Bresouian-Western
a language spoken by most people from the southwest.
spij vart gree kou vrorluil wom spij kou schreurcht zirtrie gezed drechtun plie
Pronunciation: /spɛi̯ vaːrt ɣreː kɑu̯ vrɔˈrlœy̯l ʋɔm spɛi̯ kɑu̯ sxrøːrxt zɪrˈtri ɣəˈzɛt drəxˈtyn pli/
Bresouian word order: and he stood his hat holding and his wet face turned the wind to
Vowel inventory: aː eː i oː u y øː œy̯ ɑ ɑu̯ ɔ ə ɛ ɛi̯ ɪ ʏ
Diphthongs: œy̯ ɑu̯ ɛi̯ ?
Syllable structure: Custom defined ?
Stress pattern: Ultimate — stress is on the last syllable ? Spelling rules:
Adjective order: Adjectives are positioned before the noun.
Adposition: postpositions ?
Uses of definite article that differ from English:
Bresouian uses a standalone particle word for future tense:
Bresouian uses an affix for progressive:
Bresouian uses a standalone particle word for habitual:
2 - dre
3 - moed
4 - gol
5 - rij
6 - hee
7 - klirs
8 - ok
9 - twu
10 - stou
100 - wo
1000 - zee
Else: Prefix ɣøː-
Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = Prefix ɛi̯-
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix iŋk-
Else: Prefix iŋkeː-
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = Prefix eː-
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = Prefix brɛ-
Noun to verb = If starts with vowel: Prefix ɑtz-
Else: Prefix ɑtzʏ-
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix b-
Else: Prefix bɑ-
Tending to = Prefix nɛ-
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = Prefix baː-
Verb → noun that verb produces (e.g. know → knowledge) = If starts with vowel: Prefix d-
Else: Prefix du-
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = If starts with vowel: Prefix ɣ-
Else: Prefix ɣu-
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = If starts with vowel: Prefix vr-
Else: Prefix vrə-
Diminutive = Prefix ɣɪ-
Augmentative = If starts with vowel: Prefix ɛɣ-
Else: Prefix ɛɣu-
Natively known as: bresou /brɛˈsɑu̯/
...and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind...spij vart gree kou vrorluil wom spij kou schreurcht zirtrie gezed drechtun plie
Pronunciation: /spɛi̯ vaːrt ɣreː kɑu̯ vrɔˈrlœy̯l ʋɔm spɛi̯ kɑu̯ sxrøːrxt zɪrˈtri ɣəˈzɛt drəxˈtyn pli/
Bresouian word order: and he stood his hat holding and his wet face turned the wind to
Spelling & Phonology
Consonant inventory: b d f j k l m n p r s t v x z ŋ ɣ ɦ ʋ| ↓Manner/Place→ | Bilabial | Labiodental | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | |||
| Stop | p b | t d | k | |||
| Fricative | f v | s z | x ɣ | ɦ | ||
| Approximant | ʋ | j | ||||
| Trill | r | |||||
| Lateral approximant | l |
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i y | u | |
| Near-high | ɪ ʏ | ||
| High-mid | eː øː | oː | |
| Mid | ə | ||
| Low-mid | ɛ | ɔ | |
| Low | aː | ɑ |
Stress pattern: Ultimate — stress is on the last syllable ? Spelling rules:
| Pronunciation | Spelling |
|---|---|
| sx | sch |
| x | g / _# |
| x | ch |
| ʋ | w |
| p | b / _# |
| t | d / _# |
| d | t / C_# |
| ɣ | g |
| ɦ | h |
| ŋk | ng |
| ŋ | ng |
| yu | uw |
| u | oe / !_w |
| ɑoe̯ | ou |
| eː | ee |
| aː | a |
| ɑ | a |
| oː | o |
| ɛi̯ | ij / _# |
| ɛi̯ | ei |
| ɛ | e |
| ɔ | o |
| i | ie / C_# |
| œy̯ | ui |
| ɪ | i |
| ʏ | u |
| y | u |
| øː | eu |
| ə | e |
| ̯ |
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 five 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.
- Dative is the recipient of something: man gives ball to dog.
- Locative is the location of something: man is in town.
| Nominative | No affix stuchtert /stʏxˈtɛrt/ dog (doing the verb) |
| Accusative | Prefix joː- jostuchtert /joːstʏxˈtɛrt/ (verb done to) dog |
| Genitive | Prefix oː- ostuchtert /oːstʏxˈtɛrt/ dogʼs |
| Dative | Prefix ɦœy̯- huistuchtert /ɦœy̯stʏxˈtɛrt/ to dog |
| Locative | Prefix eː- eestuchtert /eːstʏxˈtɛrt/ near/at/by dog |
| Singular | Prefix bøː- beustuchtert /bøːstʏxˈtɛrt/ dog |
| Plural | No affix stuchtert /stʏxˈtɛrt/ dogs |
Articles
| Definite | e /ə/ the |
| Indefinite | kloeft /kluft/ a, some |
- Used for personal names in third person: ‘The Maria has left for school’
- Used for languages: ‘The English’
- Not used for non-specific mass (uncountable) nouns: non-specific means ‘Would you like some (any) tea?’ whereas specific means ‘Some tea (a specific amount) fell off the truck’
Pronouns
| Nominative | Accusative | Genitive | Dative | Locative | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st singular | dangt /dɑŋkt/ I | krui /krœy̯/ me | zwa /zʋaː/ mine | juirt /jœy̯rt/ to me | spent /spənt/ to me |
| 2nd singular | plu /ply/ you | joe /ju/ you | nui /nœy̯/ yours | jee /jeː/ to you | zeen /zeːn/ to you |
| 3rd singular masc | vart /vaːrt/ he, it (masc) | kou /kɑu̯/ his, it (masc) | me /mɛ/ his, its (masc) | ba /baː/ to his, to it (masc) | ne /nə/ to his, to it (masc) |
| 3rd singular fem | be /bə/ she, it (fem) | res /rɛs/ her, it (fem) | stoe /stu/ hers, its (fem) | slees /sleːs/ to her, to it (fem) | stast /staːst/ to her, to it (fem) |
| 1st plural | prie /pri/ we | schrung /sxrʏŋ/ us | ij /ɛi̯/ ours | lui /lœy̯/ to us | vou /vɑu̯/ to us |
| 2nd plural | schart /sxɑrt/ you all | stin /stin/ you all | kwost /kʋɔst/ yours (pl) | dukt /dykt/ to you all | vrakt /vrɑkt/ to you all |
| 3rd plural | vee /veː/ they | loe /lu/ them | am /aːm/ theirs | deelf /deːlf/ to them | dreun /drøːn/ to them |
Possessive determiners
| Possessive | |
|---|---|
| 1st singular | zwa /zʋaː/ my |
| 2nd singular | nui /nœy̯/ your |
| 3rd singular masc | kou /kɑu̯/ his |
| 3rd singular fem | stoe /stu/ her |
| 1st plural | ij /ɛi̯/ our |
| 2nd plural | kwost /kʋɔst/ your (pl) |
| 3rd plural | am /aːm/ their |
Verbs
| Present | Past | Remote past | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st singular | Prefix aː- aple /aːˈplɛ/ (I) learn | Prefix ɔ- ople /ɔˈplɛ/ (I) learned | If starts with vowel: Prefix ʋ- Else: Prefix ʋɛ- weple /ʋɛˈplɛ/ (I) learn (long ago) |
| 2nd singular | Prefix nɔ- nople /nɔˈplɛ/ (you) learn | If starts with vowel: Prefix tr- Else: Prefix trɪ- triple /trɪˈplɛ/ (you) learned | If starts with vowel: Prefix ɑrɦ- Else: Prefix ɑrɦɑu̯- arhouple /ɑrɦɑu̯ˈplɛ/ (you) learn (long ago) |
| 3rd singular | If starts with vowel: Prefix ɦ- Else: Prefix ɦɔ- hople /ɦɔˈplɛ/ (he/she/it) learns | If starts with vowel: Prefix n- Else: Prefix nɪ- niple /nɪˈplɛ/ (he/she/it) learned | Prefix sprə- spreple /sprəˈplɛ/ (he/she/it) learns (long ago) |
| 1st plural | If starts with vowel: Prefix b- Else: Prefix bə- beple /bəˈplɛ/ (we) learn | If starts with vowel: Prefix l- Else: Prefix lɔ- lople /lɔˈplɛ/ (we) learned | If starts with vowel: Prefix l- Else: Prefix lœy̯- luiple /lœy̯ˈplɛ/ (we) learn (long ago) |
| 2nd plural | If starts with vowel: Prefix b- Else: Prefix bɑ- baple /bɑˈplɛ/ (you all) learn | If starts with vowel: Prefix j- Else: Prefix jy- juple /jyˈplɛ/ (you all) learned | If starts with vowel: Prefix ɪd- Else: Prefix ɪdɔ- idople /ɪdɔˈplɛ/ (you all) learn (long ago) |
| 3rd plural | If starts with vowel: Prefix øːrn- Else: Prefix øːrnoː- eurnople /øːrnoːˈplɛ/ (they) learn | If starts with vowel: Prefix z- Else: Prefix zɛi̯- zeiple /zɛi̯ˈplɛ/ (they) learned | Prefix bɪ- biple /bɪˈplɛ/ (they) learn (long ago) |
| Future | Particle before the verb: lyls - luls ple /lyls plɛ/ will learn |
Progressive aspect
The ‘progressive’ aspect refers to actions that are happening at the time of speaking, such as I am learning.Bresouian uses an affix for progressive:
| Progressive | Prefix ə- eple /əˈplɛ/ 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).Bresouian uses a standalone particle word for habitual:
| Habitual | Particle before the verb: uk - oek ple /uk plɛ/ learns |
Numbers
Bresouian has a base-10 number system: 1 - ein2 - dre
3 - moed
4 - gol
5 - rij
6 - hee
7 - klirs
8 - ok
9 - twu
10 - stou
100 - wo
1000 - zee
Derivational morphology
Adjective → adverb = If starts with vowel: Prefix ɣ-Else: Prefix ɣøː-
Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = Prefix ɛi̯-
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix iŋk-
Else: Prefix iŋkeː-
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = Prefix eː-
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = Prefix brɛ-
Noun to verb = If starts with vowel: Prefix ɑtz-
Else: Prefix ɑtzʏ-
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix b-
Else: Prefix bɑ-
Tending to = Prefix nɛ-
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = Prefix baː-
Verb → noun that verb produces (e.g. know → knowledge) = If starts with vowel: Prefix d-
Else: Prefix du-
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = If starts with vowel: Prefix ɣ-
Else: Prefix ɣu-
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = If starts with vowel: Prefix vr-
Else: Prefix vrə-
Diminutive = Prefix ɣɪ-
Augmentative = If starts with vowel: Prefix ɛɣ-
Else: Prefix ɛɣu-
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