Natively known as: pocatan /pokaˈtan/
...and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind...
u mi pra binedu mi mamurja u eblod mi pacimi dine pla che[alt]
Pronunciation: /u mi pɾa bineˈdu mi mamuɾˈxa u eˈblod mi pakiˈmi diˈne pla ʧe/
Pocatan 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 k l m n p r s t w x ɲ ɾ ʎ ʧ
↓Manner/Place→ | Bilabial | Labiodental | Alveolar | Palato-alveolar | Palatal | Velar |
---|
Nasal | m | | n | | ɲ | |
Stop | p b | | t d | | | k g |
Affricate | | | | ʧ | | |
Fricative | | f | s | | | x |
Tap | | | ɾ | | | |
Trill | | | r | | | |
Lateral approximant | | | l | | ʎ | |
Co-articulated phonemes
↓Manner/Place→ | Labial-velar |
---|
Approximant | w |
Vowel inventory: a e i o u
| Front | Back |
---|
High | i | u |
High-mid | e | o |
Low | a | |
Syllable structure: Custom defined
Stress pattern: Ultimate — stress is on the last syllable
Word initial consonants: b bl bɾ d dɾ f fl fɾ g gɾ k kl kw kɾ l m n p pl pɾ r s sɾ t tɾ x ʎ ʧ
Mid-word consonants: b bl bs bx bɾ d dɾ f g gl gn gɾ k ks kt kw kɾ l lb ld ldɾ lg lk lm lp ls lt lɾ m mb mbɾ mp mpl mpɾ n nb nd ndɾ nf ng ngl ngɾ nk nkl nkɾ nm ns nstɾ nt ntɾ p ps pt pɾ r s sd sg sgɾ sk skɾ sl sm sp st stɾ t tɾ x xp xpl xs xtɾ ɲ ɾ ɾb ɾd ɾf ɾg ɾk ɾl ɾm ɾn ɾp ɾpɾ ɾs ɾt ɾx ɾʧ ʎ ʧ
Word final consonants: d l n s ɾ
Spelling rules:
Pronunciation | Spelling |
---|
ɾ | r |
ʎ | y / #_ |
ʎ | ll |
kw | cu |
k | c |
ʧ | ch |
ɲ | ñ |
x | g / _{e,i} |
x | j |
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
apa /aˈpa/
dog
|
Plural | If starts with vowel: Prefix f-
Else: Prefix fa-
fapa /faˈpa/
dogs
|
Articles
| Definite | Indefinite |
---|
Singular | pud /pud/
the
| mis /mis/
a
|
Plural | pi /pi/
the
| nos /nos/
some
|
Uses of definite article that differ from English:
- Definite article can be omitted: ‘I am going to supermarket’
- Used for personal names in third person: ‘The Maria has left for school’
Pronouns
1st singular | cil /kil/
I, me, mine
|
2nd singular | tul /tul/
you, yours
|
3rd singular masc | mi /mi/
he, him, his, it, its
|
3rd singular fem | nur /nuɾ/
she, her, hers, it, its
|
1st plural | in /in/
we, us, ours
|
2nd plural | chi /ʧi/
you all, yours (pl)
|
3rd plural | es /es/
they, them, theirs
|
Possessive determiners
1st singular | cil /kil/
my
|
2nd singular | tul /tul/
your
|
3rd singular masc | mi /mi/
his
|
3rd singular fem | nur /nuɾ/
her
|
1st plural | in /in/
our
|
2nd plural | chi /ʧi/
your (pl)
|
3rd plural | es /es/
their
|
Verbs
| Future |
---|
1st singular | If starts with vowel: Prefix n-
Else: Prefix ni-
nifepasi /niˌfepaˈsi/
(I) will learn
|
2nd singular | If starts with vowel: Prefix n-
Else: Prefix na-
nafepasi /naˌfepaˈsi/
(you) will learn
|
3rd singular | Prefix pi-
pifepasi /piˌfepaˈsi/
(he/she/it) will learn
|
1st plural | Prefix ni-
nifepasi /niˌfepaˈsi/
(we) will learn
|
2nd plural | If starts with vowel: Prefix m-
Else: Prefix me-
mefepasi /meˌfepaˈsi/
(you all) will learn
|
3rd plural | Prefix i-
ifepasi /iˌfepaˈsi/
(they) will learn
|
Pocatan uses a standalone particle word for past tense:
Past | Particle before the verb: ʧe -
che fepasi /ʧe fepaˈsi/
learned
|
Progressive aspect
The ‘progressive’ aspect refers to actions that are happening at the time of speaking, such as
I am learning.
Pocatan uses an affix for progressive:
Progressive | If starts with vowel: Prefix m-
Else: Prefix mo-
mofepasi /moˌfepaˈsi/
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).
Pocatan uses a standalone particle word for habitual:
Habitual | Particle before the verb: i -
i fepasi /i fepaˈsi/
learns
|
Numbers
Pocatan has a base-10 number system:
1 -
in
2 -
ma
3 -
a
4 -
pucin
5 -
yi
6 -
na
7 -
flocintus
8 -
oce
9 -
li
10 -
ca
11 -
in u ca “one and ten”
100 -
in fun “one hundred”
101 -
in fun u in “one hundred and one”
200 -
ma fun
1000 -
in minda “one thousand”
Derivational morphology
Adjective → adverb = Prefix si-
Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix m-
Else: Prefix ma-
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix p-
Else: Prefix po-
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -n
Else: Suffix -un
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -n
Else: Suffix -an
Noun to verb = Prefix ni-
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix m-
Else: Prefix mu-
Tending to = If ends with vowel: Suffix -l
Else: Suffix -al
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix m-
Else: Prefix mu-
Verb → noun that verb produces (e.g. know → knowledge) = Suffix -i
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = Suffix -i
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -l
Else: Suffix -ol
Diminutive = If starts with vowel: Prefix k-
Else: Prefix ka-
Augmentative = If starts with vowel: Prefix k-
Else: Prefix ki-
Comments