Yïåf Yïåf is the descendant of A’gaf of Ayasth of Adata of Ndak ta. It is the language used approximately 500 years to 900 years since A’gaf was created as a language for the people of Fèråh (formerly Fadah). Yïåf is now the lingua franca of the region spoken by many millions of people but mostly onlky as a second language to communicate with other people in the nearby area. Otherwise, they use their own languages which were all originally dialects of A’gaf. Sound change Rules V*=ouOeiEjAa{29yV7MIU1 B*=ouOaV7M R*=ouOU G*=V7M E*=EeiI Y*=92y F*=92y{eiEjAI C*=kgNxM\wtdnslrRcJ\JCjSzhpbfv U*=tdnslP*Szh K*=kgNxM\ D*=tdnslr P*=cJ\JCj *a refers to A *’d capital letters refer to the groups rather than the phonemes p/f/V*_V* t/s/V*_F* t/f/V*_V* f/ph/V*_V* s/h/_# s/d/V*_V* x/kh/V*_V* h//C*_ K*/K*w/_R* l/w/_R* K*/P*/_E* t/c/_E* d/J\/_E* n/J/_E* s/S/_E* l/z/_E* h/C/_E* x/R/_C* e/je/_C*V* o/wo/_C*V* 2/y2/_C*V* E/V/_K* e/7/_K* i/M/_K* 9/O/_K* 2/o/_K* y/u/_K* E*/G*/_K* Y*/R*/_K* R*/G*/U*_U* l/r/_ x,g/M\/V*_V* k/x/V*_V* g//V*_wV* k/x/V*_wV* z,d/r/V*_V* s/z/V*_V* t/s/V*_V* f,b/v/V*_V* p/f/V*_V* S,C,J\/j/V*_V* c/C/V*_V* 2/I/_C*(C*)1 2/I/_C*(C*)i 2/I/_C*(C*)u 2/I/_C*(C*)o 2/I/_1 2/I/_i 2/I/_u 2/I/_o 2//V*C*_# 2//V*C*_C*V* {/E/_C*(C*){ {/E/_C*(C*)E* a/V/_C*(C*)a a/V/_C*(C*)R* {/E/_{ {/E/_E* a/V/_a a/V/_R* {/1/_Ca* a/1/_C{* x//_w x/h/_ w/u/_ j/i/_ M\/M/_ r/R/_ i/e/_R i/e/R_ u/o/_R u/o/R_ M/7/R_ M/7/_R y/2/R_ y/2/_R removal of double vowels e.g. aa>a and vowel clusters like 4 vowels in row that aren’t allophonically approximants. Consonants labial alveolar palatal velar Uvular glottal stop p b t d c J\ k g nasal m n J N fricative f v s z C R h Phonology Vowels Front Central Back Close i y 1 M u Lax Close I U Close-mid e 2 7 o Open-mid E 9 V O Open { A The diphthongs are: üö ie uo au ou ai ei öi aï oï eï öï pronounced the same as their constitute parts i.e. au is pronounced like a+u : /{_u/. Au is the most common. The vowels all become nasal before a nasal consonant and the nasal consonant dissapears before a consonant or at the end of a word. R usually becomes /X/ next to a voiceless consonant. When there is a voiced consonant next to a voiceless one, the first of the 2 determines if both are voiced or not. Intervocalic and initial u,i and ï are usually pronounced /w/,/j/ and /M\ respectively. All sandhi and umlaut from A’gaf and Ayasth is either now phonemic rather than allophonic or non-existant. Phonological Constraints Basically (C)V(C) but a consonant can not be next to another of the same. If that happens by adding an affix, one is removed. Pitch Accent The accented syllable is high, the ones before it and the one immediately after are at an intermediate pitch and any others are low. The pitch accent system in Yïåf is entirely unpredictable otherwise and does not contribute to meaning so it is ok if you do not put the accent on the right syllable but you will sound a bit weird. Orthography /{ e i A E O 7 M I U 9 2 y o u V 1/ /k g N t d n s R c J\ J C S z h p b f v/ Morphology Nominal Morphology New nouns can be made in Yïåf by joining 2 other nouns together. As with A’gaf, nouns are only marked for case. However, the cases are slightly different. Intransitive - The subject of an intransitive verb. No prefix Accusative - The object of a transitive verb. ö(u)- Ergative - the subject of a transitive verb. g(ö)- Essive – used to describe something temporarily being another. daï- Instrumental – used to describe using something. pa- Abessive – lacking in something, no x ör- Ablative – Place where movement started. dof- Dative – indirect object, place where movement ended. duo- Inessive – describing being inside something giè- Illative – describing going inside something öï- Elative – describing going out of something ret- Personal Possessive Adjectives: oh – my oï – your (singular) åh – his/her/its öhòc – our oïòc – your (plural) åhòc – their The personal possessive adjectives and the determiners follow the noun they qualify. Determiners föd – a small part of fac – few davöd – a part of davac - several òföd – a large part of òfac –many aïöd – all of aïac - every Articles The indefinite article is shown by 1 (cüö) and the definite article is shown by zero/is default. Demonstratives Personal Pronouns 1st sing 2nd sing 3rd sing 1st plural 2nd plural 3rd plural Intransitive üyhüö gügüö åhüö yuòc guguòc yuyuòc Accusative öüyhüö ögüö öuåhüö öuòc öguòc öuyuòc Ergative ngüö nguò gåh èi gau gyuòc Ablative düöfüö düönfuò düöfåh düöfèi düöfüyïau düöfyuòc Dative nai donguò nau gièi duoïau dau Essive gahüö ganuò dıïåh gèhièi gèïau daïyuòc Instrumental pè pa pıhah piyïyc pòc paryc Abessive üörÿ üıuò üöråh üırei üörau üöryuò öïè –this örciè –these öïö – that örcüö – those The inessive, illative and elative are not used with the personal pronouns. Correlatives Query This That Some No Every Adjective èh ıiè yïö davıiè basüö aïyhciè Person iyïau gah iyïau ıiè iyïau yïö iyïau davıiè paiyïau iyïau aïyhciè Thing gah ıiè yïö davıiè pai aïyhciè Place bar gerör garör daorör barör N/A Time sër gèih hièr dyf byr N/A Way èf hiep N/A davep N/A N/A Reason yuòh hiesüö N/A dafüö basòh N/A Yes (årüö) is used to express and, x maybe(zec) y maybe to express or and no(ör) to express but: iåïarÿ cüö årüö iåïarÿ güö årüö 1 lamb chop and 2 more iåïarÿ cüö zec iåïarÿ güö zec Either 1 lamb chop or 2 iåïarÿ cüö årüö iåïarÿ güö ör 1 lamb chop but not 2 Nouns can be turned into adjectives be prefixing them with ög- . Adjectives can be turned into nouns by adding –ngèn as a suffix. Adjectives can be turned into adverbs by adding öt- as a prefix. Nouns can be turned into adverbs by adding fa-. Verbal Morphology Verbs all take mood prefixes and there are 2 classes of verbs which 2 different sorts of endings. Mood: Indicative positive – to say something’s happening - Indicative negative – to say something isn’t happening pu- (sensibly with no umlaut) Subjunctive positive – to say something would happen in x circumstances düö- Subjunctive negative – to say something would not happen in x circumstances darsa- Optative positive – to say something you want to happen uh- Optative negative - to say something you don’t want to happen ungant- Conditional positive – to say something that is a condition for something else happening os- Conditional negative- to say something that is a condition for something else not happening uosaisa- Question zeh- Tense/Aspect: Past Imperfect-for action the past continuing into present. Present Imperfect-for action only in present. Past Perfect-for action only in past. Past perfect Group 1 Group 2 1st singular -ön -nön 2nd singular -nguòn -nön 3rd singular -ön -nön 1st plural - -gi 2nd plural -guo -düö 3rd plural -üö -düö Past imperfect Group 1 Group 2 1st singular -nün -tün 2nd singular -dynguòn -tynguòn 3rd singular -nün -tün 1st plural -düıi -tüıi 2nd plural -dyuo -tyuo 3rd plural -dü -tü Present Imperfect -mènraüıiè after other imperfect endings There is also the imperative which is the basic given form of a verb. Voice A’gaf voice has changed into separate verbs rather than forms of the 1 verb. Syntax Yïåf has basic VSO word order: The king has killed him. kill-PastPerfect-3rd singular he-Accusative Ergative-king fèsön öuåhüö gögierha In a nominal phrase, the basic order is noun, number, adjective relating to character, adjective relating to appearance, other adjective, correlative adjective, demonstrative: These 3 soft yellow stones Stone 3 soft yellow these Tögiarÿ dau öïvèståvès hèimèn örciè The cases are always even in coordinating constructions: From the field and trading Ablative-Trading yes Ablative-field yes Dofciehin årüö dofciev årüö Possessive constructions are formed just by putting the possessed noun before the possessor and turning the possessor into an adjective by adding ög-: Land of kakhad Land Adjective-kakhad gièscar ögcahad Possessive constructions are also used to specify locative phrases: On the Table top Inessive-top Adjective-table gièdat ög(allophonically /k/)ciyuo Verb phrases are ordered Verb, Adverb, Auxiliary, Verbal Noun. I am nearly reborn be born- 1st singular-Present Adverb – near Adverb – second öïèsiètünmènraüıiè ötcaröh ötröïyüö Yïåf is not a pro-drop language so there must always be a pronoun even if there is no noun. To form a predicate in Yïåf, the word order is Verb Adjective Noun. Relative and Subordinate clauses are formed using the personal pronouns as conjunctions between the main and subordinate clauses. I killed the man that raped me kill-Past Perfect-1st singular Accusative-man Ergative-I he rape-Past Perfect Accusative-I fèsön öiyïau ngüö åhüö öïehinauònnön öüyhüö Sample Text Thus spoke Sinakan, (as) the great king, (as) the king of the land of Kaxad, (as) speak-PastPerfect3rdsingular, king great, king Adjective-Kakhad èvön Sinhan: gierha garoï, gierha ögcahad, brother of the sun and the moon : brother Adjective-sun yes Adjective-moon yes: baïhåt öghèimènra årüö ögfaor årüö: "Before I sat on the throne of my father, all the rival countries were hostile towards Inessive-time Negative-sit-PastPerfect1stsingular Inessive-throne Adjective-father I-Ergative, foreign_country every Adjective-enemy [gièzåt puöïåftün gièofhèr ögbah ngüö, råïauien aïac ögdaoråh me. I-Dative. nai.] The nearby rival countries spoke thus : speak-PastPerfect3rdsingular foreign_country many near: èvön råïauien òfac caröh: "His father was a brave king. “father his king brave. [bah åh gierha perar. He conquered many rival countries. conquer-PastPerfect3rdsingular foreign_country many he-Ergative. ÿvön råïauien òfac gåh And he became a god. in_addition, become-PastImperfect3rdsingular Ergative-god one he-Ergative. ciehinën öïvièruònün gögierharèie cüö gåh. But he who sits on the throne of his father is a child." though man he sit-Present3rdsingular Inessive-throne Adjective-father Ergative-child one” gar iyïau åhüö öïåftünmènraüıiè ögbah ngüö gögièvüö cüö] When I, brother of the sun and the moon, sat on the throne of my father, Inessive-time sit-PastImerfect1stsingular Inessive-throne Adjective-father I, brother Adjective-sun yes Adjective-moon yes, gièzåt öïåftün ör årüö gièofhèr ögbah ngüö: baïhåt öghèimènra årüö ögfaor årüö: before I went to the rival country which were being hostile towards me, Inessive-time Negative-go-PastPerfect1stsingular I-Ergative Dative-foreign_country it Adjective-enemy Dative-I, gièzåt pudòrön ngüö duoråïauien åhüö ögdaoråh nai, I went to the feasts of Ophai. go-Pastperfect1stsingular Dative-feast many Adjective-Ophai. dòrön dogiarÿuaroï òfac öguovai. I celebrated them, and I rose my hand to the shining mother. celebrate-PastPerfect1stsingular they-Accusative yes I-Ergative pick_up-Pastperfect1stsingular Accusative-hand my Dative-mother shining yes I-ergative. bièruòön öuyuòc årüö ngüö yfåön öcaï oh duomèn bår årüö ngüö. I spoke thus : speak-PastPerfect3rdsingular I-Ergative: èvön ngüö: "My mistress, light of the stars, the nearby rival countries who call me a child belittle me. “woman my:light Adjective-star: mock-Present3rdplural I-Accusative foreign_country many near they talk_rubbish-Present3rdplural I-Accusative it Ergative-child I-Ergative ıïåhüö oh: hèi ögèi: òvrådümènraüıiè ngüö råïauien òfac caröh yuyuòc èïatünmènraüıiè öüyhüö åhüö ögièvüö ngüö And they begin to attack the borders of your holy land, my mistress ! in_addition, begin-Present3rdsingular attack-Noun one Illative-edge many Adjective-kingdom sacred your they-Ergative, woman my! ciehinën, sèsièdümènraüıiè pyruongèn cöü öïciyråh òfac ögièscar ar oï gyuòc, ıïåhüö oh! Strike the unholy down !" kill evil! fès aryi! Ophai heard the words of my mouth. hear-PastPerfect3rdsingular Accusative-word many Adjective-mouth my Ophai. dyvuòön örèïei òfac ögbåb oh uofai. She rose me and she gave strength to my arm. pick_up-PastPerfect3rdsingular I-Accusative she-Ergative yes make- PastPerfect3rdsingular it arm strong my she-Ergative yes. yfåön öüyhüö gåh årüö öïörcaïön åhüö öctögiarÿ ierån oh gåh åhüö. I conquered those who contested me in ten years. conquer-pastPerfect1stsingular man many they fight-pastPerfect3rdplural Inessive-year ten I-Ergative. ÿvön iyïau òfac yuyuòc böïhüö gièzaüruï yï ngüö. I conquered them. conquer they-Accusative I-Ergative ÿvön öuyuòc ngüö I captured prisoners, oxen and sheep, and I sent them back to the land of Kaxad." steal-PastPerfect1stsingular prisoner yes ox yes sheep yes I-Ergative. send-PastPerfect1stsingular they-Accusative Dative-Kaxad I-Ergative. gèivòïåïråvön gièi årüö öi årüö iaï årüö ngüö. pièråön öuyuòc docahad ngüö. Lexicon Numbers Cardinal cüö – 1 güö – 2 dau – 3 büö – 4 gau – 5 öh – 6 müö – 7 guòc – 8 gör – 9 yï – 10 daïh -11 dauc – 12 daor – 13 dauvüö – 14 dauo – 15 deröh – 16 nau - 17 dòuòc - 18 daïör - 19 gåï – 20 gåïhüö – 21 gåïüö – 22 gåïrau – 23 gåïvüö – 24 gåïau – 25 gåïöh – 26 gåïmüö – 27 gåïuòc – 28 gåïör – 29 (the numbers 1 – 10 change like above when added onto 20 to 90.) dauï – 30 bòï – 40 gauï – 50 aï – 60 bauï – 70 guòïaï – 80 gaï – 90 efüö – 100 Ordinal rÿhüö – 1st röïyüö – 2nd rÿrau – 3rd rÿvüö – 4th röïau – 5th röïöh – 6th römüö – 7th raug – 8th röïör – 9th uòï – 10th rÿraïh – 11th rÿrauc – 12th rÿraor – 13th rÿrauvüö – 14th rÿrauo – 15th rÿreröh – 16th rÿnau – 17th rÿròc – 18th rÿraïör – 19th röïaï – 20th rÿrauï – 30th rÿvòï – 40th röïauï – 50th rÿaï – 60th rÿvauï – 70th rauïaï – 80th rÿyïaï – 90th ziefüö – 100th Nouns aufciè – stool, chair båb - mouth bah – father baïhåt – brother byvoï - power caï - hand ciehin – trading ciehinën – mathematics, addition, can be used as a conjunction meaning also, in addition. cienën – knowledge ciev - field ciyråh - edge ciyuo - table, platform dåh - the unknown dåm - fire daoråh - enemy dat - peak, apex, top ierån - arm erhi – prostitute erhiehin – sex faor - moon gauien - foreigner, pagan gèi - star giarÿ – food giarÿuaroï - feast gièi - prisoner gièit - tradition, the past gièråh - ruler (other than king) gierha – king gierharèie - god gièscar - kingdom gièvüö - child hèi - light hèimènra - daylight, sun hèr - group of something hiehinauòn – rape(contraction of violent prostitute trading) hierın - tooth iåï – sheep iåïarÿ – lamb (meat) ıïåhüö - woman ıïaun - girl isan - police iyïau - man mèn - mother mènba - gate mènra - day mensie - lie minnan - memory nènca - army ofhèr – throne öi - ox, cow öïvèståh – accident öïvyfrå – bad reputation ÿuòfò - crowd par - fight pasnènca - war råh – ground råïauien – foreign country rèie - air rèïei - word sèi - ritual, rites of passage in plural tïn - foot tögiarÿ - stone töh – building zåt – time zaüruï - year zeie – rules Adjectives ar - sacred aryi - evil auòn - violent bår - shining caröh - near garoï - great (also a modifier meaning very) hèimèn - yellow öïa – famous öïvèståvès - soft öïvie - arrogant öïvöïh - modest uï – short parüö - reckless per - good perar - brave, heroic öctögiarÿ - strong örouï - long Adverbs mènraüıiè - now paienën - smartly pavåb - orally pè – alone pèhaï - manually örcaï - using technology öscienën - stupidly Verbs Group 1 bièrò – to praise, celebrate böïh – to fight dåv – to give dòr – to go dyvò – to listen, hear èïa – to talk rubbish erfå – to hurt èv – to tell, to say èvie – to sing fès – to kill gèivòïå – to control ıf – to put down ÿv – to defeat, conquer pièrå – to send pyfrå – to name pyruo – to attack sèsiè – to start òfò – to come òvrå – to mock vòu – to eat yfå – to pick up Group 2 bòu – to grow ÿëror – to carry öïåf – to sit öïhehinauòn – to rape öïèivuòïå – to fall öïerfå – to commit suicide öïerhiehin – to copulate öïèsiè – to be born öïråv – to get, receive gèivòïåïråv – to steal öïryvò – to think öïvå – to pretend öïvåf – to get up öïvès – to die öïvi - to imagine öïvièrå – to introduce öïvièrò – to happen, to become öïvyruo – to confuse öïörcaï – to make, to do ÿuòvrå – to lack self-esteem Also gar-though, but årüö – yes, yet, still, and ör – no, but zec – maybe, or