Proto-Kunnu-lūjungo: Difference between revisions

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|-
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| colspan="2" | ''I make him eat.''
| colspan="2" | ''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.
{|
! align="left" | Poky-a || align="left" | p'ot'y-ak' || align="left" | p'wach-∅-o
|-
| align="left" | what-NA || align="left" | you-ERG || align="left" | get-UNM-PAST
|-
| colspan="3" | ''What did you get?''
|}
{|
! align="left" | Ut-to-gu || align="left" | kyot'sōnya-ng || align="left" | p'ot'y-a
|-
| align="left" | PERF-ACT-Q || align="left" | bathe-PRES || align="left" | you-NA
|-
| colspan="3" | ''Have you bathed?''
|}
|}



Revision as of 04:15, 13 May 2010

Proto-Kunnurūjungo
Pronounced: /-kunːu*ruːdʒuŋːo/
Timeline and Universe:
Species: Human
Spoken:
Total speakers:
Writing system:
Genealogy:
Typology
Morphology: Agglutinative
Morphosyntax: 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.

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/).

  • ɑe
  • eɑ
  • i → u
  • oø
  • wy
  • øo
  • y → u
  • ɑii
  • ɑui
  • uewo
  • je
  • je
  • jo
  • joːjy
  • we
  • we
  • wiwuː
  • wo
  • wo
  • wy

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
D d d
E e e
F f f
G g ɡ
H h h
I i i
J j
K k k
Kh kh
Kk kk
L l l
Ll ll
M m m
N n n
Ng ng ŋ
Nn nn
O o o
Ō ō
Ö ö ø
P p p
Ph ph
Pp pp
R r *r
S s s
Sh sh ʃ
Ss ss
T t t
Th th
Ts ts ts
Tt tt
U u u
Ū ū
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

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'yak' ubōtta p'yowochyang - I eat an apple
pot'yak' tallūda kweding - I hear a song
Active -(t)to1
-(t)tö1
pot'ya p'yowochyattong - I eat
pot'ya kwedittöng - I hear
Passive k'ūdi VERB-ttūk2 ubōtta pot'yat k'ūdi p'yowottūk - an apple becomes eaten by me
tallūda k'ūdi kwettūk - a song becomes heard
Causative -k'ye2
-k'ya2
pot'yak' myatto ubōtta p'yowochyak'yang - I make him eat an apple
pot'ya myatto kwedik'yeng - I make him hear

1A single t is used after consonants.
2The 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. Verbs that are inherently intransitive end with the same suffix that is used for marking active voice. When these verbs are used with the causative voice or imperative mood, this suffix is deleted as if it was a part of the word stem.

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.

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--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-
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'y-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:

Myot-a pingketti-dö p'utsūk-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'y-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'ya 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 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 -
-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 has the meaning of "by which medium". For example rōtta hugokp'ō kūt'kōnang - the boat travels by river.

Locational cases

The ablative, adessive and allative cases have in common that they describe a position that is on top of, or near the marked noun. The elative, inessive and illative cases on the other hand describe a position that is inside.

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.

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
-gongup
-göngup
Layers Floors and layers
-yup'sū Fruit Fruit, berries, nuts and vegetables other than root vegetables
-guhō
-guhwü
Machine Machines and vehicles
-gada
-gede
Marine Sea creatures other than fish that has been caught
-swokkwo
-swökkwö
Oblong Long and narrow objects
-gōngk'a
-kwüngk'e
Multiplicative Number of times something is done
-(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

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

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

Pot'y-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.

Poky-a p'ot'y-ak' p'wach-∅-o
what-NA you-ERG get-UNM-PAST
What did you get?
Ut-to-gu kyot'sōnya-ng p'ot'y-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.