conlang | explaining that table [1]
the – before the letters just means that it's a suffix (they're all suffixes)
following that is the optional vowel. This vowel is inserted in between the verb and the rest of the suffix, but ONLY if the vowel's absence would break the pronounciation rules.
Each of the optional vowels has an acute accent above it, which means that it is associated with a high tone. Any vowels without an accent above them have a low tone.
conlang | explaining that table [2]
after the optional vowel comes the actual suffix, which (with the exception of the "surprised but believe it's true" form of the Reported evidential ending) is a consonant cluster.
tɬ and ʈʂ are single consonants rather than 2 (voiecless alveolar lateral affricate and voiceless retroflex affricate)
conlang | a very early draft
A very early draft describing the language is available here:
https://averylychee.neocities.org/languages/lang3/
(this link is not a permalink! Once I come up with a name for the language, it will move to a different address – if you're reading this in the future, scroll down this thread to find the more up to date link)
Let me know if I've made any mistakes or if there are any things that need clarifying ♥
conlang | request for resources/help
hmm... I'm concerned that my tense/aspect/mode system is unconciously tending towards the way Germanic languages work.
Does anyone have any good references for Tense and Aspect systems that aren't like English? Either from the perspective of creating a conlang, or from grammars of real languages.
conlang | "how do I make my own conlang?"
Since I was asked "how do you even manage to start a conlang?", here's my answer:
It's kind of like worldbuilding, in that you can either do a vague overview and just give the impression of a language, or you can delve into the depths and build a complex beast.
The way I started was with this guide: http://zompist.com/kit.html
(the first paragraph-ish is just an add for future books, the actual guide starts with the italics text)
conlang | naming
part of why my current language doesn't have a name is because it's very difficult to come up with a name that works in both the language itself and in English, since the sounds they have in common are:
/p/, /m/, /i/, /a/
And while I could name it something like "pami", I feel like this language would have a much longer name.
conlang | now named (new link)
The language has been named and moved to a new page:
https://averylychee.neocities.org/languages/tlueqto/
I don't yet know what tɬɯ́qʈɤ means (if it even means anything at all), but that's what it's called!
conlang (Tlueqto) | grammatical vowel harmony
So tɬɯ́qtɤ has vowel harmony (meaning there are 2 categories of vowels, and a word can only ever contain vowels form one category or the other, not from both) but unlike real world languages the vowel harmony actually has a grammatical effect on the word.
So for example, pɛɬá is cat (all vowels are front vowels), and pɤɬʌ́ is cats (all vowels are back vowels).
But, this is not particularly realistic...
(continued)
conlang (Tlueqto) | grammatical vowel harmony
In real life languages with complex vowel changes, these were historically created by a affix that, after several sound changes, was dropped at some point.
So, in order for my vowel harmony system to actually exist, it can't have occurred intentionally – it must have been the consequence of a historical affix.
(continued)
conlang (Tlueqto) | grammatical vowel harmony
So, here's my idea: historically, the affix /nɯ-/ was attached to the front of nouns to form the plural, and because this contains /ɯ/ (a back vowel) the rest of the word is forced to be all back vowels (because of vowel harmony).
so (originally), to pluralise /pɛɬá/, you would say /nɯpɤɬʌ́/
But hundreds of years of language change meant that the /nɯ/ ended up being dropped, and the only difference between singular and plural is the vowels inside.
conlang (Tlueqto)
I need to figure out a bunch more history of words, though it's hard to do that when you only have 11 words total.
I have got a relation between ʈʂʌʂ "hills", ʈʂaʈʂí "mountain", and ɤ́ʈʂʌʈʂɤ́ "city".
The main word for a home is actually qaʔatɛ́n, but that only refers to homes that can be moved (like tents or caravans). Most of the speakers of Tlueqto are nomadic, but a few have created unmoveable homes (usually either carved out of cliffsides or made out of stone.)