Background[]
Delisean, is an indigenous language spoken in Spain, of the Delta-Mevevta family, as Meula and Kabean.
Phonology[]
Consonants[]
Labial | Alveolar | Velar | Uvular | Glottal | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | m | n | |||
Plosive | p b | t d | k g | q | |
Fricative | f v | s | x | χ | h |
Flap | ɾ | ||||
Lateral app. | l |
Vowels[]
Front | Back | |
---|---|---|
Close | i y | u |
Mid | e ø | o |
Open-Mid | ε | ɔ |
Open | ä | ɑ |
Ortography[]
Phoneme (IPA) | Transcription |
---|---|
ɑ | a |
ä | ä |
e | e |
ε | è |
ɔ | o |
o | ó |
ø | ø |
i | i |
u | u |
y | ü |
m | m |
n | n |
p | p |
b | b |
t | t |
d | d |
k | k |
g | g |
q | q |
f | f |
v | v |
s | s |
x | x |
χ | χ |
h | h |
ɾ | r |
l | l |
Alphabet: a ä b d e è f g h i k l m n o ó ø p q r s t u ü v x χ
Grammar[]
Personal Pronouns[]
1. Sg. | 2. Sg. | 3. Sg. | 1. D. | 2. D. | 3. D. | 1. Pl. | 2. Pl. | 3. Pl. | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nom. | ø | tor | i | ive | irase | inin | va | trase | na |
Acc. | øk | tok | ik | ikvek | ikrasek | iknink | vak | trasek | nak |
Dat. | efó | toró | ü | üvø | ürasø | ünü | vø | trasø | nø |
Caus. | efe | tore | ie | ivi | irasi | ini | vè | trasi | nè |
Adv. | øte | tote | ite | ivte | iraste | inte | vete | traste | nete |
Refl. | øsè | tosè | isè | ivsè | irsè | insè | vasè | trasè | nasè |
Numbers[]
Delisean uses an octal system.
1: hü
2: nin
3: gó
4: fó
5: dit
6: χes
7: lä
8: mut
9: muteng hü
10: muteng nin
11: muteng gó
12: muteng fó
[...]
16: nisemut
17: nisemuteng hü
24: gósemut
25: gósemuteng hü
32: fósemut
33: fósemuteng hü
40: ditsemut
48: χesemut
56: läsemut
64: serak
65: serakeng hü
73: serakeng muteng hü
128: niserak
192: góserak
[...]
512: sankserak
1000: sankserakeng läserakeng ditsemut
1022: sankserakeng läserakeng läsemuteng χes
1024: nisangrak
1536: gósangrak
2048: fósangrak
[...]
4096: säkrak
8192: nisäkrak
[...]
36864: muteng hü säkrak
[...]
16777216 (4096²): säkrak säkrak
16777217: säkrak säkrakeng hü
The numbers take the noun case and act like a noun and the noun becomes an adjective, being the noun, verb and the number always singular.
Delete nin øk rapè poleta. (Man-adv two me past see-3rd): Two men saw me.
Ø delete ninek rapè polete. (I man-adv two-acc past see-1st): I saw two men.
Nouns[]
Originally, the dual form was made with -a and the plural with -eth, but the dual form became used for general plural except for commonly dual nouns, which also have lost its dual in the modern language. Modern nouns can have a dual form adding the prefix i-, ik- (for accusative), or ü-/if- (for dative) to the plural form. The prefix on the plural noun derives from the old oblique particle of a singular conjugation of a plural word, and the dual nouns retained are still conjugated as singular in the modern language.
The nominative case is the subject of a sentence, the accusative marks the direct object and the dative the indirect object. The causative takes prepositions and is the agent of intransitive verbs when placed before the verb. The adverbial case acts as an adjective before a noun and as an adverb before a verb. It also indicates possession. The pronouns have a reflexive form, used as a direct object when the object is the same, which is used even when the subject (and object) is a noun.
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nom. | - | -a | -ä | -e | -è | -i | -o | -ó | -ø | -èi | -u | -øü |
Acc. | -ek | -ak | -äk | -ek | -èk | -ik | -ok | -ók | -øk | -èik | -uk | -øük |
Dat. | -ó | -ø | -èu | -ø | -èu | -ü | -ó | -ua | -øu | -èü | -ua | -øu |
Caus. | -e | -è | -èi | -i | -èi | -i | -ø | -ø | -øi | -èie | -ø | -øi |
Adv. | -ete | -ate | -äte | -ete | -ète | -ite | -ote | -óte | -øte | -èite | -ute | -øüte |
Plural | 2 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 12 | - | 9 | - |
This table shows the types of regular nouns. Words with such nominative endings will have these declinations for singular. The plural is a different declination shown on the last line. The declinations 10 and 12 are only used as plural. There are a few irregular nouns, most have their own patterns. Some words ending on s and x do not take the first declination but are irregular instead.
Possession[]
Possession can be expressed in two different ways in two different contexts. When the possessor is general (all of its kind) the adverbial case is used, making an adjective. If the possessor is limited, the preposition küx (out of, from) is used.
Delatè kadara: People's cities, human cities.
Küx dela kadara: Cities of these people, cities of the (specified quantity) people.
Examples of irregular nouns[]
Irregular -x: Polysyllabic nouns ending on -x simply lose the -x for plural and some singular cases, and decline as a noun ending on its vowel.
hemax (tooth) | Sg. | D. | Pl. |
---|---|---|---|
Nom. | hemax | ihemä | hemä |
Acc. | hemaxk | ikhemäk | hemäk |
Dat. | hemø | ühemèu | hemèu |
Caus. | hemè | ihemèi | hemèi |
Adv. | hemaxte | ihemäte | hemäte |
Defective -x: Only for single-syllable nouns. /x/ becomes /h/ intervocallicaly. Acc. sg. and Adv. sg. are iregular.
rax (fear) | Sg. | D. | Pl. |
---|---|---|---|
Nom. | rax | iraha | raha |
Acc. | raxk | ikrahak | rahak |
Dat. | rahó | ürahø | rahø |
Caus. | rahe | irahè | rahè |
Adv. | raxte | irahate | rahate |
Irregular -s: From old -z. Becomes /rj/ intervocallicaly, but /r/ for the dative case.
gados (river) | Sg. | D. | Pl. |
---|---|---|---|
Nom. | gados | igadoria | gadoria |
Acc. | gadosk | igadoriak | gadoriak |
Dat. | gadoró | ügadorø | gadorø |
Caus. | gadorie | igadoriè | gadoriè |
Adv. | gadoste | igadoriate | gadoriate |
Irregular -s words starting with a front vowel have a different ending for plural and dual in cases with hiatus (no /j/ before /r/, only for accusative). This can alternatively be spelled with the i, as it was noted that in slow speech it is pronounced.
es (food) | Sg. | D. | Pl. |
---|---|---|---|
Nom. | es | iera | eria |
Acc. | esk | ikeriak | eriak |
Dat. | eró | iferø | erø |
Caus. | erie | ierè | eriè |
Adv. | este | ierate | eriate |
Adjectives[]
Adjectives agree to case and number and are placed before their nouns. When a noun is dual the adjective remains singular. The adverbial case can be used for making adjectives out of nouns.
Adverbs[]
Adverbs are placed before the verb. Adverbs from adjectives are made from their adverbial case. The case is also used for nouns meaning the action was done using the noun. For example, "to walk (qerom) with shoes (hadar)" would be "hadarete qerom"
Verbs[]
Tense adverbs[]
Verb tenses and aspect are made with adverbs, which are sometimes ignored when other temporal adverbs are present.
Perfective | Imperfective | |
---|---|---|
Future | su | kübe |
Past | rapè | tèbe |
Past past | sula | tèra |
The future adverbs are also used for imperative. The perfective for imperative is used for only a few verbs, such as start or finish, or instead of start.
Conjugations[]
- |
1. Sg. | 2. Sg. | 3. Sg. | 1. Pl. | 2. Pl. | 3. Pl. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Indicative | -e | -el | -a | -o | -olu | -eχ |
Subjunctive | -ent | -et | -ès | -ek | -am | -eχel |
Potential | -edè | -eldè | -axè | -odè | -oldè | -elχè |
Imperative | - | -ili | - | -ó | -ik | - |
-e |
1. Sg. | 2. Sg. | 3. Sg. | 1. Pl. | 2. Pl. | 3. Pl. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Indicative | -ep | -el | -è | -øp | -øl | -èχ |
Subjunctive | -ent | -et | -es | -ek | -em | -eχel |
Potential | -edè | -eldè | -èxè | -ødè | -øldè | -èlχè |
Imperative | - | -eli | - | -ó | -ek | - |
-è |
1. Sg. | 2. Sg. | 3. Sg. | 1. Pl. | 2. Pl. | 3. Pl. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Indicative | -èp | -èl | -ä | -èp | -èl | -äχ |
Subjunctive | -ènt | -èt | -ès | -èk | -èm | -èχel |
Potential | -èdè | -èldè | -äxè | -èdè | -èldè | -älχè |
Imperative | - | -èli | - | -ó | -èk | - |
-i |
1. Sg. | 2. Sg. | 3. Sg. | 1. Pl. | 2. Pl. | 3. Pl. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Indicative | -ip | -il | -e | -üp | -ül | -eχ |
Subjunctive | -int | -it | -is | -ik | -im | -iχel |
Potential | -idè | -ildè | -exè | -üdè | -üldè | -elχè |
Imperative | - | -ili | - | -ó | -ik | - |
-ø |
1. Sg. | 2. Sg. | 3. Sg. | 1. Pl. | 2. Pl. | 3. Pl. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Indicative | -øp | -øl | -è | -óp | -ólu | -èχ |
Subjunctive | -ønt | -øt | -øs | -øk | -øm | -øχel |
Potential | -ødè | -øldè | -èxè | -ódè | -óldè | -èlχè |
Imperative | - | -øli | - | -ó | -øk | - |
-ü |
1. Sg. | 2. Sg. | 3. Sg. | 1. Pl. | 2. Pl. | 3. Pl. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Indicative | -üp | -ül | -ø | -óp | -ólu | -øχ |
Subjunctive | -ünt | -üt | -üs | -ük | -üm | -üχel |
Potential | -üdè | -üldè | -øxè | -ódè | -óldè | -ølχè |
Imperative | - | -üli | - | -ó | -ük | - |
The infinitive suffix is -(e)n. The past participle suffix is -(e)nte and it is used to make passive voice much like in English. Some verbs with -ri ending stem act like ending on consonant.
Prefixes[]
There are a number of prefixes that change a verb meaning. They are also used for other word classes, but are most noticeable in verbs. The most important are:
Prefix | Meaning |
---|---|
kü, küh, kø, kè | away from, out of, off |
ba, bas | again |
ha, hø, hä, oh | un-, not, remove |
haχ | together, with |
hom, hon | between |
nø, nøv | around |
rebø, røt | after |
tèbø, tèt | before |
tèn, tèm | to, towards, onto |
ve, vi | inside |
veni | under |
veri, verid | over |
vø, vep, vøp | into |
χü, χi | through |
gä, gi | to all directions, spread |
The meanings are only the prefix idea, not actual meaning. For instance, the verb to be fèb makes 9 other verbs out of it: gäfèb (warn), hafèb (forget), haχfèb (accompany, be with), tèmfèb (become), vefèb (feel sorry, feel guilty), venifèb (hide), verifèb (flee), χüfèb (visit).
Syntax[]
The basic word order is SOV. Adjectives are placed before the noun and adverbs before or after the verb.