Bizheptian

Natively known as: runch /ɹʌnkh/

  ...and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind...
mu siat siat chnaph chalmes chero mu seh so siat nuch shambet rucirte
Pronunciation: /mʌ ʃɑt ʃɑt khnɑf ˈkhɑlmɛs ˈkhɛɹo mʌ sɛh so ʃɑt nʌkh ˈʃɑmbɛt ɹʌˈkɪɹtɛ/
Runchi word order: and he his hat holding stood and the wind to his wet face turned  

Spelling & Phonology

  Consonant inventory: b c d f g h k l m n p q r s t v z                                          
↓Manner/Place→BilabialLabiodentalAlveolarPalatalVelarUvularGlottal
Nasal m n
Stop p b t d c k g q
Fricative f v s z h
Trill r
Lateral approximant l
Vowel inventory: a e i o u y                        
FrontBack
High i y u
High-mid e o
Low a
Syllable structure: Custom defined ?
Stress pattern: Penultimate — stress is on the second last syllable ?   Sound changes (in order of application):  
  • a → ɑ
  • bb → b
  • b → b
  • ch → k
  • c → k
  • d → d
  • e → ɛ
  • ff → f
  • f → f
  • gg → g
  • g → g
  • h → h
  • i → ɪ
  • j → ʤ
  • kk → k
  • k → k
  • ll → l
  • l → l
  • m → m
  • ng → ŋ
  • nn → n
  • n → n
  • o → o
  • p → p
  • q → k
  • rr → ʀ
  • r → ɹ
  • sh → ʃ
  • ss → s
  • s → s
  • th → θ
  • t → t
  • u → ʌ
  • v → v
  • w → w
  • x → ks
  • y → i
  • z → z
  Spelling rules:                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
PronunciationSpelling
f ph
v f
k c
ŋ ng
χ ch
θ th
rh
ɬ ll
ð dd
ɪu̯ iw
ɨu̯ uw
ʊɨ̯ wy
ɛu̯ ew
ɔi̯ oi
əu̯ yw
eɨ̯ ey
a
ɔ o
o
i
ɪ i
e
ɛ e
w
ʊ w
j i
ɨː y
ɨ y
ə y
ʃ si
n
̯
ɑ a
b b
ʧ ch
d d
f f
g g
h h
ʤ j
k k
l l
m m
n n
o o
p p
ɹ r
s s
t t
ʌ u
v v
w w
z z

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 two cases:
  • Nominative is the doer of a verb: dog bites man.
  • Accusative is the done-to of a verb: man bites dog.
  Nouns form plural with separate plural word:      
Plural Particle before the noun: hat -
hat myr /hɑt miɹ/ dogs
         
Nominative No affix
myr /miɹ/ dog (doing the verb)
Accusative If starts with vowel: Prefix sh-
Else: Prefix she-
shemyr /ˈʃɛmiɹ/ (verb done to) dog

Articles

         
Definite hy /hi/ the
Indefinite cucht /kʌkht/ a, some
Uses of definite article that differ from English:
  • Definite article can be omitted: ‘I am going to supermarket’
  • 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’
  • 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

                                   
NominativeAccusative
1st singular phyt /phit/ I nu /nʌ/ me
2nd singular pun /pʌn/ you heps /hɛps/ you
3rd singular shat /ʃɑt/ he, she, it te /tɛ/ him, her, it
1st plural na /nɑ/ we phos /phos/ us
2nd plural thys /θis/ you all ry /ɹi/ you all
3rd plural sa /sɑ/ they ma /mɑ/ them

Possessive determiners

                         
1st singular phit /phɪt/ my
2nd singular pun /pʌn/ your
3rd singular siat /ʃɑt/ his, her, its
1st plural na /nɑ/ our
2nd plural this /θɪs/ your (pl)
3rd plural sa /sɑ/ their

Verbs

             
Present No affix
chanch /khɑnkh/ learn
Past Prefix u-
uchanch /ˈʌkhɑnkh/ learned
Remote past Prefix a-
achanch /ˈɑkhɑnkh/ learned (long ago)
Runchi uses a standalone particle word for future tense:      
Future Particle before the verb: py -
py chanch /pi khɑnkh/ will learn

Numbers

  Runchi has a base-10 number system:   1 - pna
2 - nuns
3 - thun
4 - phich
5 - phe
6 - nacins
7 - ca
8 - chny
9 - se
10 - pe
100 - teco
1000 - shyt
 

Derivational morphology

  Adjective → adverb = If starts with vowel: Prefix t-
Else: Prefix tu-
Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = Prefix py-
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix pn-
Else: Prefix pna-
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix p-
Else: Prefix pe-
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = If starts with vowel: Prefix sch-
Else: Prefix schu-
Noun to verb = Prefix thu-
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = Prefix to-
Tending to = If starts with vowel: Prefix ink-
Else: Prefix inke-
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix sh-
Else: Prefix sha-
Verb → noun that verb produces (e.g. know → knowledge) = If starts with vowel: Prefix r-
Else: Prefix ri-
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = Prefix o-
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = If starts with vowel: Prefix s-
Else: Prefix su-
Diminutive = Prefix o-
Augmentative = If starts with vowel: Prefix r-
Else: Prefix ry-

Dictionary

3080 Words.