Ancient Qâêr

vii 11:32, 4 August 2009 (UTC) =Brief Overview= Qâêr is a VSO structured language. Most of the focus and inflections are around the verb and a little around the noun as well.

Qâêr is spoken in the Râlôrin province only, with other semi-mutual dialects being spoken in the other provinces of Xarâm, Vâfin, Êlfârin, Âldârin, Syafânoy, Ôbâdem, Erdâl, and Cîben. These Provinces, or Lands, make up the continent of Xexrânniâ. The political situation is as follows; the Xarâm have conquered the provinces of Vâfin, Êlfârin, and Cîben and this Kingdom is know as 'Xarâm Ampârí'. In relation to the other provinces; Syafânoy has allied with Ôbâdem, the people of Erdâl have retreated under ground behind their mountains and have never since been seen, the Âldârin remain hidden away in the black impenetrable forest they call home, and the people of Râlôrin have long been thought to be extinct and as their land lies so far away and behind Erdâl territory, no one has been able to prove this otherwise.

=Setting= Qâêr was the language spoken by the now extinct race The Qâêr. This language is spoken on the planet called Atínrelmá.

=Basic Grammar=

Phonology
Note Qâêr does not use the Latin alphabet but to make it easier to read and understand, on this site the Latin alphabet will be used. And also because my alphabet isn't a font yet.

Vowels
Vowels a, e, i, o, â, ê, î, ô, á, í, ó

Qâêr has a 11 vowel system, similar to English (12) however lacking the u and Qâêr also has no nasalised vowels.

Dipthongs

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

! Dipthong ! English Pronunciation
 * eo
 * oɪ
 * ae
 * eɪ
 * ao
 * aʊ
 * ei
 * aɪ
 * colspan="2" | Note that aɪ is shorter than ɑe
 * }
 * ei
 * aɪ
 * colspan="2" | Note that aɪ is shorter than ɑe
 * }
 * }

Consonants
Consonant Rules

Q and V are stand alone consonants. This means that no other consonants can go before or after them, also these two consonants can only go at the start or in the middle of a word, never at the end. However the exception is L + Q is allowed (êlqênin). B, D and T can only go in the middle of a word. The consonants j, c, k, s, x and p can only go in the start of a word not in the middle or the end. However the exception is x which can be used in the middle of a word. The consonants f, l, m, n and r can be used in the start, middle and end of a word. However the consonant f is an exception, it is mainly used in the start of a word, very rarely in the middle and never in the end. The other consonants l, m, n, and r are used everywhere. The consonants m and n are the majority of the time, used at the end or in the middle of the word, very rarely at the start. The consonant l is in the start and middle but very rarely in the end. The consonant r is almost equally distributed at the start, middle and end of a word occurring in all three places many times. Note – when it’s said this letter cannot go in the start of a word, this does not mean as the first letter but rather as it cannot be used in the first syllable.

Other Consonant Rules The following consonants are not allowed in the same word.

J and C e.g. jecanîn

J and V e.g. jivômon

F and V e.g. favemam

K and J e.g. kajênan

F and T e.g. fôtenam

V and K e.g. vokêmam

T and K e.g. tekamôn (the pronunciation changes to tep –f and the stop p is not allowed in the middle of a word.

C and V e.g îcvîmân

Combinations of consonants that are not allowed

Lj, bd, bt, dt, db, td, tb, jc, jk, jp, cj, ck, cp, kc, kp, kj, pj, pc, pk, sj, sp, sc, sk, sx, xc, xk, xs, xp, bf, tc, qd, xt, kk (okkônôn), rj (arjêman), jr, tf, js, vv (ôvvômin), tp (eptinôn)

Syllable and Stress
Syllable Structure - (C) V (C)

Syllable Structure - (C) V (C) When speaking the stress is always on the second last syllable unless the second last syllable is short like in Fâlronîr (pronounced on)then stress is moved to the last syllable îr.

A syllable is usually consonants to the next vowel sound including that vowel sound, for example sky is 1 syllable, Skype is 2, Skypel is also 2 but Skypele is 3. There is only one syllable in you because there are no consonants between o and u. In relation to the ^ or ´ over vowels, the second last syllable, or the stressed syllable, the majority of the time, has an ^ or ´ over it. However when the second last syllable does not have an ^ or ´ over it then the stress switches to the last syllable which and then this vowel must have an ^ or ´. Also the vowel in the second last syllable and the last syllable can both have a ^or ´ over them, however in this case the second last syllable is always stressed, only in cases where the second last syllable is short, i.e. without a ^ or ´ then is the last syllable stressed. Xidînîn can work because both the second last and last syllables have a ^ but the second last syllable would still be stressed instead of the last, whereas in the case of Xidinîn the stress switches to the last syllable. Also the first vowel in the first syllable is always allowed to have an ^ or ´ over it however is not always required, that just depends on the word whether it has one or not.

Nouns and Verbs
Nouns Structure


 * Case|(Un)Defined & Gender|Noun|

Pronouns don’t have the (Un)Defined prefix attached due to the fact that they are pronouns.

Verbs Structure


 * Comparative |‘More’ Prefix|Voice|Mood|Aspect/Tense|Ve-|	Agreement|-rb|

Aspect and Tempus
Infinitive To Go

Perfective

Present Simple I go

Imperfective

Present Continuous (Progressive) I am Going

Past Continuous I was Going

Habitual I used to Go

Perfect

Present Perfect I have Gone

Pluperfect I had Gone

Future Perfect

I will have Gone

Inceptive

I am beginning to Go

Continuative

I am still Going

Terminative

I am finishing Going

Note – In Qâêr there is no word for went or will. It would merely be ‘I go’ with the verb ‘go’ in either the past, present or future tense form.

Aspect/Tempus Table With Suffixes
Aspect/Tempus	Meaning	Affix	Example Infinitive - To Go Present Simple	I go	-	I go Present Continuous	I am Going	fê	I fêgo Past Continuous	I was Going	fi	I figo Habitual	I used to Go/I would Go	pâ	I pâgo Present Perfect	I have Gone	sí	I sígo Pluperfect	I had Gone	sâ	I sâgo Future Perfect	I will have Gone	mí	I mígo Inceptive	I am beginning to Go	xe	I xego Continuative	I am still Going	lá	I lágo Terminative	I am finishing Going	rá	I rágo Note – English words used for now, just take note of affixes. Example of Aspect Differences What would the difference between "I’m eating" and "I’m still eating"? "I’m eating" is you’re currently doing it while "I’m still eating" is a reference to the fact that it was asked before when you were eating and are currently still doing it Aspect for intransitive verbs and tempus for transitive. (Special case is ‘I will go’ and ‘I went’ and ‘I go’, these use tempus for and not aspect.)

Correlatives
Case		Query		This	That	Some		No		Every

Person		What		This	That	Someone	       No one		Everyone

Thing		What		This	That	Something	Nothing	       Everything

Place		Where		Here	There	Somewhere	Nowhere	       Everywhere

Time		When		Now	Then	Sometime	Never		Always

Way		How		Thus           Somehow

Reason	       Why

Amount	       How Much

Personal Pronouns
First Person

Not You Inclusive	You Inclusive Erg	I	We	lWe Abs	Me	r We (S)	laWe (S)	Us (O) Poss. Mine	Our	aOur

Second Person Singular	Plural Erg	You	aYou Abs	áYou	álYou Poss. óYou	ólYou

Third Person Singular Human (Not Gendered)	Neutral Erg	Them	It Abs	áThem	áIt Poss. óthem	óIt

Third Person Plural Human (Not Gendered)	Neutral Erg	aThem	aIt Abs	aláThem	aláIt Poss. óthem	óIt Note – English words used for now, just take note of prefixes.

Sentence Structure
Particle* + Negater* + Verb + Adverb + Determiner* + Noun Erg + Adjective + Noun Abs + Adjective + Preposition* + Noun* + Adjective* + Conjunction* Phrase Structure - VP NP PP = SVO (Note – PP = NP + P) Qâêr has no adjectives and this means that all words that would normally be used as adjectives take the place of verbs. To get Adv.’s and Adj.’s these are then derived from Verbs and are distinguished by affixes.
 * = If Applicable

Example ‘Beautiful She’ = She is beautiful ‘Run erêBeautiful She’ = She runs beautifully ‘She xoRun enoBeautiful’ = She is a beautiful runner. These prefixes are er(ê) which is placed onto verbs to make them Adverbs, en(o) which is placed onto verbs to make them Adjectives and finally, xo(l) which is placed on Verbs to derive their Noun counterparts, e.g. To Cycle – A Cyclist, To Run – A Runner e.c.t

Determiner – this, that, two five, my, his, their, some, many Adjectives – fat, ugly, red Noun – mother, mountain, boat, tree Adverbs – quickly, furiously, sleepily, tauntingly Verbs – jumped, ran, swim Noun – house, land, plan Prepositional Phrase or Word – through, over, on Example – ‘His fat mother hilariously ran through the house.’

Distinctions
Nouns

-	Difference between plural and singular

-	Un/Defined

-	Possessiveness

Personal Pronouns

-	Number ( I vs. We)

-	‘We’ has two forms, inclusive and exclusive of you

-	Animacy (one for living and non-living)

-	No distinction between he and she or in the third person Possessive

Verbs

-	Comparative

-	‘More’ Prefix

-	Mood

-	Voice

-	Aspect/Tense

-	Agreement

Declension Table for Nouns
Singular

Cases	Living	Non Living Defined	Undefined	Defined	Undefined Ergative	o	a	e	i Absolutive	jo	ja	re	ri Genitive	jô	jâ	rê	rî Possessive	or(â)	ar(â)	er(o)	ir(o) Inalienable Possessive	ro(l)	ra(l)	me(n)	mi(n) Partitive	ôl(e)	ôl(o)	el(e)	il(o) Dative	seo(n)	sao(n)	sei(n)	sae(n) Locative	ler(o)	ler(a)	ler(e)	ler(i) Abessive	res(o)	sâs(o)	lei(t)	le(o) Instrumental	qel(o)	qâs(e)	mre(l)	âs(e) Equative	je(s)	rôn(á)	fjo	fja

Plural Cases	Living	Non Living Defined	Undefined	Defined	Undefined Ergative	ô	â	ê	î Absolutive	jó	já	ró	rí Genitive	jô	jâ	rê	rî Possessive	om(â)	am(â)	em(o)	ím(o) Inalienable Possessive	mô(l)	mâ(l)	me(l)	mi(l) Partitive	ól(e)	ól(a)	êl(e)	îl(o) Dative	reo(n)	rao(n)	rei(n)	rae(n) Locative	len(o)	len(a)	len(e)	len(í) Abessive	rôs(o)	sâs(a)	lê(t)	ale(o) Instrumental	qêl(o)	qâs(a)	nra(l)	ês(a) Equative	jê(s)	jî(s)	fjê	vátâ(l) Note – Vocative case is the only case that is added as a suffix whereas the others are prefixes. The way vocative case works is that it cuts the last two letters off and then the suffix then added. Vocative case – Inflects on the person’s name regardless of gender. The inflection is - (t)ó Example – Name – Brutus Vocative Case - Brutó

Verb Agreement
Verbs have 6 inflections for agreement. These consist of; {Agent Living -- Agent Non-Living} [Subject & Object Living -- Subject & Object Non-Living] (Subject Living/Object Non-Living -- Subject Non-Living/Object Living)

The verb will have an Infix to reflect these differences between the Agent, Subject, and Object.

Cases
Note – See Declension Table for Nouns Qâêr works in the Ergative – Absolutive Case. Note – Ergative/Absolutive - agent of transitive is alone while intransitive subject and transitive object is the same case. – Transitive verbs require both a direct object and one or more objects while Intransitive verbs do not take an object and has only one argument (its subject) and has a valency of one. This means that the Agent is separate from the Subject and the Object and the Subject and the Object are combined. For example, I killed her. She killed me. Me slept. Where I is the agent and Me is the subject and object. In English and other Indo-European languages it is Nominative – Accusative which means the Agent and Subject are the same with the Object being different. For example in English it would be I killed her. She killed me. I slept.

(Erg) Ergative case – Agent

(Abs) Absolutive Case – Subject or Direct Object

(Dat) Dative Case – Indirect Object (He gave Mary Ten Dollars) OR To sth/sbdy (He gave it to Mary)

(Gen) Genitive Case – Description Man of honor OR Origin Men of Rome

(Part.) Partitive – Part from/of a group of sth. Wheel of cheese Group of men

(Poss.) Possessive my briefcase (alienable – able to be taken away)

(In. Poss.) Inalienable Possessive John’s nose (inalienable – unable (without surgery) to be taken away)

(Voc) Vocative – ‘Et tu, Brute?’ – Brute (here in Latin) is vocative of Brutus

(Loc) Locative – The action done by sth/sbdy (i.e. the mouse was eaten by the cat)

(Abe) Abessive – Lack of sth. - less in Eng.

(Ins.) Instrumental – Instrument ‘I wrote a note with a pen’

(Equ) Equative – Likeness ‘He runs like a girl

Affixes and What They Mean
Past and Future Tense

(Note – For present tense the words are just left as they are without these prefixes attached).

To distinguish between past and future tense two prefixes are added onto the beginning of the word. These prefixes are nî and nê. The prefix nî is for future tense (derived from Nîqêtir meaning ‘Never’ in Fáriân) and the prefix nê is for past tense (derived from Nêbinôr meaning ‘History’ in Fáriân).

Negating

The particle Nêl is attached to the beginning of the verb to negate the action. This word is derived from the Fárean word Nelân meaning never. Double Negative Nêlnao and is simply added before the verb.

Comparative

Comparative is measured and inflected in the verb. There are three stages of comparative with one superlative.

Verb Types

In Draft still Monotransitive, Ditransitive, Transitive, Intransitive, Modal Particle, Static/Dynamic, Infinitive Verb, and Catenative Verb

Infinitive

The ‘to’ infinitive used in infinitive verbs (i.e. I like to jump) will be inflected as a suffix on verbs in Qâêr, one of only 2 suffixes present in the entire language, also one from only three affixes breaking the rule of ‘all affixes being prefixes in Qâêr’. However with every NatLang there are exceptions and this is one of them (only being three in the entire Qâêr language).

How it works is that its inflected with the suffix – (p)ín example – Lóto (verb ‘move’) = Lótopín (‘to move’)

Catenative

The Catenative verb form is used when a verb is using other verbs or gerunds as objects in a sentence. An example being – ‘We promised to agree to try practicing playing tennis more often.’

Note however that not all verbs can be Catenative; however when a verb is being used as a catenative verb is takes the other only suffix in Qâêr which is –âr. So in the above sentence the verb promised, here in the past form and in the catenative form, note that verbs are not always in catenative from and not all can be catenative, though it would be inflected like this in Qâêr; (nê + promised + âr = nêpromiseâr) – Note that the English word promise was used here.

Voice
Active

Middle

Passive

Voices are prefixes that are attached in front of the verb to indicate the voice affecting the noun in the ergative case, or when lacking one then in the absolutive case. Examples are in English and Qâêr.

English – He gave Mary Ten Dollars

Qâêr – (Simple Past)Give (Erg)He (Abs)Mary Ten (Dat)Dollars

English – He has given Ten Dollars to Mary

Qâêr – (Active)Give (Erg)He Ten (Abs)Dollars (Dat)Mary

English – Mary was given Ten Dollars by Him

Qâêr – (Passive)Give (Abs)Mary Ten (Dat)Dollars (Loc)Him

English – He washes himself with the soap.

Qâêr – (Middle)Washes He (Ins)(The)Soap

Manner Time Place
Setout used – SOV example in Qâêr – ‘(fut.)ride (Erg)I mine (Abs)horse today (Dat)(the)shop’ English – ‘I will ride my horse to the shop today.’

Mood and Modality
Moods Chosen:

Indicative (Realis)

Optative

Subjunctive

Speculative

Potential

Jussive (Cohortative in 1st Person)

Dubative

Conditional

Hypothetical

Imperative

Interrogative (Particle)

Deliberative (Relate to Interrogative)

Precative (Relate to Interrogative)

Mood attaches to verbs as a prefix. For the Interrogative mood, the structure will follow closely to that of the Japanese. This means that a particle will be used and placed at the beginning of the sentence and will be used to transform sentences into questions. The Precative and Deliberative mood will relate here by inflecting on this particle, and only on this particle, thus making the question into a request or ‘Ought to be done question’. This particle will be ‘lê’ and be placed before all other words in the sentence.

Interrogative Words
The interrogative particle lê will be inflected with prefixes and these will phrase interrogative words such as what, where e.c.t. The interrogative particle without one of these prefixes will just be turned into a normal question.

What = qâlo + lê – qâlolê

Where = qin + lê – qinlê

When = qeose + lê – qeoselê

Who = qeno + lê – qenolê

Why = qî + lê – qîlê

How = qâna + lê – qânalê

How Much = sjonâ + lê – sjonâlê

Sjonâ is derived from the Fáriân word Sjinolâme which means ‘to barter’. Note – when using any of these interrogative words for linking words however, just the prefix is used, not the prefix with the particle. In the example sentence – ‘John knows where the shop is.’ would be ‘Know John qin shop.’

=Dictionary= ...

=Example text= Sentence 1 – A tall man ran quickly up the mountain

nêxerâ jebâmê orâl xêba âldo eâdam

Sentence 2 – He passionately kissed the beautiful girl on the lips.

nêlâerm ratîmê ojâ jarêl favêr sâ jalibâl

Sentence 3 – His sister was killed in the forest.

Nêsâbin ójâ javevîm hê jilêlâîm

Sentence 4 - A sister of his was killed in a forest.

Nêsâbin ójâ jovevîm hê jelêlâîm