User:IlL/Spare pages 1/5

• IlL/Spare pages 1/5/Lexicon
• IlL/Spare pages 1/5/Swadesh list
• IlL/Spare pages 1/5/Names
• IlL/Spare pages 1/5/Phrasebook

IlL/Spare pages 1/5 (English: /tʃərn/ chern; native name: Tsjoen-Naet /tʂœn nɛt/) is an official language in Tsjoen-Gjeost and several other countries, and a lingua franca in Bjeheond.

Todo

Hô. /ho/ = Yes.

Avoid

• feok, keont

To translate

• The Little Prince

Phonology

Tsjoen has an average-sized (~25, depending on who's counting) consonant inventory and a rather large (10) vowel inventory.

Consonants

IlL/Spare pages 1/5 consonants

		Labial	Alveolar	Lateral	Medial	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal		m /m/	n /n/				ng /ŋ/
Plosive	voiceless	p /p/	t /t/			tj /t͡ɕ/	k /k/
	voiced	b /b/	d /d/			dj /d͡ʑ/	g /g/
Fricative	voiceless	f /f/	s /s/		sj /ɧ/	hj /ç/		h /h/
	voiced	v /v~w/	z /z/
Affricate			ts /ts/		tsj /tʂ/
Resonant		w /w/	r /r/	l /l/	zj /ɹ/	j /j/

Notes

• t d h are pronounced like tj dj hj before /i/ and /y/.

Vowels

Tsjoen has 10 vowel phonemes. There are no diphthongs.

	Front		Back
	unrounded	rounded	unrounded	rounded
Close	i /i/	y /y/	eu /ɯ/	u /u/
Close-mid	e /e/	oe /ø~œ/		o /o/
Open-mid	ae /ɛ/		eo /ʌ~ɔ/
Open			a /a/

Some linguists consider eu to actually be a non-palatalizing allophone of i.

eo is reduced to [ə] in unstressed syllables.

Stress

Stress is always initial.

Phonotactics

• The most common roots are C(v/j)V, C(v/j)VC(C), C(v/j)VC(C)V, C(v/j)VC(C)VC. (The initial C(v/j) is optional)
• /ji, jɯ, vɯ, vu/ are prohibited.
• Initial /ŋ/ is prohibited, as in both Sino-Korean and Swedish.

Syntax

Basic typology

Tsjoen grammar is mostly analytic and SVXO. Genitives and adjectives precede nouns: relative clauses follow nouns. Both pre- and postpositions are used.

Xi taek oseor eukng ti fjuxt.

I speak of love and hate.

Hveol ngeo mul kjom xi hi?

Are you saving it for me?

Baheod tjaleo.

Eagles exist.

Noun phrases

1. $NOUN can mean both 'a $NOUN' and '$NOUNs'; in general, number distinctions cannot be made without a classifier.
2. CLF $NOUN means 'the $NOUN' or 'the $NOUNs'; the number depends on whether the classifier is singular or plural.
3. bae $CLF $NOUN means 'this $NOUN'; hjeo $CLF $NOUN means 'that $NOUN'.
4. $ADJ $NOUN and $VERB fo $NOUN means 'an $ADJ $NOUN' or 'a $NOUN that $VERBs'.
5. $NOUN CLF $REL_CLAUSE = 'a $NOUN $REL_CLAUSE; see the section on clauses.
6. (With numbers) $NOUN $N CLF = '$N $NOUN(s)'; CLF $NOUN $N CLF = 'the $N $NOUN(s).

Verb phrases

Grammaticalization happens readily in Tsjoen, as evinced by the sheer number of auxiliaries and particles in the language.

TAM

Lots of TAM particles

• progressive va < "be at/in" like Celtic
• non-immediate future ho < "mean to"
• almost < "approach"
• overdo < "cross"
• take the initiative to < "take"
• try X-ing < "taste"
• may < "get"
• please < "be pleased to"

Clauses

The copula is o.

Relative clauses

Resumptive pronoun: lje

Miscellaneous

Poetry

A Tsjoen meter is a set number of syllables per line, commonly with a division of each line into (usually two) sub-lines of certain lengths.

Alliteration is essential in Tsjoen poetry; traditionally, one creates a sense of rhythm by using alliteration in certain patterns such as:

1. the beginning syllables of sub-lines, e.g. in the pattern a ... | a ... or a ... | [...] | a ...
2. syllables within lines or sub-lines, e.g. a a a _ ‖ b b b _ ‖ c c c _ ‖ d d d _
3. the above two may be combined, e.g. a _ a ... | b _ b ... ‖ b _ b ... | c _ c ... ‖ c _ c ... | d _ d ...

Non-traditional assonance schemes are used in modern poetry and in whimsical, quasi-Hofstadterian "riddle poems".

An example of a couplet with 4+4-lines:

Tsals ftjud txeob reodj ‖ tsop hjaeg jeopng;
dusp ny mjav pnje, ‖ dvots lats fjeltjar.

"Telegraphic" syntax à la Classical Chinese, i.e. not using classifiers and grammatical particles, is relatively common in "classical" poetry.

Sample texts

Otsn, xi-ingk o Saxmatezj Svad, ti xi-blotp o Tsjoen-blotp.