Hirathic/Substrate
Phonology
Consonants
| Labial | Alveolar | Alveolar sibilant | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m̥ m | n̥ n | |||
| Stop | pʰ p b | tʰ t d | t͡s d͡z | kʰ k g | |
| Fricative | f | s | x | h | |
| Approximant | w |
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i | u | |
| Mid-low | ɛ ɛː | ɔ ɔː | |
| Low | a aː | ɑ ɑː |
Syllable structure
(C1)V(C2)
C1: a consonant
V: a vowel
C2: a consonant
Allophony
Front vowels become central before [w]
Stops assimilate in aspiration to a following consonant and become unaspirated word-finally. Before an aspirated consonant, voiced stops become voiceless.
Low vowels become rounded after [w] and central vowels are raised.
Consonants palatalise after a non-low front vowel; velar consonants besides [w] become coronal palatalised; velar stops affricatise (/k/ > [t͡ɕ] \ [i e u]_).
Lots of other stuff.
Notes on orthography
The temporary orthography I've devised uses the macron to represent long vowels, <á> for /ɑ/, <hm> <hn> for the voiceless nasals, <z> for /d͡z/ and <sz> for /t͡s/, <x> for /x/, <ph th kh> for /pʰ tʰ kʰ/.
Morphology
- Case-inflected.
- Animate vs. inanimate
Pronouns
| Pronouns | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First | Second | Third | ||||
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| Nominative | mia | miah(e) | su | suh(i) | ke, o | keh(e), ohe |
| Dative | ate | ateh | uti | utih | ete, hote | eteh, oteh |
| Accusative | miu | muhi | suw | suhi | ku, o | kuhi, ohe |
| Genitive-instrumental | axa | axah(e) | uxa | uxah(e) | exa, hoxa | exah(e), hoxah(e) |
- No specific way of determining if a word is animate or inanimate
- addendum: certain suffixes are always one or the other, e.g. -dih 'a collection of X' is always inanimate, e.g. sokhdih 'a collection of stones, a pile of stones' < sokh 'stone', whilst others are always animate, e.g. -tus 'who does X', nōthētus 'sailor' < nōthē 'ocean'.
Word list
| entry | IPA | part of speech | definition |
|---|---|---|---|
| wuhko | wuhkʰɔ | animate noun | speech |
| fexa | fɛɕa | inanimate noun | axe |
| sēdhuf | sɛːtʰʲhuf | inanimate noun | temple |
| hote | hɔtɛ | animate noun | young pig, piglet |
| pheti | pʰɛtʲi | animate noun | daughter |
| sokh | sɔk | inanimate noun | stone |
| sokhdih | sɔgdihʲ | inanimate noun | stone-pile |
| nōthē | nɔːtʰɛː | inanimate noun | ocean |
| nōthē | nɔːtʰɛː | animate noun | Ocean personified |
| dáwá | dɑwɒ | animate noun | fire |
| dáwátus | dɑwɒtus | animate noun | torch-bearer (a priestly title) |
| uptus | uptus | animate noun | farmer |
| upē | upɛː | inanimate noun | field |
| dáph | dɑp | animate noun | commander (esp. military) |
| xapha | xapʰa | inanimate noun | war |
| kiz | kid͡zʲ | inanimate noun | sea, lake, river |
| xaphdáph | xapʰtɑp | animate noun | warleader, warlord |
| kizdáph | kid͡zʲdɑp | animate noun | sealord |
| dáphtus | dɑptus | animate noun | elector |
| tā́szbohszāth | tɑːd͡zboht͡sʰaːt | animate noun | the state |
| hnehgiszhāth | ṇehkit͡sʰʲhaːt | animate noun | the economy |
| phááhnthez | pʰɑːn̥tʰɛd͡zʲ | inanimate noun | greeting |
- wuhko [wuhkʰɔ]; speech (inan.)
Example text
tiththaasztits xaphdáph taaszbohszaathxa dáphtusxahe dáwáhexahe uptuseh upeedihixahe sokhdihixahe zaakih exa
titʰʲtʰɑːt͡stit͡sʲ xapʰtɑp tɑːd͡zboht͡sʰaːtʰxa dɑptusʰxahɛ dɑwɒhɛxʲahe uptusɛh upɛːdihʲixʲahɛ sɔgdihʲixʲahɛ d͡zaːkih exʲa
send;pst.act.3sg.perf warleader state;gen elector;gen;pl great_flame;gen;pl farmer;dat;pl field;gen;pl stone-pile;gen;pl demand;pl his
'The Warleader of the State of the Electors of the Great Flame to the Farmers of the Fields of Stone-Piles has sent his demands'
Syntax
V (S [ ADJ {GEN}]) [INSTR] [MANNER PLACE] [DAT] [ACC] [TIME]