Phonology

Vowels

Words have vowel harmony in non-nasal vowels between “tense” and “lax”. If a root contains only nasal vowels, then the harmony defaults to lax. In affixes, a vowel that alternates depending on harmony (which is all of them, other than nasals) is indicated with a capital letter. The realisation of these vowels is based on the root nearest to the affix.

Before a consonant, nasal vowels can be written as a vowel followed by m/n/ŋ. In this case, on, ón, etc, are pronounced /ɒ̃/ like ą.

Allophony

• Vowels are slightly longer when stressed.
• /ɛ e/ are lowered to /æ/ before a velar (including [ɫ]).
• A [ʔ] is inserted into word boundaries with a vowel on both sides.

Consonants

The word “glide” refers to /w j/, and “liquid” to /l ɾ ʁ/.

The sequence /ŋŋ/ is written ng (and pronounced [ŋɡ]).

Allophony

• /l/ is [ɫ] anywhere except before one of /j i/.
• /p t k/ are affricated to [pf ts kx] directly before a stressed vowel, and to [pf tʃ kx] at the end of a word.
• /x/ is pronounced [χ] at the end of a word or after a lax vowel.
• /b d/ become [v ð] word finally if immediately preceded by a vowel.
• /ŋ/ becomes [ɡ] after another /ŋ/, before /z/ or /d/, or when not next to a vowel.
• /s z/ become [ʃ ʒ] at the end of a word or before a plosive (including the [ɡ] coming from /ŋ/).
• /d/ becomes [dʒ] at the end of a word if not directly preceded by a vowel.
• /t d s z/ become [tʃ dʒ ʃ ʒ] before one of /j i e/. The /j/ is then dropped if there was one.

Syllable structure

In EBNF:

The · in inner cons indicates where the syllable boundary is.

Stress

Stress falls on the last syllable of the stem. (In a compound word, the last syllable of the last stem.) Inflectional endings do not cause it to move.

• kwély ‘language’ /kweˈliː/
• kwélyjäm ‘language.GEN’ /kweˈliː.jam/

Verbs

Verbs do not inflect themselves, but the conjugation is reflected on a highly fused particle following the main verb. This particle inflects for person, gender (in the third person), number, tense, and a distinction between perfective/imperfective. The ‘citation form’ of this particle is as, the 1SG;PRS;IMP form. The 3X form is used with a group of people/objects of multiple genders, as well as for unknown or indefinite referents (whether singular or plural), and impersonal sentences such as instructions on signs.

Present

Past

Future

Questions, either of the yes/no or of the content kind, are indicated by a particle ům (which is also the verb ‘to ask’) appearing after the inflection of as.

Other aspects and moods are indicated with auxiliary verbs.

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:

1. Sapient (A) sapients
2. Water (B) bodies of water, and the sky
3. Ground (A) the ground, rocks, metals, chemical elements
4. Artifice (C) handheld tools, small plastic items, electronics
5. Spiritual (C) gods, the mind & soul, large natural events, language
6. Containers (B) boxes, pans, bowls, wardrobes, etc; beds, chairs, and other furniture for sitting or lying on
7. Clothing (B) clothing and carried objects like umbrellas and bags
8. Food (C) food and drink
9. 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.

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.

Pronouns

TODO

Case

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.

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.