Natively known as: kringa /kɾiˈŋa/
...and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind...
mbi e ngkuj ikfush e echye mbi nyash e sam isri kteh rew[alt]
Pronunciation: /mbi ə ŋkuɟ ikˈfuʃ ə əˈcə mbi ɲaʃ ə sam iˈsɾi ktəh ɾəw/
Kringan word order: and he stood holding hat his and turned his face wet to the wind[/alt]
Spelling & Phonology
Consonant inventory: b c d f g h k m n s t w ç ŋ ɟ ɮ ɲ ɾ ʃ ʔ ʧ
| ↓Manner/Place→ |
Bilabial |
Labiodental |
Alveolar |
Palato-alveolar |
Palatal |
Velar |
Glottal |
| Nasal |
m |
|
n |
|
ɲ |
ŋ |
|
| Stop |
b |
|
t d |
|
c ɟ |
k g |
ʔ |
| Affricate |
|
|
|
ʧ |
|
|
|
| Fricative |
|
f |
s |
ʃ |
ç |
|
h |
| Tap |
|
|
ɾ |
|
|
|
|
| Lateral fricative |
|
|
ɮ |
|
|
|
|
Co-articulated phonemes
| ↓Manner/Place→ |
Labial-velar |
| Approximant |
w |
Vowel inventory: a i u ə
|
Front |
Central |
Back |
| High |
i |
|
u |
| Mid |
|
ə |
|
| Low |
a |
|
|
Syllable structure: (C)(C)V(C)
Stress pattern: Ultimate — stress is on the last syllable
Word initial consonants: b f ft fɾ g gɾ kt kɾ mb md mɾ nd s sk sn t tɾ w ŋk ɟ ɲ ɾ ʃt
Mid-word consonants: b bm bn bs bt bw bʃ c cs ct d db dn ds dt f fd fg fh fk ft fʃ g gd gf gk gm gɮ gɾ gʃ gʧ h hd hm ht k kf kh kw kç m md mɮ n nf nm nt nw nɟ nɾ nʔ s sb sg sm sn sw sɾ t td th tm tt tç tɾ tʔ w wb wg wk ws wt ww wʃ ç çk çt ŋ ŋd ŋg ŋk ŋn ŋs ŋw ŋɟ ɟ ɟn ɮ ɮb ɮɮ ɲ ɲc ɲʃ ɾ ɾb ɾc ɾf ɾh ɾk ɾs ʃ ʃc ʃh ʃm ʃn ʔ ʔd ʧ ʧg ʧn
Word final consonants: b f g h k m n s t w ç ɟ ɮ ʃ ʧ
Spelling rules:
| Pronunciation |
Spelling |
| ʔ |
ʻ |
| ə |
e |
| c |
chy |
| ʧ |
ch |
| ʃ |
sh |
| ŋ |
ng |
| ɟ |
j |
| ɮ |
zh |
| ɲ |
ny |
| ɾ |
r |
| ç |
sĥ |
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 after the noun.
Adposition: prepositions
Nouns
| Singular |
No affix
snij /sniɟ/
dog |
| Plural |
Prefix a-
asnij /asˈniɟ/
dogs |
Articles
Kringan has no definite article ‘the’, or indefinite article ‘a’.
Pronouns
| 1st singular |
nyuh /ɲuh/
I, me, mine |
| 2nd singular |
ngke /ŋkə/
you, yours |
| 3rd singular masc |
e /ə/
he, him, his, it, its |
| 3rd singular fem |
ra /ɾa/
she, her, hers, it, its |
| 1st plural |
u /u/
we, us, ours |
| 2nd plural |
kta /kta/
you all, yours (pl) |
| 3rd plural |
gam /gam/
they, them, theirs |
Possessive determiners
| 1st singular |
nyuh /ɲuh/
my |
| 2nd singular |
ngke /ŋkə/
your |
| 3rd singular masc |
e /ə/
his |
| 3rd singular fem |
ra /ɾa/
her |
| 1st plural |
u /u/
our |
| 2nd plural |
kta /kta/
your (pl) |
| 3rd plural |
gam /gam/
their |
Verbs
| Present |
No affix
mbif /mbif/
learn |
| Past |
If starts with vowel: Prefix fɾ-
Else: Prefix fɾə-
frembif /fɾəmˈbif/
learned |
| Remote past |
Prefix wə-
wembif /wəmˈbif/
learned (long ago) |
Kringan uses a standalone particle word for future tense:
| Future |
Particle before the verb: ə -
e mbif /ə mbif/
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.
Kringan uses the word for ‘finish’
fugish for the perfect aspect.
Numbers
Kringan has a base-10 number system:
1 -
ftem
2 -
si
3 -
siw
4 -
mdengi
5 -
nyut
6 -
je
7 -
tu
8 -
ngki
9 -
mbes
10 -
skag
11 -
ftem mbi skag “one and ten”
100 -
kres “hundred”
101 -
kres mbi ftem “hundred and one”
200 -
si kres
1000 -
am “thousand”
Derivational morphology
Adjective → adverb = If starts with vowel: Prefix tɾ-
Else: Prefix tɾə-
Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = Prefix wu-
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix g-
Else: Prefix gi-
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = Prefix fi-
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = If starts with vowel: Prefix f-
Else: Prefix fi-
Noun to verb = If starts with vowel: Prefix t-
Else: Prefix tə-
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = Prefix i-
Tending to = Prefix wi-
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix ft-
Else: Prefix fti-
Verb → noun that verb produces (e.g. know → knowledge) = Prefix gi-
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = Prefix mɾi-
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = If starts with vowel: Prefix mɾ-
Else: Prefix mɾə-
Diminutive = Prefix mda-
Augmentative = If starts with vowel: Prefix b-
Else: Prefix bə-
Comments