Halenic Language Structure
The Language of Magic
Natively known as: Halenic
This is a place holder language and will change several times before it's finalized - Chris...and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind.
yach bas sbutgu puk lapl drunk yach izm lapl nguzu mib izm pre
Pronunciation: /jaʧ bas ˈsbutgu puk lapl drunk jaʧ izm lapl ˈŋuzu mib izm pʁə/
Word order: and he stood holding hat his and turned his face wet the wind to
Spelling & Phonology
Consonant inventory: /b d g h j k l m n p q r s t w z ŋ ɢ ʁ ʂ ʐ ʤ ʧ χ/
↓Manner/Place→ | Bilabial | Alveolar | Palato-alveolar | Retroflex | Palatal | Velar | Labio-velar | Uvular | Glottal |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | m | n | ŋ | ||||||
Stop | p b | t d | k g | q ɢ | |||||
Affricate | ʧ ʤ | ||||||||
Fricative | s z | ʂ ʐ | χ ʁ | h | |||||
Approximant | j | w | |||||||
Trill | r | ||||||||
Lateral approximant | l |
Vowel inventory: /a i u ə/
Front | Central | Back | |
---|---|---|---|
High | i | u | |
Mid | ə | ||
Low | a |
Stress pattern: No fixed stress
Word initial consonants: b, bl, br, d, dr, g, gr, h, hr, j, k, kl, kw, l, m, mb, mr, n, p, pl, pʁ, q, r, s, sb, sh, sk, sl, st, sz, sŋ, t, tʁ, w, z, zr, ŋ, ŋr, ɢ, ʁ, ʂ, ʂʐ, ʐ, ʤ, ʧ, χ
Mid-word consonants: b, bd, bl, bt, d, dr, g, h, hw, j, k, kn, kp, ks, kt, l, lk, m, mp, n, ng, nh, nz, p, pl, pw, q, r, rg, rm, rs, rw, rʤ, s, st, t, tg, tʁ, tʧ, w, z, ŋ, ŋg, ŋh, ɢ, ʁ, ʁw, ʂ, ʐ, ʤ, ʧ, χ
Word final consonants: b, d, g, gs, h, js, k, l, lk, lt, lz, lʤ, m, n, nk, nt, p, pl, pt, q, r, rd, rk, rs, s, st, t, ts, w, wp, wt, wɢ, z, zd, zm, ŋg, ŋk, ŋn, ɢ, ʁ, ʂ, ʐ, ʤ, ʧ
Phonological rules (in order of application):
- m→w / #_
- N→ŋ / _#
- sk→ʃ / #_
- S→Ø / #_F
Pronunciation | Spelling |
---|---|
j | y |
ŋ | ng |
ə | e |
ɢ | g̀ |
ʁ | r |
ʂ | ṣ |
ʐ | ẓ |
ʤ | j |
ʧ | ch |
χ | x |
Grammar
Main word order: Subject-Verb-Object-Oblique. "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: postpositions
Noun
Nouns form plural with separate plural word:
Plural | ki /ki/
plural particle |
Articles
Definite | i /i/
the |
Indefinite | awp /awp/
a, some |
Pronouns
1st singular | tri /tʁi/
I, me |
2nd singular | ple /plə/
you |
3rd singular masc | bas /bas/
he, him, it |
3rd singular fem | u /u/
she, her, it |
1st plural | zra /zra/
we, us |
2nd plural | zi /zi/
you (all) |
3rd plural | sbungk /sbuŋk/
they, them |
Possessive determiners
1st singular | sle /slə/
my |
2nd singular | iwt /iwt/
your |
3rd singular masc | lapl /lapl/
his, its |
3rd singular fem | sngi /sŋi/
her, its |
1st plural | sbu /sbu/
our |
2nd plural | bi /bi/
your |
3rd plural | pu /pu/
their |
Verbs
Future tense is indicated with the word:
Future particle | az /az/
future tense particle |
Present | Past | Remote past | |
---|---|---|---|
1st person | Suffix -i
presti /pʁəsˈti/ |
Suffix -id
prestid /ˈpʁəstid/ |
Suffix -at
prestat /ˈpʁəstat/ |
2nd person | Suffix -ilz
prestilz /ˈpʁəstilz/ |
Suffix -u
prestu /ˈpʁəstu/ |
Suffix -ih
prestih /pʁəsˈtih/ |
3rd person | If ends with vowel: Suffix -n
Else: Suffix -ən presten /pʁəsˈtən/ |
If ends with vowel: Suffix -kpu
Else: Suffix -akpu prestakpu /pʁəsˈtakpu/ |
Suffix -a
presta /ˈpʁəsta/ |
Imperfective aspect
The ‘imperfective’ aspect refers to ongoing actions, such as I am studying,
and habitual actions, such as I study (every night).
It is indicated with the word:
Imperfect particle | mi /mi/
imperfect particle |
Perfect aspect
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.
In Halenic, the perfect is constructed with an affix
Perfect | Suffix -apt
prestapt /ˈpʁəstapt/ |
Derivational morphology
Adjective → adverb = If ends with vowel: Suffix -b
Else: Suffix -ab
Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -ŋhu
Else: Suffix -uŋhu
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = Suffix -a
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -kna
Else: Suffix -ukna
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -tʁi
Else: Suffix -utʁi
Noun → verb (to create [noun]) = Suffix -a
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -rk
Else: Suffix -irk
Verb → adjective (likely to do [verb]) = Suffix -as
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = Suffix -is
Verb → noun that verb physically produces (e.g. build → building) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -ŋg
Else: Suffix -iŋg
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -wt
Else: Suffix -uwt
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -ʁa
Else: Suffix -iʁa
Diminutive = If ends with vowel: Suffix -rwə
Else: Suffix -urwə
Augmentative = Suffix -i
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