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Reference Grammar of Classical Yiklamu |
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Home : Conlangs : Yiklamu : Classical : Reference Grammar
0. Disclaimer
This reference grammar has not been written by a native
speaker of Classical Yiklamu. No informants were available, nor any native
text corpora. Every effort has been made to avoid any errors or infelicities
in the examples, nonetheless. Comments and criticisms are welcomed by the
author.
1. Phonology
1.1. Segmental Phonemes
There are 17 consonants and 5 vowels in the phoneme inventory
of Classical Yiklamu:
- Stops
- Bilabial: /p/ voiceless, /b/ voiced
- Dental: /t/ voiceless, /d/ voiced
- Velar: /k/ voiceless, /g/ voiced
- Fricatives
- Bilabial: /f/ voiceless, /v/ voiced
- Alveolar Retroflex: /s/ voiceless, /z/ voiced
- Palatal retroflex: /c/ voiceless, /j/ voiced
- Liquids
- Bilabial nasal: /m/
- Dental nasal: /n/
- Dental lateral: /l/
- Glides
- High back rounded: /w/
- High front unrounded: /y/
- Vowels
- High-mid front lax unrounded: /i/
- Mid front lax unrounded: /e/
- Low central lax unrounded: /a/
- Mid back lax rounded: /o/
- High-mid back lax rounded: /u/
1.2. Junctures
1.2.1. Word Juncture
Word juncture in Classical Yiklamu is marked indirectly
by stress (see below).
1.2.2. Phrase Juncture
Phrase juncture is marked indirectly by greater lengthening
of the stressed vowel of the phrase's head word.
1.2.3. Sentence Juncture
Sentence juncture is marked indirectly by sentence intonation
(see below).
1.3. Prosody
1.3.1. Word Stress
Word stress is marked by a drop in pitch of the stressed
syllable. In bisyllabic words ending in a vowel, the first syllable is
stressed. In all other words, the second syllable is stressed. Syllable
timing is controlled at the sentence level (see below).
1.3.2. Phrase Prosody
Phrases have a level intonation from one stressed syllable
to the next. Phrase timing is controlled at the sentence level (see below).
1.3.3. Sentence Prosody
Sentences have a generally falling intonation from one
phrase to the next. A word (or more than one) in the sentence may be intonationally
emphasized by upshifting the pitch register starting with that word. The
sentence intonation may fall from that point to the usual low point at
the end of the sentence, or it may reach only a somewhat higher pitch than
usual. The former realization marks a discourse juncture as well as a sentence
juncture.
Sentences are timed in phrasal units: each phrase is uttered
in about the same amount of time. This causes the words (and hence the
syllables) of heavier phrases to be pronounced more rapidly than those
of lighter phrases.
2. Graphology
There is no known primary graphemic representation of
Yiklamu sounds. The language may be written using any representation for
which a mapping to the phoneme inventory has been devised. One such mapping
is that indicated using Latin characters for the phonemes above. Other
mappings are currently under development for Cyrillic, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic,
Kana, Hangul, Mayan Syllabary, Egyptian Hieroglyphics, Cuneiform and Waldzell
Glyphs.
Only the Latin mapping will be considered here.
2.1. Representation of Segmental Phonemes
The phonemes are represented in the Latin alphabet as
illustrated in section 1 above. The letters used are a b c d e f g i
j k l m n o p s t u v w y z.
2.2. Punctuation
Only two punctuation marks are used: comma and period.
The comma is used in biconjoined clauses, as indicated in the morphosyntactic
rules below. The period is used at the end of a sentence. In Latin writing,
the first word of every sentence is capitalized, as is every word of a
noun group used as a name.
3. Morphosyntax
3.1. Sentences
Sentence
= (so) (ze) [ConjMainClauses | IfThenPair
| MoreMorePair] .
- Latok supasen. 'You are laughing.'
- Ze latok supasen. 'Are you laughing?'
- So latok supasen. 'You're laughing!'
- So ze latok supasen. 'You're laughing!?'
3.2. Clauses
3.2.1. Conjoined Clauses
IfThenPair
= fe ConjMainClauses , fe ConjMainClauses
- Fe mi movo yegic, fe yebet movo Co Udmi Wudjaku.
'If s/he's a linguist, I'm the Emperor of China.'
MoreMorePair
= soc ConjMainClauses , soc ConjMainClauses
- Soc yenec kasakav zigma oguz, soc mi cumul bunabav.
'The harder you try, the harder it gets.'
ConjMainClauses
= MainClause (@CONJ MainClause)...
- Lildudi movoni befo da webebid movoni wabec. 'The
vodka is strong and the meat is rotten.'
ConjCompClauses
= CompClause (@CONJ CompClause)...
Yebet vevek ba yebet movone socto da ba yebet mevaden
gecac mu muyapic mi. 'I know that I'm thirsty and that I have nothing
to drink.'
3.2.2. Unconjoined and Dependent Clauses
MainClause
= Subject VerbGroup (Object)
- Wowutud bawolil. 'The dog barked.'
- Wowutud wecisil kikfadu. 'The dog chased the cat.'
CompClause
= ba ConjNounGroups VerbGroup (Object)
- Yebet zikadin ba wegudud cumimil abwedu. 'I see
that the cardinal has lost his shoe.' [in the usual sense; use 'pojo'
for 'cumim' if the shoe was actually misplaced, and 'ubob' for 'abwe' if
it's a card shoe]
SubjRelClause
= va VerbGroup (Object)
- Wowutud va bawolil ofumil. 'The dog that barked
died.'
- Yudodud va supasil wecisil wowutud. 'The man that
laughed chased the dog.'
ObjRelClause
= mu VerbGroup Subject
- Kikfadu mu wecisil wowutud bogeli. 'The cat the
dog chased meowed.'
3.3. Sub-Clausal Phrases
Subject
= ConjNounGroups | ConjCompClauses
- Yegicak da tosuz noyotak befej movo fopak. 'Linguists
and small children should be quiet.'
- Ba gimeg wasek winic movo co pipa madmeku. 'That
people fear the elements of nature is a fact of life.'
Object
= ConjNounGroups | ConjCompClauses | AdjPhrase
| PrepPhrase
- Yegicak kiyaf tosuz noyotak. 'Linguists eat small
children.'
- Yegicak keweg ba detog tikyika ligyu yujde. 'Linguists
believe that certain ideas sleep furiously.'
- Yavosa movo vegyo zufpo. 'Your eyes are very beautiful.'
- Co latok wedug gaftu movoni je wibaf. 'Your paycheck
is in the drawer.'
VerbGroup
= (ADV | PrepPhrase)... VERB...
- Yebet diyuzen ba latok dojgamu vegyo zatmu gibwani
yapapis. 'Wrap this around your neck very tightly.'
PrepPhrase
= @PREP ConjNounGroups
- Yebet bando wufwi po mi zikadil lokis je avuz majag
yudod. 'I saw the man on the hill with the telescope.'
- Yebet zikadil lokis je avuz va movo co wufwi majag
yudod. 'I saw the man on the hill with the telescope.'
ConjNounGroups
= NounGroup (@CONJ NounGroup)...
- Ze yulufum nujov je tobja to sediv. 'Is this the
way to Hell or high water?'
NounGroup
= @PRN | (AdjPhrase) NOUN (SubjRelClause
| ObjRelClause)
- Mi zikadotil yebet. 'He/she/it didn't see me.'
- Fine yufab tikyika ligyu yujde. 'Colorless green
ideas sleep furiously.'
- Fine yufab tikyika va kiyaf yidloka yason ligyuva
yujde. 'Colorless green ideas that eat beans sleep even more furiously.'
- Fine yufab tikyika mu yetun yegicak pejyuga yujde.
'Colorless green ideas that are hatched by linguists sleep the most soundly.'
AdjPhrase
= (ADV | PrepPhrase)... ADJ...
- Walomu vegyo gaksi movo je suvoj zufpoga fotwe wajoku.
'This is very possibly the most beautiful white poodle in the world.'
3.4. Word Forms
ADJ
= @AdjStemC (@ComparisonV) | @AdjStemV (@ComparisonC)
- ladlava 'stronger'
- babekav 'more nonabsorbent'
- jentuga 'hottest'
- fanibag 'most tangible'
ADV
= @AdvStemC (@ComparisonV) | @AdvStemV (@ComparisonC)
- guyusav 'more superficially'
- mabjova 'faster'
- guyusag 'most superficially'
- mabjoga 'fastest'
NOUN
= @NounStemC (@Nbr @DefProx) | @NounStemV
(@DefProx @Nbr)
- ovlumu 'this (by me) book'
- ovlusi 'that/those (by you) book(s)'
- ovlusa 'those (by you) books'
- ovluda 'those (by him/her/it) books'
- ovluza 'some books'
- ovluka 'books'
- ovluzi 'some book(s)'
- ovluzu 'some book'
- cozomum 'this (by me) douglas fir'
- cozomis 'that/those (by you) douglas fir(s)'
- cozomas 'those (by you) douglas firs'
- cozomad 'those (by him/her/it) douglas firs'
- cozomaz 'some douglas firs'
- cozomak 'douglas firs'
- cozomiz 'some douglas fir(s)'
- cozomuz 'some douglas fir'
VERB
= VerbC | VerbV
VerbC
= VerbStemC (@Neg @Modal) (@Aspect @Tense)
- supasin 'laugh(s) now'
- supasil 'laughed previously'
- supasif 'will laugh later'
- supasal 'started laughing'
- supasul 'stopped laughing'
- supasef 'will be laughing'
- supasen 'is now in the process of laughing'
- supasotin 'am/are/is not laughing now'
- supasitin 'is _indeed_ laughing now'
- supasicin 'am/are/is not prevented from laughing
now'
- supasizin 'must now of necessity laugh'
- supasozin 'must now of necessity not laugh'
- supasocin 'am/are/is not prevented from not laughing
now'
VerbV
= VerbStemV (@Modal @Neg) (@Tense @Aspect)
- yujdeni 'sleep(s) now'
- yujdeli 'slept previously'
- yujdefi 'will sleep later'
- yujdela 'started sleeping'
- yujdelu 'stopped sleeping'
- yujdefe 'will be sleeping'
- yujdene 'is now in the process of sleeping'
- yujdetoni 'am/are/is not sleeping now'
- yujdetini 'is _indeed_ sleeping now'
- yujdecini 'am/are/is not prevented from sleeping
now'
- yujdezini 'must now of necessity sleep'
- yujdezoni 'must now of necessity not sleep'
- yujdeconi 'am/are/is not prevented from not sleeping
now'
4. Lexis
4.1. Affixes (Closed-Class, Bound Morphemes)
- @ComparisonV
- -av 'comparative (COMP)'
- -ag 'superlative (SUP)'
- @ComparisonC
- -va 'comparative (COMP)'
- -ga 'superlative (SUP)'
- @Nbr
- -i- (unspecified, UNMNBR)
- -u- 'singular (SING)'
- -a- 'plural (PL)'
- @DefProx
- -k- (unspecified, UNMDEF)
- -z- 'indefinite (INDEF)'
- -m- 'definite, near speaker (PROX1)'
- -s- 'definite, near hearer (PROX2)'
- -d- 'definite, near other (PROX3)'
- @Neg
- -i- 'affirmative (AFF)'
- -o- 'negative (NEG)'
- @Modal
- -t- (unspecified, UNMMOD)
- -c- 'possibility (POS)'
- -z- 'necessity (NEC)'
- @Tense
- -b- (unspecified)
- -l- 'past (PAST)'
- -n- 'present (PRES)'
- -f- 'future (FUT)'
- @Aspect
- -i- (unspecified, UNMASP)
- -a- 'inchoative (INCHO)'
- -e- 'progressive (PROG)'
- -u- 'cessative (CESS)'
4.2. Particles (Closed-Class, Unbound Morphemes)
- @CONJ
- da 'and (AND)'
- to 'or (OR)'
- po 'so that (SOTHAT)'
- @PREP
- co 'associated with (ASSOCWITH)'
- je 'location (LOC)'
- me 'time (TIME)'
- gu 'with respect to (WRT)'
- zev 'due to (DUETO)'
- @PRN
- mi (anaphoric reference, ANAPH)
- meg 'who (WHO)'
4.3. Stems (Open-Class, Unbound Morphemes)
Only the lexical items used in the examples above are
listed here.
- @AdjStemC
- bunab 'difficult'
- wabec 'rotten (as of meat)'
- tosuz 'small (very young, as of children)'
- fopak 'quiet (not making noise)'
- detog 'certain (particular)'
- majag 'located'
- yufab 'green'
- babek 'nonadsorbent'
- fanib 'tangible'
- @AdjStemV
- befo 'strong (of beverage)'
- socto 'thirsty'
- zufpo 'beautiful'
- fine 'colorless'
- fotwe 'white'
- ladla 'strong (physically)'
- jentu 'hot'
- @AdvStemC
- kasak 'hard (intently)'
- lokis 'atop'
- yason 'even (yet, as with comparatives)'
- guyus 'superficially'
- @AdvStemV
- ligyu 'furiously'
- vegyo 'very'
- gaftu 'inside'
- zatmu 'tightly'
- pejyu 'soundly'
- gaksi 'possibly'
- mabjo 'fast'
- @NounStemC
- avuz 'hill'
- cozom 'douglas fir'
- gecac 'nothing'
- gimeg 'people'
- latok 'hearer'
- noyot 'child (juvenile human)'
- oguz 'something'
- sediv 'high water'
- suvoj 'world (the universe in general)'
- ubob 'shoe (used in card games)'
- webeb 'meat'
- wedug 'paycheck'
- wegud 'cardinal (RC dignitary)'
- wibaf 'drawer (as of desk)'
- winic 'elements (of nature)'
- wowut 'dog (domestic)'
- yapap 'neck (of human)'
- yebet 'speaker'
- yegic 'linguist'
- yenec 'person, someone'
- yudod 'man (male adult human)'
- yuluf 'way (to a place)'
- @NounStemV
- abwe 'shoe (footwear)'
- dojga 'thing (unspecified object)'
- kikfa 'cat (domestic)'
- lildu 'vodka'
- madme 'fact (feature of reality)'
- ovlu 'book'
- pipa 'life (condition of living beings)'
- tikyi 'idea (a thought)'
- tobja 'Hell'
- udmi 'China'
- wajo 'poodle'
- walo 'animal'
- wudja 'emperor'
- wufwi 'telescope'
- yavo 'eye'
- yidlo 'bean (edible legume)'
- VerbStemC
- bawol 'bark'
- befej 'should (obligation)'
- cumim 'lose (become dissociated from)'
- cumul 'become (copula)'
- diyuz 'want'
- keweg 'believe (hold to be true)'
- kiyaf 'eat'
- mevad 'have'
- muyap 'drink'
- nujov 'lead (to a place)'
- supas 'laugh'
- vevek 'know (that something is the case)'
- wasek 'fear'
- wecis 'chase'
- yetun 'hatch (of plans or ideas)'
- zikad 'see (perceive visually)'
- VerbStemV
- bando 'use (employ)'
- boge 'meow'
- gibwa 'wrap (around)'
- movo 'be (copula)'
- pojo 'lose (misplace)'
- yujde 'sleep'
- zigma 'try (attempt)'