View source for Lántun

The '''Lántun''' language is a part of  a macrofamily of languages generally called Aiwanic, although it is not spoken by a humanoid race. They are characterised by polysynthetic morphology, pitch accent and lack of true labial consonants and vowels.

The Lánunic languages are a contiguous dialectal block, with the exception of some small obscure dialects spoken at the fringes of the known world.  The terms “Lántun” and “Lánunic” are often used interchangeably by linguists studying this language, but the former is more typically used to mean the central standardised dialect, while the latter refers to the language continuum as a whole. The name '''Lántun''' is the endonym of the language, meaning “a collective of words”. The beings themselves do not have self-designations (autonyms) in their language yet they are called “the Draconids” or “Dragons” in English; they do however frequently have specific names for local groups and their dialects, as the local group was more important culturally than larger relations for this species.

From a synchronic perspective, the Lánunic languages are considered to be dead, as they were spoken during the [[w:Electroweak epoch|Second Era]] of the Universe (while this Era is the Fourth), so there are no any living speakers left. Yet, the language represented a very distant ancestor to all Aiwanic and possibly even some other languages. There is no evidence that would support any relation to the languages of the Fourth Era planet Earth (the [[Kyrdan languages]] are confirmed to be Aiwanic, though).

Salishan languages are most commonly represented using the Latin alphabet in a phonetic notation that accounts for the various vowels and consonants that do not exist in Latin or English, while some letters have a different designated sound than expected. Many Dragon groups evolved various writing systems for their language, and while technically Lántun is viewed as “standard” in this article, there was no single standard variety of Lánunic.
==External history==
[[File:White_Draconid.jpg|thumb|right|This is a representation of a Draconid – an alien species that speak Lántun. This is a white draconid, their primary features are clearly visible. The blue rays appear due to [[w:Cherenkov radiation|Cherenkov radiation]]]]
'''Lántun''' (pronounced [ˈɺɑn˥.t̪ɯn꜉]) is a language created by '''Raistas''' in 2012. Since that time the language underwent many significant revisions and reworks changing drastically in the process. It is an attempt to create an alien protolanguage for the '''Aiwanic''' (“Heaven”) language macrofamily. Its distinctive feature is the lack of a separate noun category, as all nouns can be interpreted as stative verbs. In Lántun, relationships between the noun phrases making up the sentence are expressed by either stative or eventive verbs. However, the semantic content found in verbs, can also be found in Lántun's sentence-final '''particles''', which are not conjugated themselves, yet can be used as copulas or factual markers. Despite its complex verbal morphology, Lántun is an expressive and intelligible language even though it is not meant to be spoken by humans.

==Phonology==
Since the Draconid [[w:Vocal tract|vocal tract]] has a different composition and structure, than the human one, the phonology of Lántun is thus constrained and defined by this structure, such a lack of true lips and nose. Still, a Dragon may have been able to pronounce most sounds that would somewhat correspond to the modern [[w:International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] system, even though the medium through which the sound propagated, was not air but instead plasma, so the actual values of the sounds represented in the article are very different from these approximations.
===Vowels===
Lántun has the seven monophthongs, which are distinguished by their [[w:Vowel#Height|height]] and [[w:Vowel#Backness|backness]]. Vowel length is a distinctive feature, which doubles the total amount of vowel phonemes. Some dialects also use a central short monophthong [ə], which is called a '''neutralised''' vowel in environments, where vowel reduction occurs. In Lántun itself vowel reduction evolved into [[w:Syncope (phonology)|syncopation]] instead.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! rowspan="2" |
! colspan="3" |[[w:Vowel length|Short]]
! colspan="3" |[[w:Vowel length|Long]]
|-
![[w:Front vowel|Front]]
![[w:Central vowel|Centralised]]
![[w:Back vowel|Back]]
![[w:Front vowel|Front]]
![[w:Central vowel|Centralised]]
![[w:Back vowel|Back]]
|-
![[w:Close vowel|Close]]
| i [i]
| y [ɪ]
| u [ɯ]
| ī [iː]
| ȳ [ɪː]
| ū [ɯː]
|-
![[w:Mid vowel|Mid]]
| e [e̞]
| ø [ɘ̞]
| o [o̞]
| ē [e̞ː]
| ø̄ [ɘ̞ː]
| ō [o̞ː]
|-
![[Open vowel|Open]]
| colspan="3" | a [a~ɑ]
| colspan="3" | ā [ɑː]
|}
Although there are several diphothongs, such as ''ei'' [eɪ] or ''au'' [ɑʊ], they are not considered to be separate phonemes, since they typically occur in morphologically predicted environments. The resonant [r] can function as a syllabic core, although word-initially it is often devoiced – ''ŕti'' [ˈr̩˥.t̪i꜉] “it appears” or “it seems”, but ''rthe'' [r̥t̪ʰe̞˧] or [r̥ə.ˈt̪ʰe̞˧] “the time has come”.

===Consonants===
Látun does not distinguish plosives from fricatives, existing fricatives are analysed as aspirated plosives and likely originated from them. There is no labial series, instead a similar-sounding series is called "frontal", and the nasal consonant category is substituted with a similar "postmaxillar" place of articulation (which is basically a cleft palate leading to a closed cavity right under the brain).
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! colspan=2|
! [[w:Labiodental consonant|Frontal]]
! [[w:Dental consonant|Dental]]
! [[w:Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! [[w:Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! [[w:Velar consonant|Velar]]
! [[w:Laryngeal consonant|Laryngeal]]
|-
! colspan=2| [[w:Nasal consonant|Postmaxillar]]
| m [ɱ]
| n [n̪]
| 
| 
| ŋ [ŋ]
|
|-
! rowspan=2| [[w:Plosive|Plosive–<br>Fricative]]
! <small>[[w:Tenuis consonant|tenuis]]<small>
|
| t [t̪]
| c [t̺͡s̺]
|
| k [k]
| 
|-
! <small>[[w:Aspirated consonant|aspirated]]<small>
| f [ɱ̥]
| th [t̪ʰ]
| s [s̺ʰ]
|
| kh [kʰ]
| ḥ [ħ]
|-
! colspan=2| [[w:Approximant|Approximant]]
| v [ʋ]
| d [ð̞]
| l [ɺ]
| j [j]
| g [ʟ]
| h [ɦ]
|-
! colspan=2| [[w:Trill consonant|Trill]]
|
|
| r [r~r̥<ref group=note>[r̥] is an allophone of /r/ near voiceless consonants and before h, which usually becomes silent in that position – [r̥(h)].</ref>]
|
|
|
|}
{{reflist|group=note}}
In addition, most consonants, except approximants and the trill, can be geminated, for instance, ''nn'' /n:/, ''kk'' /k:/ Fricatives may sometimes become affricates in this position, such as ''ss'' being pronounced [t̺͡s̺ʰː], in this instance the aspiration is lengthened instead of the onset, unlike tenuis geminates.

===Syllable structure===
The most typical syllable structure is '''CV''' and '''CVC''' (where '''C''' is any consonant, and '''V''' is any vowel). However, because of the vowel syncope, consonant clusters can occur within a syllable, such as in the word ''sve'' [s̺ʰʋe̞꜊] “to exist”. In dialects [ə] may usually break these clusters – [s̺ʰə.ʋe̞꜊].

The main root syllable is generally recognised as being monosyllabic of the form '''(C)VC'''. Disyllabic roots, although common, are derived from monosyllabic with augment formatives, or simply '''augments'''. They act as suffixes and typically have the form '''-VC'''. This, in turn, may be followed by additional secondary augments that often merge together via the process of [[w:Syncope (phonology)|syncope]]. Thus, it is convenient to analyse Lántun roots through a general formula – '''<sup>01</sup>C<sub>1</sub><sup>12</sup>V<sub>1</sub><sup>12</sup>C<sub>2</sub>''', with the form '''<sup>m</sup>C<sub>n</sub>''', in which '''m''' is the "strength" of a consonant (m=0 being [∅], m=1 being a consonant with no tone and m=2 being a consonant with tone. For vowels m=1 indicates that a vowel is short and m=2 indicates a long vowel); and '''n''' is a position of a sound in the root. However, due to various phonological processes that occur in the root, only three simple root patterns are allowed (with the additional fourth pattern arising from augmentation, e.g. adding an augment to a root). The three patterns are:
{| class="wikitable" frame=void style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center; white-space:nowrap;"
|-
! colspan=2 rowspan=2| Simple
! colspan=4| Augmented
|-
! colspan=2| <small>initial</small>
! colspan=2| <small>final</small>
|-
! Type 1
| '''<sup>0,1</sup>C<sub>1</sub><sup>1</sup>V<sub>1</sub><sup>1</sup>C<sub>2</sub>'''
! Type A1<sub>i</sub>
| '''<sup>0,1</sup>V<sub>-1</sub><sup>0,2</sup>C<sub>1</sub><sup>1</sup>V<sub>1</sub><sup>1</sup>C<sub>2</sub>'''
! Type A1<sub>f</sub>
| '''<sup>0,1</sup>C<sub>1</sub><sup>2</sup>V<sub>1</sub><sup>0</sup>C<sub>2</sub><sup>0</sup>V<sub>2</sub><sup>1</sup>C<sub>3</sub>'''
|-
! Type 2
| '''<sup>0,1</sup>C<sub>1</sub><sup>2</sup>V<sub>1</sub><sup>1</sup>C<sub>2</sub>'''
! Type A2<sub>i</sub>
| '''<sup>0,1</sup>V<sub>-1</sub><sup>0,2</sup>C<sub>1</sub><sup>2</sup>V<sub>1</sub><sup>1</sup>C<sub>2</sub>'''
! Type A2<sub>f</sub>
| '''<sup>0,1</sup>C<sub>1</sub><sup>1</sup>V<sub>1</sub><sup>1</sup>C<sub>2</sub><sup>1,2</sup>V<sub>2</sub><sup>1,0</sup>C<sub>3</sub>'''
|-
! Type 3
| '''<sup>0,1</sup>C<sub>1</sub><sup>1</sup>V<sub>1</sub><sup>2</sup>C<sub>2</sub>'''
! Type A3<sub>i</sub>
| '''<sup>1</sup>V<sub>-1</sub><sup>0,2</sup>C<sub>1</sub><sup>1</sup>V<sub>1</sub><sup>2</sup>C<sub>2</sub>'''
! Type A3<sub>f</sub>
| '''<sup>0,1</sup>C<sub>1</sub><sup>2</sup>V<sub>1</sub><sup>0,2</sup>C<sub>2</sub><sup>0,1</sup>V<sub>2</sub><sup>2</sup>C<sub>3</sub>'''
|-
|}
Neither prefixes nor suffixes follow these patterns, suggesting that they is a more recent layer of morphology, which contrast with more ancient root alternations. The table shows that some root patterns may look identical on the surface, despite belonging to different types: ''tōme'' “it is spacious” and ''tǒne'' “era, long time” both seem to be Type 2, but the latter is actually Type A1<sub>1</sub>. The former has a simple root ''√TŌM'', while the latter has an augmented root ''√TOG+N''.

===Prosody===
There is no agreed number of prosodic variables in Lántun. Various elements, such as intonation and stress position, may reflect features of the speaker or the utterance: their emotional state; the form of utterance (statement, question, or command); the presence of irony or sarcasm; emphasis, contrast, and focus. For this function a wide range of pitch is used, while at other times a narrow range is needed (such as in formal situations). Látun makes use of changes in key; shifting one's intonation into the higher or lower part of one's pitch range is meaningful in certain contexts. Stress is not phonemic in Látun, long and/or accented vowels usually receive stress. Polysyllabic words often have a secondary stress, which is also not phonemic. 

Látun is a [[w:Pitch-accent language|pitch-accent]] language, meaning that the accentuated syllable is indicated by a contrasting pitch (or [[w:Tone (linguistics)|tone]]) and vowel length, rather than by loudness, as in stressed languages. Some words are “accentless”, they instead receive a neutral pitch, which assimilates to the pitch of the neighbouring words. Short vowels can have one of the two marked pitches (or three if considering the neutral pitch as distinct): '''high''' (''há'' [ɦɑ˥]) and '''low''' (''hà'' [ɦɑ˩]). The accent on a long vowel or diphthong could be on either half of the vowel, making a contrast possible between a rising accent (''hǎ'' [ɦɑː˧˥]) and a falling one (''hâ'' [ɦɑː˧˩]); compare ''itaî'' [i꜊.täɪ˧˩] “at home” vs. ''itǎi'' [i꜊.täɪ˧˥] “homes”. Other vowels are considered unaccented, yet they actually receive the tone of the preceding accented syllables.
===Phonotactics===
The consonants ''g'', ''ŋ'' and ''ḥ'' centralise the preceding front vowels, so that ''*iŋ'', for example, would become ''yŋ'' [ɪŋ]. Two vowels in hiatus often form diphthongs, when in word stems, but otherwise the preceeding vowel becomes elided by the following one: ''néŋi'' “we (incl.) see him” becomes ''néŋū'' “we (incl.) see them”, where ''-i'' (inclusive marker) is elided by by ''-ū'' (3rd plural marker). In this example the morpheme is not deleted, it instead becomes its zero allomorph, which happens quite frequently. The phoneme /s/ becomes [r̥] after a voiceless consonant, the preceeding consonant then becomes aspirated.

==Morphology==
Lántun is a [[w:Polysynthetic language|polysynthetic]] language, meaning words have a root verb basis to which information is added; that is, morphemes (affixes) are added to verb roots. These words may contain subjects, objects, indirect objects, possession and location. Thus, surprisingly complex ideas can be communicated with as little as one word, for example: 
:{|
|No·feimilt·alómkîssalus
|el
|-
|nok-feimil-t-ida-lóm-ki-á-ys-ḥa-l-us
|e-l
|-
|[[w:Object_(grammar)#Types|IO.Pl]]-entertain-[[w:Abstract and concrete|ABST]]-[[w:Transitive verb|TRNS]]-good-very-[[w:Evidentiality|REPRT]]-but-always-[[w:Irrealis mood|IRR]]-3Ag.[[w:Deixis|DIST]]
|be-IRR
|-
| colspan="2" | “However, they will say that he is a great entertainer anyway”.
|}
Nouns are simpler in their structure, than verbs, as most information is included as part of the verb. Lántun also does not distinguish between genders, considering that Dragons also lack biological sex/gender. Sentence structure is quite fluid, with words being organised according to importance or novelty. Often the main verb is placed initially.

The surface morphology of Lántun is typically agglutinative in structure, as can be seen from the example above. Not only are the morphemes
strung together, but the grammatical morphemes are usually at least a syllable in length, although morphemes of a single consonant exist. Those that do exist are often archaic and take part in various alternations, such as [[w:Elision|elision]] or syncope. Normally, its morphology falls into the general pattern of '''initial+stem+medial+ending''' where the stem itself consists of '''root+augments'''. The root itself is fairly simple, being divided into three simple and six augmented types; the endings tend to be quite transparent in use as well. The '''augments''' and '''medials''' (or simply the stem suffixes) tend to be complex and often ambiguous and it is also where zero and portmanteaux morphemes become common. As a result, old morphology tends to pile up immediately after the root, often being erroded by a more recent morphology. Some morphological augments became empty morphemes, and these are often elided completely being replaced by new morphemes with the same meaning. This indicates, that Lántun is an ancient language with a long history and thus can not be the original first language, even though it is very likely the closest to Proto-Aiwanic as one can possibly get.
===Augments===
The '''augment formative''' is a prefix or (more typically) a suffix, added to the base root in order to derive new roots from the existing ones. There are several types of formatives, most of which have a broad semantic function. Often their initial meaning becomes obsolete and they become fully fused to the base root through the process of syncopation. This is why many words with seemingly different meaning have a common base root.
{| class="wikitable" text-align:center; white-space:nowrap;"
|-
! Formative
! Variation
! Meaning
! Initial
! Meaning
|-
| ''-ar''
| ''-r''
| active participant
| ''i-''
| plural of objects
|-
| colspan=2| ''-t''
| abstract, collective
| á-
| dual, pair of objects, places
|-
| colspan=2| ''-il''
| sensation, feeling
| ''u-''
| distant, out of
|-
| colspan=2| ''-am''
| neuter formative (object)
| ''ō-''
| manner
|-
| ''-ìj''
| ''-ì''
| [[w:Locative case|locative]] (in, at, from)
| ''u-y-''
| negative, not
|-
| ''-ǎ''
| ''-ìja''
| [[w:Associated motion|direction]] (towards, through or away)
| ''∅-n-''
| begin ([[w:Inchoative aspect|inchoative]])
|-
| ''-elan''
| ''-elam''
| location (temporal or spatial)
| ''∅-s-''
| change, turn into ([[w:Translative case|translative]])
|-
| ''-i''
| ''-aj''
| [[w:Relational noun|relational]]
| ''í-''
| instance, small size
|-
| ''-un''
| ''-u''
| process, event, phenomenon
| ''∅-k-''
| big part
|-
| ''-il''
| ''-i-ivlis''
| part of the whole
| ''∅-h-''
| opposition, cycle
|-
| ''-u-mai''
| ''-u-mi''
| quality, the state of being
|-
| ''-iv''
| ''-iju''
| adverbial, abstract
|-
| ''-it''
| ''-ita''
| [[w:Singulative number|singulative]], instance
|-
| ''-āt''
| ''-āl''
| concrete noun, item
|-
| colspan=2| ''-ad''
| above
|-
| colspan=2| ''-ed''
| away, below
|-
| colspan=2| ''-um''
| under
|-
| ''-as''
| ''-is, -us''
| group, process, kind
|-
| ''-ul''
| ''-in, -il''
| from, towards, through
|-
|}
It is also opportune to clarify, that the morphology of Lántun is '''templatic'''. The template or slot is a functional position in an affixal string of morphemes; each position can be occupied by a definable set of morphemes. This term is the most useful referring to verbal morhology. The function of a given template is determined by how proto-morphemes have come to be re-analysed and ordered in the language, thus semantically related morhemes tend to occupy the same positions, and the morphemes sharing a given position define the function of that position. However, it would be quite facile to argue that reconstruction on such a large scale can be accurately made, using the method of internal reconstruction of some kind of Proto-Lánunic can be misleading, as later Lánunic dialects show a great variability of forms and positions indicating gradual and complex morphophonological shifts.
===Framing===
Lántun verbs (and by extension, deverbal nouns) possess the category of [[w:Verb framing|satellite-framing]]. This concept is encoded in the verb stem as a suffix, similar to '''formatives''', but unlike the latter, they can be only applied to verbs of motion. There are two main suffixes: ''-d'', which orients the motion towards the speaker, and ''-l'', which orients toward the interlocutor or toward a certain place. Since the two suffixes represent an old stratum of morphology and do not use connecting vowels, they often become assimilated into the root the same way as formatives, for example: ''*hal'''d'''na → hàlna'' “he came”, ''*hal'''l'''na → hālna'' “he went (somewhere)” (but ''hal'''d'''a'' “he comes”). It is a part of derivational morphology, which differs from formatives only in its function, and its usage is not unlike the one of the augments.

===Colour markers===
The category of '''internal state''' idicates a person’s [[w:Personal identity|identity]] (e.g. various aspects or attributes of their appeaeance and personality), translated into English as '''colour''' markers. There is no direct correspondence to this category in human laguages, [[w:Personal pronoun#Gender|gendered pronouns]] is likely the closest analogy, yet a misleading one, since draconids are neither male nor female. The colour is carried by the grammatical person markers (only in their singular forms). There are seven traditionally recognised “colours”: red, yellow, green, cyan, blue, violet and white, the latter also being referred to as neutral. Sometimes black is viewed as a separate colour, but it is not used to indicate a person. Every colour has their own stereotypical attributes, and thus a colour marker can reveal a lot of information about the speaker that uses a given marker or a person referred via such a marker.
{| class="wikitable" text-align:center; white-space:nowrap;"
|-
! Colour
! Attribute
! Notes
|-
! Red
| order, energy, passion
| Indicates someone, who is strong and grounded in reality, not particularly emotional.
|-
! Yellow
| enthusiasm, friendliness, gentleness
| Can sometimes indicate immaturity. Otherwise refers to a social, extraverted, or optimistic person.
|-
! Green
| exploration, intelligence, stubborness
| Refers to someone, who values intelligence and knowledge over emotions. May indicate social awkwardness. In dragon culture it is a colour of science and logic.
|-
! Cyan
| impulsivity, change, rigor
| Like yellow, it may indicate a carefree person, but usually refers to someone who is serious, yet impulsive and emotional.
|-
! Blue
| stability, wit, serenity
| Most often used among introverts. Indicates a more open person, that red, yet still quite strong and independent.
|-
! Violet
| eccentricity, creativity
| Used by someone who feels different. Can indicate a tendency towards change, similarly to cyan. Often indicates odd beliefs and thinking.
|-
! White
| balance, humility, defiance
| Typically used when the colour is unknown, or when a speaker does not want to specify their colour. Otherwise, indicates a person, who does not conform to traditional norms, similarly to violet (both fairly open to interpretation).
|-
! Black*
| inanimate
| Used to refer to a person that is not alive. Using with first or second person is impossible. Can be used to refer to artificial intelligence (e.g. robots).
|-
|}

===Nouns===
The nominal morphology of Lántun is relatively simple, when compared to the verbal morphology of this language. Lántun exhibits predicate/argument flexibility, which means that all content words are able to occur as the head of the sentence. Words with noun-like meanings are equivalent to nouns, and words with more verb-like meanings are equivalent to verbs, usually regardless of their function. For example, the verb ''el·a'' can mean “to go”, “the process of going” and “one that goes” depending on the context and thus be interpreted as a noun in some instances and a verb in other. Likewise, noun-like words can indicate tense or mood, which is more typical for (yet not entirely exclusive to) verbs, for example: ''kil·tǎi·na'' “this was our (excl.) house”. The category unique to nouns is [[w:Grammatical number|number]]. Although Lántun verbs can potentially receive number markers as well, in those cases the markers typically have a [[w:Distributive case|distributive]] or [[w:Realis mood#Other|intensive]] meaning, while number is instead indicated with person markers. Number in nouns is indicated by augmenting the root, for instance the stem ''-tǎi-'' is A3<sub>f</sub>-type and its plural form is ''-itǎi-'', which is A1<sub>i</sub>-type, while its dual form is ''-tajô-'' — A2<sub>f</sub>-type. The types, to which these augmented forms belong, are usually predictable (A2<sub>f</sub> or A3<sub>f</sub> for dual, and A1<sub>i</sub> or A2<sub>i</sub> for plural), the same is true for the verbal stems and their augmentation. However, many stems do not change, and their number is instead indicated with a suffix, mostly in a case, when a word is a concrete noun (e.g. an item, or a person) — ''ill·a'' “(this is) a draconid (sing.)”, ''ill·à'' “(these are) two draconids (dual)”, ''ill·au'' “draconids (plur.)”, all three stems belong to the A1<sub>f</sub> type.
===Verbs===
The Lántun verb is characterised by a system of complex [[w:Pronoun|pronominal]] conjugation, in which paradigmatic stem alternations are found. Some personal endings consist of [[w:Portmanteau|portmanteaux]] morphemes expressing notions, such as [[w:Grammatical tense|tense]], [[w:Agent (grammar)|agent]], [[w:Patient (grammar)|patient]] and [[w:Clusivity|clusivity]]. Depending on the number of verbal stems and their position in the verbal paradigm, every Lántun verb belongs to one of two main [[w:Grammatical conjugation|conjugation]] types. Compound verbs are found in Lántun, in fact, most verb stems are not derived from single roots. These compound verbs consist of a verb stem and an auxiliary that adds semantic notions to the main verb.

The Lántun verb can be sectioned into several components: the “inner” part, consisting of a verb stem, and an “outer part”, which includes both suffixes and prefixes. A given verb does not have an affix for every position and the individual positions depend on the conjugation type.
:{| class="wikitable" frame=void style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center; white-space:nowrap;"
|-
| '''prefixes'''
| '''stem'''
| '''suffixes'''
|}
The suffixing conjugation has the following templates:
{| class="wikitable" frame=void style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center; white-space:nowrap;"
|-
! colspan="2" | prefixes
! stem
! colspan="12" | suffixes
|-
| p2
| p1
| 0
| s1
| s2
| s3
| s4
| s5
| s6
| s7
| s8
| s9
| s10
| s11
| s12
|-
| <small>locative<br />object</small>
| <small>indirect<br />object</small>
| <small>stem</small>
| <small>reflexive</small>
| <small>tense</small>
| <small>2Ag<br />1→2</small>
| <small>1du.2du</small>
| <small>1→3</small>
| <small>3pl</small>
| <small>mood</small>
| <small>3du.Ag<br />2pl</small>
| <small>2du.Pat<br />1du.Pat</small>
| <small>incl.<br />excl.</small>
| <small>3sg.Ag</small>
| <small>focus<br />3.Pat</small>
|}
The prefixing conjugation has the following templates:
{| class="wikitable" frame=void style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center; white-space:nowrap;"
|-
! colspan="10" | prefixes
! stem
! colspan="3" | suffixes
|-
| p10
| p9
| p8
| p7
| p6
| p5
| p4
| p3
| p2
| p1
| 0
| s1
| s2
| s3
|-
| <small>locative<br />object</small>
| <small>indirect<br />object</small>
| <small>3sg.Ag<br />3du.Ag</small>
| <small>2pl<br />2du.Pat<br />1du.Pat</small>
| <small>incl.<br />excl.</small>
| <small>3pl</small>
| <small>1→3</small>
| <small>1du.2du</small>
| <small>2Ag<br />1→2</small>
| <small>reflexive</small>
| <small>stem</small>
| <small>tense</small>
| <small>mood</small>
| <small>focus<br />3.Pat</small>
|}
====Locative prefixes====
The locative prefixes indicate a location or motion, they precede indirect object prefixes and can only occur word-initially. There are several locative prefixes indicating different grammatical person (there are no additional distinctions in first or third person, as there are in other personal affixes):
{| class="wikitable" frame=void style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center; white-space:nowrap;"
|-
! colspan=2| 
! Singular
! Dual
! Plural
|-
! rowspan=2| 1st person
! <small>inclusive</small>
| rowspan=2| ''ti-''
| ''tik-''
| ''tin-''
|-
! <small>exclusive</small>
| ''tíhk-''
| ''tíh-''
|-
! colspan=2| 2nd person 
| ''si-''
| ''sik-''
| ''sin-''
|-
! colspan=2| 3rd person
| ''i-''
| ''ik-''
| ''in-''
|-
|}
Example: '''''ǐ'''h·alna kamì'' “I went outside” (lit.: “into it I went, which is outside”.
====Indirect object prefixes====
The indirect object is expressed with prefixes, which can be used with both verb types, just as the locative prefixes. When used with nouns the indirect object prefixes are called possessive instead. There are several indirect object markers indicating not only person, but also proximity and a category, usually called '''internal state'''. There are seven states, six “coloured” and one neutral or “white”. 3 person also has [[w:Animacy|animacy]] distinction, 
{| class="wikitable" frame=void style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center; white-space:nowrap;"
|-
! rowspan=2| 
! colspan=7| Singular
! colspan=2| Dual
! colspan=2| Plural
|-
! <small>red</small>
! <small>yellow</small>
! <small>green</small>
! <small>cyan</small>
! <small>blue</small>
! <small>violet</small>
! <small>white</small>
! <small>inclusive</small>
! <small>exclusive</small>
! <small>inclusive</small>
! <small>exclusive</small>
|-
! 1st person 
| ''ra-''
| ''ja-''
| ''ŋa-''
| ''ni-''
| ''si-''
| ''nu-''
| ''na-''
| ''ho-''
| ''hos-''
| ''nil-''
| ''kil-''
|-
! 2nd person 
| ''rhi-''
| ''ji-''
| ''ā-''
| ''vi-''
| ''su-''
| ''ku-''
| ''ka-''
| colspan=2| ''kø-''
| colspan=2| ''vi-''
|-
! 3rd person
| ''he-''
| ''ga-''
| ''va-''
| ''je-''
| ''ḥi-''
| ''ho-''
| ''ha-''
| colspan=2 rowspan=2 | ''no-''
| colspan=2 rowspan=2 | ''nok-''
|-
! 3rd inanimate
| colspan=7| ''ne-''
|-
|}
Example: '''''na'''vas·tadda'' “he (green) gave it to me (white)”.

The category of [[w:Handedness|handedness]] is often expressed as a separate marker, which can be used with singular possessive markers, which defines a person’s dominant side. Unlike in humans, handedness is an important aspect that define various abilities, in particular their ability to interact via the [[w:Electroweak interaction|electroweak force]], and compatibility with other dragons. Left-handed dragons use ''-l(V)'', while right-handed use ''-d(V)'' (where '''V''' is an echo vowel that breaks impossible clusters), for example: ''na'''da'''·tǎja'' “it is my house (neutral right-handed speaker)”. This marker is optional and is often omitted in formal speech.

====Evidentiality====
Evidentiality indicates the nature of evidence for a given statement; that is, what kind of evidence exists for a statement or event. This evidence can be divided into several categories, based on their credibility and relevance to the speaker:
{| class="wikitable" text-align:center; white-space:nowrap;"
|-
! Category
! Suffix
! Meaning
! Example
! Translation
|-
! Witnessed
| ''-∅-''
| Information was obtained directly by the speaker.
| ''halna''
| “He went” (I witnessed it)
|-
! Reportative
| ''-á-''
| Information was provided to the speaker by another person.
| ''hal'''á'''na''
| “He went, they say” (I heard it)
|-
! Inferential
| ''-(a)ḥa-''
| Information was infered, being general knowledge, assumption, or past experience.
| ''hal'''ḥa'''na''
| “He went, obviously” (I assumed it)
|-
! Dubitative
| ''-ìd-''
| Information is uncertain or dubious.
| ''hal'''ìn'''na''
| “He must have went” (I guessed it, but I’m not sure)
|-
|}

====Conjugation types====
The most basic opposition among Lántun verbs is a distinction between '''eventive''' verbs and '''stative''' verbs. The eventive class contains true dymanic or action verbs often involving agentivity on the part of the subject, while the stative class indicated that the subject of the verb was either the patient or experiencer of its verb. The eventive verbs belong to the '''prefix-conjugation''' pattern, while the stative — to the '''suffix-conjugation''' pattern. The same stem can be conjugated in both ways, the resulting conjugated verbs would differ in meaning. The individual morphemes represent a more recent morphology and thus are not incorporated into the stem. Both conjugation patterns have specific order of morphemes and assimilation processes among those morphemes.

====s3-slot====
The position '''s3''' of the suffixing conjugation, which corresponds to ''p2'' of the prefixing conjugation, describes the relationship between the subject, which is the first person and the direct object, which is the second person, in case if a verb is transitive; and the second person subject, if a verb is intransitive.

In the tables below all possible transitive verb morphemes belonging to the s3-slot are represented with subject being on the vertical axis and object being on the horizontal axis. The forms also have two sets: one for preterit and one of every other tense.
{| class="wikitable" frame=void style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center; white-space:nowrap;"
|-
! Non-preterit
! red
! yellow
! green
! cyan
! blue
! violet
! white
|-
! red
| ''-rām''
| ''-ŋām''
| ''-nām''
| ''-nīm''
| ''-jēm''
| ''-jūm''
| ''-jām''
|-
! yellow
| ''-rāg''
| ''-ŋāŋ''
| ''-nāg''
| ''-nø̄g''
| ''-jø̄g''
| ''-jōg''
| ''-jāg''
|-
! green
| ''-rǎn''
| ''-ŋǎŋ''
| ''-nǎn''
| ''-nǐn''
| ''-jěn''
| ''-jǔn''
| ''-jǎn''
|-
! cyan
| ''-rū''
| ''-ŋū''
| ''-nū''
| ''-nī''
| ''-jī''
| ''-jū''
| ''-jā''
|-
! blue
| ''-rōḥ''
| ''-ŋōḥ''
| ''-nōḥ''
| ''-nø̄ḥ''
| ''-jø̄ḥ''
| ''-jōḥ''
| ''-jāḥ''
|-
! violet
| ''-rākh''
| ''-ŋākh''
| ''-nākh''
| ''-nīkh''
| ''-jēkh''
| ''-jūkh''
| ''-jākh''
|-
! white
| ''-rā''
| ''-ŋā''
| ''-nā''
| ''-nī''
| ''-jē''
| ''-jū''
| ''-jā''
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable" frame=void style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center; white-space:nowrap;"
|-
! Preterit
! red
! yellow
! green
! cyan
! blue
! violet
! white
|-
! red
| ''-rtām''
| ''-ccǎm''
| ''-ncam''
| ''-ncīm''
| ''-cēm''
| ''-thūm''
| ''-cām''
|-
! yellow
| ''-rtāg''
| ''-ŋkǎŋ''
| ''-ncag''
| ''-ncø̄g''
| ''-cø̄g''
| ''-thōg''
| ''-cāg''
|-
! green
| ''-rtǎn''
| ''-ccǎŋ''
| ''-ncǎn''
| ''-ncǐn''
| ''-cěn''
| ''-thǔn''
| ''-cǎn''
|-
! cyan
| ''-rtū''
| ''-ŋkū''
| ''-ntū''
| ''-ncī''
| ''-cī''
| ''-thū''
| ''-cā''
|-
! blue
| ''-rtōḥ''
| ''-ŋkōḥ''
| ''-ntōḥ''
| ''-ncø̄ḥ''
| ''-cø̄ḥ''
| ''-thōḥ''
| ''-cāḥ''
|-
! violet
| ''-rtākh''
| ''-ccākh''
| ''-ncākh''
| ''-ncīkh''
| ''-cēkh''
| ''-thūkh''
| ''-cākh''
|-
! white
| ''-rtā''
| ''-ccā''
| ''-ncā''
| ''-ncī''
| ''-cē''
| ''-thū''
| ''-cā''
|-
|}
====s5-slot====
The position '''s5''' of the suffixing conjugation, which corresponds to ''p4'' of the prefixing conjugation, describes the relationship between the subject, which is the first person and the direct object, which is the third person, or the first person subject, if the verb is intransitive.
{| class="wikitable" frame=void style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center; white-space:nowrap;"
|-
! Non-preterit
! red
! yellow
! green
! cyan
! blue
! violet
! white
|-
! red
| ''-rer''
| ''-gør''
| ''-mar''
| ''-ir''
| ''-ŋif''
| ''-af''
| ''-ŋam''
|-
! yellow
| ''-ran''
| ''-gaŋ''
| ''-maŋ''
| ''-aŋ''
| ''-ŋak''
| ''-akh''
| ''-haŋ''
|-
! green
| ''-rén''
| ''-gád''
| ''-máŋ''
| ''-ín''
| ''-ŋéŋ''
| ''-óh''
| ''-āŋ''
|-
! cyan
| ''-rī''
| ''-lē''
| ''-mēŋ''
| ''-enī''
| ''-nīs''
| ''-kyh''
| ''-ŋen''
|-
! blue
| ''-rīn''
| ''-gō''
| ''-mōŋ''
| ''-inī''
| ''-ŋīk''
| ''-ūh''
| ''-ŋo''
|-
! violet
| ''-ryŋ''
| ''-gok''
| ''-moŋ''
| ''-nyk''
| ''-ŋik''
| ''-yk''
| ''-ŋ''
|-
! white
| ''-rin''
| ''-ga''
| ''-maŋ''
| ''-in''
| ''-ŋik''
| ''-kuh''
| ''-ŋ''
|-
! inanimate<br>or intransitive
| ''-er''
| ''-øg''
| ''-en''
| ''-eni''
| ''-ik''
| ''-uk''
| ''-(e)ŋ''
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable" frame=void style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center; white-space:nowrap;"
|-
! Preterit
! red
! yellow
! green
! cyan
! blue
! violet
! white
|-
! red
| ''-kyr''
| ''-køm''
| ''-kam''
| ''-kim''
| ''-kif''
| ''-thaf''
| ''-kāf''
|-
! yellow
| ''-kar''
| ''-kag''
| ''-kam''
| ''-kaŋ''
| ''-kak''
| ''-thok''
| ''-hok''
|-
! green
| ''-kér''
| ''-kád''
| ''-kám''
| ''-cín''
| ''-kéŋ''
| ''-kóh''
| ''-kāŋ''
|-
! cyan
| ''-rīr''
| ''-kēl''
| ''-cēŋ''
| ''-ekīk''
| ''-cīk''
| ''-khy''
| ''-eŋke''
|-
! blue
| ''-kīr''
| ''-kōg''
| ''-sōŋ''
| ''-inīk''
| ''-oŋīk''
| ''-thūk''
| ''-eŋko''
|-
! violet
| ''-kyr''
| ''-kag''
| ''-soŋ''
| ''-enki''
| ''-okhi''
| ''-thyk''
| ''-eŋki''
|-
! white
| ''-kir''
| ''-ka''
| ''-ski''
| ''-eki''
| ''-oki''
| ''-thi''
| ''-(k)ki''
|-
! inanimate<br>or intransitive
| ''-ker''
| ''-køg''
| ''-cek''
| ''-oŋi''
| ''-ik''
| ''-khi''
| ''-(e)ki''
|-
|}

====s11-slot====
The position '''s11''' of the suffixing conjugation, which roughly corresponds to ''p8'' of the prefixing conjugation, describes the relationship between the subject and object, both of which are the third person. Unlike both s3- and s5-slots, the s11-suffix does not contain information about the tense and the set of suffixes is identical for both preterit and nonpreterit verbs. Instead a suffix ''-n'' is used to mark preterit tense in such verbs. In case, when both the subject and the direct object are inanimate (and thus cannot be assigned any colour), this slot is kept empty.
{| class="wikitable" frame=void style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center; white-space:nowrap;"
|-
!
! red
! yellow
! green
! cyan
! blue
! violet
! white
|-
! red
| ''-evr''
| ''-im''
| ''-mam''
| ''-vav''
| ''-muk''
| ''-muth''
| ''-mat''
|-
! yellow
| ''-irh''
| ''-øg''
| ''-haŋ''
| ''-gav''
| ''-okh''
| ''-oth''
| ''-gat''
|-
! green
| ''-ít''
| ''-id''
| ''-dan''
| ''-dav''
| ''-akk''
| ''-akt''
| ''-ad''
|-
! cyan
| ''-ērv''
| ''-īv''
| ''-ōŋ''
| ''-ø̄h''
| ''-ōk''
| ''-ōth''
| ''-ōv''
|-
! blue
| ''-erḥ''
| ''-eḥ''
| ''-ḥaŋ''
| ''-ḥav''
| ''-oḥk''
| ''-oḥt''
| ''-aḥ''
|-
! violet
| ''-irk''
| ''-êk''
| ''-kâŋ''
| ''-kav''
| ''-ukk''
| ''-ukt''
| ''-âk''
|-
! white<br>or intransitive
| ''-ar''
| ''-aj''
| ''-aŋ''
| ''-av''
| ''-ak''
| ''-ath''
| ''-∅''
|-
! inanimate
| ''-er''
| ''-ej''
| ''-eŋ''
| ''-ev''
| ''-ek''
| ''-eth''
| ''-∅''
|-
|}
====Other suffixes====
The slot '''s1''' of the suffix conjugation occupies it place immediately after the stem and has three functions: [[w:Reflexive verb|reflexive]], [[w:Reciprocal construction|reciprocal]], [[w:Affirmation and negation|negative]] and negative reflexive and negative reciprocal. Negation of the verb is generally marked with the suffix ''-(k)y'', but this is not always the case, as this suffix sometimes fuses to the stem: ''tak-ky-u-∅-a → tỳkku'' “they don’t make it”. Reflexive is marked with the suffix ''-s'' and reciprocal – with ''-ri'', for example: ''tol'''s'''ida'' “he is talking to himself”; ''átor'''ri'''da'' “they two are talking to each other”. When used together, the negative and reflexive or reciprocal suffixes merge: ''-sy'' for reflexive and ''-ry'' for reciprocal; these two suffixes never merge with the stem themselves ''tak-sy-∅-u → tassyku'' “it hasn’t appeared on its own”. The slot corresponds to ''p1'' of the prefix conjugation.

The slot '''s2''' of the suffix conjugation represents tense-aspect-voice category and corresponds to '''s1''' of the prefix conjugation. It includes three suffixes: [[w:Preterite|preterite]], ''-n'' [[w:Passive voice|passive]] ''-uk'', [[w:Causative|causative]] ''-(i)da'', the latter of which merge into [[w:Anticausative verb|anticausative]] ''-ud(a)'', if used together. The preterite suffix merged with suffixes of the ''s3'' and ''s5'' slots and can occasionally merge with the stem, though usually new regular verb forms would be used in such instances: ''ne-n-ŋ-i-a → ''*néŋŋi'' (old form), ''nenaŋi'' (new form) “we (incl.) see”.

The '''s4''' slot has a suffix ''-k(u)'' that marks dual of the first or second person and can only be filled after the '''s3''' or '''s5''' slots (even if the s3-suffix is a zero morpheme): in case when the suffix merges with the suffix or the stem, new forms, formed by analogy, appear instead ''tak-k-ki-a → takakki'' “you two used to speak”. It corresponds to '''p3''' of the prefix conjugation.

The '''s6''' slot contains a suffix ''-ū'' representing 3rd person plural and corresponds to '''p5''' of the prefix conjugation. It can absorb adjacent vowels of other suffixes, if present, which elides the vowel, while its accent shifts to the previous syllable, for example: ''tak-ū-âk-a → tak'''û'''ka'' “they talk to a violet one”.

The '''s7''' slot represents the category of [[w:Grammatical mood|mood]]. The suffixes of this slot are: [[w:Irrealis mood|irrealis]] ''-(i)slî'', used when the subject is plural, and ''-l'', used in all other instances; [[w:Optative mood|optative-imperative]] ''-du(h)'' and [[w:Interrogative|interrogative]] ''-(k)ō'', which becomes ''-(k)ô'' near a tonally-marked syllable. The latter two suffixes can merge into one, this is more typical for the prefix-conjugation verbs: ''nalavokar'''dō''''' “would you do it for me?”, which occupies the slot '''s2''' instead.

The '''s8''' slot of the suffix conjugation contains suffixes for dual number of the 3rd person agent ''-ò'' (although this is usually replaced with the ''á-'' formative, since the vowel suffix is easily erroded), the plural of the second person direct object ''-(o)t'' and subject ''-(g)î''.

The suffixes of the '''s9''' slot mark the dual number of the first person patient – ''-ij'', – and the second person patient – ''-uv''. This slot is preceded by '''s10''', which contains suffixes of [[w:Clusivity|clusivity]]: ''-(j)e'' (exclusive) and ''-i'' (inclusive), and which corresponds to '''p6''' of the prefixing conjugation.

The final slot of the suffix conjugation '''s12''' contains [[w:Focus (linguistics)|focus]] markers. The focus marker describe new, prominent or previously mentioned information. Among nouns and stative verbs focus markers are used for agreement and establishment of syntactic functions, and this agreement is then reflected on the main verb. The slot contains two subsets of suffixes – one is used to mark relationship between subject and object based on their distance; the other is used to indicate, which part of speech is marked. The two subsets act in a slightly different manner, but they form a single system (in the table below the symbol ''V'' represents a vowel from the other set):
{|
|
{| class="wikitable" frame=void style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center; white-space:nowrap;"
|-
!
! proximal<br>subj.
! mesioproximal<br>subj.
! mesiodistal<br>subj.
! distal<br>subj.
|-
! proximal<br>obj.
| -V-
| -ḥV-
| -akV-
| -atV-
|-
! mesioproximal<br>obj.
| -asV-
| -sV-
| -usV-
| -ucV-
|-
! mesiodistal<br>obj.
| -(g)øsV-
| -gV-
| -(l)ø(r)V-
| -(g)usV-
|-
! distal<br>obj.
| -ru(m)-
| -hu-
| -hurV-
| -gurV-
|-
|}
|
{| class="wikitable" frame=void style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center; white-space:nowrap;"
|-
!
! Subject
! Oblique<br>Object
! Direct<br>Object
|-
! proximal
| ''-(a)''
| ''-(i)''
| ''-(e)''
|-
! mesioproximal
| ''-Vs''
| ''-is''
| ''-es''
|-
! mesiodistal
| ''-Vr''
| ''-ir''
| ''-er''
|-
! distal
| ''-(i)far''
| ''-(i)fir''
| ''-(i)fer''
|-
! Inverse<br>marker
| ''-(h/g)on''
| ''-ihen''
| ''-hen''
|-
|}
|}
The inverse marker is not semantically one of the focus markers, but it occupies the same slot, so it is viewed as being part of the focus marker system. The inverse marker reverts the relation between person markers to the opposite and is only used in conjunction with '''s3''' or '''s5''' slots (and their prefix-conjugation counterparts).

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==Syntax==
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==Example texts==
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[[Category:Languages]]
[[Category:Aiwanic languages]]