Sinuer

Sinuerian

Geographical Distribution

Krithia

Phonology

Consonant inventory: b bbj bw d ddʒ dr dʒ f ff g gr gw j k kkj kkw kw l lk ll lt ltr m mb mj mp n nd ndʒ nj nk nkw nn nsj nt ntr nts nw p pj pp pr r rd rj rk rl rn rr rt rts s sj sk ss st str stʃ t tr tt tts ttsj ttʃ tʃ v vj w z ɲ ɲɲ ʃʃ ʎ ʎʎ
Vowel inventory: a ai au aʊ aː e ei eː i ia io iː o oi u ue ui uː ɔ ɛ ɛi ɛː
Diphthongs: ai, au, aʊ, ei, ia, io, oi, ue, ui, ɛi

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Morphology

Noun morphology

	Singular	Plural
Nominative	man | nyiayye /njiaʎˈʎɛ/	men | Prefix: n(a)- /n(a)-/ nanyiayye /nanˈjiaʎʎɛ/
Accusative	man | Word order: object position nyiayye /ˈnjiaʎʎɛ/	men | Word order: object position nanyiayye /nanˈjiaʎʎɛ/

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Articles

The definitive article can be omitted in informal speech. The indefinite article is not used for non-specific uncountable nouns.

	Singular	Plural
Definite article (Nominative)	the (man) | duy /duj/	the (men) | tur /tur/
Indefinite article (Nominative)	a (man) | yor /ʎor/	some (men) | yair /ʎair

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Personal pronouns

	Nominative	Accusative	Genitive	Dative
1st.sg	I | ko /ko/	me | keiy /kɛij/	mine | o ko /o ko/	to me | a ko /aː ko/
2nd.sg	you | yeir /ʎeir/	you | yoy /ʎoj/	yours | o yeir /o ʎeir/	to you | a yeir /aː ʎeir/
3rd.sg	he/she/it | vio /vio/	him/her/it | vo /vo/	his/hers/its | o vio /o vio/	to him/her/it | a vio /aː vio/
1st.pl	we | ro /ro/	us | ru /ru/	ours | o ro /o ro/	to us | a ro /aː ro/
2nd.pl	you | nyi /nji/	you | nyer /njeːr/	yours | o nyi /o nji/	to you | a nyi /aː nji/
3rd.pl	they | bwoi /bwoi/	them | bwai /bwai/	theirs | o bwoi /o bwoi/	to them | a bwoi /aː bwoi/

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Verbs

Indicative mood, perfective form

	Past	Present	Future
	worked	work	will work
1st.sg	Prefix: ye- /ʎɛː-/ yepustru /ˈʎɛːpustru/	Prefix: u- /u-/ upustru /uˈpustru/	Prefix: i- /i-/ ipustru /iˈpustru/
2nd.sg	Prefix: s(o)- /s(o)-/ sopustru /sopusˈtru/	Prefix: s(o)- /s(o)-/ sopustru /soˈpustru/	Prefix: ni- /ni-/ nipustru /niˈpustru/
3rd.sg	Prefix: e- /ɛ-/ epustru /ɛpusˈtru/	Prefix: r(o)- /r(o)-/ ropustru /roˈpustru/	Prefix: e- /e-/ epustru /eˈpustru/
1st.pl	Prefix: sa- /saː-/ sapustru /saːˈpustru/	Prefix: f(o)- /f(o)-/ fopustru /foˈpustru/	Prefix: vy(u)- /vj(u)-/ vyupustru /vjupusˈtru/
2nd.pl	Prefix: p(o)- /p(ɔ)-/ popustru /pɔˈpustru/	Prefix: p(u)- /p(u)-/ pupustru /pupusˈtru/	Prefix: i- /i-/ ipustru /iˈpustru/
3rd.pl	Prefix: f(e)- /f(e)-/ fepustru /feˈpustru/	Prefix: s(a)- /s(a)-/ sapustru /saˈpustru/	Prefix: m(e)- /m(e)-/ mepustru /meˈpustru/

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Perfect aspect

‘have worked’
Uses the particle mo /mɔ/ before main verb.

Progressive aspect

‘am working’
Prefix: sy(e)- /sj(e)-/ Tense affixes come between the root verb and the progressive affix.

Imperative

‘work!’ (as a command)
Prefix: pro- /prɔ-/

Negation

Prefix on verb: soi- /soi-/ Tense affixes come between the root verb and the negative affix.

Derivational morphology

• Noun → adjective: Prefix: de- /de-/
• Adjective → noun: Prefix: kei- /kei-/
• Noun → verb: Prefix: f(o)- /f(o)-/
• Verb → noun: Prefix: cha- /tʃa-/
• Verb → adjective: Prefix: u- /u-/
• Adjective → adverb: Prefix: f(o)- /f(o)-/
• One who Xs (e.g. paint → painter): Prefix: m(i)- /m(i)-/
• Place where (e.g. wine → winery): Prefix: m(o)- /m(ɔ)-/
• Diminutive: Prefix: yo- /ʎɔ-/
• Augmentative: Prefix: i- /i-/

Syntax

Main word order: Subject-Verb-Object-Oblique. "Lucius slammed the propeller with the wrench."
Adjective order: Adjectives are positioned before the noun.
Adposition: Prepositions
Phonological rules (in order of application):
(Guide to phonological rules: e → i / _g means ‘e’ turns into ‘i’ before a ‘g’. C = consonant, V = vowel, S = stop, N = nasal consonant, F = fricative, K = velar, L = lateral, R = resonant/sonorant, P = labial/bilabial E = front vowel, B = back vowel, # = word boundary, Ø = null/nothing)

• s → h / #_
• u → Ø / a_
• v → Ø / u_V
• a → o / P_
• N → n / _#
• h → q / _E
• a → e / _i
• w → Ø / _o
• u → w / _a

Vocabulary

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a /a/ adv. where
ame /ˈame/ n. lip
au /au/ adj. pretty
auvui /ˈauvui/ n. writer
azezo /aˈzɛzɔ/ v. train
bay /baːj/ n. wax
bio /bio/ prep. including
boño /ˈboɲo/ v. end
bwu /bwu/ adv. better
chadu /ˈtʃadu/ n. painting
chakoy /ˈtʃakɔj/ n. memory
chamuzo /tʃaˈmuzɔ/ n. pleasure
chaoge /tʃaˈɔge/ n. agreement
chaskoyor /tʃasˈkɔʎɔr/ n. preparation
chatore /tʃaˈtore/ n. response
chavome /tʃavoˈme/ n. discovery
che /tʃe/ n. trade
chenueyu /tʃɛːˈnueʎu/ v. base
daiñi /ˈdaiɲi/ n. kid
day /daj/ n. circle
dedal /deˈdaːl/ adj. evident,
obvious
dei /dɛi/ v. hint; n. hint
deley /dɛːˈlɛj/ n. wall
depar /ˈdepaːr/ adj. idiotic
derroy /ˈdeːrroj/ adj. stable
deva /deˈvaː/ adj. industrial
deñi /deːˈɲi/ v. make
ditui /diˈtui/ v. edit
donnay /donˈnaj/ det. another
du /duː/ n. cow
dui /dui/ adj. huge
duyoy /duˈʎɔj/ n. recipe
eie /ɛie/ n. type
eitar /ɛiˈtar/ n. knife
eiyo /ˈɛijo/ n. knee
eleiy /ˈelɛij/ n. throat
enue /ˈeːnue/ n. axe
evor /eːˈvor/ n. well
ezau /ˈeːzau/ n. rib
fale /faˈlɛ/ det. whatever
fatoy /ˈfaːtɔj/ v. support; n. support
fay /faj/ v. cook (heat food),
cook (prepare food)
fei /fɛi/ n. shame
feiyer /ˈfeiʎɛr/ n. orgasm
fen /fɛːn/ v. interrupt
fetche /ˈfɛttʃe/ n. field
feza /ˈfɛza/ n. radius
filuy /fiˈluj/ n. bread
firyo /firˈjo/ n. cotton
fo /fɔ/ v. laugh; n. laugh
fointsai /ˈfointsai/ n. tower
fonu /foˈnu/ n. bottom (lowest
part adv. under
fosyuir /ˈfosjuir/ v. accompany
fovui /ˈfɔvui/ n. manager
fozai /ˈfɔzai/ adj. drunk
(inebriated)
fueye /ˈfueje/ n. health
funta /ˈfunta/ adj. white,
blank
fuyo /ˈfuːjo/ n. south
grentra /ˈgrentra/ v. lay
gwino /ˈgwino/ v. name
iar /iar/ prep. outside
ilu /iˈlu/ n. age
io /io/ adv. also
ir /iːr/ adj. sad
itu /iˈtu/ v. sign
iyo /iˈjo/ v. take out
je /dʒeː/ v. send
jil /dʒil/ n. class
jon /dʒon/ n. friend
kaiza /kaiˈza/ n. limit
kayoy /ˈkaʎɔj/ n. rate
keidei /ˈkeidei/ n. beauty
keimuta /ˈkeimuta/ n. silence
keiveirtsoigau /keiveirˈtsoigaʊ/ n. violence
kemi /ˈkɛmi/ v. share
keño /ˈkeːɲo/ n. value
kilo /ˈkilɔ/ v. live
kishshu /ˈkiʃʃu/ n. shrine
ko /ko/ adv. still
kon /kon/ v. turn
kote /ˈkɔtɛ/ adj. little
koyye /kɔʎˈʎɛ/ n. menu
kuegan /ˈkuegaːn/ n. mud
kula /ˈkula/ adv. little
kuvei /ˈkuvei/ n. blood
kwe /kwɛ/ n. minute
kwoñin /ˈkwɔɲiːn/ n. goat
lauño /ˈlauɲo/ v. roast
lemen /lɛːˈmen/ n. bean
lilei /liˈlɛi/ n. shade, shadow
ma /ma/ v. pick
mar /mar/ adj. vague
me /me/ n. area; adv. around
meilkau /mɛilˈkau/ adj. wise
mer /mɛr/ art. no
mia /mia/ n. excrement; v. defecate
miketo /miˈketɔ/ n. artist
minoivo /miˈnoivo/ n. sailor
mipeiñoi /miˈpeiɲoi/ n. lawyer
mirto /ˈmirto/ n. role
miyer /ˈmiʎer/ n. teacher
mo /mo/ prep. about
moiy /moij/ n. thorn
monilta /ˈmɔniltaː/ n. grocer
mor /mɔr/ n. gold
moy /mɔj/ n. needle
mu /muː/ v. separate
muitai /ˈmuitai/ n. rule
muta /ˈmuta/ adj. silent
mya /mja/ n. angle
myay /mjaj/ adv. especially
nattau /naːtˈtau/ n. fog
neire /ˈnɛire/ n. culture
nezei /ˈnɛzɛi/ v. abuse
niryo /nirˈjo/ adj. early
noi /noi/ v. do
noviay /ˈnoviaj/ v. wake up
nuittau /ˈnuittaʊ/ v. calculate
nwonka /nwonˈka/ n. pillow
nyian /njian/ n. chemical
nyonu /ˈnjonu/ v. realize
ogau /ˈogaʊ/ n. window, nostril
oistru /ˈoistru/ adv. today
olureivo /ɔluːˈreivo/ n. armour
onna /ɔnˈna/ adv. yet
orer /ˈorer/ adj. aroused
(sexually)
ota /ˈɔta/ n. decade
ovei /ˈovei/ n. west
oyo /ˈoʎɔ/ n. sand
oño /oˈɲo/ v. whistle
par /paːr/ n. idiot
pe /peː/ adj. smooth
peizar /ˈpeizar/ n. adjustment
pia /pia/ adj. late
pira /ˈpiraː/ adj. dry
pon /pɔn/ v. reveal
poye /ˈpɔʎɛ/ n. soldier
primpo /primˈpo/ v. torture
puirein /puiˈrein/ n. arch
pur /pur/ v. can
pyau /pjaʊ/ v. wait
pyevo /ˈpjɛːvo/ n. education
rau /raʊ/ n. trouble
renje /ˈreːndʒɛ/ n. science
rimey /ˈrimej/ n. wool
rirauy /riˈraʊj/ adj. weak
roda /ˈroda/ adj. slim
(of a person)
rorroy /ˈrorroj/ v. place
ruino /ˈruinɔ/ adj. nice
saay /sˈaːaj/ n. organization
sau /saʊ/ adj. small
sañe /saːˈɲe/ n. root
schoyer /stʃoˈjer/ n. blasphemy
seimeittsyau /sɛimeitˈtsjaʊ/ n. scissors
seiy /sɛij/ adv. indeed
sen /sɛːn/ v. expect
si /siː/ adv. when
sinjei /ˈsindʒɛi/ v. become
sito /siːˈtɔ/ n. engine
siyo /siˈjo/ n. hat
skoyor /ˈskɔʎɔr/ v. prepare
soime /soiˈme/ n. underwear
soltren /ˈsoltren/ v. wash
sor /sor/ n. spirit
sotaulo /soˈtaulɔ/ v. dig
soyei /ˈsojei/ v. defend
soñey /soˈɲej/ n. journey
stastu /staːsˈtu/ n. bird
ste /ste/ n. knot
steshshur /steːʃˈʃur/ n. pain
striyiye /strijiˈjeː/ n. shark
suen /suen/ prep. despite
suiyivo /suiˈjivo/ adj. easy
suy /suj/ v. hide
syoiñer /ˈsjoiɲer/ v. worry
syuluye /ˈsjuluje/ n. crystal
tre /trɛ/ prep. throughout
tu /tu/ n. model
tupau /ˈtupau/ prep. upon
uerdiar /ˈuerdiar/ n. leather
uitor /uiˈtɔr/ v. nod
umei /ˈumei/ n. body
urezo /uˈrezɔ/ v. develop
uvo /ˈuvo/ n. issue
uza /uˈza/ n. coffee
vay /vaj/ n. ant
veissu /ˈveissu/ n. view
vevuvei /ˈvɛːvuvei/ n. copper
viche /vitˈʃe/ n. subject
vistru /ˈvistru/ v. stop, arrest
viyustuy /viˈʎustuj/ n. home
voiza /ˈvoiza/ n. owner
vonovi /voˈnɔviː/ n. quality
voñey /ˈvoɲej/ n. size
vuno /vuˈnɔ/ n. nephew
vyuentraññuyoy /vjuentraɲˈɲuʎɔj/ n. child
wa /waː/ v. add
waulaitaño /waulaiˈtaɲo/ n. gun
wonuy /wɔˈnuj/ n. fashion
yainolaltre /ʎainolalˈtre/ n. prey
yauvoir /ʎaʊˈvoir/ n. weapon
ye /ʎɛ/ n. others
yeistru /ˈʎeistru/ n. center
yen /ʎɛːn/ n. linen
yevoyentran /ʎɛːˈvɔjentran/ n. fruit
yiameloyu /ʎiamelɔˈʎuː/ adj. tall
yime /ʎiːˈme/ v. bake
yioshshuyyeivo /ʎioʃˈʃuʎʎɛivo/ n. parcel
yiviyoreir /ʎiviˈjoreir/ v. lend
yoduemi /ʎɔˈduemiː/ n. miniskirt
yoiyizollau /ʎoijiːzɔlˈlaʊ/ n. pencil
yomen /ˈʎomeːn/ n. control
yontavomir /ʎontavoˈmiːr/ det. little
yorlon /ˈʎorlon/ n. uncle
yottau /ˈʎottaʊ/ conj. so
yoye /ʎoˈjeː/ adj. fertile
yoñiayeien /ʎoɲiaˈjeien/ n. past
yuessuyyevu /ˈʎuessuʎʎɛːvu/ n. hedge
yuinta /ˈʎuinta/ n. information
yuntsairtoyi /ʎuntsairˈtoji/ adj. gentle
yuttau /ˈʎuttau/ adv. however

Common Female Names

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Cania Cupitas
Flavia Lunaris
Pedia Fuscinus
Quinctia Columella
Lutatia Reginus
Auria Tasius
Maria Maecius
Sepunia Dexion
Munia Leptis
Pompeia Gaius
Matia Mico
Statia Fagus
Adriana Mathesius
Cloelia Augustanus
Petellia Surinus
Cocceia Jacobi
Licinia Cerinthus
Ateia Dardanius
Clovia Aloysius
Trebellia Cornix
Ateia Concessus
Visellia Hardalio
Claudia Sartorius
Didia Egbuttius
Canidia Varialus
Papiria Noster
Septimia Censorius
Grania Durus
Pomptina Schlerus
Caprenia Clodius
Postumia Decius
Talmudia Assanius
Visellia Clodian
Nasennia Linus
Manlia Bibaculus
Seia Gracilis
Gegania Genesius
Pomponia Verullus
Nasennia Gallio
Armenia Garilius
Hosidia Quarto
Valeria Bellicus
Feliciana Olennius
Paula Ahala
Hosidia Cita
Pupia Maximius
Caerellia Paulinus
Vagennia Sisenna
Suedia Rutilius
Plinia Caelinus
Tettia Scrofa
Sennia Hortensus
Bruccia Sisenna
Pupia Hybrida
Pomponia Faustinius
Sittia Bonus
Axia Carus
Mucia Florus
Caesetia Superstes
Sittia Vitalis
Accoleia Dubitatius
Babudia Tullas
Sidonia Damasippus
Fufia Maius
Sestia Agricola
Nigilia Ramirus
Gavia Tarsicius
Floridia Liberalis
Velia Orientalis
Fufia Crispus

Common Male Names

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Planesium Calvus
Tedusius Falconius
Albinus Lucullus
Philolaches Sura
Ludovicus Aper
Saturio Bellator
Modestus Orientalis
Dinia Servanus
Phygia Liberalis
Isidorus Faber
Menaechmus Metilius
Fridericus Meminius
Candidus Flavinus
Gorgines Vedrix
Melaenis Scribonius
Lyco Gordio
Mnesilochus Corbulo
Megadorus Quintillius
Lesbonicus Damasippus
Cleostrata Naso
Henricus Seneca
Crocotium Isauricus
Lydus Piso
Philoxenus Paterculus
Sangarinus Indus
Palinurus Zoilus
Cleareta Trebellius
Plesidippus Fronius
Leonida Tremellius
Sosicles Remigius
Romanus Censorinus
Artotrogus Augendus
Panegyris Eburnus
Advocati Maritialis
Isidorus Ausonius
Acropolistis Marcallas
Stephanium Maecenus
Paegnium Romanus
Sangarinus Gessius
Sobersides Messor
Pleusicles Concessus
Sergius Campanus
Tranio Photius
Augustinus Nigidius
Phaedromus Clodian
Sycophanta Ramirus
Phaedromus Pertinax
Severinus Superbus
Acanthio Tiburs
Aristophontes Traius