Amarimnu

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=General information= Amarimnu is a fictional language spoken on a fictional island in the East Mediterranean, it is descended from the Semitic language family but much of its vocabulary comes from the Mediterranean Lingua Franca and to a lesser extent from Italian, Turkish, English and Greek. Grammatically, Amarimnu has made some developments which also sets it apart from other Semitic languages.

=Phonology=

Consonants

 * "t" is realized both as / θ/ and /t/, while d is realized both as  /ð/ and /d/. This is a difference between mountainous (the former) and coastal (the latter) Amarimnu; both are accepted forms.


 * the standard form of "g" is /ɣ/. "g" is pronounced as /k/ when it is immediately followed by another consonant.


 * "r" is pronounced in a variety of ways, depending on a person's dialect. These differences are respected.


 * "â" is pronounced as  /ʕ/ (not to be confused with the glottal stop / ʔ/). However, there are some differences. If â is immediately followed by "i" or "j" they are together pronounced as [ eɪ] or [eː]. At the end of the word it is pronounced as / ħ/.


 * "q" is pronounced as /ʔ/. However, in some dialects it is pronounced as /k/ if "q" stands between two vowels. It is also pronounced /k/ if "q" is followed by the word ending -Vr (jaqar is pronounced /jakar/, not /jaʔar/).


 * "h" is often pronounced as / ħ/ at the end of a word.

Diphthong

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

! Diphthong ! IPA "aw" is often pronounced as "o", especially on the coast.
 * aj
 * aɪ
 * aj
 * eɪ
 * aw
 * oː
 * }
 * aw
 * oː
 * }

Alphabet
The Amarimnu alphabet consists of 25 letters (C, F, V, X and Y do not occur in Amarimnu):

Â A B D E G H Ħ I J K L M N O P Q R S Ş T U W Z Ẓ

Stress
Stress is usually on the last syllable but often also on the penultimate syllable, depending on the syllable weight. There are extreme exceptions, in long words, where the stress is even further back, but those are not very numerous.

=Grammar=

Pronouns
Pronouns are quite regular, with some exceptions.


 * There is a difference between etti and ettiwi or hija and hijawe. The latter is used to create extra "passion" in speech. For example, the compliment "etti miqet" ("you are 100 - you are great) is something one would say to a friend. "Ettiwi miqet" is something one would say to a date. Note that "miqet" is pronounced as "mi'et" as "q" is a glottal stop.


 * The first plural has two variants. The first one is the regular first plural. The second one is a special case. Its use is highly subjective. In this case "we" can be understood as family or close friends. For example, at the beginning of basic training, Kbirbian shoulder shout "nagnu jaburim!" (we are warriors!). When they finished their course they will shout "enagnu jaburim!" (we are warriors! and we are a close group of people). An even stronger variant exists in mountain dialects, " ẓenagna". This form of we gives a certain value to the "we" group which the other group lacks. For example, " ẓ enagna jaburim!" would mean something like "We are warriors, and they are not".


 * The female variant of the third person plural is only used in some dialects nowadays, instead only the male or "neutral" variant is used. There is a trend to do the same with the second person plural but  this is not widely accepted.

Demonstrative, Relative and Interrogative
who = mi

what = mu

this/these = qze (in modern Amerimnu "this" doesn't change depending on the gender or plurality of the noun)

that/those = hi (like "qze", "that" doesn't change)

where = ajwo

to where = leqan

why = lamo / madu

that/which/who/whom =  şe

when = mitai

how = aig

something = ma şe şu

someone =  mi şe şu

anything = minim

Noun
Nouns inflect depending on gender and number. There are no cases for nouns as we know them in Indo-European languages.

Article
There is no indefinite article, but there is a definite article "ha". The definite article changes when the following noun starts with the following consonants: d, n, r, s, ş, t, ẓ, or z. See below:

borak = (a) blessing

haborak = the blessing

hat-traqisun = the treason

had-dolşi = the candy

Gender and number
All nouns in Amarimnu are either male or female, nouns can be singular, dual or plural. In general, nouns ending on –o, -u, or a consonant are masculine and others are female. Words like daughter (bitt) are female nouns despite this general rule. Nouns are highly regular in written Modern Amarimnu, although stress and vowel length may change in the case of dual and plural nouns. The dual is still extensively used.
 * Nouns ending on "ar" get the suffix -ijim in plural. For example: hadar / hadijim (home / homes).

Construct state
The construct is a noun form, though not a case, where one noun modifies another noun. It is the head noun, not the dependent noun which is modified. The head noun loses the definite article, while the dependent noun doesn't. The final vowel is removed. See the examples below the table. Construct state 1: wabrikâm helegem = the bread factory (lit. factory-of thebread).

Construct state 2: wabrikantâm haklida = the ice cream manufacturer (lit. manufacturer-of the-icecream).

Construct state 3: wabriklem hawabrikanta = the factories of the manufacturer (lit. factories-of the-manufacturer).

Besides the construct state, there are other options to show possession. For example:

Example 1: hawabrikim işelu = the factories of him (lit. the factories his).

Example 2: hawabrikimẓu = the factories of him (lit. the factories-his).

Verbal noun
The verbal noun is formed by the suffix "-kba". Take for example the verb "şerub" (to drink) --> "şerubkba" (drinking) --> "haşerubkba" (the drinking).

Verbs
Verbs in Amarimnu have two tenses: the past and the non-past tense. They are conjugated as follows. Both use the root form "drink" (şerub).

Past tense
The past tense conjugation is rather easy. The conjugation depends on person, number and (except for the 1st singular and 1st plural) gender. The conjugation of almost all verbs is regular. As we can see, the last consonant and the last vowel of the root verb have changed places:  şerub -->  şerbu. In the case of the 3rd person singular and 3rd person plural, one can see the letter "q" in the conjugation. Again this is a glottal stop:  şerbuqum for English speakers would sound like "sherbu'um".

The second past tense as the name reveals is not used as often anymore. One can still find its use in official texts and theater plays but also in many dialects. All mountain dialects still use it. Instead of suffixes, infixes are used which are almost the same as those of the normal past tense. Do notice the difference for the 2nd plural though (-dim/-din vs. -im/in). This tense is used when something happened before the other verb in the past tense. Take for example the difference in these two sentences.

Enek şerbudi w hu şerbuqa kawe = I drank and he drank coffee (at the same time or unclear in which order).

Enek şerdibu w hu şerbuqa kawe = I drank coffee before he drank coffee or I drank coffee and then he drank coffee.

It can also be used to explain that something happened very far in the past.

Enek şerbudi miim mim hamabbu. = I drank water from the fountain.

Enek şerdibu miim mim hamabbu. = I drank water from the fountain (years ago).

Non-past tense
The non-past tense uses prefixes and in one case also a suffix. The non past is used for both present and future tense, though unless the context says differently it is usually expected to be the present tense. Grammatically the sentence below has two meanings:

Enek ek şerub gamr. = I drink wine / I will drink wine.

Enek ek şerub hagamr. = I drink the wine / I will drink the wine.

However, some moods, aspects and particles are used to clarify that something will happen in the future and not in the present. In spoken language, few people actually say "Enek ek şerub gamr". More likely alternatives are "Qnek şerub  (ʔnek şerub )  gamr" or "Enek şerub  gamr" or even "Nek şerub gamr".

Voice
There are five voices: active, passive, reflexive, reciprocal and intensive.

Active: Enek nişkraditig = I kissed her (notice that  nişkraditig =  nişkradi + itig, where itig loses its first i).

Passive Past: Enek jiħnişkradi = I was kissed.

Passive (non-Past): Enek jiħeknişkar = I am kissed / I will be kissed.

Reflexive: Enek neẓajredi = I drew myself.

Reciprocal:  Nagnu ne ẓẓajrrenu = We drew each other.

Reciprocal (2):  Nagnu    ne' ẓ nu oww' ew = We love each other.

Reciprocal (3):  Nagnu  netowwenu = We loved each other (note: NOT    Nag nu  netowwwenu).

Reciprocal (4): Netowenu = We loved each other (spoken language).

Not that for the reciprocal voice the difference with the reflexice voice is that the final consonant of the root verb (ẓajer) is doubled. The infix for the reflexive and reciprocal voice is -net-, but in case the next consonant is a {d, n, r, s, ş, t, ẓ, or z} the letter t is dropped and the next consonant is instead doubled. This is the case for the first and second reciprocal voice, but not for the third example (where next letter is a vowel). In the third example, there is no doubling of the second consonant as three "w" in a row would never be pronounced. In spoken language (example 4) "We loved each other" may be as short as "Netowenu", where even the second consonant is dropped altogether as well as the personal pronoun.

Intensive: Enek ek oww ew! =  I love you so much!

Active: Enek ekowew! =  I love you!

The intensive mood is a tricky one to use. In the example above it's simply about a degree of affection. But with other verbs it could mean the difference between dislike and hate or working for someone or being used as a slave. It also very much depends on context.

Causative: Enek eksononetitig = I made her hate me.

Active: Enek eksonetitig = I hate her (Enek eksonet = I hate -itig = her).

The causative mood, created by the infix -on- after the first consonant of the verb, is now obsolete in spoken language and most written language. One can still finds its use in literature, but increasingly less so.

Mood
There are five special moods for verbs: cohortative, imperative, jussive, subjunctive and conditional.

Cohortative: Kipeskar = Let us fish (nagnu nupeskar = we fish).

Imperative: Rajaked = Speak (Etti tijakedi = you (m) speak).

Imperative: Rijaked = Speak (Ett tijaked = you (f) speak).

Imperative: Reħjaked = Speak (Ettmu umjakedu = you all (male) speak).

Imperative: Reħjaked = Speak (Ettni imjaked = you all (female) speak).

Jussive: Ẓijaked = He/she/they (must) speak.

The cohortative mood can only be used for the non-past verb tense for the first person plural. The imperative can only be used for the non-past verb tense for the second person singular and plural. As you can see there is no difference between the second person plural male and female versions, unlike the normal non-past tense. The jussive is used for the third person in the non-past tense but it is now largely obsolete. It's the same regardless of number or gender.

Subjunctive & conditional:  Enek şekruẓ = I may run (Enek ekruẓ = I run).

The subjunctive and conditional use the same form, the meaning depends on the context.

Verbal aspects & particles
Below are verbal aspects and particles, note that not all are used regularly.

Inchoative: Enek mâdekruẓ = I start to run.

In some dialects the inchoative is used a future tense to distinguish it from the non-past tense. This is a recent development in some coastal dialects. To use the inchoative as a present tense scuh dialects need context. For them "Enek mâdekruẓ" means "I will run", while for the use in the present it needs context: "Enek mâdekruẓ agşaw" means "I start to run right now". Some linguistics postulate that the inchoative aspect will be adopted a simple future tense by most speakers of Amarimnu. However it must be noted that those dialects do not use it as a future tense if the time in the future is known. An example for these dialects:

Enek mâdekruẓ = I will run (when is unclear, inchoative used).

Enek ekruẓ âdlajla = I will run at night (time is clear, non-past tense used).

Gnomic future: Marijim prekarmeş = Bishops will pray / Mar prekarmeş= A bishop will pray.

A gnomic future aspect is used if something happens in the future because this is how it has always been done, one may logically assume it will go like this again. The suffix -meş is added to the non-past verb while the verb itself is not conjugated at all.

Continuous: Hija tâk judormir bijardin = She is napping in the garden or she will be napping in the garden.

Past Continuous: Hija tâk dormrio bijardin = She was napping in the garden. Simply by adding "tâk" in front of (but not attached to) a verb one creates a present or past continuous.

Future decision/desire: Had-dej mâk umedaber ingliş likreħ haambaẓador.

Future obligation: Had-dej miẓ umedaber ingliş likreħ haambaẓador.

In both cases the sentence can be translated as "The governor (...) will speak English to the ambassador". But there is a difference. In the first case (mâk), the governor has either made the decision to speak English or really wants to speak English at his future meeting with the ambassador. In the second case (miẓ),  the governor has to speak English because maybe the president ordered him to or maybe out of necessity because the ambassador does not speak Amarimnu.

The verb to be
There is no verb "to be" in Amarimnu like there is in English.

Example: Tutim sano = Mulberries are healthy (lit. mulberries healthy).

Example: Hakaweẓu kar = The coffee is cold (lit. the coffee cold).

Example: Kaweẓu kar = His coffee is cold (lit. coffee-his cold).

For the future tense "mât" is used (not to be confused with the inchoative mât), it is not conjugated.

Example: Hakawe mât kar = The coffee will be cold.

Example: Haamaẓbag mât netto = The kitchen will be clean.

For the past tense "awar" is used.

Example: Hagalav awar fada = The milk was tasteless.

Example: Hagalav w hakawe awar bihaamaẓbag = The mulberry and the coffee were in the kitchen.

Adjectives
Adjectives are written behind the noun. As a qualifier, the adjective agrees with its noun in gender and number. If the preceding noun is in its definite form, then so is the article. If this doesn’t happen it changes the meaning of the words. Female adjectives are realized by simply adding “a” to the adjective if the adjective ends in a consonant, or by removing the final vowel and then adding “a”. Duals and plurals are written with the suffix “-im” (masculine) or  "-ot" (feminime). Adjectives follow the noun.

Haz-zet hawerde = the green olive (masculine singular)

Haz-zetjim hawerdim = the two green olives (masculine dual)

Haz-zetim hahalwim hawerdim = the sweet green olives (masculine plural)

Ha-kaliotta hawerda = the green boat (feminine singular)

Ha-kaliottjit hawerdot = the two green boats (feminine dual)

Ha-kaliottot hawerdot = the green boats (feminine dual)

Verbal adjectives
These are nouns derived from verbs, using the root of the verb. Attributive adjectives follow the noun while predicate adjectives precede the noun and do not change with regards to definiteness. Both change with regards to gender and number.

haiş haşerub = the drinking man.

şerub haiş = the man is drinking.

Comparatives and superlatives
Comparatives for adverbs and adjectives are created in the following way:

- One-vowel, one consonant: the vowel is removed and an “i” prefix and suffix are added.

ur (light) --> iri (lighter)

- One-vowel: the vowel is removed and the “i” prefix and suffix are added.

mit (dead) --> imti (deadlier)

- Two vowels, one of which is an “a” vowel: both are replaced by “i”.

berak (blessed) --> birik (more blessed)

- Two vowels, without an “a” vowel: the first vowel is changed to “i”.

leben (white) --> liben (whiter)

- Two vowels, one or more of which is an “i” vowel: the suffix “â” is added after the second vowel.

bibir (drunk) --> bibiâr (more drunk)

- More than three consonants, the adverb or adjective remains unchanged but “ager” (more) is added preceding the adverb or adjective.

zhiraqit (careful) --> ager zhiraqit (more careful)

The English "like" translates into "ksaħ", see for example the sentence "This man is like my brother":

Qze aiş ksaħ agẓi (lit. this man like brother-mine).

The English "than" translates into "min", which is used in the comparative form, se for example the example sentence "this house is more expensive than that house":.

Qze bait ili min hi bait (lit. this house more expensive than that house).

The superlative can be created in two ways, the first way is to double the noun and put it in the construct state:

kaâm hakam = the greatest valley (lit. the valley of valleys)

Another way is to add the definite article to the comparative form of the adjective or adverb:

hakam haliben = the whitest valley (lit. the valley the whiter)

=The number system=

Ordinal & Cardinal
In Amarimnu there are both masculine and feminine numbers. There are unique ordinal numbers for 1 to 10. From 11 onwards cardinal and ordinal numbers are the same. The number 1 is treated as an adjective which is placed behind the noun, all others precede the noun. Number 2 is treated as a dual noun, while all others are considered singular nouns. There exists separate feminine and masculine numbers for 0 to 19. Masculine nouns are preceded by feminine numbers while feminine nouns are preceded by masculine numbers. For regular counting the feminine form is used.

iş egad = one man

işa ehada = one woman

ştaim işjim = two men

şnaim işajit = two women

haiş har-rişona = the first man

haş-ştimi haiş = the second man

haş-ştimi haişjim = the second two men

haş-ştimi haişim = the second men (more than two)

haş-şalişi haişim = the third men

=Vocabulary=