Revision as of 14:09, 4 September 2010

Náŋifi Fasúxa
Pronounced:	['ná.ŋi.fi fa.'sú.xa]
Timeline and Universe:	Semiramis Universe, Post-Catastrophe
Species:	Post-Catastrophe Hominid
Spoken:	Kámanu
Total speakers:	c. 3,000 in 9 villages
Writing system:	Syllabic
Genealogy:	Isolate
Typology:
Morphology:	Isolating, Root-based
Morphosyntax:	Accusative
Word order:	V1
Credits
Creator:	Linguarum Magister
Created:	2010

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

A Brief Note on the Syntax

In the Post-Catastrophe universe, one of the features of various hominid races is particular violations of pre-Catastrophe Universal Grammar. In the case of the languages of Kámanu, this violation is a rigid V1 order regardless of other grammatical-syntactical restrictions. Náŋifi Fasúxa is a nominative-accusative language, tense-based rather than aspect-based, and strictly paratactic.

A Brief Note on the Earliest Diachronics of the languages of Kámanu

In this document and other research notes on the languages of Kámanu, PNF, ONF, and NF indicate different stages of Náŋifi Fasúxa.

PNF indicates Proto-Náŋifi Fasúxa, the language spoken in the survival shelter and in the very earliest stages of emergence; at this stage the bisyllabic roots were self-segregrating from the monosyllabic suffixes.

ONF indicates Old Náŋifi Fasúxa, the language spoken in the early day of reestablishing surface life and early expansion. The language acquired the necessary administrative terms for survival, but lost much of the more scientific terms used in the shelter. By this time, roots were trisyllabic, but an examination of the reduplicated forms (the primary grammatical innovation of this stage) shows that the speakers were analyzing the roots by the radical syllables..

NF indicates Náŋifi Fasúxa, the contemporary stage of the language (at least in the central of the nine villages). The roots have stabilized as trisyllabic, but the NF reduplicated forms, with one exception, show that they are analyzing the spoken syllables. The creation of autonomous villages and chieftainships and the movement away from the ONF conciliar structure, has resulted in the semantic shift of numerous roots, most notably, the use of workplaces to indentify persons.

Other tags are INF (Infantile Náŋifi Fasúxa) and VNF (Vulgar Náŋifi Fasúxa), but I have not had occasion to examine them in detail. VNF does appear to be on the way to an agglutinative language and a simplification of the number-gender overdetermination of NF.

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 arose from the contact of two dissimilar vowels. Adjacent consonants do not assimilate, as that would confuse trisyllabic radicals to too great an extent. /g/ and /x/ have the relatively free-placement allophones [ʔ] and [h], respectively. [ʔ] is more frequent in initial position or between vowels, but appears to be spreading. [h] has a similar distribution. The two allophones have the following constraint: they cannot appear adjacent to one another.

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 stressedon 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

Adjectives in Náŋifi Fasúxa may be divided into two categories: those for which the gender and number are not relevant, and those for which they are. The examples set above are the first kind. The second kind use the genitive prepositional construct, which will be discussed in a later section.

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:.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.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:

uŋxáuk ... páŋaas [uŋ.'xáwk ... 'pá.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 uŋxáuk ['pá.ŋa:s uŋ.'xáwk] the burnt houses

There is no nominal equivalent of the passive participle.

The Verbs "To Be"

In Náŋifi Fasúxa, the only verbs which do not require a temporal adverb after the verb are the forms átkami, ítŋafi, and íxpunu. These are the active verbal forms of the temporal adverbs. Thus:

átkami tákaxu ['át.ka.mi ,tá.ka.xu] he was an elder

ítaŋfi táakxu ['í.taŋ.fi 'tá:kxu] she is an elder

íxpuun tákaux ['íx.pu:n 'tá.kawx] they (mpl) will be elders

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 ['á.tam.xja.tak.'mí 'pjan.xa] the woman descended

átamxi itaŋfí pianxa ['á.tam.xi:.taŋ.'fí 'pjan.xa]the woman descends

átamxi ixupnú pianxa ['á.tam.xi:.xup.'nú 'pjan.xa] the woman will descend

Adverbs may modify adjectives, including active and passive participles.

páŋasa kuŋáti ukŋatí ['pá.ŋa.sa ku.'ŋá.tjuk.ŋa.'tí] the very big house

páŋasa úŋxaku ukŋatí ['pá.ŋa.'sawŋ.xa.ku:k.ŋa.'tí] the great burning house

túnasi uŋxáku ukŋatí ['tu.na.sjuŋ.'xá.ku:k.ŋa.'tí] the big burned stone

The order of adverbs after the noun are descriptive, numerals, and demonstratives. Any of these, should they appear as the sole modifier, appear as adjectives.

Pronouns

There are three basic 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)

In addition to these three, there are five other personal pronominal forms referring to relative rank of the speaker and the addressee:

púmapu I (higher rank than addressee)

púmaxi I (lower rank than addressee)

púmasu I (no rank reference; often used affectionately)

nátupu you (higher rank than speaker)

nátuxi you (lower rank than speaker)

nátunu you (in general; often used contemptuously)

Genitive Prepositional Construct

The genitive relationship, rather than by 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 pianxá pianax ['pá:ŋ.sa pjan.'xá 'pja.nax] the hut of the women

Indicative Sentences

An affirmative indicative active sentence in Náŋifi Fasúxa has the following construction: Verb + Temporal Adverb + Agent + Patient.

ánŋixi ixpunú náŋixa náŋiti the village crier will berate the teacher

A negative indicative active sentence in Náŋifi Fasúxa has the following construction: Verb + Temporal Adverb + Negative Adverb + Agent + Patient.

ánŋixi ixpunú aŋsixí náŋixa náŋiti the village crier will berate the teacher

An affirmative indicative passive sentence in Náŋifi Fasúxa has the following construction: Verb + Temporal Adverb + Patient + Agent.

ánŋiit atkaim xípuax náŋiti the children were taught by the teacher

A negative indicative passive sentence in Náŋifi Fasúxa has the following construction: Verb + Temporal Adverb + Patient + Agent.

ánŋiit atkaim aŋsiix xípuax náŋiti the children were not taught by the teacher

Predicate Sentences

Náŋifi Fasúxa predicate sentences have the structure Verb + Predicate Adverb + Subject or Verb + Predicate Noun + Subject. The verb in predicate sentences is the passive form of the verbs "to be". Thus:

itáŋfi akansá páaŋsa a hut is circular

itáŋfi páŋasa kuŋása páaŋsa a hut is a small house

Náŋifi Fasúxa sentences with a predicate adverb can drop the verb. This only works for tenseless (and often gnomic) statements. It is important to note that this adverbial tranformation only works for adjectives, not nouns or noun phrase.

akansá páaŋsa a hut is circular

Interrogative Sentences

The normal construction of the Náŋifi Fasúxa question is Verb + Negative Adverb + Temporal Adverb (the reverse of a negative statement) + Agent + Patient. The negative marker retains its negativity rather than becoming an pure interrogative marker; at the same time, however the negative impact of the question is not highlighting. Thus the sentence

uŋxáuk aŋsixí itŋafí páŋaas [uŋ.'xáw.kaŋ.si.'xi:t.ŋa.'fí. 'pá.ŋa:s] aren't the houses burning?

implies no desire for arson. There is no affirmative counterpart.

As usual, the passive equivalent reverses the order of the Agent and Patient.

For who/what questions, the indefinite pronouns ŋásixu (somebody) and ŋásinu (anybody) are inserted into the interrogative sentence. In this case, the negative adverb does lose its negative connotations.

úŋxaku aŋsixí atkamí ŋásixu páŋaas who burned the huts?

uŋxáuk aŋsixí atkaim páŋaas ŋásinu by whom were the houses burned?

Imperatives

The Náŋifi Fasúxa imperative is conjugated for number and gender. The positive form consists of the bare stem of the verb. Thus one might say

ínixpi speak! (fsg)

The negative form adds the negative adverb to the bare stem. Thus one can say,

ínixpi aŋsixí don't speak (fsg)!

The grammatical person of the imperative is inherently second person. The syntax of a complete imperative sentence is thus: Verb (+ Negative Adverb, if any) + Vocative + Patient. Negative and affirmative examples follow:

ínixip aŋisíx ŋítaif sisters, do not speak!

úmfasa xípufi pumafá puampu tákafi natufí nátufi (said by a mother) my son, obey your father!

There is a passive imperative created by reversing the order of the patient and the vocative, but it is extremely rare. One of the Irrealis forms is more frequently found in its place.

Irrealis Tenses and Moods

The Náŋifi Fasúxa Subjunctive (which covers many of the irrealis aspects of language) is formed by placing the affirmative adverb aŋsinú after the bare verb; the noun or pronoun follows the affirmative adverb. The negative subjunctive places the negative adverb between the affirmative adverb and the pronoun. Thus a chief of the Pínaax might say:

úmfaas aŋsinú kánuux púmapu May the villagers obey me.

ípnasa aŋsinú aŋsixí púmaxi múfaxu pumaxí púmaxi May I not fail my chief!

Specific Subjunctive

The Specific Subjunctive is used when the basic Subjunctive refers to a specific person (the personal pronouns are an exception to this rule). The adverb is aŋsixú. Thus:

úmafpi aŋisxú xiupxi puamfá púmapu múfaxu May my daughter assist the chief!

Impersonal Gnomic Aorist

The Impersonal Gnomic Aorist is used for proverbs about moral conduct when the intended addressee (if any) is not present. The proper adverb is agsipú. Thus:

ípnaxi aŋsipú pínaxa kanafú kánaxi A person would die in the wastelands.

Personal Gnomic Aorist

The Personal Gnomic Aorist is similar to the Impersonal, but is used when the intended addressee (not necessarily the person with whom the speaker is talking) is present. Its adverb is antufí. Thus:

ípnaxi antufí pínaxa kanafú kánaxi A person would die in the wastelands.

Perjorative Gnomic Aorist

The Perjorative Gnomic Aorist is similar to the Personal, but conveys contempt. Its adverb is antunú. Thus:

ípnaxi antunú pínaxa kanafú kánaxi A person (you moron!) would die in the wastelands.

General Gnomic Aorist

The General Gnomic Aorist is similar to the Personal and Impersonal Forms, but has no moral implications, merely a connotation of "everyone knows this". Its adverb is afsuxá.

ípnaxi afsuxá pínaxa kanafú kánaxi A person would die in the wastelands.

Opinative

The Opinative indicates "in my/your/his opinion". Its adverb is upmasú.

áfusfa upamsú ŋáispu ŋásinu. In my opinion, she's sleeping with someone.

Conjunctions

There are no true conjunctions in Náŋifi Fasúxa, since the language is entirely paratactic (but it does love its adverbs!). If coordination is necessary, specific adverbs are placed after the canonical temporal and negative adverbs. Even when a coordinating conjunctive adverb is present in a sentence, the sense of conjunction is closer to a semi-colon rather than a comma. The temporal conjunctive adverbs fit a seven-point scale of time, based on the words for days; from the farthest past these are: atkatí (before) - atkasú (before) - atkasá (before) - itŋasá or itŋasú(when/now) and itŋafá (now/while) - ixpusá (after) - ixpusú (after) - ixputí (after). The adverb "where" is either antuxú or antuxá.

Interrogative Conjunction Displacement

All of the adverbs meaning “before”, “when”, “now”, “while”, or “after” can be used as an interrogative "when?" in the appropriate context – in these case, the conjunction takes the place of the temporal adverb if the temporal adverb agrees with the the anteriority or posteriority of the interrogative conjunction. Thus, itŋasá or itŋasú may substitute for the temporal adverb itŋafí, but not the past temporal adverb atkamí or the future temporal adverb ixpunú. In those cases, the the interrogative conjunctional adverb comes after the temporal adverb and the negative adverb, if present, but before the first noun of the sentence.

Auxiliary Verbs

Náŋifi Fasúxa is strictly paratactic. This means that auxiliary verb cannot exist. There are two ways of saying "The woman is ready to collect kindling." The first method, much more common and clearer, is to separate the components of the sentiment into two sentences - "The woman is ready. She will collect kindling." The second is to promote the auxiliary verb to the main verb and demote the former main verb to a verbal adverb: "The woman is ready to collect kindling." In the latter case, the surviving temporal adverb is the one from the first sentence ("is ready") rather than the second ("will collect").

útanfi itaŋfí pianxa. útanxa ixupnú ŋáispu ŋúxauf.

be ready-VB-FSG PRES-ADV-FSG man-NOM-FSG collect-VB-FSG FUT-ADV-FSG 3SG-NOM-FSG log-NOM-MPL

útanfi utanxá itaŋfí pianxa ŋúxauf.

be ready-VB-FSG collect-ADV-FSG PRES-ADV-FSG man-NOM-FSG log-NOM-MPL

In contrast, the sentence (with a future temporal adverb and the two possible verbs reversed)

útanfi ixupnú utanfí pianxa ŋúxauf

means “The woman will collect firewood readily (with the appropriate tools).”

Comparisons

The proper way to form comparisons in Náŋifi Fasúxa is by placing two or more sentences next to one another.

úŋxasa itŋafí tíŋasu. úŋxasa atkamí aŋsixí tákati.

Today it is warm. The day before yesterday it was not warm.

Today is warmer than the day before yesterday.

ukŋatí múfaxu pumapú púmaup. úkŋati itŋafí aŋsixí múfaux ŋásiun.

Our (mpl) chief is great. Any (other) chief is not great.

Our (mpl) chief is the greatest.

Language Sample

This passage is taken from an epic about a young man curious (perhaps too curious) about the world outside the fertile mountain oases of his world. The second verse is about a similar young woman and her mother.

átkami átkami tíŋaxa kuŋása

ínxipi atkamí tákaxa ŋasipú ŋásipu:

ítŋafi itŋafí xípuxa pumafá púmasu

úmfasa múfaxu pumafá púmaup

átmaxi aŋsixí tamaxí kánaxi

átmapu aŋsixí tamapú kánapu

ípnapu afsuxá aŋsixí nátufi

ípnaxi afsuxá nátufi kanafú káanxi

íknafu kanafú múfaxa pumafá púmapu

úmfasa atkamí aŋsixí tíŋaxa tákaxa ŋasipú ŋásipu

úmfasa atkamí aŋsixí ŋásipu múfaxu mufaxá múfaxa

Once there was a young man.

His father said:

You are my son!

Obey our chief!

Do not go down to the valley wasteland.

Do not go up to the mountain wasteland.

You will not survive.

You will perish in the wasteland.

Remain in our village!

The young man* did not obey his father.

He did not obey the chief of the village.

Notes: tíŋaxa in the penultimate line strictly means "adult", but here it is short for tíŋaxa kuŋása, "young man" from the first line.

átakmi atakmí tiaŋxa kuáŋsa

ínixpi atakmí táakxa ŋaispú ŋáispu:

ítaŋfi itaŋfí xiupxa puamfá puamsu

úmafsa múfaxu pumafá puamup

átamxi aŋisxí tamaxí kánaxi

átampu aŋisxí tamapú kánapu

ípanpu afusxá aŋisxí náutfi

ípanxi afusxá náutfi kanafú káanxi

íkanfu kanafú múfaxa pumafá puamup

úmafsa atakmí aŋisxí tiaŋxa táakxa ŋaispú ŋáispu

úmafsa atakmí aŋisxí ŋáispu múfaxu mufaxá múfaxa

Once there was a young woman.

Her mother said:

You are my daughter!