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Kitonese
Kikohi 俟言
Type
Analytic
Alignment
Topic
Head direction
final
Tonal
Yes
Declensions
Yes
Conjugations
Yes
Genders
No
Nouns decline according to...
Case Number
Definiteness Gender
Verbs conjugate according to...
Voice Mood
Person Number
Tense Aspect



The Kitonese language (Kikohi 俟言) is a language spoken by around 8,930,000 people, primarily in the Kingdom of Kiton (Kiton 俟東) where it is the national language. Since 63BC, Kitonese has been written with Chinese characters, Kekwefu (tayunga kekwefu 夏寫), and its vocabulary consists mainly of Sanskrit words, making it a rare language which combines Sanskrit and Chinese influences on a major scale.

General

The language known today as Kitonese was the local dialect of Akeyaksa (akeya ksa kohi 焦域言), the ancient capital of Kiton. When King Sengyan (Sengyan Kimaita 成寅王) moved his capital to Akeyaksa, he declared the local dialect as the national language. To this day, Kitonese is widely used and universally understood in the Kingdom. While Kitonese is the official language in all constituent kingdoms of Kiton, the State Union of Ailongeng'ai uses the indigenous Sari'iki language as the official state language, which is part of the Tongic group of the Austronesian language family.

Orthography

Pronunciation

Grammar

The Kitonese language follows the SOV pattern very rigidly. This means that a sentence must always end in a verb. Although this rule may seem unnecessary due to case markings, this helps determine the semantic function of a word as verbs and derived nouns are represented by the same word (eg. seka 為 to do and seku 為 action).

Predicate sentences

Predicate sentences are the simplest form of sentence which equates or attributes a quality to a noun.

音戒乃雄也 Injeh nai wirah seh. Injeh is a man.
此乃扶桑也 Sisi nai fusong seh. This is a tree.
乃師合格也 Nai guruh hoigoi seh. He is a good teacher.

The particle nai 乃 is employed between the two nouns as an equal sign, but this copula only works for equating sentences with two nouns. The verb here is seh 也, and may be omitted in informal speech. It is important to note that the third person singular nominative (he, she, it) is not present in common usage.The word kaku 舉 is used to mean "they". The third person singular oblique (him, her, it) is stated as eigi 之.

昊青也 Siohi niruwa seh. The sky is blue.
虞渴也 Nga ekopo seh. I am thirsty.
師合格也 Guruh hoigoi seh. The teacher is good.

Direct objects

Direct objects are objects that are recepient of the action and are known as the accusative. In the below --sentence, "ball" is the direct object. It is not marked by the particle -wak -沃

持蹴鞠沃已踢 Chirifu rikenura wak rikandei. Chirifu has kicked the ball.
柱衾沃在着 Hitika piyang wak tilikkei. Hitikaja is putting on the shirt.
弗吳遠視有見 Fuh ngwo duradarshanah siremakkei. You are not watching television.

Indirect object

The indirect object, or dative, is an entity affected by an action. Usually, it has the meaning of "to something" and is marked by kei- 至-.

子夌金沃至童將賜 Chilong kana wak kei mesa nukengei. Chilong will give money to the child.
之至我予柔 Eigi kei nga kesojoh. Give it to me.
今,雄至佐佑羅阜在臻 Inoi, wirah kei Sayaula Kota safungkelekkei. Today, the man is coming to Sayaula City.

Emphasis

Emphasis can be brought by arranging word order within a sentence.

持者蹴鞠沃至其友已踢 Sa Chirifu paopoi kei negi takang rikandei. Chirifu had kicked the ball to his friend.
蹴鞠沃者持至其友已踢 Sa paopaoi wak, Chirifu kei negi takang rikandei. Chirifu had kicked the ball to his friend.
至友者持蹴鞠已踢 Sa kei takang, Chirifu paopoi rikandei. Chirifu had kicked the ball to his friend.

Adjectives

The adjectives preceed the noun in a noun phrase.

 Ayiki inetenga 祭士老 The old priest
 Pitanakeh shi 考上御 Honourable Grandfather (form of formal address)

Sometimes, adjectives can proceed a noun. This tends to happen in Sanskrit terms.

 Suniata karah 空字 Kitonese space punctuation
 Naka Raya 大君 Great King, Maharaja

Adverbs

Adverbs describe the action of the clause and preceed the verb. They end with the word yate 樣.

 Negi tebaratri ijun kajiyata nyaoetei. 其餐夜;速樣乍嚼 He ate his dinner quickly.

Verbs

The lexical form of verbs end in -eh. This the form found in dictionaries.

  • taraheh 行 cross
  • kanahe 食 dine f.
  • nyaweh 嚼 eat inf.
  • aukeleh 去 or 格至 go

Kitonese syntax dictates that verbs be placed at the end of a sentence. Take the informal sentence, ngwoi kanafu ahi nyawasi 吳 食嚼, "You are eating food". Notice how "food", kanafu 食 is derived from the verb kanaheh; nyaweh 嚼 also becomes nyawasi. These will be discussed later on.

Honorific

.....

Mood

.....

Tense

Present tense

The present tense is unique that it conjugates with respect to person.

Person taraheh 行 to cross kanahe 食 to dine f. aukeleh (f. form 格至) to go
First person tarahi kanahe aukeyi
Second person tarahasi kanahasi aukasi
Third person tarahei kanahei aukelei

Pronouns

Formal

Person Nominative Accusative Genitive
First person sg. asaihi 余, pl. asane 諸余 sai 我 segi 我
Second person sg. kiterehi 若, pl. kitene 諸若 teh 奈 tegi 奈
Third person no sg., pl. yehe 諸伊 eigi 之 negi 其

Informal

Person Nominative Accusative Genitive
First person nga 虞 nga 虞 seng 虞
Second person ngwo 吳 ngwo 吳 teng 吳
Third person no sg., kaku 舉 pl. eigi 之 negi 其

Miscellaneous

Influences of Sanskrit and Chinese

The whole of Kitonese culture is a unique mix of ancient Indic and Sinitic influences on the native Ki tradition. The obvious influences of Chinese is Kekwefu, the Chinese writing system brought by the early Chinese immigrant tribe of Shichi 矢子 in 2300BC as per tradition. (Shichi was the ancestor of many noble families in Kiton, including the present ruling house of Kangtaga 庚德.) The Chinese influences seen in Kitonese culture are markedly different from modern Chinese due to lack of contact for centuries since the mid-Shang dynasty and this helps us paint a clearer picture of the formative years of Chinese civilization. These influences tend to be kept to the noble tiers of society and longstanding tradition, such as royal naming customs and noble clan names.

Indic culture, on the other hand, seems to be more widespread and pervasive throughout the common people. It was the language of literacy, religion and science for many centuries. Its prolific use meant the adaption of many Sanskrit words, changed to adapt to Kitonese pronunciations. Clear examples include

suyah/Suyeh "sun/sun-god" cf. Sans. surya "sun" 
samujah "sea" cf. Sans. samudra "ocean"
narijufu 'death" cf. Sans. mṛtyu "death".

Words such as Sans. vṛksha "birch" evolved to wangasang "tree";

 vṛksham -> urkshang -> urngsang -> wangsang -> wangasang.

A non-exhaustive list of rules to predict the Kitonese equivalent of a Sanskrit word:

  1. Ascertain its gender. It may end in -ah (male), -am (neuter) or (female).
  2. Convert -am to -ang. Proper nouns are to be converted from -ah to -eh and -am to -eng.
  3. m may change to n.
  4. r may change to y.
  5. i and u may expand to eye and ewe.
  6. hu and hv -> fu and f. (This rule is constant throughout the Kitonese language.)
  7. tr/ty -> tr/j; dr/dy -> j.
  8. Therefore:
    1. m. suryah -> suyah; Saviter -> Sautreh
    2. n. ashyam -> ashang; madhu -> nedeweng
    3. f. dhenu -> tainu; kanta -> kanta

Kitonese naming convention

Kitonese names are usually Chinese, Indic or native in origin. Western names are increasingly popular, but this topic will only address indigenous naming traditions. Kitonese naming customs differ between commoners (those not in a chiefly clan), chiefly clan members and chiefs.

Commoners

Names of members of the general public contain patronyms rather than surnames. They tend to be Indic or native in origin, with Sinoxenic forms mostly at the high-working class and above.

Top ten male names:

  1. Hitika 柱 pillar
  2. Souyikah 蘇易迦 solar
  3. Shayok 佘玉 revival
  4. Injeh 音戒 Indra, Hindu king of gods (Injeh 胤 is used when referring the god Indra.)
  5. Chirifu 持 dharma
  6. Kaje 速 speed
  7. Ashuyin 夫御 Ashvin, Hindu version of Gemini
  8. (grandfather's name)+ja (naneje neh pitanakah 名大矣考上)子 son of..
  9. Nowu 信 valour
  10. Hiohoimule 孝亥僕 servant of Hiohoi

Top ten female names:

  1. Niyei 淑 virgin
  2. Songma 桑摩 Soma, Moon (The name Selena is also commonly spelt as such.)
  3. Shachi 佘旨 Shachi, Hindu version of Hera
  4. Sheti 和 peace
  5. Puya 婦偌 lotus
  6. Sarasuati 薩立娘 Saraswati, Hindu goddess of wisdom (The name Sarah, (Salap) is also spelled 薩立.)
  7. Rita 麗多
  8. Sita 喜多
  9. Einji 胤姬 Aindri, same person as Shachi (the names Angie and Angela are commonly spelt as such.)
  10. Kita 姬多

Sample sentences

Genesis 1:1

Nakadi kweh yo, Parameshuarah akaman wa bumi kinetei.
大元刻夭,上帝 天及地乍造
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Gen 1:1, TSB

The Tensu Standard Bible (TSB) was printed in 1931 and was commissioned by King Tensu (殿巳王), Sanjayananda, Kangtaga XCI. It is the standard biblical text and the version used throughout this article.

Bhagavad Gita 4:7

Ya Baratajah! Hinnefu yo chomoluk ng chirifu wa nakakoshitu ng mechirifu tahei, yannefu yo segi atman shigangei.
咨伯羅多嗣!該時夭降矣法亦大勢矣非法有、此時夭我本將顯
O son of Bharata! Wherever the law is in decline and irreligiousity is on the rise, then I will personally undergo incarnation." Krishna, BV 4:7 (translation own)

Tower of Babel

Translation of the Tower of Babel (Gen 11:1-9) in the Taihi Standard Bible, 1931.

KJV TSB (Kekwefu) TSB (Transliterated)
Now the world was of one language, and of one speech. 今夭,下矣天庶言一及腔一乍也 Inoi yo, tagi ng siohi saru kohi heju wa bahasa heju seh.
Lo, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. 俞,自西遊刻夭舉 原大於錫諾地乍覓,亦舉於彼乍安 Sake, mo nokiri ayanatan kweh yo kaku para je bi Shinartele iheketei, ani kaku yaji sopetei.
They said to one another, "O! Let us bake bricks and do it thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 帶諸伊至其對乍謂曰:「嗚呼,諸虞磚沃灶柔,帶之夫魯波夫魯波為柔」。諸伊以磚石乍代,以糨焦砂代 Ne yehe ki negi roko komata iti: "Yaneh, asane ishitikah angnikesejoh, wa eigi puruwapuruwa shojoh". Yehe sih ishitikah shila lepukata, sih meleike onoso lepukata.

Fake Death Note Rules

  1. Waka naga ng 13 siahan, gupayana ng Death Note ingawak kekwemahei, deh negi jiufu wagakengei.
    若間矣13日,用者矣 Death Note 名弗寫,即其生將斷
    If the user of the Death Note fails to consecutively write names within 13 days of each other, then the user will die.
  2. Waka muguh pele fuyupan woh angnihan sisi note ijun mekushuterikei yaraiba, deh saru jiufu ahi chuh shieh eisih mayehetawan narah gi wagakengei heka.
    若某 以殽或滅,是 note;非克用成,即庶生矣諸與此觸了人;將斷
    If a person makes this notebook unusable by tearing it up or burning it, all the humans who have touched the Death Note will die.

Vocabulary


No. English Kitonese
1If. asaihi 吾 inf. nga 虞
2you (singular)f. kiterehi 若 inf. ngweoi 吳
3heyafu 伊
4weasane 諸吾
5you (plural)atene 諸若
6theykaku 舉
7thissisi 是
8thatheha 此
9heretaji 於是
10thereyaji 於此
11whof. kareifu 孰 inf. kiulong 何郎
12whatf. sawatah 訾 inf. kah 何
13wherekeji 於何
14whenkannefu 何時
15howfuwah 何乍
16notneng 不
17allsaru 庶
18manytagashan 澤山
19someangoi 指
20fewgeoi 少
21otherheja 他
22onehejan 一
23twoshansai 雙
24threechijan 三
25fourikan 四
26fivedajan 五
27bigje, naka 大
28longnanga 長
29wide
30thickhelawa 粗
31heavyarawa 重
32smallsaiwa 細
33shortkongawa 欸
34narrowayewa 窄
35thinmasawa 佇
36womanf. watehi 姑娘 inf. nyoh 女
37man (adult male)narah 子
38man (human being)yajung 人
39childteseh 小
40wifeshimati 御婦
41husbandshiman 御夫
42mothershawashi 母御, awe 孃
43fathertaiyeshi 父御, aei 爹
44animalhewan 獸
45fishsangana 魚
46birdtaraiba 禽
47dogkukurang 犬
48louse
49snakesarwah 巴
50worm
51treefusong 扶桑
52forestwangasang 林
53stickkaiya 梆
54fruitpulah 果
55seedsiwua ne pulah 種,卵果
56leafngep 葉
57rootpafu 根
58bark
59flowerfuoi 華
60grassga 草
61ropegekwahesu 草結
62skinpi 皮
63meatkap 肉
64bloodfuake 血
65bonechalap 髓
66fat
67eggsiwua 卵
68horn
69tail
70feather
71hair
72head
73ear
74eyef. netrah 領在 inf. shasu 目
75nose
76mouth
77tooth
78tongue
79fingernail
80foot
81leg
82knee
83handhasang 手
84wing
85bellytawadep 服
86guts
87neck
88back
89breast
90heartaefuh 心
91liver
92drink
93eatf. kanahe 食 inf. nyawe 嚼
94bite
95suck
96spit
97vomit
98blow
99breathefuhihe 呼吸
100laugh
101seesire 見
102hearfuame 聆
103knowsangse 曉
104think
105smell
106fear
107sleepnepe 寢
108livejiuhe 生
109dienarijuhe 死
110killhanahe 殺
111fight
112hunt
113hit
114cut
115split
116stab
117scratch
118dig
119swim
120fly
121walkpasihe 走
122comesafungkele 臻、臨至
123lie
124sit
125stand
126turn
127fall
128givekesu 予, agesoku 上予 (upwards), nuku 赐 (downwards)
129hold
130squeeze
131rub
132wash
133wipe
134pull
135push
136throw
137tie
138sew
139count
140say
141singungdahe 欠
142play
143float
144flow
145freeze
146swell
147sunf. suyah 大陽, Sautreh 煜
148moonf. sanja 大陰, Somawati 蘇摩娘 inf. thugi 月
149starf. taifuyong 邰扈日, tarah 越 inf. taifuyong 星
150waterko 水
151rainasago 雨
152riverujah 川
153lakekawajatemeku 水龐聚
154seaf. samujah 舉川, yeng 日如 inf. singsong 海
155salt
156stone
157sand
158dust
159earth
160cloudngumo
161fogkungumu
162skyakaman, siohi 天
163wind
164snowsuda 雪
165icehego 冰
166smokemegah 煙
167fireashu 炎
168ash
169burnashumayehe 炎觸
170roadyop
171mountainngunungu 山
172redinjika 赤
173greenharihawa 青
174yellow
175white
176black
177nightrachi 夜
178dayyong 日
179year
180warm
181cold
182full
183newatawa 新
184old
185goodhoigoi 合格
186badmo 非
187rotten
188dirtynopo 髒
189straightaiwong 正
190roundgewa 彎
191sharppuk 尖
192dullnyuh 潑
193smooth
194wet
195dry
196correctaiwong 正
197near
198far
199right
200left
201at-hi
202in-hi
203withsoto
204andwa
205if
206because
207namef. naneje 名大 inf. ingawak 名
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