Hohétyé - Hooti qyà an

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Hohétyé - Hooti qyà an

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Background:
This language is spoken in a world called Qyóbar ([ʔʲoːbar], the word for "world" in a language called Myihang). This world I intend to fill with languages and living things. As of right now I only know a little bit about the living things in this world, and only a bit about a few languages.
One such language is called Myihang ([mʲixaŋ]), which I may post about later. This language is the lingua franca of the region in which Hohétyé ([xoxeːtʲeː]) is spoken. It's speakers influence other peoples in the area culturally, linguistically, economically, and politically. Because Myihang is so important in the region, I think it is fitting to talk about the world with Myihang words. This means plants and animals (which don't have similar enough real world counterparts to use the names of) will be called by their Myihang names, and the peoples and languages of the region will be called by their Myihang names as well.

The Hohétyé People:
The Hohétyé (or Hooti [xooti] in their language) are a sedentary people who live along the Biqo and Miqo rivers. They are surrounded by mountains to their north and west, the Myihang to their south, and nomadic peoples to their east. Their economy is based on slavery. Slaves work the land of their masters growing grains and tubers, which is the main food source of the Hohétyé. A species of herbivorous reptile-like animals is kept for meat, eggs, and skin. People also buy the livestock of nomadic peoples. Fish and game are also eaten.

The Hohétyé Language:
The phonemic inventory of Hohétyé ( Hooti qyà an [xooti ʔʲɨ ʔan]) is as follows.
/m mʲ n nʲ/ m my n ny
/p pʲ t tʲ tɕ k ʔ ʔʲ/ p py t ty c k q~∅ qy
/s sʲ ɕ x/ s sy x h
/r j (w)*/ r y w
/i ɨ u e o ɛ ɔ a/ i à u e o è ò a
/iː ɨː uː eː oː ɛː ɔː aː/ í â ú é ó ê ô á

A word must begin with a consonant, but syllables don't have to. A syllable can end in either of /m n/. A syllable can't have both a long vowel and a coda. Long vowels don't appear word finally.
Plosives and Affricates become voiced following a nasal, and fricatives become voiced affricates in the same position.
*/w/ is only found in loanwords from Myihang. Older speakers, especially in the north, replace it with [m].
There isn't much in the way of dialectical variation phonologically in Hohété. The biggest thing is that generally, the further north you go, the fewer Myihang loanwords you'll here. One bit of dialectical variation is that some instances of /i/ in the south are [ɛ] in the north. This has resulted in a merger of the words for "blood" and "mud" (which are [mi] and [mɛ] respectively in the south) by northerners. This merger is made fun of in the saying Nantára qyàméra mi ênyàmpo, Píya qyàméra mè ênyàmpo, meaning "southern men spill blood, northern men spill mud." Unless stated otherwise, I will be talking about southern Hohétyé here.

Thats all for right now, I'll post more later.
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Re: Hohétyé - Hooti qyà an

Post by this_is_an_account »

Possession:
There are two different constructions, one for when a personal pronoun has the role of possessor, and one for any other possessor. For the first construction, the possessed noun is simply followed by a possessive pronoun. Only the first person pronoun has a unique possessive form (kôtyà versus possessive ).

Apò kò pohékà apò nan ò.
"My father isn't your father."

Code: Select all

apò    kò       pohe-kà       apò    nan ò
father 1SG.POSS COP -NPST.IRR father 2SG NEG
For the second construction, the possessor phrase goes before the possessee, and is marked with the comitative postposition.

Kôtyà monqyàméra qyà apako hímya.
"I went to the man's house."

Code: Select all

kôtyà mon=qyàméra qyà apako hi-mya
1SG   LOC=man     COM house go-PST.VIS
This method is used with pronouns and nouns alike for predicative possession.

càméra peo pohéma kôtyà qyà.
"This slave is mine."

Code: Select all

càméra peo   pohe-ma      kôtyà qyà
this   slave COP -PST.VIS 1SG   COM
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Re: Hohétyé - Hooti qyà an

Post by Creyeditor »

Hey this looks interesting. I will continue reading if you post more. Nice that you made a post on possession. I think that's an interesting topic. I also like the interplay of your syllable structure and the phoneme inventory.
Fricatives becoming voiced affricates intervocallicaly looks cool. I think I haven't seen that before. Was it inspired by a natlang? Also, could you give the IPA for all phonological processes/allophony? I have a hard time imagening the details otherwise.
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Re: Hohétyé - Hooti qyà an

Post by this_is_an_account »

Thank you! I'll keep posting as long as I keep working on it. Fricatives don't become affricates intervocalically, but after nasals.
/p pʲ t tʲ tɕ k s sʲ ɕ x/ > [b bʲ d dʲ dʑ ɡ dz dzʲ dʑ ɡɣ] | N_
I suppose having a bit more allophony would be good, but I'll figure that out later.
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Re: Hohétyé - Hooti qyà an

Post by Creyeditor »

Ah, thank you, I misread that. My bad. I would be interested in seeing more allophony.
Btw, I also like your possessive constructions. The first one, because it is so simple and the second one, because it is interesting how it interacts with other cases. Will the language have more case proclitics like the locative one?
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Re: Hohétyé - Hooti qyà an

Post by this_is_an_account »

There are exactly two, and I'll just go ahead and talk about them now.

The Locative:
This has the form mon=, and can be used on its own for locative and allative meanings, or alongside location related postpositions.

Kôtyà monqapako pi kâranma.
"I came from the house."

Code: Select all

kôtyà mon=apako pi  kâran-ma
1SG   LOC=house ABL come -PST.VIS
It is also used to mark indirect objects.

Qyàméra men montátaxà pórompo tóra.
"The man fed the stranger meat."

Code: Select all

qyàméra men  mon=tátaxà   póro-mpo      tóra
man     meat LOC=stranger feed-PST.NVIS REP
The Benefactive:
This has the form hê=. It causes some consonant mutation on the first consonant of the word it precedes. This is just making unpalatalized consonants palatalized for most consonants (with [k] becoming [tɕ]), except for [s.] which becomes [j], and [x] which is lost (and the clitic becomes hè= in that case).
It is used when you do something for someone, as well as when something happens because of someone.

Kôtyà sanyàméra xàákà hênyan.
"I will tell them for you."

Code: Select all

kôtyà sanyàméra    xàa-kà       hê =nan
1SG   DEM.DIST.HUM say-NPST.IRR BEN=2SG
It is also used to mark the indirect object of the verb mosem, "to give."

Yupan híye mosempo hêyanyàméra tóra.
"The king gave him land."

Code: Select all

yupan híye mosem-mpo      hê =sanyàméra    tóra
king  land give -PST.NVIS BEN=DEM.DIST.HUM REP
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Re: Hohétyé - Hooti qyà an

Post by Creyeditor »

I like the mutation bit a lot. Also, it is interesting that Case is split up between proclitics, postposition and (at least for the 1SG pronoun) suppletion. If you would translate the phrase 'from my father's house' would you get two postpositions, one proclitic and one possessive pronoun in that noun phrase?
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Re: Hohétyé - Hooti qyà an

Post by this_is_an_account »

Thats exactly right! It would be monqapò kò qyà apako pi.

Code: Select all

mon=apò    kò       qyà apako pi
LOC=father 1SG.POSS COM house ABL
Tense, Mood, and Evidentiality
Hohétyé distinguishes two tenses, the past and non-past. The past is further divided between visual and non-visual knowledge.

Nan himya monqapako.
"You went to the house (and I saw it)."

Code: Select all

nan hi-ma      mon=apako
2SG go-PST.VIS LOC=house
Nan himpyi monqapako.
"You went to the house (but I didn't see it)."

Code: Select all

nan hi-mpi      mon=apako
2SG go-PST.NVIS LOC=house
There is also a reportative particle that can be used if you know something because you were told it.

Nan himpyi monqapako tóra.
"You went to the house (and someone told me)."

Code: Select all

nan hi-mpi      mon=apako tóra
2SG go-PST.NVIS LOC=house REP
The non-past is divided between realis and irrealis. The latter is used for the future tense, negative statements, questions, and of course irrealis moods.

Nan híqyà monqapako.
"You're going to the house."

Code: Select all

nan hi-qà        mon=apako
2SG go-NPST.REAL LOC=house
Nan hícà monqapako.
"You will go to the house."

Code: Select all

nan hi-kà       mon=apako
2SG go-NPST.IRR LOC=house
An imperative/hortative is formed with a bare verb stem. A second person singular subject can be dropped here.

Hi monqapako!
"Go to the house!"

Code: Select all

hi mon=apako
go LOC=house
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Re: Hohétyé - Hooti qyà an

Post by Creyeditor »

Ha! It's like you are trying to tick off all my personal conlanging preferences with this conlang [:D]

I also really like your style of representation. The ecamples make everything so much clearer. The verbal TME system is really cool. I like that the moods/evidentiality do not simply cross-classify the tenses. Two minor questions:
  • Can the reportative particle only be used with the past non-visual? Or can it be combined with other tenses/evidentiality? Like, what if someone told you about an ongoing or future event?
  • Where does the <q> come from in <monqapò>?
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Re: Hohétyé - Hooti qyà an

Post by DesEsseintes »

The palatalisations remind me of Yagwa.

Many good things going on here! I like.
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Re: Hohétyé - Hooti qyà an

Post by this_is_an_account »

Thank you both! [:D]
To answer your questions Creyeditor,
  • The reportative can be used with other TME markers. Before I thought that using it with the visual marker wouldn't make any sense, but now that I think about it I think there are uses for that combination. For example, you might have seen someone fall but not know they were injured until somone told you.
  • Apò is /ʔapɔ/. The glottal stop isn't written word initially because it doesn't contrast with a null onset.
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Re: Hohétyé - Hooti qyà an

Post by this_is_an_account »

The Syntax of Focusing
The normal word order of a sentence is SVOI (where I stands for the indirect object). Adjuncts can go anywhere after the verb. Hohétyé has contrastive focus, which is marked by putting an argument right before the verb (along with some sort of emphatic pronunciation probably).

Perhaps the king gets mistaken for a prince, they might respond with this:
Kôtyà yupan pohéqà!
"I'm the king!"

Code: Select all

kôtyà yupan pohe-qà
1SG   king  COP -NPST.REAL
Another thing to realize about Hohétyé's syntax is that nouns which are modified by a relative clause have to go at the end of a sentence. So what should you do if someone mistakes you for their friend's brother who lives by the ocean when you're in fact the sister who lives by the ocean? You put the word for "sister" before the verb, but keep the relative clause at the end, modifying a pronoun.

Kôtyà pontò pohéqà mon'yati seâqyota kôtyà.
"I'm the sister who lives by the ocean."

Code: Select all

 kôtyà pontò  pohe-qà        [mon=yati  seâqyi=ta ] kôtyà
 1SG   sister COP -NPST.REAL [LOC=ocean reside=NMZ] 1SG
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Re: Hohétyé - Hooti qyà an

Post by Omzinesý »

Evidentiality is interesting.

What evidential you use to describe your emotions? 'I am/feel_like the happiest man in the world.'
How do you refer to TV shows? 'Brooke kissed Ridge.'
How are 'everybody knows' facts described? 'northern men spill mud'

Are there some mergers of (non)palatalized consonants before say front vowels?
My meta-thread: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5760
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Re: Hohétyé - Hooti qyà an

Post by Creyeditor »

I like the idea of seperating a relative clause from its noun. I do that all the time in my native language, but without the "resumptive" pronoun, which is an interesting twist. Can pronouns in general be modified by relative clauses in Hohétyé?
Also, could you give the versions of the example sentences without focusing? That would really help me to understand the details.
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Re: Hohétyé - Hooti qyà an

Post by this_is_an_account »

Omzinesý wrote: 24 Nov 2020 14:01 What evidential you use to describe your emotions?
I'll have to do more research into evidentials to answer this.
Omzinesý wrote: 24 Nov 2020 14:01 Are there some mergers of (non)palatalized consonants before say front vowels?
I'm not sure if I understand the question, but i assume you're wondering if palatalized and nonpalatalized consonants are contrasted before all vowels, and they are. Palatalization occured before *i and after *i *ei and *ai. after this *i and *u merged together as /ɨ/ and *ei *ai became /i ɛ/. So if you're looking for places where the distinction between palatalized and nonpalatalized consonants is neutralized, it'll be after /i(ː) ɛ(ː)/.
Creyeditor wrote: 27 Nov 2020 19:20 Can pronouns in general be modified by relative clauses in Hohétyé?
Yes.
Creyeditor wrote: 27 Nov 2020 19:20 Also, could you give the versions of the example sentences without focusing? That would really help me to understand the details.
I'll be sure to add some at the beginning of my next post. I've been busy lately which is why I haven't posted in a bit [:'(]
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Re: Hohétyé - Hooti qyà an

Post by Omzinesý »

Would it be interesting to write tɕ ɕ with <ky> and <hy> respectively?
My meta-thread: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5760
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Re: Hohétyé - Hooti qyà an

Post by Khemehekis »

Hohétyé reminds me of African languages. I remember you said in the Conlanger Stereotype Poll thread that you were Somali-American, and I can definitely see the Somaliishness in its phonology and orthography.
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Re: Hohétyé - Hooti qyà an

Post by Creyeditor »

For me the interisting thing is that Hohétyé could very well be a (West or East) African language, but judging purely from the aesthetic it could also very well be a (North or Central) American language.
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Re: Hohétyé - Hooti qyà an

Post by Khemehekis »

Creyeditor wrote: 05 Dec 2020 19:03 For me the interisting thing is that Hohétyé could very well be a (West or East) African language, but judging purely from the aesthetic it could also very well be a (North or Central) American language.
Yeah . . . it has the Navajoeyness of many of DesEsseintes' languages.
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Re: Hohétyé - Hooti qyà an

Post by this_is_an_account »

Omzinesý wrote: 05 Dec 2020 16:25 Would it be interesting to write tɕ ɕ with <ky> and <hy> respectively?
It would work just fine, /tɕ ɕ/ do originate as the palatalized versions of /k x/. I prefer using seperate characters for them though.
Khemehekis wrote: 05 Dec 2020 16:28 Hohétyé reminds me of African languages. I remember you said in the Conlanger Stereotype Poll thread that you were Somali-American, and I can definitely see the Somaliishness in its phonology and orthography.
Khemehekis wrote: 05 Dec 2020 19:07
Creyeditor wrote: 05 Dec 2020 19:03 For me the interisting thing is that Hohétyé could very well be a (West or East) African language, but judging purely from the aesthetic it could also very well be a (North or Central) American language.
Yeah . . . it has the Navajoeyness of many of DesEsseintes' languages.
These are interesting comparisons. I hadn't intended for this to look like any of those languages, and they don't really seem so similar to me. The language I thought it seemed most like was Forest Nenets.

The Syntax of Not Focusing
Here are the examples that Creyeditor asked for:
Here the object goes after the verb instead of before it.

Kôtyà pohéqà yupan
"I'm the king."

Code: Select all

kôtyà pohe-qà        yupan
1SG   COP -NPST.REAL king
Here the object goes after the verb, and the relative clause doesn't need a dummy pronoun.

Kôtyà pohéqà mon'yati seâqyota pontò
"I'm the sister who lives by the ocean."

Code: Select all

kôtyà pohe-qà        [mon=yati  seâqyi-ta ] pontò
1SG   COP -NPST.REAL [LOC=ocean reside-NMZ] sister
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