Swopsoch
Swópsótš [swópsóːtʃ] | |
Period | c. 0 YP |
Spoken in | Rposh island |
Total speakers | c. 10,000 |
Writing system | none |
Classification | Dumic languages Swopsoch |
Typology | |
Basic word order | SOV |
Morphology | fusional |
Alignment | ERG-ABS |
Credits | |
Created by | Serafín |
Swópsótš (IPA: [swópsóːtʃ], 'Island speech', anglified as Swopsoch) is a language spoken by the Swop culture on the island of Rpoš [rpoːʃ] (anglified as "Rposh" /ɑɚ.ˈpɑʃ/, known as Prousoun [ˈproʊ.zõʊ̃] in Jouki Stəy) off the southeastern tip of Tuysáfa, especially in the eastern part of the island. The language is endangered as more and more speakers, specially younger ones, turn to speak Jouki Stəy instead, due to the Swop culture's inferior production and technological advancement, plus constant contact with Jouki for trade.
It belongs to the family of Dumic languages, and is thus related to Wokatasuto, Potonsuti, Kataputi, Trinesian and Jouki Stəy.
Phonology
Consonants
Labial | Coronal | Palatal | Dorsal | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Plosive | p · b | t̪ · d̪ | k · ɡ | |
Affricate | tš · dž | |||
Fricative | f · v | s · z | š · ž | |
Nasal | m | n̪ | ||
Trill | r | |||
Approximant | w | l | y | (w) |
Vowels
Front | Back | |
---|---|---|
Close | i | u |
Mid | e | o |
Open | a |
All vowels can occur in the three tones: high, mid or low. They're always long if they receive stress and they're not part of a diphthong (rising or falling).
Phonotactics
Syllable structure is (C)(C)(G)V(C)(C).
Dialectal variation
As Rposh is a small island and there's constant contact among the speakers concerned, there isn't much dialectal variation. There is some variation according to age, gender and economic status, however. Generally, younger speakers of better socioeconomic status, especially if female, tend to diphthongize /eː, oː/ as [eɪ, oʊ], due to the influence of "standard" Jouki Stəy, perceiving their own [eː, oː] as well as eastern Jouki Stəy speakers' [eː, oː] as "rustic".
/v/ also tends to be pronounced as [b] among older speakers. It's stigmatized among less old generations though. A stigmatized innovation exists, where final /j , w/ are pronounced [ʃ, f] by mostly younger speakers of lower socioeconomic status.
Stressed vowels in a rising diphthong are lengthened among a minority of speakers. This is largely unperceived by the community.
Inflectional Morphology
Nouns
Countable nouns inflect for two numbers: singular and plural. The plural marker for most nouns is -(V)r, though some, especially things that come in pairs, take -da. Nouns are cited in two forms. The first is the singular, and the second is the plural. Uncountable nouns, often ending in -m, don't inflect at all.
Singular | Plural | Gloss | |
---|---|---|---|
Countable common noun | bowtš | bo'tšoyr | 'ribbon(s)' |
Countable pair noun | yétš | yé'tšéda | 'eye(s)' |
Uncountable noun | yi'yùm | 'water' |
Pronouns
Personal pronouns inflect for three persons, singular and plural, with a further gender distinction in the third person (masculine and feminine in the singular, masculine/mixed and feminine in the plural).
There are two types of pronouns: independent and bound. Independent pronouns further inflect for case: direct and oblique.
Independent pronouns
Direct | Oblique | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
1st | dže | dži | džey | dwòy |
2nd | wà | mò | nòy | wòy |
3rd m. | gwà | gwàm | gà'nòy | gà'wòy |
3rd f. | dò | dòwm | dò'nòy | dò'wòy |
Bound pronouns
Singular | Plural | |
---|---|---|
1st | dže- | džu- |
2nd | wà- | mò- |
3rd m. | gà- | gàmò- |
3rd f. | dò- | dòmò- |
Verbs
Verbs inflect for five time-aspect-moods: imperative -tš, (indicative) non-past -'gótš, (indicative) past -'mò, subjunctive non-past -š, and subjunctive past -za. All five TAMs inflect for both the active voice (unmarked) and the antipassive voice -á in transitive verbs.
Verbs are cited with two stems, a stressed stem and an unstressed stem. The stressed stem is used in the imperative and the subjunctive, the unstressed stem is used in the indicative. The following fully-inflected verb, dá'tó- dátá- 'to decide sth', shows this relationship.
Active | Antipassive | |
---|---|---|
Imperative | dá'tótš | dá'tótšá |
Non-past | dátá'gótš | dátá'gótšá |
Past | dátá'mò | dátá'má |
Subj. non-p. | dá'tóš | dá'tóšá |
Subj. past | dá'tóza | dá'tózá |
Numbers
The numeral system is base-10, and uses an additive-exclusive construction to create all numbers. Here are the first ten numbers:
- 'gwara one
- wòtš two
- 'boyra three
- 'lada four
- boy five
- že six
- dol seven
- fowk eight
- nótš nine
- 'gwawà ten
Cardinal numbers always go after the nouns. There are no separate ordinal forms, instead, the number uses the possessive construction, becoming the possessor of the noun so to speak.
- bwar 'gwara
- field=one
- one field
- 'gwara yì bwar
- one=GEN field
- the first field
Sample Text
[zoˈroːr jì ˈzwoːr | zbawujeˈmòː ʒi maˈroː rdʒeˈmòː gàwàˈtʃojr dà | mò aˈmòjr ò ˈdʒeːz ror jì ˈwóypá dʒíp jì ʒiˈjuːba ro | wójpáwujeˈgwaːʃ ror gwà gúˈtáːʃ dar]
Zo'ror yì zwor, zbawuye'mò ži ma'ro rdže'mò gàwà'tšoyr dà, mò a'mòyr ò džez ror yì wóypá džíp yì ži'yuba ro, wóypáwuye'gwaš ror gwà gú'táš dar.
zo'ro-r yì zwor | zbawuye'mò ži ma'ro rdže-'mò gà-wà'tš-oyr dà | mò a'mòyr ò džez ror yì wóypá džíp yì ži'yuba ro | wóypáwuye'gwaš ror gwà gú'tá-š dar
time-PL GEN time | be.famous-PAST SUB chief to.close-PAST his-enemy-PL by | where door or roof in GEN hole without GEN hut in | hunger because.of he die-SUBJ.NONP in.order.to
A famous chief was once imprisoned by his enemies in a hut without any door or roof-opening, and left to die of starvation.