Dzetcavu
Introduction
Phonology
Consonants
| Bilabial | Dental | Alveolar | Post Alveolar | Velar | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | voicless | p /p/ | t /t/ | k /k/ | ||
| voiced | b /b/ | d /d/ | g /g/ | |||
| Nasal | m /m/ | n /n/ | ||||
| Fricative | voiceless | f /f/ | s /s/ | c /ʃ/ | x /x/ | |
| voiced | v /v/ | z /z/ | j /ʒ/ | ĝ /ɣ/ | ||
| Trill | r /r/ | |||||
| Lateral Approximant | l /l/ | |||||
| Affricate | voiceless | ps /ps/ pc /pʃ/ pf /pf/ |
ts /ts/ tc /tʃ/ |
ks /ks/ kc /kʃ/ | ||
| voiced | bz /bz/ bj /bʒ/ bv /bv/ |
dz /dz/ dj /dʒ/ |
gz /gz/ gj /gʒ/ | |||
Vowels
| Front | Back | Diphthongs | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i /i/ | u /u/ | ui /ui/ |
| Near-Close | ī /ɪ/ | ||
| Close-Mid | e /e/ | o /o/ | ei /ei/ |
| Open | a /a/ | ai /ai/ |
Orthography
Romanized Alphabet
Dzetcavu Alphabetical Order
p b t d k g m n r f v s z c j x ğ l i u ī e o a
Syntax
Word Order
- VOS/VPA
- Modifier second
Morphology
Morphosyntactic Alignment
- Ergative-Absolutive
Verbs
Tense
Tenses, other than the present, in Dzetcavu are indicated by tense particles proceeding the verb. There are five tense particles: past, near past, future, near future, and the infinite.
Past
psio
Near Past
sega
Future
degz
Near Future
Infinite
The Infinite Particle
The infinite "tense" particle is not so much a tense marker as a lack-of-tense marker. The infinite tense is used most often when stating facts or making promises and oaths. Any other situation where tense is not a factor, the infinite tense is used. It can also be used to make emphasize a declaration of some sort such as a declaration of faith, love, or guilt.
Imperative Mood
-ij Verbs
| Simple | Progressive | Perfect | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| 1st Person | -i | -iac | -ri | -ric | ||
| 2nd Person | -iz | -ita | -riz | -rita | ||
| 3rd Person | -ize | -izev | -rize | -riev | ||
-uj Verbs
| Simple | Progressive | Perfect | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| 1st Person | -u | -uīc | -ru | -ruc | ||
| 2nd Person | -uz | -utī | -ruz | -rut | ||
| 3rd Person | -uzī | -uzīv | -ruzī | -ruv | ||
-īj Verbs
| Simple | Progressive | Perfect | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| 1st Person | -ī | -īc | -rī | -rīc | ||
| 2nd Person | -īz | -īt | -rīz | -rīt | ||
| 3rd Person | -īze | -īv | -rīze | -rīv | ||
-ej Verbs
| Simple | Progressive | Perfect | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| 1st Person | -e | -ec | -re | -rec | ||
| 2nd Person | -ez | -eta | -rez | -ret | ||
| 3rd Person | -eze | -ezev | -reze | -rev | ||