Zid Valen Language
Natively known as: thearn /θɪə̯n/
...and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind...twoi shirn dikscleith slear brirks squeish twoi squood brirks buth pu thu chirms
Pronunciation: /twɔɪ̯ ʃɪɹn ˈdɪkskleɪ̯θ slɪə̯ bɹɪɹks skweɪ̯ʃ twɔɪ̯ skwʊd bɹɪɹks bʌθ puː ðuː ʧɪɹmz/
Zid Valen word order: and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind
Spelling & Phonology
Consonant inventory: b d f g h j k l m n p s t v w z ð ŋ ɹ ʃ ʍ ʤ ʧ θ↓Manner/Place→ | Bilabial | Labiodental | Dental | Alveolar | Palato-alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | m | n | ŋ | |||||
Stop | p b | t d | k g | |||||
Affricate | ʧ ʤ | |||||||
Fricative | f v | θ ð | s z | ʃ | h | |||
Approximant | ɹ | j | ||||||
Lateral approximant | l |
↓Manner/Place→ | Labial-velar |
---|---|
Approximant | ʍ w |
Front | Central | Back | |
---|---|---|---|
High | iː | uː | |
Near-high | ɪ | ʊ | |
Low-mid | ɛ | ɜː | ʌ ɔː |
Near-low | æ | ||
Low | ɑ ɑː |
Stress pattern: Initial — stress is on the first syllable Spelling rules:
Pronunciation | Spelling |
---|---|
kw | qu |
kt | cked / _# |
k | c / !_{ɪ,i,ɛ,e,s} |
oʊC₁ | oC₁e |
uːC₁ | uC₁e / _# |
eɪC₁ | aC₁e / _# |
ð | th |
θ | th |
ʍ | wh |
ŋg | ng |
ŋk | nk |
ŋ | ng |
ʧ | ch |
ʃ | sh |
ɹ | r |
z | s / _# |
ju | u / C_ |
cc | ck |
c | k / _# |
{t,d} | ed / C_# |
aʊ | ow / _# |
aʊ | ou |
ɔɪ | oi |
ɪə | ear |
ɪ | y / _# |
ɪ | i |
ji | yi |
j | y |
iː | y / _# |
yy | yi / _# |
y | i / #_# |
ʌ | u |
iː | ee |
oʊ | o |
ʊ | oo |
ɛ | e |
ɑ(ː) | a |
t | tt / æ_# |
l | ll / æ_# |
s | ss / æ_# |
z | zz / æ_# |
æ | a |
ʤ | j / #_ |
ʤ | ge / _# |
ʤ | dg |
ɜː | ur |
ɔː | or |
uː | u |
quur | quir |
eə | ere |
̯ |
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
Nouns have both a plural affix and dual affix for precisely two things.Singular | No affix
bass /bæs/ dog |
Plural | If starts with vowel: Prefix b-
Else: Prefix bɪ- bibass /ˈbɪbæs/ dogs |
Dual | Prefix ɛ-
ebass /ˈɛbæs/ two dogs |
Articles
Definite | goids /gɔɪ̯dz/ the |
Indefinite | fuls /fuːls/ a, some |
- Definite article can be omitted: ‘I am going to supermarket’
- Used for personal names in third person: ‘The Maria has left for school’
Pronouns
1st singular | parm /pæɹm/ I, me, mine |
2nd singular | whur /ʍɜː/ you, yours |
3rd singular masc | shirn /ʃɪɹn/ he, him, his, it, its |
3rd singular fem | doi /dɔɪ̯/ she, her, hers, it, its |
1st plural | erelf /ɛə̯lf/ we, us, ours |
2nd plural | thry /θɹiː/ you all, yours (pl) |
3rd plural | sised /sɪst/ they, them, theirs |
Possessive determiners
1st singular | taiv /taɪ̯v/ my |
2nd singular | cooə /kʊə̯/ your |
3rd singular masc | brirks /bɹɪɹks/ his |
3rd singular fem | sloik /slɔɪ̯k/ her |
1st plural | twedsed /twɛdst/ our |
2nd plural | dou /daʊ̯/ your (pl) |
3rd plural | paith /paɪ̯ð/ their |
Verbs
Present | No affix
na /nɑ/ learn |
Past | Prefix ʧɪ-
china /ˈʧɪnɑ/ learned |
Future | Prefix ʊ-
oona /ˈʊnɑ/ will learn |
Progressive aspect
The ‘progressive’ aspect refers to actions that are happening at the time of speaking, such as I am learning.Zid Valen uses a standalone particle word for progressive:
Progressive | Particle before the verb: slæbd -
slabed na /slæbd nɑ/ 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).Zid Valen uses an affix for habitual:
Habitual | If starts with vowel: Prefix kl-
Else: Prefix klʌ- cluna /ˈklʌnɑ/ learns |
Numbers
Zid Valen has a base-20 number system: 1 - grai2 - dy
3 - quere
4 - voovs
5 - whooə
6 - frarn
7 - floos
8 - rooə
9 - flo
10 - por
11 - dreired
12 - hoosed
13 - spuzed
14 - blage
15 - swursoi
16 - horlf
17 - strus
18 - whurs
19 - tup
20 - rooflu
(Four) hundred - lou
(Eight) thousand - splorrms
Derivational morphology
Adjective → adverb = If ends with vowel: Suffix -ʧtElse: Suffix -ɑʧt
Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = Suffix -ɔɪ̯nt
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = Suffix -oʊ̯ɹkt
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix s-
Else: Prefix sʊ-
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = Prefix skɹɔɪ̯-
Noun to verb = Suffix -aʊ̯
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = Suffix -iːlz
Tending to = If ends with vowel: Suffix -kt
Else: Suffix -eɪ̯kt
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -n
Else: Suffix -iːn
Verb → noun that verb produces (e.g. know → knowledge) = Suffix -oʊ̯ʤ
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = If starts with vowel: Prefix p-
Else: Prefix pɑ-
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -b
Else: Suffix -ɪb
Diminutive = Prefix aʊ̯-
Augmentative = Suffix -ɑst
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