Miwonša

Miwonša is an a priori conlang created in 2011. It is a highly inflected language and has a vocabulary of approximately 2,000 words. One unique feature of Miwonša is that it can be also written with Tarul, a conscript created in 2011.

Consonants
Comments:

(1): /t ɕ/ and /t ɕ'/ are often pronounced with very little friction (especially before open vowels) so that they almost sound like plosives.

(2):The presence of / ɬ/ is considered to be a feature of very educated and sophisticated speakers. In colloquial situations it's absolutely acceptable to replace / ɬ/ with / ɕ/.

 (3): [x] is a possible allophone of /k/ in the syllable coda (free variation).

(4): Some loanwords from natural languages contain the phonemes /b/, /d/, /g/ and /v/. However, in fast speech they are often merged with [p], [t], [k] and [f].



Vowels
Comments:

(1) In stressed open syllables, /ɛ/ and /ɔ/ may be pronounced a bit more closed; [e] and [o]

(2) Since there is some dialectical variation, /a/ and /ã/ can also be pronounced as back vowels: [ɑ  ɑ̃]

Comments:

(1) All Diphthongs are falling diphthongs.

(2) /ä ʊ/ can also be pronounced as [ ɑʊ]

The four declensions
In Miwonša, all native nouns either end in "-a", "-i", "-o" or "-n". They can be grouped into four declensions. There are four cases (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative) and two numbers (singular, plural). All declensions have two or more sub-types.

The "a" declension
In the "a" declension, the last consonant is decisive for the choice of the correct suffix in the nominative, accusative and dative plural. If a stem of a noun ends in c, j, y or w, the plural suffixes are  and , All other stems require the suffixes i and iš''. Final r is always palatalized to ž in the nominative, accusative and dative plural: ''

Example nouns of the "a" class (type 1): tahonta (person), hanza (dog)  → tahonti (humans), hanzi (dogs) 

Example nouns of the "a" class (type 2): wanca (girl), siwa (water)  →  wance (girls), siwe (waters) 

 Example nouns of the "a" class (type 3): tara (day), lura (night)  → taži (days), luži (nights) 

The "o" declension
While the declension in the singular is equal for all nouns of the "o" declension, there are two sets of plural suffixes for animated and inanimated nouns. Animated nouns ending in  or  take the suffixes ,  and  in the plural. Final s of noun stems are palatalized:

Example nouns of the "o" class (an., type 1): wonco (child), škunlo (thief)  → wonti (children),  škunli  (thieves) 

Example nouns of the "o" class (an., type 2): anro (father)  → an ži (fathers)

<p style="font-size:13px;">Example nouns of the "o" class (inanimated): žanjo (eye)  →  žanja (eyes)

The "i" declension
All nouns of the "i" declension require the same suffixes in the singular and plural. The only irregularity is the "i"-alternation (see section about phonology):

<p style="margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em;">Example nouns of the "i" class (no alternation): raiči   (opinion)  →   raiča  (opinions) 

<p style="font-size:13px;">Example nouns of the "i" class (alternation): kaipi (mountain)  →  kaipja (mountains)

<p style="font-size:13px;">

The "n" declension
With very few exceptions, native nouns of the "n"-class are very regular:

<p style="font-size:13px;">

Overview: Verb morphology in Miwonša
Although the verb morphology is out and away the most complex part of Miwonšan grammar, it is not as complicated as one might assume at first glance. There are, however, some features which make it hard and easy at the same time: On the one hand Miwonšan verbs have an immense amount of of grammatical categories and affixes, which is the cause of extremly high morpheme/word ratios and very long words. On the other hand there is only one single and very regular conjugation, very little allomorphy and very strict rules concerning where to place which affix. This leads to the conclusion that it is much more reasonable and economical to obtain an idea of the structure of Miwonšan verbs by taking a look at the whole morphological scheme.

First of all it is important to know that there are three main verb types:

(1) Standard Verbs (containing Modal Verbs); (2) Adjectival Verbs; (3) Copula Verbs

All three types can appear as finite and as infinite verb forms. There are several types of infinite verb forms:

(1) Infintives, (2) Adverbial Participles, (3) Adjectival Participles, (4) Gerunds, (5) Supines, (6) Gerundives

<p style="margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em;">Furthermore, there are five voices (genus verbi), two aspects, at least five tenses, three grammatical moods and both subject and object agreement: Of course, not all combinations of grammatical categories are possible. Nevertheless there is a fixed sequence of affixes which serves as a basis for a model with which it is possible to describe the verb morphology quite accurately:

The Seven-Slot Model
The following table contains an overview of all used morphemes and their position in the verb:

Slot 1: Aspect and Mood
In Miwonša, there are several types of infinite verb forms:

Infinitives:

(1) Yežiman lufiwa. - I want to sleep.

Gerunds (can be declined):

(2) Lufjanza nanhwo saipiran. - Sleeping often is healthy.

Supines

(3) Munsišanje čwonai čwonjan zužanti aš tonšuloš žwena Miwonšak. - The students read the book to learn more of the Miwonšan language.

Gerundives

(4) Munsišanje zužanti kwan aš tonšuloš žwena Miwonšak. - The students must know more about the Miwonšan language.

Participles

(5) Žai rumiwku hanzi lufjanši! - Do not wake up sleeping dogs!