Omonkwi: Difference between revisions

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* -eš, future tense
* -eš, future tense
* -al, -ol, participles
* -al, -ol, participles
* -ab, -ub?
* -ina, active participle?
* -ina, active participle?
* -iz, -iž
* -iz, -iž

Revision as of 04:25, 16 February 2021

Omonkwi
Omokwi
Pronunciation[/o.ˈmoŋ.kʷi/]
Created byNicolás Campi
SettingEarth-like planet
Native speakersUnknown (ca. 2005)
Omon
  • Omonkwi

Omonkwi, [o.ˈmoŋ.kʷi], is a naturalistic a priori artlang lightly inspired in some Mesoamerican aboriginal languages. It features ergative-absolutive alignment, and tends to form poetic compounds for words in a manner not unlike kennings. The construction of these new poetic compounds is often preferred and will even go on to replace a common word for an object. Speakers of Omonkwi are encouraged in this way to come up with new aesthetically pleasing new words and terms.

Introduction

Omonkwi started as an early attempt to capture the sounds I liked from mesoamerican indigenous languages via a poorly pronounced (by my high-school teacher) version of deity names in the Popol Vuh. Names such as Vucub Caquix, Cabrakán, Zipacná and Chimalmat. It can be viewed as a weird kind of homage, trying to create a language out respect for it but not having the materials to know more about it, something common before the rise of the internet as we know it.

Phonology

The phonology is quite rich and includes more phonemes than either of its inspirational donors; including the distinction of š ž, s z, and the voiced stops.

Consonants

Bilabial Dental Palatal Velar Labio-Velar Glottal
Stop p b t d č [t͡ʃ] k g kw gw [kʷ ɡʷ]
Fricative f v x hw [xʷ] h
Sibilant s z š ž [ʃ ʒ]
Nasal m n (ŋ) nw [ŋʷ]
Liquid l r
Approximant y [j] w

Notes:

  • The palatal č is treated is not a stop but is treated as one due to distribution.
  • The velar nasal ŋ only appears preceding a velar, but nw is always ŋ.

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close i ī u ū
Mid e ē o ō
Open a ā

Grammar

Nouns

Omonkwi nouns inflect for number (plural and singular) and at least 5 cases (ergative, absolutive, dative, genitive and locative). The general word order is SOV with variations allowed for emphasis and focus. The verb "to be" is often ommited when context is clear.

Number

Omonkwi distinguishes singular from plural number. The Omonkwi plural has different forms that are quite predictable. All words ending in a vowel will take a reduced suffix -t, however, those that are only one syllable often take a -tin ending. This can include some irregular plurals that change the root.

ipāgna → ipāgnat ("mountain, mountains")
īpni → īpnit ("soul, souls")
gōkwi → gōkwit ("land, lands")
wui → witin ("day, days")

Words that end in a stop, an 'n', 's' or 'x', take the suffix -tin. However, words ending in -l take a plural ending -lin and words ending in -m take -in.

teōp → teōptin ("eagle, eagles")
ix → ixtin ("house, houses")
šival → šivallin ("jaw, jaws")

Other irregular plurals are words ending with 'tl' in their final syllable; in those cases the '-tl' becomes -l but taking the -tin suffix. In addition to those, some animate nouns may take a suffix consisting of the reduplication of the first syllable.

atli → altin ("body, bodies")
teōp → teteōp ("eagle, eagles")
Ending Plural Example
-V -t ipāgna, ipāgnat
-V (one syl.) -tin wui, witin
-C (other than l or m) -tin teōp, teōptin
-l -lin šival, šivallin
-m -in kum, kumin
-tlV (l)-tin atli, altin
some animate nouns CV1- (redup.) teōp, teteōp

Cases

Omonkwi nouns inflect for 5 cases, plurals of those are formed just like regular plurals but are marked after the case ending. Some cases depend on whether the noun is animate or inanimate.

Case Ending Form
Ergative -ca teōpca
Absolutive teōp
Dative -na teōpna
Genitive -ma teōpma
Locative -ba, -pa teōppa, šivalba
  • ca šivalba, to the jaw
  • in šivalba, from the jaw.

Adjectives

Verbs

pronoun erg + abs - verb - tense

  • -in, present tense.
  • -tzin,
  • -eš, future tense
  • -al, -ol, participles
  • -ab, -ub?
  • -ina, active participle?
  • -iz, -iž
  • -inca

Derivational morphology

Example texts

Sample wordlist

  • atli body
  • buip face
  • gōkwili earth
  • hib arm
  • inti friend
  • ipāgna mountain
  • īpni heart, soul
  • ix house
  • ixīpni body (poetic)
  • ižki mouth
  • lohip sky
  • lupi people
  • nungistix home of the gods
  • pāwi love
  • šival jaw, snout
  • teōp eagle
  • teyi water
  • wui day
  • xīban heart, organ
  • xowi city
  • zībun head

Other resources