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General information
Sapirini has an object-subject-verb word order. Nouns decline according to case and number. Verbs conjugate according to tense, aspect, mood, person, gender, and clusivity. Modifiers precede the head. Sapirini is a pro-drop language.
Phonology
Consonants
| Bilabial | Labio-dental | Alveolar | Post-alveolar | Palatal | Velar | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Nasal |
m | n | ||||
| Plosive | p | t | kʰ g | |||
| Fricative | f v | s z | ʃ | |||
| Affricate |
[dʒ] |
|||||
| Approximant | b | d | ɹ | j | w | |
| Lateral app. | l |
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u | |
| Near-close | |||
| Close-mid | e | o | |
| Mid | |||
| Open-mid | |||
| Near-open | |||
| Open | ä |
| Dipthongs |
|---|
|
ai |
| oi |
Alphabet
| Letters | IPA | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| a | ä | ä |
| e | e | e |
| i | i | i |
| o | o | o |
| u | u | u |
| à | ai | ai |
| ò | oi | oi |
| m | m | mä |
| p | p | pä |
| f | f | fä |
| v | v | vä |
| n | n | nä |
| t | t | tä |
| s | s | sä |
| z | z | zä |
| r | ɹ | ɹä |
| l | l | lä |
| x | ʃ | ʃä |
| j | [dʒ] | [dʒ]ä |
| y | j | jä |
| k | kʰ | kʰä |
| g | g | gä |
| w | w |
wä |
| q | wo |
Sapirian has pitch accent. It falls normally on the penultimate syllable. When it does not, it is marked on the vowels with the acute accent: á, é, í, ó, ú and it is marked on the diphthongs by a circumflex: â, ô.
Phonotactics
Syllable shape is (C)(C)V(C)(C)
"V" is any vowel, dipthong, or the letters /r/, /l/, /m/, /n/, /y/, or /w//
/r/, /l/, /m/, /n/, /y/, and /w/ act as vowels when preceded by the letter /q/.
Grammar
Nouns
Nouns decline by number and case. Number marking follows case marking.
Number
Nouns have three numbers: singular, dual, and plural. The letter /e/ is used if the noun ends in a consonant.
| Number | Suffix | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | tatl | table | |
| Dual | -(e)v | tatlv | two tables |
| Plural | -(e)n | tatln | tables |
Case
Nouns are marked by the dative, lative,locative, superessive, inessive, apudessive, genitive, and instrumental cases.
| Case | Suffix | Description | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| dative | -uk | indicates the indirect object |
manuk |
to the man |
| lative | -ok | marks motion to a location i.e. "to" | stolok | to the store |
| locative | -ak | marks location e.g. "at", "in" etc. | stolak | at the store |
| superessive | -nok | indicates location on top of or on the surface of something i.e. "on" | tatlnok | on the table |
| inessive | -nik | indicates location inside of something i.e. "in" | ladnik | in the box |
| apudessive | -nak | indicates location next to something | tatlnak | next to the table |
| genitive | -te | indicates possession | mante | the man's |
| instrumental | -ye | indicates that the noun is an instrument by which the subject achieves something | hutulye | with the hammer |
.
Verbs
Verbs conjugate according to person, number, tense, aspect, mood, clusivity, and number. Sapirini is a pro-drop language.
Present Tense
| Number | |||||
| Person | Singular | Dual | Plural | ||
| 1 | -di | Inclusive | -div | -din | |
| Exclusive | -dive | -dine | |||
| 2 | -dò | -dòv | -dòn | ||
| 3 | Masculine | -du | -dev | -den | |
| Feminine | -da | ||||
| Neuter | -de | ||||
| Inanimate | -do | -dov | -don | ||
Example sentences:
Nakoldi.( I walk.)
Nakoldu. (He walks.)
Past Tense
The past tense suffixes are the same as the present tense suffixes, but the letter /d/ in each suffix changes to the letter /g/.
Example Sentences:
Nakolgi. (I walked.)
Nakolgu. (He walked.)
Future Tense
The future tense does the same thing as the past, but the /d/ changes to an /f/.
Example Sentences:
Nakolfi. (I will walk.)
Nakolfu. (He will walk.)
Imperfect Aspect
The imperfect aspect is formed the same way as thte tenses, but uses a /w/.
Example Sentences:
Nakolwi. (I used to walk.)
Nakolwu. (He used to walk.)
Pluperfect Aspect
The pluperfect is formed the same way as the imperfect, but uses a /b/.
Nakolbi. (I had walked.)
Nakolbu. (He had walked.)
Vocabulary
Pronouns
Sapirian is a pro-drop language and pronouns are only used for emphasis or clarification.
| Number | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Person | Singular | Dual | Plural | ||
| 1 | milu | In. | miluv | milun | |
| Ex. | miluve | milune | |||
| 2 | vò | vòv | vòn | ||
| 3 | M. | ju | jev | jen | |
| F. | ja | ||||
| N. | je | ||||
| I. | jo | jov | jon | ||
=
| No. | English | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | I | — |
| 2 | you (singular) | — |
| 3 | he | — |
| 4 | we | — |
| 5 | you (plural) | — |
| 6 | they | — |
| 7 | this | dis |
| 8 | that | das |
| 9 | here | nikut |
| 10 | there | nikat |
| 11 | who | misit |
| 12 | what | tingo |
| 13 | where | plikà |
| 14 | when | klokto |
| 15 | how | wito |
| 16 | not | — |
| 17 | all | omnut |
| 18 | many | — |
| 19 | some | — |
| 20 | few | — |
| 21 | other | — |
| 22 | one | — |
| 23 | two | — |
| 24 | three | — |
| 25 | four | — |
| 26 | five | — |
| 27 | big | — |
| 28 | long | lutin |
| 29 | wide | — |
| 30 | thick | — |
| 31 | heavy | — |
| 32 | small | — |
| 33 | short | — |
| 34 | narrow | — |
| 35 | thin | — |
| 36 | woman | — |
| 37 | man (adult male) | — |
| 38 | man (human being) | — |
| 39 | child | — |
| 40 | wife | kontal |
| 41 | husband | kontul |
| 42 | mother | tamal |
| 43 | father | tamul |
| 44 | animal | — |
| 45 | fish | — |
| 46 | bird | fluten |
| 47 | dog | kanin |
| 48 | louse | — |
| 49 | snake | — |
| 50 | worm | — |
| 51 | tree | — |
| 52 | forest | — |
| 53 | stick | — |
| 54 | fruit | — |
| 55 | seed | — |
| 56 | leaf | — |
| 57 | root | — |
| 58 | bark | — |
| 59 | flower | — |
| 60 | grass | — |
| 61 | rope | — |
| 62 | skin | — |
| 63 | meat | — |
| 64 | blood | — |
| 65 | bone | — |
| 66 | fat | — |
| 67 | egg | — |
| 68 | horn | — |
| 69 | tail | — |
| 70 | feather | — |
| 71 | hair | — |
| 72 | head | — |
| 73 | ear | — |
| 74 | eye | — |
| 75 | nose | — |
| 76 | mouth | — |
| 77 | tooth | — |
| 78 | tongue | — |
| 79 | fingernail | — |
| 80 | foot | — |
| 81 | leg | — |
| 82 | knee | — |
| 83 | hand | — |
| 84 | wing | — |
| 85 | belly | — |
| 86 | guts | — |
| 87 | neck | — |
| 88 | back | — |
| 89 | breast | — |
| 90 | heart | — |
| 91 | liver | — |
| 92 | drink | — |
| 93 | eat | — |
| 94 | bite | — |
| 95 | suck | — |
| 96 | spit | — |
| 97 | vomit | — |
| 98 | blow | — |
| 99 | breathe | — |
| 100 | laugh | — |
| 101 | see | — |
| 102 | hear | — |
| 103 | know | — |
| 104 | think | — |
| 105 | smell | — |
| 106 | fear | — |
| 107 | sleep | — |
| 108 | live | — |
| 109 | die | — |
| 110 | kill | — |
| 111 | fight | — |
| 112 | hunt | — |
| 113 | hit | — |
| 114 | cut | — |
| 115 | split | — |
| 116 | stab | — |
| 117 | scratch | — |
| 118 | dig | — |
| 119 | swim | — |
| 120 | fly | — |
| 121 | walk | — |
| 122 | come | — |
| 123 | lie | — |
| 124 | sit | — |
| 125 | stand | — |
| 126 | turn | — |
| 127 | fall | — |
| 128 | give | — |
| 129 | hold | — |
| 130 | squeeze | — |
| 131 | rub | — |
| 132 | wash | — |
| 133 | wipe | — |
| 134 | pull | — |
| 135 | push | — |
| 136 | throw | — |
| 137 | tie | — |
| 138 | sew | — |
| 139 | count | — |
| 140 | say | — |
| 141 | sing | — |
| 142 | play | — |
| 143 | float | — |
| 144 | flow | — |
| 145 | freeze | — |
| 146 | swell | — |
| 147 | sun | — |
| 148 | moon | — |
| 149 | star | — |
| 150 | water | — |
| 151 | rain | — |
| 152 | river | — |
| 153 | lake | — |
| 154 | sea | — |
| 155 | salt | — |
| 156 | stone | — |
| 157 | sand | — |
| 158 | dust | — |
| 159 | earth | — |
| 160 | cloud | — |
| 161 | fog | — |
| 162 | sky | — |
| 163 | wind | — |
| 164 | snow | — |
| 165 | ice | — |
| 166 | smoke | — |
| 167 | fire | — |
| 168 | ash | — |
| 169 | burn | — |
| 170 | road | — |
| 171 | mountain | — |
| 172 | red | — |
| 173 | green | — |
| 174 | yellow | — |
| 175 | white | — |
| 176 | black | — |
| 177 | night | — |
| 178 | day | — |
| 179 | year | — |
| 180 | warm | — |
| 181 | cold | — |
| 182 | full | — |
| 183 | new | — |
| 184 | old | — |
| 185 | good | — |
| 186 | bad | — |
| 187 | rotten | — |
| 188 | dirty | — |
| 189 | straight | — |
| 190 | round | — |
| 191 | sharp | — |
| 192 | dull | — |
| 193 | smooth | — |
| 194 | wet | — |
| 195 | dry | — |
| 196 | correct | — |
| 197 | near | — |
| 198 | far | — |
| 199 | right | — |
| 200 | left | — |
| 201 | at | — |
| 202 | in | — |
| 203 | with | — |
| 204 | and | ant |
| 205 | if | — |
| 206 | because | valtu |
| 207 | name | linot |
Pronouns=== Sapirini is a pro-drop language and pronouns are only used for clarification or emphasis.
| Number | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Person | Singular | Dual | Plural | ||
| 1 | milu | In. | miluv | milun | |
| Ex. | miluve | milune | |||
| 2 | vò | vòv | vòn | ||
| 3 | M. | ju | jev | jen | |
| F. | ja | ||||
| N. | je | ||||
| I. | jo | jov | jon | ||