12 KiB
| title | conlang |
|---|---|
| Zalajmkwély | zalajmkwely |
- Pulų jafų ep äly ům?
- [pʊˈlõ jaˈfõ epf alijˈõ]
- pu-lų jaf-ų ep äly ům
- what-ACC name-ACC have 2SG;PRS;IMP QU
- What is your name?
:::
Nouns & adjectives
Case
Nouns have five cases: nominative, accusative, genitive, dative, and locative.
The last of these is used only with preposition-type words. As a result of the
inflectional suffixes, nouns almost always end in a consonant. The only
exception is words ending in /ɪ/ or /i/, which gain an extra /j/ before
the suffixes. The spelling similarly gains a {–j}.
Nouns are divided into a few classes. Each class requires the use of a specific
inflection class of {as}, labelled !A!, !B!, or !C!. The conventional
labels for the classes are:
I. Sapient !(A)! sapients
II. Water !(B)! bodies of water, and the sky
III. Ground !(A)! the ground, rocks, metals, chemical elements
IV. Artifice !(C)! handheld tools, small plastic items, electronics
V. Spiritual !(C)! gods, the mind & soul, large natural events, language
VI. Containers !(B)! boxes, pans, bowls, wardrobes, etc;
beds, chairs, and other furniture for sitting or lying on
VII. Clothing !(B)! clothing and carried objects like umbrellas and bags
VIII. Food !(C)! food and drink
IX. Animal !(B)! animals (including mythical creatures)
(TODO zk names for genders)
Not all nouns fall into the class which the labels would suggest, and if none of
the labels fit then the choice is arbitrary. (As is usual with !NOM!–!ACC!
languages, !NOM!;!SG! is the citation form in dictionaries.) People's names
are assigned to whichever class they choose.
`!I!` `!II!` `!III!` `!IV!` `!V!` `!VI!` `!VII!` `!VIII!` `!IX!`
'woman' 'lake' 'iron' 'tool' 'life' 'cup' 'shoe' 'bread' 'dog'
!NOM! !SG! {fälés} {dusal} {klůp} {řas} {kól} {mbuz} {gřub} {řazg} {kląs}
!PL! {fälésé} {dusala} {klůpä} {řasa} {kólä} {mbuze} {gřube} {řazgį} {kląse}
!ACC! !SG! {fälésų} {dusalų} {klůpů} {řasol} {kólų} {mbuzol} {gřubę} {řazgų} {kląsų}
!PL! {fälésów} {dusaloh} {klůpůf} {řasuf} {kólůh} {mbuzuf} {gřubęw} {řazgoh} {kląsow}
!GEN! !SG! {fälésäm} {dusalam} {klůpym} {řasim} {kóläm} {mbuzat} {gřubam} {řazgim} {kląsam}
!PL! {fälésäz} {dusalat} {klůpyt} {řasit} {kóläz} {mbuzaz} {gřubat} {řazgįz} {kląsaz}
!DAT! !SG! {fälésój} {dusale} {klůpój} {řasoj} {kólé} {mbuze} {gřuboj} {řazgai} {kląsi}
!PL! {fälésůd} {dusaloj} {klůpůd} {řasud} {kólój} {mbuzoj} {gřubud} {řazged} {kląsid}
!LOC! !SG! {fälésés} {dusales} {klůpés} {řases} {kólés} {mbuzes} {gřubes} {řazges} {kląses}
!PL! {fälésęts} {dusalęts} {klůpęts} {řasęts} {kólęts} {mbuzęts} {gřubęts} {řazgęts} {kląsęts}
Adjectives, including genitive nouns, agree in case with their head noun, but not number. Adjectives, except for possessive pronouns, attached to a genitive noun agree with that noun's head, but not with the genitive noun itself.
:::twocol
!NOM!:{bym}'good'!ACC!:{bymů}!DAT!:{bymó}!LOC!:{bymés}
:::
Pronouns
TODO
Case
!NOM! |
!ACC! |
!GEN! |
!DAT! |
!LOC! |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
!1SG! |
{yn} |
{iwn} |
{ym} |
{ém} |
{yné} |
!1PL! |
{fę} |
{fęw} |
{fénó} |
{fejm} |
{fęj} |
!2SG! |
{ol} |
{ow} |
{ů} |
{wą} |
{wój} |
!2PL! |
{zůl} |
{zow} |
{zów} |
{zům} |
{zůj} |
!3SG.A! |
{sem} |
{sju} |
{só} |
{sem} |
{sęs} |
!3SG.B! |
{lem} |
{lew} |
{ló} |
{lem} |
{lęs} |
!3SG.C! |
{em} |
{ä} |
{aw} |
{äm} |
{ęs} |
!3PL.A! |
{gej} |
{gęw} |
{déw} |
{gim} |
{gįs} |
!3PL.B! |
{gaj} |
{gąw} |
{djó} |
{gam} |
{gąs} |
!3PL.C! |
{gó} |
{gů} |
{gů} |
{gam} |
{gąs} |
!3PL.X! |
{gew} |
{gejų} |
{déw} |
{gam} |
{gąs} |
Syntax
Questions
To form a yes/no question, the particle {ům} is added to the end of the
sentence. When used in this way, {ům} is pronounced as an {ų} attached to
the final word.
:::glosses
- Bymů bälsůh ep ad ům?
- [biˈmuː baɫˈsuːχ ɛpf ɑˈdõ]
- bym-ů bäls-ůh ep ad ům
- good-ACC mood-ACC;PL have 2SG;PRS;IMPF QU
- Are you feeling good?
:::
To answer a question, conjugate {as} appropriately, and follow with {řab}
for agreement and {zol} for disagreement. In formal circumstances the main
verb stem may be echoed before the {as}. Before {zol}, a {s} or {z} at
the end of the form of {as} is dropped.
:::glosses
- As řab.
- [ɑʃ ʁɑv]
- as řab
- 1SG;PRS;IMPF CONFIRM
- Yes, I am.
- A zol.
- [ɑ zɔɫ]
- a(s) zol
- 1SG;PRS;IMPF DENY
- No, I am not.
:::