Swuntsim

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Sfətsiv/Lexicon
Sfətsiv/Swadesh list
Swuntsim
təSfətsiv
Pronunciation[/təsfətsiv/]
Created byIlL
SettingVerse:Tricin
Tsimulh
  • Swuntsim
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Sfətsiv (natively təSfətsiv /təsfətsiv/) is a modern Tsimulh language. It is the vernacular language of the Sfətsiv people.

It's inspired by Lushootseed and Welsh.

Todo

pluralization - mess it up

  • utcütsi (7) or cütsi (8, pl) = 'shell'
    • Scütsi (Class 4 - collectives and augmentatives) = personal name, meaning 'patient, enduring'

Diachronical sketch

  • m n > v dh
  • sn > zd
  • b d > b d
  • g > gh > compensatory lengthening

Getting the aesthetic

  • q qʷ > ŋ ŋʷ > n m
  • > w when not word initial.
  • sb sd > zv zd
  • > f
  • ʔC > C: (geminate)
  • /ʔb ʔd/ > /b d/
  • Zəpətj ʔusansj ʔəsoməv tüdjonf = the living fish swims in water
  • ʔəvav = mother; ʔəpap = father
  • tüdjo = water
  • tjvic = house
  • üvC > uuC

Orthography

Sfətsiv is usually written in the Sfətsiv alphabet. It's occasionally transcribed into Windermere, Talmic or Clofabic scripts.

Phonology

Consonants

Like many Tsimulh languages, Sfətsiv has no liquids in native words. However, liquids occur in loaned vocabulary.

Swuntsim consonants
Labial Dental Palatal Velar Laryngeal Glottal
central lateral plain lab'zed
Nasal m m n n
Stop tenuis p p t t c k cw ʔ ʔ
voiced b b d d g g gw
Fricative voiceless f f s s σ ɬ sj ʃ ch χ chw χʷ h h
voiced v v dh ð
z z
zj ʒ
Affricate tenuis ts ts ξ tj
voiced dj
Approximant (r r) y j w w (l ɴ̆)

gw, chw become g, ch before rounded vowels /y u o/.

r, l are used in loanwords.

Geminates are allowed and are rendered by doubling (for digraphs, doubling the first consonant)

Vowels

i ü u e ə o a /i y u e ə o a/ + long vowels

Stress

???

Grammar

Modern Sfətsiv is SVO.

Modern Sfətsiv has lost the Proto-Tsimulh noun class system, which was still active in Sacred Sfətsiv. Pronouns and verbs only agree in animacy and number.

Nouns

The genitive is marked with -s or -əs: stsaσ 'a forest or similar collection' > stsaσəs 'of a forest'

-s- is often inserted between nouns in compounds.

Nouns with unmarked plurals and marked singulars are common. The singulative is marked with gü- in this case.

Expected noun class reflexes:

  1. ʔə-, pl. tsə- = humans, spirits
  2. bu-, pl. də- = animals and other things that move on their own
  3. p-, pl. əpi- = plants and mushrooms; things that grow
  4. s-, pl. yüsj-/yüs-/yü- = collections or large things
  5. üt-, pl. pσə- = roughly round, compact objects
  6. va-, pl. wə- = long objects; tools, instruments, devices
  7. tj-, pl. abi- = places, locations, slots
  8. gü-, pl. 0- or dh- = various... including fluids (powder, water, liquids, fire, light, waves, wind, ...)
  9. σi-, pl. chwi- = time periods; events; things that are temporary (e.g. ice)
  10. t-, ti- = abstractions, manner, way, infinitives, verbal nouns (Class 10+11)
  11. bda- = -ness, -hood (Class 12)

Verbs

Concord

The animate subject affix is ʔə- in the singular and tsə- in the plural. Verbs with inanimate subjects do not have any subject affix.

Personal affixes:

  • 1sg cwə-
  • 2sg fə-
  • 1pl gwə-
  • 2pl tsü-