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Stress falls on the penultimate syllable, or the ultimate syllable if it contains an accented vowel and the penultimate does not.
Most syntactical relations are indicated by word order and/or the use of monosyllablic particles.
Standard word order: V S O
modal/temporal particles (between V and S):
di might (possibility)
fu not (negation)
go did (perfect)
gó used to (imperfect)
ki ought (duty)
ne must (necessity)
γi (interrogation)
ta desires (intentional)
ti if (conditional)
prepositions or particles of case (between S and O):
fa toward
gle concerning
ha by means of
hra for the sake of
li of, belonging to (possessive)
mè because of
γró near, next to, by
pu from
si together with
sro against
té inside
plural marker (prefixed to other particles, sometimes omitted when context is clear): wò
Examples:
Hlemol go Tafarfah gle bisof. Tafarfah remembered the tree.
Mubrad γi so té plimóg? Are you eating at home?
Nrekus wòne kla hra nrotrèr. We need to make camp.
Conjunctions that introduce or join clauses:
be and
gu while, during the time that
hu or (exclusive)
jè therefore, and so
kró however, neverthless, but
me because
mle and then, next
mlò so that, in order that
pro before
sle after
Conjunctions that join noun phrases and adjectives:
je and
hro or (inclusive)
nru but not, instead of, rather than
1st kla
2nd so
3rd pé (persons only)
sa this (nearby person or thing)
sè that (distant person or thing)
se it (thing previously referred to)
Adjectives typically follow the noun they modify. In this environment, they are prefixed by a- or e-, the e- prefix being used when the noun ends with a dental. For some adjectives (not all), the e- prefix results in a softening of the adjective's initial consonant to a spirant.
nutor big
bisof anutor big tree
plaplòt enutor big river
tlòkan cold
plaplòt eslòkan cold river
Compounding is a common word-formation process. Typically the second element conveys the base meaning, and the first elements conveys purpose or association.
When both elements are disyllabic (the usual situation), the last syllable of the first element merges with the first syllable of the second element, according to these rules:
The adjacent consonants are dropped.
Basic vowels adjacent to dipthongs are dropped.
ei and oi become é and ó, respectively.
eu and ou become è and ò, respectively.
ai and au become é and ò, respectively.
If the second vowel is stressed, the first vowel is dropped. Otherwise the second vowel is dropped.
Examples:
berab-trónluγ (pig-meat, pork) > beraónluγ > berónluγ
mòpòt-bleféb (mother-sister, maternal aunt) > mòpòeféb > mòpòféb
jiheh-tragam (wise-want, curiosity) > jiheagam > jihagam
Personal names have the form consonant + gender vowel + root. The gender vowel is a for males and i or u for females. The initial consonant is the first letter of the root of the father's name. The roots of names are always active words in the language, not arbitrary of forgotten components.
Thus Taklokrok might have sons named Kawokak, Kaγenrél, and Kamèbuk, and daughters named Kusòsòn, Kimlurof, Kiplèglit. Kawokak's children might be Waklokrok (named for grandfather), Wanrekus, and Wumlabòr.
The particle dra before a noun or pronoun is used when the person indicated has power of the speaker (in terms of social rank). The particle mrè is used for those of lower rank.
In later periods of the language, the "verb softener" po is placed before the verb to indicate politeness, not with respect to the listener (except in second-person address), but toward the person being talked about.
Nrubel wògo kla té nutòmrin fa pamlòγ γró plufrar, be nrekus wògo kla hra notrèr. Suprid wògo téhan wòhra kla wògle plègit enutor, be kaγluk wògo kla hra kladab akèbrek. Nrekus wògo kla hra kihlot gle Jaγlokak.
We came long ago to the place by the lake, and we made a camp. The gods gave us large harvests, and we gave birth to many children. We made the city of Rising-Sun.
Early Tarnian:
Nasals were dropped initially before l, r.
ò and è were assimilated into u.
Initial γ becomes eγ.
é becomes aj.
Medial spirants become affricates: f becompes pf, s becomes ts, h becomes kh.
Examples:
plaplòt > plaplut
nrekus > rekus
nrotrèr > rotrur
bisof > bitsof
hlemol > hlemol
Early Thontoran:
é merges with i,
ó becomes aj.
e, a, and o in unstressed syllables become the neutral vowel /@/, written e.
h becomes th.
γ becomes n.
w becomes o, with the loss of a following vowel other than i.
sr and sl become ther and thel.
Examples:
plaplòt > pleplòt
nrekus > nrekus
nrotrèr > nretrèr
bisof > bisof
hlemol > th(e)lemel
Early Kendrathan:
é merges with e, ò with o.
All initial consonants are lost before l, r.
Before i and e, k becomes tj, g becomes dj, h becomes sj, and γ becomes nj.
Between vowels, h becomes g, f becomes b.
Final nasals are lost.
Examples:
plaplòt > laplot
nrekus > rekus
nrotrèr > nrotrèr
bisof > bisof
hlemol > lemol