ʾAšdu Yat-Vṛḵaž

Vrkhazhian (ʾAšdu Yat-Vṛḵaẕ) is a Northern Hašakam language that is spoken by the Vrkhazh who live in the region known as Yat-Vṛḵaẕ. The earliest form of this language, known as Old Vrkhazhian, was spoken around 4,000 years ago.

Vrkhazhian ʾAšdu Yat-Vṛḵaẕ
Pronounced:	/ʔaçˈdu jatβɹ̩ˈxaʝ/
Spoken:	Vrkhazh (Yat-Vṛḵaẕ)
Writing system:	ʾAḵuva Yat-Vṛḵaẕikam
Genealogy:	Proto-Haṣákaṃ Languages Himoshian Highalic Proto-Vrkhazhian Old Vrkhazhian Middle Vrkhazhian Modern Vrkhazhian
Typology
Morphological type:	highly fusional, weakly agglutinative
Morphosyntactic alignment:	nominative-accusative
Basic word order:	SOV/VSO
Credits
Creator:	Malcolm G. Holborne

History

Dialects

Vrkhazhian has two major dialects and several minor dialects. The area of the two dialects are divided by two distinct sides; the north-eastern portion of Vrkhazh contains the majority of speakers of Mukhebic, while the south-western portion of Vrkhazh contains the majority of speakers of Uzerian. The numerous smaller dialects are spread in and around these two halves with varying degrees of density.

The table below lists the two major dialects:

Dialects of Vrkhazhian

Dialect	Location
Uzerian	South-West Vrkhazh (originating from the city of ʾUzēr)
Mukhebic	North-East Vrkhazh (originating from the city of Muḵeb)

Mukhebic is considered the dialect of business and trading, and originated from Mukheb, one of the two top cities of commerce along with Qazhd. Uzerian is considered the dialect of communication and politics, originating from Uzer, the Capital City where the Emperor or Empress resides. When conducting business and trading with others, it is necessary to communicate in the Mukhebic dialect while the Uzerian dialect is used for everything else, especially involving politics. The knowledge of both dialects is a must for any meaningful life in the Vrkhazhian Empire.

Phonology

Consonants

The table below shows the 42 consonant phonemes found in Vrkhazhian. When consonants appear in pairs, the voiceless counterpart appears on the left, and the voiced counterpart appears on the right:

Vrkhazhian Consonantal Phonemes

		Bilabial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Uvular	Glottal
Nasal		ḿ [m̥] m [m]	ń [n̥] n [n]			ṉ [ɴ]
Stop	Light	hp [ʰp]	ht [ʰt]		hk [ʰk]	hq [ʰq]
	Plain	p [p] b [b]	t [t] d [d]		k [k] g [g]	q [q]	ʾ [ʔ]
	Dark	ṗ [pʶ]	ṭ [tʶ]
Affricate			ḏ [t͡s]	č [c͡ç] j [ɟ͡ʝ]
Fricative		f [ɸ] v [β]	s [s] z [z]	š [ç] ẕ [ʝ]	ḵ [x] ğ [ɣ]	ḥ [χ]	h [h]
Approximant			ŕ [ɹ̥] r [ɹ]	y [j]	w [w]
Trill			ř [r]			ṟ [ʀ]
Lateral Approximant	Plain		ĺ [l̥] l [l]
	Dark		ḷ [lʶ]
Lateral Fricative				ḻ [ʎ̝̊]

Where consonants appear in pairs, the left is voiceless and the right is voiced.

Vowels

	Front	Near- front	Central	Near- back	Back
Close	i u       e̞ ə o̞ ɛ   ɔ     a
Near-close
Close-mid
Mid
Open-mid
Near-open
Open

The vowel phoneme /a/ is analyzed as being a continuum of open vowels ranging from front to back that are in free variation.

Romanization of Vowel Phonemes

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i [i]		u [u]
Mid	ē [e̞]	ə [ə]	ō [o̞]
Open-mid	e [ɛ]		o [ɔ]
Open	a [a]

Vrkhazhian Diphthongs

IPA	Letter	Example
ae̯	aẏ	like eye
ao̯	aẇ	like cow

Allophony

Stops:

• The alveolar stop consonants /t d/ become [θ ð] in word-final positions if they occur after front vowels /ɛ e̞ i/.
• Voiced and voiceless stop plus glottal stop clusters (i.e. /pʔ kʔ gʔ/) are phonetically analyzed as ejectives and implosives (i.e. [pʼ tʼ ɠ]), respectively.
• The velar stop consonant /k g/ are assimilated into /q/ in the environment of a uvular stop and uvular nasal consonant.
• The vowels /i ə u/ are lowered to [e̞ a o̞] if they occur after a voiceless uvular stop /q/.

Nasals:

• The alveolar nasal /n/ is analyzed as [ɲ] before palatal consonants, [ŋ] before velar consonants (including /w/), and [ɴ] before uvular consonants.
• The uvular nasal /ɴ/ is analyzed as a velar nasal [ŋ] before palatal and velar consonants (including /w/).

Liquid:

• The voiced alveolar trill /r/ is phonemically analyzed as /r/, however it is phonetically realized as being rounded [rʷ].

Syllable Structure

The syllable structure of Vrkhazhian is analyzed as (C)C(V)(C)(C), where C stands for a consonant, V stands for a vowel. CV and CVC are most common syllable types in Vrkhazhian, while in contrast, C and CCVCC, are the rarest. Though not listed in the phonemic inventory table above, there also exists a syllabic rhotic /ɹ̩ r̩/ in Vrkhazhian that is romanized as ⟨ṛ⟩ as well as two syllabic nasals /m̩ n̩/ romanized as ⟨ṃ ṇ⟩.

All words that appear to begin with vowels are analyzed as containing a glottal stop before them, which is usually omitted in fast speech. Vrkhazhian is very strict in preventing hiatus between vowels; this is done by adding an epenthetic /h/ between the two vowels.

Onset

The follow table lists the possible consonants that can occur as the onset:

Nasal: /m̥/, /m/, /n̥/, /n/, /ɴ/

Stop: /p/, /ʰp/, /pʶ/, /b/, /t/, /ʰt/, /tʶ/, /d/, /k/, /ʰk/, /g/, /q/, /ʰq/, /ʔ/

Stop plus Nasal: /dm/, /km/, /gm/, /gn/

Stop plus Stop: /pt/, /pd/, /pʔ/, /bt/, /bd/, /tp/, /tʔ/, /db/, /kp/, /kb/, /kt/, /kd/, /kʔ/, /gp/, /gb/, /gt/, /gd/, /gʔ/

Stop plus /w/: /kw/, /gw/, /qw/

Stop plus Fricative: /kɸ/, /gβ/, /kç/, /gʝ/

Stop plus Liquid: /pɹ/, /bɹ/, /tɹ/, /dɹ/, /kɹ/, /gɹ/, /qɹ/, /pr/, /br/, /kr/, /gr/, /qr/, /pʀ/, /bʀ/, /tʀ/, /dʀ/, /kʀ/, /gʀ/, /qʀ/, /pl/, /bl/, /ql/

Affricate: /t͡s/, /c͡ç/, /ɟ͡ʝ/

Fricative: /ɸ/, /β/, /s/, /z/, /ç/, /ʝ/, /x/, /ɣ/, /χ/, h/

Fricative plus Stop: /zb/, /zg/, /xp/, /xt/, /ɣb/, /ɣd/

Fricative plus Affricate: /çc͡ç/, /ʝɟ͡ʝ/

Fricative plus Fricative: /xs/

Fricative plus /w/: /sw/, /zw/, /çw/, /ʝw/, /xw/, /ɣw/, /χw/

Fricative plus Liquid: /sɹ/, /zɹ/, /çɹ/, /ʝɹ/, /xɹ/, /ɣɹ/, /χɹ/, /ɸr/, /βr/, /çr/, /ʝr/, /xr/, /ɣr/, /χr/, /sʀ/, /zʀ/, /sl/, /zl/, /çl/, /ʝl/, /xl/, /ɣl/, /χl/

Approximant: /j/, /w/

Liquid: /ɹ̥/, /ɹ/, /r/, /ʀ/, /l̥/, /l/, /lʶ/, /ʎ̝̊/

Nucleus

Any of the vowels and diphthongs can appear in a syllable as well as the syllabic consonants /m̩ n̩ ɹ̩/

Coda

The following table lists the possible consonants that can occur as the coda:

Nasal: /m̥/, /m/, /n̥/, /n/, /ɴ/

Nasal plus Stop: /mt/, /nt/

Stop: /p/, /ʰp/, /pʶ/, /b/, /t/, /ʰt/, /tʶ/, /d/, /k/, /ʰk/, /g/, /q/, /ʰq/, /ʔ/

Stop plus Stop: /pt/, /kt/

Stop plus Fricative: /kɸ/, /kç/,

Affricate: /t͡s/, /c͡ç/, /ɟ͡ʝ/

Fricative: /ɸ/, /β/, /s/, /z/, /ç/, /ʝ/, /x/, /ɣ/, /χ/, h/

Fricative plus Stop: /çt/, /ʝd/, /xp/, /xt/, /xk/, /ɣb/, /ɣd/, /ɣg/

Fricative plus Affricate: /çc͡ç/, /ʝɟ͡ʝ/

Fricative plus Liquid: /ɹɸ/, /ɹβ/, /ɹs/, /ɹz/, /ɹç/, /ɹʝ/, /ɹx/, /ɹɣ/, /rɸ/, /rβ/, /rç/, /rʝ/, /rx/, /rɣ/, /rχ/, /ls/, /lz/, /lç/, /lʝ/, /lx/, /lɣ/, /lχ/

Approximant: /j/, /w/

Liquid: /ɹ̥/, /ɹ/, /r/, /ʀ/, /l̥/, /l/, /lʶ/, /ʎ̝̊/

Liquid plus Stop: /ɹp/, /ɹb/, /ɹt/, /ɹd/, /ɹk/, /ɹg/, /ɹq/, /rp/, /rb/, /rt/, /rd/, /rk/, /rg/, /rq/, /ʀp/, /ʀb/, /ʀt/, /ʀd/, /ʀk/, /ʀg/, /ʀq/, /lp/, /lb/, /lt/, /ld/, /lk/, /lg/ /lq/

Stress

Stress in Vrkhazhian is generally placed on the last or second-to-last syllable.

Grammar

Morphology

Overview

Vrkhazhian is a highly inflecting triconsonantal root language. Most roots consist of three consonants (triliteral), though there are many words that consist of two letter (biliteral) roots. Vrkhazhian also recognizes four- and five-letter roots, however, these are uncommon. Between and around these roots various infixes, suffixes, circumfixes and prefixes are used to carry grammatical functions or derive words.

Roots containing the consonants ⟨y⟩ and ⟨w⟩ are considered weak roots, and are omitted when they occur between a vowel that isn't /a/ and another consonant and in word-final positions.

Nominal morphology

Vrkhazhian has three grammatical genders, masculine, feminine and neuter. These genders are strictly semantic, thus most nouns, such as inanimate objects, fall into the category of neuter.

Vrkhazhian has two numbers (singular and plural) and six cases (nominative, accusative, genitive, allative, ablative, and distributive). The table below shows the noun ʾalkad (soldier, guardian) declined in various cases.

Noun paradigm

	Noun (masc.)	Noun (fem.)	Noun (neut.)
Nominative singular	ʾalkad-i	ʾalkad-a	ʾalkad
Genitive singular	ʾalkad-ir	ʾalkad-aš	ʾalkad-un
Allative singular	ʾalkad-aj-i	ʾalkad-aj-a	ʾalkad-aj
Ablative singular	ʾalkad-if-i	ʾalkad-if-a	ʾalkad-if
Nominative plural	ʾalikd-il	ʾalikd-an	ʾalikd-ad
Genitive plural	ʾalikd-ir-u	ʾalikd-aš-u	ʾalikd-un-u
Allative plural	ʾalikd-ēj-il	ʾalikd-ēj-an	ʾalkd-ēj-ad
Ablative plural	ʾalikd-uf-il	ʾalikad-uf-an	ʾalikad-uf-ad

The Allative case in Vrkhazhian is used to denote movement towards the marked noun while the Ablative case is used to denote movement away from the marked noun. The Genitive case is used to denote the possessor of an object such as "Mark" in the sentence "Mark's cat". Proper nouns such as people and places are not marked with a genitive suffix. The distributive case in Vrkhazhian is used to denote something occurring to each individual of a set, thus the noun can only be declined for singular number. The meaning of the distributive case is roughly translated as "each" or "per". The prefix "šar-" is used to denote the distributive.

Construct state

Nouns in Vrkhazhian can also be placed in the construct state (status constructus), which is used in genitive constructions to mark the head noun (possessed noun), while the Genitive case is used to mark the dependent (modifying) noun or adjective. Nouns that that are not placed in the construct state are considered to remain in the governed state (status rectus), which is the default state of all nouns. The table below shows the declensions of the noun ʾalkad placed in the construct state:

Noun paradigm

	Noun (masc.)	Noun (fem.)	Noun (neut.)
Nominative singular	ʾalkad-i	ʾalkad-a	ʾalkad-u
Genitive singular	ʾalkad-iz	ʾalkad-ag	ʾalkad-ul
Allative singular	ʾalkad-ač-i	ʾalkad-ač-a	ʾalkad-ač-u
Ablative singular	ʾalkad-iv-i	ʾalkad-iv-a	ʾalkad-iv-u
Nominative plural	ʾalikd-ib	ʾalikd-at	ʾalikd-um
Genitive plural	ʾalikd-izi	ʾalikd-agi	ʾalikd-uli
Allative plural	ʾalikd-ēč-ib	ʾalikd-ēč-at	ʾalikd-ēč-um
Ablative plural	ʾalikd-uv-ib	ʾalikd-uv-at	ʾalikd-uv-um

Nouns containing biliteral roots are phonetically reduced to stem ʾaCC- when they are placed in the construct state and can be inflected for case like above. An example of this is the noun kaf (water) which, when placed in the construct state, is reduced to ʾakf in the nominative neuter singular. However, if there is an invalid consonant cluster as a result, the suffix -u may be added such as for the noun šim (house), which becomes ʾašmu.

Adjectival morphology

Adjectives in Vrkhazhian are marked for gender and number in agreement with the noun they modify. Adjectives in Vrkhazhian are placed into different stems depending on the type of adjective the root is. For example, only adjectival verbs pertaining to size and mass, such as d-b-n (to be heavy), are placed into the pattern CaCCa, while verbs pertaining to shapes, such as ḵ-l-k (to be round) are placed in the pattern toCCeC. The table below shows the declension of the roots ʾ-w-d (to be short), ḵ-l-k (to be round), z-w-l (to be red), h-r-d (to be pure), s-ǧ-l (to be old), and m-n-b (to be fair, beautiful) placed into their respective stems:

Adjective declension - Size/Mass

	Adjective (masc.)	Adjective (fem.)	Adjective (neut.)
Singular	ʾud-i	ʾud-a	ʾaẇd-a
Plural	ʾaẇd-il	ʾaẇd-an	ʾud-um

Adjective declension - Shape

	Adjective (masc.)	Adjective (fem.)	Adjective (neut.)
Singular	toḵlek-i	toḵlek-a	toḵlek
Plural	toḵlak-il	toḵlak-an	toḵlak-um

Adjective declension - Colour

	Adjective (neut.)
Singular	ʾazaẇwil
Plural	ʾazaẇl-um

Adjective declension - Condition

	Adjective (masc.)	Adjective (fem.)	Adjective (neut.)
Singular	ʾihrōd-i	ʾihrōd-a	ʾihrōd
Plural	ʾihrōd-il	ʾihrōd-an	ʾihrōd-um

Adjective declension - Age

	Adjective (masc.)	Adjective (fem.)	Adjective (neut.)
Singular	saǧǧol-i	saǧǧol-a	saǧǧol
Plural	suǧǧal-il	suǧǧal-an	suǧǧal-um

Adjective declension - Observation

	Adjective (masc.)	Adjective (fem.)	Adjective (neut.)
Singular	ʾifmanb-i	ʾifmanb-a	ʾifmanab
Plural	ʾifminb-il	ʾifminb-an	ʾifmineb

Adjectives can either precede or follow the noun depending on the type of adjective. Adjectives pertaining to physical features such as size, shape, colour and material always precede the noun, while adjectives pertaining to other features such as origin, condition, age and observation always follow the noun.

Definite marking

Vrkhazhian has an definite affix "ṛ-" that indicates that its noun is a particular one (or ones) identifiable to the listener. It may be something already mentioned or uniquely specified. The affix is attached to the noun and the adjective(s) that modify the noun.

Verbal morphology

Verbs in Vrkhazhian are conjugated for number (singular and plural), tense (infinitive, past simple, past progressive, present simple, present progressive, and future) and voice (active and passive)

Verb patterns

The table below shows the conjugation of the root s-d-n (to oppress) and m-n-š (to write):

Verb Conjugations

	Active Singular	Active Plural	Translation	Passive Singular	Passive Plural	Translation
Infinitive	ʾasdaẇwan		to oppress	ʾasdubin		to be oppressed
Past Simple	nōsdon	nasdunam	oppressed	nusdun	nisdanam	was oppressed
Past Prog.	yusdon	yusdēnam	was oppressing	yesdan	yesdunam	was being oppressed
Present Simple	sudan	sudnam	oppress	sadēn	sadnam	is oppressed
Present Prog.	husdan	husdinam	is oppressing	hasdēn	hasdonam	is being oppressed
Future	ʾasden	ʾasdenam	will oppress	ʾisdin	ʾisdinam	will be oppressed

Verb Conjugations

	Active Singular	Active Plural	Translation
Infinitive	ʾamniziš		to write to self
Past Simple	nōlmoniš	nalmunšam	wrote to self
Past Progressive	yulmoniš	yulmēnšam	was writing to self
Present Simple	lumnaš	lumnašam	write to self
Present Progressive	halmunaš	halmunšam	is writing to self
Future	ʾilmaneš	ʾilmanšam	will write to self

The Genitive case mentioned above is also used to indicate the subject of a verb in a reflexive construction.

Verb moods

Vrkhazhian has five moods, jussive, potential, conditional, commissive and subjunctive. The particles "čar" and "yaj" can be used with moods to indicate the past and future tense respectively. The table below shows the conjugation of the root ṗ-m-t (to walk) in active voice, while the table shows the conjugation of the root b-ʾ-l (to punish, discipline) in passive voice.

Verb Mood

	Active Singular	Active Plural	Translation	Passive Singular	Passive Plural	Translation
Jussive	jiṗmat	jiṗmetam	have to walk	jubʾil	jubʾulam	have to be punished
Potential	ʾibēṗmat	ʾibēṗmētam	can walk	ʾibibʾul	ʾibibʾōlam	can be punished
Conditional	ʾimaṗmat	ʾimaṗmutam	would walk	ʾimobʾil	ʾimobʾilam	would be punished
Commissive	ḵuṗtamit	ḵuṗtamtam	shall walk	ḵabteʾul	ḵabteʾlam	shall be punished
Subjunctive	ṇtaṗmit	ṇtaṗmitam	may walk	ṇtibʾul	ṇtibʾulam	may be punished

The jussive mood in Vrkhazhian is mainly used for expressing obligation or duty, but when there are no pronouns or nouns in the nominative case, it can also act like an imperative, expressing direct commands to the adressee(s).

Adverbial morphology

Adverbs in Vrkhazhian are marked for number in agreement with the verb they modify. Adverbs always follow the verb they modify. Adverbs are placed into the stem ʾeCCaCu. An example of this is when the root ʾ-n-l (to be blind) is placed into the stem, it becomes "blindly".

Adverb declension

	Singular	Plural
Adverb	ʾeʾnalu	ʾeʾnalyam

Pronouns

Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns in Vrkhazhian are as follows:

		Nominative		Accusative		Genitive		Lative		Ablative
Person		Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
1st	inclusive	ẕaẏ "I"	yeš "we"	šadib	ʾaẏyib	šadiki	ʾaẏyiki	šadiš	ʾaẏyiš	šadit	ʾaẏyat
	exclusive		ṉal "we"		ṉalib		ṉaliki		ṉališ		ṉalat
2nd	masculine	ʾiši "you"	qar "you"	ʾišib	qarib	ʾišaki	qaraki	ʾideš	qareš	ʾidat	qarat
	feminine	ʾati "you"	šun "you"	ʾatib	šunib	ʾataki	šunaki	ʾateš	šuneš	ʾatat	šunat
3rd	masculine	šul "he"	baʾ "they"	šujim	baʾib	šujaki	baʾaki	šuješ	baʾeš	šujat	baʾat
	feminine	šaf "she"	tav "they"	šafib	tavib	šafaki	tavaki	šapeš	tabeš	šapat	tabat
	neuter	ḥol "they"	ṗal "they"	ḥojim	ṗajim	ḥojaki	ṗajaki	ḥoješ	ṗaješ	ḥojat	ṗajat
4th		ʾaḥ "one"		ʾaḥib		ʾaḥaki		ʾaqeš		ʾaqat

Demonstrative Pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns in Vrkhazhian are as follows:

	Deixis
Number	Proximal	Medial	Distal
Singular	ʾib "this"	ʾani "that"	maẏ "that"
Plural	ʾivim "these"	ʾanim "those"	maẏm "those"

Interrogative Pronouns and Adverbs

Listed below are the interrogative pronouns and adverbs in Vrkhazhian:

English	Vrkhazhian
who?	ʾalim
what?	hamat
where?	suhal
when?	hna
why?	ʾičam
how?	ʾim hamat
which?	ʾaqab

Relative Pronouns

Relative pronouns in Vrkhazhian are as follows:

Number	Nominative	Genitive	Lative	Ablative
Masculine singular	ṇki	saẕmi	ṇkeši	ṇkati
Masculine plural	ṇkil	saẕmil	ṇkešil	ṇkatil
Feminine singular	ṇka	saẕma	ṇkeša	ṇkata
Feminine plural	ṇkan	saẕman	ṇkešan	ṇkatan
Neuter singular	ṇku	saẕmu	ṇkešu	ṇkatu
Neuter plural	ṇkad	saẕmad	ṇkešad	ṇkatad

Numerals

Vrkhazhian uses a base-12 system of numerals, which is a positional notation numeral system using twelve as its base. In this system, the number ten can be written as ⟨X⟩, and the number eleven as ⟨E⟩. Cardinal numerals precede the nouns they modify and are placed in the construct state, while ordinal numerals are placed in the absolute state, losing all case endings; cardinal numerals also agree in gender with the noun they modify. An example of this are the nouns vakkami and ʾalkad (which becomes ʾalikdad in plural); when a numeral is placed before them they become ʾaẏni vakkami (one king) and apetu ʾalikdad (six soldiers). The table below lists the numbers from 1 to 12.

Numerals

Numbers	Cardinal (masc.)	Cardinal (fem.)	Cardinal (neut.)	Ordinal (neut.)
1	ʾaẏni	ʾaẏna	ʾaẏnu	ʾaẏyun
2	sasari	sasara	sasaru	hassir
3	ṇzudi	ṇzuda	ṇzudu	hanzid
4	ʾaẕafi	ʾaẕafa	ʾaẕafu	haʾẕif
5	mareqi	mareqa	marequ	hamriq
6	ʾapeti	ʾapeta	ʾapetu	haʾpit
7	ʾarami	ʾarama	ʾaramu	haʾrim
8	šalbi	šalba	šalbu	hašlib
9	sēqēri	sēqēra	sēqēru	hasqir
X (10)	yegimi	yegima	yegimu	haẏgim
E (11)	dērili	dērila	dērilu	hadril
10 (12)	ʾilaẏki	ʾilaẏka	ʾilaẏku	haʾlik

Syntax

Nominal phrases

Relative clauses follow the noun while numerals and appositions precede the counted noun. Adjectives either follow or precede the noun depending on its semantic class (see adjective section above). An example of some of these features is the nominal phrase ṛ-Vakkami Yat-Vṛḵaẕ, ʾIḥamek ʾAraš-Hijunu, meṭajad šujaki nōmtoḥ "Arash-Hijunu Ihamek, the Emperor of Vrkhazh, united his people" which is analyzed in the following table:

Word	Meaning	Analysis	Part of the nominal phrase
ṛ-Vakkami	king/emperor	masculine construct state	Apposition
Yat-Vṛḵaẕ	Vrkhazh	unmarked neuter genitive
ʾIḥamek ʾAraš-Hijunu	Arash-Hijunu Ihamek	nominative unmarked masculine singular	Proper Noun (subject)
meṭajad	people	accusative neuter plural	Relative clause
šujaki	his	genitive singular pronoun
nōmtoḥ	unite	active past singular

Sentence syntax

There are two basic word orders in Vrkhazhian that are used depending on the grammatical voice of the sentence. In sentences with the active voice, the basic word order is Subject-Object-Verb (SOV), while in sentences with the passive voice, the basic word order is Verb-Subject-Object (VSO). Compare an active sentence:

ʾAšol ṛ-ʾalikdad ṛ-ʾildad ʾuldam.

ʾAšol	ṛ-ʾalikdad	ṛ-ʾildad	ʾuldam
All	DEF-soldier-NEUT-PL-NOM	DEF-civilian-NEUT-PL-ACC	ACT-PRES-guard-SG

"All of the soldiers guard the civilians."

vs. a passive sentence:

Nišṉamam ṛ-havir ṛ-mašṉamad ʾim Hiqal.

Ni-šṉam-am	ṛ-havir	ṛ-mašṉamad	ʾim	Hiqal
PASS-PST-build-PL	DEF-mercury	DEF-golem-NEUT-PL-NOM	by	Hiqal-ACC

"The mercury golems were built by Hiqal"

The verb root ʾ-l-d (to guard), in the first example, is conjugated for active past singular in the active sentence agreeing in number with the subject "soldiers", while the verb root š-ṉ-m (to build) in the second example is conjugated in the passive past plural, agreeing in number with the subject "the mercury golems".

Writing System

The Vrkhazhian Akhuva (ʾAḵuva Yat-Vṛḵaẕikam [ʔaxuβa jat βɹ̩xaʝikam]) is the official writing script of Vrkhazhian. The script consists of 36 letters, 12 numeral glyphs, and 10 vowel diacritics. The writing direction of the script is boustrophedon, and can start in any horizontal direction preferred, though the most common starting direction is Right-to-Left.

History

The script has been around for at least 2,700 years, with few changes and alterations to the letter forms since it's inception. The true origins of the writing system are unknown, however, the glyphs are based partially off of the logographic script of a sister language known as Qhadithcha, while the numeral glyphs are of entirely Vrkhazhian origin.

Letter names

Standard letters

The table below lists the 30 letters that are considered part of the Akhuva:

ʾAḵuva Yat-Vṛḵaẕikam Letter Name Meaning Phoneme ʾAlaḵ wind ʾ [ʔ] Ḵav human ḵ [x] Vav cane v [β] Hit lock h [h] Dat skull d [d] Ḏim fruit, blood ḏ [t͡s] Bal path b [b] Sum tunnel s [s] Ẕat helmet ẕ [ʝ] Yav scythe y [j]

ʾAḵuva Yat-Vṛḵaẕikam Letter Name Meaning Phoneme Kaf water k [k] Gēb wing g [g] Lam hand l [l] Maʾ bowl, cup m [m] Neš peace n [n] Ǧaẏm name ǧ [ɣ] Pak head p [p] Jim pillar j [ɟ͡ʝ] Ruḵ snake r [ɹ] Faš vulture f [ɸ]

ʾAḵuva Yat-Vṛḵaẕikam Letter Name Meaning Phoneme Šim house š [ç] Waj shield w [w] Tal gate t [t] Čit hook č [c͡ç] Zab branch z [z] Ḻam tree ḻ [ʎ̝̊] Ḥak roof ḥ [χ] Qar you q [q] Řat fear ř [rʷ] Ṉod ear ṉ [ɴ]

Vowel diacritics

The Akhuva is an abjad, thus vowels are not represented in most texts. However, vowel diacritics may be used to aid learners in reading the text and to reduce ambiguities.

Mambinad Yat-Vṛḵaẕikam

Letter	Name	Meaning	Phoneme
	Matlid	exposing	a [a]
	Šarud	moon	e [ɛ]
	Mamṉit	flowing	ē [e̞]
	Šipij	ground	i [i]
	Maḵmit	crawling	o [ɔ]
	Ḵalōk	circle	ō [o̞]
	ʾIfšaraj	hollow, empty	ə [ə]
	Muḥəl	throne	u [u]

Kburad Yat-Vṛḵaẕikam

Numeral	Name	Phoneme
	ʾAẇda Yav	ẏ [e̯]
	ʾAẇda Waj	ẇ [o̯]

Numerals

Kiʾifad Yat-Vṛḵaẕikam

Numeral	Number	Name
	0	Šemt ("none")
	1	ʾAẏn
	2	Sasar
	3	Ṇzud
	4	ʾAẕaf
	5	Mareq
	6	ʾApet
	7	ʾAram
	8	Šalb
	9	Sēqēr
	10/X	Yegim
	11/E	Dēril

Other letters

The table below lists the letters that are not considered part of the Akhuva, but are considered to be a variation of the letters in the Akhuva:

ʾAḵuva Yat-Vṛḵaẕikam

Letter	Name	Phoneme
	Ṗak	ṗ [pʶ]
	Ṭal	ṭ [tʶ]
	Ḷam	ḷ [lʶ]
	Ṟat	ṟ [ʀ]