Vrkhazhian: Difference between revisions

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{{main|Nouns in Vrkhazhian}}
{{main|Nouns in Vrkhazhian}}


Vrkhazhian nouns are called '''maḡimud''' (singular '''maḡimu'''). They are declined for case, gender, and number. Specifically there are five cases (nominative, accusative, genitive, allative, and ablative) and two numbers (singular and plural). Additionally, Vrkhazhian has three grammatical genders: masculine, feminine and neuter. These genders are based on sex and strictly semantic, thus most nouns, such as inanimate objects, fall into the category of neuter.
Vrkhazhian nouns are called '''maḡimud''' (singular '''maḡimu'''). They are declined for case, gender, and number. Specifically there are five cases (nominative, accusative, genitive, allative, and ablative) and two numbers (singular and plural). Additionally, Vrkhazhian has two grammatical genders: masculine and feminine.


====Adjectival morphology====
====Adjectival morphology====
Adjectives in Vrkhazhian are marked for gender and number in agreement with the noun they modify. Adjectives follow nouns except for adjectives pertaining to colours, which instead precede the noun. Adjectives are almost entirely derived from verbs, with a few exceptions.
Adjectives in Vrkhazhian are marked for gender and number in agreement with the noun they modify. Adjectives follow nouns except for adjectives pertaining to colours, which instead precede the noun. Adjectives are almost entirely derived from verbs, with a few exceptions.


Most adjectives take the form C₁ṛC₂aC₃. If the middle root is a rhotic. the adjective will instead take the form ʾeC₁C₂aC₃. Below is an example adjective derived from the verb '''d-n-n''' (to be heavy):
Most adjectives take the form C₁ṛC₂aC₃. If the middle root is a rhotic. the adjective will instead take the form C₁eC₂aC₃. Below is an example adjective derived from the verb '''d-n-n''' (to be heavy):
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
  |+ "Heavy"
  |+ "Heavy"
  !
  !
  ! Adjective (masc.) !! Adjective (fem.) !! Adjective (neut.)
  ! Adjective (masc.) !! Adjective (fem.)
  |-
  |-
  ! Singular
  ! Singular
  | ''dṛnan-i'' || ''dṛnan-a'' || ''dṛnan-u''
  | ''dṛnan-i'' || ''dṛnan-a''
  |-
  |-
  ! Plural
  ! Plural
  | ''dṛnan-il'' || ''dṛnan-an'' || ''dṛnan-ud''
  | ''dṛnan-il'' || ''dṛnan-an''
  |-
  |-
  |}
  |}
Adjectives pertaining to colours take the form C₁aC₂C₂aC₃, such as this adjective derived from the verb '''ḵ-r-m''' (to be white):
Adjectives pertaining to diseases take the form C₁eẇC₂aC₃, such as this adjective derived from '''s-ḡ-b''' (to decay, to rot):
{| class="wikitable"
|+ "White"
!
! Adjective (masc.) !! Adjective (fem.) !! Adjective (neut.)
|-
! Singular
| ''ḵarram-i'' || ''ḵarram-a'' || ''ḵarram-u''
|-
! Plural
| ''ḵarram-il'' || ''ḵarram-an'' || ''ḵarram-ud''
|-
|}
Adjectives pertaining to diseases take the form C₁aC₂awaC₃, such as this adjective derived from '''s-ḡ-b''' (to decay, to rot):
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
  |+ "Necrotic"
  |+ "Necrotic"
  !
  !
  ! Adjective (masc.) !! Adjective (fem.) !! Adjective (neut.)
  ! Adjective (masc.) !! Adjective (fem.)
  |-
  |-
  ! Singular
  ! Singular
  | ''saḡawab-i'' || ''saḡawab-a'' || ''saḡawab-u''
  | ''seẇḡab-i'' || ''seẇḡab-a''
  |-
  |-
  ! Plural
  ! Plural
  | ''saḡaẇb-il'' || ''saḡaẇb-an'' || ''saḡaẇb-ud''
  | ''saḡeẇb-il'' || ''saḡeẇb-an''
  |-
  |-
  |}
  |}
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  |+ "Heavier/heaviest"
  |+ "Heavier/heaviest"
  !
  !
  ! Adjective (masc.) !! Adjective (fem.) !! Adjective (neut.)
  ! Adjective (masc.) !! Adjective (fem.)
|-
! Singular
| ''dandan-i'' || ''dandan-a'' || ''dandan-u''
|-
! Plural
| ''dandan-il'' || ''dandan-an'' || ''dandan-ud''
|-
|}
Elative adjectives pertaining to colours take the form C₁aC₂eṭC₃.
{| class="wikitable"
|+ "Whiter/whitest"
!
! Adjective (masc.) !! Adjective (fem.) !! Adjective (neut.)
  |-
  |-
  ! Singular
  ! Singular
  | ''ḵareṭm-i'' || ''ḵareṭm-a'' || ''ḵareṭm-u''
  | ''dandan-i'' || ''dandan-a''
  |-
  |-
  ! Plural
  ! Plural
  | ''ḵareṭm-il'' || ''ḵareṭm-an'' || ''ḵareṭm-ud''
  | ''dandan-il'' || ''dandan-an''
  |-
  |-
  |}
  |}
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  |+ "Absolutely beautiful/beautiful beyond compare"
  |+ "Absolutely beautiful/beautiful beyond compare"
  !
  !
  ! Adjective (masc.) !! Adjective (fem.) !! Adjective (neut.)
  ! Adjective (masc.) !! Adjective (fem.)
  |-
  |-
  ! Singular
  ! Singular
  | ''manaṟb-is-i'' || ''manaṟb-is-a'' || ''manaṟb-is-u''
  | ''manaṟb-is-i'' || ''manaṟb-is-a''
  |-
  |-
  ! Plural
  ! Plural
  | ''manaṟb-is-il'' || ''manaṟb-is-an'' || ''manaṟb-is-ud''
  | ''manaṟb-is-il'' || ''manaṟb-is-an''
  |-
  |-
  |}
  |}
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{{main|Verbs in Vrkhazhian}}
{{main|Verbs in Vrkhazhian}}


Vrkhazhian verbs are called '''madsiṟud''' (singular '''madsiṟu'''). Because Vrkhazhian is a triconsonantal root language, the fundamental part of the verb form is the transfix, a discontinuous affix inserted between a root (which is collectively called '''masčišu''' and translated as "pattern"), though they primarily only convey the grammatical voices (active, passive, causative, and reflexive). There are five tenses (past, past progressive, present, present progressive, and future) and these are indicated by prefixes attached to the base form. There is only one aspect: the perfect, called '''saẕkeru''', which is indicated by reduplicating the entire verb. Additionally, there are also five moods (indicative, jussive, subjunctive, commissive, and propositive) and these are also indicated by prefix, placed closer to the base form than the tense prefixes. Lastly, verbs are also conjugated for number, singular and plural, with the plural indicated by the suffix '''-am'''.
Vrkhazhian verbs are called '''madsiṟel''' (singular '''madsiṟi'''). Because Vrkhazhian is a triconsonantal root language, the fundamental part of the verb form is the transfix, a discontinuous affix inserted between a root (which is collectively called '''masčišu''' and translated as "pattern"), though they primarily only convey the grammatical voices (active, passive, causative, and reflexive). There are five tenses (past, past progressive, present, present progressive, and future) and these are indicated by prefixes attached to the base form. There is only one aspect: the perfect, called '''saẕkeru''', which is indicated by reduplicating the entire verb. Additionally, there are also five moods (indicative, jussive, subjunctive, commissive, and propositive) and these are also indicated by prefix, placed closer to the base form than the tense prefixes. Lastly, verbs are also conjugated for number, singular and plural, with the plural indicated by the suffix '''-am'''.


When referring to a particular verb pattern, they are referred to by a derivation of the canonical (exemplary) verb '''d-s-ṟ''' (to do, to perform, to execute, to act). For example, when referring to the verb pattern of the citation form of a verb, which is the active present singular indicative, it is called '''dusaṟ''' because that is the active present singular form of the verb.
When referring to a particular verb pattern, they are referred to by a derivation of the canonical (exemplary) verb '''d-s-ṟ''' (to do, to perform, to execute, to act). For example, when referring to the verb pattern of the citation form of a verb, which is the active present singular indicative, it is called '''dusaṟ''' because that is the active present singular form of the verb.
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| kan "you" || ćun "you" || kanib || ćunib || kanak || ćunak || kaneš || ćoneš || kanat || ćunat
| kan "you" || ćun "you" || kanib || ćunib || kanak || ćunak || kaneš || ćoneš || kanat || ćunat
|-
|-
! rowspan=3|3rd
! rowspan=2|3rd
!<small>masculine</small>
!<small>masculine</small>
| ḡar "he" || nur "they" || ḡarib || nurib || ḡarak || nurak || ḡareš || noreš || ḡarat || nurat
| ḡar "he" || nur "they" || ḡarib || nurib || ḡarak || nurak || ḡareš || noreš || ḡarat || nurat
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!<small>feminine</small>
!<small>feminine</small>
| ḡan "she" || nun "they" || ḡanib || nunib || ḡanak || nunak || ḡaneš || noneš || ḡanat || nunat
| ḡan "she" || nun "they" || ḡanib || nunib || ḡanak || nunak || ḡaneš || noneš || ḡanat || nunat
|-
!<small>neuter</small>
| ḥor "they" || ṗar "they" || ḥorib || ṗarib || ḥorak || ṗarak || ḥoreš || ṗareš || ḥorat || ṗarat
|-
! colspan=2|4th
|colspan=2 Align="center"|ʾaḥ "one" ||colspan=2 Align="center"|ʾaḥib ||colspan=2 Align="center"|ʾaḥak ||colspan=2 Align="center"| ʾaḥeš ||colspan=2 Align="center"|ʾaḥat
|-
|-
|}
|}
The 4th person pronoun is a special pronoun that refers to generic or indefinite persons, usually translated as "one". An example of this is in the sentence:
''ʾAd ʾaḥ tubedu susal, ʾaḥ ḥolib wiplal.''
"If one takes a book, one must give it [back]."


====Demonstrative Pronouns====
====Demonstrative Pronouns====
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!'''Feminine plural'''  
!'''Feminine plural'''  
|''ʾibman'' || ''ʾanman'' ||''maẏman''  
|''ʾibman'' || ''ʾanman'' ||''maẏman''  
|-
!'''Neuter singular'''
|''ʾibu'' || ''ʾanu'' ||''mayu''
|-
!'''Neuter plural'''
|''ʾibmud'' || ''ʾanmud'' ||''maẏmud''
|}
|}


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!Vrkhazhian
!Vrkhazhian
|-
|-
| who? || ''ʾelmu'' || rowspan="2"| which? || rowspan="2"| hu
| who? || ''ʾelma'' || rowspan="2"| which? || rowspan="2"| ha
|-
|-
| what? || ''maʾlimu''
| what? || ''maʾlimi''
|-
|-
| where? || ''ʾolmayu'' || which place? || hadvu
| where? || ''ʾolmayi'' || which place? || hadva
|-
|-
| when? || ''ʾaẇru'' || which time? || haẇru
| when? || ''ʾaẇra'' || which time? || haẇra
|-
|-
| why? || ''ʾoqbu'' || which reason? || hoqbu
| why? || ''ʾoqba'' || which reason? || hoqba
|-
|-
| how? || ''ʾamtu'' || which manner? || hamtu
| how? || ''ʾamti'' || which manner? || hamti
|-
|-
| how many? || ''ʾesču'' || which amount? || hesču
| how many? || ''ʾesči'' || which amount? || hesči
|-
|-
|}
|}
====Relative Pronouns====
====Relative Pronouns====
The declension of the relative pronouns are as follows:
The declension of the relative pronouns are as follows:
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!'''Feminine plural'''  
!'''Feminine plural'''  
|''nokman'' || ''larman'' ||''saḡliman'' ||''noššan'' ||''noḵkan''
|''nokman'' || ''larman'' ||''saḡliman'' ||''noššan'' ||''noḵkan''
|-
!'''Neuter singular'''
|''noku'' || ''laru'' ||''saḡlu'' ||''ṇkešu'' ||''ṇkatu''
|-
!'''Neuter plural'''
|''nokmud'' || ''larmud'' ||''saḡlimud'' ||''noššud'' ||''noḵkud''
|}
|}
The relative pronoun agrees in gender and number with its referent. Additionally it changes the word order of a relative clause to OSV if the referent is an object of a relative clause in the active voice. If the relative clause is in the passive voice then the word order is always changed to SVX.
The relative pronoun agrees in gender and number with its referent. Additionally it changes the word order of a relative clause to OSV if the referent is an object of a relative clause in the active voice. If the relative clause is in the passive voice then the word order is always changed to SVX.
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===Numerals===
===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⟩.
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 governed 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 ''ʾuldu''; when a numeral is placed before them they become ''tibsi vakkami'' (one king) and ''mastalu ʾuldud'' (six soldiers). The table below lists the numbers from 1 to 12.     
The table below lists the numbers from 1 to 12.     


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
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  ! Cardinal
  ! Cardinal
(fem.)  
(fem.)  
  ! Cardinal
  ! Ordinal
(neut.)
(masc.)
  ! Ordinal
  ! Ordinal  
(neut.)
(fem.)
  |-
  |-
  ! 1
  ! 1
  | ''tibsi'' || ''tibsa'' || ''tibsu'' || ''ʾayun''
  | ''tibsi'' || ''tibsa'' || ''ʾayuni'' || ''ʾayuna''
  |-
  |-
  ! 2
  ! 2
  | ''sasri'' || ''sasra'' || ''sasru'' || ''hassir''
  | ''susri'' || ''susra'' || ''hessori'' || ''hessora''
  |-
  |-
  ! 3
  ! 3
  | ''lamni'' || ''lamna'' || ''lamnu'' || ''halmin''
  | ''limni'' || ''limna'' || ''hermoni'' || ''hermona''
  |-
  |-
  ! 4
  ! 4
  | ''pśedi'' || ''pśeda'' || ''pśedu'' || ''hapśid''
  | ''zařzi'' || ''zařza'' || ''hezřozi'' || ''hezřoza''
  |-
  |-
  ! 5
  ! 5
  | ''ẕarsi'' || ''ẕarsa'' || ''ẕarsu'' || ''haẕris''
  | ''yurpi'' || ''yurpa'' || ''heylopi'' || ''heylopa''
  |-
  |-
  ! 6
  ! 6
  | ''mastali'' || ''mastala'' || ''mastalu'' || ''hamastil''
  | ''mastali'' || ''mastala'' || ''hemostali'' || ''hemostala''
  |-
  |-
  ! 7
  ! 7
  | ''ʾarami'' || ''ʾarama'' || ''ʾaramu'' || ''haʾrim''
  | ''ʾařṭami'' || ''ʾařṭama'' || ''heřṭomi'' || ''heřṭoma''
  |-
  |-
  ! 8
  ! 8
  | ''šalbi'' || ''šalba'' || ''šalbu'' || ''hašlib''
  | ''šervi'' || ''šerva'' || ''hešlovi'' || ''hešlova''
  |-
  |-
  ! 9
  ! 9
  | ''zapri'' || ''zapra'' || ''zapru'' || ''hazpir''
  | ''zaḡgi'' || ''zaḡga'' || ''hezḡobi'' || ''hezḡoba''
  |-
  |-
  ! X (10)
  ! X (10)
  | ''yagmi'' || ''yagma'' || ''yagmu'' || ''haẏgim''
  | ''yaqmi'' || ''yaqma'' || ''heyqomi'' || ''heyqoma''
  |-
  |-
  ! E (11)
  ! E (11)
  | ''ḵteli'' || ''ḵtela'' || ''ḵtelu'' || ''haḵtil''
  | ''ḵteli'' || ''ḵtela'' || ''heḵtoli'' || ''heḵtola''
  |-
  |-
  ! 10 (12)
  ! 10 (12)
  | ''sẕeki'' || ''sẕeka'' || ''sẕeku'' || ''hasẕik''
  | ''seẕki'' || ''seẕka'' || ''hesẕoki'' || ''hesẕoka''
  |-
  |-
  |}
  |}
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{{main|Syntax in Vrkhazhian}}
{{main|Syntax in Vrkhazhian}}
====Nominal phrases====
====Nominal phrases====
Relative clauses follow the noun while numerals and appositions precede the counted noun. All adjectives except colours follow the noun. An example of some of these features is the nominal phrase ''ṛ-Vakkam Yat-Vṛḵažaẇ, ʾIḥmeki ʾAraš-Hijun, tutṗusu ḡalak numḥaḥ.'' "Ihmeki Arash-Hijun, the Emperor of Vrkhazh, united his people" which is analyzed in the following table:
Relative clauses follow the noun while numerals and appositions precede the counted noun. All adjectives except colours follow the noun. An example of some of these features is the nominal phrase ''ṛ-Vakkam Yatvṛḵažaẇ, ʾIḥmeki ʾArašjuṉ, tutṗusa ḡalak numḥaḥ.'' "Ihmeki Arash-Hijun, the Emperor of Vrkhazh, united his people" which is analyzed in the following table:


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
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| ''ṛ-Vakkam'' || emperor || nominative construct state || rowspan='2' valign='middle' | Apposition
| ''ṛ-Vakkam'' || emperor || nominative construct state || rowspan='2' valign='middle' | Apposition
|-
|-
| ''Yat-Vṛḵažaẇ'' || Vrkhazh || genitive neuter genitive singular
| ''Yatvṛḵažaẇ'' || Vrkhazh || genitive feminine singular
|-
|-
| ''ʾIḥmeki ʾAraš-Hijun'' || Ihmeki Arash-Hijun || masculine singular || Proper Noun (subject)
| ''ʾIḥmeki ʾArašjuṉ'' || Ihmeki Arashjun || masculine singular || Proper Noun (subject)
|-
|-
| ''tutṗusu'' || people || accusative neuter singular || rowspan='3' valign='middle' | Relative clause
| ''tutṗusa'' || people || accusative feminine singular || rowspan='3' valign='middle' | Relative clause
|-
|-
| ''ḡalak'' || his || third person genitive masculine singular
| ''ḡalak'' || his || third person genitive masculine singular
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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-Oblique (VSX). Compare an active sentence:
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-Oblique (VSX). Compare an active sentence:


:'''ʾEšol ṛ-ʾuldud ṛ-t-ʾeldud ʾuldam.'''
:'''ʾEšoli ʾuldel ṛ-t-ʾeldan ʾuldam.'''
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|-
| Align="center" | ''ʾEšol'' || Align="center" | ''ṛ-ʾuldud'' || Align="center" | ''ṛ-t-ʾeldud'' || Align="center" | ''ʾuldam''  
| Align="center" | ''ʾEšola'' || Align="center" | ''ṛ-ʾuldel'' || Align="center" | ''ṛ-t-ʾeldan'' || Align="center" | ''ʾuldam''  
|-
|-
| All || Align="center" | DEF=soldier-NOM.NEUT.PL || Align="center" | DEF=ACC-civilian-NEUT.PL || Align="center" | guard\ACT.PRES-PL
| All-DET.MASC || Align="center" | soldier-NOM.MASC.PL || Align="center" | DEF=ACC-civilian-FEM.PL || Align="center" | guard\ACT.PRES-PL
|}  
|}  
:"All of the soldiers guard the civilians."
:"All of the soldiers guard the civilians."
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vs. a passive sentence:
vs. a passive sentence:


:'''Nikšemam ṛ-makšimud ṛ-maśkafud ʾim Hiqala.'''
:'''Nikšemam ṛ-makšiman ṛ-maśkafan zwaHiqala.'''
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|-
| Align="center" | ''Nikšemam'' || Align="center" | ''ṛ-makšimud'' || Align="center" | ''ṛ-maśkafud'' || Align="center" | ''ʾim'' || Align="center" | ''Hiqala''
| Align="center" | ''Nikšemam'' || Align="center" | ''ṛ-makšiman'' || Align="center" | ''ṛ-maśkafan'' || Align="center" | ''zwaHiqala''
|-
|-
| PASS.PST-build\PASS-PL || Align="center" | DEF=golem-NOM.NEUT.PL || Align="center" | DEF-mercury || Align="center" | by || Align="center" | Hiqala-FEM.SG
| PASS.PST-build\PASS-PL || Align="center" | DEF=golem-NOM.FEM.PL || Align="center" | DEF-mercury-FEM.PL || Align="center" | Hiqala-ABL.FEM.SG
|}
|}
:"The mercury golems were built by Hiqala"
:"The mercury golems were built by Hiqala"

Revision as of 12:06, 4 August 2017

Vrkhazhian (ʾEšd Yatvṛḵažaẇ) is a Western Haxyakian language that is spoken by the Vrkhazhians who live in the Empire of Yatvṛḵaž. The earliest form of this language, known as Classical Vrkhazhian, was spoken as early as 887 years ago.



Flag-Vrkhazh.png
Vrkhazhian
ʾEšd Yatvṛḵažaẇ
Pronounced: /ˈe̞çt jatβɹ̩ˈxaʝɑo̯/
Spoken: Vrkhazh (Yatvṛḵažu)
Writing system: ʾAḵvaha Yatvṛḵažaẏka
Genealogy: Haxyakian Languages
Haxyakian
Himoshian
Takshian
West Charric
Classical Vrkhazhian
Modern Vrkhazhian
Typology
Morphological type: moderately fusional and agglutinative
Morphosyntactic alignment: nominative-accusative
Basic word order: SOV (active voice)/VSX (passive voice)
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 Tom-ʾEzru)
Mukhebic North-East Vrkhazh (originating from the city of Tom-Ṃḵebu)

Mukhebic is considered the dialect of business and trading, originating from the city of Mukheb, which along with Qazhd, make up one of the Pillars of Trade and Commerce. Uzerian is considered the dialect of politics and military affairs, originating from Uzer, the Capital City where the Emperor and Empress reside. When conducting business and trading with others, it is expected to communicate in the Mukhebic dialect while the Uzerian dialect is used for everything involving politics and the military. The knowledge and fluency of both dialects is a must for any meaningful life in the Vrkhazhian Empire.

Phonology

Consonants

The table below shows the 36 consonant phonemes found in the Uzerian dialect of Vrkhazhian:

Vrkhazhian Consonantal Phonemes
  Bilabial Alveolar Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal
Central Lateral
Nasal m [m] n [n] ṉ [ɴ]
Stop Voiceless p [p] t [t] k [k] q [q] ʾ [ʔ]
Emphatic ṗ [ɸ~ʍ̝~w̝] ṭ [θ] ḳ [q] q̇ [χ]
Voiced b [b] d [d] g [g]
Affricate voiceless ẕ [t͡s] ć [t͡ɬ] č [c]
voiced j [ɟ]
Fricative voiceless f [ɸ] s [s] ś [ɬ] š [ç] ḵ [x] ḥ [χ] h [h]
voiced v [β] z [z] ž [ʝ] ḡ [ɣ]
Approximant r [ɹ] l [l] y [j] w [w]
Trill ř [r] ṟ [ʀ~ʁ]
The sonorants /ɹ m n/ also have syllabic counterparts /ɹ̩ m̩ n̩/, which are romanized as ⟨ṛ ṃ ṇ⟩.

Vowels

Vrkhazhian possesses the following monophthongs:

Front Central Back
Close i [i] u [u]
Mid e [e̞] ə [ə] o [o̞]
Open a [a]

Vrkhazhian also has four diphthongs, all of which are rising:

Front Back
Mid to mid oẏ [ɔe̯] eẇ [ɛo̯]
Open to mid aẏ [æe̯] aẇ [ɑo̯]

Allophony

  • The alveolar stop consonants /t d/ become [θ ð] in word-final positions after front vowels.
  • The velar stop consonants /k g/ are assimilated into /q/ near /q ɴ χ/.
  • The nasal consonants /m n ɴ/ undergo the process neutralization where they are analyzed as [n] before alveolar consonants, [ɲ] before palatal consonants, [ŋ] before velar consonants (including /w/), and [ɴ] before uvular consonants.
  • The vowels /a i ə u/ are lowered to [ɑ e̞ ɐ o̞] if they occur after /q ɴ χ/.
  • The uvular stop /q/ becomes /k/ before palatal consonants.

Syllable Structure

The syllable structure of Vrkhazhian is analyzed as (C)CV(C)(C), where C stands for a consonant, V stands for a vowel, diphthong, or syllabic consonant. More specifically, words can only have consonant clusters of up to two adjacent consonants. This means the first syllable can have a maximal syllable of CCVC, medial syllables can have maximal syllables of CVC, and the last syllable can have a maximal syllable of CVCC.

Words cannot have a vowel hiatus, thus the epenthetic phonemes /j w h/ are inserted between two adjacent vowels. Additionally, since syllables must be preceded by a consonant, words that would have historically begun with a vowel have a glottal stop preceding them. However, the glottal stop has since been elided word-initially in most dialects.

Prosody

Stress in Vrkhazhian is right-leaning and based on syllable weight; stress is placed on the second-last (penultimate) syllable if the last syllable is open (ending in a vowel or diphthong) and placed on the last (ultimate) syllable if the syllable is closed (ending in a consonant). Stress also occurs in a iambic pattern, alternating between unstressed and stressed syllables.

Vrkhazhian exhibits sandhi over word boundaries, which often cause coalescence between word-final and word-initial vowels. The sandhi may also cause changes in the stress patterns of many words in a sentence, including making unstressed monosyllables stressed.

Grammar

Morphology

Overview

Vrkhazhian is a highly inflecting language, and morphologically, it is a triconsonatal root language: a kind of non-concatenative morphology whereby its roots consist of an abstract set of consonants which a pattern of vowels called transfixes are placed between. Most of these roots consist of three consonants (triliteral), though there are many words that consist of two-letter (biliteral) and four-letter (quadriliteral) roots. Very rare, however, are five-letter (pentaliteral) roots, all of which are entirely nouns.

Nominal morphology

Main article: Nouns in Vrkhazhian

Vrkhazhian nouns are called maḡimud (singular maḡimu). They are declined for case, gender, and number. Specifically there are five cases (nominative, accusative, genitive, allative, and ablative) and two numbers (singular and plural). Additionally, Vrkhazhian has two grammatical genders: masculine and feminine.

Adjectival morphology

Adjectives in Vrkhazhian are marked for gender and number in agreement with the noun they modify. Adjectives follow nouns except for adjectives pertaining to colours, which instead precede the noun. Adjectives are almost entirely derived from verbs, with a few exceptions.

Most adjectives take the form C₁ṛC₂aC₃. If the middle root is a rhotic. the adjective will instead take the form C₁eC₂aC₃. Below is an example adjective derived from the verb d-n-n (to be heavy):

"Heavy"
Adjective (masc.) Adjective (fem.)
Singular dṛnan-i dṛnan-a
Plural dṛnan-il dṛnan-an

Adjectives pertaining to diseases take the form C₁eẇC₂aC₃, such as this adjective derived from s-ḡ-b (to decay, to rot):

"Necrotic"
Adjective (masc.) Adjective (fem.)
Singular seẇḡab-i seẇḡab-a
Plural saḡeẇb-il saḡeẇb-an

Adjectives also have elative counterparts. The elative takes the form C₁aC₂C₁aC₃ and conveys a superlative meaning in most contexts and a comparative meaning in contexts involving comparisons.

"Heavier/heaviest"
Adjective (masc.) Adjective (fem.)
Singular dandan-i dandan-a
Plural dandan-il dandan-an

Absolutive Superlative adjectives take the form C₁aC₂aṟC₃is and conveys a superlative meaning without comparison or being beyond comparison. An example is m-n-b (to be beautiful):

"Absolutely beautiful/beautiful beyond compare"
Adjective (masc.) Adjective (fem.)
Singular manaṟb-is-i manaṟb-is-a
Plural manaṟb-is-il manaṟb-is-an

Verbal morphology

Main article: Verbs in Vrkhazhian

Vrkhazhian verbs are called madsiṟel (singular madsiṟi). Because Vrkhazhian is a triconsonantal root language, the fundamental part of the verb form is the transfix, a discontinuous affix inserted between a root (which is collectively called masčišu and translated as "pattern"), though they primarily only convey the grammatical voices (active, passive, causative, and reflexive). There are five tenses (past, past progressive, present, present progressive, and future) and these are indicated by prefixes attached to the base form. There is only one aspect: the perfect, called saẕkeru, which is indicated by reduplicating the entire verb. Additionally, there are also five moods (indicative, jussive, subjunctive, commissive, and propositive) and these are also indicated by prefix, placed closer to the base form than the tense prefixes. Lastly, verbs are also conjugated for number, singular and plural, with the plural indicated by the suffix -am.

When referring to a particular verb pattern, they are referred to by a derivation of the canonical (exemplary) verb d-s-ṟ (to do, to perform, to execute, to act). For example, when referring to the verb pattern of the citation form of a verb, which is the active present singular indicative, it is called dusaṟ because that is the active present singular form of the verb.

Pronouns

Personal Pronouns

In Vrkhazhian, there are 14 pronouns, each of which have their own forms for each of the five cases. In singular and plural, the 2nd and 3rd persons differentiate gender, while the 1st person does not. Instead, the 1st person plural pronouns are distinguished by clusivity: the inclusive 1st person plural includes the speaker and the addressee, while the exclusive 1st person plural excludes the addressee.

Personal Pronouns
Nominative Accusative Genitive Allative Ablative
Person Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
1st inclusive žaẏ "I" yeš "we" šadib maṭib šadak maṭib šadeš maṭiš šadat maṭit
exclusive ṉar "we" ṉarib ṉarak ṉareš ṉarat
2nd masculine kar "you" ćur "you" karib ćurib karak ćurak kareš ćoreš karat ćulat
feminine kan "you" ćun "you" kanib ćunib kanak ćunak kaneš ćoneš kanat ćunat
3rd masculine ḡar "he" nur "they" ḡarib nurib ḡarak nurak ḡareš noreš ḡarat nurat
feminine ḡan "she" nun "they" ḡanib nunib ḡanak nunak ḡaneš noneš ḡanat nunat

Demonstrative Pronouns

There are three kinds demonstrative pronouns for three kinds of deixis: proximal, medial, and distal. The proximal indicates an object near the speaker, the medial indicates an object near the addressee, and the distal indicates and object away from both the speaker and the addressee. Demonstrative pronouns always mark their referent as definite.

Number Proximal Medial Distal
Masculine singular ʾibi "this" ʾani "that" mayi "yonder"
Masculine plural ʾibmil "these" ʾanmil "those" maẏmil "yonder"
Feminine singular ʾiba ʾana maya
Feminine plural ʾibman ʾanman maẏman

Interrogative Pronouns and Adverbs

Vrkhazhian possesses a complex set of interrrogative pronouns:

Interrogative Pronouns
English Vrkhazhian English Vrkhazhian
who? ʾelma which? ha
what? maʾlimi
where? ʾolmayi which place? hadva
when? ʾaẇra which time? haẇra
why? ʾoqba which reason? hoqba
how? ʾamti which manner? hamti
how many? ʾesči which amount? hesči

Relative Pronouns

The declension of the relative pronouns are as follows:

Number Nominative Accusative Genitive Allative Ablative
Masculine singular noki lari saḡli ṇkeši ṇkati
Masculine plural nokmil larmil saḡlimil noššil noḵkil
Feminine singular noka lara saḡla ṇkeša ṇkata
Feminine plural nokman larman saḡliman noššan noḵkan

The relative pronoun agrees in gender and number with its referent. Additionally it changes the word order of a relative clause to OSV if the referent is an object of a relative clause in the active voice. If the relative clause is in the passive voice then the word order is always changed to SVX.

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⟩. The table below lists the numbers from 1 to 12.

Numerals
Numbers Cardinal

(masc.)

Cardinal

(fem.)

Ordinal

(masc.)

Ordinal

(fem.)

1 tibsi tibsa ʾayuni ʾayuna
2 susri susra hessori hessora
3 limni limna hermoni hermona
4 zařzi zařza hezřozi hezřoza
5 yurpi yurpa heylopi heylopa
6 mastali mastala hemostali hemostala
7 ʾařṭami ʾařṭama heřṭomi heřṭoma
8 šervi šerva hešlovi hešlova
9 zaḡgi zaḡga hezḡobi hezḡoba
X (10) yaqmi yaqma heyqomi heyqoma
E (11) ḵteli ḵtela heḵtoli heḵtola
10 (12) seẕki seẕka hesẕoki hesẕoka

Syntax

Main article: Syntax in Vrkhazhian

Nominal phrases

Relative clauses follow the noun while numerals and appositions precede the counted noun. All adjectives except colours follow the noun. An example of some of these features is the nominal phrase ṛ-Vakkam Yatvṛḵažaẇ, ʾIḥmeki ʾArašjuṉ, tutṗusa ḡalak numḥaḥ. "Ihmeki Arash-Hijun, the Emperor of Vrkhazh, united his people" which is analyzed in the following table:

Word Meaning Analysis Part of the nominal phrase
ṛ-Vakkam emperor nominative construct state Apposition
Yatvṛḵažaẇ Vrkhazh genitive feminine singular
ʾIḥmeki ʾArašjuṉ Ihmeki Arashjun masculine singular Proper Noun (subject)
tutṗusa people accusative feminine singular Relative clause
ḡalak his third person genitive masculine singular
numḥaḥ 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-Oblique (VSX). Compare an active sentence:

ʾEšoli ʾuldel ṛ-t-ʾeldan ʾuldam.
ʾEšola ṛ-ʾuldel ṛ-t-ʾeldan ʾuldam
All-DET.MASC soldier-NOM.MASC.PL DEF=ACC-civilian-FEM.PL guard\ACT.PRES-PL
"All of the soldiers guard the civilians."

vs. a passive sentence:

Nikšemam ṛ-makšiman ṛ-maśkafan zwaHiqala.
Nikšemam ṛ-makšiman ṛ-maśkafan zwaHiqala
PASS.PST-build\PASS-PL DEF=golem-NOM.FEM.PL DEF-mercury-FEM.PL Hiqala-ABL.FEM.SG
"The mercury golems were built by Hiqala"

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 k-š-m (to build [physical]) 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 (ʾAḵva Yat-Vṛḵažaẏka [axβa jatβɹ̩xaʝae̯ka]) is the official writing script of Vrkhazhian. The script consists of 33 letters, 12 numeral glyphs, and 6 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 in use for at least 950 years, with few changes and alterations to the letter forms since it's inception. The script is a descendant of the Proto-Vrkhazhian logographic script.

Letter names

Standard letters

The table below lists the 34 letters of the Akhva that are shared by both Uzerian and Mukhebic:

ʾAḵva Yat-Vṛḵažaẏka
Letter Name Meaning Phoneme
ʾAlaḵ ʾAlaḵ wind, breath ʾ [ʔ]
Ḵav Ḵav human ḵ [x]
Vav Vav cane v [β]
Hit Hit lock h [h]
Dat Dat skull d [d]
Ẕim Ẕim fruit, blood ẕ [t͡s]
Bal Bal path b [b]
Sum Sum tunnel s [s]
Žat Žat helmet ž [ʝ]
Ṭam Ṭam horn, curve ṭ [θ]
Yav Yav scythe y [j]
ʾAḵva Yat-Vṛḵažaẏka
Letter Name Meaning Phoneme
Kaf Kaf water k [k]
Geb Geb wing g [g]
Lam Lam hand l [l]
Maʾ Maʾ bowl, cup m [m]
Neš Neš peace n [n]
Ḡaẏm Ḡaẏm name ḡ [ɣ]
Ṗas Ṗas poison ṗ [ɸ~ʍ̝~w̝]
Pak Pak head p [p]
Jim Jim pillar j [ɟ]
Ruḡ Ruḡ snake r [ɹ]
Faš Faš vulture f [ɸ]
ʾAḵva Yat-Vṛḵažaẏka
Letter Name Meaning Phoneme
Šim Šim house š [ç]
Wad Wad shield w [w]
Ćon Ćon fish ć [t͡ɬ]
Tal Tal gate t [t]
Ṟaš Ṟaš shoulder ṟ [ʀ]
Čit Čit hook č [c]
Zab Zab branch z [z]
Řat Řat fear, tail ř [r]
Śam Śam tree ś [ɬ]
Ḥak Ḥak roof ḥ [χ]
Qut Qut sheep q [q]
ʾAḵva Yat-Vṛḵažaẏka
Letter Name Meaning Phoneme
Ṉod Ṉod ear ṉ [ɴ]

Mukhebic-only letters

The table below lists the letters that are only found in Mukhebic Vrkhazhian:

ʾAḵvah Yat-Vṛḵažaẏkah
Letter Name Meaning Phoneme
ʾAlaḵ Miḵbaẏkuw ʾAlaḵ Miḵbaẏkuw Mukhebic Alakh ʾ [ʔ]
Ḳun Ḳun sky ḳ [kʼ]
Q̇us Q̇us hide q̇ [kʼ]
Ñiṟ Ñiṟ root ñ [ɲ]

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.

Mambinud Yat-Vṛḵažaẏkud
Letter Name Meaning Phoneme
Maʾlibu Maʾlibu exposed a [a]
Mařkiku Mařkiku fallen e [e̞]
Yatu Yatu ground i [i]
Ḵoṭu Ḵoṭu circle o [o̞]
Muḵepu Ṃḵepu emptiness ə [ə]
Ḥmolu Ḥmolu throne u [u]
???
Letter Name Phoneme
ʾAẇdu Yav ʾAẇdu Yav ẏ [e̯]
ʾAẇdu Wad ʾAẇdu Wad ẇ [o̯]

Numerals

Ḥalkud Yat-Vṛḵažaẏku
Numeral Number Name
Šemt- 0 Šemt- ("none")
Tibs- 1 Tibs-
Sasr- 2 Sasr-
Lamn- 3 Lamn-
Pśed- 4 Pśed-
Ẕars- 5 Ẕars-
Mastal- 6 Mastal-
ʾAram- 7 ʾAram-
Šalb- 8 Šalb-
Zapr- 9 Zapr-
Yagm- 10/X Yagm-
Ḵtel- 11/E Ḵtel-

Vocabulary

Example text

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