Kunesian: Difference between revisions

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'''Kunesian''' is a language which is spoken on the same conworld as [[Bearlandic]]. It is an isolating language with a rather complex phoneme inventory and a quite messy but still predictable orthography. That is, the orthography is predictable to those who are familiar with it. The language is said to possess every sound you can hear in the jungles of Kunesia, including the sound of the vomiting after eating some poisonous berry (/χ/), that of spitting out the next poisonous berry (/p͡çᶣ/), that of a growling tiger (/rʶ/), and that of a hissing snake, which is simply /s/.
'''Erai Pe''' Andaidu tod te nok naito. [[Bearlandic|Lino Berulan]] te nok naito ama ama Andaidu tod, wati tod dabai rêai.
 
There is a lot of dialectal variation, to the point that it is unclear whether Kunesian is one language or nine. In any case, this description focuses mostly on the standard variety which is based on the coastal dialects.


==Phonology==
==Phonology==
===Consonants===
===Consonants===
Broadly speaking, Kunesian has these consonants:
{| class="bluetable lightbluebg"
{| class="bluetable lightbluebg"
! rowspan="2" colspan="2" |
! colspan="2" |  
! colspan="2" | Labial
! rowspan="2" | Dental
! rowspan="2" | Alveolo-palatal
! rowspan="2" | Retroflex
! colspan="2" | Palatal
! rowspan="2" | Velar
! rowspan="2" | Uvular
|-
! Plain
! Palatalised
! Plain
! Labial
! Labial
! Dental
! Palatal
! Velar
! Uvular
|-
|-
! colspan="2" | Nasal
! colspan="2" | Nasal
| m
| m
| mʲ
| n
| n
|
| ɳ
| ɲ
|  
|  
| ŋ
| ŋ
| (ɴ)
|-
! rowspan="3" | Stop
! Aspirated
| pʰ
|
| tʰ
|
| ʈʰ
| cʰ
|  
|  
| kʰ
| qʰ
|-
|-
! rowspan="2" | Stop
! Voiceless
! Voiceless
| p
| p
| pʲ
| t
| t
| tʲ
| ʈ
| c
|  
|  
| k
| k
Line 54: Line 31:
! Voiced
! Voiced
| b
| b
| bʲ
| d
| d
| dʲ
| ɖ
| ɟ
|  
|  
| g
| g
| ɢ
|  
|-
|-
! rowspan="2" | Affricate
! rowspan="2" | Affricate
! Voiceless
! Voiceless
|  
|  
| t͡s
|  
|  
|
| t͡ɕ
|
|
| p͡çᶣ
|  
|  
|  
|  
|-
|-
! Voiced
! Voiced
|
|  
|  
| d͡z
| d͡z
| d͡ʑ
| ɖ͡ʐ
| ɟ͡ʝ
| ɟ͡ʝ
|
|  
|  
|  
|  
Line 88: Line 53:
! colspan="2" | Fricative
! colspan="2" | Fricative
| ɸ
| ɸ
| s, θ, (ɬ)
|
|  
|  
| s, θ
| colspan="2" | /x~χ/
| ɕ
| ʂ
| ç
| çᶣ
| xʷ
| χ
|-
|-
! colspan="2" | Approximant
! colspan="2" | Approximant
| β
| β
| (ð) l
|  
|  
| ɰ
|  
|  
|
|
| j
| ɥ
| ɰ
| ʁ
|-
|-
! colspan="2" | Rhotic
! colspan="2" | Rhotic
|  
|  
|  
| r
| ɾ
|
| ɽ͡r
|
|  
|  
|  
|  
| rʶ
| rʶ
|-
! colspan="2" | Lateral
|
|
| l
|
| ɭ
| ʎ
|
| ɫ
|
|}
|}
The actual number of consonants is considerably larger as most of these "broad" consonant phonemes have several variants, also known as the "narrow" consonants. The exact inventory of narrow consonants varies considerably between different dialects, but in Standard Kunesian:
* Voiceless stops distinguish aspirated and non-aspirated variants word-initially.
* Every consonant except /q/, /ɟ͡ʝ/ and the rhotics has a palatalised version.
** Voiceless stops, particularly the aspirated ones, become affricates when palatalised. These are transcribed as [p͡ç t͡ɕ c͡ç] respectively. /g/ also becomes and affricate and merges with /ɟ͡ʝ/.
** The palatalised variants of /n/ and /ŋ/ merge as [ɲ].
** The palatalised variants of /l/ and /ɰ/ are [ʎ] and [j] respectively.
* Like all other varieties of Kunesian, it does not have all three of /θ ð ɬ/, and like all coastal dialects, it merges /ɬ/ with /θ/ and /ð/ with /l/.
* Between vowels, the only rhotic is [ɾ].
Consonant clusters only appear between vowels. The following ones are possible:
* Nasal + stop. The nasal is always pronounced at the same POA as the following stop.
* /r/ + coronal consonant. These clusters are realised as retroflex consonants, often preceded by a faint /ɻ/.
* [ɾχ] and its palatalised variant [ɾç].
* [st] and its palatalised variant [ɕt͡ɕ], which, especially in colloquial speech, is often realised as /ɕː/.
Word finally, only the basic variants of /m n ŋ p t k q ɸ s θ ɬ x l/ appear. The word-final consonant which is realised as /x/ in Standard Kunesian is realised as a rhotic in some other varieties.


===Vowels===
===Vowels===
In stressed syllables, the following monophthongs occur:
{| class="bluetable lightbluebg"
{| class="bluetable lightbluebg"
! rowspan="2" |  
! rowspan="2" |  
Line 164: Line 124:
| a
| a
| colspan="2" |  
| colspan="2" |  
| colspan="2" | aɨ̯
| colspan="2" |  
|  
|  
|}
|}
Unstressed /a/ becomes /ɐ/, unstressed /i/ and /aɨ̯/ merge with /ɨ/.
In addition, there are three stressed diphthongs: /aɨ̯/, /ei̯/ and /ɔɨ̯/.
 
In unstressed syllables, only /ɐ e ɨ ʊ/ and sometimes /əɨ̯/ occur. However, /əɨ̯/ merges with /ɨ/ for some speakers.
 
===Supprasegmentals===
Most Kunesian words are stressed on the first syllable, but a few are stressed on the second instead. The stressed syllable can have either a high or a low tone, and in addition each word may be pronounced with either modal or creaky voice. While phonation applies to a word as a whole, unstressed syllables tend to be pronounced with a medium tone regardless of what tone the stressed syllable has.
 
===Sandhi===
 
==Orthography==
Without twisting the truth too much, this can be called a mess.
 
==Nouns==
===Classifying particles===
Nouns may be followed by a classifying particle. In principle any noun may be used with any particle, though many combinations have lexicalised meanings, as is shown by the following examples:


====Pitch-accent====
* ''erai'' "word" > ''Erai Pe'' "Kunesian"
Kunesian has a pitch-accent in which the stressed syllable can have either high or low pitch.
* ''abok'' "root" > ''abok itu'' "carrot"
* ''dsile'' "sky" > ''dsile nô'' "roof"


====Creaky voice====
In addition, some nouns exclusively, or almost exclusively, occur with one particular particle, such as ''gâlo kem'' "poison", with just ''gâlo'' being ungrammatical outside the phrase ''gâlo nênte'' "to poison".
All vowels distinguish modal and creaky voice.


==Noun phrases==
===Plural===
===Plural===
Plural can be marked using the particles ''ti ... tai'', which function like some kind of circumfix just like the French negation ''ne ... pas''. It is however not necessary to mark plurals and it is usually only done to stress the plurality or as a collective.
Plurals can be marked by the particle ''ti''. Frequently it is combined with the classifier ''tai''. Plural marking is not obligatory and is generally used either to stress that one is talking about a large group, or as a collective.


{{Gloss
{{Gloss
| phrase = ti potrai tai
| phrase = ti potrai tai
| IPA = /tʰí pʌʈáɨ̯ tʰɨ/
| IPA = /t͡ɕí pʌ̀ʈɨ tʰáɨ̯/
| gloss = PL house PL
| gloss = PL house CL(many)
| translation = houses, a group of houses, a village
| translation = houses, many houses, a village
}}
}}


Line 196: Line 169:
** ''potrai nipit me'': house with books = library
** ''potrai nipit me'': house with books = library
* ''to'': the last thing is located inside the first one.
* ''to'': the last thing is located inside the first one.
** ''mure rente to'': a forest with monkeys
** ''mura rente to'': a forest with monkeys
* ''kim'': the first thing is inside the last.
* ''kim'': the first thing is inside the last.
** ''rente mura kim'': a monkey in the forest
** ''rente mura kim'': a monkey in the forest
Line 203: Line 176:


===Adjectives===
===Adjectives===
Adjectives precede their nouns. In complex noun phrases with multiple nouns, an adjective may refer to a single noun or to several nouns. To indicate where the adjective "ends", one of the particles ''ni'', ''koi'' and ''sufi'' may be used, which have a positive, a negative, and a neutral connotation respectively. Compare these phrases:
{{Gloss
| phrase = nipu gilipo sufi pinokas me
| IPA = /ɲýpu ɟíʎpo súçᶣɨ p͡çᶣɨ̰́kɐs mʲé/
| gloss = red shop ADJ.END.NEUTRAL banana of
| translation = a red shops which sells bananas
}}
{{Gloss
| phrase = nipu gilipo pinokas me koi
| IPA = /ɲýpu ɟíʎpo p͡çᶣɨ̰́kɐs mʲé qʰí/
| gloss = red shop banana of ADJ.END.BAD
| translation = a red shop which sells red bananas
}}
In the first of these two sentences, the adjective ''nipu'' "red" applies to the shop only, so nothing is said about the color of the bananas. In the second sentence however, the adjective applies to both nouns, thus making both the shop and the bananas it sells red. Note also the use of ''koi'' in the second sentence. The bananas shouldn't be red, after all.


==Pronouns==
==Pronouns==
{| class="bluetable lightbluebg"
{| class="bluetable lightbluebg"
! Person
! rowspan="2" | Person
! Singular
! rowspan="2" | Singular
! Plural
! colspan="2" | Plural
|-
|-
! 1st incl.
! Inclusive
| -
! Exclusive
| ninke /ɲḭ̀ɲc/
|-
|-
! 1st excl.
! 1st
| no /nʌ́/
| no, naik
| bunai /bṵ́nɨ̯/
| ninke, lâm
| bunai, pod
|-
|-
! 2nd
! 2nd
| pas /pʰàs/
| pas, paik
| nili /ɲíʎɨ/
| colspan="2" | nili, paik
|-
|-
! 3rd prox.
! 3rd
| kai /kʰáɨ̯/
| kai, te
| enni /ḛ̀ɲɨ/
| colspan="2" | enni, ten
|-
|-
! 3rd obv.
! 4th
| nuro /nɨ́rʶ/
| nuro
| laite /láɨt͡ɕ/
| colspan="2" | laite
|-
|-
! All
! All
| -
| colspan="3" | tola
| tola /tʰʌ́ɫɐ/
|-
! Some
| colspan="3" | kosse
|-
! No(ne)
| colspan="3" | pige
|-
|-
! Interrogative
! Interrogative
| colspan="2" | supk /sùk/
| colspan="3" | suk
|-
! Demonstrative
| colspan="3" | ama
|}
|}
The proximate pronouns refer to the first third-person constituent in the sentence. That is, if the subject is in the third person, ''kai'' and ''enni'' refer to the subject, otherwise, those refer to a possible third-person object. The obviate pronouns are only used in sentences with third-person subjects and refer to objects that are not the same as the subject. Compare these sentences:
 
When two forms are given, the first one is the subject form and the second one the object form.
 
The fourth person refers to things not mentioned earlier in the sentence, but only if there already is a third person. Compare:


{{Gloss
{{Gloss
| phrase = No kai tnanku.
| phrase = No kai tânku.
| IPA = /nʌ́ kʰáɨ̯ tà̰ɴqɨ/
| IPA = /nʌ́ kʰáɨ̯ tà̰ŋkɨ/
| gloss = 1SG 3SG.PROX hit
| gloss = 1SG 3SG.PROX hit
| translation = I hit him.
| translation = I hit him.
}}
}}
{{Gloss
{{Gloss
| phrase = Kai kai tnanku.
| phrase = Kai kai tânku.
| IPA = /kʰáɨ̯ kʰáɨ̯ tà̰ɴqɨ/
| IPA = /kʰáɨ̯ kʰáɨ̯ tà̰ŋkɨ/
| gloss = 3SG.PROX 3SG.PROX hit
| gloss = 3SG.PROX 3SG.PROX hit
| translation = He hits himself.
| translation = He hits himself.
}}
}}
{{Gloss
{{Gloss
| phrase = Kai nuro tnanku.
| phrase = Kai nuro tânku.
| IPA = /kʰáɨ̯ nɨ́rʶ tà̰ɴqɨ/
| IPA = /kʰáɨ̯ nɯ́rʶɐ tà̰ŋkɨ/
| gloss = 3SG.PROX 3SG.OBV hit
| gloss = 3SG.PROX 3SG.OBV hit
| translation = He hits him.
| translation = He hits him (someone else).
}}
}}


==Verb phrases==
==Verbs==
The verbal system makes quite much use of particles which, just like the nominal plural particles, are placed around the verb like pseudo-circumfixes. They will be listed here in the order in which they appear, the ones which are placed closest to the verb being listed first and those that are furthest from the verb being listed last. Like virtually all particles, verbal particles can be left out when their meaning is implied from the context.
 
===Personal particles===
==Word order==
Subject pronouns can be replaced by verbal particles. This moves the focus from the subject to the object.
 
{| class="bluetable lightbluebg"
==Complex sentences==
! Person
 
! Singular
==Sample==
! Plural
 
|-
! 1st incl.
| -
| si ... ju /ɕí ɟ͡ʝɨ/
|-
! 1st excl.
| po ... ra /pʰʌ́ rʶɐ/
| bu ... po /bú pʰʌ/
|-
! 2nd
| pi ... ras /p͡çᶣí rʶɐs/
| ni ... pai /ɲí pʰɨ/
|-
! 3rd
| te ... sor /t͡ɕé sʌrʶ/
| e ... nai /é nɨ/
|-
! Indefinite
| colspan="2" | ge ... su /ɟé sɨ/
|-
! All
| -
| tak ... ai /tʰàk ɨ/
|-
! Interrogative
| colspan="2" | nek ... irki /ɲèk iɾç/
|}
Note that there are no obviate particles as subjects are never obviate.
[[Category:Languages]]
[[Category:Languages]]

Revision as of 00:10, 31 August 2017

Erai Pe Andaidu tod te nok naito. Lino Berulan te nok naito ama ama Andaidu tod, wati tod dabai rêai.

There is a lot of dialectal variation, to the point that it is unclear whether Kunesian is one language or nine. In any case, this description focuses mostly on the standard variety which is based on the coastal dialects.

Phonology

Consonants

Broadly speaking, Kunesian has these consonants:

Labial Dental Palatal Velar Uvular
Nasal m n ŋ
Stop Voiceless p t k q
Voiced b d g
Affricate Voiceless t͡s
Voiced d͡z ɟ͡ʝ
Fricative ɸ s, θ, (ɬ) /x~χ/
Approximant β (ð) l ɰ
Rhotic r rʶ

The actual number of consonants is considerably larger as most of these "broad" consonant phonemes have several variants, also known as the "narrow" consonants. The exact inventory of narrow consonants varies considerably between different dialects, but in Standard Kunesian:

  • Voiceless stops distinguish aspirated and non-aspirated variants word-initially.
  • Every consonant except /q/, /ɟ͡ʝ/ and the rhotics has a palatalised version.
    • Voiceless stops, particularly the aspirated ones, become affricates when palatalised. These are transcribed as [p͡ç t͡ɕ c͡ç] respectively. /g/ also becomes and affricate and merges with /ɟ͡ʝ/.
    • The palatalised variants of /n/ and /ŋ/ merge as [ɲ].
    • The palatalised variants of /l/ and /ɰ/ are [ʎ] and [j] respectively.
  • Like all other varieties of Kunesian, it does not have all three of /θ ð ɬ/, and like all coastal dialects, it merges /ɬ/ with /θ/ and /ð/ with /l/.
  • Between vowels, the only rhotic is [ɾ].

Consonant clusters only appear between vowels. The following ones are possible:

  • Nasal + stop. The nasal is always pronounced at the same POA as the following stop.
  • /r/ + coronal consonant. These clusters are realised as retroflex consonants, often preceded by a faint /ɻ/.
  • [ɾχ] and its palatalised variant [ɾç].
  • [st] and its palatalised variant [ɕt͡ɕ], which, especially in colloquial speech, is often realised as /ɕː/.

Word finally, only the basic variants of /m n ŋ p t k q ɸ s θ ɬ x l/ appear. The word-final consonant which is realised as /x/ in Standard Kunesian is realised as a rhotic in some other varieties.

Vowels

In stressed syllables, the following monophthongs occur:

Front Cenral Back
Unrounded Rounded Unrounded Rounded
Close i y ~ ʉ ɨ ~ ɯ u
Mid ɛ ~ e œ ~ ø ʌ ~ ɤ ɔ ~ o
Near-open æ
Open a

In addition, there are three stressed diphthongs: /aɨ̯/, /ei̯/ and /ɔɨ̯/.

In unstressed syllables, only /ɐ e ɨ ʊ/ and sometimes /əɨ̯/ occur. However, /əɨ̯/ merges with /ɨ/ for some speakers.

Supprasegmentals

Most Kunesian words are stressed on the first syllable, but a few are stressed on the second instead. The stressed syllable can have either a high or a low tone, and in addition each word may be pronounced with either modal or creaky voice. While phonation applies to a word as a whole, unstressed syllables tend to be pronounced with a medium tone regardless of what tone the stressed syllable has.

Sandhi

Orthography

Without twisting the truth too much, this can be called a mess.

Nouns

Classifying particles

Nouns may be followed by a classifying particle. In principle any noun may be used with any particle, though many combinations have lexicalised meanings, as is shown by the following examples:

  • erai "word" > Erai Pe "Kunesian"
  • abok "root" > abok itu "carrot"
  • dsile "sky" > dsile nô "roof"

In addition, some nouns exclusively, or almost exclusively, occur with one particular particle, such as gâlo kem "poison", with just gâlo being ungrammatical outside the phrase gâlo nênte "to poison".

Plural

Plurals can be marked by the particle ti. Frequently it is combined with the classifier tai. Plural marking is not obligatory and is generally used either to stress that one is talking about a large group, or as a collective.

ti potrai tai
/t͡ɕí pʌ̀ʈɨ tʰáɨ̯/
PL house CL(many)
houses, many houses, a village

Relational particles

To indicate a noun's relationship to another one, Kunesian uses relational particles. Some of the most important relational particles and their uses are:

  • li: possession, focus on possessed rather than possessor.
    • potrai mela li: the man's house
  • du: possession, focus on possessor rather than possessed.
    • mela potrai du: the man who has a house
  • me: the last noun is an important part of the first one.
    • potrai nipit me: house with books = library
  • to: the last thing is located inside the first one.
    • mura rente to: a forest with monkeys
  • kim: the first thing is inside the last.
    • rente mura kim: a monkey in the forest
  • anku: the two nouns refer to the same.
    • mela kusto anku: the man who is a liar

Adjectives

Pronouns

Person Singular Plural
Inclusive Exclusive
1st no, naik ninke, lâm bunai, pod
2nd pas, paik nili, paik
3rd kai, te enni, ten
4th nuro laite
All tola
Some kosse
No(ne) pige
Interrogative suk
Demonstrative ama

When two forms are given, the first one is the subject form and the second one the object form.

The fourth person refers to things not mentioned earlier in the sentence, but only if there already is a third person. Compare:

No kai tânku.
/nʌ́ kʰáɨ̯ tà̰ŋkɨ/
1SG 3SG.PROX hit
I hit him.
Kai kai tânku.
/kʰáɨ̯ kʰáɨ̯ tà̰ŋkɨ/
3SG.PROX 3SG.PROX hit
He hits himself.
Kai nuro tânku.
/kʰáɨ̯ nɯ́rʶɐ tà̰ŋkɨ/
3SG.PROX 3SG.OBV hit
He hits him (someone else).

Verbs

Word order

Complex sentences

Sample

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