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Ringwa
Ringwap
Type
Alignment
Nominative-accusative
Head direction
Final
Tonal
No
Declensions
Yes
Conjugations
Yes
Genders
No
Nouns decline according to...
Case Number
Definiteness Gender
Verbs conjugate according to...
Voice Mood
Person Number
Tense Aspect



General information[]

This language was simply constructed as an experiment, and for fun.

Phonology / Writing system[]

The writing system of Ringwa is called "skritap ringwara" (lit. writing of Ringwa). There is no capital/small letter distinction.

Consonants[]

Table1

Consonant pairs (?/?) are unvoiced-voiced pairs.
IPA symbols: ŋ (ng), θ (th), ð (dh), ʃ (sh), ʒ (zh), x (x), ɣ (gh), tʃ (ch), dʒ (j)

Vowels[]

Table2

IPA symbols: ə (e), ɛ (ë), æ (ae), ɔ (o)

L and R[]

R represents an alveolar tap (IPA: ɾ).
L represents an alveolar lateral approximant. (IPA: l)

Ringwa RL

Alphabet[]

Ringwa script

Romanized:

a, i, o, e, ai, oi, wa,
æ/ae, ë, u, r, l, ya, yo, wo,
p, k, t, s, ts, š/sh, tš/ch, x, þ/th, f, n,
b, g, d, z, dz, ž/zh, dž/j, ğ/gh, ð/dh, v, ng,
ra, ap, dya, kya, ël, un, ri, æz.

IPA:

/a/, /i/, /ɔ/~/o/, /ə/, /ai/, /ɔi/, /wa/,
/æ/, /ɛ/~/e/, /u/, /ɾ/, /l/, /ja/, /jɔ/, /wɔ/,
/p/, /k/~/c/, /t/, /s/, /ts/, /ʃ/, /tʃ/, /x/~/ç/, /θ/, /f/, /n/,
/b/, /g/~/ɟ/, /d/, /z/, /dz/, /ʒ/, /dʒ/, /ɣ/~/ʝ/, /ð/, /v/, /ŋ/,
/ɾa/, /ap/, /dja/, /cja/, /el/, /un/, /ɾi/, /æz/.

Cyrillic:

а, и, o, ә, аи, oи, уа,
ӓ, е, у, р, л, я/ья, ё/ьё, уo,
п, к, т, с, ц, ш, ч, х, ѳ, ф, н,
б, г, д, з, ѕ, ж, џ/дж, ґ, дѳ, в, нк/нг,
ра, ап, дья, кья, ел, ун, ри, ӓз.

Throughout this guide, the romanized script will be used.

Orthography for foreign/loan words[]

  • "pn" is pronounced /m/.
  • "xğ" is pronounced /h/.
  • "pğ","tğ" and "kğ" represent /pʰ/, /tʰ/ and /kʰ/ respectively.
  • "sl" and "tsl" represent /ɬ/ and /tɬ/ respectively.
  • "zl" and "dzl" represent /ɮ/ and /dɮ/ respectively.

Phonotactics[]

Almost all 2-consonant clusters are allowed, but exactly one of the two must be a stop. /ts/, /dz/, /tʃ/ and /dʒ/ must be written with the proper symbol (not as a pair of symbols).Clusters must have the same voicing throughout, otherwise they are pronounced according to "Orthography for foreign words". When two vowels are next to each other, pronounce a glottal stop between them, except if one of them is /ɾ/ or they are in a diphthong (/ai/, /ja/, /ɔi/, /jɔ/, /wa/, /wɔ/). Only plosives, /n/ or /ŋ/ can precede /w/, and written /ŋ/ must occur at the end of a syllable. Also, the following sound changes take place (in this order):

  • /n/ before a velar consonant is pronounced /ŋ/ except across a word boundary.
  • /k/, /g/, /x/ and /ɣ/ before /j/ is pronounced /c/, /ɟ/, /ç/ and /ʝ/ respectively.
  • Any string of 2 or more /ɾ/ must be pronounced as an alveolar trill /r/.

Grammar[]

There are three types of word in Ringwa: Objects, Numbers, and Relations.

Objects[]

These correspond to other languages' nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. Each object has a number of forms to determine what part of speech it is, but some words do not have an adverb form.

Objects can have these forms:

Noun: (e.g.) Weight
Verb: To weigh
Performer: (Weigh-er) Balance/scale
Adjective: Heavy
Adverb: Heavily

Object Conjugation/Declension[]

The affixes are applied in the order they are presented in below (top-bottom), if required. A case must be added for nouns and a tense must be added for verbs. Markers must be included on adjectives and adverbs. Table note: The number in parentheses is a "group". Only one member of any group can be added, and things with no group specified are on their own.

Stems with no affixes added are verb infinitives.

Purpose Parts of speech Required Primary start/end If primary creates illegal cluster
Adjective marker Adjectives No (0) æz- æza-
Adverb marker Adverbs No (0) gëz- gëza-
State of being (-ness/-hood) Nouns, adjectives No -ku -eku
Performer Nouns No gar-r ge-er
Combined nominative-accusative case (Direct case) Nouns, gerund verbs Yes (1) -p -ap
Genitive case Nouns, gerund verbs Yes (1) -ra -era
Dative case Nouns Yes (1) -ng -ëng
Locative case Nouns Yes (1) -kya -ëkya
Instrumental case Nouns, gerund verbs Yes (1) -gur -egur
Paucal (2-5) Nouns, gerund verbs, number adjectives No (2) gh- ghë-
Plural(6+) Nouns, gerund verbs, number adjectives No (2) zh- zhë-
Collective (All) Nouns, gerund verbs No (2) sk- skë-
Past tense Verbs, adjectives (participle) Yes (3) wa- wap-
Present tense Verbs, adjectives (participle) Yes (3) ya- yap-
Future tense Verbs Yes (3) cha- chap-
Perfect aspect Verbs No (4) -ag -kag
Continuous aspect Verbs No (4) -ts -ëch
Gerund Verbs No nya- nyap-
Passive voice Verbs No be- ber-
Imperative mood (for commands) Verbs No ch- che-
Comparative Adjectives, adverbs No (5) -yar -rr
Superlative Adjectives, adverbs No (5) -yast -st

Numbers[]

These are like numbers in other languages, except they are in base 20 (dën). They are a special case of Objects, with a predetermined definition (with "x" being the value):

  • Noun: x itself
  • Verb: To multiply by x / To x-tuple (double, triple, quadruple, ...)
  • Adjective: Having a count of x (paucal/plural) xth (otherwise)
  • Adverb: Done x times
  • Performer: A device/person whose purpose is to multiply by x

Number words:

# Lat. Ringwa # Lat. Ringwa # Lat. Ringwa # Lat. Ringwa
0 zheru 12 dhudëxab 205 vædënri 2017 sëdëx dënri
1 un(e) 13 tradëxab 206 shëdënri 2018 otedëx dënri
2 dhu 14 vadëxab 207 sëdënri 2019 nudëx dënri
3 tra 15 vædëxab 208 otedënri 2020 dën dënri
4 va 16 shëdëxab 209 nudënri 20202 dhudënri dënri
5 17 sëdëxab 2010 dëx dënri 20203 tradënri dënri
6 shë(k) 18 otedëxab 2011 undëx dënri 202020 dën dënri dënri
7 së(t) 19 nudëxab 2012 dhudëx dënri Negative (-x) prefix dya-
8 ot(e) 20 (une) dën 2013 tradëx dënri Reciprocal (1/x) prefix dhi-
9 nu(n) 400 dhudën 2014 vadëx dënri Half (1/2) dhyo
10 dëx(e) 8000 tradën 2015 vædëx dënri One twentieth (1/20) dhën
11 undëxab 204 vadën 2016 shëdëx dënri

dën dënri dënri  (twenty-twenty-powerof-twenty-powerof) = 202020 is about the 3.5th root of a googolplex (1010100)

Number operation suffixes:

All operations are written after their inputs, so "two plus one" in Ringwa would be un dhu waba (lit. "one two added")

Adding: -ba or -abe

Multiplying: No suffix, just concatenate

Exponentiation: -ri. Note that the exponent is said and written before the base.

Relations[]

These correspond to other languages' articles, particles and prepositions. They do not inflect.

Ringwa English/Description
un Indefinite article: "a" or "an". Also the number "one".
l Definite article: "the".
del Expresses the topic of something. Like English "about".
dya Negation (not ~). Can also be prefixed to another relation ("negating" it). Use "dyar" to negate a word starting with a vowel.
tsi English "above" or "over". Can be negated for "below" or "under".
dëks English "to the right of". Can be negated for "to the left of".
frën English "in front of" or "before". Cannot be negated.
bax English "behind" or "after". Cannot be negated.
suro English "surrounding". Can be negated for "inside".
roda English "around". This is different from suro in that it implies rotational movement. Cannot be negated.
prox English "near". Can be negated for "far".
anu English "among" or "amid". Can be negated for "separate/different from".
dir English "next to", can refer to either left or right, but no other directions.
fu English "by", but only used for expressing ownership.
depi English "despite", "except for". Can be negated for "including".

Word order[]

  • Adjectives and adverbs come after the noun/verb they are describing.
  • Subjects and agents come before objects
  • Verbs must be after their subject and object (SOV order). This reduces ambiguity.
  • Relations can only come after nouns.

Vocabulary[]


No. English Rom. Ringwa
1Iyop
2you (singular)tup
3heërap
4weghëyop/zhëyop
5you (plural)ghëtup/zhëtup
6theyghëra/zhëra
7thisëstap
8thatnap
9hereëstëkya
10therenakya
11whotwarap
12whatkëp
13wherekëkya
14whentëp
15howzena
16notdya
17allskæp
18manydzæ
19someghæ
20few(paucal)
21otherotre
22oneunap
23twodhup
24threetrap
25fourvap
26fivevæp
27bigæzda
28longæzdhir
29wideæzafërn
30thickæzdist
31heavyæzwote
32smalldya æzda
33shortdya æzdhir
34narrowdya æzafërn
35thindya æzdist
36womanperswap
37man (adult male)perswop
38man (human being)persup
39childdyapersup
40wifedhuwap
41husbanddhuwop
42mothertrawap
43fathertrawop
44animalbëstip
45fishpiskap
46birdavyop
47dogpëgup
48louse
49snakekolup
50wormurnap
51treearbop
52forestskarbolp
53stickbarp arbora
54fruitkænidap arbora
55seedofop arbora
56leaffolyap
57rootterap arbora
58barkkortizhap arbora
59flowerflorap
60grassfolyap terrara
61ropekordap
62skinpëlap
63meat
64blood
65bone
66fat
67eggofop
68horn
69tail
70feather
71hair
72head
73ear
74eye
75nose
76mouth
77tooth
78tongue
79fingernail
80foot
81leg
82knee
83hand
84wing
85belly
86guts
87neck
88back
89breast
90heart
91liver
92drink
93eat
94bite
95suck
96spit
97vomit
98blow
99breathe
100laugh
101see
102hear
103know
104think
105smell
106fear
107sleep
108live
109die
110kill
111fight
112hunt
113hit
114cut
115split
116stab
117scratch
118dig
119swim
120fly
121walk
122come
123lie
124sit
125stand
126turn
127fall
128give
129hold
130squeeze
131rub
132wash
133wipe
134pull
135push
136throw
137tie
138sew
139count
140say
141sing
142play
143float
144flow
145freeze
146swell
147sun
148moon
149star
150water
151rain
152river
153lake
154sea
155salt
156stone
157sand
158dust
159earth
160cloud
161fog
162sky
163wind
164snow
165ice
166smoke
167fire
168ash
169burn
170road
171mountain
172red
173green
174yellow
175white
176black
177night
178day
179yearanop
180warm
181cold
182full
183new
184old
185gooddyar æzamal
186badæzamal
187rotten
188dirty
189straight
190round
191sharp
192dull
193smooth
194wet
195dry
196correctvërid
197nearprox
198fardya prox
199rightæzdërch
200leftdyar æzdërch
201at(locative)/a
202in(locative)
203with(instrumental)/lë
204andë
205ifru
206because
207namenomep


Example text[]

The alphabet:

RingwaAlphabet

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1:

RingwaUdhr
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity
and rights. They are endowed with reason and
conscience and should act towards one another
in a spirit of brotherhood.
skë-persu-p æz-liber æz-ikwal ë digniti-kya
rëkta-kya ë be-ya-nat. zh-ëra-p rëson-gur konsyans-egur
ë be-wa-da | zh-ëra-p zh-otre a ya-dëbe axto
mod-ëkya brëtherku-ra ë.
COL-'human being'-DIR ADJ-'freedom' ADJ-'equality' 'and' 'dignity'-LOC
'right'-LOC 'and' PASS-PRES-'born'. PL-'he'-DIR 'reason'-INS 'conscience'-INS
'and' PASS-PST-'give' PL-'he'-DIR PL-'other' PRES-'must' 'act'
'way/method'-LOC 'brotherhood'-GEN 'and'
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