Natively known as: Aïzeng /aˈɪzeŋ/
...and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind...
haï kï haïl næb eïw ædäw haï úv eïw jæfwa rǔw müsh thïf
Pronunciation: /haɪ kɪ haɪl næb eɪw ˈædəw haɪ ɯv eɪw ˈʤæfwa ɹɨw mʊʃ θɪf/
Izen 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 ʒ ʔ 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 |
ʔ |
| Affricate |
|
|
|
|
ʧ ʤ |
|
|
|
| Fricative |
|
f v |
θ ð |
s z |
ʃ ʒ |
|
|
h |
| Approximant |
|
|
|
ɹ |
|
j |
|
|
| Lateral approximant |
|
|
|
l |
|
|
|
|
Co-articulated phonemes
| ↓Manner/Place→ |
Labio-velar |
| Approximant |
w |
Vowel inventory: /a aɪ aʊ e eɪ i o u æ ɑ ɔɪ ə ɛ ɨ ɪ ɯ ʊ ʌ/
Diphthongs: aɪ, aʊ, eɪ, ɔɪ ?
|
Front |
Central |
Back |
| High |
i |
ɨ |
ɯ u |
| Near-high |
ɪ |
|
ʊ |
| High-mid |
e |
|
o |
| Mid |
|
ə |
|
| Low-mid |
ɛ |
|
ʌ |
| Near-low |
æ |
|
|
| Low |
a |
|
ɑ |
Syllable structure: (C)V(C) ?
Stress pattern: Penultimate — stress is on the second last syllable ?
Word initial consonants: d, f, h, k, l, m, n, p, t, w, z, ð, ɹ, ʃ, ʒ, ʤ, ʧ, θ
Mid-word consonants: b, bb, bd, bj, bl, bm, bs, bw, bz, bɹ, bʃ, bʤ, d, db, dd, df, dg, dl, ds, dt, dv, dɹ, dʃ, dʒ, f, ff, fh, fj, fk, fl, fm, fn, fp, ft, fw, fɹ, g, gb, gg, gk, gl, gn, gs, gt, gz, gʃ, gʤ, h, hb, hj, hk, hm, hw, j, jb, jk, jm, jv, jz, jʃ, jʔ, k, kb, kd, kh, kj, kn, ks, kt, kv, kw, kʃ, l, ld, lh, lk, ll, lm, ln, lp, ls, lt, lv, lð, lɹ, lʒ, lʔ, lʤ, lʧ, lθ, m, mf, ml, mn, ms, mt, mv, mθ, n, nf, ng, nl, ns, nt, nw, nʔ, p, pf, pl, pn, pt, pv, pw, pz, pɹ, pʧ, s, sh, sl, sv, sʔ, sʧ, sθ, t, td, tf, th, tk, tm, tn, tp, ts, tw, tz, tʔ, tʤ, tʧ, v, vb, vd, vn, vw, vɹ, w, wb, wp, ws, wt, wv, wz, z, zb, zd, zg, zh, zj, zm, zp, zv, zz, zɹ, ð, ðj, ðɹ, ŋ, ŋb, ŋd, ŋf, ŋj, ŋk, ŋm, ŋn, ŋp, ŋs, ŋt, ŋw, ŋz, ɹ, ɹb, ɹd, ɹp, ɹs, ɹt, ɹw, ɹð, ɹʒ, ɹʧ, ʃ, ʃj, ʃt, ʃʧ, ʒ, ʒl, ʒm, ʒn, ʔ, ʔn, ʔθ, ʤ, ʤl, ʧ, ʧf, ʧg, ʧk, θ, θf, θh
Word final consonants: b, f, g, k, l, m, n, t, v, w, z, ð, ŋ, ɹ, ʃ, ʒ, ʧ
Phonological changes (in order of application): ?
- j → g / _#
- h → q / _#
- n → m / u_V
- i → o / _m
- ʔ → h / _l
- v → p / _s
- t → ʦ / _ʔ
- m → w / _B
Spelling rules:
| Pronunciation |
Spelling |
| aɪ |
ie |
| aʊ |
ou |
| eɪ |
ay |
| j |
y |
| ð |
dh |
| ŋ |
ng |
| ɑ |
â |
| ɔɪ |
oi |
| ə |
ä |
| ɛ |
ë |
| ɨ |
ǔ |
| ɪ |
ï |
| ɯ |
ú |
| ɹ |
r |
| ʃ |
sh |
| ʊ |
ü |
| ʌ |
û |
| ʒ |
zh |
| ʔ |
ʻ |
| ʤ |
j |
| ʧ |
ch |
|
|
| θ |
th |
Grammar
Main word order: Subject-Verb-Object-Oblique. "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
|
Singular |
Plural |
| Definite |
If ends with vowel: Suffix -v
Else: Suffix -əv
núläv /ˈnɯləv/
the dog |
If ends with vowel: Suffix -k
Else: Suffix -ɯk
núlúk /ˈnɯlɯk/
the dogs |
| Indefinite |
Suffix -ɔɪ
núlɔï /ˈnɯlɔɪ/
a dog |
Suffix -un
núlun /ˈnɯlun/
some dogs |
Articles
Izen encodes definite article ‘the’, and indefinite article ‘a’ in noun affixes. See Noun section.
Pronouns
| 1st singular |
da /da/
I, me, mine |
| 2nd singular |
thúv /θɯv/
you, yours |
| 3rd singular masc |
kï /kɪ/
he, him, his |
| 3rd singular fem |
a /a/
she, her, hers |
| 1st plural |
kæm /kæm/
we, us, ours |
| 2nd plural |
mi /mi/
you (all), yours |
| 3rd plural |
zæt /zæt/
they, them, theirs |
Possessive determiners
| 1st singular |
she /ʃe/
my |
| 2nd singular |
nú /nɯ/
your |
| 3rd singular masc |
eïw /eɪw/
his |
| 3rd singular fem |
i /i/
her |
| 1st plural |
jë /ʤɛ/
our |
| 2nd plural |
we /we/
your |
| 3rd plural |
në /nɛ/
their |
Verbs
| Present |
No affix
túv /tɯv/
learn |
| Past |
Suffix -i
túvi /ˈtɯvi/
learned |
| Future |
Suffix -aʊ
túvaü /ˈtɯvaʊ/
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).
Izen uses a standalone particle word for imperfective:
| Imperfective |
paüch /paʊʧ/
imperfect particle |
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.
Izen uses an affix for the perfect aspect:
| Perfect |
If ends with vowel: Suffix -f
Else: Suffix -ɨf
túvǔf /ˈtɯvɨf/ |
Numbers
Izen has a base-20 number system:
1 - jë
2 - dhob
3 - ät
4 - pâ
5 - u
6 - ma
7 - nû
8 - fu
9 - kïf
10 - kúb
11 - zæshtúg
12 - wækshü
13 - næeï
14 - deïdzhaütne
15 - æyzï
16 - hǔn
17 - wopür
18 - zhüslǔ
19 - shærizh
20 - müzye
21 - müzye haï jë “twenty and one”
400 - jë pâb “one fourhundred”
401 - jë pâb haï jë “one fourhundred and one”
800 - dhob pâb “two fourhundred”
8000 - jë wæne “one eightthousand”
Derivational morphology
Adjective → adverb = If ends with vowel: Suffix -v
Else: Suffix -ev
Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -n
Else: Suffix -ɛn
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = Suffix -əg
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = Suffix -i
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -l
Else: Suffix -el
Noun → verb (to create [noun]) = Suffix -aɪg
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = Suffix -aŋ
Verb → adjective (likely to do [verb]) = Suffix -o
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -ð
Else: Suffix -uð
Verb → noun that verb physically produces (e.g. build → building) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -v
Else: Suffix -æv
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -k
Else: Suffix -ək
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = Suffix -aŋ
Diminutive = Suffix -aʊɹ
Augmentative = If ends with vowel: Suffix -n
Else: Suffix -ɛn
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