Yimzhāian (jimˈʒaːian)
Natively known as: yimzhā /jimˈʒaː/
...and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind... bã jo ōg jo hōv bīw bã jo d’ichõ pa sach dilo pĩn[alt] Pronunciation: /bã ʤo oːɣ ʤo hoːβ biːw bã ʤo ɗiˈʧõ pa saʧ diˈlo pĩn/ Yimzhāian word order: and he stood his hat holding and his wet face turned the wind to[/alt]Spelling & Phonology
Consonant inventory: b d h j k l m n p r s t w z ɓ ɗ ɣ ɲ ɸ ʃ ʄ ʒ ʤ ʧ β↓Manner/Place→ | Bilabial | Alveolar | Palato-alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | m | n | ɲ | |||
Stop | p b | t d | k | |||
Implosive | ɓ | ɗ | ʄ | |||
Affricate | ʧ ʤ | |||||
Fricative | ɸ β | s z | ʃ ʒ | ɣ | h | |
Approximant | j | |||||
Trill | r | |||||
Lateral approximant | l |
↓Manner/Place→ | Labial-velar |
---|---|
Approximant | w |
Front | Back | |
---|---|---|
High | i iː ĩ | u uː ũ |
High-mid | e eː ẽ | o oː õ |
Low | aː a ã |
Pronunciation | Spelling |
---|---|
j | y |
ɓ | b’ |
ɗ | d’ |
ɣ | g |
ɲ | ny |
ɸ | ph |
β | v |
ʃ | sh |
ʤ | j |
ʄ | j’ |
ʒ | zh |
ʧ | ch |
Vː | V̄ |
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: postpositionsNouns
Nouns have two cases:- Nominative is the doer of a verb: dog bites man.
- Accusative is the done-to of a verb: man bites dog.
Nominative | No affix lẽph /lẽɸ/ dog (doing the verb) |
Accusative | If starts with vowel: Prefix b- Else: Prefix bo- bolẽph /boˈlẽɸ/ (verb done to) dog |
Masculine | Feminine | |
---|---|---|
Singular | No affix e /e/ man | No affix nālro /naːˈlro/ woman |
Plural | If starts with vowel: Prefix t- Else: Prefix te- te /te/ men | Prefix u- unālro /unaːˈlro/ women |
Articles
Yimzhāian has no definite article ‘the’, or indefinite article ‘a’.Pronouns
Nominative | Accusative | |
---|---|---|
1st singular | rẽv /rẽβ/ I | j’ī /ʄiː/ me |
2nd singular | zhō /ʒoː/ you | lu /lu/ you |
3rd singular masc | jo /ʤo/ he, it | chē /ʧeː/ him, it |
3rd singular fem | j’ā /ʄaː/ she, it | ō /oː/ her, it |
1st plural | wõ /wõ/ we | sũ /sũ/ us |
2nd plural | wē /weː/ you all | ā /aː/ you all |
3rd plural masc | miw /miw/ they (masc) | ũ /ũ/ them (masc) |
3rd plural fem | shāg /ʃaːɣ/ they (fem) | ya /ja/ them (fem) |
Possessive determiners
1st singular | rẽv /rẽβ/ my |
2nd singular | zhō /ʒoː/ your |
3rd singular masc | jo /ʤo/ his |
3rd singular fem | j’ā /ʄaː/ her |
1st plural | wõ /wõ/ our |
2nd plural | wē /weː/ your (pl) |
3rd plural masc | miw /miw/ their (masc) |
3rd plural fem | shāg /ʃaːɣ/ their (fem) |
Verbs
Yimzhāian uses a standalone particle word for past tense:Past | Particle before the verb: ʄe - j’e uhōb /ʄe uˈhoːb/ learned |
Future | Particle before the verb: roːɣ - rōg uhōb /roːɣ uˈhoːb/ 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). Yimzhāian uses a standalone particle word for imperfective:Imperfective | Particle before the verb: ɲõ - nyõ uhōb /ɲõ uˈhoːb/ 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. Yimzhāian uses an affix for the perfect aspect:Perfect | Prefix iː- īuhōb /iːuˈhoːb/ have learned |
Numbers
Yimzhāian has a base-10 number system: 1 - we 2 - sād 3 - ho 4 - yōd 5 - vē 6 - me 7 - keshā 8 - wõ 9 - ī 10 - nyu 11 - nyuwe “ten-one” 100 - wū “hundred” 101 - wū bã we “hundred and one” 200 - sād wū 1000 - zhũ “thousand”Derivational morphology
Adjective → adverb = Suffix -eːʧAdjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = Prefix iː-
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -ɲ Else: Suffix -aɲ
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix k- Else: Prefix ku-
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -ɣ Else: Suffix -iɣ
Noun to verb = Prefix eː-
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = Suffix -ur
Tending to = If ends with vowel: Suffix -d Else: Suffix -ũd
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = Suffix -ẽβ
Verb → noun that verb produces (e.g. know → knowledge) = Suffix -e
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -b Else: Suffix -oːb
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -ɲ Else: Suffix -aɲ
Diminutive = If ends with vowel: Suffix -l Else: Suffix -aːl
Augmentative = If ends with vowel: Suffix -ɗ Else: Suffix -aɗ
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