Newwang

General information
Newwang (/nuˈ(w)aŋ/ natively Nèuwảŋ [n̪əʊ̯˥˧wæ̰̃˨˩]) is the most spoken language of Manjinga (Manwảr). It is also widely spoken and taught in several other nations and by the Manjingan diaspora, making it one of the most spoken languages on Patrona.

It is a descendant of Old Manjingan.

Consonants

 * The retroflex consonants /ɳ/, /ʈ/, and /ʂ/ are neutralized with their dentialveolar counterparts when syllable final, in free variation and tending to shift to either one or the other depending on the surrounding consonants.
 * The palatal nasal /ɲ/ may only be found in the coda, and tends to be reduced to nasalization of the preceding vowel in educated speech.
 * The labial fricative [f] only appears in the coda, and the labial plosive [p] only syllable initially, thus classifying them as one archiphoneme /p/ is most useful.

Diphthongs
All diphthongs are closing and most of the first parts to the diphthongs cannot be vowels on their own.

Sandhi

 * tone pair: resulting contour
 * 1st-4th: 44-31
 * 3th-4th: 53-31
 * 3th-1st: 53-33
 * 4th-1st: 22-33

Phonotactics
Syllables consist of an initial and a rime, coupled with a tone.

Rimes

 * Rimes ending in obstruents are considered "checked", and can only have 1st or 4th tones.

Case
An unmarked noun is the patient of the sentence. Particles and postpositions can be added to show other cases.

Syntax
Unmarked word order is SXOV (the X referring to an indirect object). When objects are topicalized, they are moved to the beginning of the sentence and lose any particles.


 * ex. Şî̀ ţủ ņî wảs ţwî.
 * gloss: DIST book TOP inspire.awe EMPH
 * English: That book was awesome!

Relative clauses are indicated with the relative pronoun sli.

Comparison
Neutral comparison is achieved using the comparative copula ' şak ' and the essive postposition ' kwè ' in the following formula:


 * subject na object kwè şak adjective.
 * ex. Tả na kìm kwè şak wảs.
 * gloss: 2.ORD NOM 3.PEJ ESS COMP.COP inspire.awe
 * English: You are just as awesome as them.

Conjunctions
Newwang has two sets of conjunctions, one for within phrases ("an arm and a leg"), and one to connect independent phrases or clauses ("I ran and I jumped").

Negation
The negative adverb maŋ is placed before a verb to indicate negation.

Questions
A yes-no question take the form of a normal sentence ended with the interrogative particle ké.

To answer affirmatively, simply repeat the verb or adjective. To answer negatively, use the negative adverb maŋ.

Pragmatic particles
củr marks dispreferreds

i expresses recognition, agreement, or regret

î̉ stalls for time or holds the conversational floor

rìm ņî introduces a new topic

Other particles emphasize relevance, express surprise, request politely, or warn/remind/advise/judge.

Verbs of motion
Verbs of motion distinguish two things: whether the movement is towards or away from the direct object, and whether the movement is a reversal of a previous movement or not.


 * rìm "go/come towards"
 * sé "go/come away from"
 * yà "return towards"
 * sut "return from"

Metaphor systems
Wisdom is light


 * lî̉ láu "brighten" > "explain"
 * sìr "shining" > "intelligent"
 * lî̉ lảs "darken" > "obfuscate"

Romance is conquest


 * hwảt mwáŋ "conquer" > "seduce"
 * peçén "soldier" > "casanova"

A building is a body


 * lẻs "arm" > "wing"
 * nỉs "back"
 * mèi "fist" > "office"
 * swà "cap" > "roof"

Argument is architecture


 * kis "shaky" > "weak"
 * rỉu "structurally sound"
 * şei "leaky" > "full of holes"
 * pủk "palace" > "proof"
 * ţun "column" > "premise"
 * swà "roof" > "conclusion"
 * míŋ "floor" > "step"

War is a painting


 * û̀rí "sketch" > "strategy"
 * pwẻswàr "brushwork" > "tactics"
 * rảf "canvas" > "battlefield"
 * kyus "paint" > "blood" (a euphemism, the normal word is tlî̉)

Registers
Newwang is a language with many dialects and registers of speech. The written standard is essentially that of this article, but the writing system, being logographic, doesn't show dialectal differences in phonology.

Colloquial speech (matés "slang-full") doesn't attempt to conform to the capital's standards, and employs quite a lot of word substitution.


 * yảk "baby" > "newbie"
 * ņû̉ci "cup" > "alcoholic drink"
 * slas "cut" > "shut up"
 * pehû̀ "old ones" > "parents"
 * zik "face" > "mouth"

Scholarly or bookish language (hû̀ţủ) borrows old words by their meaning. It finds heavy use in religious and legal documents.

Directions
Intermediate directions are compounds: pàţen "southeast"

Body parts

 * body: ţas
 * iris/pupil: û̀mur
 * hair: şwû̀
 * cap: swà
 * eye: mur
 * head/face: cik
 * ear: hẽ
 * nose: lar
 * mouth: nlả
 * chin: çải
 * chest/neck: pá
 * belly: slả
 * back: nỉs
 * arm: lẻs
 * elbow: haf
 * hand: twỉk
 * back of the hand: pwef
 * fist/knuckles: mèi
 * fingers: pehẽn
 * thumb: clar
 * leg: pecû́
 * knee: kyú
 * foot: rỉf
 * toes: û̀rỉf

Kinship

 * parents: hár
 * mother: peņus
 * younger sibling (same mother): hẻu
 * older sibling (same mother): ţảt
 * younger sibling (different mother): tahẻu
 * older sibling (different mother): taţảt
 * parent’s younger sibling: hárhẻu
 * parent’s older sibling: hárţảt
 * child: súm
 * nibling (younger sibling’s child): ţảtsúm
 * nibling (older sibling’s child): hẻusúm
 * grandparent: hû̀hár
 * half: wáŋ
 * great: çî̀
 * in-law: pwî
 * cousin: çèn
 * step: maŋè
 * twin: pelî́

Time
In the Manjingan reckoning, days are divided into four pwár "sections": kén "pre-dawn", tlẻŋ "morning", slî "afternoon", and hû́ "post-dusk". Each section is divided into nine míŋ "steps". Finer divisions of time include the rèm "minute" and the kes "second".

Names
Manjingan given names are always two characters long. A full name is simply one's own name followed by one's maternal lineage going back to one's great-grandmother.