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Elasin language

Page history last edited by PBworks 16 years, 6 months ago


 

Elasin (language)

(for Elasin numbering system see Elasin numbers 

 

Elasin Phonology

Vowels & Consonants

Avu Aufalori Kefalori

Elasin has 5 vowel symbols: e a i u o

 

The 17 Elasin consonsants are as follows: p b t d k g f v m n l r s sh th h '(glottal stop)

 

 

Pronunciation of Vowels - Fathun aufaloram

Each vowel has two pronunciations or "phones"...

Letter

Strong

Weak

a

father

about

e

say

bed

i

see

bit

o

coat

cot

u

boot

foot

 

There are also 4 diphthongs:

ai = pronounced like eye

au = pronounced like cow

oe & oi = pronounced like boy

These 4 have ONLY one pronunciation (considered "strong").

 

One characteristic of i and u is as follows:

When preceding another vowel, i and u become glides (i.e. pronounced like y and w) so that -

uevaku is pronounced "way-vah-koo" makiegi is pronounced "mah-kyay-gee"

 

Another way that Strong Vowels are indicated is by doubling: aa, ee, etc.

There a specific instances where the Strong and Weak pronunciations occur.

Strong Vowels are heard:

1) When the vowel stands alone in a syllable: the a in avute "everyone, all people."

2) When the vowel is the final sound in a syllable: the u and e in avute.

3) When the vowel is in a stressed syllable: the o in vesotham "language" in the Accusative case. NOTE that the basic form of the word vesoth would have a "weak o" since "ve-" is the stressed syllable in that case.

 

Weak Vowels are heard predominantly:

1) When the vowel is in an unstressed syllable between two consonants: the o in vesoth.

2) When the vowel occurs as the initial sound in an unstressed syllable: the -i- in Elasin (e-LAS-in), or as in the difference between shemuagi shay-mwah-gee "I see" and shemuagith shay-mwah-gith (same sound as "bit" in last syllable) "I see it."

Which brings us to the subject of STRESS.

Stress is normally placed on the penultimate, or next-to-last, syllable of a word. In two syllable words, the stress is then on the first syllable.

Syllables will be (C)V(l, r, m, n, f, v, th, sh, or s) which means a syllable can consist of any initial consonant, a mandatory vowel, and an optional final consonant. The final consonants are ONLY the ones listed. Stops, either voiced or unvoiced, cannot be the final phone in a syllable.

 

Pronunciation of Consonants

Fathun kefaloram

 

Consonant pronunciation is similar to that familiar to those who speak English, with the following exceptions:

The vowel glides (i and u) may be added before any vowel and after some consonants, but the following pronunciation changes will take place when the glide comes after t, s, or h:

ti+vowel is pronounced like the "ch"+vowel in church

si+vowel is pronounced like "sh"+vowel in ship

hi+vowel is pronounced like the German "ch"+vowel in Ich

ru-/ri+vowel and lw/ly+vowel do not occur as combinations. In a word like pelu "writing," the present tense pelua is actually syllablized as pel.ua whereas pelu is pe.lu.The ti, hi and si combinations are seen predominantly in the past tense verb conjugations: sathitu = "building", sathituagith = "I am building it."; sathitiegith = "I was building it."

 

NOTE that the first two are pronounced "sah-THEE-too" "sah-thee-TWAH-gith," but the final one is "sah-thee-CHAY-gith."

The ti's "ch" sound is a carry-over from the older form of Elasin, Uhanish. In modern Elasin, most words that originally had the letter "ch" have changed to "sh."

 

One last sound in Elasin you will hear is known as a glottal stop. It shows up in transliterations as a '. This is the sound you hear in some English/Cockney accents in the word "bottle" as in "bo'le" or in English "uh-oh." The glottal stop is heard between two vowels that do not form a diphthong. For example:

 

avu duvo'i falatisa'i "father and child"

This would be pronounced like: AH-voo doo-VOH-ee fah-lah-tee-SAH-ee

NOTE the stress is on the penultimate syllable of the WORD/PHRASE, including the particle "i" which is part of the conjunction "avu...i....i."

 

 

Elasin Morphology & Syntax

Nouns

Palor

There are three classes/genders of nouns:

1 Nouns ending in o (palor opir) are always parts of a whole.They depend on other parts to perform their function or to complement them.

2 Nouns ending in e or a consonant (palor epir) are things which function as a unit (made up of Class 1 nouns).

3 Nouns ending in a (palor apir) are sentient beings, defined as beings that feel pleasure or pain.

NOTE: Not all sentient beings are Class 3 nouns. For example, ualato and duvo "mother" and "father" are Class 1 nouns to show one implies the other.

 

There is no definite or indefinite article. Vesoth may be translated language, a language, the language.

Plurals are formed in Class 1 and 2 nouns by the addition of -r (-ar in the case of those Class 2 nouns ending in a consonant). Vesothar = languages, the languages, mosuanor = bricks

Plurals of Class 3 nouns are formed by the addition of an l. Falatisal = children.

 

There are 11 cases. The cases and markers are listed below. A vowel in parentheses signifies that this letter is used after a consonant:

Nominative This is the primary form of the noun, used as the subject of phrases. Vesoth = language. Mabuaton vesoth paloram. The language has nouns.
Accusative marked by (a)m Vesotham = language. Uevakuagith vesotham. I understand the language.
Dative The final vowel is dropped (if present) and replaced by -eba Falatiseba = to/for the child. Fathuagith falatiseba vesotham. I speak the language to the child.
Genitive conveys the sense of possession generally, but also has other uses marked by (i)n Vesothin = of the language. Sother vesothin. The words of the language.
Instrumental conveys the sense in which something is done marked by -sa Mosuanorsa "with stones." Sathituane mosuanorsa. They are building with stones.

 

There are 6 locative cases, conveying movement and situation:

Elative conveys the sense of moving away, out of marked by -(a)sh Panamesh = away from the house. Makuata panamesh falatisa. The child is walking out of the house.
Illative conveys the sense of into, towards marked by va Panameva = into the house. Makuata panameva falatisa. The child walks into the house.
Inessive conveys the sense of in, inside marked by (o)th Panameth = in the house. Kuenuata panameth falatisa. The child is sitting inside the house.
Comitative conveys the sense of with or accompanied by marked by -(i)f Falatisaf = with the child. Makuagi falatisaf. I am walking with the child.
Prolative conveys the sense of along, beside or around marked by bo Yulafobo = along the river. Makuato iulafobo dulaso. The man is walking beside the river.
Superessive conveys the sense of upon, on top of marked by (a)da Panameda = on top of the house. Kuenuata panameda falatisa. The boy is sitting on top of the house.

 

Verbs

Kishor

 

 

 

Modifiers - Lekalor

The basic root/dictionary form of the verb always ends in -u. In comparison to English, this root can be used similarly to a present participle or gerund. For example, shemu (the act of) seeing can be used in a sentence like Shemu faruthuatu ebe. I can see which literally reads "Seeing (it) is possible for me." (The construction of this sentence will be examined later. Incidentally, "I can see it" is Faruthuatu shemuth ebe. But more on this later as well...)

 

 

Those words known in English as adjectives and adverbs fall into the same category in Elasin. A lekalo can modify either a verb or a noun:

 

sanati - quick/quickly

dulaso sanati - the/a quick man

Makuato sanati dulaso - The/a man (he) walks quickly.

 

 

As you can see, the modifier comes after the word it modifies, and most modifiers end in -i. The second example could also be translated: The man is walking quickly.

An option is to use a verb as a modifier:

Dulaso makui sanati... - The "quickly walking" man...

 

This then can be used as a noun phrase to make a sentence like:

Shemuagith dulasom makui sanati. - I see the "quickly walking man."

 

The verb root -u is changed to -ui (pronounced "wee") when used as a modifier. So, maku "walking (vb.)" changes to makui "walking (pres. participle).

A past participle can be constructed by changing the root ending -u to -u'ii (pronounced "oo-yee"):

Shemiegith dulasom maku'ii sanati. "I saw the man, who was walking quickly."

 

Past tense verbs will often (although not always) require past participle modifiers.

Another unique feature of Elasin modifiers is a sentence like this:

Tupuagith be'umadem rikanu'ii tabe. "I give my "read" book to you."

This could also be interpreted as "I am giving this book which I have read to you."

 

Some common modifiers include:

sanati - quick(ly), rapid(ly), hasty

thoshi - few, several, a small amount of

pivani - complete(ly), thorough(ly)

 

 

Dependent Clauses:We have already seen at least one dependent clause construction:

 

Rikaniemugi konasa shemiegil ko "I was beginning to read when I saw you" composed of two clauses - rikaniemugi and shemiegil. As you can see the dependent clause is bracketed by konasa and ko. Most all dependent clauses end in the particle ko.

Another dependent clause construction is: kopath...ko "who..." although this can also be accomplished by using a present participle construction. Compare:

Shemiegith dulasom maku'ii sanati. "I saw (him) the 'quickly walking' man."

 

Shemiegith dulasom kopath makudito sanati ko. Lit.:"I saw (him) the man, who was walking quickly."

 

Another dependent clause particle pair is shasta...ko which is used to denote "in order to, because, so that."

 

Rikanuagith umadem shasta uevakuth vesotham ko. "I am reading the book in order to understand the language." (Lit. "I am reading in order to understanding it, the language.")

 

Kopath and konasa are also used as an interrogative pronoun. Others of this type are:

Who=kopath

Pelua dulaso kopath ua popaki ko thaleram. The man, who is the strongest, writes songs.

Kopath ua popaki vo? Who is the strongest?

 

Whom=koepata /koy-pah-tuh/

Koepata faduagi ko vo? To whom do I speak?

Upon approaching the gate, the nightwatchman asked Amalel for his name. With a sneer, he said: "Koepata faduagi ko vo? Ebel? Hau! Fadudigith lasam difa."[To whom am I speaking? You? No! I will speak only to the guard!]

 

When=konasa

Konasa fadudiso vo? When will we speak?

Fadudigil konasa makuaso ko ebel. I will speak to you when we are walking.

 

What=koshi

Koshi pelieta vo? What did you write?

Peluagith koshi faduata ko. I write what he/she is speaking.

Vo rikanualath koshi peliegi vo? Are you reading what I wrote?

Rikanuagith koshi peliela ko. I am reading what you wrote.

 

Where=kole'ima /koh-lay-ee-muh/

Kole'ima uagi vo? Where am I?

To where=koema /koy-muh/

Koema makuata vo? To where are you traveling?

NOTE: As noted above, when using the interrogative pronouns to ask a question, the first "vo" is dropped and only the final vo particle is used (thus dropping the final ko). When used as a dependent clause, the final particle in the phrase is "ko."

 

From this root form, 3 simple tenses are formed:

 

 

Present tense - the suffix a is added to verb stem (pronounced "wah")

     Shemu > shemua-

Past tense - -u is dropped and replaced by ie- (pronounced "yeh")

     Shemu > shemie-

Future tense - -u remains to which di- is added

     Shemu > shemudi-

 

To this system of tenses, 9 aspects can be added:

Perfective -ku- I have ....[and now I'm done.]
Imperative replace -u with -a a "command"
Prospective -pi- "I am about to..."
Inceptive -mu- "I am beginning to..."
Terminative -ho- "I am finishing..."
Cessative -ru- "I am quitting..."
Pausative -vi- "I stopped...for a while."
Iterative -ve- "I...again and again."
Accidental -na- "I accidently..."

Examples of the aspects at work:

Kevu=hitting

Kevak "Hit me!"

Kevienato'e "He accidentally hit me."

Kevieveto'e "He hit me again and again."

Kevieruto'e "He finished hitting me."

Or something more complex: Rikaniemugi konasa shemiegil ko. "I was beginning to read when I saw you." (rikan(u)-ie-mu-gi konasa shem(u)-ie-li-e ko)

There are also a number of modal verbs, for example:

Faruthuatu shemul ebe. "I can see you." (Lit. It is possible seeing you for me.)

Rumuatu shemu'e ebel. "You may see me." (Lit. It is permissible seeing me for you.)

Pelukuatu shemul ebe. "I want to see you." (Lit. It is desirable seeing you for me.)

 

 

 

Questions - Fathovor

Questions are formed by bracketing statements within the particle vo:

Rumuatu shemul ebe. --- Vo rumuatu shemul ebe vo? "May I see you?"

 

 

 

 

Pronomial Affixes - Ebalakor

The verb is always marked with a nominative pronomial affix; sometimes also with an accusative affix. The dative pronouns are separate words. The genetive affixes are prefixes.

  NOMINATIVE ACCUSATIVE DATIVE GENITIVE
1st person singular -gi- -e ebe be-
2nd person singular -li- -l ebel le-
3rd person singular: Class 1 & 2 -to- -th tebe te-
3rd person singular: Class 3 -ta- -th tabe ti-
3rd person singular: Verb -tu    
1st person plural -so- -s seba se-
2nd person plural -ke- -sh ekesh ke-
3rd person plural: Class 1 & 2 -no- -n oben ne-
3rd person plural: Class 3 -ne- -n aben ni-
3rd person singular: Verb -nu    

Examples using affixes:

Shemuali'e "You see me."

Shemuason "We see them."

Shemienes "They saw us."

Aulemuatu shemul ebe. "Seeing you is pleasing to me." (Lit. It is pleasing -seeing you - for me.)

Alternative: Aulemuatu beshemul. "My seeing you is pleasing."

 

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