Metin: Difference between revisions

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====Tone====
====Tone====
A short vowel may be high tone or low tone. The high tone is marked V́. The low tone is marked V.
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.
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.
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:
High tone is marked thusly on each kind of polyphthong:
ǴV́ ǴV́V́ V́Ǵ V́V́Ǵ ǴV́Ǵ ǴV́V́Ǵ
ǴV́ ǴV́V́ V́Ǵ V́V́Ǵ ǴV́Ǵ ǴV́V́Ǵ
Rising tone is marked thusly on each kind of polyphthong:
Rising tone is marked thusly on each kind of polyphthong:
GV́ GV́V́ VǴ VVǴ GV́Ǵ GV́V́Ǵ
GV́ GV́V́ VǴ VVǴ GV́Ǵ GV́V́Ǵ
Falling tone is marked thusly on each kind of polyphthong:
Falling tone is marked thusly on each kind of polyphthong:
ǴV ǴVV V́G V́V́G ǴVG ǴVVG
ǴV ǴVV V́G V́V́G ǴVG ǴVVG
Low tone is marked thusly on each kind of polyphthong:
Low tone is marked thusly on each kind of polyphthong:
GV GVV VG VVG GVG GVVG
GV GVV VG VVG GVG GVVG


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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.
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.


==Grammar==
==Nouns==
Metin is a polysynthetic, VSO language with most grammatical information indicated on the verb
===Noun Class Prefixes===
==Noun morphology==
====Overview====
Metin numbers are divided into genders, which hold prefixes marking for the four cases and number. Number is not obligatory to mark, especially for inanimate nouns.
Every noun in Metin belongs to one of 10 classes.
===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
|soome
|koome
|-
! scope="row"|Dative
|sueeme
|keeme
|-
! scope="row"|Oblique
|sual*me>suarme
|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)
===Gender 2===
Gender 2 is usually used to mark machines and complex objects, and to make machines of verbs. It does not have a plural form, although the prefix dha can be used optionally
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="article-table" style="width: 500px;"
|+Gender 2: ee'q: example: ee'qca'z: aircraft
|-
! scope="row"|
! scope="col"|Singular
! scope="col"|Plural
|-
! scope="row"|Common
|ee'qca'z
|(dhaee'qca'z)
|-
! scope="row"|Ablative
|i'qooca'z
|(dhai'qooca'z)
|-
! scope="row"|Dative
|ye'nca'z
|(dhaye'nca'z)
|-
! scope="row"|Oblique
|yu'nca'z
|(dhay'unca'z)
|}


===Gender 3===
Class 1 refers exclusively to humans. They take the prefix tsi- in all cases.
Gender 3 is used to mark a variety of inanimate objects.
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="article-table"
|+Gender 3: fï: example: fïtooq: plant
|-
! scope="row"|
! scope="col"|Singular
! scope="col"|Plural
|-
! scope="row"|Common
|fïtooq
|(dhatooq)
|-
! scope="row"|Ablative
|fuootooq
|(dhootooq
|-
! scope="row"|Dative
|fintooq
|(jhintooq)
|-
! scope="row"|Oblique
|funtooq
|
(jhuntooq)
|}


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.


===Gender 4===
Class 4 is the plural of class 3. They take the prefix jii- in all cases.
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
|sxaDuh
|morDuh
|-
! scope="row"|Ablative
|sxooDuh
|mooDuh
|-
! scope="row"|Dative
|sxAZDuh
|muZDuh
|-
! scope="row"|Oblique
|sxuDuh
|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===
Class 5 refers to small and medium inanimate objects, plants, basic tools, and miscellaneous tangible objects. It comes in two forms.
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==
Class 5a nouns take either the prefix mi- or the prefix įh- in the absolutive case and have no prefixes.
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.
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="article-table article-table-selected" style="width: 500px;"
|+Metin verb template
|-
! colspan="2" rowspan="1" scope="col"|Disjunct prefixes
! colspan="4" scope="col"|Conjunct prefixes
! colspan="2" scope="col"|Inner prefixes
! scope="col"|Stem
! scope="col"|Suffixes
|-
! scope="col"|Evidentiality
! scope="col"|Lexical
! scope="col"|Outer
! scope="col"|Theme Vowel
! scope="col"|Inner
! scope="col"|Object
! scope="col"|Subject
! scope="col"|Inner
! scope="col"|
! scope="col"|
|-
|im
|fu-syija
|h
|á
|x
|s
|h
|r
|keeh
|sis
|}
"imfusyijaxkiásáhorkeehis": he let you down bit by bit hanging from a rope (I saw so)


===Evidentiality===
Class 5b nouns take the prefix ut- in all cases.
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"|


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-.


Recording
Class 8 refers to mass nouns. It comes in two forms.
! 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)
Class 8a nouns take the prefix oo- in all cases. This class is closed, and only a few common nouns are within it.
===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
Class 8b nouns take the prefix cha- in all cases. This class is open.


fu-syija-txë-łi-  huhedheu
Class 9 refers to vehicles and very large devices. They take the prefix we in all cases.


down-with rope-entire body-long time    climbed(refexive)
Class 10 refers to intangible and abstract things. They take the prefix lu in all cases.


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


Lexical prefixes will be listed in the dictionary rather than the grammar, except for a few of the more important.
The ablative case is used to mark the possessor of a possessed noun, the "source" of verbs of production, and the starting
==Inner prefixes==
point of verbs of motion.
Inner prefixes bear the greater portion of the grammar in Metin, and they interact with eachother in complex ways, thus, it is difficult to talk about them in isolation.
==The subject prefixes==
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="article-table"
|-
! scope="row"|
! scope="col"|Singular
! scope="col"|Inclusive
! scope="col"|Exclusive
|-
! scope="row"|1st person
|o
|um
|ał
|-
! scope="row"|2nd person
| colspan="3"|f
|-
! scope="row"|3rd person
| colspan="3"| -
|-
! scope="row"|4th person obviate
| colspan="3"|q
|-
! scope="row"|4th person proximate
| colspan="3"|á
|-
! scope="row"|Interrogative
| colspan="3"|iz
|-
! scope="row"|Passive
| colspan="3"|më
|}
These are the basic forms of the subject prefixes. The prefixes rarely surface identically to their basic form, but instead change according to their environment. The verb below shows the forms of the prefixes when they are not preceded nor followed by any other prefixes.
===Bare subject prefixes===
Notice two things: Every subject prefix recieves an initial cononant (o to wo, iz to hiz), vowelless prefixes get a peg hï, f changes to hu, yał changes to yeł, and the verb recieves the suffix -wa to indicate plurality.
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="article-table"
|+Present conjugation of 0-dheu: to climb
|-
|


wodheu
The oblique case is used for all adjunct noun roles.


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


"We climb."
==Verbs==
|
===Verb class prefixes===
yełdheuwa
====Intransitive====
 
"Youn and me climb."
|-
| colspan="3"|hudheu "You climb." hudheuwa "Y'all climb."
|-
| colspan="3"|hïdheu "He/she climbs." hïdheuwa "They climb."
|-
| colspan="3"|hïqdheu "He/she climbs." hïqdheuwa "They climb."
|-
| colspan="3"|yádheu "He/she climbs." yádheuwa "They climb."
|-
| colspan="3"|hizdheu "Who climbs?"
|-
| colspan="3"|mëdheu "It is climbed."
|}
===With evidentials===
This table shows the form of the prefixes when preceded by an evidential. Notice how the subject prefixes are now almost identical to their base forms (except f, which has changed to u. f changes to u whenever it is sandwiched between two consonants.)
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="article-table" style="width: 500px;"
|+Present conjugation of iem-0-dheu: to climb (as seen by speaker)
|-
|
 
iemodheu
 
"I climb."
 
(I see so.)
|
iemundheuwa
 
"We climb."
 
(I see so.)
|
iemałdheuwa
 
"You and me climb."
 
(I see so.)
|-
| colspan="3"|iemudheu "You climb." (I see so.)
|-
| colspan="3"|iendheu "He/she climbs."  (I see so.)
|-
| colspan="3"|iemïqdheu "He/she climbs." (I see so.)
|-
| colspan="3"|iemádheu "He/she climbs." (I see so.)
|-
| colspan="3"|iemizdheu "Who climbs?" (I see so.)
|-
| colspan="3"|ienmëdheudheu "It is climbed." (I see so.)
|}
===With lexical prefixes===
This table shows the forms of the subject prefixes when preceded by a lexical prefix. Notice how the lexical prefix's vowel is long in the forms marked with an *, and short elsewhere. Forms marked with a * trigger what is known as the ''lexical prefix vowel change. ''The lexical prefix vowel change usually lengthens the prefixes vowel, but occasionally other changes will happen (For example, the lexical prefix drai changes to drayee before an *, as in drayeefdheu (drai-f*-dheu), "You barely finish climbing." Vowel changes will be listed next to a lexical prefix's entry in the dictionary.
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="article-table"
|+Present conjugation of ha-0-dheu: to climb upwards
|-
|
 
hódheu (hao>ho)
 
"I climb up."
|
hondheuwa (hau>ho)
 
"We climb up."
|
hałdheuwa (haał>hał)
 
"Youn and me set it."
|-
| colspan="3"|haafdheu* "You climb up." haafdheuwa* "Y'all climb up."
|-
| colspan="3"|haadheu* "He/she climbs up." haadheuwa* "they climb up."
|-
| colspan="3"|haaqdheu* "He/she climbs." haaqdheuwa "They climb up."
|-
| colspan="3"|hayádheu "He/she climbs up." hayádheuwa "They climb up."
|-
| colspan="3"|haaizdheu* "Who climbs up?"
|-
| colspan="3"|hamëdheu "It is climbed up."
|}
==Classifiers==
Classifiers are prefixes that come after the subject prefixes, usually indicating transitivity. There are 2 classifiers, a and e
===Combination of subject prefixes with classifier e===
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="article-table article-table-selected"
|+Present conjugation of e-goon: to set it, place it
|-
|
 
wegoon
 
"I set it."
|
wumiegoonwa
 
"We set it."
|
yełiegoonwa


"Youn and me climb up."
lį: indefinite, single subject, avolitional, unproductive
|-
| colspan="3"|*wegoon "You set it." *wegoonwa "Y'all set it."
|-
| colspan="3"|*hegoon "He/she sets it." *hegoonwa "They set it."
|-
| colspan="3"|*heqgoon "He/she sets it." *heqgoonwa "They set it."
|-
| colspan="3"|yáigoon "He/she sets it." yáigoonwa "They set it."
|-
| colspan="3"|*hidegoon "Who sets it?"
|-
| colspan="3"|mëigoon "It is set."
|}
These subject prefix-classifier combinations are highly irregular and must be learned by rote. As before, forms arked with an * will trigger lexical prefix vowel change if preceded by one. The following table shows what these prefixes look like with preceding lexicals.
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="article-table"
|+Present conjugation of fu-e-goon: to set it down
|-
|


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


"I set it down."
wu: terminate, single subject, avolitional, unproductive
|
fumiegoonwa (fuu>fu)


"We set it down."
Example verbs: wu-cxú (something) is hot
|
fuałiegoonwa


"Youn and me set it down"
k'a: aorist, single subject,  avolitional, unproductive
|-
| colspan="3"|*fuuwegoon "You set it down." *wegoonwa "Y'all set it down."
|-
| colspan="3"|*fuuhegoon "He/she sets it down." *fuuhegoonwa "They set it down."
|-
| colspan="3"|*fuuheqgoon "He/she sets it down." *fuuheqgoonwa "They set it down."
|-
| colspan="3"|fuyáigoon "He/she sets it down." fuyáigoonwa "They set it down."
|-
| colspan="3"|*fuuidegoon "Who sets it down?"
|-
| colspan="3"|fumëigoon "It is set down."
|}


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


==Syntax==
tsismį: indefinite, single subject, volitional, unproductive
==The Noun phrase==
===Simple Noun phrases===
A simple noun phrase consists of at least 1 noun, the head noun, declined for case/


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


The head noun may be followed by one or more descriptors, such as adjectives or demonstratives
tse: terminate, single subject, volitional, unproductive


fïgoon Za "that chair"
Example verbs: tse-xuj: (someone) is walking


fïgoon mui's "beautiful chair"
ts'a: aorist, single subject,  volitional, unproductive


It may be followed by a postposition
Example verbs: ts'a-gát: (someone) jumps


fungoon mui's Za dez "by that beautiful chair"
bha: productive, single subject,  avolitional


It may be posessed, in which case the head noun recieves a suffix marking the person and number of the posessor, and the posessor is marked in the oblique case.


fïgoomen mui's suarme Za "that person's beautiful chair"
tsuwha: productive, single subject,  volitional


fïgoomi mui's oarme Za "those people's beautiful chair"
yo:  transformational, single subject, avolitional


fïgoomo "my chair"
co:  transformational, single subject, volitional


fïgoomen "his/her chair"
=====Polyintransitive=====
pxao, fįxao: indefinite, multiple subject,  avolitional


It may recieve a preposition
bhuwao, bhiwao: terminate, multiple subject, avolitional


txoh fïgoon ta "along with this chair"
px'awao, px'iwao: aorist, multiple subject,  avolitional
===Complex Noun phrases===
'''Conjunctions'''


Two noun phrases may be linked by conjunctions such as ppi or zxá
tseo, tsitseo: indefinite, multiple subject,  volitional


fïgoomen quo Za ppi fïtooq tliue ta "that white chair and this green plant"
tsuweo, tsiweo: terminate, multiple subject, volitional


fïgoomen quo Za zxá fïtooq tliue ta "that white chair or this green plant"
ts'aweo, ts'iweo: aorist, multiple subject,  volitional


fïgoomen quo Za hi fïtoq tliue ta hu "that white chair, this green plant, and other things"
bhabhao, bhibhao: productive, multiple subject,  avolitional


'''Comparisons'''
tsabhao, tsibhao: productive, multiple subject,  volitional


Comparisons in Metin are structured like this "Quality-posessive suffix-quantity-OBL-head noun-mu-compared noun
jei, yiyyei:  transformational, multiple subject, avolitional


luquoyen zhaax fungoomen mu funtooq Za. whiteness-3ps great OBL-chair mu plant that "The chair is whiter than the plant" (Literal: The chair's whiteness is great compared to that plant."
cei, çicei: transformational, multiple subject, volitional


luquoyen Gui fungoomen mu funtooq ta. "the chair is less white than that plant."
====Transitive====
===The copulas Dhaa, bhaa, and mimi.===
he: indefinite for subject, volitional single subject, avolitional single object, unproductive.
The copula always comes first in the sentence


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


Noun phrases may be marked equivalent by the copula Dhaa
she: terminate for subject, volitional single subject, avolitional single object, unproductive.


Dhaa sime te sibeh suałsuho. "That person by you is my friend's sister"
Example verb: she-thaa (someone) works on (something)


COPULA person here-by you sister-3ps OBL-friend-1ps
th'e: aorist for subject, volitional single subject, avolitional single object, unproductive.


Or be stated without the copula to convey the same meaning
Example verb: th'e-yáx: (someone) unties (something)


sime te sibeh suałsuho. (same meaning)
qo: indefinite for subject, avolitional single subject, avolitional single object, unproductive.


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


The copula bhaa is used in the same way as Dhaa, but changes the phrase to a question. It is used most often in the respectful and distant registers.
ro: terminate for subject, avolitional single subject, avolitional single object, unproductive.


bhaa sime te sibeh suałsuho? "Is that person by you my friend's sister?"
Example verbs: ro-moig: (something) is rolling over (something)


Like Dhaa, bhaa may be ommited, the only indication that the statement is a question being the tone of voice. bhaa is most commonly ommited in the close informal register.
Example verbs: ro-kx'įį: (something) absorbs (something)


sime te sibeh suałsuho? (same meaning)
q'o: aorist for subject, avolitional single subject, avolitional single object, unproductive.


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


The copula mimi indicates that two noun phrases are not equivalent. It is used like the other copulas.


mimi sime te sibeh suałsuho "That person by you is not my friend's sister"
====Ditransitive===
==The Verb phrase==


[[Category:Languages]]
[[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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