Ox-Yew
This is just a placeholder for putting together this grammar until I come up with a good name, so I can transfer it to an appropriately-named page. Anyone who suggests that I keep the name Nūlaŋguiʧ is not my friend; may they be bitten by moths, frowned at by kittens, and disapproved of by rabbits.
Introduction
A new a priori, possibly non-terrestrial language I'm creating.
Phonology
Vowels
Short: /i a u/
Diphthongs: /ia̯ iu̯ ai̯ au̯ ui̯ ua̯/
Long: /ī ā ū/
Long Diphthongs: /īa̯ īu̯ āi̯ āu̯ ūi̯ ūa̯/
Diphthongs are always falling, but if a non-long diphthong starting with /i/ or /u/ appears at the beginning of a word (i.e. with no onset), it is realized as a glide (/j/ or /w/, respectively).
Stress
Stress is moraic. Stress falls on longest, left-most syllable. Where morae are equal, long vowels have a higher priority than diphthongs, which have a higher priority than final consonants.
| Morae | Priority | Examples | |
|---|---|---|---|
| V | 1 | 8 | bu, na, ki |
| VC | 2 | 7 | uk, it, an |
| VV | 2 | 6 | hau, niu |
| V̄ | 2 | 5 | lī |
| VVC | 3 | 4 | kais |
| V̄C | 3 | 3 | āt |
| V̄V | 3 | 2 | gīu |
| V̄VC | 4 | 1 | xūap |
Non-stressed syllables are reduced. (See Phonotactics).
Consonants
Phonotactics
Morphology
Alignments
Typology
The typology of Nūlaŋguiʧ is predominantly SOV or verb-final. Marked order is OSV. A morphological particle is inserted between the subject and the direct object which is ostensibly a case suffix combined with a case prefix; a different particle is used in marked order.
Morphosyntactic Alignment
Nūlaŋguiʧ alignment is tripartite, so nouns and pronouns are differentiated for subject, object, and agentive roles by use of case affixes and/or particles.
Headedness
Nūlaŋguiʧ is predominantly head-final, and this is reflected in many of its more granular alignments.
Noun Phrases
In noun phrases, nouns are always initial, followed by adpositions, demonstratives, numerals, adjectives or adjective phrases, genitive or genitive phrases, and relative clauses.
Adjective Phrases
In adjective phrases, (adverbial) measurements of degree (very, less, too, &c.) follow the adjective.
Verb Phrases
As mentioned in Typology, Nūlaŋguiʧ is a verb-final language, and as such, adverbs always immediately precede the verb. In the case of negation, negatives come between the verb and other adverbs. TAM particles, if present, always directly precede the verb after negatives.