Plitnakya [pʰliʦ̺nakja] is a highly endangered language isolate spoken by about 2,000 people in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland It has a complex, polysythetic morphology that is very unusual for Europe and is likely a relic of the first people to populate Britain after the Pleistocene Glaciation.
Phonology
Plitnakya is unusual in that it contrasts between Laminal-Dental and Aplical-Alveolar points of articulation and has no rhotic. It has a root structure of (F)(C)(F|L)V(F|L)(C) where C is any consonant, F is a fricative, and L is a liquid or nasal.
IPA
|
Labial |
Dental |
Alveolar |
Palatal |
Velar
|
| Stops, plain |
p |
t̻ |
t̺ |
ʧ |
k
|
| Stops, aspirated |
pʰ |
t̻ʰ |
t̺ʰ |
ʧʰ |
kʰ
|
| Fricatives |
f |
θ |
s |
ʃ |
x
|
| Nasals |
m |
n |
|
| Liquids |
w |
l |
j |
|
Plain stops and fricatives are voiced when between two voiced phonemes. /l/ is velarized when it follows a back vowel and is [ɾ] between vowels. /t̻ʰ t̺ʰ/ are realized as [tθ ʦ] between vowels and before nasals.
|
Front |
Center |
Back
|
| High |
i iː |
|
u uː
|
| Mid |
e eː |
|
o oː
|
| Low |
aj |
a aː |
aw
|
Orthography
|
Labial |
Dental |
Alveolar |
Palatal |
Velar
|
| Stops, plain |
b |
dh |
d |
j |
g
|
| Stops, aspirated |
p |
th |
t |
c |
k
|
| Fricatives |
f |
z |
s |
sh |
h
|
| Nasals |
m |
n |
|
| Liquids |
w |
l |
y |
|
|
Front |
Center |
Back
|
| High |
i ii |
|
u uu
|
| Mid |
e ee |
|
o oo
|
| Low |
ai |
a aa |
au
|
Nouns
Nouns fall into an Animancy Hierarchy of 2nd Person < 1st Person < people < non-person animates < natural forces < other Inanimates. There is no case marking.
Number
Nominal number is marked by a prefix on the noun. There are 3 numbers: Singular, Dual, and Plural. Mass nouns do not inflect for number but are instead required to be compounded with a measure word. Singular is unmarked
|
C-Stem |
V-Stem
|
| Dual |
tha- |
th-
|
| Plural |
he |
sh-
|
Possessive inflection
Who posseses a noun, if any, is marked as a suffix following the noun. Some nouns, mainly those that are usually inalienably possessed, must be marked as possessed, if only marked with the indefinite inflection.
|
1st Person Incl. |
1st Person Incl. |
2nd Person |
3rd person |
4th Person |
Indefinite
|
| Singular |
|
-na |
-ga |
-ca |
-soa |
-olu
|
| Plural |
|
-aga |
-aka |
-acca |
-asho |
-klu
|
