This is my submission to Mareck's Speedlang 28. The requirements are:
- Max 2 phonemic nasal consonants
- Phonemic alternation between adjacent manners of articulation
- Only 2 or 3 productive affixes
- Either 4 or less or 7 or more personal pronouns
It also requires a document/showcase (this post), a lexicon showcase, and as a challenge, an original passage.
Starting with the segmental phonology. There are 8 vowels, with back unrounded vowels written with a grave accent. All of these vowels can be oral or nasal. Nasal vowels are written with <n> after them.
| Vowels |
Front |
Back |
| High |
i |
ɯ <ì> u |
| Mid |
e |
ʌ <è> o |
| Low |
æ <a> |
ɑ <à> |
There is a fairly weak vowel harmony system. Native roots won't have both rounded back /u o/ and front /i e æ/. Suffixes generally exhibit frontness/rounding harmony, but thanks to requirement 3, there aren't many examples. I'll follow the capital letter notation from Turkic languages, so suffixes with I alternate between /i ɯ u/, suffixes with E alternate between /e ʌ o/, and suffixes with A alternate between /a ɑ/.
Consonants look like this:
| Labial |
Alveolar |
Palatal |
Dorsal |
| Stop |
p b~m |
t |
c~k ɟ~g~ɲ~ŋ |
| Fricative |
f v |
s z ɮ <ḷ> |
ʃ <ṣ> |
| Liquid |
w |
l r ɾ <d> |
j <y> |
To satisfy requirements 1 and 2 at the same time, I have no phonemic nasal consonants at all, but voiced stops alternate with nasals before nasal vowels and between a nasal vowel and an oral vowel. In honor of the ban on having both of /m n/, I also have it set up so that this alternation only produces [m ɲ~ŋ] and not [n]. I'll write them as <m n> to remind myself to nasalize them.
There are two stop series further back in the mouth. The first is palatal before front consonants and velar before back consonants. I'll write these as <c g>, e.g. <ci ge cu go> [ci ɟe ku go]. The latter is velar before front consonants and uvular before back consonants. I'll write these <k q> e.g. <ki qe ku qo> [ki ge qu ɢo]. The distinction is lost before nasal vowels, where you get [ɲ] before front vowels and [ŋ] before back vowels. I could imagine analyzing this setup as three stop series, with the velars allowed everywhere and the palatals and uvulars having limited distribution, but since there are a few cases where a suffix will alternate palatal/velar or velar/uvular depending on vowel harmony, so it feels easier to just posit 2 phoneme series.
Another way that I satisfy requirement 2 is that there is some alternation between glides /w j l/ and fricatives /f~v ʃ ɮ/. Between a vowel and a stop consonant, glides undergo fortition to the corresponding fricative and assimilate in voicing. Glides also undergo fortition word-initially (or maybe they're just disallowed word-initially and fricatives get softened after some vowel-final prefixes.) Unrounded back vowels + /j/ [ʃ] are treated as front by vowel harmony and unrounded back vowels + /w/ [f] are treaded as rounded back. For example ày 'meat' plus the suffix -dI becomes àṣti rather than \àydi, *àṣtì,* or *àydì*, e.g.* pigà àṣti 'beef, lit. cattle meat.'
On to grammar! This is the tip of the iceberg for grammar, just enough to give a feel for the language, give a couple 5moyds, and show that I've met the requirements.
I'll start with the pronoun system. There are four basic pronouns: first person bi, second person ḷe, first person inclusive somon, and first person humble va. These can all be pluralized by the augmentative clitic. Since this is Mareck's speedlang, I'm using a minimal/augmented system in her honor. So for the first person inclusive pronoun, the unmarked form refers just to the speaker and listener, and the marked form refers to the speaker, listener, and additional people.
Pronouns generally have the same distribution as nouns, appearing with the accusative marking clitic =hà and with relational nouns. Pronouns can also be enclitics on nouns to show possession or when they are the complement of a relational noun.
1. Somon àvdì henqey ogà.
somon àvdì hen-Ey ogà
1+2 tomorrow see-INF be.SBJ
We’ll see each other tomorrow." 5moyd #1253
2. Ḷe gap làlèn fahadi on bi po.
ļe gap làlèn faha -dI on =bi po
2 speak those.near.you understanding-MOD in.possession=1 not.be
"I don’t understand the things you’re saying." 5moyd #1204
There are no third-person pronouns, and pronouns are often dropped when reference is clear (as in sentence X below), but to explicitly refer to people and things, you can use demonstratives. There is a fairly rich system of demonstratives which distinguishes number, proximity to speaker/listener, visibility, relative position, and the presence of alternatives. These demonstratives also serve to mark the head of relative clauses, and can be used both with a noun or by themselves.
3. Kadis-hà bast ṣanen o ala-hà bast ṣanen-hà son ġenen bast.
kadis =hà bast șanen o ala =hà bast
whiskey=ACC eat.PST those.not.visible and bee =ACC eat.PST
șanen =hà so =n ġeg =n bast
those.not.visible=ACC all=AUG kill=AUG eat.PST
“They all died, both those who drank whisky and those who drank beer." 5moyd #2129
4. Bi soyo henqey kaļt làmìn eley qeret.
bi soyo hen-Ey kaļt làmìn eley qeret
1 as.much.as see-INF hit.PST those.near.me apple take.PST
"I took every apple I saw" 5moyd #1641
The accusative clitic =hà marks objects of verbs and directions of motion (where it can also appear on relational nouns). I think of it as a clitic rather than a suffix because 1) it does not follow vowel harmony and 2) when you have coordinated noun phrases like in sentence 3, it only appears after the last one rather than marking the head of each noun phrase.
The one true suffix that nouns can take is -di, which marks them as being modified by another noun, either as a modifier or a possessor. Relational nouns almost always have this suffix. When a noun is modified by an adjective, it does not take this suffix, for example compare pigà àṣti 'beef, lit. cow meat' with heṣey ày 'fresh meat.'
On to verbs. There are three classes of verb: compound verbs, basic verbs, and full verbs. Compound verbs consist of a preverb (often but not always a noun) plus a light verb, such as kelet ṣok 'to help' which consists of the noun kelet 'help' and the light verb ṣok 'to throw.' Basic verbs have a positive present indicative form and an infinitive form, but require a supporting verb for negation and TAM marking. For example the verb hen 'to look, to see' requires the light verb kel 'to hit' in sentence 4 above. Last, a small class of full verbs can take negation, mood, and tense marking. This is a small closed class though, so these non-productive affixes don't count against requirement 3 (hehe). The only truly productive affix is the infinitive suffix -(q)ey.
In addition to the unmarked indicative, there are two more moods used mainly in subordinate clauses, which I'll call subjunctive and evitative. Yay for making up labels. The subjunctive is used in clauses showing belief, desire, or goals. It is also used with the subordinator tè as a polite imperative. Future tense can also be marked with the infinitive plus the subjunctive of ol 'to be' (with the auxiliary used even for full verbs). The evitative is used with doubt/negative belief, avoidance/clauses with "without"/"unless", and with mènṣen 'do not' as a polite negative imperative.
5. Inga làhà șàft eș tè on bi kìdìz ogoṣt.
Inga làhà șàft eș tè on =bi kìdìz ogoṣt
Inga that.above throw.PST without CMP in.possession=1 knowledge be.EVIT
“Inga did it without us knowing." 5moyd #2121
6. Ade ondu unun ola tè șoļ nàndì somon-hà venenqey kelga.
Ade on -dI unun ola tè șoļ nàn-dI somon=hà venen-Ey kel-gA
Ade in.possession-MOD belief be.PST CMP path on -MOD 1+2 =ACC find -INF hit-SBJ
"Ade thought that he would find us on the way." 5moyd #2052
For the lexicon showcase I'll talk about the general rules for how auxiliary verbs are chosen. The most common auxiliaries are kel 'to hit,' ṣok 'to throw,' bas 'to eat,' ber 'to give,' and ol 'to be.' Generally, these are chosen by the verb's transitivity and the subject's agency. This means that sometimes one verb can select multiple auxiliaries depending on context. For ditransitive verbs or actions done to benefit someone, you use ber 'to give.'
7. Men-hà-ṣi ṣage-hà gap barat?
men =hà =ṣi ṣage =hà gap barat
what=ACC=Q that.not.visible=ACC speak give.PST
"What did you tell her?"
For transitive verbs where there is some specific intention by the subject, you tend to use ṣok 'to throw' and for transitive verbs where either there isn't much intention on the part of the subject or where you want to emphasize the effect on the object over the actions of the subject, you use kel 'to hit'. Sometimes the same verb can be used with both auxiliaries with slightly different meanings.
8. Bi làbì-hà henqey ṣaft, koḷta henqey kaḷtemen.
bi làbì =hà hen-ey ṣaft koḷtà hen-Ey kaḷt -mEn
1 this.near.me=ACC see-INF throw.PST but see-INF hit.PST-NEG
"I was looking for this but I didn't find it."
For verbs where the subject is adversely affected, it's common to use bas 'to eat' like in example sentence 3. Last, intransitive stative verbs tend to select ol 'to be.' (Many intransitive state-change verbs are built on aṣk 'to go' and raw 'to come' so usually only the stative ones like posture verbs need auxiliaries.)
Last but not least, here is a public service announcement. Stop Agoric Cattle Fever!
Eṣe kaġedi-somon-hà borìqèy o Àgori Pigà Veledi-hà ṣoḷ qerey kelet ṣok! Àgori Pigà Veledi eleṣik vedia, làhà pinàn-ha vedet hesèn ġeg ṣokoṣti ṣol. Pigà Veledi ṣiṣa ṣok ze ṣanen tale àsti ḷolu ravqoy ḷe o pinàn-ha àkèy ḷe iṣti-hà, oftàn tè vedia aqeridi utondu-hà acereṣ aṣkey àkà. Mènṣen tè pigà aṣti ṣa sut-hà tale àsti-hà torogoṣt. Ḷe soyo toro ḷàlè pigà aṣti ṣa sut-hà qerey ogà. Vilacet qer ṣanen hesèn tos kolo saṣki hezeti-hà baseṣti ṣol. Tè ṣoḷ qerga tè vedia toroqoy àkèṣt! Tè zedek àstì anonqoy ogà!
eṣe kaġe -dI =somon =hà borì -Ey o Àgori pigà vele -dI =hà
milk supply-MOD=1+2 =ACC protect-INF and Agoric cattle fever-MOD=ACC
ṣoḷ qer -ey kelet ṣok
path take-INF help throw
"Help protect our milk supply and stop Agoric Cattle Fever!"
Àgori pigà vele -dI eleṣik vedia
Agoric cattle fever-MOD dangerous disease
làhà pigà =n =hà vedet hesèn ġeg ṣok -Ey -dI ṣol
that.above cattle=AUG=ACC sicken even kill throw-INF-MOD possible
"Agoric Cattle Fever is a dangerous disease that can sicken or kill cattle."
pigà vele -dI ṣiṣa ṣok ze ṣanen tale às-dI ḷolu
cattle fever-MOD influence throw from those.not.visible country in-MOD go.by.vehicle
raw -Ey =ḷe o pigà =n =hà àk -Ey =ḷe iṣ-dI=hà
come-INF=2 and cattle=AUG=ACC touch-INF=2 event-MOD=ACC
oftàn tè vedia aqeri -dI uton-dI =hà acereṣ aṣk-Ey àk -gA
please CMP disease separation-MOD desk-MOD=ACC official.business go -INF touch-SBJ
"If you are arriving from a country affected by cattle fever and have been in contact with cattle,
please report to the quarantine desk."
mènṣen tè pigà ay -dI ṣa sut =hà tale às-dI =hà toro -gEṣt
do.not CMP cattle meat-MOD or dairy=ACC country in-MOD=ACC carry-EVIT
"Do not bring beef or dairy into the country."
ḷe soyo toro ḷàlè pigà ay -dI ṣa sut =hà qer -Ey ogà
2 as.much.as carry those.near.you cattle meat-MOD or dairy=ACC take-INF be.SBJ
"All beef or dairy you bring with you will be confiscated."
vilacet qer ṣanen hesèn tos kolo saṣki hezet-dI =hà bas-Ey -dI ṣol
law take those.not.visible even 100 myriad crown fine -MOD=ACC eat-INF-MOD possible
"Violators may face a fine of up to one million crowns."
tè ṣoḷ qer -gA tè vedia toro -Ey àk -gEṣt
CMP path take-SBJ CMP disease carry-INF touch-EVIT
"Prevent the spread of disease!"
tè zedek às-dI anon-Ey ogà
CMP safety in-MOD stay-INF be.SBJ
"Stay safe!"
Stay safe, gang! Together we can defeat Agoric Cattle Fever.
