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Lemizh: Difference between revisions
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|created = 1985 | |created = 1985 | ||
|familycolor = Indo-European | |familycolor = Indo-European | ||
|fam2 = Lemizh | |fam2 = Lemizh branch | ||
|ancestor = Proto-Lemizh | |ancestor = Proto-Lemizh | ||
|posteriori = | |posteriori = | ||
* [[w:Proto-Indo-European|PIE]] | * [[w:Proto-Indo-European language|PIE]] | ||
* [[w:Occam's razor|Occam's razor]] | * [[w:Occam's razor|Occam's razor]] | ||
|creator = [[User:Anypodetos|Anypodetos]] | |creator = [[User:Anypodetos|Anypodetos]] | ||
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|nation = Lemaria | |nation = Lemaria | ||
|map = Map of Lemaria.png | |map = Map of Lemaria.png | ||
|mapalt = The country of Lemaria lies to the north and west of the Black Sea. The capital, Shabar, is at the Dniester Liman or Estuary. | |mapalt = The country of Lemaria lies to the north and west of the Black Sea. The capital, Shabar, is located at the Dniester Liman or Estuary. | ||
|notice = IPA | |notice = IPA | ||
}} | }} | ||
'''Lemizh''' (<span style="font-family:Gentium,'DejaVu Sans','Segoe UI',sans-serif">[[Help:IPA|[lεmˈiʒ]]]</span>, <small>native pronunciation:</small> <span style="font-family:Gentium,'DejaVu Sans','Segoe UI',sans-serif">[[Help:IPA|[lɛmˈɯ̀ʒ]]]</span>) is a language I invented with the aim of creating a grammar as regular and simple as possible. It was originally intended as an [[w:International auxiliary language|international auxiliary language]]. However, it turned out that a simple grammar is not necessarily a grammar that is easy to learn: the more ways of simplification I found, the further away it moved from [[w:Indo-European languages|Indo-European]] and probably all other familiar language structures. Expecting anyone to learn Lemizh, at this point, would be unrealistic. | '''Lemizh''' (<span style="font-family:Gentium,'DejaVu Sans','Segoe UI',sans-serif">[[Help:IPA|[lεmˈiʒ]]]</span>, <small>native pronunciation:</small> <span style="font-family:Gentium,'DejaVu Sans','Segoe UI',sans-serif">[[Help:IPA|[lɛmˈɯ̀ʒ]]]</span>) is a language I invented with the aim of creating a grammar as regular and simple as possible. It was originally intended as an [[w:International auxiliary language|international auxiliary language]]. However, it turned out that a simple grammar is not necessarily a grammar that is easy to learn: the more ways of simplification I found, the further away it moved from [[w:Indo-European languages|Indo-European]] and probably all other familiar language structures. Expecting anyone to learn Lemizh, at this point, would be unrealistic. | ||
So I needed a new justification for the language: enter the Lemizh, a people living to the west and north of the [[w:Black Sea|Black Sea]] in an alternate history that slowly drifted away from ours between two and eight millennia ago. Of course, it is extremely unlikely that they would speak a language that was completely without exceptions. To be precise, the chances are two to the power of two hundred and seventy-six thousand seven hundred and nine to one against. But they say that everything has to happen somewhere in the Multiverse; and everything happens only once. | So I needed a new justification for the language: enter the Lemizh, a people living to the west and north of the [[w:Black Sea|Black Sea]] in an alternate history that slowly drifted away from ours between two and eight millennia ago. Of course, it is extremely unlikely that they would speak a language that was completely without exceptions. To be precise, the chances for this to have happened are two to the power of two hundred and seventy-six thousand seven hundred and nine to one against. But they say that everything has to happen somewhere in the Multiverse; and everything happens only once. | ||
{{TOC limit}} | {{TOC limit}} | ||
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Lemizh is an Indo-European language and, together with Volgan, constitutes one of the ten recognised branches of the Indo-European language family. This branch is also called Lemizh, to the disgruntlement of Volgan linguists. | Lemizh is an Indo-European language and, together with Volgan, constitutes one of the ten recognised branches of the Indo-European language family. This branch is also called Lemizh, to the disgruntlement of Volgan linguists. | ||
Proto-Lemizh, the ancestor of Lemizh and Volgan, is very poorly attested in form of some papyri found near the northwestern shore of the Black Sea, to the north of the [[w:Dniester Liman|Dniester Liman]], dated about 2700 | Proto-Lemizh, the ancestor of Lemizh and Volgan, is very poorly attested in form of some papyri found near the northwestern shore of the Black Sea, to the north of the [[w:Dniester Liman|Dniester Liman]], dated about 2700 BCE. Old Lemizh, by contrast, is fairly well attested. It had predominantly [[w:Subject–verb–object|subject–verb–object]] (SVO) word order and was a quite typical old Indo-European language, but with a couple of interesting quirks: | ||
* Adjectives were lost as a separate part of speech, being replaced with participles ("white" > "being white"). | * Adjectives were lost as a separate part of speech, being replaced with participles ("white" > "being white"). | ||
* Finite subordinate clauses had their subject in the case of the clause: the subject of a local clause was in the locative case without having a local meaning in itself. | * Finite subordinate clauses had their subject in the case of the clause: the subject of a local clause was in the locative case without having a local meaning in itself. | ||
The earliest known documents from this stage of Lemizh were probably written around 2100 | The earliest known documents from this stage of Lemizh were probably written around 2100 BCE along the northern and western shores of the Back Sea. | ||
===Ghean and Middle Lemizh=== | ===Ghean and Middle Lemizh=== | ||
Ghean (<span style="font-family:Gentium,'DejaVu Sans','Segoe UI',sans-serif">[[Help:IPA|[ˈɣɛən]]]</span>) is a language with no known genetic relationships. It was spoken by a people of unknown origin, who subdued the Lemizh tribes in around 1000 | Ghean (<span style="font-family:Gentium,'DejaVu Sans','Segoe UI',sans-serif">[[Help:IPA|[ˈɣɛən]]]</span>) is a language with no known genetic relationships. It was spoken by a people of unknown origin, who subdued the Lemizh tribes in around 1000 BCE and ruled for infamous three generations. Ghean was an inflected [[w:Tonal language|register tonal]] language with strict [[w:Verb–subject–object|verb–subject–object]] (VSO) word order and head-first phrases. It had verbs, [[w:Nominal (linguistics)|nominals]] (a combined noun/adjective/participle part of speech), pronouns and particles. | ||
The Gheans discouraged the use of the natives' language, but obviously tolerated Lemizh words (or rather word stems) to stand in for unfamiliar Ghean ones. The grammar of simple sentences was easy enough to learn for the Lemizh, as they were used to inflection and head-first phrases, and likely still knew VSO sentences from poetry. After two or three generations, the natives must have spoken a [[w:Creole language|creole]] with a more or less Ghean grammar but an abundance of Lemizh words, especially outside the core vocabulary. This is a rather unusual development as most creoles draw their lexicon mainly from the dominant group, and tend to be grammatically more innovative. (The Tanzanian language [[w:Mbugu language|Mbugu]] might have had a somewhat similar development with more or less analogous outcomes.) After the disappearance of the Gheans, Lemizh patriots tried to revive their old language, which failed spectacularly for the grammar but reintroduced many Lemizh words of the core vocabulary. | The Gheans discouraged the use of the natives' language, but obviously tolerated Lemizh words (or rather word stems) to stand in for unfamiliar Ghean ones. The grammar of simple sentences was easy enough to learn for the Lemizh, as they were used to inflection and head-first phrases, and likely still knew VSO sentences from poetry. After two or three generations, the natives must have spoken a [[w:Creole language|creole]] with a more or less Ghean grammar but an abundance of Lemizh words, especially outside the core vocabulary. This is a rather unusual development as most creoles draw their lexicon mainly from the dominant group, and tend to be grammatically more innovative. (The Tanzanian language [[w:Mbugu language|Mbugu]] might have had a somewhat similar development with more or less analogous outcomes.) After the disappearance of the Gheans, Lemizh patriots tried to revive their old language, which failed spectacularly for the grammar but reintroduced many Lemizh words of the core vocabulary. | ||
===The last three millennia=== | ===The last three millennia=== | ||
While Middle Lemizh as spoken after the Ghean occupation already had a non-Indo-European and unusually regular grammar, this trend was to continue over the following millennia. The factive case was innovated to express verbal nouns, which eventually supplanted verbs altogether. (At least part of the blame goes to the Tlöngö̀l, an epic novel published in 1351, which popularised the use of verbal nouns.) The tonal system was simplified to the present two-way [[w:Pitch-accent language|pitch-accent]] system. Pronouns lost their status as a separate part of speech. The last particles died out a few hundred years ago, leaving the language with a single part of speech which is often called a "verb" but, historically speaking, is really a nominal. This means that the concept of ''parts of speech'' does not make sense in Modern Lemizh. | While Middle Lemizh as spoken after the Ghean occupation already had a non-Indo-European and unusually regular grammar, this trend was to continue over the following millennia. The factive case was innovated to express verbal nouns, which eventually supplanted verbs altogether. (At least part of the blame goes to the Tlöngö̀l, an epic novel published in 1351 CE, which popularised the use of verbal nouns.) The tonal system was simplified to the present two-way [[w:Pitch-accent language|pitch-accent]] system. Pronouns lost their status as a separate part of speech. The last particles died out a few hundred years ago, leaving the language with a single part of speech which is often called a "verb" but, historically speaking, is really a nominal. This means that the concept of ''parts of speech'' does not make sense in Modern Lemizh. | ||
This article describes the dialect spoken to the north of the [[w:Danube Delta|Danube | This article describes the dialect spoken to the north of the [[w:Danube Delta|Danube Delta]], which prevailed against other variants and is considered the standard language today. | ||
==Orthography and phonology== | ==Orthography and phonology== | ||
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===Accent=== | ===Accent=== | ||
Lemizh has got a two-way pitch-accent system, in that accented moræ are not only spoken louder | Lemizh has got a two-way pitch-accent system, in that accented moræ are not only spoken louder, but also have either a lower or a higher pitch than the surrounding unaccented ones. The accented mora is always the ultimate or penultimate of a word. The vowel at the centre of a low-pitch accented mora is transcribed with a grave accent, the vowel at the centre of a high-pitch accented mora with an acute accent. | ||
{| class="wikitable" style="width: 220px; table-layout: fixed; text-align: center" | {| class="wikitable" style="width: 220px; table-layout: fixed; text-align: center" | ||
! colspan="8" | Accented vowel letters | ! colspan="8" | Accented vowel letters | ||
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[[w:Phonotactics|Phonotactics]] is rather permissive in Lemizh. A mora has the following structure, where the bracketed parts are optional: | [[w:Phonotactics|Phonotactics]] is rather permissive in Lemizh. A mora has the following structure, where the bracketed parts are optional: | ||
* (O)(N)(L)V(L)(N)(O) | * (O)(N)(L)V(L)(N)(O) | ||
V is the mora's vowel, L a liquid, N a nasal, and O an obstruent that can be either a P(losive), a F(ricative), FP, PF, FF, FFP, FPF, or PFF. Word-initial consonant clusters cannot contain more than three sounds. No geminate consonants (<abbr title="impossible">*</abbr>''ff'' etc.) occur within a mora. Consecutive plosive-fricative or fricative-plosive combinations within the same mora must have the same sonority – either both are voiced, or both are voiceless. A plosive cannot have the same place of articulation as a following consonant with the exception of ''rh'' and ''r''. <abbr title="impossible">*</abbr>'' | V is the mora's vowel, L a liquid, N a nasal, and O an obstruent that can be either a P(losive), a F(ricative), FP, PF, FF, FFP, FPF, or PFF. Word-initial consonant clusters cannot contain more than three sounds. No geminate consonants (<abbr title="impossible">*</abbr>''ff'' etc.) occur within a mora. Consecutive plosive-fricative or fricative-plosive combinations within the same mora must have the same sonority – either both are voiced, or both are voiceless. A plosive cannot have the same place of articulation as a following consonant with the exception of ''rh'' and ''r''. <abbr title="impossible">*</abbr>''tsh'', <abbr title="impossible">*</abbr>''tth'' and their voiced counterparts are also prohibited within a mora. | ||
Word boundaries, including those within compound words, are always mora boundaries. Where mora boundaries would still be ambiguous, liquids and nasals are assigned to the earliest possible mora (as the ''m'' in ''lem·ỳzh.''), and obstruents to the latest possible mora. | Word boundaries, including those within compound words, are always mora boundaries. Where mora boundaries would still be ambiguous, liquids and nasals are assigned to the earliest possible mora (as the ''m'' in ''lem·ỳzh.''), and obstruents to the latest possible mora. | ||
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===Nouns=== | ===Nouns=== | ||
:''Nouns, adjectives and verbs do not correspond to any concepts in Lemizh grammar. Using these terms is just an attempt to describe the grammar from an Indo-European viewpoint.'' | :''Nouns, adjectives and verbs do not correspond to any concepts in Lemizh grammar. Using these terms is just an attempt to describe the grammar from an Indo-European viewpoint.'' | ||
A large number of nouns are not derived from verbs in most languages: ''froth, ship, lion'' and many others. In Lemizh, however, we have verbs such as ''psràxk.'' "to froth", ''àksh.'' "to build a ship or ships", and ''làw.'' "to make a lion or lions". We will call these ''nominal verbs''. | A large number of nouns are not derived from verbs in most languages: ''froth, ship, lion'' and many others. In Lemizh, however, we have verbs such as ''psràxk.'' "to froth", ''àksh.'' "to build a ship or ships", and ''làw.'' "to make a lion or lions". We will call these ''nominal verbs'', keeping in mind that this is a semantic and not a grammatical category. | ||
Looking at the verb ''àksh.'', the shipwright ({{sc|nom}}) gives the building materials ({{sc|dat}}) the properties or the function of a ship ({{sc|acc}}). He confers, well, shipness on the materials. The shipness is sent by the shipwright, not because he is acting, but because he is the source: the image of the ship, so to say, comes from his head and materialises in wood, iron, ropes, and linen. In short, these words mostly appear with inner accusative. | Looking at the verb ''àksh.'', the shipwright ({{sc|nom}}) gives the building materials ({{sc|dat}}) the properties or the function of a ship ({{sc|acc}}). He confers, well, shipness on the materials. The shipness is sent by the shipwright, not because he is acting, but because he is the source: the image of the ship, so to say, comes from his head and materialises in wood, iron, ropes, and linen. In short, these words mostly appear with inner accusative. | ||
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====Inflection==== | ====Inflection==== | ||
As mentioned above, all words | As mentioned above, all words inflect for (outer) case. Thus, we have the nominative forms ''wàx'''e''''' "(an action of) speaking, talking, telling", ''dè'''e''''' "a giver", ''lỳw'''e''''' "a lion", the causative ''lỳw'''el''''' "because of a lion", the elative ''lỳw'''er''''' "(starting) from a lion", etc. | ||
Lemizh words do not inflect for number or gender. If desired, we can express this information by forming compounds. (Note the duplication of the inner case vowel; the first occurrence in each word is called the epenthetic case of the compound. The underlying grammar is described [[#Compounds|further down]].) | Lemizh words do not inflect for number or gender. If desired, we can express this information by forming compounds. (Note the duplication of the inner case vowel; the first occurrence in each word is called the epenthetic case of the compound. The underlying grammar is described [[#Compounds|further down]].) | ||
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|- | |- | ||
! !! Neutral !! Diminutive !! Augmentative !! Absolute !! Comparative !! Superlative | ! !! Neutral !! Diminutive !! Augmentative !! Absolute !! Comparative !! Superlative | ||
|- | |||
! white | |||
| ''lỳbdh.'' || ''lilbdh'''zhrỳ'''.'' "whitish" || ''lilbdh'''dmỳ'''.'' "very white" || ''lilbdh'''ghngỳ'''.'' "purely white" || ''lilbdh'''tỳzhd'''.'' "whiter" || ''lilbdh'''ỳst'''.'' "whitest" | |||
|- | |- | ||
! warm | ! warm | ||
| ''gmrỳ.'' || ''gmril'''zhrỳ'''.'' "cold" || ''gmril'''dmỳ'''.'' "hot" || ''gmril'''ghngỳ'''.'' "absolutely hot" || ''gmril'''tỳzhd'''.'' "warmer, hotter" || ''gmril'''ỳst'''.'' "hottest" | | ''gmrỳ.'' || ''gmril'''zhrỳ'''.'' "cold" || ''gmril'''dmỳ'''.'' "hot" || ''gmril'''ghngỳ'''.'' "absolutely hot" || ''gmril'''tỳzhd'''.'' "warmer, hotter" || ''gmril'''ỳst'''.'' "hottest" | ||
|- | |- | ||
! compound with | ! compound with | ||
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====Inflection==== | ====Inflection==== | ||
* Person is not expressed with inflection but with [[#Relative pronouns|pronouns]]. | * Person is not expressed with inflection but with [[#Relative pronouns|pronouns]]. | ||
* Number | * Number agreement does not exist in Lemizh. While verbs (i.e. words with an inner factive) can be compounded with numerals, ''ftrask'''mlà'''.'' does not mean "we/they sneeze" but "(there are) several acts of sneezing" (i.e. someone sneezes several times and/or several people sneeze). | ||
* Voice (active/passive) is absent | * Voice (active/passive) is absent; word order serves a similar function. | ||
* Tense is expressed by compounds with an epenthetic temporal case (''-arh-''), or with certain inner cases. The latter option is preferred if possible, as it is more concise. | * Tense is expressed by compounds with an epenthetic temporal case (''-arh-''), or with certain inner cases. The latter option is preferred if possible, as it is more concise. | ||
{| class="wikitable" | {| class="wikitable" | ||
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| — || pronoun || ''prilkỳ.'' "back" || — || ''prỳ.'' "front" || — | | — || pronoun || ''prilkỳ.'' "back" || — || ''prỳ.'' "front" || — | ||
|} | |} | ||
Note that the translation of the perfect with inner consecutive coincides with the translation of stative verbs: "having sat down" in the strict perfect sense of "the consequence/effect of this action exists" means the same as "to sit". Likewise, "whiteness" can be expressed as the abstract concept of "having whitened something". | Note that the translation of the [[w:Perfect (grammar)|perfect]] with inner consecutive coincides with the translation of stative verbs: "having sat down" in the strict perfect sense of "the consequence/effect of this action exists" means the same as "to sit". Likewise, "whiteness" can be expressed as the abstract concept of "having whitened something". | ||
* Mood corresponds to compounds with certain verbs | * Mood corresponds to compounds with certain verbs. There is no equivalent to the subjunctive mood, as subordinate clauses are irreal (i.e. not necessarily real) by default per Rule Seven of sentence grammar (on which more [[#Seven|below]]). Here are some common formations: | ||
{| class="wikitable" | {| class="wikitable" | ||
|- | |- | ||
! !! Indicative !! Imperative !! Commanding imperative !! Interrogative<br>Polite imperative !! Optative | ! !! Indicative !! Imperative !! Commanding imperative !! Interrogative<br>Polite imperative !! Optative !! Negative | ||
|- | |- | ||
! to feed, to eat | ! to feed, to eat | ||
| ''àdh.'' || ''adh'''pràk'''.'' || ''adh'''dàxt'''.'' || ''adh'''pà'''.'' || ''adh'''làxt'''.'' | | ''àdh.'' || ''adh'''pràk'''.'' || ''adh'''dàxt'''.'' || ''adh'''pà'''.'' || ''adh'''làxt'''.'' || ''adh'''ngà'''.'' "don't eat" | ||
|- | |- | ||
! compound with | ! compound with | ||
| — || ''pràk.'' "to request" || ''dàxt.'' "to command" || ''pà.'' "to ask" || ''làxt.'' "to want" | | — || ''pràk.'' "to request" || ''dàxt.'' "to command" || ''pà.'' "to ask" || ''làxt.'' "to want" || ''ngà.'' "to make nonexistent" | ||
|} | |} | ||
* Aspect is a | * Aspect is a diverse category, expressed by a variety of compounds and syntactic structures. | ||
===Pronouns=== | ===Pronouns=== | ||
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In the diagram, the main predicate's three objects are enclosed in ellipses. Objects of the same word are called ''sibling objects'' or just ''siblings'', and the word they are subordinate to is their ''predicate''. Note that ''predicate'' and ''object'' are relative terms like ''parent'' and ''child''. | In the diagram, the main predicate's three objects are enclosed in ellipses. Objects of the same word are called ''sibling objects'' or just ''siblings'', and the word they are subordinate to is their ''predicate''. Note that ''predicate'' and ''object'' are relative terms like ''parent'' and ''child''. | ||
The table of level markers implies that only the first object of a predicate can be marked as agent. ( | The table of level markers implies that only the first object of a predicate can be marked as agent. (Therefore, Lemizh is often said to have VSO word order, although verb–agent–object or VAO is more correct.) | ||
'''Rule Three. The outer case of the first word of an object defines its relation to its predicate's stem via its descriptor; the outer case of a level 1 word is zero.''' | '''Rule Three. The outer case of the first word of an object defines its relation to its predicate's stem via its descriptor; the outer case of a level 1 word is zero.''' | ||
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Rules Five and Six imply that every instance of a word has exactly one action (which, however, need not be contiguous), one sender (which may consist of several people), and so on: Five excludes additional senders if one nominative object is already present, and Six gives meaning to missing objects, establishing them as an integral part of Lemizh sentence grammar. | Rules Five and Six imply that every instance of a word has exactly one action (which, however, need not be contiguous), one sender (which may consist of several people), and so on: Five excludes additional senders if one nominative object is already present, and Six gives meaning to missing objects, establishing them as an integral part of Lemizh sentence grammar. | ||
'''Rule Seven. Given an object and its predicate, the predicate is considered more real and the object more hypothetical.''' | {{anchor|Seven}}'''Rule Seven. Given an object and its predicate, the predicate is considered more real and the object more hypothetical.''' | ||
{{Interlinear|indent=3|display-messages=no|ablist=FACT:factive case; 1:first level; 2:second level; 2A:second level, agentive; 3:third level | {{Interlinear|indent=3|display-messages=no|ablist=FACT:factive case; 1:first level; 2:second level; 2A:second level, agentive; 3:third level | ||
|láxt föpysryfè dày dwywỳ lusỳi. | |láxt föpysryfè dày dwywỳ lusỳi. | ||
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|làxt àdhy. ⇒ adhlàxt. | |làxt àdhy. ⇒ adhlàxt. | ||
|want-FACT-1 eat-FACT-ACC-2. ⇒ eat-FACT-want-FACT-1. | |want-FACT-1 eat-FACT-ACC-2. ⇒ eat-FACT-want-FACT-1. | ||
|''[She] wants to eat.'' (See the inflection of [[#Verbs|verbs]].)}} | |''[She] wants to eat.'' (See the inflection of [[#Verbs|verbs]]; the other moods follow the same pattern.)}} | ||
In this example, the lost accusative ending has to be deduced from context. | In this example, the lost accusative ending has to be deduced from context. | ||
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==See also== | ==See also== | ||
* [[Literature:The Tower of Babel#Lemizh|The Tower of Babel § Lemizh]] | * [[Literature:The Tower of Babel#Lemizh|The Tower of Babel § Lemizh]] (with interlinear glossing) | ||
==External links== | ==External links== | ||