/r/conlangs Chat Network Relay Game - Another Conlang Relay

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#5Misanü by salp
MisanüEnglish

‘Ya dokwolyu‘ yimot, sü ‘ya balwa fadatang. Da‘wama yimoshen bal‘afayte‘ufa ‘ya. Yichirufalyu‘, sü dühsate‘shelyu‘ falwa nyemdaha, sü ‘ya dokwo. Dütünga ‘udoha. Fama‘te‘she ‘udo falwannwe wechangwa boto‘wo san. Sekengri foruy ma foruy met.

This is what the foreigners say, and this is what our people [say]. The ruling foreigners do not respect this. They follow us, and they learn our language in order to speak it, and this is what they say. They love metal. We trade our language for metal to a carver, who flees. But we are still us.

‘i-adU-oku-A-lyu‘yimos-Øsü‘i-abal-ü-AfA-datang-Ø
DEM-ACC3PL-say-3SG-CVBforeigner-NOMandDEM-ACC4PL-PV-3SG1PL.GEN-tribe-NOM
dU-a‘wam-Ayimos-yenbal-‘afay-t-e‘-ufa‘i-a
3PL-respect-3SGforeigner-NOM.NEG4PL-rule-APP-BEN-1PLDEM-ACC
dU-ichir-ufa-lyu‘südU-ühsa-t-e‘-sh-A-lyu‘fA-lwanim-ra-asü‘i-adU-oku-A
3PL-follow-1PL-CVBand3PL-learn-APP-BEN-1SG-1SG-CVB1PL.GENspeak-INF-ACCandDEM-ACC3PL-say-3SG
dU-tüng-A‘udo-a
3PL-love-3SGmetal-ACC
fA-ma‘-t-e‘-sh-AfA-lwa-nnwe‘udo-Øwechi-angu-abA-to‘u-Asan
1PL-trade-APP-BEN-1SG-1SG1PL.GEN-language-APUDABLmetal-OBLcarve-AGENT-ACC4SG-flee-INTRthen
sekengriforuymaforuymet
but 1PL.DISJCOP1PL.DISJstill

Grammar

Mostly head-initial.
Tends toward verb-subject-object word order, but with emphatic topic-fronting.
Copular sentences take the order subject-copula-predicate.

Relative clauses take no separate marking and simply come immediately after the noun they modify.
They take 4th person as the subject.

Verbs are given as infinitive, 1SG>3SG in the lexicon. For example, the verb ‘take’ with the root -ba‘- would be given as ba‘la, süba‘a meaning “to take” and “I take it”.
Verbs can be intransitive, transitive, ditransitive, or ambitransitive.

Infinitives are formed with -ra after a vowel, -ga after l, -da after a sonorant, and -la after an occlusive.
Infinitives act as nouns.

Affix order: [subject] - [mood] - [root] - [voice] - [indirect object] - [direct object] - [converb] - [imperative]

Polypersonal affixes:

Subject:

1234*
SGs(U)-k(U)-Øb(A)-
DU‘w(A)-‘am(A)-re-bere-
PLf(A)-ni-d(U)-bal-

Indirect object:

123
SG-ch--‘y--sh-
PL-fesh--nish--dush-

Direct object:

123
SG-(U)t-(U)‘-A**
PL-ufa-ünyü-u

* The fourth person is an obviative.
** The 3SG direct object marker -A also goes on all intransitive verbs.

Other verb morphology:

  • -lyu‘ converb meaning “and”, links clauses together into an entire sentence
  • -te‘ dative/benefactive applicative (the one receiving becomes accusative; if there were other other objects, they take oblique)

Nouns are given as nominative/oblique, accusative.
The accusative suffix is -(h)a, occasionally causing dissimilation in the previous vowel.
Particles come either before nouns or sentence-finally.
Possession on nouns is marked by the subject prefix, optionally with the possessor in oblique afterwards.

Other noun morphology:

  • -yen negative nominative case (makes entire sentence negative)
  • -nnwe apudablative case (“from next to…”, also used to show objects being used to trade for something)


Allophony:

  • The archiphonemes U A harmonize to i e, ü a, or u o respectively, depending on which is the nearest in the root, e.g. A-chikam-U > echikamü. Sometimes they are deleted entirely if they are immediately adjacent to a vowel of the same height (i.e. i ü u or e a o).
  • i and ü u desyllabicize to y w next to a vowel.
  • i ü u become e a o before syllable-final m n ng.
  • ng t k d g s f palatalize to ny ch ch y y sh h before i y ny ch sh ly. (nych is respelled as nch.)
  • y is deleted after palatal consonants.
  • s fortites to t syllable-finally.
  • r lenites to l syllable-finally.
  • Initial i e gain an onglide y.
  • Initial ü u o gain an onglide w.
  • Initial a gains a fricative onset h.