Re: Example for Language Samples

Firstly, the labiodental nasal is [F] in X-Sampa.

(1) The Finnstek Languages, (2) by Tristan Alexander McLeay
(3) Eventually at http://fince.cjb.net/.
(4) Spoken by the Fince of Planet Pii; more information on Planet Pii is
at http://pii.firespeaker.org/.

(5) The Finnstek Languages (of which there are two, Finnstek and Finnzsa)
inflect the tense on the subject of a sentence in active phrases in a
similar way to English constructions such as `I'll walk the dog'.

         Finnstek          Finnzsa
Past:    /&riw@/ (rock'd)  /ArO/
Present: /&r@i/  (rock)    /Ari:/
Future:  /&ri&/  (rock'll) /ArA/

In passive sentences, however, the inflection is on the verb.

(6) The pronouns of the language are entirely regular except for the fact
that they are distinguished in person.

(Only the roots are shown)
        Finnstek        Finnzsa
First:  /lain/ or -/t/  /lA:n/
Second: /l@in/ or -/t/  /li:n/
Third:  /lein/ or -/t/  /le:n/

(7) The nasals are unvoiced. In Finnstek, they are often also denasalised
except when geminated, when the are fricativised before denasalisation,
and in the word-initial position.

Finnstek and Finnzsa decended from a common language (`Finnstek' in Common
Finnstek. It means `People's language'). The major differences are in the
treatment of long and back vowels (Finnstek unrounded, fronted and
lengethened the back vowels, before diphthongising all long vowels;
Finnzsa did not) and Finnzsau has many borrowings from foreign languages,
including the word for `zero' (which I've forgotten right now).

(C) 2000--2001 Tristan Alexander McLeay under the Australian _Copyright
Act 1968_ (as ammended).

David, you have my express written permission to use this.

If you want, I can give you one for Etábnanni* too. The main thing is that
nouns sometimes (there are rules) modify to inflect the gender of its
modifier.

*I've began modifying my keyboard

Tristan
anstouh@yahoo.com.au