User:IlL/A Danified analytic Neo-Arabic: Difference between revisions
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[[{{PAGENAME}}/Swadesh list]] | [[{{PAGENAME}}/Swadesh list]] | ||
[[{{PAGENAME}}/Diachronics]] | |||
{{Infobox language | {{Infobox language | ||
|creator = [[User:IlL|Inthar]] | |creator = [[User:IlL|Inthar]] | ||
|nativename = | |nativename = Xnɪəni | ||
|image = | |image = | ||
|setting = [[Verse:Irta]] | |setting = [[Verse:Irta]] | ||
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|fam2=Semitic | |fam2=Semitic | ||
|fam3=Central Semitic | |fam3=Central Semitic | ||
|fam4=Canaanite | |fam4=Northwest Semitic | ||
| | |fam5=Canaanite | ||
| | |fam6=[[Knench/Ancient|Ancient Knench]] | ||
}} | |fam7=[[Knench/Middle|Middle Knench]] | ||
}}ɵ | |||
'''Knench''' (/nɛntʃ/, from Old Knench ''χnānī'' via [[Old Azalic]] '' | '''Knench''' (/nɛntʃ/, from Old Knench ''χnānī'' via [[Old Azalic]] ''{{ng}}noinisχ''; natively ''Xnɪəni'' /xnɪəni/ or ''nɨɨm Xnɪən'' /nɨːm xnɪən) is a Semitic language spoken in the Irta timeline and the closest living relative to Hebrew in Irta. The name of the language comes from Ancient Knench ''kanaȝn'' 'Canaan'. Knench has received strong Azalic influence throughout its history since Ancient Knench times, and genetic studies have shown that the Knench are descendants of Azalic speakers who adopted a Canaanite language. The language descends from a close relative of Biblical Hebrew which was spoken in North Africa (which was spoken instead of our Punic in Irta), but its grammar is far less synthetic than its ancestor: lexical verbs were completely restructured to use constructions with auxiliaries and infinitives instead of the older prefix and suffix conjugations, and it has lost grammatical gender like [[Togarmite]] and [[Far East Semitic]]. Knench has many loanwords from various sources including Greek, Azalic, Coptic, Berber, Arabic, Aramaic, Romance, and English. | ||
A majority of modern Knench people are Muslim; some are Christian, Jewish or neopagan. There is a Judeo-Knench, with Hebrew and Aramaic loanwords. | |||
It's inspired grammatically by Welsh, and aesthetically by | It's inspired grammatically by Welsh and Irish, and aesthetically by English, Danish, [[Naeng]], and Khmer. | ||
== Names == | == Names == | ||
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* Parm (f.) is from baśam | * Parm (f.) is from baśam | ||
* Þor (m.) 'bull (from Aramaic)' | * Þor (m.) 'bull (from Aramaic)' | ||
Hugin and Munin are modern fantasy characters | |||
Hugin and Munin (de novo derived from active participles ''*hūgi'' and ''*mūni'') are modern fantasy characters | |||
==History== | ==History== | ||
==TODO== | ==TODO== | ||
* | * Focus prominence (like Welsh) | ||
* retain vav consecutive forms of auxiliaries | |||
* vi = "and then" (used for consecutive events; ~ BH ''wayhi'') | * vi = "and then" (used for consecutive events; ~ BH ''wayhi'') | ||
* -x > -rh | * -x > -rh | ||
* A sentence consisting entirely of replacements and compounds? | * A sentence consisting entirely of replacements and compounds? | ||
** I dal | ** I dal bə kpeen pnaarə. = I don't see any wolves. (Heb: Ani lo ro'e ze'evim.) | ||
* Hard mode: a sentence where every content word has a Semitic cranberry morpheme | * Hard mode: a sentence where every content word has a Semitic cranberry morpheme | ||
*Swadesh list | *Swadesh list | ||
*''bel-, ble-'' is a common prefix (conflation of ben- and ba3al-) | *''bel-, ble-'' is a common prefix (conflation of ben- and ba3al-) | ||
*Many adverbs from infinitive absolute | *Many adverbs from infinitive absolute | ||
*Philippi should be weaker: i > e, instead of the TibH i > a (*bint > ''peþ'' 'daughter'; TibH ''baṫ'') | *Philippi should be weaker: i > e, instead of the TibH i > a (*bint > ''peþ'' 'daughter'; TibH ''baṫ'') | ||
*''Mén fows ta xett kori?'' = Why did you have to die? | *''Mén fows ta xett kori?'' = Why did you have to die? | ||
* | * replace a lot of Canaanite vocabulary with other words | ||
===Some sound changes=== | ===Some sound changes=== | ||
* Maghrebi Arabic craziness (happens early on, ca. 9th-10th century) | |||
*-ə (mainly from ACub ''-ō'') becomes silent and lengthens the vowel before it | *-ə (mainly from ACub ''-ō'') becomes silent and lengthens the vowel before it | ||
*non-rhoticity (nonrhoticity has to happen after fem sg ending loss) | *non-rhoticity (nonrhoticity has to happen after fem sg ending loss) | ||
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*d-t, t-t (morpheme boundary) > st | *d-t, t-t (morpheme boundary) > st | ||
*xr > x | *xr > x | ||
*''Ri ni b žejn i p Mednə Əśidəs'' 'I live in the United States' | |||
* š- > h- | |||
* univerbate like crazy | |||
==Phonology== | ==Phonology== | ||
===Consonants=== | ===Consonants=== | ||
*/m n ʁ̃ʷ l w j | */m n ʁ̃ʷ l w j ɹ{{ret}}/ {{angbr|m n ł h l w j r}} | ||
*/p b f v t d θ ð k g/ {{angbr|p b f v t d þ ð k g}} | */p b f v t d θ ð k g/ {{angbr|p b f v t d þ ð k g}} | ||
*/s z | */s{{den}} z{{den}} t{{den}}{{tiebar}}s{{den}} ʃ ʒ tʃ s{{ret}} t{{ret}}{{tiebar}}s{{ret}} x h/ {{angbr|s z c š ž č ś ć x h}} | ||
/t d/ are alveolar, and /θ ð/ are dental. /θ ð/ may be realized as [t̪ d̪]. | |||
/s{{den}} z{{den}} t{{den}}{{tiebar}}s{{den}}/ are lamino-dental, like Basque ''z''. | |||
/s{{ret}} t{{ret}}{{tiebar}}s{{ret}}/ are retracted apico-alveolar, like Greek /s/. | |||
Ancient Knench /l/ became /w/ in some places, especially before C or pausa. | Ancient Knench /l/ became /w/ in some places, especially before C or pausa. | ||
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Stops are unaspirated. | Stops are unaspirated. | ||
Judeo-Knench has final r in borrowed Hebrew and Aramaic vocabulary. | |||
===Vowels=== | ===Vowels=== | ||
{{PAGENAME}} has | {{PAGENAME}} has the largest vowel inventory of any Semitic language in Irta. It has many diphthongs. | ||
===Prosody=== | ===Prosody=== | ||
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===Intonation=== | ===Intonation=== | ||
===Phonotactics=== | ===Phonotactics=== | ||
===Morphophonology=== | ===Morphophonology=== | ||
==Orthography== | ==Orthography== | ||
Modern Knench has | Modern Knench has an orthography using an alphabet descended from the Paleo-Hebrew script, where spelling reflects Middle Knench. | ||
==Morphology== | ==Morphology== | ||
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Nouns inflect for number and definiteness. Like in English, proper nouns don't take the definite article. Attributive adjectives agree with nouns in number, but predicate adjectives do not. Knench has lost grammatical gender and the construct state, although animates still have natural gender. | Nouns inflect for number and definiteness. Like in English, proper nouns don't take the definite article. Attributive adjectives agree with nouns in number, but predicate adjectives do not. Knench has lost grammatical gender and the construct state, although animates still have natural gender. | ||
==== Number and definiteness ==== | ==== Number and definiteness ==== | ||
{{PAGENAME}} has regularized | {{PAGENAME}} has regularized most plurals to ''-ə'' (from a merger of Ancient Knench ''-īn'' > ''*-ī'' and ''-ūδ''). ''-u'' nouns become ''-lə'' in the plural: ''þebu, þeblə'' 'a world, worlds'. | ||
Nouns inflect for definiteness, as follows: | Nouns inflect for definiteness, as follows: | ||
*Singular: -əs (after C | *Singular: -əs (after C), (from haz-ze and haz-zū) | ||
*Plural: -il, replacing the plural suffix ''-ə'' if any (from ha-2ili), -u + -il > -ul | |||
*Plural: -il, replacing the plural suffix ''- | ** Plurals must be memorized! For example -u may become -ləs (specifically when the -u comes from a vocalized /-l/). | ||
** | |||
Words ending in a | Words ending in a schwa add an intrusive R between the final vowel and the plural suffix. | ||
Some irregular plurals: ''penš, plenš'' = human | Some irregular plurals: ''penš, plenš'' = human | ||
Examples: | Examples: | ||
*'' | *''śadə'' /ˈs{{ret}}adə/ = an apartment/flat | ||
*'' | *''śadrəs'' /ˈs{{ret}}adɹəs/ = the flat | ||
*'' | *''śadrə'' /ˈs{{ret}}adɹə/ = flats | ||
*'' | *''śadril'' /ˈs{{ret}}adɹɪl/ = the flats | ||
*'' | *''śadə bušət'' /ˈs{{ret}}adə ˈbʊʃət/ = a big flat | ||
*'' | *''śadrəs bušət'' /ˈs{{ret}}adɹəs ˈbʊʃət/ = the big flat | ||
*'' | *''śadrə buštə'' /ˈs{{ret}}adɹə ˈbʊʃtə/ = big flats | ||
*'' | *''śadril buštə'' /ˈs{{ret}}adɹɪl ˈbʊʃtə/ = the big flats | ||
''-ma'' nouns from Greek become ''-mat'' nouns: ''þemat, þematas, | ''-ma'' nouns from Greek become ''-mat'' nouns: ''þemat, þematas, þematə, þematil'' 'topic, theme'. | ||
==== Predicative adjectives ==== | ==== Predicative adjectives ==== | ||
The predicative/adverbial marker ''bə'' | The predicative/adverbial marker ''bə'' followed by the bare form is used for predicative adjectives: ''Ri śadrəs bə bušət'' 'The room is big'. | ||
==== Degree ==== | ==== Degree ==== | ||
*Equative: ''de'' = as X as; equally X (~ BH ''day'' 'enough') | *Equative: ''de'' = as X as; equally X (~ BH ''day'' 'enough') | ||
*Comparative/Superlative: ''-ur'' = more X or most X (from *3abūr, infinitive absolute of 'to exceed'); comparandum takes '' | *Comparative/Superlative: ''-ur'' = more X or most X (from *3abūr, infinitive absolute of 'to exceed'); comparandum takes ''prej'' 'than' (from Ancient Knench ''pirūðī'' 'when I see'). The ''-ur'' form is indeclinable. | ||
Example: '' | Example: ''bušət'' 'big', ''de bušət'' 'as big as'; ''buštur'' 'bigger/biggest' | ||
=== Pronouns === | === Pronouns === | ||
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For gender-neutral usage, ''tu'' has been proposed as a 2nd person singular neopronoun (inspired by Indo-European languages). This isn't as common as using the 2nd person plural ''tim'' as singular, however. | For gender-neutral usage, ''tu'' has been proposed as a 2nd person singular neopronoun (inspired by Indo-European languages). This isn't as common as using the 2nd person plural ''tim'' as singular, however. | ||
Knench emphatic pronouns come from a suffixed ''-nna'' (precative). | |||
{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="wikitable" style="width: 700px; text-align:center;" | {| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="wikitable" style="width: 700px; text-align:center;" | ||
|+ Pronouns in {{PAGENAME}}, basic forms | |+ Pronouns in {{PAGENAME}}, basic forms | ||
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! Basic forms | ! Basic forms | ||
| ''i, ni'' | | ''i, ni'' | ||
| '' | | ''tə'' | ||
| ''ti'' | | ''ti'' | ||
| ''u'' | | ''u'' | ||
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|- | |- | ||
! Emphatic forms | ! Emphatic forms | ||
| ''(n) | | ''(n)in'' | ||
| '' | | ''tan'' | ||
| '' | | ''ten'' | ||
| '' | | ''un'' | ||
| '' | | ''ojn, hin'' | ||
| '' | | ''nun'' | ||
| '' | | ''temnə'' | ||
| '' | | ''emnə'' | ||
|} | |} | ||
==== Interrogative pronouns ==== | ==== Interrogative pronouns ==== | ||
* '' | * ''da, ida'' = what? (nominal) (*hajj dabar 'what thing') | ||
* ''ew'' = who? (*2ajj hū) | |||
* ''ew'' = who? (* | |||
** poetic ''mi'' | ** poetic ''mi'' | ||
* '' | * ''ajšə'' = which? | ||
* '' | * ''énə'' = where? | ||
* ''məðé'' = when? | * ''məðé'' = when? | ||
* '' | * ''əziəp'' = why? (the reason something happened) (or from another phrase of the form "ayy [NOUN]") | ||
* | * ''maləx'' = why? (the reason someone does something) (*ma lak 'what's the matter') | ||
* '' | * ''xam'' = how many? | ||
* '' | * ''xiəlt'' = how? | ||
===Verbs=== | ===Verbs=== | ||
Almost all verbs use only one form, | Almost all verbs use only one form. For native verbs, this form may be derived from: | ||
* the infinitive construct or the imperative (mostly basic verbs) | |||
* a deverbal noun pattern (most common) | |||
* a univerbation of a verb + noun collocation | |||
The infinitive form may or may not have a prefixed ''l-'', depending on the verb; however, even verbs without l- often display a voicing mutation attesting to the historical lV- (e.g. ''žbuð'' 'to be idle, to lie fallow'). Some verbs instead are derived from other nouns derived from the relevant triconsonantal root rather than the infinitive of a particular verb (e.g. ''benin'' 'to build', cognate to the Hebrew noun ''binyan''; from the root b-n-y) | |||
The infinitive is also used as an imperative: ''ðeht ló oj!'' = 'Give it to her!' Imperatives are negated by placing ''bal'' or ''bawði'' before the verb. | The infinitive is also used as an imperative: ''ðeht ló oj!'' = 'Give it to her!' Imperatives are negated by placing ''bal'' or ''bawði'' before the verb. | ||
====Inflected | ====Inflected verbs==== | ||
Knench has only six inflected verbs (i.e. verbs with inflected past and future forms): | |||
*'' | *''luð'' 'to be' | ||
*'' | *''śuð'' 'to do' (from *ʕaśō, with contamination from *paȝal): used to form past and future perfective tenses | ||
*''buð'' 'to come' ( | *''buð'' 'to come' (from *bô): sometimes means 'must, have to'. ''bu'' is still used as a directional. | ||
*'' | *''leht'' 'to go' (from *halak), also used as a passive auxilliary for dechticaetiative objects | ||
*''kaht'' 'to take' (from *laqaħ) | *''kaht'' 'to take' (from *laqaħ): also used for animate patients of ditransitive verbs | ||
*''ðeht'' 'to give' (from *natan, with contamination from *hinīħ 'to leave' and naħħil 'to bequeath') | *''ðeht'' 'to give' (from *natan, with contamination from *hinīħ 'to leave' and naħħil 'to bequeath'): also used for causatives | ||
Their forms have become more similar to each other due to analogy. | |||
Knench maintains a distinction between independent and dependent forms for finite verbs, like Old Irish. The independent forms come from the Ancient Knench waw-consecutive. Using a preverb such as ''lu'' 'not', ''veə'' '(interrogative form of present marker ''ri'')', ''xaž'' 'relativizer', or ''śu'' 'I'm sure that...' (from the infinitive absolute *3aśū of *3aśō 'to do'; generalized from ''*3aśū ja3śiju'' 'he will indeed do') requires the dependent form. Dependent past forms and future forms are formally identical to independent future forms and past forms, respectively, except for ''luð'' 'to be'. | |||
Even verbs with finite forms are defective verbs, since finite forms are always perfective (except forms of ''luð''). To express the imperfective with these verbs, you still have to use the copula + bə + VN construction. The negator ''lu'' only negates finite verbs. | |||
The | The present particle ''ri'' comes from ''ru{{aleph}}i'', the imperative of ''ra{{aleph}}ō'' 'to see'. ''Ri'' is not used in subordinate clauses: | ||
*'''''Ri''' Đavíð þaś žin.'' = David is about to sleep. | |||
*'''''Pið''' Đavíð þaś žin, r'u dal bə xapuð uras.'' = When David goes to sleep, he doesn't turn off the lights. | |||
* ''Veə Đavíð þaś žin?'' = Is David going to bed? (neutral) | |||
* '''''Ri''' Đavíð dar þaś žin.'' = David is not going to bed. | |||
{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="wikitable" style="width: 750px; text-align:center;" | {| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="wikitable" style="width: 750px; text-align:center;" | ||
|+ Inflected verbs in {{PAGENAME}} | |+ Inflected verbs in {{PAGENAME}} | ||
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! style="width: 75px; " | they | ! style="width: 75px; " | they | ||
|- | |- | ||
!rowspan= | ! colspan=2|Present ''ri/r' '' | ||
! future | | ''i, ni'' | ||
| '' | | ''tə'' | ||
| '' | | ''ti'' | ||
| '' | | ''r'u'' | ||
| '' | | ''r'oj'' | ||
| '' | | ''nu'' | ||
| '' | | ''tim'' | ||
| '' | | ''r'im'' | ||
| '' | |- | ||
!rowspan=4| ''luð'' | |||
! future indep. | |||
| ''wej(ð) i'' | |||
| ''wejs tə'' | |||
| ''wejs ti'' | |||
| ''wii u'' | |||
| ''wieþ oj'' | |||
| ''wejn nu'' | |||
| ''wejs tim'' | |||
| ''wilu'm'' | |||
|- | |||
! future dep. | |||
| ''jie i'' | |||
| ''þies tə'' | |||
| ''þies ti'' | |||
| ''jie u'' | |||
| ''þieþ oj'' | |||
| ''nien nu'' | |||
| ''þies tim'' | |||
| ''juu'm'' | |||
|- | |- | ||
! past | ! past indep. | ||
| '' | | ''waj i'' | ||
| '' | | ''was tə'' | ||
| '' | | ''was ti'' | ||
| '' | | ''waj u'' | ||
| '' | | ''waþ oj'' | ||
| '' | | ''wan nu'' | ||
| '' | | ''was tim'' | ||
| '' | | ''waju'm'' | ||
|- | |- | ||
! | ! past dep. | ||
| ''hej(ð) i'' | |||
| '' | | ''hejs tə'' | ||
| '' | | ''hejs ti'' | ||
| '' | | ''hie u'' | ||
| '' | | ''hieþ oj'' | ||
| '' | | ''hejn nu'' | ||
| '' | | ''hejs tim'' | ||
| '' | | ''hilu'm'' | ||
| '' | |||
|- | |- | ||
! | !rowspan=2| ''śuð'' | ||
| '' | ! future indep. | ||
| ''fows | | ''fow(ð) i'' | ||
| ''fows tə'' | |||
| ''fows ti'' | | ''fows ti'' | ||
| ''fow u'' | | ''fow u'' | ||
| '' | | ''foəþ oj'' | ||
| ''fown nu'' | | ''fown nu'' | ||
| '' | | ''fows tim'' | ||
| '' | | ''folu'm'' | ||
|- | |||
! past indep. | |||
| ''woś i'' | |||
| ''þoś tə'' | |||
| ''þoś ti'' | |||
| ''joś u'' | |||
| ''þoś oj'' | |||
| ''noś nu'' | |||
| ''þoś tim'' | |||
| ''jośu'm'' | |||
|- | |- | ||
!rowspan=2| ''buð'' | !rowspan=2| ''buð'' | ||
! future | ! future indep. | ||
| '' | | ''pow(ð) i'' | ||
| ''pows tə'' | |||
| ''pows | |||
| ''pows ti'' | | ''pows ti'' | ||
| ''pow u'' | | ''pow u'' | ||
| '' | | ''poəþ oj'' | ||
| ''pown nu'' | | ''pown nu'' | ||
| '' | | ''pows tim'' | ||
| '' | | ''polu'm'' | ||
|- | |- | ||
! | ! past indep. | ||
| ''pax i'' | |||
| '' | | ''tpax tə'' | ||
| '' | | ''tpaj ti'' | ||
| '' | | ''pax u'' | ||
| '' | | ''tpax oj'' | ||
| '' | | ''pax nu'' | ||
| '' | | ''tpaw tim'' | ||
| '' | | ''paw'm'' | ||
| '' | |||
|- | |- | ||
! | !rowspan=2| ''leht'' | ||
| '' | ! future indep. | ||
| ''laws | | ''law(ð) i'' | ||
| ''laws tə'' | |||
| ''laws ti'' | | ''laws ti'' | ||
| ''law u'' | | ''law u'' | ||
| '' | | ''laəþ oj'' | ||
| ''lawn nu'' | | ''lawn nu'' | ||
| '' | | ''laws tim'' | ||
| ''lalu'm'' | | ''lalu'm'' | ||
|- | |||
! past indep. | |||
| ''lax i'' | |||
| ''tlax tə'' | |||
| ''tlej ti'' | |||
| ''lax u'' | |||
| ''tlax oj'' | |||
| ''lax nu'' | |||
| ''tlaw tim'' | |||
| ''law'm'' | |||
|- | |- | ||
!rowspan=2| ''kaht'' | !rowspan=2| ''kaht'' | ||
! future | ! future indep. | ||
| '' | | ''kaw(ð) i'' | ||
| ''kaws tə'' | |||
| ''kaws | |||
| ''kaws ti'' | | ''kaws ti'' | ||
| ''kaw u'' | | ''kaw u'' | ||
| '' | | ''kaəþ oj'' | ||
| ''kawn nu'' | | ''kawn nu'' | ||
| '' | | ''kaws tim'' | ||
| ''kalu'm'' | | ''kalu'm'' | ||
|- | |- | ||
! | ! past indep. | ||
| ''kax i'' | |||
| '' | | ''tkax tə'' | ||
| '' | | ''tkaj ti'' | ||
| '' | | ''kax u'' | ||
| '' | | ''tkax oj'' | ||
| '' | | ''kax nu'' | ||
| '' | | ''tkaw tim'' | ||
| '' | | ''kaw'm'' | ||
| '' | |||
|- | |- | ||
! | !rowspan=2| ''ðeht'' | ||
| '' | ! future indep. | ||
| ''naws | | ''naw(ð) i'' | ||
| ''naws tə'' | |||
| ''naws ti'' | | ''naws ti'' | ||
| ''naw u'' | | ''naw u'' | ||
| '' | | ''naəþ oj'' | ||
| ''nawn nu'' | | ''nawn nu'' | ||
| '' | | ''naws tim'' | ||
| ''nalu'm'' | | ''nalu'm'' | ||
|- | |||
! past indep. | |||
| ''nax i'' | |||
| ''tnax tə'' | |||
| ''tnaj ti'' | |||
| ''nax u'' | |||
| ''tnax oj'' | |||
| ''nax nu'' | |||
| ''tnaw tim'' | |||
| ''naw'm'' | |||
|} | |} | ||
====Regular pa3al verbs==== | ====Regular pa3al verbs==== | ||
The regular pattern is *(li)CCuC. | The regular pattern is *(li)CCuC. | ||
When C1 is a | When the historical C1 is a pharyngeal, the ''l-'' usually resurfaces: | ||
* C1 = ayin: '' | * C1 = ayin: ''lubuə'' 'to go past' /lʊˈbuə/ | ||
* C1 = heth: ''litul'' 'to cease/stop' /lɪˈtʊl/ | |||
* C1 = heth: '' | |||
= | This doesn't happen when C1 = aleph/he: ''vuð'' /vʊð/ 'to bake, to fire', ''zuð'' /z{{den}}ʊð/ 'to be crazy, to be cool'. | ||
==== | ====*-t verbs==== | ||
*leht /lɛht/ = to go by foot | |||
*kaht /kaht/ = to take | |||
*žeht /ʒɛht/ = to go back<!-- | |||
*łef /ʀɛf/ = to be hateful (dative-stative; Ri vivliəs bə łef u li ni 'I hate the book')--> | |||
*žef /ʒɛf/ = to sit | |||
*les /lɛs{{den}}/ = to be born | |||
! | *res /ɹɛs{{den}}/ = to go down | ||
*reš /ɹɛʃ/ = to acquire; to get | |||
*ðeht /ðɛht/ = to give | |||
*śeht /s{{ret}}ɛht/ = to carry, to owe, should | |||
*ceht /t{{den}}{{tiebar}}s{{den}}ɛht/ = to go out, to start X-ing | |||
*žoot /ʒoːt/ = (of time) to go by | |||
*goot /goːt/ = to do X correctly | |||
*doot /doːt/ = to know | |||
*toot /toːt/ = to farm, to grow (plants) | |||
* | |||
* | |||
* | |||
* | |||
* | |||
* | |||
* | |||
===Prepositions=== | ===Prepositions=== | ||
Prepositions inflect like in Welsh: for pronominal prepositional objects, usually the preposition is inflected and is followed by the independent pronoun. The inflected preposition is stressed unless the emphatic pronoun is used: ''lah | Prepositions inflect like in Welsh: for pronominal prepositional objects, usually the preposition is inflected and is followed by the independent pronoun. The inflected preposition is stressed unless the emphatic pronoun is used: ''lah tə'' /'lax tə/ 'to you' vs. ''lah tan'' /lax 'tan/ 'to you, specifically'. | ||
example of a {{PAGENAME}} inflected preposition: el "for"; pə/p' 'in, at' is inflected similarly | example of a {{PAGENAME}} inflected preposition: el "for"; pə/p' 'in, at' is inflected similarly | ||
*1sg: l'i, li ni | *1sg: l'i, li ni | ||
*2sg.m: lah | *2sg.m: lah tə | ||
*2sg.f: lah ti | *2sg.f: lah ti | ||
*3sg.m: lom u | *3sg.m: lom u | ||
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Other prepositions: | Other prepositions: | ||
*''men'' = from | *''men'' = from | ||
*'' | *''tubel'' = for | ||
*'' | *''jaən'' = because of (also "reason") | ||
*''łaj'' = on, above | *''łaj'' = on, above | ||
*'' | *''jaś, jaśəm'' = with (both inst. and com.) | ||
*'' | *''pəłee'' = inside, within | ||
**sim. '' | **sim. ''ləłee, məłee'' 'into, out of' | ||
*''pəlip'' = amidst | *''pəlip'' = amidst | ||
*''wen'' = without | *''wen'' = without | ||
*'' | *''mənie'' = before, in front of | ||
*''kodm'' = before (temporally) | *''kodm'' = before (temporally) | ||
*'' | *''śni'' = after (Hitsi šeni 'second half') | ||
*'' | *''məłææl'' = above | ||
*'' | *''məþææl'' = below | ||
*''þaht'' = instead of | *''þaht'' = instead of | ||
*''til'' = like, as | *''til'' = like, as | ||
*'' | *''śakə'' = until | ||
=== Numbers === | === Numbers === | ||
0-10: sifə, śaa, hniəm/hniə (attributive), hluž, arvu, śami, šeš, šebu, hmɨɨn, þež, łaaś | |||
11-20: štoo, hnajoo, hlužoo, arvoo, śamižoo, šešoo, šeboo, hmɨɨnoo, þežoo, hniə łəəśi | |||
11-20: | |||
21-30: | 21-30: łəəśi śaa, łəəśi hniəm, ... łəəśi łaaś | ||
31-40: | 31-40: łəəśi štąh, ..., hniə łəəśi | ||
41, 42, ...: | 41, 42, ...: hniə łəəśi śaa, hniə łəəśi šném, ... | ||
60: | 60: hluž łəəśi | ||
... | ... | ||
100: | 100: miə | ||
1000: awv | 1000: awv | ||
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The order is tense-subject-verb-object. | The order is tense-subject-verb-object. | ||
:'''''R'ižəs ław | :'''''R'ižəs ław bloo u abləs.''''' | ||
:''The man is eating the apple.'' | :''The man is eating the apple.'' | ||
:'''''Ri | :'''''Ri piəð u bə de kruu til stadi.''''' | ||
:''His house is as big as a stadium.'' | :''His house is as big as a stadium.'' | ||
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The abstract demonstrative (referring to sentences or facts) is ''suð''. | The abstract demonstrative (referring to sentences or facts) is ''suð''. | ||
===Verb phrase=== | ===Verb phrase=== | ||
Knench allows arbitrarily long chains of pseudo-auxiliaries: | Knench allows arbitrarily long chains of pseudo-auxiliaries: | ||
: '''''R'oj bə | : '''''R'oj bə kofstəl* oj gąt latsææg.''''' | ||
: 3SG.F.PRES IPFV never_fail to_do_correctly to_joke | : 3SG.F.PRES IPFV never_fail to_do_correctly to_joke | ||
: ''Her jokes never fail to land.'' | : ''Her jokes never fail to land.'' | ||
(*) | (*) a loan from an unknown source | ||
====VN constructions==== | ====VN constructions==== | ||
Knench has a rich tense-aspect system which expresses imperfective/perfective as well as progressive and perfect. | Knench has a rich tense-aspect system which expresses imperfective/perfective as well as progressive and perfect. | ||
*'''''ri''' Parm '''bə''' | *'''''ri''' Parm '''bə''' leht oj'' = Parm goes | ||
*'''''ri''' Parm '''ław''' | *'''''ri''' Parm '''ław''' leht oj'' = Parm is going | ||
*'''''ri''' Parm '''þax''' | *'''''ri''' Parm '''þax''' leht oj'' = Parm is about to go | ||
*'''''ri''' Parm '''xni''' | *'''''ri''' Parm '''xni''' leht oj'' = Parm has gone | ||
*'''''ri''' Parm '''xni juð oj bə''' | *'''''ri''' Parm '''xni juð oj bə''' leht'' = Parm has been going | ||
*'''''ri''' Parm '''dəž''' | *'''''ri''' Parm '''dəž''' leht oj'' = Parm just went | ||
*'''''ri''' Parm '''wen''' | *'''''ri''' Parm '''wen''' leht oj'' = Parm hasn't went | ||
*'''''fól''' Parm '''ðə''' | *'''''fól''' Parm '''ðə''' leht'' = Parm went (perfective; cf. AAVE ''She done went'') | ||
*'''''þąf''' Parm '''ðə''' | *'''''þąf''' Parm '''ðə''' leht'' = Parm will go (perfective) | ||
*'''''han''' Parm '''bə''' | *'''''han''' Parm '''bə''' leht oj'' = Parm went (imperfective) | ||
*'''''þé''' Parm '''bə''' | *'''''þé''' Parm '''bə''' leht oj'' = Parm will go (imperfective) | ||
*'' | *''leht!'' = Go! (number neutral) | ||
*'''''gwenu''' | *'''''gwenu''' leht!'' (3uqbinu lekt "follow us to go") = Let's go! | ||
In clauses with a copula and a verbal noun, Knench requires the pronoun corresponding to the subject to come right after the verbal noun: ''R'ižəs bø hél u ð'abwəs''. This is etymologically "See the man when he's eating the apple", cf. Biblical and literary Modern Hebrew באכלו את התפוח "when he eats the apple (but tense- and aspect-neutral)". | In clauses with a copula and a verbal noun, Knench requires the pronoun corresponding to the subject to come right after the verbal noun: ''R'ižəs bø hél u ð'abwəs''. This is etymologically "See the man when he's eating the apple", cf. Biblical and literary Modern Hebrew באכלו את התפוח "when he eats the apple (but tense- and aspect-neutral)". | ||
The clause-initial subject pronoun + bə colloquially tends to be omitted in the present tense when the subject is 1st or 2nd person: ''Ðób | The clause-initial subject pronoun + bə colloquially tends to be omitted in the present tense when the subject is 1st or 2nd person: ''Ðób tə ð'i nr?'' 'Do you love me?' | ||
==== Passive and causative ==== | ==== Passive and causative ==== | ||
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In a ''ðett''-causative construction, the more animate object takes the dative preposition ''el''. This connects ditransitives which are causatives of transitives to the basic ditransitive verb 'give'. | In a ''ðett''-causative construction, the more animate object takes the dative preposition ''el''. This connects ditransitives which are causatives of transitives to the basic ditransitive verb 'give'. | ||
''Kaht'' 'to take' is used as an auxiliary to raise the animate object of a ditransitive verb | To form passives two different auxiliaries are used: | ||
* ''Kaht'' 'to take' is used as an auxiliary to raise the animate object of a ditransitive verb. | |||
* ''leht'' 'to go' is used to raise the inanimate object of both monotransitive and ditransitive verbs (as well as the object of the original verb which is causativized). | |||
: '' | : ''Kawð u đə ląbur mitəs rup məšólə.'' | ||
: 'He was made to suffer so many things.' | : 'He was made to suffer so many things.' | ||
: '' | : ''Lawð łeśwəs đə hél men kapwəs.'' | ||
: 'The grass was fed to the horse.' | : 'The grass was fed to the horse.' | ||
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===Relativizer=== | ===Relativizer=== | ||
In most cases, relative clauses use the relativizer '' | In most cases, relative clauses use the relativizer ''xaž'' (from ''*χa-ʔašir'' 'like that which'). ''n'' may appear after the resumptive pronoun if one is used. | ||
Subject of a copula auxiliary: | Subject of a copula auxiliary: | ||
: ''''' | : '''''paras xaž hie __ bə gri u "pnar"''''' | ||
: the boy who cried (would cry) wolf | : the boy who cried (would cry) wolf | ||
Subject with a non-copula auxiliary: | Subject with a non-copula auxiliary: | ||
: ''''' | : '''''paras xaž fow __ gri "pnar"''''' | ||
: the boy who cried wolf (once) | : the boy who cried wolf (once) | ||
Direct object: | Direct object: | ||
: ''''' | : '''''vivlias xaž fown nu ðə gru (se (n))''''' | ||
: the book that we read | : the book that we read | ||
Oblique object: | Oblique object: | ||
: '''''péðas | : '''''péðas xaž hieþ oj bə xun oj pəze (n)''''' | ||
: the house she used to live in | : the house she used to live in | ||
To relativise the subject of a ''present'' copula, ''łom'' (from hā-3ūmid 'that is standing') is used: | To relativise the subject of a ''present'' copula, ''łom'' (from hā-3ūmid 'that is standing') is used: | ||
: '''''abwas łom pə | : R' abwas pə śadə i. -> '''''abwas łom pə śadə i''''' | ||
: the apple in my flat | : the apple in my flat | ||
: ''''' | : Ri plenžil śni leht im. -> '''''plenžil łom xni leht im''''' | ||
: the people who have gone | : the people who have gone | ||
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Serial verbs are also very common in Knench: | Serial verbs are also very common in Knench: | ||
: '''''Pow Móšé ðə kaht | : '''''Pow Móšé ðə kaht vdųś prið u. / Fow Móšé ðə buð kaht vdųś prið u. ''''' | ||
: come.PST.3SG.M Moshe FA take.INF open.INF gift / PST.3SG.M Moshe FA come.INF take.INF open.INF gift 3SG.M | : come.PST.3SG.M Moshe FA take.INF open.INF gift 3sg.m / PST.3SG.M Moshe FA come.INF take.INF open.INF gift 3SG.M | ||
:Moshe came, took, and opened his gift. | :Moshe came, took, and opened his gift. | ||
Directionals derived from verbs, such as '' | Directionals derived from verbs, such as ''leht'' '(t)hence', ''bu'' '(t)hither' and ''kub'' 'movement together with another person' are also common and may replace pronouns. | ||
=== Wh-questions === | === Wh-questions === | ||
No special treatment is observed unless the wh-word is the subject, in which case ''łom'' is used after the wh-word. However, ''łom'' is not used in a question in the form of a nominal sentence. (As always, ''ri'' is dropped in questions.) | No special treatment is observed unless the wh-word is the subject, in which case ''łom'' is used after the wh-word. However, ''łom'' is not used in a question in the form of a nominal sentence. (As always, ''ri'' is dropped in questions.) | ||
:'''''Dar | :'''''Dar Petə bə fluð?''''' | ||
:''What's Peter doing?'' | :''What's Peter doing?'' | ||
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:''Where are you?'' | :''Where are you?'' | ||
:'''''Énr fows | :'''''Énr fows tə ðə leht?''''' / '''''Énr laws tr?''''' | ||
:''Where have you been?'' | :''Where have you been?'' | ||
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Knench has the following vocabulary layers: | Knench has the following vocabulary layers: | ||
# Most of the common words are inherited from the Semitic common ancestor of Ancient Knench and Biblical Hebrew, however they often show drastic semantic drift or | # Most of the common words are inherited from the Semitic common ancestor of Ancient Knench and Biblical Hebrew, however they often show drastic semantic drift or univerbation. Example: ''šłúd'' 'a lot' comes from ''saȝudō'' 'feast'. Cranberry morphemes are not uncommon in Semito-Knench. | ||
# Azalic substrate | # Azalic substrate | ||
# Ancient Greek, Aramaic | # Ancient Greek, Aramaic | ||
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Many words are formed from earlier construct state or verb + object combinations, and are sometimes unrecognizable as such: | Many words are formed from earlier construct state or verb + object combinations, and are sometimes unrecognizable as such: | ||
*'' | *''əmbein'' 'brick' from ''*habanē binjan'' 'building stones' | ||
*'' | *''həvgom'' 'massacre; (slang) debacle, fiasco; a mess' from ''*šafx dam'' 'spilling of blood' | ||
*'' | *''łienəm'' 'source' from ''ʕēn mayim'' 'spring of water' | ||
*''xifin'' 'to like' from ''*śe'θ fin'' lit. 'lift the face of' meaning 'to favor' | *''xifin'' 'to like' from ''*śe'θ fin'' lit. 'lift the face of' meaning 'to favor' | ||
*'' | *''xihniem (el)'' 'to look at' from ''*śe'θ 3ēnajim'' 'lift eyes' | ||
*'' | *''krəlieb'' 'conscience' from ''*qūl hal-lēbb'' lit. 'voice of the heart' | ||
Some productive affixes are: | Some productive affixes are: | ||
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** ''pnar'' 'wolf' comes from older *ben harr 'mountainling'; a euphemism replacing Ancient Knench ''zēb'', which had become taboo by Old Knench | ** ''pnar'' 'wolf' comes from older *ben harr 'mountainling'; a euphemism replacing Ancient Knench ''zēb'', which had become taboo by Old Knench | ||
*peδ- = place noun | *peδ- = place noun | ||
*pəd-/ | *pəd-/pd- = associated inanimate, esp. singulative of a collective noun (from peθθ 'daughter') | ||
** '' | ** ''pdoo'' = tree (*pett ja3r) | ||
** ''pdam'' = wave (*pett jamm) | ** ''pdam'' = wave (*pett jamm) | ||
** '' | ** ''pdəəm'' = word (irreg. metathesis from *pett himrō) | ||
** ''pdeš'' = flame | ** ''pdeš'' = flame | ||
** ''pled'' = echo | ** ''pled'' = echo | ||
** '' | ** ''pədnə'' = stream | ||
** '' | ** ''pəmtaa'' = dew (from ''mtaa'' 'rain') | ||
** '' | ** ''pədkažəm'' = (''poetic'') petrichor | ||
*''-l'' = transitivizer or causative of verbs (from a -w ~ - | *''-l'' = transitivizer or causative of verbs (from a -w ~ -ul alternation in some intransitive-transitive verb pairs) | ||
* -is: -ess (from | ** ''hamžəl'' 'to dry' < ''hamž'' '(archaic) sun' | ||
* -is: -ess (from Greek) | |||
** ''vazilis'' 'queen' < ''vazil'' 'king' | ** ''vazilis'' 'queen' < ''vazil'' 'king' | ||
** '' | ** ''mææšivis'' 'witch' < ''mææšiv'' 'mage, wizard' | ||
* ''lið-'' = mediopassive | * ''lið-'' = mediopassive | ||
* ''məð-'' is more productive and is used to form verbal adjectives, serving the role of passive participles | * ''məð-'' is more productive and is used to form verbal adjectives, serving the role of passive participles | ||
** ''luri'' 'to amaze'; ''muri'' 'amazing'; ''məðuri'' 'amazed' | ** ''luri'' 'to amaze'; ''muri'' 'amazing'; ''məðuri'' 'amazed' | ||
==Example texts== | ==Example texts== | ||
===UDHR, Article 1=== | ===UDHR, Article 1=== | ||
:''''' | :'''''Law xol plææžil ðə les im bə śraa ej bə haw łaj hogləs ej rejtil. Kalu'm ðə lugud jaś režən ej krəliəb, ej r'im bə śeht im liðali śad jaśəm hɨɨv p nažəm axə.''''' | ||
:PASS.PST.3SG.NF all human/PL-DEF.PL be_born 3PL PRED free and PRED equal on dignity-DEF.SG and right-DEF.PL. PASS.PRES-3PL endow with reason and conscience, and PRES.3PL PRES carry 3PL behave with one_another LOC spirit brotherhood. | :PASS.PST.3SG.NF all human/PL-DEF.PL be_born 3PL PRED free and PRED equal on dignity-DEF.SG and right-DEF.PL. PASS.PRES-3PL endow with reason and conscience, and PRES.3PL PRES carry 3PL behave with one_another LOC spirit brotherhood. | ||
:''All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act toward one another in a spirit of brotherhood.'' | :''All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act toward one another in a spirit of brotherhood.'' | ||
===Schleicher's Fable=== | ===Schleicher's Fable=== | ||
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==Phrasebook== | ==Phrasebook== | ||
When three forms are given, the forms are respectively for addressing one man (informally), one woman (informally), and politely/gender-neutrally respectively. | When three forms are given, the forms are respectively for addressing one man (informally), one woman (informally), and politely/gender-neutrally respectively. | ||
*'' | *''Hlum!'' = Hello! / Goodbye! | ||
* '' | * ''Matin tub!'' = Good morning! | ||
* '' | * ''Śnitsoə tub!'' = Good afternoon! | ||
* '' | * ''Łaab tub!'' = Good evening! | ||
* '' | * ''Liəl tub!'' = Good night! | ||
*'' | *''Śakə!'' = See you! | ||
*''Bu | *''Bu də/di/dim!'' = Welcome! | ||
*''Praw lah | *''Praw lah tə/ti [lam tim]!'' = Thank you! | ||
*'' | *''Im tsəśiəm tə/ti/tim'' = Please (etym. ''himm jimtsā Hinn ba3ēnēxa'' 'if it finds favor in your eyes') | ||
**also '' | **also ''pləiz'' (from English) | ||
*''łeþ tub'' = have fun | *''łeþ tub'' = have fun | ||
* '' | * ''Ajžə heməs kaws tə/ti [kawðu tim]?'' = What's your name? | ||
*''Kawð i ðə | *''Kawð i ðə [NAME].'' = My name is [NAME]. | ||
*''Powð i men...'' = I'm from... | *''Powð i men...'' = I'm from... | ||
*'' | *''Lawð i les pə...'' = I was born in... | ||
*''I bə fu.'' = I'm here. | *''I bə fu.'' = I'm here. | ||
*''(I bə) | *''(I bə) ðuəb i ðah tə/ti [ðam tim].'' = I love you. | ||
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]] | [[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]] | ||
[[Category:Languages]] | [[Category:Languages]] | ||
[[Category:Semitic languages]] | [[Category:Semitic languages]] | ||
[[Category:Stem-Hebrew]] | [[Category:Stem-Hebrew]] |
Latest revision as of 01:46, 5 March 2024
IlL/A Danified analytic Neo-Arabic/Lexicon
IlL/A Danified analytic Neo-Arabic/Swadesh list
IlL/A Danified analytic Neo-Arabic/Diachronics
Knench | |
---|---|
Xnɪəni | |
Created by | Inthar |
Setting | Verse:Irta |
Native to | Irta Libya |
Afro-Asiatic
|
ɵ
Knench (/nɛntʃ/, from Old Knench χnānī via Old Azalic ŋnoinisχ; natively Xnɪəni /xnɪəni/ or nɨɨm Xnɪən /nɨːm xnɪən) is a Semitic language spoken in the Irta timeline and the closest living relative to Hebrew in Irta. The name of the language comes from Ancient Knench kanaȝn 'Canaan'. Knench has received strong Azalic influence throughout its history since Ancient Knench times, and genetic studies have shown that the Knench are descendants of Azalic speakers who adopted a Canaanite language. The language descends from a close relative of Biblical Hebrew which was spoken in North Africa (which was spoken instead of our Punic in Irta), but its grammar is far less synthetic than its ancestor: lexical verbs were completely restructured to use constructions with auxiliaries and infinitives instead of the older prefix and suffix conjugations, and it has lost grammatical gender like Togarmite and Far East Semitic. Knench has many loanwords from various sources including Greek, Azalic, Coptic, Berber, Arabic, Aramaic, Romance, and English.
A majority of modern Knench people are Muslim; some are Christian, Jewish or neopagan. There is a Judeo-Knench, with Hebrew and Aramaic loanwords.
It's inspired grammatically by Welsh and Irish, and aesthetically by English, Danish, Naeng, and Khmer.
Names
Native Knench names
- Parm (f.) is from baśam
- Þor (m.) 'bull (from Aramaic)'
Hugin and Munin (de novo derived from active participles *hūgi and *mūni) are modern fantasy characters
History
TODO
- Focus prominence (like Welsh)
- retain vav consecutive forms of auxiliaries
- vi = "and then" (used for consecutive events; ~ BH wayhi)
- -x > -rh
- A sentence consisting entirely of replacements and compounds?
- I dal bə kpeen pnaarə. = I don't see any wolves. (Heb: Ani lo ro'e ze'evim.)
- Hard mode: a sentence where every content word has a Semitic cranberry morpheme
- Swadesh list
- bel-, ble- is a common prefix (conflation of ben- and ba3al-)
- Many adverbs from infinitive absolute
- Philippi should be weaker: i > e, instead of the TibH i > a (*bint > peþ 'daughter'; TibH baṫ)
- Mén fows ta xett kori? = Why did you have to die?
- replace a lot of Canaanite vocabulary with other words
Some sound changes
- Maghrebi Arabic craziness (happens early on, ca. 9th-10th century)
- -ə (mainly from ACub -ō) becomes silent and lengthens the vowel before it
- non-rhoticity (nonrhoticity has to happen after fem sg ending loss)
- ħ > x; *gt, kt, ᴋt, ħt > ht
- ś > usually x, sometimes f or fl
- d-t, t-t (morpheme boundary) > st
- xr > x
- Ri ni b žejn i p Mednə Əśidəs 'I live in the United States'
- š- > h-
- univerbate like crazy
Phonology
Consonants
- /m n ʁ̃ʷ l w j ɹ̠/ ⟨m n ł h l w j r⟩
- /p b f v t d θ ð k g/ ⟨p b f v t d þ ð k g⟩
- /s̪ z̪ t̪͡s̪ ʃ ʒ tʃ s̠ t̠͡s̠ x h/ ⟨s z c š ž č ś ć x h⟩
/t d/ are alveolar, and /θ ð/ are dental. /θ ð/ may be realized as [t̪ d̪].
/s̪ z̪ t̪͡s̪/ are lamino-dental, like Basque z.
/s̠ t̠͡s̠/ are retracted apico-alveolar, like Greek /s/.
Ancient Knench /l/ became /w/ in some places, especially before C or pausa.
Stops are unaspirated.
Judeo-Knench has final r in borrowed Hebrew and Aramaic vocabulary.
Vowels
IlL/A Danified analytic Neo-Arabic has the largest vowel inventory of any Semitic language in Irta. It has many diphthongs.
Prosody
Stress
Stress tends penultimate or final.
Intonation
Phonotactics
Morphophonology
Orthography
Modern Knench has an orthography using an alphabet descended from the Paleo-Hebrew script, where spelling reflects Middle Knench.
Morphology
IlL/A Danified analytic Neo-Arabic has lost the verbal inflections and triconsonantal morphology of Ancient Knench.
Nouns and adjectives
Nouns inflect for number and definiteness. Like in English, proper nouns don't take the definite article. Attributive adjectives agree with nouns in number, but predicate adjectives do not. Knench has lost grammatical gender and the construct state, although animates still have natural gender.
Number and definiteness
IlL/A Danified analytic Neo-Arabic has regularized most plurals to -ə (from a merger of Ancient Knench -īn > *-ī and -ūδ). -u nouns become -lə in the plural: þebu, þeblə 'a world, worlds'.
Nouns inflect for definiteness, as follows:
- Singular: -əs (after C), (from haz-ze and haz-zū)
- Plural: -il, replacing the plural suffix -ə if any (from ha-2ili), -u + -il > -ul
- Plurals must be memorized! For example -u may become -ləs (specifically when the -u comes from a vocalized /-l/).
Words ending in a schwa add an intrusive R between the final vowel and the plural suffix.
Some irregular plurals: penš, plenš = human
Examples:
- śadə /ˈs̠adə/ = an apartment/flat
- śadrəs /ˈs̠adɹəs/ = the flat
- śadrə /ˈs̠adɹə/ = flats
- śadril /ˈs̠adɹɪl/ = the flats
- śadə bušət /ˈs̠adə ˈbʊʃət/ = a big flat
- śadrəs bušət /ˈs̠adɹəs ˈbʊʃət/ = the big flat
- śadrə buštə /ˈs̠adɹə ˈbʊʃtə/ = big flats
- śadril buštə /ˈs̠adɹɪl ˈbʊʃtə/ = the big flats
-ma nouns from Greek become -mat nouns: þemat, þematas, þematə, þematil 'topic, theme'.
Predicative adjectives
The predicative/adverbial marker bə followed by the bare form is used for predicative adjectives: Ri śadrəs bə bušət 'The room is big'.
Degree
- Equative: de = as X as; equally X (~ BH day 'enough')
- Comparative/Superlative: -ur = more X or most X (from *3abūr, infinitive absolute of 'to exceed'); comparandum takes prej 'than' (from Ancient Knench pirūðī 'when I see'). The -ur form is indeclinable.
Example: bušət 'big', de bušət 'as big as'; buštur 'bigger/biggest'
Pronouns
Knench has a pronoun system similar to European languages, except that there is no grammatical gender and se "that" is used as an inanimate or gender-neutral pronoun. There is a T-V distinction: the 2nd person plural tim is also used as a polite pronoun.
I (/i:/ or /ɪ/) is the default form for the 1sg subject pronoun; ni is used after a vowel or for disambiguation.
For gender-neutral usage, tu has been proposed as a 2nd person singular neopronoun (inspired by Indo-European languages). This isn't as common as using the 2nd person plural tim as singular, however.
Knench emphatic pronouns come from a suffixed -nna (precative).
→ Person | I | thou (m) | thou (f) | he | she | we | ye | they |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Basic forms | i, ni | tə | ti | u | oj | nu | tim | im |
Emphatic forms | (n)in | tan | ten | un | ojn, hin | nun | temnə | emnə |
Interrogative pronouns
- da, ida = what? (nominal) (*hajj dabar 'what thing')
- ew = who? (*2ajj hū)
- poetic mi
- ajšə = which?
- énə = where?
- məðé = when?
- əziəp = why? (the reason something happened) (or from another phrase of the form "ayy [NOUN]")
- maləx = why? (the reason someone does something) (*ma lak 'what's the matter')
- xam = how many?
- xiəlt = how?
Verbs
Almost all verbs use only one form. For native verbs, this form may be derived from:
- the infinitive construct or the imperative (mostly basic verbs)
- a deverbal noun pattern (most common)
- a univerbation of a verb + noun collocation
The infinitive form may or may not have a prefixed l-, depending on the verb; however, even verbs without l- often display a voicing mutation attesting to the historical lV- (e.g. žbuð 'to be idle, to lie fallow'). Some verbs instead are derived from other nouns derived from the relevant triconsonantal root rather than the infinitive of a particular verb (e.g. benin 'to build', cognate to the Hebrew noun binyan; from the root b-n-y)
The infinitive is also used as an imperative: ðeht ló oj! = 'Give it to her!' Imperatives are negated by placing bal or bawði before the verb.
Inflected verbs
Knench has only six inflected verbs (i.e. verbs with inflected past and future forms):
- luð 'to be'
- śuð 'to do' (from *ʕaśō, with contamination from *paȝal): used to form past and future perfective tenses
- buð 'to come' (from *bô): sometimes means 'must, have to'. bu is still used as a directional.
- leht 'to go' (from *halak), also used as a passive auxilliary for dechticaetiative objects
- kaht 'to take' (from *laqaħ): also used for animate patients of ditransitive verbs
- ðeht 'to give' (from *natan, with contamination from *hinīħ 'to leave' and naħħil 'to bequeath'): also used for causatives
Their forms have become more similar to each other due to analogy.
Knench maintains a distinction between independent and dependent forms for finite verbs, like Old Irish. The independent forms come from the Ancient Knench waw-consecutive. Using a preverb such as lu 'not', veə '(interrogative form of present marker ri)', xaž 'relativizer', or śu 'I'm sure that...' (from the infinitive absolute *3aśū of *3aśō 'to do'; generalized from *3aśū ja3śiju 'he will indeed do') requires the dependent form. Dependent past forms and future forms are formally identical to independent future forms and past forms, respectively, except for luð 'to be'.
Even verbs with finite forms are defective verbs, since finite forms are always perfective (except forms of luð). To express the imperfective with these verbs, you still have to use the copula + bə + VN construction. The negator lu only negates finite verbs.
The present particle ri comes from ruʔi, the imperative of raʔō 'to see'. Ri is not used in subordinate clauses:
- Ri Đavíð þaś žin. = David is about to sleep.
- Pið Đavíð þaś žin, r'u dal bə xapuð uras. = When David goes to sleep, he doesn't turn off the lights.
- Veə Đavíð þaś žin? = Is David going to bed? (neutral)
- Ri Đavíð dar þaś žin. = David is not going to bed.
→ Person | I | thou (m) | thou (f) | he | she | we | you (plural) | they | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Present ri/r' | i, ni | tə | ti | r'u | r'oj | nu | tim | r'im | |
luð | future indep. | wej(ð) i | wejs tə | wejs ti | wii u | wieþ oj | wejn nu | wejs tim | wilu'm |
future dep. | jie i | þies tə | þies ti | jie u | þieþ oj | nien nu | þies tim | juu'm | |
past indep. | waj i | was tə | was ti | waj u | waþ oj | wan nu | was tim | waju'm | |
past dep. | hej(ð) i | hejs tə | hejs ti | hie u | hieþ oj | hejn nu | hejs tim | hilu'm | |
śuð | future indep. | fow(ð) i | fows tə | fows ti | fow u | foəþ oj | fown nu | fows tim | folu'm |
past indep. | woś i | þoś tə | þoś ti | joś u | þoś oj | noś nu | þoś tim | jośu'm | |
buð | future indep. | pow(ð) i | pows tə | pows ti | pow u | poəþ oj | pown nu | pows tim | polu'm |
past indep. | pax i | tpax tə | tpaj ti | pax u | tpax oj | pax nu | tpaw tim | paw'm | |
leht | future indep. | law(ð) i | laws tə | laws ti | law u | laəþ oj | lawn nu | laws tim | lalu'm |
past indep. | lax i | tlax tə | tlej ti | lax u | tlax oj | lax nu | tlaw tim | law'm | |
kaht | future indep. | kaw(ð) i | kaws tə | kaws ti | kaw u | kaəþ oj | kawn nu | kaws tim | kalu'm |
past indep. | kax i | tkax tə | tkaj ti | kax u | tkax oj | kax nu | tkaw tim | kaw'm | |
ðeht | future indep. | naw(ð) i | naws tə | naws ti | naw u | naəþ oj | nawn nu | naws tim | nalu'm |
past indep. | nax i | tnax tə | tnaj ti | nax u | tnax oj | nax nu | tnaw tim | naw'm |
Regular pa3al verbs
The regular pattern is *(li)CCuC.
When the historical C1 is a pharyngeal, the l- usually resurfaces:
- C1 = ayin: lubuə 'to go past' /lʊˈbuə/
- C1 = heth: litul 'to cease/stop' /lɪˈtʊl/
This doesn't happen when C1 = aleph/he: vuð /vʊð/ 'to bake, to fire', zuð /z̪ʊð/ 'to be crazy, to be cool'.
*-t verbs
- leht /lɛht/ = to go by foot
- kaht /kaht/ = to take
- žeht /ʒɛht/ = to go back
- žef /ʒɛf/ = to sit
- les /lɛs̪/ = to be born
- res /ɹɛs̪/ = to go down
- reš /ɹɛʃ/ = to acquire; to get
- ðeht /ðɛht/ = to give
- śeht /s̠ɛht/ = to carry, to owe, should
- ceht /t̪͡s̪ɛht/ = to go out, to start X-ing
- žoot /ʒoːt/ = (of time) to go by
- goot /goːt/ = to do X correctly
- doot /doːt/ = to know
- toot /toːt/ = to farm, to grow (plants)
Prepositions
Prepositions inflect like in Welsh: for pronominal prepositional objects, usually the preposition is inflected and is followed by the independent pronoun. The inflected preposition is stressed unless the emphatic pronoun is used: lah tə /'lax tə/ 'to you' vs. lah tan /lax 'tan/ 'to you, specifically'.
example of a IlL/A Danified analytic Neo-Arabic inflected preposition: el "for"; pə/p' 'in, at' is inflected similarly
- 1sg: l'i, li ni
- 2sg.m: lah tə
- 2sg.f: lah ti
- 3sg.m: lom u
- 3sg.f: l'oj, ló oj
- 3sg.n: ləze
- 1pl. lon nu
- 2pl. lam tim
- 3pl. low'm
Other prepositions:
- men = from
- tubel = for
- jaən = because of (also "reason")
- łaj = on, above
- jaś, jaśəm = with (both inst. and com.)
- pəłee = inside, within
- sim. ləłee, məłee 'into, out of'
- pəlip = amidst
- wen = without
- mənie = before, in front of
- kodm = before (temporally)
- śni = after (Hitsi šeni 'second half')
- məłææl = above
- məþææl = below
- þaht = instead of
- til = like, as
- śakə = until
Numbers
0-10: sifə, śaa, hniəm/hniə (attributive), hluž, arvu, śami, šeš, šebu, hmɨɨn, þež, łaaś
11-20: štoo, hnajoo, hlužoo, arvoo, śamižoo, šešoo, šeboo, hmɨɨnoo, þežoo, hniə łəəśi
21-30: łəəśi śaa, łəəśi hniəm, ... łəəśi łaaś
31-40: łəəśi štąh, ..., hniə łəəśi
41, 42, ...: hniə łəəśi śaa, hniə łəəśi šném, ...
60: hluž łəəśi
...
100: miə
1000: awv
Syntax
Constituent order
The order is tense-subject-verb-object.
- R'ižəs ław bloo u abləs.
- The man is eating the apple.
- Ri piəð u bə de kruu til stadi.
- His house is as big as a stadium.
- Fól oj ðə fluð xawgpéð oj bə ro-múxr.
- She did her homework too late.
The negative particle dal (from tabar lū 'not anything') comes after the subject pronoun and before the verb.
Faulty accusative
IlL/A Danified analytic Neo-Arabic has the faulty accusative (glossed as FA) particle ðə or ð' , from Ancient Knench jūδ ha-. It is actually not used for direct objects, but only for constituents that are separated from their heads. It also replaces a (TAM-marking) "preposition" in front of a lexical verb, when no preposition is used.
Noun phrase
Y's X = X Y-DEF: šem vaziləs = the king's name
To say "this X" or "that X", X-DEF fu and X-DEF feni (lit. "the X here" and "the X there") are used. To say "this" and "that", you say se fu and se feni (where the se becomes ilə in the plural).
havu, haveni = like this, like that
The abstract demonstrative (referring to sentences or facts) is suð.
Verb phrase
Knench allows arbitrarily long chains of pseudo-auxiliaries:
- R'oj bə kofstəl* oj gąt latsææg.
- 3SG.F.PRES IPFV never_fail to_do_correctly to_joke
- Her jokes never fail to land.
(*) a loan from an unknown source
VN constructions
Knench has a rich tense-aspect system which expresses imperfective/perfective as well as progressive and perfect.
- ri Parm bə leht oj = Parm goes
- ri Parm ław leht oj = Parm is going
- ri Parm þax leht oj = Parm is about to go
- ri Parm xni leht oj = Parm has gone
- ri Parm xni juð oj bə leht = Parm has been going
- ri Parm dəž leht oj = Parm just went
- ri Parm wen leht oj = Parm hasn't went
- fól Parm ðə leht = Parm went (perfective; cf. AAVE She done went)
- þąf Parm ðə leht = Parm will go (perfective)
- han Parm bə leht oj = Parm went (imperfective)
- þé Parm bə leht oj = Parm will go (imperfective)
- leht! = Go! (number neutral)
- gwenu leht! (3uqbinu lekt "follow us to go") = Let's go!
In clauses with a copula and a verbal noun, Knench requires the pronoun corresponding to the subject to come right after the verbal noun: R'ižəs bø hél u ð'abwəs. This is etymologically "See the man when he's eating the apple", cf. Biblical and literary Modern Hebrew באכלו את התפוח "when he eats the apple (but tense- and aspect-neutral)".
The clause-initial subject pronoun + bə colloquially tends to be omitted in the present tense when the subject is 1st or 2nd person: Ðób tə ð'i nr? 'Do you love me?'
Passive and causative
Ðett 'to give' is used as an auxiliary for the causative:
- Nawð i ðə pinxadəs el kapwəs el ąnuj.
- I made the horse bore the farmer to death.
- (lit. I gave the horse the farmer to inflict boredom)
In a ðett-causative construction, the more animate object takes the dative preposition el. This connects ditransitives which are causatives of transitives to the basic ditransitive verb 'give'.
To form passives two different auxiliaries are used:
- Kaht 'to take' is used as an auxiliary to raise the animate object of a ditransitive verb.
- leht 'to go' is used to raise the inanimate object of both monotransitive and ditransitive verbs (as well as the object of the original verb which is causativized).
- Kawð u đə ląbur mitəs rup məšólə.
- 'He was made to suffer so many things.'
- Lawð łeśwəs đə hél men kapwəs.
- 'The grass was fed to the horse.'
Balancing vs deranking conjunctions
Balancing conjunctions take full finite clauses (clauses with a finite verb or an auxiliary):
- ej "and"
- ow "or"
- mur (complementizer)
- łeþr "when"
- wí "if" (< *wa-kī)
- jern "because"
Deranking conjunctions replace finite forms of the copula juð and thus are also called copula-replacing conjunctions (e.g. by Hrafn). Some CRCs are:
- prí "than"
- jið (complementizer)
- pið "when"
Time clauses
pið-clauses
A pið-clause is in the same tense as the clause it's embedded in. Pið-clauses denote states, things that can be marked with re + tense markers in the present tense), rather than completed actions.
łeþr-clauses
łeþr are used for clauses with auxiliaries other than the present tense copula.
Complementizer
There is a complementizer mur (from lēmūr) or jið (from conflation of hajūδ 'to be' and jūδ accusative marker) depending on dialect.
Relativizer
In most cases, relative clauses use the relativizer xaž (from *χa-ʔašir 'like that which'). n may appear after the resumptive pronoun if one is used.
Subject of a copula auxiliary:
- paras xaž hie __ bə gri u "pnar"
- the boy who cried (would cry) wolf
Subject with a non-copula auxiliary:
- paras xaž fow __ gri "pnar"
- the boy who cried wolf (once)
Direct object:
- vivlias xaž fown nu ðə gru (se (n))
- the book that we read
Oblique object:
- péðas xaž hieþ oj bə xun oj pəze (n)
- the house she used to live in
To relativise the subject of a present copula, łom (from hā-3ūmid 'that is standing') is used:
- R' abwas pə śadə i. -> abwas łom pə śadə i
- the apple in my flat
- Ri plenžil śni leht im. -> plenžil łom xni leht im
- the people who have gone
Serial verb construction
Serial verbs are also very common in Knench:
- Pow Móšé ðə kaht vdųś prið u. / Fow Móšé ðə buð kaht vdųś prið u.
- come.PST.3SG.M Moshe FA take.INF open.INF gift 3sg.m / PST.3SG.M Moshe FA come.INF take.INF open.INF gift 3SG.M
- Moshe came, took, and opened his gift.
Directionals derived from verbs, such as leht '(t)hence', bu '(t)hither' and kub 'movement together with another person' are also common and may replace pronouns.
Wh-questions
No special treatment is observed unless the wh-word is the subject, in which case łom is used after the wh-word. However, łom is not used in a question in the form of a nominal sentence. (As always, ri is dropped in questions.)
- Dar Petə bə fluð?
- What's Peter doing?
- Dar łom bə gruð?
- What's happening?
- Dar se fu? (*Dar łom se fu?)
- What's this?
- Énr ti?
- Where are you?
- Énr fows tə ðə leht? / Énr laws tr?
- Where have you been?
Vocabulary
Knench has the following vocabulary layers:
- Most of the common words are inherited from the Semitic common ancestor of Ancient Knench and Biblical Hebrew, however they often show drastic semantic drift or univerbation. Example: šłúd 'a lot' comes from saȝudō 'feast'. Cranberry morphemes are not uncommon in Semito-Knench.
- Azalic substrate
- Ancient Greek, Aramaic
- Latin, Romance, Arabic, Turkic and Modern Greek
Although it is attested in Ancient Knench, the *CaCīCō verbal noun pattern is not as productive as the corresponding pattern in Mishnaic and Modern Hebrew.
Many words are formed from earlier construct state or verb + object combinations, and are sometimes unrecognizable as such:
- əmbein 'brick' from *habanē binjan 'building stones'
- həvgom 'massacre; (slang) debacle, fiasco; a mess' from *šafx dam 'spilling of blood'
- łienəm 'source' from ʕēn mayim 'spring of water'
- xifin 'to like' from *śe'θ fin lit. 'lift the face of' meaning 'to favor'
- xihniem (el) 'to look at' from *śe'θ 3ēnajim 'lift eyes'
- krəlieb 'conscience' from *qūl hal-lēbb lit. 'voice of the heart'
Some productive affixes are:
- pen-/ple- = agentive, -ling
- pnar 'wolf' comes from older *ben harr 'mountainling'; a euphemism replacing Ancient Knench zēb, which had become taboo by Old Knench
- peδ- = place noun
- pəd-/pd- = associated inanimate, esp. singulative of a collective noun (from peθθ 'daughter')
- pdoo = tree (*pett ja3r)
- pdam = wave (*pett jamm)
- pdəəm = word (irreg. metathesis from *pett himrō)
- pdeš = flame
- pled = echo
- pədnə = stream
- pəmtaa = dew (from mtaa 'rain')
- pədkažəm = (poetic) petrichor
- -l = transitivizer or causative of verbs (from a -w ~ -ul alternation in some intransitive-transitive verb pairs)
- hamžəl 'to dry' < hamž '(archaic) sun'
- -is: -ess (from Greek)
- vazilis 'queen' < vazil 'king'
- mææšivis 'witch' < mææšiv 'mage, wizard'
- lið- = mediopassive
- məð- is more productive and is used to form verbal adjectives, serving the role of passive participles
- luri 'to amaze'; muri 'amazing'; məðuri 'amazed'
Example texts
UDHR, Article 1
- Law xol plææžil ðə les im bə śraa ej bə haw łaj hogləs ej rejtil. Kalu'm ðə lugud jaś režən ej krəliəb, ej r'im bə śeht im liðali śad jaśəm hɨɨv p nažəm axə.
- PASS.PST.3SG.NF all human/PL-DEF.PL be_born 3PL PRED free and PRED equal on dignity-DEF.SG and right-DEF.PL. PASS.PRES-3PL endow with reason and conscience, and PRES.3PL PRES carry 3PL behave with one_another LOC spirit brotherhood.
- All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act toward one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Schleicher's Fable
Phrasebook
When three forms are given, the forms are respectively for addressing one man (informally), one woman (informally), and politely/gender-neutrally respectively.
- Hlum! = Hello! / Goodbye!
- Matin tub! = Good morning!
- Śnitsoə tub! = Good afternoon!
- Łaab tub! = Good evening!
- Liəl tub! = Good night!
- Śakə! = See you!
- Bu də/di/dim! = Welcome!
- Praw lah tə/ti [lam tim]! = Thank you!
- Im tsəśiəm tə/ti/tim = Please (etym. himm jimtsā Hinn ba3ēnēxa 'if it finds favor in your eyes')
- also pləiz (from English)
- łeþ tub = have fun
- Ajžə heməs kaws tə/ti [kawðu tim]? = What's your name?
- Kawð i ðə [NAME]. = My name is [NAME].
- Powð i men... = I'm from...
- Lawð i les pə... = I was born in...
- I bə fu. = I'm here.
- (I bə) ðuəb i ðah tə/ti [ðam tim]. = I love you.