Consonant inventory: f k m n p q s t v z ɕ ʁ ʃ ʑ ʒ ʥ ʨ χ
Click IPA symbols for audio
| ↓Manner/Place→ | Bilabial | Labiodental | Alveolar | Palato-alveolar | Alveolo-palatal | Velar | Uvular |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | |||||
| Stop | p | t | k | q | |||
| Affricate | ʨ ʥ | ||||||
| Fricative | f v | s z | ʃ ʒ | ɕ ʑ | χ ʁ |
Vowel inventory: a e i o u ɔ ɛ ʌ
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| High | i | u |
| High-mid | e | o |
| Low-mid | ɛ | ʌ ɔ |
| Low | a |
Syllable structure: (C)V ?
Stress pattern: Penultimate — stress is on the second last syllable ?
Word initial consonants: f k m p q s t v z ɕ ʁ ʑ ʒ ʥ χ
Mid-word consonants: f k m n p q s t v z ɕ ʁ ʃ ʑ ʒ ʥ ʨ χ
Word final consonants:
Spelling rules:
| Pronunciation | Spelling |
|---|---|
| ɔ | aw |
| ɛ | ë |
| ʌ | ö/ü |
| ʨ | ch |
| ʃ | sh |
| ʒ | g |
| ʁ | r |
| ʥ | j |
| χ | kh |
| ɕ | ŝ |
| ʑ | ẑ |
Nouns[]
Nouns have six cases:
- Nominative is the doer of a verb: dog bites man.
- Accusative is the done-to of a verb: man bites dog.
- Genitive is the possessor of something: dog’s tail hits man.
- Dative is the recipient of something: man gives ball to dog.
- Locative is the location of something: man goes to town.
- Ablative is movement away from something: man walks from town.
| Nominative | No affix
sisu /siˈsu/ dog (doing the verb) |
| Accusative | Prefix fi-
fisisu /fiˈsisu/ (verb done to) dog |
| Genitive | Prefix fe-
fesisu /feˈsisu/ dogʼs |
| Dative | Prefix zi-
zisisu /ziˈsisu/ to (the/a) dog |
| Locative | Prefix ve-
vesisu /veˈsisu/ near/at/by (the/a) dog |
| Ablative | Prefix ʑe-
ẑesisu /ʑeˈsisu/ from (the/a) dog |
Definite[]
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Prefix χe-
khemönö /χeˈmʌnʌ/ the man |
Prefix pe-
pemönö /peˈmʌnʌ/ the men |
| Feminine | Prefix kʌ-
köpüshu /kʌˈpʌʃu/ the woman |
Prefix po-
popüshu /poˈpʌʃu/ the women |
| Neuter | Prefix vɛ-
vësisu /vɛˈsisu/ the dog |
Prefix ʥa-
jasisu /ʥaˈsisu/ the dogs |
Indefinite[]
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Prefix ka-
kamönö /kaˈmʌnʌ/ a man |
No affix
mönö /mʌˈnʌ/ some men |
| Feminine | Prefix vʌ-
vöpüshu /vʌˈpʌʃu/ a woman |
No affix
pöshu /pʌˈʃu/ some women |
| Neuter | Prefix ta-
tasisu /taˈsisu/ a dog |
No affix
sisu /siˈsu/ some dogs |
Pronouns[]
| Nominative | Accusative | Genitive | Dative | Locative | Ablative | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st singular | gu /ʒu/
I |
qé /qɛ/
me |
i /i/
mine |
za /za/
to me |
khaw /χɔ/
at me |
ta /ta/
from me |
| 2nd singular | zi /zi/
you |
pi /pi/
you |
jo /ʥo/
yours |
ge /ʒe/
to you |
mi /mi/
at you |
fo /fo/
from you |
| 3rd singular masc | ve /ve/
he |
se /se/
him |
ku /ku/
his |
vu /vu/
to him |
fé /fɛ/
at him |
té /tɛ/
from him |
| 3rd singular fem | tú /tʌ/
she |
pu /pu/
her |
ka /ka/
hers |
paw /pɔ/
to her |
qu /qu/
at her |
ma /ma/
from her |
| 3rd singular neut | ke /ke/
it |
mú /mʌ/
it |
ko /ko/
its |
fi /fi/
to it |
ẑe /ʑe/
at it |
ga /ʒa/
from it |
| 1st plural | kaw /kɔ/
we |
fa /fa/
us |
pe /pe/
ours |
zo /zo/
to us |
qú /qʌ/
at us |
mé /mɛ/
from us |
| 2nd plural | ẑé /ʑɛ/
you all |
khu /χu/
you all |
kú /kʌ/
yours (pl) |
fe /fe/
to you all |
zaw /zɔ/
at you all |
mu /mu/
from you all |
| 3rd plural masc | ju /ʥu/
they (masc) |
ŝú /ɕʌ/
them (masc) |
me /me/
theirs (masc) |
gaw /ʒɔ/
to them (masc) |
ti /ti/
at them (masc) |
jaw /ʥɔ/
from them (masc) |
| 3rd plural fem | ké /kɛ/
they (fem) |
ẑa /ʑa/
them (fem) |
faw /fɔ/
theirs (fem) |
taw /tɔ/
to them (fem) |
re /ʁe/
at them (fem) |
ŝe /ɕe/
from them (fem) |
| 3rd plural neut | maw /mɔ/
they (neut) |
pú /pʌ/
them (neut) |
qa /qa/
theirs (neut) |
ji /ʥi/
to them (neut) |
ŝa /ɕa/
at them (neut) |
so /so/
from them (neut) |
Grammar[]
Main word order: Subject Verb Object (Prepositional phrase). “Mary opened the door with a key” turns into Mary opened the door with a key.
Adjective order: Adjectives are positioned after the noun.
Adposition: prepositions ?
Nouns[]
| Singular | No affix
ŝise /ˈɕise/ dog |
| Plural | Prefix sɔ-
sawŝise /sɔˈɕise/ dogs |
Articles[]
| Definite | ma /ma/
the |
| Indefinite | ŝa /ɕa/
a, some |
Uses of definite article that differ from English:
- Used to talk about countable nouns in general: English’s ‘I like cats’ would translate to ‘I like the cats’
- Used for languages: ‘The English’
Uses of indefinite article that differ from English:
- Not used for non-specific countable nouns: non-specific means ‘I am looking for a (any) girl in a red dress’, whereas specific means ‘I am looking for a (particular) girl in a red dress’
- Not used for non-specific mass (uncountable) nouns: non-specific means ‘Would you like some (any) tea?’ whereas specific means ‘Some tea (a specific amount) fell off the truck’
Pronouns[]
| 1st singular | pa /pa/
I, me, mine |
| 2nd singular | ẑë /ʑɛ/
you, yours |
| 3rd singular masc | fo /fo/
he, him, his, it, its |
| 3rd singular fem | që /qɛ/
she, her, hers, it, its |
| 1st plural | fe /fe/
we, us, ours |
| 2nd plural | të /tɛ/
you all, yours (pl) |
| 3rd plural | fa /fa/
they, them, theirs |
Possessive determiners[]
| 1st singular | jo /ʥo/
my |
| 2nd singular | qi /qi/
your |
| 3rd singular masc | së /sɛ/
his |
| 3rd singular fem | faw /fɔ/
her |
| 1st plural | fö /fʌ/
our |
| 2nd plural | ŝaw /ɕɔ/
your (pl) |
| 3rd plural | ki /ki/
their |
Verbs[]
| Present | No affix
guchë /ˈʒuʨɛ/ learn |
| Past | Prefix pe-
peguchë/peˈʒuʨɛ/ learned |
Pûcheten uses a standalone particle word for future tense:
| Future | Particle before the verb: qa -
qa guchë /qa ˈʒuʨɛ/ will learn |
Perfect aspect
The perfect aspect in English is exemplified in ‘I have read this book’, which expresses an event that took place before the time spoken but which has an effect on or is in some way still relevant to the present.
Pûcheten uses an affix for the perfect aspect:
| Perfect | Prefix mo-
moguchë /moˈʒuʨɛ/ have learned |
Numbers[]
Pûcheten has a base-10 number system:
1 - ẑa
2 - khu
3 - ma
4 - tafe
5 - zanö
6 - reche
7 - ẑi
8 - ge
9 - aw
10 - qaw
11 - ẑa ŝo qaw “one and ten”
100 - peẑümaw “hundred”
101 - peẑümaw ẑa “hundred one”
200 - khu peẑümaw
1000 - fawkhu “thousand”
Derivational morphology[]
Adjective → adverb = Prefix ʥe-
Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = Prefix ɕɛ-
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = Prefix ma-
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = Prefix mʌ-
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = Prefix ɕo-
Noun to verb = Prefix fe-
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = Prefix qu-
Tending to = Prefix χe-
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = Prefix ʒɛ-
Verb → noun that verb produces (e.g. know → knowledge) = Prefix kʌ-
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = Prefix vɔ-
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = Prefix pa-
Diminutive = Prefix zu-
Augmentative = Prefix χo-