Susjin

Susjulin is a mostly-isolating analytic language. The name is a shortened perversion of the original official name, Su Sjulin ta Djuran du Raŧum, which translates into English as The United Language of Earth. For a full lexicon, view the article "Susjulin Lexicon."

Setting
Susjulin is spoken by the populace of the Terran Federation in the year 2317. The Terran Federation is the federal government of the planet Earth. It evolved from the United Nations until it was the higher government of every nation on the planet. When the language was first created, it was instated as the lingua franca of politics. Soon it was adopted as the lingua franca of business, as well. As the language grew in usage, many languages instated laws which forbid its use in certain contexts so as to preserve their native languages. However, because the majority of the planet's governments had become capitalist states, the language of business became the most important, and soon all inhabitants of Earth were fluent. Within a hundred years, the native languages of the world's nations were extinct. The name of the language, Susjulin, is a shortened perversion of its original, official name, Su Sjulin ta Djuran du Raŧum, which translates into English as The United Language of Earth.

Phonology
The letter [h] is used to represent three phonemes, depending on its preceding vowel. If it follows /i/, /e/, or /ɛ/, it is pronounced as /ç/. If it follows /a/, it is pronounced as /ħ̞/. If it follows /u/, it is pronounced as /ʍ/.

The Susjulin alphabet, in addition to single-phoneme consonants, has double-phonemic graphemes corresponding to affricates and consonant clusters. Due to the lack of Latin graphemes, these are represented using Latin characters as consonant clusters, rather than single graphemes.

In addition to all of these consonants, all letters (including both single- and double-phonemic consonants) except [m], [n], and [h] can be palatalized or labialized, creating double- and triple-phonemic consonants. This palatalization and labialization is represented using the Latin alphabet with the letters [j] and [w] respectively.

There are only three written vowels, [i], [a], and [u], but they correspond to five different phonemes. [i] is normally pronounced /i/, but is pronounced /ɛ/ after a palatalized consonant, except at the end of a word when it is pronounced /e/. [u] is normally pronounced /u/, but is pronounced /o/ after a labialized consonant.

Two vowels can be legally placed proximally. If they are identical, this creates a geminated vowel. If they are not identical, this creates a diphthong. All Susjulin diphthongs are falling, including the opening diphthongs.

The first syllable in a word always receives primary stress. Secondary stress falls on odd syllables, unless there is a geminated syllable. Geminated syllables receive secondary stress, unstressing the previous syllable if it is not geminated as well and would otherwise receive secondary stress.

Phonotactics
C = any consonant, including palatalized and labialized consonants, affricates, and consonant clusters, but not including nasals

N = any nasal consonant

V = any vowel

Syllable: C V (V) h/N

The final syllable of any morpheme (other than particles) will always end with a nasal or [h]. Therefore, all morphemes in a word (i.e. after derivation or compounding) will be separated by a nasal or [h].

The only exceptions to the above phonotactics are in the cases of articles, determiners, conjunctions, prepositions, and other particles, which can end with a vowel. They can also begin with a vowel, as can derivational affixes.

If two proximal vowels are identical, they become a geminate, if not, they become a diphthong.

Orthography
The Susjulin orthography is an alphabet which uses 64 graphemes. 61 are consonants and three are vowels. Diacritics can be added to the three vowels to show palatalization or labialization of the previous consonant.

Grammar
Susjulin is completely analytical. This means that nouns are not declined and verbs are not conjugated. Instead, they are marked by the presence of particles.

Each part of speech is marked by specific endings.


 * Verb: -an/-am


 * Noun/Pronoun: -in/-im/-um


 * Adjective/Adverb: -un


 * Derivational Affixes: -ih/-ah/-uh


 * All else (articles, determiners, conjunctions, prepositions, particles): -ih/-ah/-uh/-i/-a/-u

Verbs
Verbs are not conjugated. Instead, they are preceded by modifying particles.

Pro-Verbs
Pro-verbs act on verbs in the same way that pronouns act on nouns.

Nouns
Nouns are preceded by articles. These show that a noun is definite, indefinite, partitive, or negative. These articles are always used, and are not changed by number or case.

Nouns are not declined. Instead, they are preceded and/or followed by modifying particles.

Case
Grammatical case is shown by the presence of a preceding particle.

Number
Grammatical number is shown by the presence of a following particle.

Pronouns
Pronouns are treated in the exact same way as nouns.

Adjectives and Adverbs
Adjectives and adverbs use the exact same word. The meaning is derived based on its location in the sentence. If it immediately follows a noun, it is an adjective, if it immediately follows a verb, it is an adverb.

Adjectives and adverbs can be modified by a preceding particle to show comparativity.

Schleicher's Fable

 * Schleicher's Fable by August Schleicher
 * Larimgjun du Šlaikjirim lwuh Augustum Šlaikjirim

English: On a hill, a sheep that had no wool saw horses, one of them pulling a heavy wagon, one carrying a big load, and one carrying a man quickly. The sheep said to the horses: "My heart pains me, seeing a man driving horses". The horses said: "Listen, sheep, our hearts pain us when we see this: a man, the master, makes the wool of the sheep into a warm garment for himself. And the sheep has no wool". Having heard this, the sheep fled into the plain.

Susjulin: Kšja lu twum, lu xwin twih žaim tu plam da lu kwuim fjah,

The North Wind and the Sun

 * The North Wind and the Sun by Aesop

English: The North Wind and the Sun were disputing which was the stronger, when a traveler came along wrapped in a warm cloak. They agreed that the one who first succeeded in making the traveler take his cloak off should be considered stronger than the other. Then the North Wind blew as hard as he could, but the more he blew the more closely did the traveler fold his cloak around him; and at last the North Wind gave up the attempt. Then the Sun shined out warmly, and immediately the traveler took off his cloak. And so the North Wind was obliged to confess that the Sun was the stronger of the two.

Susjulin: