Arahau
Arahau [ara'xaŭ] is an a priori constructed language created by Russian writer Ivan Karasev in 2006.
The Arahau language is polysynthetic and typologically active. This is unlike most artificial languages. Each vowel designates a noun, and consonants designate grammatical formants. This system often lets Arahau produce compact speech. Arahau has been found to have similarities with Basque and Nakh-Dagestanian languages.
Arahau is a minimal language. It has 26 phonemes (not including diphthongs and triphthongs) and about 100 main root words. Grammar is minimally inflected. The valency of a verb and word order determine case, because it is an active-stative language. Auxiliary formants mark constructions such as questions, negative polarity, and grammatical aspects. Arahau has a system of noun classes. They are marked by vowels (a – the humans, u – the animals, i – the plants, o – the names etc.).
Arahau is inspired by natural philosophy and dualism. There are only two grammatical genders, tenses (real and irreal), grammatical numbers, personal pronouns (near and far), grammatical cases (translative case and possessive), parts of speech (the verb and the noun) etc.
Arahau uses only the Subject Verb Object (SVO) word order.
Alphabet
The alphabet and reading Arahau's alphabet is Latin. It has 27 letters:
- A, Ä, B, C, D, E, Ë, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, Ö, P, R, S, T, U, Ü, V, Y, Z
which correspond to 27 sounds. There are ten vowels and seventeen consonants.
Each letter corresponds to one phoneme (one precise sound). Pronunciation does not depend on a letter's position in a word. In particular, consonants at the end of a word are never silenced, and vowels do not change. The accent in words varies and falls, as a rule, on a root verb.
The pronunciation of practically all letters can be assumed without special preparation (M, N, K, etc.) The pronunciation of others is significant:
- Ä [ʲa], Ö [ʲo], Ü [ʲu] as in German.
- Y [ɨ].
- Ë [ʲe].
- Е [e].
- H [x] the fricative sound [kh].
- J as in the word 'yard'.
- С – an affricate [ts].
Arahau uses double consonants (geminates), even at the beginning of a word. The structure of words is not uniform: There can be congestions of consonants, both in the beginning, and in the end. The usual construction of a word that consists of a maximal cluster is сссVссс.
Diphthongs
The phonologic system besides 10 vowels includes 10 diphthongs which also as well as vowels designate nouns:
- au, ao, ae, ai, ou, oe, oi, oa, ei, ea
10 long diphthongs (triphthongs) serving for formation of plural:
- uau, uao, uae, uai, uou, uoe, uoi, uoa, uei, uea
And four labial diphthongs which are facultative and serve for specification of sense:
- ua, uo, ue, ui.
Diacritic
Diacritic (á, é, í, ó, ú, ý) serves for a designation of the intense (guttural) vowels at formation of categories of tense in verbs. Letters (ă, ŏ) designate the unessential vowels inserted for correction of harmony. And letters (â, ê, î, ô, û) are usually used in dictionaries for marks of roots and also are facultative.
Examples
Lord's Prayer
- Our Father in heaven,
- hallowed be your name,
- your kingdom come,
- your will be done,
- on earth as in heaven.
- Give us today our daily bread.
- Forgive us our sins
- as we forgive those who sin against us.
- Save us from the time of trial
- and deliver us from evil.
- For the kingdom, the power,
- and the glory are yours
- now and for ever. Amen.
- Ëttange msuohusoer
- Msfarfésarkv músgausaskecö
- Soisiragsaguastaa coezetlo cosareasguoastaa
- Ctaarë’skuoastaa. Coslavadorfaat
- Nsaulsyrtaakl marcozusfarfsopl.
