Conlang "Miwonša"

[Plusquamperfekt]

Hello people,
I'd like to present you my conlang Miwonša. It's not 100% complete, but the most essential parts of grammar are done, so I don't want to wait any longer.

http://conlang.wikia.com/wiki/Miwonsa
http://conlang.wikia.com/wiki/Miwon%C5% ... phology%29
http://conlang.wikia.com/wiki/Miwon%C5% ... phology%29


Actually I don't want to ask whether or not you like the phonology, the grammar etc., as all this is extremely subjective (and you cannot argue about personal tastes), but I'd be really intested in what associations you have corcerning the sound, the conscript and the grammar and maybe which parts of the explanations are not clear enough.



Sample text

Old Miwonša: Tahonti kišanwe pišoi ya milwa skunukoi ya piskwokak nanstwaran. Sjaku piro tunšwak ya thažansak kwan, wanjo kwasjakan yonženalwanti khonanswokai paiwašinjazak.

[ta'hõtɕi kiʃã'we pi'ʃoɪ ja 'miɬwa 'skunukoɪ ja 'piskwokak 'nãstwarã. sja'ku 'piro 'tũʃwak ja tʼa'ʒãsak kwã, 'waɲo kwa'sjakã jõʒe'naɬwãtɕi kʼo'nãswokaɪ paɪwaʃi'ɲazak]

New Miwonša: Tahonti kišanwe piši ya milwa žuk skuni ya piskwai nanstwaran. Sjaku piro aš tunšwaš ya thažansaš kwan, wanjo kwasjakan yonžalwanti žuk khonswai paiwašizjak.



"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood."

[Plusquamperfekt]

Summary of grammar or everything you need to know

[Z500]

the writing sample looks like something out of star trek. how are you supposed to read that? mongolian-style?

[Plusquamperfekt]

It's more or less an alphasyllabary in which one block can either represent one syllable with up to 6 sounds (CCCVVC) or two syllables with up to 10 sounds (CCCVV.CCCVV). More instructions on the wiki page... (reading direction left>right, up>down / inside one block it's sometimes a bit more complicated...)

And thanks for the star trek comment... that's exactly the look I intended

[Plusquamperfekt]

Another sample text:


Luičan maco maya, čwana-čwana prikwoi kwančo macoi thaspimanči. Cwonuro luzoi, hanras fišanšišanti, antso šiyo kwan fazja puinja fanskoi thunhok. Uluiči khezanfiman iworoi thara šelak, mayoči kwonšišanš: Fanski thunhok čwičwi kjaniman.



Luičan mac-o may-a, čwana-čwana prikw-oi kwanč-o mac-oi thasp-im-an-či. Cwon-ur-o luz-oi, hanr-as fišanš-iš-an-ti, ants-o šiyo kw-an fazja puinj-a fansk-oi thunh-ok. Ul-ui-či khezanf-im-an iw-or-oi thar-a šel-ak, mayo-či kwonš-iš-an-š: Fansk-i thunh-ok čwičwi kjan-im-an.

Prince little-INT.SG 1SG-GEN, bit.by.bit sad-ACC.SG life.INT.SG little-ACC.SG understand-1SG-NINF-PERF.PAST. Time-LOC-INT.SG long-ACC.SG, REF-DAT divert-2SG-NINF-SPN, nothing-INT 2SG.DAT be-NINF except tenderness-INT.SG setting-GEN.PL sun-GEN.SG. DET-ACC-PERF.PAST learn-1SG-NINF morning-LOC-ACC.SG day-INT.SG four-GEN.SG, 1SG.DAT-PERF.PAST say-2SG-NINF-PTCP: Setting-ACC.PL sun-GEN.SG very love-1SG-NINF.

Oh little prince, bit by bit I came to understand your sad little life. For a long time, your only entertainment had been the pleasure of watching sunsets. I learned that new detail on the morning of the foruth day, when you said to me: I am very fond of sunsets.

[finlay]

One thing I noticed is that you don't seem to have decided whether to use <y> or <j> for /j/... And I don't know what's meant by the adverbial case – in one instance it even combines with the accusative! Other than that, fine.

[Plusquamperfekt]

·not up to date anymore...

[Astraios]

The use of <j> and <y> is not arbitrary, but it has to do with syllabification. <j> is only used in the digraphs <lj, nj> and in complex onsets (like pj, kj, fj, sj etc.), whereas <y> is only used when it is the only consonant of the onset. Using two graphemes for /j/ is quite useful, as the following example shows:

<anya>: /ãja/
<anja>: /aɲa/

I would never have thought of that.

[ná'oolkiłí]

Maybe I simply should call that infix "adverbial case", as I haven't any language until now in which nouns can be in more than one case at the same time.

Apparently in Old Georgian you could do have more than one case marker on a noun, but they didn't combine into new cases, they just nested.

კაცისაჲ პური არს.
ḳac-isa-y ṗur-i ars.
man-GEN-NOM bread-NOM is
"It is the man's bread."

კაცისისაჲ მამასაჲ პური არს.
ḳac-is-isa-y mama-sa-y ṗur-i ars.
man-GEN-GEN-NOM father-GEN-NOM bread-NOM is
"It is the man's father's bread"

However, instead of glossing your example as:

piskw-ok-ak
dignity-ADV-GEN.S

Why don't you just call it (and all the combinations you listed) a separate case/postposition?

piskw-okak
dignity-CAUSAL

I would never have thought of that.

If I'm understanding it correctly, Hungarian does basically the same thing, but backwards.

[roninbodhisattva]

Apparently in Old Georgian you could do have more than one case marker on a noun, but they didn't combine into new cases, they just nested.

კაცისაჲ პური არს.
ḳac-isa-y ṗur-i ars.
man-GEN-NOM bread-NOM is
"It is the man's bread."

Suffixaufnahme!

[Xephyr]

Apparently in Old Georgian you could do have more than one case marker on a noun, but they didn't combine into new cases, they just nested.

კაცისაჲ პური არს.
ḳac-isa-y ṗur-i ars.
man-GEN-NOM bread-NOM is
"It is the man's bread."

Suffixaufnahme!

In Old Georgian? Surely you jest!

[roninbodhisattva]

Apparently in Old Georgian you could do have more than one case marker on a noun, but they didn't combine into new cases, they just nested.

კაცისაჲ პური არს.
ḳac-isa-y ṗur-i ars.
man-GEN-NOM bread-NOM is
"It is the man's bread."

Suffixaufnahme!

In Old Georgian? Surely you jest!

...nope.

[Plusquamperfekt]

However, instead of glossing your example as:

piskw-ok-ak
dignity-ADV-GEN.S

Why don't you just call it (and all the combinations you listed) a separate case/postposition?

Because that would be simply not correct - two morphemes are two morphemes.

piskw-okak
dignity-CAUSAL

Hasn't anyone wondered why I used the causal case there?! In fact, I had difficulties to decide whether I should the genitive or the instrumental case in that sentence, then I chose the genitive case, but forgot to delete the infix. I'll correct that later, the infix "ok" is absolutely wrong there.


BTW Does someone have an idea how I could make a beautiful font for my conscript?!

[Taernsietr]

BTW Does someone have an idea how I could make a beautiful font for my conscript?!

This.

[WeepingElf]

Apparently in Old Georgian you could do have more than one case marker on a noun, but they didn't combine into new cases, they just nested.

კაცისაჲ პური არს.
ḳac-isa-y ṗur-i ars.
man-GEN-NOM bread-NOM is
"It is the man's bread."

Suffixaufnahme!

In Old Georgian? Surely you jest!

...nope.

Indeed, AFAIK, Old Georgian was the very first language where western linguists noticed this phenomenon, and a German linguist who wrote a grammar of Old Georgian, coined the term.

[Plusquamperfekt]

By the way, I have a question about my participles... Somehow I got the impression these are rather converbs - at least in the first sentence - what do you think?


Swankai čwonišanš, nanšwimanča siwai.
newspaper-ACC.SG read-2SG-NINF-X, drink-1SG-NINF-PAST-IMPRF water-ACC.SG.
While you were reading the newspaper, I was drinking water.

Waškašan čwonanšo swankai nanšwanča siwai.
man-INT.SG read-NINF-X-ERG.SG newspaper-ACC.SG drink-NINF-PAST-PRF water-ACC.SG.
The man reading the newspaper is drinking water.

[TomHChappell]

By the way, I have a question about my participles... Somehow I got the impression these are rather converbs - at least in the first sentence - what do you think?


Swankai čwonišanš, nanšwimanča siwai.
newspaper-ACC.SG read-2SG-NINF-X, drink-1SG-NINF-PAST.IMP water-ACC.SG.
While you were reading the newspaper, I was drinking water.

Waškašan čwonanšo swankai nanšwanča siwai.
man-INT.SG read-NINF-X-ERG.SG newspaper-ACC.SG drink-NINF-PAST.PRF water-ACC.SG.
The man reading the newspaper is drinking water.

In the second example I'm pretty sure it's a participle. That's because the subordinate clause of which it is the nucleus, is a relative clause, used as if it were an adjective. So that non-finite verb-form is probably a verbal adjective, like participles are.

In the first, possibly a converb instead; at any rate, probably not a participle, but rather some other non-finite verb form. That's because the subordinate clause of which it is the nucleus, is an adjunct clause, used as if it were an adverb (a temporal/aspectual adverb). So that non-finite verb-form is likely to be a verbal some-other-part-of-speech-than-an-adjective, at least if your language distinguishes adjectives from adverbs.

In some languages, converbs and gerunds are basically the same thing; if your language is one of them, the non-finite verb-form which is the nucleus of the subordinate clause in the first example, might be both a gerund and a converb.

If your language makes no distinction between adjectives and adverbs, just lumping them all together as "modifiers", then maybe it also makes no distinction between relative clauses and adjunct clauses. If it doesn't distinguish between RCs and AdjunctCs, there may be no need to decide whether those non-finite verb-forms are participles or converbs.

Some languages make no distinction between adjectives and nouns; they lump them together as "substantives". If your language is one of those, maybe it doesn't distinguish between complement-clauses (subordinate clauses embedded as terms, as if they were nouns, in the clause they depend on), from relative clauses. If it doesn't distinguish complement clauses from relative clauses, maybe it doesn't distinguish between gerunds and participles. Again, depending on the particulars of your language, maybe there's no difference between participles and some other non-finite verbal form (such as converbs, or such as gerunds) in your language.

[Plusquamperfekt]

Wow, I really had to read your answer three times to understand it completely, but that was really helpful.
In fact, Miwonša distinguishes between adjectives and adverbs, as only adjectives have declensions, whereas adverbs don't. Furthermore, there are no predicative adjectives, but adjectival verbs:

Kwanhjan žufja nasta.
be-here-NINF car-INT.SG slow-INT.SG - This is a slow car.

Waškašano žufjai nasto luškan.
man-ERG.SG car-ACC.SG slow-ADV drive-NINF.
The man drives the car slowly.

Žufja naščiran.
Car slow-ADJ.VERB-NINF.
The car is slow.

Furthermore, there are also gerunds (or at least I call them gerunds)

Luškanzai žufjoi miwkiman.
Drive-NINF-GER-ACC.SG love-1SG-NINF.
I love driving cars.

OK let me try to summirize:

(1) converbs ( <anš> ) ≈ replace adverbial clauses/adjuncts
(2) participles ( <anš> + adjective ending ) ≈ replace relative clauses
(3) gerunds ( <anz> + case ending ) ≈ replace subject/object clauses/ (compulsory) arguments of the verb
(4) supines ( <anti> ) ≈ replace purpose clauses
(5) gerundives ( COP + <anti> ) ≈ replace "must"
(6) infinitives ≈ used with modal verbs and some other verbs that require subordinated verbs


Subordinated clauses are really the hardest part of conlanging when you don't want to use simply subjunctions and pronouns as in Indoeuropean languages

[WeepingElf]

Miwonša rocks. The script also.

[Plusquamperfekt]

I proudly present my first conlang lesson. It is really easy and at the end you'll even find some exercises. Would be happy if someone tried out the exercises, maybe you'll even find some inspirations for your own conlangs

http://miwonsa.wikia.com/wiki/Lesson_1

[Eyowa]

čafjan - doctor > čafjanie - doctors

Shouldn't that be čafjanje?

The language looks really cool in general. The symmetry in the case system (with the adverbial and locative cases modifying the others) especially.

What sort of implements/media do you envision being used for the writing system? Seems like it would lend itself well to cuneiform...