Sunday 13 December 2015

Charinese language


1:  Written Charinese

A a
/a/
J j
/ʒ/
R r
/r/
Tj tj
/dʒ/
B b
/b/
K k
/k/
S s
/s/
Lh lh
/ɬ/
C c
/ʃ/ (/k/ in some foreign loanwords)
L l
/l/
T t
/t/
Lj lj
/ɮ/
D d
/d/
M m
/m/
U u
/ʊ̈/
Qg qg
/G/
E e
/e/
N n
/n/
V v
/v/
W w
/y/
F f
/f/
O o
/o/
X x
/ɣ/
*This digraph is an alternate form of /tʃ/, far more rarely used than its counterpart
G g
/g/
Ö ö
/ɔ/
Z z
/z/
H h
/x/ (/ɦ/ before vowels)
P p
/p/
Tc tc
/tʃ/
I i
/i/
Q q
/q/
Ch ch
/tʃ/*


Ligatures and secondary characters

4 ligatures, to represent important words in Charinese, exist also:

Word
Meaning
Ligature
Yas
To/for
Ɏ ɏ
Yo
From/against
Ë ë
Ha
Direct object, also indicates future
Ħ ħ

The ligature for “Yo” derives from the Cyrillic letter of the same name, since the Cyrillic alphabet was, for the literate elite, the national script of Char-Moyutji until the 1970s.

2:  Noun declension, prepositions and pronouns

2.1 Cases and prepositions

2.1.1 Absolutive case & “Ha”

The standard noun case for the subject and object nouns. Object nouns, whenever they appear, are always preceded by the article “ha”. “Ha” has other uses and variants, which will be discussed later on.

2.1.2 Predicative/essive case

The predicative is used with predicate expressions – the verb “to be”. It is also used with adjectives, and is used to convert nouns to adjectives as well e.g. “Lju” = gold becomes “Ljuimi” = golden/ is gold.

2.1.3 Benefactive case – “Yas”,“Yo” and “Yem”

The benefactive is used with most indirect object nouns – it is used to show the action is being instigated for a certain object, either negatively or positively.

“Yas” is the positive benefactive preposition – it shows a meaning equivalent to “for/towards” –e.g. “Yas Tjakobi” means “for/to Jacob”.

“Yo” is negative, showing a meaning equivalent to “from” or “against”.

“Yem” shows “from”, but in a positive way – e.g. “Yem Anglati” = “from England”.

2.1.4 Transient case

The transient case is used to demonstrate the general movement of a noun, for example, “La Tjakobu” = “I move Jacob”.

2.1.5 The preposition “i”

“I” is used as a preposition to indicate a noun or person being addressed. It is similar to the function of the vocative case, or the particle “o” in Old English.

2.2 Declensions and the possessed form

2.2.1 Possessed form

This is the word form that is used to show a noun that is possessed by another noun. The noun possessing the noun is shown before the possessed noun – for pronouns, this is:


Tjakobe = Jacob
My/Our
Tjakobo
Your
Pa Tjakobo
He/She/Its/Their
Yas Tjakobo

The possessed form is not usually considered a case, since the “-o” stem does not change across declension or whether the noun is distant or proximal.

2.2.2 Declension patterns

There are three patterns of declension. The distant forms are used to describe nouns that are located far from the speakers – the proximal forms are used for nouns that are closer.

There are no real rules for choosing the nouns belonging to the case system.


Declension 1 = Tjakobe - Jacob
Declension 2 = Saljaju - Mouse
Declension 1 = Ma - Cat

Proximal
Distant
Proximal/Distant
Proximal
Distant
Abs
Tjakobe
Tjakobe
Saljaju
Ma
Ma
Pred
Tjakobmi
Tjakobma
Saljajimi
Mam’
Mam’
Ben
Tjakobi
Tjakobi
Saljaji
Mai
Maa
Tst
Tjakobu
Tjakoba
Saljaja
Mau
Mau
Possessed form
Tjakobo
Tjakobo
Saljajo
Mao
Mao

 2.3 Pronouns


Absolutive
Essive/Predicative
Positive benefactive
Negative benefactive
1st person sing.
La
Ul
Lai
Lu
2nd person
Ka
Ku
Kai
Kau
3rd person masc.
Os
Se
Sak
Set
3rd person fem./plu.
Otj
Je
Ja
Tjat
3rd person neut.
Or
Ra
Ru
Rat
1st person plu.
Lau
Li
Las
Lu

3: Verb system

3.1 Basic verb conjugation

3.1.1 How verbs function

Aside from a few pronouns, “Yas”, “Yem” and a few other nouns, only verbs can end in consonants, and all nouns must end in vowels. That is why, in the word “Mam’”, seen above in the declension section.

Infinitives do not exist – when these are usually used in English, instead use the appropriate conjugation for the section.

3.1.2 Present habitual conjugation

Most verbs are pronoun-dropping – since the suffix changes for all pronouns, the subject pronoun can be dropped, eliminating the need to specify the object. However, a few verbs are object-changing – instead, the suffix of the verbs changes to show this, thereby forming the reverse process of the subject-changers. For example, the verb “to love”:

Qatac = to love me
Qatac
… love me.
Qatat
… love you.
Qatal
… love him.
Qatas
… love her/them.
Qatak
… love it.
Qataj
… love us.

And a subject-changer:
Hamak = I sit
Hamak
I sit
Hamas
You sit
Hamar
He sits
Hamac
She/they sit
Hamal
It sits
Hamaj
We sit


3.2 Classes of verbs

Aside from these two types, there are three classes of verbs:

3.2.1 Verbs of motion

These are verbs which represent a physical movement of some kind, such as falling or crossing. Some of these verbs also represent prepositions and intransitive verbs, such as “to run along”.
A variety of additional morphemes, such as the speed at which a motion takes place or the number of additional phrases extending from it, can be added.

3.2.2 Verbs of action

More like a traditional verb. These also tend to contain their object nouns – for example “Tatcanup” = “I catch fish”, and “Xlagap” = “I open a box”.

3.2.3 Verbs of thought

Internalized verbs, related to emotions. Also used for actions within any object.

3.3 Other tenses

3.3.1 The use of “Ha”

As well as indicating the direct object, “ha” comes before verbs to indicate the future habitual tense.

3.3.2 “Hav” and “Havke”

Here is a chart showing the use of “hav” and “havke”, two derivates:

Before verb
After verb
“Ha”
Future habitual
Present habitual
“Hav”
To do something later today
To do something today
“Havke”
Past habitual (often to do something yesterday)
To do something tomorrow

3.4 Verb stems and modifications

Aside from the main conjugation, there are mutiple suffixes and prefixes that are added for different meanings.

3.4.1 Grades of relevancy

In a sentence with two clauses it is naturally assumed that the verb is caused by the previous clause, or vice versa.
… qatac la. = … therefore I love myself.
However, to show that there is no relation with the previous clause, the stem “-ya” is added to the verb.
… qatacya la. = … meanwhile I love myself.      /qa.ta.ʃja la/
To show even further that there is no relation (equivalent to saying “changing the subject” in English), the pronounciation of the stem is altered with a hyphen.
… qatac-ya la. = ... changing the subject, I love myself.    /qa.taʃ.ja la/
To show that clauses contradict, use the suffix “-in”.
… qatacin la = on the other hand, I love myself.

3.4.2 Predecession and negatives

The suffix “-yat” in verbs is equivalent to “before”.

Negatives are shown by the suffix “ö”.

3.4.3 Imperatives and verb speed

To show a verb takes place quickly, the suffix “-oh” is used. “-oloh” increases this speed.

The article "no" comes before the verb to show imperatives.

3.4.4 Prefixes

To show a preposition that would otherwise be attached to the indirect object – for example, “across” – a prefix will be added to the verb.

He throws his hat = Uskital pas kovno

He throws his hat across the room = Reuskital pas kovno ha gode

He throws his hat down the sink = Cuskital pas kovno ha itorve

He throws his hat into the ocean = Cuskital pas kovno ha wliujine.

4: Sentence formation and other notes

4:1 Sentence order

The standard sentence order, provided all nouns are fully independent from prefixes and suffixes, is SVO. However, to show necessity, the word order is OVS –since all parts of the sentence are specified, this does not change the meaning.

4:2 Other variants of “Ha”

To show the object is plural, or to show the equivalent of saying “and”, “ha” becomes “hö”, and to show the equivalent of “or”, it becomes “haya”.

4:3 Numerals

Charinese numbers operate on a base 8 system:

1
Na
9
Ena
17
Vo-Na
128
Vo-Kta
2
Vo
10
Evo
18
Vov
512
Ikta
3
Se
11
Ese
24
Sei
4096
Ukta
4
Ce
12
Ece
32
Sacei
32768
Ökta
5
Qe
13
Eqe
40
Qesei
262144
Ei-Kta
6
Qa
14
Eqa
48
Qusei
2097152
Ket-Kta
7
U
15
Yu
56
Usei

8
Ei
16
Vasei
64
Kta

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