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Phonology[]

Consonants[]

Tendraads distinguishes 17 consonants, although many sounds have several different variants. It is notable for its lack of many basic european sounds.

- Bilabial Labio-
Dental
Dental Alveolar Post-
Alveolar
Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m n ŋ
Plosive p (b)1 t (d)1 k (g)1
Fricative (f)2 (v)2 (ð)3 s z ʃ ʒ h
Affricate ts
Approximant ʋ j
Lateral l
Rhotic r

Voiced Plosives[]

The voiced plosives /b/, /d/ and /g/ are not traditionally counted as native Tendraads phonemes. However, they each have slightly different situations in regards to their place in Tendraads phonology.

The phoneme /b/ is found in several common loanwords, for example autobus "bus" and banaana "banana". Although it is not traditionally a native sound, it is almost always pronounced as it should be /b/. Some recent words derived from foreign words containing /b/ include banaa "yellow". See the section: Loan Letters for more information on the use of the letter 'b'.

The consonant /d/ has a slightly better, more established situation than either /b/ or /g/. It is a regular, weak version of the phoneme /t/ intervocalically, and as such it is commonly encountered in native words between vowels. It is also seen in loan words in positions other than between vowels in several loan words, for example Dänmaak "Denmark".

In contrast, /g/ is never encountered in Tendraads, although the letter 'g' is sometimes encountered (see section: Letter G). Foreign words that contain 'g' are replaced with 'k', for example goal! is changed to kol!.

Labial Fricatives[]

The two common labio-dental fricatives /f/ and /v/, which are commonly encountered in the vast majority of european languages are almost unheard of in Tendraads. As with the voiced plosives mentioned above, they are occasionally encountered in loanwords, where they normally represent their original pronunciation, Fraans "France", velor "velar".

'Weak' D[]

Although the sound /d/ is commonly regarded as a weak variant of /t/, there is the native sound /ð/ which is regarded as an even weaker 'd'. It descends from the historical phoneme /θ/, which later became [h] word-initially and [ð] between vowels. It is represented by the digraph dh.

Orthography[]

Alphabet[]

The most basic, 'pure' Tendraads alphabet contains the following 25 letters:

A Ä Ç D E G H I J K L M N O Õ Ö P R S Ş T U Ũ Ü Z

The letters with diacritics are treated as letters of their own, collated separately from their parent letters. The letters 'd' and 'g' are also counted, as, despite not representing particularly native phonemes, 'd' is found in several native words and 'g' has several occurrences.

There is also another 'extended' alphabet which is used due to the large number of loanwords containing letters which represent phonemes not native to Tendraads. The extended alphabet contains 34 letters.

A Ä B C Ç D E F G H I J K L M N O Õ Ö P Q R S Ş T U Ũ Ü V W X Y Z

Letter Common
Pron.
English
Example
Notes
A a /a/ Similar to "father"
Ä ä /æ/ cat
B b /b/ book Only appears in certain loanwords, such as Belzia "Belgium" and banaana "banana". Some words are native to Tendraads but are derived from these loanwords containing 'b', for example banaa "yellow" (replacing the Old Tendraads word regtepel).
C c (see Notes) Only appears in foreign placenames. In loan words that contain 'c', the 'c' is replaced by the closest Tendraads equivalent letter. This can be 'k', 's' or 'ts', for example kaarbon from "Carbon".
Ç ç /tʃ/ cheese
D d /d/ door In native words, 'd' alone only appears between vowels, to represent the allophonic pronunciation of /t/ in this position. However, loanwords with 'd' in other positions has meant that /d/ has become a phoneme. For example deödörönt "deodourant". It is also seen as part of the digraph 'dh', where it represents /ð/.
E e /e/ Similar to bed
F f /f/ safe 'f' does not appear in native words, however, loan words that contain 'f' retain their /f/ pronunciation and 'f' spelling. For example Fraans "France" and käffäteriä "cafeteria".
G g (See Notes) /g/ is not a native phoneme in Tendraads, and it is quite difficult for Tendraads speakers to articluate, so loanwords containing 'g' have it replaced with a 'k'. It did however, historically represent /x/, which was then lost in all positions. As a result, the majority of it's positions within Tendraads words were lost, however some were kept in for etymological reasons - for example magn "not". In a couple of words, it also represents /j/, as in teget "speak" and mugaardun "arrangement".
H h /h/ hello Some Tendraads speakers realise /h/ as [x].
I i /i/ meet
J j /j/ yesterday
K k /k/ cook
L l /l/ light
M m /m/ mouse
N n /n/ nice
O o /ɔ/ raw
Õ /əʊ̯/ go
Ö /œ/ Similar to bird
P p /p/ pot
Q q (See notes) Restricted only to foreign names. Loan words that contain 'q' have it replaced with 'k' or 'ku', for example kuasaar from quasar.
R r /r/ Trilled 'r'
S s /s/ smile After [n], 's' represents the cluster [ts], for example hensim [hentsim]. After [m], it represents the cluster [pts], for example semst [semptst].
Ş ş /ʃ/ sheep After [n], 'ş' represents the affricate [tʃ], for example penş [pentʃ]. After [m], it represents the cluster [ptʃ] memşe [memptʃe].
T t /t/ toilet Between vowels, /t/ becomes [d], but is written as 't' in cases where it is necessary to know the word derivation.
U /u/ boot
Ũ ũ /uw/ Similar to "blue water"
Ü ü /y/ Like meet said with rounded lips In native Tendraads words, 'ü' is the only representation of /y/, however, in certain words from Greek, there is almost free variation between the use of 'ü' or 'y' to represent the 'y' sound. For example, it is up to the writer to decide whether they wish to spell it rytum or rütum "rhythm". This ambiguity stems even into formal writing.
V v /v/ very Only found in foreign loanwords. For example vakjuum "vacuum". The sound /v/ isn't native to Tendraads, however most speakers are familiar with it, and can pronounce it with ease.
W x /v/ very Only found in foreign names. Although it represents /w/ in English, this sound is difficult to pronounce for Tendraads speakers, who usually realise it as a [v] sound. As a result, loanwords containing 'w' have it replaced with a 'v', for example vatt "watt".
X x /ks/ exactly Only found in foreign names. Loan words that contain 'x' usually have it replaced with 'ks', for example tokso "toxic". It is however seen in words like xpressautobus "express buss" and xrej "x-ray" where it represents [eks].
Y y /y/ Like meet but said with rounded lips Y is only seen in certain loanwords and foreign names. In native Tendraads words, 'ü' is the only representation of /y/, however, in certain words from Greek, there is almost free variation between the use of 'ü' or 'y' to represent the 'y' sound. For example, it is up to the writer to decide whether they wish to spell it rytum or rütum "rhythm". This ambiguity continues even into formal writing.
Z z /z/ zebra

Additional Letters[]

There are several additional letters employed to represent native Tendraads sounds. These include the letters with umlaut ä, ö and ü, the letters with cedilla ç and ş and the two letters with tilde õ and ũ. These letters are treated as separate letters, rather than letters with diacritics.

Loan Letters[]

There are numerous letters in Tendraads which are only ever encountered in loanwords, and as such they are not included in the basic Tendraads alphabet (although they are included in the 'extended').

  • B - the letter 'b' is encountered solely in loanwords, for example banaana and bromium, where it represents /b/, as there is no way in the traditional Tendraads alphabet to represent this sound.
  • C - the use of 'c' is encountered only in foreign place names and proper names. This is because loanwords that contain any of the regular 'c' sounds /k/, /s/ or /ts/, the 'c' can be replaced with the native Tendraads letters k, s and ţ respectively. For example karbon "carbon", the "c" is replaced by "k", whereas "b" is not replaced, as there is no native Tendraads way of representing this sound.
  • D - 'd' can theoretically be placed in this list, as it is only seen as a result of the weakening of 't' between vowels. However, it is nowadays considered a native Tendraads letters as 'd' is commonly encountered in native Tendraads words. It is also commonly encountered in the Digraph 'dh', further backing up its status as a native Tendraads letter.
  • F, V - 'f' and 'v' are only ever seen in foreign words, for example Frans "France" and velor "velar". As there is no native Tendraads way of representing the sound /f/ and /v/ that they usually represent, the letters 'f' and 'v' are used to represent these sounds.
  • Q, W, X and Y - these letters are seldom ever encountered in Tendraads, as their usual values can be represented by usual Tendraads letters. For example quasar is now spelt kuasar, xylophone is spelt zilöfön.

Letter G[]

The letter 'g' is one of the most unpredictable letters of Tendraads. It is encountered in native Tendraads words, however the pronunciation is sporadic and is a remnant of the historical phoneme /x/ which has since been lost. Although the vast majority of it's original locations in Tendraads words have been removed, it is restored in a few common native words - as in teget, where it represents [j], and tollg where it is silent. It is also seen in the Digraph 'ng'. As a result, it is nowadays usually considered to be a native letter.

In foreign words, the letter 'g' is replaced by 'k' (or 'z'), as the phoneme /g/ is particularly troublesome to pronounce for Tendraads speakers. For example goal! becomes kol!, general becomes zeneräl.

Digraphs[]

There are just two digraphs which have regular usage in Tendraads:

  • DH - represents the voiced dental fricative (as in English that). It is only ever encountered between vowels.
  • NG - represents the velar nasal (as in English sing). It is not found word initially, but is a common sound found word-finally.

Basic Grammar[]

Nouns[]

Number[]

Tendraads nouns come in three numbers: Singular and Plural. The singular of a noun is unmarked, whereas the plural is marked by the suffix -k if the word ends in any vowel, -ek if the word contains in a front vowels, and -ok if the word contains back vowels. The suffix for the plural is placed before any other suffix. For example koponta "school" > kopontak "schools" > kopontakun "the schools". (See Also: Articles).

Articles[]

Articles are added in the form of a suffix to the end of the noun. They are the suffix with the second priority, second only to the plural/singular suffix, placed before Case suffixes and on a par with possessive suffixes.

As with any suffix added to Tendraads nouns, they come in separate forms for back/Auto Vowels and for front/Södükeesü Vowels.

Auto Vowels

Article Suffix Example Meaning
Definate' -un nusun "the house"
Indefinate -us nusus "a house"

Södükeesü Vowels

Article Suffix Example Meaning
Definate -in nesin "the head"
Indefinate -is nesis "a house"

Posessive Suffixes[]

Rather than using a genitive case to indicate possession by personal pronouns, posessive suffixes are added. As usual, different forms are used for words containing Auto Vowels, and others for words containing Södükeesü Vowels.

Person Auto
Suffix
Example Meaning Södükeesü
Suffix
Example Meaning
1st Sing -at nusat "my house" -ät nesät "my head"
1st Plur -az nusaz "our house" -äz nesäz "our head"
2nd Sing -ask nusask "your (sing.) house" -äsk nesäsk "your (plur.) house"
2nd Plur -amam nusamam "your (plur.) house" -ämäm nesämäm "your (plur.) head"
3rd Sing -oş nusoş "his/her/its house" -eş neseş "his/her/its head"
3rd Plur -oron nusoron "their house" -eren neseren "their head"

Cases[]

Tendraads has a rich system of noun cases, of which the vast majority are types of Locative cases, indicating different types of location. Each case has two different case suffixes, one for Auto Vowels and one for Södükeesü Vowels, depending on the vowel structure of the noun itself.

Case Suffix
(Auto)
Example
(Auto)
Meaning Suffix
(Södükeesü)
Example
(Södükeesü)
Meaning
Ergative - nusun "the house" - nesin "the head"
Accusative -ur nusunur "the house" -ir nesinir "the head"
Absolutive -sum nusunsum "the house" -süm nesinsüm "the head"
Dative -ozor nusunozor "to the house" -özör nesinözör "to the head"
Genitive -tunn nusuntunn "of the house" -tinn nesintinn "of the head
Locative -paanu nusunpaanu "in the house" -päänü nesinpäänü "in the head"
-pon nusunpon "on the house" -pön nesinpön "on the head"
-şuur nusunşuur "outside (of) the house" -şüür nesinşüür "outside (of) the head"
-şooj nusunşooj "above the house" -şööj nesinşööj "above the head"
-paçaar nusunpaçaar "next to the house" -päçäär nesinpäçäär "next to the head"
-kroot nusunkroot "near the house" -krööt nesinkrööt "near the head"
-staam nusunstaam "underneath the house" -stääm nesinstääm "underneath the head"
-uros nusunuros "infront of the house" -ires nesinires "infront of the head"
-paaks nusunpaaks "behind the house" -pääks nesinpääks "behind the head"
-soor nusunsoor "far away from the house" -söör nesinsöör "far away from the head"
Comitative -toço nusuntoço "with the house" -teçe nesinteçe "with the head"
Instrumental -taş nusuntaş "using the house" -teş nesinteş "using the head"

Emphasis[]

To emphasise the noun case suffix, the additional "suffix" -ist or -ust' is added. So for example nusuntoçoust means "with the house" or "even with the house".

Negation[]

To negate a Tendraads noun case, the preposition magn (pronounced identically to English "mine") is placed before the declined nouns. So for example magn nusunsoor means "not far away from the house", magn nesinires means "not infront of the house".

Order of Noun Declension Suffixes[]

In Tendraads, there is a specific order which noun declension suffixes have to be added to their noun. The order is noun > number > article / posessive suffix > case suffix > emphasis suffix.

For example:

Suffix Example Meaning
pol "knee"
Number polok "knees"
Article polokun "the knees"
Case polokunpon "on the knees"
Emphasis polokunponust "on the knees" (as opposed to off them)
Negation magn polokunponust "never/certainly not on the knees"

Verbs[]

Tendraads verbs are highly regular, although the systems of conjugation can be quite elongated and long-winded. There are also for some words different distinctions between stressed and unstressed, emphasis and intonation.

Tense[]

There are three tenses is Tendraads, and the suffix added to the verb to indicate tense is the first one to be added (as with Tendraads nouns, there is a specific order in which suffixes are added to verbs). The present tense is unmarked, whereas the future and past are marked.

Tense Suffix
(Auto)
Example Meaning Suffix
(Södükeesü)
Example
Past -õtt oorõt "loved" -ett denerett "ran"
Present - oor "(to) love" - dener "(to) run"
Future -opp ooropp "will love" -epp denerepp "will run"

Aspect[]

There are also four aspects in Tendraads verbs, and each one requires a suffix. The Aspect suffix is the second one to be added to the end of the verb. The following table shows the aspect suffix system, using the verb oorõtt "loved".

Aspect Suffix Example Meaning
Simple - oorõtt "loved"
Progressive -ungu/-ingi oorõttungu "was loving"
Perfect -paasu/-pääsi oorõttpaasu "had loved"
Perfect Progressive -paangu/-päängi oorõttpaangu "had been loving"

Mood[]

There is also a rich system of grammatical mood. Each grammatical mood is added in the form of a suffix, and is the third suffix to be added to the end of the verb.

The following table shows the mood suffix system, using the verb oor "to love". The subject-object suffix -taask is added to change the meaning to "I love you". Because of this, the Mood clitics may appear to be an infix.

Suffix Example Meaning
-za/-zä oorzataask "I love you!"
-udum/-idim oorudumtaask "I want to love you"
-saal/-sääl oorsaaltaask "I could love you if..."
-mau/-mäü oormautaask "I guess I love you"
-odoo/-edee oorodootaask "I probably love you"
-mazaar/-mezeer oormazaartaask "Even if I love you"
-ţomo/-ţeme oorţomotaask "I would love you if..."
-sahu/-sähi oorsahutaask "I wish I loved you"
-laas/lees oorlaastaask "Let me love you"

Subject-Object Suffixes[]

A notable feature of Tendraads is that if the subject or subject & object of a verb are personal pronouns.

Verbs where just the Subject is a Personal Pronoun[]

Person Suffix Example Meaning
1st Sing. -uut/-iit ooruut "I love"
1st Plur. -uuz/-iiz ooruuz "We love"
2nd Sing. -uusk/-iisk ooruusk "You (sing.) love"
2nd Plur. -uum/-iim ooruum "You (plur.) love"
3rd Sing. -uuş/-iiş ooruuş "He/She/It loves"
3rd Plur. -uurun/-iirin ooruurun "They love"

Verbs where both the Subject and Object are Personal Pronouns[]

- Me Us You (sing.) You (pl.) Him/Her/It Them
I -taat/-täät -taaz/-tääz -taask/-tääsk -taamam/-täämäm -taaş/-tääş -taaron/-täären
We -zaat/-zäät -zaaz/-zääz -zaask/-zääsk -zaamam/-zäämäm -zaaş/-zääş -zaaron/zäären
You (sing.) -skaat/-skäät -skaaz/-skääz -skaask/-skääsk -skaamam/-skäämäm -skaaş/-skääş -skaaron/-skäären
You (Plur.) -mamaat/-mämäät -mamaaz/-mämääz -mamaask/-mämääsk -mamamam/-mämämäm -mamaaş/-mämääş -mamaaron/-mämäären
He/She/It -şaat/-şäät -şaaz/-şääz -şaask/-şääsk -şaamam/-şäämäm -şaaş/-şääş -şaaron/şäären
They -ronaat/-renäät -ronaaz/-renääz -ronaask/-renääsk -ronaamam/-renäämäm -raaş/rääş -ronaaron/-renäären

For example oor "love" can become oorronaask "they love you", urõdoonk "kill" can become urõdoonkõttzaaş "we killed him".

Voice[]

Tendraads actively employs the active and passive case on a regular basis. The active voice is undistinguished, whereas the passive voice is notified by the addition of the preposition ügn (pronounced [yn]). For example tserebeett urũmaun açakratun "the woman asked the shopkeeper", is transformed into "the shopkeeper was asked by the woman" by adding the preposition ügn to the front of verb tserebeett which means "ask". The result being ügn tserebeett urũmaun açakratun.

Adjectives[]

Adjectives in Tendraads follow the noun they are describing, as in French but unlike English. The degrees of intensity and comparitive forms are indicated by the suffixes seen below in the table.

Least Less - More Most
-isser -ider - -inir -ikir
-ussur -udur - -onor -okor

For example, the adjective adhum "nice" becomes adhumussur "least nice", adhumudur "less nice", adhumonor "nicer" and adhumokor "nicest".

There is also a method of comparing adjectives, using the preposition odh. For example nusat adhumudur odh nusamam "my house is not as nice as yours". nusat "my house" adhumudur "not as nice" odh "as/than" nusamam "your house".

General Word Order[]

Verb Subject Object[]

The basic Tendraads word order for verbs is Verb-Subject-Object, unlike most languages of Europe, but the same as some of the far western Celtic languages. For verbs that require both a subject and an object, the word order is the Verb first, followed by the subject taking the ergative case, and finally the object of the verb taking the necessary case (usually the accusative). For example "The woman ate the apples" is written zangorõnt urũmaun mepekekinir literally "ate the woman the apples".

Noun Adjective[]

Nouns are written before adjectives, for example şuştumun semst "the soft cushion", where şuştumun "the cushion" comes before semst "soft".

Swadesh List[]

# English Tendraads
1. I ti
2. you (singular) ski
3. he şi
4. we zeki
5. you (plural) memi
6. they reni
7. this çötim
8. that mneçötim
9. here açaarum
10. there mnaçaarum
11. who kolom
12. what kom
13. where neşeer
14. when kompupşuj
15. how
16. not magn, pnõ, pnurum 1
17. all tsorum
18. many lüpül
19. some 2
20. few kadoor
21. other paasuurau
22. one şodhur
23. two tsur
24. three möötür
25. four labaar
26. five aaşur
27. big koorõs
28. long tuupol
29. wide tatsum
30. thick mäket
31. heavy pooşol
32. small tsiits
33. short puts
34. narrow miizinääs
35. thin põdum
36. woman urũma
37. man (adult male) omoorum
38. Man (human being) unnur
39. child nugrut
40. wife peşetsö
41. husband peşetsö
42. mother urũton
43. father omoorton
44. animal pesetej
45. fish şek
46. bird kiki
47. dog kudur
48. louse ingrääm
49. snake sisilisk
50. worm ur
51. tree öö
52. forest aaraan
53. stick nak
54. fruit lupuul
55. seed paa
56. leaf teeben
57. root toolts
58. bark rudhum
59. flower uruşa
60. grass taabur
61. rope rudhaa
62. skin epepööü
63. meat kedhir
64. blood lakjaar
65. bone tõtur
66. fat (n.) lõss
67. egg õum
68. horn tussuu
69. tail rirenu

feather hair head ear eye nose mouth tooth tongue fingernail foot leg knee hand wing belly guts neck back breast heart liver drink eat bite suck spit vomit blow breathe laugh see hear know think smell fear sleep live die kill fight hunt hit cut split stab scratch dig swim fly (v.) walk come lie sit stand turn fall give hold squeeze rub wash wipe pull push throw tie sew count say sing play float flow freeze swell sun moon star water rain river lake sea salt stone sand dust earth cloud fog sky wind snow ice smoke fire ashes burn road mountain red green yellow white black night day year warm cold full new old good bad rotten dirty straight round sharp dull smooth wet dry correct near far right left at in with and if because name

Example Text[]

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Ügn krodolõtt lupor şun öösis oportoksum tsorum dinitipäänü şun esserekpäänü. Ügn rapaalõttuurun preteşeröönimteçe şun määdälänim şun sulumprum arazanoktoço espeeinpäänü tretenheentinn.

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