| Sŷlven | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | |||||||||||||
| Alignment | nominative-accusitive | ||||||||||||
| Head direction | Initial | ||||||||||||
| Tonal | No | ||||||||||||
| Declensions | Yes | ||||||||||||
| Conjugations | No | ||||||||||||
| Genders | None | ||||||||||||
| Nouns decline according to... | |||||||||||||
| Case | Number | ||||||||||||
| Definiteness | Gender | ||||||||||||
| Verbs conjugate according to... | |||||||||||||
| Voice | Mood | ||||||||||||
| Person | Number | ||||||||||||
| Tense | Aspect | ||||||||||||
| Meta-information | |||||||||||||
| Progress | 0% | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| Creator | Thorn0906 | ||||||||||||
Sŷlven is the language of the Sŷlvi people, living in the continent Sŷlven (in Sŷlven the name of a language is the same as that of the place from whence it came) of the planet Serâþ, or Kepler-296e to us. It developed in a biosphere for ten thousand years on it's way to Serâth from Earth (Arêþ to the Sŷlvi).
Classification and Dialects[]
Phonology[]
Consonants[]
| Bilabial | Labio-dental | Dental | Alveolar | Post-alveolar | Retroflex | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Pharyngeal | Epiglottal | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m(m) | n(n) | ŋ(ŋ) | |||||||||
| Plosive | '(k) | |||||||||||
| Fricative | f(f),v(v) | þ(θ), ð(ð) | s(s),z(z) | j(ʒ), backwards j(ʃ) | x(χ) | |||||||
| Affricate | ||||||||||||
| Approximant | ||||||||||||
| Trill | ||||||||||||
| Flap or tap | r(ɽ) | |||||||||||
| Lateral fric. | ||||||||||||
| Lateral app. | l(l) | |||||||||||
| Lateral flap |
[]
Vowels[]
| Front | Near-front | Central | Near-back | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i(i) | u(u) | |||
| Near-close | y(ɪ) | ||||
| Close-mid | e(e) | ||||
| Mid | |||||
| Open-mid | o(ɔ) | ||||
| Near-open | |||||
| Open | c(ɶ) | a(ä) |
Stress[]
Main stress in Sŷlven falls on the first circumflex. Any circumflexes after this are lighter stress.
Writing System[]
Sŷlven, being developed from various earthly languages, is written with the Latin alphabet. In the pronunciation tables, the sounds are written like this: symbol(IPA). However, a couple exceptions: Ð is actually written like a backwards Þ, and z is written like a backwards s.
Grammar[]
Morphology []
Nouns
Plurals:
Add i.
Duals:
Add r after the plural I.
Definite:
Nouns are given in indefinite form. For definite, add ar. Plural i would go after the r.
Example:
For the word râin 'frog'
Râina 'a frog'
Râini 'some frogs'
Râinir ‘two frogs’
Râinar 'the frog'
Râinari 'the frogs'
Râinarir ‘the two frogs’
Types
In Sŷlven, the end of the word denotes the part of speech. -A signifies a noun. -I signifies a mass or plural noun, as it says under "plurals." -E signifies a verb. -O signifies an adjective, and -æ signifies an adverb. A word is given ending in a consonant with the part of speech NVA, and these suffixes are then added.
Circumpositions
Sŷlven uses circumpositions - they go on either side of the phrase that they modify. Circumpositions affecting only one word can be attached to the word as a prefix. Ex: E Sêla e > Esêla.
Derivational morphology []
Compounds go in head-modifier order - lesân'wasên ‘place-learn’, nôwe'lis ‘to not make’. The apostrophe ', which sounds like a "k", goes in between words in compounds.
Syntax []
Syllable structure is V or CV or CVC.
Word order is SOV ("Bob the sandwich ate") for past tense, SVO ("Bob ate the sandwich" like English) for present tense, and VSO ("Ate Bob the sandwich") for future.
Adjectives and adverbs
Adjectives and adverbs go on either side of the word they modify, for example râine azûri or azûri râine, 'a blue frog'. No conjugation is done, adjectives do not have number.
Lexicon[]
The lexicon is on a spreadsheet at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-F-HNasSO4YUX-gAmZH4wauJWZLym_1KbCaAWbk4urY/edit?usp=sharing. You might need to log in, but it's set so anyone with the link can view it.