Gęčokaxʔa, literally "our language", is a polysynthetic language.
Phonology[]
Consonants[]
| Labial | Dental | Alveolar | Post-alveolar | Palato-velar | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | ||||
| Stop | p b | t d | č j /t͡ʃ d͡ʒ/ | k g | ʔ | ||
| Fricative | f /ɸ/ | þ /θ/ | s | š /ʃ/ | h /ɧ/ | x | |
| Lateral | l /ɬ/ |
Consonants are romanised as in IPA unless stated otherwise.
/ɧ/ may be labialised.
/ɬ/ is voiced to /l/ when next to a voiced consonant.
Vowels[]
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| High | i į | u ų |
| Mid | e ę | o ǫ |
| Low | a ą | |
Ogoneks indicate nasal vowels.
Diphthongs consist of any vowel+i or u. /ii/ and /uu/ are however not possible.
Phonotactics[]
The general syllable structure is CV(C), without any restrictions on what consonants can appear as onset or coda.
Stress and pitch[]
The primary stress always falls on the first syllable of the main root (usually that's the verb root, but in nouns it's the first noun root). Secondary stress falls on incorporated noun roots, pronominal suffixes, and negative and interrogative suffixes. Primary stress is realised as an increase in both volume and pitch, while secondary stress is realised as an increase in pitch only.
Morphophonology[]
Several morphophonemic processes take place in the language:
- A stop following another stop always agrees in voicing with the first one: bek + bįnol > bekpįnol.
- A nasal consonants assimilates to the POA of the following consonant: ŋun + bǫj + -ʔa > ŋumbǫjʔa.
- Clusters of an alveolar stop and a post-alveolar affricate, or a post-alveolar affricate and a (post-)alveolar fricative, become singe post-alveolar affricates: Balabąt + čiuhę- + tąkau + -he > Balabąčiuhętąkauhe.
- /θ/ disappears next to other fricatives: þaþ + šouš > þašouš.
- Geminated consonants simplify.
Grammar[]
Aspect[]
An oddity of Gęčokaxʔa morphology is that there are two types of aspect markers: a prefix indicating inceptive/cessative aspect and a suffix indicating perfect/imperfect. These can be left out and combined to form a total of nine aspects. The aspect markers are:
- męk- (inceptive)
- ča- (cessative)
- -ʔin (perfect)
- -mi (imperfect)
Pronominal suffixes[]
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st person | -þų | -kax |
| 2nd person | -pot | -ča |
| 3rd person | -he | -šǫm |
There is also an indefinite suffix -ʔąʔ, which is used as a dummy subject when the actual subject is unknown or irrelevant. When the object is unknown, it is simply left out.
These suffixes can be attached to nouns as well, which in English would mean "X is a Y". However, if the pronominal suffix is followed by the possessive suffix -ʔa, it means "X's Y".
Pronominal suffixes are optional when a non-incorporated noun is present.
Noun incorporation[]
Nouns can be incorporated into the verb. Depending on their placement, incorporated nouns can serve as either a subject or an object. Incorporated subjects follow the verb root; objects precede it.
Negatives and questions[]
Negatives and questions are made with the suffixes -ki and -loh respectively.
Causative[]
Causatives are made by prefixing þį-. The causative prefix can come either before or after the inceptive/cessative prefix, with a minor difference in meaning, as the causative can refer to either the aspect prefix or the root. Compare these two sentences:
Þįčakaʔhehe.
þį-ča-kaʔ-he-he
CAUS-CESS-know-3SG-3SG
He causes him to stop knowing.
Čaþįkaʔhehe.
ča-þį-kaʔ-he-he
CESS-CAUS-know-3SG-3SG
He stopped causing him to know.
Modality[]
There are six moods in Gęčokaxʔa: indicative (-Ø), potential (-lǫb), optative (-nei), jussive (-ʔįte), conditional (-kąix) and hortative (-bud).
Subordination[]
A verb can be subordinated by adding the prefix čiuhę-. A subordinated verb can be attached to a noun to form a relative clause. Subordinated verbs can never be incorporated into verbs.
Locatives[]
There are two locative suffixes: the internal locative -mai and the external -ʔąk. As the names imply, the internal locative indicates that something is located inside something else whereas the external indicates that it is located outside it. As with all affixes, these can be added to both nouns and verbs.
gočmai
goč-mai
house-INT.LOC
in the house
mękluiʔinheʔąk
męk-lui-ʔin-he-ʔak
INCEP-live-PERF-3SG-EXT.LOC
near the place where he was born
Numerals and quantifiers[]
| 1 | ląik |
|---|---|
| 2 | kǫhą |
| 3 | sąlįu |
| 4 | kiląi |
| 5 | xama |
| 6 | ląiʔal |
| 7 | kǫʔal |
| 8 | sąʔal |
| 9 | koxʔiląi |
| 10 | koxą |
| no(ne) | pi |
| some | hiu |
| many | sęʔče |
| all | fų |
These behave like prefixes, thus one can say ląikmot for "one fish" and kiląifat for "four bears". Verbs can also be prefixed with numerals; this indicates how often something is done.
Kǫʔaluinom.
kǫʔal-lui-nom
seven-live-cat
Cats live seven times.
Fųheuhe noxpat.
fų-heu-he noxpat
all-drink-3SG beer
He always drinks beer.
Examples[]
Čakaʔinþųloh?
ča-kaʔ-ʔin-þų-loh
stop-know-PERF-1SG-Q
Have I forgotten anything?
Hupotʔalęxčočʔinaupotʔaki.
hu-pot-ʔa-lęxčoč-ʔin-nau-pot-ʔa-ki
brother-2SG-POSS-eat-PERF-father-2SG-POSS-NEG
Your father hasn't eaten your brother.
Čuičiuhęnauþųʔahe kaʔhe čiuhęgęčokaxʔamękaʔimpot.
čui-čiuhę-nau-þų-ʔa-he kaʔ-he čiuhę-gęčo-kax-ʔa-męk-kaʔ-ʔin-pot
man-SUBORD-father-1SG-POSS-3SG know-3SG SUBORD-language-1PL-POSS-start-know-PERF-2SG
The man who is my father knows that you've learnt our language.
Lexicon[]
Balabąt n Brabant
Balabąčiuhętąkauhe n Flemish Brabant
Balabąčiuhętąkauheki n North Brabant
bek v to be sad
bįnol n king, leader, chief
bǫj n water
čakaʔ v to forget
čalui v to die
čaluigaimai n west
čaþaþ v to disappear
čǫski n list
čui n man, human
dągos n mammal
dąuku v to be blue
dųš n day
fat n bear
fiki n fool, idiot
gai n sun
gaidųšʔamai n south
gęčo n language
-gi encl conj but
goč n house
hąči v to love
heu v to drink
hotlę n snake
hu n brother
hųlų n food
jeiš n sea
joč v to be old
jouk n truth
kaʔ v to know
kal n boy
-kęt encl conj because
kilei n frog, amphibian
kiþu v to be big
kolou n sausage
kuča n dog
laj n mother
laišpǫ n moon
latal n change, difference
lętai n district, region, province
lęxčoč v to eat
loŋol n seal
loutoi n mountain
lui v to live, to be alive
Mąjal n Hungary
mąki v to greet
matoi adv now
mękaʔ v to learn
mękhąči v to fall in love
męklui v to be born
mękluigaimai n east
mękpǫku v to fall asleep
mękþaþ v to appear
-mįt encl adv almost
moŋ n type, species
mot n fish
nait v to be black
nau n father
nęikal v to speak, to talk
Nęląd n the Netherlands
nom n cat
noxpat n beer, wine
ŋą n that
ŋop- pref small
ŋopŋun n small nation, city state
ŋox v to see
ŋumbǫjʔa n island
ŋun n land, country
pąda n panda
pai n snow
pątu v to be young, to be new
Peda n Earth
-pen encl conj or
pęŋa n river
pǫku v to sleep
poʔǫ v to be red
pųt n story, text
Seuda n Sweden
sįč v to be white
siši n small animal, insect
soh v to be good
šąla v to be happy
šeut n meat
šog n this
šouš n god, spirit, deity
ta v to be clever
tą n night
tąkau v to be strange
tęu n village
-toi encl conj and
tǫk n bird
toþ n child
xaʔ v to be yellow
xęgi n lizard, crocodile
xil n rain
þaþ v to exist
þaþgaikimai n north
þįbek v to sadden
þįčalui v to kill
þįkaʔ v to teach
þįlęxčoč v to feed
þįlui v to give birth
þite n eye
þįþaþ v to create
þǫbąš n stone
ʔalkoʔol n alcohol
ʔamelka n America
ʔaša n Asia
ʔęit- pref big
ʔęitkoč n castle
ʔęitŋun n continent
ʔęląd n England
ʔelopa n Europe
ʔeþ n sister
ʔįja n India
-ʔil encl conj if
ʔoltǫ n barbarian
ʔuiki n wiki
ʔukląina n Ukraine