Tsani

Overview

Tsani is a conlang project that I have been working on for several months. It is the daughter of an unnamed proto-language. The vocabulary is a priori.

Tsani is designed to be strongly head-first. The normal word order is VSO. Role-marking particles and prepositions make the structure of a sentence clear, and free up word order for such things as passive constructions (which, in effect, simply switch word order to verb-patient-agent.)

Phonology

• Vowels: <a e i o u> /a e i o u/
• Stops: <p t k d b g ty ky kw> /p t k d b g t_j k_j k_w/
• Nasals: <m n ng ny nw> /m n N n_j n_w/
• Laterals/Flap: <l ly lw> /l l_j l_w/
• Sibilants: <s sh> /s S/
• Affricates: <ts ks ksh> /ts ks kS/
• Approximants: <h w y> /h w j/

Allophony

/e/ = [E] word-finally /t p k d b g/ may be [t_h p_h k_h d_h b_h g_h] word-initially if not part of a cluster. /t_j/ = [tS] before /i/ /m n N/ = [m= n= N=] between consonants or word-initially if followed by a consonant. /l/ = [4] before /u/ or /i/

For ease of reading by speakers of English and other European languages, the Romanization spells the realization [tS] as <ch> and [4] as <r>, even though these spelling changes are not reflected in the native script.

Phonotactics

Syllable structure is (C)V(n).

The -n coda may assimilate to the point of articulation of the following consonant, if there is one. Otherwise, it remains [n]. If the coda is followed by a vowel within the same word, an apostrophe is inserted between the -n and the vowel to indicate that they belong to separate syllables.

For the purposes of syllable structure, syllabic nasals may be considered vowels. The only constraint is that such a syllable cannot have a coda or have a nasal as its onset.

Legal diphthongs are /ai au ei oi ui/. Of these, only ai is common. The others occur mostly as a result of derivation or in loanwords. In cases where morphology would result in a sequence of vowels that does not form a diphthong, a glide /w/ or /j/ is inserted between them. In cases where the first vowel is /a/, /e/, or /i/, the preferred glide is /j/; if the first vowel is /o/ or /u/, the glide is /w/.

Legal consonant clusters are <tk kt kp tl nt nk np ngk ngt ngp mp mt mk kts ktl>. These can all occur initially.

t, ty, ky, ly, y, ts, ks and s cannot occur before i. /t_j/ is realized as [tS] <ch> before i and in the cluster chw. /l/ is realized as [4] <r> before i or u. kw, lw, and w cannot occur before u.

Stress is on the syllable containing the penultimate mora. CV and V syllables are one mora, CVn syllables and diphthongs are two.

Syntax and Grammar:

Word order is VSO.

In a noun phrase, the order is head, adjectives, genitive(or relative clause).

A noun cannot be modified by a genitive and a relative clause simultaneously.

Modifiers can precede or follow the verb, or they can be placed at the end of the sentence and separated from it by the particle wa.

The direct object of a sentence is preceded by the particle ko.

The genitive is formed with the ending -i. The plural is formed with the ending -n. The genitive plural is formed with the ending -ni.

The plural is not marked on the noun when the noun is modified by a numeral.

Tsani has three verb tenses: Imperfect, Perfect, and Potential. The Imperfect is unmarked; the Perfect is marked with the suffix -wani and the Potential is marked with the suffix -wachi

The imperfect tense is used for actions which are happening in the present, occur habitually, are generally true, or have not been completed. The perfect tense is used for completed actions or events in the past. The potential is used for actions and events that have not yet occurred.

Verbs are negated by adding the suffix -n. This can be affixed before or after the tense ending, depending on where the speaker wants to put the emphasis.

marunwani maru-n-wani go-NEG-PERF He didn't go

maruwanin maru-wani-n go-PERF-NEG He didn't go

The first example implies that the subject is not likely to complete the action in the future, while the second is "he didn't go, but still might later."

Tsani makes use of serial verb constructions such as niru maru na for "I want to go"

The imperative is formed by preceding the sentence with ai. This is equivalent to "please". In informal situations, or if the second person is of lower status, the Imperfect may be used. In formal situations, or when talking to superiors, the Potential must be used with imperatives.

To ask for an object, ai can be used before a noun.

Yes/no questions are formed by placing the particle mo directly after the part of the sentence in question.

Other questions are formed using the noun/adjective/verb triplet ma, mi, mu. These words act as a "filler" that is to be replaced by the person answering the question.

The pronouns are: na (1ps) la (2ps) sa (3ps) oa (topic) ka (relative)

These are entirely regular in their inflection. Forms of "we" can be created by compounding the pronouns: "nala" for dual "we", "nasa" for exclusive, etc.

The common masculine and feminine endings ga and la can also be added to the third-person pronouns: saga "he" and sala "she". However, this isn't normally used, since the Tsan people consider it rude to rely on someone's gender to make it clear whom you're talking about.

Tsani is pro-drop. Often one or more arguments of the verb are completely inferred. The default is usually 3PS (or 2PS for interrogatives in the perfect tense, or 1P dual for interrogatives in the imperfect) unless context suggests otherwise.

The topic pronoun is used to refer to a topic which was previously marked with the particle o. This particle precedes the noun as well as any preposition or other particle that may be associated with it.

Relative clauses are formed by prefixing ki- to the verb and using the relative pronoun ka. Word order is not altered within the subclause.

In passive constructions, word order is VOS, and the "subject" (really the semantic agent) is preceded by the particle i, whereas the "direct object" (semantic patient) is unmarked.

Derivational Affixes:

Verb roots (mmtu "eat") mmtu “eat” mmtuwa “eating (gerund)” mmtuwi “eating (active participle)” mmtukshi “eaten (passive participle)” mmtungi “uneaten” mmtupi “able to be eaten, edible” mmtuwabi “able to eat” mmtusoi “liking/wanting to eat, hungry” mmtuwena “place for food” mmtusha “eating utensil” mmtudu “start to eat” mmtoiksa “bone-eater” from mmtu + o + iksa "bone" immtu “re-eat, eat again”

Noun roots (saba "house") sabai “of a house” sabachi “house-like” sabanu “to be a house” sabaru “there is a house” sabayu “to make a house” sabantu “to become a house” sabaheyu “to give a house” sabena “place for a house” sabala “great house” sabachwa “little house” sabakwa “town” sabakwi “which is the house”

(egoya "wood") egoyadi “made of wood”

Adjective roots (kawi "big") kawiya “big thing” kawinu “to be big” kawiyu “to make big” kawintu “to become big” kawika “bigness” kawiksa “size” kawiri “bigger” kawimi “biggest” kawishi “too big”

Markers: Topic: o Agent: ko Patient (when normal word order is broken): i Instrument: chi

Chiruwani tyo saba tsa. watch-PERF from house man. "The man watched from the house."

saba kichiruwani tyo ka tsa. house REL-watch-PERF from it man. "The house that the man watched from."

Tleru na ko yabiya ele deguwa ko kwaila. Need I ACC yellow-thing for draw ACC sun. "I need something yellow to draw the sun."

Niru na ko ktana egoyachi ele ktakuwa shalatsan nai. Want I ACC spear wood-made_of for kill-GER enemy-PL 1P-GEN "I want a wooden spear to kill my enemies."

Kiyu mo la ko tyela? Hear ? you ACC water "Do you hear water?"

Higu na ko menwa kshi. Agoguwachi keshi runwachwan. Have I ACC egg-PL three. Hatch-POT maybe duck-DIMIN-PL. "I have three eggs. Maybe ducklings will hatch."