Sen Language
Natively known as: Ushen /tʰian/
...and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind...au wa ṭṣuo ei kuonùnai pùen wa au lenei binùenail pùel pùen wa kau lenei
Pronunciation: /au wa ʈʂuo ei ˈkʰuonynai pʰyen wa au ˈlənei ˈbinyenail pʰyel pʰyen wa kau ˈlənei/
Tian word order: and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind
Phonology
Spelling & Phonology
Consonant inventory: /b d f k kʰ l m n p pʰ s t tʰ w x ŋ ʂ ʂʰ ʈ ʦ ʦʰ| ↓Manner/Place→ | Bilabial | Labiodental | Alveolar | Retroflex | Velar | Labio-velar |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | |||
| Stop | p pʰ b | t tʰ d | ʈ | k kʰ | ||
| Affricate | ʦ ʦʰ | |||||
| Fricative | f | s | ʂ ʂʰ | x | ||
| Approximant | w | |||||
| Lateral approximant | l |
Vowel inventory: /a ai au ei i ia ie iu ou u ua uo uə y ye ə/
Diphthongs: ai, au, ei, ia, ie, iu, ou, ua, uo, uə, ye| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i y | u | |
| Mid | ə | ||
| Low | a |
Stress pattern: Initial — stress is on the first syllable
Word initial consonants: b, d, f, k, kʰ, l, m, n, p, pʰ, s, t, tʰ, w, x, ŋ, ʂ, ʈʂ, ʈʂʰ, ʦ, ʦʰ
Mid-word consonants: n
Word final consonants: l, n Phonological changes (in order of application):
- k → Ø / _#
- s → h / V_V
- n → ŋ / _#
- w → b / V_V
- ə → a / _C#
- k → Ø / V_V
- s → h / V_V
- ə → a / _#
| Pronunciation | Spelling |
|---|---|
| x | kh |
| y | ù |
| ŋ | ng |
| ə | e |
| ʂ | ṣ |
| ʈ | ṭ |
| ʦ | ts |
| ʰ | |
Syntax
Grammar
Main word order: Subject-Verb-Object-Oblique. "Mary opened the door with a key" turns into Mary opened the door with a key.Adjective order: Adjectives are positioned before the noun.
Adposition: prepositions
Noun
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| Definite | If ends with vowel: Suffix -l
Else: Suffix -ul fainunul /ˈfainunul/ |
If ends with vowel: Suffix -n
Else: Suffix -yn fainunùn /ˈfainunyn/ |
| Indefinite | Suffix -ye
fainunùe /ˈfainunye/ |
Suffix -aul
fainunaul /ˈfainunaul/ |
Pronouns
| 1st singular | tein /tein/
I, me |
| 2nd singular | fan /fan/
you |
| 3rd singular | wa /wa/
he, him, she, her, it |
| 1st plural | pou /pou/
we, us |
| 2nd plural | la /la/
you (all) |
| 3rd plural | bau /bau/
they, them |
Possessive determiners
| 1st singular | ein /ein/
my |
| 2nd singular | bin /bin/
your |
| 3rd singular | ṭṣue /ʈʂʰuə/ |
| 1st plural | fel /fəl/
our |
| 2nd plural | fa /fa/
your |
| 3rd plural | fail /fail/
their |
Verbs
| Present | No affix
diuniun /ˈdiuniun/ |
| Past | If ends with vowel: Suffix -nou
Else: Suffix -aunou diuniunaunou /ˈdiuniuˌnaunou/ |
| Future | Prefix ye-
ùediuniun /ˈyediuniun/ |
Imperfective aspect
The ‘imperfective’ aspect refers to ongoing actions, such as I am studying, and habitual actions, such as I study (every night). It is indicated with the affix:| Imperfect | If ends with vowel: Suffix -n
Else: Suffix -in diuniunin /ˈdiuniunin/ |
Derivational morphology
Adjective → adverb = Prefix au-
Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = Prefix y-
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix in-
Else: Prefix inuə-
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix ən-
Else: Prefix ənua-
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = Prefix uo-
Noun → verb (to create [noun]) = Prefix mau-
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix uan-
Else: Prefix uanuə-
Verb → adjective (likely to do [verb]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix p-
Else: Prefix pua-
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = Prefix la-
Verb → noun that verb physically produces (e.g. build → building) = If starts with vowel: Prefix d-
Else: Prefix die-
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = Prefix ei-
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = If starts with vowel: Prefix t-
Else: Prefix tau-
Diminutive = Prefix mei-
Augmentative = If starts with vowel: Prefix ʦ-
Else: Prefix ʦou-
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