FrathWiki - User contributions [en]

User:Twenex

2010-05-30T21:49:04Z

Twenex:

You can look at my conlang, [[Velian]]; unfortunately there's not much there yet.

I've started a new conlang, provisionally named [[Canadu]].

And now one [[Novizik|based on Russian, provisionally called Novizhik]].

Or try one [[Lo'it|inspired by the Semitic languages]].

Novizhik

2010-01-03T01:00:35Z

Twenex: /* Introduction */

=Introduction=
Novizik is a language which is strikingly similar to Russian: It has hard and soft (palatalised) consonants and a full set of fricatives.

==Phonology==

{|
!IPA||Letter
|-
|a||{{IPA|a}}
|-
|æ||{{IPA|æ}}
|-
|b||{{IPA|b}}
|-
|c||{{IPA|t͡s}}
|-
|č||{{IPA|t͡ʃ}}
|-
|d||{{IPA|d}}
|-
|e||{{IPA|e}}
|-
|f||{{IPA|f}}
|-
|g||{{IPA|g}}
|-
|h||{{IPA|h}}
|-
|ı||{{IPA|ɨ}}
|-
|i||{{IPA|i}}
|-
|j||{{IPA|j}}
|-
|k||{{IPA|k}}
|-
|l||{{IPA|l}}
|-
|m||{{IPA|m}}
|-
|n||{{IPA|n}}
|-
|o||{{IPA|o}}
|-
|p||{{IPA|p}}
|-
|r||{{IPA|r}}
|-
|s||{{IPA|s}}
|-
|š||{{IPA|ʃ}}
|-
|šč||{{IPA|ʃ◌͡
|t||{{IPA|t}}
|-
|u||{{IPA|u}}
|-
|v||{{IPA|v}}
|-
|x||{{IPA|x}}
|-
|z||{{IPA|z}}
|
|}

Novizik

2010-01-03T00:59:03Z

Twenex: moved Novizik to Novizhik: Changed name of language to "Novizhik".

#REDIRECT [[Novizhik]]

Novizhik

2010-01-03T00:59:03Z

Twenex: moved Novizik to Novizhik: Changed name of language to "Novizhik".

=Introduction=
Novizik is a language which is strikingly similar to Russian: It has hard and soft (palatalised) consonants and a full set of affricates.

==Phonology==

{|
!IPA||Letter
|-
|a||{{IPA|a}}
|-
|æ||{{IPA|æ}}
|-
|b||{{IPA|b}}
|-
|c||{{IPA|t͡s}}
|-
|č||{{IPA|t͡ʃ}}
|-
|d||{{IPA|d}}
|-
|e||{{IPA|e}}
|-
|f||{{IPA|f}}
|-
|g||{{IPA|g}}
|-
|h||{{IPA|h}}
|-
|ı||{{IPA|ɨ}}
|-
|i||{{IPA|i}}
|-
|j||{{IPA|j}}
|-
|k||{{IPA|k}}
|-
|l||{{IPA|l}}
|-
|m||{{IPA|m}}
|-
|n||{{IPA|n}}
|-
|o||{{IPA|o}}
|-
|p||{{IPA|p}}
|-
|r||{{IPA|r}}
|-
|s||{{IPA|s}}
|-
|š||{{IPA|ʃ}}
|-
|šč||{{IPA|ʃ◌͡
|t||{{IPA|t}}
|-
|u||{{IPA|u}}
|-
|v||{{IPA|v}}
|-
|x||{{IPA|x}}
|-
|z||{{IPA|z}}
|
|}

User:Twenex

2010-01-03T00:58:03Z

Twenex:

Novizhik

2010-01-03T00:55:56Z

Twenex:

Novizhik

2010-01-03T00:17:04Z

Twenex:

=Introduction=
Novizik is a language which is strikingly similar to Russian: It has hard and soft (palatalised) consonants and a full set of affricates.

==Phonology==

{|
''IPA''|''Letter''
|
{{IPA|a}}|a
|
|}

Novizhik

2010-01-03T00:11:18Z

Twenex: Created page with '==Introduction== Novizik is a language which is strikingly similar to Russian: It has hard and soft (palatalised) consonants and a full set of affricates. Phonology'

==Introduction==
Novizik is a language which is strikingly similar to Russian: It has hard and soft (palatalised) consonants and a full set of affricates.

Phonology

User:Twenex

2010-01-03T00:04:16Z

Twenex:

User:Twenex

2010-01-03T00:01:44Z

Twenex:

You can look at my conlang, [[Velian]]; unfortunately there's not much there yet.

I've started a new conlang, provisionally named [[Canadu]].

And now one [[based on Russian, provisionally called |Novizik]].

Velyan syntax

2009-07-19T21:23:03Z

Twenex:

The syntax of Velyan is characterised by an overwhelming tendency to [[Wikipedia:double-marking language|double marking]]: verb inflection shows agreement for number and gender with agents, patients, indirect objects, benefactives and addressees, whilst nominals show (a) case endings for nominative, ergative, accusative, and dative case, (as intransitive subject, agent, patient and indirect object object of the verb) and (b) pronominal agreement on possessed nominals; and adjectives and possessor nominals show agreement with their head nominal in gender, number, deixis, indefiniteness and case.

Velyan is also pervasively ergative: agent arguments of the verb are marked with the ergative case, whilst the verb agrees with the agent of the verb (if present); the syntactic pivot is ergative, and conjoined verb phrases must use the antipassive voice if the agent of one is the patient of another.

Velyan syntax

2009-07-19T21:20:43Z

Twenex:

Velyan syntax

2009-07-19T21:20:21Z

Twenex: Corrected link to Wikipedia:double-marking language

Velyan syntax

2009-07-19T21:18:55Z

Twenex: Added tag for link to Wikipedia:double marking

The syntax of Velyan is characterised by an overwhelming tendency to [[Wikipedia:double marking|double marking]]: verb inflection shows agreement for number and gender with agents, patients, indirect objects, benefactives and addressees, whilst nominals show (a) case endings for nominative, ergative, accusative, and dative case, (as intransitive subject, agent, patient and indirect object object of the verb) and (b) pronominal agreement on possessed nominals; and adjectives and possessor nominals show agreement with their head nominal in gender, number, deixis, indefiniteness and case.

Velyan

2009-07-19T21:16:11Z

Twenex: /* Consonants */ Expanded consonant inventory to include palatalised and labialised nasals, plosives and fricatives, prenasalised, prenasalised palatalised and prenasalised labialised stops and fricat

Velyan is one of the two main [[Wikipedia:Classical_language|classical languages]] of the continent Pellargos, on the planet Máa. Máa is an alternate Earth planet.

=Phonology=
==Vowels==

There are 12 vowels, each of which can be short or long.

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=11 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Vowels
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Front ||colspan=2| Near-front ||colspan=2| Central ||colspan=2| Near-back ||colspan=2| Back
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High || {{IPA|i}} || {{IPA|y}} || || || || || || || || {{IPA|u}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-high || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High-mid || || || {{IPA|e}} || {{IPA|ø}} || || || || || || {{IPA|o}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Mid || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low-mid || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-low || || || {{IPA|æ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low || || || || || {{IPA|a}}
|}

</div>

== Consonants ==

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=17 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Consonants
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Bilabial ||colspan=2| Labiod. ||colspan=2| Dental ||colspan=2| Alveolar ||colspan=2| Post-alv. ||colspan=2| Palatal ||colspan=2| Velar ||colspan=2|Uvular ||colspan=2| Glottal
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Nasal || {{IPA|m}} m|| || || || || {{IPA|n}} n|| || || || || || || {{IPA|ŋ}} ŋ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Labialised Nasal || {{IPA|mʷ}} mw || || || || || {{IPA|nʷ}} nw|| || || || || || || {{IPA|ŋʷ}} ŋw||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Palatalised Nasal || {{IPA|mʲ}} my/m' || || || || || {{IPA|nʲ}} ny/n'|| || || || || || || {{IPA|ŋʲ}} ŋy/ŋ'||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Plosive || {{IPA|p}} p|| || || || || {{IPA|t}} t|| || || || || || || {{IPA|k}} k|| || {{IPA|q}} q||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Labialised plosive || {{IPA|pʷ}} pw || || || || || {{IPA|tʷ}} tw || || || || || || || {{IPA|kʷ}} kw|| || {{IPA|qʷ}} qw||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Palatalised Plosive || {{IPA|pʲ}} py/p' || || || || || {{IPA|tʲ}} ty/t' || || || || || || || {{IPA|kʲ}} ky/k'|| || {{IPA|qʲ}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Aspirated Plosive || {{IPA|pʰ}} ph/px || || || || || {{IPA|tʰ}} th/tx || || || || || || || {{IPA|kʰ}} kh/kx|| || {{IPA|qʲ}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Prenalised Plosive || {{IPA|ⁿp}} mp/mb|| || || || || {{IPA|ⁿt}} nt/nd || || || || || || || {{IPA|ⁿk}} nk/ng || || {{IPA|ⁿq}} nq/mq||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Prenalised Labialised Plosive || {{IPA|ⁿpʷ}} mpw/mbw|| || || || || {{IPA|ⁿtʷ}} ntw/ndw|| || || || || || || {{IPA|ⁿkʷ}} nkw/ngw|| || {{IPA|ⁿqʷ}} nqw/mqw
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Prenalised Palatalised Plosive || {{IPA|ⁿpʲ}} mpy/mby|| || || || || {{IPA|ⁿtʲ}} nty/ndy|| || || || || || || {{IPA|ⁿkʲ}} nky/ngw|| || {{IPA|ⁿqʲ}} nqy/mqy
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Prenasalised Aspirated Plosive || {{IPA|ⁿpʰ}} mph/mbh || || || || || {{IPA|ⁿtʰ}} nth/ndh || || || || || || || {{IPA|ⁿkʰ}} nkh/ngh|| || {{IPA|ⁿqʰ}} nqy/mqy||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Fricative || || || || || || {{IPA|s}} s|| {{IPA|ʃ}} ʃ|| || || || || ({{IPA|x}} h)|| {{IPA|h}} h|| ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Labialised Fricative || || || || || || {{IPA|sʷ}} sw|| {{IPA|ʃʷ}} ʃw|| || || || || ({{IPA|xʷ}}) xw|| {{IPA|hʷ}} hw || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Palatalised Fricative || || || || || || {{IPA|sʲ}} sy/s'|| {{IPA|ʃʲ}} ʃy/ʃ'|| || || || || ({{IPA|xʲ}}) xy/x'|| {{IPA|hʲ}} hy/h'|| ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Prenalised Labialised Fricative || || || || || || {{IPA|ⁿsʷ}} nsw/nzw|| {{IPA|ⁿʃʷ}} nʃw/nʒw|| || || || || {{IPA|ⁿxʷ}} nxw|| {{IPA|ⁿhʷ}} nhw|| ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Prenasalised Palatalised Fricative || || || || || || {{IPA|ⁿsʲ}} nsy/nzy/nz'|| {{IPA|ⁿʃʲ}} nʃy/nʒy/nʒ'|| || || || || ({{IPA|ⁿxʲ}}) nxy/nx'|| || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Approximant || {{IPA|ʋ}} v|| || || || || || || || || || || {{IPA|j}} j
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Trill || || || || || || || || {{IPA|rː}} rr
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Labialised Trill || || || || || || || || {{IPA|rʷː}} rrw
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Palatalised Trill || || || || || || || || {{IPA|rʲː}} rry/rr'
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Flap || || || || || || || || {{IPA|ɾ}} r
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Labialised Flap || || || || || || || || {{IPA|ɾʷ}} rw
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Palatalised Flap || || || || || || || || {{IPA|ɾʲ}} ry/r'
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Lateral Approximant || || || || || || || || {{IPA|l}} || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Labialised Lateral Approximant || || || || || || || || {{IPA|lʷ}} lw|| || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Palatalised Lateral Approximant || || || || || || || || {{IPA|lʲ}} ly/l'|| || || ||
|-
|}
</div>

==Transcription==
Below is a table of the IPA sounds of Velyan, with transcription.

{|
!IPA||Letter
|-
|{{IPA|a}}||a
|-
|{{IPA|æ}}||ä
|-
|{{IPA|e}}||e
|-
|{{IPA|h}}||h
|-
|{{IPA|i}}||i
|-
|{{IPA|j}}||j
|-
|{{IPA|k}}||k
|-
|{{IPA|l}}||l
|-
|{{IPA|m}}||m
|-
|{{IPA|n}}||n
|-
|{{IPA|ŋ}}||ŋ
|-
|{{IPA|o}}||o
|-
|{{IPA|ö}}||ö
|-
|{{IPA|p}}||p
|-
|{{IPA|q}}||q
|-
|{{IPA|r}}||r
|-
|{{IPA|ɾː}}||rr
|-
|{{IPA|s}}||s
|-
|{{IPA|ʃ}}||š
|-
|{{IPA|t}}||t
|-
|{{IPA|u}}||u
|-
|{{IPA|y}}||y
|-
|{{IPA|ʋ}}||v
|-
|}
==Tone==
Velyan has three basic tones, called ''high'', ''mid'' and ''low''. The high and low tones are marked with accents, whilst the mid tone is the default tone and is not marked. The high tone is marked by an acute accent over back and neutral vowels and '''y''' ('''á é í ó ú ý''') and by a double-acute accent over front vowels ('''a̋ ő'''); similarly, the low tone is marked by single or double grave accents: ('''à ȁ è ì ò ȍ ù ỳ'''). Long vowels and diphthongs can have two tones.

==Vowel harmony==
Velyan phonotactics restrict the vowels that can appear in any one word to a subset of the entire inventory. Vowels are divided into three groups: front vowels (ä, ö, ü), back vowels (a, o, u) and neutral vowels (e, i). All vowels in a word must be either front vowels, or back vowels, but not both (though neutral vowels can appear in words with either front or back vowels.)

==Initial Consonant Mutation==
In Velyan, consonants at the beginning of words undergo a process of ''initial consonant mutation''', whereby an initial '''p''', '''t''', or '''k''' is mutated to its equivalent nasal consonant (respectively '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' under certain conditions. Conversely, under the same conditions the consonants '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' mutate to the consonants '''p''', '''t''' or '''k'''. The conditions under which this happens are explained more fully in the section on Syntax.
==Consonant Gradation==
The phenomenon of ''consonant gradation'' arises due to a restriction in Velyan words, that prohibits a "strong" syllable from ending in a consonant. A '''strong syllable''' is a syllable that begins with a consonant and is preceded by another ending in (at least) one consonant. When this happens, the consonant or cluster at the beginning of the final syllable undergoes '''lenition''' or softening (although it can be historically explained as a process of '''fortition''' or hardening).

The following changes occur as a result of consonant gradation:
#Geminate phonemes change to simplex ones, e.g. ''tt'' -> ''t'', ''rr'' -> ''r'', ''ss'' -> ''s''.

The remaining changes only affect plosives and clusters containing plosives:
Clusters change as follows:
#Nasals:
##Nasal + voiceless plosive changes to geminate nasal, e.g. ''mp'' -> ''mm'', ''nt'' -> ''nn''
#Liquids:
##''lt'' -> ''ll
##''lp'' -> ''lv''
##''lkU'' -> ''lvU''
##''rkU'' -> ''rvU''
##''lkI'' -> ''lji''
##''rkI'' -> ''rji''
#Consonant clusters beginning with ''s'':
##''sp'' -> ''sv''
##''st'' -> ''*sr'' -> ''rs''
##''sk'' -> ''ss''
#Consonant clusters ending with ''s'':
##''ps'' -> ''*vs'' -> ''sv''
##''ts'' -> ''rs''
##''ks'' -> ''s''
#Simplex consonants
##''t'' -> ''r''
##''p'' -> ''v''
##''k'' -> Ø
##''iki'' -> ''iji''
##-UkU'' -> ''UvU''
##''v'' -> ''w''

Notes:
#Long vowels and geminate consonants are written double, e.g. ''aa'', ''kk''. Note that {{IPA|/ɾː/}} is the geminate counterpart of {{IPA|/r/}}.

=Morphology=
==Nouns==
Nouns are divided into '''noun classes''' and inflect for '''quality''', '''dimension''', '''age''', '''tense/aspect''', '''number''', '''case''', '''possessor''', '''destination''' and '''deixis'''. Suffixes (there are no prefixes or infixes in Velyan) are added to the noun, or (more often) to the '''oblique stem'''.
===Noun Classes===
There are several noun classes, reflecting the division of nouns into several semantic categories. The noun classes are added to a notional form of the noun known as the '''base'''. In some cases, the base of a noun ends in one of the letters '''l''', '''n''', '''r''', '''s''', or '''t''', and the noun is in Class IX, which has no suffix; in these cases the base form does surface.

The class suffixes are as follows:
{|
|Class||||Meaning||||Suffix
|-
|I||||Divine Female||||'''-tAri'''
|-
|II||||Divine Male||||'''-tAr'''
|-
|III||||Female Human||||'''-O'''
|-
|IV||||Masculine Human||||'''-á'''
|-
|VI||||Female Professional||||'''-jA'''
|-
|V||||Male Professional||||'''-ri'''
|-
|VII||||Animate (Non-Human)||||'''-e'''
|-
|VIII||||Inanimate I||||∅
|-
|IX||||Inanimate II||||'''-i'''
|-
|X||||Abstract||||'''-U'''
|-
|XI||||Small Place||||'''-lA'''
|-
|XII||||Large Place||||'''-mA'''
|-
|XIII||||Instrument||||'''-ìn'''
|}

===Quality===
Nouns in Velyan take suffixes to show '''quality''', that is, whether something is good or bad. The suffix for ''good'' is '''-
====Dimension====
Nouns in Velyan take suffixes to show '''dimension''', that is whether something is large or small. The suffix for ''large'' is '''-iso''' after consonants, '''-is-''' after consonants and before vowels and '''-so''' after consonants and before vowels.
===Age===
===Number===
Number in Velyan distinguishes the following categories: general, singulative (''"one"''), dual (''"two"''), paucal (''"more than two, upto about 10 or a dozen"''), plural (''"more than ten or a dozen"'') and collective (''"all"''). The general form of the noun is the form used when citing the noun in general contexts. as in the English equivalents ''The '''lion''' is a member of the cat family''. The number suffixes differ depending on whether the suffix is the last suffix on the noun, or is followed by a suffix beginning with a consonant or a vowel.
<br>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=11 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Number affixes
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=4| Singulative ||colspan=4| Dual ||colspan=4| Paucal ||colspan=4| Plural ||colspan=4| Collective
|-
|style="text-align: center; font-size: 95%;"| Finally || '''-na''' || || || || '''-r''' || || || || '''-há''' || || || || '''-t'''|| || || || '''-kà'''
|-
|style="text-align: center; font-size: 95%;"| Before consonant || '''-na-'''|| || || || '''-u-'''|| || || || '''-h-''' || || || || '''-i-''' || || || || '''-kà-'''
|-
|style="text-align: center; font-size: 95%;"| Before a vowel || '''-nan-'''|| || || || '''-v-''' || || || || '''-h-''' || || || || '''-j-''' || || || || '''-kàk-'''

|}

</div>

===Deixis===
In English, the demonstratives "this", "these", "that" and "those" are used to point out objects located in space or time. In Velyan, the demonstratives occur as prefixes on the noun, and, in addition, there is a three-way distinction as opposed to the two-way distinction of English (similar to Spanish ''esto, eso, aquel'' or the archaic "this, there, yon".

The suffixes are as follows:
<div style="text-align: left;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=50 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Demonstrative Suffixes
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
|-
|| || || Near || Medial || Far
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| || || '''-ŋi''' || '''-ti''' || '''-mi'''
|-
|}
</div>

These forms are clearly related to the possessive suffixes (below).

===Possession===
Nouns take suffixes to show possession.

==Verbs==
Verbs are divided into two groups: the transitive conjugation and the intransitive conjugation. Verbs in the intransitive conjugation inflect for person, class/gender and number of the patient; gender and number of the addressee; tense; aspect; voice; mood and verbal number. Verbs in the transitive conjugation also inflect for person, class/gender and number of the agent, indirect object and beneficiary. There are also evidential suffixes and non-finite forms, comprising infinitives, participles, and gerunds.

===Tense===
There are four tenses: present, past, remote past and future.

====Compound Tenses====
There are compound tenses formed from the past participles of verbs in all moods plus the appropriate tense of the verbs '''ralta''' (an old verb meaning ''"to have"'') for verbs of the transitive conjugation, or '''halka''' (the full form of the existential verb which now survives as a suffix on nouns) for verbs of the intransitive conjugation.

===Aspect===
There are seven aspects: aorist, imperfect, perfective, continuative, inchoative, habitative, and conclusive.

===Voice===
There are five voices: active, passive, antipassive, medial and reciprocal.

===Mood===
There are eight moods, comprising the indicative, the imperative, the hortative, the optative, the desiderative, the necessitative, the obligative, and the similitive,

===Infinitives===
There are infinitival (non-personal) forms for all tenses and aspects except the imperative.

===Numbers===
The numbers from 1 to 20 are:

'''hanki''' ''1'', '''rotpi''' ''2'', '''työtki''' ''3'', '''papsi''' ''4'', ''vuusi''' ''5''
'''kauvi''' ''6''
'''kirpi''' ''7''
'''lÿÿlli''' ''8''
'''saunni''' ''9''
'''muupi''' ''10''
'''hankimuupi''' ''11''
'''rotpimuupi''' ''12''
'''työtkimyypi''' ''13''
'''papsimuupi''' ''14''
'''vuusimuupi''' ''15''
'''kauvimuupi''' ''16''
'''kirpimuupi''' ''17''
'''lyyllimyypi''' ''18''
'''saunnimuupi''' ''19''
'''väppi''' ''20''

=Syntax=
See main article [[Velyan syntax]]

Talk:Velian

2009-07-18T16:39:42Z

Twenex: moved Talk:Velian to Talk:Velyan over redirect: Reintroducing palatalisation

#REDIRECT [[Talk:Velyan]]

Talk:Velyan

2009-07-18T16:39:42Z

Twenex: moved Talk:Velian to Talk:Velyan over redirect: Reintroducing palatalisation

Looks good.
You might want to join Muke Tever's Frathwiki Yahoo! egroup.

== Velar nasal "eng" ==

ŋ is an IPA symbol that does, in fact, exist here on Frathwiki.

== Certain hooked IPA symbols. ==

ɧɱŋɳɲ
are all there;
ɲ n with a left hook on the left leg,
ɳ n with a right hook on the right leg,
ŋ n with a left hook on the right leg (a.k.a. eng).
Start editing your page and go down to "special character insertion" just below the new-text frame.
Look at the top "IPA" row, just to the right of its middle.
The symbol you've used ƞ is not in the top row; it's far to the right in the fourth "Latin" row.
But there's an "eng" in the Latin too: look in the third row just about a quarter to a third from the right. You have both an uppercase Ŋ and a lowercase ŋ there.

== I made some minor edits ==

Maybe I shouldn't have, but, since you seemed to be having trouble, I have just now changed some of your n to eng and also changed some of your eta to eng.
It's easy to change back if you don't like it.
Maybe you don't want to change back but you still wish I hadn't done it. If that's so, tell me; and also, I apologize.
I hope I did it right.

== Some questions ==

Why are some of the consonants listed with parenetheses? Does that indicate allophones, or what? Also, what precisely is the distinction between "human" and "professional" in the noun class section? And, are these noun classes a gender system? [[User:Nik|Nik]] 16:04, 7 October 2007 (PDT)

== The suffix shows person/number/gender of the possessor of the suffixed noun. ==

Although any reader would eventually figure it out, it's probably worth mentioning explicitly that the suffix shows person/number/gender of the ''possessor'' of the suffixed noun; not of the noun itself. The noun is suffixed ''provided'' it is possessed.

Have you considered having the suffix (optionally) also show the ''case'' of the possessor?

Good stuff so far!

[[User:Eldin raigmore|eldin]] 16:20, 16 May 2008 (UTC)

Velian

2009-07-18T16:39:42Z

Twenex: moved Velian to Velyan over redirect: Reintroducing palatalisation

#REDIRECT [[Velyan]]

Velyan

2009-07-18T16:39:42Z

Twenex: moved Velian to Velyan over redirect: Reintroducing palatalisation

Velyan is one of the two main [[Wikipedia:Classical_language|classical languages]] of the continent Pellargos, on the planet Máa. Máa is an alternate Earth planet.

=Phonology=
==Vowels==

There are 12 vowels, each of which can be short or long.

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=11 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Vowels
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Front ||colspan=2| Near-front ||colspan=2| Central ||colspan=2| Near-back ||colspan=2| Back
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High || {{IPA|i}} || {{IPA|y}} || || || || || || || || {{IPA|u}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-high || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High-mid || || || {{IPA|e}} || {{IPA|ø}} || || || || || || {{IPA|o}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Mid || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low-mid || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-low || || || {{IPA|æ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low || || || || || {{IPA|a}}
|}

</div>

== Consonants ==

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=17 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Consonants
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Bilabial ||colspan=2| Labiod. ||colspan=2| Dental ||colspan=2| Alveolar ||colspan=2| Post-alv. ||colspan=2| Palatal ||colspan=2| Velar ||colspan=2|Uvular ||colspan=2| Glottal
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Nasal || || {{IPA|m}} || || || || {{IPA|n}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|ŋ}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Plosive || {{IPA|p}} || || || || || {{IPA|t}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|k}} || || {{IPA|q}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Fricative || || || || || || {{IPA|s}} || {{IPA|ʃ}} || || || || || ({{IPA|x}}) || {{IPA|h}} || || {{IPA|χ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Approximant || {{IPA|ʋ}} || || || || || || || || || || || {{IPA|j}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Trill || || || || || || || || {{IPA|rː}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Flap || || || || || || || || {{IPA|ɾ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Lateral Approximant || || || || || || || || {{IPA|l}} || || || ||
|-
|}
</div>

==Transcription==
Below is a table of the IPA sounds of Velyan, with transcription.

{|
!IPA||Letter
|-
|{{IPA|a}}||a
|-
|{{IPA|æ}}||ä
|-
|{{IPA|e}}||e
|-
|{{IPA|h}}||h
|-
|{{IPA|i}}||i
|-
|{{IPA|j}}||j
|-
|{{IPA|k}}||k
|-
|{{IPA|l}}||l
|-
|{{IPA|m}}||m
|-
|{{IPA|n}}||n
|-
|{{IPA|ŋ}}||ŋ
|-
|{{IPA|o}}||o
|-
|{{IPA|ö}}||ö
|-
|{{IPA|p}}||p
|-
|{{IPA|q}}||q
|-
|{{IPA|r}}||r
|-
|{{IPA|ɾː}}||rr
|-
|{{IPA|s}}||s
|-
|{{IPA|ʃ}}||š
|-
|{{IPA|t}}||t
|-
|{{IPA|u}}||u
|-
|{{IPA|y}}||y
|-
|{{IPA|ʋ}}||v
|-
|}
==Tone==
Velyan has three basic tones, called ''high'', ''mid'' and ''low''. The high and low tones are marked with accents, whilst the mid tone is the default tone and is not marked. The high tone is marked by an acute accent over back and neutral vowels and '''y''' ('''á é í ó ú ý''') and by a double-acute accent over front vowels ('''a̋ ő'''); similarly, the low tone is marked by single or double grave accents: ('''à ȁ è ì ò ȍ ù ỳ'''). Long vowels and diphthongs can have two tones.

==Vowel harmony==
Velyan phonotactics restrict the vowels that can appear in any one word to a subset of the entire inventory. Vowels are divided into three groups: front vowels (ä, ö, ü), back vowels (a, o, u) and neutral vowels (e, i). All vowels in a word must be either front vowels, or back vowels, but not both (though neutral vowels can appear in words with either front or back vowels.)

==Initial Consonant Mutation==
In Velyan, consonants at the beginning of words undergo a process of ''initial consonant mutation''', whereby an initial '''p''', '''t''', or '''k''' is mutated to its equivalent nasal consonant (respectively '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' under certain conditions. Conversely, under the same conditions the consonants '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' mutate to the consonants '''p''', '''t''' or '''k'''. The conditions under which this happens are explained more fully in the section on Syntax.
==Consonant Gradation==
The phenomenon of ''consonant gradation'' arises due to a restriction in Velyan words, that prohibits a "strong" syllable from ending in a consonant. A '''strong syllable''' is a syllable that begins with a consonant and is preceded by another ending in (at least) one consonant. When this happens, the consonant or cluster at the beginning of the final syllable undergoes '''lenition''' or softening (although it can be historically explained as a process of '''fortition''' or hardening).

The following changes occur as a result of consonant gradation:
#Geminate phonemes change to simplex ones, e.g. ''tt'' -> ''t'', ''rr'' -> ''r'', ''ss'' -> ''s''.

The remaining changes only affect plosives and clusters containing plosives:
Clusters change as follows:
#Nasals:
##Nasal + voiceless plosive changes to geminate nasal, e.g. ''mp'' -> ''mm'', ''nt'' -> ''nn''
#Liquids:
##''lt'' -> ''ll
##''lp'' -> ''lv''
##''lkU'' -> ''lvU''
##''rkU'' -> ''rvU''
##''lkI'' -> ''lji''
##''rkI'' -> ''rji''
#Consonant clusters beginning with ''s'':
##''sp'' -> ''sv''
##''st'' -> ''*sr'' -> ''rs''
##''sk'' -> ''ss''
#Consonant clusters ending with ''s'':
##''ps'' -> ''*vs'' -> ''sv''
##''ts'' -> ''rs''
##''ks'' -> ''s''
#Simplex consonants
##''t'' -> ''r''
##''p'' -> ''v''
##''k'' -> Ø
##''iki'' -> ''iji''
##-UkU'' -> ''UvU''
##''v'' -> ''w''

Notes:
#Long vowels and geminate consonants are written double, e.g. ''aa'', ''kk''. Note that {{IPA|/ɾː/}} is the geminate counterpart of {{IPA|/r/}}.

=Morphology=
==Nouns==
Nouns are divided into '''noun classes''' and inflect for '''quality''', '''dimension''', '''age''', '''tense/aspect''', '''number''', '''case''', '''possessor''', '''destination''' and '''deixis'''. Suffixes (there are no prefixes or infixes in Velyan) are added to the noun, or (more often) to the '''oblique stem'''.
===Noun Classes===
There are several noun classes, reflecting the division of nouns into several semantic categories. The noun classes are added to a notional form of the noun known as the '''base'''. In some cases, the base of a noun ends in one of the letters '''l''', '''n''', '''r''', '''s''', or '''t''', and the noun is in Class IX, which has no suffix; in these cases the base form does surface.

The class suffixes are as follows:
{|
|Class||||Meaning||||Suffix
|-
|I||||Divine Female||||'''-tAri'''
|-
|II||||Divine Male||||'''-tAr'''
|-
|III||||Female Human||||'''-O'''
|-
|IV||||Masculine Human||||'''-á'''
|-
|VI||||Female Professional||||'''-jA'''
|-
|V||||Male Professional||||'''-ri'''
|-
|VII||||Animate (Non-Human)||||'''-e'''
|-
|VIII||||Inanimate I||||∅
|-
|IX||||Inanimate II||||'''-i'''
|-
|X||||Abstract||||'''-U'''
|-
|XI||||Small Place||||'''-lA'''
|-
|XII||||Large Place||||'''-mA'''
|-
|XIII||||Instrument||||'''-ìn'''
|}

===Quality===
Nouns in Velyan take suffixes to show '''quality''', that is, whether something is good or bad. The suffix for ''good'' is '''-
====Dimension====
Nouns in Velyan take suffixes to show '''dimension''', that is whether something is large or small. The suffix for ''large'' is '''-iso''' after consonants, '''-is-''' after consonants and before vowels and '''-so''' after consonants and before vowels.
===Age===
===Number===
Number in Velyan distinguishes the following categories: general, singulative (''"one"''), dual (''"two"''), paucal (''"more than two, upto about 10 or a dozen"''), plural (''"more than ten or a dozen"'') and collective (''"all"''). The general form of the noun is the form used when citing the noun in general contexts. as in the English equivalents ''The '''lion''' is a member of the cat family''. The number suffixes differ depending on whether the suffix is the last suffix on the noun, or is followed by a suffix beginning with a consonant or a vowel.
<br>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=11 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Number affixes
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=4| Singulative ||colspan=4| Dual ||colspan=4| Paucal ||colspan=4| Plural ||colspan=4| Collective
|-
|style="text-align: center; font-size: 95%;"| Finally || '''-na''' || || || || '''-r''' || || || || '''-há''' || || || || '''-t'''|| || || || '''-kà'''
|-
|style="text-align: center; font-size: 95%;"| Before consonant || '''-na-'''|| || || || '''-u-'''|| || || || '''-h-''' || || || || '''-i-''' || || || || '''-kà-'''
|-
|style="text-align: center; font-size: 95%;"| Before a vowel || '''-nan-'''|| || || || '''-v-''' || || || || '''-h-''' || || || || '''-j-''' || || || || '''-kàk-'''

|}

</div>

===Deixis===
In English, the demonstratives "this", "these", "that" and "those" are used to point out objects located in space or time. In Velyan, the demonstratives occur as prefixes on the noun, and, in addition, there is a three-way distinction as opposed to the two-way distinction of English (similar to Spanish ''esto, eso, aquel'' or the archaic "this, there, yon".

The suffixes are as follows:
<div style="text-align: left;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=50 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Demonstrative Suffixes
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
|-
|| || || Near || Medial || Far
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| || || '''-ŋi''' || '''-ti''' || '''-mi'''
|-
|}
</div>

These forms are clearly related to the possessive suffixes (below).

===Possession===
Nouns take suffixes to show possession.

==Verbs==
Verbs are divided into two groups: the transitive conjugation and the intransitive conjugation. Verbs in the intransitive conjugation inflect for person, class/gender and number of the patient; gender and number of the addressee; tense; aspect; voice; mood and verbal number. Verbs in the transitive conjugation also inflect for person, class/gender and number of the agent, indirect object and beneficiary. There are also evidential suffixes and non-finite forms, comprising infinitives, participles, and gerunds.

===Tense===
There are four tenses: present, past, remote past and future.

====Compound Tenses====
There are compound tenses formed from the past participles of verbs in all moods plus the appropriate tense of the verbs '''ralta''' (an old verb meaning ''"to have"'') for verbs of the transitive conjugation, or '''halka''' (the full form of the existential verb which now survives as a suffix on nouns) for verbs of the intransitive conjugation.

===Aspect===
There are seven aspects: aorist, imperfect, perfective, continuative, inchoative, habitative, and conclusive.

===Voice===
There are five voices: active, passive, antipassive, medial and reciprocal.

===Mood===
There are eight moods, comprising the indicative, the imperative, the hortative, the optative, the desiderative, the necessitative, the obligative, and the similitive,

===Infinitives===
There are infinitival (non-personal) forms for all tenses and aspects except the imperative.

===Numbers===
The numbers from 1 to 20 are:

'''hanki''' ''1'', '''rotpi''' ''2'', '''työtki''' ''3'', '''papsi''' ''4'', ''vuusi''' ''5''
'''kauvi''' ''6''
'''kirpi''' ''7''
'''lÿÿlli''' ''8''
'''saunni''' ''9''
'''muupi''' ''10''
'''hankimuupi''' ''11''
'''rotpimuupi''' ''12''
'''työtkimyypi''' ''13''
'''papsimuupi''' ''14''
'''vuusimuupi''' ''15''
'''kauvimuupi''' ''16''
'''kirpimuupi''' ''17''
'''lyyllimyypi''' ''18''
'''saunnimuupi''' ''19''
'''väppi''' ''20''

=Syntax=
See main article [[Velyan syntax]]

Velyan syntax

2009-07-18T16:38:04Z

Twenex: Added introduction to syntax

The syntax of Velyan is characterised by an overwhelming tendency to [[Wikipedia:double marking]]: verb inflection shows agreement for number and gender with agents, patients, indirect objects, benefactives and addressees, whilst nominals show (a) case endings for nominative, ergative, accusative, and dative case, (as intransitive subject, agent, patient and indirect object object of the verb) and (b) pronominal agreement on possessed nominals; and adjectives and possessor nominals show agreement with their head nominal in gender, number, deixis, indefiniteness and case.

Velyan

2009-07-18T15:16:08Z

Twenex: Changed all occurrences of language name to "Velyan"

Velyan is one of the two main [[Wikipedia:Classical_language|classical languages]] of the continent Pellargos, on the planet Máa. Máa is an alternate Earth planet.

=Phonology=
==Vowels==

There are 12 vowels, each of which can be short or long.

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=11 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Vowels
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Front ||colspan=2| Near-front ||colspan=2| Central ||colspan=2| Near-back ||colspan=2| Back
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High || {{IPA|i}} || {{IPA|y}} || || || || || || || || {{IPA|u}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-high || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High-mid || || || {{IPA|e}} || {{IPA|ø}} || || || || || || {{IPA|o}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Mid || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low-mid || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-low || || || {{IPA|æ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low || || || || || {{IPA|a}}
|}

</div>

== Consonants ==

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=17 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Consonants
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Bilabial ||colspan=2| Labiod. ||colspan=2| Dental ||colspan=2| Alveolar ||colspan=2| Post-alv. ||colspan=2| Palatal ||colspan=2| Velar ||colspan=2|Uvular ||colspan=2| Glottal
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Nasal || || {{IPA|m}} || || || || {{IPA|n}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|ŋ}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Plosive || {{IPA|p}} || || || || || {{IPA|t}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|k}} || || {{IPA|q}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Fricative || || || || || || {{IPA|s}} || {{IPA|ʃ}} || || || || || ({{IPA|x}}) || {{IPA|h}} || || {{IPA|χ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Approximant || {{IPA|ʋ}} || || || || || || || || || || || {{IPA|j}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Trill || || || || || || || || {{IPA|rː}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Flap || || || || || || || || {{IPA|ɾ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Lateral Approximant || || || || || || || || {{IPA|l}} || || || ||
|-
|}
</div>

==Transcription==
Below is a table of the IPA sounds of Velyan, with transcription.

{|
!IPA||Letter
|-
|{{IPA|a}}||a
|-
|{{IPA|æ}}||ä
|-
|{{IPA|e}}||e
|-
|{{IPA|h}}||h
|-
|{{IPA|i}}||i
|-
|{{IPA|j}}||j
|-
|{{IPA|k}}||k
|-
|{{IPA|l}}||l
|-
|{{IPA|m}}||m
|-
|{{IPA|n}}||n
|-
|{{IPA|ŋ}}||ŋ
|-
|{{IPA|o}}||o
|-
|{{IPA|ö}}||ö
|-
|{{IPA|p}}||p
|-
|{{IPA|q}}||q
|-
|{{IPA|r}}||r
|-
|{{IPA|ɾː}}||rr
|-
|{{IPA|s}}||s
|-
|{{IPA|ʃ}}||š
|-
|{{IPA|t}}||t
|-
|{{IPA|u}}||u
|-
|{{IPA|y}}||y
|-
|{{IPA|ʋ}}||v
|-
|}
==Tone==
Velyan has three basic tones, called ''high'', ''mid'' and ''low''. The high and low tones are marked with accents, whilst the mid tone is the default tone and is not marked. The high tone is marked by an acute accent over back and neutral vowels and '''y''' ('''á é í ó ú ý''') and by a double-acute accent over front vowels ('''a̋ ő'''); similarly, the low tone is marked by single or double grave accents: ('''à ȁ è ì ò ȍ ù ỳ'''). Long vowels and diphthongs can have two tones.

==Vowel harmony==
Velyan phonotactics restrict the vowels that can appear in any one word to a subset of the entire inventory. Vowels are divided into three groups: front vowels (ä, ö, ü), back vowels (a, o, u) and neutral vowels (e, i). All vowels in a word must be either front vowels, or back vowels, but not both (though neutral vowels can appear in words with either front or back vowels.)

==Initial Consonant Mutation==
In Velyan, consonants at the beginning of words undergo a process of ''initial consonant mutation''', whereby an initial '''p''', '''t''', or '''k''' is mutated to its equivalent nasal consonant (respectively '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' under certain conditions. Conversely, under the same conditions the consonants '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' mutate to the consonants '''p''', '''t''' or '''k'''. The conditions under which this happens are explained more fully in the section on Syntax.
==Consonant Gradation==
The phenomenon of ''consonant gradation'' arises due to a restriction in Velyan words, that prohibits a "strong" syllable from ending in a consonant. A '''strong syllable''' is a syllable that begins with a consonant and is preceded by another ending in (at least) one consonant. When this happens, the consonant or cluster at the beginning of the final syllable undergoes '''lenition''' or softening (although it can be historically explained as a process of '''fortition''' or hardening).

The following changes occur as a result of consonant gradation:
#Geminate phonemes change to simplex ones, e.g. ''tt'' -> ''t'', ''rr'' -> ''r'', ''ss'' -> ''s''.

The remaining changes only affect plosives and clusters containing plosives:
Clusters change as follows:
#Nasals:
##Nasal + voiceless plosive changes to geminate nasal, e.g. ''mp'' -> ''mm'', ''nt'' -> ''nn''
#Liquids:
##''lt'' -> ''ll
##''lp'' -> ''lv''
##''lkU'' -> ''lvU''
##''rkU'' -> ''rvU''
##''lkI'' -> ''lji''
##''rkI'' -> ''rji''
#Consonant clusters beginning with ''s'':
##''sp'' -> ''sv''
##''st'' -> ''*sr'' -> ''rs''
##''sk'' -> ''ss''
#Consonant clusters ending with ''s'':
##''ps'' -> ''*vs'' -> ''sv''
##''ts'' -> ''rs''
##''ks'' -> ''s''
#Simplex consonants
##''t'' -> ''r''
##''p'' -> ''v''
##''k'' -> Ø
##''iki'' -> ''iji''
##-UkU'' -> ''UvU''
##''v'' -> ''w''

Notes:
#Long vowels and geminate consonants are written double, e.g. ''aa'', ''kk''. Note that {{IPA|/ɾː/}} is the geminate counterpart of {{IPA|/r/}}.

=Morphology=
==Nouns==
Nouns are divided into '''noun classes''' and inflect for '''quality''', '''dimension''', '''age''', '''tense/aspect''', '''number''', '''case''', '''possessor''', '''destination''' and '''deixis'''. Suffixes (there are no prefixes or infixes in Velyan) are added to the noun, or (more often) to the '''oblique stem'''.
===Noun Classes===
There are several noun classes, reflecting the division of nouns into several semantic categories. The noun classes are added to a notional form of the noun known as the '''base'''. In some cases, the base of a noun ends in one of the letters '''l''', '''n''', '''r''', '''s''', or '''t''', and the noun is in Class IX, which has no suffix; in these cases the base form does surface.

The class suffixes are as follows:
{|
|Class||||Meaning||||Suffix
|-
|I||||Divine Female||||'''-tAri'''
|-
|II||||Divine Male||||'''-tAr'''
|-
|III||||Female Human||||'''-O'''
|-
|IV||||Masculine Human||||'''-á'''
|-
|VI||||Female Professional||||'''-jA'''
|-
|V||||Male Professional||||'''-ri'''
|-
|VII||||Animate (Non-Human)||||'''-e'''
|-
|VIII||||Inanimate I||||∅
|-
|IX||||Inanimate II||||'''-i'''
|-
|X||||Abstract||||'''-U'''
|-
|XI||||Small Place||||'''-lA'''
|-
|XII||||Large Place||||'''-mA'''
|-
|XIII||||Instrument||||'''-ìn'''
|}

===Quality===
Nouns in Velyan take suffixes to show '''quality''', that is, whether something is good or bad. The suffix for ''good'' is '''-
====Dimension====
Nouns in Velyan take suffixes to show '''dimension''', that is whether something is large or small. The suffix for ''large'' is '''-iso''' after consonants, '''-is-''' after consonants and before vowels and '''-so''' after consonants and before vowels.
===Age===
===Number===
Number in Velyan distinguishes the following categories: general, singulative (''"one"''), dual (''"two"''), paucal (''"more than two, upto about 10 or a dozen"''), plural (''"more than ten or a dozen"'') and collective (''"all"''). The general form of the noun is the form used when citing the noun in general contexts. as in the English equivalents ''The '''lion''' is a member of the cat family''. The number suffixes differ depending on whether the suffix is the last suffix on the noun, or is followed by a suffix beginning with a consonant or a vowel.
<br>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=11 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Number affixes
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=4| Singulative ||colspan=4| Dual ||colspan=4| Paucal ||colspan=4| Plural ||colspan=4| Collective
|-
|style="text-align: center; font-size: 95%;"| Finally || '''-na''' || || || || '''-r''' || || || || '''-há''' || || || || '''-t'''|| || || || '''-kà'''
|-
|style="text-align: center; font-size: 95%;"| Before consonant || '''-na-'''|| || || || '''-u-'''|| || || || '''-h-''' || || || || '''-i-''' || || || || '''-kà-'''
|-
|style="text-align: center; font-size: 95%;"| Before a vowel || '''-nan-'''|| || || || '''-v-''' || || || || '''-h-''' || || || || '''-j-''' || || || || '''-kàk-'''

|}

</div>

===Deixis===
In English, the demonstratives "this", "these", "that" and "those" are used to point out objects located in space or time. In Velyan, the demonstratives occur as prefixes on the noun, and, in addition, there is a three-way distinction as opposed to the two-way distinction of English (similar to Spanish ''esto, eso, aquel'' or the archaic "this, there, yon".

The suffixes are as follows:
<div style="text-align: left;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=50 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Demonstrative Suffixes
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
|-
|| || || Near || Medial || Far
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| || || '''-ŋi''' || '''-ti''' || '''-mi'''
|-
|}
</div>

These forms are clearly related to the possessive suffixes (below).

===Possession===
Nouns take suffixes to show possession.

==Verbs==
Verbs are divided into two groups: the transitive conjugation and the intransitive conjugation. Verbs in the intransitive conjugation inflect for person, class/gender and number of the patient; gender and number of the addressee; tense; aspect; voice; mood and verbal number. Verbs in the transitive conjugation also inflect for person, class/gender and number of the agent, indirect object and beneficiary. There are also evidential suffixes and non-finite forms, comprising infinitives, participles, and gerunds.

===Tense===
There are four tenses: present, past, remote past and future.

====Compound Tenses====
There are compound tenses formed from the past participles of verbs in all moods plus the appropriate tense of the verbs '''ralta''' (an old verb meaning ''"to have"'') for verbs of the transitive conjugation, or '''halka''' (the full form of the existential verb which now survives as a suffix on nouns) for verbs of the intransitive conjugation.

===Aspect===
There are seven aspects: aorist, imperfect, perfective, continuative, inchoative, habitative, and conclusive.

===Voice===
There are five voices: active, passive, antipassive, medial and reciprocal.

===Mood===
There are eight moods, comprising the indicative, the imperative, the hortative, the optative, the desiderative, the necessitative, the obligative, and the similitive,

===Infinitives===
There are infinitival (non-personal) forms for all tenses and aspects except the imperative.

===Numbers===
The numbers from 1 to 20 are:

'''hanki''' ''1'', '''rotpi''' ''2'', '''työtki''' ''3'', '''papsi''' ''4'', ''vuusi''' ''5''
'''kauvi''' ''6''
'''kirpi''' ''7''
'''lÿÿlli''' ''8''
'''saunni''' ''9''
'''muupi''' ''10''
'''hankimuupi''' ''11''
'''rotpimuupi''' ''12''
'''työtkimyypi''' ''13''
'''papsimuupi''' ''14''
'''vuusimuupi''' ''15''
'''kauvimuupi''' ''16''
'''kirpimuupi''' ''17''
'''lyyllimyypi''' ''18''
'''saunnimuupi''' ''19''
'''väppi''' ''20''

=Syntax=
See main article [[Velyan syntax]]

Velyan

2009-07-18T15:13:17Z

Twenex: Added link to Velyan syntax

Velyan is one of the two main [[Wikipedia:Classical_language|classical languages]] of the continent Pellargos, on the planet Máa. Máa is an alternate Earth planet.

=Phonology=
==Vowels==

There are 12 vowels, each of which can be short or long.

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=11 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Vowels
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Front ||colspan=2| Near-front ||colspan=2| Central ||colspan=2| Near-back ||colspan=2| Back
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High || {{IPA|i}} || {{IPA|y}} || || || || || || || || {{IPA|u}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-high || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High-mid || || || {{IPA|e}} || {{IPA|ø}} || || || || || || {{IPA|o}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Mid || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low-mid || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-low || || || {{IPA|æ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low || || || || || {{IPA|a}}
|}

</div>

== Consonants ==

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=17 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Consonants
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Bilabial ||colspan=2| Labiod. ||colspan=2| Dental ||colspan=2| Alveolar ||colspan=2| Post-alv. ||colspan=2| Palatal ||colspan=2| Velar ||colspan=2|Uvular ||colspan=2| Glottal
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Nasal || || {{IPA|m}} || || || || {{IPA|n}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|ŋ}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Plosive || {{IPA|p}} || || || || || {{IPA|t}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|k}} || || {{IPA|q}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Fricative || || || || || || {{IPA|s}} || {{IPA|ʃ}} || || || || || ({{IPA|x}}) || {{IPA|h}} || || {{IPA|χ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Approximant || {{IPA|ʋ}} || || || || || || || || || || || {{IPA|j}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Trill || || || || || || || || {{IPA|rː}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Flap || || || || || || || || {{IPA|ɾ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Lateral Approximant || || || || || || || || {{IPA|l}} || || || ||
|-
|}
</div>

==Transcription==
Below is a table of the IPA sounds of Velyan, with transcription.

{|
!IPA||Letter
|-
|{{IPA|a}}||a
|-
|{{IPA|æ}}||ä
|-
|{{IPA|e}}||e
|-
|{{IPA|h}}||h
|-
|{{IPA|i}}||i
|-
|{{IPA|j}}||j
|-
|{{IPA|k}}||k
|-
|{{IPA|l}}||l
|-
|{{IPA|m}}||m
|-
|{{IPA|n}}||n
|-
|{{IPA|ŋ}}||ŋ
|-
|{{IPA|o}}||o
|-
|{{IPA|ö}}||ö
|-
|{{IPA|p}}||p
|-
|{{IPA|q}}||q
|-
|{{IPA|r}}||r
|-
|{{IPA|ɾː}}||rr
|-
|{{IPA|s}}||s
|-
|{{IPA|ʃ}}||š
|-
|{{IPA|t}}||t
|-
|{{IPA|u}}||u
|-
|{{IPA|y}}||y
|-
|{{IPA|ʋ}}||v
|-
|}
==Tone==
Velyan has three basic tones, called ''high'', ''mid'' and ''low''. The high and low tones are marked with accents, whilst the mid tone is the default tone and is not marked. The high tone is marked by an acute accent over back and neutral vowels and '''y''' ('''á é í ó ú ý''') and by a double-acute accent over front vowels ('''a̋ ő'''); similarly, the low tone is marked by single or double grave accents: ('''à ȁ è ì ò ȍ ù ỳ'''). Long vowels and diphthongs can have two tones.

==Vowel harmony==
Velyan phonotactics restrict the vowels that can appear in any one word to a subset of the entire inventory. Vowels are divided into three groups: front vowels (ä, ö, ü), back vowels (a, o, u) and neutral vowels (e, i). All vowels in a word must be either front vowels, or back vowels, but not both (though neutral vowels can appear in words with either front or back vowels.)

==Initial Consonant Mutation==
In Velyan, consonants at the beginning of words undergo a process of ''initial consonant mutation''', whereby an initial '''p''', '''t''', or '''k''' is mutated to its equivalent nasal consonant (respectively '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' under certain conditions. Conversely, under the same conditions the consonants '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' mutate to the consonants '''p''', '''t''' or '''k'''. The conditions under which this happens are explained more fully in the section on Syntax.
==Consonant Gradation==
The phenomenon of ''consonant gradation'' arises due to a restriction in Vielan words, that prohibits a "strong" syllable from ending in a consonant. A '''strong syllable''' is a syllable that begins with a consonant and is preceded by another ending in (at least) one consonant. When this happens, the consonant or cluster at the beginning of the final syllable undergoes '''lenition''' or softening (although it can be historically explained as a process of '''fortition''' or hardening).

The following changes occur as a result of consonant gradation:
#Geminate phonemes change to simplex ones, e.g. ''tt'' -> ''t'', ''rr'' -> ''r'', ''ss'' -> ''s''.

The remaining changes only affect plosives and clusters containing plosives:
Clusters change as follows:
#Nasals:
##Nasal + voiceless plosive changes to geminate nasal, e.g. ''mp'' -> ''mm'', ''nt'' -> ''nn''
#Liquids:
##''lt'' -> ''ll
##''lp'' -> ''lv''
##''lkU'' -> ''lvU''
##''rkU'' -> ''rvU''
##''lkI'' -> ''lji''
##''rkI'' -> ''rji''
#Consonant clusters beginning with ''s'':
##''sp'' -> ''sv''
##''st'' -> ''*sr'' -> ''rs''
##''sk'' -> ''ss''
#Consonant clusters ending with ''s'':
##''ps'' -> ''*vs'' -> ''sv''
##''ts'' -> ''rs''
##''ks'' -> ''s''
#Simplex consonants
##''t'' -> ''r''
##''p'' -> ''v''
##''k'' -> Ø
##''iki'' -> ''iji''
##-UkU'' -> ''UvU''
##''v'' -> ''w''

Notes:
#Long vowels and geminate consonants are written double, e.g. ''aa'', ''kk''. Note that {{IPA|/ɾː/}} is the geminate counterpart of {{IPA|/r/}}.

=Morphology=
==Nouns==
Nouns are divided into '''noun classes''' and inflect for '''quality''', '''dimension''', '''age''', '''tense/aspect''', '''number''', '''case''', '''possessor''', '''destination''' and '''deixis'''. Suffixes (there are no prefixes or infixes in Vielan) are added to the noun, or (more often) to the '''oblique stem'''.
===Noun Classes===
There are several noun classes, reflecting the division of nouns into several semantic categories. The noun classes are added to a notional form of the noun known as the '''base'''. In some cases, the base of a noun ends in one of the letters '''l''', '''n''', '''r''', '''s''', or '''t''', and the noun is in Class IX, which has no suffix; in these cases the base form does surface.

The class suffixes are as follows:
{|
|Class||||Meaning||||Suffix
|-
|I||||Divine Female||||'''-tAri'''
|-
|II||||Divine Male||||'''-tAr'''
|-
|III||||Female Human||||'''-O'''
|-
|IV||||Masculine Human||||'''-á'''
|-
|VI||||Female Professional||||'''-jA'''
|-
|V||||Male Professional||||'''-ri'''
|-
|VII||||Animate (Non-Human)||||'''-e'''
|-
|VIII||||Inanimate I||||∅
|-
|IX||||Inanimate II||||'''-i'''
|-
|X||||Abstract||||'''-U'''
|-
|XI||||Small Place||||'''-lA'''
|-
|XII||||Large Place||||'''-mA'''
|-
|XIII||||Instrument||||'''-ìn'''
|}

===Quality===
Nouns in Velian take suffixes to show '''quality''', that is, whether something is good or bad. The suffix for ''good'' is '''-
====Dimension====
Nouns in Velian take suffixes to show '''dimension''', that is whether something is large or small. The suffix for ''large'' is '''-iso''' after consonants, '''-is-''' after consonants and before vowels and '''-so''' after consonants and before vowels.
===Age===
===Number===
Number in Velyan distinguishes the following categories: general, singulative (''"one"''), dual (''"two"''), paucal (''"more than two, upto about 10 or a dozen"''), plural (''"more than ten or a dozen"'') and collective (''"all"''). The general form of the noun is the form used when citing the noun in general contexts. as in the English equivalents ''The '''lion''' is a member of the cat family''. The number suffixes differ depending on whether the suffix is the last suffix on the noun, or is followed by a suffix beginning with a consonant or a vowel.
<br>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=11 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Number affixes
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=4| Singulative ||colspan=4| Dual ||colspan=4| Paucal ||colspan=4| Plural ||colspan=4| Collective
|-
|style="text-align: center; font-size: 95%;"| Finally || '''-na''' || || || || '''-r''' || || || || '''-há''' || || || || '''-t'''|| || || || '''-kà'''
|-
|style="text-align: center; font-size: 95%;"| Before consonant || '''-na-'''|| || || || '''-u-'''|| || || || '''-h-''' || || || || '''-i-''' || || || || '''-kà-'''
|-
|style="text-align: center; font-size: 95%;"| Before a vowel || '''-nan-'''|| || || || '''-v-''' || || || || '''-h-''' || || || || '''-j-''' || || || || '''-kàk-'''

|}

</div>

===Deixis===
In English, the demonstratives "this", "these", "that" and "those" are used to point out objects located in space or time. In Vielan, the demonstratives occur as prefixes on the noun, and, in addition, there is a three-way distinction as opposed to the two-way distinction of English (similar to Spanish ''esto, eso, aquel'' or the archaic "this, there, yon".

The suffixes are as follows:
<div style="text-align: left;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=50 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Demonstrative Suffixes
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
|-
|| || || Near || Medial || Far
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| || || '''-ŋi''' || '''-ti''' || '''-mi'''
|-
|}
</div>

These forms are clearly related to the possessive suffixes (below).

===Possession===
Nouns take suffixes to show possession.

==Verbs==
Verbs are divided into two groups: the transitive conjugation and the intransitive conjugation. Verbs in the intransitive conjugation inflect for person, class/gender and number of the patient; gender and number of the addressee; tense; aspect; voice; mood and verbal number. Verbs in the transitive conjugation also inflect for person, class/gender and number of the agent, indirect object and beneficiary. There are also evidential suffixes and non-finite forms, comprising infinitives, participles, and gerunds.

===Tense===
There are four tenses: present, past, remote past and future.

====Compound Tenses====
There are compound tenses formed from the past participles of verbs in all moods plus the appropriate tense of the verbs '''ralta''' (an old verb meaning ''"to have"'') for verbs of the transitive conjugation, or '''halka''' (the full form of the existential verb which now survives as a suffix on nouns) for verbs of the intransitive conjugation.

===Aspect===
There are seven aspects: aorist, imperfect, perfective, continuative, inchoative, habitative, and conclusive.

===Voice===
There are five voices: active, passive, antipassive, medial and reciprocal.

===Mood===
There are eight moods, comprising the indicative, the imperative, the hortative, the optative, the desiderative, the necessitative, the obligative, and the similitive,

===Infinitives===
There are infinitival (non-personal) forms for all tenses and aspects except the imperative.

===Numbers===
The numbers from 1 to 20 are:

'''hanki''' ''1'', '''rotpi''' ''2'', '''työtki''' ''3'', '''papsi''' ''4'', ''vuusi''' ''5''
'''kauvi''' ''6''
'''kirpi''' ''7''
'''lÿÿlli''' ''8''
'''saunni''' ''9''
'''muupi''' ''10''
'''hankimuupi''' ''11''
'''rotpimuupi''' ''12''
'''työtkimyypi''' ''13''
'''papsimuupi''' ''14''
'''vuusimuupi''' ''15''
'''kauvimuupi''' ''16''
'''kirpimuupi''' ''17''
'''lyyllimyypi''' ''18''
'''saunnimuupi''' ''19''
'''väppi''' ''20''

=Syntax=
See main article [[Velyan syntax]]

Velyan

2009-07-18T15:10:53Z

Twenex: Revised chapter headings, added start of section on Syntax

Velyan is one of the two main [[Wikipedia:Classical_language|classical languages]] of the continent Pellargos, on the planet Máa. Máa is an alternate Earth planet.

=Phonology=
==Vowels==

There are 12 vowels, each of which can be short or long.

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=11 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Vowels
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Front ||colspan=2| Near-front ||colspan=2| Central ||colspan=2| Near-back ||colspan=2| Back
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High || {{IPA|i}} || {{IPA|y}} || || || || || || || || {{IPA|u}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-high || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High-mid || || || {{IPA|e}} || {{IPA|ø}} || || || || || || {{IPA|o}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Mid || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low-mid || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-low || || || {{IPA|æ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low || || || || || {{IPA|a}}
|}

</div>

== Consonants ==

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=17 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Consonants
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Bilabial ||colspan=2| Labiod. ||colspan=2| Dental ||colspan=2| Alveolar ||colspan=2| Post-alv. ||colspan=2| Palatal ||colspan=2| Velar ||colspan=2|Uvular ||colspan=2| Glottal
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Nasal || || {{IPA|m}} || || || || {{IPA|n}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|ŋ}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Plosive || {{IPA|p}} || || || || || {{IPA|t}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|k}} || || {{IPA|q}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Fricative || || || || || || {{IPA|s}} || {{IPA|ʃ}} || || || || || ({{IPA|x}}) || {{IPA|h}} || || {{IPA|χ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Approximant || {{IPA|ʋ}} || || || || || || || || || || || {{IPA|j}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Trill || || || || || || || || {{IPA|rː}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Flap || || || || || || || || {{IPA|ɾ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Lateral Approximant || || || || || || || || {{IPA|l}} || || || ||
|-
|}
</div>

==Transcription==
Below is a table of the IPA sounds of Velyan, with transcription.

{|
!IPA||Letter
|-
|{{IPA|a}}||a
|-
|{{IPA|æ}}||ä
|-
|{{IPA|e}}||e
|-
|{{IPA|h}}||h
|-
|{{IPA|i}}||i
|-
|{{IPA|j}}||j
|-
|{{IPA|k}}||k
|-
|{{IPA|l}}||l
|-
|{{IPA|m}}||m
|-
|{{IPA|n}}||n
|-
|{{IPA|ŋ}}||ŋ
|-
|{{IPA|o}}||o
|-
|{{IPA|ö}}||ö
|-
|{{IPA|p}}||p
|-
|{{IPA|q}}||q
|-
|{{IPA|r}}||r
|-
|{{IPA|ɾː}}||rr
|-
|{{IPA|s}}||s
|-
|{{IPA|ʃ}}||š
|-
|{{IPA|t}}||t
|-
|{{IPA|u}}||u
|-
|{{IPA|y}}||y
|-
|{{IPA|ʋ}}||v
|-
|}
==Tone==
Velyan has three basic tones, called ''high'', ''mid'' and ''low''. The high and low tones are marked with accents, whilst the mid tone is the default tone and is not marked. The high tone is marked by an acute accent over back and neutral vowels and '''y''' ('''á é í ó ú ý''') and by a double-acute accent over front vowels ('''a̋ ő'''); similarly, the low tone is marked by single or double grave accents: ('''à ȁ è ì ò ȍ ù ỳ'''). Long vowels and diphthongs can have two tones.

==Vowel harmony==
Velyan phonotactics restrict the vowels that can appear in any one word to a subset of the entire inventory. Vowels are divided into three groups: front vowels (ä, ö, ü), back vowels (a, o, u) and neutral vowels (e, i). All vowels in a word must be either front vowels, or back vowels, but not both (though neutral vowels can appear in words with either front or back vowels.)

==Initial Consonant Mutation==
In Velyan, consonants at the beginning of words undergo a process of ''initial consonant mutation''', whereby an initial '''p''', '''t''', or '''k''' is mutated to its equivalent nasal consonant (respectively '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' under certain conditions. Conversely, under the same conditions the consonants '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' mutate to the consonants '''p''', '''t''' or '''k'''. The conditions under which this happens are explained more fully in the section on Syntax.
==Consonant Gradation==
The phenomenon of ''consonant gradation'' arises due to a restriction in Vielan words, that prohibits a "strong" syllable from ending in a consonant. A '''strong syllable''' is a syllable that begins with a consonant and is preceded by another ending in (at least) one consonant. When this happens, the consonant or cluster at the beginning of the final syllable undergoes '''lenition''' or softening (although it can be historically explained as a process of '''fortition''' or hardening).

The following changes occur as a result of consonant gradation:
#Geminate phonemes change to simplex ones, e.g. ''tt'' -> ''t'', ''rr'' -> ''r'', ''ss'' -> ''s''.

The remaining changes only affect plosives and clusters containing plosives:
Clusters change as follows:
#Nasals:
##Nasal + voiceless plosive changes to geminate nasal, e.g. ''mp'' -> ''mm'', ''nt'' -> ''nn''
#Liquids:
##''lt'' -> ''ll
##''lp'' -> ''lv''
##''lkU'' -> ''lvU''
##''rkU'' -> ''rvU''
##''lkI'' -> ''lji''
##''rkI'' -> ''rji''
#Consonant clusters beginning with ''s'':
##''sp'' -> ''sv''
##''st'' -> ''*sr'' -> ''rs''
##''sk'' -> ''ss''
#Consonant clusters ending with ''s'':
##''ps'' -> ''*vs'' -> ''sv''
##''ts'' -> ''rs''
##''ks'' -> ''s''
#Simplex consonants
##''t'' -> ''r''
##''p'' -> ''v''
##''k'' -> Ø
##''iki'' -> ''iji''
##-UkU'' -> ''UvU''
##''v'' -> ''w''

Notes:
#Long vowels and geminate consonants are written double, e.g. ''aa'', ''kk''. Note that {{IPA|/ɾː/}} is the geminate counterpart of {{IPA|/r/}}.

=Morphology=
==Nouns==
Nouns are divided into '''noun classes''' and inflect for '''quality''', '''dimension''', '''age''', '''tense/aspect''', '''number''', '''case''', '''possessor''', '''destination''' and '''deixis'''. Suffixes (there are no prefixes or infixes in Vielan) are added to the noun, or (more often) to the '''oblique stem'''.
===Noun Classes===
There are several noun classes, reflecting the division of nouns into several semantic categories. The noun classes are added to a notional form of the noun known as the '''base'''. In some cases, the base of a noun ends in one of the letters '''l''', '''n''', '''r''', '''s''', or '''t''', and the noun is in Class IX, which has no suffix; in these cases the base form does surface.

The class suffixes are as follows:
{|
|Class||||Meaning||||Suffix
|-
|I||||Divine Female||||'''-tAri'''
|-
|II||||Divine Male||||'''-tAr'''
|-
|III||||Female Human||||'''-O'''
|-
|IV||||Masculine Human||||'''-á'''
|-
|VI||||Female Professional||||'''-jA'''
|-
|V||||Male Professional||||'''-ri'''
|-
|VII||||Animate (Non-Human)||||'''-e'''
|-
|VIII||||Inanimate I||||∅
|-
|IX||||Inanimate II||||'''-i'''
|-
|X||||Abstract||||'''-U'''
|-
|XI||||Small Place||||'''-lA'''
|-
|XII||||Large Place||||'''-mA'''
|-
|XIII||||Instrument||||'''-ìn'''
|}

===Quality===
Nouns in Velian take suffixes to show '''quality''', that is, whether something is good or bad. The suffix for ''good'' is '''-
====Dimension====
Nouns in Velian take suffixes to show '''dimension''', that is whether something is large or small. The suffix for ''large'' is '''-iso''' after consonants, '''-is-''' after consonants and before vowels and '''-so''' after consonants and before vowels.
===Age===
===Number===
Number in Velyan distinguishes the following categories: general, singulative (''"one"''), dual (''"two"''), paucal (''"more than two, upto about 10 or a dozen"''), plural (''"more than ten or a dozen"'') and collective (''"all"''). The general form of the noun is the form used when citing the noun in general contexts. as in the English equivalents ''The '''lion''' is a member of the cat family''. The number suffixes differ depending on whether the suffix is the last suffix on the noun, or is followed by a suffix beginning with a consonant or a vowel.
<br>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=11 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Number affixes
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=4| Singulative ||colspan=4| Dual ||colspan=4| Paucal ||colspan=4| Plural ||colspan=4| Collective
|-
|style="text-align: center; font-size: 95%;"| Finally || '''-na''' || || || || '''-r''' || || || || '''-há''' || || || || '''-t'''|| || || || '''-kà'''
|-
|style="text-align: center; font-size: 95%;"| Before consonant || '''-na-'''|| || || || '''-u-'''|| || || || '''-h-''' || || || || '''-i-''' || || || || '''-kà-'''
|-
|style="text-align: center; font-size: 95%;"| Before a vowel || '''-nan-'''|| || || || '''-v-''' || || || || '''-h-''' || || || || '''-j-''' || || || || '''-kàk-'''

|}

</div>

===Deixis===
In English, the demonstratives "this", "these", "that" and "those" are used to point out objects located in space or time. In Vielan, the demonstratives occur as prefixes on the noun, and, in addition, there is a three-way distinction as opposed to the two-way distinction of English (similar to Spanish ''esto, eso, aquel'' or the archaic "this, there, yon".

The suffixes are as follows:
<div style="text-align: left;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=50 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Demonstrative Suffixes
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
|-
|| || || Near || Medial || Far
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| || || '''-ŋi''' || '''-ti''' || '''-mi'''
|-
|}
</div>

These forms are clearly related to the possessive suffixes (below).

===Possession===
Nouns take suffixes to show possession.

==Verbs==
Verbs are divided into two groups: the transitive conjugation and the intransitive conjugation. Verbs in the intransitive conjugation inflect for person, class/gender and number of the patient; gender and number of the addressee; tense; aspect; voice; mood and verbal number. Verbs in the transitive conjugation also inflect for person, class/gender and number of the agent, indirect object and beneficiary. There are also evidential suffixes and non-finite forms, comprising infinitives, participles, and gerunds.

===Tense===
There are four tenses: present, past, remote past and future.

====Compound Tenses====
There are compound tenses formed from the past participles of verbs in all moods plus the appropriate tense of the verbs '''ralta''' (an old verb meaning ''"to have"'') for verbs of the transitive conjugation, or '''halka''' (the full form of the existential verb which now survives as a suffix on nouns) for verbs of the intransitive conjugation.

===Aspect===
There are seven aspects: aorist, imperfect, perfective, continuative, inchoative, habitative, and conclusive.

===Voice===
There are five voices: active, passive, antipassive, medial and reciprocal.

===Mood===
There are eight moods, comprising the indicative, the imperative, the hortative, the optative, the desiderative, the necessitative, the obligative, and the similitive,

===Infinitives===
There are infinitival (non-personal) forms for all tenses and aspects except the imperative.

===Numbers===
The numbers from 1 to 20 are:

'''hanki''' ''1'', '''rotpi''' ''2'', '''työtki''' ''3'', '''papsi''' ''4'', ''vuusi''' ''5''
'''kauvi''' ''6''
'''kirpi''' ''7''
'''lÿÿlli''' ''8''
'''saunni''' ''9''
'''muupi''' ''10''
'''hankimuupi''' ''11''
'''rotpimuupi''' ''12''
'''työtkimyypi''' ''13''
'''papsimuupi''' ''14''
'''vuusimuupi''' ''15''
'''kauvimuupi''' ''16''
'''kirpimuupi''' ''17''
'''lyyllimyypi''' ''18''
'''saunnimuupi''' ''19''
'''väppi''' ''20''

=Syntax=
See main article

Velyan

2009-02-14T14:46:45Z

Twenex: /* Numbers */

Velyan is one of the two main [[Wikipedia:Classical_language|classical languages]] of the continent Pellargos, on the planet Máa. Máa is an alternate Earth planet.

==Phonology==
===Vowels===

There are 12 vowels, each of which can be short or long.

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=11 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Vowels
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Front ||colspan=2| Near-front ||colspan=2| Central ||colspan=2| Near-back ||colspan=2| Back
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High || {{IPA|i}} || {{IPA|y}} || || || || || || || || {{IPA|u}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-high || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High-mid || || || {{IPA|e}} || {{IPA|ø}} || || || || || || {{IPA|o}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Mid || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low-mid || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-low || || || {{IPA|æ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low || || || || || {{IPA|a}}
|}

</div>

=== Consonants ===

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=17 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Consonants
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Bilabial ||colspan=2| Labiod. ||colspan=2| Dental ||colspan=2| Alveolar ||colspan=2| Post-alv. ||colspan=2| Palatal ||colspan=2| Velar ||colspan=2|Uvular ||colspan=2| Glottal
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Nasal || || {{IPA|m}} || || || || {{IPA|n}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|ŋ}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Plosive || {{IPA|p}} || || || || || {{IPA|t}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|k}} || || {{IPA|q}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Fricative || || || || || || {{IPA|s}} || {{IPA|ʃ}} || || || || || ({{IPA|x}}) || {{IPA|h}} || || {{IPA|χ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Approximant || {{IPA|ʋ}} || || || || || || || || || || || {{IPA|j}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Trill || || || || || || || || {{IPA|rː}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Flap || || || || || || || || {{IPA|ɾ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Lateral Approximant || || || || || || || || {{IPA|l}} || || || ||
|-
|}
</div>

==Transcription==
Below is a table of the IPA sounds of Velyan, with transcription.

{|
!IPA||Letter
|-
|{{IPA|a}}||a
|-
|{{IPA|æ}}||ä
|-
|{{IPA|e}}||e
|-
|{{IPA|h}}||h
|-
|{{IPA|i}}||i
|-
|{{IPA|j}}||j
|-
|{{IPA|k}}||k
|-
|{{IPA|l}}||l
|-
|{{IPA|m}}||m
|-
|{{IPA|n}}||n
|-
|{{IPA|ŋ}}||ŋ
|-
|{{IPA|o}}||o
|-
|{{IPA|ö}}||ö
|-
|{{IPA|p}}||p
|-
|{{IPA|q}}||q
|-
|{{IPA|r}}||r
|-
|{{IPA|ɾː}}||rr
|-
|{{IPA|s}}||s
|-
|{{IPA|ʃ}}||š
|-
|{{IPA|t}}||t
|-
|{{IPA|u}}||u
|-
|{{IPA|y}}||y
|-
|{{IPA|ʋ}}||v
|-
|}
===Tone===
Velyan has three basic tones, called ''high'', ''mid'' and ''low''. The high and low tones are marked with accents, whilst the mid tone is the default tone and is not marked. The high tone is marked by an acute accent over back and neutral vowels and '''y''' ('''á é í ó ú ý''') and by a double-acute accent over front vowels ('''a̋ ő'''); similarly, the low tone is marked by single or double grave accents: ('''à ȁ è ì ò ȍ ù ỳ'''). Long vowels and diphthongs can have two tones.

===Vowel harmony===
Velyan phonotactics restrict the vowels that can appear in any one word to a subset of the entire inventory. Vowels are divided into three groups: front vowels (ä, ö, ü), back vowels (a, o, u) and neutral vowels (e, i). All vowels in a word must be either front vowels, or back vowels, but not both (though neutral vowels can appear in words with either front or back vowels.)

===Initial Consonant Mutation===
In Velyan, consonants at the beginning of words undergo a process of ''initial consonant mutation''', whereby an initial '''p''', '''t''', or '''k''' is mutated to its equivalent nasal consonant (respectively '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' under certain conditions. Conversely, under the same conditions the consonants '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' mutate to the consonants '''p''', '''t''' or '''k'''. The conditions under which this happens are explained more fully in the section on Syntax.
===Consonant Gradation===
The phenomenon of ''consonant gradation'' arises due to a restriction in Vielan words, that prohibits a "strong" syllable from ending in a consonant. A '''strong syllable''' is a syllable that begins with a consonant and is preceded by another ending in (at least) one consonant. When this happens, the consonant or cluster at the beginning of the final syllable undergoes '''lenition''' or softening (although it can be historically explained as a process of '''fortition''' or hardening).

The following changes occur as a result of consonant gradation:
#Geminate phonemes change to simplex ones, e.g. ''tt'' -> ''t'', ''rr'' -> ''r'', ''ss'' -> ''s''.

The remaining changes only affect plosives and clusters containing plosives:
Clusters change as follows:
#Nasals:
##Nasal + voiceless plosive changes to geminate nasal, e.g. ''mp'' -> ''mm'', ''nt'' -> ''nn''
#Liquids:
##''lt'' -> ''ll
##''lp'' -> ''lv''
##''lkU'' -> ''lvU''
##''rkU'' -> ''rvU''
##''lkI'' -> ''lji''
##''rkI'' -> ''rji''
#Consonant clusters beginning with ''s'':
##''sp'' -> ''sv''
##''st'' -> ''*sr'' -> ''rs''
##''sk'' -> ''ss''
#Consonant clusters ending with ''s'':
##''ps'' -> ''*vs'' -> ''sv''
##''ts'' -> ''rs''
##''ks'' -> ''s''
#Simplex consonants
##''t'' -> ''r''
##''p'' -> ''v''
##''k'' -> Ø
##''iki'' -> ''iji''
##-UkU'' -> ''UvU''
##''v'' -> ''w''

Notes:
#Long vowels and geminate consonants are written double, e.g. ''aa'', ''kk''. Note that {{IPA|/ɾː/}} is the geminate counterpart of {{IPA|/r/}}.

==Morphology==
===Nouns===
Nouns are divided into '''noun classes''' and inflect for '''quality''', '''dimension''', '''age''', '''tense/aspect''', '''number''', '''case''', '''possessor''', '''destination''' and '''deixis'''. Suffixes (there are no prefixes or infixes in Vielan) are added to the noun, or (more often) to the '''oblique stem'''.
====Noun Classes====
There are several noun classes, reflecting the division of nouns into several semantic categories. The noun classes are added to a notional form of the noun known as the '''base'''. In some cases, the base of a noun ends in one of the letters '''l''', '''n''', '''r''', '''s''', or '''t''', and the noun is in Class IX, which has no suffix; in these cases the base form does surface.

The class suffixes are as follows:
{|
|Class||||Meaning||||Suffix
|-
|I||||Divine Female||||'''-tAri'''
|-
|II||||Divine Male||||'''-tAr'''
|-
|III||||Female Human||||'''-O'''
|-
|IV||||Masculine Human||||'''-á'''
|-
|VI||||Female Professional||||'''-jA'''
|-
|V||||Male Professional||||'''-ri'''
|-
|VII||||Animate (Non-Human)||||'''-e'''
|-
|VIII||||Inanimate I||||∅
|-
|IX||||Inanimate II||||'''-i'''
|-
|X||||Abstract||||'''-U'''
|-
|XI||||Small Place||||'''-lA'''
|-
|XII||||Large Place||||'''-mA'''
|-
|XIII||||Instrument||||'''-ìn'''
|}

====Stems====
====Quality====
Nouns in Velian take suffixes to show '''quality''', that is, whether something is good or bad. The suffix for ''good'' is '''-
====Dimension====
Nouns in Velian take suffixes to show '''dimension''', that is whether something is large or small. The suffix for ''large'' is '''-iso''' after consonants, '''-is-''' after consonants and before vowels and '''-so''' after consonants and before vowels.
====Age====
====Number====
Number in Velyan distinguishes the following categories: general, singulative (''"one"''), dual (''"two"''), paucal (''"more than two, upto about 10 or a dozen"''), plural (''"more than ten or a dozen"'') and collective (''"all"''). The general form of the noun is the form used when citing the noun in general contexts. as in the English equivalents ''The '''lion''' is a member of the cat family''. The number suffixes differ depending on whether the suffix is the last suffix on the noun, or is followed by a suffix beginning with a consonant or a vowel.
<br>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=11 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Number affixes
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=4| Singulative ||colspan=4| Dual ||colspan=4| Paucal ||colspan=4| Plural ||colspan=4| Collective
|-
|style="text-align: center; font-size: 95%;"| Finally || '''-na''' || || || || '''-r''' || || || || '''-há''' || || || || '''-t'''|| || || || '''-kà'''
|-
|style="text-align: center; font-size: 95%;"| Before consonant || '''-na-'''|| || || || '''-u-'''|| || || || '''-h-''' || || || || '''-i-''' || || || || '''-kà-'''
|-
|style="text-align: center; font-size: 95%;"| Before a vowel || '''-nan-'''|| || || || '''-v-''' || || || || '''-h-''' || || || || '''-j-''' || || || || '''-kàk-'''

|}

</div>

====Deixis====
In English, the demonstratives "this", "these", "that" and "those" are used to point out objects located in space or time. In Vielan, the demonstratives occur as prefixes on the noun, and, in addition, there is a three-way distinction as opposed to the two-way distinction of English (similar to Spanish ''esto, eso, aquel'' or the archaic "this, there, yon".

The suffixes are as follows:
<div style="text-align: left;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=50 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Demonstrative Suffixes
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
|-
|| || || Near || Medial || Far
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| || || '''-ŋi''' || '''-ti''' || '''-mi'''
|-
|}
</div>

These forms are clearly related to the possessive suffixes (below).

====Possession====
Nouns take suffixes to show possession.

===Verbs===
Verbs are divided into two groups: the transitive conjugation and the intransitive conjugation. Verbs in the intransitive conjugation inflect for person, class/gender and number of the patient; gender and number of the addressee; tense; aspect; voice; mood and verbal number. Verbs in the transitive conjugation also inflect for person, class/gender and number of the agent, indirect object and beneficiary. There are also evidential suffixes and non-finite forms, comprising infinitives, participles, and gerunds.

====Tense====
There are four tenses: present, past, remote past and future.

=====Compound Tenses=====
There are compound tenses formed from the past participles of verbs in all moods plus the appropriate tense of the verbs '''ralta''' (an old verb meaning ''"to have"'') for verbs of the transitive conjugation, or '''halka''' (the full form of the existential verb which now survives as a suffix on nouns) for verbs of the intransitive conjugation.

====Aspect====
There are seven aspects: aorist, imperfect, perfective, continuative, inchoative, habitative, and conclusive.

====Voice====
There are five voices: active, passive, antipassive, medial and reciprocal.

====Mood====
There are eight moods, comprising the indicative, the imperative, the hortative, the optative, the desiderative, the necessitative, the obligative, and the similitive,

====Infinitives====
There are infinitival (non-personal) forms for all tenses and aspects except the imperative.

===Numbers===
The numbers from 1 to 20 are:

'''hanki''' ''1''
'''rotpi''' ''2''
'''työtki''' ''3''
'''papsi''' ''4''
'''vuusi''' ''5''
'''kauvi''' ''6''
'''kirpi''' ''7''
'''lÿÿlli''' ''8''
'''saunni''' ''9''
'''muupi''' ''10''
'''hankimuupi''' ''11''
'''rotpimuupi''' ''12''
'''työtkimyypi''' ''13''
'''papsimuupi''' ''14''
'''vuusimuupi''' ''15''
'''kauvimuupi''' ''16''
'''kirpimuupi''' ''17''
'''lyyllimyypi''' ''18''
'''saunnimuupi''' ''19''
'''väppi''' ''20''

Velyan

2009-02-14T14:45:55Z

Twenex: /* Numbers */

Velyan

2009-02-14T14:43:57Z

Twenex: Made start to sections on Quality, Dimension and Age

Velyan is one of the two main [[Wikipedia:Classical_language|classical languages]] of the continent Pellargos, on the planet Máa. Máa is an alternate Earth planet.

==Phonology==
===Vowels===

There are 12 vowels, each of which can be short or long.

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=11 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Vowels
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Front ||colspan=2| Near-front ||colspan=2| Central ||colspan=2| Near-back ||colspan=2| Back
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High || {{IPA|i}} || {{IPA|y}} || || || || || || || || {{IPA|u}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-high || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High-mid || || || {{IPA|e}} || {{IPA|ø}} || || || || || || {{IPA|o}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Mid || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low-mid || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-low || || || {{IPA|æ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low || || || || || {{IPA|a}}
|}

</div>

=== Consonants ===

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=17 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Consonants
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Bilabial ||colspan=2| Labiod. ||colspan=2| Dental ||colspan=2| Alveolar ||colspan=2| Post-alv. ||colspan=2| Palatal ||colspan=2| Velar ||colspan=2|Uvular ||colspan=2| Glottal
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Nasal || || {{IPA|m}} || || || || {{IPA|n}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|ŋ}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Plosive || {{IPA|p}} || || || || || {{IPA|t}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|k}} || || {{IPA|q}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Fricative || || || || || || {{IPA|s}} || {{IPA|ʃ}} || || || || || ({{IPA|x}}) || {{IPA|h}} || || {{IPA|χ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Approximant || {{IPA|ʋ}} || || || || || || || || || || || {{IPA|j}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Trill || || || || || || || || {{IPA|rː}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Flap || || || || || || || || {{IPA|ɾ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Lateral Approximant || || || || || || || || {{IPA|l}} || || || ||
|-
|}
</div>

==Transcription==
Below is a table of the IPA sounds of Velyan, with transcription.

{|
!IPA||Letter
|-
|{{IPA|a}}||a
|-
|{{IPA|æ}}||ä
|-
|{{IPA|e}}||e
|-
|{{IPA|h}}||h
|-
|{{IPA|i}}||i
|-
|{{IPA|j}}||j
|-
|{{IPA|k}}||k
|-
|{{IPA|l}}||l
|-
|{{IPA|m}}||m
|-
|{{IPA|n}}||n
|-
|{{IPA|ŋ}}||ŋ
|-
|{{IPA|o}}||o
|-
|{{IPA|ö}}||ö
|-
|{{IPA|p}}||p
|-
|{{IPA|q}}||q
|-
|{{IPA|r}}||r
|-
|{{IPA|ɾː}}||rr
|-
|{{IPA|s}}||s
|-
|{{IPA|ʃ}}||š
|-
|{{IPA|t}}||t
|-
|{{IPA|u}}||u
|-
|{{IPA|y}}||y
|-
|{{IPA|ʋ}}||v
|-
|}
===Tone===
Velyan has three basic tones, called ''high'', ''mid'' and ''low''. The high and low tones are marked with accents, whilst the mid tone is the default tone and is not marked. The high tone is marked by an acute accent over back and neutral vowels and '''y''' ('''á é í ó ú ý''') and by a double-acute accent over front vowels ('''a̋ ő'''); similarly, the low tone is marked by single or double grave accents: ('''à ȁ è ì ò ȍ ù ỳ'''). Long vowels and diphthongs can have two tones.

===Vowel harmony===
Velyan phonotactics restrict the vowels that can appear in any one word to a subset of the entire inventory. Vowels are divided into three groups: front vowels (ä, ö, ü), back vowels (a, o, u) and neutral vowels (e, i). All vowels in a word must be either front vowels, or back vowels, but not both (though neutral vowels can appear in words with either front or back vowels.)

===Initial Consonant Mutation===
In Velyan, consonants at the beginning of words undergo a process of ''initial consonant mutation''', whereby an initial '''p''', '''t''', or '''k''' is mutated to its equivalent nasal consonant (respectively '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' under certain conditions. Conversely, under the same conditions the consonants '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' mutate to the consonants '''p''', '''t''' or '''k'''. The conditions under which this happens are explained more fully in the section on Syntax.
===Consonant Gradation===
The phenomenon of ''consonant gradation'' arises due to a restriction in Vielan words, that prohibits a "strong" syllable from ending in a consonant. A '''strong syllable''' is a syllable that begins with a consonant and is preceded by another ending in (at least) one consonant. When this happens, the consonant or cluster at the beginning of the final syllable undergoes '''lenition''' or softening (although it can be historically explained as a process of '''fortition''' or hardening).

The following changes occur as a result of consonant gradation:
#Geminate phonemes change to simplex ones, e.g. ''tt'' -> ''t'', ''rr'' -> ''r'', ''ss'' -> ''s''.

The remaining changes only affect plosives and clusters containing plosives:
Clusters change as follows:
#Nasals:
##Nasal + voiceless plosive changes to geminate nasal, e.g. ''mp'' -> ''mm'', ''nt'' -> ''nn''
#Liquids:
##''lt'' -> ''ll
##''lp'' -> ''lv''
##''lkU'' -> ''lvU''
##''rkU'' -> ''rvU''
##''lkI'' -> ''lji''
##''rkI'' -> ''rji''
#Consonant clusters beginning with ''s'':
##''sp'' -> ''sv''
##''st'' -> ''*sr'' -> ''rs''
##''sk'' -> ''ss''
#Consonant clusters ending with ''s'':
##''ps'' -> ''*vs'' -> ''sv''
##''ts'' -> ''rs''
##''ks'' -> ''s''
#Simplex consonants
##''t'' -> ''r''
##''p'' -> ''v''
##''k'' -> Ø
##''iki'' -> ''iji''
##-UkU'' -> ''UvU''
##''v'' -> ''w''

Notes:
#Long vowels and geminate consonants are written double, e.g. ''aa'', ''kk''. Note that {{IPA|/ɾː/}} is the geminate counterpart of {{IPA|/r/}}.

==Morphology==
===Nouns===
Nouns are divided into '''noun classes''' and inflect for '''quality''', '''dimension''', '''age''', '''tense/aspect''', '''number''', '''case''', '''possessor''', '''destination''' and '''deixis'''. Suffixes (there are no prefixes or infixes in Vielan) are added to the noun, or (more often) to the '''oblique stem'''.
====Noun Classes====
There are several noun classes, reflecting the division of nouns into several semantic categories. The noun classes are added to a notional form of the noun known as the '''base'''. In some cases, the base of a noun ends in one of the letters '''l''', '''n''', '''r''', '''s''', or '''t''', and the noun is in Class IX, which has no suffix; in these cases the base form does surface.

The class suffixes are as follows:
{|
|Class||||Meaning||||Suffix
|-
|I||||Divine Female||||'''-tAri'''
|-
|II||||Divine Male||||'''-tAr'''
|-
|III||||Female Human||||'''-O'''
|-
|IV||||Masculine Human||||'''-á'''
|-
|VI||||Female Professional||||'''-jA'''
|-
|V||||Male Professional||||'''-ri'''
|-
|VII||||Animate (Non-Human)||||'''-e'''
|-
|VIII||||Inanimate I||||∅
|-
|IX||||Inanimate II||||'''-i'''
|-
|X||||Abstract||||'''-U'''
|-
|XI||||Small Place||||'''-lA'''
|-
|XII||||Large Place||||'''-mA'''
|-
|XIII||||Instrument||||'''-ìn'''
|}

====Stems====
====Quality====
Nouns in Velian take suffixes to show '''quality''', that is, whether something is good or bad. The suffix for ''good'' is '''-
====Dimension====
Nouns in Velian take suffixes to show '''dimension''', that is whether something is large or small. The suffix for ''large'' is '''-iso''' after consonants, '''-is-''' after consonants and before vowels and '''-so''' after consonants and before vowels.
====Age====
====Number====
Number in Velyan distinguishes the following categories: general, singulative (''"one"''), dual (''"two"''), paucal (''"more than two, upto about 10 or a dozen"''), plural (''"more than ten or a dozen"'') and collective (''"all"''). The general form of the noun is the form used when citing the noun in general contexts. as in the English equivalents ''The '''lion''' is a member of the cat family''. The number suffixes differ depending on whether the suffix is the last suffix on the noun, or is followed by a suffix beginning with a consonant or a vowel.
<br>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=11 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Number affixes
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=4| Singulative ||colspan=4| Dual ||colspan=4| Paucal ||colspan=4| Plural ||colspan=4| Collective
|-
|style="text-align: center; font-size: 95%;"| Finally || '''-na''' || || || || '''-r''' || || || || '''-há''' || || || || '''-t'''|| || || || '''-kà'''
|-
|style="text-align: center; font-size: 95%;"| Before consonant || '''-na-'''|| || || || '''-u-'''|| || || || '''-h-''' || || || || '''-i-''' || || || || '''-kà-'''
|-
|style="text-align: center; font-size: 95%;"| Before a vowel || '''-nan-'''|| || || || '''-v-''' || || || || '''-h-''' || || || || '''-j-''' || || || || '''-kàk-'''

|}

</div>

====Deixis====
In English, the demonstratives "this", "these", "that" and "those" are used to point out objects located in space or time. In Vielan, the demonstratives occur as prefixes on the noun, and, in addition, there is a three-way distinction as opposed to the two-way distinction of English (similar to Spanish ''esto, eso, aquel'' or the archaic "this, there, yon".

The suffixes are as follows:
<div style="text-align: left;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=50 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Demonstrative Suffixes
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
|-
|| || || Near || Medial || Far
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| || || '''-ŋi''' || '''-ti''' || '''-mi'''
|-
|}
</div>

These forms are clearly related to the possessive suffixes (below).

====Possession====
Nouns take suffixes to show possession.

===Verbs===
Verbs are divided into two groups: the transitive conjugation and the intransitive conjugation. Verbs in the intransitive conjugation inflect for person, class/gender and number of the patient; gender and number of the addressee; tense; aspect; voice; mood and verbal number. Verbs in the transitive conjugation also inflect for person, class/gender and number of the agent, indirect object and beneficiary. There are also evidential suffixes and non-finite forms, comprising infinitives, participles, and gerunds.

====Tense====
There are four tenses: present, past, remote past and future.

=====Compound Tenses=====
There are compound tenses formed from the past participles of verbs in all moods plus the appropriate tense of the verbs '''ralta''' (an old verb meaning ''"to have"'') for verbs of the transitive conjugation, or '''halka''' (the full form of the existential verb which now survives as a suffix on nouns) for verbs of the intransitive conjugation.

====Aspect====
There are seven aspects: aorist, imperfect, perfective, continuative, inchoative, habitative, and conclusive.

====Voice====
There are five voices: active, passive, antipassive, medial and reciprocal.

====Mood====
There are eight moods, comprising the indicative, the imperative, the hortative, the optative, the desiderative, the necessitative, the obligative, and the similitive,

====Infinitives====
There are infinitival (non-personal) forms for all tenses and aspects except the imperative.

===Numbers===
The numbers from 1 to 20 are:

'''hanki''' ''1''
'''rotpi''' ''2''
'''tÿötki''' ''3''
'''papsi''' ''4''
'''vuusi''' ''5''
'''kauvi''' ''6''
'''kirpi''' ''7''
'''lÿÿlli''' ''8''
'''saunnyi''' ''9''
'''muupi''' ''10''
'''hankimuupi''' ''11''
'''rotpimuupi''' ''12''
'''työtkimÿÿpi''' ''13''
'''papsimuupi''' ''14''
'''vuusimuupi''' ''15''
'''kauvimuupi''' ''16''
'''kirpimuupi''' ''17''
'''lyyllimÿÿpi''' ''18''
'''saunnyimuupi'''
'''vappi''' ''20''

Velyan

2009-02-14T14:28:19Z

Twenex: Changed the tone of some gender suffixes

Velyan is one of the two main [[Wikipedia:Classical_language|classical languages]] of the continent Pellargos, on the planet Máa. Máa is an alternate Earth planet.

==Phonology==
===Vowels===

There are 12 vowels, each of which can be short or long.

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=11 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Vowels
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Front ||colspan=2| Near-front ||colspan=2| Central ||colspan=2| Near-back ||colspan=2| Back
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High || {{IPA|i}} || {{IPA|y}} || || || || || || || || {{IPA|u}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-high || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High-mid || || || {{IPA|e}} || {{IPA|ø}} || || || || || || {{IPA|o}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Mid || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low-mid || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-low || || || {{IPA|æ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low || || || || || {{IPA|a}}
|}

</div>

=== Consonants ===

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=17 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Consonants
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Bilabial ||colspan=2| Labiod. ||colspan=2| Dental ||colspan=2| Alveolar ||colspan=2| Post-alv. ||colspan=2| Palatal ||colspan=2| Velar ||colspan=2|Uvular ||colspan=2| Glottal
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Nasal || || {{IPA|m}} || || || || {{IPA|n}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|ŋ}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Plosive || {{IPA|p}} || || || || || {{IPA|t}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|k}} || || {{IPA|q}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Fricative || || || || || || {{IPA|s}} || {{IPA|ʃ}} || || || || || ({{IPA|x}}) || {{IPA|h}} || || {{IPA|χ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Approximant || {{IPA|ʋ}} || || || || || || || || || || || {{IPA|j}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Trill || || || || || || || || {{IPA|rː}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Flap || || || || || || || || {{IPA|ɾ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Lateral Approximant || || || || || || || || {{IPA|l}} || || || ||
|-
|}
</div>

==Transcription==
Below is a table of the IPA sounds of Velyan, with transcription.

{|
!IPA||Letter
|-
|{{IPA|a}}||a
|-
|{{IPA|æ}}||ä
|-
|{{IPA|e}}||e
|-
|{{IPA|h}}||h
|-
|{{IPA|i}}||i
|-
|{{IPA|j}}||j
|-
|{{IPA|k}}||k
|-
|{{IPA|l}}||l
|-
|{{IPA|m}}||m
|-
|{{IPA|n}}||n
|-
|{{IPA|ŋ}}||ŋ
|-
|{{IPA|o}}||o
|-
|{{IPA|ö}}||ö
|-
|{{IPA|p}}||p
|-
|{{IPA|q}}||q
|-
|{{IPA|r}}||r
|-
|{{IPA|ɾː}}||rr
|-
|{{IPA|s}}||s
|-
|{{IPA|ʃ}}||š
|-
|{{IPA|t}}||t
|-
|{{IPA|u}}||u
|-
|{{IPA|y}}||y
|-
|{{IPA|ʋ}}||v
|-
|}
===Tone===
Velyan has three basic tones, called ''high'', ''mid'' and ''low''. The high and low tones are marked with accents, whilst the mid tone is the default tone and is not marked. The high tone is marked by an acute accent over back and neutral vowels and '''y''' ('''á é í ó ú ý''') and by a double-acute accent over front vowels ('''a̋ ő'''); similarly, the low tone is marked by single or double grave accents: ('''à ȁ è ì ò ȍ ù ỳ'''). Long vowels and diphthongs can have two tones.

===Vowel harmony===
Velyan phonotactics restrict the vowels that can appear in any one word to a subset of the entire inventory. Vowels are divided into three groups: front vowels (ä, ö, ü), back vowels (a, o, u) and neutral vowels (e, i). All vowels in a word must be either front vowels, or back vowels, but not both (though neutral vowels can appear in words with either front or back vowels.)

===Initial Consonant Mutation===
In Velyan, consonants at the beginning of words undergo a process of ''initial consonant mutation''', whereby an initial '''p''', '''t''', or '''k''' is mutated to its equivalent nasal consonant (respectively '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' under certain conditions. Conversely, under the same conditions the consonants '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' mutate to the consonants '''p''', '''t''' or '''k'''. The conditions under which this happens are explained more fully in the section on Syntax.
===Consonant Gradation===
The phenomenon of ''consonant gradation'' arises due to a restriction in Vielan words, that prohibits a "strong" syllable from ending in a consonant. A '''strong syllable''' is a syllable that begins with a consonant and is preceded by another ending in (at least) one consonant. When this happens, the consonant or cluster at the beginning of the final syllable undergoes '''lenition''' or softening (although it can be historically explained as a process of '''fortition''' or hardening).

The following changes occur as a result of consonant gradation:
#Geminate phonemes change to simplex ones, e.g. ''tt'' -> ''t'', ''rr'' -> ''r'', ''ss'' -> ''s''.

The remaining changes only affect plosives and clusters containing plosives:
Clusters change as follows:
#Nasals:
##Nasal + voiceless plosive changes to geminate nasal, e.g. ''mp'' -> ''mm'', ''nt'' -> ''nn''
#Liquids:
##''lt'' -> ''ll
##''lp'' -> ''lv''
##''lkU'' -> ''lvU''
##''rkU'' -> ''rvU''
##''lkI'' -> ''lji''
##''rkI'' -> ''rji''
#Consonant clusters beginning with ''s'':
##''sp'' -> ''sv''
##''st'' -> ''*sr'' -> ''rs''
##''sk'' -> ''ss''
#Consonant clusters ending with ''s'':
##''ps'' -> ''*vs'' -> ''sv''
##''ts'' -> ''rs''
##''ks'' -> ''s''
#Simplex consonants
##''t'' -> ''r''
##''p'' -> ''v''
##''k'' -> Ø
##''iki'' -> ''iji''
##-UkU'' -> ''UvU''
##''v'' -> ''w''

Notes:
#Long vowels and geminate consonants are written double, e.g. ''aa'', ''kk''. Note that {{IPA|/ɾː/}} is the geminate counterpart of {{IPA|/r/}}.

==Morphology==
===Nouns===
Nouns are divided into '''noun classes''' and inflect for '''quality''', '''dimension''', '''age''', '''tense/aspect''', '''number''', '''case''', '''possessor''', '''destination''' and '''deixis'''. Suffixes (there are no prefixes or infixes in Vielan) are added to the noun, or (more often) to the '''oblique stem'''.
====Noun Classes====
There are several noun classes, reflecting the division of nouns into several semantic categories. The noun classes are added to a notional form of the noun known as the '''base'''. In some cases, the base of a noun ends in one of the letters '''l''', '''n''', '''r''', '''s''', or '''t''', and the noun is in Class IX, which has no suffix; in these cases the base form does surface.

The class suffixes are as follows:
{|
|Class||||Meaning||||Suffix
|-
|I||||Divine Female||||'''-tAri'''
|-
|II||||Divine Male||||'''-tAr'''
|-
|III||||Female Human||||'''-O'''
|-
|IV||||Masculine Human||||'''-á'''
|-
|VI||||Female Professional||||'''-jA'''
|-
|V||||Male Professional||||'''-ri'''
|-
|VII||||Animate (Non-Human)||||'''-e'''
|-
|VIII||||Inanimate I||||∅
|-
|IX||||Inanimate II||||'''-i'''
|-
|X||||Abstract||||'''-U'''
|-
|XI||||Small Place||||'''-lA'''
|-
|XII||||Large Place||||'''-mA'''
|-
|XIII||||Instrument||||'''-ìn'''
|}

====Stems====
====Number====
Number in Velyan distinguishes the following categories: general, singulative (''"one"''), dual (''"two"''), paucal (''"more than two, upto about 10 or a dozen"''), plural (''"more than ten or a dozen"'') and collective (''"all"''). The general form of the noun is the form used when citing the noun in general contexts. as in the English equivalents ''The '''lion''' is a member of the cat family''. The number suffixes differ depending on whether the suffix is the last suffix on the noun, or is followed by a suffix beginning with a consonant or a vowel.
<br>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=11 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Number affixes
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=4| Singulative ||colspan=4| Dual ||colspan=4| Paucal ||colspan=4| Plural ||colspan=4| Collective
|-
|style="text-align: center; font-size: 95%;"| Finally || '''-na''' || || || || '''-r''' || || || || '''-há''' || || || || '''-t'''|| || || || '''-kà'''
|-
|style="text-align: center; font-size: 95%;"| Before consonant || '''-na-'''|| || || || '''-u-'''|| || || || '''-h-''' || || || || '''-i-''' || || || || '''-kà-'''
|-
|style="text-align: center; font-size: 95%;"| Before a vowel || '''-nan-'''|| || || || '''-v-''' || || || || '''-h-''' || || || || '''-j-''' || || || || '''-kàk-'''

|}

</div>

====Deixis====
In English, the demonstratives "this", "these", "that" and "those" are used to point out objects located in space or time. In Vielan, the demonstratives occur as prefixes on the noun, and, in addition, there is a three-way distinction as opposed to the two-way distinction of English (similar to Spanish ''esto, eso, aquel'' or the archaic "this, there, yon".

The suffixes are as follows:
<div style="text-align: left;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=50 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Demonstrative Suffixes
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
|-
|| || || Near || Medial || Far
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| || || '''-ŋi''' || '''-ti''' || '''-mi'''
|-
|}
</div>

These forms are clearly related to the possessive suffixes (below).

====Possession====
Nouns take suffixes to show possession.

===Verbs===
Verbs are divided into two groups: the transitive conjugation and the intransitive conjugation. Verbs in the intransitive conjugation inflect for person, class/gender and number of the patient; gender and number of the addressee; tense; aspect; voice; mood and verbal number. Verbs in the transitive conjugation also inflect for person, class/gender and number of the agent, indirect object and beneficiary. There are also evidential suffixes and non-finite forms, comprising infinitives, participles, and gerunds.

====Tense====
There are four tenses: present, past, remote past and future.

=====Compound Tenses=====
There are compound tenses formed from the past participles of verbs in all moods plus the appropriate tense of the verbs '''ralta''' (an old verb meaning ''"to have"'') for verbs of the transitive conjugation, or '''halka''' (the full form of the existential verb which now survives as a suffix on nouns) for verbs of the intransitive conjugation.

====Aspect====
There are seven aspects: aorist, imperfect, perfective, continuative, inchoative, habitative, and conclusive.

====Voice====
There are five voices: active, passive, antipassive, medial and reciprocal.

====Mood====
There are eight moods, comprising the indicative, the imperative, the hortative, the optative, the desiderative, the necessitative, the obligative, and the similitive,

====Infinitives====
There are infinitival (non-personal) forms for all tenses and aspects except the imperative.

===Numbers===
The numbers from 1 to 20 are:

'''hanki''' ''1''
'''rotpi''' ''2''
'''tÿötki''' ''3''
'''papsi''' ''4''
'''vuusi''' ''5''
'''kauvi''' ''6''
'''kirpi''' ''7''
'''lÿÿlli''' ''8''
'''saunnyi''' ''9''
'''muupi''' ''10''
'''hankimuupi''' ''11''
'''rotpimuupi''' ''12''
'''työtkimÿÿpi''' ''13''
'''papsimuupi''' ''14''
'''vuusimuupi''' ''15''
'''kauvimuupi''' ''16''
'''kirpimuupi''' ''17''
'''lyyllimÿÿpi''' ''18''
'''saunnyimuupi'''
'''vappi''' ''20''

Velyan

2009-02-14T13:50:12Z

Twenex: /* Number */ Wrote whole table of number affixes

Velyan is one of the two main [[Wikipedia:Classical_language|classical languages]] of the continent Pellargos, on the planet Máa. Máa is an alternate Earth planet.

==Phonology==
===Vowels===

There are 12 vowels, each of which can be short or long.

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=11 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Vowels
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Front ||colspan=2| Near-front ||colspan=2| Central ||colspan=2| Near-back ||colspan=2| Back
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High || {{IPA|i}} || {{IPA|y}} || || || || || || || || {{IPA|u}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-high || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High-mid || || || {{IPA|e}} || {{IPA|ø}} || || || || || || {{IPA|o}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Mid || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low-mid || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-low || || || {{IPA|æ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low || || || || || {{IPA|a}}
|}

</div>

=== Consonants ===

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=17 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Consonants
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Bilabial ||colspan=2| Labiod. ||colspan=2| Dental ||colspan=2| Alveolar ||colspan=2| Post-alv. ||colspan=2| Palatal ||colspan=2| Velar ||colspan=2|Uvular ||colspan=2| Glottal
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Nasal || || {{IPA|m}} || || || || {{IPA|n}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|ŋ}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Plosive || {{IPA|p}} || || || || || {{IPA|t}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|k}} || || {{IPA|q}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Fricative || || || || || || {{IPA|s}} || {{IPA|ʃ}} || || || || || ({{IPA|x}}) || {{IPA|h}} || || {{IPA|χ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Approximant || {{IPA|ʋ}} || || || || || || || || || || || {{IPA|j}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Trill || || || || || || || || {{IPA|rː}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Flap || || || || || || || || {{IPA|ɾ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Lateral Approximant || || || || || || || || {{IPA|l}} || || || ||
|-
|}
</div>

==Transcription==
Below is a table of the IPA sounds of Velyan, with transcription.

{|
!IPA||Letter
|-
|{{IPA|a}}||a
|-
|{{IPA|æ}}||ä
|-
|{{IPA|e}}||e
|-
|{{IPA|h}}||h
|-
|{{IPA|i}}||i
|-
|{{IPA|j}}||j
|-
|{{IPA|k}}||k
|-
|{{IPA|l}}||l
|-
|{{IPA|m}}||m
|-
|{{IPA|n}}||n
|-
|{{IPA|ŋ}}||ŋ
|-
|{{IPA|o}}||o
|-
|{{IPA|ö}}||ö
|-
|{{IPA|p}}||p
|-
|{{IPA|q}}||q
|-
|{{IPA|r}}||r
|-
|{{IPA|ɾː}}||rr
|-
|{{IPA|s}}||s
|-
|{{IPA|ʃ}}||š
|-
|{{IPA|t}}||t
|-
|{{IPA|u}}||u
|-
|{{IPA|y}}||y
|-
|{{IPA|ʋ}}||v
|-
|}
===Tone===
Velyan has three basic tones, called ''high'', ''mid'' and ''low''. The high and low tones are marked with accents, whilst the mid tone is the default tone and is not marked. The high tone is marked by an acute accent over back and neutral vowels and '''y''' ('''á é í ó ú ý''') and by a double-acute accent over front vowels ('''a̋ ő'''); similarly, the low tone is marked by single or double grave accents: ('''à ȁ è ì ò ȍ ù ỳ'''). Long vowels and diphthongs can have two tones.

===Vowel harmony===
Velyan phonotactics restrict the vowels that can appear in any one word to a subset of the entire inventory. Vowels are divided into three groups: front vowels (ä, ö, ü), back vowels (a, o, u) and neutral vowels (e, i). All vowels in a word must be either front vowels, or back vowels, but not both (though neutral vowels can appear in words with either front or back vowels.)

===Initial Consonant Mutation===
In Velyan, consonants at the beginning of words undergo a process of ''initial consonant mutation''', whereby an initial '''p''', '''t''', or '''k''' is mutated to its equivalent nasal consonant (respectively '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' under certain conditions. Conversely, under the same conditions the consonants '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' mutate to the consonants '''p''', '''t''' or '''k'''. The conditions under which this happens are explained more fully in the section on Syntax.
===Consonant Gradation===
The phenomenon of ''consonant gradation'' arises due to a restriction in Vielan words, that prohibits a "strong" syllable from ending in a consonant. A '''strong syllable''' is a syllable that begins with a consonant and is preceded by another ending in (at least) one consonant. When this happens, the consonant or cluster at the beginning of the final syllable undergoes '''lenition''' or softening (although it can be historically explained as a process of '''fortition''' or hardening).

The following changes occur as a result of consonant gradation:
#Geminate phonemes change to simplex ones, e.g. ''tt'' -> ''t'', ''rr'' -> ''r'', ''ss'' -> ''s''.

The remaining changes only affect plosives and clusters containing plosives:
Clusters change as follows:
#Nasals:
##Nasal + voiceless plosive changes to geminate nasal, e.g. ''mp'' -> ''mm'', ''nt'' -> ''nn''
#Liquids:
##''lt'' -> ''ll
##''lp'' -> ''lv''
##''lkU'' -> ''lvU''
##''rkU'' -> ''rvU''
##''lkI'' -> ''lji''
##''rkI'' -> ''rji''
#Consonant clusters beginning with ''s'':
##''sp'' -> ''sv''
##''st'' -> ''*sr'' -> ''rs''
##''sk'' -> ''ss''
#Consonant clusters ending with ''s'':
##''ps'' -> ''*vs'' -> ''sv''
##''ts'' -> ''rs''
##''ks'' -> ''s''
#Simplex consonants
##''t'' -> ''r''
##''p'' -> ''v''
##''k'' -> Ø
##''iki'' -> ''iji''
##-UkU'' -> ''UvU''
##''v'' -> ''w''

Notes:
#Long vowels and geminate consonants are written double, e.g. ''aa'', ''kk''. Note that {{IPA|/ɾː/}} is the geminate counterpart of {{IPA|/r/}}.

==Morphology==
===Nouns===
Nouns are divided into '''noun classes''' and inflect for '''quality''', '''dimension''', '''age''', '''tense/aspect''', '''number''', '''case''', '''possessor''', '''destination''' and '''deixis'''. Suffixes (there are no prefixes or infixes in Vielan) are added to the noun, or (more often) to the '''oblique stem'''.
====Noun Classes====
There are several noun classes, reflecting the division of nouns into several semantic categories. The noun classes are added to a notional form of the noun known as the '''base'''. In some cases, the base of a noun ends in one of the letters '''l''', '''n''', '''r''', '''s''', or '''t''', and the noun is in Class IX, which has no suffix; in these cases the base form does surface.

The class suffixes are as follows:
{|
|Class||||Meaning||||Suffix
|-
|I||||Divine Female||||'''-tAri'''
|-
|II||||Divine Male||||'''-tAr'''
|-
|III||||Female Human||||'''-O'''
|-
|IV||||Masculine Human||||'''-A'''
|-
|VI||||Female Professional||||'''-jA'''
|-
|V||||Male Professional||||'''-ri'''
|-
|VII||||Animate (Non-Human)||||'''-e'''
|-
|VIII||||Inanimate I||||∅
|-
|IX||||Inanimate II||||'''-i'''
|-
|X||||Abstract||||'''-U'''
|-
|XI||||Small Place||||'''-lA'''
|-
|XII||||Large Place||||'''-mA'''
|-
|XIII||||Instrument||||'''-in'''
|}

====Stems====
====Number====
Number in Velyan distinguishes the following categories: general, singulative (''"one"''), dual (''"two"''), paucal (''"more than two, upto about 10 or a dozen"''), plural (''"more than ten or a dozen"'') and collective (''"all"''). The general form of the noun is the form used when citing the noun in general contexts. as in the English equivalents ''The '''lion''' is a member of the cat family''. The number suffixes differ depending on whether the suffix is the last suffix on the noun, or is followed by a suffix beginning with a consonant or a vowel.
<br>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=11 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Number affixes
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=4| Singulative ||colspan=4| Dual ||colspan=4| Paucal ||colspan=4| Plural ||colspan=4| Collective
|-
|style="text-align: center; font-size: 95%;"| Finally || '''-na''' || || || || '''-r''' || || || || '''-há''' || || || || '''-t'''|| || || || '''-kà'''
|-
|style="text-align: center; font-size: 95%;"| Before consonant || '''-na-'''|| || || || '''-u-'''|| || || || '''-h-''' || || || || '''-i-''' || || || || '''-kà-'''
|-
|style="text-align: center; font-size: 95%;"| Before a vowel || '''-nan-'''|| || || || '''-v-''' || || || || '''-h-''' || || || || '''-j-''' || || || || '''-kàk-'''

|}

</div>

====Deixis====
In English, the demonstratives "this", "these", "that" and "those" are used to point out objects located in space or time. In Vielan, the demonstratives occur as prefixes on the noun, and, in addition, there is a three-way distinction as opposed to the two-way distinction of English (similar to Spanish ''esto, eso, aquel'' or the archaic "this, there, yon".

The suffixes are as follows:
<div style="text-align: left;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=50 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Demonstrative Suffixes
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
|-
|| || || Near || Medial || Far
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| || || '''-ŋi''' || '''-ti''' || '''-mi'''
|-
|}
</div>

These forms are clearly related to the possessive suffixes (below).

====Possession====
Nouns take suffixes to show possession.

===Verbs===
Verbs are divided into two groups: the transitive conjugation and the intransitive conjugation. Verbs in the intransitive conjugation inflect for person, class/gender and number of the patient; gender and number of the addressee; tense; aspect; voice; mood and verbal number. Verbs in the transitive conjugation also inflect for person, class/gender and number of the agent, indirect object and beneficiary. There are also evidential suffixes and non-finite forms, comprising infinitives, participles, and gerunds.

====Tense====
There are four tenses: present, past, remote past and future.

=====Compound Tenses=====
There are compound tenses formed from the past participles of verbs in all moods plus the appropriate tense of the verbs '''ralta''' (an old verb meaning ''"to have"'') for verbs of the transitive conjugation, or '''halka''' (the full form of the existential verb which now survives as a suffix on nouns) for verbs of the intransitive conjugation.

====Aspect====
There are seven aspects: aorist, imperfect, perfective, continuative, inchoative, habitative, and conclusive.

====Voice====
There are five voices: active, passive, antipassive, medial and reciprocal.

====Mood====
There are eight moods, comprising the indicative, the imperative, the hortative, the optative, the desiderative, the necessitative, the obligative, and the similitive,

====Infinitives====
There are infinitival (non-personal) forms for all tenses and aspects except the imperative.

===Numbers===
The numbers from 1 to 20 are:

'''hanki''' ''1''
'''rotpi''' ''2''
'''tÿötki''' ''3''
'''papsi''' ''4''
'''vuusi''' ''5''
'''kauvi''' ''6''
'''kirpi''' ''7''
'''lÿÿlli''' ''8''
'''saunnyi''' ''9''
'''muupi''' ''10''
'''hankimuupi''' ''11''
'''rotpimuupi''' ''12''
'''työtkimÿÿpi''' ''13''
'''papsimuupi''' ''14''
'''vuusimuupi''' ''15''
'''kauvimuupi''' ''16''
'''kirpimuupi''' ''17''
'''lyyllimÿÿpi''' ''18''
'''saunnyimuupi'''
'''vappi''' ''20''

Velyan

2009-02-14T11:03:24Z

Twenex: /* Tone */

Velyan is one of the two main [[Wikipedia:Classical_language|classical languages]] of the continent Pellargos, on the planet Máa. Máa is an alternate Earth planet.

==Phonology==
===Vowels===

There are 12 vowels, each of which can be short or long.

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=11 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Vowels
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Front ||colspan=2| Near-front ||colspan=2| Central ||colspan=2| Near-back ||colspan=2| Back
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High || {{IPA|i}} || {{IPA|y}} || || || || || || || || {{IPA|u}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-high || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High-mid || || || {{IPA|e}} || {{IPA|ø}} || || || || || || {{IPA|o}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Mid || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low-mid || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-low || || || {{IPA|æ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low || || || || || {{IPA|a}}
|}

</div>

=== Consonants ===

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=17 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Consonants
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Bilabial ||colspan=2| Labiod. ||colspan=2| Dental ||colspan=2| Alveolar ||colspan=2| Post-alv. ||colspan=2| Palatal ||colspan=2| Velar ||colspan=2|Uvular ||colspan=2| Glottal
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Nasal || || {{IPA|m}} || || || || {{IPA|n}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|ŋ}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Plosive || {{IPA|p}} || || || || || {{IPA|t}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|k}} || || {{IPA|q}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Fricative || || || || || || {{IPA|s}} || {{IPA|ʃ}} || || || || || ({{IPA|x}}) || {{IPA|h}} || || {{IPA|χ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Approximant || {{IPA|ʋ}} || || || || || || || || || || || {{IPA|j}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Trill || || || || || || || || {{IPA|rː}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Flap || || || || || || || || {{IPA|ɾ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Lateral Approximant || || || || || || || || {{IPA|l}} || || || ||
|-
|}
</div>

==Transcription==
Below is a table of the IPA sounds of Velyan, with transcription.

{|
!IPA||Letter
|-
|{{IPA|a}}||a
|-
|{{IPA|æ}}||ä
|-
|{{IPA|e}}||e
|-
|{{IPA|h}}||h
|-
|{{IPA|i}}||i
|-
|{{IPA|j}}||j
|-
|{{IPA|k}}||k
|-
|{{IPA|l}}||l
|-
|{{IPA|m}}||m
|-
|{{IPA|n}}||n
|-
|{{IPA|ŋ}}||ŋ
|-
|{{IPA|o}}||o
|-
|{{IPA|ö}}||ö
|-
|{{IPA|p}}||p
|-
|{{IPA|q}}||q
|-
|{{IPA|r}}||r
|-
|{{IPA|ɾː}}||rr
|-
|{{IPA|s}}||s
|-
|{{IPA|ʃ}}||š
|-
|{{IPA|t}}||t
|-
|{{IPA|u}}||u
|-
|{{IPA|y}}||y
|-
|{{IPA|ʋ}}||v
|-
|}
===Tone===
Velyan has three basic tones, called ''high'', ''mid'' and ''low''. The high and low tones are marked with accents, whilst the mid tone is the default tone and is not marked. The high tone is marked by an acute accent over back and neutral vowels and '''y''' ('''á é í ó ú ý''') and by a double-acute accent over front vowels ('''a̋ ő'''); similarly, the low tone is marked by single or double grave accents: ('''à ȁ è ì ò ȍ ù ỳ'''). Long vowels and diphthongs can have two tones.

===Vowel harmony===
Velyan phonotactics restrict the vowels that can appear in any one word to a subset of the entire inventory. Vowels are divided into three groups: front vowels (ä, ö, ü), back vowels (a, o, u) and neutral vowels (e, i). All vowels in a word must be either front vowels, or back vowels, but not both (though neutral vowels can appear in words with either front or back vowels.)

===Initial Consonant Mutation===
In Velyan, consonants at the beginning of words undergo a process of ''initial consonant mutation''', whereby an initial '''p''', '''t''', or '''k''' is mutated to its equivalent nasal consonant (respectively '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' under certain conditions. Conversely, under the same conditions the consonants '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' mutate to the consonants '''p''', '''t''' or '''k'''. The conditions under which this happens are explained more fully in the section on Syntax.
===Consonant Gradation===
The phenomenon of ''consonant gradation'' arises due to a restriction in Vielan words, that prohibits a "strong" syllable from ending in a consonant. A '''strong syllable''' is a syllable that begins with a consonant and is preceded by another ending in (at least) one consonant. When this happens, the consonant or cluster at the beginning of the final syllable undergoes '''lenition''' or softening (although it can be historically explained as a process of '''fortition''' or hardening).

The following changes occur as a result of consonant gradation:
#Geminate phonemes change to simplex ones, e.g. ''tt'' -> ''t'', ''rr'' -> ''r'', ''ss'' -> ''s''.

The remaining changes only affect plosives and clusters containing plosives:
Clusters change as follows:
#Nasals:
##Nasal + voiceless plosive changes to geminate nasal, e.g. ''mp'' -> ''mm'', ''nt'' -> ''nn''
#Liquids:
##''lt'' -> ''ll
##''lp'' -> ''lv''
##''lkU'' -> ''lvU''
##''rkU'' -> ''rvU''
##''lkI'' -> ''lji''
##''rkI'' -> ''rji''
#Consonant clusters beginning with ''s'':
##''sp'' -> ''sv''
##''st'' -> ''*sr'' -> ''rs''
##''sk'' -> ''ss''
#Consonant clusters ending with ''s'':
##''ps'' -> ''*vs'' -> ''sv''
##''ts'' -> ''rs''
##''ks'' -> ''s''
#Simplex consonants
##''t'' -> ''r''
##''p'' -> ''v''
##''k'' -> Ø
##''iki'' -> ''iji''
##-UkU'' -> ''UvU''
##''v'' -> ''w''

Notes:
#Long vowels and geminate consonants are written double, e.g. ''aa'', ''kk''. Note that {{IPA|/ɾː/}} is the geminate counterpart of {{IPA|/r/}}.

==Morphology==
===Nouns===
Nouns are divided into '''noun classes''' and inflect for '''quality''', '''dimension''', '''age''', '''tense/aspect''', '''number''', '''case''', '''possessor''', '''destination''' and '''deixis'''. Suffixes (there are no prefixes or infixes in Vielan) are added to the noun, or (more often) to the '''oblique stem'''.
====Noun Classes====
There are several noun classes, reflecting the division of nouns into several semantic categories. The noun classes are added to a notional form of the noun known as the '''base'''. In some cases, the base of a noun ends in one of the letters '''l''', '''n''', '''r''', '''s''', or '''t''', and the noun is in Class IX, which has no suffix; in these cases the base form does surface.

The class suffixes are as follows:
{|
|Class||||Meaning||||Suffix
|-
|I||||Divine Female||||'''-tAri'''
|-
|II||||Divine Male||||'''-tAr'''
|-
|III||||Female Human||||'''-O'''
|-
|IV||||Masculine Human||||'''-A'''
|-
|VI||||Female Professional||||'''-jA'''
|-
|V||||Male Professional||||'''-ri'''
|-
|VII||||Animate (Non-Human)||||'''-e'''
|-
|VIII||||Inanimate I||||∅
|-
|IX||||Inanimate II||||'''-i'''
|-
|X||||Abstract||||'''-U'''
|-
|XI||||Small Place||||'''-lA'''
|-
|XII||||Large Place||||'''-mA'''
|-
|XIII||||Instrument||||'''-in'''
|}

====Stems====
====Number====
Number in Velyan distinguishes the following categories: general, singular (''"one"''), dual (''"two"''), paucal (''"more than two, upto about 10 or a dozen"''), plural (''"more than ten or a dozen"'') and collective (''"all"''). The general form of the noun is the form used when citing the noun in general contexts. as in the English equivalents ''The '''lion''' is a member of the cat family''. The number suffixes differ depending on whether the suffix is the last suffix on the noun, or is followed by a suffix beginning with a consonant or a vowel.
<br>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=11 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Vowels
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Front ||colspan=2| Near-front ||colspan=2| Central ||colspan=2| Near-back ||colspan=2| Back
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High || {{IPA|i}} || {{IPA|y}} || || || || || || || || {{IPA|u}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-high || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High-mid || || || {{IPA|e}} || {{IPA|ø}} || || || || || || {{IPA|o}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Mid || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low-mid || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-low || || || {{IPA|æ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low || || || || || {{IPA|a}}
|}

</div>

====Deixis====
In English, the demonstratives "this", "these", "that" and "those" are used to point out objects located in space or time. In Vielan, the demonstratives occur as prefixes on the noun, and, in addition, there is a three-way distinction as opposed to the two-way distinction of English (similar to Spanish ''esto, eso, aquel'' or the archaic "this, there, yon".

The suffixes are as follows:
<div style="text-align: left;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=50 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Demonstrative Suffixes
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
|-
|| || || Near || Medial || Far
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| || || '''-ŋi''' || '''-ti''' || '''-mi'''
|-
|}
</div>

These forms are clearly related to the possessive suffixes (below).

====Possession====
Nouns take suffixes to show possession.

===Verbs===
Verbs are divided into two groups: the transitive conjugation and the intransitive conjugation. Verbs in the intransitive conjugation inflect for person, class/gender and number of the patient; gender and number of the addressee; tense; aspect; voice; mood and verbal number. Verbs in the transitive conjugation also inflect for person, class/gender and number of the agent, indirect object and beneficiary. There are also evidential suffixes and non-finite forms, comprising infinitives, participles, and gerunds.

====Tense====
There are four tenses: present, past, remote past and future.

=====Compound Tenses=====
There are compound tenses formed from the past participles of verbs in all moods plus the appropriate tense of the verbs '''ralta''' (an old verb meaning ''"to have"'') for verbs of the transitive conjugation, or '''halka''' (the full form of the existential verb which now survives as a suffix on nouns) for verbs of the intransitive conjugation.

====Aspect====
There are seven aspects: aorist, imperfect, perfective, continuative, inchoative, habitative, and conclusive.

====Voice====
There are five voices: active, passive, antipassive, medial and reciprocal.

====Mood====
There are eight moods, comprising the indicative, the imperative, the hortative, the optative, the desiderative, the necessitative, the obligative, and the similitive,

====Infinitives====
There are infinitival (non-personal) forms for all tenses and aspects except the imperative.

===Numbers===
The numbers from 1 to 20 are:

'''hanki''' ''1''
'''rotpi''' ''2''
'''tÿötki''' ''3''
'''papsi''' ''4''
'''vuusi''' ''5''
'''kauvi''' ''6''
'''kirpi''' ''7''
'''lÿÿlli''' ''8''
'''saunnyi''' ''9''
'''muupi''' ''10''
'''hankimuupi''' ''11''
'''rotpimuupi''' ''12''
'''työtkimÿÿpi''' ''13''
'''papsimuupi''' ''14''
'''vuusimuupi''' ''15''
'''kauvimuupi''' ''16''
'''kirpimuupi''' ''17''
'''lyyllimÿÿpi''' ''18''
'''saunnyimuupi'''
'''vappi''' ''20''

Velyan

2009-02-14T10:58:55Z

Twenex: /* Transcription */

Velyan is one of the two main [[Wikipedia:Classical_language|classical languages]] of the continent Pellargos, on the planet Máa. Máa is an alternate Earth planet.

==Phonology==
===Vowels===

There are 12 vowels, each of which can be short or long.

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=11 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Vowels
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Front ||colspan=2| Near-front ||colspan=2| Central ||colspan=2| Near-back ||colspan=2| Back
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High || {{IPA|i}} || {{IPA|y}} || || || || || || || || {{IPA|u}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-high || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High-mid || || || {{IPA|e}} || {{IPA|ø}} || || || || || || {{IPA|o}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Mid || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low-mid || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-low || || || {{IPA|æ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low || || || || || {{IPA|a}}
|}

</div>

=== Consonants ===

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=17 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Consonants
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Bilabial ||colspan=2| Labiod. ||colspan=2| Dental ||colspan=2| Alveolar ||colspan=2| Post-alv. ||colspan=2| Palatal ||colspan=2| Velar ||colspan=2|Uvular ||colspan=2| Glottal
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Nasal || || {{IPA|m}} || || || || {{IPA|n}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|ŋ}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Plosive || {{IPA|p}} || || || || || {{IPA|t}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|k}} || || {{IPA|q}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Fricative || || || || || || {{IPA|s}} || {{IPA|ʃ}} || || || || || ({{IPA|x}}) || {{IPA|h}} || || {{IPA|χ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Approximant || {{IPA|ʋ}} || || || || || || || || || || || {{IPA|j}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Trill || || || || || || || || {{IPA|rː}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Flap || || || || || || || || {{IPA|ɾ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Lateral Approximant || || || || || || || || {{IPA|l}} || || || ||
|-
|}
</div>

==Transcription==
Below is a table of the IPA sounds of Velyan, with transcription.

{|
!IPA||Letter
|-
|{{IPA|a}}||a
|-
|{{IPA|æ}}||ä
|-
|{{IPA|e}}||e
|-
|{{IPA|h}}||h
|-
|{{IPA|i}}||i
|-
|{{IPA|j}}||j
|-
|{{IPA|k}}||k
|-
|{{IPA|l}}||l
|-
|{{IPA|m}}||m
|-
|{{IPA|n}}||n
|-
|{{IPA|ŋ}}||ŋ
|-
|{{IPA|o}}||o
|-
|{{IPA|ö}}||ö
|-
|{{IPA|p}}||p
|-
|{{IPA|q}}||q
|-
|{{IPA|r}}||r
|-
|{{IPA|ɾː}}||rr
|-
|{{IPA|s}}||s
|-
|{{IPA|ʃ}}||š
|-
|{{IPA|t}}||t
|-
|{{IPA|u}}||u
|-
|{{IPA|y}}||y
|-
|{{IPA|ʋ}}||v
|-
|}
===Tone===
Velyan has three basic tones, called ''high'', ''mid'' and ''low''. The high and low tones are marked with accents, whilst the mid tone is the default tone and is not marked. The high tone is marked by an acute accent over back and neutral vowels ('''á é í ó ú''') and by a double-acute accent over front vowels ('''a̋ ő ӳ'''); similarly, the low tone is marked by single or double grave accents: ('''à ȁ è ì ò ȍ ù y̏'''). Long vowels and diphthongs can have two tones.

===Vowel harmony===
Velyan phonotactics restrict the vowels that can appear in any one word to a subset of the entire inventory. Vowels are divided into three groups: front vowels (ä, ö, ü), back vowels (a, o, u) and neutral vowels (e, i). All vowels in a word must be either front vowels, or back vowels, but not both (though neutral vowels can appear in words with either front or back vowels.)

===Initial Consonant Mutation===
In Velyan, consonants at the beginning of words undergo a process of ''initial consonant mutation''', whereby an initial '''p''', '''t''', or '''k''' is mutated to its equivalent nasal consonant (respectively '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' under certain conditions. Conversely, under the same conditions the consonants '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' mutate to the consonants '''p''', '''t''' or '''k'''. The conditions under which this happens are explained more fully in the section on Syntax.
===Consonant Gradation===
The phenomenon of ''consonant gradation'' arises due to a restriction in Vielan words, that prohibits a "strong" syllable from ending in a consonant. A '''strong syllable''' is a syllable that begins with a consonant and is preceded by another ending in (at least) one consonant. When this happens, the consonant or cluster at the beginning of the final syllable undergoes '''lenition''' or softening (although it can be historically explained as a process of '''fortition''' or hardening).

The following changes occur as a result of consonant gradation:
#Geminate phonemes change to simplex ones, e.g. ''tt'' -> ''t'', ''rr'' -> ''r'', ''ss'' -> ''s''.

The remaining changes only affect plosives and clusters containing plosives:
Clusters change as follows:
#Nasals:
##Nasal + voiceless plosive changes to geminate nasal, e.g. ''mp'' -> ''mm'', ''nt'' -> ''nn''
#Liquids:
##''lt'' -> ''ll
##''lp'' -> ''lv''
##''lkU'' -> ''lvU''
##''rkU'' -> ''rvU''
##''lkI'' -> ''lji''
##''rkI'' -> ''rji''
#Consonant clusters beginning with ''s'':
##''sp'' -> ''sv''
##''st'' -> ''*sr'' -> ''rs''
##''sk'' -> ''ss''
#Consonant clusters ending with ''s'':
##''ps'' -> ''*vs'' -> ''sv''
##''ts'' -> ''rs''
##''ks'' -> ''s''
#Simplex consonants
##''t'' -> ''r''
##''p'' -> ''v''
##''k'' -> Ø
##''iki'' -> ''iji''
##-UkU'' -> ''UvU''
##''v'' -> ''w''

Notes:
#Long vowels and geminate consonants are written double, e.g. ''aa'', ''kk''. Note that {{IPA|/ɾː/}} is the geminate counterpart of {{IPA|/r/}}.

==Morphology==
===Nouns===
Nouns are divided into '''noun classes''' and inflect for '''quality''', '''dimension''', '''age''', '''tense/aspect''', '''number''', '''case''', '''possessor''', '''destination''' and '''deixis'''. Suffixes (there are no prefixes or infixes in Vielan) are added to the noun, or (more often) to the '''oblique stem'''.
====Noun Classes====
There are several noun classes, reflecting the division of nouns into several semantic categories. The noun classes are added to a notional form of the noun known as the '''base'''. In some cases, the base of a noun ends in one of the letters '''l''', '''n''', '''r''', '''s''', or '''t''', and the noun is in Class IX, which has no suffix; in these cases the base form does surface.

The class suffixes are as follows:
{|
|Class||||Meaning||||Suffix
|-
|I||||Divine Female||||'''-tAri'''
|-
|II||||Divine Male||||'''-tAr'''
|-
|III||||Female Human||||'''-O'''
|-
|IV||||Masculine Human||||'''-A'''
|-
|VI||||Female Professional||||'''-jA'''
|-
|V||||Male Professional||||'''-ri'''
|-
|VII||||Animate (Non-Human)||||'''-e'''
|-
|VIII||||Inanimate I||||∅
|-
|IX||||Inanimate II||||'''-i'''
|-
|X||||Abstract||||'''-U'''
|-
|XI||||Small Place||||'''-lA'''
|-
|XII||||Large Place||||'''-mA'''
|-
|XIII||||Instrument||||'''-in'''
|}

====Stems====
====Number====
Number in Velyan distinguishes the following categories: general, singular (''"one"''), dual (''"two"''), paucal (''"more than two, upto about 10 or a dozen"''), plural (''"more than ten or a dozen"'') and collective (''"all"''). The general form of the noun is the form used when citing the noun in general contexts. as in the English equivalents ''The '''lion''' is a member of the cat family''. The number suffixes differ depending on whether the suffix is the last suffix on the noun, or is followed by a suffix beginning with a consonant or a vowel.
<br>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=11 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Vowels
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Front ||colspan=2| Near-front ||colspan=2| Central ||colspan=2| Near-back ||colspan=2| Back
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High || {{IPA|i}} || {{IPA|y}} || || || || || || || || {{IPA|u}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-high || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High-mid || || || {{IPA|e}} || {{IPA|ø}} || || || || || || {{IPA|o}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Mid || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low-mid || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-low || || || {{IPA|æ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low || || || || || {{IPA|a}}
|}

</div>

====Deixis====
In English, the demonstratives "this", "these", "that" and "those" are used to point out objects located in space or time. In Vielan, the demonstratives occur as prefixes on the noun, and, in addition, there is a three-way distinction as opposed to the two-way distinction of English (similar to Spanish ''esto, eso, aquel'' or the archaic "this, there, yon".

The suffixes are as follows:
<div style="text-align: left;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=50 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Demonstrative Suffixes
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
|-
|| || || Near || Medial || Far
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| || || '''-ŋi''' || '''-ti''' || '''-mi'''
|-
|}
</div>

These forms are clearly related to the possessive suffixes (below).

====Possession====
Nouns take suffixes to show possession.

===Verbs===
Verbs are divided into two groups: the transitive conjugation and the intransitive conjugation. Verbs in the intransitive conjugation inflect for person, class/gender and number of the patient; gender and number of the addressee; tense; aspect; voice; mood and verbal number. Verbs in the transitive conjugation also inflect for person, class/gender and number of the agent, indirect object and beneficiary. There are also evidential suffixes and non-finite forms, comprising infinitives, participles, and gerunds.

====Tense====
There are four tenses: present, past, remote past and future.

=====Compound Tenses=====
There are compound tenses formed from the past participles of verbs in all moods plus the appropriate tense of the verbs '''ralta''' (an old verb meaning ''"to have"'') for verbs of the transitive conjugation, or '''halka''' (the full form of the existential verb which now survives as a suffix on nouns) for verbs of the intransitive conjugation.

====Aspect====
There are seven aspects: aorist, imperfect, perfective, continuative, inchoative, habitative, and conclusive.

====Voice====
There are five voices: active, passive, antipassive, medial and reciprocal.

====Mood====
There are eight moods, comprising the indicative, the imperative, the hortative, the optative, the desiderative, the necessitative, the obligative, and the similitive,

====Infinitives====
There are infinitival (non-personal) forms for all tenses and aspects except the imperative.

===Numbers===
The numbers from 1 to 20 are:

'''hanki''' ''1''
'''rotpi''' ''2''
'''tÿötki''' ''3''
'''papsi''' ''4''
'''vuusi''' ''5''
'''kauvi''' ''6''
'''kirpi''' ''7''
'''lÿÿlli''' ''8''
'''saunnyi''' ''9''
'''muupi''' ''10''
'''hankimuupi''' ''11''
'''rotpimuupi''' ''12''
'''työtkimÿÿpi''' ''13''
'''papsimuupi''' ''14''
'''vuusimuupi''' ''15''
'''kauvimuupi''' ''16''
'''kirpimuupi''' ''17''
'''lyyllimÿÿpi''' ''18''
'''saunnyimuupi'''
'''vappi''' ''20''

Velyan

2009-02-14T10:44:39Z

Twenex: /* Number */

Velyan is one of the two main [[Wikipedia:Classical_language|classical languages]] of the continent Pellargos, on the planet Máa. Máa is an alternate Earth planet.

==Phonology==
===Vowels===

There are 12 vowels, each of which can be short or long.

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=11 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Vowels
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Front ||colspan=2| Near-front ||colspan=2| Central ||colspan=2| Near-back ||colspan=2| Back
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High || {{IPA|i}} || {{IPA|y}} || || || || || || || || {{IPA|u}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-high || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High-mid || || || {{IPA|e}} || {{IPA|ø}} || || || || || || {{IPA|o}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Mid || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low-mid || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-low || || || {{IPA|æ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low || || || || || {{IPA|a}}
|}

</div>

=== Consonants ===

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=17 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Consonants
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Bilabial ||colspan=2| Labiod. ||colspan=2| Dental ||colspan=2| Alveolar ||colspan=2| Post-alv. ||colspan=2| Palatal ||colspan=2| Velar ||colspan=2|Uvular ||colspan=2| Glottal
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Nasal || || {{IPA|m}} || || || || {{IPA|n}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|ŋ}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Plosive || {{IPA|p}} || || || || || {{IPA|t}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|k}} || || {{IPA|q}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Fricative || || || || || || {{IPA|s}} || {{IPA|ʃ}} || || || || || ({{IPA|x}}) || {{IPA|h}} || || {{IPA|χ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Approximant || {{IPA|ʋ}} || || || || || || || || || || || {{IPA|j}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Trill || || || || || || || || {{IPA|rː}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Flap || || || || || || || || {{IPA|ɾ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Lateral Approximant || || || || || || || || {{IPA|l}} || || || ||
|-
|}
</div>

==Transcription==
Below is a table of the IPA sounds of Velyan, with transcription.

{|
!IPA||Letter
|-
|{{IPA|a}}||a
|-
|{{IPA|æ}}||ä
|-
|{{IPA|e}}||e
|-
|{{IPA|h}}||h
|-
|{{IPA|i}}||i
|-
|{{IPA|j}}||j
|-
|{{IPA|k}}||k
|-
|{{IPA|l}}||l
|-
|{{IPA|m}}||m
|-
|{{IPA|n}}||n
|-
|{{IPA|ŋ}}||ŋ
|-
|{{IPA|o}}||o
|-
|{{IPA|ö}}||ö
|-
|{{IPA|p}}||p
|-
|{{IPA|q}}||q
|-
|{{IPA|r}}||r
|-
|{{IPA|ɾː}}||rr
|-
|{{IPA|s}}||s
|-
|{{IPA|ʃ}}||š
|-
|{{IPA|t}}||t
|-
|{{IPA|u}}||u
|-
|{{IPA|y}}||ÿ
|-
|{{IPA|ʋ}}||v
|-
|}
===Tone===
Velyan has three basic tones, called ''high'', ''mid'' and ''low''. The high and low tones are marked with accents, whilst the mid tone is the default tone and is not marked. The high tone is marked by an acute accent over back and neutral vowels ('''á é í ó ú''') and by a double-acute accent over front vowels ('''a̋ ő ӳ'''); similarly, the low tone is marked by single or double grave accents: ('''à ȁ è ì ò ȍ ù y̏'''). Long vowels and diphthongs can have two tones.

===Vowel harmony===
Velyan phonotactics restrict the vowels that can appear in any one word to a subset of the entire inventory. Vowels are divided into three groups: front vowels (ä, ö, ü), back vowels (a, o, u) and neutral vowels (e, i). All vowels in a word must be either front vowels, or back vowels, but not both (though neutral vowels can appear in words with either front or back vowels.)

===Initial Consonant Mutation===
In Velyan, consonants at the beginning of words undergo a process of ''initial consonant mutation''', whereby an initial '''p''', '''t''', or '''k''' is mutated to its equivalent nasal consonant (respectively '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' under certain conditions. Conversely, under the same conditions the consonants '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' mutate to the consonants '''p''', '''t''' or '''k'''. The conditions under which this happens are explained more fully in the section on Syntax.
===Consonant Gradation===
The phenomenon of ''consonant gradation'' arises due to a restriction in Vielan words, that prohibits a "strong" syllable from ending in a consonant. A '''strong syllable''' is a syllable that begins with a consonant and is preceded by another ending in (at least) one consonant. When this happens, the consonant or cluster at the beginning of the final syllable undergoes '''lenition''' or softening (although it can be historically explained as a process of '''fortition''' or hardening).

The following changes occur as a result of consonant gradation:
#Geminate phonemes change to simplex ones, e.g. ''tt'' -> ''t'', ''rr'' -> ''r'', ''ss'' -> ''s''.

The remaining changes only affect plosives and clusters containing plosives:
Clusters change as follows:
#Nasals:
##Nasal + voiceless plosive changes to geminate nasal, e.g. ''mp'' -> ''mm'', ''nt'' -> ''nn''
#Liquids:
##''lt'' -> ''ll
##''lp'' -> ''lv''
##''lkU'' -> ''lvU''
##''rkU'' -> ''rvU''
##''lkI'' -> ''lji''
##''rkI'' -> ''rji''
#Consonant clusters beginning with ''s'':
##''sp'' -> ''sv''
##''st'' -> ''*sr'' -> ''rs''
##''sk'' -> ''ss''
#Consonant clusters ending with ''s'':
##''ps'' -> ''*vs'' -> ''sv''
##''ts'' -> ''rs''
##''ks'' -> ''s''
#Simplex consonants
##''t'' -> ''r''
##''p'' -> ''v''
##''k'' -> Ø
##''iki'' -> ''iji''
##-UkU'' -> ''UvU''
##''v'' -> ''w''

Notes:
#Long vowels and geminate consonants are written double, e.g. ''aa'', ''kk''. Note that {{IPA|/ɾː/}} is the geminate counterpart of {{IPA|/r/}}.

==Morphology==
===Nouns===
Nouns are divided into '''noun classes''' and inflect for '''quality''', '''dimension''', '''age''', '''tense/aspect''', '''number''', '''case''', '''possessor''', '''destination''' and '''deixis'''. Suffixes (there are no prefixes or infixes in Vielan) are added to the noun, or (more often) to the '''oblique stem'''.
====Noun Classes====
There are several noun classes, reflecting the division of nouns into several semantic categories. The noun classes are added to a notional form of the noun known as the '''base'''. In some cases, the base of a noun ends in one of the letters '''l''', '''n''', '''r''', '''s''', or '''t''', and the noun is in Class IX, which has no suffix; in these cases the base form does surface.

The class suffixes are as follows:
{|
|Class||||Meaning||||Suffix
|-
|I||||Divine Female||||'''-tAri'''
|-
|II||||Divine Male||||'''-tAr'''
|-
|III||||Female Human||||'''-O'''
|-
|IV||||Masculine Human||||'''-A'''
|-
|VI||||Female Professional||||'''-jA'''
|-
|V||||Male Professional||||'''-ri'''
|-
|VII||||Animate (Non-Human)||||'''-e'''
|-
|VIII||||Inanimate I||||∅
|-
|IX||||Inanimate II||||'''-i'''
|-
|X||||Abstract||||'''-U'''
|-
|XI||||Small Place||||'''-lA'''
|-
|XII||||Large Place||||'''-mA'''
|-
|XIII||||Instrument||||'''-in'''
|}

====Stems====
====Number====
Number in Velyan distinguishes the following categories: general, singular (''"one"''), dual (''"two"''), paucal (''"more than two, upto about 10 or a dozen"''), plural (''"more than ten or a dozen"'') and collective (''"all"''). The general form of the noun is the form used when citing the noun in general contexts. as in the English equivalents ''The '''lion''' is a member of the cat family''. The number suffixes differ depending on whether the suffix is the last suffix on the noun, or is followed by a suffix beginning with a consonant or a vowel.
<br>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=11 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Vowels
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Front ||colspan=2| Near-front ||colspan=2| Central ||colspan=2| Near-back ||colspan=2| Back
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High || {{IPA|i}} || {{IPA|y}} || || || || || || || || {{IPA|u}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-high || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High-mid || || || {{IPA|e}} || {{IPA|ø}} || || || || || || {{IPA|o}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Mid || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low-mid || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-low || || || {{IPA|æ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low || || || || || {{IPA|a}}
|}

</div>

====Deixis====
In English, the demonstratives "this", "these", "that" and "those" are used to point out objects located in space or time. In Vielan, the demonstratives occur as prefixes on the noun, and, in addition, there is a three-way distinction as opposed to the two-way distinction of English (similar to Spanish ''esto, eso, aquel'' or the archaic "this, there, yon".

The suffixes are as follows:
<div style="text-align: left;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=50 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Demonstrative Suffixes
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
|-
|| || || Near || Medial || Far
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| || || '''-ŋi''' || '''-ti''' || '''-mi'''
|-
|}
</div>

These forms are clearly related to the possessive suffixes (below).

====Possession====
Nouns take suffixes to show possession.

===Verbs===
Verbs are divided into two groups: the transitive conjugation and the intransitive conjugation. Verbs in the intransitive conjugation inflect for person, class/gender and number of the patient; gender and number of the addressee; tense; aspect; voice; mood and verbal number. Verbs in the transitive conjugation also inflect for person, class/gender and number of the agent, indirect object and beneficiary. There are also evidential suffixes and non-finite forms, comprising infinitives, participles, and gerunds.

====Tense====
There are four tenses: present, past, remote past and future.

=====Compound Tenses=====
There are compound tenses formed from the past participles of verbs in all moods plus the appropriate tense of the verbs '''ralta''' (an old verb meaning ''"to have"'') for verbs of the transitive conjugation, or '''halka''' (the full form of the existential verb which now survives as a suffix on nouns) for verbs of the intransitive conjugation.

====Aspect====
There are seven aspects: aorist, imperfect, perfective, continuative, inchoative, habitative, and conclusive.

====Voice====
There are five voices: active, passive, antipassive, medial and reciprocal.

====Mood====
There are eight moods, comprising the indicative, the imperative, the hortative, the optative, the desiderative, the necessitative, the obligative, and the similitive,

====Infinitives====
There are infinitival (non-personal) forms for all tenses and aspects except the imperative.

===Numbers===
The numbers from 1 to 20 are:

'''hanki''' ''1''
'''rotpi''' ''2''
'''tÿötki''' ''3''
'''papsi''' ''4''
'''vuusi''' ''5''
'''kauvi''' ''6''
'''kirpi''' ''7''
'''lÿÿlli''' ''8''
'''saunnyi''' ''9''
'''muupi''' ''10''
'''hankimuupi''' ''11''
'''rotpimuupi''' ''12''
'''työtkimÿÿpi''' ''13''
'''papsimuupi''' ''14''
'''vuusimuupi''' ''15''
'''kauvimuupi''' ''16''
'''kirpimuupi''' ''17''
'''lyyllimÿÿpi''' ''18''
'''saunnyimuupi'''
'''vappi''' ''20''

Velyan

2009-02-14T10:36:37Z

Twenex: /* Deixis */

Velyan is one of the two main [[Wikipedia:Classical_language|classical languages]] of the continent Pellargos, on the planet Máa. Máa is an alternate Earth planet.

==Phonology==
===Vowels===

There are 12 vowels, each of which can be short or long.

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=11 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Vowels
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Front ||colspan=2| Near-front ||colspan=2| Central ||colspan=2| Near-back ||colspan=2| Back
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High || {{IPA|i}} || {{IPA|y}} || || || || || || || || {{IPA|u}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-high || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High-mid || || || {{IPA|e}} || {{IPA|ø}} || || || || || || {{IPA|o}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Mid || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low-mid || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-low || || || {{IPA|æ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low || || || || || {{IPA|a}}
|}

</div>

=== Consonants ===

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=17 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Consonants
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Bilabial ||colspan=2| Labiod. ||colspan=2| Dental ||colspan=2| Alveolar ||colspan=2| Post-alv. ||colspan=2| Palatal ||colspan=2| Velar ||colspan=2|Uvular ||colspan=2| Glottal
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Nasal || || {{IPA|m}} || || || || {{IPA|n}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|ŋ}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Plosive || {{IPA|p}} || || || || || {{IPA|t}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|k}} || || {{IPA|q}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Fricative || || || || || || {{IPA|s}} || {{IPA|ʃ}} || || || || || ({{IPA|x}}) || {{IPA|h}} || || {{IPA|χ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Approximant || {{IPA|ʋ}} || || || || || || || || || || || {{IPA|j}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Trill || || || || || || || || {{IPA|rː}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Flap || || || || || || || || {{IPA|ɾ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Lateral Approximant || || || || || || || || {{IPA|l}} || || || ||
|-
|}
</div>

==Transcription==
Below is a table of the IPA sounds of Velyan, with transcription.

{|
!IPA||Letter
|-
|{{IPA|a}}||a
|-
|{{IPA|æ}}||ä
|-
|{{IPA|e}}||e
|-
|{{IPA|h}}||h
|-
|{{IPA|i}}||i
|-
|{{IPA|j}}||j
|-
|{{IPA|k}}||k
|-
|{{IPA|l}}||l
|-
|{{IPA|m}}||m
|-
|{{IPA|n}}||n
|-
|{{IPA|ŋ}}||ŋ
|-
|{{IPA|o}}||o
|-
|{{IPA|ö}}||ö
|-
|{{IPA|p}}||p
|-
|{{IPA|q}}||q
|-
|{{IPA|r}}||r
|-
|{{IPA|ɾː}}||rr
|-
|{{IPA|s}}||s
|-
|{{IPA|ʃ}}||š
|-
|{{IPA|t}}||t
|-
|{{IPA|u}}||u
|-
|{{IPA|y}}||ÿ
|-
|{{IPA|ʋ}}||v
|-
|}
===Tone===
Velyan has three basic tones, called ''high'', ''mid'' and ''low''. The high and low tones are marked with accents, whilst the mid tone is the default tone and is not marked. The high tone is marked by an acute accent over back and neutral vowels ('''á é í ó ú''') and by a double-acute accent over front vowels ('''a̋ ő ӳ'''); similarly, the low tone is marked by single or double grave accents: ('''à ȁ è ì ò ȍ ù y̏'''). Long vowels and diphthongs can have two tones.

===Vowel harmony===
Velyan phonotactics restrict the vowels that can appear in any one word to a subset of the entire inventory. Vowels are divided into three groups: front vowels (ä, ö, ü), back vowels (a, o, u) and neutral vowels (e, i). All vowels in a word must be either front vowels, or back vowels, but not both (though neutral vowels can appear in words with either front or back vowels.)

===Initial Consonant Mutation===
In Velyan, consonants at the beginning of words undergo a process of ''initial consonant mutation''', whereby an initial '''p''', '''t''', or '''k''' is mutated to its equivalent nasal consonant (respectively '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' under certain conditions. Conversely, under the same conditions the consonants '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' mutate to the consonants '''p''', '''t''' or '''k'''. The conditions under which this happens are explained more fully in the section on Syntax.
===Consonant Gradation===
The phenomenon of ''consonant gradation'' arises due to a restriction in Vielan words, that prohibits a "strong" syllable from ending in a consonant. A '''strong syllable''' is a syllable that begins with a consonant and is preceded by another ending in (at least) one consonant. When this happens, the consonant or cluster at the beginning of the final syllable undergoes '''lenition''' or softening (although it can be historically explained as a process of '''fortition''' or hardening).

The following changes occur as a result of consonant gradation:
#Geminate phonemes change to simplex ones, e.g. ''tt'' -> ''t'', ''rr'' -> ''r'', ''ss'' -> ''s''.

The remaining changes only affect plosives and clusters containing plosives:
Clusters change as follows:
#Nasals:
##Nasal + voiceless plosive changes to geminate nasal, e.g. ''mp'' -> ''mm'', ''nt'' -> ''nn''
#Liquids:
##''lt'' -> ''ll
##''lp'' -> ''lv''
##''lkU'' -> ''lvU''
##''rkU'' -> ''rvU''
##''lkI'' -> ''lji''
##''rkI'' -> ''rji''
#Consonant clusters beginning with ''s'':
##''sp'' -> ''sv''
##''st'' -> ''*sr'' -> ''rs''
##''sk'' -> ''ss''
#Consonant clusters ending with ''s'':
##''ps'' -> ''*vs'' -> ''sv''
##''ts'' -> ''rs''
##''ks'' -> ''s''
#Simplex consonants
##''t'' -> ''r''
##''p'' -> ''v''
##''k'' -> Ø
##''iki'' -> ''iji''
##-UkU'' -> ''UvU''
##''v'' -> ''w''

Notes:
#Long vowels and geminate consonants are written double, e.g. ''aa'', ''kk''. Note that {{IPA|/ɾː/}} is the geminate counterpart of {{IPA|/r/}}.

==Morphology==
===Nouns===
Nouns are divided into '''noun classes''' and inflect for '''quality''', '''dimension''', '''age''', '''tense/aspect''', '''number''', '''case''', '''possessor''', '''destination''' and '''deixis'''. Suffixes (there are no prefixes or infixes in Vielan) are added to the noun, or (more often) to the '''oblique stem'''.
====Noun Classes====
There are several noun classes, reflecting the division of nouns into several semantic categories. The noun classes are added to a notional form of the noun known as the '''base'''. In some cases, the base of a noun ends in one of the letters '''l''', '''n''', '''r''', '''s''', or '''t''', and the noun is in Class IX, which has no suffix; in these cases the base form does surface.

The class suffixes are as follows:
{|
|Class||||Meaning||||Suffix
|-
|I||||Divine Female||||'''-tAri'''
|-
|II||||Divine Male||||'''-tAr'''
|-
|III||||Female Human||||'''-O'''
|-
|IV||||Masculine Human||||'''-A'''
|-
|VI||||Female Professional||||'''-jA'''
|-
|V||||Male Professional||||'''-ri'''
|-
|VII||||Animate (Non-Human)||||'''-e'''
|-
|VIII||||Inanimate I||||∅
|-
|IX||||Inanimate II||||'''-i'''
|-
|X||||Abstract||||'''-U'''
|-
|XI||||Small Place||||'''-lA'''
|-
|XII||||Large Place||||'''-mA'''
|-
|XIII||||Instrument||||'''-in'''
|}

====Stems====
====Number====
Number in Velyan distinguishes the following categories: general, singular (''"one"''), dual (''"two"''), paucal (''"more than two, upto about 10 or a dozen"''), plural (''"more than ten or a dozen"'') and collective (''"all"''). The general form of the noun is the form used when citing the noun in general contexts. as in the English equivalents ''The '''lion''' is a member of the cat family''. The number suffixes differ depending on whether the suffix is the last suffix on the noun, or is followed by a suffix beginning with a consonant or a vowel.

====Deixis====
In English, the demonstratives "this", "these", "that" and "those" are used to point out objects located in space or time. In Vielan, the demonstratives occur as prefixes on the noun, and, in addition, there is a three-way distinction as opposed to the two-way distinction of English (similar to Spanish ''esto, eso, aquel'' or the archaic "this, there, yon".

The suffixes are as follows:
<div style="text-align: left;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=50 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Demonstrative Suffixes
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
|-
|| || || Near || Medial || Far
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| || || '''-ŋi''' || '''-ti''' || '''-mi'''
|-
|}
</div>

These forms are clearly related to the possessive suffixes (below).

====Possession====
Nouns take suffixes to show possession.

===Verbs===
Verbs are divided into two groups: the transitive conjugation and the intransitive conjugation. Verbs in the intransitive conjugation inflect for person, class/gender and number of the patient; gender and number of the addressee; tense; aspect; voice; mood and verbal number. Verbs in the transitive conjugation also inflect for person, class/gender and number of the agent, indirect object and beneficiary. There are also evidential suffixes and non-finite forms, comprising infinitives, participles, and gerunds.

====Tense====
There are four tenses: present, past, remote past and future.

=====Compound Tenses=====
There are compound tenses formed from the past participles of verbs in all moods plus the appropriate tense of the verbs '''ralta''' (an old verb meaning ''"to have"'') for verbs of the transitive conjugation, or '''halka''' (the full form of the existential verb which now survives as a suffix on nouns) for verbs of the intransitive conjugation.

====Aspect====
There are seven aspects: aorist, imperfect, perfective, continuative, inchoative, habitative, and conclusive.

====Voice====
There are five voices: active, passive, antipassive, medial and reciprocal.

====Mood====
There are eight moods, comprising the indicative, the imperative, the hortative, the optative, the desiderative, the necessitative, the obligative, and the similitive,

====Infinitives====
There are infinitival (non-personal) forms for all tenses and aspects except the imperative.

===Numbers===
The numbers from 1 to 20 are:

'''hanki''' ''1''
'''rotpi''' ''2''
'''tÿötki''' ''3''
'''papsi''' ''4''
'''vuusi''' ''5''
'''kauvi''' ''6''
'''kirpi''' ''7''
'''lÿÿlli''' ''8''
'''saunnyi''' ''9''
'''muupi''' ''10''
'''hankimuupi''' ''11''
'''rotpimuupi''' ''12''
'''työtkimÿÿpi''' ''13''
'''papsimuupi''' ''14''
'''vuusimuupi''' ''15''
'''kauvimuupi''' ''16''
'''kirpimuupi''' ''17''
'''lyyllimÿÿpi''' ''18''
'''saunnyimuupi'''
'''vappi''' ''20''

Velyan

2009-02-14T09:44:44Z

Twenex: /* Consonants */

Velyan is one of the two main [[Wikipedia:Classical_language|classical languages]] of the continent Pellargos, on the planet Máa. Máa is an alternate Earth planet.

==Phonology==
===Vowels===

There are 12 vowels, each of which can be short or long.

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=11 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Vowels
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Front ||colspan=2| Near-front ||colspan=2| Central ||colspan=2| Near-back ||colspan=2| Back
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High || {{IPA|i}} || {{IPA|y}} || || || || || || || || {{IPA|u}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-high || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High-mid || || || {{IPA|e}} || {{IPA|ø}} || || || || || || {{IPA|o}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Mid || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low-mid || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-low || || || {{IPA|æ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low || || || || || {{IPA|a}}
|}

</div>

=== Consonants ===

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=17 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Consonants
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Bilabial ||colspan=2| Labiod. ||colspan=2| Dental ||colspan=2| Alveolar ||colspan=2| Post-alv. ||colspan=2| Palatal ||colspan=2| Velar ||colspan=2|Uvular ||colspan=2| Glottal
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Nasal || || {{IPA|m}} || || || || {{IPA|n}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|ŋ}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Plosive || {{IPA|p}} || || || || || {{IPA|t}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|k}} || || {{IPA|q}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Fricative || || || || || || {{IPA|s}} || {{IPA|ʃ}} || || || || || ({{IPA|x}}) || {{IPA|h}} || || {{IPA|χ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Approximant || {{IPA|ʋ}} || || || || || || || || || || || {{IPA|j}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Trill || || || || || || || || {{IPA|rː}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Flap || || || || || || || || {{IPA|ɾ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Lateral Approximant || || || || || || || || {{IPA|l}} || || || ||
|-
|}
</div>

==Transcription==
Below is a table of the IPA sounds of Velyan, with transcription.

{|
!IPA||Letter
|-
|{{IPA|a}}||a
|-
|{{IPA|æ}}||ä
|-
|{{IPA|e}}||e
|-
|{{IPA|h}}||h
|-
|{{IPA|i}}||i
|-
|{{IPA|j}}||j
|-
|{{IPA|k}}||k
|-
|{{IPA|l}}||l
|-
|{{IPA|m}}||m
|-
|{{IPA|n}}||n
|-
|{{IPA|ŋ}}||ŋ
|-
|{{IPA|o}}||o
|-
|{{IPA|ö}}||ö
|-
|{{IPA|p}}||p
|-
|{{IPA|q}}||q
|-
|{{IPA|r}}||r
|-
|{{IPA|ɾː}}||rr
|-
|{{IPA|s}}||s
|-
|{{IPA|ʃ}}||š
|-
|{{IPA|t}}||t
|-
|{{IPA|u}}||u
|-
|{{IPA|y}}||ÿ
|-
|{{IPA|ʋ}}||v
|-
|}
===Tone===
Velyan has three basic tones, called ''high'', ''mid'' and ''low''. The high and low tones are marked with accents, whilst the mid tone is the default tone and is not marked. The high tone is marked by an acute accent over back and neutral vowels ('''á é í ó ú''') and by a double-acute accent over front vowels ('''a̋ ő ӳ'''); similarly, the low tone is marked by single or double grave accents: ('''à ȁ è ì ò ȍ ù y̏'''). Long vowels and diphthongs can have two tones.

===Vowel harmony===
Velyan phonotactics restrict the vowels that can appear in any one word to a subset of the entire inventory. Vowels are divided into three groups: front vowels (ä, ö, ü), back vowels (a, o, u) and neutral vowels (e, i). All vowels in a word must be either front vowels, or back vowels, but not both (though neutral vowels can appear in words with either front or back vowels.)

===Initial Consonant Mutation===
In Velyan, consonants at the beginning of words undergo a process of ''initial consonant mutation''', whereby an initial '''p''', '''t''', or '''k''' is mutated to its equivalent nasal consonant (respectively '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' under certain conditions. Conversely, under the same conditions the consonants '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' mutate to the consonants '''p''', '''t''' or '''k'''. The conditions under which this happens are explained more fully in the section on Syntax.
===Consonant Gradation===
The phenomenon of ''consonant gradation'' arises due to a restriction in Vielan words, that prohibits a "strong" syllable from ending in a consonant. A '''strong syllable''' is a syllable that begins with a consonant and is preceded by another ending in (at least) one consonant. When this happens, the consonant or cluster at the beginning of the final syllable undergoes '''lenition''' or softening (although it can be historically explained as a process of '''fortition''' or hardening).

The following changes occur as a result of consonant gradation:
#Geminate phonemes change to simplex ones, e.g. ''tt'' -> ''t'', ''rr'' -> ''r'', ''ss'' -> ''s''.

The remaining changes only affect plosives and clusters containing plosives:
Clusters change as follows:
#Nasals:
##Nasal + voiceless plosive changes to geminate nasal, e.g. ''mp'' -> ''mm'', ''nt'' -> ''nn''
#Liquids:
##''lt'' -> ''ll
##''lp'' -> ''lv''
##''lkU'' -> ''lvU''
##''rkU'' -> ''rvU''
##''lkI'' -> ''lji''
##''rkI'' -> ''rji''
#Consonant clusters beginning with ''s'':
##''sp'' -> ''sv''
##''st'' -> ''*sr'' -> ''rs''
##''sk'' -> ''ss''
#Consonant clusters ending with ''s'':
##''ps'' -> ''*vs'' -> ''sv''
##''ts'' -> ''rs''
##''ks'' -> ''s''
#Simplex consonants
##''t'' -> ''r''
##''p'' -> ''v''
##''k'' -> Ø
##''iki'' -> ''iji''
##-UkU'' -> ''UvU''
##''v'' -> ''w''

Notes:
#Long vowels and geminate consonants are written double, e.g. ''aa'', ''kk''. Note that {{IPA|/ɾː/}} is the geminate counterpart of {{IPA|/r/}}.

==Morphology==
===Nouns===
Nouns are divided into '''noun classes''' and inflect for '''quality''', '''dimension''', '''age''', '''tense/aspect''', '''number''', '''case''', '''possessor''', '''destination''' and '''deixis'''. Suffixes (there are no prefixes or infixes in Vielan) are added to the noun, or (more often) to the '''oblique stem'''.
====Noun Classes====
There are several noun classes, reflecting the division of nouns into several semantic categories. The noun classes are added to a notional form of the noun known as the '''base'''. In some cases, the base of a noun ends in one of the letters '''l''', '''n''', '''r''', '''s''', or '''t''', and the noun is in Class IX, which has no suffix; in these cases the base form does surface.

The class suffixes are as follows:
{|
|Class||||Meaning||||Suffix
|-
|I||||Divine Female||||'''-tAri'''
|-
|II||||Divine Male||||'''-tAr'''
|-
|III||||Female Human||||'''-O'''
|-
|IV||||Masculine Human||||'''-A'''
|-
|VI||||Female Professional||||'''-jA'''
|-
|V||||Male Professional||||'''-ri'''
|-
|VII||||Animate (Non-Human)||||'''-e'''
|-
|VIII||||Inanimate I||||∅
|-
|IX||||Inanimate II||||'''-i'''
|-
|X||||Abstract||||'''-U'''
|-
|XI||||Small Place||||'''-lA'''
|-
|XII||||Large Place||||'''-mA'''
|-
|XIII||||Instrument||||'''-in'''
|}

====Stems====
====Number====
Number in Velyan distinguishes the following categories: general, singular (''"one"''), dual (''"two"''), paucal (''"more than two, upto about 10 or a dozen"''), plural (''"more than ten or a dozen"'') and collective (''"all"''). The general form of the noun is the form used when citing the noun in general contexts. as in the English equivalents ''The '''lion''' is a member of the cat family''. The number suffixes differ depending on whether the suffix is the last suffix on the noun, or is followed by a suffix beginning with a consonant or a vowel.

====Deixis====
In English, the demonstratives "this", "these", "that" and "those" are used to point out objects located in space or time. In Vielan, the demonstratives occur as prefixes on the noun, and, in addition, there is a three-way distinction as opposed to the two-way distinction of English (similar to Spanish ''esto, eso, aquel'' or the archaic "this, there, yon".

The suffixes are as follows:
<div style="text-align: left;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=50 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Demonstrative Suffixes
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
|-
|| || || Near || Medial || Far
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| || || '''-ŋi''' || '''-ði''' || '''-mi'''
|-
|}
</div>

These forms are clearly related to the possessive suffixes (below).

====Possession====
Nouns take suffixes to show possession.

===Verbs===
Verbs are divided into two groups: the transitive conjugation and the intransitive conjugation. Verbs in the intransitive conjugation inflect for person, class/gender and number of the patient; gender and number of the addressee; tense; aspect; voice; mood and verbal number. Verbs in the transitive conjugation also inflect for person, class/gender and number of the agent, indirect object and beneficiary. There are also evidential suffixes and non-finite forms, comprising infinitives, participles, and gerunds.

====Tense====
There are four tenses: present, past, remote past and future.

=====Compound Tenses=====
There are compound tenses formed from the past participles of verbs in all moods plus the appropriate tense of the verbs '''ralta''' (an old verb meaning ''"to have"'') for verbs of the transitive conjugation, or '''halka''' (the full form of the existential verb which now survives as a suffix on nouns) for verbs of the intransitive conjugation.

====Aspect====
There are seven aspects: aorist, imperfect, perfective, continuative, inchoative, habitative, and conclusive.

====Voice====
There are five voices: active, passive, antipassive, medial and reciprocal.

====Mood====
There are eight moods, comprising the indicative, the imperative, the hortative, the optative, the desiderative, the necessitative, the obligative, and the similitive,

====Infinitives====
There are infinitival (non-personal) forms for all tenses and aspects except the imperative.

===Numbers===
The numbers from 1 to 20 are:

'''hanki''' ''1''
'''rotpi''' ''2''
'''tÿötki''' ''3''
'''papsi''' ''4''
'''vuusi''' ''5''
'''kauvi''' ''6''
'''kirpi''' ''7''
'''lÿÿlli''' ''8''
'''saunnyi''' ''9''
'''muupi''' ''10''
'''hankimuupi''' ''11''
'''rotpimuupi''' ''12''
'''työtkimÿÿpi''' ''13''
'''papsimuupi''' ''14''
'''vuusimuupi''' ''15''
'''kauvimuupi''' ''16''
'''kirpimuupi''' ''17''
'''lyyllimÿÿpi''' ''18''
'''saunnyimuupi'''
'''vappi''' ''20''

Velyan

2009-02-14T09:37:39Z

Twenex: /* Consonants */

Velyan is one of the two main [[Wikipedia:Classical_language|classical languages]] of the continent Pellargos, on the planet Máa. Máa is an alternate Earth planet.

==Phonology==
===Vowels===

There are 12 vowels, each of which can be short or long.

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=11 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Vowels
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Front ||colspan=2| Near-front ||colspan=2| Central ||colspan=2| Near-back ||colspan=2| Back
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High || {{IPA|i}} || {{IPA|y}} || || || || || || || || {{IPA|u}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-high || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High-mid || || || {{IPA|e}} || {{IPA|ø}} || || || || || || {{IPA|o}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Mid || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low-mid || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-low || || || {{IPA|æ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low || || || || || {{IPA|a}}
|}

</div>

=== Consonants ===

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=17 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Consonants
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Bilabial ||colspan=2| Labiod. ||colspan=2| Dental ||colspan=2| Alveolar ||colspan=2| Post-alv. ||colspan=2| Palatal ||colspan=2| Velar ||colspan=2|Uvular ||colspan=2| Glottal
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Nasal || || {{IPA|m}} || || || || {{IPA|n}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|ŋ}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Plosive || {{IPA|p}} || || || || || {{IPA|t}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|k}} || || {{IPA|q}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Aspirated Plosive || {{IPA|pʰ}} || || || || || {{IPA|tʰ}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|kʰ}} || || {{IPA|qʰ}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Fricative || || || || || || {{IPA|s}} || {{IPA|ʃ}} || || || || || ({{IPA|x}}) || {{IPA|h}} || || {{IPA|χ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Approximant || {{IPA|ʋ}} || || || || || || || || || || || {{IPA|j}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Trill || || || || || || || || {{IPA|rː}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Flap || || || || || || || || {{IPA|ɾ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Lateral Approximant || || || || || || || || {{IPA|l}} || || || ||
|-
|}
</div>

==Transcription==
Below is a table of the IPA sounds of Velyan, with transcription.

{|
!IPA||Letter
|-
|{{IPA|a}}||a
|-
|{{IPA|æ}}||ä
|-
|{{IPA|e}}||e
|-
|{{IPA|h}}||h
|-
|{{IPA|i}}||i
|-
|{{IPA|j}}||j
|-
|{{IPA|k}}||k
|-
|{{IPA|l}}||l
|-
|{{IPA|m}}||m
|-
|{{IPA|n}}||n
|-
|{{IPA|ŋ}}||ŋ
|-
|{{IPA|o}}||o
|-
|{{IPA|ö}}||ö
|-
|{{IPA|p}}||p
|-
|{{IPA|q}}||q
|-
|{{IPA|r}}||r
|-
|{{IPA|ɾː}}||rr
|-
|{{IPA|s}}||s
|-
|{{IPA|ʃ}}||š
|-
|{{IPA|t}}||t
|-
|{{IPA|u}}||u
|-
|{{IPA|y}}||ÿ
|-
|{{IPA|ʋ}}||v
|-
|}
===Tone===
Velyan has three basic tones, called ''high'', ''mid'' and ''low''. The high and low tones are marked with accents, whilst the mid tone is the default tone and is not marked. The high tone is marked by an acute accent over back and neutral vowels ('''á é í ó ú''') and by a double-acute accent over front vowels ('''a̋ ő ӳ'''); similarly, the low tone is marked by single or double grave accents: ('''à ȁ è ì ò ȍ ù y̏'''). Long vowels and diphthongs can have two tones.

===Vowel harmony===
Velyan phonotactics restrict the vowels that can appear in any one word to a subset of the entire inventory. Vowels are divided into three groups: front vowels (ä, ö, ü), back vowels (a, o, u) and neutral vowels (e, i). All vowels in a word must be either front vowels, or back vowels, but not both (though neutral vowels can appear in words with either front or back vowels.)

===Initial Consonant Mutation===
In Velyan, consonants at the beginning of words undergo a process of ''initial consonant mutation''', whereby an initial '''p''', '''t''', or '''k''' is mutated to its equivalent nasal consonant (respectively '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' under certain conditions. Conversely, under the same conditions the consonants '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' mutate to the consonants '''p''', '''t''' or '''k'''. The conditions under which this happens are explained more fully in the section on Syntax.
===Consonant Gradation===
The phenomenon of ''consonant gradation'' arises due to a restriction in Vielan words, that prohibits a "strong" syllable from ending in a consonant. A '''strong syllable''' is a syllable that begins with a consonant and is preceded by another ending in (at least) one consonant. When this happens, the consonant or cluster at the beginning of the final syllable undergoes '''lenition''' or softening (although it can be historically explained as a process of '''fortition''' or hardening).

The following changes occur as a result of consonant gradation:
#Geminate phonemes change to simplex ones, e.g. ''tt'' -> ''t'', ''rr'' -> ''r'', ''ss'' -> ''s''.

The remaining changes only affect plosives and clusters containing plosives:
Clusters change as follows:
#Nasals:
##Nasal + voiceless plosive changes to geminate nasal, e.g. ''mp'' -> ''mm'', ''nt'' -> ''nn''
#Liquids:
##''lt'' -> ''ll
##''lp'' -> ''lv''
##''lkU'' -> ''lvU''
##''rkU'' -> ''rvU''
##''lkI'' -> ''lji''
##''rkI'' -> ''rji''
#Consonant clusters beginning with ''s'':
##''sp'' -> ''sv''
##''st'' -> ''*sr'' -> ''rs''
##''sk'' -> ''ss''
#Consonant clusters ending with ''s'':
##''ps'' -> ''*vs'' -> ''sv''
##''ts'' -> ''rs''
##''ks'' -> ''s''
#Simplex consonants
##''t'' -> ''r''
##''p'' -> ''v''
##''k'' -> Ø
##''iki'' -> ''iji''
##-UkU'' -> ''UvU''
##''v'' -> ''w''

Notes:
#Long vowels and geminate consonants are written double, e.g. ''aa'', ''kk''. Note that {{IPA|/ɾː/}} is the geminate counterpart of {{IPA|/r/}}.

==Morphology==
===Nouns===
Nouns are divided into '''noun classes''' and inflect for '''quality''', '''dimension''', '''age''', '''tense/aspect''', '''number''', '''case''', '''possessor''', '''destination''' and '''deixis'''. Suffixes (there are no prefixes or infixes in Vielan) are added to the noun, or (more often) to the '''oblique stem'''.
====Noun Classes====
There are several noun classes, reflecting the division of nouns into several semantic categories. The noun classes are added to a notional form of the noun known as the '''base'''. In some cases, the base of a noun ends in one of the letters '''l''', '''n''', '''r''', '''s''', or '''t''', and the noun is in Class IX, which has no suffix; in these cases the base form does surface.

The class suffixes are as follows:
{|
|Class||||Meaning||||Suffix
|-
|I||||Divine Female||||'''-tAri'''
|-
|II||||Divine Male||||'''-tAr'''
|-
|III||||Female Human||||'''-O'''
|-
|IV||||Masculine Human||||'''-A'''
|-
|VI||||Female Professional||||'''-jA'''
|-
|V||||Male Professional||||'''-ri'''
|-
|VII||||Animate (Non-Human)||||'''-e'''
|-
|VIII||||Inanimate I||||∅
|-
|IX||||Inanimate II||||'''-i'''
|-
|X||||Abstract||||'''-U'''
|-
|XI||||Small Place||||'''-lA'''
|-
|XII||||Large Place||||'''-mA'''
|-
|XIII||||Instrument||||'''-in'''
|}

====Stems====
====Number====
Number in Velyan distinguishes the following categories: general, singular (''"one"''), dual (''"two"''), paucal (''"more than two, upto about 10 or a dozen"''), plural (''"more than ten or a dozen"'') and collective (''"all"''). The general form of the noun is the form used when citing the noun in general contexts. as in the English equivalents ''The '''lion''' is a member of the cat family''. The number suffixes differ depending on whether the suffix is the last suffix on the noun, or is followed by a suffix beginning with a consonant or a vowel.

====Deixis====
In English, the demonstratives "this", "these", "that" and "those" are used to point out objects located in space or time. In Vielan, the demonstratives occur as prefixes on the noun, and, in addition, there is a three-way distinction as opposed to the two-way distinction of English (similar to Spanish ''esto, eso, aquel'' or the archaic "this, there, yon".

The suffixes are as follows:
<div style="text-align: left;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=50 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Demonstrative Suffixes
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
|-
|| || || Near || Medial || Far
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| || || '''-ŋi''' || '''-ði''' || '''-mi'''
|-
|}
</div>

These forms are clearly related to the possessive suffixes (below).

====Possession====
Nouns take suffixes to show possession.

===Verbs===
Verbs are divided into two groups: the transitive conjugation and the intransitive conjugation. Verbs in the intransitive conjugation inflect for person, class/gender and number of the patient; gender and number of the addressee; tense; aspect; voice; mood and verbal number. Verbs in the transitive conjugation also inflect for person, class/gender and number of the agent, indirect object and beneficiary. There are also evidential suffixes and non-finite forms, comprising infinitives, participles, and gerunds.

====Tense====
There are four tenses: present, past, remote past and future.

=====Compound Tenses=====
There are compound tenses formed from the past participles of verbs in all moods plus the appropriate tense of the verbs '''ralta''' (an old verb meaning ''"to have"'') for verbs of the transitive conjugation, or '''halka''' (the full form of the existential verb which now survives as a suffix on nouns) for verbs of the intransitive conjugation.

====Aspect====
There are seven aspects: aorist, imperfect, perfective, continuative, inchoative, habitative, and conclusive.

====Voice====
There are five voices: active, passive, antipassive, medial and reciprocal.

====Mood====
There are eight moods, comprising the indicative, the imperative, the hortative, the optative, the desiderative, the necessitative, the obligative, and the similitive,

====Infinitives====
There are infinitival (non-personal) forms for all tenses and aspects except the imperative.

===Numbers===
The numbers from 1 to 20 are:

'''hanki''' ''1''
'''rotpi''' ''2''
'''tÿötki''' ''3''
'''papsi''' ''4''
'''vuusi''' ''5''
'''kauvi''' ''6''
'''kirpi''' ''7''
'''lÿÿlli''' ''8''
'''saunnyi''' ''9''
'''muupi''' ''10''
'''hankimuupi''' ''11''
'''rotpimuupi''' ''12''
'''työtkimÿÿpi''' ''13''
'''papsimuupi''' ''14''
'''vuusimuupi''' ''15''
'''kauvimuupi''' ''16''
'''kirpimuupi''' ''17''
'''lyyllimÿÿpi''' ''18''
'''saunnyimuupi'''
'''vappi''' ''20''

Velyan

2009-02-14T09:32:24Z

Twenex: Moved transcription section

Velyan is one of the two main [[Wikipedia:Classical_language|classical languages]] of the continent Pellargos, on the planet Máa. Máa is an alternate Earth planet.

==Phonology==
===Vowels===

There are 12 vowels, each of which can be short or long.

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=11 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Vowels
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Front ||colspan=2| Near-front ||colspan=2| Central ||colspan=2| Near-back ||colspan=2| Back
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High || {{IPA|i}} || {{IPA|y}} || || || || || || || || {{IPA|u}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-high || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High-mid || || || {{IPA|e}} || {{IPA|ø}} || || || || || || {{IPA|o}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Mid || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low-mid || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-low || || || {{IPA|æ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low || || || || || {{IPA|a}}
|}

</div>

=== Consonants ===

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=17 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Consonants
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Bilabial ||colspan=2| Labiod. ||colspan=2| Dental ||colspan=2| Alveolar ||colspan=2| Post-alv. ||colspan=2| Palatal ||colspan=2| Velar ||colspan=2|Uvular ||colspan=2| Glottal
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Nasal || || {{IPA|m}} || || || || {{IPA|n}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|ŋ}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Plosive || {{IPA|p}} || || || || || {{IPA|t}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|k}} || || {{IPA|q}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Fricative || || || || || || {{IPA|s}} || {{IPA|ʃ}} || || || || || ({{IPA|x}}) || {{IPA|h}} || || {{IPA|χ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Approximant || {{IPA|ʋ}} || || || || || || || || || || || {{IPA|j}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Trill || || || || || || || || {{IPA|rː}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Flap || || || || || || || || {{IPA|ɾ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Lateral Approximant || || || || || || || || {{IPA|l}} || || || ||
|-
|}
</div>

==Transcription==
Below is a table of the IPA sounds of Velyan, with transcription.

{|
!IPA||Letter
|-
|{{IPA|a}}||a
|-
|{{IPA|æ}}||ä
|-
|{{IPA|e}}||e
|-
|{{IPA|h}}||h
|-
|{{IPA|i}}||i
|-
|{{IPA|j}}||j
|-
|{{IPA|k}}||k
|-
|{{IPA|l}}||l
|-
|{{IPA|m}}||m
|-
|{{IPA|n}}||n
|-
|{{IPA|ŋ}}||ŋ
|-
|{{IPA|o}}||o
|-
|{{IPA|ö}}||ö
|-
|{{IPA|p}}||p
|-
|{{IPA|q}}||q
|-
|{{IPA|r}}||r
|-
|{{IPA|ɾː}}||rr
|-
|{{IPA|s}}||s
|-
|{{IPA|ʃ}}||š
|-
|{{IPA|t}}||t
|-
|{{IPA|u}}||u
|-
|{{IPA|y}}||ÿ
|-
|{{IPA|ʋ}}||v
|-
|}
===Tone===
Velyan has three basic tones, called ''high'', ''mid'' and ''low''. The high and low tones are marked with accents, whilst the mid tone is the default tone and is not marked. The high tone is marked by an acute accent over back and neutral vowels ('''á é í ó ú''') and by a double-acute accent over front vowels ('''a̋ ő ӳ'''); similarly, the low tone is marked by single or double grave accents: ('''à ȁ è ì ò ȍ ù y̏'''). Long vowels and diphthongs can have two tones.

===Vowel harmony===
Velyan phonotactics restrict the vowels that can appear in any one word to a subset of the entire inventory. Vowels are divided into three groups: front vowels (ä, ö, ü), back vowels (a, o, u) and neutral vowels (e, i). All vowels in a word must be either front vowels, or back vowels, but not both (though neutral vowels can appear in words with either front or back vowels.)

===Initial Consonant Mutation===
In Velyan, consonants at the beginning of words undergo a process of ''initial consonant mutation''', whereby an initial '''p''', '''t''', or '''k''' is mutated to its equivalent nasal consonant (respectively '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' under certain conditions. Conversely, under the same conditions the consonants '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' mutate to the consonants '''p''', '''t''' or '''k'''. The conditions under which this happens are explained more fully in the section on Syntax.
===Consonant Gradation===
The phenomenon of ''consonant gradation'' arises due to a restriction in Vielan words, that prohibits a "strong" syllable from ending in a consonant. A '''strong syllable''' is a syllable that begins with a consonant and is preceded by another ending in (at least) one consonant. When this happens, the consonant or cluster at the beginning of the final syllable undergoes '''lenition''' or softening (although it can be historically explained as a process of '''fortition''' or hardening).

The following changes occur as a result of consonant gradation:
#Geminate phonemes change to simplex ones, e.g. ''tt'' -> ''t'', ''rr'' -> ''r'', ''ss'' -> ''s''.

The remaining changes only affect plosives and clusters containing plosives:
Clusters change as follows:
#Nasals:
##Nasal + voiceless plosive changes to geminate nasal, e.g. ''mp'' -> ''mm'', ''nt'' -> ''nn''
#Liquids:
##''lt'' -> ''ll
##''lp'' -> ''lv''
##''lkU'' -> ''lvU''
##''rkU'' -> ''rvU''
##''lkI'' -> ''lji''
##''rkI'' -> ''rji''
#Consonant clusters beginning with ''s'':
##''sp'' -> ''sv''
##''st'' -> ''*sr'' -> ''rs''
##''sk'' -> ''ss''
#Consonant clusters ending with ''s'':
##''ps'' -> ''*vs'' -> ''sv''
##''ts'' -> ''rs''
##''ks'' -> ''s''
#Simplex consonants
##''t'' -> ''r''
##''p'' -> ''v''
##''k'' -> Ø
##''iki'' -> ''iji''
##-UkU'' -> ''UvU''
##''v'' -> ''w''

Notes:
#Long vowels and geminate consonants are written double, e.g. ''aa'', ''kk''. Note that {{IPA|/ɾː/}} is the geminate counterpart of {{IPA|/r/}}.

==Morphology==
===Nouns===
Nouns are divided into '''noun classes''' and inflect for '''quality''', '''dimension''', '''age''', '''tense/aspect''', '''number''', '''case''', '''possessor''', '''destination''' and '''deixis'''. Suffixes (there are no prefixes or infixes in Vielan) are added to the noun, or (more often) to the '''oblique stem'''.
====Noun Classes====
There are several noun classes, reflecting the division of nouns into several semantic categories. The noun classes are added to a notional form of the noun known as the '''base'''. In some cases, the base of a noun ends in one of the letters '''l''', '''n''', '''r''', '''s''', or '''t''', and the noun is in Class IX, which has no suffix; in these cases the base form does surface.

The class suffixes are as follows:
{|
|Class||||Meaning||||Suffix
|-
|I||||Divine Female||||'''-tAri'''
|-
|II||||Divine Male||||'''-tAr'''
|-
|III||||Female Human||||'''-O'''
|-
|IV||||Masculine Human||||'''-A'''
|-
|VI||||Female Professional||||'''-jA'''
|-
|V||||Male Professional||||'''-ri'''
|-
|VII||||Animate (Non-Human)||||'''-e'''
|-
|VIII||||Inanimate I||||∅
|-
|IX||||Inanimate II||||'''-i'''
|-
|X||||Abstract||||'''-U'''
|-
|XI||||Small Place||||'''-lA'''
|-
|XII||||Large Place||||'''-mA'''
|-
|XIII||||Instrument||||'''-in'''
|}

====Stems====
====Number====
Number in Velyan distinguishes the following categories: general, singular (''"one"''), dual (''"two"''), paucal (''"more than two, upto about 10 or a dozen"''), plural (''"more than ten or a dozen"'') and collective (''"all"''). The general form of the noun is the form used when citing the noun in general contexts. as in the English equivalents ''The '''lion''' is a member of the cat family''. The number suffixes differ depending on whether the suffix is the last suffix on the noun, or is followed by a suffix beginning with a consonant or a vowel.

====Deixis====
In English, the demonstratives "this", "these", "that" and "those" are used to point out objects located in space or time. In Vielan, the demonstratives occur as prefixes on the noun, and, in addition, there is a three-way distinction as opposed to the two-way distinction of English (similar to Spanish ''esto, eso, aquel'' or the archaic "this, there, yon".

The suffixes are as follows:
<div style="text-align: left;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=50 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Demonstrative Suffixes
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
|-
|| || || Near || Medial || Far
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| || || '''-ŋi''' || '''-ði''' || '''-mi'''
|-
|}
</div>

These forms are clearly related to the possessive suffixes (below).

====Possession====
Nouns take suffixes to show possession.

===Verbs===
Verbs are divided into two groups: the transitive conjugation and the intransitive conjugation. Verbs in the intransitive conjugation inflect for person, class/gender and number of the patient; gender and number of the addressee; tense; aspect; voice; mood and verbal number. Verbs in the transitive conjugation also inflect for person, class/gender and number of the agent, indirect object and beneficiary. There are also evidential suffixes and non-finite forms, comprising infinitives, participles, and gerunds.

====Tense====
There are four tenses: present, past, remote past and future.

=====Compound Tenses=====
There are compound tenses formed from the past participles of verbs in all moods plus the appropriate tense of the verbs '''ralta''' (an old verb meaning ''"to have"'') for verbs of the transitive conjugation, or '''halka''' (the full form of the existential verb which now survives as a suffix on nouns) for verbs of the intransitive conjugation.

====Aspect====
There are seven aspects: aorist, imperfect, perfective, continuative, inchoative, habitative, and conclusive.

====Voice====
There are five voices: active, passive, antipassive, medial and reciprocal.

====Mood====
There are eight moods, comprising the indicative, the imperative, the hortative, the optative, the desiderative, the necessitative, the obligative, and the similitive,

====Infinitives====
There are infinitival (non-personal) forms for all tenses and aspects except the imperative.

===Numbers===
The numbers from 1 to 20 are:

'''hanki''' ''1''
'''rotpi''' ''2''
'''tÿötki''' ''3''
'''papsi''' ''4''
'''vuusi''' ''5''
'''kauvi''' ''6''
'''kirpi''' ''7''
'''lÿÿlli''' ''8''
'''saunnyi''' ''9''
'''muupi''' ''10''
'''hankimuupi''' ''11''
'''rotpimuupi''' ''12''
'''työtkimÿÿpi''' ''13''
'''papsimuupi''' ''14''
'''vuusimuupi''' ''15''
'''kauvimuupi''' ''16''
'''kirpimuupi''' ''17''
'''lyyllimÿÿpi''' ''18''
'''saunnyimuupi'''
'''vappi''' ''20''

User:Twenex

2009-02-14T09:28:46Z

Twenex:

You can look at my conlang, [[Velian]]; unfortunately there's not much there yet.

I've started a new conlang, provisionally named [[Canadu]].

Talk:Velyan

2009-02-14T09:27:44Z

Twenex: Talk:Velyan moved to Talk:Velian

Velyan

2009-02-14T09:27:43Z

Twenex: Velyan moved to Velian

Velyan is one of the two main [[Wikipedia:Classical_language|classical languages]] of the continent Pellargos, on the planet Máa. Máa is an alternate Earth planet.

==Phonology==
===Vowels===

There are 12 vowels, each of which can be short or long.

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=11 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Vowels
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Front ||colspan=2| Near-front ||colspan=2| Central ||colspan=2| Near-back ||colspan=2| Back
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High || {{IPA|i}} || {{IPA|y}} || || || || || || || || {{IPA|u}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-high || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High-mid || || || {{IPA|e}} || {{IPA|ø}} || || || || || || {{IPA|o}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Mid || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low-mid || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-low || || || {{IPA|æ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low || || || || || {{IPA|a}}
|}

</div>

=== Consonants ===

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=17 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Consonants
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Bilabial ||colspan=2| Labiod. ||colspan=2| Dental ||colspan=2| Alveolar ||colspan=2| Post-alv. ||colspan=2| Palatal ||colspan=2| Velar ||colspan=2|Uvular ||colspan=2| Glottal
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Nasal || || {{IPA|m}} || || || || {{IPA|n}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|ŋ}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Plosive || {{IPA|p}} || || || || || {{IPA|t}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|k}} || || {{IPA|q}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Fricative || || || || || || {{IPA|s}} || {{IPA|ʃ}} || || || || || ({{IPA|x}}) || {{IPA|h}} || || {{IPA|χ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Approximant || {{IPA|ʋ}} || || || || || || || || || || || {{IPA|j}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Trill || || || || || || || || {{IPA|rː}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Flap || || || || || || || || {{IPA|ɾ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Lateral Approximant || || || || || || || || {{IPA|l}} || || || ||
|-
|}
</div>

===Tone===
Velyan has three basic tones, called ''high'', ''mid'' and ''low''. The high and low tones are marked with accents, whilst the mid tone is the default tone and is not marked. The high tone is marked by an acute accent over back and neutral vowels ('''á é í ó ú''') and by a double-acute accent over front vowels ('''a̋ ő ӳ'''); similarly, the low tone is marked by single or double grave accents: ('''à ȁ è ì ò ȍ ù y̏'''). Long vowels and diphthongs can have two tones.

===Vowel harmony===
Velyan phonotactics restrict the vowels that can appear in any one word to a subset of the entire inventory. Vowels are divided into three groups: front vowels (ä, ö, ü), back vowels (a, o, u) and neutral vowels (e, i). All vowels in a word must be either front vowels, or back vowels, but not both (though neutral vowels can appear in words with either front or back vowels.)

===Initial Consonant Mutation===
In Velyan, consonants at the beginning of words undergo a process of ''initial consonant mutation''', whereby an initial '''p''', '''t''', or '''k''' is mutated to its equivalent nasal consonant (respectively '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' under certain conditions. Conversely, under the same conditions the consonants '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' mutate to the consonants '''p''', '''t''' or '''k'''. The conditions under which this happens are explained more fully in the section on Syntax.
===Consonant Gradation===
The phenomenon of ''consonant gradation'' arises due to a restriction in Vielan words, that prohibits a "strong" syllable from ending in a consonant. A '''strong syllable''' is a syllable that begins with a consonant and is preceded by another ending in (at least) one consonant. When this happens, the consonant or cluster at the beginning of the final syllable undergoes '''lenition''' or softening (although it can be historically explained as a process of '''fortition''' or hardening).

The following changes occur as a result of consonant gradation:
#Geminate phonemes change to simplex ones, e.g. ''tt'' -> ''t'', ''rr'' -> ''r'', ''ss'' -> ''s''.

The remaining changes only affect plosives and clusters containing plosives:
Clusters change as follows:
#Nasals:
##Nasal + voiceless plosive changes to geminate nasal, e.g. ''mp'' -> ''mm'', ''nt'' -> ''nn''
#Liquids:
##''lt'' -> ''ll
##''lp'' -> ''lv''
##''lkU'' -> ''lvU''
##''rkU'' -> ''rvU''
##''lkI'' -> ''lji''
##''rkI'' -> ''rji''
#Consonant clusters beginning with ''s'':
##''sp'' -> ''sv''
##''st'' -> ''*sr'' -> ''rs''
##''sk'' -> ''ss''
#Consonant clusters ending with ''s'':
##''ps'' -> ''*vs'' -> ''sv''
##''ts'' -> ''rs''
##''ks'' -> ''s''
#Simplex consonants
##''t'' -> ''r''
##''p'' -> ''v''
##''k'' -> Ø
##''iki'' -> ''iji''
##-UkU'' -> ''UvU''
##''v'' -> ''w''

==Transcription==
Below is a table of the IPA sounds of Velyan, with transcription.

{|
!IPA||Letter
|-
|{{IPA|a}}||a
|-
|{{IPA|æ}}||ä
|-
|{{IPA|e}}||e
|-
|{{IPA|h}}||h
|-
|{{IPA|i}}||i
|-
|{{IPA|j}}||j
|-
|{{IPA|k}}||k
|-
|{{IPA|l}}||l
|-
|{{IPA|m}}||m
|-
|{{IPA|n}}||n
|-
|{{IPA|ŋ}}||ŋ
|-
|{{IPA|o}}||o
|-
|{{IPA|ö}}||ö
|-
|{{IPA|p}}||p
|-
|{{IPA|q}}||q
|-
|{{IPA|r}}||r
|-
|{{IPA|ɾː}}||rr
|-
|{{IPA|s}}||s
|-
|{{IPA|ʃ}}||š
|-
|{{IPA|t}}||t
|-
|{{IPA|u}}||u
|-
|{{IPA|y}}||ÿ
|-
|{{IPA|ʋ}}||v
|-
|}

Notes:
#Long vowels and geminate consonants are written double, e.g. ''aa'', ''kk''. Note that {{IPA|/ɾː/}} is the geminate counterpart of {{IPA|/r/}}.

==Morphology==
===Nouns===
Nouns are divided into '''noun classes''' and inflect for '''quality''', '''dimension''', '''age''', '''tense/aspect''', '''number''', '''case''', '''possessor''', '''destination''' and '''deixis'''. Suffixes (there are no prefixes or infixes in Vielan) are added to the noun, or (more often) to the '''oblique stem'''.
====Noun Classes====
There are several noun classes, reflecting the division of nouns into several semantic categories. The noun classes are added to a notional form of the noun known as the '''base'''. In some cases, the base of a noun ends in one of the letters '''l''', '''n''', '''r''', '''s''', or '''t''', and the noun is in Class IX, which has no suffix; in these cases the base form does surface.

The class suffixes are as follows:
{|
|Class||||Meaning||||Suffix
|-
|I||||Divine Female||||'''-tAri'''
|-
|II||||Divine Male||||'''-tAr'''
|-
|III||||Female Human||||'''-O'''
|-
|IV||||Masculine Human||||'''-A'''
|-
|VI||||Female Professional||||'''-jA'''
|-
|V||||Male Professional||||'''-ri'''
|-
|VII||||Animate (Non-Human)||||'''-e'''
|-
|VIII||||Inanimate I||||∅
|-
|IX||||Inanimate II||||'''-i'''
|-
|X||||Abstract||||'''-U'''
|-
|XI||||Small Place||||'''-lA'''
|-
|XII||||Large Place||||'''-mA'''
|-
|XIII||||Instrument||||'''-in'''
|}

====Stems====
====Number====
Number in Velyan distinguishes the following categories: general, singular (''"one"''), dual (''"two"''), paucal (''"more than two, upto about 10 or a dozen"''), plural (''"more than ten or a dozen"'') and collective (''"all"''). The general form of the noun is the form used when citing the noun in general contexts. as in the English equivalents ''The '''lion''' is a member of the cat family''. The number suffixes differ depending on whether the suffix is the last suffix on the noun, or is followed by a suffix beginning with a consonant or a vowel.

====Deixis====
In English, the demonstratives "this", "these", "that" and "those" are used to point out objects located in space or time. In Vielan, the demonstratives occur as prefixes on the noun, and, in addition, there is a three-way distinction as opposed to the two-way distinction of English (similar to Spanish ''esto, eso, aquel'' or the archaic "this, there, yon".

The suffixes are as follows:
<div style="text-align: left;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=50 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Demonstrative Suffixes
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
|-
|| || || Near || Medial || Far
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| || || '''-ŋi''' || '''-ði''' || '''-mi'''
|-
|}
</div>

These forms are clearly related to the possessive suffixes (below).

====Possession====
Nouns take suffixes to show possession.

===Verbs===
Verbs are divided into two groups: the transitive conjugation and the intransitive conjugation. Verbs in the intransitive conjugation inflect for person, class/gender and number of the patient; gender and number of the addressee; tense; aspect; voice; mood and verbal number. Verbs in the transitive conjugation also inflect for person, class/gender and number of the agent, indirect object and beneficiary. There are also evidential suffixes and non-finite forms, comprising infinitives, participles, and gerunds.

====Tense====
There are four tenses: present, past, remote past and future.

=====Compound Tenses=====
There are compound tenses formed from the past participles of verbs in all moods plus the appropriate tense of the verbs '''ralta''' (an old verb meaning ''"to have"'') for verbs of the transitive conjugation, or '''halka''' (the full form of the existential verb which now survives as a suffix on nouns) for verbs of the intransitive conjugation.

====Aspect====
There are seven aspects: aorist, imperfect, perfective, continuative, inchoative, habitative, and conclusive.

====Voice====
There are five voices: active, passive, antipassive, medial and reciprocal.

====Mood====
There are eight moods, comprising the indicative, the imperative, the hortative, the optative, the desiderative, the necessitative, the obligative, and the similitive,

====Infinitives====
There are infinitival (non-personal) forms for all tenses and aspects except the imperative.

===Numbers===
The numbers from 1 to 20 are:

'''hanki''' ''1''
'''rotpi''' ''2''
'''tÿötki''' ''3''
'''papsi''' ''4''
'''vuusi''' ''5''
'''kauvi''' ''6''
'''kirpi''' ''7''
'''lÿÿlli''' ''8''
'''saunnyi''' ''9''
'''muupi''' ''10''
'''hankimuupi''' ''11''
'''rotpimuupi''' ''12''
'''työtkimÿÿpi''' ''13''
'''papsimuupi''' ''14''
'''vuusimuupi''' ''15''
'''kauvimuupi''' ''16''
'''kirpimuupi''' ''17''
'''lyyllimÿÿpi''' ''18''
'''saunnyimuupi'''
'''vappi''' ''20''

Velyan

2009-01-01T15:20:11Z

Twenex: /* Tone */

Velyan is one of the two main [[Wikipedia:Classical_language|classical languages]] of the continent Pellargos, on the planet Máa. Máa is an alternate Earth planet.

==Phonology==
===Vowels===

There are 12 vowels, each of which can be short or long.

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=11 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Vowels
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Front ||colspan=2| Near-front ||colspan=2| Central ||colspan=2| Near-back ||colspan=2| Back
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High || {{IPA|i}} || {{IPA|y}} || || || || || || || || {{IPA|u}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-high || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High-mid || || || {{IPA|e}} || {{IPA|ø}} || || || || || || {{IPA|o}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Mid || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low-mid || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-low || || || {{IPA|æ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low || || || || || {{IPA|a}}
|}

</div>

=== Consonants ===

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=17 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Consonants
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Bilabial ||colspan=2| Labiod. ||colspan=2| Dental ||colspan=2| Alveolar ||colspan=2| Post-alv. ||colspan=2| Palatal ||colspan=2| Velar ||colspan=2|Uvular ||colspan=2| Glottal
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Nasal || || {{IPA|m}} || || || || {{IPA|n}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|ŋ}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Plosive || {{IPA|p}} || || || || || {{IPA|t}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|k}} || || {{IPA|q}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Fricative || || || || || || {{IPA|s}} || {{IPA|ʃ}} || || || || || ({{IPA|x}}) || {{IPA|h}} || || {{IPA|χ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Approximant || {{IPA|ʋ}} || || || || || || || || || || || {{IPA|j}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Trill || || || || || || || || {{IPA|rː}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Flap || || || || || || || || {{IPA|ɾ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Lateral Approximant || || || || || || || || {{IPA|l}} || || || ||
|-
|}
</div>

===Tone===
Velyan has three basic tones, called ''high'', ''mid'' and ''low''. The high and low tones are marked with accents, whilst the mid tone is the default tone and is not marked. The high tone is marked by an acute accent over back and neutral vowels ('''á é í ó ú''') and by a double-acute accent over front vowels ('''a̋ ő ӳ'''); similarly, the low tone is marked by single or double grave accents: ('''à ȁ è ì ò ȍ ù y̏'''). Long vowels and diphthongs can have two tones.

===Vowel harmony===
Velyan phonotactics restrict the vowels that can appear in any one word to a subset of the entire inventory. Vowels are divided into three groups: front vowels (ä, ö, ü), back vowels (a, o, u) and neutral vowels (e, i). All vowels in a word must be either front vowels, or back vowels, but not both (though neutral vowels can appear in words with either front or back vowels.)

===Initial Consonant Mutation===
In Velyan, consonants at the beginning of words undergo a process of ''initial consonant mutation''', whereby an initial '''p''', '''t''', or '''k''' is mutated to its equivalent nasal consonant (respectively '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' under certain conditions. Conversely, under the same conditions the consonants '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' mutate to the consonants '''p''', '''t''' or '''k'''. The conditions under which this happens are explained more fully in the section on Syntax.
===Consonant Gradation===
The phenomenon of ''consonant gradation'' arises due to a restriction in Vielan words, that prohibits a "strong" syllable from ending in a consonant. A '''strong syllable''' is a syllable that begins with a consonant and is preceded by another ending in (at least) one consonant. When this happens, the consonant or cluster at the beginning of the final syllable undergoes '''lenition''' or softening (although it can be historically explained as a process of '''fortition''' or hardening).

The following changes occur as a result of consonant gradation:
#Geminate phonemes change to simplex ones, e.g. ''tt'' -> ''t'', ''rr'' -> ''r'', ''ss'' -> ''s''.

The remaining changes only affect plosives and clusters containing plosives:
Clusters change as follows:
#Nasals:
##Nasal + voiceless plosive changes to geminate nasal, e.g. ''mp'' -> ''mm'', ''nt'' -> ''nn''
#Liquids:
##''lt'' -> ''ll
##''lp'' -> ''lv''
##''lkU'' -> ''lvU''
##''rkU'' -> ''rvU''
##''lkI'' -> ''lji''
##''rkI'' -> ''rji''
#Consonant clusters beginning with ''s'':
##''sp'' -> ''sv''
##''st'' -> ''*sr'' -> ''rs''
##''sk'' -> ''ss''
#Consonant clusters ending with ''s'':
##''ps'' -> ''*vs'' -> ''sv''
##''ts'' -> ''rs''
##''ks'' -> ''s''
#Simplex consonants
##''t'' -> ''r''
##''p'' -> ''v''
##''k'' -> Ø
##''iki'' -> ''iji''
##-UkU'' -> ''UvU''
##''v'' -> ''w''

==Transcription==
Below is a table of the IPA sounds of Velyan, with transcription.

{|
!IPA||Letter
|-
|{{IPA|a}}||a
|-
|{{IPA|æ}}||ä
|-
|{{IPA|e}}||e
|-
|{{IPA|h}}||h
|-
|{{IPA|i}}||i
|-
|{{IPA|j}}||j
|-
|{{IPA|k}}||k
|-
|{{IPA|l}}||l
|-
|{{IPA|m}}||m
|-
|{{IPA|n}}||n
|-
|{{IPA|ŋ}}||ŋ
|-
|{{IPA|o}}||o
|-
|{{IPA|ö}}||ö
|-
|{{IPA|p}}||p
|-
|{{IPA|q}}||q
|-
|{{IPA|r}}||r
|-
|{{IPA|ɾː}}||rr
|-
|{{IPA|s}}||s
|-
|{{IPA|ʃ}}||š
|-
|{{IPA|t}}||t
|-
|{{IPA|u}}||u
|-
|{{IPA|y}}||ÿ
|-
|{{IPA|ʋ}}||v
|-
|}

Notes:
#Long vowels and geminate consonants are written double, e.g. ''aa'', ''kk''. Note that {{IPA|/ɾː/}} is the geminate counterpart of {{IPA|/r/}}.

==Morphology==
===Nouns===
Nouns are divided into '''noun classes''' and inflect for '''quality''', '''dimension''', '''age''', '''tense/aspect''', '''number''', '''case''', '''possessor''', '''destination''' and '''deixis'''. Suffixes (there are no prefixes or infixes in Vielan) are added to the noun, or (more often) to the '''oblique stem'''.
====Noun Classes====
There are several noun classes, reflecting the division of nouns into several semantic categories. The noun classes are added to a notional form of the noun known as the '''base'''. In some cases, the base of a noun ends in one of the letters '''l''', '''n''', '''r''', '''s''', or '''t''', and the noun is in Class IX, which has no suffix; in these cases the base form does surface.

The class suffixes are as follows:
{|
|Class||||Meaning||||Suffix
|-
|I||||Divine Female||||'''-tAri'''
|-
|II||||Divine Male||||'''-tAr'''
|-
|III||||Female Human||||'''-O'''
|-
|IV||||Masculine Human||||'''-A'''
|-
|VI||||Female Professional||||'''-jA'''
|-
|V||||Male Professional||||'''-ri'''
|-
|VII||||Animate (Non-Human)||||'''-e'''
|-
|VIII||||Inanimate I||||∅
|-
|IX||||Inanimate II||||'''-i'''
|-
|X||||Abstract||||'''-U'''
|-
|XI||||Small Place||||'''-lA'''
|-
|XII||||Large Place||||'''-mA'''
|-
|XIII||||Instrument||||'''-in'''
|}

====Stems====
====Number====
Number in Velyan distinguishes the following categories: general, singular (''"one"''), dual (''"two"''), paucal (''"more than two, upto about 10 or a dozen"''), plural (''"more than ten or a dozen"'') and collective (''"all"''). The general form of the noun is the form used when citing the noun in general contexts. as in the English equivalents ''The '''lion''' is a member of the cat family''. The number suffixes differ depending on whether the suffix is the last suffix on the noun, or is followed by a suffix beginning with a consonant or a vowel.

====Deixis====
In English, the demonstratives "this", "these", "that" and "those" are used to point out objects located in space or time. In Vielan, the demonstratives occur as prefixes on the noun, and, in addition, there is a three-way distinction as opposed to the two-way distinction of English (similar to Spanish ''esto, eso, aquel'' or the archaic "this, there, yon".

The suffixes are as follows:
<div style="text-align: left;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=50 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Demonstrative Suffixes
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
|-
|| || || Near || Medial || Far
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| || || '''-ŋi''' || '''-ði''' || '''-mi'''
|-
|}
</div>

These forms are clearly related to the possessive suffixes (below).

====Possession====
Nouns take suffixes to show possession.

===Verbs===
Verbs are divided into two groups: the transitive conjugation and the intransitive conjugation. Verbs in the intransitive conjugation inflect for person, class/gender and number of the patient; gender and number of the addressee; tense; aspect; voice; mood and verbal number. Verbs in the transitive conjugation also inflect for person, class/gender and number of the agent, indirect object and beneficiary. There are also evidential suffixes and non-finite forms, comprising infinitives, participles, and gerunds.

====Tense====
There are four tenses: present, past, remote past and future.

=====Compound Tenses=====
There are compound tenses formed from the past participles of verbs in all moods plus the appropriate tense of the verbs '''ralta''' (an old verb meaning ''"to have"'') for verbs of the transitive conjugation, or '''halka''' (the full form of the existential verb which now survives as a suffix on nouns) for verbs of the intransitive conjugation.

====Aspect====
There are seven aspects: aorist, imperfect, perfective, continuative, inchoative, habitative, and conclusive.

====Voice====
There are five voices: active, passive, antipassive, medial and reciprocal.

====Mood====
There are eight moods, comprising the indicative, the imperative, the hortative, the optative, the desiderative, the necessitative, the obligative, and the similitive,

====Infinitives====
There are infinitival (non-personal) forms for all tenses and aspects except the imperative.

===Numbers===
The numbers from 1 to 20 are:

'''hanki''' ''1''
'''rotpi''' ''2''
'''tÿötki''' ''3''
'''papsi''' ''4''
'''vuusi''' ''5''
'''kauvi''' ''6''
'''kirpi''' ''7''
'''lÿÿlli''' ''8''
'''saunnyi''' ''9''
'''muupi''' ''10''
'''hankimuupi''' ''11''
'''rotpimuupi''' ''12''
'''työtkimÿÿpi''' ''13''
'''papsimuupi''' ''14''
'''vuusimuupi''' ''15''
'''kauvimuupi''' ''16''
'''kirpimuupi''' ''17''
'''lyyllimÿÿpi''' ''18''
'''saunnyimuupi'''
'''vappi''' ''20''

Velyan

2009-01-01T15:15:15Z

Twenex: /* Tone */

Velyan is one of the two main [[Wikipedia:Classical_language|classical languages]] of the continent Pellargos, on the planet Máa. Máa is an alternate Earth planet.

==Phonology==
===Vowels===

There are 12 vowels, each of which can be short or long.

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=11 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Vowels
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Front ||colspan=2| Near-front ||colspan=2| Central ||colspan=2| Near-back ||colspan=2| Back
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High || {{IPA|i}} || {{IPA|y}} || || || || || || || || {{IPA|u}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-high || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High-mid || || || {{IPA|e}} || {{IPA|ø}} || || || || || || {{IPA|o}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Mid || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low-mid || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-low || || || {{IPA|æ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low || || || || || {{IPA|a}}
|}

</div>

=== Consonants ===

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=17 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Consonants
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Bilabial ||colspan=2| Labiod. ||colspan=2| Dental ||colspan=2| Alveolar ||colspan=2| Post-alv. ||colspan=2| Palatal ||colspan=2| Velar ||colspan=2|Uvular ||colspan=2| Glottal
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Nasal || || {{IPA|m}} || || || || {{IPA|n}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|ŋ}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Plosive || {{IPA|p}} || || || || || {{IPA|t}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|k}} || || {{IPA|q}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Fricative || || || || || || {{IPA|s}} || {{IPA|ʃ}} || || || || || ({{IPA|x}}) || {{IPA|h}} || || {{IPA|χ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Approximant || {{IPA|ʋ}} || || || || || || || || || || || {{IPA|j}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Trill || || || || || || || || {{IPA|rː}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Flap || || || || || || || || {{IPA|ɾ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Lateral Approximant || || || || || || || || {{IPA|l}} || || || ||
|-
|}
</div>

===Tone===
Velyan has three basic tones, called ''high'', ''mid'' and ''low''. The high and low tones are marked with accents, whilst the mid tone is the default tone and is not marked. The high tone is marked by an acute accent over back and neutral vowels ('''á é í ó ú''') and by a double-acute accent over front vowels ('''a̋ ő ӳ'''); similarly, the low tone is marked by single or double grave accents: ('''à ȁ è ì ò ȍ ù y̏''').

Long vowels and diphthongs have tone sequences, which can be either mid ('''aa, äi'''), high ('''éé, éí'''), low ('''íí, íó'''), high-falling(1) ('''áu, éÿ''') or (2) ('''íù, íy̏'''), rising(1) ('''ùe, èӱ''') or (2) (''' '''')

===Vowel harmony===
Velyan phonotactics restrict the vowels that can appear in any one word to a subset of the entire inventory. Vowels are divided into three groups: front vowels (ä, ö, ü), back vowels (a, o, u) and neutral vowels (e, i). All vowels in a word must be either front vowels, or back vowels, but not both (though neutral vowels can appear in words with either front or back vowels.)

===Initial Consonant Mutation===
In Velyan, consonants at the beginning of words undergo a process of ''initial consonant mutation''', whereby an initial '''p''', '''t''', or '''k''' is mutated to its equivalent nasal consonant (respectively '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' under certain conditions. Conversely, under the same conditions the consonants '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' mutate to the consonants '''p''', '''t''' or '''k'''. The conditions under which this happens are explained more fully in the section on Syntax.
===Consonant Gradation===
The phenomenon of ''consonant gradation'' arises due to a restriction in Vielan words, that prohibits a "strong" syllable from ending in a consonant. A '''strong syllable''' is a syllable that begins with a consonant and is preceded by another ending in (at least) one consonant. When this happens, the consonant or cluster at the beginning of the final syllable undergoes '''lenition''' or softening (although it can be historically explained as a process of '''fortition''' or hardening).

The following changes occur as a result of consonant gradation:
#Geminate phonemes change to simplex ones, e.g. ''tt'' -> ''t'', ''rr'' -> ''r'', ''ss'' -> ''s''.

The remaining changes only affect plosives and clusters containing plosives:
Clusters change as follows:
#Nasals:
##Nasal + voiceless plosive changes to geminate nasal, e.g. ''mp'' -> ''mm'', ''nt'' -> ''nn''
#Liquids:
##''lt'' -> ''ll
##''lp'' -> ''lv''
##''lkU'' -> ''lvU''
##''rkU'' -> ''rvU''
##''lkI'' -> ''lji''
##''rkI'' -> ''rji''
#Consonant clusters beginning with ''s'':
##''sp'' -> ''sv''
##''st'' -> ''*sr'' -> ''rs''
##''sk'' -> ''ss''
#Consonant clusters ending with ''s'':
##''ps'' -> ''*vs'' -> ''sv''
##''ts'' -> ''rs''
##''ks'' -> ''s''
#Simplex consonants
##''t'' -> ''r''
##''p'' -> ''v''
##''k'' -> Ø
##''iki'' -> ''iji''
##-UkU'' -> ''UvU''
##''v'' -> ''w''

==Transcription==
Below is a table of the IPA sounds of Velyan, with transcription.

{|
!IPA||Letter
|-
|{{IPA|a}}||a
|-
|{{IPA|æ}}||ä
|-
|{{IPA|e}}||e
|-
|{{IPA|h}}||h
|-
|{{IPA|i}}||i
|-
|{{IPA|j}}||j
|-
|{{IPA|k}}||k
|-
|{{IPA|l}}||l
|-
|{{IPA|m}}||m
|-
|{{IPA|n}}||n
|-
|{{IPA|ŋ}}||ŋ
|-
|{{IPA|o}}||o
|-
|{{IPA|ö}}||ö
|-
|{{IPA|p}}||p
|-
|{{IPA|q}}||q
|-
|{{IPA|r}}||r
|-
|{{IPA|ɾː}}||rr
|-
|{{IPA|s}}||s
|-
|{{IPA|ʃ}}||š
|-
|{{IPA|t}}||t
|-
|{{IPA|u}}||u
|-
|{{IPA|y}}||ÿ
|-
|{{IPA|ʋ}}||v
|-
|}

Notes:
#Long vowels and geminate consonants are written double, e.g. ''aa'', ''kk''. Note that {{IPA|/ɾː/}} is the geminate counterpart of {{IPA|/r/}}.

==Morphology==
===Nouns===
Nouns are divided into '''noun classes''' and inflect for '''quality''', '''dimension''', '''age''', '''tense/aspect''', '''number''', '''case''', '''possessor''', '''destination''' and '''deixis'''. Suffixes (there are no prefixes or infixes in Vielan) are added to the noun, or (more often) to the '''oblique stem'''.
====Noun Classes====
There are several noun classes, reflecting the division of nouns into several semantic categories. The noun classes are added to a notional form of the noun known as the '''base'''. In some cases, the base of a noun ends in one of the letters '''l''', '''n''', '''r''', '''s''', or '''t''', and the noun is in Class IX, which has no suffix; in these cases the base form does surface.

The class suffixes are as follows:
{|
|Class||||Meaning||||Suffix
|-
|I||||Divine Female||||'''-tAri'''
|-
|II||||Divine Male||||'''-tAr'''
|-
|III||||Female Human||||'''-O'''
|-
|IV||||Masculine Human||||'''-A'''
|-
|VI||||Female Professional||||'''-jA'''
|-
|V||||Male Professional||||'''-ri'''
|-
|VII||||Animate (Non-Human)||||'''-e'''
|-
|VIII||||Inanimate I||||∅
|-
|IX||||Inanimate II||||'''-i'''
|-
|X||||Abstract||||'''-U'''
|-
|XI||||Small Place||||'''-lA'''
|-
|XII||||Large Place||||'''-mA'''
|-
|XIII||||Instrument||||'''-in'''
|}

====Stems====
====Number====
Number in Velyan distinguishes the following categories: general, singular (''"one"''), dual (''"two"''), paucal (''"more than two, upto about 10 or a dozen"''), plural (''"more than ten or a dozen"'') and collective (''"all"''). The general form of the noun is the form used when citing the noun in general contexts. as in the English equivalents ''The '''lion''' is a member of the cat family''. The number suffixes differ depending on whether the suffix is the last suffix on the noun, or is followed by a suffix beginning with a consonant or a vowel.

====Deixis====
In English, the demonstratives "this", "these", "that" and "those" are used to point out objects located in space or time. In Vielan, the demonstratives occur as prefixes on the noun, and, in addition, there is a three-way distinction as opposed to the two-way distinction of English (similar to Spanish ''esto, eso, aquel'' or the archaic "this, there, yon".

The suffixes are as follows:
<div style="text-align: left;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=50 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Demonstrative Suffixes
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
|-
|| || || Near || Medial || Far
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| || || '''-ŋi''' || '''-ði''' || '''-mi'''
|-
|}
</div>

These forms are clearly related to the possessive suffixes (below).

====Possession====
Nouns take suffixes to show possession.

===Verbs===
Verbs are divided into two groups: the transitive conjugation and the intransitive conjugation. Verbs in the intransitive conjugation inflect for person, class/gender and number of the patient; gender and number of the addressee; tense; aspect; voice; mood and verbal number. Verbs in the transitive conjugation also inflect for person, class/gender and number of the agent, indirect object and beneficiary. There are also evidential suffixes and non-finite forms, comprising infinitives, participles, and gerunds.

====Tense====
There are four tenses: present, past, remote past and future.

=====Compound Tenses=====
There are compound tenses formed from the past participles of verbs in all moods plus the appropriate tense of the verbs '''ralta''' (an old verb meaning ''"to have"'') for verbs of the transitive conjugation, or '''halka''' (the full form of the existential verb which now survives as a suffix on nouns) for verbs of the intransitive conjugation.

====Aspect====
There are seven aspects: aorist, imperfect, perfective, continuative, inchoative, habitative, and conclusive.

====Voice====
There are five voices: active, passive, antipassive, medial and reciprocal.

====Mood====
There are eight moods, comprising the indicative, the imperative, the hortative, the optative, the desiderative, the necessitative, the obligative, and the similitive,

====Infinitives====
There are infinitival (non-personal) forms for all tenses and aspects except the imperative.

===Numbers===
The numbers from 1 to 20 are:

'''hanki''' ''1''
'''rotpi''' ''2''
'''tÿötki''' ''3''
'''papsi''' ''4''
'''vuusi''' ''5''
'''kauvi''' ''6''
'''kirpi''' ''7''
'''lÿÿlli''' ''8''
'''saunnyi''' ''9''
'''muupi''' ''10''
'''hankimuupi''' ''11''
'''rotpimuupi''' ''12''
'''työtkimÿÿpi''' ''13''
'''papsimuupi''' ''14''
'''vuusimuupi''' ''15''
'''kauvimuupi''' ''16''
'''kirpimuupi''' ''17''
'''lyyllimÿÿpi''' ''18''
'''saunnyimuupi'''
'''vappi''' ''20''

Velyan

2009-01-01T13:11:54Z

Twenex: /* Numbers */

Velyan is one of the two main [[Wikipedia:Classical_language|classical languages]] of the continent Pellargos, on the planet Máa. Máa is an alternate Earth planet.

==Phonology==
===Vowels===

There are 12 vowels, each of which can be short or long.

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=11 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Vowels
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Front ||colspan=2| Near-front ||colspan=2| Central ||colspan=2| Near-back ||colspan=2| Back
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High || {{IPA|i}} || {{IPA|y}} || || || || || || || || {{IPA|u}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-high || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High-mid || || || {{IPA|e}} || {{IPA|ø}} || || || || || || {{IPA|o}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Mid || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low-mid || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-low || || || {{IPA|æ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low || || || || || {{IPA|a}}
|}

</div>

=== Consonants ===

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=17 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Consonants
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Bilabial ||colspan=2| Labiod. ||colspan=2| Dental ||colspan=2| Alveolar ||colspan=2| Post-alv. ||colspan=2| Palatal ||colspan=2| Velar ||colspan=2|Uvular ||colspan=2| Glottal
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Nasal || || {{IPA|m}} || || || || {{IPA|n}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|ŋ}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Plosive || {{IPA|p}} || || || || || {{IPA|t}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|k}} || || {{IPA|q}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Fricative || || || || || || {{IPA|s}} || {{IPA|ʃ}} || || || || || ({{IPA|x}}) || {{IPA|h}} || || {{IPA|χ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Approximant || {{IPA|ʋ}} || || || || || || || || || || || {{IPA|j}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Trill || || || || || || || || {{IPA|rː}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Flap || || || || || || || || {{IPA|ɾ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Lateral Approximant || || || || || || || || {{IPA|l}} || || || ||
|-
|}
</div>

===Tone===
Velyan has
===Vowel harmony===
Velyan phonotactics restrict the vowels that can appear in any one word to a subset of the entire inventory. Vowels are divided into three groups: front vowels (ä, ö, ü), back vowels (a, o, u) and neutral vowels (e, i). All vowels in a word must be either front vowels, or back vowels, but not both (though neutral vowels can appear in words with either front or back vowels.)

===Initial Consonant Mutation===
In Velyan, consonants at the beginning of words undergo a process of ''initial consonant mutation''', whereby an initial '''p''', '''t''', or '''k''' is mutated to its equivalent nasal consonant (respectively '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' under certain conditions. Conversely, under the same conditions the consonants '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' mutate to the consonants '''p''', '''t''' or '''k'''. The conditions under which this happens are explained more fully in the section on Syntax.
===Consonant Gradation===
The phenomenon of ''consonant gradation'' arises due to a restriction in Vielan words, that prohibits a "strong" syllable from ending in a consonant. A '''strong syllable''' is a syllable that begins with a consonant and is preceded by another ending in (at least) one consonant. When this happens, the consonant or cluster at the beginning of the final syllable undergoes '''lenition''' or softening (although it can be historically explained as a process of '''fortition''' or hardening).

The following changes occur as a result of consonant gradation:
#Geminate phonemes change to simplex ones, e.g. ''tt'' -> ''t'', ''rr'' -> ''r'', ''ss'' -> ''s''.

The remaining changes only affect plosives and clusters containing plosives:
Clusters change as follows:
#Nasals:
##Nasal + voiceless plosive changes to geminate nasal, e.g. ''mp'' -> ''mm'', ''nt'' -> ''nn''
#Liquids:
##''lt'' -> ''ll
##''lp'' -> ''lv''
##''lkU'' -> ''lvU''
##''rkU'' -> ''rvU''
##''lkI'' -> ''lji''
##''rkI'' -> ''rji''
#Consonant clusters beginning with ''s'':
##''sp'' -> ''sv''
##''st'' -> ''*sr'' -> ''rs''
##''sk'' -> ''ss''
#Consonant clusters ending with ''s'':
##''ps'' -> ''*vs'' -> ''sv''
##''ts'' -> ''rs''
##''ks'' -> ''s''
#Simplex consonants
##''t'' -> ''r''
##''p'' -> ''v''
##''k'' -> Ø
##''iki'' -> ''iji''
##-UkU'' -> ''UvU''
##''v'' -> ''w''

==Transcription==
Below is a table of the IPA sounds of Velyan, with transcription.

{|
!IPA||Letter
|-
|{{IPA|a}}||a
|-
|{{IPA|æ}}||ä
|-
|{{IPA|e}}||e
|-
|{{IPA|h}}||h
|-
|{{IPA|i}}||i
|-
|{{IPA|j}}||j
|-
|{{IPA|k}}||k
|-
|{{IPA|l}}||l
|-
|{{IPA|m}}||m
|-
|{{IPA|n}}||n
|-
|{{IPA|ŋ}}||ŋ
|-
|{{IPA|o}}||o
|-
|{{IPA|ö}}||ö
|-
|{{IPA|p}}||p
|-
|{{IPA|q}}||q
|-
|{{IPA|r}}||r
|-
|{{IPA|ɾː}}||rr
|-
|{{IPA|s}}||s
|-
|{{IPA|ʃ}}||š
|-
|{{IPA|t}}||t
|-
|{{IPA|u}}||u
|-
|{{IPA|y}}||ÿ
|-
|{{IPA|ʋ}}||v
|-
|}

Notes:
#Long vowels and geminate consonants are written double, e.g. ''aa'', ''kk''. Note that {{IPA|/ɾː/}} is the geminate counterpart of {{IPA|/r/}}.

==Morphology==
===Nouns===
Nouns are divided into '''noun classes''' and inflect for '''quality''', '''dimension''', '''age''', '''tense/aspect''', '''number''', '''case''', '''possessor''', '''destination''' and '''deixis'''. Suffixes (there are no prefixes or infixes in Vielan) are added to the noun, or (more often) to the '''oblique stem'''.
====Noun Classes====
There are several noun classes, reflecting the division of nouns into several semantic categories. The noun classes are added to a notional form of the noun known as the '''base'''. In some cases, the base of a noun ends in one of the letters '''l''', '''n''', '''r''', '''s''', or '''t''', and the noun is in Class IX, which has no suffix; in these cases the base form does surface.

The class suffixes are as follows:
{|
|Class||||Meaning||||Suffix
|-
|I||||Divine Female||||'''-tAri'''
|-
|II||||Divine Male||||'''-tAr'''
|-
|III||||Female Human||||'''-O'''
|-
|IV||||Masculine Human||||'''-A'''
|-
|VI||||Female Professional||||'''-jA'''
|-
|V||||Male Professional||||'''-ri'''
|-
|VII||||Animate (Non-Human)||||'''-e'''
|-
|VIII||||Inanimate I||||∅
|-
|IX||||Inanimate II||||'''-i'''
|-
|X||||Abstract||||'''-U'''
|-
|XI||||Small Place||||'''-lA'''
|-
|XII||||Large Place||||'''-mA'''
|-
|XIII||||Instrument||||'''-in'''
|}

====Stems====
====Number====
Number in Velyan distinguishes the following categories: general, singular (''"one"''), dual (''"two"''), paucal (''"more than two, upto about 10 or a dozen"''), plural (''"more than ten or a dozen"'') and collective (''"all"''). The general form of the noun is the form used when citing the noun in general contexts. as in the English equivalents ''The '''lion''' is a member of the cat family''. The number suffixes differ depending on whether the suffix is the last suffix on the noun, or is followed by a suffix beginning with a consonant or a vowel.

====Deixis====
In English, the demonstratives "this", "these", "that" and "those" are used to point out objects located in space or time. In Vielan, the demonstratives occur as prefixes on the noun, and, in addition, there is a three-way distinction as opposed to the two-way distinction of English (similar to Spanish ''esto, eso, aquel'' or the archaic "this, there, yon".

The suffixes are as follows:
<div style="text-align: left;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=50 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Demonstrative Suffixes
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
|-
|| || || Near || Medial || Far
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| || || '''-ŋi''' || '''-ði''' || '''-mi'''
|-
|}
</div>

These forms are clearly related to the possessive suffixes (below).

====Possession====
Nouns take suffixes to show possession.

===Verbs===
Verbs are divided into two groups: the transitive conjugation and the intransitive conjugation. Verbs in the intransitive conjugation inflect for person, class/gender and number of the patient; gender and number of the addressee; tense; aspect; voice; mood and verbal number. Verbs in the transitive conjugation also inflect for person, class/gender and number of the agent, indirect object and beneficiary. There are also evidential suffixes and non-finite forms, comprising infinitives, participles, and gerunds.

====Tense====
There are four tenses: present, past, remote past and future.

=====Compound Tenses=====
There are compound tenses formed from the past participles of verbs in all moods plus the appropriate tense of the verbs '''ralta''' (an old verb meaning ''"to have"'') for verbs of the transitive conjugation, or '''halka''' (the full form of the existential verb which now survives as a suffix on nouns) for verbs of the intransitive conjugation.

====Aspect====
There are seven aspects: aorist, imperfect, perfective, continuative, inchoative, habitative, and conclusive.

====Voice====
There are five voices: active, passive, antipassive, medial and reciprocal.

====Mood====
There are eight moods, comprising the indicative, the imperative, the hortative, the optative, the desiderative, the necessitative, the obligative, and the similitive,

====Infinitives====
There are infinitival (non-personal) forms for all tenses and aspects except the imperative.

===Numbers===
The numbers from 1 to 20 are:

'''hanki''' ''1''
'''rotpi''' ''2''
'''tÿötki''' ''3''
'''papsi''' ''4''
'''vuusi''' ''5''
'''kauvi''' ''6''
'''kirpi''' ''7''
'''lÿÿlli''' ''8''
'''saunnyi''' ''9''
'''muupi''' ''10''
'''hankimuupi''' ''11''
'''rotpimuupi''' ''12''
'''työtkimÿÿpi''' ''13''
'''papsimuupi''' ''14''
'''vuusimuupi''' ''15''
'''kauvimuupi''' ''16''
'''kirpimuupi''' ''17''
'''lyyllimÿÿpi''' ''18''
'''saunnyimuupi'''
'''vappi''' ''20''

Velyan

2009-01-01T13:10:46Z

Twenex: /* Numbers */

Velyan is one of the two main [[Wikipedia:Classical_language|classical languages]] of the continent Pellargos, on the planet Máa. Máa is an alternate Earth planet.

==Phonology==
===Vowels===

There are 12 vowels, each of which can be short or long.

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=11 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Vowels
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Front ||colspan=2| Near-front ||colspan=2| Central ||colspan=2| Near-back ||colspan=2| Back
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High || {{IPA|i}} || {{IPA|y}} || || || || || || || || {{IPA|u}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-high || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High-mid || || || {{IPA|e}} || {{IPA|ø}} || || || || || || {{IPA|o}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Mid || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low-mid || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-low || || || {{IPA|æ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low || || || || || {{IPA|a}}
|}

</div>

=== Consonants ===

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=17 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Consonants
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Bilabial ||colspan=2| Labiod. ||colspan=2| Dental ||colspan=2| Alveolar ||colspan=2| Post-alv. ||colspan=2| Palatal ||colspan=2| Velar ||colspan=2|Uvular ||colspan=2| Glottal
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Nasal || || {{IPA|m}} || || || || {{IPA|n}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|ŋ}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Plosive || {{IPA|p}} || || || || || {{IPA|t}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|k}} || || {{IPA|q}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Fricative || || || || || || {{IPA|s}} || {{IPA|ʃ}} || || || || || ({{IPA|x}}) || {{IPA|h}} || || {{IPA|χ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Approximant || {{IPA|ʋ}} || || || || || || || || || || || {{IPA|j}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Trill || || || || || || || || {{IPA|rː}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Flap || || || || || || || || {{IPA|ɾ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Lateral Approximant || || || || || || || || {{IPA|l}} || || || ||
|-
|}
</div>

===Tone===
Velyan has
===Vowel harmony===
Velyan phonotactics restrict the vowels that can appear in any one word to a subset of the entire inventory. Vowels are divided into three groups: front vowels (ä, ö, ü), back vowels (a, o, u) and neutral vowels (e, i). All vowels in a word must be either front vowels, or back vowels, but not both (though neutral vowels can appear in words with either front or back vowels.)

===Initial Consonant Mutation===
In Velyan, consonants at the beginning of words undergo a process of ''initial consonant mutation''', whereby an initial '''p''', '''t''', or '''k''' is mutated to its equivalent nasal consonant (respectively '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' under certain conditions. Conversely, under the same conditions the consonants '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' mutate to the consonants '''p''', '''t''' or '''k'''. The conditions under which this happens are explained more fully in the section on Syntax.
===Consonant Gradation===
The phenomenon of ''consonant gradation'' arises due to a restriction in Vielan words, that prohibits a "strong" syllable from ending in a consonant. A '''strong syllable''' is a syllable that begins with a consonant and is preceded by another ending in (at least) one consonant. When this happens, the consonant or cluster at the beginning of the final syllable undergoes '''lenition''' or softening (although it can be historically explained as a process of '''fortition''' or hardening).

The following changes occur as a result of consonant gradation:
#Geminate phonemes change to simplex ones, e.g. ''tt'' -> ''t'', ''rr'' -> ''r'', ''ss'' -> ''s''.

The remaining changes only affect plosives and clusters containing plosives:
Clusters change as follows:
#Nasals:
##Nasal + voiceless plosive changes to geminate nasal, e.g. ''mp'' -> ''mm'', ''nt'' -> ''nn''
#Liquids:
##''lt'' -> ''ll
##''lp'' -> ''lv''
##''lkU'' -> ''lvU''
##''rkU'' -> ''rvU''
##''lkI'' -> ''lji''
##''rkI'' -> ''rji''
#Consonant clusters beginning with ''s'':
##''sp'' -> ''sv''
##''st'' -> ''*sr'' -> ''rs''
##''sk'' -> ''ss''
#Consonant clusters ending with ''s'':
##''ps'' -> ''*vs'' -> ''sv''
##''ts'' -> ''rs''
##''ks'' -> ''s''
#Simplex consonants
##''t'' -> ''r''
##''p'' -> ''v''
##''k'' -> Ø
##''iki'' -> ''iji''
##-UkU'' -> ''UvU''
##''v'' -> ''w''

==Transcription==
Below is a table of the IPA sounds of Velyan, with transcription.

{|
!IPA||Letter
|-
|{{IPA|a}}||a
|-
|{{IPA|æ}}||ä
|-
|{{IPA|e}}||e
|-
|{{IPA|h}}||h
|-
|{{IPA|i}}||i
|-
|{{IPA|j}}||j
|-
|{{IPA|k}}||k
|-
|{{IPA|l}}||l
|-
|{{IPA|m}}||m
|-
|{{IPA|n}}||n
|-
|{{IPA|ŋ}}||ŋ
|-
|{{IPA|o}}||o
|-
|{{IPA|ö}}||ö
|-
|{{IPA|p}}||p
|-
|{{IPA|q}}||q
|-
|{{IPA|r}}||r
|-
|{{IPA|ɾː}}||rr
|-
|{{IPA|s}}||s
|-
|{{IPA|ʃ}}||š
|-
|{{IPA|t}}||t
|-
|{{IPA|u}}||u
|-
|{{IPA|y}}||ÿ
|-
|{{IPA|ʋ}}||v
|-
|}

Notes:
#Long vowels and geminate consonants are written double, e.g. ''aa'', ''kk''. Note that {{IPA|/ɾː/}} is the geminate counterpart of {{IPA|/r/}}.

==Morphology==
===Nouns===
Nouns are divided into '''noun classes''' and inflect for '''quality''', '''dimension''', '''age''', '''tense/aspect''', '''number''', '''case''', '''possessor''', '''destination''' and '''deixis'''. Suffixes (there are no prefixes or infixes in Vielan) are added to the noun, or (more often) to the '''oblique stem'''.
====Noun Classes====
There are several noun classes, reflecting the division of nouns into several semantic categories. The noun classes are added to a notional form of the noun known as the '''base'''. In some cases, the base of a noun ends in one of the letters '''l''', '''n''', '''r''', '''s''', or '''t''', and the noun is in Class IX, which has no suffix; in these cases the base form does surface.

The class suffixes are as follows:
{|
|Class||||Meaning||||Suffix
|-
|I||||Divine Female||||'''-tAri'''
|-
|II||||Divine Male||||'''-tAr'''
|-
|III||||Female Human||||'''-O'''
|-
|IV||||Masculine Human||||'''-A'''
|-
|VI||||Female Professional||||'''-jA'''
|-
|V||||Male Professional||||'''-ri'''
|-
|VII||||Animate (Non-Human)||||'''-e'''
|-
|VIII||||Inanimate I||||∅
|-
|IX||||Inanimate II||||'''-i'''
|-
|X||||Abstract||||'''-U'''
|-
|XI||||Small Place||||'''-lA'''
|-
|XII||||Large Place||||'''-mA'''
|-
|XIII||||Instrument||||'''-in'''
|}

====Stems====
====Number====
Number in Velyan distinguishes the following categories: general, singular (''"one"''), dual (''"two"''), paucal (''"more than two, upto about 10 or a dozen"''), plural (''"more than ten or a dozen"'') and collective (''"all"''). The general form of the noun is the form used when citing the noun in general contexts. as in the English equivalents ''The '''lion''' is a member of the cat family''. The number suffixes differ depending on whether the suffix is the last suffix on the noun, or is followed by a suffix beginning with a consonant or a vowel.

====Deixis====
In English, the demonstratives "this", "these", "that" and "those" are used to point out objects located in space or time. In Vielan, the demonstratives occur as prefixes on the noun, and, in addition, there is a three-way distinction as opposed to the two-way distinction of English (similar to Spanish ''esto, eso, aquel'' or the archaic "this, there, yon".

The suffixes are as follows:
<div style="text-align: left;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=50 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Demonstrative Suffixes
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
|-
|| || || Near || Medial || Far
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| || || '''-ŋi''' || '''-ði''' || '''-mi'''
|-
|}
</div>

These forms are clearly related to the possessive suffixes (below).

====Possession====
Nouns take suffixes to show possession.

===Verbs===
Verbs are divided into two groups: the transitive conjugation and the intransitive conjugation. Verbs in the intransitive conjugation inflect for person, class/gender and number of the patient; gender and number of the addressee; tense; aspect; voice; mood and verbal number. Verbs in the transitive conjugation also inflect for person, class/gender and number of the agent, indirect object and beneficiary. There are also evidential suffixes and non-finite forms, comprising infinitives, participles, and gerunds.

====Tense====
There are four tenses: present, past, remote past and future.

=====Compound Tenses=====
There are compound tenses formed from the past participles of verbs in all moods plus the appropriate tense of the verbs '''ralta''' (an old verb meaning ''"to have"'') for verbs of the transitive conjugation, or '''halka''' (the full form of the existential verb which now survives as a suffix on nouns) for verbs of the intransitive conjugation.

====Aspect====
There are seven aspects: aorist, imperfect, perfective, continuative, inchoative, habitative, and conclusive.

====Voice====
There are five voices: active, passive, antipassive, medial and reciprocal.

====Mood====
There are eight moods, comprising the indicative, the imperative, the hortative, the optative, the desiderative, the necessitative, the obligative, and the similitive,

====Infinitives====
There are infinitival (non-personal) forms for all tenses and aspects except the imperative.

===Numbers===
The numbers from 1 to 20 are:

'''hanki''' ''1''
'''rotpi''' ''2''
'''tÿötki''' ''3''
'''papsi''' ''4''
'''vuusi''' ''5''
'''kauvi''' ''6''
'''kirpi''' ''7''
'''lÿÿlli''' ''8''
'''saunni''' ''9''
'''muupi''' ''10''
'''hankimuupi''' ''11''
'''rotpimuupi''' ''12''
'''työtkimÿÿpi''' ''13''
'''papsimuupi''' ''14''
'''vuusimuupi''' ''15''
'''kauvimuupi''' ''16''
'''kirpimuupi''' ''17''
'''lyyllimÿÿpi''' ''18''
'''vappi''' ''20''

Velyan

2009-01-01T13:09:25Z

Twenex: /* Transcription */ Moved /ɾ/ and /r/ and added umlaut to y.

Velyan is one of the two main [[Wikipedia:Classical_language|classical languages]] of the continent Pellargos, on the planet Máa. Máa is an alternate Earth planet.

==Phonology==
===Vowels===

There are 12 vowels, each of which can be short or long.

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=11 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Vowels
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Front ||colspan=2| Near-front ||colspan=2| Central ||colspan=2| Near-back ||colspan=2| Back
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High || {{IPA|i}} || {{IPA|y}} || || || || || || || || {{IPA|u}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-high || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High-mid || || || {{IPA|e}} || {{IPA|ø}} || || || || || || {{IPA|o}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Mid || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low-mid || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-low || || || {{IPA|æ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low || || || || || {{IPA|a}}
|}

</div>

=== Consonants ===

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=17 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Consonants
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Bilabial ||colspan=2| Labiod. ||colspan=2| Dental ||colspan=2| Alveolar ||colspan=2| Post-alv. ||colspan=2| Palatal ||colspan=2| Velar ||colspan=2|Uvular ||colspan=2| Glottal
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Nasal || || {{IPA|m}} || || || || {{IPA|n}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|ŋ}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Plosive || {{IPA|p}} || || || || || {{IPA|t}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|k}} || || {{IPA|q}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Fricative || || || || || || {{IPA|s}} || {{IPA|ʃ}} || || || || || ({{IPA|x}}) || {{IPA|h}} || || {{IPA|χ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Approximant || {{IPA|ʋ}} || || || || || || || || || || || {{IPA|j}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Trill || || || || || || || || {{IPA|rː}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Flap || || || || || || || || {{IPA|ɾ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Lateral Approximant || || || || || || || || {{IPA|l}} || || || ||
|-
|}
</div>

===Tone===
Velyan has
===Vowel harmony===
Velyan phonotactics restrict the vowels that can appear in any one word to a subset of the entire inventory. Vowels are divided into three groups: front vowels (ä, ö, ü), back vowels (a, o, u) and neutral vowels (e, i). All vowels in a word must be either front vowels, or back vowels, but not both (though neutral vowels can appear in words with either front or back vowels.)

===Initial Consonant Mutation===
In Velyan, consonants at the beginning of words undergo a process of ''initial consonant mutation''', whereby an initial '''p''', '''t''', or '''k''' is mutated to its equivalent nasal consonant (respectively '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' under certain conditions. Conversely, under the same conditions the consonants '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' mutate to the consonants '''p''', '''t''' or '''k'''. The conditions under which this happens are explained more fully in the section on Syntax.
===Consonant Gradation===
The phenomenon of ''consonant gradation'' arises due to a restriction in Vielan words, that prohibits a "strong" syllable from ending in a consonant. A '''strong syllable''' is a syllable that begins with a consonant and is preceded by another ending in (at least) one consonant. When this happens, the consonant or cluster at the beginning of the final syllable undergoes '''lenition''' or softening (although it can be historically explained as a process of '''fortition''' or hardening).

The following changes occur as a result of consonant gradation:
#Geminate phonemes change to simplex ones, e.g. ''tt'' -> ''t'', ''rr'' -> ''r'', ''ss'' -> ''s''.

The remaining changes only affect plosives and clusters containing plosives:
Clusters change as follows:
#Nasals:
##Nasal + voiceless plosive changes to geminate nasal, e.g. ''mp'' -> ''mm'', ''nt'' -> ''nn''
#Liquids:
##''lt'' -> ''ll
##''lp'' -> ''lv''
##''lkU'' -> ''lvU''
##''rkU'' -> ''rvU''
##''lkI'' -> ''lji''
##''rkI'' -> ''rji''
#Consonant clusters beginning with ''s'':
##''sp'' -> ''sv''
##''st'' -> ''*sr'' -> ''rs''
##''sk'' -> ''ss''
#Consonant clusters ending with ''s'':
##''ps'' -> ''*vs'' -> ''sv''
##''ts'' -> ''rs''
##''ks'' -> ''s''
#Simplex consonants
##''t'' -> ''r''
##''p'' -> ''v''
##''k'' -> Ø
##''iki'' -> ''iji''
##-UkU'' -> ''UvU''
##''v'' -> ''w''

==Transcription==
Below is a table of the IPA sounds of Velyan, with transcription.

{|
!IPA||Letter
|-
|{{IPA|a}}||a
|-
|{{IPA|æ}}||ä
|-
|{{IPA|e}}||e
|-
|{{IPA|h}}||h
|-
|{{IPA|i}}||i
|-
|{{IPA|j}}||j
|-
|{{IPA|k}}||k
|-
|{{IPA|l}}||l
|-
|{{IPA|m}}||m
|-
|{{IPA|n}}||n
|-
|{{IPA|ŋ}}||ŋ
|-
|{{IPA|o}}||o
|-
|{{IPA|ö}}||ö
|-
|{{IPA|p}}||p
|-
|{{IPA|q}}||q
|-
|{{IPA|r}}||r
|-
|{{IPA|ɾː}}||rr
|-
|{{IPA|s}}||s
|-
|{{IPA|ʃ}}||š
|-
|{{IPA|t}}||t
|-
|{{IPA|u}}||u
|-
|{{IPA|y}}||ÿ
|-
|{{IPA|ʋ}}||v
|-
|}

Notes:
#Long vowels and geminate consonants are written double, e.g. ''aa'', ''kk''. Note that {{IPA|/ɾː/}} is the geminate counterpart of {{IPA|/r/}}.

==Morphology==
===Nouns===
Nouns are divided into '''noun classes''' and inflect for '''quality''', '''dimension''', '''age''', '''tense/aspect''', '''number''', '''case''', '''possessor''', '''destination''' and '''deixis'''. Suffixes (there are no prefixes or infixes in Vielan) are added to the noun, or (more often) to the '''oblique stem'''.
====Noun Classes====
There are several noun classes, reflecting the division of nouns into several semantic categories. The noun classes are added to a notional form of the noun known as the '''base'''. In some cases, the base of a noun ends in one of the letters '''l''', '''n''', '''r''', '''s''', or '''t''', and the noun is in Class IX, which has no suffix; in these cases the base form does surface.

The class suffixes are as follows:
{|
|Class||||Meaning||||Suffix
|-
|I||||Divine Female||||'''-tAri'''
|-
|II||||Divine Male||||'''-tAr'''
|-
|III||||Female Human||||'''-O'''
|-
|IV||||Masculine Human||||'''-A'''
|-
|VI||||Female Professional||||'''-jA'''
|-
|V||||Male Professional||||'''-ri'''
|-
|VII||||Animate (Non-Human)||||'''-e'''
|-
|VIII||||Inanimate I||||∅
|-
|IX||||Inanimate II||||'''-i'''
|-
|X||||Abstract||||'''-U'''
|-
|XI||||Small Place||||'''-lA'''
|-
|XII||||Large Place||||'''-mA'''
|-
|XIII||||Instrument||||'''-in'''
|}

====Stems====
====Number====
Number in Velyan distinguishes the following categories: general, singular (''"one"''), dual (''"two"''), paucal (''"more than two, upto about 10 or a dozen"''), plural (''"more than ten or a dozen"'') and collective (''"all"''). The general form of the noun is the form used when citing the noun in general contexts. as in the English equivalents ''The '''lion''' is a member of the cat family''. The number suffixes differ depending on whether the suffix is the last suffix on the noun, or is followed by a suffix beginning with a consonant or a vowel.

====Deixis====
In English, the demonstratives "this", "these", "that" and "those" are used to point out objects located in space or time. In Vielan, the demonstratives occur as prefixes on the noun, and, in addition, there is a three-way distinction as opposed to the two-way distinction of English (similar to Spanish ''esto, eso, aquel'' or the archaic "this, there, yon".

The suffixes are as follows:
<div style="text-align: left;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=50 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Demonstrative Suffixes
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
|-
|| || || Near || Medial || Far
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| || || '''-ŋi''' || '''-ði''' || '''-mi'''
|-
|}
</div>

These forms are clearly related to the possessive suffixes (below).

====Possession====
Nouns take suffixes to show possession.

===Verbs===
Verbs are divided into two groups: the transitive conjugation and the intransitive conjugation. Verbs in the intransitive conjugation inflect for person, class/gender and number of the patient; gender and number of the addressee; tense; aspect; voice; mood and verbal number. Verbs in the transitive conjugation also inflect for person, class/gender and number of the agent, indirect object and beneficiary. There are also evidential suffixes and non-finite forms, comprising infinitives, participles, and gerunds.

====Tense====
There are four tenses: present, past, remote past and future.

=====Compound Tenses=====
There are compound tenses formed from the past participles of verbs in all moods plus the appropriate tense of the verbs '''ralta''' (an old verb meaning ''"to have"'') for verbs of the transitive conjugation, or '''halka''' (the full form of the existential verb which now survives as a suffix on nouns) for verbs of the intransitive conjugation.

====Aspect====
There are seven aspects: aorist, imperfect, perfective, continuative, inchoative, habitative, and conclusive.

====Voice====
There are five voices: active, passive, antipassive, medial and reciprocal.

====Mood====
There are eight moods, comprising the indicative, the imperative, the hortative, the optative, the desiderative, the necessitative, the obligative, and the similitive,

====Infinitives====
There are infinitival (non-personal) forms for all tenses and aspects except the imperative.

===Numbers===
The numbers from 1 to 20 are:

'''hanki''' ''1''
'''rotpi''' ''2''
'''työtki''' ''3''
'''papsi''' ''4''
'''vuusi''' ''5''
'''kauvi''' ''6''
'''kirpi''' ''7''
'''lyylli''' ''8''
'''saunni''' ''9''
'''muupi''' ''10''
'''hankimuupi''' ''11''
'''rotpimuupi''' ''12''
'''työtkimyypi''' ''13''
'''papsimuupi''' ''14''
'''vuusimuupi''' ''15''
'''kauvimuupi''' ''16''
'''kirpimuupi''' ''17''
'''lyyllimyypi''' ''18''
'''vappi''' ''20''

Talk:Vielan

2009-01-01T13:01:28Z

Twenex: Talk:Vielan moved to Talk:Velyan over redirect: Reintroduction of palatalised consonants and consequent revision of name.

#REDIRECT [[Talk:Velyan]]

Talk:Velyan

2009-01-01T13:01:28Z

Twenex: Talk:Vielan moved to Talk:Velyan over redirect: Reintroduction of palatalised consonants and consequent revision of name.

Vielan

2009-01-01T13:01:27Z

Twenex: Vielan moved to Velyan over redirect: Reintroduction of palatalised consonants and consequent revision of name.

#REDIRECT [[Velyan]]

Velyan

2009-01-01T13:01:27Z

Twenex: Vielan moved to Velyan over redirect: Reintroduction of palatalised consonants and consequent revision of name.

Velyan is one of the two main [[Wikipedia:Classical_language|classical languages]] of the continent Pellargos, on the planet Máa. Máa is an alternate Earth planet.

==Phonology==
===Vowels===

There are 12 vowels, each of which can be short or long.

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=11 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Vowels
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Front ||colspan=2| Near-front ||colspan=2| Central ||colspan=2| Near-back ||colspan=2| Back
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High || {{IPA|i}} || {{IPA|y}} || || || || || || || || {{IPA|u}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-high || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High-mid || || || {{IPA|e}} || {{IPA|ø}} || || || || || || {{IPA|o}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Mid || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low-mid || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-low || || || {{IPA|æ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low || || || || || {{IPA|a}}
|}

</div>

=== Consonants ===

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=17 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Consonants
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Bilabial ||colspan=2| Labiod. ||colspan=2| Dental ||colspan=2| Alveolar ||colspan=2| Post-alv. ||colspan=2| Palatal ||colspan=2| Velar ||colspan=2|Uvular ||colspan=2| Glottal
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Nasal || || {{IPA|m}} || || || || {{IPA|n}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|ŋ}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Plosive || {{IPA|p}} || || || || || {{IPA|t}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|k}} || || {{IPA|q}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Fricative || || || || || || {{IPA|s}} || {{IPA|ʃ}} || || || || || ({{IPA|x}}) || {{IPA|h}} || || {{IPA|χ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Approximant || {{IPA|ʋ}} || || || || || || || || || || || {{IPA|j}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Trill || || || || || || || || {{IPA|rː}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Flap || || || || || || || || {{IPA|ɾ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Lateral Approximant || || || || || || || || {{IPA|l}} || || || ||
|-
|}
</div>

===Tone===
Velyan has
===Vowel harmony===
Velyan phonotactics restrict the vowels that can appear in any one word to a subset of the entire inventory. Vowels are divided into three groups: front vowels (ä, ö, ü), back vowels (a, o, u) and neutral vowels (e, i). All vowels in a word must be either front vowels, or back vowels, but not both (though neutral vowels can appear in words with either front or back vowels.)

===Initial Consonant Mutation===
In Velyan, consonants at the beginning of words undergo a process of ''initial consonant mutation''', whereby an initial '''p''', '''t''', or '''k''' is mutated to its equivalent nasal consonant (respectively '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' under certain conditions. Conversely, under the same conditions the consonants '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' mutate to the consonants '''p''', '''t''' or '''k'''. The conditions under which this happens are explained more fully in the section on Syntax.
===Consonant Gradation===
The phenomenon of ''consonant gradation'' arises due to a restriction in Vielan words, that prohibits a "strong" syllable from ending in a consonant. A '''strong syllable''' is a syllable that begins with a consonant and is preceded by another ending in (at least) one consonant. When this happens, the consonant or cluster at the beginning of the final syllable undergoes '''lenition''' or softening (although it can be historically explained as a process of '''fortition''' or hardening).

The following changes occur as a result of consonant gradation:
#Geminate phonemes change to simplex ones, e.g. ''tt'' -> ''t'', ''rr'' -> ''r'', ''ss'' -> ''s''.

The remaining changes only affect plosives and clusters containing plosives:
Clusters change as follows:
#Nasals:
##Nasal + voiceless plosive changes to geminate nasal, e.g. ''mp'' -> ''mm'', ''nt'' -> ''nn''
#Liquids:
##''lt'' -> ''ll
##''lp'' -> ''lv''
##''lkU'' -> ''lvU''
##''rkU'' -> ''rvU''
##''lkI'' -> ''lji''
##''rkI'' -> ''rji''
#Consonant clusters beginning with ''s'':
##''sp'' -> ''sv''
##''st'' -> ''*sr'' -> ''rs''
##''sk'' -> ''ss''
#Consonant clusters ending with ''s'':
##''ps'' -> ''*vs'' -> ''sv''
##''ts'' -> ''rs''
##''ks'' -> ''s''
#Simplex consonants
##''t'' -> ''r''
##''p'' -> ''v''
##''k'' -> Ø
##''iki'' -> ''iji''
##-UkU'' -> ''UvU''
##''v'' -> ''w''

==Transcription==
Below is a table of the IPA sounds of Velyan, with transcription.

{|
!IPA||Letter
|-
|{{IPA|a}}||a
|-
|{{IPA|æ}}||ä
|-
|{{IPA|e}}||e
|-
|{{IPA|h}}||h
|-
|{{IPA|i}}||i
|-
|{{IPA|j}}||j
|-
|{{IPA|k}}||k
|-
|{{IPA|l}}||l
|-
|{{IPA|m}}||m
|-
|{{IPA|n}}||n
|-
|{{IPA|ŋ}}||ŋ
|-
|{{IPA|o}}||o
|-
|{{IPA|ö}}||ö
|-
|{{IPA|p}}||p
|-
|{{IPA|q}}||q
|-
|{{IPA|ɾː}}||r
|-
|{{IPA|r}}||rr
|-
|{{IPA|s}}||s
|-
|{{IPA|ʃ}}||š
|-
|{{IPA|t}}||t
|-
|{{IPA|u}}||u
|-
|{{IPA|y}}||y
|-
|{{IPA|ʋ}}||v
|-
|}

Notes:
#Long vowels and geminate consonants are written double, e.g. ''aa'', ''kk''. Note that {{IPA|/ɾː/}} is the geminate counterpart of {{IPA|/r/}}.

==Morphology==
===Nouns===
Nouns are divided into '''noun classes''' and inflect for '''quality''', '''dimension''', '''age''', '''tense/aspect''', '''number''', '''case''', '''possessor''', '''destination''' and '''deixis'''. Suffixes (there are no prefixes or infixes in Vielan) are added to the noun, or (more often) to the '''oblique stem'''.
====Noun Classes====
There are several noun classes, reflecting the division of nouns into several semantic categories. The noun classes are added to a notional form of the noun known as the '''base'''. In some cases, the base of a noun ends in one of the letters '''l''', '''n''', '''r''', '''s''', or '''t''', and the noun is in Class IX, which has no suffix; in these cases the base form does surface.

The class suffixes are as follows:
{|
|Class||||Meaning||||Suffix
|-
|I||||Divine Female||||'''-tAri'''
|-
|II||||Divine Male||||'''-tAr'''
|-
|III||||Female Human||||'''-O'''
|-
|IV||||Masculine Human||||'''-A'''
|-
|VI||||Female Professional||||'''-jA'''
|-
|V||||Male Professional||||'''-ri'''
|-
|VII||||Animate (Non-Human)||||'''-e'''
|-
|VIII||||Inanimate I||||∅
|-
|IX||||Inanimate II||||'''-i'''
|-
|X||||Abstract||||'''-U'''
|-
|XI||||Small Place||||'''-lA'''
|-
|XII||||Large Place||||'''-mA'''
|-
|XIII||||Instrument||||'''-in'''
|}

====Stems====
====Number====
Number in Velyan distinguishes the following categories: general, singular (''"one"''), dual (''"two"''), paucal (''"more than two, upto about 10 or a dozen"''), plural (''"more than ten or a dozen"'') and collective (''"all"''). The general form of the noun is the form used when citing the noun in general contexts. as in the English equivalents ''The '''lion''' is a member of the cat family''. The number suffixes differ depending on whether the suffix is the last suffix on the noun, or is followed by a suffix beginning with a consonant or a vowel.

====Deixis====
In English, the demonstratives "this", "these", "that" and "those" are used to point out objects located in space or time. In Vielan, the demonstratives occur as prefixes on the noun, and, in addition, there is a three-way distinction as opposed to the two-way distinction of English (similar to Spanish ''esto, eso, aquel'' or the archaic "this, there, yon".

The suffixes are as follows:
<div style="text-align: left;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=50 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Demonstrative Suffixes
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
|-
|| || || Near || Medial || Far
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| || || '''-ŋi''' || '''-ði''' || '''-mi'''
|-
|}
</div>

These forms are clearly related to the possessive suffixes (below).

====Possession====
Nouns take suffixes to show possession.

===Verbs===
Verbs are divided into two groups: the transitive conjugation and the intransitive conjugation. Verbs in the intransitive conjugation inflect for person, class/gender and number of the patient; gender and number of the addressee; tense; aspect; voice; mood and verbal number. Verbs in the transitive conjugation also inflect for person, class/gender and number of the agent, indirect object and beneficiary. There are also evidential suffixes and non-finite forms, comprising infinitives, participles, and gerunds.

====Tense====
There are four tenses: present, past, remote past and future.

=====Compound Tenses=====
There are compound tenses formed from the past participles of verbs in all moods plus the appropriate tense of the verbs '''ralta''' (an old verb meaning ''"to have"'') for verbs of the transitive conjugation, or '''halka''' (the full form of the existential verb which now survives as a suffix on nouns) for verbs of the intransitive conjugation.

====Aspect====
There are seven aspects: aorist, imperfect, perfective, continuative, inchoative, habitative, and conclusive.

====Voice====
There are five voices: active, passive, antipassive, medial and reciprocal.

====Mood====
There are eight moods, comprising the indicative, the imperative, the hortative, the optative, the desiderative, the necessitative, the obligative, and the similitive,

====Infinitives====
There are infinitival (non-personal) forms for all tenses and aspects except the imperative.

===Numbers===
The numbers from 1 to 20 are:

'''hanki''' ''1''
'''rotpi''' ''2''
'''työtki''' ''3''
'''papsi''' ''4''
'''vuusi''' ''5''
'''kauvi''' ''6''
'''kirpi''' ''7''
'''lyylli''' ''8''
'''saunni''' ''9''
'''muupi''' ''10''
'''hankimuupi''' ''11''
'''rotpimuupi''' ''12''
'''työtkimyypi''' ''13''
'''papsimuupi''' ''14''
'''vuusimuupi''' ''15''
'''kauvimuupi''' ''16''
'''kirpimuupi''' ''17''
'''lyyllimyypi''' ''18''
'''vappi''' ''20''

Velyan

2009-01-01T12:59:44Z

Twenex:

Velyan is one of the two main [[Wikipedia:Classical_language|classical languages]] of the continent Pellargos, on the planet Máa. Máa is an alternate Earth planet.

==Phonology==
===Vowels===

There are 12 vowels, each of which can be short or long.

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=11 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Vowels
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Front ||colspan=2| Near-front ||colspan=2| Central ||colspan=2| Near-back ||colspan=2| Back
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High || {{IPA|i}} || {{IPA|y}} || || || || || || || || {{IPA|u}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-high || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High-mid || || || {{IPA|e}} || {{IPA|ø}} || || || || || || {{IPA|o}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Mid || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low-mid || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-low || || || {{IPA|æ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low || || || || || {{IPA|a}}
|}

</div>

=== Consonants ===

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=17 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Consonants
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Bilabial ||colspan=2| Labiod. ||colspan=2| Dental ||colspan=2| Alveolar ||colspan=2| Post-alv. ||colspan=2| Palatal ||colspan=2| Velar ||colspan=2|Uvular ||colspan=2| Glottal
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Nasal || || {{IPA|m}} || || || || {{IPA|n}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|ŋ}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Plosive || {{IPA|p}} || || || || || {{IPA|t}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|k}} || || {{IPA|q}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Fricative || || || || || || {{IPA|s}} || {{IPA|ʃ}} || || || || || ({{IPA|x}}) || {{IPA|h}} || || {{IPA|χ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Approximant || {{IPA|ʋ}} || || || || || || || || || || || {{IPA|j}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Trill || || || || || || || || {{IPA|rː}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Flap || || || || || || || || {{IPA|ɾ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Lateral Approximant || || || || || || || || {{IPA|l}} || || || ||
|-
|}
</div>

===Tone===
Velyan has
===Vowel harmony===
Velyan phonotactics restrict the vowels that can appear in any one word to a subset of the entire inventory. Vowels are divided into three groups: front vowels (ä, ö, ü), back vowels (a, o, u) and neutral vowels (e, i). All vowels in a word must be either front vowels, or back vowels, but not both (though neutral vowels can appear in words with either front or back vowels.)

===Initial Consonant Mutation===
In Velyan, consonants at the beginning of words undergo a process of ''initial consonant mutation''', whereby an initial '''p''', '''t''', or '''k''' is mutated to its equivalent nasal consonant (respectively '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' under certain conditions. Conversely, under the same conditions the consonants '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' mutate to the consonants '''p''', '''t''' or '''k'''. The conditions under which this happens are explained more fully in the section on Syntax.
===Consonant Gradation===
The phenomenon of ''consonant gradation'' arises due to a restriction in Vielan words, that prohibits a "strong" syllable from ending in a consonant. A '''strong syllable''' is a syllable that begins with a consonant and is preceded by another ending in (at least) one consonant. When this happens, the consonant or cluster at the beginning of the final syllable undergoes '''lenition''' or softening (although it can be historically explained as a process of '''fortition''' or hardening).

The following changes occur as a result of consonant gradation:
#Geminate phonemes change to simplex ones, e.g. ''tt'' -> ''t'', ''rr'' -> ''r'', ''ss'' -> ''s''.

The remaining changes only affect plosives and clusters containing plosives:
Clusters change as follows:
#Nasals:
##Nasal + voiceless plosive changes to geminate nasal, e.g. ''mp'' -> ''mm'', ''nt'' -> ''nn''
#Liquids:
##''lt'' -> ''ll
##''lp'' -> ''lv''
##''lkU'' -> ''lvU''
##''rkU'' -> ''rvU''
##''lkI'' -> ''lji''
##''rkI'' -> ''rji''
#Consonant clusters beginning with ''s'':
##''sp'' -> ''sv''
##''st'' -> ''*sr'' -> ''rs''
##''sk'' -> ''ss''
#Consonant clusters ending with ''s'':
##''ps'' -> ''*vs'' -> ''sv''
##''ts'' -> ''rs''
##''ks'' -> ''s''
#Simplex consonants
##''t'' -> ''r''
##''p'' -> ''v''
##''k'' -> Ø
##''iki'' -> ''iji''
##-UkU'' -> ''UvU''
##''v'' -> ''w''

==Transcription==
Below is a table of the IPA sounds of Velyan, with transcription.

{|
!IPA||Letter
|-
|{{IPA|a}}||a
|-
|{{IPA|æ}}||ä
|-
|{{IPA|e}}||e
|-
|{{IPA|h}}||h
|-
|{{IPA|i}}||i
|-
|{{IPA|j}}||j
|-
|{{IPA|k}}||k
|-
|{{IPA|l}}||l
|-
|{{IPA|m}}||m
|-
|{{IPA|n}}||n
|-
|{{IPA|ŋ}}||ŋ
|-
|{{IPA|o}}||o
|-
|{{IPA|ö}}||ö
|-
|{{IPA|p}}||p
|-
|{{IPA|q}}||q
|-
|{{IPA|ɾː}}||r
|-
|{{IPA|r}}||rr
|-
|{{IPA|s}}||s
|-
|{{IPA|ʃ}}||š
|-
|{{IPA|t}}||t
|-
|{{IPA|u}}||u
|-
|{{IPA|y}}||y
|-
|{{IPA|ʋ}}||v
|-
|}

Notes:
#Long vowels and geminate consonants are written double, e.g. ''aa'', ''kk''. Note that {{IPA|/ɾː/}} is the geminate counterpart of {{IPA|/r/}}.

==Morphology==
===Nouns===
Nouns are divided into '''noun classes''' and inflect for '''quality''', '''dimension''', '''age''', '''tense/aspect''', '''number''', '''case''', '''possessor''', '''destination''' and '''deixis'''. Suffixes (there are no prefixes or infixes in Vielan) are added to the noun, or (more often) to the '''oblique stem'''.
====Noun Classes====
There are several noun classes, reflecting the division of nouns into several semantic categories. The noun classes are added to a notional form of the noun known as the '''base'''. In some cases, the base of a noun ends in one of the letters '''l''', '''n''', '''r''', '''s''', or '''t''', and the noun is in Class IX, which has no suffix; in these cases the base form does surface.

The class suffixes are as follows:
{|
|Class||||Meaning||||Suffix
|-
|I||||Divine Female||||'''-tAri'''
|-
|II||||Divine Male||||'''-tAr'''
|-
|III||||Female Human||||'''-O'''
|-
|IV||||Masculine Human||||'''-A'''
|-
|VI||||Female Professional||||'''-jA'''
|-
|V||||Male Professional||||'''-ri'''
|-
|VII||||Animate (Non-Human)||||'''-e'''
|-
|VIII||||Inanimate I||||∅
|-
|IX||||Inanimate II||||'''-i'''
|-
|X||||Abstract||||'''-U'''
|-
|XI||||Small Place||||'''-lA'''
|-
|XII||||Large Place||||'''-mA'''
|-
|XIII||||Instrument||||'''-in'''
|}

====Stems====
====Number====
Number in Velyan distinguishes the following categories: general, singular (''"one"''), dual (''"two"''), paucal (''"more than two, upto about 10 or a dozen"''), plural (''"more than ten or a dozen"'') and collective (''"all"''). The general form of the noun is the form used when citing the noun in general contexts. as in the English equivalents ''The '''lion''' is a member of the cat family''. The number suffixes differ depending on whether the suffix is the last suffix on the noun, or is followed by a suffix beginning with a consonant or a vowel.

====Deixis====
In English, the demonstratives "this", "these", "that" and "those" are used to point out objects located in space or time. In Vielan, the demonstratives occur as prefixes on the noun, and, in addition, there is a three-way distinction as opposed to the two-way distinction of English (similar to Spanish ''esto, eso, aquel'' or the archaic "this, there, yon".

The suffixes are as follows:
<div style="text-align: left;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=50 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Demonstrative Suffixes
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
|-
|| || || Near || Medial || Far
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| || || '''-ŋi''' || '''-ði''' || '''-mi'''
|-
|}
</div>

These forms are clearly related to the possessive suffixes (below).

====Possession====
Nouns take suffixes to show possession.

===Verbs===
Verbs are divided into two groups: the transitive conjugation and the intransitive conjugation. Verbs in the intransitive conjugation inflect for person, class/gender and number of the patient; gender and number of the addressee; tense; aspect; voice; mood and verbal number. Verbs in the transitive conjugation also inflect for person, class/gender and number of the agent, indirect object and beneficiary. There are also evidential suffixes and non-finite forms, comprising infinitives, participles, and gerunds.

====Tense====
There are four tenses: present, past, remote past and future.

=====Compound Tenses=====
There are compound tenses formed from the past participles of verbs in all moods plus the appropriate tense of the verbs '''ralta''' (an old verb meaning ''"to have"'') for verbs of the transitive conjugation, or '''halka''' (the full form of the existential verb which now survives as a suffix on nouns) for verbs of the intransitive conjugation.

====Aspect====
There are seven aspects: aorist, imperfect, perfective, continuative, inchoative, habitative, and conclusive.

====Voice====
There are five voices: active, passive, antipassive, medial and reciprocal.

====Mood====
There are eight moods, comprising the indicative, the imperative, the hortative, the optative, the desiderative, the necessitative, the obligative, and the similitive,

====Infinitives====
There are infinitival (non-personal) forms for all tenses and aspects except the imperative.

===Numbers===
The numbers from 1 to 20 are:

'''hanki''' ''1''
'''rotpi''' ''2''
'''työtki''' ''3''
'''papsi''' ''4''
'''vuusi''' ''5''
'''kauvi''' ''6''
'''kirpi''' ''7''
'''lyylli''' ''8''
'''saunni''' ''9''
'''muupi''' ''10''
'''hankimuupi''' ''11''
'''rotpimuupi''' ''12''
'''työtkimyypi''' ''13''
'''papsimuupi''' ''14''
'''vuusimuupi''' ''15''
'''kauvimuupi''' ''16''
'''kirpimuupi''' ''17''
'''lyyllimyypi''' ''18''
'''vappi''' ''20''

Velyan

2009-01-01T01:44:37Z

Twenex: /* =Compound Tenses */

Vielan is one of the two main [[Wikipedia:Classical_language|classical languages]] of the continent Pellargos, on the planet Máa. Máa is an alternate Earth planet.

==Phonology==
===Vowels===

There are 12 vowels, each of which can be short or long.

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=11 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Vowels
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Front ||colspan=2| Near-front ||colspan=2| Central ||colspan=2| Near-back ||colspan=2| Back
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High || {{IPA|i}} || {{IPA|y}} || || || || || || || || {{IPA|u}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-high || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High-mid || || || {{IPA|e}} || {{IPA|ø}} || || || || || || {{IPA|o}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Mid || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low-mid || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-low || || || {{IPA|æ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low || || || || || {{IPA|a}}
|}

</div>

=== Consonants ===

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=17 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Consonants
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Bilabial ||colspan=2| Labiod. ||colspan=2| Dental ||colspan=2| Alveolar ||colspan=2| Post-alv. ||colspan=2| Palatal ||colspan=2| Velar ||colspan=2|Uvular ||colspan=2| Glottal
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Nasal || || {{IPA|m}} || || || || {{IPA|n}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|ŋ}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Plosive || {{IPA|p}} || || || || || {{IPA|t}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|k}} || || {{IPA|q}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Fricative || || || || || || {{IPA|s}} || {{IPA|ʃ}} || || || || || ({{IPA|x}}) || {{IPA|h}} || || {{IPA|χ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Approximant || {{IPA|ʋ}} || || || || || || || || || || || {{IPA|j}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Trill || || || || || || || || {{IPA|rː}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Flap || || || || || || || || {{IPA|ɾ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Lateral Approximant || || || || || || || || {{IPA|l}} || || || ||
|-
|}
</div>

===Vowel harmony===
Vielan phonotactics restrict the vowels that can appear in any one word to a subset of the entire inventory. Vowels are divided into three groups: front vowels (ä, ö, ü), back vowels (a, o, u) and neutral vowels (e, i). All vowels in a word must be either front vowels, or back vowels, but not both (though neutral vowels can appear in words with either front or back vowels.)

===Initial Consonant Mutation===
In Vielan, consonants at the beginning of words undergo a process of ''initial consonant mutation''', whereby an initial '''p''', '''t''', or '''k''' is mutated to its equivalent nasal consonant (respectively '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' under certain conditions. Conversely, under the same conditions the consonants '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' mutate to the consonants '''p''', '''t''' or '''k'''. The conditions under which this happens are explained more fully in the section on Syntax.
===Consonant Gradation===
The phenomenon of ''consonant gradation'' arises due to a restriction in Vielan words, that prohibits a "strong" syllable from ending in a consonant. A '''strong syllable''' is a syllable that begins with a consonant and is preceded by another ending in (at least) one consonant. When this happens, the consonant or cluster at the beginning of the final syllable undergoes '''lenition''' or softening (although it can be historically explained as a process of '''fortition''' or hardening).

The following changes occur as a result of consonant gradation:
#Geminate phonemes change to simplex ones, e.g. ''tt'' -> ''t'', ''rr'' -> ''r'', ''ss'' -> ''s''.

The remaining changes only affect plosives and clusters containing plosives:
Clusters change as follows:
#Nasals:
##Nasal + voiceless plosive changes to geminate nasal, e.g. ''mp'' -> ''mm'', ''nt'' -> ''nn''
#Liquids:
##''lt'' -> ''ll
##''lp'' -> ''lv''
##''lkU'' -> ''lvU''
##''rkU'' -> ''rvU''
##''lkI'' -> ''lji''
##''rkI'' -> ''rji''
#Consonant clusters beginning with ''s'':
##''sp'' -> ''sv''
##''st'' -> ''*sr'' -> ''rs''
##''sk'' -> ''ss''
#Consonant clusters ending with ''s'':
##''ps'' -> ''*vs'' -> ''sv''
##''ts'' -> ''rs''
##''ks'' -> ''s''
#Simplex consonants
##''t'' -> ''r''
##''p'' -> ''v''
##''k'' -> Ø
##''iki'' -> ''iji''
##-UkU'' -> ''UvU''
##''v'' -> ''w''

==Transcription==
Below is a table of the IPA sounds of Vielan, with transcription.

{|
!IPA||Letter
|-
|{{IPA|a}}||a
|-
|{{IPA|æ}}||ä
|-
|{{IPA|e}}||e
|-
|{{IPA|h}}||h
|-
|{{IPA|i}}||i
|-
|{{IPA|j}}||j
|-
|{{IPA|k}}||k
|-
|{{IPA|l}}||l
|-
|{{IPA|m}}||m
|-
|{{IPA|n}}||n
|-
|{{IPA|ŋ}}||ŋ
|-
|{{IPA|o}}||o
|-
|{{IPA|ö}}||ö
|-
|{{IPA|p}}||p
|-
|{{IPA|q}}||q
|-
|{{IPA|ɾː}}||r
|-
|{{IPA|r}}||rr
|-
|{{IPA|s}}||s
|-
|{{IPA|ʃ}}||š
|-
|{{IPA|t}}||t
|-
|{{IPA|u}}||u
|-
|{{IPA|y}}||y
|-
|{{IPA|ʋ}}||v
|-
|}

Notes:
#Long vowels and geminate consonants are written double, e.g. ''aa'', ''kk''. Note that {{IPA|/ɾː/}} is the geminate counterpart of {{IPA|/r/}}.

==Morphology==
===Nouns===
Nouns in Vielan are divided into '''noun classes''' and inflect for '''quality''', '''dimension''', '''age''', '''tense/aspect''', '''number''', '''case''', '''possessor''', '''destination''' and '''deixis'''. Suffixes (there are no prefixes or infixes in Vielan) are added to the noun, or (more often) to the '''oblique stem'''.
====Noun Classes====
There are several noun classes in Vielan, reflecting the division of nouns into several semantic categories. The noun classes are added to a notional form of the noun known as the '''base'''. In some cases, the base of a noun ends in one of the letters '''l''', '''n''', '''r''', '''s''', or '''t''', and the noun is in Class IX, which has no suffix; in these cases the base form does surface.

The class suffixes are as follows:
{|
|Class||||Meaning||||Suffix
|-
|I||||Divine Female||||'''-tAri'''
|-
|II||||Divine Male||||'''-tAr'''
|-
|III||||Female Human||||'''-O'''
|-
|IV||||Masculine Human||||'''-A'''
|-
|VI||||Female Professional||||'''-jA'''
|-
|V||||Male Professional||||'''-ri'''
|-
|VII||||Animate (Non-Human)||||'''-e'''
|-
|VIII||||Inanimate I||||∅
|-
|IX||||Inanimate II||||'''-i'''
|-
|X||||Abstract||||'''-U'''
|-
|XI||||Small Place||||'''-lA'''
|-
|XII||||Large Place||||'''-mA'''
|-
|XIII||||Instrument||||'''-in'''
|}

====Stems====
====Number====
Number in Vielan distinguishes the following categories: general, singular (''"one"''), dual (''"two"''), paucal (''"more than two, upto about 10 or a dozen"''), plural (''"more than ten or a dozen"'') and collective (''"all"''). The general form of the noun is the form used when citing the noun in general contexts. as in the English equivalents ''The '''lion''' is a member of the cat family''. The number suffixes differ depending on whether the suffix is the last suffix on the noun, or is followed by a suffix beginning with a consonant or a vowel.

====Deixis====
In English, the demonstratives "this", "these", "that" and "those" are used to point out objects located in space or time. In Vielan, the demonstratives occur as prefixes on the noun, and, in addition, there is a three-way distinction as opposed to the two-way distinction of English (similar to Spanish ''esto, eso, aquel'' or the archaic "this, there, yon".

The suffixes are as follows:
<div style="text-align: left;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=50 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Demonstrative Suffixes
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
|-
|| || || Near || Medial || Far
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| || || '''-ŋi''' || '''-ði''' || '''-mi'''
|-
|}
</div>

These forms are clearly related to the possessive suffixes (below).

====Possession====
Nouns take suffixes to show possession.

===Verbs===
Verbs in Vielan are divided into two groups: the transitive conjugation and the intransitive conjugation. Verbs in the intransitive conjugation inflect for person, class/gender and number of the patient; gender and number of the addressee; tense; aspect; voice; mood and verbal number. Verbs in the transitive conjugation also inflect for person, class/gender and number of the agent, indirect object and beneficiary. There are also evidential suffixes and non-finite forms, comprising infinitives, participles, and gerunds.

====Tense====
There are four tenses: present, past, remote past and future.

=====Compound Tenses=====
There are compound tenses formed from the past participles of verbs in all moods plus the appropriate tense of the verbs '''ralta''' (an old verb meaning ''"to have"'') for verbs of the transitive conjugation, or '''halka''' (the full form of the existential verb which now survives as a suffix on nouns) for verbs of the intransitive conjugation.

====Aspect====
There are seven aspects: aorist, imperfect, perfective, continuative, inchoative, habitative, and conclusive.

====Voice====
There are five voices: active, passive, antipassive, medial and reciprocal.

====Mood====
There are eight moods, comprising the indicative, the imperative, the hortative, the optative, the desiderative, the necessitative, the obligative, and the similitive,

====Infinitives====
There are infinitival (non-personal) forms for all tenses and aspects except the imperative.

===Numbers===
The numbers from 1 to 20 are:

'''hanki''' ''1''
'''rotpi''' ''2''
'''työtki''' ''3''
'''papsi''' ''4''
'''vuusi''' ''5''
'''kauvi''' ''6''
'''kirpi''' ''7''
'''lyylli''' ''8''
'''saunni''' ''9''
'''muupi''' ''10''
'''hankimuupi''' ''11''
'''rotpimuupi''' ''12''
'''työtkimyypi''' ''13''
'''papsimuupi''' ''14''
'''vuusimuupi''' ''15''
'''kauvimuupi''' ''16''
'''kirpimuupi''' ''17''
'''lyyllimyypi''' ''18''
'''vappi''' ''20''

Velyan

2009-01-01T01:44:12Z

Twenex: /* =Infinitives */

Vielan is one of the two main [[Wikipedia:Classical_language|classical languages]] of the continent Pellargos, on the planet Máa. Máa is an alternate Earth planet.

==Phonology==
===Vowels===

There are 12 vowels, each of which can be short or long.

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=11 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Vowels
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Front ||colspan=2| Near-front ||colspan=2| Central ||colspan=2| Near-back ||colspan=2| Back
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High || {{IPA|i}} || {{IPA|y}} || || || || || || || || {{IPA|u}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-high || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High-mid || || || {{IPA|e}} || {{IPA|ø}} || || || || || || {{IPA|o}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Mid || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low-mid || || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-low || || || {{IPA|æ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low || || || || || {{IPA|a}}
|}

</div>

=== Consonants ===

<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=17 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Consonants
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Bilabial ||colspan=2| Labiod. ||colspan=2| Dental ||colspan=2| Alveolar ||colspan=2| Post-alv. ||colspan=2| Palatal ||colspan=2| Velar ||colspan=2|Uvular ||colspan=2| Glottal
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Nasal || || {{IPA|m}} || || || || {{IPA|n}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|ŋ}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Plosive || {{IPA|p}} || || || || || {{IPA|t}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|k}} || || {{IPA|q}} ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Fricative || || || || || || {{IPA|s}} || {{IPA|ʃ}} || || || || || ({{IPA|x}}) || {{IPA|h}} || || {{IPA|χ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Approximant || {{IPA|ʋ}} || || || || || || || || || || || {{IPA|j}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Trill || || || || || || || || {{IPA|rː}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Flap || || || || || || || || {{IPA|ɾ}}
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Lateral Approximant || || || || || || || || {{IPA|l}} || || || ||
|-
|}
</div>

===Vowel harmony===
Vielan phonotactics restrict the vowels that can appear in any one word to a subset of the entire inventory. Vowels are divided into three groups: front vowels (ä, ö, ü), back vowels (a, o, u) and neutral vowels (e, i). All vowels in a word must be either front vowels, or back vowels, but not both (though neutral vowels can appear in words with either front or back vowels.)

===Initial Consonant Mutation===
In Vielan, consonants at the beginning of words undergo a process of ''initial consonant mutation''', whereby an initial '''p''', '''t''', or '''k''' is mutated to its equivalent nasal consonant (respectively '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' under certain conditions. Conversely, under the same conditions the consonants '''m''', '''n''' or '''ŋ''' mutate to the consonants '''p''', '''t''' or '''k'''. The conditions under which this happens are explained more fully in the section on Syntax.
===Consonant Gradation===
The phenomenon of ''consonant gradation'' arises due to a restriction in Vielan words, that prohibits a "strong" syllable from ending in a consonant. A '''strong syllable''' is a syllable that begins with a consonant and is preceded by another ending in (at least) one consonant. When this happens, the consonant or cluster at the beginning of the final syllable undergoes '''lenition''' or softening (although it can be historically explained as a process of '''fortition''' or hardening).

The following changes occur as a result of consonant gradation:
#Geminate phonemes change to simplex ones, e.g. ''tt'' -> ''t'', ''rr'' -> ''r'', ''ss'' -> ''s''.

The remaining changes only affect plosives and clusters containing plosives:
Clusters change as follows:
#Nasals:
##Nasal + voiceless plosive changes to geminate nasal, e.g. ''mp'' -> ''mm'', ''nt'' -> ''nn''
#Liquids:
##''lt'' -> ''ll
##''lp'' -> ''lv''
##''lkU'' -> ''lvU''
##''rkU'' -> ''rvU''
##''lkI'' -> ''lji''
##''rkI'' -> ''rji''
#Consonant clusters beginning with ''s'':
##''sp'' -> ''sv''
##''st'' -> ''*sr'' -> ''rs''
##''sk'' -> ''ss''
#Consonant clusters ending with ''s'':
##''ps'' -> ''*vs'' -> ''sv''
##''ts'' -> ''rs''
##''ks'' -> ''s''
#Simplex consonants
##''t'' -> ''r''
##''p'' -> ''v''
##''k'' -> Ø
##''iki'' -> ''iji''
##-UkU'' -> ''UvU''
##''v'' -> ''w''

==Transcription==
Below is a table of the IPA sounds of Vielan, with transcription.

{|
!IPA||Letter
|-
|{{IPA|a}}||a
|-
|{{IPA|æ}}||ä
|-
|{{IPA|e}}||e
|-
|{{IPA|h}}||h
|-
|{{IPA|i}}||i
|-
|{{IPA|j}}||j
|-
|{{IPA|k}}||k
|-
|{{IPA|l}}||l
|-
|{{IPA|m}}||m
|-
|{{IPA|n}}||n
|-
|{{IPA|ŋ}}||ŋ
|-
|{{IPA|o}}||o
|-
|{{IPA|ö}}||ö
|-
|{{IPA|p}}||p
|-
|{{IPA|q}}||q
|-
|{{IPA|ɾː}}||r
|-
|{{IPA|r}}||rr
|-
|{{IPA|s}}||s
|-
|{{IPA|ʃ}}||š
|-
|{{IPA|t}}||t
|-
|{{IPA|u}}||u
|-
|{{IPA|y}}||y
|-
|{{IPA|ʋ}}||v
|-
|}

Notes:
#Long vowels and geminate consonants are written double, e.g. ''aa'', ''kk''. Note that {{IPA|/ɾː/}} is the geminate counterpart of {{IPA|/r/}}.

==Morphology==
===Nouns===
Nouns in Vielan are divided into '''noun classes''' and inflect for '''quality''', '''dimension''', '''age''', '''tense/aspect''', '''number''', '''case''', '''possessor''', '''destination''' and '''deixis'''. Suffixes (there are no prefixes or infixes in Vielan) are added to the noun, or (more often) to the '''oblique stem'''.
====Noun Classes====
There are several noun classes in Vielan, reflecting the division of nouns into several semantic categories. The noun classes are added to a notional form of the noun known as the '''base'''. In some cases, the base of a noun ends in one of the letters '''l''', '''n''', '''r''', '''s''', or '''t''', and the noun is in Class IX, which has no suffix; in these cases the base form does surface.

The class suffixes are as follows:
{|
|Class||||Meaning||||Suffix
|-
|I||||Divine Female||||'''-tAri'''
|-
|II||||Divine Male||||'''-tAr'''
|-
|III||||Female Human||||'''-O'''
|-
|IV||||Masculine Human||||'''-A'''
|-
|VI||||Female Professional||||'''-jA'''
|-
|V||||Male Professional||||'''-ri'''
|-
|VII||||Animate (Non-Human)||||'''-e'''
|-
|VIII||||Inanimate I||||∅
|-
|IX||||Inanimate II||||'''-i'''
|-
|X||||Abstract||||'''-U'''
|-
|XI||||Small Place||||'''-lA'''
|-
|XII||||Large Place||||'''-mA'''
|-
|XIII||||Instrument||||'''-in'''
|}

====Stems====
====Number====
Number in Vielan distinguishes the following categories: general, singular (''"one"''), dual (''"two"''), paucal (''"more than two, upto about 10 or a dozen"''), plural (''"more than ten or a dozen"'') and collective (''"all"''). The general form of the noun is the form used when citing the noun in general contexts. as in the English equivalents ''The '''lion''' is a member of the cat family''. The number suffixes differ depending on whether the suffix is the last suffix on the noun, or is followed by a suffix beginning with a consonant or a vowel.

====Deixis====
In English, the demonstratives "this", "these", "that" and "those" are used to point out objects located in space or time. In Vielan, the demonstratives occur as prefixes on the noun, and, in addition, there is a three-way distinction as opposed to the two-way distinction of English (similar to Spanish ''esto, eso, aquel'' or the archaic "this, there, yon".

The suffixes are as follows:
<div style="text-align: left;">

{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=50 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Demonstrative Suffixes
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
|-
|| || || Near || Medial || Far
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| || || '''-ŋi''' || '''-ði''' || '''-mi'''
|-
|}
</div>

These forms are clearly related to the possessive suffixes (below).

====Possession====
Nouns take suffixes to show possession.

===Verbs===
Verbs in Vielan are divided into two groups: the transitive conjugation and the intransitive conjugation. Verbs in the intransitive conjugation inflect for person, class/gender and number of the patient; gender and number of the addressee; tense; aspect; voice; mood and verbal number. Verbs in the transitive conjugation also inflect for person, class/gender and number of the agent, indirect object and beneficiary. There are also evidential suffixes and non-finite forms, comprising infinitives, participles, and gerunds.

====Tense====
There are four tenses: present, past, remote past and future.

=====Compound Tenses====
There are compound tenses formed from the past participles of verbs in all moods plus the appropriate tense of the verbs '''ralta''' (an old verb meaning ''"to have"'') for verbs of the transitive conjugation, or '''halka''' (the full form of the existential verb which now survives as a suffix on nouns) for verbs of the intransitive conjugation.

====Aspect====
There are seven aspects: aorist, imperfect, perfective, continuative, inchoative, habitative, and conclusive.

====Voice====
There are five voices: active, passive, antipassive, medial and reciprocal.

====Mood====
There are eight moods, comprising the indicative, the imperative, the hortative, the optative, the desiderative, the necessitative, the obligative, and the similitive,

====Infinitives====
There are infinitival (non-personal) forms for all tenses and aspects except the imperative.

===Numbers===
The numbers from 1 to 20 are:

'''hanki''' ''1''
'''rotpi''' ''2''
'''työtki''' ''3''
'''papsi''' ''4''
'''vuusi''' ''5''
'''kauvi''' ''6''
'''kirpi''' ''7''
'''lyylli''' ''8''
'''saunni''' ''9''
'''muupi''' ''10''
'''hankimuupi''' ''11''
'''rotpimuupi''' ''12''
'''työtkimyypi''' ''13''
'''papsimuupi''' ''14''
'''vuusimuupi''' ''15''
'''kauvimuupi''' ''16''
'''kirpimuupi''' ''17''
'''lyyllimyypi''' ''18''
'''vappi''' ''20''