Ryuri, or Words of the Ash, is the ancient language spoken by the Ashen Born and specially created for the living god. Only a handful of people knows how to speak this language and able to record it extensively.
Natively known as: ryuri /ˈrjuri/
...and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind...
shwìng pìnd kyomb mèch ska hu shwìng pèl is kyomb mbomb lyomb ndul[alt]
Pronunciation: /ʃwɪᵑg pɪⁿd kjoᵐb mɛʧ ska hu ʃwɪᵑg pɛl is kjoᵐb ᵐboᵐb ljoᵐb ⁿdul/
Ryuri word order: and he his hat holding stood and the wind to his wet face turned[/alt]
Spelling & Phonology
Consonant inventory: h j k l m n p r s t w ʃ ʧ ᵐb ᵑg ⁿd
| ↓Manner/Place→ |
Bilabial |
Alveolar |
Palato-alveolar |
Palatal |
Velar |
Glottal |
| Nasal |
m |
n |
|
|
|
|
| Stop |
p ᵐb |
t ⁿd |
|
|
k ᵑg |
|
| Affricate |
|
|
ʧ |
|
|
|
| Fricative |
|
s |
ʃ |
|
|
h |
| Approximant |
|
|
|
j |
|
|
| Trill |
|
r |
|
|
|
|
| Lateral approximant |
|
l |
|
|
|
|
Co-articulated phonemes
| ↓Manner/Place→ |
Labial-velar |
| Approximant |
w |
Vowel inventory: a e i o u ɛ ɪ
|
Front |
Back |
| High |
i |
u |
| Near-high |
ɪ |
|
| High-mid |
e |
o |
| Low-mid |
ɛ |
|
| Low |
a |
|
Syllable structure: (C)(C)V(C)
Stress pattern: Initial — stress is on the first syllable
Word initial consonants: h k kj kl km kn kw l lj m ml mw nl nw p rj rw s sj sk sl sn t tr ts tw tʃ w ʃ ʃl ʃm ʃt ʃw ʧh ʧl ᵐb ᵑg ⁿd
Mid-word consonants: h hm hw j jm js k kh kl km kn kr kw kʃ l lj lr ls lʃ m ml mm mw mʃ n nh nl nm np ns nt nw nʧ p pm pn pr ps pʧ r rh rj rk rp rr rt rw s sj sk sl sn sp sr sw t tj tk tm tp tt tʃ w wl ʃ ʃj ʃn ʃp ʃr ʃs ʧ ʧn ᵐb ᵑg ⁿd
Word final consonants: h l p r s t ʧ ᵐb ᵑg ⁿd
Spelling rules:
| Pronunciation |
Spelling |
| ⁿd |
nd |
| ᵑg |
ng |
| ᵐb |
mb |
| ɛ |
è |
| ɪ |
ì |
| j |
y |
| ʃ |
sh |
| ʧ |
ch |
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 seven 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.
- Dative is the recipient of something: man gives ball to dog.
- Locative is the location of something: man goes to town.
- Ablative is movement away from something: man walks from town.
- Instrumental is the use of something: man writes with (using) pen.
| Nominative |
No affix
slor /slor/
dog (doing the verb) |
| Accusative |
If starts with vowel: Prefix k-
Else: Prefix ko-
koslor /ˈkoslor/
(verb done to) dog |
| Genitive |
Prefix mo-
moslor /ˈmoslor/
dogʼs |
| Dative |
Prefix a-
aslor /ˈaslor/
to (the/a) dog |
| Locative |
Prefix ki-
kislor /ˈkislor/
near/at/by (the/a) dog |
| Ablative |
If starts with vowel: Prefix m-
Else: Prefix mɪ-
mìslor /ˈmɪslor/
from (the/a) dog |
| Instrumental |
Prefix i-
islor /ˈislor/
with/using (the/a) dog |
| Singular |
If starts with vowel: Prefix ʧl-
Else: Prefix ʧlɛ-
chlèslor /ˈʧlɛslor/
dog |
| Plural |
No affix
slor /slor/
dogs |
Articles
|
Definite |
Indefinite |
| Singular |
li /li/
the |
nlìch /nlɪʧ/
a |
| Plural |
sì /sɪ/
the |
le /le/
some |
Uses of definite article that differ from English:
- Definite article can be omitted: ‘I am going to supermarket’
- Used to talk about countable nouns in general: English’s ‘I like cats’ would translate to ‘I like the cats’
- Not used for mass (uncountable) nouns: ‘Walking in the mud’ would always translate to ‘Walking in mud’.
- Used for personal names in third person: ‘The Maria has left for school’
Uses of indefinite article that differ from English:
- 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’
Pronouns
|
1st singular |
2nd singular |
3rd singular masc |
3rd singular fem |
1st plural |
2nd plural |
3rd plural |
| Nominative |
shund /ʃuⁿd/
I |
met /met/
you |
pìnd /pɪⁿd/
he, it |
umb /uᵐb/
she, it |
trèl /trɛl/
we |
ndìng /ⁿdɪᵑg/
you all |
shand /ʃaⁿd/
they |
| Accusative |
ong /oᵑg/
me |
lèng /lɛᵑg/
you |
shto /ʃto/
him, it |
sle /sle/
her, it |
snah /snah/
us |
sor /sor/
you all |
shtès /ʃtɛs/
them |
| Genitive |
tra /tra/
mine |
ndo /ⁿdo/
yours |
kyomb /kjoᵐb/
his, its |
shèh /ʃɛh/
hers, its |
ol /ol/
ours |
kmu /kmu/
yours (pl) |
pol /pol/
theirs |
| Dative |
chhi /ʧhi/
to me |
shènd /ʃɛⁿd/
to you |
si /si/
to him, at it |
pimb /piᵐb/
to her, at it |
shtè /ʃtɛ/
to us |
we /we/
to you all |
hu /hu/
to them |
| Locative |
tsho /tʃo/
at me |
tuch /tuʧ/
at you |
syo /sjo/
at him, at it |
slar /slar/
at her, at it |
sho /ʃo/
at us |
kle /kle/
at you all |
chhech /ʧheʧ/
at them |
| Ablative |
tot /tot/
from me |
mba /ᵐba/
from you |
koch /koʧ/
from him, from it |
mep /mep/
from her, from it |
le /le/
from us |
shlì /ʃlɪ/
from you all |
mwit /mwit/
from them |
| Instrumental |
hop /hop/
with/using me |
mwu /mwu/
with/using you |
rwo /rwo/
with/using him/it |
kyimb /kjiᵐb/
with/using her/it |
mbì /ᵐbɪ/
with/using us |
memb /meᵐb/
with/using you all |
rwa /rwa/
with/using them |
Possessive determiners
| 1st singular |
tra /tra/
my |
| 2nd singular |
ndo /ⁿdo/
your |
| 3rd singular masc |
kyomb /kjoᵐb/
his |
| 3rd singular fem |
shèh /ʃɛh/
her |
| 1st plural |
ol /ol/
our |
| 2nd plural |
kmu /kmu/
your (pl) |
| 3rd plural |
pol /pol/
their |
Verbs
|
Present |
Past |
Remote past |
Future |
| 1st singular |
If starts with vowel: Prefix lj-
Else: Prefix lji-
lyiwech /ˈljiweʧ/
(I) learn |
Prefix mo-
mowech /ˈmoweʧ/
(I) learned |
Prefix o-
owech /ˈoweʧ/
(I) learned (long ago) |
Prefix wo-
wowech /ˈwoweʧ/
(I) will learn |
| 2nd singular |
Prefix a-
awech /ˈaweʧ/
(you) learn |
Prefix u-
uwech /ˈuweʧ/
(you) learned |
Prefix kjɛ-
kyèwech /ˈkjɛweʧ/
(you) learned (long ago) |
If starts with vowel: Prefix m-
Else: Prefix mi-
miwech /ˈmiweʧ/
(you) will learn |
| 3rd singular |
If starts with vowel: Prefix ʃt-
Else: Prefix ʃta-
shtawech /ˈʃtaweʧ/
(he/she/it) learns |
If starts with vowel: Prefix ts-
Else: Prefix tso-
tsowech /ˈtsoweʧ/
(he/she/it) learned |
If starts with vowel: Prefix rj-
Else: Prefix rjo-
ryowech /ˈrjoweʧ/
(he/she/it) learned (long ago) |
If starts with vowel: Prefix m-
Else: Prefix mɪ-
mìwech /ˈmɪweʧ/
(he/she/it) will learn |
| 1st plural |
Prefix ɛ-
èwech /ˈɛweʧ/
(we) learn |
Prefix sni-
sniwech /ˈsniweʧ/
(we) learned |
If starts with vowel: Prefix tw-
Else: Prefix two-
twowech /ˈtwoweʧ/
(we) learned (long ago) |
If starts with vowel: Prefix ᵑg-
Else: Prefix ᵑgɛ-
ngèwech /ˈᵑgɛweʧ/
(we) will learn |
| 2nd plural |
Prefix sɪ-
sìwech /ˈsɪweʧ/
(you all) learn |
If starts with vowel: Prefix ᵑg-
Else: Prefix ᵑgi-
ngiwech /ˈᵑgiweʧ/
(you all) learned |
If starts with vowel: Prefix ml-
Else: Prefix mlu-
mluwech /ˈmluweʧ/
(you all) learned (long ago) |
If starts with vowel: Prefix tr-
Else: Prefix trɛ-
trèwech /ˈtrɛweʧ/
(you all) will learn |
| 3rd plural |
If starts with vowel: Prefix ʃt-
Else: Prefix ʃte-
shtewech /ˈʃteweʧ/
(they) learn |
Prefix kjo-
kyowech /ˈkjoweʧ/
(they) learned |
Prefix hɪ-
hìwech /ˈhɪweʧ/
(they) learned (long ago) |
If starts with vowel: Prefix tʃ-
Else: Prefix tʃɪ-
tshìwech /ˈtʃɪweʧ/
(they) will learn |
Progressive aspect
The ‘progressive’ aspect refers to actions that are happening at the time of speaking, such as
I am learning.
Ryuri uses a standalone particle word for progressive:
| Progressive |
Particle before the verb: ʃmaʧ -
shmach wech /ʃmaʧ weʧ/
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).
Ryuri uses an affix for habitual:
| Habitual |
Prefix wo-
wowech /ˈwoweʧ/
learns |
Numbers
Ryuri has a base-10 number system:
1 -
sna
2 -
shus
3 -
ì
4 -
shwal
5 -
sho
6 -
shle
7 -
shtas
8 -
skumb
9 -
pèrhì
10 -
syend
11 -
syendsna “ten-one”
100 -
twirich “hundred”
101 -
twirich shwìng sna “hundred and one”
200 -
shus twirich
1000 -
hèng “thousand”
Derivational morphology
Adjective → adverb = If starts with vowel: Prefix l-
Else: Prefix li-
Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = Prefix u-
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = Prefix sne-
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = Prefix o-
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = Prefix o-
Noun to verb = If starts with vowel: Prefix s-
Else: Prefix se-
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = Prefix te-
Tending to = Prefix ɪ-
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix ʃl-
Else: Prefix ʃla-
Verb → noun that verb produces (e.g. know → knowledge) = If starts with vowel: Prefix rw-
Else: Prefix rwo-
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = Prefix u-
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = Prefix kɪ-
Diminutive = Prefix ɛ-
Augmentative = Prefix e-
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