Qanao language/Messy

The Qanao language (Qanao: classical: qana'öžjinaet [qanaʔo.ʒ̞jɪnaət]) is an in-progress conlang.

Phonology

Consonants

p	t	ť	k	q	`
p	t	c	k	q	ʔ
b	d	ď	g
mb	nd	ɲɟ	ŋg
m	n	ň	ŋ	γ
m	n	ɲ	ŋ	ɴ
φ	c	č
pɸ	ʦ	ʧ
f	s	š			h
ɸʰ	sʰ	ʃʰ			h
v	z	ž
β̞	z̞	ʒ̞
w	r	ř	y
w	ɹ	ɹʲ	ʔj
	l	ľ
	l	ʎ

Vowels

i	í	ji	jí	e	u	ú	wu	wú
i	i:	ʲjɪ	ʲji:	ə	u	u:	ʷʊ	ʷu:
a	á	ja	já	ö	o	ó	wo	wó
a	a:	ʲja	ʲja:	o	ɔ	ɔ:	ʷɔ	ʷɔ:

• Final o is realised as [o].

Eastern sound shifts

• ji [ʲjɪ] → e [ʲe]
• jí [ʲji:] → é [ʲe:]
• e [ə] → j [ɪ] after front vowels, w [ʊ] after back vowels.
• u [u] → u [ɯ]
• ú [u] → ú [ɯ:]
• wu [ʷʊ] → ü [u]
• wú [ʷu:] → û [u:]
• ja [ʲja] → jä [ʲæ] ~ [ʲɛ]
• já [ʲja:] → jä [ʲæ:] ~ [ʲɛ:]
• ó [ɔ:] → ó [o:]
• wó [ʷɔ:] → wó [ʷo:]

• i* [i*] → j´ [j*:]
• ui [ui] → üi [yi]
• ue [uə] → üw [yʊ]
• wui [ʷʊi] → wi [ʷi]
• wue [ʷʊə] → wu [ʷu]

• causes nasalisation of previous vowel (does not operate through interword boundaries)
• b [mb] → b [b]; m [m] if preceded by nasal consonants or nasalised vowels (previous syllable starts with a nasal consonant)
• d [nd] → d [d]; n [n] if preceded by nasal consonants or nasalised vowels
• ď [ɲɟ] → ď [ɟ]; ň [ɲ] if preceded by nasal consonants or nasalised vowels
• g [ŋg] → g [g]; ŋ [ŋ] if preceded by nasal consonants or nasalised vowels

• note: following vowel has high tone
• w [w] → w [ʍ]
• r [ɹ] → r [ɹ̥]
• ř [ɹʲ] → ř [ɹ̥ʲ]

• note: following vowel has low tone
• v [β̞] → v [w]
• z [z̞] → z [ɹ]
• ž [ʒ̞] → ž [ɹʲ]

• note: following vowel has high tone
• q [q] → q [k] before front vowels, w, and finally; ` [ʔ] before back vowels.
• γ [ɴ] → ` [ʔ]; n [n] after alveolar consonants, ň after palatal consonants, ŋ after velar consonants and q.

Grammar

Word formation

Classifiers

Although changing classifiers is generally not productive, it is possible to imagine that it once was, giving rise to such sets of words as zal (water), žjil (blood), zál (lake), zil (clear), zúl (melt).

• xax - (n1) general: qanae` "Qanae"; patuek "tree"; zael "water"
• xjax - (n2) living things: qjanae` "Qjanae"
• xáx - (n3) permanent things: ázael "ocean"; ápatuek "forest"
• xox - (n4) artificial objects: noet "writing"
• xjix - (n5) transcendecent: žjinaet "language"; yiôsúer "universe"; kjimi "world"
• xix - (adj) qualities: niet "to be happy"; iökiem "to be universal"
• xux - (vt) transitive actions: numúet "to cause to die"; muziel "to make clear, to declare"
• xúx - (vi) intransitive actions: múet "to die"; fúzael "to rain"

Prefixes

In contrast, prefixes are much more productive, yielding such things as muzúl (liquify), fúzal (rain), ázal (ocean).

Conjugation

Examples

			n.	vb.	adj.
0	Infix stem		za.l	múfú.r	iöki.m
1	Stem		zal-	múfúr-	iökim-
2	Sentence-medial		-	múfúr	iökim
3	Sentence-terminal		-	-	-
4	Infinitive	n.	-	múfú.r-	-
5	Derived adjective	q.	ázai.l-	múfúi.r-	iöki.m-
6	Adverbial modifier	q.	ázaul	múfúr	iökium
7a	Compounding (with noun)		ázalö-	múfúrö-	iökimi-
7b	Compounding (with non-noun)				iokimö-

Forms

• pr. - predicate, any of:
  • p.t. - terminal predicate (not always - there are some auxilliaries that attach to these)
  • p.s. - stem predicate
• ⁿ - suffix attaches to base specified in superscript instead of in the base column.
• _a - vowel specified in subscript appears only to break illegal consonant clusters.

	Type	Base	1	2	3	4	5	6	7a	7b
Indicative	p.s.	vb-1	ø	-	-	-	-	-	ö
		q-1				i.d			i	ö
Identitive	p.s.	n-1	ø	-	-	a.r	-	-	rö
		vb-1	ad			u.d			dö
		q-1				i.d			di	dö
Present	p.t.	ps-1	a	ar	a	-	ai.r	ar	-
Past	p.t.	ps-1	i	id	i	-	i.r	id	-
Timeless	p.t.	ps-1	á	ám	á	-	á.r	ám	-
Future	p.t.	ps-1	ja	jav	ja	-	jai.r	jav	-
Irrealis	p.s.	ps-1	já	jáh	já	-	já.r	jáh	-
Counterfactual	p.s.	ps-1	í	íf	í	-	í.r	íf	-
Approximative	q.	n-5-1	ø	-	-	-	-	6ø	1i	ö
		vb-5-1
		ps-1	is	-	-	-	-	us	si	sö
Perfective	p.s.	pr-1	ic	uc	-	cu.r	ci.r	uc	-
Negative	p.s.	pr-1	iz	uz	-	zu.r	zi.r	uz	-
Incorporative	p.s.	ps-1	av	-	-	u.v	i.v	uv	-
Subjunctive	p.s.	ps-1	b	b	-	-	-	-	bi	bö

Miscellaneous

C: kómulnumútbö'ómúniťja

• kó (hon. / 2nd person) +
• mul (3rd person + acc.) +
• nu "to cause" (tr. prefix) +
• mút "to die" (intr. stem) +
• bô (cond. cont.) +
• 'ö (hum. / 1st person) +
• mú "to become" (intr. prefix) +
• niťja "to be happy" (adj. ind. future)

~ "I will become happy if you cause him to die." ~ "I will be happy if you kill him." ~ "Please kill him."

"Universal declaration of human rights" ~ C: ňja'imanöpjinirö'iökimimuziel

• ňja'i "person" (liv. + qual. mod.) +
• manö "living thing" (n. gen. cont.) +
• pji "things that are always" (transc. prefix) +
• nirö "to be permitted" (qual. gen. cont.) +
• 'iö "all" (adj. cont'v. prefix) +
• kimi "global" (adj. mod.) +
• mu "to cause to become" (tr. prefix) +
• ziel "to be clear" (adj. inf. voc.)

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

C: ir ňja'imaen múguirľjaq pjinirľjaq liruiq iösimuiq múfúrá.

• ir "all" (adj. mod. word)
• ňja'imaen "human being" (voc., topic)
  • ňja'i "person-like" (liv. qual. mod.)
  • maen "thing" (n. voc., topic)
• múfúrá "to be born" (intr. vb. + ind. aorist)
  • mú "to cause" (intr. prefix)
  • fúrá "to exist/live" (intr. ind. aorist)
• liruiq "free" (adv. mod. word + concat.)
• iösimuiq "equal" (adv. mod. word + concat.)
  • iö "all" (adj. cont'v. prefix)
  • simui "to be similar" (adj. adv. mod. cont.)
  • q (concat.)
• múguirľjaq "respect" (intr.-erg. + concat.)
  • mú "to cause" (intr. prefix)
  • guirľja "to raise" (tr. qual. intr.-erg. cont.)
  • q (concat.)
• pjinirľjaq "right" (intr.-erg. + concat.)
  • pji "things that are always" (transc. prefix)
  • nirľja "to be permitted" (qual. intr.-erg. cont.)
  • q (concat.)

C: dirikö'úmliq liöqjatliq qóqútötúdár

• dirikö'úimliq "ability to think logically" (tr.-acc. + concat.)
  • di "to be able" (adj. prefix)
  • rikö "to be logical" (qual. cont.)
  • úimľji "to think" (intr. qual. tr.-acc. cont.)
  • q (concat.)
• liöqjatliq "conscience" (tr.-acc. + concat.)
  • liö "good" (adj. cont'v. prefix)
  • qjatľji "heart" (liv. tr.-acc. cont.)
  • q (concat.)
• qóqutötúdár "received (from Designer)" (intr. vb. + ind. aorist cont.)
  • qó (respective prefix)
  • qutö "to lower" (tr. cont.)
  • túdár "to receive" (intr. vb. + ind. aorist cont.)

~ much more to do