Taısılǐklı lakúual.
[təj.zɪˈɬek.ɬi ɬɜˈku.vɜl]
Apparently this language still exists.
About
I tend to write my notes in a vaguely sketch grammar / textbook-esque format, which can be a bit verbose, and I make a lot of references to things elsewhere in my notes that I haven't gotten around to discussing on here yet, so hopefully it's readable.
Nouns: A Brief Description of Stuff and Things
Alál nouns consist of a root, falling into a particular class, and a case affix.
The root always takes the shape C(C)V[*]C. The center V is referred to as the root vowel, and may be any of the three resting vowels, ı, a, or u. Roots are henceforth written in small caps (e.g. RIH); for a given noun, the class (1-3) is given following the root (e.g. RIH3 'honey', RIH2 'yellow',).
• The root vowel may not be any of these vowels' standing (í á ú) or pulling (ì à ù) counterparts. Thus KAX 'log' is a valid root, while KÁX is not.
• The [*] here refers to one of a wide variety of partially-lexicalized, partially-derivational 'axis' markers, which here are infixes that may be of the very broad pattern (C)(C)V(V)(C)(C)(V)(C). Their mechanics will be discussed later. When written, vowels that are part of axis markers within a noun are not restricted to the resting type (e.g. while there can be no root KÁX, there may be a root KAáaX with incorporated áa axis). These are written in lowercase within the root.
• Roots with a Class-N# derivative infix are written with the infix in small caps following the root vowel (e.g. KATAH3 'paint sponge', HTAḶAIK3 'bug repellent'). These are a separate class of infixes with the unique property of changing the noun's case declension when added.
Alál has three simple noun classes, numbered Class 1-3. There is also a fourth "Class N#", which is used for certain derived forms. A noun's class, together with its root vowel, dictates a noun's declension patterns. All nominal roots are presented here in their C(C)V[*]C citation form, written in small caps (axis markers in lower case) with their class number immediately following, as it is often the case that two or three nouns have identical roots and differ only in class: for example, HRAS2 'cake / layered pastry' and HRAS3 'sheet of paper'. There are general semantic tendencies, as seen below, but a noun's class must largely be memorized.
Class-1 tends to appear with:
• abstract concepts as experienced by a group or society (e.g. war, peace, immortality)
• large objects, particularly animate ones, geographic features, buildings, or natural forces (e.g. basement, sun, oceanic trench)
• groups of abstract or concrete objects taken as a whole (e.g. family home, homework, psychology)
• formal, honorific, or religiously or socially significant terms (e.g. hymn, high tide, chief, entropy)
Class-2 tends to appear with:
• many concrete nouns (e.g. rock, tree, person)
• abstract concepts as experienced by an individual (e.g. most emotions)
• foods comprised of multiple combined ingredients (e.g. chicken pot pie)
• most kinship terms (e.g. father, sibling, great-aunt's cousin in law's ex-wife)
• some natural phenomena, particularly man-made or non-destructive (e.g. river, seeded field)
Class-3 tends to appear with:
• small objects, particularly those that tend to come in groups (e.g. marble, pebble, drink can)
• foods comprised of a single ingredient, or very few (e.g. tomato soup)
• undeveloped or unfinished things (e.g. infant, seed, draft of an essay)
• tools or man-made items, pieces of furniture (e.g. bookshelf, awl, canoe)
• kinship terms for younger relatives (e.g. little brother)
• pieces of things, parts of the body (e.g. eggshell, tooth, ear, letter [in a word])
There is a semi-productive derivational pattern for concrete Class-2 nouns in which, when instead declined in Class-1 or Class-3, they indicate an augmentative or diminutive (respectively) form of the concrete noun in question. For example, ZIL2 'river/stream' may become ZIL1 'large river'. However, this is not universally possible; ZIL3 does not correspond to 'small brook' but rather to 'drainage pipe' or 'sewer'.
While a semantic relationship between the ZIL roots is clear, this is not always the case. The meaning of a Class-1 noun (or any other) cannot always be predicted from that of its Class-2 or Class-3 counterparts, if they even exist. ḲMAM1 is lightning, while ḲMAM3 is thread. And so on.
The case affix takes one of three shapes: infix, (prefix+)infix, or infix+suffix. These three behave slightly differently in particular morphological situations; notably, the (prefix+)infix type loses its prefixed counterpart in most cases, save for when used as part of an honorific proper noun (glossed as HON). As an example, LAL1 lál 'language.OBL', but LAL1 alál 'The/This Language.HON.OBL'.
Even in formal speech, the (prefix+)infix type will also lack its prefixed component when it is the first noun in a compound (e.g. záz 'ocean.OBL' > azáz 'The Ocean.HON.OBL' but > zázukatu 'saltwater fish.OBL') or when in any complex noun (e.g. zîaáz 'his ocean.OBL', zatǔaz 'The Northern Sea.OBL'). The other case affix types undergo no such change and do not have honorific variations.
Case affixes always consist entirely of vowels and vowel clusters; the complete chart of them will be given shortly, and the three types are identified via their notational convention: V, (V-)V, and V-V, respectively.
Regarding the root vowel and noun complexity:
• If the noun has an axis or TV marker, then it is considered complex.
‣ Complex nouns retain their root vowel.
• (ZIhkáL3 'waterfall' + ı = zıhkáıl 'waterfall.AGT' [ɕɪç'kajɬ])
• (HUhaS3 'confidante' + a-u = huhaasu 'confidante.OBL' ['çɤʝɜzˤvˤ])
• If the noun does not have an axis or TV marker, then it is considered simple.
‣ Simple nouns that are not in Class-N# delete their root vowel.
• (ZIL1 'river' + ı = zıl 'river.AGT' [ɕɪɬ])
• (HUS2 'fire' + a-u = hasu 'fire.OBL' [çɜzv])
‣ Simple nouns in Class-N# retain their root vowel, though the # determines its quality (standing, resting, or pulling)
• (KUMAL1 'organizer' + ŕ.a = kúmal 'organizer.OBL' ['kumɜɬ])
• (HAHAṬ3 'round tablecloth' + r̀.à = hàhàṭ 'round.tablecloth.PAT' [ɜ'çɑʝɑtʼ])
How the case affix is applied:
• An infixed component appears between any axis markers and the final consonant of the root.
‣ (XUurS2 'intestines' + ıu = xuurıus 'intestines.AGT' ['xfɤrɪfs])
• A suffixed component appears precisely where one would expect it: word-finally.
‣ (XUurS2 'intestines' + a-u = xuurasu 'intestines.OBL' ['xfɤrɜzv])
• A prefixed component, when present, always appears before the first consonant of the noun. This may seem obvious, as such is the nature of prefixes, but this is worth noting to distinguish this vowel from one added via root vowel epenthesis (RVE) as a result of 'initial pulling'. Pulling vowels cannot be the first vowel in a word, and will require the initial epenthesis of a resting vowel.
Regarding RVE:
• A vowel that is pulled (epenthesized) in this way will appear either word-initially or between the consonants of a word-initial CC cluster, with the latter preferred.
‣ For example, the root TLAakaḳ1 'mesa, butte' takes the pattern (a-)á in the oblique, so if one is referring to a specific mesa or one unique to an area, one may use atlaakaáḳ 'The Mesa.OBL' [ɜtɬˤɜg'ʕaŋ], where the (a-) appears before the first consonant. This is normal application of the prefixed honorific component.
‣ Contrast this with the root KLAS3 'letter (in a word)', which in the oblique takes the pattern à. This is a pulling vowel and thus triggers RVE, epenthesis of the root vowel (here a) earlier in the word - unlike the prefixed component of (a-)á, however, this will break up that initial CC cluster, producing not *aklàs but kalàs 'letter.OBL' [kɜ'ɬɑs].
• To complicate things: orthographically, a pulled vowel that is the same "color" (a/ı/u) as the vowel that pulled it will not be written word-initially. This has no effect on pronunciation. I'll go into this all in more detail later in a section on vowel phonology.
‣ KIM3 'piece of meat' + àı 'OBL (I3)' = ıkàım 'piece of meat.OBL' [ɪ'ɴɑjm])
‣ ḶIZ1 'bridge' + ì 'AGT (I1)' = ḷìz 'bridge.AGT' [ɪ't͡ɬeʃ])
Nouns in Alál, as hinted above, are declined for one of three cases: agent (A), patient (P), and oblique (O). The usage of each of these cases will be described later; roughly, the oblique is used in isolation and for adpositional constructions, while the agent and patient indicate arguments of a verb, with the exact nature of those arguments depending on the verb's voice, valency, and volition (as Alál has fluid-S alignment).
The case affix used differs depending on the noun's root vowel and class; thus, the declension pattern for KAT2 'light' differs from those of both KAT1 'sun' and KIS2 'child'. The full paradigm is as follows:
A specific case marker may be referred to by giving the root vowel, class number, and case, traditionally in this order; e.g. A1a is the aì affix that corresponds to the agent case for Class-1 nouns with the root vowel a, while I2o is the a-ı affix for the oblique case in Class-2 nouns with the root vowel ı. Specific patterns and the nouns that use them may be identified by only root vowel and number; this is considered the declension class. Thus we may refer to A2 nouns such as HAH2 'wind' and may also refer to the A2 pattern [aı|a-a|aú] (in the order AGT|OBL|PAT), which when applied to HAH2 produces haıh 'wind.AGT', haha 'wind.OBL', and haúh 'wind.PAT'.
Loanwords and foreign names are typically analyzed as if the final vowel is this case marker, or if the word ends in a VC(C)V pattern, as if the final two vowels are part of an infix+suffix pair. Thus the name Jack, interpreted as Ẓák, would decline as if in declension class A1: Ẓaık|Ẓák|Ẓuak. The country of Australia, interpreted as Astrìlıá, would be in class I1: Astrìlı|Astrìlıá|Astrìulı. Note that the u-ı marker in the patientive keeps the ı word-finally but moves the u to precede the final consonant. Similarly, Canada (Káḳataa) uses an A2 pattern but retains the extra final a: Káḳaıta|Káḳataa|Káḳaúta.
Below are examples of simple nouns illustrating all non-Class-N declension patterns.
Code: Select all
| AGT OBL PAT | A.IPA O.IPA P.IPA
1A - ZAZ1 'ocean' | zaìz záz zuaz | ʃʕeʃ ʃaʃ ʃfɜʃ
2A - HAH2 'wind' | haıh haha haúh | çɜjç çɜʝ çʕuç
3A - RAL3 'melody' | ríla ràl arùla | riɮ ɜ'rɑɬ ɜ'rɔɮ
1I - RIḶ1 'temperature' | rìḷ rıáḷ ruḷı | ɪ'retɬ rjatɬ 'rɤdɮɪ
2I - RIẒ2 'food' | rıẓ raẓı rıúẓ | rɪtʃ rɜdʑɪ rjutʃ
3I - ḲIṢ3 'stick' | ḳíṣ ıḳàıṣ ıḳùıṣ | ŋits ɪ'ɴɑjts ɪ'ɴɔjts
1U - KUḲ1 'glacier' | ukìuḳ kuáḳ kuḳ | fkevŋ kfaŋ kɤŋ
2U - LUK2 'vine' | lıuk laku lúk | ɬɪfk ɬɜgv ɬuk
3U - LUT3 'awl' | líut ulàut lùt | ɬift fɬɑft fɬɔt
What appear to be prefixed components in arùla, ıḳàıṣ, ıḳùıṣ, ukìuḳ, and ulàut are in fact instance of root vowel epenthesis (RVE) as described above. And here are examples of how these patterns interact with Ŕ and R̀, phonemes that are realized as /r/ following a consonant or non-resting vowel, but following a resting vowel act as a kind of floating feature, changing that vowel to its standing/pulling counterpart respectively.
Code: Select all
AGT OBL PAT | A.IPA O.IPA P.IPA
1A - ḶAŔ1 'war' | ḷaìr ḷár ḷuá | tɬˤer tɬar tɬfa
2A - LUŔ2 'animal' | lıú láu lıúr | ɬju ɬaf ɬjur
3A - MAR̀3 'snack' | míra màr amùra | mir ɜ'mɑr ɜ'mɔr
1U - XUŔ1 'abyss' | uxìur xuár xú | fxevr xfar xu
2U - ḲUR̀2 'bag' | ḳıù uḳàu ḳúr | njɔ fɴɑf ŋur
3U - HUR̀3 'small fire' | hîu uhàù hùr | çi'ɔ 'fçɑɔ fçɔr
1I - ṬIŔ1 'freedom' | ṭìr ṭıár ṭúı | ɪ'tʼer tʼjar tʼuj
2I - KIR̀2 'child' | kì ıkàì kıúr | ɪ'ke ɪ'qɑe kjur
3I - XMIŔ3 'aphorism' | xmír xımǎı xımǔı | xmir xɪ'mɑi xɪ'mɔi
Class-N# nouns are those that incorporate one of a restricted set of derivational infixes; for these nouns, the infixes themselves carry the case information, and regular case markers are not used. They are identifiable in citation form by the presence of an additional CV or CCV component in the root before the final consonant. They have three varieties [Class-NA#, -NI#, -NU#] of the patterns [aı|a|à, ıı|aı|àı, ıu|u|àu] respectively, depending on the V in this secondary CV component. They additionally have a corresponding class number from 1-3 just as regular nouns do, indicated by the #. These class numbers, unlike in regular nouns, do not change the declension pattern (which, again, is determined by the infixed CV morpheme) but rather indicate whether the original root vowel of the word is is standing, resting, or pulling, respectively.
For example, KAX2 is a root meaning 'log'. It is a simple A2 noun, and so its forms are kaıx|kaxa|kaùx [kɜjx | kɜɣ | kʕɔx].
There are some derived terms KASAX1, KAḶIX3, KAHUX2.
KASAX1 - "log cabin"
• Class: NA1, because of the second vowel being A.
• Class-NA1 declension: ŕ.aı|ŕ.a|ŕ.à - 1 indicates a standing root vowel, typically written as ŕ.
• Full declension paradigm for KASAX1: kásaıx|kásax|kâsax ['kazɜjx | 'kazɜx | ka'sɑx ]
KAḶIX3 - "wood pulp"
• Class: NI3, because of the second vowel being I.
• Class-NI3 declension: r̀.ıı|r̀.aı|r̀.àı - 3 indicates a pulling root vowel, typically written as r̀.
• Full declension paradigm for KAḶIX3: kàḷııx|kàḷaıx|kàḷàıx [ɜ'qɑd͡ɮɪjx | ɜ'qɑd͡ɮɜjx | ɜ'qɑt͡ɬɑjx]
KAHUX2 - "bundle of logs"
• Class: NU2, because of the second vowel being U.
• Class-NU2 declension: ıu|u|àu - 2 indicates a resting root vowel, typically unwritten
• Full declension paradigm for KAHUX2: kahıux|kahux|kahàux ['kɜʝɪfx | 'kɜʝɤx | kɜ'çɑfx]
These infixes are related to the set of handling verbs, which I'll get to later.
...Alright, time to get back to actual work. I'm certain this is filled with typos but it's far too late in the night for me to be worried about that.
This episode of "Kiwikami Has An Important Paper To Be Writing Right Now But Instead Is Procrastinating" was brought to you by the letter M. Which Alál has now.