Grayis

Grayis
Grayis
Pronunciation	[/ˈgrä.jɪs/]
Created by	BenJamin P. Johnson, additionally creator of: Brooding Dlatci Grayis Maltcégj Northeadish Valthungian
Date	2018
Setting	Planet Oyrigin
Language family	language isolate Grayis
Language codes
ISO 639-3	none

Grayis is an a priori language created by BenJamin P. Johnson for Infinite Mind Pictures, Inc. to serve as the language of the Grayis Kin, one of six alien races who feature in the board game and upcoming screenplay Pilots of Gallaxia.

Phonology

Vowels

Grayis vowels have phonemic length, and phonetic differences based on stress. Where unstressed vowels have a different phonetic realization, it appears on the right of the tilde in square brackets.

Short Vowels:				Long Vowels:
	Front	Central	Back		Front	Central	Back
High	i [i ~ ɪ]		u [u ~ ʊ]	High	ī [iː]		ū [uː]
Mid				Mid	ai [ai̯ ~ e̞ː]		au [au̯ ~ o̞ː]
Low		a [ä]		Low		ā [äː]

Consonants

	Labial	Coronal	Dorsal	Glottal
Plosive	p · b [p]·[b]	t · d [t]·[d]	k · g [k]·[g]
Affricate		ch · j [ʧ]·[ʤ]
Fricative		s · [s]·	kh · [x]·	h · [h]·
Approximant	· w ·[w]		· y ·[j]
Tap or Trill		· r ·[r~ɾ]
Lateral		· l ·[l]
Nasal	· m ·[m]	· n ·[n]

Phonotactics

• /h/ cannot follow another consonant or occur intervocalically.
• /s/ can only occur word-finally.
• Words cannot end with /g/ or any consonant cluster.
• Vowels (except for diphthongs) must be separated by a consonant.
• Word-initial consonant clusters are limited to [plosive]+[liquid] (i.e. {ptkbdg} + {lr}), but not /tl/ or /dl/.
  • Intervocalic clusters may be:
  • Geminate plosives or sonorants: /pp/, /tt/, /kk/, /bb/, /dd/, /ll/, /rr/, /mm/, /nn/; but not /gg/.
  • Any [plosive]+[liquid] combination: /pl/, /pl/, /tl/, /tr/, /kl/, /kr/, /bl/, /br/, /dl/, /dr/, /gl/, /gr/
  • Any [plosive]+/w/: /pw/, /tw/, /kw/, /bw/, /dw/, /gw/
  • Any [nasal]+[unvoiced plosive] or [affricate]: /mp/, /nt/, /nk/, /nʧ/, /nʤ/
  • Also: /ngw/, /hk/, /hw/, /hj/
• Like short vowels may contract (including with like short vowels which are part of a diphthong), e.g. raiwai+itta+aichī (‘those six men’) > raiwai’tt’aichī. Determiners, adjectives, pronouns, and adverbs are the most likely to lose vowels to contraction, while nouns and verbs do not usually experience any elision.

List of Valid Onsets

Onsets are not required. The following onsets may occur (including clusters): b–, br–, br–, ch–, d–, dr–, g–, gl–, gr–, h–, j–, k–, kh–, kl–, kr–, l–, m–, n–, p–, pl–, pr–, r–, t–, tr–, w–, y–

List of Valid Nuclei

Any vowel may act as a nucleus.

List of Valid (Intersyllabic) Consonant Clusters, Including Geminates

An intersyllabic consonant is required, though it need not be a cluster. Any single consonant may occur between syllables except for ‹h› and ‹s›. The following intersyllabic consonant clusters may occur: –bb–, –bl–, –br–, –bw–, –dd–, –dl–, –dr–, –dw–, –gl–, –gr–, –gw–, –hk–, –hw–, –hy–, –kk–, –kl–, –kr–, –kw–, –ll–, –mm–, –mp–, –nch–, –ngw–, –nj–, –nk–, –nn–, –ny–, –pl–, –pp–, –pr–, –pw–, –rr–, –tl–, –tr–, –tt–, –tw–

List of Valid Codas

A coda is not required. No clusters may occur as a coda, but any single consonant may appear as a coda except for ‹g›: –b, –ch, –d, –dj, –h, –k, –l, –m, –n, –p, –r, –s, –t

Stress

Stress is determined by mora weight of the rime. No syllable can have more than 3 morae in the rime (VVC). When determining stress, the following order takes precedence:

VːC > VVC > Vː > VV > VC > V

(E.g. āt > aut > ā > au > at > a)

If syllabic weights are equal, the left-most of the equal syllables is stressed. E.g. tā́kkum ‘wide’ /ˈtaːk.kʊm/, grawukkái ‘worm’ /gra.wukˈkai/, irúntutim ‘cold weather’ /iˈrun.tu.tim/. When stress deviates from this pattern it is indicated by an acute diacritic. (Examples above are not normally accented, but acute is used for illustrative purposes.)

Orthography

For the most part, orthography does not differ from the phonology. Where it does, it is indicated below.

/

p

b

t

d

k

g

ʧ

ʤ

s

x

h

w

j

r

l

m

n

i

iː

ai̯

ä

äː

au̯

u

uː

/

‹

ch

j

kh

y

ī

ai

a

ā

au

ū

›

Grammatical Orders and Alignments

Typology

The typology of Grayis is predominantly SOV (subject-object-verb), but may be better described as simply verb-final. The positions of subject and object may shift depending on topicality or markedness.

Morphosyntactic Alignment

Grayis has what may be considered tripartite alignment, which means that nouns are differentiated for subject, object, and agentive roles; these roles are all marked with particles which may be considered adpositions.

Other Orders

The Grayis language is predominantly head-final, and this is reflected in many of its more granular alignments.

Noun Phrases

In noun phrases, only adpositions precede the noun. Demonstratives, numerals, adjectives, genitive constructions, and relative clauses all follow the noun, in that specific order (preposition – NOUN – determiner/demonstrative – numeral – adjective (phrase) – genitive (phrase) – relative clause). For example, the noun phrase “with those six tall men from town who stole my ferret” would be assembled in the order:

nu raiwai’tt’aichī mīkkidj barruh au kī fairrit ā chā’u jik makwat.

nu	raiwai	itta	aichī	mīkkidj	barruh au	kī	fairrit ā	chā au	jik makwat
cmt	man.pl	this	six	tall	town gen	rel.erg	ferret obj	1sg.gen	pst.pft steal
with	men	those	six	tall	from-town	who	ferret	my	stole

‘with those six men from town who stole my ferret’

Adjective Phrases

In adjective phrases, (adverbial) measurements of degree (very, less, too, &c.) follow the adjective.

murāgi utta mūri katla

murāgi	utta	mūri	katla
dog	that	good	very

‘that very good dog’

Verb Phrases

As mentioned in Typology, Grayis is a verb-final language, and as such, adverbs always immediately precede the verb. In the case of negation, negatives come between the verb and other adverbs. TAM particles, if present, always directly precede the verb after negatives.

yun ī chā ā nijūkit dī jai jik akkā.

yun ī	chā ā	nijūkit dī	jai	jik akkā
3sg erg	1sg obj	intentional adv	neg	pst.pft push
he	me	intentionally	not	pushed

‘he didn’t push me on purpose’

Numbers

The Grayis number system is nonal (base-9), but has reflexes of an ancient system based on multiples of 3, which can be observed in the etymology of the basic numbers.

Grayis	Decimal	Meaning
rī	1	(1)
ai	2	(2)
chil	3	(3)
chirri	4	(3+1)
kilai	5	(3+2)
aichī	6	(2×3)
chalayī	7	(4×2-1?)
nauri	8	(9-1)
nā	9	(9) (=10 in nonal)
chillīkka	27	(=30 in nonal: 33, ‘great three’)

Further numbers are formed by compounding using the word ha ‘and’.

Na (Teens)	Dec.	Non.	Ayinnā (20)	Dec.	Non.	Tens	Dec.	Non.
narī	10	11	ayinnā ha rī	19	21	na-	9	10
nanai	11	12	ayinnā ha ai	20	22	ayinnā	18	20
nachil	12	13	ayinnā ha chil	21	23	chillīkka	27	30
nachirri	13	14	ayinnā ha chirri	22	24	chirrinnā	36	40
nakilai	14	15	ayinnā ha kilai	23	25	kilinnā	45	50
nalaichī	15	16	ayinnā ha aichī	24	26	aichinnā	54	60
nachalayī	16	17	ayinnā ha chalayī	25	27	chalainā	63	70
nanāli	17	18	ayinnā ha nauri	26	28	naurinnā	72	80
ayinnā	18	20	chillīkka	27	30	duhkā	81	100

Multiples of ten are formed in the same manner as ayinnā. Orders of magnitude are formed regularly with multiple compounds.

Tens	Dec.	Non.	Multiples	Dec.	Non.
na-	9	10	chil	31	3
ayinnā	18	20	nā	32	10
chillīkka	27	30	chillīkka	33	30
chirrinnā	36	40	duhkā	34	100
kilinnā	45	50	kaigu	36	1,000
aichinnā	54	60	nakaigu	38	10,000
chalainā	63	70	duhkakkaigu	310	100,000
naurinnā	72	80	īlim	312	1,000,000
duhkā	81	100	jumai	318	1,000,000,000

Grayis numbers always follow the noun they modify, and the plural marker should not be used when a number is present, e.g. tānū hah ‘trees’, but tānū nā ‘nine trees’.

Pronouns

Grayis personal pronouns are divided into five categories which may be considered registers of formality, though rather than describing hierarchical relationships, they are determined by the familial and educational relationships between the speakers. There are five registers, though not all pronouns have all five forms, and some may have the same form for two or more registers.

• The first register is that of Equal. This is the register you would use with friends, acquaintances, colleagues, and others you interact with regularly who do not fall into any of the other registers.
• The Family register is similar to that of Equal, but it has the additional connotation that the speakers are related to one another. This is the register for cousins, siblings, and sometimes other family members such as aunts, uncles, or other non-nuclear relations.
• The third register is actually the default for most day-to-day interaction. This is the Neutral register, which may be seen as slightly formal. This register is used with anyone you don’t know well. Many workplaces also maintain a neutral register for professional interactions in situation where the Equal register may otherwise be used.
• The fourth register is the Teacher register, used explicitly for addressing a teacher, parent, or mentor. Situationally this may also be the assumed register for addressing family elders.
• The fifth and final register is that of Student. This is directly converse to the Teacher register: It is how parents address their children, and how teachers address students.

Equal	Family	Stranger	Teacher	Student
chal	cham	chā	char	chāh	first person singular, ‘I’
kit		kāl	kālli	chit	second person singular ‘you’
yun	yumi	yun	yunum	yunīllah	third person singular animate ‘he / she’
wih					third person singular inanimate ‘it’
kichal	kicham	-	chakrālli	jachīt	first person dual inclusive ‘you and I, we’
jāla	jahla	jal	jālinum	jahla	first person plural, ‘we’
gīs	gīt	gillā	gailinūh	gīt	second person plural, ‘you (all)’
yaum			yaunūh	yaunīllah	third person plural animate, ‘they’
waih					third person plural inanimate, ‘they, those things’

Nouns

Grayis nouns do not inflect for case or number, but depending on how they are analyzed, they can be said to have six possible cases. The “inflection” is actually simply the addition of grammatical particles which clarify the role of the noun in a sentence. (The “conjugation” of verbs works in the same way.)

Grayis can also be analyzed as having no cases at all, and simply has five postpositions in addition to various prepositions. They are presented here as cases simply to help clarify the tripartite morphosyntactic alignment, but the learner should feel free to think of them in whatever manner is easiest to remember.

Absolutive

The absolutive particle ū is placed after a subject noun which does not take a direct object. This is always the case with intransitive verbs, and can also be the case with optionally transitive verbs with no object.

Chā ū’k plīnum t’āmīd.

chā ū	uk plīnum	ta āmid
1sg abs	prox river	prg stand
I	by river	am.standing

‘I am standing by the river.’

Ergative

The counterpart to absolutive is ergative. Any noun which takes a direct object must be marked with the particle ī. (This particle is always paired with another noun phrase containing the particle ā, and vice versa.)

Kāl ī chā ā ijun, kū’k plīnum t’āmīd.

kāl ī	chā ā	ijun	kū	uk plīnum	ta āmīd
2sg erg	1sg obj	see	rel.abs	prox river	prg stand
You	me	see	which	by river	am.standing

‘You see me standing by the river.’

Accusative

The accusative (or direct object) of any verb is marked with the particle ā. (This particle is always paired with another noun phrase containing the particle ī, and vice versa.)

Yaum ī juchī ā jai’dwam.

yaum ī	juchī ā	jai idwam
3pl erg	meat acc	neg eat
They	meat	not eat

‘They do not eat meat.’

Genitive

The genitive particle au indicates that the noun belongs to, is a part of, or is related to another noun. The genitive particle can be thought of as equivalent to the English clitic ’s, though it has a few different uses as well, such as forming the possessive pronouns (‘my’, ‘her’, ‘their’, &c), or translating the words ‘of’ or ‘from’.

Īmmikanā ī chāttur au chā’u brūk ā jik kamū.

īmmikanā ī	chāttur au	chā au	brūk ā	jik kamū
wife erg	brother gen	1sg gen	stone acc	pst.pft take
wife	of-brother	of-me	stone	took

‘My brother’s wife took the stone.’

Dative

The dative particle ai indicates that the noun is an indirect object of some kind. The dative case is a bit ambiguous in most languages, and can often be replaced by various prepositions (such as ‘to’, ‘for’, or ‘towards’).

Yun ī brūk ā yaunīllah ai gaillāk.

yun ī	brūk ā	yaunīllah ai	gaillāk
3sg erg	stone acc	3pl.child dat	give
She	stone	to-them	gives

‘She gives the stone to them (her children).’

Oblique

Finally, the oblique case (also called the prepositional case) is used when a noun is preceded by a preposition, or is otherwise not followed by any of the above adpositions.

Nu irruntutim.

nu	irruntutim
with	cold

‘It (the weather) is very cold.’

Names

Grayis personal given names are usually composed of two words which often describe parents’ hopes or aspirations for their child. This may be one or two nouns, a noun and an adjective, or a noun and a verb. Most names are composed of four syllables, though this is not a rule, and it is sometimes considered prestigious to have a name composed of mainly long syllables. While there are many common names and themes, there are not a set of standardized names.

Noun (+ Noun)

• Tiradūntāt ‘forest’
• Gakwai Ailā ‘moon cloud’ > Gakwailā
• Gribinta Dunidj ‘grass wind’

Noun + Adjective

• Tānū Mūri ‘good tree’
• Jagī Ribun ‘first son’

Noun + Verb

• Tānū Āmīd ‘standing tree’
• Rābāk Pūkkīch ‘sacred mountain’s bones’

There are also many ways to form surnames, which follow the given name, and often refer to a family or a geographic area of origin, though many are single nouns related to nature.

Swadesh List

For those of you who like this sort of thing!

	Grayis	English		Grayis	English		Grayis	English
001	chal	I	070	tidīntipi	feather	139	raichillā	to count
002	kit	you	071	tunu	hair (on head)	140	dimi	to say
003	yun, wih	he, she, it	072	upam	head (anatomy)	141	tūranā	to sing
004	jāla, kichal	we	073	grigi	ear	142	ayattan	to play
005	gīs	you	074	ruyu	eye	143	achar	to float
006	waih, yaum	they	075	unna	nose	144	tratūm	to flow
007	itta	this	076	chabah	mouth	145	aitu	to freeze
008	utta	that	077	rakkas	tooth	146	arib	to swell
009	iddu	here	078	mannī	tongue	147	krīmuttād, lūpupaus	sun
010	uddu	there	079	ūgīttī	fingernail	148	ailā	moon
011	julkās	who	080	tugi	foot	149	ikī	star
012	julkāt	what	081	wuch	leg	150	wīch	water
013	julkād	where	082	īju	knee	151	chukutta	rain
014	julkīn	when	083	tāga	hand	152	plīnum	river
015	julkīl	how	084	krillu	wing	153	ūkkai	lake
016	jai	not	085	rudduk	belly, abdomen	154	chamai	sea
017	nakī	all	086	īmus	guts, entrails, intestines	155	tauki	salt
018	mikidj	many	087	ūta	neck	156	brūk	stone
019	limā	some	088	chīlāk	back	157	ikak	sand
020	munnu	few	089	durudj	breast	158	mauddulā	dust
021	iyūr	other	090	trāchai	heart	159	runar	earth, soil, dirt
022	rī	one	091	willunān	liver	160	gakwai	cloud
023	ai	two	092	tudī	to drink	161	trāki	fog, mist
024	chil	three	093	idwam	to eat	162	iyatur	sky
025	chirri	four	094	kanna	to bite	163	gribinta	wind
026	kilai	five	095	drūbat	to suck	164	innirri	snow
027	mīkkidj	big, large	096	aikīch	to spit	165	khihchis	ice
028	luklai	long	097		to vomit	166	īrra	smoke (not steam)
029	tākkum	wide, broad	098	wahyāh	blow	167	pakwā	fire
030	ruchi	thick	099	ahman	to breathe	168	mūnak	ash, ashes
031	tattūmu	heavy	100	khalāh	to laugh	169	pakku	burn
032	ina	small, little	101	ijun	to see	170	radal	path, road, trail
033	īnaik	short	102	ihka	to hear	171	maunis	mountain
034	bīru	narrow	103	nibahkai	to know	172	khūn	red
035	mīrrichi	thin	104	arūn	to think	173	ruchī	green
036	kanā	woman	105	naram	to smell	174	grāla	yellow
037	raiwai	man (adult male)	106	akkai	to fear	175	yilūr	white
038	lān	person	107	jīttā	to sleep	176	iyūb	black
039	mikit	child	108	akūra	to live	177	līna	night
040	īmmikanā	wife	109	igī	to die	178	gintā	day
041	īmmiraiwai	husband	110	ichak	to kill	179	jannik	year
042	ummā	mother	111	pikat	to fight	180	trabākutim	hot (of weather)
043	tuma	father	112	hantijus	to hunt	181	iruntutim	cold
044	mīka	animal	113	igach	to hit	182	tanū	full
045	plati	fish	114	chappa	to cut	183	chupi	new
046	ugīttī	bird	115	chappai	to split	184	trayi	old
047	murāgi	dog	116	tahkah	to stab, to pierce	185	mūri	good
048	īh	louse	117	kitlig	to scratch	186	kaita	bad
049	katas	snake	118	tantaichīyun	to dig	187	ipis	rotten
050	grawukkai	worm	119	itān	to swim	188	khaukku	dirty
051	tānū	tree	120	puyat	to fly	189	wāchīn	straight
052	tiradūntāt	forest, woods	121	trala	to walk	190	ūyu	round
053	griyuch	stick	122	tānu	come	191	traigu	sharp (of a knife)
054	rūna	fruit	123	dārai	to lie	192	mudub	dull (of a knife)
055	īrit	seed	124	sittan	to sit	193	ās	smooth
056	kadūn	leaf	125	āmīd	to stand	194	ichīs	wet
057	bāru	root	126	duru	to turn	195	krās	dry
058	rīkkud	bark (of tree)	127	akīt	to fall	196	braidim	correct, right
059	tina	flower	128	gaillāk	to give	197	pichit	near
060	dunidj	grass	129	grauntā	to hold	198	nunta	far
061	īkaittā	rope	130	būjih	to squeeze	199	dijaiwi	right, right-hand
062	grinin	skin	131	brijar	to rub	200	kurauwi	left, left-hand
063	juchī	flesh, meat	132	ganauri	to wash	201	uk	at
064	khūlunna	blood	133	maunti	to wipe	202	ji	in
065	pūkkīch	bone	134	attis	to pull	203	nu	with
066	tuya	grease, fat	135	akkā	to push	204	ha, ku	and
067	addi	egg	136	wiyīr	to throw	205	lā	if
068	kurunat	horn	137	dalūh	to tie, bind	206	udj	because
069	tikkilai	tail	138	gribbun	to sew	207	turuh	name