Wendec
LANGUAGE FAMILY: TYRILAN
# SPEAKERS / WORLD RANKING: 2.98 M / #17
SPOKEN IN: Oralt - 2.6M / Ansal - 180K / Liij - 100K / Loy - 100K
PERIOD OF USE:
SCRIPT USED:
PARENT LANGUAGE:
"...and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind..." Translation: xhʰu xi cʰtʰy ˈcʰtʰaːuwy ˈfoi ˈrao xhʰu ˈeɫaː cʰtʰy ptuvh be Pronunciation: ʧʰu xi kʰtʰiː ˈkʰtʰaːuwj ˈfoi ˈrao ʧʰu ˈeɫaː kʰtʰiː ptuːvh be Wendec word order: and he his hat holding stood and the wind to his wet face turned
Co-articulated phonemes
Vowel inventory: /aɪ aʊ eɪ iː oʊ uː æ ɑ ɑː ɔɪ ɔː ɛ ɛə ɜː ɪ ɪə ʊ ʊə ʌ/
Diphthongs: aɪ, aʊ, eɪ, oʊ, ɔɪ, ɛə, ɪə, ʊə
Syllable structure: Custom defined
Stress pattern: No fixed stress
Word initial consonants: bˠ, c, dʲ, d̪ˠ, fʲ, fˠ, g, gɫ, h, hɾˠ, k, lʲ, mʲ, mˠ, mˠpˠ, nʲ, nʲʃ, n̪ˠ, n̪ˠt̪ˠ, pˠ, sˠ, sˠk, sˠt̪ˠ, tʲ, t̪ˠ, vʲ, vˠ, x, xt̪ˠ, ŋ, ɟ, ɫ, ɫt̪ˠ, ɲ, ɾʲ, ɾˠ, ɾˠsˠ, ɾˠɫ, ʃ, ʃtʲ
Mid-word consonants: b, bd, bj, bl, bm, bn, bs, bskj, bskɹ, bst, bstɹ, bt, bv, bz, bɹ, bɾ, bʤ, d, df, dg, dgɹ, dj, dkw, dl, dm, dn, ds, dv, dw, dɹ, dʃ, f, fj, fl, fspɹ, ft, ftl, ftw, fɹ, g, gj, gl, gm, gn, gz, gɹ, gʤ, h, j, k, kd, kf, kgɹ, kj, kl, km, kn, ks, ksf, ksk, kskj, kskl, kskw, ksm, ksp, kspl, kspɹ, kst, kstɹ, ksw, ksʧ, kt, ktf, ktl, ktɹ, kw, kz, kɹ, kʃ, kʧ, l, lb, ld, ldf, ldh, ldl, ldn, ldɹ, lf, lg, lgɹ, lj, lk, lkj, ll, lm, ln, lp, lpf, lpl, lptj, ls, lsh, lsʍ, lt, ltj, ltɹ, lv, lw, lð, lɹ, lʤ, lʧ, lθ, m, mb, mbl, mbɹ, mf, mfl, mft, mfɹ, mh, mj, ml, mn, mp, mpj, mpl, mpt, mptl, mpɹ, mpʃ, mpʧ, ms, mst, mt, mw, mz, mɹ, mʧ, mθ, n, nb, nbɹ, nd, ndj, ndl, ndm, ndɹ, nf, nfj, nfl, nfɹ, ng, ngɹ, nh, nj, nk, nkl, nkw, nkɹ, nl, nm, nn, npl, ns, nsf, nsj, nskɹ, nsl, nsm, nsp, nst, nstɹ, nt, ntl, ntm, ntɹ, nv, nw, nz, nzl, nzp, nɹ, nʃ, nʤ, nʤm, nʧ, nθj, p, pj, pl, pm, pt, pw, pɹ, pʃ, pʧ, s, sd, sf, sg, sgɹ, sj, sk, skj, skl, skɹ, sl, sm, sn, sp, spj, spl, st, stj, stl, stm, stw, stɹ, sw, sʧ, t, tb, tf, tj, tl, tm, tn, ts, tsm, tw, tɹ, v, vj, vl, vm, vn, vɹ, w, z, zb, zd, zj, zl, zm, ð, ðdɹ, ðst, ŋ, ŋg, ŋgj, ŋgl, ŋgw, ŋgɹ, ŋk, ŋkt, ŋkw, ŋkʃ, ŋkʧ, ŋl, ɹ, ɹb, ɹd, ɹf, ɹg, ɹk, ɹl, ɹm, ɹml, ɹn, ɹpl, ɹs, ɹsm, ɹt, ɹtl, ɹv, ɹʃ, ɹʤ, ɹʧ, ɹθw, ɾ, ʃ, ʃm, ʃn, ʤ, ʤm, ʤt, ʧ, ʧl, ʧm, θ, θf, θl, θɹ
Word final consonants: d, dh, l, lh, n, s, sh, vh, wg, wj, x, xh, xt, ɾ Phonological changes (in order of application):
"Mary opened the door with a key" turns into Mary with a key the door opened.
Adjective order: Adjectives are positioned before the noun.
Adposition: postpositions
Wendec uses a standalone particle word for future tense:
Perfect aspect
The perfect aspect in English is exemplified in ‘I have read this book’, which expresses an event that took place before the time spoken but which has an effect on or is in some way still relevant to the present.
Wendec uses an affix for the perfect aspect:
2 - ˈaidh
3 - gos
4 - ˈfhaːi
5 - bud
6 - ˈshae
7 - ʦʰo
8 - ya
9 - nʲuɾ
10 - xhʰaː
11 - ˈntʰet̪ˠeː
12 - ˈshael
13 - eeˈɲy
14 - maːˈuɲaˌe
15 - fhaːˈunʲaː
16 - ((sixteen))
17 - ˈxeɲu
18 - ˈeːt̪ˠoi
19 - xheːsh
20 - xhʰaˈibˠaˌe
21 - ny xhʰu ˈxhʰaiˌbˠae “one and twenty”
400 - ny ˈptai “one fourhundred”
401 - ny ptaˈi xhʰu ny “one fourhundred and one”
800 - aˈidh ptaˈi “two fourhundred”
8000 - ny ma “one eightthousand”
Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = Suffix -ai
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -lh Else: Suffix -aolh
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -n Else: Suffix -aːin
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -ɾ Else: Suffix -oiɾ
Noun to verb = Suffix -ilh
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = Suffix -aːish
Tending to = Suffix -osh
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = Suffix -uɾ
Verb → noun that verb produces (e.g. know → knowledge) = Suffix -aːu
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = Suffix -aːish
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = Suffix -uːxt
Diminutive = Suffix -ewj
Augmentative = Suffix -oi
"...and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind..." Translation: xhʰu xi cʰtʰy ˈcʰtʰaːuwy ˈfoi ˈrao xhʰu ˈeɫaː cʰtʰy ptuvh be Pronunciation: ʧʰu xi kʰtʰiː ˈkʰtʰaːuwj ˈfoi ˈrao ʧʰu ˈeɫaː kʰtʰiː ptuːvh be Wendec word order: and he his hat holding stood and the wind to his wet face turned
Spelling & Phonology
Consonant inventory: /b bˠ c d dʲ d̪ˠ f fʲ fˠ g h j k l lʲ m mʲ mˠ n nʲ n̪ˠ p pˠ s sˠ t tʲ t̪ˠ v vʲ vˠ w x z ð ŋ ɟ ɫ ɲ ɹ ɾ ɾʲ ɾˠ ʃ ʍ ʤ ʧ θ/| ↓Manner/Place→ | Bilabial | Labiodental | Dental | Alveolar | Palato-alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | mʲ mˠ m | n̪ˠ | nʲ n | ɲ | ŋ | |||
| Stop | pˠ p bˠ b | t̪ˠ d̪ˠ | tʲ t dʲ d | c ɟ | k g | |||
| Affricate | ʧ ʤ | |||||||
| Fricative | fʲ fˠ f vˠ vʲ v | θ ð | sˠ s z | ʃ | x | h | ||
| Approximant | ɹ | j | ||||||
| Tap | ɾˠ ɾʲ ɾ | |||||||
| Lateral approximant | lʲ l |
| ↓Manner/Place→ | Labial-velar | Velarized alveolar |
|---|---|---|
| Approximant | ʍ w | |
| Lateral approximant | ɫ |
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | iː | uː | |
| Near-high | ɪ | ʊ | |
| Low-mid | ɛ | ɜː | ʌ ɔː |
| Near-low | æ | ||
| Low | ɑ ɑː |
Stress pattern: No fixed stress
Word initial consonants: bˠ, c, dʲ, d̪ˠ, fʲ, fˠ, g, gɫ, h, hɾˠ, k, lʲ, mʲ, mˠ, mˠpˠ, nʲ, nʲʃ, n̪ˠ, n̪ˠt̪ˠ, pˠ, sˠ, sˠk, sˠt̪ˠ, tʲ, t̪ˠ, vʲ, vˠ, x, xt̪ˠ, ŋ, ɟ, ɫ, ɫt̪ˠ, ɲ, ɾʲ, ɾˠ, ɾˠsˠ, ɾˠɫ, ʃ, ʃtʲ
Mid-word consonants: b, bd, bj, bl, bm, bn, bs, bskj, bskɹ, bst, bstɹ, bt, bv, bz, bɹ, bɾ, bʤ, d, df, dg, dgɹ, dj, dkw, dl, dm, dn, ds, dv, dw, dɹ, dʃ, f, fj, fl, fspɹ, ft, ftl, ftw, fɹ, g, gj, gl, gm, gn, gz, gɹ, gʤ, h, j, k, kd, kf, kgɹ, kj, kl, km, kn, ks, ksf, ksk, kskj, kskl, kskw, ksm, ksp, kspl, kspɹ, kst, kstɹ, ksw, ksʧ, kt, ktf, ktl, ktɹ, kw, kz, kɹ, kʃ, kʧ, l, lb, ld, ldf, ldh, ldl, ldn, ldɹ, lf, lg, lgɹ, lj, lk, lkj, ll, lm, ln, lp, lpf, lpl, lptj, ls, lsh, lsʍ, lt, ltj, ltɹ, lv, lw, lð, lɹ, lʤ, lʧ, lθ, m, mb, mbl, mbɹ, mf, mfl, mft, mfɹ, mh, mj, ml, mn, mp, mpj, mpl, mpt, mptl, mpɹ, mpʃ, mpʧ, ms, mst, mt, mw, mz, mɹ, mʧ, mθ, n, nb, nbɹ, nd, ndj, ndl, ndm, ndɹ, nf, nfj, nfl, nfɹ, ng, ngɹ, nh, nj, nk, nkl, nkw, nkɹ, nl, nm, nn, npl, ns, nsf, nsj, nskɹ, nsl, nsm, nsp, nst, nstɹ, nt, ntl, ntm, ntɹ, nv, nw, nz, nzl, nzp, nɹ, nʃ, nʤ, nʤm, nʧ, nθj, p, pj, pl, pm, pt, pw, pɹ, pʃ, pʧ, s, sd, sf, sg, sgɹ, sj, sk, skj, skl, skɹ, sl, sm, sn, sp, spj, spl, st, stj, stl, stm, stw, stɹ, sw, sʧ, t, tb, tf, tj, tl, tm, tn, ts, tsm, tw, tɹ, v, vj, vl, vm, vn, vɹ, w, z, zb, zd, zj, zl, zm, ð, ðdɹ, ðst, ŋ, ŋg, ŋgj, ŋgl, ŋgw, ŋgɹ, ŋk, ŋkt, ŋkw, ŋkʃ, ŋkʧ, ŋl, ɹ, ɹb, ɹd, ɹf, ɹg, ɹk, ɹl, ɹm, ɹml, ɹn, ɹpl, ɹs, ɹsm, ɹt, ɹtl, ɹv, ɹʃ, ɹʤ, ɹʧ, ɹθw, ɾ, ʃ, ʃm, ʃn, ʤ, ʤm, ʤt, ʧ, ʧl, ʧm, θ, θf, θl, θɹ
Word final consonants: d, dh, l, lh, n, s, sh, vh, wg, wj, x, xh, xt, ɾ Phonological changes (in order of application):
- n → ∅ / _s
- k → x / V_t
- t → ʃ / _{i,ı̃}
- u → ∅ / a_
| Pronunciation | Spelling |
|---|---|
| kw | qu |
| kt | cked / _# |
| k | c / !_{ɪ,i,ɛ,e,s} |
| oʊC₁ | oC₁e |
| uːC₁ | uC₁e / _# |
| eɪC₁ | aC₁e / _# |
| ð | th |
| θ | th |
| ʍ | wh |
| ŋg | ng |
| ŋk | nc |
| ŋ | ng |
| ʧ | xh |
| ʃ | sh |
| ɹ | r |
| z | s / _# |
| ju | u / C_ |
| cc | cc |
| c | k / _# |
| {t,d} | ed / C_# |
| aʊ | ov / _# |
| aʊ | ou |
| ɔɪ | oi |
| ɪə | eer |
| ɪ | y / _# |
| ɪ | i |
| ji | yi |
| j | y |
| iː | y / _# |
| yy | yi / _# |
| y | i / #_# |
| ʌ | u |
| iː | ee |
| oʊ | o |
| ʊ | oo |
| ɛ | e |
| ɑ(ː) | a |
| t | tt / æ_# |
| l | ll / æ_# |
| s | ss / æ_# |
| z | zz / æ_# |
| æ | a |
| ʤ | j / #_ |
| ʤ | je / _# |
| ʤ | dj |
| ɜː | ur |
| ɔː | or |
| uː | u |
| quur | quir |
| eə | ere |
Grammar
Main word order: Subject (Prepositional phrase) Object Verb."Mary opened the door with a key" turns into Mary with a key the door opened.
Adjective order: Adjectives are positioned before the noun.
Adposition: postpositions
Nouns
Nouns have four cases:- Nominative is the doer of a verb: dog bites man.
- Accusative is the done-to of a verb: man bites dog.
- Genitive is the possessor of something: dog’s tail hits man.
- Dative is the recipeint of something: man gives ball to dog.
| Nominative | No affix ˈais /ˈais/ dog (doing the verb) |
| Accusative | Suffix -aixh aˈisaixh /aˈisaixh/ (verb done to) dog |
| Genitive | Suffix -aːxt ˈaisaːxed /ˈaisaːxt/ dogʼs |
| Dative | Suffix -aun aˈisaun /aˈisaun/ to (the/a) dog |
| Singular | No affix aˈis /aˈis/ dog |
| Plural | If ends with vowel: Suffix -s Else: Suffix -es ˈaises /ˈaises/ dogs |
Articles
| Definite | Indefinite | |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | oɾ /oɾ/ the | xhoːsh /ʧoːsh/ a |
| Plural | toi /toi/ the | bɮau /bɮau/ some |
Pronouns
| Nominative | Accusative | Genitive | Dative | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st singular | cʰaːun /kʰaːun/ I | shoi /ʃoi/ me | aːis /aːis/ mine | ntʰu /ntʰu/ to me |
| 2nd singular | cʰtʰou /kʰtʰou/ you (masc) | ptoː /ptoː/ you | xhʰu /ʧʰuː/ yours | oːl /oːl/ to you |
| 3rd singular masc | xi /xi/ he, it | aː /aː/ him, it | ntʰolh /ntʰolh/ his, its | faolh /faolh/ to him, at it |
| 3rd singular fem | soː /soː/ she, it | sau /sau/ her, it | tʰu /tʰuː/ hers, its | shae /ʃae/ to her, at it |
| 1st plural | cʰtʰaːish /kʰtʰaːish/ we | bau /bau/ us | ʦaoxed /ʦaoxt/ ours | su /suː/ to us |
| 2nd plural | cʰaːush /kʰaːush/ you all | you /jou/ you all | ou /ou/ yours (pl) | u /u/ to you all |
| 3rd plural | cʰtʰaːuwg /kʰtʰaːuwg/ they | aos /aos/ them | oːwg /oːwg/ theirs | ty /tiː/ to them |
Possessive determiners
| 1st singular | bau /bau/ my |
| 2nd singular | eewg /iːwg/ your |
| 3rd singular masc | cʰtʰy /kʰtʰiː/ his |
| 3rd singular fem | xheːwg /ʧeːwg/ her |
| 1st plural | nʲaːd /nʲaːd/ our |
| 2nd plural | bɮu /bɮuː/ your (pl) |
| 3rd plural | aos /aos/ their |
Verbs
| Present | Past | Remote past | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st singular | If ends with vowel: Suffix -l Else: Suffix -ail ʦʰiˈɾail /ʦʰiˈɾail/ (I) learn | Suffix -a ʦʰiˈɾa /ʦʰiˈɾa/ (I) learned | If ends with vowel: Suffix -wg Else: Suffix -oiwg ˈʦʰiɾoiwg /ˈʦʰiɾoiwg/ (I) learned (long ago) |
| 2nd singular | Suffix -ud ˈʦʰiɾud /ˈʦʰiɾud/ (you) learn | If ends with vowel: Suffix -vh Else: Suffix -eːvh ʦʰiˈɾeːvh /ʦʰiˈɾeːvh/ (you) learned | Suffix -aixh ˈʦʰiɾaixh /ˈʦʰiɾaixh/ (you) learned (long ago) |
| 3rd singular | Suffix -ewg ʦʰiˈɾewg /ʦʰiˈɾewg/ (he/she/it) learns | Suffix -uɾ ˈʦʰiɾuɾ /ˈʦʰiɾuɾ/ (he/she/it) learned | If ends with vowel: Suffix -dh Else: Suffix -aːdh ˈʦʰiɾaːdh /ˈʦʰiɾaːdh/ (he/she/it) learned (long ago) |
| 1st plural | If ends with vowel: Suffix -wj Else: Suffix -eːwj ˈʦʰiɾeːwy /ˈʦʰiɾeːwj/ (we) learn | Suffix -aː ʦʰiˈɾaː /ʦʰiˈɾaː/ (we) learned | If ends with vowel: Suffix -sh Else: Suffix -osh ˈʦʰiɾosh /ˈʦʰiɾosh/ (we) learned (long ago) |
| 2nd plural | If ends with vowel: Suffix -lh Else: Suffix -oːlh ˈʦʰiɾoːlh /ˈʦʰiɾoːlh/ (you all) learn | If ends with vowel: Suffix -wj Else: Suffix -aiwj ˈʦʰiɾaiwy /ˈʦʰiɾaiwj/ (you all) learned | If ends with vowel: Suffix -n Else: Suffix -iːn ˈʦʰiɾeen /ˈʦʰiɾiːn/ (you all) learned (long ago) |
| 3rd plural | If ends with vowel: Suffix -xt Else: Suffix -uːxt ʦʰiˈɾuxed /ʦʰiˈɾuːxt/ (they) learn | Suffix -ix ʦʰiˈɾix /ʦʰiˈɾix/ (they) learned | Suffix -uːd ˈʦʰiɾude /ˈʦʰiɾuːd/ (they) learned (long ago) |
| Future | Particle before the verb: ntʰoxt - ntʰoxed ʦʰiɾ /ntʰoxt ʦʰiɾ/ will learn |
| Perfect | Suffix -ai ˈʦʰiɾai /ˈʦʰiɾai/ have learned |
Numbers
Wendec has a base-20 number system: 1 - ny2 - ˈaidh
3 - gos
4 - ˈfhaːi
5 - bud
6 - ˈshae
7 - ʦʰo
8 - ya
9 - nʲuɾ
10 - xhʰaː
11 - ˈntʰet̪ˠeː
12 - ˈshael
13 - eeˈɲy
14 - maːˈuɲaˌe
15 - fhaːˈunʲaː
16 - ((sixteen))
17 - ˈxeɲu
18 - ˈeːt̪ˠoi
19 - xheːsh
20 - xhʰaˈibˠaˌe
21 - ny xhʰu ˈxhʰaiˌbˠae “one and twenty”
400 - ny ˈptai “one fourhundred”
401 - ny ptaˈi xhʰu ny “one fourhundred and one”
800 - aˈidh ptaˈi “two fourhundred”
8000 - ny ma “one eightthousand”
Derivational morphology
Adjective → adverb = If ends with vowel: Suffix -lh Else: Suffix -eːlhAdjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = Suffix -ai
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -lh Else: Suffix -aolh
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -n Else: Suffix -aːin
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -ɾ Else: Suffix -oiɾ
Noun to verb = Suffix -ilh
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = Suffix -aːish
Tending to = Suffix -osh
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = Suffix -uɾ
Verb → noun that verb produces (e.g. know → knowledge) = Suffix -aːu
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = Suffix -aːish
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = Suffix -uːxt
Diminutive = Suffix -ewj
Augmentative = Suffix -oi

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