here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valency_(linguistics)) by one, and requires that its subject take the absolutive case. However, it requires some other verb to come afterwards to be subordinate to it e.g.

• wuonnyie /woɴɲe/ - to want (something), verb-focus
• wátuonnyie /waʔtoɴɲe/ - to want (to do something / something to happen), verb-focus

• chiqiin /ciʔiːɴ/ - to fear (something), verb-focus
• cháetliqiin /cɛtɬiʔiːɴ/ - to fear (that something will happen), verb-focus

So using the nouns below:

• yuenpiluoy - /jɨɴpiloi/ - employee, absolutive
• yuenpiloy /jɨɴpilɔi/ - employee, ergative
• sowdla - /sɨudɮ/ - soldier, absolutive
• sowdlan - /sɨudɮɴ/ - soldier, ergative
• nayba /naiba/ - neighbour, absolutive
• nayban /naibaɴ/ - neighbour, ergative
• ton /tɔɴ/ - change (as in coins, money), absolutive
• taon /tɒɴ/ - change, ergative

We can say:

yuenpiloy wuonnyie ton

employee-ERG want-VFCS change-ABS

An employee wants change

yuenpiluoy wátuonnyie sowdla damasùe

employee-ABS <SPR>want-VFCS soldier-ABS scam-NFCS

An employee wants to scam a soldier.

Note that in the second sentence, the case for the word "employee" has changed from ergative to absolutive. And since Antarctican allows nouns in the absolutive case to also come after the verb, the following sentences would also be grammatical, and all mean roughly the same thing:

wátuonnyie yuenpiluoy sowdla damasùe

yuenpiluoy wátuonnyie damasùe sowdla

wátuonnyie yuenpiluoy damasùe sowdla

Similarly, using the verb meaning "to fear", we can say:

yuenpiluoy chiqiin sowdla

employee-ERG fear-VFCS soldier-ABS

The employee fears the soldier

yuenpiluoy cháetliqiin sowdla damasùe

employee-ERG <SPR>fear-VFCS soldier-ABS scam-NFCS

The employee fears he will scam / has scammed the soldier.

The words in this sentence can be ordered in the same fashion as before.

yuenpiluoy cháetliqiin sowdlan damasùe

employee-ERG <SPR>fear-VFCS soldier-ERG scam-NFCS

The employee fears the soldier will scam / has scammed him.

Here, while the word for "employee" can come after the verb meaning "to fear", the word for "soldier", cannot, since it takes the ergative case (as it is the subject of the transitive verb damasù meaning "to scam").

Vowel Replacement

All Antarctican verbs use infixation to mark 1st person exclusive objects, whom, what (as a direct object), reflexive objects, the imperfective antipassive, and the superordinate voice. However, there is a subset of verbs that use vowel replacement to mark 1st person inclusive objects, 2nd person objects, and the perfective antipassive.

These are verbs where either a) the first vowel is short, modally voiced /i/, the second vowel has breathy voice, and there is no nasal intervening (plain nasals, prestopped nasals, and the placeless nasal /ɴ/ all count) or b) the first vowel is short, modally voiced /ʎ/, which is immediately followed by a voiceless obstruent, without /ɴ/ intervening or c) the first vowel is short, modally voiced /ʎ/, which is immediately followed by an approximant and then a vowel with breathy voice, without /ɴ/ intervening

The vowel replacements depend on whether the verb begins with a hard or soft consonant, but are regular (and have tense voice) and given in the table below:

Vowel Replacements for Voice and Object Pronouns

	Hard Form	Soft Form
1PS Inclusive	á	áe
2PS	óe	óe
Perfective Antipassive	N/A use the -íeys- infix instead	úow

For example:

sisíeychu /siseiʔcu/ - to stab, verb focus

sásíeychu /saʔseiʔcu/ - to stab us (including you), verb focus

sóesíeychu /sɜʔseiʔcu/ - to stab you, verb focus

Note that the perfective antipassive form is created using the infix -iéys- i.e. síeysisíeychu /seiʔsiseiʔcu/ - to stab, verb focus, perfective antipassive. It is only with verbs starting with soft consonants that vowel replacement is used.

Also note that, for the other persons and voices, infixation is used e.g.

siemisíeychu /semiseiʔcu/ - to stab me / us (not including you), verb focus

sierisíeychu /seʁiseiʔcu/ - to stab oneself, verb focus

sarisíeychu /saʁiseiʔcu/ - to stab who, verb focus

sabisíeychu /sabiseiʔcu/ - to stab what, verb focus

samisíeychu /samiseiʔcu/ - to stab, verb focus, imperfective antipassive

More examples:

kiròemùe /kiʁɜɦmɨɦ/ - to bite, verb focus

kimyiròemùe /kimʲiʁɜɦmɨɦ/ - to bite me / us (not including you), verb focus

káròemùe /kaʔʁɜɦmɨɦ/ - to bite us (including you), verb focus

kóeròemùe /kɜʔʁɜɦmɨɦ/ - to bite you, verb focus

kieriròemùe /keʁiʁɜɦmɨɦ/ - to bite oneself, verb focus

kariròemùe /kaʁiʁɜɦmɨɦ/ - to bite who, verb focus

kabiròemùe /kabiʁɜɦmɨɦ/ - to bite what, verb focus

kúowròemùe /kouʔʁɜɦmɨɦ/ - to bite, verb focus, perfective antipassive

kamiròemùe /kamiʁɜɦmɨɦ/ - to bite, verb focus, imperfective antipassive

shuetinju /çɨtiɴɟu/ - to count, verb focus

shimyuetinju /çimʲɨtiɴɟu/ - to count me / us (not including you), verb focus

yáetinju /jɛʔtiɴɟu/ - to count us (including you), verb focus

yóetinju /jɜʔtiɴɟu/ - to count you, verb focus

shiluetinju /çilɨtiɴɟu/ - to count oneself, verb focus

shieluetinju /çelɨtiɴɟu/ - to count who, verb focus

shiebyuetinju /çebʲɨtiɴɟu/ - to count what, verb focus

yúowtinju /jouʔtiɴɟu/ - to count, verb focus, perfective antipassive

shiemyuetinju /çemʲɨtiɴɟu/ - to count, verb focus, imperfective antipassive

(The /ç/ is lenited to /j/ when the vowel is replaced, since Antarctican does not like words starting with fricatives other than /s/ if the next vowel has tense voice.

Pronominal Subject Prefixes

Instead of using pronouns to indicate subject, Antarctican uses prefixes on verbs. Which prefix is used depends on the tense of the verb (normally unmarked). They do not inflect for number. They are listed in the table below:

	Past	Present	Future
1PS Exclusive	uy	uomyi	uow
1PS Inclusive	chi	wie	wi
2PS	nyin	ya	yu
3PS	day	die	daw

Note that, for habitual actions in the present, the past tense is used. Also the present tense is used for imminent actions in the future (where English might use "about to").

Emphatic Forms

All of the pronomnial affixes have emphatic forms that are generated by lengthening the vowel e.g.

chisòen-gùe /cisɜɦɴgɨɦ/ you bleed, verb-focus

chiisòen-gùe /ciːsɜɦɴgɨɦ/ you (emphatic) bleed, verb-focus

However, the emphatic forms cannot be used with noun-focus forms, so while chisòenkùesè /cisɜɴɦkɨɦsɜɦ/ - to bleed, noun-focus is grammatical, chiisòenkùesè /ciːsɜɴɦkɨɦsɜɦ/ would not be.

This lengthening can also be used on infixes marking objects e.g.

pyoli-uu /pʲɔliʔuː/ - purify you, verb focus

pyooli-uu /pʲɔːliʔuː/ - purify you (emphatic), verb focus

If an object would be formed by vowel replacement (instead of an infix), then the emphatic form is created by lengthening the first vowel e.g.

sisíeychu /siseiʔcu/ - to stab, verb focus

sóesíeychu /sɜʔseiʔcu/ - to stab you, verb focus

sóoesíeychu /sɜːʔseiʔcu/ - to stab you (emphatic), verb focus

Syntax

Basic Word Order

Antarctican is a syntactically ergative (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ergative%E2%80%93absolutive_language#Syntactic_ergativity), topic-prominent language (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topic-prominent_language). The basic word order is (Topic) (Ergative Noun) Verb (Absolutive Noun). So in intransitive sentences the word order is either V-S or S-V (if the subject is topicalised) e.g.

sowdla	kivieli-iewn
sɔudɮa	kiɥeliʔeuɴ
soldier.ABS	die.VFCS

The soldier died.

kivieli-iewn	sowdla
kiɥeliʔeuɴ	sɔudɮa
die.VFCS	soldier.ABS

A soldier died.

In transitive sentences, the possible word orders are S-V-O and O-S-V e.g.

sowdlan	amielaykùe	wùerù
sɔudɮaɴ	ʔamelaikɨɦ	wɨɦʁuɦ
soldier-ERG	hunt.NFCS	frog.ABS

A soldier is hunting frogs.

If we topicalise the object, the sentence becomes:

wùerù	sowdlan	amielaykùe
wɨɦʁuɦ	sɔudɮaɴ	ʔamelaikɨɦ
frog.ABS	soldier-ERG	hunt.NFCS

The frogs are being hunted by a soldier.

In SVO sentences, it is also possible to topicalise the subject. This does not create any "visible" effect in the word order, however it does mean that the subject takes the absolutive case e.g.

sowdla	amielaykùe	wùerù
sɔudɮaɴ	ʔamelaikɨɦ	wɨɦʁuɦ
soldier.ABS	hunt.NFCS	frog.ABS

The soldier is hunting frogs.

Note that sentence can only have one topic, so if the object of a transitive sentence is topicalised, then the subject cannot be (and must therefore stay in the ergative case). Hence utterances like "wùeru sowdla amielaykùe" are ungrammatical.

Interaction with Focus Marking

Intransitive Verbs

If the subject of an intransitive verb is topicalised (i.e. put before the verb), then that verb cannot take the noun-focus form. So the sentence below is ungrammatical:

sowdla	kùevèlùun
sɔudɮa	kɨɦɥɘɦluːɴɦ
soldier.ABS	die.NFCS

The soldier died (ungrammatical)

To make it grammatical, either the verb must take the verb focus form e.g.

sowdla	kivieli-iewn
sɔudɮa	kiɥeliʔeuɴ
soldier.ABS	die.VFCS

The soldier died.

Or the noun can be de-topicalised (i.e. placed after the verb) e.g.

kùevèlùun	sowdla
kɨɦɥɘɦluːɴɦ	sɔudɮa
die.NFCS	soldier.ABS

A soldier died.

There are no restrictions on topicalisation with verb-focus intransitive verbs.

Transitive Verbs

However, using a transitive verb in the verb focus form requires that either the subject or the object is topicalised. So the following utterance is ungrammatical:

sowdlan	amielaeychu	wùerù
sɔudɮaɴ	ʔamelɛicu	wɨɦʁuɦ
soldier-ERG	hunt.VFCS	frog.ABS

A soldier is hunting frogs. (ungrammatical).

To make it grammatical, there are several options. The first is to put the verb into the noun-focus form e.g.

sowdlan	amielaykùe	wùerù
sɔudɮaɴ	ʔamelaikɨɦ	wɨɦʁuɦ
soldier-ERG	hunt.NFCS	frog.ABS

A soldier is hunting frogs.

Or the object can be topicalised (by moving it to the front of the sentence) e.g.

wùerù	sowdlan	amielaeychu
wɨɦʁuɦ	sɔudɮaɴ	ʔamelɛicu
frog.ABS	soldier-ERG	hunt.VFCS

The frogs are being hunted by a soldier.

Or the subject can be topicalised (by changing it into the absolutive case from the ergative) e.g.

sowdla	amielaeychu	wùerù
sɔudɮaɴ	ʔamelɛicu	wɨɦʁuɦ
soldier.ABS	hunt.NFCS	frog.ABS

The soldier is hunting frogs.

Topicalisation and Possession

Antarctican has two 3rd person possessive prefixes that nouns can take, wa- and si-. They are not interchangable. When the possessor is the noun that has been taken up as the topic, wa- is used. If not, si- is used instead. Compare the following two sentences:

sowdla	amielaeychu	wawùerù
sɔudɮaɴ	ʔamelɛicu	wawɨɦʁuɦ
soldier.ABS	hunt.NFCS	TPCPOSS-frog.ABS

The soldier is hunting his frogs (i.e. the ones that the soldier owns).

sowdla	amielaeychu	siwùerù
sɔudɮaɴ	ʔamelɛicu	siwɨɦʁuɦ
soldier.ABS	hunt.NFCS	3POSS-frog.ABS

The soldier is hunting his / her frogs (that someone else other than the soldier owns).

In both cases above, the soldier has been taken up as the topic, indicated by putting it immediately before a transitive verb (indicating that it is the subject of that verb), while keeping it in the absolutive case. Hence, whenever wa- is used, it indicates something belonging to the topic (i.e. the soldier). However, when si- is used, it indicates something belonging to someone or something other than the topic.

Now look at sentences where the soldier has not been topicalised (indicated by keeping it in the ergative case):

sowdlan	amielaykùe	wawùerù
sɔudɮaɴ	ʔamelaikɨɦ	wawɨɦʁuɦ
soldier-ERG	hunt.NFCS	TPCPOSS-frog.ABS

A soldier is hunting his / her frogs (not belonging to the soldier, but to whoever / whatever has been taken up as a topic previously).

sowdlan	amielaykùe	siwùerù
sɔudɮaɴ	ʔamelaikɨɦ	siwɨɦʁuɦ
soldier-ERG	hunt.NFCS	3POSS-frog.ABS

A soldier is hunting his / her frogs (This sentence is ambiguous, but most likely the frogs belong to the soldier, and definitely not to whoever / whatever has been taken up as a topic previously).

Similar differences in meaning apply in OVS sentences (i.e. where the object of a transitive verb has been topicalised) e.g.

sáaeynátqéy	waesowdlan	amielaeychu
sɛːiʔnaʔtʼɘiʔ	wɛsɔudɮaɴ	ʔamelɛicu
general.ABS	TPCPOSS-soldier-ERG	hunt.VFCS

The general is being hunted by his (own) soldiers.

sáaeynátqéy	suesowdlan	amielaeychu
sɛːiʔnaʔtʼɘiʔ	sɨsɔudɮaɴ	ʔamelɛicu
general.ABS	3POSS-soldier-ERG	hunt.VFCS

The general is being hunted by his / her soldiers (not his own).

Serial Verbs

Antarctican often uses serial verb constructions.

Intransitive Verbs

If a verb is intransitive, it is simple to serialise it by placing another verb after it e.g.

sowdla	byuowchi-i	kivieli-iewn
sɔudɮa	bʲouciʔi	kiɥeliʔeuɴ
soldier.ABS	sick.VFCS	die.VFCS

The soldier got sick and died.

The subject comes either immediately before the first verb (as above), or immediately after it e.g.

byuowchi-i	sowdla	kivieli-iewn
bʲouciʔi	sɔudɮa	kiɥeliʔeuɴ
sick.VFCS	soldier.ABS	die.VFCS

The soldier got sick and died.

If the subject is a pronoun, then it must be marked on each verb e.g.

wibyuowchi-i	wuekivieli-iewn
wibʲouciʔi	wɨkiɥeliʔeuɴ
1PS.INC.SUBJ.FUT-sick.VFCS	1PS.INC.SUBJ.FUT-die.VFCS

We (including you) will get sick and die.