Daùnare
Created byFrederic Bayer

The Daùnare language (Daùnare: Daùnarenu /ˈdaʊ̯.nʌ.rɪ.nʊ/ or Daùnarekelnu /ˈdaʊ̯.nʌ.rɪˌkel.nʊ/) is a language spoken by the Daùna people (Daùnare: Daùnadistunu /ˈdaʊ̯.nʌˌdis.tʊ.nʊ/).

Introduction

Phonology

Vowels

The chart below shows phonemic and [allophonic] vowels present in Daùnare. The allophonic vowels also occur as part of diphthongs, but are not considered phonemes in their own right. The phonemic vowels (when not used in diphthongs) are all written as in IPA with the exception of /ɛ/, written ⟨æ⟩, and length is indicated using a macron rather than the IPA length symbol. For a more detailed overview, please see →Orthography.

Front Near-front Central Near-back Back
Close
 
i, iː
u, uː
[ɪ]
[ʊ]
e, eː
o, oː
ɛ, ɛː
[ʌ]
a, aː
Near‑close
Close‑mid
Mid
Open‑mid
Near‑open
Open

NB: With the (partial) exception of this section (Phonology), this article generally uses orthographic representations rather than IPA when discussing phonemes.

Diphthongs

The following diphthongs occur (not including the so-called iotified vowels and labialised vowels, for which see below).

final
initial
ɪ ʊ ʌ
ɛ ɛɪ̯ ɛʊ̯
a aɪ̯ aʊ̯
o oɪ̯ oʌ̯
u uɪ̯ uʌ̯
e eʊ̯ eʌ̯
i iʊ̯ iʌ̯

The diphthongs ending in /ʌ/ are also known as "hiatus vowels".

Iotified vowels

ɪ̯ɛ ɪ̯a ɪ̯o ɪ̯u

Labialised vowels

ʊ̯ɛ ʊ̯a ʊ̯e ʊ̯i

Vowel reduction

In unstressed syllables, short monophthongs:

  • /e, i/ → [ɪ]
  • /o, u/ → [ʊ]
  • /a, ɛ/ → [ʌ]

Consonants

As with the →Vowel chart, phones occurring only as allophones are indicated with [square brackets].

Bilabial Labio-dental Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m n [ŋ]
Plosive p b t d k g
Fricative f [v] s [z] [ç] x [h]
Tap r
Lateral l [ɬ]
Approximant [j]

Onset clusters

In phonological notation, valid onset clusters fall into the following categories. (This table serves as a summary, a more "human-readable" explanation follows below.) The colour coding of categories is reflected in the reference tables.

Category: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Consonants F L F /l/ F N F /n/ P L P /r/ P /s/ F P (L) F P (/r/) /p, k, g/ /n/
Features ‑ALV +ALV ‑LAB +LAB ‑ALV +ALV ‑VOI +ALV ‑ALV
+VOI
+ALV +ALV
+VOI
Key:
F fricative / L liquid / N nasal / P stop
alv alveolar / lab labial / voi voiced

Diconsonantals (initial fricative)
/p/ /t/ /k/ /m/ /n/ /r/ /l/
/f/ ⟨fn⟩ ⟨fr⟩ ⟨fl⟩
/s/ ⟨sp⟩ ⟨st⟩ ⟨sk⟩ ⟨sm⟩ ⟨sn⟩ ⟨sl⟩
/x/ ⟨hm⟩ ⟨hn⟩ ⟨hr⟩ ⟨hl⟩

Fricatives can form diconsonantal onset clusters only with nasals /m/ and /n/, and with liquids /r/ and /l/, except:

  • The alveolar fricative cannot form an onset cluster with the alveolar tap.
  • The labiodental fricative cannot form an onset cluster with the bilabial nasal.

The alveolar fricative (/s/) can also form diconsonantal onset clusters with voiceless stops.


Triconsonantals
/r/ /l/
/sp/ ⟨spr⟩ ⟨spl⟩
/st/ ⟨str⟩
/sk/ ⟨skr⟩ ⟨skl⟩

Triconsonantal onset clusters all begin with an alveolar fricative /s/ followed by a voiceless stop /p/, /t/, or /k/, and a liquid /r/ or /l/. The only illicit cluster of this type is */stl/:


Diconsonantals (initial stop)
/s/ /n/ /r/ /l/
/p/ ⟨ps⟩ ⟨pn⟩ ⟨pr⟩ ⟨pl⟩
/b/ ⟨br⟩ ⟨bl⟩
/t/ ⟨ts⟩ ⟨tr⟩
/d/ ⟨dr⟩
/k/ ⟨ks⟩ ⟨kn⟩ ⟨kr⟩ ⟨kl⟩
/g/ ⟨gn⟩ ⟨gr⟩ ⟨gl⟩

Stops can form diconsonantal onset clusters with the alveolar fricative /s/ and nasal /n/, and with the liquids /r/ and /l/:

Coda clusters

Allophony

Syllable structure

Syllabic anaptyxis

Prosody

Stress

Intonation

Orthography

Proposals for orthographic reform

Historic alphabet

Aα Bb Γc Δd Ee Φϕ Hh Iı Kκ Λλ Mμ Nν Oo Pp Rꞃ Σſz Tt Υυ Ææ Ꙗꙗ Ѥѥ Юю ωω

As in the modern alphabet, labialised vowels were indicated using a breve, and long vowels using a macron.

Modern – Ū Ǫta! Distas kunen disnimi plasnel tugusat, bak kunenere dorāket.
Historic – Ῡ Юtα! Δıztαz κuνeν dızνıμı pλαzνeλ tucuzαt, bακ κuνeνeꞃe doꞃᾱκet.
(Translation: Oh Jota! A man gave the woman the child's dog, and dogs steal from each other.)

Morphophonology

Morphophonology of verbs

Voice apophony

Theme vowel Grade 0
Grade 1
anti
Grade 2
mid
a a e o
ā ē ō
ū
ą ę ǫ
ă ĕ
æ o a
ǣ ō ā
o o e u
ō ē ū
ǫ ę ų
e e u a
ē ū ā
ō
ǫ
ĕ ă
ę ų ą
u u i e
ū ī ē
ĭ
ų ę
i i a u
ī ā ū
ą
ų
ĭ ă

Thematic anaptyxis

Morphophonology of nouns

Class-dependent anaptyxis

Methelcystic t and the definite clitic

Initial consonant mutations after modal particles

Derivational morphology

Derivations are achieved in Daùnare either through one of three methods:

  • Compounding – combining two lemmas to create a new lemma
  • Class derivation – forming new nouns by altering the class of an existing noun
  • Affixation – adding a bound morpheme to a lemma to create a new lemma. This latter can be further subdivided into:
    • Ciscategorical affixation, where the lexical category stays the same (e.g. deriving a new adjective from an existing adjective)
    • Transcategorical affixation, where the lexical category changes (e.g. deriving a noun from a verb)

Derivational noun class

Noun compounding

Affix derivation of nouns

Ciscategorical

Transcategorical

Affix derivation of verbs

Ciscategorical

Transcategorical

Affix derivation of adjectives (and adverbs)

Ciscategorical

Transcategorical

Inflectional morphology

Nouns

Daùnare nouns decline according to noun class (also called gender), number, and case. There are four classes, each declining for either three or two numbers as shown below (an asterisk* indicates the default/undifferentiated form).

  • Masculine (singular,* dual, plural)
  • Feminine (singular,* dual, plural)
  • Concrete (singular,* dual, plural)
  • Abstract (collective,* singulative)

However, in many ways the abstract singulative can be regarded more as a derivational than inflectional process, as it isn't universally productive (there are many collective-only abstract nouns).

Masculine, feminine, and concrete nouns decline for six cases: absolutive, ergative, dative, genitive, ablative, and vocative. Abstract nouns feature the same cases except for the vocative, i.e. a total of five. Declension suffixes are shown in the table below – for an overview of what the parenthesised letters indicate, please see the above sections on →class-dependent anaptyxis and the →methelcystic t and the definite clitic.

Declension table (most nouns)
masculine feminine concrete abstract
sg dl pl sg dl pl sg dl pl col sgv
abs ‑(t)an ‑(t)aın ‑(t)ana ‑(i)ni ‑(i)nis ‑(t)in ‑(t)en ‑(t)eın ‑(t)ene ‑(u)nu ‑(t)unu
erg ‑(t)as ‑(t)aıs ‑(t)ara ‑(t)i ‑(t)is ‑(t)ir ‑(t)es ‑(t)eıs ‑(t)ere ‑(t)u ‑(t)uru
dat ‑(t)am ‑(t)aım ‑(t)ama ‑(i)mi ‑(i)mis ‑(t)im ‑(t)em ‑(t)eım ‑(t)eme ‑(u)mu ‑(t)umu
gen ‑(t)ar ‑(t)ari ‑(t)ā ‑(i)ri ‑(i)ris ‑(t)ī ‑(t)er ‑(t)eri ‑(t)ē ‑(u)ru ‑(t)ū
abl ‑(t)al ‑(t)aıl ‑(i)li ‑(i)lis ‑(t)el ‑(t)eıl ‑(u)lu ‑(t)ul
voc ‑(t)a ‑(t)aı ‑(t)īs ‑(t)īr ‑(t)e ‑(t)eı

Some singulative abstract nouns have been reanalysed as concrete nouns (known as concretised nouns). These follow a special uncountable declension:

Concretised nouns
abs ‑(t)uın
erg ‑(t)uruıs
dat ‑(t)uım
gen ‑(t)uri
abl ‑(t)uli

Definiteness is expressed using the definite clitic, for which see above (→Morphophonology of nouns § Methelcystic t and the definite clitic).

Pronouns

Personal pronouns in Daùnare decline according to person, number, case, formality (second person only) and class (third person only). The vocative case only exists in the second person.

Personal pronouns
first person second person third person
sg dl pl sg dl pl masc fem conc abst
inc exc inc exc infor for infor for infor for sg dl pl sg dl pl sg dl pl col sgv
abs kon noın moın nin min hun huvun huın huvin hin hivin san saın sana sini sinis sin ten teın tene tunu tunur
erg ko noı moı ni mi hut huv huıt huvi hit hiv sas saıs sara si sis sir tes teıs tere tu turu
dat kom noım moım nim mim hum huvum huım huvim him hivim sam saım sama simi simis sim tem teım teme tumu tumur
gen kor nori mori nir mir hur huvur huri huvir hir hivir sar sari siri siris ter teri tru
abl kol noıl moıl nil mil hul huvul huıl huvil hil hivil sal saıl sli slis tel teıl tulu
voc hutu huvu huti huvi hiti hivi

Possessive pronouns decline the same way, except that there are no vocative possessive pronouns (in any person).

Possessive pronouns
first person second person third person
sg dl pl sg dl pl masc fem conc abst
inc exc inc exc infor for infor for infor for sg dl pl sg dl pl sg dl pl col sgv
abs kron norin morin nirin mirin hrun hruvun hrutin hruvin hrin hrivin saran sarin sāsan sirni sirnis sisni tren trisen tēsen trunu tutnu
erg koros noris moris niris miris hrut hruv hurit huriv hirit hiriv saras saris sās siri siris sisi tres tris tēs tru tut
dat krom norim morim nirim mirim hrum hruvum hrutim hruvim hrim hrivim saram sarim sāsam sirmi sirmis sismi trem trisem tēsem trumu tutmu
gen krōs norīs morīs nirīs mirīs hrūt hrūv hūrit hūriv hĭrit hĭriv săr săris săs sĭri sĭris sĭsi trēs trīs tĕs trū tūt
abl krol noril moril niril miril hrul hruvul hrutil hruvil hril hrivil saral saril sāsal sirli sirlis sisli trel trisel tēsel trul tutlu

Verbs

Tense and aspect

The "default" (unmarked) aspect of the present and future tenses is the gnomic or simple aspect (by convention, the nomenclature is gnomic present but future simple). A progressive aspect can be expressed through the regular suffix ⟨‑ta⟩ affixed to the base declension of both tenses, and a perfect aspect only in the future tense through the suffixes ⟨‑bi⟩ (first person), ⟨‑si⟩ (second person) and ⟨‑ni⟩ (third person).

The past tense, by contrast, has no unmarked aspect; each past aspect (preterite or simple past, imperfect or progressive past, and habitual [past]) has its own set of person‑number inflections.

Below is an inflection table, where V represents the thematic vowel of the verb (→Morphophonology of verbs § Thematic anaptyxis). The progressive and perfect aspects for the future and present are not shown, as they are perfectly regular, with the exception that the present progressive third person singular/collective (or second person singular formal) has another theme vowel inserted between the declensional suffix and the progressive suffix to prevent the two /t/s colliding, which is the only instance of double thematic anaptyxis.

Inflection table
first person second person third person
sg dl pl sg dl pl sg/col dl pl/sgv
informal formal informal formal informal formal
present ‑Vg ‑Vm ‑Vn ‑Vs ‑Vt ‑Vsi ‑Vti ‑Vsin ‑Vri ‑Vt ‑Vti ‑Vri
preterite ‑Vbo ‑Vbim ‑Vbin ‑Vtas ‑Vsat ‑Vtis ‑Vsti ‑Vtin ‑Vsri ‑Vsat ‑Vsti ‑Vsri
imperfect ‑Vbota ‑Vbita ‑Vbitan ‑Vtasta ‑Vtasat ‑Vtista ‑Vtasti ‑Vtinta ‑Vtasri ‑Vtasat ‑Vtasti ‑Vtasri
habitual ‑Vbotag ‑Vbitam ‑Vtabin ‑Vtastas ‑Vsata ‑Vtistas ‑Vstita ‑Vtintan ‑Vtasir ‑Vsata ‑Vstita ‑Vtasir
future ‑Vgi ‑Vmi ‑Vni ‑Vsti ‑Vti ‑Vstir ‑Vtir ‑Vstin ‑Vnir ‑Vti ‑Vtir ‑Vnir

Mood

Mood in Daùnare is best analysed as being composed through three modal dimensions, comprising factual‑intentional modality (indicative, imperative, subjunctive, conditional, or optative), syntactic modality (declarative, interrogative, relative, or subordinate) and negativity (positive or negative).

The default/unmarked mood is the positive declarative indicative; other moods are expressed through modal particles, for which see below (→Particles § Modal particles)

Adjectives

Adverbs

Conjunctions

Determiners

Particles

Modal particles

Modal particles, placed at the beginning of clauses, express grammatical mood. For an overview of mood, please see (→Verbs § Mood)

Indicative Imperative Subjunctive Conditional Optative
Declarative lo mu da ki
Negative ne nel nem ned nek
Interrogative um mol mum maùd um ki
Negative num nemol nemum numda num ki
Relative sa slo smu sta sa ki
Negative nes neslo nesmu nesta nes ki
Subordinate ge glo gem ged ge ki
Negative neg neg lo negem neged ne ki

Syntax

Constituent order

Noun phrase

Verb phrase

Sentence phrase

Dependent clauses

Lexicology

Monoclass nouns and class-derived alternates

Synonymy

Homophones

Homographs

Semantics

The verb tug

The Daùnare verb ⟨tug⟩ nominally means "to bring", but is capable of expressing a whole host of things for which English uses different verbs. It is a so‑called defective verb, meaning it has no antipassive.

Intransitive

When used intransitively in primary voice, it can be used with non‑sentient/non‑volitional arguments to mean "there is":

S V
Harnu tugut.
har‑nu tug‑u‑t
way‑abst.sg.abs bring‑∅‑prs.3sg
A way is brought.
‘There is a way.’

The same meaning ("there is") can be expressed with the middle voice for sentient/volitional arguments:

S V
Distan tegut.
dis‑t‑an teg‑u‑t
person‑∅‑masc.sg.abs mid\bring‑∅‑prs.3sg
A man brings (himself).
‘There is a man.’

Of course, this also works in conjunction with other tenses and aspects (for, e.g., "There used to be a man", "There will have been a way") – with the exception of the progressive aspect (which exists in the present and future tense).

(Mono)transitive

In (mono)transitive usage in the primary voice, the verb usually does translate as "bring":

A P V
Distas kunen tugut.
dis‑t‑as kun‑en tug‑u‑t
person‑∅‑masc.sg.erg dog‑conc.sg.abs bring‑∅‑prs.3sg
A man brings a dog.
‘A man brings a dog.’

A peculiarity of this verb is that it is possible to use the middle voice form of the verb transitively, i.e. with an ergative argument (which middle voice verbs usually do not take) functioning as recipient:

A P V
Distas kunen tegut.
dis‑t‑as kun‑en teg‑u‑t
person‑∅‑masc.sg.erg dog‑conc.sg.abs mid\bring‑∅‑prs.3sg
(To) a man a dog brings (itself).
‘A man gets a dog.’

Ditransitive

In ditransitive usage the verb can either be translated as "give" or "take" depending on whether the indirect object is dative or ablative:

A P I(DAT) V
Distas kunen disnimi tugut.
dis‑t‑as kun‑en dis=n=i‑mi tug‑u‑t
person‑∅‑masc.sg.erg dog‑conc.sg.abs person=def=∅‑fem.sg.dat bring‑∅‑prs.3sg
A man brings a dog to the woman.
‘A man gives the woman a dog.’
A P I(ABL) V
Distas kunen plastel tugut.
dis‑t‑as kun‑en plas‑t‑el tug‑u‑t
person‑∅‑masc.sg.erg dog‑conc.sg.abs child‑∅‑conc.sg.abl bring‑∅‑prs.3sg
A man brings a dog from a child.
‘A man takes a child's dog.’ / ‘A man takes a dog from a child.’

Tritransitive

Both indirect objects can be present to express the idea of giving A to B having taken it from C:

A P I(DAT) I(ABL) V
Distas kunen disnimi plastel tugut.
dis‑t‑as kun‑en dis=n=i‑mi plas‑t‑el tug‑u‑t
person‑∅‑masc.sg.erg dog‑conc.sg.abs person=def=∅‑fem.sg.dat child‑∅‑conc.sg.abl bring‑∅‑prs.3sg
A man brings a dog to the woman from a child.
‘A man gives the woman a child's dog.’ / ‘A man gives the woman a dog taken from a child.’

Applicative

When used as a di‑ or tritransitive, the verb can be modified using the applicative prefix ⟨do‑⟩ which promotes the dative to patient (and the secondary indirect object to primary). Relatively unusually, ⟨tug⟩ does not function as an intransitive verb with the applicative. Also, unlike some verbs, the applicative prefix cannot be combined with the middle voice stem to produce a medioapplicative.

A P V
Distas disnini dotugut.
dis‑t‑as dis=n=i‑ni do‑tug‑u‑t
person‑∅‑masc.sg.erg person=def=∅‑fem.sg.abs appl‑bring‑∅‑prs.3sg
A man "bebrings" the woman.
‘A man gives [something] to the woman.’
A P I(DAT) V
Distas disnini plastem dotugut.
dis‑t‑as dis=n=i‑ni plas‑t‑em do‑tug‑u‑t
person‑∅‑masc.sg.erg person=def=∅‑fem.sg.abs child‑∅‑conc.sg.dat appl‑bring‑∅‑prs.3sg
A man "bebrings" the woman through the child.
‘A man gives [something] to the woman [taken] from the child.’

Diapplicative

As is the case with other tritransitive verbs, the diapplicative prefix ⟨ro‑⟩ can be used to promote the secondary indirect object to patient instead. Much like with the applicative, the diapplicative does not function intransitively (unlike in other verbs). Also, again like the applicative, the diapplicative prefix cannot be combined with the middle stem to produce a mediodiapplicative.

A P V
Distas disnini rotugut.
dis‑t‑as dis=n=i‑ni ro‑tug‑u‑t
person‑∅‑masc.sg.erg person=def=∅‑fem.sg.abs diappl‑bring‑∅‑prs.3sg
A man "disbrings" the woman.
‘A man takes [something] from the woman.’
A P I(DAT) V
Distas disnini plastem rotugut.
dis‑t‑as dis=n=i‑ni plas‑t‑em ro‑tug‑u‑t
person‑∅‑masc.sg.erg person=def=∅‑fem.sg.abs child‑∅‑conc.sg.dat diappl‑bring‑∅‑prs.3sg
A man "disbrings" the woman through the child.
‘A man takes [something] from the woman [and gives it] to the child.’

Sociolinguistics

Daùnare is subject to significant phonological, morphological, and lexical variation across regions and social classes, as well as age.

Unlike most languages that feature a strong social class distinction in speech, there are two identifiable acrolects: The plutolect, is the prestige dialect of urban elites, "media types", the nouveau riche, and (in a wide sense) liberals. The aristolect, meanwhile, is the prestige dialect of the clergy, "traditional" artists (painters, sculptors, classical musicians), old money (aristocracy and gentry), other well-heeled country-dwellers, and (in a wide sense) conservatives.

Both of these sociolects feature innovations (such as pitch accent in the aristolect, or the extensive coalescence of the plutolect), but on the whole the plutolect can be considered more "innovative" while the aristolect is more "conservative", relative to the historical development of the language. The latter's "conservatism" is particularly evident in lexical terms.

Of course, being multi-dimensional, sociolinguistic variation is multi-faceted, as at least both region and social class (as well as age) will impact on a speaker's idiolect. While regional features are strongest in non-acrolectal speakers, certain features are more or less strongly influential on each acrolect: Speakers of the plutolect are more likely to have regional morphological features, and less likely to use regional vocabulary, while the opposite is the case for acrolectal speakers.

Regional variation

Regional phonologies

Regional morphologies

Regional lexicology

Youth language

Plutolectal features

Plutolectal phonology

Aristolectal features

Aristolectal phonology

Aristolectal lexicology

Isolated communities

Example texts

Other resources