Quai'op

Quai'op: a language with syllabic words and only a few steadfast rules on the shades of meaning of a syllable. It is a language isolate found in many different locations in the Philippines and Taiwan. When discovered in 1911 near Tuguegarao, it was thought to be gibberish or else a hoax because of its strange nature and lack of records, but it was discovered among some families in Gaoxiong several years later, in 1965 disproving this theory. While the origin is unknown, Quai'op continues to be a subject of study. There are currently between 10,000 and 40,000 speakers, including some foreign speakers.

Phonology
Vowels:


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

!Vowel

!IPA

!Close English Equivalent
 * a
 * a


 * [a]


 * British father
 * e
 * e


 * [ǝ]


 * British father
 * i
 * i


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


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


 * [ɑ]


 * American lard
 * u
 * u


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


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


 * [k]


 * sky
 * f
 * f


 * [f]


 * first
 * h
 * h


 * [x]


 * German bach
 * j
 * j


 * [ʧ]


 * Like English, chain, but unaspirated.
 * m
 * m


 * [m]


 * mile
 * n
 * n


 * [ŋ]


 * bring
 * p
 * p


 * [p]


 * spade
 * q
 * q


 * [q]


 * No English equivalent. Quechua qusqu.
 * r
 * r


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


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


 * [θ]


 * thank
 * t
 * t


 * [t]


 * stamp
 * }

Digraphs:


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

!Digraph

!IPA

!English Equivalent
 * ch
 * ch


 * [kʱ]


 * cat
 * jh
 * jh


 * [ʧ ʱ]


 * chat
 * ph
 * ph


 * [pʱ]


 * pan
 * qh
 * qh


 * [qʱ]


 * No English equivalent. Quechua qhichwa.
 * th
 * th


 * [tʱ]


 * tape.
 * ɣ'
 * ɣ'


 * [h]


 * hat
 * c'h
 * c'h


 * [kx]


 * combination of Quai'op c and h
 * c'hh
 * c'hh


 * [kxʱ]


 * combination of Quai'op ch and h
 * pfh
 * pfh


 * [pfʱ]


 * combination of Quai'op ph and f
 * tsh
 * tsh


 * [tθʱ]


 * combination of Quai'op th and s
 * q'h
 * q'h


 * [qx]


 * combination of Quai'op q and h
 * q'hh
 * 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)

Alphabet
In Taiwan, the letters have two forms: nasalised and normal. This is only used to help students to learn nasalised pronunciations.

Letter Normal Taiwanese (Nasalised) '       'ot      'am  a        'a       'an  c        cot      chan e       'e       'en  f        fe       fem ɣ       ɣ'e      ɣ'am  h        he       hem i       'í       'ín j       jot      jhem m       'em      ma  n        'en      na  o        'o       'om  p        pot      phun q       qot      qham r       re       ren s       se       sen t       toc      tim u       'ú       'úm y       'ý       'ýn

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
There are several parts of speech, each of which falls into a certain category. Nouns are people, places, things, or ideas that have names, and the different parts of speech tell the different parts of a sentence. Many of the noun cases are formed equivalently with a absolutive/ergative noun and the appropriate postposition.


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

!Type

!Name

!Definition

!Example

!Translation

!Gloss
 * rowspan="22" |Noun*
 * rowspan="22" |Noun*


 * absolutive-ergative Noun


 * normal noun (subject or object of a verb)


 * Cat jú'r.They jhau jú'r.


 * The ramp is large. I have the ramp.


 * Large ramp. Have I-it ramp.
 * dative/genitive Noun
 * dative/genitive Noun


 * indirect object, or the possessor of a noun (of the noun that comes after it it)


 * Niet sa't phioq prí'q.They phioq jhyop prí'q.


 * That is my fruit.

They/He/She gave me a fruit.


 * Be(cop) that I-dat/gen fruit.


 * Give I-dat/gen it-it fruit.
 * instructive noun
 * instructive noun


 * the instrument or method used to preform the action


 * Ciec húr.


 * I took the bus to work.


 * Go.to.work bus-inst
 * topical noun
 * topical noun


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


 * Ch'ap.


 * The topic of this conversation is you (common greeting to initiate a conversation or roughly translated as "How are you?").


 * You-top.
 * distributive Noun
 * distributive Noun


 * for each whatever


 * Ɣ"ý tsín jú'r fa ríy'.


 * There will be three ramps per person.


 * be (fut) ramp three person-dist.
 * benefactive noun
 * benefactive noun


 * what/who the verb is benefitting


 * Ɣ"ý hua'p sa't.


 * That will benefit charity.


 * Be charity-ben that.
 * aversive noun
 * aversive noun


 * what the verb is trying to avoid


 * Cor 'a'c phuec.


 * I stood still in order to avoid death.


 * stand.still death-aver I-reflex
 * adessive noun
 * adessive noun


 * whatever on which the preceeding noun is


 * Ɣ"ý jhuec qhra't.


 * It is on the table.


 * Be it-reflex table-ad.
 * apudessive noun
 * 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.


 * Be past it-apud.
 * elative noun
 * elative noun


 * whatever of which the preceeding noun is outisde


 * Ɣ"ý mí phuec.


 * I am outside of the house.


 * Be house-elat I-reflex.
 * appositive noun
 * appositive noun


 * renames the noun that comes before it


 * Niet Santor mou' cha's mou.


 * Alexander the Great was a great leader.


 * Be(cop) Alexander the.great leader great.
 * locative noun
 * locative noun


 * where the object represented by the preceeding noun is


 * Ɣ"ý jhuec 'uo'n.


 * He is at home.


 * Be it-reflex home-loc.
 * comparative "more" noun
 * comparative "more" noun


 * whatever [verb]s more than the preceeding noun


 * 'You phuec chi'f.


 * I eat more than you.


 * Eat I-reflex you-plu.
 * comparative "less" noun
 * comparative "less" noun


 * whatever [verb]s less than the preceeding noun


 * 'You phuec chi's.


 * I eat less than you.


 * Eat I-reflex you-min.
 * comparative "same" noun
 * comparative "same" noun


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


 * 'You phuec chi'h.


 * I eat the same amount as you.


 * Eat I-reflex you-sem.
 * temporal "after" noun
 * temporal "after" noun


 * whatever [verb]s after than the preceeding noun


 * 'You phuec s'a'r.


 * I eat after returning.


 * Eat I-reflex returning-post.
 * temporal "before" noun
 * temporal "before" noun


 * whatever [verb]s before than the preceeding noun


 * 'You phuec sa'h.


 * I eat before returning.


 * Eat I-reflexive returning-ante.
 * temporal "during" noun
 * temporal "during" noun


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


 * 'You phuec pya'q.


 * I eat during the war.


 * Eat I-reflex war-dur.
 * multiplicative noun
 * multiplicative noun


 * shows the unit of measure enumerated by the preceeding noun, of the following noun


 * 'You phyop ho qo'p qha'm.


 * I drink seven grams of water


 * Eat I-it several gram water.
 * contraction (e.g. pronoun)
 * contraction (e.g. pronoun)


 * a contraction of two syllables


 * Q'hhý'r t'ey jha'j.


 * The bird doesn't have the pie.


 * Bird not-have biscuit.
 * terminative noun
 * terminative noun


 * up until whatever


 * Sah q'hhý'r qú'h.


 * The bird returned to home.


 * Return bird home-term.
 * causative noun
 * causative noun


 * the cause of what happens in the sentence


 * Jíu jha'c jhún.


 * He killed you because of anger.


 * Kill anger-caus it-you.
 * rowspan="2" | Verbs
 * rowspan="2" | Verbs


 * verbs


 * transitive action/change words


 * Tshio pah phún q'hhý'r.


 * I took a photograph of the bird.


 * Take.photograph past I-it bird.
 * adjectives/adverbs
 * adjectives/adverbs


 * intransitive action/change/description words


 * Tap phuec.


 * I am happy.


 * Happy I-reflexive.


 * rowspan="6" | Grammatical Particles


 * postpositions


 * relate nouns to each other as with many of the above noun stuffs (come after noun)


 * C'hhe'n 'uaj pier r'e.


 * For the plants, the sun shines.


 * Plant for shine sun.


 * non-descriptive adjectives


 * other adjectives i.e. demonstrative


 * Tap ní'q 'uýn.


 * Those whales are happy.




 * part of speech modifiers


 * [1]


 * Fhun p'o'n thuar.


 * Tools of learning are useful.


 * Useful learning (inst).




 * tense, evidentiality modifiers


 * [2][3]


 * Tshio riat jhuec.


 * In the evening, they take pictures of themselves.


 * Take.picture (evening) it-reflexive.




 * other


 * grab box


 * San niet phuec.


 * Unfortunately, I am myself.


 * Unfortunately be(cop) I-reflex.




 * numbers


 * [4]


 * They jhau qie 'uýng.


 * I have two whales.


 * Have I-it two whale.


 * }

* use this link for further detail or in case of confusion

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:

Ergative-Causative-Verb-Evidentiality-Instructive-Dative-Absolutive

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)
 * súq (noun as agent of verb)
 * súq (noun as agent of verb)


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

!Noun
 * 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)
 * pfau (noun as location of verb)
 * q'hí (noun as cause of verb)
 * q'hí (noun as cause of verb)


 * juín



!Adjective
 * thoh


 * (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

! Second Person
 * phuec


 * chau


 * chún


 * chyop

!Third Person
 * chuec


 * 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
The tense markers are as follows:


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

!Tense Name

!Quai'op Example

!English Translation
 * Present
 * Present


 * Tshio jhuec.


 * They are taking pictures of themselves.
 * Past
 * Past


 * Tshio pah jhuec.


 * They took pictures of themselves.
 * Future
 * Future


 * Tshio tsín jhuec.


 * They will take pictures of themselves.
 * Past Perfect
 * Past Perfect


 * Tshio ɣ'ý jhuec.


 * They had taken pictures of themselves.
 * Future in Future
 * 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)
 * 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)
 * 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)
 * 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)
 * 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)
 * 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)
 * 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)
 * 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
 * Present


 * Pei phuec.


 * I am going.
 * Past
 * Past


 * Piet phuec.


 * I went.
 * Future
 * Future


 * Píy phuec.


 * I will go.
 * Past Perfect
 * Past Perfect


 * Per phuec.


 * I had gone.
 * Future in Future
 * Future in Future


 * Pai phuec.


 * I will not yet have gone, but later will eventually.
 * Early Morning (12:00 AM–4:00 AM)
 * 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)
 * 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)
 * Around Noon (9:00 AM–2:00 PM)


 * Pen phuec.


 * Around noon today, I go/will go.
 * Afternoon (2:00 PM–5:00 PM)
 * Afternoon (2:00 PM–5:00 PM)


 * Peu phuec.


 * In the afternoon today, I went/will go.
 * Evening (5:00 PM–7:30 PM)
 * Evening (5:00 PM–7:30 PM)


 * Pet phuec.


 * In the evening today, I went/will go.
 * Night (7:30 PM–10:30 PM)
 * Night (7:30 PM–10:30 PM)


 * Pep phuec.


 * Tonight, I went/will go.
 * Late Night (10:30 PM– 12:00 AM)
 * 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
 * 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
 * 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
 * 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
 * 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
 * Olfactory Indicative


 * Tien qhíc p'a't.


 * I could smell that the soup was hot.*


 * Olfactory Negative


 * Tien qír p'a't.


 * I could smell that the soup was not hot.*
 * Tactical Indicative
 * 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
 * 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
 * Probable Indicative


 * Tien fhar p'a't.


 * The soup is probably hot.


 * Probable Negative


 * Tien mei p'a't.


 * The soup is probably not hot.
 * Hearsay Indicative
 * 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
 * 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
 * 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
 * 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
 * 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
 * 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
 * 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
 * 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
 * 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.

Sreu
The word sreu describes phrases «within guillemets». The guillemets indicate a stronger or higher tone, and are used when collectively placing a phrase into a sentence as a noun, or for emphasis. In the former case, the guillemets can be translated as the word "that."

Example: Jyís chyop «tien p'a't». You love that the soup is hot.

Often a question mark will be added in the guillemets. It can be translated as "whether" or it de-questionates question words. Here are some examples:

Jyís chyop «tien p'a't?». You love whether or not the sout is hot.

Jyís chyop «tap nua?». You love who is happy (lit. Love you-it «happy who?»)

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
 * Nominal Numbers


 * Jia


 * 'Ú


 * Qie


 * Fa


 * Piú


 * Sí


 * Cuo


 * Ho


 * Ta


 * Ruí


 * P'e


 * Cro


 * Ch'ú


 * Q'hý
 * Counting Numbers
 * Counting Numbers


 * Jian


 * 'Ún


 * Qien


 * Fan


 * Piún


 * Sín


 * Cuon


 * Hon


 * Tan


 * Ruín


 * P'en


 * Cron


 * Ch'ún


 * Q'hýn
 * Ordinal Numbers
 * Ordinal Numbers


 * Jiat


 * 'Út


 * Qiet


 * Fat


 * Piút


 * Sít


 * Cuot


 * Hot


 * Tat


 * Ruít


 * P'et


 * Crot


 * Ch'út


 * Q'hýt
 * Measuring People
 * 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: tur chau

You're Welcome: ɣ'on phún

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

The common way to greet someone is to say, "Te qa't tien huar jhún?" meaning roughly, "According to you, is the fire keeping you warm?"

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 receive 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 receive 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 village with which one is associated, or sometimes their father's name if male.


 * Names never contain nouns


 * A common anonymous name (i.e. John Doe) is May Phiý Ruon C'ap

Dialects
Remarkably, the language's two dialects, the Taiwanese dialect and the Filipino dialect, have shown little divergence. The grammar is almost the same, but a speaker of one dialect may find the other dialect's word choice quite comical. Also, there are slight pronunciation differences as the tenuis consonants are voiced slightly in the Philippines. Some have even reported implosives as being used in some areas of Luzon.

Example Text
''Hya'p fýr pah r'e hrým cueh «jam nua c'íf?» 'ep. Frau t'í 'op man 'yet moj qhay.''

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

''Fen hya'p fýr qhra'f jhý húy. Ɣ'roi t'í 'op man jam qhay moj.''

''Hya'p fýr qiau hian jhý phrai. Pier tien r'e phrai. T'í 'op moi c'at moj.''

Ton n'uoi hya'p fýr «jam r'e jhí'f».

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

kxʱiuŋ ʧʱyɑp ʧam ʔɑp kʔif tʔi mai qʱɛ mɑʧ

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

xyaʔp fyj qɛau xiaŋ ʧʱy pʱjai piǝj tiǝn rʔǝ tʔi ʔɑp mɑi kʔat mɑʧ

taŋ ŋʔuai xyaʔp fyr ʧam rʔǝ ʧʱif

Literal Translation
wind north sun dispute hearsay past 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 use. more.than.before travel patient wrap.around strong that.during cloak.

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.

Literal 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.

Featured
This language was once featured.

Thanks to its level of quality, plausibility and usage capabilities, it has been voted as featured.

Thuc ryap 'ar quai 'iap.

Pfhu'p tuý'm hyo'r «na hrúf» c'oq c'hhiún «ryap 'a'r».