Tevrés

Tevrés hilerán • lla iveta tevressa
Spoken in:	Tevrén
Conworld:	Avrid
Total Speakers:	~ 12,000,000 (83 CA)
Genealogical classification:	Proto-Maro-Ephenian    - Aeranir       - Tevrés
Basic word order:	V2
Morphological Type:	Fusional
Morphosyntactic Alignment:	Southern Aeranid Alignment
Created by:
Gaffney McCoy Flancer	Began: January 2020 Status: In Progress

Tevrés (/tevˈɾes̺/), also known as Hilerán (/ileˈɾãn/), or the Tevren Language (lla iveta tevressa) is an a priori artistic constructed language created for the home-brew Dungeons and Dragons campaign setting Avrid. It serves as a lingua franca throughout the Kingdom of Tevrén, and is a southern Aeranid language derived from the prestige dialect of Çien-a-Tevrén, a region in northwest Hileria. It is used by the self identified Aerans of Hileria and subjects of the Crown of Tevrén, and came into use after the Hilerian War of Reclamation against the Fasser Empire. It brings together several Hilero-Aeranid dialects, as well as some varieties considered languages in their own right, such as Ertrañán.

Tevrés is a member of the Hilero-Aeranid group of languages, which evolved from several dialects of Late Aeranir spoken in Hileria after the fall of the Aeranid Empire in the 12th century BCA. Tevrés began to blossom as a literary language in the 6th and 7th centuries BCA, mainly from southern port cities under Fasser control, such as Cotive and Ludd-as-Fasri'in. Modern Tevrés is most heavily influenced by these southern dialects and the dialects spoken around Çien-a-Tevrén to the north, especially after these two regions were united in 36 BCA into Tevrén Vuy.

The word tevrés descends from Aeranir tibōrissus, referring to the Tibors, an Anderian tribe which settled throughout Hileria in the wake of the Aeranid Empire, named after the river Tibus, along which they settled. The Tibors also lent their name to Tevrén, from tibōrāniun. All Hilero-Aeranid languages, including Ilesse, which is technically an Eastern-Aeranid language, are often colloquially referred to as tevrés. The term hilerán is occasionally used for this purpose instead. The languages of Tevrén Vuy may be called lla iveta vuya (proper language), uy tevrés vuys (proper Tevrés), or vuyán in order to differentiate it from other hilerán languages.

Phonology

Consonants

Consonant phonemes

		Labial	Coronal			Palatal or postalveolar	Velar
			Lamino- dental	Apico- alveolar	Lateral
Nasal		m		n		ɲ
Plosive	voiceless	p	t̪			tʃ	k
	voiced	b	d̪			ɟ	g
Fricative	voiceless	f	s̻	s̺	ɬ	ʃ~x~h
	voiced		z̻	z̺	ɮ	ʒ~ɣ~ɦ
Rhotic	trill			r
	tap			ɾ
Approximate		(w)			l	ʎ	(w)

Vowels

Vowel phonemes

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i		u
Mid	e		o
Open		a

Prosody

Tevrés is a syllable-timed language with phonemic stress. This means that each syllable takes approximately the same amount of time, stressed or unstressed, vowels do not reduce in unstressed syllables, and that stress cannot be determined purely by phonological rules. However, stress does follow a few basic rules;

• If a polysyllabic word ends in a vowel or the consonants s or n, the penultimate syllable is stressed; e.g. vejarte, morrajoten.
• If a polysyllabic word ends in any other consonants, the ultimate syllable is stressed; e.g. zidej, sarcad.

Stress in words that do not conform to these rules is indicated with an acute accent (e.g. harín). Often these words descend from regular penultimately stressed words that lost a final e after a sonorant (e.g. harín from old harine, Tevrés from old Tevresse), or from loanwords or learned Aeranisms (e.g. Fáçar from Faṣr, ápico from apicor). Sometimes, stress can have grammatical meaning, such as llavo ('I laugh') versus llavó ('I laughed').

Dialects

Due to centuries of separation, the culture of Tevrén between the north and the south form a stark contrast. This contrast is noticeable in many everyday aspects of life, including the way people speak. Southern dialects of Aeranir are considered to be 'softer' and 'more breathy' then harsher northern varieties. In addition, the language of the Court at Combrienes shows some novel innovation, merging voiced and voiceless sibilants. The following chart breaks down some of the key differences;

Differences between northern and southern pronunciation

Letter	Northern	Southern	Court	Example		Letter	Northern	Southern	Court	Example
ç	[s̻]	[θ]	[z̻]	çeña ('love')		ł, łł*	[ɬ]	[ɕ]	[ɮ]	łana ('flower')
z	[z̻]	[ð]		corezos ('counties')		ł**	[ɮ]	[ʑ]		veła ('life')
s, ss*	[s̺]	[s]	[z̺]	suel ('sky')		x	[ʃ]	[h]	[ʒ]	Moxa (a name)
s**	[z̺]	[z]		hormesos ('salves')		j	[ʒ]	[ɦ]		oveja ('talk')

Notes:

• * the phonemes /s̺/ and /ɬ/ are written with doubled consonants ss and łł respectively between vowels.
• ** the phonemes /z̺/ and /ɮ/ (written s and ł) occur only between vowels, or next to a voiced consonant, and in some dialects word initially.

Speakers of northern Tevrés around the traditional homeland of the language, Çien-a-Tevrén, tend to realise all syllable final nasals as [ŋ], (e.g. Tevrén /tevˈɾen/: Northern [tevˈɾẽŋ], Southern [tevˈɾẽn]; cantir /kanˈtiɾ/: Northern [kãŋˈtiɾ], Southern [kãnˈtiɾ]). This trait is shared with the Hilero-Iscaric languages to the northwest of Çien-a-Tevrén, and may be an aerial feature.

Conflation of /l/ and /ɮ/

Some speakers conflate /l/ and /ɮ/ into a single phoneme. The realisation of this phoneme varies, and different conditions provoking different allophones. In Velles this phoneme is realised as [l] word initially and before voiced obstruents, and [ɬ] word finally and before a voiceless obstruent, whilst in Hodén it is [l] word initially, [ɮ] between vowels and before voiced obstruents, and [ɬ] word finally and before a voiceless obstruent, and in Os Selum it is [ɬ] initially, finally, and before a voiceless obstruent, and [l] elsewhere.

Initial Sibilants

Voicing does not contrast amongst final and initial sibilant consonants in Tevrés. Final sibilants are almost always voiceless, although they are often voiced before other voiced consonants, and in some dialects they are voiced between vowels. Initial sibilants, however, are harder to generalise. There are two trends; either full voicing or full devoicing. This varies dialect to dialect, within dialects from village to village, and even from speaker to speaker. In dialects that have voiced initial sibilants and pronounce /z̻/ as [ð], such as the speech of Vazca, this phoneme is often completely conflated with /d/, appearing as [d] word initially and after nasals; e.g. della for çella ('cat').

Nouns

Declension

Class I noun endings

	temporary		cyclical
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Direct-Genitive	-e	-os	-a	-as
Accusative-Dative	-o	-on		-an
Indirect-Ablative	-a	-os		-as

Class II noun endings

	temporary		cyclical
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Direct-Genitive	-Ø, -es, -s	-os	-Ø, -es, -s	-os
Accusative-Dative	-e	-en	-e	-en
Indirect-Ablative		-es		-es

Case

Case in Tevrés is a somewhat complex affair. There are three noun cases; the direct-genitive, accusative-dative, and the indirect-ablative. These cases can occupy different thematic relation based on the verb paradigm in use in a given clause, as well as whether or not the argument is a part of a verbs core valency. Core valency is the minimum number of arguments a verb must take. Each case has a core use, defined by the first half of its name, and a non-core use, defined by the second. As stated, core uses deal with the noun's relation to the verb, whilst non-core uses tend to address a noun's relationship with other nouns.

Direct-genitive

The direct-genitive case (DIR) is used to mark the subject of an intransitive verb, the agent of a transitive verb, or the donor of a ditransitive verb for 3rd person arguments in the split verb paradigm, and 1st and 2nd person arguments in the nominative verb paradigm. That is, the person or thing that does the action of the verb.

uy

DEF-T.DIR.SG

cueres

count-DIR.SG

llavas

laugh-IPFV.3SG.T

uy cueres llavas

DEF-T.DIR.SG count-DIR.SG laugh-IPFV.3SG.T

'The count is laughing'

ul

DEF-T.DIR.SG

as

wumbo-DIR.SG

pruviós

steal-PFV.3SG.T

llo

DEF-T.ACC.SG

gotejo

cap-ACC.SG

ul as pruviós llo gotejo

DEF-T.DIR.SG wumbo-DIR.SG steal-PFV.3SG.T DEF-T.ACC.SG cap-ACC.SG

'The wumbo stole the cap'

uy

DEF-T.DIR.SG

vuestre

elder-DIR.SG

zón

give-PFV.3PL

priezon

pen-ACC.PL

llo

DEF-T.ACC.SG

riel

child-ACC.SG

uy vuestre zón priezon llo riel

DEF-T.DIR.SG elder-DIR.SG give-PFV.3PL pen-ACC.PL DEF-T.ACC.SG child-ACC.SG

'The elder gave the child some pens'

It has another, albeit minor, role in the ergative verb paradigm, where it marks the patient of the verb. Because the ergative paradigm is triggered by a first or second person patient, this role is generally limited to the first and second persons pronouns. Furthermore, as Tevrés is heavily pro-drop these arguments are usually dropped. However, they can be reintroduced for emphasis, and when they are, they appear in the direct-genitive.

tego

1SG-DIR.EMP

oyel

see-ERG.1SG

lla

DEF-T.IND.SG

harina

priest-IND.SG

tego oyel lla harina

1SG-DIR.EMP see-ERG.1SG DEF-T.IND.SG priest-IND.SG

'The priest sees me'

There are cases where this might be used by nouns other than the first and second person pronouns. The most common would be appositive statements defining the first or second person.

tego

1SG-DIR

uy

DEF-T.DIR.SG

res

king-DIR.SG

sevol

kill-ERG.SUBJ.1SG

nen

2SG-IND

ma

INTERR

tego uy res sevol nen ma

1SG-DIR DEF-T.DIR.SG king-DIR.SG kill-ERG.SUBJ.1SG 2SG-IND INTERR

You would kill me, the king?

Some argue that this is not a true appositive, rather a genitive appositive as in Japanese or Ancient Greek. One piece of evidence that points to this theory is the fact that these require a personal pronoun, which is usually dropped. However, relative clauses modifying a first or second person patient can undeniably be said to have an patientive meaning, as they must agree with the head.

tego

1SG-DIR

ne

2SG-ACC

queñid

love-PFV.PTCP-T.DIR.SG

sevol

kill-ERG.SUBJ.1SG

nen

2SG-IND

ma

INTERR

tego ne queñid sevol nen ma

1SG-DIR 2SG-ACC love-PFV.PTCP-T.DIR.SG kill-ERG.SUBJ.1SG 2SG-IND INTERR

You would kill me, who loved you?

The direct-genitive may also be used to express relation, ownership, or other connection between two nouns. In these cases, the modified noun (the head) come first, and the modifying noun (the dependant) second; e.g. uy-gotejo-uy-vuestre (the elder's cap) not **uy-vuestre-uy-gotejo. Often times these phrases are joined by dashes, as shown in the previous example.

Tevrés genitive contstuctions may optionally distinguish relationships initiated with or without the dependants control over the head by using prepositions. The following table illustrates the a-genitive and the eu-genitive. In action nouns, the eu-genitive dependant corresponds to the head action's subject, and the a-genitive dependant to its object. Using eu implies that the dependant is active, influential, or formative towards the head, whilst the use of a implies that the head is active, influential, or formative towards the dependant.

Direct-genitive-modifying prepositions

Regular	with a (to)	with eu (from)
harena-uy-vuestre the elder's letter	harena-al-vuestre a letter to the elder	harena-el-vuestre a letter from the elder
uy-vies-uy-cueres the count's law	uy-vies-al-cueres the law which governs the count	uy-vies-el-cueres the law the count creates
lla-rentaga-uy-mader the council's ruler	lla-rentaga-al-mader the ruler who controls the council	lla-rentaga-el-mader the ruler the council controls
lla-toladre-uy-res the king's army	lla-toladre-al-res the army belonging to the king	lla-toladre-el-res the army sent after the king

Accusative-dative

The accusative-dative case (ACC) has limited use in the nominative and ergative verb paradigms, and is used only to mark the theme, or direct object, of ditransitive verbs. However because of this, it is commonly seen in applicative clauses. In the nominative paradigm, the old indirect argument is moved to the accusative case, with the new applicative argument taking the indirect case. In the ergative paradigm, the applicative argument is added directly into the accusative case.

llo

DEF-T.ACC.SG

soriejo

wardrobe-ACC.SG

a-hego

BEN=make-NOM.1SG

çi

REFL-DIR

garinos

friend-IND.PL

(non applicative lla sorieja hego)

 

llo soriejo a-hego çi garinos

DEF-T.ACC.SG wardrobe-ACC.SG BEN=make-NOM.1SG REFL-DIR friend-IND.PL

'I am making a wardrobe for my friends'

tego

1SG-DIR.EMP

en-oyel

LOC=see-ERG.1SG

lla

DEF-T.IND.SG

harina

priest-IND.SG

llo

DEF-C.ACC.SG

cuerço

market-ACC.SG

(non applicative tego oyel lla harina)

 

tego en-oyel lla harina llo cuerço

1SG-DIR.EMP LOC=see-ERG.1SG DEF-T.IND.SG priest-IND.SG DEF-C.ACC.SG market-ACC.SG

'The priest sees me in the market'

The accusative-dative is used much more in the split verb paradigm, where it marks the patient of a transitive verb and both the theme and recipient of ditransitive ones. On top of that, applicative arguments are also added in the accusative-dative case. This may lead to situations where there are as many as three accusative-dative arguments in a clause. In these cases, context is usually sufficient to tell which argument fulfils which role.

çi

REFL-DIR

mientron

sibling-ACC.PL

a-jovan

BEN=write-3PL

harenan

letter-ACC.PL

çi mientron a-jovan harenan

REFL-DIR sibling-ACC.PL BEN=write-3PL letter-ACC.PL

'They write letters for their siblings'

garinon

friend-ACC.SG

co-teuden

COM=drink-PFV.3PL

tin

tea-ACC.SG

garinon co-teuden tin

friend-ACC.SG COM=drink-PFV.3PL tea-ACC.SG

'They drank tea with friends'

tan

but

en-cares

LOC=dance-T.3SG

juina

Juina-DIR.SG

çi

REFL-DIR

combre

home-ACC.SG

tan en-cares juina çi combre

but LOC=dance-T.3SG Juina-DIR.SG REFL-DIR home-ACC.SG

'Juina only dances in their own home'

avron

fish-ACC.PL

en-canta

LOC=feed-C.3SG

llan

DEF-C.ACC.PL

çellan

cat-ACC.PL

lla

DEF-C.ACC.SG

yumas

garden-ACC.SG

avron en-canta llan çellan lla yumas

fish-ACC.PL LOC=feed-C.3SG DEF-C.ACC.PL cat-ACC.PL DEF-C.ACC.SG garden-ACC.SG

'They feed the cats fish in the garden'

Indirect-ablative

The indirect-ablative case (IND) is used to mark core arguments of a verb exclusively in the nominative and ergative paradigms. It is never used with intransitive verbs, because is appearance depends on the person of the direct-genitive argument. In the nominative paradigm, it marks the patient of a transitive verb and the recipient of a ditransitive verb. In the ergative paradigm, it marks the agent and the donor. Additionally the indirect-ablative case is used for applicative arguments in the nominative paradigm, with the old indirect-ablative argument moving into the accusative-dative case.

maeja

breakfast-IND.SG

caño

eat-NOM.1SG

maeja caño

breakfast-IND.SG eat-NOM.1SG

'I will eat breakfast'

lla

DEF-T.IND.SG

cossa

bear-IND.SG

cañiólam

eat-ERG.1PL

tantos

all-T.DIR.PL

lla cossa cañiólam tantos

DEF-T.IND.SG bear-IND.SG eat-ERG.1PL all-T.DIR.PL

'The bear ate all of us'

ti

1SG-DIR

muzrinon

enemy-ACC.PL

cantió

feed-NOM.PST.1SG

cossa

bear-IND.SG

ti muzrinon cantió cossa

1SG-DIR enemy-ACC.PL feed-NOM.PST.1SG bear-IND.SG

'I fed my enemies to a bear'

cosso

bear-ACC.SG

cantiólam

feed-ERG.PST.1PL

muzrina

enemy-IND.SG

cosso cantiólam muzrina

bear-ACC.SG feed-ERG.PST.1PL enemy-IND.SG

'Our enemy fed us a bear'

llon

DEF-T.ACC.PL

muzrinon

enemy-ACC.PL

a-cantió

BEN=feed-NOM.PST.1SG

cosso

bear-ACC.SG

ti

1SG-DIR

ayestra

master-IND.SG

llon muzrinon a-cantió cosso ti ayestra

DEF-T.ACC.PL enemy-ACC.PL BEN=feed-NOM.PST.1SG bear-ACC.SG 1SG-DIR master-IND.SG

'I fed the enemies to a bear for my master'

Articles

Definite article

Definite article

	temporary		cyclical
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Direct-Genitive	ul/uy	llos	lla	llas
Dative-Accusative	llo	llon		llan
Ergative-Ablative	lla	llos		llas

Indefinite article

Indefinite article

	temporary		cyclical
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Direct-Genitive	as	aros	ara	aras
Dative-Accusative	ar	aren		aran
Ergative-Ablative		ares		aras

In addition to the definite article, Tevrés also boasts an indefinite article. The Tevrés indefinite article carries a stronger meaning that English a/an, and may better be translated as 'some' or 'someones.' The Tevrés equivalent of a/an is usually simply the bare noun, e.g. lla çella ('the cat') vs. çella ('a cat') vs. ara çella ('some cat'). The indefinite article can also be used to convey the meaning 'someone's' or 'someone else's,' or to talk about things that are general, or public.

miré

NEG=do-IMP

çi

REFL-DIR

çierve

body-ACC.SG

ara

INDEF-C.IND.SG

çear

affairs-IND.SG

en-hordir

LOC=put-INF

miré çi çierve ara çear en-hordir

NEG=do-IMP REFL-DIR body-ACC.SG INDEF-C.IND.SG affairs-IND.SG LOC=put-INF

'Don't stick yourself in other peoples' affairs.'

res

king-DIR.SG

co-quera

COM=bear-C.3SG

çe

REFL-ACC

pariña

properly

en

in

aran

INDEF-C.ACC.PL

oejan

eye-ACC.PL

res co-quera çe pariña en aran oejan

king-DIR.SG COM=bear-C.3SG REFL-ACC properly in INDEF-C.ACC.PL eye-ACC.PL

'A king should bear themselves properly in the eyes of the people.'

In older texts, or texts stylistically drawing from an older register, the oblique stem art- may be found instead of ar-. This is because the Tevrés indefinite article is derived from Aeranir ars, artis ('person'). However, its root was reformed by analogy to other words ending in -as in the direct-genitive case.

Pronouns

Tevrés Personal Pronouns

		1st person		2nd person		3nd person
						temporary		cyclical
		Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Nominative- Genitive	emphatic	tego	yego	nego	rego	ul/uy	ulos	ula	ulas
	plain	ti	yos	ni	ros
Dative-Accusative		te	yon	ne	ruen	ulo	ulon		ulan
Ergative-Ablative		ten	yos	nen	ros	ula	ulos		ulas

Verbs

Morphosyntactic alignment

Tevrés uses a system of morphological alignment which is reminiscent of aspects of split ergativity, direct-inverse languages, austronesian alignment, and bäladiri alignment. This system is common amongst southern Aeranid languages such as S'entigneis, Morraolà, and to an extent Ilesse, and is thus referred to as Southern Aeranid Alignment (SAA). This is characterised by different verbal paradigms triggered by first and second person arguments which affect the way Tevrés cases align with thematic roles, and how the verb agrees with its arguments.

Verb paradigms and alignment

The chart below further details how arguments align in each paradigm. S represents the morphosyntactic subject, A the agent, P the patient, D the donor, T the theme, and R the recipient.

Verb paradigm:	1 nominative						2 ergative						3 split
Valency:	in.	tr.		di.			in.	tr.		di.			in.	tr.		di.
Noun argument:	S	A	P	D	T	R	S	A	P	D	T	R	S	A	P	D	T	R
Noun case:	DIR		IND	DIR	ACC	IND	N/A	IND	DIR	IND	ACC	DIR			ACC	DIR	ACC
Verb agreement:	✔︎	✔︎	✖︎	✔︎	✖︎	✖︎	N/A	✖︎	✔︎	✖︎	✖︎	✔︎	✔︎	✖︎	✔︎	✖︎	✖︎	✔︎

Transitive verbs show three different modes of morphosyntactic alignment, here called paradigms, depending on the arguments present. When the agent of a transitive verb or the donor of a ditransitive verb is the first or second person, the verb uses nominative agreement. The verb agrees with the subject in person and number, the patient or recipient are in the indirect-ablative case, and the theme is in the accusative dative. Because the subject is marked on the verb and is always the first or second person, the pronoun itself is usually dropped. However, it can be added for emphasis.

tevressa

Tevrés-IND.SG

ovejo

speak-NOM.1SG

tevressa ovejo

Tevrés-IND.SG speak-NOM.1SG

'I speak Tevrés'

tego

1SG-DIR.EMP

jovó

write-PST.NOM.1SG

lla

DEF-C.IND.SG

salva

book-IND.SG

tego jovó lla salva

1SG-DIR.EMP write-PST.NOM.1SG DEF-C.IND.SG book-IND.SG

'I wrote the book!'

łanan

flower-ACC.PL

çaste

give-NOM.2SG

llos

DEF-T.IND.PL

rieles

child-IND.PL

ma

INTERR

łanan çaste llos rieles ma

flower-ACC.PL give-NOM.2SG DEF-T.IND.PL child-IND.PL INTERR

'Will you give the children flowers?'

When the patient or recipient is the first or second person, the verb displays ergative agreement. Here, the agent or donor is in the indirect-ablative case, and the verb agrees with the person and number of the patient or recipient. The theme is still accusative-dative, but the recipient (first or second person) is in the direct-genitive. Just as above, first and second person pronouns are unnecessary and are dropped.

garina

friend-IND.SG

querel

help-ERG.1SG

garina querel

friend-IND.SG help-ERG.1SG

'A friend is helping me'

ijana

Ijan-IND.SG

hemiol

send-ERG.PST.1SG

gotejo

cap-ACC.SG

suevo

new-T.ACC.SG

ijana hemiol gotejo suevo

Ijan-IND.SG send-ERG.PST.1SG cap-ACC.SG new-T.ACC.SG

'Ijan sent me a new cap'

If neither argument for a verb is the second or first person, then Tevrés shows a type of split-ergativity, where the agent/donor of the verb is in the direct-genitive case and the patient/recipient in the dative-accusative, whilst the verb agrees with the most oblique argument (patient or recipient).

castil

Castil-DIR.SG

travas

walk-3SG

llo

DEF-T.ACC.SG

morrajote

castle-ACC.SG

castil travas llo morrajote

Castil-DIR.SG walk-3SG DEF-T.ACC.SG castle-ACC.SG

'Castil is walking (around) the castle'

ul

DEF-T.DIR.SG

as

wumbo-DIR.SG

çava

give-PST.3SG.C

avro

fish-ACC.SG

lla

DEF-C.ACC.SG

çella

cat-ACC.SG

ul as çava avro lla çella

DEF-T.DIR.SG wumbo-DIR.SG give-PST.3SG.C fish-ACC.SG DEF-C.ACC.SG cat-ACC.SG

'The man gave the cat a fish'

It should be noted that the first person is higher in the hierarchy than the second person, so if the first person and second person are both present, the verb will agree with the first person.

nen

2SG.PRO-IND

çiso

know-NOM.1SG

nen çiso

2SG.PRO-IND know-NOM.1SG

'I know you'

nen

2SG.PRO-IND

oyólam

see-ERG.1SG

ma

INTERR

nen oyólam ma

2SG.PRO-IND see-ERG.1SG INTERR

'Did you see us?'

Due to the fact that a first or second person argument must 1.) be in the direct-genitive case and 2.) take verbal agreement, these arguments cannot normally appear as the theme of a ditransitive verb, because this argument always appears in the accusative-dative case, and never takes verbal agreement. To remedy this, the original recipient of the verb is ejected from the verb's core valency by rephrasing it with an adjunct clause, and the first or second person argument is elevated to the direct-genitive argument.

**pueva

father-DIR.SG

vadiós

send-T.3SG

te

1SG.PRO-ACC

llo-pristino-a-damata

DEF-T.ACC.SG=prince-ACC.SG=to=Damata-DIR.SG

(grammatically incorrect)

 

**pueva vadiós te llo-pristino-a-damata

father-DIR.SG send-T.3SG 1SG.PRO-ACC DEF-T.ACC.SG=prince-ACC.SG=to=Damata-DIR.SG

**'My father sent me to the prince of Damata'

pueva

father-IND.SG

vadiol

send-ERG.1SG

a'lo

to=DEF-T.ACC.SG

pristino-a-damata

prince-ACC.SG=to=Damata-DIR.SG

(correct version)

 

pueva vadiol a'lo pristino-a-damata

father-IND.SG send-ERG.1SG to=DEF-T.ACC.SG prince-ACC.SG=to=Damata-DIR.SG

'My father sent me to the prince of Damata'

Due to the nature of this system, a small change to the verb (and by extension to the cases of certain arguments) can completely change the meaning of a sentence.

vejarten

story-ACC.PL

serquió

tell-NOM.1SG

çi

REFL-DIR

garina

friend-IND

vejarten serquió çi garina

story-ACC.PL tell-NOM.1SG REFL-DIR friend-IND

'I told my friend stories'

vejarten

story-ACC.PL

serquiol

tell-ERG.1SG

çi

REFL-DIR

garina

friend-IND

vejarten serquiol çi garina

story-ACC.PL tell-ERG.1SG REFL-DIR friend-IND

'My friend told me stories'

vejarten

story-ACC.PL

serquiós

tell-T.3SG

çi

REFL-DIR

garino

friend-ACC

vejarten serquiós çi garino

story-ACC.PL tell-T.3SG REFL-DIR friend-ACC

'They told their friend stories'

Conjugation

Conjugation classes

Class	Theme vowel	Example
Strong	a	jovar (to write)
	i	apiçir (to appear)
	e	corer (to annoy)
Weak	Ø	tiedre (to drink)

There are four conjugation classes in Tevrés, characterised by the vowel (or lack there of) used to form the infinitive. There are three strong conjugation classes, and one weak class. The weak class conjugates identically to the strong e-class in the non-past tense, and may either conjugate identically to the e-class in the past as well, or take irregular conjugation endings, in conjuncture with stem mutation.

Transitive verb endings

	Singular						Plural
	nominative		ergative		split		nominative		ergative		split
	1st	2nd	1st	2nd	3rd t.	3rd c.	1st	2nd	1st	2nd	3rd
Non-past	-o -o -o	-ás -ís -és	-al -el -el	-alas -elas -elas	-as -es -es	-a -a -a	-am -im -em	-ad -id -ed	-álam -élam -élam	-álad -élad -élad	-an -en -en
Past regular	-ó -ió -ió	-ós -iós -iós	-ol -iol -iol	-olas -iolas -iolas	-ós -iós -iós	-á -iá -iá	-om -iom -iom	-od -iod -iod	-ólam -iólam -iólam	-ólad -iólad -iólad	-ón -ión -ión
Past irregular	-o	-és	-el	-elas	-es	-a	-em	-ed	-élam	-élad	-en

Intransitive verb endings

	Singular					Plural
	1st	2nd	3rd t.	3rd c.	1st	2nd	3rd
Non-past	-o -o -o	-ás -ís -és	-as -es -es	-a -a -a	-amos -imos -emos	-áis -ís -éis	-an -en -en
Past regular	-ó -ió -ió	-ós -iós -iós	-ós -iós -iós	-á -iá -iá	-om -iom -iom	-od -iod -iod	-ón -ión -ión
Past irregular	-o	-és	-es	-a	-em	-ed	-en

Applicative voices

Tevrés, like the other southern Aeranid languages, prefers to express its noun phrases as part of a verb's core arguments, rather than through adjuncts or prepositional phrases. Tevrés is able to incorporate these phrases into a verb's core through applicative voices, which increases a verb's valency to include a new core object argument. There are five main applicative voices, each formed with a simple verbal prefix.

Name	Prefix	Usage	Example
Benefactive (BEN)	a-	Expresses that the referent of the noun receives the benefit of the situation expressed by the clause, used where English would use 'for,' 'for the benefit of,' or 'intended for.'	çi garinos a-llavó 'I laughed for the sake of my friends' (i.e. to reassure or comfort them)
Comitative (COM)	co-	Denotes a relationship of 'accompanyment' between two participants in an event, expressed in English with the preposition 'with,' in the sense of 'in company with' (but not 'with' meaning 'using' or 'by means of').	çi garinos co-llavó 'I laughed with my friends'
Locative (LOC)	en-	Indicates a location, corresponding vaguely to the English prepositions 'in', 'on', 'at', and 'by'.	çi garinon en-ango lla sarvaja 'I'm meeting my friends at the library'
Instrumental (INSTR)	eu/el-	Used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action. The noun may be either a physical object or an abstract concept.	prieza eu-jovo 'I write (it) with a pen'
Malefactive (MAL)	y/e-	Pertaining to the linguistic form or case or the semantic role of the person who is harmed or who loses out by an action. The opposite of the benefactive applicative.	çi garinos y-llavó 'I laughed at my friends' (i.e. ridiculed them)

There is a sixth applicative voice, the os-genitive (GEN). However, this applicative is limited only to relative clauses, to signify that head fulfils a gentive role within the subordinate clause. When the subordinate clause has more than one argument aside from the referent, the os-prefix is applied to the noun the referent is dependant to.

ul

DEF-T.DIR.SG

as

wumbo-DIR.SG

çella

cat-IND.SG

ti-os-cantid

1SG-DIR=GEN=feed-PST.PTCP-T.DIR.SG

ul as çella ti-os-cantid

DEF-T.DIR.SG wumbo-DIR.SG cat-IND.SG 1SG-DIR=GEN=feed-PST.PTCP-T.DIR.SG

'the wumbo whose cat I fed'

uy

DEF-T.DIR.SG

paño

guard-DIR.SG

os-res

GEN=king-DIR.SG

llo

DEF-T.ACC.SG

cuerte

count-ACC.SG

seud

kill-PST.PTCP-T.DIR.SG

uy paño os-res llo cuerte seud

DEF-T.DIR.SG guard-DIR.SG GEN=king-DIR.SG DEF-T.ACC.SG count-ACC.SG kill-PST.PTCP-T.DIR.SG

'the guard whose king killed the count'

uy

DEF-T.DIR.SG

paño

guard-DIR.SG

uy

DEF-T.DIR.SG

res

king-DIR.SG

os-cuerte

GEN=count-ACC.SG

seud

kill-PST.PTCP-T.DIR.SG

uy paño uy res os-cuerte seud

DEF-T.DIR.SG guard-DIR.SG DEF-T.DIR.SG king-DIR.SG GEN=count-ACC.SG kill-PST.PTCP-T.DIR.SG

'the guard whose count the king killed'

Whilst applicatives are preferred to adjuncts, Tevrés explicitly disallows multiple applicatives, that is, multiple applicative prefixes attached to a single verb. Thus, **çi garinon co-en-llavó lla sarvaja is ungrammatical. In cases where two or more object arguments must be added to a clause, one argument is expressed through a normal applicative voice, and the others will be introduced in adjuncts; usually prepositional phrases. Which argument takes the applicative voice is determined by a straightforward hierarchy chain. The highest argument on the chain takes the applicative, while the others adjuncts.

benefactive > comitative > locative > instrumental > malefactive > genitive

Adjunct arguments are ignored as part of the nominal and verbal alignment paradigms. Therefor, verbs core arguments in these cases decline exactly as they would without the adjunct. The case that the adjunct is in is governed by the preposition introducing the phrase.

çi

REFL-GEN

garinos

friend-IND.PL

co-llavó

COM=laugh-PST.NOM.1SG

en

LOC

llo

DEF-T.ACC.SG

sarvajo

library-ACC.SG

çi garinos co-llavó en llo sarvajo

REFL-GEN friend-IND.PL COM=laugh-PST.NOM.1SG LOC DEF-T.ACC.SG library-ACC.SG

'I laughed with my friends in the library'

lla

DEF-C.DIR.SG

salva

book-DIR.SG

Moxa

Moxa-DIR.SG

çi

REFL-DIR

mientra

sibling-IND.SG

y

MAL

llo-sarvajo-el-cueres

DEF-T.ACC.SG=library-ACC.SG=ABL-DEF.T.DIR.SG=count-DIR.SG

a-pruvida

BEN=steal-PST.PTCP-C.DIR.SG

lla salva Moxa çi mientra y llo-sarvajo-el-cueres a-pruvida

DEF-C.DIR.SG book-DIR.SG Moxa-DIR.SG REFL-DIR sibling-IND.SG MAL DEF-T.ACC.SG=library-ACC.SG=ABL-DEF.T.DIR.SG=count-DIR.SG BEN=steal-PST.PTCP-C.DIR.SG

'The book Moxa stole from the count's library for his sibling'

Numbers

Aeranir numbers

#	Cardinal	Ordinal	Adverbial	#	Cardinal	Ordinal	Adverbial	#	Cardinal	Ordinal	Adverbial	#	Cardinal	Ordinal	Adverbial
1	im	priste	tiempre	11	eñintos	eñís	eñinte	21	callos im	calde priste	cal tiempre	120	ñoçallos	ñoçalde	ñoçal
2	ser	mezún	vires	12	verzintos	verzís	verzinte	22	callos ser	caldo mezún	cal vires	140	ñallos	ñalde	ñal
3	moros	muerte	mores	13	preintos	proís	preinte	30	callos queinços	calde quies	cal quein	160	ñancullos	ñancuzde	ñancul
4	cuałos	cual	cuaçes	14	cuałentos	cuałés	cuałente	40	vercullos	vercuzde	vercul	180	ñałcullos	ñałcuzde	ñałcul
5	quicos	quite	quigue	15	queintos	queís	queinte	50	vercullos queinços	vercuzde quies	vercul quein	200	tamiłłos	tamite	tamiçes
6	ñoços	ñoçum	ñoz	16	ñoçentos	ñoçés	ñoçente	60	prollos	prolde	prol	220	tamiłłos callos	tamite calde	tamiçes cal
7	ñayos	ñante	ñain	17	ñentos	ñaís	ñente	70	prollos queinços	prolde quies	prol quein	240	tamiłłos vercullos	tamite vercuzde	tamiçes vercul
8	ñangos	ñaguiem	ñangue	18	sescullos	sescuzde	sescul	80	cuałallos	cuałalde	cuałal	260	tamiłłos prollos	tamite prolde	tamiçes prol
9	ñałiços	ñałizte	ñałiz	19	imallos	imalde	imal	90	cuałallos queinços	cuałalde quies	cuałal quein	280	tamiłłos cuałallos	tamite cuałalde	tamiçes cuałal
10	queinços	quies	quein	20	callos	calde	cal	100	quecullos	quecuzde	quecul	400	miłłos	mite	miçes

Writing System

Romanisation

Consonants

Letter	Context	IPA	English approximation
b or v	word-initial after a pause, or after ⟨m⟩ or ⟨n⟩	[b]	practically the same as the typical English ⟨b⟩, except that it is fully voiced; e.g. about
	elsewhere (i.e. after a vowel, even across a word boundary, or after any consonant other than ⟨m⟩ or ⟨n⟩)	[v]	same as the typical English ⟨v⟩; bevy
c	before another consonant	[ɣ]	a sound between a light English ⟨g⟩ and the typical English ⟨h⟩ (between gold and ahold), same as Dutch ⟨g⟩; gabber
	elsewhere	[k]	same as certain instances of English ⟨k⟩ or ⟨c⟩; e.g. skull, scan, or picking (unaspirated, i.e. without the puff of air that accompanies English /k/ at the beginning of a word, e.g. in can)
ç	everywhere	[s̻] (northern Tevrén) or [θ] (southern Tevrén)	between mess and meth (like the typical English ⟨s⟩, but with the blade of the tongue against the back of the teeth) in northern Tevrén, or same as the English voiceless ⟨th⟩ (as in thing) in southern Tevrén
ch	everywhere	[tʃ]	same as the typical English ⟨ch⟩; church
d	word-initial after a pause, or after ⟨l⟩ or ⟨n⟩	[d]	practically the same as the typical English ⟨d⟩, except that it is fully voiced and the tip of the tongue touches the upper teeth; e.g. adore
	elsewhere	[ð]	same as the typical English voiced ⟨th⟩; e.g. this
f	everywhere	[f]	same as the typical English ⟨f⟩; e.g. face
g	before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩	[ʒ] (nothern Tevrén) or [ɦ] (southern Tevrén)	same as English ⟨s⟩ in words like measure or fusion, same as French ⟨j⟩ (e.g. joie) in northern Tevrén, or like Received Pronunciation ⟨h⟩ in words like behind, same as Dutch ⟨h⟩ (e.g. hagelslag) in southern Tevrén
	not before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩, and either word-initial after a pause, or after ⟨n⟩	[g]	practically the same as the typical English ⟨g⟩ sound, except that it is fully voiced; e.g. ago
	not before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩, and not in the above contexts	[ɣ]	a sound between a light English ⟨g⟩ and the typical English ⟨h⟩ (between gold and ahold), same as Dutch ⟨g⟩; gabber
gu	before ⟨a⟩ or ⟨o⟩, and either word-initial after a pause, or after ⟨n⟩	[gw]	a sound like the ⟨gu⟩ in English penguin
	before ⟨a⟩ or ⟨o⟩, and not in the above contexts	[ɣw]	similar to the typical English ⟨w⟩, but preceded by a soft guttural sound
	before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩, and either word-initial after a pause, or after ⟨n⟩	[g]	practically the same as the typical English ⟨g⟩ sound, except that it is fully voiced; e.g. ago
	before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩, and not in the above contexts	[ɣ]	a sound between a light English ⟨g⟩ and the typical English ⟨h⟩ (between gold and ahold), same as Dutch ⟨g⟩; gabber
h	everywhere	(silent)	silent (like the English ⟨h⟩ in English honor or hour)
j	word final	[ʃ] (nothern Tevrén) or [h] (southern Tevrén)	same as typical English ⟨sh⟩ (e.g. shush) in northern Tevrén, or like typical English ⟨h⟩ (e.g. happy) in southern Tevrén
	elsewhere	[ʒ] (nothern Tevrén) or [ɦ] (southern Tevrén)	same as English ⟨s⟩ in words like measure or fusion, same as French ⟨j⟩ (e.g. joie) in northern Tevrén, or like Received Pronunciation ⟨h⟩ in words like behind, same as Dutch ⟨h⟩ (e.g. hagelslag) in southern Tevrén
l	everywhere	[l]	same as the typical English ⟨l⟩ (especially like the clear ⟨l⟩ of British English, rather than the dark ⟨l⟩ of American English);e.g. lull
ll	everywhere	[ʎ]	similar to the ⟨lli⟩ in English million
ł	before a voiced consonant or between vowels	[ɮ] (nothern Tevrén) or [ʑ] (southern Tevrén)	a sound between French ⟨j⟩ and the typical English ⟨l⟩ (between joue and lieu) in northern Tevrén, or like Kagoshima Japanese ⟨じ⟩ in southern Tevrén
	elsewhere	[ɬ] (nothern Tevrén) or [ɕ] (southern Tevrén)	a sound between English ⟨h⟩ and the typical English ⟨l⟩ (between happy and lieu), same as Welsh ⟨ll⟩ (e.g. Ebrill) in northern Tevrén, or like typical Japanese ⟨し⟩ in southern Tevrén
łł	only occurs between vowels
m	everywhere	[m]	same as the typical English ⟨m⟩; madam
n	before ⟨v⟩
	before ⟨f⟩	[ɱ]	same as the English ⟨m⟩ in symphony
	before ⟨y⟩	[ɲ]	similar to the English ⟨ny⟩ in canyon, same as Spanish ⟨ñ⟩; niño
	before ⟨c⟩ or ⟨g⟩	[ŋ]	same as the English ⟨ng⟩ in sing
	elsewhere	[n]	same as the typical English ⟨n⟩; e.g. nun
ñ	everywhere	[ɲ]	similar to the English ⟨ny⟩ in canyon, same as Spanish ⟨ñ⟩; niño
p	in the consonant cluster ⟨pt⟩	[v]	same as the typical English ⟨v⟩; bevy
	elsewhere	[p]	same as certain instances of English ⟨p⟩; e.g. span or typing (unaspirated, i.e. without the puff of air that accompanies English /p/ at the beginning of a word, e.g. in pan)
qu	only occurs before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩	[k]	same as certain instances of English ⟨k⟩ or ⟨c⟩; e.g. skull, scan, or picking (unaspirated, i.e. without the puff of air that accompanies English /k/ at the beginning of a word, e.g. in can)
r	word-initial, morpheme-initial, or after ⟨l⟩, ⟨n⟩, or ⟨s⟩, or syllable-final (especially before ⟨l⟩, ⟨m⟩, ⟨n⟩, or ⟨s⟩) and word-final positions (before pause or consonant-initial words only)	[r]	trilled or rolled ⟨r⟩
	elsewhere (sometimes word-initial (after a pause or consonant-ending words only), morpheme-initial (when preceded by prefixes ending in consonants), or after ⟨l⟩, ⟨n⟩, or ⟨s⟩, or syllable-final positions, and word-final positions before vowel-initial words only)	[ɾ]	flapped ⟨r⟩; e.g. the same sound as the ⟨dd⟩ of ladder or ⟨tt⟩ of latter in American English, same as Spanish ⟨r⟩ between vowels, as in caro
rr	only occurs between vowels	[r]	trilled or rolled ⟨r⟩
s	before a voiced consonant or between vowels	[z̺] (nothern Tevrén) or [z] (southern Tevrén)	a sound between French ⟨j⟩ and the typical English ⟨z⟩ (between joue and zoo) in northern Tevrén, or the same as the typical English ⟨z⟩ (e.g. jazz) in southern Tevrén
	elsewhere	[s̺] (nothern Tevrén) or [s] (southern Tevrén)	a sound between English ⟨sh⟩ and the typical English ⟨s⟩ (between shush and sass) in northern Tevrén, or the same as the typical English ⟨s⟩ (e.g. sass) in southern Tevrén
ss	only occurs between vowels
t	before voiced consonants	[ð]	same as the typical English voiced ⟨th⟩; e.g. this
	elsewhere	[t]	same as certain instances of English ⟨t⟩; e.g. stand (unaspirated, i.e. without the puff of air that accompanies English /t/ at the beginning of a word, e.g. in tan). Also, the tip of the tongue touches the upper teeth, rather than the alveolar ridge
x	everywhere	[ʃ] (nothern Tevrén) or [h] (southern Tevrén)	same as typical English ⟨sh⟩ (e.g. shush) in northern Tevrén, or like typical English ⟨h⟩ (e.g. happy) in southern Tevrén
y	word-initial after a pause, or after ⟨l⟩ or ⟨n⟩	[ɟ]	Between English dew (RP) and argue
	as a semivowel (almost always in a diphthong)	[j]	same as the typical English ⟨y⟩ (but joined in a single syllable with another vowel sound); aye, boy
	elsewhere	[ʝ]	similar to the typical English ⟨y⟩, or ⟨j⟩ but softer; e.g. similar to yes or Jess
z	word final	[s̻] (northern Tevrén) or [θ] (southern Tevrén)	between mess and meth (like the typical English ⟨s⟩, but with the blade of the tongue against the back of the teeth) in northern Tevrén, or same as the English voiceless ⟨th⟩ (as in thing) in southern Tevrén
	elsewhere	[z̻] (northern Tevrén) or [ð] (southern Tevrén)	between raise and bathe (like the typical English ⟨z⟩, but with the blade of the tongue against the back of the teeth) in northern Tevrén, or same as the English voiced ⟨th⟩ (as in that) in southern Tevrén

Lexicon

Tevrés Lexicon.