Ngolu

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Ngolu
Ilia (Te)
Spoken: Áu
Total speakers: 100,000 (approx.)
Genealogy: Isolate (as far as known)
Typology
Morphological type: Isolating/futional
Morphosyntactic alignment: Nominative-Accusative
Basic word order: VSO
Credits
Creator: Imralu
Created: 2013-2014

Ngolu, also known as Te or Ilia Te (endonym: ilia (te) IPA: [ìʎá(té)]) is a language isolate spoken throughout the space habitat Áu by the Ngolu people, whose number is estimated to be around 100,000. As the Ngolu are almost entirely monolingual, and while travel to and from Áu remains almost impossible, the language is not in any danger of extinction. At this stage, little is known of dialect differences.

Ngolu is an isolating/fusional, head-initial (right-branching) language with VSO word order and nominative-accusative alignment. Verbs (verbals) make up the only open class of word, with nouns (nominals) constituting a closed class of heavily fusional words that fill the roll of pronouns and articles in other languages, marking grammatical person, gender, number, case, definiteness and specificity.

Terminology

The Ngolu usually call their language ilia [ìʎá], which simply means 'language' or 'speech'. Many Ngolu in Áu do not recognise foreign languages such as English as communication when they hear them, and tend to refer to anything said in another language as maramaria [màɾàmàdʒá] ('babbling' or 'nonsense'). Ngolu on Earth have observed other languages being used between multiple people and typically recognise foreign languages as being capable of conveying meaning. The word ilia in that case refers to all languages. To disambiguate their own language, they may call it ilia te [ìʎáté] 'good language' (or sometimes ilia golu [ìʎáŋòlú] or ilias áu [ìʎásáw]).

The word áu [áw] means 'world' but specifically refers to the world Áu, not to Earth (which is known as aásu [àásù] or uuásu [ùwásù]). The English ethnonym 'Ngolu' derives from golu [ŋòlú] meaning 'person' or 'people'.

Phonology

Vowels

Front Central Back
High i ‹i› u ‹u›
Mid e ‹e› o ‹o›
Low a ‹a›

Each vowel may be 'strong' or 'weak'. The pronunciation of strong vowels varies across accents but it generally equates to a high tone whereas 'weak' vowels have a low tone. There is only ever one 'strong' vowel per word and it is nearly always the final vowel. Where it is not, it is always the penultimate vowel and the in that case the final vowel is always /i/ or /u/. Non-final strong vowels are indicated in the romanisation using an acute accent, ‹áéíóú›.

The high vowels, /i/ and /u/, when weak and adjacent to another vowel are pronounced non-syllabically as [i̯~j] and [u̯~w]). Non-syllabic /i/ merges with and palatalises any preceding dental/alveolar consonant.

Consonants

Bilabial Labiovelar Dental/Alveolar Post-alveolar Velar Glottal
Nasal m ‹m› n ‹n› ŋ ‹g›
Plosive b ‹b› t ‹t› k ‹k› ʔ ‹q›
Ejective ‹tt› ‹kk›
Voiced Fricative v ‹v› z ‹z› ʒ ‹j›
Voiceless Fricative s ‹s› ʃ ‹x› h ‹h›
Tap ɾ ‹r›
Lateral l ‹l›
  • The normal pronunciation of /n t tʼ ɾ l/ is dental. When these consonants are followed by a non-syllabic /i/, they are palatalised to [ɲ tʃ tsʼ dʒ ʎ] and the /i/ disappears.
  • /ɾ/ is frequently pronounced as a voiced dental plosive.
  • /s/ and /z/ are normally alveolar. When followed by a non-syllabic /i/, they are not distinguished from /ʃ ʒ/.
  • /ʃ/ and /ʒ/ cannot be followed by non-syllabic /i/.
  • The phonemes /s/ and /ɾ/ do not occur at the beginning of a word.
  • The ejective consonants /tʼ/ and /kʼ/ are restricted to positions immediately before a 'strong' vowel, although there may be an intervening non-syllabic 'weak' /i/ or /u/. At the beginning of a 'weak' syllable, ejective consonants become pronounced as their equivalent plain plosive. For example, kka [kʼá] and kkue [kʷʼé] are allowed while expected *kkina (derived from kka plus the infix -in-) is instead present as kina [kì.ná]. In connected speech, /tʼ/ and /kʼ/ may be pronounced as [t̚ʔ k̚ʔ] or even [tː kː]. A strong ejective pronunciation is always heard post pausa.

Epenthetic /s/

Morphology

Nominals

Nominals are a large but closed class of words that are essentially the equivalent of pronouns and articles in other languages. They inflect for number, gender, grammatical person, definiteness, specificity and case. They can appear on their own or can be followed by a verbal. When followed by a verbal, they can be regarded as the head of an underlying relative clause which nominalises the verbal and allows it to function as an argument in the sentence.

As a pronoun:

xu
NOM.3s.DEF.INAN
"the thing"
it


As an article:

xu mala
NOM.3s.DEF.INAN.REL be.house
"the thing that" "is a house"
the house

Number

Nominals indicate two numbers, singular and plural. Plural is marked by the prefix i-, which occurs before some case prefixes and after others (see [[Ngolu#Case|Case] below for more information]).

Singular:

xu mala
NOM.3s.DEF.INAN.REL be.house
"the thing that" "is a house"
the house

Plural:

ixu mala
NOM.3p.DEF.INAN.REL be.house
"the things that" "are houses"
the houses

Gender

All nominals show one of three genders.

  • Inanimate (Ngolu: tiaka)
  • Animate (Ngolu: kali)
  • Masculine (Ngolu: muja)

It has been suggested that the label 'masculine' is misleading, as this gender is not simply used for any male person but only for adult men who have passed the initiation ceremony into manhood, whereupon they are muja.

The use of the genders partly depends on the speaker's rank, as shown in the following table.

Kali/Tuva speaker Muja speaker
Inanimate used for:
  • inanimate objects
  • abstract concepts
  • plants
  • sessile animals
  • inanimate objects
  • abstract concepts
  • plants
  • all animals other than pets
  • slaves
  • prisoners
Animate used for:
  • the goddess Nigáu
  • free women
  • free children
  • free but non-initiated men
  • slaves
  • prisoners
  • all motile animals
  • the goddess Nigáu
  • free women
  • free children
  • free but non-initiated men
  • pets
Masculine used for:
  • the god Uru
  • initiated men
  • the god Uru
  • initiated men

The following examples illustrate the difference.

The speaker is a muja, an initiated man:

kulu ene xu ala
be.heard DAT.1s.MASC NOM.3s.DEF.INAN.REL be.bird
"was heard" "to me" "the thing that" "is a bird"
I heard the bird.

The speaker is a kali or tuva, not an initiated man:

kulu eni ju ala
be.heard DAT.1s.ANIM NOM.3s.DEF.ANIM.REL be.bird
"was heard" "to me" "the person who" "is a bird"
I heard the bird.

The interplay between a speaker and listener's rank is complex and may result in unexpected gender choices. For example, a slave must refer to him- or herself in the inanimate gender when speaking to a muja unless specifically given permission otherwise. To read more about this, see Social Stratification and Language Use.

Person

Three grammatical persons are marked by nominals. The first person nominals contain n. The second person nominals contain a non-syllabic u (realised as v before u). In the third person, j, z, m, x, k and Ø appear depending on gender, definiteness and specificity.

Clusivity

The plural forms of all nominals are exclusive of other grammatical persons except for the first person plural forms inu and ina, which can include third person referents as well, especially when expressing closeness.

In order to group referents from more than one grammatical person together, the required nominals are juxtaposed. For example, inu (gloss: NOM.1s.ANIM) is the exclusive 'we'. The inclusive 'we' may take a form such as vu nu (gloss: NOM.2s.ANIM NOM.1s.ANIM) or na ivu (gloss: NOM.1s.MASC NOM.2p.ANIM), more or less equivalent to 'you and I'. Even addressing people in the second person, should the group include third persons, these are made not of separately, for example ja vu (gloss: NOM.3s.DEF.MASC NOM.2s.ANIM). The nominal ivu (gloss: NOM.2p.ANIM), for example, is only used to address two more people when all are present.

The order of the elements in these juxtapositions depends first on rank, with nominals referring to higher ranking referents appearing before those of lower ranking referents. When the referents are equally ranked, 2nd person precedes third person, which, in turn, preceds first person.

Nominal juxtapositions are characterised by all nominals being inflected in the same case. For example, the nominative ua na becomes eues ene in the dative and uua una in the possessive.

Definiteness and Specificity

Case

Nominal Tables

First Person

First person nominals are all definite.

Anim. Sg. Anim. Pl. Masc. Sg. Masc. Pl.
Nominative nu inu na ina
Accusative ni ini ne ine
Dative eni ieni ene iene
Ablative nui inui nai inai
Locative nua inua ana iana
Genitive uni iuni une iune
Possessive *unu *iunu una iuna
Vocative enu einu ena eina
Causal teni teini tene teine
Benefactive kuani kuaini kuane kuaine
Instrumental ani aini ane aine
Comitative leni leini lene leine
Topical veni veini vene veine
Essive onu oinu ona oina
*theoretical
Second Person

Second person nominals are all definite.

Anim. Sg. Anim. Pl. Masc. Sg. Masc. Pl.
Nominative vu ivu ua iua
Accusative ui iui ue iue
Dative eui ieui eue ieue
Ablative vui ivui uai iuai
Locative vua ivua aua iaua
Genitive uui iuui uue iuue
Possessive *uvu *iuvu uua iuua
Vocative evu eivu eua eiua
Causal teui teiui teue teiue
Benefactive kuaui kuaiui kuaue kuaiue
Instrumental aui aiui aue aiue
Comitative leui leiui leue leiue
Topical veui veiui veue veiue
Essive ovu oivu oua oiua
*theoretical
Third Person
Definite
Anim. Sg. Anim. Pl. Masc. Sg. Masc. Pl. Inan. Sg. Inan. Pl.
Nominative ju iju ja ija xu ixu
Accusative ji iji je ije xi ixi
Dative eji ieji eje ieje exi iexi
Ablative jui ijui jai ijai xui ixui
Locative jua ijua aja iaja xua ixua
Genitive uji iuji uje iuje uxi iuxi
Possessive *uju *iuju uja iuja *uxu *iuxu
Vocative eju eiju eja eija exu eixu
Causal teji teiji teje teije texi teixi
Benefactive kuaji kuaiji kuaje kuaije kuaxi kuaixi
Instrumental aji aiji aje aije axi aixi
Comitative leji leiji leje leije lexi leixi
Topical veji veiji veje veije vexi veixi
Essive oju oiju oja oija oxu oixu
*theoretical
Indefinite, Specific
Anim. Sg. Anim. Pl. Masc. Sg. Masc. Pl. Inan. Sg. Inan. Pl.
Nominative mu imu ma ima zu izu
Accusative mi imi me ime zi izi
Dative emi iemi eme ieme ezi iezi
Ablative mui imui mai imai zui izui
Locative mua imua ama iama zua izua
Genitive umi iumi ume iume uzi iuzi
Possessive *umu *iumu uma iuma *uzu *iuzu
Vocative emu eimu ema eima ezu eizu
Causal temi teimi teme teime tezi teizi
Benefactive kuami kuaimi kuame kuaime kuazi kuaizi
Instrumental ami aimi ame aime azi aizi
Comitative lemi leimi leme leime lezi leizi
Topical vemi veimi veme veime vezi veizi
Essive omu oimu oma oima ozu oizu
*theoretical
Indefinite, Non-Specific (General)
Anim. Sg. Anim. Pl. Masc. Sg. Masc. Pl. Inan. Sg. Inan. Pl.
Nominative u iu a ia ku iku
Accusative i ji me ime ki iki
Dative eri ieri ere iere eki ieki
Ablative ui iui ai iai kui ikui
Locative aru iaru ara iara kua ikua
Genitive ugi iugi uge iuge uki iuki
Possessive *ugu *iugu uga iuga *uku *iuku
Vocative eru eiu era eia eku eiku
Causal teri teji tere teie teki teiki
Benefactive kuari kuaji kuare kuaie kuaki kuaiki
Instrumental ari aji are aie aki aiki
Comitative leri leji lere leie leki leiki
Topical veri veji vere veie veki veiki
Essive oru oiu ora oia oku oiku
*theoretical

Verbals

Verbals constitute the only open class of words in Ngolu. They are essentially content words, equivalent to the verbs, nouns, adjectives and adverbs of other languages. Here are some examples.

  • volo 'to give'
  • kau 'to eat'
  • vuja 'to hunt', 'to be a hunter'
  • muja 'to be a man' (refers only to men who have passed the initiation ceremony)
  • mala 'to be a house'
  • tta 'to be large'

Even many grammatical functions are expressed by verbals.

  • kka 'to be not ...' [NEGATIVE]
  • hua 'to be always ...', 'to be eternally ...' [GNOMIC]
  • hau 'to be defined by being ...' [ESSENTIAL]
  • he 'to undergo' [PASSIVE]
  • eti 'to have previously done ...' [PAST]

Verbals do not inflect.

Argument Structure

Verbals each have an inherent argument structure, controlling which cases are used for what role. Dictionaries mark the meanings of each relevant case with each nominal.

Many argument structures are as would be expected.

  • volo = [NOM] gives [ACC] to [DAT]
  • vuja = [NOM] hunts [ACC]; [NOM] is a hunter of [ACC]
  • akku = [NOM] is blood; [NOM] is the blood of [GEN]

Example: (Speaker: muja)

volo na xi eje
give NOM.1s.MASC ACC.3s.DEF.INAN DAT.3s.DEF.MASC
"give" "I" "it" "to him"
I give it to him.

There is a tendency for experiencers to be in the dative case.

  • hualo = [DAT] loves/cares about [NOM]; [NOM] is loved by [DAT]
  • xeva = [DAT] sees [NOM]; [NOM] is seen by [DAT]
  • zoua = [NOM] is difficult for [DAT]

Example: (Speaker: kali)

xevas eni ja ttáu
be.seen DAT.1s.ANIM NOM.3s.DEF.MASC.REL be.king
"was seen" "to me" "the man who" "is the king"
I saw the king.

Although that is not always the case, as this pair of opposites shows.

  • mahu = [DAT] knows [NOM]; [NOM] is known to [DAT]
  • zau = [NOM] doesn't know about [TOP]; [NOM] is ignorant of [TOP]

There is also an unusual class of verbals where the nominative role refers to a body part (or occasionally an item of clothing), the genitive refers to the possessor and when there is an accusative argument, the whole thing refers to an action performed with the body part (or item of clothing) by the possessor.

  • omo = [NOM] is the pair of eyes of [GEN]; [GEN] looks at [ACC]
  • bale = [NOM] is a fist of [GEN]; [GEN] punches [ACC]
  • gula = [NOM] is the pair of arms of [GEN]; [GEN] hugs [ACC]
  • buja = [NOM] is a heavy boot of [GEN]; [GEN] crushes [ACC] under his boot

Speaker: muja

buja ume balu xi masa
be.boot GEN.3s.SPEC.MASC.REL be.royal.guardsman ACC.3s.DEF.INAN.REL be.snake
"is a boot" "of a specific man who" "is a royal guardsman" "the thing which" is a snake
A royal guardsman crushed a snake under his boot.

There is a proposed additional place within the argument structure of many verbals, that of a following modifier. A following modifier may mark a specific role which may either be marked by another case or may only be filled by a following modifier. The notation used here indicates a following modifier with [...].

  • maue = [NOM] is a group of seven [...]
  • mia = [NOM] approaches [DAT]/[...]
  • tebi = [NOM] is possibly [...]
tebi maue mia mala
be.possibly be.group.of.seven approach be.house
"is maybe (that which)" "is a group of seven (that)" "approach (that which)" is a house
There might be seven (people) on their way to the house.
tebi maue mias exi mala
be.possibly be.group.of.seven approach DAT.3s.DEF.INAN.REL be.house
"is maybe (that which)" "is a group of seven (that)" "approach" "to the thing which" is a house
There might be seven (people) on their way to the house.

Verbal Derivation

Derivation among verbals is chiefly achieved by means of infixing.

Gerundive

The gerundive infix -i- indicates the use or purpose of something.

  • huna 'to drink'

hunia 'to be (fresh) water', 'to be potable', 'to be drinkable' (to be something to be drunk)

  • kau 'to eat'

tiau 'to be food' (to be something to be eaten, irregular) → kaiu 'to be edible' (regular)

  • omo 'to be a pair of eyes', 'to look at'

omio 'to be beautiful', 'to be handsome' (to be something to be looked at)

  • buja 'to be a boot', 'to crush under a boot'

buji 'to be a bug', 'to be vermin' (to be something to be crushed under a boot)

  • vuja 'to hunt', 'to be a hunter'

vuji 'to be prey', 'to be a game animal' (to be something to be hunted)

Collective

The collective infix -ig- indicates a group of the named entity.

  • balu 'to be a royal guardsman'

baligu 'to be the royal guard'

  • kau 'to eat'

kaigu 'to eat together'

  • ttiáu 'to be a tree'

tigiáu 'to be a forest'

Gendered Verbals

Particles

Interjections

Syntax

Verbal Juxtaposition

Main Clauses

Complementiser Clauses

Relative Clauses

Topic and Focus

Pragmatics

Social Stratification and Language Use

Speech Crime