Suwaash: Difference between revisions
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''' | '''Suwaash''' is a conlang inspired by similarities between Indo-European, Sino-Tibetan (especially Rgyalrongic) and Athabaskan. It is an isolate within a large language family which includes monosyllabic tonal languages and Athabaskan-style polysynthetic languages. Suwaash is the lingua franca of modern Sngeaf. | ||
== Todo == | == Todo == | ||
* ''myąą'' 'cat; meow' | * ''myąą'' 'cat; meow' | ||
* ''węęh'' 'world' | |||
== Vocabulary == | == Vocabulary == | ||
Suwaash is about as purist as German or Finnish, but it has some loans from [[Anbirese]]. | |||
== Phonology == | == Phonology == | ||
The following describes Amisheg (Standard | The following describes Amisheg (Standard Suwaash) phonology. | ||
===Consonants=== | ===Consonants=== | ||
Amisheg has a large consonant inventory | Amisheg has a moderately large consonant inventory: | ||
{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="bluetable lightbluebg" style=" text-align:center;" | {| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="bluetable lightbluebg" style=" text-align:center;" | ||
|+ '''Consonant phonemes in Amisheg''' | |+ '''Consonant phonemes in Amisheg''' | ||
| Line 30: | Line 32: | ||
|- | |- | ||
! rowspan="3" style="" |Stop | ! rowspan="3" style="" |Stop | ||
! |<small> | ! |<small>unaspirated</small> | ||
| '''b''' /p/ | | '''b''' /p/ | ||
| '''d''' /t{{den}}/ | | '''d''' /t{{den}}/ | ||
| Line 55: | Line 57: | ||
|- | |- | ||
! rowspan="3" style="" | Affricate | ! rowspan="3" style="" | Affricate | ||
! |<small> | ! |<small>unaspirated</small> | ||
| | | | ||
| '''j''' /t{{den}}s{{den}}/ | | '''j''' /t{{den}}s{{den}}/ | ||
| Line 79: | Line 81: | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
! | ! colspan="2" style="" |Fricative | ||
| | | | ||
| '''s''' /s{{den}}/ | | '''s''' /s{{den}}/ | ||
| '''sh''' /ʂ/ | | '''sh''' /ʂ/ | ||
| '''sy''' /ɕ/ | | '''sy''' /ɕ/ | ||
| | |colspan=2| '''h, x''' /x~h/ | ||
| '''h''' /h/ | |||
|- | |- | ||
! colspan="2" style="" |Approximant | ! colspan="2" style="" |Approximant | ||
| '''w''' /w/ | | '''w''' /w/ | ||
| '''l''' /l/ | | '''l''' /l{{den}}/ | ||
| | | | ||
| '''y''' /j/ | | '''y''' /j/, '''ly''' /ʎ/ | ||
| | | | ||
| | | | ||
|} | |} | ||
/mj pj p{{asp}}j | /mj pj p{{asp}}j/ are allowed before vowels. Velars are allophonically palatalized before /i/. | ||
===Vowels=== | ===Vowels=== | ||
| Line 121: | Line 113: | ||
|- | |- | ||
! style="" |Close | ! style="" |Close | ||
| '''i, į''' | | '''i, į''' /i, ĩ/ | ||
| '''ii, įį''' | | '''ii, įį''' /iː, ĩː/ | ||
| '''u, ų''' | | '''u, ų''' /u, ũ/ | ||
| '''uu, ųų''' | | '''uu, ųų''' /uː, ũ/ | ||
|- | |- | ||
! style="" |Open | ! style="" |Open | ||
| '''e, ę''' | | '''e, ę''' /ɛ, ɛ̃/ | ||
| '''ee, ęę''' | | '''ee, ęę''' /ɛː, ɛ̃ː/ | ||
| '''a, ą''' | | '''a, ą''' /ɑ, ɑ̃/ | ||
| '''aa, ąą''' | | '''aa, ąą''' /ɑː, ɑ̃ː/ | ||
|} | |} | ||
The vowels ''i ii į įį'' are centralized after retroflex consonants; ''u uu ų ųų'' are fronted after palatal consonants. | The vowels ''i ii į įį'' are centralized to [ɨ{{lowered}}] (with the appropriate length and nasality) after retroflex and dental consonants ''n l d t t' j c c' s jh ch ch' sh''; the [ɨ{{lowered}}] is instead realized as [z{{lowered}}] (after dentals) and [ɻ] (after retroflexes) in some accents. ''u uu ų ųų'' are fronted to [u{{adv}}] after palatal consonants ''ny ly jy cy cy' sy y''. | ||
== Morphophonology == | == Morphophonology == | ||
=== Initial alternations === | === Root ablaut === | ||
Ablaut and initial alternations are the main morphophonological processes that occur on the root. | |||
==== Initial alternations ==== | |||
Initials may change with different "ablaut grades" of the nucleus vowel of the stem. | |||
2-way alternating roots: | 2-way alternating roots: | ||
* b p m -> by py my | * b p m -> by py my | ||
* d t t' n l -> jy cy cy' ny ly | * d t t' n l -> jy cy cy' ny ly | ||
* g k k' | * g k k' x -> jh ch ch' sh (at least in some roots?) | ||
* j c c' s | * j c c' s -> jy cy cy' sy | ||
* {{2}} w -> y y | |||
3-way alternating roots | |||
* j c c' s | * j c c' s ~ jh ch ch' sh ~ jy cy cy' sy | ||
Unexpectedly unalternating roots | |||
* Unalternating jh series roots | * Unalternating jh series roots | ||
* Unalternating g series roots | * Unalternating g series roots | ||
=== Sandhi === | |||
In Suwaash, sandhi occurs at morpheme boundaries within a word. Sandhi is applied ''after'' root ablaut and somewhat unpredictable prefix palatalizations are. | |||
== Dialects == | == Dialects == | ||
Different nonstandard dialects shift the sibilant system in different ways: | Different nonstandard dialects shift the sibilant system in different ways: | ||
* merging ''sh | * merging ''sh jh ch ch' '' with ''s j c c' '' (cf. Polish ''mazurzenie'') | ||
* merging ''sh | * merging ''sh jh ch ch' '' with ''sy jy cy cy' '' (cf. Polish ''jabłonkowanie'') | ||
* merging ''sy | * merging ''sy jy cy cy' '' with ''s j c c' '' (cf. Polish ''kaszubienie'') | ||
* shifting ''sh | * shifting ''sh jh ch ch' '' into velars /x kx kxʰ kxʼ/ or uvulars /χ qχ qχʰ qχʼ/ | ||
== Grammar == | == Grammar == | ||
Suwaash grammar is inspired by similarities between Sino-Tibetan and Navajo grammar. Like both Rgyalrongic and Athabaskan, Suwaash is head-final and has polypersonal marking, but it is not nearly as polysynthetic as either group. | |||
=== Nouns === | === Nouns === | ||
==== Possessive affixes ==== | ==== Possessive affixes ==== | ||
| Line 165: | Line 166: | ||
* dative ''-ash'': ''węęhash'' 'for the world/Earth'; ''nash'' 'for me' | * dative ''-ash'': ''węęhash'' 'for the world/Earth'; ''nash'' 'for me' | ||
* instrumental ''-iil'' | |||
* locative ''-yiin'' | |||
=== Verbs === | === Verbs === | ||
The verb is the only obligatory component of a | The verb is the only obligatory component of a Suwaash clause. Adjectives are also verbs. | ||
==== The root ==== | ==== The root ==== | ||
A | A Suwaash verb root consists of an obligatory initial, a vowel which may ablaut, and an optional final. | ||
Possible initials are: | Possible initials are: | ||
| Line 175: | Line 178: | ||
* {{angbr|my by py}} | * {{angbr|my by py}} | ||
Final consonants are restricted to {{angbr|b d | Final consonants are restricted to {{angbr|b d s sh sy g {{2}} h l n}}; the -n final may not follow a nasal vowel. | ||
==== Personal affixes ==== | ==== Personal affixes ==== | ||
Latest revision as of 23:09, 16 September 2024
Suwaash is a conlang inspired by similarities between Indo-European, Sino-Tibetan (especially Rgyalrongic) and Athabaskan. It is an isolate within a large language family which includes monosyllabic tonal languages and Athabaskan-style polysynthetic languages. Suwaash is the lingua franca of modern Sngeaf.
Todo
- myąą 'cat; meow'
- węęh 'world'
Vocabulary
Suwaash is about as purist as German or Finnish, but it has some loans from Anbirese.
Phonology
The following describes Amisheg (Standard Suwaash) phonology.
Consonants
Amisheg has a moderately large consonant inventory:
| Labial | Dental | Retroflex | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m /m/ | n /n̪/ | ny /ɲ/ | ||||
| Stop | unaspirated | b /p/ | d /t̪/ | g /k/ | ɂ /ʔ/ | ||
| aspirated | p /pʰ/ | t /t̪ʰ/ | k /kʰ/ | ||||
| ejective | t' /t̪ʼ/ | k' /kʼ/ | |||||
| Affricate | unaspirated | j /t̪s̪/ | jh /tʂ/ | jy /tɕ/ | |||
| aspirated | c /t̪s̪ʰ/ | ch /tʂʰ/ | cy /tɕʰ/ | ||||
| ejective | c' /t̪s̪ʼ/ | ch' /tʂʼ/ | cy' /tɕʼ/ | ||||
| Fricative | s /s̪/ | sh /ʂ/ | sy /ɕ/ | h, x /x~h/ | |||
| Approximant | w /w/ | l /l̪/ | y /j/, ly /ʎ/ | ||||
/mj pj pʰj/ are allowed before vowels. Velars are allophonically palatalized before /i/.
Vowels
Amisheg has only 4 vowel qualities, although there is phonemic vowel length and nasality.
| Front | Back | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| short | long | short | long | |
| Close | i, į /i, ĩ/ | ii, įį /iː, ĩː/ | u, ų /u, ũ/ | uu, ųų /uː, ũ/ |
| Open | e, ę /ɛ, ɛ̃/ | ee, ęę /ɛː, ɛ̃ː/ | a, ą /ɑ, ɑ̃/ | aa, ąą /ɑː, ɑ̃ː/ |
The vowels i ii į įį are centralized to [ɨ̞] (with the appropriate length and nasality) after retroflex and dental consonants n l d t t' j c c' s jh ch ch' sh; the [ɨ̞] is instead realized as [z̞] (after dentals) and [ɻ] (after retroflexes) in some accents. u uu ų ųų are fronted to [u̟] after palatal consonants ny ly jy cy cy' sy y.
Morphophonology
Root ablaut
Ablaut and initial alternations are the main morphophonological processes that occur on the root.
Initial alternations
Initials may change with different "ablaut grades" of the nucleus vowel of the stem.
2-way alternating roots:
- b p m -> by py my
- d t t' n l -> jy cy cy' ny ly
- g k k' x -> jh ch ch' sh (at least in some roots?)
- j c c' s -> jy cy cy' sy
- ɂ w -> y y
3-way alternating roots
- j c c' s ~ jh ch ch' sh ~ jy cy cy' sy
Unexpectedly unalternating roots
- Unalternating jh series roots
- Unalternating g series roots
Sandhi
In Suwaash, sandhi occurs at morpheme boundaries within a word. Sandhi is applied after root ablaut and somewhat unpredictable prefix palatalizations are.
Dialects
Different nonstandard dialects shift the sibilant system in different ways:
- merging sh jh ch ch' with s j c c' (cf. Polish mazurzenie)
- merging sh jh ch ch' with sy jy cy cy' (cf. Polish jabłonkowanie)
- merging sy jy cy cy' with s j c c' (cf. Polish kaszubienie)
- shifting sh jh ch ch' into velars /x kx kxʰ kxʼ/ or uvulars /χ qχ qχʰ qχʼ/
Grammar
Suwaash grammar is inspired by similarities between Sino-Tibetan and Navajo grammar. Like both Rgyalrongic and Athabaskan, Suwaash is head-final and has polypersonal marking, but it is not nearly as polysynthetic as either group.
Nouns
Possessive affixes
Plurals
Postpositions
Postpositions inflect like nouns in that they take personal affixes.
- dative -ash: węęhash 'for the world/Earth'; nash 'for me'
- instrumental -iil
- locative -yiin
Verbs
The verb is the only obligatory component of a Suwaash clause. Adjectives are also verbs.
The root
A Suwaash verb root consists of an obligatory initial, a vowel which may ablaut, and an optional final.
Possible initials are:
- all single consonants
- ⟨my by py⟩
Final consonants are restricted to ⟨b d s sh sy g ɂ h l n⟩; the -n final may not follow a nasal vowel.