CHAT: Nakiltipkaspimak

Hi all.

So I thought I'd try creating a language I'm not very used to.
It's ergative, agglutinating, noun-incorporating and has a very
small phoneme inventory. Only NPs in the absolutive can be
incorporated. This is all very sketchy -- I made it during a
boring seminar today -- but I thought that I'd show it anyway.
Perhaps I'll work more on it, but then again, perhaps I won't.
We'll see.

The most impressive thing about it is probably the fact that
everything on Pimak (i.e. everything in this mail) is written
down on a single piece of paper measuring 21x14 cm. On one side.

Nakiltipkaspimak is spoken by the Nakiltipkas, lit. "forest-
people":

nakil:tip     -kas       -pimak
forrest:person-COLLECTIVE-language

The cool examples come at the end of this mail, since you're
probably not interested in the actual form of every little
morpheme.

* PHONOLOGY *

p  t  k
   s  x
m  n
w  l  y

i     u
   a

Notes:
{x} is /x/.
The stops are non-aspirated.

* PHONOTAX *

CVC

* THE NOUN *

ERG   -in
ABS   -0 (null)
DAT   -suk
LOC   -ut
ABL   -apak
GEN   -tit

* THE PRONOUNS *

   SG   PL
1  mis  pak
2  ti   wix
3  u    kan

* THE VERB *

ASPECT/MOOD
perfective    -xut
imperfective  -yum
imperative    -nik
inchoative    -sip
causative     -pa

TENSE
present       -wa
past          -0 (null)
future        -si

EVIDENCE
1-hand-info   -xa
hearsay       -li

To mark evidentiality is optional.

PERSON AGREEMENT (always with the ABS)

   SG   PL
1  mi-  pa-
2  ti-  kat-
3  0-   uk-

incorp:noun - pers:agr - ROOT - (CAUS) - tense - asp/mood (- evidence)

* EXAMPLES *

By incorporating a noun or pronoun, you can reduce the number
of arguments by one, e.g. making a transitive predicate
intransitive. This can be done to show definiteness, but is
also done for syntactical reasons, since both the morphology
and syntax is ergative. It's a neat way of forming an antipassive
without really having an antipassive. I don't really know squat
about noun-incorporation so please bear with me if you think
it looks silly or unnatural.

1. "pilikin kulanxut wik"

pilik-in     0  -kulan-0   -xut     wik -0
boy  -ERG    3SG-cut  -PAST-PERF    wood-ABS
'A boy cut wood.'

2. "pilik wikkulanxut"

pilik-0     wik -0  -kulan-0   -xut
boy  -ABS   wood-3SG-cut  -PAST-PERG
'The boy cut wood.'

3. "pilikin mikulanxut mis"

pilik-in    mi -kulan-0   -xut    mis-0
boy  -ERG   1SG-cut  -PAST-PERF   1SG-ABS
'A boy cut me.'

4. "pilik miskulanxut"

pilik-0    0  -mis-kulan-0   -xut
boy  -ABS  3SG-1SG-cut  -PAST-PERF
'The boy cut me.'

By incorporating the nouns, you can go from 3 arguments
to just one. See examples 5-7 below:

5. "misin piliksuk kulanpawayum wik"

mis-in    pilik-suk   0  -kulan-pa  -wa  -yum    wik -0
1SG-ERG   boy  -DAT   3SG-cut  -CAUS-PRES-IMPF   wood-ABS
'I am making a boy cut wood.'

[ Note that the verb agrees with "wood", which is in ABS. ]

6. "misin pilik wikkulanpawayum"

mis-in   pilik-0    0  -wik -kulan-pa  -wa  -yum
1SG-ERG  boy  -ABS  3SG-wood-cut  -CAUS-PRES-IMPF
'I am making the boy cut wood.'

[ Note that the verb agrees with "boy". ]

7. "mis mipilikwikkulanpawayum"

mis-0    mi -pilik-wik -kulan-pa  -wa  -yum
1SG-ABS  1SG-boy  -wood-cut  -CAUS-PRES-IMPF
'I am making the boy cut wood.'

[ Note that the verb now agrees with "I". ]

This last one (7) can actually do without the pronoun _mis_
since this is shown on the verb by the agreement prefix _mi-_.
This is often done in daily speech, but not in written language.

8. "kattawiknik pimaktasal"

kat-tawik-nik   pimaktasal    -0
2PL-fight-IMP   language_death-ABS
'fight language death!'

9. "katsayuknik pimak"

kat-sayuk -nik    pimak   -0
2PL-create-IMP    language-ABS
'Create a language!'


Well. Congratulations to you who made it all the way down here,
and actually read everything between here and the top as well. ;)

So what do you think?

Daniel

"kattawiknik pimaktasal! katsayuknik pimak!"