Vairish

Vairish
Varišö
Pronunciation	[vɑriˈʃø]
Created by	Aenil2
Date	2024
Native speakers	400k (1894 CC)
Dialects	Aonir Vairish (Varišaüniž) Oira Vairish (Varisoir) Taritren Vairish (Värištriten)
Language codes
ISO 639-2	vrs
IETF	avr-vi-vrs

Vairish (autoglossonym: Varišö; Vairish : [vɑriˈʃø]) is an Ano-Vaire language spoken in Aonir (Riukish : Aüniž [ɑɯ̯ˈniʒ]). Vairish can be considered as a lingua franca in Aonir and the surrounding regions such as Oira and Taritren, which have different pronunciations, but are almost entirely mutually intelligible. Unless indicated, this article will focus on Varišaüniž (Aonir Vairish).

Phonology

Consonants

The following table is the consonant inventory of Vairish. Dialectal allophones will be indicated in dark cells :

	Labials	Dentals/Alveolars	Post-Alveolars	Dorsals
Nasals	m <m>	n <n>		ŋ <ň>
Plosives	p <p>, b <b>	t <t>, d <d>		k <k>, g <g>
Affricates			t͡ʃ <č>, d͡ʒ <ž>
Fricatives	f <f>, v <v>	s <s>, z <z>	ʃ <š>
Approximants	w <w>	l <l>		j <j>
Trills		r <r>

Dialectal variation :

• /t͡ʃ/, /d͡ʒ/ and /ʃ/ are pronounced /t͡ɕ/, /d͡ʑ/ and /ɕ/ in Värištriten (Tariten Vairish)
• /f/ and /v/ are pronounced /ɸ/ and /β/ in Varisoir (Oira Vairish) and Varišaüniž

Vowels

There are 9 vowels in Vairish, with no length distinction :

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i <i>		ɯ <ü>, u <u>
Mid	e <e>, ø <ö>	ɵ~ə <ë>	o <o>
Open	ɑ <a>, ɒ <ä>

Morphophonology

Final devoicing

When a word-final consonant is voiced, it's pronounced as its voiceless equivalent, and when inflected, the consonant becomes voiced again.

Diaeresis

When 2 "non-close" vowels are in hiatus, the hiatus is broken down using a glide (the use of one preferably from another depends on the hiatus constituents)

Stress and pitch

Primary stress falls on the last syllable of a word, except if the last syllable is composed of a single vowel. In this case, the stress falls on the second-to-last syllable

Morphology

Nouns

Nouns can be inflected for number, case and possession.

Numbers

Nouns can be inflected for 4 numbers : Singulative (sgv), Dual (du), Plurative (plv) and Collective (col). Depending on the noun, the unmarked number can be either the Singulative or the Collective

Singulative

The singulative is the default, unmarked form of count nouns. When put into the singulative, mass nouns define the smallest unit of the noun, which is translated into English as a measure word (e.g. water → drop of water).

tolvä

"cloud"

Dual

The dual is only fully productive for body parts, kinship and animals. The dual still exists for other count nouns (as mass nouns can't take it), but is considered archaic by many.

örpa-man-it teiliä

eye-1s.poss-du brown

"My eyes are brown"

Plurative

The plurative is formed by affixing -ide. When a voiced plosive comes just before the affix, it is pronounced as its voiceless equivalent

sëid-jon-ide Äirade ö Olsü

name-3p.poss-plv Äirade and Olsü

"They are called Äirade and Olsü" (litt. "Their names are Äirade and Olsü")

Collective

The collective is the default, unmarked form of mass nouns. Count nouns can't inflect for the collective

siöre

water

Cases

Vairish nouns can be using a set of 8 noun cases :

Nominative and Accusative

Simple morphosyntactic cases. The nominative can also be used for marking the predicate.

Dative

Dative proper

The dative proper is used to indicate the indirect object of a sentence

Dative of measure

The dative of measure is used to indicate the difference of measure between 2 objects

Instrumental

The instrumental is used to indicate the instrument of an action

Lative

The lative is used to indicate motion to a location

Ablative

Ablative proper

The ablative proper is used to indicate motion away from a location

Ablative of location

The ablative of location is used to indicate a location

Causal

The causal indicates that the noun is the cause/reason of the action

Essive

Essive proper

The essive proper is used to indicate that the noun is a state of being

Essive of location

The essive of location is used to indicate that the noun is a temporary location

Possession

Nouns in Vairish can be marked for possession. The basic suffixes are -mVn, -sVn, -ňVn and -jVn.

E.g.

Possession markers of raväi "hope"
Person	Singulative	Dual	Plurative
1st (exclusive)	raväiman	raväimën	raväimon
1st (inclusive)		raväisin	raväison
2nd	raväiňän	raväiňen	raväiňön
3rd	raväijan	raväiin	raväijön

Paradigms

Declension of sëid "name"
Case markers
Case	Singulative	Dual	Plurative
Nominative	sëid	sëidit	sëidide
Accusative	sëidan	sëiditan	sëididen
Dative	sëidi	sëidiit	sëididei
Instrumental	sëidäte	sëidität	sëididät
Lative	sëidnë	sëidilnë	sëididenë
Ablative	sëidev	sëidite	sëididev
Causal	sëidnu	sëiduit	sëididenü
Essive	sëidör	sëiditör	sëidideör
Possessive markers
Person	Singulative	Dual	Plurative
1st (exclusive)	sëidman	sëidmën	sëidmon
1st (inclusive)		sëidsin	sëidson
2nd	sëidňän	sëidňen	sëidňön
3rd	sëidjan	sëidin	sëidjön

Declension of siöre "water"
Case markers
Case		Singulative	Collective
Nominative		siörene	siöre
Accusative		siörenea	siöreta
Dative		siörenö	siöreö
Instrumental		siöreneru	siöreru
Lative		siörenetë	siörettë
Ablative		siörenär	siöreäre
Causal		siöreneu	siöreu
Essive		siörenemü	siöremü
Possessive markers
Person	Singulative	Dual	Plurative
1st (exclusive)	siöreman	siöremën	siöremon
1st (inclusive)		siöresin	siöreson
2nd	siöreňän	siöreňen	siöreňön
3rd	siörejan	siörein	siörejön