Antarctican

Antarctican is spoken on the continent of Antarctica in the far future, at a time when runaway global warming has melted the icecaps and rendered most of the rest of the word uninhabitable. It has been influenced by a variety of modern-day languages, among them English, Spanish, Japanese and many East Asian languages.

It has a complex phonology and morphophonology, especially in the vowel system. There are a lot of features not found in English e.g. a pitch-register system, phonemic vowel length, prestopped nasals, and ejective consonants. However in other ways the phonology is quite simple compared to English, with a very limited range of syllable shapes.

The morphosyntactic alignment is split ergative, with noun suffixes following an ergative-absolutive system, but person marking on verbs following a nominative-accusative system. Nouns also inflect for alienable and inalienable possession, and they can undergo some quite complex stem changes. There is no real marking of plurality of nouns.

In the verbal morphology, mirativity and transitivity are clearly marked. Verbs also inflect for person and voice. Tense and aspect are much less important.

The syntax is head-initial, and adjectives are not distinguished from verbs.

Phonology

Vowels

The pronunciation of each phoneme is listed in the tables below, followed by its romanisation in brackets.

There are 11 monophthongs:

Antarctican monophthongs

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i /i/	ue /ɨ/	u /u/
Close-mid	ie /e/	e /ɘ/	uo /o/
Open-mid	ae /ɛ/	oe /ɜ/	o /ɔ/
Open	a /a/		ao /ɒ/

And there are 17 diphthongs. 8 of these end in [j], and another 9 end in [w]:

Diphthongs ending in /j/

	Front	Central	Back
Close		uey /ɨj/	uy /uj/
Close-mid	iey /ej/	ey /ɘj/	uoy /oj/
Open-mid	aey /ɛj/	oey /ɜj/
Open	ay /aj/

Diphthongs ending in /w/

	Front	Central	Back
Close		uew /ɨw/
Close-mid	iew /ew/	ew /ɘw/	uow /ow/
Open-mid	aew /&#ɛw/	oew /ɜw/	ow /ɔw/
Open	aw /aw/

Vowel phonation

Vowels in Antarctican can have either modal, tense or breathy voice. Vowels with tense voice (marked with a glottal stop after the syllable e.g. /aʔ/) are pronounced with a high or rising pitch, and vowels with breathy voice (marked with a voiced /h/ after the syllable e.g. /aɦ/) are pronounced with a low or falling pitch. This distinction is phonemic e.g.

• kuow /kou/ - something absorbed in something else, absolutive
• kúow /kouʔ/ - bigot, absolutive

Tense voice cannot occur on high vowels /i/, /ɨ/, /u/, nor on diphthongs beginning with these vowels. Breathy voice cannot occur on low vowels /a/, /ɒ/, nor on diphthongs beginning with these vowels.

Vowel length

As well as vowel phonation, vowel length is also phonemic, on both monophthongs and diphthongs e.g.

• kuow /kou/ - something absorbed in something else, absolutive

kuuow /koːu/ - a frozen object, absolutive

Phonation restrictions

However, not every vowel can have every kind of phonation e.g. tense voice cannot occur on high vowels /i/, /ɨ/, /u/, nor on diphthongs beginning with these vowels. Similarly, breathy voice cannot occur on low vowels /a/, /ɒ/, nor on front vowels, nor on diphthongs beginning with these vowels. The permissible combinations of vowel quality and phonation are listed below:

Monophthong phonation

	Voice	Front	Central	Back
Close	Modal	i /i/	ue /ɨ/ from /i/	u /u/
	Breathy		ùe /ɨɦ/	ù /uɦ/
Close-mid	Modal	ie /e/	e /ɘ/ from /e/	uo /o/ from /u/
	Tense	íe /eʔ/	é /ɘʔ/	úo /oʔ/
	Breathy		è /ɘɦ/	ùo /oɦ/
Open-mid	Modal	ae /ɛ/ from /a/		o /ɔ/
	Tense	áe /ɛʔ/	óe /ɜʔ/	ó /ɔʔ/
	Breathy		òe /ɜɦ/
Open	Modal	a /a/		ao /ɒ/ from /ɔ/
	Tense	á /aʔ/

• Vowels in green are found everywhere.
• Vowels in pink are phonemic at the end of words, where they mark ergative case, and are allophones elsewhere. They occur before another syllable beginning with a voiced consonant followed by a modally voiced vowel. The vowel that they are an allophone of is indicated afterwards.
• Vowels in blue are phonemic at the end of words, where they mark comitative case, and are allophones elsewhere. They occur before another syllable beginning with a voiceless consonant followed by a modally voiced vowel. The vowel that they are an allophone of is indicated afterwards.
• Vowels in orange are only found in reduplications.

Antarctican uses reduplication in its morphology, however it only partially reduplicates diphthongs, reducing them to monophthongs in the reduplicated syllable e.g.

• kúowntátu /kouɴʔtaʔtu/ – acquaintance, absolutive
• kúokúowntátu /koʔkouɴʔtaʔtu/ – acquaintances (of each other), absolutive

When such diphthongs are truncated, it is always only the first part of it that is preserved e.g. /eiʔ/ and /euʔ/ both shorten to /eiʔ/. /oiʔ/ and /ouʔ/ both shorten to /oʔ/ etc.

Vowels marked with an asterisk do not contrast for length.

There are similar restrictions on diphthongs:

Diphthong phonation /j/

	Voice	Front	Central	Back
Close	Modal			uy /ui/
	Breathy		ùey /ɨiɦ/	ùy /uiɦ/
Close-mid	Modal	iey /ei/	ey /ɘi/	uoy /oi/
	Tense	íey /eiʔ/	éy /ɘiʔ/	úoy /oiʔ/
	Breathy		èy /ɘiɦ/
Open-mid	Modal	aey /ɛi/
	Tense	áey /ɛiʔ/
	Breathy		òey /ɜiɦ/
Open	Modal	ay /ai/
	Tense	áy /aiʔ/

Same applies to the remaining diphthongs:

Diphthong phonation /w/

	Voice	Front	Central	Back
Close	Modal
	Breathy		ùew /ɨuɦ/
Close-mid	Modal	iew /ew/	ew /ɘu/	uow /ou/
	Tense			úow /ouʔ/
	Breathy		èw /ɘuɦ/	ùow /ouɦ/
Open-mid	Modal	aew /ɛu/		ow /ɔu/
	Tense	áew /ɛuʔ/		ów /ɔuʔ/
	Breathy		òew /ɜuɦ/
Open	Modal	aw /au/
	Tense	áw /auʔ/

Consonants

The pronunciation of each phoneme is listed in the table below, followed by its romanisation in brackets.

Antarctican consonants

		Bilabial		Alveolar		Palatal	Velar / Uvular	Glottal / Placeless
		plain	palatalised	central	lateral
Nasals	plain	m /m/	my /mʲ/	n /n/		ny /ɲ/	ng /ŋ/	n /ɴ/
	pre-stopped	pm /pm/	pmy /pmʲ/	tn /tn/		cn /cɲ/	kn /kŋ/
Stops/Affricate	ejective	pp /p'/	ppy /p'ʲ/	tt /t'/	ttl /tɬ'/	cch /c' ~ tɕ'/	kk /k'/
	voiceless	p /p/	py /pʲ/	t /t/	tl /tɬ/	ch /c ~ tɕ/	k /k/	q /ʔ/
	voiced	b /b/	by /bʲ/	d /d/	dl /dɮ/	j /ɟ ~ dʑ/	g /g/
Fricatives/Affricates	ejective			tts /ts' ~ s'/
	voiceless	f /f/	fy /fʲ/	s /s ~ ts/	hl /ɬ/	sh /ç ~ ɕ/	h /χ ~ x/
	voiced			z /z ~ dz/
Approximant		w /w/	v /ɥ/	l /l ~ ɹ ~ ʎ/		y /j/	r /ʁ ~ ʀ/

• Prestopped nasals e.g. /tn/, /pm/ etc., pattern as voiceless and as nasals (and thus sonorants) in terms of the phonology.
• The placeless nasal /ɴ/ is only found at the end of syllables. Before a glottal stop or at the end of a phrase, it nasalises the preceding vowel. Otherwise it assimilates to the same place of articulation as the following consonant e.g. it becomes [n] before /d/, [m] before /b/ etc.
• Voiced obstruents (stops, fricatives and affricates) are only found in three cases.

1. Before a vowel with modal voice and at the beginning of a word.
2. Before a vowel with modal voice, where the preceding syllable of the word has modal voice.
3. Before a vowel with breathy voice, where the preceding syllable of the word has breathy voice.

In the latter case they are pronounced with breathy voice, like the murmured/voiced aspirated consonants of many Indian languages.

The same restrictions apply to the distribution of fricatives other than /s/, and of prestopped nasals except that they are never found in the 3rd case.

• Ejectives are only ever found between two vowels with tense voice (possibly with /ɴ/ separating them).
• Consonants separated with a tilde (~) are not separate phonemes but are either allophones or in free variation e.g. /s ~ ts/ indicates that there is a single phoneme that can either be pronounced [s] or [ts]. The most common pronunciation is always listed first.
• The velar nasals /kŋ/ and /ŋ/ never occur at the beginning of words.
• The phoneme /l/ is pronounced as a palatal lateral [ʎ] before a high vowel, [ɹ] before a vowel with tense voice (high vowels cannot have tense voice), and [l] elsewhere.

Consonant Harmony

Consonants in Antarctican can be grouped into two sets, soft and hard. Many affixes have two alternate forms, one with a soft consonant and one with a hard. When they attach to a word that begins with a soft consonant, the form of the affix with the soft consonant is used. If the word begins with a hard consonant, the form of the affix with the hard consonant is used. The soft consonants are the palatal consonants, the palatalized labial consonants, and the lateral consonants. All the other consonants are hard.

For example, the antipassive voice is formed by an infix that comes after the first consonant of a word. For words that begin with a hard consonant, the infix is ar /aʁ/ (which contains a hard consonant) e.g.

• ziitlòeji /ziːtɬɜɦɟi/ - to know (a person), mirative
• zariitlòeji /zaʁiːtɬɜɦɟi/ - to know (a person), mirative, antipassive

However, if the word begins with a soft consonant, the infix is iel /el/ e.g.

• pyiquu /pʲiʔuː/ - to purify, mirative
• pyieliquu /pʲeliʔuː/ - to purify, mirative, antipassive
• hliqo /ɬiʔɔ/ - to perform, mirative
• hlieliqo /ɬeliʔɔ/ - to perform, mirative, antipassive (not *(hlariqo) /ɬmiʔɔ/)

Phonotactics

Syllable structures are extremely limited, with only shapes being CV and CVɴ.

Noun Morphology

Case

Nouns decline into three cases, Absolutive, Ergative and Comitative. Absolutive case is unmarked while the other two use vowel changes on the final vowel and/or suffixes. Nouns can also take demonstrative and possessive prefixes.

Ergative case

How this case is formed depends on the phonation and frontness of the final vowel in the word.

Modally voiced final vowel

Final vowel is a back vowel

In this case, lower the back vowel e.g.

• ton /tɔɴ/ - change (as in coins, money), absolutive
• taon /tɒɴ/ - change, ergative

• duoliiengun /doleːŋuɴ/ - dragon, absolutive
• duoliienguon /doleːŋoɴ/ - dragon, ergative

If the final vowel is a diphthong that begins with a back vowel, then the start of the diphthong is lowered e.g.

• paehuown /pɛχouɴ/ - dust, absolutive
• paehown /pɛχɔuɴ/ - dust, ergative
• yuenpiluoy - /jɨɴpiloi/ - employee, absolutive
• yuenpiloy /jɨɴpilɔi/ - employee, ergative

Final vowel is not a back vowel

In this case the ergative suffix is –n /ɴ/, or –ga /ga/ if the noun already ended in –n e.g.*zivie /ziɥe/ - boat, absolutive

• zivien /ziɥeɴ/ - boat, ergative
• myaewntayn /mʲɛuɴtaiɴ/ - mountain, absolutive
• myaewntayn-ga / mʲɛuɴtaiɴga/ - mountain, ergative

Final vowel has breathy or tense voice

For nouns where the vowel of the last syllable has breathy or tense voice, the situation is more complicated. They all take ergative suffixes of the form C V ɴ, where C is a consonant and V is a vowel. V is almost always /i/, except after /t/ or /d/, when it is /u/. However it is not possible to predict C, as shown by the examples below:

• tieyláae /teilɛʔː/ - shirt, absolutive
• tieyláaesin /teilɛʔːsiɴ / - shirt, ergative
• píey /peiʔ/ - book, absolutive
• píeykin /peiʔkiɴ/ - book, ergative
• kùe /kɨɦ/ - goods, absolutive
• kùezin /kɨɦziɴ/ - goods, ergative
• rè /ʁɘɦ/ - red object, absolutive
• rèdun /ʁɘɦduɴ/ – red object, ergative
• kúow /kouʔ/ - cup, absolutive
• kúowpin */kouʔpiɴ/ - cup, ergative
• píeylánkáe /peiʔlaɴʔkɛʔ/ - blanket, absolutive
• píeylánkáetun /peiʔlaɴʔkɛʔtuɴ/ - blanket, ergative
• wùerù /wɨɦʁuɦ/- frog, absolutive
• wùerùgin /wɨɦʁuɦgiɴ/ - frog, ergative

While it may seem that the consonant inserted before the –in (or –un) suffix is random, there are some patterns. Firstly, the inserted consonant is always an obstruent (oral stop, affricate or fricative), and never a sonorant (nasal or approximant). Secondly, observe that, when the final vowel of the absolutive stem has tense voice, the inserted consonant is always voiceless, while if the final vowel of the absolutive stem has breathy voice, the inserted consonant is always voiced. These two rules hold across the language.

Also, for readers with knowledge of whatever language Antarctican borrowed the particular noun stem from, note that the “inserted” consonant almost perfectly corresponds with the consonant at the end of the word e.g. the word for “frog”, (wùerù /wɨɦʁuɦ/ in the absolutive case), is in fact descended from the English word “frog”. However, Antarctican does not like final consonants, so the final “g” was lost in the absolutive form. However in the ergative form, there is another vowel following the “g”, so it “reappears”, and the ergative form of the word is wùerùgin /wɨɦʁuɦgiɴ/. A similar story happens with the “t” in the word for “blanket”, which is also derived from English.

Stem changes

However, for some of the nouns with breathy or tense voice on the final vowel of the absolutive stem, there are changes in the stem when they take the ergative suffix. These involve a change in vowel phonation to modal voice, and a change in vowel quality. e.g.

sitùen /sitɨɴɦ/- wound caused by a sting (e.g. a bee or a jellyfish), absolutive

suetin-gin /sɨtiɴgiɴ/ - wound caused by a sting (e.g. a bee or a jellyfish), ergative (not *sitùen-gin)

As a rule, if the final vowel undergoes a change, and the second last vowel has the same voicing as the final vowel, then they both change e.g.

qùylèn /ʔuiɦlɘɴɦ/ - island, absolutive

quoyliendun /ʔoileɴduɴ/ - island, ergative (not *qùilèndun)

tùrèen /tuɦʁɘːɴɦ/ - fashionable items, absolutive

tuoriiendun /toʁeːɴduɴ/ - fashionable items, ergative

síeykúow /seiʔkouʔ/ - a small amount, absolutive

suekuhli /sɨkuɬi/ - a small amount, ergative

 

If there are even more consecutive syllables with the same voicing on the vowel, then this rule applies to every single one of them e.g.

qámáeláy /ʔaʔmɛʔlaiʔ/ - prey, absolutive

qamielaeykin /ʔamelɛikiɴ/ - prey, ergative

 

The changes in vowel quality and vowel voicing may appear random, but in fact they are not. The vowel quality of the new vowel can be predicted using the table blow. The vowels in the first two columns change to their equivalent in the third column e.g. When sitùen changes to sitin-gin, we can see that ùe changes to i (first column of the table).

However, if the vowel is followed by a syllable beginning with a modally voiced consonant before a modally voiced vowel, then the vowel from the fourth column is used e.g. when qùylèn changes to quoyliendun, the ùy changes to uoy, since the next syllable begins with a modally voiced consonant -l-, followed by a modally voiced vowel -ie-.

Also, if the vowel is followed by a syllable beginning with a voiceless consonant followed by another modally voice vowel, then the vowel from the fifth column is used e.g. when qámáláy changes to qamielaeykin, the á changes to ae, since the next syllable begins with the voiceless -k-, followed by the modally voiced -i-.

 

Tense voice	Breathy voice		Modal, normal	Modal, before a voiced consonant followed by another modal vowel	Modal, before a voiceless consonant followed by another modal vowel
íey	ùe		i	i	ue
éy	ùey		ii	ii	uue
áe / áae	è / èe		ie / iie	ie / iie	e / ee
á / áa	òe / òoe		a / aa	a / aa	ae / aae
úow	ù		u	uo	u
éw	ùew		uu	uow	uu
óe	ùo		o	ao	o
áey / áaey	èy / èey		iey / iiey	iey / iiey	ey / eey
áy / áay	òey / òoey		ay / aay	ay / aay	aey / aaey
úoy / úuoy	ùy / ùuy		uy / uuy	uoy / uuoy	uy / uuy
áew / áaew	èw / èew		iew / iiew	iew / iiew	ew / eew
áw / áaw	òew / òoew		aw / aaw	aw / aaw	aew / aaew
ów / óow	ùow / ùuow		uow / uuow	ow/ oow	uow / uuow

 

There are many, many other nouns that decline according to this pattern. All of the nouns that end in /ɴ/ or contain a long vowel in the final syllable undergo vowel changes in the stem e.g.

táen /tɛɴʔ/ - weather, absolutive

tenchin /tɘɴciɴ/ - weather, ergative

kòoe /kɜɦː/ - membership card, absolutive

kaadun /kaːduɴ/ - membership card, ergative

However, the converse is not true. For nouns with non-modally voiced final vowels, but that do not end in /ɴ/ or a long vowel, some undergo vowel changes e.g.

qùenòe /ʔɨɦnɜɦ/ - eel, absolutive

qinajin /ʔinaɟiɴ/ - eel, ergative

While others do not e.g.

kùe /kɨɦ/ - goods, absolutive

kùezin /kɨɦziɴ/ - goods, ergative

 

There are some nouns that have identical absolutive forms, but are distinguished in the ergative e.g.

ká /kaʔ/ - fence, absolutive

kaechin /kɛciɴ/ - fence, ergative

ká /kaʔ/ - coconut milk, absolutive

kátlin /katɬiɴ/ coconut milk, ergative

 

Obstruent Voicing

If the absolutive form has a voiceless obstruent (oral stop, affricate or fricative), that is surrounded by breathy voice vowels (possibly with /ɴ/ separating them), when the breathy voiced vowels acquire modal voice in the ergative form, the voiceless obstruent does too, becoming modally voiced e.g.

nyùewsùeylèn /ɲɨuɦsɨɦiɦlɘɴɦ/ - New Zealand, absolutive

nyuuziiliendun /ɲuːziːleɴduɴ/ - New Zealand, ergative

This sometimes applies to word initial consonants as well e.g.

pùelùe /pɨɦlɨɦ/ - bridge, absolutive

bilidlin /bilidɮiɴ/ - bridge, ergative

pòey /pɜiɦ/ - baby, absolutive

baybyin /baibʲiɴ/ - baby, ergative

But sometimes it does not e.g.

pòey /pɜiɦ/ - page, absolutive

paydlin /paidɮiɴ/ - page, ergative

 

If the absolutive form of a noun has a voiceless obstruent (oral stop, affricate or fricative), that is preceded by a syllable with a modally voiced vowel, and is followed by a vowel with tense voice, if this tense voiced vowel becomes modally voiced in the ergative form, then the voiceless obstruent before it acquires modal voice too e.g.

yíeysitlíeynyíey /jeiʔsitɬeiʔɲeiʔ/ - mutton, absolutive

yíeysidlinyuekin /jeiʔsidɮiɲɨkiɴ/ - mutton, ergative

Here we can see that the /tɬ/ in the absolutive form has changed to /dɮ/ in the ergative form.

For word initial voiceless obstruents followed by tense voiced vowels in the absolutive form, which change to modal voice vowels in the ergative form, sometimes this change also occurs e.g.

támá /taʔmaʔ/- victim of a scam / swindle, absolutive

damaesin /damɛsiɴ/ - victim of a scam / swindle, ergative

However others do not e.g.

kán-kúow /kaɴʔkouʔ/ - prisoner, absolutive

kan-gukin /kaɴgukiɴ/ - prisoner, ergative

 

Sonorant Devoicing

Another similar pattern occurs in sonorants. If, in the absolutive form, they are preceded by a syllable with a modally voiced vowel, and followed by a breathy or tense voiced vowel that changes in the ergative (to have modal voice), then the sonorant becomes devoiced. /w/ becomes /f/, /l/ becomes /ɬ/, /j/ becomes /ç/, and /ʁ/ becomes /χ/, voiced nasals become prestopped e.g.

yuuwíey /juːweiʔ/ - clothes, absolutive

yuufekin /juːfɘkiɴ/ - clothes, ergative

qaetienòelùn /ʔɛtenɜɦluɴɦ/ - heart, absolutive

qaetetnaluonzin /ʔɛtɘtnaloɴziɴ/ - heart, ergative

 

De-Ejectivisation

There are some Antarctican nouns that have ejectives in the absolutive form. As required by the phonotactics, they have tense voiced vowels both before and after (possibly with /ɴ/ intervening). However, sometimes in the ergative form, the tense voiced vowel after the ejective becomes modally voiced. In this case, the airstream mechanism changes from glottalic egressive (ejective) to pulmonic egressive (normal) e.g.

ráettúowlíeykuetu /ʁɛʔtʼoleiʔkɨtu/ - something self-limiting, absolutive

ráetuoluekuetu /ʁɛʔtolɨkɨtu/ something self-limiting, ergative

kíeycchíey /keiʔcʼeiʔ/ - a female name, absolutive

kíeychuekin /keiʔcɨkiɴ/ - a female name, ergative

 

Comitative Case

How this is formed also depends on the frontness and phonation of the final vowel:

 

Last Vowel of Abs. Form has Modal Voice

Last Vowel of Abs. Form is not a Back Vowel

In this case, take the absolutive form, raise /a/ to /ɛ/ and centralise any other front vowels e.g.

zivie /ziɥe/ - boat, absolutive

zive /ziɥɘ/ - boat, comitative

myaewntayn /mʲɛuɴtaiɴ/ - mountain, absolutive

myaewntaeyn /mʲɛuɴtɛiɴ/ - mountain, comitative

qagiriey /ʔagiʁei/ - agreement, absolutive

qagirey /ʔagiʁɘi/ - agreement, comitative

 

Last Vowel of Abs. Form is a Back Vowel

In this case, take the absolutive form, and suffix /pmu/ e.g.

ton /tɔɴ/- change (as in coins, money), absolutive

tonpmu /tɔɴpmu/ - change (as in coins, money), comitative

duoliiengun /doleːŋuɴ/ - dragon, absolutive

duoliiengunpmu /doleːŋuɴpmu/ - dragon, comitative

paehuown /pɛχouɴ/ - dust, absolutive

paehuownpmu /pɛχouɴpmu/ - dust, comitative

yuenpiluoy - /jɨɴpiloipmu/ - employee, absolutive

yuenpiluoypmu - /jɨɴpiloipmu/ - employee, comitative

 

Other Cases

If the last vowel of the absolutive form has tense or breathy voice, the comitative is formed differently. Here, it is formed by taking the ergative, deleting any final /ɴ/ or /ga/ that had been inserted as a suffix, and then suffixing /ʔu/ e.g.

sitùen /sitɨɴɦ/ - wound caused by a sting (e.g. a bee or a jellyfish), absolutive

suetin-gin /sɨtiɴgiɴ/ - wound caused by a sting (e.g. a bee or a jellyfish), ergative

suetin-giqu /sɨtiɴgiʔu/ - wound caused by a sting, comitative

tieyláae /teilɛʔː/ - shirt, absolutive

tieyláaesin /teilɛʔːsiɴ / - shirt, ergative

tieyláaesiqu /teilɛʔːsiʔu/ - shirt, comitative

píey /peiʔ/ - book, absolutive

píeykin /peiʔkiɴ/ - book, ergative

píeykiqu /peiʔkiʔu/ - book, comitative

kùe /kɨɦ/ - goods, absolutive

kùezin /kɨɦziɴ/ - goods, ergative

kùeziqu /kɨɦziʔu/ - goods, comitative

rè /ʁɘɦ/ - red object, absolutive

rèdun /ʁɘɦduɴ/ – red object, ergative

rèduqu /ʁɘɦduʔu/ – red object, comitative

kúow /kouʔ/ - cup, absolutive

kúowpin /kouʔpiɴ/ - cup, ergative

kúowpiqu /kouʔpiʔu/ - cup, comitative

píeylánkáe /peiʔlaɴʔkɛʔ/ - blanket, absolutive

píeylánkáetun /peiʔlaɴʔkɛʔtuɴ/ - blanket, comitative

píeylánkáetuqu /peiʔlaɴʔkɛʔtuʔu/ - blanket, ergative

wùerù /wɨɦʁuɦ/ - frog, absolutive

wùerùgiqu /wɨɦʁuɦgiɴ/ - frog, ergative

wùerùgin /wɨɦʁuɦgiʔu/ - frog, comitative

 

Pronominal Possession

Where English would use possessive pronouns (“my”, “your”), Antarctican uses possessive prefixes. The base forms of each are listed in the table below:

Prefix	Usage
myi- /mʲi/	1st person singular, 1st person exclusive plural
yiew- /jeu/	1st person inclusive plural
ti- /ti/	2nd person
wa- /wa/	3rd person, topicalised
si- /si/	3rd person, non-topicalised

So, in the absolutive case, “my clothes” or “our clothes” (not including you) would be myiyuuwíey /mʲijuːweiʔ/, “your clothes” would be tiyuuwíey /tijuːweiʔ/ etc.

 

Phonation spreading

However, with some nouns that have breathy or tense voice on their first vowel, the voice “spreads” back to the prefix, changing the modally voiced vowel in the base form to its tense voice or breathy voice equivalent (see the table before) e.g.

kánkúow /kaɴʔkouʔ/ - prisoner, absolutive

myíeykán-kúow /mʲeiʔkaɴʔkouʔ/ - my prisoner, absolutive (not *myikán-kúow)

tíeykán-kúow /teiʔkaɴʔkouʔ/ - your prisoner, absolutive (not *tikán-kúow)

pùelùe /pɨɦlɨɦ/ - bridge, absolutive

myùepùelùe /mʲɨɦpɨɦlɨɦ/ - my bridge, absolutive (not *myipùelùe)

tùepùelùe /tɨɦpɨɦlɨɦ/ - your bridge, absolutive (not *tipùelùe)

 

If, for any given word, phonation spreads onto one particular prefix, then it will spread onto any prefix that attaches to that word e.g. there are no words that take myíey- as their 1^st person (exclusive) possessive prefix, but ti- or tùe as their 2^nd person possessive prefix.

 

However, if, in the ergative form, the first vowel changes to no longer have breathy or tense voice (i.e. it now has modal voice), then modally voiced forms of the prefixes are always used when talking about possessing a noun in the ergative case e.g.

kánkúow /kaɴʔkouʔ/ - prisoner, absolutive

kan-gukin /kaɴgukiɴ/ - prisoner, ergative

myíeykán-kúow /mʲeiʔkaɴʔkouʔ/ - my prisoner, absolutive

myikan-gukin /mʲikaɴgukiɴ/ - my prisoner, ergative

pùelùe /pɨɦlɨɦ/- bridge, absolutive

bilidlin /bilidɮiɴ/ - bridge, ergative

myùepùelùe /mʲɨɦpɨɦlɨɦ/ - my bridge, absolutive

myibilidlin /mʲibilidɮiɴ/ - my bridge, ergative

 

However, with other nouns, phonation never spreads e.g.

támá /taʔmaʔ/ - victim of a scam / swindle, absolutive

myuetámá /mʲɨtaʔmaʔ/ - my victim of a scam / swindle, absolutive (not *myíeytámá)

 

Prediction

If a noun begins with a glottal stop (which does not count as either voiced or voiceless), then phonation never spreads from it onto a prefix e.g.

qámáelái /ʔaʔmɛʔlaiʔ/ - prey, absolutive

myiqámáelái /mʲiʔaʔmɛʔlaiʔ/ - my prey, absolutive (never *myíeyqámáelái)

qòepèn /ʔɜɦpɘɴɦ/ - one who is / was / is to be avenged, absolutive

myiqòepèn /mʲiʔɜɦpɘɴɦ/ - my one who is / was / is to be avenged, absolutive (never *myùeqòepèn)

 

In other cases, whether or not the phonation spreads onto the prefix cannot always be predicted. The only time when it is possible to do so is for absolutive nouns, if, in the ergative form, the first vowel loses its breathy or tense phonation and becomes modally voiced. In this case, the rules are given below:

 

Sonorant Initial Stem

If the absolutive stem begins with a sonorant (nasal or approximant), and that sonorant becomes devoiced when the vowel after it acquires modal voice in the ergative form, then the phonation never spreads in the absolutive form upon taking a prefix e.g.

mòoe /mɜɦː/ - betel nut, absolutive

pmaagin /pmaːgiɴ/ - betel nut, ergative

myimòoe /mʲimɜɦː/ - my betel nut, absolutive

Otherwise, phonation always spreads if the word begins with a sonorant e.g.

máláeyáa /maʔlɛʔjaʔː/ - manners, absolutive

malieyaaetun /malejɛːtuɴ/ - manners, ergative

myíeymáláeyáa /mʲeiʔmaʔlɛʔjaʔː/ - my manners, absolutive

 

Stem starts with /s/

If the absolutive stem begins with /s/, then tense voice never spreads when it takes a prefix e.g.

síeykúow /seiʔkouʔ/ - a small amount, absolutive

myisíeykúow /mʲiseiʔkouʔ/ - my small amount, absolutive (never *myíeysíeykúow)

sásaechin /saʔsɛciɴ/ - stab wound, absolutive

myisásaechin /mʲisaʔsaɛciɴ/ - my stab wound, absolutive

 

In the case of absolutive nouns with breathy voice on the first vowel, if, in the ergative form, the initial /s/ becomes voiced /z/, then the breathy voice spreads when the absolutive form takes a prefix e.g.

sòemùe /sɜɦmɨɦ/ - (major) wife, absolutive

zamibyin /zamibʲiɴ/ - (major) wife, ergative

myùesòemùe /mʲɨɦsɜɦmɨɦ/ - my (major) wife, absolutive (not *myisòemùe)

But if, in the ergative form, the first vowel acquires modal voice but the initial consonant stays as voiceless /s/, then in the absolutive form, the breathy voice never spreads e.g.

sòepyùe /sɜɦpʲɨɦ/ - speech (as in words, not a formal speech), absolutive

sabyishin /sabʲiçiɴ/ - speech (as in words, not a formal speech), ergative

myisòepyùe /mʲisɜɦpʲɨɦ/ - my speech (as in words, not a formal speech), absolutive

 

Other stems

If the absolutive stem begins with another obstruent (oral stop, affricate or fricative), and that obstruent stays voiceless even when followed by a modally voiced vowel (in the ergative form), then tense phonation spreads when the absolutive form takes a prefix e.g.

kánkúow /kaɴʔkouʔ/ - prisoner, absolutive

kan-gukin /kaɴgukiɴ/ - prisoner, ergative

myíeykán-kúow /mʲeiʔkaɴʔkouʔ/ - my prisoner, absolutive

táen /tɛɴʔ/ - weather, absolutive

tenchin /tɘɴciɴ/ - weather, ergative

myíeytáen /mʲeiʔtɛɴʔ/ - my weather, absolutive

But if the obstruent becomes voiced, then tense phonation cannot spread e.g.

támá /taʔmaʔ/ - victim of a scam / swindle, absolutive

damaesin /damaɛsiɴ/ - victim of a scam / swindle, ergative

myitámá /mʲitaʔmaʔ/ - my victim of a scam / swindle, absolutive

 

And vice versa, if the obstruent becomes voiced in the ergative form, then tense phonation is blocked from spreading but breathy phonation spreads e.g.

pùelùe /pɨɦlɨɦ/ - bridge, absolutive

bilidlin /bilidɮiɴ/ - bridge, ergative

myùepùelùe /mʲɨɦpɨɦlɨɦ/ - my bridge, absolutive

pòey /pɜiɦ/- baby, absolutive

baybyin /baibʲiɴ/ - baby, ergative

myùepòey /mʲɨɦpɜiɦ/ - my baby, absolutive

 

And if the obstruent stays voiceless in the ergative form, then breathy voice does not spread e.g.

pòey /pɜiɦ/ - page, absolutive

paydlin /paidɮiɴ/ - page, ergative

myipòey /mʲipɜiɦ/ - my page, absolutive

 

Irregular Nouns

A handful of nouns are irregular, taking special forms whenever they are prefixed. These can be divided up into a few categories.

 

First Consonant Becomes /ŋ/

If the initial consonant of a noun is /k/ or /g/, often it changes to /ŋ/ when the noun takes a prefix. e.g.

gali /gali/ - hole, absolutive

myingali /mʲiŋali/ - my hole, absolutive

 

In such a case, if the first vowel has tense or breathy voice, then it always spreads onto the prefix e.g.

kùe /kɨɦ/ - goods, absolutive

myùengùe /mʲɨɦŋɨɦ/ - my goods, absolutive

kíeyváy /keiʔɥaiʔ/ - tongue, absolutive

myíeyngíeyváy /mʲeiʔŋeiʔɥaiʔ/ - my tongue, absolutive

 

Syllable Insertion

For a few nouns, an additional syllable is inserted between the prefix and the stem. The consonant is unpredictable and depends on the noun, but the vowel is always modally voiced /i/ and is never followed by /ɴ /. For any given noun, this will be the same regardless of the prefix e.g.

bun /buɴ/ - pants, absolutive

myizibun /mʲizibuɴ/ - my pants, absolutive

tizibun /tizibuɴ/ - your pants, absolutive

 

Tense voice is always blocked from spreading in such cases e.g.

tlíeynáe /tɬeiʔnɛʔ/ - business, absolutive

myibyitlíeynáe /mʲibʲitɬeiʔnɛʔ/ - my business, absolutive

 

But breathy voice will always spread onto both the prefix and the inserted syllable e.g.

pùey /pɨiɦ/ - section, absolutive

myùetlùepùey /mʲɨɦtɬɨɦpɨiɦ/ - section, absolutive

 

Syllable Insertion and Nasalisation

Some words undergo both of the above changes when they take a prefix e.g.

gay /gai/ - gift, absolutive

myibyingay /mʲibʲiŋai/ - my gift, absolutive

 

If the initial syllable of the unprefixed word has tense voice, then this spreads onto the inserted syllable, but not onto the actual prefix e.g.

kúow /kouʔ/ – bigot, absolutive

myipyíeyngúow /mʲipʲeiʔŋouʔ/ – my bigot, absolutive (not *myíeypyíeykúow)

 

If the initial syllable of the unprefixed noun has breathy voice, then this spreads on to both the inserted syllable and the prefix:

kùeròe /kɨɦʁɜɦ/- grudge, absolutive

myùepyùengùeròe /mʲɨɦpʲɨɦŋɨɦʁɜɦ/ - my grudge, absolutive

 

First Syllable Deleted

A considerable number of nouns lose their initial syllable when they take a prefix. In such cases, the prefix always has tense voice e.g.

puekaay /pɨkaːi/ - star, absolutive

myíeykaay /mʲeiʔkaːi/ - my star, absolutive

fuekirami /fɨkiʁami/ - swelling, absolutive

myíeykirami /mʲeiʔfikiʁami/ - my swelling, absolutive

 

The only words that undergo this process are ones that begin with a voiceless obstruent (oral stop, fricative or affricate), immediately followed by modally voiced /ɨ/ or /i/, immediately followed by a second voiceless obstruent. Many, but by no means all of these words originated in English, where they began with clusters of /s/ + voiceless consonant. The proto language did not like these clusters and so inserted a vowel to break them up. However when they took a prefix this insertion was no longer necessary. A later sound change put tense voice on all syllables which ended in a voiceless consonant, and deleted that consonant e.g.

sitùen /sitɨɴɦ/ - wound caused by a sting (e.g. a bee or a jellyfish), absolutive

myíeytùen /mʲeiʔtɨɴɦ/ - my wound caused by a sting (e.g. a bee or a jellyfish), absolutive

suekiraeypi /sɨkiʁɛipi/ - a scrape, absolutive

myíeykiraypi /mʲeiʔkiʁaipi/ - my scrape, absolutive

 

Syllable Deletion with Ejectivisation

A similar but separate sound change applies to a few words, all of which have íey as their first vowel, with the second vowel having tense voice. Like before, the first vowel is deleted and the prefix takes tense voice. However, the consonant immediately after the prefix changes to an ejective e.g.

síeypyíey /seiʔpʲeiʔ/ - spit, absolutive

míeyppyíey /mʲeiʔpʼʲeiʔ/ - my spit, absolutive

líeyká /leiʔkaʔ/ - square, absolutive

myíeykká /mʲeiʔkʼaʔ/ - my square, absolutive

 

If the second syllable begins with /l/, then this always converts to /tsʼ/ rather than /tɬʼ/ e.g.

chilúo /cilouʔ/ - banner, absolutive

myíeyttsúow /mʲeiʔtsʼouʔ/ - my banner, absolutive

 

Other irregular nouns

There are other nouns that behave in other ways to those described above when they take a prefix. What happens needs to be remembered for each noun, however note that the prefixes for irregular nouns always take tense voice e.g.

kíey /keiʔ/ - mouth, absolutive

myíeytli /mʲeiʔtɬi/ - my mouth, absolutive

 

Possession by a Noun

Antarctican distinguishes alienable and inalienable possession. Both are marked with prefixes on the possessed noun. These are wiey- for alienable possession and nu- for inalienable possession (the possessor always takes the absolutive case):

kùeròetùu /kɨɦʁɜɦtuɦː/ - bone, absolutive

yini /jini/ - dog, absolutive

wieykùeròetùu yini /weikɨɦʁɜɦtuɦː jini/ - the dog’s bone, absolutive, alienable (i.e. the one that it eats, buries etc.)

nukùeròetùu yini /nukɨɦʁɜɦtuɦː jini/ - the dog’s bone, absolutive, inalienable (i.e. the one that is a part of it)

 

Where English would compound nouns together, or use one to modify another. Antarctican uses the alienable possessive construction e.g.

qaaehaan /ʔɛːχaːɴ/ - food, absolutive

wieyqaaehaan yini /weiʔɛːχaːɴ jini/ - dog food, absolutive

 

Whatever voice spreads from a noun onto a pronominal possessive prefix, also always does so to an alienable or inalienable possessive prefix e.g.

kánkúow /kaɴʔkouʔ/ - prisoner, absolutive

myíeykánkúow /mʲeiʔkaɴʔkouʔ/ - my prisoner, absolutive

wáeykán-kúow /wɛiʔkaɴʔkouʔ/ - prisoner, absolutive, alienable possessive

pùelùe /pɨɦlɨɦ/ - bridge, absolutive

myùepùelùe /mʲɨɦpɨɦlɨɦ/ - my bridge, absolutive

wèypùelùe /wɘiɦpɨɦlɨɦ/ - bridge, absolutive, alienable possessive

mòoe /mɜɦː/ - betel nut, absolutive

myimòoe /mʲimɜɦː/ - my betel nut, absolutive

wieymòoe /weimɜɦː/ - betel nut, absolutive, alienable possessive

pmaagin /pmaːgiɴ/ - betel nut, ergative

myuepmaagin /mʲɨpmaːgiɴ/ - my betel nut, ergative

weypmaagin /wɘipmaːgiɴ/ - betel nut, ergative, alienable possessive

 

Reciprocal Possession

In Antarctican, there is no singular vs. plural marking. However, some nouns that imply a relationship (e.g. friend, brother, enemy, coworker), have special forms to indicate a pair or group of people / things where that relationship is reciprocal e.g. where English would say “They are friends / brothers / enemies / coworkers (of each other)”.

These forms are generally constructed by reduplicating the first syllable of the noun, in the same “slot” where possession would be marked e.g.

buraza /buʁaza/ - brother, absolutive

buburaza /bubuʁaza/ - brothers (of each other), absolutive

yieruoy /jeʁoi/ - ally, absolutive

yieyieruoy /jeʁoi/ - allies (of each other), absolutive

 

However, the inserted syllable cannot have a long vowel, a diphthong, or end in /ɴ/. If it would do so then it is truncated e.g.

duuolaa /doːlaː/ - coworker, absolutive

duoduuolaa /dodoːlaː/ - coworkers (of each other), absolutive

nayba /naiba/ - neighbour, absolutive

nanayba /nanaiba/ - neighbours (of each other), absolutive

kúowntátu /kouɴʔtaʔtu/ – acquaintance, absolutive

kúokúowntátu /koʔkouɴʔtaʔtu/– acquaintances (of each other), absolutive

 

The same rules about spreading and non-spreading of phonation onto possessive prefixes, and the resultant vowel changes, also apply to the possessive prefixes e.g.

sátuozii /saʔtoziː/ – enemy, absolutive

myisátuozii /mʲisaʔtoziː/ – my enemy, absolutive

sasátuozii /sasaʔtoziː/ - enemies (of each other), absolutive

rùy /ʁuiɦ/- rival, absolutive

myùerùy /mʲɨɦʁuiɦ/ - my rival, absolutive

rùrùy /ʁuɦʁuiɦ/ - rivals (of each other), absolutive

firiendun /fiʁeɴduɴ/ – friend, ergative

myuefiriendun /mʲɨfiʁeɴduɴ/ – my friend, ergative

fuefiriendun /fɨfiʁeɴduɴ/ – friends (of each other), ergative

 

A few nouns have irregular reciprocal possessive forms e.g.

wùerèn /wɨɦʀɘɴɦ/ - friend, absolutive

fiwùerèn /fiwɨɦʀɘɴɦ/ - friends (of each other), absolutive

These arise from when the first vowel has breathy or tense voice, but the first consonant is underlyingly a voiced stop, a prestopped nasal, or a fricative other than /s/. These can only occur before modally voiced vowels, and are thus modified before the vowel with breathy or tense voice. But if the voicing is blocked from spreading onto the prefix, then the underlying consonant will surface there.

 

Verb / Adjective Morphology

There is no distinction between adjectives and verbs in Antarctican. Instead of adjectives like “good”, “bad”, “strong”, “weak”, there are verbs meaning “to be good”, “to be bad” etc.

Verb Bases

Verbs have a root form, from which various other base forms are derived. The two most important of these base forms are the mirative base and the noun-focus base. Below is a list of verb roots with their corresponding mirative and noun-focus bases:

 

duolieegi /doleːgi/ - to drag, intransitive, root

duoliieju /doleːɟu/ - to drag, intransitive, mirative

tùlèezi /tuɦlɘɦːzi/ – to drag, intransitive, noun-focus

 

rèdu /ʁɘdu/ - red, root

rèdlu /ʁɘɦdɮu/ - red, mirative

rèdù /ʁɘɦduɦ/ - red, noun-focus

 

suekiraeypyi /sɨkiʁɛipʲi/ - to become scraped, root

suekiraeypyu /sɨkiʁɛipʲu/ - to become scraped, mirative

suekiraeypùe /sɨkiʁɛipɨɦ/ - to become scraped, noun-focus

 

Mirative Base

This is used when the action being described is something the listener has not previously heard about ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirative ). It is also used to put focus on the verb ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focus_(linguistics) ) How it is formed from the root is regular, but the rules are somewhat complex and depend on whether the last syllable of the base begins with a soft or hard consonant:

Final Consonant is Soft

If the final consonant (not including any placeless nasal /ɴ/) is soft, infix -iq-/iʔ/ immediately after it e.g.

 

hlo /ɬɔ/ - to perform, root

hliqo /ɬiʔɔ/ - to perform, mirative

 

However, many vowels shift when this happens e.g.

 

qíeypyii /ʔeiʔpʲiː/ - to spit out, root

qíeypyiqiiey /ʔeiʔpʲiʔeːi/ - to spit out, mirative

 

qinyieliie /ʔiɲeleː/ - to pierce, root

qinyieliqaa /ʔiɲeliʔaː/ - to pierce, mirative

 

kivieluun /kiɥeluːɴ/ - to die, root

kivieliqiewn /kiɥeliʔeuɴ/ - to die, mirative

 

These vowel shifts are all in a roughly anti-clockwise directions around the vowel space. The shifts are listed below:

i /i/ -> ie /e/

ii /iː/ -> iey /ei/

ie /e/ -> a /a/

iie /eː/ -> aa /aː/

a /a/ -> u /u/

aa /aː/ -> uu /uː/

u /u/ -> i /i/

uu /uː/ -> iew /eu/

iey /ei/ -> ay /ai/

iiey /eːi/ -> aay /aːi/

ay /ai/ -> uy /ui/

aay /aːi/ -> uuy /uːi/

uy /ui/ -> ii /iː/

iew /eu/ -> aw /au/

iiew /eːu/ -> aaw /aːu/

aw /au/ -> uow /ou/

aaw /aːu/ -> uuow /oːu/

 

Final Consonant is Hard

If the final consonant (not including any placeless nasal /ɴ/) is hard, change it to be soft e.g.

 

yuentuoro /jɨɴtoʁɔ/ - to introduce oneself, root

yuentuolo /jɨɴtolɔ/ - to introduce oneself, mirative

 

However, many vowels shift when this happens e.g.

 

nangariew /naŋaʁeu/ - to flow, root

nangaluu /naŋaluː/ - to flow, mirative

 

fuekirami /fɨkiʁami/ - to swell up, root

fuekiramyu /fɨkiʁamʲu/ - to swell up, mirative

 

qimuepu /ʔimɨpu/ - to sit down, root

qimuepya /ʔimɨpʲa/ - to sit down, mirative

 

These vowel changes are often the reverse of what happens if the final vowel of the stem is a soft consonant. The vowel shifts are all roughly clockwise around the vowel space, and are listed below:

i /i/ -> u /u/

u /u/ -> a /a/

uu /uː/ -> aa /aː/

a /a/ -> ie /e/

aa /aː/ -> iie /eː/

ie /e/ -> i /i/ * For some words only, see below.

iie /eː/ -> ii /iː/

ii /iː/ -> uy /ui/

uy /ui/ -> ay /ai/

uuy /uːi/ -> aay /aːi/

ay /ai/ -> iey /ei/

aay /aːi/ -> iiey /eːi/

iey /ei/ -> ii /iː/

iiey /eːi/ -> ii /iː/

uow /ou/ -> aw /au/

uuow /oːu/ -> aaw /aːu/

aw /au/ -> iew /eu/

aaw /aːu/ -> iiew /eːu/

iew /eu/ -> uu /uː/

iiew /eːu/ -> uu /uː/

 

Vowel Phonation Changes

A few verb stems that end in a hard consonant and ie /e/ behave differently. If the consonant is an obstruent and the vowel is short, has modal voice and not followed by -n /ɴ/, then most of the time the syllable is deleted and voice put onto the preceding syllable(s). This voice is breathy if the deleted obstruent was voiced, and tense if it was voiceless e.g.

 

nuetuozie /nɨtoze/ - to be fed on, root

nitù /nituɦ/ - to be fed on, mirative

sibetie /sibɘte/ - to all be present, root

sipáe /sipɛʔ/ - to all be present, mirative (remember that Antarctican does not like voiced obstruents before vowels with breathy voice).

 

The breathy voice “spreads” backwards through the word, changing vowel phonation with it, until it hits a voiceless obstruent or prestopped nasal e.g.

 

maduozie /madoze/ - to give birth, intransitive, root

mòetù /mɜɦtuɦ/ - to give birth, intransitive, mirative

 

nyiibie /ɲiːbe/ - to snow, root

nyùue /ɲɨːɦ/ - to snow, mirative

 

san-gizie /saɴgize/ - to bleed, root

sòen-gùe /sɜɦɴgɨɦ/ - to bleed, mirative

 

Tense voice "spreads" backwards in a similar way, except that it passes through voiceless stops and not through voiced stops, fricatives, or prestopped nasals e.g.

daraekie /daʁɛke/ - to cover, root

tárá /taʔʁaʔ/ - to cover, mirative

 

Non-Changing Verbs

However, for a few words, this process of syllable deletion and vowel phonation change did not happen. doesn’t happen e.g.

kazie /kaze/ - to be windy, root

kadli /kadɮi/ - to be windy, mirative

busuekie /busɨke/ - to engage in tree farming, root

busuechi /busɨci/ - to engage in tree farming, mirative

To understand this seemingly random phenomenon, we need to go back to the ancestor language, which had a downstep / pitch accent system similar to Japanese http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_pitch_accent. In this language, two sound changes occurred.

The first changed to [ɦ] (the source of breathy voice) all word final sequences of Voiced Soft Obstruent + Low Pitched /i/. This only affected words with pitch accent on the non-final syllable i.e. low tone words from tone languages, and words that came into the language from stress-accent languages like English, Indonesian and Spanish as long as they did not have stress on the final syllable. Words without accent (like high tone words from tone languages, “flat” words from Japanese) as well as words with accent on the final syllable were unaffected.

The second changed to [ʔ] (the source of tense voice), all word final sequences of Voiced Soft Obstruent + High Pitched /i/. This affected words without pitch accent, and words with pitch accent on the final syllable (i.e. words that would not have been affected by the first change).

When Antarctican lost its pitch accent, the change became unpredictable.

 

Noun-Focus Base

This is used when the listener already knows about the action being described. It puts focus on the (non-topicalised) noun(s) in the sentence.

 

Regular Formation

The default way of forming it is by putting breathy voice on the final vowel of the base, and changing the vowel quality in the same way as normal e.g.

 

qíeypyii /ʔeiʔpʲiː/ - to spit out, root

qíeypyùey /ʔeiʔpʲɨiɦ/ - to spit out, noun-focus

 

This breathy voice “spreads” to the left until it hits a voiceless obstruent or a prestopped nasal e.g.

 

guowpieyiie /goupejeː/ - to suffer a setback, root

guowpèyèe /goupɘɦjɘːɦ/ - to suffer a setback, noun-focus

 

qinyieliie /ʔiɲeleː/ - to pierce, root

qùenyèlèe /ʔɨɦɲɘɦleː/ - to pierce, noun-focus

 

kivieluun /kiɥeluːɴ/ - to die, root

kùevèlùun /kɨɦɥɘɦlyːɴ/ - to die, noun-focus

 

Remember that Antarctican only permits voiced obstruents, prestopped nasals, and fricatives other than /s/, before vowels with modal voice. So if this vowel phonation change would produce such a forbidden sequence, then the consonant changes e.g.

 

hlo /ɬɔ/ - to perform, root

lò /lɔɦ/ - to perform, noun-focus

 

These changes do not affect phonation spreading though, as we can see from:

 

maduozie /madoze/ - to give birth, intransitive, root

mòetùsè /mɜɦtuɦsɘɦ/ - to give birth, intransitive, noun-focus

 

nyiibie /ɲiːbe/ - to snow, root

nyùeypè /ɲɨipɘɦ/ - to snow, noun-focus

 

san-gizie /saɴgize/ - to bleed, root

sòen-kùesè /sɜɴɦkɨɦsɜɦ/ - to bleed, noun-focus

 

When a consonant such as a voiceless obstruent or prestopped nasal blocks the phonation spreading, if the vowel preceding it is /ɨ/ or /ɘ/ with modal voice (or a diphthong beginning with one), then fronts to /i/ or /e/ respectively e.g.

 

yuentuoro /jɨɴtoʁɔ/ - to introduce oneself, root

yintùrò /jiɴtuɦʁɔɦ/ - to introduce oneself, noun-focus

 

qimuepu /ʔimɨpu/ - to sit down, root

qimipù / ʔimipuɦ/ - to sit down, noun-focus

 

nuetuozie /nitoze/ - to be fed on, root

nitùsè /nituɦsɘɦ/ - to be fed on, noun-focus

 

pensaa /pɘɴsaː/ - to be lost in deep thought, root

piensòoe /peɴsɜːɦ/ - to be lost in deep thought, noun-focus

 

If the vowel is /ɛ/, or a diphthong starting with /ɛ/, before the blocking consonant, then it lowers to /a/ e.g.

suekiraeypi /sɨkiʁɛipi/ - to become scraped, root

suekiraypùe /sɨkiʁaipɨɦ/ - to become scraped, noun-focus

 

Final Syllable Replacement

In addition to this, some verbs lose their final syllable, which is replaced with –zi e.g.

 

duolieegi /doleːgi/ - to drag, intransitive, root

tùlèezi /tuɦlɘːɦzi/ – to drag, intransitive, noun-focus (-gùe has been replaced with -zi).

 

bilidli /bilidɮi/ - to make it across, root

pùelùezi /pɨɦlɨɦzi/ - to make it across, noun-focus

 

This process happens under well defined conditions. Both of the last two syllables of the verb root must have modal voice. Also the final vowel must be a short /i/ and not followed by a nasal vowel. The consonant immediately before this must be a voiced obstruent. And, in the proto-language, the verb root must have had pitch-accent on any syllable other than the final one.

 

Formation by Suffixation Only

However, verbs that did not have pitch accent in the proto-language form the noun-focus stem differently, adding the suffix –zi but otherwise not deleting or changing any syllables e.g.

 

kazie /kaze/ - to be windy, root

kaziezi /kazezi/ - to be windy, noun-focus

 

nangariew /naŋaʁeu/ - to flow, root

nangariewzi /naŋaʁeuzi/ - to flow, noun-focus

 

 

fuekirami /fɨkiʁami/ - to swell up, base

fuekiramizi /fɨkiʁamizi/ - to swell up, noun-focus

 

shinari /çinaʁi/ - to twist, intransitive, base

shinarizi /çinaʁizi/ - to twist, intransitive, noun-focus

 

Restrictive / Non-Restrictive Modifiers

When verbs / adjectives are used as modifiers, the mirative form is used when the modifier is non restrictive ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restrictiveness ), and the normal form is used when the modifier is restrictive e.g. from the work tieyláae /teilɛʔː/ - shirt, we can say:

tieyláae rèdlu /teilɛːʔ ʁɘɦdɮu/ – a red shirt (non-restrictive)

tieyláae rèdù /teilɛːʔ ʁɘɦduɦ/ – the red shirt (restrictive)

Verbalisation

Antarctican has a very productive process for to convert a noun N into an intransitive verb root meaning “to become N” / “to be N / to do what N does”. How this is done depends on the voicing of the last vowel of the absolutive form of the noun

 

Last Vowel of Abs. Form has Modal Voice

In this case, the verb root is identical to the absolutive form e.g.

 

zivie /ziɥe/ - boat, absolutive

zivie /ziɥe/ - to be a boat, verb root

 

buraza /buʁaza/ - brother, absolutive

buraza /buʁaza/ - to be a brother, verb root

 

yuenpiluy - /jɨɴpilui/ - employee, absolutive

yuenpiluy - /jɨɴpilui/ - employee, verb root

 

Other Cases

However, if the final vowel of the absolutive form has tense or breathy voice, the verb stem is formed from the ergative form of the noun, minus any final –n e.g.

 

qùylèn /ʔuiɦlɜɴɦ/ - island, absolutive

quoyliendun /ʔoileɴdun/ - island, ergative

quoyliendu /ʔoileɴdu/ - to be an island, verb root

 

píey /peiʔ/ - book, absolutive

píeykin /peiʔkiɴ/ - book, ergative

píeyki /peiʔki/ - to be a book, verb root

 

támá /taʔmaʔ/ - victim of a scam / swindle, absolutive

damaesin /damɛsiɴ/ - victim of a scam / swindle, ergative

damaesi /damɛsi/ - to be a victim of a scam / swindle, verb root

 

mòoe /mɜɦː/ - betel nut, absolutive

pmaagin /pmaːgiɴ/ - betel nut, ergative

pmaagi /pmaːgi/ - to be a betel nut, verb stem

 

pùelùe /pɨɦlɨɦ/ - bridge, absolutive

bilidlin /bilidɮiɴ/ - bridge, ergative

bilidli /bilidɮi/ - to be bridge / to make it across, verb stem

 

pòey /pɜiɦ/ - baby, absolutive

baybyin /baibʲiɴ/ - baby, ergative

baybyi /baibʲi/ - to be a baby, verb stem

 

pòey /pɜiɦ/ - page, absolutive

paydlin /paidɮiɴ/ - page, ergative

paydli /paidɮi/ - to be a page, verb stem

Transitivity

 

Whether a verb is transitive or intransitive (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transitivity_(grammar)) is very important in Antarctican syntax. Unlike English, where a verb such as "drag" can either be used transitively (as in the sentence "He was dragging his pants along the ground"), or intransitively (as in the sentence "His pants were dragging along the ground"), Antarctican uses distinct verb roots for each case e.g.

 

duoliieju /doleːɟu/ - to drag, intransitive, mirative (as in "his pants were dragging along the ground")

dliieju /dɮeːɟu/ - to drag, transitive, mirative (as in "he was dragging his pants along the ground")

 

tùlèezi /tuɦlɘɦːzi/ – to drag, intransitive, noun-focus

tlèezi /tɬɘɦːzi/– to drag, transitive, noun-focus

 

Very commonly, transitive roots are formed from intransitive roots by deletion of the first vowel and the second consonant. And if, out of the first and second consonants, one was soft and the other hard, the first consonant is changed to agree in hardness / softness with the second (deleted) consonant e.g.

 

duolieegi /doleːgi/ - to drag, intransitive, root

dlieegi /dɮeːgi/ - to drag, intransitive, root

 

shinari /çinaʁi/ - to twist, intransitive, root

hari /χaʁi/ - to twist, transitive, root

 

The transitive roots are then inflected for mirativity vs. noun-focus etc. e.g.

 

shinari /çinaʁi/ - to twist, intransitive, root

shinali /çinali/ - to twist, intransitive, mirative

yùenòerùe /jɨɦnɜɦʁɨɦ/ - to twist, intransitive, noun-focus

 

hari /χaʁi/ - to twist, transitive, root

hali /χali/ - to twist, transitive, mirative

ròerùe /ʁɜɦʁɨɦ/ - to twist, transitive, noun-focus

Mood

While tense and aspect play very minor roles in Antarctican, the language has a rich set of grammatical moods, formed by prefixes on the verb. It is conflated with evidentiality, but totally separated from mirativity.

 

Presumptive Mood

This is used to talk about hypothetical and counterfactual events, that do not / have not / will not ever take place in the speaker's view. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypothetical_mood or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irrealis_mood#Presumptive. It is formed by prefixing du- to the verb e.g.

 

qíeypyiqiiey /ʔeiʔpʲiʔeːi/ - to spit out, mirative

duqíeypyiqiiey /duʔeiʔpʲiʔeːi/ - to spit out, mirative, presumptive

 

qinyieliqaa /ʔiɲeliʔaː/ - to pierce, mirative

duqinyieliqaa /duʔiɲeliʔaː/ - to pierce, mirative, presumptive

 

All the same processes that can happen to prefixes on nouns (e.g. phonation spreading), can also happen to prefixes on verbs e.g.

 

rèdlu /ʁɘɦdɮu/ - red, mirative

tùrèdlu /tu;ɦʁɘɦdɮu/ - red, mirative, presumptive

 

Furthermore, if a verb has been derived from a noun, then all prefixes that attach to it undergo the exact same processes that prefixes attached to that noun would e.g.

 

pùelùe /pɨɦlɨɦ/ - bridge, absolutive

myùepùelùe /mʲɨɦpɨɦlɨɦ/ - my bridge, absolutive (breathy voice spreads)

bilidli /bilidɮi/ - to be bridge / to make it across, verb root

pùelùezi /pɨɦlɨɦzi/ - to make it across, noun-focus

tùpùelùezi /tuɦpɨɦlɨɦzi/ - to make it across, noun-focus, presumptive(breathy voice spreads again)

 

wùerù ./wɨɦʁuɦ/ - frog, absolutive

myiwùerù ./mʲiwɨɦʁuɦ/ - frog, absolutive (breathy voice spreading is blocked)

wùerùgin /wɨɦʁuɦgiɴ/ - frog, ergative

wùerùgi /wɨɦʁuɦgi/ - to be a frog, root

wùerùji /wɨɦʁuɦɟi/ - to be a frog, mirative

duwùerùji /duwɨɦʁuɦɟi/ - to be a frog, mirative, presumptive(breathy voice spreading is blocked again)

wùerùgùe /wɨɦʁɨɦgɨɦ/ - to be a frog, noun focus

duwùerùgùe /duwɨɦʁɨɦgɨɦ/ - to be a frog, noun focus, presumptive (breathy voice spreading is blocked again)

 

suekiraeypi /sɨkiʁɛipi/ - a scrape, absolutive

myíeykiraypi /mʲeiʔkiʁaipi/ - my scrape, absolutive (the first syllable is deleted and the prefix takes tense voice)

suekiraeypi /sɨkiʁɛipi/ - to become scraped, root

suekiraeypyu /sɨkiʁɛipʲu/ - to become scraped, mirative

túowkiraeypyu /touʔkiʁɛipʲu/ - to become scraped, mirative, presumptive (the first syllable is deleted and the prefix takes tense voice)

suekiraypùe /waʔkiʁaipɨɦ/ - to become scraped, noun-focus

túowkiraypùe / touʔkiʁaipɨɦ/ - to become scraped, noun-focus, presumptive(the first syllable is deleted and the prefix takes tense voice)

 

gali /gali/ - hole, absolutive

myingali /mʲiŋali/ - my hole, absolutive (initial consonant changes to /ŋ/)

gali /gali/ - to be a hole, verb root

galiqi /galiʔi/ - to be a hole, mirative

duongaliqi /doŋaliʔi/ - to be a hole, mirative, presumptive (initial consonant changes to /ŋ/ again)

kòelùe /kɜɦlɨɦ/ - to be a hole, noun-focus

tùngòelùe /tuɦŋɜɦlɨɦ/ - to be a hole, noun-focus, presumptive(initial consonant changes to /ŋ/ again)

 

bun /buɴ/ - pants, absolutive

myizibun /mʲizibuɴ/ - my pants, absolutive (insertion of -zi-)

bun /buɴ/ - to be pants, root

byan /bʲaɴ/ - to be pants, mirative

duozibyan /dozibʲaɴ/ - to be pants, mirative, presumptive(insertion of -zi- again)

pùn /puɴɦ/ - to be pants, noun-focus

tùsùepùn /tuɦsɨɦpuɴɦ/ - to be pants, noun-focus, presumptive(insertion of -zi- again, which changes to -sùe- due to taking on breathy voice)

 

síeypyíey /seiʔpʲeiʔ/ - spit, absolutive

míeyppyíey /mʲeiʔpʼʲeiʔ/ - my spit, absolutive (loss of initial syllable and ejectivisation of /p/)

síeypyíeytuɴ /seiʔpʲeiʔtuɴ/ - spit, ergative

míeyppyíeytun /mʲeiʔpʼʲeiʔtuɴ/ - my spit, ergative (loss of initial syllable and ejectivisation of /p/)

síeypyíeytu /seiʔpʲeiʔtu/ - to be spit, root

síeypyíeytla /seiʔpʲeiʔtɬa/ - to be spit, mirative

túowppyíeytla /touʔpʼʲeiʔtɬa/ - to be spit, mirative, presumptive(loss of initial syllable and ejectivisation of /p/)

síeypyíeytù /seiʔpʲeiʔtuɦ/ - to be spit, noun-focus

túowppyíeytù /touʔpʼʲeiʔtuɦ/ - to be spit, noun-focus, presumptive(loss of initial syllable and ejectivisation of /p/)

 

Conditional Mood

This is used for events that could, in the speaker’s mind, happen / have happened / will happen, but as long as some other event happens. The action described by the verb in the conditional mood must be dependent on something else (which may or may not be explicitly given in the sentence). Unlike the presumptive mood, the speaker must believe that the event being described is at least theoretically possible. It is formed by the prefix go- e.g.

 

qíeypyiqiiey /ʔeiʔpʲiʔeːi/ - to spit out, mirative

goqíeypyiqiiey /gɔʔeiʔpʲiʔeːi/ - to spit out, mirative, conditional

 

qinyieliqaa /ʔiɲeliʔaː/ - to pierce, mirative

goqinyieliqaa /gɔʔiɲeliʔaː/ - to pierce, mirative, conditional

 

It undergoes the exact same processes as the prefix for presumptive mood e.g.

 

rèdlu /ʁɘɦdɮu/ - red, mirative

tùrèdlu /tuɦʁɘɦdɮu/ - red, mirative, presumptive

kùorèdlu /koɦʁɘɦdɮu/ - red, mirative, conditional (phonation spreads in exactly the same way)

 

pùelùe /pɨɦlɨɦ/ - bridge, absolutive

myùepùelùe /mʲɨɦpɨɦlɨɦ/ - my bridge, absolutive (breathy voice spreads)

bilidli /bilidɮi/ - to be a bridge / to make it across, verb root

pùelùezi /pɨɦlɨɦzi/ - to make it across, noun-focus

tùpùelùezi /tuɦpɨɦlɨɦzi/ - to make it across, noun-focus, presumptive (breathy voice spreads again)

kùopùelùezi /koɦpɨɦlɨɦzi/ - to make it across, noun-focus, conditional (breathy voice spreads yet again)

 

wùerù ./wɨɦʁuɦ/ - frog, absolutive

myiwùerù ./mʲiwɨɦʁuɦ/ - frog, absolutive (breathy voice spreading is blocked)

wùerùgin /wɨɦʁuɦgiɴ/ - frog, ergative

wùerùgi /wɨɦʁuɦgi/ - to be a frog, root

wùerùji /wɨɦʁuɦɟi/ - to be a frog, mirative

duwùerùji /duwɨɦʁuɦɟi/ - to be a frog, mirative, presumptive(breathy voice spreading is blocked again)

gowùerùji /gɔwɨɦʁuɦɟi/ - to be a frog, mirative, conditional (breathy voice spreading is blocked yet again)

wùerùgùe /wɨɦʁɨɦgɨɦ/ - to be a frog, noun focus

duwùerùgùe /duwɨɦʁɨɦgɨɦ/ - to be a frog, noun focus, presumptive

gowùerùgùe /gɔwɨɦʁɨɦgɨɦ/ - to be a frog, noun focus, conditional

 

suekiraeypi /sɨkiʁɛipi/ - a scrape, absolutive

myíeykiraypi /mʲeiʔkiʁaipi/ - my scrape, absolutive (the first syllable is deleted and the prefix takes tense voice)

suekiraeypi /sɨkiʁɛipi/ - to become scraped, root

suekiraeypyu /sɨkiʁɛipʲu/ - to become scraped, mirative

túowkiraeypyu /touʔkiʁɛipʲu/ - to become scraped, mirative, presumptive (the first syllable is deleted and the prefix takes tense voice again)

kóekiraeypyu /kɜʔkiʁɛipʲu/ - to become scraped, mirative, conditional (the first syllable is deleted and the prefix takes tense voice yet again)

suekiraypùe /waʔkiʁaipɨɦ/ - to become scraped, noun-focus

túowkiraypùe / touʔkiʁaipɨɦ/ - to become scraped, noun-focus, presumptive

kóekiraypùe / kɜʔkiʁaipɨɦ/ - to become scraped, noun-focus, conditional

 

gali /gali/ - hole, absolutive

myingali /mʲiŋali/ - my hole, absolutive (initial consonant changes to /ŋ/)

gali /gali/ - to be a hole, verb root

galiqi /galiʔi/ - to be a hole, mirative

duongaliqi /doŋaliʔi/ - to be a hole, mirative, presumptive (initial consonant changes to /ŋ/ again)

gaongaliqi /gɒŋaliʔi/ - to be a hole, mirative, conditional (initial consonant changes to /ŋ/ again)

kòelùe /kɜɦlɨɦ/ - to be a hole, noun-focus

tùngòelùe /tuɦŋɜɦlɨɦ/ - to be a hole, noun-focus, presumptive

kùongòelùe /koɦŋɜɦlɨɦ/ - to be a hole, noun-focus, conditional

 

bun /buɴ/ - pants, absolutive

myizibun /mʲizibuɴ/ - my pants, absolutive (insertion of -zi-)

bun /buɴ/ - to be pants, root

byan /bʲaɴ/ - to be pants, mirative

duozibyan /dozibʲaɴ/ - to be pants, mirative, presumptive(insertion of -zi- again)

gaozibyan /gɒzibʲaɴ/ - to be pants, mirative, conditional (insertion of -zi- yet again)

pùn /puɴɦ/ - to be pants, noun-focus

tùsùepùn /tuɦsɨɦpuɴɦ/ - to be pants, noun-focus, presumptive (insertion of -zi- again, which changes to -sùe- due to taking on breathy voice)

kùosùepùn /koɦsɨɦpuɴɦ/ - to be pants, noun-focus, conditional (same as above)

 

síeypyíey /seiʔpʲeiʔ/ - spit, absolutive

míeyppyíey /mʲeiʔpʼʲeiʔ/ - my spit, absolutive (loss of initial syllable and ejectivisation of /p/)

síeypyíeytuɴ /seiʔpʲeiʔtuɴ/ - spit, ergative

míeyppyíeytun /mʲeiʔpʼʲeiʔtuɴ/ - my spit, ergative (loss of initial syllable and ejectivisation of /p/ again )

síeypyíeytu /seiʔpʲeiʔtu/ - to be spit, root

síeypyíeytla /seiʔpʲeiʔtɬa/ - to be spit, mirative

túowppyíeytla /touʔpʼʲeiʔtɬa/ - to be spit, mirative, presumptive (loss of initial syllable and ejectivisation of /p/ yet again)

kóeppyíeytla /kɜʔpʼʲeiʔtɬa/ - to be spit, mirative, conditional

síeypyíeytù /seiʔpʲeiʔtuɦ/ - to be spit, noun-focus

túowppyíeytù /touʔpʼʲeiʔtuɦ/ - to be spit, noun-focus, presumptive

kóeppyíeytù /kɜʔpʼʲeiʔtuɦ/ - to be spit, noun-focus, presumptive

 

Dubitative Mood

This is used to indicate that the speaker is making a guess (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubitative_mood). It is marked with the prefix muy-.

 

Inferential Mood

This is used when the speaker has found some evidence to infer that something is / was / will be happening, but has not witnessed it (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inferential_mood). It is marked with the prefix bi-

 

Deductive Mood

This is used when the speaker has not witnessed an event, but is very sure that it is / was / will be happening (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deductive_mood). It is marked with the prefix ma-.

 

Renarrative Mood

This is used for information that the speaker has been told. It is marked with the prefix wa-.

 

Assumptive Mood

This has two uses. The first is for events that the speaker believes are / were / will be happening, based on that event having previously occurred (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assumptive_mood). The second is where English would use the constructed “tend(s) to ...” to describe habit. It is marked with the prefix kun-.

 

Imperative Mood

This is used to tell the listener to do something (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperative_mood). It is marked with the prefix hay-

 

Propositive Mood

This is used to make a suggestion to do something together with the listener (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propositive_mood). It is normally marked with the prefix ráesi- e.g.

 

rèdlu /ʁɘɦdɮu/ - red, mirative

ráesuerèdlu / ʁɛʔsɨʁɘɦdɮu/ - red, mirative, propositive

 

However, if tense voice spreads onto the prefix, the fricative -s- changes to the ejective -tts- e.g.

suekiraeypyu /sɨkiʁɛipʲu/ - to become scraped, mirative

ráettsíeykiraeypyu /rɛʔtsʼeiʔkiʁɛipʲu/ - to become scraped, mirative, propositive

 

Jussive Mood

This is used for things that the speaker believes should happen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jussive_mood). It can be used with 1st, 2nd and 3rd person subjects. It is marked with the prefix dla-.