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Rówok: Difference between revisions
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Spoken by a rather reclusive community that lived high in the preindustrial Ural range, Ruk was an extremely isolating language, with largely monosyllabic words and next to no inflection of any sort. Rówok on the other hand is morphologically complex. This is the result of the Ruk speakers, after centuries of living mostly on their own, having underwent a period of dispersion and travel through lands inhabited by Finnic and Slavic speakers. This resulted in both a cultural explosion and a rapid evolution of the language, as affected by analogy with speakers picking up the languages of the peoples they mingled with. | Spoken by a rather reclusive community that lived high in the preindustrial Ural range, Ruk was an extremely isolating language, with largely monosyllabic words and next to no inflection of any sort. Rówok on the other hand is morphologically complex. This is the result of the Ruk speakers, after centuries of living mostly on their own, having underwent a period of dispersion and travel through lands inhabited by Finnic and Slavic speakers. This resulted in both a cultural explosion and a rapid evolution of the language, as affected by analogy with speakers picking up the languages of the peoples they mingled with. | ||
Armed with new knowledge and now speaking a radically altered language, the nation moved back up to the hills, and Rówok represents a stage of the language's evolution in about the 3rd generation of leveling after their return to the homeland. It is mostly stable, but there are some forms still competing for widespread acceptance (cf., e.g., [[ | Armed with new knowledge and now speaking a radically altered language, the nation moved back up to the hills, and Rówok represents a stage of the language's evolution in about the 3rd generation of leveling after their return to the homeland. It is mostly stable, but there are some forms still competing for widespread acceptance (cf., e.g., [[#Copula|copula]]). | ||
Rówok speakers live in a mountainous, forest environment with snow-cover nearly year round, with just a tiny bit of summer of which to speak. They are intimately dependent and symbiotic with their dogs, and there are thus many, many semantic elements of or relating to canines and canine/human interaction, not to mention a huge amount of idioms containing references to dogs. Lastly they are extremely mathematically, if not technically, advanced and utterly areligious. | Rówok speakers live in a mountainous, forest environment with snow-cover nearly year round, with just a tiny bit of summer of which to speak. They are intimately dependent and symbiotic with their dogs, and there are thus many, many semantic elements of or relating to canines and canine/human interaction, not to mention a huge amount of idioms containing references to dogs. Lastly they are extremely mathematically, if not technically, advanced and utterly areligious. | ||
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All roots have an underlying "theme vowel" for lack of a better term in my attempt at vowel harmony, either /a/ or /o/, which shift to /e/ and /u/ in perfect verbal stems and many nouns derived from verbal stems. Additionally words with /w/ in any position have some stems where /w/ is reduced to [u]. The rules are simple for the majority of stems, and are as follows: | All roots have an underlying "theme vowel" for lack of a better term in my attempt at vowel harmony, either /a/ or /o/, which shift to /e/ and /u/ in perfect verbal stems and many nouns derived from verbal stems. Additionally words with /w/ in any position have some stems where /w/ is reduced to [u]. The rules are simple for the majority of stems, and are as follows: | ||
If /a/ appears in the root (by law only initially or medially), the theme vowel is automatically /a/. If the root is tri-consonantal and does not contain /w/, the theme vowel is also /a/. As a note, roots with medial /a/ are almost exclusively (specific) plants, and thus lack verbal roots, and thus have only two principal parts: nom/erg/voc, and oblique. | :If /a/ appears in the root (by law only initially or medially), the theme vowel is automatically /a/. If the root is tri-consonantal and does not contain /w/, the theme vowel is also /a/. As a note, roots with medial /a/ are almost exclusively (specific) plants, and thus lack verbal roots, and thus have only two principal parts: nom/erg/voc, and oblique. | ||
If /w/ appears medially or finally in a root, the theme vowel is /o/. | :If /w/ appears medially or finally in a root, the theme vowel is /o/. | ||
Exceptions: | Exceptions: | ||
There are some rare, quad-consonantal roots. These are always of the the form C*XCC, where C* can only be /b/, /p/, /d/, /t/, /g/, /k/, /z/ and /s/, and X can be /w/, /l/, or /r/; ones with /w/ have /o/ as the theme vowel, and those with /l/ or /r/ have /a/. | *There are some rare, quad-consonantal roots. These are always of the the form C*XCC, where C* can only be /b/, /p/, /d/, /t/, /g/, /k/, /z/ and /s/, and X can be /w/, /l/, or /r/; ones with /w/ have /o/ as the theme vowel, and those with /l/ or /r/ have /a/. | ||
*Roots with initial /w/ are very old stems and anything goes as far as theme vowels; this is the only word type whose vowel structure isn’t deducible from the form of the root and just need to be learned. | |||
====Principal parts==== | |||
Principal parts; roots are listed in order of: | |||
'''lemma''' - definition; '''finite verbal stem'''-, '''participial stem''' (de facto the nom/erg singular imperfect active participle), '''vocative stem'''+, '''ergative/nominative form''', '''oblique stem'''-, '''adverbial form''' | |||
:+The similative and partitive cases are also based on the vocative stem, as well as adjectives. | |||
As explained above in the [[#Phonology|phonology section]], verbal stems tend to group in (C)VCC and participial stems in (C)V(C)C; nominative/ergative stems tend to be CVCVC, and oblique nominal stems CCVC if allowed by phonotactics (which I will have to elaborate on in a new post as a supplement to the first post on phonology). Unstressed epenthetics are inserted where needed, giving possible ^VCC(C/V) instead of expected CC(C/V), or CVCVC instead of expected CCVC. | |||
Examples, starting with theme vowel [a]: | Examples, starting with theme vowel [a]: | ||
medial /a/: | medial /a/: | ||
pan - moss; pan, pna- | *'''pan''' - moss; pan, pna- | ||
Triconsonantal roots with no /w/ and those with medial /w/ are the easiest. Both are very regular in their pattern. | Triconsonantal roots with no /w/ and those with medial /w/ are the easiest. Both are very regular in their pattern. | ||
With medial liquid: | With medial liquid: | ||
*srn - claw; sarn-, srn, srna, sáran, srán-, sarná | *'''srn''' - claw; sarn-, srn, srna, sáran, srán-, sarná | ||
*drb - fall/to fall/fallen; darb-, drb, drba, dárab, dráb-, darbá | *'''drb''' - fall/to fall/fallen; darb-, drb, drba, dárab, dráb-, darbá | ||
*bls - snow; bals-, bls, blsa, bálas, blás-, balsá | *'''bls''' - snow; bals-, bls, blsa, bálas, blás-, balsá | ||
non-liquid medial: | non-liquid medial: | ||
*bgs - bags-, bags, bágsa, bágas, bagás-+, bagsá | *'''bgs''' - bags-, bags, bágsa, bágas, bagás-+, bagsá | ||
*zpt - zapt-, zapt, zápta, zápat, zpát-+, zaptá | *'''zpt''' - zapt-, zapt, zápta, zápat, zpát-+, zaptá | ||
:+If the cluster is not allowed initially, like [bg], epenthetic /a/ is inserted. Further, /zp/ is definitely going to be realized as [zb] | :+If the cluster is not allowed initially, like [bg], epenthetic /a/ is inserted. Further, /zp/ is definitely going to be realized as [zb] | ||
*ddz - idle mischief/fiddling/to idle about; dadz-, dadz, dádza, dádaz, đaz-+, dadzá | *'''ddz''' - idle mischief/fiddling/to idle about; dadz-, dadz, dádza, dádaz, đaz-+, dadzá | ||
:+if a reduplicated letter can fricativize/affricatize, it will in the oblique nominal stem | :+if a reduplicated letter can fricativize/affricatize, it will in the oblique nominal stem | ||
*pps - imitation/to fake/artificial; paps-, paps, pápsa, pápas, pas-*, papsá | *'''pps''' - imitation/to fake/artificial; paps-, paps, pápsa, pápas, pas-*, papsá | ||
*if the reduplicated consonant cannot fricativize, it reduces so ppas=>pas (since /f/ is lacking in the inventory). | *if the reduplicated consonant cannot fricativize, it reduces so ppas=>pas (since /f/ is lacking in the inventory). | ||
There are variations if the initial or medial consonant is /y/, where /y/=>/i/: | There are variations if the initial or medial consonant is /y/, where /y/=>/i/: | ||
*dym - light/shine/bright; daym-, dim, díma, dáyam, dyamá-, dimá | *'''dym''' - light/shine/bright; daym-, dim, díma, dáyam, dyamá-, dimá | ||
*ryz - seed/to plant/incipient; rayz-, riz, ríza, ráyaz, ryazá-, rizá | *'''ryz''' - seed/to plant/incipient; rayz-, riz, ríza, ráyaz, ryazá-, rizá | ||
*ygn - a cared for object/to rear/lovingly; yágn-, ígan, igána, yágan, igná-, yagná | *'''ygn''' - a cared for object/to rear/lovingly; yágn-, ígan, igána, yágan, igná-, yagná | ||
Roots with initial /a/: | Roots with initial /a/: | ||
*azl - life; ázl-, zal, zála, azála, azalá-, zalá | *'''azl''' - life; ázl-, zal, zála, azála, azalá-, zalá | ||
*ayt - run; áyt-, yat, yáta, ayáta, ayatá-, yatá | *'''ayt''' - run; áyt-, yat, yáta, ayáta, ayatá-, yatá | ||
*akb - count; ákb-, kab, kába, akába, akabá-, kabá | *'''akb''' - count; ákb-, kab, kába, akába, akabá-, kabá | ||
Now examples where /o/ is the theme vowel, starting with medial /w/: | Now examples where /o/ is the theme vowel, starting with medial /w/: | ||
*pwt - clearing/to clear/deobstructed; powt-, pot, put, pówot, pwót-, putú | *'''pwt''' - clearing/to clear/deobstructed; powt-, pot, put, pówot, pwót-, putú | ||
*rwk - tongue/speak/of or relating to tongue or speech/language; rowk-, rok, ruk, rówok, orwók-, rukú+ | *'''rwk''' - tongue/speak/of or relating to tongue or speech/language; rowk-, rok, ruk, rówok, orwók-, rukú+ | ||
:+as a semantic tidbit, Rukú is how you would say "in Rowok", as opposed to rwógdo (tongue.inst) "(doing something) with your tongue", and Ruk is the name of Rowok's protolanguage | :+as a semantic tidbit, Rukú is how you would say "in Rowok", as opposed to rwógdo (tongue.inst) "(doing something) with your tongue", and Ruk is the name of Rowok's protolanguage. | ||
final /w/: | final /w/: | ||
*gdw - tool/to fashion/skillful; gódw-, gdo, gódu/gódw-+, gódow, gdów-, godú | *'''gdw''' - tool/to fashion/skillful; gódw-, gdo, gódu/gódw-+, gódow, gdów-, godú | ||
:+In roots with final /w/ the vocative is CóCu, while the similative and partitive are built off of CoCw | :+In roots with final /w/ the vocative is CóCu, while the similative and partitive are built off of CoCw | ||
*lsw - running water/flow/fluent; lósw-, ólso, lósu/losw-, lósow, olswó-*, losú | *'''lsw''' - running water/flow/fluent; lósw-, ólso, lósu/losw-, lósow, olswó-*, losú | ||
A similar variation as above when a final /w/ root begins with /y/: | A similar variation as above when a final /w/ root begins with /y/: | ||
*ybw - still water; yóbw-, íbow, íbu, yóbow, ibwó-, ibú | *'''ybw''' - still water; yóbw-, íbow, íbu, yóbow, ibwó-, ibú | ||
Cw/r/lCC: | Cw/r/lCC: | ||
*p(w)zn - non potable water, to flow destructively, to pollute; powzn-, pozn, pwózno, powózon, pzón-, puznú | *'''p(w)zn''' - non potable water, to flow destructively, to pollute; powzn-, pozn, pwózno, powózon, pzón-, puznú | ||
*brds - to lie, fib, in the middle to bullshit; bards-, bards, brádsa, barádas-, brdás-, bradsá | *'''brds''' - to lie, fib, in the middle to bullshit; bards-, bards, brádsa, barádas-, brdás-, bradsá | ||
The occasional initial /w/, some a-stems, some o-stems, lots of /u/ even in imperfect stems and even in words that otherwise have /a/ as their theme vowel: | The occasional initial /w/, some a-stems, some o-stems, lots of /u/ even in imperfect stems and even in words that otherwise have /a/ as their theme vowel: | ||
*wst - sky; wásta-, wast, ústa, awásata, áwsat-, ustá | *'''wst''' - sky; wásta-, wast, ústa, awásata, áwsat-, ustá | ||
*wkd - kill; úkdo-, úkod, úkud, wókod, úkod-, kudú | *'''wkd''' - kill; úkdo-, úkod, úkud, wókod, úkod-, kudú | ||
===Derivational morphology=== | ===Derivational morphology=== | ||
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The most common are: | The most common are: | ||
* -jXš- = great, grand, noble, relatively large (also functions as a [[ | * -jXš- = great, grand, noble, relatively large (also functions as a [[#Comparatives|comparative]]) | ||
* -nXč- = the biggest, greatest | * -nXč- = the biggest, greatest | ||