Proto-rəgyam

Phonology

Consonants

⟨'⟩ is omitted at the start of words.

Vowels

Major Syllables

Monophthongs

The following monophthongs can be short:

or long:

Diphthongs

All diphthongs are long:

Stressed Minor Syllables

Unstressed Minor Syllables

Tones/Registers

There are five tones/registers, low ⟨àa⟩, low/breathy ⟨âa⟩, mid ⟨aa⟩, high ⟨áa⟩, and high/creaky ⟨ãa⟩.

Stress

Primary stress always falls on the final syllable of a word. Words have an iambic structure, with alternating unstressed and stressed syllables, and words with an even number of syllables start with an unstressed syllable while words with an odd number of syllables start with a stressed syllable.

In minor syllables, [i] and [ɪ] reflect the same phoneme /ɪ/, [ɨ] (close) and [ɨ] (near-close) reflect the same phoneme /ɨ/, [u] and [ʊ] reflect the same phoneme /ʊ/, and [a] and [ɐ] reflect the same phoneme /ɐ/, differing only in that the former are stressed and the latter are unstressed. Note that the choice of whether to call these phonemes the stressed version or the unstressed versions phonemically is rather arbitrary; I have chosen to call them the unstressed versions to differentiate them from the phonemes found in major syllables and because these are the default, being found in the more common disyllabic as opposed to polysyllabic words.

Word Structure

Words have the structure [(CV₁)CV₂]C({ɾ l})V₃({p t k m n ŋ}), where V₁ are the vowels found in stressed minor syllables, V₂ are the vowels found in unstressed minor syllables, and V₃ is the vowels found in major syllables.

Morphosyntax

Basics

The basic sentence structure is topic-comment, SV/AVO, with noun-relative, noun-genitive, noun-determiner, and verb-adverb orders.

The two basic word classes are nouns and adverbs, along with an assortment of various particles. Verbs take the roles that adjectives, adpositions, and adverbs take in many other languages, and relative clauses and serial verb constructions are used very heavily to enable this.

There is prefixing morphology used for word derivation, e.g. the prefix kɐ- used to derive causative verbs and the prefix ʔɐ- used to derive agent nouns.

Clause Structure

Clause have the following structure:

1. Introductory particle
2. Topic
3. Coverbs
1. Coverb objects
4. Main verbal complex
5. Non-topic core arguments
6. Coverbs
1. Coverb objects

Word order is rather free, with both the agent and object being able to be placed before and after the main verbal complex, as can a non-core argument topic. Topics may be any noun phrase in a clause; if the topic is not a core argument of the main verb it is replaced in its original location with a demonstrative. In main clauses only one argument may precede the main verb complex and any coverbs preceding the main verb complex; any other core arguments must come after the main verb complex. True adverbs may be placed directly after the main verb complex or may be located later in the clause, and coverbs, including ones that are primarily adverbial in function, and their objects normally are placed after any core arguments of the main verb. Normally coverbs and their arguments are placed after the main verbal complex and the non-topic core argument, but sometimes they may be placed before it, particular with regard to motion coverbs that are conceptually before the main verb or stative verbs that modify any other coverbs before the main verb in addition to the main verb.

Vocatives may be located anywhere in a sentence, even though they tend to be located at the beginning of a sentence, and are introduced with the particle ʔɑ́ followed by the vocative argument.

By default the agent of a transitive verb is the core argument that is higher on the person (1 > 2 > 3), animacy (human/god/force of nature > non-human animate > inanimate), and topicality (more topical > less topical) hierarchies, in that order, unless the inverse marker is present, where then the opposite is true.

Arguments of nominalized verbs are specified by making the argument an inalienable possessor. For transitive verbs by default this argument will be the patient except for patient nouns; to specify an agent for a nominalized transitive noun other than a patient noun the verb is marked as being antipassive.

The following particles introduce clauses:

The nominal relativizer/interrogative particle is always followed by the appropriate classifier. Subclauses except for attributive relative clauses are preferentially placed at the end of the containing clause, even if it means changing the overall word order from that which is normally preferred.

Non-Core Argument Topicalization Syntax

When non-core arguments are topicalized, the argument is moved to the start of the clause, a proximal demonstrative is left in its original place, and the original initial core argument is moved after the main verb complex; note that this results in two core arguments being after the main verb complex in the case of transitive verbs, and the order of these does still determine their relative topicalization with respect to the person/animacy/topicalization hierarchy. Take, for instance:

Question Syntax

Yes/no questions are introduced with wɛ̤, which takes the position before the main verb complex and any core arguments, which are moved after the main verb complex:

Nominal wh-questions where the wh-argument is not a qualified noun are introduced with nɑ̰, followed by a classifier, which take the position before the main verb complex and any core arguments, which are moved after the main verb complex:

A proximal demonstrative is inserted when the nominal wh-argument is not a core argument:

Non-nominal wh-questions are introduced with particles such as jè, which take the position before the main verb complex and any core arguments, which are moved after the main verb complex:

Nominal wh-questions where the wh-argument is a qualified noun have the qualified noun moved to the head of the sentence and qualified with a following ʔɔ́ɔ, and any other core arguments are moved after the main verb complex, as in:

As with non noun-qualifying nominal wh-questions, if the qualified noun is not a core argument a proximal demonstrative is inserted in its original location:

Dative Syntax

Dative statements and statements with ditransitive arguments resulting from the use of applicatives with transitive verbs have the following general syntax: agent aux take-action patient give-action indirect-object evidential. Examples include:

Movement Syntax

Movement statements have the following general syntax: subject aux movement-action to/from/through location-type location evidential. Examples include:

Comparison Syntax

Comparative statements have the following syntax: subject aux bɨ-stative-verb hō compared-object evidential. Examples include:

Resultative Syntax

There are two types of resultative, one where a state is a result of an event taking place where the event is closely tied to the state, and the other where a state is the result of an event specified by a separate transitive verb taking place. The latter are similar to normal serial verb constructions, except that the subject of the result state is the object of the main verb. The former have the syntax: subject aux ʔɪ-stative-verb evidential. The latter have the syntax: agent aux main-verb patient ʔɪ-stative-verb evidential. Examples include:

Note that the causative of a stative verb takes on a resultative meaning with regard to the patient of the causative verb, as in:

This can also be used without an agent in a passive fashion, similar to a normal resultative, except indicating that it was due to some agent:

Contrast this with the use of ʔɪ-, which does not imply the existence of any agent:

Verbal Morphosyntax

All verbs are present/imperfective by default, and any other TAM is determined by auxiliary verbs.

Verbal Complex

1. Nominal derivation prefix
2. Negative auxiliary verb
3. Inchoative/cessative/continuative auxiliary verb
4. Tense/perfectivity auxiliary verb
5. Modal auxiliary verb(s)
6. Negative auxiliary verb (when it is the verb referred to by a modal verb that is being negated rather than the modal verb itself)
7. Preceding coverbs
1. Preceding coverb arguments
8. Verbal derivation prefix
9. Main verb
10. Inverse marker

Evidential coverbs are not part of the verb complex, and come after the object, and even after other coverbs.

Derivation

Note that derivation prefixes such as the antipassive voice and causative voice prefixes can be combined; mikɐ-/mɪka- only marks the causer and no causee or object, whereas with transitive verbs kamɪ-/kɐmi- marks both the causer and the causee but not the object, as in:

Objects of causative verbs are marked with the coverb sæ̤u, as in:

Auxiliary and Modal Verbs

Auxiliary Verbs

Past and future perfective)auxiliaries are frequently combined with inchoative or cessative auxiliaries, and past and future imperfective auxiliaries are frequently combined with the continuative auxiliary, as in:

Note that inchoative and cessative auxiliaries can be combined with past and future imperfective auxiliaries as well, as in:

The negative auxiliary can go both before or after inchoative, cessative, and continuative auxiliaries, to specify whether it is the auxiliary being negated or the main verb being negated, as in:

The negative auxiliary can negate coverbs, unlike other auxiliaries that may only qualify the main verb. However, this is only done when it is specifically the coverb which is being negated, and not the clause as a whole. Take, for instance:

The negative coverb can also negative stative verbs being used without a relativizer, as in:

Modal Verbs

Auxiliary verbs and modal verbs can be ordered such that auxiliaries or modals precede that which they qualify, and both multiple modal verbs and multiple auxiliary verbs, and even in cases multiples of the same modal or auxiliary verb may be present, as in:

Adverbial Particles

These are usually placed immediately after the verb they qualify, before any arguments to that verb, as in:

Evidential Coverbs

These usually are placed at the end of a clause, unless there are any complement clauses, where then they are placed immediately before the complement clause or, if the complement clause is the argument of a coverb, the coverb the complement clause is an argument of, as in:

Nominal Morphosyntax

Nouns, pronouns aside, are not marked for number or definiteness. However, collectives are expressed via reduplication of the first syllable of the major syllable. Numbers are associated with classifiers, which follow numbers. Also there is some nominal derivation to form nouns and verbs from nouns.

* Reduplication takes the form of a minor syllable with the first consonant of the major syllable and a near-open front, central, or back vowel for any close or close-mid vowel in the major syllable or a near-open central vowel for any open or open-mid vowel in the major syllable.

Transitive relative clauses are introduced with hí, and intransitive relative clauses come before transitive relative clauses.

Derivation

Demonstratives and Other Determiners

The demonstratives and other determiners below also act in the place of third-person pronouns.

Demonstratives and other determiners are normally associated with classifiers when used pronominally.

Demonstratives may take the comparative and superlative prefixes that intransitive verbs can take.

Note that proximal and distal demonstratives and possessive determiners can be combined with other determiners.

Possessive Determiners

Earlier on possessive determiners are only used for attributive inalienable possessors. Alienable and predicative possessors in earlier Proto-rəgyam rather are expressed with the dative/benefactive/genitive verb ʔɛ̰ɛ.

Third person inalienable possessors are expressed by placing the possessor, which must be present (pronominal possession being expressed via a demonstrative), after, depending on the number of the possessor, ʔṵ or sɜ̀n, as in:

In later Proto-rəgyam alienable possessive determiners developed; these have the following forms, derived from the personal pronouns prefixed with hɪ-, itself derived from the relativizer hí.

There are also third person possession markers, unmarked for number, in later Proto-rəgyam, derived from hɪ- prefixing the dative ʔɛ̰ɛ:

Coordinating Conjunctions

Note that when strung together, each individual NP is separated by a coordinating conjunction, unlike in English.

Classifiers

Classifiers are placed immediately after cardinal numbers, demonstrative pronouns, other pronouns derived from determiners, and the nominal relativizer/interrogative particle. They are also optionally placed after determiners other than possessive determiners.

Pronouns

Personal Pronouns

The demonstratives serve as the third-person pronouns, but there are also the following first and second-person pronouns:

Third Person and Non-Personal Pronouns

Demonstratives and other determiners, combined with classifiers, are used without nouns as third person and non-personal pronouns, as in:

Registers

2nd person pronouns and demonstratives are commonly followed by the high-status classifier cʰɑ́ to form a respectful pronoun for speaking to another person or about another person of higher status. Likewise, 1st person pronouns are commonly followed by the low-status classifier mɘ̤ to form a humble pronoun for when speaking to another person of higher status. For example:

The high-status classifier cʰɑ́ and the low-status classifier mɘ̤ can be placed after arbitrary nouns referring to people even without any associated number or determiner to indicate respect (of a higher status) or despectiveness, as in:

Proto-rəgyam Vocabulary

Go back to the conlanging page.

Go back to the main page.