Phonology

Phonemes

Consonants

All consonnants may become phonemically geminated from clustering. If an identical consonnant is added next to an already geminated one, it morphs instead of further lenghtening it. Assimilated geminates, while still forbidden from further lenghtening, are not subject to this rule.

Syllable may contain clusters of any lenght, with the only limitations being that no more than 3 stops may occur in a single cluster, any number of which may be geminated. If an aditionnal stop is added to a triplet, it morphs.

There must be at least a vowel between 2 stops or groups of stops. Exceptions are clusters of stop+fricative that can form an affricate: /ts tθ ʇs ʇθ ʔħ pɸ/. This rule applies across word boundaries, forcing the insertion of an epenthetic vowel at the beginning of the second word if necessary.

Vowels

While Rhako allows diph- and triphtongues, it strongly forbids long vowels. If two identical vowels would be placed next to each other, they are raised, front vowels moves toward /i/ (/y/ → /u/ → /i/, a long /i/ turns into a /ie/), however, if the alteration would create a new, different long vowel, it simply is left as a short vowel.

Epenthetic vowels may appear to help handling clusters that are particularly difficult, and are systematically inserted when word boundaries or morphology causes forbidden consonnant combinations.

Stress

Rhako stresses the penultimate syllable, unless that syllable starts with a geminated consonnant, in which case, the antepenultimate is stressed. If both syllables start with geminates, the penultimate is stressed.

Assimilation and allophony

• Alveolar consonnants assimilate identical interdentals: /t s/ assimilates /ʇ θ/ into [tː sː].
• When in contact with /ʇ/, other alveolars (/n l s/) moves to interdentals.
• The [ʇθ] affricate dissimilates to [ʇs]
• /s/ assimilates a nearby /r/ into [sː]

• Ungeminated voiced stops and fricatives are allophone to unvoiced ones. Voicing is not well perceived, though.
• Intervocalic [j] may turn into [ç], particularly when geminated or under stress. A [jː] systematically turns into [ç] at the beginning of a stressed syllable.
• [h] is allophone to [ħ]
• /ɜ/ is a fairly unstable vowel that varies from front [ɛ] to rounded [œ] or [ø] and often ends up a schwa [ə].
• A /j w/ that occurs between two consonnant or a non intervocalic /jː wː/ changes into the corresponding vowel ([i u]). This vowel will stay a vowel in all subsequent derivates of the word, even if the original conditions are no longer fulfilled.

Morphing

Some phonological constraints, as well as infix, may trigger morphing (apirhata). Morphing is not considered phonetic, but truely phonemic. It is always the last element added through the semantic chain that morphs. A consonant cannot morph more than once

• /t/ → /s/ → /n/ → /t/
• /q/ → /ʀ/ → /ŋ/ → /k/ → /j/ → /l/ → /r/ → /ʇ/ → /θ/ → /ɸ/ → /p/ → /m/ → /w/ → /ʔ/ → /ħ/ → /q/

Orthography and transliteration

The following transliteration scheme is used:

The three consonants of the root have distinct names. The first is the "flying" consonant. The middle is the "straight" consonant, and the third is the "smiling" consonant. Consonants that are not part of the root are called "small."

Similarly, the three vowels of a word like dekûnu are called "thematic", "weak" and "frontier" vowels. Other vowels are "small".

The orthography records gemination and morphing.

Morphology

Rhako is a triconsonnantal root language, it derivates most of it's morphology from triconsonnantal roots. Any consonnant may be found in a root.

Nominal Morphology

Being a triconsonantal root language, rhako derivates the totality of its words from a set of specific patterns.

Obviative nouns

All patterns have an obviative form. The obviative form is invariable and needed to form the dative and temporal as well as the genitive and instrumental plurals. It is also relevant to the derivation process. Some dialects use an unsuffixed obviative as an all-purpose obviative (e.g. This door is different from that one).

Declension

Rhako distinguishes 8 cases: nominative, accusative, dative, genitive, instrumental, ablative, lative and temporal.

There are 2 characteristics of case suffixes, who might be combined together:

• Replacement suffixes will replace the noun's last vowel with their vowel or semivowel. These suffixes start with a dash in the table below.
• Obviative suffixes need to be added on the obviative form of the noun. These suffixes are preceded with an asterisk in the table.

Verbal morphology

The basic set of conjugation in Rhako distinguishes 4 verbal paradigms for each root. These paradigms encode number, tense and aspect. It also includes an infinitive, an imperative and what is traditionnal called an adjective, though terrestrial grammar assimilates it to a past participle.

The conjugated forms are mosly random in the singular, with a detailed set of rules to create the plural. The aspect can also be determined quite easily.

Aspect is marked by the thematic vowel (first vowel located directly after the first root consonant). This vowel is normally <e> or <ê> for the perfective, <a> or <â> for the imperfective and <o> or <û> for the habitual. <œ> appears as an irregularity in all series.

Plural follow a precise, although complex set of rules.

1. Mutate all non-root consonant.
2. Change the last vowel
   1. Raise it if it is an unrounded front vowel.
   2. Back <u> to <û>, lower <u> to <o>, <o> to <â> and front <â> into <œ>
   3. A /u i/ coming from a /w j/ does not trigger any change.
3. If the verb ends with <œ> or <i>, which cannot mutate further, a <t> is inserted in front of it.
   1. That <t> is pronounced /t/ after a consonant, /j/ after a vowel.
   2. Some roots (notably d-k-n, "to walk") take an unwritten plural /t/ in all plural forms.
4. If the verb ends in a consonnant, add the original vowel at the end

The unmarked voice of Rhako is active. The passive voice is marqued by repeating the thematic vowel at the end of the word. An alternate vowel is used when the first is forbidden by the last vowel. Intransitive verbs cannot take the passive voice.

Verbal serie 1

The first verbal series represent intransitive verbs. The meaning is often close to or includes the English reflexive. The adjective is used to describe agents: Daltoso rhowatas "A man that plows". It serves a purpose similar to relatives or gerunds in english, although it is frequently replaced with an agent name, whenever the precise description of the agent is not relevant.

Its most identifying caracteristic is to systematically begin with the first consonnant. Note also the pre-eminence of thematical vowel alternation in the perfective and imperfective aspect.

Verbal serie 2

A transitive infinitive. Formed regularly by adding a suffix to the intransitive verbal form, except that the plural forms always take the thematic vowel /û/ in the habitual. This suffix varies with every root and is given in the lexical entry. t-r-q and its derivated roots use the suffix -ko, which will be added after a passive suffix: têrayaq-i-ko "the house is paid".

This verbal series' adjective is used much like the past participle in English, to describe the state of the object after the action. The plural forms are CaCâC##ta in the masculine plural and CiCiC##e in the feminine plural, where "##" is the appropriate suffix

Verbal serie 3

The third verbal series cover descriptive verbs. Many of them can also take on reflexive, or even passive meaning. The adjective form is frequently opposed to that of the verbal serie 4 in a permanent/variable system akin to that found with the two copulas of Spanish or Italian.

Verbal serie 4

This series corresponds to a translative infivitive. Its meaning is strongly linked to that of the third verbal series, whereas the fourth means "to become" the third.

This series is particularly ripe in plural irregularities. Note also the use of /i/ as the perfective thematic vowel. This short /i/ is normally dropped in speech in open syllables. This change is reflected in writing. A new consonant will cause the vowel to reappear.

Derivational morphology

Nominal

The base noun is formed by the pattern CaCotCo, plural CaCaCo, obviative CaCûCa.

The human agent is aCCaCo, plural aCCiCâ, obviative CCaCo. The feminine is oCaCaC, plural oCCaCtâ.

The inanimate agent is CaxaCCo, plural CaxCaC, obviative CaxiCCi

A collective is formed with the pattern CasCûCê, plural CaCsûC, obviative CasCuCa.

The instrument pattern is sCaCCi, plurak sâCaCCi, obviative sCaCiCâ

A location is formed through another pattern: paCCiC, plural paCiCêC, obviative pCiCCû.

Nouns of states, when they do not already exist, are formed from plural masculine adjectives by prefixing <t> and the first vowel to the word. The obviative form is formed with the masculine singular. These nouns do not normally have a plural.

Titles are created with the suffix -ûl. This suffixes replace all existing final vowels.

Most nouns of professions are formed by creating a verbal noun with the infix -aye- and geminating the following consonant.

Nationalities are formed with the replacing suffix *el masculine singular. The feninine is formed by inserting it before final vowels. the plural is created from the obviative form. There are no adjectives of nationalities. It is necessary to use a genitive.

Diminutives are formed by geminating the last rootal consonant of a noun.

Verbal nouns

Rhako has the ability to derivates a series of nouns from any verbal form. Verbal nouns have no gender (even when designating human) and take neither articles or obviative forms. Verbal nouns are created by replacing the thematic vowel by the following diphtongues:

Note that verbal nouns are usually relatives to te current situations ("a person I see walking") and agree with the sentence's tense. To describe a generic (not one currently seen), the article is needed. It is frequent that agents or patient can be contrasted with direct root form: daikani (d-k-n, imperfective present 1 verbal agent form), "walker" vs. adkano (d-k-n, nominal agent form) "messenger"

Compounds

All words can be used to form compounds. There are two basic derivation pattern. The general pattern is eCaCC-. A linking <ê> is inserted to break unwieldy clusters.This pattern is used to form a compoun implying the generic root meaning. To create a specific pattern from a given word, one uses the obviative form of the noun. Everything after the straight cosonant is deleted except the smiling one and a <i> is added at the end, which changes to /y/ when preceding a vowel.

Plural collective

A plural collective is a plural noun used with a semantic singular number: singular, verbs, adjective and declension. These nouns do not normally have a singular, when they do, it has a widely differing meaning. They are not normally used with a specific determiner. Doing so creates an exclamative meaning.

Proper nouns

While proper nouns are usually words or expressions with the honorific determiner, some are formed with the locative ending -r or -ir

Adjectival

In addition to verbal adjectives, several adjective are derived from the root or nouns.

The base adjective has the following pattern. Its corresponding state is iCiCCe. (obv. CieCiC)

The adjective of similarity follows this other pattern, and has the state noun CiCneC (obv. CiCanC).

The adjective of relation (pertaining to x) has the state noun CiCCas (obv. CiCsaCi) and this pattern.

The adjective meaning "what can be x" is formed by adding the prefix fu- to the appropriate verbal adjective. The state noun is formed from the infinitive. Note that this prefix's semantic field cover "at risk of x" and "prone to x"

The adjective meaning "made of x" is formed by adding a s+thematic vowel immediately after the thematic vowel. The feminine is formed from the obviative form. The plural is in -t- and the state is formed by geminating the <s> of the masculine singular.

The opposite of an adjective is formed by inverting the two last vowels, if the word ends in a vowel. If the word ends in a consonant, the last vowel is suffixed. If the word ends in two identical vowels, the second is mutated as if they formed a long vowel. The same operations are applied to the

General

An emphatic form most frequently expresses surprise (Really? I don't believe it!), but its uses are very very varied, often idiomatic and not recommended to most learners. Some of them include actions that last longer that would normally be expected, total completion, intensive, and even compression of the action(!).

The emphatic form geminates the last consonant of the root: fetyay → fetiay, ofetaye → ofetayye

Negation can be applied to any word of a sentence. It is marked with the prefix kay-, becoming kaya- before a consonant. This is different from the adjective opposite!

Verbal (moods)

Hortative

This mood is formed by prefixing the verb with its thematic vowel. <œ> is never prefixed to form the hortative. It is replaced with an appropriate vowel according to the verbs' aspect: aCœCaCi → eaCœCaCi. Remember that translative verbs have <i> as their thematic vowel in the perfective: iCCaCin → eiCCaCin

Causative

The causative form is created by duplicating the syllable containing the thematic vowel. This will not duplicate extra consonants that might be present. If the vowel is missing, it is reintroduced for the purpose of doubling. fetyay → fefetyay, afpatyay → afpapatyay, iftayin → iffitayin.

Derogative

It is produced by inverting the pattern of front/back vowels along the following pairs: u-û, a-â, o-œ e-ê. <i> or thematic vowels are not affected. The plural form do not alter additional vowels. CeCaCan, CeCaCêta → CeCâCân, CeCâCeta

Iterative

The iterative verb form is created by inserting -as- before the flying consonant and mutating it: fetût → aspêtûy, akaxul → aêsyaxul

Inceptive

The inceptive form is generated by inserting a /w/ after the flying consonant. If the thematic vowel is /û/ or /u/, the result is the diphtongue /uo/. CiCeC → CwiCeC, CCaCidti → CûCaCidti

Generic

The generic simply appends the vowel -a after the thematic vowel: CoCriCê → CoaCriCê, CaCûCa → CaêCûCa.

Derived roots

The first pattern is the debilitating one. Its result and meaning are similar to the derogative form of the verb, but edge more on the idea of "minor" or "of less importance"

The second pattern is called the nervous, but is really an intensive form of the meaning.

The third pattern is called the simple and usually implies a singulative idea.

Grammar and syntax

Word order

The normal word order in Rhako is VSO. However, a relative sentence beginning with a relative pronoun will be expected to have an OSV order. A VOS order can also be used to emphasize the object, though doing so renders it impossible to use the specific determiner on the object.

The noun phrase

The noun(N) is normally preceded by a determiner(D), and might be also preceded with an adjective(A), a preposition(Pr) or a relative(R) in the order (A)D(PrR)N. A preposition phrase goes after the noun.. Note that genitive nouns are treated as adjectives, but go before then.

Pronouns

Pronouns can always replace nouns, and can take honorific or specific determiners. Pronouns varies in person and case, but not number. They have obviative forms.

The combination of the specific determiner with a pronoun can denotes demonstrative meaning.

Possessive pronouns are formed by using only the possessive determiner with the appropriate suffix. They do not have plural forms.

Determiners

Nouns in Rhako usually take a determiner. There are 3 determiners, none of which are inflected: the generic, the specific and the honorific. Determiners go before a preposition but after the adjective.

The determiner is written as a part of the word, and can even receive stress, unless there is a preposition or a

Exceptions

Verbal nouns, infinitives used as nouns and plural collectives do not normally take determiners.

The generic determiner is kne-, and becomes ken if the noun begins with a vowel. It goes before all nouns unless another one is grammatically necessary.

The specific determiner is sle-. It can act as a demonstrative article. This noun is the only possible before verbal phrases.

The honorific determiner is fre-, becoming fes- before a vowel. This form is used before emphatic nouns, personnal nouns, institutions, clan names and places. It is often used before titles to express extreme deference, but as such is often seen as overformalness.

Possession

Possession in Rhako is marked by a suffix added to the vowel form (e.g. the form taken by the determiner before a vowel) of the determiner. Unlike for pronouns, Rhako possesses a full set of inflections of the possessive.

Prepositions

Most prepositions can have different meanings depending on the case used. Typically, almost all of them can be used with the lative, the ablative or the temporal.

Numbers

Rhako has numbers for 1 to 20: bûn, bûni, fûsla, tûrh, kêlf, tmis, mral, sâd, thlas, kêlfi, boya, bûya, fuya, troya, kêya, miya, raya, sâya, laya, kilfi.

Further, the numbers for multiples of 20 exist up to yilaya '380', formed by prefixing the numbers 1-19 with yi-, except for 100 (frut, not yikêlf), 200 (fruti, not yikêlfi) and 400 (friti, not yikilfi): yiboya '220', yitmis '120'. They are considered dozens, odd dozens add oya after the correct yi- form, using the correct number otherwise: yisâd oya '170' (not yisâd kêlfi), yisâd boya '171', yisâd bûya '172' etc.

Hundreds beyond 400 add fru- to the correct number up to frusâya '1900': frumral '700', frubûya '1200'. A thousand is drust, placed before its multiplicator, 2 000, 4 000 and 8 000 are wad, wadi and widi.

Hundreds and thousands go after the dozens: yi '274', '97 354'

In poetic or technical writings, the use of "w-numbers" over drust is encouraged whenever possible: fûsla wad '6000'

The numbers for 2, 10 and 20 hints toward a special dual form, found also in the words for 100 and 200. Rhako does not make use of the zero. They use a word meaning 'absence'.

When counting, numbers are treated as invariable adjectives. The noun is in the plural for numbers up to 20, and invariable for other numbers: bûni êdâkanam 'of the two messengers', kilfi bûni adkannam 'of the twenty-two messengers'. With dozens and hundreds, use of the obviative form indicates an approximation, as in the idiomatic frut + obv. 'dozens of...': kilfi êdâkanam 'of about 20 messengers'.

Nouns of numbers take the honorific determiner when spoken about generally, but the generic or specific when speaking about written symbols. To make ordinals, one use a genitive construction in xa with the word 'rank'.

Case use

Rhako is an inflected language. Nouns are inflected, but not adjectives. The cases are mostly straightforward.

Nominative, accusative and dative are applied to subject, direct object and indirect object. The accusative and dative are NOT used with prepositions, but nominative is in some cases.

The genitive is the case of possession. This case is treated as if it was an adjective, although it keeps its determiner and goes before adjectives. The genitive is also, interestingly, the case is also used to express static location, when combined with prepositions. No more than a single word can be used in the genitive. If the noun phrase is longer, one must use the preposition xas

The instrumental is used for tools and the preposition tap "with" to express comitative meanings, by extension, it is used as a locative case meaning "by, near, alongside".

The lative and ablative cases are "movement" cases expressing direction "from" and "toward" something. They are also used metaphorically for goals and temporal meanings.

The temporal case is used to express precise times, but also lenghts of time. It is not used to express relative lenghts of times ("since, ago, in"). These are covered by the ablative and the lative. However, relative moments ("Three hours later...") are still expressed with the temporal.

The verb

Extra forms

There are three forms of the verb that are outside the verbal paradigm: the infinitive, the imperative and the adjective.

The infinitive covers all the uses of the english infinitives and gerundive, although it is, for all practical purpose, a noun. Unlike actual verbs, it can receive case endings, but not determiners. Note thatnominalized infinitives and adjective gerunds are verbal nouns in Rhako.

The imperative is an invariable form of the verb used for giving orders.

The adjective's uses varies a lot with the verbal series. See the individual series for details.

Aspects

Rhako conjugation distinguishes 3 aspects, a perfective, an imperfective and an habitual. However verbal morphology allow for expression of several more aspects.

The perfective aspect typically indicates a completed action. The perfective present is rarely used, but can indicate that an action is being completed, or is in a state of near completion. However, the close past perfective should be used to indicate that an action was just completed.

The imperfective aspect serves to describe actions being performed, but not yet completed. It is the mood equivalent to most progressive verb tenses in English.

The habitual covers a wide period of time and indicates that what is said was done on a fairly regular basis during that time. The specific time is not required: Dankuno mok "I walk (regularly)".

Note that the habitual makes different nuances between the past and the close past. The close past is used to indicate a former habit, and the regular past covering all other meanings: the past habitual might or might not persist in the present.

Moods

Rhako makes little modal distinction, the hortative, also called optative, is one of them. It is used to express all forms of whishes, pleas, desires and encouragements, but not imperative menaings.

The causative form of the verb indicates that the action was a consequence of external factors. It might often carry a factitive meaning "force to", but rarely the idea of asking, as in English "I had him fix my roof."

The derogative form of the verb is used to express that contempt should be felt toward the action being discussed.

An iterative aspect/mood is often used to describe repetition of actions. When used in combination with the emphatic, one can produce an impression of tediousness.

The inceptive aspect is used to indicate the beginning of an action. It rarely, unlike the other derivations, takes on a lexicalized sense. Interestingly, it can be used in the habitual, to express an idea that would be translated in english as "Every time I try to...".

The generic is differentiated from the habitual in that it makes a universal statement of fact. This is a very strong form and should not be abused. It is rarely used without the adverb upik "almost".

Constructions

Comparisons

Comparisons and simile are usually expressed using a verbal construction over an adjectival. A descriptive verb is adjoined a noun in the lative case. kayadfafan painrhuweltœ "rare like leaf trees" (lit. being uncommon toward a leaf tree). The use of the emphatic on the noun and the derogative on the verb denote respectively "more" and "less". kayadfafan painrhuwweltœ "rarer than leaf trees", kâyâdfafân painrhuweltœ "not as rare, less rare than leaf trees". A verbal generic is used for the superlative kayadfaêfan "rarest" (lit. "being always rare").

The simile use a virtually identical construction if the subject is also the subject of the compared verb, except that an infinitive is put in the lative case: dakûnna xa firsaqeinltœ axos "he was running as if he was late." Note that firsaqein being a transitive verb, it requires a (obviative) dummy object in such constructions. "As if he was late for the reunion" would be firsaqeinltœ sletaxottos.

Other similes require more complex forms. The normal V S O construction turns into O V S, where the verb is also put in the declined infinitive: dakûnna xa dirkanneltœ kixollif xos "Running as if hell was after him" (lit. "as if running away from hell".).

Lexicon

d-f-n, -di

Common, typical

adifana

s.3 v. To be common

kay-

d.v. To be rare, uncommon

d-k-n, -ût

To walk

dirkanne

s.1 v. To run.

+abl To flee.

+lat To chase.

d-w-r, -xû

To open, to pierce

f-d-l, -os

To count

f-n-g, -an

To speak, to talk

f-s-q, -in

To excede

firsaqein

s.2 v. To be late for smthing.

f-t-y, -yû

To bend

n-x-s, -dê

House

k-x-l, -wa

Liquids, more specifically water and inorganic liquids

By extention, to flow, to glide

kixollo

n. (inv.)Hell, in the rhako religion

k-?-l, -wa

Flat

l-m-d, -ro

To be pointy

l-q-m, -li

Trees

laqotmo

n. Usual word for tree. Mostly cover palm and pine trees e.g. evergreen trees.

l-y-nh, -ik

To lay

m-l-x, -xâ

To mix

p-f-y, -us

Memory

p-rh-w, -mu

To change, to transform

painrhuwe

v.n. from ponrhuwe Deciduous tree (by opposition to laqotmo, evergreen tree)

p-s-t, -ta

To push

s-l-r, -tho

To sleep

s-t-?, -fâ

granular material

s-y-r, -pœ

The land, the space

s-y-th, -âw

To sit

t-r-d, -nœ

To protrude

t-r-q, -ko

t-x-n, -dê

To built, to assemble, to grow

taxotto

n. reunion

th-l-k, -êq

Clothes

th-w-p, -ya

believe

x-m-d, -roth

Division, partie

w-s-t, -ta

To stop

?-n-t, -a?

To point, to show

To count sand

To try to do something impossible

thirwapeya axe kayaxos

"Not to trust someone as deep as you could shove him"

Sometimes there is but a finger between Hell and heaven.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions

Colors