Lifashian: Difference between revisions

|pronunciation = {{IPA|[sɑː ˈguɬkɑː ˈliːfæʃɑː]}}

although it is definitely closer to the [[w:Anatolian languages|Anatolian languages]], particularly the [[w:Luwian language|Luwian]] subgroup, than to other languages in the family, despite sharing some traits with [[w:Armenian language|Armenian]] and [[w:Greek language|Greek]]. Its vocabulary has a substantial number of inherited roots, but through millennia the language absorbed many loanwords, especially from [[w:Persian language|Persian]] and [[w:Arabic language|Arabic]] (through the former), and to smaller extents from its neighbours Armenian, the [[w:Kartvelian languages|Kartvelian languages]] and [[w:Turkish language|Turkish]], as well as from Greek and [[w:Russian language|Russian]]. Long-term Genoese colonization and reciprocal contacts also introduced many [[w:Ligurian (Romance language)|Ligurian]] loans, as well as forming one of the main ethnic minorities in the country, Lifashian Ligurians, which had a marked influence on the culture of coastal urban areas.

Old Lifashian used to have a {{IPA|/ð/}} phoneme which was inconsistently written as '''d''' or '''l''' in the early stages of Lifashian writing (around the 7th century), but already by the beginning of the 9th century all words that were written with alternating '''d''' or '''l''' are consistently written with '''l'''. Lifashian {{IPA|/ð/}} in fact merged with {{IPA|/l/}} unless before consonants (or after '''n'''), where it merged with {{IPA|/d/}}; this is easily noticed from the fact that {{IPA|[ð]}} from multiple loanword sources before the spread of Islam is reflected as {{IPA|/l/}}: see for example Greek given names such as ''Δηϊδάμεια'' > ''Lilamiyá'' or ''Θουκυδίδης'' > ''Fókílil'' (but ''Δρυάδα'' > ''Driálá''<ref>This form is attested in early Lifashian; later Lifashian borrowed an ''-adá'' suffix from Medieval Greek, so that the modern form of this name has been archaized as ''Driádá''.</ref> for a preconsonantal example) or general nouns such as ''δελφῖνος'' > ''lalfín'' and ''στάδιον'' > ''setálam''.<ref>Earlier, prehistoric borrowings likely entered Pre-Lifashian at a time when the contrast was still an aspiration one between two plosives, as shown most notably by Akkadian {{IPA|[d]}} being consistently reflected as Lifashian {{IPA|/l/}}, cf. Akkadian ''dišpu'' and Lifashian ''lesp'' "honey".</ref> Later in Lifashian history, foreign {{IPA|[ð]}} is borrowed as {{IPA|/d/}}, or indirectly as {{IPA|/z/}} from Arabic through Persian; see for example ''δημοκρατία'' > ''dimokratíyá''.

| i iː || u uː

| e eː || o oː

| æ || ɑː

In the speech of young urban Lifashians there is a noticeable ongoing sound change in the high vowels, where the vowels are being restructured with long ones being front and short ones being back, and then distinguishing them for roundedness. Therefore, the high vowels of those speakers ae {{IPA|[iː yː ɯ u]}}, result of the {{IPA|[i]}} → {{IPA|[ɯ]}} and {{IPA|[uː]}} → {{IPA|[yː]}} shifts.

|+ '''''mísy'' (√míˤsy-) "moon, month"'''

| mísy || mísy'''i'''

| mísy'''é''' || mísy'''ám'''

| mísy'''í''' || mísy'''uwi'''

| mísy'''om''' || mísy'''ás'''

* All names of countries and territories require the definite article, except for those constructed as ''Dár + genitive of an ethnonym''<ref>Five countries: ''Dár Lífasyám'', ''Dár Hayám'' (Armenia), ''Dár Pársyám'' (Iran), ''Dár Turkám'' (Turkey), and ''Dár Yúniyám'' (Greece).</ref>, or Persianized placenames ending in ''-(V)stán'', which are never accompanied by articles.<br/>Originally collective (fifth declension) toponyms do not use articles in the standard, but they are sometimes used in more colloquial registers, e.g. ''(at) Midihafnené'' (Mesopotamia), ''(at) Selné Syené'' (Côte d'Ivoire).

Example: ''Tom námirom eléha letási.'' "I gave him the book." > ''Im eléha letási.'' "I gave it to him."<br/>These forms can combine with ''es'', resulting in the contracted forms '''sim, sem, sit; sis, ses, sí'''; e.g. ''Im eléha letási.'' "I gave it to him" > ''Sim eléha.''

Lifashian cardinal numerals are inflected for case only in the forms from 1 to 3 (and numbers ending in the digits 1-3), which also agree in gender with the noun, as well as 100 and 1000; however, while 1-3 have their own peculiar declensions, hundreds and thousands decline as nouns.

Numerals from 4 to 10 are indeclinable:

The other numerals 20-99 follow the same overall rules:

| nyastílásti ''m'', nyálílásti ''f'', nyandílásti ''n''

| lúˤlílásti ''m'', luwáˤlílásti ''f'', luyóˤlílásti ''n''

| teristílásti ''m'', tisyardílásti ''f'', tírdílásti ''n''

| múyulílásti

| pembilílásti

| géstílásti

| sutondílásti

| fastúlílásti

| núndílásti

| '''tiresyát'''

| nyastiresyát ''m'', nyátiresyát ''f'', nyantiresyát ''n''

| múyusyát

| pembisyát

| géssyát

| sutóssyát

| nússyát

100 is '''syandom''' and, unlike most other cardinals, it is declined for case and number as a third declension noun (with the stem ''syand-'' and accent on the ending). It does not combine with tens and units, and the number of hundreds may either be written separately or conjoined; conjoined writing is preferred in the formal language.

| '''syandom'''

| syandom nyé ''m'', syandom nyá ''f'', syandom nyam ''n''

| syandom sutompembisyát

| '''luyóˤsyandá'''

| '''tírsyandá'''

| '''múyusyandá'''

| '''pembisyandá'''

| '''géssyandá'''

| '''sutossyandá'''

| '''fastúsyandá'''

| '''núnsyandá'''

Similarly, 1000 is the neuter noun '''hesyarom''', also declined as a regular third declension noun. In the standard language, stress is on the first syllable of the stem. Unlike with hundreds, thousands are never written conjoined, e.g. 2000 ''luyó hesyará'', 4896 ''pitór hesyará fastúsyandá gésynússyát''.

| once || '''somi''' || 11 times || ''somi lasyammát'' || 111 times || ''syandommát somi lasyammát''

| twice || '''lis''' || 22 times || ''lis lílástimát'' || 200 times || ''luyóˤsyandámát''

| 3 times || '''ters''' || 33 times || ''ters tiresyámmát'' || 300 times || ''tírsyandámát''

| 4 times || '''múymát''' || 44 times || ''múyumúyusyámmát'' || 400 times || ''múyusyandámát''

| 5 times || '''pembimát''' || 55 times || ''pembipembisyámmát'' || 500 times || ''pembisyandámát''

| 6 times || '''gésymát''' || 66 times || ''gésyigéssyámmát'' || 600 times || ''géssyandámát''

| 7 times || '''sutommát''' || 77 times || ''sutonsutonsyámmát'' || 700 times || ''sutossyandámát''

| 8 times || '''fastúmát''' || 88 times || ''fastúfastúsyámmát'' || 800 times || ''fastúsyandámát''

| 9 times || '''númmát''' || 99 times || ''núnnússyámmát'' || 900 times || ''núnsyandámát''

| 10 times || '''lasyammát''' || 100 times || '''syandommát''' || 1000 times || ''hesyarmát''

| one each || '''seméh'''<br/>(''seméhá, seméhom'') || 11 each || ''seméh lasymír'' || 111 each || ''syandír seméh lasymír''

| two each || '''liséh''' || 22 each || ''liséh lílástír'' || 200 each || ''luyóˤsyandír''

| three each || '''teréh''' || 33 each || ''teréh tiresyátír'' || 300 each || ''tírsyandír''

| four each || '''múyír''' || 44 each || ''múyumúyusyátír'' || 400 each || ''múyusyandír''

| five each || '''pembír''' || 55 each || ''pembipembisyátír'' || 500 each || ''pembisyandír''

| six each || '''gésyír''' || 66 each || ''gésyigéssyátír'' || 600 each || ''géssyandír''

| 7 each || '''sutonír''' || 77 each || ''sutonsutonsyátír'' || 700 each || ''sutossyandír''

| 8 each || '''fastúwír''' || 88 each || ''fastúfastúsyátír'' || 800 each || ''fastúsyandír''

| 9 each || '''núnír''' || 99 each || ''núnnússyátír'' || 900 each || ''núnsyandír''

| 10 each || '''lasymír''' || 100 each || '''syandír''' || 1000 each || ''hesyarír''

Distributive numerals (in the neuter plural, except for "one") are those used in spoken multiplication, e.g. ''lis liséhá pitór séti'' "two times two equals four" (lit.: twice (adverbial) two (distributive neuter pl.) are four (cardinal neuter)).

All collective numerals are regularly formed by adding ''-é'' (or ''-né'' after vowels) to the cardinal stem (hence without the endings for ''syandom'' and compounds), with the exception of the irregular 1 (''nyané''), 2 (''liyé''), and 3 (''teré''). The number four is a partial exception as it adds ''-né'' to the consonant-ending stem, i.e. resulting in ''múyné''.

Certain verbs may have irregular or multiple participles, most notably ''frálmi, farhálm'' (I become, became, also used as passive auxiliary), which has the historically contracted participle ''frálit'' as an auxiliary, and uncontracted ''farhelit'' as a standalone verb. Certain meanings may be conveyed by different roots and it is possible for a different root from the past and present to be preferred in the perfect: while "I do" and "I did" is most commonly ''purémi'' and ''parm'', the preferred participle for "done" is ''deˤt'' (actually cognate with English "do"), and not ''parit''.

'''peli''' ''+ genitive case'' "under" (state); ''+ accusative case'' "under", "below" (motion)

Even so, there is a prohibition against using inanimate agents for certain verbs that may imply volition: e.g. a sentence such as *lá tom népom ebelem "the vase hit me" is still ungrammatical, and so it has to be reformulated by explicitely marking the non-volitive action implied, i.e. ''so néps asyájat ng mek belit farhálm.'' "the vase fell and I was hit". Note the use of the passive in this standard sentence, but in colloquial registers the absolutive alignment is still used even without ''lá'', i.e. ''so néps asyájat ng mek ebelem.''

Hours are always represented by cardinal numerals, and they decline (or are invariable) accordingly, as in e.g. '''12:30''' ''keltá nyasy'', '''13:30''' ''keltá lúsy'', '''14:30''' ''keltá taryóm'', '''15:30''' ''keltá pitrám'', '''22:30''' ''keltá nyastasyam'', '''23:30''' ''keltá lústasyam''.<br/>In order to disambiguate in speech between a.m. and p.m., ''tassyá merpehi'' "of the morning" and ''tosy wisferé'' "of the evening" are used respectively; sometimes, ''tassyá beltehi'', literally "of the light", is preferred for p.m. hours before dusk.

Lifashian has one of the most complex kinship terminology systems among Indo-European languages. It has an obligatory distinction of age among siblings and parallel cousins, and a distinction in the treatment of parallel and cross cousins.