Můian
Spoken in the Northern Latitudes of Elivera.
Adjective order: Adjectives are positioned after the noun.
Adposition: postpositions
Grammar
Main word order: Subject Object Verb (Prepositional phrase). “Mary opened the door with a key” turns into Mary the door opened with a key.Adjective order: Adjectives are positioned after the noun.
Adposition: postpositions
Tones
Vowels have three tones that are attached to the particular type of vowel sound. ˨ is low tone, between A3 and C4. ˧ is middle tone, between D4 and G4. ˧˦ is high tone, A4 to C5. The notes are based off the chromatic acoustic scale.Particles
Particles are placed after the noun (or between noun and adjective).| Nominative | é /ɜ˧/ cat (doing the verb) |
| Accusative | háró,/ɥa˦ɹɔ˨/ (verb done to) cat |
| Genitive | e̊w /ei̯˨w/ catʼs |
| Illative | xex /ɰe˧ɰ/ into/toward (the/a) cat |
| Inessive | ógr /ɔ˨ɠɹ/ inside (the/a) cat |
| Elative | srivh /sɹi˧ʋ/ out of (the/a) cat |
| Comitative | gurn /ɠu˨ɹŋ/ with (the/a) cat |
| Essive | tá /ʦa˦/ denotes period of time cat exists doing x |
| Locative | ka /ʛɑ˧/ near/at/by (the/a) cat |
| Ablative | dzern /ʣe˧ɹŋ/ away from (the/a) cat |
| Instrumental | li /li˧/ with/by (the/a) cat |
| Subessive | srul /sɹu˨l/ under (the/a) cat |
| Superessive | ke̊n /ʛei̯˨ŋ/ on (the/a) cat |
| Temporal | íkr /ɨ˦ʛɹ/ specifying a time when/at (the/a) cat |
Pronouns
| Singular | Plural | Paucal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person | zán /za˦ŋ/ I, me, mine | åln /ɑi̯˧lŋ/ we, us, ours | hárr /ɥa˦ɹɹ/ few of us |
| 2nd person | dé /ɗɜ˧/ you, yours | ég /ɜ˧ɠ/ you all, yours (pl) | vám /va˦ɱ/ few of you |
| 3rd person | agn /ɑ˧ɠŋ/ he, she, him, her, his, hers, it, its | rirn /ɹi˧ɹŋ/ they, them, theirs | whů /ɫɑu̯˨/ few of them |
Writing System
Spelling rules:
| Pronunciation | Spelling |
|---|---|
| ɑi̯˧ | å |
| ɑu̯˨ | ů |
| oi̯˦ | o̊ |
| ei̯˨ | e̊ |
| a˦ | á |
| ɑ˧ | a |
| e˧ | e |
| ɜ˧ | é |
| i˧ | i |
| ɨ˦ | í |
| o˦ | o |
| ɔ˨ | ó |
| u˨ | u |
| ʣ | dz |
| ɗ | d |
| f | f |
| ɠ | g |
| ʛ | k |
| ʄ | j |
| l | l |
| ɫ | wh |
| ɱ | m |
| ŋ | n |
| ɹ | r |
| s | s |
| ʦ | t |
| ɥ | h |
| ɰ | x |
| v | v |
| ʋ | vh |
| w | w |
| ʍ | p |
| z | z |
Phonology
Consonants
Consonant inventory: f l s v w z ŋ ɗ ɠ ɥ ɫ ɰ ɱ ɹ ʄ ʋ ʍ ʛ ʣ ʦ| ↓Manner/Place→ | Labiodental | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | ɱ | ŋ | |||
| Implosive | ɗ | ʄ | ɠ | ʛ | |
| Affricate | ʦ ʣ | ||||
| Fricative | f v | s z | |||
| Approximant | ʋ | ɹ | ɰ | ||
| Lateral approximant | l |
| ↓Manner/Place→ | Labial-palatal | Labial-velar | Velarized alveolar |
|---|---|---|---|
| Approximant | ɥ | ʍ w | |
| Lateral approximant | ɫ |
Vowels
Vowel inventory: a˦ ei̯˨ e˧ i˧ oi̯˦ o˦ u˨ ɑi̯˧ ɑu̯˨ ɑ˧ ɔ˨ ɜ˧ ɨ˦ Diphthongs: ei̯˨ oi̯˦ ɑi̯˧ ɑu̯˨| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i˧ | ɨ˦ | u˨ |
| High-mid | e˧ | o˦ | |
| Low-mid | ɜ˧ | ɔ˨ | |
| Low | a˦ | ɑ˧ |
Morphology
Derivational morphology
- Adjective → adverb = Suffix -ɑ˧ʋ
- Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = Suffix -e˧ŋ
- Verb → adjective (likely to do [verb]) = Suffix -ɑi̯˧ʛɹ
- Noun → verb (to create [noun]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -zŋ
Else: Suffix -ɔ˨zŋ - Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -w
Else: Suffix -ei̯˨w - Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -lŋ
Else: Suffix -ɨ˦lŋ - Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = Suffix -ei̯˨
- Noun to verb = If ends with vowel: Suffix -lɥɑi̯˧
Else: Suffix -ei̯˨lɥɑi̯˧ - Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -ɠɹ
Else: Suffix -i˧ɠɹ
Tending to = Suffix -ɔ˨sɹ - Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -zɹi˧
Else: Suffix -o˦zɹi˧ - Verb → noun that verb produces (e.g. know → knowledge) = Suffix -o˦ʣ
- One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = Suffix -ɑu̯˨ʄŋ
- Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -ʄɹ
Else: Suffix -e˧ʄɹ - Diminutive = Suffix -ɑi̯˧
- Augmentative = Suffix -a˦
Vocabulary
Numbers
Můian has a base-10 number system: 1 - o̊r2 - fán
3 - pungå
4 - ign
5 - xógn
6 - whodz
7 - évr
8 - lehn
9 - mívh
10 - srelóng
Hundred - rín
Thousand - tum
Phonetics
Syllable structure: (C)V(C)(C)(V)
Stress pattern: Penultimate — stress is on the second last syllable
Stress pattern: Penultimate — stress is on the second last syllable
Tenses
Verbs
Verbs are denoted by a particle after it. This particle signifies the tense and aspect of that verb.| Perfective | Perfect | Habitual | Continuous | Generic | Stative | Inchoative | Ingressive | Cessative | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Past | fe /fe˧/ event in whole (ate) | ne̊gr /ŋei̯˨ɠɹ/ (had eaten) | ůnk /ɑu̯˨ŋʛ/ repetitive actions temporarily (had been eating) | kívr /ʛɨ˦vɹ/ continuous action (was eating) | nårr /ŋɑi̯˧ɹɹ/ verb is a true statement | o̊m /oi̯˦ɱ/ ongoing situation but not evolving | zo /zo˦/ start of new static state | jé /ʄɜ˧/ start of dynamic state (started to eat) | fátá /ˈfa˦ʦa˦/ end of event (was done eating) |
| Present | hí /ɥɨ˦/ event in whole (eat) | jo̊ /ʄoi̯˦/ (have eaten) | dzůzn /ʣɑu̯˨zŋ/ repetitive actions temporarily (have been eating) | dzů /ʣɑu̯˨/ continuous action (am eating) | uvs /u˨vs/ verb is a true statement | whå /ɫɑi̯˧/ ongoing situation but not evolving | edz /e˧ʣ/ start of new static state | vhuw /ʋu˨w/ start of dynamic state (start to eat) | lren /lɹe˧ŋ/ end of event (done eating) |
| Future | févhr /fɜ˧ʋɹ/ event in whole (will eat) | ůzr /ɑu̯˨zɹ/ (will have eaten) | tidz /ʦi˧ʣ/ repetitive actions temporarily (will have been eating) | xét /ɰɜ˧ʦ/ continuous action (will be eating) | o̊ /oi̯˦/ verb is a true statement | hák /ɥa˦ʛ/ ongoing situation but not evolving | morr /ɱo˦ɹɹ/ start of new static state | zang /zɑ˧ŋɠ/ start of dynamic state (will start to eat) | óó /ˈɔ˨ɔ˨/ end of event (will be done eating) |
Sentence Structure
Main word order: Subject Object Verb (Prepositional phrase). “Mary opened the door with a key” turns into Mary the door opened with a key.
Adjective order: Adjectives are positioned after the noun.
Adposition: postpositions
Adjective order: Adjectives are positioned after the noun.
Adposition: postpositions
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