Nukimau grammar

Phonology

Pronunciation Table

Latin	m	n	p	t	k	s	f	h	y	l	i	e	a	o	u
IPA	/m/	/n/	/p/	/t/	/k/	/s/	/ɸ/	/h/	/j/	/l/	/i/	/e/	/a/	/o/	/u/
Name	ama	ana	apa	ata	aka	asa	afa	aha	aya	ala	i	e	a	o	u

Table of Consonants

	Bilabial	Dental	Alveolar	Palatal	Glottal
Nasals	m /m/		n /n/
Voiceless Stops	p /p/	t /t/		k /k/	' /ʔ/
Non-sibilant Fricatives	f /φ/				h /h/
Sibilant Fricative			s /s/
Approximant				y /j/
Lateral Approximant		l /l/

• Note: The glottal stop (seyeyama, throat sound) is not considered a separate letter in Nukimau. Its only use is to make a break between two of the same vowel which end and begin successive words: e.g., pe nepo' oi, I want.

Table of Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i /i/		u /u/
Close-mid	e /e/		o /o/
Open		a /a/

Grammar

Word Order

• 001. Nukimau word order is VSO, verb-subject-object.
• 002. Many words in Nukimau are bases, i.e., they may function as different parts of speech depending on their position and the particles that accompany them, e.g., Pa keti oi ha na-tamo, I planted the seed; Pe noka epu keti, This plant is dying.
• 003. There are no diphthongs. Consecutive vowels are pronounced as two syllables, e.g., koímo, rope; tiósu, fruit.
• 004. The indirect object precedes the direct object.
• 005. The genitive noun follows the head noun.
• 006. Adjectives and determiners precede the nouns they qualify.
• 007. The adjective follows the standard of comparison.
• 008. The adjective precedes the dependent verb.
• 009. Adverbs follow the verbs they modify.
• 010. Adverbials of time precede those of space.

Verbs (Kafesite)

• 011. Verbs are a class of words that convey an action (bring, read, walk, run, learn), an occurrence (happen, become), or a state of being (be, exist, stand).
• 012. Tense is a grammatical category which expresses the time at which a state or action denoted by a verb occurs. There are two tenses in Nukimau, past, and non-past.
• 013. The verb in the non-past tense is marked with the pre-particle pe.

hela, love; Pe hela oi, I love.

fata, do; Pe fata eo, he does.

• 014. The past tense is marked with the pre-particle pa.

kopi, cook; Pa kopi oi, I cooked.

yini, sew; Pa yini eo, she sewed.

• 015. Mood is a grammatical category by which the speaker expresses his attitude toward what he is saying.
• 016. The subjunctive mood is formed with the pre-particle me: Me hela eo na-oi, She may love me.
• 017. The imperative mood uses the unmarked form of the verb; Hela na-oi, Love me.
• 018. The cohortative and jussive moods are formed with the pre-particle li with the appropriate pronoun following in the objective form: li nama na-eo , Let him sing.
• 019. The passive form of the verb is formed with the pre-particle te: Pe te hela hu noao, The mother is loved; Pa te kopi ha nomu, The apple was cooked.
• 020. A verbal noun is formed by preceding the verb with the definite article. This verbal noun functions as an infinitive or gerund: Pe soyo ha soi ha na-hihimo ua oi , Swimming strengthens my limbs.
• 021. Sentence negation is indicated by the use of the word oya: Oya pe hela oi, I do not love.
• 022. A question is indicated by the use of the interrogative particle fa: Pe hela oi na-súa, I love you; Fa pe hela oi na-súa?, Do I love you?
• 023. Dependent verbs, such as infinitives and gerunds, follow the verb or adjective upon which they are dependent: Pa kosu oi ha hehi ya tusapena, I was afraid to touch a toad; Pe nopa eo ha foma, He wants to go.
  • A direct object is placed before the infinitive: Pa nepo' oi na-eo ha foma, I wanted him to go.
• 024. Verbs may be formed from perceptible nouns and from adjectives by using them as verbs: kite, flower: Pa kite ha mumuye ao nome, The roses bloomed yesterday.
• 025. Transitive verbs may be formed from adjectives by using the verb yopo, make, placing the adjective before the verb: mato, wide; Mato pe yopo neo ha na-fomo, They are widening the road.
• 026. There is no copulative verb to be. The subject and predicate are stated, predicate first, with the tense particle, e.g., Pe sipe ha tiki., The flower is yellow; Pa sipe ha tiki., The flower was yellow.
• 027. There is no verb to have. This is expressed with a prepositional phrase using ua, of, e.g., Pe ya kite ua oi, I have a flower. Pe' epa kite ua eo, This flower belongs to him.

Nouns (Esu)

• 028. Nouns are a class of words that function as the names of some specific thing or set of things, such as living creatures, objects, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, or ideas.
• 029. There are no noun classes in Nukimau.
• 030. A noun must be preceded by a determiner or an adjective: pase hu kopa, The man is here; pase yu kokopa, Men are here.
• 031. Plurality is indicated by duplicating the first syllable of the noun: toki, stone; ha toki, the stone; ha totoki, the stones; ya toki, a stone; ya totoki, stones.
  • If the word begins with a vowel, the vowel is duplicated and the glottal stop is used, e.g., ene, bone; e'ene, bones.
• 032. Possession is indicated by the preposition ua, of: ha nomu ua hu posu ; the child's apple.
• 033. The prefix na- marks the direct object of the verb: Pe tale oi hu na-nopi, I see the bird.
• 034. Abstract nouns are derived from adjectives by using an adjective or a determiner: tuku, short; ha tuku, shortness.
• 035. Abstract nouns are derived from verbs by using an adjective or a determiner: yuku, begin, ha yuku, beginning; soma, hope, ha soma, hope.
• 036. Nouns naming a person characterized by an adjective are formed by using the animate definite article: piso, young; hu piso, youth; soye, old; hu soye, elder.
• 037. The agent of a verb is formed with the word tusa: nama, sing; hu namatusa, the singer.
• 038. The instrument for performing the action of a verb is formed with the word tomoyo, tool: noki, weave; ha nokitomoyo, the knife.
• 039. Nouns denoting perceptible things are formed from verbs by using the definite article: soko, laugh; ha soko, laugh, laughter.
• 040. A noun may be specified as masculine or feminine by using the words sopo and yepo, respectively: posu, child; yepoposu, girl; sopoposu, boy. Compound nouns can be distinguished from adjective + noun by the plural: e.g., hu
• 041. Collective nouns are formed from nouns or adjectives by using the word neli: ha nonopi neli, the flock of birds; ha yeyeso neli, the school of fish; ha nunuki neli, archipelago.
• 042. Nouns may be used to modify other nouns: ha noiso' ono, the mountain stream.

Modifiers

• 043. In Nukimau grammar adjectives, adverbs and determiners are classed together as modifiers.

Adjectives (Samoesu)

• 044. Adjectives are a class of words which qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the object signified.
• 045. Adjectives are placed before the noun: hu hemi sopopuso, the good boy.
• 046. The one degree of comparison, known as the Wikipedia:Elative (gradation) elative (ELT), is formed by reduplication: piso, young; pisopiso, younger, youngest.
• 047. Reduplication of only the first syllable means very or too: pipiso, very young, too young.
• 048. Negative comparison is formed with the word mese, less: loi, distant; mese loi, less/least distant.
• 049. The comparison of equality is formed with the word otu, equal. The preposition uo, as, is used with the noun of comparison: emo, red; uo emo, as red, Otu emo uo komoso epa kite, This flower is as red as blood.
• 050. Participles are a form of a verb that is used to modify a noun, noun phrase, verb, or verb phrase, playing a role similar to an adjective or adverb.
• 051. There are two participles in Nukimau.
  • a. The present participle is formed by using the present form of the verb as an adjective: hu pe mopi yeso, the swimming fish. The fish is swimming would be Pe mopi hu yeso.
  • b. The past participle is formed by using the past form of the verb as an adjective: ha pa kuku noso, the sunken boat. The boat sank would be Pa kuku ha noso.
• 052. Nouns of material may be used like adjectives: ha tomo toki, the stone house.
• 053. Word negation is indicated by the use of the prefix ke-: nemi, even; ke-nemi, uneven.
• 054. yuni, like, combined with a noun forms an adjective denoting similarity, likeness or resemblance to what is named in the noun root, -ish, -like: nopi, bird; nopiyuni, like a bird.
• 055. Adjectives with the meaning without are expressed with the preposition ai, without: soma, hope; ai ya soma, hopeless.

Determiners (Kokisite)

• 056. Determiners are a class of words that serve to express the reference of that noun or noun phrase in the context. They may indicate whether the noun is referring to a definite or indefinite element of a class, to a closer or more distant element, to an element belonging to a specified person or thing, to a particular number or quantity, etc.
• 057. There are two definite articles, the animate hu and the inanimate ha: toki, rock; ha toki, the rock; kopa, man; hu kopa, the man.
• 058. The definite article is used before nouns that are used in an abstract or general sense: kuso, brave; ha kuso, bravery.
• 059. There are two indefinite articles, the animate yu and the inanimate ya: toye, woman; yu toye, a woman; nuapo; ya nuapo, a bed.

The indefinite article is also used when no other modifier is present: Pe tike yu titike ie ha ieso, Flowers bloom in the spring.

• 060. Numerals precede the noun in the absence of the definite article: Pe kopi ami totoye, Three women are cooking. They follow the noun if the noun is preceded by a determiner: Pe kope' epu totoye ami, These three women are cooking.
• 061. The demonstrative determiners are epu/epa, this/these; and eku/eka, that/those, e.g. eku nopi, that bird; epa kikite, these flowers.
• 062. The elective indefinite determiner is hepu/hepa, any.
• 063. The assertive indefinite determine is mohu/moha, some.

Numerals (Yami)

• 064. Nukimau has an octal numeral system.

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
efo	ifo	ami	ato	eno	apa	eki	omi

• 065. The numerals 9-15 are formed by suffixing the proper cardinal to soi, eight.

9	10	11	12	13	14	15
omefo	omifo	omami	omato	omeno	omapa	omeki

• N.B. This is the only instance in Nukimau when a final vowel is elided to make a compound.

• 066. The numerals 16-64 are formed by prefixing the proper cardinal omi, eight.

16	24	32	40	48	56	64
ifomi	amomi	otomi	enomi	apomi	ekomi	omomi

• 067. Compounds of 64 can be made by prefixing the proper ordinal to omomi: ifomomi, 128, but the Islanders seldom need to count that high.
• 068. The ordinals are made by adding the suffix -fi to the cardinal number: ifofi, second.
• 069. The adverbial numbers are made by adding the suffix -tu to the ordinal number: ifotu, twice; omitu, eight times.

Adverbs (Samokafe)

• 070. Adverbs are a class of words that modify a verb, an adjective, another adverb, a determiner, a noun phrase, a clause, or a sentence. They typically express manner, place, time, frequency, degree, level of certainty, etc.
• 071. They have the same form as the adjective, but follow the verb they modify: hu kuso kopa, the brave man; Pa yuya kuso oe, He acted bravely.
• 072. The elative of these adverbs is formed in the same way as are adjectives; kuso, bravely; kusokuso, more/most bravely.

Pronouns (Tusasite)

• 073. Pronouns are a class of words that substitute for a noun or noun phrase. There are seven types of pronouns in Nukimau.
• 074. The personal pronouns are oi, I; noi, we; ue, you (sg.); nue, you (pl.); eo, he, she, it; neo, they.
• 075. The interrogative pronoun is tae which stands for the interrogative pronouns who, what and the interrogative adjective which.
• 076. The relative pronoun is pae which stands for the relative pronouns who and which.
• 077. The reflexive pronouns are translated by using the personal pronoun as both subject and object; Pa soya oi na-oi, I hurt myself.
• 078. The intensive pronouns are formed with the noun mesi, self: Pe foma oi mesi, I myself will go.
• 079. The demonstrative pronouns are the same as the demonstrative determiners, epa, this; epepa, these; and eka, that; ekeka, those, but take the direct object particle as needed: Pe nepo oi na-ekeka, I want those.
• 080. The indefinite pronouns are made from the indefinite determiners: hepu, anyone, anybody, hepa, anything; mohu, someone, somebody; moha, something; oyu, no one, nobody; oya nothing.
• 081. There are no possessive pronouns. The possessor is expressed with a prepositional phrase using ua: ua ue' epa kite, ua oi eka, This is your flower, that is mine.

Prepositions (Aosite)

• 082. Nikumau uses prepositions, a class of words that express spatial or temporal relations (in, under, towards, before) or mark various semantic roles (of, for): ie ha koye, at the beach.
• 083. If there is no motion involved, the noun without a marker is used with the postposition: ou ha kuti ha usu, The cup is on the table.
• 084. If there is motion involved, the object marker is added to the noun: Pa lulu oi ha na-usu ou ha kuti, I put the cup on(to) the table.

Conjunctions (Yukusite)

• 085. A conjunction is a part of speech that connects words, phrases or clauses.
• 086. In Nukimau there are three types of conjunctions.
• 087. A coordinate conjunction joins two or more items of equal syntactic importance: Pe situ sopofieso ua oi heo oi ya na-sosoyeo o ya na-tatao. My brother and I like apples and pears.
• 088. Correlative conjunctions work in pairs to join two or more items of equal syntactic importance: Mo pe oyesoape mo pe nuapo. You will either eat your supper or go to bed.
• 089. Subordinating conjunctions join an independent clause and a dependent clause: oyuso nose' eo, pa tosesoa. Although she is sick, she ate her breakfast.

Octal Table

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
efo	ifo	ami	ato	eno	apa	eki	omi
9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
omefo	omifo	omami	omato	omeno	omapa	omeki	ifomi
17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24
ifomefo	ifomifo	ifomami	ifomato	ifomeno	ifomapa	ifomeki	amomi
25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32
amomefo	amomifo	amomami	amomato	amomeno	amomapa	amomeki	atomi
33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40
atomefo	atomifo	atomami	atomato	atomeno	atomapa	atomeki	enomi
41	42	43	44	45	46	47	48
enomefo	enomifo	enomami	enomato	enomeno	enomapa	enomeki	apomi
49	50	51	52	53	54	55	56
apomefo	apomifo	apomami	apomato	apomeno	apomapa	apomeki	ekomi
57	58	59	60	61	62	63	64
ekomefo	ekomifo	ekomami	ekomato	ekomeno	ekomapa	ekomeki	omomi