Antarctican

Antarctican is spoken on the continent of Antarctica in the far future, at a time when runaway global warming has melted the icecaps and rendered most of the rest of the word uninhabitable. It has been influenced by a variety of modern-day languages, among them English, Spanish, Japanese and many East Asian languages.

It has a complex phonology and morphophonology, especially in the vowel system. There are a lot of features not found in English e.g. a pitch-register system, phonemic vowel length, prestopped nasals, and ejective consonants. However in other ways the phonology is quite simple compared to English, with a very limited range of syllable shapes.

The morphosyntactic alignment is split ergative, with noun suffixes following an ergative-absolutive system, but person marking on verbs following a nominative-accusative system. Nouns also inflect for alienable and inalienable possession, and they can undergo some quite complex stem changes. There is no real marking of plurality of nouns.

In the verbal morphology, mirativity and transitivity are clearly marked. Verbs also inflect for person and voice. Tense and aspect are much less important.

The syntax is head-initial, and adjectives are not distinguished from verbs.

Phonology

Vowels

The pronunciation of each phoneme is listed in the tables below, followed by its romanisation in brackets.

There are 11 monophthongs:

Antarctican monophthongs

	Front	Near-front	Central	Near-back	Back
Close	i /i/		ue /ɨ/		u /u/
Close-mid	ie /e/		e /ɘ/		uo /o/
Open-mid	ae /ɛ/		oe /ɜ/		o /ɔ/
Open	a /a/				ao /ɒ/

And there are 17 diphthongs. 8 of theseend in [j], and another 9 end in [w]:

Diphtongs ending in /j/

	Front	Near-front	Central	Near-back	Back
Close			uey /ɨj/		uy /uj/
Close-mid	iey /ej/		ey /ɘj/		uoy /oj/
Open-mid	aey /ɛj/		oey /ɜj/
Open	ay /aj/

Diphtongs ending in /w/

	Front	Near-front	Central	Near-back	Back
Close			uew /ɨw/
Close-mid	iew /ew/		ew /ɘw/		uow /ow/
Open-mid	aew /ɛw/		oew /ɜw/		ow /ɔw/
Open	aw /aw/

Vowel phonation

Vowels in Antarctican can have either modal, tense or breathy voice. Vowels with tense voice (marked with a glottal stop after the syllable e.g. /aʔ/) are pronounced with a high or rising pitch, and vowels with breathy voice (marked with a voiced /h/ after the syllable e.g. /aɦ/) are pronounced with a low or falling pitch. This distinction is phonemic e.g.

• kuow /kou/ - something absorbed in something else, absolutive
• kúow /kouʔ/ - bigot, absolutive

Tense voice cannot occur on highvowels /i/, /ɨ/, /u/, nor on diphthongs beginning with these vowels. Breathy voice cannot occur on low vowels /a/, /ɒ/, nor on diphthongs beginning with these vowels.

Vowel length

As well as vowel phonation, vowel length is also phonemic, on both monophthongs and diphthongs e.g.

• kuow /kou/ - something absorbed in something else, absolutive*kuuow /koːu/ - a frozen object, absolutive

Phonation restrictions

However, not every vowel can have every kind of phonation e.g. tense voice cannot occur on high vowels /i/, /ɨ/, /u/, nor on diphthongs beginning with these vowels. Similarly, breathy voice cannot occur on low vowels /a/, /ɒ/, nor on front vowels, nor on diphthongs beginning with these vowels. The permissible combinations of vowel quality and phonation are listed below:

Monophthong phonation

	Voice	Front	Central	Back
Close	Modal	i /i/	ue /ɨ/ from /i/	u /u/
	Breathy		ùe /ʉɦ/	ù /uɦ/
Close-mid	Modal	ie /e/	e /ɘ/ from /e/	uo /o/ from /u/
	Tense	íe /eʔ/	é /ɘʔ/	úo /oʔ/
	Breathy		è /ɘɦ/	ùo /oɦ/
Open-mid	Modal	ae /ɛ/ from /a/		o /ɔ/
	Tense	áe /ɛʔ/	óe /ɜʔ/	ó /ɔʔ/
	Breathy		òe /ɜɦ/
Open	Modal	a /a/		ao /ɒ/ from /ɔ/
	Tense	á /aʔ/

• Vowels in green are found everywhere.
• Vowels in pink are phonemic at the end of words, where they mark ergative case, and are allophones elsewhere. They occur before another syllable beginning with a voiced consonant followed by a modally voiced vowel. The vowel that they are an allophone of is indicated afterwards.
• Vowels in blue are phonemic at the end of words, where they mark comitative case, and are allophones elsewhere. They occur before another syllable beginning with a voiceless consonant followed by a modally voiced vowel. The vowel that they are an allophone of is indicated afterwards.
• Vowels in orange are only found in reduplications.

Antarctican uses reduplication in its morphology, however it only partially reduplicates diphthongs, reducing them to monophthongs in the reduplicated syllable e.g.

• kúowntátu /kouɴʔtaʔtu/ – acquaintance, absolutive
• kúokúowntátu /koʔkouɴʔtaʔtu/ – acquaintances (of each other), absolutive

When such diphthongs are truncated, it is always only the first part of it that is preserved e.g. /eiʔ/ and /euʔ/ both shorten to /eiʔ/, /oiʔ/ and /ouʔ/ both shorten to /oʔ/ etc.

Vowels marked with an asterisk do not contrast for length.

There are similar restrictions on diphthongs:

Diphthong phonation /j/

	Voice	Front	Central	Back
Close	Modal			uy /ui/
	Breathy		ùe /ʉɦ/	ùy /uiɦ/
Close-mid	Modal	iey /ei/	ey /ɘi/	uoy /oi/
	Tense	íey /eiʔ/	éy /ɘiʔ/	úoy /oiʔ/
	Breathy		èy /ɘiɦ/
Open-mid	Modal	aey /ɛi/
	Tense	áey /ɛiʔ/
	Breathy		òey /ɜiɦ/
Open	Modal	ay /ai/
	Tense	áy /aiʔ/

Same applies to the remaining diphthongs:

Diphthong phonation /w/

	Voice	Front	Central	Back
Close	Modal
	Breathy		ùew /ɨuɦ/
Close-mid	Modal	iew /ew/	ew /ɘu/	uow /ou/
	Tense			úow /ouʔ/
	Breathy		èw /ɘuɦ/	ùow /ouɦ/
Open-mid	Modal	aew /ɛu/		ow /ɔu/
	Tense	áew /ɛuʔ/		ów /ɔuʔ/
	Breathy		òew /ɜuɦ/
Open	Modal	aw /au/
	Tense	áw /auʔ/

Consonants

The pronunciation of each phoneme is listed in the table below, followed by its romanisation in brackets.

	Labial	Palatalised Labial	Alveolar	Lateral	Palatal	Velar / Uvular	Glottal / Placeless
Nasal	m (m) pm (pm)	mʲ (my) pmʲ (pmy)	n (n) tn (tn)		ɲ (ny) cɲ (cn)	ŋ (ng) kŋ (kn)	ɴ (n)
Stop / Affricate	pʼ (pp) p (p) b (b)	pʼʲ (ppy) pʲ (py) bʲ (by)	tʼ (tt) t (t) d (d)	tɬʼ ~ tˡʼ (ttl) tɬ ~ tˡ (tl) dɮ ~ dˡ (dl)	cʼ ~ tɕʼ (cch) c ~ tɕ (ch) ɟ ~ dʑ (j)	kʼ (kk) k (k) g (g)	ʔ (q)
Affricate			tsʼ ~ sʼ (tts) s ~ ts (s) z ~ dz (z)
Fricative	f (f)	fʲ (fy)		ɬ (hl)	ç ~ ɕ (sh)	χ ~ x (h)
Approx.	w (w)	ɥ (v)	l ~ɹ ~ ʎ (l)		j (y)	ʁ ~ ʀ (r)

 

Prestopped nasals e.g. /tn/, /pm/ etc., pattern as voiceless and as nasals (and thus sonorants) in terms of the phonology.

The placeless nasal /ɴ/ is only found at the end of syllables. Before a glottal stop or at the end of a phrase, it nasalises the preceding vowel. Otherwise it assimilates to the same place of articulation as the following consonant e.g. it becomes [n] before /d/, [m] before /b/ etc.

Voiced obstruents (stops, fricatives and affricates) are only found in three cases.

a) Before a vowel with modal voice and at the beginning of a word.

b) Before a vowel with modal voice, where the preceding syllable of the word has modal voice.

c) Before a vowel with breathy voice, where the preceding syllable of the word has breathy voice.

In the latter case they are pronounced with breathy voice, like the murmured / voiced aspirated consonants of many Indian languages.

The same restrictions apply to the distribution of fricatives other than /s/, and of prestopped nasals except that they are never found in case c.

Ejectives are only ever found between two vowels with tense voice (possibly with /ɴ/ separating them).

Consonants separated with a tilde (~) are not separate phonemes but are either allophones or in free variation e.g. s ~ ts indicates that there is a single phoneme that can either be pronounced [s] or [ts]. The most common pronunciation is always listed first.

The velar nasals /kŋ/ and /ŋ/ never occur at the beginning of words.

The palatalized labial approximant /ɥ/ can never occur before back vowels or low vowels.

The phoneme /l/ is pronounced as a palatal lateral [ʎ] before a high vowel, [ɹ] before a vowel with tense voice (high vowels cannot have tense voice), and [l] elsewhere.

 

Consonant Harmony

Consonants in Antarctican can be grouped into two sets, soft and hard. Many affixes have two alternate forms, one with a soft consonant and one with a hard. When they attach to a word that begins with a soft consonant, the form of the affix with the soft consonant is used. If the word begins with a hard consonant, the form of the affix with the hard consonant is used.
The soft consonants are the palatal consonants, the palatalized labial consonants, and the lateral consonants. All the other consonants are hard.
For example, the antipassive voice is formed by an infix that comes after the first consonant of a word. For words that begin with a hard consonant, the infix is (iem) /em/ (which contains a hard consonant) e.g.
ziitlòeji /ziːtɬɜɦɟi/ - to know (a person), mirative

ziemiitlòeji /zemiːtɬɜɦɟi/ - to know (a person), mirative, antipassive

However, if the word begins with a soft consonant, the infix is (imy) /imʲ/ e.g.
pyiquu /pʲiʔuː/ - to purify, mirative

pyimyiquu /pʲimʲiʔuː/ - to purify, mirative, antipassive

hliqo /ɬiʔɔ/ - to perform, mirative

hlimyiqo /ɬimʲiʔɔ/ - to perform, mirative, antipassive (not *(hliemiqo) */ɬemiʔɔ/)

 

Phonotactics

Syllable structures are extremely limited, with only shapes being C V and C V ɴ.

 

Morphology

Nouns

Nouns decline into three cases, Absolutive, Ergative and Comitative. Absolutive case is unmarked while the other two use vowel changes on the final vowel and/or suffixes. Nouns can also take demonstrative and possessive prefixes.

 

Ergative Case

How this is formed depends on the phonation and frontness of the final vowel in the word.

Modally Voiced Final Vowel

Final Vowel is a Back Vowel

In this case, lower the back vowel e.g.

ton /tɔɴ/ - change (as in coins, money), absolutive

taon /tɒɴ/ - change, ergative

duoliiengun /doleːŋuɴ/ - dragon, absolutive

duoliienguon /doleːŋoɴ/ - dragon, ergative

 

If the final vowel is a diphthong that begins with a back vowel, then the start of the diphthong is lowered e.g.

paehuown /pɛχouɴ/ - dust, absolutive

paehown /pɛχɔuɴ/ - dust, ergative

yuenpiluoy - /jɨɴpiloi/ - employee, absolutive

yuenpiloy /jɨɴpilɔi/ - employee, ergative

 

Final Vowel is not a Back Vowel

In this case the ergative suffix is –n /ɴ/, or –ga /ga/ if the noun already ended in –n e.g.

ziva /ziɥa/ - boat, absolutive

zivan /ziɥaɴ/ - boat, ergative

myaewntayn /mʲɛuɴtaiɴ/ - mountain, absolutive

myaewntayn-ga / mʲɛuɴtaiɴga/ - mountain, ergative

Final Vowel has Breathy or Tense Voice

For nouns where the vowel of the last syllable has breathy or tense voice, the situation is more complicated. They all take ergative suffixes of the form C V ɴ, where C is a consonant and V is a vowel. V is almost always /i/, except after /t/ or /d/, when it is /u/. However it is not possible to predict C, as shown by the examples below:

tieyláae /teilɛʔː/ - shirt, absolutive

tieyláaesin /teilɛʔːsiɴ / - shirt, ergative

píey /peiʔ/ - book, absolutive

píeykin /peiʔkiɴ/ - book, ergative

kùe /kɨɦ/ - goods, absolutive

kùezin /kɨɦziɴ/ - goods, ergative

rè /ʁɘɦ/ - red object, absolutive

rèdun /ʁɘɦduɴ/ – red object, ergative

kúow /kouʔ/ - cup, absolutive

kúowpin /kouʔpiɴ/ - cup, ergative

píeylánkáe /peiʔlaɴʔkɛʔ/ - blanket, absolutive

píeylánkáetun /peiʔlaɴʔkɛʔtuɴ/ - blanket, ergative

wùerù /wɨɦʁuɦ/ - frog, absolutive

wùerùgin /wɨɦʁuɦgiɴ/ - frog, ergative

While it may seem that the consonant inserted before the –in (or –un) suffix is random, there are some patterns. Firstly, the inserted consonant is always an obstruent (oral stop, affricate or fricative), and never a sonorant (nasal or approximant). Secondly, observe that, when the final vowel of the absolutive stem has tense voice, the inserted consonant is always voiceless, while if the final vowel of the absolutive stem has breathy voice, the inserted consonant is always voiced. These two rules hold across the language.

Also, for readers with knowledge of whatever language Antarctican borrowed the particular noun stem from, note that the “inserted” consonant almost perfectly corresponds with the consonant at the end of the word e.g. the word for “frog”, (wùerù /wɨɦʁuɦ/ in the absolutive case), is in fact descended from the English word “frog”. However, Antarctican does not like final consonants, so the final “g” was lost in the absolutive form. However in the ergative form, there is another vowel following the “g”, so it “reappears”, and the ergative form of the word is wùerùgin /wɨɦʁuɦgiɴ/. A similar story happens with the “t” in the word for “blanket”, which is also derived from English.

Stem Changes

However, for some of the nouns with breathy or tense voice on the final vowel of the absolutive stem, there are changes in the stem when they take the ergative suffix. These involve a change in vowel phonation to modal voice, and a change in vowel quality. e.g.

sitùen /sitɨɴɦ/ - wound caused by a sting (e.g. a bee or a jellyfish), absolutive

suetin-gin /sɨtiɴgiɴ/ - wound caused by a sting (e.g. a bee or a jellyfish), ergative (not *sitùen-gin)

As a rule, if the final vowel undergoes a change, and the second last vowel has the same voicing as the final vowel, then they both change e.g.

qùylèn /ʔuiɦlɜɴɦ/ - island, absolutive

quoyliendun /ʔoileɴdun/ - island, ergative (not *qùilèndun)

tùrèen /tuɦʁɘɦːɴ/ - fashionable items, absolutive

tuoriiendun /toʁeːɴduɴ/ - fashionable items, ergative

síeykúow /seiʔkouʔ/ - a small amount, absolutive

suekuhli /sɨkuɬi/ - a small amount, ergative

 

If there are even more consecutive syllables with the same voicing on the vowel, then this rule applies to every single one of them e.g.

qámáeláy /ʔaʔmɛʔlaiʔ/ - prey, absolutive

qamielaeykin /ʔamelɛikiɴ/ - prey, ergative

 

The changes in vowel quality and vowel voicing may appear random, but in fact they are not. The vowel quality of the new vowel can be predicted using the table blow. The vowels in the first two columns change to their equivalent in the third column e.g. When sitùen changes to sitin-gin, we can see that ùe changes to i (first column of the table).

However, if the vowel is followed by a syllable beginning with a modally voiced consonant before a modally voiced vowel, then the vowel from the fourth column is used e.g. when qùylèn changes to quoyliendun, the ùy changes to uoy, since the next syllable begins with a modally voiced consonant -l-, followed by a modally voiced vowel -ie-.

Also, if the vowel is followed by a syllable beginning with a voiceless consonant followed by another modally voice vowel, then the vowel from the fifth column is used e.g. when qámáláy changes to qamielaeykin, the á changes to ae, since the next syllable begins with the voiceless -k-, followed by the modally voiced -i-.

 

Tense voice	Breathy voice		Modal, normal	Modal, before a voiced consonant followed by another modal vowel	Modal, before a voiceless consonant followed by another modal vowel
eiʔ (íey)	ɨɦ (ùe)		i (i)	i (i)	ɨ (ue)
ɘiʔ (éy)	ɨɦiɦ (ùey)		iː (ii)	iː (ii)	ɨ (uue)
ɛʔ / ɛʔː (áe / áae)	ɘɦ / ɘɦː (è / èe)		e / eː (ie / iie)	e / eː (ie / iie)	ɘ / ɘː (e / ee)
aʔ / aʔː (á / áa)	ɜɦ / ɜɦː (òe / òoe)		a / aː (a / aa)	a / aː (a / aa)	ɛ / ɛː (ae / aae)
ouʔ (úow)	uɦ (ù)		u (u)	o (uo)	u (u)
euʔ (éw)	ɨuɦ (ùew)		uː (uu)	ou (uow)	uː (uu)
ɜʔ (óe)	oɦ (ùo)		ɔ (o)	ɑ (ao)	ɔ (o)
ɛiʔ / ɛːiʔ (áey / áaey)	ɘiɦ / ɘːiɦ (èy / èey)		ei / eːi (iey / iiey)	ei / eːi (ey / eey)	ɘi / ɘːi (ey / eey)
aiʔ / aːiʔ (áy / áay)	ɜiɦ / ɜːiɦ (òey / òoey)		ai / aːi (ay / aay)	ai / aːi (ay / aay)	ɛi / ɛːi (aey / aaey)
oiʔ / oːiʔ (úoy / úuoy)	uiɦ / uːiɦ (ùy / ùuy)		ui / uːi (uy / uuy)	oi / oːi (uoy / uuoy)	ui / uːi (uy / uuy)
ɛuʔ / ɛːuʔ (áew / áaew)	ɘuɦ / ɘːuɦ (èw / èew)		eu / eːu (ew / eew)	eu / eːu (ew / eew)	ɘu / ɘːu (ew / eew)
auʔ / aːuʔ (áw / áaw)	ɜuɦ / ɜːuɦ (òew / òoew)		au / aːu (aw / aaw)	au / aːu (aw / aaw)	ɛu / ɛːu (aew / aaew)
ɔuʔ / ɔːuʔ (ów / óow)	ouɦ / oːuɦ (ùow / ùuow)		ou / oːu (uow / uuow)	ɔu / ɔːu (ow / oow)	ou / oːu (uow / uuow)

 

There are many, many other nouns that decline according to this pattern. All of the nouns that end in /ɴ/ or contain a long vowel in the final syllable undergo vowel changes in the stem e.g.

táen /tɛɴʔ/ - weather, absolutive

tenchin /tɘɴciɴ/ - weather, ergative

kòoe /kɜɦː/ - membership card, absolutive

kaadun /kaːduɴ/ - membership card, ergative

 

However, the converse is not true. For nouns with non-modally voiced final vowels, but that do not end in /ɴ/ or a long vowel, some undergo vowel changes e.g.

qùenòe /ʔɨɦnɜɦ/ - eel, absolutive

qinajin /ʔinaɟiɴ/ - eel, ergative

While others do not e.g.

kùe /kɨɦ/ - goods, absolutive

kùezin /kɨɦziɴ/ - goods, ergative

 

There are some nouns that have identical absolutive forms, but are distinguished in the ergative e.g.

ká /kaʔ/ - fence, absolutive

kaechin /kɛciɴ/ - fence, ergative

ká /kaʔ/ - coconut milk, absolutive

kátlin /katɬiɴ/ coconut milk, ergative

 

Obstruent Voicing

If the absolutive form has a voiceless obstruent (oral stop, affricate or fricative), that is surrounded by breathy voice vowels (possibly with /ɴ/ separating them), when the breathy voiced vowels acquire modal voice in the ergative form, the voiceless obstruent does too, becoming modally voiced e.g.

nyùewsùeylèn /ɲɨuɦsɨɦiɦlɘɴɦ/ - New Zealand, absolutive

nyuuziiliendun /ɲuːziːleɴduɴ/ - New Zealand, ergative

This sometimes applies to word initial consonants as well e.g.

pùelùe /pɨɦlɨɦ/ - bridge, absolutive

bilidlin /bilidɮiɴ/ - bridge, ergative

pòey /pɜiɦ/ - baby, absolutive

baybyin /baibʲiɴ/ - baby, ergative

But sometimes it does not e.g.

pòey /pɜiɦ/ - page, absolutive

paydlin /paidɮiɴ/ - page, ergative

 

If the absolutive form of a noun has a voiceless obstruent (oral stop, affricate or fricative), that is preceded by a syllable with a modally voiced vowel, and is followed by a vowel with tense voice, if this tense voiced vowel becomes modally voiced in the ergative form, then the voiceless obstruent before it acquires modal voice too e.g.

yíeysitlíeynyíey /jeiʔsitɬeiʔɲeiʔ/ - mutton, absolutive

yíeysidlinyuekin /jeiʔsidɮiɲɨkiɴ/ - mutton, ergative

Here we can see that the /tɬ/ in the absolutive form has changed to /dɮ/ in the ergative form.

For word initial voiceless obstruents followed by tense voiced vowels in the absolutive form, which change to modal voice in the ergative form, sometimes this change also occurs e.g.

támá /taʔmaʔ/ - victim of a scam / swindle, absolutive

damaesin /damɛsiɴ/ - victim of a scam / swindle, ergative

However others do not e.g.

kán-kúow /kaɴʔkouʔ/ - prisoner, absolutive

kan-gukin /kaɴgukiɴ/ - prisoner, ergative

 

Sonorant Devoicing

Another similar pattern occurs in sonorants. If, in the absolutive form, they are preceded by a syllable with a modally voiced vowel, and followed by a breathy or tense voiced vowel that changes in the ergative, then the sonorant becomes devoiced. /w/ becomes /f/, /l/ becomes /ɬ/, /j/ becomes /ç/, and /ʁ/ becomes /χ/, voiced nasals become voiceless e.g.

yuuwíey /juːweiʔ/ - clothes, absolutive

yuufiekin /juːfɨkiɴ/ - clothes, ergative

qaetienòelùn /ʔɛtenɜɦluɴɦ/ - heart, absolutive

qaetietnalunzin /ʔɛtetnaluɴziɴ/ - heart, ergative

 

Comitative Case

How this is formed also depends on the frontness and phonation of the final vowel:

 

Last Vowel of Abs. Form has Modal Voice

Last Vowel of Abs. Form is a Back Vowel

In this case, take the absolutive form, raise /a/ to /ɛ/ and centralise any other front vowels e.g.

ziva /ziɥa/ - boat, absolutive

zivae /ziɥɛ/ - boat, comitative

myaewntayn /mʲɛuɴtaiɴ/ - mountain, absolutive

myaewntaeyn /mʲɛuɴtɛiɴ/ - mountain, comitative

qagiriey /ʔagiʁei/ - agreement, absolutive

qagirey /ʔagiʁɘi/ - agreement, comitative

 

Last Vowel of Abs. Form is a Back Vowel

In this case, take the absolutive form, and suffix /pmu/ e.g.

ton /tɔɴ/ - change (as in coins, money), absolutive

tonpmu /tɔɴpmu/ - change (as in coins, money), comitative

duoliiengunpmu /doleːŋuɴ/ - dragon, absolutive

duoliiengun /doleːŋuɴpmu/ - dragon, comitative

paehuown /pɛχouɴ/ - dust, absolutive

paehuownpmu /pɛχouɴpmu/ - dust, comitative

yuenpiluoy - /jɨɴpiloipmu/ - employee, absolutive

yuenpiluoypmu - /jɨɴpiloipmu/ - employee, comitative

 

Other Cases

If the last vowel of the absolutive form has tense or breathy voice, the comitative is formed differently. Here, it is formed by taking the ergative, deleting any final /ɴ/ or /ga/ that had been inserted as a suffix, and then suffixing /ʔu/ e.g.

sitùen /sitɨɴɦ/ - wound caused by a sting (e.g. a bee or a jellyfish), absolutive

suetin-gin /sɨtiɴgiɴ/ - wound caused by a sting (e.g. a bee or a jellyfish), ergative

suetin-giqu /sɨtiɴgiʔu/ - wound caused by a sting, comitative

tieyláae /teilɛʔː/ - shirt, absolutive

tieyláaesin /teilɛʔːsiɴ / - shirt, ergative

tieyláaesiqu /teilɛʔːsiʔu/ - shirt, comitative

píey /peiʔ/ - book, absolutive

píeykin /peiʔkiɴ/ - book, ergative

píeykiqu /peiʔkiʔu/ - book, comitative

kùe /kɨɦ/ - goods, absolutive

kùezin /kɨɦziɴ/ - goods, ergative

kùeziqu /kɨɦziʔu/ - goods, comitative

rè /ʁɘɦ/ - red object, absolutive

rèdun /ʁɘɦduɴ/ – red object, ergative

rèduqu /ʁɘɦduʔu/ – red object, comitative

kúow /kouʔ/ - cup, absolutive

kúowpin /kouʔpiɴ/ - cup, ergative

kúowpiqu /kouʔpiʔu/ - cup, comitative

píeylánkáe /peiʔlaɴʔkɛʔ/ - blanket, absolutive

píeylánkáetun /peiʔlaɴʔkɛʔtuɴ/ - blanket, comitative

píeylánkáetuqu /peiʔlaɴʔkɛʔtuʔu/ - blanket, ergative

wùerù /wɨɦʁuɦ/ - frog, absolutive

wùerùgiqu /wɨɦʁuɦgiɴ/ - frog, ergative

wùerùgin /wɨɦʁuɦgiʔu/ - frog, comitative

 

Where English would say “A and B” or “A with B”, Antarctican instead says “A-mu B”, putting the first noun into the comitative case and the final noun into whatever case it would normally be in e.g.

paehownmu	yuuwíey
pɛχɔuɴʔu	juːweiʔ
dust-COM	clothes-ABS
dust and clothes, absolutive

 

paehownmu	yuufuekin
pɛχɔuɴʔu	juːfɨkiɴ
dust-COM	clothes-ERG
dust and clothes, ergative

 

yuufuekimu	paehuown
juːfɨkiʔu	pɛχouɴ
clothes-COM	dust-ABS
clothes and dust, absolutive

 

yuufuekimu	paehown
juːfɨkiʔu	pɛχɔuɴga
dust-COM	clothes-ERG
dust and clothes, ergative

 

When three or more things are grouped together, all except the last take the comitative:

myaewntaeyn	yuufuekiqu	paehuown
mʲɛuɴtɛiɴ	juːfɨkiʔu	pɛχouɴ
mountain-COM	clothes-COM	dust-ABS
mountains, clothes and dust, absolutive

 

Pronominal Possession

Where English would use possessive pronouns (“my”, “your”), Antarctican uses possessive prefixes. The base forms of each are listed in the table below:

Prefix	Usage
myi- /mʲi/	1st person singular, 1st person exclusive plural
yeu- /jeu/	1st person inclusive plural
ti- /ti/	2nd person
wa- /wa/	3rd person, topicalised
si- /si/	3rd person, non-topicalised

 

So, in the absolutive case, “my clothes” or “our clothes” (not including you) would be myiyuuwíey /mʲijuːweiʔ/, “your clothes” would be tiyuuwíey /tijuːweiʔ/ etc.

 

Phonation spreading

However, with some nouns that have breathy or tense voice on their first vowel, the voice “spreads” back to the prefix, changing the modally voiced vowel in the base form to its tense voice or breathy voice equivalent (see the table before) e.g.

kán-kúow /kaɴʔkouʔ/ - prisoner, absolutive

myíeykán-kúow /mʲeiʔkaɴʔkouʔ/ - my prisoner, absolutive (not

• myikán-kúow)

tíeykán-kúow /teiʔkaɴʔkouʔ/ - your prisoner, absolutive (not

• tikán-kúow)

pùelùe /pɨɦlɨɦ/ - bridge, absolutive

myùepùelùe /mʲɨɦpɨɦlɨɦ/ - my bridge, absolutive (not

• myipùelùe)

tùepùelùe /tɨɦpɨɦlɨɦ/ - your bridge, absolutive (not *tipùelùe)

 

If, for any given word, phonation spreads onto one particular prefix, then it will spread onto any prefix that attaches to that word e.g. there are no words that take myíey- as their 1^st person (exclusive) possessive prefix, but ti- or tùe as their 2^nd person possessive prefix.

 

However, if, in the ergative form, the first vowel changes to no longer have breathy or tense voice (i.e. it now has modal voice), then modally voiced forms of the prefixes are always used when talking about possessing a noun in the ergative case e.g.

kán-kúow /kaɴʔkouʔ/ - prisoner, absolutive

kan-gukin /kaɴgukiɴ/ - prisoner, ergative

myíeykán-kúow /mʲeiʔkaɴʔkouʔ/ - my prisoner, absolutive

myikan-gukin /mʲikaɴgukiɴ/ - my prisoner, ergative

pùelùe /pɨɦlɨɦ/ - bridge, absolutive

bilidlin /bilidɮiɴ/ - bridge, ergative

myùepùelùe /mʲɨɦpɨɦlɨɦ/ - my bridge, absolutive

myibilidlin /mʲibilidɮiɴ/ - my bridge, ergative

 

However, with other nouns, the phonation spreading is blocked e.g.

támá /taʔmaʔ/ - victim of a scam / swindle, absolutive

myuetámá /mʲɨtaʔmaʔ/ - my victim of a scam / swindle, absolutive (not *myíeytámá)

 

Prediction

If a noun begins with a glottal stop (which does not count as either voiced or voiceless), then phonation never spreads from it onto a prefix e.g.

qámáelái /ʔaʔmɛʔlaiʔ/ - prey, absolutive

myiqámáelái /mʲiʔaʔmɛʔlaiʔ/ - my prey, absolutive (never

• myíeyqámáelái)

qòepèn /ʔɜɦpɘɴɦ/ - one who is / was / is to be avenged, absolutive

myiqòepèn /mʲiʔɜɦpɘɴɦ/ - my one who is / was / is to be avenged, absolutive (never *myùeqòepèn)

 

In other cases, whether or not the phonation spreads onto the prefix cannot always be predicted. The only time when it is possible to do so is for absolutive nouns, if, in the ergative form, the first vowel loses its breathy or tense phonation and becomes modally voiced. In this case, the rules are given below:

 

Sonorant Initial Stem

If the absolutive stem begins with a sonorant (nasal or approximant), and that sonorant becomes devoiced when the vowel after it acquires modal voice in the ergative form, then the phonation never spreads in the absolutive form upon taking a prefix e.g.

mòoe /mɜɦː/ - betel nut, absolutive

pmaagin /pmaːgiɴ/ - betel nut, ergative

myimòoe /mʲimɜɦː/ - my betel nut, absolutive

Otherwise, phonation always spreads if the word begins with a sonorant e.g.

máláeyáa /maʔlɛʔjaʔː/ - manners, absolutive

malieyaaetun /malejɛːtuɴ/ - manners, ergative

myíeymáláeyáa /mʲeiʔmaʔlɛʔjaʔː/ - my manners, absolutive

 

Stem starts with /s/

If the absolutive stem begins with /s/, then tense voice never spreads when it takes a prefix e.g.

síeykúow /seiʔkouʔ/ - a small amount, absolutive

myisíeykúow /mʲiseiʔkouʔ/ - my small amount, absolutive (never

• myíeysíeykúow)

sásaechin /saʔsɛciɴ/ - stab wound, absolutive

myisásaechin /mʲisaʔsaɛciɴ/ - my stab wound, absolutive

 

In the case of absolutive nouns with breathy voice on the first vowel, if, in the ergative form, the initial /s/ becomes voiced /z/, then the breathy voice spreads when the absolutive form takes a prefix e.g.

sòemùe /sɜɦmɨɦ/ - (major) wife, absolutive

zamibyin /zamibʲiɴ/ - (major) wife, ergative

myùesòemùe /mʲɨɦsɜɦmɨɦ/ - my (major) wife, absolutive (not *myisòemùe)

But if, in the ergative form, the first vowel acquires modal voice but the initial consonant stays as voiceless /s/, then in the absolutive form, the breathy voice never spreads e.g.

sòepyùe /sɜɦpʲɨɦ/ - speech (as in words, not a formal speech), absolutive

sabyishin /sabʲiçiɴ/ - speech (as in words, not a formal speech), ergative

myisòepyùe /mʲisɜɦpʲɨɦ/ - my speech (as in words, not a formal speech), absolutive

 

Other stems

If the absolutive stem begins with another obstruent (oral stop, affricate or fricative), and that obstruent stays voiceless even when followed by a modally voiced vowel (in the ergative form), then tense phonation spreads when the absolutive form takes a prefix e.g.

kán-kúow /kaɴʔkouʔ/ - prisoner, absolutive

kan-gukin /kaɴgukiɴ/ - prisoner, ergative

myíeykán-kúow /mʲeiʔkaɴʔkouʔ/ - my prisoner, absolutive

táen /tɛɴʔ/ - weather, absolutive

tenchin /tɘɴciɴ/ - weather, ergative

myíeytáen /mʲeiʔtɛɴʔ/ - my weather, absolutive

But if the obstruent becomes voiced, then tense phonation cannot spread e.g.

támá /taʔmaʔ/ - victim of a scam / swindle, absolutive

damaesin /damaɛsiɴ/ - victim of a scam / swindle, ergative

myitámá /mʲitaʔmaʔ/ - my victim of a scam / swindle, absolutive

 

And vice versa, if the obstruent becomes voiced in the ergative form, then tense phonation is blocked from spreading but breathy phonation spreads e.g.

pùelùe /pɨɦlɨɦ/ - bridge, absolutive

bilidlin /bilidɮiɴ/ - bridge, ergative

myùepùelùe /mʲɨɦpɨɦlɨɦ/ - my bridge, absolutive

pòey /pɜiɦ/ - baby, absolutive

baybyin /baibʲiɴ/ - baby, ergative

myùepòey /mʲɨɦpɜiɦ/ - my baby, absolutive

 

And if the obstruent stays voiceless in the ergative form, then breathy voice does not spread e.g.

pòey /pɜiɦ/ - page, absolutive

paydlin /paidɮiɴ/ - page, ergative

myipòey /mʲipɜiɦ/ - my page, absolutive

 

Irregular Nouns

A handful of nouns are irregular, taking special forms whenever they are prefixed. These can be divided up into a few categories.

 

First Consonant Becomes /ŋ/

If the initial consonant of a noun is /k/ or /g/, often it changes to /ŋ/ when the noun takes a prefix. e.g.

gali /gali/ - hole, absolutive

myingali /mʲiŋali/ - my hole, absolutive

 

In such a case, if the first vowel has tense or breathy voice, then it always spreads onto the prefix e.g.

kùe /kɨɦ/ - goods, absolutive

myùengùe /mʲɨɦŋɨɦ/ - my goods, absolutive

kíeyváy /keiʔɥaiʔ/ - tongue, absolutive

myíeyngíeyváy /mʲeiʔŋeiʔɥaiʔ/ - my tongue, absolutive

 

Syllable Insertion

For a few nouns, an additional syllable is inserted between the prefix and the stem. The consonant is unpredictable and depends on the noun, but the vowel is always modally voiced /i/ and is never followed by /ɴ /. For any given noun, this will be the same regardless of the prefix e.g.

bun /buɴ/ - pants, absolutive

myizibun /mʲizibuɴ/ - my pants, absolutive

tizibun tizibuɴ/ - your pants, absolutive

 

Tense voice is always blocked from spreading in such cases e.g.

tlíeynáe /tɬeiʔnɛʔ/ - business, absolutive

myibyitlíeynáe /mʲibʲitɬeiʔnɛʔ/ - my business, absolutive

 

But breathy voice will always spread onto both the prefix and the inserted syllable e.g.

pùey /pɨiɦ/ - section, absolutive

myùetlùepùey /mʲɨɦtɬɨɦpɨiɦ/ - section, absolutive

 

Syllable Insertion and Nasalisation

Some words undergo both of the above changes when they take a prefix e.g.

gay /gai/ - gift, absolutive

myibyigay /mʲibʲiŋai/ - my gift, absolutive

 

If the initial syllable of the unprefixed word has tense voice, then this spreads onto the inserted syllable, but not onto the actual prefix e.g.

kúow /kouʔ/ – bigot, absolutive

myipyíeyngúow /mʲipʲeiʔŋouʔ/ – my bigot, absolutive (not

• myíeypyíeykúow)

 

If the initial syllable of the unprefixed noun has breathy voice, then this spreads on to both the inserted syllable and the prefix:

kùeròe /kɨɦʁɜɦ/ - grudge, absolutive

myùepyùengùeròe /mʲɨɦpʲɨɦŋɨɦʁɜɦ/ - my grudge, absolutive

 

First Syllable Deleted

A considerable number of nouns lose their initial syllable when they take a prefix. In such cases, the prefix always has tense voice e.g.

puekaay /pɨkaːi/ - star, absolutive

myíeykaay /mʲeiʔkaːi/ - my star, absolutive

fuekirami /fɨkiʁami/ - swelling, absolutive

myíeykirami /mʲeiʔfikiʁami/ - swelling, absolutive

 

The only words that undergo this process are ones that begin with a voiceless obstruent (oral stop, fricative or affricate), immediately followed by modally voiced /ɨ/ or /i/, immediately followed by a second voiceless obstruent. Many, but by no means all of these words originated in English, where they began with clusters of /s/ + voiceless consonant. The proto language did not like these clusters and so inserted a vowel to break them up. However when they took a prefix this insertion was no longer necessary. A later sound change put tense voice on all syllables which ended in a voiceless consonant, and deleted that consonant e.g.

sitùen /sitɨɴɦ/ - wound caused by a sting (e.g. a bee or a jellyfish), absolutive

myíeytùen /mʲeiʔtɨɴɦ/ - my wound caused by a sting (e.g. a bee or a jellyfish), absolutive

suekiraeypi /sɨkiʁɛipi/ - a scrape, absolutive

myíeykiraypi /mʲeiʔkiʁaipi/ - my scrape, absolutive

 

Syllable Deletion with Ejectivisation

A similar but separate sound change applies to a few words, all of which have íey as their first vowel, with the second vowel having tense voice. Like before, the first vowel is deleted and the prefix takes tense voice. However, the consonant immediately after the prefix changes to an ejective e.g.

síeypyíey /seiʔpʲeiʔ/ - spit, absolutive

míeyppyíey /mʲeiʔpʼʲeiʔ/ - my spit, absolutive

líeyká /leiʔkaʔ/ - square, absolutive

myíeykká /mʲeiʔkʼaʔ/ - my square, absolutive

 

If the second syllable begins with /l/, then this always converts to /tsʼ/ rather than /tɬʼ/ e.g.

chilúow /cilouʔ/ - banner, absolutive

myíeyttsúow /mʲeiʔtsʼouʔ/ - my banner, absolutive

 

Other irregular nouns

There are other nouns that behave in other ways to those described above when they take a prefix. What happens needs to be remembered for each noun, however note that the prefixes for irregular nouns always take tense voice e.g.

kíey /keiʔ/ - mouth, absolutive

myíeytli /mʲeiʔtɬi/ - my mouth, absolutive

 

Possession by a Noun

Antarctican distinguishes alienable and inalienable possession (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Possession_(linguistics)#Alienable_and_inalienable)">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Possession_(linguistics)#Alienable_and_inalienable)</a>. Both are marked with prefixes on the possessed noun, wiey- for alienable possession and nu- for inalienable possession (the possessor always takes the absolutive case):

kùeròetùu /kɨɦʁɜɦtuɦː/ - bone, absolutive

yini /jini/ - dog, absolutive

wieykùeròetùu yini /weikɨɦʁɜɦtuɦː jini/ - the dog’s bone, absolutive, alienable (i.e. the one that it eats, buries etc.)

nukùeròetùu yini /nukɨɦʁɜɦtuɦː jini/ - the dog’s bone, absolutive, inalienable (i.e. the one that is a part of it)

 

Where English would compound nouns together, or use one to modify another. Antarctican uses the alienable possessive construction e.g.

qaaehaan /ʔɛːχaːɴ/ - food, absolutive

wieyqaaehaan yini /weiʔɛːχaːɴ jini/ - dog food, absolutive

 

Whatever voice spreads from a noun onto a pronominal possessive prefix, also always does so to an alienable or inalienable possessive prefix e.g.

kán-kúow /kaɴʔkouʔ/ - prisoner, absolutive

myíeykán-kúow /mʲeiʔkaɴʔkouʔ/ - my prisoner, absolutive

wáeykán-kúow /wɛiʔkaɴʔkouʔ/ - prisoner, absolutive, alienable possessive

pùelùe /pɨɦlɨɦ/ - bridge, absolutive

myùepùelùe /mʲɨɦpɨɦlɨɦ/ - my bridge, absolutive

wèypùelùe /wɘiɦpɨɦlɨɦ/ - bridge, absolutive, alienable possessive

mòoe /mɜɦː/ - betel nut, absolutive

myimòoe /mʲimɜɦː/ - my betel nut, absolutive

wieymòoe /weimɜɦː/ - betel nut, absolutive, alienable possessive

pmaagin /pmaːgiɴ/ - betel nut, ergative

myuepmaagin /mʲɨpmaːgiɴ/ - my betel nut, ergative

weypmaagin /wɘipmaːgiɴ/ - betel nut, ergative, alienable possessive

 

Reciprocal Possession

In Antarctican, there is no singular vs. plural marking. However, some nouns that imply a relationship (e.g. friend, brother, enemy, coworker), have special forms to indicate a pair or group of people / things where that relationship is reciprocal e.g. where English would say “They are friends / brothers / enemies / coworkers (of each other)”.

These forms are generally constructed by reduplicating the first syllable of the noun, in the same “slot” where possession would be marked e.g.

buraza /buʁaza/ - brother, absolutive

buburaza /bubuʁaza/ - brothers (of each other), absolutive

yieruoy /jeʁoi/ - ally, absolutive

yieyieruoy /jeʁoi/ - allies (of each other), absolutive

 

However, the inserted syllable cannot have a long vowel, a diphthong, or end in /ɴ/. If it would do so then it is truncated e.g.

duuolaa /doːlaː/ - coworker, absolutive

duoduuolaa /dodoːlaː/ - coworkers (of each other), absolutive

nayba /naiba/ - neighbour, absolutive

nanayba /nanaiba/ - neighbours (of each other), absolutive

kúowntátu /kouɴʔtaʔtu/ – acquaintance, absolutive

kúokúowntátu /koʔkouɴʔtaʔtu/– acquaintances (of each other), absolutive

 

The same rules about spreading and non-spreading of phonation onto possessive prefixes, and the resultant vowel changes, also apply to the possessive prefixes e.g.

sátuozii /saʔtoziː/ – enemy, absolutive

myisátuozii /mʲisaʔtoziː/ – my enemy, absolutive

sasátuozii /sasaʔtoziː/ - enemies (of each other), absolutive

rùy /ʁuiɦ/ - rival, absolutive

myùerùy /mʲɨɦʁuiɦ/ - my rival, absolutive

rùrùy /ʁuɦʁuiɦ/ - rivals (of each other), absolutive

firiendun /fiʁeɴduɴ/ – friend, ergative

myuefiriendun /mʲɨfiʁeɴduɴ/ – my friend, ergative

fuefiriendun /fɨfiʁeɴduɴ/ – friends (of each other), ergative

 

A few nouns have irregular reciprocal possessive forms e.g.

wùerèn /wɨɦʀɘɴɦ/ - friend, absolutive

fiwùerèn /fiwɨɦʀɘɴɦ/ - friends (of each other), absolutive