Or'koan
Natively known as: or koan /oɹ ˈkoɒɳ/
Spelling & Phonology
Consonant inventory: b d f k m s t v z ɢ ɭ ɳ ɹ| ↓Manner/Place→ | Bilabial | Labiodental | Alveolar | Retroflex | Velar | Uvular |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | ɳ | ||||
| Stop | b | t d | k | ɢ | ||
| Fricative | f v | s z | ||||
| Approximant | ɹ | |||||
| Lateral approximant | ɭ |
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| High | u | |
| Near-high | ʊ | |
| High-mid | e | o |
| Low-mid | ʌ | |
| Low | ɒ |
Stress pattern: Initial — stress is on the first syllable Spelling rules:
| Pronunciation | Spelling |
|---|---|
| u | oo |
| ʌ | u |
| ɒ | a |
| ʊ | ou |
| ɭ | l |
| ɢ | g |
| e | e |
| ɹ | r |
| ɳ | n |
| ɪ | i |
| z | x |
| aɪ̯ | ie |
| ̯ |
Grammar
Main word order: Verb Object (Prepositional phrase) Subject. “Mary opened the door with a key” turns into Opened the door with a key Mary.Adjective order: Adjectives are positioned after 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 is in 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
xan /zɒɳ/ dog (doing the verb) |
| Accusative | If ends with vowel: Suffix -ɹd
Else: Suffix -eɹd xanerd /ˈzɒɳeɹd/ (verb done to) dog |
| Genitive | Suffix -ʊ
xanou /ˈzɒɳʊ/ dogʼs |
| Dative | If ends with vowel: Suffix -ɢo
Else: Suffix -ʌɢo xanugo /ˈzɒɳʌɢo/ to (the/a) dog |
| Locative | If ends with vowel: Suffix -mb
Else: Suffix -ɒmb xanamb /ˈzɒɳɒmb/ near/at/by (the/a) dog |
| Ablative | Suffix -aɪ̯
xanai /ˈzɒɳaɪ̯/ from (the/a) dog |
| Instrumental | Suffix -ɒɳ
xanan /ˈzɒɳɒɳ/ with/using (the/a) dog |
| Singular | No affix
xan /zɒɳ/ dog |
| Plural | Reduplicate first part of first syllable
xaxan /ˈzɒzɒɳ/ dogs |
Articles
Or'Koan has no definite article ‘the’, or indefinite article ‘a’.Pronouns
| 1st singular | 2nd singular | 3rd singular masc | 3rd singular fem | 1st plural | 2nd plural | 3rd plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | du /dʌ/ I | ru /ɹʌ/ you | ma /mɒ/ he, it | su /sʌ/ she, it | noo /ɳu/ we | sai /saɪ̯/ you all | mo /mo/ they |
| Accusative | ded /ded/ me | un /ʌɳ/ you | veb /veb/ him, it | noumb /ɳʊmb/ her, it | abb /ɒbb/ us | soo /su/ you all | tam /tɒm/ them |
| Genitive | kvousk /kvʊsk/ mine | ais /aɪ̯s/ yours | na /ɳɒ/ his, its | bek /bek/ hers, its | o /o/ ours | kvai /kvaɪ̯/ yours (pl) | nu /ɳʌ/ theirs |
| Dative | u /ʌ/ to me | mai /maɪ̯/ to you | kvu /kvʌ/ to him, at it | smu /smʌ/ to her, at it | ga /ɢɒ/ to us | se /se/ to you all | mard /mɒɹd/ to them |
| Locative | ko /ko/ at me | god /ɢod/ at you | re /ɹe/ at him, at it | vou /vʊ/ at her, at it | lom /ɭom/ at us | laims /ɭaɪ̯ms/ at you all | som /som/ at them |
| Ablative | a /ɒ/ from me | um /ʌm/ from you | ai /aɪ̯/ from him, from it | ku /kʌ/ from her, from it | loo /ɭu/ from us | dou /dʊ/ from you all | kvou /kvʊ/ from them |
| Instrumental | kroo /kɹu/ with/using me | nouv /ɳʊv/ with/using you | oosk /usk/ with/using him/it | ba /bɒ/ with/using her/it | kroul /kɹʊɭ/ with/using us | sterd /steɹd/ with/using you all | rovd /ɹovd/ with/using them |
Possessive determiners
| 1st singular | vosk /vosk/ my |
| 2nd singular | booms /bums/ your |
| 3rd singular masc | lo /ɭo/ his |
| 3rd singular fem | krod /kɹod/ her |
| 1st plural | tu /tʌ/ our |
| 2nd plural | arm /ɒɹm/ your (pl) |
| 3rd plural | rou /ɹʊ/ their |
Verbs
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| Present | Suffix -ɒm
ousmam /ˈʊsmɒm/ (I/you/he/she/it) learn |
If ends with vowel: Suffix -s
Else: Suffix -es ousmes /ˈʊsmes/ (we/they) learn |
| Past | If ends with vowel: Suffix -mb
Else: Suffix -ʊmb ousmoumb /ˈʊsmʊmb/ (I/you/he/she/it) learned |
No affix
ousm /ʊsm/ (we/they) learned |
| Future | Suffix -ʊs
ousmous /ˈʊsmʊs/ (I/you/he/she/it) will learn |
Suffix -aɪ̯
ousmai /ˈʊsmaɪ̯/ (we/they) 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.Or'Koan uses an affix for the perfect aspect:
| Perfect | Reduplicate first part of first syllable
ouousm /ˈʊʊsm/ have learned |
Adjective Order
Noun, Adjective
Numbers
Or'Koan has a base-20 number system: 1 - es2 - a
3 - dak
4 - ou
5 - voa
6 - dre
7 - so
8 - ai
9 - sudra
10 - soxo
11 - esoxo
12 - aoxo
13 - dakoxo
14 - ouoxo
15 - voaoxo
16 - dreoxo
17 - soxo
18 - aioxo
19 - sudraoxo
20 - soxoxo
(Four) hundred - sle
(Eight) thousand - brou
Dictionary
Local Sayings
Do not follow the red moon out to sea. smiez aůn stakmerd drûr nienûs rellai slo /smaɪ̯z ɒʊ̯ɳ ˈstɒkmeɹd dɹʌɹ ˈɳaɪ̯ɳʌs ɹeɭɭaɪ̯ sɭo/ Don't tempt fate. Don't ignore the obvious.Thank Sela for this day. Thank Aristor for this harvest. Sad sela gů o tollu, sad aristor gů o smûro. /sɒd ˈsɪ̯lɒ ɢʊ o ˈtoɭɭu sɒd ˈɒɹestoɹ ɢʊ o ˈsmʌɹo/
Bait your (own) hook. geovm bums amuk /ɢeo̯vm bums ˈɒmuk/ Don't be lazy.
Say again? slů noa? /sɭʊ ɳoɒ̯/ I dare you to say that again. That was offensive. Only repeat yourself if you want to fight.
I fish so I don't choke people. (I fish so I no choke them) dû kroms smům dû zů stor tam /dʌ kɹoms smʊm dʌ zʊ stoɹ tɒm/
Fill (your) tired stomach. rkerkůma garserd vem /ˈɹkeɹkʊmɒ ˈgɒɹseɹd vem/ Eat. Food helps with exhaustion.
