Khaz: Difference between revisions

All vowels come in both long and short variants. Long vowels are written with a circumflex (â, ê, î, ô, û). The length distinction is phonemic, e.g. indicative ''azbâzún'' (‘I write’) versus optative ''azbazún'' (‘That I may write’)

Verbs are inflected for tense (present, past, future), mood (indicative, optative, imperative), and voice (active, passive). Generally, verbal roots are of the fashion CVC- which are then built on to form the relevant mood-inflected stem either by a process of vowel lengthening or by aspiration of the final consonant. These are the conjugated finitely by affixing voice, person and tense markers.

Firstly, to construct the verb, the appropriate stem has to be derived from the root. The indicative stem is formed by lengthening the root vowel (CVC- → CVːC-) whereas the optative mood is formed by aspirating the final consonant (CVC- → CVCʰ-). After this step has been performed, if the verb is desired to be passive, an ''a-'' will be prefixed. Finally, the relevant person prefixes are added together with the appropriate tense suffix.

: ''tarmah'' ‘Know!’ from {{sc|'''√mah-'''}}

There are several kinds of infinitives, firstly the simple ones, which formally correspond to the stems of the finite verbs and then the complex ones, which are usually formed from the root itself.  

The infinitive of purpose ({{sc|prps}}) is formed by adding ''-áyim'' to the root. This form is used in conjunction with verbs of motion to indicate purpose.

:''zirakáyim azfârún êbuyâkhrôm'' ‘I travel to the fortress to explore’  

Nouns are marked for both case and number. The inflections always fully harmonise with the final vowel in the word stem with the exception of the possessive case, which only does so partially. There is an opposition between front ('''e''', '''i''') and back vowels ('''a''', '''o''', '''u''') which is reflected in the final vowel of the polysyllabic suffixes ('''a/u''' vs. '''i'''). All but the final vowel harmonises with the vowel of the last syllable in a word. A word with a nominative ending in '''-â''' will in the accusative plural have ''-amaz''. Likewise, a word ending in '''-ô''' will have ''-omaz'' as its accusative plural.

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Adjectives and adverbs ({{sc|adpar}}) are identical in form with the exception of a few suppletive pairs. This means that ''ašûbu'' (‘new’) can be used both with a noun: ''ašûbu zaphrâ'' (‘new flower’) and in a verb phrase: ''ašûbu izil-râkát amunam'' (‘she recently found a bracelet’). They belong to one of the simplest parts of the morphology as they do not inflect for case or number. They are always found before their heads ({{sc|adj}} + {{sc|noun}}).

One of the simplest ways of reinforcing an adjective is by reduplicating the first syllable. Thus, ''ašûbu'' becomes '''''aš'''ašûbu'' (‘new-new’). This is a defining feature of the spoken language and occurs only rarely in the written where the augmentative infix usually is preferred.

The verb system has a rich system of derivational affixes that may be used to expand on the meaning of the basic monosyllabic root.

:''azrâtabún'' (‘I rewrite’) versus ''azrâbún'' (‘I write’).

The verb root can also serve as the basis for constructing new adjectives and nouns.

:''râšdi'' (‘knowledge’) from '''√RAK-''' (‘find’).

Nouns can become adjectives by adding the suffix ''-du''.

:''ašaddu'' (‘stony’) from ''ašakh'' (‘stone’).

These may be nominalized with several suffixes.

:''sûkhnâdda'' (‘oldness’) from the adjective ''sûkhnâ'' (‘old’).

Many of these have been strongly lexicalised with a meaning that is not always transparent. It is prudent to memorise all pairs of words and not rely on the meaning always being clear.

These can further be combined with the other augmentative and diminutive affixes. E.g., ''tefâyamô'' (‘a short naval excursion that is great in its size’)