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==Nouns==
==Nouns==
In some ways declension has simplified: Like [[Knánith]], Modern Togarmite has lost grammatical gender. The construct state has been lost, and the definite state ''haC-'' has been reanalyzed as a separate definite article ''ha''.
In some ways declension has simplified: Like [[Knánith]], Modern Togarmite has lost grammatical gender. The construct state has been lost, and the Old Togarmite definite state ''ʔan-'' has been reanalyzed as a separate definite article ''yn''.


However, declension has become more complicated in other ways. For example, Modern Togarmite has innovated more pluralization paradigms.
However, declension has become more complicated in other ways. For example, Modern Togarmite has innovated more pluralization paradigms.

Revision as of 18:12, 13 September 2019

Togarmite/Lexicon
Togarmite
Þėgamiþ
Pronunciation[/θegamiθ/]
Created byIlL
SettingLõis
Afro-Asiatic

Togarmite (þėgamiþ /θegamiθ/ or yn lysėn yn þėgami /ə ˈləsenən ə θegami/) is a Semitic language closely related to Hebrew. It is inspired by Lithuanian, Germanic languages (particularly Icelandic) and the Semitic conlang Alashian.

Modern Togarmite retains the Semitic root-and-pattern morphology of Old Togarmite, but has undergone some phonological and grammatical restructuring, taking features of the Turkey-Northern Levant-Iranian sprachbund, in common with L-Persian, Padmanábha and English:

  • Grimm's law: The Old Togarmite aspirated stops φ θ χ (from Proto-Semitic *p t k) generally become spirants /f θ x/.
  • loss of grammatical gender
  • loss of the passive binyanim
  • loss of the suffix conjugation except in a few verbs
  • the use of the w-form (inherited from the Old Togarmite waw-consecutive future) for the present progressive, mirroring English -ing < PIE *-nd-kwe
  • the development of a productive concatenative verb paradigm used to form new verbs, analogous to Germanic weak verbs

Todo

  • Gzarot
  • Syntax
  • Declensions

History

The Old Togarmite name for the language, Θėgammīθ, is thought to have been borrowed from a pre-Togarmite source *Tāgarma. The name Togarmah from the same source is also attested in the Hebrew Bible. (The Greeks and the Romans called the Togarmite people Θηγαρμικοί and Thegarmici respectively.) The name of the language shows the Togarmite shift of Proto-Semitic ā to ė /e:/, mirroring the Canaanite shift ā > ō occuring in its close relative Hebrew.

Phonology

Consonants

Togarmite has 23 consonants, 22 of them inherited from Proto-Semitic. It gained /p/ during the Old Togarmite stage from adapting loans from Greek, Aramaic and Persian, e.g. parkes 'to act', from Ancient Greek praxis. It also merged Old Togarmite ħ /χ/ and h /h/ into h /h/.

  • m n /m n/
  • p t c k ' /p t ts k ʔ/
  • b d g /b d g/
  • f þ s š x h /f θ s ʃ x h/
  • w z ž ȝ /v z ʒ ɣ/
  • l r j /l r j/

Vowels

Modern Togarmite has 9 vowels in stressed syllables, possibly the largest vowel inventory of any Semitic language.

a e ė i o ø u y /ɑ ɛ e i o ø u (ə)/

ei au /ai øy/

ei and au are often merged to /e ø/. Some dialects pronounce au as /y/.

Stress

Stress is always penultimate.

Orthography

Togarmite uses an abugida based on the Phoenician alphabet, called yn albėþ (after the first 2 letters).

The abjadi letter names: al, bėþ, gam, dal, hė, wau, zėn, žėn, tėþ, jėd, xaf, lam, mėm, nun, ȝėn, fė, pė, cad, køf, rėš, sin, šin, þau

Dialects

Pronouns

Personal

Modern Togarmite pronouns work very similarly to English pronouns. The accusative pronouns derive from inflected foms of Old Togarmite ʔiθ (emphasis particle and accusative, related to Hebrew et and Arabic iyya-). The possessive pronouns are derived from inflected forms of Old Togarmite la-. Other inflected prepositions don't survive, except in fixed expressions such as slėm ȝalėxøm 'hello (formal)' (lit. peace be upon you).

I thou (m.) thou (f.) he she it we you (pl.) they
Nominative/Conjunctive nėx hu hi že nan adøm høm
Objective/Disjunctive þi þax þex þau þa þež þanė þaxøm þaum
Possessive li lax lex lau la lež lanė laxøm laum
Reflexive/Intensive afi afax afex afau afa afež afnė afxøm afaum

The plural pronouns aþøm and høm can be used as gender-neutral pronouns in the singular, like English they.

Demonstrative

who? what? which? where? whither? whence? when? how? why? how much?
this žini (sg); elini (pl) hen heno me hen ȝeþo xė; xamxė šøm; me hen xėrab
that ži (sg); eli (pl) šam šamo me šam
what? mi ma ėjo ein eino men ein møran xeix lama xma, marby
all; every xøl bašar; xølhad xøl tbar xøl xølein xøleino me xølein xølam xølad darxy - -
any nux bašar nux tbar nux nuxein nuxeino me nuxein xølam nux darxy my nux sebt -
some bil bašar bil tbar bil bilein bileino me bilein ly zman; bil zman bil darxy my bil sebt -
none lėm bašar lėm tbar lėm lėmein lėmeino me lėmein lėfȝam lėm darxy my lėm sebt -

Demonstratives come before nouns as in Arabic:

  • žini beiþ 'this house'
  • eli beiþi 'those houses'

Nouns

In some ways declension has simplified: Like Knánith, Modern Togarmite has lost grammatical gender. The construct state has been lost, and the Old Togarmite definite state ʔan- has been reanalyzed as a separate definite article yn.

However, declension has become more complicated in other ways. For example, Modern Togarmite has innovated more pluralization paradigms.

Regular declension

Most nouns have a regular plural in -i, definite -il.

Example: ȝėlam 'world'

ȝėlam 'world'
singular plural
indefinite ȝėlam ȝėlami

Segolates

These nouns come from CVCC nouns in Proto-Semitic and thus are related to segolates in Hebrew.

xalby 'dog'
singular plural
indefinite xalby xlabi

Nisba nouns

An important declension class is comprised of nouns or adjectives with the nisba suffix -i:

þėgami 'Togarmite'
singular plural
indefinite þėgami þėgamije

Singulative-collective nouns

These nouns have a marked singular in -t.

šeȝart '(strand of) hair'
singular plural
indefinite šeȝart šeȝar

Former feminines/body parts

This class consists of a small number of nouns that were feminine in Old Togarmite, such as many body parts, which take a plural in -ėt:

øžny 'ear'
singular plural
indefinite øžny øžnė
lysėn 'tongue; language'
singular plural
indefinite lysėn lysėnėt

-a nouns

These are mainly Greek words:

apoloža 'excuse (pretext)'
singular plural
indefinite apoloža apoložes

Greek ending in -ma can have a plural in -mata:

þima 'topic'
singular plural
indefinite þima þimes / þimata


By analogy, even some native words are declined this way:

heta 'sin'
singular plural
indefinite heta hetes

Adjectives

Adjectives have the same declension patterns as nouns.

A regular adjective: gdėl 'big' has plural gdėli.

Degree

Adjectives do not have separate degree forms, unlike in Indo-European languages. A dedicated particle šøm is used for 'than'.

Verbs

TODO: an n-stem binyan?

  • Past = (eroded) suffix conjugation that became analogized with the prefix present
    • The y- prefix is not used when the verb is negated: nėx yxėþøb 'I write', nėx lė xėþøb 'I don't write'.
  • Present = from the Proto-Semitic L-stem, via analogy
  • Imperative
    • The imperative is negated with alt: Xøþøb! 'write!', Alt xøþøb! 'don't write!'
  • w-form = w + stem from the 3ms suffix conjugation in the f3øl binyan, past tense but with w- for the prefix in other binyanim
  • Infinitive
  • Participles

The suffix conjugation does not survive unlike in most other Semitic languages, except in certain irregular verbs like hwė 'to be'.

The citation form is the 2nd person singular imperative.

Binyanim

Modern Togarmite inherits all 7 binyanim of Old Togarmite. The þy- of Binyan 6 (dyfaȝel) verbs has become a productive derivational prefix, however, so Binyan 6 can be analyzed as a result of þy- added to faȝel verbs, rather than as a binyan in its own right.

Binyan 1: føȝøl

This binyan can take -ø- (e.g. xøþøb 'to write'), -e- (sen 'to sleep') or -a- (tøȝam 'to choose') as the theme vowel.

Binyan 1 conjugation: xøþøb 'write'
→ Person
↓ Tense
1sg 2sg 3sg 1pl 2pl 3pl
past; conditional nėx yxdøb ad/ed yxdøb hu/hi xdøb nan xdøb adøm xdøb høm xdøb
past progressive; past subjunctive fidi wyxdab fid wyxdab fė wyxdab finė wyxdab fidøm wyxdab fu wyxdab
present nėx yxėdøb ad/ed yxėdøb hu/hi xėdøb nan xėdøb adøm xėdøb høm xėdøb
present progressive nėx še wyxdab ad/ed še wyxdab hu/hi še wyxdab nan še wyxdab adøm šu wyxdab høm šu wyxdab
present subjunctive nėx yxdøban ad/ed yxdøban hu/hi xdøban nan xdøban adøm xdøban høm xdøban
future ėbe xdėb tėbe xdėb jėbe xdėb nėbe xdėb tėbu xdėb jėbu xdėb
perfect li myxdub lax/lex myxdub lau/la myxdub lanė myxdub laxøm myxdub laum myxdub
imperative xødøb!
active participle xėdeb
passive participle myxdub
w-form wyxdab
infinitive xdėb

Binyan 2: faȝel

This binyan comes from the Proto-Semitic D-stem (related to Hebrew pi33el and Arabic fa33ala)

Binyan 2 conjugation: saxen 'inhabit'
→ Person
↓ Tense
1sg 2sg 3sg 1pl 2pl 3pl
past; conditional nėx ysaxen ad/ed ysaxen hu/hi saxen nan saxen adøm saxen høm saxen
past progressive; past subjunctive fidi wysaxen fid wysaxen fė wysaxen finė wysaxen fidøm wysaxen fu wysaxen
present nėx ysxėxen ad/ed ysxėxen hu/hi sxėxen nan sxėxen adøm sxėxen høm sxėxen
present progressive nėx še wysaxen ad/ed še wysaxen hu/hi še wysaxen nan še wysaxen adøm šu wysaxen høm šu wysaxen
present subjunctive ani ysaxenan ad/ed ysaxenan hu/hi saxenan nan saxenan adøm saxenan høm saxenan
future ėbe saxun tėbe saxun jėbe saxun nėbe saxun tėbu saxun jėbu saxun
perfect li møsaxan lax/lex møsaxan lau/la møsaxan lanė møsaxan laxøm møsaxan laum møsaxan
imperative saxen!
active participle møsaxen
passive participle møsaxan
w-form wysaxen
infinitive saxun

For 4-letter verbs such as parkes 'to act', the present tense is formed with the stem -C₁C₂ėC₃eC₄, like nėx yprėkes 'I act'.

Binyan 3: afȝel

This binyan comes from the Proto-Semitic Š-stems thus corresponds to Hebrew hif3il and Arabic ʔaf3ala.

Binyan 3 conjugation: ažxer 'remind'
→ Person
↓ Tense
1sg 2sg 3sg 1pl 2pl 3pl
past; conditional nėx ažxer ad/ed ažxer hu/hi ažxer nan ažxer adøm ažxer høm ažxer
past progressive; past subjunctive fidi wažxer fid wažxer fė wažxer finė wažxer fidøm wažxer fu wažxer
present nėx ažėxer ad/ed ažėxer hu/hi ažėxer nan ažėxer adøm ažėxeru høm ažėxeru
present progressive nėx še wažxer ad/ed še wažxer hu/hi še wažxer nan še wažxer adøm šu wažxer høm šu wažxer
present subjunctive nėx ažxeran ad/ed ažxeran hu/hi ažxeran nan ažxeran adøm ažxeran høm ažxeran
future ėbe hažxur tėbe hažxur jėbe hažxur nėbe hažxur tėbu hažxur jėbu hažxur
perfect li mažxar lax/lex mažxar lau/la mažxar lanė mažxar laxøm mažxar laum mažxar
imperative ažxer!
active participle mažxer
passive participle mažxar
w-form wažxer
infinitive ažxur

Binyan 4: yftyȝel

This binyan comes from the Proto-Semitic t-stem and shares similarities with the Hebrew binyan hitpa33el and Arabic ifta3ala. It is characterized by the t- prefix that comes from the *t infix.

Meanings:

  • reflexive
  • reciprocal

The prefix t metathesizes with C1 when

  • C1 = f x s š c h z ž ȝ: tf tx ts tš th tz tž tȝ > ft xt st št ct ht zd žd ȝd
  • C1 = d t þ: td tt tþ > d t þ
Binyan 4 conjugation: hytlymet 'find one's way around'
→ Person
↓ Tense
1sg 2sg 3sg 1pl 2pl 3pl
past; conditional nėx ytlymet ad/ed ytlymet hu/hi tlymet nan tlymet adøm tlymet høm tlymet
past progressive; past subjunctive fidi wytlymet fid wytlymet fė wytlymet finė wytlymet fidøm wytlymet fu wytlymet
present nėx ytlėmet ad/ed ytlėmet hu/hi tlėmet nan tlėmet adøm tlėmet høm tlėmet
present progressive nėx še wytlymet ad/ed še wytlymet hu/hi še wytlymet nan še wytlymet adøm šu wytlymet høm šu wytlymet
present subjunctive nėx ytlymetan ad/ed ytlymetan hu/hi tlymetan nan tlymetan adøm tlymetun høm tlymetun
future ėbe hytlymut tėbe hytlymut jėbe hytlymut nėbe hytlymut tėbu hytlymut jėbu hytlymut
perfect li møtlymat lax/lex møtlymat lau/la møtlymat lanė møtlymat laxøm møtlymat laum møtlymat
imperative ytlymet!
active participle møtlymet
passive participle møtlymat
w-form wytlymėt
infinitive hytlymut

Binyan 5: eþyfȝel

This binyan comes from the Nt-stem, with the mediopassive n- marker and the reflexive/reciprocal t-marker: the stem comes from *intap3il. cf. Hebrew nitpa33el, a variant of the hitpa33el binyan and the Arabic infa3ala binyan.

Binyan 5 conjugation: edygtel 'grow up'
→ Person
↓ Tense
1sg 2sg 3sg 1pl 2pl 3pl
past; conditional nėx edygtel ad/ed edygtel hu/hi edygtel nan edygtel adøm edygtel høm edygtel
past progressive; past subjunctive fidi wedygtel fid wetygtel fė wetygtel finė wetygtel fidøm wetygtel fu wedygtel
present nėx eþygėtel ad/ed edygėtel hu/hi edygėtel nan edygėtel adøm edygėtelu høm edygėtelu
present progressive nėx še weþygdel ad/ed še weþygdel hu/hi še weþygdel nan še weþygdel adøm šu weþygdel høm šu weþygdel
present subjunctive nėx eþygdelan ad/ed eþygdelan hu/hi eþygdelan nan eþygdelan adøm eþygdelun høm eþygdelun
future ėbe hedygtul tėbe hedygtul jėbe hedygtul nėbe hedygtul tėbu hedygtul jėbu hedygtul
perfect li medygtal lax/lex medygtal lau/la medygtal lanė medygtal laxøm medygtal laum medygtal
imperative hedygtel!
active participle meþygdel
passive participle meþygdal
w-form waþygdel
infinitive heþygdul

Binyan 6: dyfaȝel

This binyan comes from the tD-stem (t- with geminate stem) and corresponds directly to the Arabic binyan tafa33ala.

The main meanings of this binyan are:

  • reciprocal or back-and-forth action
  • reaction/back, re-: the most productive modern meaning
    • dy'awer 'to reflect', from aur 'light'
    • dyparkes 'to react', from parkis 'action'
    • dysalem 'to repay', from √s-l-m 'peace, whole'
    • dyȝanė 'to satisfy', from √ȝ-n-j 'distress, need'; probably influenced by a now obsolete meaning 'to answer' of the same root
  • unpredictable change in meaning

The resemblance of this binyan to the very common faȝel binyan has led to the dy- prefix becoming productive, with some semantic overlap with the prefix re- in English.

Binyan 6 conjugation: dytares 'teach'
→ Person
↓ Tense
1sg 2sg 3sg 1pl 2pl 3pl
past; conditional nėx ydytares ad/ed ydytares hu/hi dytares nan dytares adøm dytares høm dytares
past progressive; past subjunctive fiti wydytares fit wydytares fė wydytares finė wydytares fitøm wydytares fu wydytares
present nėx ydytrėres ad/ed ydytrėres hu/hi dytrėres nan dytrėres adøm dytrėres høm dytrėres
present progressive nėx še wydytares ad/ed še wydytares hu/hi še wydytares nan še wydytares adøm šu wydytares høm šu wydytares
present subjunctive nėx ydytaresan ad/ed ydytaresan hu/hi dytaresan nan dytaresan adøm dytaresun høm dytaresun
future ėbe dytarus tėbe dytarus jėbe dytarus nėbe dytarus tėbu dytarus jėbu dytarus
perfect li mødytaras lax/lex mødytaras lau/la mødytaras lanė mødytaras laxøm mødytaras laum mødytaras
imperative dytares!
active participle mødytares
passive participle mødytaras
w-form wydytares
infinitive dytarus

Binyan 7: styfȝel

This binyan comes from the Št-stem and is directly related to the binyan istaf3ala in Arabic and the very rare binyan hishtaf3el in Biblical Hebrew.

Binyan 7 conjugation: styþȝem 'try out'
→ Person
↓ Tense
1sg 2sg 3sg 1pl 2pl 3pl
past; conditional nėx ystyþȝem ad/ed ystyþȝem hu/hi styþȝem nan styþȝem adøm styþȝem høm styþȝem
past progressive; past subjunctive fidi wystyþȝem fid wystyþȝem fė wystyþȝem finė wystyþȝem fidøm wystyþȝem fu wystyþȝem
present nėx ystyþėȝem ad/ed ystyþėȝem hu/hi styþėȝem nan styþėȝem adøm styþėȝem høm styþėȝem
present progressive nėx še wystyþȝem ad/ed še wystyþȝem hu/hi še wystyþȝem nan še wystyþȝem adøm šu wystyþȝem høm šu wystyþȝem
present subjunctive nėx ystyþȝeman ad/ed ystyþȝeman hu/hi styþȝeman nan styþȝeman adøm styþȝemun jystyþȝemun
future ėbe styþȝum tėbe styþȝum jėbe styþȝum nėbe styþȝum tėbu styþȝum jėbu styþȝum
perfect li møstyþȝam lax/lex møstyþȝam lau/la møstyþȝam lanė møstyþȝam laxøm møstyþȝam laum møstyþȝam
imperative - styþȝem! - - styþȝemu! -
active participle møstyþȝem
passive participle møstyþȝam
w-form wystyþȝem
infinitive styþȝum

Concatenative verbs

The concatenative paradigm, analogous to Germanic weak verbs, is formed by adding prefixes and suffixes, without changing the stem. The past and imperative forms are formed by adding -i or -ji to the noun, when no other suffix is added.

It is used for recent loan verbs like maksimezi 'to maximize', but can also be used to derive verbs from native nouns:

  • mydrasi 'to school' (from mydras 'school')
  • daxili 'to consume' (from daxil 'consumption', itself from the root √ʔ-x-l 'to eat')
  • žaxoji 'to entitle, to allow' (from žaxo 'right')
  • ȝeini 'to eye' (from ȝein 'eye')

The endings are mainly derived from Middle Togarmite forms of 3-y verbs.

  • [STEM]-i = active
  • dy-[STEM]-i = re-
  • mø- = active participle
  • -ėt = infinitive
Weak verb conjugation: mydrasi 'to school'
→ Person
↓ Tense
1sg 2sg 3sg 1pl 2pl 3pl
past; conditional nėx ymydrasi ad/ed ymydrasi hu/hi mydrasi nan mydrasi adøm mydrasi høm mydrasi
past progressive; past subjunctive fidi wymydrasi fid wymydrasi fė wymydrasi finė wymydrasi fidøm wymydrasi fu wymydrasi
present nėx ymydrasė ad/ed ymydrasė hu/hi mydrasė nan mydrasė adøm mydrasė høm mydrasė
present progressive yše wymydrasi tyše wymydrasi jyše wymydrasi nyše wymydrasi tyšu wymydrasi jyšu wymydrasi
present subjunctive nėx ymydrasan ad/ed ymydrasan hu/hi mydrasan nan mydrasan adøm mydrasun høm mydrasun
future ėbe mydrasėt tėbe mydrasėt jėbe mydrasėt nėbe mydrasėt tėbu mydrasėt jėbu mydrasėt
perfect li mømydrasa lax/lex mømydrasa lau/la mømydrasa lanė mømydrasa laxøm mømydrasa laum mømydrasa
imperative mydrasi!
active participle mømydrasė
passive participle mømydrasa
w-form wymydrasi
infinitive mydrasėt

fe 'to be'

The verb 'to be' is perhaps the most irregular verb of the language; it displays suppletion and it uses the Proto-Semitic suffix conjugation in the past tense.

fe 'to be'
→ Person
↓ Tense
1sg 2sg 3sg 1pl 2pl 3pl
past; conditional fidi fid finė fidøm fu
past progressive; past subjunctive fidi wyfė fid wyfė fė wyfė finė wyfė fidøm wyfė fu wyfė
present nėx še (or nėx) ad/ed še (or ad/ed) hu/hi še (or hu/hi) nan še (or nan) adøm šu (or adøm) høm šu (or høm)
present progressive yše wyfė tyše wyfė jyše wyfė nyše wyfė tyšu wyfė jyšu wyfė
present subjunctive yfijan tyfijan jyfijan nyfijan tyfijun jyfijun
future ėbe fėt tėbe fėt jėbe fėt nėbe fėt tėbu fėt jėbu fėt
imperative fe!
active participle hėwi
passive participle fuj
w-form wyfė
infinitive fėt

xėl 'can'

xėl 'can'
→ Person
↓ Tense
1sg 2sg 3sg 1pl 2pl 3pl
past; conditional nex yxel ad/ed yxel hu/hi xel nan xel adøm xel høm xel
past subjunctive fiti wėxel fit wėxel fė wėxel finė wėxel fitøm wėxel fu wėxel
present wyxėlti wyxėlt wyxėl wyxėlnė wyxėltøm wyxėlu
present subjunctive nėx yxelan ad/ed yxelan hu/hi xelan nan xelan adøm xelun høm xelun
future ėbe xėl tėbe xėl jėbe xėl nėbe xėl tėbu xėl jėbu xėl
active participle -
passive participle fuj wėxel
w-form wėxel
infinitive xėl

høbė 'should; ought'

høba 'should; ought'
→ Person
↓ Tense
1sg 2sg 3sg 1pl 2pl 3pl
present nėx høbė ad/ed høbė hu/hi høbė nan høbu adøm høbu høm høbu

ryšė 'to want'

ryšė 'to want'
→ Person
↓ Tense
1sg 2sg 3sg 1pl 2pl 3pl
past; conditional yrši tyrši jyrši nyršu tyršu jyršu
past subjunctive hwidi wyrši hwid wyrši hwė wyrši hwinė wyrši hwidøm wyrši hwu wyrši
present nėx ryšė ad/ed ryšė hu/hi ryšė nan ryšu adøm ryšu høm ryšu
future ėbe ryšėþ tėbe ryšėþ jėbe ryšėþ nėbe ryšėþ tėbu ryšėþ jėbu ryšėþ
w-form wyrši
active participle rėši
passive participle myršuj
infinitive ryšėþ

Gzarot

Main article: Togarmite/Gzarot

In Semitic languages, gzarot (Hebrew גְּזָרוֹת‎, sg. gizra גִּזְרָה 'figure, form, pattern') are variations of an inflectional (especially verbal) paradigm that are determined by the choice of consonants in the consonantal root. Thus, a paradigm has not only a regular gizra but various irregular ones, which occur most commonly when

  • the consonantal root contains a "guttural" (ʔ ȝ h) or a semivowel (j w);
  • the consonantal root contains a n, since nC tends to assimilate into CC
  • the consonantal root has 2 letters.

Because Togarmite only uses the prefix conjugation, modern Togarmite gzarot are in some ways less bad than Hebrew gzarot; most of the irregularities occur in binyan fȝøl. However, there are often so many irregularities even within each gizra, and cases of analogy between verbs of different gzarot, that the concept of gzarot in Modern Togarmite has been questioned: in Togarmite, a "gizra" just describes general tendencies of verbs with a certain root consonant.

Prepositions

Some prepositions:

  • in 'in' [from PSem *ina]
  • ly (l before V) 'to'
  • by (b before V) 'by, at'
  • šyto 'out of' (from *śadiy-ah 'to the field')
  • me (men before V) 'from'
  • ȝem 'with'
  • ȝal 'on'
  • lit 'of (possessive)'
  • ȝbar 'over'
  • dad 'under'
  • ardo 'down' (from *ʔarþ-ah "earthward")
  • tarxan 'along'

Syntax of prepositions

Numerals

Cardinal

0: cefry 1: yhat 2: šnein / attributive šnė 3: šlėš (animate šlėšt) 4: yrbaȝ (animate yrbaȝt) 5: hymes (animate hymest) 6: setš (animate setšt) 7: sabȝy (animate sabȝyt) 8: šmėni (animate šmėnt) 9: desȝy (animate desȝyt) 10: ȝašry (animate ȝašryt) 11: ȝašry yhat 12: ȝašry šnein 20: ȝešrin 30: šlėšin 40: yrbȝin 50: hymsin 60: setšin 70: sybȝin 80: šmėnin 90: desȝin 100: me'yt 101: me'yt yhat 200: metein 300: šlėš me'yt 400: yrbaȝ me'yt 1000: alfy 2000: alfein 3000: šlėš alf 1000000: alfun 10^9: bėdfun 10^12: gamfun etc.

Plural numerals usually take plural nouns. They used to take singular nouns, however this is considered archaic.

Numbers ending in digits "3" through "9" (thus ending in šlėš through desȝy), or "10" (thus ending in ȝašry), have two forms depending on the animacy of the noun: hymes myrþemi 'five abacuses', but hymest ahėt 'five sisters'. The animate forms come from the masculine forms (reverse polarity) marked with *-t in Proto-Semitic.

Ordinal

Ordinals are formed using the pattern CCuC; as in English, "1st" and "2nd" are irregular, from elatives *ʔaʕlay- 'topmost' and *ʔaʕqab- 'the immediately following' respectively. In compound numerals, the last number word is inflected to the ordinal form.

  • 1st = yȝlė
  • 2nd = yȝkab
  • 3rd = šluš
  • 4th = rbuȝ
  • 5th = hmus
  • 6th = stuš
  • 7th = sbuȝ
  • 8th = šmun
  • 9th = dsuȝ
  • 10th = ȝšur
  • 11th = ȝašry-yȝlė
  • 12th = ȝašry-yȝkab
  • 13th = ȝašry-šluš

etc.

Fractional

Fractional numerals are formed with the segolate pattern CøCCy (pl. CøCaCi). Compound numerals can be inflected as well, like in the case of ordinal numerals. The analogized form øhty is used for numerals ending in "1".

  • half = gøb (from *gunb- 'side')
  • 3rd = šølšy
  • 4th = røbȝy
  • 11th = ȝašry-øhty

To express "m/n", Togarmite uses "m nths": "2/3" is šnė šølaši.

Syntax

Faulty accusative marker

The faulty accusative marker id is used. It behaves like MSA accusative case and Welsh soft mutation: when there is a constituent separating the verb or predicate from a second constituent, id comes between the two constituents regardless of whether the second constituent is actually a direct object. Example:

  • Halex wyfė li id šlėšt xlabi, wy ȝedo lėš li id nux. = I used to have three dogs, and now I don't have any.
  • Yn tėrest li ryšė li id ȝyšėþ rab damuni beid. = My teacher wants me to do a lot of homework.

Questions

Yes-no questions require the question marker ha to be placed at the beginning of the sentence.

What-questions have a syntax similar to English.

Existentials

The word is used to indicate existence. It is also used with the preposition ly 'to' or the possessive pronouns to indicate possession. The negative of is lėš.

  • Lėš mykėm ėn xøl bašar šaš. = There is no place where everyone is happy.
  • Ha iš lex zman? = Do you (f. sg.) have time?

The particle uses the accusative marker id when the "object" is animate.

Conditional clauses

  • "if" = em
  • "then" =
  • "unless" = lulė

Relative clauses

The relative pronoun xi or žė is used for both relative and complement clauses. It may takes prepositional cases, just like English relative pronouns. The word žė is from PSem *ðā, a form of the demonstrative *ðū; cf. Biblical Hebrew זו zu, Aramaic די .

For relative clauses whose heads are prepositional objects in the relative clause, there are two strategies like in English:

  • In informal Togarmite, the relativizer is treated as a resumptive pronoun which takes the preposition, like English which: Yn gabry ly xi nėx yden yn madan, lit. 'the man to which I gave the gift'. This syntax arose from the influence of surrounding languages like English.
  • In formal Togarmite, the preposition goes to the end of the clause: yn gabry xi nėx yden yn madan ly lit. 'the man which I gave the gift to'. This syntax arose from the native Semitic construction which used a resumptive pronoun on the preposition: after the resumptive pronoun lost the stress, the preposition lost its pronominal suffix and moved to the end of the clause.
  • A combination of both strategies can be used: yn gabry ly xi nėx yden yn madan ly, lit. 'The man to which I gave the gift to'.

Derivation

Noun and adjective patterns

  • CaCCy(t), CeCCy(t), CøCCy(t) = segolates
  • CyCiC = adjective; -able
  • CyCuC = adjective; color
  • CyCaCt, CyCeCt, CyCøCt
  • CaCøCt = describes a condition
  • CyCeCCaC = diminutive
  • myCCaC(t), meCCaC(t), myCCėC: noun, often denoting place
  • maCCaCt = causative version of myCCaC(t)
  • myCCeC(t) = instrument
  • maCCeCt = causative version of myCCeC(t)
  • dyCCuC, dyCCiC, dyCCėC = action or process
  • dyCCøCt = (hypothetical cognate of Hebrew tiCCóCet) = system of things
  • CaCėC = agentive
    • CaCaCt = feminine agentive (not always used)
    • or CaCėC?
  • CaCCan = agentive; -an is an agentive
  • CaCCėn, CeCCėn, and CeCaCėn = nouns, often an augmentative

Affixes

  • -an = forms agentives and adjectives
  • -in = collectives
    • lamusin 'charity'
  • -ud = abstract noun
  • -i = forms adjectives
  • -it = forms adverbs
  • i- = non-, un-
    • ibašari 'incorporeal'
    • iwøxli 'impossible'
  • þarmy- = pre-, not yet
    • þarmy-mynaša 'never married'
  • -yr = someone who is characterized by X (from English)
    • wtuȝyr 'know-it-all', from wtuȝ 'knowledgeable'
  • -ri = -ry (from English)
    • kdėsri = excessive piousness or asceticism, from kdės 'holy'
    • xyl'anri = double standard or hypocrisy, from the agentive xyl'an 'hypocrite' of √x-l-ʔ 'double'
  • auto- = self-
  • e- = a- (from ʔiC-, an assimilated form of the OTog preposition ʔin 'in'); these adjectives can usually only be predicative
    • e'est 'ablaze'
    • etarxy 'away'
    • edal 'galore' (lit. a-mound)
    • emein 'drowned, lost forever', lit. awater
  • -byl = -able (from English -able and native abȝel 'to be able to')

Sample texts

Newton's laws of motion

I: Tbar šėbød by tymi, o by ȝyþėk enomorfy, lulė ytraȝ prėkes ȝal dež.

I: An object stays at rest, or at a constant speed, unless a force acts on it.

II: Yn šanuj in yn dyȝdik lit gaf še mydxøni la øþis yn mødyfacar ȝal yn gaf; wa šanuj kėrė tarxan yn kau yn dykin žė ži øþis še mødyfacar ȝal.

II: The change in the momentum of a body is proportional to the force applied to the body; and the change occurs along the straight line on which that force is applied.

III: Iš ly xøl parkis id dyparkis is w' anteþet.

III: Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

O how quickly the sculpture of life

O! Xma myhirit yn myklaȝ lid yn hein
Šaber in temaša zȝarȝeri!
Yn mygilud lit yn malxy ȝal yn þrøn lau
Še xlilit mygruf etarxy by gali jam.
Adøm xi jėd heno mømancabta hen,
Ȝabry hen Elėh adøm lawani ȝal yn ard.
Xøl lanė møtajan ȝal parkisi lanė;
Dnenė dėt la ȝni, wy agaþeržijėt hat ly wtut.

O how quickly the sculpture of life
Shattered into tiny fragments!
The splendor of the king on his throne
Is completely swept away by sea-waves.
Ye who come hither stationed here,
By the grace of God ye are guests on earth.
All of us are judged according to our actions;
Let us give to the needy, and do charity towards one another.

Stairway To Heaven

Maȝlyt lyn Symeinit
Iš gabryt xi še šur
Xøl xi nėher še žahab
Wy hi še wykna maȝlyt lyn symeinit

UDHR

Xøl ynėsi še mewølati hyruri w' isi in akšoprepja wy žyxawi. Høm še mødyhanani ȝym ložeki wy synidisi wy høbu ly parkus l' otšni in ruh lit ahwud.

all human-PL COP be.born/PASS.PART-PL free-PL and equal-PL in dignity and right-PL. 3PL COP grant/PASS.PART-PL with reason and conscience and ought-3PL to act.VN to one_another in spirit of brotherhood

/xøl ə'nesi ʃɛ mɛvø'lati hə'ruri 'visi in akʃo'prepjan və ʒə'xavi || høm ʃɛ møθəha'nani ɣəm lo'ʒɛki və səni'disi və 'høbu lə 'parkus 'lotʃni in ruh lit 'ahvud/