Natively known as: veua /ˈvɛʊ̯ɑ/
...and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind...
bi̊ ni̊t ri̊l dui̊ liekh su bi̊ dui̊ rievusi̊uv ngui̊ ngi̊u ʻad ja[alt]
Pronunciation: /bɪ nɪt rɪl ɖʊɪ̯ laɪ̯x ʂu bɪ ɖʊɪ̯ raɪ̯ˈvuʂɪʊ̯v ŋʊɪ̯ ŋɪʊ̯ ʔɑɖ ʤɑ/
Veʊan word order: and he stood his hat holding and his wet face turned the wind to[/alt]
Spelling & Phonology
Consonant inventory: b j l m n pʰ qʰ q͡χ r t tʰ v w x ŋ ɖ ɣ ɬ ʂ ʔ ʤ ʧ
| ↓Manner/Place→ |
Bilabial |
Labiodental |
Alveolar |
Palato-alveolar |
Retroflex |
Palatal |
Velar |
Uvular |
Glottal |
| Nasal |
m |
|
n |
|
|
|
ŋ |
|
|
| Stop |
pʰ b |
|
t tʰ |
|
ɖ |
|
|
qʰ |
ʔ |
| Affricate |
|
|
|
ʧ ʤ |
|
|
|
q͡χ |
|
| Fricative |
|
v |
|
|
ʂ |
|
x ɣ |
|
|
| Approximant |
|
|
|
|
|
j |
|
|
|
| Trill |
|
|
r |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Lateral fricative |
|
|
ɬ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Lateral approximant |
|
|
l |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Co-articulated phonemes
| ↓Manner/Place→ |
Labial-velar |
| Approximant |
w |
Vowel inventory: aɪ̯ aʊ̯ iː o oo̯ oɪ̯ u uu̯ ɑ ɛ ɛɪ̯ ɛʊ̯ ɪ ɪʊ̯ ʊɪ̯
Diphthongs: aɪ̯ aʊ̯ oo̯ oɪ̯ uu̯ ɛɪ̯ ɛʊ̯ ɪʊ̯ ʊɪ̯
|
Front |
Back |
| High |
iː |
u |
| Near-high |
ɪ |
|
| High-mid |
|
o |
| Low-mid |
ɛ |
|
| Low |
|
ɑ |
Syllable structure: Custom defined
Stress pattern: Penultimate — stress is on the second last syllable
Word initial consonants: b j l m n pʰ qʰ q͡χ r t tʰ v w x ŋ ɖ ɣ ɬ ʂ ʔ ʤ ʧ
Mid-word consonants: b j l m n pʰ qʰ q͡χ r t tʰ v w x ŋ ɖ ɣ ɬ ʂ ʔ ʤ ʧ
Word final consonants: b j l m n pʰ qʰ q͡χ r t tʰ v w x ŋ ɖ ɣ ɬ ʂ ʔ ʤ ʧ
Spelling rules:
| Pronunciation |
Spelling |
| ʔ |
ʻ |
| aɪ̯ |
ie |
| aʊ̯ |
ou |
| iː |
i |
| ɑ |
a |
| ɛ |
e |
| ɪ |
i̊ |
| j |
y |
| pʰ |
ph |
| tʰ |
th |
| x |
kh |
| ŋ |
ng |
| ɖ |
d |
| ɣ |
g |
| ɬ |
sh |
| ʂ |
s |
| ʤ |
j |
| ʧ |
ch |
| Vː |
VV |
| qʰ |
q |
| q͡χ |
qx |
| tɬ |
tlh |
| ɛʊ̯ |
ew |
| ɛɪ̯ |
ey |
| ɪʊ̯ |
iu |
| ʊɪ̯ |
uy |
| ʊ |
u |
| ̯ |
|
Grammar
Main word order: Subject Object Verb (Prepositional phrase). “Mary opened the door with a key” turns into
Mary the door opened with a key.
Adjective order: Adjectives are positioned before the noun.
Adposition: postpositions
Nouns
Nouns have three cases:
- Nominative is the doer of a verb: dog bites man.
- Accusative is the done-to of a verb: man bites dog.
- Genitive is the possessor of something: dog’s tail hits man.
| Nominative |
No affix
gui̊ph /ɣʊɪ̯pʰ/
dog (doing the verb) |
| Accusative |
If starts with vowel: Prefix qʰ-
Else: Prefix qʰu-
qugui̊ph /ˈqʰuɣʊɪ̯pʰ/
(verb done to) dog |
| Genitive |
Prefix ɛ-
egui̊ph /ˈɛɣʊɪ̯pʰ/
dogʼs |
| Singular |
No affix
gui̊ph /ɣʊɪ̯pʰ/
dog |
| Plural |
If starts with vowel: Prefix ɖ-
Else: Prefix ɖɑ-
dagui̊ph /ˈɖɑɣʊɪ̯pʰ/
dogs |
Articles
| Definite |
sha /ɬɑ/
the |
| Indefinite |
bi̊ /bɪ/
a, some |
Uses of definite article that differ from English:
- Definite article can be omitted: ‘I am going to supermarket’
- Used for languages: ‘The English’
- Used with place names: ‘The London’
Pronouns
|
Nominative |
Accusative |
Genitive |
| 1st singular |
seu /ʂɛʊ̯/
I |
phoung /pʰaʊ̯ŋ/
me |
bour /baʊ̯r/
mine |
| 2nd singular |
shied /ɬaɪ̯ɖ/
you |
ji̊u /ʤɪʊ̯/
you |
phew /pʰɛw/
yours |
| 3rd singular masc |
ni̊t /nɪt/
he, it |
akh /ɑx/
him, it |
dui̊ /ɖʊɪ̯/
his, its |
| 3rd singular fem |
noi̊ch /noɪ̯ʧ/
she, it |
khoi̊ /xoɪ̯/
her, it |
cho /ʧo/
hers, its |
| 1st plural |
oud /aʊ̯ɖ/
we |
noi̊ /noɪ̯/
us |
tei̊g /tɛɪ̯ɣ/
ours |
| 2nd plural |
noi̊ʻ /noɪ̯ʔ/
you all |
mou /maʊ̯/
you all |
nie /naɪ̯/
yours (pl) |
| 3rd plural |
khi̊r /xɪr/
they |
cheuth /ʧɛʊ̯tʰ/
them |
se /ʂɛ/
theirs |
Possessive determiners
| 1st singular |
bour /baʊ̯r/
my |
| 2nd singular |
phew /pʰɛw/
your |
| 3rd singular masc |
dui̊ /ɖʊɪ̯/
his |
| 3rd singular fem |
cho /ʧo/
her |
| 1st plural |
tei̊g /tɛɪ̯ɣ/
our |
| 2nd plural |
nie /naɪ̯/
your (pl) |
| 3rd plural |
se /ʂɛ/
their |
Verbs
| Future |
Prefix xo-
khoqxui̊v /ˈxoq͡χʊɪ̯v/
will learn |
Veʊan uses a standalone particle word for past tense:
| Past |
Particle before the verb: rɛ -
re qxui̊v /rɛ q͡χʊɪ̯v/
learned |
Progressive aspect
The ‘progressive’ aspect refers to actions that are happening at the time of speaking, such as
I am learning.
Veʊan uses an affix for progressive:
| Progressive |
Prefix ɛ-
eqxui̊v /ˈɛq͡χʊɪ̯v/
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).
Veʊan uses an affix for habitual:
| Habitual |
If starts with vowel: Prefix w-
Else: Prefix wɛʊ̯-
weuqxui̊v /ˈwɛʊ̯q͡χʊɪ̯v/
learns |
Numbers
Veʊan has a base-10 number system:
1 -
chashaq
2 -
sou
3 -
lie
4 -
wen
5 -
shoi̊
6 -
die
7 -
a
8 -
nge
9 -
tei̊
10 -
mei̊
11 -
mei̊chashaq “ten-one”
100 -
chashaq noi̊ “one hundred”
101 -
chashaq noi̊ chashaq “one hundred one”
200 -
sou noi̊
1000 -
chashaq ethi̊d “one thousand”
Derivational morphology
Adjective → adverb = If ends with vowel: Suffix -ʧ
Else: Suffix -ʊɪ̯ʧ
Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = Suffix -ɑ
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = Suffix -ɛ
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix v-
Else: Prefix vaɪ̯-
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = Suffix -ʊɪ̯
Noun to verb = Suffix -ɪ
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = Suffix -iː
Tending to = If ends with vowel: Suffix -pʰ
Else: Suffix -iːpʰ
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -ɣ
Else: Suffix -ɛʊ̯ɣ
Verb → noun that verb produces (e.g. know → knowledge) = Suffix -ɛɖ
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = Prefix ɑ-
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -ɖ
Else: Suffix -oɖ
Diminutive = If ends with vowel: Suffix -ʧ
Else: Suffix -ɛɪ̯ʧ
Augmentative = If ends with vowel: Suffix -b
Else: Suffix -ʊɪ̯b
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