Ŧœlsin
Introduction
Phonology
Consonants
| Bilabial | Labio-dental | Dental | Alveolar | Post-alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | |||||||||||||||
| Plosive | pʰ p b | tʰ t̚ t d | kʰ k g | ||||||||||||||||
| Fricative | ɸ β | f v | θ ð | s z | ʃ ʒ | x ɣ | χ ʁ | h | |||||||||||
| Approximant | j ɥ | w | |||||||||||||||||
| Trill | ʀ | ||||||||||||||||||
| Flap | ɾ | ||||||||||||||||||
| Lateral approx. | l | ||||||||||||||||||
| Prenasalised occlusives | ᵑg |
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i y | u | |||||
| Close-mid | e | ə | o | ||||
| Open-mid | ɛ ɛ̃ | ɔ ɔ̃ | |||||
| Open | ä | ɑ̃ |
Vocalic length is phonemic, with an opposition between short and long vowels.
Orthography
Alphabet
The Latin alphabet for Ŧœlsin is a one-to-one translitteration of the original script. It has both uppercase and lowercase letters, shown in pairs below ; when there are several pairs on a same line, it is because they are considered to be different versions of the "same" letter.
Y y - /jo/, /ɔj/
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/ ; /ə/
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 - /ã/ ; /ɛ̃/ ; /ɔ̃/
W w - /u/
X x, Ħ ħ - /χ/
Ƃ ƃ - /bɾa/
Ŋ ŋ - /ŋ/
Ɋ ɋ - /ʃ/, /h/
Ƀ ƀ - /β/
Spelling rules
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 :
/x/ and /ɣ/ are written xͪ and gͪ, respectively.
/ph/ and /kh/ and sometimes /th/ are written ph, kh, th.
/ʀ/ is written r̈.
/ɾ/ is written rͪl.
The approximants /w/, /j/, /ɥ/ are written with w, i, u and a tilde-like « link » between them and another vowel : for instance, /je/ will be written i͠e. If there is not such a « link », two adjacent vowels will form a hiatus, that may be enhanced by a separating [ʔ].
Several diacritics are used :
A tilde-like diacritic is used over vowels to indicate they must be lengthened : ã, ẽ, ễ, ě̃, ĩ, õ, œ̃, ũ, w̃, ɯ̃, ɯ̂̃, ɯ̌̃.
The ͪ diacritic, on most letters (except for the composed grapheme <rͪl>, usually makes them mute.
The grapheme <Y y> is ambiguous as there is no way to determine if it corresponds to /jo/ or /oj/.
The grapheme <O o> also corresponds to two different phonemes, but it is usually pronounced /ɔ/ if there is a consonant coda, and if not, then it is usually /o/.
The grapheme <Œ œ> is always /o/ ; the grapheme <Ò ò> is always /ɔ/.
Sometimes, ƿ̈, a ƿ with a diaeresis, can be encountered : it is usually pronounced /wij/ though in few cases it remains pronounced /wiwi/ as originally.
Among diacritics is a breve-like that, over vowels, indicate that they must be stressed. It is rarely used, only on some words that differ by this stressing. But the spelling « ĭĩ », a stressed « i » followed by a lengthened « i », represents the sequence of phonemes /ij/. Likewise, « w̆w̃» and « ŭũ », less common, are /uw/ and /yɥ/, respectively.
Other rules
The letter ŧ corresponds either to /th/ or to /t̚/, usually depending on the etyomology of the word.
The spelling « æn » is most usually pronounced /ejn/ or /ɛjn/.
An apostrophe indicates an ellision, for example, between a pronoun such as æ̊ , tw, before a verb beginning with a vowel, or the feminine definite article before a noun beginning with a vowel, ex. : « La'amƿta », the lover [lamwita].
Tables of phonemes and their corresponding graphemes
| Bilabial | Labio-dental | Dental | Alveolar | Post-alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m <M m> | n <N n> | ɲ <Ñ ñ> | ŋ <Ŋ ŋ> | |||||||||||||||
| Plosive | pʰ <Ph ph> p b |
tʰ, t̚ <Ŧ ŧ> t <T t> d <D d> | kʰ <Kh kh> k <K k> g <G g> | ||||||||||||||||
| Fricative | ɸ <Ƥ ƥ> β <Ƀ ƀ> | f <F f> v <V v> | θ |
s <C c> z <Z z> | ʃ alt. <Ɋ ɋ> ʒ <Ƶ̆ ƶ̆> |
x <xͪ> ɣ <gͪ> | χ <X x> alt. <Ħ ħ> ʁ <R r> | h <H h> alt. <Ɋ ɋ> | |||||||||||
| Approximant | j ɥ cf. above | w cf. above | |||||||||||||||||
| Trill | ʀ <R̈ r̈> | ||||||||||||||||||
| Flap | ɾ <rͪl> | ||||||||||||||||||
| Lateral approx. | l <L l> | ||||||||||||||||||
| Prenasalised occlusives | ᵑg <G̊ g̊> |
| Front | Central | Back | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i y | u <W w> | |||||
| Close-mid | e <E e> ə <Ĕ ě> | o <O o> alt. <Œ œ> | |||||
| Open-mid | ɛ <Ê ê> ɛ̃ <Ɯ̂ ɯ̂> | ɔ <O o> alt. <Ò ò> ɔ̃ <Ɯ̌ ɯ̌> | |||||
| Open | ä <A a> | ɑ̃ <Ɯ ɯ> |
Prosody
Stress
Most usually, stress falls on the last syllable of a word and is not very emphasized ; it'd be more accurate to say it is a group accent falling on the last syllable of a group of words. Some words may have a stress on another syllable, which might be, in this case, written as a breve-like diacritic over the stressed vowel, and be pronounced with slightly more emphasis.
Phonotactics
Ŧœlsin's syllable structure is complex and allows a wide range of possible consonant clusters.
Morphophonology
Morphology
Ŧœlsin has five main parts of speech : nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, and particles.
Nouns
Nouns have definiteness, gender, and number. Definiteness is marked by definite and indefinite articles which agree in gender and number with the nouns. There are three genders : neuter, masculine, and feminine.
Gender
There are several systems of genders : there is a system of feminine, masculine and neuter, but also a system of animate/temporary vs. inanimate/everlasting.
Feminine, masculine and neuter are mostly marked in nouns and adjectives, while the dichotomy temporary/everlasting is shown by synonyms in verbs, which themselves conjugate differently depending on the subject being animate or inanimate.
Most commonly, feminine is indicated by a final -a, masculine with a -e or a -o, and neuter either with the absence of any marking when in the singular, or with a -i if in the plural.
Number
The singular is unmarked while the plural noun and adjective marker is a final -c. It is pronounced /s/ when after a vowel, but is kept mute if after a consonant.
Definiteness
In Ŧœlsin, there are definite and indefinite article. Here is a table summing them up :
| Definite | Indefinite | |
|---|---|---|
| Singular Masculine | êl (ê before a consonant) | one (on before a vowel) |
| Singular Feminine | la (la' [l] before a vowel) | ona (ona' [ɔn] before a vowel) |
| Plural Masculine | lecͪ | onec (onc), dalecͪ1 |
| Plural Feminine | lecͪ | onac, dalecͪ1 |
1Dalecͪ is a contraction of dal (partitive article) and the plural definite article lecͪ. It serves whith nouns of different genders.
Adjectives
Adjectives agree in number and gender with the nouns they qualify. The plural adjective marker is a final -c. It is pronounced /s/ when after a vowel, but is kept mute if after a consonant.
Comparative and Superlative
The comparative of superiority (more ... than ...) and the comparative of inferiority (less ... than ...) are indicated with circumfixes :
- Comparative of superiority : cu+ADJ+ke
- Comparative of inferiority : meno+ADJ+ke
The comparative of equality (as ... as ...) uses an anlytical construction :
- talnt + ADJ + az ke
Superlatives (the most ... ; the least ...)are indicated with prefixes :
- Superlative of superiority : (êl, la) li+ADJ
- Superlative of inferiority : (êl, la) mi+ADJ
Verbs
Verbs inflect in tense, mood, and person. There are four moods : two realis moods, the indicative and the so-called absolute (corresponds mostly to a gnomic aspect), and two irrealis moods, the conditional and the imperative. There are seven « persons » : first singular, second singular, third singular, first plural, second plural, third plural, and the polite person.
But it is very common that only the third person be used, and the subject pronoun be placed after the thus conjugated verb.
Verbs endings usually are either -ƃ or -æ̊r. There are two kinds of conjugation, one for animate beings and one for inanimate things. To conjugate a verb, the infinitive ending drops and is replaced by the conjugated ending.
Indicative
| Person | Animate | Inanimate |
|---|---|---|
| 1SG æ̊ | -a /a/ | -ã /a:/ |
| 2SG tw | -ac /as/ | -ãc /a:s/ |
| 3SG æ (m.), mæ (f.) | -at /at/ | -ãt /a:t/ |
| 1PL cæ̊n | -amc /am/ | -ãmc /a:m/ |
| 2PL vw | -atc /at/ | -ãtc /a:t/ |
| 3PL cæ (m.), mæhc (f.) | -na /na/ | -nã /na:/ |
| 2POL ææ̊ | -e /e/ | -ẽ /e:/ |
| Person | Animate | Inanimate |
|---|---|---|
| 1SG æ̊ | -Cĩ /i:/ ; -V͠i /j/ ; -ĭĩ ; /ij/ | -Cĩ /i:/ ; -Ṽ͠i /:j/ ; -ĩĩ /i:j/ |
| 2SG tw | -Cĩc /i:/ ; -V͠ic /j/ ; -ĭĩc /ij/ | -Cĩc /i:/ ; -Ṽ͠ic /:j/ ; -ĩĩc /i:j/ |
| 3SG æ (m.), mæ (f.) | -Cĩt /i:/ ; -V͠it /j/ ; -ĭĩt /ij/ | -Cĩt /i:/ ; -Ṽ͠it /:j/ ; -ĩĩt /i:j/ |
| 1PL cæ̊n | -Cĩ /i:/ ; -Vi͠i /ji/ | -Cĩn /i:n/ ; -Vn /:n/ |
| 2PL vw | -Cĩ /i:/ ; -Vi͠i /ji/ | Example |
| 3PL cæ (m.), mæhc (f.) | -Cin /in/ ; -Vn /n/ | Example |
| 2POL ææ̊ | -i͠in /jin/ | Example |
| Person | Verbs ending in -ƃ | Verbs ending in -æ̊r |
|---|---|---|
| 1SG æ̊ | Example | Example |
| 2SG tw | Example | Example |
| 3SG æ (m.), mæ (f.) | Example | Example |
| 1PL cæ̊n | Example | Example |
| 2PL vw | Example | Example |
| 3PL cæ (m.), mæhc (f.) | Example | Example |
| 2POL ææ̊ | Example | Example |
| Person | Verbs ending in -ƃ | Verbs ending in -æ̊r |
|---|---|---|
| 1SG æ̊ | Example | Example |
| 2SG tw | Example | Example |
| 3SG æ (m.), mæ (f.) | Example | Example |
| 1PL cæ̊n | Example | Example |
| 2PL vw | Example | Example |
| 3PL cæ (m.), mæhc (f.) | Example | Example |
| 2POL ææ̊ | Example | Example |
| Person | Verbs ending in -ƃ | Verbs ending in -æ̊r |
|---|---|---|
| 1SG æ̊ | Example | Example |
| 2SG tw | Example | Example |
| 3SG æ (m.), mæ (f.) | Example | Example |
| 1PL cæ̊n | Example | Example |
| 2PL vw | Example | Example |
| 3PL cæ (m.), mæhc (f.) | Example | Example |
| 2POL ææ̊ | Example | Example |
| Person | Verbs ending in -ƃ | Verbs ending in -æ̊r |
|---|---|---|
| 1SG æ̊ | Example | Example |
| 2SG tw | Example | Example |
| 3SG æ (m.), mæ (f.) | Example | Example |
| 1PL cæ̊n | Example | Example |
| 2PL vw | Example | Example |
| 3PL cæ (m.), mæhc (f.) | Example | Example |
| 2POL ææ̊ | Example | Example |