Kuslu

Natively known as: kuslu /kuˈslu/

...and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind...
po mjo nyu zidhungugh mjo swumo po hint mjo mgamra mchass he loss
Pronunciation: /pɔ mʄɔ ɲu ziˈðuŋguɣ mʄɔ swuˈmɔ pɔ hint mʄɔ mɠaˈmra mʧass hɛ lɔss/
Kusluian word order: and he stood holding hat his and turned his face wet to the wind

Phonology

Spelling & Phonology

Consonant inventory: b d f g h j k l m n p q r s t v w x z ð ŋ ɓ ɗ ɠ ɣ ɲ ʃ ʄ ʤ ʧ θ

↓Manner/Place→	Bilabial	Labiodental	Dental	Alveolar	Palato-alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Uvular	Glottal
Nasal	m			n		ɲ	ŋ
Stop	p b			t d			k g	q
Implosive	ɓ			ɗ		ʄ	ɠ
Affricate					ʧ ʤ
Fricative		f v	θ ð	s z	ʃ		x ɣ		h
Approximant						j
Trill				r
Lateral approximant				l

Co-articulated phonemes

↓Manner/Place→	Labial-velar
Approximant	w

Vowel inventory: a i u ɔ ɛ

	Front	Back
High	i	u
Low-mid	ɛ	ɔ
Low	a

Syllable structure: Custom defined
Stress pattern: Second — stress is on the second syllable
Spelling rules:

Pronunciation	Spelling
ɛ	e
ɔ	o
ɲ	ny
ɓ	b
j	y
ʄ	j
ɗ	d
ð	dh
θ	th
ŋg	ng
ŋ	ng'
ɠ	g
ʃ	sh
ɣ	gh
x	kh
ʧ	ch
nʤ	nj

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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 after the noun.
Adposition: prepositions

Nouns

	Singular	Plural
Masculine	No affix pra /pra/ boy	If starts with vowel: Prefix j- Else: Prefix jɛ- yepra /jɛˈpra/ boys
Feminine	No affix mpant /mpant/ girl	Prefix ta- tampant /tamˈpant/ girls
Neuter	No affix blew /ɓlɛw/ dog	If starts with vowel: Prefix ak- Else: Prefix akɔ- akoblew /aˈkɔɓlɛw/ dogs

Articles

Kusluian has no definite article ‘the’, or indefinite article ‘a’.

Pronouns

1st singular	esy /ɛsj/ I, me, mine
2nd singular	mge /mɠɛ/ you, yours
3rd singular masc	mjo /mʄɔ/ he, him, his,
3rd singular fem	bwa /ɓwa/ she, her, hers,
3rd singular neuter	kwotty /kwɔttj/ it (neut), its (neut)
1st plural	pwi /pwi/ we, us, ours
2nd plural	mi /mi/ you all, yours (pl)
3rd plural masc	nzo /nzɔ/ they (masc), them (masc), theirs (masc)
3rd plural fem	all /all/ they (fem), them (fem), theirs (fem)
3rd plural neuter	mwum /mwum/ they (neut), them (neut), theirs (neut)

Possessive determiners

	Possessive
1st singular	esy /ɛsj/ my
2nd singular	mge /mɠɛ/ your
3rd singular masc	mjo /mʄɔ/ his
3rd singular fem	bwa /ɓwa/ her
3rd singular neuter	kwotty /kwɔttj/ his, her, its (neut)
1st plural	pwi /pwi/ our
2nd plural	mi /mi/ your (pl)
3rd plural masc	nzo /nzɔ/ their (masc)
3rd plural fem	all /all/ their (fem)
3rd plural neuter	mwum /mwum/ their (neut)

Verbs

Masculine

	1st singular	2nd singular	3rd singular masc	3rd singular fem	3rd singular neuter	1st plural	2nd plural	3rd plural masc	3rd plural fem	3rd plural neuter
Present	If starts with vowel: Prefix s- Else: Prefix si- simshet /simˈʃɛt/ (I (masc)) learn	If starts with vowel: Prefix ɗ- Else: Prefix ɗi- dimshet /ɗimˈʃɛt/ (you (masc)) learn	If starts with vowel: Prefix ð- Else: Prefix ðɛ- dhemshet /ðɛmˈʃɛt/ (he) learns	If starts with vowel: Prefix k- Else: Prefix kɔ- komshet /kɔmˈʃɛt/ learn	If starts with vowel: Prefix mk- Else: Prefix mki- mkimshet /mkimˈʃɛt/ learn	Prefix mta- mtamshet /mtamˈʃɛt/ (we (masc)) learn	Prefix kwa- kwamshet /kwamˈʃɛt/ (you (masc) all) learn	Prefix mɠu- mgumshet /mɠumˈʃɛt/ (they (masc)) learn	If starts with vowel: Prefix mɲ- Else: Prefix mɲa- mnyamshet /mɲamˈʃɛt/ (they (masc)) learn	Prefix wa- wamshet /wamˈʃɛt/ (they (masc)) learn
Past	Prefix u- umshet /umˈʃɛt/ (I (masc)) learned	If starts with vowel: Prefix n- Else: Prefix nu- numshet /numˈʃɛt/ (you (masc)) learned	Prefix ɠi- gimshet /ɠimˈʃɛt/ (he) learned	If starts with vowel: Prefix ɔlf- Else: Prefix ɔlfɔ- olfomshet /ɔlˈfɔmʃɛt/ learned	Prefix nɛ- nemshet /nɛmˈʃɛt/ learned	Prefix mu- mumshet /mumˈʃɛt/ (we (masc)) learned	Prefix ɓwa- bwamshet /ɓwamˈʃɛt/ (you (masc) all) learned	Prefix ma- mamshet /mamˈʃɛt/ (they (masc)) learned	Prefix pa- pamshet /pamˈʃɛt/ (they (masc)) learned	If starts with vowel: Prefix m- Else: Prefix ma- mamshet /mamˈʃɛt/ (they (masc)) learned

Feminine

	1st singular	2nd singular	3rd singular masc	3rd singular fem	3rd singular neuter	1st plural	2nd plural	3rd plural masc	3rd plural fem	3rd plural neuter
Present	Prefix ɛ- emshet /ɛmˈʃɛt/ (I (fem)) learn	If starts with vowel: Prefix imr- Else: Prefix imrɔ- imromshet /iˈmrɔmʃɛt/ (you (fem)) learn	If starts with vowel: Prefix k- Else: Prefix kɔ- komshet /kɔmˈʃɛt/ learn	If starts with vowel: Prefix f- Else: Prefix fɔ- fomshet /fɔmˈʃɛt/ (she) learns	Prefix ʄa- jamshet /ʄamˈʃɛt/ learn	If starts with vowel: Prefix tr- Else: Prefix tru- trumshet /trumˈʃɛt/ (we (fem)) learn	If starts with vowel: Prefix mw- Else: Prefix mwa- mwamshet /mwamˈʃɛt/ (you (fem) all) learn	If starts with vowel: Prefix mɲ- Else: Prefix mɲa- mnyamshet /mɲamˈʃɛt/ (they (masc)) learn	If starts with vowel: Prefix mt- Else: Prefix mti- mtimshet /mtimˈʃɛt/ (they (fem)) learn	Prefix i- imshet /imˈʃɛt/ (they (fem)) learn
Past	Prefix fu- fumshet /fumˈʃɛt/ (I (fem)) learned	If starts with vowel: Prefix ɛnʤ- Else: Prefix ɛnʤu- enjumshet /ɛnˈʤumʃɛt/ (you (fem)) learned	If starts with vowel: Prefix ɔlf- Else: Prefix ɔlfɔ- olfomshet /ɔlˈfɔmʃɛt/ learned	If starts with vowel: Prefix pr- Else: Prefix pra- pramshet /pramˈʃɛt/ (she) learned	If starts with vowel: Prefix j- Else: Prefix ja- yamshet /jamˈʃɛt/ learned	If starts with vowel: Prefix ɔt- Else: Prefix ɔtɛ- otemshet /ɔˈtɛmʃɛt/ (we (fem)) learned	If starts with vowel: Prefix ɓw- Else: Prefix ɓwi- bwimshet /ɓwimˈʃɛt/ (you (fem) all) learned	Prefix pa- pamshet /pamˈʃɛt/ (they (masc)) learned	If starts with vowel: Prefix alf- Else: Prefix alfa- alfamshet /alˈfamʃɛt/ (they (fem)) learned	If starts with vowel: Prefix ʃ- Else: Prefix ʃɛ- shemshet /ʃɛmˈʃɛt/ (they (fem)) learned

Neuter

	1st singular	2nd singular	3rd singular masc	3rd singular fem	3rd singular neuter	1st plural	2nd plural	3rd plural masc	3rd plural fem	3rd plural neuter
Present	Prefix ɔ- omshet /ɔmˈʃɛt/ (I (neut)) learn	Prefix a- amshet /amˈʃɛt/ (you (neut)) learn	If starts with vowel: Prefix mk- Else: Prefix mki- mkimshet /mkimˈʃɛt/ learn	Prefix ʄa- jamshet /ʄamˈʃɛt/ learn	Prefix ti- timshet /timˈʃɛt/ (it (neut)) learns	Prefix krɔ- kromshet /krɔmˈʃɛt/ (we (neut)) learn	Prefix nza- nzamshet /nzamˈʃɛt/ (you (neut) all) learn	Prefix wa- wamshet /wamˈʃɛt/ (they (masc)) learn	Prefix i- imshet /imˈʃɛt/ (they (fem)) learn	Prefix mɠa- mgamshet /mɠamˈʃɛt/ (they (neut)) learn
Past	Prefix qi- qimshet /qimˈʃɛt/ (I (neut)) learned	If starts with vowel: Prefix ɲ- Else: Prefix ɲa- nyamshet /ɲamˈʃɛt/ (you (neut)) learned	Prefix nɛ- nemshet /nɛmˈʃɛt/ learned	If starts with vowel: Prefix j- Else: Prefix ja- yamshet /jamˈʃɛt/ learned	If starts with vowel: Prefix asl- Else: Prefix asla- aslamshet /aˈslamʃɛt/ (it (neut)) learned	If starts with vowel: Prefix ɔɗ- Else: Prefix ɔɗu- odumshet /ɔˈɗumʃɛt/ (we (neut)) learned	Prefix ju- yumshet /jumˈʃɛt/ (you (neut) all) learned	If starts with vowel: Prefix m- Else: Prefix ma- mamshet /mamˈʃɛt/ (they (masc)) learned	If starts with vowel: Prefix ʃ- Else: Prefix ʃɛ- shemshet /ʃɛmˈʃɛt/ (they (fem)) learned	Prefix mbwɔ- mbwomshet /mbwɔmˈʃɛt/ (they (neut)) learned

Kusluian uses a standalone particle word for future tense:

Future

Particle before the verb: sa - sa mshet /sa mʃɛt/ will learn

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).
Kusluian uses an affix for imperfective:

Imperfective

If starts with vowel: Prefix vj- Else: Prefix vji- vyimshet /vjimˈʃɛt/ learns/is learning

Numbers

Kusluian has a base-10 number system:
1 - am
2 - mnyur
3 - vyat
4 - mga
5 - pwa
6 - kur
7 - or
8 - nem
9 - mli
10 - ncham
100 - mte
1000 - msislerch

Derivational morphology

Adjective → adverb = Suffix -a
Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -ttj
Else: Suffix -attj
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -h
Else: Suffix -ɛh
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -ttj
Else: Suffix -ɛttj
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = If starts with vowel: Prefix r-
Else: Prefix ra-
Noun to verb = If ends with vowel: Suffix -ʧɔ
Else: Suffix -ɛʧɔ
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = Suffix -i
Tending to = If ends with vowel: Suffix -h
Else: Suffix -ih
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix k-
Else: Prefix kɛ-
Verb → noun that verb produces (e.g. know → knowledge) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -nt
Else: Suffix -ɔnt
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -sj
Else: Suffix -ɔsj
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = Suffix -u
Diminutive = Suffix -u
Augmentative = Suffix -an

Dictionary

1858 Words.

Spoken by

• Kusi