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.

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→BilabialAlveolarPalato-alveolarPalatalVelarGlottal
Nasalmnŋ
Stopp bt dk
Implosiveɓɗʄ
Fricatives zʃ ʒɣh
Approximantj
Lateral approximantl
  Co-articulated phonemes  
↓Manner/Place→Labial-velar
Approximantw
  Vowel inventory: a e i o u æ ɒ ɯ ɵ ʉ  
FrontCentralBack
Highiʉɯ u
High-mideɵo
Near-lowæ
Lowaɒ
  Syllable structure: (C)V(C)(C) ?
Stress pattern: Initial — stress is on the first syllable ?   Spelling rules:  
PronunciationSpelling
ɒ
ɵ
ʉ
ɯ
jy
ŋng
ɓb’
ɗd’
ɣg
ʃsh
ʄj
ʒzh
 

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

 
SingularPlural
DefiniteNo affix
pongk /poŋk/ the dog
If starts with vowel: Prefix n-
Else: Prefix nu-
nupongk /ˈnupoŋk/ the dogs
IndefiniteIf 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

 
NominativeAccusative
1st singularpo̊ /pɒ/ I i /i/ me
2nd singularni /ni/ you lu /lu/ you
3rd singular mascze /ze/ he, it shæn /ʃæn/ him, it
3rd singular femwů /wʉ/ she, it zæk /zæk/ her, it
1st pluraltuk /tuk/ we shæsh /ʃæʃ/ us
2nd pluralu /u/ you all shad /ʃad/ you all
3rd pluralbo̊ /bɒ/ they yulzh /julʒ/ them
 

Possessive determiners

 
1st singularpo̊ /pɒ/ my
2nd singularni /ni/ your
3rd singular mascze /ze/ his
3rd singular femwů /wʉ/ her
1st pluraltuk /tuk/ our
2nd pluralu /u/ your (pl)
3rd pluralbo̊ /bɒ/ their
 

Verbs

 
PresentPrefix ɒ-
o̊tiyk /ˈɒtijk/ learn
PastNo affix
tiyk /tijk/ learned
  Tushsen uses a standalone particle word for future tense:
FutureParticle 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:  
ProgressiveParticle 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:
HabitualParticle 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:  
PerfectChange all #(C)*V to __
titiyk /ˈtitijk/ have learned
 

Numbers

  Tushsen has a base-10 number system:   1 - se
2 - bo̊d
3 - to̊
4 - bú
5 -
6 - ku
7 - zul
8 - ke
9 -
10 - zhu
Hundred - pash
Thousand - gamyæ  

Derivational morphology

  Adjective → adverb = If ends with vowel: Suffix -j
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-


Cover image: Dracosei Header by Mochi

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