Quai'op

=Setting=

In the 19th century, the Quai'op language was created as a lingua franca, between foreign immigrants and natives, on the island of Jhyey', off the coast of the Heumenh Republic. It evolved, eventually replacing the island's language Ȝ̧ɵłl-t¡aȧ. The island won its independence from the Heumenh Republic due to a translation error to Jsoang.

=Phonology=

Vowels:


 * {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"

!Vowel

!IPA

!Close English Equivalent




 * a


 * [â]


 * British father




 * e


 * [ǝ]


 * British father




 * i


 * [i], [ɛ] before or after q, qh, c, ch, ɣ'


 * bead, bed before or after q, qh, c, ch, ɣ'




 * o


 * [ɑ]


 * American lard




 * u


 * [u], [ɔ] before or after q, qh, c, ch, ɣ'


 * food, floor before or after q, qh, c, ch, ɣ'




 * y


 * [y], [œ] before or after q, qh, c, ch, ɣ'


 * No English equivalent. French plus.  Before or after q, qh, c, ch, ɣ', no English equivalent.  French jeune.


 * }

Consonants:


 * {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"

!Quajop Letter

!IPA

!English Equivalent






 * [ʔ]


 * button




 * c


 * [k]


 * sky




 * f


 * [f]


 * first




 * h


 * [x]


 * German bach




 * j


 * [ʧ]


 * Like English, chain, but unaspirated.




 * m


 * [m]


 * mile




 * n


 * [ŋ]


 * bring




 * p


 * [p]


 * spade




 * q


 * [q]


 * No English equivalent. Quechua qusqu.




 * r


 * [r], [j] as a medial (between initial consonant and nuclear vowel)


 * No English equivalent. Spanish carro.  yellow as a medial.




 * s


 * [θ]


 * thank




 * t


 * [t]


 * stamp


 * }

Digraphs:


 * {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"

!Digraph

!IPA

!English Equivalent




 * ch


 * [kʱ]


 * cat




 * jh


 * [ʧ ʱ]


 * chat




 * ph


 * [pʱ]


 * pan




 * qh


 * [qʱ]


 * No English equivalent. Quechua qhichwa.




 * th


 * [tʱ]


 * tape.




 * ɣ'


 * [h]


 * hat




 * c'h


 * [kx]


 * combination of Quai'op c and h




 * c'hh


 * [kxʱ]


 * combination of Quai'op ch and h




 * pfh


 * [pfʱ]


 * combination of Quai'op ph and f




 * tsh


 * [tθʱ]


 * combination of Quai'op th ans s




 * q'h


 * [qx]


 * combination of Quai'op q and h




 * q'hh


 * [qxʱ]


 * combination of Quai'op qh and h


 * }

All other consonants written in succession are pronounced separately.

Syllable Structure
-The fundamental unit of Quai'op is the syllable.

-A syllable must begin with a consonant. Any above consonant can begin a word. Other consonant clusters can begin a word: c', ch', f', h', j', p', q', s', t', ɣ", cr, fr, jr, pr, qr, tr, chr, jhr, phr, qhr, thr, ɣ'r, pf, and ts.

-A syllable must have a nuclear vowel, a main vowel, usually a, e, or o.

-If the nuclear is not a, e, or o, it should have an accent on it.

-Any vowel except a or e can be a medial, or a vowel before the main vowel. A medial vowel can only come after consonants and consonant clusters that do not contain ' or r (although ɣ', r, and ' can have medial vowels).

-Only vowels i, u, and y or unaspirated (not digraphs ending in h) consonants listed under "consonants" can be used to end a word. A noun can be glottalized (cut off with the back of the throat), marked by a ' after the vowel.

Examples of Syllables:

Thrún

Pyúh

Cay'

Nyeu

Jya's

Qruí

Not Syllables:

Thin (missing accent)

Ay (must begin with consonant)

Phryan (medial vowels not allowed after consonant clusters except r, ɣ', or ')

Tiún' (apostrophe goes after vowel)

Timing and Stress

 * Syllables with a nuclear "a" recieve a heavy stress, similar to the falling tone in Mandarin Chinese, or a single-syllable sharp command in English.


 * Syllables with a nuclear "a" are twice as long as other syllables.


 * At the end of a syllable, c, j, p, q, and t have the same timing as a syllable.

=Grammar=


 * {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"

!Type

!Name

!Definition

!Example

!Translation




 * rowspan=15|Noun


 * absolutive-ergative Noun


 * subject or object of a verb


 * Cat jú'r.

They jhau jú'r.


 * The ramp is large.

I have the ramp.




 * dative/genitive Noun


 * the reciever of the object, or the owner of the object that preceeds it


 * Niet sa't phioq príq.

They phioq jhyop sa't.


 * That is my fruit.

They/He/She gave me a fruit.




 * instructive noun


 * the instrument or method used to preform the action


 * Ciec húr.


 * I took the bus to work.




 * topical noun


 * what the topic of the conversation is, usually in its own sentence


 * Ch'ap.


 * The topic of this conversation is you (common greeting).




 * distributive Noun


 * for every whatever


 * Ɣ"ý tsín jú'r fa ríy'.


 * There will be three ramps per person.




 * benefactive noun


 * what/who the verb is benefitting


 * Ɣ"ý hua'p priq.


 * That will benefit charity.




 * aversive noun


 * what the verb is trying to avoid


 * Cor 'ai'c phuec.


 * I stood still in order to avoid death.




 * adessive noun


 * whatever on which the preceeding noun is


 * Ɣ"ý jhuec qhra't.


 * It is on the table.




 * apudessive noun


 * whatever next to which the object represented by the preceeding noun is


 * Ɣ"ý pah phuec t'a's.


 * I was next to him/her/it/them.




 * elative noun


 * whatever of which the preceeding noun is outisde


 * Ɣ"ý mí phuec.


 * I am outside of the house.




 * appositive noun


 * renames the noun that comes before it


 * Arecsantri mou' cha's mou.


 * Alexander the Great was a great leader.




 * locative noun


 * where the object represented by the preceeding noun is


 * Jhuec 'uon.


 * He is at home.




 * comparative "more" noun


 * whatever [verb]s more than the preceeding noun


 * 'You phuec chi'f.


 * I eat more than you.




 * comparative "less" noun


 * whatever [verb]s less than the preceeding noun


 * 'You phuec chi's.


 * I eat less than you.




 * comparative "same" noun


 * whatever [verb]s the same amount as the preceeding noun


 * 'You phuec chi'h.


 * I eat the same amount as you.




 * temporal "after" noun


 * whatever [verb]s after than the preceeding noun


 * 'You phuec s'a'r.


 * I eat after returning.




 * temporal "before" noun


 * whatever [verb]s before than the preceeding noun


 * 'You phuec sa'h.


 * I eat before returning.




 * temporal "during" noun


 * whatever [verb]s at the time of the preceeding noun


 * 'You phuec pya'q.


 * I eat during the war.


 * }


 * Multiplicative Noun: shows unit of measure


 * Two Nouns in One Syllable (i.e. cruon, meaning subj: I, obj: you)


 * Terminative Noun: up until whatever


 * Causative Noun

Verbs

Adjectives/Adverbs

Grammatical Particles


 * Prepositions: used only when there is no prepositional phrase syllable


 * Non-Desctiptive Adjectives


 * Part of Speech-Modifiers


 * Tense, Evidentiality-Modifiers


 * Random Sentence Information

Numbers

Nouns are always glottalized. Other rules that determine the exact part of speech of a noun are loosely followed.

Word Order
The basic word order is:

Absolutive

Verb

Evidentiality

Instructive

Dative

Ergative

Changing Parts of Speech

 * {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"



! colspan=4 | New Part of Speech



! rowspan=9| Original Part of Speech



! rowspan=1|Verb

! rowspan=1|Noun

! rowspan=1|Adjective/Adverb



!rowspan=6| Verb


 * rowspan=6|


 * rowspan=1|'iap (act or state of verb)






 * súq (noun as agent of verb)


 * 'yet (described noun as agent of converted verb)




 * 'op (noun as patient of verb)


 * rowspan=4|'uof (described noun as patient of converted verb)




 * thuar (noun as instrument of verb)




 * pfau (noun as location of verb)




 * q'hí (noun as cause of verb)



!Noun


 * juín




 * thoh



!Adjective


 * (adjective can serve as verb)


 * c'hum




 * }

Absolutive-Ergative Particles
In Quai'op, the ergative comes after the verb. The ergative tells what is undergoing most of the action. For example, in the sentence, "I broke the pencil," the pencil is undergoing the action, so it is the ergative. In the sentence, "The pencil broke," the ergative is the pencil.

In Quai'op, the aboslutive comes before the verb. The absolutive is the agent, or what does the action to something else.

For linking verbs, the linked nouns are listed after the verb.

The table below shows the nouns that contain two pronouns, serving different purposes.


 * {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"



! colspan= 5 | Absolutive



! rowspan= 4| Ergative


 * colspan= 1|

! colspan= 1| First Person (I/we)

! colspan= 1| Second Person (you)

! colspan= 1| Third Person (he/she/it/they)

! colspan= 1| Reflexive (oneself)



! First Person


 * phau


 * phún


 * phyop


 * phuec



! Second Person


 * chau


 * chún


 * chyop


 * chuec



!Third Person


 * jhau


 * jhún


 * jhyop


 * jhuec


 * }

Examples of use:

"I love you," becomes Jyís phún. Note that the ergative in this case is "I," because it is "I" that is feeling the love.

"I take/took a picture of us," becomes "Tshio phau."

Tenses and Evidentiality
The tense markers are as follows:


 * {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"

!Tense Name

!Quai'op Example

!English Translation




 * Present


 * Tshio jhuec.


 * They are taking pictures of themselves.




 * Past


 * Tshio pah jhuec.


 * They took pictures of themselves.




 * Future


 * Tshio tsín jhuec.


 * They will take pictures of themselves.




 * Past Perfect


 * Tshio ɣ'ý jhuec.


 * They had taken pictures of themselves.




 * Future in Future


 * Tshio chai jhuec.


 * At some time in the future, they will still not yet have taken pictures of themselves, but will eventually.




 * Early Morning (12:00 AM-4:00 AM)


 * Tshio quoc jhuec.


 * Today in the early morning, they took/will take pictures of themselves.




 * Morning (4:00 AM-9:00 AM)


 * Tshio c'heh jhuec.


 * In the morning today, they took/will take pictures of themselves.




 * Around Noon (9:00 AM-2:00 PM)


 * Tshio jran jhuec.


 * Around noon today, they took/will take pictures of themselves.




 * Afternoon (2:00 PM-5:00 PM)


 * Tshio 'ín jhuec.


 * In the afternoon today, they took/will take pictures of themselves.




 * Evening (5:00 PM-7:30 PM)


 * Tshio riat jhuec.


 * In the evening today, they took/will take pictures of themselves.




 * Night (7:30 PM-10:30 PM)


 * Tshio mat jhuec.


 * Tonight, they took/will take pictures of themselves.




 * Late Night (10:30 PM- 12:00 AM)


 * Tshio crer jhuec.


 * Late tonight, they took/will take pictures of themselves.


 * }

More common verbs have different forms for different tenses:


 * {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"

!Tense Name

!Quai'op Example

!English Translation




 * Present


 * Pei phuec.


 * I am going.




 * Past


 * Piet phuec.


 * I went.




 * Future


 * Píy phuec.


 * I will go.




 * Past Perfect


 * Per phuec.


 * I had gone.




 * Future in Future


 * Pai phuec.


 * I will not yet have gone, but later will eventually.




 * Early Morning (12:00 AM-4:00 AM)


 * Puec phuec.


 * Today in the early morning, I went/will go.




 * Morning (4:00 AM-9:00 AM)


 * Piec phuec.


 * In the morning today, they took/will take pictures of themselves.




 * Around Noon (9:00 AM-2:00 PM)


 * Pen phuec.


 * Around noon today, I go/will go.




 * Afternoon (2:00 PM-5:00 PM)


 * Peu phuec.


 * In the afternoon today, I went/will go.




 * Evening (5:00 PM-7:30 PM)


 * Pet phuec.


 * In the evening today, I went/will go.




 * Night (7:30 PM-10:30 PM)


 * Pep phuec.


 * Tonight, I went/will go.




 * Late Night (10:30 PM- 12:00 AM)


 * Pef phuec.


 * Late tonight, I went/will go.


 * }

Evidentiality
Evidentiality is important in Quai'op. It also provides the mood.


 * {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"

!Type of Evidentiality

!Quai'op example

!English Translation

!Negative

!Quai'op Example

!English Translation




 * Assumed Indicative


 * Tien p'a't.


 * I know the soup is hot.


 * Assumed Negative


 * Tien ri p'a't.


 * I know the soup is not hot.




 * Inferential Indicative


 * Tien net p'a't.


 * The soup must be hot.


 * Inferential Negative


 * Tien 'ír p'a't.


 * The soup must not be hot.




 * Visual Indicative


 * Tien ɣ'au p'a't.


 * I saw that the soup was hot.*


 * Visual Negative


 * Tien qa p'a't.


 * I saw that the soup was not hot.*




 * Auditory Indicative


 * Tien phor p'a't.


 * I could hear that the soup was hot.*


 * Auditory Negative


 * Tien fún p'a't.


 * I could hear that the soup was not hot.*




 * Olfactory Indicative


 * Tien qhíc p'a't.


 * I could smell that the soup was hot.*


 * Olfactory Negative


 * Tien qil p'a't.


 * I could smell that the soup was not hot.*




 * Tactical Indicative


 * Tien huar p'a't.


 * I could feel the soup was hot.


 * Tactical Negative


 * Tien j'an p'a't.


 * I could feel the soup was not hot.




 * Apparent Indicative


 * Tien cuý p'a't.


 * The soup appears to be hot.


 * Apparent Negative


 * Tien týu p'a't.


 * The soup appears not to be hot.




 * Probable Indicative


 * Tien far p'a't.


 * The soup is probably hot.


 * Probable Negative


 * Tien mei p'a't.


 * The soup is probably not hot.




 * Hearsay Indicative


 * Tien cueh p'a't.


 * They say the soup is hot.


 * Hearsay Negative


 * Tien 'iuy p'a't.


 * They say the soup is not hot.




 * Quotative Indicative


 * Tien 'eq p'a't.


 * Reliable sources say the soup is hot.


 * Quotative Negative


 * Tien quo p'a't.


 * Reliable sources say the soup is not hot.




 * Probable Quotative Indicative


 * Tien q'úi p'a't.


 * Reliable sources say the soup is probably hot.

Also: Somewhat reliable sources say the soup is hot.

Also: Somewhat reliable sources say the soup is probably hot.


 * Probable Quotative Negative


 * Tien 'i p'a't.


 * Reliable sources say the soup is probably not hot.

Also: Somewhat reliable sources say the soup is not hot.

Also: Somewhat reliable sources say the soup is probably not hot.




 * Obvious Indicative


 * Tien pian p'a't.


 * It's obvious that the soup is hot.


 * Obvious Negative


 * Tien toh p'a't.


 * It's obvious that the soup is hot.




 * Arguable Indicative


 * Tien thon p'a't.


 * The soup is arguably hot.


 * Arguable Negative


 * Tien soi p'a't.


 * The soup is arguably not hot.




 * Second-Person Witness Indicative


 * Tien qre p'a't.


 * As you can see/have seen, the soup is hot.


 * Second-Person Witness Negative


 * Tien coy p'a't.


 * As you can see/have seen, the soup is not hot.




 * Third-Person (Literary) Witness Indicative


 * Tien phí p'a't.


 * In the story, he/she could see that the soup was hot.


 * Third-Person (Literary) Witness Negative


 * Tien q'hhaq p'a't.


 * In the story, he/she could see that the soup was not hot.




 * Realized Indicative


 * Tien hruj p'a't.


 * I have realized that the soup is hot.


 * Realized Negative


 * Tien chí p'a't.


 * I have realized that the soup is not hot.




 * Analytical Indicative


 * Tien chiur p'a't.


 * After careful analysis, I have concluded that the soup is hot.*


 * Analytical Negative


 * Tien juj p'a't.


 * After careful analysis, I have concluded that the soup is not hot.*


 * }

* Don't ask.

=Numbers=

There are many different types of number systems in Quai'op. Here are a few:


 * {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"

!Type of Number

!Zero

!One

!Two

!Three

!Four

!Five

!Six

!Seven

!Eight

!Nine

!Ten

!Eleven

!Separator

!Negative Separator




 * Nominal Numbers


 * Jia


 * 'Ú


 * Qie


 * Fa


 * Piú


 * Sí


 * Cuo


 * Ho


 * Ta


 * Ruí


 * P'e


 * Cro


 * Ch'ú


 * Q'hý




 * Counting Numbers


 * Jian


 * 'Ún


 * Qien


 * Fan


 * Piún


 * Sín


 * Cuon


 * Hon


 * Tan


 * Ruín


 * P'en


 * Cron


 * Ch'ún


 * Q'hýn




 * Ordinal Numbers


 * Jiat


 * 'Út


 * Qiet


 * Fat


 * Piút


 * Sít


 * Cuot


 * Hot


 * Tat


 * Ruít


 * P'et


 * Crot


 * Ch'út


 * Q'hýt




 * Measuring People


 * Jiar


 * 'Úr


 * Qier


 * Far


 * Piúr


 * Sír


 * Cuor


 * Hor


 * Tar


 * Ruír


 * P'er


 * Cror


 * Ch'ú


 * Q'hý


 * }

=Conversation=

Hello (informal): yeh

Goodbye: yuh

Thank You: tul chau

You're Welcome: ɣ'on phún

What's going on with you?: cha'p

Names: Ma'm

 * The first syllable of a name is one of twenty-four "status-names": twelve for males and twelve for females. If a child is a male, he will recieve his father's status name.  If she is a female, she will recieve her father's mother's.  If one becomes a doctor, political leader, military general, or teacher, they recieve the appropriate status name after their traditional status name.


 * The next two syllables constitute the given name. By tradition, they are chosen by grandparents, as in China.


 * The final syllable is the region with which one is associated, or sometimes their father's name if male.

How To Start A Conversation
The common way, after Ȝ̧ɵłl-t¡aȧ tradition, to greet someone is to say, "Qa't tien huar chyop te?" meaning roughly, "According to you, is the fire keeping you warm?"

To tell your name, use the formula "I am from A, my name is B, and I have come here to C."

Phuec A mor, ma'm pho B, tsar phuec C caj.

=Example Text=

''Hrým cueh pah hya'p fýr r'e «jam nua c'íf?» 'ep. Frau t'i 'op man 'yet moj qhay.''

C'hhiún jhyop «jam 'op c'íf» «t'i moi qhí moj».

''Fen hya'p fýr qhra'f jhý. T'i 'op man ɣ'roi jam moj qhay.''

''Hyap fýr qiau hian jhý phrai. Pier tien r'e. T'i 'op moi cat moj.''

Ton n'uoi hya'p fýr «jam r'e jhí'f».

IPA Transcription
xjym kuǝx pax xyaʔp fyj rʔǝ ʧam nua kʔif ʔǝp fjau tʔi ʔɑp man ʔyet mɑʧ qʱay

kxʱiun ʧʱyɑp ʧam ʔɑp kʔif tʔi moi qʱɛ mɑʧ

fǝn xyaʔp fyj qʱɛ̆aʔf ʧy tʔi ʔɑp man hjɑi ʧam mɑʧ qʱay

xyap fyj qɛau xian ʧʱy phjai piǝj tiǝn rʔǝ tʔi ʔɑp mɑi kat mɑʧ

Tɑn nʔuoi xyaʔp fyr ʧam rʔǝ ʧʱif

Literal Translation
dispute hearsay past wind north sun strong who more.than.other topic. come travel patient wrap.around.oneself -ing cloak that.during.

decide hearsay they.they strong patient traveler remove cause cloak.

blow wind north best.of.ability his. travel patient wrap.around more.than.before strong cloak that.during.

wind north gave.up attempt his after.that. shine hot sun after.that. travel patient remove immediate cloak during.that.

had.to confess wind north sun strong more.than him.

Translation
They say the North Wind and the Sun disputed about who was stronger than the other. A traveler came wrapping a cloak around himself.

It was decided that the stronger one would be the one who caused the traveler to remove his cloak.

The North Wind blew to the best of his ability. The traveler more tightly wrapped his cloak than before around him than before as that happened.

The North Wind gave up his attempt after that. The sun shone warmly after that. The traveler immediately removed his cloak.

The North Wind had to confess the sun was stronger than him.