Rówok

Rówok
Rówok
Pronunciation	[[Help:IPA|ro:wok]]
Created by	Ioscius
Date	2017
Setting	Vaguely undefined pre-industrial period, thought to be around 1250 CE.
Native speakers	~10,000 (~1250)
Language family	Proto-Ruk Ruk ? Rówok
Early form	Ruk
Official status
Regulated by	Intertribal agreement

Nota bene, care lector, this is a work in progress

Rówok is an artlang created by Ioscius.

It is the only known daughter language of the as yet presumed language isolate Ruk.

Introduction

Setting

A typical day for a Rówok speaker.

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., copula, partitive).

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.

Design goals

The main motive behind creating Rówok was to explore patient and agent relationships, and to employ and self-indulgently tweak and torture a complex and fully productive middle voice system.

Other motivating considerations were:

• trying a set of uniform case endings (barring vowel harmony and allophony) instead of the typical IE several declension patterns, so that all the case endings are recognizable throughout all grammatical numbers
• a vague attempt at trying vowel harmony in a conlang
• blurring the lines between adjective/substantive/verb, so the same root can easily be used in any of those categoriesu
  • as an extension of the previous point an implicitly extensive participial system
• using primarily consonantal roots (started out trying for triliterals, but quickly adapted to allow quadriliteral)
• having primarily imperfect/perfect aspect instead of tense, as reflected in the vowel structure of the aforementioned roots
• having a strict and productive dual in all applicable grammatical categories

Inspiration

Rówok’s creator placed the speech community where he did, wanting to steal liberally from both Uralic and Slavic semantics and grammar without having to justify himself to anyone. The community is surrounded by speakers (in order of clockwise north to west) of medieval forms of Nenets, Komi, Udmurt, Mari, Russian, Estonian, and Finnish.

You could say the natlangs that had the greatest impact on the author’s aesthetics and inspirations were Latin, Ancient Greek, Pan-Slavic, Finnish and Sami, just a tiny bit of Basque, and enormous inspiration from the author’s absolute favorite, simply darling language that he’s never learned, Guarani.

Phonology

Rówok's phonology is fairly conservative, a result primarily of the author's desire to be able to actually speak it.

All of the sounds are found in English, save for /r̝/.

Notable absences from the phonology are /f/ and /h/, especially given that /p/, /b/, /v/, and /g/ and /k/ all exist.

Orthography

Rówok is written using largely the Latin alphabet as extended for South Slavic, with the addition of <ŧ> for the voiceless interdental fricative /θ/, and <đ> is used for the voiced interdental fricative /ð/, instead of for /dʑ/ in South Slavic.

There is also <ř> to indicate the same sound as in its inspiration in Czech, namely /r̝/.

That gives us in Latin order:

a b č d đ e g i k l m n o p r ř s š t ŧ u v w y z ž

See the alphabet grouped by feature in the tables below.

Consonants

	labial		interdental		alveolar		postalveolar		velar
	unvoiced	voiced	unvoiced	voiced	unvoiced	voiced	unvoiced	voiced	unvoiced	voiced
stops	p /p/	b /b/			t /t/	d /d/			k /k/	g /g/
nasals		m /m/				n /n/
affricates							č /tʃ/
fricatives		v /v/	ŧ /θ/	đ /ð/	s /s/	z /z/	š /ʃ/	ž /ʒ/
liquids		w /w/			l /l/	r /r/		y /j/
trills							ř /r̝/

Vowels

	front		central		back
	short	long	short	long	short	long
close	i /i/	í /iː/			u /u/	ú /uː/
mid	e /e/	é /eː/			o /o/	ó /oː/
open			a /a/	á /aː/

Diphthongs

	front		central		back
	+y, /j/	+w, /w/	+y, /j/	+w, /w/	+y, /j/	+w, /w/
close	iy /ɪi̯/	iw /ɪʊ̯/			uy /uɪ̯/	XX XX
mid	ey /eɪ̯/	ew /eʊ̯/			oy /oɪ̯/	ow /oʊ̯/
open			ay /aɪ̯/	aw /aʊ̯/

Word structure

Roots in Rówok are predominantly triliteral and quadriliteral, with /a/ being the only vowel that can occur either initially in a root, or medially.

All roots have an underlying "theme vowel" for lack of a better term in the author's 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.

Roots with /w/ in any non-initial position have some stems where /w/ is reduced to [u]. Roots with /y/ in any non-final position also have some stems that are realized as [i]. Nota bene: roots with initial /w/ are 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.

The rules are simple for the majority of other stems, and are as follows:

Triliteral roots

1. If /a/ appears in the root (by law only initially or medially), the theme vowel is automatically /a/.
2. If the root is tri-consonantal and does not contain /w/, the theme vowel is also /a/.
   1. 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.
3. If /w/ appears medially or finally in a root, the theme vowel is /o/.

1. ayt-, "(to) run"; ayt-, yát, yáta, ayáta, ayat-, yatá
2. tnk, "(to) fly"; tank-, tank, tánka, tának, tanak-, tanká
3. rwk, "tongue, to speak"; rowk-, rók, rúk, rówok, orwok-, rukú

Quadriliteral roots

Quadriliteral roots are always consonantal and take 4 forms. In the examples below the parentheses indicate that the group remains a cluster in extended stems:

1. (C*X)CC, where C* can only be /b/, /p/, /d/, /t/, /g/, /k/, /z/ and /s/, and X can be /r/, /l/, or /w/
2. C(XC)C, where X can be /r/, /l/, /m/, /n/, /g/, /k/, /y/, or /w/
3. C(CX)C, where X can be /r/, /l/, /y/, or /w/
4. CC(XC*), where C* can only be /b/, /p/, /d/, /t/, /g/, /k/, /z/ and /s/, and X can be /r/, /l/, /m/, /n/, /y/, or /w/

1. pwzn-, "non-potable water, to make sick", pwozn-, pwózno, púzun, pwózon-, pwozn-, puznú
2. wktr-, "brawny, strong, strength, to fortify", woktr-, wóktro, wúktur, wóktor, owktr-, wuktrú
3. ndry-, "fox, to be clever/outfox", nadry-, nádray, andráya, nadráya, andry-, nadryá

Type 1 and 3, like in triliteral roots, easily reveal their theme vowel, while types 2 and 4 have some o-themed stems that do not have /w/ in them, mostly in roots where X is /n/ or /m/.

Vowel harmony

For more info cf. aspect.

Nominals and verbals in Rówok show very simple vowel harmony with predictable ablaut. As explained above, in short all nominals and verbals have exclusively one possible vowel of [a], [e], [o], or [u], plus perhaps [i].

As explained in the section on aspect, words that have primary vowel structure based on /a/ show ablaut phenomena to /e/, while words based on /o/ ablaut to /u/.

Examples

Participles

• rokónok ("to speak", nominative, singular, passive, imperfect particple) => rukúnuk (nom, sing, pass, perfect participle)
• yáŧkay (nom, sing, middle, future participle) => yéŧkey (nom, sing, middle, future perfect participle)

Consonant harmony

There is also significant consonant harmony in Rówok, in which consonants on the borders of roots and morphemes for derivational morphology often affect one another in terms of voicing or (af)fricativization. See the section on morphophonology below.

Prosody

Prosody is not unlike something you'd hear in the South Slavic languages. It is not particularly singsongy, and a lot of consonant clusters perhaps give Rówok a a bit of a rough sound. Nonetheless, there is a lot of epenthesis, augment, and other interesting vocalic patterns that nonetheless give the language an aesthetic flow and lends itself to mellifluous constructions, even if they might not be a characteristic of common speech.

Stress

Every word has a primary stress accent, which tends toward the penult or antepenult, and the language is stabilizing to a system like the Latin one, just that the length of the syllable determining the penult or antepenult is based almost solely on position, as there are very few phonemic long vowels in Rówok, and the ones that do exist are either in adverbs or the nominal plural marker -ín-.

After the primary stress in tri- and more-syllabic words all successive vowels are reduced to schwa, but not in disyllabic words (cf. rówok /ro:wok/, but razánka /raza:nkə/).

Morphophonology

Several morphological elements in Rówok trigger sandhi effects both to the left and right or either.

The main triggers are:

• Case endings
• Diminutives
• The marker for the middle voice

Roots and principal parts

Dictionary entries are listed with principal parts in the following order:

• lemma - definition; finite verbal stem-, participial stem (de facto the nom/erg singular imperfect active participle), vocative stem+, ergative 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 section, verbal stems tend to group in (C)VCC and participial stems in (C)V(C)C; ergative stems tend to be CVCVC, and oblique nominal stems CCVC if allowed by phonotactics. Unstressed epenthetics are inserted where needed, giving possible ^VCC(C/V) instead of expected CC(C/V), or CVCVC instead of expected CCVC.

Stems

Here is a presentation of the form and use of the 6 stems in Rówok, using the following two stems as illustration, drb-, "fall", and rwk-, "speech":

darb-, dŕb, dŕba, dárab, drab-, darbá

rowk-, rók, rúk, rówok, orwok-, rukú

Finite verbal stem

darb-, dŕb, dŕba, dárab, drab-, darbá

rowk-, rók, rúk, rówok, orwok-, rukú

The finite verbal stem is characterized by vowel clusters grouped on the right side of the root's vowel structure.

It is used, well, to form finite verbs.

Participial stem

darb-, dŕb, dŕba, dárab, drab-, darbá

rowk-, rók, rúk, rówok, orwok-, rukú

The participial stem is the de facto ergative singular imperfect active form of the participle.

Vocative stem

darb-, dŕb, dŕba, dárab, drab-, darbá

rowk-, rók, rúk, rówok, orwok-, rukú

The vocative stem is perhaps a misnomer, as it is used to form not only the vocative case, but also the partitive and similative cases, as well as to form many compounds.

Ergative form

darb-, dŕb, dŕba, dárab, drab-, darbá

rowk-, rók, rúk, rówok, orwok-, rukú

The ergative form is characterized by a fully extended CVCVC or VCVC(V) structure.

It is used to form the ergative case.

Oblique stem

darb-, dŕb, dŕba, dárab, drab-, darbá

rowk-, rók, rúk, rówok, orwok-, rukú

The oblique stem is usually monosyllabic, characterized by the grouping of consonant clusters to the left of the word's vowel structure. When phonotactics do not allow for an initial consonant cluster, vowels are added epenthetically either before the initiral vowel in the case of liquids and nasals, but between the first to consonants in the case of all other sounds.

The oblique stem is used for the following:

• as the stem of which all the oblique cases are formed, except the partitive and similative

Adverbial form

darb-, dŕb, dŕba, dárab, drab-, darbá

rowk-, rók, rúk, rówok, orwok-, rukú

The adverbial form has no inflection. It us used in several different ways:

• as a simple adverb
• following an animate noun in the ergative or inanimate noun in the vocative it functions as an adjective
• following a noun in the instrumental it functions like a Latin ablative absolute
• governing a noun in the partitive to indicate something like a unit of measurement

For more cf. copula.

Examples

A-stems

a-stems
	root	meaning	verb	participial	vocative	ergative	oblique	adverb
initial a-	azl	"life"	azl-	zal	zála	azála	azala-	zalá
	ayt	"run"	ayt-	yat	yáta	ayáta	ayata-	yatá
	akb	"count"	akb-	kab	kába	akába	akaba-	kabá
triconsonant	bgs	"negotiate"	bags-	bágs	bágsa	bágas	bagas-	bagsá
	zpt	"close"	zapt-	zápt	zápta	zápat	zapat-	zaptá
	tnk	"fly"	tank-	tánk	tánka	tának	tanak-	tanká
initial liquid	rnb	"waterfall"	ranb-	ránba	árnaba	ránab	arnba-	ranbá
	lsy	"pair"	lasy-	lásya	álsi	lásay	alsya-	lasyá
medial liquid	drb	"fall"	darb-	dŕb	dŕba	dárab	dráb-	darbá
	bls	"snow"	bals-	bĺs	bĺsa	bálas	blás-	balsá
final liquid	knr	"tree"	kanr-	kánra	knára	kanár	knar-	kanrá
	stl	"ice"	satl-	sátla	stála	sátal	stl-	satlá
initial y-	ygn	"care/adore"	yagn-	ígan	igána	yágan	igna-	yagná
	ypr	"give"	yapr-	ípar	ipára	yápar	ipra-	yaprá
medial -y-	dym	"shine"	daym-	dím	díma	dáyam	dyamá-	dimá
	ryz	"seed"	rayz-	ríz	ríza	ráyaz	ryazá-	rizá
final -y	gry	"youth"	gary-	gári/y-	gári	gáraya	graya-	garyá
	ndy	"lynx/stealthy"	nady-	nádi/y-	ándi	ándaya	andya-	nadyá
reduplicated	ddz	"mischief"	dadz-	dádz	dádza	dádaz	đaz-	dadzá
	pps	"imitate"	paps-	páps	pápsa	pápas	pas-	papsá
		""	'	'	'	'	'	'

Examples, starting with theme vowel [a]:

medial /a/:

• pan - moss; pan, pna-

Triconsonantal roots with no /w/ and those with medial /w/ are the easiest. Both are very regular in their pattern.

With medial liquid:

• srn - claw; sarn-, srn, srna, sáran, srán-, sarná
• drb - fall/to fall/fallen; darb-, drb, drba, dárab, dráb-, darbá
• bls - snow; bals-, bls, blsa, bálas, blás-, balsá

non-liquid medial:

• bgs - bags-, bags, bágsa, bágas, bagás-+, bagsá
• 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]

• 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

• 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).

There are variations if the initial or medial consonant is /y/, where /y/=>/i/:

• dym - light/shine/bright; daym-, dim, díma, dáyam, dyamá-, dimá
• 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

Roots with initial /a/:

• azl - life; ázl-, zal, zála, azála, azalá-, zalá
• ayt - run; áyt-, yat, yáta, ayáta, ayatá-, yatá
• akb - count; ákb-, kab, kába, akába, akabá-, kabá

O-stems

o-stems
	root	meaning	verb	participial	vocative	ergative	oblique	adverb
medial -w-	pwt	"clear(ing)"	powt-	pót	pút	pówot	pwot-	putú
	mwk	"dog"	mowk-	mók	múk	mówok	mwok-	mukú
	rwk	"tongue"	rowk-	rók	rúk	rówok	orwok-	rukú
final -w	gdw	"tool"	godw-	gód	gódo/godw-	gódow	ogdw-	gudú
	nkw	"destination"	nokw-	nók	nóko/nokw-	nókow	onkw-	nukú
		""	'	'	'	'	'	'
initial liquid	lsw	"rain"	lósw-	ólso	lóso/losw-	lósow	olsw-	lusú
		""	'	'	'	'	'	'
medial liquid		""	'	'	'	'	'	'
		""	'	'	'	'	'	'
initial -y	ybw	"(still) water"	yóbw-	íbow	íbo/ibw-	yóbow	ibwó-	ibú
		""	'	'	'	'	'	'
medial -y-	zyw	"belly"	zóyw-	ziw	zyó/ziw-	zóyow	zyowó-	ziwú
	lyw	"double"	lóyw-	liw	ólyo/liw-	lóyow	olyowó-	liwú
reduplicated	wwk	"time"	wok-	wók	wúk	wówok	owk-	wukú
	wwl	"howl"	wol-	wól	wúl	wówol	owl-	wulú
	zww	"blood"	zow-	zów	zúw	zówow	zwo-	zuwú

Now examples where /o/ is the theme vowel, starting with medial /w/:

• 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+

+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/:

• 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

• 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/:

• ybw - still water; yóbw-, íbow, íbu, yóbow, ibwó-, ibú

Cw/r/lCC:

• 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

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
• wkd - kill; úkdo-, úkod, úkud, wókod, úkod-, kudú

Nouns

See here for declension tables.

Nouns in Rówok are declined for the following:

• case
• number

The case system is powerful and in and of itself conveys a lot of meanings expressed by prepositional phrases in other languages, but nonetheless nouns can be followed by a number of postpositions, each governing a given case, or two cases in cases of split telicity.

For more cf. participles.

Nominal number

Nouns and participles are declined in three numbers:

• singular
• dual
• plural

The dual infix is -l-, -il-, or -li-.

The plural infix is -in-.

Ratio casuum

Cases in Rówok come from a phonetic reduction of marker words in Ruk's isolating grammar. Syntactic words were postpositively added after semantic words to help the sense. It would appear that the earliest such formations were the similative and the partitive words wum from the root wwm, "match, harmony, one", and sab, from the root asb, "branch". It is thought that this is the case because these are the only two cases still built on the old, vocative stem, which in Ruk was the unmarked form.

It is probable, based on evidence from some archaisms, that the vocative stem was used in the phase of evolution in between Ruk and Rówok to form other cases as well, but the other cases that are in the language today are built off the oblique stem.

The total number of cases is 9 or 11, depending on how you look at it, as two of the cases are semantic allophones of other ones (see instrumental/comitative and locatives. The cases are grouped/listed in order to show the stems from which they are built. They are the following:

1. Vocative, a principal part
2. Ergative, a principal part
3. Similative, from wwm, "match, harmony, one"
4. Partitive, from asb, "branch"
5. Genitive, from ryz, "seed"
6. Benefactive, from ypr, "gift"
7. Telic, from nkw, "destination"
8. Inessive, from bwy, "place"
9. Superessive, from bwy, "place"
10. Instrumental/comitative, from gdw, "tool"
11. Caritive/acomitative, from gdw, "tool"

Vocative

The vocative case is one of the root's principle parts. The name vocative itself might be a misnomer, given that it can also serve as a nominative/absolutive for inanimate subjects of stative or low valency verbs.

It does not have an ending, but is realized as the minimum extension of the root's vowel structure.

It is used in the following way:

• as a pure vocative
• as a subject for inanimates intransitive, stative, or copular constructions

The vocative as a stem is also used in many nominal compounds, as well as for the base of the similative and partitive cases.

Ergative

The ergative case is one of the root's principle parts.

It does not have an ending (except for rare circumstances to mark gender); instead it is realized as the full extension of the root's vowel structure.

It is used in the following ways:

• as the subject of an active transitive or the animate subject of an intransitive verb
• as the animate subject of constructions construed as copular
• as the subject of a middle verb that in which the subject is not also the patient of the action (see agency)

Similative

The similative case has the ending -Xm, which comes from the root wwm, "match/unity".

Like the partitive it is constructed off of the vocative stem.

It is used in the following way:

• as a pure similative
• as a comparative or as the referent in comparative and superlative constructions

Partitive

For more info cf. telicity

The partitive case has the ending -sxb, which comes from the root asb, "branch".

Like the similative it is constructed off of the vocative stem.

It is used in the following ways:

• as a pure partitive
• as the object of a remotely telic transitive verb

There is another form of the partitive emerging, through analogy with the innovations in the inessive and superessive and instrumental and caritive cases, in which the partitive is built off the oblique stem, and features an allophonic variation of the genitive ending, namely -lXs or -Xls.

So in literary Rówok the partitive of mówok is múksub, but the development in question would see mwóklos.

Cf. colloquial Rówok.

Genitive

For more info cf. telicity

The genetive case has the ending -rXz or -Xrz, which comes from the root ryz, "seed".

It is used in the following ways:

• as a pure genitive, i.e. a possessive
• as an indication of familial relationships instead of possessive pronouns
• as the object of a non-telic transitive verb

Benefactive

The benefactive case has the ending -prX or -pXr, which comes from the root wpr, "gift".

It is used in the following ways:

• as the indirect object of a transitive verb, much like a normal Indo-European dative
• as a pure benefactive, "on whose behalf" or even "in whose honor"
• as the object of approprinquative motion, in the sense of "toward" or "in the general direction of"
• as the "object" of some otherwise intransitive verb, e.g. dáyma, "it shines", so whatever the light shines on

Telic

For more info see telicity and voice.

The telic case has the ending -nkX or -nXk, which comes from the root nkw, "destination".

It is used in the following ways:

• as the direct object of an active transitive verb used in the sense of completed action
• as the subject of a middle transitive verb in which the subject or subjects are the patient of the action, even if they are also the agent(s)
• as the subject of a passive verb
• as a reached destination with verbs of motion, or the intended goal of a verb of motion

Locatives

The locative case has the ending -bi or -pi, which comes from the root bwy, "place".

It is used in the following way:

• as a pure locative
• as a postpositional

Like the instrumental, the locative features a semantic allophonic variant. Namely the voiced variant -bi is used for inessive or intrative meanings, while the unvoiced version -pi is used for superessive or adessive senses. The meanings, when needed, are complemented by certain postpositions.

Examples:

- root bls, "snow":

1) balážbi álđawan

snow.INE play.3pl.imperf.mid

they are playing in the snow

2) balášpi áytawan

snow.SUPE run.3pl.imperf.act

they are running on/along the snow

With other phonemes at the end, for instance:

- root mwk, "dog", => plural: mowokín

3) mwokímbi korowín

dog.pl.INE worms

there are worms in dogs (idiomatically, dogs have worms)

4) mwokínpi sarabín

dog.pl.SUPE fleas

there are fleas on dogs (idiomatically the dogs have fleas)

Instrumental/(a)comitative

The instrumental case has the ending -gdX or -gXd, which comes from the root gdw, "tool".

It is used in the following ways:

• as a pure instrumental and comitative
• as a pure caritive and acomitative
• as what would seem logical as the direct object of some middle verbs, such as play
• along with the adverb in the sense of a Latin ablative absolute

Like the locative, the instrumental features a semantic allophonic variant. Namely the voiced variant -gdx/gXd has the meanings listed above, largely translated by with in English, while the unvoiced version -ktX/-kXt is used as a caritive or acomitative.

Nominal derivation

There are many nominal endings used in word formation. Almost all nominal derivatives are attached to the end of the vocative stem. Derived words do not have a separate vocative or oblique stem.

They can be broken up into productive and non-productive derivatives:

Productive derivatives

• -bXy-, used to indicate the place where something takes place
  • itóliboy, "the confluence of two rivers" (itó.li.boy, river(voc stem).dual marker.nominal derivative meaning "place of")
• -gXyzX-, used primarily to mean the essence of something, but with many other extensions, including color and visual state, especially in the diminutive
  • ražgáyža, "a smoky haze" (the essence of the diminutive of the root arz-, "smoke"), in the similitive it can mean "the color of smoke/grey", in the kitchen it can mean smoke flavor/liquid smoke; sotogóyzo, "the essence of a lake, ergo tranquility", in the diminutive soŧogóyžo, "reflectiveness, variable color"
• -i/yštX-, (-i after consonants, -y after vowels) used to mean the study of, (like Latin/Greek -logia) or the life/practice of
  • mukíštu, "the training of dogs, cynology"; zaláyšta, "biology" or "the walks of life", depending on context
• -i/ytyX-, used to form abstracts like the concept of or the state of, like Latin -entia or -ia, or English -ness
  • robóytyo, "pompousness"; grsítya, "decency"
• -yXndX-, used to indicate an event or happening, even festival
  • uwlunyúndu, "the moon festival"; mukyúndu, "the annual dog mating"; yatnačyánda, "a big race"
• -zXyb-, used to mean a thing or object related to the root, a very vague stem, akin to "-amajig"
  • lalábzab, "a thing used for sleep (could be a pillow, blanket, stuffed animal, Valium, whatever)"

Non-productive derivatives

• -dXwg-, used as an agent suffix
  • kíldawg, "a climber"
• -sXld-, used to mean tracks, traces of an animal or force of nature
  • nuyúlsuld, "bear tracks, evidence of bears"
• -klXš-, used to mean tracks, traces of humans or human-made objects
  • zírklaš, "a human-made firepit, ashes from a fire", cf. with the above suffix zírsald, which would mean "evidence of a natural fire, i.e. from lightning, etc."

Pronouns

Pronouns are one of the few unstable categories in Rówok. The chart below shows colloquial developments in gendered pronouns, under influence of neighboring Slavic tribes. Traditionalists and older speakers do not use the forms in parentheses, basically meaning Rówok has an animate and an inanimate, instead of actual gender, though, as stated, especially younger speakers might use the optional gendered forms.

Learners may feel free to use both forms, though they might be cautioned about register: the forms in parentheses are not used in academic or philosophical discourse, nor in most styles of poetry.

Rówok is otherwise largely a pro-drop language, so nominative forms are regularly omitted.

pronouns
	number	"masculine"	"feminine"	inanimate
singular	1 pers	tó	(tá)	n/a
	2 pers	(pó)	pá	pwú
	3 pers	sús	(swás)	sú
dual	1 pers	lóyŧ	(láyŧa)	n/a
	2 pers	(lóyp)	láypa	pwúlu
	3 pers	líy	(líya)	lóy
plural	1 pers	íwon	(íwan)	n/a
	2 pers	(póywon)	páywan	píwun
	3 pers	swón	(swán)	súynu

Adjectives

Adjectives are not really a class in Rówok. The main ways of expressing adjectival thought are through:

1. with the noun in the vocative or nominative case and the adverb in apposition, with the meaning "X-ful"
2. the similative case, for the meaning "like X/X-ish"
3. with participles
4. with stative verbs

Examples:

1. kanarín zalá, tree.voc.pl life.adv, "the woods are teeming with life/alive/lively"
2. kanarín zálam, tree.voc.pl animal.sim.SG, "the woods are animal-like"
3. kanarín, zál, ..., tree.voc.pl alive, "the woods, alive (as it were), ..."
4. (zálŧa) kanarín (zálŧa), tree.voc.pl live.3sg.mid.imperf, "the forest is alive" (in a permanent sense, in context could be understood even as "is healthy")

Verbs

See here for conjugation tables.

Verbs in Rówok are highly synthetic and can get quite large with all their various prefixes, infixes, and suffixes.

In all they are conjugated to show:

1. number
2. person (including inclusivity in the dual and plural
3. agency or voice
4. aspect (imperfective/perfective, as well as inchoative and frequentative), and optionally for tense
5. mood
6. participial action

Verbal number

Verbs are conjugated and participes are declined in three numbers:

• singular
• dual, marked by the suffix -l, or l- as a prefix in the 1st person inclusive
• plural, marked by the suffix (X)wXn, or n- as a prefix in the 1st person inclusive

Person

The persons in Rówok are the very normal 1, 2 , and 3 person scheme common to IE, though there is inclusivity.

Inclusivity

The dual and plural both are conjugated for inslusivity in the first person.

Voice

There are three possible voices in Rówok:

• active
• middle
• passive

Active voice

The active voice is used for the following:

• when the subject is the agent of a transitive action

Subjects of verbs in the active voice are in the ergative. This is largely reserved for animate nouns, though inanimate nouns can be elevated to ergative agents if, e.g., they cause damage or some other large change.

Middle voice

The middle voice is extremely widespread and productive. Its marker is -ŧ- with allophonic -đ- and accompanying morphophonological effects.

It is used for the following:

1. for the subject of stative verbs
2. when the subject is in a mutual relationship of non transitive action with someone (e.g. loving, talking on the phone, bonding)
3. for some verbs (otherwise active in meaning) done for the subject's own benefit
4. for inanimate subjects of several verbs that would otherwise be active (he/she runs = áyta; it (a stream, for instance) runs = áyŧa)
5. for several idiomatic verbs where it is unclear who the actor is and who the acted upon; this includes verbs like follow (not leading, not being led), hunt (conceived as following the animal's movements as opposed to transitively killing it), play, etc.
6. to completely alter the overlying semantic of some roots, such as see => understand
7. when the subject or subjects of a transitive verb are also the patient, such as shaving, or looking oneself in the mirror

Subjects of verbs in the middle voice from examples 1-6 are in the ergative, while subjects in example 7 are in the telic.

Passive voice

The passive voice is used for the following:

• when the subject is the patient of a transitive action

Subjects of verbs in the passive voice are in the telic with agents in the instrumental.

Aspect

There are two primary aspects in Rówok, namely imperfective and perfective.

These aspects are shown by ablaut of the verb's (or participle's or even noun's) vowel structure as shown below.

From imperfective to perfective:

• a => e
• o => u

The sense of the primary aspects is complemented further mainly by derivational infixes and the like.

Irrealis stem

The irrealis stem is formed through reduplication of the initial syllable (or /a/) of the root. Historically the reduplication feature evolved after the fusion of the intensifying particle ya, which then metathesized into /ay/, affecting the quality of the rightmost consonant of the reduplicated pair. Thus /t/ reduplicates into /ŧ / and so on as follows:

	vowel	labial		alveolar		postalveolar		velar
	vowel	unvoiced	voiced	unvoiced	voiced	unvoiced	voiced	unvoiced	voiced
vowel	arn- > ayarn-
stops		parn- > payparn-	barn- > bayparn-	tarn- > taŧarn-	darn- > dađarn-			karn- > kačarn-	garn- > gažarn-
nasals			marn- > maymarn-		narn- > naynarn-
fricatives				sarn- > sašarn-	zarn- > zažarn-
liquids			warn- > wavarn-	larn- > laylarn-	rarn- > rayrarn-		yarn- > yayarn-

The irrealis stem in conjunction with other verbal infixes and adverbs is used to form:

1. the potential
2. the desiderative
3. the precative
4. the hortatory/iussive
5. the optative
6. the subjunctive in reported speech in contrary to fact conditionals

Potential

The potential is formed using the irrealis stem in either aspect along with the future marker -kXy-/-gXy-.

The potential has two main functions:

1. The role of the future participle in finite clauses
2. As the result of an act of permission (allowed someone to go), personal sacrifice (I gave him my shows to wear), often translated into English with "might", e.g. "he did everything, so he might go"

Hortatory/Iussive

The hortatory and iussive are formed using the irrealis stem and the inchoative infix.

It's main use is:

1. To give commands, both to others and to groups including the speaker.

1) loroyrówkŧspot
/lorɔɪroʊk:θspət/
lo-roy-rówk-ŧ-sp-o-t
INCL/DU.IRR-talk-MID.INCH.IMPF.1
let's talk, you and me

2) knarímbi oweš pyáyŧspawan
/knarim:bi oweʃ pjaɪθ:spəwən/
knar-in-bi oweš p-y-ayt-ŧ-sp-a-wan
:tree.pl.ine along 2-IRR-run-MID-INCH.IMPERF-PL
y'all should run along the forest

3) mówok razánka kačárpspa
/mo:wok razan:ka kaʧarp:spə/
mowok-Ø-Ø razan-Ø-ka ka-čárp-sp-Ø-a
dog-SG-ERG bear-SG-TEL IRR-fight-INCH-ACT-IMPF/3SG
let the dogs fight the bear, the dogs should fight the bear

Optative

The optative is formed using the irrealis stem and the inchoative and future infixes.

1) bálas meymérzbgeye
//
bál-as-Ø mey-mérz-b-gey-e-Ø
snow-ERG-S IRR-thaw-INCH.FUT-PERF-3S
the snow should thaw, let the snow thaw, if only the snow would thaw

Conditionals

conditionals, ayt-, "to run"
		past	present	future
fo' sho'	formula	rí+perf ind, perf ind	rí+imperf ind, imperf ind	rí+(im)perf ind+kXy, (im)perf ind+kXy
	example	'	'	'
	translation	'	'	'
pretty likely	formula	'	'	'
	example	'	'	'
	translation	'	'	'
not very likely	formula	'	'	'
	example	'	'	'
	translation	'	'	'
bloody freaking impossible	formula	'	'	'
	example	'	'	'
	translation	'	'	'

Participles

See here for participial morphology.

Participles in Rówok are a bloody mess, as they exist for every number, voice, and aspect.

In that order:

• singular, dual, plural
• active, middle, passive
• imperfect, perfect, future, future perfect

• The imperfect is used in the sense of the English imperfect: doing (actively or statively) and being done.
• The perfect is used in the sense of the English periphrastic perfect participle: having done or having been done.
• The future is used with the sense of the Latin future active participle: about to do or be done (or in the South we might say fixin'/fittin' to (be) do(ne) ;))
• The future perfect has two functions:
  • In the active and some middle voice constructions it is used as in English: having done.
  • In the passive and some middle voice constructions it is used as in the Latin gerundive: needing to do or be done (Karthago delenda est! = Kárŧag ukudúnkuy!).

Some of these forms are rare just due to situational circumstances (for instance how often would you need to talk about yetenkéyli or two things needing to have been run?), but theoretically all verbal roots can exist in all of these forms.

Morphology and morphophonology

Nominals

Case morphophonology

Case endings can affect the final consonant of a root, and the final consonant of a root can affect case endings, especially in the singular.

This happens in the following way:

• partitive: following /b/, /d/, /g/, or /z/ the ending -sXb => -zXb
• genitive: following /l/ the ending -rXz goes to -lXz
• benefactive: the ending -prX swallows final /b/ and /p/, and in the case of the former the ending turnss to -brX
• telic: the ending -nkX swallows final /k/ and /g/, and in the case of the latter the ending turns to -ngX
• inessive: without a vowel in between the ending -bi forces the final consonant to voice, if possible, and furthermore swallows final /b/ and /p/
• superessive: without a vowel in between the ending -pi forces the final consonant to devoice, if possible, and furthermore swallows final /b/ and /p/
• instrumental: without a vowel in between the ending -gdX forces the final consonant to voice, if possible, and furthermore swallows final /g/ and /k/
• caritive: without a vowel in between the ending -ktX forces the final consonant to devoice, if possible, and furthermore swallows final /g/ and /k/

This process is further complicated by the gradation effected by the diminutives.

Declension tables

declensions
		ending	mwk, "dog"	gdw, "gift"	bls, "snow"	azl, "life"
singular	vocative	'	muk	gódo	bĺs	zála
	ergative	'	mówok	gódow	bálas	ázala
	similative	-Xm	múkum	gódom	bĺsam	zálam
	partitive	-sXb	múksub	gódosob	bĺsab	zálasab
	genitive	-rXz / -rz	mwókroz	ógdworz	blásraz	ázalarz
	benefactive	-prX / -pXr	mwókpro	ógdwopor	bláspra	azálapar
	telic	-nkX / -nXk	mwónko	ogdwónko	blásnak	azálanak
	inessive	-bi	mwógbi	ógdwobi	blázbi	azálabi
	superessive	-pi	mwókpi	ógdwopi	bláspi	azálapi
	instr./comit.	-gdX / -gXd	mwógdo	ógdwogod	blázgad	azálagad
	caritive	-ktX / -kXt	mwókto	ógdwokot	bláskat	azálakat
dual	vocative	-li	múkli	gódoli	bĺs	zálali
	ergative	-li	mowókli	godówli	balásli	azálali
	similative	-li- + -m	múklim	gódolim	bĺslim	zálalim
	partitive	-li- + -sXb	múklisub	godólisub	bĺsab	zalálisab
	genitive	-li- + -rz	mwóklirz	ógdwolirz	bláslirz	azálalirz
	benefactive	-lí- + -pXr	mwoklípor	ogdwolípor	blaslípar	azalalípor
	telic	-lí- + -nXk	mwoklínok	ogdwolínok	blaslínak	azalalínok
	inessive	-lí- + -bi	mwoklíbi	ogdwolíbi	blaslíbi	azalalíbi
	superessive	-lí- + -pi	mwoklípi	ogdwolípi	blaslípi	azalalípi
	instr./comit.	-lí- + -gXd	mwoklígod	ogdwolígod	blaslígad	azalalígad
	caritive	-lí- + -kXt	mwoklíkot	ogdwolíkot	blaslíkat	azalalíkat
plural	vocative	-ín	mukín	godóyn	blsín	zaláyn
	ergative	-ín	mowokín	godowín	balasín	azaláyn
	similative	-ín- + -Xm	mukínum	godóynom	blsínam	zaláynam
	partitive	-ín- / -yn- + -sXb	mukínsub	godóynsob	blsínsab	zaláynsab
	genitive	-ín / -yn- + -rXz	mwokínroz	ogdwóynraz	blasínraz	azaláynraz
	benefactive	-ín- / -yn- + -prX	mwokínpro	ogdwóynpro	blasínpra	azaláynpra
	telic	-ín- / -yn- + -(n)kX	mwokínko	ogdwóynko	blasínka	azaláynka
	inessive	-ím- / -ym- + -bi	mwokímbi	ogdwóymbi	blasímbi	azaláymbi
	superessive	-ín- / -yn- + -pi	mwokínpi	ogdwóynpi	blasínpi	azaláynpi
	instr./comit.	-ím- / -ym- + -(g)dX	mwokímdo	ogdwóymdo	blasímda	azaláymda
	caritive	-ín- / -yn- + -(k)tX	mwokínto	ogdwóynto	blasínta	azaláynta

Verbals

Conjugation tables

A-stems:

		ayt, "to run"		drb, "to fall"
		imperf	perf	imperf	perf
active	1 sg	áytat	éytet	dárbat	dérbet
	2 sg	áytap	éytep	dárbap	dérbep
	3 sg	áyta	éyte	dárba	dérbe
	1 du inc	láytat	léytet	ladárbat	ledérbet
	1 du noninc	láytal	léytel	ladárbal	ledérbel
	2 du	páytal	péytel	padárbal	pedérbel
	3 du	áytal	éytel	dárbal	dérbel
	1 pl inc	náytawat	néytewet	nadárbawat	nedérbewet
	1 pl noninc	náytawan	néytewen	nadárbawan	nedérbewen
	2 pl	páytawan	péytewen	padárbawan	pedérbewen
	3 pl	áytawan	éytewen	dárbawan	dérbewen
middle	1 sg	áyŧat	éyŧet	dárbđat	dérbđet
	2 sg	áyŧap	éyŧep	dárbđap	dérbđep
	3 sg	áyŧa	éyŧe	dárbđa	dérbđe
	1 du inc	láyŧat	léyŧet	ladárbđat	ledérbđet
	1 du noninc	láyŧal	léyŧel	ladárbđal	ledérbđel
	2 du	páyŧal	péyŧel	padárbđal	pedérbđel
	3 du	áyŧal	éyŧel	dárbđal	dérbđel
	1 pl inc	náyŧawat	néyŧewet	nadárbđawen	nedérbđewet
	1 pl noninc	náyŧawan	néyŧewen	nadárbđawen	nedérbđewen
	2 pl	páyŧawan	péyŧewen	padárbđawen	pedérbđewen
	3 pl	áyŧawan	éyŧewen	dárbđawen	dérbđewen
passive	1 sg	aytánkat	eyténket	darbánkat	derbénket
	2 sg	aytánkap	eyténkep	darbánkap	derbénke
	3 sg	aytánka	eyténke	darbánka	derbénke
	1 du inc	laytánkat	leyténket	ladarbánkat	lederbénket
	1 du noninc	laytánkal	leyténkel	ladarbánkal	lederbénkel
	2 du	paytánkal	peyténkel	padarbánkal	pederbénkel
	3 du	aytánkal	eyténkel	darbánkal	derbénkel
	1 pl inc	naytánkwat	neyténkwet	nadarbánkwat	nederbénkwet
	1 pl noninc	naytánkwan	neyténkwen	nadarbánkwan	nederbénkwen
	2 pl	paytánkwan	peyténkwen	padarbánkwan	ederbénkwen
	3 pl	aytánkwan	eyténkwen	darbánkwan	derbénkwen

O-stems:

		rwk, "to speak"		gdw, "to give"
		imperf	perf	imperf	perf
active	1 sg	rówkot	rúwkut	gódwot	gúdwut
	2 sg	rówkop	rúwkup	gódwop	gúdwup
	3 sg	rówko	rúwku	gódwo	gúdwu
	1 du inc	lorówkot	lurúwkut	logódwot	lugúdwut
	1 du noninc	lorówkol	lurúwkul	logódwol	lugúdwul
	2 du	porówkol	purúwkul	pogódwol	pugúdwul
	3 du	rówkol	rúwkul	gódwol	gúdwul
	1 pl inc	norówkowot	nurúwkuwut	nogódwot	nugúdwut
	1 pl noninc	norówkowon	nurúwkuwun	nogódwon	nugúdwun
	2 pl	porówkowon	purúwkuwun	pogódwon	pogúdwun
	3 pl	rówkowon	rúwkuwun	gódwon	gúdwun
middle	1 sg	rówkŧot	rúwkŧut	gođwot	guđwut
	2 sg	rówkŧop	rúwkŧup	gođwop	guđwup
	3 sg	rówkŧo	rúwkŧu	gođwo	guđwu
	1 du inc	lorówkŧot	lurúwkŧut	logođwot	luguđwut
	1 du noninc	lorówkŧol	lurúwkŧul	logođwol	luguđwul
	2 du	porówkŧol	purúwkŧul	pogođwol	puguđwul
	3 du	rówkŧol	rúwkŧul	gođwol	guđwul
	1 pl inc	norówkŧowot	norúwkŧuwut	nogođwot	nuguđwut
	1 pl noninc	norówkŧowon	norúwkŧuwun	nogođwon	nuguđwun
	2 pl	porówkŧowon	norúwkŧuwun	pogođwon	puguđwun
	3 pl	rówkŧowon	rúwkŧuwun	gođwon	guđwun
passive	1 sg	rowkónkot	rukúnkut	godwónkot	gudwúnkut
	2 sg	rowkonkop	rukúnkup	godwónkop	gudwúnkup
	3 sg	rowkónko	rukúnku	godwónko	gudwúnku
	1 du inc	lorowkónkot	lurukúnkut	logodwónkot	lugudwúnkut
	1 du noninc	lorowkónkol	lurukúnkul	logodwónkol	lugudwúnkul
	2 du	porowkónkol	purukúnkul	pogodwónkol	pugudwúnkul
	3 du	rowkónkol	rukúnkul	godwónkol	gudwúnkul
	1 pl inc	norowkónkwot	nurukúnkwut	nogodwónkwot	nugudwúnkwut
	1 pl noninc	norowkónkwon	nurukúnkwun	nogodwónkwon	nugudwúnkwun
	2 pl	porowkónkwon	purukúnkwun	pogodwónkwon	pugudwúnkwun
	3 pl	rowkónkwon	rukúnkwun	godwónkwon	gudwúnkwun

Participials

Here is an example of the possible participial forms a verb can have before various forms of pre- and infixation.

ayt-, "to run"
		imperfective	perfective	future	future perfect
singular	act	yát	yét	yátkay	yétkey
	med	yáŧ	yéŧ	yáŧkay	yéŧkey
	pass	yatának	yetének	yatánkay	yeténkey
dual	act	yátli	yétli	yatkáyli	yetkéyli
	med	yáŧli	yéŧli	yaŧkáyli	yeŧkéyli
	pass	yatánkli	yeténkli	yatankáyli	yetenkéyli
plural	act	yatín	yetín	yatkayín	yetkeyín
	med	yaŧín	yeŧín	yaŧkayín	yeŧkeyín
	pass	yatnakín	yetnekín	yatnakayín	yetnekeyín

drb-, "to fall"
		imperfective	perfective	future	future perfect
singular	act	dŕb	dréb	dŕbkay	dŕbkey
	med	dŕbađ	dŕbeđ	dŕbđkay	dŕbđkey
	pass	drbának	drbének	drbánkay	drbénkey
dual	act	dŕbli	drébli	dŕbkáyli	drbkéyli
	med	dŕbđli	drébđli	dŕbđkáyli	drbđkéyli
	pass	drbánkli	drbénkli	drbankáyli	drbenkéyli
plural	act	drbín	drebín	drbkayín	drbkeyín
	med	drbđín	drbđín	drbđkayín	drbđkeyín
	pass	drbnakín	drbnekín	drbnakayín	drbnekeyín

Derivational morphology

Rówok has quite a bit of derivational morphology.

Aspect and tense

Primary aspect (as covered in the section on verbal aspect) is shown through ablaut of the root's vowel structure in the following way:

From imperfective to perfective:

• a => e
• o => u

Further are 2 aspectual infixes and two tense infixes. In the following X represents a dummy vowel in infixes, determined by the vowel quality of the word.

• The aspectual infixes are inchoative -sp-/-zb- and frequentative -ts-/-dz-, depending on the voicing of the final consonant of the root.
• The tense infixes are past -rX- and future -kXy-/-gXy-.

All of these can theoretically all together be infixed onto a verb, or participle. Grouping the tense aspects gives a special meaning, depending on which comes

So an example with the imperfect active participle of the root ayt- (to run) "yát", meaning a running thing when used in apposition, or a runner when used alone:

• yát - a runner
• yátasp - a beginning runner (double entendre: could be a beginner to the sport, or someone taking off running: yataspín would be runners starting at their mark)
• yáts - a frequent runner (yát+ts=>yáts)
• yátra - a former runner
• yátkay - a future runner

now combining:

• yátsasp - a beginning frequent runner
• yatrákay - an ex future runner (someone who showed talent, perhaps, but never lived up to potential)
• yatkáyra - a future ex runner (someone who will take it up and quit)

most perverse:

• yatsasparákay - a person who began to run frequently and then stopped
• yatsaspakáyra - a person who will begin to frequently run but then stop

The case endings are added to the ends of these forms, just as the verb endings would be added to the end as well, cf:

• áytawan - they run, are running
• aytáspawan - they begin running
• áytsawan - they frequently run
• áytrawan - they were running in the past
• aytkáyawan - they will be running in the future

and of course the possible but ungodly:

• aytsasprakáyawan - they were beginning to be about to be running frequently but then didn't

Diminutives and augmentatives

Diminutives and augmentatives (one of which functions as the comparative as well) are formed through root mutation and suffixation, respectively. As with most all derivational morphology they can be applied to almost all lexical categories.

Diminutives

The diminutive is a root-level mutation, not a suffix, and as a result the diminutive can be found in all parts of speech. In fact Rówok scholars believe that the diminutive was first used in verbs, as opposed to nominals. Evidence for this is based on some archaic phrases, in which diminutivized verbs are much more common than nouns.

Diminutives are formed morphologically by changing the root’s rightmost possible consonant into its corresponding fricative or affricate according to the chart below. X indicates that the phoneme does not have a possible fricativized variant, e.g. p=>X, since /f/ is lacking in Rówok. In this event the next rightmost consonant is fricativized.

Additionally more than one consonant can be fricativized, for a sort of double diminutive effect, which indicates either extreme smallness or lends a cutesy feel. Cf. root bls-, bálas (snow) => bálaš (snowflake) => barašín+ (a cute, tiny snowflake), varašín (the finest snowflakes you ever saw; powder); or root mwk-, mówok (dog) => mówoč (small dog, or young adult dog) => móvoč (cute little puppy dog).

+barašín might be avoided unless the context is perfectly clear, as it could cause confusion looking like the diminutive of brs-, "foot, kick".

++móvoč is also used as an insult, saying that they act like a coward, weakling, inexperienced whelp.

As a last note it is important to realize that some diminutivized roots have been lexicalized, and have their own definition separate (at least synchrinically/at first glance) from the meaning of the root whence they were derived.

	labial		alveolar		postalveolar		velar
	unvoiced	voiced	unvoiced	voiced	unvoiced	voiced	unvoiced	voiced
stops	p => X	b => v	t => ŧ	d => đ			k => č	g => ž
nasals		m=> X		n=> X
fricatives			s => š	z => ž
liquids		w => v	l => r	r => ř		y => X

Shown a different way, as the mutations themselves, with the phonemes that can gradate to them:

	labial		interdental		alveolar		postalveolar
	unvoiced	voiced	unvoiced	voiced	unvoiced	voiced	unvoiced	voiced
affricates							č <= k
fricatives		v <= b, w	ŧ <= t	đ <= d			š <= s	ž <= z, g
liquids						r <= l
trills							ř <= r

As roots themselves do not feature phonemic fricatives or affricates, the base letters/sounds in the chart below are missing some of the normal consonant inventory, including the entire row for trills and affricates, as the only trill in is found as a gradient of /r/ => /r̝/, and the only affricate as a gradient of /k/ => /tʃ/, as well as the entire column of interdentals.

Note also that /l/ grades to /r/, though this sensu stricto is not an (af)fricativizing process.

Diminutive nouns

The gradation of the final consonant (and even in instances where the diminutive gradation is expressed by a non-final consonant as explained above) also affects

This happens in the following ways, starting with cases:

• partitive: the ending -sXb => -šXv
• genitive: the ending -r(X)z goes to -r(X)ž (the ending -ř(X)ž never took hold on account of its difficulty in pronunciation; for a while the diminutive genitive ending was -řXz, but over time has settled to -r(X)ž
• benefactive: the ending -p(X)r(X) => -p(X)ř(X)
• telic: the ending -n(X)k(X) => -n(X)č
• inessive: the ending -bi => -vi
• superessive: the ending -pi as an exception to all other endings stays the same
• instrumental: the ending -g(X)d(X) => -ž(X)đ(X)
• caritive: the ending -k(X)t(X) => č(X)ŧ(X)

diminutive declensions
		ending	mwk, "dog"	gdw, "gift"	bls, "snow"	azl, "life"
singular	vocative	'	muč	góđu	bĺš	zára
	ergative	'	mówoč	góđov	bálaš	ázara
	similative	-Xm	múčum	góđom	bĺšam	záram
	partitive	-šXv	múčšuv	gódošov	bĺšav	zárašav
	genitive	-rXž / -rž	mwóčrož	ógdvorž	blášraž	ázararž
	benefactive	-přX / -pXř	mwóčpřo	ógdvopoř	blášpřa	azárapař
	telic	-nčX / -nXč	mwónčo	ogdvónčo	blášnač	azáranač
	inessive	-vi	mwóžvi	ógdvovi	blážvi	azáravi
	superessive	-pi	mwóčpi	ógdvopi	blášpi	azárapi
	instr./comit.	-žđX / -žXđ	mwóžđo	ógdvožođ	blážgađ	azáražađ
	caritive	-čŧX / -čXŧ	mwóčŧo	ógdvočoŧ	bláščaŧ	azáračaŧ
dual	vocative	-ri	múčri	góđori	bĺš	zárari
	ergative	-ri	mowóčri	godóvli	balášri	azárari
	similative	-ri- + -m	múčrim	góđorim	bĺšrim	zárarim
	partitive	-ri- + -šXv	múčrisub	gođórišov	bĺsab	zarárišav
	genitive	-ri- + -rž	mwóčrirž	ógdvolirž	blášrirž	azárarirž
	benefactive	-rí- + -pXř	mwočrípoř	ogdvorípoř	blašrípoř	azararípoř
	telic	-rí- + -nXč	mwočrínoč	ogdvorínoč	blašrínač	azararínač
	inessive	-rí- + -vi	mwočrívi	ogdvorívi	blasríbi	azararívi
	superessive	-rí- + -pi	mwočrípi	ogdvorípi	blasrípi	azararípi
	instr./comit.	-rí- + -žXđ	mwočrížođ	ogdvorížođ	blasrígad	azararížađ
	caritive	-rí- + -čXŧ	mwočríčoŧ	ogdvoríčoŧ	blasríkaŧ	azararíčaŧ
plural	vocative	-ín	mučín	gođúyn	blšín	zaráyn
	ergative	-ín	mowočín	godovín	balašín	azaráyn
	similative	-ín- + -Xm	mučínum	gođóynom	blšínam	zaráynam
	partitive	-ín- / -yn- + -šXv	mučínšuv	gođóynšov	blšínšav	zaráynšav
	genitive	-ín / -yn- + -rXž	mwočínrož	ogdvóynraž	blašínraž	azaráynraž
	benefactive	-ín- / -yn- + -přX	mwočínpřo	ogdvóynpřo	blašínpřa	azaráynpřa
	telic	-ín- / -yn- + -čX	mwočínčo	ogdvóynčo	blašínča	azaráynča
	inessive	-ín- / -yn- + -vi	mwočímvi	ogdvóynvi	blašínvi	azaráynvi
	superessive	-ín- / -yn- + -pi	mwočínpi	ogdvóynpi	blašínpi	azaláynpi
	instr./comit.	-ím- / -ym- + -đX	mwočímđo	ogdvóymđo	blašímđa	azaláymđa
	caritive	-ín- / -yn- + -ŧX	mwočínŧo	ogdvóynŧo	blašínŧa	azaláynŧa

Augmentatives

Augmentatives are formed through infixes between the root and the case or conjugation endings. In the following /X/ is a dummy vowel determined by the quality of the verb.

The most common are:

• -yXš- = great, grand, noble, relatively large (also functions as a comparative)
• -nXč- = the biggest, greatest

Examples:

• -yXš-
  • root mwk, "dog" => mwókyoš, "a big dog"
  • root ayt, "run" => ayátyaš, "a long run"

• -nXč-
  • root mwk, "dog" => múknuč, "the greatest dog you ever had"
  • root ayt, "run" => áytnač, "a marathon"

Syntax

Basics

Number

There are three numbers in Rówok:

• singular
• dual
• plural

Verbs are conjugated for all three numbers, as are participles, nouns, and adjectives declined.

Gender

Gender in Rówok is complicated; there are indeed two types of vowel structure in a word (either -a/-e or -o/-u, but there is no semantic association to either category, and adjectives do not change to agree with their head nouns in any way but number and case.

The protolanguage Ruk did not have gender, and what little bits of gender there are in Rówok are new inventions picked up from contact with IE speakers. Even then, the language's internal vowel structure doesn't allow for the inherited endings to show in both vowel types. So -o can be added to an o-vowel word do emphasize a things masculinity, and -a can be added to an a-vowel word to emphasize its femininity, but there is no way to explicitly show the feminine in an o-vowel word and no way to show the masculine in an a-vowel word.

Person

There are the standard three persons in all numbers, as well as an inclusive 1st person dual and plural. For more see pronouns.

Alignment

Verbs show a partial tripartite alignment, partial fluid-s alignment.

Namely as shown below in the section on agency, inanimate subjects show tripartite alignment, with subjects expressed in the vocative, ergative, and cases, and animate subjects expressed in the ergative and telic.

Agency and Animacy

There are thus 7 levels of agency in Rówok:

1. active agent both animate and when inanimate agents cause an effect (i.e. movement, chemical change, destruction of an object, etc.) - subject in the ergative
2. inactive agent animate - subject in the ergative
3. middle agent animate - subject in the ergative
4. middle agent inanimate - subject in the vocative
5. middle patient/agent animate - subject in the telic
6. middle patient animate - the only subject not shown obliquely with the logical subject in the benefactive with an agentless causative verb in the middle (slip, trip, etc.)
7. passive patient both (in)animate - subject in the telic

If the subject of the middle verb is the agent but not (necessarily) the patient, it is marked ergatively/actively; if it is both the agent and patient it is marked in the telic. Also the subject of a passive verb is in the telic.

Examples:

The first of each set of the following 6 sentences shows the middle voice and how agency differs between the alignment of the verbal structure depending on the semantic of the verb. Then follow examples with the same grammatical subject and main verb provided in the active and passive for comparison.

- root krp, "to fight"

1) mowokín kárpŧawan

dog.pl.erg fight.3.pl.MID

the dogs are fighting (each other/amongst themselves)

+The key being that the dogs are the agents of fighting in a mutual exercise, but not patients, due to the semantics of 'fight'.

2) mowokín razánka kárpawan

dog.pl.erg bear.tel fight.3.pl.ACT

the dogs are fighting a bear

3) mwokíngod razánka kárpanak

dog.pl.inst bear.tel fight.3.sg.PAS

the bear is being fought by the dogs

- root wkd, "to kill"

4) mwokínok wokóđowon

dog.pl.tel kill.3.pl.MID

The dogs are killing each other

+Here the dogs are both agents and patients, doing the killing action, of which they are also patients*

5) mowokín saráynka wokódowon

dog.pl.erg rabbit.tel fight.3.pl.ACT

the dogs are killing a rabbit

6) mwokíngod saráynka wokódonok

dog.pl.inst rabbit.tel fight.3.sg.PAS

the rabbit is being killed by the dogs

Telicity

Rówok has a tripartite telicity system.

1. Fully telic: for actions completed and followed through to the end; expressed with the telic case
2. Non-telic: for uncompleted actions, for actions only done in part (shutting the door a little bit); expressed with the genitive case
3. Remotely telic: for actions not even attempted or begun, or for actions given the bare minimum of effort, sometimes with a pejorative sense, i.e. when the speaker wouldn't deign or dare to do something; also used for expressing very small amounts of a direct object; expressed with the partitive case

In the negative the telicity system is bipartitie, i.e. just non-telic and remotely telic. Furthermore, in colloquial Rówok some affirmative actions with negative senses (stopping as no longer doing, forgetting as no longer remembering, etc.) can show non-telic objects by analogy.

Examples:

1. ayatyášnak éytet; marathon-S-TEL run-1-S-PERF; "I ran a marathon (to its completion)"
2. ayatyášraz áytat; marathon-S-GEN run-1-S-IMPERF; "I ran a marathon (but did not finish it)"
3. ayátyašab áytat; marathon-S-PART run-1-S-IMPERF; "I ran a tiny bit of a marathon (a lot of interpretations, from 5k to starting and getting an injury, to "ha, yeah right, me run a marathon?!", all depending on context)"

Constituent phrases

Word order in Rówok tends in normal circumstances toward SOV, but it's really whatevs. The language features strong fronting, which can result in any sort of structural typology.

Meanwhile its morphosyntactic alignment is fluid-S, with virtually all verbs able to show all types of agency valence in conjunction with nominal arguments in various cases.

Postpositions, clitics, and wh- words have the most rigid word order, while most other constituents have pretty free word order, not dissimilar to Latin. Convention has led to some other fixed word orders in some situations, the majority of which will be described below.

Copula

There is no copula in Rówok.

Instead the sense of the copula is expressed in one of the following ways:

1. with nouns in apposition; animate subjects are in the ergative case and inanimate ones in the vocative
2. a noun followed by an adverb to express the estar sense of the adjective
3. a noun in conjunction with a middle voice stative verb to express the ser sense of the adjective

Examples:

1) kanarín zál
kanar.ín.Ø zál-Ø-Ø
tree-VOC-PL animal-VOC-SG
the forest is a living thing (literally "an animal")

2) kanarín zalá
kanar.ín.Ø zál-á
tree-VOC-PL animal-ADV
the forest is alive right now (in context understood as "lively, teeming with life, very active maybe with animals scurrying too and fro and lush forest growth")

3) (zálŧa) kanarín (zálŧa)
kanar.ín.Ø zál-ŧ-a
tree-VOC-PL live-MID-3SG.IMPERF
the forest is alive/lives (in a permanent sense, in context could be understood even as "is healthy")

Postpositions

Nouns can be followed and case can be governed by any number of postpositions, which act as unstressed clitics in normal discourse, but the ultimate syllable in disyllabic and the penult in tri- and more-syllabic postpositons can be stressed for emphasis.

Examples:

1a) knarínpra tošu
knar-ín-pra tošu
tree-PL-BEN near
near the forest

1b) kanarínpra tošú
knar-ín-pra toš-ú
tree-PL-BEN near-EMP
right by the (edge of the) forest

2a) knarínraz pašu
knar-ín-raz pašu
tree.PL.GEN far
far from the woods

2b) knarínraz pašú
knar-ín-raz paš-ú
tree.PL.GEN far-EMP
nowhere remotely near the woods

List of postpositions

The chart below shows postpositions by alphabetical order of their English equivalents and by the case that they govern.

Note 1) that some postpositions with similar semantics differ only by ablaut, and 2) many positions govern more than one case, sometimes between a locative or the telic, and sometimes with other less expected matches, e.g. kawta, which means "according to/via" when governing the instrumental and "throughout when governing the inessive.

As a further note all postpositions beginning with a vowel insert an initial y- if the noun it follows ends in a vowel.

The partitive only has one postposition, and therefore is not included in the chart, namely siyan, which roughly means "instead of" or "in the absence of".

postpositions
	genitive		benefactive		telic		inessive		superessive		instrumental
	eng	rów	eng	rów	eng	rów	eng	rów	eng	rów	eng	rów
	apud	kwutnu	adjacent to		across	čreze	along		above		according to	kewte
	far from	pašu	depending on	irpvin	apud	kwotno	amid	kaylna	after		alongside	owoš
	from	iltu	near	tošu	onto		among	keylne	against		astride	uvuš
	of		next to		over		between	tarku	around		because of
	off	vilnu	opposite		through		through		before		regardless of
	out of	iza	prior to		until		throughout	kawta	behind	yalčni	thanks to	pwalžda
	outside of		pursuant to		up to		within		below		together, same side as	mukana
	past		subsequent to						over		via	kawta
	since		thanks to						under
	up to		versus						upon

Negation

For more info cf. telicity

Normal negation in Rówok takes the form of the second stage of Jespersen's Cycle in normal negation and in the third stage when used as a clitic as explained below.

The normal circumfixed negating words are ár(a) ... lunú. The choice of ár or ár(a) is euphonic, depending on whether the following word begins with a consonant or vowel.

The word lunú is the adverb of the root lwn- or "drop". It is shortened to -lXn when attached as a clitic, whereupon it has the meaning "and not".

Likewise Xr- can be prefixed on words to negate them, or render their opposite.

Nominals included as the objects of negated verbs are either in the partitive or genitive case, as explained below in negative telicity.

The word áma, otherwise a conjunction, is used to strengthen negative constructions. It is placed right before a negated word or constituent phrase, and often used in repeated or qualified constructions, with the effect of "...and I mean no..."

Other complementary negatives instead of lunú:

Negative telicity

When negating clauses, Rówok shows a bipartite telicity system, in which:

1. Non-telic: whatever noun was not affected by the action of the verb. This is expressed in the genitive case.
2. Remotely telic: for actions not even attempted or begun, or for actions given the bare minimum of effort, sometimes with a pejorative sense, i.e. when the speaker wouldn't deign or dare to do something; expressed with the partitive case.

1)

2)

)

Negative fronting

Unemphatic statements follow Rówok's normal SOV syntax and circumfix the entire clause. Emphasized parts are usually fronted and then only the fronted unit is circumfixed.

1) ára mowokín razánraz kerpéwen lunú
ára mowok-Ø-ín razán-Ø-raz Ø-kerp-é-wen lunú
NEG dog-ERG-PL bear-SG-GEN 3-fight-PERF-PL NEG
the dogs did not fight the bear (unmarked)

2) ára mowokín lunú razánraz kerpéwen
ára mowok-Ø-ín lunú razán-Ø-raz Ø-kerp-é-wen
NEG dog-ERG-PL NEG bear-SG-GEN 3-fight-PERF-PL
it wasn't the dogs that fought the bear

3) ára razánraz lunú mowokín kerpéwen, sa nadáynka
ára razán-Ø-raz mowok-Ø-ín Ø-kerp-é-wen lunú, sa nadáy-Ø-nka
NEG bear-SG-GEN NEG dog-ERG-PL 3-fight-PERF-PL, but lynx-SG-TEL
it wasn't the bear that the dogs fought, but the lynx

4) ára kerpéwen lunú mowokín razánraz, sa razángad élđewen
ára Ø-kerp-é-wen lunú mowok-Ø-ín razán-Ø-raz, sa razán-Ø-gad Ø-éld-đ-e-wen
NEG 3-fight-PERF-PL NEG dog-ERG-PL bear-SG-GEN, but bear-SG-COM 3-play-MID-PERF-PL
the dogs didn't fight the bear, but played with it (the bear)

Wh- words

Rówok has several ways of forming questions, using both particles and enclitic suffixes.

Interrogative particles

u(m/n), comes at the beginning of both direct questions and indirect questions. In direct questions it means something like "did/does the following hold true...?", and in indirect questions it means "if/whether". It shows euphony, being realized as /u/ before consonants, /um/ before vowels in words whose first subsequent consonant is voiced, and /un/ before vowels in words whose first subsequent consonant is unvoiced.

True wh- words

The following table shows a couple of things, namely that there is both a long form and a short form of, as well as an imperfective and perfective form of, the classic five who, what, where, when, why* words. These are all native Rówok roots, while the words for how are often loaned from Finno-Ugric.

They are in long form if at the beginning of the sentence, and in short form if forced by fronting to a subsequent position. They are also in short form if they are in dependent clauses, where they act as subordinating conjunctions.

They are further "conjugated", for lack of a better term, according to the aspect of the verb to which they refer.

• The word for "why", pwočimo, is actually a hybrid borrowing from Russian почему and the original Rówok interrogative root pw-.

	imperf. long	imperf. short	perf. long	perf. short
who	pwóso	pós	pwúsu	pús
what	pwóno	pón	pwúnu	pún
when	pwóčdo	póč	pwúčdu	púč
where	pwóbo	póbo	pwúbu	púb
why	pwóčimo	póčim	pwúčimu	púčim

Where, here, there

There are ablative and allative words for where, here,' and there, as shown in the table below.

	where	here	there
(w)(t)here	pwóbo	twóbo	pábwa
(w)(t)hence	pwóbzo	twóbzo	pábwaz
(w)(t)hither	pwóbok	twóbok	pábwak

Conjunctions

Conjunctions are phrase-initial in unfronted, unmarked discourse, and in second position in topicalized phrases. Some conjunctions are always in second position in resumptive clauses (see rí and wúnda). Other conjunctions are always clitics, as explained below.

Coordinating

• órya - nam, for
• tí - and
• yún - nor
• yelŧá - immo, but on the other hand
• sú - or
• álŧ - yet
• žá/nu - so
• wiká - moreover

Correlative conjunctions

• áma...yún - neither...nor
• súŧa...sú - either...or
• u(m/n)...sú - whether...or
• yá...tí/-kX/gX - both...and
• ár...lún...álŧ - not...but
• ár yá...lún...yá tí/wiká - not only...but also

Subordinating conjunctions

• čáž - as if, so as if
• káz - ut, in order, so as to

Correlative subordinating conjunctions

• rí...wúnda (or vice versa) - if...then
• kál...tún one the one hand, then; μέν...δέ

Clitics

There are 4 enclitic conjunctions appearing at the end of the last fully inflected noun in a string. When the enclisis makes a new consonant cluster, the accented syllable sympathetically moves to the new penult (old ultimate), if not already there by nature (cf. sentence 4) below).

1. -kX/gX, "and"
2. -wX/vX, exclusive "or"
3. -li, inclusive "or" (also used as an interrogative particle)
4. -lXn, "and not"

Examples:

1) mowokín saráynka razánkaka wokódowon

dog.erg.pl rabbit.tel bear.tel.and fight.3.pl.ACT

the dogs are killing a rabbit and a bear

2) mowokín saráynka razánkawa wokódowon

dog.erg.pl rabbit.tel bear.tel.or fight.3.pl.ACT

the dogs are killing a rabbit, or they're killing a bear

3) mowokín saráynka razánkali wokódowon

dog.erg.pl rabbit.tel bear.tel.or fight.3.pl.ACT

the dogs are killing a rabbit or a bear (I can't tell which/I don't care which)

4) nyažínraž itvoynróžgo+ gařáya

valley.gen.pl.dim running water.gen.pl.dim.and child.erg.dim

a child of the valleys and running waters = sweet summer child, naive person

+original accent would be itvóynrož

5)

XXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXX

Particles

Ya

The particle ya is used extensively, inter alia in the following ways:

1. as an intensifier at either the level of word or sentence
2. as an aspect particle meaning "already"

Example texts

Yá wóbom anránkta bwólkto-ke paypáyŧspap. Wóbo čaščánka zudrúnku čaščágda péyŧe. (Wóbo) panávnak zudrúnku panávgad péyŧe. (Wóbo) samvárnak zudrúnku samvárgad péyŧe. Laylápškya wóbo yuyuwgyu-ge. Wóbom nu paypáyŧspap, zík.
Yá wóbo-m anrán-kta bwólk-to-ke pay-páy-ŧ-sp-a-p. Wóbo-ø čaščá-nka zudrúnku čaščá-gda pey-ø-ŧ-e. (Wóbo-ø) panáv-nak zudrúnku panáv-gad péy-ø-ŧ-e. (Wóbo-ø) samvár-nak zudrúnku samvár-gad péy-ø-ŧ-e. Lay-láp-š-ø-ky-a wóbo yu-yuwg-y-u-ge. Wóbom nu pay-páy-ŧ-sp-a-p, zík-ø.
Verily water-SIM shape-CAR form-CAR-and IRR-become-MID-INCH-IMPF-2S. Water-VOC cup-TEL poured-VOC cup-INST become-PERF-MID-3S (Water-VOC) horn-TEL poured-VOC horn-INST become-PERF-MID-3S. (Water-VOC) samovar-TEL poured-VOC samovar-INST become-PERF-MID-3S. IRR-flow.DIM-IMPF--FUT.3S water-VOC IRR-crash-FUT-PERF-3S-and. Water.SIM therefore IRR-become-MID-INCH-2S, friend-VOC.
“You must be shapeless, formless, like water. When you pour water in a cup, it becomes the cup. When you pour water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle. When you pour water in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can drip and it can crash. Become like water my friend.” - Bruce Lee

Idioms

• bálsŧa belsénkpre, "it is snowing upon fallen snow" = to beat a dead horse; to preach to the choir
• nyažínraž itvoynróžgo gařáya, "a child of the valleys and running waters" = sweet summer child, naive person
• čižmik, utter nonsense, babbling, blithering, talking out your ass
• Ar iwónroz/áparz Novgróžbi lunú!, "We're/you're not in Novgorod!", "we" is used to mean "let's conserve resources", while "you" is used to mean "get off your high horse"
• zála párzđa, plút nu sálŧa, "life is cold, death is freezing" = "life sucks and then you die"
• kalwálŧa, a general state of lethargy and idleness, expressed as a stative in the middle voice, also "just chilling", also "possibly wasting talent through not doing anything"

Dog idioms

As mentioned above, dogs are an integral part of Rówok culture; as such, many idioms are related to dogs and human interaction with them

• ár kárzawan lunú mowokín rokín, "barking dogs do not bite" = "his/her bark is bigger than their bite"
• nučgúyžu mwoklígod, "to night it with 2 dogs" = a two dog night/a freezing night
• stlánka lažta, "s/he/it is lapping at ice" = conducting an exercise in futility
• ownlópro wólo, "s/he/it is howling at the moon" = talking crazy, fervently, even primitively sometimes