QtolqjimctadûTolsi

Phonology

Consonants

		Bilabial		Labio-dental		Dental		Alveolar		Post-alveolar		Palatal		Velar		Uvular		Glottal
Nasal		m				n						ɲ		ŋ
Plosive		p b				t̚ t d̚ d								k g
Sibilant Fricative								s z		ʃ ʒ		ʃʲ / ç / ɕ
Non-sibilant Fricative		ɸ β		f v		θ ð				ɧ̙ʷ ɧ̙ʷ̬						ʁ		h
Approximant												j ɥ		w
Trill								r								ʀ
Lateral approx.						l ɫ
Prenasalised occlusives														ᵑg

Notes :

In earlier documentation, proper knowledge of IPA was lacking and several of the phonemes had to be identified from either phonetically inaccurate IPA descriptions or vague, impressionistic ones. Several phonemes could not be recovered. Here is a list of deviations from the above table :

Identified phonemes :
/ɸ/ was described as [fʷ] (written <ÎF, îf>).
/β/ was described as [vʷ] (written <ÎV, îv>).
/ʁ/ was described as [ʀ] (written <R, r>).
/ʀ/ was described as [rˤ] (sorte de « r » très roulé, comme un grognement un peu, written <ÏR, ïr>).
/ɫ/ was described as [l̪ ] (comme à la fin de l'anglais "well", written <Û, û>).
/ŋ/ was probably described as [ɲˤ] (written <ÎÑ, îñ>), while the sound described as [ŋ] (written <ÎÑg, îñg>) probably corresponded to /ᵑg/.
The sound described as [r] (sorte de « r » roulé, written <LÛ, lû>) was either /r/ or /ɾ/. We'll assume /r/.
/ɧ̙ʷ/ and its voiced version /ɧ̙ʷ̬/ are, to this day, subject to doubt regarding their IPA descriptions. They were most likely corresponding to the sounds described as [ʃ ̪ ] (written <ÎQ, îq>) and [ʒ̺̺̺ ] (written <ÎÖ, îö>).
/t̚/ and /d̚/ are also subject to some doubt regarding their IPA descriptions still. They were described as [t̪] (written <TÛ, tû>) and [d̪] (written <DÛ, dû>).
The phoneme described as [ʃʲ] probably has a realization closer to [ç] or [ɕ] (written <QÛ, qû>).

Unidentified or very doubtful phoneme :
Some /h/-like phoneme, described as [hˤ] (written <ÎH, îh>). It might have corresponded to /ɣ/, but it is not very likely.

=== Vowels ===

		Front		Central		Back
Close		i y				u
Close-mid		e ø		ə		o
Open-mid		ɛ œ ɛ̃ œ̃				ɔ ɔ̃
Open				ä		ɑ̃

Vowel length is supposed to be phonemic, with regular (or short) vowels, and long vowels.

Similarly to consonants, some vowels had to be "re-identified" from previous documentation and some deviations arise :
<poem>
/œ/ is probably what was described as [æ] (written <Ä, ä>).
/œ̃/ is probably what was described as [œ̃] (written <Un, un> or <Um, um>).
/ø/ is probably what was described as [œ] (written <EU, eu> or <OE, oe>).
The sound described as [ə] probably had a realization varying between /ə/ and /ø/ (written <E, e>).

Orthography

Orthography was made complicated on purpose.

Alphabet

A, a /a/
B, b /b/
C, c /s/
D, d /d/
E, e /ə/
F, f /f/
G, g /g/ (/j/ in word-final position)
H, h /h/
Ħ, ħ soundless ; mostly used in composed graphemes.
I, i /i/, /j/ before vowels
J, j /ʒ/
K, k /k/
L, l /l/ (/j/ in word-final position)
M, m /m/
N, n /n/
O, o /o/ or /ɔ/
P, p /p/
Q, q /ʃ/
R, r /ʁ/
S, s /θ/
T, t /t/
U, u /y/
V, v /v/
W, w /wi/ (/j/ in word-final position)
X, x /ð/ (/θ/ in word-final position)
Y, y /jo/ or /ɔj/
Z, z /z/
Â, â /aj/
Ê, ê /ja/
Î, î soundless ; used in composed graphemes.
Ô, ô /o/
Û, û /ɫ/
Ä, ä /œ/
Ë, ë /brə/
Ï, ï soundless ; graphic sign.
Ö, ö soundless
Ü, ü /j/
Ã, ã /ɑ̃/
Õ, õ /ɔ̃/
Ñ, ñ /ɲ/
à, ù, ÿ graphic variations, sometimes soundless

Spelling rules

Long vowels are spelled with doubled graphemes (<Aa, aa> /a:/, etc).

There are many digraphs and even trigraphs ; usually, all letters are capitalized, when capitalization is needed.

Digraphs and trigraph with <Î, î>

In the original documentation, these are described as "purified" (épurés).

ÎÃ, îã /ɛ̃/
ÎF, îf /ɸ/
ÎV, îv /β/
ÎQ, îq /ɧ̙ʷ/
ÎÖ, îö /ɧ̙ʷ̬/
ÎÑ, îñ /ŋ/
ÎH, îh unknown, possibly /ɣ/
ÎÑg, îñg /ᵑg/

Digraph with <Ï, ï>

ÏR, ïr /ʀ/

Digraphs with <Û, û>

Some of these digraphs were originally described as "wet" (mouillés) :

TÛ, tû /t̚/
QÛ, qû /ʃʲ/ (probably realized [ç] or [ɕ])
DÛ, dû /d̚/

But this one was not considered to be "wet" :

LÛ, lû /r/

Digraphs with <Ħ, ħ>

These can also be written as trigraphs, swapping <Ħ, ħ> for <Hh, hh>. As digraphs, one may likewise capitalize both letters or only the first one. As trigraphs, Only the first letter is capitalized. Ħ, ħ can be found on its own but is soundless. It may be used as part of the following digraphs, or used to maintain a hiatus between vowels and <I, i> or <O, o>. It can also be written <Hh, hh>.

PĦ/Pħ, pħ /f/ (or <PHh, phh>)
BĦ/Bħ, bħ /v/ (or <BHh, bhh>)
DĦ/Dħ, dħ /z/ (or <DHh, dhh>)
SĦ/Sħ, sħ /s/ (or <SHh, shh>)

Vocalic digraphs

<EI, ei> /e/
<AI, ai> /ɛ/
<EU/Eu, eu> [ø]
<OE/Oe, oe> [ø]
<OU/Ou, ou> [u]

Alternatives to vocalic digraphs

<E, é> /e/
<E, è> /ɛ/

Nasal vowels

Some digraphs denote nasal vowels, with <N, n> and <M, m> :

<An, an> /ɑ̃/
<Am, am> /ɑ̃/
<En, en> /ɑ̃/
<Em, em> /ɑ̃/
<In, in> /ɛ̃/
<Im, im> /ɛ̃/
<On, on> /ɔ̃/
<Om, om> /ɔ̃/
<Un, un> /œ̃/
<Um, um> /œ̃/

However, if there are two <N, n> or <M, m> following a vowel, then it is not nasalized but pronounced as V+[n or m] instead (<Ann, ann> [an], <Amm, amm> [am],... etc). Besides, vocalic graphemes other than <A, a>, <E, e>, <I, i>, <O, o>, <U, u> do not get nasalized when followed by an <N, n> or <M, m>.

Diphtongues

They have been described as diphtongues, but should rather be analyzed as combinations of vowels and approximants. There are three different approximants : /j/, /w/ and /ɥ/, which only appear in a limited number of cases.

• Diphtongues /j/ + vowel are written with a <I, i> followed by a vowel.
• Diphtongues vowel + /j/ are written with a <Ü, ü> preceded by a vowel.
• Diphtongues with /w/ are usually with a <O, o>, either followed or preceded by a vowel.
• Diphtongues with /ɥ/ are written with a <U, u>, either followed or preceded by a vowel.

Word-final position induced changes

• The original consonants /g/ <G, g>, /l/ <L, l> and syllable /wi/ <W, w> turn into [j] when in a word-final position. Instead, the spellings <gue>, <lle> and <wi> are used.
• There are some other special word-final spellings :

<ebm> /ɛjm/
<ebn> /ɛjn/

• Finally, some letters are simply not pronounced at the end of a word :

<e>
<d>
<r>
<s>
<t>
<z>
<er>

Table of phonemes and their principal corresponding graphemes

		Bilabial		Labio-dental		Dental		Alveolar		Post-alveolar		Palatal		Velar		Uvular		Glottal
Nasal		m <M, m>				n <N, n>						ɲ <Ñ, ñ>		ŋ <ÎÑ, îñ>
Plosive		p <P, p> ; b <B, b>				t̚ <TÛ, tû> ; t <T, t> ; d̚ <DÛ, dû> ; d <D, d>								k <K, k> ; g <G, g>
Sibilant Fricative								s <C, c> alt. <SĦ/Sħ, sħ> ; z <Z, z> alt. <DĦ/Dħ, dħ>>		ʃ <Q, q> ; ʒ <J, j>		ʃʲ / ç / ɕ <QÛ, qû>
Non-sibilant Fricative		ɸ <ÎF, îf> ; β <ÎV, îv>		f <F, f> alt. <PĦ/Pħ, pħ> ; v <V, v> alt. <BĦ/Bħ, bħ>		θ <S, s> ; ð <X, x>				ɧ̙ʷ <ÎQ, îq> ; ɧ̙ʷ̬ <ÎÖ, îö>						ʁ <R, r>		h <H, h>
Approximant												j <I, i> (before a vowel), <Ü, ü> (after a vowel) ; ɥ <U, u> (before or after vowel)		w <O, o> (before or after a vowel)
Trill								r <LÛ, lû>								ʀ <ÏR, ïr>
Lateral approx.						l <L, l> ɫ <Û, û>
Prenasalised occlusives														ᵑg <ÎÑg, îñg>

		Front		Central		Back
Close		i <I, i> alt. <Î, î> ; y <U, u>				u <OU/Ou, ou>
Close-mid		e <EI, ei> alt. <E, é> ; ø <EU, eu> alt. <OE, oe>		ə <E, e>		o <O, o> alt. <Ô, ô>
Open-mid		ɛ <AI, ai> alt. <E, è> ; ɛ̃ <ÎÃ, îã> ; œ <Ä, ä> ; œ̃ <Un, un> alt. <Um, um>				ɔ <O, o> ; ɔ̃ <Õ, õ>
Open				ä <A, a>		ɑ̃ <Ã, ã>

Prosody

Stress

There is no lexical stress. It can be assumed that most words or verbal and nominal groups have a slight stress on the last syllable, like in French ; however, there is supposed to be a distinction between short and long vowels, so we can assume that long vowels would be stressed.

Morphology

There are five main parts of speech in Qtolqjimctadû : nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and particles.

Nouns

Nouns have definiteness, gender, and number. Definiteness is marked by definite and indefinite articles which agree in gender and number with the nouns. There are three genders : neuter, masculine, and feminine.

Gender

Gender is usually marked by the ending of the noun. Nouns that correspond to non-animate things are usually neutral whereas nouns that describe animate things (living beings) are usually masculine or feminine.

Definiteness

Earlier documentation is sparse but mentions articles that agree in gender and number with the noun they qualify. Based on comparisons with other versions of Tolsian, we can assume that there are definite articles and indefinite article, with different forms for masculine, neuter and feminine in the singular (or with the masculine and the neuter merged together), and most likely only one form for all genders in the plural.

Number

There are two numbers, singular and plural ; singular is unmarked while plural is marked with a suffix that differs depending on the ending of the noun :

Plural in nouns

Noun ending	Plural suffix
Vowel	<-z> /z/ (if the vowel ending is <e>, it remains unpronounced)
Consonant	<-s> /θ/ (if the consonant ending was unpronounced, it remains so)
Ending in <-s>	<-ï> (<-sï> remains unpronounced)
Ending in <-x>	<-ï> (<-xï> remains /θ/)

Pronouns

Personal subject pronouns

Grammatical description	English translation	Pronoun
1SG	I	êü /jaj/
2SG	you	oü /oj/ or /ɔj/
3SG.masc	he	tag /taj/
3SG.fem	she	tal /taj/
3SG.impersonal	"man", "one"	tawi /tawi/
1PL	we	cên /sjan/
2PL	you	hiév /hjev/
3PL.masc	they	tagg /tag/ (or /tagj/ ?)
3PL.fem	they	tall /tal/ (or /talj/ ?)
2POLITE	you	îqann /ɧ̙ʷan/

Demonstrative pronouns

Grammatical description	English translation	Pronoun
Singular demonstrative pronoun	this	cc /s/
Plural demonstrative pronoun	these	ce /s(ə)/

Possessive pronouns

Grammatical description	English translation	Masculine and neuter singular	Feminine singular	Masculine and neuter plural	Feminine plural
1SG	my, mine	kabħe /kav/	kabħa /kava/	kabħei /kavi/	kabħae /kavɛ/
2SG	your, yours	kadħe /kaz/	kadħa /kaza/	kadħei /kazi/	kadħae /kazɛ/
3SG	his, her, hers, its	kasħe /kas/	kasħa /kasa/	kasħei /kasi/	kasħae /kasɛ/
1PL	our, ours	pħane /fan/	pħana /fana/	pħanei /fani/	pħanae /fanɛ/
2PL	your, yours	pħave /fav/	pħava /fava/	pħavei /favi/	pħavae /favɛ/
3PL	their, theirs	kapħe /kaʃ/	kapħa /kaʃa/	kapħei /kaʃi/	kapħae /kaʃɛ/
2POLITE	your, yours	samm /θam/	sama/θama/	sami /θami/	samae /θamɛ/

Possessive pronouns agree in gender and number with the nouns denoting what is "possessed" (masculine and neuter are the same). They are placed after that noun if there is also an article being used, but before it otherwise.

Verbs

There are two main verbal groups, one ending in "-ë" (usually with a radical ending in a vowel), and one ending in "-er" (usually with a radical ending in a consonant). Verbs are conjugated for person, tense, and mood. There are formally seven persons : first singular, second singular, third singular, first plural, second plural, third plural, and the "polite" second person used in formal contexts for which number is neutralized.

• Plural persons (1PL, 2Pl, 3PL, 2POL depending on context) are built from their singular counterparts, by adding a plural suffix between the radical and the conjugation ending : <-tt-> if the verb radical ends in a vowel, <-a-> if it ends in a consonant.

Mood

There are four moods : indicative, conditional, imperative and so-called "absolute" (can also be called gnomic).

Indicative

The indicative and absolute moods are forms of realis : indicative is used to express statements or facts, and also other modalities not expressed with other moods.

Absolute

The absolute is traditionally treated as a mood because of its specific grammatical markings, but better corresponds semantically to the gnomic aspect.

Imperative

The conditional and imperative moods are forms of irrealis : the imperative expresses commands, prohibitions and requests. It is not used with the seventh person (2nd person used for politeness).

Conditional

The conditional expresses hypotheticals, desires and wishes.

Tense

There are three main tenses : present, past and future.

Present

• In the indicative mode, there is one present, the indicative present. A present progressive (présent continu) is bilt analytically.
• In the conditional mood, there is one present, the conditional present.
• In the imperative and absolute moods, there is only a present tense.

Past

• In the indicative mood, there is one past, the "general past" (passé général), meant to correspond to the French passé composé, as well as the imparfait and even the passé simple. There are also a so-called "foregone past" (passé révolu) and a "descriptive past" (passé descriptif), the latter being meant to correspond more specifically to French imparfait. They are both built analytically.
• In the conditional mood, there is only an analytically built past conditional.

Future

In the indicative mood, there is a "general future" (futur général), which indicates event that are yet to happen. There are also a so-called "retrospective future" (futur rétrospectif), and a "proximity future" (futur de proximité), which is meant to express the inchoative aspect. They are both built analytically.

Negation

QtolqjimctadûB uses double negation, with a negation verb. There are two possible constructions :

• Nî + subject + conjugated verb + infinitive "daer"
• Subject + conjugated verb "daer" + infinitive verb

Conjugation tables

Indicative present

Person	Consonant ending	Vowel ending
1SG	-os /o/	-e / /
2SG	-is /i/	-es / /
3SG	-at /a/	-et / /
1PL	-aos /aw/	-tte /t/
2PL	-ais /ai/ (/aj/)	-ttez /t/
3PL	-aat /a:/	-ttet /t/
2POLITE	-ae /ɛ/ ; -aae /aɛ/	-ez / / ; -ttez / /

The progressive (or continuous) present of a verb is built analytically with the present participle of the auxiliary verb "to have" followed with the infinitive of the verb.

Indicative simple past

Person	Consonant ending	Vowel ending
1SG	-od /o/	-de /d/
2SG	-id /i/	-des /d/
3SG	-ad /a/	-det /d/
1PL	-aod /aw/	-ttde /t/
2PL	-aid /ai/ (/aj/)	-ttdes /t/
3PL	-aad /a:/	-ttdet /t/
2POLITE	-ade /ad/ ; -aade /a:d/	-dez /ɥa/ ; -ttdez /t/

The so-called "foregone past" is built analytically with the auxiliary verb "to be" in the general past and the past participle of the verb.

The so-called "descriptive past" (imperfect) is built analytically with the auxiliary verb "to have" in the general past followed with the present participle of the verb.

Indicative simple future

Person	Consonant ending	Vowel ending
1SG	-(i)ros /(i)ʁo/	-re /ʁ/
2SG	-(i)ris /(i)ʁi/	-res /ʁ/
3SG	-(i)rat /(i)ʁa/	-ret /ʁ/
1PL	-aros /aʁo/	-ttre /tʁ/
2PL	-aris /aʁi/	-ttres /tʁ/
3PL	-arat /aʁa/	-ttret /tʁ/
2POLITE	-(i)rae /(i)ʁɛ/ ; -arae /-aʁɛ/	-rez /ʁ/ -ttrez /tʁ/

The so-called "retrospective future" (future perfect) is built analytically with the auxiliary verb "to be" in the future followed by the past participle of the verb.

The so-called "proximity future" (inchoative, I am going to ..., Je vais ...) is built analytically with the auxiliary verb "to be" in the present, followed by the present participle of the auxiliary verb "to have", followed by the infinitive of the verb.

Conditional present

Person	Consonant ending	Vowel ending
1SG	-(i)rios /(i)ʁjo/	-red /ʁ/
2SG	-(i)riis /(i)ʁji/	-reds /ʁ/
3SG	-(i)riat /(i)ʁja/	-redt /ʁ/
1PL	-arios /aʁjo/	-ttre /tʁ/
2PL	-ariis /aʁji/	-ttreds /tʁ/
3PL	-ariat /aʁja/	-ttredt /tʁ/
2POLITE	-(i)riae /(i)ʁjɛ/ ; -ariae /aʁjɛ/	-redz /ʁɛ/ ; -ttredz /tʁɛ/

The conditional past is built analytically with the auxiliary verb "to have" in the present conditional followed with the past participle of the verb.

Imperative

Person	Consonant ending	Vowel ending
1SG	-e / /	-e / /
2SG	-e / /	-e / /
3SG	- / /	- / /
1PL	-ae /a/ /j/	-ae /a/
2PL	-ae /a/	-ae /a/
3PL	-a /a/	-a /a/

There is no imperative form for the person of politeness.

Absolute

Person	Consonant ending	Vowel ending
1SG	-ha /ha/	-h /h/ (or unpronounced ?)
2SG	-ex /əθ/	-x /θ/
3SG	-etû /ət̚/	-tû /t̚/
1PL	-epħ /əf/	-îfè /ɸɛ/
2PL	-ebħ /əv/	-îvè /βɛ/
3PL	-edû /əd̚/	-dû /d̚/
2POLITE	-èîq /ɛɧ̙ʷ/	-îq /ɧ̙ʷ/

Participle

Present participle

Present Participle

Consonant ending	Vowel ending
-ent /ɑ̃/	-öħt / /

Past participle

Past participle

Gender/Number	Consonant ending	Vowel ending
Masculine singular	-öi /i/	-t / /
Neuter singular	-i /i/	-t / /
Feminine singular	-ie /i/	-te /t/
Masculine plural	-öis /i/	-ts / /
Neuter plural	-is /i/	-ts / /
Feminine plural	-ies /i/	-tes /t/

Adjectives

Adjectives agree in gender and number with the nouns they qualify. Agreement is marked with a suffix, that varies depending on the ending in the neuter singular form, which is the radical form of the adjective. When in a nominal phrase, the adjective can be placed both before or after the noun it qualifies, though collocations can exist (sous réserve de virtuelles évolutions de la langue qui, pour des raisons x ou y, pourrait préférer pour tel adjectif ou tel autre un emplacement particulier).

Adjective ends with a vowel

Gender / Number	Singular	Plural
Neuter	-	-z / /
Masculine	-lö /l/	-löz /l/
Feminine	-là /la/	-làz /la/

Adjective ends with a consonant

Gender / Number	Singular	Plural
Neuter	-	-s / /
Masculine	-ö / /	-ös / /
Feminine	-ÿ / /	-ÿs / /

Adverbs

There is no information on adverbs but, based on other versions of Tolsian, we can assume they are invariable in form, qualify verbs and adjectives, and are usually placed before the verb or adjective they qualify.

Particles

Particles are function words that include prepositions, postpositions, conjunction words, etc.

• One notable particle is the so-called subject particle, which is used with stative verbs to introduce the subject's attribute. It can take two different forms, usually depending on whether the subject is animate (particle "tke?") or inanimate (particle "ke?"), but also potentially on whether the relationship between subject and attribute is perceived as "temporary" or "eternal".
• Another notable particle is the "possessive" particle, which is suffixed to the noun that represents a "possessor", akin to a genitive marking. It can be used instead of possessive pronouns, when suffixed to a personal subject pronoun : for instance, the personal pronoun "êü" + the possessive particle "-dô" becomes "êüdô", my.
• Most particles are more like traditional prepositions.

Syntax

Constituent order

• The basic constituent order of a declarative sentence is SVO (Subject - Verb - Object).
• questions are formed by inversing verb and subject (VSO).

Noun phrase

If there is a determiner (for example, a definiteness article), it is placed at the beginning of the noun phrase. If there is an adjective, it can be placed either right before, or right after, the noun it qualifies. Most particles are placed between a determiner and the adjective + noun (or noun + adjective) group. A prepositional phrase or clause comes after.

• Sentences with a stative verb use the so-called subject particle, which is used with stative verbs to introduce the subject's attribute. It can take two different forms, usually depending on whether the subject is animate (particle "tke?") or inanimate (particle "ke?"), but also potentially on whether the relationship between subject and attribute is perceived as "temporary" or "eternal".
• Genitive phrase :

"My mother" : (article) êüdô maîha.

(Definite article) + Subject pronoun + possessive particle suffix + "mother".

Verb phrase

The subject pronoun is optional, but placed right in front of the verb if used.