Sirentongue (mou̯˨)
mou˨
Natively known as: mou˨ /mou̯˨/
...and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind...mai˨ ā˨ kāu˨ ˈni˨wāi˨ kau˨ loi˨ mai˨ kāu˨ ˈnai˥˩ne˥˩ ˈka˨i˨ ˈmai˨wa˨ pu˥˩ ˈe˥˩ʻāu˨
Pronunciation: /mai̯˨ aː˨ kaːu̯˨ ˈni˨ʋaːi̯˨ kau̯˨ loi̯˨ mai̯˨ kaːu̯˨ ˈnai̯˥˩ne˥˩ ˈka˨i˨ ˈmai̯˨ʋa˨ pu˥˩ ˈe˥˩ʔaːu̯˨/
Sirentongue word order: and he his hat holding stood and his wet face the wind to turned
Spelling & Phonology
Consonant inventory: h k l m n p ʋ ʔ| ↓Manner/Place→ | Bilabial | Labiodental | Alveolar | Velar | Glottal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | |||
| Stop | p | k | ʔ | ||
| Fricative | h | ||||
| Approximant | ʋ | ||||
| Lateral approximant | l |
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| High | i iː | u uː |
| High-mid | e eː | o oː |
| Low | a aː |
Stress pattern: Penultimate — stress is on the second last syllable ? Spelling rules:
| Pronunciation | Spelling |
|---|---|
| ʋ | w |
| ʔ | ʻ |
| aː | ā |
| eː | ē |
| iː | ī |
| oː | ō |
| uː | ū |
| ̯ |
Grammar
Main word order: Subject Object (Prepositional phrase) Verb. “Mary opened the door with a key” turns into Mary the door with a key opened.Adjective order: Adjectives are positioned before the noun.
Adposition: postpositions ?
Nouns
Nouns have six 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.
| Plural | Particle before the noun: ma˨ - ma˨ ˈkao˥˩ke˨ /ma˨ ˈkao̯˥˩ke˨/ dogs |
| Nominative | No affix ˈkao˥˩ke˨ /ˈkao̯˥˩ke˨/ dog (doing the verb) |
| Accusative | Prefix mi˨- mi˨ˈkao˥˩ke˨ /mi˨ˈkao̯˥˩ke˨/ (verb done to) dog |
| Genitive | Prefix ʔe˨- ʻe˨ˈkao˥˩ke˨ /ʔe˨ˈkao̯˥˩ke˨/ dogʼs |
| Dative | Prefix ʋai̯˨- wai˨ˈkao˥˩ke˨ /ʋai̯˨ˈkao̯˥˩ke˨/ to dog |
| Locative | Prefix ʋaː˥˩- wā˥˩ˈkao˥˩ke˨ /ʋaː˥˩ˈkao̯˥˩ke˨/ near/at/by dog |
| Ablative | Prefix maːu̯˥˩- māu˥˩ˈkao˥˩ke˨ /maːu̯˥˩ˈkao̯˥˩ke˨/ from dog |
Articles
| Definite | Indefinite | |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | ʻoi˥˩ /ʔoi̯˥˩/ the | pa˥˩ /pa˥˩/ a |
| Plural | ho˥˩ /ho˥˩/ the | e˥˩ /e˥˩/ some |
- 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 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
| Nominative | Accusative | Genitive | Dative | Locative | Ablative | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st singular | wao˨ /ʋao̯˨/ I | ʻa˨ /ʔa˨/ me | he˥˩ /he˥˩/ mine | ka˨ /ka˨/ to me | ko˨ /ko˨/ to me | kāi˨ /kaːi̯˨/ from me |
| 2nd singular | po˥˩ /po˥˩/ you | e˨ /e˨/ you | hē˥˩ /heː˥˩/ yours | lu˨ /lu˨/ to you | ū˨ /uː˨/ to you | pou˨ /pou̯˨/ from you |
| 3rd singular masc | ā˨ /aː˨/ he, | poi˨ /poi̯˨/ his, | pū˨ /puː˨/ his, | la˥˩ /la˥˩/ to his, to | hau˥˩ /hau̯˥˩/ to his, to | ma˥˩ /ma˥˩/ from his, from |
| 3rd singular fem | lē˨ /leː˨/ she, | i˨ /i˨/ her, | u˥˩ /u˥˩/ hers, | pae˨ /pae̯˨/ to her, to | kī˨ /kiː˨/ to her, to | wā˥˩ /ʋaː˥˩/ from her, from |
| 3rd singular neuter | wae˨ /ʋae̯˨/ it (neut) | ai˨ /ai̯˨/ it (neut) | kai˨ /kai̯˨/ its (neut) | ma˨ /ma˨/ to it (neut) | ē˨ /eː˨/ to it (neut) | o˨ /o˨/ from it (neut) |
| 1st plural inclusive | pē˥˩ /peː˥˩/ we (including you) | hū˨ /huː˨/ us (including you) | ʻai˥˩ /ʔai̯˥˩/ ours (including you) | ʻu˨ /ʔu˨/ to us (including you) | wi˥˩ /ʋi˥˩/ to us (including you) | le˥˩ /le˥˩/ from us (including you) |
| 1st plural exclusive | nā˨ /naː˨/ we (excluding you) | ne˥˩ /ne˥˩/ us (excluding you) | lū˨ /luː˨/ ours (excluding you) | au˨ /au̯˨/ to us (excluding you) | mu˨ /mu˨/ to us (excluding you) | hou˨ /hou̯˨/ from us (excluding you) |
| 2nd plural | wai˨ /ʋai̯˨/ you all | a˨ /a˨/ you all | ʻi˥˩ /ʔi˥˩/ yours (pl) | ʻo˥˩ /ʔo˥˩/ to you all | māi˨ /maːi̯˨/ to you all | wū˨ /ʋuː˨/ from you all |
| 3rd plural masc | na˥˩ /na˥˩/ they (masc) | hai˥˩ /hai̯˥˩/ them (masc) | wa˨ /ʋa˨/ theirs (masc) | a˥˩ /a˥˩/ to them (masc) | lo˨ /lo˨/ to them (masc) | ke˥˩ /ke˥˩/ from them (masc) |
| 3rd plural fem | mou˥˩ /mou̯˥˩/ they (fem) | wē˥˩ /ʋeː˥˩/ them (fem) | ku˥˩ /ku˥˩/ theirs (fem) | nāi˨ /naːi̯˨/ to them (fem) | ʻae˨ /ʔae̯˨/ to them (fem) | ko˥˩ /ko˥˩/ from them (fem) |
| 3rd plural neuter | li˥˩ /li˥˩/ they (neut) | kou˨ /kou̯˨/ them (neut) | ke˨ /ke˨/ theirs (neut) | pāi˨ /paːi̯˨/ to them (neut) | kā˥˩ /kaː˥˩/ to them (neut) | hē˨ /heː˨/ from them (neut) |
Possessive determiners
| Possessive | |
|---|---|
| 1st singular | kē˨ /keː˨/ my |
| 2nd singular | ou˥˩ /ou̯˥˩/ your |
| 3rd singular masc | kāu˨ /kaːu̯˨/ his |
| 3rd singular fem | la˥˩ /la˥˩/ her |
| 3rd singular neuter | oi˥˩ /oi̯˥˩/ his, her, its (neut) |
| 1st plural inclusive | mai˨ /mai̯˨/ our (including you) |
| 1st plural exclusive | hā˨ /haː˨/ our (excluding you) |
| 2nd plural | poi˥˩ /poi̯˥˩/ your (pl) |
| 3rd plural masc | hī˨ /hiː˨/ their (masc) |
| 3rd plural fem | hū˥˩ /huː˥˩/ their (fem) |
| 3rd plural neuter | pai˨ /pai̯˨/ their (neut) |
Verbs
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| Present | Prefix pa˨- pa˨ˈlāu˥˩au˥˩ /pa˨ˈlaːu̯˥˩au̯˥˩/ (I/you/he/she/it) learn(s) | Prefix ʋoi̯˥˩- woi˥˩ˈlāu˥˩au˥˩ /ʋoi̯˥˩ˈlaːu̯˥˩au̯˥˩/ (we/you all/they) learn |
| Past | Prefix ʋao̯˨- wao˨ˈlāu˥˩au˥˩ /ʋao̯˨ˈlaːu̯˥˩au̯˥˩/ (I/you/he/she/it) learned | No affix ˈlāu˥˩au˥˩ /ˈlaːu̯˥˩au̯˥˩/ (we/you all/they) learned |
| Remote past | Prefix ʔa˨- ʻa˨ˈlāu˥˩au˥˩ /ʔa˨ˈlaːu̯˥˩au̯˥˩/ (I/you/he/she/it) learned (long ago) | Prefix ʔo˥˩- ʻo˥˩ˈlāu˥˩au˥˩ /ʔo˥˩ˈlaːu̯˥˩au̯˥˩/ (we/you all/they) learned (long ago) |
| Future | Particle before the verb: pi˥˩ - pi˥˩ ˈlāu˥˩au˥˩ /pi˥˩ ˈlaːu̯˥˩au̯˥˩/ will learn |
Imperfective aspect
The ‘imperfective’ aspect refers to ongoing actions, such as I am learning and habitual actions, such as I learn (something new every day).Sirentongue uses a standalone particle word for imperfective:
| Imperfective | Particle before the verb: ʔeː˨ - ʻē˨ ˈlāu˥˩au˥˩ /ʔeː˨ ˈlaːu̯˥˩au̯˥˩/ learns/is learning |
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.Sirentongue uses an affix for the perfect aspect:
| Perfect | Prefix ʔaː˨- ʻā˨ˈlāu˥˩au˥˩ /ʔaː˨ˈlaːu̯˥˩au̯˥˩/ have learned |
Numbers
Sirentongue has a base-10 number system: 1 - ko˥˩2 - ū˨
3 - ō˨
4 - kā˨
5 - wu˥˩
6 - ki˨
7 - o˨
8 - hi˥˩
9 - ha˨
10 - li˨
100 - kai˨
1000 - ʻou˨
Derivational morphology
Adjective → adverb = Prefix ʔa˥˩-Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = Prefix ʋe˨-
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = Prefix koː˨-
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = Prefix ʋa˨-
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = Prefix lu˨-
Noun to verb = Prefix peː˥˩-
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = Prefix pa˥˩-
Tending to = Prefix mi˨-
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = Prefix kaː˨-
Verb → noun that verb produces (e.g. know → knowledge) = Prefix miː˨-
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = Prefix ʋi˥˩-
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = Prefix ʔaːi̯˨-
Diminutive = Prefix pa˥˩-
Augmentative = Prefix ʋaːu̯˨-
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