Xwarṣa

General information
Xwarṣa is an extinct language :(

Consonants
/p b t d ʈ ɖ k g q/ /s z θ ð ʂ ʐ x ħ/ /m n ɳ ŋ/ /v r (l) j w/

     

Additionally, the clusters /θt ðd/ behave as one consonant. The plosive pairs denoted by /pb td/ et cetera do not seem to actually have any contrastive voicing as  is distinct from both  and ; the same applies to all other plosives. The fricative pairs /sz θð/ et cetera, on the other had, do seem to have voicing as  assimilates to  (regressive voicing assimilation is present)

Vowels
/a ɒ e ə i o u/ /ɑ̃ ɛ̃ ɔ̃ ũ/

 <ą ą̂ ę ǫ ǫ̂ ų ų̂>

Circumflexes denote long vowels, ogoneks nasal ones.

Vowel Lengthening
All final vowels lengthen:

Grammar
Xwarṣa is an ergative-absolutive language.

Nouns
Nouns in Xwarṣa inflect for several categories:
 * 1) Number
 * 2) Case
 * 3) Definiteness
 * 4) Noun class
 * 5) Possession

Xwarṣa nouns can be singular, dual and plural. They can be either definite or indefinite. They can either belong to the class of edible objects or inedible objects. They can inflect for one of eight cases:
 * 1) Absolutive
 * 2) Ergative
 * 3) Dative
 * 4) Vocative
 * 5) Instrumental
 * 6) Vialis
 * 7) Malefactive
 * 8) Possessed

Xwarṣa nouns inflect for the person of an object in their possession, which then takes the possessive case. They can inflect for three persons, with additional variations: A Xwarṣa noun looks like this:
 * 1) First person
 * 2) Singular (1)
 * 3) Dual
 * 4) Inclusive (1)
 * 5) Exclusive (1)
 * 6) Plural
 * 7) Inclusive (1)
 * 8) Exclusive (1)
 * 9) Second person
 * 10) Singular (2)
 * 11) Dual (2)
 * 12) Plural (2)
 * 13) Third person
 * 14) Proximate
 * 15) Singular
 * 16) Dual
 * 17) Plural
 * 18) Obviate
 * 19) Singular
 * 20) Dual
 * 21) Plural

The root is the bare morphosemantical unit that makes up the word, stripped of all inflections and derivations. Derivational suffixes are added onto the root to form the basic stem. Adding a possession suffix onto the basic stem makes an extended stem. This extended stem receives inflection and becomes a full noun. Edibility is inherent in the root.

This same pattern is applied for adjectives which behave most like nouns.

Possession (+2)
The second noun inflection slot consists of one suffix that marks for the person of the object in the possession of the marked. There is only one set of suffixes that doesn't show edibility:

Inflection (+3)
The third noun inflection slot consists of only one suffix which conflates the categories of case, number and definiteness. There are two different sets of suffixes depending on whether the noun to be inflected is edible or not. These two sets have some moderate differences:

If the extended stem ends and the suffix begins with a vowel, a stem extension consonant is inserted, usually either /k/ or /d/. If the extended stem ends and the suffix begins with a consonant, an echo vowel is inserted whose quality is the same as the last vowel's, but lacking length and nasalisation.

Adjectives
Adjectives in Xwarṣa behave like nouns except that they have an additional edibility slot and a comparison clitic:

Edibility (+E)
The edibility slot has one suffix which shows the edibility of the noun with which it agrees.

Comparison (=4)
The comparison slot has one clitic which most often attaches to the adjective:

Verbs
Verbs in Xwarṣa inflect for several categories:
 * 1) Person
 * 2) Number
 * 3) Tense
 * 4) Polarity
 * 5) Aspect
 * 6) Mood
 * 7) Voice

Xwarṣa verbs inflect for the person and number of its absolutive argument, which are conflated as such:
 * 1) First person
 * 2) Singular (1)
 * 3) Dual
 * 4) Inclusive (1)
 * 5) Exclusive (1)
 * 6) Plural
 * 7) Inclusive (1)
 * 8) Exclusive (1)
 * 9) Second person
 * 10) Singular (2)
 * 11) Dual (2)
 * 12) Plural (2)
 * 13) Third person
 * 14) Proximate
 * 15) Singular
 * 16) Dual
 * 17) Plural
 * 18) Obviate
 * 19) Singular
 * 20) Dual
 * 21) Plural

They can be in any of the nine tenses:
 * 1) Present
 * 2) Past
 * 3) Relative past
 * 4) Absolute past
 * 5) Immediate past (/)
 * 6) Future
 * 7) Relative future
 * 8) Absolute future
 * 9) Vespertine future (/)
 * 10) Proximate future
 * 11) Distant future

They can encode for one of four aspects:
 * 1) Imperfective
 * 2) Perfective
 * 3) Inchoative
 * 4) Cessative
 * 5) Defective

They can be inflected for one of three moods:
 * 1) Indicative
 * 2) Hypothetical
 * 3) Imperative

They can be in one of three voices:
 * 1) Medioactive
 * 2) Antipassive
 * 3) Reciprocal

They can be either positive (unglossed) or negative.

A Xwarṣa verb looks like this:

The root is the bare morphosemantical unit that makes up the word, stripped of all inflections and derivations. Derivational suffixes are added onto the root to form the basic stem. Adding the aspect and mood inflections makes an extended stem. This extended stem receives a conflated suffix onto which voice is attached, forming a full verb.

Aspect (+2)
The second verb slot fits the aspect suffix which also encodes transitivity:

Aspect can be ommited, implied or circumstantially marked; the second slot is not obligatory. Usually verbs have an inherited aspect; in that case, no marking is needed

Mood (+3)
The third verb slot has the mood suffix. It encodes only the grammatical mood of the verb:

Voice (+5)
The fifth verb slot has the voice suffix:

Pronouns and Correlatives
Pronouns in Xwarṣa inflect otherwise exactly as nouns. Quantifiers semantically fit together with pronouns although they inflect like adjectives. Pro-adverbs behave like adverbs.


 * *anyone, someone, everyone, no one, another one, the same one

Syntax
Xwarṣa is a head-initial, VEA (verb-ergative-absolutive) language. As it is a highly inflected language, it essentially has free word order. It fronts parts of speech to provide emphasis.

Adjectives in it come after nouns and adverbs after verbs.

Equality and Difference
Adjectives of equality, likeness and difference go either with a copula and the preposition "pąn" which takes the dative followed by a noun phrase, or with a subordinator, copula, "pąn" and a dative complement.

Relative Clauses
Relative clauses function like either adverbs or adjectives on the surface, modifying noun phrases. They are formed using the relative correlatives whose referent is the modified segment in the main clause in which they are embedded. Word order in relative clauses always follows the pattern of "CORRELATIVE-VERB", followed by the other constituents that aren't locked in place.

Creatives and Adjectives
Verbs of creation (or creatives) such as "to be born", "to be made", "to be written" et cetera can take adjectives in the instrumental as complement (ex. to be born free) to specify the manner or properties intended or realised of the object of creation.

Vocabulary
Xwarsa/Lexicon

Example text

 * 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.


 * Hąbą̂θṣą̂ ikk nąjadą̂ vûxvåŋ pąn jîṭṭiluksǫ̂s jęqǫsǫ̂s. Ḍîką̂ðąndų̂ qęrakôxâ jęxwaṭ jaṣ xwetąkîsûsk ẓająkąr ǫðąkîsûsk ebasâs.


 * Now the whole earth had one language and the same words.


 * Veṣąkąndų̂ ðoḍis naṭîrkiwaθak xâ ŋûhâxm terją̂xm jaṣ uṣakęk kątir veṣṣâsaknax.


 * And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.
 * And they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly." And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar.
 * Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth."
 * And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built.
 * And the Lord said, "Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.
 * Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another's speech."
 * So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.
 * Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.