Zinou Creole

Phonology

Orthography

Zinou Creole is written using the Latin script; however, it lacks a standardised orthography, particularly for certain vowels and consonants, resulting in spelling variations that are largely dependent on individual speaker preference, or the origin of some words. This irregularity is highly common in informal register of Zinou Creole. Notably, words of French origin tend to exhibit greater orthographic and morphological variation, whereas words derived from Persian and Arabic are generally more phonetically straightforward and structurally simpler.

Consonants

	Plosive		Fricative		Nasal	Approximant	Rhotic
Labial	p /p/	b /b/	f ph /f/	v /v/	m /m/	w /w/
Alveolar	t 6 /t/	d 9' /d/	s 9 c[2] ç[3] /s/	z 6’ s[4] /z/	n /n/	l /l/	r /r/[1]
Palatal			ch /ʃ/	j g[2] /ʒ/		y /j/
Velar	k kh qu 5 c[3] ç[2] /k/	g gh q 8 gu[2] /g/
Glottal	' 2 3 /ʔ/	h	/h/

[1] - The pronunciation of /r/ varies by speaker's idiolect. It may be guttural [ʁ] or a rhotic [ɹ], or a flap [ɾ] or a non-rhotic (only pronounced before or between vowels).

[2] - Only used before the vowels e i & y.

[3] - Only used before the vowels a o & u.

Vowels

Monophthong				Diphthong
ɐ	a à	y	u û ü	ɐi̯	aï aë ay
æ	æ ä	ø	eu eû eo	ɐu̯	aô aou aw
ɑ	â	œ	œ ö ø	ei̯	ea ei ey
e	e é ê	o	o ó ô	ou̯	eau où ow
ɛ	è ai aî	ɔ	ò au å	u̯ɐ	oi wa
i	i ee y	u	ou oo ù	u̯e	oë we

Pronouns

Pronouns are words that replace nouns in sentences, serving to avoid repetition. They are categorised into four distinct types: Personal pronouns (Dâmir Chaksi), which refer to specific individuals; Demonstrative pronouns (Dâmir Ichâré), used to indicate specific entities or objects; Interrogative pronouns (Dâmir Porsech), which are employed to ask questions; and Relative pronouns (Dâmir Maouçool), which introduce relative clauses and provide additional information about a noun.

Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns are linguistic elements that serve to distinguish between deictic references to participants in an event, typically categorized into three groups: the speaker (first person) (Parlânt), the addressee (second person) (Dêtinatär), and others (third person) (Nùqtâ). Zinou identifies six subsets of personal pronouns: subject (Àmel), object (Girandé), possessive (Malik), disjunctive (Nettisàl), as well as reflexive (Réfléchi) and intensive (Taôkidee) forms.

		Subject		Object	Possessive		Disjunctive	Reflexive	Intensive
		Isolated	Enclitic		Singular	Plural
Singular	1st Person	Man	M'	Yi, Yee, Ye	Myan, Mian, Mïan	Myen, Mien, Mïen	Moi, Mwa	Nafsi, Nafsy, Nafsee, Nafcy, Nafci, Nafcee	Hàli, Hàly, Hàlee, Hâli, Hâly, Hâlee
	2nd Person	Tou	T'	Yek	Tyan, Tian, Tïan	Tyen, Tien, Tïen	Toi, Twa	Nafsek, Nafcek	Hàlek, Hâlek
	3rd Person	Li	L'	Ya	Syan, Sian, Sïan	Syen, Sien, Sïen	Soi, Swa	Nafsa, Nafça	Hàlha, Hâlha
Plural	1st Person	Nou	N'	Ina	Nyan, Nian, Nïan	Nyen, Nien, Nïen	Nou	Nafsna	Hàlna, Hâlna
	2nd Person	Zòt	Z'	Ikom	Zyan, Zian, Zïan	Zyen, Zien, Zïen	Vou	Nafskom	Hàlkom, Hâlkom
	3rd Person	Hinne	H'	Ihom	Yan	Yen	Eux	Nafsom	Hàlom, Hâlom,

Subject pronouns indicate who or what performs the verb's action. They come in paired forms: Isolated (Izolé) and Enclitic (Mottasèl), with no grammatical difference and are used the same way. Enclitic forms are primarily used when the following word begins with a vowel, y, or w.

• M'a étud kimya, fizya y biologia "I've studied chemistry, physics & biology."
• Li 3ando maïl à trichant "He has a penchant for cheating."

Object pronouns indicate the direct object of a transitive verb (similar to Englishː "me", "you," "him", etc.) If an object pronoun is used, then it is placed in between the subject & the verb, forming an SOV sentence. This remains unchanged even if tense particles appear in a sentence.

• M’ya andåm "I put her to sleep."
• M’ya ro andåm "I’ll put her to sleep."

Possessive pronouns indicate ownership and replace noun phrases. They stand alone and don't need to be followed by a noun. The possessive pronoun must agree to the grammatical number of the object being owned, whether implied or stated.

• çé ta zæhré ou mian? "Is this your flower or mine?"
• çé ta lé zæhré ou mien? "Are these your flowers or mine?"

Disjunctive pronouns are the strong forms of pronouns, used for emphasis or on their own. They serve various functions and are used in the following situations:

1. as objects of prepositions:
2. in dislocated positionsː
3. in cleft sentences:
4. in compound noun phrases:
5. as emphatic subjectsː
6. as objects of verbs in the imperativeː "don moi." Give me.