Atudab

About the language
Atudab is a language isolate spoken by the native inhabitants of the Southenr continent of the planet Nardron. It is the second most important language in the planet, coming right after Kemfou.

One of the most characteristic features of the language is the almost complete absense of verbs and adjectives and the consequent dependence of the language on nouns and particles. Another point of interest is the wide use of nasality for grammatical purposes. The absense of velar stops and of fricative consonants (except for two affricates) is also of notice.

Consonants
The following consonants are present in standard Atudab: The following clusters are considered as single consonants:

The complete absence of velar consonants (, and the almost complete absence of fricative consonants (,  and so on) are the most peculiar phonetic characteristic of the language. The only sibilants found are the affricates  (represented by ) and.


 * ''Note: In some dialects the affricates and  actually correspond to palatal plosives [c ] and [ɟ ].

Vowels
There are eight vowel qualities, each with a short and a long version, plus a schwa:

Vowels shown in pairs ( / ; / ;  / ) are in free variation.

Nasality
Nasality plays an important morphological role in the language. Both vowels and consonants may be nasalized, according to the following table. When becoming nasals, consonants lose the voiced/voiceless distinction, while vowels lose the distinction of length: some speakers pronounce nasal vowels long, while others pronounce them short, without regard for the length of the original vowel, but length for nasalized vowels is not distinctive.

Morphology
Atudab uses prefixes, infixes and circumfixes for expressing grammatical functions. One of the most productive affixes is the nasal, which can be used as a prefix (affecting only the first syllable of the root), a suffix (affecting only the last syllable of the root) and as a transfix (affecting all syllables of a word). Other affixes may have nasality as one of their elements.

Definition
For making a noun definite, the nasal prefix is used. It consists in nasalizing the first syllable of the noun. E.g.:
 * "house", "the house"
 * "tree", "the tree"
 * "head", "the head"
 * "sun", "the sun"

Case
The accusative case consists in a nasal transfix, that is, all syllables of the noun are nasalized. The other two cases, the genitive/possessive and the receptive (dative), are built with circumfixes.

Accusative
The accusative case is indicated by turning all vowels and consonants of the word to nasals. E.g.:
 * "house", "(the) house" (accus.)
 * "tree", "(the) tree" (accus.)
 * "head", "(the) head" (accus.)
 * "sun", "(the) sun" (accus.)

Note that, in the accusative case, there is no distinction between definite and indefinite nouns. Definite is assumed by default, and a periphrastic construction is used if an indefinite direct object is required, like e.g.: "(There is) a new car, he bought it" for "He bought a new car".

Genitive/Possessive
To indicate possession, a combination of the prefix / and the suffix is used. The nasal version of the prefix is used with nouns in the definite form. E.g.:
 * "of a house", "of the house"
 * "of a tree", "of the tree"
 * "of a head", "of the head"
 * "of a sun", "of the sun"

Number is indicated regularly:
 * "the toy of (some) boys"
 * "the toy of the boys"
 * "the toys of a boy"
 * "the toys of the boy"
 * "the toys of (some) boys"
 * "the toys of the boys"

"Half Genitive"
The prefix alone is also used to indicate a relationship between two nouns and to turn nouns into adjectives. In this construction, called "half genitive", only the indefinite form of the noun may be used, which is irrelevant to the meaning as the expression refers to a class rather to an individual. E.g.:
 * "a sick person" (from "person" and  "illness")
 * "the toy created for boy(s)"

This construction is similar to the "construct case" found in Semitic languages. It is important to note that this prefix does not correspond exactly to the preposition "of". It makes the noun completely dependent on the preceding noun, establishing a relationship of a "static" nature, that is, something more or less permanent, inherent. In the example above,, the idea is that it is a toy ( which is suitable for boys , a small truck for example. It is an intrinsic relationship, one which is part of the toy from the moment it was created. It can indicated also something temporary, like in "a sick person"; this indicates that the "sickness"  infects the person's body as part of its (the sickness') nature. So, "intrinsic" applies to the second noun (the one with the  prefix, not to the first noun, to which the relationship may be permanent or temporary.

Receptive/Dative
The receptive case, also called dative case, indicates a "dynamic" relationship between two nouns. It partially corresponds to the notion of indirect object, conveying the idea of a relationship which is not intrinsic but which comes in terms of effects, consequences of the result of an action.

It consists in a combination of the prefix / and the suffix is used. The nasal version of the prefix is used with nouns in the definite form. E.g.:
 * "to a house", "to the house"
 * "to a tree", "to the tree"
 * "to a head", "to the head"
 * "to a sun", "to the sun"

Some examples of the notions expressed by this case:
 * "colour to the house", "painting to the house" (i.e., "the house is going to be painted", "the house needs painting", "I will paint the house" and so on)

Number
Plural and dual are indicated only if necessary, by means of the following adjectival constructions:
 * (dual)
 * (plural)

So:
 * Dual
 * "two houses", "the two houses"
 * "two trees", "the two trees"
 * "two heads", "the two heads"
 * "two suns", "the two suns"
 * Plural
 * "(some) houses", "the houses"
 * "(some) trees", "the trees"
 * "(some) heads", "the heads"
 * "(some) suns", "the suns"

In the accusative, the nasal forms (dual) and  (plural) are used:
 * Dual
 * "(the) two houses" (accus.)
 * "(the) two trees" (accus.)
 * "(the) two heads" (accus.)
 * "(the) two suns" (accus.)
 * Plural
 * "(the) houses" (accus.)
 * "(the) trees" (accus.)
 * "(the) heads" (accus.)
 * "(the) suns" (accus.)

The following words also provide notions related to numbers and quantity:
 * "all" (all the elements of a group)
 * "the whole", "all" (something in its entirety)
 * "almost all"
 * "the most part of"
 * "a few"
 * "each", "every"
 * "half a"
 * "many"
 * "much", "a lot of"

These words do not agree with the noun for the accusative, however:
 * , "all the trees"
 * "all the trees" (accus.)
 * , "a few houses"

When exact numbers are used, no one of these indicators may be used along with them (see "Numbers", below).

Derivation
There are several affixes used to create nouns from other words.
 * indicates an agent, someone that practices the action indicated in the root. E.g.: "teacher",  "student"
 * indicates a group of people, generally in the role of agent. E.g.: "schollars",  "army"
 * indicates a tool or instrument, an object used to carry out the action expressed in the root. E.g.: "pen", "pencil",  "weapon"
 * indicates an object that is the result of an action. E.g.: "book", "letter"

Noun Relations
Two or more nouns may be linked in several ways, depending on the meaning intended.

Postpositions
Postpositions are originally nouns with the prefix in the so-called “half genitive” construction. In the actual state of the language, they are used exclusively with or with a pronominal prefix.

The most common are:
 * “about”
 * “by” (passive voice)
 * “to”
 * “at”
 * “in”
 * “above”
 * “on”
 * “from”
 * “under”
 * “beneath”
 * “next to”
 * , “besides”
 * “with” (instrument)
 * “with” (company)
 * “without”
 * “across”
 * “outside”
 * “upon”
 * “into”
 * “onto”
 * “against”
 * “between”
 * “among”
 * “amidst”
 * “towards”
 * “after” (place)
 * “before” (place)
 * “after” (time)
 * “before” (time)
 * “up to”
 * “despite”
 * “thanks to”
 * “thanks to”
 * “off” (in the outside of)
 * “through”
 * “around”
 * “according to”

The postposition comes after the number indicator, if any is present. If applied to a word linked to another word by the genitive case, the postposition comes after the whole expression. When used with personal prefixes, the prefix is dropped.

Some examples:
 * “thanks to the guard”
 * “thanks to the guard”
 * “thanks to you”
 * “before dinner”
 * “after dinner”
 * “next to the door of the room” (cf. “the door of the room”,  “next to the door”,  “next to a door”)
 * “next to us”

Adjectives
There are no true adjectives in Atudab. Adjectival expressions can be obtained by means of the "half genitive", that is, the use of the first half of the genitive circumfix. So:
 * "red" (the color)
 * "a red flower"
 * "courage", "bravery"
 * "a brave warrior"

Cardinal
Cardinal numbers in are a special class of words in which, even considered as nouns, they do not need the link  to be attributed to other nouns. The number zero is regularly used to mean "no", "none", "no one". Ex.:
 * "no tree(s)"
 * "(only) one house"
 * "two books"
 * "three people"
 * etc.

With numbers, the plural indicator is not used. For the number two, it is mostly indifferent to use the number or the dual number indicator, although the dual indicator gives the idea of a somehow coherent group, while the number  gives information only about the quantity. Ex.:
 * "two people", "both people", "a couple"
 * "two people"

Ordinal
Ordinal numbers consist in the definite full genitive form of the corresponding cardinal numbers; generally, the noun also is in the definite form:
 * "the first house"
 * "the second book"
 * "the third person"

Personal
There are two types of personal pronouns: full (independent) pronouns and attached (dependent) pronouns.

The distinction of person is the same as in most Earth languages: 1st, 2nd and 3rd, both in singular and in plural. No distinction of gender is made.

Independent
The dependent pronouns are treated regularly as nouns:

Dependent
The dependent pronouns have three main uses:
 * 1) marking the subject of verbs
 * 2) marking the possessor of nouns
 * 3) indicating the object of a postposition

Examples:

Demonstrative
The demonstrative pronouns are and. They may be used as prefixes or following the noun, with the "half-genitive" prefix. In both cases, the noun is in the definite form. Ex.:
 * , "this house"
 * , "that house"
 * , "these houses"
 * , "those houses"

The second form (separated, with ) is preferred in the current standard language.

An independent form is also in use, optionally nasalized:
 * , "this", "this one", "this thing"
 * , "that", "that one", "that thing"

E.g.:
 * "This is a tree."
 * "That is mine."

Interrogative

 * "which"
 * "who"
 * , acc. "what"
 * "where"
 * "when"
 * "how"
 * "why"

These are used as nouns and make no alteration in word order.

E.g.:
 * "Who (subj.) command (obj.)" -> "Who is in charge?"
 * "You do seeing of who" -> "Whom are you seeing?", "Whom can you see?"
 * "He (subj.) what (obj.)" -> "What does he have?", "What is he doing?"
 * "They do/have a going to where?" -> "Where are they going?"

Relative
The relative pronoun in Atudab is, accus. . There is always a pause before the sentence in which it appears. E.g.:


 * "This is a tree that/which I planted."

However, this particle is gradually falling out of use, in favour of expressions with the personal pronouns, both independent and dependent form:
 * (lit. "This is the tree, I did the sowing of it") or (Lit.:  or "This is the tree, I did its sowing") "This is a tree that/which I planted."

There is also another construction with, but which is rarely used. It incorporates both sentences into a single sentence. E.g.:


 * "This is a tree that/which I planted."

Although common in older texts, this construction is not currently used in speech, and rarely used in writing.

Verbs
Properly speaking, Atudab has only two verbs:
 * "be"
 * "make", "do" and also "have"

The verb is actually a linking element (copula) and requires a complement in the nominative case, while  requires a complement in the accusative case.

All other notions are expressed by means of nouns. For example:

When both subject and complement are expressed by means of full nominal expressions (that is, an expression having a noun as its nucleus), the verb may be omitted, provided it does not carry any information that may not be understood from context. E.g.:

Person and Number
Grammatical persons are indicated by means of the following prefixes:

These prefixes may be dropped in the case of an explicit indication of the subject. So:
 * or "It is raining"
 * or "You are our leader"

Time and Aspect
General past time is indicated by the prefix, which comes before the personal prefix. In this case, the personal prefix is mandatory. E.g.:
 * "It was raining"
 * "You were our leader"

A kind of aorist tense, that is, a single action in a definite moment in the past, may be expressed by the modified prefix which is attached to and the first syllable of the verb, making it nasal. Personal prefixes come before this prefix. E.g.:
 * "It rained (once)"
 * "You were (once) our leader"

Other indicators of tense are:
 * placed around the verb in the past, indicates a kind of past perfect (pluperfect) tense. Most times the notion of "already" is implied, but not necessarily. Ex.:
 * "It had (already) rained."
 * "You had (already) been our leader."


 * , placed at the end of a sentence, gives a future meaning. Note that this particle is not required to indicate future tense if there is a future time indication on the sentence. With this particle, the verb may be left off. E.g.:
 * "It will rain", "It is going to rain"
 * "You will be our leader", "You are going to be our leader"

Modality
The so called "sentence heads" have this name because they must always be the first element in a sentence. They function mostly like English modal verbs ("can", "must", "may" and so on). The most common are the following:
 * "can" (indicates physical ability, like in "he can lift this stone")
 * "can", "know how" (indicates intellectual ability, like in "he can speak English")
 * "may" (indicates permission)
 * "should" (indicates a kind of advice)
 * "must" (indicates obligation)
 * "need" (indicates some kind of necessity)
 * "want" (indicates a desire)
 * "guess" (indicates something that is not certain)

Examples:
 * "It can rain" (at any moment)
 * "It may rain" (not so probable)
 * "It was supposed to rain"
 * "It must rain" (weather forecast said it would be raining now)
 * "Rain is needed" (e.g. we are in a drought)
 * "It wants to rain" (indicates rain is imminent)
 * "I guess it is going to rain"

Mood
The imperative mood consists of the root in the accusative form, optionally preceded by. The expletive particle {Atudab|to}} may be used at the end of the sentence. Ex.:
 * "come!" (lit. "do a coming")
 * "wake up!" (lit. "have/do an awakening")

Voice
Technically speaking, there is only the active voice. Anyway, if used without a direct object, a passive meaning may be understood. There is also a construction similar to our passive voice, built with the word "people":
 * "I woke up", "I was woken up"
 * "People woke me up" -> "I was woken up"
 * "They wounded" -> "They were wounded"
 * "People wounded them" -> "They were wounded"

Negation
The negative form of is, and the negative form of  is. These are conjugated regularly. In the negative form the personal prefixes must always be used. Ex.:
 * "It is not raining."
 * "They will not travel tomorrow."

In spoken form, mostly considered incorrect, the shortened forms (for ) and  (for ) are used, the personal prefixes being optional if the meaning is clear:
 * "It is not raining."
 * "They will not travel tomorrow."

In pure nominal constructions the particle is used:
 * "It is not raining."

Sentence Structure
Atudab language is based on nouns. The relations between nouns are indicated by means of prefixes and the two "nominal cases", the genitive (both "full" and "half") and the dative. The only two verbs in use are the equivalent to "be" and to "have" or "do". All actions are expressed by means of phrases consisting basically of one of these verbs plus a noun.

The verb "have", "do", "make" requires its complement to be in the accusative case, obtained by means of what is called a "nasal transfix", which consists in the nasalization of every phoneme in a word (vowels and consonants).

So, in principle, a sentence in Atudab is radically different from a sentence in, lets say, English. See the following examples:

So, to simplify things, we could consider that, to obtain a verb from a noun, you must prefix and apply a full nasalization on the noun:

One must keep in mind, however, that this is not the way the language works. Internally these words are always nouns and the sentence structure must be in accordance with this fact. For instance, if you are to say “she sings beautifully”, you must use a structure like “her singing is of beauty” or “she and her beautiful singing”. The structure “she does a singing of beauty”  is also possible, although not the most common for cases like this.

Related Articles

 * Nominal Sentences in Atudab: this article deals with the various types of nominal sentences in Atudab.
 * True Verbal Sentences in Atudab: this article shows how the only true verbs in Atudab (wij and hob) are used and when then can be omitted.
 * Absence of Verbs in Atudab: this article deals with the almost complete absense of verbs in Atudab, showing how the language uses relations between nouns to express meanings for which most languages rely on verbs.
 * Nasality as a morphological distinction in Atudab: this article shows the ways in which nasality is used in Atudab with morphological functions. Definiteness and case are the most important ones, but there are more.