Ámman îar
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ámman îar, or Amman-Iar, is an a priori diachronic artistic language. It was begun in the late 1970s by the late David Bell.
The language is part of a conworld, and its setting is on a new fictional continent in Middle-Earth (the one of Tolkienian fame). The language thus has influences from several of Tolkien's own languages, but due to diachronics and new roots having been added, amman iar is very unique.
Bell was posthumously awarded a Smiley Award for ámman îar in 2010.
More information (as well as information on historical development of the language) can be found at its home page.
Grammar
No natural language is purely ergative, and conlangs that appear naturalistic often have ergative systems more pristine than those found in natural languages. ámman îar avoids this artificiality with its balanced split ergative system.
| 1st/2nd Person Pronouns | 3rd Person Pronouns/Demonstratives | Other Nouns | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semantic Role | Inflection | Case | Inflection | Case | Inflection | Case |
| Agent | - | NOM | -e | ERG | -e | ERG |
| Subject | - | NOM | - | NOM/ABS | - | ABS |
| Patient | -in | ACC | -in | ACC | - | ABS |
The system derives from an animacy hierarchy inherent in the language, breaking arguments into three categories: first and second person pronouns, third person pronouns and demonstratives, and other nouns including proper nouns. Markers, as suffixes, denote the unexpected role in these categories.
Grammatical Roles
- **Nominative (NOM)**: Marks the subject of a transitive verb.
- **Ergative (ERG)**: Marks the agent of a transitive verb.
- **Accusative (ACC)**: Marks the direct object of a verb.
- **Absolutive (ABS)**: Marks the subject of an intransitive verb or the object of a transitive verb.
Example Sentences
The following examples illustrate the system of split ergativity in ámman îar:
- életh eni dais orgöirar. "The tiger died." (Intransitive verb, patient-like subject)
- i dais ergabdhel életh. "The tiger pounced." (Intransitive verb, agent-like subject)
- i daisse életh an thoren erechöiron. "The tiger killed an eagle." (Transitive verb, agent and patient)
- (életh) eni dais thorenen henîarth. "The tiger saw an eagle." (Transitive verb, patient and theme)
- i daisse életh in thoren erhenîel. "The tiger looked at an eagle." (Transitive verb, agent and theme)
The placement of the auxiliary verb marks the most patient-like argument of the sentence. Case markings denote the grammatical roles of nominal arguments. Verbal prefixes and suffixes indicate semantic roles, with the ergative suffix in specific contexts. Word order is not free; subjects precede objects, and agents and themes precede patients.
Adjectives
ámman îar features an adjective class system, where adjectives are preceded by prefixes describing the type of adjective.
| Class | Prefix | Semantics | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Descriptive | ve- | Describes what the noun is like | riel vemarlis "beautiful woman" |
| Purposive | pa- | Describes what the noun is used for | tornil pamurmlir "sleeping bag" |
| Material | ge- | Describes what the noun is made from | teleg galdar "wooden leg" |
| Size | ma- | Describes how big or small the noun is | caras mabeleg "large house" |
| Color | de- | Describes the color of the noun | curunar demith "gray wizard" |
| Shape | ta- | Describes the shape of the noun | palag tacom "round table" |
| Count | be- | Describes how many of the noun there is | lhibai becaer "ten fingers" |
| Age | la- | Describes how old the noun is | cair lorseinnon "ancient ship" |
| Origin | ha- | Describes where the noun comes from | sinair harhun "eastern manners" |
Genitival System
The genitival system in ámman îar focuses on the role the possessor plays in the relationship.
| Type | Semantics | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Alienable Possessive | Describes an alienable possession relationship | vir'authnar megil "warrior's sword" |
| Inalienable Possessive | Describes a permanent possession relationship | cem i vardilan "Mardil's hands" |
| Subject Genitive | Describes a subject-like relationship | narn ir ægnorannîon "Ægnor's story" |
| Object Genitive | Describes an object-like relationship | ordagar i garasso "the city's destruction" |
| Partitive | Describes a part/whole relationship | tilig i balagûo "the table's legs" |
| Measure Genitive | Describes a measurement relationship | andar i rathîo "the road's length" |
External Links
- Amman-Iar at LangMaker (archived)
- Amman-Iar's home page - mirrored by conlang.org