Old Pelhaforan

The dialects known as Old Pelhaforan or Ancient Pelhaforan were an early form of the Pelhaforan language spoken in the approximate area of present-day Pelhafor for much of the 1st millenium C.E. Attested in various sources including court documents, religious scriptures, and vernacular literature, Old Pelhaforan is believed to have phased into Middle Pelhaforan by the 11th century.

Phonotactics
Pelhaforan words feature syllables with obligatory mono-consonantal onsets and vowel nuclei. A null onset, i.e. a syllable with no beginning consonant, is forbidden. A palatal medial and coda are optional. Only /n/, /t/, /k/, /s/, and /r/ can be used as codas in Pelhaforan words. Codas in native Pelhaforan words usually only occur at the ends of words; loanwords do not necessarily follow this rule but nonetheless conform to Pelhaforan's phonotactical laws.

The Pelhaforan syllable structure:

C₁(C₂)V₁(C₃)

where C₂ is a palatal medial and C₃ is the coda.

Nouns
Pelhaforan nouns are not marked for grammatical gender, number, or articles. Pelhaforan has a possession marker, “ki” (also the conjunction for comparisons), which is placed after the possessor and before the possessed object. It is omitted in cases of inalienable possession, i.e. “my brother,” “my cousin,” “my arm,” etc.

Personal pronouns
Personal pronouns are marked by person and number. An intensive pronoun can be expressed with the particle “sur” (related to suru, “self; soul, mind”) placed after the personal pronoun. Placed alone after the verb, “sur” may also express the reflexive.

In the second person, Pelhaforan maintains a T-V distinction. The singular han is used to address a person of inferior rank or position in the social hierarchy, whereas the plural kyan is for addressing a superior. Between equals, high-class peers prefer to use kyan, while the lower class uses han. In more formal situations, it is common to discard pronouns altogether and address someone by their rank, office, or honorific.

Classifiers
Noun classifiers (a.k.a. measure words) are required when counting nouns. It is considered ungrammatical to omit the measure word, but omitting the noun (provided the noun is clear from context) and preserving the classifier is acceptable and common. The classifier is placed after the numeral, which is placed after the noun being modified in the format numeral-classifier-noun.

Common classifiers include:
 * "is" - classifier for humans
 * "ne" - classifier for objects
 * "syu" - classifier for animals
 * "ben" - 'piece', 'lump'
 * "bar" - 'cup of'
 * "tar" - 'line of', 'row of'

Pro-forms
Pelhaforan makes a two-way distinction for demonstratives. The proximal demonstrative (‘this’) is “zo”; the distal demonstrative (‘that’) is “te.” The demonstrative adjective is placed before the noun as a regular adjective. No distinction is made between interrogative and indefinite (“any”) pro-forms.

Verbs
The main copula is “za” (‘to be’), which is used only for noun complements, due to the stative verb nature of Pelhaforan adjectives. Another copula is “rut,” meaning “to be located (in),” and is used alongside adpositional phrases.

Aspect
Aspectual particles follow the modified verb. Aspect marking is not strictly required and can be omitted when the aspect can be inferred.
 * "nat" – progressive aspect
 * “yut” – perfect aspect
 * "his" – inchoative aspect; related to hisa (lit. “to rise, ascend”); beginning of a state
 * "dok" – frequentative aspect; can be used as a habitual aspect

Evidentiality
Verbs may be attached with additional suffixes to mark information such as evidentiality. Evidential particles usually follow the aspectual particles after the verb. These particles may be combined to express multiple levels of evidentiality.
 * “bet” – reportative (hearsay or secondhand information; “it is said…”)
 * "mis” – inferential (based on indirect evidence; “must be, probably, would be…”)
 * “sye” – visual sensory (based on visual evidence; “seems, looks”)

Negation
To negate a sentence or statement, “ba” is placed immediately after the verb. For the negation of an imperative, the particle “ko” is used instead; it precedes the verb.

Adjectives
When used as a predicate, the adjective becomes a stative verb and takes on verbal markers for aspect and evidentiality. This is known as an "adjectival verb." When used attributively, the adjective requires the suffix "-ya" and precedes the noun.

Reduplication can be used to change the intensity of an adjective, somewhat akin to the use of the English suffix “-ish” (i.e. red; reddish). The last consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) sequence is reduplicated and attached to the end of the base adjective.

Adverbs
The suffix “-has” (from hasu, lit. “form, shape, manner”) is used to form adverbs out of adjectives. Adverbs precede verbs.

Comparison
Pelhaforan comparatives and superlatives are syntactically formed with the comparison adverbs “was” and “zoha” respectively. When modifying adjectival verbs and other adverbs, the comparison adverb follows the word. However, when modifying an adjective in attributive form, the adverb precedes the adjective.

The comparative conjunction is “ki,” identical to the possessive particle. It indicates with what the comparison is being made and corresponds to the English conjunction “than.” The phrase “is more X than Y” is rendered as “X was ki Y.”

Numerals Numerals above pyat (10) are formed by stacking. For example, eleven is pyat tos (‘ten-one’), twelve is pyat dan (‘ten-two’), twenty is dan pyat (‘two-ten’), twenty-two is dan pyat dan (‘two-ten-two’), eighty is zek pyat (‘eight-ten’), a hundred is tos yan (‘one-hundred’), and a hundred twenty-one is tos-yan danpyat tos (‘one-hundred-two-ten-one’). Ordinal numbers are formed by placing “-ka” after the numeral. For example, toska is ‘first’, danka is ‘second’, geka is third, danpyatka is twentieth, and danpyatdanka is twenty second.
 * basen – zero (lit. ‘nothing’)
 * tos – one
 * dan – two
 * ge – three
 * rus – four
 * wet – five
 * fen – six
 * nin – seven
 * zek – eight
 * tut – nine
 * pyat – ten
 * yan – hundred
 * mik – thousand
 * dyo – million
 * mitto – billion

Adpositions
Most Pelhaforan words that fall under this category are either prepositions (placed before their complement) or postpositions (placed after their complement); Pelhaforan also has a few circumpositions. To avoid the situation of adjacent nouns, postpositional phrases are usually placed after the verb and before any objects, or in front of the entire sentence. Prepositional phrases usually follow the direct object, if any. Provided no ambiguity arises, however, these rules may be and often are bent, especially poetically. If modifying nouns, adpositional phrases become relative clauses.

Prepositions
Prepositions precede their complements.
 * kin – with, alongside; in addition to
 * kinbas – without, lacking; apart from, beside, except, but; lit. kin (‘with’) + bas (‘not’)
 * ni – for, to, directed at; because of, due to, on account of; indirect object marker
 * xak – such as, for example; like, as, reminiscent of; lit. “similar, alike”

Postpositions
Postpositions follow their complements.
 * fas – in, at, into; about, concerning, regarding, on
 * se – by means of, using, with, in (language)
 * not – to, at, towards; up to, until, as far as
 * mer – from, out of; since
 * bit – near, around; approximately, about; lit. “near, close”
 * zoknot – up, toward the top of; upward
 * garnot – down; downward
 * fassus – during, throughout, in (time); from fas (‘in’) + hus (‘time’)
 * zoxitos – around, surrounding; from zok (‘on’) + hitos (‘circle’)
 * zokbit – about, regarding, concerning; from zok (‘on’) + bit (‘near’)
 * <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">xegarak – along, lengthwise
 * <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">xegatus – throughout, all through, in every part of
 * <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">nossaga – toward, at, for, in the direction of; from not (‘to, at’) + saga (‘front, fore’)
 * <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">fassahon – among, between, at the center of; from fas (‘in’) + tahon (‘heart, center’)

Relational nouns
To indicate relative position, Pelhaforan makes extensive use of relational nouns. These nouns are used to convey spatial and temporal relations to complements via the complement’s possession of the relational noun; thus, relational nouns are preceded by the possessive particle “ki.” If the adpositional use is clear from context, “ki” can be omitted, turning the relational noun into a true postposition.
 * <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">saga – before, in front of; by (a certain time); lit. “fore, front; face”
 * <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">yudu – after, behind; later in time; lit. “back, rear, behind”
 * <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">zok – above, over; on, on top of
 * <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">gar – beneath, below, under
 * <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">zotton – across, on/to the opposite side; through; from zok (‘on’) + don (‘far’); lit. “opposite side”
 * <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">rak – beside, next to; lit. “side, flank”
 * <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">tahon – among, between, in the middle of; lit. “heart, center”
 * <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">yanik – inside (of), within; during, in (time); lit. “interior, inside”
 * <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">zet – outside (of); lit. “outside, exterior”
 * <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">dus – against, in contrary direction to; lit. “opposite, contrary”

Circumpositions
Although rare, circumpositions also exist in Pelhaforan:
 * <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">ni… ki nese – because of, for sake of, on account of
 * <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">ni… ki tin – instead of, in place of, rather than, in lieu of

Conjunctions

 * <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">zu – and
 * <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">ban – or
 * <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">dak – if, supposing that
 * <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">xak – as, in the same way that (introduces a basis of comparison); lit. “similar, alike”
 * <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">ki – than; same as possessive particle
 * <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">syo – but, however, although (implies the following clause contrasts with or contradicts the previous statement or belief)
 * <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">kinbas – except for, excluding, but
 * <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">nahasu – however, in whatever manner; lit. “how”
 * <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">nyanse – because, for the reason that; lit. nyan (‘why’) + se (‘by’)
 * <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">reho – because, for the reason that
 * <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">ninot – so that, in order that; lit. ni (‘for’) + not (‘to, at’)
 * <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">kus, nikus – therefore, so, as a result, consequently; lit. “herefore, for this reason”
 * <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">yun, nyun – therefore, so, as a result, consequently; lit. “therefore, for that reason”
 * <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">zu… zu… -- both… and…

Syntax
The basic word order is subject-verb-object.

Topic-comment
Pelhaforan is a topic-prominent language, meaning that the topic-comment sentence structure is used frequently in lieu of the usual SVO order. The emphatic particle da is often used as a topic marker, separating it from the comment

Relative clauses
Relative (adjectival) clauses modify nouns or noun phrases. The relativizer that connects the relative clause with the noun is identical to the possessive marker and comparative conjunction “ki.” The relativizer is placed before the noun phrase.

Questions
Word order is not changed in questions. Polar questions are formed with the sentence-final particle “na.” As Pelhaforan does not have clear-cut counterparts of “yes” and “no,” these questions are typically answered by echo responses, in the form of a standalone verb taken from the question. Adverbs gauging the veracity of the statement presented may also be used. Non-polar questions are formed with interrogative words in their natural places, i.e. in situ.

Modality
Pelhaforan makes use of modal particles, uninflected words that express modality and convey focus in sentences. These modal particles are used extensively in colloquial speech.

The negative gotba means “must not, be required to not, not allowed to.” Another way to express this is to use positive son with a negated main verb. On the other hand, sonba means “not required to, not have to.”

Passive voice
The passive voice is used less frequently than in English, as many instances of the passive may be expressed by the Pelhaforan topic-comment structure. Nonetheless, the passive is often used for expressing negative outcomes (like injury, death, etc.) or to avoid mentioning the agent. The grammaticalized adposition “kato” (lit. “to give’) conveys the passive voice. It is placed after the patient noun and before the agent noun or verb. The passive construction is typically SOV; the verb comes after the agent noun, if the agent is mentioned at all.

Interjections
Several interjections have been attested in Pelhaforan literature:

<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"> o      yahi, yawu – pain, woe; ‘ow, ouch’

<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"> o      ho, ha – realization, wonder, amazement, awe; ‘oh, ah’

<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"> o      hun – agreement or uncertainty; ‘mhm’

<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"> o      he, hen – uncertainty, confusion; ‘uh’

<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"> o      fu, xe – disgust, displeasure; ‘ew’

Derivational morphology
Aside from compounding, conversion, and adoption of loanwords, new words may be created by attaching affixes to old words. Certain adpositions such as kin and mer may serve as verb-forming prefixes.

<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1"> o      ‘-wan’ – verbal nouns

<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1"> o      ‘-kat’ – abstract nouns denoting a quality, state, or condition

<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1"> o      ‘-sar’ – agent nouns denoting a person or thing that performs the verb’s action

<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1"> o      ‘-kune’ – nouns of occupation or agent nouns referring to humans; also forms demonyms; lit. kune “man, human being, person”

<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1"> o      ‘-tin’ – nouns of place or location

<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1"> o      ‘-tus’ – adjectives meaning “characteristic of or pertaining to”

<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1"> o      ‘-xak’ – adjectives meaning “similar or reminiscent of”; lit. xak “alike, similar”

<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1"> o      ‘-si’ –   diminutive suffix; also characteristic adjective suffix

<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1"> o      ‘-wi’ – verbs meaning “to make ___,” denoting change or transformation; -ify, -ize

<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1"> o      ‘-dus’ – against, hostile to; opposite of, reverse; counteracting; “anti-”; lit. “against”

<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1"> o      ‘bas-’ – adjectives meaning “lack of, without”

<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1"> o      ‘kan-’ – chief, extreme; surpassing, superior; above, “super-,” “over-”; lit. kan “high, tall”

<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1"> o      ‘zet’ – outward (prefix); outside of, beyond, “extra-” (suffix); lit. “outside”

<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1"> o      ‘gar-’ – deputy, subsidiary, secondary; subordinate; “vice-,” “sub-”; lit. “beneath”

<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1"> o      ‘mur-’ – excessively, too; beyond, surpassing; “over-,” “super-”; lit. “too, excessively”

<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2"> o      ‘ten-’ – able to be done; “-able”; from modal verb ten “can, be able to”

<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto; text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2">causative -ut ?

Writing system
Old Pelhaforan was written with an abugida script.

Vocabulary
tya = now