Nawuhu
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Nawuhu | |
---|---|
na’a wúhu | |
![]() Flag of the Wuhu Autonomous Zone | |
Pronunciation | [na.a ˈwu.ɦu] |
Created by | Jukethatbox |
Date | 2024 |
Native to | Wuhu Island |
Ethnicity | Indigenous Wuhu peoples |
Extinct | ~1940 |
language isolate
| |
Official status | |
Regulated by | Wuhu Autonomous Zone |
Development body | Wuhu Island Community Discord |
Nawuhu(na'a wúhu, Nawuhu: [na.a ˈwu.ɦu]), also called Wuhu or Nauhu is a language isolate that was once predominantly spoken by the inhabitants of Wuhu Island. It was spoken primarily by the civilisation that probably encompassed the entire island, the ruins of which can be seen on the southern half of the island.[1]
Phonology
Orthography
Nawuhu is written in a form of the Latin script. There is one diacritic: the acute accent, ⟨◌́⟩, which signifies where stress is placed in a word.
Majuscule | A | B | C | K | D | E | G | H | I | J | L | M | N | O | P | S | T | U | V | W | Y | Z |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Minuscule | a | b | c | k | d | e | g | h | i | j | l | m | n | o | p | s | t | u | v | w | y | z |
IPA | a | b | ɕ | k | d | e | g | h | i | ʑ | l | m | n | o | p | s | t | u | ʉ | w | j | z |
ç | ɘ̯ | ɦ | ɘ̯ |
Note that ⟨Vv⟩ is a vowel, representing the sound /ʉ/, as well as the sound /ɘ̯/ in intervocalic, non-syllabic positions.
Consonants
Bilabial | Alveolar | Alveolo- palatal |
Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Plosive | p b | t d | k g | ʔ | ||
Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | ||
Fricative | s z | ɕ ʑ | (ç) | h~ɦ | ||
Semivowel | w | j | ||||
Lateral | l | ʎ |
Vowels
Front | Central | Back | |
---|---|---|---|
Close | i | ʉ | u |
Close-mid | e | (ɘ̯) | o |
Front | a |
/ɘ/ is an unstressed intervocalic allohpone of /e/ and /ʉ/, e.g. íean, "one", pronounced [ˈiɘ̯an].
Morphology
Nouns
Number
Nawuhu has five categories of grammatical number: singular, dual, paucal, greater paucal and plural. If there is not sufficient context, all nouns in a phrase have to be marked with suffixes denoting their number, including if the noun is singular. If a word ending in -a must be denoted as singular, the suffix -’a is placed instead.
Adjectives do not have to agree with nouns, though verbs do. Agreeing verbs have their own suffixes to indicate number, please see the Verbs section for more information.
Singular | Dual | Paucal | Greater Paucal | Plural |
---|---|---|---|---|
-a | -an | -avn | -avne | -nóa |