Knašta

Knashta
Knašta (Latin) Кнашта (Cyrillic)
Pronunciation	[[Help:IPA|'knæʃta]]
Created by	–
Native speakers	Unknown ()
Language family	Indo-Korinthic Knashtic Knashta
Language codes
ISO 639-3	qtz

Background

The Knašta language (English: [kɪnæʃta]), is a language spoken by the Corstek people, who reside on the east coast of North America. The language is related to the Corstek language, and contact with the English and French speaking peoples of the east coast has given rise to a creole called Kombiez.

Knašta is an Indo-Korinthic language. Proto-Indo-Korinthic was spoken in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent before the arrival of Indo-European speaking peoples. For an unspecified reason, the Korinthic people migrated out of India and settled in Greece in 100 BCE. The source of the name 'Korinthic' comes from the Proto-Indo-Korinthic word korintʰíkasʷēgrotʰníosī ([korɪntʰikasʷɛːgrotʰniosɪː]), which means 'the people who went to Corinth (Greece)' (literally Corinth-went-people). The Korinthic people then eventually migrated to what is modern-day France, where Latin heavily influenced their speech.

After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Korinthic peoples split. What are now called the Knashtic people (who refer to themselves as Corsteks), moved north into what is now the Netherlands, where their language was influenced by the Germanic peoples that lived there. The Korstekic people (who also refer to themselves as Corsteks), moved east into what is now the Czech republic, where their language was influenced by the Slavic peoples that lived there.

During the 18th century many Knaštic Corsteks went to North America, and founded the Republic of Corstekistan.

Phonology

Consonants

	Bilabial	Labio-dental	Dental	Alveolar	Post-alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal	m			n			ŋ
Plosive	p b			t d			k g
Fricative		f v	θ ð	z s	ʃ ʒ	ç ʝ		h
Approximant	w			ɹ		j
Trill	ʙ*			r
Lateral app.				l

* This trill consonant is only found in some dialects, and is represented by the letter ŗ. However, in most dialects, including the Flaxilþrand Dialect, it represents the sound [pr].

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i		u
Near-Close	ɪ
Close-Mid	e ø		o
Mid	e̞*
Open-mid	ɛ ɛ̃		ʌ ɔ***
Near-open	æ**
Open	a		ɑ ɑ̃

* This vowel sound only occurs according to the Tsí Rule, as well as at the end of some words that end in í.
** This vowel sound is an allophone of a.
*** This vowel sound is an allophone of o.

Orthography

There are currently two accepted orthographies for Knašta: Latin and Cyrillic.

Latin

The Knašta Latins is semi-phonetic. Each letter only represents one sound, but some letters represent the same sound.

Table of The Knašta Alphabet

Letter	IPA Sound Value	Name
Aa	a	a
Ææ	e	éí
Āā	e	é makron
Bb	b	bé
Cc	s	sét
Čč	tʃ	čé
Dd	d	dé
Ďď	dj	ďa
Ðð	ð	eð
Ee	ɛ	e
Éé	e	é
Ęę	ɚ	ę
Ff	f	ef
Gg	g	gé
Ǵǵ	ʝ	ǵé
Hh	h	haš
Ii	ɪ	i
Íí	i	í
Jj	j	jé
DŽ ǰ	dʒ	ǰé
Kk	k	ka
Ll	l	el
Mm	m	em
Nn	n	en
Ňň	ɲ	ňa
Oo	o	o
Óó	ɒ	ó
Øø	ay̯	ø
Pp	p	pé
Qq	ç	qé
Rr	r	ro
Řř	ɹ	řo
Ŗŗ	pr, ʙ*	ŗo
Ss	s	sé
Šš	ʃ	šé
Tt	t	té
Ťť	tj	ťa
Þþ	θ	þorna
Uu	ʌ	u
Ůů	u	ů
Vv	v	vé
Ww	w	wé
Xx**	ks	xí [ksi]
Yy	aɪ	y
Ýý	i	ýgreka
Zz	z	zed
Žž	ʒ	žed

Dipthongs

All dipthongs except for [ɔɪ] are represented by one letter. The letter combination 'oj represents [ɔɪ]

The Grave Accent

The grave accent (`) is used to ensure that vowels are pronounced separately.
Example: aktůèlt (current) [aktu.ɛlt]

*Sound depends on the dialect. See Knašta/Prevalence of the Bilabial Trill for more info.
**X is always pronounced [ks], never [z].

Cyrillic

The Knašta Cyrillic alphabet is completely phonetic. It also features many Iotified letters. However, these letters do not palatalize the previous consonant like in Russian.

A list of Knašta Cyrillic letters in handwriting, with their Latin equivalents below. The letters are in the same order left to right as the list above.

Table of The Knašta Cyrillic Alphabet

Letter	IPA Sound Value	Name (In Knašta Latin)	Non-Knaštic Romanization**
Аа	a	a	a
Бб	b	bé	b
Вв	v	vé	v
Гг	g	gé	g
Ґґ	ʝ	ǵé otatůrna	gh
Дд	d	dé	d
Ее	e	é	ay
Ѐѐ	je	jé	yay
Ёё	jo	jo	yo
Жж	ʒ	žé	zh
Зз	z	zé	z
Ҙҙ	ð	ðé	dh
Ѕѕ	ç	qé	q
Ии	ɪ	i	i
Йй	j	jé	y
Її	jɪ	ji	yi
Ѵѵ	aɪ̯	yžatsí	ai
Кк	k	ka	k
Ѯѯ	ks	xí	x
Лл	l	el	l
Мм	m	em	m
Нн	n	en	n
Њњ	ɲ	en jérí	ny
Оо	o	o	o
Өө	ɑ	ó	oh
ОЬоь	œ	œ	oe
Ӫӫ	jɑ	jó	yoh
Пп	p	pé	p
Рр	r	ro	r
РЬрь	ɹ	řo	rh
Ғғ	ʙ*	ŗo	pr
Сс	s	sé	s
Ҫҫ	θ	þé	th
Тт	t	té	t
Уу	u	ů	uu
Ўў	ʌ	u	u
Ұұ	w	wé	w
АУау	ay̯	ø	au
Фф	f	ef	f
Хх	h	haš	h
Цц	t͡s	tsé	ts
Чч	t͡ʃ	čé	ch
Џџ	d͡ʒ	ǰé	dzh
Шш	ʃ	ša	sh
Ыы	i	jérí	ii
Ӹӹ	ji	jí	jii
Ээ	ɛ	e	e
Ӭӭ	jɛ	je	ye
Юю	ju	jů	yuu
Яя	ja	ja	ya
Ѣѣ	ɛ̃	î	ih
Ѧѧ	ɑ̃	ê	eh

*Sound depends on the dialect. See Knašta/Prevalence of the Bilabial Trill for more info.
**Normally, when romanizing Knašta Cyrillic, you would use Knašta Latin. However, If the target audience is not one that speaks Knašta, it is better to use the Non-Knaštic romanization.

Unlike in Russian, it is important to differentiate between е and ё. Ё can never be replaced with е.

Ť and Ď

The letters ť and ď have no counterparts in Knašta Cyrillic. Instead, they are represented by a combination of т for ť or д for ď and a iotified letter (for example the word pysťo (country) in Knašta Latin is пѵстё in Knašta Cyrillic).

Grammar

Morphology

Knašta is an agglutinative language. Word meanings can be changed by adding an array of different prefixes and suffixes, and word compounding between all classes of words (noun, verb, etc.) is allowed.

Nouns

Nouns in Knašta have no gender, and are all made plural by adding the suffix sin.

Nouns are inflected for three cases, nominative, genitive, and locative. The nominative form of the word is unchanged while the genitive form of the word contains the ins suffix, as seen in the below example. The locative case is formed by adding 'o', or 'ẁ' (pronounced /w/) if the word begins with a vowel (always lowercase) to the beginning of the word, except for the words travekatsjon (work, job), and mazak (house). The locative form of these two words is a sé travekatsjon and a sé mazak, respectively.

Inflection of Ňos (Person)

	Nominative	Genitive	Locative
Singular	ňos	ňos-ins	oňos
	person	person's	at, to person
Plural	ňossin	ňossin-ins	oňossin
	people	people's	at, to people

Inflection of Adoratsjon (Love)

	Nominative	Genitive	Locative
Singular	adoratsjon	adoratsjon-ins	ẁadoratsjon
	love	love's	at, in, to love
Plural	adoratsjonsin	adoratsjonsin-ins	ẁadoratsjonsin
	loves	of loves	at, in, to loves

Locative Case

The locative case is sometimes referred to as the locative-allative case, because it many expressions it can be used to express motion toward:

Gróþkatsa-link oTsyna
go-1PL-PRE-PROG LOC-China (We are going to China)

Doneknés lot ẁíl
give-2SG 3SG LOC-3SG (Give it to him)

However, where both a static location and motion are given in the same phrase, the locative case is only used for the static location, with the word el being used to describe the motion:

Gróþkatsa-link el Beijing oTsyna
go-1PL-PRE-PROG to Beijing LOC-China (We are going to Beijing in China)

Pronouns

There are three persons in Knašta.

	1st singular	2nd singular	3rd singular	1st plural	2nd singular	3rd singular
Nominative	Joj	Vošní	Íl (he), Èl (she), Lot (it)	Nærsk	Vošnísin	Lotsen
Genitive	Jo-ins	Vošní-ins	Íl-ins, Èl-ins, Lot-ins	Nærsk-ins	Vošnísin-ins	Lotsen-ins
Objective	Jo	Vošní	Íl, Èl, Lot	Nærsk	Vošnísin	Lotsen
Locative	oJo	oVošní	ẁÍl, ẁÈl, oLot	oNærsk	oVošnísin	oLotsen

Note that only the first person singular pronoun has an irregular objective, locative and genitive form.

Verbs

Almost all Knašta verbs are regular. There are only five irregular verbs in the entire language: kanel (can), potečřé (might), avbendí (need), můsťen (must), and ǰinxa (be, exist).

Regular Knašta verbs are grouped into two classes based on how they are conjugated, -va and -nés verbs. Which group any particular verb is in must be memorized, as it cannot be determined from the verb itself alone. The majority of regular Knašta verbs are -nés verbs.

Type I and II Irregular Verbs

Type I irregular verbs have an irregular conjugated form. The only Type I irregular verb is ǰinxa (to be). Type II irregular verbs do not change their form when conjugated. Type II irregular verbs are often helping verbs. The list of Type II irregular verbs are: kanel, potečřé, avbendí, and můsťen.

-va verbs

-va verbs add the suffix va to the verb with both second person forms. See the example below.

Present Tense Conjugation of Het (To Stop)

1st singular	2nd singular	3rd singular	1st plural	2nd plural	3rd plural
Joj het	Vošní hetva	Íl, Èl, Lot het	Nærsk het	Vošnísin hetva	Lotsen het

-nés verbs

-nés verbs add the suffix nés to the verb with both second person forms. See the example below.

Present Tense Conjugation of Aďeska (To Help)

1st singular	2nd singular	3rd singular	1st plural	2nd plural	3rd plural
Joj aďeska	Vošní aďeskanés	Íl, Èl, Lot aďeska	Nærsk aďeska	Vošnísin aďeskanés	Lotsen aďeska

Verb Tense

Tense is changed through the addition of one or multiple prefixes and suffixes. See the table below.

Affix	Meaning	Example	Example Translation
sen-	past	Joj sen-parlenska a íl.	I talked to him.
són-	perfect	Joj són-parlenska a íl.	I have talked to him.
til-	future	Joj til-parlenska a íl.	I will talk to him.
-link	present perfect	Joj parlenska-link a íl.	I am talking to him.

As stated above, these can be combined, as in the sentence Joj sen-parlenska-link a íl, which means I was talking to him.

Implied Agent Form

All Knašta verbs have what is known as an implied agent form. This form allows for the verb to be used without its corresponding pronoun.

Implied Agent Form For -Nés Verbs

1st Singular	2nd Singular	Lot	1st Plural	2nd Plural	3rd Plural
-katsí	-nés	Verb Infinitive	-katsa	-nétsa	-kalí

Implied Agent Form For -Va Verbs

1st Singular	2nd Singular	Lot	1st Plural	2nd Plural	3rd Plural
-katsí	-va	Verb Infinitive	-katsa	-vatsa	-kalí

Implied Agent Form For Type II Irregular Verbs

1st Singular	2nd Singular	Lot	1st Plural	2nd Plural	3rd Plural
None	None	Verb Infinitive	None	None	None

Notice the use of lot instead of 3rd Singular. The implied agent form can only be used in the 3rd person singular if the agent (person or thing preforming the action) is lot (it).

Some regular verbs have irregular implied agent form stems, such as the verb explíka (to explain).

Implied Agent Form of explíka

1st singular	2nd singular	Lot	1st plural	2nd plural	3rd plural
explíkatsí	explínés	explíka	explíkatsa	explínétsa	explíkalí

When using the implied agent form, the pronoun is omitted. For example, one can say Gróþkatsí-link el sé magazatí instead of Joj gróþ-link el sé magazatí, both of which mean "I am going to the store." Notice that it is called implied agent, not implied subject. A sentence like the following can be constructed: Kónjésakatsí drast til-gaňakatsa (I know that we'll win).

When in a verb phrase and used as a helping verb, the Type II irregular verb is not considered to be in the implied agent form, rather, it is applied to the verb being helped. For example, Kanel fétsakatsí lot means "I can do it", not "It can I do."

Adjectives and Adverbs

Adjectives come after the nouns they modify, and are invariable (they do not conjugate at all).

There are some words which are adverbs by default, such as matka (already). Any adjective can be turned into an adverb by adding the suffix -las, including the hyphen.

Examples

Vrémenskí (real)
Vrémenskí-las (really)

Vít (fast, quick)
Vít-las (fast, quickly)

Syntax

Knašta has a SVO (subject-verb-object) word order. It uses subject verb inversion to mark questions. However, due to the prevalence of the implied agent form, the subject is often null, and questions are only marked by a rise in intonation or the placement of an interrogative pronoun.

Examples of Basic Sentence Order

Joj adora vošní.
I love you (I love you)

Til-tweskava jo.
will-kill.you me (You will kill me)

Ameskanés vošní jo?
love you me (Do you love me?)

Til-metsíkatsa drast?
will-get.we that (Are we going to get that?)

Kw'avesknés?
what'have.you (What do you have?)

Adjectives and Adverbs

Adjectives always come after the nouns they modify:

Sé otosa roda
the car red (the red car)

Adverbs typically come after' the verb they modify, and in many cases the end of the sentence:

Můsťen fétsanés drast vrémenskí-las?
must do.you that really (Do you really have to do that?)

Íl sen-žweska bots-las drastniqt
he past-play well tonight (He played well tonight)

DŽis oplaska matka
be.it locative.place already (It's already in place)

Íl til-fétsa lot žamítsa.
he will-do it never. (He'll never do it)

However, the adverb žůsta (just), typically precedes the verb, and can also be placed between the tense marker and verb:

Íl sen-žůsta gróþ
he past-just go (He just went)

Žůsta sen-fétsakatsí lot
just past-do.I it (I just did it)

Relative Clauses

Relatives clauses involving drast (this, that), and kí always use the SVO word order:

Sé ňos kí ǰis dos aržentsísin the man who is of monies (The man who is rich)

Ní ǰis kelkžozak drast marša bots-las not be.it some.thing that works well (It's not something that works well)

However, if the clause involves any interrogative pronoun (besides kí), it may also use VSO word order, although the use of the implied agent renders this moot in many cases:

Drast ǰis kwý adorakatsí èl that be why love.I she (That's why I love her)

Drast ǰis kwo můsťen fétsa íl that be what must he do (That's what he has to do)

Drast ǰis kw'íl můsťen fétsa that be what'he must do (That's what he has to do)