Hadda

Hadda (Native: ħaɗɗa) is an a priori language inspired by various African languages.

Phonology

Orthography

Note: There is no reason to include Greek and Cyrillic alphabets except my love of writing systems.

Hadda orthography

IPA	Latin	Simplified Latin	Greek	Cyrillic	Maraasa	Arabic	Ge'ez	Hebrew	Notes
a	A a	A a	Α α	А а		ـَ	አ	סַ
aː	Aa aa	Aa aa	Ά ά	Я я		ـَا	ኣ	סַא
b	B b	B b	Б b	Б б		ب	በ	ּב
β̞	Ƀ ƀ	B b	Β β	В в		ب	ቨ	ב	allophone of /b/ between vowels
ɓ	Ɓ ɓ	B' b'	Бϥ bϥ	Бъ бъ		ڀ	ጰ	קּו
c	C c	Ch ch	Κι κι	Ч ч		چ	ቸ	כ׳
d	D d	D d	D d	Д д		د	ደ	ּד
ð̞	Đ đ	D d	Δ δ	Ԁ ԁ		ذ	ደ	ך	allophone of /d/ between vowels
ð		Dh dh	Δ δ	Ԁ ԁ			ዘ, ደ	ךֿ	occurs in loanwords; nativized as /d ~ ð̞/
ɗ	Ɗ ɗ	D' d'	Dϥ dϥ	Дъ дъ		ڟ	ጠ	טּ
ɛ	E e	E e	Ε ε	Э э		ـٖ	ኤ	סֵ
ɛː	Ee ee	Ee ee	Έ έ	Е е		ـٖي		סֵי
f	F f	F f	Φ φ	Ф ф		ف	ፈ	פ
g	G g	G g	G ɡ	Г г		ݣ	ገ	גּ
ɣ̞	Ǥ ǥ	G g	Γ γ	Ғ ғ		ڠ	ገ	ג	allophone of /g/ between vowels
ʁ	Ɣ ɣ	Gh gh	Γ γ	Ғ ғ		غ	ገ	גֿ	occurs in loanwords; nativized as /g ~ ɣ̞/
ɠ	Ɠ ɠ	G' g'	Gϥ ɡϥ	Гъ гъ		ڨ	ቀ	קּ
gʷ	Gw gw	Gw gw	Gυ ɡυ	Гў гў		ڭو	ጐ	גּו
h	H h	H h	Χ χ	Х х		ھ	ኸ, ሀ	ה	allophone of /k/ between vowels in non-guttural environment; phonemic in loanwords (nativized as /ħ/ or /k ~ h/)
hʷ	Hw hw	Hw hw	Χυ χυ	Хў хў		هو	ዀ	הו	allophone of /kʷ/ between vowels in non-guttural environment
ħ	Ħ ħ	X x	Һ h	Һ һ		ح	ሐ	ח
χ	X x	Kh kh	Χ χ	Х х		خ	ኀ	כֿ	occurs in loanwords; nativized as /k ~ h/ or /ħ/
i	I i	I i	Η η	И и		ـِ	ኢ	סִ
iː	Ii ii	Ii ii	Ή ή	І і		ـِي		סִי
ɟ	J j	J j	Gι ɡι	Џ џ		ج	ጀ	גּ׳
ʄ	Ɉ ɉ	J' j'	Gϥι ɡϥι	Џъ џъ		ݘ	ጨ	קּ׳
k	K k	K k	Κ κ	К к		ک	ከ	כ
kʷ	Kw kw	Kw kw	Κυ κυ	Кў кў		کو	ኰ	כו
l	L l	L l	Λ λ	Л л		ل	ለ	ל
m	M m	M m	Μ μ	М м		م	መ	מ
n	N n	N n	Ν ν	Н н		ن	ነ	נ	ֹ
ɲ	Ɲ ɲ	Ny ny	Νι νι	Њ њ		ݧ	ኘ	נ׳
ŋ	Ŋ ŋ	Ng ng	Ϝ ϝ	Ҥ ҥ		ݢ	ጘ	נ״
ŋʷ	Ŋw ŋw	Ngw ngw	Ϝυ ϝυ	Ҥў ҥў		ڬو	ⶓ	נ״ו
ɔ	O o	O o	Ο ο	О о		ـٗ	ኦ	סֹ
ɔː	O o	O o	Ό ό	Ѡ ѡ		ـٗو		סוֹ
p	P p	P p	Π π	П п		پ	ፐ	פּ	occurs in loanwords; nativized as /f/ or /b/
q	Q q	Q q	Κϥ κϥ	Къ къ		ق	ቀ	קּ	occurs in loanwords; nativized as /ɠ ~ ʔ/ or /k/
ʔ	Ɂ ɂ	'	Γϥ γϥ	Ғъ ғъ		ٯٔ ، ء	ቐ	ק	allophone of /ɠ/ between vowels
ʕ	Ҁ ҁ	C c	S s	Ҁ ҁ		ع	ዐ	ע
ɾ	R r	R r	Ρ ρ	Р р		ر	ረ	ר	allophone of /l/ between vowels; occurs phonemically in loanwords (nativized as /l ~ ɾ/)
ɾˀ	Ɍ ɍ	R' r'	Ρϥ ρϥ	Ръ ръ		ݬ	[ጠ]	ט	allophone of /ɗ/ between vowels
s	S s	S s	Σ σ ς	С с		س	ሰ	ס
ʃ	Σ ʃ	Sh sh	Χι χι	Ш ш		ش	ሸ	ש	allophone of /c/ between vowels; phonemic in loanwords (nativized as /c ~ ʃ/ or /s/)
t	T t	T t	Τ τ	Т т		ت	ተ	ת
θ	Ŧ ŧ	Th th	Θ θ	Ѳ ѳ		ث	ሠ	תֿ	occurs in loanwords; nativized as /t/ or /s/
u	U u	U u	Ω ω	У у		ـُ	ኡ	סֻ
uː	Uu uu	Uu uu	Ώ ώ	Ѹ ѹ		ـُو		סוּ
v	V v	V v	Β β	В в		ۋ	ቨ	בֿ	occurs in loanwords; nativized as /b ~ β̞ /, /f/, or /w/
w	W w	W w	Υ υ	Ў ў		و	ወ	ו	allophone of /gʷ/ between vowels; phonemic word-initially
ʔʷ	Ⱳ ⱳ	'W 'w	Βϥ βϥ	Въ въ		ؤ	ቘ	קו	allophone of /ɓ/ between vowels
j	Y y	Y y	Γι γι	Й й		ي	የ	י	allophone of /ɟ/ between vowels; phonemic word-initially
ʔʲ	Ƴ ƴ	'Y 'y	Γϥι γϥι	Йъ йъ		ئ	[ጨ]	ק׳	allophone of /ʄ/ between vowels
z	Z z	Z z	Ζ ζ	З з		ز	ዘ	ז	occurs in loanwords; nativized as /s/ or /d ~ ð̞/
ʒ	Ʒ ʒ	Zh zh	Ζι ζι	Ж ж		ژ	ዠ	ז׳	occurs rarely in loanwords; nativized as /ɟ ~ j/ (initially) or /c ~ ʃ/ (between vowels)

Consonants

Allophones and loanword-exclusive phonemes are enclosed in brackets.

Consonants

		Labial	Dental	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Labiovelar	Uvular	Pharyngeal	Glottal
Nasal		m	n		ɲ	ŋ	ŋʷ
Plosive	voiceless	(p)	t		c	k	kʷ	(q)		(ʔ)
	voiced	b	d		ɟ	g	gʷ
	glottalized	ɓ	ɗ		ʄ	ɠ
Fricative	voiceless	f	(θ)	s	(ʃ)		(hʷ)	(χ)	ħ	(h)
	voiced	(v)	(ð)	(z)				(ʁ)	ʕ
Approximant/Flap	plain	(β̞)	(ð̞)	(ɾ) l	j	(ɣ̞)	w
	glottalized			(ɾˀ)	(ʔʲ)		(ʔʷ)

Prosody

Stress

Stress is on the final long syllable in a word. A long syllable is one that contains a long vowel or is followed by two consonants.

Phonotactics

Syllable structure is (C)V(C).

Morphophonology

• Velar consonants and their allophones can be modified by labialization and palatalization.
  • Labialization: k, h, g, ǥ, ɠ, ʔ, ŋ → kw, hw, gw, w, ɓ, ⱳ, ŋw
  • Palatalization: k, h, g, ǥ, ɠ, ʔ, ŋ → c/ʃ, ʃ, j, y, ɉ, ƴ, ɲ
• Some consonants are lenited between vowels. This lenition is indicated in the orthography.
  • b, d, j, g, gw, c, l → ƀ, đ, y, ǥ, w, ʃ, r
  • ɓ, ɗ, ɉ, ɠ → ⱳ, ɍ, ƴ, ʔ
  • k, kw → h, hw (unless preceded or followed by /ħ/, /ʕ/, or a glottalized consonant)

Morphology

Nouns

Case

Affects final vowel.

• Absolutive: -a
  • Citation form, direct object of verb, nominal complement, object of adpositions.
• Nominative: -u
  • Subject of verb.
• Genitive: -i (palatalizes final velar)
  • Possessor ("of").
  • The genitive can be declined, in which case its absolutive is -ita - e.g. Yaħya "Yahya", Yaħyi "of Yahya", Yaħyitak "away from Yahya's"
• Dative: -o
  • Indirect object of verb ("to", "for").
• Locative: -e (palatalizes final velar)
  • Location ("at", "in", "by", "on")
• Ablative: -ak
  • Movement away from.
• Allative: -am
  • Movement towards.
• Essive: -aŋ
  • State ("as").
• Translative: -af
  • Change of state ("into").
• Instrumental: -as
  • Means ("with", "by means of"), agent ("by").
• Commitative: -al
  • Accompaniment ("in company with").

Number

Infixed before case vowel.

• Paucal: -aan-
• Plural: -aaw-

Verbs

(Example verbs are gaaⱳa "to throw", maara 'to lead", and ħaɗɗa "to be ħaɗɗa")

The infinitive of native verbs is of the form XCaaCa or XCaCCa, where X can be anything. Only the final portion (after X) changes. Therefore, "initial" consonant below refers to the initial consonant in the penultimate syllable.

Mood

Affects final vowel.

• Indicative: -a
  • Used in declarative sentences for a statement of fact - ħaɗɗa "is Hadda"
• Potential: -e (palatalizes final velar)
  • Used for an event considered likely - e.g. ħaɗɗe "probably is Hadda"
• Dubitative: -o
  • Used for an event considered possible but unlikely - e.g. ħaɗɗo "maybe is Hadda"
• Conditional: -u
  • Used for an event whose occurrence is dependent on another condition - e.g. ħaɗɗu "would be Hadda"
• Imperative: -i (palatalizes final velar)
  • Used for command, imploring, self-encouragement, etc - e.g. ħaɗɗi "be Hadda!"

Tense + Aspect

Affects stem.

• Simple future: Used for an event in the future.
  • Initial velar: labialized - e.g. gwaaⱳa "will throw"
  • Other: stem vowel becomes o - e.g. moora "will lead", ħoɗɗa "will be/become hadda"
• Present progressive: Used for an event currently occurring.
  • Identical to infinitive - e.g. gaaⱳa "is throwing, has been throwing", maara "is leading, has been leading", ħaɗɗa "is hadda"
• Present habitual: Used for an event that regularly occurs (habitual) or general truths (gnomic).
  • CaaCa verbs become CaCCa - e.g. gaɓɓa "throws", malla "leads"
  • CaCCa verbs become CaCaCCa - e.g. ħaɍaɗɗa "regularly becomes hadda"
• Simple past: Used for a simple event in the past.
  • Initial velar: labialized + stem vowel becomes i - e.g. gwiiⱳa "threw"
  • Other: stem vowel becomes u - e.g. muura "lead (past)", ħuɗɗa "became hadda"
• Past progressive: Used for an event that was occurring in the past.
  • Stem vowel becomes i (palatalizing initial velars) - e.g. jiiⱳa "was throwing", miira "was leading", ħiɗɗa "was hadda"
• Past habitual: Used for an event that regularly occurred in the past.
  • Like present habitual, but with stem vowel changing to i - e.g. jiɓɓa "used to throw", milla "used to lead", ħiɍiɗɗa "used to become hadda"
• A future habitual can be formed by reduplicating the final consonant of the simple future - e.g. gwaɓɓa "will throw regularly", molla "will lead regularly", ħoɍoɗɗa "will regularly become hadda". Normally, this would be formed with a gaara construction - e.g. gaɓɓa gwaara "will throw regularly" (literally: will say throwing regularly)
• The auxiliary verb gaara "to say" is ubiquitous in Hadda verbal morphology. Its functions include:
  • Forming compound tenses, which can either form new tenses or disambiguate existing forms - e.g. gaaⱳa gwaara "will be throwing", gaaⱳa jiira "was throwing" (equivalent to jiiⱳa; might be used if another verb has the same past form), gwaaⱳa jiira "was going to throw"
  • Deriving verbs from nouns, interjections, loanwords, etc - e.g. ħiʔ gaara "to hiccup" (literally: to say ħiʔ), telefoona gaara "to telephone" (literally: to say telephone).

Person + Number

Indicated by prefixes attached to the verb stem. The initial consonant of the verb is not lenited, despite occurring between vowels. The prefix may be dropped if the subject is clear from context.

• 1S: na- e.g. namiira "I was leading"
• 1P: nawa- e.g. nawagaaⱳa "we are throwing"
• 2S: ta- e.g. taħaɗɗi "be Hadda!"
• 2P: tawa- e.g. tawajiiro "you (pl.) might have said"
• 3S: fa- e.g. famalla "he/she leads"
• 3P: fawa- e.g. famoora "they will lead"

Voice

Indicated by prefixes attached to the verb stem (after person prefixes). Unlike person prefixes, these do cause the initial consonant to lenite.

• Passive: -la- e.g. laǥaɓɓa "is thrown"
  • Indicates that the action is performed on the subject. The patient takes the nominative and the agent takes the instrumental.
• Reflexive: -sa- e.g. saǥaɓɓa "throws oneself"
  • Indicates that the subject performs an action on themselves.
• Middle: -ma- e.g. maǥaɓɓa "gets thrown"
  • Indicates that an action affects the subject, without indicating the cause of the change.

Negation

Negation is accomplished with the circumfix ma-ŋ - e.g. namiira "I was leading" → manamiiraŋ "I was not leading"

Derived Verbs

• Intensive: Formed by reduplicating -Ca- or -CaCa- - e.g. gaǥaaⱳa, gaⱳaǥaaⱳa "is throwing repeatedly/intensely"
• Causative: ŋa- e.g. ŋaǥaaⱳa "is causing to throw"
• Inchoative: kwa- e.g. kwaǥaaⱳa "is starting to throw"
• Cessive: ca- e.g. caǥaaⱳa "is stopping throwing"

Syntax

Constituent order

Free, but most often SOV.

Noun phrase

Usually head-initial (i.e. noun comes before modifiers).

Verb phrase

Usually head-final (i.e. verb comes at the end).

Adpositional phrase

Usually head-final (i.e. postpositions).