Knrawi

Knrawi
knrawi
knrawìguaa, "Knrawi language" in the Wacag script
Pronunciation	[k̠n̩˥ɹɔʍɛ]
Created by	Dillon Hartwig
Date	2020
Setting	Pollasena
Native to	Knrawi Isles
Era	-2000 to -900 MT
Language family	language isolate
Official status
Official language in	Knrawi Empire
Range map of Knrawi (pink) and Soc'ul' (green), c. -1000 MT

Knrawi /kənˈrɑwi/ (standard Knrawi: [k̠n̩˥ɹɔʍɛ]) is a language spoken across the Knrawi Empire, with moderate influence from Soc'ul' and other languages of the Knrawi Isles. It is most likely related to the rest of the central Pre-Knrawi languages, but if so their common ancestor is too distant to reconstruct.

Etymology

Knrawi is autonym of both the language and the Knrawi ethnic group. Its further etymology is not known.

Orthography

Knrawi is written with the Wacag logography. Its romanization is as follows (using Standard Knrawi phonetic values).

Knrawi Romanization

a	c	ch	cj	e	f	fh	fj
/a/	/k̟/	/k̟ʰ/	/k̟ˣ/	[ə]	[ɸ]	[ɸʰ]	[ɸˣ]
g	h	i	j	k	kh	kj	m
/ŋ/	/h/	/ɪ/	/x̠/	/k̠/	/k̠ʰ/	/k̠ˣ/	/m/, [mʷ]
n	p	ph	pj	q	qh	qj	r
/n/	[p]	[pʰ]	[pˣ]	/kʷ/	/kʷʰ/	/kʷˣ/	/ɹ/
s	sh	sj	t	th	tj	u	v
/x̟/	/x̟ʰ/	/x̟ˣ/	/t/	/tʰ/	/tˣ/	/ʊ/	[β̞]
w	y	z	zh	zj	á	à	â
/ʍ/	/ɉ/	/θ/	/θʰ/	/θˣ/	/a˥/	/a˩/	/a˥˩/

High tone in unmarked on a word's first vowel.

Phonology

For notable regional phonologies see also Knrawi IPA keys.

Consonants

Consonants

		Labial		Alveolar		Prevelar		Postvelar		Labialized velar		Glottal
Nasal		m	(mʷ)	(n̪)	n	(n̠) (ŋ̟)	ŋ		(ŋ̠)	(ŋʷ)
Stop	Plain	(p)		t		k̟		k̠		kʷ
	Aspirated	(pʰ)	(pˣ)	tʰ	tˣ	k̟ʰ	k̟ˣ	k̠ʰ	k̠ˣ	kʷʰ	kʷˣ
Fricative	Plain	(ɸ)	(β)	θ	(ð)	x̟	(ʒ)	x̠
	Aspirated	(ɸʰ)	(ɸˣ)	θʰ	θˣ	x̟ʰ	x̟ˣ					h
Approximant		(β̞)		ɹ		(j)	ɉ			(w)	ʍ	(ʔ̞)

• All sonorants can be syllabic.
  • Syllabic [β̞] and /ɉ/ are fricated in most regions and in standard and Royal Knrawi.
  • In some regions and in standard (but not Royal) Knrawi all sonorants are syllabified before consonants or word boundaries except before syllabic vowels/consonants.
• Alveolar consonants become bilabial adjacent to /m/, /ʊ/, and labialized consonants.
  • /n/ becomes what is notated here as [mʷ], but is merged into [m] in most regions and in standard Knrawi.
• In most regions /k̟ˣ/ and /x̟ˣ/ are realized as [t͡ʃˣ] and [ʃˣ].
• In most regions and standard (but not Royal) Knrawi /ŋ/ assimilates to following velar consonants, and /n/ assimilates to following dental and postalveolar consonants.
• In standard Knrawi both also assimilate to preceding consonants.
• /ɪ/, /ʊ/, and /a/ are realized as [j], [w], and [ʔ̞] postvocalically.
  • In some regions this also applies across word boundaries.
• The conditions for approximants (not including non-syllabic vowels) being fortified to fricatives varies by region.
  • In standard Knrawi they are fortified on word boundaries and after nonsyllabic vowels.
  • In Royal Knrawi fortition does not occur except in syllabic [β̞] and /ɉ/ which are realized as [β̍] and [ɣ̍].
• [β̞] and [w] (but not [β]) are merged in most regions and in standard (but not Royal) Knrawi.
  • In standard Knrawi the merged value is [w].
• In some regions,
  • Bilabial fricatives are realized as labiodental.
  • Alveolar consonants are realized as dental or vice versa.
  • Prevelar stops and fricatives (or only aspirated ones) are realized as postalveolar affricates and fricatives.
    • In fewer of these regions /ŋ/ assimilates to following postalveolar consonants as [n̠], merging with /n/.
  • Prevelar stops and fricatives are realized as velar before other prevelar consonants, and postalveolar affricates and fricatives otherwise.
  • Prevelar and postvelar consonants are realized as palatal and velar, postalveolar (as above) and velar, or velar and uvular.
    • Royal Knrawi realizes prevelar and postvelar consonants as velar and uvular.
  • [j] and [ɉ] are merged.
  • /m/ and [mʷ] are realized as [ŋʷ] and [m]; this is the realization in Royal Knrawi.
  • non-labial /ɹ/ is realized as [l] or [r].
  • /ʍ/ is realized as [xʷ], [hʷ], [ɸʷ], [w], or others.
  • [h] is realized as [ɦ] or [∅].
  • [ʔ̞] is realized as [ʔ], [ɦ], or [∅].
  • Geminated sonorants are glottalized, generally with creaky voice.

Vowels

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
High	ɪ		ʊ
Mid		(ə)
Low mid	(ɛ)		(ɔ)
Low	a

• [ɛ] and [ɔ] are unstressed allophones of /ɪ/ or /a/ and /ʊ/ or /a/ respectively.
  • Vowel reduction is inconsistent and often absent in ideophones.
  • The conditions in which unstressed /a/ becomes [ɛ] or [ɔ] varies by region.
    • In standard Knrawi [ɛ] is the realization adjacent to coronal and glottal consonants or when the previous vowel is [ɔ], and [ɔ] is the realization otherwise.
    • In Royal Knrawi unstressed /a/ is instead realized as [ə] in all environments.
• /ɪ/, /ʊ/, and /a/ are realized as [j], [w], and [ʔ̞] postvocalically.
  • In most regions and in standard and Royal Knrawi this does not apply after syllabic consonants.
  • In some regions this also applies across word boundaries.
• Epenthetic [ə] is placed between
  • voiceless consonants and /h/ or /x̠/ (except /hh/ and /x̠x̠/).
  • aspirated consonants and non-nasal consonants.
  • C₁CC₁, #CC₁, and C₁C# clusters with C₁ being less sonorous than C (unless C is syllabic).
    • Roots with only epenthetic vowels can only have high lexical tone.
• In some regions,
  • Unstressed /ɪ/ and /ʊ/ are realized as [e] and [o] (with /a/ still having [ɛ] and [ɔ] realizations).
  • Stressed /ɪ/ and /ʊ/ are realized as [i] and [u] or [ə] and [u].
  • [ɛ] and [ɔ] are realized as [e̞] and [o̞].

Pitch accent

Tones

High	Low	Falling
˥	˩	˥˩

• Some regions also have a separate grammatical low falling tone and realize the falling tone as high falling, see Nouns and pronouns.
• Roots with only epenthetic vowels can only have high lexical tone.

Only a word's stressed syllable bears tone; other syllables' pitch depends on intonation.

Lexical falling tone in native words is rare, but grammatical falling tone is more common.

Prosody

Stress

Stress is root-final in native verbs, root-initial in native nouns, and variable in all other words but tending toward root-initial.

Most affixes shift stress by one syllable toward them, and due to this most words have mobile stress.

Intonation

Declarative sentences generally have a falling pitch throughout, but volume and pitch range can be used for emphasis.

In questions the particle wuj and/or the demonstrative wi (and other relative/interrogative demonstratives) may also be emphasized with a sharp falling pitch followed by higher pitch in the following word.

Rhythm

Syllables are generally mora-timed, with syllables before non-syllabic vowels having two morae; in some recitation traditions, stressed syllables have one extra mora.

Phonotactics

Syllables are at most (C(C₁))V((C₁)C), with C₁ being more sonorous than the adjacent consonant and syllabic consonants functioning as V.

Clusters with syllabic consonants are as onset-heavy as possible unless a stress shift occurs; an exception is some regions in which two-sonorant clusters syllabify the first sonorant unless following a syllabic vowel/consonant.

In most regions (but not Royal Knrawi) syllabicity is lost next to vowels unless a stress shift occurs.

Morphology

Alignment

Knrawi has nominative-accusative morphosyntactic alignment. In some regions relative clauses have ergative-absolutive morphosyntactic alignment, and in some others some verbs (generally inherently passive or non-volitive verbs, but varying within these regions) always have ergative-absolutive morphosyntactic alignment; for both of these accusative and locative marking act as absolutive and ergative marking respectively, with true locatives being disambiguated by adpositions.

First and third person

First and third person are treated as the same category; where disambiguation is needed, an unstressed form of it "head" is used as a first-person marker after the relevant verb or possessive.

Compounding

Compounding is frequent and very productive, but in most words is limited to two roots. Stress in ad hoc compounds shifts left from the last word's original stress, but in many older compounds is either initial or final as a non-compound word of the same part of speech, or have irregular stress.

In some regions productive compounds are not limited to two roots, instead either being limited to three or having no limit.

Nouns and pronouns

Nouns are marked for case, portion, and definiteness/number.

Noun affixes

	SGV	PTV
NOM/DAT	-g	-ri
ACC	∅	zi-
LOC	sg -g	sr -ri

• Sg and sr bear the same tone as their noun.
• In some regions, sg and sr
  • Bear high stress when an adposition is present.
  • Are unused when an adposition is present.

As in Soc'ul', plurality and indefiniteness are treated as one category, and in words with modifiable tone it is marked with low tone.

The genitive case is affixed as if accusative, and in words with modifiable tone is marked with falling tone. This tone takes priority over lexical or grammatical low tone, except in some regions where the two (and/or combined lexical and grammatical falling tone) combine into a low falling tone.

All native proper nouns and most other proper nouns bear plural tone.

Pronouns

Pronouns do not exist independently (except see First and third person and Possession); the person of dropped nouns are instead only shown through verb agreement.

The demonstrative shir and relative/interrogative demonstrative wi can also be used as pronouns.

Possession

Possession is marked with the genitive case plus rn̂ and jîi following the possessed noun for first/third-person and second-person possessors respectively. These markers are optional with sufficient context.

In some regions rn̂ and jîi are instead high-tone rn and jii, or bear the possessor's tone; the Royal Knrawi forms are tone-assimilating.

Verbs

Verbs agree in person with both agent and patient, and mark aspect and mood.

Verb inflections

		IND	SUBJ	IMP	JUS
1/3	>1/3	∅	-ha		hu
	>2	-aj	-j		ju -j
2	>1/3	m-	yi-	hu
	>2	sr-	y-	y- yu

• Subjunctive mood is often also used for future marking.
• Hu, ju, and yu bear the verb's tone.
• Jussive and imperative hu precede and follow their verb respectively, and dative nouns must be placed between jussive hu and the verb.

In verbs with modifiable tone imperfective aspect is marked with falling tone; in some regions verbs with modifiable lexical low tone are instead marked with low falling tone.

Verbs are passivized with a preceding particle r which bears the verb's tone; in most regions and in standard Knrawi r precedes jussive hu, but in some regions and in Royal Knrawi directly precedes the verb, and in some regions passivization is instead marked with passive copulae.

Infinitive and relative verbs are marked with i-, iterative/durative verbs are marked with -qm (in some regions and in standard Knrawi directly after the verb root, and in other regions after other suffixes, and in Royal Knrawi instead a separated following particle qm), and abilitative and conditional verbs are marked with a preceding particle nĝ.

Questions are marked with a particle wuj at either the beginning or end (as in standard and Royal Knrawi) of the clause. See also Pronouns.

Copula

The copula su inflects as follows.

Copulae

				FIN								INF/REL
				PFV				IPFV				PFV				IPFV
				IND	SUBJ	IMP	JUS	IND	SUBJ	IMP	JUS	IND	SUBJ	IMP	JUS	IND	SUBJ	IMP	JUS
ACT		1/3	>1/3	su	suh		hus	sû	sûh		hûs	isu	isuh		ihus	îsu	îsuh		îhus
			>2	saj	suj		sjuj	sâj	sûj		sjûj	isaj	isuj		isjuj	îsaj	îsuj		îsjuj
		2	>1/3	ms	yis	suhú		m̂s	yîs	suhû		ims	iis	isúhu		îms	îis	isûhu
			>2	srs	ys	ysú		sr̂s	ŷs	ysû		isrs	is	isu		îsrs	îs	îsu
PASS		1/3	>1/3	vù	vùh		hùv	ràj	vùj		jvùj	mv̀	yìr		vuhù	sr̀	yr̀		yvù
			>2	vû	vûh		hûv	râj	vûj		jvûj	mv̂	yîr		vuhû	sr̂	yr̂		yvû
		2	>1/3	rìu	rìuh	hùvi		rìaj	rìuj	jrìuj		mvì	yìri	riùhu		srì	yrì	yrìu
			>2	rîu	rîuh	hîuv		rîaj	rîuj	jrîuj		mvî	yîri	riûhu		srî	yrî	yrîu
ITER/DUR	ACT	1/3	>1/3	suq	suqh		husq	saqj	suqj		sjuqj	msq	yisq		suhúq	srsq	ysq		ysúq
			>2	sûq	sûqh		hûsq	sâqj	sûqj		sjûqj	m̂sq	yîsq		suhûq	sr̂sq	ŷsq		ysûq
		2	>1/3	isuq	isuqh	ihusq		isaqj	isuqj	isjuqj		imsq	iisq	isúhuq		isrsq	isq	isuq
			>2	îsuq	îsuqh	îhusq		îsaqj	îsuqj	îsjuqj		îmsq	îisq	isûhuq		îsrsq	îsq	îsuq
	PASS	1/3	>1/3	vùq	vùqh		hùvq	ràqj	vùqj		jvùqj	mv̀q	yìvq		vuhùq	sv̀q	yv̀q		yvùq
			>2	vûq	vûqh		hûvq	râqj	vûqj		jvûqj	mv̂q	yîvq		vuhûq	sv̂q	yv̂q		yvûq
		2	>1/3	rìuq	rìuqh	huvìq		rìaqj	rìuqj	jrìuqj		mvìq	yìriq	riùhuq		srìq	yrìq	yrìuq
			>2	rîuq	rîuqh	huvîq		rîaqj	rîuqj	jrîuqj		mvîq	yîriq	riûhuq		srîq	yrîq	yrîuq

• In some regions,
  • The passive forms of the copula are instead high-tone.
  • The passive imperfective forms of the copula are instead low falling-tone.

Adpositions are often affixed to the copula, and "to have" and "to become" are formed by prefixing riq/vuq and suffixing khuy/jiyu respectively.

Serial verbs

Verbs are often serialized in non-formal speech, in which the verbs' agreement marking may or may not match. In most serial verbs the components are compounded when possible but retain their meaning when separated.

Aspect-mood marking and preceding particles are applied to the first verb in the serialization. Following particles are applied after either the first (as in most regions) or last verb (as in some regions and standard and Royal Knrawi).

Serialization is especially common when the first verb is an intransitive or sensory verb.

Adjectives and adverbs

Adjectives and adverbs do not take any marking, and are generally compounded with the word they modify when possible unless emphasized.

Adverbs are not their own class of words, but are derived from other parts of speech (see Part-of-speech modifiers).

Comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs are formed by placing the second compared word after with the preposition srai; in some regions khuy and jiyu (for first/third and second person respectively) are used in place of srai, either as a preposition or a postposition. See also (see Reduplication).

Adpositions

All locative adpositions are prepositions except sjer/nari "with"; sjer/nariand all lative adpositions are postpositions. Prepositions follow the locative particle (see Nouns and pronouns), and in most regions (but not in Royal Knrawi) riq/vuq "at" is only used for emphasis.

All unaffixed adpositions bear the tone of the word they modify, and adpositions can be affixed to verbs (see also Copula).

Most adpositions have suppletive forms for first/third- and second-person (when affixed to verbs, agreeing with the verb's patient), but in some regions the second-person forms are either unused outside of verbs or absent entirely.

Numerals

Knrawi uses base-24 numerals.

Numerals

1	2	3	4	5	6
tì	qûat	càvu	shuga	kaau	fùch
7	8	9	10	11	12
m̀vis	khain	kàtiu	huc	chaua	ycham
13	14	15	16	17	18
tìm	quâpm	cavùm	shugám	kaáum	fuchm̀
19	20	21	22	23	24
mvìsm	khaímm	katìum	hucḿ	chaúam	ychámm
25	48	576	13,824	331,776
ychámm hn tì	qûat ychámm	sûign	suîgmm	ychámm suîgmm

Number marking is optional when using numerals.

Negation

All negation is marked with hàr. Hàr cannot precede its clause's verb, so negated nouns and adjectives must be backed.

Prohibitive sentences instead use hàj.

Evidentiality

Clauses are marked for evidence by verb affixes or clause-final particles which bear the verb's tone (or both in the case of i- az).

There are six non-reportative evidentials: visual witness i-, auditory witness ya-, nonvisual/auditory witness -g, certain inferred pwi, uncertain inferred su, and direct participation i- az. The dubitative particle muai (bearing the verb's tone) can also take the place of a clause's evidential.

Clauses with gnomic, imperative, and jussive verbs are unmarked.

Reportative evidentials

Reportative clauses are marked with -tj unless the source person is the speaker or listener, closely related to the speaker, divine (especially a god or god-king), or well-known by the speaker, where particles bearing the verb's tone are used.

Speaker and listener sources use tjaq and tjer respectively. Closely related source particles mark generation relative to the speaker: tjim for sources one or more generations younger, tjaa for sources of the same generation, pjugi for sources one generation older, and tjew for sources two or more generations older; divine sources also use tjew. Well-known, non-closely/directly related sources use pjuiu. In some regions pjuiu can also be used for sources well-known to the listener.

Derivational morphology

Part-of-speech modifiers

Nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs are derived with gu-, -kej, mau-, and -jr respectively.

Agentive nouns are derived either from gu- or guqa-; in some regions guqa- is instead a suffix -guqa.

Causative wai (bearing the modified word's tone) can be applied before any part of speech. It is also used with some verbs as a non-shifting prefix wai- to derive new meanings; in some regions wai- is used on all verbs instead of particle wai, and in some of those regions may be stress-shifting.

Reduplication

Most words (other than nouns and conjunctions, but including some particles) can be fully reduplicated after the word for augmented or intensified meaning. In verbs this can also mark a contrastive meaning, and in adjectives and adverbs it can also mark a comparative or superlative meaning when the thing being compared to is absent in the sentence.

The reduplicated word comes after any particles that would otherwise be directly after the word. Reduplicated verbs only mark agreement on the first verb, and in some regions reduplicated only have any marking of the first component.

Triplication is also used by some speakers for further augmentation/intensification, but this is not considered standard.

Syntax

Constituent order

Word order is flexible with sufficient marking or context, but SOV order is most common in the western Knrawi Isles and VSO order is most common in the eastern Knrawi Isles.

Noun and verb phrases

All modifiers follow their head noun or verb if not affixed, except some particles. Generally numerators follow adjectives and possessors follow all other modifiers, but otherwise modifier order is flexible.

Dependent clauses

Dependent clauses follow the head they modify after all other dependents, and their head noun is often backed to the end of its clause.

Example texts

Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 1

Thaágg jua r yamúszaq hn r azjnázaq wuicsjḿjr hn r zauákejr. Gufḿqhvi hn guwúiri r̀ iaràm, quatîtg hu qakhúy sugkúkujr.

Thaag-g

person-NOM

jua

all

r

PASS

yamús-zaq

free-bear

hn

and

r

PASS

azjna-zaq

equal-bear

wuícsjm-jr

dignified-ADVZ

hn

and

r

PASS

zauak-jr.

own-ADVZ

Thaag-g jua r yamús-zaq hn r azjna-zaq {wuícsjm}-jr hn r zauak-jr.

person-NOM all PASS free-bear and PASS equal-bear dignified-ADVZ and PASS own-ADVZ

Gu-fmqh-ri

NZ-think-NOM.PTV

hn

and

gu-wui-ri

NZ-good-NOM.PTV

r̀

PASS

iaràm,

give

quatît-g

RECP-NZ

hu

JUS.3>3

qa-khuy

do-toward

sug-kuku-jr.

brother-way-ADVZ

Gu-fmqh-ri hn gu-wui-ri r̀ iaràm, quatît-g hu qa-khuy sug-kuku-jr.

NZ-think-NOM.PTV and NZ-good-NOM.PTV PASS give RECP-NZ JUS.3>3 do-toward brother-way-ADVZ

Linguifex-hosted translations

• Translated works in Knrawi
• Knrawi/Test Case Sentences

Conlang Atlas of Language Structures-hosted translations

• CALS translations

Other resources

CALS