Natively known as: "ʒeːng"
...and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind...
is klu dväw vnup oo fwip is znän oo pekfi täl yäb poop
Pronunciation: /is klu dvɜw vnup oː fwip is znɜn oː peːkˈfi tɜl jɜb poːp/
Zhengian word order: and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind
Spelling & Phonology
Consonant inventory: b d f g h j k l m n p s t v w z ɖ ɭ ɽ ʃ ʈ ʒ ʔ ʤ ʧ
| ↓Manner/Place→ |
Bilabial |
Labiodental |
Alveolar |
Palato-alveolar |
Retroflex |
Palatal |
Velar |
Glottal |
| Nasal |
m |
|
n |
|
|
|
|
|
| Stop |
p b |
|
t d |
|
ʈ ɖ |
|
k g |
ʔ |
| Affricate |
|
|
|
ʧ ʤ |
|
|
|
|
| Fricative |
|
f v |
s z |
ʃ ʒ |
|
|
|
h |
| Approximant |
|
|
|
|
|
j |
|
|
| Tap |
|
|
|
|
ɽ |
|
|
|
| Lateral approximant |
|
|
l |
|
ɭ |
|
|
|
Co-articulated phonemes
| ↓Manner/Place→ |
Labial-velar |
| Approximant |
w |
Vowel inventory: aː eː i oː u ɜ
|
Front |
Central |
Back |
| High |
i |
|
u |
| High-mid |
eː |
|
oː |
| Low-mid |
|
ɜ |
|
| Low |
aː |
|
|
- Syllable structure: (C)(C)V(C)
- Stress pattern: Ultimate — stress is on the last syllable
- Word initial consonants: b bl bw d dv dw f fj fw g gj gl gw h hw j k kl kn kw l m ml mw n p pf ps pw s sl sw t ts tv v vj vn w wh z zl zn zw ɖ ɭ ɽ ʃ ʃn ʃw ʈ ʒw ʔ ʤ ʤd ʧh ʧl ʧt
- Mid-word consonants: b bj bt bv bw bʃ bʤ d db dl ds dv dw dʤ f ff fj fl fm ft g gd gf gg gk gs gw gʤ h hb hd hj hm hw j jb jk jt jʔ k kd kf kj kl km kn kt kʃ kʈ l lb lj lk ll lp lv lʧ m mb md mf mg mh mn mp mʃ mʒ mʔ mʤ mʧ n nh nm nn np ns nt nv nw nz nʃ nʒ nʔ nʤ p pk pl pm ps pt pʃ s sg sh sk sm ss st t th tz tʃ tʤ v vj vm vv vw w wb wd wg wm ws wt ww wz wʃ z zg zh zj zk ɖ ɭ ɭb ɭs ɭt ɽ ʃ ʃk ʃm ʃt ʃv ʃʈ ʈ ʈn ʒ ʒb ʒd ʒl ʒm ʔ ʔz ʤ ʤm ʤt ʧ ʧg ʧn
- Word final consonants: b d f g h k l m n p s v w ɭ ʤ ʧ
Spelling rules:
| Pronunciation |
Spelling |
| ʔ |
ʻ |
| aː |
a |
| eː |
e |
| ɜ |
ä |
| j |
y |
| ɖ |
ḍ |
| ɭ |
ḷ |
| ɽ |
r |
| ʃ |
sh |
| ʈ |
ṭ |
| ʒ |
zh |
| ʤ |
j |
| ʧ |
ch |
| Vː |
VV |
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
Articles
| Definite |
foo /foː/
the |
| Indefinite |
voon /voːn/
a, 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’.
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 |
pa /paː/
I, me, mine |
| 2nd singular |
va /vaː/
you, yours |
| 3rd singular masc |
klu /klu/
he, him, his, it, its |
| 3rd singular fem |
tsoo /tsoː/
she, her, hers, it, its |
| 1st plural |
gwoo /gwoː/
we, us, ours |
| 2nd plural |
oo /oː/
you all, yours (pl) |
| 3rd plural |
bek /beːk/
they, them, theirs |
Possessive determiners
| 1st singular |
shnoo /ʃnoː/
my |
| 2nd singular |
whe /wheː/
your |
| 3rd singular masc |
oo /oː/
his |
| 3rd singular fem |
jih /ʤih/
her |
| 1st plural |
bu /bu/
our |
| 2nd plural |
ṭu /ʈu/
your (pl) |
| 3rd plural |
zwup /zwup/
their |
Verbs
| Present |
No affix
ḍäj /ɖɜʤ/
learn |
| Past |
Suffix -oːw
ḍäjoow /ɖɜˈʤoːw/
learned |
| Future |
Suffix -i
ḍäji /ɖɜˈʤi/
will learn |
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.
Zheng uses the word for ‘already’
glook for the perfect aspect.
- Adjective → adverb = Suffix -u
- Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -ʧ (Else: Suffix -ɜʧ)
- Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -f (Else: Suffix -if)
- Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -s (Else: Suffix -aːs)
- Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = Suffix -eː
- Noun to verb = Suffix -ɜ
- Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = Suffix -ik
- Tending to = If ends with vowel: Suffix -p (Else: Suffix -up)
- Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -k (Else: Suffix -oːk)
- Verb → noun that verb produces (e.g. know → knowledge) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -f (Else: Suffix -ɜf)
- One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -ɭ (Else: Suffix -ɜɭ)
- Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -ɭ (Else: Suffix -iɭ)
- Diminutive = Suffix -oː
- Augmentative = If ends with vowel: Suffix -w (Else: Suffix -eːw)
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