Phonology

Consonants

	Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Dorsal	Glottal
Plosive	p b	t d		k ɡ
Affricate		ts
Fricative	f	s z	ʃ ʒ	ʁ	h
Nasal	m	n
Liquid		l	j

/ʃ ʒ ʁ j/ are written sh zh r y. All other consonants are written as in IPA (or the Latin text equivalent).

[f] may or may not be phonemic. Normally it is present only as an allophone of /p/, but see the Allophony section for details.

Vowels

	front	central	back
high	i		u
high-mid	e	ə̃	o
low-mid	ɛ	ə̃	ɔ
low	a

/ɛ ɔ ə̃/ are written ea oa ã. All other vowels are written as in IPA.

Phonotactics

Syllable structure is (C)V(C) initially and CV(C) medially and finally.

Vowel hiatus is broken up by intrusive /h/.

Any consonant may occur in a syllable onset. All consonants except unvoiced stops, affricates, /j/, and /h/ may occur syllable-finally. However, all consonant clusters occurring in native words have the first element /s/.

Allophony and phonetic detail

/p/ lenites to [f] intervocalically, and this is indicated in writing. However, in many dialects initial /p/ is preserved when a prefix is added or when forming compounds; some analyses therefore consider /f/ as an independent phoneme.

In some dialects, /ʃ/ also becomes [f] before /u/ and /o/.

/ə̃/ tends to lower to [ã] when stressed.

In eastern dialects, /ɛ ɔ/ are often pronounced as nasalised. This is a retention from an earlier stage of the language.

Suprasegmentals

Zele has a strong dynamic stress accent; comparative studies show that it was conditioned by the pitch accent of Proto-Isles. The stress falls on the final syllable of the stem for most words. Affixes are never stressed, including inflectional suffixes (there are a very small number of exceptions, but these are noted in the grammar). For nouns the stress falls on the final syllable of the genitive stem (or the nominal stem if there is no distinct GS), and this stress position is the same for all forms of the noun. For verbs the stress falls on the final syllable of the T stem, and this stress position is the same for all forms of the verb. See the Nominal Morphology and Verbal Morphology section for details on these.

Example words

kemeati 'heavy' [ke.mɛˈti]
mashor 'barley' (nom./gen.) [maˈʃoʁ]
sonami 'tree' (nom.) [ˈso.na.mi]
sãn 'tree' (gen.) [sãn]
sãnãha 'tree' (dat.) [ˈsã.nə̃.ha]
sigamaneas 'take apart' (pres.) [si.gaˈma.nɛs]
sigaman 'take apart' (past) [si.gaˈman]

Morphology

Nominal Morphology

Declension

Nouns are inflected for six cases: nominative, accusative, genitive, dative, ablative, and locative, the latter three of which are grouped as the oblique cases. There are six declension patterns; the declension of any noun can be predicted from its nominative form, but to fully decline a noun it is also necessary to know the genitive form.

Nouns are not morphologically marked for number; this is expressed with quantifiers.

In the following tables, NS is used as an abbreviation of nominal stem, and GS as an abbreviation of genitive stem; these can be determined from the nominative and genitive forms respectively, although nouns in Declensions III and IV do not have distinct genitive stems. All forms of a noun are formed from either the nominal or genitive stem, usually plus a suffix.

Declension I

The nominative of Declension I nouns ends in -zh or -zhi.

Nominative	Accusative	Genitive	Dative	Ablative	Locative
NS-zh(i)	NS-zhes	GS	NS-ha	NS-hab	NS-has

Declension II

The nominative of Declension II nouns ends in -m, -n, -mi or -ni.

Nominative	Accusative	Genitive	Dative	Ablative	Locative
NS-(i)	NS-es	GS-(V)	GS-Vha	GS-Vhab	GS-Vhas

If the genitive ends in a vowel, this is the vowel written as V that occurs in the oblique forms. If not, the vowel V can be determined from the last vowel of the nominative stem:

last vowel of NS	a	i	u
vowel V	ã	ea	oa

Declension III

The nominative of Declension III nouns ends in -sh or -shi. All forms are predictable from the nominative.

Nominative	Accusative	Genitive	Dative	Ablative	Locative
NS-sh(i)	NS-shes	NS-s	NS-sha	NS-shab	NS-shas

Declension IV

The nominative of Declension IV nouns ends in -r or -ri. Again, all forms are predictable from the nominative.

Nominative	Accusative	Genitive	Dative	Ablative	Locative
NS-r(i)	NS-res	NS-r	NS-ha	NS-hab	NS-has

Declension V

The nominative of Declension V nouns ends in -bi.

Nominative	Accusative	Genitive	Dative	Ablative	Locative
NS-bi	NS-bes	GS-(o)	GS-oha	GS-ohab	GS-ohas

Declension VI

The nominative of Declension VI nouns ends in -hi.

Nominative	Accusative	Genitive	Dative	Ablative	Locative
NS-hi	NS-hes	GS	NS-ha	NS-hab	NS-has

Examples

Gloss	Decl.	Nominative	Accusative	Genitive	Dative	Ablative	Locative
wind	I	ruzh	ruzhes	re	ruha	ruhab	ruhas
tree	II	sonami	sonames	sãn	sãnãha	sãnãhab	sãnãhas
rat	III	shush	shushes	shus	shusha	shushab	shushas
hand	IV	katar	katares	katar	kataha	katahab	katahas
woman	V	kispibi	kispibes	kispo	kispoha	kispohab	kispohas
fire	VI	rabasahi	rabasahes	rabasa	rabasaha	rabasahab	rabasahas

Nominal prefixes

A small number of inflectional prefixes exist that can be added to nouns. Only one can be used per noun.

When a prefix is added, the original first consonant is subject to certain regular changes:

Ø > h
r > h (only if the vowel in the prefix is a)
t > l
ts > t
p > f (in some dialects)

The prefix shV-, where V is the same as the first vowel of the root, is the article. It is restricted in use and acts mostly as a demonstrative.

The prefix rV-, where V is the same as the first vowel of the root, is the first person possessive. An ordinary genitive construction is used for second and third person possessives; this can also be used for the first person, but is regarded as more formal.

The prefix go- marks the relativised argument of a relative clause.

Appositives are signalled with the particle zhi between the two nouns.

Verbal Morphology

Conjugation

Verbs are inflected for five tenses: present, simple past, past perfect, future, and relative present.

As with nouns, each form of a given verb is derived from one of two stems. The verbs' stems are referred to as the A stem and T stem (AS and TS for short) - the names refer to Proto-Isles' atelic and telic forms, from which the stems derive. The A stem is formed from the T stem by voicing any unvoiced obstruent in the onset of the second syllable (unless it forms a cluster with another obstruent).

Although the A stem can almost always be found from the T stem, each verb has two stem vowels (V₁ and V₂), neither of which can be predicted from the other. As a result it is necessary to know the present and past perfect forms to fully conjugate a verb.

Table of forms

Present	Simple Past	Past Perfect	Future	Rel. Present
AS-V₁-s	AS-V₂-(C)	TS-V₂-(C)	TS-V₁-s	TS-V₃-(C)

The consonant C is the last consonant of the past perfect form, if there is one.

The stem vowels V₁, V₂, and V₃ are different for each verb. V₁ and V₂ can be found from the present and past perfect forms of each verb, and V₃ can be predicted from V₂:

vowel V₂	o	ã, ea, oa	any other vowel
vowel V₃	o	ea	i

If a verb has only one syllable in the present form, the final -s in the present voices to -z, and any final consonant C in the past perfect is voiced in the simple past.

If a verb has two or more syllables in the present form, the vowel V₂ is deleted from the end of the simple past form if it follows a consonant other than p t k ts f h y and if there is no consonant C.

If a verb has three or more syllables in the present form, the vowel V₃ is deleted from the end of the relative present form if it follows a consonant other than p t k ts f h y and if there is no consonant C.

Examples

Gloss	Present	Simple Past	Past Perfect	Future	Rel. Present
do	neaz	ni	ni	neas	ni
dig	beaz	biz	bis	beas	bis
love	yizãs	yiz	yizã	yizãs	yizea
drink	kabãs	kab	kafa	kafãs	kafi
count	shizhatãs	shizhate	shishate	shishatãs	shishati
build	kubanãs	kubaner	kufaner	kufanãs	kufanir
take apart	sigamaneas	sigaman	sikamani	sikamaneas	sikaman

Note that f is underlyingly /p/, so it voices to b in the A stem.

The intensive

The intensive is a special form of the verb formed by reduplication of the initial CV of the verb. The original first consonant is subject to certain regular changes:

Ø > h
r > h (only if the reduplicated vowel is a)
t > l
ts > t

All of these changes are applied to the T stem, and the A stem is then derived as normal.

For example:

Gloss	Present	Simple Past	Past Perfect	Future	Rel. Present
walk (ordinary)	ralãs	ral	rala	ralãs	rali
march (intensive)	rahalãs	rahal	rahala	rahalãs	rahal

Note that since the intensive rahalãs has three syllables in the present, the relative present loses the final i.

Gloss	Present	Simple Past	Past Perfect	Future	Rel. Present
say (ordinary)	padãs	pad	pata	patãs	pati
shout (intensive)	pabatãs	pabata	papata	papatãs	papati

Note that since the third syllable of the intensive pabatãs begins with an unvoiced t, the final a is retained in the simple past and the final i is retained in the relative present.

The negative

The negative of a verb is expressed with the prefix hu-. As with the intensive, the initial consonant mutates with the addition of the suffix:

Ø > h
t > l
ts > t

Again, all of these changes are applied to the T stem, and the A stem is then derived as normal.

The verbal noun

Any verb can be nominalised; this allows verbs to act as a nominal and is also a key part of forming sentential objects and subjects.

The verbal noun is derived from the past perfect.

To form the nominative, make the following changes to the end of the past perfect:

e, o > azhi, abi (if the present ends in ãs)
e, o > izhi, ibi (if the present ends in eas)
e, o > uzhi, ubi (if the present ends in oas)
ã, ea, oa > ami, imi, umi
a, i, u > azhi, izhi, uzhi
s > shi
r > ri

The genitive is the same as the past perfect. Other forms are derived as normal.

Adjectives

Zele adjectives, unlike nouns, are indeclinable and do not inflect as such. They can, however, form intensives and negatives in the same way as verbs.

Adverbs are not distinguished from adjectives - for example, ragu "happy" can also mean "happily".

Pronouns

Zele has a moderately simple pronominal system, inflecting for three persons in all six cases. There is no number, gender, or animacy distinction in any of these. The case inflections are recognisably the same as those for nouns.

	Nominative	Accusative	Genitive	Dative	Ablative	Locative
1st person	razh	razhes	re	reha	rehab	rehas
2nd person	tsuhi	tsuhes	tsu	tsuha	tsuhab	tsuhas
3rd person	shanam	shanames	shãn	shãnãha	shãnãhab	shãnãhas

There is also a small class of miscellaneous determiners and interrogatives. All except the adjective shib behave as regular nouns; when the determiners are used attributively, they take the genitive case.

Determiner	Genitive	Gloss
shazhobohi	shazhobo	all
pomoahi	pom	many
yeashur	yeashur	some
pimuhi	pim	few
shuzh	she	what, who
shib		how, what kind

Discourse Particles

Zele has a small, closed class of discourse particles inherited from Proto-Isles.

	Gloss
koz	support, confirmation
ko	assertion, reminder
ir	resignation
nibur	lamentation
mor	softening
tos	seeks support; imperative

In addition to these are the interrogative particles tsuzha and ku, which are discussed in the Transformations section.

All of these particles occur at the end of sentences. Only one may be used per sentence.

Derivational Morphology

Zele derivational morphology is mostly suffixing. The form used for adding suffixes depends on the part of speech:

For nouns, the suffixing form is given by deleting the last V(C) of the oblique forms.
For verbs, the past perfect form is used, changing any final s z to sh zh.
For adjectives, the bare stem is used, changing any final s z to sh zh.

If adding a suffix forms a cluster, usually one or other of the consonants will be deleted.

If either is h, it will be deleted.
Otherwise, if either is r, it will be deleted.
If two sibilants occur together, the cluster simplifies to s.
If the cluster is sh or zh plus a plosive, the sh/zh changes to s and the plosive becomes unvoiced.

Nominalisers

Affix	Morphology	Gloss	Examples
-pabam	Decl. II gen. -pabã	related object	shonoa "strong" > shonoafabam "rampart, fortification"
-tãmur	Decl. IV	related place	tsaker "fight" > tsaketãmur "battleground; arena"
-sosh	Decl. III	mass noun; abstraction; noun of state	tsazizhi "child" > tsazisosh "descendants" shishate "count" > shishatesosh "accounting, mathematics"

Verbalisers

Affix	Morphology	Gloss	Examples
-neas	perf. -ni	general verbaliser; use (a noun); progressive (of a verb)	nemazh "spear" > nemaneas, nemani "execute"

Zero-derivation

Zero-derivation plays a significant role in Zele grammar, though it is restricted in use.

As noted above, any adjective may be used as an adverb without any morphological addition.

Adjectives can also be used as adverbs with an attached genitive to refer to the manner of the action with regards to the possessor. For instance paya "beautiful" can be used with the first person genitive re to become re paya "(in a way) beautiful to me".

Syntax

Basic word order

The basic word order in Zele is SVO, but case marking frees up word order somewhat, and SOV word order is also permitted (though uncommon, except where the direct object is a pronoun or in relative clauses).

Shizhihi: shizhihi; lizard.NOM

shi: shi; eat.PAST

re: re; 1.GEN

keres.: keres; meal.ACC

A lizard ate my meal.

Shanam: shanam; 3.NOM

razhes: razhes; 1.ACC

sehãs.: sehãs; like.PRES

He likes me.

Indirect objects, locatives, adverbs, and other minor constituents can appear either immediately preceding the verb or at the end of the sentence; the latter is sometimes used for emphasis.

Shanam: shanam; 3.NOM

tsokãha: tsokãha; girl.DAT

nota: nota; give.PERF

rayonames.: rayonames; flower.ACC

He had given the girl a flower.

Yukazh: yukazh; deer.NOM

tsoma: tsoma; quick

tsozhãs.: tsozhãs; run.PRES

A deer runs quickly.

Pumuzh: pumuzh; fish.NOM

regãs: regãs; live.PRES

tuhas.: tuhas; sea.LOC

A fish lives in the sea.

The noun phrase

Zele generally follows modifier-head order. Adjectives, quantifiers, genitives, and locatives normally precede their head noun. However, if the context is clear a one-word modifier may (optionally) immediately follow the head noun; this is indeed preferred if a prefix is applied to the noun.

tsa: tsa; big

tur: tur; island.NOM

a big island

shazhobo: shazhobo; all

mimazhi: mimazhi; sheep.NOM

all the sheep

tsu: tsu; 2.GEN

mamazh: mamazh; mother.NOM

your mother

pikeahas: pikeahas; roof.LOC

upoyãsh: upoyãsh; singer.NOM

a singer on the roof

Shuruzh: shu-ruzh; DEF-wind.NOM

Shig: shig; north.GEN

the North Wind

Relative clauses always precede their head noun, which takes the prefix go- (described in the Nominal Morphology section). For more on relative causes, see the Transformations section.

tuhas: tuhas; sea.LOC

regãs: regãs; live.PRES

gofumuzh: go-pumuzh; REL-fish.NOM

a fish that lives in the sea

Case usage

As might be expected, the nominative and accusative are used for the subjects and objects of sentences respectively. Postpositions govern the accusative. The genitive indicates possession; it usually precedes the possessed nominal, although this can be reversed if the genitive is adjacent to its noun. The dative can be the indirect object, but it can also mean "to," "for," and "until." The ablative means "from" or "since." The locative is used for temporal or physical location, and can also be used as an adverbial marker.

Verbs

Tense and aspect

Verbs are inflected for five different tense-aspect combinations: present, simple past, past perfect, future, and relative present.

The present, past, past perfect, and future work as expected. The past perfect indicates that an action had already been completed before the point in the past being described, while the simple past indicates that the action was ongoing at that point.

The future tense is not used much in ordinary speech, being retained mostly in formal and poetic registers. Most speakers use the present tense instead. However, the future is retained in conditional expressions and polite imperatives (see the relevant sections for more).

Razh: razh; 1.NOM

pusoa: pusoa; sow.PERF

shealeadizhes.: shea-teadizhes; DEF-field.ACC

I had sown the fields.

Razh: razh; 1.NOM

puz: puz; sow.PAST

shealeadizhes.: shea-teadizhes; DEF-field.ACC

I sowed the fields.

Razh: razh; 1.NOM

puzoas: puzoas; sow.PRES

shealeadizhes.: shea-teadizhes; DEF-field.ACC

I sow the fields.

Razh: razh; 1.NOM

pusoas: pusoas; sow.FUT

shealeadizhes.: shea-teadizhes; DEF-field.ACC

I shall sow the fields.

The relative present is used when talking about the past to describe events that happened at the time. It is considered very formal, and (like the future tense) has fallen out of use for most speakers - the simple past is used in its place.

Shanam: shanam; 3.NOM

muz: muz; find.PAST

razhes,: razhes; 1.ACC

re: re; and

razh: razh; 1.NOM

pusea: pusea; sow.RPRES

shealeadizhes.: shea-teadizhes; DEF-field.ACC

He found me, and I was sowing the fields at the time.

Derived verb forms

The intensive

The intensive can be thought of as increasing the force or completeness of an action:

Shanam: shanam; 3.NOM

rabas: rabas; burn.PAST

shãn: shãn; 3.GEN

meres.: meres; boat.ACC

They burned their boats.

Shanam: shanam; 3.NOM

rahabas: ra-rabas; INT-burn.PAST

shãn: shãn; 3.GEN

meres.: meres; boat.ACC

They completely incinerated their boats.

It can also be used to contradict a previous negative:

–Tsuhi: tsuhi; 2.NOM

humeseas.: hu-meseas; NEG-think.PRES

–You're not thinking.

–Razh: razh; 1.NOM

memeseas!: me-meseas; INT-think.PRES

–I am thinking!

The intensive forms an exception to the usual stress rules: it is always stressed on the first syllable.

The negative

The negative is used to negate sentences - not specifically the verb. The distinction is important - for instance:

Razh: razh; 1.NOM

Sumateguha: Sumateguha; Sumateguhi.DAT

hural,: hu-ral; NEG-walk.PAST

bu: bu; but

Rerãnaha: Rerãnaha; Rerãnahi.DAT

ral.: ral; walk.PAST

I didn't walk to Sumateguhi, but to Rerãnahi.

The negative can be used with any tense/aspect form.

The progressive

The progressive is listed in the Derivational Morphology section, but it remains productive as a way of more precisely specifying verbal aspect. It emphasises that at the time described, the action is ongoing:

Razh: razh; 1.NOM

tazhafeas.: tazhafeas; swim.PRES

I swim.

Razh: razh; 1.NOM

tashafineas.: tashafi-neas; swim-PROG.PRES

I am swimming (right now).

Note that it can be used with any normal tense/aspect form:

Razh: razh; 1.NOM

tashafini.: tashafi-ni; swim-PROG.PERF

I had been swimming (but have now finished).

Imperatives

Imperatives are formed with the present tense of a verb, followed by the particle tos.

Kabãs: kabãs; drink.PRES

tos.: tos; IMP

Drink!

In polite speech, the softening particle mor may be used instead:

Kabãs: kabãs; drink.PRES

mor.: mor; SOFT

Please, drink.

Imperatives may be softened further by using the future tense:

Kafãs: kafãs; drink.FUT

mor.: mor; SOFT

Please, drink, if you would.

The potential mood

Because the telic/atelic distinction of Proto-Isles can no longer be used to express potentials, Zele has innovated a new formation using the verb yamãs "stand" as an auxiliary. In general this behaves as a normal transitive sentence, with the verbal noun form of the main verb as the object; the direct object is demoted to an indirect object, and takes the dative case.

Razh: razh; 1.NOM

yamãs: yamãs; stand.PRES

sheatizhes: sheatizhes; see.VN.ACC

tsuha.: tsuha; 2.DAT

I can see you.

sheatizhes: sheatizhes; see.VN.ACC

yamãs: yamãs; stand.PRES

gozizifihi: go-zizifihi; REL-bird_of_prey

a bird of prey that can see

Copular clauses and the appositive

Zele does not have a copular verb. Instead, it uses the appositive particle zhi, which functions like a verb in some respects but not in others.

A simple copular clause consists of the subject, zhi, and the predicate. Both the subject and the predicate take the nominative.

Razh: razh; 1.NOM

zhi: zhi; APP

pumuzh.: pumuzh; fish.NOM

I am a fish.

This can be used with adjectives, too:

Razh: razh; 1.NOM

zhi: zhi; APP

shoshonoa.: sho-shonoa; INT-strong

I am very strong.

One way in which the appositive is not like a verb is that an appositive phrase can be used as any part of a normal sentence. Both nominals must change case to fit the appropriate syntactic role.

Razh: razh; 1.NOM

zhi: zhi; APP

pumuzh: pumuzh; fish.NOM

regãs: regãs; live.PRES

tuhas.: tuhas; sea.LOC

I, a fish, live in the sea.

Shanam: shanam; 3.NOM

shahãs: shahãs; hate.PRES

razhes: razhes; 1.ACC

zhi: zhi; APP

pumuzhes.: pumuzhes; fish.ACC

He hates me, a fish.

The postpositional phrase

Zele prefers using its locative cases, where possible, to adpositional phrases.

meazuha: meazuha; clan.DAT

to a clan

tuhahas: tuhahas; hole.ABL

from a hole

pehab: pehab; village.LOC

at a village

All of the locative cases can be used for a temporal meaning as well as a spatial one.

rabahab: rabahab; day.LOC

during the day

Postpositions govern the accusative, not the locative cases.

tsanines: tsanines; platform.ACC

oa: oa; on

on a platform

Transformations

In this section, following the style of Zompist, transformations are described in a simplified notation with examples.

A → B means "whenever A is a legal structure, so is B".

Symbols used:
S = subject
V = verb
O = direct object
I = indirect object
N = noun
VP = verb phrase
NP = noun phrase
Pr = pronoun
PP = postpositional phrase
Adv = adverbial information
Adj = adjectival information
Det = determiner
SEN = sentence
- = morpheme boundary

Passive sentences

S V O → O V S

To passivise a sentence, the subject and object simply switch places. Case marking allows this to occur without ambiguity.

Boabun: boabun; wolf.NOM

sheaz: sheaz; eat.PRES

huhes.: huhes; bone.ACC

A wolf is eating a bone.

→

Huhes: huhes; bone.ACC

sheaz: sheaz; eat.PRES

boabun.: boabun; wolf.NOM

A bone is eaten by a wolf.

The subject can also simply be deleted:

Huhes: huhes; bone.ACC

sheaz.: sheaz; eat.PRES

A bone is eaten.

Sentential objects

S₂ V₂ (S₁ V₁ O₁) → S₂ V₂ S₁ V₁-acc O₁

To use an entire sentence S₁ V₁ O₁ as the object of another verb V₂, change V₁ to the verbal noun in the accusative. The original subject and object S₁ and O₁ do not change case.

Razh: razh; 1.NOM

tozãs: tozãs; know.PRES

re: re; 1.GEN

talazh: talazh; father.NOM

tsoshames: tsoshames; go.VN.ACC

teadiha.: teadiha; field.DAT

I know that my father went to the fields.

The verbal noun does not inflect for tense, so the tense meant must be determined from context.

Sentential subjects

(S₁ V₁ O₁) V₂ O₂ → S₁ V₁-nom O₁ V₂ O₂

Similarly, a sentence S₁ V₁ O₁ can be used as the subject of another verb V₂. V₁ is changed to the verbal noun, this time in the nominative.

Zhealenam: zhealenam; ruler.NOM

kobami: kobami; explore.VN.NOM

tuzhes: tuzhes; sea.ACC

tsumeas: tsumeas; take.PRES

pom: pom; much

yonures.: yonures; provisions.ACC

The ruler exploring the sea uses a lot of supplies.

Causation

SEN₁, SEN₂ → SEN₂ i SEN₁

The idea that one action has caused another is conveyed through the conjunction i "because".

Tsuhi: tsuhi; 2.NOM

yohãs: yohãs; fear.PRES

shanames: shanames; 3.ACC

i: i; because

shanam: shanam; 3.NOM

rezh: rezh; kill.PAST

tsu: tsu; 2.GEN

yabes.: yabes; dog.ACC

You are afraid of him because he killed your dog.

Conditional expressions

SEN₁, SEN₂ → umu SEN₁ sea SEN₂-fut

Much like English, Zele uses an "if... then" construction for conditional expressions, using the conjunctions umu... sea. However, the consequent must be in the future tense, regardless of context.

Umu: umu; if

razh: razh; 1.NOM

zhi: zhi; APP

mimeshi,: mimeshi; herder.NOM

sea: sea; then

razh: razh; 1.NOM

measeas: measeas; have.FUT

mimazhes.: mimazhes; sheep.ACC

If we were herders, we would have sheep.

Relative clauses

(S V₁ O₁) S V₂ O₂ → O₁ V₁ go-S V₂ O₂

A relative clause is formed by changing word order to SOV, then moving the relativised argument to the end of the clause and adding the prefix go- to it.

Pumuzh: pumuzh; fish.NOM

regãs: regãs; live.PRES

tuhas.: tuhas; sea.LOC

Pumuzh: pumuzh; fish.NOM

zhi: zhi; APP

tsoma.: tsoma; quick

A fish lives in the sea. A fish is quick.

Tuhas: tuhas; sea.LOC

regãs: regãs; live.PRES

gofumuzh: go-pumuzh; REL-fish.NOM

zhi: zhi; APP

tsoma.: tsoma; quick

The fish that lives in the sea is quick.

Interrogatives

Yes/no questions

Zele can form two types of yes/no question. One kind, formed with the particle tsuzha at the end of the sentence, expects a positive answer:

SEN → SEN tsuzha

Tsu: tsu; 2.GEN

tsazh: tsazh; son.NOM

sehãs: sehãs; like.PRES

shãn: shãn; 3.GEN

kobunes: kobunes; ball.ACC

tsuzha?: tsuzha; INT.POS

Your son likes his ball, doesn't he?

The other kind, formed with the particle ku at the end of the sentence, expects a negative answer:

SEN → SEN ku

Razh: razh; 1.NOM

zhi: zhi; APP

pumuzh: pumuzh; fish.NOM

ku?: ku; INT.NEG

I'm not a fish, am I?

Zele does not, however, actually have words for "yes" or "no". Instead, they are answered with the verb in the indicative or negative, as appropriate, and conjugated for the appropriate tense. In all instances, the verb neaz/ni "do" can safely be substituted.

Sehãs.: sehãs; like.PRES

Husehãs.: hu-sehãs; NEG-like.PRES

He likes it. He doesn't like it.

When answering a question formed with ku, it is common to use the intensive when giving a positive answer, to contradict the questioner's negative:

Neaneaz!: nea-neaz; INT-do.PRES

You really are!

Questions with pronouns

Zele has just two wh-words: shuzh, a pronoun, and shib, a pro-adjective.

The interrogative shuzh, declined for the appropriate case, can be used in the place of any noun or pronoun, including genitive:

S V O → shuzh V O

S V O → S V shuzhes

N-gen NP → she NP

Shuzh: shuzh; what.NOM

shi: shi; eat.PAST

rayonames?: rayonames; flower.ACC

What (or who) ate the flowers?

Shãyam: shãyam; goat.NOM

shi: shi; eat.PAST

shuzhes?: shuzhes; what.ACC

What did the goat eat?

She: she; what.GEN

shãyam: shãyam; goat.NOM

shi: shi; eat.PAST

rayonames?: rayonames; flower.ACC

Whose goat ate the flowers?

The genitive she can be used following a noun and preceding the ablative of the noun to mean "which one of them?"

Shãyam: shãyam; goat.NOM

she: she; what.GEN

shãyãhab: shãyãhab; goat.ABL

shi: shi; eat.PAST

rayonames?: rayonames; flower.ACC

Which of the goats ate the flowers?

Shãyam: shãyam; goat.NOM

shi: shi; eat.PAST

rayonames: rayonames; flower.ACC

she: she; what.GEN

rayãnãhab?: rayãnãhab; flower.ABL

Which of the flowers did the goat eat?

The interrogative shib can be used in the place of any adjective or adverb:

Adj NP → shib NP

Adv VP → shib VP

Shib: shib; how

shãyam: shãyam; goat.NOM

shi: shi; eat.PAST

rayonames?: rayonames; flower.ACC

What kind of goat ate the flowers?

Shãyam: shãyam; goat.NOM

shib: shib; how

shi: shi; eat.PAST

rayonames?: rayonames; flower.ACC

How did the goat eat the flowers?

Normally these wh-words are not subject to movement - they stay in place in the sentence. However, shib must occur before the modified noun or verb to avoid ambiguity.

Comparatives

NP₁ zhi Adj, (NP₂ zhi Adj) → NP₁-nom NP₂-gen Adj-sosh

Zele forms comparatives using a possessive structure, with the adjective compared being nominalised with the morpheme -sosh. Like appositives, this does not use a verb.

Rorazhi: rorazhi; donkey.NOM

shãyã: shãyã; goat.GEN

tsasosh.: tsa-sosh; big-coll.NOM

A donkey is bigger than a goat.

Shãyam: shãyam; goat.NOM

rimisosh.: ri-mi-sosh; 1.GEN-small-coll.NOM

A goat is smaller than me.

Sample Texts

The north wind and the sun

Shuruzh shig re shahabazhi med: Nam she nãhab shazh shonoasosh? Tseyãs mefazhes shofi gonam rali shãnãhas, re shanam pati, “Mefazhes tseyãs gonam shazh shonoasosh.”

Shuruzh rurun pifuhas, bu nam rali mefazhes kataras shonoa. Shãnãhab, shuruzh shig rafa tseyeahas sheati shahabazhi nizhes.

Shahabazhi rafani, re nam tseyo mefazhes re teguhas shishea ko! Tsa shuruzh shig ririfi, “Shahabazhi roshonoasosh ir.”

Shishamososh rezhãs yamusoshes.

The North Wind and the Sun were disputing which was the stronger, when a traveler came along wrapped in a warm cloak. They agreed that the one who first succeeded in making the traveler take off his cloak should be considered stronger than the other.

The North Wind blew as hard as he could, but the more he blew, the more closely did the traveler fold his cloak around him; and at last the North Wind had to give up.

Then, the Sun tried his luck. It shone out warmly, and the traveler took off his cloak to bathe in the river. And so the North Wind was obliged to confess that the Sun was the stronger of the two.

Gloss

Shuruzh: shu-ruzh; DEF-wind.NOM

shig: shig; north.GEN

re: re; and

shahabazhi: sha-rabazhi; DEF-sun.NOM

med:: med; argue.PAST

The North Wind and the Sun argued:

Nam: nam; person.NOM

she: she; what.GEN

nãhab: nãhab; person.ABL

shazh: shazh; other.GEN

shonoasosh?: shonoa-sosh; strong-coll.NOM

Which of them was stronger than the other?

Tseyãs: tseyãs; thick

mefazhes: mefazhes; clothes.ACC

shofi: shofi; carry.RPRES

gonam: go-nam; REL-person.NOM

rali: rali; walk.RPRES

shãnãhas,: shãnãhas; 3.LOC

A person wearing heavy clothes walked where they were,

re: re; and

shanam: shanam; 3.NOM

pati: pati; say.RPRES

and they said,

“Mefazhes: mefazhes; clothes.ACC

tseyãs: tseyãs; drop.PRES

gonam: go-nam; REL-person.NOM

shazh: shazh; other.GEN

shonoasosh.”: shonoa-sosh; strong-coll.NOM

“The one that removes the clothes is the stronger.”

Shuruzh: shu-ruzh; DEF-wind.NOM

rurun: ru-run; INT-blow.PAST

pifuhas,: pifuhas; back.LOC

The wind blew hard in his back,

bu: bu; but

nam: nam; person.NOM

rali: rali; hold.RPRES

mefazhes: mefazhes; clothes.ACC

kataras: kataras; hand.LOC

shonoa.: shonoa; strong

but the person held the clothes in a strong hand.

Shãnãhab,: shãnãhab; 3.ABL

shuruzh: shu-ruzh; DEF-wind.NOM

shig: shig; north.GEN

rafa: rafa; red

tseyeahas: tseyea-has; stop.VN-LOC

sheati: sheati; see.RPRES

shahabazhi: sha-rabazhi; DEF-sun.NOM

nizhes: nizhes; do.VN.NOM

After that, the frustrated North Wind, stopping, watched the Sun’s actions.

Shahabazhi: sha-rabazhi; DEF-sun.NOM

rafani,: rafa-ni; shine-V.RPRES

The Sun shone,

re: re; and

nam: nam; person.NOM

tseyo: tseyo; drop.RPRES

mefazhes: mefazhes; clothes.ACC

re: re; and

teguhas: teguhas; river.LOC

shishea: shishea; wash.RPRES

ko!: ko; (assertion)

and the person damn well dropped the clothes and bathed in the river!

Tsa: tsa; therefore

shuruzh: shu-ruzh; DEF-wind.NOM

shig: shig; north.GEN

ririfi,: ririfi; breathe.PAST

So the North Wind sighed,

“Shahabazhi: sha-rabazhi; DEF-sun.NOM

roshonoasosh: ro-shonoa-sosh; 1.GEN-strong.coll.NOM

ir.”: ir; (resignation)

“The sun is stronger than me, I suppose.”

Shishamososh: shishamo-sosh; smooth-coll.NOM

rezhãs: rezhãs; kill.PRES

yamusoshes.: yamu-soshes; forceful-coll.ACC

Gentleness vanquishes force.

The wolf and the goat

Shãyam pashãkelihas shini minames, re shanames sheati sokibes huyami goboabun.

Tsa boabun shãnãha poti, “Tsozhoas reha, tsa tsuhi hukaheteas mor. Re rehas mãnãsosh; shihas minam zhi roba.”

Shãyam poti, “Tsuhi hupodãs re i, podãs tsu tsezhir i!”

A goat is grazing upon a steep cliff when he is seen by a wolf, who would not be able to reach him.

So the wolf begins to call to him, “You should come [to me] so that you would not fall, also, there are meadows where I am, here the grass is most tender.”

The goat calls, “You are calling not for my benefit, you're calling so that you can eat!”

Gloss

Shãyam: shãyam; goat.NOM

pashãkelihas: pashãkelihas; cliff.LOC

shini: shini; eat-PROG.PAST

minames,: minames; grass.ACC

A goat was eating grass on a cliff,

re: re; and

shanames: shanames; 3.ACC

sheati: sheati; see.RPRES

sokibes: sokibes; hunt.VN.ACC

huyami: hu-yami; NEG-stand.RPRES

shãnãha: shãnãha; 3.DAT

goboabun.: go-boabun; REL-wolf.NOM

and he was seen by a wolf who could not stalk him.

Tsa: tsa; so

boabun: boabun; wolf.NOM

shãnãha: shãnãha; 3.DAT

poti,: poti; call.RPRES

The wolf called to him,

“Tsozhoas: tsozhoas; come.PRES

reha: reha; 1.DAT

tsa: tsa; so

tsuhi: tsuhi; 2.NOM

hukaheteas: hu-kaheteas; NEG-fall.PRES

mor.: mor; (softening)

“Come to me so you don't fall.

Re: re; and

rehas: rehas; 1.LOC

mãnãsosh;: mãnã-sosh; grass-COLL.NOM

There is pasture where I am;

shihas: shihas; this.LOC

minam: minam; grass.NOM

zhi: zhi; APP

roba.”: roba; soft

the grass here is soft.”

Shãyam: shãyam; goat.NOM

poti,: poti; call.RPRES

“Tsuhi: tsuhi; 2.NOM

hupodãs: hu-podãs; NEG-call.PRES

re: re; 1.GEN

i,: i; good

The goat called, “You're not calling for my benefit,

podãs: podãs; call.PRES

tsu: tsu; 2.GEN

tsezhir: tsezhir; belly.GEN

i!”: i; good

but calling for the benefit of your belly!”

Zele/Grammar

Contents

Phonology

Consonants

Vowels

Phonotactics

Allophony and phonetic detail

Suprasegmentals

Example words

Morphology

Nominal Morphology

Declension

Examples

Nominal prefixes

Verbal Morphology

Conjugation

Examples

The intensive

The negative

The verbal noun

Adjectives

Pronouns

Discourse Particles

Derivational Morphology

Nominalisers

Verbalisers

Zero-derivation

Syntax

Basic word order

The noun phrase

Case usage

Verbs

Tense and aspect

Derived verb forms

The intensive

The negative

The progressive

Imperatives

The potential mood

Copular clauses and the appositive

The postpositional phrase

Transformations

Passive sentences

Sentential objects

Sentential subjects

Causation

Conditional expressions

Relative clauses

Interrogatives

Yes/no questions

Questions with pronouns

Comparatives

Sample Texts

The north wind and the sun

Gloss

The wolf and the goat

Gloss

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