Conlang
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Xwarṣa
Xwarṣəxm
Type
Fusional
Alignment
Ergative
Head direction
Initial
Tonal
No
Declensions
Yes
Conjugations
Yes
Genders
No
Nouns decline according to...
Case Number
Definiteness Gender
Verbs conjugate according to...
Voice Mood
Person Number
Tense Aspect



General information[]

Xwarṣa is an extinct language :(

In more detail, it's a conlang I made for this Wiki's first speedlanging challenge. The general idea as well as more than half of the content were put up in the span of about fifteen days. I generally conceived of the language as an Avestan analogue, and it thus takes some significant inspiration from Avestan first and Sogdian second. Its grammar is fully a priori, while the phonology is a blend of unique ideas that appeal to me and a significant Iranian component.

Xwarṣa is a fusional and agglutinating language, with massive morphological complexity offset by relatively simple syntax and free word order. It is both morphologically and syntactically fully ergative, as well as primarily ergative in the domain of morphosemantics and semantics.

Phonology[]

Consonants[]

Labial Dental Alveolar Retroflex Palatal Velar Uvular Pharyngeal
Nasal m n ɳ (ṇ) ŋ
Plosive p b t d ʈ (ṭ) ɖ (ḍ) k g q
Fricative v θ ð ʂ (ṣ) ʐ (ṣ) x ħ (h)
Approximant (l) j w
Trill r
  • Additionally, the clusters /θt ðd/ behave as one consonant.
  • The plosive pairs denoted by /pb td/ et cetera do not seem to actually have any contrastive voicing as <sb> is distinct from both <sp> and <zb>; the same applies to all other plosives. The fricative pairs /sz θð/ et cetera, on the other hand, do seem to have voicing as <sð> assimilates to <zð> (regressive voicing assimilation is present)

Vowels[]

Front Central Back
Close i u ũ (ų)
Close-mid e ə o
Open-mid ɛ̃ (ę) ɔ̃ (ǫ)
Open a ɑ̃ (ą) ɒ (å)
  • Circumflexes denote long vowels, ogoneks nasal ones.

Vowel Lengthening[]

All final vowels lengthen:

Short Long
a â
e ê
i î
o ô
u û
å ǫ̂
ą ą̂
ę
ų ų̂
ǫ ǫ̂
ną̂
mų̂
ə â

Vowel Mergers[]

In many cases, instead of inserting an epenthetic /d/ or /k/, short vowels may merge into a longer one. Long vowels may either receive a trailing epenthetic consonant when near a short vowel or just absorb it, and two long vowels are always separated by epenthesis. Sometimes, the short vowels merge into an onglide-vowel combination.

Second →
First ↓
a å e ə i o u ą ę ǫ ų
a â â, ǫ̂ â, ê â, (ə̂) aj, ê, î â, ô ô ą̂ ą̂, ǫ̂ ǫ̂, ų̂
å â, ǫ̂ â ô
e !ea ê, ô ê ê, jə î, ji jo, ô ju, û
ə â ô we, ə̂ ə̂ wo, ô wu, û ǫ̂ ų̂
i ja je, ê î, jə î jo, ê ju
o â, wa ô we, ê, !oe ô, û !oi, wi ô û ǫ̂ ǫ̂, ų̂
u wa, â û, ô we, ê, !ue və, û, ə̂ wi, î ô, wo ą̂, ǫ̂, (ų̂) ǫ̂, wǫ ų̂
ą ą̂ !ąi, ąj ǫ̂ !ąu ą̂ ą̂, ǫ̂ !ąų
ę !ęi, ęj !ęu !ęų
ǫ ǫ̂ ą̂, ǫ̂ ǫj ų̂ ą̂, ǫ̂ ǫ̂ ǫ̂, ų̂
ų !ųa !ųå !ųe !ųi, ųj !ųo, ǫ̂ ų̂ wą, ą̂, ǫ̂ ų̂

Grammar[]

Xwarṣa is an ergative-absolutive language.

Nouns[]

Nouns in Xwarṣa inflect for several categories:

  1. Number
  2. Case
  3. Definiteness
  4. Noun class
  5. Possession

Xwarṣa nouns can be singular (sg), dual (du) and plural (pl).
They can be either definite (def) or indefinite (idef).
They can either belong to the class of edible objects (edi) or inedible objects (iedi).
They can inflect for one of eight cases:

  1. Absolutive (abs)
  2. Ergative (erg)
  3. Dative (dat)
  4. Vocative (voc)
  5. Instrumental (ins)
  6. Vialis (via)
  7. Malefactive (mal)
  8. Possessed (pos)

Xwarṣa nouns inflect for the person of an object in their possession, which then takes the possessive case. They can inflect for three persons, with additional variations:

  1. First person
    1. Singular (1sg)
    2. Dual
      1. Inclusive (1du.inc)
      2. Exclusive (1du.exc)
    3. Plural
      1. Inclusive (1pl.inc)
      2. Exclusive (1pl.exc)
  2. Second person
    1. Singular (2sg)
    2. Dual (2du)
    3. Plural (2pl)
  3. Third person
    1. Proximate
      1. Singular (p.sg)
      2. Dual (p.du)
      3. Plural (p.pl)
    2. Obviate
      1. Singular (o.sg)
      2. Dual (o.du)
      3. Plural (o.pl)

A Xwarṣa noun looks like this:

Xwarṣa noun template
Slots root derivation possession case.number.definiteness
0 +1 +2 +3

The root is the bare morphosemantical unit that makes up the word, stripped of all inflections and derivations. Derivational suffixes are added onto the root to form the basic stem. Adding a possession suffix onto the basic stem makes an extended stem. This extended stem receives inflection and becomes a full noun.
Edibility is inherent in the root.

This same pattern is applied for adjectives which behave most like nouns.

Possession (+2)[]

The second noun inflection slot consists of one suffix that marks for the person of the object in the possession of the marked. There is only one set of suffixes that doesn't show edibility:

First Person (1) Second Person (2) Third Person
Inclusive (inc) Exclusive (exc) Proximate (p) Obviate (o)
Singular (sg) -âṣ -jak -ųt -waθ
Dual (du) -as -aŋ -jas -ųŋ -wêθ
Plural (pl) -êr -êk -jîr -ǫr -åθ

Inflection (+3)[]

The third noun inflection slot consists of only one suffix which conflates the categories of case, number and definiteness. There are two different sets of suffixes depending on whether the noun to be inflected is edible or not. These two sets have some moderate differences:

Edibles (edi) Singular (sg) Dual (du) Plural (pl)
Indefinite (idef) Definite (def) Indefinite (idef) Definite (def) Indefinite (idef) Definite (def)
Absolutive (abs) - -nak -as -annas -ak -aknax
Ergative (erg) -år -årnar -jət -jəhnət -ir -iṇṇax
Dative (dat) -ǫ̂s -ǫ̂snar -jųx -jųnnux -um -umnum
Vocative (voc) -nek -nəṇṣ -nə̂m
Instrumental (ins) -vęm -vęnęm -t -ntęm -jât -jâpnǫ̂
Vialis (via) -våŋ -våknąr -dą -dąnąs -aẓḍ -arṇąr
Malefactive (mal) -iṣi -iṣini -nąw -nawwân -əd -bənąd
Possessed (pos) -əxm -əmnəm -îk -îknəm -ṣk -ṣṇət
Inedibles (iedi) Singular (sg) Dual (du) Plural (pl)
Indefinite (idef) Definite (def) Indefinite (idef) Definite (def) Indefinite (idef) Definite (def)
Absolutive (abs) - -nak -as -annas -ik -iknax
Ergative (erg) -nar -asnət -ikrax
Dative (dat) -ǫ̂s -ǫ̂snar -jųx -jųnnux -um -umnum
Vocative (voc) -nek -nəṇṣ -nə̂m
Instrumental (ins) -våŋ -vąnęm -t -ntęm -jâḍ -jâḍḍǫ̂
Vialis (via) -våknąr -ntąs -jâṇṇąr
Malefactive (mal) -iṣi -iṣini -nąw -nawwân -əd -bənąd
Possessed (pos) -əxm -əmnəm -îk -îknəm -ṣk -ṣṇət

If the extended stem ends and the suffix begins with a vowel, a stem extension consonant is inserted, usually either /k/ or /d/.
If the extended stem ends and the suffix begins with a consonant, an echo vowel is inserted whose quality is the same as the last vowel's, but lacking length and nasalisation.

The possessive case ending is often added if only the marked serves as either a predicative or is in the absolutive case otherwise. It can be used practically everywhere a possessed noun occurs, but this kind of marking isn't universal. If the possessed is marked with the case marker, the possessor becomes marked for the case the possessed would otherwise have had.

Adjectives[]

Adjectives in Xwarṣa behave like nouns except that they have an additional edibility slot and a comparison clitic:

Xwarṣa adjective template
Slots root derivation edibility possession case.number.definiteness comparison
0 +1 +E +2 +3 =4

Edibility (+E)[]

The edibility slot has one suffix which shows the edibility of the noun with which it agrees.

Edibility
Edible (edi)
Inedible (iedi)

Comparison (=4)[]

The comparison slot has one clitic which most often attaches to the adjective:

Comparison
Positive
Comparative (com) =węr
Superlative (sup) =sęr
Excessive (exc) =qąr
Negative (neg) =węk

Numbers[]

Xwarṣa has a composite vigesimal-decimal system: it has simple numerals for numbers from zero to ten and twenty, and composite for eleven to nineteen but numbers greater than twenty are formed vigesimally - as a sum of multiples of twenty and numbers from zero to nineteen. The next unique number is two hundred, then after that two thousand. Numbers greater than two thousand are formed using various strategies and multiple forms exist for many numbers. Ordinal numbers behave and inflect as regular adjectives. The table below shows both cardinal and ordinal numbers:

Numbers
Cardinal Ordinal
0 ųðða- ųṇḍîx-
1 vîja- vîṭṭ-əx-
2 stą̂ja- skôw-əx-
3 iba- iṇ-əx-
4 jątra- jątr-əx-
5 ṣaqtə- ṣaqta-əx-
6 mimi- mimi-əx-
7 oθam- oθm-əx-
8 nond- nond-əx-
9 ṣųj- ṣųj-əx-
10 jâxta- jâxta-əx-
11 jâxtis-vîja- jâxti-vîṭṭ-əx-
12 jâxtis-stą̂ja- jâxti-skôw-əx-
13 jâxtis-iba- jâxtis-iṇ-əx-
14 jâxtis-jątra- jâxtis-jątr-əx-
15 jâxtis-ṣaqtə- jâxti-ṣaqta-əx-
16 jâxtis-mimi- jâxti-mimi-əx-
17 jâxtis-oθam- jâxti-oθm-əx-
18 jâxtis-nond- jâxti-nond-əx-
19 jâxtis-ṣųj- jâxti-ṣųj-əx-
20 piθθų̂- piθməmx-
21 piθθų̂-j-vîja- piθmə-vîṭṭ-əx-
30 piθθų̂-j-jâxta- piθmə-jâxta-əx-
40 stą̂ja-ṣ piθθų̂- skôw-əṣ piθməmx-
50 stą̂ja-ṣ piθθų̂j-jâxta- skôw-əṣ piθmə-jâxta-əx-
60 iba-ṣ piθθų̂- iṇ-əṣ piθməmx-
100 ṣaqtə- piθθų̂- ṣaqta-əx- piθməmx-
200 âṣa- âṣa-əx-
221 âṣa-j-piθθų̂-j-vîja- âṣa-piθmə-vîṭṭ-əx-
400 vîja-ṣ âṣa- vîṭṭ-əṣ âṣa-əx-
2 000 bammâ- bamm-ə̂x-
40 000 piθθų̂-ṣ bammâ- piθməmṣ bamm-ə̂x-
4 000 000 bammâ-ṣ bammâ- bamm-ə̂ṣ bamm-ə̂x-

In general, simple cardinals are bare and simple ordinals take a suffix <-əx>. Some ordinals have the suffix merged into their shape and some have irregular or suppletive cardinal and ordinal stems. Numerals from eleven to nineteen are formed irregularly.

Complex cardinals like "21" are formed as "20-and-1", in the pattern of: bigger number's ordinal stem + <-j-> + smaller number's ordinal stem. Complex ordinals of such numbers are formed as "20.-1.", in the pattern of: bigger number's cardinal stem + smaller number's cardinal stem.

Complex cardinals like "40" are formed multiplicatively: forty is formed as "two-times twenty", in the pattern of: bigger number's cardinal stem + <-ṣ>, then a word boundary, followed by the smaller number's cardinal stem.

Complex ordinal numbers numbers like "40." are formed like "2.-times 20.", in the pattern of: bigger number's ordinal form, with <-x> replaced by <-ṣ>, then a word boundary, followed by the smaller number's ordinal stem.

Verbs[]

Verbs in Xwarṣa inflect for several categories:

  1. Person
  2. Number
  3. Tense
  4. Polarity
  5. Aspect
  6. Mood
  7. Voice

Xwarṣa verbs inflect for the person and number of its absolutive argument, which are conflated as such:

  1. First person
    1. Singular (1sg)
    2. Dual
      1. Inclusive (1du.inc)
      2. Exclusive (1du.exc)
    3. Plural
      1. Inclusive (1pl.inc)
      2. Exclusive (1pl.exc)
  2. Second person
    1. Singular (2sg)
    2. Dual (2du)
    3. Plural (2pl)
  3. Third person
    1. Proximate
      1. Singular (p.sg)
      2. Dual (p.du)
      3. Plural (p.pl)
    2. Obviate
      1. Singular (o.sg)
      2. Dual (o.du)
      3. Plural (o.pl)

They can be in any of the nine tenses:

  1. Present (prs)
  2. Past
    1. Relative past (rpas)
    2. Absolute past (apas)
    3. Immediate past (aor/ipas)
  3. Future
    1. Relative future (rfut)
    2. Absolute future (afut)
    3. Vespertine future (ves/vfut)
    4. Proximate future (pfut)
    5. Distant future (dfut)

They can encode for one of four aspects:

  1. Imperfective (ipf)
  2. Perfective
    1. Inchoative (ich)
    2. Cessative (ces)
  3. Defective (dfe)

They can be inflected for one of three moods:

  1. Indicative (ind)
  2. Hypothetical (hyp)
  3. Imperative (imp)

They can be in one of three voices:

  1. Medioactive (med)
  2. Antipassive (pas)
  3. Reciprocal (rec)

They can be either positive (unglossed) or negative (neg).

A Xwarṣa verb looks like this:

Xwarṣa verb template
Slots root derivation aspect mood person.number.tense.aspect.polarity voice
0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5

The root is the bare morphosemantical unit that makes up the word, stripped of all inflections and derivations. Derivational suffixes are added onto the root to form the basic stem. Adding the aspect and mood inflections makes an extended stem. This extended stem receives a conflated suffix onto which voice is attached, forming a full verb.

Derivation (+1)[]

Aspect (+2)[]

The second verb slot fits the aspect suffix which also encodes transitivity:

Transitive (tra) Intransitive (int)
Imperfective (ipf) -ęk -ąk
Inchoative (ich) -ęs -ąs
Cessative (ces) -ą̂ð
Defective (dfe) -hą̂t

Aspect can be omitted, implied or circumstantially marked; the second slot is not obligatory. Usually verbs have an inherited aspect; in that case, no marking is needed

Mood (+3)[]

The third verb slot has the mood suffix. It encodes only the grammatical mood of the verb:

Indicative (ind) -
Hypothetical (hyp)
Imperative (imp) -jə

Person, Number, Tense and Polarity (+4)[]

First Person (1) Second Person (2) Third Person
Inclusive (inc) Exclusive (exc) Proximate (p) Obviate (o)
Present (prs) Singular (sg) Positive -ṣę -ją -tą -θą
Negative (neg) -ṣęk -jąk -tąk -θąk
Dual (du) Positive -ês -êŋ -âs -ûŋ -ûθ
Negative (neg) -êsk -êkk -âsk -ûkk -ûss
Plural (pl) Positive -ęr -ęṇ -sâṣ -sû -θąk
Negative (neg) -ęṣk -ęŋŋ -sųṣk -θąss
First Person (1) Second Person (2) Third Person
Inclusive (inc) Exclusive (exc) Proximate (p) Obviate (o)
Relative Future (rfut) Singular (sg) Positive -ppę -vę -mę -pθę
Negative (neg) -ppęk -vęk -męk -pθęk
Dual (du) Positive -ų̂b -ų̂d -bų̂m -vǫ̂m -pθų
Negative (neg) -ų̂bk -ų̂dk -bų̂ŋk -vǫ̂ŋk -pθųk
Plural (pl) Positive -kąv -kąk -pką̂ -mpą̂m -âpθ
Negative (neg) -kąvk -kąkk -pką̂k -mpą̂ŋk -âpk
Absolute Future (afut) Singular (sg) Positive -rrę -ẓę -sę -θę
Negative (neg) -rręk -ẓęk -sęk -θęk
Dual (du) Positive -ų̂v -ų̂k -ḍų̂m -jǫ̂m -ųθ
Negative (neg) -ų̂vk -ų̂kk -ḍų̂ŋk -jǫ̂ŋk -ųsk
Plural (pl) Positive -sǫv -sǫk -ṣkǫ̂ -ṇṭǫ̂m -âjθ
Negative (neg) -sǫvk -sǫkk -ṣkǫ̂k -ṇṭǫ̂ŋk -âjk
Vespertine Future (vfut) Singular (sg) Positive -llę -ḍę -kę -θtų
Negative (neg) -llęk -ḍęk -kęk -θtęk
Dual (du) Positive -ų̂l -ų̂ŋ -jų̂k -rḍų̂ -ųθt
Negative (neg) -ų̂lk -ų̂rk -jų̂kk -rḍų̂k -ųsk
Plural (pl) Positive -nęlt -nęṇ -ṇrę -ndę -nųθt
Negative (neg) -nęlk -nęrk -ṇręk -ndęk -nųsk
Proximate Future (pfut) Singular (sg) Positive -llâ-dę -ḍâ-dę -kâ-dę -θtâ-dę
Negative (neg) -llâ-dęk -ḍâ-dęk -kâ-dęk -θtâ-dęk
Dual (du) Positive -ų̂l-dę -ų̂ŋ-dę -jų̂k-dę -rḍų̂-dę -ųð-dę
Negative (neg) -ų̂l-dęk -ų̂ŋ-dęk -jų̂-dęk -rḍ-dęk -ųð-dęk
Plural (pl) Positive -nęl-dę -nęṇ-ḍę -ṇrâ-dę -ndâ-dę -nųð-dę
Negative (neg) -nęl-dęk -nęṇ-ḍęk -ṇrâ-dęk -ndâ-dęk -nųð-dęk
Absolute Future (afut) Singular (sg) Positive -rrâ-dę -ẓâ-dę -sâ-dę -θâ-dę
Negative (neg) -rrâ-dęk -ẓâ-dęk -sâ-dęk -θâ-dęk
Dual (du) Positive -ų̂v-dę -ų̂s-dę -ḍų̂n-dę -jǫ̂n-dę -ųð-dę
Negative (neg) -ų̂v-dęk -ų̂s-ęk -ḍų̂ŋk -jǫ̂ŋk -ųsk
Plural (pl) Positive -sǫv-dę -sǫs-dę -ṣkǫ̂-dę -ṇṭǫ̂n-dę -âjð-dę
Negative (neg) -sǫv-dęk -sǫs-dęk -ṣkǫ̂-dęk -ṇṭǫ̂n-dęk -âjð-dęk
First Person (1) Second Person (2) Third Person
Inclusive (inc) Exclusive (exc) Proximate (p) Obviate (o)
Relative Past (rpas) Singular (sg) Positive -man -ṣan -ḍan -θan
Negative (neg) -maŋk -jaŋk -taŋk -θaŋk
Dual (du) Positive -ûs -ûŋ -îs -tǫ -ǫθ
Negative (neg) k -ûkk -îsk -tǫkk -ǫss
Plural (pl) Positive -ûṣ -ûḍ -ṣtî -mbǫ̂ -ǫθ
Negative (neg) -ûṣk -ûkk -ṣtûk -mbǫ̂k -ǫss
Absolute Past (apas) Singular (sg) Positive -mę -ję -tę -θę
Negative (neg) -męk -jęk -tęk -θęk
Dual (du) Positive -âs -âŋ -jâs -tû -ąθ
Negative (neg) k -âkk -jâsk -tûkk -ąss
Plural (pl) Positive -ąr -ąṇ -ṣtâ -ndų -âθ
Negative (neg) -ąṣk -ąŋk -ndųk -âss
Immediate Past (ipas) Singular (sg) Positive -ðję -ḍę -ję -θję
Negative (neg) -ðjęk -ḍęk -jęk -θjęk
Dual (du) Positive -ą̂ð -ą̂sk -ḍą̂s -ją̂s -ąjθ
Negative (neg) -ą̂kk -ą̂kk -ḍą̂sk -ją̂sk -ąjk
Plural (pl) Positive -ęð -ęḍ -ðdą̂ -ðją̂ -âjθ
Negative (neg) -ękk -ðdą̂k -ðją̂k -âjk

Voice (+5)[]

The fifth verb slot has the voice suffix:

Medioactive (med) -
Antipassive (pas) -t
Reciprocal (rec) -sk

Pronouns and Correlatives[]

Pronouns in Xwarṣa inflect otherwise exactly as nouns. Quantifiers semantically fit together with pronouns although they inflect like adjectives. Pro-adverbs behave like adverbs. The personal pronouns can also be used emphatically.

Personal Pronouns
Person Number
Singular (sg) Dual (du) Plural (pl)
First (1) Inclusive (inc) ṣęt- sêt- rą̂t-
Exclusive (exc) ŋêt- ṇêt-
Second (2) jat- hât- xwât-
Third Proximate (p) kąt- kût- kę-
Obviate (o) θąt- θût- θę-
Correlatives
Interrogative (intr) Relative (rela) Demonstrative Typical
Proximate (prox) Distant (dist) General (genr)* Existential (exis)* Universal (univ)* Negative (negt)* Alternative (altr)* Consistent (cons)*
Quantifier/Pro-adjective (adj) hat-ją- ẓa-ją- ðo-ją- jâ-ją- oθ-ją- ê-ją- na-ją- kə̂-ją-
kə-ją-
sê-ją- ter-ją-
Pronoun Edible (edi) haṭ-ṭîr-k- ẓa-ṭîr-k- ðo-ṭîr-k- jâ-ṭîr-k- oṭ-ṭîr-k- ê-ṭîr-k- na-ṭîr-k- kə-ṭîr-k- sê-ṭîr-k- te-ṭîr-k-
Inedible (iedi) haṭ-ṭîr-s- ẓa-ṭîr-s- ðo-ṭîr-s- jâ-ṭîr-s- oṭ-ṭîr-s- ê-ṭîr-s- na-ṭîr-s- kə-ṭîr-s- sê-ṭîr-s- tą-ṭîr-s-
Pro-adverb Location (loc) haḍ-ḍê- ẓa-ḍê- ðo-ḍê- jâ-ḍê- oð-dê- ê-ḍê- na-ḍê- kə̂-ḍê- są̂-ḍê- te-ḍê-
Direction (dir) hat-mo- ẓa-mo- ðo-mo- jâ-mo- oð-mo- ê-mo- na-mo- kə-mo- sê-mo- te-mo-
Manner (man) ha-jǫ̂r-
hat-ą-k-ąr-
ẓa-jǫ̂r-
ẓa-ją-k-ąr-
ðo-jǫ̂r- jâ-jǫ̂r- od-dǫ̂r-
od-dą-k-ąr-
ê-jǫ̂r- na-nǫ̂r- kə-jǫ̂r-
kə-jə-k-ąr-
sê-jǫ̂r- te-jǫ̂r-
Time (tim) haḍ-ḍis- ẓa-ḍis- ðo-ḍis- jâ-ḍis- oð-dis- ê-dis- ną-dis- kə-dis- są̂-dis- te-dis-
Instrument (inr) har-ret- ẓa-ret ðo-ret- jâ-ret- oð-ðet- ê-ret- ną-ret- kə̂-ret- sê-ret- te-ret-
Reason (rsn) har-pi- ẓa-pi- ðo-pi- jâ-pi- os-pi- ê-pi- ną-pi- kə̂r-pi- sê-pi- te-pi-
*anyone, someone, everyone, no one, another one, the same one

Syntax[]

Xwarṣa is a head-initial, VEA (verb-ergative-absolutive) language. As it is a highly inflected language, it essentially has free word order. It employs fronting of certain parts of speech to provide emphasis.

Adjectives in it come after nouns and adverbs after verbs.

Equality and Difference[]

Adjectives of equality, likeness and difference go either with a copula and the preposition "pąn" which takes the dative followed by a noun phrase, or with a subordinator, copula, "pąn" and a dative complement.

Comparison[]

Comparison is done in the form of a comparative + "ip" + compared-to entity.

Relative Clauses[]

Relative clauses function like either adverbs or adjectives on the surface, modifying noun phrases. They are formed using the relative correlatives whose referent is the modified segment in the main clause in which they are embedded. Word order in relative clauses always follows the pattern of "CORRELATIVE-VERB", followed by the other constituents that aren't locked in place.

Creatives and Adjectives[]

Verbs of creation (or creatives) such as "to be born", "to be made", "to be written" et cetera can take adjectives in the instrumental as complement (ex. to be born free) to specify the manner or properties intended or realized of the object of creation.

Titles[]

Titles function almost like adjectives: they agree with the noun they modify in case, possession and number (not edibility) and come after it (John king; Ahuramazdâ Θôθągaḍǫ̂)

Possessives[]

In a possessor-possessed combination, the possessed often takes the possessed case and the possessor takes the case role of the possessed in addition to the possession inflection.

Conditionals[]

Conditionals are introduced several conditional particles, such as "ǫkê" (for specifying direct causation). A conditional clause begins with the particle, followed by the verb in the hypothetical, then comes normal word order. Fronting for emphasis cannot move any element to be between the particle and the verb nor can it move any element so that it stands before the particle.

Antipassives[]

Antipassives are marked by a specific verb conjugation. The original absolutive argument of the active is deleted and the old ergative argument becomes the absolutive argument. The original absolutive may be still present but marked with the dative or vialis cases.

Subordinate Clauses[]

Subordinate clauses are introduced with the particle "" and treated as regular sentences, with missing arguments implied and present arguments overwriting assumed ones. Subordinate clauses are unmarked for case but can take on postpositions (that then come after the particle) and still function as arguments.

Copula construction[]

Copula constructions are of the form "Copula + Modified + Modifier", where the modified is in the absolutive and the modifier can be a relative phrase introduced by a demonstrative and a relative correlative, or an adjective or a set of adjectives, where the modifier agrees with the modified in case, number and edibility but is invariably indefinite.

Definiteness[]

New information is usually introduced indefinite and then transposed into the definite when what it refers to is known.

Vocabulary[]

Xwarsa/Lexicon

Examples[]

Xwarṣa/Texts

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