Iyachke

General
Iyachke (/ɪjátʃki/, natively Laasojo Yihaajki klito "Standard Iyach language", colloquially Yihaa'to or Yi'to) is a language spoken by the Aethos (Xokkiij Jiyaata) on the Isle of Iyach (Yihaaj) on the planet Aetho (Jiyaa).

Consonants

 * Voiceless consonants are voiced intervocallically or after /N/.
 * /n/, /ŋ/, /t/, /k/, /s/, and /ɺ/ may be geminated in all dialects. /tʃ/ may be geminated in the standard dialect.
 * Geminate /ɺ/ is typically not flapped, though the actual pronunciation varies dialectally. In the standard, it is [ɭː].
 * /h/ can be dropped in colloquial speech.

Vowels

 * Allowable diphthongs are /aɪ/, /ɑːɪ/, /aɯ/, and /ɑːɯ/. The offglides are lowered somewhat in the standard (ex. [aɛ̯]), and the main vowel shifts back and up before phonetically voiceless consonants (ex. haij [hʌɛ̯tʃ], but haijo [haɛ̯dʒɜ]).

Phonotactics
CV(N, S, NS)
 * /N/ is a homorganic nasal. On the end of words it can be /n/ or /ŋ/, according to the dialect.
 * /S/ is a fricative which differs depending on the dialect. In the standard, it is pronounced [tʃ].
 * Long /t/, /k/, /s/, and /ɺ/ CAN begin words. ex. llanti [ɭːandɪ] "feathers"
 * Geminate consonants cannot follow codas. ex. kantta*
 * Long vowels cannot be followed by geminate consonants. ex. kaatta*
 * Two long vowels cannot be in adjacent syllables. ex. kaataa*

Native Script
The native script for Iyachke is a syllabary, shown on the right. The Iyachke word for a writing system is ngassini.

Interesting features

 * It shares some features with the Arabic alphabet on a design level. It is a cursive script so letters are joined with a baseline, which is semi-optional in handwritten texts.
 * Many characters look quite similar, being distinguished by meaningless marks.
 * The diphthongs, ai and ao, are written ayi and awo.

Writing Direction
The script is written left-to-right, top-to-bottom, like English.

Collation
There are three common orders for the characters: phonetic, graphic, and poetic.
 * Phonetic: yi, yo, ya, wo, wa, li, lo, la, ho, ha, si, so, sa, ni, no, na, ji, jo, ja, ki, ko, ka, ngi, ngo, nga, ti, to, ta, xo, xa, kli, klo, kla, j, n
 * Graphic: yi, ngo, wo, wa, la, kli, ji, sa, ki, si, yo, ko, li, ta, ya, ti, ho, xo, ni, j, xa, lo, klo, n, jo, to, no, ka, nga, so, kla, na, ha, ja, ngi

Nouns
Nouns decline for number and case.

Number
Noun roots are inherently transnumeral, that is, whether they are singular or plural must be determined from context. However, suffixes can be applied which make a noun plural, but these are always optional. The most common of these is -Qaa(i)ni, where the Q represents a removal of the rime of the last syllable and where the (i) is only found in rural areas. Components of a diphthong are treated as separate syllables and are broken up.
 * ex. klito /kʟ̝̊ɪtɜ/ > klitaani /kʟ̝̊ɪtɑːnɪ/ "languages"
 * ex. xokkiij /χɜkːiːS/ > xokkaani /χɜkːɑːnɪ/ "peoples"
 * ex. yijkohaon /jɪSkɜhaɯN/ > yijkohawaani /jɪSkɜhaɰɑːnɪ/

Cases
There are 21 cases, which are represented simply by suffixes. Suffixes with a long vowel shorten any long final syllable of a stem they are attached to.

Pronouns
Pronouns can be declined in any case. The third person singular distinguishes animate from inanimate, but this is purely natural gender, not grammatical gender which Iyachke lacks.

Affix order
Preverb-3rd person Subject-Preroot moods-Root-Voice-Postroot moods-Subject-Object
 * ex. Kanso-wanki-taa-yi-lo? "Are you being forced to eat?"
 * Toolijin ni-wao-xotti-taa-lo xanaa kosongoota? "Would the key be given to me by the mayor?"
 * Saj-jaa-ngo-linta-yi-xa. "You will have to get through me."

Preverbs
Preverbs are prefixes which change the meaning of some roots. They are a discontinuous part of the verb stem. They don't appear on verbs with preroot mood prefixes unless they are originally postroot suffixes which were moved due to the applicative voice.

Examples: saj "violently"

Voice
None can be used with a reflexive or reciprocal suffix on the same verb.
 * Active (0)
 * Passive (wan)
 * Causative (ki)
 * Passive causative (wanki)
 * Applicatives can be formed with any case suffix in place of a voice affix.

Mood
Divided into pre- and post-root affixes. The two types can cooccur in non-applicative voices. All postroot affixes become preroot in the applicative voice.

Preroot Moods: optative (ha), conditional (wao), desiderative (saan)

Postroot Moods: indicative (0), inferential (ngo), necessative (jaa), interrogative (taa)

Subject affixes

 * 1) 1st person- 0
 * 2) 2nd person- yi
 * 3) 3rd person- ni-
 * 4) reflexive- laj

Sentence-level order
The most neutral word order is Subject-Adverbs-Verb-Object, but word order is quite free except for adjectives and adverbs. Subject and object pronouns are frequently dropped if the verb and/or context are enough for understanding.

Verb phrases
Verb phrases are generally right-branching, with the exception that adverbs are placed before the verb. Nouns declined to modify the whole clause are placed after any other adverbs.

Noun phrases
Noun phrases are purely left-branching, with the quirk that nouns declined to modify other nouns are placed after any adjectives. ex. Laasojo Yihaajki klito "Standard Iyach-in language"

Numbers
Most Aethos languages are base-8, due to the Aethos having one less finger per hand compared to Humans. The word for "number" is jaao.

Body parts
Because of differences in anatomy and physiology, the words for body parts are very different semantically.
 * body: koonsaotta
 * thorax: kkillaj
 * abdomen: joolasi
 * head: haotinla
 * whiskers: kaasi
 * beak: taaila
 * tongue: yinikkolli
 * throat-teeth: xaanti
 * nose/nostrils: naangan
 * eyestalks: jaangi looxa
 * eyeballs: jaa
 * ears: wanklin
 * halteres: taingi looxa
 * back/neck: wollaa
 * skin: llojti
 * feathers: llanti
 * arms: kinon
 * elbows: kinonngi klaanj
 * wrists/hands: xotti
 * fingers: ngassinilli
 * hand claws: naij
 * legs: hossi
 * knees: hossingi klaanj
 * feet/ankles: llosaaj
 * toes: kliwai
 * toeclaws: kliwaingi naij
 * dewclaws: yisoonngi naij
 * wings: hooloj
 * tail: ttaoloo