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:''{{SUBPAGENAME}} is highly diglossic; unless stated otherwise, this page describes the modern standard register. For the other varieties, see the subpages devoted to individual varieties.
'''Suwáá''' (''Suwáá tahyeq'') is a language isolate of Hmøøh, spoken on the island country and archipelago of [[Verse:Hmøøh/Suwáábyíq|Suwáábyíq]]. It is mainly inspired aesthetically by Burmese, Japanese, Navajo, and Ancient Greek, and its grammar is meant to be "Navajo-lite" (agglutinative, strongly prefixing, strongly head-final, and head-marking, though not fully polysynthetic; noun incorporation is limited to certain formal styles).


:[[{{FULLPAGENAME}}/Classical]]
The Suwáá dialect continuum is not known to be related to any other Hmøøhian language, but some have proposed a relation to the [[Quame languages]] based on lexical coincidences.
:[[{{FULLPAGENAME}}/'Onápaam]]
== Lexicon ==
:[[{{FULLPAGENAME}}/Jikhoó'ii]]
* Nyu-Mɛ Kɛ{{acute}}q: inventor of  Kite guitar-type guitars
:[[{{FULLPAGENAME}}/Camánreh]]
* su- = ''frozen derivation''
:[[{{FULLPAGENAME}}/Hosne'éh]]
* wáá = person
:[[{{FULLPAGENAME}}/New Urban]]
* khywen = house
:[[{{PAGENAME}}/Wordlist]]
* weé = name
:[[{{PAGENAME}}/Swadesh list]]
* maa = tree
:[[{{PAGENAME}}/Names]]
* yań = water
* lwɛ = to do, to make
* mɔ́ = blood
* zoo = to look
* mé = to be (copula)
** ''Upwe namé.'' 'I am a boy.'
** ''Suwáá imé.'' 'He is a Suwáá.'
* ze = to eat
* zé = to stack


{{Infobox language
== Phonology ==
|image =  
=== Initials ===
|imagesize =  
Suwáá has a large number of initials; however, prefixes do not allow aspirated or voiced initials.
|creator = [[User:IlL|IlL]]
* Historical velar stops: k kh g ŋ ky khy gy ŋy kw khw gw ŋw kyw khyw gyw ŋyw /k kʰ g ŋ tɕ tɕʰ dʑ ɲ kw kʰw ŋw tɕɥ tɕʰɥ dʑɥ ɲɥ/
|name = {{PAGENAME}}
* Historical alveolar stops: t th d n s sh z ny tw thw dw nw sw shw zw nyw /t tʰ d n s sʰ z ɲ tw tʰw dw nw sw sʰw zw ɲɥ/
|nativename = Sowaár dasrég
* Historical labial stops: p ph b m py phy by my pw phw bw mw /p pʰ b m pj pʰj bj mj pw pʰw bw mw/
|pronunciation= /sʊ̀wɑ̌ːɻ tɑ̀ʂɛ́k/
* y r w h ry hy rw hw ryw yw hyw /j r w h rj ɕ rw hw lɥ ɥ ɕɥ/
|setting= Tricin
|region = Sowaár daSóol, in Txapoalli
|familycolor=Isolate
|script={{PAGENAME}} alphabet
|nation=Sowaárp'í (''de facto'')
|agency=none
|iso3=
|notice=IPA
}}


Forms of '''{{PAGENAME}}''' (English: ''soo-WAHZH''; Amísreg: ''Sowaár da·srég'' /sʊ̀wɑ̌ːɻ tɑ̀ʂɛ́k/, gloss: Sowaár {{sc|3pl}}-language-INAL) are the dominant languages in [[Verse:Tricin/Sowaárp'í|Sowaárp'í]] in [[Verse:Tricin/Txapoalli]]. Sowaár is a non-configurational polysynthetic language with a complex verbal morphology.  
Usually, /r/ is realized much like Standard Japanese ''r''; it is [l] before /i j/.


{{PAGENAME}} forms a single dialect continuum and is otherwise an isolate.
=== Rimes ===
* Monomoraic: i e ɛ a ɔ o u n /i e ɛ a ɔ o u ɯ̃/
* Bimoraic, but q cannot bear tone: iq eq ɛq aq ɔq oq uq /ɪʔ eɪ̯ʔ aɪ̯ʔ aʔ aʊ̯ʔ oʊ̯ʔ ʊʔ/
* Bimoraic, both morae tone-bearing: ii ee ɛɛ aa ɔɔ oo uu in en ɛn an ɔn on un /iː eː ɛː aː ɔː oː uː ɪɰ̃ eɪ̯ɰ̃ aɪ̯ɰ̃ aɰ̃ aʊ̯ɰ̃ oʊ̯ɰ̃ uɰ̃/


==External history==
/ʔ/ is realized as gemination before obstruents; /ɯ̃ ɰ̃/ are realized as homorganic nasals before nasal and stop initials.
Sowaár is made for a [[Verse:Tricin/Sóol|Japan- and Britain-inspired country]] in Tricin but is intended to be very different from Japanese or English. It is aesthetically inspired mainly by Navajo, and secondarily by Hmong and Vietnamese. On the other hand, its grammar is Inuit-inspired. Sowaár has a wide variety of accents and dialects in a small area and a posh accent associated with the upper class, and it also ablauts verbs; that's where the similarities with English end.


==Internal history==
=== Tone ===
The name ''Sowaár'' literally means "good people" (from ''so-'' 'good' + ''waár'', an obsolete root meaning 'people'; some draw a connection to Proto-Quame ''*kwarom'').
High (acute) and low (unmarked)
== Morphology ==
=== Nouns ===
Suwáá nouns are often, though not always, monosyllabic, like ''mɔ́'' 'blood'. Here is an example of a noun inflected for possession:
* ''namɔ́'' = my blood
* ''himɔ́'' = thy blood
* ''tamɔ́'' = his/her/their blood (proximate, like Navajo bi-)
* ''wamɔ́'' = his/her/their blood (obviative‚ like Navajo yi-)
* ''amɔ́'' = one's blood
* ''kyamɔ́'' = our (exc.) blood
* ''yemɔ́'' = our (inc.) blood
* ''erimɔ́'' = your (pl.) blood


Some speculate that {{PAGENAME}} is related to the [[Quame languages]].
Possession is indicated by using the appropriate possessive form after the possessor: ''Eqsiq tamɔ́'' (E. 3-blood) 'Eqsiq's blood'.
=== Verbs ===
Suwáá verb roots are always monosyllabic.


==Diglossia==
== Syntax ==
Sowaár is strongly diglossic, with the diglossia influenced by social class. Standard Sowaár, the prestige variety, is a cousin of [[Sowaár/Classical|Classical Sowaár]] with some borrowing from Classical Sowaár, is the standard language used in literature, formal writing, newsreading, and public announcements. The Amísreg (lit. 'noble language') accent of Standard Sowaár plays a similar role to the RP accent in British English: it is the accent associated with the upper class, and the accent used in public announcements and traditionally in Sot'oó broadcasts. An upper-class person will speak Standard Sowaár natively and speak with an Amísreg accent. On the other end of the spectrum, the lower class speak local lects which are sometimes mutually unintelligible. Amísreg is not a static entity; it is defined as whatever the Sowaár upper class speaks at the time.
=== Obviation ===
Like Navajo, Suwáá shows various levels of animacy in its grammar, with certain nouns taking specific verb forms according to their rank in this animacy hierarchy. For instance, Suwáá nouns can be ranked by animacy on a continuum from most animate (a human or lightning) to least animate (an abstraction):


The diglossia is also influenced by gender: urban women are more likely than other groups to use more neutral forms and accents (i.e. closer to an abstract pseudo-Amísreg "gynelect"). Since the 1340s (fT), a greater permissiveness towards regional and "nonstandard" varieties of Sowaár has taken hold in education. However, due to greater travel and the mass media, marked features in Sowaár varieties have also begun to disappear. Today, a quasi-"gynelect", New Urban Sowaár, is taking root as the canonical non-posh colloquial dialect.
humans > infants/big animals > midsize animals > small animals > insects > natural forces > inanimate objects/plants > abstractions


The hierarchy of lects is roughly as follows:
Generally, the most animate noun in a sentence must occur first while the noun with lesser animacy occurs second. If both nouns are equal in animacy, then either noun can occur in the first position. So, both example sentences (1) and (2) are correct. The ''n-'' prefix on the verb indicates that the 1st noun is the subject and ''i-'' indicates that the 2nd noun is the subject.
*Upper class: Amísreg
*Professional class: accented Standard Sowaár
*Middle class: local vernacular + Standard Sowaár
*Working/lower class: broad local vernacular


Standard Sowaár is the variety taught in Sowaár schools. Non-native learners are first taught Standard Sowaár and are taught to speak in an Amísreg accent. Though most natives are able to speak the proper language from learning it in school, they only choose to use it in certain situations, like greeting a customer, or talking to a stranger over the phone.
: ''Upwe unɛń nzoo.'' (1)
: boy girl OBV-look
: 'The boy is looking at the girl.'


The language encountered in Sowaár pop culture is usually Standard Sowaár, with accent depending on the region and social class of the characters. The most frequently used Sowaár varieties in pop culture are the urban middle-class lects (most creators live in or near one of the major urban centers, e.g. 'Onápaam, Jikhoó'ii, Camánreh). Using more unusual lects mark certain types of characters (e.g. rural lects for country hicks, broad urban lects for hypermasculine bros, a caricatured "gynelect" for ditzy teenage girls, Amísreg for posh villains, ...)
: ''Upwe unɛń izoo.'' (2)
: boy girl PROX-look
: 'The girl is being looked at by the boy.'


Generally, less polysynthetic Sowaár dialects tend to be more fusional and preserve more of the ablaut system of verbs. Conversely, more polysynthetic dialects have simplified their ablaut system drastically, or have no ablaut at all. Standard Sowaár is in the middle of this spectrum.
But example sentence (3) sounds wrong to most Suwáá speakers because the less animate noun occurs before the more animate noun:
: ''*Hipyii unɛń hyenkywáq.''
: bird girl PST-OBV-peck
: 'The bird pecked the girl.'


==Todo==
To express this idea requires that the more animate noun occur first, as in sentence (4):
*Badly irregular ablaut like Navajo
: ''Unɛń hipyii hyeekywáq.''
*Some really short roots
: girl bird PST-PROX-peck
*Should be different from Navajo and [[Roshterian]] but still polysynthetic
: 'The girl was pecked by the bird.'
*Some Quame-ish words
<!--
<poem>
i fall in love with you (active counterpart) = shelisjhaágy
do you want reduplication?
sounds ok
how is -in for an attributive clause
or relative clause
verb+in
so it's a nominalizer
clofab intensifies
yeah
shiilyohookh+in = that piles up
😍1
and that could ablaut to -iin or -iín?
in some forms like intransitive attributive
most C(C)oC verbs should inflect like sjhogy
maybe
Sowaazh should be non-config
noun phrases are head-final and they use relational nouns
shiilyohookh would inflect like


khashiilyohookh
== Vocabulary ==
akheshiiñlyohookh
Purist
khóoshigyoñhookh?
inceptive should use t
yeah
or d
because of quame future
quihumists would relate that to thensarian -tē-
yeah
that "let us soar party" 😀
and for the fun of it...
the t should be an infix!
sjhodagy-
😍1
should mean to fall in love
</poem>
-->
 
==Phonology==
The following describes Amísreg phonology.
===Consonants===
Amísreg has a large consonant inventory of 36 consonants:
{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="bluetable lightbluebg" style=" text-align:center;"
|+ '''Consonant phonemes in Amísreg'''
|-
!  colspan="2" rowspan="2" style="width: 136px; "|
!  rowspan=2 style="width: 68px; " |Labial
!  colspan=2 style="width: 68px; " |Dental
!  colspan=2 style="width: 68px; " |Retroflex
!  rowspan=2 style="width: 68px; " |Palatal
!  rowspan=2 style="width: 68px; " |Velar
!  rowspan=2 style="width: 68px; " |Glottal
|-
!| <small>central</small>
!| <small>lateral</small>
!| <small>central</small>
!| <small>lateral</small>
|-
!colspan="2"| Nasal
| '''m''' /m/
| '''n''' /n/
|
| '''nr''' /ɳ/
|
| '''ny''' /ɲ/
|
|
|-
! rowspan="3" style=""  |Stop
! |<small>tenuis</small>
| '''b''' /p/
| '''d''' /t/
| '''dl''' /tl/
| '''dr''' /ʈ/
| '''dlr''' /ʈɭ/
| '''j''' /tɕ/
| '''g''' /k/
| ''' ' ''' /ʔ/
|-
! |<small>aspirated</small>
| '''p''' /pʰ/
| '''t''' /tʰ/
| '''tl''' /tɬʰ/
| '''tr''' /ʈʰ/
| '''tlr''' /ʈɬʵʰ/
| '''c''' /tɕʰ/
| '''k''' /kʰ/
|
|-
! |<small>ejective</small>
|
| '''t'''' /tʼ/
| '''tl'''' /tɬʼ/
| '''tr'''' /ʈʼ/
| '''tlr'''' /ʈɬʵʼ/
| '''c'''' /tɕʼ/
| '''k'''' /kʼ/
|
|-
! colspan="2" style="" |Fricative
|
| '''s''' /s/
| '''ł''' /ɬ/
| '''sr''' /ʂ/
| '''łr''' /ɬʵ/
| '''x''' /ɕ/
| '''kh''' /x/
| '''h''' /h/
|-
! colspan="2" style="" |Approximant
| '''w''' /w/
|
| '''l''' /l/
|colspan="2"| '''r''' /ɻ~ɭ/
| '''y''' /j/
|
|
|}
 
====Notes====
All consonants in Amísreg are long, compared to English and other Sowaár dialects: with plain stops the hold is longer, with aspirated stops the aspiration is longer, and with affricates the frication is longer. The voice onset time of the aspirated and ejective stops is twice as long as that found in most other languages.
 
Amísreg retroflexes are subapical (like Tamil retroflexes), unlike retroflexes in other accents. Native speakers describe subapical retroflexes as "posh", "deep" or "dignified".
 
===Vowels===
Amísreg has only 4 vowel qualities, although there is phonemic vowel length.
{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="bluetable lightbluebg" style="text-align:center;"
|+ '''Amísreg oral vowels'''
! rowspan="2" style=""|
! colspan="2" style="" |Front
! colspan="2" style="" |Back
|-
!style="width: 45px; "|<small>short</small>
!style="width: 45px; "|<small>long</small>
!style="width: 45px; "|<small>short</small>
!style="width: 45px; "|<small>long</small>
|-
! style="" |Close
| '''i''' /ɪ/
| '''ii''' /iː/
| '''o''' /ʊ/
| '''oo''' /uː/
|-
! style="" |Open
| '''e''' /ɛ/
| '''ee''' /ɛː/
| '''a''' /ɑ/
| '''aa''' /ɑː/
|}
 
===Tone===
Modern Amísreg has a two-level tone system - every word will have at least one high pitched mora but may have more than one, especially in longer words. A mora with high pitch is marked with an acute accent.
 
Other Sowaár lects have different tonal systems or none. For example, the Cyamányeh lect has no tone.
 
===Phonotactics===
Sowaár allows no initial clusters.
 
===Accents===
:''Main article: [[Sowaár/Accents]]
There are two dimensions of linguistic variation in Sowaár:
*'''Vocabulary and grammar''': Standard Sowaár (''He'aásreg'') and regional dialects. New Urban Sowaár is a koiné consisting of a mixture of the two, with register changes.
**''He'aásreg'' itself is a mixture of a local dialect and Classical Sowaár.
*'''Accent''': Even when speaking Standard Sowaár (not a regional dialect), one is usually expected to keep a regional accent. Having no regional accent at all is associated with being upper class. An Amísreg speaker will speak in Standard Sowaár, but the converse is not usually true.
 
==Orthography==
All varieties of Sowaár are written in the Sowaár alphabet, which was originally developed as a phonetic notation system like the IPA. Amísreg spelling is based on Conservative Amísreg.
 
*no dot: mid tone
*one dot below: high tone
*two dots below: low tone (unpronounced)
===Writing vernaculars===
 
==Sandhi==
All Sowaár lects have extensive sandhi systems. The following describes Standard Sowaár sandhi.
===Consonants and vowels===
<!--
{| class="bluetable lightbluebg mw-collapsible"
! rowspan=2 | Initial <br/>Consonant
! colspan=23| Final Consonant
|-
! f
! p
! b
! m
! th
! t
! d
! n
! ch
! c
! g
! ng
! s
! ts
! ł
! tł
! ș
! h
! '
! l
! r
! w
! y
|-
! f
| f
| p
| sp
| fn
| ft
| ft
| ft
| fn
| pc
| pc
| pc
| fng
| ps
| fts
| pł
| ftł
| pș
| f
| f'
| fl
| fr
| fw
| fy
|-
! p
|-
! b
|-
! m
|-
! th
|-
! t
|-
! d
|-
! n
|-
! ch
|-
! g
|-
! c
|-
! ng
|-
! s
|-
! ts
|-
! ł
|-
! tł
|-
! ș
|-
! h
|-
! '
|-
! l
|-
! r
|-
! w
|-
! y
|}
-->
 
===Tone===
 
==Morphology==
:''Main article: [[Sowaár/Morphology]]''
Sowaár is strongly head-marking, like many indigenous languages of North and Central America. More information is conveyed by verbs than in most other languages.
 
Sowaár has a large number of noun-like constructions which appear on the surface to be phrases, but which are fixed in both meaning and morphology.
 
Example:
 
:'''''Sowaár tasr la'dat'oóweyiid'''''
:/sʊ̀wɑ̌:ɻ tʰɑ̀ʂ lɑ̀ʔtɑ̀tʼǔ:wɛ̀jì:t/
:Sowaár da-hasr la'-da-t'oó-e-iid
:Sowaár 3PL.AN-for "all directions"-3PL.AN-radiate/REG-REG=NOMZ.AN (REG = TAM for "regularly does something, as in a job")
:''Sowaár Broadcasting Corporation''
:Literal translation: "those who regularly send things out in all directions for the Sowaár people"
 
==Syntax==
===Word order===
Amísreg is non-configurational. Noun phrases are head-final.
===Clitics===
Most conjunctions obey Wackernagel's law; they come after the first syntactic phrase or the first stressed word in a clause.
 
===Nominalizers===
Nominalized relative clauses are formed by attaching the nominalizing clitic ''=in'' after the clause.
 
Examples:
*''lisdrój'' /lɪ̀ʂtʂʊ́c/ = 'I love you' > ''lisdrójeh'' /lɪ̀ʂtʂʊ́ceh/ =  'the fact that I love you'
*''sriilohóokh'' = 'they pile up forming a line' > ''sriilohóokhin'' = (a type of scale used in Sowaár music)
 
==Vocabulary==
Sowaár vocabulary is nearly exclusively native. A sparse number of words are from Naquic and Tsimulh languages, and recently, [[Skellan]]. Borrowed words are almost all nouns.
 
For example:
 
''Khópab daSóol'' = Clofabolocin (via Skellan ''Clofab'')
 
glah → gakháh /kaxah/
 
Hnawcas Amlad → Náwokas Ámkhad
 
Iña's Moh > Íikhasmoh
 
To abbreviate words, Sowaár uses clipping.
===Transliterating Skellan===
Consonants:
*/m n ŋ/ = ''m n n''
*/p t k/ = ''b d g''
*/pʰ tʰ kʰ/ = ''p t k''
*/ts tʃ/ = ''c c''
*/f θ ç χ h/ = ''p d x kh h''
*/v ð j/ = ''w d y''
*/s ʃ/ = ''s x''
*/z ʒ/ = ''s x''
*/w r r̥ ʟ/ = ''w r sh kh''
 
Vowels:
*/i y ə u e~ɛi ø~œy o~ɔu ɛ œ a ɔ/ = ''ii ii a oo i/eyi i/eyi o/awo e e a a''
**/e ø o/ = ''i i o'' for Skellan Eevo, ''eyi/ewi/awo'' for Fyxoomian Eevo
*/ai ui au ɛu iu iə yə uə/ = ''ayi owi awo ewo iyo iya iya uwa'''
*Fyxoomian: /õˁ ẽˁ~ø̃ˁ ɛ̃ˁ~œ̃ˁ ɔ̃ˁ ãˁ/ = ''oN iN eN aN aN''
*Skellan: /iɤ yɤ uɤ eɤ øɤ oɤ ɛɤ aɤ ɔɤ/ = ''iwa iwa owa iwa ewa owa ewa awa awa''
 
==Study by non-native speakers==
Due to the popularity of Sowaár pop culture across the globe, Sowaár is commonly learned by Sowaárophile otakus. Sowaár is considered one of the most daunting languages for speakers of most Northern languages, due to its morphological complexity and high degree of diglossia.
 
==Poetry==
Sowaár poetry uses quantitative meters, like Sanskrit.
 
(LLLLSLLSSSSSSLLSLLSLL)
 
(LLLSSLSLSSSLLLSLLSL)
 
<poem>
Lyoóshaant’ ólo·sjecyida'eéch’ óna' da·sk’onyáad shéb (LLSSSSSLSSSSLS)
Gáadeéncyok’ oon·táshojyekaad wehacóozh bijháalyin (LLSLSSSLSSLSLS)
</poem>
 
==Phrasebook==
*'''Áa'weh khéh, mehonol'é?'' = Hello, how do you do? (gloss: good place, 2SG-CONT-peaceful-INTERR)
*''Khahonolíi.'' = reply to ''Mehonol'é?'' (gloss: 1SG-CONT-peaceful-TVF)
*''Lihosdróy'' = I love you.
*''Nótr'ahgará be'saambój. Khooh 'ésjol be'saambojáyee'.'' = "All animals are equal. But some animals are more equal than others."
 
==Sample Texts==
===UDHR===
:''Nórkhantóo...''
:all=human 3PL-GNOM-be-born 3SG.INAN-from GNOM-STAT-free, 3PL-STAT-PASS-honor=NOM=also and 3PL-GNOM-STAT/deserve=NOM 3INAN-GNOM-STAT/equal
:Literally: ''All people from being born are free; their dignity and rights are equal. They-can-TELIC-think=NOMZ and they-can-know-good=NOM, they can use it, they must thus move themselves in the face of each other as if they were brothers.''
 
===Serenity===
:Literally: ''May I be at peace with what I cannot change, boldly change what I can change, and by thinking wisely, tell the two situations apart.''
 
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]][[Category:Polysynthetic languages]][[Category:Tricin]][[Category:Languages]]

Latest revision as of 20:53, 8 May 2023

Suwáá (Suwáá tahyeq) is a language isolate of Hmøøh, spoken on the island country and archipelago of Suwáábyíq. It is mainly inspired aesthetically by Burmese, Japanese, Navajo, and Ancient Greek, and its grammar is meant to be "Navajo-lite" (agglutinative, strongly prefixing, strongly head-final, and head-marking, though not fully polysynthetic; noun incorporation is limited to certain formal styles).

The Suwáá dialect continuum is not known to be related to any other Hmøøhian language, but some have proposed a relation to the Quame languages based on lexical coincidences.

Lexicon

  • Nyu-Mɛ Kɛ́q: inventor of Kite guitar-type guitars
  • su- = frozen derivation
  • wáá = person
  • khywen = house
  • weé = name
  • maa = tree
  • yań = water
  • lwɛ = to do, to make
  • mɔ́ = blood
  • zoo = to look
  • mé = to be (copula)
    • Upwe namé. 'I am a boy.'
    • Suwáá imé. 'He is a Suwáá.'
  • ze = to eat
  • zé = to stack

Phonology

Initials

Suwáá has a large number of initials; however, prefixes do not allow aspirated or voiced initials.

  • Historical velar stops: k kh g ŋ ky khy gy ŋy kw khw gw ŋw kyw khyw gyw ŋyw /k kʰ g ŋ tɕ tɕʰ dʑ ɲ kw kʰw ŋw tɕɥ tɕʰɥ dʑɥ ɲɥ/
  • Historical alveolar stops: t th d n s sh z ny tw thw dw nw sw shw zw nyw /t tʰ d n s sʰ z ɲ tw tʰw dw nw sw sʰw zw ɲɥ/
  • Historical labial stops: p ph b m py phy by my pw phw bw mw /p pʰ b m pj pʰj bj mj pw pʰw bw mw/
  • y r w h ry hy rw hw ryw yw hyw /j r w h rj ɕ rw hw lɥ ɥ ɕɥ/

Usually, /r/ is realized much like Standard Japanese r; it is [l] before /i j/.

Rimes

  • Monomoraic: i e ɛ a ɔ o u n /i e ɛ a ɔ o u ɯ̃/
  • Bimoraic, but q cannot bear tone: iq eq ɛq aq ɔq oq uq /ɪʔ eɪ̯ʔ aɪ̯ʔ aʔ aʊ̯ʔ oʊ̯ʔ ʊʔ/
  • Bimoraic, both morae tone-bearing: ii ee ɛɛ aa ɔɔ oo uu in en ɛn an ɔn on un /iː eː ɛː aː ɔː oː uː ɪɰ̃ eɪ̯ɰ̃ aɪ̯ɰ̃ aɰ̃ aʊ̯ɰ̃ oʊ̯ɰ̃ uɰ̃/

/ʔ/ is realized as gemination before obstruents; /ɯ̃ ɰ̃/ are realized as homorganic nasals before nasal and stop initials.

Tone

High (acute) and low (unmarked)

Morphology

Nouns

Suwáá nouns are often, though not always, monosyllabic, like mɔ́ 'blood'. Here is an example of a noun inflected for possession:

  • namɔ́ = my blood
  • himɔ́ = thy blood
  • tamɔ́ = his/her/their blood (proximate, like Navajo bi-)
  • wamɔ́ = his/her/their blood (obviative‚ like Navajo yi-)
  • amɔ́ = one's blood
  • kyamɔ́ = our (exc.) blood
  • yemɔ́ = our (inc.) blood
  • erimɔ́ = your (pl.) blood

Possession is indicated by using the appropriate possessive form after the possessor: Eqsiq tamɔ́ (E. 3-blood) 'Eqsiq's blood'.

Verbs

Suwáá verb roots are always monosyllabic.

Syntax

Obviation

Like Navajo, Suwáá shows various levels of animacy in its grammar, with certain nouns taking specific verb forms according to their rank in this animacy hierarchy. For instance, Suwáá nouns can be ranked by animacy on a continuum from most animate (a human or lightning) to least animate (an abstraction):

humans > infants/big animals > midsize animals > small animals > insects > natural forces > inanimate objects/plants > abstractions

Generally, the most animate noun in a sentence must occur first while the noun with lesser animacy occurs second. If both nouns are equal in animacy, then either noun can occur in the first position. So, both example sentences (1) and (2) are correct. The n- prefix on the verb indicates that the 1st noun is the subject and i- indicates that the 2nd noun is the subject.

Upwe unɛń nzoo. (1)
boy girl OBV-look
'The boy is looking at the girl.'
Upwe unɛń izoo. (2)
boy girl PROX-look
'The girl is being looked at by the boy.'

But example sentence (3) sounds wrong to most Suwáá speakers because the less animate noun occurs before the more animate noun:

*Hipyii unɛń hyenkywáq.
bird girl PST-OBV-peck
'The bird pecked the girl.'

To express this idea requires that the more animate noun occur first, as in sentence (4):

Unɛń hipyii hyeekywáq.
girl bird PST-PROX-peck
'The girl was pecked by the bird.'

Vocabulary

Purist

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