Iaskyon

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Iaskyon
Iaskyon
Progress: 3%
Type
Rather synthetic
Alignment
Ergative-absolutive
Head direction
Initial Mixed Final
Primary word order
Subject-object-verb
Tonal
No
Declensions
Yes
Conjugations
Yes
Genders
None
Nouns decline according to...
Case Number
Definiteness Gender
Verbs conjugate according to...
Voice Mood
Person Number
Tense Aspect


General information

'Iaskyon' in Iaswü handwriting.

Iaskyon (IPA: /ˈjas.kjɔn/) is an Yosic language native to an island nation Iaskáca. It is notable for its handling of ergativity, heavy verb conjugation, as well as synthetic noun compounding. Iaskyon can be written in two left-to-right scripts called Iaswü (IPA: /ˈjas.βy/, literally Ias writing) and Xogwü (IPA: /ˈɣɔg.βy/, literally rock writing).

Phonology

Consonants

Bilabial Dental Alveolar Palatal Velar
Nasal m /m/ n /n/ ŋ /ŋ/
Plosive p /p/ b /b/ t /t/ d /d/ k /k/ g /g/
Fricative Plain f /ɸ/ w /β/ s /s/ z /z/ h /x/ x /ɣ/
Lateral ş /ɬ/
Affricate Plain þ /tθ/ c /ts/ j /dz/
Lateral ç /tɬ/
Approximant w /w/ l /l/ y /j/

Syllabic consonants

/m/ and /l/ have syllabic counterparts ḿ /m̩/ and ĺ /l̩/.

Vowels

Short vowels

Front Central Back
Close i /i/ ü /y/ u /u/
Mid e /ɛ/ ö /œ/ à /ɜ~ə/ o /ɔ/
Open a /a/

Long vowels

Long vowels are represented orthographically by an acute accent or adding à. e.g. é or eà.

Front Central Back
Close í /iː/ ű /yː/ ú /uː/
Mid é /eː/ ő /øː/ â /əː~ɘː/ ó /oː/
Open á /aː/

Diphthongs

There is a large inventory of possible diphthongs, with a total of 15 of them.

ai au äi äu ei eu iu üa üe üi üö ui oi ou öü
/ai/ /au/ /əi/ /əu/ /ei/ /ɛu/ /iu/ /ya/ /yɛ/ /yi/ /yœ/ /ui/ /ɔi/ /ou/ /œy/

Phonotactics

Iaskyon syllables are maximally:

(C(G))V(C), or (C(G))S,

where C = consonant, G = glide, V = vowel and S = syllabic consonant.

Onset

The initial consonant has no restrictions.

The following glide can be y/j/ or w/β/>[w].


Allowed onsets are of the followings:

by py dw dy tw ty gw gy kw ky
/bj/ /pj/ /dw/ /dj/ /tw/ /tj/ /gw/ /gj/ /kw/ /kj/
jy cw cy þw þy
/dzj/ /tsw/ /tsj/ /tθw/ /tθj/
fy wi sy zy şw şy hw hy xw xy
/ɸj/ /βj/ /sj/ /zj/ /ɬw/ /ɬj/ /xw/ /xj/ [ç]/ /ɣw/ /ɣj/ [ʝ]
mw my ny ŋy
/mw/ /mj/ /nj/ /ŋj/
lw ly
/lw/ /lj/

Nucleus

The nucleus can be any vowel, except for iu üa üe üi üö ui /iu ya yɛ yi yœ ui/ when the onset consists of an initial consonant and a glide.

Syllables such as yui /jui/, wüan /βyan/ are allowed but rare.

Syllabic consonants ḿ /m̩/ and ĺ /l̩/ can also be a nucleus but the syllable cannot have a coda.

Coda

The final consonant, can technically be any consonant except y /j/ and w /β/, but þ /tθ/ and ç /tɬ/ are very rare.

(þaç /tθatɬ/ "red" is an example of an exception.)

Allophony

  • Plosives are usually unreleased at coda.
  • Plosives and affricates are aspirated at onset.
  • h /x/ is realised as [ç] before and after /i(:)/, /y(:)/, and before /j/.
  • x /ɣ/ is realised as [ʝ] before and after /i(:)/, /y(:)/, before /j/, and [ʔ] at the end of a syllable.
  • w /β/ is realised as [w] as a glide (second consonant) in a syllable.
  • t /t/ are realised as [ʔ] at the end of a syllable.

Stress

Stress of a word follows these rules in order of priority:

Stress falls on

  1. First long vowel
    e.g. hepmé "bright" but not *hepmé
  2. "Separable affixes" (See below) are not counted
  3. Penultimate syllable
  4. If stress falls on a grammatical suffix (other than conjugational suffixes), move stress one syllable backwards.
    e.g. aegemjo "merge" but not *aegemjo

Stress of a "separable compound word" (See below) follow these overriding rules:

Stress falls on

  1. The head component
    e.g. lwoþwat "have to find"
    e.g. kolmunawa "winter sky"

Separable and non-separable affixes

Non-separable affixes are:

  • All affixes that are inseparable in terms of a new meaning conveyed
    e.g. -en appended to tinwet "teach":
    • tinweten "act of teaching" is separable
    • tinweten "education" is non-separable
  • All infixes
  • Directional affixes
    e.g. ukhàg "come down"
  • Causative prefix
    e.g. lahyet "make (sb.) eat"

Other affixes are separable.

Separable and non-separable compound words

Non-separable compound words are:

  • Compound words of which the meaning has shifted, or become specific
    e.g. yetihken "restaurant" vs. yetihken "place of eating"
  • Compound words which are frequently used
    e.g. syomxaod "fish meat/flesh"

Morphophonology

Internal sandhi

Synaeresis

The following table shows the general formation of diphthongs or long vowels from two adjacent short vowels on a morpheme boundary.

  • Empty spaces imply the vowels are pronounced in two syllables.
  • Combinations resulting in glide + vowel cannot occur if there is already a glide prior to the vowels.
Second vowel
First vowel a à e i ü u o ö
a á á ai ai au au au
à â ài àu àu àu
e ya é é ei eu eu eu
i ya yà ye í iu yo yö
ü üa üe üi ű üö
u wa ui ui ú wo
o ó oi oi ou ó oi
ö öü öü öü ő
Suffix sandhi
Rendaku

When two consecutive syllables start with the same voiceless consonant, the second consonant is voiced.

  • háhàge (greeting) /ˈxaːxɜɡɛ/ > [ˈxaːɣɜɡɛ]
  • sesḿ (spoke) /'sɛsm̩/ > [ˈsɛzm̩]

External sandhi

Morphology

Nouns

There are no grammatical genders nor articles in Iaskyon. Nouns are only inflected for cases, and inflection for number is generally obsolete.

There are 7 cases in Iaskyon:

Case (suffix) Usage Example in Iaskyon Example in English
Ergative

(-i)

Agent of transitive verb Wi goxe yesḿ. I ate rice.
Absolutive

(none or -u)

Argument of intransitive verb;

object of transitive verb

Jakniyw hàg.

Hwei lím dém.

Jakniyw comes.

(The) Person drinks water.

Locative

(-eu)

Time, location; topic Fá hwe hecleŋeu pöüloşöü.

To yetihkeneu löüm.

All human are equal in dignity.

He was at the restaurant.

Dative

(-em)

Indirect object of ditransitive verb; motion to location; addressee of greetings; end of a period of time Matnuem háhàge!

Toi zeà wem cailüm.

Greetings everyone!

He gave a book to me.

Ablative

(-ax)

Motion from location; start of a period of time Wu Iaskácáx hàg.

Fá hwe nixonax yawaoşöü.

I come from Iaskáca.

All human being are free since birth.

Genitive

(-ö)

Possession, origin, reference; formation of some compounds; counting with measures Yetihkenö zeà a.

Wö zeà a.

Límö hyuxdon la.

(It) is a book about restaurant(s).

(It) is my book.

There are two carts of water.

Instrumental

(-ĺ)

Instrument, means; topic, object in some verbs Ebi wüanĺ zeyu.

Toi sononĺ set.

We record with a pen/pens.

He talks about bridges.

Pronouns

Personal pronouns

Personal pronouns in Iaskyon are relatively simple, as all pronouns are distinct and specific in person and number.

There is a three-way distinction of singular, dual and plural pronouns inherited from older, now obsolete declensions in number.

Another three-way distinction in sentient, animate and inanimate beings in third person pronouns exists, which originates from an even older noun class system.

  • The wu-form is the more generic, while the xeà-form is often considered informal, sometimes even arrogant.

Demonstratives

Verbs

Verbs are the most productive lexical category in Iaskyon, which describes an action, an event, a state, or a change in state. It is heavily conjugated to tense, aspect and mood. There exists two grammatical classes of verbs, namely t-class and null-class.

T-class and null-class verbs

T-class and null-class verbs are two classes of verbs that take different forms when conjugated.

  • T-class verbs:
    • By definition end with a 't'
    • May be formed by
      • An obsolete affix added to a root ending with a vowel; verbs formed this way may or may not end with 'et'.
      • Derivation from other parts of speech; verbs formed this way tend to end with 'et'.
    • When conjugated, the 't'-ending of which undergoes irregular consonant mutation.
  • Null-class verbs:
    • Does not end with a 't'
    • May be formed by
      • Unaltered root forms
      • Other derivations into verbs
    • When conjugated, the endings of which may or may not undergo regular sound mutation.

Tense

Iaskyon verbs have 4 tenses, each representing different time of action relative to the time of utterance.

  • Present

The present, or the unconjugated form, marks:

  1. actions or events that take place in the present, or an indefinite time.
    e.g. Wi goxe yet. "I eat rice (now or at an indefinite time)"
  2. actions or events of which the time is unknown.
    e.g. Toi wem upleu sesadem su upcyeu (lau) nasḿ. "He said to me at some point but I forgot when."
  3. actions or events that have an implied time due to simultaneity with other events, or because it is already mentioned in the main clause.
    e.g. Tĺbo wakowem þàkfeulletpye, i Sináeu uhöl kaisḿ. "As they are moving east, they discovered plains in Shinar."
  • Past

The past marks:

  1. actions or events that take place in the past relative to the time of utterance.
    e.g. Wi üşeu goxe yesḿ. "I ate rice yesterday"
  2. actions or events that take place in the past relative to the time of another specified event.
    e.g. Yoi yase lömçupye, wu xyenyopüm. "By the time you (will) read this, I will probably have died.
  • Near future

The near future marks:

  1. actions or events that are upcoming, in the immediate, and planned or forcast future.
    e.g. Wi xuso. "I gonna go".
    e.g. Wu xyeno. "I am dying soon."
  2. actions or events that take place in a definite, subjectively non-distant future.
  3. actions or events that are more temporary than another.
  • Distant future

The distant future marks:

  1. actions or events that take place in a far future, i.e. months or years after.
  2. actions or events that take place in an indefinite future that is subjectively distant.
  3. long term states in the future.

Aspect

  • Generic / gnomic

The gnomic aspect marks:

  1. general truths (must be in present tenses).
    e.g. Hawon höüi. "The sun shines."
  2. general, enduring situations (e.g. habits) which may not be permanent (may be in any tense except near future).
    e.g. Wu upib öüm. "I used to be young"
  • Progressive

The progressive aspect marls:

  1. incomplete actions in progress in the referenced time.
    e.g. Wi goxe yellet. "I am eating rice."
    e.g. Ecliyw Nóusononem xusmet. "Ecliyw was going to Northbridge."
  2. state transition in progress in the referenced time.
    e.g. Wi kod holàket. "I am putting on a 'kod' (shirt)." not *"I am wearing a 'kod'."

Mood

  • Potential
    The potential mood marks:
    • A possibility of the event happening.
  • Permissive
    The permissive mood marks:
    1. Presence of authorisation, permission for the event to happen.
    2. That it is appropriate for the event to happen.
  • Abilitative
    The abilitative mood marks:
    1. An capability of the event to happen, or the agent to cause the event.
    2. That there is a possibility, though unlikely, for the event to happen.
  • Desiderative
    The desiderative mood marks:
    • A wish or want that the event happens.
    • When used in conjunction with other tenses:
    1. Present: wish or want to be satisfied immediately
    2. Near future: wish or want to be satisfied in a definite, near future
    3. Far future: wish or want that involves an indefinite or far future
    • A wish to be made in the future is presented with
      • an auxiliary verb gat "to want", ŋut or þűt "to hope", and
      • changing the predicate to the direct object (in absolutive case).
  • Imperative
  • Cohortative
  • Optative

Other verb forms

  • Causative
  • "Linking" form
  • "Compound" form

(See below)

Other verb types

Transitive and intransitive verbs
Auxiliary verbs

Some moods cannot be expressed by conjugation and auxiliary verbs are utilised.

Compound verbs
Irregular verbs
  • a - to be

The verb a is the copula. It takes two arguments, both in the absolutive. It is used to:

  1. denote identity.
    e.g. Hüikiyw wö alnoem a. "Hüikiyw is my mother."
  2. denote class mermbership, except for class within classes.
    e.g. Wu hwe a. "I am a human."
    e.g. *Hwétoun taulon a. "Dogs are animals." (See sa)
  • la - to exist
  • sa - to belong

The verb sa takes two arguments, the "possessor" being in the ergative and the "possessed" in the absolutive. It is used to:

  1. denote possession.
  2. denote class being within other classes.
    e.g. Hwétoun tauloni sa. "Dogs are animals."
  • jo - to become

Conjugation tables

Adjectives and adverbs

Particles

Numbers

The number system in Iaskyon is vigesimal (base-20). The writing system Iaswü has a set of 20 numerals to represent it.

Larger numbers are grouped by yil /jil/ (100020, i.e. 800010), alike the Indo-European system of grouping by thousands.

Basic numerals

Numerals
Iaskyon Vig. Dec. Iaskyon Vig. Dec.
gwön 0 0 xí A 10
yé 1 1 pih B 11
don 2 2 töe C 12
làd 3 3 zei D 13
wöx 4 4 fún E 14
kí 5 5 çà F 15
wou 6 6 ŋeh G 16
sün 7 7 küz H 17
wé 8 8 ox J 18
bux 9 9 xeu K 19
  • I is skipped in the vigesimal notation to avoid mistaking for 1.

Attached forms

  • Normal nouns
    Numbers are appended as a suffix to the noun.
    • gin (thing): ginya (1), gindon (2), ginlàd (3), ginwöx (4), ginkí (5)...
    • mök (cat): mökya (1), mökdon (2), möklàd (3), mökwöx (4), mökkí (5)...
  • Hwe
    The word hwe "person" takes irregular forms with numbers.
    • hwá (1), hudau (2), huyàd (3), huwöx (4), hukí (5)...
  • Ordinals
    The ordinal prefix takes the form of cV-, where V is the first (short) vowel of the numeral.
    • cyé (1), codon (2), càlàd (3), cöwöx (4), cikí (5), cowou (6)...
  • Number of times
    In representing number of times or instances, a suffix -hen is used.
    • yahun (1), dauhun (2), làdhen (3), wöxhen (4), kíhen (5)...

Fractions and vigesimals

Word derivation

Change in parts of speech

No change in parts of speech

Word compounding

Syntax

Word order

Relative clauses

Speech

Vocabulary

Swadesh list



No. English
0
1I
2you (singular)
3he
4we
5you (plural)
6they
7this
8that
9here
10there
11who
12what
13where
14when
15how
16not
17all
18many
19some
20few
21other
22one
23two
24three
25four
26five
27big
28long
29wide
30thick
31heavy
32small
33short
34narrow
35thin
36woman
37man (adult male)
38human being
39child
40wife
41husband
42mother
43father
44animal
45fish
46bird
47dog
48louse
49snake
50worm
51tree
52forest
53stick
54fruit
55seed
56leaf
57root
58bark
59flower
60grass
61rope
62skin
63meat
64blood
65bone
66fat
67egg
68horn
69tail
70feather
71hair
72head
73ear
74eye
75nose
76mouth
77tooth
78tongue
79fingernail
80foot
81leg
82knee
83hand
84wing
85belly
86guts
87neck
88back
89breast
90heart
91liver
92drink
93eat
94bite
95suck
96spit
97vomit
98blow
99breathe
100laugh
101see
102hear
103know
104think
105smell
106fear
107sleep
108live
109die
110kill
111fight
112hunt
113hit
114cut
115split
116stab
117scratch
118dig
119swim
120fly
121walk
122come
123lie
124sit
125stand
126turn
127fall
128give
129hold
130squeeze
131rub
132wash
133wipe
134pull
135push
136throw
137tie
138sew
139count
140say
141sing
142play
143float
144flow
145freeze
146swell
147sun
148moon
149star
150water
151rain
152river
153lake
154sea
155salt
156stone
157sand
158dust
159earth
160cloud
161fog
162sky
163wind
164snow
165ice
166smoke
167fire
168ash
169burn
170road
171mountain
172red
173green
174yellow
175white
176black
177night
178day
179year
180warm
181cold
182full
183new
184old
185good
186bad
187rotten
188dirty
189straight
190round
191sharp
192dull
193smooth
194wet
195dry
196correct
197near
198far
199right
200left
201at
202in
203with
204and
205if
206because
207name


Example texts

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

  • Article 1; Kiloncy-1

Fá hwe nixonax yawaoşöüno, hecleŋeu cwakleŋeuel pöüloşöü.

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.


Tĺbo lékmaşehĺ hácexşehĺel üneĺino, i çamkwel mwőgkwolöŋau núgĺ çodgat.

They are endowed with reason and conscience and should treat each other in a spirit of brotherhood.

See also


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