User:Waahlis/Hrasic

բրաղա, ող-մօն բոնին-ղոնի!

pranga, áng-mon pánin-ngáni!

Remember: You walk with your feet!

Hrasic
Hrasú múng
Pronunciation	[ˈχrʌsɯ ˈmɯŋg̚]
Created by	Waahlis
Setting	Caucasus
Native speakers	301,486 (2012)
Language family	Menmer languages Hrasic
Early form	Proto-Men
Official status
Official language in	Azerbaijan, Russia; Republic of Dagestan
Regulated by	Ahrasú rám amúng nánshi
Language codes
CLCR	qhr

Hrasú múng, Հրասվ մվղ /ˈχrʌsɯ ˈmɯŋg̚/, Hrasú or Hrasic /ˈkɹæzɪk/ is a language spoken in the Eastern Caucasus, by the Hrasú people. The population is dispersed over an area covering the Eastern parts of Dagestan in Russia, as well as the area around Baku in Azerbaijan. The number of speakers were in 2012 estimated to be about 300,000, and increasing.

The language is a language isolate, and is thus not known to be related to any extant language. Hrasic has a normal-sized inventory of consonants and a fair amount of allophony. It is a fusional language and is morphosyntactically nominative-accusative. The morphology is evenly split between nominal and verbal inflections.

Background

The Hrasic language, or Hrasú, is a constructed language, but does have a fictional background set in the real world.

Phonology

Consonants

The following is the inventory of consonants in the Hrasú language. There are 20 contrastive consonants.

Hrasú consonants

Consonants
		Bilabial	Denti-alveolar		Palatal	Velar	Glottal
			apical	laminal
Nasals	plain	m /m/	n /n/			ng /ŋ/
Plosives	aspirated	bh /pʰ/	th /t̺ʰ/			ch /kʰ/
	unvoiced	p /p/		t /t/		c /k/
	voiced	b /b/		d /d/		g /g/
Fricatives	unvoiced		sh /s̺ʰ/	s /s/	h /ç ~ x ~ h/
	voiced			z /z/	y /ʝ/
Trills				r /r/
Approximants		hu /w/
Laterals				l /l ~ ɬ/

Consonant allophony

Allophony is common to many consonants, and sandhi forces them to be realised different in different environments.

The glottal fricative

The phoneme /h/, the so called glottal fricative, is in free variation with the unvoiced palatal fricative /ç/ as well as the unvoiced velar fricative /x/.

խլո
hlá
/ˈhɬæ/	=	/ˈxɬæ/	=	/ˈçɬæ/
good; well

The velar fricative is the most common one, but the phones are all affected by palatalisation, producing the palatal fricative [ç]. If followed by a rhotic trill /r/, the pronunciation becomes uvular.

խևյ				խրասվ
hyó				hrasú
/ˈhʝə/	→	[ˈçə]		/ˈhrɑsɯ/	→	/ˈχrʌsɯ/
to leave.subj				pride

The uvularisation of the glottal fricative is included in broad transcriptions, as such, it is enclosed by slashes, //. The palatalisation is not.

Palatalisation

Palatalisation occurs due to many factors:

• The phonemes /ʝ/ and /ɪ/, the voiced palatal fricative and the near-close near-front vowel, tend to palatalise adjacent consonants internally.
• Externally, a final voiced velar stop, /g/, palatalises the initial consonant of the following word.

All post-bilabial consonants are affected, except the rhotic /r/ and the aspirated apical fricative /s̺ʰ/. As such, the allophony is rather extensive:

Plain	/n/	/t/	/d/	/s/	/z/	/l/	/ŋ/	/k/	/g/	/kʰ/	/t̺ʰ /	/h/
Palatalised	[ɲ]	[t͡ʃ]	[d͡ʒ]	[ʃ]	[ʒ]	[ʎ]	[ɲ]1	[t͡ʃ]	[d͡ʒ]	[k]	[t]	[ç]

1. Realised as /ŋg/ when non-initial. This grants /ŋg/ → [ɲd͡ʒ].

խրոնի				դիան				ոդզի;				մյղի
hráni				tian				átzi?				móngi
/ˈhrænɪ/	→	[ˈχræɲɪ]		/ˈtɪɑn/	→	[ˈt͡ʃɪan]		/ˈætzɪ/	→	[ˈætʃɪ]		/ˈməŋgɪ/	→	[ˈməɲd͡ʒɪ]
spider, hand				friend				now.int				to go.subj.

Voicedness

Some phonemes are susceptible to voicedness sandhi. These are the sibilants and the voiced lateral approximant /l/. When preceded by a phoneme differing in voicedness, the above mentioned phonemes assimilate.

hlá				gyáng-sóm				átzi?				méngshi
/ˈçlæ/	→	/ˈçɬæ/		/ˈgʝæŋgsəm/	→	/ˈgʝæŋgzəm/		/ˈætzɪ/	→	/ˈætsɪ/		/ˈmiŋɡs̺ʰɪ/	→	/ˈmiŋɡz̺ʱɪ/
good; well; happy				to say.subj-you.1.p.pl.acc.inf				now.int				to dance.subj.caus

The voicedness assimilation is included in broad transcriptions, as such, it is enclosed by slashes, //.

Vowels

There are 10 vowel phonemes in the Hrasic language. In addition to these, the open mid-back unrounded vowel, /ʌ/, is an allophone of /ɑ/.

Hrasú vowels

	Front	Near-front	Central	Near-back	Back
Close	é /i/		í /ɨ/		ú /ɯ/
Near-close		i /ɪ/		u /ʊ/
Close-mid
Mid			e /ə/
Open-mid			ó /ɞ/		a /ʌ/ · o /ɔ/
Near-open	á /æ/
Open					a /ɑ/

Vowel allophony

Open mid-back vowel

The open mid-back unrounded vowel, /ʌ/, is an allophone of /ɑ/ when it precedes the close back unrounded vowel, /ɯ/, or the open mid-back rounded vowel, /ɔ/.

gahuo				hrasú
/ˈgɑwɔ/	→	/ˈgʌwɔ/		/ˈhrɑsɯ/	→	/ˈχrʌsɯ/
bush				pride

The allophony of the open mid-back vowel is included in broad transcriptions, as such, it is enclosed by slashes, //.

Morphophonology

Metaphony

Hrasic has a system of regressive metaphony similar to the I- and U-mutation in the Germanic languages. It is a kind of vowel harmony, rather than mutation.

It is a long distance metaphony which affects the preceding vowels in a whole word.

pre-assimilation		post-assimilation
CVbCVbCVa	→	CVaCVaCVa	(Va = type-a vowel, Vb = type-b vowel, C = consonant)

In the diagram above, the V_a (type-a vowel) causes the preceding V_b (type-b vowel) to assimilate and become the same type of vowel (and thus they become, metaphorically, "in harmony").

In Hrasic, these types of vowels are defined by their frontness. There are three different types; ming, rán and bhún, where the rán vowel is neutral and can appear with both front and back vowels.

• ming - narrow, meaning front vowel.
• rán - perfect, signifying the mid-central /ə/, the schwa.
• bhún - broad vowels are back vowels.

Front	Neutral	Back
i /ɪ/	e /ə/	í /ɨ/
á /æ/		a /ɑ/
u /ʊ/		ú /ɯ/
ó /ɞ/		o /ɔ/
é /i/

As it happens, ming-mutation, or front mutation, is much more common than the bhún-mutation. Please note that the orthography is highly arbitrary, and the accent marks do not reflect frontness.

Morphology

Nominal

Number

Hrasú has three numbers, all of which are equally common in the language. The Hrasic numbers are different to those of English, instead using a so-called collective-singulative distinction.

The distinction infers that the basic form of a noun is the collective, which is indifferent to the number and unmarked. However, in Hrasú, the collective form has an additional meaning, and can also signify duals. It is thus the singulative that most often goes unmarked.

Singulative

The singulative (sg) denotes one, single noun, and roughly corresponds to the English equivalent of singular. A singulative noun is a single item, either of a collective noun or even a mass noun.

Tingi-thau yáni?			Ángi hínga-yi?			Thún rápi.
/tɪŋgɪ t̺ʰaʊ ʝænɪ/			/æŋgɪ hɨŋga ʝɪ/			/t̺ʰʊn ræpɪ/
gur	-a		gur	-∅		gur	-an
pig.unm.an	-nom.sg.		pig.unm.an	-nom.dc.		pig.unm.an	-nom.pl.
Do you see a corpse?			Pigs (as a race) Pigs (as a group) Two pigs			Pigs; several

Dual-collective

The dual-collective number (dc) is a special number to the Hrasic language. The dual-collective primarily marks the collective sense, whereas English uses the plural. It does however also signify two nouns, a pair, in certain contexts.

Plurative

The plurative (pl) marks when there are multiple nouns, but more than two. It does not have the collective sense that the English equivalent does.

Gender

There are two genders in the Hrasic language, the animate (an) and inanimate (inan). The animate gender includes only living animals and insects, as well as supernaturals like spirits and deities. The inanimate gender mainly denotes non-living objects, abstractions as well as flowers and microorganisms.

In the 3 person singular personal pronouns, the animate splits into a feminine (f.an) and masculine (m.an) animate gender.

Case

There are 7 grammatical cases in Hrasú. Most of these are rather common to the Indo-European languages.

Hrasic cases

Cases and usage
Case		Usage		Example
Nominative		The independent form of nouns; the lemma.		The dog
		Subject of high-control intransitive verbs; without a patient.		The dog bites.
		Subject of high-control intransitive verbs; without a patient.		The man fell.
		Subject of a transitive verb; with a patient.		The dog bit the man.
Accusative		Object or patient of a transitive verb.		The dog bit the man
		Indicates a duration of time.		I did it for many years
		In indirect statements.		He said I was ugly.
		To mark location.		I am at home.
		After certain prepositions.		Between one and ten; near you.
Dative		Indirect object of a ditransitive verb.		He gave the man a pen
		Dativus finalis; dative of purpose.		I fight for the king! Call for help!
		Dativus commodi; dative of benefit or malefic.		Open the door for him; this one is not for children.
		Dativus lativus; dative of movement.		I'm going to Siberia; I come from home.
		Dativus modi; dative of manner and cause.		He died from a disease.
		Dativus possessivus; dative of possession.		There is a book to me; I have a book.
		After certain prepositions.		Get away from me.
Instrumental		Instrumentalis instrumenti; the means of the action.		He writes with a pen.
		Instrumentalis auctoris; the performer of actions.		Opened by the mayor; caught by a net.
		Instrumentalis modi; the manner of means of an action.		Go by the short cut.
Genitive		Symbolises ownership		The dog's bone
		Marks objects related to the subject in composition		The group member
		Symbolises lacking		Go without me
		Marks origin of nouns.		I moved from the house
		Marks origin of nouns		It is from France
		Marks concerned, associated nouns		On the Origin of Species.
		Marks concerned, discussed nouns.		Talking about films.
		Indicates cause		It's because of the snow.
		Marks abstract cause		Thanks to/despite him.
Semblative		For comparations, and semblatives.		It is like a fish.
		For comparative adverbials.		I dance like a god; I dance godly.
Vocative		Direct address.		Hey, John!
		Disjoint address.		You are right, Mary.
		Exclamation.		Poor me! Wretched life!

Classes

There are a multitude of declensional classes in the Hrasic languages, below are the four most common ones. These decline with either a marked dual-collective or a marked singulative number.

Animate unmarked collective

In the animate gender (an), most of the times the collective goes unmarked. Nouns in this class are called "animate unmarked collectives" (unm.an).

gúra			gur			gúran
/ˈgɯrɑ/			/ˈgʊr/			/ˈgɯrɑn/
gur	-a		gur	-∅		gur	-an
pig.unm.an	-nom.sg.		pig.unm.an	-nom.dc.		pig.unm.an	-nom.pl.
A pig			Pigs (as a race) Pigs (as a group) Two pigs			Pigs; several

Declension of nara

Animate unmarked collective
unm.an	nara - lord
	singulative	dual-collective	plurative
Nominative	nara	nár	naran
Accusative	naram	nárim	narama
Dative	náriy	nári	náriyin
Instrumental	náriyin	nárin	náriyin
Genitive	ínara	náru	ínaran
Semblative	nayar	náyir	nayaran
Vocative	anar	inár	naran

Animate marked collective

Not all animates have a marked singulative, however. The second class of animate nouns (ma.an) has a marked collective instead.

tiánu			etiánu			tiánun
/ˈtɪænʊ/			/əˈtɪænʊ/			/ˈtɪænʊn/
tiánu	-∅		e-	tiánu		tiánu	-n
man.ma.an	-nom.sg.		nom.dc.-	man.ma.an		man.ma.an	-nom.pl
A man			Man (humanity) Men (as a group) Two men			Men; several

Declension of máng

Animate marked collective
ma.an	máng - mother
	singulative	dual-collective	plurative
Nominative	máng	emáng	manga
Accusative	mángim	imángim	mángim
Dative	mángi	emángi	mángin
Instrumental	mángin	emángin	mángin
Genitive	imáng	emángi	imángin
Semblative	mángir	emángir	mángánir
Vocative	emáng	emáng	emanga

Inanimate unmarked collective

The first class of inanimates (unm.inan) has an unmarked collective. Nouns in this class are often collective nouns.

hara			hár			haran
/ˈhɑrɑ/			/ˈhær/			/ˈhɑrɑn/
hár	-a		hár	-∅		hár	-an
wheat.unm.inan	-nom.sg.		wheat.unm.inan	-nom.dc.		wheat.unm.inan	-nom.pl
A grain of wheat			Wheat (as a cereal) Two grains of wheat			Several grains of wheat

Declension of pana

Inanimate unmarked collective
unm.inan	pana - foot
	singulative	dual-collective	plurative
Nominative	pana	pán	panan
Accusative	panam	pánim	panama
Dative	pániy	páni	pániyin
Instrumental	pániyin	pánin	pániyin
Genitive	ípana	pánu	ípanan
Semblative	panar	pánir	pánánir
Vocative	apan	ipán	panan

Inanimate marked collective

Amongst the second class of inanimate nouns (ma.inan), the singulative most often goes unmarked, just like the second class of animates.

chac			achac			chacú
/ˈkʰɑk̚/			/ɑˈkʰɑk̚/			/ˈkʰɑk̚ɯ/
chac	-∅		a-	chac		chac	-ú
box.ma.inan	-nom.sg.		nom.dc.-	box.ma.inan		box.ma.inan	-nom.pl
A box			Boxes (as a group) Two boxes			Boxes; several

Declension of hrasú

Inanimate marked collective
ma.inan	hrasú - pride
	singulative	dualcollective	plurative
Nominative	hrasú	ahrasú	hrasún
Accusative	hrasúm	ahrasúm	hrasúm
Dative	hrási	ehrási	hrásin
Instrumental	hrásin	ehrásin	hrásin
Genitive	ihrási	ehrási	ihrásin
Semblative	hrasúr	ahrasúr	hrasúnir
Vocative	ahrasú	ahrasú	ahrasún

Pronominal

The Hrasic system of pronouns is vast and irregular, but easily understood. It is split into four parts: The singular, plural, dual, and reflexive. The dual has lost some popularity lately, but it is still used.

• The reflexives are equivalent to English "myself, himself, itself" et cetera. The nominative reflexive on the other hand is an impersonal subject like English "one, they" or "you".

Reflexive

Number→		Singular						Plural				Reflexive
Person→		1st	2nd		3rd			1st		2nd	3rd
Case ↓	Register↓		Animate	Inanimate	Animate masculine	Animate feminine	Inanimate	Exclusive	Inclusive
Nominative	Informal	ác	tou	ta	guo	gá	gi	muo	yeu	sóm	gán	áng
	Formal	eu	thau	tha	hám			eun	yám	than
Accusative	Informal	me	tum	tam	gum	gám	gin	muon	áyim	tám	hám	ngám
	Formal	eumi	thaun	thumá	gihám			eun	yeumi	thaun
Dative	Informal	áci	tei		gei		gi	moi	yi	sói	gái	ángi
	Formal	eumi	thaun	thumá	gihám			eun	yeumi	thaun	hám
Instrumental	Informal	min	toun	tin	guon	gán	gin	muon	yan	sómin	ginin	ngán
	Formal	eun	thaun	than	gihin			nin	yeun	thán	hámin
Genitive	Informal	áci	ti		íguo	igá	gi	mi	yáni	sómi	gáni	ngáni
	Formal	máni	tuni	táni	gáni			móni		tháni
Semblative	Informal	ar	tur	tar	guri	gári	giri	muri	yári	sómir	gánir	ngánir
	Formal	eur	tháci		hómir	hámir	gimir	eunir	yeuri	thánir	gánir
Vocative	Informal	áhac	atuo	ata	aguo	aga	ági	amuo	áyim	ásóme	ágáne	áng
	Formal	heu	ehtau	ehta	heguo	hegá	hegi	heun	heu	ehtan	hegán

Verbal

The Hrasic verbal morphology is restricted, yet extensive. Simple, but versatile. Verbs do not conjugate according to person, number or tense. However, there are a number of grammatical aspects, moods and evidentials.

The conjugation is split into three parts - the active, passive, and the reciprocal conjugations.

Active

The active conjugation inflects verbs according to the active grammatical voice. Active voice is used in a clause whose subject expresses the agent of the main verb. That is, the subject does the action designated by the verb

Active
Aspect	Mood
	Indicative	Subjunctive	Jussive	Imperative
Perfective	-n	-ngi	-at	-nga
Inceptive	ha-	há-ngi	ha-at
Cessative	nge-	ngi-	-ngat	-ngas
Causative	-shi	-ngzi	-it
Imperfective	-nguo	-ngi	-nguat	-nguas
Iterative	Reduplication

Passive

The passive is a conjugation in the passive voice. In a clause with passive voice, the grammatical subject expresses the theme or patient of the main verb – that is, the person or thing that undergoes the action or has its state changed.

Passive
Aspect	Mood
	Indicative	Subjunctive	Jussive	Imperative
Perfective	-nda /- ndi	-ndar /-ndir	-ndat	-nda
Inceptive	hua-	huá-ndir	hua-at
Cessative	ye-	yua-	-ndat	-ndas
Causative	-iy	-nthi	-ndit
Imperfective	-nduo	-iy	-mbat	-mbas
Iterative	Reduplication

Reciprocal

The reciprocal conjugation and voice marks subjects and objects in reciprocity. In the reciprocal construction, each of the participants occupies both the role of agent and patient with respect to each other.

The reciprocal conjugation is technically merely an infix. It is formed by infixing -ya- before the active conjugational ending.

Sample phrases

• Thún sóm hyó-ác?
• Thún ác gyáng-sóm téngi!
• Men gyáng-tum ác ráráchu bhángi, dánin huéng-tu tugángi at.