Zanahi
Zanahi (native: zanāhiyy, haṭ-ṭaṣwā haz-zanāhiyyā) is an Indo-European language with a high degree of Semitic influence.
| Zanahi | |
|---|---|
| zanāhiyy | |
| Pronunciation | [zænæːˈhijː, zæˈnæːhiː] |
| Created by | Shariifka |
Indo-European
| |
Early form | Proto-Zanahi
|
Introduction
Zanahi is a satem language.
Phonology
Consonants
| Labial | Dental | Denti-alveolar | Post-alv./ Palatal |
Velar | Uvular | Pharyngeal | Glottal | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | emphatic | plain | emphatic | ||||||||
| Nasal | /m/ | /n/ | |||||||||
| Stop | voiceless | /p/ | /pˁ ~ bˁ/ | /t̪/ | /t̪ˁ/ | /t͡ʃ/ | /k/ | /q/ | /ʔ/ | ||
| voiced | /b/ | /d̪/ | /d͡ɮˤ/ | /d͡ʒ/ | /ɡ/ | ||||||
| Fricative | voiceless | /f/ | /θ/ | /s/ | /sˤ/ | /ʃ/ | /x ~ χ/ | /ħ/ | /h/ | ||
| voiced | /v/ | /ð/ | /z/ | /ðˤ/ | /ʒ/ | /ɣ ~ ʁ/ | /ʕ/ | ||||
| Trill | /r/ | ||||||||||
| Approximant | /l/ | /j/ | /w/ | ||||||||
Vowels
| Short | Long | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Front | Back | Front | Back | |
| Close | /i/ | /u/ | /iː/ | /uː/ |
| Mid | /eː/ | /oː/ | ||
| Open | /a/ | /aː/ | ||
| Diphthongs | /aw/, /aj/ | |||
Orthography
| Letter | Scientific transliteration | Alternative transliterations | IPA | Name | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ’ | ʾ; ʔ; ˀ; 2 | /ʔ/ | ’alpā | ||
| b | /b/ | bāṯā | |||
| v | ḇ; bh | /v/ | vāṯā | ||
| ḅ | ṗ; b'; p' | /pˁ ~ bˁ/ | ḅāṯā | ||
| g | /ɡ/ | gamlā | |||
| ḡ | gh; ɣ; ġ | /ɣ ~ ʁ/ | ḡamlā | ||
| ǧ | j | /d͡ʒ/ | ǧamlā | Used in Arabic and other foreign loanwords. | |
| d | /d̪/ | daltā | |||
| ḏ | dh; ð | /ð/ | ḏaltā | ||
| h | /h/ | hā’ā | |||
| w | /w/ | wawwā | |||
| z | /z/ | zānā | |||
| ž | zh | /ʒ/ | žānā | Used in non-Semitic loanwords. | |
| ḥ | ħ; h'; 7 | /ħ/ | ḥāṯā | ||
| ḫ | kh; ch; x; 7' | /x ~ χ/ | ḫāṯā | Used in Arabic and other early Semitic loanwords. | |
| ṭ | t'; 6 | /t̪ˁ/ | ṭāṯā | ||
| ẓ | z'; dh'; ð̣; 6' | /ðˁ/ | ẓāṯā | Used in Arabic loanwords. | |
| y | /j/ | yāḏā | |||
| k | /k/ | kappā | |||
| ḵ | kh; ch; x | /x ~ χ/ | ḵappā | ||
| č | ch; tsh | /t͡ʃ/ | čappā | Used in non-Semitic loanwords. | |
| l | /l/ | lamdā | |||
| m | /m/ | māmā | |||
| n | /n/ | nūnā | |||
| s | /s/ | samkā | |||
| ʻ | ʿ; c; ᶜ; ʕ; ˁ; "; 3 | /ʕ/ | ʻānā | ||
| ġ | gh; ɣ; 3' | /ɣ ~ ʁ/ | ġānā | Used in Arabic and other early Semitic loanwords. | |
| p | /p/ | pā’ā | |||
| f | p̄; ph | /f/ | fā’ā | ||
| ṣ | s'; 9 | /sˁ/ | ṣāḏā | ||
| ḍ | d'; 9' | /d͡ɮˁ/ | ḍāḏā | ||
| q | ḳ | /q/ | qāfā | ||
| r | /r/ | rāšā | |||
| š | sh | /ʃ/ | šannā | ||
| t | /t̪/ | tawwā | |||
| ṯ | th; θ; þ | /θ/ | ṯawwā |
| Grapheme | Scientific transliteration | Alternative transliterations | IPA | Name | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a | /a/ | lawšā | |||
| e | ĕ | /e/ | barqā silīṯā | In native words, only occurs in combination with a mater lectionis. | |
| i | /i/ | barqā | |||
| o | ŏ | /o/ | ’anzā silīṯā | In native words, only occurs in combination with a mater lectionis. | |
| u | /u/ | ‘anzā | |||
| ā | aa; â | /aː/ | ’alpā ṭalgā | ||
| â | aa; ā | /aː/ | lawšā ṭalgā | Used in a few words. | |
| ē | ee; ea; ei; ey; ê; e | /eː/ | yāḏā silīṯā | ||
| ī | ii; ee; iy; î | /iː/ | yāḏā ṭalgā | ||
| ō | oo; oa; ou; ow; ô; o | /oː/ | wawwā silīṯā | ||
| ū | uu; oo; uw; û | /uː/ | wawwā ṭalgā | ||
| aw | au | /aw/ | wawwā milṭā | ||
| ay | ai | /aj/ | yāḏā milṭā | ||
| C | C | kīlā | Used to indicate that a consonant is not followed by a vowel. | ||
| CC | Cː | ḅulīṯā | Used to indicate that a consonant is geminated. |
Prosody
Stress
Stress falls on the last heavy syllable of a word. For definition of light and heavy syllables, see the phonotactics section below.
In traditional poetry, usual word stress is forgone and instead is determined by meter.
Intonation
Phonotactics
The following syllable structures are allowed (C = consonant, V̆ = short vowel, V̄ = long vowel or diphthong):
- CV̆
- CV̄
- CV̆C
- CV̄C (word-finally, rare otherwise)
- CV̆CC (word-finally only)
- CV̄CC (word-finally only, rare)
CV̆ syllables regardless of position as well as word-final CV̆C and CV̄ syllables are considered light. Any other syllable structure is considered heavy.
Note that in traditional poetry, word-final CV̆C and CV̄ syllables are treated as heavy, and only CV̆ syllables are considered light regardless of position.
Allophony
The vowel /a/ (whether long, short, or part of a diphthong) has two allophones. It is pronounced [ɑ] after the consonants ⟨ḅ, ḡ, ḫ, ṭ, ẓ, ḵ, ġ, ṣ, ḍ, q, r⟩ and [æ] otherwise. The other vowels also have backed allophones after the above consonants, but the difference is less noticeable.
The sequences iyy and uww can optionally be pronounced as if they were written *-īy- and *-ūw- respectively word-internally, or *-ī and *-ū respectively word-finally.
Morphophonology
Lenition
Non-emphatic plosives historically underwent lenition to fricatives (analogous to "begadkefat" in Aramaic and Biblical Hebrew) in certain environments.
| Un-lenited | Lenited |
|---|---|
| b /b/ | v /v/ |
| g /ɡ/ | ḡ /ɣ ~ ʁ/ |
| d /d/ | ḏ /ð/ |
| k /k/ | ḵ /x ~ χ/ |
| p /p/ | f /f/ |
| t /t/ | ṯ /θ/ |
Lenition is no longer productive, but occurs in grammatical words and morphemes (most often in suffixes).
Vowel breaking
This refers to the "breaking up" of ā, ē and ō into a’, ay and aw respectively before vowel-initial suffixes.
The vowels -ī- and -ū- similarly "break" into -iy- and -uw- before vowel-initial suffixes.
Vowel shortening
When followed by two consonants, a long vowel is shortened.
The vowels -ē- and -ō- are shortened to -i- and -u- respectively.
Epenthetic vowel
When a word would begin in a consonant cluster, an epenthetic vowel (usually i-) is inserted. This epenthetic vowel is dropped in the same circumstances as the -a- of the definite article. When it is not dropped, the epenthetic vowel is pronounced with a preceding glottal stop. However, the glottal stop is usually ommitted from transcription in order to make it clear that the vowel is epenthetic.
Morphology
Like in Arabic, Zanahi words are traditionally classified into three categories: nominals, verbs, and particles.
Nominals
Pronouns
Personal pronouns
| Person/ Number |
Independent | Dependent |
|---|---|---|
| 1S | ’ammā | -mā |
| 2SM | ’antā | -tā/-ṯā |
| 2SF | ’antī | -tī/ṯī |
| 3SM | hattā | -hā |
| 3SF | hattī | -hī |
| 1P | ’annā | -nā |
| 2PM | ’antān | -tān/ṯān |
| 2PF | ’antīn | -tīn/ṯīn |
| 3PM | hattān | -hān |
| 3PF | hattīn | -hīn |
Demonstrative pronouns
| Distance | Singular | Plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| masc. | fem. | masc. | fem. | |
| Near | sā | sī | sān | sīn |
| Far | tā | tī | tān | tīn |
Nouns and adjectives
Nouns do not decline for case.
Consonant-final singular nouns have a construct state formed by adding a final -a. If the noun ends in a vowel, it does not change. Plural nouns also do not change
There are two genders: masculine and feminine.The feminine is most often marked with the ending -ā.
There are two numbers: singular and plural.
Adjectives agree with the noun they modify in gender and definiteness.
The definite article is han-, which is prefixed to the noun/adjective. Before a non-guttural consonant (i.e. any consonant besides ’, h, ‘, ḥ, ġ, ḫ, ḡ, ḵ), the -n- is dropped and the first consonant of the noun/verb is geminated. After a prefix, the ha- is dropped. After a preposition, ha- or a- is dropped if the preposition ends in a vowel or consonant respectively.
There is no indefinite article.
Below is an example declension for the adjective bān "clear":
| Gender | State | Singular | Plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| indef. | def. | indef. | def. | ||
| Masculine | Absolute | bān | hab-bān | bānīn | hab-bānīn |
| Construct | bāna | hab-bāna | |||
| Feminine | Absolute | bānā | hab-bānā | bānān | hab-bānān |
| Construct | |||||
Adverbs
Numerals
| Symbol | Cardinal number | Stem | |
|---|---|---|---|
| masc. | fem. | ||
| 0 | ṣifr | ṣifr- | |
| 1 | ‘ayn | ‘aynā | ‘ayn- |
| 2 | ṭuwā | ṭuw- | |
| 3 | tarayā | tarē | taray- |
| 4 | kaṯurā | kaṯur | kaṯur- |
| 5 | pankā | pank | pank- |
| 6 | šaššā | šašš | šašš- |
| 7 | haftā | haft | haft- |
| 8 | ‘aṣṭā | ‘aṣṭ | ‘aṣṭ- |
| 9 | nawā | nō | naw- |
| 10 | ṭasā | ṭas | ṭas- |
| 11 | ‘ayn ṭas | ‘aynā ṭasā | ‘ayn- ṭas |
| 12 | ṭuwā ṭas | ṭuwā ṭasā | ṭuw- ṭas |
| 13 | tarayā ṭas | tarē ṭasā | taray- ṭas |
| 14 | kaṯurā ṭas | kaṯur ṭasā | kaṯur- ṭas |
| 15 | pankā ṭas | pank ṭasā | pank- ṭas |
| 16 | šaššā ṭas | šašš ṭasā | šašš- ṭas |
| 17 | haftā ṭas | haft ṭasā | haft- ṭas |
| 18 | ‘aṣṭā ṭas | ‘aṣṭ ṭasā | ‘aṣṭ- ṭas |
| 19 | nawā ṭas | nō ṭasā | naw- ṭas |
| 20 | ṭasīn | ṭasīn- | |
| 21 | ‘ayn wa-ṭasīn | ‘aynā wa-ṭasīn | ‘ayn- wa-ṭasīn |
| 30 | tarayīn | tarayīn- | |
| 40 | kaṯurīn | kaṯurīn- | |
| 50 | pankīn | pankīn- | |
| 60 | šaššīn | šaššīn- | |
| 70 | haftīn | haftīn- | |
| 80 | ‘aṣṭīn | ‘aṣṭīn- | |
| 90 | nawīn | nawīn- | |
| 100 | sint | sint- | |
| 200 | ṭuwā sintīn | ṭuwā sint- | |
| 1000 | ’alf | ’alf- | |
| 2000 | ṭuwā ’alfīn | ṭuwā ’alf- | |
Ordinal numbers are formed from simple (one-word) cardinal numbers with the suffix -iyy (feminine: -iyyā) added to the number's stem.
Verbs
Types of verbs
There are 5 main types of verbs:
- Biliteral root verbs - have 2 root consonants
- Triliteral root verbs - have 3 root consonants
- Quadriliteral root verbs - have 4 root consonants
- Derived root verbs - verbs derived from the above with a certain pattern
- Suffixed verbs - verbs formed with an unchanging stem followed by a suffix
Stems
Verbs have two finite stems: perfect and imperfect. Additionally, there is a nominal stem used to form some derived nouns and adjectives.
The formation of the stems depends on the type of verb.
The table below summarizes the formation for regular primary root verbs. For derived root verbs and suffixed verbs, see the relevant sections below.
| No. | Type | Perfect stem | Imperfect stem | Nominal stem |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Biliteral root verbs | 1a2- | -1i2-; -1u2-; -1a2- | Same as imperfect stem |
| 2 | Triliteral root verb | 1a2a3- | -12i3-; -12u3-; -12a3- | 1i2i3-; 1u2u3-; 1a2a3- (same vowel as imperfect stem) |
| 3 | Quadriliteral root verbs | 1a23a4- | -1a23i4- | 1a23i4- |
Notes:
- Legend:
- 1, 2, 3, 4: represent the root consonants
- If a consonant is y or w, any non-stem-initial occurance of expected Ci, Cu, iC or uC is replaced by the corresponding long vowel (ī and ū respectively for y and w). Stem-initially, the vowel is instead dropped. As for expected aCa and (stem-finally in the imperfect and nominal stems) -aC, it becomes ē or ō for y and w respectively.
- It is possible for an underlying archphoneme /A/ (from original laryngeals) to take the place of any of the root consonants except the first. In such a case, that consonant and its adjacent vowel(s) are combined into -ā- in all cases.
Simple tenses
There are three simple tenses: the perfect, imperfect, and imperative (which use the perfect, imperfect, and imperfect stems respectively). The imperative only exists in the second person.
| Person/ Number |
Perfect | Imperfect1 | Imperative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1S | -mā | ma- | |
| 2SM | -tā/ṯā | ta- | (i)- |
| 2SF | -tī/ṯī | ta-(n)ī | (i)-(n)ī |
| 3SM | -(h)ā | ya- | |
| 3SF | -(h)ī | ya-(n)ī | |
| 1P | -nā | na- | |
| 2PM | -tān/ṯān | ta-(n)ān | (i)-(n)ān |
| 2PF | -tīn/ṯīn | ta-(n)īn | (i)-(n)īn |
| 3PM | -(h)ān | ya-(n)ān | |
| 3PF | -(h)īn | ya-(n)īn |
Notes:
1 The prefix vowel is changed to -u- instead of -a- in Arabic-style passives.
Passive
The passive of a verb is formed by adding the suffix -(a)m- to the stem. The addition or ommission of the -(a)- depends on phonotactics: it is added whenever necessary and dropped otherwise (which may vary even between forms with the same stem).
Participles
The active participle of a verb is formed with the suffix -(a)nt (feminine: -(a)ntā) added to the perfect stem.
The passive participle is formed with the suffix -tāḵ/ṯāḵ (feminine: -tāḵā/ṯāḵā) added to the nominal stem.
There is also a rare future passive participle formed with the suffix -(a)mant (feminine: -(a)mantā) added to the perfect stem. However, this ending is more often used to form derived nouns.
Infinitive
The infinitive/verbal noun is formed by adding the following ending to the nominal stem: -tīḵ/ṯīḵ.
The feminine of the infinitive suffix, -tīḵā/ṯīḵā, is used to form an "instance noun" - i.e. a noun referring to an instance of the verb.
Other derived nouns
- The agent noun is formed with the ending -tar/ṯar (feminine: -tarā/ṯarā) added to the nominal stem.
- The instrument noun is formed with the ending -dar/ḏar added to the nominal stem.
Tenses
Derived root verbs
| No. | Form name | Usual formation | Usual meaning | Closest Arabic equivalent(s) (for reference) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biliteral | Triliteral | Quadriliteral | |||||||
| Perfect | Imperfect | Perfect | Imperfect | Perfect | Imperfect | ||||
| 1 | Middle | ha-1a2- | -ha-1i2- | ha-12a3- | -ha-12i3- | ha-1a23a4- | -ha-1a23i3- | Middle, autobenefactive, reflexive, or anticausative | انفعل؛ افتعل |
| 2 | Intensive | 1a2-1a2- | -1a2-1i2- | 1a22a3- | -1a22i3- | 1a2a33as- | -1a2a33is- | Intensive | فعّل |
| 3 | Middle intensive | ha-1a2-1a2- | -ha-1a2-1i2- | ha-1a22a3- | -ha-1a22i3- | ha-12a33a4- | -ha-12a33i4- | Middle, reflexive, or anticausative of above | تفعّل |
| 4 | Associative | 1a2-ā-1a2- | -1a2-ā-1i2- | 1ā2a3- | -1ā2i3- | 1a2ā3a4- | -12ā3i4- | Assosiative or adversative | فاعل |
| 5 | Reciprocal | ha-1a2-ā-1a2- | -ha-1a2-ā-1i2- | ha-1ā2a3- | -ha-1ā2i3- | ha-1a2ā3a4- | -ha-12ā3i4- | Reciprocal or reflexive of above | تفاعل |
| 6 | Causative | 1a2-dā/ḏā- | -1i2-dā/ḏā- | 1a2a3-dā/ḏā- | -12i3-dā/ḏā- | 1a23a4-dā/ḏā- | -1a23i4-dā/ḏā- | Causative | أفعل |
| 7 | Middle causative | ha-1a2-dā/ḏā- | -ha-1i2-dā/ḏā- | ha-1a2a3-dā/ḏā- | -ha-12i3-dā/ḏā- | ha-1a23a4-dā/ḏā- | -ha-1a23i4-dā/ḏā- | Middle, autobenefactive, reflexive, or anticausative of above; requestative | (استفعل) |
In all cases, the nominal stem is identical to the imperfect stem unless the imperfect stem begins in a consonant cluster, in which case the cluster is broken up by inserting an echo of the following vowel.
Suffixed verbs
Suffixed verbs are usually formed by adding a suffix to a nominal or (rarely) a particle. They are also used to form loan verbs. Like root verbs, they have basic and derived forms.
Suffixed verbs always have identical imperfect and nominal stems.
| No. | Type | Perfect Stem | Imperfect/Nominal Stem |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Basic | S-ay- | -S-ē- |
| 1 | Middle | ha-S-ay- | -ha-S-ē- |
| 2 | Intensive | S-aCC-ay- | -S-aCC-ē- |
| 3 | Middle intensive | ha-S-aCC-ay- | -ha-S-aCC-ē- |
| 4 | Associative | S-āC-ay- | -S-āC-ē- |
| 5 | Reciprocal | ha-S-āC-ay- | -ha-S-āC-ē- |
| 6 | Causative | -S-ē-ḏā- | |
| 7 | Middle causative | -ha-S-ē-ḏā- | |
Notes:
- S = base stem (without the suffix); C = final consonant of the base stem
Borrowed verbs
Verbs borrowed from non-Semitic languages usually follow the suffixed conjugation.
Verbs borrowed from Arabic generally conjugate as root verbs keeping their Arabic perfect and imperfect stems (as they occur in the 3rd person masculine singular). However, causative verbs (i.e. those with the form أفعل) keep their initial glottal stop in the imperfect stem and therefore conjugate identically to quadriliteral verbs. Verbs whose perfect stems begin in a -w- that is dropped in the Arabic also do not drop it in Zanahi.
The nominal stem of such Arabic-derived verbs is identical to the imperfect stem except when the imperfect stem begins in a consonant cluster that is not present in the perfect stem. In such a case, the initial consonant cluster is broken up by inserting an echo of the following vowel. For example katab-, -ktub- "to write" has the nominal stem kutub-.
These Arabic-derived verbs have alternative formations of the passive: in addition to the regular formations, they can also be formed in the Arabic way. This means that the passive stems are taken from the 3rd person masculine singular, and the prefix vowel is also changed to -u- (instead of the regular -a- which always occurs in the active). Like in the active, the stem-initial glottal stop in أفعل verbs is maintained.
Some Arabic-derived verbs instead use the suffix conjugation. This is more common in colloquial speech and writing, and usually happens when the verbal noun was originally borrowed from Arabic and the verb was derived from it later. However, in formal Zanahi, it is considered preferrable to backform the verb from the verbal noun instead of deriving it via the addition of a suffix.
Verbs borrowed from Semitic languages besides Arabic are usually early borrowings that have been fully nativized. This means that they decline identically to native Zanahi verbs.
Particles
Prefixed particles
- ta-: "of, that"
- Attached to nominals: possessive.
- Attached to verbs: relative.
- Becomes ṯa- when used possessively and immediately preceded by the vowel-final possessed noun.
- wa-: "and"
Independent particles
- ’aw: "or"
Syntax
Constituent order
Noun phrase
Verb phrase
Sentence phrase
Dependent clauses
Dialectal features
Phonology
Morphology
Syntax
Example texts
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 1)
Standard Zanahi
Transliteration: Ḥalwa ṯa-m-manō yaṣanmān muḵtīn wa-ḥamāḵīn ‘an aš-šaraf wa-n-ḥuqūq. Allāh ṭā-hān ‘aql wa-ḍamīr, wa-barā fī-hān ka-yahakarākarān sa-r-rūḥa ṯa-b-barāṯartā.
Gloss: all of-the-people they_are_born free_PL and equal_PL in the-dignity and the-rights. Allah gave-them reason and conscience, and it_is_obligatory on-them that-they_mutually_act_with_each_other in-the-spirit of-the-brotherhood.