Old Delhizan*

LANGUAGE FAMILY: SAU-SERIB
PERIOD OF USE:
SCRIPT USED:
PARENT LANGUAGE:
DESCENDANT LANGUAGES:

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"...and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind..."
Translation: ɳü̋h øīn mèm pùɲ lahɑ̀mè lahnȳ ɳü̋h nǖp ʒɛ̋t mèm kẽ̀ nɑ̀nøíɲ lahlỹ̏
Pronunciation: ɳűh øīn mèm pʊ̀ɲ ˈlahɑ̀mè ˈlahnȳ ɳűh nūp ʒɛ̋tʰ mèm kẽ̀ ˈnɑ̀nøíɲ ˈlahlỹ̏
Old Delhizan word order: and he his hat holding stood and the wind to his wet face turned

Spelling & Phonology

Consonant inventory: /b bʼ c cʰ d dʼ f g gʼ h j k kʰ l l̥ m n p pʰ q r s sʰ t tʰ w x z ɕ ɕʰ ɖ ɖʼ ɟ ɣ ɥ ɮ ɲ ɳ ɹ ɹ̥ ɽ ɽʼ ʂ ʂʰ ʃ ʃʰ ʈ ʈʰ ʋ ʎ ʒ ʒʼ ʔ ʦʰ ʧ ʧʰ/

↓Manner/Place→	Bilabial	Labiodental	Alveolar	Palato-alveolar	Retroflex	Alveolo-palatal	Palatal	Velar	Uvular	Glottal
Nasal	m		n		ɳ		ɲ
Stop	p pʰ b bʼ		t tʰ d dʼ		ʈ ʈʰ ɖ ɖʼ		cʰ c ɟ	k kʰ g gʼ	q	ʔ
Affricate			ʦʰ	ʧ ʧʰ
Fricative		f	s sʰ z	ʃ ʃʰ ʒ ʒʼ	ʂʰ ʂ	ɕʰ ɕ		x ɣ		h
Approximant		ʋ	ɹ̥ ɹ				j
Tap					ɽ ɽʼ
Trill			r
Lateral fricative			ɮ
Lateral approximant			l l̥				ʎ

Co-articulated phonemes

↓Manner/Place→	Labial-palatal	Labial-velar
Approximant	ɥ	w

Vowel inventory: /e ẽ ĩ o u y ỹ øi ø̃ ɑ ɔ ɛ ɵ ʊ ʌ/
Diphthongs: øi
Tones: ̋ ̀ ́ ̄ ̏

	Front	Central	Back
High	ĩ y ỹ		u
Near-high			ʊ
High-mid	e ẽ ø̃	ɵ	o
Low-mid	ɛ		ʌ ɔ
Low			ɑ

Syllable structure: Custom defined
Stress pattern: Initial — stress is on the first syllable
Word initial consonants: b, bʼ, d, dʒ, dʒʼ, dʼ, f, g, gʼ, j, k, kʰ, l, m, n, p, pʰ, q, r, s, t, tʃ, tʃʰ, tʰ, x, z, ɖ, ɖʼ, ɣ, ɳ, ɽ, ɽʼ, ʃ, ʈ, ʈʰ, ʋ, ʒ
Mid-word consonants: ff, g, gs, gts, gʃ, gʧ, j, m, mn, ms, mʧ, mʧɮ, n, nx, nʦʰ, r, rs, rsg, rtɮ, rʃ, rʦʰ, rʧʰ, s, sn, sr, ss, stʰ, sɮ, t, tw, tɮ, tʰg, tʰɮ, w, ws, wtʰ, xn, xt, xɮ, ɮs, ɮt, ɮtw, ɮtʰg, ɮtʰtʰ, ɮx, ɮʦʰ, ɮʧ, ɮʧʰɮ, ʃ, ʦʰ, ʦʰs, ʧ, ʧʰs
Word final consonants: c, cʰ, g, h, j, k, kʰ, l, l̥, m, n, p, pʰ, s, t, ts, tsʰ, tɕ, tɕʰ, tʰ, w, ɕ, ɟ, ɥ, ɲ, ɹ, ɹ̥, ʂ, ʈ, ʈʂ, ʈʂʰ, ʈʰ, ʎ, ʔ
Phonological changes (in order of application):

• ɣ → g / #_

Spelling rules:

Pronunciation	Spelling
w	b
t	d / !_ʰ
tʰ	t
ʧʰ	ch
ʧ	ch
ʦʰ	c
ʦ	c
kʰ	k
ɮ	l
ʃ	sh
ɔ	o
ɵ	ö
pʰ	p
u	ü
ʊ	u
j	y
ʲ	∅

Grammar

Main word order: Subject (Prepositional phrase) Object Verb.
"Mary opened the door with a key" turns into Mary with a key the door opened.
Adjective order: Adjectives are positioned before the noun.
Adposition: postpositions

Nouns

Nouns have four 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 recipeint of something: man gives ball to dog.

Nouns form plural with separate plural word:

Plural

Particle before the noun: mè - mè mēg /mè mēg/ dogs

	Animate	Inanimate
Nominative	Suffix -ém épém /ˈépʰém/	Suffix -ø̃̏n ʈỳshȅɲø̃̏n /ˈʈỳʃȅɲø̃̏n/
Accusative	If ends with vowel: Suffix -m Else: Suffix -èm épèm /ˈépʰèm/	Suffix -e̋ ʈỳshȅɲe̋ /ˈʈỳʃȅɲe̋/
Genitive	Suffix -èɲ épèɲ /ˈépʰèɲ/	Suffix -ʊ̀ ʈỳshȅɲù /ˈʈỳʃȅɲʊ̀/
Dative	If ends with vowel: Suffix -tsʰ Else: Suffix -ètsʰ épèdsʰ /ˈépʰètsʰ/	If ends with vowel: Suffix -p Else: Suffix -øi̋p ʈỳshȅɲøi̋p /ˈʈỳʃȅɲøi̋p/

Articles

	Definite	Indefinite
Singular	nĩ́ /nĩ́/ the	ʈøìʈʰ /ʈøìʈʰ/ a
Plural	e̋ /e̋/ the	mū /mʊ̄/ some

Pronouns

	Nominative	Accusative	Genitive	Dative
1st singular	møi̋ /møi̋/ I	kɛ̋n /kɛ̋n/ me	ɳøi̋ /ɳøi̋/ mine	dè /tè/ to me
2nd singular	me̋p /me̋p/ you (masc)	e̋p /e̋pʰ/ you	mö̋n /mɵ̋n/ yours	dshű /tʃʊ̋/ to you
3rd singular masc	øīn /øīn/ he, it	ʈøȉg /ʈøȉg/ him, it	mú /mʊ́/ his, its	nøȉ /nøȉ/ to him, at it
3rd singular fem	mőd /mɔ̋t/ she, it	mék /mékʰ/ her, it	ēp /ēpʰ/ hers, its	nø̃̋ /nø̃̋/ to her, at it
1st plural inclusive	tè /tʰè/ we (including you)	ʒɛ̀g /ʒɛ̀g/ us (including you)	qȅ /qȅ/ ours (including you)	ȅg /ȅg/ to us (including you)
1st plural exclusive	ʈý /ʈý/ we (excluding you)	ɳe̋h /ɳe̋h/ us (excluding you)	mü̋ /mű/ ours (excluding you)	fĩ̄ /fĩ̄/ to us (excluding you)
2nd plural	qe̋ /qe̋/ you all	my̋ /my̋/ you all	ɖǘp /ɖúpʰ/ yours (pl)	øi̋ /øi̋/ to you all
3rd plural	dshü̋ /tʃű/ they	ʈʰē /ʈʰē/ them	e̋n /e̋n/ theirs	mǜ /mù/ to them

Possessive determiners

1st singular	my̋ /my̋/ my
2nd singular	dshǘ /tʃú/ your
3rd singular masc	mèm /mèm/ his
3rd singular fem	lỹ̏m /lỹ̏m/ her
1st plural inclusive	mĩ́ /mĩ́/ our (including you)
1st plural exclusive	bʼǘ /bʼú/ our (excluding you)
2nd plural	døi̋m /tøi̋m/ your (pl)
3rd plural	ző /ző/ their

Verbs

Present

	Animate	Inanimate
1st singular	If ends with vowel: Suffix -tɕʰ Else: Suffix -ùtɕʰ lahmy̋pǜdɕʰ /ˈlahmy̋pùtɕʰ/	If ends with vowel: Suffix -p Else: Suffix -èp lahmy̋pèp /ˈlahmy̋pèp/
2nd singular	Suffix -é lahmy̋pé /ˈlahmy̋pé/	Suffix -ɔ̀ lahmy̋pò /ˈlahmy̋pɔ̀/
3rd singular	Suffix -øi̋ lahmy̋pøi̋ /ˈlahmy̋pøi̋/	If ends with vowel: Suffix -pʰ Else: Suffix -èpʰ lahmy̋pèp /ˈlahmy̋pèpʰ/
1st plural inclusive	Suffix -ʊ̋ lahmy̋pű /ˈlahmy̋pʊ̋/	If ends with vowel: Suffix -n Else: Suffix -y̋n lahmy̋py̋n /ˈlahmy̋py̋n/
1st plural exclusive	If ends with vowel: Suffix -t Else: Suffix -ʊ̄t lahmy̋pūd /ˈlahmy̋pʊ̄t/	If ends with vowel: Suffix -p Else: Suffix -e̋p lahmy̋pe̋p /ˈlahmy̋pe̋p/
2nd plural	If ends with vowel: Suffix -k Else: Suffix -èk lahmy̋pèk /ˈlahmy̋pèk/	Suffix -ø̃̄n lahmy̋pø̃̄n /ˈlahmy̋pø̃̄n/
3rd plural	Suffix -y̏n lahmy̋py̏n /ˈlahmy̋py̏n/	If ends with vowel: Suffix -kʰ Else: Suffix -ēkʰ lahmy̋pēk /ˈlahmy̋pēkʰ/

Past

	Animate	Inanimate
1st singular	Suffix -ét lahmy̋péd /ˈlahmy̋pét/	If ends with vowel: Suffix -g Else: Suffix -ɛ̋g lahmy̋pɛ̋g /ˈlahmy̋pɛ̋g/
2nd singular	Suffix -øīn lahmy̋pøīn /ˈlahmy̋pøīn/	If ends with vowel: Suffix -n Else: Suffix -øìn lahmy̋pøìn /ˈlahmy̋pøìn/
3rd singular	Suffix -ɛ̄g lahmy̋pɛ̄g /ˈlahmy̋pɛ̄g/	If ends with vowel: Suffix -p Else: Suffix -øíp lahmy̋pøíp /ˈlahmy̋pøíp/
1st plural inclusive	Suffix -ẽ́ lahmy̋pẽ́ /ˈlahmy̋pẽ́/	If ends with vowel: Suffix -pʰ Else: Suffix -ɑ̀pʰ lahmy̋pɑ̀p /ˈlahmy̋pɑ̀pʰ/
1st plural exclusive	If ends with vowel: Suffix -m Else: Suffix -űm lahmy̋pü̋m /ˈlahmy̋pűm/	Suffix -e̋m lahmy̋pe̋m /ˈlahmy̋pe̋m/
2nd plural	If ends with vowel: Suffix -l Else: Suffix -ɑ̋l lahmy̋pɑ̋l /ˈlahmy̋pɑ̋l/	Suffix -ēm lahmy̋pēm /ˈlahmy̋pēm/
3rd plural	Suffix -e̋ lahmy̋pe̋ /ˈlahmy̋pe̋/	Suffix -ű lahmy̋pü̋ /ˈlahmy̋pű/

Remote past

	Animate	Inanimate
1st singular	If ends with vowel: Suffix -n Else: Suffix -e̋n lahmy̋pe̋n /ˈlahmy̋pe̋n/	If ends with vowel: Suffix -ɲ Else: Suffix -øíɲ lahmy̋pøíɲ /ˈlahmy̋pøíɲ/
2nd singular	If ends with vowel: Suffix -m Else: Suffix -ø̃́m lahmy̋pø̃́m /ˈlahmy̋pø̃́m/	Suffix -űʈʂʰ lahmy̋pü̋ʈʂʰ /ˈlahmy̋pűʈʂʰ/
3rd singular	Suffix -ȅʈʂ lahmy̋pȅʈʂ /ˈlahmy̋pȅʈʂ/	Suffix -øì lahmy̋pøì /ˈlahmy̋pøì/
1st plural inclusive	Suffix -ỹ̀p lahmy̋pỹ̀p /ˈlahmy̋pỹ̀p/	Suffix -ēt lahmy̋pēd /ˈlahmy̋pēt/
1st plural exclusive	If ends with vowel: Suffix -tsʰ Else: Suffix -étsʰ lahmy̋pédsʰ /ˈlahmy̋pétsʰ/	If ends with vowel: Suffix -tsʰ Else: Suffix -øítsʰ lahmy̋pøídsʰ /ˈlahmy̋pøítsʰ/
2nd plural	If ends with vowel: Suffix -p Else: Suffix -ȅp lahmy̋pȅp /ˈlahmy̋pȅp/	Suffix -y̋t lahmy̋py̋d /ˈlahmy̋py̋t/
3rd plural	If ends with vowel: Suffix -m Else: Suffix -ȅm lahmy̋pȅm /ˈlahmy̋pȅm/	Suffix -øȉpʰ lahmy̋pøȉp /ˈlahmy̋pøȉpʰ/

Future

	Animate	Inanimate
1st singular	If ends with vowel: Suffix -m Else: Suffix -e̋m lahmy̋pe̋m /ˈlahmy̋pe̋m/	Suffix -øíɲ lahmy̋pøíɲ /ˈlahmy̋pøíɲ/
2nd singular	If ends with vowel: Suffix -pʰ Else: Suffix -e̋pʰ lahmy̋pe̋p /ˈlahmy̋pe̋pʰ/	Suffix -ém lahmy̋pém /ˈlahmy̋pém/
3rd singular	Suffix -øí lahmy̋pøí /ˈlahmy̋pøí/	If ends with vowel: Suffix -ʈʰ Else: Suffix -øi̋ʈʰ lahmy̋pøi̋ʈʰ /ˈlahmy̋pøi̋ʈʰ/
1st plural inclusive	Suffix -è lahmy̋pè /ˈlahmy̋pè/	If ends with vowel: Suffix -ɲ Else: Suffix -e̋ɲ lahmy̋pe̋ɲ /ˈlahmy̋pe̋ɲ/
1st plural exclusive	Suffix -ɵ́ lahmy̋pö́ /ˈlahmy̋pɵ́/	If ends with vowel: Suffix -pʰ Else: Suffix -ẽ́pʰ lahmy̋pẽ́p /ˈlahmy̋pẽ́pʰ/
2nd plural	Suffix -ē lahmy̋pē /ˈlahmy̋pē/	If ends with vowel: Suffix -ɕ Else: Suffix -ɵ̏ɕ lahmy̋pö̏ɕ /ˈlahmy̋pɵ̏ɕ/
3rd plural	Suffix -øī lahmy̋pøī /ˈlahmy̋pøī/	Suffix -ỹ̄p lahmy̋pỹ̄p /ˈlahmy̋pỹ̄p/

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).
Old Delhizan uses an affix for imperfective:

Imperfective

If ends with vowel: Suffix -m Else: Suffix -e̋m lahmy̋pe̋m /ˈlahmy̋pe̋m/ learns/is learning

Numbers

Old Delhizan has a base-10 number system:
1 - køi̋
2 - y̋ds
3 - kő
4 - ɳē
5 - pé
6 - mẽ̏
7 - déɲ
8 - ɳȅɲ
9 - ø̃̏
10 - ny̏
11 - ny̏ ɳü̋h køi̋ “ten and one”
100 - køi̋ ʈʰøi̋n “one hundred”
101 - køi̋ ʈʰøi̋n ɳü̋h køi̋ “one hundred and one”
200 - y̋ds ʈʰøi̋n
1000 - køi̋ øicū “one thousand”

Derivational morphology

Adjective → adverb = Suffix -ʌ́cʰ
Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = Suffix -ɔ̋
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -m Else: Suffix -ēm
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -n Else: Suffix -øīn
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = Suffix -őɲ
Noun to verb = If ends with vowel: Suffix -ʔ Else: Suffix -ʊ́ʔ
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = Suffix -ű
Tending to = If ends with vowel: Suffix -pʰ Else: Suffix -ỹ̀pʰ
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = Suffix -èn
Verb → noun that verb produces (e.g. know → knowledge) = Suffix -ø̃̋
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -m Else: Suffix -ɑ̋m
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -pʰ Else: Suffix -ẽ̀pʰ
Diminutive = Suffix -ʊ̀ɲ
Augmentative = If ends with vowel: Suffix -n Else: Suffix -ȕn

Dictionary

4447 Words.