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| Name: ზესეგა - Yesega
Type: Agglutinative Alignment: Nominative–accusative Head Direction: Final Number of genders: 0 Declensions: No Conjugations: Yes
| ||||||||||||||
Yesega (ზესეგა yesega, [ʐʲeˈsegə], [ʝʲeˈsegə]) is a posteriori language, being mainly Indo-European. This language's culture, however, evolved to be fairly isolated. This resulted in its obscure phoneme inventory and unusual syntax and grammar. It uses 15 characters from the Georgian alphabet, as well as 〈'〉 to represent the glottal stop. Its closest linguistic relatives are Ancient Greek, Latin, and Romanian with small influences from Slavic and alleged relation to the Japonic language family.
Alphabet[]
The alphabet in Yesega is called ალეჰაპა alehafa. The Georgian scipt in which it is written is called უმგეტზი umgetyi, a single letter is called a გეტზი getyi, and the romanized alphabet is called რეუმგეტზი reumgetyi.
| Name | Reumgetyi | Umgetyi | *GQI | Phoneme | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ჰ | ჰატემ hatem | H | h | h | x |
| პ | პალაი falai | F | ṗ' | p | ɸ/f/ɱ |
| მ | მემ mem | M | m | m | m |
| ტ | ტა ta | T | t' | t | t |
| ნ | ნან nan | N | n | n | n |
| ლ | ლამე lame | L | l | l | l |
| ზ | აზამ ayam | Y | z | z | ʐʲ/ʝʲ |
| ს | ესეტ eset | S | s | s | s |
| შ | ეშენ exen | X | sh | S | ʂ |
| გ | გელემ galam | G | g | g | g |
| რ | რალა rala | R | r | r | ʁ/r |
| ' | ნა'ა na'a | ' | ' | ' | ʔ |
| ა | ალე ale | A | a | a | a/ə |
| ი | ილე ile | I | i | i | i |
| უ | ულე ule | U | u | u | u |
| ე | ელე ele | E | e | e | e |
*Georgian QWERTY Input
Etymology[]
The history of the word Yesega comes from the Middle Yesegan word for language, ზეზეგა zezeka, which originates from Proto-Yesegan ეზე' ezeq meaning "tongue". This comes from the Late Proto-Slavic *ęzỳkъ.
Several etymological roots can be seen from Latin sources, however some words have been highly distorded due to isolation. An example of this includes the word for "eye" which is ჰუ'უმ hu'um, coming from oculus→oqu→hoqum→hu'um.
Phonology[]
History[]
The consonants and vowels in Yesega became somewhat skewed over time, leading to a phonological shift between Proto-Yesega, Middle Yesega, and the modern Communal Yesega. The basic "shift" went as follows:
- Ø→h→x
- p→f→ɸ/f/ɱ
- z→j→ʐʲ/ʝʲ
- t͡ʃ→ʃ→ʂ
- k→k→g
- k→k→ʔ
- Ø/h→ɣ→ʁ/r
- many vowels shifted seemingly randomly, losing [o] after Middle Yesega.
Consonants[]
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Retroflex | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m 〈მ〉 | n 〈ნ〉 | ŋ1 | |||||
| Plosive | p2 | t 〈ტ〉 | g〈გ〉 | ʔ 〈'〉 | ||||
| Fricative | ɸ 〈პ〉 | s 〈ს〉 |
ʂ 〈შ〉 ʐʲ 〈ზ〉 |
x〈ჰ〉 | ʁ 〈რ〉 | |||
| Liquid | l 〈ლ〉 | |||||||
1[n] becomes [ŋ] when used as〈ნგ, ng〉.
2[ɸ] becomes [p] after [m] and sometimes when beginning a phrase or after a pause.
Dialects[]
The standard dialect of Yesega is fomally called ზესეგა გუმუნ yesega gumun, meaning "Communal Yesega". Pronunciation, however, can have subtle differences. 〈y〉 can be pronounced [ʝ] rather than standard [ʐ], and 〈f〉 can be pronounced [f] and sometimes [ɱ] between vowels rather than [ɸ]. Standard [ʁ] is aternately trilled [r], usually when sung.
Vowels[]
| Front | Near-front | Near-back | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i〈ი〉 | u〈უ〉 | ||
| Near-close | ɪ1 | ʊ2 | ||
| Close-mid | e〈ე〉 | |||
| Mid | ə3 | |||
| Open | a〈ა〉 |
1[i] sometimes becomes [ɪ] when unstressed.
2[u] sometimes becomes [ʊ] when unstressed.
3[a] becomes [ə] when unstressed.
Phonotactics[]
Syllables in Yesega can have quite complex and unique consonant and vowel clusters such as პტენეეუპე fteneeufe [ɸteˈneʊ̯ɸe] and ტშზრიმატშუ txyrimatxu [ʈʂʲʁɪˈmaʈʂu], however there are some restrictions:
N= Nasal P= Plosive F= Fricative L= Liquid
- LN- NL- -NL -PL -FL NP- PN- -PN NF- -FN NN PP
The following also cannot exist:
- rP- -Pr -mt -mg -nf -ngf -ngt rN- -Nr rF- -Fr rL- -Lr
Stress[]
The stress on a syllable of a word depends of the final phoneme.
Ending in a Vowel or Nasal[]
Words ending in any vowel, M, or N places stress on the second to last syllable.
- ემნე emne; გაუნ gaun; მეუმ meum
Ending in a Consonant and Ng[]
Words that end in a consonant other than M or N has stress on the final syllable.
- ეტერ eter; ატაშ atas; ნარანგ narang
Irregularities[]
Ending with Stressed Vowel (+M/N)[]
The final vowel is doubled when stressed in a syllable ending with a vowel, M, or N.
- ჰეუსეე heusee
Stressed Syllable Elsewhere[]
The consonant following a stressed vowel of a syllable that does not abide by the rules mentioned before is doubled. If the syllable does not end in a consonant, the vowel is doubled.
- სტუმმაგე stummage
- ლეეუმ leeum
Grammar[]
Pronouns[]
Personal[]
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Person |
ე e I/me |
ემ em We/us |
| 2nd Person |
ლა la You |
ლამ lam You all |
| 3rd Person |
სა sa It/he/him/she/her/(xe/xyr)1 |
სამ sam They/Them |
| ე მუ'არ ემნუ. | E mu'ar emnu. | I am a woman. |
| ლამ რულუ. | Lam rulu. | You all run. |
| სა ტუერნა ტხუ. | Sa tuerna txu. | He eats cake. |
1Xe/xyr refers to any gender non-binary pronoun. This includes the singular they/them, zie/zir, etc.
Reflexive[]
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Person |
ენუა enua Myself |
ენუამ enuam Ourself/ourselves |
| 2nd Person |
ლანუა lanua Yourself |
ლანუამ lanuam Yourselves |
| 3rd Person |
სანუა sanua It/him/her/xemself |
სანუამ sanuam Themself/themselves |
| ემ ეტ ენუამ გაუნტუ. | Em et enuam gauntu. | We sing to ourselves. |
| ლა ეტ ლანუა არაუ. | La et lanua arau. | You laugh to yourself. |
| სამ ეტ სანუამ ეტაუ. | Sam et sanuam etau. | They hurt themselves. |
- In standard Yesega, a speaker will usually put ეტ et linking the personal pronoun to its reflexive.
Demonstrative[]
| Proximal | Mesial | Distal | Interrogative | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Object1 |
ტე te This |
ტა ta That |
ტუა tua That over there |
|
| Objects plural1 |
ტემ tem These |
ტამ tam Those |
ტუამ tuam Those over there |
|
| Location |
ტერა tera Here |
ტარა tara There |
ტუარა tuara Over there |
პარა fara Where? |
| ტე გაუნ ემნუ. | Te gaun emnu. | That is a dog. |
| ეტ ტა1 ამჰულუა მიტზალა. | Et ta1 amhulua mityala. | Look at that1 tree. |
| სა ტუამ ტამუ. | Sa tuam tamu. | She has those over there. |
| ე ეტ ტერა ემნუ. | E et tera emnu. | I am here. |
| ლა ეტ პარა ემნუამ? | La et fara emnuam? | Where are you? |
1These pronouns can also be used as adjectives.
Interrogative[]
| Root |
პა fa What |
|---|---|
| Object |
პა fa What/Which? |
| Being |
პალ fal Who(m)? |
| Location |
პარა fara Where/Whither? |
| Amount |
პაუტა fauta How much/many? |
| Method |
პამა fama How? |
| Reason |
პაიმე faime Why? |
| Time |
პალამ falam When? |
| Type |
პა'ეტ fa'et What type? |
| ლა პა აშაუ გუტზუამ? | La fa axau gutyuam? | What do you like to do? |
| პა პლუმე სა ემნუამ? | Fa flume sa emnuam? | Which pen is it? |
| პალ ტე ეშაეტამ? | Fal te axaetam? | Who did this? |
| ე ეტ პარა საუ რულუამ? | E et fara sau ruluam? | To where should I run? |
| ე პაუტა პალზა საუ გუმპარუამ? | E fauta falya sau gumfaruam? | Which plant should I purchase? |
| ე ტე პამა აშაუ ეშიგუამ? | E te fama axau exiguam? | How do I say this? |
| ლა პაიმე ტუნგგუამ? | La faime tungguam? | Why are you crying? |
| პარატი პალამ ემნუამ? | Farati falam emnuam? | When is the party? |
| ტა პა'ეტ გრეზან ემნუამ? | Ta fa'et greyan emnuam? | What type of pencil is that? |
Indefinite[]
| Proximal | Mesial | Distal | Negative | Universal | Existential | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elective | Assertive | ||||||
| Root |
ტე te this ... |
ტა ta that ... |
ტუა tua that ... over there |
ნე ne no(t) ... |
სუა sua each/every ... |
ეგე ege any ... |
ატა ata some ... |
| Object |
*ტე te this |
*ტა ta that |
*ტუა tua that over there |
ნელ nel nothing |
*სუალა suala everything |
*ეგელა egela anything |
*ატალა atala something |
| Being |
*ნელან nelan nobody/no one |
სუანან suanan everybody/everyone |
ეგენან egenan anybody/anyone |
ატანან atanan somebody/someone | |||
| Location |
ტერა tera here |
ტარა tara there |
ტუარა tuara over there |
ნერა nera nowhere |
სუარა suara everywhere |
ეგერა egera anywhere |
ატარა atara somewhere |
| Amount |
ტეუტა teuta this many/much |
ტაუტა tauta that many/much |
*ტუტა tuta that other amount |
ნეუტა neuta none/not any |
ეგეუტა egeuta any amount |
ატაუტა atauta some amount | |
| Method |
ტემა tema this way |
ტამა tama that way |
ტუამა tuama that other way |
*ნეამა neama no way |
სუამა suama every way |
ეგემა egema anyhow |
ატამა atama somehow |
| Time |
*ტეალამ tealam now |
ტალამ talam then |
ტუალამ tualam that other time |
*ნეალამ nealam never |
სუალამ sualam everytime |
*ეგეალამ egealam anytime |
*ატა'ალამ ata'alam sometime |
| Type |
ტე'ეტ te'et like this |
*ტა'ატ ta'at like that |
*ტუა'ატ tua'at like that other type |
||||
*These words do not follow the normal rules of affixing.
Verb Conjugation[]
Verbs in Yesega are conjugated according to verb tense.
THE FOLLOWING TABLE IS UNDER REVISIONS
| Tense | English | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Infinitive
Present |
ემნუ | emnu | to be
is |
| Past | ემნეტა | emneta | was |
| Future | ემნაზა | emnaya | will be |
| Negative present | ემნენა | emnena | is not |
| Negative past | ემნეტენა | emnetena | was not |
| Negative future | ემნაზენა | emnayena | will not be |
| Imperative | ემნალა | emnala | (you) be |
| Negative imperative | ემნალენა | emnalena | (you) do not be |
| Present perfect | ემნაუ | emnau | has/have been |
| Past perfect | ემნაეტა | emnaeta | had been |
| Future perfect | ემნა'აზა | emna'aya | will have been |
| Negative present perfect | ემნაუნა | emnauna | has/have not been |
| Negative past perfect | ემნაეტანა | emnaetana | had not been |
| Negative future perfect | ემნა'აზანა | emna'ayana | will have not been |
| Interrogative present | ემნუამ | emnuam | what is? |
| Interrogative past | ემნეტან | emnetam | what was? |
| Interrogative future | ემნაზამ | emnayam | what will be? |
| Interrogative present perfect | ემნაუამ | emnauam | what has been? |
| Interrogative past perfect | ემნაეტამ | emnaetam | what had been? |
| Interrogative future perfect | ემნა'აზამ | emna'ayam | what will have been? |
| Negative interrogative present perfect | ემნაუნუამ | emnaunuam | what has not been? |
| Negative interrogative past perfect | ემნაეტანამ | emnaetanam | what had not been? |
| Negative interrogative future perfect | ემნა'აზანამ | emna'ayanam | what will have not been? |
Number[]
Duality[]
Duality in Yesega is used when there are two of any noun. While it is uncommon in formal speech, duality of a noun is suffixed to a word -იტან -itan in most cases. If the singular version ends in ჰ h or რ r, -ეტან -etan is added. If a singular word already ends in ი i, -შტან -xtan is added.
| ტსაიტან | tsaitan | two houses |
| პლერეტან | fleretan | two flowers |
| მუტიშტან | mutixtan | two legs |
Plurality[]
Plurality is used in Yesega to express when there are many of a noun. The suffix -იმ -im is added to the word. If a word ends in ჰ h or რ r, -ემ -em is used instead. It is common in formal speech and writings to express duality by stating the number and adding the general -იმ -im or -ემ -em suffix instead. If a singular word already ends in ი i, -მ -m is added.
| გატრა რალარემ | gatra ralarem | four clocks |
| პელეუმიმ | feleumim | hairs |
| უტუმ პურგულიტსიმ | utum furgulitsim | two forks |
Syntax[]
Word order in Yesega is usually SOV. Adjectives and adverbs follow the word they are modifying. If there are more than one modifying words, each is followed by a comma, with the final one followed by a semicolon. Numbers and pronouns are the only adjectives to go before the word it modifies.
| Three angry, brown dogs quickly bit the cat. |
| ტსრაი გაუნიმ სუპარატა, გასტანზუმ; მეუმ მუტშეტა ზუტე. |
| Tsrai gaunim sufarata, gasatanyum; meum mutxeta yute. |
| three dog-pl angry, brown; cat bit quickly. |
Links[]
Swadesh List: http://conlang.wikia.com/wiki/Yesega/Swadesh_List
Numbers: http://conlang.wikia.com/wiki/Yesega/Numbers