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==General information==
==General information==
Metin is a language spoken by about 57 trillion people in the Metii'nz'ou'ku and the surrounding areas, like Koryouz'ou'ku and Ishnnai'zou'ku. Metin is a Lingua Franca rather than a native language, it was spoken in its true form about 50 millenia ago at the founding of Metii'nz'ou'ku, since then, it has split into many daughter languages, which use old Metin as a language of common communication.
Metin is the official lingua franca of a confederation of human states known as The Encirclement (sxuDaiwe). It is published and standardized by a division of said body known as The Library (sxuQ'ostin). It has spoken, written, and binary forms, spanning all modes and media of communication. The full breadth of the language is used for interpersonal communication and the law,
and for communications with sapient serviles, while restricted subsets are used for communicating with the APIs of
simpler machines and devices. It is descended from an amalgamation of popular human and machine dialects that preceded the formation of the sxuDaiwe.  


==Phonology==
==Phonology==
===Consonants===
===Consonants===
{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="wikitable article-table" style="width: 660px; text-align:center;"
{| class="wikitable"
! style="width: 68px; "|
|+ Pairs of consonant realizations and their romanizations are presented. Some consonants are romanized differently depending on whether or not they are in the onset or coda of a syllable, these are presented as comma separated pairs. Those which are marginal are indicated with an asterisk. Tildes separate the multiple realizations of a given singular consonant phoneme.
! style="width: 68px; " |Bilabial
! style="width: 68px; " |Labio-dental
! style="width: 68px; " |Dental
! style="width: 68px; " |Alveolar-lateral
! style="width: 68px; " |Retroflex
! style="width: 68px; " |Palatal
! style="width: 68px; " |Palatal-lateral
! style="width: 68px; " |Velar
! style="width: 68px; " |Uvular
! style="width: 68px; " |Glottal
|-
|-
!Nasal
!Manner↓  Place→    !!Bilabial !! Dental    !! Lateral  !! Alveolar !! Alveopalatal !! Retroflex !! Palatal !! Velar    !! Labiovelar !! Uvular  !! Glottal
|m~n
|
|
|n'
|N
|ñ
|
|
|
|
|-
|-
!Plosive
! Voiceless Stop   
|bh
                    |/p/ p*  ||/t̪/ t     ||          ||          ||              ||/ʈ/ th    ||/c/ c    ||/k/ k    ||/k͡p/ kp    ||/q/ q    ||        
|
|t, d, dh
|t', d', dh'
|T, D, Dh
|
|
|k, g, gh
|
|
|-
|-
!Fricative
! Voiced Stop       
|f
                    |/b/ b*  ||/d̪/ d      ||          ||          ||              ||/ɖ/ d̨      ||/ɟ/ j    ||/g/ g    ||/g͡b/ gb    ||         ||        
|
|s, z, zh
|
|S, Z
|sy, zy, zyh
|
|x,G
|q
|h
|-
|-
!Affricate
! Breathy Stop     
|
                    |/bʰ/ bh  ||/d̪ʰ/ dh    ||          ||          ||             ||/ɖʰ/ d̨h    ||/ɟʰ/ jh ||/gʰ/ gh  ||/g͡bʰ/ gbh  ||         ||        
|
|ts, dz. dzh
|ts', dz', dzh'
|C, J, Jh
|c, j, jh
|
|
|
|
|-
|-
!Approximant
! Ejective Stop     
|v~w
                    |        ||/t̪ʼ/ t'    ||          ||          ||              ||/ʈʼ/ th'  ||/cʼ/ c'  ||/kʼ/ k'  ||/k͡pʼ/ kp'  ||/qʼ/ q'  ||        
|
|
|
|r
|y
|
|
|
|
|-
|-
!Lateral fric.
! Nasal Stop       
|
                    |/m~n/ m,n||          ||          ||          ||              ||          ||         ||         ||           ||         ||        
|
|
|s', z', zh', ł
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|-
!Lateral app.
! Voiceless Fricative
|
                    |/f/ f    ||/θ/ tj,t  ||/ɬ/ ł      ||/s/ s    ||/ɕ/ sx        ||/ʂ/ sh   ||/ç/ ç,c  ||/x/ x    ||           ||         ||        
|
|-
|
! Voiceless Affricate
|l
                    |        ||          ||/t͡ɬ/ tl    ||/t͡s/ ts  ||/t͡ɕ/ cx      ||/ʈ͡ʂ/ ch    ||        ||          ||            ||        ||       
|
|-
|
! Voiced Fricative 
|y'
                    |/β/ w    ||/ð/ dj,d  ||/ɮ/ ɮ      ||/z/ z    ||/ʑ/ zx        ||/ʐ/ z̨      ||/ʝ/ y    ||/ɣ/ gj,g  ||            ||        || /h/ h 
|
|-
|
! Voiced Affricate 
|
                    |        ||          ||/d͡l/ dl*  ||/d͡z/ dz*  ||/d͡ʑ/ jx      ||/ɖ͡ʐ/ j̨    ||        ||          ||            ||        ||        
|}
 
===Vowels===
{|class="wikitable article-table" style="width: 540px; text-align:center;"
! style="width: 90px; "|
! style="width: 90px; " |Front
! style="width: 90px; " |Central
! style="width: 90px; " |Back
|-
|-
!Close
! Breathy Fricative 
|i,i'
                    |/βʰ/  wh ||/ðʰ/ djh,dh||/ɮʰ/ ɮʰ    ||/zʰ/ zh  ||/ʑʰ/ zxh      ||/ʐʰ/ z̨h    ||/ʝʰ/ yh  ||/ɣʰ/ gjh,gh ||          ||        ||       
|ï
|u, u'
|-
|-
!Near-close
! Breathy Affricate 
|
                    |         ||          ||/d͡lʰ/ dlh*/||/d͡zʰ/ dzh*||/d͡ʑʰ/ jxh    ||/ɖʐʰ/ j̨h  ||        ||          ||            ||        ||        
|
|
|-
|-
!Close-mid
! Ejective Affricate
|e,
                    |         ||/t̪͡θʼ/ tj'  ||/t͡ɬʼ/ tl'  ||/t͡sʼ/ ts' ||/t͡ɕʼ/ cx'    ||/ʈ͡ʂʼ/ ch'  ||        ||          ||            ||/qχʼ/ qx'||        
|
|o
|-
|-
!Mid
! Velar Affricate   
|
                    |/p͡x/ px  ||/t̪x/ tx    ||          ||          ||              ||/ʈ͡x/ thx  ||        ||          ||            ||        ||        
|ë
|
|-
|-
!Open-mid
! Velar EJective Affricate
|
                    |/pxʼ/ px'||/t̪xʼ/ tx'  ||          ||          ||              ||/ʈ͡xʼ/ thx' ||        ||/k͡xʼ/ kx' ||            ||        ||        
|
|
|-
|-
!Near-open
! Approximant       
|á
                    |         ||          ||/l/ l      ||          ||              ||          ||        ||          ||            ||        ||        
|
|A
|-
|-
!Open
! Trill             
|
                    |         ||          ||          ||          ||              ||          ||        ||          ||            ||/ʀ/ r    ||        
|a
|
|}
|}
 
====Ambiguous Multigraphs====
The consonants marked with apostrophes are lateral sounds
The following multigraphs are ambiguous in Metin's romanization when they occur word medially. When a sequence of letters is not intended to be interpreted as a digraph,
 
a hypen "-" is inserted between them.
To pronounce them, put the tip of your tongue at the base of your bottom teeth. Then, bend the rest of your tongue upwards until the center of your tongue is pressed against the base of the top teeth. Then, make a plosive, nasal, fricative, or lateral with your tongue in this position. You should sound like you have a lisp.
tj  /θ/  t-j  /θɟ/
 
dj  /ð/  d-j  /ðɟ/
Plosive consonants and fricatives make a three-way distinction, voiceless, voiced, and voiced aspirant. v~w is considered an approximant, although it surfaces as the voiced bilabial fricative v before or after labial vowels. All fricatives, even aspirated ones, may occur at the end of syllables. There is no aspirated Gh, nor are there p or b sounds. The only consonant clusters in the Metin language are affricates and l clusters, such as kl, tl, dl, and dlh. l clusters may beaspirated. The l clusters pl and bl exist, even though the p and b sounds do not occur in isolation. There are also x clusters, px, tx, and Tx, there are only 3, and they are always voiceless.
djh  /ðʰ/ d-jh /ðɟʰ/
 
tl  /t͡ɬ/ t-l /θl/
Nasals are only distinguished from eachother in the onset of a syllable, at the end of a syllable, they become the archiphoneme m*, which agrees with the following consonant in place and manner of articulation. If followed by a vowel, m* becomes, m before normal vowels and n' before lateral vowels.
dl   /d͡l/ d-l /ðl/
 
ts  /t͡s/ t-s  /θs/
Approximants can also carry no secondary articulations. There is also an archiphoneme for syllable final approximants, that is l*. l* becomes ł before voiceless non-retroflex consonants, r before retroflex consonants, vowels, and voiced consonants, and l before voiced palatal and dental consonants.
dz  /d͡z/ d-z  /ðz/
dzh  /d͡zʰ/d-zh /ðzʰ/
sx  /ɕ/  s-x  /sx/
cx  /t͡ɕ/ c-x  /çx/
zx  /ʑ/  z-x /zx/
th  /ʈ/  t-h  /θh/
sh  /ʂ/  s-h  /sh/
ch  /ʈ͡ʂ/ c-h /çh/
gj  /ɣʰ/ g-j  /ɣɟ/
gjh  /ɣʰ/ g-jh /ɣɟʰ/
===Vowels===
===Vowels===
Vowels are divided into two groups, normal and lateral.
{| class="wikitable"
 
|+ Pairs of consonant realizations and their romanizations are presented.
A normal vowel has the tongue held straight during production. They cannot occur after a lateral or retroflex consonant.They are divided int three groups. The first group is the fronted vowels, or palatals, which are are i, e and á. The neutral mid vowels are ï, ë, and a. . The final group is the back vowels, or labial vowels, u, o and à.
 
A lateral vowel is produced with the tip of the tongue at the base of the teeth and the rest of the tongue bent upwards.  Frontness and backness are not distinguished, only openness and labialness. There are only two pure lateral vowels, unlabialized i' and labialized u', the other lateral vowels are dipthongs, aa' is a dipthong of aa and i', o' is a dipthong of o and u'.
==Syllable structure.==
The onset consists of any consonant in the Metin language, or one of the permitted onset clusters, the l clusters (tl, dl, dlh), the affricates (ts, J, dz') or the x clusters (tx, Tx, px). The nucleus may be any vowel. The final may be any fricative, including h.
Phonotactics: The vowels i and ï change to i' before lateral consonants. /s'ii/> s'ii', /t'ï/> t'i'. u changes to u' before lateral consonats /ts'u/>ts'u', /dzh'uu/>dzh'uu'.
 
 
 
==Grammar==
Metin is a polysynthetic, VSO language with most grammatical information indicated on the verb
==Noun morphology==
Metin numbers are divided into genders, which hold prefixes marking for the four cases and number.
===Gender 1===
Gender 1 is exclusively for humans.
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="article-table" style="width: 500px;"
|+Gender 1: si: example sime> person.
|-
! scope="row"|
! scope="col"|Singular
! scope="col"|Plural
|-
! scope="row"|Common
|sime
|oame
|-
|-
! scope="row"|Ablative
! Height↓  Backness→ !! Front !! Central !! Back
|soome
|koome
|-
|-
! scope="row"|Dative
!Close             
|sueeme
                      |/i/ i  ||/ɨ/ į    ||/u/ u
|keeme
|- 
!Mid               
                      |/e̞/ e  ||/ə/ ą    ||/o̞/ o
|-
|-
! scope="row"|Oblique
!Open               
|sual*me>suarme
                      |/æ/ ę  ||/a/ a    ||/ɒ/ ǫ
|oal*me> oarme
|}
|}
The l* in sual*me and kal*me indicates that it is the archiphoneme l*, which changes to r before voiced consonants (see phonology)
====Diphthongs====
===Gender 2===
{| class="wikitable"
Gender 2 is usually used to mark machines and complex objects, and to make machines of verbs. It does not mark a plural normally, although the prefix dha can be used optionally
!Nuclear Vowel↓  Glide→ !!V-/i̯/  !!/i̯/-V  !!V-/u̯/  !!/u̯/-V  !!V-/e̯/  !!/e̯/-V  !!V-/o̯/  !!/o̯/-V 
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="article-table" style="width: 500px;"
|+Gender 2: y'aq: example: y'aqcaa'n: aircraft
|-
|-
! scope="row"|
! /i/
! scope="col"|Singular
                        ||        ||        ||        ||/u̯i/ ui ||        ||        ||       ||
! scope="col"|Plural
|-
|-
! scope="row"|Common
! /u/
|ee'qcaa'n
                        ||        ||/i̯u/ iu ||        ||        ||        ||        ||       ||
|(dhaee'qcaa'n)
|-
|-
! scope="row"|Ablative
! /e̞/
|i'qoocaa'n
                        ||/εi̯/ ei ||/ie̞/ ie ||/e̞u̯/ eu ||/u̯e̞/ ue ||       ||       ||       ||/e̞o̯/ eo
|(dhai'qoocaa'n)
|-
! scope="row"|Dative
|ye'ncaa'n
|(dhaye'ncaa'n)
|-
! scope="row"|Oblique
|yu'ncaa'n
|(dhay'uncaa'n)
|}
 
===Gender 3===
Gender 3 is used to mark a variety of inanimate objects
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="article-table"
|+Gender 3: fï: example: fïïtooq: plant
|-
|-
! scope="row"|
! /ə/
! scope="col"|Singular
                        ||/əi̯/ ąi ||/i̯ə/ ią ||/u̯ə/ ąu ||/əu̯/ uą ||        ||/e̯ə/ eą ||/o̯ə/ oą ||
! scope="col"|Plural
|-
|-
! scope="row"|Common
! /o̞/
|fïtooq
                        ||/o̞i̯/ oi ||/i̯o̞/ io ||/o̞u̯/ ou ||/u̯o̞/ uo ||/o̞e̯/ oe ||        ||       ||
|dhatooq
|-
|-
! scope="row"|Ablative
! /æ/
|fuootooq
                        ||        ||/i̯æ/ ię ||/æu̯/ ęe ||/u̯æ/ uę ||        ||        ||/æo̯/ ęo ||/o̯æ/ oę
|dhootooq
|-
|-
! scope="row"|Dative
! /a/
|fintooq
                        ||/ai̯/ ai ||/i̯a/ ia ||/au̯/ au ||/u̯o̞/ ua ||/ae̯/ ae ||/e̯a/ ea ||/ao̯/ ao ||/o̯a/ oa
|jhintooq
|-
|-
! scope="row"|Oblique
! /ɒ/
|funtooq
                        ||/ɒi̯/ ǫi ||/i̯ɒ/ iǫ ||        ||/u̯ɒ/ uǫ ||/ɒe̯/ ǫe ||/e̯ɒ/ eǫ ||        ||
|
jhuntooq
|}
|}
All of Metin's vowels may occur as the core of a dipthong except for ɨ.
Metin has four glides which occur as either onglides or offglides, /i̯/, /u̯/, /e̯/, and /o̯/.
If a glide is long, its core vowel is written doubly.
====Triphthongs====
If for any vowel V the onglide diphthong G1V exists and the offglide diphthong VG2 exists then the triphthong G1VG2 exists.
Also, the triphthongs /i̯ui̯/ iui and /u̯iu̯/ uiu exist.
====Duration====
All 9 vowels may be long or short. In addition, the core vowel of any diphthong or triphthong may be long or short.
====Tone====
A short vowel may be high tone or low tone. The high tone is marked V́. The low tone is marked V.
A long vowel may be high tone, rising tone, falling tone, or low tone. the high tone is marked V́V́, rising tone VV́, falling tone V́V, and low tone VV.
Dipthongs and triphthongs of either duration may be of high tone, rising tone, falling tone, or low tone.
High tone is marked thusly on each kind of polyphthong:
ǴV́ ǴV́V́ V́Ǵ V́V́Ǵ ǴV́Ǵ ǴV́V́Ǵ
Rising tone is marked thusly on each kind of polyphthong:
GV́ GV́V́ VǴ VVǴ GV́Ǵ GV́V́Ǵ
Falling tone is marked thusly on each kind of polyphthong:
ǴV ǴVV V́G V́V́G ǴVG ǴVVG
Low tone is marked thusly on each kind of polyphthong:
GV GVV VG VVG GVG GVVG
===Syllable Structure===
The metin syllable structure is (C)V(F), where C is any consonant, V is any vowel, and F is any fricative. Vowel-initial words have an excrescent /ʔ/ glottal stop
in their onset.
V'V disyllables (with no intervening consonant) do not occur inside of words. Various sandhi processes remove them.
===Phonotactics===
A syllable may optionally have an onset with any one consonant or the permitted consonant clusters (listed in consonants section). The nucleus must consist of a vowel or sequence of vowels (vowels do not dipthongize, rather a sequence of vowels is pronounced with each vowel distinct.) The (optional) coda may be any fricative (including h and other breathy fricatives.
==Nouns==
===Noun Class Prefixes===
====Overview====
Every noun in Metin belongs to one of 10 classes.


Class 1 refers exclusively to humans. They take the prefix tsi- in all cases.


{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="article-table"
Class 2 is the plural of class 1. They take the prefix oka- in all cases.
|+Gender 3 diminuitive: n'e example:n'etooq: sprout
 
|-
Class 3 refers to animals, serviles, and other intelligent nonhuman beings. They take the prefix eey- in all cases.
! scope="row"|
 
! scope="col"|Singular
Class 4 is the plural of class 3. They take the prefix jii- in all cases.
! scope="col"|Plural
 
|-
Class 5 refers to small and medium inanimate objects, plants, basic tools, and miscellaneous tangible objects. It comes in two forms.
! scope="row"|Common
 
|n'etooq
Class 5a nouns take either the prefix mi- or the prefix įh- in the absolutive case and have no prefixes.
|(dhan'etooq) etc..
 
|-
Class 5b nouns take the prefix ut- in all cases.
! scope="row"|Ablative
 
|n'ootooq
Class 6 refers to very large nouns, especially when they are thought of as locations. All cases take prefix sxu-.
|
 
|-
Class 7 is the plural of class 6. All cases take prefix cxu-.
! scope="row"|Dative
 
|n'entooq
Class 8 refers to mass nouns. It comes in two forms.
|
 
|-
Class 8a nouns take the prefix oo- in all cases. This class is closed, and only a few common nouns are within it.
! scope="row"|Oblique
 
|n'untooq
Class 8b nouns take the prefix cha- in all cases. This class is open.
|
 
|}
Class 9 refers to vehicles and very large devices. They take the prefix we in all cases.
 
Class 10 refers to intangible and abstract things. They take the prefix lu in all cases.
 
====Declension of noun prefixes====
====Explanation of noun cases====
The absolutive case is used for the subject of transitive verbs, and both the subject and direct object of transitive verbs.
 
The ablative case is used to mark the possessor of a possessed noun, the "source" of verbs of production, and the starting
point of verbs of motion.


===Gender 4===
The oblique case is used for all adjunct noun roles.
Gender 4 is also used for inanimate objects, usually large immobile objects, or cities
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="article-table article-table-selected"
|+Gender 4: cà: example: càDUh: house
|-
! scope="row"|
! scope="col"|Singular
! scope="col"|Plural
|-
! scope="row"|Common
|càDuh
|morDuh
|-
! scope="row"|Ablative
|cooDuh
|mooDuh
|-
! scope="row"|Dative
|cAZDuh
|muZDuh
|-
! scope="row"|Oblique
|cuDuh
|muDuh
|}
===Gender 5===
Gender 5 is used for uncountable objects, like water or sand.
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="article-table"
|+Gender 5: mi example: miji: water
|-
! scope="row"|
! scope="col"|
Mass
|-
! scope="row"|Common
|miji
|-
! scope="row"|Ablative
|muooji
|-
! scope="row"|Dative
|minji
|-
! scope="row"|Oblique
|munji
|}


===Gender 6===
The dative case is used to mark indirect objects, the "output" of verbs of production, and the destination of verbs of movement.
Gender 6 is used for abstract concepts and qualities, like love, justice, or colors. Gender 6 nouns are also uncountable.
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="article-table article-table-selected"
|+Gender 6: lu example: luquo: the color white.
|-
! scope="row"|
! scope="col"|
|-
! scope="row"|Common
|luquo
|-
! scope="row"|Ablative
|luooquo
|-
! scope="row"|Dative
|luZquo
|-
! scope="row"|Oblique
|lunquo
|}


==Verbs==
==Verbs==
The Metin verb is by far the most complex part of Metin grammar. Most of Metin verb morphology involves prefixes, allthough there are a handful of suffixes that can occur.
===Verb class prefixes===
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="article-table article-table-selected" style="width: 500px;"
====Intransitive====
|+Metin verb template
 
|-
lį: indefinite, single subject,  avolitional, unproductive
! colspan="2" rowspan="1" scope="col"|Disjunct prefixes
 
! colspan="4" scope="col"|Conjunct prefixes
Example verbs: lį-cx'uy: (something) is red lį-jáe: (something) is beautiful
! colspan="2" scope="col"|Inner prefixes
 
! scope="col"|Stem
wu: terminate, single subject, avolitional, unproductive
! scope="col"|Suffixes
 
|-
Example verbs: wu-cxú (something) is hot
! scope="col"|Evidentiality
 
! scope="col"|Lexical
k'a: aorist, single subject,  avolitional, unproductive
! scope="col"|Outer
 
! scope="col"|Theme Vowel
Example verbs: k'a-çat: (something) makes a mistake
! scope="col"|Inner
 
! scope="col"|Object
tsismį: indefinite, single subject,  volitional, unproductive
! scope="col"|Subject
 
! scope="col"|Inner
Example verbs: gidi-tsismį-xuj: (someone) wanders, is itinerant
! scope="col"|
 
! scope="col"|
tse: terminate, single subject, volitional, unproductive
|-
 
|im
Example verbs: tse-xuj: (someone) is walking
|fu-syija
 
|h
ts'a: aorist, single subject,  volitional, unproductive
|á
 
|x
Example verbs: ts'a-gát: (someone) jumps
|s
 
|h
bha: productive, single subject,  avolitional
|r
 
|keeh
 
|sis
tsuwha: productive, single subject,  volitional
|}
 
"imfusyijaxkiásáhorkeehis": he let you down bit by bit hanging from a rope (I saw so)
yo:  transformational, single subject, avolitional
 
co:  transformational, single subject, volitional
 
=====Polyintransitive=====
pxao, fįxao: indefinite, multiple subject,  avolitional
 
bhuwao, bhiwao: terminate, multiple subject, avolitional
 
px'awao, px'iwao: aorist, multiple subject,  avolitional
 
tseo, tsitseo: indefinite, multiple subject,  volitional
 
tsuweo, tsiweo: terminate, multiple subject, volitional
 
ts'aweo, ts'iweo: aorist, multiple subject,  volitional
 
bhabhao, bhibhao: productive, multiple subject,  avolitional
 
tsabhao, tsibhao: productive, multiple subject,  volitional
 
jei, yiyyei:  transformational, multiple subject, avolitional
 
cei, çicei:  transformational, multiple subject, volitional
 
====Transitive====
he: indefinite for subject, volitional single subject, avolitional single object, unproductive.
 
Example verb: he-tiauns: (someone) widens (something)
 
she: terminate for subject, volitional single subject, avolitional single object, unproductive.
 
Example verb: she-thaa (someone) works on (something)
 
th'e: aorist for subject, volitional single subject, avolitional single object, unproductive.
 
Example verb: th'e-yáx: (someone) unties (something)


===Evidentiality===
qo: indefinite for subject, avolitional single subject, avolitional single object, unproductive.
Evidential prefixes are the simplest part of the Metin verb. They indicate how the speaker knows about what they're talking about. They have only two forms, one for if they are followed by lexical prefixes and one if they are not.
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="article-table" style="width: 500px;"
|-
! scope="row"|
! scope="col"|Saw/heard directly
! scope="col"|Saw/heard unclearly
! scope="col"|heard
! scope="col"|felt/smelled/ tasted
! scope="col"|


Example verbs: qo-haan: (something) lies on top of (something)


ro: terminate for subject, avolitional single subject, avolitional single object, unproductive.


Recording
Example verbs: ro-moig: (something) is rolling over (something)
! scope="col"|Hearsay/literature
! scope="col"|Inference
! scope="col"|Hope
|-
! scope="row"|Followed by lexical prefix
|im
|om
|iq
|oq
|il
|ol
|Az
|eS
|-
! scope="row"|Followed by something else
|iem
|uom
|ieq
|uoq
|iel
|uol
|ooz
|ioS
|}
Examples of usage: iemïdheu: he/she's climbing (I see him climbing) vs. imhaadheu: he/she's climbing up (I see him)


uoqïdheu: he/she's climbing (someone told me/ I read it) oqhaadheu: he/she's climbing up (someone told me/ I read it)
Example verbs: ro-kx'įį: (something) absorbs (something)
===Lexical prefixes===
Lexical prefixes are a large and varied group. Some, like "ha" and "fu", indicate direction of motion. "syija" indicates that a string or rope was somehow involved. "ma" is used in subjunctive clauses to mean "if" There is no strict limit on the number of lexical prefixes a verb may have, allthough it is rare for there to be more than 3. The lexical prefixes are ordered roughly like this.


direction>instrument>posture>time
q'o: aorist for subject, avolitional single subject, avolitional single object, unproductive.


fu-syija-txë-łi-  huhedheu
Example verbs: qx'o-qaa: (something) hits (something)


down-with rope-entire body-long time    climbed(refexive)


He climbed down slowly with a rope a while ago.
====Ditransitive===
==Adjectives==


==Syntax==
[[Category:Languages]]

Latest revision as of 14:12, 11 April 2021


General information

Metin is the official lingua franca of a confederation of human states known as The Encirclement (sxuDaiwe). It is published and standardized by a division of said body known as The Library (sxuQ'ostin). It has spoken, written, and binary forms, spanning all modes and media of communication. The full breadth of the language is used for interpersonal communication and the law, and for communications with sapient serviles, while restricted subsets are used for communicating with the APIs of simpler machines and devices. It is descended from an amalgamation of popular human and machine dialects that preceded the formation of the sxuDaiwe.

Phonology

Consonants

Pairs of consonant realizations and their romanizations are presented. Some consonants are romanized differently depending on whether or not they are in the onset or coda of a syllable, these are presented as comma separated pairs. Those which are marginal are indicated with an asterisk. Tildes separate the multiple realizations of a given singular consonant phoneme.
Manner↓ Place→ Bilabial Dental Lateral Alveolar Alveopalatal Retroflex Palatal Velar Labiovelar Uvular Glottal
Voiceless Stop /p/ p* /t̪/ t /ʈ/ th /c/ c /k/ k /k͡p/ kp /q/ q
Voiced Stop /b/ b* /d̪/ d /ɖ/ d̨ /ɟ/ j /g/ g /g͡b/ gb
Breathy Stop /bʰ/ bh /d̪ʰ/ dh /ɖʰ/ d̨h /ɟʰ/ jh /gʰ/ gh /g͡bʰ/ gbh
Ejective Stop /t̪ʼ/ t' /ʈʼ/ th' /cʼ/ c' /kʼ/ k' /k͡pʼ/ kp' /qʼ/ q'
Nasal Stop /m~n/ m,n
Voiceless Fricative /f/ f /θ/ tj,t /ɬ/ ł /s/ s /ɕ/ sx /ʂ/ sh /ç/ ç,c /x/ x
Voiceless Affricate /t͡ɬ/ tl /t͡s/ ts /t͡ɕ/ cx /ʈ͡ʂ/ ch
Voiced Fricative /β/ w /ð/ dj,d /ɮ/ ɮ /z/ z /ʑ/ zx /ʐ/ z̨ /ʝ/ y /ɣ/ gj,g /h/ h
Voiced Affricate /d͡l/ dl* /d͡z/ dz* /d͡ʑ/ jx /ɖ͡ʐ/ j̨
Breathy Fricative /βʰ/ wh /ðʰ/ djh,dh /ɮʰ/ ɮʰ /zʰ/ zh /ʑʰ/ zxh /ʐʰ/ z̨h /ʝʰ/ yh /ɣʰ/ gjh,gh
Breathy Affricate /d͡lʰ/ dlh*/ /d͡zʰ/ dzh* /d͡ʑʰ/ jxh /ɖʐʰ/ j̨h
Ejective Affricate /t̪͡θʼ/ tj' /t͡ɬʼ/ tl' /t͡sʼ/ ts' /t͡ɕʼ/ cx' /ʈ͡ʂʼ/ ch' /qχʼ/ qx'
Velar Affricate /p͡x/ px /t̪x/ tx /ʈ͡x/ thx
Velar EJective Affricate /pxʼ/ px' /t̪xʼ/ tx' /ʈ͡xʼ/ thx' /k͡xʼ/ kx'
Approximant /l/ l
Trill /ʀ/ r

Ambiguous Multigraphs

The following multigraphs are ambiguous in Metin's romanization when they occur word medially. When a sequence of letters is not intended to be interpreted as a digraph, a hypen "-" is inserted between them. tj /θ/ t-j /θɟ/ dj /ð/ d-j /ðɟ/ djh /ðʰ/ d-jh /ðɟʰ/ tl /t͡ɬ/ t-l /θl/ dl /d͡l/ d-l /ðl/ ts /t͡s/ t-s /θs/ dz /d͡z/ d-z /ðz/ dzh /d͡zʰ/d-zh /ðzʰ/ sx /ɕ/ s-x /sx/ cx /t͡ɕ/ c-x /çx/ zx /ʑ/ z-x /zx/ th /ʈ/ t-h /θh/ sh /ʂ/ s-h /sh/ ch /ʈ͡ʂ/ c-h /çh/ gj /ɣʰ/ g-j /ɣɟ/ gjh /ɣʰ/ g-jh /ɣɟʰ/

Vowels

Pairs of consonant realizations and their romanizations are presented.
Height↓ Backness→ Front Central Back
Close /i/ i /ɨ/ į /u/ u
Mid /e̞/ e /ə/ ą /o̞/ o
Open /æ/ ę /a/ a /ɒ/ ǫ

Diphthongs

Nuclear Vowel↓ Glide→ V-/i̯/ /i̯/-V V-/u̯/ /u̯/-V V-/e̯/ /e̯/-V V-/o̯/ /o̯/-V
/i/ /u̯i/ ui
/u/ /i̯u/ iu
/e̞/ /εi̯/ ei /ie̞/ ie /e̞u̯/ eu /u̯e̞/ ue /e̞o̯/ eo
/ə/ /əi̯/ ąi /i̯ə/ ią /u̯ə/ ąu /əu̯/ uą /e̯ə/ eą /o̯ə/ oą
/o̞/ /o̞i̯/ oi /i̯o̞/ io /o̞u̯/ ou /u̯o̞/ uo /o̞e̯/ oe
/æ/ /i̯æ/ ię /æu̯/ ęe /u̯æ/ uę /æo̯/ ęo /o̯æ/ oę
/a/ /ai̯/ ai /i̯a/ ia /au̯/ au /u̯o̞/ ua /ae̯/ ae /e̯a/ ea /ao̯/ ao /o̯a/ oa
/ɒ/ /ɒi̯/ ǫi /i̯ɒ/ iǫ /u̯ɒ/ uǫ /ɒe̯/ ǫe /e̯ɒ/ eǫ

All of Metin's vowels may occur as the core of a dipthong except for ɨ. Metin has four glides which occur as either onglides or offglides, /i̯/, /u̯/, /e̯/, and /o̯/. If a glide is long, its core vowel is written doubly.

Triphthongs

If for any vowel V the onglide diphthong G1V exists and the offglide diphthong VG2 exists then the triphthong G1VG2 exists. Also, the triphthongs /i̯ui̯/ iui and /u̯iu̯/ uiu exist.

Duration

All 9 vowels may be long or short. In addition, the core vowel of any diphthong or triphthong may be long or short.

Tone

A short vowel may be high tone or low tone. The high tone is marked V́. The low tone is marked V.

A long vowel may be high tone, rising tone, falling tone, or low tone. the high tone is marked V́V́, rising tone VV́, falling tone V́V, and low tone VV.

Dipthongs and triphthongs of either duration may be of high tone, rising tone, falling tone, or low tone.

High tone is marked thusly on each kind of polyphthong:

ǴV́ ǴV́V́ V́Ǵ V́V́Ǵ ǴV́Ǵ ǴV́V́Ǵ

Rising tone is marked thusly on each kind of polyphthong:

GV́ GV́V́ VǴ VVǴ GV́Ǵ GV́V́Ǵ

Falling tone is marked thusly on each kind of polyphthong:

ǴV ǴVV V́G V́V́G ǴVG ǴVVG

Low tone is marked thusly on each kind of polyphthong:

GV GVV VG VVG GVG GVVG

Syllable Structure

The metin syllable structure is (C)V(F), where C is any consonant, V is any vowel, and F is any fricative. Vowel-initial words have an excrescent /ʔ/ glottal stop in their onset. V'V disyllables (with no intervening consonant) do not occur inside of words. Various sandhi processes remove them.

Phonotactics

A syllable may optionally have an onset with any one consonant or the permitted consonant clusters (listed in consonants section). The nucleus must consist of a vowel or sequence of vowels (vowels do not dipthongize, rather a sequence of vowels is pronounced with each vowel distinct.) The (optional) coda may be any fricative (including h and other breathy fricatives.

Nouns

Noun Class Prefixes

Overview

Every noun in Metin belongs to one of 10 classes.

Class 1 refers exclusively to humans. They take the prefix tsi- in all cases.

Class 2 is the plural of class 1. They take the prefix oka- in all cases.

Class 3 refers to animals, serviles, and other intelligent nonhuman beings. They take the prefix eey- in all cases.

Class 4 is the plural of class 3. They take the prefix jii- in all cases.

Class 5 refers to small and medium inanimate objects, plants, basic tools, and miscellaneous tangible objects. It comes in two forms.

Class 5a nouns take either the prefix mi- or the prefix įh- in the absolutive case and have no prefixes.

Class 5b nouns take the prefix ut- in all cases.

Class 6 refers to very large nouns, especially when they are thought of as locations. All cases take prefix sxu-.

Class 7 is the plural of class 6. All cases take prefix cxu-.

Class 8 refers to mass nouns. It comes in two forms.

Class 8a nouns take the prefix oo- in all cases. This class is closed, and only a few common nouns are within it.

Class 8b nouns take the prefix cha- in all cases. This class is open.

Class 9 refers to vehicles and very large devices. They take the prefix we in all cases.

Class 10 refers to intangible and abstract things. They take the prefix lu in all cases.

Declension of noun prefixes

Explanation of noun cases

The absolutive case is used for the subject of transitive verbs, and both the subject and direct object of transitive verbs.

The ablative case is used to mark the possessor of a possessed noun, the "source" of verbs of production, and the starting point of verbs of motion.

The oblique case is used for all adjunct noun roles.

The dative case is used to mark indirect objects, the "output" of verbs of production, and the destination of verbs of movement.

Verbs

Verb class prefixes

Intransitive

lį: indefinite, single subject, avolitional, unproductive

Example verbs: lį-cx'uy: (something) is red lį-jáe: (something) is beautiful

wu: terminate, single subject, avolitional, unproductive

Example verbs: wu-cxú (something) is hot

k'a: aorist, single subject, avolitional, unproductive

Example verbs: k'a-çat: (something) makes a mistake

tsismį: indefinite, single subject, volitional, unproductive

Example verbs: gidi-tsismį-xuj: (someone) wanders, is itinerant

tse: terminate, single subject, volitional, unproductive

Example verbs: tse-xuj: (someone) is walking

ts'a: aorist, single subject, volitional, unproductive

Example verbs: ts'a-gát: (someone) jumps

bha: productive, single subject, avolitional


tsuwha: productive, single subject, volitional

yo: transformational, single subject, avolitional

co: transformational, single subject, volitional

Polyintransitive

pxao, fįxao: indefinite, multiple subject, avolitional

bhuwao, bhiwao: terminate, multiple subject, avolitional

px'awao, px'iwao: aorist, multiple subject, avolitional

tseo, tsitseo: indefinite, multiple subject, volitional

tsuweo, tsiweo: terminate, multiple subject, volitional

ts'aweo, ts'iweo: aorist, multiple subject, volitional

bhabhao, bhibhao: productive, multiple subject, avolitional

tsabhao, tsibhao: productive, multiple subject, volitional

jei, yiyyei: transformational, multiple subject, avolitional

cei, çicei: transformational, multiple subject, volitional

Transitive

he: indefinite for subject, volitional single subject, avolitional single object, unproductive.

Example verb: he-tiauns: (someone) widens (something)

she: terminate for subject, volitional single subject, avolitional single object, unproductive.

Example verb: she-thaa (someone) works on (something)

th'e: aorist for subject, volitional single subject, avolitional single object, unproductive.

Example verb: th'e-yáx: (someone) unties (something)

qo: indefinite for subject, avolitional single subject, avolitional single object, unproductive.

Example verbs: qo-haan: (something) lies on top of (something)

ro: terminate for subject, avolitional single subject, avolitional single object, unproductive.

Example verbs: ro-moig: (something) is rolling over (something)

Example verbs: ro-kx'įį: (something) absorbs (something)

q'o: aorist for subject, avolitional single subject, avolitional single object, unproductive.

Example verbs: qx'o-qaa: (something) hits (something)


=Ditransitive

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