Isutodek

Spoken in the Isutobek Nation.

Grammar

Main word order: Subject (Prepositional phrase) Object Verb. “Mary opened the door with a key” turns into Mary [subject particle] with a key [phrase / object particle] the door [verb particle] opened.

Adjective order: Adjectives are positioned before the noun.

Adposition: postpositions

Noun affixes

Using 'cat' as example word.

	Nominative	Accusative	Genitive	Dative
Neuter	No affix ánaákei /aˈŋɑaˌkei̯/	Suffix -az ánaákeiáz /aˈŋɑaˌkei̯az/	If ends with vowel: Suffix -v Else: Suffix -ɤ ánaákeiv /aˈŋɑaˌkei̯v/	Suffix -ig ánaákeiig /aˈŋɑaˌkei̯ig/
Animate	If ends with vowel: Suffix -ŋ Else: Suffix -ʌ ánaákein /aˈŋɑaˌkei̯ŋ/	If ends with vowel: Suffix -z Else: Suffix -a ánaákeiz /aˈŋɑaˌkei̯z/	Suffix -ʌg ánaákeiug /aˈŋɑaˌkei̯ʌg/	Suffix -ɜk ánaákeiék /aˈŋɑaˌkei̯ɜk/
Inanimate	If ends with vowel: Suffix -g Else: Suffix -e ánaákeig /aˈŋɑaˌkei̯g/	Suffix -eh ánaákeieh /aˈŋɑaˌkei̯eh/	Suffix -ɑg ánaákeiag /aˈŋɑaˌkei̯ɑg/	Suffix -ev ánaákeiev /aˈŋɑaˌkei̯ev/

Pronouns

Neuter

	Singular	Plural	Dual
1st person	íá /ɨˈa/ I, me, mine	ai /ɑˈi/ we, us, ours	áei /aˈei̯/
2nd person	ákí /aˈkɨ/ you, yours	ozeo /ɤˈzɜɤ̯/ you all, yours (pl)	ate /ɑˈte/
3rd person	eié /ei̯ˈɜ/ it, its	áa /aˈɑ/ they (neut), them (neut), theirs (neut)	oa /ɤˈɑ/

Animate

	Singular	Plural	Dual
1st person	ehai /eˈhɑi̯/	ué /ʌˈɜ/	eoká /ɜɤ̯ˈka/
2nd person	oté /ɤˈtɜ/	iza /iˈzɑ/	eigi /ei̯ˈgi/
3rd person	uo /ʌˈɤ/	aeo /ɑˈɜɤ̯/	ae /ɑˈe/

Inanimate

	Singular	Plural	Dual
1st person	áe /aˈe/	aie /ɑi̯ˈe/	iá /iˈa/
2nd person	one /ɤˈŋe/	áká /aˈka/	ie /iˈe/
3rd person	uá /ʌˈa/	eoa /ɜɤ̯ˈɑ/	íé /ɨˈɜ/

Particles denote phrases in a sentence. They are positioned between phrases (such as the subjective particle is often after the subject of the sentence).

Particles

Indicative

	Neuter	Animate	Inanimate
Remote past	o /ɤ/	go /gɤ/	íd /ɨd/
Past	dá /da/	ké /kɜ/	veo /vɜɤ̯/
Present	ád /ad/	wi /ʋi/	sá /sa/
Future	i /i/	u /ʌ/	na /ŋɑ/
Remote future	eo /ɜɤ̯/	éd /ɜd/	zeo /zɜɤ̯/

Conditional

	Neuter	Animate	Inanimate
Remote past	e /e/	ud /ʌd/	va /vɑ/
Past	a /ɑ/	nu /ŋʌ/	hí /hɨ/
Present	nai /ŋɑi̯/	ku /kʌ/	sé /sɜ/
Future	vé /vɜ/	zí /zɨ/	fá /fa/
Remote future	du /dʌ/	jí /ɰɨ/	xa /ɣɑ/

Subjunctive

	Neuter	Animate	Inanimate
Remote past	wa /ʋɑ/	ek /ek/	hé /hɜ/
Past	heo /hɜɤ̯/	kei /kei̯/	dí /dɨ/
Present	aik /ɑi̯k/	aiv /ɑi̯v/	ju /ɰʌ/
Future	xu /ɣʌ/	sho /ʃɤ/	ní /ŋɨ/
Remote future	do /dɤ/	ux /ʌɣ/	vá /va/

Imperative

	Neuter	Animate	Inanimate
Remote past	ei /ei̯/	sei /sei̯/	lá /ɬa/
Past	é /ɜ/	ai /ɑi̯/	í /ɨ/
Present	á /a/	né /ŋɜ/	id /id/
Future	di /di/	tei /tei̯/	og /ɤg/
Remote future	mai /ɱɑi̯/	xo /ɣɤ/	má /ɱa/

Phonology

Spelling & Phonology

Consonant inventory: d f g h k s t v z ŋ ɣ ɬ ɰ ɱ ɹ ʃ ʋ

↓Manner/Place→	Labiodental	Alveolar	Palato-alveolar	Velar	Glottal
Nasal	ɱ			ŋ
Stop		t d		k g
Fricative	f v	s z	ʃ	ɣ	h
Approximant	ʋ	ɹ		ɰ
Lateral fricative		ɬ

Vowel inventory: a e ei̯ i ɑ ɑi̯ ɜ ɜɤ̯ ɤ ɨ ʌ
Diphthongs: ei̯ ɑi̯ ɜɤ̯

	Front	Central	Back
High	i	ɨ
High-mid	e		ɤ
Low-mid		ɜ	ʌ
Low	a		ɑ

Morphology

Derivational morphology

Adjective → adverb = Prefix di-

Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -g
Else: Suffix -i

Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = Suffix -ʌd
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = Prefix hɜɤ̯-

Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -z
Else: Suffix -ɑi̯

Noun to verb = Suffix -ik
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = Prefix ʋɜ-

Tending to = Suffix -ɑi̯ŋ
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = Prefix kɜɤ̯-

Verb → noun that verb produces (e.g. know → knowledge) = Suffix -ɑi̯d
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -h
Else: Suffix -e
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = Suffix -ɑi̯d

Diminutive = Prefix ɰa-
Augmentative = If ends with vowel: Suffix -v
Else: Suffix -i
Verb → adjective (likely to do [verb]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -g
Else: Suffix -a
Noun → verb (to create [noun]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -ŋ
Else: Suffix -ɨ

Syntax

Example Sentence:
akakaio ánaákein kei áváhé doaáhen táai é níziunág

/ɑˈkɑkɑˌiɤ aˈŋɑaˌkei̯ŋ kei̯ aˈvahɜ dɤˈɑaˌheŋ taˈɑi ɜ ŋɨˈziʌˌŋag/
Gloss:
akakaio | ánaákein | kei | áváhé | doaáhen | táai | é | níziunág

Black-ANIMATE.DUAL:ADJECTIVE | cat-NOMINATIVE.ANIMATE:NOUNCLASS | ANIMATE.PAST.SUBJUNCTIVE:PARTICLE | through | open-INANIMTE.SINGULAR:ADJECTIVE | window | NEUTER.PAST.IMPERATIVE:PARTICLE | jump-3PERSON.PAST.PLURAL:VERB

Vocabulary

Numbers

Isutobek has a base-10 number system:
1 - ita
2 - aoíáré
3 - keituh
4 - exétox
5 - taié
6 - fíxeozai
7 - izheoso
8 - eixuinaié
9 - ikí
10 - díd
Hundred - ámieoa
Thousand - athek

Phonetics

Syllable structure: Custom defined
Stress pattern: Second — stress is on the second syllable
Spelling rules:

Pronunciation	Spelling
d	d
f	f
a	á
g	g
ɑi̯	ai
ɑ	a
ei̯	ei
i	i
e	e
ɜɤ̯	eo
ɜ	é
ɤ	o
ɨ	í
ʌ	u
ɣ	x
h	h
k	k
ɬ	l
ɱ	m
ŋ	n
ɹ	r
s	s
ʃ	sh
t	t
ɰ	j
v	v
ʋ	w
z	z

Tenses

Verb affixes

Singular

	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
Remote past	Suffix -ʌv ekgeouv /ekˈgɜɤ̯ʌv/ (I) learned (long ago)	Suffix -ʌɣ ekgeoux /ekˈgɜɤ̯ʌɣ/ (you) learned (long ago)	Suffix -ɑi̯h ekgeoaih /ekˈgɜɤ̯ɑi̯h/ (he/she/it) learned (long ago)
Past	If ends with vowel: Suffix -d Else: Suffix -ɑ ekgeod /ekˈgɜɤ̯d/ (I) learned	Suffix -ɑi̯ŋ ekgeoain /ekˈgɜɤ̯ɑi̯ŋ/ (you) learned	Suffix -ei̯t ekgeoeit /ekˈgɜɤ̯ei̯t/ (he/she/it) learned
Present	If ends with vowel: Suffix -v Else: Suffix -ɑi̯ ekgeov /ekˈgɜɤ̯v/ (I) learn	Suffix -ad ekgeoád /ekˈgɜɤ̯ad/ (you) learn	If ends with vowel: Suffix -g Else: Suffix -ɑi̯ ekgeog /ekˈgɜɤ̯g/ (he/she/it) learns
Future	If ends with vowel: Suffix -v Else: Suffix -e ekgeov /ekˈgɜɤ̯v/ (I) will learn	Suffix -ɤg ekgeoog /ekˈgɜɤ̯ɤg/ (you) will learn	Suffix -aɣ ekgeoáx /ekˈgɜɤ̯aɣ/ (he/she/it) will learn
Remote future	Suffix -ek ekgeoek /ekˈgɜɤ̯ek/	If ends with vowel: Suffix -z Else: Suffix -ɑ ekgeoz /ekˈgɜɤ̯z/	If ends with vowel: Suffix -k Else: Suffix -ɜɤ̯ ekgeok /ekˈgɜɤ̯k/

Plural

	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
Remote past	Suffix -aŋ ekgeoán /ekˈgɜɤ̯aŋ/ (we) learned (long ago)	Suffix -ik ekgeoik /ekˈgɜɤ̯ik/ (you all) learned (long ago)	If ends with vowel: Suffix -ɣ Else: Suffix -ɑ ekgeox /ekˈgɜɤ̯ɣ/ (they) learned (long ago)
Past	If ends with vowel: Suffix -g Else: Suffix -a ekgeog /ekˈgɜɤ̯g/ (we) learned	Suffix -ah ekgeoáh /ekˈgɜɤ̯ah/ (you all) learned	Suffix -ag ekgeoág /ekˈgɜɤ̯ag/ (they) learned
Present	If ends with vowel: Suffix -ŋ Else: Suffix -ɜ ekgeon /ekˈgɜɤ̯ŋ/ (we) learn	Suffix -ʌŋ ekgeoun /ekˈgɜɤ̯ʌŋ/ (you all) learn	If ends with vowel: Suffix -t Else: Suffix -a ekgeot /ekˈgɜɤ̯t/ (they) learn
Future	If ends with vowel: Suffix -k Else: Suffix -i ekgeok /ekˈgɜɤ̯k/ (we) will learn	Suffix -ɜk ekgeoék /ekˈgɜɤ̯ɜk/ (you all) will learn	If ends with vowel: Suffix -v Else: Suffix -ɜɤ̯ ekgeov /ekˈgɜɤ̯v/ (they) will learn
Remote future	If ends with vowel: Suffix -k Else: Suffix -a ekgeok /ekˈgɜɤ̯k/	If ends with vowel: Suffix -t Else: Suffix -ɑi̯ ekgeot /ekˈgɜɤ̯t/	Suffix -ɜɤ̯v ekgeoeov /ekˈgɜɤ̯ɜɤ̯v/

Dual

	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
Remote past	Suffix -ɑi̯d ekgeoaid /ekˈgɜɤ̯ɑi̯d/	If ends with vowel: Suffix -z Else: Suffix -ɤ ekgeoz /ekˈgɜɤ̯z/	If ends with vowel: Suffix -ŋ Else: Suffix -ɑ ekgeon /ekˈgɜɤ̯ŋ/
Past	Suffix -ɜg ekgeoég /ekˈgɜɤ̯ɜg/	If ends with vowel: Suffix -z Else: Suffix -ɑi̯ ekgeoz /ekˈgɜɤ̯z/	Suffix -ɜŋ ekgeoén /ekˈgɜɤ̯ɜŋ/
Present	Suffix -ɨŋ ekgeoín /ekˈgɜɤ̯ɨŋ/	Suffix -ɑz ekgeoaz /ekˈgɜɤ̯ɑz/	If ends with vowel: Suffix -d Else: Suffix -ɨ ekgeod /ekˈgɜɤ̯d/
Future	Suffix -ɜɤ̯k ekgeoeok /ekˈgɜɤ̯ɜɤ̯k/	If ends with vowel: Suffix -v Else: Suffix -ɜ ekgeov /ekˈgɜɤ̯v/	If ends with vowel: Suffix -t Else: Suffix -ɑ ekgeot /ekˈgɜɤ̯t/
Remote future	If ends with vowel: Suffix -d Else: Suffix -e ekgeod /ekˈgɜɤ̯d/	If ends with vowel: Suffix -k Else: Suffix -ei̯ ekgeok /ekˈgɜɤ̯k/	Suffix -ɜt ekgeoét /ekˈgɜɤ̯ɜt/

Adjective Order

Adjective affixes

Adjectives must match the gender of the noun they describe. Below is an example of affixes as shown by the word "big."

	Neuter	Animate	Inanimate
Singular	No affix efáti /eˈfati/	Suffix -ʌz efátiuz /eˈfatiˌʌz/	If ends with vowel: Suffix -ŋ Else: Suffix -i efátin /eˈfatiŋ/
Plural	If ends with vowel: Suffix -g Else: Suffix -e efátig /eˈfatig/	If ends with vowel: Suffix -v Else: Suffix -ɑ efátiv /eˈfativ/	If ends with vowel: Suffix -k Else: Suffix -e efátik /eˈfatik/
Dual	If ends with vowel: Suffix -h Else: Suffix -ɤ efátih /eˈfatih/	Suffix -ɑi̯v efátiaiv /eˈfatiˌɑi̯v/	Suffix -ʌɣ efátiux /eˈfatiˌʌɣ/

Dictionary

4393 Words.

Common Phrases

huénshá nág ázátaiz á eikáutáét

swim swifter than waves