Elw language
The Elw language is an ergative–absolutive agglutinating language spoken in Elwynn, Wintergleam and Talenore.
Background
Blah, blah, language of Elwynn
Phonology and orthography
Consonants
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Retroflex | Palatal | Uvular | Glottal | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | ⟨ m ⟩ / m / |
⟨ n ⟩ / n / |
⟨ n ⟩ / ŋ̊ / |
⟨ n ⟩ / ŋ / |
⟨ n ⟩ / ɴ / |
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| Stop | ⟨ p ⟩ / p / |
⟨ b ⟩ / b / |
⟨ t ⟩ / t / |
⟨ d ⟩ / d / |
⟨ q ⟩ / q / |
⟨ g ⟩ / ɢ / |
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| Sibilant fricative | ⟨ s ⟩ / s / |
⟨ z ⟩ / z / |
⟨ š ⟩ / ʂ / |
⟨ ž ⟩ / ʐ / |
⟨ k ⟩ / k / |
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| Non-sibilant fricative | ⟨ f ⟩ / ɸ / |
⟨ v ⟩ / β / |
⟨ š ⟩ / ɕ / |
⟨ ž ⟩ / ʑ / |
⟨ q ⟩ / χ / |
⟨ r ⟩ / ʁ / |
⟨ h ⟩ / h / |
⟨ ħ ⟩ / ɦ / | ||||||
| Approximant | ⟨ j ⟩ / j / |
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| Lateral approximant | ⟨ ł ⟩ / l̥ / |
⟨ l ⟩ / l / |
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/ q / and / χ / are allophones both written . In a syllable-initial position, ⟨ q ⟩ is pronounced / q / and in a syllable-final position it is pronounced / χ /. The pronunciation of qoq is therefore / qoχ /
/ ʂ / and / ʐ / appear only before / a /, / o /, / u / and / ə / and as a final. They are allophones with / ɕ / and / ʑ / respectively, who appear in the other positions.
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | ⟨ i ⟩ / i / |
⟨ u ⟩ / u / | |
| Close-mid | ⟨ o ⟩ / o / | ||
| Mid | ⟨ e ⟩ / ə / |
||
| Open | ⟨ a ⟩ / a / |
Each vowel except ⟨ e ⟩ / ə / can be made long, in which case in orthography, the letter is doubled, e.g. ⟨ a ⟩ becomes / a: / ⟨ aa ⟩.
Syllabic structure
Generally speaking, syllables are V, CV, VL, or CVL where V is a vowel, C is any consonant, and L is any non-stop consonant.
However, there are some illegal syllables under these rules, all around the vowel / i /. / i / can never come before uvular consonants. The vowel / i / would under these conditions be realized as / ə / and written ⟨ e ⟩. Similarly, / u / can never appear before uvular consonants. The vowel is then allophonically realized as / o / and written ⟨ o ⟩.
Grammar
Pronouns
Personal pronouns
| I | We | You (sg) | You (pl) | Zie | They | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| absolutive | an | arus | ili | ilis | un | orus |
| ergative | aneh | aruhes | ilih | ilihes | uneh | oruhes |
| instrumental | anmeq | aruneq | ilimeq | ilineq | unmeq | oruneq |
| allative | anmus | arunus | ilimus | ilinus | unmus | orunus |
| locative | anen | aruni | ilin | ilini | unyn | oruni |
| ablative | anmes | arunes | ilimes | ilines | unmes | orunes |
| prosecutive | anios | aruzios | ilios | ilizios | unios | oruzios |
| equative | andus | arudus | ilidus | ilidus | undus | orudos |
Nominals
Cases
Absolutive
Ergative
Instrumental
Allative
Locative
Ablative
Prosecutive
Equative
Simple nominals
| Singular | Plural | English approx. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| absolutive | -Ø, -q, -r | (y)s | kizoq | kizos | |
| ergative | -(e)h | -hes | kizoh | kizohys | |
| instrumental | -meq | -neq | kizomeq | kizoneq | "using the cat" |
| allative | -mus | -nus | kizomus | kizonus | "toward the cat" |
| locative | -(e)n | -ni | kizon | kizoni | "in the cat" |
| ablative | -mes | -nes | kizomes | kizones | "from the cat" |
| prosecutive | -jos, -ios, -os | zios | kizojos | kizozios | "with the cat", "along the cat" |
| equative | -dus | -dus | kizodus | kizodus | "like a cat" |
Possessives
| Possessor | Singular | Plural | Example | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person sg | ra | ja, ia | kizora "my cat" | kizoja "my cats" |
| 2nd person sg | (i)s | sis | kizos "your cat" | kizosis "your cats" |
| 3rd person sg | a | e | kizoa "his cat" | kizoe "his cats" |
| 1st person pl | bus | hus | kizobus "our cat" | kizohus "our cats" |
| 2nd person pl | ze | se | kizoze "your cat" | kizose "your cats" |
| 3rd person pl | as | es | kizoas "their cat" | kizoes "their cats" |
Complex nominals/possessives
When the nominal is inflected in another case than absolutive, the possessive comes afterwards. If this means that two consonants will follow each other in the stem, the schwa / ə /, written ⟨ e ⟩, is added inbetween:
- Kizohera qimnea neriaa:
- / kizohəʁa qimnea nəʁiaː /
- Cat (ergative, possessive first person singular) dog (absolutive, possessive third person singuar) eats (intransitive; indicative):
- My cat eats his dog.
Verbs
Verbs are inflected differently depending on if they take an intransitive or transitive form. In Elw grammar, a transitive form occurs when there is a nominal agent (an object) to the verb.
There are no tenses in Elw; however the verbs are inflected by their mood.
Moods
Intransitive
| Indicative | Interrogative | Imperative | Optative | Conjunctive | Conditional | Participial | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person sg | -on | -(e)q | -lam | -ram | -ona | -son | |
| 2nd person sg | -ozys | -(e)s | -(e)hi | -lames | -rames | -ahes | -suzes |
| 3rd person sg | -or | -a | -li | -rame | -oni | -ses | |
| 1st person pl | -ohus | -za | -ha | -lajus | -rada | -ruza | -sus |
| 2nd person pl | -oze | -ze | -haze | -laze | -raze | -ruze | -suze |
| 3rd person pl | -bus | -zas | -lis | -rameq | -runeq | -suhus |
Here follows an example of neri- (to eat):
| Indicative | Interrogative | Imperative | Optative | Conjunctive | Conditional | Participial | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person sg | nerion | nereq | nerilam | nereram | neriona | nerison | |
| 2nd person sg | neriozes | neris | nerihi | nerilames | nererames | neriahes | nerisuses |
| 3rd person sg | nerior | neria | nerili | nereramy | nerioni | nerises | |
| 1st person pl | neriohus | neriza | neriha | nerilajus | nererada | nereruza | nerisus |
| 2nd person pl | nerioze | nerize | nerihaze | nerilaze | nereraze | nereruze | nerisuze |
| 3rd person pl | neribus | nerizas | nerilis | nererameq | nereruneq | nerisuhus |
