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Dongbuzenytihach is the language spoken in the Dongbuzenytihav, an ocean located on the planet Baltus (known natively as Bältuse). The primary speakers are Encephalopods, inhabitants of the planet.

Dongbuzenytihach
Dońbuzenytihać
Type
Fusional
Alignment
Nominative-Accusative
Head direction
Mostly Head-Initial
Tonal
No
Declensions
Yes
Conjugations
Yes
Genders
No
Nouns decline according to...
Case Number
Definiteness Gender
Verbs conjugate according to...
Voice Mood
Person Number
Tense Aspect



Phonology[]

Consonants[]

Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar
Nasal m n ɲ~ŋ
Occlusive unvoiced p t t͡ɕ k
voiced b d d͡ʑ g
Fricative voiceless sibilant s ɕ x͡ɕ
plain f θ̠ x
voiced v z ʑ
Approximant w ɹ (ʎ) ɫ

There is an undefined sound that is most similar to the "sj-sound" and is commonly considered a co-articulated [x] and [ɕ]. It is a relatively rare sound in the language.

/j/, /t͡s/ and /d͡z/ are only seen in loanwords from nearby languages which have these sounds.

Vowels[]

Front Central Back
Close i y u
Close-mid ɘ ɤ
Open-mid ɛ ɔ
Open a

/ɤ/ is silent when in unstressed position and not in the first syllable of a word.

/œ~ø/ appears in loanwords and interjections.

Phonotactics[]

Thanks to the null glyph and ë, the phonotactics are slightly more variable than the script could suggest. Some of the most common formations include CV and V, however a very restricted number of CVC syllables also exist.

Writing system[]

Dongbuzenytihach, like many other Encephalopod languages, use a sophisticated combining script, referred outside of the planet as "Encephalopod script", but called in the language "Lapore Kapurafete".

Transcription[]

a b ɕ d d͡z d͡ʑ ɛ ɘ f g i j k ʟ m n ɲ ɔ
a b ś d ʣ đ ä e f g i j k l m n ń o
ø p ɹ s t t͡s t͡ɕ u ɤ ɤ̥ v w x x͡ɕ y z ʑ θ̠
ö p r s t c ć u ë v w h y z ź þ

ISO Basic Latin friendly[]

a b ɕ d d͡z d͡ʑ ɛ ɘ f g i j k ʟ m n ɲ/ŋ ɔ
a b sj d dz dj ax e f g i j k l m n nj o
ø p ɹ s t t͡s t͡ɕ u ɤ ɤ̥ v w x x͡ɕ y z ʑ θ̠
ox p r s t c cj u ex v w h hj y z zj th

Glyphs[]

Decipher

Words with obstruent are written with the ë glyph following the obstruent.

Sound Changes and Allophony[]

  • /ɤ/ becomes [o] when stressed and after /w/.
  • /k/, /g/, /x/ shift to [c], [ɟ], [ç] respectively before /i/, /y/.
  • /ɹ/, /ɫ/ become [j], [ʎ] respectively before /i/, /y/.
  • /i/, /y/ shift to [ɨ], [ʉ] after /w/, /s/, /z/.
  • /a/ becomes /ɛ/ before a sonorant followed by a front vowel, which is reflected in the orthography.

Morphology[]

Dongbuzenytihach grammar is relatively complex, as the language is fusional.

Verbs[]

Verbs conjugate according to mood, tense, person, number and aspect. Each verb can have one of two endings, -oþi and -iþi. The vowels in the conjugation depend on the infinitive form's suffix and ending. <o> is often substituted by <e>, while <i> is replaced by <y> in the same positions. Verbs have an indicative mood with present, past and future tense, the latter two of which can have a perfective and an imperfective form, an interrogative mood, an imperative mood and a subjunctive mood with present, past and future tense. Verbs can also assume a negative mood by adding the prefix će- if the verbs starts with a consonant, and ćed- if the verb starts with a vowel. When combined with the optative mood, the verb assumes the meaning of "may not". In -iþi verbs whose roots end in -ar-, -al- or -aw-, a turns into ä if a front vowel follows the approximant, as such vubäliþi => vubalu. All verbs are accented on the vowel following the root.

-oþi verbs[]

Inf = fenoþi Indicative Imperative Subjunctive Optative
Present Past Future Present Present Past Future Future
Perfective Imperfective Perfective Imperfective
se feno fenemo fenemiro feneþo feneþiro / feneo fenomo fenoþo feneþopo
đa fenu fenemu fenemiru feneþelu feneþeliru fene feneu fenomu fenoþu feneþelopu
do fene feneme fenemire feneþe feneþire fene feney fenome fenoþe feneþope
ku fenuto fenemuto fenemito feneþuso feneþiso fenuto fenuto fenomuto fenoþuso feneþoputo
fenoto fenemoto fenemito feneþoso feneþiso / fenoto fenomoto fenoþoso feneþopoto
đä fenoze fenemoze fenemozi feneþoze feneþozi fenoze fenoze fenomoze fenoþoze feneþopoze
du fenake fenemake fenemaki feneþake feneþaki fenake fenako fenomake fenoþake feneþopake
Converbs fenerä (while), fenä (after)

-iþi verbs[]

Inf = kaćiþi Indicative Imperative Subjunctive Optative
Present Past Future Present Past Future Future
Perfective Imperfective Perfective Imperfective
se kaći kaćimo kaćimiro kaćyþo kaćiþilori / kaćyi kaćymo kaćyþo kaćyþipo
đa kaću kaćimu kaćimiru kaćyþu kaćiþiru kaćy kaćypze kaćymu kaćyþu kaćyþipu
do kaćy kaćimi kaćimiri kaćyþi kaćiþiri kaćy kaćye kaćymi kaćyþi kaćyþipe
ku kaćuto kaćymuto kaćymito kaćiþuso kaćiþiso kaćuto kaćuto kaćymuto kaćyþuso kaćyþiputo
kaćoto kaćymito kaćymito kaćyþoso kaćyþiso / kaćoto kaćymoto kaćyþoso kaćyþipoto
đä kaćozy kaćimozy kaćimozi kaćiþozy kaćiþozi kaćozy kaćozy kaćymoze kaćyþozy kaćyþipozy
du kaćaky kaćimake kaćimaki kaćiþake kaćiþaki kaćaky kaćaky kaćymoka kaćyþia kaćyþipaky
Converbs kaćirä (while), kaćä (after)

Nouns[]

In nominative singular, nouns can have three suffixes: -a, -e, and -o. To create a possessive noun, one replaces the final suffix with itself preceeded by -äh-. These can be interpreted as adjectives. There are two cases, Nominative, describing the subject which performs the action, and Oblique, which describes the object which takes the action done by the subject.

Declension Example word root Singular suffix Plural suffix Singular Plural
Nominative Oblique Nominative Oblique Nominative Oblique Nominative Oblique
1st declension fër- (a unit of capacity) -a -o fëra fëro fërä fër
2nd declension goh- (tentacle) -o -e -u -e goho gohe gohu gohe
3rd declension däźiv- (an animal) -e -i -u -e däźive däźivi däźivu däźive
Exception seþ- (religion) seþë seþë seþä seþä

Adjectives[]

Adjectives form the same declension pattern as their respective nouns. The following table declines the root "wiśos-", "slimy". Adjectives are post-nominal, meaning that they come after the noun they are referring to. Possessives are treated as adjectives as well, as such they are declined identically to the adjective in the table.

Declension Singular suffix Plural suffix Singular Plural
Nominative Oblique Nominative Oblique Nominative Oblique Nominative Oblique
1st declension -a -o wiśosa wiśoso wiśosä wiśosë
2nd declension -o -e -u -e wiśoso wiśose wiśosu wiśosa
3rd declension -e -i -u -e wiśose wiśosi wiśosu wiśosa

Articles[]

There are no indeterminative articles. Determinative articles have 6 forms, depending on the noun referred to, and come after the referred-to noun.

Singular Plural
1st ra
2nd ro ru
3rd re ru

Adpositions[]

Adpositions in Dongbuzenytihach are postpositions. They are inflected and agree with the head.

Pronouns[]

Pronoun Nominative Oblique Reflexive
1SG se su pyćisu
2SG đa đo pyćiđo
3SG do de pyćide
1PL INCL ku ku pyćiku
1PL EXCL se pyćise
2PL đä đë pyćiđë
3PL du de pyćide

Syntax[]

Word order[]

The word order is commonly SVO.

Interrogative particles[]

Dongbuzenytihach uses interrogative particles to denote quesitons. One such particle is ki, which is used to confirm a statement. If the statement is agreed upon, the listener responds "ki" as well, while in the opposite case, the listener responds "će", which assumes the value of "no", or negation.

Another particle is a, which is used after information-seeking questions. In case the answerer is not aware of the answer, they respond "ćewäri", which roughly translates as "I don't know".

Lexicon[]

See Dongbuzenytihach/Vocabulary.

Numerals[]

Dongbuzenytihach uses a base-4 number system. Each number is a monosyllabic word. The quantity of groups of numbers is always indicated, as such 4 would be "one four" (1x4), the closest equivalent in English being "one hundred/one thousand". This allows for the order of numbers to be free, however it is never used in formal speech and might even be seen as a sign of a chaotic personality.

Dongbuzenytihach numbers

Example text[]

The North Wind and the Sun[]

Ruźo-ro tońo zo sa fëna-ra fäimake wigođi-ki oźeme kari-re rypi ćambi. Du fäimaki lehone athëhe giwe zoćesa hi vubälyme kaćimi sa do oźemire gelđa rodë će sa himiri këlokë. Fëna-ra atuvimi eńa kare-re rype ćambe oźe kare-re eńa dëly këlokë-rë vubälymi-re zi. Ruźo-ro tońo zo atuvimi eńa do oźe däźa sa do somuneme hi ruźe athëhe sa omazege vubälymi-re ći. Iśeti ruźo-ro hin hueme thefu-ru këlokë zë rësavake zuvydo ćo vubälymähi-re. Iço do luheme de gelđa sa iśeti ruźo-ro huemire ćambelemi giwi do luhemire ćambelemi giwi. Ruźo-ro tońo zo hueme sa hueme iço uru ćoźe däźo. Zoćesa fena-ra feseśeme. Lehono däho oźemaki zäba iśeti hin di sa vubälyme-re dëlimi oći këlokähë-rë feseśygemi-re çalamäti di zoće omazegemi-re ruźähe ze tońo zo. Zoćesa lehono-ro fena-ra za durneme feseśygo. Ćëfulo-ro dëlimi capë sa gywe këlokë ńë. Thefe-re de do feseśimi sa dëlimi këlokë-rë däho sa kaćimi cire arëborähe će kaćirä lenohe-re fenäha-ra ńe.

Translation to English
The North Wind and the Sun had a quarrel about which of them was the stronger. While they were disputing with much heat and bluster, a Traveler passed along the road wrapped in a cloak. "Let us agree," said the Sun, "that he is the stronger who can strip that Traveler of his cloak." "Very well," growled the North Wind, and at once sent a cold, howling blast against the Traveler. With the first gust of wind the ends of the cloak whipped about the Traveler's body. But he immediately wrapped it closely around him, and the harder the Wind blew, the tighter he held it to him. The North Wind tore angrily at the cloak, but all his efforts were in vain. Then the Sun began to shine. At first his beams were gentle, and in the pleasant warmth after the bitter cold of the North Wind, the Traveler unfastened his cloak and let it hang loosely from his shoulders. The Sun's rays grew warmer and warmer. The man took off his cap and mopped his brow. At last he became so heated that he pulled off his cloak, and, to escape the blazing sunshine, threw himself down in the welcome shade of a tree by the roadside.

Dialects[]

Subarctic Dongbuzenytihach[]

This variant of Dongbuzenytihach is spoken in northern colonies of the Dongbuzenytihav. It is characterized by lowering of central vowels, somewhat conservative liquids and nasals, post/alveolarization of alveolar fricatives and a v/w merger into ʋ.

Kifekutulan Dongbuzenytihach[]

Heavily influenced by neighbouring languages, Kifekutulan Dongbuzenytihach is most notable for its removal of unstressed high vowels in unstressed positions after sonorants. It also demonstrates partial de-palatalization of palatal consonants and voiced stop lenition intervocalicaly.

Comparison[]

Standard Dongbuzenytihach Subarctic Dongbuzenytihach Kifekutulan Dongbuzenytihach
a ä a if next vowel is {ɛ,i,y}

ɑ elsewhere

ɛ æ ɛ
ɘ ɘ~ɵ ə
i i ʲ after sonorants when unstressed

i elsewhere

ɔ ɒ ɔ
u u ʷ after sonorants when unstressed

u elsewhere

silent after sonorants when unstressed

ɤ elsewhere

silent when unstressed

ʌ elsewhere

silent when unstressed

ɯ elsewhere

y y ʲʷ after sonorants when unstressed

y elsewhere

b b b at the beginning of a word

β between vowels

d d at the beginning of a word

ð̲ between vowels

f f xʷ~ɸ
g g g at the beginning of a word

ɣ between vowels

d͡ʑ d͡ʑ d͡zʲ
ʑ ʑ
k k k
t͡ɕ t͡ɕ t͡sʲ
ɫ ʟ~ɫ ɫ
m m m
n n n
ɲ ŋ
p p p
ɹ ɹʷ j after {i, y}

ɹ elsewhere

s ʃ s
t t
x x x
ɕ ɕ
x͡ɕ x͡ɕ x͡sʲ
z ʒ z
v ʋ β
w ʋ β̞ʷ
θ̲ θ̲ θ̲
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