Manúskta

Consonants
Consonants written as digraphs and trigraphs are pronounced as a single sound, but are not phonemes in their own right. Underlyingly they are sequences of two phonemes that can be split up by infixes.

Labial consonants are always palatalised e.g. m is always [mʲ].

Dental and alveolar consonants are always uvularised (or sometimes velarised or pharyngealised instead) when they are before a vowel e.g. t is [tˠ] or [tˤ]. The only exception to this is that it does not apply to laterals.

Most dialects only make a distinction between retroflex and non-retroflex consonants before a vowel. Almost all speakers labialise retroflex consonants as well e.g. nr is [ɳʷ].

Labial-Velar consonants are in free variation with labialised velar consonants and velarised/pharyngealised labial consonants e.g. kw can be pronounced as [k͡p], [kʷ], [pˠ] or [pˤ].

There is no distinction between velar and uvular consonants, and they are in free variation e.g. k can be pronounced as either [k] or [q].

The voicing contrast in fricatives (central and lateral) is gradually being lost in the language. The only place where it is consistently maintained is word initially. Furthermore fricatives cannot be found in syllable codas. If one is written, it is not pronounced, but puts breathy voice on the preceding vowel.

Voiceless lateral fricatives can also be pronounced as voiceless lateral approximants at the same point of articulation. All lateral fricatives can also optionally be pronounced as clusters of fricative+lateral.

In almost all dialects, voiceless nasals can only occur before a vowel, elsewhere they are voiced. Many dialects go a step further and prohibit their use except word initially. Voiceless nasals can always optionally be pronounced as a cluster of voiceless fricative + nasal.

Consonants in square brackets [] are only found in formal speech. Consonants in round brackets are only found in some dialects.

It is debatably whether the glottal stop is a phoneme in its own right. It only occurs between vowels that would be next to each other because of affixing or compounding. It never occurs morpheme internally. However it is written in the orthography with a hyphen.

The uvular approximant written as g is in free variation with a trill, and a voiced stop. It can also be velar or pharyngeal for some speakers. A few speakers also pronounce it as an alveolar trill.

Ejectives, implosives, glottalised sonorants, consonants with faucalised and breathy voice as well as voiceless aspirated stops and affricates can all be heard in Manúskta. However these can be predicted from their position relative to accented syllables and breathy voiced vowels. Therefore they are not phonemes and are not listed.

Dialectical Chain Shift (z-rhotacisation)
Some dialects have more radical sound changes than the simple addition and loss of some consonant sounds e.g. lw (that cannot even really be called phonemes, since they are underlyingly clusters of consonants). This is one of several types of chain shift involving fricatives that are phonetically non-voiceless (i.e. including those with breathy voice and faucalised voice as well as modal voice).

All these chain shifts begin with the rhotacisation of phonetic [z] to the approximant [ɹ]. Where they differ is what happens next e.g. pazát - to disseminate information is normally pronounced IPA: [pʰʲazaɗ] X-Sampa: [p_h_jazad_<], but in dialects with the chain shift, then it is IPA: [pʰʲaɹaɗ], X-Sampa: [p_h_jar\ad_<]. Note that this does not affect [s] e.g. e.g. to collect tax - pasêeh, is IPA: [pʰasi̤e̤], X-Sampa: [p_hasie_t] in all dialects. However there are a lot of predicatable situations in which written s will be pronounced as [z] e.g. mínsar - mince maker, which is normally pronounced IPA: [mʲɨn̰za], X-Sampa: [m_j1n_kza], but in chain shift dialects, is pronounced as IPA: [mʲɨn̰ ɹ a], X-Sampa: [m_j1n_kr\a]. This chain shift also applies to situations when the z is pronounced with faucalised voice (again predictable) e.g. to zoom (with a camera) - zûm, is normally pronounced IPA: [ z̬ɵːm], X-Sampa: [z_v8:m], but in chain shift dialects, it is pronounced IPA: [ɹ̬ɵːm], X-Sampa: [r\_v8:m].

The above sound change is never found alone, however. In turn, it always triggers some other type of sound shift involving another non-voiceless fricative becoming [z]. There are two main sub-varieties of this:

The sub-variety with the simplest sound shift then changes.[ʝ] into [z] (but leaves [ç] untouched) e.g. danger - dáenzyar, is normally pronounced IPA: [ɗɛn̰ʝa], X-Sampa: [d_<En_kj\a], but in dialects with the chain shift, it is pronounced IPA: [ɗɛn̰za], X-Sampa: [d_<En_kza].

Another sub-variety has a more complicated sound shift instead. It changes a voiced velar / uvular approximant to fill the gap formed by the departure formed by [z]. The overwhelming majority of these varieties will then further chain shift [ʝ] to become some kind of velar, uvular or pharyngeal fricative (or approximant if they use the trill pronounciation for g) e.g. your hinge - yohínzyar, is normally pronounced IPA: [ joɣɨn̰ʝa], X-Sampa: [joG1n_kj\a], but in dialects with the more complicated sound shift, it would be pronounced IPA: [ jozɨn̰xa], X-Sampa: [joz1n_kxa]. The word for "danger" is thus pronounced IPA: [ɗɛn̰ ɣ a], X-Sampa: [d_<En_kGa]. Also compare this to the previous sub-variety, which would pronounce the word for "your hinge' as IPA: [ jo ɣ ɨn̰za], X-Sampa: [joG1n_kza], shifting the palatal fricative to directly to [z] and leaving the velar fricative alone.

Among both these dialects, there is also a strong tendency to pronounce the glottalised retroflex flap as a glottalised alveolar approximant instead e.g. the word "arrow" (as in the sign) - áeraazr, is normally heard as IPA: [ɛɽ̰a̤ə̬], X-Sampa: [Er`_ka@_t], but dialects with z-rhotacisation would pronounced it as IPA: [ɛɻ̰a̤ə̬], X-Sampa: [Er\_ka@_t] instead. In turn, this usually leads to the loss of the retroflex implosive, which becomes pronounced as a glottalised retroflex flap e.g. animals - sátwatw, is normally heard with a retroflex implosive IPA: [saᶑat], X-Sampa: [sad'_<at]. But dialects with z-rhotacisation instead pronounce it with a glottalised retroflex flap IPA: [sa ɻ̰ at], X-Sampa: [sar`_kat].

Vowels
All diphthongs listed are centering diphthongs that start at the position labelled on the diagram and center to schwa. Ee and Oo are normally monophthongs, except in syllables with long accent.

There are 12 vowels in total, 6 with modal voice and 6 with breathy voice. These are grouped together in pairs, with one member of each pair having modal voice, and the other having breathy voice. There are many phonological and grammatical processes that change a modally voiced vowel to its breathy voiced counterpart, and vice versa. These pairs are listed below, with modally voiced vowel first, followed by it's breathy voiced counterpart:

{C}{C {C Vowels with breathy voice are pronounced with a markedly lower pitch than vowel with modal voice. Also Manúskta has a phonation spreading process that works in a similar way to tone spreading. Breathy voice can spreading from the vowel in one syllable to the vowel in the preceding syllable, as long as none of the intervening consonants are "blocking". Blocking consonants are those that were historically voiceless. They are written in the orthography as p, t, k, f, th, s, h and - (the glottal stop). This is why the word for 1 is aw, IPA: [aw̰], X_Sampa: [aw_k], the word for 100 is awhaanztî, IPA: [awxa̤ə̤ntʼɨː], X-Sampa: [awxa@_tt_>1:] (even though the following vowel is breathy voiced, the h blocks the phonation spreading) but the word for 110 is aawmwuastî, IPA: [a̤ə̤wŋʷy̤a̤tʼɨː], X-Sampa: [a@_twN_wya_tt_>1:]. There is nothing to stop the breathy voice on the vowel "ua" spreading to the previous vowel, since neither "m" nor "w" are blocking consonants.

Initial Consonant Mutation
Word initial clusters of fricative + voiceless stop are normally ejectives at the point of articulation of the stop. The only exception to this is if there is another ejective later in the word. In this case the cluster is pronounced as a tenuis stop. Under normal conditions, word initial voiceless stops are aspirated, however, in a similar fashion to the ejectives, they become tenuis if there is another aspirated stop later in the word. A similar thing happens with voiced stops at the beginning of words, which become implosives unless there is another implosive later in the word, in which case they become tenuis stops. Likewise, word initial voiceless fricatives (central and lateral) become voiced if there is another fricative later in the word that is pronounced as voiceless (if it is written, but elided or pronounced as a voiced fricative, then this process doesn't apply). A few speakers glottalise all word initial sonorants, except if there is another glottalised sonorant later in the word.

The following words illustrate and example of this: to visit - tám, IPA: [tʰam̰ ʲ ], X-Sampa: [t_ham_k_j], to make a surprise attack- kyâp , IPA: [cʰa:p], X-Sampa: [c_ha:p], to travel a distance to make a surprise hit and run raid - tamkyâp , IPA: [tam ʲ cʰa:p], X-Sampa: [tam_jc_ha:p]. In the final word, the first t would normally be aspirated, but because there is an aspirated palatal stop later in the word, it is deaspirated to a tenuis stop.

Suprasegmentals
Each word in Manúskta contains exactly one accented syllable. There are two types of accent, Short, and Long (which lengthens the vowel it is on). Word final syllables with no coda consonant (note that -y and -w count as coda consonants) can only have Long accent.

Short Accent
If a vowel with short accent is immediately followed by a stop, then that stop becomes implosive (with the exception of k and g which become glottalised uvular approximants IPA: [ʀ̰], X-Sampa: [R\_k], owing to the difficulty of making an implosive in the back of the mouth). e.g. cot - kót, IPA: [kʰɔɗ] X-Sampa: [k_hOd_<]. to stay overnight - pák, IPA: [pʰaʀ̰], X-Sampa: [p_haR_k]. If the stop is written b, d or g, then it itself is pronounced the same way, but the vowel is changed to breathy e.g. bottle - kóed, IPA: [kʰo̤ɛ̤ɗ], X-Sampa: [k_hoE_td_<], vegetable - páag, IPA: [pʰa̤ə̤ʀ̰], X-Sampa: [p_ha@_tR\_k]. If the stop is written p, t or k, then the vowel can never be breathy.

Also breathy voice can never spread onto (or through) syllables with short accent e.g. cots - kótuaz, IPA: [kʰɔɗy̤a̤], X-Sampa: [k_hOd_If a vowel with a short accent is immediately followed by s and then a voiceless stop, then the s is not pronounced and the voiceless stop becomes ejective e.g. Manúskta is pronounced IPA: [mʲanɵkʼta], X-Sampa: [m_jan8k_>ta].

If a vowel with a short accent is immediately followed by a sonorant, then that sonorant acquires creaky voice and also blocks the spreading of breathy voice e.g. human - mánuas, IPA: [mʲan̰y̤a̤], X-Sampa: [m_jan_kya_t]. Here we can see that the vowel in the second syllable has breathy voice, which would normally spread through n (as it is a sonorant) were it not for the fact that n has acquired creaky voice.

If the vowel with a short accent is immediately followed by a fricative and then a non vowel sonorant, the fricative is not pronounced and the sonoarant acquires creaky voice. However the vowel acquires breathy voice e.g. Muslim - móozlim IPA: [mʲṳl̰ɨm], X-Sampa: [m_ju_tl_k1m]. If it is followed by a fricative and then a vowel, then the fricative is replaced with a glottal stop (and the preceding vowel acquires breathy voice), e.g. Pacific - paséefik IPA: [pʰazi̤ʔɨk], X-Sampa: [p_hazi_t?1k].

Long Accent
In contrast to vowels with short accent, vowels with long accent often modify the pronunciation of the preceding consonant, in addition to lengthening the vowel e.g. if they are preceded by a sequence of fricative + voiceless stop, then the fricative will be deleted and the stop will become an ejective e.g. twenty seven - twenskông, IPA: [ʈʰe̤nkʼoːŋ], X-Sampa: [t`_he_tnk_>o:N]. Otherwise a voiceless stop before a vowel with long accent will become aspirated e.g. eggplant - makûax, IPA: [m ʲ akʰy̤ːa̤], X-Sampa: [m_jak_hya_t:]. As mentioned previously, fricatives are normally voiced between vowels, but a long accent on the following vowel blocks this for f, s and h e.g. to collect tax - pasêeh, IPA: [pʰasi̤e̤], X-Sampa: [p_hasie_t].

The pronunciation of the long accent in other cases depends on whether or not the vowel is breathy voiced. Voiced fricatives, voiced stops, nasals and approximants (i.e. all the non blocking consonants) all become breathy voiced before a vowel with long accent and breathy voice. The vowel in this case acquires a "peaking" tone that starts low, rises to mid and then falls to low again e.g. zoo - zôoh, IPA: [z̤ṳ̂ː], X-Sampa: [z_tû_t:]. Furthermore the breathy voice can spread to preceding syllables in the same word e.g. to visit - tám, IPA: [tʰam̰], X-Sampa: [t_ham_k]. This word by itself clearly has no breathy voice, but when we look at the verb meaning to visit a zoo - taamzôoh, IPA: [tʰa̤ə̤m̤z̤ṳ̂ː], X-Sampa: [t_ha@_tmz_tû_t:] we can see that the breathy voice has spread to the first syllable.

If a syllable with long accent begins with a voiced fricative, a voiced stop, a nasal or an approximant, but there is no breathy voice on the vowel, then the vowel acquires a sharply rising tone and the consonant is pronounced with faucalised voice e.g. twelve - lô, IPA: [l̬ǒː], X-Sampa: [l_vǒː].

Derivational Morphology using accent shifts
Manúskta has an extremely productive process of producing nouns from verbs and vice versa by changing the location of the pitch accent. This is because verbs always have accent on the final syllable, third last syllable, fifth last syllable etc. (odd numbered syllables counting from the end of the word backwards). Nouns always have accent on the second last syllable, fourth last syllable etc. (even numbered syllables counting from the end of the word backwards). This process originated with English stress derived nouns (e.g. to inVITE vs. an INvite), but was borrowed into Manúskta and became much more productive e.g. to invite- inváoyt, IPA: [ɨnvʲɔj̤], X-Sampa: [1nv_jOj_k] vs. an invite (e.g. an invitation) - ínvaoyt IPA: [ɨn̰vʲɔj], X-Sampa: [1n_kv_jOj], a convict - káonvikt , IPA: [kʰɔn̰vʲɨk], X-Sampa: [k_hOn_kv_j1k] vs to convict - kaonvíkt  IPA: [kʰɔnvʲɨʁ̰], X-Sampa: [k_hOn_kv_j1R_k].

It is very common for the type of accent to shift from short to long or long to short when it is moved from one syllable to another. The reason for this is that, once upon a time, every syllable in a word in Manúskta could be long or short. However a sound change occurred that shortened all the unaccented vowels. An example of this is the following pair of words: contrast (noun) - kóntraast, IPA: [kʰɔn̰ʈa̤ə̤t], X-Sampa: [k_hOn_kt`a@_tt] vs. to contrast - kaontrâast, IPA: [kɔnʈʰa̤ə̤ːt], X-Sampa: [kOnt_ha@_t:t] Note that this is another example of the rule that Manúskta does not like words with more than one aspirated consonant. In the verbal form, the initial k would normally be aspirated, but is tenuis because there is another aspirated stop later in the word.

Phonotactics and Allophony
Manúskta does not like syllables that are more complex than CVC, where V is a vowel and C is a consonant sound. For the purposes of phonotactics, clusters like -tr- behave as single sounds even though, underlyingly, they are clusters of two consonants. It is also worth noting here that, in most dialects, "r" and "l" are deleted in syllable codas. Most Manúskta speakers also do not like retroflex and palatal nasals (especially palatal nasals after back vowels) in syllable codas, and pronounce them as alveolar/dental nasals instead. Also, in syllable codas, labio-velar and uvular nasals are usually merged into plain velar nasals.

Similarly, there is a restriction on the range of stops permitted in syllable codas. Retroflex, palatal and labio-velar stops are not normally allowed here. Note that all of these consonants are written with digraphs. In syllable codas, they are prononced as though the second consonant of the digraph didn't exist e.g. ky becomes k, and dy becomes d.

Rules for simplifying illegal consonant clusters
Manúskta orthography contains many instances of consonant clusters that would be forbidden by the phonotactics specified above (sometimes formed by affixation and compounding). These are simplified to permissible clusters by applying a series of rules. These are applied in layers, and keep going until only permissible syllable shapes are obtained (maximum CVC):

1) Delete all fricatives unless they come immediately before a vowel (this may lead to breathy voice being put on the preceding vowel, as long as there is no intervening voiceless consonant to block it). 2) Excluding digraphs listed in the consonant chart above, begin deleting all approximants other than approximants immediately after a vowel. This rule starts working from right to left. <p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;">3) Begin deleting all stops in the cluster. Start working from right to left. <p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;">4) Begin deleting all fricatives in the cluster. Start working from right to left.

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;"> 5) Begin deleting all nasals in the cluster. Start working from right to left.

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;">Take for instance the transitive verb skrúym - to scream at someone or something. Both the initial and final consonant clusters as written are not allowed in Manúskta. They are simplified as follows:

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;">a) The initial s does not come before a vowel. It is therefore deleted (though it makes the k ejective). We now have [kʼɽɵj̰m ʲ ], which is not yet permissible, so we go to the next step. <p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;">b) The [ɽ] is not immediately after a vowel, so it gets deleted. However the [j] is, so it is retained. We now have [kʼɵj̰m ʲ ], in which the syllable onset is now phonotactically permissible, but the coda is not. <p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;">c) The final [m ʲ ] is deleted. We now have [kʼɵj̰] which is permissible.

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;">Now let's say we want to make the verb antipassive. To do this, the infix "it" is inserted after the first underlying consonant in the onset of the final syllable, this gives sitkrúym which simplifies as follows:

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;">a) The initial s comes before a vowel this time. It is therefore not deleted. To start with we have [sɨtkɽɵj̰m ʲ ], where both the medial and final clusters are not yet permissible, so we go to the next step. <p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;">b) The [ɽ] is not immediately after a vowel, so it gets deleted. However the [j] is, so it is retained. We now have [sɨtkɵj̰m ʲ ], with a coda that is still not phonotactically permissible. <p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;">c) The final [m] is deleted. We now have [sɨtkɵj̰] which is permissible.

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;">ow say we prefix it with the deontic mood prefix waona-, to make woenaaskrúym (remember that the s is deleted and puts breathy voice on the preceding vowel, with spreads through "n" to the first vowel in the prefix). Also not that the k is no longer word initial, so it is not ejective.

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;">a) The s is deleted, so we initially have [wo̤ɛ̤na̤ə̤kɽɵj̰m ʲ ]. <p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;">b) The [ɽ] is not deleted, because the consonant cluster that it is in conforms to Manúskta phonotactics. Nothing happens to the final [j] for similar reasons as before. <p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;">c) The final [m ʲ ] is deleted.

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;">Now let's say that we want to put both the antipassive infix and the deontic prefix on the verb. First waona- is prefixed, since the mood inflexion takes place before voice inflexion. So first we have woenaeskrúym like before. However the antipassive infix -it- attaches to the first underlying consonant in the onset of the initial syllable. For the purposes of infixing, Manúskta grammar would divide a word like this up as woenaes.krúym. Therefore the written form is woenaeskitrúym.

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;">a) tr coalesces into [ʈ], and the s is deleted with the same breathy voice effect as before. So now we have [wo̤ɛ̤na̤ə̤kɨʈɵj̰m ʲ ]. <p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;">b) The [m] is deleted for the same reasons as in the other words. So the word is pronounced [wo̤ɛ̤na̤ə̤kɨʈɵj̰m ʲ ].

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;">So when is the m actually pronounced? Well Manúskta has an extremely productive process that suffixes -ar (pronounced [a] except in the few dialects that allow [ɽ] in codas) to create a noun from a verb meaning "the one who does ...". So woenaeskitrúymar means "the one who I hope screams", and is pronounced [wo̤ɛ̤na̤ə̤kɨʈɵj̰m ʲar ].

<h4 style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;"> "Creaky" Stops

In the word final position, after a modally voiced vowel that does not have short accent, phonetic [b] and [d] are devoiced to [p] and [t] respectively. Some speakers also change g to k in this context. If this happens the preceding vowel gets creaky voice and falling tone e.g. tâod - to fry, IPA: [tʰɔ̰ːt], X-Sampa: [t_hO_k:t]. Of course if something like suffixation means that this is no longer the final phoneme of the word, then this process does not apply e.g. tâodar - fryer, IPA: [tʰɔːd ɨ ], X-Sampa: [t_hO:d1] (note the lack of creaky voice on the first vowel).

This applies even if a written consonant has been deleted to make the syllable fit Manúskta phonotactics e.g. straight - ngây, IPA: [ŋa:j], X-Sampa: [Na:j] has modal voice and high level tone, whereas easy - ngâyd, IPA: [ŋa̰ːj], X-Sampa: [Na_k:j] has falling tone and creaky voice.

Many speakers also do this to word final g as well. An example of this is the word for pen (e.g. for livestock) - kâog. This can be pronounced as IPA: [kʰɔːʀ], X-Sampa: [k_hO:R\], but also as IPA: [kʰɔ̰ːʀ], X-Sampa: [k_hO_k:R\] with creaky voice and falling tone on the vowel. In this situation the g is often pronounced as k, so the word could also be pronounced as IPA: [kʰɔ̰ːk], X-Sampa: [k_hO_k:k], again with creaky voice and falling tone on the vowel.

One thing to note with these words is that if the initial consonant of the final syllable had faucalised voice, then the pitch on the vowel starts low and rises before it falls e.g. the word for "land" is lâend, IPA:[l̬ɛ̰ːn], X-Sampa: [l_vE_k:n]. Because the l has faucalised voice (put on it by the long pitch accent), then the vowel has a peaking tone (i.e. rising-falling).

Number
Manúskta nouns are unmarked in the singular, and inflect for plural number and collective number (a group e.g. a pride of lions). How this is done depends on whether the noun is monosyllabic, or consists of two or more syllables.

For monosyllabic nouns, the plural form is created by reduplicating the rime of the syllable and placing it after the noun e.g. pedal boat - slâey, IPA: [ɬɛːj], X-Sampa: [KE:j] vs. two pedal boats - slâeyaey, IPA: [ɬɛːjɛj], X-Sampa: [KE:jEj]. The collective form is made by suffixing -stowd as is the word for a fleet of pedal boats - slêystowd, IPA: [ɬe̤ːjto̰w], X-Sampa: [Ke_tto_kw]. The deletion of the -s puts breathy voice on the preceding vowel, and the -d at the end of the word makes the final vowel have creaky voice and falling tone.

This can work the other way as well, where reduplication means that a fricative is pronounced in the plural form, where it was not pronounced in the singular form (with a change in phonation on the vowel) e.g. bank (of a river) - fâasy, IPA: [fa̤ə̤ːj], X-Sampa: [fa@_t:j] vs. a pair of banks (of a river) - fâsyaay, IPA: [faːʝa̤ə̤j], X-Sampa: [fa:j\a@_tj].

For words with more than one syllable, things are totally different. For collective number, add the infix -oev immediately after the first consonant of the accented syllable e.g. a set of condominiums - koendoomoevínyum - IPA: [kʰo̤ɛ̤ndṳmo̤ɛ̤vɨɲ̰ɵm], X-Sampa: [k_hoE_tndu_tmoE_tv1J_k8m] (note how breathy voice can spread onto multiple syllables if there are no blocking consonants)

The way in which the plural form of words with more than one syllable is formed depends on the final syllable. If the vowel does not have breathy voice then pluralisation is simple. Simply write a -z immediately after the last vowel the word. The consonant itself is silent, but its deletion puts breathy voice onto the preceding vowel. As usual, this can spread as far as there are no blocking consonants e.g. condominiums - kaondomínyuazm, IPA: [kʰɔndomɨɲ̰y̤a̤m], X-Sampa: [k_hOndom1J_kya_tm].

If the final vowel of the word has breathy voice, then pluralisation is more complicated and involves metathesis. The rime of the final syllable is "cut", and "pasted" immediately after the first consonant of the accented syllable. Then the suffix -uaz, is added to the word e.g. collage káolaazr, IPA: [kʰɔl̰a̤ə̤], X-Sampa: [k_hOl_ka@_t] is pluralised to collages (more than 2) - kaazráoluaz, IPA: [kʰa̤ə̤ʐɔl̰y̤a̤], X-Sampa: [k_ha@_tz`Ol_kya_t].

To illustrate this, here are some words in their singular, collective and plural forms.

English: man (monosyllabic)

Singular: mâen, IPA: [m̬ʲɛːn], X-Sampa: [m_v_jE:n]

Plural: mâenaen, IPA: [m̬ʲɛːnɛn], X-Sampa: [m_v_jE:nEn]

Collective: mênstowd, IPA: [m̬ʲe̤ːnto̰w], X-Sampa: [m_v_jE:nto_kw]

English: child (monosyllabic)

Singular: klêx, IPA: [kʰe̤ː], X-Sampa: [k_he_t:]

Plural: klêxex, IPA: [kʰe̤ːɣe̤], X-Sampa: [k_he:Ge_t]

Collective: klêxstowd, IPA: [kʰe̤ːto̰w], X-Sampa: [k_he_t:to_kw]

English: animal (monosyllabic)

Singular: sátw, IPA: [saɗ], X-Sampa: [sad_<]

Plural: sátwatw, IPA: [saᶑat], X-Sampa: [sad'_<at] (has a retroflex implosive).

Collective: sátwstowd, IPA: [saᶑto̰w], X-Sampa: [sad_<to_kw]

English: star (non-monosyllabic, non-breathy final vowel)

Singular: ngôysaw, IPA: [ŋ̬oːjzaw], X-Sampa: [N_vo:jzaw]

Plural: ngôysaazw, IPA: [ŋ̬oːjza̤ə̤w], X-Sampa: [N_vo:jza@_tw]

Collective: ngoevôysaw, IPA: [ŋo̤ɛ̤v̬ʲoːjzaw], X-Sampa: [NoE_tv_v_jo:jzaw]

English: rotten object (non-monosyllabic, breathy final vowel) [note: I have underlined the part of the word that "moves" in the plural form]

Singular: ráol uasy , IPA: [ɽɔl̰y̤a̤j], X-Sampa: [r`Ol_kya_tj]

Plural: r uasy áoluaz, IPA: [ɽy̤a̤ʝɔl̰y̤a̤], X-Sampa: [r`yaj\Ol_kya_t]

Collective: roeváol uasy , IPA: [ɽo̤ɛ̤vʲɔl̰y̤a̤j], X-Sampa: [r`oE_tv_jOl_kya_tj]

{C {C}Note that the plural form is not used when the object is explicitly counted using a numeral e.g. for "two men", mâen tô is used, not *mâenaen tô, and to say "three rotten objects", ráoluasy trî is correct, not *ruasyáoluaz trî. Also note that is is perfectly possible to pluralise any noun, even if it would not normally be considered countable. In such a case it merely indicates a large amount of the said thing e.g. water - wótar, IPA: [woɗa], X-Sampa: [wod_<a] vs. a large amount of water - wótaazr, IPA: [woɗa̤ə̤], X-Sampa: [wod_<a@_t].

Possession
Manúskta distinguishes alienable and inalienable possession in many cases. Both are indicated by a prefix on the possessed noun. Often these prefixes end with a fricative, which may or may not be pronounced depending on what follows. If so, both forms are listed, with the form where the fricative disappears listed first. Here are the pronominal prefixes (which would correspond to English "my", "your" etc.).

If one noun possesses another, then the normal possessive construction places the possessed noun before the possessor (like in the English "of" construction). The possessed noun is prefixed with i- / y- if the possession is alienable and na- / n- if it is inalienable. If the possessor has been fronted to the beginning of the sentence as a topic, then instead the possessed noun is prefixed with zo- if the possession is alienable, and sweh- / swaeh- if it is not.

Note that when these affixes attach to a noun that is monosyllabic (after any pluralisation), then the pitch accent shifts to be on the prefix. Whether the prefix will have short or long accent is unpredicatable (it depends on whether the prefix had a long or short vowel in the proto-language) and depends on the prefix e.g. the 1st person singular prefix maoy- will always have short accent, leading to words like "my pedal boat" - máoyslaey, IPA: [mɔj̰ɮɛj], X-Sampa: [mOj_kK\Ej] whereas the 2nd person singular prefix yo(r)- will always have long accent, leading to words like "your pedal boat" - yôslaey, IPA: [j̬oːɮɛj], X-Sampa:[j_vo:K\Ej]. As mentioned before, this pitch accent only applies to words that are monosyllabic after any pluralisation processes have taken place. So the word for "my pedal boats" will not be *máoyslaeyaey, but maoyslâeyaey, IPA: [mɔɬɛːjɛj], X-Sampa: [mOKE:jEj].

Here is a list of the variant forms of each possessive prefix (some of the forms vary slightly from the unaccented forms):

{C {C}Normal Alienable Possessive Prefix: í- / y-

Normal Inalienable Possessive Prefix: ná- / n-

Topicalised Alienable Possessive Prefix: zó-

Topicalised Inalienable Possessive Prefix: swéh- / swáeh-

Case
There are only two grammatical cases in the language, that I will label Absolutive and Ergative even though Manúskta differs from a classic ergative-absolutive language like Basque. Absolutive case is unmarked, and the Ergative is marked with the prefix baoy- e.g.

hômkwa nes.kík Mary báoy.John

yesterday  3DEFSBJ.NFUT.REP. kick Mary ERG-John

Yesterday John kicked Mary

However if the subject of the transitive verb is more animate than the object, both nouns take the Absolutive Case e.g. assuming Rover is a dog, and therefore less animate than John (a human), we would say:

hômkwa nes.kík Rover John

''yesterd'ay DEFSBJ.NFUT.REP. kick'' Rover John

Yesterday John kicked Rover (a dog).

The Ergative case is also used like a Genitive marker on nouns that possess other nouns e.g.

í.maeyk báoy.John

ALNBL.POSS-comrade ERG-John

John's comrade

(Note that the inalienable prefix ná- can be used instead to make the word námaeyk. This gives the sense of eternal, undying comradeship)

However if the possessor is more animate than the posssessed noun, then the possessor takes the Absolutive case instead (i.e. it is unmarked).

i.wótar John

ALNBL.POSS-water John

John's water

Also Ergative Case is never found on nouns which are otherwise inflected in any way e.g.

í.maeyk stû.klex

ALNBL.POSS-comrade 1INCL.DUAL.POSS-child

our child's comrade

Articles
Whilst in English definite and indefinite articles are separate words (albeit clitics), in Manúskta they are fully fledged affixes (prefixes that come after the possessive prefixes). Like the possessive prefixes, they often vary in shape depending on what they come before (which may or may not trigger deletion of a fricative). If so, the form where the fricative is deleted is listed first. They normally are not accented, except if the noun is monosyllabic and there are no intervening affixes between the article and the noun root. The accents only remain on the prefixes in this case, and in all other cases are lost. Here is a list of the articles (note that there is only a distinction between singular and plural, with no dual forms, when referring to two of something, the plural is used):

Indefinite Singular: ées- / ís- (Indefinite articles are used when referring to something that the listener is assumed to not have any information about.)

Indefinite Plural: úys-

Semi-Definite Singular: áed- (Semi-Definite articles are used when commenting on or asking for information about something that your interlocutor has already brought up in the discussion. If you brought it up in the discussion yourself, then you use a definite article instead. They are also used when bringing up something in a discussion that you assume your listener has already heard of.)

Semi-Definite Plural: âaz-

Definite: ú- / íy- (This is used when referring to something that you yourself have already brought up in the discussion, or something for which you expect that both you and your listener should know exactly what you're talking about. It is the same for both singular and plural nouns).

Hypothetical Singular: á- / áen- (This is used when introducing anything anything hypothetical into the discussion. It is also used to mean "any one of" the noun taking the affix. The next time the object is mentioned, it will take the indefinite article).

Hypothetical Plural: Unmarked (This has a similar usage to the hypothetical singular.)

Nonspecific: sám- (Used to refer to something, usually in passing, that you have no information about, and that you don't expect your listener to have any information on either).

One important point to make here is that articles are not found on possessors, nor on nouns which are the grammatical subject of a sentence. The only exception to this is when the noun is topicalised e.g. the following phrase could be grammatical:

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">y.ées.maeyk stû.klex

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">ALNBL.POSS-'INDF.SG'-comrade 1INCL.DUAL.POSS-child

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">a comrade of our child's

But the next phrase would never ever be grammatical, as it is placing an article on a non-topicalised possessor:

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">* y.ées.maeyk 'stu.é'es.klex

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">'ALNBL.POSS-'INDF.SG'-comrade 1INCL.DUAL.POSS-'INDF.SG'-child

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">one of our children's comrades

Adjectives
Adjectives do not form a separate class of words in Manúskta that are distinct from nouns. Any noun can be used as an adjective by placing it after the noun it modifies. Adjectives never inflect for case, possession, number or definiteness e.g.

báoy.satw klêx

ERG-animal child

a young animal

Demonstratives
Manúskta has a 3 way system of demonstratives: this - nêeh, that - nánt and that over there (yonder) '''- nônd. When used as modifiers, they follow the noun they modify e.g. klêx nêeh''' - this child. When they are used as nominals themselves, they can inflect for number, possession, case and definiteness just like regular nouns e.g. éesnant - "one of those" has an indefinite article, whereas únant - "that one" has a definite article.

Basic Verb Morphology
Manúskta verbs inflect with prefixes and infixes. There are 4 "slots" for prefixes. Starting from the verb root and working backwards, they are: aspect, mood, subject and wh-interrogatives. They also take infixes for voice / object (conflated into one category for the purposes of conjugation). These infixes are placed after the first consonant of the accented syllable.

Aspect
{C Starting from the verb root and working backwards, this is the first prefix "slot". For perfective aspect and stative aspect, it is unmarked, however there are many other possible prefixes that can go here e.g.

habitual: mak-

unrealised inceptive / inchoative: baewt- (implies being ready to do something or become something)

prospective: gaona- (implies getting ready to do something or become something)

progressive: kamlang- (frequently contracted to kam-, kal-, lang-, kalang-, kamang- or kang-)

experiential: khuy- (implies "having ever" done something or something, the number of times is not relevant)

resultative: hev- / haev- (the former is used when the -v- is not pronounced, the latter otherwise)

inceptive/inchoative: rumb-

conative: ko- (to try to do something)

continuative 1: kuyp- (to continue doing something, to stay in a state)

continuative 2: u- (has the sense of English "still")

resumptive 1: ruy-

resumptive 2: psaah- / psah- (has the sense of doing something again properly, because it was done incorrectly the first time)

terminative: kat- (has a sense of finishing something completely)

cessative: hi- (has a sense of incompletely finishing)

defective: guasp- (almost do something, but it didn't actually happen)

intensive 1: kwa- (to overdo something, to do something excessively)

intensive 2: ngub- (to do something thoroughly)

protractive: tok- (for something to go on and on, to build up and up)

durative: bin- (gives the sense of English "for a while")

Mood
{C Grammatical mood (except for interrogatives, which are dealt with using special pronominal affixes) is expressed using affixes that immediately precede the aspect prefixes. Traditional Manúskta grammar divides mood affixes up into three classes: imperative mood, tensed-mood and tenseless mood. The distinction between the latter two is important, since it determines what classes of prefixes can precede the mood prefixes.

Imperative Mood Prefixes
A verb that takes a special mood prefix can take no further prefixes (though it can inflect for aspect). There are only four of these prefixes:

2nd Person Imperative: yu- (used when commanding the listener to do something)

2nd Person Negative Imperative: daanst- (used when commanding the listener not to do something)

1st Person Inclusive Imperative: lest- (equivalent to English "let's")

1st Person Inclusive Negative Imperative: kam- (equivalent to English "let's not")

Tensed-Mood Prefixes
These prefixes also carry information about the verb's tense, and for the negative and energetic moods, they inflect for number as well. Using any tensed-mood prefix means that a set of subject prefixes must be used which do not change for tense.

{C The Repeatable Non-Future is used for actions that, at least in theory could take place again in the future. The Non-Repeatable is used in other cases e.g. "I ate some cake" is Repeatable, since you could always do it again in the future. However "I ate that cake from last Christmas" is Non-Repeatable if you have eaten all the cake.

The Un-Precedented Future is used for future events that have never happened in the past or now, whereas the Precedented Future is used when it has already taken place / will take place e.g. "I'll buy some cake" is normally Precedented (unless this is the first time that you have ever bought cake). However "I'll buy that cake on the shelf there" is normally Un-Precedented, unless you previously sold that specific cake to the shop and are now buying it back.

The Energetic Mood is used for things that the speaker strongly believes to be true or wishes to emphasise. It is often best translated by English constructions such as "He did eat the cake" compared to "He ate the cake".

An example of the Counter-Factual Mood would be the English sentence "If I had eaten the cake, I would be / would have been full." In Manúskta, both verbs would be put into the Counter-Factual Mood.

The Deductive Mood is used when deducing a conclusion that you are fully certain of, but had no opportunity to witness yourself. If Sherlock Holmes had spoken Manúskta, you probably would have heard it a lot in his speech.

The Assumptive Mood is used when predicting a future event largely on the basis of the fact that it has happened before. By definition, it can only be used with the Precedented Future tense.

The Inferential Mood is used when arriving at a conclusion that you are not certain of enough to use the Deductive Mood.

The Speculative Mood is used for things that you have suspect are true.

The Dubitative Mood is used for things that you think possibly could be true.

Tenseless Mood Prefixes
These prefixes must be preceded by a subject prefix which indicates tense, as they themselves carry no information about it.

Emphatic Negative: naot- (as the name suggests, this is used to negate something emphatically)

Optative: waona- (used to express something that you wish, hope or want to be true)

Neccessitative: gaota- (used to express the speakers feeling that it is vital to perform the action described in the verb)

Hypothetical: kod- (used when the action in the verb did not / will not take place, but could easily have)

Subjunctive: kont- (very narrow range of usage, only used when the speaker believes that the action or state described by the verb not only did not / will not happen, but could never ever happen, is something impossible)

Potential: kaen- (used to express the speakers belief that the action could take place / could have taken place, although there may or may not be any evidence to suggest it actually did)

Negative Potential: kant- (used to express the speakers belief that the action could not take place / have taken place, the difference between this and the subjunctive is that the subjunctive is reserved for things the speaker believes to be absolutely impossible e.g. walking to the moon)

Prefixes Indicating Subject
These are divided up in a number of ways. One important division is betweene Tenseless and Tensed prefixes. The former is used when a Tensed mood prefix is used, and the latter otherwise (i.e. with a Tenseless mood prefix or with no prefix). In other words, tense is always indicated on the verb exactly once, either by a prefix which also indicates mood, or by a prefix which indicates both subject and tense.

Another important distinction is between pronominal prefixes and subject agreement prefixes. The former are used when the noun that is the subject of the sentence has been elided (remember that Manúskta is a null subject language). The latter are used when it is still present in the sentence, either as a topic preceding the verb, or as a non-topic that follows the verb (in this case the prefix agrees with the noun in definiteness). Both cases have different sets of prefixes.

A third division is between interrogative and non-interrogative subject prefixes. In any question, a non-interrogative prefix must be changed into the equivalent interrogative prefix. Doing this by itself will create a polar (yes/no) question e.g. it would change "You ate the cake" into "Did you eat the cake?". There are also some interrogative prefixes without non-interrogative equivalents e.g. indicating who (subj) or what (subj).

Non-Interrogative Pronominal Prefixes
(like before, some prefixes ending with fricatives have multiple forms depending on whether the fricative is deleted or not)

Interrogative Pronominal Prefixes
Below is a table of interrogative pronominal prefixes that have non-interrogative equivalents. As mentioned before, changing a non-interrogative pronominal prefix into its interrogative counterpart will create a polar question.

{C {C}{C}There are other interrogative subject pronominal prefixes that have no non-interrogative equivalents. These are used where English would use the pronouns "who" and "what" to ask about the subject. Note that the "list" interrogatives are used when anticipating the answer to be a list of things.

Subject Agreement Prefixes
Non-Interrogative Subject Agreement Prefixes

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">Interrogative Subject Agreement Prefixes

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">These are affixed to the verb when asking questions (about the grammatical subject of the verb) such as "Which child ate the cake?". All nouns are left in situ.

Special Interrogative Prefixes
These are used to ask wh-questions that are not about the subject of the verb e.g. "how", "why", "when", "where". There are only a few of these (mostly borrowed from English) and they come before the prefixes that indicate subject. To ask a question, these subject prefixes must be put into their interrogative forms.

who (single object) - raah- / rah-

who (object-list) - pay-

what (single object) - geeh- / gih-

what (object list) - nyang-

how - haew

when - wen

where - bex

to what extent - blawk

why - waoy

So a question like "Yesterday, where was he able to sleep?" would be:

hômkwa bex.aesiy.kaen.slúyp

yesterday where-3PS.SGSUBJ.INT-POT-sleep

This would be pronounced as IPA: [hoːm ʲ kʷa ɓʲe̤ɣɛzɨjk ɛn jɮɵj̰], X-Sampa: [ho:m_jk_wa b_<_je_tGEz1jkEnK\8j_k]

Voice
{C {C}Voice is marked on verbs by infixes that come after the first underlying consonant in the onset of the accented syllable. Manúskta has a much greater range of grammatical voices than English. They all take a transitive verb and turn it into an intransitive verb.

Antipassive
Formed by infixing -it- This attaches to transitive verbs when the speaker does not want to bother specifying the patient e.g. from the sentence

hômkwa nes.báyk sám.kayk Mary

Yesterday 3PSDEFSBJ.NFUT.REP-bake NSPFC.cake Mary

Yesterday, Mary baked a cake.

we can make the following sentence

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">hômkwa nes.b<it>áyk Mary

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">Yesterday 3PSDEFSBJ.NFUT.REP-<ANTPASS>bake Mary

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">Yesterday, Mary baked. <p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">Note that this has the meaning of "Mary baked (something)" not as in "Mary baked (in the heat/sun/oven/sauna...)". To acheive this meaning, the mediopassive voice is used instead.

"Maximum" Antipassive
<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">This has the specific meaning that the action is / was / will be performed on the maximum number or amount of things possible. It uses -olw- instead of -it- e.g.

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;">hômkwa nes.b áyk Mary

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;">Yesterday 3PSDEFSBJ.NFUT.REP-<MAXANTPASS>bake Mary

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;">Yesterday, Mary baked everything that she could.

Mediopassive
<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">Like the antipassive, this turns a transitive verb into an intransitive verb (in this case by infixing -u-, or -un- before a vowel). However, unlike the antipassive, the noun that is now the subject of the mediopassive verb undergoes the action in some way e.g. <p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;">hômkwa nes.b<un>áyk Mary

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;">Yesterday 3PSDEFSBJ.NFUT.REP-<MEDPASS>bake Mary

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;">Yesterday, Mary baked (in the heat/sun/oven/sauna/...)

{C}A lot of verbs that English would normally consider intransitive verbs are intransitive verbs in Manúskta e.g. to walk - wôk, is always found in the mediopassive unless it is used in the sense of "walking someone somewhere" e.g.

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;">hômkwa nes.w<un>ôk Mary

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;">Yesterday 3PSDEFSBJ.NFUT.REP-<MEDPASS>walk Mary

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;">Yesterday, Mary walked.

Reflexive Voice
<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;">This carries the meaning of doing something to yourself. It turns a transitive verb into an intranstive verb, and is formed by infixing -iny- e.g.

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;">hômkwa naes.w ôk Mary

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;">Yesterday 3PSDEFSBJ.NFUT.REP-<REFL>walk Mary

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;">Yesterday, Mary baked herself. (Note that this is in the Repeatable Non-Future tense, therefore as of the time of speaking Mary still has the capacity to bake herself again. Therefore it can be assumed that she survived).

Reciprocal Voice
<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;">This is used where English would use "each other" or "one another". It also turns a transitive verb into an intransitive verb. The infix -ath- is inserted in the usual place e.g.

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;">hômkwa nes.k ík mâen.aen

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;">Yesterday 3PSDEFSBJ.NFUT.REP-<REFL>kick man-PL

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;">Yesterday, the men kicked one another.

Ergativity in Verbs
This only arises in one special case. This is when a transitive verb has an agent that is of less or equal animacy than the patient (excluding reflexive and reciprocal voices), and the agent is also the grammatical topic of the sentence. In this case the affix zae- (before a consonant) / ez- (before a vowel) is inserted in the same slot as the voice affixes. It is important to note that, in such a case, the patient of the sentence is now considered the grammatical subject i.e. it does not take an article and the subject prefixes on the verb agree with it. Here is an example sentence:

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">ís.kyang nes.k<ez>áepty mâen

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">INDEF.SG-elephant DEFSBJ.NFUTREP-<INV>catch man

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">An elephant caught the man.

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">Here we can see that for the word for "man", mâen, the definiteness is marked on the verb and not on the noun.

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">In contrast, if the agent of the verb is topicalised, but is of greater animacy than the patient, then the verb morphology is "normal":

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">í.maen gae.káepty ís.kyang

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">DEF.SG-man TOPSBJ.NFUTREP-catch INDEF.SG-elephant

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">The man caught an elephant

Pronominal Object Infixes
These are used where English would use a pronoun to indicate the direct object of the verb e.g. "me", "her" or "them". They only mark person and clusivity (not number) and occupy the same "slot" as the voice infixes. If a verb has a voice infix, it cannot take a pronominal object infix. This is because after a verb has been affixed for voice, Manúskta treats it like an intransitive verb. Likewise, once a verb takes a pronominal object infix, it is treated as a transitive verb.

1PS Exclusive -i- / - iy - (the former if followed by an consonant, the latter if followed by a vowel)

1PS Inclusve -aas- / -as- (the former if the s is deleted, the latter otherwise)

2PS -ow-

3PS -um-

Manúskta also has an infix -aw-, which indicates that the object of the verb is the grammatical topic of the sentence. In traditional Manúskta grammar, this is classed together with the other object pronominal prefixes, since it changes a transitive verb into one that patterns like an intransitive verb. Note that this cannot be used when the grammatical topic of the sentence is both the subject and object of the sentence. In such a case, the Reciprocal or Reflexive voice would be used instead.

Basic Syntax
Manúskta is a topic-comment language. All sentences require a Topic phrase (a noun phrase at the beginning of the sentence which is not inflected for case), which is something the listener already knows about, and a Comment (which always begins with a verb), which adds new information about the topic. If one speaker takes a noun up as a Topic and makes a sentence with it, if a second speaker wants to reply to this and give more information about the topicalised noun, then the second speaker can omit the Topic phrase. Apart from this case, a Topic phrase is mandatory in every utterance except interjections. A Comment is also mandatory except in one construction which translates into English as "How about XYZ?". The Manúskta equivalent of this is just to say XYZ as a Topic phrase. The Topic phrase always precedes the Comment.

Apart from this one constraint, word order in Manúskta is strictly VOS. As mentioned before, adjectives and possessors come after the nouns that they modify. Here are some example sentences:

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">í.maen dae.k<aw>áepty kyang

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">DEF.SG-man INDEFSBJ.NFUTREP-<TOPOBJ>catch elephant

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">The man was caught by an elephant (remember that if the subject of a sentence is not topicalised, it does not take an article).

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">ís.kyang nes.k<aw>áepty mâen

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">INDEF.SG-elephant DEFSBJ.NFUTREP-<TOPOBJ>catch man

An elephant was caught by the man.

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">ís.kyang gae.káepty í.maen

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">DEF.SG-elephant TOPSBJ.NFUTREP-catch INDEF.SG-man

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">An elephant caught the man.

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">msúly nes.káepty ís.kyang mâen

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">yesterday DEFSBJ.NFUTREP -catch elephant man 

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">Yesterday, the man caught an elephant.

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;">msúly dae.káepty í.maen báoy.kyang

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;">yesterday DEFSBJ.NFUTREP -catch man ERG-elephant 

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;">Yesterday, an elephant caught the man (remember than unless the subject is more animate than the object, it must take the ergative case if not topicalised).

<h3 style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;"> Serial Verbs <p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">This is a very common phenomenon in Manúskta. Verbs can be strung together if they share the same subject. In such a case, only the first verb is inflected for subject, tense, mood and aspect e.g.

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">hômkwa nes.tám u.fáorest John fotáow ís.kyang

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">yesterday DEFSBJ.NFUTREP-walk DEF.SG-forest John photograph INDEF.SG-elephant

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">Yesterday, John visited the forest and photographed an elephant.

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">If a verb (other than the initial verb) in such a sequence is monosyllabic, then the rime of the syllable is reduplicated e.g. "to catch," káepty becomes kaeptyáepty, hence we could say:

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">hômkwa nes.tám u.fáorest John kaeptyáepty ís.kyang

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">yesterday DEFSBJ.NFUTREP-visit DEF.SG-forest John SLVB.catch INDEF.SG-elephant

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">Yesterday, John visited the forest and caught an elephant.

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">All verbs in a serial verb construction can take prefixes for objects and voice however e.g.

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">hômkwa nes.t<iy>ám John k<um>áepty fot<it>áow

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">yesterday DEFSBJ.NFUTREP-<1PSEXCOBJ>visit John <3PSOBJ>catch <ANTPASS>photograph

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">Yesterday, John visited me, caught him/her/it and took a photo.

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">There is also one special infix that is only found in serial verb constructions -aen-. This indicates that the object of the verb is the same as the object of the preceding verb e.g.

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">hômkwa nes.fotáow ís.kyang John k áepty

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">Yesterday DEFSBJ.NFUTREP-photo INDEF.SG-elephant John <SAMEOBJ>catch

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">Yesterday John took a photo of an elephant and caught it.

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">It is also perfectly possible for the topic of a sentence to be the subject of a serial verb construction e.g.

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">John gae.tám u.fáorest kaeptyáepty ís.kyang

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">John TPCSBJ.NFUTREP-visit DEF.SG-forest SLVB-catch INDEF.SG-elephant

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">John visited the forest and caught an elephant.

<h4 style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">Animacy Restrictions in Serial Verb Constructions with Topicalised Subjects <p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">However, in such a construction, the topicalised subject must be of greater animacy than each of the objects e.g. the following sentence is ungrammatical:

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">*ís.kyang gae.tám u.fáorest kaeptyáepty John

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">*INDEF.SG-elephant TPCSBJ.NFUTREP-visit DEF.'SG-forest SLVB-catch INDEF.SG-elephant

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">* The elephant visited the forest and caught John

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">The reason for this is that while "elephant" is more animate than "forest", it is less animate that "John". Remember that when the a topicalised agent of a verb is of less or equal animacy than the patient, then the subject agreement prefixes on the verb agree with the patient (as well as the verb taking an inverse marker). This violates the constraint that each verb in a serial verb construction must have the same subject. The grammatical way to express such a sentence is to use two clauses e.g.

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">ís.kyang gae.tám u.fáorest nes.k<ez>áepty John

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">INDEF.SG-elephant TPCSBJ.NFUTREP-visit DEF.'SG-forest DEFSBJ.NFUTREP-<INV>catch John

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;"> An elephant visited the forest and it caught John

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;"> However, this does mean that patients of verbs can be subjects in serial verb constructions, as long as the agent is topicalised and of less or equal animacy than the patient e.g.

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">ís.kyang nes.k<ez>áepty John tamám u.fáorest

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">INDEF.SG-elephant DEFSBJ.NFUTREP-<INV>catch John SLVB-visit DEF.SG-forest

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">An elephant caught John visiting the forest

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">As we can see here, the verb meaning "to visit" agrees with John as the subject. Therefore if it begins a serial verb construction, all the other verbs will have John as the subject.

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">Note that this only applies if the agent is topicalised e.g. the following sentence is perfectly possible:  hômkwa dae.tám u.fáorest báoy.kyang kaeptyáepty John

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">yesterday INDEFSBJ.NFUTREP-visit DEF.SG-forest ERG-elephant SLVB-catch John

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;"> Yesterday, an elephant visited the forest and caught John

<h4 style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">Locatives <p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">Manúskta has no prepositions to express location. Instead it has verbs e.g. náesk, "to be next to". This can be used in serial verb constructions to give the meaning of the English preposition "next to" (but must be reduplicated to neskáesk as it is monosyllabic) e.g.

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">hômkwa nes.fot<it>áow John neskáesk ís.kyang yesterday DEFSBJ-<ANTPASS>photo John SLVB-beside INDEF.SG-elephant

Yesterday, John took a photo next to an elephant.

These locative verbs can take infixes for objects instead e.g. niyáesk - next to me, nowáesk - next to you, numáesk - next to him/her/it. They can also take infixes for antipassive voice e.g. nitáesk, next to it, reciprocal voice e.g. natháesk - next to each other. In theory at least, they can also inflect for reflexive voice e.g. ninyáesk - next to myself/yourself/themselves/...

<h3 style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; ">Relative Clauses <p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">These always follow the noun that they modify. Inside the relative clause the word order is always Verb Object Subject. The simplest case is when the head noun is neither the subject nor the object of the verb in the relative clause. In this case, it simply takes the prefix nyo- (nyó- for monosyllabic nouns) and nothing special happens to the verb e.g.

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">nyo.fôtaow nes.káepty ís.kyang mâen

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">REL-photograph DEFSBJ.NFUTREP -  catch  INDEF.SG-elephant man ''

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">The photo where the man caught an elephant.

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">If the verb in the relative clause is transitive with the head noun as its patient, then prefix ta- instead ( tá - for monosyllabic nouns). This also changes the verb in the relative clause to become technically intransitive e.g.

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;"> ta.ís.kyang nes.káepty mâen 

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;"> RELPAT-INDEF.SG-elephant DEFSBJ.NFUTREP-catch man

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;"> An elephant that the man caught (the verb here agrees with the man in definiteness)

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">If the verb in the relative clause is transitive with the head noun as its agent, and the head noun is of less or equal animacy than the patient of the verb in the relative clause, then the head noun takes the prefix nyi- (nyí - for monosyllabic nouns). The verb in the relative clause is classified as intransitive and the "subject agreement / pronominal prefixes" agree with the patient (which cannot take an article) instead e.g

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;"> nyi.ís.kyang nes.káepty mâen 

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">RELINV-INDEF.SG-elephant DEFSBJ.NFUTREP-catch man

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">An elephant that caught the man

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">In all other cases, the head noun is prefixed with sru - ( srú<span style="font-style: normal; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; ">- for monosyllabic nouns) and cannot take an article. The subject agreement prefixes on the verb agree with the head noun e.g.

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; ">srú.maen nes.káepty ís.kyang 

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;"> RELSBJ-man DEFSBJ.NFUTREP-catch INDEF.SG-elephant 

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;"> The man that caught an elephant

Locative Relative Clauses
Where English has prepositional phrases modifying a noun i.e. constructions of the form NounA Preposition NounB, Manúskta uses relative clauses (since words like "in" or "next to" are verbs in Manúskta).

If the head noun (NounA in the example above) is of less or equal animacy than what comes after the locative verb(NounB), then the head noun is prefixed with nyi- (before any articles or possessive prefixes) and the subject agreement markers on the locative verb agree with NounB (which does not take any articles) e.g.

nyi.ís.knaoyf naes.ín mâen

RELINV-INDEF.SG-knife DEFSBJ.NFUTREP-in man

A knife in the man

However if the head noun is more animate, then it is prefixed with sru- and cannot take any articles. The subject agreement markers on the locative verb agree with the head noun e.g.

srú.kyang dae.ín ú.playn

RELSBJ-elephant INDEFSBJ.NFUTREP-in DEF.SG-aeroplane

An elephant in the plane

This construction can also be "flipped around" by using the prefix ta- (in the exact same way as a relative clause), to create phrases like:

ta.u.fáorest dae.ín kyâng

RELPAT-DEF.SG-forest INDEFSBJ.NFUTREP-in elephant

The forest an elephant was in / The forest that had an elephant in it.

Derivational Morphology
Manúskta is a verb synthetic language, and there are a wide variety of processes that convert nouns to verbs and vice versa. The most basic of these (which involves shifting the accent on the word) has been discussed here already http://conlang.wikia.com/wiki/Man%C3%BAskta#Derivational_Morphology_using_accent_shifts. From a verb XYZ, it derives a noun meaning "that which is created as a result of XYZ". From a noun XYZ, it derives a verb meaning "to create XYZ".

Suffixes that form nouns
From transitive verbs, to derive a noun meaning "the person / thing who does XYZ", suffix -ar onto the verb. To derive a noun meaning "the person / animal who undergoes XYX", suffix -yawk onto the verb, and to derive a verb meaning "the thing that undergoes XYZ", suffix -uy onto the verb.e.g. to take a photograph is - fotáow, IPA: [fʲotɔw̰], X-Sampa: [f_jotOw_k]. The words for photographer and camera are therefore both fotáowar, IPA: [f ʲ otɔw̰a], X-Sampa: [f _j otOw_ka]. A person or animal being photographed is fotáowyawk, IPA: [fʲotɔɥ̰aw], X-Sampa: [f _j otOH_kaw], and a thing being photographed is a fotáowuy, IPA: [f ʲ otɔw̰ ], X-Sampa: [f _j otOw_k8j]. The word for "photograph" is derived by shifting the accent (since it is what you create by taking a photograph) and is therefore fôtaow, IPA: [ f ʲ oːtɔw], X-Sampa: [f _j o:tOw].

For intransitive verbs, to derive a noun meaning "the person that does XYZ", suffix -ar onto the verb as normal, but to derive a noun meaning "the thing that does XYZ", suffix -uy onto the verb instead. This is another example of split ergativity in Manúskta that is conditioned by animacy, as -ar is used for the agents of transitive verbs or the animate subjects of intransitive verbs, while -uy is used for inanimate objects that are the patients of transitive verbs or the subjects of intransitive verbs e.g. the verb meaning to vanish is spáwk, IPA: [pʼaw̰], X-Sampa: [p_>aw_k]. A person who vanishes is a spáwkar, IPA: [pʼaw̰ka], X-Sampa: [p_>aw_kka] , but a thing that vanishes is a spáwkuy , IPA: [pʼaw̰k ɵj ], X-Sampa: [p_>aw_kk8j].

To derive abstract nouns from verbs, suffix -gan e.g. photography is fotáowgan, IPA: [fʲotɔw̰ ʀan ], X-Sampa: [f_jotOw_kR\an]. To derive a noun meaning "the time of XYZ", suffix -kal e.g. fotáowkal - the time for photography, IPA: [fʲotɔw̰ ka ], X-Sampa: [f_jotOw_kka]. To do the same but for place instead of time, suffix -kag instead e.g. photography studio - fotáowkag, IPA: [fʲotɔw̰ k a̰ʀ ], X-Sampa: [f_jotOw_ka_kR\]. To derive a noun meaning "the reason for XYZ", suffix -kanr e.g. <span style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; ">fotáowkanr <span style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; "> - the time for photography, IPA: [fʲotɔw̰ kan <span style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; ">], X-Sampa: [f_jotOw_kkan]. To derive a noun meaning "the method of doing XYZ", suffix -nesy e.g. fotáownesy - method of taking photographs, IPA: [fʲotɔw̰ ne̤j], X-Sampa: [f_jotOw_kne_tj].

Manúskta has no infinitive verbs, but can create "verbal nouns" by suffixing -ing. e.g. photographing is fotáowing, IPA: [fʲotɔw̰ ɨŋ], X-Sampa: [f_jotOw_k1N].

The suffix -yit, carries a similar meaning to English -th or -ness. It can attach to any part of speech, but usually to nouns and stative verbs and changes them into nouns giving a measuremnt of that state e.g. wide - róng, IPA: [ ɽoŋ̰], X-Sampa: [r`oN_k] becomes width - róngyit, IPA: [ɽoɲ̰ɨt], X-Sampa: [r`oJ_k1t].

Verbalisation
The basic way to derive a verb from a noun is to shift the location of the accent (verbs have accent on the final syllable, the third last syllable, the fifth last syllable etc., while nouns have accent on the second last syllable, the fourth last syllable etc.). This has already been discussed.

Manúskta has no equivalent to the verb "to be". Instead, suffixes are attached to nouns to give them the meaning of "to be XYZ". The accent always shifts to be on the suffix. The most commonly used of these are -dûg and -nés. These differ in nuance, being used to express "essence" and "state" respectively (like how Spanish "ser" and "estar" are used with adjectives) e.g. to talk about someone being a child you would normally say klexnés (since it is a state that they will grow out of), but to talk about Peter Pan you would use klexdûg. To express someone being male you would say maendûg, but to talk about a drag king you would say maennés.

There are many other suffixes that can be used with different shades of meaning. To express the meaning of "become XYZ" suffix -nrû. To express the meaning of "to be an ex-XYZ", suffix -kâe instead e.g. from the noun káonvikt meaning a convict, we can derive a verb meaning to be an ex-convict - kaonviktkâe. To express the concept of something inherently being something that was not initially obvious, suffix -prî. We can attach this to the noun zwây meaning "a beautiful person", to make the verb zwayprî that gives the sense of having been beautiful but for some time it was somehow not obvious e.g. Cinderella. From the noun wóof, meaning "wolf", we can derive woofprî - to be a werewolf (after having transformed from a human). From the noun sóp - corpse, we can derive sopprî - to be a zombie (after having turned). Before the transformation, the suffix -máeny is used instead, so woofmáeny means to be a werewolf in the human form and sopmáeny means to have been bitten by a zombie but still apparently human and not having turned yet. While the transformation is taking place but not yet completed, the suffix -tâo is used instead. To express the idea of being something out of duty, suffix -snáng e.g. prisoners of war, political prisoners and their sympathisers might use the word kaonviktsáng.

These verbs still inflect for definiteness and possession. They do not inflect for number except for on the e.g.

moey.uays.klex.dûg

1SGPOSS-INDEF.PL-child-ESSCOP

to be some of my children

They also inflect for subject, tense, mood and aspect (they are intransitive so can't inflect for voice) e.g.

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">ay.haef.ua.moey.uays.klex.dûg

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">3PS.AN-ENGTC.PL.NONFUT.REP-still.1SGPOSS-INDEF.PL-child-ESSCOP

<p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: normal;">they are still some of my children (emphasis on are)