Elw language
The Elw language is an ergative–absolutive agglutinating language spoken in Elwynn, Wintergleam and Talenore.
Background
Blah, blah, language of Elwynn
Phonology
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 / |
⟨ h ⟩ / h / |
⟨ ħ ⟩ / ɦ / | |||||||
| Trill | ⟨ ř ⟩ / r̥ / |
⟨ r ⟩ / r / |
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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 /
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | ⟨ i ⟩ / i / |
⟨ u ⟩ / u / | |
| Close-mid | ⟨ o ⟩ / o / | ||
| Mid | ⟨ e ⟩ / e / |
⟨ y, e ⟩ / ə / |
|
| Open | ⟨ a ⟩ / a / |
Each vowel except ⟨ y, e ⟩ / ə / can be made long, in which case in orthography, the letter is doubled, e.g. ⟨ a ⟩ becomes / a: / ⟨ aa ⟩.
The vowel / ə / is written ⟨ y ⟩ except before ⟨ q ⟩, ⟨ r ⟩ and ⟨ g ⟩ when it is written ⟨ e ⟩ . ⟨ er ⟩, ⟨ eq ⟩, and ⟨ eg ⟩ are therefore pronounced with the vowel as / ə /.
Syllabic structure
Grammar
Pronouns
Personal pronouns
| I | We | You (sg) | You (pl) | Zie | They | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| absolutive | an | arus | ili | ilis | un | urus |
| ergative | anyh | aruhys | ilih | ilihys | unyh | uruhys |
| instrumental | anmeq | aruneq | ilimeq | ilineq | unmeq | uruneq |
| allative | anmus | arunus | ilimus | ilinus | unmus | urunus |
| locative | anyn | aruni | ilin | ilini | unyn | uruni |
| ablative | anmys | arunys | ilimys | ilinys | unmys | urunys |
| prosecutive | anios | aruzios | ilios | ilizios | unios | uruzios |
| equative | andus | arudus | ilidus | ilidus | undus | urudos |
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 | -(y)h | -hys | kizoh | kizohys | |
| instrumental | -meq | -neq | kizomeq | kizoneq | "using the cat" |
| allative | -mus | -nus | kizomus | kizonus | "toward the cat" |
| locative | -(y)n | -ni | kizon | kizoni | "in the cat" |
| ablative | -mys | -nys | kizomys | kizonys | "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 (-y-) is added inbetween:
- Kizohyra qimnea neriaa:
- 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 | -(y)s | -(y)hi | -lamys | -ramys | -ahys | -suzys |
| 3rd person sg | -os | -a | -li | -ramy | -oni | -sys | |
| 1st person pl | -ohus | -za | -ha | -lajus | -rada | -ruza | -sus |
| 2nd person pl | -oze | -zy | -hazy | -lazy | -razy | -ruzy | -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 | neriram | neriona | nerison | |
| 2nd person sg | neriozys | neris | nerihi | nerilamys | neriramys | neriahys | nerisusys |
| 3rd person sg | nerios | neria | nerili | neriramy | nerioni | nerisys | |
| 1st person pl | neriohus | neriza | neriha | nerilajus | nerirada | neriruza | nerisus |
| 2nd person pl | nerioze | nerizy | nerihazy | nerilazy | nerirazy | neriruzy | nerisuze |
| 3rd person pl | neribus | nerizas | nerilis | nerirameq | neriruneq | nerisuhus |
