Iaskyon

Iaskyon Iaskyon
Progress: 3%
Type
Rather synthetic
Alignment
Ergative-absolutive
Head direction
Initial	Mixed		Final
Primary word order
Subject-object-verb
Tonal
No
Declensions
Yes
Conjugations
Yes
Genders
None
Nouns decline according to...
Case		Number
Definiteness		Gender
Verbs conjugate according to...
Voice		Mood
Person		Number
Tense		Aspect

General information

'Iaskyon' in Iaswü handwriting.

Iaskyon (IPA: /ˈjas.kjɔn/) is an Yosic language native to an island nation Iaskáca. It is notable for its handling of ergativity, heavy verb conjugation, as well as synthetic noun compounding. Iaskyon can be written in two left-to-right scripts called Iaswü (IPA: /ˈjas.βy/, literally Ias writing) and Xogwü (IPA: /ˈɣɔg.βy/, literally rock writing).

Phonology

Consonants

		Bilabial		Dental	Alveolar		Palatal	Velar
Nasal		m /m/			n /n/			ŋ /ŋ/
Plosive		p /p/	b /b/		t /t/	d /d/		k /k/	g /g/
Fricative	Plain	f /ɸ/	w /β/		s /s/	z /z/		h /x/	x /ɣ/
	Lateral				ş /ɬ/
Affricate	Plain			þ /tθ/	c /ts/	j /dz/
	Lateral				ç /tɬ/
Approximant		w /w/			l /l/		y /j/

Syllabic consonants

/m/ and /l/ have syllabic counterparts ḿ /m̩/ and ĺ /l̩/.

Vowels

Short vowels

	Front		Central	Back
Close	i /i/	ü /y/		u /u/
Mid	e /ɛ/	ö /œ/	à /ɜ~ə/	o /ɔ/
Open			a /a/

Long vowels

Long vowels are represented orthographically by an acute accent or adding à. e.g. é or eà.

	Front		Central	Back
Close	í /iː/	ű /yː/		ú /uː/
Mid	é /eː/	ő /øː/	â /əː~ɘː/	ó /oː/
Open			á /aː/

Diphthongs

There is a large inventory of possible diphthongs, with a total of 15 of them.

ai	au	äi	äu	ei	eu	iu	üa	üe	üi	üö	ui	oi	ou	öü
/ai/	/au/	/əi/	/əu/	/ei/	/ɛu/	/iu/	/ya/	/yɛ/	/yi/	/yœ/	/ui/	/ɔi/	/ou/	/œy/

Phonotactics

Iaskyon syllables are maximally:

(C(G))V(C), or (C(G))S,

where C = consonant, G = glide, V = vowel and S = syllabic consonant.

Onset

The initial consonant has no restrictions.

The following glide can be y/j/ or w/β/>[w].

Allowed onsets are of the followings:

by	py	dw	dy	tw	ty	gw	gy	kw	ky
/bj/	/pj/	/dw/	/dj/	/tw/	/tj/	/gw/	/gj/	/kw/	/kj/
jy	cw	cy	þw	þy
/dzj/	/tsw/	/tsj/	/tθw/	/tθj/
fy	wi	sy	zy	şw	şy	hw	hy	xw	xy
/ɸj/	/βj/	/sj/	/zj/	/ɬw/	/ɬj/	/xw/	/xj/ [ç]/	/ɣw/	/ɣj/ [ʝ]
mw	my	ny	ŋy
/mw/	/mj/	/nj/	/ŋj/
lw	ly
/lw/	/lj/

Nucleus

The nucleus can be any vowel, except for iu üa üe üi üö ui /iu ya yɛ yi yœ ui/ when the onset consists of an initial consonant and a glide.

Syllables such as yui /jui/, wüan /βyan/ are allowed but rare.

Syllabic consonants ḿ /m̩/ and ĺ /l̩/ can also be a nucleus but the syllable cannot have a coda.

Coda

The final consonant, can technically be any consonant except y /j/ and w /β/, but þ /tθ/ and ç /tɬ/ are very rare.

(þaç /tθatɬ/ "red" is an example of an exception.)

Allophony

• Plosives are usually unreleased at coda.
• Plosives and affricates are aspirated at onset.
• h /x/ is realised as [ç] before and after /i(:)/, /y(:)/, and before /j/.
• x /ɣ/ is realised as [ʝ] before and after /i(:)/, /y(:)/, before /j/, and [ʔ] at the end of a syllable.
• w /β/ is realised as [w] as a glide (second consonant) in a syllable.
• t /t/ are realised as [ʔ] at the end of a syllable.

Stress

Stress of a word follows these rules in order of priority:

Stress falls on

1. First long vowel
   e.g. hepmé "bright" but not *hepmé
2. "Separable affixes" (See below) are not counted
3. Penultimate syllable
   
4. If stress falls on a grammatical suffix (other than conjugational suffixes), move stress one syllable backwards.
   e.g. aegemjo "merge" but not *aegemjo

Stress of a "separable compound word" (See below) follow these overriding rules:

Stress falls on

1. The head component
   e.g. lwoþwat "have to find"
   e.g. kolmunawa "winter sky"

Separable and non-separable affixes

Non-separable affixes are:

• All affixes that are inseparable in terms of a new meaning conveyed
  e.g. -en appended to tinwet "teach":
  • tinweten "act of teaching" is separable
  • tinweten "education" is non-separable
• All infixes
• Directional affixes
  e.g. ukhàg "come down"
• Causative prefix
  e.g. lahyet "make (sb.) eat"

Other affixes are separable.

Separable and non-separable compound words

Non-separable compound words are:

• Compound words of which the meaning has shifted, or become specific
  e.g. yetihken "restaurant" vs. yetihken "place of eating"
• Compound words which are frequently used
  e.g. syomxaod "fish meat/flesh"

Morphophonology

Internal sandhi

Synaeresis

The following table shows the general formation of diphthongs or long vowels from two adjacent short vowels on a morpheme boundary.

• Empty spaces imply the vowels are pronounced in two syllables.
• Combinations resulting in glide + vowel cannot occur if there is already a glide prior to the vowels.

	Second vowel
First vowel		a	à	e	i	ü	u	o	ö
	a	á	á	ai	ai		au	au	au
	à		â		ài		àu	àu	àu
	e	ya	é	é	ei		eu	eu	eu
	i	ya	yà	ye	í		iu	yo	yö
	ü	üa		üe	üi		ű		üö
	u	wa		ui	ui		ú	wo
	o		ó	oi	oi		ou	ó	oi
	ö			öü	öü	öü			ő

Rendaku

When two consecutive syllables start with the same voiceless consonant, the second consonant is voiced.

• háhàge (greeting) /ˈxaːxɜɡɛ/ > [ˈxaːɣɜɡɛ]
• sesḿ (spoke) /'sɛsm̩/ > [ˈsɛzm̩]

Morphology

Nouns

There are no grammatical genders nor articles in Iaskyon. Nouns are only inflected for cases, and inflection for number is generally obsolete.

There are 7 cases in Iaskyon:

Case (suffix)	Usage	Example in Iaskyon	Example in English
Ergative (-i)	Agent of transitive verb	Wi goxe yesḿ.	I ate rice.
Absolutive (none or -u)	Argument of intransitive verb; object of transitive verb	Jakniyw hàg. Hwei lím dém.	Jakniyw comes. (The) Person drinks water.
Locative (-eu)	Time, location; topic	Fá hwe hecleŋeu pöüloşöü. To yetihkeneu löüm.	All human are equal in dignity. He was at the restaurant.
Dative (-em)	Indirect object of ditransitive verb; motion to location; addressee of greetings; end of a period of time	Matnuem háhàge! Toi zeà wem cailüm.	Greetings everyone! He gave a book to me.
Ablative (-ax)	Motion from location; start of a period of time	Wu Iaskácáx hàg. Fá hwe nixonax yawaoşöü.	I come from Iaskáca. All human being are free since birth.
Genitive (-ö)	Possession, origin, reference; formation of some compounds; counting with measures	Yetihkenö zeà a. Wö zeà a. Límö hyuxdon la.	(It) is a book about restaurant(s). (It) is my book. There are two carts of water.
Instrumental (-ĺ)	Instrument, means; topic, object in some verbs	Ebi wüanĺ zeyu. Toi sononĺ set.	We record with a pen/pens. He talks about bridges.

Pronouns

Personal pronouns

Personal pronouns in Iaskyon are relatively simple, as all pronouns are distinct and specific in person and number.

There is a three-way distinction of singular, dual and plural pronouns inherited from older, now obsolete declensions in number.

Another three-way distinction in sentient, animate and inanimate beings in third person pronouns exists, which originates from an even older noun class system.

1st person

	Singular		Dual inclusive	Dual exclusive	Plural inclusive	Plural exclusive
Ergative	wi	xei	wehi	wonei	ebi	sebi
Absolutive	wu	xeà	wiyo	woni	eba	seb
Locative	weu	xeàyu	wiyeu	wonyeu	ebeu	sebeu
Dative	wem	xeàm	wiyem	wonyem	ebem	sebem
Ablative	wax	xeax	wiyox	wonyax	ebax	sebax
Genitive	hö	xeàyö	wiyoö	wonyö	ebö	sebö
Instrumental	wuhĺ	xeàhĺ	wiyĺ	wonĺ	ebĺ	sebĺ

• The wu-form is the more generic, while the xeà-form is often considered informal, sometimes even arrogant.

2nd person

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Ergative	yoi	yedi	yubi
Absolutive	yu	ide	yuba
Locative	yeu	ideu	yubeu
Dative	yem	idem	yubem
Ablative	yax	idyax	yubax
Genitive	yö	idyö	yubö
Instrumental	yuhĺ	idĺ	yubĺ

3nd person sentient

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Ergative	toi	tomi	tĺbi
Absolutive	to	tom	tĺbo
Locative	teu	toweu	tĺbeu
Dative	toem	towem	tĺboem
Ablative	tax	tomax	tĺbax
Genitive	tö	tomö	tĺboö
Instrumental	tohĺ	tomĺ	tĺbĺ

3rd person animate

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Ergative	izi	indi	imbi
Absolutive	ize	inde	imba
Locative	izeu	indeu	imbeu
Dative	izem	indem	imbem
Ablative	izyax	indyax	imbax
Genitive	izyö	indyö	imbö
Instrumental	izĺ	indĺ	imbĺ

3rd person inanimate

	Singular	Dual	Plural
Ergative	lei	ledi	lebi
Absolutive	le	lede	leba
Locative	leu	ledeu	lebeu
Dative	lém	ledem	lebem
Ablative	lyax	ledyax	lebax
Genitive	leyö	ledyö	lebö
Instrumental	lehĺ	ledĺ	lebĺ

Reflexive

	Generic
Ergative	hoi
Absolutive	ho
Locative	heu
Dative	hem
Ablative	hax
Genitive	hoö
Instrumental	hohĺ

Demonstratives, indefinite pronouns

	Interrogative (tw-, kw-)	Proximal (yas-, is-)	Distal (wes-)	Universal (fá-)	Existential	Negative	Paucal/Trivial
Adjective (-s)	twes "what"	yas, is- "this"	wes "that"	fá "all"	şes "some"	ça "none"	àl, nim "little, few"
Adverb (-f)	twef "how, in what manner"	yaf "in this manner"	wef "in that manner"
Person (hwe, -we)	mweun "who"	iswe "this person"	wewe "that person"	matnu/fá hwe "everyone in a group/universally"	şes hwe "some people"	hwidu "no one"	àlwe "few people"
Thing (gin, -e)	kwí "what thing"	yase "this thing"	wese "that thing"	fáŋàn "everything"	gĺa "something"	gindu "nothing"	nimi "little things"
Event, activity (yen, -ou)	kwou "what event"	yasou "this event"	wesou "that event"		yĺa "some event"	yendu "no event"
Place (ken)	ekeu "where" (also locative)	yaken "here"	weken "there"	feken "everywhere"	kella "somewhere"	kendu "nowhere"
Time (upu)	upci "when"	etök "now"	wes upu "that time"		upla "some point of time"

Verbs

Verbs are the most productive lexical category in Iaskyon, which describes an action, an event, a state, or a change in state. It is heavily conjugated to tense, aspect and mood. There exists two grammatical classes of verbs, namely t-class and null-class.

T-class and null-class verbs

T-class and null-class verbs are two classes of verbs that take different forms when conjugated.

• T-class verbs:
  • By definition end with a 't'
    e.g. yet "eat", byaut "waste", fiut "run".
  • May be formed by
    • An obsolete affix added to a root ending with a vowel; verbs formed this way may or may not end with 'et'.
    • Derivation from other parts of speech; verbs formed this way tend to end with 'et'.
  • When conjugated, the 't'-ending of which undergoes irregular consonant mutation.
    e.g. yet "eat" > yellet (progressive with t > lː), yeŋam (desiderative with t > ŋ), yeso (near future with t > s)

• Null-class verbs:
  • Does not end with a 't'
    e.g. tag "hit", dém "drink", esyà "utilise".
  • May be formed by
    • Unaltered root forms
    • Other derivations into verbs
  • When conjugated, the endings of which may or may not undergo regular sound mutation.
    e.g. tag "hit" > taget (progressive), tagam (desiderative), taxo (near future with fricativisation ɡ > ɣ)

Tense

Iaskyon verbs have 4 tenses, each representing different time of action relative to the time of utterance.

• Present

The present, or the unconjugated form, marks:

1. actions or events that take place in the present, or an indefinite time.
   e.g. Wi goxe yet. "I eat rice (now or at an indefinite time)"
2. actions or events of which the time is unknown.
   e.g. Toi wem upleu sesadem su upcyeu (lau) nasḿ. "He said to me at some point but I forgot when."
3. actions or events that have an implied time due to simultaneity with other events, or because it is already mentioned in the main clause.
   e.g. Tĺbo wakowem þàkfeulletpye, i Sináeu uhöl kaisḿ. "As they are moving east, they discovered plains in Shinar."

• Past

The past marks:

1. actions or events that take place in the past relative to the time of utterance.
   e.g. Wi üşeu goxe yesḿ. "I ate rice yesterday"
2. actions or events that take place in the past relative to the time of another specified event.
   e.g. Yoi yase lömçupye, wu xyenyopüm. "By the time you (will) read this, I will probably have died.

• Near future

The near future marks:

1. actions or events that are upcoming, in the immediate, and planned or forcast future.
   e.g. Wi xuso. "I gonna go".
   e.g. Wu xyeno. "I am dying soon."
2. actions or events that take place in a definite, subjectively non-distant future.
3. actions or events that are more temporary than another.

• Distant future

The distant future marks:

1. actions or events that take place in a far future, i.e. months or years after.
2. actions or events that take place in an indefinite future that is subjectively distant.
3. long term states in the future.

Aspect

• Generic / gnomic

The gnomic aspect marks:

1. general truths (must be in present tenses).
   e.g. Hawon höüi. "The sun shines."
2. general, enduring situations (e.g. habits) which may not be permanent (may be in any tense except near future).
   e.g. Wu upib öüm. "I used to be young"

• Progressive

The progressive aspect marls:

1. incomplete actions in progress in the referenced time.
   e.g. Wi goxe yellet. "I am eating rice."
   e.g. Ecliyw Nóusononem xusmet. "Ecliyw was going to Northbridge."
2. state transition in progress in the referenced time.
   e.g. Wi kod holàket. "I am putting on a 'kod' (shirt)." not *"I am wearing a 'kod'."

Mood

• Potential
  The potential mood marks:
  • A possibility of the event happening.
• Permissive
  The permissive mood marks:
  1. Presence of authorisation, permission for the event to happen.
  2. That it is appropriate for the event to happen.
• Abilitative
  The abilitative mood marks:
  1. An capability of the event to happen, or the agent to cause the event.
  2. That there is a possibility, though unlikely, for the event to happen.
• Desiderative
  The desiderative mood marks:
  • A wish or want that the event happens.
  • When used in conjunction with other tenses:
  1. Past: wish or want that were satisfied in the past
  2. Present: wish or want to be satisfied immediately
  3. Near future: wish or want to be satisfied in a definite, near future
  4. Far future: wish or want that involves an indefinite or far future
  • A wish to be made in the past or future is presented with
    • an auxiliary verb gat "to want", ŋut or þűt "to hope", which carries the tense, and
    • changing the predicate to the direct object (in absolutive case).
• Imperative
  The imperative mood marks:
  • Commands, call for caution.
• Cohortative
  The cohortative mood marks:
  • mutual encouragement to do the specified action.
• Optative

Other verb forms

• Causative
• "Linking" form
• "Compound" form

(See below)

Other verb types

Auxiliary verbs

Some moods cannot be expressed by conjugation and auxiliary verbs are utilised.

Irregular verbs

• a - to be

The verb a is the copula. It takes two arguments, both in the absolutive. It is used to:

1. denote identity.
   e.g. Hüikiyw wö alnoem a. "Hüikiyw is my mother."
2. denote class membership, except for class within classes.
   e.g. Wu hwe a. "I am a human."
   e.g. *Hwétoun taulon a. "Dogs are animals." (See sa)

• la - to exist

The verb la takes only one argument in the absolutive. It is used to:

1. denote existence.
   e.g. Mök la. "(There) is a cat."
2. denote temporary possession or keeping, used with locative case.
   e.g. Yö zeà weu la. "I have your book."

• sa - to belong

The verb sa takes two arguments, the "possessor" being in the ergative and the "possessed" in the absolutive. It is used to:

1. denote non-temporary, or inherent possession.
   e.g. Iscuŋi çoihxí sa. "This tree has ten branches."
   e.g. Wi iszeà sa. "I own this book."
2. denote class being within other classes.
   e.g. Hwétoun tauloni sa. "Dogs are animals."

• jo - to become

Numbers

The number (tögon /tœɡɔn/) system in Iaskyon is vigesimal (base-20). The writing system Iaswü has a set of 20 numerals to represent it.

Larger numbers are grouped by yil /jil/ (1000₂₀, i.e. 8000₁₀), alike the Indo-European system of grouping by thousands.

Basic numerals

Numerals

Iaskyon	Vig.	Dec.	Iaskyon	Vig.	Dec.
gwön	0	0	xí	A	10
yé	1	1	pih	B	11
don	2	2	töe	C	12
làd	3	3	zei	D	13
wöx	4	4	fún	E	14
kí	5	5	çà	F	15
wou	6	6	ŋeh	G	16
sün	7	7	küz	H	17
wé	8	8	ox	J	18
bux	9	9	xeu	K	19

• I is skipped in the vigesimal notation to avoid mistaking for 1.

Larger numbers

Iaskyon	Vig.	Dec.
hwax	10	20
yé yéhwax	11	21
don yéhwax	12	22
làd yéhwax	13	23
...	...	...
donhwax	20	40
yé donhwax	21	41
don donhwax	22	42
...	...	...
çà zeihwax	DF	275
...	...	...
xeu xeuhwax	KK	399
şoc	100	400
şoc yé	101	401
...	...	...
donşoc	200	800
...	...	...
kíşoc töe	50C	2 012
...	...	...
xíşoc ŋeh wöxhwax	A4G	4 096
...	...	...
yil	1 000	8 000
yil yé	1 001	8 001
...	...	...
sünyil sünşoc bux töehwax	7 7C9	59 049
...	...	...
hwixil	10 000	160 000
...	...	...
şocil	100 000	3 200 000
...	...	...
mox	1 000 000	64 000 000
...	...	...
hwammox	10 000 000	1 280 000 000
...	...	...
şommox	100 000 000	25 600 000 000
...	...	...
fák	1 000 000 000	512 000 000 000
...	...	...
wöxfák kíşoc xeu küzhwammox fúnşoc wou çàhwixil oxşoc töe küzhwax	4 5HK EF6 JHC	2 199 023 255 552

Attached forms

• Normal nouns
  Numbers are appended as a suffix to the noun.
  • gin (thing): ginya (1), gindon (2), ginlàd (3), ginwöx (4), ginkí (5)...
  • mök (cat): mökya (1), mökdon (2), möklàd (3), mökwöx (4), mökkí (5)...

• Hwe
  The word hwe "person" takes irregular forms with numbers.
  • hwá (1), hudau (2), huyàd (3), huwöx (4), hukí (5)...

• Ordinals
  The ordinal prefix takes the form of cV-, where V is the first (short) vowel of the numeral.
  The ordinals in turn are appended as a suffix to the noun.
  • cyé (1), codon (2), càlàd (3), cöwöx (4), cikí (5), cowou (6)...
  • gin (thing): gincyé (1), gincodon (2), gincàlàd (3), gincöwöx (4), gincikí (5)...

• Number of times
  In representing number of times or instances, a suffix -hen is used.
  • yahun (1), dauhun (2), làdhen (3), wöxhen (4), kíhen (5)...

Fractions and vigesimals

Fractions (aegĺtögnon /aigl̩ˈtœɡnɔn/) in Iaskyon use the word kil /kil/ from kilet /ˈkilɛʔ/ "cut, divide".

• Unit fractions
  Fractions with numerator 1 are constructed with denominator + kil, "to cut D times".
  • donkil (1/2), làdkil (1/3), wöxkil (1/4), ..., yé-donhwaxkil (1/21₂₀ = 1/41)...
• Simple fractions
  Simple fractions are constructed with numerator (locative) + denominator + kil, "to cut D times at N".
  • doneu làdkil (2/3), làdeu kíkil (3/5), ..., ŋeheu sün-yéhwaxkil (G/17₂₀ = 16/27), ..., buxşoc-küz-ŋehhwaxeu yil-oxşoc-çà-wöxhwaxkil (9GH/1J4F₂₀ = 3937/15295)...

Swadesh list

No.	English
0
1	I
2	you (singular)
3	he
4	we
5	you (plural)
6	they
7	this
8	that
9	here
10	there
11	who
12	what
13	where
14	when
15	how
16	not
17	all
18	many
19	some
20	few
21	other
22	one
23	two
24	three
25	four
26	five
27	big
28	long
29	wide
30	thick
31	heavy
32	small
33	short
34	narrow
35	thin
36	woman
37	man (adult male)
38	human being
39	child
40	wife
41	husband
42	mother
43	father
44	animal
45	fish
46	bird
47	dog
48	louse
49	snake
50	worm
51	tree
52	forest
53	stick
54	fruit
55	seed
56	leaf
57	root
58	bark
59	flower
60	grass
61	rope
62	skin
63	meat
64	blood
65	bone
66	fat
67	egg
68	horn
69	tail
70	feather
71	hair
72	head
73	ear
74	eye
75	nose
76	mouth
77	tooth
78	tongue
79	fingernail
80	foot
81	leg
82	knee
83	hand
84	wing
85	belly
86	guts
87	neck
88	back
89	breast
90	heart
91	liver
92	drink
93	eat
94	bite
95	suck
96	spit
97	vomit
98	blow
99	breathe
100	laugh
101	see
102	hear
103	know
104	think
105	smell
106	fear
107	sleep
108	live
109	die
110	kill
111	fight
112	hunt
113	hit
114	cut
115	split
116	stab
117	scratch
118	dig
119	swim
120	fly
121	walk
122	come
123	lie
124	sit
125	stand
126	turn
127	fall
128	give
129	hold
130	squeeze
131	rub
132	wash
133	wipe
134	pull
135	push
136	throw
137	tie
138	sew
139	count
140	say
141	sing
142	play
143	float
144	flow
145	freeze
146	swell
147	sun
148	moon
149	star
150	water
151	rain
152	river
153	lake
154	sea
155	salt
156	stone
157	sand
158	dust
159	earth
160	cloud
161	fog
162	sky
163	wind
164	snow
165	ice
166	smoke
167	fire
168	ash
169	burn
170	road
171	mountain
172	red
173	green
174	yellow
175	white
176	black
177	night
178	day
179	year
180	warm
181	cold
182	full
183	new
184	old
185	good
186	bad
187	rotten
188	dirty
189	straight
190	round
191	sharp
192	dull
193	smooth
194	wet
195	dry
196	correct
197	near
198	far
199	right
200	left
201	at
202	in
203	with
204	and
205	if
206	because
207	name

Example texts

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

• Article 1; Kiloncy-1

Fá hwe nixonax yawaoşöüno, hecleŋeu cwakleŋeuel pöüloşöü.

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.

Tĺbo lékmaşehĺ hácexşehĺel üneĺino, i çamkwel mwőgkwolöŋau núgĺ çodgat.

They are endowed with reason and conscience and should treat each other in a spirit of brotherhood.

See also

• Iaskyon
• Iaskyon/Sample/218_sentences
• IPA for Iaskyon