Rokhana Thread: On the Nature of the World

[Pedant]

It's not commissioned work yet, just a request--but no worse for all that! And all within the space of about an hour, too, so...

As always, I should start assembling a table of contents of sorts, like so:
Rokhanese: The Basics
Rokhana: The Five Princes
Rokhanese: Modality Prefixes
Pfarilian: The Basics (Part 1)
The Nature of the World

Anyway, onto the Basics of Rokhanese:

Outline
Rokhanese (locally Rokhanabyazda or Byazda Turgadîn Rokhanan) is the main language spoken in the vast empire of Rokhana, covering something like 25% of the world's surface. The empire, only a hundred and seventy-five years old, is divided into fourteen provinces (ruled by dukes), nine sees (ruled by bishops), twelve territories (ruled by the House of Echoes), and eighteen possessions (ruled by the Emperor or Empress). Rokhanese is the most conservative language among the daughters of Old Zyovonjian, spoken in an empire that covered barely a fifth of what Rokhana now holds and yet considered the foundation of all true civilization. Certainly the speakers of her sister languages, united under the League of Aureon, have much to say about "upholding the empire of old"...

Phonology

• Consonants:

	Labial	Dental-Alveolar	Postalveolar	Palatal	Velar
Nasal	m /m/ my /mj/	n /n/ ny /nj/
Unv. Stop	p /p/ py /pj/	t /t/ ty /tj/			k /k/ k /kj/
Voic. Stop	b /b/ by /bj/	d /d/ dy /dj/			g /g/ gy /gj/
Trill		r /r/ ry /rj/
Unv. Fric.	f /f/ fy /fj/	s /s/	sh /ʃ/	khy /ç/	kh /x/
Voic. Fric.	v /v/ vy /vj/	z /z/	zh /ʒ/		h /ɣ/
Unv. Affr.		c /ts/	ch /tʃ/
Voic. Affr.		dz /dz/	j /dʒ/
Approx.				y /j/
Lat. Approx.		l /l/ ly /lj/

• Vowels: a /ɐ/ â /a:/ e /ɛ/ ê /e:/ i /ɪ/ î /i:/ o /ɔ/ ô /o:/ u /ʊ/ û /u:/
• Diphthongs: ai /ɐɪ̯/ au /ɒʊ̯/ ei /ɛɪ̯/ eu /ɛʊ̯/ oi /ɔɪ̯/ ou /ɔʊ̯/ ui /ʊɪ̯/ uo /uə̯/
• Stress is (almost) always on the penultimate syllable.

Morphology

• Verbs have five conjugations, each based on a different root vowel, and mark for singular, dual, and plural. They also have aorist, perfect, imperfect, and irrealis forms.

	-A	-A/I	-A/U	-I	-U
Aorist	1s: -au 2s: -ai 3s: -akh, -â- 1d: -ou 2d: -oi 3d: -okh, -ô- 1p: -eu 2p: -ei 3p: -ekh, -ê-	1s: -au 2s: -i 3s: -a 1d: -ou 2d: -oi 3d: -okh 1p: -eyu 2p: -ikh 3p: -eya	1s: -u 2s: -ai 3s: -a 1d: -ukh, -û- 2d: -ovi 3d: -ova 1p: -eu 2p: -ei 3p: -ekh, -ê-	1s: -yu 2s: -ikh, -î- 3s: -ya 1d: -yukh, -yû- 2d: -ivi 3d: -iva 1p: -eyu 2p: -ikh, -î- 3p: -eya	1s: -ukh, -û- 2s: -vi 3s: -va 1d: -ukh, -û- 2d: -ovi 3d: -ova 1p: -ui 2p: -vikh, -vî- 3p: -uya
Perfect	1s: -asu 2s: -asi 3s: -asa 1d: -ausu 2d: -ausi 3d: -ausa 1p: -aisu 2p: -aisi 3p: -aisa	1s: -asu 2s: -is 3s: -as 1d: -ausu 2d: -ausi 3d: -ausa 1p: -aisu 2p: -isi 3p: -aisa	1s: -us 2s: -asi 3s: -as 1d: -usu 2d: -usi 3d: -usa 1p: -aisu 2p: -aisi 3p: -aisa	1s: -isu 2s: -isi 3s: -isa 1d: -eusu 2d: -eusi 3d: -eusa 1p: -eisu 2p: -eisi 3p: -eisa	1s: -usu 2s: -usi 3s: -usa 1d: -uosu 2d: -uosi 3d: -uosa 1p: -oisu 2p: -oisi 3p: -oisa
Imperfect	1s: -aru 2s: -ari 3s: -ara 1d: -auru 2d: -auri 3d: -aura 1p: -airu 2p: -airi 3p: -aira	1s: -aru 2s: -ir 3s: -ar 1d: -auru 2d: -auri 3d: -aura 1p: -airu 2p: -iri 3p: -aira	1s: -ur 2s: -ari 3s: -ar 1d: -uru 2d: -uri 3d: -ura 1p: -airu 2p: -airi 3p: -aira	1s: -iru 2s: -iri 3s: -ira 1d: -euru 2d: -euri 3d: -eura 1p: -eiru 2p: -eiri 3p: -eira	1s: -uru 2s: -uri 3s: -ura 1d: -uoru 2d: -uori 3d: -uora 1p: -oiru 2p: -oiri 3p: -oira
Irrealis	1s: -ahu 2s: -ahi 3s: -aha 1d: -avu 2d: -avi 3d: -ava 1p: -ayu 2p: -ayi 3p: -aya	1s: -ahu 2s: -ihi 3s: -aha 1d: -avu 2d: -avi 3d: -ava 1p: -ayu 2p: -ikh, -î- 3p: -aya	1s: -uhu 2s: -ahi 3s: -aha 1d: -uvu 2d: -uvi 3d: -uva 1p: -ayu 2p: -ayi 3p: -aya	1s: -ihu 2s: -ihi 3s: -iha 1d: -ivu 2d: -ivii 3d: -iva 1p: -eyu 2p: -ikh, -î- 3p: -eya	1s: -uhu 2s: -uhi 3s: -uha 1d: -uvu 2d: -uvi 3d: -uva 1p: -uyu 2p: -uyi 3p: -uya

• There are also ergative suffixes to be added to the verb for extra context:

	1s	2s	3s	1d	2d	3d	1p	2p	3p	Reflex.
Ergative	-nna	-mma	-tta	-nya	-vya	-cha	-nta	-mpa	-sta	-lla
Causative	-nni	-mmi	-tti	-nyakh, -nyê-	-vyakh, -vyê-	-chakh, -chê-	-nti	-mpi	-sti	-lli
Donative	-nnu	-mmu	-ttu	-nyu	-vyu	-chu	-ntu	-mpu	-stu	-llu

• Nouns have five declensions, derived originally from six (two of the inanimate forms, masculine and neuter, merged), three cases (absolutive, ergative, and genitive), and two numbers (singular and plural--the earlier dual was lost).

Nouns	Singular	Plural
Masculine Animate	Abs: -V/-Ø Gen: -Vun/-un Erg: -Vur/-ur	Abs: -Vussa/-ussa Gen: -Vussan/-ussan Erg: -Vussir/-ussir
Feminine Animate	Abs: -Vi/-i Gen: -Vin/-in Erg: -Vir/-ir	Abs: -Vissa/-issa Gen: -Vissan/-issan Erg: -Vissir/-issir
Neuter Animate	Abs: -V/-Ø Gen: -Vn/-an Erg: -Vr/-ar	Abs: -Vssa/-assa Gen: -Vssan/-assan Erg: -Vssir/-assir
Common Inanimate	Abs: -V/-Ø Gen: -Vn/-an Erg: -Vir/-ir	Abs: -Vkh/-akh Gen: -Vng/-ang Erg: -Vrag/-arag
Feminine Inanimate	Abs: -Vi/-i Gen: -Vin/-ain Erg: -Vir/-ir	Abs: -Vikh/-ikh Gen: -Vng/-ang Erg: -Virig/-irig

• Adjectives are derived from nouns and take nominal endings.
• Participles are formed using infixes followed by the nominal endings: -Vs-/-us- for perfect participles, -Vr-/-ar- for imperfect participles, and -Vkh-/-ikh- for gerundives.
• Rokhanese has a base-12 number system, for which the numbers are, in turn: tsou, kan, mis, nur, mon, kyor, gen, nas, reu, khyâ, tsur, van.

Syntax

• Standard word order is VAE (Verb-Absolutive-Ergative).
• Numbers and adjectives precede nouns (in that order), genitives follow them.
• Noun and verb phrases are inserted before the main noun/verb, with verbs replaced with participles and nouns in whatever case they need to be in, followed by the particle hau (pronounced au after an aspirated consonant).

[bradrn]

At a cursory reading, this looks good! Request: could we have a couple of sample sentences please?

I do have a couple of critiques though:

(EDIT: I see that fixes for several of my points below have been edited into the first post. Thanks Pedant!)

Consonants: m /m/ my /m^j/ p /p/ py /p^j/ b /b/ by /b^j/ f /f/ fy /f^j/ v /v/ vy /v^j/ t /t/ ty /t^j/ n /n/ ny /n^j/ d /d/ dy /d^j/ c /ts/ ch /tʃ/ dz /dz/ j /dʒ/ s /s/ sh /ʃ/ z /z/ zh /ʒ/ l /l/ ly /l^j/ r /r/ ry /r^j/ y /j/ k /k/ k /k^j/ g /g/ gy /g^j/ kh /x/ khy /ç/ h /ɣ/

This is a bit hard to read… I’ll rearrange this into a sort-of-table in case it helps anyone else:

/m n/
/mʲ nʲ/
/p t ts k/
/pʲ tʲ tʃ kʲ/
/b d dz ɡ/
/bʲ dʲ dʒ ɡʲ/
/f s x/
/fʲ ʃ ç/
/v z ɣ/
/vʲ ʒ/
/l r j/
/lʲ rʲ/

(I’ve assumed here that /tʃ dʒ ʃ ʒ ç/ are the palatal equivalents of /ts dz s z x/, but I don’t think that assumption is too unreasonable…)

Verbs have five conjugations, each based on a different root vowel, and mark for singular, dual, and plural. They also have aorist, perfect, imperfect, and israelis forms. [My emphasis]

Should this be ‘irrealis’?

Adjectives are derived from nouns and take nominal endings.

Question: does this apply to all adjectives? If so, how do you derive adjectives like ‘green’ or ‘slow’?

Standard word order is VAE.

I’ve never heard of this word order before — could you explain?

Noun and verb phrases are inserted before the main noun/verb, with verbs replaced with participles and nouns in whatever case they need to be in, followed by the particle hau (pronounced au after an aspirated consonant).

I don’t understand what you’re saying here at all — could you give an example?

[Pedant]

(EDIT: I see that fixes for several of my points below have been edited into the first post. Thanks Pedant!)

No worries, bradrn, and glad you liked it! Let's see if I can't clear up the other stuff as well...

Adjectives are derived from nouns and take nominal endings.

Question: does this apply to all adjectives? If so, how do you derive adjectives like ‘green’ or ‘slow’?

Okay, should have been clearer about that. Adjectives are frequently derived from nouns, with certain suffixes added; otherwise they have their own stems. They usually decline as nouns do. Curiously, in Imperial Zyovondzese, adjectives were derived from verbs; this has made for quite a peculiar layering effect.

Noun and verb phrases are inserted before the main noun/verb, with verbs replaced with participles and nouns in whatever case they need to be in, followed by the particle hau (pronounced au after an aspirated consonant).

I don’t understand what you’re saying here at all — could you give an example?

Well, here are a few, at least, that I didn't get in last time:

Myandaisatta vyarozussa dyorgozar.
Eat-3p.PERF-3sERG worker-ABS.PL homunculus-ABS.SING
The monster ate the workers.

Van saitoussa gurgyazussa yûrzun.
12 proud-MASC.ABS.PL farmer-ABS.PL lord-GEN.SING
The lord’s twelve proud farmers.

Kunusi menan au byentsussa zurbyauratta Saitôn.
[Come-PERF.ABS.PART lake-GEN.SING SUB] fish-ABS.PL cook-3p.IMP-3sERG Saitov-ERG
Saitov is cooking the two fish [that came] from the lake.

[Pedant]

A note on the politics of Rokhana, specifically about THE FIVE PRINCES

The Grand Council
In theory the emperor (drezhnyer, drezhnyezu-, from Zhovgonese drezyenezus “overseer”; there is also a feminine equivalent, drezhnyei, drezhnyei-) has absolute power over the entire political system, everything going back to the centre in Dirzhagrokh. In practice, power is fractured between the princes and princesses, the nobles, the clergy, and (in more recent times) the merchants and manufacturers in various parts of the Empire. It’s something of a mess, with a lot of waste–but it works well enough, and has done for nearly two hundred years.
The Grand Council (turgaselgev) is set up so:

1. The Emperor or Empress presides over the whole.
2. The Princes and Princesses (brazhôt/brazhoit) act as emissaries between the Emperor and the rest of the council, and can make decisions in his stead.
3. The Three Assemblies, each given roughly equal power and responsibility, cover certain ground in the Empire:
   1. The Assembly of Priests (drachnyôselgev) is responsible for maintaining religion and tradition in the Empire, and for governing the nine sees (gurzhagai, gurzhagê-). They are also responsible for keeping fair and honest records of the reigns of various Emperors and Empresses, and for tending to the libraries (which of course gives them the power of censorship, something only recently being eroded away).
   2. The Assembly of Nobles (yûrzuselgev) really doesn't do much day-to-day, but convenes on special occasions such as the election of a new monarch from the Princes and Princesses. The highest rank among them is that of Duke, which puts one in charge of one of the fourteen provinces (turgaya, turgaya-). They are also responsible for overseeing civil law in their locales.
   3. The Assembly of Warriors (brodôselgev), technically just the highest-ranking generals and airship admirals and perhaps a few trusted subordinates, is charged with security in the realm as a whole, but also tends specifically to the twelve territories (grokoyo, grokoyo-), newly-conquered lands where people can be moved in. Merchants and traders are also entitled to a place on this assembly (as trade between regions requires a military permit, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they'll all see military service, or even very much of it when they do).

NOTE: there is a fourth category of region, the possessions (brazyovor, brazyovora-), ruled directly by the Emperor or Empress and/or their extended families, and quite ironically the freest of the various divisions of the Empire–although often the most underdeveloped, being relatively new. These lands don't do much except send emissaries, usually distant relations to the Imperial family, to the capital for the election of a new monarch. There are fourteen Possessions in total.

The Five Princes
Rokhanese law recognizes various heirs to the throne, and permits them a say in politics based on age, familial proximity to the Emperor, and popular vote. Only the oldest in the line are allowed to participate directly in government, although if one is a younger sibling, in other words a princeling (brazhonyu/brazhonye), one is expected to take some interest in one’s elder sibling’s position. There are, unfortunately, too many incidences of poisoning and assassination as squabbles over rank lead to hostilities flaring. The positions are held by their previous incumbents until the new generation can supply offspring.

The Yellow Prince or Princess (sarabrazhov/sarabrazhoi) is the biological child of the Emperor, and the one (theoretically) with the best claim to the throne, assuming they’re the oldest. The current Yellow Prince is Rainazufalkenyu, known privately as Rainar, fourteen years old and quite precocious.
The Blue Prince or Princess (maribrazhov/maribrazhoi) is the adopted child of the Emperor–usually from some other position within the family line, and this in case there seem to be no heirs to the throne from the usual route. If older than the Yellow Prince or Princess, they are considered equally matched for the throne; if younger, then they are most likely to act as Vizier during the new Emperor or Empress’ reign. The current Blue Prince is Saitovbyastunyu, known commonly as Saitov, nineteen years old and with an air of too-young cynicism about him.
The Red Prince or Princess (zhulabrazhov/zhulabrazhoi) is the child of one of the Emperor’s siblings. The Red Prince is fairly low down the chain, one needing to exhaust the entire line of Yellow Princes and Princesses and possibly a Blue Prince/Princess to get to the throne, so normally it’s not worth trying. The current Red Princess is Pokhtizhadovnye (Pokhti), twenty-six years old and devoted to the cause of her father, the Black Prince.
The White Prince or Princess (byastubrazhov/byastubrazhoi) is the child of a cousin of the emperor (first to third; fourth cousins onwards are considered too distantly related). There are, thanks to a rather nasty purge during Falken IV’s early years, no White Princes or Princesses at this time (the remaining members of that part of the family having fled to the Circle Sea).
The Black Prince or Princess (guyabrazhov/guyabrazhoi) is the only position not of the generation after the Emperor. The position is instead filled by an ex-prince or princess from the time when the previous Emperor was but a prince, and the occupant may be from the Emperor’s generation or even (in exceptional cases) from before his or her time. During times of crisis, or until the new Emperor is crowned, the Black Prince becomes Regent for the country. The current Black Prince is Zhadovdirzharnyu, commonly called Zhadov, and at fifty-four years old he was previously one of the Lesser Yellow Princes (sarabrazhonyut); like Saitov’s mother, Aurei (Aureidirzharnye), he was never actually much involved in court politics, but is the oldest remaining person from Falken’s generation.

In order to be chosen as Emperor or Empress, the various regions all send in their votes a year after the death of the previous monarch (sufficient time, it is felt, to build up support for oneself). A vote for a Yellow or Blue Prince or Princess counts for two points; and a vote for the Red or White, one. (Black Princes and Princesses have not been allowed to participate for 250 years, after an unfortunate incident involving an attempted coup and seven hundred poisoned chicken sandwiches.) A plurality is all that is technically needed; the previous emperor Falken IV, once White Prince Falkendirzharnyu, won his seat with twenty-three regions, equal to twenty-three points, while his unfortunate third cousin, Yellow Prince Pajuturgarnyu, received merely eleven regions, equal to twenty-two points–and lost.
Each of the Princes and Princesses may build up what support they need among the political factions in each Assembly to try and maneuver themselves into a better position. It may be for naught, however; after the new monarch ascends to the throne, the ex-rivals are traditionally kept at some distance (with the possible exception of the Blue Prince or Princess). Mostly they're carted off to tend to the Possessions until they produce heirs, who will be sent to court as simultaneous hostages and potential successors.

[evmdbm]

In order to be chosen as Emperor or Empress, the various regions all send in their votes a year after the death of the previous monarch (sufficient time, it is felt, to build up support for oneself). A vote for a Yellow or Blue Prince or Princess counts for two points; and a vote for the Red or White, one.

Yet this means that if Pokhti were popular enough and Rainar useless enough, Pokhti could become empress, so there are circumstances in which it's worth having a go if you're the Red Prince(ss). You just need to plan ahead. It seems a compromise between the idea of strict primogeniture to provide a way out of the bad heir problem where the eldest is mad, bad, useless or dangerous to know and a history of poisoning and assassination suggests there's quite a lot of the bad and dangerous to know...

[Pedant]

Yet this means that if Pokhti were popular enough and Rainar useless enough, Pokhti could become empress, so there are circumstances in which it's worth having a go if you're the Red Prince(ss). You just need to plan ahead. It seems a compromise between the idea of strict primogeniture to provide a way out of the bad heir problem where the eldest is mad, bad, useless or dangerous to know and a history of poisoning and assassination suggests there's quite a lot of the bad and dangerous to know...

Theoretically, yes--that's what makes the situation so tense at the moment. Rainar is the only biological heir, Saitov was personally adopted by the previous Emperor for his capabilities, and Pokhti is the oldest and has made the most appearances at court--to say nothing of her being personally involved with a lot of her father's projects over the years, giving her extra legitimacy. It's quite the competition, to be honest.
As an added note: votes for younger siblings in the same rank, if you have any, give you extra votes--but it's on the condition that you add them to your own personal council as "green princes/princesses", making you only primus inter pares. Zhadov, for a great many years, was part of Falken's council--he had a full nine regions of his own in the election following the death of Emperor Tugar VII. This is an added incentive not to kill off your older siblings, because you might share their power at some point.

[Pedant]

A quick note on MODALITY PREFIXES in Rokhanese:

Originally, in Zhovgonese, prefixes were added to verbs to demonstrate modality as well as whether or not the verb was negative or not. Rokhanese has maintained most of these affixes--has added to them, even, with new dimensions.

	Positive	Modal Negative	State Negative
Unmarked	Ø-	N/A	Da-
Absolute Certainty	O(s)-	Chu-	Dô(s)-
Deduction	Ka-	Nye-	Daka-
Hearsay	Lu-	Bî-	Dau-
Question	Ba-	Nye-	Dava-

How is this used, in practice? Well, to start with:

• Unmarked verbs are very simple; an action took place, and that's the end of that.

Zurbyenna.
Cook-3x.AOR-1sERG
I cook.

• Verbs of absolute certainty are often used to emphasize a point.

O-byazdairalla.
CERT-talk-3p.IMP-REFL
I'm absolutely certain they were talking to themselves.

• Verbs of Deduction have absorbed the earlier verbs of visual and auditory experience, and refer to events that, based on the current evidence, seem to be true.

Ka-chanasamma.
DEDUC-pray-3x.PERF-2sERG
I guess you must have prayed.

• Verbs of hearsay are rather removed, referring to events for which the speaker has no direct evidence but which may well be the case.

Lu-dirzhasa dyorgoza.
HEARSAY-capture-3s.PERF homunculus
I understand that a homunculus has been captured.

• Questions, naturally enough, suggest that the listener has knowledge the speaker does not.

Ba-dirzhasa dyorgoza?
Q-capture-3s.PERF homunculus
Was a homunculus really captured?

(A note before proceeding: the particles are not strictly bound to the verbs--in fact, they could appear on most words in the sentence. For example, the sentence Ba-dyorgoza hau dirzhasa? "Was it a homunculus that was captured?" is perfectly valid.)

• The modal negative suggests that the means of sensing (but not the verb) is negative; the state negative is for situations where it may be observed that the verb is in the negative. For example:

Chu-byazdairalla.
MODNEG.CERT-talk-3p.IMP-REFL
I can't be certain they were talking to themselves.

• But:

Dô-byazdairalla.
SNEG.CERT-talk-3p.IMP-REFL
They were absolutely not talking to themselves.

• Generally particles besides da- are not used in normal irrealis constructions, although the deductive prefixes may double-time in conditional clauses:

Zurbyahanna byentsu daka-morsha.
Cook-3s.IRR-1sERG fish-ABS.SING SNEG.DEDUC-swim-3sAOR
If I cook the fish, it's unlikely to be able to swim.

[Pedant]

A slight departure from the normal, but then it's a big world: THE BASICS OF PFARILIAN, PART 1:

Outline
Pfarilian (Pfarilian: Pfäriler [p͡fɛ:'ʁi:lɐ]) is the main language of Pfaril, the main (lowland) competitor to Rokhana and the League of Aureon in the Central Lands. The Pfarilians themselves are organized into forty clans across the desert and grassland, each patrolling their own territory and owing allegiance only to their horses, their clan chief, and the Emperor of Pfaril, in that order. The Emperor himself must take a wife from all forty clans, producing (male) heirs who will be compelled to fight each other to the death in order to gain the throne. The Pfarilians are a relatively recent people, appearing from the west only eight hundred years ago. Pfarilian itself is greatly unlike Zhovgonese and her daughters: nominative-accusative and animate-inanimate, with noun incorporation in verbs and an overly large collection of vowels.

Phonology

• Consonants: m p b pf f w [v] n t d z [ts] s /z,s/ tsch [tʃ] sch [ʃ,ʒ] ß [ʃ] r l j ng [ŋ] k g h ch [ç,x]
• A Note on Consonants:
  • /r/ is pronounced [ʁ] before a vowel, forms a diphthong after a vowel but before a consonant, and is pronounced [ɐ] after a consonant word-finally.
  • <ch> is pronounced [ç] near front vowels and [x] near back vowels.
• Vowels: ü [ʏ y:] i [ɪ i:] ö [œ ø:] e [ɛ e:] ä [ɛ ɛ:] a [a a:] o [ɔ o:] u [ʊ u:]
  • Always-Long Vowels: y [y:] ie [i:] ø [ø:] ê [e:] â [a:] ô [o:] û [u:]
  • Regular Diphthongs: ei [aɪ] au [aʊ] eu [ɔʏ]
  • Syllabic Consonants (word-finally): er [ɐ] en [n̩] el [l̩] em [m̩]
  • Vowel+R Diphthongs: ürr [ʏɐ̯] ür [y:ɐ̯] ir [ɪɐ̯] ier [i:ɐ̯] örr [œɐ̯] ör [ø:ɐ̯] err [ɛɐ̯] er [e:ɐ̯] ar [aɐ̯] aar [a:ɐ̯] orr [ɔɐ̯] or [o:ɐ̯] ur [ɐ̯] oor [u:ɐ̯]
• Spelling/Pronunciation Conventions:
  • Open syllables always have long vowels: na [na:] "I".
  • Regular vowels rely on doubled consonants or consonant clusters to mark their short forms: zür [tsy:ɐ̯] "the [inanimate singular]" vs. zürr [tsʏɐ̯] "water".
  • Otherwise, long vowels are marked with a diacritic (e.g. Lârt /la:ɐ̯t/ "elephant"), or else have special characters (e.g.
  • Word-final <e> at the end of a multisyllabic word is pronounced [ə].

Ablaut, Ich-Laut, and Umlaut
Proto-Elephantine, the predecessor to Pfarilian, seems to have had relatively few vowel sounds: only [a], [i], [u], and [ə]. How, then, did Pfarilian get such a massive quantity of vowels? The answer lies in the usage of various infixes--[a], [i], and [u] respectively--to generate different words from a single root. Outlined below is a comprehensive chart of all the possible changes, with the initial Proto-Elephantine vowel (*marked so).

	*a	*aʔ	*i	*iʔ	*u	*uʔ	*ə	*əʔ
Basic	a (*a)	a/â (*aʔ)	i (*i)	ie (*iʔ)	u (*u)	u/û (*uʔ)	e (*ə)	er (*əʔ)
Ablaut	ar,a (*aə̯)	au (* aə̯ʔ)	e (*iə̯)	e/ê (*iə̯ʔ)	o (*uə̯)	o/ô (*uə̯ʔ)	a (*əə̯)	au (*əə̯ʔ)
Ich-Laut	e/ä (*aj)	e/ê (*ajʔ)	ier,ie (*ij)	ei (*ijʔ)	ü (uj)	ü/y (*ujʔ)	i (*əj)	ei (*əjʔ)
Umlaut	o (*aw)	o/ô (*awʔ)	ö (*iw)	ö/ø (*iwʔ)	ur,u (*uw)	eu (*uwʔ)	ö/ø (*əw)	eu (*əwʔ)

Morphology
Words are classified into nouns, verbs, participles, articles, prepositions, conjunctions, pronouns (personal and demonstrative), and numbers (cardinal and ordinal).

NOUNS
Nouns are divided into animate and inanimate groups, take singular or plural number, and can be one of three cases:

• The subjective is used for subjects of verbs and as the base noun form, but also for the topic of a sentence when fronted.
• The oblique is used for the direct object, or the possessive.
• The lative is used for the indirect object, but with prepositions also indicates motion.

A note on plurals:

• Animate nouns take the suffix -el in all situations.
• Inanimate nouns use take the suffix -ig, except when the root contains a diphthong; there, the first consonant and -er- [ɐ] are reduplicated in a prefix (a result of the Proto-Elephantine switch between *ə and *ʔə).

Using the words Lârt "elephant" (Proto-Elephantine *laʔrt-ə), Beuchen "baker" (*bəwʔxən-ə), Buch "bread" (*bux-Ø), and Kleim "eye" (*kləjʔm–Ø):

	Lârt	Beuchen, Beuchn-	Buch	Kleim
Subjective	Sing: Lârt /la:ɐ̯t/ Pl: Lârtel /'la:ɐ̯.tl̩/	Sing: Beuchen /'bɔʏ.çn̩/ Pl: Beuchnel /'bɔʏç.nl̩/	Sing: Buch /'bʊx/ Pl: Buchîg /bu:.'çi:k/	Sing: Kleim /klaɪm/ Pl: Kerkleim /kɐ.'klaɪm/
Oblique	Sing: Lârtet /'la:ɐ̯.tɛt/ Pl: Lârtelt /'la:ɐ̯.tl̩t/	Sing: Beuchent /'bɔʏ.çn̩t/ Pl: Beuchnelt /'bɔʏç.nl̩t/	Sing: Bucht /'bʊxt/ Pl: Buchigt /bu:.'çɪkt/	Sing: Kleimet /'klaɪ.mɛt/ Pl: Kerkleimet /kɐ.'klaɪ.mɛt/
Lative	Sing: Lârtem /la:ɐ̯tɛm/ Pl: Lârtelm /'la:ɐ̯.tl̩m/	Sing: Beuchnem /'bɔʏç.nm̩/ Pl: Beuchnelm /'bɔʏç.nl̩m/	Sing: Buchem /'bu:.xm̩/ Pl: Buchigem /bu:.'çi:gm̩/	Sing: Kleinem /'klaɪ.nm̩/ Pl: Kerkleinem /kɐ.'klaɪ.nm̩/

VERBS
There are seven tenses verbs may take:

1. The present tense, describing current actions.
2. The past simple, describing actions at some point before the present. Often used for habitual actions.
3. The past recent, describing actions that lead into the present, or were recently completed. Often used as a perfect.
4. The past distant, describing actions that took place some time previously. Often used as a pluperfect, or else for storytelling.
5. The future simple, describing actions taking place in an undefined future.
6. The future progressive, describing actions that are just about to take place.
7. The future planned, describing actions that may take place in the future. Often used as a light imperative.

There are three voices:

1. The transitive voice is for verbs with a definite subject and object, and takes all seven tenses.
2. The intransitive voice is for verbs with only a definite subject. The past recent and past distant are joined into the past perfective, and the futures simple and going-to into the future factual.
3. The passive voice is for verbs with only a definite object. These only have three tenses: present, past, and future, derived from the "simple" forms in all cases.

There are three moods: the indicative (formed as above), the subjunctive (formed with the auxiliary verb kleum- "to see"), and the imperative (formed with the suffix -(l)ud).
And finally there are five broad categories of verb:

1. Action/State verbs. These use Ich-laut, Ablaut, and Umlaut to mark the present, past, and future tenses respectively.
2. Causal verbs. Conjugation is much the same as Action/State verbs. They are marked with an -s- after/infixed within the root and before the other suffixes.
3. Nominal verbs, verbs derived from nouns. These verbs do not use vowel changes to mark tense, instead remaining much the same and applying the sound shifts to their suffixes.
4. Possessive verbs, verbs describing (concrete or abstract) possession of a noun or adjective. These use a specific set of copula verbs, to be described in more detail later, plus an infix -(e)n-. They also only have a single voice, which takes all seven tenses.

	Klerm- "to watch/see/be seen"	Bieß- "to kill/die/be killed" (*biʔs-s)	Pfil- "to throw stones at, stone"	Zermenopfelkleim- "to have stone eyes"
Present Singular	Tran.Sim.: Kleims Int.Sim: Kleim Pass.Sim: Kleimnich	Tran.Sim: Bießes Int.Sim: Bieß Pass.Sim: Bießnich	Tran.Sim: Pfilis Int.Sim: Pfili Pass.Sim: Pfilnich	Sim: Zeimenopfelkleim
Present Plural	Tran.Sim: Kleimers Int.Sim: Kleimer Pass.Sim: Kleimnicher	Tran.Sim: Bießers Int.Sim: Bießer Pass.Sim: Bießnicher	Tran.Sim: Pfilirs Int.Sim: Pfilir Pass.Sim: Pfilnicher	Sim: Zeimenopfelkleimer
Past Singular	Tran.Sim: Klaums Tran.Rec: Klaumas Tran.Dist: Klaumast Int.Sim: Klaum Int.Perf: Klaumat Pass.Sim: Klaumnach	Tran.Sim: Beßes Tran.Rec: Beßas Tran.Dist: Beßast Int.Sim: Bêß Int:Perf: Bêßat Pass.Sim: Bêßnach	Tran.Sim: Pfilas Tran.Rec: Pfilâß Tran.Dist: Pfilaßt Int.Sim: Pfila Int.Perf: Pfilat Pass.Sim: Pfilnach	Sim: Zaumenopfelkleim
Past Plural	Tran.Sim: Klaumers Tran.Rec: Klaumars Tran.Dist: Klaumart Int.Sim: Klaumer Int.Perf: Klaumert Pass.Sim: Klaumnacher	Tran.Sim: Beßer Tran.Rec: Beßars Tran.Dist: Beßart Int.Sim: Bêßer Int:Perf: Bêßert Pass.Sim: Bêßnacher	Tran.Sim: Pfilars Tran.Rec: Pfilârß Tran.Dist: Pfilart Int.Sim: Pfilar Int.Perf: Pfilart Pass.Sim: Pfilnacher	Sim: Zaumenopfelkleimer
Future Singular	Tran.Sim: Kleums Tran.Prog: Kleumsel Tran.Plan: Kleumz Int.Sim: Kleum Int.Fact: Kleumsch Pass.Sim: Kleumnoch	Tran.Sim: Bößes Tran.Prog: Bøßsel Tran.Plan: Bößze Int.Sim: Bøß Int.Fact: Bøßesch Pass.Sim: Bøßnoch	Tran.Sim: Pfilus Tran.Prog: Pfilusel Tran.Plan: Pfiluz Int.Sim: Pfilu Int.Fact: Pfilusch Pass.Sim: Pfilnoch	Sim: Zeumenopfelkleim
Future Plural	Tran.Sim: Kleumers Tran.Prog: Kleumors Tran.Plan: Kleumorz Int.Sim: Kleumer Int.Fact: Kleumorsch Pass.Sim: Kleumnocher	Tran.Sim: Bößers Tran.Prog: Bøßors Tran.Plan: Bößorz Int.Sim: Bößer Int.Fact: Bößorsch Pass.Sim: Bøßnocher	Tran.Sim: Pfilurs Tran.Prog: Pfilors Tran.Plan: Pfilorz Int.Sim: Pfiler Int.Fact: Pfilorsch Pass.Sim: Pfilnocher	Sim: Zeumenopfelkleimer
Imperative	Act.Sim: Klermud Pass.Sim: Klermnucht	Act.Sim: Bießud Pass.Sim: Bießnucht	Act.Sim: Pfilud Pass.Sim: Pfilnucht	Sim: Zermudopfelkleim

PARTICIPLES
Participles function rather effectively as adjectives and adverbs in Pfarilian, even for quite simple ones like ernamen "red" (er- "to display, to make visible" + nam "red" + -en "present intransitive ending"). They are formed using variations of the suffix -en. Participles decline much as nouns do, with separate animate and inanimate forms.

	Klerm-	Bieß-	Pfil-	Zermenopfelkleim-
Present Singular	Tran.Anim: Kleimse Tran.Inan: Kleimsen Intran.Anim: Kleime Intran.Inan: Kleimen Pass.Anim: Kleimniche Pass.Inan: Kleimnichen	Tran.Anim: Bießze Tran.Inan: Bießzen Intran.Anim: Bieße Intran.Inan: Bießen Pass.Anim: Bießniche Pass.Inan: Bießnichen	Tran.Anim: Pfilse Tran.Inan: Pfilsen Intran.Anim: Pfile Intran.Inan: Pfilen Pass.Anim: Pfilniche Pass.Inan: Pfilnichen	Simp.Act: Zeimopfelkleime Simp.Pass: Zeimopfelkleimen
Present Plural	Tran.Anim: Kleimensel Tran.Inan: Kleimensieg Intran.Anim: Kleimnel Intran.Inan: Kleimnieg Pass.Anim: Kleimnichnel Pass.Inan: Kleimnichieg	Tran.Anim: Bießensel Tran.Inan: Bießensieg Intran.Anim: Bießnel Intran.Inan: Bießnieg Passive: Bießnichner	Tran.Anim: Pfilnsel Tran.Inan: Pfilnsieg Intran.Anim: Pfilnel Intran.Inan: Pfilnieg Pass.Anim: Pfilnichnel Pass.Inan: Pfilnichieg	Sim.Anim: Zeimopfelkleimnel Sim.Inan: Zeimenopfelkleimnieg
Past Singular	Transitive: Klaumsen Intransitive: Klaumen Passive: Klaumnachen	Transitive: Bêßsen Intransitive: Beßen Passive: Bêßnachen	Transitive: Pfilasen Intransitive: Pfilan Passive: Pfilnachen	Simple: Zaumopfelkleimen
Past Plural	Transitive: Klaumensel Intransitive: Klaumnel Passive: Klaumnachel	Transitive: Beßensel Intransitive: Bêßnel Passive: Bêßnachnel	Transitive: Pfilansel Intransitive: Pfilanel Passive: Pfilnachnel	Simple: Zaumopfelkleimnel
Future Singular	Transitive: Kleumsen Intransitive: Kleumen Passive: Kleumnochen	Transitive: Bøßsen Intransitive: Bößen Passive: Bøßnochen	Transitive: Pfilusen Intran.Anim/Inan: Pfilun Pass.Anim: Pfilnoche Pass.Inan: Pfilnochen	Sim.Anim: Zeumopfelkleime Sim.Inan: Zeumopfelkleimen
Future Plural	Tran.Anim: Kleumensel Tran.Inan: Kleumenzieg Intran.Anim: Kleumnel Intran.Inan: Kleumnieg Pass.Anim: Kleumnochnel Pass.Inan: Kleumnochieg	Tran.Anim: Bößensel Tran.Inan: Bößenzieg Intran.Anim: Bøßnel Intran.Inan: Bøßnieg Pass.Anim: Bøßnochnel Pass.Inan: Bøßnochieg	Tran.Anim: Pfilunsel Tran.Inan: Pfilunzieg Intran.Anim: Pfilunel Intran.Inan: Pfilunieg Pass.Anim: Pfilnochnel Pass.Inan: Pfilnochieg	Sim.Anim: Zeumopfelkleimnel Sim.Inan: Zeumopfelkleimnieg

NUMBERS
Pfarilian is a base-20 system, arranged accordingly from 0 to 20: schret, gar, dug, viel, trön, brûd, garbrûd, dubrûd, vielbrûd, trönbrûd, mü, garmü, durmü, vielmü, trönmü, kez, garkez, dukkez, vielkez, trönkez, grieg.

Syntax
Syntax is surprisingly regular--sentences set up as subject-object-predicate, noun phrases running demonstrative pronoun/numeral-participle-noun-title/profession (possessive pronouns appearing wherever is reasonable), and verbal phrases with the predicate in the centre and associated complements and then participles preceding it.
Conditional clauses are formed by attaching -gast to the end of the first verb, in the manner X-gast Y "if X, then Y". Causative clauses use -zarr in a similar manner (X-zarr Y "because X, Y"), and combined clauses with -wiez (X-wiez Y "Someone did X and then Y".

[Pedant]

ON THE NATURE OF THE WORLD

It is said, in the lore of the Miser Crabs, that certain types of soul prefer certain shapes. Smaller souls may nudge the bodies they inhabit into forms they best prefer; larger souls, seeking power, may do the same in the hopes of absorbing or allying with the smaller spirits while maintaining a rough link. This would explain, for example, why across the Crayfish Nebula a number of sapient species have evolved with very similar body plans, despite being separated by hundreds of light-years. The Miser Crabs themselves have found no fewer than twelve races that at one time or another existed with their body plan (which is rather like a crab mixed with a turtle with bits of grasshopper thrown in). It should be no surprise, then, that the humans of Ja and the *humans of Ajjamah have a lookalike race on the planet called Manavi.
Manavi's local sun, Zenyar, is a Class F star, bluish-white in colour and a tad larger than our own; ironically, from the surface of Manavi it appears a bit smaller than Sol from Earth. (Zenyar is seen on Ja as well, where it is called the Pusaq Tutapi, alias Rhektôr Austerâlis, and is the current South Star.) Manavi also has three moons, in rough synchronization; golden Sorya takes a mere fifteen local days to complete its cycle, crimson Zhovla takes thirty, and grey Byastar takes sixty-one. (The lunar year in the south is divided into nine months of Byastar, also called byastraviridi, plus an extra month every three years to keep the calendar accurate.) The year is longer, 522.75 Earth days and 570.27 Manavian days--which means longer winters but also longer summers, both absolutely spectacular from the Poles. Manavi has a higher iron content than Earth or Ja, providing a thicker magnetic field--and some absolutely magnificent auroras, often stretching down into the temperate zone.
The main continent is largely taken up by the Empire of Rokhana, stretching from the northeast to the northwest, across thousands of kilometres of dense taiga and sparse steppe. In the southeast is a patch of good, fertile land, called the Goodwoods; this is where the old Zhovgonese civilization was based, from which the Rokhanan variety was derived. In the Far West, a similar fertile area is bounded by a long, beautiful island, the Isle of Spirits. In the middle lies the Inner Sea, shadowed by the Western Wall (an enormous mountain chain) to the north and with patches of dry but useable land along the shores. There is another continent, bounded to the mainland by a bridge of islands; it was on this southern-hemisphere continent that *humans evolved, and spread to the rest of the world.
And when they did, they were watched, and copied.
Humans, pure humans, cannot practice magic. They have souls, and those souls leave the world behind to ascend to the heavens after death to travel Elsewhere, but spells and charms are not their forte. For those, one must go to one of the Seven Peoples (Vrihin). Humans are bound to the Form of Heaven, but the Seven Peoples are linked more truly to the other seven Forms: Light, Sound, Air, Fire, Water, Wood, and Earth. They offer control over their respective Forms, as well as control over the self or others similar to one's Form. And to those few humans who truly catch their eye, they offer children--half-children, one part fey and the other mortal. These are the Descendants, the magic of faerie flowing through their veins, and only ever mixing through humans. And mix it does--there remain a great many Descendants who have more than one set of powers, the merging of abilities turned into something of an art.
Descendants have played quite a role in Manavian history. Indeed, the old Empire of Zhovgo was ruled by councils of these descendants. And yet, nowadays, there are very few out in the open, their societies largely hidden from the world. How, you might ask? Strangely enough, through religion. As powerful as the Descendants may be, they are still human in physical form, and priests across the world learned to dull the effects of magic through the use of machines. Rokhana itself is the culmination of this, a country where sorcery is outlawed and industrialization is considered the key to survival. Turning away from Nature may well have been the best chance for human survival, on this world…