Name: Qafesona
Type: Fusional Alignment: Nominative-accusative Head Direction: Initial Number of genders: 1 Declensions: Yes Conjugations: Yes
|
General information[]
The Qafesona language (Qafesona: Cyrillic: ӄафесона тил, Latin: qafesona til, IPA: [ˈqafɛˌsonǝ ˈсil]) is a small language isolate within the Slavic language. It is spoken on both sides of Georgia's borders with Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia (specifically Dagestan, Chechnya, Ingushetia and North Ossetia-Alania) and the vast majority of the language's vocabulary is of Slavic origin. However, there is also a substantial amount of words which are of clear Armenian and Georgian origin. In addition to this there are a few words that have come from Arabic and the Turkic languages. For example, "ӄаўа" ("qawa", "coffee") is from Arabic and "тил" ("til", "language") comes from Old Turkic.
Phonology and orthography[]
- See also: IPA for Qafesona and Georgian and Armenian alphabets for Qafesona
Alphabet[]
- Qafesona Cyrillic alphabet; Ӄафесона кирилличи алфавит; Qafesona kirilliči alfavit; ყაჶესონა კირილლიჭი ალჶავიტ; Քաֆեսօնա կիռիլիճի ալֆավիթ; [ˈqafɛˌsonǝ kiˈriʎiˌt͡ɕi ˌɐɫfǝˈvit]
The Qafesona Cyrillic alphabet is the writing system that is usually used to write Qafesona, however both Georgian and Armenian may also be used. The Cyrillic alphabet shown below was codified in 1955, prior to which Qafesona had no official writing system.
Cyrillic | А а | Б б | В в | Г г | Д д | Е е | Ж ж | З з |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Latin | A a | B b | V v | G g | D d | E e | Ž ž | Z z |
IPA | [a], [ɐ], [ǝ] | [b] | [v] | [g] | [d] | [e], [ɛ], [ə] | [ʐ] | [z] |
Cyrillic | Ѕ ѕ | И и | И й | К к | Ӄ ӄ | Л л | М м | Н н |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Latin | DZ dz | I i | J j | K k | Q q | L l | M m | N n |
IPA | [d͡z] | [i], [ɪ] | [j] | [k] | [q] | [l], [ɫ] | [m] | [n] |
Cyrillic | О о | П п | Р р | С с | Т т | У у | Ў ў | Ф ф |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Latin | O o | P p | R r | S s | T t | U u | W w | F f |
IPA | [ɔ], [o], [ǝ] | [p] | [r] | [s] | [t] | [u], [ʊ] | [w] | [f] |
Cyrillic | Х х | Ӽ ӽ | Ц ц | Ч ч | Џ џ | Ш ш | Ы ы | Ь ь |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Latin | Ȟ ȟ | H h | C c | Č č | DŽ dž | Š š | Y y | Ǐ ǐ |
IPA | [x] | [h], [ɦ] | [t͡s] | [ʈ͡ʂ] | [ɖ͡ʐ] | [ʂ] | [ɨ] | [◌ʲ] |
Diphthongs[]
There are seven diphthongs in Qafesona.
Cyrillic | АЙ ай | АУ ау | ЕЙ ей | ЕУ еу | ОЙ ой | ОУ оу | УЙ уй |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Latin | AJ aj | AU au | EJ ej | EU eu | OJ oj | OU ou | UJ uj |
IPA | [aɪ̯] | [aʊ̯] | [eɪ̯] | [eʊ̯] | [oɪ̯] | [oʊ̯] | [uɪ̯] |
Digraphs[]
The digraphs below alter the pronunciation of the constituent letters.
Cyrillic | ДИ ди | ДЬ дь | ЖЖ жж | ЖИ жи | ЖЬ жь | ЛИ ли | ЛЬ ль | НИ ни | НЬ нь |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Latin | DI di | DǏ dǐ | ŽŽ žž | ŽI ži | ŽǏ žǐ | LI li | LǏ lǐ | NI ni | NǏ nǐ |
IPA | [ɟi] | [ɟ] | [ʑː] | [ʑi] | [ʑ] | [ʎi] | [ʎ] | [ɲi] | [ɲ] |
Cyrillic | ТИ ти | ТЬ ть | ЧИ чи | ЧЬ чь | ЏИ џи | ЏЬ џь | ШШ шш | ШИ ши | ШЬ шь |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Latin | TI ti | TǏ tǐ | ČI či | ČǏ čǐ | DŽI dži | DŽǏ džǐ | ŠŠ šš | ŠI ši | ŠǏ šǐ |
IPA | [ci] | [c] | [t͡ɕi] | [t͡ɕ] | [d͡ʑi] | [d͡ʑ] | [ɕː] | [ɕi] | [ɕ] |
Nota bene[]
- Qafesona has a spelling rule which states that ы may not be preceded by г, ж, к, ӄ, х, ч, џ or ш, instead the letter и is used.
- There is also a spelling rule stating that ь may not precede ы, the letter и is used here instead too.
- Nor may ь precede й, the letter й is simply used here (rather than ьй).
Grammar[]
Nouns[]
First declension[]
First declension nouns end in a consonant (but not ь, й, ў or ӽ) and decline as below:
Singular | Paucal | Plural | |
Nominative | лес (forest) | леса | лесы |
Accusative | лес | леса | лесы |
Genitive | леса | лесу | лесах |
Dative | лесу | лесома | лесам |
Instrumental | лесом | лесомы | лесамы |
Locative | лесье | лесьу | лесьех |
Vocative | лесь | лесы | лесых |
Second declension[]
Second declension nouns end in а and decline as below:
Singular | Paucal | Plural | |
Nominative | чава (grass) | чаве | чавы |
Accusative | чаву | чаво | чавы |
Genitive | чавы | чаву | чав |
Dative | чаве | чавама | чавам |
Instrumental | чавой | чавамы | чавамы |
Locative | чавье | чавьу | чавьех |
Vocative | чавы | чави | чавих |
Third declension[]
Third declension nouns end in е or о and decline as below:
Singular | Paucal | Plural | |
Nominative | мазо (meat) | мазое | маза |
Accusative | мазо | мазое | маза |
Genitive | маза | мазу | маз |
Dative | мазу | мазема | мазом |
Instrumental | маз | маземы | мазомы |
Locative | мазье | мазьу | мазьех |
Vocative | мазь | мазы | мазых |
Fourth declension[]
Fourth declension nouns end in ь and decline as below:
Singular | Paucal | Plural | |
Nominative | гонь (leg) | гоньа | гони |
Accusative | гонь | гоньа | гони |
Genitive | гоньа | гоньу | гоньах |
Dative | гоньу | гоньома | гоньам |
Instrumental | гоньом | гоньомы | гоньамы |
Locative | гонйе | гонйу | гонйех |
Vocative | гоны | гони | гоних |
Fifth declension[]
Fifth declension nouns end in й, ў or ӽ and decline as below:
Singular | Paucal | Plural | |
Nominative | чай (tea) | чайи | чайи |
Accusative | чай | чайи | чайи |
Genitive | чайа | чайих | чайих |
Dative | чайу | чайем | чайам |
Instrumental | чай | чайемы | чайамы |
Locative | чайе | чайу | чайех |
Vocative | чайи | чайих | чайих |
Sixth declension[]
Sixth declension nouns end in мьа and decline as below:
Singular | Paucal | Plural | |
Nominative | йемьа (name) | йемье | йемьени |
Accusative | йемьа | йемье | йемьени |
Genitive | йемьень | йемьени | йемь |
Dative | йемье | йемьом | йемьам |
Instrumental | йемьей | йемьомы | йемьамы |
Locative | йемйе | йемйу | йемйех |
Vocative | йеми | йемйи | йемйих |
Seventh declension[]
Seventh declension nouns end in и, у or ы, are foreign and decline as below:
Singular | Paucal | Plural | |
Nominative | такси (taxi) | такси | таксих |
Accusative | такси | такси | таксих |
Genitive | таксийа | таксийа | таксийах |
Dative | таксийу | таксийу | таксийух |
Instrumental | таксийой | таксийо | таксийох |
Locative | таксийе | таксийе | таксийех |
Vocative | такси | такси | таксих |
Diminutives[]
Diminutives
Augmentatives[]
Augmentatives
Adjectives[]
Hard declension[]
Singular | Paucal | Plural | |
Nominative | новы (new) | нова | нове |
Accusative | новы, новов | нова, новой | нове, новых |
Genitive | новов | новой | новых |
Dative | новом | нову | новым |
Instrumental | новым | новом | новымы |
Locative | новье | новьо | новьах |
Vocative | нов | новы | новых |
Soft declension[]
Singular | Paucal | Plural | |
Nominative | сини (dark blue) | синьа | синье |
Accusative | сини, синьов | синьа, синьой | синье, синих |
Genitive | синьов | синьой | синих |
Dative | синьом | синьу | синим |
Instrumental | синим | синьом | синимы |
Locative | синйе | синйо | синйах |
Vocative | синь | сини | синих |
"А" declension[]
Singular | Paucal | Plural | |
Nominative | ӄафесона (Qafesona) | ӄафесоны | ӄафесоне |
Accusative | ӄафесона, ӄафесонов | ӄафесоны, ӄафесоной | ӄафесоне, ӄафесоных |
Genitive | ӄафесонов | ӄафесоной | ӄафесоных |
Dative | ӄафесоном | ӄафесону | ӄафесоным |
Instrumental | ӄафесоным | ӄафесоном | ӄафесонымы |
Locative | ӄафесонье | ӄафесоньо | ӄафесоньах |
Vocative | ӄафесонь | ӄафесоны | ӄафесоных |
Personal pronouns[]
Singular[]
1st person | 2nd person | 3rd p (m) | 3rd p (f) | 3rd p (n) | |
Nominative | йа | ты | он | она | оно |
Accusative | мньа | тебьа | йеӽо | йой | йеӽо |
Genitive | мньа | тебьа | йеӽо | йой | йеӽо |
Instrumental | мньа | тебьа | йеӽым | йойу | йеӽым |
Dative | мнье | тебье | йему | йей | йему |
Locative | мнйе | тебйе | йем | йей | йем |
Vocative | ми | теби | йемь | йейи | йемь |
Plural[]
1st person | 2nd person | 3rd person | |
Nominative | мы | вы | оны |
Accusative | наз | ваз | ых |
Genitive | наз | ваз | ых |
Dative | нам | вам | ым |
Instrumental | намы | вамы | ымы |
Locative | назье | вазье | ымье |
Vocative | нйи | вйи | еми |
Verbs[]
- There are two aspects, the simple and the perfect.
- Conjugations are governed by three persons in two numbers and two simple tenses, present and past.
- There are present and past participles that are used as adjectives and adverbs.
- There are also periphrastic forms for the future tense and the subjunctive mood.
- There are two voices, the active and the passive.
Aspect[]
Qafesona has two aspects, the simple and the perfect. Verbs come in aspectual pairs, the perfect usually being the same as the simple just with an added prefix.
The simple aspect is not progressive and not perfect, whereas the the perfect aspect is perfect. For example, the English simple present "I play", simple past "I played" and simple future "I will play" and the perfect present "I have eaten", perfect past "I had eaten" and perfect future "I will have eaten", which all correspond to Qafesona verb tense and aspect.
Aspect in Qafesona differs from the usual Slavonic aspects of imperfective and perfective pairs. However many of the perfect verbs have similar prefixes to the corresponding perfective verb.
Present tense[]
First conjugation[]
First conjugation verbs have the ending -ать or -еть.
Simple | Perfect | |
Infinitive | читать (to read) | прочитать |
йа (1ps) | читайу | прочитайу |
ты (2ps) | читайеш | прочитайеш |
он, она, оно (3ps) | читайет | прочитайет |
мы (1pp) | читайем | прочитайем |
вы (2pp) | читайете | прочитайете |
оны (3pp) | читайут | прочитайут |
Second conjugation[]
Second conjugation verbs have the ending -ить.
Simple | Perfect | |
Infinitive | говорить (to read) | поговорить |
йа (1ps) | говорьу | поговорьу |
ты (2ps) | говорьеш | поговорьеш |
он, она, оно (3ps) | говорьет | поговорьет |
мы (1pp) | говорьем | поговорьем |
вы (2pp) | говорьете | поговорьете |
оны (3pp) | говорьут | поговорьут |
Third conjugation[]
Third conjugation verbs have the ending -ачь or -ечь.
Simple | Perfect | |
Infinitive | давачь (to give) | дачь |
йа (1ps) | давам | дам |
ты (2ps) | даваш | даш |
он, она, оно (3ps) | дават | даст |
мы (1pp) | давйем | дайем |
вы (2pp) | давйете | дайете |
оны (3pp) | давйут | дайут |
Fourth conjugation[]
Fourth conjugation verbs have the ending -ичь.
Simple | Perfect | |
Infinitive | итичь (to go (on foot)) | пойтичь |
йа (1ps) | итьу | пойтьу |
ты (2ps) | итьош | пойтьош |
он, она, оно (3ps) | итьот | пойтьот |
мы (1pp) | итьом | пойтьом |
вы (2pp) | итьоте | пойтьоте |
оны (3pp) | итьут | пойтьут |
Past tense[]
The past tense in Qafesona is formed very simply. The verb infinitive is taken and the final -ть or -чь is removed and replaced with -в. For example:
Simple infinitive | Simple past | Perfect infinitive | Perfect past |
читать | читав | прочитать | прочитав |
говорить | говорив | поговорить | поговорив |
могечь (to be able to) | могев | смогечь | смогев |
йешть (to eat)* | йев | сешть | сешв |
*When an infinitive ends in a consonant + -ть or -чь then both the consonant and the infinitive ending are dropped and -в added.
To be[]
The conjugation of the verb "to be", быть, is shown below.
Present[]
Simple | Perfect | |
Infinitive | быть | сбыть |
йа (1ps) | йесем | сесем |
ты (2ps) | йесы | сесы |
он, она, оно (3ps) | йесет | сесет |
мы (1pp) | йесмы | сесмы |
вы (2pp) | йесты | сесты |
оны (3pp) | йесут | сесут |
Past[]
Simple | Perfect | |
Past | быв | сбыв |
Future[]
Simple | Perfect | |
йа (1ps) | бадьу | сбадьу |
ты (2ps) | бадьеш | сбадьеш |
он, она, оно (3ps) | бадьет | сбадьет |
мы (1pp) | бадьем | сбадьем |
вы (2pp) | бадьете | сбадьете |
оны (3pp) | бадьут | сбадьут |
Future tense[]
The past tense is also formed very simply. It is formed by preceding the verb's infinitive with the correct conjugation of the future tense of быть/сбыть ("to be"), быть/сбыть are the only exceptions. For example:
- "They will be": Оны бадьут. (Ony badǐut.)
- "I will say": Йа бадьу говорить. (Ja badǐu govoritǐ.)
- "We will have read": Мы бадьем прочитать (My badǐem pročitatǐ., emphasis on the fact that it will have been read)
- "We will have read": Мы cбадьем читать (My sbadǐem čitatǐ., emphasis on the fact that it will have been done)
Numerals[]
Cardinal | Ordinal | |
One, 1 | йедь | йедми |
Two, 2 | два | втори |
Three, 3 | три | трети |
Four, 4 | четрь | четери |
Five, 5 | пьать | пьати |
Six, 6 | шесть | шести |
Seven, 7 | седь | седми |
Eight, 8 | вось | восми |
Nine, 9 | девть | девети |
Ten, 10 | цать | цати |
Zero, 0 | ноль | ноли |