Teranian
Teranian is the native language of the Terani, my species. While Teranian is technically a language, there are over 500 languages that originated from Teranian.
As separate terani groups split off from the main population around a hundred thousand years ago, the language evolved from one language into several, each with unique dialects and accents. Some of these new sub-languages were so different from each other that people who spoke the different languages could not understand each other.
Today, about 500 languages exist that derived from teranian, which is astonishing when you think about it. Only a handful of these languages mostly remained the same, with barely enough differences to qualify as a new language, while most are vastly different from the originating language.
These languages are found on roughly 3,415 islands and two continents, including the originating continent, Etrea.
woyk ze búg so̊ ze ko̊bmu woyk sæ ze pud’ næth b’a zhongk
Pronunciation: /wojk ze bɯɣ sɒ ze ˈkɒbmu wojk sæ ze puɗ næth ɓa ʒoŋk/
Teranian word order: and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind
Co-articulated phonemes
Vowel inventory: a e i o u æ ɒ ɯ ɵ ʉ
Syllable structure: (C)V(C)(C) ?
Stress pattern: Initial — stress is on the first syllable ? Spelling rules:
Adjective order: Adjectives are positioned before the noun.
Adposition: prepositions ?
Tushsen uses a standalone particle word for future tense:
Tushsen uses a standalone particle word for progressive:
Tushsen uses a standalone particle word for habitual:
Tushsen uses an affix for the perfect aspect:
2 - bo̊d
3 - to̊
4 - bú
5 - mæ
6 - ku
7 - zul
8 - ke
9 - ú
10 - zhu
Hundred - pash
Thousand - gamyæ
Else: Suffix -aj
Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = Suffix -a
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -kʃ
Else: Suffix -ekʃ
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = Suffix -ɒjʃ
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = If starts with vowel: Prefix m-
Else: Prefix mɵ-
Noun to verb = If ends with vowel: Suffix -ns
Else: Suffix -ens
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -jʃ
Else: Suffix -ɒjʃ
Tending to = Suffix -ɯjʃ
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix m-
Else: Prefix mæ-
Verb → noun that verb produces (e.g. know → knowledge) = Suffix -a
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -l
Else: Suffix -ɯl
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = Suffix -ɯp
Diminutive = Suffix -and
Augmentative = Prefix ɯ-
History
Teranian is one of the oldest languages still in use. Being the primary language of the terani before they split off into seperate nomadic tribes, teranian was a common language across the continent of Etrea. It wasn't just the terani who spoke teranian, people of the three depths and other settlements learnt teranian in order for trade to be easier.As separate terani groups split off from the main population around a hundred thousand years ago, the language evolved from one language into several, each with unique dialects and accents. Some of these new sub-languages were so different from each other that people who spoke the different languages could not understand each other.
Today, about 500 languages exist that derived from teranian, which is astonishing when you think about it. Only a handful of these languages mostly remained the same, with barely enough differences to qualify as a new language, while most are vastly different from the originating language.
These languages are found on roughly 3,415 islands and two continents, including the originating continent, Etrea.
Education
Every group of terani teach some form of teranian to children from birth. These languages differ depending on the group, but the most common terani-originating language is Taiin. While each group mandatorily teaches a specific language, one can learn other Teranian languages while they are in school, and possibly continue it once they finish if they so desire. It is extremely uncommon for any terani school to teach a non Teranian language, as they see other languages to be inferior.Natively known as: teranian
...and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind...woyk ze búg so̊ ze ko̊bmu woyk sæ ze pud’ næth b’a zhongk
Pronunciation: /wojk ze bɯɣ sɒ ze ˈkɒbmu wojk sæ ze puɗ næth ɓa ʒoŋk/
Teranian word order: and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind
Spelling & Phonology
Consonant inventory: b d h j k l m n p s t w z ŋ ɓ ɗ ɣ ʃ ʄ ʒ↓Manner/Place→ | Bilabial | Alveolar | Palato-alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | m | n | ŋ | |||
Stop | p b | t d | k | |||
Implosive | ɓ | ɗ | ʄ | |||
Fricative | s z | ʃ ʒ | ɣ | h | ||
Approximant | j | |||||
Lateral approximant | l |
↓Manner/Place→ | Labial-velar |
---|---|
Approximant | w |
Front | Central | Back | |
---|---|---|---|
High | i | ʉ | ɯ u |
High-mid | e | ɵ | o |
Near-low | æ | ||
Low | a | ɒ |
Stress pattern: Initial — stress is on the first syllable ? Spelling rules:
Pronunciation | Spelling |
---|---|
ɒ | o̊ |
ɵ | i̊ |
ʉ | ů |
ɯ | ú |
j | y |
ŋ | ng |
ɓ | b’ |
ɗ | d’ |
ɣ | g |
ʃ | sh |
ʄ | j |
ʒ | zh |
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 | Plural | |
---|---|---|
Definite | No affix pongk /poŋk/ the dog | If starts with vowel: Prefix n- Else: Prefix nu- nupongk /ˈnupoŋk/ the dogs |
Indefinite | If starts with vowel: Prefix s- Else: Prefix se- sepongk /ˈsepoŋk/ a dog | Prefix u- upongk /ˈupoŋk/ some dogs |
Articles
Tushsen encodes definite article ‘the’, and indefinite article ‘a’ in noun affixes. See Noun section.Pronouns
Nominative | Accusative | |
---|---|---|
1st singular | po̊ /pɒ/ I | i /i/ me |
2nd singular | ni /ni/ you | lu /lu/ you |
3rd singular masc | ze /ze/ he, it | shæn /ʃæn/ him, it |
3rd singular fem | wů /wʉ/ she, it | zæk /zæk/ her, it |
1st plural | tuk /tuk/ we | shæsh /ʃæʃ/ us |
2nd plural | u /u/ you all | shad /ʃad/ you all |
3rd plural | bo̊ /bɒ/ they | yulzh /julʒ/ them |
Possessive determiners
1st singular | po̊ /pɒ/ my |
2nd singular | ni /ni/ your |
3rd singular masc | ze /ze/ his |
3rd singular fem | wů /wʉ/ her |
1st plural | tuk /tuk/ our |
2nd plural | u /u/ your (pl) |
3rd plural | bo̊ /bɒ/ their |
Verbs
Present | Prefix ɒ- o̊tiyk /ˈɒtijk/ learn |
Past | No affix tiyk /tijk/ learned |
Future | Particle before the verb: bɯ - bú tiyk /bɯ tijk/ will learn |
Progressive aspect
The ‘progressive’ aspect refers to actions that are happening at the time of speaking, such as I am learning.Tushsen uses a standalone particle word for progressive:
Progressive | Particle before the verb: ɵʒ - i̊zh tiyk /ɵʒ tijk/ is learning |
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).Tushsen uses a standalone particle word for habitual:
Habitual | Particle before the verb: ɒ - o̊ tiyk /ɒ tijk/ learns |
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.Tushsen uses an affix for the perfect aspect:
Perfect | Change all #(C)*V to __ titiyk /ˈtitijk/ have learned |
Numbers
Tushsen has a base-10 number system: 1 - se2 - bo̊d
3 - to̊
4 - bú
5 - mæ
6 - ku
7 - zul
8 - ke
9 - ú
10 - zhu
Hundred - pash
Thousand - gamyæ
Derivational morphology
Adjective → adverb = If ends with vowel: Suffix -jElse: Suffix -aj
Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = Suffix -a
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -kʃ
Else: Suffix -ekʃ
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = Suffix -ɒjʃ
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = If starts with vowel: Prefix m-
Else: Prefix mɵ-
Noun to verb = If ends with vowel: Suffix -ns
Else: Suffix -ens
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -jʃ
Else: Suffix -ɒjʃ
Tending to = Suffix -ɯjʃ
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix m-
Else: Prefix mæ-
Verb → noun that verb produces (e.g. know → knowledge) = Suffix -a
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -l
Else: Suffix -ɯl
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = Suffix -ɯp
Diminutive = Suffix -and
Augmentative = Prefix ɯ-
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