9 (old)

About
"9" is just a placeholder name until I come up with an actual name. I will attempt to create word roots completely from scratch. I know English and am studying Japanese. Since those two are very different, it's helpful in trying to not make just another English-based language. Also, I have not looked at any other conlangs. All ideas presented here were independently created by myself.

This is a work in progress. Everything is subject to change.

Alphabet
Note that Group 1 consonants are coronal, group 2 consonants are labial, group 3 consonants are velar.

The order for collation starts at the top-left of the grid, going left to right, then up to down.

Phonology
The consonants, , and represent their IPA equivalents. As for the other vowels,


 *  ranges from [a] to [ɑ]
 *  ranges from [e] to [ɛ]
 *  ranges from [o] to [ɔ]
 *  is a rhoticized schwa [ɚ]

The pronunciation of the consonants by themselves, such as when spelling something out, is formed by taking the letter and combining it with the vowel /a/.

The penultimate syllable of each word is stressed.

Syllable Structure
The syllable structure is (C)V(N), where
 * (C) is an optional consonant.
 * V is a vowel (or diphthong).
 * (N) is an optional nasal.

There are rules for which nasal can be used. Taking a sample word with structure C1V1(N1)C2V2N2,


 * N1 must match the group of C2.
 * (word final) N2 must match the group of V2.
 * There can only be one nasal between V1 and V2. It will be analyzed as being C2.

Other restrictions are as follows:


 * /j/ may not follow or precede /i/.
 * /w/ may not follow or precede /u/.
 * /i/ may not follow /e/.
 * /u/ may not follow /o/.

Sentence Structure
The word order of the language is SOV. Its morphological type is agglunative. Its morphosyntactic alignment is nominative-accusitive.

Basic Numbers
This language will use a dozenal base.

The symbols for the numerals use an underlined letter. Reading out a string of digits is as simple as reading out the letter with the vowel /o/. The word for "zero" has two possible pronunciations. It is normally /o/, but if an ambiguity can occur between the number < o > and the letter , then the pronunciation /uo/ is used.

Larger Numbers
 is "dozen" and  is "gross". You need to explicitly say "one dozen" and "one gross" instead of simply "dozen" and "gross".

Nouns
Nouns do not decline. A noun can represent one of any number, gender, or definiteness.

Case Particles
Particles will be used to indicate the case of nouns. They are placed after the noun they modify.

Noun Classes
Every noun falls into one of five main classes.

Of course, the classes themselves are nouns in their own right. One thing that classes are used for is counting nouns. Each of these classes have sub-classes for extra precision, but there is nothing wrong with using the main class.

Determiners
For normal nouns, the determiners, , and , meaning "which", "this", and "that", respectively, are placed before the noun. A short form exists for the special words in the following table, although the full form can still be used.

Note that the determiner for non-existance uses the word for "zero", so that  literally means "zero people".

Personal Pronouns
The most general way to refer to a person is by using their name, even when talking directly to them. A second-person pronoun exists, but it is mainly to be used if you don't know the name of who you are speaking to. However, using your own name to speak about yourself is considered childish or egotistic, so only the first-person pronoun sees general use.

Note that there is no third person pronoun. Again, the name of who you are talking about is to be used if it is known. Otherwise, use the phrase ; "that person".

The suffix <-koi> is added to indicate a group including the person you are talking about. This can be used to pluralize the pronouns, but it is not limited to being added to pronouns. e.g. = we, = you,  = Smith and his group.

Adjectives
All adjectives will be gradable. All other adjectives as we know them in English will be expressed by stative verbs.

Each adjective has a root that may not use  as its final consonant. The nominal form will have <-la> appended to the root. Words toward the positive direction end with <-li>; toward the negative direction, <-lu>. (Positive/Negative here does not necessarily correlate to desirable/undesirable.) Neutrality is formed with <-lr>. Reduplicating the last syllable forms a greater degree. It is possible to reduplicate the last syllable multiple times, but it is discouraged in non-casual situations.

The suffixes <-le> and <-lo> are used to say that you want it toward the direction of the <-li> word and the <-lu> word, respectively. Depending on which word it is used with, it will form constructions such as the comparative and excessive degree. means "it is neutral and I want it toward the direction of hot", basically meaning "hotter". means "it is cold and I want it toward the direction of hot", basically meaning "too cold".

Adding <-lele> and <-lolo> to the root forms the superlative.

Adjectives are placed directly before a noun to modify it. e.g. = "small thing".

Basic Verb Forms
Verbs conjugate according to mood and tense.

Copula
The copula is . It is used to say that a noun is another noun.

The copula is a specialized verb and conjugates differently compared to other verbs.

In order to use an adjective in the predicate position, you need to attach the adjective to one of the noun class words.

In English, the verb "to be" can also show existance. This is a separate verb in 9.

Existence
The verb to show existence is.

This verb can also mean "to have".

Note that the genitive case is used, so it literally says "A 'my cat' exists".

Indicative
The basic form of a verb ends in <-a>. To make verbs negative, add <-n>.

Tense
There is no separate future tense. The base form of the verb is used for both the present and future. The past tense of the copula is, and its past negative is. For other verbs, the past tense is formed by adding the auxiliary word before the verb.

Questions
In order to turn a statement into a question, add  to the end of a sentence.

Subordinate Clauses
The particle  marks off a subordinate clause.

Progressive
To indicate an action in progress, change <-a> to <-r>. Add <-ŋ> to form the negative. The copula has no progressive form.

Current Vocabulary
Abbreviations used: adj - adjective; det - determiner; n - noun; nc - noun class; pn - pronoun; pt - particle; sfx- suffix; v - verb; # - number