Natively known as: Mʌnikæn /ˈmʌnikæn/
...and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind...
au no tre caibo arda papimop au hos u tre pabo momu ua
Pronunciation: /au no tre ʧaiˈbo arˈda paˈpimop au hos u tre paˈbo moˈmu uˈa/
Moniqan word order: and he his hat holding stood and the wind to his wet face turned
Spelling & Phonology
Consonant inventory: /b d f h j k l m n p r s t w ŋ ɡ ɲ ʤ ʧ/
| ↓Manner/Place→ | Bilabial | Labiodental | Alveolar | Palato-alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal |
|---|
| Nasal | m | | n | | ɲ | ŋ | |
| Stop | p b | | t d | | | k ɡ | |
| Affricate | | | | ʧ ʤ | | | |
| Fricative | | f | s | | | | h |
| Approximant | | | | | j | | |
| Trill | | | r | | | | |
| Lateral approximant | | | l | | | | |
Co-articulated phonemes
| ↓Manner/Place→ | Labial-velar |
|---|
| Approximant | w |
Vowel inventory: /a ai au e i o u/
Diphthongs: ai, au
| Front | Back |
|---|
| High | i | u |
| High-mid | e | o |
| Low | a | |
Syllable structure: Custom defined
Stress pattern: Second — stress is on the second syllable
Word initial consonants: b, d, fr, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, pl, pr, r, s, sh, st, t, tr, w, ɡ, ɡr, ɲ, ʤ, ʧ
Mid-word consonants: b, bʤ, d, f, h, hk, j, k, kh, kk, ks, kt, kɲ, l, lk, m, mb, ml, mp, n, nd, nk, ns, nt, ntr, nɲ, nʤ, nʧ, p, pk, pt, r, rb, rd, rh, rk, rl, rm, rn, rp, rs, rt, rɡ, rʤ, rʧ, s, sk, st, str, t, tk, w, ŋ, ŋh, ŋk, ŋl, ŋs, ŋɡ, ɡ, ɲ, ʤ, ʧ
Word final consonants: b, h, k, l, ll, m, n, nd, nt, p, r, rd, s, t, w, ŋ
Phonological changes (in order of application):
Spelling rules:
| Pronunciation | Spelling |
|---|
| j | y |
| ŋ | ng |
| ɡ | g |
| ɲ | ny |
| ʤ | j |
| ʧ | c |
Grammar
Main word order: Subject-Oblique-Object-Verb. "Mary opened the door with a key" turns into
Mary with a key the door opened.
Adjective order: Adjectives are positioned before the noun.
Adposition: postpositions
Nouns
Nouns have four cases:
- Nominative is the doer of a verb: dog bites man.
- Accusative is the done-to of a verb: man bites dog.
- Genitive is the possessor of something: dog’s tail hits man.
- Dative is the recipeint of something: man gives ball to dog.
| Nominative | No affix
tuyu /tuˈju/
doɡ (doinɡ the verb) |
| Accusative | Suffix -a
tuyua /tuˈjua/
(verb done to) doɡ |
| Genitive | If ends with vowel: Suffix -l
Else: Suffix -ul
tuyul /tuˈjul/
doɡʼs |
| Dative | Prefix no-
notuyu /noˈtuju/
to (the/a) doɡ |
| Singular | No affix
tuyu /tuˈju/
doɡ |
| Plural | If ends with vowel: Suffix -p
Else: Suffix -up
tuyup /tuˈjup/
doɡs |
Articles
Moniqan has no definite article ‘the’, or indefinite article ‘a’.
Pronouns
| Nominative | Accusative | Genitive | Dative |
|---|
| 1st singular | sta /sta/
I | o /o/
me | au /au/
mine | mi /mi/
to me |
| 2nd singular | pa /pa/
you (masc) | ong /oŋ/
you | nu /nu/
yours | mul /mul/
to you |
| 3rd singular masc | no /no/
he, it | mer /mer/
him, it | tre /tre/
his, its | mo /mo/
to him, at it |
| 3rd singular fem | ma /ma/
she, it | ni /ni/
her, it | jo /ʤo/
hers, its | us /us/
to her, at it |
| 1st plural inclusive | ci /ʧi/
we (including you) | meb /meb/
us (including you) | wa /wa/
ours (including you) | na /na/
to us (including you) |
| 1st plural exclusive | mab /mab/
we (excluding you) | al /al/
us (excluding you) | i /i/
ours (excluding you) | ne /ne/
to us (excluding you) |
| 2nd plural | a /a/
you all | me /me/
you all | ah /ah/
yours (pl) | nau /nau/
to you all |
| 3rd plural | bu /bu/
they | mau /mau/
them | nye /ɲe/
theirs | tup /tup/
to them |
Possessive determiners
| 1st singular | au /au/
my |
| 2nd singular | nu /nu/
your |
| 3rd singular masc | tre /tre/
his |
| 3rd singular fem | jo /ʤo/
her |
| 1st plural inclusive | wa /wa/
our (including you) |
| 1st plural exclusive | i /i/
our (excluding you) |
| 2nd plural | ah /ah/
your (pl) |
| 3rd plural | nye /ɲe/
their |
Verbs
| Present | No affix
aiba /aiˈba/
learn |
| Past | If ends with vowel: Suffix -p
Else: Suffix -ap
aibap /aiˈbap/
learned |
| Remote past | Prefix i-
iaiba /iˈaiba/
learned (lonɡ aɡo) |
Moniqan uses a standalone particle word for future tense:
| Future | Particle before the verb: mo -
mo aiba /mo aiˈba/
will learn |
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.
Moniqan uses an affix for the perfect aspect:
| Perfect | Prefix a-
aaiba /aˈaiba/
have learned |
Numbers
Moniqan has a base-10 number system:
1 - aik
2 - nau
3 - mi
4 - pap
5 - mu
6 - koh
7 - shaiyont
8 - mib
9 - wa
10 - gul
11 - gul au aik “ten and one”
100 - aik sada “one hundred”
101 - aik sada au aik “one hundred and one”
200 - nau sada
1000 - aik ab “one thousand”
Derivational morphology
Adjective → adverb = Prefix a-
Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = Prefix jau-
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = Prefix ai-
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix j-
Else: Prefix ji-
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = If starts with vowel: Prefix m-
Else: Prefix mo-
Noun → verb (to create [noun]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix j-
Else: Prefix je-
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix n-
Else: Prefix ne-
Verb → adjective (likely to do [verb]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix p-
Else: Prefix pa-
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = Prefix u-
Verb → noun that verb physically produces (e.g. build → building) = If starts with vowel: Prefix d-
Else: Prefix dau-
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = Prefix u-
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = If starts with vowel: Prefix n-
Else: Prefix ne-
Diminutive = Prefix a-
Augmentative = Prefix i-
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