Macro-Arishian

=Phonology=

Consonants
Proto-Arish has the following consonants:

Moreover, the combination [kʃ] is considered a consonant on its own.

Vowels
Proto-Arish recognizes only three simple vowels: [a], [i] and [u], both short and long.

Syllables
A syllable in Proto-Arish always starts with a consonant. There can also be a consonant at the end of a syllable. Semivowels [j] and [w] can come between a consonant and a vowel. So, the overall syllabic structure of the language can be described as:

C(S)V(C)

Most roots have two syllables, so the syllabic structure for roots is:

C(S)V(C)C(S)V(C)

where the optional consonants can also be the semivowels [j] or [w].

Stress falls generally on the first syllable of roots. There are, however, prefixes and suffixes which can carry stress.

=Morphology= Proto-Arishian makes wide use of internal changes in words with grammatical functions. These changes affect both the syllabic structure of words and the nature of specific sounds.

State
Noun "states" include both definiteness (reference) and whether the noun is a nucleus or an adjunct, as well as to whether the noun represents a class (generic), an individual or a collectivity.

Example:
 * riɣu "house"

Number
Plural is indicated by the infix -ja- inserted after the first (stressed) syllable of the noun stem. Stress is, then, shifted onto this infix. Ex.:
 * riɣu "house", rijaɣu "houses"
 * nidaħ "car", nijadaħ "cars"
 * likʃvi "animal", lijakʃvi "animals"

For collective plurals, however, the state prefixes are used (see above).

The so called "expressive plural" (ʔassiʒbi fasɣulta), indicating an excessive quantity, consists in the infix -wa-, the stress shift onto it, and doubling the consonant coming right after it. Ex.:
 * riɣu "house", riwaɣɣu "a lot of houses", "too many houses"
 * nidaħ "car", niwaddaħ "a lot of cars", "too many cars"
 * likʃvi "animal", liwakkʃvi "a lot of animals", "too many animals"

There is also a paucal number, which is not used very often, indicating a small quantity (like "two or three" or "half a dozen" or "just a few"). It consists in extracting the vowel from the first (stressed) syllable and using it as a prefix, properly accompanied by a ʔ because no word can begin with a vowel. Ex.:
 * riɣu "house", ʔirɣu "(just a few) houses"
 * nidaħ "car", ʔindaħ "(just a few) cars"
 * likʃvi "animal", ʔilkʃvi "(just a few) animals"

The dual number consists in the suffix -jân which shifts the stress onto itself. Ex.:
 * riɣu "house", riɣujân "two houses"
 * nidaħ "car", nidaħjân "two cars"
 * likʃvi "animal", likʃvijân "two animals"

The following table resumes the possibilities of number indication in Proto-Arish:

Adjunct
The "adjunct" function indicated by the state prefixes works most like a genitive case in nominal syntagmas. Ex.:
 * nikʃim "chief"; sartîkʃ "people"
 * luxnikʃim ʔuxsartîkʃ "the chief of the people"
 * luxsartîkʃ ʔuxnikʃim "the people of the chief"

However, possession is not the only notion indicated by this function, as it simply establishes that the second noun is an adjunct (or a satellite) to the nucleus of the syntagma. It also may function as a dative or instrumental case. Ex.:
 * ħuslu "love"; biʒhi "child"
 * ʔasħuslu kasbiʒhi "love to the children"
 * waflim "death"; ʔîriz "sword"
 * ʃaswaflim fasʔîriz "death by a sword"

Otherwise, there is no "real" genitive or dative case.

Location
There are several suffixes for indicating different spacial (locative) notions.

Time
The following suffixes indicate notions of time:

Other
Other notions such as Instrumental, Commitative &c. are expressed by means of prepositions.

Gender
There are not properly grammatical genders. However, male and female forms of nouns referring to animals or to humans can be formed with suffixes. Ex.:
 * ʃudra (an animal similar to a) horse
 * ʃudrax "male horse"
 * ʃudraf "female horse"


 * wuthka "teacher"
 * wuthkax "male teacher"
 * wuthkaf "female teacher"

These forms apply only to nouns and do not trigger any kind of agreement in adjectives, pronouns or verbs.

Cardinal

 * 0:
 * 1:
 * 2:
 * 3:
 * 4:
 * 5:
 * 6:
 * 7:
 * 8:
 * 9:
 * 10:
 * 11:
 * 12:
 * 13:
 * 14:
 * 15:
 * 16:
 * 17:
 * 18:
 * 19:
 * 20:
 * 30:
 * 40:
 * 50:
 * 60:
 * 70:
 * 80:
 * 90:
 * 100:
 * 200:
 * 1000:
 * 1234:

Ordinal
&c.
 * 1st:
 * 2nd:
 * 3rd:
 * 4th:
 * 5th:

Concepts
Arishian verbs show a number of derivational forms that express notions like transitivity, cause, passiveness and other ideas conceived in English by means of modal verbs.

There are no auxiliary verbs or periphrastic constructions, all verbal expressions are made up with a single word.

Infixes are used to create derivational roots. Aspect is indicated by means of infixes, prefixes or root alteration (mutation). Time is indicated by means of suffixes.

Indication of person is rather complex. It depends on verb transitivity and on the existance and nature of direct objects.

=Syntax= =Vocabulary=

Derivation
There are four main derivation methods: prefixation, suffixation, mutation and composition.

Prefixation
Prefixes generally add some meaning to the basic root, leaving the result word in the same category as the original word. The most important prefixes are:

Suffixation
Suffixes generally (but not always) create a word in a different class then the original word.

Mutation
The process called "mutation" is the most important one in Macro-Arish word formation. It consists in altering the internal structure of words either by changing one or more vowels in the word or by changing completely the syllabic structure of the root. Prefixes and suffixes may also be used together with these mutations.


 * In the table below, we use the following conventions to indicate the structure of the mutations:
 * A hyphen ( - ) indicates a single consonant.
 * Three dots ( ... ) indicate that this part of the word remains intact. So, ...-â- indicates that you have only to insert the vowel â before the last consonant of a word; while -u...u- means that you must insert a u both after the first consonant and before the last consonant of the stem.
 * An ex ( x ) indicates that all the vowels in this section of the stem are to be removed, remaining only the vowels. So, e.g., -u-x-a indicates that you must remove all vowels of the stem and then add a u after the first consonant and an a to the end of the word.
 * A number indicates which syllable must have its vowel changed to the vowel indicated in the formula. So, u2 indicates that you have only to turn the second vowel of the word to u, while î2 indicates that the next-to-last syllable of the word must have its vowel shifted to î.

Composition
=Samples=
 * An-cinlumçû´i´ an-madu emeshdupu-lel nafgimrû, gurkûcdûn-uf wi huswismnâci´-uf. Lâ´u egewordeshef-el dîwer-uf wi wûsdâc-uf, wi bûnuduran-el an-´uhgomye.´i´-en 'îfsûcken-uf shâc'inu-yîc.
 * ("All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.")

=Correlation of phonemes=