New Google Doc grammar – Caucasian Niger-Congo Sinitic

[vegfarandi]

I've started working on another project, and I'll keep it out in the open for now. Take a look at progress here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/16tl ... sp=sharing

I want to create a language with a Caucasian-inspired phonology (lots of consonants, few vowels) with morphosyntax inspired by non-Bantu Niger-Congo languages and Sinitic languages.

I've as of now sketched up the phonology. Take a look!

[TomHChappell]

I admire this idea and want to do something like it.
A language with Polynesian-like lexicon, Semitic-like morphology, and Japanese-like syntax, maybe.

[vegfarandi]

I've decided to incorporate switch reference. Anyone have some good resources on the subject?

Does the below make sense?

v^ga n^wa: ł^já:n^ja d^wa· t’av^gá:na q^ja· aná g^wanm^gà·
1s EST hill ascend go 3s thus.SS look_for
I go/went up the hill to look for him

Where n^wa: is a neutral "establishing" particle, and aná is a switch reference particle that infers justification for the main action, and indicates same subject (SS).

[TomHChappell]

https://benjamins.com/catalog/tsl.2 Comes to mind immediately; but all of the google-hits before that in
https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/vi ... 0-0138.xml
http://www.comparativelinguistics.uzh.c ... nymous.pdf
https://kuscholarworks.ku.edu/bitstream ... sAllowed=y
https://research.uni-leipzig.de/lomo/li ... er1985.pdf
https://link.springer.com/article/10.10 ... 013-9194-8
https://www.jstor.org/stable/4178419?se ... b_contents
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs ... bsyncom014
Look like they might be more up-to-date.

To me, just from the title,
Wiley › onlinelibrary › doi › abs
Switch Reference and Obviation - Camacho - - Major Reference Works - Wiley Online Library
by J Camacho · 2017 · Related articles
Nov 24, 2017 · Abstract Many of the world's languages track constituents across clauses using switch‐ reference morphemes. These markers convey information about whether arguments in each clause have the same ...
Looks most intriguing.

[Raholeun]

v^ga n^wa: ł^já:n^ja d^wa· t’av^gá:na q^ja· aná g^wanm^gà·
1s EST hill ascend go 3s thus.SS look_for
I go/went up the hill to look for him

With a phonology like you have, could you please add a phonemic transcription?

Plus. I'm digging the bling:

It turns clauses into relative clauses:
$$$

[Bob]

I want to create a language with a Caucasian-inspired phonology (lots of consonants, few vowels) with morphosyntax inspired by non-Bantu Niger-Congo languages and Sinitic languages.

I've been studying Niger-Congo languages and especially non-Bantu all the past year. I know Sinitic languages well and recently studied a Caucasian language.

This was interesting reading. Good job.

[sasasha]

Really cool!

A typo(?): in the phonology chart, palatalised <b> appears with superscript <e>. Should be <j>?

An article of curiosity: have you experimented with notating the phonetic vowels more closely, rather than using your phonemic system? My instinct says it may be easier to handle that way - for an outsider, at least!

I like the topic markers particularly. Looking forward to seeing more!