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'''Rttirri''' (natively: [ʈʼiɻiɑpu] ''Rttirri language''; English: /ˈtɪəri/, homophonous with "teary") is the official language of Rttirria, a nation in Southwest Asia that forms a peninsula off the southwestern coast of Myanmar. It is spoken as the native language of 46.5 million Rttirrian citizens, or just under 80% of the nation's total population of 58.2 million. Most other citizens have at least some proficiency in the language.


Rttirri is dialectally diverse, with many different accents found across the nation. It uses the Rttirri script, an abugida that evolved from the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pallava_alphabet Pallava script], which is a Brahmic script. Other Pallava scripts include Thai, Lao, Burmese, and Khmer. However, an English transcription system was codified in the late 19th century, and is used on this page for convenience.
Linguistically, Rttirri is classified as an ergative-absolutive, polysynthetic language. It has a phonology consisting of only four vowels (in the standard language) and 25 consonants. It is fascinating to linguists because of its unique method for marking the causative agents of verbs: inflectional particles that encode the person and number of the causative entity, just like the ones used to mark the ergative and absolutive agents.
==History==
* Proto-Rttirrian
:* Proto-South-Rttirrian
::* ...
::* Classical Rttirri
:::* Rttirri
Rttirri is a member of the Rttirrian language family, whose languages are spoken across the nation of Rttirria as well as in adjoining areas of Myanmar and Thailand.


==Phonology==
==Phonology==
===Consonants===
===Consonants===
Although the specific realizations vary, all major dialects of Rttirri distinguish the same consonant phonemes.
{| 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;"
!  |
!  |Labial
!  |Alveolar
!  |Retroflex
!  |Palatal
!  |Velar
!  |Glottal
|-
|-
! Nasal
!rowspan="2"|
| '''m''' /m/
!colspan="2"|Labial
| '''n''' /n/
!colspan="2"|Alveolar
| '''rn''' /ɳ/
!colspan="2"|Palatal
| '''ny''' /ɲ/
!rowspan="2"|Retroflex
|  
!colspan="2"|Velar
|  
!rowspan="2"|Uvular
|-
!Plain
!Lab.
!Plain
!Lab.
!Plain
!Lab.
!Plain
!Lab.
|-
|-
! Plosive
! Plosive
| '''p''' /p/
| '''pʼ''' /pˤ/<br>'''p''' /p/<br>'''b''' /b/
| '''t''' /t/
| '''pwʼ''' /pʷˤ/<br>'''pw''' /pʷ/<br>'''bw''' /bʷ/
| '''rt''' /ʈ/
| '''tt''' /tʼ/<br>'''tʼ''' /tˤ/<br>'''t''' /t/<br>'''d''' /d/
| '''ty''' /c/
| '''ttw''' /tʷʼ/<br>'''twʼ''' /tʷˤ/<br>'''tw''' /tʷ/<br>'''dw''' /dʷ/
| '''k''' /k/
|
| '''hh''' /ʔ/
|
|-
|
! Ejective
| '''kk''' /kʼ/<br>'''g''' /g/
| '''pp''' /pʼ/
| '''kkw''' /kʷʼ/<br>'''gw''' /gʷ/
| '''tt''' /tʼ/
| '''rtt''' /ʈʼ/
| '''tty''' /cʼ/
| '''kk''' /kʼ/
|  
|  
|-
|-
! Fricative
! Fricative
| '''f''' /f/
| '''f''' /f/<br>'''v''' /v/<br>'''vʼ''' /vˤ/
| '''s''' /ʃ/
|
| '''rs''' /ʂ/
| '''s''' /s/<br>'''z''' /z/
| '''sy''' /ç/
|
| '''sh''' /ʃ/<br>'''zh''' /ʒ/<br>'''zhʼ''' /ʒˤ/
|
|
| '''kh''' /x/<br>'''gh''' /ɣ/
|
|  
|  
| '''h''' /h/
|-
|-
! Affricate
! Affricate
|  
|  
| '''ch''' /t͡ʃ/
|
| '''tts''' /t͡sʼ/<br>'''ts''' /t͡s/<br>'''dz''' /d͡z/
| '''ttsw''' /t͡sʷʼ/<br>'''tsw''' /t͡sʷ/<br>'''dzw''' /d͡zʷ/
| '''cch''' /t͡ʃʼ/<br>'''ch''' /t͡ʃ/<br>'''jʼ''' /d͡ʒ/<br>'''j''' /d͡ʒˤ/
| '''cchw''' /t͡ʃʷʼ/<br>'''chw''' /t͡ʃʷ/<br>'''jwʼ''' /d͡ʒʷ/<br>'''jw''' /d͡ʒʷˤ/
|
|  
|  
|
|  
|  
|-
! Lateral
|  
|  
|
| '''l''' /l/<br>'''hl''' /ɬ/<br>'''lj''' /ɮ/<br>'''ljʼ''' /ɮˤ/
|
|  
|  
|-
! Approximant
| '''w''' /w/
|  
|  
| '''rr''' /ɻ/
| '''y''' /j/
|  
|  
|  
|  
|
|
|-
|-
! Flap
! Rhotic
|
|
|
|
|
|
| '''r''' /ʐ/
|  
|  
|  
|  
| '''r''' /ɽ/
| '''rr''' /ʀ/
|-
! Nasal
| '''m''' /m/
| '''mw''' /mʷ/
|  
|  
|  
|  
|
|
|
| '''ng''' /ŋ/<br>'''ngʼ''' /ŋˤ/
| '''ngw''' /ŋʷ/<br>'''ngwʼ''' /ŋʷˤ/
|  
|  
|}
|}
In addition, the consonants '''l''' /l/ and '''kh''' /x/ are used in loanwords.


===Vowels===
===Vowels===
Modern Standard Rttirri has a four-vowel inventory.
{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="bluetable lightbluebg" style="text-align:center; border-spacing: 20px;"
 
{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="bluetable lightbluebg" style="text-align:center;"
|-
|-
! |
! |
! Front
! Front
! Central
! Near-back
! Back
! Back
|-
|-
! High
! High
| '''i''' /i/
| '''i''' /i/<br>'''ui''' /y/
| '''u''' /u/
| '''ie''' /ɨ/
|
|
|-
! Near-high
|
|
| '''u''' /ʊ/
|
|-
! High-mid
| '''e''' /e/
|
|
| '''o''' /o/
|-
|-
! Mid
! Low-mid
| '''e''' /ø/
| '''oe''' /œ/
|
|
|
|
|-
|-
! Low
! Low
|  
|  
| '''a''' /ɑ/
|
|
| '''a''' /ɑ/<br>'''ao''' /ɒ/
|}
|}
In addition, the mid vowels '''e''' /e/ and '''o''' /o/ are used in loanwords.


===Phonotactics===
===Phonotactics===
Modern Standard Rttirri does not allow final consonants, and the only initial clusters allowable are of the following form: ('''f s sy''') + ('''m n r rr'''). There are no geminate consonants.
Stress falls on the first syllable.
 
No dialects of Rttirri distinguish vowel length, but the following diphthongs are allowed: '''ai au ei eu ui iu'''.
 
Stress is usually on the first syllable of a word, with secondary stress applied to every subsequent odd-numbered syllable. Loanwords and foreign names typically preserve their original stress, however.
 
==Dialectology==
Rttirri has many regional dialects.
 
===Modern Standard Rttirri===
The modern standard variant of the language is not spoken natively by many native Rttirrians, except those from highly educated and wealthy families, but it is widely used in news broadcasts and automated recordings such as those on subway systems - in this respect, it occupies a similar niche to that of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Received%20Pronunciation Received Pronunciation] in the UK. It is characterized by the following features:
 
* Because the usual aim of MSR is to "speak clearly", allophony is minimized - for example, consonants are not voiced intervocalically as they are in most dialects, and /w/ remains phonetically [w].
* The vowels /ɑ/ and /ʌ/ are merged to /ɑ/; thus, words like /tɑwi/ "brick" and /tʌwi/ "to survive" are pronounced the same.
 
===Eastern Rttirri===
Eastern Rttirri is spoken in much of the eastern half of the country, from the border with Myanmar to Fukanucha and eastern Kikai. This area of the country, centered on the capital city of Iharnara, is known for its large immigrant communities, decaying industry, high crime, and shrinking population, comparable to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rust%20Belt Rust Belt] of the United States. Eastern Rttirri, which is considered the most innovative dialect, is characterized by the following features:
 
* Intervocalically within a word, voiceless consonants are voiced.
* /ɑ/ and /ʌ/ are merged to [ä].
:* After palatal consonants and in the last syllable of a word, it is raised as far as [e].
* /ø/ lowers to [œ].
:* After retroflex consonants and in the last syllable of a word, /ø/ is backed as far as [o].
* /h/ fronts to [x] before phonetically front vowels, or [χ] before back ones.
* /w/ is realized as [b] in all positions. In loanwords and foreign names, /w/ is often rendered as a full [u] instead, while /b/ is increasingly imported as a fully voiced [b] instead of as [p].
* /j/ becomes a fricative sound, [ʝ]. Likewise, diphthongs containing /i/ become /Vʝ/ or /ʝV/ sequences. This pattern is not usually applied to loanwords.
* /i/ is backed to [ɨ] after retroflex consonants, and /u/ is fronted and unrounded to [ɨ~ɘ] after palatal consonants - in word roots, but not in affixes. Many scholars argue that there has been a phonemic split and that /ɨ/ is a legitimate vowel in Eastern Rttirri.
* Eastern Rttirri shows extensive reduction of unstressed vowels, creating clusters that do not exist in other dialects.
* Diphthongs are pronounced more as /VV/ sequences with a hiatus.
* The evidential particles lose their final vowels, instead being pronounced as bare consonants.
* The past-tense affix ''-pu'' becomes simply ''-p''.
 
====Fukanucha Rttirri====
The particularly advanced sub-dialect of Fukanucha shows the following additional features:
 
* The already fronted /ɑ/ is further fronted to [a].
* The already lowered /ø/ is unrounded to [ɛ~æ].
* The ''-n'' evidential particle may be realized simply as nasality on the preceding vowel. Likewise, the ''-ny'' evidential particle may be realized in the same way, with the addition of a final [ʝ].
 
===Western Rttirri===
Western Rttirri is used in most of the western half of Rttirria, from western Kikai to the beaches of Hima. This area of the country, centered on Rttirria's largest city, Efunari, is wealthier, more ethnically homogeneous, and increasingly culturally relevant. However, in recent decades the dialect has also begun to creep up to the sparsely populated north of Rttirria. The dialect's high cultural prestige and the rapid growth of the northern city of Tettufane (many of whose residents are from Hima or the Efunari area), are starting to solidify Tettufane as a Western Rttirri-speaking city. Western Rttirri is characterized by the following features:
 
* Intervocalically within a word, voiceless consonants are voiced.
* Intervocalically within a word, /w/ is fricativized to [v]. In this position, it merges with /f/, which is voiced to [v].
* Most speakers merge /ɑ/ and /ʌ/ to /ɑ/; however, some older and rural speakers maintain the distinction.
* In all positions, /ʔ/ disappears.
* When stressed, /i/ and /u/ diphthongize to [əi] and [əu].
* The diphthongs /ɑi ɑu/ tense to [oi] and [eu].
* In all positions, /ø/ raises to [y].
:* The diphthong /øi/ merges with it.
* The past-tense affix ''-pu'' tends to be substituted with the past-perfect affix ''-fe''.
 
===Kikai Rttirri===
Kikai occupies a transitional zone between the Western and Eastern dialect areas. As a result, its dialect can be considered an mixture of Eastern and Western Rttirri, but younger speakers, especially in the city of Kikai itself, are tending to use a more Western pronunciation.
 
===Northern Rttirri===
Spoken only by rural and isolated communities in northern Rttirria, and by older people in the Tettufane metropolitan area, this dialect is being crowded out by the influence of Western Rttirri. One of the most conservative dialects, it is characterized by the following features:
 
* Unlike in other dialects, voiceless consonants remain voiceless between vowels.
* Likewise, /w/ is pronounced clearly as [w] in all positions.
* The distinction between /ɑ/ and /ʌ/ is maintained.
* The value of /ø/ is typically [ø] in all positions.
* After retroflex consonants, /i/ and /u/ lower to [e] and [o].
:* When not stressed, the diphthong /ɑu/ merges with [o]. As a result, some scholars argue that /o/ is its own phoneme in Northern Rttirri.
* The consonants /t͡ʃ/ and /c/ have lost their phonemic contrast and become allophonic: [c] is pronounced after front vowels and [t͡ʃ] after back ones.
 
===Rseperupu Rttirri===
Localized to the small island province of Rseperupu, off the coast of western Rttirria, Rseperupu Rttirri is characterized by the following features:
 
* Intervocalically within a word, voiceless consonants are voiced.
* Intervocalically within a word, /w/ is fricativized to [v].
* /ɑ/ and /ʌ/ are merged to [ä].
* /ø/ is unrounded to [e].
 
==Morphology==
The Rttirri verb is richly polysynthetic, and contains the following slots for affixes. Slots marked with a '''†''' are required for all verbs.
 
{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="bluetable lightbluebg" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! Verb Slot
! Allowable Inputs
|-
! Causative Agent<br>Person/Number
| ''ne-'' (I)<br>''ke-'' (you)<br>''we-'' (he/she/it)<br>''me-'' (we)<br>''te-'' (you all)<br>''rte-'' (they)
|-
! Ergative Agent<br>Person/Number
| ''na-'' (I)<br>''ke-'' (you)<br>''wa-'' (he/she/it)<br>''ma-'' (we)<br>''ta-'' (you all)<br>''rta-'' (they)
|-
! Absolutive Agent<br>Person/Number (†)
| ''ni-'' (me)<br>''ki-'' (you)<br>''∅-'' (him/her/it)<br>''mi-'' (us)<br>''ti-'' (you all)<br>''hhi-'' (them)
|-
! ...
|
|-
! Future Tense
| ''-mi-''
|-
! Mood
| ''-sya-'' (optative)<br>''-ppa-'' (adhortative)<br>''-mappa-'' (cohortative)<br>''-tya-'' (interrogative)<br>''-nai-'' (subjunctive)<br>''-kai-'' (conditional)<br>''-kka-'' (imperative)<br>''-sma-'' (generic)
|-
! Verb Root (†)<br>+ Question Infix
| (any verb)
|-
! Auxiliary Verb
| ''-kaki-'' (to be able to)
|-
! Past Tense
| ''-pu-''
|-
! Incorporated Noun<br>(for transitive verbs)
| (any noun root, without adjectives,<br>determiners, possessive affixes, etc.)
|-
! Evidentiality (†)
| ''-nV'' (direct knowledge)<br>''-nyV'' (hearsay)<br>''-sV'' (inferential)<br>''-syV'' (assumptive)<br>(''V'' = the vowel of the preceding syllable)
|}
 
===Irregular verbs===
Rttirri has 20 irregular verbs, which have special forms for the past and future inflections. However, when used with a modal verb, they are regularized, so the normal affixes ''-pu-'' and ''-mi-'' are used.
 
:''Na-'''tu'''tasa-na.''
:1SG.ABS-walk.PST-DRPAC
:I walked.
 
:''Na-'''pu'''-tasa-kaki-ni.''
:1SG.ABS-PST-walk-can-DRPAC
:I was able to walk.
 
:''Na-tasa-kaki-'''mi'''-ni.''
:1SG.ABS-walk-can-FUT-DRPAC
:I will be able to walk.
 
The following irregular verbs exist:
 
{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="bluetable lightbluebg" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! Verb<br>(Past)
! Verb<br>(Present)
! Verb<br>(Future)
! English translation
|-
| pui
| fei
| mui
| to be
|-
| pisu
| chiu
| misu
| to do
|-
| tyusymu
| symu
| nyisymu
| to make
|-
| ppeu
| kkeu
| mepeu
| to see
|-
| tufnu
| fnu
| nifnu
| to bring
|-
| tuausma
| ausma
| niausma
| to call
|-
| tuttaka
| ttaka
| nittaka
| to feel
|-
| pumi
| mupi
| mumi
| to believe
|-
| tutasa
| tasa
| nitasa
| to walk
|-
| fupaki
| haki
| fumaki
| to stay
|-
| tyusymi
| symi
| nyisymi
| to exist
|-
| tuaihiu
| aihiu
| niaihiu
| to get
|-
| upei
| pei
| umei
| to think
|-
| tuicha
| icha
| nicha
| to come
|-
| rtuertau
| ertau
| rniertau
| to use
|-
| tuaihu
| aihu
| niaihu
| to try
|-
| tyuyana
| yana
| nyiyana
| to cook
|-
| puppi
| ippi
| muppi
| to start
|-
| pafa
| kafa
| mafa
| to return
|-
| puwa
| euwa
| muwa
| to take
|}
 
===''Wh-'' questions===
Non-binary questions (ones where the answer is not a simple "yes" or "no") are expressed in two different ways.
 
For "who"/"whom" and "what" questions, an affix is substituted for one of the person/number affixes on the verb:
*''fe-'' (causative)
*''fa-'' (ergative)
*''fi-'' (absolutive)


:''Ke-'''fi'''-chi-pu-nu uhiki?''
Syllable structure is maximally CVN. There may only be one pharyngealized, ejective, or labialized consonant per root, although more may be added to a single word through compounding and affixation.
:2SG.ERG-what.ABS-eat-PST-DRPAC today
:What did you eat today?


Other non-binary questions are expressed by infixing one of the following particles within the verb root, after the first syllable of the root.
==Grammar==


*''-hhifi-'' ("when?")
===Nouns===
*''-hhifai-'' ("where?")
*''-hhifau-'' ("why?")
*''-hhifui-'' ("how?")


:''Ta-isi-ni mumu nu...''
===Syntax===
:2PL.ABS-talk-DRPAC IMPF NEG
You guys aren't talking...


:''Ta-i'''hhifau'''si-ni mumu nu?''
==See also==
:2PL.ABS-talk.why-DRPAC IMPF NEG
Why aren't you guys talking?


<!--[[Category:Languages]]
<!--
[[Category:Languages of Rttirria]]-->
[[Category:A priori]]
[[Category:Conlangs]]
[[Category:Polysynthetic languages]]
[[Category:Languages]]
-->

Latest revision as of 01:39, 28 March 2017


Phonology

Consonants

Labial Alveolar Palatal Retroflex Velar Uvular
Plain Lab. Plain Lab. Plain Lab. Plain Lab.
Plosive pʼ /pˤ/
p /p/
b /b/ 		pwʼ /pʷˤ/
pw /pʷ/
bw /bʷ/ 		tt /tʼ/
tʼ /tˤ/
t /t/
d /d/ 		ttw /tʷʼ/
twʼ /tʷˤ/
tw /tʷ/
dw /dʷ/ 		kk /kʼ/
g /g/ 		kkw /kʷʼ/
gw /gʷ/
Fricative f /f/
v /v/
vʼ /vˤ/ 		s /s/
z /z/ 		sh /ʃ/
zh /ʒ/
zhʼ /ʒˤ/ 		kh /x/
gh /ɣ/
Affricate tts /t͡sʼ/
ts /t͡s/
dz /d͡z/ 		ttsw /t͡sʷʼ/
tsw /t͡sʷ/
dzw /d͡zʷ/ 		cch /t͡ʃʼ/
ch /t͡ʃ/
jʼ /d͡ʒ/
j /d͡ʒˤ/ 		cchw /t͡ʃʷʼ/
chw /t͡ʃʷ/
jwʼ /d͡ʒʷ/
jw /d͡ʒʷˤ/
Lateral l /l/
hl /ɬ/
lj /ɮ/
ljʼ /ɮˤ/
Rhotic r /ʐ/ rr /ʀ/
Nasal m /m/ mw /mʷ/ ng /ŋ/
ngʼ /ŋˤ/ 		ngw /ŋʷ/
ngwʼ /ŋʷˤ/

Vowels

Front Central Near-back Back
High i /i/
ui /y/ 		ie /ɨ/
Near-high u /ʊ/
High-mid e /e/ o /o/
Low-mid oe /œ/
Low a /ɑ/
ao /ɒ/

Phonotactics

Stress falls on the first syllable.

Syllable structure is maximally CVN. There may only be one pharyngealized, ejective, or labialized consonant per root, although more may be added to a single word through compounding and affixation.

Grammar

Nouns

Syntax

See also

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