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Hwnic: Difference between revisions
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{{Infobox language | {{Infobox language | ||
| name=Hwnic | | name=Hwnic | ||
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}} | }} | ||
''This article uses U+2011 | ''This article uses U+2011 non-breaking hyphen <code>‑</code>.'' | ||
'''Hwnic''' is an ''a priori'' semi-naturalistic agglutinative language. It attempts to broadly delineate what a future natural language might look like. | '''Hwnic''' is an ''a priori'' semi-naturalistic agglutinative language. It attempts to broadly delineate what a future natural language might look like. ''Hwnic'' is an exonym and is pronounced like WHUH-nyk. | ||
Hwnic is a pitch-accent language. Connected speech is subject to a set of more complex rules involving use of non-modal phonation. | Hwnic is a pitch-accent language. Connected speech is subject to a set of more complex rules involving use of non-modal phonation. | ||
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=== Constituent order === | === Constituent order === | ||
Word order is SOV, although sentences frequently appear as OV due to pro-drop, or SV due to an indefinite noun phrase and the verb coming together to form a compound. Some words trigger a reordering of the sentence into VSO, like negation of multiple elements, unusual topic or focus, some temporal relationships ("before"), and reduplicated forms of verbs ("undo", "redo"). | Word order is SOV, although sentences frequently appear as OV due to pro-drop, or SV due to an indefinite noun phrase and the verb coming together to form a compound. Some words trigger a reordering of the sentence into VSO, like negation of multiple elements, unusual topic or focus, some temporal relationships ("before"), and reduplicated forms of verbs ("undo", "redo"). | ||
Ordering of delimiting(?) words is usually NAG, and follow a rule of familiarity. For example, in "expensive family dinner", typically "family dinner" is more common and would be put together as dinner-family-expensive, but if this particular family often have expensive dinners, then dinner-expensive-family is also possible. | |||
These rules may lead to ambiguities. The ultimate disambiguation technique is to include a morpheme in the determiner that comes before a noun phrase to describe its branching structure. This morpheme may be omitted in further mentions of the same noun phrase. | |||
=== Noun phrase === | === Noun phrase === | ||
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=== Verb phrase === | === Verb phrase === | ||
Transitive and intransitive verbs work mostly like English. But each adjective can have a linking verb and a complementary verb, formed with attaching -''tni'' "to become" and -''sdi'' "to remain" to an adjective, respectively. Transitive verbs can be used without an object, where the object of that verb is seen as (null), with a number of possible interpretations. Intransitive verbs usually cannot be used with an object (unless the word is used in a different sense with a transitive meaning). | Transitive and intransitive verbs work mostly like in English. But each adjective can have a linking verb and a complementary verb, formed with attaching -''tni'' "to become" and -''sdi'' "to remain" to an adjective, respectively. Transitive verbs can be used without an object, where the object of that verb is seen as (null), with a number of possible interpretations. Intransitive verbs usually cannot be used with an object (unless the word is used in a different sense with a transitive meaning). | ||
=== Dependent clause === | === Dependent clause === | ||
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== Example texts == | == Example texts == | ||
=== Babel text === | === Babel text === | ||
''Qs niciq b | ''Qs niciq b odqoasu velo isloxait bizitsnsui arlek'' | ||
and LOCV-context GEN world-whole ACC-and language-single speak-nominalizer-common be.3Pl.PST.GNO | and LOCV-context GEN world-whole ACC-and language-single speak-nominalizer-common be.3Pl.PST.GNO | ||
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and ACC brick DAT stone ACC tar DAT mortar use.3Pl | and ACC brick DAT stone ACC tar DAT mortar use.3Pl | ||
''Qs bizirn xopinc yza nozn velocti | ''Qs bizirn xopinc yza nozn velocti odn blboc eoro varozon ni parcembo jesctiboqro'' | ||
and say.3Pl quote go EXCLM ACC-and-to_be city tower we-DAT build.HORT LOCV arriving-heaven top-to_be-this-GEN | and say.3Pl quote go EXCLM ACC-and-to_be city tower we-DAT build.HORT LOCV arriving-heaven top-to_be-this-GEN | ||
''Qs labasyizon | ''Qs labasyizon stso xersyireis lnu nr meruicdignodqoasu'' | ||
and be_famous.HORT lest be_scattered.3Pl.SUBJ FUT.STATE LOC spreading-surface-earth-whole | and be_famous.HORT lest be_scattered.3Pl.SUBJ FUT.STATE LOC spreading-surface-earth-whole | ||
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and the_Lord come_down.3N REL sight-tower this the children-of-man build.3Pl PST.PFV | and the_Lord come_down.3N REL sight-tower this the children-of-man build.3Pl PST.PFV | ||
''Fnri bizid xopinc mxazon ci | ''Fnri bizid xopinc mxazon ci qoxnxuigu irn boqro isloxuir in ust uctsmy lectn'' | ||
the_Lord say.3N quote look.HORT the people-united be_property.3Pl they-GEN language-singular be_property.3N and this-ACC-do.3Pl PRES.INCHO | the_Lord say.3N quote look.HORT the people-united be_property.3Pl they-GEN language-singular be_property.3N and this-ACC-do.3Pl PRES.INCHO | ||
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go EXCLM go_down.HORT then ACC language-they-GEN confound.HORT REL purpose ACC speech each_other understand.3Pl.NEG | go EXCLM go_down.HORT then ACC language-they-GEN confound.HORT REL purpose ACC speech each_other understand.3Pl.NEG | ||
''Zal Fnri t cirgn nr | ''Zal Fnri t cirgn nr meruicdignodqo uoro blted lsvo cist varocodnka ectnrn'' | ||
hence the_Lord ABL there LOC spreading-surface-earth they-ACC scatter.3N PST.PFV then construction-city.NEG stop.3Pl | hence the_Lord ABL there LOC spreading-surface-earth they-ACC scatter.3N PST.PFV then construction-city.NEG stop.3Pl | ||
''Zal alorboq Babel klr bimuk ubocnx b Fnri u | ''Zal alorboq Babel klr bimuk ubocnx b Fnri u isloodqoasu'' | ||
hence name it-GEN Babel be_eqivalent.3N because_of confounding ABL the_Lord ACC language-earth-all | hence name it-GEN Babel be_eqivalent.3N because_of confounding ABL the_Lord ACC language-earth-all | ||
''Cirgn b blted Fnri uoro nr | ''Cirgn b blted Fnri uoro nr meruicdignodqoasu'' | ||
There ABL scatter.3N the_Lord they-ACC LOC spreading-surface-earth-whole | There ABL scatter.3N the_Lord they-ACC LOC spreading-surface-earth-whole | ||
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* ''Fnri'' is from ''fntu'' + ''-ri'', meaning "before the beginning"; ''nokr'' "chief, lord" is the name of a megacorporation and has negative connotations, and the native word ''cirom'' "gods" indicates polytheism. | * ''Fnri'' is from ''fntu'' + ''-ri'', meaning "before the beginning"; ''nokr'' "chief, lord" is the name of a megacorporation and has negative connotations, and the native word ''cirom'' "gods" indicates polytheism. | ||
* LOC, ACC, DAT all refer to particles. | * LOC, ACC, DAT all refer to particles. | ||
* Hwnic is head- | * Hwnic is head-initial. The broadest category comes first and the most specific comes last. This order applies to qualifier sequences, compound words, and more. | ||
* Nouns are not declined, but a particle may fuse with certain pronouns and other particles. | * Nouns are not declined, but a particle may fuse with certain pronouns and other particles. | ||
* Most nouns are by default plural, and the suffix -''is'' makes a noun singular. | * Most nouns are by default plural, and the suffix -''is'' makes a noun singular. | ||
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* The two exclamation particles, ''nozn'' and ''zinbn'', come from two speech registers. | * The two exclamation particles, ''nozn'' and ''zinbn'', come from two speech registers. | ||
* LOCV or "virtual locative" is a concept I made up for the preposition ''ni'', meaning "in a specified context/situation/state". | * LOCV or "virtual locative" is a concept I made up for the preposition ''ni'', meaning "in a specified context/situation/state". | ||
* | * Negation constructs display an unusual form of negative concord. For example, "The house is not here" requires a negative marker on "is" and a suffix meaning "in this context does not exist" on "the house", whereas "I'm not going to build the house" requires a negative marker on "build" and a suffix meaning "will not exist in the future" on "the house". | ||
* The "and ACC-and": the former is a conjunction that forms the parallel structure; the latter marks a list of items, in the form of "and X Y Z ..." until the next verb or particle. | * The "and ACC-and": the former is a conjunction that forms the parallel structure; the latter marks a list of items, in the form of "and X Y Z ..." until the next verb or particle. | ||
** The latter "and", ''elo'', is further fused with the accusative particle ''u'', and here it means the accusative particle applies to each item in the list. | ** The latter "and", ''elo'', is further fused with the accusative particle ''u'', and here it means the accusative particle applies to each item in the list. | ||
* The tense-aspect auxiliary verb is flexible: it can govern a full sentence, as shown here, or apply only to the one verb before it. | * The tense-aspect auxiliary verb is flexible: it can govern a full sentence, as shown here, or apply only to the one verb before it. | ||
* A single concept corresponds to a single word, which is common in agglutinative languages. | * A single concept often corresponds to a single word, which is common in agglutinative languages. | ||
=== Digression === | === Digression === | ||
I've been writing original texts in Hwnic, in order to keep note of events in my life or thoughts that frequently arise, based directly on how the memory or thought is structured. | I've been writing original texts in Hwnic, in order to keep note of events in my life or thoughts that frequently arise, based directly on how the memory or thought is structured. | ||
# [[Hwnic/For Ri of the Lab]] | # [[Hwnic/For Ri of the Lab]] | ||
# [[Hwnic/For the Future]] | # [[Hwnic/For the Future]] | ||
# [[Hwnic/For the End of Introspection]] | |||