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Kiravic Coscivian: Difference between revisions
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==Grammar== | ==Grammar== | ||
===Nouns=== | ===Nouns=== | ||
As in all other Cosco-Adratic languages, the most important {{wp|word class}} in Kiravic is the noun. Nouns are the primary bearers of meaning, and most information in a typical Kiravic sentence is contained in its {{wp|noun phrase|noun phrases}}. Because Kiravic has few verbs compared to most languages, it relies heavily on {{wp|case governance}} and verb-noun constructions to approximate what most languages would express with a single, unitary verb. As such, noun morphology in Kiravic is rather complex, and the various noun cases can be used to convey a number of different meanings. The dative case, for example, can be used to form comparative statements (''Kēþram tergíx '''síþramd''''' - "This house is bigger '''than that house'''"), express perspective (''Sívódin é inox '''kúd''''' - "That idea is new '''to me'''"), indicate relationships, benefaction, and duty (''Thá '''vúd''' kú krótath '''akmad''''' - "I will give '''him''' money '''for rent'''"). | As in all other Cosco-Adratic languages, the most important {{wp|word class}} in Kiravic is the {{wp|noun}}. Nouns are the primary bearers of meaning, and most information in a typical Kiravic sentence is contained in its {{wp|noun phrase|noun phrases}}. Because Kiravic has few verbs compared to most languages, it relies heavily on {{wp|case governance}} and verb-noun constructions to approximate what most languages would express with a single, unitary verb. As such, noun morphology in Kiravic is rather complex, and the various noun cases can be used to convey a number of different meanings. The dative case, for example, can be used to form comparative statements (''Kēþram tergíx '''síþramd''''' - "This house is bigger '''than that house'''"), express perspective (''Sívódin é inox '''kúd''''' - "That idea is new '''to me'''"), indicate relationships, benefaction, and duty (''Thá '''vúd''' kú krótath '''akmad''''' - "I will give '''him''' money '''for rent'''"). | ||
Kiravic nouns inflect for two numbers (singular/nonplural and plural) and X main cases: The absolutive, ergative, genitive, dative, locative, lative, essive, benefactive, and instrumental. There exist a number of highly regular adpositional forms that may be treated either as noun cases or noun-adposition compounds. Kiravic nouns lack not only {{wp|grammatical gender}} but also the gender-neutral {{wp|Noun class|noun classes}} of most other Cosco-Adratic languages, vestiges of which remain in a few noun suffixes. | Kiravic nouns inflect for two numbers (singular/nonplural and plural) and X main cases: The absolutive, ergative, genitive, dative, locative, lative, essive, benefactive, and instrumental. There exist a number of highly regular adpositional forms that may be treated either as noun cases or noun-adposition compounds. Kiravic nouns lack not only {{wp|grammatical gender}} but also the gender-neutral {{wp|Noun class|noun classes}} of most other Cosco-Adratic languages, vestiges of which remain in a few noun suffixes. | ||
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IV. Absolutive ''-um'' ⇒ genitive ''-idk'' (typically {{wp|mass nouns}})<br> | IV. Absolutive ''-um'' ⇒ genitive ''-idk'' (typically {{wp|mass nouns}})<br> | ||
V. Absolutive ''-k'' ⇒ genitive ''-idek''<br> | V. Absolutive ''-k'' ⇒ genitive ''-idek''<br> | ||
====Proper and Indeclinable Nouns==== | |||
Proper nouns are subject to the same declension rules as common nouns. By convention, one declines a Coscivian personal name by changing the surname only (e.g. "The office of [[Irasur Mérovin]]" would be ''adikuv Irasur Mérovi'''sk''''' rather than ''adikuv Irasursk Mérovin''), with the forename treated as a {{wp|noun adjunct}}. Similarly, when declining a compound geographic name such as [[Mount Verastia]] (''Nár Verastia'') or the River Kiygrava (''Rurin Kiygrava''), only the general noun is declined while the specific appellation remains unchanged (''Nárē Verastia'', ''Rurinst Kiygrava''). Foreign names and brand names that cannot be readily Coscivised can be fit into the structure of a Kiravic sentence using auxiliary prepositions like ''áu'' ("of") and ''ōs'' ("as"), but most style guides for formal writing encourage using the indeclinable name as an adjunct to an appropriate Kiravic common noun. For example, "There was a fire in [[Gulnaz]]" (the capital of [[Kayistan]]) would be translated as ''Lé spóre '''sarēs''' Gulnaz'' ("There was a fire '''in the city''' of Gulnaz"). | |||
Kiravic does not employ {{wp|Article (grammar)|articles}}. {{wp|Definiteness|Definacy}} is inferred from context, though in the absence of contextual clues to the contrary, nouns are generally interpreted as being definite by default. In situations where contextual clues might be ambiguous and there is a need to clarify definacy, the determiner ''lē-'' can be used to specify that a noun is indefinite, e.g. ''Ar koé '''lē-'''asdrárdas, tos dhé voé asdrár klesk skúl'' ("I spoke with '''a''' salesman, but he was not the salesman from your company"). | |||
Kiravic does not employ {{wp|Article (grammar)|articles}}. {{wp|Definiteness|Definacy}} is inferred from context, though in the absence of contextual clues to the contrary, nouns are generally interpreted as being definite by default. In situations where contextual clues might be ambiguous and there is a need to clarify definacy, the determiner ''lē-'' can be used to specify that a noun is indefinite, e.g. '' | |||
===Adjectives and Adverbs=== | ===Adjectives and Adverbs=== | ||
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IV. auxilliary | IV. auxilliary | ||
All adverbs are notionally derived from adjectives by switching the final ''-x'' to an ''-s'' (''kávix'' ("good") → ''kávis'' ("well"), ''lādéx kèokrúd'' ("stronger than steel") → ''lādés kèokrúd'' ("more strongly than steel")). | All adverbs are notionally derived from adjectives by switching the final ''-x'' to an ''-s'' (''kávix'' ("good") → ''kávis'' ("well"), ''lādéx kèokrúd'' ("stronger than steel") → ''lādés kèokrúd'' ("more strongly than steel")). | ||
===Verbs=== | ===Verbs=== | ||
There are only 25-30 verbs in formal written Kiravic, a great many of which are {{wp|semantic primes}}, such as ''é'' ("be"), ''va'' ("do"), ''sind'' ("to turn, render"), ''kar'' ("make"), ''er'' ("go"), ''kur'' ("put"), and ''send'' ("take"). The range of meaning communicated by these verbs can be quite broad, and is often qualified phrasally by adverbs, nouns, and adpositions. ''Sta'', for example, can mean "see", "hear", "feel", "taste", "smell", "perceive", "realise", or even "imagine". Verbs are not conjugated. Instead, tense, aspect, and mood are marked on nouns in the absolutive case. | There are only 25-30 verbs in formal written Kiravic, a great many of which are {{wp|semantic primes}}, such as ''é'' ("be"), ''va'' ("do"), ''sind'' ("to turn, render"), ''kar'' ("make"), ''er'' ("go"), ''kur'' ("put"), and ''send'' ("take"). The range of meaning communicated by these verbs can be quite broad, and is often qualified phrasally by adverbs, nouns, and adpositions. ''Sta'', for example, can mean "see", "hear", "feel", "taste", "smell", "perceive", "realise", or even "imagine". Verbs are not conjugated. Instead, tense, aspect, and mood are marked on nouns in the absolutive case. | ||