Fyai Thǔvn

Fyai Thǔvn
Fyai Thǔvn
Pronunciation	[[Help:IPA|ɸʲai tʰɯβ̞n]]
Created by	–
Native speakers	4000 ({{{date}}})
Language family	Shwain Fyai Thǔvn

Background

Fyai Thǔvn is spoken on the fictional planet Tau-Ceti 2, by around 4000 people living on the shores of a large bay in the northwestern part of that planet's main continent. The people of Tau-Ceti 2 were transported there from Earth by aliens around the year 2000 BCE. The original location on Earth of the population whose descendants are the Fyai Thǔvn speakers is unknown, but some scholars claim they are from southern Volgograd Oblast, Russia. Their reconstructed proto-language (Proto-Shwain) morphologically resembled English, but now most of the family is strongly analytic and isolating. The original settlement of the Shwain people was across the north of the planet's main continent, but migrating waves of invading Pamian people from the south forced them into many enclaves, including Thǔvn Bay, in the northwest.

Phonology

Vowels

Phonemes
	Front	Central	Back
Closed	/i/	/ɨ/ <ï>	/u/ /ɯ/ <ǔ>
Mid-closed	/e/ <é>	/ɘ/ <e̋>	/o/ <ó>
Mid-open	/ɛ/ <e>	/ɜ/ <ë>	/ʌ ɔ/ <ǒ o>
Open	/a/ <a>		/ɑ/ <ǎ>

Diphthongs

/ai ae aɛ au aɯ ao aɔ aʌ/ <ai aé ae au aǔ aó ao aǒ> /oi oe oɛ/ <ói óé óe> /ɔi/ <oi>

Consonants

Phonemes	Bilabial	'Labio-Palatal	Labiodental	Alveolar	Retroflex'	Velar	Glottal
Stop	/p/	/pʲ/ <py>		/t/ <t>	/ʈ/
/k/ <k>
Aspirated Plosive	/pʰ/ <ph>			/tʰ/		/ʈʰ/ <trh>	kʰ <kh>
Nasal	/m/ <m>	/mʲ/<my		/n/ <n>	/ɳ/ <nr>	/ŋ/<g>
Fricative	/ɸ/ <fh>	/ɸʲ/ <fy>	/f/ <f>	/s/	/ʂ/ <sr>	/x/ <c>	/h/ <h>
Approximant	/β̞/ <v>	/ɥ/<y>		/ɹ~ɻ/  <r>		/ɰ/<w>
Lateral approximant				/l/ <l>	/ɭ/<lr>	ʟ <l'>

Phonotactics

(C)V(V)(A)(C) Where A is any approximant, whether central or lateral.

Permitted codas are any approximant, and /m n ɳ ŋ p t ʈ k/

Morphology

The language is strongly analytic and isolating, so there is hardly any morphology.

Syntax

The basic word order is SOV.

Adjectives and Numerals

Adjectives come before the noun:

Pew cók wide man "A fat man"

Adjectives can be stringed together without the need for a word like "and" Pew ǒl' cók wide angry man "An angry fat man"

If reduplicated, the adjective is intensified: Pew ǒl' ǒl' cók wide angry angry man "A very angry fat man"

The particle "Trok" can be put before a adjective to lessen it: Trok pew trok ǒl' cók few wide few angry man "A somewhat angry chubby man" The language has a base-5 numeral system Numbers 1-25: én-1 mën-2 pyǔl-3 oyk-4 trhavp-5 trhavp én-6 trhavp mën-7 trhavp pyǔl-8 trhavp oyk-9 mën trhavp-10 mën trhavp én-11 mën trhavp mën-12 mën trhavp pyǔl- 13 mën trhavp oyk-14 pyǔl trhavp- 15 pyǔl trhavp én-16 pyǔl trhavp mën-17 pyǔl trhavp pyǔl-18 pyǔl trhavp oyk - 19 oyk trhavp -20 oyk trhavp én-21 oyk trhavp mën-22 oyk trhavp pyǔl-23 oyk trhavp oyk-24 tow-25

For unspecified numbers, the following are substituted for the numbers: Trok- a few; used if the speaker knows that are more then one but less then five. Sǒl'm- some; used if the speaker knows that are more then five but less then 25. Vǎlrp- many; used if the speaker knows that are more then 25 Phe̋n- a number used for unspecified plural.

For things that come in pairs reduplication is used:

Móél- Eye Móél móél- pair of eyes

Numbers come between the Adjectives and the noun:

Pew pyǔl cók wide three man "3 fat men"

General Noun Syntax

If there are more then one subject, the particle "Trï" is inserted between the subjects. It has the rough meaning of "And" This can go on for a many subjects the sentence has. Once there are 2 nouns not separated by "trï", the second noun is the object.

cók trï lre̋lt pyïrp vae

man and woman bread eat (The/A) Man and (the/a) woman eat bread"

With multiple objects, no particle is necessary; they are just stringed together.

cók trï lre̋lt pyïrp ya vae

man and woman bread meat eat

(The/A) Man and (the/a) woman eat bread and meat"

Tense and Mood

Tense and Moodis marked by particles at the beginning of an utterance. There are 2 tenses, past and non-past. The Past marking is <L'oi> and non-past utterances are unmarked. Cók pyïrp vae man bread eat "(The/A) Man eats/ is eating bread"

L'oi cók pyïrp vae PST man bread eat "(The/A) Man ate bread"

Mood particles: Subjunctive (if): Pó Conditional: Nóin Potential: Ne Imperative: Vǎv Volitive: Ma Hortative: ïlr Dubtative: Lǎwn

Mood particles come after the past tense particle.

L'oi lǎwn cók pyïrp vae PST DUB man bread eat "I doubt(The/A) Man ate bread"