Difference between revisions of "Sehali language"
(→Alphabet) |
(→Open Class) |
||
| Line 852: | Line 852: | ||
!be | !be | ||
| | | | ||
| − | | | + | |si' (''pst'': g̱a̤r / ''fut'': wíy) |
|- | |- | ||
!bountiful | !bountiful | ||
Revision as of 08:25, 27 May 2015
Sehali (Sehali: Sä̗hāli) [sjaħalγi] is a language spoken by reptilian people of the same name. Nomadic, the Sehali are known variously as raiders, traders, and slavers, although make their home mostly in the Miuxleb Plains, controlling major tradeways between the Copper Mountains and the Great East Plateau. Their articulators differ to some extent from humans, but not so greatly that their languages are unintelligible or unlearnable to one another.
Alphabet
Sehali uses an alphabetic script that arranges letters according to syllables.
- The nuclear vowel is the character at the bottom left.
- The onset consonant is the character at the bottom right. If there is no onset consonant, a placeholder is used.
- The coda consonant, if applicable, is the character at the top.
- Diacritics defining the secondary articulation, if applicable, for the onset and coda are below and above the syllable respectively.
Font
http://geckat.conlang.org/conlang/fonts/Sehali.ttf
The font should be used in tandem with the keyboard layout (see below). Capital letters are for consonantal codas and vowels without a consonantal onset. Press space to move the cursor and begin the next character. The O, of course, does nothing.
Phonology
Sehali phonology revolves heavily around the alternation between palatalized, velarized, and pharyngealized consonants. These secondary articulations assimilate progressively throughout an utterance. The default articulation is presumed to be velar.
Consonants
| Grapheme | Palatalized | Velarized | Pharyngealized |
|---|---|---|---|
| B | /bj/ | /bγ/ | /bʕ/ |
| D | /dj/ | /dγ/ | /dʕ/ |
| DZ | /dzj/ | /dzγ/ | /dzʕ/ |
| DŽ | /dʑ/ | ||
| F | /ɸj/ | /ɸγ/ | /ɸʕ/ |
| G | /gj/ | /g/ | |
| Ġ | /ɣj/ | /ɣ/ | |
| G̱ | /ʡ/ | ||
| H | /h/ | ||
| H̱ | /ħ/ | ||
| J | /ʕ/ | ||
| K | /kj/ | /k/ | |
| L | /lj/ | /lγ/ | /ɫ/ |
| M | /mj/ | /mγ/ | /mʕ/ |
| N | /ɲ/ | /n/ | /ŋ/ |
| P | /pj/ | /pγ/ | /pʕ/ |
| Q | /qj/ | /q/ | /qʕ/ |
| R | /rj/ | /rγ/ | /rʕ/ |
| S | /sj/ | /sγ/ | /sʕ/ |
| Š | /ɕ/ | ||
| T | /tj/ | /tγ/ | /tʕ/ |
| TS | /tsj/ | /tsγ/ | /tsʕ/ |
| TŠ | /tɕ/ | ||
| W | /βj/ | /βγ/ | /βʕ/ |
| X | /xj/ | /x/ | |
| X̥ | /χj/ | /χ/ | /χʕ/ |
| Y | /j/ | ||
| Z | /zj/ | /zγ/ | /zʕ/ |
| Ž | /ʑ/ | ||
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Epiglottal | Glottal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | Voiceless | Palatalized | pj | tj | kj | qj | ʔ | ||
| Velarized | pγ | tγ | k | q | |||||
| Pharyngealized | pʕ | tʕ | qʕ | ||||||
| Voiced | Palatalized | bj | dj | gj | |||||
| Velarized | bγ | dγ | g | ||||||
| Pharyngealized | bʕ | dʕ | ʡ | ||||||
| Fricative | Voiceless | Palatalized | ɸj | sj | ɕ | xj | χj | h | |
| Velarized | ɸγ | sγ | x | χ | |||||
| Pharyngealized | ɸʕ | sʕ | χʕ | ħ | |||||
| Voiced | Palatalized | βj | zj | ʑ | ɣj | ||||
| Velarized | βγ | zγ | ɣ | ||||||
| Pharyngealized | βʕ | zʕ | ʕ | ||||||
| Affricate | Voiceless | Palatalized | tsj | tɕ | |||||
| Velarized | tsγ | ||||||||
| Pharyngealized | tsʕ | ||||||||
| Voiced | Palatalized | dzj | dʑ | ||||||
| Velarized | dzγ | ||||||||
| Pharyngealized | dzʕ | ||||||||
| Nasal | Palatalized | mj | ɲ | ||||||
| Velarized | mγ | n | |||||||
| Pharyngealized | mʕ | ŋ | |||||||
| Trill | Palatalized | rj | |||||||
| Velarized | rγ | ||||||||
| Pharyngealized | rʕ | ||||||||
| Approximant | Palatalized | lj | j | ||||||
| Velarized | lγ | ||||||||
| Pharyngealized | ɫ |
Vowels
Monophthongs
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| High | i | u |
| Low | a | |
Sehali marks secondary articulation of consonants upon vowels. When Latinized, a diacritic above the vowel indicates that the consonant following that vowel is pronounced with the indicated secondary articulation. A diacritic below the vowel indicates that the consonant preceding that vowel is pronounced with the indicated secondary articulation.
- Palatalization: ́a , ̗a
- Pharyngealization: ̈a , ̤a
Phonotactics
(C)V(C)
It is important to note that some consonants (DŽ, G̱, H̲, J, Š, TŠ, Y, Ž) can only be in certain environments (palatal, velar, pharyngeal). These remain phonemic.
The final (third) consonant in a verb root must be velarized.
Grammar
Primarily VSO and head-initial.
- Adjectives follow nouns.
- Determiners and deixis precede nouns.
- Genitive nouns succeed nouns and may include deixis in the phrase.
Number
- Duel suffix: ̤at
- Plural suffix: ̗iss
Case
- Genitive case prefix: äl
Definiteness and Deixis
Preposed particles:
- Indefinite: in
- Definite: la'
- Proximal: di̤s
- Mesioproximal: di̗š
- Mesiodistal: da̤r
- Distal: dar
Verbs
Verbs are defined by roots. They are inflected by tense (past, present, future) and mood (indicative, subjunctive, imperative), and have many derivations.
- Adjectival suffix: zi
Indicative Paradigm
| Past | Present | Future | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (base) | wadma (lived) | wadam (live) | wadám (will live) |
| 2 (nominal) | wadmiġ (life) | ||
| 3 (causative) | mäwadma (gave birth) | mäwdam (give birth) | mäwadám (will give birth) |
| 4 (dative) | ži̗wadma (gave rise to) | ži̗wdam (give rise to) | ži̗wadám (will give rise to) |
| 5 (reflexive) | ädwadma (remembered) | ädwadam (remember) | ädwadám (will remember) |
| 6 (reciprocal) | umwadmu (non-existent) | umwadmu (non-existent) | umwadámi (non-existent) |
| 7 (cessative) | axwadmäl (died) | axwadamli̤ (die) | axwadámli̤ (will die) |
| 8 (terminative) | uxwadmas (killed) | axwadamsi (kill) | axwadámsi (will kill) |
Subjunctive Paradigm
| Past | Present | Future | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (base) | anufla (burned) | anufal (burn) | anufál (will burn) |
| 3 (causative) | äbnufla (made X burn) | abnufal (make X burn) | abnufál (will make X burn) |
| 4 (dative) | áznufla (set fire to) | áznufal (set fire to) | áznufál (will set fire to) |
| 5 (reflexive) | a'nuflaẖ (non-existent) | a'nufalaẖ (non-existent) | a'nufaliẖ (non-existent) |
| 6 (reciprocal) | awanuflaẖ (non-existent) | awanufalaẖ (non-existent) | awanufáliẖ (non-existent) |
| 7 (cessative) | ax̣änuflal (burnt out) | ax̣anufali (burn out) | ax̣anufali̗ (will burn out) |
| 8 (terminative) | ux̣anuflas (extinguish) | ux̣anufalsi (extinguish) | ux̣anufalsi̗ (will extinguish) |
Imperative Paradigm
| 1 (base) | šā̗päna (sail!) |
|---|---|
| 3 (causative) | bi̗ša̗päna (set sails!) |
| 4 (dative) | aži̗ša̗päna (ship it!) |
| 5 (reflexive) | ya̗'ša̗pnä̤ẖ (return!) |
| 6 (reciprocal) | wa'ša̗pnä̤ẖ (fly colours!) |
| 7 (cessative) | äg̱aša̗pänla̤ (full stop!) |
| 8 (terminative) | äg̱aša̗pänsa̤ (sink it!) |
Lexicon
Pronouns
| 1s | ana |
|---|---|
| 1p | näẖnu |
| 2s | anta |
| 2p | nantu |
| 3s.an | ẖṳwa |
| 3d.an | ẖṳma |
| 3p.an | ẖṳmi |
| 3s.in | sawa |
| 3d.in | sama |
| 3p.in | sami |
Pronoun genitives are formed with a simple suffix: 'i
Numbers
Base-8.
| 1 | ala̗ |
|---|---|
| 2 | ba |
| 3 | ta |
| 4 | ẖa |
| 5 | xa |
| 6 | ra |
| 7 | za |
| 8 | la̗m |
8s suffix: 'i
Prepositions and Particles
| abaft | istär |
|---|---|
| abeam | ismíd |
| aboard | ün |
| about | run |
| above | túp |
| across | usídža |
| afore | isbül |
| after | ārfit |
| against | g̱a̤stir |
| along | síd |
| amid | sandit |
| aport | ilif |
| around | rud |
| astarboard | iriẖ |
| atop | buwa |
| before | ẖin |
| behind | fur |
| below | laġ |
| beside | asdi |
| between | yi̗num |
| beyond | pasit |
| despite | buwin |
| down | dūn |
| except | bud |
| following | ifta |
| for | wir |
| from | fun |
| in | i |
| including | wïḡin |
| inside | inút |
| into | ín |
| like | sum |
| near | nara |
| next | ifa |
| of | u |
| off | fur |
| on | pu |
| onto | til |
| opposite | mirul |
| out | ut |
| outside | udpül |
| over | iwar |
| past | bíyun |
| since | dān |
| than | mil |
| through | du̗ral |
| to | a |
| toward | a'i |
| under | ūnal |
| underneath | unalpül |
| unlike | usum |
| until | tis |
| up | ap |
| upon | appu |
| via | wid |
| with | mad |
| without | umad |
| negative (part clit) | u' |
|---|---|
| passive | wi' |
| potential | dzi̤ |
Open Class
| English | Root-Form | Sehali |
|---|---|---|
| be | si' (pst: g̱a̤r / fut: wíy) | |
| bountiful | xlb-3 | mū̗xlab |
| brave (adj) | ytr | yi̗tri̠ |
| burn (n) | nfl-1 | nufal |
| come (v) | sjx-1 | šï̗ju |
| create (v) | ġrr-1 | ġurar |
| do (v) | znr-1 | zina̤r |
| language (n) | kmn | kṳmṳn |
| live (v) | wdm-1 | wadam |
| love (v) | šrm-1 | šaram |
| lover (n) | šrm-n | šaramiġ |
| place (n) | bu | |
| oasis (n) | w'l | wu'la |
| pay (v) | gln-1 | galun |
| platinum (n) | gln | galun |
| sail (n) | špn-n | ša̗pna̤ġ |
| sail (v) | špn-1 | ša̗pan |
| slave (n) | hlm-n | halumiġ |
| slaver (n) | hlm-3n | mähalumiġ |
| thank you (int) | gln-6 | uġalnu |
| Uwasiq (n) | wsq | uwasiq |
| victory (n) | ksk | kasak |
| what (n) | xm | xam |
| work (v) | hlm-1 | halum |
