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Wistanian (view source)

Revision as of 00:52, 2 May 2018

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Fixed my nominal and verbal morpho. I'll be back to fix the rest soon....
m (Fixed my phono section. Will be back soon to fix everything else.)
m (Fixed my nominal and verbal morpho. I'll be back to fix the rest soon....)
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===Stress===
===Stress===


Stress typically lands on the heaviest syllable (aɪ/e > i/ɯ/ɑ > ə). However, several words break these rules, as /i/ can become an unstressed [ɪ], and /ə/ can become a stressed [a].
Stress usually falls on the first non-lax vowel (/ai̯/, /i/, /e/, /a/, /ɯ/, or /ɑ/). The only issue with this is where the vowels /i/ and /a/ come into place since you must know whether or not those sounds are the stressed /i/ or /a/ or the lax [ɪ] or [ə]. A prime example is between the words '''''viman''''' and '''''viman''''', which are spelled identically. When stress is on the /i/ as in [ˈvimən], the word means “sugar”, but when stress is on the /a/ as in [vɪˈman], the word means “sky.” Stress is realized through vowel lengthening, as is explained in more detail
 


===Prosody===
===Prosody===
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Wistanian employs its own script, but it is romanized with a system that reflects the script and its spellings. The romanization rules are as follows:
Wistanian employs its own script, but it is romanized with a system that reflects the script and its spellings. The romanization rules are as follows:


# '''m, n, b, d, g, v, z, w,''' and '''l''' are represented with their IPA symbol.
* /m/, /n/, /b/, /d/, /g/, /v/, /z/, and /l/ are represented with the corresponding IPA symbol.
# '''p, t,''' and '''k''' are represented by ''bb'', ''dd'', and ''gg'', respectively.
* /p/, /t/, and /k/ are represented by ⟨bb⟩, ⟨dd⟩, and ⟨gg⟩, respectively.
# '''ʒ, ɦ, ɾ,''' and '''j''' are represented by ''j'', ''h'', ''r'', and ''y'', respectively.  
* /ʒ/, /ɦ/, /ɾ~r/, /w~βʷ/ and /j/ are represented by ⟨j⟩, ⟨h⟩, ⟨r⟩, ⟨w⟩, and ⟨y⟩, respectively.  
# '''ɯ''' is represented by ''u''.
* /ɯ/ and [u] are represented by ⟨u⟩.
# '''ə''' and '''a''' are represented by ''a''.
* /a/ and [ə] are represented by ⟨a⟩.
# '''i''' and '''ɪ''' are represented by ''i''.
* /i/ and [ɪ] are represented by ⟨i⟩.
# '''aɪ''' is represented by ''i'', but is often written ''ii'' or an underlined ''i''.
* /ai̯/ is represented by ⟨i⟩, but is sometimes written as ⟨ii⟩.
# '''e''' is represented by ''aa''.
* /e/ is represented by ⟨aa⟩.
# '''ɑ''' is represetned by ''au''.
* /ɑ/ and [ɒ] is represetned by ⟨au⟩.


===Script===
===Script===


[[File:Slide1.PNG|thumbnail|left|250px|The Wistanian script.]] Wistanian has an alphabet which represents the different sounds in Wistanian. The alphabet was inspired by Latin, IPA, and Greek, but is often described as Armenian-looking. The script was also designed to reflect the shapes of dishes and eating utensils, as the Taliv and Nati used tables of dishes and pots to convey secret messages.  
[[File:Slide1.PNG|thumbnail|left|250px|The Wistanian script.]] Wistanian has an alphabet which represents the different sounds in Wistanian. The alphabet was inspired by Latin, IPA, and Greek, but is often described as Armenian-looking.  


Another interesting feature of the script is "compound glyphs." They are /k/, /t/, /p/, /e/, and /ɑ/, and they are made by doubling or combining two different glyphs together. This is why the romanization of Wistanian uses '''''gg''''' for /k/, '''''au''''' for /ɑ/, as well as the other digraphs.
The script, often referred to as '''''araman taliv vahigza''''' (lit. "dishes of the Taliv) began its evolution during the Diwa oppression when the Taliv people were secretly plotting escape by setting their dishes outside their homes in certain orders to convey messages. After their escape and resettlement on the Wistanian island, the dishes gave form to the written language.
 
Another interesting feature of the script is "compound glyphs." They are /k/, /t/, /p/, /e/, and /ɑ/, and they are made by doubling or combining two different glyphs together. This is why the romanization of Wistanian uses ⟨gg⟩ for /k/, ⟨au⟩ for /ɑ/, as well as the other digraphs.


Like the lexicon and grammar, Daly redesigned the Wistanian script multiple times - three, to be exact. The original script was an alphabet, but it did not capture the "spirit" of Wistanian, so it was scrapped for an abugida. The abugida, which was beautiful, was also difficult to learn and write, prompting yet another redesign. The original design is now considered as the old Bolotil alphabet, while the abugida is an alternative script used by the Nati.
Like the lexicon and grammar, Daly redesigned the Wistanian script multiple times - three, to be exact. The original script was an alphabet, but it did not capture the "spirit" of Wistanian, so it was scrapped for an abugida. The abugida, which was beautiful, was also difficult to learn and write, prompting yet another redesign. The original design is now considered as the old Bolotil alphabet, while the abugida is an alternative script used by the Nati.
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===Word Order===
===Word Order===


Wistanian has Verb-Subject-Object word order (imperatives are VOS), modifiers that follow their head (except for possessive pronouns, numbers, and colors), post-positional spatial suffixes, and non-spatial prepositions. Modifier phrases will usually come at the beginning or end of the sentence. Auxiliary verbs come before transitive verbs, but sometimes after the subject, if the verb is intransitive.
Wistanian has Verb-Subject-Object word order ([[Imperative Sentences|imperatives]] are VOS), modifiers that follow their head (except for possessive pronouns, numbers, and colors), post-positional suffixes, and particles that come before their head. Modifier phrases will usually come at the beginning or end of the sentence.


''gaura navu miramwi miz ilam din aanaulaman garani ggaun zi vaumu.''<br>
'''gaun azavyi ravu miramwi daz ilam aa din naulam ggarauni da zi maumu.'''
"The young man is quickly carrying three large melons to the market for his mother."
gaun    azavi-i  ravu miram-wi  daz ilam  aa  din  naulam ggarauni da  zi      maumu.
PFV.PST carry-TEL fast store-LAT man young ACC three melon  large    BEN 3Sa.POSS mother.
"The young man quickly carried three large melons to the store for his mother."
*carried fast store to man young three melons large for his mother.


{| " cellspacing="10"
|-
| ''gaura''  || ''navu''  || ''miram-wi''  || ''miz''  || ''ilam'' || ''din''  || ''aa-naulam-an''  || ''garani'' || ''ggaun'' || ''zi'' || ''vaumu''
|-
| carrying  || fast  || store-toward  || man  || young  || three  || ACC-melon-PL || large || for || 3SG.POSS || mother.
|}


===Questions===
===Questions===


Questions will typically follow the same syntactic pattern as declarative sentences, except with rising intonation. Typically, Yes/No questions will consist of a statement followed by '''''zaun'''''/'''''baun''''' (Yes/No). "Who/What/When/Where/Why" questions will either follow the same declarative-question word pattern, or include a question particle as the object.
Questions will typically follow the same syntactic pattern as declarative sentences, except with rising intonation. Typically, Yes/No questions will consist of a statement followed by '''''zau'''''/'''''baun''''' (Yes/No). "Who/What/When/Where/Why" questions will either follow the same declarative-question word pattern, or include a question particle as the object.


'''''rol magiyn va. zo?'''''<br />
'''raul magin va. zau?'''
<code><nowiki>red table PRS.COP. yes?</nowiki></code><br />
table REL.has red. yes?
"Is the table red?”
"Is the table red?”


'''''rol magiyn va. ari?'''''<br />
'''rol magiyn va. ari?'''
<code><nowiki>red table PRS.COP. why?</nowiki></code><br />
table REL.has red. why?
“Why is the table red?”
“Why is the table red?”


'''''luva zon?'''''<br />
'''luva zaun?'''
<code><nowiki>2SG-PRS.COP who?</nowiki></code><br />
2S.NOM-COP who?
“Who are you?”
“Who are you?”


There is no Wistanian equivalent to "how," usually being replaced by "what" or "what method". ("How are you?" is literally translated "What are you?")
There is no Wistanian equivalent to the English "how," usually being replaced by "what" or "what method".


==Morphology==
==Morphology==
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===Nouns===
===Nouns===


Nouns are fairly regular with only one case marking, the accusative prefix, '''''aa-''''', which is attached to every direct object to distinguish it from the subject.
Wistanian nouns come in three classes: proper, improper, and pronouns. Proper nouns refer to names of people or places ("Wistania", "Alija"), while improper nouns refer to generic terms (e.g., "country", "man"), and pronouns refer to substitute words for other nouns and noun phrases. Proper nouns are never inflected, however, improper nouns can be inflected for number and position, be compounded, or undergo derivational morphology to become a verb or modifier. Pronouns can take on more inflections than improper nouns.
 
====Number====


Pronouns, on the other hand, are highly variable, with different forms of the nominative, accusative, possessive, reflexive, and prepositional cases in five persons (1st, 2nd, 3rd animate, 3rd inanimate, and 3rd spiritual) and two numbers (singular and plural). For the third animate and spiritual, the nominative and accusative pronouns are the same, resulting in 46 unique pronouns in all.
Wistanian has three grammatical numbers: singular, paucal, and plural. Proper nouns do not inflect for number at all, improper nouns only distinguish between paucal and plural, while pronouns only distinguish singular and plural. This unique distinction arose as a result of Middle Taliv, which had a singular/paucal/plural distinction, then merged the paucal and singular before it transitioned to New Taliv. The pronouns, however, maintained the singular/paucal/plural distinction, then later lost the paucal, resulting in a singular/plural distinction in pronouns.


Nouns do take on a plural suffix, '''''-(a)n'''''), and a negating suffix ('''''bau(n)-''''') which can apply to any word in Wistanian.  
====Location====
 
Nouns distinguish ten locative cases, all of which come from the Nati language and were adopted into the Taliv language during the pidgin era:
 
{| class="wikitable"
! style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;" | Inessive
| style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;" | -ddal
| style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;" | ujadiddal
| style="text-align: center;" | "in the house"
|-
! style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;" | Elative
| style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;" | -al
| style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;" | ujadyal
| style="text-align: center;" | "outside the house"
|-
! style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;" | Lative/Dative
| style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;" | -wi
| style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;" | ujadiwi
| style="text-align: center;" | "to/toward the house"
|-
! style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;" | Ablative
| style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;" | -igza
| style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;" | ujadyigza
| style="text-align: center;" | "(away) from the house"
|-
! style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;" | Adessive/Genitive
| style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;" | -nuz
| style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;" | ujadinuz
| style="text-align: center;" | "near/of the house"
|-
! style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;" | Distantive
| style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;" | -bin
| style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;" | ujadibin
| style="text-align: center;" | "far from the house"
|-
! style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;" | Superessive
| style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;" | -jazid
| style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;" | ujadijazid
| style="text-align: center;" | "above/over the house"
|-
! style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;" | Subessive
| style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;" | -bbaggu
| style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;" | ujadibbaggu
| style="text-align: center;" | "below/under the house"
|-
! style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;" | Antessive
| style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;" | ?
| style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;" | ?
| style="text-align: center;" | "before/left of the house"
|-
! style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;" | Postessive
| style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;" | ?
| style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;" | ?
| style="text-align: center;" | "after/right of the house"
|}
 
''?'' indicates that a term for the particular case has not been decided upon.
 
Once a noun takes on a locative case, it is treated as a modifier, coming immediately after its head. However, it can still be given modifiers of its own that may intervene between the locative and its head. In this case, locative nouns take on their own group, alongside subject nouns and object nouns.
 
'''buda yau yi ujadiwi ujan.'''
buda    yau    yi      ujadi-wi  ujan.
walking 1S.NOM 1S.POSS house-LAT green.
"I am walking to my green house."


===Verbs===
===Verbs===


Verbs are also highly regular taking on no inflectional morphology at all. Instead, they rely on particles to determine tense (past, present, future) and aspect (imperfective, perfective, gnomic). The default verb (no particles) is in the imperfective aspect and present mood.
Verbs only conjugate four lexical aspects. There is no tense, but it is rather expressed through context and other modifier phrases. Only the irrealis mood is conjugated to the verb, while other moods are expressed through modifiers and context. Verbs do not compound with any other part of speech.
 
===Aspect===
 
The Wistanian understanding of aspect is different than what one will find in most natural languages. Rather than conjugating for grammatical aspect, Wistanian conjugates for ''lexical aspect''. In other words, the very definition of a verb may change based on its conjugation.
 
The four lexical aspects are: Stative (<code>STA</code>), Durative (<code>DUR</code>), Telic (<code>TEL</code>) and Atelic (<code>ATEL</code>).
 
* '''Stative verbs''' (<code>STA</code>) describe a situation or action that is unchanging over a long period of time. Stative verbs do not describe temporary actions, but rather the result of a temporary action or a series of temporary actions that identify the subject.
* '''Durative verbs''' (<code>DUR</code>) are dynamic and indicate that an action is in progress from one state to another.
* '''Telic verbs''' are dynamic and punctual, describing an action with an endpoint. More specifically, it refers to any action that has been completed as intended. In most situations, it strongly implies the past or future tense and the perfective grammatical aspect.
* '''Atelic verbs''' (<code>ATEL</code>) are dynamic and punctual, describing an action that does not have an intended endpoint. Like the telic, this aspect strongly implies the past or future tense, but is often grammatically imperfective.
 
 
      ASPECT
      /    \
'''STATIVE''' DYNAMIC
        /    \
  '''DURATIVE'''    PUNCTUAL
              /      \
          '''TELIC'''      '''ATELIC'''
 
For example, the verb '''''bima''''' means to "fall" in the telic, "precipitate" in the atelic, "descend" in the durative, and "to be fallen (i.e., lying on the ground after a fall)" in the stative. '''''bima''''' still expresses the same basic meaning — "the subject goes downward" — but its implications change based on its conjugations. This is also true of the verb '''''ja''''', which means "like" in the stative, "fall in love" in the durative, "achieve or accomplish" in the telic, and "want" in the atelic. Again, the basic meaning remains — "the subject has a desire" — but the differing conjugations further explain what ''kind'' of desire is being had: an unchanging desire (stative), a growing desire (durative), a satisfied desire (telic), or an unsatisfied desire (atelic).
 
These aspects also imply certain grammatical features. Indeed, these aspects originally did refer to grammatical aspects a thousand years within Wistanian's history. The stative was once the gnomic aspect, the durative was once the continuous aspect, and the telic and atelic were once the perfective and imperfective aspects, respectively. This shift was slow, however, but it picked up mightily during the pidginization with the Nati, since lexical aspect could allow them to communicate using fewer verb roots, so words such to "to put on" were replaced with the durative conjugation for "to wear".  


'''''miya yau aagarauvi'''''<br />
====Mood====
<code><nowiki>drinking 1S.NOM ACC-water.</nowiki></code><br />
"I am drinking water."


'''''va miya yau aagarauvi.'''''<br />
Verbs are conjugated for the irrealis mood, which is used in polite requests, questions, and in conjunction with epistemic or deontic particles. This is done with the suffix ⟨-j⟩. Indicative negative verbs are not conjugated for the irrealis.  
<code><nowiki>GNO.PRS drinking 1S.NOM ACC-water</nowiki></code><br />
"I drink water."


'''''vaun miya yau aagarauvi.'''''<br />
{| class="wikitable"
<code><nowiki>PFV.PRS drinking 1S.NOM ACC-water.</nowiki></code><br />
| style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | NOMINAL
"I have drunk water."
| colspan="8" style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | VERBAL
|-
| rowspan="4" style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" |
| rowspan="3" colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | STATIVE
| colspan="6" style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | DYNAMIC
|-
| rowspan="2" colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | DURATIVE
| colspan="4" style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | PUNCTUAL
|-
| colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | TELIC
| colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | ATELIC
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | realis
| style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | irrealis
| style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | realis
| style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | irrealis
| style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | realis
| style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | irrealis
| style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | realis
| style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | irrealis
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic;" | viga
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | vigiya
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | vigiyaj
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | viga
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | vigaj
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | vigai
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | vigaij
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | viga
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | vigaj
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic;" | zani
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | zaniya
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | zaniyaj
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | zana
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | zanaj
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | zanyi
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | zanyij
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | zanya
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | zanyaj
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic;" | hadu
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | hadiya
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | hadiyaj
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | hada
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | hadaj
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | hadwi
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | hadwij
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | hadwa
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | hadwaj
|}


===Modifiers===
===Modifiers===


Modifiers immediately follow their head, except for colors, numbers, and possessives. Morphologically, there is no difference between an adjective and an adverb, since they rely on word order. Modifiers also provide verb modality and postpositional contrsutions.  
Modifiers immediately follow their head, except for colors, numbers, and possessives. Morphologically, there is no difference between an adjective and an adverb, since they rely on word order. Modifiers also provide some verb modality and postpositional contructions.  


===Adpositions===
===Adpositions===
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