Terrepeesean is the language spoken by the Falhage Terrepees. Although it was never learnt by mortals, Terrepeesean was often said to sound vaguely similar to undercommon by those who spoke it.
Natively known as: Terrapeesean
...and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind...
lor̈ hwag hig madlov hwag blolni lor̈ swaʻa hwag be hwaf phwo ndatr̈e[alt]
Pronunciation: /loɾ hwaɣ hiɣ maˈdlov hwaɣ blolˈni loɾ swaˈʔa hwaɣ be hwaf ɸwo ndaˈtɾe/
Terrapeesean word order: and he stood holding hat his and turned his face wet to the wind[/alt]
Spelling & Phonology
Consonant inventory: b d f h j k l m n p r s t v w z ɣ ɸ ɾ ʔ
| ↓Manner/Place→ |
Bilabial |
Labiodental |
Alveolar |
Palatal |
Velar |
Glottal |
| Nasal |
m |
|
n |
|
|
|
| Stop |
p b |
|
t d |
|
k |
ʔ |
| Fricative |
ɸ |
f v |
s z |
|
ɣ |
h |
| Approximant |
|
|
|
j |
|
|
| Tap |
|
|
ɾ |
|
|
|
| Trill |
|
|
r |
|
|
|
| Lateral approximant |
|
|
l |
|
|
|
Co-articulated phonemes
| ↓Manner/Place→ |
Labial-velar |
| Approximant |
w |
Vowel inventory: a e i o
|
Front |
Back |
| High |
i |
|
| High-mid |
e |
o |
| Low |
a |
|
Syllable structure: (C)(C)V(C)
Stress pattern: Ultimate — stress is on the last syllable
Word initial consonants: b bl d df dr dv f fl fw fɾ h hw j k kj kr kw kɾ l lw m mb md mp nd nj nl nr pj ps pw pɾ r rj sj sm sw t th tw vj w zj zr ɣl ɣn ɣr ɸ ɸw ɾ
Mid-word consonants: b bj bm bn br bz d db dd dl dn dr ds f fd fh fm fr fw fɣ h hb hj hl hm hr ht hw hɾ j jb jf jk jm jn jt jv jɾ jʔ k kh kj kn kr kt kv kɾ l lm ln lp ls lt lw lɣ m mb md mf mh mk mm mv mz mɾ n nb nd nl nm np ns nv nɾ p pf pm pp pr ps pɾ r rb rh rj rk rs rv rɣ s sh sj sk sm sn sp sr sv sz sɾ t tf th tj tk tn tp ts tw tz tɾ v vl vm vn vr vv vw w wb wd wk wl wm wp ws wɾ z zh zj zk zl zm zv ɣ ɣj ɣn ɣɾ ɸ ɾ ɾb ɾd ɾj ɾk ɾl ɾp ɾs ɾv ɾw ɾz ʔ
Word final consonants: b f h k l n r s t v w z ɣ ɸ ɾ
Spelling rules:
| Pronunciation |
Spelling |
| ʔ |
ʻ |
| j |
y |
| ɣ |
g |
| ɸ |
ph |
| ɾ |
r̈ |
Grammar
Main word order: Subject Verb Object (Prepositional phrase). “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: prepositions
Nouns
| Singular |
No affix
ew /ew/
dog |
| Plural |
Prefix i-
iew /iˈew/
dogs |
Articles
| Definite |
e /e/
the |
| Indefinite |
pyah /pjah/
a, some |
Uses of definite article that differ from English:
- Used to talk about countable nouns in general: English’s ‘I like cats’ would translate to ‘I like the cats’
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
|
Nominative |
Accusative |
| 1st singular |
lek /lek/
I |
fwaw /fwaw/
me |
| 2nd singular |
kr̈ah /kɾah/
you |
mi /mi/
you |
| 3rd singular masc |
hwag /hwaɣ/
he, it |
as /as/
him, it |
| 3rd singular fem |
kwo /kwo/
she, it |
blev /blev/
her, it |
| 1st plural |
oh /oh/
we |
ak /ak/
us |
| 2nd plural |
pha /ɸa/
you all |
twa /twa/
you all |
| 3rd plural |
psi /psi/
they |
fwa /fwa/
them |
Possessive determiners
| 1st singular |
lek /lek/
my |
| 2nd singular |
kr̈ah /kɾah/
your |
| 3rd singular masc |
hwag /hwaɣ/
his |
| 3rd singular fem |
kwo /kwo/
her |
| 1st plural |
oh /oh/
our |
| 2nd plural |
pha /ɸa/
your (pl) |
| 3rd plural |
psi /psi/
their |
Verbs
|
Future |
| Singular |
Prefix o-
oiltaz /oilˈtaz/
(I/you/he/she/it) will learn |
| Plural |
Prefix bo-
boiltaz /boilˈtaz/
(we/they) will learn |
Terrepeesean uses a standalone particle word for past tense:
| Past |
Particle before the verb: mo -
mo iltaz /mo ilˈtaz/
learned |
Progressive aspect
The ‘progressive’ aspect refers to actions that are happening at the time of speaking, such as
I am learning.
Terrepeesean uses a standalone particle word for progressive:
| Progressive |
Particle before the verb: biv -
biv iltaz /biv ilˈtaz/
is learning |
Habitual aspect
The ‘habitual’ aspect refers to actions that happen habitually, such as
I learn (something new every day), as opposed to actions that happen once (
I learned something).
Terrepeesean uses a standalone particle word for habitual:
| Habitual |
Particle before the verb: moɣ -
mog iltaz /moɣ ilˈtaz/
learns |
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.
Terrepeesean uses an affix for the perfect aspect:
| Perfect |
If starts with vowel: Prefix bl-
Else: Prefix bla-
bliltaz /blilˈtaz/
have learned |
Numbers
Terrepeesean has a base-10 number system:
1 -
foh
2 -
mbis
3 -
pwo
4 -
mit
5 -
bi
6 -
le
7 -
dret
8 -
gli
9 -
ke
10 -
pwoh
11 -
pwohfoh “ten-one”
100 -
mda “hundred”
101 -
mda foh “hundred one”
200 -
mbis mda
1000 -
vyi “thousand”
Derivational morphology
Adjective → adverb = Prefix a-
Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix k-
Else: Prefix ka-
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = Prefix do-
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix f-
Else: Prefix fe-
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = Prefix pɾa-
Noun to verb = If starts with vowel: Prefix m-
Else: Prefix mo-
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix bl-
Else: Prefix ble-
Tending to = If starts with vowel: Prefix ɣl-
Else: Prefix ɣla-
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix m-
Else: Prefix ma-
Verb → noun that verb produces (e.g. know → knowledge) = If starts with vowel: Prefix ɸ-
Else: Prefix ɸa-
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = If starts with vowel: Prefix tw-
Else: Prefix twa-
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = If starts with vowel: Prefix pɾ-
Else: Prefix pɾo-
Diminutive = Prefix ri-
Augmentative = If starts with vowel: Prefix f-
Else: Prefix fe-
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