Szassar Language - Szor'kass

The Szassar language is highly structured - to the extent where others might consider it an almost artificial language. To a large extent they'd be correct. The main body of the language did emerge according to a structured plan created by Kri-kik Split-tail and her original paj-rek (clan group/family), who constructed the language.
Prior to the construction of Szor'kass (archaic: forge-tongue), Szassar dialects were broadly varied, and mainly consisted of grunts, hoots and whistles which mimicked other creatures native to their home ranges, and their intent was primarily to convey hunting coordination information between family members - game type, numbers, warnings of danger, and so forth. With the emotional signalling from the frills spanning from their shoulders to the top of a szassar's head, most szassar could make themselves generally understood. However, Kri-kik saw a need for more specific communication and constructed a language (see ConLang) which would be broadly extensible along a set of broad semantic and morphic rules.

Pronunciation

Generally speaking, szassar words are pronounced as you'd see them spelled in English, but there are two types of glottal stops used in the language which require some description. In szassar spelling and speech systems, an apostrophe (') is pronounced as a soft-H sounded in the back of the throat near the uvula. Think of it as being somewhat akin to a Greek Chi, but the consonant is sounded at the back of the mouth, not the front section of the top of the mouth as in Greek.
A hyphen (-) is not so much used as a connector in Szor'kass, as it is a form of punctuation - it tells the speaker that the morpheme following the hyphen is pronounced with greater weight, as it conveys more of the meaning of the word. Hence in the words szor-rek, paj-rek and san-rek, -rek is given especial weight. Szor-, paj- and san- are modifiers to the verb -rek, with literal meanings as follows:

• Szor-: Project/Monument (archaic: forge)
• Paj-: Work/Effort (archaic: strive)
• San-: Family/Clan (archaic: sharing)

Morpheme Usage

Most words in Szor'kass have a class-specifier (typically after a hyphen) and a class-modifier. Hence Szor-rek for project group. Szor indicates a striving towards a significant goal. -Rek indicates a group of szassar with common cause.
Other common class-specifiers include:

• -Tan: Weapon
• -Tansh: Tool
• -Sok: Material (e.g. building material, fuel, etc)
• -Tesh: Knowledge/wisdom/understanding
• -Jas: Feeling/emotion
• -Nass: Action/Behaviour
• -Nesh: Drink/Liquid
• -Mish: Food/Edible Substance
• -Kirr: Shame/Embarrassment
• -Huss: Star/Sun (other than Szor)
• -Ik: Planet/World (including Szorik, although the latter is not hyphenated)

Common class modifiers include:

• Skir-: Wrong/Improper
• S'vir-: Correct/Righteous
• K'lon-: Informative/Wise
• A'lon-: Experiential/Earned
• Desk-: Won through striving/effort
• Lesk-: Won through ideation and planning
• D'lesk-: Failed/broken (through inaction)
• M'lesk-: Failed/broken (through active malice)

Thus, M'lesk-nass would indicate intentionally hurt feelings. D'lesk-nass would indicate an accidental/careless emotional hurt. A'lon-jas would be pride in achievement. A'lon-tesh would be knowledge earned through experience.
-As at the end of a word is pronounced "-ahz". -Ass is pronounced "Ass" (in an American context).
Preposition, articles and possessive terms are also highly structured around the person their object/subject is associated with.

Concept	Third Person/ Indefinite	2nd Person Definite	First Person Singular	First Person Plural
Pronoun	Kar (It/Them)	Ker (e.g. You)	Kir (e.g. Me/I)	S'kire (e.g. Us)
Article	Kan (The)	Ken (This)	Kin (Me as this)	S'kine (This as mine/ours/theirs)
Above	Elan (Above)	Elen (Above You)	Elin (Above Me)	S'Eline (Above Us)
Below	Olan (Below)	Olen (Below You)	Olin (Below Me)	S'Oline (Below Us)
To	Nan (To)	Nen (To You)	Nin (To Me)	S'Nine (To Us)
Near To	I-nan (Near To)	I-nen (Near To You)	I-nan (Near To Me)	S'I-nane (Near To Us)
From	Ran (Far)	Ren (From You)	Rin (From Me)	S'Rine (From Us)
Far From	A-ran (Far From)	A-ren (Far From You)	A-rin (Far From Me)	S'A-rine (Far From Us)

In the last four lines we can see the level of structure realised in the language. To and Near To are nearly identical in their construction. From and Far From are likewise nearly identical. The I- and A- morphemes act as modifiers on the prepositions to indicate near or far. A distant planet then, would be A-ik. A nearby star would be I-huss.

Verb Construction

Verbs are relatively simplified in the Szor'kass. The same modifier-root pattern used for nouns is used for verbs, and the morphemes are applied in a similar way. Verbs are prefixed with the person to which the verb applies as per the Pronouns/Articles in the table above. The only other difference is that an additional tense-modifier is used at the end of the verb which is not hyphenated when not using the present tense of the verb. Tense modifiers are as follows:

• Ilen:Future Tense
• Alen: Past Tense

So: "I work" would be kir-szorn (the base verb for work - szorn - is adapted from the noun). "I worked" would be kir-szornalen. "I will work" would be kir-szornilen.

Sentence Construction

Sentences are generally simple and to the point. Where additional meaning or information is required, additional sentences are used. Sentences are usually formatted as {Object} {Modified Verb} {Preposition} {Subject}. E.g. "I am going to work with a distant project group" would translate as something like "Kin kir-szomilen a-szor-rek."