Iáþi

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Iáþi (/ ɪ.æ.θ ɪ/, anglicized Iathi) is a language of the Lhuban family. It is spoken in Se Nil é Λúbace on the planet Ajsliŋ (Aysling), where it is an official and national language. It is spoken as a first language by 64 million people and as a second language by an additional 4 million, mostly by native speakers of other Lhuban languages in the south of Se Nil é Λúbace.

Classification and Dialects
Iáþi is the most spoken member of the Lhuban family. It is one of three extant languages of the Northern branch, the only extant branch of the family. The other two languages, Throlyen and Vaseka, are closely related though not mutually intelligible with each other or Iáþi.

Consonants
Iáþi has the largest consonant inventory of any Lhuban language, totaling in at 35 native standard phonemes.
 * younger speakers are losing contrast of / ɴ/ and / ɢ/, merging them with /ŋ/ and /g/ respectively
 * /s/ is voiced to [z] when in the syllable coda and the next syllable begins with a voiced consonant
 * /r/ can be realized either as [r] or [ ɾ], depending on the speaker's preference
 * voiceless plosives are normally aspirated in standard pronunciation, though aspiration is not phonemic and therefore in free variation
 * velar and uvular consonants become labialised before rounded vowels
 * / ʃ/ and /ʒ/ are found only in loanwords and may be replaced with either /s/ and /z/ or / ç/ and /ʝ/ by some speakers
 * some dialects may insert a glottal stop between adjacent vowels, though speakers of the standard dialect regard this as a sign of uneducated speech
 * /j/ and /w/ are analyzed as vowels, not consonants, by native speakers

Vowels

 * permitted diphthongs: /wV/, /jV/, /aw/, / ɛw/, /aj/, / ɔj/ (where V stands for any vowel or other diphthong)
 * diphthongs may also be nasalized
 * /ə/ may become voiceless or even be elided after voiceless consonants in rapid speech
 * some dialects may shift / ɔj/ to / ɤj/ (note that /ɤ/ does not occur). This is considered a notable feature of speech from Oϟa Alí.

Phonotactics
Syllables must be in the form (s)(C)(L1)V(L2)(s), where V is any vowel (including permitted diphthongs and triphthongs), C is any consonant, L1 is /s/ or /r/, and L2 is any sonorant. C must be voiceless if the syllable onset is a consonant cluster inscluding /s/. Thus, an example of the simplest syllable possible is / ɛ / (Eng. "a") and an example of the most complex is /scrwojls/ (a disease native to the continent of Meralû), though such highly complex syllables are incredibly rare.

The vowel /ə/ may only appear at the end of a word in an open syllable (i.e., one without a coda).

Stress
Stress is not distinctive in Iáþi, much like in French. This means that two words may not be differentiated based on stress alone, as can be the case in English such as in the pair "dessert" and "desert." In fact, the difference between stressed and unstressed syllables is much less marked than in English, making such a distinction impossible anyway.

Writing Systems
Iáþi has two native scripts, a true alphabet and a featural abugida. The alphabetic script, known as Se Hízôl, is used for everyday purposes, and has two cases, with capitalization rules similar to those of the Latin alphabet. The abugida, known as Se Φúteentar, is used for special purposes such as ceremonial events, religious scripture, or decorative design. It has only one case, though it uses a diacritical mark to mark what would otherwise be a capital letter. It can however be written in two styles, one rounded and the other square, the former being more common. All native speakers are taught to read and write in both.

In this article, Iáþi will be transcribed in a Latin script appended with some Greek and Cyrillic characters to maintain a 1:1 phoneme to grapheme ratio. This script is called the Stón transliteration, and is as follows. /ʃ/ and /ʒ/ are transcribed in this system as <Śś> and <Źź> respectively, however they are not included in the standard alphabet.

There are two other systems of transliteration, however the Stón system is the most common.

Grammar
In Iáþi, most words have roots that take the form of nouns. All basic roots of nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs are expressed as the absolutive case of the noun. For example, hajla is the noun "music" in the absolutive case. To form the infinitive of the verb "to perform music," one simply adds the suffix -sä to form hajlasä, which can then be conjugated. Likewise, the adjective "musical" can be formed as hajlatä and the adverb "musically" can be formed as hajlaþä.

Nouns
Nouns in Iáþi decline for a large number of cases. In most dialects this number is 26, though some dialects still use the now-archaic vocative case. Nouns decline for cases with simple suffixes, and the unmarked noun is in the absolutive case, which is used as the subject of intransitive verbs and copulae. Examples of each case are given in the table below, with the noun "жom" (house, home). Some cases may be combined. For example, the ergative and accusative may be combined to express a reflexive action. "Ánnadu sevílase" means "I washed myself."

Every noun is required to carry an article or demonstrative. Articles and demonstratives carry the noun's definiteness and number.

Verbs
Infinitive verbs in Iáþi are formed from noun roots by adding the suffix -sä to the absolutive. These infinitives may then conjugate for tense and mood, but not for voice or agreement with any arguments (i.e., the subject or object), and aspect is denoted using adverbs. Infinitives always end in -sä. The infinitive ending is then replaced with other endings to denote tense and mood. The consonant of the ending reflects the mood, and the vowel the tense. The following table demonstrates the conjugation of the verb "víêsä" (to see). Most verbs are regular and follow these conjugations. There are a few verbs, however, that drop the -sa ending in the present indicative. These verbs are vasä (to be), vósä (to be), masä (to have), sasä (to exist), and pésä (to do). Some colloquial speech may also do this with tasä (to go, come), though this is informal and almost never found in writing.

Moods may also be compounded, much like noun cases. To do this, one simply suffixes both endings, so that "Could you see him?" becomes "Sánna zándu víêñexe?" Note that the vowels (and thus the tense) of both suffixes are the same. The indicative cannot compound with the other moods.

Gerunds and participles are formed by suffixing noun and adjective endings to the indicative forms of the verbs, respectively. If a gerund is the subject of an intransitive verb, it takes the ergative ending.

Pronouns
Iáþi uses seventeen personal pronouns that distinguish between five persons and two numbers, and clusivity in the first person and animacy in the third and fourth persons. Pronouns do not distinguish gender or formality. Singular pronouns of the second, third, and fourth persons have two forms that are equal in meaning; they are used to distinguish between multiple possible antecedents, resolving abiguities that exist in languages such as English (e.g., "He gave him the apple."). The forms correspond to the order in which the possible antecedents were mentioned. The following is a list of pronouns:

The third person denotes a proximity close to the speaker, whereas the fourth person denotes a proximity farther from the speaker. (The third is normally used when the antedecent is within sight, and the fourth when the antecedent is not within view.) Both as translated as the third person in English. The fifth person denotes a general, nonspecific antecent; it is often used in general truths. Adjuncts Adjuncts come in three forms: adjectives, adverbs, and intensifiers. As in most languages, adjectives modify nouns and adverbs modify verbs. Intensifiers can modify both adjectives and adverbs. Unlike in English, adverbs do not modify adjectives or other adverbs; this is solely the job of intensifiers.
 * án = 1st.p. sing. (I)
 * pán = 1st.p. plu. incl. (we)
 * gán = 1st.p. plu. excl. (we)
 * sán = 2nd.p. sing. fm.1 (you)
 * çán = 2nd.p. sing. fm.2 (you)
 * kán = 2nd.p. plu. (you)
 * zán = 3rd.p. sing. an. fm.1 (he/she)
 * tán = 3rd.p. sing. an. fm.2 (he/she)
 * lán = 3rd.p. plu. an. (they)
 * ván = 3rd.p. sing. inan. (it)
 * þán = 3rd.p. plu. inan. (they)
 * жán = 4th.p. sing. an. fm.1 (he/she)
 * dán = 4th.p. sing. an. fm.2 (he/she)
 * δán = 4th.p. plu. an. (they)
 * ϟán = 4th.p. sing. inan. (it)
 * ŋán = 4th.p. plu. inan. (they)
 * φán = 5th.p. sing. (one; used in a similar fashion as French “on”)
 * hán = 5th.p. plu. (people, in a general sense)

Adjectives and adverbs can be formed from nouns using the suffixes -tä and -þä respectively. Intensifiers however are a closed word class, meaning that they have their own roots and new ones cannot be derived. Most intensifiers do not take a suffix like the -tä or -þä of adjectives and adverbs.

Comparative and superlative forms of adjectives and adverbs are formed using an intensifier. For the comparative, this intensifier is the word "ka," while in the superlative it is "kí."

Syntax
The basic, default syntax structure in Iáþi is SOV. However, due to the extensive use of cases, word order is virtually free. In many subordinate clauses, the default order is SVO instead, though this is not universal. Additionally, Iáþi does not require a subject to be present, though it is not a pro-drop language in the sense that the Romance languages are. An absence of a subject indicates the passive voice. Modifiers always follow the word being modified. The standard modifier order is manner-place-time, which is uncommon cross-linguistically, the common orders being place-manner-time and time-manner-place.

Example text

 * Án lússa se iáþike.
 * "I speak Iathi." IPA: [æn lus.sə sɛ ɪ.æ.θɪ.kɛ]
 * Zé téúnédu þelstä kemjesa φajlaþä le méλúþä se жóvêsce le zé çedalíce. Δándu bâxisa se crêsi le se hínólsi só δán ótrãga psa se ô dastä e tímísi se kúpevoce.
 * "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood."