Nanyse

Nanyse is my first and only conlang. Although this is far from its first incarnation, I'm hoping to use this version of my project in a science-fiction novel I'm working on. The language, and the culture of those humans who speak it, was created gradually over time as native speakers from different points in Earth's history were kidnapped and forced to work with speakers from other cultures and languages. I'd call the end result - this current incarnation of my conlang - a macro-pidgin, but in the story there are over 14 million native speakers. I hope you enjoy watching me struggle with creating this language. Please, don't hesitate to send any questions my way - especially if I've slipped up and forgotten my own rules or spellings. Thank you for your attentions!

Nanyse
Иφчψѣɔ
Pronunciation	[/nʌ.nɪ.sɛ/]
Created by	–
Native to	Dumun Territories
Native speakers	14,854,447 (2013)
Language family	Multiple Nanyse
Early form	Proto-Nanyse
Dialects	Ohi Kote Jara Yrem
Official status
Regulated by	The Academy of Unu

Introduction

Nanyse is the native language of the Ubaneb Dumun and the official language of trade in the known nabdetam. It is an a posteriori language, with reported origins in ancient Sumerian, Hittite, and Chinese, and employs alphabetic orthography, as well as agglutinative grammar. Nanyse is a consonantic and accusative language. There are four recognized dialects of Nanyse and, of them, the Ohi dialect is considered to be the official pronunciation.

Phonology

The Nanyse alphabet is composed of 52 symbols, with separate symbols denoting either the upper or lower case forms of 26 different sounds. Due to the difficulties of learning the native alphabet, and the relatively wise-spread use of the Roman alphabet on Kisar, it is the Roman alphabet that is used to teach new comers the written form of Nanyse. The native alphabet will be described in another article.

Alphabet

Names

Am

Æp

El

Yc

Is

Ot

Um

Har

Bat

Din

Fæ

Gan

Jen

Ci

Kap

Lun

Mos

Nem

Pan

Rom

Xo

Sel

Vas

Tro

Was

Zap

Upper Case

A

Æ

E

Y

I

O

U

H

B

D

F

G

J

C

K

L

M

N

P

R

X

S

V

T

W

Z

Lower Case

a

æ

e

y

i

o

u

h

b

d

f

g

j

c

k

l

m

n

p

r

x

s

v

t

w

z

Vowels

Vowels
	Front	Near-front	Central	Near-back	Back
Close	i		ʉ		u
Near-close	ɪ				ʊ
Close-mid			ɵ		o
Mid			ə
Open-mid	ɛ				ʌ
Near-open
Open	a

Monophthongs

Monophthongs are pure vowel sounds. Nanyse has four of these: A[ʌ], E[ɛ], Y[ɪ], and U[ʉ]

Diphthongs

Diphtongs are two vowel sounds occurring in the same syllable. Nanyse has three of these: Æ[ɛɪ], I[aɪ], and O[oʊ]

Consonants

Consonants
	Bilabial	Labio-dental	Dental	Palato-Alveolar	Alveolar	Alveolol-Palatal	Post-alveolar	Retroflex	Velar	Glottal
Nasal	m				n				ŋ
Plosive	p / b				t / d				k / g
Affricate				tʃ / dʒ	dz	ʥ
Fricative		f / v	θ / ð		s / z		ʃ / ʒ		x	h
Approximant					ɹ				w
Lateral app.					l			ɭ

Pronunciation

In Nanyse, consonants are pronounced as follows:

H[h] - B[b] - D[d] - F[f] - G[g] - J[dʒ] - C[tʃ] - K[k] - L[l] - M[m] - N[n] - P[p] - R[ɹ] - X[ʃ] - S[s] - V[θ] - T[t] - W[w] - Z[z]

Dialects

As mentioned before, the Ohi dialect is considered to be the proper pronunciation of Nanyse, but, standing at 14% of the population, the Ohi are far from the most numerous speakers of the language. Below is how Nanyse is pronounced among the Kote, Jara, and Yrem.

Kote

Vowels: A[a] - Æ[ʌɪ] - E[ɛ] - Y[ə] - I[ɛɪ] - O[u] - U[ɵ]

Consonants: H[silent] - B[b] - D[d] - F[v] - G[g] - J[ʥ] - C[sk] - K[x] - L[ɹ] - M[m] - N[n] - P[t] - R[h] - X[ʃ] - S[s] - V[f] - T[ð] - W[w] - Z[ʒ]

Jara

Vowels: A[ʌ] - Æ[ɛɪ] - E[ɛ] - Y[ɪ] - I[aɪ] - O[a] - U[ʉ]

Consonants: H[h] - B[p] - D[t] - F[f] - G[dʒ] - J[g] - C[ʃ] - K[k] - L[l] - M[m] - N[n] - P[b] - R[ɹ] - X[tʃ] - S[s] - V[θ] - T[d] - W[w] - Z[z]

Yrem

Vowels: A[ʌ] - Æ[aɪ] - E[ɛ] - Y[ɪ] - I[oʊi] - O[o] - U[u]

Consonants: H[h] - B[b] - D[p] - F[ð] - G[g] - J[dz] - C[dʒ] - K[x] - L[ɹ] - M[m] - N[n] - P[d] - R[ɭ] - X[ʃ] - S[s] - V[v] - T[tʃ] - W[w] - Z[ʒ]

Phonotactics

The syllable structure in Nanyse (meaning the number of consonant sounds that may precede or follow a vowel sound) is CCCVCCC (C = consonant, V = vowel), as long as the consonant clusters are an allowed combination. As happens with many languages that are formed over a long period of time from many different sources, there is the occasional word that doesn't fit this format. These words are the exception to the rule and are few in number.

Every syllable has a vowel as its nucleus

A nucleus may stand on its own, or may have one or more consonants before it (onsets) or following it (coda)

If a single consonant is between two vowels, the consonant belongs to the second syllable.

No geminates

Allowed Onsets
Any single consonant
Voiceless plosive + approximant
Voiceless affricate + approximant
Voiceless fricative + approximant
's' + nasal, other than 'ŋ'
's' + voiceless plosive
's' + voiceless fricative
's' + voiceless plosive + approximant
's' + voiceless fricative + approximant

Allowed Coda
Any single consonant
Two voiceless plosives
Two voiceless fricatives
'r' + fricative
'r' + nasal or lateral
'r' + plosive or affricate
Nasal + fricative
Approximant + nasal
Approximant + fricative
Approximant + plosive or affricate
Nasal + plosive or affricate
Plosive + voiceless fricative
Voiceless fricative + voiceless plosive
Three obstruents
'r' + two consonants
Approximant + two consonants
Nasal + plosive + plosive or fricative

Morphology

As the Ubaneb Dumun were forced to adapt to life in new and alien environments, so was their language. Only the aspects that best lent themselves to clear and concise communication survived as the language evolved alongside its people.

Prosody

Nanyse is atonal, meaning tone does not affect the meaning of the words. Syllable stress is light and penult, meaning that the next-to-last syllable is the one stressed, except in single syllable words, where it is omitted.

Gender

Nanyse uses three genders: personal, animate, and inanimate. Gender affects nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.

• Personal gender is reserved for living things that are intelligent or sacred. Sentient species, stars and gods are all referred to using the personal gender. Some natural genders still exist in vocabulary (ie: man, woman, bull, cow, etc.), but are not present in grammar.

• Animate gender is used for things that are living or life-like. Non-sentient species, plants, planets, and transportation are all referred to using the animate gender. To refer to something that qualifies for a personal gender with an animate gender is considered insulting.

• Inanimate gender is used for things that cannot move or are non-living. Buildings, weapons, land marks, and anything dead are all referred to using the inanimate gender. Although land marks are a part of the planet they’re on, they’re considered separate aspects of the planet (in the same way that your hair is part of you, but not actually you).

Favored things are frequently referred to by a gender higher than they should (a weapon might be referred to by a fighter as an animate thing, instead of an inanimate, or a bit of transportation might be by it’s pilot/driver as a personal thing instead of an animate).

Nouns

Nouns are words that denote a person, place, thing, animal, or idea. In Nayse, nouns are affected by definiteness, plurality, and gender.

• Definiteness differentiates between nouns that are specific and identifiable and nouns that are not.

Definiteness
	Prefix	Example
Indefinite	(none)	jex (a tree)
Definite	‘al-’	aljex (the tree)
Construct	‘e-’ (‘eh-’ for words beginning with a vowel)	jex esær (the tree of the world)

• Nanyse uses four plural forms:

Plural Forms
	# of Subjects	Suffix	Example
Singular	1	(none)	jex (1 tree)
Dual	2	‘-z’ (‘-ez’ for words ending in ‘s’, 'x', or 'z')	jexez (2 trees)
Paucal	3 - 5	‘-za’ (‘-eza’ for words ending in ‘s’, 'x' or 'z')	jexeza (3 - 5 trees)
Plural	6+	reduplication (the word is repeated)	jexjex (6 or more trees)

• When a noun of personal or animate gender becomes, or is referred to as, inanimate, the prefix 'te-' ('teh-', if the word begins with a vowel) is added to the word. If the noun being modified is already modified by definiteness, the gender modifier follows the definiteness modifier.
  • Example: tejex (a dead tree)
  • Example: altejex(the dead tree)
  • Example: tejex esær(the dead tree of the world)

Pronouns

Pronouns are words and forms that substitute for nouns or noun phrases. Nanyse uses eight types of pronouns. Pronouns are made plural in the same way that nouns are.

Possessive pronouns: indicate possession or ownership (his, hers, its, yours, ours, theirs)

Reciprocal pronouns: refer to a reciprocal relationship (one another, each other)

Demonstrative pronouns: distinguish objects or people that are referred to from other possible candidates.

• ‘This’ refers to things/people near the speaker.
• ‘That’ refers to things/people near the addressee or subject.
• ‘Yonder’ refers to things/people far from both.

Interrogative pronouns: ask which person/thing is meant

Relative pronouns: refer to people/things previously mentioned

Indefinite pronouns: refer to one or more unspecified beings, objects, or places

Pronouns
		Personal	Possessive	Reflexive
Personal	First Person	jæ	ejæ	yjæ
	Second Person	gæ	egæ	ygæ
	Third Person, absent	cæ	ecæ	ycæ
	Third Person, present	xæ	exæ	yxæ
Animate	Second Person	væ	evæ	yvæ
	Third Person	fæ	efæ	yfæ
Inanimate	Second Person	dæ	edæ	ydæ
	Third Person	tæ	etæ	ytæ

Pronouns, continued
		Personal	Animate	Inanimate
Reciprocal	\\\	by	bycy	byxy
Demonstrative	This	re	\\\	\\\
	That	non	nox	nok
	Yonder	ul	ula	ulu
Interrogative	What	ne	neky	neki
	Which	he	heky	heki
	Who/Whom	xu	xuky	xuki
	Whose	man	manky	manki
Relative	That	ge	geky	geki
	Which	ny	nyky	nyki
	Who/Whom	xy	xyky	xyki
	Whose	ku	kuky	kuki
Indefinite	All	jye	hepsa	hepsaki
	Another	tæren	obur	oburki
	Any	leri	xen	xenki
	Anyone	horen	\\\	\\\
	Anything	\\\	xenme	xenmeki
	Both	dou	tumu	tumuki
	Each	gy	her	herki
	Either	oabu	axkas	axkaski
	Enough	zugo	dala	dalaki
	Everyone	jewen	\\\	\\\
	Everything	\\\	xexe	xexeki
	Few	yxy	borca	borcaki
	Less	wu	byju	byjuki
	Little	di	lal	lalki
	Many	duo	iyz	iyzki
	More	genj	nama	namaki
	Most	zue	plusko	pluskoki
	Much	dehen	mec	mecki
	Neither	erzhe	ærys	æryski
	No one	wuwen	\\\	\\\
	None	wuhan	hec	hecki
	Nothing	\\\	mæxen	mæxenki
	One	zyjy	byry	byryki
	Plenty	feng	æges	ægeski
	Several	jige	peco	pecoki
	Some	mou	base	baseki
	Someone	yuren	\\\	\\\
	Something	\\\	xenma	xenmaki

Verbs

Verbs are words that convey actions, occurrences, or states of being. In Nanyse, verbs are modified by auxiliary verbs and, rarely, by suffixes.

• On the occasion that a verb is avalent, the suffix '-i' is used ('-hi' for verbs ending in vowels). This is mostly used for verbs related to the weather.
• When a verb is negated, the auxiliary verb 'bu' is placed immediately before the verb in question.

Adjectives and Adverbs

gender, tense, aspect(?)

Vocabulary

Colors
Brown	Su
Red	Dara
Orange	Huræxu
Yellow	Nekwan
Green	Tseng
Blue	Antara
Purple	Hemeda
Pink	Hibiz
White	Wum
Grey	Pexu
Black	Danku

Numbers
Arabic	Cardinal (quantity)	Ordinal (positional)	Ranking (order)	Partitive (fractions)	Multiplicative (repetition)	Reproductive (replication)	Collective (sets)
1	dysu	asde	isten	it	il	besik	tiji
2	mynu	min	sena	nyj	yd	duha	rovo
3	esu	sal	taksu	xlam	sam	belu	selu
4	lymu	lem	nanet	xlyg	sa	empat	papat
5	sua	yha	hansat	ynga	od	lema	lima
6	asu	æx	kaves	rok	wuk	\\\	enem
7	ymu	emen	nonte	xint	cil	\\\	pytu
8	usu	oxe	sama	pret	pæl	\\\	zolu
9	ylu	lav	tecum	tek	gu	\\\	conge
10	suaz	udeli	jubma	gip	xip	\\\	sepu
11	ytry	xadest	\\\	syjy	\\\	\\\	sewa
12	nyjry	tenkor	\\\	rolo	\\\	\\\	rolas
13	lemry	tal	\\\	telu	\\\	\\\	telas
14	lyjry	arba	\\\	pepet	\\\	\\\	patlas
15	ubry	ham	\\\	lyma	\\\	\\\	limlas
16	rokry	siv	\\\	nem	\\\	\\\	nemlas
17	nytry	xab	\\\	pitu	\\\	\\\	pytlas
18	pretry	vom	\\\	wolu	\\\	\\\	wolas
19	tekry	tix	\\\	songe	\\\	\\\	songlas
20	ubryz	no	\\\	pulu	\\\	\\\	rongpu

Numbers, continued
Arabic	Cardinal
0	nat
21	ubryz dysu
22	ubryz mynu
23	ubryz esu
24	ubryz lymu
25	suadesua
26	suadesua dysu
30	asudesua
35	ymudesua
40	usudesua
45	yludesua
50	suazua
55	ytrydesua
60	nyjrydesua
65	lemrydesua
70	lyjrydesua
75	ubrydesua
80	rokrydesua
85	nytrydesua
90	pretrydesua
95	tekrydesua
100	dyslo
200	mynlo
300	eslo
400	lymlo
500	sualo
600	aslo
700	ymlo
800	uslo
900	ylo
1000	dyslæ
2000	mynlæ
3000	eslæ
1,000,000	dyslam
1,000,000 squared (to the 2nd degree)	dyslamze
1,000,000 cubed (to the 3rd degree)	dyslamza
1,000,000 quarted (to the 4th degree)	dyslamzæ
1,000,000 quinted (to the 5th degree)	dyslamzo

Assorted Nouns
blood	uxu, mad, exar, mek
tree	jex
world	sær

Counting Time
The Year of Blood	Et ehUxu
year	et
month	yt
week	orær
day	ud
quarter hour	ke
minute	fen
second	sek