Grayis

Grayis
Grayis
Pronunciation	[/ˈgrä.jɪs/]
Created by	BenJamin P. Johnson, additionally creator of: Brooding Dlatci Grayis Maltcégj Northeadish Valthungian
Date	2018
Setting	Planet Oyrigin
Language family	language isolate Grayis
Language codes
ISO 639-3	none

Grayis is an a priori language created by BenJamin P. Johnson for Infinite Mind Pictures, Inc. to serve as the language of the Grayis Kin, one of six alien races who feature in the board game and upcoming screenplay Pilots of Gallaxia.

Phonology

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
High	i · ī [ɪ · iː]		u · ū [ʊ · uː]
Mid	ai [e̞ː ~ ai̯]		au [o̞ː ~ au̯]
Low		a · ā [ä · äː]

Consonants

	Labial	Coronal	Dorsal	Glottal
Plosive	p · b	t · d	k · g
Affricate		ch [ʧ] · j [ʤ]
Fricative		s ·	kh · [x]	h ·
Approximant	· w		· j
Tap or Trill		· r [r~ɾ]
Lateral		· l
Nasal	· m	· n

Orthography

/

m

n

p

b

t

d

k

g

ʧ

ʤ

s

x

h

w

j

r

l

i

iː

ai̯

ä

äː

au̯

u

uː

/

‹

m

n

p

b

t

d

k

g

ch

j

s

kh

h

w

j

r

l

i

ī

ai

a

ā

au

u

ū

›

• /ʤ/ is spelt ‹dj› when word-final.

Phonotactics

• Words cannot start with /s/.
• /h/ cannot occur intervocalically or follow another consonant.
• /s/ can only occur word-finally.
• Words cannot end with /g/ or any consonant cluster.
• Vowels (except for diphthongs) must be separated by a consonant.
• Word-initial consonant clusters are limited to [plosive]+[liquid] (i.e. {ptkbdg} + {lr}), but not /tl/ or /dl/.
• Intervocalic clusters may be:
  • Any geminates except /gg/, /ss/, /xx/, /hh/, /ww/, or /jj/.
  • Any [plosive]+[liquid] combination (including /tl/ and /dl/).
  • Any [plosive]+/w/.
  • Any [nasal]+[unvoiced plosive].
  • /ngw/, /hk/, /hw/, /hj/
• Unstressed /au/ is realized as [o̞ː]
• Unstressed /ai/ is realized as [e̞ː]
• Unstressed /a/ may be realized as [ə] or [ɐ]
• /ʧ/ may be realized as [ʨ] for some speakers.

Stress

Stress is determined by mora weight of the rime. No syllable can have more than 5 morae (CLVVC) and the rime can have a maximum of three (VVC). When determining stress, the following order takes precedence:

VːC > VVC > Vː > VV > VC > V

If any syllabic weights are equal, the left-most of the equal syllables is stressed. E.g. tā́kkum ‘wide’ /ˈtaːk.kʊm/, grawukkái ‘worm’ /gra.wukˈkai/, irrúntutim ‘cold weather’ /irˈrun.tu.tim/.

When stress deviates from this pattern it is indicated by an acute diacritic. (Examples above are not normally accented, but acute is used for illustrative purposes.)

Numbers

The Grayis number system is nonal (base-9), but has reflexes of an ancient system based on multiples of 3, which can be observed in the etymology of the basic numbers.

Grayis	Decimal	Meaning
rī	1	(1)
ai	2	(2)
chil	3	(3)
chirri	4	(3+1)
kilai	5	(3+2)
aichī	6	(2×3)
chalayī	7	(4×2-1?)
nauri	8	(9-1)
nā	9	(9) (=10 in nonal)
chillīkka	27	(=30 in nonal: 33, ‘great three’)

Further numbers are formed by compounding using the word ha ‘and’.

Na (Teens)	Dec.	Non.	Ayinnā (20)	Dec.	Non.	Tens	Dec.	Non.	Multiples	Dec.	Non.
narī	10	11	ayinnā ha rī	19	21	na-	9	10	nā	32	10
nanai	11	12	ayinnā ha ai	20	22	ayinnā	18	20	duhkā	34	100
nachil	12	13	ayinnā ha chil	21	23	chillā	27	30	kaigu	36	1,000
nachirri	13	14	ayinnā ha chirri	22	24	chirrinnā	36	40	nakaigu	38	10,000
nakilai	14	15	ayinnā ha kilai	23	25	kilinnā	45	50	duhkakkaigu	310	100,000
nalaichī	15	16	ayinnā ha aichī	24	26	aichinnā	54	60	īlim	312	1,000,000
nachalayī	16	17	ayinnā ha chalayī	25	27	chalainā	63	70	jumai	314	1,000,000,000
nanāli	17	18	ayinnā ha nauri	26	28	naurinnā	72	80
ayinnā	18	20	chillīkka	27	30	duhkā	81	100

Pronouns

Subject	Object	Possessive
chal I	challa me	chalu my	first person singular
kit you	kitta you	kitu your	second person singular
yun he/she	yunna him/her	yunu his/her	third person singular animate
wih it	wikha it	wikhu its	third person singular inanimate
kichal you and I / we	kichalla you and me / us	kichalu our	first person dual inclusive
jāla we	jālaya us	jālau our	first person plural
gīs you (all)	gikka you (all)	gīku your	second person plural
yaum they	yumma them	yumu their	third person plural animate
waih they	waiya them	waikhu their	third person plural inanimate

• There is no gender distinction in the third person pronouns, though there is a distinction between animate (“he/she”) and inanimate (“it”).
• There is a first person dual inclusive pronoun (“you and I”), but it is optional; there is not a plural inclusive, and all other first person non-singular roles are assumed by the first person plural, whether inclusive or exclusive.
• As with the third person singular, there is an animacy distinction in the third person plural.

Phrase Book

What is your name?

Turuh kitú julkāt?

[tu'ruh ki'tu ʤul'kaːt]