ʾAšdu Yat-Vṛḵaž
Vrkhazhian (ʾŠDDW YT-VṚḴẔKM, ʾĪšaddū Yat-Vṛḵaẕīkam) is a Northern Hašakam language that is spoken in the region known as Vṛḵaẕ. The earliest form of this language, known as Old Vrkhazhian, was spoken around 10 000 years ago.
Vrkhazhian ʾĪšaddū Yat-Vṛḵaẕīkam | |
---|---|
Pronounced: | /ʔiçadːu jat βɹ̩xaʝikam/ |
Spoken: | Vrkhazh (Vṛḵaẕ) |
Writing system: | ʾAlaḵḵav Yat-Vṛḵaẕīkam |
Genealogy: | Proto-Haṣakaṃ Languages
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Typology | |
Morphological type: | highly fusional, weakly agglutinative |
Morphosyntactic alignment: | nominative-accusative |
Basic word order: | SOV/VSO |
Credits | |
Creator: | Malcolm G. Holborne |
History
Dialects
Vrkhazhian has at least two major dialects and at least ten other minor dialects.
The table below lists two of the major dialects:
Dialect | Location |
---|---|
Ḵadačīkam | Centered around the city of Tam-Ḵadač |
ʾAlšardīkam | To the south of the city of Tam-Šamašet |
Ḵadačīkam is recognized as the standard dialect of writing and communication.
Phonology
Consonants
The table below shows the 44 consonant phonemes found in Vrkhazhian. When consonants appear in pairs, the voiceless counterpart appears on the left, and the voiced counterpart appears on the right:
Bilabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | Light | hm [ʰm~m̥] | hn [ʰn~n̥] | ||||
Plain | m [m] | n [n] | ṉ [ɴ] | ||||
Stop | Light | hp [ʰp] | ht [ʰt] | hk [ʰk] | hq [ʰq] | ||
Plain | p [p] b [b] | t [t] d [d] | k [k] g [g] | q [q] | ʾ [ʔ] | ||
Dark | ṗ [pʶ~pˤ] ḅ [bʶ~bˤ] | ṭ [tʶ~tˤ] ḍ [dʶ~dˤ] | |||||
Affricate | ḏ [t͡s] | č [t͡ɕ~c͡ç] j [d͡ʑ~ɟ͡ʝ] | |||||
Fricative | f [ɸ] v [β] | s [s] z [z] | š [ɕ~ç] ẕ [ʑ~ʝ] | ḵ [x] ğ [ɣ] | ḥ [χ~ħ] | h [h] | |
Approximant | Light | hr [ʰɹ~ʰɾ~ɹ̥] | |||||
Plain | r [ɹ~ɾ] | y [j] | w [w] | ||||
Trill | rr [r] | ṟ [ʀ] | |||||
Lateral Approximant | Light | hl [ʰl~l̥] | |||||
Plain | l [l] | ||||||
Dark | ḷ [lʶ~lˤ] | ||||||
Lateral Fricative | ḻ [ɬ~ɬʲ] |
Vowels
Front | Central | Back | |
---|---|---|---|
Close | ī [i] | i [ɨ] | ū [u] |
Mid | ē [e̞] | ə [ə] | ō [o̞] |
Open-mid | e [ɛ] | o [ɔ] | |
Open | a [a] |
IPA | Letter | Example |
---|---|---|
ae̯ | aẏ | like eye |
ao̯ | aẇ | like cow |
Allophony
In Vrkhazhian, the stop consonants /t d/ become [θ ð] in word-final positions if they occur before front vowels /ɛ e i/ and sometimes /a/ if it is part of an affix. The stop consonants /t d/ also become retroflexed [ʈ ɖ] if they occur before a labial approximant /w/. The consonant /h/ becomes [ç] before a palatal approximant /j/ and becomes [χ] when it is geminated.
Syllable structure
The syllable structure of Vrkhazhian is analyzed as (C)C(V)(C)(C), where C stands for a consonant, V stands for a vowel, and the letters <ẏ ẇ> are the non-syllabic vowels of their respective diphthongs. CV and CVC are most common syllables in Vrkhazhian, while in contrast, C and CCVCC, are the rarest. Though not listed in the phonemic inventory table above, there also exists a syllabic rhotic /ɹ̩/ in Vrkhazhian that is written as <ṛ> as well as a syllabic nasal /n̩/ written as <ṇ>.
All words that appear to begin with vowels are analyzed as containing a glottal stop before them, which is ussually omitted in fast speech. Vrkhazhian is very strict in preventing hiatus between vowels; this is done by adding an epenthetic /h/ between the two vowels. The only one exception is an epenthetic /a/ placed between uvular and uvularized consonants and a front vowel.
Stress
Stress in Vrkhazhian is generally placed on the last or second-to-last syllable.
Grammar
Morphology
Overview
Vrkhazhian is a highly inflecting triconsonantal root language. Most roots consist of three consonants (triliteral), though there are many words that consist of two letter (biliteral) roots. Vrkhazhian also recognizes four- and five-letter roots, however, these are uncommon. Between and around these roots various infixes, suffixes, and prefixes are used to carry grammatical functions or derived words.
Roots containing the consonants <y>/j/ and <w>/w/ are considered weak roots, and exhibit irregular verb forms.
Nominal morphology
Vrkhazhian has three grammatical genders, masculine, feminine and neuter. These genders are strictly semantic, thus most nouns, such as inanimate objects, fall into the category of neuter.
Vrkhazhian has two numbers (singular and plural) and six cases (nominative, accusative, genitive, lative, ablative, and distributive). The table below shows the noun vīkīm (ruler) declined in various cases.
Noun (masc.) | Noun (fem.) | Noun (neut.) | |
---|---|---|---|
Nominative/Accusative singular | vīkīm-ī | vīkīm-a | vīkīm |
Genitive singular | vīkīm-īr | vīkīm-aš | vīkīm-ūn |
Lative singular | vīkīm-aj-ī | vīkīm-aj-a | vīkīm-aj |
Ablative singular | vīkīm-īf-ī | vīkīm-īf-a | vīkīm-īf |
Nominative/Accusative plural | vīkīm-īl | vīkīm-an | vīkīm-ad |
Genitive plural | vīkīm-īr-ū | vīkīm-aš-ū | vīkīm-ūn-ū |
Lative plural | vīkīm-ēj-īl | vīkīm-ēj-an | vīkīm-ēj-ad |
Ablative plural | vīkīm-ūf-īl | vīkīm-ūf-an | vīkīm-ūf-ad |
The distributive case in Vrkhazhian is used to denote something occurring to each individual of a set, thus the noun can only be declined for singular number. The meaning of the distributive case is roughly translated as "each" or "per". The prefix "šar-" is used to denote the distributive.
Construct state
Most nouns in Vrkhazhian can also be placed in the construct state, which is used for genitive constructions and denotes that the noun is the possessed object. Using the noun ʾalkad (soldier, guard), the declensions of the construct state are shown below:
Noun (masc.) | Noun (fem.) | Noun (neut.) | |
---|---|---|---|
Singular | ʾalkad-ī | ʾalkad-a | ʾalkad-ū |
Plural | ʾalkad-īt | ʾalkad-at | ʾalkad-ūm |
Nouns containing biliteral roots are placed into the construct state patterns CVraC for singular number and CarC2VC2 for plural number. An example of this is the noun šīm (house) which, when placed into the construct state, becomes šīram for singular number and šarmīm for plural number. Nouns containing biliteral roots that are placed in the construct state are also declined for gender in the nominative case.
Adjectival morphology
Adjectives in Vrkhazhian are marked for gender and number in agreement with the noun they modify. Adjectives are also divided into classes where only certain types of roots can go. For example, only adjectival verbs such as d-b-n (to be heavy) can go into the adjective pattern CaCCa. The table below shows the declension of the above root d-b-n in the pattern CaCCa which turns it into the adjective "heavy":
Adjective (masc.) | Adjective (fem.) | Adjective (neut.) | |
---|---|---|---|
Singular | ʾədbūn-a | ʾədbūn-ē | dabna |
Plural | dabnūy-al | dabnūy-ēn | dabnīy-a |
Adjectives can either precede or follow the noun depending on the type of adjective. Adjectives pertaining to physical features such as size, shape, colour and material always precede the noun, while adjectives pertaining to other features such as origin, condition, age and observation always follow the noun.
Definite marking
Vrkhazhian has an definite affix "ṛ-" that indicates that its noun is a particular one (or ones) identifiable to the listener. It may be something already mentioned or uniquely specified. The affix is attached to the noun and the adjective(s) that modify the noun.
Verbal morphology
Verbs in Vrkhazhian are conjugated for number (singular and plural), tense (infinitive, past simple, past progressive, present simple, present progressive, and future) and voice (active and passive)
Verb patterns
The table below shows the conjugation of the root d-n-j (to crush)
Active Singular | Active Plural | Translation | Passive Singular | Passive Plural | Translation | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Infinitive | ʾadnīyaj | to crush | ʾadnūšīj | to be crushed | ||
Past Simple | nōdnoj | nadnūjam | crushed | nūdnūj | nīdnajam | was crushed |
Past Progressive | yūdnoj | yūdnējam | was crushing | yīdnaj | yīdnūjam | was being crushed |
Present Simple | dūnaj | dūnjam | crush | danēj | danjam | is crushed |
Present Progressive | hūdnaj | hūdnījam | is crushing | hadnēj | hadnojam | is being crushed |
Future | ʾadnej | ʾadnejam | will crush | ʾīdnīj | ʾīdnījam | will be crushed |
Verb moods
Vrkhazhian has five moods, jussive, potential, conditional, commissive and subjunctive. The particles "čar" and "yaj" can be used with moods to indicate the past and future tense respectively. The table below shows the conjugation of the root ṗ-m-t (to walk) in active voice, while the table shows the conjugation of the root b-h-l (to punish, discipline) in passive voice.
Active Singular | Active Plural | Translation | Passive Singular | Passive Plural | Translation | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jussive | jīṗmat | jīṗmetam | have to walk | jūbhīl | jūbhūlam | have to be punished |
Potential | ʾībēṗmat | ʾībēṗmētam | can walk | ʾībībhūl | ʾībībhōlam | can be punished |
Conditional | ʾīmaṗmat | ʾīmaṗmūtam | would walk | ʾīmobhīl | ʾīmobhīlam | would be punished |
Commissive | ḵūṗtamīt | ḵūṗtamtam | shall walk | ḵabtehūl | ḵabtehlam | shall be punished |
Subjunctive | hraṗmīt | hraṗmītam | may walk | hrībhūl | hrībhūlam | may be punished |
The jussive mood in Vrkhazhian is mainly used for expressing obligation or duty, but when there are no pronouns or nouns in the nominative case, it can also act like an imperative, expressing direct commands to the adressee(s). While a verb in the jussive mood can be used in this way, the particle "ʾīs" is more common.
Adverbial morphology
Adverbs in Vrkhazhian are marked for number in agreement with the verb they modify. Adverbs always follow the verb they modify. Like adjectives, adverbs are divided into classes where only certain types of roots can go. For example, most adjectival verbs and some ordinary verbs can go into the adverb pattern CūCCīt. The table below shows the root ʾ-b-l (to be blind) declined in the pattern CūCCīt:
Singular | Plural | |
---|---|---|
Adverb | ʾūblīt | ʾībaltū |
Pronouns
Personal Pronouns
Personal pronouns in Vrkhazhian are as follows:
Nominative | Accusative | Genitive | Lative | Ablative | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Person | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
1st | inclusive | ẕaẏ "I" | yeš "we" | šadīb | ʾaẏyīb | šadīkī | ʾaẏyīkī | šadīš | ʾaẏyīš | šadīt | ʾaẏyat |
exclusive | ṉal "we" | ṉalīb | ṉalīkī | ṉalīš | ṉalat | ||||||
2nd | masculine | ʾīšī "you" | qar "you" | ʾīšīb | qarīb | ʾīšakī | qarakī | ʾīdeš | qareš | ʾīdat | qarat |
feminine | ʾatī "you" | šūn "you" | ʾatīb | šūnīb | ʾatakī | šūnakī | ʾateš | šūneš | ʾatat | šūnat | |
3rd | masculine | haf "he" | baʾ "they" | hafīb | baʾīb | hafakī | baʾakī | hapeš | baʾeš | hapat | baʾat |
feminine | šaf "she" | tav "they" | šafīb | tavīb | šafakī | tavakī | šapeš | tabeš | šapat | tabat | |
neuter | ḥol "they" | ṗal "they" | ḥajīm | ṗajīm | ḥajakī | ṗajakī | ḥaješ | ṗaješ | ḥajat | ṗajat |
Demonstrative Pronouns
Demonstrative pronouns in Vrkhazhian are as follows:
Deixis | |||
---|---|---|---|
Number | Proximal | Medial | Distal |
Singular | ʾīšar "this" | ʾanī "that" | maẏ "that" |
Plural | ʾīšrūhīt "these" | ʾanīhīt "those" | maẏyīt "those" |
Interrogative Pronouns
Listed below are the interrogative pronouns in Vrkhazhian:
English | Vrkhazhian |
---|---|
who? | ʾalīm |
what? | hamat |
where? | sūhal |
when? | hna |
why? | ʾīčam |
how? | taja |
which? | ʾaqab |
Numerals
Vrkhazhian uses a base-12 system of numerals, which is a positional notation numeral system using twelve as its base. In this system, the number ten can be written as "X", and the number eleven as "E". Numerals precede the nouns they modify and are placed in the construct state; they also agree in gender with the noun they modify. An example of this are the nouns vīkīm and ʾalkad (which becomes ʾalīkdad in plural); when a numeral is placed before them they become ʾaẏnī vīkīma (one king) and apetū ʾalīkdad (six soldiers). Both of these words would literally translate to "one-of king" and "six-of soldiers", respectively. The table below lists the numbers from 1 to 12.
Numbers | Cardinal numeral
(masc.) |
Cardinal numeral
(fem.) |
Cardinal numeral
(neut.) |
---|---|---|---|
1 | ʾaẏnī | ʾaẏna | ʾaẏnū |
2 | nīmī | nīma | nīmū |
3 | dajī | daja | dajū |
4 | hatī | hata | hatū |
5 | ʾaẕahī | ʾaẕaha | ʾaẕahū |
6 | ʾapetī | ʾapeta | ʾapetū |
7 | ʾaramī | ʾarama | ʾaramū |
8 | šabbī | šabba | šabbū |
9 | ʾadīkī | ʾadīka | ʾadīkū |
X (10) | yamī | yama | yamū |
E (11) | ʾījītī | ʾījīta | ʾījītū |
10 (12) | ʾīlaẏkī | ʾīlaẏka | ʾīlaẏkū |
Syntax
Nominal phrases
Relative clauses follow the noun while numerals and appositions precede the counted noun. Adjectives either follow or precede the noun depending on its semantic class (see adjective section above). An example of some of these features is the nominal phrase ṛ-Vīkīmī ṛ-hījīr, ʾAšahījar, ṛ-sentīstenū ʾAkrīdēhas nōšṉom 'Ashahijar, the king of the gods, built the realm of Akrideas' which is analyzed in the following table:
Word | Meaning | Analysis | Part of the nominal phrase |
---|---|---|---|
ṛ-Vīkīmī | king | masculine construct state | Apposition |
ṛ-hījīr | gods | neuter genitive plural | |
ʾAšahījar | Ashahijar | nominative | Proper Noun (subject) |
ṛ-sentīstenū | world | neuter construct state | Relative clause |
ʾAkrīdēhas | Akrideas | genitive singular | |
nōšṉom | built | active past singular |
Sentence syntax
There are two basic word orders in Vrkhazhian that are used depending on the grammatical voice of the sentence. In sentences with the active voice, the basic word order is Subject-Object-Verb (SOV), while in sentences with the passive voice, the basic word order is Verb-Subject-Object (VSO). Compare an active sentence:
- Hīqal ṛ-havīr ṛ-mašarad nōšṉom.
Hīqal | ṛ-havīr | ṛ-mašarad | nō-šṉom |
Hiqal-NOM | DEF-mercury | DEF-golem-PL-ACC | ACT-PST-build-SG |
- "Hiqal built the mercury golems
vs. a passive sentence:
- Nīšṉamam ṛ-havīr ṛ-mašarad ʾīm Hīqal.
Nī-šṉam-am | ṛ-havīr | ṛ-mašarad | ʾīm | Hīqal |
PASS-PST-build-PL | DEF-mercury | DEF-golem-PL-NOM | by | Hiqal-ACC |
- "The mercury golems were built by Hiqal"
The verb root š-ṉ-m (to build), in the first example, is conjugated for active past singular in the active sentence agreeing in number with the subject "Hiqal", while appearing in the second example in the passive past plural, agreeing in number with the subject "the mercury golems".
Writing System
The Vrkhazhian Alakkhav (ʾAlaḵḵav Yat-Vṛḵaẕīkam [ʔalaxːaβ jat-βɹ̩xaʑikam]) is the official writing script of Vrkhazhian. The script consists of 37 letters, 12 numeral glyphs, and 10 vowel diacritics. The writing direction of the script is boustrophedon, and can start in any horizontal direction preferred, though the most common starting direction is Right-to-Left.
History
The script has been around for at least 7,500 years, with few changes and alterations to the letter forms since it's inception. The true origins of the writing system are unknown, however, the glyphs are based partially off of the logographic script of a sister language known as Husroth Qhadithcha, while the numeral glyphs are of entirely Vrkhazhian origin.
Letter names
Standard letters
The table below lists the 30 letters that are considered part of the Alakkhav:
The Alakkhav is an abjad, and thus, vowels are not represented in most texts. However, vowels may be used to aid learners in reading the text and to reduce ambiguities.
Vowel diacritics
Letter | Name | Meaning | Phoneme |
---|---|---|---|
Walaʾīd | exposing | a [a] | |
Šarūd | moon | e [ɛ] | |
Maṉaʾīt | flowing | ē [e̞] | |
Šafaʾīd | guiding | i [ɨ] | |
Šīpīj | ground | ī [i] | |
Ḵamaʾīt | crawling | o [ɔ] | |
Ḵalōk | circle | ō [o̞] | |
Šarja | hollow, empty | u/ə [ə] | |
Mūḥlek | throne | ū [u] |
Numeral | Name | Phoneme |
---|---|---|
ʾAẇdeš Yav | ẏ [e̯] | |
ʾAẇdeš Waj | ẇ [o̯] |
Numerals
Numeral | Number | Name |
---|---|---|
0 | Šemt ("none") | |
1 | ʾAẏn | |
2 | Nīm | |
3 | Daj | |
4 | Hat | |
5 | ʾAẕa | |
6 | ʾApet | |
7 | ʾAram | |
8 | Šab | |
9 | ʾAdīk | |
10/X | Yam | |
11/E | ʾĪjīt |
Other letters
The table below lists the letters that are not considered part of the Alakkhav, but are considered to be variation of the letters in the Alakkhav:
Letter | Name | Phoneme |
---|---|---|
Ṗak | ṗ [pʶ~pˤ] | |
Ḅal | ḅ [bʶ~bˤ] | |
Ṭal | ṭ [tʶ~tˤ] | |
Ḍat | ḍ [dʶ~dˤ] | |
Ḷam | ḷ [lʶ~lˤ] |