Lïzxvööse Verbs I: Active Tri-Consonantals

Yay! I've got tables! I've finally had some free time to sit down and
codify everything I've been thinking about. I've also just been getting
heavily into phonological variation and complementary distribution, so
I've been experimenting with Lïzxvööse phonotactics and phonological
surface realization.

Lïzxvööse (formerly Glïzxfööse) is a consonant root language, with roots
allowable of one to four consonants. Tri-consonantals are by far the
most common, followed by di-consonantals. There are no monoconsonantal
verbs, since these are usually basic nouns/pronouns and grammatical
particles. Four-consonant verbs (and nouns) are almost always compounds,
and in the case of verbs, are usually conceptuals (like "understanding", etc.).

Lïzxfööse only has two primary tenses, present and future. Past tenses
are marked by circumfixes, and, as a result, are lumped in with aspect
and mood (to be dealt with in a future post). The passive voice is
marked with a prefix ('eng) derived from the verb "to be" (root '-n).
Active voice is unmarked. This is not to be confused with the difference
between active and stative *verbs* (stative verbs function as
adjectives), which are dealt with in an entirely different way (in a
future post).

The 2d and 3d person singular taked different personal endings depending
on the gender (m/f) of the subject.

Oh, and primary stress falls on the first syllable.

3-consonant roots:

Present active, example root t-w-zc [t-w-D] - "forcing"
This root is interesting, because of several pronunciation
irregularities involving the semi-vocalic nature of /w/, namely:
        /w/ -> [u] / C_#, V_C
        /w/ -> [u:] / C_C
Lïzxvööse is full of sound shifts like this that drastically affect the
*pronunciation*, but not the underlying form (or written representation)
of many words.

        tïïwuzcee [ti:wuDE:]                    I force
        tïïwuzcaj [ti:wuDAj]                    you (m) force
        tïïwuzcajö [ti:wuDAjo]          you (f) force
        tïïwuzcaa [ti:wuDA:]                    he forces
        tïïwuzcawö [ti:wuDAwo]          she forces
        tïwzcööse [tiuDo:sE]                    we force
        tïwzcöözxa [tiuDo:ZA]                   you (pl.) force
        tïwzcöögganö [tiuDo:g"Ano]              they force

Other present active verbal forms:
        participle: taawözc [tA:woD]    forcing
        adverb: atëwïzc [AtewiD]                forcefully
        infinitive: atwïïözc [Atwi:oD]  to force

Present passive, example root v-c-q [v-T-q] - "shaking:
        'engvïïcuqee [?ENvi:TuqE:]              I am shaken
        'engvïïcuqaj [?ENvi:TuqAj]              you (m) are shaken (fem. ending same as above)
        'engvïïcuqaa [?ENvi:TuqA:]              he is shaken (fem. ending same as above)
        'engvïcqööse [?ENviTqo:sE]              we are shaken
        'engvïcqöözxa [?ENviTqo:ZA]     you (pl.) are shaken
        'engvïcqöögganö [?ENviTqo:g"Ano]        they are shaken

Most major dialects of Modern Lïzxvööse retain an old passive
participle. Its use is highly restricted, and it is starting to fall out
of the language entirely, in favor of a present participle prefixed with
the passive copula, analogous to the formation of the future passive
(see below).
        vocqat [vOTqAt]                         being shaken

Future active (technically it's a future participle and "to be" copula),
example root g-d-gg [g-d-g"] - "being excited" (general non-sexual excitement):
This verb is actually a stative crossover, or a formerly stative verb
(with the meaning "being red"), which has been given an active form, and
an idiomatic meaning. Lïzxvööse has many such crossovers.

        gedêgg 'enee [gEd@g" ?EnE:]     I will be excited
          ''   'en [gEd@g" ?En]         you (sg., m/f) will be excited
          ''   'ena [gEd@g" ?EnA]               he/she/it will be excited
          ''   'ëënes [gEd@g" ?e:nEs]   we will be excited
          ''   'ëënezx [gEd@g" ?e:nEZ]  you (pl.) will be excited
          ''   'ëënegga [gEd@g" ?e:nEg"A]       they will be excited

Imperative, example root t-r-zc [t-r-D] - "telling, narrating":
The imperative is an interesting form, due to its shape (taCCC-), with
all three root consonants in proximity. Many bizzare sound changes take
place in this form (as is about to be demonstrated with /r/).
        tatrzcaa [tAttDA:]                      tell! (masc. sg. subject)
        tatrzcö [tAttDo]                        tell! (fem. sg. subject)
        tatrzcözxa [tAttDoZA]                   tell! (pl. subject)

This shows one of /r/'s many guises:
        /C[stop]r/ -> [C:] / _C[any]
        i.e., when between a preceding stop and any other consonant, /r/
disappears, but not before geminating the stop

Verbal nouns will be dealt with in a further post.

Thoughts? Comments? Questions?

--
Daniel Seriff
microtonal@sericap.com
http://members.tripod.com/microtonal

Honesty means never having to say "Please don't flush me down the toilet!"
                      - Bob the Dinosaur

Half of America believes homosexuality is wrong...the same percentage
believes that Socrates was a great Indian chief.

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