Natively known as: puvva /ˈpɯvva/
...and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind...
zi i zoof war ni yiiaka zi woou ni kiibzu naoo vaav fap[alt]
Pronunciation: /zi i zoːf waɾ ni jiːˈaka zi ˈwoːɯ ni ˈkiːbzɯ ˈnaoː vaːv fap/
Puvvan word order: and he stood holding hat his and turned his face wet to the wind[/alt]
Spelling & Phonology
Consonant inventory: b d f h j k n p s t v w x z ŋ ɣ ɾ
| ↓Manner/Place→ |
Bilabial |
Labiodental |
Alveolar |
Palatal |
Velar |
Glottal |
| Nasal |
|
|
n |
|
ŋ |
|
| Stop |
p b |
|
t d |
|
k |
|
| Fricative |
|
f v |
s z |
|
x ɣ |
h |
| Approximant |
|
|
|
j |
|
|
| Tap |
|
|
ɾ |
|
|
|
Co-articulated phonemes
| ↓Manner/Place→ |
Labial-velar |
| Approximant |
w |
Vowel inventory: a aː i iː o oː ɯ
|
Front |
Back |
| High |
i iː |
ɯ |
| High-mid |
|
o oː |
| Low |
a aː |
|
Syllable structure: (C)V(C)
Stress pattern: Penultimate — stress is on the second last syllable
Word initial consonants: b f h j k n p v w x z
Mid-word consonants: b bd bt bv bw bz bɾ d dd df dt dɾ f fd ff fh fn fp ft fx fɣ h hv hɾ j jb jd jn jɾ k kd kf kj kk kn kt n nd nf nh nn np nw p pf pp ps pt px s sd sj sn ss sv sx t tb tf th tk tn tp ts tv tw tx tz tɾ v vb vd vj vv vw w ws wz x xk xn xs xw xz z zb zj zt zv zz ŋ ŋh ŋj ŋw ŋx ɣ ɣj ɣn ɣɾ ɾ ɾb ɾj ɾp ɾs
Word final consonants: b d f k n p s v w ɣ ɾ
Phonological changes (in order of application):
Spelling rules:
| Pronunciation |
Spelling |
| ɯ |
u |
| j |
y |
| x |
kh |
| ŋ |
ng |
| ɣ |
g |
| ɾ |
r |
| V₁ː |
V₁V₁ |
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 after the noun.
Adposition: prepositions
Nouns
Articles
|
Definite |
Indefinite |
| Singular |
fu /fɯ/
the |
kiv /kiv/
a |
| Plural |
wiip /wiːp/
the |
ki /ki/
some |
Uses of definite article that differ from English:
- Definite article can be omitted: ‘I am going to supermarket’
- Used for languages: ‘The English’
Uses of indefinite article that differ from English:
- Not used for non-specific mass (uncountable) nouns: non-specific means ‘Would you like some (any) tea?’ whereas specific means ‘Some tea (a specific amount) fell off the truck’
Pronouns
| 1st singular |
bi /bi/
I, me, mine |
| 2nd singular |
kho /xo/
you, yours |
| 3rd singular |
i /i/
he, she, him, her, his, hers, it, its |
| 1st plural |
yo /jo/
we, us, ours |
| 2nd plural |
kov /kov/
you all, yours (pl) |
| 3rd plural |
niid /niːd/
they, them, theirs |
Possessive determiners
| 1st singular |
yiiw /jiːw/
my |
| 2nd singular |
o /o/
your |
| 3rd singular |
ni /ni/
his, her, its |
| 1st plural |
ab /ab/
our |
| 2nd plural |
og /oɣ/
your (pl) |
| 3rd plural |
yaa /jaː/
their |
Verbs
Puvvan uses a standalone particle word for past tense:
| Past |
Particle before the verb: hab -
hab kooka /hab ˈkoːka/
learned |
Puvvan uses a standalone particle word for future tense:
| Future |
Particle before the verb: zoː -
zoo kooka /zoː ˈkoːka/
will learn |
Numbers
Puvvan has a base-10 number system:
1 -
khoo
2 -
fi
3 -
ha
4 -
i
5 -
pif
6 -
hub
7 -
kho
8 -
yib
9 -
hiis
10 -
noop
11 -
noop zi khoo “ten and one”
100 -
yiw “hundred”
101 -
yiw zi khoo “hundred and one”
200 -
fi yiw
1000 -
oddoffa “thousand”
Derivational morphology
Adjective → adverb = Prefix oː-
Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = Prefix wi-
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = Prefix ɯ-
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix h-
Else: Prefix hi-
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = If starts with vowel: Prefix n-
Else: Prefix nɯ-
Noun to verb = Prefix iː-
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = Prefix joː-
Tending to = If starts with vowel: Prefix p-
Else: Prefix po-
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix v-
Else: Prefix viː-
Verb → noun that verb produces (e.g. know → knowledge) = If starts with vowel: Prefix w-
Else: Prefix wɯ-
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = If starts with vowel: Prefix z-
Else: Prefix ziː-
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = Prefix i-
Diminutive = Prefix a-
Augmentative = Prefix aː-
Worldwide, in every conceivable environment.
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