Netagin
In the Unbegotten timeline, Netagin is a classical language of Edna's conworld, belonging to the Idavic language family. Netagin has influenced many other languages such as Ouřefr and Shalaian. Netagin is intended to be optimized for writing piyyutim: like Hebrew, Netagin has final stress and stressed suffixes, so that it is natural to rhyme by having the last syllables the same like in Jewish piyyutim.
It's inspired by Hebrew, Old English, Welsh, Czech, and Windermere.
Todo
- Valerie /vəlɛ:ˈɾɪ:/ is a valid name!
- Make words of form (infl)-deriv-⟨deriv⟩root-infl. circumfix also ok
Gibberish
Hazaj meter:
Tygůň šatlej řy-čaňňevěr,
Kadob pehlať a-vahmavěr,
ale'ad tu pa-nojjanneň,
Hypyre đůj vyto šotneň.
Shakhar Avakeshkha:
Takuň pyčie takuň
Pařuj palenůk hoj,
Eki šakov leťiň
Absan tapien lahoj.
Yigdal meter:
Peslaň mygeptak ďah mynej ve'ůx,
Mirěť čapa koriň a-ruze'ůx.
Dolper aniv nelieň taja tožie,
Bon niem sa pakaviň lyňa pežie.
Phonology
Consonants
Conservative within its family b d dł j g gʷ p t tł č k kʷ q s ł š h ʔ m n ŋ l r w y ř > b d ď z đ g p t ť c č k s š x h ʔ m n ň l r v j ř
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal(ized) | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m /m/ | n /n/ | ň /ɲ~ŋ/ | |||
| Plosive | voiceless | p /p/ | t /t/ | ť /c/ | k /k/ | ' /ʔ/ |
| voiced | b /b/ | d /d/ | ď /ɟ/ | g /g/ | ||
| Fricative | voiceless | s /s/ | š /ʃ/ | x /x/ | h /h/ | |
| voiced | z /z/ | ž /ʒ/ | ||||
| Affricate | voiceless | c /ts/ | č /tʃ/ | |||
| voiced | đ /dʒ/ | |||||
| Trill | voiceless | ř /r̥/ | ||||
| voiced | r /r~ɾ/ | |||||
| Approximant | v /v/ | l /l~ɫ/ | j /j/ | |||
Vowels
Less conservative; vowels in stressed syllables are lengthened, unstressed vowels reduced when historically short
a e i o ě ů u ie a y /a e i o ea oa~u ʏ~ø ɪ ə~ɐ ɨ~ɪ/
Russian/Hebrew style alternation between pretonic a and propretonic a:
- In pretonic syllables, a is pronounced /ɐ/;
- In propretonic syllables, a is pronounced /ə/.
Diachronics:
In stressed syllables: a e i u ā ē ī ū > a ea e o oa ie i y usually.
In pretonic syllables: a o i e > a a e e; in propretonic syllables: a o i e > a a y y
Stress
Usually final, some penultimately-stressed "segolates" CVCVC or CVCCV
Penult long vowels + every other stress gives the language a distinctive "Scotch snap" rhythm.
Phonotactics
no initial clusters, max cluster length 2
cluster consonants can be arbitrary as long as voice assimilated
Possible vowel final vowels: /ɪ, e, a, ea, oa, i, ɨ/ (cf TibH /ɔ, ɛ, e, o, i, u/)
Vowel reduction
Pretonic to propretonic: (Most commonly occuring type) a > a, e > y.
Tonic to pretonic: *a, *o > a; *e > e; *i > y
Morphology
Pronominal markers
Netagin has five series of personal markers:
- Independent personal pronouns, serving as subject pronouns in independent clauses (corresponding to Lushootseed čəd-words)
- Emphatic personal pronouns: used for emphasis, and for calling someone with a 2nd person pronoun (corresponding to Lushootseed ʔaca-words)
- Alienable prefixes
- Inalienable/preposition/conjunction suffixes
- Verb object affixes
| 1sg | 2sg | 3sg | 1pl | 2pl | 3pl | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| m. | f. | m. | f. | exclusive | inclusive | ||||
| Independent | tiel | tied | tieš | en | ě | toť | tub | tuň | ěv |
| Emphatic | hali | hadů | hadůš | enpa | espa | hynťů | hynťieb | hyňďi | evpa |
| Alienable | l(e)- | t(e)- | est(e)- | en-/em- | es- | ť(e)- | n(e)- | č(e)- | ha- |
| Inalienable | -al | -ad | -die | -í | -as | -ať | -ab | -neď | -us |
| Verb object affixes | -al | -ad | -die | -í | -as | -ať | -ab | -neď | -us |
Nouns and adjectives
Todo: neuter/nonbinary gender
Netagin has 2 genders (masculine, feminine) and two cases (nominative, genitive); the feminine gender evolved from the Proto-Idavic abstract/honorific gender.
Netagin case affixes are regular:
| lyt (m.) = man | ďašatle (f.) = sparrow | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| singular | plural | singular | plural | |
| Nominative | lyt | lytů | ďašatle | ďašatla |
| Genitive | lyto | lytůx | ďašatlěn | ďašatlěx |
| masculine | feminine | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| singular | plural | singular | plural | |
| Nominative | Arbecin | Arbecjů | Arbecie | Arbecja |
| Genitive | Arbecjo | Arbecjůx | Arbecien | Arbeciex |
In a genitive or prepositional phrase, only the last noun takes the genitive; the genitive thus functions more like an "end of noun phrase marker".
Stem changes in the genitive and plural can get pretty bad
ne-words
Ne-words, which are usually determiners, decline as follows:
| sg. | pl. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| m. | f. | ||
| Nominative | ne | ně | na |
| Genitive | ni | nie | nu |
The following are ne-words:
- ne (Lushootseed ti; roughly 'that-which'.)
- ve (Lushootseed kʷi)
- nyhe 'this'
- vyhe 'that'
- be (relativizer; roughly 'which VERBs' or 'which is a NOUN'. The head of a relative clause is only allowed to be its subject; verb voices are used to compensate for this.)
Verbs
The primary axes by which verbs differ are:
- Binyan: encodes variables like transitivity, volition, aspect and manner of action.
- Voice: active, passive (only with transitive verbs) and applicative.
In particular, there is no tense or aspect distinction (cf. Indonesian).
| Binyan | Intransitive (or passive) | Transitive (or active) | Verbnoun |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1å2a3 | -i12a3 | 1å2e3, 1a2i3 |
| 2 | 1a2ö3 | -a12u3 | 1å2å3 |
| 3 | ʔa12i13 | -å12e3 | ʔa12o3 |
| 4 | ʔa1å2e3 | -a12a3 | ʔa12a3ö |
| 5 | þa12u3 | -uþ1å2e3 | þa12ö3ö |
| 6 | ʔi1:å2a3 | -u1:e2o3 | ʔu1:å2e3 |
| 7 | ʔiþþa1å2o3 | -uþþa12e3 | þiþþa12ī3 |
| 8 | ʔi21å2e3 | -i21e2o3 | ʔu21å2e3 |
| 9 | 1as2o3 | -u1is2o3 | þu1as2e3 |
| 10 | 1a2å2a3 | -i12å2o3 | þu12å2e3 |
| 11 | 1a2å2e3 | -i12e2o3 | þi12å2e3 |
| 12 | 1i31a2o3 | -i1i31e2o3 | 1i31å2e3 |
Syntax
Borrow from Lushootseed syntax: predicate first
Poetic Netagin
Poetic Netagin is a separate register from prose Netagin, and has the following characteristics:
- Vowel reductions that don't occur in prose Netagin (think "ne3im shimkhem")
- Determiners omitted
- constituent order freer
Sample texts
A hymn
A vegan war song
(Ye who contend for sentient-justice)