The official language of
Rancimor. Not many speak it after the fall of the kingdom but many historians still speak it. At least those not too scared to explore the ruins.
Natively known as: tùfru /tʊˈfɹuː/
...and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind...
iey sie mu shor sie túshà iey hùsse sie nalvag thay chay sinayz [alt]
Pronunciation: /aɪ̯j saɪ̯ muː ʃɔːɹ saɪ̯ tʌˈʃɜː aɪ̯j hʊsˈsɛ saɪ̯ nælˈvæg θeɪ̯ ʧeɪ̯ siːˈneɪ̯z/
Tùfruian word order: and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face 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(C)
Stress pattern: Second — stress is on the second syllable
Word initial consonants: b f h j k m n p s t v w z ð ʃ ʧ θ
Mid-word consonants: b bb bd bj bl bs bt bv bw bz bɹ bʃ bʒ bʤ d db dg dl dm dw dʒ f ff fk fm fn fw fɹ g gd gf gg gk gm gn gt gv gw gz gʃ gʒ gʤ h hj hl hm ht j jb jd jf jk jl jt jz jð jʃ k kb kf kh kl km kw kɹ kʃ l lj lk ln lp lt lv lz lʤ lʧ m mb mf mj mk ml mm mp mɹ mʒ mʤ mʧ n nb ng nj nl nm np ns nw nɹ nʃ nʒ nʤ p pf pm pp pt pv pʃ s sh sj sn sp ss st sv sz sɹ t tb tf tg th tk tm tn tp tv tw tɹ tʃ tʤ v vd vj vn vv vɹ w wd wm wp ws wt wv wʃ wʤ z zb zd zg zh zj zl zw zz ð ŋ ŋg ŋl ŋn ŋs ŋz ŋθ ɹ ɹk ɹm ɹp ɹt ɹv ɹð ɹʃ ɹʤ ɹθ ʃ ʃb ʃp ʃs ʃʧ ʒ ʒm ʒn ʤ ʤl ʧ ʧf ʧk ʧm ʧn θ θf θh θj θl θm θw θɹ
Word final consonants: d g j k l m n p s t v w z ŋ ɹ ʃ ʒ ʤ ʧ θ
Spelling rules:
Pronunciation |
Spelling |
aɪ̯ |
ie |
aʊ̯ |
ou |
eɪ̯ |
ay |
iː |
i |
uː |
u |
æ |
a |
ɛ |
e |
ɔː |
o |
ɔɪ̯ |
oi |
ɪ |
ì |
ʊ |
ù |
ɜː |
à |
ʌ |
ú |
ɑ |
á |
j |
y |
θ |
th |
ð |
dh |
ŋ |
ng |
ɹ |
r |
ʃ |
sh |
ʒ |
zh |
ʤ |
j |
ʧ |
ch |
Vː |
VV |
◌̯ |
|
Grammar
Main word order: Subject Verb Object (Prepositional phrase). “Mary opened the door with a key” turns into
Mary opened the door with a key.
Adjective order: Adjectives are positioned before the noun.
Adposition: prepositions
Nouns
|
Masculine |
Feminine |
Singular |
No affix
sák /sɑk/
man |
No affix
te /tɛ/
woman |
Plural |
Prefix paɪ̯-
piesák /paɪ̯ˈsɑk/
men |
If starts with vowel: Prefix k-
Else: Prefix kʌ-
kúte /kʌˈtɛ/
women |
Articles
Tùfruian has no definite article ‘the’, or indefinite article ‘a’.
Pronouns
1st singular |
yo /jɔː/
I, me, mine |
2nd singular |
piey /paɪ̯j/
you, yours |
3rd singular masc |
sie /saɪ̯/
he, him, his, it, its |
3rd singular fem |
ád /ɑd/
she, her, hers, it, its |
1st plural |
á /ɑ/
we, us, ours |
2nd plural |
noz /nɔːz/
you all, yours (pl) |
3rd plural masc |
fa /fæ/
they (masc), them (masc), theirs (masc) |
3rd plural fem |
ù /ʊ/
they (fem), them (fem), theirs (fem) |
Possessive determiners
1st singular |
yo /jɔː/
my |
2nd singular |
piey /paɪ̯j/
your |
3rd singular masc |
sie /saɪ̯/
his |
3rd singular fem |
ád /ɑd/
her |
1st plural |
á /ɑ/
our |
2nd plural |
noz /nɔːz/
your (pl) |
3rd plural masc |
fa /fæ/
their (masc) |
3rd plural fem |
ù /ʊ/
their (fem) |
Verbs
|
Masculine |
Feminine |
Present |
No affix
moirun /mɔɪ̯ˈɹuːn/ |
No affix
moirun /mɔɪ̯ˈɹuːn/ |
Past |
Prefix ɪ-
ìmoirun /ɪˈmɔɪ̯ɹuːn/ |
Prefix bæ-
bamoirun /bæˈmɔɪ̯ɹuːn/ |
Future |
If starts with vowel: Prefix p-
Else: Prefix piː-
pimoirun /piːˈmɔɪ̯ɹuːn/ |
Prefix ɔː-
omoirun /ɔːˈmɔɪ̯ɹuːn/ |
Imperfective aspect
The ‘imperfective’ aspect refers to ongoing actions, such as
I am learning and habitual actions, such as
I learn (something new every day).
Tùfruian uses an affix for imperfective:
Imperfective |
If starts with vowel: Prefix n-
Else: Prefix nuː-
numoirun /nuːˈmɔɪ̯ɹuːn/
learns/is learning |
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.
Tùfruian uses an affix for the perfect aspect:
Perfect |
Prefix oʊ̯-
oùmoirun /oʊ̯ˈmɔɪ̯ɹuːn/
have learned |
Numbers
Tùfruian has a base-20 number system:
1 -
chi
2 -
ke
3 -
hu
4 -
pen
5 -
bù
6 -
oi
7 -
ta
8 -
i
9 -
wu
10 -
wùthwud
11 -
wùn
12 -
teng
13 -
fout
14 -
oz
15 -
hágzhì
16 -
vaho
17 -
pep
18 -
buz
19 -
kun
20 -
fosh
21 -
fosh iey chi “twenty and one”
400 -
oùs “fourhundred”
401 -
oùs iey chi “fourhundred and one”
800 -
ke oùs “two fourhundred”
8000 -
dhe “eightthousand”
Derivational morphology
Adjective → adverb = Prefix æ-
Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = Prefix zɔː-
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix n-
Else: Prefix næ-
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix j-
Else: Prefix jʊ-
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = Prefix pɛ-
Noun to verb = Prefix ɑ-
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = Prefix θiː-
Tending to = Prefix ɑ-
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix ʃ-
Else: Prefix ʃɔː-
Verb → noun that verb produces (e.g. know → knowledge) = If starts with vowel: Prefix p-
Else: Prefix pɑ-
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = If starts with vowel: Prefix ʧ-
Else: Prefix ʧɑ-
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = Prefix tɜː-
Diminutive = If starts with vowel: Prefix v-
Else: Prefix vɪ-
Augmentative = If starts with vowel: Prefix w-
Else: Prefix waʊ̯-
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