Ulzan

Phonology
Consonants

1. /h/ can be palatalized, while /x/ can be labialized.

2. ⟨'⟩ between two vowels is spoken as /ʔ/, while ⟨'⟩ between two consonants makes the consonant it follows unreleased.

Phonotactics
1. All syllables must have a nucleus and a consonant, where the consonant is either the onset or the coda.

2. The onset may have at most 3 consonants.

3. Multi-consonantal onsets must contain a fricative or an approximant.

4. Only nasal and plosive consonants may be followed by palatal glides.

5. /ŋ/ and /ɻ/ may not be part of a multi-consonantal onset.

6. Affricate onsets must be mono-consonantal.

7. A nucleus can have at most two vowels.

8. Codas may have at most 3 consonants.

9. Clusters of consonants must have the same voicing.

10. Two vowels of different syllables must be separate.

Hence, the structure of the syllable: C₁[C₂][C₃]V₁[V₂][C₄][C₅][C₆] or [C₁][C₂][C₃]V₁[V₂]C₄[C₅][C₆].

Declensions
Nouns decline to three genders and five cases.

Feminine nouns end in a single vowel, neuter nouns end in a vowel cluster, and masculine nouns end in consonants.

Pro-forms
Determiners must agree with the case of the noun they modify, and the other pro-forms must decline.

Copulas
ulzanïg has three copulas: da'in (to be), dëm'in (to become), and la'in (to be located at).

For example: The sentence "I am here." would be krima la duçt.

Note that da' (to be) does not conjugate to the future tense.

Structure and Conjugation
Verbs conjugate to tense, aspect, and voice. General verb structure: Root, Aspect, Tense, Misc.

The infinitive form of verb can be divided into two sections: the root and the ending. The ending is usually -'. To make the verb conjugable, remove the -' ending.

There are three ways to conjugate a verb. The conjugation of a verb will depend on the type of ending the root has.

First Conjugation: The root ends in a single vowel.

Second Conjugation: The root ends in a vowel cluster.

Third Conjugation: The root ends in a consonant.

The word "mait" follows the verb if the verb is to be negated.

Modal Prefixes and Suffixes
Detonic modality allows the speaker to express a desire of what should be according to the speaker's perspective.


 * The imperative forms commands that the speaker wants to be followed. Ex. to kill --> Kill!


 * The obligatory form describes what must be done in a situation. Ex. to stand --> You must stand.


 * The suggestive expresses what the speaker wants another person to do. Ex. to sleep --> You should sleep.


 * The permissive form expresses what the speaker permits another person to do. Ex. to leave --> You may leave.

Dynamic modality lets the speaker express what the subject is capable of doing.


 * The challenge form describes what the speaker is willing to do, which is usually something not normally done. Ex. I dare venture into the wilderness.
 * The ability form describes what the speaker is physically or mentally able to accomplish. Ex. I can swim.

Epistemic modality expresses possibility and what could happen in a situation.


 * The potential form indicates that the speaker believes a given situation is likely. Ex. You may fail your exams if you don't sleep.


 * The assumptive form indicates what the speaker has assumed about a given situation. Usually, this form is used to express a belief that has recently been proven wrong. Ex. (upon seeing someone on the street) I thought he was at home. / He should be at home.

Adjectives and Adverbs
Adjectives come in predicative forms and attributive forms.

Attributive forms of adjectives precede the nouns they modify, decline identically to the noun declensions, and must match the case of the noun they modify.

Comparison
There are two types of comparison: the comparative and superlative. The comparative form is used to compare two objects (The apple is bigger than the pear), while the superlative is used to compare a part to a whole (This apple is the biggest fruit in the bowl).

The structure of comparisons is as follows: X comparative〉(adjective) 〈vy Y, where the comparative, the adjective, X, and Y must have matching cases, and Y is the standard for comparison. To distinguish the comparative adjective from other adjectives in the same sentence, a circumposition is used. The circumposition declines to case, but does not decline to gender. Also, only the first half of the circumposition will decline; the second half vy does not. Likewise, the superlative circumposition follows the same concept of declension.

If Y is omitted, (Ex. My house is bigger.), then the second half vy is also omitted.

Adverbs
Adverbs directly precede the verbs they modify.

To form an adverb, the suffix -uç is added to the attributive form of the adjective; the adjective itself does not need to decline. If the adverb is used in a comparative or a superlative, the comparative and superlative adpositions ( sluç and luç) are used.

Adpositions
Adpositions indicate a spatial or temporal relation between two words; they do not decline. Adpositions can be broken into three categories: prepositions, postpositions, and circumpositions. Prepositions precede the word modified, postpositions follow the word modified, and circumpositions surround the word modified.

Any noun modified by an adposition must be in the dative form.

Conjunctions
Conjunctions connect two words, clauses, or sentences; they do not decline.

Example Texts
Kaviv da ëva innes. [The sky is so close.]