Tanpun: Difference between revisions
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This is a highly experimental engineered language, ultimately focused on flirting with | This is a highly experimental engineered language, ultimately focused on flirting with | ||
ambiguity and a lack of grammar. It is spoken by no one because it is set in the real world | ambiguity and a lack of grammar. It is spoken by no one because it is set in the real world | ||
and not set for a fictional people. | and not set for a fictional people. Tanpun itself means "atomic language" or "individual | ||
language". | |||
<!-- Example categories/headings: | <!-- Example categories/headings: | ||
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When a syllable ends with a particular consonant and the next syllable begins with that same | When a syllable ends with a particular consonant and the next syllable begins with that same | ||
consonant, gemination is produced. This is not strictly phonemic but instead a contextual | consonant, gemination is produced. This is not strictly phonemic but instead a contextual | ||
feature. | feature. Syllable-final stops generally are unreleased but this is not itself phonemic. | ||
Nasals do not phonemically assimilate but this may happen anyway. | |||
===Stress=== | ===Stress=== | ||
Stress falls on the last root of the word. | Stress falls on the last root of the word. | ||
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Spaces are up to the author. | Spaces are up to the author. | ||
== | ==Grammar== | ||
===Roots=== | ===Roots=== | ||
The primary atomic element in Tanpun are roots. A root is in essence, a CVC syllable which | The primary atomic element in Tanpun are roots. A root is in essence, a CVC syllable which | ||
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in a specific way, such as negation, position, temporal deixis, definiteness, number (singular vs | in a specific way, such as negation, position, temporal deixis, definiteness, number (singular vs | ||
plural), and honorific. A root with prefixes is analogous to a phrase in Early Middle Japanese. | plural), and honorific. A root with prefixes is analogous to a phrase in Early Middle Japanese. | ||
Prefixes, when attached to the first root of the sentence, are understood to modify the | |||
whole word. | |||
===The mechanics of root combinations=== | ===The mechanics of root combinations=== | ||
Roots combine in a semantic way, later roots within a word constrain earlier ones, and the first | Roots combine in a semantic way, later roots within a word constrain earlier ones, and the first | ||
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specifically song, and writing clarifies that it is written, so with all of this together, this | specifically song, and writing clarifies that it is written, so with all of this together, this | ||
would represent a poem. | would represent a poem. | ||
==Syntax== | |||
The syntax is unusual due to the language itself being so unusual. The word order can be | |||
described as SOV, though this is inaccurate. More accurately, the language follows a topic | |||
comment structure. | |||
===Pronouns=== | |||
There are four pronouns. Pronouns do not distinguish number on their own. Pronouns do not | |||
distinguish animacy and do not imply or necessitate personhood or humanity. | |||
{| class="wikitable" | |||
|+ Pronouns | |||
|- | |||
! Pronoun !! Usage | |||
|- | |||
| Yah || First person pronoun | |||
|- | |||
| Nak || Second person pronoun | |||
|- | |||
| Touh || Third person pronoun | |||
|- | |||
| Pen || Prominent third person pronoun; implies the topic or otherwise notable person. For when the subject and object are both third person. | |||
|} | |||
===Verbs=== | |||
The main verb of the sentence is always last. The main verb is always a verb phrase, and marking | |||
person is required. The sequence is always, in order: | |||
* Auxiliary verb(s) (optional) | |||
* Object (Or predicate) (optional) | |||
* Content verb | |||
* Subject (Always a pronoun) | |||
The verb phrase is the only part of a sentence which breaks the typical rules for root | |||
interactions. It also must always be its own word. For example, the earlier sentence | |||
"Tianmentouh" is itself a verb phrase. The root "tian" means good, "men" being the copula, and | |||
"touh" being the third person pronoun. And again means "it is good" but the gloss is | |||
<nowiki>[good-COP-3]</nowiki>. As mentioned, "tian" can be its own word. | |||
With an auxiliary, there can be more variety, such as "wustianmentouh" which is | |||
<nowiki>[PAST-good-COP-3]</nowiki>, which means "it was good". This can also be expressed saying | |||
"Tian wusmentouh," although it is better with pen: "Tian wusmenpen". | |||
===Subject and object=== | |||
There is no singular accusative prefix or accusative expression, this ultimately depends on | |||
the verb. There is no case in Tanpun and generally such a thing is expressed with the object | |||
as a distinct word, followed by the verb phrase with "touh". For example, the above sentence | |||
could be expanded "man tian wustouhmenpen" with "man" meaning human or human being. So this | |||
means "person was good". Dative can be expressed with the prefix "ti-" meaning for, | |||
alternatively "ta" (to, towards) can be used. Other such relationships are up to specific | |||
deictic prefixes. | |||
==Example texts== | ==Example texts== | ||
< | ===UDHR Article 1 first sentence=== | ||
'''Watengman raihkorokostaengrouptouh ketensotnom kokesotrokumsek taohpiertouh.''' | |||
===Gloss=== | |||
Wa:teng-man raih-ko:ro:kos-taeng-roup-touh ke:ten-sot-nom ko:ke:sot-ro:kum-sek taoh-pier-touh. <br> | |||
TOPIC:all-human free-and:NEG:rank-REL-possess-3 DEF:thing-respect-name and:DEF:respect-NEG:can-cut passive-bear-3. | |||
==Other resources== | ==Other resources== | ||
<!-- Example: Word order, qualifiers, determinatives, branching, etc. --> | <!-- Example: Word order, qualifiers, determinatives, branching, etc. --> | ||