Red Laqi language: Difference between revisions

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The '''{{PAGENAME}}''' (RL. ''Plyžlaqebze'') is the variety of Laqi speech most closely associated with the [[Republic_of_Inner_Benacia#Red_Laqs|Red Laqs]]. Red Laqs originate from the Laqi Homeland in the grasslands of Brookshire, but split off to migrate west as [[Ashkenatza]] fell to ruin.
The '''{{PAGENAME}}''' (RL. ''Plyžlaqebze'') is the variety of Laqi speech most closely associated with the [[Laqs|Red Laqs]]. Red Laqs originate from the Laqi Homeland in the highlands of Brookshire, but split off to migrate west as [[Ashkenatza]] fell to ruin.


==Phonology==
==Phonology==


{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
''Main Article: [[{{PAGENAME}}/Phonology|Phonology]]''  
|-
! rowspan=2 colspan=2 |
! colspan=2 | Labial
! colspan=2 | Alveolar
! colspan=2 | Postalveolar
! rowspan=2 | Alveolopalatal
! rowspan=2 | Retroflex
! colspan=2 | Velar
! colspan=2 | Uvular
! rowspan=2 | Pharyngeal
! colspan=2 | Glottal
|-
! style="font-size:85%" | plain
! style="font-size:85%" | lab.
! style="font-size:85%" | plain
! style="font-size:85%" | lab.
! style="font-size:85%" | plain
! style="font-size:85%" | lab.
! style="font-size:85%" | plain
! style="font-size:85%" | lab.
! style="font-size:85%" | plain
! style="font-size:85%" | lab.
! style="font-size:85%" | plain
! style="font-size:85%" | lab.
|-
! colspan=2 | Nasal
| colspan=2 | m
| colspan=2 | n
| colspan=2 |
|
|
| colspan=2 |
| colspan=2 |
|
| colspan=2 |
|-
! rowspan=3 | Plosive
! style="font-size:85%" | voiceless
| p
|
| t
|
|
|
|
|
|
| kʷ
| q
| qʷ
|
| ʔ
| ʔʷ
|-
! style="font-size:85%" | voiced
| b
|
| d
|
|
|
|
|
|
| gʷ
|
|
|
|
|
|-
! style="font-size:85%" | ejective
| p'
| pʷ'
| t'
| tʷ'
|
|
|
|
|
| kʷ'
|
|
|
|
|
|-
! rowspan=3 | Affricate
! style="font-size:85%" | voiceless
|
|
| t͡s
| t͡sʷ
| t͡ʃ
|
|
| t͡ʂ
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
! style="font-size:85%" | voiced
|
|
| d͡z
| d͡zʷ
| d͡ʒ
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
! style="font-size:85%" | ejective
|
|
| t͡s'
|
| t͡ʃ'
|
|
| t͡ʂ'
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
! rowspan=3 | Fricative
! style="font-size:85%" | voiceless
| f
|
| s
| ɬ
| ʃ
| ʃʷ
| ɕ
| ʂ
| x
| xʷ
| χ
| χʷ
| ħ
|
|
|-
! style="font-size:85%" | voiced
|
|
| z
| ɮ
| ʒ
| ʒʷ
| ʑ
| ʐ
| ɣ
|
| ʁ
| ʁʷ
|
|
|
|-
! style="font-size:85%" | ejective
|
|
|  
| ɬ'
| ʃ'
| ʃʷ'
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
! colspan=2 | Approximant
|
|
|
|
|
|
| j
|
|
| w
|
|
|
|
|
|-
! colspan=2 | Trill
|
|
| r
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|}
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
!
! Central
|-
! Close-mid
| ə
|-
! Open
| a aː
|}
 
==Orthography==


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
Line 399: Line 159:
| ''rezeġen'' "to become content"
| ''rezeġen'' "to become content"
|-
|-
! rowspan=5 | S
! rowspan=7 | S
! S s
! S s
| /s/
| /s/
Line 407: Line 167:
| /ʃ/
| /ʃ/
| ''śy'' "horse, brother"
| ''śy'' "horse, brother"
|-
! Ś' ś'
| /ʃ'/
| ''ś'yn'' "to do"
|-
|-
! Ś° ś°
! Ś° ś°
| /ʃʷ/
| /ʃʷ/
| ''ś°y-'' "you all (imperative plural marker)", ''ś°ece'' "black"
| ''ś°y-'' "you all (imperative plural marker)"
|-
! Ś°' ś°'
| /ʃ'ʷ/
| ''ś°'yc'e'' "black"
|-
|-
! Š š
! Š š
Line 445: Line 213:
| /χʷ/
| /χʷ/
| ''-x°y'' "male ___"
| ''-x°y'' "male ___"
|-
! colspan=2 | Y y
| /ə/
| ''zy'' "one"
|-
|-
! rowspan=5 | Z
! rowspan=5 | Z
Line 478: Line 250:


==Grammar==
==Grammar==
Laqi has a Subject-Object-Verb word order. Its morphosyntactic alignment is Ergative-Absolutive, meaning that the Subject of an intransitive verb is marked with an Absolutive case while the Subject of a transitive verb is marked with an Ergative case.


===Verbs===
===Verbs===


====Person====
''Main Article: [[{{PAGENAME}}/Verbs|Verbs]]''
 
=====Stative=====


Stative verb phrases indicate an unchanging condition. The subject of such a verb is in the Absolutive.
Laqi verbs are the most highly-inflected part of speech in the language, receiving both prefixes and suffixes to describe things like subject/object agreement, the direction of action, tense and mood, intentionality, and even the English equivalent to conjunctions and adverbs.


A noun can also be reinterpreted as a stative verb to form basic predicative statements.
These affixes bind to the verb according to a defined sequence according to their type:


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable" style="border: none;"
! Person
! Affix
|-
! 1s
| sy-
|-
! 2s
| uy-
|-
! 3s
| -
|-
! 1p
| ty-
|-
|-
! 2s
! colspan=8 | Prefix Complex
| ś°y-
| rowspan=2 style="text-align: center; font-size: 125%; width: 5em; border: none;" | '''+'''
! rowspan=2 | VERB STEM
| rowspan=2 style="text-align: center; font-size: 125%; width: 5em; border: none;" | '''+'''
! colspan=5 | Suffix Complex
|-
|-
! 3p
| {{color|green|Absolutive}}
| -yh
| Directional
| Applicatives
| Cislocative
| {{color|red|Indirect Object}}
| {{color|blue|Ergative}}
| Causative
| Negation
| Tense
| Mood
| Negation
| Epistemic
| Conjunctive
|}
|}


: '''''Cy'''šys.'' "I am sitting."
====Personal Agreement====
: ''Dzeł'y'''yh'''!'' "They are warriors!"
 
=====Monovalent=====


Monovalent verbs take a single argument, the subject. The subject of such a verb is in the Absolutive.
Laqi has two basic sets of markers to indicate personal agreement: Absolutive and Ergative-Oblique. Whether these endings mark the subject or the object depends on the greater context of the verb phrase. Person markers indicate three persons (1st, 2nd, 3rd), two numbers (singular, plural) as well as a reflexive.


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
! Person
!  
! Affix
! style="font-variant: small-caps;" | {{color|green|{{altText|Abs|Absolutive}}}}
| rowspan=7 |
! style="font-variant: small-caps;" | {{altText|{{color|blue|Erg}}-{{color|red|Obj}}|Ergative-Oblique}}
|-
|-
! 1s
! 1s
| se-
| sy- ~
| s- ~
|-
|-
! 2s
! 2s
| ue-
| uy- ~
| u- ~
|-
|-
! 3s
! 3s
| ma-
| 0- ~
| i- ~
|-
|-
! 1p
! 1p
| te-
| ty- ~
| t- ~
|-
|-
! 2s
! 2p
| ś°e-
| ś°y- ~
| ś°- ~
|-
|-
! 3p
! 3p
| ma- ~ -(e)h
| ~ -x
| a- ~
|}
|}


: ''Tyiuynać'e '''ma'''śhe'''h'''!'' "'''They''' are eating in our home!"
Ergative-Oblique affixes (and all consonant-ending prefixes) may have an epenthetic vowel, ''e'', added to cushion them from forming consonant clusters that violate phonotactic constraints.
 
:e.g.
:: ''qy'''s'''fad'' "(s)he is like me" versus ''qy'''se'''pły'' "(s)he looks at me"
 
=====Reflexive=====
 
When two or more arguments represent the same person(s), reflexive prefixes are used instead, under the following circumstances:
 
* Indirect Object matches Absolutive: {{color|red|Indirect Object = '''''ze'''-''}}
:: ''{{color|green|uy}}'''{{color|red|ze}}'''{{color|blue|s}}ġepły'' "I am making you look at yourself".
* Indirect Object matches Ergative: {{color|red|Indirect Object = '''''zy'''-''}}
:: ''{{color|green|uy}}'''{{color|red|zy}}'''{{color|blue|s}}ġepły'' "I am making you look at myself".
* Ergative matches Absolutive: {{color|green|Absolutive = '''''zy'''-''}}
:: '''''{{color|green|zy}}'''{{color|red|se}}{{color|blue|u}}ġepły'' "You are making yourself look at me".
* All three match: {{color|green|Absolutive = '''''zy'''-''}}, {{color|red|Indirect Object = '''''ze'''-''}}
:: '''''{{color|green|zy}}{{color|red|ze}}'''{{color|blue|u}}ġepły'' "You are making yourself look at yourself".
 
====Negation====
 
There are two methods available for negating a verb. One is with a prefix located immediately before the verb root, '''''my'''-'':
 
: ''Qyse'''my'''płyġe''. "(S)he did '''not''' look at me."
 
The second is with a suffix, located after tense and mood marking, ''-'''(e)p''''':
 
: ''Qysepłyġe'''p'''''. "(S)he did '''not''' look at me."
 
====Valency Patterns====
 
=====Stative=====
 
Laqi has a set of stative verbs, which indicate an unchanging condition for the subject. These stative verbs are formed out of augmented [[#Positional Prefixes|positional prefix]].
 
The subject is in the ''Absolutive Case'' and marked on the verb with ''Absolutive'' affixes, since the subject is taking no action and receives the verb's description.
 
: '''''Cy'''šys.'' "I am sitting."
 
A noun can also be reinterpreted as a stative verb in order to form basic predicative statements.


=====Bivalent=====
: ''Dzeł'y'''h'''!'' "They are warriors!"


Bivalent verbs take two arguments, the subject and the object. Red Laqi distinguishes between whether the action affects the subject or the object.
=====Monovalent=====


======Absolutive Bivalent======
Monovalent verbs take a single argument, the subject who is performing an action.


Bivalent intransitive verb. The subject is in the Absolutive. The Indirect Object is in the Ergative-Oblique. This indicates that the subject is affected by the action of the verb.
The subject is in the ''Absolutive Case'', since the subject's action affects itself. As a quirk in the language, the verb marks agreement in the Absolutive slot but with what appears to be a variant of the Ergative affixes.


{| class="wikitable"
: ''Se '''se'''śhe.'' "I eat."
|-
! rowspan=2 | {{color|blue|Subject}}
! colspan=7 | {{color|red|Object}}
|-
! {{color|red|1s}}
! {{color|red|2s}}
! {{color|red|3s}}
! {{color|red|1p}}
! {{color|red|2p}}
! {{color|red|3p}}
! {{color|red|ref}}
|-
! {{color|blue|1s}}
!
| -
| -
!
| -
| -
| -
|-
! {{color|blue|2s}}
| -
!
| -
| -
!
| -
| -
|-
! {{color|blue|3s}}
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
|-
! {{color|blue|1p}}
!
| -
| -
!
| -
| -
| -
|-
! {{color|blue|2p}}
| -
!
| -
| -
!
| -
| -
|-
! {{color|blue|3p}}
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
|}


======Ergative Bivalent======
3rd is uniquely marked with a ''ma-'' prefix (if the verb has no other prefixes), and the normal Absolutive ''-h'' suffix for the 3rd Plural


Bivalent transitive verb. The subject is in the Ergative-Oblique. The Direct Object is in the Absolutive. This indicates that the direct object is affected by the action of the verb.
: ''Tyiuynamć'e '''ma'''śhe'''h'''!'' "'''They''' eat in our home!"


{| class="wikitable"
====Infinitive/Gerund====
|-
! rowspan=2 | {{color|blue|Subject}}
! colspan=7 | {{color|red|Object}}
|-
! {{color|red|1s}}
! {{color|red|2s}}
! {{color|red|3s}}
! {{color|red|1p}}
! {{color|red|2p}}
! {{color|red|3p}}
! {{color|red|ref}}
|-
! {{color|blue|1s}}
!
| -
| -
!
| -
| -
| -
|-
! {{color|blue|2s}}
| -
!
| -
| -
!
| -
| -
|-
! {{color|blue|3s}}
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
|-
! {{color|blue|1p}}
!
| -
| -
!
| -
| -
| -
|-
! {{color|blue|2p}}
| -
!
| -
| -
!
| -
| -
|-
! {{color|blue|3p}}
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
|}


=====Trivalent=====
====Imperative====


Trivalent verbs take three arguments, the subject, the direct object, and the indirect object. Trivalent verbs are similarly distinguished between whether they are inherently transitive or intransitive. The trivalent person markers, however, are consistent between the two groups.
====Tense====


{| class="wikitable"
{| class=wikitable
! Person
! Affix
|-
|-
! 1s
! Time
| -
! Suffix
! Example
|-
|-
! 2s
| Distant Past
| -
| -ġaġe
| style="text-align:right" | ''g°yšy'e sthy'''ġaġe'''''<br />s-thy'''-ġaġe'''<br />"I had been writing a letter"
|-
|-
! 3s
! Simple Past
| -
| -ġe
| style="text-align:right" | ''g°yšy'e sthy'''ġe'''''<br />s-thy'''-ġe'''<br />"I wrote a letter"
|-
|-
! 1p
| Near Past
| -
| -štyġe
| style="text-align:right" | ''g°yšy'e sthy'''štyġe'''''<br />s-thy'''-štyġe'''<br />"I just wrote a letter"
|-
|-
! 2s
! Present
| -
| -
| style="text-align:right" | ''g°yšy'e sthy''<br />s-thy'''-'''<br />"I am writing a letter"
|-
|-
! 3p
! Future
| -
| -št
| style="text-align:right" | ''g°yšy'e sthy'''št'''''<br />s-thy'''-št'''<br />"I will write a letter"
|}
|}


===Nouns===
===Nouns===


====Cases====
''Main Article: [[{{PAGENAME}}/Nouns|Nouns]]''


{| class="wikitable" style="white-space: nowrap; text-align:center"
{| class="wikitable" style="white-space: nowrap; text-align:center"
!
!
! colspan=2 | Indefinite
! colspan=2 | Singular
! colspan=2 | Definite
! colspan=2 | Plural
!
|-
|-
! style="font-variant: small-caps;" | {{altText|Abs|Absolutive}}
! style="font-variant: small-caps;" |  
{{altText|Abs|Absolutive}}
| -
| -
| ''ŝ°yze''
| ''ŝ°yze''
| -he
| ''ŝ°yze'''he'''''
|-
! style="font-variant: small-caps;" |
{{altText|Abs|Absolutive}}
| -r
| -r
| ''ŝ°yze'''r'''''
| ''ŝ°yze'''r'''''
| "a/some woman"<br />"the woman"
| -her
| ''ŝ°yze'''her'''''
|-
|-
! style="font-variant: small-caps;" | {{altText|Erg-Obj|Ergative-Oblique}}
! style="font-variant: small-caps;" | {{altText|Erg-Obj|Ergative-Oblique}}
| -
| ''ŝ°yze''
| -m
| -m
| ''ŝ°yze'''m'''''
| ''ŝ°yze'''m'''''
| "a/some woman"<br />"the woman"
| -hem
| ''ŝ°yze'''hem'''''
|-
|-
! style="font-variant: small-caps;" | {{altText|Inst-Dir|Instrumental-Directional}}
! style="font-variant: small-caps;" | {{altText|Inst-Dir|Instrumental-Directional}}
| -ć'e
| -(m)ć'e
| ''ŝ°yze'''ć'e'''''
| ''ŝ°yze'''(m)ć'e'''''


| -mć'e
| -he(m)ć'e
| ''ŝ°yze'''mć'e'''''
| ''ŝ°yze'''he(m)ć'e'''''
| "with a/some woman"<br />"with the woman"
|-
|-
! style="font-variant: small-caps;" | {{altText|Adv|Adverbial}}
! style="font-variant: small-caps;" | {{altText|Adv|Adverbial}}
| colspan=2 | -u
| -u
| colspan=2 | ''ŝ°yze'''u'''''
| ''ŝ°yze'''u'''''
| "as a/the woman"
| -heu
| ''ŝ°yze'''heu'''''
|-
|-
! style="font-variant: small-caps;" | {{altText|Adj|Adjectival}}
! style="font-variant: small-caps;" | {{altText|Adj|Adjectival}}
| colspan=2 | _
| _
| colspan=2 | ''ŝ°yz'''_'''''
| ''ŝ°yz'''_'''''
| "womanly"
|}
|}
Case markers affix to the very end of the noun stem, after all other modifying suffixes have already been attached.
=====Absolutive=====
The '''Absolutive Case''' marks the subject of an intransitive verb or the direct object of a transitive verb.
======Subject of an Intransitive======
:: '''''ć'aler''' iedźap'em k°'aġe'' "'''The boy''' went to the school."
======Direct Object of a Transitive======
:: ''Pšylym '''syġ°enćedźeher''' ieġeqabze.'' "The slave cleans '''my trousers'''."
=====Ergative-Oblique=====
======Subject of a Transitive======
:: '''''Pšylym''' syġ°enćedźeher ieġeqabze.'' "'''The slave''' cleans my trousers."
======Indirect Object of an Intransitive======
======Possessive======
======Locative======
:: ''Ć'aler '''iedźap'em''' k°'aġe'' "The boy went '''to the school'''."
:: '''Ć'ale '''mezym''' šy'.''' "A boy is '''in the woods'''."
=====Instrumental-Directional=====
======Instrumental======
:: '''''Ś°'yc'eć'e''' depqer sele.'' "I paint the wall '''(in) black'''."
======Direction Towards/From======
=====Adverbial=====
======Profession or Role======
======Topic======
======Resulting State======
=====Adjectival=====
The '''Adjectival Case''' marks when a noun is being used as an adjective to directly modify the following noun.
:: ''ġ°yć'y'' "iron" &rarr; '''''ġ°yć'''' wate'' "'''iron''' hammer"
======Formation======
The Adjectival Case is notable in that it is marked not with an ending, but with a reduction of the noun stem. For multi-syllabic nouns, the end vowel is clipped:
:: ''plyžy'' "red" {{altText|(abs)|Absolutive}} &rarr; ''plyž'' "red" {{altText|(adj)|Adjectival}}
For mono-syllabic nouns, the end vowel is retained; for these nouns, the Adjectival has the same form as the indefinite Absolutive or Ergative-Oblique:
:: ''ł'y'' "man" {{altText|(abs)|Absolutive}} &rarr; ''ł'y'' "manly" {{altText|(adj)|Adjectival}}
This absence of clipping extends to compounds in which a monosyllabic noun comes last:
:: ''dzeł'y'' "fighter" {{altText|(abs)|Absolutive}} [< ''dze'' "army" + ''ł'y'' "man"] &rarr; ''dzeł'y'' "fighter" {{altText|(adj)|Adjectival}}


===Pronouns===
===Pronouns===
Line 885: Line 509:


====Demonstrative Pronouns====
====Demonstrative Pronouns====
====Possessive Pronouns====
Possession can be marked as a prefix on the possessed noun. Red Laqi distinguishes according to ''alienation''. An inalienated noun is one which cannot exist without belonging to someone, e.g. a hand is ''someone's'' hand, a mother is ''someone's'' mother, by default.
=====Inalienable Possessive=====
Inalienable possessive prefixes have two forms, for whether or not the ajoined word begins with a vowel or a consonant.
{| class="wikitable" style="white-space: nowrap;"
!
! Prefix
! Meaning
|-
! 1s
| s- / sy-
| "my"
|-
! 2s
| w- / wy-
| "your (s)"
|-
! 3s
| - / y-
| "his, her, its"
|-
! 1p
| t- / te-
| "our"
|-
! 2p
| ś°- / ś°e-
| "your (pl)"
|-
! 3p
| - / a-
| "their"
|}
=====Alienable Possessive=====
{| class="wikitable" style="white-space: nowrap;"
!
! Prefix
! Meaning
|-
! 1s
| syi-
| "my"
|-
! 2s
| wyi-
| "your (s)"
|-
! 3s
| iyi-
| "his, her, its"
|-
! 1p
| tyi-
| "our"
|-
! 2p
| ś°yi-
| "your (pl)"
|-
! 3p
| iai-
| "their"
|}


====Predicate Pronouns====
====Predicate Pronouns====


==Lexicon==
==Lexicon==
''Main Article: [[{{PAGENAME}}/Lexicon|Lexicon]]''


[[Category:Republic of Inner Benacia]]
[[Category:Republic of Inner Benacia]]
[[Category:Languages]]
[[Category:Laqs]]

Latest revision as of 17:52, 25 February 2021

The Red Laqi language (RL. Plyžlaqebze) is the variety of Laqi speech most closely associated with the Red Laqs. Red Laqs originate from the Laqi Homeland in the highlands of Brookshire, but split off to migrate west as Ashkenatza fell to ruin.

Phonology

Main Article: Phonology

Character Phoneme Examples
A a /aː/ aban "hole"
B b /b/ be "a lot (of)"
C C c /t͡s/ cage "rib", cy "body hair"
C° c° /t͡sʷ/ c°y "ox"
C' c' /t͡s'/ c'yfy "person"
Ć ć /t͡ʃ/ ćefy "cheerful, pleased"
Ć' ć' /t͡ʃ'/ ć'ymafe "winter", ćase "late", ćyg°e "land"
Ĉ ĉ /t͡ʂ/ ĉy'e "cold"
Ĉ' ĉ' /t͡ʂ'/ ĉyfe "debt"
D D d /d/ dedźe "bitter"
Dz dz /d͡z/ dzeue "bag", dze "combat, war"
Dz° dz° /d͡zʷ/ ḥandz°e "rick, 1.208 m3"
Dź dź /d͡ʒ/ dźane "dress, robe, shirt", łamydź "bridge"
E e /a/ 'eneẑ, neneẑ "grandmother"
F f /f/ fyžy "white"
G G g /ɣ/ gyć'yġ "laundry", ge "gonad"
G° g° /gʷ/ g°y "heart"
Ġ ġ /ʁ/ ġathe "spring", -ġe "-ity, -ness"
Ġ° ġ° /ʁʷ/ ġ°yneġ°y "neighbour"
H H h /x/ -he "-s (plural marker)"
Ḥ ḥ /ħ/ ḥe "dog"
I i /j/ iai "theirs", iat'e "dirt"
K K° k° /kʷ/ k°y "cart"
K°' k°' /kʷ'/ k°'akle "strong", -k°'e "-er"
L L l /ɮ/ ly "meat"
Ł ł /ɬ/ łaše "weak"
Ł' ł' /ɬ'/ ł'y "man"
M m /m/ maze "moon", mepy "sheep"
N n /n/ ne "eye", ny "mother"
P P p /p/ plyžy "red" paie "for, in order to"
P' p' /p'/ p'e "bed"
P°' /pʷ'/ p°'yr "apprentice"
Q Q q /q/ qek°'eḥyn "to stroll, roam" maq "voice"
Q° q° /qʷ/ q°yŝe "mountain", q°e "-son (patronymic)"
R r /r/ rezeġen "to become content"
S S s /s/ se "I, me", seśh°e "sabre"
Ś ś /ʃ/ śy "horse, brother"
Ś' ś' /ʃ'/ ś'yn "to do"
Ś° ś° /ʃʷ/ ś°y- "you all (imperative plural marker)"
Ś°' ś°' /ʃ'ʷ/ ś°'yc'e "black"
Š š /ɕ/ šy "three"
Ŝ ŝ /ʂ/ ŝe "hundred", ŝabe "soft, meek"
T T t /t/ te "we"
T' t' /t'/ nyt'e "yes"
T°' t°' /tʷ'/ t°'yrys "old"
U u /w/ uyben "to tamp, make smooth"
X X x /χ/ xyien "to move"
X° x° /χʷ/ -x°y "male ___"
Y y /ə/ zy "one"
Z Z z /z/ -bze "female ___, -speech"
Ź ź /ʒ/ bźyḥe "autumn"
Ź° ź° /ʒʷ/ ź°aġ°e "star"
Ž ž /ʑ/ žaua "shadow"
Ẑ ẑ /ʐ/ ẑy "old", ẑaẑe "slow"
' ' /ʔ/ 'e "hand"
'° /ʔʷ/ '°yćen "to meet"

Grammar

Laqi has a Subject-Object-Verb word order. Its morphosyntactic alignment is Ergative-Absolutive, meaning that the Subject of an intransitive verb is marked with an Absolutive case while the Subject of a transitive verb is marked with an Ergative case.

Verbs

Main Article: Verbs

Laqi verbs are the most highly-inflected part of speech in the language, receiving both prefixes and suffixes to describe things like subject/object agreement, the direction of action, tense and mood, intentionality, and even the English equivalent to conjunctions and adverbs.

These affixes bind to the verb according to a defined sequence according to their type:

Prefix Complex + VERB STEM + Suffix Complex
Absolutive Directional Applicatives Cislocative Indirect Object Ergative Causative Negation Tense Mood Negation Epistemic Conjunctive

Personal Agreement

Laqi has two basic sets of markers to indicate personal agreement: Absolutive and Ergative-Oblique. Whether these endings mark the subject or the object depends on the greater context of the verb phrase. Person markers indicate three persons (1st, 2nd, 3rd), two numbers (singular, plural) as well as a reflexive.

Abs Erg-Obj
1s sy- ~ s- ~
2s uy- ~ u- ~
3s 0- ~ i- ~
1p ty- ~ t- ~
2p ś°y- ~ ś°- ~
3p ~ -x a- ~

Ergative-Oblique affixes (and all consonant-ending prefixes) may have an epenthetic vowel, e, added to cushion them from forming consonant clusters that violate phonotactic constraints.

e.g.
qysfad "(s)he is like me" versus qysepły "(s)he looks at me"
Reflexive

When two or more arguments represent the same person(s), reflexive prefixes are used instead, under the following circumstances:

  • Indirect Object matches Absolutive: Indirect Object = ze-
uyzesġepły "I am making you look at yourself".
  • Indirect Object matches Ergative: Indirect Object = zy-
uyzysġepły "I am making you look at myself".
  • Ergative matches Absolutive: Absolutive = zy-
zyseuġepły "You are making yourself look at me".
  • All three match: Absolutive = zy-, Indirect Object = ze-
zyzeuġepły "You are making yourself look at yourself".

Negation

There are two methods available for negating a verb. One is with a prefix located immediately before the verb root, my-:

Qysemypłyġe. "(S)he did not look at me."

The second is with a suffix, located after tense and mood marking, -(e)p:

Qysepłyġep. "(S)he did not look at me."

Valency Patterns

Stative

Laqi has a set of stative verbs, which indicate an unchanging condition for the subject. These stative verbs are formed out of augmented positional prefix.

The subject is in the Absolutive Case and marked on the verb with Absolutive affixes, since the subject is taking no action and receives the verb's description.

Cyšys. "I am sitting."

A noun can also be reinterpreted as a stative verb in order to form basic predicative statements.

Dzeł'yh! "They are warriors!"
Monovalent

Monovalent verbs take a single argument, the subject who is performing an action.

The subject is in the Absolutive Case, since the subject's action affects itself. As a quirk in the language, the verb marks agreement in the Absolutive slot but with what appears to be a variant of the Ergative affixes.

Se seśhe. "I eat."

3rd is uniquely marked with a ma- prefix (if the verb has no other prefixes), and the normal Absolutive -h suffix for the 3rd Plural

Tyiuynamć'e maśheh! "They eat in our home!"

Infinitive/Gerund

Imperative

Tense

Time Suffix Example
Distant Past -ġaġe g°yšy'e sthyġaġe
s-thy-ġaġe
"I had been writing a letter"
Simple Past -ġe g°yšy'e sthyġe
s-thy-ġe
"I wrote a letter"
Near Past -štyġe g°yšy'e sthyštyġe
s-thy-štyġe
"I just wrote a letter"
Present - g°yšy'e sthy
s-thy-
"I am writing a letter"
Future -št g°yšy'e sthyšt
s-thy-št
"I will write a letter"

Nouns

Main Article: Nouns

Singular Plural

Abs

- ŝ°yze -he ŝ°yzehe

Abs

-r ŝ°yzer -her ŝ°yzeher
Erg-Obj -m ŝ°yzem -hem ŝ°yzehem
Inst-Dir -(m)ć'e ŝ°yze(m)ć'e -he(m)ć'e ŝ°yzehe(m)ć'e
Adv -u ŝ°yzeu -heu ŝ°yzeheu
Adj _ ŝ°yz_

Pronouns

Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns can be optional, due subject and object markings on finite verbs. On the other hand, their inclusion in sentences add redundancy and can be used for emphasis. The category of "personal" covers only First and Second Person as well as a Reflexive.

First Second Reflexive
Singular Abs se ue iež
Erg-Obj se ue iež
Inst-Dir serć'e uerć'e iežć'e
Adv sereu uereu iežeu
Plural Abs te ś°e iežher
Erg-Obj te ś°e iežhem
Inst-Dir terć'e ś°erć'e iežhamć'e
Adv tereu ś°ereu iežhereu

Demonstrative Pronouns

Predicate Pronouns

Lexicon

Main Article: Lexicon

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