Natively known as: baunt /bau̯nt/
...and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind...
frau pre lakke ai pre cup frau nyero pre waie gebow sau fraunjai[alt]
Pronunciation: /frau̯ pre ˈlakke ai̯ pre ʧup frau̯ ˈɲero pre ˈwai̯e ˈgebow sau̯ ˈfrau̯nʤai̯/
Baunti 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 r s t w ŋ ɲ ʤ ʧ
| ↓Manner/Place→ |
Bilabial |
Labiodental |
Alveolar |
Palato-alveolar |
Palatal |
Velar |
Glottal |
| Nasal |
m |
|
n |
|
ɲ |
ŋ |
|
| Stop |
p b |
|
t d |
|
|
k g |
|
| Affricate |
|
|
|
ʧ ʤ |
|
|
|
| Fricative |
|
f |
s |
|
|
|
h |
| Approximant |
|
|
|
|
j |
|
|
| Trill |
|
|
r |
|
|
|
|
| Lateral approximant |
|
|
l |
|
|
|
|
Co-articulated phonemes
| ↓Manner/Place→ |
Labial-velar |
| Approximant |
w |
Vowel inventory: a ai̯ au̯ e i o u
Diphthongs: ai̯ au̯
|
Front |
Back |
| High |
i |
u |
| High-mid |
e |
o |
| Low |
a |
|
Syllable structure: Custom defined
Stress pattern: Penultimate — stress is on the second last syllable
Word initial consonants: b d fr g gr h j k l m n p pl pr r s sh st t tr w ɲ ʤ ʧ
Mid-word consonants: b bʤ d f g h hk j k kh kk ks kt kɲ l lk m mb ml mp n nd nk ns nt ntr nɲ nʤ nʧ p pk pt r rb rd rg rh rk rl rm rn rp rs rt rʤ rʧ s sk st str t tk w ŋ ŋg ŋh ŋk ŋl ŋs ɲ ʤ ʧ
Word final consonants: b h k l ll m n nd nt p r rd s t w ŋ
Spelling rules:
| Pronunciation |
Spelling |
| ʧ |
c |
| ŋ |
ng |
| j |
y |
| ʤ |
j |
| ɲ |
ny |
| ̯ |
|
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 |
Plural |
| Masculine |
No affix
bigendo /biˈgendo/
man |
If starts with vowel: Prefix t-
Else: Prefix ta-
tabigendo /ˌtabiˈgendo/
men |
| Feminine |
No affix
gim /gim/
woman |
Prefix au̯-
augim /ˈau̯gim/
women |
| Neuter |
If starts with vowel: Prefix k-
Else: Prefix ke-
kefrumpunt /keˈfrumpunt/
dog |
If starts with vowel: Prefix gr-
Else: Prefix gre-
grefrumpunt /greˈfrumpunt/
dogs |
Articles
|
Definite |
Indefinite |
| Singular |
le /le/
the |
rau /rau̯/
a |
| Plural |
fri /fri/
the |
sho /sho/
some |
Uses of definite article that differ from English:
- Not used for mass (uncountable) nouns: ‘Walking in the mud’ would always translate to ‘Walking in mud’.
- Used for languages: ‘The English’
Uses of indefinite article that differ from English:
- Not used for non-specific countable nouns: non-specific means ‘I am looking for a (any) girl in a red dress’, whereas specific means ‘I am looking for a (particular) girl in a red dress’
Pronouns
| 1st singular |
a /a/
I, me, mine |
| 2nd singular |
mon /mon/
you, yours |
| 3rd singular masc |
pre /pre/
he, him, his |
| 3rd singular fem |
grau /grau̯/
she, her, hers |
| 3rd singular neuter |
pla /pla/
it, its |
| 1st plural |
tai /tai̯/
we, us, ours |
| 2nd plural |
nond /nond/
you all, yours (pl) |
| 3rd plural masc |
mu /mu/
they (masc), them (masc), theirs (masc) |
| 3rd plural fem |
bub /bub/
they (fem), them (fem), theirs (fem) |
| 3rd plural neuter |
fra /fra/
they (neut), them (neut), theirs (neut) |
Possessive determiners
| 1st singular |
a /a/
my |
| 2nd singular |
mon /mon/
your |
| 3rd singular masc |
pre /pre/
his |
| 3rd singular fem |
grau /grau̯/
her |
| 3rd singular neuter |
pla /pla/
its |
| 1st plural |
tai /tai̯/
our |
| 2nd plural |
nond /nond/
your (pl) |
| 3rd plural masc |
mu /mu/
their (masc) |
| 3rd plural fem |
bub /bub/
their (fem) |
| 3rd plural neuter |
fra /fra/
their (neut) |
Verbs
| Present |
No affix
jut /ʤut/
learn |
| Past |
Prefix prau̯-
praujut /ˈprau̯ʤut/
learned |
Baunti uses a standalone particle word for future tense:
| Future |
Particle before the verb: fre -
fre jut /fre ʤut/
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).
Baunti uses an affix for imperfective:
| Imperfective |
Prefix o-
ojut /ˈoʤut/
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.
Baunti uses an affix for the perfect aspect:
| Perfect |
Prefix pau̯-
paujut /ˈpau̯ʤut/
have learned |
Numbers
Baunti has a base-10 number system:
1 -
pri
2 -
jau
3 -
cu
4 -
ta
5 -
trai
6 -
nu
7 -
fro
8 -
ma
9 -
bung
10 -
pai
11 -
pai frau pri “ten and one”
100 -
leb “hundred”
101 -
leb pri “hundred one”
200 -
jau leb
1000 -
yi “thousand”
Derivational morphology
Adjective → adverb = Prefix u-
Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = Prefix a-
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix fr-
Else: Prefix fre-
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = Prefix u-
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = If starts with vowel: Prefix st-
Else: Prefix sto-
Noun to verb = Prefix u-
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = Prefix e-
Tending to = Prefix ka-
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = Prefix prau̯-
Verb → noun that verb produces (e.g. know → knowledge) = Prefix gi-
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = If starts with vowel: Prefix s-
Else: Prefix su-
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = Prefix ge-
Diminutive = Prefix ʧa-
Augmentative = Prefix au̯-
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