Quogpi (kwɔkpʰi)

Quogpi is the language from which Shugbo descended. It is no longer spoken on Nideon, but it is believed to one of the first languages spoken on the Major Continent. It is notable for the way in which speakers seemingly contradict themselves to created more precise meanings.

Phonology

Vowels

Quogpi has four vowels: i, ɛ, u, ɔ Quogpi also have four tones: high, low, rising, and falling Unlike Shugbo, Quogpi does not have vowel harmony based on tongue root, though it does differentiate between long and short vowels.

Consonants

Quogpi has the following consonants: p, pʰ, b, m, w, t, tʰ, s, n, r, c, cʰ, ɲ, j, k, kʰ, ŋ, h

Grammar

Quogpi is an analytical language which does not mark for case or gender. Tense and aspect are determined by context and by additional words and phrases in a sentence, and plurals are sometimes marked by using reduplication, but this is most common when a specific number is not known. (i.e. 2 cat vs. cat-cat, many cats.)

Politeness

Quogpi marks politeness in two ways: through pronouns and additional particles.

Pronouns

• First person pronouns have different male and female versions, though there are also many writings in which authors refer to themselves by terms of endearment or their own first names.
• There are five different second person pronouns, based on whether the person is speaking to a stranger, superior, family member, close friend, or child.
• There are four different third person pronouns used for speaking about animals and objects, politeness or everyday speech, showing deference to a superior, showing deference to a great superior, such as royalty or clergy.

Politeness Particles

When speaking politely, politeness particles, based on the gender of the speaker, are used in every sentence. This is believed to be dropped in very informal language, or when speaking to inferiors, especially when showing anger or disapproval. Quogpi also utilizes mood markers, however, which allow the speaker to express their opinion of the matter at hand or their reason for speaking. These can be utilized differently in questions to allow the speaker to show their expectation of the answer.

Contradictory Statements

One unique aspect of Quogpi is the usage of which contradict each other juxtaposed together in a statement. This is usually done to either confirm that, to the best of one's knowledge the previous statement is true, or to counter it and state that it is untrue. As both of these purposes almost always use a positive modifier followed by a negative one, the usage can only be determined by context.

Dictionary

126 Words.