(LONG) Sketch by a novice, please criticize/help/flame/etc

Here is an up-to-date sketch of a foetal conlang (work in progress, not a CL for
zygotes!) that I've been monkeying around with for a while on and off

Please post any and all comments, especially as regards my horrendous and
probably inconsistent terminology.

I'm an enthusiastic but inexperienced beginner, so I really want to hear
EVERYTHING
that comes into your head when you read this, even if it's horribly negative and
denigrating.
I'm well aware that a little knowledge can be an embarassing thing.

Sorry about the length, I have no webspace at the moment to post it on.  Also,
sorry about
the line-length, as possibly already noted, we have a new email doodad and I've
yet to
get to grips with the bells and whistles.


WENETAIC IN BRIEF (best read in a fixed-pitch font)

[Note, no lexicon is yet available, and this tract refers to lexical forms from
a "proto"
(or at least "idealised" or "sister") form, there are "real" forms pending,
based on
sound-changes from a vaguely PIE root-list]

Phonology

Phonological terms are as classified by native speakers, rather than being
"close"
descriptions.

         Orthographic      ASCII-IPA
         Front Mid  Back   Fr  Md  Bk
Plosive  p     k    t      p   k   t
Aspirate ph    kh   th     p_h k_h t_h
Nasal    m     n    ng     m   n   N
Sibilant s     s'   c      s   S   tS
Liquid   w     r    y      w   *   j

Open     i     e    a      i   e   a
Closed   u     e"   o      V   @   O
L Open   ii    ee   aa     i:  e:  a:
L Closed uu    e"e" oo     V:  @:  O:

(note /V/ is "wedge", the sound in English (British RP) "cut", /a/ is the first
vowel in
English "carpet", /O/ is the "turned c" in English "caught", * is an alveolar
tap (I don't
know the symbol!))

Open refers to unrounded vowels, closed refers to rounded vowels.

Consonants have voiced and voiceless allophones, these are believed to be purely

idiolectical.  The sound s' appears to possibly have allophones in /S/ and /ts/,
 although
this is possibly an archaism.

The following symbols are interchangeable with the orthography listed, although,
 as
always, consistent use of one form rather than the other helps clarity:

s' s-acute
ng n-hook
e" e-umlaut

The "native" Wewnet alphabetical order can be seen by reading the grid above in
row-by-row order, except it begins with the Plosive and Aspirate rows
interleaved, ie it
starts "p, ph, k, kh, t, th ..."  Terms in the lexicon are listed in this order.
  Within the lexicon,
bracketed parts of roots are listed in the order they would appear if the
brackets were
not present, regardless of the spelling of any particular form of the root.  For
 example the
lexicon pairs the(kha), thekhu and sungi, su(nge") occur in that order.


Basic Paradigm

Examples of each of the types of root.

         NS   NP      VI      VC       LX
Minimal  su   susnge" sungse" sunguse" su(nge")
Reduced  ame  arme    amre    amare    ame(r)
Regular  taki tatki   takti   takati   taki
Extended moru motru   mortu   morotu   moru(t)

NS - Noun Singular
NP - Noun Plural
VI - Verb Instant (or complete)
VC - Verb Continous
LX - The way the root is presented in the lexicon.

Regular roots form over 40% of the lexicon.  Extended and Reduced roots together
 make
up another 50% in combination.  The remainder of roots are Minimal.


Affixes and Word Order

The three methods of forming words are:

1)   (mutated)[root]+[root flexion] alone
2)   [location]+(optional)[particle]+[particle flexion] alone (known as an
"immediate")
3)   (1)+(2) in that order

Flexion

Flexions are used to represent either or both of the person and/or gender of a
word.

Speaker   -m-
Adressee  -s-
Human    -t-
Animal   -r-
Inanimate -p-
Abstract  -k-

Eg, morup is a corpse, moruk means death, morukise"t is "his death", mortuk is
the
infinitve "to die", and morotus is "you are dying".


Locationals

-a-   Near
-o-   Far
-e"-  Obscure
-u-   Apparent
-e-   Probable/Beleived
-i-   Improbable/Disbelieved

Particles

>Genetive
ce  - component (a seperate part of an object, (eg) a limb of a body or a brick
of a house)
s'e - possessive (normal genetive, something which is possessed)
ya  - trapping (an habitual or required possession)
pa  - familial (a family member)
ta  - attributive (used to form similes, metaphors, and so forth)
tuu - partative (a section of an "indenumerable" object, or made of something)
taa - nominalising (used to form verbal nouns)
nu  - productive (that which is made by something)

>Tense
nge"e" - past
ngoo   - future

>Postpositional
yi - directionsl
ru - locational

>Evidential
khu  - definately true
khe" - seemingly/probably/partly true
ye"  - indeterminate truth/falsehood
the" - seemingly/probably/partly false
thu  - definately false

>Interrogative
ke - "yes/no" questions.  ("ket?" means "is it him?")
kii - "which" questions.  ("kiit?" means "which of them?")


Pronomials

Pronouns are formed as particles specifying the pronomial function


Word Order
Not Sure.  Generally using "whatever feels right".  Possibly SOV, although S is
often a bit
"implied" and tends to be "smeared" throughout the sentance by particles, and V
can
sometimes be a bit "shady".  Possesors (and other strictly qualifying words)
come directly
after the qualified word, before any modifying or verbal particles.  Particles
that clarify or
specify are bound.  Erm, beyond those guidelines, further research is required.

Examples
The best way to give a rough sketch is to demonstrate a few sample utterences

makhum - I know this to be true because I experienced it
takhum - I know this to be true because he caused me to experience it
kokhum - I know this to be true because I have been told/shown it
tokhum - I know this to be true because he told/showed me directly
te"khum - I infer this to be true due to his (scant) evidence
tukhum - I deduce this to be true from his (plentiful) evidence
tekhum - I have faith in the truth of this, imparted to me by him
tikhum - He indicates this is true, but I do not believe it [1]

tatkiraces - your hands
lekhepas'es atuup - some of your milk
lekhepayas atuup - (the same, to someone who's stock-in-trade was milk)
lekhepatuup as'es - the [part of the milk] you own, ie "your portion of milk"
lekhep phowe"ranup atuup - some of the cow's milk [2]
lekhepatuus - you divide the milk (this shows a difference between bound and
unbound particles)

phos'ke"r anum - my words
phos'ke"rataam - I (am) the speaker [3a]
(at) we"kur atat - he is like a wolf [3b]
as taktitangoot ange"e"t - he was about to touch you
as taktitange"e"t angoot - he is about to have touched you [4]
lekhep phowe"ranup atuup inritange"e"t angoot - he is about to have taken the
cow's milk

[1] Truth/Evidentiality forms do not imply any specific tense relation
[2] Note the final -p in _phowe".r-a.nu.p_, in this compound genetive, marking
agreement
with lekhep, although this is the unmarked word-order for this type of
construction
[3] Parenthesised word not required. [3a] A comma could replace the (am)
[4] The forms _arus takti..._ can be used for explicitness or emphasis if needed



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