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 Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 5:37 pm
So basically this language is one spoken in Lizella, my conworld. It is spoken by the civil-warring nations on the western Azuni continent. There are some dialectal differences throughout the three major regions, but nothing too radical. Wait, I take that back...the differences might not be too great, but if you were to learn the dialect of one region and spoke in a different region, they might kill you for being a spy or something. xp
I'll put more details out there as time goes on.
...I'm somewhat ashamed to say, I sort of gave up on creating a font the Azuni script. The font creation program I have is balls, and the system I came up with in the first place was so needlessly complex to begin with, that I'm gonna have to calculate a standard set of parameters in order for it to work. More trouble than it's worth at the moment, but I'll get to it eventually.
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Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 10:05 pm
Alphabet and Phonemes
I honestly don't know whether to call this an alphabet or a syllabary...but I suppose it'll work more like an alphabet, in the long run. Never mind...I think it's an abugida.  (P/B)  (R)  (F/V)   (K/G)  (Y)  (S/Z)  (H)  (L)  (CH/J)  (T/D)  (N/M) You may have noticed there aren't any vowels. But don't worry, this isn't an abjad... that, my friends, will come at a later date. wink No, this one uses specific diacritic markers that indicate vowels, written above the character much like in the Tengwar alphabet. When the characters are written without these marks, they are stand-alone consonants, capable of forming simple consonant clusters and having words end in consonants. See an example of the diacritics here.Another thing you may have noticed is that one of the characters doesn't seem to have a specific phonetic value. That's because it's a "blank" character: It serves no purpose until the vowel-indicating diacritic is used. In which case, it indicates a stand-alone vowel sound. See an example here. Note: These vowel sounds are pretty much exactly what you'd expect: O sounds as it would in "ph one"; E as in "b et"; A as in "w ater"; U as in "m oon"; and I as in "fat igue" And finally, the last thing you've probably noticed is...why does each character represent two sounds? Well, that's because I was lazy and didn't want to make two separate characters for each phoneme's (un)voiced counterpart. It's like with the Japanese kana, where two little flecks are used to indicate voiced consonants, only these marks are written below the character. It also works to help distinguish an N sound from an M sound. See the marks that distinguish voiced consonants.
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Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 10:09 pm
Basic Pronouns and Particles
Pronouns
kin - I/me
jen - you
an - he/him
ima - she/her
kinja - we/us
jenja - ya'll
anja - they/them (masc., masc. + fem.)
ima(n)ja - they/them (all fem.)
Particles
Whether a noun or pronoun is the subject, object, indirect object, etc. is determined by particles that follow the noun/pronoun.
gu - subject marker [nearly obsolete* in most areas of the continent]
*The reason "gu" is nearly obsolete is that although word order is quite free, the verb must always come right after the subject, so you can pretty much always tell what the subject is by seeing which noun the verb follows.
Kin gu ibana. - I go.
to - direct object marker
Kin (gu) limana jen to. - I see you.
va - indirect object marker - also acts as a destination marker meaning "to/toward"
Jen (gu) nirana kin va kokazo to. - You give me the book.
du - possession marker (acts exactly like English 's/s')
Kin du nana - My mom
he - question marker*
*He can act as a tag-question, much like "eh?" does in Canadian English, but more often than not, it is used by men (or tomboyish women) after any question to make it seem more rough. The reason for this is that the rising intonation that universally accompanies questions is considered, to the Azuni people, a feminine trait. So to seem gruff and manly - since Azuni men pride themselves on their perceived manliness - they don't have a rising intonation when asking questions instead making them sound like statements. He is tagged on to make it clear that it is a question, even though it doesn't sound like one.
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Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 10:10 pm
Pluralization and Articles
Lucky for you, there's no gender in this language. There are also no definite or indefinite articles ("the", "a/an"), so the language is pretty simplified.
Pluralization
To pluralize a word is pretty simple - simply stick -ja on the end of a noun. (You may have noticed this has also been working with pronouns.)
koko (girl) -> kokoja (girls)
kan (sword) -> kanja (swords)
iza (star) -> izaja (stars)
There are a couple of exceptions...
-Words ending in an M or a G add -za: am (man) -> amza (men); arag (lizard) -> aragza (lizards)
-Words ending in a K add -sa: sanek (war) -> saneksa (wars)
Articles
Tate/Tateja - this one/these ones
Zate/Zateja - that one/those ones
Achate/Achateja - that one, over there/those ones, over there
Gate/Gateja - which one/s
Ex:
Tate (gu) ina kin du nana. - This is my mom.
Zateja (gu) ina Jorj du pachija. - Those are George's pens.
Achateja (gu) ina Es'Ozako du buchoja. - Those are the Es'Ozako mountains.
"Gate (gu) ina isoko Spok-jun!?" - "Which one is the real Mr. Spock!?"
---
Tavo(ja) - this/these (adj.)
Zavo(ja) - that/those (adj.)
Achavo(ja) - that/those (adj.), over there
Gavo(ja) - which (adj.)
Ex:
Tavo koko (gu) ina yevek. - This girl is ill.
Zavoja loja (gu) ina heko. - Those coals are hot.
Achavo mozi (gu) ina joroko. - That tree over there is huge.
Gavoja tojija (gu) ina ven-umenoko he? - Which villages are the least populated?
---
Tanai(ja) - this kind (of)/these kinds (of)
Zanai(ja) - that kind (of)/these kinds (of)
Ganai(ja) - what kind (of)/what kinds (of)
Ex:
Tanaija doja (gu) ina sentiko. - These kinds of things are temporary.
"Kin (gu) inane zanai koko!" - "I'm not that kind of girl!"
"Ganai hami (gu) ina kiko he?" - "What kind of food is your favorite?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 10:11 pm
Postpositions, Other Particles and Word Order
For those of you who don't know, a postposition is basically a preposition that comes after a word rather than before it. Here are some of the basic ones:
ki - with
"Ibanto achai Kizue ki." - Go there with Kizue.
kine - without
"Rofa kine kinja (gu) ina yatako." - "Without a map, we are lost."
va - to/toward (also indirect object marker)
"Sojo'mo va ima (gu) ibancha." - "She went to the marketplace."
ju - in/at
"Vava (gu) ina eto ju." - "Dad is at home."
Advanced postpositions will pretty much be as in Japanese; that is, use the construction subject + du + direction + ju:
Ex:
Kokazo (gu) ina onzu du kova ju. - The book is on top of the table. (Literally - The book is at the table's top.)
"Jon du jigo ju an (gu) avana." - He is standing beside John. (Lit. - He stands at John's side.)
kova - top/upside (above)
povo - bottom (below)
jigo - side (beside)
domi - left (to the left of)
hizo - right (to the right of)
kiki - middle (in the middle of/between)
Ex:
Kin (gu) avana Jon ma Jak du kiki ju. - I'm standing between John and Jack. (Lit. - I stand at John and Jack's middle.)
As for word order, you can arrange sentences in any way you please, as long as these two things remain:
-All particles and postpositions must remain directly after the nouns they modify.
-The verb must always remain directly after the subject.
That said, here are some different ways to say the same sentence:
Today I'm going to my sister's house.
Key words: kin (I), hojo (today), rena (sister), eto (house/home), ibana (go)
Kin (gu) ibana rena du eto va hojo.
Kin (gu) ibana hojo rena du eto va.
Hojo kin (gu) ibana rena du eto va.
Hojo rena du eto kin (gu) ibana.
Rena du eto va kin (gu) ibana hojo.
Rena du eto va hojo kin (gu) ibana.
Keep in mind that although you could use any of these, the part of the sentence that you want to emphasize the most is what should come first.
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Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 10:13 pm
Present Tense Verb Conjugation: Affirm. vs. Neg.
Verb conjugation is pretty much nonexistent, with the exception of differentiating between affirmative statements and negative statements.
Present Affirmative (A.K.A. "Plain Form")
Most verbs end in -ana or -na in the affirmative present tense:
ibana - go
kin (gu) ibana - I go
jen (gu) ibana - you go
an/ima (gu) ibana - he/she goes
kinja (gu) ibana - we go
jenja (gu) ibana - y'all go
anja/ima(n)ja (gu) ibana - they go
suna - run
kin (gu) suna - I run
jen (gu) suna - you run
an/ima (gu) suna - he/she runs
kinja (gu) suna - we run
jenja (gu) suna - y'all run
anja/ima(n)ja (gu) suna - they run
Note: This form doubles as the present progressive tense (affirmative); kin (gu) ibana can mean "I am going" as well as "I go".
Present Negative
To make the negative form, drop the final -a of the plain form and add -e:
kin (gu) ibane - I don't go
jen (gu) ibane - you don't go
an/ima (gu) ibane - he/she doesn't go
kinja (gu) ibane - we don't go
jenja (gu) ibane - y'all don't go
anja/ima(n)ja (gu) ibane - they don't go
kin (gu) sune - I don't run
jen (gu) sune - you don't run
an/ima (gu) sune - he/she doesn't run
kinja (gu) sune - we don't run
jenja (gu) sune - y'all don't run
anja/ima(n)ja (gu) sune - they don't run
*One exception is the verb ina (be), which turns into inane in the negative form.
Note: Like the affirmative form, this form doubles as the present progressive tense (negative); kin (gu) sune can mean "I am not running" as well as "I don't run".
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Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 10:15 pm
Past Tense Verb Conjugation: Affirm. vs. Neg.
Past Affirmative
To make the past affirmative tense, drop the final -a of the plain form and add -to:
kin (gu) ibanto - I went
jen (gu) ibanto - you went
an/ima (gu) ibanto - he/she went
kinja (gu) ibanto - we went
jenja (gu) ibanto - y'all went
anja/ima(n)ja (gu) ibanto - they went
kin (gu) sunto - I ran
jen (gu) sunto - you ran
an/ima (gu) sunto - he/she ran
kinja (gu) sunto - we ran
jenja (gu) sunto - y'all ran
anja/ima(n)ja (gu) sunto - they ran
Note: This form doubles as the past progressive tense (affirmative); kin (gu) ibanto can mean "I was going" as well as "I went".
Past Negative
To make the past negative tense, drop the final -a of the plain form and add -jei:
kin (gu) ibanjei - I didn't go
jen (gu) ibanjei - you didn't go
an/ima (gu) ibanjei - he/she doesn't go
kinja (gu) ibanjei - we didn't go
jenja (gu) ibanjei - y'all didn't go
anja/ima(n)ja (gu) ibanjei - they didn't go
kin (gu) sunjei - I didn't run
jen (gu) sunjei - you didn't run
an/ima (gu) sunjei - he/she didn't run
kinja (gu) sunjei - we didn't run
jenja (gu) sunjei - y'all didn't run
anja/ima(n)ja (gu) sunjei - they didn't run
Note: Like the affirmative form, this form doubles as the past progressive tense (negative); kin (gu) sunjei can mean "I was not running" as well as "I didn't run".
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Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 10:16 pm
Future Tense Verb Conjugation: Affirm. vs. Neg.
Future Affirmative
To make the future affirmative tense, drop the final -a of the plain form and add -zu:
kin (gu) ibanzu - I will go
jen (gu) ibanzu - you will go
an/ima (gu) ibanzu - he/she will go
kinja (gu) ibanzu - we will go
jenja (gu) ibanzu - y'all will go
anja/ima(n)ja (gu) ibanzu - they will go
kin (gu) sunzu - I will run
jen (gu) sunzu - you will run
an/ima (gu) sunzu - he/she will run
kinja (gu) sunzu - we will run
jenja (gu) sunzu - y'all will run
anja/ima(n)ja (gu) sunzu - they will run
Note: This form doubles as the future progressive tense (affirmative); kin (gu) ibanzu can mean "I will be going" as well as "I will go".
Past Negative
To make the future negative tense, drop the final -a of the plain form and add -omo:
kin (gu) ibanomo - I will not go
jen (gu) ibanomo - you will not go
an/ima (gu) ibanomo - he/she will not go
kinja (gu) ibanomo - we will not go
jenja (gu) ibanomo - y'all will not go
anja/ima(n)ja (gu) ibanomo - they will not go
kin (gu) sunomo - I will not run
jen (gu) sunomo - you will not run
an/ima (gu) sunomo - he/she will not run
kinja (gu) sunomo - we will not run
jenja (gu) sunomo - y'all will not run
anja/ima(n)ja (gu) sunomo - they will not run
Note: Like the affirmative form, this form doubles as the future progressive tense (negative); kin (gu) sunomo can mean "I will not be running" as well as "I will not run".
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Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 10:18 pm
Adjectives and Adverbs
As you may have noticed in the first couple of posts, adjectives tend to end in -ko:
heko - hot
You would modify nouns with them much as you would in English; stick 'em before the noun:
heko ido - hot day
Note: Adjectives can generally be turned into nouns by dropping the -ko:
heko -> he ("hotness", or heat)
One other thing you may have noticed (or not...) is that both nouns and adjectives that have negative connotations tend to end in -k:
yevek (adj.) - sick, ill
Although these are used the same way as adjectives ending in -ko, you don't drop anything when turning it into a noun:
yevek (n) - sickness, illness, disease
More examples:
veik (adj.) - afraid
veik (n) - "afraidness", or fear
zirak (adj.) - dead
zirak (n) - death
onak (adj.) - angry
onak (n) - anger, hatred
luk (adj.) - poisonous
luk (n) - poison
Adverbs
To make an adjective an adverb, drop -ko/-k and add -ri:
heri - hotly
yeveri - sickly
Since word order is free, you can pretty much stick an adverb anywhere in the sentence and it'll be alright:
He ran through the field quickly.
Key words: an (he), sunto (ran), kikiri (quickly), vara (field), mei (through)
An (gu) sunto kikiri vara mei.
An (gu) sunto vara mei kikiri.
Kikiri an (gu) sunto vara mei.
Kikiri vara mei an (gu) sunto.
Vara mei an (gu) sunto kikiri.
Vara mei kikiri an (gu) sunto.
Again, whichever one you use depends on which part of the sentence you're trying to place the most emphasis on.
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Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 10:21 pm
List of Nouns (Incomplete)
-A-
aida - life
alen - intellect, intelligence
am - man, male, human
anai - mother
anak - enemy
an(a)'iza - sun (lit. "mother star")
avai - father
-B-
ban - piece, part, fragment
bucho - mountain
bun - animal
-CH-
cha - water
cherak - fire
-D-
do - thing, something
dogo - animal hide, leather
dogo'te - parchment
doma - friend
-E-
eto - house, home
-F-
fona - color
fona'kes - rainbow (lit. "color arc")
fumu - bird
-G-
gana - river
garek - barbarian, belligerent person
goda - drink, beverage
-H-
hami - food
he - heat
he'yevek - heatstroke
-I-
isume - woman, female
iza - star
-J-
jai - language
-K-
kan - sword
kes - arc, arch, bow
kokazo - book
koko - girl, young woman
-L-
lo - coal
luk - poison, venom
-M-
mo - place
mozi - tree, wood
mozija - forest (lit. "trees")
mozi'ban - piece of wood, wooden plank/board
-N-
nana - mom, mama, mommy
no - earth, dirt, soil
-O-
ob'anai - grandmother (lit. "old mother")
ob'avai - grandfather (lit. "old father")
obe - age
olan - brother
onak - hate, hatred
onzu - table
ota - body
ota'zan - body armor, mail
-P-
pachi - pen
piki - weakness
-R-
rena - sister
rofa - map
-S-
sanek - war
seka - darkness, gloom
sek'iza - moon (lit. "gloom star")
si - person
skara - boy, young man
sojo - shop, store
sojo'mo - marketplace
-T-
te - sheet, leaf
toji - village
-U-
ubura - light
umi - love
-V-
vava - dad, papa, daddy
vara - field
veik - fear
-Y-
yate - victory
yodo - country, land
yudi - song
-Z-
zan - shield
zirak - death
zona - time
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Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 10:25 pm
Reserved for list of verbs
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Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 10:27 pm
List of Adjectives/Adverbs (Incomplete)
* = noun form nonexistent
-A-
aidako - alive, lively, full of life
alenko - smart, intelligent, intellectual, brilliant, bright
ameko - manly, masculine, macho
anaiko - motherly, matronly
ana'izako - sunny
anak - unfriendly, hostile
avaiko - fatherly
-B-
banko - fragmented, divided, apart, separate, segregated
buchoko - mountainous, towering, massive
bunko - animalistic, wild
-CH-
chako - wet, watery
cherak - fiery, hot, saucy, haughty, flame-engulfed, on fire
-D-
dogoko - leathery
domako - friendly
-E-
etoko - homey, like home
-F-
fonako - colorful
fumuko - avian, flighty, cowardly
-G-
gareko - barbarianly, belligerent, loud, hostile
-H-
heko - hot, warm, sexually aroused
-I-
izako - starry
isumeko - womanly, feminine, effeminate
-J-
jaiko - linguistic
-K-
kesko - bowed, arched
kokazoko - bookwormish, nerdy, geeky
kokoko - girly, girlish, whimsical
-L-
luk - poisonous
-M-
moziko - wooden, wooded, woodsy, stiff
-N-
noko - earthy, earthen, dirt-caked
-O-
obeko - old
olanko - brotherly
onak - hateful (either "one who hates" or "one who is hated")
otako - bodily
-P-
pikiko - weak
-R-
renako - sisterly
-S-
sanek - warlike, war-mongering
sekako - gloomy, dark, darkened, dim, obscure
siko - personal
skarako - boyish, tomboyish
-T-
teko - leafy
-U-
uburako - light, bright
umiko - lovable, loving
-V-
veik - afraid, fearful, cowardly, terrified
-Y-
yateko - victorious, glorious
yodoko - national
-Z-
zanko - protective, defensive
zirak - deadly, deathly
zona - punctual, timely, on-time
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Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 10:28 pm
Useful Words and Phrases
Saying yes and no
ai* - yes
da* - no
*Note: these are merely words to express general agreement/disagreement. To directly answer a "yes or no question", you would use either the positive or negative form of the action in question. Ex:
"sojo'mo va John (gu) ibanto?" - "Did John go to the marketplace?"
The proper yes/no response would be:
"ibanto." - "Yes." (lit. "He went.")
or
"ibanomo." - "No." (lit. "He didn't go.")
More ways to respond to yes/no questions
elen - maybe, perhaps
ai'elen - maybe so
da'elen - maybe not
bayari (ina) - of course, certainly
bayari inane - of course not, certainly not
Greetings, farewells and responses to them
reima - hello
lisako kinami - good morning
lisako sera - good day
lisako vensu - good afternoon/evening
lisako tira - good night
asanai jema (to) - goodbye, take care (lit. "take luck")
neikoma sera va - see you later (lit. "at a later date")
kobe ina? - How are you?
lisari (ina), seyo. - I am well, thank you.
ei ei (ina). - alright, so-so
lisari inane - not well
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Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 10:30 pm
Ordinal and Cardinal Numbers
This tentative numbering system is highly irregular, based on the numerous sound-changes that occur as a result of the awkward-sounding phonetic constructions that would otherwise occur. Although consistency is nice, the fact is that irregularities happen for a reason, and more often than not, they occur as a result of the need to pronounce things more fluidly. Hopefully the sound changes will make sense - usually dropping an N or an unnecessary vowel sound. Let me know if it gets too out-of-hand.
dak - 0
ze - 1
sun - 2
sai - 3
goi - 4
en - 5
pen - 6
lu - 7
iko - 8
miu - 9
yo - 10
ze'yo - 11
su'yo - 12
sa(i)'yo - 13
go(i)'yo - 14
e'yo - 15
pe'yo - 16
lu'yo - 17
ik'yo - 18
mu'yo - 19
yo'sun - 20
ze'yo'sun - 21
su'yo'sun - 22
sa(i)'yo'sun - 23
go(i)'yo'sun - 24
e'yo'sun - 25
pe'yo'sun - 26
lu'yo'sun - 27
ik'yo'sun - 28
mu'yo'sun - 29
yo'sai - 30
yo'goi - 40
yo'en - 50
yo'pen - 60
yo'lu - 70
yo'ko - 80
yo'mu - 90
yan - 100
yan'ze - 101
ya(n)'sun - 102
ya(n)'sai - 103
yan'goi - 104
yan'en - 105
ya(n)'pen - 106
ya(n)'lu - 107
yan'iko - 108
ya(n)'miu - 109
(to be continued...)
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Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 10:33 pm
Nationalities, Regions, Languages & Miscellania
Country or Region / National {n} / Adjectival Form / Language Name
Countries of the East
ga'yodo (Raymland) // ga'yodo'si (Raymlander) // ga'yodoko (Raymlandic) // ga'yodo'jai (Raymlandic)
*Ga'yodo comes from garek (barbarian) + yodo (country); "Land of the Barbarians"
kes (Kesch) // ke'si (Keschman) // kesko (Kesch) // ke'jai (Kesch)
nola (Knohlia) // nola'si (Knohlian) // nolako (Knohlian) // nola'jai (Knohlian)
razei (R'zheiskva) // razei'si (R'zheiskvan) // razeiko (R'zheiskvan) // razei'jai (Vadeshkan)
tesi (Theetchland) // tesi'si (Theetchlander) // tesiko (Theetchlandic) // tesi'jai (Theetchlandic)
vadei (Vadeshka) // vadei'si (Vadeshkan) // vadeiko (Vadeshkan) // vadei'jai (Vadeshkan)
zaku (New Zakons) // zaku'si (Zakon) // zakuko (Zakon) // zaku'jai (Zakon)
Countries of the West (Azuni continent)
ak'aya // aya'si // ayako // azuni'jai
ak'doyomo // doyomo'si // doyomoko // azuni'jai
ak'ijei // ijei'si // ijeiko // azuni'jai
ak'ridoki // ridoki'si // ridokiko // azuni'jai
ak'umin // umi'si // umiko // azuni'jai
ki'fai // fai'si // faiko // azuni'jai
ki'kasa // kasa'si // kasako // azuni'jai
ki'kola // kola'si // kolako // azuni'jai
ki'poyusu // poyu'si // poyusuko // azuni'jai
sei'duima // duima'si // duimako // azuni'jai
sei'ozuna // ozuna'si // ozunako // azuni'jai
sei'suhasa // suhasa'si // suhasako // azuni'jai
sei'vasunja // vasunja'si // vasunjako // azuni'jai
I feel the need to explain the names of the Azuni countries. First and foremost, Ak, Ki and Sei are the three elder gods of the Azuni people. Aya, Doyomo, Ijei, Ridoki and Umin are younger gods, children of the elder god Ak...just as Fai, Kasa, Kola and Poyusu are the children of Ki, and Duima, Ozuna, Suhasa and Vasunja are the children of Sei. The three elder gods sent their children to take up worshipers and guide them in building societies, so that the once godless people of the Azuni continent could find prosperity in what was once a chaotic land of warring tribes. The younger gods, their tasks complete, ascended back to the heavens to allow the Azuni people to thrive on their own. After some time, however, the people began to quarrel over which elder god was the one true god, and thus the people grew segregated...in recent times, these quarrels have turned into an all-out holy war among the three regions that the children of Ak, Ki and Sei had cultivated.
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