The language spoken by
The Daemonium and in the
Agony Grounds also known as Kuzathan
Natively known as:
kůzåtha /kʌˈzɑθæ/
...and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind...
dû vou nu påwâ kû lomî dû nou kû maypoû nåshî nay dîngere[alt]
Pronunciation: /dʊ vaʊ̯ nuː ˈpɑwɜː kʊ ˈlɔːmɪ dʊ naʊ̯ kʊ ˈmeɪ̯poʊ̯ ˈnɑʃɪ neɪ̯ dɪˈŋɛɹɛ/
Kůzåthan word order: and stood he holding hat his and turned his face wet to the wind[/alt]
Spelling & Phonology
Consonant inventory: b d f g h j k l m n p s t v w z ð ŋ ɹ ʃ ʒ ʤ ʧ θ
| ↓Manner/Place→ |
Bilabial |
Labiodental |
Dental |
Alveolar |
Palato-alveolar |
Palatal |
Velar |
Glottal |
| Nasal |
m |
|
|
n |
|
|
ŋ |
|
| Stop |
p b |
|
|
t d |
|
|
k g |
|
| Affricate |
|
|
|
|
ʧ ʤ |
|
|
|
| Fricative |
|
f v |
θ ð |
s z |
ʃ ʒ |
|
|
h |
| Approximant |
|
|
|
ɹ |
|
j |
|
|
| Lateral approximant |
|
|
|
l |
|
|
|
|
Co-articulated phonemes
| ↓Manner/Place→ |
Labial-velar |
| Approximant |
w |
Vowel inventory: aɪ̯ aʊ̯ eɪ̯ iː oʊ̯ uː æ ɑ ɔɪ̯ ɔː ɛ ɜː ɪ ʊ ʌ
Diphthongs: aɪ̯ aʊ̯ eɪ̯ oʊ̯ ɔɪ̯
|
Front |
Central |
Back |
| High |
iː |
|
uː |
| Near-high |
ɪ |
|
ʊ |
| Low-mid |
ɛ |
ɜː |
ʌ ɔː |
| Near-low |
æ |
|
|
| Low |
|
|
ɑ |
Syllable structure: (C)V
Stress pattern: Penultimate — stress is on the second last syllable
Word initial consonants: b d f g h j k l m n p s t v w z ð ɹ ʃ ʒ ʤ ʧ θ
Mid-word consonants: b d f g h j k l m n p s t v w z ð ŋ ɹ ʃ ʒ ʤ ʧ θ
Word final consonants:
Spelling rules:
| Pronunciation |
Spelling |
| aɪ̯ |
ie |
| aʊ̯ |
ou |
| eɪ̯ |
ay |
| iː |
i |
| uː |
u |
| æ |
a |
| ɛ |
e |
| ɔː |
o |
| ɔɪ̯ |
oi |
| ɪ |
î |
| ʊ |
û |
| ɜː |
â |
| ʌ |
ů |
| ɑ |
å |
| j |
y |
| θ |
th |
| ð |
dh |
| ŋ |
ng |
| ɹ |
r |
| ʃ |
sh |
| ʒ |
zh |
| ʤ |
j |
| ʧ |
ch |
| Vː |
VV |
| ◌̯ |
|
Grammar
Main word order: Verb Subject Object (Prepositional phrase). “Mary opened the door with a key” turns into
Opened Mary the door with a key.
Adjective order: Adjectives are positioned after the noun.
Adposition: prepositions
Nouns
Nouns have seven cases:
- Nominative is the doer of a verb: dog bites man.
- Accusative is the done-to of a verb: man bites dog.
- Genitive is the possessor of something: dog’s tail hits man.
- Dative is the recipient of something: man gives ball to dog.
- Locative is the location of something: man goes to town.
- Ablative is movement away from something: man walks from town.
- Instrumental is the use of something: man writes with (using) pen.
Nouns have both a plural affix and ‘paucal’ affix for referring to a few of something.
| Nominative |
No affix
nizů /ˈniːzʌ/
dog (doing the verb) |
| Accusative |
Prefix mʊ-
mûnizů /mʊˈniːzʌ/
(verb done to) dog |
| Genitive |
Prefix foʊ̯-
foûnizů /foʊ̯ˈniːzʌ/
dogʼs |
| Dative |
Prefix miː-
minizů /miːˈniːzʌ/
to (the/a) dog |
| Locative |
Prefix ɹɑ-
rånizů /ɹɑˈniːzʌ/
near/at/by (the/a) dog |
| Ablative |
Prefix vɔː-
vonizů /vɔːˈniːzʌ/
from (the/a) dog |
| Instrumental |
Prefix fuː-
funizů /fuːˈniːzʌ/
with/using (the/a) dog |
| Singular |
No affix
nizů /ˈniːzʌ/
dog |
| Plural |
Prefix θaʊ̯-
thounizů /θaʊ̯ˈniːzʌ/
dogs |
| Paucal |
Prefix zoʊ̯-
zoûnizů /zoʊ̯ˈniːzʌ/
few dogs |
Articles
| Definite |
lî /lɪ/
the |
| Indefinite |
cha /ʧæ/
a, some |
Uses of definite article that differ from English:
- Definite article can be omitted: ‘I am going to supermarket’
- Not used for mass (uncountable) nouns: ‘Walking in the mud’ would always translate to ‘Walking in mud’.
- Used for languages: ‘The English’
Uses of indefinite article that differ from English:
- Not used for non-specific countable nouns: non-specific means ‘I am looking for a (any) girl in a red dress’, whereas specific means ‘I am looking for a (particular) girl in a red dress’
- Not used for non-specific mass (uncountable) nouns: non-specific means ‘Would you like some (any) tea?’ whereas specific means ‘Some tea (a specific amount) fell off the truck’
Pronouns
|
1st singular |
2nd singular |
3rd singular masc |
3rd singular fem |
1st plural |
2nd plural |
3rd plural |
| Nominative |
soi /sɔɪ̯/
I |
zû /zʊ/
you |
nu /nuː/
he, it |
li /liː/
she, it |
wa /wæ/
we |
goû /goʊ̯/
you all |
î /ɪ/
they |
| Accusative |
mů /mʌ/
me |
chå /ʧɑ/
you |
wi /wiː/
him, it |
zu /zuː/
her, it |
pâ /pɜː/
us |
i /iː/
you all |
ni /niː/
them |
| Genitive |
wie /waɪ̯/
mine |
che /ʧɛ/
yours |
kû /kʊ/
his, its |
za /zæ/
hers, its |
ja /ʤæ/
ours |
jo /ʤɔː/
yours (pl) |
pe /pɛ/
theirs |
| Dative |
rû /ɹʊ/
to me |
lay /leɪ̯/
to you |
kay /keɪ̯/
to him, at it |
på /pɑ/
to her, at it |
na /næ/
to us |
châ /ʧɜː/
to you all |
mâ /mɜː/
to them |
| Locative |
û /ʊ/
at me |
dha /ðæ/
at you |
oi /ɔɪ̯/
at him, at it |
ki /kiː/
at her, at it |
sha /ʃæ/
at us |
koi /kɔɪ̯/
at you all |
wů /wʌ/
at them |
| Ablative |
a /æ/
from me |
ra /ɹæ/
from you |
da /dæ/
from him, from it |
kî /kɪ/
from her, from it |
chî /ʧɪ/
from us |
zå /zɑ/
from you all |
yû /jʊ/
from them |
| Instrumental |
du /duː/
with/using me |
dhâ /ðɜː/
with/using you |
nâ /nɜː/
with/using him/it |
tâ /tɜː/
with/using her/it |
tou /taʊ̯/
with/using us |
gû /gʊ/
with/using you all |
bû /bʊ/
with/using them |
Possessive determiners
| 1st singular |
wie /waɪ̯/
my |
| 2nd singular |
che /ʧɛ/
your |
| 3rd singular masc |
kû /kʊ/
his |
| 3rd singular fem |
za /zæ/
her |
| 1st plural |
ja /ʤæ/
our |
| 2nd plural |
jo /ʤɔː/
your (pl) |
| 3rd plural |
pe /pɛ/
their |
Verbs
|
Present |
Past |
Remote past |
Future |
| 1st singular |
Prefix zɜː-
zâtû /ˈzɜːtʊ/
(I) learn |
Prefix beɪ̯-
baytû /ˈbeɪ̯tʊ/
(I) learned |
Prefix nɛ-
netû /ˈnɛtʊ/
(I) learned (long ago) |
Prefix zuː-
zutû /ˈzuːtʊ/
(I) will learn |
| 2nd singular |
Prefix dʌ-
důtû /ˈdʌtʊ/
(you) learn |
Prefix tʊ-
tûtû /ˈtʊtʊ/
(you) learned |
Prefix kɔɪ̯-
koitû /ˈkɔɪ̯tʊ/
(you) learned (long ago) |
Prefix ʤoʊ̯-
joûtû /ˈʤoʊ̯tʊ/
(you) will learn |
| 3rd singular |
Prefix piː-
pitû /ˈpiːtʊ/
(he/she/it) learns |
Prefix wuː-
wutû /ˈwuːtʊ/
(he/she/it) learned |
Prefix wɔɪ̯-
woitû /ˈwɔɪ̯tʊ/
(he/she/it) learned (long ago) |
Prefix wʊ-
wûtû /ˈwʊtʊ/
(he/she/it) will learn |
| 1st plural |
Prefix ʤaʊ̯-
joutû /ˈʤaʊ̯tʊ/
(we) learn |
Prefix ʧɔɪ̯-
choitû /ˈʧɔɪ̯tʊ/
(we) learned |
Prefix ʃæ-
shatû /ˈʃætʊ/
(we) learned (long ago) |
Prefix fɜː-
fâtû /ˈfɜːtʊ/
(we) will learn |
| 2nd plural |
Prefix kʌ-
kůtû /ˈkʌtʊ/
(you all) learn |
Prefix ʧoʊ̯-
choûtû /ˈʧoʊ̯tʊ/
(you all) learned |
Prefix ʧɑ-
chåtû /ˈʧɑtʊ/
(you all) learned (long ago) |
Prefix mɔː-
motû /ˈmɔːtʊ/
(you all) will learn |
| 3rd plural |
Prefix pɑ-
påtû /ˈpɑtʊ/
(they) learn |
Prefix ðaʊ̯-
dhoutû /ˈðaʊ̯tʊ/
(they) learned |
Prefix ʒɔː-
zhotû /ˈʒɔːtʊ/
(they) learned (long ago) |
Prefix ʃuː-
shutû /ˈʃuːtʊ/
(they) will learn |
Perfect aspect
The perfect aspect in English is exemplified in ‘I have read this book’, which expresses an event that took place before the time spoken but which has an effect on or is in some way still relevant to the present.
Kůzåthan uses the word for ‘finish’
wesho for the perfect aspect.
Numbers
Kůzåthan has a base-10 number system:
1 -
dî
2 -
bå
3 -
a
4 -
loû
5 -
bî
6 -
kay
7 -
gâ
8 -
sânå
9 -
bâ
10 -
chî
11 -
chîdî “ten-one”
100 -
moû “hundred”
101 -
moû dû dî “hundred and one”
200 -
bå moû
1000 -
lu “thousand”
Derivational morphology
Adjective → adverb = Prefix ʧʊ-
Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = Prefix nʊ-
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = Prefix vaɪ̯-
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = Prefix næ-
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = Prefix wɛ-
Noun to verb = Prefix kɛ-
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = Prefix saʊ̯-
Tending to = Prefix nɔː-
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = Prefix wʌ-
Verb → noun that verb produces (e.g. know → knowledge) = Prefix θæ-
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = Prefix duː-
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = Prefix baʊ̯-
Diminutive = Prefix ʤʊ-
Augmentative = Prefix ʤiː-
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