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Saxuma: Difference between revisions
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'''Saxuma''' /saʃuˈma/ (<small>Saxuma:</small> [sɑ. | '''Saxuma''' /saʃuˈma/ (<small>Saxuma:</small> [sɑ.ɕùˈmá]), also romanized '''Sasiouma''' and historically known as '''Saras Wima''' ['sʌ.r̥as wi'ma], is a language isolate spoken by approximately 5000 speakers on the Mediterranean island of Sasaois, and an autonomous zone of the Hellenic Republic. It is notable for its split ergative alignment, flexible word order, and dynamic semantic gender. | ||
Almost all residents of Sasaios speak Greek and English, but there is a strong movement to protect the cultural heritage of the language, with poetry, novels, and music produced in Saxuma, as well as dubbings of many foreign movies and television shows into the language. | Almost all residents of Sasaios speak Greek and English, but there is a strong movement to protect the cultural heritage of the language, with poetry, novels, and music produced in Saxuma, as well as dubbings of many foreign movies and television shows into the language. | ||
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* Monosyllabic words retain their mid tone pitch. For example, 'cold' ''kan'' [kan]. This is also true of monosyllabic words with long vowels and diphthongs, such as 'sheep' ''bō'' [boː] and 'why' ''gay'' [gai]. | * Monosyllabic words retain their mid tone pitch. For example, 'cold' ''kan'' [kan]. This is also true of monosyllabic words with long vowels and diphthongs, such as 'sheep' ''bō'' [boː] and 'why' ''gay'' [gai]. | ||
* If a short vowel is accented, it bears a high tone, e.g. 'lips' ''émin'' [ | * If a short vowel is accented, it bears a high tone, e.g. 'lips' ''émin'' [ɛ́.min]. If it is non-initial and preceded by a short vowel, the preceding syllable bears a low tone. For example, 'friction' ''xeyáyem'' [ɕɛ̀ˈjá.jem] and 'protector' ''zigará'' [zi.gɑ̀ˈrá]. | ||
* If stressed or directly preceding a stressed syllable, long vowels and diphthongs receive contour tones. For stressed vowels, this is a peaking contour of tone MHM, e.g. 'passion' ''enâ'' [ | * If stressed or directly preceding a stressed syllable, long vowels and diphthongs receive contour tones. For stressed vowels, this is a peaking contour of tone MHM, e.g. 'passion' ''enâ'' [ɛ̠ˈna᷈ː]. When directly preceding a stressed syllable, the long vowel bears a falling contour ML, e.g. 'various' ''mābá'' [mâːˈbā]. | ||
** When long vowels are pronounced as identical vowels in hiatus, each vowel carries its own tone. If stressed, they follow the pattern of HM. If preceding a stressed syllable, then ML. Using the examples above, ''enâ'' would be pronounced as [ | ** When long vowels are pronounced as identical vowels in hiatus, each vowel carries its own tone. If stressed, they follow the pattern of HM. If preceding a stressed syllable, then ML. Using the examples above, ''enâ'' would be pronounced as [ɛ̀ˈnáˌa] and ''mābá'' as [ma.àˈbá]. | ||
==Script== | ==Script== | ||