Gussnish: Difference between revisions

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{{Infobox language
|image =
|imagesize =
|creator = [[User:Praimhín|Praimhín]]
|name = {{PAGENAME}}
|nativename = ''dhuenanae Guqnanaer''
|pronunciation=  /ˈðyːnanɛ ˈgʊɬnanɛr/
|setting = Rulak
|region =
|familycolor=pulchric
|fam1= Pulchric
|fam2= Rencadic
|fam3= P-Rencadic
|script={{PAGENAME}} script (a.k.a. IPA gibberish)
|iso3=
|notice=IPA
}}
 
<!--
 
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I. Write a short piece stating your intents and purposes when creating the language (Design goal, inspiration, ideas, and so on).
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III. Once done, try making sure everything is properly spelt so as to avoid unnecessary reader fatigue.
 
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==Introduction==
{{PAGENAME}} is the most widely spoken language of the Rencadic branch of the Pulchric family. It is inspired by Irish, English and Welsh.
 
<!-- Design goals, inspiration, ideas, who speaks it?, when was it created?, where does it come from?, any peculiarities? -->
 
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Setting
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<!-- ***Phonology*** -->
<!-- What sounds does your language use? -->
<!-- Here are some example sub-/other categories:
 
Vowel inventory
Consonant inventory
Syllable structure
Stress
Intonation
 
-->
 
==Phonology==
===Orthography===
 
{{PAGENAME}} uses its own native alphabet.
 
The phonetic value of any consonant letter is the first consonant in its name - so that <ʕ> for example sounds like 'ts' (i.e. /tsʰ/) and <ɧ> sounds like 'x' (i.e. /ɮ/)
 
The letters themselves are derived from pictograms.
 
* '''p'''aesj = bear = ɤ
* '''t'''aenweof = mushroom = ɷ
* '''ts'''opeol = hook = ʕ
* '''s'''aen = head = ɵ
* '''tq'''iich = vine = ɖ
* '''q'''vaera = clock = ɸ
* '''tj'''iweoq = cloud = ɯ
* '''sj'''waet = rose = ɘ
* '''c'''math = jaw = ʟ
* '''b'''anr = hill = ʌ
* '''d'''rix = river = ʭ
* '''dz'''itra = fence = ʜ
* '''z'''aweoth = ant = ɶ
* '''dx'''eorsja = plough = ʄ
* '''x'''a = human being = ɧ
* '''dj'''arva = seesaw = ʎ
* '''zj'''i = hair = ɪ
* '''g'''aenu = foot = ʊ
* '''m'''inth = arm = ʏ
* '''n'''eoqa = rope = n
* '''ng'''eulaer = boat = ʁ
* '''r'''eoxaeth = tree = ʔ
* '''rh'''oadzeot = pineapple = ð
* '''l'''if = moon = c
* '''w'''uthma = whale = ɚ
* '''y'''achta = navel = ʘ
* lenition sign = ː
 
The phonetic value of a vowel letter is the first vowel in its name.
 
* a: ʱ (called ''xa aereo'', 'small human being')
* ae: ˠ (''paesj aereo'' 'small bear')
* eo: ˀ (''reoxaeth aereo'' 'small tree')
* i: ʷ (''tjiweq aereo'' 'small cloud')
* o: ˁ (''tsopeol aereo'' 'small hook')
* eu: ʶ (''ngeulaer aereo'' 'small boat')
* u: ˞  (''wuthma aereo'' 'small whale')
 
Punctuation is as follows:
 
* [ ] = quotation marks
* . = space/word boundary marker
* ɭ = period
* ɭɭ = comma
* ʕ̰ = semicolon
* ʕ = colon
* The punctuation mark ˈ is placed before sentences and clauses, and ˌ before proper names.
 
Example:
 
{{Scriptgloss
|script = '''ˈɤˠ.ɧʱnˠ.ʏˀnɤːʱʔnʱɯːɭɭ.[ˈʟˁ.ˀɤːɵʱ.ʭːˀ.ɘɚˠɷ.ʏˀ.ɖːˠʌʱnˠɭ]'''
|phrase = Pae xanae meonfarnasj, &quot;Co eofsa dheo sjwaet meo qaebanae.&quot;
|IPA = /pʰɛ ˈɮanɛ mənˈfarnaʃ ǀ kʰɔ ˈəfsa ðə ˈʃwɛtʰ mə ˈɬɛpanɛ ‖ /
| morphemes = pae xa-nae meon-farnasj co eofsa dheo sjwaet meo-L tqaeba-nae
| gloss = PAST person-SG.DEF.NOM AFF-speak PRES water.SG.INDEF.NOM and rose.SG.INDEF.NOM LOC goblet-SG.DEF.NOM
| translation = The person said, "There's water and a rose in the goblet."
 
}}
 
===Consonants===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!  !! Labial !! Dental !! Alveolar !! Lateral !! Postalveolar !! Palatal !! Velar !! Glottal
|-
| Aspirated Stop/Affricate || p /pʰ/ || t /tʰ/ || ts /tsʰ/ || tq /tɬʰ/ || tj /tʃʰ/ ||  || c /kʰ/ || 
|-
| Unaspirated Stop/Affricate || b /p/ || d /t/ || dz /ts/ || dx /tɬ/ || dj /tʃ/|| || g /k/||
|-
| Voiceless Fricative || f /f/ || th /θ/|| s /s/ || q /ɬ/|| sj /ʃ/ || || ch /x/ || h /h/
|-
| Voiced Fricative || v /v/ || dh /ð/|| z /z/|| x /ɮ/ || zj /ʒ/|| || gh /ɣ/||
|-
| Nasal || m /m/|| n /n/|| || || || || ng /ŋ/ ||
|-
| Approximant ||  || || || l /ɫ/|| || y /j/|| w /w/||
|-
| Voiceless Trill ||  || ||rh /r̥/ || || || || ||
|-
| Voiced Trill ||  || || r /r/ || || || || ||
|}
 
;Notes
*In casual speech, the unaspirated stops and affricates /p t ts tɬ tʃ k/ are voiced intervocalically to [b d dz dɮ dʒ ɡ].
 
===Vowels===
The vowel values in the transliteration are based on the Revised Romanization of Korean.
 
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Vowel !! IPA
|-
| a|| /a/
|-
| aa|| /ɑː/
|-
| ae|| /ɛ/
|-
| eo|| /ə/
|-
| eeo|| /əː/
|-
| i|| /ɪ/
|-
| ii|| /iː/
|-
| o|| /ɔ/
|-
| oa|| /ɔɑ ~ ɒɑ ~ ɒː/
|-
| eu|| /ɨ/
|-
| u|| /ʊ/
|-
| uu|| /uː/
|-
| ue|| /yː/
|}
 
===Lenition===
 
{| class="wikitable"
|-
| '''Normal''' || p || t || ts || s || tq || q || tj || sj || c || b || d || dz || z || dx || x || dj || zj || g
|-
| '''Lenited''' || f || th || s || h || q || h || sj || h || ch || v || dh || z || 0 || x || 0 || zj || 0 || gh
|}
 
{| class="wikitable"
|-
| '''Normal''' || m || n || ng || w || l || r || y
|-
| '''Lenited''' || w || n || w || w || w || r || y
|}
===Prosody===
====Stress====
In native words stress is on the first syllable, not counting prefixes. In loans (e.g. from [[Vrushka]]) stress falls on the same syllable as in the source language.
 
====Intonation====
 
===Phonotactics===
<!-- Explain the consonant clusters and vowel clusters that are permissible for use in the language. For example, "st" is an allowed consonant cluster in English while onset "ng" isn't. -->
===Morphophonology===
 
==Morphology==
 
===Nouns===
 
Nouns have 2 genders (masculine and feminine) and 3 cases (nominative, comparative, and vocative). The genitive is archaic and survives in verbal nouns and stock expressions.
 
Noun stems often get lenited. Lenition works as follows:
* When the noun begins with a lenitable consonant (any consonant besides f, v, th, dh, ch and gh), the first consonant gets lenited. If the first consonant is z, x or zj and there's a prefix before the lenited stem, an epenthetic -n- is inserted between the prefix and the stem.
* When the noun begins with a vowel, an n- is inserted before the stem.
* When the noun begins with a nonlenitable consonant (f, v, th, dh, ch or gh), an n- is inserted before the stem if there's a prefix before the stem that ends in a vowel. Otherwise, neo- is inserted before the stem.
 
For example:
 
# baer 'leaf' → vaer
# rasj 'spouse' → rasj
# zaweoth 'ant' → aweoth, '''ʙᴜᴛ''':
# xeu + lenited form of zaweoth 'like an ant' → xeu naweoth
# eonsae 'fruit' → neonsae
# farnath 'speech' → neofarnasj, '''ʙᴜᴛ''':
# meo + lenited form of farnasj 'speaking' → meonfarnasj
# ow + lenited form of farnasj 'not speaking' → owneofarnasj
 
====Feminine nouns====
 
Most nouns are feminine and decline as follows:
 
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Case !! Indefinite Singular !! Indefinite Plural !! Definite Singular !! Definite Plural
|-
| Nominative || [nom stem] || [nom stem]+meo || [nom stem]+nae || [nom stem]+neu
|-
| (Genitive) || [gen stem] || [nom stem]+meon || [nom stem]+naer || [nom stem]+neureo
|-
| Comparative || [acc stem] || [nom stem]+meoth || [nom stem]+naeth || [nom stem]+neuth
|-
| Vocative || [lenited nom stem] || [lenited nom stem]+meo || [lenited nom stem]+nae || [lenited nom stem]+neu
|}
 
* [nom stem] is the dictionary form of a noun.
* [gen stem] is the genitive stem, formed by adding -eo if the noun ends in a consonant and -n if the noun ends in a vowel.
* [acc stem] is the accusative stem, formed by adding -eoth if the noun ends in a consonant and -th if the noun ends in a vowel.
 
Here are two examples:
 
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! ''eorim'' 'tail' !! Indefinite Singular !! Indefinite Plural !! Definite Singular !! Definite Plural
|-
| Nominative || eorim || eorimmeo || eorimnae || eorimneu
|-
| (Genitive) || eorimeo || eorimmeon || eorimnaer || eorimneur
|-
| Comparative || eorimeoth || eorimmeoth || eorimnaeth || eorimneuth
|-
| Vocative || neorim || neorimmeo || neorimnae || neorimneu
|}
 
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! ''neoqa'' 'rope' !! Indefinite Singular !! Indefinite Plural !! Definite Singular !! Definite Plural
|-
| Nominative || neoqa || neoqameo || neoqanae || neoqaneu
|-
| (Genitive) || neoqan || neoqameon || neoqanaer || neoqaneur
|-
| Comparative || neoqath || neoqameoth || neoqanaeth || neoqaneuth
|-
| Vocative || neoqa || neoqameo || neoqanae || neoqaneu
|}
 
====Masculine nouns====
 
=====First declension=====
 
First declension masculine nouns end in consonants and the genitive stem is identical to the nominative stem, unless the final consonant is th, dh, s or z, in which case this final consonant is replaced with sj, zj, sj or zj respectively. The accusative stem is formed from the nominative stem as follows:
* If the final consonant is th or dh, it's replaced with t or d respectively.
* If the final consonant is a voiced fricative that is not dh, -dh is suffixed.
* Otherwise, -th is suffixed.
 
The paradigm is:
 
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Case  !! Indefinite Singular !! Indefinite Plural !! Definite Singular !! Definite Plural
|-
| Nominative || [nom stem] || [nom stem]+meo || [nom stem]+ae || [nom stem]+eu
|-
| (Genitive) || [gen stem] || [nom stem]+meon || [nom stem]+aer || [nom stem]+eur
|-
| Comparative || [acc stem] || [nom stem]+meoth || [nom stem]+aeth || [nom stem]+euth
|-
| Vocative || [lenited nom stem] || [lenited nom stem]+meo || [lenited nom stem]+ae || [lenited nom stem]+eu
|}
 
Here's an example:
 
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! ''neowaeth'' 'root' !! Indefinite Singular !! Indefinite Plural !! Definite Singular !! Definite Plural
|-
| Nominative || neowaeth || neowaethmeo || neowaethae || neowaetheu
|-
| (Genitive) || neowaesj || neowaethmeon || neowaethaer || neowaetheur
|-
| Comparative || neowaet || neowaethmeoth || neowaethaeth || neowaetheuth
|-
| Vocative || neowaeth || neowaethmeo || neowaethae || neowaetheu
|}
 
=====Second declension=====
 
Second declension masculine nouns end in vowels. The genitive stem is formed by:
* suffixing -r if the last vowel is preceded immediately by a consonant cluster ending in a consonant that's not p, t, c, b, d, g, f, th, ch, v, dh or gh;
* otherwise, replacing the last vowel with -r.
 
The paradigm is as follows:
 
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Case !! Indefinite Singular !! Indefinite Plural !! Definite Singular !! Definite Plural
|-
| Nominative || [nom stem] || [gen stem]+eom || [gen stem]+ae || [gen stem]+eu
|-
| (Genitive) || [gen stem]+eo || [gen stem]+eomeon || [gen stem]+aer || [gen stem]+eur
|-
| Comparative || [gen stem]+th || [gen stem]+eomeoth || [gen stem]+aeth || [gen stem]+euth
|-
| Vocative || [lenited nom stem] || [lenited gen stem]+eom || [lenited gen stem]+ae || [lenited gen stem]+eu
|}
 
An example:
 
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! ''maexneu'' 'love' !! Indefinite Singular !! Indefinite Plural !! Definite Singular !! Definite Plural
|-
| Nominative || maexneu || maexneureom || maexneurae || maexneureu
|-
| (Genitive) || maexneureo || maexneureomeon || maexneuraer || maexneureur
|-
| Comparative || maexneurth || maexneureomeoth || maexneuraeth || maexneureuth
|-
| Vocative || waexneu || waexneureom || waexneurae || waexneureu
|}
 
Verbal nouns ending in -reo are always second declension masculine.
 
* dexreo 'to rest'
* ithreo 'to eat'
* maerthreo 'to sit'
 
<!-- How do the words in your language look? How do you derive words from others? Do you have cases? Are verbs inflected? Do nouns differ from adjectives? Do adjectives differ from verbs? Etc. -->
 
<!-- Here are some example subcategories:
 
Nouns
Adjectives
Verbs
Adverbs
Particles
Derivational morphology
 
-->
 
==Syntax==
===Constituent order===
 
The {{PAGENAME}} word order is TSVO (tense-subject-verb-object) or TSOV (tense-subject-object-verb). The tense is indicated by a particle:
 
*co = present progressive
*ceuvo = simple present
*pae = past
*paenwae = past habitual (the equivalent of "used to" in English)
*sjin = future
 
Tense particles, like prepositions, may fuse with pronouns.
 
(yet to create tables)
 
===Noun phrase===
 
Noun phrases are consistently head-initial.
 
There are no adjectives per se in {{PAGENAME}}, only abstract nouns whose genitives can function as adjectives:
 
*''zjaereo'' = small (< ''zjaer'' 'smallness')
*''doasc aereo'' = small number
*''zaweoth zjaereo'' = small ant
 
Adjectives lenite after feminine nouns (e.g. ''doasc'') but not after masculine nouns (e.g. ''zaweoth'').
 
Relative clauses are marked with the words ''reo'' or ''tjeo'' (both meaning 'of', but 'reo' is used when the complement is definite). {{PAGENAME}} uses resumptive pronouns a lot -- so "the man who the wolf ate" literally translates as "the man of the wolf eating him".
 
{{Scriptgloss
|script =
|phrase = xanae tjeo poreownae meo caew nitheu
|IPA = /ˈɮanɛ tʃʰə ˈpʰɔrəwnɛ mə kʰɛw ˈnɪθɨ/
| morphemes = xa-nae tjeo poreow-nae meo caew-L ith-eu
| gloss = person-SG.DEF.NOM TJEO wolf-SG.DEF.NOM AFF 3SG.GEN eat
| translation = the man who the wolf ate
}}
 
{{Scriptgloss
|script =
|phrase = xanae reo nFrichorsjnae
|IPA = /ˈɮanɛ rə‿nfrɪˈxɔrʃnɛ/
| morphemes = xa-nae reo-L Frichorsj-nae
| gloss = person-SG.DEF.NOM REO Frichorsj-SG.DEF.NOM
| translation = the man from Frichorsj (a place)
}}
 
{{Scriptgloss
|script =
|phrase = xanae tjeo meo nFrichorsjnae
|IPA = /ˈɮanɛ tʃʰə mə‿nfrɪˈxɔrʃnɛ/
| morphemes = xa-nae tjeo meo-L Frichorsj-nae
| gloss = person-SG.DEF.NOM TJEO LOC Frichorsj-SG.DEF.NOM
| translation = the man in Frichorsj
}}
 
===Verb phrase===
===Sentence phrase===
===Dependent clauses===
<!-- etc. etc. -->
 
==Numerals==
{{PAGENAME}} uses a base-6 numeral system.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Number !! {{PAGENAME}} symbol !! Word
|-
| 0 || Ψ || ''dira''
|-
| 1|| I || ''aeth''
|-
| 2|| V || ''slonw''
|-
| 3|| N || ''daenr''
|-
| 4|| M || ''stjiw''
|-
| 5|| E || ''dhasjtur''
|-
| 6|| IΨ || ''maech''
|-
| 7|| II || ''aethach''
|-
| 8|| IV || ''slonwach''
|-
| 9|| IN || ''daenrach''
|-
| 10|| IM || ''stjiwach''
|-
| 11|| IE || ''dhasjturach''
|-
| 12|| VΨ|| ''slonwaeq''
|-
| 13|| VI|| ''slonwaeq a naeth''
|-
| 14|| VV|| ''slonwaeq a hlonw''
|-
| 15|| VN|| ''slonwaeq a dhaenr''
|-
| 16|| VM|| ''slonwaeq a htjiw''
|-
| 17|| VE|| ''slonwaeq a ndhasjtur''
|-
| 18|| NΨ|| ''daenraeq''
|-
| 35|| EE|| ''dhasjturaeq a ndhasjtur''
|-
| 36|| IΨΨ|| ''raegh''
|-
| 1295|| EEEE|| ''dhasjturaeq a ndhasjtur raegh a dhasjturaeq a ndhasjtur''
|-
| 1296|| IʼΨΨΨΨ|| ''dmozj''
|-
| 2592|| VʼΨΨΨΨ|| ''slonw dmozj''
|-
| 3888|| NʼΨΨΨΨ|| ''daenr dmozj''
|-
| 5184|| MʼΨΨΨΨ|| ''stjiw dmozj''
|-
| 6480|| EʼΨΨΨΨ|| ''dhasjtur dmozj''
|-
| 7776|| IΨʼΨΨΨΨ|| ''maech dhmozj''
|-
| 9072|| IIʼΨΨΨΨ|| ''aethach dhmozj''
|-
| 1679616|| IʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨ|| ''dmozjir''
|-
| 2176782336|| IʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨ|| ''tsifeod''
|-
| 2821109907456|| IʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨ || ''tsifeodir''
|-
| 3656158440062976|| IʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨ|| ''veorqiw''
|-
| 4738381338321616896|| IʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨ|| ''veorqiwir''
|}
 
==Example texts==
==Other resources==
[[{{PAGENAME}}/Lexicon]]
<!-- Example: Word order, qualifiers, determinatives, branching, etc. -->
 
<!-- Template area -->
 
 
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}|*]]
[[Category:Pulchric languages]]
[[Category:Conlangs]]
[[Category:Zul]]

Revision as of 12:55, 27 September 2016

Gussnish
dhuenanae Guqnanaer
Pronunciation[/ˈðyːnanɛ ˈgʊɬnanɛr/]
Created byPraimhín
SettingRulak
Pulchric
  • Rencadic
    • P-Rencadic
      • Gussnish
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.


Introduction

Gussnish is the most widely spoken language of the Rencadic branch of the Pulchric family. It is inspired by Irish, English and Welsh.



Phonology

Orthography

Gussnish uses its own native alphabet.

The phonetic value of any consonant letter is the first consonant in its name - so that <ʕ> for example sounds like 'ts' (i.e. /tsʰ/) and <ɧ> sounds like 'x' (i.e. /ɮ/)

The letters themselves are derived from pictograms.

  • paesj = bear = ɤ
  • taenweof = mushroom = ɷ
  • tsopeol = hook = ʕ
  • saen = head = ɵ
  • tqiich = vine = ɖ
  • qvaera = clock = ɸ
  • tjiweoq = cloud = ɯ
  • sjwaet = rose = ɘ
  • cmath = jaw = ʟ
  • banr = hill = ʌ
  • drix = river = ʭ
  • dzitra = fence = ʜ
  • zaweoth = ant = ɶ
  • dxeorsja = plough = ʄ
  • xa = human being = ɧ
  • djarva = seesaw = ʎ
  • zji = hair = ɪ
  • gaenu = foot = ʊ
  • minth = arm = ʏ
  • neoqa = rope = n
  • ngeulaer = boat = ʁ
  • reoxaeth = tree = ʔ
  • rhoadzeot = pineapple = ð
  • lif = moon = c
  • wuthma = whale = ɚ
  • yachta = navel = ʘ
  • lenition sign = ː

The phonetic value of a vowel letter is the first vowel in its name.

  • a: ʱ (called xa aereo, 'small human being')
  • ae: ˠ (paesj aereo 'small bear')
  • eo: ˀ (reoxaeth aereo 'small tree')
  • i: ʷ (tjiweq aereo 'small cloud')
  • o: ˁ (tsopeol aereo 'small hook')
  • eu: ʶ (ngeulaer aereo 'small boat')
  • u: ˞ (wuthma aereo 'small whale')

Punctuation is as follows:

  • [ ] = quotation marks
  • . = space/word boundary marker
  • ɭ = period
  • ɭɭ = comma
  • ʕ̰ = semicolon
  • ʕ = colon
  • The punctuation mark ˈ is placed before sentences and clauses, and ˌ before proper names.

Example:

  • ˈɤˠ.ɧʱnˠ.ʏˀnɤːʱʔnʱɯːɭɭ.[ˈʟˁ.ˀɤːɵʱ.ʭːˀ.ɘɚˠɷ.ʏˀ.ɖːˠʌʱnˠɭ]
    Pae xanae meonfarnasj, "Co eofsa dheo sjwaet meo qaebanae."
    /pʰɛ ˈɮanɛ mənˈfarnaʃ ǀ kʰɔ ˈəfsa ðə ˈʃwɛtʰ mə ˈɬɛpanɛ ‖ /
    pae xa-nae meon-farnasj co eofsa dheo sjwaet meo-L tqaeba-nae
    PAST person-SG.DEF.NOM AFF-speak PRES water.SG.INDEF.NOM and rose.SG.INDEF.NOM LOC goblet-SG.DEF.NOM
    The person said, "There's water and a rose in the goblet."

Consonants

Labial Dental Alveolar Lateral Postalveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Aspirated Stop/Affricate p /pʰ/ t /tʰ/ ts /tsʰ/ tq /tɬʰ/ tj /tʃʰ/ c /kʰ/
Unaspirated Stop/Affricate b /p/ d /t/ dz /ts/ dx /tɬ/ dj /tʃ/ g /k/
Voiceless Fricative f /f/ th /θ/ s /s/ q /ɬ/ sj /ʃ/ ch /x/ h /h/
Voiced Fricative v /v/ dh /ð/ z /z/ x /ɮ/ zj /ʒ/ gh /ɣ/
Nasal m /m/ n /n/ ng /ŋ/
Approximant l /ɫ/ y /j/ w /w/
Voiceless Trill rh /r̥/
Voiced Trill r /r/
Notes
  • In casual speech, the unaspirated stops and affricates /p t ts tɬ tʃ k/ are voiced intervocalically to [b d dz dɮ dʒ ɡ].

Vowels

The vowel values in the transliteration are based on the Revised Romanization of Korean.

Vowel IPA
a /a/
aa /ɑː/
ae /ɛ/
eo /ə/
eeo /əː/
i /ɪ/
ii /iː/
o /ɔ/
oa /ɔɑ ~ ɒɑ ~ ɒː/
eu /ɨ/
u /ʊ/
uu /uː/
ue /yː/

Lenition

Normal p t ts s tq q tj sj c b d dz z dx x dj zj g
Lenited f th s h q h sj h ch v dh z 0 x 0 zj 0 gh
Normal m n ng w l r y
Lenited w n w w w r y

Prosody

Stress

In native words stress is on the first syllable, not counting prefixes. In loans (e.g. from Vrushka) stress falls on the same syllable as in the source language.

Intonation

Phonotactics

Morphophonology

Morphology

Nouns

Nouns have 2 genders (masculine and feminine) and 3 cases (nominative, comparative, and vocative). The genitive is archaic and survives in verbal nouns and stock expressions.

Noun stems often get lenited. Lenition works as follows:

  • When the noun begins with a lenitable consonant (any consonant besides f, v, th, dh, ch and gh), the first consonant gets lenited. If the first consonant is z, x or zj and there's a prefix before the lenited stem, an epenthetic -n- is inserted between the prefix and the stem.
  • When the noun begins with a vowel, an n- is inserted before the stem.
  • When the noun begins with a nonlenitable consonant (f, v, th, dh, ch or gh), an n- is inserted before the stem if there's a prefix before the stem that ends in a vowel. Otherwise, neo- is inserted before the stem.

For example:

  1. baer 'leaf' → vaer
  2. rasj 'spouse' → rasj
  3. zaweoth 'ant' → aweoth, ʙᴜᴛ:
  4. xeu + lenited form of zaweoth 'like an ant' → xeu naweoth
  5. eonsae 'fruit' → neonsae
  6. farnath 'speech' → neofarnasj, ʙᴜᴛ:
  7. meo + lenited form of farnasj 'speaking' → meonfarnasj
  8. ow + lenited form of farnasj 'not speaking' → owneofarnasj

Feminine nouns

Most nouns are feminine and decline as follows:

Case Indefinite Singular Indefinite Plural Definite Singular Definite Plural
Nominative [nom stem] [nom stem]+meo [nom stem]+nae [nom stem]+neu
(Genitive) [gen stem] [nom stem]+meon [nom stem]+naer [nom stem]+neureo
Comparative [acc stem] [nom stem]+meoth [nom stem]+naeth [nom stem]+neuth
Vocative [lenited nom stem] [lenited nom stem]+meo [lenited nom stem]+nae [lenited nom stem]+neu
  • [nom stem] is the dictionary form of a noun.
  • [gen stem] is the genitive stem, formed by adding -eo if the noun ends in a consonant and -n if the noun ends in a vowel.
  • [acc stem] is the accusative stem, formed by adding -eoth if the noun ends in a consonant and -th if the noun ends in a vowel.

Here are two examples:

eorim 'tail' Indefinite Singular Indefinite Plural Definite Singular Definite Plural
Nominative eorim eorimmeo eorimnae eorimneu
(Genitive) eorimeo eorimmeon eorimnaer eorimneur
Comparative eorimeoth eorimmeoth eorimnaeth eorimneuth
Vocative neorim neorimmeo neorimnae neorimneu
neoqa 'rope' Indefinite Singular Indefinite Plural Definite Singular Definite Plural
Nominative neoqa neoqameo neoqanae neoqaneu
(Genitive) neoqan neoqameon neoqanaer neoqaneur
Comparative neoqath neoqameoth neoqanaeth neoqaneuth
Vocative neoqa neoqameo neoqanae neoqaneu

Masculine nouns

First declension

First declension masculine nouns end in consonants and the genitive stem is identical to the nominative stem, unless the final consonant is th, dh, s or z, in which case this final consonant is replaced with sj, zj, sj or zj respectively. The accusative stem is formed from the nominative stem as follows:

  • If the final consonant is th or dh, it's replaced with t or d respectively.
  • If the final consonant is a voiced fricative that is not dh, -dh is suffixed.
  • Otherwise, -th is suffixed.

The paradigm is:

Case Indefinite Singular Indefinite Plural Definite Singular Definite Plural
Nominative [nom stem] [nom stem]+meo [nom stem]+ae [nom stem]+eu
(Genitive) [gen stem] [nom stem]+meon [nom stem]+aer [nom stem]+eur
Comparative [acc stem] [nom stem]+meoth [nom stem]+aeth [nom stem]+euth
Vocative [lenited nom stem] [lenited nom stem]+meo [lenited nom stem]+ae [lenited nom stem]+eu

Here's an example:

neowaeth 'root' Indefinite Singular Indefinite Plural Definite Singular Definite Plural
Nominative neowaeth neowaethmeo neowaethae neowaetheu
(Genitive) neowaesj neowaethmeon neowaethaer neowaetheur
Comparative neowaet neowaethmeoth neowaethaeth neowaetheuth
Vocative neowaeth neowaethmeo neowaethae neowaetheu
Second declension

Second declension masculine nouns end in vowels. The genitive stem is formed by:

  • suffixing -r if the last vowel is preceded immediately by a consonant cluster ending in a consonant that's not p, t, c, b, d, g, f, th, ch, v, dh or gh;
  • otherwise, replacing the last vowel with -r.

The paradigm is as follows:

Case Indefinite Singular Indefinite Plural Definite Singular Definite Plural
Nominative [nom stem] [gen stem]+eom [gen stem]+ae [gen stem]+eu
(Genitive) [gen stem]+eo [gen stem]+eomeon [gen stem]+aer [gen stem]+eur
Comparative [gen stem]+th [gen stem]+eomeoth [gen stem]+aeth [gen stem]+euth
Vocative [lenited nom stem] [lenited gen stem]+eom [lenited gen stem]+ae [lenited gen stem]+eu

An example:

maexneu 'love' Indefinite Singular Indefinite Plural Definite Singular Definite Plural
Nominative maexneu maexneureom maexneurae maexneureu
(Genitive) maexneureo maexneureomeon maexneuraer maexneureur
Comparative maexneurth maexneureomeoth maexneuraeth maexneureuth
Vocative waexneu waexneureom waexneurae waexneureu

Verbal nouns ending in -reo are always second declension masculine.

  • dexreo 'to rest'
  • ithreo 'to eat'
  • maerthreo 'to sit'


Syntax

Constituent order

The Gussnish word order is TSVO (tense-subject-verb-object) or TSOV (tense-subject-object-verb). The tense is indicated by a particle:

  • co = present progressive
  • ceuvo = simple present
  • pae = past
  • paenwae = past habitual (the equivalent of "used to" in English)
  • sjin = future

Tense particles, like prepositions, may fuse with pronouns.

(yet to create tables)

Noun phrase

Noun phrases are consistently head-initial.

There are no adjectives per se in Gussnish, only abstract nouns whose genitives can function as adjectives:

  • zjaereo = small (< zjaer 'smallness')
  • doasc aereo = small number
  • zaweoth zjaereo = small ant

Adjectives lenite after feminine nouns (e.g. doasc) but not after masculine nouns (e.g. zaweoth).

Relative clauses are marked with the words reo or tjeo (both meaning 'of', but 'reo' is used when the complement is definite). Gussnish uses resumptive pronouns a lot -- so "the man who the wolf ate" literally translates as "the man of the wolf eating him".

  • xanae tjeo poreownae meo caew nitheu
    /ˈɮanɛ tʃʰə ˈpʰɔrəwnɛ mə kʰɛw ˈnɪθɨ/
    xa-nae tjeo poreow-nae meo caew-L ith-eu
    person-SG.DEF.NOM TJEO wolf-SG.DEF.NOM AFF 3SG.GEN eat
    the man who the wolf ate
  • xanae reo nFrichorsjnae
    /ˈɮanɛ rə‿nfrɪˈxɔrʃnɛ/
    xa-nae reo-L Frichorsj-nae
    person-SG.DEF.NOM REO Frichorsj-SG.DEF.NOM
    the man from Frichorsj (a place)
  • xanae tjeo meo nFrichorsjnae
    /ˈɮanɛ tʃʰə mə‿nfrɪˈxɔrʃnɛ/
    xa-nae tjeo meo-L Frichorsj-nae
    person-SG.DEF.NOM TJEO LOC Frichorsj-SG.DEF.NOM
    the man in Frichorsj

Verb phrase

Sentence phrase

Dependent clauses

Numerals

Gussnish uses a base-6 numeral system.

Number Gussnish symbol Word
0 Ψ dira
1 I aeth
2 V slonw
3 N daenr
4 M stjiw
5 E dhasjtur
6 IΨ maech
7 II aethach
8 IV slonwach
9 IN daenrach
10 IM stjiwach
11 IE dhasjturach
12 VΨ slonwaeq
13 VI slonwaeq a naeth
14 VV slonwaeq a hlonw
15 VN slonwaeq a dhaenr
16 VM slonwaeq a htjiw
17 VE slonwaeq a ndhasjtur
18 NΨ daenraeq
35 EE dhasjturaeq a ndhasjtur
36 IΨΨ raegh
1295 EEEE dhasjturaeq a ndhasjtur raegh a dhasjturaeq a ndhasjtur
1296 IʼΨΨΨΨ dmozj
2592 VʼΨΨΨΨ slonw dmozj
3888 NʼΨΨΨΨ daenr dmozj
5184 MʼΨΨΨΨ stjiw dmozj
6480 EʼΨΨΨΨ dhasjtur dmozj
7776 IΨʼΨΨΨΨ maech dhmozj
9072 IIʼΨΨΨΨ aethach dhmozj
1679616 IʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨ dmozjir
2176782336 IʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨ tsifeod
2821109907456 IʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨ tsifeodir
3656158440062976 IʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨ veorqiw
4738381338321616896 IʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨ veorqiwir

Example texts

Other resources

Gussnish/Lexicon

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