quth

Initial consonants

These have a voiceless and voiced series, depending on grammatical context:

k and g are more palatal than their English equivalents, so that they are more distinct from q and qh. h is realised as a glottal stop word-initially but h medially; its voiced version is exceptionally y j.

Vowels

(yeah these are probably very BrE-centric but idc)

There is no possible ambiguity from using y as both a consonant and vowel since initial consonants may not be doubled, so yyy can only represent initial y followed by the long vowel yy.

Final consonants

Vowel and final consonant length is phonemic. Some consonants are digraphs (in the Romanised form); only double the first consonant to indicate gemination (eg ssh). Final consonants are nominally voiceless, but may become voiced allophonically (for example, by assimiliation before a voiced syllable).

It is entirely coincidental that Josh is a valid syllable.

Stress

Always on the first syllable.

Loanwords

Names are not subject to the phonotactic rules — just approximate as best possible with the sounds. Like in Toki Pona, they are syntactically adjectives, modifying a definite noun: kime Sathamptyn (the city of) Southampton, pone Stiif (the person called) Steve.

Nouns

Nouns are derived from roots by suffixing as follows:

To pluralise, simply lengthen the suffix vowel.

hafe

the dog

hafee

the dogs

Nouns are marked for case, emphasis, and metaphor. There are two cases:

The oblique is used when dropping the subject, so:

tal hafe piza.

The dog eats a pizza.

tal biza.

[Unspecified] eats a pizza.

tal hafe.

The dog eats [unspecified].

tal yafe.

[Unspecified] eats the dog.

For ownership, use the ho particle with a noun or pronoun.

hafe ho hi

my dog

hafa ho hii

one of our dogs

The oblique will also be used in various other grammatical situations which are yet to be worked out.

Nouns may be emphasised by lengthening the vowel.

tal hafe piza.

The dog eats a pizza.

tal haafe piza.

The dog eats (a) pizza.

It’s the dog that eats pizza.

tal hafe piiza.

The dog eats pizza.

Lengthening the final consonant indicates that the use of the noun is somewhat metaphorical (though I’m not 100% sold on this, maybe it’ll end up being something else).

tal haffe piza.

The “dog” (perhaps a person considered to be a lap-dog, or something else clear from the context) eats a pizza.

Of course, these may all be combined.

tal biizza.

It’s a pizza-like thing that [unspecified] eats.

Verbs

Verbs do not conjugate for person or number, only tense, aspect and mood. There are two tenses (past and non-past), two aspects (perfective and imperfective) and two moods (realis and irrealis). Imperative and other constructions are by periphrasis (e.g. “want [that you] do”).

Subordinate clauses

Several particles introduce subordinate clauses. These act as normal sentences, but the first noun outside the clause has its intial consonant voiced. (todo: make sure this isn’t going to end up being ambiguous. SPOILER: IT ALREADY IS)

tal pone piza.

The person eats a pizza.

tal pone qu jas biza.

The person who slept eats a pizza.

Adverbs

Adverbs do not exist as a separate class of words. Rather, they are introduced by the particle pi and then a subordinate phrase. pi could be translated as “in the way/style of”, but it is very flexible and often should be translated more loosely.

tal ko piza pi haf.

You eat pizza like a dog.

Relative clauses

Introduced by the particle qu.

Conjunctions

Prepositions

Via pi.

Time

Hours are subdivided into 5 blocks of 12 minutes (or halves if more convenient, but fifths are more common).

Tagging a sentence with time is done with pi.

Months

“The n-th moon”.

Days of week

Planets? Numbered? Duodecimal-ify these too?