Orthography
A
a
|
/a/
|
J
j
|
/d͡ʒ/
|
Ś ś
|
/ʃ/
|
B
b
|
/b/
|
K
k
|
/k/
|
T
t
|
/t/
|
C
c
|
/t͡ʃ/
|
L
l
|
/l/
|
U
u
|
/ʏ/
|
D
d
|
/d/
|
M
m
|
/m/
|
V
v
|
/v~ʋ/
|
E
e
|
/ə/
|
N
n
|
/n/
|
W
w
|
/ɰ/
|
F
f
|
/f/
|
O
o
|
/ɔ/
|
Y
y
|
/j/
|
G
g
|
/g/
|
P
p
|
/p/
|
Z
z
|
/z/
|
H
h
|
/ɮ~h/
|
R
r
|
/ɹʲ/
|
Ź ź
|
/ʒ/
|
I
i
|
/i/
|
S
s
|
/s/
|
‘
|
/ʔ/
|
Each vowel must also take one of three tones: high (a), low
(à) and rising (á). These are frequently used to differentiate between word and
tense. In some versions of Tòkvá, the low tone is glottalised or
pharyngealised, while the rising tone is shown with the following vowel
mutations: /a~æ/, /ə~ɛ/, /i~je/, /ɔ~ɪ̈/, /ʏ~u/.
Syntax
There are no set word classes - a word normally used as a
noun may function as a verb without being heavily modified, and vice versa. In
each sentence, both the subject and verb are inflected to show changes in
tense.
The standard word order is Object-Subject-Verb, where the
object is usually translated with the preposition “to” to maintain English
syntax. However, for some nouns which take other prepositions, such as “from”
and “by”, the syntax varies wildly – this will be discussed later on.
Structure of a
standard sentence
For the majority of sentences, the pattern described below
is used.
K’kvá = go by communal transport (“go among company”)
Using the pronoun “da” as a subject, referring to the first
person, we can produce forms such as:
-
Da k’kvá = I go among company
-
Dà k’kvá = I can go among company
-
Dè k’kvá = I went among company
-
Dé k’kvá = I will go among company (in the
foreseeable future)
Then, by inflecting the verb as well, we can make many
different forms in the same way:
K’kvá
|
K’kvà
|
K’kvè
|
K’kvé
|
K’kvi
|
|
Da
|
I go
|
I should go
|
I should have gone
|
I must go
|
Did I go?
|
Dà
|
I can go
|
I might go
|
I might have gone
|
Where will I go?
|
Where did I go?
|
Dè
|
I went
|
I could have gone
|
I went before
|
I went after
|
I have been and continue going
|
Dé
|
I will go
|
I would go
|
I will go at an indefinite point
|
I would have gone
|
Will I go?
|
For sentences with both the object and subject, or just the
object, the object is inflected like the subject and verb to show the tense of
the sentence.
Patterns of
inflection
While most words take the inflection pattern shown in the
examples above, there are a few nouns which end in “ú”, and then are inflected
with “ù”, “o”, “e” and “i” likewise.
Also, there are several nouns which, instead of taking “á/a”
as first inflection and “à” as second, or the same with “ú” and “ù”, reverse
this, so “a/ù” goes with the first declension instead.
Distinctions
between object and subject in single-noun sentences
In some sentences where the subject is assumed or general
(“one”), the subject can be omitted with only the object being used instead –
for example:
-
Màzkva k’kvá = one goes among company to Moscow
Of course, this then raises the issue that the sentence can
then have two meanings – “one goes to Moscow” or “Moscow goes”, since there is
no informal way of specifying the subject. This is a common problem in Tòkvá,
and is in many cases simply treated by the listener assuming – of course,
Moscow, a city, is very unlikely to physically move, so it is assumed to be the
object. In many Tòkvá nouns this seems to be present, with an animate-inanimate
system of distinguishing between subject and object that particularly appears
to be emerging in informal speech. As such, this hierarchy is marked in
official dictionaries of the language.
However, there are two ways of clearing up this distinction
for more formal speech, or more technical speech. Firstly, for technicality
(but not formality), the pronoun “lú” is used as the subject or object, so that
it can be made clear whether or not Moscow is the subject. Then, for formal
speech, the verb is changed so that the first consonant is followed by the
vowel “á”, so that “k’kvá” becomes “kákvá” for example. In informal speech,
these forms of verbs have taken on entirely different meanings, so be careful
when using them.
Use of ablative
and perlative nouns & alternate verb structures
For some verbs, the object cannot be in the dative (“to”)
form because of syntactical reasons. This is where, to show that the object is
ablative (“from”) or perlative (“by”, “through”), we take a completely new
form.
For example, let’s take the sentence “I thought the food
tasted good”. In Tòkvá this literally
translates as “from food a thought went well by me”, but since there is no
inflection to show this, the article “c” (pronounced “ch”) precedes the entire
sentence. Likewise, if the sentence were “by food a thought went well from me”,
the same article would come after the sentence to show a reverse in meaning.
-
“pihú” – food
-
“mùlá” – thought
-
“skvá” – go, pass through
-
“smáú” - good
Therefore, with word order and syntax remaining:
-
“C* pihú mùlá dè* skvá* smáú” – “I thought the
food tasted good”
*In very informal speech these can be omitted, since such a
sentiment is often used and understood.
Pronouns
In Tòkvá, pronouns function very differently to the way they
do in European languages. This is a list of the uninflected pronouns:
-
Da = first person singular
-
Śa = second and third person combined
-
Kú = suggests a neutral viewpoint, observant of but
not attached to the conversation
-
Ja = first person plural
-
Jú = a third person being indirectly addressed
in the conversation
-
Sú = “all”
The lack of a pronoun is ambiguous, simply meaning “one”.
