Śinax Netagin

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Śinax Netagin (ku bric Ntahi Śinax; Naeng fi brits Inthăgin Șinach) is the most widely spoken descendant of Classical Netagin in Tricin; it's spoken in Bjeheond and Raiđluav (especially in Andaegor). It exists in a sprachbund with Nurian, Modern Naeng, Gwnax and other Bjeheondian languages. It has many loans from Classical Netagin in its literary register.

I borrowed Șinach from Irish sionnach 'fox' because Bjeheond has a fox motif. In-universe it comes from Gwnax Si Wnax 'Gwnax town'.

Grammatical changes from Classical Netagin include:

  • SAuxVO word order
  • Loss of grammatical gender and construct state
  • Relative clauses use the gap strategy
  • As a result of Jespersen's cycle, negation uses a negative absolutive marker jėn derived from the Classical connegative determiner de.
  • SEA style serial verbs
  • Emphatic -mik (< miek)
  • Tricons is derivational not inflectional
  • Initial qo, qu, qů → vo, vu, vů

Modern Netagin people usually have Classical Netagin names

Should drop some final consonants like Jewish Babylonian Aramaic (which has qam > qa 'stand' and emar > ema 'say')

Inspiration: "What if Hebrew evolved further in Mainland Southeast Asia"

Lexicon

  • ďaccerabaccera (may be stressed as ďáccera báccera) = unintelligible, 'it's all Greek to me'
Bric ťebari moćel ďáccerabáccera votok. (speech religious come unintelligible all) --- "Religious jargon just all sounds like gobbledygook to me."
  • ťebar: religion
  • źpůb /spub/: (internet slang) lol
    • źxix pkay btuŋ ('laugh immobilize explode') put into transgressive pattern
  • CNtg: Pasek ny meav qi ny ďanaj (animal DET cat and DET dog) 'Cats and dogs are animals)
  • Śinax: Meav i ďnaj kve kbaś (cat and dog that animal)

Phonology

"Classical Netagin become Modern Saigon Vietnamese"

Consonants

  • CNtg r /r/ becomes a uvular approximant [ʁ]
  • ť ď /t d/ become /ʈ~ʈʂ ɖ~ɖʐ/
  • ś ź /ɕ ʑ/ become non-retracted /s z/, while s z become /ʂ ʐ/
  • ć /t͡ɕ/ merges with c /ts(ret)/ into /t͡ɕ/

Vowels

i u ů ė e ă o å a /i ɨ u e ɛ ə o ɔ a/

  • unconditional: u > /ï/, ů > /u/
  • ie = ė = /e/ but ie sometimes > /i/
  • y > /i/, sometimes /ə/

Stress

Stress shift to penult? (to be able to pull a JBA and drop final consonants)

Parts of speech

Pronouns

Șinach Netagin has only one set of pronouns, from the Classical Netagin emphatic pronouns. They do not inflect for case.

1sg 2sg 3sg 1pl 2pl 3pl
animate inanimate
li naj nas ťů nybi nus

Subject pronouns can be omitted when they are clear from context, though Netagin has lost person inflection on verbs. Object pronouns are also much less frequent than in European and Semitic languages. For example, 'Where are you going (walking)?' can be Nů mů dbe? (lit. "thou walk.GO.TELIC where") or Mů dbe? (which can be used for any subject).

Nouns

Like Naeng, Șinach Netagin has definite and specific articles. They're both preposed as in Naeng:

  • definite ku (< kyve 'that')
  • specific di (< dybin 'hither' > 'here')

Plurals are always marked with ŋ-, from the CNtg class C plural ŋy-.

Prepositions

Śinax Netagin often uses motion verbs instead of prepositions. The CNtg oblique preposition my is analyzed as part of prepositions, resulting in many prepositions ending in -m.

Motion verbs

Śinax Netagin has inherited Classical Netagin motion verbs essentially unchanged (though some verbs have been lost); motion verbs are required to say "go", "come", "carry", "take" or "bring", as in Slavic. Śinax Netagin motion verbs use forms inherited from the Classical transgressive or my + verbal noun in some cases.

Meaning Telic, "go" Telic, "come" Atelic, "go" Atelic, "come"
to go by foot, to walk moćel vaććůl vćaćůl
to go with a land vehicle dlůk madlek dalůk dlalůk
to ride, to mount (trans.) pacůj mpacej pcůj pcacůj
to go in xpůŋ maxpeŋ xappůŋ xpapůŋ
to go out bůť mabeť qabbůť babůť
to go up pkůś mapkeś pakkůś pkakůś
to go down
to fall (of precipitation)
śbůď maśbeď śabbůď śbabůď
to run ŋůź maŋeź ŋavvůź ŋvavůź
to swim nhůb manheb nahůb nhahůb
to fly klůl maklel kallůl kaslůl
to float on water
to go with a small boat, to row
nvahůt manvahet vahůt vhahůt
to flow (of a fluid or current) bhůl mabhel bahůl băhahůl
to roll mlůl mamlel mallůl maslůl
to climb ďxůp maďxep ďaxxůp ďxaxůp
to jump bcůc mabcec baccůc bascůc
to crawl zůr mazůr zarzor zăvavor
to fall nmůj manme nammůj nămamůj
to dive, go into water sdůj masde saddůj sdadůj
to carry, bring (on foot) psůŋ mapseŋ passůŋ psasůŋ
to carry, bring (using a vehicle) (trans.) dsůp madsůp dassůp dsasůp
to pull, drag (trans.) kćůl makćel kaćůl kćacůl
to drive (an animal or a vehicle), lead pďů mapďe paďďů pďaďů

Syntax

wh-in-situ unlike CNtg

Li jėn śnaz dav rpaŋ, xambe kve lůť.
1SG NEG obey people other, when that bad
I do not obey others when it's wrong.
Ku kra psasůŋ tpej xpapůŋ ku jaŋ tzyŋpeś.
DEF raven carry.ATEL.come light enter.ATEL.come DEF house narration
The raven brings light into this house of stories.

Derivation

Poetry