Amilin: Difference between revisions
lots of interesting info!
PraxisHelper (talk | contribs) (phonology tables) |
PraxisHelper (talk | contribs) (lots of interesting info!) |
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=== Vowels ===
==== Monophthongs ====
{| class="wikitable"
!
!Front
!Mid
!Back
|-
!Close
|i /i/
|
|u /u/
|-
!Open
|e /ɛ/
|a /a/
|o /ɔ/
|}
==== Diphthongs ====
{| class="wikitable"
!
!Front
!Back
|-
!Rising
|ai /aj/
|au /aw/
|}
== Phonotactics and word-accent ==
Amilin has a (C)V(C) syllable structure. All syllables except the initial one in a word are required to have an onset; the coda is always optional, but can only take a limited range of consonants, this being: /m/, /n/, /f/, /s/, /l/.
Additionally there are a range of forbidden coda-onset and diphthong-onset pairs across syllable boundaries:
{| class="wikitable"
!Coda or diphthong
!ai
!au
!m
!n
!f
!s
!l
|-
!Forbidden onsets
|y
|w
|t, d, m, n
|p, b, l, m, n
|w, p, b, f
|s
|y, l, n
|}
Where a coda or diphthong would cause a forbidden pair to occur (for instance in loanwords or transcriptions of proper names), the coda disappears or the diphthong is reduced to /a/ respectively.
=== Word-accent ===
All one-syllable words in Amilin are unstressed. Most two-syllable words, except for a small set of prepositions which have no stress, take stress on the first syllable. The vowel of a stressed syllable is pronounced for somewhat longer than that of an unstressed syllable.
== Morphology ==
Amilin is a highly isolating, analytic language with few inflections. It makes heavy use of prepositions to indicate the role of words in a phrase, and most words in the vocabulary can variously be nouns, verbs, adjectives or adverbs depending on word order. Verb particles are used similarly to noun prepositions to indicate the mood and aspect of a verb, which can be imperfect, perfect, optative-imperative, or mark an auxiliary verb. Tense is usually implicit but can be specified or established using a set of auxiliary verbs.
Amilin has a zero copula, with statements such as "This is a house", "This house is red", and "This red house exists" being expressed through word order and use of cases.
Typologically, word order is principally '''subject-verb-object''', '''noun-adjective'''. However, word order is partially free, with the first noun in a phrase indicating the topic, followed immediately by the verb; this is especially common with fronted indirect objects acting as topics. Fronted objects are by comparison rare, but correspondingly place especially heavy emphasis on the object noun.
==== Grammatical cases ====
There are 12 cases in Amilin. The nominative and genitive cases may be unmarked and indicated by word order; all other cases require their preposition.
* Nominative: unmarked or ''siba'' depending on position in the phrase
* Vocative: unmarked subject of a verb in the optative-imperative mood
* Accusative: ''lef''
* Genitive: unmarked, ''lin'', or ''lef lin'' depending on position in the phrase
* Dative: ''de'', also used for expressing inalienable or abstract possession or ownership
* Locative: ''pon''
* Ablative: ''kai''
* Instrumental: ''waiki''
* Comitative: ''elpa'', also used for expressing alienable, immediate possession
* Superlative: ''istuwi''
* Adverbial-Comparative: ''folgu''
* Evidential: ''kosalo''
== Example sentences ==
* ''Gusta ko titau da buyu kai uweli ta gu de sinya Mount Augusta.''
* '''1PL-EXCL AUX past PERF walk ABL homestead PL 1-EXCL DAT city "Mount Augusta"'''
* We had walked from our homesteads to the [then-active] city of Mount Augusta.
* ''Pon sinya elai siba matikabi istuwi estu.''
* '''LOC city THIS NOM large-building SUP stack-amount'''
* In this city there were very many large buildings (lit. "more than a stack").
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