Máotatšàlì is the language spoken by the Tymúlaslì people of the northerly island of Tymytỳs in the West Seas. The large island iss dominated by a single kingdom, but several small groups not directly connected to the kingdom also exist in the far north of the island and on several neighboring islands. Some of these groups speak dialects of Máotatšàlì or closely related languages, while others speak the languages of the Núalís family.
Máotatšàlì has 13 consonants:
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The following transcriptions will be used:
*/x/ appears in lower class dialects, usually attached to the beginning of words that would otherwise begin with a vowel.
Máotatšàlì has 5 vowels and 2 diphthongs
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The following transcriptions will be used:
In addition these vowels snow also has three tones. All are level tones.
Máotatšàlì allows four types of syllables
The š does appear at the end of syllables, but many speakers are realizing this as [s] and syllable final [S] is becoming rarer and rarer.
The only situations where recognizing syllable separations may be a problem is when there is an s or š between two vowels.
ísàmìo
In a case like this, the s or š always acts as a final consonant for the preceding vowel.
ís-à-mìo
Another point to indicate here is that when ao or io precede w the diphthong reduces to a or i. The orthography will, however be maintained in this document.
tiokàowùs > /tiwkawus/
Máotatšàlì nouns decline for number and case. There are 3 cases, as well as three different declension paradigms
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* Add no suffix when the root ends in s. Add -ì when the root ends in š.
Nouns ending in y and æ will always be A nouns. Nouns ending in s and š will always be B nouns. Nouns ending in ao or io will always be C nouns. Nouns ending a, i, or u in high tone will always be A nouns. Others ending in a, i, or u will almost always be C nouns, but some are A nouns.
While it is not necessary to use the plural form when the number is known from other sources (eg. numerals), it is often used anyway. Both forms are in common usage. Using the plural in these cases, however, is more common among the lower class citizens, particularly in urban areas.
Here are full paradigms for a few nouns.
A Noun: root is ta-tší
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B Noun: root is ù-zùs
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C Noun: root is à-ma
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The nominative is used for the subject (agent for transitive, experiencer for intransitive):
gìtiosỳnyš æ`s.
come-SPr-CS Speaker-NOM.
"I arrive here."
xúmuštsìpaš tašmylì pumỳsỳs.
find-NPr-IF tašmy-NOM fish-ACC.
"Tašmy* can't find the fish."
*Tašmy is a male name
The accusative is used for the object of an action:
gìgitšæ`pao tiokàowùs tatšís.
love-NPa-CF girl-ACC boy-NOM.
"The girl was loved by the boy, but she didn’t love him back."
gìlionýš miokísỳs.
drink-SF water-ACC.
"Someone will drink the water."
The dative is used to indicate an indirect object, the intended recipient of an action.
gìniotá æ`tsìnìo wyšỳs tašmylì.
give-SPa-CS Speaker-DAT-PL dog-ACC tašmy-NOM.
"Tašmy gave us a dog."
Verbs are conjugated at both the beginning and end of the word. Aspect is marked at the beginning, while mood and tense are marked at the end.
Máotatšàlì has three tenses: Past, present and future. The two moods are sensory and non-sensory. Both moods exist for all three tenses, but are used slightly differently in each.
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*Sensory Past is unmarked
The aspects marked at the beginning of verbs are combinations.
Aspect is not always marked, it is sometimes left off when it is considered irrelevant to the situation.
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(V) indicates the vowel in the first syllable in the word. If that vowel is a diphthong, only the first half of the diphthong is used.
* In the lower classes the vowel is preceded by /x/
In the past and present, sensory is used for events that are known to have taken place because they were witnessed.
gìtiosỳ æ`s.
come-SPa-CS Speaker-NOM.
"I arrived here."
Non-sensory is used for for events that are known to have taken place, despite not having been witnessed.
gàtaosàopao tús.
go-NPa-CS Listener-NOM.
"You arrived there."
In the future tense, sensory is used for events that are expected or intended to happen. It can be called Intentive.
lionýš miokísỳs.
drink-SF water-ACC.
"Someone will drink the water."
Non-sensory is used for events that are hypothetical. Those events that could happen.
gíliopáš æ`s miokísỳs.
drink-FN-IS Speaker-NOM water-ACC.
"I might sip the water."
When an event is complete and successful the First aspect is used.
gùmuštsìpao tašmylì pumỳsỳs.
find-NPa-CS tašmy-NOM
fish-ACC.
"Tašmy found the fish."
When and event is complete but failed the Second aspect is used.
xùmuštsìpao tašmylì pumỳsỳs.
find-NPa-CF tašmy-NOM
fish-ACC.
"Tašmy couldn't find the fish."
Third is used when it is not complete but expected to succeed.
gúmuštsìpaš tašmylì pumỳsỳs.
find-NPr-CF tašmy-NOM
fish-ACC.
"Tašmy is finding the fish."
Fourth is used when the event is incomplete and expected to fail.
xúmuštsìpaš tašmylì pumỳsỳs.
find-NPr-CF tašmy-NOM
fish-ACC.
"Tašmy is searching for the fish."
Unspecified is used when the completion and success of the event are not known or do not apply to the situation. This can be used to talk about things that happen regularly, especially when they have varying degrees of success.
pumỳpaš tašmylì.
fish-NPr-U tašmy-NOM.
"Tašmy fishes."
The verb "to be" (root form "ni") is a special case; it does not function in the same way as other verbs. "To be" has only three forms: past, present, and future.
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niỳs àolaošỳs æ`s.
be-Pr goat-ACC Speaker-NOM.
"I am a goat."
Pronouns function as nouns, taking the regular case endings for the appropriate situation.
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Adjectives and adverbs work the same way, and most can be used as either. Adjectives do not agree with the noun or verb in any way. They can, however, be modified to alter their intensity.
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Like the aspect markers, the adjective modifiers use a repetition of the first vowel in the root. When there is no initial consonant the prefix for "less" and "more" will simply be an initial z or g. When an initial consonant is present the vowel will be duplicated.
gisàmìo
smooth-LES
"less smooth"
zúkutšùlù
cold-MOR
"very cold"
For the "least" and "most" forms the prefix alters initial vowels. When the prefix attaches it gives the initial vowel high tone.* When there is an initial consonant the prefix duplicates the first vowel, but changes the duplicate to high tone.
gísàmìo
smooth-LES
"least smooth"
zukutšùlù
cold-MOR
"coldest"
*Please note that the first vowel in adjectives is always low or mid tone.
There are also "more" and "most", "less" and "least" adjectives to modify others adjectives that are acting as nouns. These four adjectives only every appear in the base form.
The number system in Máotatšàlì is base-12. The third column contains the number in base-12 while the first and second are the numbers in English and Máotatšàlì.
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Following this pattern, the largest base-12 number one could create would be BBBBBB:
zàtǽzǽ zàtǽ gatǽga zàtǽzǽ zàtǽ tǽgatǽ zàtǽzǽ zàtǽ
ninety nine ten-thousand ninety nine hundred ninety nine
"two million nine hundred eighty five thousand nine hundred eighty
three"
Verbs in all aspects can be turned into nouns. This is done by simply applying the regular case endings. If the verb root ends in s or š it is a B Noun; those ending in y and æ will be A Nouns, those ending in other vowels will decline as C Nouns. These will carry a meaning basically analogous to the meaning of the verb in the given aspect.
A verb can also be turned into an agentive noun. An agentive noun is "one who does" a verb. The agentive is formed by adding the nao suffix to the verb, the verb may or may not be marked for aspect.
taozàonao
go-AGT
"Traveller"
Adjectives can also be used as nouns. This often used in cases of comparison.
ni àtǽ tawùs tsaonàolì túnìo
be-Pr more big-ACC tree-NOM Listener-DAT
"The tree was bigger that you"
Nouns can be used as adjectives as well. This is used to indicate possession.
gìsipao tasmy pumỳtsỳs kyláozulì
eat-PN-CS Tašmy fish-ACC-PLU Kyláozu-NOM
"Apparently Kyláozu* ate Tašmy's fishes"
*Kyláozu is a female name
Verbs, when used as adjectives, are usually used to demonstrate that an object it used for a specific activity. For this meaning the root form, unmarked for aspect, is used.
niš ùmù wytýsỳs
be-F sleep place-ACC
"This will be a bedroom"