The Txabao language

A forum for all topics related to constructed languages
Khemehekis
mongolian
mongolian
Posts: 3883
Joined: 14 Aug 2010 09:36
Location: California über alles

The Txabao language

Post by Khemehekis »

My first non-Lehola conlang since I collaborated on Shaja!



Txabao is spoken by the Txabao people in the Damta collaborative project. It is the proto-language for a present-day phylum, at the same diachronic level as PIE, Proto-Afro-Asiatic, Proto-Austronesian, etc. on Earth.

Phonemic inventory

Consonants:

m /m/ n /n/
p /p/ t /t/ k /k/ ' /ʔ/
th /tˤ/
b /b/ d /d/ g /g/
dh /dˤ/
s /s/ x /ʃ/ q /x/ hh /ħ/
sh /sˤ/
z /z/
zh /zˤ/
ts /ts/ tx /tʃ/
dz /dz/
r /ɾ/

Vowels:


i /i/ u /u/ e /e/ o /o/ a /a/

Diphthongs:

ei /ei̯/ eu /eu̯/ oi /o̯i/ ou /ou̯/ au /au̯/ ai /ai̯/ ao /ao̯/ ae /ae̯/

Stress


Txabao has a stress accent system. The primary stress falls on the penult if the word ends in a single vowel, and on the final syllable if the word ends in a consonant or diphthong.

Allophony

/n/ becomes [ɴ] at before /ʔ/ or /ħ/, and [ŋ] before /k/, /g/, or /x/.
/b/, /d/ and /g/ become [β], [ð], and [ɣ] respectively intervocalically.
/dˤ/ becomes [ðˤ] intervocalically.
/ħ/ becomes [ç] before /i/.
/a/ becomes [ɐ] when unstressed.

Phonotactics

C(C)V(C)

Syllables may begin with any single consonant (incuding /ʔ/), or the following clusters:

pr /pɾ/ tr /tɾ/ kr /kɾ/ br /bɾ/ dr /dɾ/ gr /gɾ/
sr /sr/ xr /ʃɾ/ zr /zr/
tsr /tsr/ txr /tʃɾ/ dzr /dzɾ/
ps /ps/ ks /ks/
px /pʃ/ kx /kʃ/
psh /psˤ/ ksh /ksˤ/
qs /xs/ qx /xʃ/ qsh /xsˤ/
sp /sp/ st /st/ sk /sk/
sq /sx/

V can mean either a single vowel or a diphthong.

Syllables may be open, or may end with any single consonant except the pharyngealized ones or the pharyngeal /ħ/.

Sandhi

/n/ will morph into /m/ (which may mean one of /n/'s allophones) if the following phoneme is /p/ or /b/.
Last edited by Khemehekis on 24 Oct 2020 07:56, edited 2 times in total.
♂♥♂♀

Squirrels chase koi . . . chase squirrels

My Kankonian-English dictionary: 86,336 words and counting

31,416: The number of the conlanging beast!
Khemehekis
mongolian
mongolian
Posts: 3883
Joined: 14 Aug 2010 09:36
Location: California über alles

Re: The Txabao language

Post by Khemehekis »

The basics of syntax

Txabao:
  • is SVO
  • is nominative-accusative
  • has prepositions
  • is determiner-noun
  • is noun-adjective
  • has head-final compounds.
Genitives come before the possessed, although when a preposition equivalent to "of" is used instead of a genitive case, the possessed comes first, then the preposition, then the possessor (in oblique case). An animacy hierarchy determines whether the genitive or the prepositional construction is used. When the possessor is higher than the possessed, a genitive is used; when the possessed in higher than the possessor, a preposition is used.

Premreu-GEN breast-PL
Premreu's breasts

person-PL of highlands-OBL
the people of the highlands

The animacy hierachy, from highest to lowest:

Ethereal
Human
Male
Female
Animal
Body part
Inanimate

Txabao is place-manner-time:

The deathstalker stalks behind a rock casually at night.
Last edited by Khemehekis on 25 Sep 2019 08:28, edited 3 times in total.
♂♥♂♀

Squirrels chase koi . . . chase squirrels

My Kankonian-English dictionary: 86,336 words and counting

31,416: The number of the conlanging beast!
Khemehekis
mongolian
mongolian
Posts: 3883
Joined: 14 Aug 2010 09:36
Location: California über alles

Re: The Txabao language

Post by Khemehekis »

Noun classes

Nouns come in the following noun classes, arranged from highest to lowest in the animacy hierarchy:

Ethereal
Human (epicene human words like "elder", "person", etc.)
Male (male humans)
Female (female humans)
Animal
Body part
Inanimate

Number

Nouns come in three numeri: singular, dual, and plural.

Cases

Nominative

Marks the subject of a transitive verb: The girl kisses the boy.

Marks the subject of an intransitive verb: The jaguar sleeps.

Accusative

Marks the direct object of a transitive verb: The goatherd collected the 'oshar. ('Oshar is the hair of the Txabao's breed of goat, in case you were wondering.)

Genitive

Marks the possessor of a noun of lower or equal rank in the animacy hierarchy: The elder made the boy ingest the warpion's venom.

The robe's color is pretty.

Marks same-gender kinship or the relation of a female to a male: the boy's sister, the man's wife, the boy's brother, the woman's grandmother.

Dative

Indicates an indirect object -- someone/something to whom something is given: The man threw the crocodile a fish to appease it.

Indicates a reason or charge: The man who swallowed the jewels was arrested for theft.

Works as a benefactive: The elder knit a robe for the girl.

Indicates a resultative object complement: The priest made Krespao' Boudhan's wife.

Vocative

Is used to address a person or pray to a deity: 'Inthu, come over here!

Premreu, please help me conceive a child!

Is used to apostrophically address something non-speaking: Date palm, how did you get such delicious fruit?

Instrumental

Is used to indicate the means by which something is done: The woman tjreatened the cobra with a spear.

The party reached the oasis by caravan.

Oblique

Marks the object of a preposition: Kxarhhaes climbed over a rock.

Bright plants live in the desert.

Marks the predicate of a copula: Ra'aq is a tentmaker.

It's me!

Indicates a depictive object complement: 'Inthu called Ra'aq a fool.

Marks the object of "of" for the possessor of a noun of higher or equal rank in the animacy hierarchy: The natives of the highland are friendly.

The robe's color is pretty.

With "of", marks same-gender kinship or the relation of a male to a female: the girl's brother, the woman's husband, the boy's brother, the woman's grandmother.

Appositives

Appositives are normally the same case as the nouns/pronouns to which they refer. So in the question "Do you worship the camel goddess Neidu?", "Neidu" would be in the accusative, since that's the case "goddess" is in.
Last edited by Khemehekis on 24 Oct 2020 07:59, edited 1 time in total.
♂♥♂♀

Squirrels chase koi . . . chase squirrels

My Kankonian-English dictionary: 86,336 words and counting

31,416: The number of the conlanging beast!
Nachtuil
greek
greek
Posts: 595
Joined: 21 Jul 2016 00:16

Re: The Txabao language

Post by Nachtuil »

Khemehekis wrote: 25 Sep 2019 06:45 Sandhi

/m/ will morph into /n/ (which may mean one of /n/'s allophones) if the following phoneme is /p/ or /b/.
Is this intended to be dissimilation or a typo?

I like the language so far. I've been working on deriving a phonological progression from it as you know. I apologise for the resulting phonological massacre :(
Khemehekis
mongolian
mongolian
Posts: 3883
Joined: 14 Aug 2010 09:36
Location: California über alles

Re: The Txabao language

Post by Khemehekis »

Nachtuil wrote: 28 Sep 2019 17:49
Khemehekis wrote: 25 Sep 2019 06:45 Sandhi

/m/ will morph into /n/ (which may mean one of /n/'s allophones) if the following phoneme is /p/ or /b/.
Is this intended to be dissimilation or a typo?
That was a mistake, good thing you caught it! I wanted to turn /m/ into [ɴ] before /ʔ/ or /ħ/, and [ŋ] before /k/, /g/, or /x/, but got the thought all mixed up. I fixed it so /n/ simply becomes /m/ before /p/ or /b/ now.
I like the language so far. I've been working on deriving a phonological progression from it as you know. I apologise for the resulting phonological massacre :(
That's awesome! And your descendant will be no more of a "phonological massacre" than English, Spanish, Greek, Russian, Farsi, or Hindi is a phonological massacre of PIE.
♂♥♂♀

Squirrels chase koi . . . chase squirrels

My Kankonian-English dictionary: 86,336 words and counting

31,416: The number of the conlanging beast!
Nachtuil
greek
greek
Posts: 595
Joined: 21 Jul 2016 00:16

Re: The Txabao language

Post by Nachtuil »

Khemehekis wrote: 29 Sep 2019 03:30
That's awesome! And your descendant will be no more of a "phonological massacre" than English, Spanish, Greek, Russian, Farsi, or Hindi is a phonological massacre of PIE.
I meant it a little tongue in cheek but I guess used the wrong emoticon :) It's been fun so far. Kojikeng's phonology will actually look a little different than intended... probably.... I can't wait to see how words transition though. I plan to do the backwards process on the numbers.
User avatar
Vlürch
greek
greek
Posts: 452
Joined: 09 Mar 2016 21:19
Location: Finland
Contact:

Re: The Txabao language

Post by Vlürch »

Seems cool so far. I really like the initial clusters, especially /xʃ/ because it's one of my favourite consonant clusters of all time (especially initially, even if I don't include it in most of my own conlangs), and the allophony rules are nicely reminiscent of Spanish. Are other vowels not reduced when unstressed, only /a/?
Khemehekis
mongolian
mongolian
Posts: 3883
Joined: 14 Aug 2010 09:36
Location: California über alles

Re: The Txabao language

Post by Khemehekis »

Vlürch wrote: 29 Sep 2019 19:17 Seems cool so far. I really like the initial clusters, especially /xʃ/ because it's one of my favourite consonant clusters of all time (especially initially, even if I don't include it in most of my own conlangs)
Yeah! /xʃ/ is a great one!
and the allophony rules are nicely reminiscent of Spanish.
You're talking about the intervocalic voiced plosives, I assume.
Are other vowels not reduced when unstressed, only /a/?
No, but now that you've asked that question, I'm considering it. What would be the analogous reductions for the other four (monophthongal) vowels?
♂♥♂♀

Squirrels chase koi . . . chase squirrels

My Kankonian-English dictionary: 86,336 words and counting

31,416: The number of the conlanging beast!
User avatar
Vlürch
greek
greek
Posts: 452
Joined: 09 Mar 2016 21:19
Location: Finland
Contact:

Re: The Txabao language

Post by Vlürch »

Khemehekis wrote: 30 Sep 2019 05:20You're talking about the intervocalic voiced plosives, I assume.
Yeah. I also thought that /x/ could be [ç] before /i/ at least sometimes for some speakers and maybe at least in some dialect, but after I was now unable to find anything about that being a thing with a quick google search, I think that might be just auditory bias. I'm too lazy (and don't have enough time) to listen to anything in Spanish right now to check, and it wouldn't help anyway if I'd still hear it as [çi] even if it was [xi] if that's why I thought it was a thing lol. [>_<]
Khemehekis wrote: 30 Sep 2019 05:20What would be the analogous reductions for the other four (monophthongal) vowels?
There isn't a single correct answer because different languages do it differently, but I feel like the most symmetrical would be [ɐ ë̞~ə ɪ ö̞~ɵ̞ ʊ]; not sure if any natural language does exactly that, though, and the contrast between /e/ and /o/ would probably end up being lost in unstressed syllables with those allophones. For example, Russian does more or less [ə ɪ ɪ ə ʊ], but the exact details vary depending on the surrounding consonants. So just do whatever you like most, I think?
Khemehekis
mongolian
mongolian
Posts: 3883
Joined: 14 Aug 2010 09:36
Location: California über alles

Re: The Txabao language

Post by Khemehekis »

Vlürch wrote: 30 Sep 2019 12:51
Khemehekis wrote: 30 Sep 2019 05:20You're talking about the intervocalic voiced plosives, I assume.
Yeah. I also thought that /x/ could be [ç] before /i/ at least sometimes for some speakers and maybe at least in some dialect, but after I was now unable to find anything about that being a thing with a quick google search, I think that might be just auditory bias. I'm too lazy (and don't have enough time) to listen to anything in Spanish right now to check, and it wouldn't help anyway if I'd still hear it as [çi] even if it was [xi] if that's why I thought it was a thing lol. [>_<]
I'll just keep /x/ as is, then.
Khemehekis wrote: 30 Sep 2019 05:20What would be the analogous reductions for the other four (monophthongal) vowels?
There isn't a single correct answer because different languages do it differently, but I feel like the most symmetrical would be [ɐ ë̞~ə ɪ ö̞~ɵ̞ ʊ]; not sure if any natural language does exactly that, though, and the contrast between /e/ and /o/ would probably end up being lost in unstressed syllables with those allophones. For example, Russian does more or less [ə ɪ ɪ ə ʊ], but the exact details vary depending on the surrounding consonants. So just do whatever you like most, I think?
Thanks for the suggestion. I may go with [ɐ ë̞ ɪ ö̞ ʊ], but then again, I may not. /i/ becoming [ɪ] and /u/ becoming [ʊ] at the end of a word just don't sound right to me for some reason.
♂♥♂♀

Squirrels chase koi . . . chase squirrels

My Kankonian-English dictionary: 86,336 words and counting

31,416: The number of the conlanging beast!
Khemehekis
mongolian
mongolian
Posts: 3883
Joined: 14 Aug 2010 09:36
Location: California über alles

Re: The Txabao language

Post by Khemehekis »

Declining ethereal nouns

Ethereal nouns ending with a single, unaccented vowel

qsanthu: cloud

Singular
Nominative: qsanthu
Accusative: qsanthun
Genitive: qsanthax
Dative: qsantho'
Vocative: qsantheu
Instrumental: qsanthei
Oblique: qsanthib

Plural
Nominative: qsanthatu
Accusative: qsanthatun
Genitive: qsanthatax
Dative: qsanthato'
Vocative: qsanthateu
Instrumental: qsanthatei
Oblique: qsanthatib

Ethereal nouns ending with a consonant

krex: star

Singular
Nominative: krex
Accusative: krex'un
Genitive: krex'ax
Dative: krex'o'
Vocative: krex'eu
Instrumental: krex'ei
Oblique: krex'ib

Plural
Nominative: krex'at
Accusative: krex'at'un
Genitive: krex'at'ax
Dative: krex'at'o'
Vocative: krex'at'eu
Instrumental: krex'at'ei
Oblique: krex'at'ib

Ethereal nouns ending with a vowel diphthong

zhembai: goddess

Singular
Nominative: zhembai
Accusative: zhembainun
Genitive: zhembainax
Dative: zhembaino'
Vocative: zhembaineu
Instrumental: zhembainei
Oblique: zhembainib

Plural
Nominative: zhembai'at
Accusative: zhembai'at'un
Genitive: zhembai'at'ax
Dative: zhembai'at'o'
Vocative: zhembai'at'eu
Instrumental: zhembai'at'ei
Oblique: zhembai'at'ib

Dual of thampxou (human-god, or creator-god, the only ethereal noun that takes a dual)

Nominative: thampxoubi
Accusative: thampxoubi'un
Genitive: thampxoubi'ax
Dative: thampxoubi'o'
Vocative: thampxoubi'eu
Instrumental: thampxoubi'ei
Oblique: thampxoubi'ib
Last edited by Khemehekis on 04 Oct 2019 07:26, edited 2 times in total.
♂♥♂♀

Squirrels chase koi . . . chase squirrels

My Kankonian-English dictionary: 86,336 words and counting

31,416: The number of the conlanging beast!
User avatar
Vlürch
greek
greek
Posts: 452
Joined: 09 Mar 2016 21:19
Location: Finland
Contact:

Re: The Txabao language

Post by Vlürch »

Khemehekis wrote: 02 Oct 2019 04:46I'll just keep /x/ as is, then.
Hmm? Your first post says that /ħ/ is the one that becomes [ç] before /i/, not /x/? Was that a typo? Anyway, if you thought I was criticising your phonology or even saying that it's unnaturalistic just because Spanish doesn't do it, that wasn't what I meant at all!

AFAIK any "H-sound" becoming [ç] before /i/ is extremely common; it happens (almost?) universally in Japanese and Turkish, for many speakers in Finnish (although (usually) on the weak end of frication), and at least Wiktionary acknowledges that it happens in (American) English as well, at least in he, but I'm sure the people who have it in that word also have it in all most other words with /hiː/. Considering how widespread the [çi] thing is, it was surprising to me that it apparently isn't a thing in Spanish, but it does seem like it really isn't at least based on the two random videos I watched on Youtube (one Mexican and another Spanish). I just rambled about it in this thread because it was the one that made me realise it, lol.
Khemehekis wrote: 30 Sep 2019 05:20/i/ becoming [ɪ] and /u/ becoming [ʊ] at the end of a word just don't sound right to me for some reason.
Well, you could have a rule that they don't get reduced word-finally. Vowels having different allophones in open syllables and closed syllables is nothing out of the ordinary, and I'm sure if you felt like you needed a "justification" for why they resist reduction only word-finally, you could come up with one. What comes to my mind immediately would be secondary (or tertiary) stress on the final syllable even when they're "unstressed", or some kind of sandhi thing, but I'm sure there are several other ways.

PS: zhembai is a cool word. It also reminds me of Japanese 先輩 (senpai) and Mandarin 先輩 (xiānbèi); was that intentional? If so, nice. That kind of "easter eggs" in conlangs are really fun in my opinion. If not, then that's a nice coincidence.
Khemehekis
mongolian
mongolian
Posts: 3883
Joined: 14 Aug 2010 09:36
Location: California über alles

Re: The Txabao language

Post by Khemehekis »

Vlürch wrote: 03 Oct 2019 19:25
Khemehekis wrote: 02 Oct 2019 04:46I'll just keep /x/ as is, then.
Hmm? Your first post says that /ħ/ is the one that becomes [ç] before /i/, not /x/? Was that a typo? Anyway, if you thought I was criticising your phonology or even saying that it's unnaturalistic just because Spanish doesn't do it, that wasn't what I meant at all!

AFAIK any "H-sound" becoming [ç] before /i/ is extremely common; it happens (almost?) universally in Japanese and Turkish, for many speakers in Finnish (although (usually) on the weak end of frication), and at least Wiktionary acknowledges that it happens in (American) English as well, at least in he, but I'm sure the people who have it in that word also have it in all most other words with /hiː/. Considering how widespread the [çi] thing is, it was surprising to me that it apparently isn't a thing in Spanish, but it does seem like it really isn't at least based on the two random videos I watched on Youtube (one Mexican and another Spanish). I just rambled about it in this thread because it was the one that made me realise it, lol.
You misunderstand. When I said I'd keep /x/ as is, I meant that /x/ would remain without any allophones, even though you suggested it could do the [ç] thing like /ħ/. (Besides, if /x/ and /ħ/ both became [ç] before /i/, then couldn't you just say that [ç] was an allophone of /x/, or alternatively that it was an allophone of /ħ/?)
Khemehekis wrote: 30 Sep 2019 05:20/i/ becoming [ɪ] and /u/ becoming [ʊ] at the end of a word just don't sound right to me for some reason.
Well, you could have a rule that they don't get reduced word-finally. Vowels having different allophones in open syllables and closed syllables is nothing out of the ordinary, and I'm sure if you felt like you needed a "justification" for why they resist reduction only word-finally, you could come up with one. What comes to my mind immediately would be secondary (or tertiary) stress on the final syllable even when they're "unstressed", or some kind of sandhi thing, but I'm sure there are several other ways.
Fair enough. I'll have /a/, /e/, and /o/ reduce to their shorter allophones word-finally, and /i/ and /u/ not do so. I could even do what RP does with /i/ and have /i/ and /u/ be long vowels [i:] and [u:] when stressed but short vowels [i] and [u] at the end of a word.
PS: zhembai is a cool word. It also reminds me of Japanese 先輩 (senpai) and Mandarin 先輩 (xiānbèi); was that intentional? If so, nice. That kind of "easter eggs" in conlangs are really fun in my opinion. If not, then that's a nice coincidence.
Glad you like it. I wasn't intentional, though. Either it's a coincidence, or (quite likely) it has something to do with the fact that a few days ago I reread the old thread Conlanging started by a troll named Desu Senpai, and subconsciously had it on my mind.
Last edited by Khemehekis on 05 Oct 2019 05:09, edited 1 time in total.
♂♥♂♀

Squirrels chase koi . . . chase squirrels

My Kankonian-English dictionary: 86,336 words and counting

31,416: The number of the conlanging beast!
User avatar
Vlürch
greek
greek
Posts: 452
Joined: 09 Mar 2016 21:19
Location: Finland
Contact:

Re: The Txabao language

Post by Vlürch »

Khemehekis wrote: 04 Oct 2019 04:56even though you suggested it could do the [ç] thing like /ħ/.
No, I didn't? [:S] All I said was that I thought /x/ could become [ç] before /i/ in Spanish, and that it turned out I was wrong. Even though [çi] is common, it at first added to the "kind of reminiscent of Spanish" vibe I got mostly from the intervocalic fricative allophones of the stops.

Whatever the reason you thought I was suggesting that was, it doesn't really matter, but personally I'm not the type of person to suggest things out of the blue because I generally find telling others what to do disrespectful (unless suggestions or whatever were asked, of course). Anything I say that sounds like a suggestion, like mentioning how some natlangs do something, unless it's in response to a question asking for suggestions, is just an observation or whatever.
Khemehekis wrote: 04 Oct 2019 04:56Besides, if /x/ and /ħ/ both became [ç] before /i/, then couldn't you just say that [ç] was an allophone of /x/, or alternatively that it was an allophone of /ħ/?
Sometimes phonemic vagueness like that comes about in natlangs. For example, Japanese has /s z ɕ ʑ/ contrasting before /a e o u/ but before /i/ it has only /ɕ ʑ/. The way that came about is that it acquired loanwords with /ɕ ʑ/ before vowels other than /i/; before that, [ɕ ʑ] were only allophones of /s z/ before /i/. Also, even though /ɕ ʑ/ before vowels other than /i/ are only found in loanwords, even new loanwords with /si zi/ become /ɕi ʑi/, presumably due to the palatalisation that /i/ induces in all consonants; in some new loanwords, /ti di/ do remain /ti di/, though, so maybe in the future the contrast between /s z/ and /ɕ ʑ/ will become phonemic even before /i/... but that's just baseless speculation.

It's not exactly an equivalent thing, but... and obviously that's not to say you should have ambiguity like that. I'm just rambling.
Khemehekis wrote: 04 Oct 2019 04:56Either it's a coincidence, or (quite likely) it has something to do with the fact that a few days ago I reread the old thread Conlanging started by a troll named Desu Senpai, and subconsciously had it on my mind.
Haha, that's pretty funny. I can definitely relate to getting subconsciously influenced by all kinds of things while coming up with vocabulary, too...
Khemehekis
mongolian
mongolian
Posts: 3883
Joined: 14 Aug 2010 09:36
Location: California über alles

Re: The Txabao language

Post by Khemehekis »

Vlürch wrote: 05 Oct 2019 04:56
Khemehekis wrote: 04 Oct 2019 04:56even though you suggested it could do the [ç] thing like /ħ/.
No, I didn't? [:S] All I said was that I thought /x/ could become [ç] before /i/ in Spanish, and that it turned out I was wrong. Even though [çi] is common, it at first added to the "kind of reminiscent of Spanish" vibe I got mostly from the intervocalic fricative allophones of the stops.

Whatever the reason you thought I was suggesting that was, it doesn't really matter, but personally I'm not the type of person to suggest things out of the blue because I generally find telling others what to do disrespectful (unless suggestions or whatever were asked, of course). Anything I say that sounds like a suggestion, like mentioning how some natlangs do something, unless it's in response to a question asking for suggestions, is just an observation or whatever.
OK, I see now. You're just "thinking out loud", as the Ed Sheeran song goes. [B)] I'll try to keep that in mind as I read Vlürch posts.
Vlürch wrote:
Khemehekis wrote: 04 Oct 2019 04:56Besides, if /x/ and /ħ/ both became [ç] before /i/, then couldn't you just say that [ç] was an allophone of /x/, or alternatively that it was an allophone of /ħ/?
Sometimes phonemic vagueness like that comes about in natlangs. For example, Japanese has /s z ɕ ʑ/ contrasting before /a e o u/ but before /i/ it has only /ɕ ʑ/. The way that came about is that it acquired loanwords with /ɕ ʑ/ before vowels other than /i/; before that, [ɕ ʑ] were only allophones of /s z/ before /i/. Also, even though /ɕ ʑ/ before vowels other than /i/ are only found in loanwords, even new loanwords with /si zi/ become /ɕi ʑi/, presumably due to the palatalisation that /i/ induces in all consonants; in some new loanwords, /ti di/ do remain /ti di/, though, so maybe in the future the contrast between /s z/ and /ɕ ʑ/ will become phonemic even before /i/... but that's just baseless speculation.
That is a good point . . . I've marveled over the strange evolution of allophony in Japanese myself a number of times. (Also: I really can't stand the Wikipedia article on Japanese phonology: it maintains that /ɕ/ is an allophone of /s/ and /tɕ/ is an allophone of /t/. That can't be -- there are minimal pairs like "suu" (to smoke) and "shuu" (state), or "too" (ten) and "chou" (trillion)!)
Vlürch wrote:
Khemehekis wrote: 04 Oct 2019 04:56Either it's a coincidence, or (quite likely) it has something to do with the fact that a few days ago I reread the old thread Conlanging started by a troll named Desu Senpai, and subconsciously had it on my mind.
Haha, that's pretty funny.
It was a funny influence, although frankly I'm glad that Desu Senpai got banned for their trolling.
Vlürch wrote:I can definitely relate to getting subconsciously influenced by all kinds of things while coming up with vocabulary, too...
Ooh -- got any juicy examples?
♂♥♂♀

Squirrels chase koi . . . chase squirrels

My Kankonian-English dictionary: 86,336 words and counting

31,416: The number of the conlanging beast!
Khemehekis
mongolian
mongolian
Posts: 3883
Joined: 14 Aug 2010 09:36
Location: California über alles

Re: The Txabao language

Post by Khemehekis »

Declining human nouns

Human nouns ending with a single, unaccented vowel

psara: elder

Singular
Nominative: psara
Accusative: psarak
Genitive: psariq
Dative: psaraix
Vocative: psarub
Instrumental: psarim
Oblique: psare'

Plural
Nominative: psarim
Accusative: psarimak
Genitive: psarimiq
Dative: psarimaix
Vocative: psarimub
Instrumental: psarimim
Oblique: psarime'

Dual of human nouns ending with a single, unaccented vowel

bratra (spouse)

Nominative: bratrabi
Accusative: bratrabi'ak
Genitive: bratrabi'iq
Dative: bratrabi'aix
Vocative: bratrabi'ub
Instrumental: bratrabi'im
Oblique: bratrabi'e'

Human nouns ending with a consonant

'ar: child (in the sense of "prepubescent person", not of "son or daughter")

Singular
Nominative: 'ar
Accusative: 'ar'ak
Genitive: 'ar'iq
Dative: 'ar'aix
Vocative: 'ar'ub
Instrumental: 'ar'im
Oblique: 'ar'e'

Plural
Nominative: 'ar'im
Accusative: 'ar'im'ak
Genitive: 'ar'im'iq
Dative: 'ar'im'aix
Vocative: 'ar'im'ub
Instrumental: 'ar'im'im
Oblique: 'ar'im'e'

Dual of human nouns ending with a consonant

meq'ebxrim (newlywed)

Nominative: meq'ebxrimbi
Accusative: meq'ebxrimbi'ak
Genitive: meq'ebxrimbi'iq
Dative: meq'ebxrimbi'aix
Vocative: meq'ebxrimbi'ub
Instrumental: meq'ebxrimbi'im
Oblique: meq'ebxrimbi'e'

Human nouns ending with the agent suffix -an

txaban: traveler (from txabra', to travel)

Singular
Nominative: txaban
Accusative: txaban'ak
Genitive: txaban'iq
Dative: txaban'aix
Vocative: txaban'ub
Instrumental: txaban'im
Oblique: txaban'e'

Plural
Nominative: txabao
Accusative: txabao'ak
Genitive: txabao'iq
Dative: txabao'aix
Vocative: txabao'ub
Instrumental: txabao'im
Oblique: txabao'e'

Dual of human nouns ending with the agent suffix -an

shouban: parent (from shoubra', to have [a child])

Nominative: shoubabi
Accusative: shoubabi'ak
Genitive: shoubabi'iq
Dative: shoubabi'aix
Vocative: shoubabi'ub
Instrumental: shoubabi'im
Oblique: shoubabi'e'

Human nouns ending with a vowel diphthong

ksa'ai: enemy

Singular
Nominative: ksa'ai
Accusative: ksa'ai'ak
Genitive: ksa'ai'iq
Dative: ksa'ai'aix
Vocative: ksa'ai'ub
Instrumental: ksa'ai'im
Oblique: ksa'ai'e'

Plural
Nominative: ksa'ai'im
Accusative: ksa'ai'im'ak
Genitive: ksa'ai'im'iq
Dative: ksa'ai'im'aix
Vocative: ksa'ai'im'ub
Instrumental: ksa'ai'im'im
Oblique: ksa'ai'im'e'

Dual (here used in the sense of "mutual enemies")

Nominative: ksa'aibi
Accusative: ksa'aibi'ak
Genitive: ksa'aibi'iq
Dative: ksa'aibi'aix
Vocative: ksa'aibi'ub
Instrumental: ksa'aibi'im
Oblique: ksa'aibi'e'
Last edited by Khemehekis on 14 Oct 2019 10:07, edited 1 time in total.
♂♥♂♀

Squirrels chase koi . . . chase squirrels

My Kankonian-English dictionary: 86,336 words and counting

31,416: The number of the conlanging beast!
User avatar
Vlürch
greek
greek
Posts: 452
Joined: 09 Mar 2016 21:19
Location: Finland
Contact:

Re: The Txabao language

Post by Vlürch »

Khemehekis wrote: 11 Oct 2019 05:32I've marveled over the strange evolution of allophony in Japanese myself a number of times.
I don't think any of it is that weird, although the weirdest imho is how in Old Japanese there were pairs of certain vowels with uncertain differences that merged completely at different times (and IIRC somewhat differently across dialects?), but then PIE had something similar with the laryngeals... and presumably there was some real distinction between them, even if it's been lost to time. IIRC one of the theories is that one /o/ was /ø/, one /i/ was /ɨ/ and one /e/ was /ə/, but I don't remember whether it was /o¹ i¹ e¹/ or /o² i² e²/ that were supposed to be /ø ɨ ə/ and how valid that theory even is.
Khemehekis wrote: 11 Oct 2019 05:32(Also: I really can't stand the Wikipedia article on Japanese phonology: it maintains that /ɕ/ is an allophone of /s/ and /tɕ/ is an allophone of /t/. That can't be -- there are minimal pairs like "suu" (to smoke) and "shuu" (state), or "too" (ten) and "chou" (trillion)!)
Well, this is the thing about loanwords. [ɕ t͡ɕ] originated as allophones of /s t/ before /i/ and as such could well be argued to still be allophonic in native vocabulary, but I'm pretty sure no one would claim that they're not phonemic in loanwords... and if the allophones found in native vocabulary under certain conditions are identical to the phonemes found under different conditions in loanwords, then of course the question is why the allophones found in native vocabulary be considered allophones anymore except in the context of historical phonological reconstruction. IIRC, during the early period of Chinese borrowing there were still [si ti] and the shift happened later, though, but I might be wrong? That still would mean nothing for the present-day situation, anyway, of course...
Khemehekis wrote: 11 Oct 2019 05:32Ooh -- got any juicy examples?
Hmm, not sure if it counts since I've continued it intentionally after noticing it happening, but I tend to have words meaning "beauty" or whatever that contain sounds from the names of women I consider beautiful. :roll:

PS: Sorry for rambling about Japanese in your conlang's thread. [>_<] Just tell me to stop if you want, and I'll try my hardest... and hopefully manage to. [:$] It's a cool conlang so far, but there isn't much to say about it except general compliments... like almost always with conlangs, except the most striking ones.
Khemehekis
mongolian
mongolian
Posts: 3883
Joined: 14 Aug 2010 09:36
Location: California über alles

Re: The Txabao language

Post by Khemehekis »

Vlürch wrote: 13 Oct 2019 19:51 but then PIE had something similar with the laryngeals... and presumably there was some real distinction between them, even if it's been lost to time. IIRC one of the theories is that one /o/ was /ø/, one /i/ was /ɨ/ and one /e/ was /ə/, but I don't remember whether it was /o¹ i¹ e¹/ or /o² i² e²/ that were supposed to be /ø ɨ ə/ and how valid that theory even is.
Ooh, weird. But I don't know too much about PIE.
Vlürch wrote: 11 Oct 2019 05:32Hmm, not sure if it counts since I've continued it intentionally after noticing it happening, but I tend to have words meaning "beauty" or whatever that contain sounds from the names of women I consider beautiful. :roll:
Ha, ha. The word for "friend" in Kankonian is meshi, but that word actually dates back to before I met my best friend Lamesha! The E in "Lamesha" sounds like /i/, however.
PS: Sorry for rambling about Japanese in your conlang's thread. [>_<] Just tell me to stop if you want, and I'll try my hardest... and hopefully manage to. [:$] It's a cool conlang so far, but there isn't much to say about it except general compliments... like almost always with conlangs, except the most striking ones.
You can ramble about Japanese all you want -- it's an awesome natlang. And I'm glad you like Txabao; I'll try to get the masculine and feminine noun declensions up soon.
Last edited by Khemehekis on 25 Nov 2019 04:57, edited 1 time in total.
♂♥♂♀

Squirrels chase koi . . . chase squirrels

My Kankonian-English dictionary: 86,336 words and counting

31,416: The number of the conlanging beast!
Khemehekis
mongolian
mongolian
Posts: 3883
Joined: 14 Aug 2010 09:36
Location: California über alles

Re: The Txabao language

Post by Khemehekis »

Declining male nouns

Male nouns ending with a single, unaccented vowel

ksapu: man

Singular
Nominative: ksapu
Accusative: ksapis
Genitive: ksapao
Dative: ksapaeq
Vocative: ksapan
Instrumental: ksapen
Oblique: ksapar

Plural
Nominative: ksapas
Accusative: ksapas'is
Genitive: ksapas'ao
Dative: ksapas'aeq
Vocative: ksapas'an
Instrumental: ksapas'en
Oblique: ksapas'ar

Dual of male nouns ending with a single, unaccented vowel

xrapshu (male cousin -- you'd use the dual for "These two men are cousins")

Nominative: xrapshubi
Accusative: xrapshubi'is
Genitive: xrapshubi'ao
Dative: xrapshubi'aeq
Vocative: xrapshubi'an
Instrumental: xrapshubi'en
Oblique: xrapshubi'ar

Male nouns ending with a consonant

greg: boy, young man

Singular
Nominative: greg
Accusative: greg'is
Genitive: greg'ao
Dative: greg'aeq
Vocative: greg'an
Instrumental: greg'en
Oblique: greg'ar

Plural
Nominative: greg'as
Accusative: greg'as'is
Genitive: greg'as'ao
Dative: greg'as'aeq
Vocative: greg'as'an
Instrumental: greg'as'en
Oblique: greg'as'ar

Dual of male nouns ending with a consonant

qxad (brother -- you'd use the dual for "These two men are brothers")

Nominative: qxadbi
Accusative: qxadbi'is
Genitive: qxadbi'ao
Dative: qxadbi'aeq
Vocative: qxadbi'an
Instrumental: qxadbi'en
Oblique: qxadbi'ar

Male nouns ending with a vowel diphthong

skorao: little boy

Singular
Nominative: skorao
Accusative: skorao'is
Genitive: skorao'ao
Dative: skorao'aeq
Vocative: skorao'an
Instrumental: skorao'en
Oblique: skorao'ar

Plural
Nominative: skorao'as
Accusative: skorao'as'is
Genitive: skorao'as'ao
Dative: skorao'as'aeq
Vocative: skorao'as'an
Instrumental: skorao'as'en
Oblique: skorao'as'ar

Dual of male nouns ending with a vowel diphthong

'atxtrae (brother-in-law -- you'd use the dual for "These two men are brothers-in-law")

Nominative: 'atxtraebi
Accusative: 'atxtraebi'is
Genitive: 'atxtraebi'ao
Dative: 'atxtraebi'aeq
Vocative: 'atxtraebi'an
Instrumental: 'atxtraebi'en
Oblique: 'atxtraebi'ar

Declining female nouns

Female nouns ending with a single, unaccented vowel

'ana: girl, young woman

Singular
Nominative: 'ana
Accusative: 'anae
Genitive: 'anai
Dative: 'anoi
Vocative: 'anaq
Instrumental: 'anax
Oblique: 'anidz

Plural
Nominative: 'anae
Accusative: 'anae'ae
Genitive: 'anae'ai
Dative: 'anae'oi
Vocative: 'anae'aq
Instrumental: 'anae'ax
Oblique: 'anae'idz

Dual of female nouns ending with a single, unaccented vowel

meibdha (female cousin -- you'd use the dual for "These two women are cousins")

Nominative: meibdhabi
Accusative: meibdhabi'ae
Genitive: meibdhabi'ai
Dative: meibdhabi'oi
Vocative: meibdhabi'aq
Instrumental: meibdhabi'ax
Oblique: meibdhabi'idz

Female nouns ending with a consonant

'ilaog: woman

Singular
Nominative: 'ilaog
Accusative: 'ilaog'ae
Genitive: 'ilaog'ai
Dative: 'ilaog'oi
Vocative: 'ilaog'aq
Instrumental: 'ilaog'ax
Oblique: 'ilaog'idz

Plural
Nominative: 'ilaog'ae
Accusative: 'ilaog'ae'ae
Genitive: 'ilaog'ae'ai
Dative: 'ilaog'ae'oi
Vocative: 'ilaog'ae'aq
Instrumental: 'ilaog'ae'ax
Oblique: 'ilaog'ae'idz

Dual of female nouns ending with a consonant

hhes (sister -- you'd use the dual for "These two women are sisters")

Nominative: hhesbi
Accusative: hhesbi'ae
Genitive: hhesbi'ai
Dative: hhesbi'oi
Vocative: hhesbi'aq
Instrumental: hhesbi'ax
Oblique: hhesbi'idz

Female nouns ending with a vowel diphthong

txau: little girl

Singular
Nominative: txau
Accusative: txau'ae
Genitive: txau'ai
Dative: txau'oi
Vocative: txau'aq
Instrumental: txau'ax
Oblique: txau'idz

Plural
Nominative: txau'ae
Accusative: txau'ae'ae
Genitive: txau'ae'ai
Dative: txau'ae'oi
Vocative: txau'ae'aq
Instrumental: txau'ae'ax
Oblique: txau'ae'idz

Dual of female nouns ending with a vowel diphthong

krabrou (sister-in-law -- you'd use the dual for "These two women are sisters-in-law")

Nominative: krabroubi
Accusative: krabroubi'ae
Genitive: krabroubi'ai
Dative: krabroubi'oi
Vocative: krabroubi'aq
Instrumental: krabroubi'ax
Oblique: krabroubi'idz
Last edited by Khemehekis on 08 Dec 2019 05:30, edited 2 times in total.
♂♥♂♀

Squirrels chase koi . . . chase squirrels

My Kankonian-English dictionary: 86,336 words and counting

31,416: The number of the conlanging beast!
Nachtuil
greek
greek
Posts: 595
Joined: 21 Jul 2016 00:16

Re: The Txabao language

Post by Nachtuil »

I like the sound of these :)
Post Reply