Middle Nyángar
Phonology
Phonemes
Consonants
Middle Nyángar contrasts 28 different consonant sounds:
| Consonants | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bilabial | Labiodent. | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal | ||||||||||
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | |||||||||||||
| Nasal Geminate | m: | n: | ŋ: | |||||||||||||
| Plosive | p | b | t | d | g | q | ʔ | |||||||||
| Plosive Geminate | g: | |||||||||||||||
| Ejective | tʼ | qʼ | ||||||||||||||
| Implosive | ɓ | ɗ | ||||||||||||||
| Fricative | ɸ | v | s̺ | s̻ | ʁ | |||||||||||
| Fricative Geminate | s̺: | |||||||||||||||
| Lateral Fricative | ɬ | |||||||||||||||
| Lateral Approximant | l | |||||||||||||||
| Approximant | w | j | ||||||||||||||
Vowels
Despite the moderate consonant inventory, the language only contrasts 3 vowel qualities, also contrasting short and long quantities.
| Vowels | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Front | Central | Back | ||||||||
| Close | i(:) | u(:) | ||||||||
| Open | a(:) | |||||||||
There are also 3 diphthongs, each with a corresponding long diphthong:
/ɑe æu øy/ and /ɑ:e æ:u ø:y/
Allophony
There is a lot of allophony with respect to vowels in Nyángar, which can lead to very bad pronunciations if left out or forgotten. This list is not completely exhaustive yet, and will be continually added on to
Consonants
p -> p: (unconditionally)
s̺j s̻j s̺:j -> ʂ ɕ ʂ:
s̺ -> ʃ / V_(C,#)
ŋ ŋ: -> ɲ ɲ: / '_F
p t q -> pʰ tʰ qʰ / '_V
C' -> C̚ / _#
v -> β / mutation from ɸ
ʔ -> j / F_
m -> 0 / _(C,#) in inflectional affixes and often in all other cases
l -> ɫ / B_#
0 -> k / ŋ_[+plosive, -voice]
ʁ -> χ / next to voiceless
n -> n̩ / C_# where cluster not allowed
ɓ ɗ g: -> p: t’ q’ / next to voiceless consonants
nasal assimilation
Vowels
u -> ʏ / _[+labial]
u u: -> ʉ ʉ: (unconditionally)
V: -> V / _ʔ
ɑːe -> ʌi̯ / (q, q’, ʔ)_
ɑːe -> ɑːe̯ / “_.
ɑ -> ɐ / unstressed
æːu -> ɛy̯ / unstressed
i -> ɨə̯ / unstressed
øy -> œ / unstressed _[+ejective, implosive, or geminate]
V -> V~ / _N
æu -> ɛu̯ / unstressed
ɑː -> ɔ̯ə / “_.
iː -> ɐi̯ / unstressed
y̯j -> ɥ / V_V
ə̯j -> j / V_V
y̯ ə̯ i̯ -> ɥ w j / V_V
iː -> i / _C.
øːy -> ɛːy̯ / “_
uː -> ʉ / unstressed
ɑ -> ɐ̥ / s̻_#, [+implosive or +ejective]_#, #_.[+approximant]V
iː -> ɨi̯ / unstressed (even _C)
øːy -> ɛu̯ / unstressed
i -> ɪ̥ / unstressed #_.[+approximant]V
øy -> œʏ̯ / unstressed open
ɑːe -> ɑe / _C#
ɑːe -> ɔːe̯ / stressed open, when spelled <ei>
ɑː -> ɑ / _C.
iː -> i / _j
Orthography
Middle Nyángar uses a modified version of the Latin alphabet in writing. It is a somewhat deep orthography, that is, there is no one-to-one correspondence between phoneme and grapheme. Here are the phonemes again with their corresponding graphemes.
| Consonants | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phoneme | Grapheme | ||||||||
| m, m: | m | ||||||||
| n, n: | n | ||||||||
| ŋ, ŋ: | ng | ||||||||
| p | p, ph | ||||||||
| b, ɓ | b | ||||||||
| t | t | ||||||||
| d, ɗ | d | ||||||||
| g, g: | g | ||||||||
| q | c, k | ||||||||
| ʔ | h | ||||||||
| t' | t, th | ||||||||
| q' | c, k, kh | ||||||||
| ɸ | f | ||||||||
| v | v | ||||||||
| s̺, s̺: | s | ||||||||
| s̻ | z | ||||||||
| ʁ | r | ||||||||
| ɬ | l, lh | ||||||||
| l | l | ||||||||
| w | w | ||||||||
| j | j | ||||||||
| Vowels | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phoneme | Grapheme | ||||||||
| ɑ | a, ä | ||||||||
| i | i, ï ie | ||||||||
| u | o, u, ü | ||||||||
| ɑ: | ai, oe | ||||||||
| i: | e, ë, ee, ui | ||||||||
| u: | iu, ue, uu | ||||||||
| ɑe | ia, í | ||||||||
| æu | eu, ou | ||||||||
| øy | o, ö, eo | ||||||||
| ɑ:e | ae, ei, í | ||||||||
| æ:u | á, io, ou, oou | ||||||||
| ø:y | á, ou, oou, ú | ||||||||
Spelling
In general, spelling is quite straightforward; it just so happens that there are multiple ways to write many of the sounds, and in a few cases, some spellings have multiple pronunciations. There aren't any patterns to this, spelling just has to be learned with pronunciation.
The diaeresis (ä ë ï ö ü) has a specialized function. As you can see, each single vowel has a diaersis counterpart that is pronounced essentially the same as its non-diaeresis version. The diaeresis is only used when a vowel follows another vowel and it creates two syllables, rather than a diphthong.
In general, a glide is inserted in between the two vowels in pronunciation (either [j w ɥ]). Those that introduce a [j] are: aï, aë, eä, eö, eü. Those that introduce a [w] are: aü, iä, iö, iü. Those that introduce a [ɥ] are: oä, oë, öi.
There are also some unusual spelling quirks that are introduced due to the diaeresis, shown in the table below:
| Irregular Spelling | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Should be | Is Spelled | ||||||||
| aä | a, aa | ||||||||
| aö | o | ||||||||
| eë | ee | ||||||||
| eï | ee | ||||||||
| ië | ee | ||||||||
| iï | ee | ||||||||
| oö | oou | ||||||||
| oü | oou | ||||||||
| uö | uu | ||||||||
| uü | uu | ||||||||
In general, these are pronounced as would be expected: aa [ɑ:], ee [i:], oou [æ:u] or [ø:y], uu [u:] (when the ö comes from [u])
Additionally, uä, uë, uï, uö are pronounced [ɥɑ], [ɥi:], [ɥi], [ɥø] (when the ö derives from [øy])
The diaeresis is place exactly where the vowel combination should be broken up, with the vowel carrying the diaeresis starting the new syllable. Thus aëi would be broken up /a.i:/ whereas aeï would be broken up /ɑ:e.i/
The -ie rule
There is one very simple spelling rule involving words ending with -ie. Whenever a suffix is attached to the word that begins with a vowel, the -e is dropped, leaving just -i.
For example, the noun zeurie ('moon, night') normally ends with -ie, but when the conjunction suffix -o is added to form an adjective, the new form will not be *zeurieö, but instead zeuriö.
The multiple diaeresis rule
It frequently happens that, via completely regular morphology, one will end up with vowel combinations such as aüë. In general, these happen with a ü in the middle, as it is most frequently seen in the derivational morphology that changes a verb to a noun/adjective. In these instances, if the middle vowel is a front vowel (e, i), it turns into a y, while if the middle vowel is a back vowel (a, o, u), it turns into a w. This is true even if the value of the middle sound is not [j] or [w].
Thus the genitive form of, for example, the word luëkha, which would through regular morphology be *yaüëkhal, instead be yawekhal, pronounced /jɑ.u.iː.ˈqʼɑl/ [jɐ.ɥɨi̯.ˈqʰʼɑɫ]. These instances must be learned and memorized as exceptions to the orthography.
Morphology
Nyángar has a fairly complex morphological system, with both nouns and verbs having multiple inflection paradigms.
Lenition
The first thing one has to understand in order to understand the inflectional morphology of Nyángar is its system of lenition when various prefixes are added to nouns and verbs. It is an easy system to understand, fortunately. Simply put, if the first sound in a word is a consonant (or one of the first two, since lenition affects consonant clusters as well), it will undergo the following change when a prefix ending with a vowel is affixed to the word:
| Original | Lenited | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| p: | ɓ | ||||||||
| b, ɓ | m, ʔ | ||||||||
| t, tʼ | d, ɗ | ||||||||
| d, ɗ | n, ʔ | ||||||||
| g, g: | ŋ, ŋ: | ||||||||
| q, qʼ | g, g: | ||||||||
| m m: | 0, m | ||||||||
| n, n: | 0, n | ||||||||
| ŋ, ŋ: | 0, ŋ | ||||||||
| ʔ | 0 | ||||||||
| ɸ | β~v | ||||||||
| v | w | ||||||||
| s̺, s̺:, s̻ | j, s̺, j | ||||||||
| ʁ, l, w, j | 0 | ||||||||
| ɬ | l | ||||||||
Nominal Morphology
Nouns have overt markings for 3 different cases: nominative, genitive, and oblique. (See Syntax for a description of the use of each case)
There are 12 different morphological classes in Nyángar, based on the phonological form of the noun. Here is a brief description of each of the twelve, using example words to highlight the features of each class.
| Nominative | Genitive | Oblique | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| daisa | yanaisal | daisaï | ||||||||||||
| hapou | yeäpou | hapouni | ||||||||||||
| ngúvuil | iúvuilan | ngúvuili | ||||||||||||
| sriät | seeät(<siïät) | sriäti | ||||||||||||
| mluehon | miüehon | mluehoe | ||||||||||||
| dlafe | inaafe(<inaäfe) | dlafem | ||||||||||||
| zeurie | yazeurie | zeuri | ||||||||||||
| iegmús | iegmús(<yiegmús) | iegmúsi | ||||||||||||
| mbevra | iämevral | mbevrae | ||||||||||||
| keito | igeitolu | keitom | ||||||||||||
| abná | iabnáru | abnám | ||||||||||||
| ceotha | iceotha | ceotha | ||||||||||||
Class I, aka the 'daisa'-like nouns, all have in common that they begin with a single consonant and end with a short (single) vowel. Their forms are quite straightforward, with the genitive form circumfixing a ya-...-l plus lenition of the first consonant, and the oblique form simply prefixing a -ï. Remember that nouns of this class ending in -i will not end in -iï, but instead -ee due to spelling rules. Thus a noun such as nomi will have an oblique form of nomee.
Class II, aka the 'hapou'-like nouns, have a form beginning with a single consonant and ending with a diphthong of any length. Again, the forms are fairly straightforward: the genitive prefixes a ye- (plus lenition), and the oblique form suffixes a -ni.
Class III, the 'ngúvuil'-like nouns, begin and end with a consonant. This class also includes nouns that end in a consonant cluster. Nouns in this class will take a i-...-an circumfix (plus lenition) in the genitive and -i suffix in the oblique.
Class IV, the 'sriät' nouns, begin with a consonant cluster, and end in a consonant. This can include nouns that both begin and end with a consonant cluster. This class is a little bit tricky, because the genitive form actually breaks up the consonant cluster, thus a noun of the form CCV... will have a genitive form of CiCV..., with the second consonant undergoing lenition. The oblique form only adds a -i to the base form.
Class V, the 'mluehon' nouns, begin with a consonant cluster, and end in a single consonant (this does not include nouns that end in consonant clusters). Similarly to Class IV, the genitive form breaks up the consonant cluster from CCV... to CiCV..., while the oblique will delete the final consonant and add a -e. Note that this has the affect of changing the pronunciation of the final vowel, rather than creating another syllable.
Class VI, the 'dlafe'-type nouns, begin with a consonant cluster and end in a long (single) vowel. Just like the previous two classes, the genitive form splits up the cluster: CCV... becomes iCaCV..., with both consonants undergoing lenition. The oblique simply prefixes an -m.
Class VII, the 'zeurie' nouns, begin with a single consonant and end with a short vowel or diphthong. The genitive prefixes a ya-, with accompanying lenition, and the oblique replaces the final vowel/diphthong with a -i. (Note that due to this, sometimes the nominative and oblique will have the same form!)
Class VIII, the 'iegmús'-type nouns, begin with a short vowel or diphthong, and end with a consonant or consonant cluster. The genitive prefixes a y- (which is subsequently deleted if the first vowel is ie- or i-; this leads to some words having identical nominative and genitive forms), and the oblique suffixes -i.
Class IX, the 'mbevra'-type nouns, begin with a consonant cluster and end with a short vowel (this does not include diphthongs). The genitive form breaks up the cluster, from CCV... to iCaCV..., with lenition, as well as suffixing a -l. The oblique form adds a -e, which changes the pronunciation of the vowel, similar to Class V.
Class X, the 'keito' nouns, have a form beginning with a single consonant and ending in a diphthong of any length. The oblique form circumfixes a i-...-lu, with lenition, and the oblique form suffixes a -m (remember that in inflected forms, this translates to a nasalization of the vowel. Do not pronounce the -m!)
Class XI, the 'abná'-type nouns, begin with a short single vowel and end with a diphthong of any length. The genitive circumfixes a i-...-ru (noting that the i- changes the vowel sound again!), and the oblique suffixes a -m.
Finally, Class XII, the 'ceotha' nouns, is made up exclusively of borrowed words, and therefore has no single form. The genitive form is i-, with no lenition (and a diaeresis on the first vowel, if the word begins with a vowel), and the oblique form is indistinguishable from the nominative.
NOTE: For all the classes that add an -i in the oblique (Classes I, II, III, IV, VII, and VIII), this ending is not pronounced /i/ as would be expected, but instead as /i:/. This is an irregularity that just needs to be remembered.
Verbal Morphology
Verbs conjugate for person and number. There are 3 of each: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person, and singular, dual, and plural.
There are 4 classes of verbs. Like nouns, each verb is classified according to its form. Luckily for verbs, there are only 3 patterns, and 1 class of irregular verbs that could look like any of the previous three.
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| fehís | ivehís | fehíseum | |||||||||||||||||
| vavehís | fehísie | fehístu | |||||||||||||||||
| iovehíst | fehísot | fehíst | |||||||||||||||||
This is a typical Class I verb, which begins with a single consonant (nothing else matters). Lenition occurs on this first consonant according to the chart whenever a prefix is attached to the word, i.e. in the 2nd person singular, 3rd person singular, and 1st person dual. All other forms only add a suffix (NOTE, however, that the 3rd person singular adds both a prefix AND a suffix!)
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| oulam | iyoulam | oulamem | |||||||||||||||||
| woulam | oulamie | oulamda | |||||||||||||||||
| iyoulamn | oulamza | oulamt | |||||||||||||||||
This is a typical Class II verb. All Class II verbs begin with a vowel or diphthong, of any length.
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| dvúra | iniwúra | dvúraëm | |||||||||||||||||
| dawúra | dvúraïe | dvúrato | |||||||||||||||||
| iniwúrat | dvúrato | dvúrat | |||||||||||||||||
This is an example of the Class III paradigm, i.e. verbs that begin with a consonant cluster. Note how the 2nd person singular, 3rd person singular, and 1st person dual split up the consonant cluster, comparable to nouns that begin with a consonant cluster.
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mae | iwá | myaëm | |||||||||||||||||
| awá | maïe | maitie | |||||||||||||||||
| iewá | mait | myait | |||||||||||||||||
Class IV verbs are irregular, meaning their stem changes depending on what person/number combination is being represented. In general, several forms will have the same or very similar roots: the 2nd person singular, 3rd person singular, and 1st person dual; the 1st and 3rd person plural, etc.
