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or more exactly: yet another conlang sketch

From:Carlos Thompson <carlos_thompson@...>
Date:Friday, October 27, 2000, 21:10
Doy wabbe:
> Well, I'll post later on prosody, morfology and syntax... > just now I'm falling asleep.
Phonetic inventary, consonants: m p b p\ w n t d s l r tS dZ S J C j N k g x ? Due to restrictions, postalveolar and palatal consonants can be said to be palatizations of alveolar and velar consonants. This is reflected in the orthography: /C/ is <xj> or <x> before front vowels. /J/ is <nj>, /tS/ is <tj>, /dZ/ is <dj> and /S/ is <sj>. Short /r/ in codas is retroflex, and retroflexes any following alveolar (except an /r/ in the onset) <rn> is pronunced /n`/ <rt> is pronunced /t`/ <rd> is pronounced /d`/ <rs> is pronunced /s`/ <rl> is pronunced /l`/ vowels: checked: 1 y E V O U 9 free: i 9Y e A ow } @: lax: I @ M accent: The first syllable in a word is stressed, unless there is an unstressed preffix. If a word ends in a vowel (except correctly marked free vowels), the next to last syllable is stressed. If a word ends in a short sonorant and previous vowel is not marked as a free vowel, the next to last syllable is stressed. Otherwise the last syllable is stressed. Any word has no more than two stressed syllables. If a word has two stressed syllables, one of them is primmary and the other is secundary. In words with one root, the first stressed syllable is the primary accent. In words with two or more roots, the last stressed syllable is the primary accent. roots: Most roots are monosyllabic: CLVNS, or bisyllabic: CLVNSCLV, but there are any other patterns. Syllabes can be open: (C(L))V(N) close: (C(L))V(N)S open lax: (C(L))V Monosyllabic roots could be either an open or a close syllable: (S) Bisyllabic roots are usually formed by an open or close syllable followed by a lax syllable: (Su) Most multisylabic roots follow a patern like: SSu, SuS, SuSu, SuuS, SuuSu, SuuuS... etc. Roots like SS, SSS, SSSS are posible but are mainly in borrowings. where "S" is an open or closed syllable and "u" is a lax syllable. Verbs: There are strong and weak verbs. Strong verbs are always monosyllabic with a close syllable. (or bisyllabic if an unstressed preffix is added) Some verbal roots have a strong/weak alternance, with the strong verb being dynamic transitive and the weak being stative intransitive. Verbs conjugate after aspect: imperfect, perfect and inmidiate. Imperfect is unmarked. Perfect in weak verbs add a /n/ sound to the root. Inmediate in weak verbs add an unstressed /je/ sound. Strong verbs undergo a vowel change in the root: imperfect perfect inmediate (unmarked) 1 E U y V E E 1 O V E O O E 1 U O E 9 y U Modals: Modals are particle, most of them monosyllabic, that mark mode and tense. the most common are (present, past, future) positive indicative: pa, pe, pow negative indicative: 9Yr`, ar`, er` interrogative: ke, ki, kow irrealis: V?, E?, O? potencial: s9n:, syn:, sUn: Usually if context and tense is clear, positive indicative can be left out. Noun: nouns only change by number. Singular is unmarked. Plural add /n/ to the root. Dual add /k@/ as an unstressed preffix. Both marks can be used in the same word. Definite nouns use an unstressed version of the respective third person pronoun after the noun. Syntax. Unmarked syntax is: SVMOC in transitive verbs SVMC in intransive Where M is the modal, and C is any complement (besides direct object). When topic is fronted, subject is displaced after the verb (transitive) or after the modal (intransitive). In interrogative sentences, the interrogative word is fronted, either the interrogative modal in yes/no questions or the interrogative pronoun in "wh" questions. Personal pronouns: pronouns can mark number, unmarked pronouns have no definite number. Pronouns mark plurality and duality as nouns. They mark singularity by using /p\@/ preffix. Animate pronouns person nominative acusative 1 gi g1? 1 + 3 own On: 1+2+3 l}d@ lUd 1+2 tSel tSEl: 2 bA bV? 2+3 mis@ m1s 3 e E? refl Inanimate pronouns gender ergative absolutive real li el neuter k1? ki Articles: animate: @ real: l= neuter: kI -- Carlos Th