TolsianR

Background

Tolsian Revisited is an attempt at revamping much of that old conlang created something like 15 years ago by a child so that it becomes a slightly more consistent language. It is somewhat influenced by French and Latin but still an a priori conlang. It has its own alphabet which was actually created before the language itself.

Phonology

Consonants

		Bilabial		Labio-dental		Dental		Alveolar		Post-alveolar		Palatal		Velar		Uvular		Glottal
Nasal		m				n						ɲ		ŋ
Plosive		pʰ p b				tʰ t d								kʰ k g
Fricative		ɸ β		f v		θ ð		s z		ʃ ʒ				x ɣ		χ ʁ		h
Approximant												j		w
Trill																ʀ
Flap						ɾ
Lateral approx.						l
Prenasalised occlusives		ᵐb				ⁿd								ᵑg

There is also an additional consonant, here transcribed as /h̪/.

Vowels

		Front		Central		Back
Close		i y				u
Close-mid		e ø				o
Open-mid		ɛ ɛ̃				ɔ ɔ̃
Open				ä		ɑ̃

Orthography

Tolsian has its own script and an official, perfectly matching romanization. The alphabet is considered to consist of 36 letters, plus diacritics :

Alphabet

Y y - /jo/, /oj/
Æ æ ; Æ̊ æ̊ - /aj/ ; /ja/
A a - /a/
B b - /b/
Q q - /ʃ/
D d - /d/
E e ; Ê ê ; Ě ě - /e/ ; /ɛ/ ; /ø/
G g ; G̊ g̊ ; Ñ ñ - /g/ ; /ᵑg/ ; /ɲ/
H h - /h/
I i - /i/
Ƶ ƶ ; Ƶ̆ ƶ̆ - /ð/ ; /ʒ/
K k - /k/
L l - /l/
M m - /m/
N n - /n/
O o ; Œ œ - /o/, /ɔ/ ; /o/
P p ; Ƥ ƥ - /p/ ; /ɸ/
R r - /ʁ/
C c ; S s - /s/ ; /θ/
T t ; Ŧ ŧ - /t/ ; /tʰ/, /t̚/
U u - /y/
V v ; F f - /v/ ; /f/
Ƿ ƿ - /wi/
Z z - /z/
Ɯ ɯ ; Ɯ̂ ɯ̂ ; Ɯ̌ ɯ̌ - /ɑ̃/ ; /ɛ̃/ ; /ɔ̃/
W w - /u/
X x (ou Ħ ħ) - /χ/
Ƃ ƃ - /bɾa/
Ŋ ŋ - /ŋ/
Ɋ ɋ - /h̪/
Ƀ ƀ - /β/

Composed graphemes

Tolsian orthography is fairly transparent though there is not always a one to one correspondance between graphemes and phonemes. Some phonemes are not represented in the alphabet above :

/pʰ/ and /kʰ/ are written <ph> and <kh>, respectively
/x/ and /ɣ/ are written <xͪ> and <gͪ>, respectively
/ɾ/ is written <rͪl>
/ʀ/ is written <r̊> (sometimes in old texts, <r̈>)
/j/ is written with the vowel i and the "link", a special diacritic ; for instance, /je/ is written <i͠e>, while /ej/ is written <e͠i>. The grapheme <i͠i> corresponds to /ji/ while /ij/ would be written <i͠ĭ>
/w/ is written in a similar fashion as the other semi-vowel, but with vowels o and u : /wa/ can be written <o͠a> or <u͠a>, /aw/ can be written <a͠o> or <a͠u>. Actually, it is perhaps best described as a non-syllabic [o̯], with a consonant status in the system.
/ɔ/ is written <ò> when there is no coda

The grapheme <y> is ambiguous as there is no way to determine if it corresponds to /jo/ or /oj/. The grapheme <o> also corresponds to two different phonemes, but it is conditioned by its place in the syllable : if there is a consonant coda, it is /ɔ/, if not, then it is /o/, while <œ> is always /o/. But /ɔ/ can also appear without a consonant after ; then, it is written <ò>.

The apostrophe is very rarely used except with articles where it signals the elision of the vowel of the singular feminine articles.

Tables of phonemes and their corresponding graphemes

		Bilabial		Labio-dental		Dental		Alveolar		Post-alveolar		Palatal		Velar		Uvular		Glottal
Nasal		m <m>				n <n>						ɲ <ñ>		ŋ <ŋ>
Plosive		pʰ <ph> p <p> b <b>				tʰ <ŧ> t <t> d <d>								kʰ <kh> k <k> g <g>
Fricative		ɸ <ƥ> β <ƀ>		f <f> v <v>		θ <s> ð <ƶ>		s <c> z <z>		ʃ <q> ʒ <ƶ̆>				x <xͪ> ɣ <gͪ>		χ <x> ʁ <r>		h <h>
Approximant												j cf. above		w cf. above
Trill																ʀ <r̊>
Flap						ɾ <rͪl>
Lateral approx.						l <l>
Prenasalised occlusives		ᵐb <mb>				ⁿd <nd>								ᵑg <g̊>

/h̪/ <ɋ>

		Front		Central		Back
Close		i <i> y <u>				u <w>
Close-mid		e <e> ø <ě>				o <o>, <œ>
Open-mid		ɛ <ê> ɛ̃ <ɯ̂>				ɔ <o>, <ò> ɔ̃ <ɯ̌>
Open				ä <a>		ɑ̃ <ɯ>

New orthography

However, another Latin transliteration has been designed so as to be more phonemic and easier to write on a computer, and is getting more and more popular :

Consonants

Nasals : /m/ m ; /n/ n ; /ɲ/ nh ; /ŋ/ ng
Plosives : /pʰ/ ph ; /p/ p ; /^mb/ mb ; /b/ b ; /tʰ/ th ; /t/ t ; /ⁿd/ nd ; /d/ d ; /kʰ/ kh ; /k/ k ; /^ŋg/ ngg ; /g/ g
Fricatives : /ɸ/ fh ; /β/ bh ; /f/ f ; /v/ v ; /θ/ c ; /ð/ dh ; /s/ s ; /z/ z ; /ʃ/ sh ; /ʒ/ zh ; /x/ xh ; /ɣ/ gh ; /χ/ x ; /ʁ/ r ; /h/ h
Laterals : /l/ l
Approximants : /j/ y ; /w/ w
Taps : /ɾ/ lh
Trills : /ʀ/ j or rr

Vowels

/i/ i ; /y/ ü ; /u/ u
/e/ e ; /ø/ ö ; /o/ o
/ɛ/ ä ; /ɔ/ ô or ò
/a/ a
/ɛ̃/ î ; /ɔ̃/ â ; /ɑ̃/ ê or õ

Tables of phonemes and their corresponding graphemes

		Bilabial		Labio-dental		Dental		Alveolar		Post-alveolar		Palatal		Velar		Uvular		Glottal
Nasal		m <m>				n <n>						ɲ <nh>		ŋ <ng>
Plosive		pʰ <ph> p <p> b <b>				tʰ <th> t <t> d <d>								kʰ <kh> k <k> g <g>
Fricative		ɸ <fh> β <bh>		f <f> v <v>		θ <c> ð <dh>		s <s> z <z>		ʃ <sh> ʒ <zh>				x <xh> ɣ <gh>		χ <x> ʁ <r>		h <h>
Approximant												j <y>		w <w>
Trill																ʀ <j>, <rr>
Flap						ɾ <lh>
Lateral approx.						l <l>
Prenasalised occlusives		ᵐb <mb>				ⁿd <nd>								ᵑg <ngg>

/h̪/ <ch>

		Front		Central		Back
Close		i <i> y <ü>				u <u>
Close-mid		e <e> ø <ö>				o <o>, <ò>
Open-mid		ɛ <ä> ɛ̃ <î>				ɔ <ô> ɔ̃ <â>, <õ>
Open				ä <a>		ɑ̃ <ê>

Additionally, an apostrophe is used to disambiguate ambiguous sequences which could be interpreted as either a digraph representing a single phoneme, or two graphemes in a row representing two phonemes. For instance, <lh> denotes /ɾ/, but <l'h> denotes /lh/.

Grammar

Morphology

There are five main parts of speech in TolsianR : nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and prepositions.

Nouns

Nouns have definiteness, gender, number, and case. The case system is actually very reduced, with only three cases : nominative, accusative, and genitive. Definiteness is marked by definite and indefinite articles which agree in gender and number with the nouns. There are two numbers, singular and plural. Finally, the gender system is fairly complicated, as it consists of two dimensions interacting : masculine vs feminine on the one hand and animate vs inanimate on the other. However, different parts of speech agree with these two gender systems : articles and adjectives will take masculine or feminine markings, while verbs are conjugated differently depending upon whether the noun is animate or inanimate. Nouns themselves are marked for gender, and for animatedness when in the accusative or dative case. Also, when an adjective qualifies several nouns which are not all masculine or feminine, they take a neutral plural suffix ; but beyond those special cases, neutral has disappeared from TolsianR.

Definiteness

There are definite and indefinite articles, agreeing in gender and number with the nouns they modify. They undergo morphophonological changes depending on whether the noun they modify begins with a vowel or with a consonant.

Number	Gender	Definite + consonant	Definite + vowel	Indefinite + consonant	Indefinite + vowel
Singular	Masculine	ê / ä [ɛ]	êl / äl [ɛl]	one / one [one]	on / on [on]
	Feminine	la / la [la]	la' / l', la' [l]	ona / ona [ona]	ona' / on', ona' [on]
Plural	Masculine	lecͪ / le, les' [le]	lec / les [les]	onecͪ / one, one' [one]	onec / ones [ones]
	Feminine			onacͪ / ona', onas' [ona]	onac / onas [onas]
	Neutral			dalecͪ / dale', dales' [dale]	dalec / dales [dales]

Gender

On many nouns ending in a vowel, gender is identifiable as -e and -o are masculine markers, while -a and -i are feminine markers. But nouns ending with a consonant don't provide such cues. Besides, there are occasional exceptions to these rules. Animatedness is marked in the accusative case as the prefix will be ke- (or k- before a vowel) in the case of an inanimate noun, and dake- (or dak- before a vowel) in the case of an animate noun ; and in the genitive case, with a suffix -o for inanimate nouns (transformed into /w/ after a vowel) and -do for animate nouns (see section on cases for more details). Also, "natural" gender is usually reflected in the grammatical gender (nous which refer to male beings usually are masculine, and vice-versa) ; and "natural" animatedness is usually reflected in grammatical animatedness as well : people, animals and, it is worth noticing, plants, are usually animate, while objects, concepts etc are usually inanimate.

Articles and adjectives agree in gender with nouns depending on their being masculine or feminine, while verbs have a different conjugation depending on the animate vs inanimate opposition, and the accusative and genitive markers differ as well. In the plural there is a neutral form if masculine and feminine nouns are under the scope of the same modifier ; in adjectives, the vowel associated with neutral is -i. If a verb has a complex subject comprised of animate and inanimate nouns, most usually the animate conjugation will be used.

	Masculine	Feminine
Animate	macko / masko (man) kimŧane / kimthane (boy) ƃs / blhas (brother) pa / pa (father)	ƥemæ̊ / fhemya (woman) fati (family) ctaƶ̆ / stazh (life)
Inanimate	sko / cko (bone) ƶ̆it / zhit (foot) mbo (time)	i͠idna / yidna (garden) tqepi / tshepi (misfortune, bad luck) gæc / gays (place, spot)

Number

Nouns can be singular or plural and articles, adjectives and verbs agree in number with the noun (or the subject in the case of the verb). Singular is unmarked, while plural is marked only after vowels, with the prefix /-s/, written <-c>. In the written register, it is also indicated after consonants by <-c>.

Case

TolsianR has three cases : nominative, accusative and genitive. Case agrees with a noun's animatedness. Nominative is unmarked, and corresponds to the functions of subject, attribute of the subject, and all other functions which are not covered by the accusative and dative cases. Accusative corresponds to the function of direct object of a verb and is marked with a prefix : ke- (or k- before a vowel) in the case of an inanimate noun, and dake- (or dak- before a vowel) in the case of an animate noun. In more recent developments of the language, dake- has become da- (or d- in front of a vowel). Genitive corresponds to the "possessor" of something and is marked with a suffix -o for inanimate nouns (transformed into /w/ after a vowel) and -do for animate nouns, although if the stem ends in a consonant diverse morphophonological changes take place depending on that consonant : aspirated plosives lose their aspiration ; voiceless obstruents become voiced ; the palatal nasal gets partially assimilated and turns into n ; prenasalised occlusives get totally nasalised ; the bilabial fricative becomes a labio-velar approximant [w] ; and there's gemination with the dental occlusives : [dd]. Those changes are usually reflected in the orthography.

[+asp] -> [-asp] /_-do
[-voice] -> [+voice] / _-do
[+bilabial] -> /w/ / _-do (/ɸ/, /β/ -> /w/)
[+prenasalized] -> [nasal] / _-do (/ᵐb/ -> /m/, /ⁿd/ -> /n/, /ᵑg/ -> /ŋ/)
/ɲ/ -> /n/ / _-do

	Nominative	Accusative	Genitive
Masculine Animate	macko / masko kimŧane / kimthane ƃs / blhac	dakemacko / dakemasko alt. damacko / damasko dakekimŧane / dakekimthane alt. dakimŧane / dakimthane dakeƃs / dakeblhac alt. daƃs / dablhac	mackodo / maskodo kimŧanedo / kimthanedo alt. kimŧando / kimthando ƃƶdo / blhadhdo
Masculine Inanimate	sko / cko ƶ̆it / zhit æ̊z / ayz	kesko / kecko keƶ̆it / kezhit kæ̊z / kayz	sko͠ŏ / ckow ƶ̆ito / zhito æ̊zo / ayzo
Feminine Animate	ƥemæ̊ / fhemya fati / fati ctaƶ̆ / stazh	dakeƥemæ̊ / dakefhemya alt. daƥemæ̊ / dafhemya dakefati alt. dafati dakectaƶ̆ / dakestazh alt. dactaƶ̆ / dastazh	ƥemæ̊do / fhemyado fatido ctaƶ̆do / stazhdo
Feminine Inanimate	i͠idna / yidna tqepi / tshepi gæc / gays (place, spot)	kei͠idna / keyidna ketqepi / ketshepi kegæc / kegays	i͠idna͠ŏ / yidnaw tqepi͠ŏ / tshepiw gæco / gayso

Verbs

There are two main classes of verbs : (A) those whose stem ends in a vowel, and (B) those whose stem ends in a consonant. Verbs ending with an -a or an -i usually just take an -r to form the infinitive, while the other ones usually take a -ƃ /bɾa/. Verbs agree in person, animatedness and number with their subject. There are formally seven persons in TolsianR : first singular, second singular, third singular, first plural, second plural, third plural, and the "polite" second person used in formal contexts for which number is neutralized.

Tense

TolsianR's tense system is divided into past, present, and future, which are encoded in the conjugation of the verbs in the indicative mode.

Grammatical Aspect

A distinction between perfective and imperfective aspects is marked morphologically in the past tense, while other aspectualities, such as progressive and perfect, are marked with auxiliaries : progressive with the auxiliary cƿƃ "to be" and the present participle, and perfect with the auxiliary vuƃ "to have" and the past participle.

Some aspectual values of the different morphological verb forms :

Indicative present : neutral, habitual
Indicative Imperfect Past : habitual, continuous
Indicative Perfect Past : perfective
Indicative Future : neutral, habitual, inchoative (usually followed by "now" or something indicating it's going to happen very soon)
Conditional, Subjunctive : neutral, habitual. Also, they express a present tense by default.
Absolute : gnomic

Grammatical Mood

Realis

Indicative and so-called Absolutive are the two realis moods of TolsianR. Indicative is used to express statements or facts, and also other modalities not expressed with other moods. Absolutive is traditionally treated as a mood in TolsianR because of its specific grammatical markings, but better corresponds semantically to the gnomic aspect. It can also be used to express a higher degree of certainty than indicative, or to express emphasis.

Irrealis

The two other moods of TolsianR are subjunctive and conditional. Subjunctive is used for instance in dependent clauses whose main clause's verb expresses an opinion, an inference, a belief (verbs such as "to think", "to believe", "to consider", etc), a desire or a wish ("to want", "to hope"). It is also used to express commands, interdictions and requests, as there is no distinct imperative mood in the language. Conditional is used to speak of events whose realization depends on a certain condition ; then, it is used in both the main and the dependent clauses.

Polarity

The default polarity is positive : something is asserted. In order to express negation, the negative adverb ne is placed right before the verb. If a subject pronoun is used, it is inserted between the negative adverb and the verb.

Examples : æ̊ cƿ "I am" ; ne æ̊ cƿ "I am not".

Conjugation

Verbs are inflected for person, mood, tense, and animatedness. There are four moods : indicative, subjunctive, conditional, and so-called "absolute" (gnomic). The indicative mood splits into four tenses : present, imperfect past, perfect past, and future. There are also a present partitive and a past partitive, especially used for progressive aspect and passive voice, respectively.

	Class A Animate Gender	Class A Inanimate Gender
Indicative Present	stemV-∅ ; stemV-s ; stemV-t ; stemV-m ; stemV-ts ; stemV-n ; stemV-ne	stem-jV ; stem-jVs ; stem-jVt ; stem-jVm ; stem-jVts ; stem-jVn ; stemV-je
Indic. Imperfect Past	stem-(i)tV ; stem-(i)tVs ; stem-(i)tVt ; stem-(i)tVmo ; stem-(i)tVts ; stem-(i)tVn ; stem-(i)tVne	stem-(i)tʃV ; stem-(i)tʃVs ; stem-(i)tʃVt ; stem-(i)tʃVmo ; stem-(i)tʃVts ; stem-(i)tʃVn ; stem-(i)tVje
Indic. Perfect Past	stem-(i)fV ; stem-(i)fVs ; stem-(i)fVt ; stem-(i)fVmo ; stem-(i)fVti ; stem-(i)fVn ; stem-(i)fVne	stem-(i)fjV ; stem-(i)fjVs ; stem-(i)fjVt ; stem-(i)fjVmo ; stem-(i)fjVti ; stem-(i)fjVn ; stem-(i)fVje
Indicative Future	stem-(i)rV ; stem-(i)rVs ; stem-(i)rVt ; stem-(i)rVmo ; stem-(i)rVti ; stem-(i)rVn ; stem-(i)rVne	stem-(i)rjV ; stem-(i)rjVs ; stem-(i)rjVt ; stem-(i)rjVmo ; stem-(i)rjVti ; stem-(i)rjVn ; stem-(i)rVje
Subjunctive	stemV-ko ; stemV-kos ; stemV-kot ; stemV-komus ; stemV-kotis ; stemV-kona ; stemV-ke	stemV-kjo ; stemV-kjos ; stemV-kjot ; stemV-kjomus ; stemV-kjotis ; stemV-kjona ; stemV-kje
Conditional	stemV-no ; stemV-nos ; stemV-not ; stemV-nomus ; stemV-notis ; stemV-nona ; stemV-ne	stemV-jo ; stemV-jos ; stemV-jot ; stemV-jomus ; stemV-jotis ; stemV-jona ; stemV-je
Absolute (Gnomic)	stemV-jo ; stemV-jos ; stemV-jot ; stemV-jof ; stemV-joz ; stemV-jon ; stemV-je	stemV-joh ; stemV-joθ ; stemV-jot̚ ; stemV-joɸ ; stemV-joʒ ; stemV-jowi ; stemV-joð ; stemV-joː

	Class A Animate							Class A Inanimate
Person	Indicative Present	Indicative Imperfect Past	Indicative Perfect Past	Indicative Future	Subjunctive	Conditional	Absolute (Gnomic)	Indicative Present	Indicative Imperfect Past	Indicative Perfect Past	Indicative Future	Subjunctive	Conditional	Absolute (Gnomic)
1SG	stemV-∅	stemV-tV	stemV-fV	stemV-rV	stemV-ko	stemV-no	stemV-jo	stemV-jV	stemV-tʃV	stemV-fjV	stemV-rjV	stemV-kjo	stemV-jo	stemV-joh
2SG	stemV-s	stemV-tVs	stemV-fVs	stemV-rVs	stemV-kos	stemV-nos	stemV-jos	stemV-jVs	stemV-tʃVs	stemV-fjVs	stemV-rjVs	stemV-kjos	stemV-jos	stemV-joθ
3SG	stemV-t	stemV-tVt	stemV-fVt	stemV-rVt	stemV-kot	stemV-not	stemV-jot	stemV-jVt	stemV-tʃVt	stemV-fjVt	stemV-rjVt	stemV-kjot	stemV-jot	stemV-jot̚
1PL	stemV-m	stemV-tVmo	stemV-fVmo	stemV-rVmo	stemV-komys	stemV-nomys	stemV-jof	stemV-jVm	stemV-tʃVmo	stemV-fjVmo	stemV-rjVmo	stemV-kjomys	stemV-jomys	stemV-joɸ
2PL	stemV-ts	stemV-tVts	stemV-fVti	stemV-rVti	stemV-kotis	stemV-notis	stemV-joz	stemV-jVts	stemV-tʃVts	stemV-fjVti	stemV-rjVti	stemV-kjotis	stemV-jotis	stemV-joʒ
3PL	stemV-n	stemV-tVn	stemV-fVn	stemV-rVn	stemV-kona	stemV-nona	stemV-jon	stemV-jVn	stemV-tʃVn	stemV-fjVn	stemV-rjVn	stemV-kjona	stemV-jona	stemV-jowi
2FORMAL	stemV-ne	stemV-tVne	stemV-fVne	stemV-rVne	stemV-ke	stemV-ne	stemV-je	stemV-jne	stemV-tVjne	stemV-fVjne	stemV-rVjne	stemV-kje	stemV-je	stemV-joð ; stemV-joː

Note : in the original alphabet, and its corresponding traditional transliteration, endings that contain the sound /jo/ are written with the letter <y> if they belong to the absolute or subjunctive, but a digraph <i͠o> elsewhere ; for instance, the absolute animate 1SG, 2SG and 3SG persons are differentiated in writing from their inanimate conditional counterparts, despite being the same in phonic realization. In the modern transliteration, there is no difference.

In this table, the endings correspond, respectively, to 1SG, 2SG, 3SG, 1PL, 2PL, 3PL, and 2FORMAL persons. "Stem" represents the stem of the verb minus its final vowel, as the diverse verbal categories markers can be inserted between the final vowel and the rest of the verb root. The final vowel is represented by the letter "V". The verbal declensions are given in phonological form ; indeed, orthography is not entirely transparent here, which can be most appreciated with the [tʃ] of the inanimate imperfect past which results from affrication of /t/ before /j/. The "(i)" is an epenthetic i sometimes inserted to break some consonant clusters (rules not perfectly described yet). Let's illustrate this table with a Class A verb, barinir, "to want" :

Present Animate : barini, barinic, barinit, barinim, barinitc, barinin, barinine
Present Inanimate : bariñi, bariñic, bariñit, bariñim, bariñitc, bariñin, barinije (here there is also a palatalization of /n/ that has become a /ɲ/)
Imperfect Animate : barinti, barintic, barintit, barintimo, barintitc, barintin, barintine
Imperfect Inanimate : barinti͠i, barinti͠ic, barinti͠it, barinti͠imo, barinti͠itc, barinti͠in, barintije
Perfect Animate : barinifi ; barinific ; barinifit ; barinifimo ; barinifiti ; barinifin ; barinifine
Perfect Inanimate : barinifi͠i, barinifi͠ic, barinifi͠it, barinifi͠imo, barinifi͠iti, barinifi͠in, barinifije
Future Animate : barinri, barinric, barinrit, barinrimo, barinriti, barinrin, barinrine
Future Inanimate : bariniri͠i, bariniri͠ic, bariniri͠it, bariniri͠imo, bariniri͠iti, bariniri͠in, barinrije
Subjunctive Animate : bariniko, barinikoc, barinikot, barinikomuc, barinikotic, barinikona, barinike
Subjunctive Inanimate : bariniky, barinikyc, barinikyt, barinikymuc, barinikytic, barinikyna, bariniki͠e
Conditional Animate : barinino, barininoc, barininot, barininomuc, barininotic, barininona, barinine
Conditional Inanimate : bariniy (or barinii͠o), bariniyc (barinii͠oc), bariniyt (barinii͠ot), bariniymuc, bariniytic, bariniyna, barinii͠e
Absolute Animate : bariniy, bariniyc, bariniyt, bariniyf, bariniyz, bariniyn, barinii͠e
Absolute Inanimate : bariniyh, bariniys, bariniyŧ, bariniyƥ, bariniyƶ̆, bariniyƿ, bariniyƶ, bariniyœ

Historical / canonical :

	Class A Animate : barinir "to want"							Class A Inanimate : barinir "to want"
Person	Indicative Present	Indicative Imperfect Past	Indicative Perfect Past	Indicative Future	Subjunctive	Conditional	Absolute (Gnomic)	Indicative Present	Indicative Imperfect Past	Indicative Perfect Past	Indicative Future	Subjunctive	Conditional	Absolute (Gnomic)
1SG	barini	bariniti	barinifi	bariniri	bariniko	barinino	bariniy / bariniyo	barinii͠i / bariniyi	bariniti͠i or barinitqi / barinityi or barinitshi	barinifi͠i / barinifyi	bariniri͠i / bariniryi	bariniky / barinikyo	barinii͠o / bariniyo	bariniyh / bariniyoh
2SG	barinic / barinis	barinitic / barinitis	barinific / barinifis	bariniric / bariniris	barinikoc / barinikos	barininoc / barininos	bariniyc / bariniyos	barinii͠ic / bariniyis	bariniti͠ic or barinitqic / barinityis or barinitshis	barinifi͠ic / barinifyis	bariniri͠ic / bariniryis	barinikyc / barinikyos	barinii͠oc / bariniyos	bariniys / bariniyoc
3SG	barinit	barinitit	barinifit	barinirit	barinikot	barininot	bariniyt / bariniyot	barinii͠it / bariniyit	bariniti͠it or barinitqit / barinityit or barinitshit	barinifi͠it / barinifyit	bariniri͠it / bariniryit	barinikyt / barinikyot	barinii͠ot / bariniyot	bariniyŧ / bariniyoth or bariniyott
1PL	barinim	barinitimo	barinifimo	barinirimo	barinikomuc / barinikomüs	barininomuc / barininomüs	bariniyf / bariniyof	barinii͠im / bariniyim	bariniti͠imo or barinitqimo / barinityimo or barinitshimo	barinifi͠imo / barinifyimo	bariniri͠imo / bariniryimo	barinikymuc / barinikyomüs	barinii͠omuc / bariniyomüs	bariniyƥ / bariniyofh
2PL	barinitc / barinits	barinititc / barinitits	barinifiti	bariniriti	barinikotic / barinikotis	barininotic / barininotis	bariniyz / bariniyoz	barinii͠itc / bariniyits	bariniti͠itc or barinitqitc / barinityits or barinitshits	barinifi͠iti / barinifyiti	bariniri͠iti / bariniryiti	barinikytic / barinikyotis	barinii͠otic / bariniyotis	bariniyƶ̆ / bariniyozh
3PL	barinin	barinitin	barinifin	barinirin	barinikona	barininona	bariniyn / bariniyon	barinii͠in / bariniyin	bariniti͠in or barinitqin / barinityin or barinitshin	barinifi͠in / barinifyin	bariniri͠in / bariniryin	barinikyna / barinikyona	barinii͠ona / bariniyona	bariniyƿ / bariniyowi
2FORMAL	barinine	barinitine	barinifine	barinirine	barinike	barinine	barinii͠e / bariniye	barini͠ĭne / bariniyne	barinitii͠ĭne / barinitiyne	barinifii͠ĭne / barinifiyne	barinirii͠ĭe / bariniriyne	bariniki͠e / barinikye	barinii͠e / bariniye	bariniyƶ, bariniyœ / bariniyodh, bariniyoo

Contemporary :

	Class A Animate : barinir "to want"							Class A Inanimate : barinir "to want"
Person	Indicative Present	Indicative Imperfect Past	Indicative Perfect Past	Indicative Future	Subjunctive	Conditional	Absolute (Gnomic)	Indicative Present	Indicative Imperfect Past	Indicative Perfect Past	Indicative Future	Subjunctive	Conditional	Absolute (Gnomic)
1SG	barini	barinti	barimfi	barinri	bariŋko / baringko	barinno	(bariny / barinyo =>) bariño / barinho	bariñi / barinhi	barintqi / barintshi	barimfi͠i / barimfyi	barniri͠i / barniryi	bariŋky / baringkyo	(barini͠o / barinyo =>) bariño / barinho	(barinyh / barinyoh =>) bariñoh / barinhoh
2SG	barinic / barinis	barintic / barintis	barimfic / barimfis	barinric / barinris	bariŋkoc / baringkos	barinnoc / barinnos	(barinyc / barinyos =>) bariñoc / barinhos	bariñic / barinhis	barintqic / barintshis	barimfi͠ic / barimfyis	barniri͠ic / barniryis	bariŋkyc / baringkyos	(barini͠oc / barinyos =>) bariñoc / barinhos	(barinys / barinyoc =>) bariños / barinhoc
3SG	barinit	barintit	barimfit	barinrit	bariŋkot / baringkot	barinnot	(barinyt / barinyot =>) bariñot / barinho	bariñit / barinhit	barintqit / barintshit	barimfi͠it / barimfyit	barniri͠it / barniryit	bariŋkyt / baringkyot	(barini͠ot / barinyot =>) bariñot / barinhot	(barinyŧ / barinyoth or barinyott =>) bariñoŧ / barinhoth or barinhott
1PL	barinim	barinto	barimfo	barinro	bariŋkomuc / baringkomüs (bariŋkwc/baringkus ?)	barinnomuc / barinnomüs (barinnwc/barinnus ?)	(barinyf / barinyof =>) bariñof / barinhof	bariñim / barinhim	barintqimo / barintshimo	barimfimo	barinrimo / barinrimo	bariŋkymuc / baringkyomüs (bariŋki͠wc/baringkyus ?)	(barini͠omuc / barinyomüs =>) bariñomuc / barinhomüs (bariñwc/barinhus ?)	(barinyƥ / barinyofh =>) bariñoƥ or bariñyƥ / barinhofh
2PL	barinitc / barinits	barintitc / barintits	barimfitc/barimfits	barinritc/barinrits	bariŋkotic / baringkotis (baringkots - bariŋkic/baringkis ?)	barinnotic / barinnotis (barinnots - barinnic/barinnis ?)	(barinyz / barinyoz =>) bariñoz / barinhoz	bariñitc / barinhits	barintqitc / barintshits	barimfiti / barimfiti	barniriti / barniriti	bariŋkytic / baringkyotis (baringkyots - bariŋki͠ic/baringkyis ?)	(barini͠otic / barinyotis =>) bariñotic / barinhotis (barinhots - bariñic/barinhis ?)	(barinyƶ̆ / barinyozh =>) bariñoƶ̆ or bariñyƶ̆ / barinhozh
3PL	barinin	barintin	barimfin	barinrin	bariŋkona / baringkona (bariŋka / baringka ?)	barinnona (barinna ?)	(barinyn / barinyon ->) bariñon / barinhon	bariñin / barinhin	barintqin / barintshin	barimfi͠in / barimfyin	barniri͠in / barniryin	bariŋkyna / baringkyona (bariŋkæ̊,bariŋki͠a/baringkya ?)	(barini͠ona / barinyona =>) bariñona / barinhona (bariña/barinha ?)	(barinyƿ / barinyowi ->) bariñoƿ / barinhowi
2FORMAL	(barinne =>) barine	barinte	barimfe	barinre	bariŋke / baringke	barinne	(barini͠e / barinye ->) bariñe / barinhe	barinine / barinine	barintqe / barintshe	(barimfii͠e / barimfiye =>) barimfi͠e / barimfye	(barnirii͠e / barniriye =>) barniri͠e / barnirye	bariŋki͠e / baringkye	(barini͠e / barinye ->) bariñe / barinhe	(barinyƶ, barinyœ / barinyodh, barinyoo =>) bariñoƶ, bariñoœ / barinhodh, barinhoo

But it is debated whether orthography should reflect better the palatalization and some write : barintqi, barintqic, barintqit, barintqimo, barintqitc, barintqin.

	Class B Animate Gender	Class B Inanimate Gender
Indicative Present	stem-a ; stem-as ; stem-at ; stem-im ; stem-its ; stem-an ; stem-ine or stem-e	stem-ja ; stem-jas ; stem-jat ; stem-jim ; stem-jits ; stem-jan ; stem-jine or stem-je
Indicative Imperfect Past	stem-ita ; stem-itas ; stem-itat ; stem-itʃmo ; stem-itʃi ; stem-itan ; stem-itʃne or stem-ite	stem-itʃa ; stem-itʃas ; stem-itʃat ; stem-itʃimo ; stem-itʃits ; stem-itʃan ; stem-itʃe
Indicative Perfect Past	stem-ifa ; stem-ifas ; stem-ifat ; stem-ifimo ; stem-ifits ; stem-ifan ; stem-ifine or stem-ife	stem-ifja ; stem-ifjas ; stem-ifjat ; stem-ifjimo ; stem-ifjits ; stem-ifjan ; stem-ifje
Indicative Future	stem-ira ; stem-iras ; stem-irat ; stem-irimo ; stem-irits ; stem-iran ; stem-irine or stem-ire	stem-irja ; stem-irjas ; stem-irjat ; stem-irjimo ; stem-irjits ; stem-irjan ; stem-irje
Subjunctive	stem-iko ; stem-ikos ; stem-ikot ; stem-ikomus ; stem-ikotis ; stem-ikona ; stem-ike	stem-ikjo ; stem-ikjos ; stem-ikjot ; stem-ikjomus ; stem-ikjots ; stem-ikjona ; stem-ikje
Conditional	stem-o ; stem-os ; stem-ot ; stem-omus ; stem-otis ; stem-ona ; stem-e	stem-jo ; stem-jos ; stem-jot ; stem-jomus ; stem-jotis ; stem-jona ; stem-je
Absolute (Gnomic)	stem-jo ; stem-jos ; stem-jot ; stem-jof ; stem-joz ; stem-jon ; stem-je	stem-joh ; stem-joθ ; stem-jot̚ ; stem-joɸ ; stem-joʒ ; stem-jowi ; stem-joð ; stem-joː

	Class B Animate							Class B Inanimate
Person	Indicative Present	Indicative Imperfect Past	Indicative Perfect Past	Indicative Future	Subjunctive	Conditional	Absolute (Gnomic)	Indicative Present	Indicative Imperfect Past	Indicative Perfect Past	Indicative Future	Subjunctive	Conditional	Absolute (Gnomic)
1SG	stem-a	stem-ita	stem-ifa	stem-ira	stem-iko	stem-o	stem-jo	stem-ja	stem-itʃa	stem-ifja	stem-irja	stem-ikjo	stem-jo	stem-joh
2SG	stem-as	stem-itas	stem-ifas	stem-iras	stem-ikos	stem-os	stem-jos	stem-jas	stem-itʃas	stem-ifjas	stem-irjas	stem-ikjos	stem-jos	stem-joθ
3SG	stem-at	stem-itat	stem-ifat	stem-irat	stem-ikot	stem-ot	stem-jot	stem-jat	stem-itʃat	stem-ifjat	stem-irjat	stem-ikjot	stem-jot	stem-jot̚
1PL	stem-im	stem-itʃmo	stem-ifimo	stem-irimo	stem-ikomys	stem-omys	stem-jof	stem-jim	stem-itʃimo	stem-ifjimo	stem-irjimo	stem-ikjomys	stem-jomys	stem-joɸ
2PL	stem-its	stem-itʃi	stem-ifits	stem-irits	stem-ikotis	stem-otis	stem-joz	stem-jits	stem-itʃits	stem-ifjits	stem-irjits	stem-ikjots	stem-jotis	stem-joʒ
3PL	stem-an	stem-itan	stem-ifan	stem-iran	stem-ikona	stem-ona	stem-jon	stem-jan	stem-itʃan	stem-ifjan	stem-irjan	stem-ikjona	stem-jona	stem-jowi
2FORMAL	stem-ine or stem-e	stem-itʃne or stem-ite	stem-ifine or stem-ife	stem-irine or stem-ire	stem-ike	stem-e	stem-je	stem-jine or stem-je	stem-itʃe	stem-ifje	stem-irje	stem-ikje	stem-je	stem-joð ; stem-joː

Let's illustrate this table with the Class B verb vekƃ, "to help" :

Present Animate : veka, vekac, vekat, vekim, vekitc, vekan, vekine / veke
Present Inanimate : vekæ̊, vekæ̊c, vekæ̊t, veki͠im, veki͠itc, vekæ̊n, veki͠ine / veki͠e
Imperfect Animate : vekita, vekitac, vekitat, vekitimo, vekititi, vekitan, vekitine / vekite
Imperfect Inanimate : vekitæ̊, vekitæ̊c, vekitæ̊t, vekiti͠imo, vekiti͠itc, vekitæ̊n, vekiti͠e
Perfect Animate : vekifa, vekifac, vekifat, vekifimo, vekifitc, vekifan, vekifine / vekife
Perfect Inanimate : vekifæ̊, vekifæ̊c, vekifæ̊t, vekifi͠imo, vekifi͠itc, vekifæ̊n, vekifi͠e
Future Animate : vekira, vekirac, vekirat, vekirimo, vekiritc, vekiran, vekirine / vekire
Future Inanimate : vekiræ̊, vekiræ̊c, vekiræ̊t, vekiri͠imo, vekiri͠itc, vekiræ̊n, vekiri͠e
Subjunctive Animate : vekho (< vekiko), vekhoc (< vekikoc), vekhot (< vekikot), vekhomuc (< vekikomuc), vekotic (< vekikotic), vekhona (< vekikona), vekhe (< vekike) (with class B verbs ending in -k, we have /kʰ/ instead of expected/kik/)
Subjunctive Inanimate : vekhy (< vekiky), vekhyc (< vekikyc), vekhyt (< vekikyt), vekhymuc (< vekikymuc), vekhytc (< vekikytc), vekhyna (< vekikyna), vekhi͠e (vekiki͠e)
Conditional Animate : veko, vekoc, vekot, vekomuc, vekotic, vekona, veke
Conditional Inanimate : veky (or veki͠o), vekyc (veki͠oc), vekyt (veki͠ot), vekymuc, vekytic, vekyna, veki͠e
Absolute Animate : veky, vekyc, vekyt, vekyf, vekyz, vekyn, veki͠e
Absolute Inanimate : vekyh, vekys, vekyŧ, vekyƥ, vekyƶ̆, vekyƿ, vekyƶ, vekyœ

Some write instead : vekitqmo, vekitqi , vekitqne (imperfect animate), vekitqa, vekitqac, vekitqat, vekitqimo, vekitqitc, vekitqan, vekitqe (imperfect inanimate).

Participles

Verbs have present and past participles :

	Class A - Animate	Class A - Inanimate	Class B - Animate	Class B - Inanimate
Present Participle	stemV-tɑ̃	stemV-taɲ	stem-ɑ̃	stem-aɲ
Past Participle	stemV-d	stemV-ʒ	stem-id	stem-iʒ

Illustration : barinitɯ, barinitañ, barinid, bariniƶ̆ ; vekɯ, vekañ, vekid, vekiƶ̆.

Adjectives

Adjectives agree in number and gender (masculine/feminine) with the noun they qualify. They're usually derived from nouns, but sometimes from verbs as well. Adjectives derived from nouns often take on the suffix -el(c), -al(c), -ilc (/el/, /al/, /il/ ; masculine (masculine plural), feminine (feminine plural) and neuter plural, respectively) if the noun stem ends in a consonant ; or the suffix -le(c), -la(c), -lic (/le(s)/, /la(s)/, /lis/) if it ends in a vowel. As for adjectives derived from verbs, they're usually past participle with added suffixes for gender and number : -e(c), -a(c), -i(c). The neutral only exist in the plural form nowadays and is used when an adjective qualifies several nouns of diverging gender. Adjectives are almost always placed after the noun they qualify.

Adverbs

Adverbs are invariable and are usually formed from the old singular neutral form of an adjective by adding the suffix -ƿn /win/. Thus, an adjective derived from a noun will yield such adverbs as stemV-liƿn or stem-ilƿn, depending on the stem ending with a vowel or a consonant, and an adjective derived from a past participle will yield such adverbs as stemV-dƿn, stemV-ƶ̆ƿn, stem-idƿn or stem-iƶ̆ƿn. Adverbs are usually placed directly after the word (verb or adjective) they modify.

Prepositions

To express many spatial or temporal relations and mark some diverse semantic roles, TolsianR relies on several function words which are placed before their complement and are thus prepositions. Here is a non-exhaustive list of prepositions :

al - "to, towards" (direction)
ao - "at" (position)
alnit - "near, next to, around"
aldig - "around"
ante - "before" (temporal)
danæ̊ - "after" (temporal), "behind" (spatial)
dafac - "before, in front of" (spatial)
apratke - "so, in order to"
vek - "with"
meko - "home, at someone's home"
di - "in"
da - "of, from"
dal - "some" (partitive)
damêr - "since"
uduc - "under"
duc - "on, over"
ceda - "up to, until, till"
pur - "towards, to, till, for"

Derivative Morphology

TolsianR makes use of both prefixes and suffixes to derive new words from older ones ; some suffixes can change a word's grammatical category, whereas both suffixes and prefixes can be used to alter the meaning of a word. Word compounding also exists but is less prevalent in modern Tolsian.

Here is a non-exhaustive list of prefixes and suffixes :

Prefixes
a- turns a verb into a reflexive verb
u- creates an antonym
ki-, k- diminutive
go-, go͠- aumentative
nda- controll, will

Suffixes
-r turns a noun or an adjective into a verb (after an -a- or an -i-)
-ƃ turns a noun or an adjective into a verb
- æ̊ noun
- product

Syntax

Declarative Sentences

Word order in simple declarative sentences can be SVO or SOV. It is thought SVO order is used to highlight the object more, while SOV would emphasize the process instead. Anyway, the important point is that the verb be placed after its subject in the sentence. In complex sentences with a main sentence and a dependent sentence, the order of the constituents is Subject - Verb- Dependent sentence. I suck at syntax. Inside the dependent sentence, the word order can be SOV or SVO as well, but is also commonly OSV.

Questions

In yes-no questions, the order can be VSO or OVS ; there is an inversion between subject and verb. In open questions ("wh-questions"), an interrogative pronoun is used and placed before the verb and the subject : Pronoun - Verb - Subject. If the question is precisely about the subject, then the order is Verb - Pronoun (like in "Says who ?").