Basadeiian
Natively known as: Basadeɪæn /ˈbasaˌdeɪæn/
...and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind...yâ kha kha shoki reru ambu yâ lazi r̀ú kha dziq̀or̀ú r̀aq̀âyú lachobâ
Pronunciation: /jɑ χa χa ˈʃoki ˈreru ˈambu jɑ ˈlaʒi ʁʉ χa ˈʣiɢoʁʉ ˈʁaɢɑjʉ ˈlaʧobɑ/
Basadeiian word order: and he his hat holding stood and the wind to his wet face turned
Spelling & Phonology
Consonant inventory: /b d h j k l m mb p q r t w ç ŋ ŋɡ ɡ ɢ ʁ ʃ ʎ ʒ ʝ ʣ ʤ ʦ ʧ χ/↓Manner/Place→ | Bilabial | Alveolar | Palato-alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | m | ŋ | |||||
Stop | p b | t d | k ɡ | q ɢ | |||
Affricate | ʦ ʣ | ʧ ʤ | |||||
Fricative | ʃ ʒ | ç ʝ | χ ʁ | h | |||
Approximant | j | ||||||
Trill | r | ||||||
Lateral approximant | l | ʎ |
↓Manner/Place→ | Labial-velar |
---|---|
Approximant | w |
Front | Central | Back | |
---|---|---|---|
High | i | ʉ | u |
High-mid | e | o | |
Mid | ə | ||
Low-mid | ɔ | ||
Low | a | ɑ |
Stress pattern: Initial — stress is on the first syllable
Word initial consonants: b, d, h, j, k, l, m, mb, p, q, r, t, w, ç, ŋ, ŋɡ, ʁ, ʃ, ʒ, ʣ, ʤ, ʧ, χ
Mid-word consonants: b, d, h, j, k, l, m, mb, p, q, r, t, w, ç, ŋ, ŋɡ, ɡ, ɢ, ʁ, ʃ, ʎ, ʒ, ʝ, ʣ, ʤ, ʦ, ʧ, χ
Word final consonants: N/A Phonological changes (in order of application):
- b → Ø / _ʦ
- N → h / _S
Pronunciation | Spelling |
---|---|
j | y |
mb | mb |
ç | sh̀ |
ŋ | ng |
ɑ | â |
ɔ | aw |
ə | á |
ɡ | g |
ɢ | q̀ |
ʁ | r̀ |
ʃ | sh |
ʉ | ú |
ʎ | ỳ |
ʒ | z |
ʝ | y̌ |
ʣ | dz |
ʤ | j |
ʦ | ts |
ʧ | ch |
χ | kh |
Grammar
Main word order: Subject-Oblique-Object-Verb. "Mary opened the door with a key" turns into Mary with a key the door opened.Adjective order: Adjectives are positioned before the noun.
Adposition: postpositions
Nouns
Nouns have two cases:- Nominative is the doer of a verb: dog bites man.
- Accusative is the done-to of a verb: man bites dog.
Nominative | No affix ijá /ˈiʤə/ doɡ (doinɡ the verb) |
Accusative | Suffix -jo ijáyo /ˈiʤəjo/ (verb done to) doɡ |
Singular | No affix ijá /ˈiʤə/ doɡ |
Plural | Suffix -ʦa ijátsa /ˈiʤəʦa/ doɡs |
Articles
Definite | kha /χa/ the |
Indefinite | a /a/ a, some |
Pronouns
Nominative | Accusative | |
---|---|---|
1st singular | pe /pe/ I | yá /jə/ me |
2nd singular | po /po/ you (masc) | ngâ /ŋɑ/ you |
3rd singular masc | kha /χa/ he, it | qe /qe/ him, it |
3rd singular fem | hu /hu/ she, it | chaw /ʧɔ/ her, it |
1st plural | mbá /mbə/ we | pú /pʉ/ us |
2nd plural | e /e/ you all | ú /ʉ/ you all |
3rd plural | â /ɑ/ they | yi /ji/ them |
Possessive determiners
1st singular | pe /pe/ my |
2nd singular | ngâ /ŋɑ/ your |
3rd singular masc | kha /χa/ his |
3rd singular fem | hu /hu/ her |
1st plural | mbá /mbə/ our |
2nd plural | e /e/ your (pl) |
3rd plural | â /ɑ/ their |
Verbs
Present | Past | Remote past | |
---|---|---|---|
1st singular | Suffix -çɔ hamush̀aw /ˈhamuçɔ/ (I) learn | Suffix -te hamute /ˈhamute/ (I) learned | Suffix -ʤu hamuju /ˈhamuʤu/ (I) learned (lonɡ aɡo) |
2nd singular | Suffix -mbe hamumbe /ˈhamumbe/ (you) learn | Suffix -lɔ hamulaw /ˈhamulɔ/ (you) learned | Suffix -me hamume /ˈhamume/ (you) learned (lonɡ aɡo) |
3rd singular | Suffix -jɑ hamuyâ /ˈhamujɑ/ (he/she/it) learns | Suffix -ʤi hamuji /ˈhamuʤi/ (he/she/it) learned | Suffix -ŋu hamungu /ˈhamuŋu/ (he/she/it) learned (lonɡ aɡo) |
1st plural | Suffix -mʉ hamumú /ˈhamumʉ/ (we) learn | Suffix -ɢʉ hamuq̀ú /ˈhamuɢʉ/ (we) learned | Suffix -χə hamukhá /ˈhamuχə/ (we) learned (lonɡ aɡo) |
2nd plural | Suffix -ʒi hamuzi /ˈhamuʒi/ (you all) learn | Suffix -ʃo hamusho /ˈhamuʃo/ (you all) learned | Suffix -ʤɔ hamujaw /ˈhamuʤɔ/ (you all) learned (lonɡ aɡo) |
3rd plural | Suffix -qɑ hamuqâ /ˈhamuqɑ/ (they) learn | Suffix -ʃe hamushe /ˈhamuʃe/ (they) learned | Suffix -ŋɡu hamunggu /ˈhamuŋɡu/ (they) learned (lonɡ aɡo) |
Future | Particle before the verb: ʣɔ - dzaw hamu /ʣɔ ˈhamu/ 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). Basadeiian uses an affix for imperfective:Imperfective | Suffix -wu hamuwu /ˈhamuwu/ learns/is learninɡ |
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. Basadeiian uses the word for ‘already’ khatsú for the perfect aspect.Numbers
Basadeiian has a base-10 number system: 1 - la2 - ngaw
3 - bú
4 - yu
5 - hu
6 - mbaw
7 - akú
8 - wibu
9 - jâ
10 - yátsâtú
11 - yátsâtúla “ten-one”
100 - la iyú “one hundred”
101 - la iyú yâ la “one hundred and one”
200 - ngaw iyú
1000 - la keba “one thousand”
Derivational morphology
Adjective → adverb = Suffix -maAdjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = Suffix -li
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = Suffix -χə
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = Suffix -te
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = Suffix -ʁo
Noun → verb (to create [noun]) = Suffix -ʦʉ
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = Suffix -me
Verb → adjective (likely to do [verb]) = Suffix -ʣi
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = Suffix -ʝe
Verb → noun that verb physically produces (e.g. build → building) = Suffix -χə
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = Suffix -tʉ
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = Suffix -ʎɑ
Diminutive = Suffix -he
Augmentative = Suffix -ki
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