Swuntsim

Swutsim/Lexicon

Swutsim Swadesh list

Swuntsim
təSfətsiv
Pronunciation	[/təˈsfətsiv/]
Created by	IlL
Setting	Verse:Tricin
Language family	Tsimulh Swuntsim

Swutsim (SWUT-sim; natively təSfətsiv /təˈsfətsiv/) is a modern Tsimulh language, inspired by Lushootseed, Welsh, and Berber. It is the traditional vernacular language of the Swutsim diaspora in Talma and Fyxoom, descending from Sacred Swutsim.

Todo

• utcǘtsi (5, solid, compact things) or cǘtsi (8, various; pl) = 'shell'
  • Scǘtsi (4, collectives and augmentatives) = personal name, meaning 'patient, enduring'
• tjway (7, places, slots, assignments) = 'name' (a name is an assignment)
• Yəy, yo fətjway? = Hello, what's your name?
• Cətjway... = My name is...
• Tidhabo! = See you!
• ξəp (7) = world
• tibayəξeeσ = progressive

Initial ʔ conflated with null initial (because Talman langs don't make the distinction)

Some clusters such as t+s are broken up to təs.

Prefix sandhi rules

Grammar shouldn't be ripoff of Bantu, Salish or Welsh

Numbers

Talman Swutsim has a set of base 10 numerals inherited from Sacred Swutsim. Unlike in Sacred Swutsim, however, base 12 is usually used.

Numbers inflect for animacy, but only the first word in the whole numeral inflects: Number words beginning with sjüv '1' inflect that word. Number words beginning with a number word other than 1 use ts- for animates. For example:

• tsfisj 'two people'
• av bo sjdüch əσü '13 women' (Note singular for 'woman'.)
• fisj bo fisj sjdüch bíway '26 names'

The numbers: 0 ξói 1 av (an.), sjüv (inan; default) 2 fisj 3 iyəv 4 uzoc 5 tu 6 tjayəzj 7 bútjo 8 gwivə 9 aay 10 cwidh 11 səyeu 12 sjdüch 13 sjüv bo sjdüch 14 fisj bo sjdüch 24 fisjdüch 36 iyəvdüch 144. cme < cmen

Diachronical sketch

• m n > v dh
• sm sn > zv zd
• b d > b d
• g > gh > compensatory lengthening

Getting the aesthetic

• gʷ > w when not word initial.
• sb sd > zv zd
• xʷ > f
• ʔC > C: (geminate)
• /ʔb ʔd/ > /b d/
• Usacsj əsocwəv əzəpətj ef tüdjo = the living fish swims in water
• əmam = mother; əpap = father
• tüdjo = water
• tjvic = house
• üvC > uuC
• yʔ, wʔ > y, w

Orthography

Talman Swutsim is usually written in the Windermere script. Words from Sacred Swutsim are written in the original Swutsim orthography.

Phonology

Consonants

Like many Tsimulh languages, Sfətsiv has no liquids in native words. However, liquids can occur in loaned vocabulary.

Swuntsim consonants

		Labial	Dental		Palatal	Velar		Laryngeal	Glottal
			central	lateral		plain	lab'zed
Nasal		m m	(n n)			(ŋ ŋ)
Stop	tenuis	p p	t t			c k	cw kʷ		ʔ ʔ
	voiced	b b	d d			g g	gw gʷ
Fricative	voiceless	f f	s s	σ ɬ	sj ʃ	ch χ	chw χʷ		h h
	voiced	v v	dh ð		zj ʒ
Affricate	tenuis		ts ts	ξ tɬ	tj tʃ
	voiced				dj dʒ
Approximant			(r r)		y j		w w	(l ɴ̆)

gw, chw become g, ch before rounded vowels /y u o/.

r, l, m, n, ŋ are mainly used in loanwords. m is found in a limited number of native words.

Geminates are allowed and are rendered by doubling (for digraphs, doubling the first consonant)

Vowels

i ü u e ə o a /i ü u e ə o a/

Stress

Stress is not fixed, but will always fall on one of the two last syllables.

Morphology

Modern Sfətsiv has lost the Proto-Tsimulh noun class system, which was still active in Sacred Sfətsiv. Pronouns and verbs only agree in animacy and number.

Nouns

The genitive is marked with -s, but -əs after coronal fricatives: stsaσ 'a forest or similar collection' > stsaσəs 'of a forest'. It's a clitic, not a suffix.

-s- is often inserted between nouns in compounds.

Nouns with unmarked plurals and marked singulars are common. The singulative is marked with gü- in this case.

Original noun class prefixes:

1. ʔə-, pl. cə-/c-
2. bu-, pl. də-/d-
3. p-, pl. əpi-/əp-
4. s-, pl. dus-
5. ut-, pl. pσə-/pσ-
6. va-/və-, pl. əwə-/u-
7. k-/tj-, pl. abi-/əb-
8. sju-, pl. N-
9. σi-/σ-, pl. wi-
10. ti-/t-, no plural
11. ti-, no plural
12. pda-/pdə- (common for abstract nouns), no plural

Expected noun class affixes:

1. ə-/0-, pl. tsə- = humans, spirits
2. bü-, pl. də-/0- = animals and other things that move on their own
3. p-, pl. əpi-/əp- = plants and mushrooms; things that grow
4. s-, pl. düs- = collections or large things
5. üt-, pl. pσə-/pσ- = roughly round, compact objects
6. va-/v-/0-, pl. ü- = long objects; tools, instruments, devices
7. tj-/k-, pl. bi-/əp- = places, locations, slots
8. sjü-, pl. 0- or dh- = various... including fluids (powder, water, liquids, fire, light, waves, wind, ...)
9. σi-, pl. gwi- = time periods; events; things that are temporary (e.g. ice)
10. t-, ti- = abstractions, manner, way, infinitives, verbal nouns (Class 10+11)
11. pda- = -ness, -hood (Class 12)

There are more patterns, however, like 0- and dü- (analogy of s-, düs-)

Pronouns

• co = I
• ho = you (sg)
• ot = we
• tsü = you (pl)

Possessive pronouns

Possessive prefixes

Determiners

TODO: Separate forms for mass nouns

• every, all: tsəcwach 'everyone, every (for animates)'; wəcwach 'all things (for inanimates)'; cwach 'everything; all (mass nouns)'
• many: tsəzab 'many people'; wəzab 'many things'; zab 'much (mass nouns)'
• few: tsəduu 'few people'; wəduu 'few things'; duu 'few (mass nouns)'
• other: əchasj 'another person'; tsəchasj 'other people'; chasj 'other things'

Verbs

The infinitive affix is t- for verb stems beginning with a vowel and ti- for verb stems beginning with a consonant.

Concord

The animate subject affix is ə- in the singular and tsə- in the plural. Verbs with inanimate subjects do not have any subject affix.

Personal affixes:

• 1sg cwə-
• 2sg ho-
• 1pl gwə-
• 2pl tsü-

Tense

Swutsim has four tenses: present, recent past, remote past, and future. The auxiliary -tje is used for the future.

• cwə-dhabo 'i meet'
• σə-cwə-dhabo 'i do not meet'
• cwə-b-dhabo 'i met'
• cwə-ya-dhabo 'i did not meet'
• wa-cwə-dhabo 'i met (remote)'
• σwa-cwə-dhabo 'i did not meet (remote)'
• hodhabo 'you (sg) meet'

etc.

• cwətje tidhabo = I will meet

There is no aspect distinction, as in Modern Hebrew and German.

Mood

The imperative mood is formed by omitting the tense prefix:

dhabo = meet!

(pl imperative?)

Syntax

Modern Sfətsiv is SVO and pro-drop. The copula is o. Adpositions consist of approximately equal number of prepositions and postpositions.

The constituent order is:

• GenN: cwəʔəmams tjway 'my mother's name'
• NAdj:
• NRel:

Adpositions include:

• ef = in

Vocabulary

Much of the vocabulary is native and inherited from Sacred Swutsim - but there are a lot of reborrowings from Sacred Swutsim. There are also loanwords from Amphirese, Rhythoed, and other Talman languages.