Valjar is a language evolving from Vjaryir (my 3rd conlang) in an attempt to give new life to an old concept, with similar vocabulary.
Phonology[]
| Place of articulation → | Labial | Coronal | Dorsal | Radical consonant | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manner of articulation ↓ | Bilabial | Labio‐ dental |
Dental | Alveolar | Post‐ alveolar |
Retro‐ flex |
Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Pharyn‐ geal | |||||||
| Nasal | m | n | |||||||||||||||
| Plosive | p | pʰ | t tʰ | k kʰ | |||||||||||||
| Fricative | ɸ | f | s | ʃ | ʂ | j | w | ||||||||||
| Approximant | ɹ | ||||||||||||||||
| Trill | |||||||||||||||||
| Tap or Flap | |||||||||||||||||
| Lateral Fricative | |||||||||||||||||
| Lateral Approximant | l | ||||||||||||||||
| Lateral Flap | |||||||||||||||||
- if an aspirated consonant is followed by another aspirated consonant, the first is unaspirated
- if two of the same consonants follow one another then,
- lengthen if a frictative
- unaspirate and pronounce only one
- if a /p/ and /pʰ/ follow one another, they are reduced to /ɸ/
| Front | Near Front | Central | Near Back | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | ɯ • u | |||
| Near Close | ɪ | ||||
| Mid | |||||
| Open-mid | ɛ | ʌ • ɔ | |||
| Near Open | |||||
| Open | ɑ |
Orthography[]
Alphabet: a b c ç d e f g h i í j k l m o ó p r s t u v w y
| Latin | a | b | c | ç | d | e | f | g | i | í | j | k | l | m | n | o | ó | p | r | s | t | u | ú | v | w | y |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IPA | ɑ | pʰ | ʃ | ʂ | tʰ | ɛ | f | kʰ | ɪ | i | j | k | l | m | n | ɔ | ʌ | p | ɹ | s | t | u w | ɯ | ɸ | w | y |
Notes:
- /w/ and /j/ are both considered semi-vowels, and may only occur before a vowel.
- [w] before [a, e, o, ó, u], and [u] before [i, í]
- [j] before [a, e, o, ó], and [y] before [i, í, u]
Grammar[]
Word Order[]
Primary word order is VSO, but with the exception that the verb must come first, is otherwise fairly free.
- VSO word order - Wanlu vurot nofum. - The fox jumped on ground.
- Head-Initial - Vur noka. - Red fox.
- Possessor-Possessed - Vurje vík. - The fox's meal.
- Attached adpositions - Jelke adot ança. - I live in the house.
Nouns[]
Gender[]
Through various sound changes, the original M/F/N gender system of Vjaryir degraded into a Common/Neuter gender system which generally took the Masculine's inflections. Gender is based on the noun's vowels, in a rudimentary vowel harmony. Nouns with back vowels (a, o, ó, u, ú) are Common gender, while the front vowels (e, i, í) are Neuter gender, and a noun with a mix of the both front and back is Common. Nouns with mixed o/ó and u/ú are rare.
| English | Valjar | Gender | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fox | Vur | Common | |
| Bird | Kil | Neuter | |
| River | Maguik | Common | |
Plural[]
There are various plural endings, depending on the noun's vowels, last sound, and gender.
| Gender | Vowels | Last Sound | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Common | a, o, ó | Vowel | |
| Consonant | |||
| u, ú | Vowel | ||
| Consonant | |||
| Neuter | e, i, í | Vowel | |
| Consonant | |||
Ex. 'Vur. - Fox -> Vurm. - Foxes.
| Gender | Vowels | Ending | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Common | a, o, ó | -p | ||
| u, ú | -m | |||
| Neuter | e, i, í | -d | ||
Cases[]
There are a total of 10 cases in Valjar, each inflecting based on noun gender. If a noun ends in a vowel, simply take off the initial vowel of the case.
| Case | Sub-case | Common | Neuter | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | Agent | -ot | -e | |
| Experience | -os | -es | ||
| Accusative | Patient | -um | -im | |
| Prepositional | -om | -im | ||
| Reflexive | -ek | |||
| Dative | -wu | -wí | ||
| Instrumental | -ol | -il | ||
| Possesive | Possessor | -je | ||
| Possessed | -og | -ig | ||
| Sociative | -va | -ve | ||
Pronouns[]
There are 4 grammatical persons, the first 3 typical, while 4th person would be similar to the English "one". Pronouns follow case inflection regularly.
Personal:
| Person | Pronoun | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | ad | ap |
| 2nd | ív | íd |
| 3rd Common | ot | op |
| 3rd Neuter | ic | id |
|
4th |
it | ed |
Demonstrative:
| Distance | Pronoun | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Near | et | etop |
| Far | eta | etap |
Singular demonstrative pronouns are attached onto the verb as a suffix, the plural noun's going before the demonstrative for plural.
Ex. Vuret. - This fox. -> Vurmet. - These foxes.
Verbs[]
List of all verb tenses, aspects, and moods. Rows are split from top to bottom: past, present, future.
| Indicative | Conditional | Generic | Hypothetical | Dubitative | Negative | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perfect | -lu | -lufe | -lud | -lupú | -lug | -belu |
| -ke | -kef | -ked | -kepú | -keg | -beke | |
| -ja | -jafe | -jad | -japú | -jag | -beja | |
| Progressive | -tól | -tólfe | -tóld | -tólpú | -tólg | -betól |
| -til | -tilfe | -tild | -tilpú | -tilg | -betil | |
| -tal | -talfe | -tald | -talpú | -talg | -betal | |
| Frequentative I | -fep | -fef | -fepd | -fepú | -fepg | -befep |
| -fek | -fef | -fekd | -fekú | -fekg | -befek | |
| -feka | -fefa | -fefad | -fefú | -fekag | -befeka | |
| Frequentative II | -gru | -grufe | -grud | -grupú | -grug | -begru |
| -gre | -gref | -gred | -grepú | -greg | -begre | |
| -gra | -grafe | -grad | -grapú | -grag | -begra | |
| Intentional | -uf | -uffe | -ufd | -ufú | -ug | -buf |
| -if | -iffe | -ifd | -ifú | -ig | -bif | |
| -af | -affe | -afd | -afú | -ag | -baf | |
| Accidental | -wó | -wófe | -wód | -wópú | -wóg | -bwó |
| -ui | -uife | -uid | -uipú | -uig | -bui | |
| -wa | -wafe | -wad | -wapú | -wag | -bwa | |
| Defective | -lube | -lubfe | -lupd | -luppú | -lubg | -belube |
| -kebe | -kebfe | -kepd | -keppú | -kebg | -bekebe | |
| -jabe | -jabfe | -japd | -jappú | -jabg | -bejabe |
Questions[]
Questions are very easy to form in Valjar, as there are few question affixes and word order does not change. To form a question, add the appropriate prefix onto the verb.
Ex. Vuretke. - This is a fox. -> Ikvuretke. - Is this a fox?
Example text[]
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