Yacavestu

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Yacavestub/Lexicon

Yacavestub is a head-final ("Altaic") agglutinative language spoken in Eastern Talma and Northern Etalocin, and is an official language of Quelocin (!werotunub in Yacavestub, from the !Zoom name tkwe) alongside Clofabosin. It's inspired aesthetically by drug names (cf. Clofabosin), Zulu, Welsh, and Estonian. It has clicks from !Zoom. It is an isolate, though some believe it is related to Idavic.

Yal eŋcuvil g!ifam herazu vestazad. = Methavir nalaminyl mekerylide ester axoram.

Todo

  • reduplication
  • -mad (e.g. ololirmad)
  • -vab
  • -mob
  • -al
  • -am
  • -xab
  • -mob
  • -zob?
  • -ub
  • -ode
  • rotunu = 'world'
  • elir = 'one'

Panzux should be Yaca

Phonology

Consonants

m n ŋ p t ʈ k b d g f s h v z l ɬ r r(voiceless) j m n ŋ p t th c b d g f s h v z l hl r hr y

clicks: @ g@ ! g! | g| || g||

(/ks/ is written x.)

Word final l may be retroflexed to /ɭ/ or even lenited to /ɻ/. The lateral fricative /ɬ/ may be a palatal lateral fricative or even a palatal central fricative /ç/ depending on dialect. In those dialects the lateral click is also realized as a palatal click.

/d/ is often retroflex.

Vowels

Yacavestu vowels
Front Central Back
Close i, y /i/ u /u/
Mid e /e/ o /o/
Open a /a/

Morphology

Nouns

Case suffixes

  • -b: (definite)
  • -vab: definite accusative suffix
  • -am, -bam: genitive
  • -zod, -bazod: at, in
  • -amp, -bamp: to
  • -vil, -bavil: from

Suffixaufnahme

Definiteness and possession

Nouns take a suffix for definiteness. Possessive suffixes are added directly to the noun for inalienable possession, and to the classifier for alienable possession.

vestu - 'language'
Number→
State↓
Singular Plural
Indefinite vestu vestil
Definite vestub vestilab
1sg possessor vestel vestilel
2sg possessor vestud vestilud
3sg possessor vestun vestilun
1pl possessor vestelax vestilelax
2pl possessor vestudax vestiludax
3pl possessor vestunax vestilunax

Verbs

Unlike in Clofabosin, Yacavestub verbs come in many different conjugations.

The subjunctive comes from a historical *hu.

Active verbs: -zad, subjunctive -zathu

Stative verbs: -rub, subjunctive -rugu

Verbs of motion: -thol, subjunctive -tholu

question particle: -bi, as in tritholubi? (is he coming?)

Usage

Yacavestub doesn't use personal pronouns as commonly as Clofabosin; verbs of motion, titles, names or kinship terms are generally used.