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my conlang

From:Mario Bonassin <zebuleon@...>
Date:Thursday, February 22, 2001, 21:15
Here is a revamp of my conlang, its not to indepth yet but its a start.
I believe I have got the grammar working the way I think it should work,
but if you see any errors or things I didn't consider let me know.


Ancient Kakak
Feb 22


* PHONOLOGY *

p  t  k
 s  z
m  n
 l

i -heed   u -shoe
I - hid    U -put
e -head   o -boat
A -had    a -hod

Notes:
The stops are non-aspirated.

* PHONOTAX *

(C)(V)

*MORPHOLOGY*

Most Noun stems are formed with a CVCVC
With Vowel Harmony - Front or Back

Most Verb stems are formed with a CVCVC
Without Vowel Harmony.

* THE NOUN *

Nouns are words that represent things: inanimate objects, living things,
or concepts.  All nouns are given in the singular form, and plural forms
of those nouns are produced by doubling the first letter and adding a
/e/ or /o/ before them.  I.e.  sanut - dog   ossanut-dogs

Nouns are further marked for case as follows.

ERG   -i    -u              -sanutu
ABS   -0 (null)            -sanut
DAT   -e    -o            - sanuto    - (given, fed, etc.) to the dog
LOC   -A    -a            -sanuta   -(in, on, etc.) the dog
ABL   -Im    -Un            -sanutUn   -(something is done) by the dog
GEN   -Iz   -Us         -sanutUs  - the dog's (something)


* THE PRONOUNS *

   SG   PL
1  zel  zul
2  tes   tus
3  lem   lum

*RELATIVE PRONOUNS*

Relative pronouns introduce a clause that describes a noun.   Ancient
Kakak has two; nuk used to refer to living things, and tAm used for
non-living objects.

           English :    The man who has the helmet is running
     Anc. Kakak:    KetAs neluk nuk lonUk piluz
  Literal Trans.:    man  run(PreImp) who helmet have(PrePer)

           English :    The shop that has the book is open.
     Anc. Kakak:    KinIn zepum tAm talom piluz
  Literal Trans.:    shop open(PreImp) that book have(PrePer)

* THE VERB *

TENSE/ASPECT
Formed with infixes.  Aspect first and Tense second.

Past Perfect        i - o
Past Imperfect     e - o
Present Perfect    i - u   (infinitive)
Present Imperfect    e - u
Future Perfect    i - a  (imperative??)
Future Imperfect    e - a


PERSON AGREEMENT (always with the ABS)

   SG               PL
1  za-              zu-
2  ta-               tu-
3  le-               lo-



AUXILIARIES

These are verbs used with other verbs to form expressions of mood, such
as the words 'can.' 'may,' 'might' and 'should'.

sip (may) expresses permission to do something.
pAn (must) expresses compulsion; it may also mean "should"
lin (can) expresses the ability to do something.
kut (might) expresses conditional action; something that can be done if
something else is done first
tak (would) expresses determination to do something in a conditional
sentence.

The Verb pun: This word is loosely the same as 'is' or 'to be’ in
English. Its main use is as a helping verb in passive sentences. Its
tense is considered the same as the verb it helps.

Examples:
          English :   I stole the book
    Anc. Kakak:    Zalu talom ziton
 Literal Trans.:     I book steal(PasPer)

           English :   The book was stolen
    Anc. Kakak:    Talom pun zatun
 Literal Trans.:     book was steal(PasPer)

Pun is also used to denote equivalency between two nouns and/or
pronouns: Zulu kazUk pun- You are a fighter.
Pun is never used to express the possession of a quality or location.
Instead, piluz (to have) and mipuk (to stand) are used, respectively,
for these purposes: satul lepiluz - translates literally to "slowness he
have" meaning "He is slow"

* MODIFIERS *

Modifiers are words that describe other words. Commonly known as
adjectives and adverbs.
Any Modifier can modify either a noun or a verb, depending on its
location within the sentence. They come before the word they are to
modify.

Examples:
             English:    The fast man runs slowly
      Anc. Kakak:   Tusal ketAs setul neluk
  Literal Trans.:   Quickness man slowness run(PreImp)

           English:   The slow man runs quickly
     Anc. Kakak:    Satul ketAs tusal neluk
   Literal Trans:    Slowness man quickness run(PreImp)




* SYNTAX *

APV/SV

*NUMBERS*

* EXAMPLES *

I walked
Za-nikon

The dog walked
Sanut nikon

The dog kissed me
SanutUn  za-timoz


I look forward to any input

Mario

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daniel andreasson <daniel.andreasson@...>