Náŋifi Fasúxa

Náŋifi Fasúxa
Pronounced:	['ná.ŋi.fi fa.'sú.xa]
Timeline and Universe:	Semiramis Universe, Post-Catastrophe
Species:	Post-Catastrophe Hominid
Spoken:	pine forest ecosystem
Total speakers:	Unknown (9 villages)
Writing system:	Syllabic
Genealogy:	Isolate
Typology:
Morphology:	Word-based
Morphosyntax:	{{{ms}}}
Word order:	VSO
Credits
Creator:	Linguarum Magister
Created:	2010

Náŋifi Fasúxa (the Common Language) is the native language of the Pínaax (the People).

Phonology

The phonology is relatively simple, with 9 consonants (p,t,k,m,n,ŋ,f,s,x). There are 3 basic vowels. which may be short or long (a,i,u; aa, ii, uu). The pure long vowel arise from the contact of two similar vowels. There are also six diphthongs (ai [aj], au [aw], iu [ju], ia [ja], ui [wi], ua [wa], which arise from the contact of two dissimilar vowels. T

Consonants
	Bilabial		Alveolar		Velar
Nasal	m		n		ŋ
Plosive	p		t		k
Fricative	f		s		x

Vowels
	Front		Central		Back
High	i				u
Low			a

Long Vowels
	A		I		U
A	a:		ja		wa
I	aj		i:		wi
U	aw		ju		u:

Stress-and-Pitch Accent

The acute accent on a vowel or diphthong indicates stress and a rising pitch; the unmarked vowels have a falling pitch, but may be stressed. The acute accent may disappear in the spoken form of the word if the stress vowel becomes a diphthong. Thus, the noun pínaxa ['pí.na.xa] 'man' is stressed and high-pitched on the initial syllable, but the equivalent feminine form pianxa ['pjan.xa] woman is not stressed on the initial (spoken) syllable. The equivalent adjectival forms, pina'xa [pi.'ná.xa] 'manly (m.sg.)' and piánxa ['pján.xa] 'womanly (f.sg.)', which place stress on the medial radical syllable, both possess stressed and high-pitched vowel.

For the purposes of stress-and-pitch accent, the long non-diphthongal vowels are considered to be composed of a vowel and the related semi-vowel. This rule applies even to aa [a:], even though there is no equivalent semivowel.

Radical Syllables and Spoken Syllables

A peculiarity of Náŋifi Fasúxa is the ability of the syllables in its three-syllable CVCVCV roots to flip form CV to VC depending on the use of the root in the sentence. A CV syllable is herein referred as unflipped or taken as basic and unmarked; a VC syllable is referred to as 'flipped'. In discussion of the grammar of Náŋifi Fasúxa, the terms 'initial syllable', 'medial syllable', and 'final syllable' refer to the syllables of the masculine singular CVCVCV root before any flipping; the feminine plural adjective kuáŋit ['kwá.ŋit] 'the big (feminine things)' has stress on the flipped medial syllable -aŋ-, even though the realization of the stress is on the initial syllable of the word as pronounced.

Nouns, Adjectives, and Prepositions

Nouns, adjectives, and prepositions are characterized by an unflipped intial syllable.

Nouns

Nouns indicate gender and grammatical number. The masculine singular retains all the syllables as CV; plurality is indicated by flipping the final syllable, femininity by flipping the medial syllable. Nouns are accented on the initial syllable. Thus:

pínaxa ['pí.na.xa] man

pínaax ['pí.na:x] men

pianxa [pjan.xa] woman

pianax [pja.nax] women

Adjectives

Adjectives are similar to nouns, and agree with the noun they modify in gender and number (the exceptions are the possessive pronouns). Adjectives are accented on the medial syllable and follow the nouns they modify. Thus:

pínaxa kuŋáti ['pí.na.xa ku.'ŋá.ti] a great man

pínaax kuŋáit ['pí.na:x ku.'ŋájt] great men

pianxa kuáŋti [pjan.xa 'kwáŋ.ti] a great woman

pianax kuáŋit [pja.nax 'kwá.ŋit] great women

Prepositions

Prepositions are accented on the final syllable and agree with the noun which the prepositional phrase modifies in gender and number. Thus:

páŋasa tamapú múfaxa ['pá.ŋa.sa ta.ma.'pú 'mú.fa.xa] the house above the camp

páaŋas taamíx múfaxa ['pá:.ŋas ta:.'míx 'mú.fa.xa] the huts below the camp

Verbs and Adverbs

Verbs and adverbs are characterized by a flipped initial syllable.

Active Verbs

Active verbs and intransitive verbs are accented on the initial syllable. The verbs agree in gender and number with the subject. Náŋifi Fasúxa is a VSO language. Thus:

átmaxi pínaxa kuŋáti ['át.ma.xi 'pí.na.xa ku.'ŋá.ti] a great man descends

átmaix pínaax kuŋáit ['át.majx 'pí.na:x ku.'ŋájt] great men descend

átamxi pianxa kuáŋti ['á.tam.xi pjan.xa 'kwáŋ.ti] a great woman descends

átamix pianax kuáŋit ['á.ta.mix pja.nax 'kwá.ŋit] great women descend

An active verb may function as an active participle after a noun. Thus:

páŋaas úŋxauk ['pá.ŋa:s 'úŋ.xawk] the burning houses

pianxa átamxi [pjan.xa 'á.tam.xi] the women who are descending

The active participle may not be used as a substitute for the equivalent nouns. Thus there is a difference between:

táamxi ['tá:m.xi] the descending ones (feminine plural) vs. pianxa átamxi [pjan.xa 'á.tam.xi] the women who are descending

Passive Verbs

Passive verbs are accented on the medial syllable. They agree in gender and number with the subject. Thus:

axáuk páŋaas [a.xawk pa.ŋa:s] the houses are burning

A passive verb may function as a passive participle after a noun. As with the active form, the passive participle is strictly adjectival. Thus:

páŋaas axáuk [pa.ŋa:s a.xawk] the burnt houses

Adverbs

Adverbs are accented on the final syllable. They agree in gender and number with the verb they modify. The chief adverbs are the temporal participles atkamí (past), itŋafí (present), and ixpunú (future). Just as adjectives follow the noun they modify, so too do the adverbs follow the verb.

átamxi atakmí pianxa [a.tam.xja.tak.mi pjan.xa] the woman descended

átamxi itaŋfí pianxa [a.tam.xi:.taŋ.fi pjan.xa]the woman descends

átamxi ixupnú pianxa [a.tam.xi:.xup.nu pjan.xa] the woman will descend

Adverbs may modify adjectives, including active and passive participles.

páŋasa kuŋáti ukŋatí [pa.ŋa.sa ku.ŋa.tjuk.ŋa.ti] the very big house

páŋasa úŋxaku ukŋatí [pa.ŋa.sawŋ.xa.ku:k.ŋa.ti] the great burning house

túnasi uŋxáku ukŋatí [tu.na.sjuŋ.xa.ku:k.ŋa.ti] the big burned stone

Pronouns

There are three pronominal roots (ŋasipu, natufi, pumafa), which inflect for gender and number. Thus the complete set of pronouns is:

ŋásipu he

ŋásiup they (masculine)

ŋáispu she

ŋáisup they (feminine)

nátufi you (masculine singular)

nátuif you (masculine plural)

náutfi you (feminine singular)

náutif you (feminine plural)

púmafa I (masculine)

púmaaf we (masculine)

puamfa I (feminine)

puamaf we (feminine)

Genitive Prepositional Construct

The genitive relationship, rather than transposition or a specific genitive adjective, is indicated by the formation of a preposition that agrees with its object in its root, but the noun it modifies in gender and number. Thus:

páaŋsa pianxa' pianax [pa:ŋ.sa pjan.xa pja.nax] the hut of the women