Fix up the chart formatting

[mievian.git] / language

The language of Mievian
=======================

Natively known as: miev /maɪ̯v/

Copyright & Licensing
---------------------

See https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Constructed_language&oldid=1057339574#Ownership_of_constructed_languages

My position is that no one should be able to copyright a language. 
Since the matter doesn't seem settled, this is under the CC0 1.0 
Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication to remove any copyright 
if any ever did exist.
https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Note
----

This file makes use of International Phonetic Alphabet:
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Phonetic_Alphabet>

Spelling & Phonology
--------------------

Consonant inventory: b d f j k m n p s t v z ɣ ɲ ʃ ʒ

| ↓Manner/Place→ | Bilabial | Labiodental | Alveolar | Palato-alveolar | Palatal | Velar |
| Nasal          | m        |             | n        |                 | ɲ       |       |
| Stop           | p b      |             | t d      |                 |         | k     |
| Fricative      |          | f v         | s z      | ʃ ʒ             |         | ɣ     |
| Approximant    |          |             |          |                 | j       |       |

Vowel inventory: a au̯ aɪ̯ aː i iː u uː ɐ ɐi̯ ɐu̯ ɐː ɔ ɔɪ̯ ɔː ɛ ɛʊ̯ ɛː ɪ ɪː ʊ ʊu̯ ʊɪ̯ ʊː

Diphthongs: au̯ aɪ̯ ɐi̯ ɐu̯ ɔɪ̯ ɛʊ̯ ʊu̯ ʊɪ̯

|           | Front | Central | Back |
| High      | i iː  |         | u uː |
| Near-high | ɪ ɪː  |         | ʊ ʊː |
| Low-mid   | ɛ ɛː  |         | ɔ ɔː |
| Near-low  |       | ɐ ɐː    |      |
| Low       | a aː  |         |      |

Syllable structure: (C)V(C)
Stress pattern: Second - stress is on the second syllable

Spelling rules:

| Pronunciation | Spelling |
| aɪ̯            | ie       |
| ɛ             | e        |
| ɔ             | o        |
| ɔɪ̯            | oi       |
| ɐ             | á        |
| ɪ             | í        |
| ʊ             | ú        |
| j             | y        |
| ɣ             | g        |
| ɲ             | ny       |
| ʃ             | sh       |
| ʒ             | zh       |
| Vː            | VV       |
| ◌̯             |          |

Grammar
-------

Main word order: Object Verb (Prepositional phrase) Subject.
Adjective order: Adjectives are positioned after the noun.
Adposition: prepositions

Nouns
-----

Nouns have both a plural affix and 'paucal' affix for referring to a few
of something.

| Singular | No affix                                         |
|          | dúu /dʊu̯/                                        |
|          | dog                                              |
|          |                                                  |
| Plural   | If starts with vowel: Prefix k- Else: Prefix kɔ- |
|          | kodúu /kɔˈdʊu̯/                                   |
|          | dogs                                             |
|          |                                                  |
| Paucal   | Prefix zɐː-                                      |
|          | záádúu /zɐːˈdʊu̯/                                 |
|          | few dogs                                         |

Articles
--------

|          | Definite     | Indefinite |
| Singular | noík /nɔɪ̯k/  | o /ɔ/      |
|          | the          | a          |
|          |              |            |
| Plural   | shoon /ʃɔːn/ | aup /au̯p/  |
|          | the          | some       |

Uses of definite article that differ from English:

-   Not used for mass (uncountable) nouns: 'Walking in the mud' would
    always translate to 'Walking in mud'.

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         | kik /kik/                                                    |
|                      | I, me, mine                                                  |
|                      |                                                              |
| 2nd singular         | múum /mʊu̯m/                                                  |
|                      | you, yours                                                   |
|                      |                                                              |
| 3rd singular masc    | kie /kaɪ̯/                                                    |
|                      | he, him, his, it, its                                        |
|                      |                                                              |
| 3rd singular fem     | nak /nak/                                                    |
|                      | she, her, hers, it, its                                      |
|                      |                                                              |
| 1st plural inclusive | túúzh /tʊːʒ/                                                 |
|                      | we (including you), us (including you), ours (including you) |
|                      |                                                              |
| 1st plural exclusive | nái /nɐi̯/                                                    |
|                      | we (excluding you), us (excluding you), ours (excluding you) |
|                      |                                                              |
| 2nd plural           | teú /tɛʊ̯/                                                    |
|                      | you all, yours (pl)                                          |
|                      |                                                              |
| 3rd plural           | záim /zɐi̯m/                                                  |
|                      | they, them, theirs                                           |

Possessive determiners
----------------------

| 1st singular         | kik /kik/           |
|                      | my                  |
|                      |                     |
| 2nd singular         | múum /mʊu̯m/         |
|                      | your                |
|                      |                     |
| 3rd singular masc    | kie /kaɪ̯/           |
|                      | his                 |
|                      |                     |
| 3rd singular fem     | nak /nak/           |
|                      | her                 |
|                      |                     |
| 1st plural inclusive | túúzh /tʊːʒ/        |
|                      | our (including you) |
|                      |                     |
| 1st plural exclusive | nái /nɐi̯/           |
|                      | our (excluding you) |
|                      |                     |
| 2nd plural           | teú /tɛʊ̯/           |
|                      | your (pl)           |
|                      |                     |
| 3rd plural           | záim /zɐi̯m/         |
|                      | their               |

Verbs
-----

|             | 1st person                                         | 2nd person                                        | 3rd person                                        |
|             |                                                    |                                                   |                                                   |
| Present     | If starts with vowel: Prefix f- Else: Prefix fʊu̯-  | If starts with vowel: Prefix n- Else: Prefix nɐi̯- | Prefix ʊɪ̯-                                        |
|             | fúubás /fʊu̯ˈbɐs/                                   | náibás /nɐi̯ˈbɐs/                                  | úíbás /ʊɪ̯ˈbɐs/                                    |
|             | (I/we) learn                                       | (you/you all) learn                               | (he/she/it/they) learn                            |
|             |                                                    |                                                   |                                                   |
| Past        | Prefix iː-                                         | If starts with vowel: Prefix k- Else: Prefix kɔ-  | If starts with vowel: Prefix z- Else: Prefix zʊɪ̯- |
|             | iibás /iːˈbɐs/                                     | kobás /kɔˈbɐs/                                    | zúíbás /zʊɪ̯ˈbɐs/                                  |
|             | (I/we) learned                                     | (you/you all) learned                             | (he/she/it/they) learned                          |
|             |                                                    |                                                   |                                                   |
| Remove past | Prefix mɔ-                                         | Prefix ʃɔ-                                        | Prefix ʊ-                                         |
|             | mobás /mɔˈbɐs/                                     | shobás /ʃɔˈbɐs/                                   | úbás /ʊˈbɐs/                                      |
|             | (I/we) learned (long ago)                          | (you/you all) learned (long ago)                  | (he/she/it/they) learned (long ago)               |
|             |                                                    |                                                   |                                                   |
| Future      | Prefix ti-                                         | If starts with vowel: Prefix m- Else: Prefix mɪ-  | If starts with vowel: Prefix b- Else: Prefix bʊ-  |
|             | tibás /tiˈbɐs/                                     | míbás /mɪˈbɐs/                                    | búbás /bʊˈbɐs/                                    |
|             | (I/we) will learn                                  | (you/you all) will learn                          | (he/she/it/they) will learn                       |

Imperfective aspect

The 'imperfective' aspect refers to ongoing actions, such as "I am
learning" and habitual actions, such as "I learn (something new every
day)".

Mievian uses a standalone particle word for imperfective:

| Imperfective | Particle before the verb: fip - |
|              | fip bás /fip bɐs/               |
|              | learns/is learning              |

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.

Mievian uses an affix for the perfect aspect:

| Perfect | Reduplicate last part of last syllable |
|         | básás /bɐˈsɐs/                         |
|         | have learned                           |

Numbers
-------

Mievian has a base-10 number system:

1 - baub
2 - no
3 - íí
4 - mií
5 - moíbbúí
6 - kúu
7 - tee
8 - mi
9 - á
10 - vúúp
Hundred - fuunúú
Thousand - ízh

Derivational morphology
-----------------------

Noun to verb = Prefix ɐi̯-

Verb to noun (the act of [verb]) =
        If starts with vowel: Prefix k-
        Else: Prefix kɐː-

Verb to noun that verb produces (e.g. know to knowledge) =
        If starts with vowel: Prefix m-
        Else: Prefix mɔɪ̯-

Noun to adjective (having the quality of [noun]) =
        If starts with vowel: Prefix b-
        Else: Prefix bɛ-

Noun to adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy to economic) = Prefix ʊɪ̯-

Adjective to noun (the quality of being [adj]) =
        If starts with vowel: Prefix z-
        Else: Prefix zɔ-

Adjective to verb (to make something [adj]) = Prefix pi-

One who [verb]s (e.g. paint to painter) = Prefix bu-

Adjective to adverb = Prefix vɐ-

Verb-to-adjective (result of doing [verb]) = Prefix puː-

Diminutive =
        If starts with vowel: Prefix p-
        Else: Prefix pʊu̯-

Augmentative = Prefix ʒɪ-

Place of (e.g. wine to winery) = Prefix a-

Tending to = Prefix su-