Goblin vocabulary is shared by the goblin, bugbear, and hobgoblin races, even if the pronunciations, inflections, and usage differ wildly among them.
Natively known as: Hömbútkút /hømˈbuːtkuːt/
...and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind...
ve lo ís cszí lo om ve pev lo sar el búll arfus
Pronunciation: /vɛ lo iːʃ ʧiː lo om vɛ pɛv lo ʃɒr ɛl buːll ˈɒrfuʃ/
Hömbútkúti word order: and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind
Spelling & Phonology
Consonant inventory: /b d f h j k l m n p r t v z ɟ ɡ ɲ ʃ ʦ ʧ/
| ↓Manner/Place→ |
Bilabial |
Labiodental |
Alveolar |
Palato-alveolar |
Palatal |
Velar |
Glottal |
| Nasal |
m |
|
n |
|
ɲ |
|
|
| Stop |
p b |
|
t d |
|
ɟ |
k ɡ |
|
| Affricate |
|
|
ʦ |
ʧ |
|
|
|
| Fricative |
|
f v |
z |
ʃ |
|
|
h |
| Approximant |
|
|
|
|
j |
|
|
| Trill |
|
|
r |
|
|
|
|
| Lateral approximant |
|
|
l |
|
|
|
|
Vowel inventory: /aː eː i iː o oː u uː y yː ø øː ɒ ɛ/
|
Front |
Back |
| High |
i iː y yː |
u uː |
| High-mid |
eː ø øː |
o oː |
| Low-mid |
ɛ |
|
| Low |
aː |
ɒ |
Syllable structure: Custom defined
Stress pattern: No fixed stress
Word initial consonants: b, d, f, fr, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, pr, r, t, v, z, ɟ, ɡ, ɲ, ʃ, ʦ, ʧ
Mid-word consonants: b, bb, bl, br, d, dv, f, h, j, jt, k, kk, kʃ, l, ld, lh, lj, lk, ll, lm, ln, lr, lt, ltʃ, lv, lɡ, lʃ, m, mb, mʃ, n, nd, ndt, nk, nl, nn, nt, nɡ, nɡz, nʃ, p, pv, pʃ, r, rd, rf, rj, rk, rl, rm, rn, rr, rt, rtʃ, rv, rɡ, rʃ, t, tk, tl, tm, tʃ, v, z, zd, zk, zl, zn, zt, zz, ɟ, ɟʃ, ɡ, ɡf, ɡh, ɡl, ɲ, ʃ, ʃk, ʃl, ʃt, ʃʃ, ʦ, ʧ
Word final consonants: b, bb, d, j, jt, k, l, ld, ll, lt, lɟ, lʧ, m, n, nt, nɡ, nʃ, nʦ, nʧ, p, r, rd, rt, rʃ, rʦ, t, tt, v, z, zt, ɟ, ɡ, ɲ, ʃ, ʃt, ʃʃ
Phonological changes (in order of application):
- l → ɫ / V_V
- {p,t,k} → [+voice] / V_r
- ɲ → n / _i
- y → ə / _r
- k → c / V_V
- l → n / #_VC
- h → k / E_E
How to read phonological rules
Spelling rules:
| Pronunciation |
Spelling |
| ɒ |
a |
| aː |
á |
| ʦ |
c |
| ʧ |
cs |
| ɛ |
e |
| eː |
é |
| ɡ |
g |
| ɟ |
gy |
| iː |
í |
| ɲ |
ny |
| oː |
ó |
| øː |
ő |
| ø |
ö |
| s |
sz |
| ʒ |
zs |
| ʃ |
s |
| uː |
ú |
| yː |
ű |
| y |
ü |
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 |
No affix
őjt /øːjt/
doɡ |
| Plural |
If ends with vowel: Suffix -k
Else: Suffix -oːk
őjtók /ˈøːjtoːk/
doɡs |
Articles
Hömbútkúti has no definite article ‘the’, or indefinite article ‘a’.
Pronouns
| 1st singular |
cögü /ʦøɟ/
I, me, mine |
| 2nd singular |
á /aː/
you, yours |
| 3rd singular masc |
lo /lo/
he, him, his, it, its |
| 3rd singular fem |
li /li/
she, her, hers, it, its |
| 1st plural |
nüéng /ɲeːnɡ/
we, us, ours |
| 2nd plural |
nő /nøː/
you all, yours (pl) |
| 3rd plural |
fü /fy/
they, them, theirs |
Possessive determiners
| 1st singular |
cögü /ʦøɟ/
my |
| 2nd singular |
á /aː/
your |
| 3rd singular masc |
lo /lo/
his |
| 3rd singular fem |
li /li/
her |
| 1st plural |
nüéng /ɲeːnɡ/
our |
| 2nd plural |
nő /nøː/
your (pl) |
| 3rd plural |
fü /fy/
their |
Verbs
| Present |
No affix
hörtus /hørˈtuʃ/
learn |
| Past |
Prefix biː-
bíhörtus /biːˈhørtuʃ/
learned |
| Remote past |
Suffix -iː
hörtusí /hørtuˈʃiː/
learned (lonɡ aɡo) |
Hömbútkúti uses a standalone particle word for future tense:
| Future |
Particle before the verb: ɟuːʃ -
güús hörtus /ɟuːʃ ˈhørtuʃ/
will learn |
Progressive aspect
The ‘progressive’ aspect refers to actions that are happening at the time of speaking, such as
I am learning.
Hömbútkúti uses a standalone particle word for progressive:
| Progressive |
Particle before the verb: ɛ -
e hörtus /ɛ hørˈtuʃ/
is learninɡ |
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).
Hömbútkúti uses an affix for habitual:
| Habitual |
Suffix -ɒ
hörtusa /hørˈtuʃɒ/
learns |
Numbers
Hömbútkúti has a base-10 number system:
1 - sá
2 - zéns
3 - jér
4 - cik
5 - kadvo
6 - ve
7 - us
8 - ázt
9 - ro
10 - bugü
11 - sá ve bugü “one and ten”
100 - sá höldo “one hundred”
101 - sá höldo ve sá “one hundred and one”
200 - zéns höldo
1000 - sá nüos “one thousand”
Derivational morphology
Adjective → adverb = If ends with vowel: Suffix -bb
Else: Suffix -ɛbb
Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = Prefix ɡɛ-
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix k-
Else: Prefix keː-
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = Suffix -unʃ
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -nɡ
Else: Suffix -oːnɡ
Noun to verb = If ends with vowel: Suffix -rd
Else: Suffix -uːrd
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = Suffix -ulʧ
Tending to = Suffix -ɛ
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = Prefix ɒ-
Verb → noun that verb produces (e.g. know → knowledge) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -zt
Else: Suffix -eːzt
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -t
Else: Suffix -it
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -d
Else: Suffix -yːd
Diminutive = If ends with vowel: Suffix -lʧ
Else: Suffix -ølʧ
Augmentative = Prefix ɛ-
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