Tarkandamonian

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Tarkandamonian
Tarkandamon
Pronunciation[/tar'kandamɔn/]
Created byAnyar
SettingEarth
Native speakers436,232 (1980)
Language Isolate
  • Tarkandamonian
Official status
Official language in
Ōran Kan (“Beautiful Land”)


Introduction

Tarkandamonian, from the word Tarkandamon, meaning "Those who speak properly", is the official language spoken in Ōran Kan, a country situated between the border of the Pakistani-admininstered Gilgit-Baltistan region, and Indian-administered Kashmir. It is separated from Ladakh by a small strip of land approximately 25KM in length extending from Gilgit-Balikstan to Kashmir. It is estimated that roughly 100,000 speakers live outside of Ōran Kan, the vast majority having fled the country after a military coup led by Brigadier General Enor Gavilna overthrew President Gar Tindra in early July 1983. The majority of the expatriate community lives in various parts of the EU, with the largest number in Spain and Italy.

Knowledge of the language's history is unknown prior to the 1870's, when British explorers arrived after the First Anglo-Sikh War and began documenting the language. Although phylologists and linguists have attempted to the link the language to neighbouring Indo-Aryan and Sino-Tibetan languages, as well as the language isolate Burushaski also located in the same geographical region, Tarkandamonian shows no genetic relationship to any of its neighbors. More exotic relationships have been proposed, the most prominent of these being the Austronesian theory proposed by Samuel Burdock from the University of Kentucky. Proponents of the theory point to the preponderance of circumfixation in verb forms, even though none of these circumfixes show any similarity in form or function as those of the Austronesian languages.

Typologically, Tarkandamonian is a fusional language, with SOV syntax and Nominative-Accusative alignment. Nouns do not inflect for gender, number, or case (with the exception being the construct state case marker). Core case relations are expressed by strict word order of the core noun arguments, with the nominative argument preceding the patient argument; however, when the direct object is omitted, obligatory agreement markers surface in the verb forms. Postpositions mark oblique nominal arguments. The language lacks both definite and indefinite markers, although indefiniteness can be explicitly expressed by the cardinal number nom ("one").

Pronouns display more inflectional complexity. Unlike nouns, they do mark for number. There are portmanteau forms that encode agent and patient core arguments. While the language does not mark for gender, it differentiates third person core arguments with two distinct forms, a proximal and obviative form.


Phonology

Grammar

Nouns

Pronouns

Tarkadamonian pronouns mark for person and number. The pronouns are divided into two classes based on polarity, one class for positive statements, and the other for indicating negation. The so-called negative personal pronouns are unusual in that unlike the positive class, the negative class can optionally mark for direct objects, provided that an overt direct object does not surface. Additionally, they obligatorily encode tense, aspect, and mood (TAM). TAM and polarity marking in the negative class arose from cliticization of pronominal forms to a copula, which itself encoded negation.

Positive Forms

Singular Plural
1 2 3 Prox 3 Obv 1 2 3 Prox 3 Obv
va ata ahen iria na ta he ria

Negative Forms

Singular Plural
1 2 3 Prox 3 Obv 1 2 3 Prox 3 Obv
Declarative Present vala atala lan lassi nala tala hela rila
Perfective valak atlak lanak landri nalak talak lak lāti
Imperfective valan atunla lana lasse nalan taluna lan lāse
Future valak atalla lakan lassar nalak tala lakan lāsar
Future Imperfective vala ataltal lana lassati nala tala lan lasāti


Verbs

Object Pronominal Affixes Verbal Affixes Examples
Preverbal Affix Verbal Infix Postverbal Affix
Declarative Present v-
vi-
van(d)-
- -ind- -a Ata vimindaza
  • Root: maz "to learn"
  • Translation:
    "You teach it to me
Perfective var-
Imperfective valan
Future valak
Future Imperfective vala



Object Pronominal Affixes Verbal Affixes Examples
Singular Plural Preverbal Affix Verbal Infix Postverbal Affix
1 2 3 Prox 3 Obv 1 2 3 Prox 3 Obv
Declarative Present v-
vi-
van(d)-
t-
ti-
tan(d)-
h-
hi-
hen(d)-
k(V)--s(V)- n-
nan(d)-
- -ind- -a Va himindaza
  • Root: maz "to learn"
  • Translation:
    "I learn it,
    I am learning it"


Va kimindassa

  • Translation: I am learning that other thing
  • Note: z of root maz assimilates to s (second part of the 3S.OBV object circumfix)
Perfective var- tar- har- sar- nar-
Imperfective valan atunla lana lasse nalan taluna lan lāse
Future valak atalla lakan lassar nalak tala lakan lāsar
Future Imperfective vala ataltal lana lassati nala tala lan lasāti

Syntax

Tarkandamonian exhibits strict SOV order, and modifiers to heads also display strict ordering: adverbs precede the adjectives and verbs they modify, the positive polarity particle vor always appears as the initial element of a clause, while its counterpart, the negative polarity pseudo-verb -la-, follows the subject in intransitive clauses, and between the subject and object clausal arguments. Any oblique arguments, including the indirect object, always occurs after the direct object in transitive verbs, and after the pseudo-verb -la-, if expressed in intransitive clauses. The interrogative particle tunima obligatorily appears immediately before the verb; it is the only particle that may appear between the verb and any of its adverbial modifiers.


Vocabulary

Tarkandamonian Meaning
tuva
  • tuva: yes
  • tuvata:
  1. there is
  2. filled with
  3. healthy
-la- (Pseudo-verb) no, not, is not, does not
gota
  • stranger
  • foreigner
  • hostile
asik
  • leader
  • to lead
  • to conquer (w. Allative)
domai mountain
sivga, sijga mountain stream, river
suin brilliant; glorious; civilization
kopen
  • kopen
  1. to wander
  2. to go into exile
  3. to immigrate
  4. to flee
  5. shameful
  • kopentan: expatriate
-hoz-
  • hoz:
  1. to attack
  2. to chase
  3. to hunt
  • hozka: war
  • hozkadi: long war
  • hozkinert: victory
  • mozai:
  1. absence of war
  2. armistice
  3. cease-fire
  • mozanai:
  1. anti-war
  2. protesters
  • mozkinertan:
  1. disappointment
  2. failure