Drikva Yakke
Drikva Yakke /ˈdrik.va ˈjak.ʃe/, or Modern Standard Imperial, is a standardized analytic language developed from an earlier creolized form of of various ancient languages, though it still retains a rather deep orthography from an earlier form. It is written in the Imperial Script (Kuggi Yakke /ˈkuɡ.ʒi ˈjak.ʃe/), which is an alphabet originally written vertically in syllable blocks, but is now most commonly written left-to-right in individual letters. The block-form letters are still commonly used similarly to how majuscule letters are used in Latinate scripts.
The Imperial Language is actually a snapshot of several languages over the course of several centuries. While the written language changed very little in that time, the spoken language changed significantly, and the word order and syntax became much more rigid. In a way, it is analogous to Latin, the Classical form of which would barely be understood by speakers of Vulgar Latin a few centuries later, but the word forms remained largely the same.
Phonology
Consonants
| Labial | Dental | Coronal | Palatal | Dorsal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stop | p · b | t · d | k · ɡ | ||
| Affricate | pf · bv | ts · dz | tʃ · dʒ | (kʃ) · (ɡʒ) | |
| Fricative | f · v | θ · ð | s · z | ʃ · ʒ | · h |
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | ||
| Lateral | l | (ɬ) · ɮ | |||
| Lateral Affricate | tɬ · dɮ | ||||
| Tap | ɾ | ||||
| Approximant | j |
Vowels
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| High | i · | · u |
| ɪ · | · ʊ | |
| Mid | e · | · o |
| ɛ · | · ɔ | |
| Mid | æ · | a · |
Diphthongs
There were no diphthongs in Old Imperial; The modern diphthongs are contractions of earlier bi-syllabic constructions. E.g. meu ‘I’ was pronounced as /ˈme.u/ rather than the modern /mew/.
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| Mid-High | ej | ew |
| Low-High | aj | aw |
Writing System(s)
Orthography & Romanization
| Hrz | Vrt | Rom | IPA | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a | a~ɑ | Like ⟨a⟩ in English father. | aggè ‘some’ | ||
| ae | aj | Like ⟨i⟩ in English wine. | blaesh ‘144’ | ||
| ao | aw | Like ⟨ow⟩ in English house. | lhao ‘above’ | ||
| à | æ | Like ⟨a⟩ in English bat. | pàn ‘child’ | ||
| b | b | Like ⟨b⟩ in English bot. | beblizh ‘pair of eyes’ | ||
| bb | bv | Like ⟨bv⟩ in English obvious. | rabba ‘to swim’ | ||
| bh | v | Like ⟨v⟩ in English very. Identical to ⟨v⟩, but from an earlier /bʰ/. | raebh ‘new’ | ||
| d | d | Like ⟨d⟩ in English day. | dehi ‘to do’ | ||
| dd | dz | Like ⟨dz⟩ in English adze. Identical to ⟨tz⟩, but from an earlier /dd/. | yadde ‘old’ | ||
| dh | ð | Like ⟨th⟩ in English this. (Never as in thin.) | kladha ‘9’ | ||
| dl | dɮ | Not an English sound. Identical to ⟨dlh⟩, but from an earlier /dl/. | dlaka ‘snake’ | ||
| dlh | dɮ | Not an English sound. The sound of ⟨d⟩ followed immediately by ⟨lh⟩. | dlhu ‘not’ | ||
| dzh | dʒ | Like ⟨j⟩ in English joke. | dzhote ‘young’ | ||
| e | e | Like ⟨e⟩ in Spanish vero. | etlh ‘4’ | ||
| ei | ej | Like ⟨ay⟩ in English day. | hei ‘you all’ | ||
| eu | ew | Like the ⟨e⟩ in egg followed immediately by ⟨w⟩. | meu ‘me’ | ||
| è | ɛ | Like ⟨e⟩ in English bet. | shviè ‘ice’ | ||
| f | f | Like ⟨f⟩ in English foot. Identical to ⟨ph⟩. | fortal ‘rope’ | ||
| g | ɡ | Like ⟨g⟩ in English get. (Never as in gel.) | gathka ‘to steal’ | ||
| gg | ɡʒ | A little like ⟨gg⟩ in English suggest. A ⟨g⟩ followed by a ⟨zh⟩ (see). | ngaggè ‘sometime’ | ||
| h | h | Like ⟨h⟩ in English have. | hati ‘to finish’ | ||
| i | i | Like ⟨i⟩ in English machine. | ilè ‘1’ | ||
| ie | jɛ | Like ⟨ye⟩ in English yet. | iel ‘other’ | ||
| iu | ju | Like ⟨you⟩ in English you. | dhiun ‘right side’ | ||
| ì | ɪ | Like ⟨i⟩ in English bit. | trìdla ‘why’ | ||
| k | k | Like ⟨k⟩ in English keep. | kashkì ‘very’ | ||
| kh | kʃ | Like ⟨ct⟩ in English action. Identical to ⟨kk⟩, but from earlier /kʰ/. | khìth ‘dirty’ | ||
| kk | kʃ | Like ⟨ct⟩ in English action. Identical to ⟨kh⟩, but from earlier /kk/. | ukka ‘6’ | ||
| l | l | Like ⟨l⟩ in English laugh. | lavani ‘year’ | ||
| lh | ɬ~ɮ | Not an English sound. Like ⟨ll⟩ in Welsh llygoden, but usually voiced. | lhat ‘tooth’ | ||
| m | m | Like ⟨m⟩ in English man. | mahe ‘house’ | ||
| n | n | Like ⟨n⟩ in English no. | nente ‘star’ | ||
| ng | ŋ | Like ⟨ng⟩ in English singer. (Never as in finger or ginger.) | ngun ‘whenever’ | ||
| o | o | Like ⟨oa⟩ in English boat. | tho ‘in front of’ | ||
| ò | ɔ | Like ⟨au⟩ in English caught. | òla ‘father’ | ||
| p | p | Like ⟨p⟩ in English put. | paen ‘large’ | ||
| ph | f | Like ⟨f⟩ in English foot. Identical to ⟨f⟩, but from earlier /pʰ/. | phamba ‘to fall’ | ||
| pp | pf | Not an English sound. Like ⟨pf⟩ in German Apfel. From earlier /pp/. | veppat ‘smoke’ | ||
| r | ɾ | Like ⟨r⟩ in Spanish pero; like ⟨t⟩ in (American) English water. | riggu ‘red’ | ||
| s | s | Like ⟨s⟩ in English soap. | sakha ‘to strike’ | ||
| sh | ʃ | Like ⟨sh⟩ in English shoe. | shukh ‘seed’ | ||
| t | t | Like ⟨t⟩ in English table. | tè ‘person’ | ||
| th | θ | Like ⟨th⟩ in English thing. (Never as in these.) From earlier /tʰ/. | thra ‘8’ | ||
| tl | tɬ | Not an English sound. Identical to ⟨tlh⟩, but from an earlier /tl/. | tlaste ‘distant’ | ||
| tlh | tɬ | Not an english sound. Like ⟨tl⟩ in Nahuatl coyotl. | tvetlh ‘16’ | ||
| ts | ts | Like ⟨ts⟩ in English cats. Identical to ⟨tt⟩. | yatsù ‘left side’ | ||
| tsh | tʃ | Like ⟨ch⟩ in English chair. | metsha ‘here’ | ||
| tt | ts | Like ⟨ts⟩ in English cats. Identical to ⟨ts⟩, but from earlier /tt/. | mittè ‘just, only’ | ||
| tz | dz | Like ⟨ds⟩ in English ads. Identical to ⟨dd⟩, but from an earlier /ts/ that became voiced. | atze ‘island’ | ||
| u | u | Like ⟨oo⟩ in English boot. | umè ‘2’ | ||
| ua | wɑ | Like ⟨wa⟩ in English want. | ruan ‘daughter’ | ||
| ue | we | Like ⟨we⟩ in English went. | guelh ‘brown’ | ||
| ui | wi | Like ⟨wee⟩ in English week. | kuis ‘grey’ | ||
| ù | ʊ | Like ⟨oo⟩ in English good. | phetùk ‘brother’ | ||
| v | v | Like ⟨v⟩ in English very. Identical to ⟨bh⟩, but from earlier /w/. | vae ‘for’ | ||
| y | j | Like ⟨y⟩ in English yes. | yagre ‘heavy’ | ||
| z | z | Like ⟨z⟩ in English zoo. | azokha ‘ash’ | ||
| zh | ʒ | Like ⟨si⟩ in English vision or ⟨g⟩ in French genre. | lezh ‘will be’ |
You will note that there are several combinations which appear to have identical pronunciation. This is due to sound changes during the creolization of the Imperial language which have created mergers. For example, the kh in thikhe [ˈθikʃe] ‘sharp’ and the kk in thrakku [ˈθɾakʃu] ‘like that’ are both pronounced like the ksh in thraksha [ˈθɾakʃa] ‘like this’. However, in Old Imperial, they were pronounced [ˈtʰikʰeː], [tʰrɑkˈkũ], and [tʰrɑkˈtʃɑ], respectively.
The Imperial Script (Kuggi Yakke)
Though this guide uses almost exclusively Romanization for describing the Imperial language, that Romanization (as described above) is derived directly from the Imperial “Alphabet” known as Kuggi Yakke (“Imperial Writing”). The Yakke script is arranged in “blocks” of syllables consisting of (minimally) a single vowel, and may contain various types on onsets and codas, each syllable basically forming a square shape. In most modern writing, this square format has been ignored due to constraints on space, and writing has become more compact, but the block style is still a default for signs, titles, important words, and other functions, a bit like majuscule letters or italics might used in Latin scripts, or hiragana in Japanese. These are not direct analogies, of course, but be aware that block script is usually used to set apart important words from other text.
Traditionally the Yakke script was written vertically from top to bottom in columns from right to left. Recently it has become more common to write it horizontally from left to right, but unlike languages like Chinese or Japanese, where writing direction has changed but character orientation has remained constant, Yakke script written horizontally also changes the direction of the written characters, so a horizontal text can simply be turned 90° to become a vertical text, more like how Mongolian or Manchurian are vertical scripts derived from Sogdian, a vertical script based on horizontally written Syriac.
In all there are three main types of characters: Onsets, secondary onset modifiers, and vowels. Onsets may use the entire width of the character, or may share the initial space with a secondary onset modifier. Vowels always use the entire width of the character (in the case of vertical script) or height (for horizontal).
Onsets
There are nineteen possible onsets: (Stay tuned for graphics!)
| Hrz | Vrt | Rom | Hrz | Vrt | Rom | Hrz | Vrt | Rom | Hrz | Vrt | Rom | Hrz | Vrt | Rom | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| p | t | k | s | l | ||||||||||||||
| b | d | g | z | r | ||||||||||||||
| m | n | ng | sh | lh | ||||||||||||||
| v | y | h | zh | |||||||||||||||
Secondary Onsets
There are eight possible secondary onsets, consisting of two groups: four which precede the primary onset (starting at the bottom of a stroke in the vertical or on the left for horizontal), and four which follow it (at the top or right, respectively): (Stay tuned for graphics!)
| Preceding | Following | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hrz | Vrt | Rom | Hrz | Vrt | Rom | |
| s | h | |||||
| d | r | |||||
| t | l | |||||
| sh | v | |||||
Nuclei (Vowels)
There are ten vowels or nuclei:
| Tense | Lax | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hrz | Vrt | Rom | Hrz | Vrt | Rom | |
| i | ì | |||||
| e | è | |||||
| a | à | |||||
| o | ò | |||||
| u | ù | |||||
There are no diphthongs in the writing system. Diphthongs are a recent development which evolved from adjacent syllables with no intervening consonants. In writing, they are still written as if they were two separate syllables. For example, meu ‘I’ is written as two blocks: me-u. However, this has led to modern non-block writing developing ligatures for the diphthongs which are beginning to take on their own shapes. Until such time as a spelling reform is implemented, however, the syllable blocks continue to be the standard.
Codae
Codae are ostensibly identical to the onsets, only written on to the right of the vowel (or below it in vertical script), but several of the onsets (such as p, b, d, ng, and z) are not used in coda position. The secondary onsets are also very rarely used, occurring only in dzh, tsh, tlh, and bh. Also note that syllables do not always fall into blocks as they do phonologically in polysyllabic words: There is a tendancy towards maximizing onsets which may not always be reflected in the writing.
Morphology
Substantives
Gender
All nouns are classified as either masculine or non-masculine. This is, of course, a grammatical construct rather than an anatomical one, and aside from including some specifically masculine words – such as òla ‘father’, phetùk ‘brother’, rosha ‘man’, &c – the masculine class is mainly notable for the feature that masculine nouns usually end in a vowel, while non-masculine nouns do not.
Number
Grammatical number is not automatically indicated on nouns, though a singular~plural distinction exists in personal pronouns. Grammatical number for nouns may be marked if necessary by way of reduplication (in the case of masculine nouns) or a pluralizing particle (in the case of non-masculine nouns), but is usually ignored when not explicitly required. The plural is never indicated in the presence of numerals.
A small set of nouns which generally come in pairs may have irregular dual forms. (See Dual Nouns below.)
Pluralising Masculine Nouns
Masculine nouns are pluralised through a process of reduplication.
In simplest terms, take the first letter of the noun, follow it by ⟨a⟩ (if the first vowel of the noun is a, o, or u) or ⟨e⟩ (if the first vowel is a, i, or e) and then add the singular noun. E.g.:
There are, of course, some exceptions and nuances, as well as flat-out irregularities:
- If the first or second syllable of the noun is lax (i.e. contains à, è, ì, ò, or ù), it becomes tense (i.e. drop the accent mark). E.g.:
- If a masculine noun begins with ⟨ng⟩, the ⟨g⟩ is dropped in reduplication, E.g.
- nga ‘time’ → nenga ‘times’
- If a masculine noun begins with an aspirate – that is, a cluster with ⟨h⟩ from an earlier aspirate in Old Imperial (i.e. bh, dh, kh, lh, ph, or th – but not sh or zh, which are just transcriptional), the ⟨h⟩ is dropped, E.g.:
- If a masculine noun begins with vowel, it is pluralized like a non-masculine noun (see below).
Pluralising Non-Masculine Nouns
Non-masculine nouns are pluralised simply by preceding the noun with the particle kve. E.g.:
- meth ‘place’ → kve meth ‘places’
- paletsh ‘woman’ → kve paletsh ‘women’
- trìl ‘reason’ → kve trìl ‘reasons’
Unlike masculine nouns, the kve particle does not affix to the noun and does not affect the quality of the vowels of the noun, except…
Pluralising Vowel-Initial Nouns
Both masculine and non-masculine nouns beginning with a vowel are pluralised by preposing the particle kv- as an affix, eliding the e. E.g.:
Irregular & Suppletive Nouns
There are several of the most common nouns which have irregular plurals. Some of the most common are:
- òla ‘father’ → kvòla ‘fathers’ (not **kvola)
- pàn ‘child’ → pepàn ‘children’ (not **kve pàn)
- yìr ‘thing’ → kveyir ‘things’ (not **kve yìr)
- tè ‘person’ → kvètè ‘people’ (not **tete). Tè in particular has a number of irregular compounds. One commonality is that the lax vowel is almost never tensed as it would be in normal plurals. Some compounds are formed with kvè (rather than the expected **kve), while others use reduplication:
- arratè ‘hunter’ → kvarratè
- lurkatè ‘murderer’ → kvèlurkatè
- shatviarratè ‘investigator’ → shatvikvarrattè
- shatvietè ‘teacher’ → sheshatvietè, but
- tetzavà ‘cyborg’ → kvètetzava ‘cyborgs’ (not **kvètètzava, using the irregular plural of tè or **tetetzava using the regular masculine plural)
Dual Nouns
Some non-masculine nouns, particularly those referring to body parts which come in pairs, use masculine-type reduplication when referring explicitly to the paired sense, and kve otherwise. E.g.:
- bhèt ‘breast’ → bebhèt ‘pair of breasts’ → kve bhèt ‘(many) breasts’
- blizh ‘eye’ → beblizh ‘pair of eyes’ → kve blizh ‘(many) eyes’
- bresh ‘foot’ → bebresh ‘pair of feet’ → kve bresh ‘(many) feet’
- dèt ‘horn’ → dadet ‘pair of horns’ → kve dèt ‘(many) horns’
- dendor ‘leg’ → dedendor ‘pair of legs’ → kve dendor ‘(many) legs’
- doman ‘hand’ → dedoman ‘pair of hands’ → kve doman ‘(many) hands’
- noth ‘ear’ → nanoth ‘pair of ears’ → kve noth ‘(many) ears’
- rinen ‘knee’ → rerinen ‘pair of knees’ → kve rinen ‘(many) knees’
- yinkesh ‘wing’ → yeyinkesh ‘pair of wings’ → kve yinkesh ‘(many) wings’
While these “dual” forms almost always refer to grouped pairs of objects, they sometimes refer to sets of more than two, e.g. lhat ‘tooth’ → kve lhat ‘teeth’ → lelhat ‘set of teeth’. In the case of teeth, this may have originated with the dual sense of the upper and lower sets of teeth, and other sets were later analogized on this model.
Possession
Possession is indicated with the adposition go. In addition to standard possession of nouns, it is also used with pronouns to form the basis of the possessive pronouns rather than a separate genitive-like construction. (Old Imperial, however, did use genitive pronouns which were lost after The Expansion.)
Yìrku dà go meu (ei).
‘That is my stone.’
(“That-thing stone of me [is].”)
Personal Pronouns
Personal pronouns in Modern Standard Imperial are simple in scope, including first and second person singular and plural forms, and third person singular distinction between masculine and non-masculine grammatical gender. The third person plural does not have a gender distinction. The first person plural does not make a clusivity distinction (meaning there is no differentiation between “we including you” and “we but not you.”)
The personal pronouns are:
| Singular | Plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| meu | ‘I, me’ | ta | ‘we, us’ |
| vè | ‘you’ | hei | ‘you (all)’ |
| shva | ‘he, him’ | dì | ‘they’ |
| dehu | ‘she, her, it’ | ||
Prepositions
Imperial has a small set of adpositions, many of which serve multiple purposes. While Old Imperial, which had a much freer word order, used both prepositions and postpositions, the modern language uses prepositions exclusively. Because the language does not inflect for case, this placement is very important.
Some of the more common prepositions are:
| Translation | Equivalent Case | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| dhi | under, on the bottom of | Subessive | Yìraggè dhi bresh go meu. Something is on the bottom of my foot. |
| tzu | under, beneath, below | Sublative | Thombir tzu dà. The worm is under the rock. |
| go | of, belonging to, related to | Genitive | tètsha òla go meu ei. This is my father. |
| ke | to, towards | Allative | vè ke shuthket ati? Are you going to town? |
| khan | without, lacking | Abessive | ta khan dì meti. We will go without them. |
| lhao | over, above | Superlative | Yaral lhao mahe hati thruga. A bird flew over the house. |
| li | behind | Postessive | Teggè li mitlu ei. Someone is behind the door. |
| lu | in, inside of | Inessive | Reshte lu yash. The fish is in the water. |
| ma | from, out of | Delative | Meu ma methku hati ngatsha thuri. I just came from there. |
| na | on, on top of, upon | Superessive | Thule na lhadzh’ei. The tree is on the mountain. |
| ne | on, on the side of | Pertingent | Shise ne blishmitlu. The snow is on the window. |
| ngè | through | Translative | Dehu ngè yathrèk hati vanda. She walked through the forest. |
| thie | with, in the company of | Commitative | Pàn thie shva g’òla. The child is with his father. |
| tho | in front of, before | Antessive | Bebage tho mah’ei. The dogs are in front of the house. |
| ti | at, in (a location) | Locative | Shva ti mahe go shva. He is at his house. |
| vae | for, to | Benefactive | Metsha satha vae vè. Here is a gift for you. |
Adjectives
Adjectives, with the exception of numerals, almost exclusively follow the nouns the modify. Though that is slightly out of character for a language that is otherwise strong head-final, this is at least in part due to the language’s verb-final and optional null-copula status, as adjectives in many circumstances may be seen simply as verbs.
Nearly all adjectives can receive the suffix –ei ‘to be’ in order to convert them into a verb; however, this copulative ending is usually optional. If no copula is indicated, the adjective may precede the subject if they make up the entirety of the sentence. E.g.:
- ‘I am cold.’
- ‘The mountain is green.’
Numerals
The Imperial numerals are duodecimal – that is, base-12 – as are numbers in most Aterran languages with the exception of Hakdor. For duodecimal transcription, ⟨X⟩ is used to represent ‘ten’ and ⟨B⟩ for ‘eleven’. Decimal equivalents are given in parentheses after the duodecimal.
The “teen” numerals are slightly irregular, having gone through an additional stage of sound change. Higher numbers are compounded with ya ‘and’.
| dlhukat | 0 | tvalh | 10 | (12) | umè tvalh | 20 | (24) | tvalh | 10 | (12) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ilè | 1 | tvalè | 11 | (13) | umè tvalh ya ilè | 21 | (25) | umè tvalh | 20 | (24) | |
| umè | 2 | tvamè | 12 | (14) | umè tvalh ya umè | 22 | (26) | shar tvalh | 30 | (36) | |
| shar | 3 | tvashar | 13 | (15) | umè tvalh ya shar | 23 | (27) | etlh tvalh | 40 | (48) | |
| etlh | 4 | tvetlh | 14 | (16) | umè tvalh ya etlh | 24 | (28) | pikh tvalh | 50 | (60) | |
| pikh | 5 | tvapikh | 15 | (17) | umè tvalh ya pikh | 25 | (29) | ukka tvalh | 60 | (72) | |
| ukka | 6 | tvakka | 16 | (18) | umè tvalh ya ukka | 26 | (30) | kvet tvalh | 70 | (84) | |
| kvet | 7 | tvakvet | 17 | (19) | umè tvalh ya kvet | 27 | (31) | thra tvalh | 80 | (96) | |
| thra | 8 | tvathra | 18 | (20) | umè tvalh ya thra | 28 | (32) | kladha tvalh | 90 | (108) | |
| kladha | 9 | tvadhla | 19 | (21) | umè tvalh ya kladha | 29 | (33) | vuku tvalh | X0 | (120) | |
| vuku | X | (10) | tvuku | 1X | (22) | umè tvalh ya vuku | 2X | (34) | yosh tvalh | B0 | (132) |
| yosh | B | (11) | tvayosh | 1B | (23) | umè tvalh ya yosh | 2B | (35) | blaesh | 100 | (144) |
Exponents
Higher numbers can be formed i the same way using exponents on a long scale:
| tvalh | 10 | (12) |
|---|---|---|
| blaesh | 100 | (144) |
| latlha | 1,000 | (1,728) |
| tvalh latlha | 10,000 | (20,736) |
| blaesh latlha | 100,000 | (248,832) |
| thrakvi | 1,000,000 | (2,985,984) |
| tvalh thrakvi | 10,000,000 | (35,831,808) |
| blaesh thrakvi | 100,000,000 | (429,981,696) |
| latlha thrakvi | 1,000,000,000 | (5,159,780,352) |
| tvalh latlha thrakvi | 10,000,000,000 | (61,917,364,224) |
| blaesh latlha thrakvi | 100,000,000,000 | (743,008,370,688) |
| thrappa | 1,000,000,000,000 | (8,916,100,448,256) |
Verbs
TAM Marking
Imperial verbs do not inflect, so indications of tense, aspect, mood, mode, evidentiality, voice, and other verbal features are indicated almost exclusively with particles.
Tense
The past tense is formed using the auxiliary verb hati. E.g.:
The future is formed using the auxiliary ati, which follows the verb, or may be suffixed to the verb in some circumstances. E.g.:
Negation
Negation with dlhu
Negation is formed on most verbs by directly preceding the verb with the negative particle dlhu. E.g.:
Negation with ruk
The copula ei and the null copula are negated by replacing the copula (if extant) with the negative verb ruk. Some other common verbs also use ruk for negation instead of dlhu. E.g.
Irregularity & Suppletion
Many common verbs show suppletion or irregularity in one or more forms (in bold):
| Present | Negative | Past | Negative Past | Future | Negative Future |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| veta ‘to see’ (regular) | dlhu veta | hati veta | dlhu hati veta | vet’ati | dlhu vet’ati |
| ati ‘to go’ | ruk ati | ganati | ruganati | meti | ruk meti |
| dehi ‘to do’ | dlhu dehi | hati dehi | dlhu hati dehi | dedehi | dlhu dedehi |
| ei ‘to be’ | ruk | gan(ei) | rugan(ei) | lezh | ruklezh |
| hati ‘to finish’ | dlhu hati | hehati | dlhu hehati | hat’ati | dlhu hat’ati |
| satha ‘to give’ | dlhu satha | hati satha | dlhu hati satha | sasathi | dlhu sasathi |
| thuri ‘to come’ | ruk thuri | gan thuri | rugan thuri | thur’ati | ruk thur’ati |
Syntax
Word Order & Alignments
The basic order of Standard Imperial is SOV; that is: Subject, Object, Verb. However, as with many languages, it doesn’t fit quite so tidily into a single category. Intransitive or “objectless” clauses may be VS, and “verbless” predicative adjectival phrases may be AS or SA depending on various factors.
Typology
SOV~VS; VSO or SVO marked.
Morphosyntactic Alignment
Historically, Ancient Imperial was a heavily marked nominative-accusative language, though this description is rather nominal, as no inflection exists in modern Standard Imperial that might differentiate marked nouns. Modern Imperial shows tendencies toward an ergative-absolutive structure in its non-standard handling of objectless subjects and duplication of certain subjects to coerce them into transitive roles (see Bi-Transitive Verbs), but not enough to be able to consider it an ergative-absolutive language.
Noun Phrases
The standard order ot most noun phrases is:
- Adposition
- Numeral
- Noun
- Demonstrative/Determiner
- Adjective (Phrase)
- Genitive (Phrase)
- Relative (Clause)
E.g. ‘…with those three thin men from the village who stole my brother’s dog’ would be translated more literally as “with three men those thin (ones) from village who dog of brother of me stole.”
| …thie shar rarosha ku meish ma shuthket, | |||||
| with | three | men | those | thin (ones) | from (the) village |
| cmt | 3 | pl-man | dist | thin | del village |
| thie | shar | ra-rosha | ku | meish | ma shuthket |
| tèla bagè go phetùk go meu hati gathka. | ||||
| who | (the) dog | of (the) brother | of me | did steal |
| rel | dog | of brother | of 1sg | pst steal |
| tèla | bagè | go phetùk | go meu | hati gathka |
Adjective Phrases
Degree adverbs precede the adjective they modify.
- Degree Adverbs
- Adjective
‘That was a very good dog,’ would be literally, ‘That (one) dog very good was.’
| Tèku bagè kashkì savati gan. | ||||
| that (onw) | dog | very | good | was |
| one-that | dog | aug | good | pst.cop |
| tèku | bagè | kashkì | savati | gan |
Alternatively, because of the copula-optional nature of the language as concerns adjectives, it is also correct to render this as: kashkì hati savati bagè ku. (“Very was good dog that.”)
Verb Phrases
The typical verb phrase is arranged:
- Subject
- Object
- Spatial Adverb or Phrase
- Temporal Adverb or Phrase
- Standard Adverb
- Negative Marker
- Verb
- (Subject)[1]
Verb Phrases consisting solely of one-word subject and verb:
- Subject
- Verb
Copular Clauses
The copula in the Old Imperial language was ei, and was always required; however, in Modern Standard Imperial, the copula is optional in both equative phrases and phrases with adjectival predicates. E.g.:
- ‘That child is my brother.’
- ‘Your stone is heavy.’
In cases with an adjectival predicate (or other intransitive verbs) where the subject consists of a single word (usually a pronoun), the subject and verb may invert.
Relative Clauses
Relative clauses are formed, in pretty standard fashion, by using the interrogatives as relative conjunctions. Relative clauses follow the noun they modify. E.g.:
| Tèku bagè, tèla reshte go meu hati langa. | ||||||
| That (one) | (the) dog | is | who | fish | of me | did eat |
| One-that | dog | cop | one-rel | fish | of 1sg | pst eat |
| Tè-ku | bagè | ∅ | tè-la | reshte | go meu | hati langa |
‘That is the dog who ate my fish.’
| Seklesh kerei ngala yempath phamba. | ||||
| (The) earth | is-wet | when | the rain | is-falling |
| Earth | wet-cop | time-rel | rain | fall |
| Seklesh | kera-ei | nga-la | yempath | phamba |
‘The earth is wet when it rains.’
Bi-Transitive Verbs
Not to be confused with ditransitive verbs, which are merely verbs which take a direct and indirect object, bi-transitive verb construction is a unique feature in Modern Standard Imperial which is semantically more or less equivalent to a causative (though there are other types of causatives as well). These are verbs which are intransitive by default, but can be made transitive by adding an object. However, since the subject follows the verb in intransitive clauses, but precedes it in those containing a predicate, this set of verbs developed a context in which the subject becomes duplicated. E.g.:
(Here there is no object, and so the subject follows the verb.)
(Here there is a direct object, which triggers the sentence to revert back to its natural SOV order.)
- ‘I teach.’
- ‘I teach you.’
- ‘I teach you how to swim.’
If the subject is a noun or noun phrase (rather than a pronoun), its equivalent pronoun will follow the verb. (A full noun can never follow a verb in Modern Standard Imperial.)
Some other examples of bi-transitive causatives are:
| Intransitive | Transitive | Bi-Transitive | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ati | to go | -- | to send (so sth) |
| darrana | to sit | to set (sth) | to seat (so) |
| shatviè | to know | to know (sth) | to teach (so sth) |
| thuri | to come | -- | to bring (so sth) |
| traya | to remain | -- | to leave (sth) behind |
| veta | to see | to see (sth) | to understand |
Vocabulary & Lexicon
Swadesh List
(For those of you who like this sort of thing.)
| Imperial | English | Imperial | English | Imperial | English | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | meu | I | 070 | kvitta | feather | 139 | nasta | to count |
| 002 | vè | you | 071 | platti | hair (on head) | 140 | gvida | to say |
| 003 | shva, dehu | he, she, it | 072 | patuk | head | 141 | shula | to sing |
| 004 | ta | we | 073 | noth | ear | 142 | nopra | to play |
| 005 | hei | you | 074 | blizh | eye | 143 | threka | to float |
| 006 | dì | they | 075 | gaman | nose | 144 | blei | to flow |
| 007 | tsha | this | 076 | rigla | mouth | 145 | brona | to freeze |
| 008 | ku | that | 077 | lhat | tooth | 146 | varra | to swell |
| 009 | metsha | here | 078 | merka | tongue | 147 | shakuth | sun |
| 010 | methku | there | 079 | krè | fingernail | 148 | mirat | moon |
| 011 | tèla | who | 080 | bresh | foot | 149 | nente | star |
| 012 | yìdla | what | 081 | dendor | leg | 150 | yash | water |
| 013 | methla | where | 082 | rinen | knee | 151 | yempath | rain |
| 014 | ngala | when | 083 | doman | hand | 152 | midli | river |
| 015 | thrakla | how | 084 | yinkesh | wing | 153 | uthka | lake |
| 016 | dlhu | not | 085 | kèba | belly, abdomen | 154 | kespe | sea |
| 017 | tash | all | 086 | kigvezh | guts, entrails | 155 | bitlun | salt |
| 018 | gatzo | many | 087 | nadzha | neck | 156 | dà | stone |
| 019 | aggè | some | 088 | gesh | back | 157 | thè | sand |
| 020 | kith | few | 089 | bhaya | breast | 158 | sahal | dust |
| 021 | iel | other | 090 | thrin | heart | 159 | seklesh | earth, soil, dirt |
| 022 | ilè | one | 091 | nuyom | liver | 160 | druya | cloud |
| 023 | umè | two | 092 | godha | to drink | 161 | ngeshet | fog, mist |
| 024 | shar | three | 093 | langa | to eat | 162 | nash | sky |
| 025 | etlh | four | 094 | lenka | to bite | 163 | keishi | wind |
| 026 | pikh | five | 095 | sanga | to suck | 164 | shise | snow |
| 027 | paen | big, large | 096 | tlatta | to spit | 165 | shviè | ice |
| 028 | yetlh | long | 097 | bhenkò | to vomit | 166 | veppat | smoke |
| 029 | bìku | wide, broad | 098 | prahe | to blow | 167 | nuk | fire |
| 030 | yadla | thick | 099 | harra | to breathe | 168 | azokha | ash, ashes |
| 031 | yagre | heavy | 100 | netha | to laugh | 169 | paksha | burn |
| 032 | kie | small, little | 101 | veta | to see | 170 | athri | path, road, trail |
| 033 | tzi | short | 102 | kesta | to hear | 171 | lhadzhè | mountain |
| 034 | nesi | narrow | 103 | shatviè | to know | 172 | riggu | red |
| 035 | meish | thin | 104 | telka | to think | 173 | merri | green |
| 036 | paletsh | woman | 105 | falta | to smell | 174 | thibre | yellow |
| 037 | rosha | man | 106 | krakha | to fear | 175 | lhasi | white |
| 038 | tè | person | 107 | gendzha | to sleep | 176 | geka | black |
| 039 | pàn | child | 108 | budhra | to live | 177 | naril | night |
| 040 | ebreth | wife | 109 | skobha | to die | 178 | dashi | day |
| 041 | lòga | husband | 110 | lurka | to kill | 179 | lavani | year |
| 042 | elin | mother | 111 | voka | to fight | 180 | theda | hot (weather) |
| 043 | òla | father | 112 | arradae | to hunt | 181 | amedi | cold |
| 044 | shi | animal | 113 | sakha | to hit | 182 | pisash | full |
| 045 | reshte | fish | 114 | shaka | to cut | 183 | raebh | new |
| 046 | yaral | bird | 115 | khegriè | to split | 184 | kopra | old |
| 047 | bagè | dog | 116 | ditsha | to stab, to pierce | 185 | savati | good |
| 048 | svì | louse | 117 | dlhage | to scratch | 186 | kash | bad |
| 049 | dlaka | snake | 118 | tvanda | to dig | 187 | yetsh | rotten |
| 050 | thombir | worm | 119 | rabba | to swim | 188 | khìth | dirty |
| 051 | thule | tree | 120 | thruga | to fly | 189 | gata | straight |
| 052 | yathrèk | forest, woods | 121 | vanda | to walk | 190 | vòbh | round |
| 053 | yakèt | stick | 122 | thuri | come | 191 | thikhe | sharp |
| 054 | nithren | fruit | 123 | nubhi | to lie (down) | 192 | rog | dull |
| 055 | shukh | seed | 124 | darrana | to sit | 193 | sheris | smooth |
| 056 | din | leaf | 125 | eska | to stand | 194 | kera | wet |
| 057 | kazin | root | 126 | tviska | to turn | 195 | akram | dry |
| 058 | nuis | bark (of tree) | 127 | phamba | to fall | 196 | yadì | correct, right |
| 059 | thuman | flower | 128 | satha | to give | 197 | dzhesa | near |
| 060 | athe | grass | 129 | korda | to hold | 198 | tlaste | far |
| 061 | fortal | rope | 130 | kveda | to squeeze | 199 | dhiun | right (hand) |
| 062 | toma | skin | 131 | bìna | to rub | 200 | yatsù | left (hand) |
| 063 | rundzhat | flesh, meat | 132 | nodha | to wash | 201 | ti | at |
| 064 | tadlash | blood | 133 | ridva | to wipe | 202 | lu | in |
| 065 | ikva | bone | 134 | kuna | to pull | 203 | thie | with |
| 066 | grabh | grease, fat | 135 | sidlha | to push | 204 | ya | and |
| 067 | ngusha | egg | 136 | vaka | to throw | 205 | dzhe | if |
| 068 | dèt | horn | 137 | durga | to tie, bind | 206 | tritsha | because |
| 069 | kadu | tail | 138 | hovae | to sew | 207 | arel | name |
- ↑ There is a series of verbs derived from intransitive verbs where the subject is repeated after the verb in the manner of single-word subjects.