Natively known as: Nattung /ˈnattuːŋ/
...and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind...
kyi bya kuk myolpo kuk kwonghu kyi natjan in kuk isak kwup pil
Pronunciation: /kjiː pja kuk ˈmjoɭpo kuk kwoŋˈhu kjiː ˈnatʨan in kuk ˈisaːk kwup pʰiɭ/
Ninjosi word order: and he his hat holding stood and the wind to his wet face turned
Spelling & Phonology
Consonant inventory: /d h j k kʰ m n p pʰ s t tʰ w ŋ ɡ ɭ ɾ ʨ ʨʰ/
| ↓Manner/Place→ |
Bilabial |
Alveolar |
Retroflex |
Alveolo-palatal |
Palatal |
Velar |
Glottal |
| Nasal |
m |
n |
|
|
|
ŋ |
|
| Stop |
p pʰ |
t tʰ d |
|
|
|
k kʰ ɡ |
|
| Affricate |
|
|
|
ʨ ʨʰ |
|
|
|
| Fricative |
|
s |
|
|
|
|
h |
| Approximant |
|
|
|
|
j |
|
|
| Tap |
|
ɾ |
|
|
|
|
|
| Lateral approximant |
|
|
ɭ |
|
|
|
|
Co-articulated phonemes
| ↓Manner/Place→ |
Labial-velar |
| Approximant |
w |
Vowel inventory: /a aː e eː i iː o oː u uː ɛ ɛː ɯ ɯː ʌ/
|
Front |
Back |
| High |
i iː |
ɯ ɯː u uː |
| High-mid |
e eː |
o oː |
| Low-mid |
ɛ ɛː |
ʌ |
| Low |
a aː |
|
Syllable structure: Custom defined
Stress pattern: No fixed stress
Word initial consonants: h, hj, j, k, kj, kw, kʰ, m, mj, mw, n, nj, p, pj, pʰ, pʰj, s, t, tʰ, w, ɾ, ʨ, ʨʰ, ʨʰw
Mid-word consonants: d, h, hj, j, k, kk, kkj, kpj, kpʰ, ks, kt, kw, kʨ, kʰ, m, md, mh, mj, mm, mn, mnj, mp, mpʰj, ms, mt, mɡ, mʨ, mʨʰ, n, nd, nh, nj, nk, nm, nmj, nn, np, ns, nt, ntʰ, nɡ, nɡj, nʨ, nʨʰ, p, pj, pk, ps, pt, pʨ, pʨʰ, pʰ, pʰj, s, t, tk, tt, tʨ, tʨʰ, tʰ, w, ŋ, ŋd, ŋh, ŋhj, ŋj, ŋk, ŋm, ŋmj, ŋn, ŋp, ŋpʰ, ŋpʰj, ŋs, ŋɡ, ŋɡj, ŋʨʰ, ɡ, ɡj, ɡw, ɭd, ɭk, ɭm, ɭp, ɭpʰ, ɭpʰj, ɭs, ɭt, ɭtʰ, ɭɡ, ɭɡj, ɭɡw, ɭɭ, ɾ, ɾh, ɾj, ɾw, ʨ, ʨʰ
Word final consonants: k, m, n, p, t, ŋ, ɭ
Phonological changes (in order of application):
How to read phonological rules
Spelling rules:
| Pronunciation |
Spelling |
| #p |
b / !_ʰ |
| pʰ |
p |
| ɡ |
g |
| ŋ |
ng |
| ɭ |
l |
| ɾ |
r |
| ʌ |
eo |
| ɯ(ː)? |
eu |
| ɛ(ː)? |
ae |
| j |
y |
| ː |
|
| tʰ |
t |
| kʰ |
k |
| ʨʰ |
ch |
| ʨ |
j |
Grammar
Main word order: Subject (Prepositional phrase) 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 three 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.
| Nominative |
No affix
ul /uɭ/
doɡ (doinɡ the verb) |
| Accusative |
Prefix sɛ-
saeul /ˈsɛuɭ/
(verb done to) doɡ |
| Genitive |
If starts with vowel: Prefix hj-
Else: Prefix hjoː-
hyul /hjuɭ/
doɡʼs |
| Singular |
No affix
ul /uɭ/
doɡ |
| Plural |
Prefix ɛ-
aeul /ˈɛuɭ/
doɡs |
Articles
| Definite |
raek /ɾɛːk/
the |
| Indefinite |
mu /muː/
a, some |
Pronouns
|
Nominative |
Accusative |
Genitive |
| 1st singular |
ta /ta/
I |
hyaek /hjɛk/
me |
kweu /kwɯ/
mine |
| 2nd singular |
yel /jeɭ/
you (masc) |
mwo /mwoː/
you |
tal /tʰaɭ/
yours |
| 3rd singular masc |
bya /pja/
he, it |
jael /ʨɛɭ/
him, it |
kuk /kuk/
his, its |
| 3rd singular fem |
raep /ɾɛːp/
she, it |
ta /tʰa/
her, it |
ong /oŋ/
hers, its |
| 1st plural |
chin /ʨʰin/
we |
hyem /hjem/
us |
o /oː/
ours |
| 2nd plural |
a /aː/
you all |
keung /kʰɯːŋ/
you all |
sael /sɛɭ/
yours (pl) |
| 3rd plural |
ot /ot/
they |
kop /kop/
them |
jaek /ʨɛːk/
theirs |
Possessive determiners
| 1st singular |
kweu /kwɯ/
my |
| 2nd singular |
tal /tʰaɭ/
your |
| 3rd singular masc |
kuk /kuk/
his |
| 3rd singular fem |
ong /oŋ/
her |
| 1st plural |
o /oː/
our |
| 2nd plural |
sael /sɛɭ/
your (pl) |
| 3rd plural |
jaek /ʨɛːk/
their |
Verbs
|
Present |
Past |
| Singular |
Prefix ɛ-
aeal /ˈɛaɭ/
(I/you/he/she) learns |
If starts with vowel: Prefix w-
Else: Prefix wi-
wal /waɭ/
(I/you/he/she) learned |
| Plural |
If starts with vowel: Prefix k-
Else: Prefix kʌ-
kal /kaɭ/
(we/they) learn |
Prefix a-
aal /aˈaɭ/
(we/they) learned |
Ninjosi uses a standalone particle word for future tense:
| Future |
Particle before the verb: aː -
a al /aː aɭ/
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.
Ninjosi uses an affix for the perfect aspect:
| Perfect |
If starts with vowel: Prefix kʰ-
Else: Prefix kʰuː-
kal /kʰaɭ/
have learned |
Numbers
Ninjosi has a base-10 number system:
1 - pu
2 - ku
3 - on
4 - kal
5 - eok
6 - kya
7 - ka
8 - tagip
9 - ru
10 - weom
11 - weom kyi pu “ten and one”
100 - pu myeu “one hundred”
101 - pu myeu kyi pu “one hundred and one”
200 - ku myeu
1000 - pu tanang “one thousand”
Derivational morphology
Adjective → adverb = If starts with vowel: Prefix mw-
Else: Prefix mwiː-
Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = Prefix aː-
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = Prefix a-
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix kj-
Else: Prefix kjaː-
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = Prefix ɛː-
Noun to verb = Prefix pʌ-
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix ʨ-
Else: Prefix ʨo-
Tending to = Prefix a-
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix m-
Else: Prefix mo-
Verb → noun that verb produces (e.g. know → knowledge) = If starts with vowel: Prefix pʰ-
Else: Prefix pʰʌ-
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = If starts with vowel: Prefix kw-
Else: Prefix kwɯ-
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = If starts with vowel: Prefix kʰ-
Else: Prefix kʰoː-
Diminutive = Prefix a-
Augmentative = Prefix ʨʰu-
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