Vindasingaįq sihaį

Vindasingaįq sihaį /ʋiⁿdɑsiŋgɑĩʔ siχɑĩ/ is a language spoken in Western Tuysafa around -500 YP.

Phonology

Consonants

Consonants	Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Uvular	Glottal
Nasal stops	/m/ «m»	/n/ «n»	[ɲ ~ ɲɟ]	/ŋ ~ ŋɡ/ «ng»
Prenasalized stops		/ⁿd/ «nd»
Plain stops	/p/ «p»	/t/ «t»	[c]	/k/ «k»		/ʔ/ «q»
Fricatives		/s/ «s»	[ç]		/χ/ «h»
Approximants	/ʋ/ «v»		[i̯]	[u̯]	[ɑ̯]

Notes:

• /ŋ ~ ŋɡ/ are two realizations of the same phoneme, occurring in free variation; [ŋ] tends to be more common word-initially and [ŋɡ] tends to be more common word-medially.
• [ɲ ɲɟ c ç] are palatalized variants of /ŋ ŋɡ k χ/, occurring before /i/.
• /ʔ/ occurs only word-finally and is the only one consonant allowed in that position.
• [i̯ u̯ ɑ̯] are the glide equivalents of /i u ɑ/.

Vowels

Monophthongs	Front	Back
Close	/i ĩ/ «i į»	/u ũ/ «u ų»
Open		/ɑ ɑ̃/ «a ą»

Diphthongs	/iɑ iɑ̃/ «ia ią»	/iu iũ/ «iu ių»	/uɑ uɑ̃/ «ua uą»	/ui uĩ/ «ui uį»	/ɑi ɑĩ/ «ai aį»	/ɔu ɔũ/ «au aų»

Notes:

• Nasal vowels are phonemic only word-finally. In other positions they can occur as allophones before nasal consonants.
• The word stress is not phonemic. It is usually drawn to the last diphthong in a word (although in words with multiple diphthongs, a free variation might be present). In words without diphthongs, the last syllable is stressed.

Morphology

Nouns

Class system

Vindasingaįq nouns can be divided into seven classes depending on their countability, animacy and gender. They fall into an animacy hierarchy which then determines the appropriate verb agreement.

Animacy hierarchy	Countable	Uncountable
Highest		ngi (environment)
Middle	haį (feminine)	ngaiq (collective)
	ma (masculine)
Lower	a (animal)
Lowest	tių (inanimate)	na (mass nouns)

Countables

HAĮ class

This class consists of feminine animate nouns. Nouns of this class form collective plurals.

The pronoun for this class is haį and is homonymous with the irregular noun haį “woman”.

Nominative	haį she / woman
Genitive	haįq
Dative	haina
Ablative	hainį
Collective noun	hainingaiq women

Examples of regular nouns in this class include naitihaį “widow”, niahaį “(female) neighbor”, nuiukiahaį “spinster”, ainiahaį “hostess” and kiuvuahaį “vixen”.

Nominative	naitihaį widow	niahaį (female) neighbor	nuiukiahaį spinster	ainiahaį hostess	kiuvuahaį vixen
Genitive	naitihaįq	niahaįq	nuiukiahaįq	ainiahaįq	kiuvuahaįq
Dative	naitihana	niahana	nuiukiahana	ainiahana	kiuvuahana
Ablative	naitihanį	niahanį	nuiukiahanį	ainiahanį	kiuvuahanį
Collective noun	naitingaiq	ningaiq	nuiukuangaiq	ainingaiq	kiuvuangaiq

MA class

This class consists of masculine animate and gender-neutral human nouns. Nouns of this class form collective plurals.

The pronoun for this class is ma and two irregular nouns are numa “man” and ama “human”.

Nominative	ma he, they (sg)	numa man	ama human
Genitive	maįq	numaįq	amaįq
Dative	maia	numaia	amaia
Ablative	mauį	numauį	amauį
Collective noun	—	numangaiq men	amangaiq people

Examples of regular nouns in this class include naitima “widower”, nima “(male) neighbor”, nuiukuma “bachelor”, ainima “host” and kiuvuma “(male) fox”.

Nominative	naitima widower	nima (male) neighbor	nuiukuma bachelor	ainima host	kiuvuma (male) fox
Genitive	naitimaįq	nimaįq	nuiukumaįq	ainimaįq	kiuvumaįq
Dative	naitima	nima	nuiukuma	ainima	kiuvuma
Ablative	naitimauį	nimauį	nuiukumauį	ainimauį	kiuvumauį
Collective noun	naitingaiq	ningaiq	nuiukuangaiq	ainingaiq	kiuvuangaiq

A class

This class consists of non-human animate nouns, mostly animals. Nouns of this class form collective plurals.

The pronoun for this class is a.

Nominative	a it
Genitive	aįq
Dative	aia
Ablative	uį

Examples of regular nouns in this class include uviu “female animal”, ta “male animal”, uaupisa “reptile”, viukia “goose” and kiuvua “fox”.

Nominative	uviu female animal	ta male animal	uaupisa reptile	viukia goose	kiuvua fox
Genitive	uviuaįq	taįq	uaupisaįq	viukiaįq	kiuvuaįq
Dative	uviua	ta	uaupisa	viukia	kiuvua
Ablative	uviuį	tauį	uaupisuį	viukiuį	kiuvuauį
Collective noun	uviuangaiq	tangaiq	uaupisingaiq	viukitingaiq	kiuvuangaiq

TIŲ class

This class consists of countable inanimate nouns. Nouns of this class form mass plurals.

The pronoun for this class is tių.

Nominative	tių it
Genitive	tįq
Dative	tiuva
Ablative	tiuvį

A few irregular nouns in this class are iuvu “nose”, iakau “house”, pauq “shirt”, nasi “leg”, ainda “foot”, sata “eye” and kių “stone”.

Nominative	iuvu nose	iakau house	pauq shirt	nasi leg	ainda foot	sata eye	kių stone
Genitive	iuvutįq	iakaukįq	paukįq	nasitįq	aindatįq	sataitįq	kiungįq
Dative	iuvua	iakaua	paua	nasia	ainda	sataia	kiuha
Ablative	iuvuį	iakauį	pauį	nasiuį	aindauį	satuį	kiuhį
Mass noun	iuvuna	iakauna	paukuna	nasina	aindana	sataina	kiuhuna

A regular inflection table looks as follows:

Nominative	~u ~uq	~i ~iq	~a ~aq	~ų ~ųq	~į ~įq	~ą ~ąq
Genitive	-pįq	-tįq	-kįq	-mįq	-ndįq	-ngįq
Dative	~ua	~ia	~a	-va	-na	-ha
Ablative	~uį	~į	~aį	-vį	-nį	-hį
Mass noun	~una ~puna	~ina ~tina	~aina ~kina	~vuna ~muna	~nina ~ndina	~hina ~ngina

Examples of regular nouns in this class include ndiuiuvu “smell”, savui “head”, aiq “wall”, napua “ear”, ngiaiųq “tooth”, hahaitaį “bloodline” and puą “room”.

Nominative	ndiuiuvu smell	savui head	aiq wall	napua ear	ngiaiųq tooth	hahaitaį bloodline	puą room
Genitive	ndiuiuvupįq	savuitįq	aitįq	napuakįq	ngiaimįq	hahaitandįq	puangįq
Dative	ndiuiuvua	savuia	aia	napua	ngiaiva	hahaitana	puaha
Ablative	ndiuiuvuį	savuį	aį	napuaį	ngiaivį	hahaitanį	puahį
Mass noun	ndiuiuvuna	savuina	aitina	napuaina	ngiaimuna	hahaitanina	puahina

Uncountables

NGI class

This class consists of uncountable animate nouns, mostly environmental forces and natural phenomena. These nouns don't have plural forms and can't be formed from singular nouns of other classes.

The pronoun for this class is ngi.

Nominative	ngi it
Genitive	ngįq
Dative	ngia
Ablative	ngiuį

Examples of regular nouns in this class include iangungi “earth”, aungi “sun”, iuiungi “ice”, tiaungi “star” and kiuvungi “river(s)”.

Nominative	iangungi earth	aungi sun	iuiungi ice	tiaungi star	kiuvungi river(s)
Genitive	iangungįq	aungįq	iuiungįq	tiaungįq	kiuvungįq
Dative	iangungia	aungia	iuiungia	tiaungia	kiuvungia
Ablative	iangungiuį	aungiuį	iuiungiuį	tiaungiuį	kiuvungiuį

NGAIQ class

This class consists of collective animate nouns. Nouns of this class can be formed from singular nouns of the HAĮ, MA and A classes.

The pronoun for this class is ngaiq.

Nominative	ngaiq they all
Genitive	ngaįq
Dative	ngaia
Ablative	ngaį

Examples of regular nouns in this class include vindasingaiq “the Vindasingaiq tribe”, hainingaiq “women”, numangaiq “men”, amangaiq “people” and uangaiq “vermin”.

Nominative	vindasingaiq the Vindasingaiq tribe	hainingaiq women	numangaiq men	amangaiq people	uangaiq vermin
Genitive	vindasingaįq	hainingaįq	numangaįq	amangaįq	uangaįq
Dative	vindasinga	haininga	numanga	amanga	uanga
Ablative	vindasingauį	hainingauį	numangauį	amangauį	uangauį

NA class

This class consists of uncountable inanimate nouns. Nouns of this class can be formed from singular nouns of the TIŲ class.

The pronoun for this class is na.

Nominative	na it all
Genitive	naįq
Dative	naia
Ablative	nauį

Examples of regular nouns in this class include kikaina “grass”, kiaina “sound”, vaina “jewelry”, nukuna “tools”, aiangana “travel” and piuna “fat, oil”.

Nominative	kikaina grass	kiaina sound	vaina jewelry	nukuna tools	aiangana travel	piuna fat, oil
Genitive	kikainaįq	kiainaįq	vainaįq	nukunaįq	aianganaįq	piunaįq
Dative	kikaina	kiaina	vaina	nukuna	aiangana	piuna
Ablative	kikainauį	kiainauį	vainauį	nukunauį	aianganauį	piunauį

Pronouns

Personal pronouns

There is a class-gender split in first person singular and third person pronouns. Additionally, there is a clusivity distinction in first person plural pronouns.

Person	Singular	Plural
1. exc	ihaį fem iuma masc	ingaiq
1. inc		haini
2.	hai	haingaiq
3.	haį fem ma masc a an tių inan	ngi env ngaiq coll na mn

Declension

First and second person pronouns:

Nominative	ihaį 1sg fem	iuma 1sg masc	ingaiq 1pl exc	haini 1pl inc		hai 2sg	haingaiq 2pl
Genitive	ihaįq	iumaįq	ingaįq	hainingaįq		haiungįq	haingaįq
Dative	ia		inga	hainia		haia	hainga
Ablative	iuį		ingauį	hainiuį		haį	haingaį

Third person pronouns:

Nominative	haį 3sg fem	ma 3sg masc	a 3sg an	tių 3sg inan	ngi 3sg/pl env	ngaiq 3sg/pl coll	na 3sg/pl mn
Genitive	haįq	maįq	aįq	tįq	ngįq	ngaįq	naįq
Dative	haina	maia	aia	tiuva	ngia	ngaia	naia
Ablative	hainį	mauį	uį	tiuvį	ngiuį	ngaį	nauį

Demonstratives

The demonstrative determiners are:

• įq this, here
• kani that

Related adverbs are:

• įq here
• ihini there
• į now
• ita then
• ingaų this way, in this manner

Interrogatives

The interrogative determiner is nga what, which.

There are following interrogative pronouns:

• ngahaį what woman
• nguma what man, what person
• nga what animal
• ngatių what thing, what
• ngungi what force
• ngangaiq what people
• ngana what things

Additionally, following interrogative adverbs exist:

• hini where
• ta when
• ngaų how

Generalizing quantifiers

The generalizing determiner is ių every, all.

There are following generalizing pronouns:

• iuvungi every force
• iuvuangaiq every person, everybody
• iuvuna everything

Additionally, following generalizing adverbs exist:

• iuvi everywhere
• kį always
• iuaų in every way

Indefinite quantifiers

There are following existential pronouns and determiners:

• maisihaį some woman
• maisima some man
• ngaitingaiq some people, somebody
• maindi, ngaindi somebody's
• tiumi something

The following words can be used as existential and indefinite quantifiers:

• vaisi one
• ngaisi some
• ana any, possibly some
• hihi any, no matter which
• nda another

An indefinite amount can be expressed using several different determiners:

• uhi a little
• ni too little
• iai a lot
• iaina too much
• ndiaki most, almost all

Additionally, following indefinite adverbs exist:

• hinisi somewhere
• taisi somewhen, once
• ngaumi somehow

Negative quantifiers

The negative determiner is vu no.

There are following negative pronouns:

• vungi no force
• vuangaiq no person, nobody
• vuina nothing

Additionally, following negative adverbs exist:

• vuivi nowhere
• vuakį never
• vuiaų in no way

Verbs

Adjectives and verbs are put into a common grammatical class.

The structure of an inflected verb looks as follows:

-2	-1	0	+1	+2
subject person	object person / class	root	subject class	irrealis (optional)

Verb prefixes are separated from the stem with a hyphen «-». This doesn't influence pronunciation and is only done to make the spelling more morphologically transparent.

Occurrences of the same vowel blend together, e.g. hai- + iukimi → ha-iukimi. Sometimes it can lead to ambiguities, e.g. iukimių can be analyzed either as ∅-iukim-ių or as i-iukim-ių.

Subject person prefixes

The following subject person prefixes can be applied to a verb:

i- — first person singular and first person plural exclusive:

• aua be bald → i-auaų I am bald, i-auaiq we are bald
• naitaki be thirsty → i-naitakaų I am thirsty, i-naitakaiq we are thirsty
• iukimi be wet → iukimių I am wet / they_sg are wet, iukimaiq we are wet / they_pl are wet (ambiguous forms)

haini- — first person plural inclusive:

• aua be bald → haini-auaų we all are bald
• naitaki be thirsty → haini-naitakaų we all are thirsty
• iukimi be wet → hain-iukimių we all are wet

hai- — second person:

• aua be bald → hai-aua you_sg are bald, hai-auaiq you_pl are bald
• naitaki be thirsty → hai-naitaki you_sg are thirsty, hai-naitakaiq you_pl are thirsty
• iukimi be wet → ha-iukimi you_sg are wet, ha-iukimaiq you_pl are wet

Third person is unmarked:

• aua be bald → auaų they_sg are bald, auaiq they_pl are bald
• naitaki be thirsty → naitakaų they_sg are thirsty, naitakaiq they_sg are thirsty
• iukimi be wet → iukimių I am wet / they_sg are wet, iukimaiq we are wet / they_pl are wet (ambiguous forms)

Object prefixes

The following object prefixes exist:

• i- (1sg or 1pl exclusive), e.g. i-uahiq they_pl fight me/us
• haini- (1pl inclusive), e.g. haini-uahiq they_pl fight us all
• hai- (2sg or 2pl), e.g. hai-uahiq they_pl fight you, ihai-uahių I fight you
• ha(n)- (3sg feminine), e.g. han-uahiq they_pl fight her, hainihan-uahių we all fight her
• ma- (3sg masculine), e.g. ma-uahiq they_pl fight him, haima-uahi you_sg fight him
• a- (3sg animal), e.g. a-uahiq they_pl fight it, ia-uahiq we fight it
• ti- (3sg inanimate), e.g. ti-uahiq they_pl fight it, haiti-uahiq you_pl fight it
• ngi- (3sg/pl environmental), e.g. ngi-uahių they_sg fight it, ingi-uahiq we fight it
• nga- (3sg/pl collective), e.g. nga-uahių they_sg fight them_pl, hainga-uahi you_sg fight them
• na- (3sg/pl mass nouns), e.g. na-uahių they_sg fight it all, ina-uahių I fight it all

In many cases the ambiguities are resolved with subject class endings, see below:

• ha-iuku ← hai-i-iuku-u you_sg rule over me (the ending suggests a 2sg subject)
• ha-iukų ← ∅-hai-iuku-ų they_sg rule over you (the ending suggests a 3sg subject)

However, sometimes the ambiguities persist:

• ha-iukuiq ← hai-i-iuku-uiq you_pl rule over me or ∅-hai-iuku-uiq they_pl rule over you

Subject class endings

Verbs are inflected into four forms:

• I — used with 2sg subjects and with subjects of the ngi environmental class;
• II — used with 1sg subjects (both masculine and feminine), 1pl inclusive subjects and with the haį feminine and ma masculine classes;
• III — used with subjects of the a animal and tių inanimate classes;
• PL — used with subjects of the ngaiq collective and na mass nouns classes.

Verbs are divided into six inflectional types, according to their conjugation pattern:

• type 1a comprises most verbs with the root ending with a i u, this type covers around 30% of verbs;
• type 1b comprises some of the verbs ending in a i and differs from the type 1a only in irrealis forms, this type covers around 20% of verbs;
• type 1c comprises some of the verbs ending in a which turns to u in some forms, this type covers around 10% of verbs;
• type 2, 3 and 4 comprise verbs with roots most often ending in a consonant, those types taken together cover around 40% of verbs.

Form	Type
	1a/1b			1c	2	3	4
I	~a	~i	~u	~a	-i	-i	-i
II	~aų	~ių	~ų	~ų	-ių	-ių	-aų
III	~au	~ia	~u	~u	-u	-a	-a
PL	~aiq	~iq	~uiq	~aiq	-aiq	-aiq	-aiq

Examples of inflected verbs:

	vina- be false	uhi- be small	nanuku- be useful	kianga- be fruitful, be plentiful	iukiuv- be wide	kini- know	asik- have taste
I	vina	uhi	nanuku	kianga	iukiuvi	kini	asiki
II	vinaų	uhių	nanukų	kiangų	iukiuvių	kinių	asikaų
III	vinau	uhia	nanuku	kiangu	iukiuvu	kinia *	asika
PL	vinaiq	uhiq	nanukuiq	kiangaiq	iukiuvaiq	kiniaiq *	asikaiq

*) Please note that in the case of kini to know, the root to which the endings are added, is kini-, not kin-.

Irrealis endings

Form	Type
	1a			1b		1c	2	3	4
Irr I	~avi	~ivi	~uvi	~auvi	~iuvi	~uvi	-uvi	-ivi	-ivi
Irr II	~avių	~ivių	~uvių	~auvių	~iuvių	~uvių	-uvių	-ivių	-ivių
Irr III	~aviu	~iviu	~uviu	~auviu	~iuviu	~uviu	-uviu	-iviu	-iviu
Irr PL	~aviaiq	~iviaiq	~uviaiq	~auviaiq	~iuviaiq	~uviaiq	-uviaiq	-iviaiq	-iviaiq

Examples of inflected verbs:

	vina- be false	ndiakika- graze	kianga- be fruitful, be plentiful	iukiuv- be wide	kini- know	asik- have taste
Irr I	vinavi	ndiakikauvi	kianguvi	iukiuvuvi	kinivi	asikivi
Irr II	vinavių	ndiakikauvių	kianguvių	iukiuvuvių	kinivių	asikivių
Irr III	vinaviu	ndiakikauviu	kianguviu	iukiuvuviu	kiniviu	asikiviu
Irr PL	vinaviaiq	ndiakikauviaiq	kianguviaiq	iukiuvuviaiq	kiniviaiq	asikiviaiq

Numerals

Number	Cardinal	Ordinal	Fractional
0	(vuina)	(vuinaįq)	—
1	vaisi	vainisi	—
2	kuau	kuapįq	niq
3	pią	pinį	tipią
4	ndaisi	ndainisi	ni
5	ndauva	ndainiva	tindauva
6	ndai	ndaini	tindai
7	ndaupią	ndaupinį	tindaupią
8	inda	ininda	tinda
9	uhina	uhinatįq	tiuhina
10	kiumi	kinimi	tikiumi

Sample texts

Deraighaw creed

• Iti-sihaiq ingaįq sihaį. Ndungiq pauhuangaiq kivisisingaiq inga ti-tiungaiq vindiungia.

  We speak our language. The bright spirits caretakers gave it to us by the wind.

Iti-sihaiq

i-ti-sih-aiq

1ex-3in-speak-pl

ingaįq

i-ngaįq

1ex-pl.gen

sihaį.

sihaį

language

We speak our language.

Ndungiq

∅-ndungi-iq

3.s-be.bright-pl

pauhuangaiq

pauhu-ngaiq

spirit-coll.pl

kivisisingaiq

kivisisi-ngaiq

caretaker-coll.pl

inga

i-nga

1ex-pl.dat

ti-tiungaiq

∅-ti-tiung-aiq

3.s-3in-give-pl

vindiungia.

vindiungi-a

wind-abl

The bright spirits caretakers gave it to us by the wind.

Wendoth poetry (“Cattle die”)

A loose adaptation of the Kejazang ouhyehąsh poem.

• Hahaiq vau ndiakikaiq.
  Hahaitaiq įq ngiumaiq.
  Iuvuangaįq aiaį sia iuvamia.
  Hihia vaisi takau,
  Hihau vu ti-ndandau,
  Tataindaį ngiumisingaįq pupia.

  What grazes, will depart.
  Who's kinsman here, will die.
  Everybody's time will reach an end.
  There is one thing
  That is not tarnished,
  A good memory of the dead.

Hahaiq

∅-haha-aiq

3.s-depart-pl

vau

vau

rel

ndiakikaiq.

∅-ndiakika-aiq

3.s-graze-pl

What grazes, will depart.

Hahaitaiq

∅-hahait-aiq

3.s-be.related-pl

įq

įq

here

ngiumaiq.

∅-ngium-aiq

3.s-die-pl

Who's kinsman here, will die.

Iuvuangaįq

iuvu-ngaįq

everybody-coll.pl.gen

aiaį

aiaį

time

sia

∅-si-a

3.s-get-iii

iuvamia.

iuvami-a

end-dat

Everybody's time will reach an end.

Hihia

∅-hihi-ia

3.s-exist-iii

vaisi

vaisi

one

takau,

takau

thing

There is one thing

Hihau

hihau

wound

vu

vu

neg

ti-ndandau,

∅-ti-ndandau-u

3.s-3in-corrupt-iii

That is not tarnished,

Tataindaį

tataindaį

memory

ngiumisingaįq

ngiumisi-ngaįq

dead.person-coll.pl.gen

pupia.

∅-pupi-ia

3.s-be.good-iii

A good memory of the dead.