Vientainis

The Vienta language or Kiepas Vientainis is the native language of the Vientahti, spoken on the Northern Coast in the country of Vienta.
=Phonology=
===Consonants===
 	Labial 	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar 	Glottal
Nasal 	/m/ 	/n/ 	 	(/ŋ/) 	
Stop 	/p/ /b/	/t/ /d/ 	 	/k/ /g/	
Fricative 	/v/ 	/s/ 	(/ç/) 	(/x/) 	/h/
Trill 	 	/r/ 	 	 	
Approximant	 	/l/ 	/j/ 	 	
===Vowels===
 	Front 	Front 	Central	Back 	Back
 	unrounded 	rounded 	Central	unrounded 	rounded
High 	/i/ /iː/ <ii>	/y/ /yː/ <üü> 	 	/ɯ/ <ï> /ɯː/ <ïï>	/u/ /uː/ <uu>
High-mid	/e/ /eː/ <ee>	/ø/ <ö> /øː/ <öö>	 	/ɤ/ <ë> /ɤː/ <ëë>	/o/ /oː/ <oo>
Low 	 	 	a 	 	
===Diphthongs===
The following diphthongs are possible:
 	ending in I	ending in U	ending in E	ending in O
starting in I	 	/i̯y/ /ɯ̯u/	/i̯e/ /ɯ̯ɤ/	/i̯ø/ /ɯ̯o/
starting in U	/y̯i/ /u̯ɯ/	 	 	/y̯ø/ /u̯o/
starting in E	/e̯i/ /ɤ̯ɯ/	 	 	
starting in O	/ø̯i/ /o̯ɯ/	/ø̯y/ /o̯u/	 	
starting in a	/aɪ̯/ 	/au̯/ 	 	
==Phonotactics==
The syllable structure of Vientainis is (C)V(C).Stress always falls onto the last syllable.Nasals assimilate to the following consonant./h/ is realised as [ç] after front vowels, as [x] after back vowels and /a/.The following intersyllabic consonant clusters are permitted:
sP	Ns	 	 	P = p, t, k
hP	Nh	 	 	N = n, m
RP	RN	Rs	Rh	R = r, l
NP	 	 	 	
===Vowel Harmony===
Vientainis exhibits front-back vowel harmony. /i, y, e, ø/ are in the front class, the back class contains /ɯ, u, ɤ, o/. A single lexeme can only contain vowels and diphthongs from either class. /a/ is considered a neutral vowel and can occur with either front or back harmony. Affixes may change their archetypal vowels I, E, U and O to obey harmony.Words that only contain /a/ in their base form normally follow front harmony, though there are exceptions to this rule.
= Morphology=
==Nouns==
Nouns are divided into four classes and decline into ten cases. The noun classes are slightly fusional, the suffixes are modified slightly by the final vowel.
===Class I===
Class I nouns end in vowels and show the greatest variety in forms. In the following table the full forms for varta — horse, the other vowel types are abbreviated.
There are two strategies to form the plural nominative, essive and equative. The older one is lengthening the final vowel, the newer, in analogy to the other cases, adding a final -n. While many words have adopted the new forms, many commonly used words still use the old forms. The vocative plural however always has a long vowel.
Singular 	 	 	 	 	
Nominative 	varta 	 	 	 	
Vocative 	varte 	 	 	 	
Instrumental	vartaa 	 	 	 	
Comitative 	vartösa 	 	 	 	
Essive 	vartai 	 	 	 	
Equative 	vartija 	 	 	 	
Benefactive 	vartare 	 	 	 	
Adessive 	vartais 	 	 	 	
Inessive 	vartanti 	 	 	 	
Superessive 	vartesa 	 	 	 	
Plural 	Plural 	Plural 	Plural 	Plural 	Plural
Nominative 	vartaa
-an	 	 	 	
Vocative 	vartii 	 	 	 	
Instrumental	vartösan 	-ösin/ -osïn	-ösün/ -osun	-ösen/ osën	-ösön/ -oson
Comitative 	vartösan 	-ösin/ -osïn	-ösün/ -osun	-ösen/ osën	-ösön/ -oson
Essive 	vartaa
-an	 	 	 	
Equative 	vartijaa
-ijan	 	 	 	
Benefactive 	vartaren 	 	 	 	
Adessive 	vartaisen	 	 	 	
Inessive 	vartantin	 	 	 	
Superessive 	vartesan 	 	 	 	
If a word stem ends in a diphthong, it is broken up by a /h/ when conjugated: güö — fish, gühijö — like a fish.
===Classes II, III and IV ===
The other classes are characterised by their final consonant, which is
-n for class II,
-r for class III and
-s for class IV.
Their forms are more consistent that class I. In the following table, C stands for the class Consonant and V for the theme vowel.
 	Singular 	Plural
Nominative 	 	
-Cen/ Cën 	 	
-Cen/ Cën 	Vocative 	
Instrumental 	 	
-ösiCen/ -osïCën	 	
-ösiCen/ -osïCën	Comitative	
Essive 	 	
Equative 	 	
Benefactive 	 	
Adessive 	 	
Inessive 	 	
Superessive 	 	
Class IV is further divided into IVs and IVt. While forms in IVs behave regularly, IVt actually has an underlying /t/ as stem consonant which only surfaces in the middle of a word and as /s/ at the end. This comes from a sound shift that shifted /t/ > /s/  at the end of words.
===Cases===
The nominative is used for the subject and direct object of a sentence and the possessor in a possessive construction.
The vocative is used with directly addressing someone. It further serves as an expletive. If, for example, one hits their foot at a table (leha), they might cry out Lehe!.
The instrumental indicates the instrument or means by which an action is done. It is also used to express the material an object is made out of, for example:
uhïë lehauhë-ë lehaWood-INSTR tablea wooden table
The comitative is used to indicate the equivalent of English together with: Nükösi — with my friend.
The essive is used for the state of being. It encompasses both the English constructions X is Y and X as a Y. Examples are:
Vuhï ha panö eja.vuhï ha pan-ö e-jaman DEF.SENT lord-ESS COP-IND.IPFV.DIRThe man is a lord.				Üküriö nöka negaterentis ken orë.üküri-ö nöka negatere<nti>s ken o-rëchild-ESS 1SG school<IN> to go-IND.HAB.DIRAs a child I used to go to school.
The equative fulfills a role similar to English like/ similar to: gühijö — like a fish.
The benefactive is used for the beneficiary of an action, where English uses for .  It can also express the meaning of a dative.
Uhtarë nöka üün an gerija.uhta-rë köna üün an geri-ja2SG-BEN 1SG book DEF.INAN read-IND.IPFV.DIRI read the book to you/ for you.
The adessive is a locative case denoting a location at or near the noun.
The inessive indicates the location inside the noun.
The superessive is used to mark the location on top of or above the noun.
Aki ha negaterentis lehaisen an tuumësu an raja.aki ha negatere<nti>s leha-isen an tuum<ës>u an ra-ja.girl DEF.SENT school<IN> table-AD DEF.INAN chair<SUP> DEF.INAN sit-IND.IPFV.DIRThe girl sits in school at the table on the chair.
===Possessive Construction===
Possession is shown with the possessor in the nominatve case followed by the possessee with a possessive prefix.
 	Singular 	Plural
1. Person 	n(ö)-/ n(o)-	i(h)-/ï(h)-
2. Person 	t(a)- 	an-
3. Person sentient 	k(ü)-/ k(u)-	e(h)-/ë(h)-
3. Person nonsentient	h(a)- 	h(a)-
taponkanta-ponkan2SG-nameyour name				aki kina haaki k-ina hagirl 3SG-mother DEF.SENTthe girl's mother				Des kö noporor ekö!des kö no-poror e-köDEM 1SG 1SG-room COP-IND.IPFV.DIRThis is my room!
==Pronouns==
===Personal Pronouns===
Pronouns have different levels of formality. A pronoun higher in the following table is also higher in the person hierarchy (see Verbs).
 	1. Person	1. Person	1. Person	2. Person	2. Person	2. Person	3. Person	3. Person	3. Person	3. Person
 	Singular 	Plural 	Plural 	Singular 	Plural 	Plural 	Singular 	Singular 	Plural 	Plural
sentien
formal superior	 	 	 	 	 	 	kunï pusï	kunï pusï	kunï pusï	kunï pusï
sentien
formal superior	 	 	 	ahtanti 	ahtanti 	ahtanti 	 	 	 	
sentien
formal superior	ïrtï 	ïrtï 	ïrtï 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
sentient
formal equal	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	lunku 	lunku 	üsteren
sentient
formal equal	 	 	 	uhta 	uhta 	uskan 	uskan 	 	 	
sentient
formal equal	nöka 	nöka 	iren 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
sentient
informal	kö    na 	kö    na 	iren 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
sentient
informal	 	 	 	ta 	ta 	eren 	eren 	 	 	
sentient
informal	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	ku 	ku 	lahi
animante 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	an 	an 	an
inanimate	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	oto 	oto 	oto
Kö conveys a sense of self-confidence and sometimes superiority and is preferred by males while na has a more collegial and humble tone and is preferred by females. Both forms however are acceptable for males and females.
===Other Pronouns===
 	Demonstrative	Demonstrative	Interogative	Indefinite 	Universal
 	Singular 	Plural 	Interogative	Indefinite 	Universal
sentient 	der 	deren 	ühin (who) 	ühin-ilen (anyone) 	tienen
(everyone)
animate 	din 	din 	satin (what)	satin-ilen
(any) 	anten
(every)
inanimate	des 	des 	köpin (what)	köpin-ilen (anything)	vurën
(everything)
==Adjectives==
Adjectives follow the nouns they describe and agree with them in class, case and number, albeit with merged forms.
 	Class I 	Class I 	Classes II, III, IV	Classes II, III, IV
 	Singular	Plural 	Singular 	Plural
Nominative 	pahti 	pahtin 	pahtiC 	pahtiCen
Vocative 	pahti 	pahtin 	pahtiC 	pahtiCen
Instrumental	pahtü 	pahtösin 	pahtüC 	pahtösiCen
Comitative 	pahtü 	pahtösin 	pahtüC 	pahtösiCen
Essive 	pahtiö 	pahtin 	pahtiCö 	pahtiCen
Equative 	pahtiö 	pahtin 	pahtiCö 	pahtiCen
Benefactive 	pahtire 	pahtiren 	pahtireC 	pahtireCen
Adessive 	pahties 	pahtiesen	pahties 	pahtiesen
Inessive 	pahtinti	pahtintin	pahtinti 	pahtintin
Superessive 	pahtesi 	pahtesin 	pahtesi 	pahtesin
===Comparison===
For a comparison the particle niin — more is put after the adjective with the noun phrase compared to in the adessive case.The superlative is likewise formed with the particle süvan — most.The excessive is formed with the particle eree.
Huko pahti niin kohïës.huko pahti niin kohï-ëstree high COMP grass-ADA tree is higher than grass.				Hïmuhtï piksi süvan ha gurïn an mintija.Hïmu-htï piksi süvan ha gurï-n an minti-jarun-AG fast SUP DEF.SENT shoe-PL DEF.NSENT win-IND.IPFV.DIRThe fastest runner wins the shoes.				Atari kini eree negatereres eja.Atari kini eree negatere<re>s e-jaAtari young EXCESS school<BEN> COP-IND.IPFV.DIRAtari is too young for school.
==Articles==
Vienta has the definite articles ha for sentient nouns in the singular and ran in the plural, as well as an for animate son-sentient and inanimate nouns. The article follows the noun, after potential adjectives or numerals. Indefiniteness and general number are marked by a lack of an article.
Vuhï ha küü an nintus.vuhï ha küü an nintu-sman DEF.SENT book DEF.ANIM take[PFV]-IND.PFV.DIRThe man takes the book.
==Verbs==
Vientainis verbs conjugate by five aspects and seven moods. The copula also differentiates by animateness.
=Syntax=
==Direct-inverse Alignment==
Verbs do not conjugate by person or number, the subject and object of a sentence are rather evident by its direct-invers alignment and the person hierarchy of:
*3rd person formal
*2nd person formal
*1st person
*2nd person informal
*X
*3rd person sentient informal
*3rd person animate
*3rd person inanimate
In the unmarked direct form a noun or pronoun higher on the hierarchy acts upon a noun/ pronoun lower on the hierarchy. If two nouns are on the same hierarchy level, the first one, the theme, is the subject of the sentence and the second one the object.
Jukuo ha suntuo an pukuja.jukuo ha suntuo an puku-jaboy DEF.SENT dog DEF.ANIM see-IND.IPFV.DIRThe boy sees the dog.
If a noun lower on the hierarchy acts on a noun higher on the hierarchy, this is marked only on the verb with the inverse marker ö/o-, -ke/-kë or -sa.
Jukuo ha suntuo an opukukë.jukuo ha suntuo an o-puku-këboy DEF.SENT dog DEF.ANIM INV-see-IND.IPFC.INVThe dog sees the boy.
X in the person hierarchy denotes an indefinite person, which is used as a passivity marker. A verb with only a single third person argument is passive by default, the active sense is delivered by the inverse marker in this case:
Ikse ha korkaja.ikse ha korka-jawoman DEF.SENT hear-IND.IPFV.DIRThe woman is heard.				Ikse ha okorkakë.ikse ha o-korka-këwoman DEF.SENT INV-hear-IND.IPFV.DIRThe woman hears [someone].
=Vocabulary=
English 	Vientainis
man 	vuhï
woman 	ikse
tree 	huko
a man 	vuhï
the man 	vuhï ha
That man there 	vuhï der
that (said) man 	vuhï der (tölis)
sleep 	sadërus
The man sleeps. 	Vuhï ha dëruja.
The man slept 	Vuhï ha dëros.
The man will sleep. 	Vuhï ha dëruon.
The man sees the tree. 	Vuhï ha huko an tuluja.
The man will see the tree. 	Vuhï ha huko an tuluon.
The man saw the tree. 	Vuhï ha huko an tulos.
The man who saw the tree sleeps. 	Vuhï ha, der huko an tulos, dëruja.
The man, who saw the tree, sleeps 	Vuhï ha, der huko an tulos, dëruja.
Does the man see the tree? 	Vuhï ha huko an tulujo?
Where did the man see the tree? 	Satines vuhï ha huko an tulosïjo?
I know where the man saw the tree. 	Nöka piri an pukuja, deres vuhï ha huko an tulos.
The tree which the man saw. 	Huko vuhï tulos an
The man is at the tree. 	Vuhï ha kuhoïs eja.
The man is tall. 	Vuhï ha pusï.
I 	nöka / kö / na
you (sing.) 	uhta / ta
he 	lunku / ku
she 	lunku / ku
it 	an / oto
we (excl.) 	iren
we (incl.) 	iren
you (pl.) 	uskan / eren
they (pl.) 	üsteren / lahi / an / oto
The place where the man saw the tree. 	Piri an, deres vuhï ha huko an tulokën.
If I see the tree, I’ll sleep. 	Nöka huko an tulostë ka dërusta.
(I tree DEF see-SUBJ.PFV and sleep-SUBJ.IPFV)
When I sleep, I see the man.
(When I sleep, the man is seen [by me].)	Nöka dërusta ka vuhï ha tulusta.
(I sleep-SUBJ.IPFV and man DEF see-SUBJ.IPFV)
Had I seen/if I had seen the tree, I would have slept.	Nöka huko an tulokëstën, denti u dërostë.
You, sleep! 	Ta, dërorï!
I should sleep. (Benefit) 	(Nöka) madërujaan.
You shouldn’t/won’t sleep. (Precept) 	Uhta madërujaanau.
I want to sleep. 	(Nöka) madërusta.
My tree is green. 	Nohuko virti.
Category:Languages