Náŋifi Fasúxa

Have mercy; I'm rusty on wiki editing. This is just an initial infodump.

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

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). There are also six diphthongs (ai [aj], au [aw], iu [ju], ia [ja], ui [wi], ua [wa]. The acute accent on a vowel indicates stress and a rising pitch; the unmarked vowels have a falling pitch.

A peculiarity of Náŋifi Fasúxa is the ability of the syllables in its three-syllable roots to flip form CV to VC depending on the use of the root in the sentence. 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 [kwa.ŋit] has stress on the flipped radical medial syllable -aŋ-, even though the realization of the stress is on the initial syllable of the word as pronounced. (I would be grateful for any help in more effective wording)

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 [pi.na.xa] man

pínaax [pi.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 [pi.na.xa ku.ŋa.ti] a great man

pínaax kuŋáit [pi.na:x ku.ŋajt] great men

pianxa kuáŋti [pjan.xa kwaŋ.ti] a great woman

pianax kuáŋit [pja.nax kwa.ŋit] great women

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 [pa.ŋa.sa ta.ma.pu mu.fa.xa] the house above the camp

paaŋas taamíx múfaxa [ta:.mix pa:.ŋas] 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 [at.ma.xi pi.na.xa ku.ŋa.ti] a great man descends

átmaix pínaax kuŋáit [at.majx pi.na:x ku.ŋajt] great men descend

átamxi pianxa kuáŋti [a.tam.xi pjan.xa kwaŋ.ti] a great woman descends

átamix pianax kuáŋit [a.ta.mix pja.nax kwa.ŋit] great women descend

An active verb may function as an adjective after a noun. Thus:

tu'nais a'xauk [tu.najs a.xawk] the burnt stones

Passive Verbs: Passive verbs are accented on the medial syllable. They agree in gender and number with the subject.

Adverbs: Adverbs (including the tense marking adverbs) are accented on the final syllable. They agree in gender and number with the verb they modify.

Pronouns: There are three pronominal roots (ŋasipu, natufi, pumafa), which inflect for gender and number.