Waa: Difference between revisions

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|morph=analytic
|morph=analytic
|ms=neutral
|ms=ergative
|wo=SVO
|wo=VSO, OVS, SVO
|creator=[[User:Warakemau|Xing]]}}
|creator=[[User:Warakemau|Xing]]}}


'''Waa'''is a constructed language.
'''Waa''' is a constructed language. A large part of its vocabulary is derived from English, or a selection of other languages.


==Phonology==
==Phonology==
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   ! Alveolar
   ! Alveolar
   ! Palatal
   ! Palatal
   ! Velar
   ! Velar or glottal
   |-
   |-
   ! Voiceless stops
   ! Voiceless stops
   | p
   | p
   | t
   | t
   |
   |  
   | k
   | k
   |-
   |-
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   |
   |
   |  
   |  
  |-
  ! Voiceless fricatives
  |
  | s
  |
  | h
   |-
   |-
   ! Nasals
   ! Nasals
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   | ŋ
   | ŋ
   |-
   |-
   ! Taps/flaps/trills
   ! Trills
   |
   |
   | r~ɾ
   | r
   |
   |
   |
   |
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/j/ is written ''y'', and /ŋ/ ''g''. Otherwise, the phonemes follow their 'expected' spelling according to the IPA.
/j/ is written ''y'', and /ŋ/ ''g''. Otherwise, the phonemes follow their 'expected' spelling according to the IPA.


===Vowels===
===Vowels===
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   | colspan="2" | a~ɑ
   | colspan="2" | a~ɑ
   |}
   |}
 
Waa has essentially a five-vowel system. On a phonological level, all vowels could be analysed as short monophthongs. In connected speech, however, adjacent vowels may be realized as diphthongs on a phonetic level, and two identical vowels next to each other as a single, long vowel. Stress falls on the second-to-last mora, or second to last phonological vowel.
A word-final, unstressed '''u''' after a consonant may be devoiced or dropped after a consonant:
'''katu''' /ka.tu/ [kat] 'cat'
This especially happens when the '''u''' appears at the end of an utterance. It may also happen when the next word begins with certain consonants:
'''katu kou''' /ka.tu ko.u/ [kat kou]
The consonants may even assimilate in point of articulation: [kak:ou]


==Basic Phrases==
==Basic Phrases==
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'''katu witu''' - a/the white cat(s)
'''katu witu''' - a/the white cat(s)
cat white


'''huno maka''' - a/the large dog(s)
'''huno maka''' - a/the large dog(s)


dog large


==Pronouns==
==Pronouns==
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'''yu''' you (singular)
'''yu''' you (singular)


'''kia''' he, she, it  
'''te''' he, she, it
 
'''tenaa''' that one
 
'''tenei''' thisone


'''miera''' we
'''miera''' we
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'''yuera''' you (plural)
'''yuera''' you (plural)


'''kiaera''' or '''kiakia''' they
'''teera''' they
 
 
A pronoun placed right after a noun can serve as a possessive pronoun:


'''teeranaa''' those ones


'''katu mi''' - my cat
'''teeranei''' these ones


'''huno kia''' - her/his dog




Demonstrative pronouns are forms with the third person pronouns, together with the deictic adverbs '''nei''' 'here' and '''naa''' 'there'_


'''ei tiaoka''' - somebody (lit. 'one person')


'''kia nei''' - this one
'''ei mea''' - something (lit. 'one thing')


3s PROX
'''ei osa''' - some amount (lit. 'one part')
 
'''kia naa''' - that one
 
3s DIST
 
'''kiaera nei''' - these ones
 
3:PL PROX
 
'''kiaera naa''' - those ones
 
3:PL DIST
 
 
The pronouns '''sese''' can render a reflexive or reciprocal meaning:
 
 
'''Kia luku i sese''' - He looked at himself.
 
3s look DAT REFL
 
'''Kiaera luku i sese''' - They looked at themselves. Or: They looked at each other.
 
3:PL look DAT REFL
 
3:PL look DAT RECP




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The basic word-order is SVO, or just SV in intransitive clauses:
One basic - though not the only - word-order is S.V.O. - Subject - Verb - Object.
 


'''Katu sewa.''' The cat is sleeping


cat sleep
'''Katu e sewa.''' - The cat is sleeping. The cat will sleep.


cat NPST sleep


'''Mi kopa katu''' I'm buying the cat
'''Katu ta sewa.''' - The cat was sleeping.


1 buy cat
cat PST sleep


'''Katu ta itu muso.''' - The cat ate the mouse.


Adjectives can serve as predicates. There are optionally introduced by the copula '''nea'' 'to be':
cat PST eat mouse




'''Katu witu.''' Or: '''Katu nea witu''' - The cat is white.
==Embedded clauses==


cat white        cat be white


Relative clauses are introduced by '''ae''':


'''Nea''' can also introduce prepositional phrases as predicates:


'''Katu ae mi kopa.''' - The cat that I bought.


'''Katu nea i tebo.''' - The cat is on the table
cat that 1s buy


cat be LOC table
'''Katu ae bita kia.''' - The cat that bit her.




'''Nea''' is optional when it comes to nominal predicates:
Complement clauses are introduced by '''ge''':


'''Kia tiatisu.''' - He is a teacher.


3s person:teach
'''Mi ta siu ge kia kopa katu.''' - I saw that he bought the cat.


'''Kia nea tiatisu.''' - He is a teacher.
1s PST see that 3s buy cat


3s be person:teach
'''Mi wae ge kia kopa katu.''' - I want him to buy the cat.


1s want that 3s buy cat




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There are two main prepositions in Waa: the dative/locative '''i''', and the ablative/instrumental '''a'''. They can have a variety of meanings, depending on the context.
There are two basic, simple prepositions: '''a''' 'of', 'by', 'from', and '''i''' 'in', 'on', 'at', 'to'.




===The dative/locative===
'''katu a kia''' - his cat


cat GEN 3s


'''Katu ta kee a huso.''' - The cat came from the house.


cat PST come ABL hous


'''I''' can be used to indicate various form of (spatial) location, as well as goal, destination or recipient.  
'''Kia ta padedu katu a hama.''' - He killed the cat with the hammer.


3s PST kill cat INSTR hammer


'''katu i tebo''' - the cat on the table
'''Katu ta kou i rumohaya.''' - The cat went to the kitchen.


cat LOC table
cat PST go DAT kitchen


'''rumo i huso''' - the room(s) in the house
'''Kia ta ruko i yu.''' - She looked at you.


room LOC house
3s PST look DAT 2s


'''tebo i rumoitu''' - the table in the dining room
'''Katu e nea i tebo.''' - The cat is on the table.


table LOC room:eat
cat NPST be LOC table


'''Tebo nea i rumoitu.''' - The table is in the dining room.


table be LOC room:eat


'''Tuku meku i kapikulu.''' - Put the milk in the fridge.


put milk DAT box:cool


'''Kiwe buku i mi.''' - Give me the book.
These can be combined with locational and other nouns to indicate more precise relations.


give book DAT 1s


'''Kiaera kou i paiboa.''' - They went to the village


1:PL go DAT place:live


===The instrumental/ablative===


==Lexicon==




===Colours===


'''A''' can be used to indicate source, means, etc.


'''kara''' - colour


'''Kia kee a paiboa.''' - He came from the village.
'''raku''' - black


3s come ABL place:live
'''witu''' - white


'''Kia padedu katu a korokutu.''' - He killed the cat with a knife.
'''rei''' - grey


3 cause:dead cat INSTR tool:cut
'''beu''' - blue


'''rinu''' - green


'''A''' can be used to mark the standard in a comparison:
'''redu''' - red


'''yero''' - yellow


'''Huno nea maka a katu.''' - The dog is bigger than the cat.'
'''runo''' - brown


dog be big ABL cat


'''beuraku''' - dark blue, black-blue


'''beuwitu''' - light blue


===Numerals===


==Negations and questions==


'''ei''' - one


A clause is negated by '''ku''':
'''oa''' - two


'''kore''' - three


'''Katu ku sewa.''' - The cat is not sleeping
'''apa''' - four


cat NEG sleep
'''lima''' - five


'''sesu''' - six


A yes/no-question may be formed by rising intonation. To respond to a question, you use '''ye''' for agreement, and '''kuye''' or just '''ku''' for disagreement.
'''sewe''' - seven


'''eto''' - eight


'''Katu sewa?''' - Is the cat sleeping?
'''niu''' - nine


cat sleep
'''tega''' - ten


'''Ye. Katu sewa.''' - Yes. The cat is sleeping.
'''tegaei''' - eleven (ten one)


agree cat sleep
'''tegaoa''' - twelve (ten two)


'''Ku. Katu ku sewa.''' - No. The cat isn't sleeping.
etc.


NEG cat NEG sleep


'''Kuye. Katu ku sewa.'''


NEG:agree cat NEG sleep
'''oa tega''' - twenty (two ten)


'''Katu ku sewa?''' - Isn't the cat sleeping?
'''kore tega''' - thirty (three ten)


cat NEG sleep
etc.


'''Ye. Katu ku sewa.''' - No. The cat isn't sleeping.


agree cat NEG sleep


'''Ku. Katu sewa.''' - Yes. The cat is sleeping.
'''apa tegaei''' - forty-one (four ten one)


NEG cat sleep
'''apa tegaoa''' - forty-two (four ten two)


'''Kuye. Katu sewa.''' - Yes. The cat is sleeping.
etc.


NEG.agree cat sleep




'''(ei) huna''' - (one) hundred


'''Ku''' can also be used with adjectives or nouns:
'''(ei) tusa''' - (one) thousand


'''(ei) mirione''' - (one) million


'''ku bono''' - no good, not good
'''(ei) birione''' (one) billion (short scale, like English)


NEG good
'''(ei) tirione''' (one) trillion


'''ku katu''' - no cat(s)


NEG cat


'''ku mene''' - no one, nobody (lit. 'no person')
Cardinal numerals are placed before the noun:


NEG person
'''lima tiaoka''' - five people


==Adjectives==
'''sesu katu''' - six cats




Adjectives go after the words they modify:
Ordinal numerals are placed after the noun:


'''Katu miti''' - a/the small cat


cat small
'''katu kore''' - the third cat


'''Huno maka''' - a/the large dog
'''tiaoka oa''' - the second person


dog large


For 'first', You can use either the numeral '''ei''', or the special word '''mua''':


Adjectives as predicates are optionally introduced by the copula ''nea'':


'''kat ei''' - the first cat


'''Katu (nea) miti''' - The cat is small.
'''kat mua''' - the first cat


cat (be) small


Fractionals are formed with '''osa''' 'part' + numeral:


Note that katu miti may be ambiguous, it can mean either 'the small cat' or 'the cat is small'. Without the copula, one must often rely on context to determine the intended meaning.


'''osakore''' - (a) third


Another way to introduce adjective predicates is to us a demonstrative or a possessive pronoun:
'''ei osakore''' - one third


'''oa osakore''' - two thirds


'''Katu miti mi''' - my small cat  vs. '''Katu mi miti''' - My cat is small.
'''ei osatega''' - one tenth


cat small 1s
===Family===


'''Katu miti naa''' - that small cat vs. '''Katu naa miti''' - That cat is small.


cat small DEM.DIST
'''hami''' - family


'''hamiaka''' - extended family, kin


There are a couple of ways to form comparisons. One can mark the standard to which something is compared with ''a'':
'''aba''' - father, uncle


'''ama''' - mother, aunt


'''Katu nea miti a huno.''' - The cat is smaller than the dog. (Lit. 'The cat is small from the dog.')
'''bote''' - brother, male cousin
 
cat be small ABL dog
 
 
Another way is to use two adjacent clauses:
 
 
'''Katu nea miti huno nea maka.''' - The cat is smaller than the dog. (Lit. 'The cat is small the dog is  big.')
 
cat be small dog be large
 
 
To express that something is ''as (adj.) as ...'':
 
 
 
'''Katu nea maka huno.''' - The cat is as big as the dog.
 
cat be large dog
 
==Possession==
 
 
The possessor is placed after the possessum:
 
 
'''katu mi''' - my cat
 
cat 1s
 
'''huno ota''' - (the) father's dog
 
dog father
 
'''katu ota mi''' my father's cat
 
cat father 1s
 
 
===Predicative possession===
 
 
 
'''Katu naa nea katu mi.''' That cat is mine (Lit. 'That cat is my cat.')
 
cat that be cat 1s
 
'''Nea katu mi.''' I have a cat. ('There is a cat of mine')
 
be cat 1s
 
==Tense==
 
 
Tense is not obligatory. A simple clause might interpreted as past, present, or future, depending on the context.
 
 
'''Katu itu musu.''' - The cat ate the mouse, the cat is eating the mouse, the cat will eat the mouse etc.
 
cat eat mouse
 
'''Katu sewa.''' - The cat is sleeping, the cat has slept, etc.
 
cat sleep
 
 
Ways to indicate tense include explicit temporal adverbs:
 
 
'''Ina katu sewa.''' - Now the cat is sleeping.
 
now cat sleep
 
'''Katu sewa ina.''' - The cat is sleeping now.
 
cat sleep now
 
'''Deinei mi kopa katu.''' - Today I bought/will buy a cat.
 
day:this 1s buy cat
 
'''Deipasu mi kopa katu.''' - Yesterday I bought the cat.
 
day.past 1s buy cat
 
 
 
'''Pasu''' may be used to indicate past tense:
 
'''Katu pasu sewa.''' - The cat slept. the cat was sleeping, the cat has slept. ('the cat is past sleeping'
 
cat past sleep
 
'''Mi pasu kopa katu.''' - I bought a cat.
 
1s past buy cat
 
 
The verb/particle '''redi''' ('already, to be finished doing', 'to have done') may serve to indicate something like the perfect tense/aspect:
 
 
'''Mi redi kopa katu.''' - I have (already) bought a cat.'
 
1s already buy cat
 
'''Katu redi sewa.''' - The cat hasn't (yet) slept.
 
cat already sleep
 
'''Katu kuo redi sewa.''' - The cat hasn't slept.
 
cat NEG already sleep
 
 
The adverb '''taa''' 'then' may be placed before the predicate, in order to render a past tense meaning:
 
 
'''Mi taa kopa katu.''' - I bought a cat.
 
1s PST buy cat
 
'''Mi ku taa kopa katu''' - I didn't buy the cat.
 
1s NEG PST buy cat
 
==Relative clauses==
 
 
Relative clauses are introduced with the particle '''ae''':
 
 
 
'''Mane ae kopa katu.''' - The man that bought the cat.
 
man REL buy cat
 
'''Katu ae kia kopa.''' - The cat that he bought.
 
cat REL 3s buy
 
 
If the relativized noun is introduced by a preposition - '''i''' or '''a''' - it must be represented by a pronoun in the relative clause:
 
 
'''Korokutu ae kia padedu katu a kia. - The knife that he killed the cat with.
 
tool:cut REL 3s cause:dead cat INSTR 3s
 
'''Mane ae mi kiwe katu i kia.''' - The man that I gave the cat to.
 
man REL 1s give cat DAT 3s
 
 
Prepositional stranding is not allowed:
 
 
'''*Mane ae mi kiwe katu i.'''
 
man REL 1s give cat DAT


'''siso''' - sister, female cousin


==See also==


==The prefix ke-==
The prefix '''ke-''' has a couple of functions. It can be added to verbs, to form nouns indicating what would typically be the object (result or patient) of the event described by the verb:
'''ke''' + '''itu''' ('to eat') -> '''keitu''' - food
'''ke''' + '''rita''' ('to write') -> '''kerita''' - letter, (piece of) writing.
'''ke''' + '''rima''' ('to dream') -> '''kerima''' - dream
Sometimes it can serve as an adjective, indicating something like the passive participle in English:
'''ke''' + '''pana''' ('to fry') -> '''mitu kepana''' - fried meat
'''ke''' + '''paope''' ('to open') -> '''kapi kepaope''' - an opened box
Note that sometimes the bare form of the verb can be used with the same meaning:
'''mitu pana''' - fried meat
meat fry
This last phrase could theoretically be interpreted as a clause: 'The meat is frying (something)', though the semantics and context might render such an interpretation less likely.
It can be attached to adjectives to form abstract nouns:
'''ke''' + '''biu''' (beautiful, good-looking) -> '''kebiu''' - beauty (in the sense of an abstract quality, rather than 'a beautiful person', which would be '''tiabiu''' or '''tiaoka biu''')
==Passives==
The copula '''nea''' might be used to render a passive meaning. You can use either the bare form of the verb, or the participle beginning with '''ke-''':
'''Katu nea kopa.''' - The cat is/was/has been bought.
cat be buy
'''Katu nea kekopa.''' - The cat is/was/has been bought.
cat be PASS:buy
An optional agent may be introduced by the preposition '''a'''.
'''Katu nea (ke)kopa a mi.''' - The cat was bought by me.
cat be (PASS)buy INSTR 1s
==See also==


[[Waa-English dictionary]]
[[Waa-English dictionary]]

Latest revision as of 02:32, 9 May 2025





Leopardcivilflag.png
Waa
Pronounced: waː, wɑ:
Typology
Morphological type: analytic
Morphosyntactic alignment: ergative
Basic word order: VSO, OVS, SVO
Credits
Creator: Xing

Waa is a constructed language. A large part of its vocabulary is derived from English, or a selection of other languages.

Phonology

Consonants

Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar or glottal
Voiceless stops p t k
Voiced stops b d
Voiceless fricatives s h
Nasals m n ŋ
Trills r
Glides w j


/j/ is written y, and /ŋ/ g. Otherwise, the phonemes follow their 'expected' spelling according to the IPA.

Vowels

Front Back
Close i u
Mid e o
Open a~ɑ

Basic Phrases

There is no distinction between singular and plural, or between definite and indefinite forms, nor are there any other inflections of the noun.


katu - a cat, the cat, (some) cats, the cat,s etc.

huno - a dog, the dog, (some) dogs, the dogs, etc.


Adjectives and other modifying expressions follow the noun:


katu witu - a/the white cat(s)

cat white

huno maka - a/the large dog(s)

dog large

Pronouns

mi I

yu you (singular)

te he, she, it

tenaa that one

tenei thisone

miera we

yuera you (plural)

teera they

teeranaa those ones

teeranei these ones



ei tiaoka - somebody (lit. 'one person')

ei mea - something (lit. 'one thing')

ei osa - some amount (lit. 'one part')


Simple clauses

One basic - though not the only - word-order is S.V.O. - Subject - Verb - Object.


Katu e sewa. - The cat is sleeping. The cat will sleep.

cat NPST sleep

Katu ta sewa. - The cat was sleeping.

cat PST sleep

Katu ta itu muso. - The cat ate the mouse.

cat PST eat mouse


Embedded clauses

Relative clauses are introduced by ae:


Katu ae mi kopa. - The cat that I bought.

cat that 1s buy

Katu ae bita kia. - The cat that bit her.


Complement clauses are introduced by ge:


Mi ta siu ge kia kopa katu. - I saw that he bought the cat.

1s PST see that 3s buy cat

Mi wae ge kia kopa katu. - I want him to buy the cat.

1s want that 3s buy cat


Prepositions

There are two basic, simple prepositions: a 'of', 'by', 'from', and i 'in', 'on', 'at', 'to'.


katu a kia - his cat

cat GEN 3s

Katu ta kee a huso. - The cat came from the house.

cat PST come ABL hous

Kia ta padedu katu a hama. - He killed the cat with the hammer.

3s PST kill cat INSTR hammer

Katu ta kou i rumohaya. - The cat went to the kitchen.

cat PST go DAT kitchen

Kia ta ruko i yu. - She looked at you.

3s PST look DAT 2s

Katu e nea i tebo. - The cat is on the table.

cat NPST be LOC table



These can be combined with locational and other nouns to indicate more precise relations.



Lexicon

Colours

kara - colour

raku - black

witu - white

rei - grey

beu - blue

rinu - green

redu - red

yero - yellow

runo - brown


beuraku - dark blue, black-blue

beuwitu - light blue

Numerals

ei - one

oa - two

kore - three

apa - four

lima - five

sesu - six

sewe - seven

eto - eight

niu - nine

tega - ten

tegaei - eleven (ten one)

tegaoa - twelve (ten two)

etc.


oa tega - twenty (two ten)

kore tega - thirty (three ten)

etc.


apa tegaei - forty-one (four ten one)

apa tegaoa - forty-two (four ten two)

etc.


(ei) huna - (one) hundred

(ei) tusa - (one) thousand

(ei) mirione - (one) million

(ei) birione (one) billion (short scale, like English)

(ei) tirione (one) trillion


Cardinal numerals are placed before the noun:

lima tiaoka - five people

sesu katu - six cats


Ordinal numerals are placed after the noun:


katu kore - the third cat

tiaoka oa - the second person


For 'first', You can use either the numeral ei, or the special word mua:


kat ei - the first cat

kat mua - the first cat


Fractionals are formed with osa 'part' + numeral:


osakore - (a) third

ei osakore - one third

oa osakore - two thirds

ei osatega - one tenth

Family

hami - family

hamiaka - extended family, kin

aba - father, uncle

ama - mother, aunt

bote - brother, male cousin

siso - sister, female cousin

See also

Waa-English dictionary

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