Wasa*
LANGUAGE FAMILY: KANNAI
PERIOD OF USE:
SCRIPT USED:
PARENT LANGUAGE:
DESCENDANT LANGUAGES:
"...and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind..." Translation: the tû seg nalt ma szók the thok ma nas nûz ka ék Pronunciation: the ty seg nalt ma szók the thok ma nas nyz ka ék Wasa word order: and stood he holding hat his and turned his face wet to the wind
Vowel inventory: /a á e é i í o ó ö ő u ú ü ű y æ ø̃/
Syllable structure: Custom defined
Stress pattern: Initial — stress is on the first syllable
Word initial consonants: b, d, f, gr, h, j, k, kh, l, m, n, nː, p, ph, pr, r, s, sp, sth, sz, t, th, v, z
Mid-word consonants: b, bb, bd, bh, f, ft, g, gb, gk, gn, gr, h, jb, jn, k, khb, ks, l, ld, ll, ls, lt, m, mj, mt, n, nc, nd, ndt, ng, nn, p, pn, r, rd, rl, rm, rn, rsz, rt, rtm, rtsv, rv, s, sh, shh, sl, sm, sr, ss, sv, sz, szk, szt, t, tj, tl, tsz, tth, v, z, zd, zz
Word final consonants: g, h, j, k, kh, l, lt, n, r, s, t, tt, z Phonological changes (in order of application):
"Mary opened the door with a key" turns into Opened Mary the door with a key.
Adjective order: Adjectives are positioned after the noun.
Adposition: prepositions
Progressive aspect
The ‘progressive’ aspect refers to actions that are happening at the time of speaking, such as I am learning.
Wasa uses a standalone particle word for progressive:
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).
Wasa uses a standalone particle word for habitual:
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.
Wasa uses an affix for the perfect aspect:
2 - theg
3 - naz
4 - di
5 - æ
6 - zósa
7 - lagba
8 - len
9 - lan
10 - sther
11 - la the sther “one and ten”
100 - la káka “one hundred”
101 - la káka la “one hundred one”
200 - theg káka
1000 - la os “one thousand”
Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix sz- Else: Prefix sza-
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = Prefix a-
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = Prefix va-
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = If starts with vowel: Prefix sp- Else: Prefix spu-
Noun to verb = Prefix e-
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix m- Else: Prefix mu-
Tending to = If starts with vowel: Prefix t- Else: Prefix tö-
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix d- Else: Prefix dá-
Verb → noun that verb produces (e.g. know → knowledge) = Prefix a-
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = If starts with vowel: Prefix l- Else: Prefix la- Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = Prefix sza- Diminutive = Prefix e- Augmentative = If starts with vowel: Prefix sp- Else: Prefix spu-
"...and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind..." Translation: the tû seg nalt ma szók the thok ma nas nûz ka ék Pronunciation: the ty seg nalt ma szók the thok ma nas nyz ka ék Wasa word order: and stood he holding hat his and turned his face wet to the wind
Spelling & Phonology
Consonant inventory: /b c d f g h j k l m n nː p r s t v z/| ↓Manner/Place→ | Bilabial | Labiodental | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n nː | ||||
| Stop | p b | t d | c | k g | ||
| Fricative | f v | s z | h | |||
| Approximant | j | |||||
| Trill | r | |||||
| Lateral approximant | l |
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| High | i í y | u ú ü ű |
| High-mid | e é ø̃ | o ö ó ő |
| Near-low | æ | |
| Low | a á |
Stress pattern: Initial — stress is on the first syllable
Word initial consonants: b, d, f, gr, h, j, k, kh, l, m, n, nː, p, ph, pr, r, s, sp, sth, sz, t, th, v, z
Mid-word consonants: b, bb, bd, bh, f, ft, g, gb, gk, gn, gr, h, jb, jn, k, khb, ks, l, ld, ll, ls, lt, m, mj, mt, n, nc, nd, ndt, ng, nn, p, pn, r, rd, rl, rm, rn, rsz, rt, rtm, rtsv, rv, s, sh, shh, sl, sm, sr, ss, sv, sz, szk, szt, t, tj, tl, tsz, tth, v, z, zd, zz
Word final consonants: g, h, j, k, kh, l, lt, n, r, s, t, tt, z Phonological changes (in order of application):
- [+nasal] → w / [+stop]_[+stop]
| Pronunciation | Spelling |
|---|---|
| y | û |
| j | y |
| c | chy |
| V₁ː | V₁V₁ |
Grammar
Main word order: Verb Subject Object (Prepositional phrase)."Mary opened the door with a key" turns into Opened Mary the door with a key.
Adjective order: Adjectives are positioned after the noun.
Adposition: prepositions
Nouns
Nouns have six 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.
- Locative is the location of something: man goes to town.
- Ablative is movement away from something: man walks from town.
Singular
| Masculine | Feminine | |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | No affix tö /tö/ man (when doing the verb) | No affix er /er/ woman (when doing the verb) |
| Accusative | If starts with vowel: Prefix f- Else: Prefix fo- fotö /ˈfotö/ (verb done to) man | If starts with vowel: Prefix l- Else: Prefix la- ler /ler/ (verb done to) woman |
| Genitive | Prefix nö- nötö /ˈnötö/ manʼs | Prefix má- máer /ˈmáer/ womanʼs |
| Dative | Prefix a- atö /ˈatö/ to (the/a) man | Prefix du- duer /ˈduer/ to (the/a) woman |
| Locative | If starts with vowel: Prefix sz- Else: Prefix sza- szatö /ˈszatö/ near/at/by (the/a) man | If starts with vowel: Prefix h- Else: Prefix ha- her /her/ near/at/by (the/a) woman |
| Ablative | If starts with vowel: Prefix p- Else: Prefix pé- pétö /ˈpétö/ from (the/a) man | Prefix ma- maer /ˈmaer/ from (the/a) woman |
Plural
| Masculine | Feminine | |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | If starts with vowel: Prefix n- Else: Prefix na- natö /ˈnatö/ men (when doing the verb) | If starts with vowel: Prefix p- Else: Prefix pá- per /per/ women (when doing the verb) |
| Accusative | If starts with vowel: Prefix v- Else: Prefix vo- votö /ˈvotö/ (verb done to) men | If starts with vowel: Prefix m- Else: Prefix ma- mer /mer/ (verb done to) women |
| Genitive | Prefix mu- mutö /ˈmutö/ menʼs | If starts with vowel: Prefix j- Else: Prefix ji- yer /jer/ womenʼs |
| Dative | If starts with vowel: Prefix k- Else: Prefix ka- katö /ˈkatö/ to (the/some) men | If starts with vowel: Prefix th- Else: Prefix tho- ther /ther/ to (the/some) women |
| Locative | Prefix á- átö /ˈátö/ near/at/by (the/some) men | Prefix lo- loer /ˈloer/ near/at/by (the/some) women |
| Ablative | If starts with vowel: Prefix d- Else: Prefix dé- détö /ˈdétö/ from (the/some) men | Prefix ki- kier /ˈkier/ from (the/some) women |
Articles
| Definite | ki /ki/ the |
| Indefinite | i /i/ a, some |
Pronouns
| Nominative | Accusative | Genitive | Dative | Locative | Ablative | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st singular | the /the/ I | ve /ve/ me | züs /züs/ mine | le /le/ to me | kök /kök/ at me | stho /stho/ from me |
| 2nd singular | mák /mák/ you (masc) | nːán /nːán/ you | ke /ke/ yours | ûn /yn/ to you | lá /lá/ at you | kák /kák/ from you |
| 3rd singular masc | seg /seg/ he, it | a /a/ him, it | ki /ki/ his, its | ol /ol/ to him, at it | kûh /kyh/ at him, at it | kel /kel/ from him, from it |
| 3rd singular fem | szőn /szőn/ she, it | zós /zós/ her, it | vol /vol/ hers, its | o /o/ to her, at it | kít /kít/ at her, at it | dál /dál/ from her, from it |
| 1st plural | fokh /fokh/ we | ket /ket/ us | tök /tök/ ours | pra /pra/ to us | veg /veg/ at us | os /os/ from us |
| 2nd plural | ma /ma/ you all | ka /ka/ you all | pé /pé/ yours (pl) | iy /ij/ to you all | na /na/ at you all | kós /kós/ from you all |
| 3rd plural masc | mőn /mőn/ they (masc) | lon /lon/ them (masc) | du /du/ theirs (masc) | ha /ha/ to them (masc) | kar /kar/ at them (masc) | prak /prak/ from them (masc) |
| 3rd plural fem | ra /ra/ they (fem) | kóg /kóg/ them (fem) | laz /laz/ theirs (fem) | la /la/ to them (fem) | va /va/ at them (fem) | lak /lak/ from them (fem) |
Possessive determiners
| 1st singular | von /von/ my |
| 2nd singular | áz /áz/ your |
| 3rd singular masc | ma /ma/ his |
| 3rd singular fem | á /á/ her |
| 1st plural | bi /bi/ our |
| 2nd plural | fon /fon/ your (pl) |
| 3rd plural masc | thi /thi/ their (masc) |
| 3rd plural fem | a /a/ their (fem) |
Verbs
| Present | No affix abúsá /ˈabúsá/ learn |
| Past | If starts with vowel: Prefix n- Else: Prefix na- nabúsá /ˈnabúsá/ learned |
| Remote past | Prefix o- oabúsá /ˈoaˌbúsá/ learned (long ago) |
| Future | If starts with vowel: Prefix d- Else: Prefix dá- dabúsá /ˈdabúsá/ will learn |
| Progressive | Particle before the verb: thoz - thoz abúsá /thoz ˈabúsá/ is learning |
| Habitual | Particle before the verb: li - li abúsá /li ˈabúsá/ learns |
| Perfect | Prefix ve- veabúsá /ˈveaˌbúsá/ have learned |
Numbers
Wasa has a base-10 number system: 1 - la2 - theg
3 - naz
4 - di
5 - æ
6 - zósa
7 - lagba
8 - len
9 - lan
10 - sther
11 - la the sther “one and ten”
100 - la káka “one hundred”
101 - la káka la “one hundred one”
200 - theg káka
1000 - la os “one thousand”
Derivational morphology
Adjective → adverb = If starts with vowel: Prefix sth- Else: Prefix sthe-Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix sz- Else: Prefix sza-
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = Prefix a-
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = Prefix va-
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = If starts with vowel: Prefix sp- Else: Prefix spu-
Noun to verb = Prefix e-
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix m- Else: Prefix mu-
Tending to = If starts with vowel: Prefix t- Else: Prefix tö-
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix d- Else: Prefix dá-
Verb → noun that verb produces (e.g. know → knowledge) = Prefix a-
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = If starts with vowel: Prefix l- Else: Prefix la- Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = Prefix sza- Diminutive = Prefix e- Augmentative = If starts with vowel: Prefix sp- Else: Prefix spu-
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