Zhellish
The language of the Lashunta.
ko vas hin thùmush vas mon ko zhùsh vas hen nùh zhes koro
Pronunciation: /ko vɑs hɪn θiˈmʌʃ vɑs mon ko ʒiʃ vɑs hɛn nih ʒɛs koˈɹo/
Zhellish word order: and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind
Vowel inventory: a e i o u y
Syllable structure: Custom defined ?
Stress pattern: Ultimate — stress is on the last syllable ? Sound changes (in order of application):
Adjective order: Adjectives are positioned before the noun.
Adposition: prepositions ?
Uses of definite article that differ from English:
Zhellish uses a standalone particle word for past tense:
Zhellish uses a standalone particle word for future tense:
Zhellish uses an affix for progressive:
Zhellish uses an affix for habitual:
Zhellish uses an affix for the perfect aspect:
2 - he
3 - du
4 - na
5 - thun
6 - on
7 - ni
8 - ha
9 - kis
10 - ve
11 - zhish
12 - zù
13 - thull
14 - ro
15 - zone
16 - re
17 - zuh
18 - ton
19 - nùn
20 - zhash
400 - nù
8000 - ih
Else: Prefix ta-
Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = Suffix -ih
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = Prefix ko-
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -ss
Else: Suffix -oss
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -ll
Else: Suffix -ill
Noun to verb = If ends with vowel: Suffix -ss
Else: Suffix -ass
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix im-
Else: Prefix ima-
Tending to = Suffix -o
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -s
Else: Suffix -os
Verb → noun that verb produces (e.g. know → knowledge) = Prefix do-
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = Suffix -a
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = Prefix ve-
Diminutive = Suffix -y
Augmentative = Suffix -iss
Natively known as: zhell /ʒɛl/
...and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind...ko vas hin thùmush vas mon ko zhùsh vas hen nùh zhes koro
Pronunciation: /ko vɑs hɪn θiˈmʌʃ vɑs mon ko ʒiʃ vɑs hɛn nih ʒɛs koˈɹo/
Zhellish word order: and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind
Spelling & Phonology
Consonant inventory: d f h k l m n r s t v z↓Manner/Place→ | Bilabial | Labiodental | Alveolar | Velar | Glottal |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | m | n | |||
Stop | t d | k | |||
Fricative | f v | s z | h | ||
Trill | r | ||||
Lateral approximant | l |
Front | Back | |
---|---|---|
High | i y | u |
High-mid | e | o |
Low | a |
Stress pattern: Ultimate — stress is on the last syllable ? Sound changes (in order of application):
- a → ɑ
- b → b
- ch → ʧ
- c → k
- d → d
- e → ɛ
- f → f
- g → g
- h → h
- i → ɪ
- j → ʤ
- kk → k
- k → k
- ll → l
- l → l
- m → m
- ng → ŋ
- nn → n
- n → n
- o → o
- p → p
- q → k
- r → ɹ
- sh → ʃ
- ss → s
- s → s
- th → θ
- t → t
- u → ʌ
- v → v
- w → w
- x → ks
- y → i
- zh → ʒ
- z → z
Pronunciation | Spelling |
---|---|
y | ù |
ɑ | a |
b | b |
ʧ | ch |
d | d |
ɛ | e |
f | f |
g | g |
h | h |
i | i |
ɪ | i |
ʤ | j |
k | k |
l | l |
m | m |
ŋ | ng |
n | n |
o | o |
p | p |
ɹ | r |
ʃ | sh |
ss | s |
s | s |
θ | th |
t | t |
ʌ | u |
v | v |
w | w |
x | ks |
z | z |
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
Singular | No affix
zhun /ʒʌn/ dog |
Plural | Prefix na-
nazhun /nɑˈʒʌn/ dogs |
Articles
Definite | Indefinite | |
---|---|---|
Singular | za /zɑ/ the | os /os/ a |
Plural | rill /ɹɪl/ the | shi /ʃɪ/ some |
- Used to talk about countable nouns in general: English’s ‘I like cats’ would translate to ‘I like the cats’
- Not used for mass (uncountable) nouns: ‘Walking in the mud’ would always translate to ‘Walking in mud’.
- Used for languages: ‘The English’
- Used with place names: ‘The London’
- 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 | zùl /zil/ I, me, mine |
2nd singular | mos /mos/ you, yours |
3rd singular masc | vas /vɑs/ he, him, his, it, its |
3rd singular fem | shu /ʃʌ/ she, her, hers, it, its |
1st plural | la /lɑ/ we, us, ours |
2nd plural | ru /ɹʌ/ you all, yours (pl) |
3rd plural | el /ɛl/ they, them, theirs |
Possessive determiners
1st singular | zil /zɪl/ my |
2nd singular | mos /mos/ your |
3rd singular masc | vas /vɑs/ his |
3rd singular fem | shu /ʃʌ/ her |
1st plural | la /lɑ/ our |
2nd plural | ru /ɹʌ/ your (pl) |
3rd plural | el /ɛl/ their |
Verbs
1st singular | If starts with vowel: Prefix v-
Else: Prefix vu- vukell /vʌˈkɛl/ (I) learn/learned/will learn |
2nd singular | If starts with vowel: Prefix th-
Else: Prefix the- thekell /θɛˈkɛl/ (you) learn/learned/will learn |
3rd singular | Prefix ne-
nekell /nɛˈkɛl/ (he/she/it) learns/learned/will learn |
1st plural | If starts with vowel: Prefix uk-
Else: Prefix uko- ukokell /ʌkoˈkɛl/ (we) learn/learned/will learn |
2nd plural | If starts with vowel: Prefix l-
Else: Prefix le- lekell /lɛˈkɛl/ (you all) learn/learned/will learn |
3rd plural | If starts with vowel: Prefix m-
Else: Prefix ma- makell /mɑˈkɛl/ (they) learn/learned/will learn |
Past | Particle before the verb: do -
do kell /do kɛl/ learned |
Future | Particle before the verb: a -
a kell /ɑ kɛl/ will learn |
Progressive aspect
The ‘progressive’ aspect refers to actions that are happening at the time of speaking, such as I am learning.Zhellish uses an affix for progressive:
Progressive | If starts with vowel: Prefix h-
Else: Prefix hy- hùkell /hiˈkɛl/ is learning |
Habitual aspect
The ‘habitual’ aspect refers to actions that happen habitually, such as I learn (something new every day), as opposed to actions that happen once (I learned something).Zhellish uses an affix for habitual:
Habitual | Prefix u-
ukell /ʌˈkɛl/ learns |
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.Zhellish uses an affix for the perfect aspect:
Perfect | Prefix ra-
rakell /ɹɑˈkɛl/ have learned |
Numbers
Zhellish has a base-20 number system: 1 - i2 - he
3 - du
4 - na
5 - thun
6 - on
7 - ni
8 - ha
9 - kis
10 - ve
11 - zhish
12 - zù
13 - thull
14 - ro
15 - zone
16 - re
17 - zuh
18 - ton
19 - nùn
20 - zhash
400 - nù
8000 - ih
Derivational morphology
Adjective → adverb = If starts with vowel: Prefix t-Else: Prefix ta-
Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = Suffix -ih
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = Prefix ko-
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -ss
Else: Suffix -oss
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -ll
Else: Suffix -ill
Noun to verb = If ends with vowel: Suffix -ss
Else: Suffix -ass
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix im-
Else: Prefix ima-
Tending to = Suffix -o
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -s
Else: Suffix -os
Verb → noun that verb produces (e.g. know → knowledge) = Prefix do-
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = Suffix -a
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = Prefix ve-
Diminutive = Suffix -y
Augmentative = Suffix -iss