Rencadian

Rencadian
dhünanæ Rængcadnær
Pronunciation	[/ðʉnanɛ rɛŋkadnɛr/]
Created by	Praimhín
Setting	Zul
Language family	Pulchric Rencadic P-Rencadic Rencadian

Phonology

Orthography

Rencadian uses its own native alphabet.

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

The letters themselves are derived from pictograms.

• pæsj = bear = ɤ
• tænwef = mushroom = ɷ
• tsordh = hourglass = χ
• sæn = head = ɵ
• tσæba = goblet = ʋ
• σværa = clock = ɸ
• tjiweσ = cloud = ɯ
• sjwæt = rose = ɘ
• cmath = jaw = ɜ
• banr = hill = ʌ
• driλ = river = ʭ
• dzitra = fence = ʜ
• zaweth = ant = ɶ
• dλersja = plough = ʄ
• λa = human being = ɧ
• djarva = seesaw = ʎ
• zji = hair = ɪ
• gænø = foot = ɺ
• minth = arm = ʏ
• nuret = star = ʞ
• ŋølær = boat = ʁ
• reλæth = tree = ʡ
• rhoadzet = pineapple = ð
• lif = moon = ɔ
• 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 λa ære, 'small human being')
• æ: ˠ (pæsj ære 'small bear')
• e: ˀ (reλæth ære 'small tree')
• i: ʷ (tjiweσ ære 'small cloud')
• o: ˣ (tsordh ære 'small hourglass')
• ø: ʶ (ŋølær ære 'small boat')
• u: ˧˥ (nuret ære 'small star')

The symbol ǃ is sometimes used as an alternative to ʞ (nuret) after a vowel and before a consonant. So for example, denr (three) is written <ʭˠǃʡ>. It's called nuret tharsj 'narrow star'.

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.

ˈɤˠ.ɵˣǃɚˠ.ʏˀʞɤːʱʡʞʱɷːˀɭɭ.[ˈɜˣ.ˀɤːɵʱ.ʭːˀ.ɘɚˠɷ.ʏˀʋːˠʌʱʞˠʡɭ]

Pæ sonwæ menfarnathe, "Co efsa dhe sjwæt meσæbanær."

The person said, "There's water and a rose in the goblet."

Consonants

	Labial	Dental	Alveolar	Lateral	Postalveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Voiceless Stop/Affricate	p /pʰ/	t /tʰ/	ts /ts/	tσ /tɬ/	tj /tʃ/		c /kʰ/
Voiced Stop/Affricate	b /p~b/	d /t~d/	dz /dz/	dλ /dɮ/	dj /dʒ/		g /k~g/
Voiceless Fricative	f /f/	th /θ/	s /s/	σ /ɬ/	sj /ʃ/		ch /x/	h /h/
Voiced Fricative	v /v/	dh /ð/	z /z/	λ /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/

Vowels

Vowel	IPA
a	/a/
â	/aː/
æ	/ɛ/
e	/ɘ/ or /ə/ depending on dialect
i	/ɪ/
î	/iː/
o	/ɔ/
oa	/ɒː/
ø	/ɨ/
u	/ʉ/

Lenition

Normal

p

t

ts

s

tσ

σ

tj

sj

c

b

d

dz

z

dλ

λ

dj

zj

g

Lenited

f

th

s

h

σ

h

sj

h

ch

v

dh

z

0

λ

0

zj

0

gh

Normal	m	n	ng	w	l	r	y
Lenited	w	n	w	w	w	r	y

Prosody

Stress

Stress is on the first syllable, not counting prefixes.

Morphology

Nouns

Nouns have 2 genders (masculine and feminine) and 11 cases (nominative, genitive, accusative, dative, locative, exlocative, instrumental, abessive, equative, anti-equative, and vocative).

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, λ 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, ne- is inserted before the stem.

For example:

1. bær 'leaf' → vær
2. rasj 'spouse' → rasj
3. zaweth 'ant' → aweth
4. zawesj 'ant' (genitive) → awesj, ʙᴜᴛ:
5. λø + lenited form of zawesj 'like an ant' → λønawesj
6. ensæ 'fruit' → nensæ
7. farnathe 'speech' (genitive) → nefarnathe, ʙᴜᴛ:
8. me + lenited form of farnathe 'speaking' → menfarnathe
9. ow + lenited form of farnathe 'not speaking' → ownefarnathe

Feminine nouns

Most nouns are feminine and decline as follows:

Case	Indefinite Singular	Indefinite Plural	Definite Singular	Definite Plural
Nominative	[nom stem]	[nom stem]+me	[nom stem]+næ	[nom stem]+nø
Genitive	[gen stem]	[nom stem]+men	[nom stem]+nær	[nom stem]+nør
Accusative	[acc stem]	[nom stem]+meth	[nom stem]+næth	[nom stem]+nøth
Dative	æn+[gen stem]	æn+[nom stem]+men	æn+[nom stem]+nær	æn+[nom stem]+nør
Locative	me+[lenited gen stem]	me+[lenited nom stem]+men	me+[lenited nom stem]+nær	me+[lenited nom stem]+nør
Exlocative	ow+[lenited gen stem]	ow+[lenited nom stem]+men	ow+[lenited nom stem]+nær	ow+[lenited nom stem]+nør
Instrumental	rø+[lenited gen stem]	rø+[lenited nom stem]+men	rø+[lenited nom stem]+nær	rø+[lenited nom stem]+nør
Abessive	tsø+[lenited gen stem]	tsø+[lenited nom stem]+men	tsø+[lenited nom stem]+nær	tsø+[lenited nom stem]+nør
Equative	λø+[lenited gen stem]	λø+[lenited nom stem]+men	λø+[lenited nom stem]+nær	λø+[lenited nom stem]+nør
Anti-equative	ød+[lenited gen stem]	ød+[lenited nom stem]+men	ød+[lenited nom stem]+nær	ød+[lenited nom stem]+nør
Vocative	[lenited nom stem]	[lenited nom stem]+me	[lenited nom stem]+næ	[lenited nom stem]+nø

• [nom stem] is the dictionary form of a noun.
• [gen stem] is the genitive stem, formed by adding -e 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 -eth if the noun ends in a consonant and -th if the noun ends in a vowel.

Here are two examples:

erim 'tail'	Indefinite Singular	Indefinite Plural	Definite Singular	Definite Plural
Nominative	erim	erimme	erimnæ	erimnø
Genitive	erime	erimmen	erimnær	erimnør
Accusative	erimeth	erimmeth	erimnæth	erimnøth
Dative	ænerime	ænerimmen	ænerimnær	ænerimnør
Locative	menerime	menerimmen	menerimnær	menerimnør
Exlocative	ownerime	ownerimmen	ownerimnær	ownerimnør
Instrumental	rønerime	rønerimmen	rønerimnær	rønerimnør
Abessive	tsønerime	tsønerimmen	tsønerimnær	tsønerimnør
Equative	λønerime	λønerimmen	λønerimnær	λønerimnør
Anti-equative	ødnerime	ødnerimmen	ødnerimnær	ødnerimnør
Vocative	nerim	nerimme	nerimnæ	nerimnø

neσa 'rope'	Indefinite Singular	Indefinite Plural	Definite Singular	Definite Plural
Nominative	neσa	neσame	neσanæ	neσanø
Genitive	neσan	neσamen	neσanær	neσanør
Accusative	neσath	neσameth	neσanæth	neσanøth
Dative	ænneσan	ænneσamen	ænneσanær	ænneσanør
Locative	meneσan	meneσamen	meneσanær	meneσanør
Exlocative	owneσan	owneσamen	owneσanær	owneσanør
Instrumental	røneσan	røneσamen	røneσanær	røneσanør
Abessive	tsøneσan	tsøneσamen	tsøneσanær	tsøneσanør
Equative	λøneσan	λøneσamen	λøneσanær	λøneσanør
Anti-equative	ødneσan	ødneσamen	ødneσanær	ødneσanør
Vocative	neσa	neσame	neσanæ	neσanø

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]+me	[nom stem]+æ	[nom stem]+ø
Genitive	[gen stem]	[nom stem]+men	[nom stem]+ær	[nom stem]+ør
Accusative	[acc stem]	[nom stem]+meth	[nom stem]+æth	[nom stem]+øth
Dative	æn+[gen stem]	æn+[nom stem]+men	æn+[nom stem]+ær	æn+[nom stem]+ør
Locative	me+[lenited gen stem]	me+[lenited nom stem]+men	me+[lenited nom stem]+ær	me+[lenited nom stem]+ør
Exlocative	ow+[lenited gen stem]	ow+[lenited nom stem]+men	ow+[lenited nom stem]+ær	ow+[lenited nom stem]+ør
Instrumental	rø+[lenited gen stem]	rø+[lenited nom stem]+men	rø+[lenited nom stem]+ær	rø+[lenited nom stem]+ør
Abessive	tsø+[lenited gen stem]	tsø+[lenited nom stem]+men	tsø+[lenited nom stem]+ær	tsø+[lenited nom stem]+ør
Equative	λø+[lenited gen stem]	λø+[lenited nom stem]+men	λø+[lenited nom stem]+ær	λø+[lenited nom stem]+ør
Anti-equative	ød+[lenited gen stem]	ød+[lenited nom stem]+men	ød+[lenited nom stem]+ær	ød+[lenited nom stem]+ør
Vocative	[lenited nom stem]	[lenited nom stem]+me	[lenited nom stem]+æ	[lenited nom stem]+ø

Here's an example:

newæth 'root'	Indefinite Singular	Indefinite Plural	Definite Singular	Definite Plural
Nominative	newæth	newæthme	newæthæ	newæthø
Genitive	newæsj	newæthmen	newæthær	newæthør
Accusative	newæt	newæthmeth	newæthæth	newæthøth
Dative	ænnewæsj	ænnewæthmen	ænnewæthær	ænnewæthør
Locative	menewæsj	menewæthmen	menewæthær	menewæthør
Exlocative	ownewæsj	ownewæthmen	ownewæthær	ownewæthør
Instrumental	rønewæsj	rønewæthmen	rønewæthær	rønewæthør
Abessive	tsønewæsj	tsønewæthmen	tsønewæthær	tsønewæthør
Equative	λønewæsj	λønewæthmen	λønewæthær	λønewæthør
Anti-equative	ødnewæsj	ødnewæthmen	ødnewæthær	ødnewæthør
Vocative	newæth	newæthme	newæthæ	newæthø

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]+em	[gen stem]+æ	[gen stem]+ø
Genitive	[gen stem]+e	[gen stem]+emen	[gen stem]+ær	[gen stem]+ør
Accusative	[gen stem]+th	[gen stem]+emeth	[gen stem]+æth	[gen stem]+øth
Dative	æn+[gen stem]+e	æn+[gen stem]+emen	æn+[gen stem]+ær	æn+[gen stem]+ør
Locative	me+[lenited gen stem]+e	me+[lenited gen stem]+emen	me+[lenited gen stem]+ær	me+[lenited gen stem]+ør
Exlocative	ow+[lenited gen stem]+e	ow+[lenited gen stem]+emen	ow+[lenited gen stem]+ær	ow+[lenited gen stem]+ør
Instrumental	rø+[lenited gen stem]+e	rø+[lenited gen stem]+emen	rø+[lenited gen stem]+ær	rø+[lenited gen stem]+ør
Abessive	tsø+[lenited gen stem]+e	tsø+[lenited gen stem]+emen	tsø+[lenited gen stem]+ær	tsø+[lenited gen stem]+ør
Equative	λø+[lenited gen stem]+e	λø+[lenited gen stem]+emen	λø+[lenited gen stem]+ær	λø+[lenited gen stem]+ør
Anti-equative	ød+[lenited gen stem]+e	ød+[lenited gen stem]+emen	ød+[lenited gen stem]+ær	ød+[lenited gen stem]+ør
Vocative	[lenited nom stem]	[lenited gen stem]+em	[lenited gen stem]+æ	[lenited gen stem]+ø

An example:

mæλnø 'love'	Indefinite Singular	Indefinite Plural	Definite Singular	Definite Plural
Nominative	mæλnø	mæλnørem	mæλnøræ	mæλnørø
Genitive	mæλnøre	mæλnøremen	mæλnørær	mæλnørør
Accusative	mæλnørth	mæλnøremeth	mæλnøræth	mæλnørøth
Dative	ænmæλnøre	ænmæλnøremen	ænmæλnørær	ænmæλnørør
Locative	mewæλnøre	mewæλnøremen	mewæλnørær	mewæλnørør
Exlocative	owwæλnøre	owwæλnøremen	owwæλnørær	owwæλnørør
Instrumental	røwæλnøre	røwæλnøremen	røwæλnørær	røwæλnørør
Abessive	tsøwæλnøre	tsøwæλnøremen	tsøwæλnørær	tsøwæλnørør
Equative	λøwæλnøre	λøwæλnøremen	λøwæλnørær	λøwæλnørør
Anti-equative	ødwæλnøre	ødwæλnøremen	ødwæλnørær	ødwæλnørør
Vocative	wæλnø	wæλnørem	wæλnøræ	wæλnørø

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

• deλø 'to rest', genitive stem deλr-
• ithø 'to eat', genitive stem ithr-
• mærthø 'to sit', genitive stem mærthr-

Syntax

Constituent order

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

co = present progressive pæ = past sjin = future cøvo = simple present pænwæ = past habitual (the equivalent of "used to" in English)

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 Rencadian, only abstract nouns whose genitives can function as adjectives:

zjær = 'smallness' (genitive zjære) doasc ære = small number zaweth zjære = small ant

Adjectives lenite after feminine nouns but not after masculine nouns.

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

the man who the wolf ate: λanæ tje porew menithre cæwth (insert gloss)

the man from Frichorsj (a place) = λanæ re nFrichorsjnæ

the man in Frichorsj = λanæ tje menFrichorsjnær (there's polyagglutination)

Numerals

Number	Rencadian symbol	Word
0	Ψ	dira
1	I	æth
2	V	slonw
3	N	dænr
4	M	stjiw
5	E	dhasjtur
6	IΨ	mæch
7	II	æthach
8	IV	slonwach
9	IN	dænrach
10	IM	stjiwach
11	IE	dhasjturach
12	VΨ	slonwæσ
13	VI	slonwæσ a næth
14	VV	slonwæσ a hlonw
15	VN	slonwæσ a dhænr
16	VM	slonwæσ a htjiw
17	VE	slonwæσ a ndhasjtur
18	NΨ	dænræσ
35	EE	dhasjturæσ a ndhasjtur
36	IΨΨ	rægh
1295	EEEE	dhasjturæσ a ndhasjtur rægh a dhasjturæσ a ndhasjtur
1296	IʼΨΨΨΨ	dmozj
2592	VʼΨΨΨΨ	slonw dmozj
3888	NʼΨΨΨΨ	dænr dmozj
5184	MʼΨΨΨΨ	stjiw dmozj
6480	EʼΨΨΨΨ	dhasjtur dmozj
7776	IΨʼΨΨΨΨ	mæch dhmozj
9072	IIʼΨΨΨΨ	æthach dhmozj
1679616	IʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨ	dmozjir
2176782336	IʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨ	tsifed
2821109907456	IʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨ	tsifedir
3656158440062976	IʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨ	verσiw
4738381338321616896	IʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨʼΨΨΨΨ	verσiwir

Other resources

Rencadian/Lexicon