Proto-Kunnu-lūjungo

Proto-Kunnurūjungo
Pronounced:	/-kunːu*ruːdʒuŋːo/
Timeline and Universe:
Species:	Human
Spoken:
Total speakers:
Writing system:
Genealogy:
Typology
Morphology:	Agglutinative
Morphosyntax:	Split-ergative
Word order:	SOV
Credits
Creator:	Qwynegold
Created:	April 2010

Phonology

Phoneme inventory

Consonants
	Bilabial		Labiod.		Alveolar		Post-alv.		Velar		Glottal
Nasal		/m/				/n/				/ŋ/
Plain Plosive	/p/	[b]			/t/	[d]			/k/	[ɡ]
Asp. or Gem. Plosive	/pː/	/pʰ/			/tː/	/tʰ/			/kː/	/kʰ/
Plain Fricative			/f/		/s/	/z/	/ʃ/	/ʒ/			/h/
Long Fricative					/sː/
Affricate					/ts/		/tʃ/	/dʒ/
Rhotic						/*r/1
Lat. Approximant						[l]
Long Lat. Approximant						[lː]

¹The exact quality of the rhotic is unknown.

Monophthongs
	Front		Back
High	/i/	/y/		/u/	/uː/
Mid	/e/	/ø/		/o/	/oː/
Low			/ɑ/

Diphthongs
	Front-Front		Front-Back			Back-Front			Back-Back
High		[jy]		/ju/	/juː/	/wi/		/wy/		/wuː/
Mid	/je/	[jø]		/jo/	/joː/	/we/	/ue/	/wø/		/wo/
Opening Low			/jɑ/						/wɑ/
Closing Low						/ɑi/				/ɑu/

Allophony

• The velar nasal is long if intervocalic, and short otherwise.
• The short unvoiced plosives are voiced if intervocalic.
• The liquid is a rhotic at the beginning of a word and before /w/, but [l] in other positions.
• [jy] and [jø] are allophones of /jo/ resp. /joː/, and are only found in a few suffixes to accommodate for vowel harmony.

Phonological constraints

The syllable structure of Proto-Kunnurūjungo is (O)V(C) where C is any short consonant and V is any single vowel or diphthong. /j/ and /w/ do not count as consonants, but as a part of a diphthong.

The geminated or long consonant can only appear intervocalically, and count as being in two syllables at once. The onset of such a consonant belong to the same syllable as the vowel preceding it, while the release of the consonant belong to the same syllable as the vowel following it.

Morphological processes

• When a suffix that begins with a long consonant or a voiced plosive or /z/ is added to a word that ends with a consonant, the initial consonant of the suffix becomes a single unvoiced consonant.
• When two aspirated consonants are adjacent, or when a plain plosives is followed by its aspirated version, those two become a long aspirated plosive.
• When a suffix changes the last vowel of a word, diphthongs count as one vowel. So for example the singular first person pronoun pot'ya with the ergative suffix -ak' is pot'ak' and not *pot'yak'. An exception is if the dipthong begins with /j/ or /w/ that is preceded by a vowel, in which case the /j/ or /w/ is retained.

Vowel harmony

Proto-Kunnurūjungo has front-back vowel harmony. In the list below, front vowels have been marked with blue and back vowels with red. There are also neutral vowels, which are /u, uː, ju, juː, wuː/. Each suffix is by default front or back (unless it is neutral), and if the suffix is attached to a word of the opposite affinity, the vowels in the suffix will change according to this list (note that not all vowels make matching pairs, for example the opposite of /ue/ is /wo/, but the opposite of /wo/ is /wø/).

• ɑ → e
• e → ɑ
• i → u
• o → ø
• oː → wy
• ø → o
• y → u
• ɑi → i
• ɑu → i
• ue → wo
• jɑ → je
• je → jɑ
• jo → jø
• joː → jy
• wɑ → we
• we → wɑ
• wi → wuː
• wo → wø
• wø → wo
• wy → oː

Romanization

A a, B b, Ch ch, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, Kh kh, Kk kk, L l, Ll ll, M m, N n, Ng ng, Nn nn, O o, Ō ō, Ö ö, P p, Ph ph, Pp pp, R r, S s, Sh sh, Ss ss, T t, Th th, Ts ts, Tt tt, U u, Ū ū, Ü ü, W w, Y y, Z z, Zh zh

Letter	Pronunciation
A a	ɑ
B b	b
Ch ch	tʃ
D d	d
E e	e
F f	f
G g	ɡ
H h	h
I i	i
J j	dʒ
K k	k
Kh kh	kʰ
Kk kk	kː
L l	l
Ll ll	lː
M m	m
N n	n
Ng ng	ŋ
Nn nn	nː
O o	o
Ō ō	oː
Ö ö	ø
P p	p
Ph ph	pʰ
Pp pp	pː
R r	*r
S s	s
Sh sh	ʃ
Ss ss	sː
T t	t
Th th	tʰ
Ts ts	ts
Tt tt	tː
U u	u
Ū ū	uː
Ü ü	y
W w	w
Y y	j
Z z	z
Zh zh	ʒ

The voiced plosives and the lateral are represented in the romanization, even though they are not phonemic.

Grammars

Morphology

Verbs

There are two kinds of verbs in Proto-Kunnurūjungo, stative and active. The stative verbs describe the state of something, for example mūzōng - be hungry, k'yokyak'ya - like, etc. Many of them are words that only exist as adjectives in English, for example sūttallosan - be red.

Final verbs

Verbs that are inherently intransitive end with the same suffix that is used for active voice. This whole suffix is deleted when another suffix (like the causative voice or imperative mood) requires deletion of the final syllable of the stem.

Voice

In the following table, the affixes marked with blue go together with front vowel words, and the ones in red with back vowel words. If a word has only neutral vowels, the affix that stands first in the morphology column will be used. The same goes for all other tables in this article.

Voice	Morphology	Example
Unmarked	-∅	pot'ak' ubōtta p'yowochyang - I eat an apple pot'ak' tallūda kweding - I hear a song
Active	-(t)to -(t)tö	pot'a p'yowochyattong - I eat pot'a kwedittöng - I hear
Passive	k'ūdi VERB-ttūk1	ubōtta pot'yat k'ūdi p'yowottūk - an apple becomes eaten by me tallūda k'ūdi kwettūk - a song becomes heard
Causative	-k'ye1 -k'ya1	pot'ak' myatto ubōtta p'yowochyak'yang - I make him eat an apple pot'a myatto kwedik'yeng - I make him hear

¹The last syllable of the verb is deleted before this suffix is added.

Simply put, the unmarked voice is used in transtitive sentences and the active voice in intransitive, but see the sections Transitive sentences and Intransitive sentences for more details.

The passive voice has similar uses as in English. It shifts focus from the agent to the patient, and it is often used for indicating that someone did something to the patient without asking for consent, or even outright against the patient's will, or that the patient succumbed to a situation that was not brought on by any sentient being. Another use for the passive is for turning a transitive verb into an intransitive while demoting the agent. For example negefa is an inherently transitive verb which means "break". Using the passive voice is the only way to make it an intransitive verb with the meaning that something gets broken, because using the active voice would have the meaning that someone breaks something (without telling what that "something" is).

The causative voice is used for marking that someone makes, lets or somehow causes someone else to do something. It can also be used for turning an agent-less verb into one that takes an agent as its argument. For example the word satto means burn, as in "the wood is burning". To express that someone burns something, the causative voice would be used. This verb can be used either intransitively, i.e. without a patient, or transitively.

Tense and aspect

Proto-Kunnurūjungo has arguably four basic tenses (past, present, frequentative and habitual); and three tenses (remote past, future, remote future) and two aspects (progressive and perfect) that are expressed by periphrastic or other means, plus several combinations of the aforementioned.

Stative verbs can not take the habitual tense, or perfect or progressive aspects.

In the following table, where all allowed combinations of tenses and aspects are displayed, the frequentative has been grouped together with the aspects for ease of representation. The V marks the place for voice suffixes other than causative, C for the causative suffix, and the M for mood suffixes, if there are any.

Tense	Aspect	Morphology	Example (using the verbs opk'ūja (sit) and kwedi (hear))
Remote Past	-	-V/C-oCo1-M -V/C-öCö1-M	opk'ūjojo - sat a long time ago kwedödö - heard a long time ago
Past	-	-V/C-o-M -V/C-ö-M	opk'ūjo - sat kwedö - heard
Present	-	-V/C-ng-M	opk'ūjang - sits kweding - hears
Future	-	k'ūdi-V-M VERB-C	k'ūdi-M opk'ūja - will sit k'ūdi kwedi - will hear
Remote Future	-	k'ūdik'ūdi-V-M VERB-C	k'ūdik'ūdi opk'ūja - will sit in the far future k'ūdik'ūdi kwedi - will hear in the far future
Habitual	-	-V/C-∅-M	opk'ūja - usually sits kwedi - usually hears
Remote Past	Progressive	udodo-V-M VERB-C-beppi2 udodo-V-M VERB-C-bappu2	udodo opk'ūbappu - was sitting a long time ago udodo kwebeppi - was hearing a long time ago
Past	Progressive	udo-V-M VERB-C-beppi2 udo-V-M VERB-C-bappu	udo opk'ūbappu - was sitting udo kwebeppi - was hearing
Present	Progressive	ut-V-M VERB-C-beppi2 ut-V-M VERB-C-bappu2	ut opk'ūbappu - is sitting ut kwebeppi - is hearing
Future	Progressive	k'ūdi-V-M VERB-C-beppi2 k'ūdi-V-M VERB-C-bappu2	k'ūdi opk'ūbappu - will be sitting k'ūdi kwebeppi - will be hearing
Remote Future	Progressive	k'ūdik'ūdi-V-M VERB-C-beppi2 k'ūdik'ūdi-V-M VERB-C-bappu2	k'ūdik'ūdi opk'ūbappu - will be sitting in the far future k'ūdik'ūdi kwebeppi - will be hearing in the far future
Remote Past	Perfect	ut-V-M VERB-C-oCo1 ut-V-M VERB-C-öCö1	ut opk'ūjojo - had sut a long time ago ut kwedödö - had heard long ago
Past	Perfect	ut-V-M VERB-C-o ut-V-M VERB-C-ö	ut opk'ūjo - had sut ut kwedö - had heard
Present	Perfect	ut-V-M VERB-C-ng	ut opk'ūjang - have sut ut kweding - have heard
Future	Perfect	k'ūdi-V-M VERB-C-ng	k'ūdi opk'ūjang - will have sut k'ūdi kweding - will have heard
Remote Future	Perfect	k'ūdik'ūdi-V-M VERB-C-ng	k'ūdik'ūdi opk'ūjang - will have sut in the far future k'ūdik'ūdi kweding - will have heard in the far future
Habitual	Perfect	ut-V-M VERB-C	ut opk'ūja - have/had usually sut ut kwedi - have/had usually heard
Remote Past	Frequentative	-V/C-dödö-M -V/C-dodo-M	opk'ūjadodo - sat around long ago kwedidödö - repeatedly heard things long ago
Past	Frequentative	-V/C-dö-M -V/C-do-M	opk'ūjado - sat around kwedidö - repeatedly heard things
Present	Frequentative	-V/C-ding-M -V/C-dung-M	opk'ūjadung - sit around kwediding - repeatedly hear things
Future	Frequentative	k'ūdi-V-M VERB-C-di k'ūdi-V-M VERB-C-du	k'ūdi opk'ūjadu - will sit around k'ūdi kwedidi - will hear things repeatedly
Remote Future	Frequentative	k'ūdik'ūdi-V-M VERB-C-di k'ūdik'ūdi-V-M VERB-C-du	k'ūdik'ūdi opk'ūjadu - will sit around in the far future k'ūdik'ūdi kwedidi - will hear things repeatedly in the far future
Habitual	Frequentative	-V/C-di-M -V/C-du-M	opk'ūjadu - usually sits around kwedidi - usually hears things repeatedly
Remote Past	Progressive-Frequentative	udodo-V-M VERB-C-dödöbeppi udodo-V-M VERB-C-dodobappu	udodo opk'ūjadodobappu - was sitting around long ago udodo kwedidödöbeppi - was repeatedly hearing things long ago
Past	Progressive-Frequentative	udo-V-M VERB-C-döbeppi udo-V-M VERB-C-dobappu	udo opk'ūjadobappu - was sitting around udo kwedidöbeppi - was repeatedly hearing things
Present	Progressive-Frequentative	ut-V-M VERB-C-dingbeppi ut-V-M VERB-C-dungbappu	ut opk'ūjadungbappu - is sitting around ut kwedidingbeppi - is repeatedly hearing things
Future	Progressive-Frequentative	k'ūdi-V-M VERB-C-dibeppi k'ūdi-V-M VERB-C-dubappu	k'ūdi opk'ūjadubappu - will be sitting around k'ūdi kwedidibeppi - will be hearing things repeatedly
Remote Future	Progressive-Frequentative	k'ūdik'ūdi-V-M VERB-C-dibeppi k'ūdik'ūdi-V-M VERB-C-dubappu	k'ūdik'ūdi opk'ūjadubappu - will be sitting around in the far future k'ūdik'ūdi kwedidibeppi - will be hearing things repeatedly in the future
Remote Past	Perfect-Frequentative	ut-V-M VERB-C-dödödö ut-V-M VERB-C-dododo	ut opk'ūjadododo - has sat around long ago ut kwedidödödö - has heard things repeatedly long ago
Past	Perfect-Frequentative	ut-V-M VERB-C-dö ut-V-M VERB-C-do	ut opk'ūjado - has sat around ut kwedidö - has heard things repeatedly
Present	Perfect-Frequentative	ut-V-M VERB-C-ding ut-V-M VERB-C-dung	ut opk'ūjadung - have sat around ut kwediding - have heard things repeatedly
Future	Perfect-Frequentative	k'ūdi-V-M VERB-C-ding k'ūdi-V-M VERB-C-dung	k'ūdi opk'ūjadung - will have sat around k'ūdi kwediding - will have heard things repeatedly
Remote Future	Perfect-Frequentative	k'ūdik'ūdi-V-M VERB-C-ding k'ūdik'ūdi-V-M VERB-C-dung	k'ūdik'ūdi opk'ūjadung - will have sat around in the far future k'ūdik'ūdi kwediding - will have heard things repeatedly in the far future
Habitual	Perfect-Frequentative	ut-V-M VERB-C-di ut-V-M VERB-C-du	ut opk'ūjadu - have/had usually sat around ut kwedidi - have/had usually heard things repeatedly

¹The C stands for a consonant that is the same as the previous consonant in the word.
²The last syllable from the verb stem is deleted before this suffix is added.

The habitual, which is used for expressing that someone does something on regular basis, can't be used together with any tense. It is usually understood to mean present tense, but if need be, one can specify past meaning with the adverb öttöt (before), and future meaning with the adverb allogau (intends to).

The frequentative can have the meaning of just doing something repeatedly, or doing something repeatedly and in several locations. For example myosyak'yadung can either mean "to jump around", or "to jump up and down at the same spot".

Mood

Mood	Morphology	Examples
Conditional	-(o)ppo -(ö)ppö	opk'ūjappo - would sit kwedippö - would hear
Energetic	-(s)sa -(s)se	opk'ūjangsa - does sit too! kwedingse - does hear too!
Hortative	-wat -wet	opk'ūjwat - let's sit kwetwet - let's hear
Imperative	deletion of last syllable	opk'ū - sit! kwe - hear!
Optative	-gaut -git	opk'ūjagaut - may he/she sit kwedigit - may he/she hear
Volitive	-auk -ik	opk'ūjauk - let him/her sit down then kwedik - let it be heard then
Conditional-Energetic	-(o)ppossa -(ö)ppösse	opk'ūjappossa - I wish someone would sit kwedippösse - I wish someone would hear
Hortative-Energetic	-watsa -wetse	opk'ūjwatsa - let's sit down! kwetwetse - let's hear!
Imperative-Energetic	deletion of last syllable + (s)sa deletion of last syllable + (s)se	opk'ūssa - you sit down, allright? kwesse - would you hear?
Optative-Energetic	-gautsa -gitse	opk'ūjagautsa - may he/she sit! kwedigitse - may he/she hear!

The conditional is used for marking the "then" part of an "if...then" statement. But sometimes it is used on both the "if" and the "then" part simultaneously. The conditional can only be used together with the simple past, past frequentative and habitual tenses. Any aspect together with past tense can be used however.

The energetic mood is used when expressing what oneself actually believes to be the case, despite of what anyone else thinks. It can be used together with any tense and aspect.

The hortative denotes the meaning of "let's". It can be used together with simple present and present frequentative, but no other tenses or aspects.

The imperative mood is used for making commands. It is not used together with any particular voice, tense or aspect, except that it can be used with the frequentative, in which case the present frequentative suffix is added after the last syllable of the verb has been deleted. The adressee, which is optional, can be put before the verb in the vocative case.

The optative can be used for expressing a wish in one of these cases:

1. The wish is not up to any person to make come true, for example "may it not rain tomorrow".
2. The wish is directed at someone who is not present and contactable at the time being, for example "may the king not raise the taxes again" said by someone who has never met, and probably never will meet, the king.
3. The wish is dependent on a large group of people, like the society or mankind. As an example: "let's all work together to make the world a better place to live".

The optative can only be used together with the present simple, present frequentative and habitual tenses. Any aspect together with present tense is also allowed.

The volitive mood has two similar uses. One is used to express that one doesn't approve of, or like, the state of affairs, but reluctantly accepts it because nothing else can be done. The other use expresses that one doesn't really wish for something to happen, but lets it happen anyway because one can't be bothered to do something about it. This mood can only be used together with the present simple, present frequentative and habitual tenses. Any aspect, except for perfect, can be used together with the present tense.

The combination of the conditional and energetic moods has two different uses. One means that one wishes current things to be in a certain way instead of how they are now. The other use means that one wishes for something to happen; either wishing it very intently, or being hopeful or optimistic about it happening. This mood can be used with the same tenses and aspects as the simple conditional.

Combining the hortative mood with the energetic adds a persuasive tone to the proposal made. It can be used together with the same tenses and aspects as the simple hortative.

Using the combination of imperative and energetic is paradoxically more polite than using the imperative alone. In this case, the energetic mood makes the statement more of a suggestion than a command. The tenses it can used together with are the same as for the simple imperative.

Together with the optative, the energetic has simply a more intensifying meaning. This can be used with the same tenses and aspects as the simple optative.

Non-finals

Infinitives

Type of infinitive	Morphology	Example
Active Infinitive	-∅	p'yowochya - to eat kwedi - to hear
Passive Infinitive	-ūk'p'o k'ūbösen -ūk'p'ö k'ūbösen	p'yowochūk'p'o k'ūbösen - to become eaten kwedūk'p'ö k'ūbösen - to become heard
Active Inessive Infinitive	-öppi -oppu	p'yowochoppu - when eating kwedöppi - when hearing
Passive Inessive Infinitive	-ūk'p'o k'ūdöppi -ūk'p'ö k'ūdöppi	p'yowochūk'p'o k'ūdöppi - when becoming eaten kwedūk'p'ö k'ūdöppi - when becoming heard
Active Instructive Infinitive	-ōt -wüt	p'yowochōt - by eating kwetwüt - by hearing
Passive Instructive Infinitive	-ūk'p'o k'ūtwüt -ūk'p'ö k'ūtwüt	p'yowochūk'p'o k'ūtwüt - by becoming eaten kwedūk'p'ö k'ūtwüt - by becoming heard
Active Adverb Infinitive	-ba1-C -be1-C	p'yowobappu - in the middle of eating kwebeppi - in the middle of hearing
Passive Adverb Infinitive	-būk'p'o1 k'ūdibe-C -būk'p'ö1 k'ūdibe-C	p'yowobūk'p'o k'ūdibeppi - in the middle of getting eaten kwebūk'p'ö k'ūdibeppi - in the middle of getting heard
Active Deverbal Noun	-bosan1 -bösen1	p'yowobosan - eating kwebösen - hearing
Passive Deverbal Noun	-ūk'p'o k'ūbösen -ūk'p'ö k'ūbösen	p'yowochūk'p'o k'ūbösen - getting eaten kwedūk'p'ö k'ūbösen - getting heard

¹The last syllable from the verb stem is deleted before this suffix is added.

Simple Infinitives

The simple infinitive is used as an oblique of another verb. For example:

Pot'-ak'	k'yamk'ottōtk'-a	madūkka-∅-ng	t'yamchya-∅
1SG-ERG	shooting.star-NA	want-UNM-PRES	see-INF
I want to see a shooting star.

Inessive Infinitives

The inessive infinitive has the meaning of "when someone is doing something"; it is used as a time reference.

Pot'ya-t	pōkp'ya-ppu	küllöd-öppi	p'adab-a	sai-nnat	opkōya-tt-o
1SG-GEN	forest-INE	walk-ACT.INE.INF	lightning-NA	tree-ILL	strike-ACT-PAST
When I was walking in the forest, lightning struck a tree.

Instructive Infinitives

The instructive infinitive describes in what manner something happens. For example:

Myod-a	pingketti-dö	p'utsūg-ōt	pöttü-tt-ö
3SG-NA	market-ALL	row-INSTR.INF	go-ACT-PAST
He went to the market by rowing.

Adverb Infinitives

The adverb infinitive requires a case (marked with C in the table). It has different meanings depending on the case used. The following table contains all cases that can be combined with the adverb infinitive.

Case	Example (using the verb opk'ūja (sit))
Abessive	opk'ūbakku - without sitting
Exessive	opk'ūbatk'a - from having been sitting
Inessive	opk'ūbappu - in the middle of sitting
Instrumental	opk'ūbōp' - by sitting
Translative	opk'ūbak'p'o - to go sitting

The exessive and translative are used for expressing that someone goes from one activity to another, with the exessive corresponding to the from part, and the translative to the to part. For example:

Pot'-a	opk'ū-ba-tk'a	p'ōnoppu-ba-nnat	pöttü-tt-ö
1SG-NA	sit-ADV.INF-EXE	stand-ADV.INF-TRANSL	go-ACT-PAST
I went from sitting to standing.

The difference between the inessive infinitive and the inessive adverb infinitive is that the inessive infinitive can be used for comparing two situations in time: "when doing X, Y happened"; while the inessive adverb infinitive can't be used that way. A single verb in the inessive adverb infinitive form can be used as an answer to the question where someone is. For example:

-Peppü op'a uttong? (Where is dad?)
-Kadappappu. (Out fishing.)

The inessive adverb infinitive is also the same as the progressive aspect.

Deverbal Nouns

This form derives the name of the act of doing something. The difference between deverbal nouns and the simple infinitives is that the simple infinitives are used as objects while deverbal nouns are used as subjects. Deverbal nouns function just like normal nouns and can therefore take any case, or even the plural suffix when referring to several instances of some act.

Participles

Participle	Morphology	Example
Active Past Participle	-ttūk1	p'yowottūk sutsoga - boy who has eaten kwettūk k'wik'wö - girl who has heard
Passive Past Participle	-k'p'o k'ūttūk -k'p'ö k'ūttūk	p'yowochyak'p'o k'ūttūk nūjuga - food that is eaten kwedik'p'ö k'ūttūk hūjungū - gossip that is heard
Active Present Participle	-lla1 -lle1	p'yowolla sutsoga - boy who is eating kwelle k'wik'wö - girl who is hearing
Passive Present Participle	-k'p'o k'ūlle -k'p'ö k'ūlle	p'yowochyak'p'o k'ūlle nūjuga - food that is being eaten kwedik'p'ö k'ūlle hūjungū - gossip that is being heard
Active Agent Participle
Passive Agent Participle	-ba1 -be1	sutsogat p'yowoba nūjuga - food eaten by the boy k'wik'wöt kwebe hūjungū - gossip heard by the girl

¹The last syllable from the verb stem is deleted before this suffix is added.

When a verb is used for describing a noun the way adjectives are used, the verb takes a participle form. There are only two tenses, past and present. There are active participles, describing an agent, and passive participles, describing a patient. Causative voice can also be used. In that case, the causative suffix is added before the participle suffix as follows:

K'yapya	ōppok'yob-ak'	t'ūgū-k'ye-lle	ud-∅-ong
this	show-ERG	sleep-CAUS-ACT.PRES.PTC	is-UNM-PRES
This show is sleep-inducing.

Both active participles can take an object, and the passive present and agent participles a subject, all of which are marked with the genitive case. The subject or object is placed right before the participle.

The agent participle is similar to the passive past participle, but the difference is that the past passive participle doesn't take a subject. If a noun (or pronoun) with genitive case is placed before the passive past participle, it means that the object described by the participle belongs to the person or thing marked by the genitive case. While for the agent participle, the genitive marks who the action has been done by.

The noun following a participle can have any case. If a core case is used, which one is used is governed by the finite verb's voice. The participle itself can be used as the object of the copula, as in the above example sentence. The copula will have the unmarked voice and the subject ergative case, but no nominative-absolutive case will be present.

Nouns

Number

The singular form of nouns is unmarked, while the plural is marked with the suffix -k. If the noun ends with a consonant, a vowel, usually ō or wü (depending on vowel harmony), is inserted before the -k suffix. There are many irregular plurals though, that will use o, ö or wū as the vowel instead.

Case

Case	Suffix	Examples
Core cases
Ergative	-ak' -ek'	kutsongak' - dog-ERG keppek' - cat-ERG
Nominative-Absolutive	-a -e	kutsonga - dog-NA keppe - cat-NA
Adpositional cases
Distributive	-k'illet -k'ullat	syazolyak'ullat - every day keppik'illet - each cat separately
Distributive-Temporal	-oppot -öppöt	syazolyoppot - at daytime
Essive	-tta -tte	kutsongatta - as a dog keppitte - as a cat
Genitive	-t	kutsongat - dog's keppit - cat's
Instrumental	-ōp' -wüp'	kutsongōp' - with a dog kepwüp' - with a cat
Prolative	-kp'ō -kp'wü	pōngokp'ō - by sea kikkukp'wü - by rooftop
Locational cases
Ablative	-(ō)t'k'ya -(wü)t'k'ye	kutsongat'k'ya - from the dog keppit'k'ya - from the cat
Elative	-pk'a -pk'e	kutsongapk'a - from the inside of the dog keppipk'e - from the inside of the cat
Exessive	-tk'a -tk'e	kutsongatk'a - (turn) from a dog (into something else) keppitk'e - (turn) from a cat (into something else)
Adessive	-di -du	pōngodu - by the sea kikkudi - on the roof
Inessive	-ppi -ppu	pōngoppu - in the sea kikkuppi - in the roof
Allative	-dö -do	pōngodo - to the sea kikkudö - to the roof
Illative	-(nn)at -(nn)et	pōngonnat - into the sea kikkunnet - into the roof
Translative	-k'p'o -k'p'ö	kutsongak'p'o - (turn) into a dog keppik'p'ö - (turn) into a cat
Comitative	-ttō -twü	kutsongattō - (together) with his/her dog keppitwü - (together) with his/her cat
Other
Abessive	-kki -kku	kutsongakku - without a dog keppikki - without a cat
Vocative	-∅	kutsonga - hey you dog! keppi - hey you cat!

Adpositional cases

If the distributive case is used together with a word that stands for some kind of time period, it has the meaning that something is done during each of those periods. If used with any other kind of noun, it has the meaning of each of those separately. For example the sentence k'yapya k'yowa k'ōm sangok'ullat means "do this assignment in pairs", where the word for pair (sango) carries the distributive case.

The distributive-temporal case is only used together with words relating to time. It has the meaning that something is done during that time, but unlike the simple distributive case it doesn't necessarily mean that it is done during every such time period.

The essive case has the meaning of as or if. For example kyot'pyatta syazolyatta sidöding - during a cold day one freezes, or nogapwatta ōno k'yowopk'yudappo - as a rich man I wouldn't do work.

If the genitive case is used on a word that ends with a consonant, a vowel is inserted before the suffix. This is the same vowel as the one used in the plural form.

The prolative tells "by which medium". For example rōtta hugokp'ō kūt'kōnang - the boat travels by river.

Locational cases

The ablative has the meaning of "from the vicinity or topside of something". The elative on the other hand means "from the inside of something". The elative can also be used on a time noun, indicating "from that time onwards".

The adessive has the meaning of "by, near or on top of something". The inessive means "inside something". Both the adessive and inessive can be used together with a time noun to indicate when something happened or will happen. The difference is that the adessive is used when the action stretches out during the whole time period, while the inessive is used about things that happened sometime during that time period.

The allative has the meaning of "to the vicinity or topside of something", while the illative has the meaning "to the inside of something". The illative can also be used with a time noun to indicate "until a certain time".

The "inside" meaning of the internal locatives (elative, inessive and illative) is also applied to objects that somehow cover something else (even if only partially). For example, when describing someone sitting on a chair, one of the internal locatives would be used because a chair has a back support, so the person sitting in it would have his or her back covered. A stool on the other hand does not have any part that covers a person, so one of the external locatives (ablative, adessive or allative) would be used. The external locatives are also used when describing possession of, or transaction of, items between people.

The exessive and translative cases describe either that something turns into something else, or that something changes from one state into another. The exessive is the source and the translative is the result. The exessive can also be used to descibe what something is made of.

Pronouns

Personal Pronouns

Proto-Kunnurūjungo has a three-way distinction of person in its personal pronouns, but no gender distinction.

	1st person	2nd person	3rd person	Interrogative
Singular	pot'ya	p'ot'ya	myat	kūga
Plural	pō	k'ō	mō	kōkkya

In the daughter languages of Proto-Kunnurūjungo the second person pronouns are avoided for politeness, and instead the addressee's name or title is used. In Proto-Kunnurūjungo, at least the singular second person pronoun was avoided, but it is unclear if it was because of politeness reasons or because it was so similar to the singular first person pronoun. If the plural second person pronoun was also avoided is unknown.

Demonstrative Pronouns

	1st person	2nd person	3rd person	Interrogative	Interrogative dual
Singular	k'yapya	k'ūju	p'ō	pokya	kūp'so
Plural	t'yapya	t'ūju	t'ō	pokkya	kūp'sok

The demonstrative pronouns refer to inanimate things and non-humanoid beings, except for the singular interrogative dual which can also be used about humanoids. The demonstrative pronouns can also be used as demonstrative determiners. The interrogative dual has the meaning of "which one (of two alternative)". The plural form is used when referring to two groups of things.

Reciprocal Pronoun

The reciprocal pronoun is k'utsosan (k'utsa in nominative-absolutive case and k'utsop'ōt in genitive). Below are examples of the word in both cases.

M-ak'	k'uts-a	nagapk'wa-∅-ng
3PL-ERG	each.other-NA	love-UNM-PRES
They love each other.

M-ak'	k'utso-p'ōt	mofūp-ōk-a	tōnogakk-∅-o
3PL-ERG	each.other-GEN	hair-PL-NA	cut-UNM-PAST
They cut each other's hair.

Reflexive Pronoun

The reflexive pronoun is okp'ō.

Pot'-ak'	okp'-a	sōpk'-∅-o
1SG-ERG	self-NA	wash-UNM-PAST
I washed myself.

The reflexive pronoun can also be used for emphasis, in which case it is placed after the verb.

Pot'-ak'	p'-a	k'ōmchya-∅-ng	okp'ō
1SG-ERG	it-NA	do-UNM-PRES	self
I'll do it myself!

Adjectives

There are two classes of adjectives that declinate in a slightly different way. The san class comprises of adjectives ending in -san or -sen, and where that ending is deleted when the adjective is compared. The other class comprises of all other adjectives.

Comparison	Suffix	Example
San adjectives
Positive	-∅	sūttallosan - red negettüzesen - broken
Comparative	-ppōp'so -pwüp'sö	sūttalloppōp'so - redder negettüzepwüp'sö - more broken
Superlative	-ppot -ppöt	sūttalloppot - reddest negettüzeppöt - most broken
Other adjectives
Positive	-∅	mochap - slow kūbi - odd
Comparative	-p'so1 -p'sö	mochap'so - slower kūbip'sö - odder
Superlative	-tsot1 -tsöt	mochatsot - slowest kūbitsöt - oddest

¹If the adjective ends with p, the p is deleted before this suffix is added. (There are only front vowel adjectives that end with p.)

Numerals

Proto-Kunnurūjungo has a decimal system. The numbers 11-19 are expressed by adding the suffix -k'utsosan to one of the numbers 1-9. Higher numbers are expressed simply by placing the name of one of the numbers 2-9 before the name of one of the numbers 10, 100, 1000 or 10 000. For example, 20 is called kak'p'o-kwibōsen and 317 is called kut'pō-p'akka-kwibōsen-p'ōnokp'ōpyat.

Number	Cardinal Numeral	Ordinal Numeral	Collective Numeral	Distributive
1	yok'p'o	ōtp'obuzasan	yok'p'ok	yok'p'ok'ullat
2	kak'p'o	k'utsosan	kak'p'ok	kak'p'ok'ullat
3	kut'pō	kut'pap	kut'pōk	kut'pōk'ullat
4	t'ōt'hya	t'ōt'hyap	t'ōt'hyak	t'ōt'hyak'ullat
5	ryōppo	ryōppap	ryōppok	ryōppok'ullat
6	kaippo	kaippap	kaippok	kaippok'ullat
7	p'ōnokp'ōpyat	p'ōnokp'ōpyap	p'ōnokp'ōpyak	p'ōnokp'ōpyatk'ullat
8	kamchōk'p'at	kamchōk'p'ap	kamchōk'p'ak	kamchōk'p'atk'ullat
9	yomchōk'p'yat	yomchōk'p'yap	yomchōk'p'yak	yomchōk'p'yatk'ullat
10	kwibōsen1	kwibōsap	kwibōsek	kwibōsok'ullat
100	p'akka	p'akkap	p'akkak	p'akkak'ullat
1000	k'ūnnak	k'ūnnap	k'ūnnakōk	k'ūnnakk'ullat
10 000

¹The -sen suffix is deleted when a numeral classifier is added.

The cardinal numerals are like one, two, three, while the ordinal numerals are like first, second, third. The collective numerals are used when counting groups or things that consist of several parts. These are actually just the cardinal numbers with the plural suffix. The distributive numerals are used for expressing how many parts something should be divided into. These are indeed the same as the cardinal numbers with the distributive case.

Numeral Classifiers

When a numeral is used referring to a certain number of things, the numeral must be accompanied by a classifier suffix. Different suffixes are used depending on what is counted. So for example two carrots would be called kak'p'ohaingo sungkitti while two rocks would be called kak'p'opwomkyonya kollo (sungkitti meaning carrot and kollo rock).

The following table lists all classifiers. Since there are no neutral vowel numerals, the suffixes are presented with the one that goes with back vowel words first, and the one going with front vowel words second.

Suffix	Short-hand name	Use
-p'allo -p'ellö	Age	Years of age of people and things
-bango -bengö	Animals	Animals that don't fall under any of the other categories
-zhufōt' -zhufwüt'	Birds	Birds and bats
-syūdu	Bottles	Bottles and beverages stored in bottles
-k'nyosh1 -k'nyösh1	Bugs	Small animals such as insects, worms and amphibians
-(m)mya -(m)mye	Buildings	Buildings
-(p)puzo -(p)puzö	Bundles	Bundles and bunches of things
-gaknap -geknep	Children	Children of humanoid creatures
-(k)kabottō -(k)kebötwü	Clothes	Clothes worn on the body, including shawls and scarfs but excluding other accessories
-(p)patku -(p)petku	Containers	Containers other than bottles
-tsya -tsye	Default	Abstract things; also used when one doesn't know what other classifier to use
-mūgu -mūgi	Dogs	Dogs and wolves
-uk' -ük'	Eggs	Eggs, excluding roe and spawn
-zhopyuk' -zhöpyuk'	Fish	Caught fish
-dallūjō -dellūjwü	Flat-Hard	Flat objects made of unflexible material
-ungka -ingke	Flat-Soft	Flat objects made of flexible material, like paper or fabric
-yup'sū	Fruit	Fruit, berries, nuts and vegetables other than root vegetables
-gongup -göngup	Layers	Floors and layers
-guhō -guhwü	Machine	Machines and vehicles
-gada -gede	Marine	Sea creatures other than fish that has been caught
-gōngk'a -kwüngk'e	Multiplicative	Number of times something is done
-swokkwo -swökkwö	Oblong	Long and narrow objects
-(s)sango -(s)sengö	Pairs	Pairs of things, and objects that consist of two parts
-kyu	People (standard)	Humanoid creatures other than children
-syu	People (dialectal)	Humanoid creatures other than children
-haingo -hingö	Root vegetables	Root vegetables and bulbs
-pwomkyonya -pwömkyönye	Round	Small round objects
-ō -wü	Small	Small items
-gōnya -kwünye	Strings	Strings, threads, ropes, etc.
-fōnūngū -fwünūngū	Trees	Trees, excluding bushes

¹The final consonant is deleted from p'ōnokp'ōpyat, kamchōk'p'at, yomchōk'p'yat and k'ūnnak when this suffix is added.

Syntax

Transitive sentences

In Proto-Kunnurūjungo transitive sentences are ergative while intransitive sentences are nominative. In transitive sentences, the subject takes ergative case and the object nominative-absolutive if the unmarked or causative voice is used.

Pot'-ak'	ubōtt-a	p'yowochya-∅-ng
1SG-ERG	apple-NA	eat-UNM-PRES
I eat an apple.

In causative sentences, the person who is caused to do something gets the allative case. This person goes between the subject and the direct object. The causer, causee and direct object are all optional, but at least one of the three must be in a given sentence.

Pot'-ak'	myat-to	tallūd-a	kwe-k'ye-ng
1SG-ERG	3SG-ALL	song-NA	hear-CAUS-PRES
I make him hear a song.

In passive sentences, the agent, which is optional, comes between the patient and verb. The patient gets absolutive case and the agent genitive.

Ubōtt-a	pot'ya-t	k'ūd-e p'yowo-ttūk
apple-NA	1SG-GEN	PASS-PAST eat-PASS
The apple got eaten by me.

Intransitive sentences

In intransitive sentences, any voice except for the unmarked voice can be used. The subject or object gets the absolutive-nominative case.

Pot'-a	p'yowochya-tto-ng
1SG-NA	eat-ACT-PRES
I eat.

The same rules apply for the causative as in transitive sentences.

Pot'-a	myat-to	p'yowochya-k'ya-ng
1SG-NA	3SG-ALL	eat-CAUS-PRES
I make him eat.

Interrogative sentences

Questions are made by either using a question word, which is moved to the beginning of the sentence, or by adding the interrogative suffix -gu to the word that is questioned. A word with the interrogative suffix is also moved to the beginning of the sentence.

Pog-a	p'ot'-ak'	p'wach-∅-o
what-NA	you-ERG	get-UNM-PAST
What did you get?

Ut-to-gu	kyot'sōnya-ng	p'ot'-a
PERF-ACT-Q	bathe-PRES	you-NA
Have you bathed?

Evidentiality

Evidentiality can be expressed with a pronoun in the genitive case followed by one of three evidentiality verbs in the instructive infinitive form. The pronoun specifies according who, and the verb what kind of evidentiality. This construction precedes the main verb (or auxiliary + main verb construction).

Person	Evidentiality type	Morphology
1st	Inferential	pot'yat t'yamchyōt
2nd	Inferential	p'ot'yat t'yamchōt
3rd	Inferential	myatōt t'yamchōt
1st	Reportative	pot'yat kwetwüt
2nd	Reportative	p'ot'yat kwetwüt
3rd	Reportative	myatōt kwetwüt
1st	Direct Knowledge	pot'yat k'ofōk'ōt
2nd	Direct Knowledge	p'ot'yat k'ofōk'ōt
3rd	Direct Knowledge	myatōt k'ofōk'ōt
Impersonal	Direct Knowledge	k'ofōk'ōt

The inferential has the meaning of "seen by me/you/someone else" and reportative "according to what I/you/someone has heard". The direct knowledge evidential is used about any other evidence, including non-visual sensory. This evidential can also be used impersonally, which is marked by the absense of a pronoun. The impersonal direct knowledge can have the meaning "they say that..." without any clarifications of who "they" are, or it can have the meaning that something is supposed to be common knowledge, "anyone knows it". All second person evidentials are very seldomly used, and when they are, the pronoun is usually replaced by the name of the adressee in genitive case.