Iethà (aɪ̯ˈðɑ)
Ietha is the language of the people of the mountains, and is spoken deliberately, in low tones or soft tones. Many of its words are almost breathy sounding when spoken, and the entire language is built around a need for quiet, quick conversations from when the eight tribes of the Vahobu were one people hiding in the woods at the feet of the Three Sisters. When spoken properly, the language has a thoughtful air, as if the speaker is as patient as a mountain and as light the wind.
Natively known as: iethà /aɪ̯ˈðɑ/
Sample Sentence (English)Jaietha word order: and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind
Morphology
Derivational morphology
- Adjective → adverb = Suffix -fæ
- Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = Suffix -mɛ
- Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = Prefix jæ-
- Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = Prefix jɑ-
- Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = Suffix -faʊ̯
- Noun to verb = Suffix -tɛ
- Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = Suffix -ɭaɪ̯
- Tending to = Suffix -vɛ
- Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = Suffix -piː
- Verb → noun that verb produces (e.g. know → knowledge) = Prefix ʃʊ-
- One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = Prefix pɑ-
- Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = Suffix -keɪ̯
- Diminutive = Suffix -duː
- Augmentative = Suffix -ʤæ
Vocabulary
Nouns
Nouns have both a plural affix and ‘paucal’ affix for referring to a few of something.| Singular | No affix bàná /bɑˈnɜː/ dog |
| Plural | Prefix vɑ- vàbàná /vɑbɑˈnɜː/ dogs |
| Paucal | Prefix ʒoʊ̯- zhoúbàná /ʒoʊ̯bɑˈnɜː/ |
Articles
| Definite | zhoi /ʒɔɪ̯/ the |
| Indefinite | zi /ziː/ a, some |
- Definite article can be omitted: ‘I am going to supermarket’
- Used for personal names in third person: ‘The Maria has left for school’
Pronouns
| Nominative | Accusative | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st singular | hay /heɪ̯/ I | và /vɑ/ me |
| 2nd singular | hí /hɪ/ you | cho /ʧɔː/ you |
| 3rd singular | nú /nʊ/ he, she, it | á /ɜː/ him, her, it |
| 1st plural | lou /ɭaʊ̯/ we | sí /sɪ/ us |
| 2nd plural | ka /kæ/ you all | choú /ʧoʊ̯/ you all |
| 3rd plural | ke /kɛ/ they | dou /daʊ̯/ them |
Possessive determiners
| 1st singular | í /ɪ/ my |
| 2nd singular | pou /paʊ̯/ your |
| 3rd singular | nù /nʌ/ his, her, its |
| 1st plural | pi /piː/ our |
| 2nd plural | zu /zuː/ your (pl) |
| 3rd plural | say /seɪ̯/ their |
Phonetics
Consonant inventory: b d f g h j k m n p s t v w z ð ɭ ɹ ʃ ʒ ʤ ʧ
| ↓Manner/Place→ | Bilabial | Labiodental | Dental | Alveolar | Palato-alveolar | Retroflex | Palatal | Velar | Glottal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | |||||||
| Stop | p b | t d | k g | ||||||
| Affricate | ʧ ʤ | ||||||||
| Fricative | f v | ð | s z | ʃ ʒ | h | ||||
| Approximant | ɹ | j | |||||||
| Lateral approximant | ɭ |
| ↓Manner/Place→ | Labial-velar |
|---|---|
| Approximant | w |
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | iː | uː | |
| Near-high | ɪ | ʊ | |
| Low-mid | ɛ | ɜː | ʌ ɔː |
| Near-low | æ | ||
| Low | ɑ |
Spelling & Phonology
Syllable structure: Custom definedStress pattern: Ultimate — stress is on the last syllable
Word initial consonants: b d g h j k m n p s t v z ð ɭ ɹ ʃ ʒ ʧ
Mid-word consonants: b d f g h j k m n p s t v w z ð ɭ ɹ ʃ ʒ ʤ ʧ
Word final consonants:
Spelling rules:
| Pronunciation | Spelling |
|---|---|
| aɪ̯ | ie |
| aʊ̯ | ou |
| eɪ̯ | ay |
| iː | i |
| uː | u |
| æ | a |
| ɛ | e |
| ɔː | o |
| ɔɪ̯ | oi |
| ɪ | í |
| ʊ | ú |
| ɜː | á |
| ʌ | ù |
| ɑ | à |
| j | y |
| ð | th |
| ɭ | l |
| ɹ | r |
| ʃ | sh |
| ʒ | zh |
| ʤ | j |
| ʧ | ch |
| V₁ː | V₁V₁ |
| ̯ |
Tenses
Verbs
| Present | Past | Future | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st singular | Prefix ʃɪ- shízàke /ʃɪzɑˈkɛ/ (I) learn | Prefix mɑ- màzàke /mɑzɑˈkɛ/ (I) learned | Prefix jaʊ̯- youzàke /jaʊ̯zɑˈkɛ/ (I) will learn |
| 2nd singular | Prefix vuː- vuzàke /vuːzɑˈkɛ/ (you) learn | Prefix hɑ- hàzàke /hɑzɑˈkɛ/ (you) learned | Prefix jɛ- yezàke /jɛzɑˈkɛ/ (you) will learn |
| 3rd singular | Prefix zɔː- zozàke /zɔːzɑˈkɛ/ (he/she/it) learns | Prefix ʒoʊ̯- zhoúzàke /ʒoʊ̯zɑˈkɛ/ (he/she/it) learned | Prefix ɭaʊ̯- louzàke /ɭaʊ̯zɑˈkɛ/ (he/she/it) will learn |
| 1st plural | Prefix kaʊ̯- kouzàke /kaʊ̯zɑˈkɛ/ (we) learn | Prefix vaʊ̯- vouzàke /vaʊ̯zɑˈkɛ/ (we) learned | Prefix kɜː- kázàke /kɜːzɑˈkɛ/ (we) will learn |
| 2nd plural | Prefix hæ- hazàke /hæzɑˈkɛ/ (you all) learn | Prefix miː- mizàke /miːzɑˈkɛ/ (you all) learned | Prefix tɪ- tízàke /tɪzɑˈkɛ/ (you all) will learn |
| 3rd plural | Prefix gɜː- gázàke /gɜːzɑˈkɛ/ (they) learn | Prefix mʊ- múzàke /mʊzɑˈkɛ/ (they) learned | Prefix ðoʊ̯- thoúzàke /ðoʊ̯zɑˈkɛ/ (they) will learn |
Sentence Structure
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
Dictionary
Numbers
Nukíian has a base-20 number system, as the Vahobu don't wear shoes and developed their system using their long fingers and toes as their counting system. There is a distinct culture to counting among the Vahobu, who begin at their left hand, and name their fingers in the same manner as the children's song that taught them to count in the first place.
The Song of Numbers names each finger, which the Vahobu then use to count and to distinguish the numbers of an object they see by pointing at it with the proper finger. The pinky finger is la which means one. The ring finger is de which means two. The middle finger is che which means three. The Pointer Finger is toi which means four. The Thumb is poi which means five. The Right Thumb is yie which means six. The right pointer finger is káchà which means seven. The right middle finger is he which means eight. The right ring finger is zhá which means nine. The right pinky is chúyú which means ten.
11 - saho 12 - yàká 13 - oukà 14 - rouya 15 - hoúyay 16 - doichayhà 17 - cháke 18 - bumou 19 - rení 20 - mápie 21 - la bà mápie “one and twenty” 400 - yesi “fourhundred” 401 - yesi la “fourhundred one” 800 - de yesi “two fourhundred” 8000 - di “eightthousand”
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