Ox-Yew

Adzaay (Ox-Yew)
Adzaay, Adɮāλ
Pronunciation	[/ɑdˈɮɑːtɬʼ/]
Created by	BenJamin P. Johnson, creator of: Adzaay Brooding Dlatci Grayis Maltcégj Northeadish Valthungian Griutungi Old Valthungian Middle Valthungian
Date	2019
Language family	language isolate Adzaay (Ox-Yew)

Adzaay (or Adɮāλ) is an a priori, possibly non-terrestrial language whose phonology, morphology, grammar, and really whose entire weltanschauung is inextricably tied to sets of three. Their number system is nonal (3×3); there are three vowels; there are three of each type of consonant; there are three noun classes (or “genders,” but that word really isn’t useful here); there are even three finite grammatical moods.

Since [ɑdˈɮɑːtɬʼ] doesn't really roll off the tongue of the average native speaker of most European languages, the alternative name “Ox-Yew” (or the Language of the Ox-Yew People) is derived from a mistranslation of what early researchers believed the people to be called; in reality, the people of a nearby village who directed them where to find the main Ox-Yew village had said something more along the lines of: “Why would you want to go there? It's just cows and trees.”

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 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).

Because of the limited range of vowels, a vowel chart is almost wasted for Adzaay, but here you go:

	Fronty	Middlin’	Backish
High:	⟨i⟩ /i/ ⟨ii⟩ /iː/		⟨u⟩ /u/ ⟨uu⟩ /uː/
Mid:
Low:		⟨a⟩ /a/ ⟨aa⟩ /aː/

The diphthongs do not vary other than by length:

Stress

Stress is moraic with a dactylic substructure. 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. There are xxxxxx possible syllable weights:

	Morae	Priority	Description	Examples
V	1	12	Short vowel, no coda.	qu, tra, ci
VC	2	11	Short vowel, monomoraic coda.	zib, plif, dan
VV̯	2	10	Diphthong, no coda.	wau, nui, kai
Vː	2	9	Long vowel, no coda.	ii, kuu, traa
VCC	3	8	Short vowel, bimoraic coda.	vrihk, truvk, tutt
VV̯C	3	7	Diphthong, monomoraic coda.	kais, zaud, bzuim
VːC	3	6	Long vowel, monomoraic coda.	aax, kiic, dzuuq
VːV̯	3	5	Long diphthong, no coda.	giiu, maai, nuua
VVCC	4	4	Diphthong, bimoraic coda.	kaist, hiapp, vruahk
VːCC	4	3	Long vowel, bimoraic coda.	aant, uukk, liist
VːV̯C	4	2	Long diphthong, monomoraic coda.	waaum, qaais, bziiuv
VːV̯CC	5	1	Long diphthong, bimoraic coda.	muuivk, faaitt, yiiaft

Non-stressed syllables are reduced. (See Phonotactics).

Consonants

	Fronty	Middlin’	Backish
Unvoiced Stop:	⟨p⟩ /p/	⟨t⟩ /t/	⟨k⟩ /k/
Voiced Stop:	⟨b⟩ /b/	⟨d⟩ /d/	⟨g⟩ /ɡ/
Fricative:	⟨s⟩ /s/	⟨f⟩ /ʃ/	⟨h⟩ /x/
Homorganic Affricate:	⟨c⟩ /t͡s/	⟨q⟩ /t͡ʃ/	⟨j⟩ /d͡ʒ/
Heterorganic Affricate:	⟨w⟩ /d͡v/	⟨y⟩ /t͡ɬ/	⟨x⟩ /t͡x/
Liquid:	⟨z⟩ /ɮ/	⟨r⟩ /r/	⟨l⟩ /l/
Nasal:	⟨m⟩ /m/	⟨n⟩ /n/	⟨v⟩ /ŋ/

Phonotactics

Syllable Structure

Front					Mid					Back
	Onsets	Medial Clusters	Codae			Onsets	Medial Clusters	Codae			Onsets	Medial Clusters	Codae
Any single phoneme.
/p/	p	p	p [ɸ]		/t/	t	t	t [θ]		/k/	k	k	k [χ]
/b/	b	b	b [β]		/d/	d	d	d [ð]		/ɡ/	g	g	g [ɣ]
/t͡s/	c	c	c [t͡sʼ]		/t͡ʃ/	q	q	q [t͡ʃʼ]		/d͡ʒ/	j	j	j [d͡ʒˑ]
/d͡v/	w	w	w [d͡vˑ]		/t͡ɬ/	y	y	y [t͡ɬʼ]		/t͡ʀ/	x	x	x [t͡χʼ]
/m/	m	m	m		/n/	n	n	n		/ŋ/	v	v	v
/l/	l	l	l		/r/	r	r	r		/ɮ/	z	z	z
/s/	s	s	s		/ʃ/	f	f	f		/x/	h	h	h
Any single stop or nasal followed by a liquid.
/pr/	pr	pr			/tr/	tr	tr			/kr/	kr	kr
/br/	br	br			/dr/	dr	dr			/ɡr/	gr	gr
/pr/	pl	pl			/tr/	tl	tl			/kr/	kl	kl
/br/	bl	bl			/dr/	dl	dl			/ɡr/	gl	gl
/pr/	pz	pz			/tr/	tz	tz			/kr/	kz	kz
/br/	bz	bz			/dr/	dz	dz			/ɡr/	gz	gz
/ml/	ml	ml			/nl/	nl	nl			/ŋl/	vl	vl
/mr/	mr	mr			/nr/	nr	nr			/ŋr/	vr	vr
/mɮ/	mz	mz			/nɮ/	nz	nz			/ŋɮ/	vz	vz
Any geminate consonant.
/pː/		pp	pp [p]		/tː/		tt	tt [t]		/kː/		kk	kk [k]
/bː/		bb	bb [b]		/dː/		dd	dd [d]		/ɡː/		ɡɡ	ɡɡ [ɡ]
/t͡sː/	(There are no geminate affricates.)				/t͡ʃː/	(There are no geminate affricates.)				/d͡ʒː/	(There are no geminate affricates.)
/d͡vː/					/t͡ɬː/					/t͡ʀː/
/mː/		mm			/nː/		nn			/ŋː/		vv
/lː/		ll			/rː/		rr			/ɮː/		zz
/sː/		ss			/ʃː/		ff			/xː/		hh
Any nasal followed by any stop.
/mp/		mp	mp		/nt/		nt	nt		/ŋk/		vk	vk
/mb/		mb			/nd/		nd			/ŋɡ/		vg
Any nasal followed by a voiced stop and a liquid.
/mbr/		mbr			/ndr/		ndr			/ŋɡr/		vgr
/mbl/		mbl			/ndl/		ndl			/ŋɡl/		vgl
/mbɮ/		mbz			/ndɮ/		ndz			/ŋɡɮ/		vgz
/n/ followed by any affricate.
/nt͡s/		nc			/nt͡ʃ/		nq			/nd͡ʒ/		nj
/nd͡v/		nw			/nt͡ɬ/		ny			/nt͡ʀ/		nx
Any unvoiced fricative followed by any unvoiced stop.
/sp/	sp	sp	sp		/st/	st	st	st		/sk/	sk	sk	sk
/ʃp/	fp	fp	fp		/ʃt/	ft	ft	ft		/ʃk/	fk	fk	fk
/xp/	hp	hp	hp		/xt/	ht	ht	ht		/xk/	hk	hk	hk [χ]

• All syllables must have a nucleus, but onsets and codas are not required. Syllables in the same word must have either a coda or an onset dividing them (i.e. two syllable nuclei must be separated by at least one consonant.)
• In words with no consonantal onset beginning with a short diphthong, the diphthong switches from falling to rising; that is, the initial element of the diphthong is realized as a glide. (This does not apply to ⟨ai⟩ and ⟨au⟩.)
  • ⟨iu, ia, ui, ua⟩ → [ju, ja, wi, wa] / #_
• In words with no consonantal onset beginning with a long diphthong, the long element of the diphthong is subject to fracture. (This does not apply to ⟨aai⟩ and ⟨aau⟩.)
  • ⟨iiu, iia, uui, uua⟩ → [jiu, jia, wui, wua]
  • In some dialects this may even cause the “length” to shift to the second element: ⟨iiu, iia, uui, uua⟩ → [juː, jaː, wiː, waː]
  • Single stop consonants become spirantised in coda position.
    • ⟨p, t, k, b, d, g⟩ → [ɸ, θ, x, β, ð, ɣ] / _#
  • Geminate stop consonants become non-geminate in coda position.
    • ⟨pp, tt, kk, bb, dd, gg⟩ → [p, t, k, b, d, ɡ] / _#
  • Unvoiced affricates have an ejective release in coda position; voiced affricates have a lengthened release.
    • ⟨c, q, j, w, y, x⟩ → [t͡sʼ, t͡ʃʼ, d͡ʒː, d͡vː, t͡ɬʼ, t͡xʼ] / _#

Liquid Dissimilation

• When two identical liquids occur in the same or adjacent syllables, the right-most liquid changes: l → r → z → l, e.g.:
  • bzaukzi → bzaukli
  • graar → graaz
  • brulaaul → brulaaur
• In words where three liquids appear, all liquids are dissimilated even if a different liquid separates two of the same. This may cause chain shifting in compound words until the order described above can be observed, e.g.:
  • bratluir → bratluiz
  • raagraz → raagzaz → raagzal
  • dravglal → dravglar (but regularization does not wrap, so here, two /r/s are acceptable.)

Vowel Reduction in Syllables with Non-Primary Stress

• Vowels with secondary stress are reduced by their right-most mora. Secondary stress is almost always separated primary stress by two unstressed syllables.

ia iu ii	→ i	ai au aa	→ a	ui ua uu	→ u
iia iiu	→ ii	aai aau	→ aa	uui uua	→ uu

1. • E.g. ááidlaavaicùùap → aaidlavacuup

• Unstressed vowels are reduced to their left-most mora:

ia iu ii iia iiu

→ i

ai au aa aai aau

→ a

ui ua uu uui uua

→ u

Cluster Reduction between Syllables with Non-Primary Stress

The number of consonant clusters which can occur intervocalically between syllables with non-primary stress is dramatically reduced. Somehow. Probably. I think.

Also, stress is primarily dactylic, somehow, probably, I think.

Particles and affixes may be reduplicated in order to maintain the dactylic meter, especially in formal or poetic speech.

Orthography

Adzaay has three distinct orthographies. There is a native writing system (patent pending...); a “presentational” orthography, which uses some diacritics and some non-standard characters to present the language a little more compactly and with a few slightly more intuitive graphemes; and a “utility” orthography, which uses 24 letters of the standard 26-letter Latin alphabet. (The letters O and E are not used.)

Function	Form	IPA	Series
⟨p⟩⟩		p	stop, unvoiced
⟨t⟩⟩		t	stop, unvoiced
⟨k⟩⟩		k	stop, unvoiced
⟨b⟩⟩		b	stop, voiced
⟨d⟩⟩		d	stop, voiced
⟨g⟩⟩		g	stop, voiced
⟨s⟩⟩		s	fricative
⟨f⟩	⟨⟨š⟩⟩	ʃ	fricative
⟨h⟩⟩		x	fricative
⟨c⟩⟩		t͡s	affricate, homorganic
⟨q⟩	⟨⟨č⟩⟩	t͡ʃ	affricate, homorganic
⟨j⟩⟩		d͡ʒ	affricate, homorganic
⟨w⟩	⟨⟨ȸ⟩⟩	d͡v	affricate, heterorganic
⟨y⟩	⟨⟨λ⟩⟩	t͡ɬ	affricate, heterorganic
⟨x⟩	⟨⟨ӿ⟩⟩	t͡x	affricate, heterorganic
⟨m⟩⟩		m	nasal
⟨n⟩⟩		n	nasal
⟨v⟩	⟨⟨ŋ⟩⟩	ŋ	nasal
⟨z⟩	⟨⟨ɮ⟩⟩	ɮ	liquid
⟨r⟩⟩		r	liquid
⟨l⟩⟩		l	liquid
⟨i⟩⟩		i	vowel, short
⟨ii⟩	⟨⟨ī⟩⟩	iː	vowel, long
⟨ia⟩⟩		ia̯	diphthong, short
⟨iu⟩⟩		iu̯	diphthong, short
⟨iia⟩	⟨⟨īa⟩⟩	iːa̯	diphthong, long
⟨iiu⟩	⟨⟨īu⟩⟩	iːu̯	diphthong, long
⟨a⟩⟩		a	vowel, short
⟨ai⟩⟩		ai̯	diphthong, short
⟨aa⟩	⟨⟨ā⟩⟩	aː	vowel, long
⟨au⟩⟩		au̯	diphthong, short
⟨aai⟩	⟨⟨āi⟩⟩	aːi̯	diphthong, long
⟨aau⟩	⟨⟨āu⟩⟩	aːu̯	diphthong, long
⟨u⟩⟩		u	vowel, short
⟨ui⟩⟩		ui̯	diphthong, short
⟨ua⟩⟩		ua̯	diphthong, short
⟨uu⟩	⟨⟨ū⟩⟩	uː	vowel, long
⟨uui⟩	⟨⟨ūi⟩⟩	uːi̯	diphthong, long
⟨uua⟩	⟨⟨ūa⟩⟩	uːa̯	diphthong, long

Morphology

Numbers

The number system of Ox-Yew is nonal (base 9) which developed from an earlier ternary (or trinary) system.

lif	0	“Teens”	Non	Dec	“Tens”	Non	Dec	“Hundreds”	Non	Dec	&c	Non	Dec	Exp
kai	1	traz	11	10	ya	10	9	lip	100	81	qu	3	3	3¹
tra	2	yatra	12	11	tray	20	18	tralip	200	162	ya	10	9	3²
qu	3	qucih	13	12	quuam	30	27	duual	300	243	quuam	30	27	3³
ci	4	yaci	14	13	ciy	40	36	cilip	400	324	lip	100	81	3⁴
wau	5	yawau	15	14	wauy	50	45	waulip	500	405	duual	300	243	3⁵
faa	6	yafaa	16	15	faay	60	54	faalip	600	486	fak	1,000	729	3⁶
nui	7	yanui	17	16	nuiy	70	63	nuilip	700	567	fakuuam	3,000	2,187	3⁷
aax	8	yaax	18	17	aaxa	80	72	aaxip	800	648	yafak	10,000	6,561	3⁸
ya	10 (9)	tray	20	18	lip	100	81	fak	1,000	729	quuamblip	30,000	19,683	3⁹

Pronouns

The personal pronouns are borrowed directly from the “animate” correlatives, below. They inflect for first, second, and third “person” which correspond directly to the proximal, medial, and distal deixes. They also inflect for “inanimate” non-persons as well as “abstract” non-persons, though here it is important to be familiar with the noun class system, as not everything in the abstract class is necessarily intangible, nor is everything in the inanimate class non-living. For that matter, the animate class contains many nouns we might not consider animate, yet they are “conjugated” as people.

Correlatives

The correlatives are a group of “base” words which make up a wide variety of roots forming pronouns, adverbs, and conjunctions.

		Proximal	Medial	Distal	Interrogative	Relative	Negative	General	Quantal	Universal
		ka-	tu-	pi-	qui-	jua-	jai-	mlai-	vlu-	kua-
Animate	-m	kam I	tum you	pim he, she	quim who	juam who	jaim no one	mlaim someone	vlum some (people)	kuam everyone
Inanimate	-t	kat this (thing)	tut that (thing)	pit yon (thing)	quit what	juat that, which	jait nothing	mlait something	vlut some things	kuat everything
Abstract	-b	kab this (matter)	tub that (matter)	pib yon (matter)	quib what (matter)	juab that, which	jaib no matter	mlaib some matter	vlub some matters	kuab every matter
Local	-n	kan here	tun there	pin elsewhere	quin where	juan where	jain nowhere	mlain somewhere	vlun some places	kuan everywhere
Temporal	-d	kad now	tud then	pid elsewhen	quid when	juad when	jaid never	mlaid sometime	vlud sometimes	kuad always
Manneral	-g	kag like this	tug like that	pig somehow else	quig how	juag how	jaig no way	mlaig somehow	vlug in some ways	kuag in every way
Qualitative	-l	kal this kind	tul that kind	pil a different kind	quil what kind	jual which kind	jail no kind	mlair some kind	vlur some kinds	kual every kind
Explicative	-tt	katt because	tutt therefore	pitt for another reason	quitt why	juatt why	jaitt for no reason	mlaitt for some reason	vlutt for some reasons	kuatt for every reason
Quantitative	-v	kav this much this many	tuv that much that many	piv another amount	quiv how much how many	juav how much how many	jaiv no, none	mlaiv some amount	vluv some	kuav all

The base correlatives can be further modified by various affixes, such as –an, which converts the General correlatives to Electives (i.e. it changes the sense of “some” to “any”).

Nouns

Everything below this sentence is a lie.

Cases

Adzaay has several cases which regulate the roles various words play in a sentence.

Absolutive

The absolutive case is used for the subjects of intransitive verbs.

Ergative

Ergative is used with the subjects of transitive verbs when there is a direct object present.

Accusative

Accusative indicates a direct object.

Dative

The use of the dative in Adzaay is slightly more restrictive than it may be in other languages. It specifically invokes the meaning of ‘to’ or ‘towards’.

Ablative

Many languages have an “ablative” case, though it rarely means the same thing from one language to another. In Adzaay, the ablative is the exact inverse of the dative, invoking the meaning of ‘out of’ or ‘from’.

Genitive

The genitive deals with possession and relation. There is a bit of overlap with the ablative.

Oblique

The oblique isn't so much a case as an anti-case: This is the “Dictionary Form” of Adzaay nouns, and is not inflected at all. It is mainly used with adpositions, or for mentioning things in a list.

Classes

There are three main noun classes in Adzaay, so one might be tempted to call them “genders,” but that term really doesn't work well here, considering that all of the human genders which usually serve as examples of the various grammatical genders all fall into a single noun class. Each of classes are further divided into three sub-classes.

Animate

Animate nouns are comprised of things which are alive and have some semblance of sentience (whether actually, or just culturally). The Animate class is divided into three sub-classes:

Humans & Animals – This one is pretty self-explanatory, though it doesn’t quite evenly line up with the boundaries of the Animalia kingdom: Some corals, sponges, barnacles, and other “lower” animals may be classified as herbs or rocks.

Trees & Sentient Plants – This group includes nearly all trees, all mushrooms and toadstools (though not all other types of fungi), sacred herbs, and plants used for medicine.

Fae Propaganda – A rough translation (the Adzaay term for this class is kzuvgaan ‘dragons’), this sub-class contains deities, mythical or supernatural creatures, cryptids, and elemental forces (fire, water, wind, &c), celestial orbs (sun, moon, stars, planets), certain sacred or haunted spaces, certain forests, beer.

Inanimate

Inanimate nouns are things which are not considered to be alive. The Inanimate class is divided into three sub-classes:

Rocks & Weeds – Rocks, sticks, plants that are considered “useless.”

Geological Formations – Lakes, mountains, rivers, oceans, plains, ravines, forests, tundras, icebergs…

Appendages – This class is comprised of nouns which belong inalienably to nouns of the Animate class: body parts, parts of plants, and even characteristics of Dragon-class nouns, such as “sparks” belonging to fire or “telepathy” belonging to cryptids.

Abstract

Abstract nouns are concepts, ideas, or non-substantives, like feelings, concepts, and symbolic thought. The Abstract class is divided into three sub-classes:

Ideas & Concepts – The truly abstract: feelings, thoughts, ideas, moods, all verbal nouns.

Uncountable – This sub-class isn’t “abstract” in the sense we would normally thing of it, but instead it is comprised of nouns which are neither singular nor plural, often substances, ingredients, or building materials, including most liquids and gasses: water, sand, marble, wood, flour, rice, honey, beans, wine.

Artifice – Finally the last sub-class refers to objects made, created, or modified by animate nouns: Prepared meals, books, houses, animal nests and dens, art.

Verbs

Don't delete my stuff just because I'm lazy and haven't filled it out yet, you jerk!

Syntax

Alignments

Typology

The typology of Adzaay 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

Adzaay alignment is tripartite, so nouns and pronouns are differentiated for subject, object, and agentive roles by use of case affixes and/or particles. Only animate nouns can be ergative.

The structure of Adzaay is moderately agglutinative and fusional. Noun phrases are made up of particles which combine them into set phrase-words, including adjectives which they subsume.

Headedness

Adzaay is predominantly head-initial, and this is reflected in many of its more granular alignments.

Noun Phrases

A typical noun phrase is structured in the following order:

1. —NOUN—
2. Adposition
3. Determiner
4. Numeral
5. Adjective (Phrase)
6. Genitive (Phrase)
7. Relative Clause

Adjective Phrases

In adjective phrases, (adverbial) measurements of degree (very, less, too, &c.) follow the adjective.

1. —ADJECTIVE—
2. Degree Adverb (Phrase)

Verb Phrases

As mentioned in Typology, Adzaay is a verb-final language, and as such, adverbs always immediately precede the verb. Verbs inflect for person, number, polarity, voice, mood, tense, and aspect.

Vocabulary

Key vocabulary can be found here.