Phonology
Consonants
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Bilabial
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Dental
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Alveolar
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Post Alveolar
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Palatal
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Velar
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Glottal
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| Plosive
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p b
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t d
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k g
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ʔ
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| Nasal
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m
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n
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| Fricative
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s z
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ʃ
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ɣ
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h
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| Lateral Fricative
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ɬ
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| Approximant
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j
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| Lateral Approximant
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l
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| Affricate
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tɬ dɮ
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Vowels
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Front
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Back
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Diphthongs
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| Close
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i
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u
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uj
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| Close-Mid
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e
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ej
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| Open
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a
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aj
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Tones
'Ináwah technically only has two tones (high and neutral), but adjacent, identical vowels with contrasting tones may produce rising or falling tones with long vowel length in lax speech. A high tone is the marked tone and is denoted in romanization by an acute acent.
Phonotactics
Allowed Syllables
- CV(h,j)
- ʔ(syllabic nasal)
Phonological Rules
- nasal > ʔ + syllabic / $_$
- j > i / V_$
- g > ɣ / V$_
Stress
- High tones always get primary stress.
- If there is a word with all identical tones, the ultimate syllable receives primary stress.
- In the event that there are varying tones, the last high tone receives the primary stress.
Orthography
Romanization
Most sounds are represented with the IPA equivalent except for a few mentioned here.
| IPA
|
Romanization
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| ʔ
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'
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| ɬ
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lh
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| tɬ
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tl
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| dɮ
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dl
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| j
|
y
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Other Orthographies
- Tlatá Logography
- Súdu Syllabary
Morphology
Verbs
Structure of the Verb
(negation) + (nominal prefix) + [stem] + (tense) + (mood)
Pronominal Prefixes
Pronominal prefixes are required for all verbs that are not infinitives.
First Person
| Number
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Prefix
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'Ináwah Example
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English
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| Singlular
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pe-
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pemu
|
I walk.
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| Dual Inclusive
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peyé-
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peyému
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We both walk.
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| Dual Exclusive
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'ipeyé-
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'ipeyému
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We both walk, but not you.
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| Plural Inclusive
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té-
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tému
|
We all walk.
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| Plural Exclusive
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'ité-
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'itému
|
We all walk, but not you
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Second Person
| Number
|
Prefix
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'Ináwah Example
|
English
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| Singular
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wa-
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wamu
|
You walk.
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| Dual
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wayé-
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wayému
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You both walk.
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| Plural
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'iwa-
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'iwamu
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You all walk.
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Third Person
| Number
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Prefix
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'Ináwah Example
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English
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| Singular
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ma-
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mamu
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He, she, it walks.
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| Dual
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mayé-
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mayému
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They both walk.
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| Plural
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'ima-
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'imamu
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They all walk.
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Tense
| Tense
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Suffix
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'Ináwah Example
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English
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| Present
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n/a
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pemu
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I walk.
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| Imperfect
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-shú
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pemushú
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I was walking/I would walk (before).
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| Simple Past
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-she
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pemushe
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I walked/I had walked.
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| Progressive
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-weh
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pemuweh
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I am walking.
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| Near Future
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-hu
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pemuhu
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I am about to walk.
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| Future
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-tlí
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pemutlí
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I will walk.
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Negation
| Negation
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Prefix
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'Ináwah Example
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English
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| Simple Negation
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ba-
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bakemu
|
I don't walk.
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| Double Negation
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'úba-, ba'úba-, 'úba'úba-, …
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'úbakemu
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I don't not walk.
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| Reduplication Negation
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ba+ba-, …
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babakemu
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I definitely don't walk.
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Mood and Mode
| Mood/Mode | Suffix | 'Ináwah Example | English |
|---|
| Indicative | n/a | wamu | You walk. |
| Interrogative | -su | wamushesu | Did you walk? |
| Imperative | -'alé | wamu'alé | (You) walk. |
| Jussive | -sú'é | 'imamusú'é | They should walk. |
| Potential | -bu | pemubu | I could walk. |
| Hypothetical | -wi | wamushewi | You could have walked. (it was possible) |
| Possibility | -ga | wamuga | You might walk. |
| Opative | -'ubá | wamu'ubá | You want/wish to walk. |
Nouns
Structure of the Noun
(nominal prefix) + [stem] + (derivational morpheme) + (case suffix)
Case
'Ináwah noun case is designated solely by syntax. The prenominal prefix attached to the verb is often used as a way to help designate the subject and so there can be some flexibility in word order, but usually only in verse and poetry.
Pronouns
'Ináwah pronouns are formed by using pronominal prefixes attached to the noun "be" meaning "person" or "self". If the subject is a pronoun it is omitted since the prenominal prefix attached to the verb is required. In the case that the verb is reflexive, a pronoun will be used and will be understood as the object and not the subject of the sentence.
| Number
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Prefix
|
'Ináwah Example
|
English
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| Singlular
|
pe-
|
pebe
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I
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| Dual Inclusive
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peyé-
|
peyébe
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We both
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| Dual Exclusive
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'ipeyé-
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'ipeyébe
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We both, but not you
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| Plural Inclusive
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té-
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tébe
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We all
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| Plural Exclusive
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'ité-
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'itébe
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We all, but not you
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Second Person
| Number
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Prefix
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'Ináwah Example
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English
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| Singular
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wa-
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wabe
|
You
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| Dual
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wayé-
|
wayébe
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You both
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| Plural
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'iwa-
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'iwabe
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You all
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Third Person
| Number
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Prefix
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'Ináwah Example
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English
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| Singular
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ma-
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mabe
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He, she, it
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| Dual
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mayé-
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mayébe
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They both
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| Plural
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'ima-
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'imabe
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They all
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Postpositions
| Postposition
|
'Ináwah Example
|
English
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| sa'á
|
shali sa'á
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in the dwelling
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| 'uni
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shali 'uni
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outside the dwelling
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| té
|
shali té
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of the dwelling
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| lhú
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wabe lhú
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with you
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| se
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shali se
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at the dwelling
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| gí
|
'éwa gí
|
with a hand, by means of a hand
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| la
|
suné la
|
as/like a cat
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| hí
|
shali hí
|
to the dwelling
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Conjunctions
Interfixes
Syntax
Word Order
SOV
Noun Phrase
- Noun + Postposition
- Noun + Adjective Phrase
Verb Phrase
Sentence Phrase
Dependent Clauses
Sample Texts