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'''Suwáá''' is a language isolate of Hmøøh, spoken on the island country and archipelago of Suwáábyíq. It is mainly inspired aesthetically by Burmese, Japanese, Navajo, and Ancient Greek, and its grammar is meant to be "Navajo-lite" (agglutinative, strongly prefixing, strongly head-final, and head-marking, though not fully polysynthetic; noun incorporation is limited to certain formal styles). | '''Suwáá''' (''Suwáá tahyeq'') is a language isolate of Hmøøh, spoken on the island country and archipelago of [[Verse:Hmøøh/Suwáábyíq|Suwáábyíq]]. It is mainly inspired aesthetically by Burmese, Japanese, Navajo, and Ancient Greek, and its grammar is meant to be "Navajo-lite" (agglutinative, strongly prefixing, strongly head-final, and head-marking, though not fully polysynthetic; noun incorporation is limited to certain formal styles). | ||
The Suwáá dialect continuum is not known to be related to any other Hmøøhian language, but some have proposed a relation to the [[Quame languages]] based on lexical coincidences. | The Suwáá dialect continuum is not known to be related to any other Hmøøhian language, but some have proposed a relation to the [[Quame languages]] based on lexical coincidences. | ||
== Lexicon == | == Lexicon == | ||
* su- = | * Nyu-Mɛ Kɛ{{acute}}q: inventor of Kite guitar-type guitars | ||
* su- = ''frozen derivation'' | |||
* wáá = person | * wáá = person | ||
* khywen = house | * khywen = house | ||
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* yań = water | * yań = water | ||
* lwɛ = to do, to make | * lwɛ = to do, to make | ||
* | * mɔ́ = blood | ||
* zoo = to look | * zoo = to look | ||
* mé = to be (copula) | * mé = to be (copula) | ||
** ''Upwe namé'' | ** ''Upwe namé.'' 'I am a boy.' | ||
** ''Suwáá imé.'' 'He is a Suwáá.' | |||
* ze = to eat | |||
* zé = to stack | |||
== Phonology == | == Phonology == | ||
=== Initials === | === Initials === | ||
Suwáá has a large number of initials | Suwáá has a large number of initials; however, prefixes do not allow aspirated or voiced initials. | ||
* Historical velar stops: k kh g ŋ ky khy gy ŋy kw khw gw ŋw kyw khyw gyw ŋyw /k kʰ g ŋ tɕ tɕʰ dʑ ɲ kw kʰw ŋw tɕɥ tɕʰɥ dʑɥ ɲɥ/ | * Historical velar stops: k kh g ŋ ky khy gy ŋy kw khw gw ŋw kyw khyw gyw ŋyw /k kʰ g ŋ tɕ tɕʰ dʑ ɲ kw kʰw ŋw tɕɥ tɕʰɥ dʑɥ ɲɥ/ | ||
* Historical alveolar stops: t th d n s sh z ny tw thw dw nw sw shw zw nyw /t tʰ d n s sʰ z ɲ tw tʰw dw nw sw sʰw zw ɲɥ/ | * Historical alveolar stops: t th d n s sh z ny tw thw dw nw sw shw zw nyw /t tʰ d n s sʰ z ɲ tw tʰw dw nw sw sʰw zw ɲɥ/ | ||
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== Morphology == | == Morphology == | ||
=== Nouns === | === Nouns === | ||
Suwáá nouns are often monosyllabic, like '' | Suwáá nouns are often, though not always, monosyllabic, like ''mɔ́'' 'blood'. Here is an example of a noun inflected for possession: | ||
* '' | * ''namɔ́'' = my blood | ||
* '' | * ''himɔ́'' = thy blood | ||
* '' | * ''tamɔ́'' = his/her/their blood (proximate, like Navajo bi-) | ||
* '' | * ''wamɔ́'' = his/her/their blood (obviative‚ like Navajo yi-) | ||
* '' | * ''amɔ́'' = one's blood | ||
* '' | * ''kyamɔ́'' = our (exc.) blood | ||
* '' | * ''yemɔ́'' = our (inc.) blood | ||
* '' | * ''erimɔ́'' = your (pl.) blood | ||
Possession is indicated by using the appropriate possessive form after the possessor: ''Eqsiq | Possession is indicated by using the appropriate possessive form after the possessor: ''Eqsiq tamɔ́'' (E. 3-blood) 'Eqsiq's blood'. | ||
=== Verbs === | |||
Suwáá verb roots are always monosyllabic. | |||
== Syntax == | |||
=== Obviation === | === Obviation === | ||
Like Navajo, Suwáá shows various levels of animacy in its grammar, with certain nouns taking specific verb forms according to their rank in this animacy hierarchy. For instance, Suwáá nouns can be ranked by animacy on a continuum from most animate (a human or lightning) to least animate (an abstraction): | Like Navajo, Suwáá shows various levels of animacy in its grammar, with certain nouns taking specific verb forms according to their rank in this animacy hierarchy. For instance, Suwáá nouns can be ranked by animacy on a continuum from most animate (a human or lightning) to least animate (an abstraction): | ||