#+title: Zikãti #+setupfile: headers * Zikãti Zikãti ({{{phon(d̻͡zikãti)}}}) is an agglutinative language I am currently working on as an experiment. It doesn’t have any worldbuilding around it yet and may never have. I’m mostly experimenting with vocabulary generation with a language relying heavily on affixes modifying the meaning of a root word. ** Phonology *** Consonants Zikãti has a moderately small consonant inventory with seventeen phonemes. Three of these phonemes are prenasalized plosives, and its alveolar consonants are laminal. - b :: {{{phon(b)}}} - d :: {{{phon(d̻)}}} - g :: {{{phon(ŋ)}}} - h :: {{{phon(h)}}} - k :: {{{phon(k)}}} - l :: {{{phon(ʟ)}}} - m :: {{{phon(m)}}} - mb :: {{{phon(ᵐb)}}} - n :: {{{phon(n̻)}}} - nd :: {{{phon(ⁿd̻)}}} - nz :: {{{phon(ⁿd̻͡z)}}} - p :: {{{phon(p)}}} - q :: {{{phon(kʷ)}}} - r :: {{{phon(r̻)}}} - s :: {{{phon(s̻)}}} - t :: {{{phon(t̻)}}} - z :: {{{phon(d̻͡z)}}} | | bilabial | lamino-alveolar | velar | labial-velar | glottal | |------------------------------+----------+-----------------+-------+--------------+---------| | nasal | m | n | g | | | | nasalized plosive | mb | nd | | | | | nasalized sibilant affricate | | nz | | | | | plosive | p b | t d | k | q | | | affricate | | z | | | | | fricative | | s | | | h | | trill | | r | | | | | lateral approximant | | | l | | | *** Vowels Zikãti has a total of six vowels, which makes it relatively average in terms of size. Three of these vowels are nazalised: - a :: {{{phon(a)}}} - ã :: {{{phon(ã)}}} - ẽ :: {{{phon(ɛ̃)}}} - i :: {{{phon(i)}}} - õ :: {{{phon(ɔ̃)}}} - u :: {{{phon(u)}}} #+name: vow-dot-gen #+header: :var vowels=vowels-featural-list #+begin_src emacs-lisp :wrap "src dot :file ./zikati/vowel-feature-tree.png :eval no-export :mkdirp t :results none" (conlanging-graphviz-feature-tree vowels :label "vowels") #+end_src #+RESULTS[186d29b605ead5cf2fc03c537509869aa1e7cfd3]: vow-dot-gen #+begin_src dot :file ./zikati/vowel-feature-tree.png :eval no-export :mkdirp t :results none graph{graph[dpi=300,bgcolor="transparent"];node[shape=plaintext];"vowels-0ju8102v5o9f"[label="vowels"];"+round-0ju8102v5o9y"[label="+round"];"vowels-0ju8102v5o9f"--"+round-0ju8102v5o9y";"+nasal-0ju8102v5ob0"[label="+nasal"];"+round-0ju8102v5o9y"--"+nasal-0ju8102v5ob0";"/ɔ̃/-0ju8102v5obs"[label="/ɔ̃/"];"+nasal-0ju8102v5ob0"--"/ɔ̃/-0ju8102v5obs";"-nasal-0ju8102v5oba"[label="-nasal"];"+round-0ju8102v5o9y"--"-nasal-0ju8102v5oba";"/u/-0ju8102v5ocj"[label="/u/"];"-nasal-0ju8102v5oba"--"/u/-0ju8102v5ocj";"-round-0ju8102v5oa7"[label="-round"];"vowels-0ju8102v5o9f"--"-round-0ju8102v5oa7";"+low-0ju8102v5odd"[label="+low"];"-round-0ju8102v5oa7"--"+low-0ju8102v5odd";"+nasal-0ju8102v5oe3"[label="+nasal"];"+low-0ju8102v5odd"--"+nasal-0ju8102v5oe3";"/ã/-0ju8102v5oet"[label="/ã/"];"+nasal-0ju8102v5oe3"--"/ã/-0ju8102v5oet";"-nasal-0ju8102v5oec"[label="-nasal"];"+low-0ju8102v5odd"--"-nasal-0ju8102v5oec";"/a/-0ju8102v5ofj"[label="/a/"];"-nasal-0ju8102v5oec"--"/a/-0ju8102v5ofj";"-low-0ju8102v5odm"[label="-low"];"-round-0ju8102v5oa7"--"-low-0ju8102v5odm";"+nasal-0ju8102v5oga"[label="+nasal"];"-low-0ju8102v5odm"--"+nasal-0ju8102v5oga";"/ɛ̃/-0ju8102v5ogz"[label="/ɛ̃/"];"+nasal-0ju8102v5oga"--"/ɛ̃/-0ju8102v5ogz";"-nasal-0ju8102v5ogi"[label="-nasal"];"-low-0ju8102v5odm"--"-nasal-0ju8102v5ogi";"/i/-0ju8102v5oho"[label="/i/"];"-nasal-0ju8102v5ogi"--"/i/-0ju8102v5oho";} #+end_src #+html: Zikãti Vowels Featural Tree **** Private Data :noexport: #+name: vowels-featural-list #+begin_src emacs-lisp '("round" ("nasal" "/ɔ̃/" "/u/") ("low" ("nasal" "/ã/" "/a/") ("nasal" "/ɛ̃/" "/i/"))) #+end_src *** Syllable and word structure | Group | Consonants | |-----------+--------------------------------------| | C | m n g mb nd nz p b t d z k q s h r l | | C_{2} | g p b t d z k q r h | | V | i u ẽ õ a ã | | V[-nasal] | i u a | | V[+nasal] | ã ẽ õ | Prefixes follow the (C_{2})V[-nasal] phonetic structure, with C_{2} being optional. Suffixes follow the CV[+nasal](C_{2}) structure with C_{2} being optional. Roots are a bit more complex, with a C(V[+nasal](C_{2})C)V[-nasal](C_{2}) structure. The only consonants that can follow the vowels /õ/ and /ẽ/ are non-nasal plosive consonants. These two vowels cannot follow the consonants /m/, /n/, or /g/. If such an occurence is created be it while constructing a word or when they co-occur between words, a dummy {{{phon(u)}}} is added. A word may contain one or more core roots which affixes cannot separate but which can aggregate around this word core. A word can consist of its bare core only, or the core surrounded by affixes. The amount of prefixes and suffixes is independent from each other. ** Grammar *** Word structure **** Affixes Most words in Zikãti is an agglutination of affixes around one or more roots or words. Roots are relatively rare to find by themselves since most of them are bound morphenes and not words by themselves, such as /kãti/ which expresses the idea of a mountain but doesn’t really mean anything on its own, speakers of Zikãti cannot use it by itself. For the meaning of some abbreviations in the list of prefixes and suffixes, see [[file:zikãti.md#Abbreviations][Abbreviations]]. ***** Prefixes - hi- :: INSTV - hu- :: TOOL - i- :: COL - ka- :: POSSIB - pi- :: DIM - qa- :: AUG - qi- :: ADJ - qu- :: PROG - ra- :: LOC - ru- :: NEG - ti- :: CAUS - zi- :: PERS ***** Suffixes - -dãt :: PART - -gãs :: AGAT - -hãr :: NECESS - -hẽ :: INTR - -kõt :: PARTN - -nzẽz :: AVER - -rã :: TR - -sõr :: NOMIN - -zãr :: PASS *** Word order Zikãti is a postpositional language following the SOV word order in main clauses, meaning the verb comes last whereas the subject comes first and the object slots itself between the subject and the verb. However, due to the language’s agglutinative nature, the speaker can omit them in the sentence if the verb’s agreement is enough in context to determine what is being talked about. #+html: ::: tip Example sahhẽqulur - sah-hẽ-qu-lur - spirit.mind-INTR-PROG-2sg.NOM.PST You were thinking #+html: ::: #+html: ::: tip Example zimbi mbisõr mbirãilih - zi-mbi mbi-sõr mbi-rã-i-lih - PERS-meat.food meat.food-NOMIN meat.food-TR-3s.NOM.NPST-3s.ACC.NPST The cook prepares a meal #+html: ::: Other elements that are not the subject or the object, such as a dative or an oblique element, get slotted between the subject and the object. #+html: ::: tip Example zimbi pimbi ziirailik timbirãhilih - zi-mbi pi-mbi zi-i-ra-i-lik ti-mbi-rã-hi-lih - PERS-meat.food DIM-COL-LOC-COL-person.human CAUS-meat.food-TR-3s.NOM.PST-3s.ACC.PST A cook fed a villager a snack #+html: ::: **** Noun phrase order In noun phrases, adjectives, relatives clauses, numerals, possessives, and genitives preceed the noun while determiners follow it. By order of element closest to the noun, they rank as follows: - determiner - possessive - adjective - numeral - genitive - relative *** Verbs Verbs in Zikãti agree with their subject and object in person and number, with anaphoric clitics, but these clitics also indicate the tense of the verb. Zikãti has two tenses: past and non-past which expresses present and future as well as near-past when its events still carry over to the present. Anaphoric clitics are suffixed to the verb with the subject first followed by the object’s clitic. | | non-past subject | non-past object | past subject | past object | |-----+------------------+-----------------+--------------+-------------| | 1s | qa | tut | raq | qut | | 2s | lu | pia | lur | a | | 3s | i | lih | hi | lih | | 4s | bu | qur | bu | qur | | 1px | gai | ar | gai | tar | | 1pi | zu | iq | qir | zur | | 2p | lai | iaz | uit | iaz | | 3p | pi | up | au | up | #+html: ::: tip Example - kãtikõthẽqa :: I hike - kãtikõthẽbu :: it hikes - kãtikõthẽgai :: we (but not the interlocutor) hike #+html: ::: ** Abbreviations - ACC :: accusative - ADJ :: adjective - adj. :: adjective - adv. :: adverb - AGAT :: agative (prone to smth, liking) - AUG :: augmentative - AVER :: avertive, badness - CAUS :: causative - COL :: collective, collection - con. :: concept - DIM :: diminutive - INSTV :: instantiative - INTR :: intransitive verb - LOC :: locative - n. :: noun - NECESS :: necessitive - NEG :: negative - NOM :: nominative - NOMIN :: nominalisation, nominalizer - NPST :: non-past - PART :: participle - PARTN :: partisan - PASS :: passive verb - PERS :: person - POSSIB :: possibility, capacity, ability - PROG :: progressive, process - PST :: past - TOOL :: thing, tool - TR :: transitive verb - vi. :: intransitive verb - vt. :: transitive verb ** Vocabulary *** mbi - meat, food - mbi (n.) :: meat, food - mbisõr (n.) :: a meal - mbihẽ (vi.) :: to cook, to prepare food #+html: ::: tip Example qumbihẽqa - qu-mbi-hẽ-qa - PROG-meat.food-INTR-1s I’m preparing food / I’m cooking #+html: ::: - mbirã (vt.) :: to cook (something) #+html: ::: tip Example zimbi mbisõr qumbirãiqur - zi-mbi mbi-sõr qu-mbi-rã-i-qur - PERS-meat.food meat.food-NOMIN PROG-meat.food-TR-3s.NOM-4s.ACC The cook is cooking the meal #+html: ::: - mbirãzãr (vt.) :: to be cooked by #+html: ::: tip Example mbisõr zimbi qumbirãzãrbulih - mbi-sõr zi-mbi qu-mbi-rã-zãr-bu-lih - meat.food-NOMIN PERS-meat.food PROG-meat.food-TR-PASS-4s.NOM-3s.ACC The meal is being cooked by the cook #+html: ::: - qimbi (adj.) :: edible - mbidãt (adj.) :: cooked - zimbi (n.) :: a cook, chef - rambi (n.) :: a kitchen - zirambi (n.) :: a chef - humbi (n.) :: a knife - humbihẽ (vi.) :: to stick a knife in something - humbirã (vt.) :: to cut - zihumbirã (n.) :: a butcher - humbirãsõr (n.) :: a cut - timbirã (vt.) :: to feed someone - timbihẽ (vi.) :: to feed oneself - qambi (n.) :: a meal, feast - pimbi (n.) :: a snack *** keti - mountain - kãti (n., concept) :: mountain - kãtisõr :: a mountain - pikãti (n.) :: a hill - qakãti (n.) :: summit