Togarmite
Togarmite | |
---|---|
Dėgamit | |
Pronunciation | [/degamit/] |
Created by | IlL |
Setting | Lõis |
Afro-Asiatic
|
Togarmite (dėgamit /degamit/ or ha lysėn ha Dėgami /ˈləsenən tegamijən/) is a Semitic language closely related to Hebrew. It is inspired by Lithuanian, Germanic languages (particularly Icelandic) and the Semitic conlang Alashian.
Modern Togarmite retains the Semitic root-and-pattern morphology of Old Togarmite, but has undergone some phonological and grammatical restructuring, taking features of the Turkey-Northern Levant-Iranian sprachbund, in common with L-Persian, Padmanábha and English:
- Grimm's law: The Old Togarmite aspirated stops φ θ χ (from Proto-Semitic *p t k) generally become spirants /f θ x/. In Togarmite the dental stop series has cyclically shifted similarly to the High German consonant shift: t > þ > d > t.
- loss of grammatical gender
- loss of the passive binyanim
- loss of the suffix conjugation except in a few verbs
- the use of the w-form (inherited from the Old Togarmite waw-consecutive future) for the present progressive, mirroring English -ing < PIE *-nd-kwe
- the development of a productive concatenative verb paradigm used to form new verbs, analogous to Germanic weak verbs
Todo
- Gzarot
- Syntax
- Declensions
History
The Old Togarmite name for the language, Θėgammīθ, is thought to have been borrowed from a pre-Togarmite source *Tāgarma. The name Togarmah from the same source is also attested in the Hebrew Bible. (The Greeks and the Romans called the Togarmite people Θηγαρμικοί and Thegarmici respectively.) The name of the language shows the Togarmite shift of Proto-Semitic ā to ė /e:/, mirroring the Canaanite shift ā > ō occuring in its close relative Hebrew.
Phonology
Consonants
Togarmite has 23 consonants, 22 of them inherited from Proto-Semitic. It gained /p/ during the Old Togarmite stage from adapting loans from Greek, Aramaic and Persian, e.g. parkes 'to act', from Ancient Greek praxis. It also merged Old Togarmite ħ /χ/ and h /h/ into h /h/.
- m n /m n/
- p t c k ' /p t ts k ʔ/
- b d g /b d g/
- f þ s š x h /f θ s ʃ x h/
- w z ž ȝ /v z ʒ ɣ/
- l r j /l r j/
Vowels
Modern Togarmite has 9 vowels in stressed syllables, possibly the largest vowel inventory of any Semitic language.
a e ė i o ø u y /ɑ ɛ e i o ø u (ə)/
ei au /ai øy/
ei and au are often merged to /e ø/. Some dialects pronounce au as /y/.
Stress
Stress is always penultimate.
Orthography
Togarmite uses an abugida based on the Phoenician alphabet, called ha albėd (after the first 2 letters).
The abjadi letter names: al, bėd, gam, tal, hė, wau, zėn, žėn, þėd, jėd, xaf, lam, mėm, nun, ȝėn, fė, pė, cad, køf, rėš, sin, šin, dau
Dialects
Pronouns
Personal
Modern Togarmite pronouns work very similarly to English pronouns. The accusative pronouns derive from inflected foms of Old Togarmite ʔiθ (emphasis particle and accusative, related to Hebrew et and Arabic iyya-). The possessive pronouns are derived from inflected forms of Old Togarmite la-. Other inflected prepositions don't survive, except in fixed expressions such as slėm ȝalėxøm 'hello (formal)' (lit. peace be upon you).
I | thou (m.) | thou (f.) | he | she | it | we | you (pl.) | they | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nominative/Conjunctive | nėx | ad | ed | hu | hi | že | nan | adøm | høm |
Objective/Disjunctive | di | dax | dex | dau | da | dež | danė | daxøm | daum |
Possessive | li | lax | lex | lau | la | lež | lanė | laxøm | laum |
Reflexive/Intensive | afi | afax | afex | afau | afa | afež | afnė | afxøm | afaum |
The plural pronouns adøm and høm can be used as gender-neutral pronouns in the singular, like English they.
Demonstrative
who? | what? | which? | where? | whither? | whence? | when? | how? | why? | how much? | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
this | žini (sg); elini (pl) | hen | heno | me hen | ȝedo | xė; xamxė | šøm; me hen | xėrab | ||
that | ži (sg); eli (pl) | šam | šamo | me šam | ež | |||||
what? | mi | ma | ėjo | ein | eino | men ein | møran | xeix | lama | xma, marby |
all; every | xøl bašar; xølhat | xøl tbar | xøl | xølein | xøleino | me xølein | xølam | xølat tarxy | - | - |
any | nux bašar | nux tbar | nux | nuxein | nuxeino | me nuxein | xølam | nux tarxy | my nux sebt | - |
some | bil bašar | bil tbar | bil | bilein | bileino | me bilein | ly zman; bil zman | bil tarxy | my bil sebt | - |
none | lėm bašar | lėm tbar | lėm | lėmein | lėmeino | me lėmein | lėfȝam | lėm tarxy | my lėm sebt | - |
Demonstratives come before nouns as in Arabic:
- žini beid 'this house'
- eli beidi 'those houses'
Nouns
In some ways declension has simplified: Like Knánith, Modern Togarmite has lost grammatical gender. The construct state has been lost, and the definite state haC- has been reanalyzed as a separate definite article ha.
However, declension has become more complicated in other ways. For example, Modern Togarmite has innovated more pluralization paradigms.
Regular declension
Most nouns have a regular plural in -i, definite -il.
Example: ȝėlam 'world'
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
indefinite | ȝėlam | ȝėlami |
Segolates
These nouns come from CVCC nouns in Proto-Semitic and thus are related to segolates in Hebrew.
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
indefinite | xalby | xlabi |
Nisba nouns
An important declension class is comprised of nouns or adjectives with the nisba suffix -i:
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
indefinite | dėgami | dėgamije |
Singulative-collective nouns
These nouns have a marked singular in -t.
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
indefinite | šeȝart | šeȝar |
Former feminines/body parts
This class consists of a small number of nouns that were feminine in Old Togarmite, such as many body parts, which take a plural in -ėt:
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
indefinite | øžny | øžnė |
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
indefinite | lysėn | lysėnėt |
-a nouns
These are mainly Greek words:
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
indefinite | apoloža | apoložes |
Greek ending in -ma can have a plural in -mata:
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
indefinite | þima | þimes / þimata |
By analogy, even some native words are declined this way:
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
indefinite | heþa | heþes |
Adjectives
Adjectives have the same declension patterns as nouns.
Degree
Adjectives do not have separate degree forms, unlike in Indo-European languages. A dedicated particle šøm is used for 'than'.
Verbs
TODO: an n-stem binyan?
- Past = (eroded) suffix conjugation that became analogized with the prefix present
- The y- prefix is not used when the verb is negated: nėx yxėdøb 'I write', nėx lė xėdøb 'I don't write'.
- Present = from the Proto-Semitic L-stem, via analogy
- Imperative
- The imperative is negated with alt: Xødøb! 'write!', Alt xødøb! 'don't write!'
- w-form = w + stem from the 3ms suffix conjugation in the f3øl binyan, past tense but with w- for the prefix in other binyanim
- Infinitive
- Participles
The suffix conjugation does not survive unlike in most other Semitic languages, except in certain irregular verbs like hwė 'to be'.
The citation form is the 2nd person singular imperative.
Binyanim
Modern Togarmite inherits all 7 binyanim of Old Togarmite. The dy- of Binyan 6 (dyfaȝel) verbs has become a productive derivational prefix, however, so some analyze Binyan 6 as a result of dy- added to faȝel verbs, rather than as a binyan in its own right.
Binyan 1: føȝøl
This binyan can take -ø- (e.g. xøþøb 'to write'), -e- (sen 'to sleep') or -a- (tøȝam 'to choose') as the theme vowel.
→ Person ↓ Tense |
1sg | 2sg | 3sg | 1pl | 2pl | 3pl |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
past; conditional | nėx yxdøb | ad/ed yxdøb | hu/hi xdøb | nan xdøb | adøm xdøb | høm xdøb |
past progressive; past subjunctive | fidi wyxdab | fid wyxdab | fė wyxdab | finė wyxdab | fidøm wyxdab | fu wyxdab |
present | nėx yxėdøb | ad/ed yxėdøb | hu/hi xėdøb | nan xėdøb | adøm xėdøb | høm xėdøb |
present progressive | nėx še wyxdab | ad/ed še wyxdab | hu/hi še wyxdab | nan še wyxdab | adøm šu wyxdab | høm šu wyxdab |
present subjunctive | nėx yxdøban | ad/ed yxdøban | hu/hi xdøban | nan xdøban | adøm xdøban | høm xdøban |
future | ėbe xdėb | tėbe xdėb | jėbe xdėb | nėbe xdėb | tėbu xdėb | jėbu xdėb |
perfect | li myxdub | lax/lex myxdub | lau/la myxdub | lanė myxdub | laxøm myxdub | laum myxdub |
imperative | xødøb! | |||||
active participle | xėdeb | |||||
passive participle | myxdub | |||||
w-form | wyxdab | |||||
infinitive | xdėb |
Binyan 2: faȝel
This binyan comes from the Proto-Semitic D-stem (related to Hebrew pi33el and Arabic fa33ala)
→ Person ↓ Tense |
1sg | 2sg | 3sg | 1pl | 2pl | 3pl |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
past; conditional | nėx ysaxen | ad/ed ysaxen | hu/hi saxen | nan saxen | adøm saxen | høm saxen |
past progressive; past subjunctive | fidi wysaxen | fid wysaxen | fė wysaxen | finė wysaxen | fidøm wysaxen | fu wysaxen |
present | nėx ysxėxen | ad/ed ysxėxen | hu/hi sxėxen | nan sxėxen | adøm sxėxen | høm sxėxen |
present progressive | nėx še wysaxen | ad/ed še wysaxen | hu/hi še wysaxen | nan še wysaxen | adøm šu wysaxen | høm šu wysaxen |
present subjunctive | ani ysaxenan | ad/ed ysaxenan | hu/hi saxenan | nan saxenan | adøm saxenan | høm saxenan |
future | ėbe saxun | tėbe saxun | jėbe saxun | nėbe saxun | tėbu saxun | jėbu saxun |
perfect | li møsaxan | lax/lex møsaxan | lau/la møsaxan | lanė møsaxan | laxøm møsaxan | laum møsaxan |
imperative | saxen! | |||||
active participle | møsaxen | |||||
passive participle | møsaxan | |||||
w-form | wysaxen | |||||
infinitive | saxun |
For 4-letter verbs such as parkes 'to act', the present tense is formed with the stem -C₁C₂ėC₃eC₄, like nėx yprėkes 'I act'.
Binyan 3: afȝel
This binyan comes from the Proto-Semitic Š-stems thus corresponds to Hebrew hif3il and Arabic ʔaf3ala.
→ Person ↓ Tense |
1sg | 2sg | 3sg | 1pl | 2pl | 3pl |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
past; conditional | nėx ažxer | ad/ed ažxer | hu/hi ažxer | nan ažxer | adøm ažxer | høm ažxer |
past progressive; past subjunctive | fidi wažxer | fid wažxer | fė wažxer | finė wažxer | fidøm wažxer | fu wažxer |
present | nėx ažėxer | ad/ed ažėxer | hu/hi ažėxer | nan ažėxer | adøm ažėxeru | høm ažėxeru |
present progressive | nėx še wažxer | ad/ed še wažxer | hu/hi še wažxer | nan še wažxer | adøm šu wažxer | høm šu wažxer |
present subjunctive | nėx ažxeran | ad/ed ažxeran | hu/hi ažxeran | nan ažxeran | adøm ažxeran | høm ažxeran |
future | ėbe hažxur | tėbe hažxur | jėbe hažxur | nėbe hažxur | tėbu hažxur | jėbu hažxur |
perfect | li mažxar | lax/lex mažxar | lau/la mažxar | lanė mažxar | laxøm mažxar | laum mažxar |
imperative | ažxer! | |||||
active participle | mažxer | |||||
passive participle | mažxar | |||||
w-form | wažxer | |||||
infinitive | ažxur |
Binyan 4: yftyȝel
This binyan comes from the Proto-Semitic t-stem and shares similarities with the Hebrew binyan hitpa33el and Arabic ifta3ala. It is characterized by the t- prefix that comes from the *t infix.
Meanings:
- reflexive
- reciprocal
The prefix t metathesizes with C1 when
- C1 = f x s š c h z ž ȝ: tf tx ts tš th tz tž tȝ > ft xt st št ct ht zd žd ȝd
- C1 = d t þ: td tt tþ > d t þ
→ Person ↓ Tense |
1sg | 2sg | 3sg | 1pl | 2pl | 3pl |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
past; conditional | nėx ytlymed | ad/ed ytlymed | hu/hi tlymed | nan tlymed | adøm tlymed | høm tlymed |
past progressive; past subjunctive | fidi wytlymed | fid wytlymed | fė wytlymed | finė wytlymed | fidøm wytlymed | fu wytlymed |
present | nėx ytlėmed | ad/ed ytlėmed | hu/hi tlėmed | nan tlėmed | adøm tlėmed | høm tlėmed |
present progressive | nėx še wytlymed | ad/ed še wytlymed | hu/hi še wytlymed | nan še wytlymed | adøm šu wytlymed | høm šu wytlymed |
present subjunctive | nėx ytlymedan | ad/ed ytlymedan | hu/hi tlymedan | nan tlymedan | adøm tlymedun | høm tlymedun |
future | ėbe hytlymud | tėbe hytlymud | jėbe hytlymud | nėbe hytlymud | tėbu hytlymud | jėbu hytlymud |
perfect | li møtlymad | lax/lex møtlymad | lau/la møtlymad | lanė møtlymad | laxøm møtlymad | laum møtlymad |
imperative | ytlymed! | |||||
active participle | møtlymed | |||||
passive participle | møtlymad | |||||
w-form | wytlymėd | |||||
infinitive | hytlymud |
Binyan 5: eþyfȝel
This binyan comes from the Nt-stem, with the mediopassive n- marker and the reflexive/reciprocal t-marker: the stem comes from *intap3il. cf. Hebrew nitpa33el, a variant of the hitpa33el binyan and the Arabic infa3ala binyan.
→ Person ↓ Tense |
1sg | 2sg | 3sg | 1pl | 2pl | 3pl |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
past; conditional | nėx edygtel | ad/ed edygtel | hu/hi edygtel | nan edygtel | adøm edygtel | høm edygtel |
past progressive; past subjunctive | fidi wedygtel | fid wetygtel | fė wetygtel | finė wetygtel | fidøm wetygtel | fu wedygtel |
present | nėx eþygėtel | ad/ed edygėtel | hu/hi edygėtel | nan edygėtel | adøm edygėtelu | høm edygėtelu |
present progressive | nėx še weþygdel | ad/ed še weþygdel | hu/hi še weþygdel | nan še weþygdel | adøm šu weþygdel | høm šu weþygdel |
present subjunctive | nėx eþygdelan | ad/ed eþygdelan | hu/hi eþygdelan | nan eþygdelan | adøm eþygdelun | høm eþygdelun |
future | ėbe hedygtul | tėbe hedygtul | jėbe hedygtul | nėbe hedygtul | tėbu hedygtul | jėbu hedygtul |
perfect | li medygtal | lax/lex medygtal | lau/la medygtal | lanė medygtal | laxøm medygtal | laum medygtal |
imperative | hedygtel! | |||||
active participle | meþygdel | |||||
passive participle | meþygdal | |||||
w-form | waþygdel | |||||
infinitive | heþygdul |
Binyan 6: dyfaȝel
This binyan comes from the tD-stem (t- with geminate stem) and corresponds directly to the Arabic binyan tafa33ala.
The main meanings of this binyan are:
- reciprocal or back-and-forth action
- reaction/back, re-: the most productive modern meaning
- dy'awer 'to reflect', from aur 'light'
- dyparkes 'to react', from parkis 'action'
- dysalem 'to repay', from √s-l-m 'peace, whole'
- dyȝanė 'to satisfy', from √ȝ-n-j 'distress, need'; probably influenced by a now obsolete meaning 'to answer' of the same root
- unpredictable change in meaning
The resemblance of this binyan to the very common faȝel binyan has led to the dy- prefix becoming productive, with some semantic overlap with the prefix re- in English.
→ Person ↓ Tense |
1sg | 2sg | 3sg | 1pl | 2pl | 3pl |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
past; conditional | nėx ydytares | ad/ed ydytares | hu/hi dytares | nan dytares | adøm dytares | høm dytares |
past progressive; past subjunctive | fiti wydytares | fit wydytares | fė wydytares | finė wydytares | fitøm wydytares | fu wydytares |
present | nėx ydytrėres | ad/ed ydytrėres | hu/hi dytrėres | nan dytrėres | adøm dytrėres | høm dytrėres |
present progressive | nėx še wydytares | ad/ed še wydytares | hu/hi še wydytares | nan še wydytares | adøm šu wydytares | høm šu wydytares |
present subjunctive | nėx ydytaresan | ad/ed ydytaresan | hu/hi dytaresan | nan dytaresan | adøm dytaresun | høm dytaresun |
future | ėbe dytarus | tėbe dytarus | jėbe dytarus | nėbe dytarus | tėbu dytarus | jėbu dytarus |
perfect | li mødytaras | lax/lex mødytaras | lau/la mødytaras | lanė mødytaras | laxøm mødytaras | laum mødytaras |
imperative | dytares! | |||||
active participle | mødytares | |||||
passive participle | mødytaras | |||||
w-form | wydytares | |||||
infinitive | dytarus |
Binyan 7: styfȝel
This binyan comes from the Št-stem and is directly related to the binyan istaf3ala in Arabic and the very rare binyan hishtaf3el in Biblical Hebrew.
→ Person ↓ Tense |
1sg | 2sg | 3sg | 1pl | 2pl | 3pl |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
past; conditional | nėx ystyþȝem | ad/ed ystyþȝem | hu/hi styþȝem | nan styþȝem | adøm styþȝem | høm styþȝem |
past progressive; past subjunctive | fidi wystyþȝem | fid wystyþȝem | fė wystyþȝem | finė wystyþȝem | fidøm wystyþȝem | fu wystyþȝem |
present | nėx ystyþėȝem | ad/ed ystyþėȝem | hu/hi styþėȝem | nan styþėȝem | adøm styþėȝem | høm styþėȝem |
present progressive | nėx še wystyþȝem | ad/ed še wystyþȝem | hu/hi še wystyþȝem | nan še wystyþȝem | adøm šu wystyþȝem | høm šu wystyþȝem |
present subjunctive | nėx ystyþȝeman | ad/ed ystyþȝeman | hu/hi styþȝeman | nan styþȝeman | adøm styþȝemun | jystyþȝemun |
future | ėbe styþȝum | tėbe styþȝum | jėbe styþȝum | nėbe styþȝum | tėbu styþȝum | jėbu styþȝum |
perfect | li møstyþȝam | lax/lex møstyþȝam | lau/la møstyþȝam | lanė møstyþȝam | laxøm møstyþȝam | laum møstyþȝam |
imperative | - | styþȝem! | - | - | styþȝemu! | - |
active participle | møstyþȝem | |||||
passive participle | møstyþȝam | |||||
w-form | wystyþȝem | |||||
infinitive | styþȝum |
Concatenative verbs
The concatenative paradigm, analogous to Germanic weak verbs, is formed by adding prefixes and suffixes, without changing the stem. The past and imperative forms are formed by adding -i or -ji to the noun, when no other suffix is added.
It is used for recent loan verbs like maksimezi 'to maximize', but can also be used to derive verbs from native nouns:
- mydrasi 'to school' (from mydras 'school')
- daxili 'to consume' (from daxil 'consumption', itself from the root √ʔ-x-l 'to eat')
- žaxoji 'to entitle, to allow' (from žaxo 'right')
- ȝeini 'to eye' (from ȝein 'eye')
The endings are mainly derived from Middle Togarmite forms of 3-y verbs.
- [STEM]-i = active
- dy-[STEM]-i = re-
- mø- = active participle
- -ėt = infinitive
→ Person ↓ Tense |
1sg | 2sg | 3sg | 1pl | 2pl | 3pl |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
past; conditional | nėx ymydrasi | ad/ed ymydrasi | hu/hi mydrasi | nan mydrasi | adøm mydrasi | høm mydrasi |
past progressive; past subjunctive | fidi wymydrasi | fid wymydrasi | fė wymydrasi | finė wymydrasi | fidøm wymydrasi | fu wymydrasi |
present | nėx ymydrasė | ad/ed ymydrasė | hu/hi mydrasė | nan mydrasė | adøm mydrasė | høm mydrasė |
present progressive | yše wymydrasi | tyše wymydrasi | jyše wymydrasi | nyše wymydrasi | tyšu wymydrasi | jyšu wymydrasi |
present subjunctive | nėx ymydrasan | ad/ed ymydrasan | hu/hi mydrasan | nan mydrasan | adøm mydrasun | høm mydrasun |
future | ėbe mydrasėt | tėbe mydrasėt | jėbe mydrasėt | nėbe mydrasėt | tėbu mydrasėt | jėbu mydrasėt |
perfect | li mømydrasa | lax/lex mømydrasa | lau/la mømydrasa | lanė mømydrasa | laxøm mømydrasa | laum mømydrasa |
imperative | mydrasi! | |||||
active participle | mømydrasė | |||||
passive participle | mømydrasa | |||||
w-form | wymydrasi | |||||
infinitive | mydrasėt |
fe 'to be'
The verb fė 'to be' is perhaps the most irregular verb of the language; it displays suppletion and it uses the Proto-Semitic suffix conjugation in the past tense.
→ Person ↓ Tense |
1sg | 2sg | 3sg | 1pl | 2pl | 3pl |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
past; conditional | fidi | fid | fė | finė | fidøm | fu |
past progressive; past subjunctive | fidi wyfė | fid wyfė | fė wyfė | finė wyfė | fidøm wyfė | fu wyfė |
present | nėx še (or nėx) | ad/ed še (or ad/ed) | hu/hi še (or hu/hi) | nan še (or nan) | adøm šu (or adøm) | høm šu (or høm) |
present progressive | yše wyfė | tyše wyfė | jyše wyfė | nyše wyfė | tyšu wyfė | jyšu wyfė |
present subjunctive | yfijan | tyfijan | jyfijan | nyfijan | tyfijun | jyfijun |
future | ėbe fėt | tėbe fėt | jėbe fėt | nėbe fėt | tėbu fėt | jėbu fėt |
imperative | fe! | |||||
active participle | hėwi | |||||
passive participle | fuj | |||||
w-form | wyfė | |||||
infinitive | fėt |
xėl 'can'
→ Person ↓ Tense |
1sg | 2sg | 3sg | 1pl | 2pl | 3pl |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
past; conditional | nex yxel | ad/ed yxel | hu/hi xel | nan xel | adøm xel | høm xel |
past subjunctive | fiti wėxel | fit wėxel | fė wėxel | finė wėxel | fitøm wėxel | fu wėxel |
present | wyxėlti | wyxėlt | wyxėl | wyxėlnė | wyxėltøm | wyxėlu |
present subjunctive | nėx yxelan | ad/ed yxelan | hu/hi xelan | nan xelan | adøm xelun | høm xelun |
future | ėbe xėl | tėbe xėl | jėbe xėl | nėbe xėl | tėbu xėl | jėbu xėl |
active participle | - | |||||
passive participle | fuj wėxel | |||||
w-form | wėxel | |||||
infinitive | xėl |
høbė 'should; ought'
→ Person ↓ Tense |
1sg | 2sg | 3sg | 1pl | 2pl | 3pl |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
present | nėx høbė | ad/ed høbė | hu/hi høbė | nan høbu | adøm høbu | høm høbu |
ryšė 'to want'
→ Person ↓ Tense |
1sg | 2sg | 3sg | 1pl | 2pl | 3pl |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
past; conditional | yrši | tyrši | jyrši | nyršu | tyršu | jyršu |
past subjunctive | hwidi wyrši | hwid wyrši | hwė wyrši | hwinė wyrši | hwidøm wyrši | hwu wyrši |
present | nėx ryšė | ad/ed ryšė | hu/hi ryšė | nan ryšu | adøm ryšu | høm ryšu |
future | ėbe ryšėþ | tėbe ryšėþ | jėbe ryšėþ | nėbe ryšėþ | tėbu ryšėþ | jėbu ryšėþ |
w-form | wyrši | |||||
active participle | rėši | |||||
passive participle | myršuj | |||||
infinitive | ryšėþ |
Gzarot
- Main article: Togarmite/Gzarot
In Semitic languages, gzarot (Hebrew גְּזָרוֹת, sg. gizra גִּזְרָה 'figure, form, pattern') are variations of an inflectional (especially verbal) paradigm that are determined by the choice of consonants in the consonantal root. Thus, a paradigm has not only a regular gizra but various irregular ones, which occur most commonly when
- the consonantal root contains a "guttural" (ʔ ȝ h) or a semivowel (j w);
- the consonantal root contains a n, since nC tends to assimilate into CC
- the consonantal root has 2 letters.
Because Togarmite only uses the prefix conjugation, modern Togarmite gzarot are in some ways less bad than Hebrew gzarot; most of the irregularities occur in binyan fȝøl. However, there are often so many irregularities even within each gizra, and cases of analogy between verbs of different gzarot, that the concept of gzarot in Modern Togarmite has been questioned: in Togarmite, a "gizra" just describes general tendencies of verbs with a certain root consonant.
Prepositions
Some prepositions:
- in 'in' [from PSem *ina]
- ly (l before V) 'to'
- by (b before V) 'by, at'
- šyto 'out of' (from *śadiy-ah 'to the field')
- me (men before V) 'from'
- ȝem 'with'
- ȝal 'on'
- lit 'of (possessive)'
- ȝbar 'over'
- dad 'under'
- ardo 'down' (from *ʔarþ-ah "earthward")
- tarxan 'along'
Syntax of prepositions
Numerals
Cardinal
0: cefry 1: yhat 2: šnein / attributive šnė 3: šlėš (animate šlėšt) 4: yrbaȝ (animate yrbaȝt) 5: hymes (animate hymest) 6: setš (animate setšt) 7: sabȝy (animate sabȝyt) 8: šmėni (animate šmėnt) 9: desȝy (animate desȝyt) 10: ȝašry (animate ȝašryt) 11: ȝašry yhat 12: ȝašry šnein 20: ȝešrin 30: šlėšin 40: yrbȝin 50: hymsin 60: setšin 70: sybȝin 80: šmėnin 90: desȝin 100: me'yt 101: me'yt yhat 200: metein 300: šlėš me'yt 400: yrbaȝ me'yt 1000: alfy 2000: alfein 3000: šlėš alf 1000000: alfun 10^9: bėdfun 10^12: gamfun etc.
Plural numerals usually take plural nouns. They used to take singular nouns, however this is considered archaic.
Numbers ending in digits "3" through "9" (thus ending in šlėš through desȝy), or "10" (thus ending in ȝašry), have two forms depending on the animacy of the noun: hymes myrþemi 'five abacuses', but hymest ahėt 'five sisters'. The animate forms come from the masculine forms (reverse polarity) marked with *-t in Proto-Semitic.
Ordinal
Ordinals are formed using the pattern CCuC; as in English, "1st" and "2nd" are irregular, from elatives *ʔaʕlay- 'topmost' and *ʔaʕqab- 'the immediately following' respectively. In compound numerals, the last number word is inflected to the ordinal form.
- 1st = yȝlė
- 2nd = yȝkab
- 3rd = šluš
- 4th = rbuȝ
- 5th = hmus
- 6th = stuš
- 7th = sbuȝ
- 8th = šmun
- 9th = dsuȝ
- 10th = ȝšur
- 11th = ȝašry-yȝlė
- 12th = ȝašry-yȝkab
- 13th = ȝašry-šluš
etc.
Fractional
Fractional numerals are formed with the segolate pattern CøCCy (pl. CøCaCi). Compound numerals can be inflected as well, like in the case of ordinal numerals. The analogized form øhty is used for numerals ending in "1".
- half = gøb (from *gunb- 'side')
- 3rd = šølšy
- 4th = røbȝy
- 11th = ȝašry-øhty
To express "m/n", Togarmite uses "m nths": "2/3" is šnė šølaši.
Syntax
Faulty accusative marker
The faulty accusative marker id is used. It behaves like MSA accusative case and Welsh soft mutation: when there is a constituent separating the verb or predicate from a second constituent, id comes between the two constituents regardless of whether the second constituent is actually a direct object. Example:
- Halex wyfė li id šlėšt xlabi, wy ȝedo lėš li id nux. = I used to have three dogs, and now I don't have any.
- Ha tėrest li ryšė li id ȝyšėþ rab damuni beid. = My teacher wants me to do a lot of homework.
Questions
Yes-no questions require the question marker ha to be placed at the beginning of the sentence.
What-questions have a syntax similar to English.
Existentials
The word iš is used to indicate existence. It is also used with the preposition ly 'to' or the possessive pronouns to indicate possession. The negative of iš is lėš.
- Lėš mykėm ėn xøl bašar šaš. = There is no place where everyone is happy.
- Ha iš lex zman? = Do you (f. sg.) have time?
The particle iš uses the accusative marker id when the "object" is animate.
Conditional clauses
- "if" = em
- "then" = ež
- "unless" = lulė
Relative clauses
The relative pronoun xi or žė is used for both relative and complement clauses. It may takes prepositional cases, just like English relative pronouns. The word žė is from PSem *ðā, a form of the demonstrative *ðū; cf. Biblical Hebrew זו zu, Aramaic די dī.
For relative clauses whose heads are prepositional objects in the relative clause, there are two strategies like in English:
- In informal Togarmite, the relativizer is treated as a resumptive pronoun which takes the preposition, like English which: ha gabry ly xi nėx yden ha madan, lit. 'the man to which I gave the gift'. This syntax arose from the influence of surrounding languages like English.
- In formal Togarmite, the preposition goes to the end of the clause: ha gabry xi nėx yden ha madan ly lit. 'the man which I gave the gift to'. This syntax arose from the native Semitic construction which used a resumptive pronoun on the preposition: after the resumptive pronoun lost the stress, the preposition lost its pronominal suffix and moved to the end of the clause.
- A combination of both strategies can be used: ha gabry ly xi nėx yden ha madan ly, lit. 'The man to which I gave the gift to'.
Derivation
Noun and adjective patterns
- CaCCy(t), CeCCy(t), CøCCy(t) = segolates
- CyCiC = adjective; -able
- CyCuC = adjective; color
- CyCaCt, CyCeCt, CyCøCt
- CaCøCt = describes a condition
- CyCeCCaC = diminutive
- myCCaC(t), meCCaC(t), myCCėC: noun, often denoting place
- maCCaCt = causative version of myCCaC(t)
- myCCeC(t) = instrument
- maCCeCt = causative version of myCCeC(t)
- dyCCuC, dyCCiC, dyCCėC = action or process
- dyCCøCt = (hypothetical cognate of Hebrew tiCCóCet) = system of things
- CaCėC = agentive
- CaCaCt = feminine agentive (not always used)
- or CaCėC?
- CaCCan = agentive; -an is an agentive
- CaCCėn, CeCCėn, and CeCaCėn = nouns, often an augmentative
Affixes
- -an = forms agentives and adjectives
- -in = collectives
- lamusin 'charity'
- -ud = abstract noun
- -i = forms adjectives
- -it = forms adverbs
- i- = non-, un-
- ibašari 'incorporeal'
- iwøxli 'impossible'
- þarmy- = pre-, not yet
- þarmy-mynaša 'never married'
- -yr = someone who is characterized by X (from English)
- wtuȝyr 'know-it-all', from wtuȝ 'knowledgeable'
- -ri = -ry (from English)
- kdėsri = excessive piousness or asceticism, from kdės 'holy'
- xyl'anri = double standard or hypocrisy, from the agentive xyl'an 'hypocrite' of √x-l-ʔ 'double'
- auto- = self-
- e- = a- (from ʔiC-, an assimilated form of the OTog preposition ʔin 'in'); these adjectives can usually only be predicative
- e'est 'ablaze'
- etarxy 'away'
- edal 'galore' (lit. a-mound)
- emein 'drowned, lost forever', lit. awater
- -byl = -able (from English -able and native abȝel 'to be able to')
Sample texts
Newton's laws of motion
I: Tbar šėbød by tymi, o by ȝyþėk enomorfy, lulė ytraȝ prėkes ȝal dež.
I: An object stays at rest, or at a constant speed, unless a force acts on it.
II: Ha šanuj in ha dyȝdik lit gaf še mydxøni la øþis ha mødyfacar ȝal ha gaf; wa šanuj kėrė tarxan ha kau ha dykin žė ži øþis še mødyfacar ȝal.
II: The change in the momentum of a body is proportional to the force applied to the body; and the change occurs along the straight line on which that force is applied.
III: Iš ly xøl parkis id dyparkis is w' anteþet.
III: Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
O how quickly the sculpture of life
O! Xma myhirit ha myklaȝ lid ha hein
Šaber in temaša zȝarȝeri!
Ha mygilud lit ha malxy ȝal ha þrøn lau
Še xlilit mygruf etarxy by gali jam.
Adøm xi jėd heno mømancabta hen,
Ȝabry hen Elėh adøm lawani ȝal ha ard.
Xøl lanė møtajan ȝal parkisi lanė;
Dnenė dėt la ȝni, wy agaþeržijėt hat ly wtut.
O how quickly the sculpture of life
Shattered into tiny fragments!
The splendor of the king on his throne
Is completely swept away by sea-waves.
Ye who come hither stationed here,
By the grace of God ye are guests on earth.
All of us are judged according to our actions;
Let us give to the needy, and do charity towards one another.
Stairway To Heaven
Maȝlyt la Symeinit
Iš gabryt xi še šur
Xøl xi nėher še žahab
Wy hi še wykna maȝlyt la symeinit
UDHR
Xøl ynėsi še mewølati hyruri w' isi in akšoprepja wy žyxawi. Høm še mødyhanani ȝym ložeki wy synidisi wy høbu ly parkus l' otšni in ruh lit ahwud.
all human-PL COP be.born/PASS.PART-PL free-PL and equal-PL in dignity and right-PL. 3PL COP grant/PASS.PART-PL with reason and conscience and ought-3PL to act.VN to one_another in spirit of brotherhood
/xøl ə'nesi ʃɛ mɛvø'lati hə'ruri 'visi in akʃo'prepjan və ʒə'xavi || høm ʃɛ møθəha'nani ɣəm lo'ʒɛki və səni'disi və 'høbu lə 'parkus 'lotʃni in ruh lit 'ahvud/