Teycil: Difference between revisions
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Teycil nouns do '''decline''' (i.e. modify themselves in order to fit their syntactic roles), by adding some endings, which vary according to ''number'', ''case'' and ''definiteness''. | Teycil nouns do '''decline''' (i.e. modify themselves in order to fit their syntactic roles), by adding some endings, which vary according to ''number'', ''case'' and ''definiteness''. | ||
Substantives can be ''singular'' and ''plural'', even if some nouns have irregular plural endings, which could be traced back to an earlier ''dual'' form (i.e. a special number used to mark couples of objects). | Substantives can be '''''singular''''' and '''''plural''''', even if some nouns have irregular plural endings, which could be traced back to an earlier ''dual'' form (i.e. a special number used to mark couples of objects). | ||
Substantives can also be ''indefinite'' or ''definite''. Definiteness of a nouns is similar to the use of the definite article ''the'' in English. There is '''no article'' in Teycil, as its role is taken by the definite noun endings. | Substantives can also be '''''indefinite''''' or '''''definite'''''. Definiteness of a nouns is similar to the use of the definite article ''the'' in English. There is '''no article''' in Teycil, as its role is taken by the definite noun endings. | ||
Here are the endings: | Here are the endings: | ||
{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;" | |||
!colspan=5 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Nominal endings | |||
|- style="vertical-align: center; height: 2em" | |||
| ||colspan=2| '''Singular''' ||colspan=2| '''Plural''' | |||
|- style="vertical-align: center; height: 2em" | |||
| Case || Indefinite || Definite || Indefinite || Definite | |||
|- | |||
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| '''Absolutive''' || - || -e || -u || -ū* | |||
|- | |||
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| '''Ergative''' || -a* || -ā* || -ua* || -ūe* | |||
|- | |||
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| '''Oblique''' || -în* || -īne* || -un || -ūn* | |||
|- | |||
|} | |||
==Lexicon== | ==Lexicon== | ||
{{main|Teycil-English dictionary}} | {{main|Teycil-English dictionary}} |
Revision as of 07:15, 1 August 2012
Teycil (pronunciation: [tejʧil]) is a constructed phantasy language.
Phonology
Consonants
Consonants | ||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bilabial | Labio- dental |
Dental | Alveolar | Post- alveolar |
Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Pharyngeal | ||||||||||||
Plosive | p | b | t | d | ç | ʝ | k | g | ||||||||||||
Nasal | m | [ɱ]1 | n | [ŋ]2 | ||||||||||||||||
Vibrant | r | |||||||||||||||||||
Fricative | f | v | s | z | ʃ | ʒ | x | χ | ʁ | ħ | ||||||||||
Affricate | tʃ | dʒ | ||||||||||||||||||
Approximants | j | w | ||||||||||||||||||
Lateral approximants |
l |
Note:
- [ɱ]1 and [ŋ]2 are considered allophones of the normal nasal phonemes in front of [f]/[v] and [k]/[g] respectively.
Vowels
Vowels | ||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Front | Near- front |
Central | Near- back |
Back | ||||||||||
Close | i(ː) | u(ː) | ||||||||||||
Near close | ɪ | ʊ | ||||||||||||
Close mid | e | o | ||||||||||||
Open mid | ɛː | œ | ɔː | |||||||||||
Near open | æ | |||||||||||||
Open | aː | ɑ |
In Teycil studies, the vowels are grouped in three sets:
- Long vowels [aː], [ɛː], [iː], [ɔː], [uː] are called strong vowels
- Short vowels [ɑ], [e], [i], [o], [u] are called normal vowels
- Some vowels, usually born by some kind of reduction of ancient vowels or diphtongs, [æ], [ɪ], [ɶ], [ʊ], are called weak vowels
As these names are more practical, we will keep on using them while speaking about vowels in this description.
While the strong vowels are thought to be only the long counterparts of normal (short) vowels, the difference is also in quality for three of them.
Diphtongs
Teycil is full of diphtongs. Nonetheless the only diphtong pattern allowed is Vj or Vw. While Vw-type diphtongs can be found in every position inside a word, Vj-type diphtongs can be found only inside a stressed syllable.
As the stress can move on every syllable of the word as it undergoes morphological changes, the Vj-type diphtongs can undergo something like a reduction process, turning into the so-called weak vowels:
- [ɑj] ai → [æ] æ
- [oj] oi → [œ] œ
- [uj] ui → [ʊ] ů
- [ej] ei → [ɪ] î
Examples:
- Paic [ˈpɑik] → pæca [pæˈkɑ]
- Glayc [ˈglɑiʧ] → glæjcīne [glæˈʧiːne]
Diphtongs with long vowel (V:j) are very rare. When unstressed they simply get shorter.
Orthography
Teycil uses the Latin alphabet to be written. Consonants are written with all available letters (except for w, which is not used); as the number of consonantal phonemes is higher than the letters, some digraphs are used (but they are not taken as single letters).
Vowels are more complicated. Long vowels are marked with a makron (¯) over the corresponding letter. Other types of letters are used to mark the weak vowels.
Consonants
Simple letters are used to mark these consonants, except for j, which is always part of a digraph, and y, which can represent the semivowel [j], but only as part of a digraph:
Letter | b | c | d | f | g | h | j | k | l | m | n | p | q | r | s | t | v | x | y | z |
IPA | [b] | [k] | [d] | [f] | [g] | [x] | no IPA value |
[ħ] | [l] | [m] | [n] | [p] | [χ] | [r] | [s] | [t] | [v] | [?] | [j] | [z] |
There are some phonemes which are expressed by some digraphs:
Letter | jc | jg | jq | jr | js | jx | jz |
IPA | [ʧ] | [ʤ] | [ʝ] | [ʁ] | [ʃ] | [ç] | [ʒ] |
When these digraphs are used after a Vj-type diphtong, where the semivowel is marked by i, the sequence V + i + j + C is reduced to V + y + C. Some examples:
- Paic [ˈpɑjk] river
- Pajc [ˈpɑʧ] street
- Payc [ˈpɑjʧ] father
Vowels and semivowels
Vowels and semivowels are expressed by the same letters.
Letter | a | ā | æ | e | ē | i | ī | î | o | ō | œ | u | ū | ů |
IPA | [ɑ] | [aː] | [æ] | [e] | [ɛː] | [i]/[j] | [i] | [ɪ] | [o] | [ɔː] | [ɶ] | [u]/[w] | [uː] | [ʊ] |
Morphology
Teycil is a language halfway between an agglutinative and a fusive language. Nominal declension is more agglutinative, as declension is expressed by adding different endings. There are only a few irregular nouns, which have an alternative root form. Verbal conjugation is more fusive, as it involves changes in vowel verbal endings and frequent alternative root forms. Adjectives do not exist, adjectival meanings are expressed by verbs.
Substantives
Teycil is a language which make use of cases to express syntactic roles of the elements of its sentences. There are three cases: Absolutive, Ergative and Oblique.
English (and usually other European languages, except for Basque language), is a nominative-accusative language. I.e. it means that, even if it do not express its syntactic roles with cases anymore, every subject in a sentence is in nominative case, while every object is in accusative case.
In Teycil (as in Basque language), the use of cases is also ruled by the verb. In an ergative-absolutive language, as Teycil is, the difference lies between intransitive (i.e. actions which cannot have a direct object, like to come, to go, to breathe), and transitive verbs (i.e. actions which can have a direct object, like to see, to bring, to lose).
The subject of a transitive verb is expressed by ergative case, while its object is expressed by absolutive case. However the subject of an intransitive verb is marked by the absolutive case.
There can be no confusion at all, because an intransitive verb can have no direct object.
Examples:
- mayxe-aika (ABS) gnojsœih jrofāl (ERG): cat-that[DET-ABS] bite[PERF] dog-my[DET-ERG]: my dog bit that cat
- jraivo jrofel (ABS): be-fast[IMP] dog-my[DET-ABS]: my dog is fast
Teycil nouns always end in a consonant at the absolutive singular indefinite form (usually used as citation form).
Declension
Teycil nouns do decline (i.e. modify themselves in order to fit their syntactic roles), by adding some endings, which vary according to number, case and definiteness.
Substantives can be singular and plural, even if some nouns have irregular plural endings, which could be traced back to an earlier dual form (i.e. a special number used to mark couples of objects).
Substantives can also be indefinite or definite. Definiteness of a nouns is similar to the use of the definite article the in English. There is no article in Teycil, as its role is taken by the definite noun endings.
Here are the endings:
Nominal endings | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | |||
Case | Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite |
Absolutive | - | -e | -u | -ū* |
Ergative | -a* | -ā* | -ua* | -ūe* |
Oblique | -în* | -īne* | -un | -ūn* |
Lexicon
- Main article: Teycil-English dictionary