SYLWO (ˈsuːlwo)
Natively known as: SYLWO /ˈsuːlwo/
...and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind...
ER SYYS WAAR GAMAR LYLO HENS SYE ER HOAR HENTAR NONS HENS SUE OIYA AYPS
Pronunciation: /er ˈsuus ˈwaar ˈgaːmar ˈlulo hens ˈsue er ˈhoar ˈhentar nons hens ˈsue ˈoːiˌua ˈaups/
SULWO word order: and he stood holding hat his and turned his face wet the wind to
Spelling & Phonology
Consonant inventory: /b d f g h k kʷ l m n p r s t w/
| ↓Manner/Place→ | Bilabial | Labiodental | Alveolar | Velar | Glottal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | |||
| Stop | p b | t d | k kʷ g | ||
| Fricative | f | s | h | ||
| Trill | r | ||||
| Lateral approximant | l |
Co-articulated phonemes
| ↓Manner/Place→ | Labio-velar |
|---|---|
| Approximant | w |
Vowel inventory: /a ae au aː e ei eu eː i io iu iː o oe oː u ui uː/
Diphthongs: ae, au, ei, eu, io, iu, oe, ui
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| High | i iː | u uː |
| High-mid | e eː | o oː |
| Low | a aː |
Syllable structure: Custom defined
Stress pattern: Initial — stress is on the first syllable
Word initial consonants: b, br, d, f, fl, fr, g, gl, gr, h, k, kl, kr, kʷ, l, m, n, p, pl, pr, r, s, sk, sp, st, t, tr, w
Mid-word consonants: b, bl, br, bs, bt, d, dd, dkʷ, dm, dw, f, ff, g, gg, gm, gn, gr, h, k, kk, kkʷ, kr, ks, ksk, ksp, kspl, kssp, kst, kstr, kt, kʷ, l, lg, lk, ll, ln, lp, ls, lt, ltr, lw, m, mb, mkʷ, mm, mn, mp, mpl, mpr, mw, n, nd, nf, nfl, nfr, ng, ngr, nk, nkl, nkr, nkʷ, nl, nn, ns, nskr, nsp, nst, nstr, nt, ntr, nw, p, pl, pp, ppl, ppr, pr, ps, pt, r, rb, rd, rf, rg, rk, rkʷ, rm, rn, rp, rr, rs, rsp, rt, rw, s, sd, sk, skʷ, sm, sp, ss, st, stkʷ, str, t, tkʷ, tr, ts, tt, ttr, w
Word final consonants: b, d, k, ks, l, m, n, nk, ns, nt, ps, r, rs, s, st, t
Phonological changes (in order of application):
| Pronunciation | Proper SYLWO | Common ζȲΛFΩ[1]/CЮ̄ЛFO[2] |
|---|---|---|
| a | A | Α |
| aː | A | Ā[3] |
| b | B | β or Б |
| d | D | Δ or Д |
| e | E | Ε or Э |
| eː | E | Ē or Э̄ [3] |
| f | F | Ф |
| ɡ | G | Γ or Ґ |
| h | H | Ͱ or Һ |
| i | I | Η or И |
| iː | I | Ή or Ӣ [3] |
| k | K | Κ or К |
| kʷ | Q | Ϙ or Ҁ |
| kh | KH | X or КҺ |
| ks | KS | Ξ or КС |
| l | L | Λ or Л |
| m | M | Μ or М |
| n | N | Ν or Н |
| o (sometimes ɔ) | O | Ω or О |
| oː | O | Ώ or Ō [3] |
| p | P | Φ or П |
| ps | PS | Ψ or ПС |
| r | R | Р |
| s | S | Σ or С |
| sh | SH | ΣͰ or Ш |
| t | T | Θ |
| u | Y | Υ or Ю |
| uː | Y | Ȳ or Ю̄ [3] |
| w | W | В or Ў |
[1] Used mostly by northern commoners
[2] Used mostly by southern commoners
[3] The use of a macron to denote a long vowel originated as an aid for noble children. The ability to know how long a vowel should be without aid is considered a sign of wealth.
Grammar
Main word order: Subject-Verb-Object-Oblique. "Mary opened the door with a key" turns into Mary opened the door with a key.
Adjective order: Adjectives are positioned after the noun.
Adposition: postpositions
Nouns
Nouns have six cases:
- Nominative is the doer of a verb: dog bites man.
- Genitive is the possessor of something: dog’s tail hits man.
- Dative is the recipient of something: man gives ball to dog.
- Accusative is the done-to of a verb: man bites dog.
- Ablative is used when the noun demonstrates separation or movement from a source: you walked with the dog
- Vocative is used when the noun is in direct address: Dog come here.
| Nominative | Genitive | Dative | Accusative | Ablative | Vocative | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine singular | Suffix -us | Suffix -iː | Suffix -oː | Suffix -um | Suffix -oː | Suffix -iː |
| Feminine singular | Suffix -a | Suffix -ae | Suffix -ae | Suffix -am | Suffix -aː | Suffix -ea |
| Divine singular | Suffix -um | Suffix -oː | Suffix -iː | Suffix -um | Suffix -oː | Suffix -um |
| Masculine plural | Suffix -iː | Suffix -oːrum | Suffix -iːs | Suffix -oːs | Suffix -iːs | Suffix -iː |
| Feminine plural | Suffix -ae | Suffix -aːrum | Suffix -iːs | Suffix -aːs | Suffix -iːs | Suffix -ae |
| Divine plural | Suffix -a | Suffix -oːrum | Suffix -iːs | Suffix -ea | Suffix -iːs | Suffix -a |
Pronouns
| Nominative | Genitive | Dative | Accusative | Ablative | Vocative | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person masculine singular | MEYS /ˈmeus/ | MEI /ˈmei:/ | MEO /ˈmeo:/ | MEYM /ˈmeum/ | MEO /ˈmeo:/ | |
| 1st person feminine singular | MEA /ˈmea/ | MEAE /ˈmeae/ | MEAE /ˈmeae/ | MEAM /ˈmeam/ | MEA /ˈmea:/ | |
| 1st person divine singular | MEYM /ˈmeum/ | MEI /ˈmei:/ | MEO /ˈmeo:/ | MEYM /ˈmeum/ | MEO /ˈmeo:/ | |
| 1st person masculine plural | MEI /ˈmei:/ | MEORYM /ˈmeorum/ | MEIS /ˈmei:s/ | MEOS /ˈmeo:s/ | MEIS /ˈmei:s/ | |
| 1st person feminine plural | MEAE /ˈmeae/ | MEARYM /ˈmearum/ | MEIS /ˈmei:s/ | MEAS /ˈmea:s/ | MEIS /ˈmei:s/ | |
| 1st person divine plural | MEA /ˈmea/ | MEORYM /ˈmeorum/ | MEIS /ˈmei:s/ | MEA /ˈmea/ | MEIS /ˈmei:s/ | |
| 2nd person masculine singular | TYYS /ˈtu,us/ | TYI /ˈtu,iː/ | TUO /ˈtu,oː/ | TYYM /ˈtuum/ | TYO /ˈtuo:/ | |
| 2nd person feminine singular | TYA /ˈtu,a/ | TYAE /ˈtu,ae/ | TYAE /ˈtu,ae/ | TYAM /ˈtuam/ | TYA /ˈtua:/ | |
| 2nd person divine singular | TYYM /ˈtu,um/ | TYI /ˈtu,iː/ | TYO /ˈtu.oː/ | TYYM /ˈtuum/ | TYO /ˈtuo:/ | |
| 2nd person masculine plural | TYI /ˈtu,iː/ | TYORYM /tuˈoː,rum/ | TYIS /ˈtu,iːs/ | TYOS /ˈtu,oːs/ | TYIS /ˈtui:s/ | |
| 2nd person feminine plural | TYAE /ˈtu,ae/ | TYARYM /tuˈaː,rum/ | TYIS /ˈtu,iːs/ | TYAS /ˈtua:s/ | TYIS /ˈtui:s/ | |
| 2nd person divine plural | TYA /ˈtu,a/ | TYORYM /tuˈoː,rum/ | TYIS /ˈtu,iːs/ | TYA /ˈtua/ | TYIS /ˈtui:s/ | |
| 3rd person masculine singular | SYYS /ˈsuus/ | SYI /ˈsui:/ | SYO /ˈsuo:/ | SYO /ˈsuo:/ | SYYM /ˈsuum/ | |
| 3rd person feminine singular | SYA /ˈsua/ | SYAE /ˈsuae/ | SYAE /ˈsuae/ | SYA /ˈsua:/ | SYAM /ˈsuam/ | |
| 3rd person divine singular | SYYM /ˈsuum/ | SYI /ˈsui:/ | SYO /ˈsuo:/ | SYO /ˈsuo:/ | SYYM /ˈsuum/ | |
| 3rd person masculine plural | SYI /ˈsui:/ | SYORYM /suˈoː,rum/ | SYIS /ˈsuis:/ | SYOS /ˈsuo:s/ | SYIS /ˈsuis:/ | |
| 3rd person feminine plural | SYAE /ˈsuae/ | SYARYM /suˈaː,rum/ | SYIS /ˈsuis:/ | SYAS /ˈsua:s/ | SYIS /ˈsuis:/ | |
| 3rd person divine plural | SYA /ˈsua/ | SYORYM /suˈoː,rum/ | SYIS /ˈsuis:/ | SYA /ˈsua/ | SYIS /ˈsuis:/ |
Verb conjugations
Verbs are conjugated by removing the last two letters of the of the verb to get the verb root, then adding the correct suffix.
| Present | Future | Imperfect | Perfect | Future perfect | Pluperfect | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person singular | Suffix -m | Suffix -an | Suffix -bam | Suffix -iː | Suffix -eroː | |
| 1st person plural | Suffix -mus | Suffix -eːmus | Suffix -baːmus | Suffix -imus | Suffix -eriːmus | |
| 2nd person singular | Suffix -s | Suffix -es | Suffix -baːs | Suffix -istis | Suffix -eris | |
| 2nd person plural | Suffix -tis TIS /tis/ | Suffix -eːtis | Suffix -baːtis | Suffix -istiː | Suffix -eriːtis | |
| 3rd person singular | Suffix -t | Suffix -et | Suffix -bat | Suffix -it | Suffix -erit | |
| 3rd person plural | Suffix -nt | Suffix -ent | Suffix -bant | Suffix -eːrunt | Suffix -erint |
Numbers
SYLWO has a base-10 number system:
1 - KOT
2 - EK
3 - STI
4 - SKEY
5 - WO
6 - WAM
7 - QASSINS
8 - YK
9 - EY
10 - FRO
11 - FRO ER KOT “ten and one”
100 - KOT KRON “one hundred”
101 - KOT KRON KOT “one hundred one”
200 - EK KRON
1000 - KOT RIK “one thousand”
Derivational morphology
Adjective → adverb = If ends with vowel: Suffix -lli
Else: Suffix -illi
Adjective → noun (the quality of being adj) = Suffix -ui
Adjective → verb (to make something adj) = Suffix -ant
Noun → adjective (having the quality of noun) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -rbiː
Else: Suffix -arbiː
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -r
Else: Suffix -or
Noun → verb (to create noun) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -brui
Else: Suffix -oːbrui
Verb → adjective (result of doing verb) = Suffix -a
Verb → adjective (likely to do verb) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -lgeː
Else: Suffix -algeː
Verb → noun (the act of verb) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -mpli
Else: Suffix -umpli
Verb → noun that verb physically produces (e.g. build → building) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -d
Else: Suffix -aed
One who verbs (e.g. paint → painter) = Suffix -iːm
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = Suffix -enk
Diminutive = If ends with vowel: Suffix -gmoe
Else: Suffix -augmoe
Augmentative = Suffix -od