Dahur

=Setting= Dahur is one of the most important languages in Drion. Although having been a minority language for a long time, it started gaining importance with the long Tláymay-Handun war, which drained lots of influence both from Nekturian and Arishian languages.

It is a flexional language, just like most languages of the Nekturian family. Among its main characteristics are the long words and the complete absence of the notion of time in verbs. Contact with other languages (mainly Nekturian and Arishian) gave rise to some innovations, like ways of expressing time, but none of these innovations has been largely accepted. This reinforces the notion that Dahur is one of the most conservative languages of Drion. Actually, it has almost no dialect variation, and has changed very little in the last centuries.

=Phonology=

Vowels
There are nine vowels:
 * a [a]
 * ê [e] (closed)
 * é [ɛ] (open)
 * i [i]
 * ô [o] (closed)
 * ó [ɔ] (open)
 * u [u]
 * ö [ø]
 * ü [y]

These are plain vowels just like Italian or French. They are pronounced very clearly by native speakers.

Consonants
They are divided in groups:

Syllables
Regular syllables are very simple, having the form (C)V(C), that is, an obligatory vowel that may be preceded or/and followed by one (and only one) consonant. No more than two consonants may come together, as the result of a syllable ending in a consonant followed by a syllable beginning in a consonant. Remember that tr is always considered one single consonant.

Stress
Stress falls on the next-to-last (penultimate) syllable. However, if there is a tr in the last syllable, it receives stress. E.g.:
 * yén yugdar évórésh [jɛn 'jugdaɾ ɛ'vɔɾɛʃ]
 * yén évórésh yugdarêw [jɛn ɛ'vɔɾɛʃ jug'daɾew]
 * tud êfufiz utrôm [tud e'fufiz u'tɾom]
 * ókwutra [ɔkwu'tra]
 * ókwutsa [ɔ'kwutsa]

=Articles=

Definite Article
The definite article is declined as follows.

It is common to pronounce the Nominative Singular form tud as either tu or tuy.

Indefinite Article
The indefinite article is the same as the number "one", yén, placed before nouns.

=Nouns= Nouns in Dahur are inflected for number (singular, dual and plural) and case (nominative, accusative, dative, genitive, locative, ablative, vocative). There is no flexion for gender.

Classes
There are three classes of nouns. Each class has its own series of endings.

Declension
As a flexional language, each combination of number+case has its own ending, which are not made of primary elements.

Class I
This class comprises all nouns ending in a consonant or semivowel.

Class II
This class comprises all nouns ending in a vowel other than a.

Class III
This class comprises all nouns ending in -a.

=Adjectives= Adjectives in Dahur are not declined at all.

The regular place for attributive adjectives is before nouns, between determiners (articles, demonstratives, possessives) and the noun. They may, however, be placed after nouns, receiving the genitive ending. E.g.:


 * (yén) yugdar évórésh "a good book"
 * also possible: (yén) évórésh yugdarêw
 * tud êfufiz utrôm "the national congress"

Comparison is expressed by means of prefixes:
 * comparative of superiority: kén-
 * comparative of inferiority: truh-
 * superlative: vun-

E.g.:
 * (yén) kényugdar évórésh, (yén) évórésh kényugdarêw [audio] "a better book"
 * tud vunyugdar évórésh, tud évórésh vunyugdarêw "the best book"

=Pronouns=

Personal
Dahur has personal pronouns for singular, dual and plural. However, dual forms are often interchangeable with plural forms. One can say that pronouns have a singular form and a dual-plural form, which has a more common form (the original plural) as well as a special form (the original dual) which is used sometimes.

These are declined as Class I nouns, except for the nominative. Example:

Possessive
These possessive pronouns may be used as adjectives or as nouns, and are declined regularly.

Ex.:
 * avus zhayam "my brother"
 * avus zhayamuy "to my brother"
 * tuhu avus zhayamzhav "with my brothers"
 * tuhu avus zhayamzhav, zhôr tuhu tôfpézhav "with my brothers, not with yours"

Demonstrative

 * nuv "this, these"
 * tuhaf "that, those"

These may be used as adjectives or as nouns. They may be preceded by the definite article. Examples:
 * nuv luptrör, tud nuv luptrör (rare: luptrör nuvêw, tud luptrör nuvêw) "this house"
 * tuhaf êtrózyê, trê tuhaf êtrózyê (rare: êtrózyê tuhafêw, trê êtrózyê tuhafêw) "those animals"

Relative
The following relative pronouns are used:
 * dak "that"
 * ôv "which"
 * yutr "who"

Interrogative
The following interrogative pronouns are used:
 * yugdur "what"
 * ôv "which (one)"
 * yutr "who"
 * yuw "where"
 * ruén "when"
 * tô "how"
 * luzdüm "how much"
 * tôf "how many"

=Numbers= Dahurian numbers are based on a vigesimal (i.e., base 20) system.

Where two forms are indicated, the first is used in everyday speech, the second is used in more formal language.
 * 0 abiy, êshshóv
 * 1 yén
 * 2 tavdum
 * 3 nunên
 * 4 zhôt
 * 5 tôg
 * 6 yö, yöfötr
 * 7 üzóv
 * 8 akhü, föndanóm
 * 9 êshtum
 * 10 tayawétr, taryaf
 * 11 fayatryê
 * 12 tógdér
 * 13 nufkam
 * 14 agshutran
 * 15 ablóhag
 * 16 yôrsö
 * 17 ümnuag
 * 18 föndapitr
 * 19 iynuam, êshôvas
 * 20 tashód
 * 21 tashód tap yén
 * 22 tashód tap tavdum
 * 23 tashód tap nunên
 * 24 tashód tap zhôt
 * 25 tashód tap tôg
 * 26 tashód tap yö, tashód tap yöfötr
 * 27 tashód tap üzóv
 * 28 tashód tap akhü, tashód tap föndanóm
 * 29 tashód tap êshtum
 * 30 tashód tap tayawétr, tashód tap taryaf
 * 31 tashód tap fayatryê
 * 32 tashód tap tógdér
 * 33 tashód tap nufkam
 * 34 tashód tap agshutran
 * 35 tashód tap ablóhag
 * 36 tashód tap yôrsö
 * 37 tashód tap ümnuag
 * 38 tashód tap föndapitr
 * 39 tashód tap iynuam, tashód tap êshôvas
 * 40 tashdék
 * 50 tashdék tap tayawétr, tashdék tap taryaf
 * 60 nutshód
 * 70 nutshód tap tayawétr, nutshód tap taryaf
 * 80 zhôtshód
 * 90 zhôtshód tap tayawétr, zhôtshód tap taryaf
 * 100 tôgshód
 * 123 tôgshód tashód tap nunên
 * 1000 êrutriz
 * 1234 êrutriz tavdum tôgshód tashód tap agshutran

=Verbs= Dahurian verbs have an aspectual rather than a temporal conjugation. Aspects are indicated mainly by means of alterations to the original verb root, by means of prefixes, suffixes and even infixes. In most cases, infixes cause major alterations in a verb root.

Aspects
Time is not indicated at all in Dahurian verbs. Modern constructions conveying notions of time are all due to contact with other languages, and are not widely accepted, being generally considered wrong language.

Person and number are carefully indicated in a verb. Subject personal endings vary according to aspect and also according to the direct object. There are three sets of endings: one for intransitive verbs (no direct object), a second for transitive verbs with a definite object, and a third one for transitive verbs with an indefinite or suppressed object.

Stative
Stative aspect conveys the idea that no change is performed. Some examples in English would be the verbs "be", "have", "think", "believe", "want", "contain", "imply", or action verbs in simple present or present continuous, indicating some normal, regular state. E. g.:


 * (Pittrir) ké fawótr. "She is pregnant."
 * (Étéd) téódaw (tavdum) ufóvushév. "We have two children."
 * (Fash) tônvazaf (nutr) nuv zhôflótripétr. "I like this film."
 * (Fash) tushóraf tu afiz kéud tôtr. "I think (that) they are tired."
 * (Pittrir) yépdut yushva. "He wants something."
 * (Fash) nadvörash atrév. "I believe (in) you."
 * Tud téwtrétóf ufnapufan afisavétr dak (atrur) êzshéwit. "The pack contains everything you need."
 * Nuv kiluvan tu atrur tôm kéut zhötma. "This implies that you are not right."
 * Tud surtriyétr akyupüs truh suvópruh. "The sun rises in the East."
 * Tud ókmüftit ufrunôk trav tuhaf uktésav. "Light comes from that window."
 * (Pittrir) ókwutra truh nuv tuzkarruh. "She is living in this town."

Conjugation
Personal endings for stative verbs are as follows:

Sample Verb: ké "be"
This is considered an intransitive verb, and is so conjugated:

Sample Verb: yéwir "know"
This verb may have a definite or an indefinite direct object. E.g.: yéwirash uhhêtrétr "I know (of) a place"; yéwiraf nutr tuzkarétr "I know the city".

Perfective
The perfective aspect implies a change of state, which becomes more or less permanent and the results of which can be observed or attested.

A verb in the perfective aspect receives the suffix -n, which causes mutations in the root.

In general, when adding the suffix -n, the following rules are applied:
 * 1) If the verb root ends in a vowel, the consonant before this final vowel becomes voiced (yômunta -> yômundan)
 * 2) If the verb root ends in a consonant, the vowel before this final consonant is shifted forward, staying between the last consonant and the suffix (yizhös -> yizhsön)
 * 3) However, if there is more than one consonant before the vowel, what would result in a long consonant cluster, a copy of this vowel is also placed between the first and the second consonants of the cluster (üdnatr -> üdntran -> üdantran)
 * 4) There is a number of completely irregular verbs. The most common are:
 * rad "see", perfective rén
 * üsh "speak", perf. yön
 * taguh "hear", perf. tavrun
 * ufshu "come", perf. ufushhun
 * sêpam "ask (for something)", perf. sêmban
 * zhab "bring", perf. zhaztran
 * résh "eat", perf. fékvan

Conjugation
The following endings are used:

Examples:
 * (Fash) réndaf pittrirétr ibtrugü. "I saw him here." (Implying "He propably is still here")
 * (Fash) tadéhbéndaf (tuhafétr) atruruy. "I told you (that)." (Implying: "You should remember it"); or: "I will tell you (that)." (Implying: "You will know it")
 * (Pittrir) tashéndéh. "He died" (I.e.: "He is dead."); or: "He will die." (Implying: "I am sure of it")

Sample Verb: éknap "be born", "give birth"

 * Meanings: "be born" (intransitive), "give birth" (transitive)
 * Stem: éknap
 * Perfective stem: ékanban-

Aorist
The aorist aspect indicates an action as a complete and independent event. There are no implications regarding results or consequences. It simply conveys the information that the action occurred/will occur.

The aorist stem is built with the infix -sh-, placed before the last vowel of the stem. Assimilation then is applied both for consonants in contact with the infix and to the infix itself.


 * téód -> téshód -> tézhód
 * tônvaz -> tônafshaz
 * tushór -> tushshór
 * yépdut -> yépdshut -> yépduzhut
 * nadvör -> nadvshör -> nadvözhör
 * ufnapuf -> ufnapshuf -> ufnapsuf
 * kiluv -> kirzhuv
 * akyupüs -> akyupshüs -> akyupsüs
 * ufrunôk -> ufrunshôk -> ufrunzhôk
 * ókwutra -> ókwutrsha -> ókwutsa

Assimilation rules are as follows:
 * 1) Whenever the infix -sh- comes between two vowels, it changes to the voiced -zh-.
 * 2) If a voiced consonant comes right before the infix, it becomes unvoiced.
 * 3) *If a liquid (r, l, m or n) comes before the infix, the voiced form -zh- is used instead. Additionally, l turns to r before the infix.
 * 4) If a sequence of more than two consonants appears, a copy of the last vowel of the stem is placed between the last two consonants.
 * 5) The sequence psh becomes ps
 * 6) The sequence trsh becomes ts

Conjugation
Aorist personal suffixes are largely different from those of other aspects. On the other hand, difference between transitive and intransitive forms consist only in the presence or not of a semivowel in the beginning of the suffix. Intransitive suffixes begin with a vowel. Transitive indefinite suffixes begin with -w-, while transitive definite suffixes begin with -y-.

Sample Verb: résh "eat"

 * Meaning: "eat", "feed oneself" (intr.); "eat (something)" (tr.)
 * Stem: résh
 * Aorist Stem: rézhésh-

Sample

 * "Trê fêgvót itrutravyê éknapup nashuy êw asötras, töhütréhzhav êw shôhdaslahzhav. Afiz kéud fétrav wahtrizav êw muywémav, afiz üfarashiz tushvég yénsé abshunfav zhavdêyêw."
 * ("All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.")