Vrkhazhian

Vrkhazhian (Šat Vərxažu) is a West Takshian 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.

Vrkhazhian Šat Vərxažu, Šada Vərxažšəya
Pronounced:	/ˈçat βərxaˈʝu/, /ˈçada βərxaçˈçəja/
Spoken:	Vrkhazh (Vərxaža)
Writing system:	ʾAḵvaha Vərxažšəyi
Genealogy:	Haxyakian Languages Haxyakian Himoshian Old Takshian West Takshian 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 is analyzed as having two major dialects:

• Uzirshaya is spoken in the south-west of Vrkhazh and named after the city from which it originated, ʾUzayra-Toma.
• Mukhebshaya is spoken in the north-east of Vrkhazh and named after the city Miḵba-Toma.

Despite being considered dialects of the same language, they are somewhat mutually unintelligible to each other.

Phonology

Consonants

The table below shows the consonant phonemes found in the major dialects of Vrkhazhian. Phonemes in blue are found only in the Mukhebic dialect while phonemes in red are found only in the Uzerian dialect.

Vrkhazhian Consonantal Phonemes

		Bilabial	Alveolar		Palatal	Velar	Glottal
			Central	Lateral
Nasal		m [m]	n [n]			ñ [ŋ]
Stop	Voiceless	p [p]	t [t]		c [c]	k [k]	ʾ [ʔ]
	Ejective	ṗ [pʼ]	ṭ [tʼ]		ċ [cʼ]	ḳ [kʼ]
	Voiced	b [b]	d [d]		j [ɟ]	g [g]
Fricative	Voiceless	f [ɸ~f]	s [s]	ś [ɬ]	š [ç]	x [x]
	Ejective		ṣ [sʼ]	ṣ́ [ɬʼ]	ṣ̌ [çʼ]	x̣ [xʼ]
	Voiced	v [β~v]	z [z]	l [ɮ]	ž [ʝ]	ǧ [ɣ]
Liquid/Trill			r [r]	l [l]	y [j]	w [w]	h [ʕ~ɦ]

The sonorants /r n/ also have syllabic counterparts /r̩ n̩/, which are romanized as ⟨ṛ 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~ɑ]

Vrkhazhian also has two diphthongs, which are found only in Uzerian:

	Front	Back
Open to high	ay [ai̯]	aw [au̯]

In Mukhebic, the diphthongs instead become the vowels ē [eː], ō [oː], ī [iː], and ū [uː].

Allophony

• The nasal consonants /m n ŋ/ undergo the process of neutralization where they are analyzed as [m] before labial consonants, [n] before alveolar consonants, [ɲ] before palatal consonants, and [ŋ] before velar consonants (including /w/).
• Consonants assimilate in voicing with adjacent consonants directly following them.
• The consonants /j w/ are analyzed as [ʝ β] when geminated as well as before voiced consonants and [ç ɸ] before voiceless consonants.
• The consonant /h/ assimilates in place of articulation and voicing with adjacent fricatives directly before them.

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 maḡyiman (singular maḡyima). 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. They always follow the noun and are almost entirely derived from verbs, with a few exceptions.

Most adjectives take the form C₁ərC₂aC₃. Below is an example adjective derived from the verb s-ǧ-l (to be old):

"Old"

	Adjective (masc.)	Adjective (fem.)
Singular	sərǧal-i	sərǧal-a
Plural	sərǧal-i-n	sərǧal-a-n

Roots where the last two consonants are the same take the form C₁aC₂C₁aC₃. Below is an example adjective derived from the verb d-n-n (to be heavy):

"Heavy"

	Adjective (masc.)	Adjective (fem.)
Singular	dandan-i	dandan-a
Plural	dandan-i-n	dandan-a-n

Verbal morphology

Main article: Verbs in Vrkhazhian

Vrkhazhian verbs are called madsiran (singular madsira). 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 masčiši 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 saẕkera, 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-r (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 dasur because that is the active present singular form of the verb.

Pronouns

In Vrkhazhian, there are seven pronouns, each of which have their own forms for each of the six 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.

Indicative Pronouns

Personal Pronouns - Indicative

		Nominative		Accusative		Genitive		Allative		Ablative		Instrumental
Person		Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
1st	inclusive	ʾama	ḳñama	šadib	ḳñameb	šadek	ḳñamek	šadeš	ḳñamaheš	šadat	ḳñamahat	šadux	ḳñamahux
	exclusive		šñama		šñameb		šñamek		šñamaheš		šñamahat		šñamahux
2nd	masculine	ši	šin	šib	šinib	šek	šinak	šiyeš	šineš	šiyat	šinat	šiyux	šinux
	feminine	ša	šan	šeb	šanib	šak	šanak	šaheš	šaneš	šahat	šanat	šahux	šanux
2nd	masculine	ḳi	ḳin	ḳib	ḳinib	ḳek	ḳinak	ḳiyeš	ḳineš	ḳiyat	ḳinat	ḳiyux	ḳinux
	feminine	ḳa	ḳan	ḳeb	ḳanib	ḳak	ḳanak	ḳaheš	ḳaneš	ḳahat	ḳanat	ḳahux	ḳanux

Modal Pronouns

Personal Pronouns - Modal - Nominative Directive Subjunctive Commissive Person Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural 1st inclusive ʾamoñu ḳñamoñu ʾamaśi ḳñamaśi ʾammər ḳñammər exclusive šñamoñu šñamaśi šñammər 2nd masculine šuñwi šuñwin šaśeyi šaśeyin ššəri ššərin feminine šuñwa šuñwan šaśeya šaśeyan ššəra ššəran 3rd masculine ḳuñwi ḳuñwin ḳaśeyi ḳaśeyin ḳḳəri ḳḳərin feminine ḳuñwa ḳuñwan ḳaśeya ḳaśeyan ḳḳəra ḳḳəran

Personal Pronouns - Modal - Genitive Directive Subjunctive Commissive Person Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural 1st inclusive šaduñok ḳñamoñok šadiśeyak ḳñamaśeyak šaddərak ḳñammərak exclusive šñamoñok šñamaśeyak šñammərak 2nd masculine šuñwek šuñwinak šaśeyek šaśeyinak ššərek ššərinak feminine šuñwak šuñwanak šaśeyak šaśeyanak ššərak ššəranak 3rd masculine ḳuñwek ḳuñwinak ḳaśeyek ḳaśeyinak ḳḳərek ḳḳərinak feminine ḳuñwak ḳuñwanak ḳaśeyak ḳaśeyanak ḳḳərak ḳḳəranak

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 one"	ʾani "that one"	mayi "yonder one"
Masculine plural	ʾibmin "these ones"	ʾanmin "those ones"	maymin "yonder ones"
Feminine singular	ʾiba	ʾana	maya
Feminine plural	ʾibman	ʾanman	mayman

Interrogative Pronouns

Vrkhazhian possesses a complex set of interrrogative pronouns:

Interrogative Pronouns

Interrogative		Relativizer
English	Vrkhazhian	English	Vrkhazhian
who?	x̣anni ʾilma?	who	ʾalwam bi
what?	x̣anni maʾlima?	what	maʾlim bi
how many?	x̣anni hawa?	how many	haw bi
where?	x̣anni ʾəlmaya?	where	ʾəlmi bi
when?	x̣anni saǧa?	when	sax bi
why/how?	x̣anni ʾəllumawe?	why/how	ʾəllumu bi

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 rVakyam Vərḵažaw, ʾIḵmeki ʾArašhijun I, kay tuṗtus ḳek numḵuḵ. "Ihmeki Arashjung, the Emperor of Vrkhazh, who united his people" which is analyzed in the following table:

Word	Meaning	Analysis	Part of the nominal phrase
rVakyam	emperor of	nominative construct state	Apposition
Vərḵažaw	Vrkhazh	genitive feminine singular
ʾIḵmeki ʾArašhijun I	Ikhmeki Arashijun the First	masculine singular	Proper Noun (subject)
kay	who	nominative masculine singular	Relative clause
tuṗtus	people	accusative feminine singular
ḳek	his	third person genitive masculine singular
numḵuḵ	united	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:

ʾUlden perje t-ʾildan ʾaldəm.

ʾUlden	perje	t-ʾildan	ʾaldəm
soldier-NOM.MASC.PL	all-MASC	ACC-civilian-FEM.PL	guard\ACT.PRES-PL

"All soldiers guard civilians."

vs. a passive sentence:

Nikašməm zHaqla makšimən kafaw maśšəya.

Nikašməm	rmakšimən	rkafaw rmaśšəya	zuHaqla
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 Yatvṛḵažaẏka [axβa jatβɹ̩xaʝæe̯ka]) 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 ʾAlaḵa wind, breath ʾ [ʔ] Ḵava human ḵ [x] Vawa cane v [β] Hita lock h [h] Data skull d [d] Ẕima fruit, blood ẕ [t͡s] Bala path b [b] Suma tunnel s [s] Žati helmet ž [ʝ] Ṭama Ṭama horn, curve ṭ [θ] Yava scythe y [j]

ʾAḵva Yat-Vṛḵažaẏka Letter Name Meaning Phoneme Kafa water k [k] Geba wing g [g] Lama hand l [l] Maʾa bowl, cup m [m] Neši peace n [n] Ḡaẏma name ḡ [ɣ] Ṗasi Ṗasi poison ṗ [ɸ~ʍ̝~w̝] Paka head p [p] Jima pillar j [ɟ] Ruḡi snake r [ɹ] Faši vulture f [ɸ]

ʾAḵva Yat-Vṛḵažaẏka Letter Name Meaning Phoneme Šima house š [ç] Wadi shield w [w] Ćona Ćona fish ć [t͡ɬ] Tali gate t [t] Ṟaša Ṟaša shoulder ṟ [ʀ] Čita hook č [c] Zaba branch z [z] Řata fear, tail ř [r] Śama tree ś [ɬ] Ḥaka roof ḥ [χ] Qaẇta sheep q [q]

ʾAḵva Yat-Vṛḵažaẏka Letter Name Meaning Phoneme Ṉoda 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
ʾAlaḵa Miḵbaẏka	ʾAlaḵa Miḵbaẏka	Mukhebic Alakh	ʾ [ʔ]
Ḳuna	Ḳuna	sky	ḳ [kʼ]
Q̇usa	Q̇usa	hide	q̇ [kʼ]
Ñiṟa	Ñiṟa	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
	Maʾlibi	exposed	a [a]
	Mařkiki	fallen	e [e̞]
	Yata	ground	i [i]
	Ḵoṭa	circle	o [o̞]
	Ṃḵepa	emptiness	ə [ə]
	Ḥomli	throne	u [u]

???

Letter	Name	Phoneme
	Yava Ṛwada	ẏ [e̯]
	Wadi Ṛwadi	ẇ [o̯]

Numerals

Ḥalkud Yat-Vṛḵažaẏku

Numeral	Number	Name
	0	Šemta ("none")
	1	Tibsa
	2	Susra
	3	Limna
	4	Zařza
	5	Yurpa
	6	Mastala
	7	ʾAřṭama
	8	Šerva
	9	Zaḡga
	10/X	Yaqma
	11/E	Ḵtela