Thangha'

Thangha' is another language spoken in my far future Antarctic conworld (after runaway global warming has melted most of the ice but made most of the rest of the world uninhabitable). It is spoken by nomads who inhabit the centre of the continent.. Because each group of nomads speak their own dialect, Thangha' is a Pluricentric language. The situation is further complicated by the fact that Thangha's has become a lingua franca across much of East Antarctica (through other ethnic groups trading with the nomads). To give an example of the diversity, the initial consonant in the name of the language can be pronounced as [tˤ], [θˤ], [θ], [tsˤ], [sˤ], [tʰ], [tsʰ] or occasionally [ts]. The consonant that begins the second syllable is usually prononuced [x], but a few dialects pronounce it as as [χ], [ħ] or [h].

Thangha' was heavily influenced by Austronesian languages, most notably in its split ergative alignment. But it also borrowed heavily from English, Hindi and various Chinese dialects.

Phonology

Vowels

In stressed syllables, most dialects distinguish 5 plain oral vowels /a/, /iː/, /uː/, /e/, /o/, two nasal vowels /aⁿ/ and /əⁿ/, and one glottalised vowel /əʔ/. The difference between /iː/ vs. /e/ is more dependent on length than height. For example, a short [i] is more likely to be heard as /e/ than /iː/, and a long /eː/ is more likely to be heard as /iː/ than /e/. The back vowels /uː/ and /o/ are similar in this regard.

In unstressed syllables, the plain oral vowels /iː/, /uː/, /e/ and /o/ (i.e. all of the plain oral vowels except /a/) merge to /ə/ (which is still distinct from /əʔ/.

In non-word final syllables, it is very common for nasal vowels to unpackinto a sequence of oral vowel + nasal consonant (which is homorganic with the following consonant). For example, the vowel of the first syllable in the language name Thangha' is phonemically /aⁿ/, but is usually heard as [aŋ] (or [aɴ] for speakers who use a uvular fricative instead of a velar fricative).

Thangha' is well on the way to developing a second phonemic glottalised vowel /aʔ/, from coalesence of the sequence /a/ + Stop + /əʔ/ (unstressed). For example, in careful speech, Thangha' is heard as /ˈtˤaⁿxapəʔ/, however in normal conversation it is almost always contracted to /ˈtˤaⁿxaʔ/.

Consonants

There is considerable variation between dialects here:

	Labial	Pal. Labial	Dental / Alveolar	Lab. Dental	Alveolo-Palatal	Retroflex	Palatal	Velar	Uvular	Lab. Velar	Lab. Uvular	Glottal
Nasal	m	mʲ ~ mj	n	nʷ ~ nw			ɲ ~ nj
Voiced Stop / Affricate	b	bʲ ~ bj	d	dʷ ~ dw	dʑ	ɖ	ɟ ~ gj	g		gʷ ~ gw ~ gb
Voiceless Stop	p	pʲ ~ pj	t	tʷ ~ tw		ʈ	c ~ kj	k	q	kʷ ~ kw ~ kp	qʷ ~ kf ~ qp	ʔ
Voiceless Affricate			ts ~ tɬ		tɕ
"Aspirated" Consonant	pˤ ~ pʰ		tˤ ~ θˤ ~ θ ~ tsˤ~ sˤ ~ tʰ ~ tsʰ ~ ts				cç ~ kɕ ~ ks
Fricative	f	fʲ ~ fj	s	sʷ ~ sw	ɕ	ʂ	ç ~ ɬ	x ~ χ ~ ħ ~ h		xʷ ~ χʷ ~ ʍ ~ ɸ
Flap / Trill					ɾʲ	ɽ			ʀ		ʀʷ ~ ⱱ
Lateral							ʎ		ɫ		ɫʷ ~ ɫw
Semivowel							j			w

The uvular trill is most commonly pronounced as an approximant [ʁ].

Flaps usually become trills after glottal stops.

Clusters of glottal stop followed by stops, fricatives or affricates coalesce to become geminates e.g. /ˈwəʔɖa/ - "rain" [ˈwɔɖːɑ]

The "aspirated" consonants were originally aspirated stops, and a very small number of dialects preserve this pronunciation, however in the vast majority of dialects these have undergone sound shifts.

A few dialects merge the aspirated dental consonant into the voiceless alveolar affricate. In these dialects, Thangha' would be pronounced [ˈtsaŋxaʔ].

Some dialects merge /ɫʷ/ into /ɫ/.

Labialised labial consonants /mʷ/, /bʷ/, /pʷ/ (and sometimes /fʷ/~/ɸ/) occur as separate phonemese in a few dialects. But most dialects have merged these with the plain labials.

Some dialects merge /xʷ/ into /f/ (or /ɸ/ in one dialect that treats this as a distinct phoneme to /f/).

Stress

Syllable stress is not fixed, and can occur on any syllable of a word. However, as mentioned earlier, the range of vowels that can occur on unstressed syllables is limited.

Phonotactics

Only CCV syllables are permitted (this assumes that nasal and glottalised vowels are distinct phonemes). Furthermore, the only permissible consonant clusters (that are not affricates / cases of secondary articulation in at least some dialects) are /pf/, /tf/ and /pç/~/ps/~/pɬ/.

Vowel Allophony

The vowels of Thangha' have a number of different allophones depending on what consonants they are adjacent to. These are described in the table below. Note that a "lowering" consonant is defined as a pharyngealised, retroflex or uvular consonant (labialised or non-labialised, including /ɫ/). If two sounds are listed, the first occurs in stressed syllables, and the second in unstressed syllables:

Phoneme	/a/	/iː/	/uː/	/e/	/o/	/aⁿ/	/əⁿ/	/əʔ/	/ə/	/aʔ/
Default	[a]	[iː]	[uː]	[e]	[o]	[aⁿ]	[əⁿ]	[əʔ]	[ə]	[aʔ]
Adjacent to a Palatal or Palatalised Consonant	[æ]	[iː]	[ʉː]	[i]	[ɵ]	[ɛⁿ]	[eⁿ]	[ɪʔ]	[ɪ]	[ɛʔ]
Adjacent to a Lowering Consonant (Non-Labialised)	[ɑ]	[eː]	[oː]	[ɛ]	[ɔ]	[ɑⁿ]	[ʌⁿ]	[ʌʔ]	[ʌ]	[ɑʔ]
Adjacent to a Labialised Consonant (Non-Lowering)	[a]	[yː]	[uː]	[ø]	[u]	[aⁿ]	[oⁿ]	[ʊʔ]	[ʊ]	[ɔʔ]
Adjacent to a Labialised Uvular Consonant	[ɒ]	[øː]	[oː]	[œ]	[ɔ]	[ɒⁿ]	[ɔⁿ]	[ɔʔ]	[ɔ]	[ɒʔ]
Between a Lowering Consonant and a Labialised Consonant	[ɒ]	[øː]	[oː]	[œ]	[ɔ]	[ɒⁿ]	[ɔⁿ]	[ɔʔ]	[ɔ]	[ɒʔ]
Between a Palatal / Palatalised Consonant, and a Labialised Consonant (Non-Lowering)	[ɞ]	[yː]	[ʉː]	[y]	[ʉ]	[œⁿ]	[øⁿ]	[ʏʔ]	[ʏ]	[œʔ]
Between a Palatal / Palatalised Consonant, and a Labialised Uvular Consonant	[ɐ]	[øː]	[oː]	[ø]	[o]	[ɐⁿ]	[əⁿ]	[ɵʔ]	[ɵ]	[ɐʔ]
Between a Palatal / Palatalised Consonant, and a Lowering Consonant (Non-Labialised)	[ɐ]	[eː]	[oː]	[e]	[o]	[ɐⁿ]	[əⁿ]	[ɘʔ]	[ɘ]	[ɐʔ]

Nouns

Thangha' does not make a morphological distinction between nouns and adjectives (which come before the head noun when used attributively, like English). For example, /ˈpfəⁿʂa/ [ˈpfʌɲʂɑ] can mean either "sand" or "sandy".

Plurals

Additive Plural

This is formed by reduplicating the last syllable of the noun e.g. /ˈʂaⁿsəʔ/ [ˈʂɑnsəʔ] - "boss" -> /ˈʂaⁿsəʔsəʔ/ [ˈʂɑnsəsːaʔ] - "bosses". However, in Thangha', pluralisation is optional. So /ˈʂaⁿsəʔ/ could mean either "boss" or "bosses". In general, the plural is only used to emphasise that there is a large number / quantity of something. It can even be used for uncountable nouns e.g. /ˈpfəⁿʂa/ [ˈpfʌɲʂɑ] - sand (from a desert, Thangha' has a different word for beach sand) -> /ˈpfəⁿʂaʂa/ [ˈpfʌɲʂɑʂɑ] - "large amount of desert sand / dune sea".

Associative Plural

Distinct from the additive plural, this means "X and company", "X and his/her mob" etc. (similar to Japanese -tachi). It is formed by suffixing /-də/ to the noun e.g.

/ˈʂaⁿsəʔ/ [ˈʂɑnsəʔ] - "boss" -> /ˈʂaⁿsəʔdə/ [ˈʂɑnsədːə]- "the boss and his lot"

Note that this is distinct from the additive plural discussed before. /ˈʂaⁿsəʔsəʔ/ refers to a group of bosses, while /ˈʂaⁿsəʔdə/ refers to a boss with a group of other people associated with him (who by no means need to be bosses, and could well be the boss's subordinates).

Case

Thangha' has three cases, Absolutive (unmarked), Ergative (marked with the suffix /-ɟa/) and Genitive.

The Genitive case is normally marked with the prefix /naⁿ-/ e.g. /ˈʂaⁿsəʔ/ [ˈʂɑnsəʔ] - "boss" -> /naⁿˈʂaⁿsəʔ/ [naɳˈʂɑnsəʔ] - "of the boss", /ˈpfəⁿʂa/ [ˈpfʌɳʂɑ] - "sand" -> /naⁿˈpfəⁿʂa/ [namˈpfʌɳʂɑ] "of the sand". However, if the initial consonant of the noun is /ʔ/, /j/ or /w/, then these are replaced with /nag-/, /naɟ-/ and /nagʷ-/ respectively. e.g. /ˈʔaba/ - "ash" -> /naˈgaba/ - "of the ash", /ˈjiːtəʔ/ - "food" -> /naˈɟiːtəʔ/ - "of the food", /ˈwəʔɖa/ [ˈwɔɖːɑ] - "rain" -> /naˈgʷəʔɖa/ [naˈgʷɔɖːɑ] - "of the rain".

Possession

Like most Antarctican languages, Thangha' uses different constructions for alienable and inalienable possession.

Inalienable Possession

In this case, the word order is Possessed - Possessor, with the Possessor marked with the genitive case e.g.

/ˈʀʷəʔtʷəʔ naⁿ-kʷəʔˈta/

[ˈʁʷɔtːʷʊʔ naŋkʷʊˈtːa]

bone GEN-dog

The dog's bone (in it's body)

Alienable Possession

The construction for alienable possession is completely different. The word order is Possessor - Possessed (the reverse of inalienable possession) and the Possessor is marked with the Ergative case e.g.

/kʷəʔˈta-ɟa ˈʀʷəʔtʷəʔ/

[kʷʊˈtːæ-ɟæ ˈʁʷɔtːʷʊʔ]

dog-ERG bone

The dog's bone (that it is chewing / burying etc.)

Demonstratives

Like English, Thangha' makes a two-way distance contrast in demonstratives, and there is no distinction between pronominal demonstratives and adnominal demonstratives (which precede the noun, like in English). Unlike English, there is no singular vs. plural contrast in demonstratives:

This / These: /ˈjəʔɲəʔ/ [jɪʔɲɪʔ]

That / Those: /ˈjəʔtʷəʔ/ [ˈjʏtːʷʊʔ]

Prepositional Clitics

In Thangha', prepositions are clitics that attach phonologically to the following word (whether that is a noun, demonstrative, numeral or adjective). The pronunciation of the last vowel in a preposition is affected by the first consonant in the following word e.g.

/saⁿpʲəⁿ/ [sɛmpʲeⁿ] - "next to"

/ˈʂaⁿsəʔ/ [ˈʂɑnsəʔ] - "boss"

/saⁿpʲəⁿ=ˈʂaⁿsəʔ/ [sɛmpʲəɳ=ˈʂɑnsəʔ] - "next to the boss"

Contractions

If a preposition ends with /-əʔ/, and the following word begins with /ʔ/, /j/ or /w/, then the combination of the two words is often abbreviated by deleting the last vowel of the preposition and the first consonant of the following word e.g.

/ʔatasəʔ/ - "above"

/ˈjiːtəʔ/ - "food"

/ʔataˈsiːtəʔ/ - "above the food" ( the uncontracted form /ʔatasəʔ=ˈjiːtəʔ/ is grammatical but almost never heard).

Sometimes, an initial /j/ or /w/ is not deleted entirely, but survives as secondary articulation on the last consonant of the preposition e.g.

/ˈwəʔwa/ [ˈwʊʔwa] - "animal fat"

/ʔataˈsʷəʔwa/ [ʔataˈsʷʊʔwa] - "above the animal fat"

/pəⁿtˤakəʔ/ [pʌntˤɑkəʔ]- "on top of"

/pəⁿtˤaˈkʷəʔwa/ [pʌntˤɒˈkʷʊʔwa] - "on top of the animal fat"

/pəⁿtˤaˈciːtəʔ/ [pʌntˤɐˈciːtəʔ] - "on top of the food"

Pronouns

Thangha' makes a distinction between inclusive and exclusive "we". Unlike the rest of the language which has ergative-absolutive alignment, pronouns have Fluid-S Alignment. In transitive sentences, subjects have the agentive case, while objects have the patientive case e.g.

/ˈʔəʔkʷa ʎə-ˈkəʔta ˈkəʔɲəʔ/

[ˈʔʊkːʷa ʎɪˈkətːa ˈkɪʔɲɪʔ]

1PS.SG.AGT ATEL-bite 3PS.PAT

I was biting him/her/them.

However, in intransitive sentences, pronominal subjects only have the agentive case if they perform the action of their own free will e.g.

/ˈʔəʔkʷa mʲaɲəʔ-ˈɫʷuːʂa/

[ˈʔʊkːʷa mʲæɲɵʔ-ˈɫʷoːʂɑ]

1PS.SG.AGT TEL-fall

I dropped to the ground (deliberately, e.g. to duck a bullet)

If the action is involitional, pronominal subjects of an intransitive verb take the patientive case e.g.

/ˈʔacəⁿ mʲaɲəʔ-ˈɫʷuːʂa/

[ˈʔæceⁿ mʲæɲɵʔ-ˈɫʷoːʂɑ]

1PS.SG.PAT TEL-fall

I fell to the ground (by accident)

The various pronouns are listed in the table below:

	Agentive	Patientive	Genitive
1PS Singular	/ˈʔəʔkʷa/ [ˈʔʊkːʷa]	/ˈʔacəⁿ/ [ˈʔæceⁿ]	/kʷo/ [kʷu]
1PS Plural Exclusive	/kaˈmʲəʔ/ [kæˈmʲɪʔ]	/ˈʔəʔmʲəⁿ/ [ˈʔɪʔmʲeⁿ]	/ˈnəʔmʲəⁿ/ [ˈnɪʔmʲeⁿ]
1PS Plural Inclusive	/ˈtəʔxʷa/ [ˈtʊxːʷa]	/ˈʔəʔtəⁿ/ [ˈʔətːəⁿ]	/ˈnəʔtəⁿ/ [ˈnətːəⁿ]
2PS Singular	/jəʔˈko/ [jɪˈkːo]	/jəʔˈxʷo/ [jʏˈxːʷu] ~ [jʏˈɸːu] ~ [jɪˈɸːo]	/mo/ [mo]
2PS Plural / Polite	/kaˈxʷo/ [kaˈxʷu]	/jəⁿˈxʷo/ [jøŋˈxʷu] ~ [jømˈɸu] ~ [jemˈɸo]	/ɲəⁿˈxʷo/ [ɲøŋˈxʷu] ~ [ɲømˈɸu] ~ [ɲemˈɸo]
3PS	/səʔ/ [səʔ]	/ˈkəʔɲəʔ/ [ˈkɪʔɲɪʔ]	/ɲəʔ/ [ɲɪʔ]
Reflexive	N/A	/ˈɽəⁿdʑəʔ/ [ˈɽɘndʑɪʔ]	/waⁿ/ [waⁿ]
Reciprocal	N/A	/ˈɕaⁿqʷəʔ/ [ˈɕɐɴqʷɔʔ]	/ˈdəʔʎəʔ/ [ˈdɪʔʎɪʔ]

The genitive pronouns are used for both alienable and inalienable possession. In both cases, they precede the noun they possess e.g. /kʷo ˈʀʷəʔtʷəʔ/ [kʷu ˈʁʷɔtːʷʊʔ] - "my bone" (either in my body, or in my possession).

The second person plural pronouns can also be used to refer to a single person, if the speaker desires to express respect to that person. This is similar to French tu vs. vous.

The reflexive patientive pronoun is used where English would say "myself", "yourself" etc. For example:

/kʷəʔˈta-ɟa ʎə-ˈkəʔta ˈɽəⁿdʑəʔ/

[kʷʊˈtːæɟæ ʎɪˈkətːa ˈɽɘndʑɪʔ]

dog-ERG ATEL-bite REFL.PAT

The dog was biting itself.

The reflexive genitive pronoun is used where English would say "my own", "your own" etc. For example:

/kʷəʔˈta-ɟa ʎə-ˈkəʔta waⁿ ˈʀʷəʔtʷəʔ/

[kʷʊˈtːæɟæ ʎɪˈkətːa waⁿ ˈʁʷɔtːʷʊʔ]

dog-ERG ATEL-bite REFL.GEN bone

The dog was biting its own bone.

The reciprocal patientive pronoun is used where English would say "each other" or "one another". For example:

/kʷəʔˈta-ɟa ʎə-ˈkəʔta ˈɕaⁿqʷəʔ/

[kʷʊˈtːæɟæ ʎɪˈkətːa ˈɕɐɴqʷɔʔ]

dog-ERG ATEL-bite RECP.PAT

The dogs were biting each other.

The reciprocal genitive pronoun is used where English would say "each other's" or "one another's". For example:

/kʷəʔˈta-ɟa ʎə-ˈkəʔta ˈdəʔʎəʔ ˈʀʷəʔtʷəʔ/

[kʷʊˈtːæɟæ ʎɪˈkətːa ˈdɪʔʎɪʔ ˈʁʷɔtːʷʊʔ]

dog-ERG ATEL-bite RECP.PAT bone

The dogs were biting each other's bones.

Verbs

All verb conjugation is done using prefixes. Verbs do not inflect for tense or mood, but Telicity plays a central role in verb conjugation. Verbs can also be inflected into a number of different grammatical voices:

Voice	Telic	Atelic	Negative	Prohibitive
Default	mʲaɲəʔ-	ʎə-	na-	dʷaⁿ-
Antipassive	mʲaⁿma-	ʎama-	nama-	N/A
Benefactive Applicative	mʲaɲəʔka-	ʎəka-	naka-	dʷaⁿka-
Instrumental Applicative	mʲaɲəʔpaⁿ-	ʎəpaⁿ-	napaⁿ-	dʷaⁿpaⁿ--

The prohibitive forms are used to give negative commands e.g.

/dʷaⁿ-ˈkəʔta ˈʀʷəʔtʷəʔ/

[dʷaŋˈkətːa ˈʁʷɔtːʷʊʔ]

PROH-bite bone.ABS

Don't bite the bone.

Default Voice

Transitive Sentences

For transitive sentences, the most common word order is [Subject] Verb [Direct Object] [Prepositional Objects] e.g.

/kʷəʔˈta-ɟa ʎə-ˈkəʔta ˈʀʷəʔtʷəʔ/

[kʷʊˈtːæ-ɟæ ʎɪˈkətːa ˈʁʷɔtːʷʊʔ]

dog-ERG ATEL-bite bone.ABS

The dog was biting a / the bone.

Note that this construction is only used when a) the subject is definite (where English would use "the") and b) the subject is not topicalised (i.e. in cases where Japanese would use "ga" and not "wa"). See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topic_and_comment, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topic-prominent_language and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_grammar#Topic.2C_theme.2C_and_subject:_.E3.81.AF_wa_and_.E3.81.8C_ga.

Subject Topicalisation

In transitive sentences where the subject is definite and is also topicalised (i.e. in a case where English would mark it with "the" , and Japanese would mark it with "wa"), the subject takes the absolutive case e.g.

/kʷəʔˈta ʎə-ˈkəʔta ˈʀʷəʔtʷəʔ/

[kʷʊˈtːa ʎɪˈkətːa ˈʁʷɔtːʷʊʔ]

dog ATEL-bite bone.ABS

The dog was biting a / the bone.

This sentence differs from the previous one (which has the ergative marker -ɟa) in that, without -ɟa, it simply describes the dog and what it is doing, whereas with -ɟa, it is more likely to be an answer to a question (overt or implied) asking something like "Who / What was biting the bone?"

Object Topicalisation

Objects of such transitive sentences can be topicalised by moving them to the front of the sentence (this precludes subject topicalisation, a sentence can only have one topic). This is usually used in situations where English would use the passive voice e.g.

/ˈʀʷəʔtʷəʔ kʷəʔˈta-ɟa ʎə-ˈkəʔta/

[ˈʁʷɔtːʷʊʔ kʷʊˈtːæ-ɟæ ʎɪˈkətːa]

bone.ABS dog-ERG ATEL-bite

The bone was being bitten by the dog.

Subject Deletion

Thangha' is a Pro-drop language. In particular, it is common to delete the subject of transitive sentences if it is obvious from the context e.g.

/ʎə-ˈkəʔta ˈʀʷəʔtʷəʔ/

[ʎɪˈkətːa ˈʁʷɔtːʷʊʔ]

ATEL-bite bone.ABS

It (or he/she/they) was biting a / the bone.

Intransitive Sentences

In intransitive sentences, word order depends on whether the subject is a pronoun, or a full noun phrase

Full Noun Phrases

In this case, subjects come before the verb if they are topicalised e.g.

/ˈʂaⁿsəʔ mʲaɲəʔ-ˈɫʷuːʂa/

[ˈʂɑnsəʔ mʲæɲɵʔ-ˈɫʷoːʂɑ]

boss TEL-fall

The boss dropped to the ground (where the main point of the sentence is to say what the boss did)

If the subject is not topicalised, it comes after the verb e.g.

/mʲaɲəʔ-ˈɫʷuːʂa ˈʂaⁿsəʔ/

[mʲæɲɵʔ-ˈɫʷoːʂɑ ˈʂɑnsəʔ]

TEL-fall boss

The boss dropped to the ground (where the main point of the sentence is to say who dropped to the ground)

Pronouns

In intransitive sentences, subject pronouns always come before the verb e.g.

/ˈʔəʔkʷa mʲaɲəʔ-ˈɫʷuːʂa/

[ˈʔʊkːʷa mʲæɲɵʔ-ˈɫʷoːʂɑ]

1PS.SG.AGT TEL-fall

I dropped to the ground.

This applies even if the subject pronoun is in the patientive case (to indicate that the action was involitional) e.g.

/ˈʔacəⁿ mʲaɲəʔ-ˈɫʷuːʂa/

[ˈʔæceⁿ mʲæɲɵʔ-ˈɫʷoːʂɑ]

1PS.SG.PAT TEL-fall

I fell to the ground (by accident)

Subject Deletion

As with transitive sentences, subjects of intransitive sentences can be freely deleted if they are obvious from context e.g.

/mʲaɲəʔ-ˈɫʷuːʂa/

[mʲæɲɵʔ-ˈɫʷoːʂɑ]

TEL-fall

I/you/he/... fell to the ground.

Ditransitive Verbs

The subject of a ditranstive verb takes the ergative case, and both the direct and indirect objects take absolutive case. However, the indirect object is also marked with the prepositional clitic /dəʔ/ e.g.

/ˈʔəkːʷa mʲaɲəʔ-ˈdena ˈʀʷəʔtʷəʔ dəʔ=kʷəʔˈta/

[ˈʔʊkːʷa mʲæɲɪ-ˈdːena ˈʁʷɔtːʷʊʔ dʊkːʷʊˈtːa]

1PS.SG.AGT TEL-give bone DAT=dog

I gave a bone to the dog.

Antipassive Voice

This is only applicable to transitive verbs. It deletes the object of the verb, and places the subject of the verb in the absolutive case. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antipassive_voice. The situation when it is used depends on whether the subject of the verb is a full noun phrase or a pronoun.

Full Noun Phrases

There are two specific usages of the antipassive when the subject is a full noun phrase. One is in gnomic utterances, and the other is to indicate that the subject of a transitive sentence is indefinite

Gnomic Utterances

To talk about general truths, the antipassive is used, with the subject occuring before the verb e.g.

/kʷəʔˈta ʎama-ˈkəʔta/

[kʷʊˈtːa ʎæma-ˈkətːa]

dog.ABS ANTIP.ATEL-bite

Dogs bite.

The object of the sentence can resurface after verb, marked with the dative prepositional clitic /dəʔ/ e.g.

/kʷəʔˈta ʎama-ˈkəʔta dəʔ=ˈʀʷəʔtʷəʔ/

[kʷʊˈtːa ʎæma-ˈkətːa dɔʔ=ˈʁʷɔtːʷʊʔ]

dog.ABS ANTIP.ATEL-bite DAT=bone

Dogs bite bones.

Indefinite Subjects

The default voice can only be used for transitive verbs if the subject is definite. If the subject is indefinite, then the verb is antipassivised, and the subject reappears after the verb e.g.

/ʎama-ˈkəʔta kʷəʔˈta/

[ʎæma-ˈkətːa kʷʊˈtːa]

ANTIP.ATEL-bite dog.ABS

A dog was biting (me / you / him / her / it ...)

As with before, the object of the sentence can be placed at the end, marked with /dəʔ/ e.g.

/ʎama-ˈkəʔta kʷəʔˈta dəʔ=ˈʀʷəʔtʷəʔ/

[ʎæma-ˈkətːa kʷʊˈtːa dɔʔ=ˈʁʷɔtːʷʊʔ]

ANTIP.ATEL-bite dog.ABS DAT=bone

A dog was biting the bone.

Pronominal Subjects

Transitive verbs with pronomninal subjects are antipassivised in two cases:

Object De-Emphasis

If the subject of a transitive verb is a pronoun, and it is considered to be more integral to the action being performed than the object, then the verb is antipassivised e.g.

/jəʔˈko mʲaⁿma-ˈsuːfəʔ/

[jɪˈkːo mʲæmma-ˈsuːfəʔ]

2PS.SG.AGT ANTIP.TEL-rescue

You saved it / him / her (with an feeling that only the listener could have performed the rescue)

If the verb does not take the antipassive i.e. /mʲaɲəʔ-ˈsuːfəʔ/, there is no nuance that the rescue was only something that the listener could have performed.

Involitional Action

If a transitive verb has a pronominal subject that performs the action involitionally, then the verb is antipassivised and the subject takes the patientive case e.g.

/ˈkəʔɲəʔ ʎama-ˈkəʔta/

[ˈkɪʔɲɪʔ ʎæma-ˈkətːa]

3PS.PAT ANTIP.ATEL-bite

He/she/they was/were biting (with a nuance that the biting was uncontrallable, maybe they had rabies or were zombified or in an uncontrollable rage etc.)

Benefactive Applicative Voice

Thi sused to highlight the beneficiary of an action. It can apply to intransitive verbs i.e. changing the sentence "A did something" into "A did something for B". It can also apply to transtive verbs i.e. changing the sentence "A did something to X" into "A did something to X for B". In both cases, the orginial absolutive argument of the verb is shifted to the end of the sentence, and is marked with the prepositional clitic /dəʔ/. For example, if we take the following intransitive sentence:

/mʲaɲəʔ-ˈɫʷuːʂa ˈcçada/

[mʲæɲɵʔ-ˈɫʷoːʂɑ ˈcçæda]

TEL-fall shepherd.ABS

A shepherd dropped down.

The above sentence can take the applicative voice to become.

/mʲaɲəʔka-ˈɫʷuːʂa ˈʂaⁿsəʔ dəʔ=ˈcçada/

[mʲæɲɪkːɒ-ˈɫʷoːʂɑ ˈʂɑnsəʔ dɪˈcːçæda]

TEL.APPL-fall boss.ABS DAT=shepherd

A shepherd dropped down for the boss (maybe prostrating himself).

Either /ˈʂaⁿsəʔ/ - "boss" or /dəʔ=ˈcçada/ - "shepherd" (dative) can be topicalised (moving to before the verb). Both can be deleted if they are obvious from context. So /mʲaɲəʔka-ˈɫʷuːʂa/ could stand as a sentence by itself.

Below is an example of applying the applicative voice to a transitive verb:

/kʷəʔˈta-ɟa ʎə-ˈkəʔta ˈʂaⁿsəʔ/

[kʷʊˈtːæ-ɟæ ʎɪˈkətːa ˈʂɑnsəʔ/

dog-ERG ATEL-bite boss.ABS

A dog was biting the boss.

/kʷəʔˈta-ɟa ʎəka-ˈkəʔta ˈcçada dəʔ=ˈʂaⁿsəʔ/

[kʷʊˈtːæ-ɟæ ʎɪka-ˈkətːa ˈcçæda dʌˈʂːɑnsəʔ/

dog-ERG ATEL.BEN.APPL-bite shepherd.ABS DAT=boss

A dog was biting the boss for the shepherd (maybe the shepherd ordered it to attack the boss).

Instrumental Applicative Voice

This functions in a similar way to the benefactive applicative voice. The noun that would normally take the plain absolutive case (i.e. the subject of an intransitive verb, or the direct object of a transitive verb) goes to the end of the sentence and takes the prepositional clitic /dəʔ/. Whatever the subject used to complete the action takes the absolutive case, and is not marked with a preposition e.g.

/kʷəʔˈta-ɟa ʎə-ˈkəʔta ɲəʔ ˈʂaⁿsəʔ/

[kʷʊˈtːæ-ɟæ ʎɪˈkətːa ɲɪʔ ˈʂɑnsəʔ]

dog-ERG ATEL-bite boss.ABS

A dog was biting the boss.

becomes

/kʷəʔˈta-ɟa ʎəpaⁿ-ˈkəʔta ɲəʔ wəʔˈjuːʎəʔ ˈdaⁿtəʔ dəʔ=ˈʂaⁿsəʔ/

[kʷʊˈtːæ-ɟæ ʎɪpaŋ-ˈkətːa ɲɪʔ wʏʔˈjʉːʎɪʔ ˈdantəʔ dʌˈʂːɑnsəʔ]

dog-ERG ATEL.INSTR.APPL-bite 3PS.GEN sharp tooth.ABS DAT=boss

A dog was biting the boss with its sharp teeth.

Copula

The Thangha' copula /ɕəʔ/ is a verb that conjugates regularly like all of the others. Note that for it to correspond to English "to be", it must take the atelic aspect, so in the default voice it is /ʎə-ˈɕəʔ/. If it takes the telic aspect (i.e. becoming /mʲaɲəʔ-ˈɕəʔ/ in the default voice), it means "to become".

Note that the copula counts as a transitive verb, so the subject generally takes the ergative case e.g.

/ˈcçada-ɟa ʎə-ˈɕəʔ ˈʂaⁿsəʔ/

[ˈcçædæ-ɟæ ʎɪˈɕːɪʔ ˈʂɑnsəʔ]

shepherd-ERG ATEL-be boss.ABS

The shepherd is the boss (answering the actual or implied question of "Who is the boss?")

However, just as with other transitive verbs, the subject can be topicalised, in which case it loses the ergative marker e.g.

/ˈcçada ʎə-ˈɕəʔ ˈʂaⁿsəʔ/

[ˈcçæda ʎɪˈɕːɪʔ ˈʂɑnsəʔ]

shepherd.TOP ATEL-be boss.ABS

The shepherd is the boss (answering the actual or implied question of "What does the shepherd do?")

The same copula is used when adjectives are used predicatively (remember Thangha' makes no distinction between adjectives and nouns) e.g.

/ˈdaⁿtəʔ-ɟa naⁿ-kʷəʔˈta ʎə-ˈɕəʔ wəʔˈjuːʎəʔ/

[ˈdantɪɟːæ naŋkʷʊˈtːa ʎɪˈɕːɪʔ wʏʔˈjʉːʎɪʔ]

tooth-ERG GEN-dog ATEL-be sharp

The dog's teeth are sharp.

Relative Clauses

These always follow the noun that they modify, which they are separated from by the proclitic /xaⁿ/ e.g.

/kʷəʔˈta xaⁿ=ʎə-ˈkəʔta ˈʀʷəʔtʷəʔ/

[kʷʊˈtːa xæɲʎɪˈkətːa ˈʁʷɔtːʷʊʔ]

dog.ABS REL=ATEL-bite bone.ABS

The dog that is biting the bone.

Inside a relative clause, subjects must always be marked with the ergative case marker e.g.

/ˈʀʷəʔtʷəʔ xaⁿ=kʷəʔˈta-ɟa ʎə-ˈkəʔta/

[ˈʁʷɔtːʷʊʔ xaŋkʷʊˈtːæɟæ ʎɪˈkətːa]

bone REL=dog-ERG ATEL-bite

The bone that the dog is biting.

Numbers

As in English, numbers precede the noun that they modify e.g.

/tʷuː kʷəʔˈta/

two dog

Two dogs

To make ordinal numerals, prefix /də/ to the numeral e.g.

/də-tʷuː kʷəʔˈta/

ORD-two dog

The second dog

However, the Thangha' word for "first" is irregular. Whilst the numeral for "one" is /faⁿ/, the word for "first" is /wəʔˈnaⁿ/.

Questions

Polar Questions

A statement is turned into a polar question using the particle /ba/. It comes at the beginning of the sentence, except if a noun is topicalised, in which case it follows that noun e.g.

/ˈʂaⁿsəʔ mʲaɲəʔ-ˈɫʷuːʂa/

[ˈʂɑnsəʔ mʲæɲɵʔ-ˈɫʷoːʂɑ]

boss.TOP TEL-fall

The boss dropped to the ground (where the main point of the sentence is to say what the boss did)

/ˈʂaⁿsəʔ ba mʲaɲəʔ-ˈɫʷuːʂa/

[ˈʂɑnsəʔ ba mʲæɲɵʔ-ˈɫʷoːʂɑ]

boss.TOP Q TEL-fall

Did the boss drop to the ground?

/mʲaɲəʔ-ˈɫʷuːʂa ˈʂaⁿsəʔ/

[mʲæɲɵʔ-ˈɫʷoːʂɑ ˈʂɑnsəʔ]

TEL-fall boss.ABS

The boss dropped to the ground (where the main point of the sentence is to say who dropped to the ground).

/ba mʲaɲəʔ-ˈɫʷuːʂa ˈʂaⁿsəʔ/

[ba mʲæɲɵʔ-ˈɫʷoːʂɑ ˈʂɑnsəʔ]

Q TEL-fall boss.ABS

Did the boss drop to the ground? (or was it somebody else).

/kʷəʔˈta ʎə-ˈkəʔta ˈʀʷəʔtʷəʔ/

[kʷʊˈtːa ʎɪˈkətːa ˈʁʷɔtːʷʊʔ]

dog-TOP ATEL-bite bone.ABS

The dog was biting the bone (where the main emphasis of the speaker is to describe what the dog was doing)

/kʷəʔˈta ba ʎə-ˈkəʔta ˈʀʷəʔtʷəʔ/

[kʷʊˈtːa ba ʎɪˈkətːa ˈʁʷɔtːʷʊʔ]

dog.TOP Q ATEL-bite bone.ABS

Was the dog biting the bone?

/kʷəʔˈta-ɟa ʎə-ˈkəʔta ˈʀʷəʔtʷəʔ/

[kʷʊˈtːæ-ɟæ ʎɪˈkətːa ˈʁʷɔtːʷʊʔ]

dog-ERG ATEL-bite bone.ABS

The dog was biting the bone (where the main emphasis of the speaker is to point out that the dog was biting the bone, and not a cat)

/ba kʷəʔˈta-ɟa ʎə-ˈkəʔta ˈʀʷəʔtʷəʔ/

[ba kʷʊˈtːæ-ɟæ ʎɪˈkətːa ˈʁʷɔtːʷʊʔ]

Q dog-ERG ATEL-bite bone.ABS

Was the dog biting the bone? (or was it something else)

/ˈʀʷəʔtʷəʔ kʷəʔˈta-ɟa ʎə-ˈkəʔta/

[ˈʁʷɔtːʷʊʔ kʷʊˈtːæ-ɟæ ʎɪˈkətːa]

bone.TOP dog-ERG ATEL-bite

The bone was being bitten by the dog.

/ˈʀʷəʔtʷəʔ ba kʷəʔˈta-ɟa ʎə-ˈkəʔta/

[ˈʁʷɔtːʷʊʔ ba kʷʊˈtːæ-ɟæ ʎɪˈkətːa]

bone.TOP Q dog-ERG ATEL-bite

Was the bone being bitten by the dog?

Wh-Phrases

Unlike English, Thangha' is a wh-in-situ language, i.e. it lacks Wh-movement e.g.

/kʷəʔˈta ʎə-ˈkəʔta cəⁿ/

[kʷʊˈtːa ʎɪˈkətːa ceⁿ]

dog-TOP ATEL-bite what

What was the dog biting?

Thangha's equivalents of English "wh-words" are all derived from /cəⁿ/ - "what" e.g.

/cəⁿ ˈbuːmʲəʔ/ [ceⁿ ˈbʉːmʲɪʔ] - "where" (literally "what place")

/cəⁿ ˈɕiːdʑaⁿ/ [ceⁿ ˈɕiːdʑæⁿ] - "when" (literally "what time")

/ˈcənaⁿ/ [ˈcɪnaⁿ] - "who" (a contraction of /ceⁿ ʔaⁿ/ - "what person")

/cəⁿ fʲe/ [ceⁿ fʲi] - "how" (literally "what method")

/cəⁿ ʎəʔˈxʷiː/ [ceⁿ ʎʏˈxːʷyː] / [ceⁿ ʎʏˈɸːyː] / [ceⁿ ʎɪˈɸːiː] - "why" (literally "what reason")