Nurian/Old

Nurian/Lexicon
Nurian/Phrasebook
Nurian/Swadesh list

Nurian/Old
nūrimā
Created by	IlL
Setting	Verse:Tricin
Language family	Quihum Talmic Thensaric Nurian/Old
Language codes
ISO 639-3	qnr

Nurian (/ˈnʊəɹiən/, Nurian: gaffā nūrimā, Eevo: Nwriv) is a Talmic language descending from Thensarian, aesthetically inspired by Pali, Italian, and Lithuanian. Close relatives include Eevo and Bênôcian. Nurian is the official language of Nuria (Nūrē) in southwestern Talma. Nurian is extremely conservative, and contains relatively few loanwords.

Todo

• Did Thensarian have intensive noun/adjective suffixes that Nurian preserves?

Historical phonology

• -am -em -im -om -um -ām -ēm -īm -ōm -ūm > -ą -ę -į -ą -ų -ą -ę -į -ų -ų
• -s > -h
• Thn. cia ce ci cio ciu gia ge gi gio giu > ċia ċe ċi ċio ċiu ġia ġe ġi ġio ġiu
• e ē ei ea eā > e ē ei ia iā
• o, ō > a, uo; word final -uo > -ū
• ae oe ui ao eo iu > ai ȳ ui au iuo iū

Cluster assimilations

Nurian is rich in geminate consonants, most of which arise from the following historical assimilations. Geminate consonants become degeminate word-initially.

• pl bl ml fl tl dl θl δl cl gl ngl > ppi bbi mmi ffi ċċi ġġi ṡṡi żżi kki ggi ngi
• ħl, ȝl > ħħ, ȝȝ
• nl, rl > both ll
• sp, st, sc, sȝ, sn, sl, sr > pph, tth, kkh, ħħ, tth, nnh, llh, rrh
• sb, sd, sg > bb, zz, gg
• pr, fr, tr, θr, cr, ngr, ħr > pph, ff, tth, θθ, kkh, ng, ħħ
• br, dr, δr, gr, ȝr > bb, dd, δδ, gg, ȝȝ
• mr > mm
• cn, gn > ngh, ng
• mn > nn
• rC > CC
• lC > :C
• ct > tt
• VN + fricative > V[+nasal] + fricative
• tv dv θv δv > pp bb ff vv

Co-reflexes with Eevo

• aw ~ uo, ā, a+C

Phonology

The Nurian sound system has a large inventory of around 58 consonants and 10 vowels. A notable feature of the phonology of most Nurian accents is phonemic velarization vs. palatalization in hard-soft pairs. All consonants except /ħ ʕ h j/ are members of a hard-soft-pair. /ħ ʕ h j/ color the /a/ vowel as if they were soft, and /ħ ʕ/ tend to lower adjacent vowels.

There are two major accents of Standard Nurian.

Phonotactics

Nurian forbids all consonant clusters other than those of the form homorganic nasal + consonant or consonant. Word-medially, every consonant can be geminated except /j/ and /h/. Word-finally, usually only /n/, /ʔ/ (as an allophone of /r/), /h/, /s/ and vowels are allowed.

Dagȳne accent

Consonants

Consonant phonemes in Nurian (Dagȳne)

		Labial		Dental		Alveolar		Postalveolar	Velar		Radical	Glottal
		hard	soft	hard	soft	hard	soft		soft	hard
Nasal	voiceless	mh m̊ˠ	mhi m̊ʲ	nh n̪̊ˠ			nhi n̊ʲ		nghi ŋ̊ʲ	ngh ŋ̊
	voiced	m mˠ	mi mʲ	n n̪ˠ			ni nʲ		ngi ŋʲ	ng ŋ
Stop	tenuis	p pˠ	pi pʲ	t t̪ˠ			ti tʲ	ċi tʃ	ki kʲ	k k		-r, -t ʔ
	aspirated	ph pˠʰ	phi pʲʰ	th t̪ˠʰ			thi tʲʰ	ċhi tʃʰ	khi kʲʰ	kh kʰ
	voiced	b bˠ	bi bʲ	d d̪ˠ			di dʲ	ġi dʒ	gi ɡʲ	g ɡ
Fricative	voiceless	f fˠ	fi fʲ	θ θˠ	θi θʲ	s sˠ	si sʲ	ṡi ʃ			ħ, ħi ħ	h, hi h
	voiced	v vˠ	vi vʲ	δ ðˠ	δi ðʲ	z zˠ	zi zʲ	żi ʒ
Trill	voiceless					rh r̥ˠ	rhi r̥ʲ
	voiced					r rˠ	ri rʲ
Lateral	voiceless			lh l̥ˠ			lhi l̥ʲ
	voiced			l lˠ			li lʲ
Approximant									j j		ȝ, ȝi ʕ

Notes

• Voiceless stops and affricates are unaspirated.
• All hard consonants are velarized (especially /rˠ, lˠ, θˠ, ðˠ/, which are uvularized).
• All consonants are labialized before the back vowels /u, uː, uɔ/.
• /tˠ, dˠ, nˠ/ are laminal denti-alveolar [t̪ˠ, d̪ˠ, n̪ˠ].
• /tʲ, dʲ, nʲ/ are laminal alveolar [t̻ʲ, d̻ʲ, n̻ʲ].
• /θˠ, θ, ðˠ, ð/ are dental spirants [θʶ, θ, ðʶ, ð].
• /sˠ, sʲ, zˠ, zʲ/ are laminal denti-alveolar [s̪ˠ, s̪ʲ, z̪ˠ, z̪ʲ].
• /rˠ/ is uvularized apical alveolar [r̺ʶ] or postalveolar [r̠ʶ]. When not geminated, it can either be a trill [rʶ] or a flap [ɾʶ].
• /rʲ/ is palatalized alveolar flap [ɾ̪ʲ] and less commonly a trill [r̺ʲ]. It is always a trill [r̺ːʲ] when geminated.
• /lˠ/ is a uvularized apical alveolar [l̺ʶ] or uvularized laminal denti-alveolar [l̪ʶ].
• /lʲ/ is laminal alveolar [l̻ʲ].
• /ɲ/ is postpalatal [ɲ̄].
• /tʃ, dʒ, ʃ, ʒ/ are laminal palatalized alveolar [tʃʲ, dʒʲ, ʃʲ, ʒʲ].
• Before /k, ɡ/, /n/ is realized as velar [ŋ].
• /ħ/ has been variously described as pharyngeal [ħ] and epiglottal [ʜ].
• /ʕ/ is an epiglottal approximant [ʕ̞].
• /h/ is voiced [ɦ] after vowels and voiced consonants.

Vowels

Nurian has three short, three long and three nasal monophthongs. There is a considerable degree of allophony in low vowels.

Vowel phonemes

	Front			Central			Back
	short	long	nasal	short	long	nasal	short	long	nasal
Close	/ɪ~ɪ̞/	/iː/	/ĩː/				/ʊ/	/uː/	/ũː/
Open	[ɛ~æ]	[æː]		/a/	/aː/	/ãː/	[ɑ]	[ɑː]

Diphthongs: /aɪ aʊ iɛ uɔ ʊi/

Notes

• /a aː/ each have three allophones:
  • [ɐ~ɑ ɑː] after non-radical hard consonants
  • [ɛ~æ æː] after soft consonants, radicals and /h/
• Allophony of /a aː/ is, however, reduced in the speech of many younger speakers, who pronounce both as [ɐ aː]

Fiuġġēra accent

The Fiuggēra [fudˈdʒæːrˁɑ] accent turns hard consonants into uvularized consonants, and soft consonants into plain.

• θˠ ðˠ > fˁ vˁ

Consonants

Consonant phonemes (Fiuġġēra)

		Labial		Dental		Alveolar		Postalveolar	Velar		Radical	Glottal
		hard	soft	hard	soft	hard	soft		soft	hard
Nasal	voiceless	m̊ʶ	m̊	n̥ʶ			n̥		ɲ̊	ŋ̊
	voiced	mʶ	m	n̪ʶ			n		ɲ	ŋʶ
Stop	tenuis	pʶ	p	tʶ			t	tʃ	k	kʶ		ʔ
	aspirated	pʶʰ	pʰ	tʶʰ			tʰ	tʃʰ	kʰ	kʶʰ
	voiced	bʶ	b	dʶ			d	dʒ	g	ɡʶ
Fricative	voiceless	fʶ	f		θ	sʶ	s	ʃ			ħ	h
	voiced	vʶ			ð	zʶ	z	ʒ
Trill	voiceless					r̥ʶ	r̥
	voiced					rʶ	r
Lateral	voiceless			ɬʶ			ɬ
	voiced						l
Approximant		wʶ	w						j		ʕ

Notes

• Hard consonants are uvularized, like Arabic emphatic consonants.

Stress

Nurian stress is similar to Modern Standard Arabic:

• Stress falls on the heavy (CV: or CVC) syllable closest to the end, if it is not the final syllable;
• if neither the penult nor the antepenult are heavy, the antepenult is stressed.

Orthography

Consonants

Consonants

Grapheme	m	p	b	f	v	n	t	d	θ	δ	s	z	r	l	ng	k	g	ħ	ȝ	h	j
Hard	/mˠ/	/pˠ/	/bˠ/	/fˠ/	/vˠ/	/nˠ/	/tˠ/	/dˠ/	/θˠ/	/ðˠ/	/sˠ/	/zˠ/	/rˠ/	/ɫ/	/ŋ/	/k/	/ɡ/	/ħ/	/ʕ/	/h/	/j/
Soft	/mʲ/	/pʲ/	/bʲ/	/fʲ/	/vʲ/	/nʲ/	/tʲ/	/dʲ/	/θ/	/ð/	/sʲ/	/zʲ/	/rʲ/	/lʲ/	/ɲ/	/t͡ʃ/	/d͡ʒ/

The pairs of aspirated plosives and voiceless resonants /pʰˠ pʰʲ/, /tʰˠ tʰʲ/, /tʃʰ/, /kʲʰ kʰ/, /m̊ˠ m̊ʲ/, /n̪̊ˠ n̊ʲ/, /ɲ̊ ŋ̊/, /l̥ˠ l̥ʲ/, /r̥ˠ r̥ʲ/ are written ⟨ph, th, ċh, kh, mh, nh, ngh, lh, rh⟩.

Final -r is pronounced /ʔ/.

Vowels

• a: hard /a/ [ɐ~ɑ]
• ā: hard /aː/ [ɑː]
• ą: hard /ãː/
• ai: hard /aɪ/ [ɐɪ~ɑɪ]
• au: hard /aʊ/ [ɐʊ~ɑʊ]
• u: hard /ʊ/
• ui: hard /ʊɪ/
• uo: hard /uɔ/
• ū: hard /uː/
• ų: hard /ũː/

• ia, e: soft /a/ [ɛ]
• iā, ē: soft /aː/ [æː]
• ią, ę: soft /ãː/
• iai, ei: soft /aɪ/ [ɛɪ]
• iau: soft /aʊ/ [ɛʊ]
• i: soft /ɪ/
• ī: soft /iː/
• į: soft /ĩː/
• iu: soft /ʊ/
• ui: soft /ʊɪ/
• iuo: soft /uɔ/
• iū: soft /uː/
• ių: soft /ũː/
• ie: soft /iə/

Grammar

Somewhat unusually, Nurian is verb-final with prepositions and modified-modifier order.

Nouns

Sgv-clv-plv system.

Nouns and adjectives

Masculine nouns

θȳrą 'bird'
	Singulative	Collective	Plurative
Indefinite	θȳrą	θyθȳrą	θȳrīh
Definite	θȳrai	θyθȳrai	θȳruoni

Feminine nouns

Feminine nouns typically end in -ā, -ē, -ī, or -ū.

gandā 'body'
	Singulative	Collective	Plurative
Indefinite	gandā	gagandā	gandār
Definite	gandą	gagandą	gandāh

Neuter nouns

tettyh 'child'
	Singulative	Collective	Plurative
Indefinite	tettyh	tetettyh	tettȳn
Definite	tettȳh	tetettȳh	tettȳr

Mass nouns

jenāh 'water' (n.)
	Singulative	Collective
Indefinite	jenāh	jenenāh
Definite	jenaȝeh	jenenaȝeh

Verbs

Preverbs

• aC- = some kind of applicative
• di- = in, into
• fei- = with

TAM

Present

Person	tussāni "I pray" (a-stem)	tareni "I bloom, flourish" (e-stem)	aillini "I love" (i-stem)	kassyni "I eat" (ablaut stem)
1SG	tussāni	tareni	aillini	kassyni
2SG	tussāri	tareri	ailliri	kassyri
3SG.M	tussą	tarę	aillį	kassy̨
3SG.F	tussāh	tareh	aillih	kassyh
3SG.N	tussā	tare	ailli	kassy
1EX	tussāmē	taremē	aillimē	kassymē
1IN	tussānti	tarenti	aillinti	kassynti
2PL	tussāċċhi	tareċċhi	ailliċċhi	kassyċċhi
3PL	tussāti	tareti	ailliti	kassyti

Imperfect

Reduplication rules:

• If word begins with C, redup first CV (V is shortened)

Preterite

Person	tussāni "I pray" (a-stem)	tareni "I bloom, flourish" (e-stem)	aillini "I love" (i-stem)	kassyni "I eat" (ablaut stem)
1SG	tussādī	taredī	aillidī	ċēdī
2SG	tussai	tarī	aillī	ċēvȳ
3SG.M	tussāmhi	taremhi	aillimhi	ċēmhi
3SG.F	tussātthi	taretthi	aillitthi	ċētthi
3SG.N	tussāsa	taresa	aillisa	ċēsa
1EX	tussāmer	taremer	aillimer	ċēmer
1IN	tussānter	tarenter	aillinter	ċēnter
2PL	tussāċċher	tareċċher	ailliċċher	ċēċċher
3PL	tussāti	tareti	ailliti	ċēter

Syntax

Particles

• kaC-, kat = 'and'
  • ħuġġiah kap pādī [ˈħʊdʒːæh kæp paːdʲiː] = 'bread and milk'
• nīh (/nʲiːh/) = 'not'
• fī /fʲiː/ = 'if'

Relative clauses

Nurian uses the resumptive pronoun strategy when the head is not the subject. A resumptive pronoun must be fronted, if it is not embedded in another clause within the relative clause.

Sample texts

UDHR, Article 1

Kakarai ħausį gatthāną kaθ θeθēvų di khussiū kat iġġiatū; ammimīdīnį nai ȝabbī kad dȳkaluttī, ṡiūȝą danθū feiθariākah ħaibatthah di helą venghimę.

[ˈkɐkɐrˠɐɪ ˈħæʊsʲĩː gɐˈtʰˠːɑːnˠɑ̃ː kɐθ θʲɛˈθʲæːvˠũː dʲɪ ˈkʰʊsʲːuː kɐʔ ˈɪdʒːætˠuː | æmʲːɪmʲiːˈdʲiːnʲĩː nɐɪ ʕæbʲːiː kɐd dˠiːkɐlˠʊtʲːiː, ʃuːʕãː dˠɐnθˠuː fʲɛɪtˠɐrʲæːkɐh ħæɪbˠɐtʰˠːɐh dʲɪ hælˠɑ̃ː vʲɛŋ̊ʲːɪmʲæ̃ː]

human.COL.DEF be.born-3SG.M.PRES free.COL.INDEF.M and equal.COL.INDEF.M in dignity-3SG.M and right-3SG.M; gifted-COL.INDEF.M INS reason and conscience, duty upon-3SG.M behave-INFV mutually in spirit-SGV.DEF brotherly-SGV.DEF.F

All humans are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act toward one another in a spirit of brotherhood.