Sxienese
Known in some circles as Dusun, this is the language of the people in Lasxien.
kosen ousʃ sansxunuon guŋgun oun eusɾu kosen gube oun sinu ounsxa iasxon mopjun
Pronunciation: /koˈsen oˈusʃ sansˈʃunuˌon guŋˈgun oˈun eˈusɾu koˈsen guˈbe oˈun siˈnu oˈunsʃa iˈasʃon moˈpjun/
Sxienese word order: and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face the wind to
Co-articulated phonemes
Vowel inventory: a e i o u
Syllable structure: Custom defined ?
Stress pattern: Second — stress is on the second syllable ? Sound changes (in order of application):
Adjective order: Adjectives are positioned before the noun.
Adposition: postpositions ?
Uses of definite article that differ from English:
Sxienese uses an affix for the perfect aspect:
2 - gi
3 - hasan
4 - ounte
5 - ɾegon
6 - uansxuoun
7 - eunganuen
8 - uepeun
9 - sxutan
10 - du
100 - nizin
1000 - eusx
Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = Suffix -uj
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -k
Else: Suffix -o
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = Prefix sxi-
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -sx
Else: Suffix -o
Noun to verb = If ends with vowel: Suffix -t
Else: Suffix -u
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = Suffix -iw
Tending to = Suffix -iɾ
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = Suffix -iz
Verb → noun that verb produces (e.g. know → knowledge) = Suffix -ad
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -d
Else: Suffix -e
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = Prefix ga-
Diminutive = If ends with vowel: Suffix -s
Else: Suffix -u
Augmentative = If ends with vowel: Suffix -l
Else: Suffix -i
Natively known as: sxienese /sʃiˈeneˌse/
...and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind...kosen ousʃ sansxunuon guŋgun oun eusɾu kosen gube oun sinu ounsxa iasxon mopjun
Pronunciation: /koˈsen oˈusʃ sansˈʃunuˌon guŋˈgun oˈun eˈusɾu koˈsen guˈbe oˈun siˈnu oˈunsʃa iˈasʃon moˈpjun/
Sxienese word order: and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face the wind to
Spelling & Phonology
Consonant inventory: b d g h j k l m n p s t w x z ŋ ɾ| ↓Manner/Place→ | Bilabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | ||
| Stop | p b | t d | k g | ||
| Fricative | s z | x | h | ||
| Approximant | j | ||||
| Tap | ɾ | ||||
| Lateral approximant | l |
| ↓Manner/Place→ | Labial-velar |
|---|---|
| Approximant | w |
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| High | i | u |
| High-mid | e | o |
| Low | a |
Stress pattern: Second — stress is on the second syllable ? Sound changes (in order of application):
- x → ʃ
| Pronunciation | Spelling |
|---|
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: postpositions ?
Nouns
| Singular | No affix sxukjon /sʃuˈkjon/ dog |
| Plural | Suffix -ep sxukjonep /sʃuˈkjonep/ dogs |
Articles
| Definite | munlueit /muˈnlueˌit/ the |
| Indefinite | win /win/ a, some |
- Definite article can be omitted: ‘I am going to supermarket’
- Not used for mass (uncountable) nouns: ‘Walking in the mud’ would always translate to ‘Walking in mud’.
- Used for languages: ‘The English’
- Used with place names: ‘The London’
- Not used for non-specific countable nouns: non-specific means ‘I am looking for a (any) girl in a red dress’, whereas specific means ‘I am looking for a (particular) girl in a red dress’
- Not used for non-specific mass (uncountable) nouns: non-specific means ‘Would you like some (any) tea?’ whereas specific means ‘Some tea (a specific amount) fell off the truck’
Pronouns
| 1st singular | wun /wun/ I, me, mine |
| 2nd singular | a /a/ you, yours |
| 3rd singular masc | ousx /oˈusʃ/ he, him, his, it (masc), its (masc) |
| 3rd singular fem | mun /mun/ she, her, hers, it (fem), its (fem) |
| 1st plural | kan /kan/ we, us, ours |
| 2nd plural | sun /sun/ you all, yours (pl) |
| 3rd plural | i /i/ they, them, theirs |
Possessive determiners
| Possessive | |
|---|---|
| 1st singular | a /a/ my |
| 2nd singular | oan /oˈan/ your |
| 3rd singular masc | oun /oˈun/ his |
| 3rd singular fem | sxu /sʃu/ her |
| 1st plural | kun /kun/ our |
| 2nd plural | ain /aˈin/ your (pl) |
| 3rd plural | o /o/ their |
Verbs
| Present | No affix sxepjon /sʃeˈpjon/ learn |
| Past | Suffix -ul sxepjonul /sʃeˈpjonul/ learned |
| Remote past | If ends with vowel: Suffix -b Else: Suffix -i sxepjoni /sʃeˈpjoni/ learned (long ago) |
| Future | Suffix -up sxepjonup /sʃeˈpjonup/ 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.Sxienese uses an affix for the perfect aspect:
| Perfect | Suffix -ah sxepjonah /sʃeˈpjonah/ have learned |
Numbers
Sxienese has a base-10 number system: 1 - hunten2 - gi
3 - hasan
4 - ounte
5 - ɾegon
6 - uansxuoun
7 - eunganuen
8 - uepeun
9 - sxutan
10 - du
100 - nizin
1000 - eusx
Derivational morphology
Adjective → adverb = Suffix -udAdjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = Suffix -uj
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -k
Else: Suffix -o
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = Prefix sxi-
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -sx
Else: Suffix -o
Noun to verb = If ends with vowel: Suffix -t
Else: Suffix -u
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = Suffix -iw
Tending to = Suffix -iɾ
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = Suffix -iz
Verb → noun that verb produces (e.g. know → knowledge) = Suffix -ad
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -d
Else: Suffix -e
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = Prefix ga-
Diminutive = If ends with vowel: Suffix -s
Else: Suffix -u
Augmentative = If ends with vowel: Suffix -l
Else: Suffix -i
