Antarctican: Difference between revisions

Consonants in Antarctican can be grouped into two sets, soft and hard. Many affixes have two alternate forms, one with a soft consonant and one with a hard. When they attach to a word that begins with a soft consonant, the form of the affix with the soft consonant is used. If the word begins with a hard consonant, the form of the affix with the hard consonant is used.

The soft consonants are the palatal consonants, the palatalized labial consonants, and the lateral consonants. All the other consonants are hard.

For example, the antipassive voice is formed by an infix that comes after the first consonant of a word. For words that begin with a hard consonant, the infix is '''iem''' /em/ (which contains a hard consonant) e.g.

*ziitlòeji /ziːtɬɜɦɟi/ - to know (a person), mirative

*ziemiitlòeji /zemiːtɬɜɦɟi/ - to know (a person), mirative, antipassive

However, if the word begins with a soft consonant, the infix is '''imy''' /imʲ/ e.g.

*pyiquu /pʲiʔuː/ - to purify, mirative

*pyimyiquu /pʲmʲiʔuː/ - to purify, mirative, antipassive

*hliqo /ɬiʔɔ/ - to perform, mirative

*hlimyiqo /ɬimʲiʔɔ/ - to perform, mirative, antipassive (not *(hliemiqo) /ɬmiʔɔ/)

===Phonotactics===

Syllable structures are extremely limited, with only shapes being CV and CVɴ.

==Morphology==

===Nouns===

Nouns decline into three cases, Absolutive, Ergative and Comitative. Absolutive case is unmarked while the other two use vowel changes on the final vowel and/or suffixes. Nouns can also take demonstrative and possessive prefixes.

====Ergative case====

=====Modally voiced final vowel=====

'''Final vowel is a back vowel'''

*ton /tɔɴ/ - change (as in coins, money), absolutive

*taon /tɒɴ/ - change, ergative

*duoliiengun /doleːŋuɴ/ - dragon, absolutive

*duoliienguon /doleːŋoɴ/ - dragon, ergative

*paehuown /pɛχouɴ/ - dust, absolutive

*paehown /pɛχɔuɴ/ - dust, ergative

*yuenpiluoy - /jɨɴpiloi/ - employee, absolutive

*yuenpiloy /jɨɴpilɔi/ - employee, ergative

'''Final vowel is not a back vowel'''

In this case the ergative suffix is '''–n''' /ɴ/, or '''–ga''' /ga/ if the noun already ended in '''–n''' e.g.*ziva /ziɥa/ - boat, absolutive

*zivan /ziɥaɴ/ - boat, ergative

*myaewntayn /mʲɛuɴtaiɴ/ - mountain, absolutive

*myaewntayn-ga / mʲɛuɴtaiɴga/ - mountain, ergative

=====Final vowel has breathy or tense voice=====

For nouns where the vowel of the last syllable has breathy or tense voice, the situation is more complicated. They all take ergative suffixes of the form C V ɴ, where C is a consonant and V is a vowel. V is almost always /i/, except after /t/ or /d/, when it is /u/. However it is not possible to predict C, as shown by the examples below:

*píeykin /peiʔkiɴ/ - book, ergative

*kùe /kɨɦ/ - goods, absolutive

*kùezin /kɨɦziɴ/ - goods, ergative

*rè /&#641;&#600;&#614;/ - red object, absolutive</span></p>

*kúow /kou&#660;/ - cup, absolutive

*kúowpin */kou&#660;pi&#628;/ - cup, ergative

*píeylánkáe /pei&#660;la&#628;&#660;k&#603;&#660;/ - blanket, absolutive

*píeylánkáetun /pei&#660;la&#628;&#660;k&#603;&#660;tu&#628;/ - blanket, ergative

*wùerù /w&#616;&#614;&#641;u&#614;/- frog, absolutive

*wùerùgin /w&#616;&#614;&#641;u&#614;gi&#628;/ - frog, ergative

While it may seem that the consonant inserted before the –in (or –un) suffix is random, there are some patterns. Firstly, the inserted consonant is always an obstruent (oral stop, affricate or fricative), and never a sonorant (nasal or approximant). Secondly, observe that, when the final vowel of the absolutive stem has tense voice, the inserted consonant is always voiceless, while if the final vowel of the absolutive stem has breathy voice, the inserted consonant is always voiced. These two rules hold across the language.</span></p>

Also, for readers with knowledge of whatever language Antarctican borrowed the particular noun stem from, note that the “inserted” consonant almost perfectly corresponds with the consonant at the end of the word e.g. the word for “frog”, (''wùerù'' /w&#616;&#614;&#641;u&#614;/ in the absolutive case), is in fact descended from the English word “frog”. However, Antarctican does not like final consonants, so the final “g” was lost in the absolutive form. However in the ergative form, there is another vowel following the “g”, so it “reappears”, and the ergative form of the word is ''wùerùgin'' /w&#616;&#614;&#641;u&#614;gi&#628;/. A similar story happens with the “t” in the word for “blanket”, which is also derived from English.

====Stem changes====

However, for some of the nouns with breathy or tense voice on the final vowel of the absolutive stem, there are changes in the stem when they take the ergative suffix. These involve a change in vowel phonation to modal voice, and a change in vowel quality. e.g.