Tarkandamonian

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Tarkandamonian
Tarkandamon
Pronunciation[/tar'kandamɔn/]
Created byAnyar
SettingEarth
Native speakers436,232 (1980)
Language Isolate
  • Tarkandamonian
Official status
Official language in
Ōran Kan (“Beautiful Land”)


Introduction

Tarkandamonian, from the word Tarkandamon, meaning "Those who speak properly", is the official language spoken in Ōran Kan, a country situated between the border of the Pakistani-admininstered Gilgit-Baltistan region, and Indian-administered Kashmir. It is separated from Ladakh by a small strip of land approximately 25KM in length extending from Gilgit-Balikstan to Kashmir. It is estimated that roughly 100,000 speakers live outside of Ōran Kan, the vast majority having fled the country after a military coup led by Brigadier General Enor Gavilna overthrew President Gar Tindra in early July 1983. The majority of the expatriate community lives in various parts of the EU, with the largest number in Spain and Italy.

Knowledge of the language's history is unknown prior to the 1870's, when British explorers arrived after the First Anglo-Sikh War and began documenting the language. Although phylologists and linguists have attempted to the link the language to neighbouring Indo-Aryan and Sino-Tibetan languages, as well as the language isolate Burushaski also located in the same geographical region, Tarkandamonian shows no genetic relationship to any of its neighbors. More exotic relationships have been proposed, the most prominent of these being the Austronesian theory proposed by Samuel Burdock from the University of Kentucky. Proponents of the theory point to the preponderance of circumfixation in verb forms, even though none of these circumfixes show any similarity in form or function as those of the Austronesian languages.

Typologically, Tarkandamonian is a fusional language, with SOV syntax and Nominative-Accusative alignment. Nouns do not inflect for gender, number, or case (with the exception being the construct state case marker). Core case relations are expressed by strict word order of the core noun arguments, with the nominative argument preceding the patient argument; however, when the direct object is omitted, obligatory agreement markers surface in the verb forms. Postpositions mark oblique nominal arguments. The language lacks both definite and indefinite markers, although indefiniteness can be explicitly expressed by the cardinal number nomir ("one").

Pronouns display more inflectional complexity. Unlike nouns, they do mark for number. There are portmanteau forms that encode agent and patient core arguments. While the language does not mark for gender, it differentiates third person core arguments with two distinct forms, a proximal and obviative form.


Phonology

Orthography

Tarkandamonian was written in an Arabic-derived script via Muslim-ruled Sindh prior to its discovery by Western explorers in the 1870's by the ruling elite, but an Indic-derived script was in use among the merchant class. After the British annexed Ōran Kan, the Latin alphabet was introduced and replaced the pre-existing scripts.

The Language Regulation Act of 1973 established the Academy of Proper Speech, responsible for standardizing the national language. The Academy enacted a series of orthographic reforms in 1976 to reflect the pronunciation of the Geruna dialect, which formed the basis of the standard language. After the July 1983 Revolution, the leaders of the military coup, all from Bāzor Province, declared the Bāzor dialect as the basis of a new official standard language. The Academy instituted another series of language and orthographic reforms, however these reforms were incomplete as of 2017. The modern standard language, a hybrid of the two dialects, was a result of these incomplete reforms. The orthography, as it was originally meant to reflect the pronunciation of Geruna dialect, still remains faithful to that dialect's phonology. However, the orthography did not accurately reflect the pronunciation of words from the Bāzor dialect. Numerous spelling irregularities have arisen, particularly noticeable where Bāzor cognate words supplanted Geruna terms. For example, the Geruna word /'ahɛn/ was replaced by the Bāzor cognate /a:n/, but the modern spelling retains the Geruna spelling, ahen.

Grammar

Nouns

Case

Case Suffix Example Meaning
Direct -∅
  • bori
  • zunem
  • ravarn
  • temple
  • thief
  • mountain
Construct -na
-a
  • bori-na
  • zuge-na
  • ravarn-a
  • of/belonging to the temple
  • of/belonging to the thief
  • of/belonging to the mountain

Number

Pronouns

Tarkadamonian pronouns mark for person and number. The pronouns are divided into two classes based on polarity, one class for positive statements, and the other for indicating negation. The so-called negative personal pronouns are unusual in that unlike the positive class, the negative class can optionally mark for direct objects, provided that an overt direct object does not surface. Additionally, they obligatorily encode tense, aspect, and mood (TAM). TAM and polarity marking in the negative class arose from cliticization of pronominal forms to a copula, which itself encoded negation.

Positive Forms

Singular Plural
1 2 3 Prox 3 Obv 1 2 3 Prox 3 Obv
va aja ahen iri na ja
jat
he ria

Negative Forms

Intransitive

Singular Plural
1 2 3 Prox 3 Obv 1 2 3 Prox 3 Obv
Declarative Present vala ajla lan lassi nala tala hela rila
Perfective valak ajlak lanak landri nalak talak lak lāti
Imperfective valan ajunla lana lasse nalan taluna lan lāse
Future valak ajalla lakan lassar nalak tala lakan lāsar
Future Imperfective vala ajaljal lana lassati nala tala lan lasāti

Transitive

Verbs

First person singular object paradigm with -maz, "to teach", to lead".

Conjugation paradigms are arranged according to object agreement type, e.g. first person singular object, etc.

First Person Singular Object

Object Pronominal Affixes Verbal Affixes Sample Texts with Gloss
Preverbal Affix Verbal Infix Postverbal Affix
Declarative Present v-
vi-
- -ind- -a
Aja vimindaza
aja vi-m-ind-az-a
2S.NOM 1S.ACC-teach-DECL-teach-DECL

You teach me, you are teaching me
Perfective v- -arin- - -
Aja varinmaz
Aja v-ar-in-maz
2S.NOM 1S.OBJ-PRF-teach-GNOM

You taught me
Imperfective v- -ank- -ind- -
Future v- -az- - -
Future Imperfective v- -ant- -ind- -a

Second Person Singular Object

Object Pronominal Affixes Verbal Affixes Sample Texts with Gloss
Preverbal Affix Verbal Infix Postverbal Affix
Declarative Present ti- -lum- -ind- -a
Va tilumzindaza

Perfective ti- -lus- -k- -ta
Va tilusmikazta
va ti-lus-m-i-k-az-ta
1S.NOM 2S.ACC1-2S.PRS1-R1.teach-EPENTH-2S.ACC2-R2.teach-2S.GNOM

I taught you
Imperfective ti- -lunk- - -
Future v- -az- - -
Future Imperfective v- -ant- -ind- -a

Third Person Singular Object

Object Pronominal Affixes Verbal Affixes Sample Texts with Gloss
Preverbal Affix Verbal Infix Postverbal Affix
Declarative Present hi- -non-
-nom-
-ind- -ará
Aja hinommindazará
aja hi-nom-m-ind-az-ará
2S.NOM 3S.PROX.ACC-DECL-teach-DECL-teach-DECL

You teach him, you are teaching him
Perfective h- -arin- - -
Aja harinmaz
Aja h-ar-in-maz
2S.NOM 3S.OBV.OBJ-PRF-teach-GNOM

You taught him
Imperfective h- -ank- -ind- -
Future h- -az- - -
Future Imperfective h- -ant- -ind- -a



Object Pronominal Affixes Verbal Affixes Examples
Singular Plural Preverbal Affix Verbal Infix Postverbal Affix
1 2 3 Prox 3 Obv 1 2 3 Prox 3 Obv
Declarative Present v-
vi-
van(d)-
t-
ti-
tan(d)-
h-
hi-
hen(d)-
k(V)--s(V)- n-
nan(d)-
- -ind- -a Va himindaza
  • Root: maz "to learn"
  • Translation:
    "I learn it,
    I am learning it"


Va kimindassa

  • Translation: I am learning that other thing
  • Note: z of root maz assimilates to s (second part of the 3S.OBV object circumfix)
Perfective var- tar- har- sar- nar-
Imperfective valan atunla lana lasse nalan taluna lan lāse
Future valak atalla lakan lassar nalak tala lakan lāsar
Future Imperfective vala ataltal lana lassati nala tala lan lasāti

Adverbs

Adverbs do not form a distinct word class. The majority are identical in form with adjectives, differentiated only by syntax. A smaller set of adverbs are uninflectable particles, primarily time adverbials.

Adverb Meaning POS Source Example
temon very, really;
hard, with exertion
Particle
Va temon arinkadrén.
va temon arin-kadrén
1S very PRFV-jump

I jumped very high.
sejál clumsily Adjective
Aja temon sejál tindarka.
ad͡z mon sɛ'd͡ʒal tɛn'daɾka
aja temon sejál t-ind-ark-a.
you very clumsy speak-DECL-speak-DECL

You speak (Tarkandamonian) very badly.
pir /pɛɾ now Particle
Va pir Spara minda.
va pɛɾ 'spaɾa 'mɪndɛ
va pir spara m-ind-a-a
1S.NOM now place.name go-DECL-go-DECL

I am going to Spara now.
orin /'torim/ immediately Particle
Janste bil orin hinommindará!
jɛns bil toɾim ɛnnomɪn'dɾa
ja-nst bila orin hi-nom-m-ind-a-ará.
2S.CAUS here immediately 3S.PROX-DECL-go-DECL-go-DECL

Send him here immediately!

Syntax

Tarkandamonian exhibits strict SOV order, and modifiers to heads also display strict ordering: adverbs precede the adjectives and verbs they modify, the positive polarity particle vor always appears as the initial element of a clause, while its counterpart, the negative polarity pseudo-verb -la-, follows the subject in intransitive clauses, and between the subject and object clausal arguments. Any oblique arguments, including the indirect object, always occurs after the direct object in transitive verbs, and after the pseudo-verb -la-, if expressed in intransitive clauses. The interrogative particle tunima obligatorily appears immediately before the verb; it is the only particle that may appear between the verb and any of its adverbial modifiers.


Texts

Sener zi va ahen arintar.
/'sɛnɛɾ zva a:n 'aɾɪntaɾ/
sener zi va ahen arin-tar
PN to 1S 3S.PROX PST-speak.about

Sener spoke to me about it.

Vocabulary

Tarkandamonian Meaning
tuva
  • tuva: yes
  • tuvata:
  1. there is
  2. filled with
  3. healthy
-la- (Pseudo-verb) no, not, is not, does not
gota
  • stranger
  • foreigner
  • hostile
asik
  • leader
  • to lead
  • to conquer (w. Allative)
domai mountain
sivga, sijga mountain stream, river
suin brilliant; glorious; civilization
kopen
  • kopen
  1. to wander
  2. to go into exile
  3. to immigrate
  4. to flee
  5. shameful
  • kopentan
  1. fugitive
  2. coward
  3. expatriate
hoz
  • hoz:
  1. to attack
  2. to chase
  3. to hunt
  • hozka: war
  • hozkadi: long war
  • hozkinert: victory
  • mozai:
  1. absence of war
  2. armistice
  3. cease-fire
  • mozanai:
  1. anti-war
  2. protesters
  • mozkinertan:
  1. disappointment
  2. failure