Qwynegold

Qwynegold is an artlang, spoken in the island of Qwynegold, which is located in the Malackan strait. The language has borrowed heavily from European languages, as well as its neighboring Asian languages. Qwynegold has two main dialect groups: Quadralónia /kwad.ra.loˑ.nia/ and Qwadralónia /kwʌd.ra.loˑ.nia/.

Qwynegold
Pronounced:	/kwy̟.ne.gold/
Timeline and Universe:	Real world, modern time
Species:	Human
Spoken:	Demokrītivas Kyngestāt r'Qwynegold/Demokriites Kyngestaat r'Qwynegold
Total speakers:	Appr. 46,000
Writing system:	Extended Latin alphabet
Genealogy:	Isolate
Typology
Morphology:	{{{morph}}}
Morphosyntax:	{{{ms}}}
Word order:	SVO
Credits
Creator:	Qwynegold
Created:	1998 (?) - 2009

---

Phonology

Consonants
	Bilabial		Labiod.		Dental		Alveolar		Post-alv.		Palatal		Velar		Glottal
Nasal		m						n						ŋ
Plosive	p	b					t	d					k	g
Fricative			f	v			s	z	ʃ		ɕ		ɧ		h
Affricate							ts		tʃ	dʒ
Velar cluster		kw					ks
Long consonant							tt	nː lː
Approximants												j		ɰ
Trill								r
Lateral Approximant								l

The above table shows the exact phonetic transcription of the vowels, but the following, simpler transcription will be used from here on:

Exact transcription	Simple transcription	Orthography
ɐ̞	a	a
ʌ̞	ʌ	a
e̠̽	e	e
e̝	e̝	e
ɪ̝	ɪ	i
i	i	i
o̜̽	o	o
o̹˖	o̹	o
u̜˕	u	u
u̹˖	u̹	u
ʏ̜˔	ʏ	y
y̹	y	y
æ̠	æ	ä/æ
ɛ̠˕	ɛ	ä/æ
ø̠̽	ø	ö/ø
œ̠	œ	ö/ø

Qwynegold has three length distinctions in vowels and two in consonants. The long consonants are considered to be in two different syllables at once, hence they are here transcribed as [p.p], [b.b], etc. There are three special long consonants that act as single phonemic units: [lː], [nː] and [tt]. These do not have a syllable break between them, like the others have. Besides the [lː], [nː] and [tt], the forms [l.l], [n.n] and [t.t] also exist.

Orthography

Alphabet and pronunciation

A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z, Ä ä/Æ æ, Ö ö/Ø ø,  ,  

Letter	Pronunciation
A a	a ʌ
B b	b
C c	s k
D d	d
E e	e e̝
F f	f
G g	g
H h	h
I i	i i̟
J j	j
K k	k
L l	l
M m	m
N n	n
O o	o o̟
P p	p
Q q	k
R r	r
S s	s
T t	t
U u	u u̟
V v	v
W w	w
X x	ks
Y y	y y̟
Z z	ts z
Ä ä Æ æ	æ ɛ
Ö ö Ø ø	ø œ
	ɧ
	ɕ

This is the order of the Qwynegoldian alphabet. The Quadralónia dialects use Ää and Öö, while the Qwadralónia dialects instead use Ææ and Øø. Half-long vowels are indicated by an acute accent (´) over the vowel in both dialects. Long vowel are marked by macron (¯) in Quadralónia, and by doubling the vowel in Qwadralónia.

Qwynegold also uses several digraphs as can be seen in this table (capital V stands for any vowel):

Digraph	Pronounciation
ch	tʃ
dz	dʒ
ng	ŋ
quV	kwV
sh	ʃ
xh	kʃ

Tense and lax phonemes

Lax	Tense	Letter
a	ʌ	a
e	e̟	e
i	i̟	i
o	o̟	o
u	u̟	u
y	y̟	y
æ	ɛ	ä/æ
ø	œ	ö/ø
ts	z	z

Some of the phonemes (16 vowels and 2 consonants) in Qwynegold come in pairs, which could be described as tense and lax. (Note however that Qwynegold does not have vowel harmony.) The lax phonemes are much more common than the tense ones. Both phonemes in a pair share the same letter, but whenever a tense phoneme appears in a word, it is indicated by a change of one of the other letters in the same syllable.

Ordinary letter	1° alternation	2° alternation
ch	zh	tsh
i	y
j	y
k	q	c
quV	kwV	qw
s	c
x	ks
xh	ksh
z	ts

If there are two tense phonemes in the same syllable, then two letters will alternate, if there are two letters that are capable of that. But if there is only one alternable letter, then it will turn into its 1° form. If there are three tense phonemes in one syllable, then a similar manner is used except with the 2° form.

Some examples with random syllables: lak /lak/ - laq /lʌk/ sen /sen/ - cen /se̟n/ syik /syik/ - cyik /sy̟ik/ - syiq /syi̟k/ - cyiq /sy̟i̟k/ chjuz /tʃjuts/ - chyuz /tʃju̟ts/ or /tʃjuz/ - zhyuz /tʃju̟z/ - tshjuz /tʃju̟z/

Silent <e> and <h>

Besides altering one of the other letters, there is another way to mark that a tense phoneme is present. If tense phoneme is in the last syllable of the word, a silent <e> may be added at the end of the word. If a word ends with an <e> that is supposed to be pronounced, then a silent <h> is added at the end of the word.

The letter <c>

The letter <c> stands for /s/ when followed directly or indirectly by <e>, <i>, <y>, <ä/æ> or <ö/ø> in the same syllable, or if it's syllable-final and preceded either directly or indirectly by any of the abovementioned vowels. In all other cases it stands for /k/. (The digraph <ch> however stands for/tʃ/.)

Grammars

Nouns

Type of noun declension	Declension	Prefix in Qwadralónia	Example in Qwadralónia	Prefix in Quadralónia	Example in Quadralónia
Number	Singular	-	medi house	-	medi house
Number	Plural	d'-	d'medi houses	d'-	d'medi houses
Case	Possessive	r'-	r'medi house's	r'-	r'medi house's
Case	Genitive	ér-		ér-

The thing that is possessed preceeds the noun with possessive or genitive case.

Verbs

Verbs in Qwynegold can end in -a, -i, -o, -n or -jn. The suffixes behave regularly when attached to vowel final verbs, but the -n and -jn class of verbs are a little different. In the following table, three verbs are used as examples: etoli (run), döyshän/duyshæn (*?) and trejn (train).

Type of verb conjugation	Conjugation	Affix in Qwadralónia	Example in Qwadralónia	Suffix in Quadralónia	Example in Quadralónia
Tense	Pluperfect	-(')tlan, -dlan	Ix etoli'tlan I had run Ix döyshäntlan *? Ix trejdlan I had trained	-(')tlan, -dlan	Ix etoli'tlan I had run Ix duyshæntlan *? Ix trejdlan I had trained
Tense	Present perfect	-(')tla, -dla	Ix etoli'tla I have run Ix döyshäntla *? Ix trejdla I have trained	-(')tla, -dla	Ix etoli'tla I have run Ix duyshæntla *? Ix trejdla I have trained
Tense	Preterite	-hye, -jye	Ix etolihye I ran Ix döyshänhye *? Ix trenjye I trained	-hye, -jye	Ix etolihye I ran Ix duyshænhye *? Ix trenjye I trained
Tense	Present simple	-h(e), -g	Ix etolih I run Ix döyshäng *? Ix trejng I train	-h(e), -g	Ix etolih I run Ix duyshæng *? Ix trejng I train
Tense	Future	-(')hwá	Ix etoli'hwá I will run Ix döyshänhwá *? Ix trejnhwá I will train	-huá	Ix etolihuá I will run Ix duyshænhuá *? Ix trejnhuá I will train
Tense	Future perfect	-(')hwán	Ix etoli'hwán I will have run Ix döyshänhwán *? Ix trejnhwán I will have trained	-huan	Ix etolihuan I will have run Ix duyshænhuan *? Ix trejnhuan I will have trained
	*Connecting	-tāw, -dāw	Ix hakaritāw etolih I begin to run *döyshäntāw *trejdāw	-taaw, -daaw	Ix hakaritaaw etolih I begin to run *duyshæntaaw *trejdaaw
Mood	Imperative	<lengthening of last vowel>, -ē-	Etolī Run! Döyshn *? Trejēn Train!	<lengthening of last vowel>, -ee	Etolii Run! Duyshææn *? Trejnee Train!
Derivation	Infinitive	-	etoli running döyshän *? trejn training	-	etoli running duyshæn *? trejn training

Adjectives

Comparison	Suffix in Qwadralónia	Example in Qwadralónia	Suffix in Quadralónia	Example in Quadralónia
Positive	-	guo - good lkongivas - forested terroevas - terrible	-	gao - good lkonges - forested øedhæides - terrible
Comparative	-ng	guong - better lkonging - more forested terroeng - more terrible	-lio	gaolio - better lkongelio - more forested øedhæidelio - more terrible
Superlative	-lao	guolao - best lkongilao - most forested terroelao - most terrible	-lao	gaolao - best lkongelao - most forested øedhæidelao - most terrible

Adjective morphophonology in Qwadralónia

Adjectives with the derivative ending -vas (see Derivation below) lose the -vas when the comparative or superlative suffix is added (if the derivative ending contains the epenthetic -i-, the -i- is kept however.

Adjective morphophonology in Quadralónia

Adjectives with the derivative ending -(d)es (see Derivation below) keep the -(d)e- but lose the -s when the comparative or superlative suffix is added.

Syntax

In an active voice sentence, the word order is SVO. Neither voice or what sentence element a noun belongs to is marked in Qwynegold. Pronouns however do have an accusative case.

Th heponen cö́gahe d'apleh.
Th	heponen	cö́ga-he	d'-apleh
the	horse	search-PRES	PL-apple
The horse is looking for apples.

La hestia cærhahe d'æpla.
La	hestia	cærha-he	d'-æpla
the	horse	search-PRES	PL-apple
The horse is looking for apples.

Transitivity is also unmarked, so intransitive sentences simply have the structure of SV.

Ix lin'gwahe nwon!
Ix	lin'gwa-he	nwon
I	speak-PRES	now
I'm speaking now!

Ix linggwahe nyije!
Ix	linggwa-he	nyije
I	speak-PRES	now
I'm speaking now!

Derivation

Name of derivation (if there exists any)	Function	Affix in Qwadralónia	Example in Qwadralónia	Affix in Quadralónia	Example in Quadralónia
Infinitive	Turns a verb into a noun (the act of doing X)	<verb is reduced to it's stem>	etoli > etol - run > running	<verb is reduced to it's stem>	etoli > etol - run > running
	Turns an adjective into a noun	<adjective is reduced to it's stem>	sardo > sard - red > redness	<adjective is reduced to it's stem>	sumhao > sumha - red > redness
	Turns a noun into an adjective (has the property of X)	-(i)vas, -i	vest > vestivas - west > western aqua > aquavas - water > watery lux > luxi - light (N.) > light (Adj.)	-(d)es, -i	vest > vestes - west > western aqua > aquades - water > watery lus > lusi - light (N.) > light (Adj.)
Past passive participle	Turns a verb into an adjective describing what something is subjected to	-uk	lin'gwa > lin'gwauk - speak > spoken döyshän > döyshänuk - *? trejn > trejnuk - train > trained	-<vowel length>t, -eet	linggwa > linggwaat - speak > spoken duyshæn > duyshæneet - *? trejn > trejneet - train > trained
Present active participle	Turns a verb into an adjective describing a person who is doing something (doer of X)	-i, -vas	lin'gwa > lin'gwai - speak > speaking etoli > etolivas - run > running döyshän > döyshäni - *? trejn > trejni - train > training	-i, -des	linggwa > linggwai - speak > speaking etoli > etolides - run > runnning duyshæn > duyshæni - *? trejn > trejni - train > training
	Turns an adverb into an adjective (has the property of being X)	-a, -wa	tau > taua - inside > (the) inside (one) hua > huawa - under > (the) bottom (one)	-a, -wa	tau > taua - inside > (the) inside (one) hua > huawa - under > (the) bottom (one)
	Turns a numeral into an adjective	-i	sixnull > sixnulli - sixty > sixty-year old; from the 1960s; etc.	-i	hexanull > hexanulli - sixty > sixty-year old; from the 1960s; etc.
	Turns a noun into a verb (do X)	-li	grāf > grāfli - writing > write	-sa, -l	grāf > grāfsa - writing > write mortua > mortual - murder (N.) > murder (V.)

There are two ways to form adjectives from nouns. The -i suffix is lexically determined to be used with certain words, while -(i)vas or -(d)es is the productive suffix.

The meaning of a numeral turned into an adjective is highly context-dependent. It could be used to descibe a person with a certain age, a thing related to a certain decade or century, a thing having a certain number of parts or certain measures.

Derivational morphophonology in Qwadralónia

When the adjectival -(i)vas suffix is used, the -i- is only included if the word the suffix is attached to ends with a consonant.

When forming the present active participle, the -vas suffix is only used on verbs that end with -i.

When turning adverbs into adjectives, the -a suffix is used when the adverb ends with -aV or a single vowel which is not a. The -wa suffix is used when the adverb ends with -a or -VV.

When turning a numeral into an adjective, and the numeral ends with a vowel, that last vowel is deleted, unless it is a halflong vowel.

Derivational morphophonology in Quadralónia

When the adjectival -(d)es suffix is used, the -d- is only included if the word the suffix is attached to ends with a vowel.

If the word that the past passive participle is attached to ends with a consonant, the suffix -eet is used.

When forming the present active participle, the -des suffix is only used on verbs that end with -i.

When turning adverbs into adjectives, the -a suffix is used when the adverb ends with -aV or a single vowel which is not a. The -wa suffix is used when the adverb ends with -a or -VV.

When turning a numeral into an adjective, and the numeral ends with a vowel, that last vowel is deleted, unless it is a halflong vowel.

When turning a noun into a verb, the -l suffix is used if the noun ends with a polyphthong, in all other cases the -sa suffix is used.