{"id":8,"date":"2011-10-26T23:46:40","date_gmt":"2011-10-26T23:46:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vandegrift.conlang.org\/?page_id=8"},"modified":"2012-02-05T18:31:01","modified_gmt":"2012-02-05T18:31:01","slug":"grouplang-2011-2012","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/vandegrift.conlang.org\/?page_id=8","title":{"rendered":"Grouplang 2011-2012"},"content":{"rendered":"

1. Introduction<\/h1>\n

At the beginning of the first semester school year in the year 2011, two nerds at Vandegrift High School were talking. They shared a love of languages and a desire to create them, but sadly, this activity was normally done in solitude and would rarely be shared with others. So they hatched a plan: they\u2019d create a club for those people who want to\u00a0make<\/em>\u00a0languages, and learn about others. It would be a forum for linguistically-inclined nerds to talk about their languages, argue about grammar, and work together to build a great language.<\/p>\n

Thus the Vandegrift Language Creation Society was born, and with it the club\u2019s first \u201cgroup-lang.\u201d It\u2019s going to be a year-long project, and we might even continue it after the school year ends.<\/p>\n

2. Phonology<\/h1>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a02.1. Consonants<\/em><\/h2>\n

The consonants are as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\nLabials<\/td>\nAlveolars<\/td>\nPalatals<\/td>\nVelars<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Stops<\/td>\np b<\/td>\nt d<\/td>\nc<\/td>\nk g<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nasals<\/td>\nm<\/td>\nn<\/td>\n\u0272<\/td>\n\u014b<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Trills<\/td>\n<\/td>\nr<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fricatives<\/td>\n\u0278 v<\/td>\ns<\/td>\n\u0255 \u0291<\/td>\nx<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lateral fricatives<\/td>\n<\/td>\n\u026c<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Approximants<\/td>\n<\/td>\n\u0279 l<\/td>\nj<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The most unusual thing to note about this phonology is the palatal series, which are rare cross-linguistically. Also, the consonants \/r\/ and \/l\/ can besyllabic<\/em>, functioning as a vowel.<\/p>\n

Also, note that \/j\/ in the IPA is pronounced like a \u201cy\u201d in English, the \u201cx\u201d like the\u00a0ch<\/em>\u00a0in German, and the \/r\/ is trilled while the \/\u0279\/ is an English r-sound.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a02.2. Vowels<\/em><\/h2>\n

The vowels are these:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\nFront<\/td>\nCentral<\/td>\nBack<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
High<\/td>\ni i:<\/td>\n<\/td>\nu u:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Low<\/td>\n<\/td>\na a:<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

2.3. Allophony<\/h2>\n
    \n
  • Voiced obstruents (\/b\/, \/d\/, \/g\/, \/v\/, \/\u0291\/) devoice at the end of a word (become \/p\/, \/t\/, \/k\/, \/f\/, \/\u0255\/ respectively).<\/li>\n
  • Any nasal sound (\/m\/, \/n\/, \/\u0272\/, \/\u014b\/) changes to match the following consonant (becomes \/m\/ before \/b, p,\u00a0\u0278\/, \/n\/ before \/t, d, s\/, etc.)<\/li>\n
  • Whenever \/s\/ or \/z\/ occurs before \/\u0255\/ or \/\u0291\/, it transforms to match.<\/li>\n
  • Voiceless sounds voice between vowels (\/ka\/+\/pa\/=[kab<\/strong>a], for example)<\/li>\n
  • ^ Except when two voiceless sounds come together between vowels, they are\u00a0still<\/em>\u00a0voiceless (ie, \/kap\/+\/pa\/=\/kapp<\/strong>a\/)<\/li>\n
  • When a voiceless and a voiced sound come together in any order, the\u00a0first<\/em>\u00a0of the cluster determines the overall voicing (ie, \/sab\/+\/sa\/=[sabza], etc.)<\/li>\n
  • \u201cGeminate\u201d consonants are\u00a0both<\/em>\u00a0pronounced (so \/penni\/ is pronounced [pen.ni], like \u201cpen knee\u201d, not \u201cpenny\u201d)<\/li>\n
  • A short vowel becomes long when it\u00a0receives\u00a0stress.<\/li>\n
  • \/i\/ is realized as \/\u025b\/ in front of a palatal or a velar, and as \/\u025b\u0303\/ in front of a palatal or velar nasal.<\/li>\n
  • \/i:\/ is realized as \/\u025b:\/ in front of a palatal or a velar, and as \/\u025b\u0303\/ in front of a palatal or velar nasal.<\/li>\n
  • \/u\/ is realized as \/\u0254\/ in front of a palatal or a velar, and as \/\u0254\u0303\/ in front of a palatal or velar nasal.<\/li>\n
  • \/u:\/ is realized as \/\u0254:\/ in front of a palatal or a velar, and as \/\u0254\u0303\/ in front of a palatal or velar nasal.<\/li>\n
  • \/a\/ and \/a:\/ do not change.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    2.4. Syllable structure<\/h2>\n

    The syllable structure is (C)V(C), which means that each syllable\u00a0must<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0contain a vowel, and can optionally contain: 1) a single consonant at the beginning, 2) a single consonant sound at the end of the syllable, or 4) any combination thereof. This is more restrictive than English, so a word such as strengths<\/em>\u00a0could never exist in this language.<\/p>\n

    2.5. Romanization<\/h2>\n
      \n
    • First off, the sounds \/p, b, t, d, c, k, g, m, n, \u014b,\u00a0v, s, l\/ don\u2019t change in the Romanization.<\/li>\n
    • The sound \/\u0272\/ is written as \u201cnh\u201d, the sound \/\u0278\/ as \u201cph\u201d, the sound \/\u0255\/ as \u201cx\u201d, the sound \/\u0291\/ as \u201czh\u201d, the sound \/x\/ as \u201ckh\u201d, the sound \/\u026c\/ as \u201clh\u201d, the sound \/j\/ as \u201cj\u201d,\u00a0and the sound \/\u0279\/ as \u201crh\u201d.<\/li>\n
    • Long vowels can be represented with a macron (\u012b, \u0101, \u016b) or as a doubling of the letter (ii, aa, uu). The macron is preferred.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      3. Nouns<\/h1>\n

      Nouns are fairly simple, and are almost entirely regular. There are 4 numbers and 2 genders, which are indicated by stacking on agglutinating suffixes to the root. There are some words that exist in both genders, and some which only exist in one or the other. Nouns don\u2019t inflect for case or for anything else other than number and gender.<\/p>\n

      \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a03.1. Gender\/Noun class<\/em><\/h2>\n

      There are two \u201cgenders\u201d\/noun cases:\u00a0living<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0non-living<\/em>. Nouns of the living class are those things that are alive, including animals, humans, plants, and very rarely some inanimate objects that are made in the likeness of living things. Nouns of the non-living class are everything else. Because of this, a majority of nouns are of the non-living class. The living class is indicated by the suffix\u00a0-\u0101<\/em>, and the non-living class by the suffix\u00a0-i<\/em>. An example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
      Root word<\/td>\nPronounciation<\/td>\nLiving class<\/td>\nMeaning<\/td>\nNon-living class<\/td>\nMeaning<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Sa\u014b-<\/td>\n\/sa\u014b\/<\/td>\nSa\u014b\u0101<\/td>\n(a) fortune-teller<\/td>\nSa\u014bi<\/td>\n(a) possibility<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      J\u0101nat\u0101n-<\/td>\n\/ja:nata:n\/<\/td>\nJ\u0101nat\u0101n\u0101<\/td>\n(a) person who eats walnuts very quickly<\/td>\nN\/A<\/td>\nN\/A<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Kux-<\/td>\n\/ku\u0255\/<\/td>\nkux\u0101<\/td>\na well-read person<\/td>\nKuxi<\/td>\n(a) book<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

      3.2. Number<\/em><\/p>\n

      There are four numbers: single, plural, \u201ca little\u201d, and \u201ca lot\u201d. \u00a0Single is used for one of something, and is not further marked. The plural is used for more than one of something, and is marked with the suffix –m<\/em>\u00a0attached at the end of the noun. The \u201ca little\u201d number is used to refer to small group of something in a way that emphasizes that it is small; it is marked with the suffix\u00a0-t\u012b<\/em>. The \u201ca lot\u201d number is used to indicate a large group of things; it is marked with the suffix\u00a0-lhu<\/em>. An example:<\/p>\n

        \n
      • Kuxi- (a) book<\/li>\n
      • Kuxim- books<\/li>\n
      • Kuxit\u012b- a few books<\/li>\n
      • Kuxilhu- a lot of books<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a03.3. Articles<\/em><\/h2>\n

        There are no articles. Definiteness is inferred from context.<\/p>\n

        4. Adjectives<\/h1>\n

        Adjectives follow the same rules as nouns, and must match in number and form; eg. kaxilhu m\u016bnkilhu<\/em>\u00a0(“a lot of big books”), or xaz\u0101m d\u0101r\u0101<\/em>m <\/em>(“long fish”).<\/p>\n

        5. Verbs<\/h1>\n

        Verbs are the most grammatically complex part of this language. They conjugate for an unusually large amount of information, and tend to be very long. Because of this, there is a verbal rule that must be learnt before the verbs themselves are.<\/p>\n

        \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a05.1. The Drop Rule<\/em><\/h2>\n

        The “drop rule” states that, after the initial verb in a conversation is used, all conjugations that do not change in the next verb can be dropped. If all conjugations would be dropped, the stem alone is used. For instance, if a conversation begins with the verb palurhanxiag\u0101, <\/em><\/em>meaning “I was running,” and the next verb then became “I was walking,” then only the stem of the verb “to walk” would be used; so one would say m\u0101su<\/em><\/em>\u00a0instead of m\u0101surhanxiag\u0101<\/em><\/em><\/em>.<\/p>\n

        \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a05.2. How Conjugation Works<\/em><\/h2>\n

        Verbs are indicated by the ending -un<\/em>, and the “n” is dropped when the verb is conjugated. All conjugations are suffixes, and attach directly onto the end -u<\/em>.<\/p>\n

        \u00a0 \u00a0 5.3. Time Indicators<\/em><\/h2>\n

        There are five tenses conjugated for: far past, past, present, future, and far future.<\/p>\n

        The far past is used for events that took place long ago; for instance, historical events or myths. It is indicated by the suffix -rh\u016bn-<\/em><\/p>\n

        The past is used for events that took place relatively recently. It is indicated by the suffix -rhan-<\/em><\/p>\n

        The present is used for things that are happening currently. It is indicated by the suffix -ya-<\/em><\/p>\n

        The future is used for things that will happen soon. It is indicated by the suffix -ku-<\/em><\/p>\n

        The far future is used for things that will happen in the far future; it is the most rarely used. It is indicated by the suffix -kal\u012b-<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        1. Introduction At the beginning of the first semester school year in the year 2011, two nerds at Vandegrift High School were talking. They shared a love of languages and a desire to create them, but sadly, this activity was normally done in solitude and would rarely be shared with others. So they hatched a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-8","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/vandegrift.conlang.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/vandegrift.conlang.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/vandegrift.conlang.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/vandegrift.conlang.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/vandegrift.conlang.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/vandegrift.conlang.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13,"href":"http:\/\/vandegrift.conlang.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8\/revisions\/13"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/vandegrift.conlang.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}