Luñothir

General Information

Luñothir is a language spoken by the Ondir people of the Riosníthe Archipelago, a descendant of Proto-Ondese. While there are many local varieties, the standard Luñothir dialect represented in this document is the most widely spoken dialect, originally spoken by the Kiñoquilnir tribe, which came to dominate the region three centuries ago.

Luñothir (literally, “that of the tongue”) is a poly-synthetic, loosely head-first language; notably, modifiers come before their subject. Suffixes dominate its word construction, however there are a number of prefixes of more recent origin. Verbs decline for three tenses and two moods. Nouns decline for six cases, in singular and plural number, with four genders (neutral, male, female, abstract). Word order is loose, but defaults to SOV.

Phonology

Consonants

	Labial	Alveolar			Palatal	Velar
Nasal	m	n			ɲ	ŋ
Stop	p b	t d				k g
Fricative	f v	θ	s	ʒ		(x)
Approx.		l			j	w
Trill		r

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i		u
Mid	e		o
Open		a

All vowels have phonemically distinguished long versions.

Romanization

Phoneme	Grapheme
ɲ	ñ
ŋ	ng
θ	th
ʒ	j
(x)	k*
j	y
aa	á
ee	é
ii	í
oo	ó
uu	ú

* (x) is an allophone for /k/ that only occurs in word-final position.

Phonotactics

Word initial syllables are always a simple open (C)V(V)(C) structure. Word-final syllables are more complex with a (C)(C)V(V)(S) structure. Stops and nasals are disallowed in word-final positions (stops become fricatives, nasals vocalize). Interior syllables can have consonant clusters and geminates in both onset and coda positions, but not along with long vowels or diphthongs, in which case consonant clusters can only exist in the onset position. Stops can only cluster with sonarants, and only in the second position. Nasals cannot follow liquids (/ml/ or /nr/ are disallowed).

Grammar

Verbs

Verbs in Luñothir are relatively simple. Descended from a more complex verbal system, many verbs in Luñothir that are understood as independent words are in fact descended from aspectual and modal versions of the same root. Verbs conjugate to reflect three tenses: present, past, and future; and express two moods: perfective (or simple) and imperfective. Verbs, aslo, will contract with postpositions, forming new verbs. Verbs conjugate to agree with subject grammatical persons: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. 1st person simple present tense verbs are unmarked and do not decline.

Postpositional Prefixes

Prefix	Meaning	Example
ube- ; ub’	about	ub’osir (to run about)
si-	at	siosir (to run at)
ja- ; j’	by	j’osir (to run by)
fe- ; f’	for	f’osir (to run for)
ne- ; n’	from	n’osir (to run from)
do- ; d’	in	d’osir (to run in)
the- ; th’	of	thenir (to smell of)
mo- ; m’	to	m’osir (to run to)
ra- ; r’	through	r’osir (to run through)
ba- ; b’	under	b’osir (to run under)
so- ; s’	up	s’osir (to run up)
ruca- ; ruk’	with	ruk’osir (to run with)

This is a recent innovation, and does not include all postpositions, only the most commonly used and simplest ones.

Aspects

Luñothir only has two aspects: Perfective (meaning a whole act) and Imperfective (meaning an ongoing act, equivalent to the English -ing suffix). The Perfective aspect is unmarked; however, the Imperfective aspect is marked by reduplication descended from Proto-Ondese. This results in some peculiar verb forms, some almost unrecognizable from the perfective for, while others may be identical.

Increasingly, native speakers of Luñothir have gotten around this complication by using the copular verb (to be) before a verb’s infinitive form (-r suffix).

Traditional Imperf.	Vulgate Imperf.	Meaning
ososis	eau osir	(I) am running
ossive	eamve osir	(I) was running
osle	eamé osir	(I) will be running

Valency

Proto-Ondese had a grammatical valency operation by adding the -toa suffix to create valency, and the -atwa suffix to make a verb invalent. And while the relationship to these verbs is still evident in many of their Luñothir descendants, they are understood as separate words with their own nuanced meanings. Many invalent forms were reanalyzed as either adjectives or nouns.

Example:

	Basic	Valent	Invalent	Meanings
Proto-Ondese	heodhuso	heodhusotoa	heodhusoatwa	“evaporate”; “make evaporate”; “be evaporated”
Luñothir	jeothusa	jeothuste	jeothusosar	“evaporate”; “boil”; and “steam”

Regular Verb Conjugation Patterns

Luñothir verbs conjugate to match the personage and plurality of their subject in present tense. Only some irregular verbs do so in the past and future tenses.

The simplest way to view conjugation patterns is by examining the way root-final vowels affect them. The following are the 5 most common verb conjugation patterns.

-ar Verbs	Present	Past	Future
1st Person	- *	-ave	-e
2nd Person	-ak
3rd Person	-as
Plural	-a

* Stops become unvoiced fricatives, nasals vocalize and form diphthongs

-ir Verbs	Present	Past	Future
1st Person	-e	-ive	-ia
2nd Person	-ik
3rd Person	-is
Plural	-oi

-ur Verbs	Present	Past	Future
1st Person	-o	-uve	-ua
2nd Person	-uk
3rd Person	-us
Plural	-eu

-er Verbs	Present	Past	Future
1st Person	-a	-eve	-é
2nd Person	-ek
3rd Person	-es
Plural	-ei

-or Verbs	Present	Past	Future
1st Person	-a	-ove	-e
2nd Person	-ok
3rd Person	-os
Plural	-ou

Irregular Verbs

Luñothir has several irregular verbs. Some irregularities are the result of phonemic shifts (e.g. mer “to die”), while others are from word mergers (e.g. eamar “to be”).

To Be - eamar	Present Simple	Present Imperf.	Past Simple	Past Imperf.	Future Simple	Future Imperf.
1st Person	eau	eamia	amve	ampave	eame	ambe
2nd Person	antok
3rd Person	antos
Plural	eama		amaudove		amaude

To Choose - óir	Present Simple	Present Imperf.	Past Simple	Past Imperf.	Future Simple	Future Imperf.
1st Person	owa	óyo	óive	óyove	ouje	óye
2nd Person	óik
3rd Person	óis
Plural	owe

To Die- mer	Present Simple	Present Imperf.	Past Simple	Past Imperf.	Future Simple	Future Imperf.
1st Person	moa	momoa	meve	momeve	mole	momé
2nd Person	mek
3rd Person	mes
Plural	mokei

To Fail - eoir	Present Simple	Present Imperf.	Past Simple	Past Imperf.	Future Simple	Future Imperf.
1st Person	eo	eó	eoive	eóive	ewa	eowa
2nd Person	eoik
3rd Person	eois
Plural	éya

To Go- lair	Present Simple	Present Imperf.	Past Simple	Past Imperf.	Future Simple	Future Imperf.
1st Person	le	laje	leve	lajeve	laje	lajia
2nd Person	laidok
3rd Person	les
Plural	lawe		lawidove		lawide

To Have- eiñer	Present Simple	Present Imperf.	Past Simple	Past Imperf.	Future Simple	Future Imperf.
1st Person	eiñes	eyoña	eintave	eyoñeve	eiñé	eyoñé
2nd Person	eiñek
3rd Person	eintos
Plural	eiñei

To Do - oirar	Present Simple	Present Imperf.	Past Simple	Past Imperf.	Future Simple	Future Imperf.
1st Person	oir	oiroir	oirave	oiroirave	oirle	oiroire
2nd Person	oirak
3rd Person	oiras
Plural	ojir

To Know- akir	Present Simple	Present Imperf.	Past Simple	Past Imperf.	Future Simple	Future Imperf.
1st Person	ak	akke	akive	akkive	akia	akkia
2nd Person	ak
3rd Person	akis
Plural	akoi

To Want- ser	Present Simple	Present Imperf.	Past Simple	Past Imperf.	Future Simple	Future Imperf.
1st Person	se	sase	sauve	sasaúve	sé	sasé
2nd Person	sauk
3rd Person	saus
Plural	saú

Nouns

Nouns in Luñothir are heavily inflected. They decline for six cases, four genders, and plurality. While there are some irregular nouns, it is easiest to view the noun gender-case system by evaluating how the final vowel of the root word affects declension patterns.

Noun Gender/Case Declension

-a Stem	Nominative	Accusative	Oblique	Possessive	Genitive	Essential
Neuter	-ar, -e	-amo, -almo	-afe, -alfe	-awa, é	-ane, -alne	-athe, -alse
Masculine	-au, -awa	-aumo, -almo	-aufe, -alfe	-áwa, -é	-aune, -alne	-authe, -alse
Feminine	-e, -é	-emo, -elmo	-efe, -elfe	-ei, -alle	-ene, -elne	-ethe, -else
Abstract	-ade	-adimo	-adife	-adde	-adine	-adithe

-e Stem	Nominative	Accusative	Oblique	Possessive	Genitive	Essential
Neuter	-er, -é	-emo, -elmo	-efe, -elfe	-e, -éi	-ene, -elne	-ethe, -else
Masculine	-eu, -é	-eomo, -elmo	-eofe, -elfe	-é, -éi	-eone, -elne	-eothe, -else
Feminine	-é, -éi	-eimo, -elmo	-eife, -elfe	-éa, -elle	-éne, -elne	-éthe, -else
Abstract	-ede	-edimo	-edife	-edde	-edine	-edithe

-i Stem	Nominative	Accusative	Oblique	Possessive	Genitive	Essential
Neuter	-ir, -ia	-imo, -ilmo	-ife, -ilfe	-e, -ia	-ine, -ilne	-ithe, -ilse
Masculine	-io, -ie	-iomo, -ilmo	-iofe, -ilfe	-ia, -ie	-ione, -ilne	-iothe, -ilse
Feminine	-ia, -ie	-iamo, -ilmo	-iafe, -ilfe	-ia, -ille	-iane, -ilne	-iathe, -ilse
Abstract	-ide	-idimo	-idife	-idde	-idine	-idithe

-o Stem	Nominative	Accusative	Oblique	Possessive	Genitive	Essential
Neuter	-or, -e	-omo, -olmo	-ofe, -olfe	-e, -é	-one, -olne	-othe, -olse
Masculine	-ou, -e	-óamo, -olmo	-óafe, -olfe	-e, -é	-óane, -olne	-óathe, -olse
Feminine	-e, -é	-emo, -olmo	-efe, -olfe	-é, -olle	-ene, -olne	-ethe, -olse
Abstract	-ode	-odimo	-odife	-odde	-odine	-odithe

-u Stem	Nominative	Accusative	Oblique	Possessive	Genitive	Essential
Neuter	-ur, -ua	-umo, -ulmo	-ufe, -ulfe	-e, -ua	-une, -ulne	-uthe, -ulse
Masculine	-uo, -ue	-uomo, -ulmo	-uofe, -ulfe	-ua, -ue	-uone, -ulne	-uothe, -ulse
Feminine	-ua, -ue	-uamo, -ulmo	-uafe, -ulfe	-ua, -ulle	-uane, -ulne	-uathe, -ulse
Abstract	-ude	-udimo	-udife	-udde	-udine	-udithe

Many nouns in Luñothir descend from the same root with a different gender modifier attached, creating a slightly different noun. For example “kinsman/family member” (oner) compared to the words for “aunt” and “uncle” (oné and ombo respectively) and the word for “kinship” (onede).

Often, the neutral plural is used when a masculine of feminine subject might be used, because the gender of a group cannot be easily discerned. It does not help that in most nouns, the plural versions are mostly identical due to phonological shift. Some neuter nouns do not have plural versions, such as the word for “blood” (sour); additionally, all abstract nouns lack plural marking.

The Oblique Case applies to nouns in postpositional phrases and indirect objects.

A unique feature of Luñothir is its distinction between the Possessive, Genitive, and Essential Cases. Where an English phrase like “the men of the tribe” could be translated into either case depending on context, Luñothir would distinguish if the men belong to the tribe, if the men are from the tribe, or if the men compose the tribe.

Numerals are treated not as adjectives, but as nouns (you would not say “eleven dogs” but “dogs of eleven”).

Pronouns

	Nominative	Accusative	Oblique	Possessive	Genitive	Essential
1st SG	oquor	oquomo	oquofe	oque	oquone	oquothe
1st PL (inc)	jalquor	jalquomo	jalquofe	jalque	jalquone	jalquothe
1st PL (exc)	ilquor	ilquomo	ilquofe	ilque	ilquone	ilquothe
2nd SG	jar	jamo	jafe	jau	jane	jathe
2nd PL	eñor	eñomo	eñofe	eñou	eñone	eñothe
3rd SG m.	seu	embo	efio	ejeu	embo	ethio
3rd SG f.	sé	emua	efia	eje	eña	ethia
3rd SG n.	sear	emur	efir	ejor	enir	ethir
3rd SG a.	sede	emude	efide	eode	enide	ethide
3rd PL	eir	eimo	eife	éje	eine	eithe

Modifiers

Luñothir only distinguishes between adjectives and adverbs by declension. An adjective declines by gender to match its subject (with the exception of neutral nouns), whereas a matching adverb does not decline to match its verb.

	-a Stem	-e Stem	-i stem	-o stem	-u stem
Neutral	-	-a	-e	-a	-o
Masculine	-au	-eu	-io	-ou	-uo
Feminine	-e	-é	-ia	-e	-ua
Abstract	-ade	-ede	-ide	-ode	-ude
Adverb	-	-a	-e	-a	-o

Luñothir lacks a definite article, but has two indefinite articles for singular and plural nouns, declined by gender. If a noun does not have one of these articles before it, it is assumed to be definite.

	SG	PL
Neuter	er	ilse
Masculine	eu	ilbo
Feminine	e	ille
Abstract	ede	ilde

Vocabulary

Dictionary in progress

Example Text

Luñothir poetry:

Luñothir	English
“Athoimene” Vor! Nar ewoko tharolse aifumo jar Siosiof séyoso, nayoso oquor va vodekulmo resa? — Nar aifur jau authorauko meathe sitayathive? Jamo ilquor eulsive, suorvir fiderave ar Éseodove, er audebafe okko eamar thusoas efe Ar séi sasas meoje kutouko reonua u M’augauk athoimé si eoko efe fe eak resa Vakemnuoko demaimimo attove kuttisé ja, Royolmo rurior, ar muror kutondimo m’eñeve.	“Of the Woods” Oak! What number of animals did you cover Before now, when I find no acorns? — What number ate at your wooden toes? We mistook you, brow anointed and Watered, for a seat waiting to be made And these dancing feet on stony streets Walk for woods still tall but find instead Ungreened ground befallen by axes, Fires burning, and all is left to ash.