Sarim: Difference between revisions

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Sarim nouns are declined for three numbers, '''absolutive, ergative''' and '''construct''', and singular and plural numbers. Nouns come in three declensions. The first declension consists of stems ending in a single consonant, the second of stems ending in a short vowel, the third of those ending in a long vowel, and the fourth of stems ending in two consonants.
Sarim nouns are one of two genders, '''animate''' and '''inanimate'''. To a great extent, the two categories are semantic: people, animals, deities and spirits, celestial bodies, and certain body parts(notably the hand, tongue, eyes, liver, and heart) are animate, and all other nouns are inanimate. Nouns are declined for '''singular''' and '''plural''' numbers, and '''absolutive''', '''ergative''' and '''oblique''' cases. However, in inanimate nouns the ergative and oblique have collapsed into a single case. In this outline the citation form will be the noun ''stem''. Sarim grammarians prefer to give the absolutive singular and plural, however.


'''Animate Nouns'''


First Declension
Where two forms divided by a slash are given, the first is used after stems ending in a consonant, the second after stems ending in a vowel.
 
'''yat''' - woman
 
{|
|| ||Singular ||Plural
|-
||Absolutive ||'''yat''' ||'''yato'''
|-
||Oblique ||'''yata''' ||'''yatama'''
|-
||Construct||'''yato''' ||'''yatō'''
|}
 
 
Second Declension:
 
'''tano''' - heart
 
{|
|| ||Singular ||Plural
|-
||Absolutive ||'''tano''' ||'''tanon'''
|-
||Oblique ||'''tanō''' ||'''tanoma'''
|-
||Construct||'''tanō''' ||'''tanō'''
|}
 
 
Third Declension:
 
'''huansā''' - house, fort


{|
{|
|| ||Singular ||Plural  
|| ||Singular ||Plural  
|-  
|-  
||Absolutive ||'''huansā''' ||'''huansan'''  
||Absolutive ||'''-0(-a*)''' ||'''-o/-n'''  
|-
|-
||Oblique ||'''huansā''' ||'''huansāma'''  
||Ergative ||'''-a/-n''' ||'''-on/-ma'''  
|-  
|-  
||Construct||'''huansāyo''' ||'''huansāmo'''  
||Oblique ||'''-e/-0''' ||'''-(a*)me'''  
|}
|}


 
*-a is an epenthetic vowel, used after a noun stem ending in two consonants, e.g. '''int-''' "the Sun", absolutive singular '''inta'''.
Fourth Declension:
 
'''inte''' - the Sun
 
{|
|| ||Singular ||Plural
|-
||Absolutive ||'''inte''' ||'''into'''  
|-
||Oblique ||'''intā''' ||'''intama'''
|-
||Construct||'''into''' ||'''intō'''
|}
 
 
Possessive Pronoun Clitics:
 
These are suffixed to the construct state form of the noun (the form of which does come from the third person singular pronoun '''-on'''  
 


{|
{|
|| ||Singular ||Plural  
|| ||Singular ||Plural  
|-  
|-  
||1P ||'''-n''' ||'''-nca'''  
||Absolutive ||'''yat, kari, inta''' ||'''yato, karin, into'''  
|-
|-
||2P||'''-li''' ||'''-yca'''  
||Ergative ||'''yata, karin, inta''' ||'''yaton, karima, inton'''  
|-  
|-  
||3P||'''-''' ||'''-''  
||Oblique ||'''yate, kari, inte''' ||'''yanme, karime, intame'''  
|}
|}

Revision as of 08:34, 8 March 2009

Sarim (Sarim: Sarim vār) is a language spoken by most of the population of Sarimis, as well as several its satellite nations.


Phonology

Consonants

NB: Sarim has possibly one of the most boring phonologies in the history of conlanging.

-Plosives /p b t d k g/ <p b t d k g>

-Nasals /m n/ <m n>

-Fricatives /f v θ s x/ <f v th s h>

-Rhotic/Approximants: /r ɫ j/ <r l y>


Vowels

/i e a o u/ <i e a o u>


Syllable Structure

The basic syllable structure in Sarim is (C)(C)V(V)(C), with the monovocalic nucleus being the only compulsory component, with the following caveats:

No nucleus with two vowels of the same quality occurs.

Coda consonants only occur word finally, and then can only be one of /t k θ s x r j m n/.

Word-initial clusters to not occur. Word-internally, clusters are organised into several series:

-the h series: /xp xt xk/ -the s series: /sp st sk sn sm/ -the n series: /nt nd nk ng nv ns nθ nn/ -the m series: /mp mt md mk mg ms mθ mr mm mn/ -the stop series: /ps ts ks/ - the r series: /rt rd rk rg rr/



Allophony


-/r/ is realised as an approximant [ɻ] before a vowel or word-finally, but [ɦ] before another consonangt.

- The voiceless stops are often realised as lightly aspirated.

- /n/ is realised at the same point of articulation as a following consonant: /nk/ = [ŋg]

-Before /s/, nasals tend to be realised as a sequence nasal+voiceless stop, e.g. /ms/ = [mps].

-All vowels are pronounced lax: [ɪ ɛ ɐ ɔ ʊ] when not part of a two-vowel nucleus.


Stress

Stress in Sarim is non-phonemic ,always falling on the final syllable of a word. Monosyllabic lexemes are stressed; grammatical particles are not.

Morphophonological Processes

If two vowels of the same quality would occur within the same nucleus, the second is lost.

In word-final position, /p b t d/ merge to /t/; /g f v x/ merge to /x/, and /ɫ/ merges with /r/.

Nominal Morphology

Sarim nouns are one of two genders, animate and inanimate. To a great extent, the two categories are semantic: people, animals, deities and spirits, celestial bodies, and certain body parts(notably the hand, tongue, eyes, liver, and heart) are animate, and all other nouns are inanimate. Nouns are declined for singular and plural numbers, and absolutive, ergative and oblique cases. However, in inanimate nouns the ergative and oblique have collapsed into a single case. In this outline the citation form will be the noun stem. Sarim grammarians prefer to give the absolutive singular and plural, however.

Animate Nouns

Where two forms divided by a slash are given, the first is used after stems ending in a consonant, the second after stems ending in a vowel.

Singular Plural
Absolutive -0(-a*) -o/-n
Ergative -a/-n -on/-ma
Oblique -e/-0 -(a*)me
  • -a is an epenthetic vowel, used after a noun stem ending in two consonants, e.g. int- "the Sun", absolutive singular inta.
Singular Plural
Absolutive yat, kari, inta yato, karin, into
Ergative yata, karin, inta yaton, karima, inton
Oblique yate, kari, inte yanme, karime, intame
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