Maltcégj
Introduction
Maltcégj is an a priori, agglutinative, semi-analytic head-initial language created by BenJamin P. Johnson in 2001. It has a strict VSO sentence structure that is modified with large numbers of verbal and nominal particles.
Alphabet and Pronunciation
| a | b | c | d | ð | e | f | g | ǧ | h | i |
| /ɑ/ | /b/ | /ʃ/ | /d/ | /ð/ | /ɛ/ | /f/ | /g/ | /γ/ | /h/ | /i/ |
| j | k | l | ɮ | ʌ | m | n | o | ǫ | p | r |
| /ʒ/ | /k/ | /l/ | /ɮ/ | /ɫ̩/ | /m/ | /n/ | /o/ | /ɔ/ | /p/ | /ɾ/ |
| ʀ | s | t | þ | u | v | w | x | y | ẏ | z |
| /ɹ̩/ | /s/ | /t/ | /θ/ | /u/ | /v/ | /w/ | /x/ | /ɪ/ | /j/ | /z/ |
Orthography
Primary stress is indicated in words of more than one syllable with an acute accent over the primary vowel. In diphthongs, the accent is placed on the first vowel.
Where two vowels appear together but are not a diphthong, the second vowel is marked with a diæresis if it is a front vowel; with a single dot if a back vowel (i.e. ï, ÿ, ë, ȧ, ǫ̇, ȯ, u̇), e.g. oï. Even if this would not result in a standard diphthong, this convention is still followed any time there are two disyllabic pertingent vowels, e.g. kúluï 'all', itáliȧ 'Italy'.
If the second vowel is stressed, however, the first vowel is marked instead, e.g. italiáno → italïáno 'Italian'.
No capital letters are used.
Native Writing System
Maltcégj is also written using a featural alphabet which treats the vowels as diacritics, and also uses diacritics to describe manner of articulation and consonant clusters. In all there are only seven “letters”; all other phonetic functions are filled by diacritics or modifications of these seven characters. (Actually, there are really only four: the labial, dental, palatal, and glottal forms are just directional variations of the same character, and the rhotic is just a turned lambdic.)
Phonology
Stops
| Unvoiced | Voiced | ||||
| p | /p/ | as in put pul [pʰul] 'he' |
b | /b/ | as in bat badj [bʰad͡ʒ] 'to have' |
| t | /t/ | as in top talp [tʰɑlp] 'head' |
d | /d/ | as in dog dið [dʰið] 'beautiful' |
| k | /k/ | as in keep kat [kʰɑt] 'dry' |
g | /g/ | as in get gelk [gʰɛlk] 'to give' |
Initial stops have a tendency to be aspirated.
Affricates
| Unvoiced | Voiced | ||||
| pf | /p͡f / | as in German Pferd pfatɮ [p͡fɑt͡ɬ] 'spit' |
bv | /b͡v / | as in obvious bvrac [bvɾɑʃ] 'sparrow' |
| ts | /ʦ/ | as in gets frants [fɾɑnʦ] 'France' |
dz | /ʣ/ | as in adze xandz [xɑnʣ] 'Chinese character' |
| tc | /ʧ/ | as in church tcitsíc [ʧi'ʦiʃ] 'to sneeze' |
dj | /ʤ/ | as in judge djáska ['ʤɑskɑ] 'cinnamon' |
| tɮ | /ƛ (t͡ɬ)/ | as <ll> in Icelandic alla txatɮ [txɑt͡ɬ] 'slap' |
dɮ | /λ (d͡ɮ)/ | as in Xhosa indlovu ódɮo ['o.d͡ɮo] 'mouth' |
There are eight "pure" affricates in Maltcégj, though none are represented by their own unique character. For more information, see Consonant Clusters, below.
Fricatives
| Unvoiced | Voiced | ||||||
| f | /f/ | as in foot faurx [fau̯ɾx] 'heat' |
v | /v/ | as in very víktro ['vik.tɾo] 'tree' | ||
| þ | /θ/ | as | in thing þad [θɑd] 'man' | ð | /ð/ | as | in then ðak [ðɑk] 'to say' |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| s | /s/ | as in sing salméilo [sɑl'mɛi̯.lo] 'apple' |
z | /z/ | as in zoo zendj [zɛnʤ] 'paint' | ||
| c | /ʃ/ | as <sh> in shoe cul [ʃul] 'prophesy' |
j | /ʒ/ | as in French jamais jadíȯ [ʒɑ'di.o] 'sun' | ||
| x | /x/ | as <ch> in German Bach xac [xɑc] 'difficult' |
ǧ | /γ/ | as <g> in Spanish amigo ǧénba ['γɛn.bɑ] 'apricot' | ||
| h | /h/ | as in hello hanák [hɑ'nɑk] 'person, human' | |||||
Nasals
| m | /m/ | as in man márga ['mɑɾ.ga] 'house' |
| n | /n/ | as in nose nyj [nɪʒ] 'grain' |
NB: There is no realization of /ŋ/, even before a velar obstruent. In many cases, an epenthetic <e> may intervene between <n> and a velar, but even when it does not, the letters are pronounced independently. E.g. gýnko /'gɪn.ko/ 'ginko', not **/'gɪŋ.ko/.
Liquids
| l | /l/ | as in lamb lexét [lɛ'xɛt] 'much, many' |
| r | /ɾ/ | as in Spanish pero ráta ['ɾɑ.tɑ] 'child' |
| ɮ | /ɮ,ɬ/* | as in Zulu indlala ɮat [ɮɑt] 'tooth' |
| ʌ | /ɫ̩/** | |
| ʀ | /ɹ̩/** |
* <ɮ> becomes devoiced to /ɬ/ when it occurs adjacent to an unvoiced obstruent (most frequently in the clusters <pɮ>, <tɮ>, and <kɮ>), e.g. txatɮ [txɑt͡ɬ] 'slap'.
** While technically liquids, <ʌ> and <ʀ> never occur non-syllabically, and are better treated as vowels.
Glides
| w | /w/ | as in wood wʌf [wɫ̩f] 'bone' |
| ẏ | /j/ | as <y> in you ẏála ['jɑ.lɑ] 'bird' |
Vowels
| Front | Back | ||||
| i | /i/ | as <ee> in beet ílǫx ['i.lɔx] 'knee' |
u | /u/ | as <oo> in boot ucát [u'ʃɑt] 'mustard' |
| y | /ɪ/ | as <i> in bit ylk [ɪlk] 'louse, nit' |
o | /o/ | as <oa> in boat tcok [ʧok] 'to go' |
| e | /ɛ/ | as in bet éjva ['ɛʒ.vɑ] 'mouse' |
ǫ | /ɔ/ | as <ou> in bought ǫ́bri ['ɔ.bɾi] 'niece' |
| a | /ɑ/ | as in father adína [ɑ'di.nɑ] 'sister' | |||
Syllabic Liquids
| ʌ | /ɫ̩/ | as <le> in middle ʌ́nax ['ɫ̩.nɑx] 'shopping' |
| ʀ | /ɹ̩/ | as <er> in better wʀn [wɹ̩n] '(maternal) grandparent' |
<ʌ> and <ʀ> are considered vowels in Maltcégj and never occur non-syllabically. However, they are not subject to the same diacritic rules for other non-diphthongs as other vowels (though they are still marked when stressed).
Diphthongs
| Front | Back | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ai | /ɑi̯/ | as in high skwai [skwɑi̯] 'lemon' |
au | /au̯/ | as in German Haus mlau [mlau̯] 'what' |
| ei | /ei̯/ | as in weigh eict [ei̯ʃt] 'game' |
eu | /ɛu̯/ | as <ew> in Welsh ewro ðeup [ðɛu̯p] 'foot' |
| oi | /ɔi̯/ | as in oil moin [mɔi̯n] 'warmth' |
Pronouns
| Person | Notes | Reflexive | Reciprocal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | jǫg | I | jagj | -- | |
| 2sg | mélem | you | madj | -- | |
| 2sg | mélminei | you | formal | madj | -- |
| 3sg.f. | pel | she | feminine | peibj | -- |
| 3sg.m | pul | he | masculine | peibj | -- |
| 3sg.n | paj | it | inanimate | peibj | -- |
| 3sg | pʌ | “they” | general or non-specific | peibj | -- |
| 1pl | jǫ́lmin | we | inclusive | jeltc | játci |
| 1pl | jalk | we | general or exclusive | jeltc | játci |
| 2pl | mélem | you | madj | mládji | |
| 2pl | mélminei | you | formal | madj | mládji |
| 3pl | parþ | they | general | pyldj | píkci |
Some of the most basic elements of language, pronouns will take the place of the subject in most sentences. Maltcégj pronoun structure does not differentiate much from that of English with the exception of a formal and informal second person, and the formal is very infrequently used, but there are “optional” pronouns which may offer more clarity. Just remember to use mélminei you’re speaking to someone with whom you would use a title in English (e.g. faculty members, judges, business associates, &c). Otherwise, the pronouns above will get you through most situations.
| Person | Notes | Reflexive | Reciprocal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2pl | akmélem | you (all) | madj | mládji | |
| 2pl | akmélminei | you (all) | formal | madj | mládji |
| 3pl | akpél | they | feminine (=parth) | pyldj | píkci |
| 3pl | akpúl | they | masculine (=parth) | pyldj | píkci |
| 3pl | akpáj | they | inanimate (=parth) | pyldj | píkci |
| 3pl | akpʌ́ | they | (=parth, incorrect) | pyldj | píkci |
If you want to be more specific, however, you can use the plural particle ak with the singular pronouns (with the exception of jǫg) to make them plural. You can optionally add ak to mélem and mélminei to further explain that you are referring to more than one person. You can also use ak with the third person pronouns if you explicitly want to annotate gender. Note, however, that saying akpʌ́ is technically incorrect: This should more accurately be parþ, but akpʌ́ is common in speech, just as saying they in English is common to refer to a singular person whose gender is unknown or unclear (as in “Someone left their notebook here.”)
In case you are unfamiliar with the idea of inclusive and exclusive we, only use jǫ́lmin when the person you are addressing is part of the “we” in question, i.e. if you can replace it with “you and I”, or “you and the rest of us”; otherwise, always use jalk.
In fact, pronouns in Maltcégj are even a little simpler than those in English, because there are no cases to decline. Possessives (my, your, his, our, &c.) are formed by adding the preposition u- to the word being possessed, and the accusative case (me, him, her, them, &c.) by adding the postposition -a to the pronoun.
Numbers
| 0 | zo | zero |
| 1 | am | one |
| 2 | dai | two |
| 3 | tran | three |
| 4 | jamp | four |
| 5 | frem | five |
| 6 | cei | six |
| 7 | dan | seven |
| 8 | relk | eight |
| 9 | nein | nine |
| 10 | seþ | ten |
| 20 | daiséþ | twenty |
| 30 | transéþ | thirty |
| 40 | jampséþ | forty |
| 50 | fremséþ | fifty |
| 60 | ceiséþ | sixty |
| 70 | danséþ | seventy |
| 80 | relkséþ | eighty |
| 90 | neinséþ | ninety |
| 100 | sam | hundred |
| 1,000 | seþ sam | thousand (=ten hundreds) |
| 10,000 | cep | ten thousand |
| 100,000 | seþ cep | hundred thousand (=ten ten-thousands) |
| 1,000,000 | sam cep | million (=hundred ten-thousands) |
| 10,000,000 | seþ sam cep | ten million (=ten hundred ten-thousands) |
| 100,000,000 | jak | hundred million |
| 1,000,000,000 | seþ jak | milliard/billion (=ten hundred-millions) |
| 10,000,000,000 | sam jak | ten milliard/billion (=hundred hundred-millions) |
| 100,000,000,000 | seþ sam jak | hundred milliard/billion (=ten hundred hundred-millions) |
| 1,000,000,000,000 | cep jak | billion/trillion (=ten thousand hundred-millions) |
| 10,000,000,000,000 | seþ cep jak | ten billion/trillion (=ten ten-thousand hundred-millions) |
| 100,000,000,000,000 | sam cep jak | hundred billion/trillion (=hundred ten-thousand hundred-millions) |
| 1,000,000,000,000,000 | seþ sam cep jak | billiard/quadrillion (=ten hundred ten-thousand hundred-millions) |
| 10,000,000,000,000,000 | gwil | ten billiard/quadrillion |
Maltcégj numbers are base-10 (decimal), but they increase incrementally instead of in the more regular groups of three or six. Therefore, numbers through 999 are enumerated just as they are in English, but the number 1,000 is considered “ten hundred,” or seþ sam. Thereafter, 10,000 is cep, 100,000 seþ cep ‘ten ten-thousands’, 1,000,000 is sam cep ‘one hundred ten-thousands’, 10,000,000 is seþ sam cep ‘ten hundred ten-thousands’, and 100,000,000 is jak. The next increment after jak is gwil, which has a value of ten quadrillion (or ten billiard if you’re from some parts of Europe), followed by ǧan, which is a number large enough that you shouldn’t ever need it unless you’re counting individual atoms, but it’s something like one hundred nonillion (10³²).
Compound numbers are spoken as they are written in English, from left to right, (optionally) inserting indicators for tens, hundreds, thousands, &c., so “twenty-nine” is daiséþ nein ‘two tens nine’, while 3,587 is transéþ fremsám relkséþ dan ‘three tens five hundreds eight tens seven, or thirty-five hundred eighty-seven’. Easier still, and less subject to misinterpretation, the numbers can simply be read from right to left, as in tran frem relk dan ‘three five eight seven’. These are all correct, just as it’s correct in English to say “three thousand five hundred eighty-seven,” “thirty-five hundred and eighty-seven,” “thirty-five eighty-seven,” or even (somewhat less correctly) “three five eight seven.”
The number “zero” should always be read as zo, not bleg, though the two words are interchangeable in some circumstances. When the last digit is zero, however, it should be read as “seþ,” or “sam” if two zeros… It may sound a little strange, but we do the same thing in English. For example, 780 should be read dan relk seþ ‘seven eighty’; 7,800, dan relk sam ‘seventy-eight hundred’; 78,000, dan relk seþ sam, ‘seventy-eight thousand, &c.
With the exception of the number ‘one’, the particle gji indicates ordinality, much like the suffix -th for numbers 4 – 10 in English. Any number ending in ‘one’ takes the ordinal adám, just as we say first and second in English rather than **oneth or **twoth.
Maltcégj uses the particle ak before a noun to indicate that it is plural, but this particle is not used when a number is present. For example, ‘book’ is klag, ‘books’ is aklág, but ‘two books’ is klag dai (no ak). (See Maltcégj#Nouns for more on the use of the plural.)
If using decimals in numbers, the word dat is used to mean ‘point’ or ‘dot’, though it literally means ‘seed’ or ‘egg’.
Articles & Determiners
Maltcégj has no definite article, and the indefinite article am is only used to specifically represent the number ‘one’. Its use of articles in this respect is very similar to Latin or Russian; definiteness is only expressed using the terms úli ‘this’, úla ‘that’, and úlot, ‘that (other) yonder’ (or, respectively, the proximal, medial, and distal deixes). There are additional deixes which are used primarily for discussing time (see Pro-Forms).
Nouns
Maltcégj nouns are relatively straight-forward. They do not inflect for case or number. Nouns are always the first word in a noun phrase (that is, they precede adjectives and adpositions), though genitive constructions may be constructed in ways that may seem contrary to this assertion (more on the genitive under Prepositions).
Nouns with two syllables which may double as verbs tend to have initial stress while the verb form has final stress, but this tendency is by no means a rule.
Indicating Plurality
While there is no specific plural form of nouns, there is a plural particle, ak-, which can be optionally prefixed to the noun stem to specify plurality. ak- is never used when a number is present or any other indicator that would already imply a plural.
For example:
téfʌðu 'table'
aktéfʌðu 'tables'
téfʌðu jamp 'four tables'
téfʌðu lexét 'many tables'
Adpositions
Adpositions in Maltcégj are generally suffixed to the nouns they modify. They undergo very little inflection (so it is not considered a case system per se), but there is some variation in some nouns which end in vowels.
| Usage | Example | Eng. | Ger. | Lat. | Esp. | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| klag | - | 'the book' | ek klag gnir. 'The book is green.' | - | - | - | - | (subject/nominative case) |
| klág- | a | 'the book' | dydkulóm jǫg klága. 'I saw the book.' | - | - | - | -n | (direct object/accusative case) |
| klág- | að | 'to the book' | (indirect object/dative case) | |||||
| klág- | ala | 'between the books' | (intrative case: automatically implies exactly two books) | |||||
| klág- | alm | 'without the book' | (abesso-caritive case) | |||||
| klág- | alx | 'on (the side of) the book' | ||||||
| klág- | ap | 'on (top of) the book' | (superessive case) | |||||
| klág- | arak | '(leaning) against the book' | (revertive case) | |||||
| klág- | av | 'after the book' | ||||||
| klág- | eð | 'around the book' | ||||||
| klág- | eki | 'up to/until the book' | (allato-terminative case) | |||||
| klág- | eloï | 'about/concerning the book' | ||||||
| klág- | em | 'over/above the book' | ||||||
| klág- | ei | 'in the book' | (inessive case) | |||||
| klág- | fra | 'with books' (as in 'strewn') | ||||||
| klág- | i | 'for the book' | (benefactive case) | |||||
| klág- | ið | 'before/prior to the book' | ||||||
| klág- | ili | 'next to/beside/near the book' | (apudessive case) | |||||
| klág- | it | 'behind the book' | ||||||
| klág- | iþ | 'under the book' | (subessive case) | |||||
| klág- | ʌk | 'by means of the book' | (instrumental case) | |||||
| klág- | o | 'from the book' | (delative case) | |||||
| klág- | oc | 'at the time of the book' | (temporal case) | |||||
| klág- | ok | 'with the book' | (commitative case) | |||||
| klág- | ol | 'except for the book' | (exclusive case) | |||||
| klág- | om | 'in front of the book' | ||||||
| klág- | is | 'instead of the book' | (excambiative case) | |||||
| klág- | ut | 'out of the book' | (elative case) | |||||
| klág- | vul | 'because of the book' | (causal case) | |||||
| klág- | aj | 'during/throughout the book' | (durative case) | |||||
| klág- | ʌ | 'by the book' | (passive agentive) | |||||
| klág- | ai | 'through (the middle of) the book' | ||||||
| u | -klág | '-’s book, the book belonging to' | (genitive case) |
Adjectives
Adjectives in Maltcégj generally follow the noun they modify.
| wíðoc | calíc |
| sky | blue |
| 'blue sky' | |
However, when an adjective is used as a copula, it may stand on its own as a predicate to ek ('to be'), or be treated as a verb in its own right.
| ek | gnída | gnir | (or) | gnir | gnída |
| is | grass | green | is-green | grass | |
| 'The grass is green.' | |||||
Comparison, Superference, and Equation
In English there are two distinct ways to create the comparative and superlative when talking about adjectives: By adding the words “more” and “most” to adjectives of Latin derivation, and by adding the suffixes “-er” and “-est” to those of Germanic origin. (Granted, this is a little bit simplified, but that’s the general idea.) Maltcégj only has one word for each of these types of comparative and superlative, but there are a few other ways that we cheat our way around in English. I also include here the equative phrase “as … as” and the negative comparative and superlative “less” and “least.”
| narán | most, -est |
| nan | more, -er |
| amán | as…as |
| pan | less |
| palán | least |
All of these words precede the adjectives they modify, unless the adjective is used explicitly as a verb, and therefore the subject of the sentence. It is not uncommon or incorrect in this case to use ek as the verb and to treat the adjective as the object. When comparing the qualities of a specific noun, the postposition að is used as we would use “than” in English (or “as” when used with amán).
When any of these are used in combination with an adjective that begins with /b/ or /p/, the final /n/ changes to /m/, e.g. pan+bjólet=pambjólet ‘worse’. If the adjective begins with /m/, /n/ is elided entirely, e.g. nan+mot=namót ‘emptier’. (See Phonology.)
| Predicative | Verbal | |
|---|---|---|
| ek pel kúluï akadína mésað narandíð | dið pel narán akadínahað mes kúluï | 'She is the most beautiful of all her sisters.' |
| ek pul janád nambjólet | bjólet pul janád nan | 'He is better today.' |
| ek paj wíðocað amancalíc | calíc paj amán wíðocað | 'It’s as blue as the sky.' |
| ek paj vlágaranað panxac | xac paj vlágaranað pan | It’s less difficult than school. |
| ek klag palambokúra | bokúra klag palán | It’s (my) least favorite book. |