Iritasa

<subject> <participle> <auxiliary particles> <object> [<tense particle>]* <auxiliary> [<tense particle>]*

* Where the tense particle appears before the auxiliary, it is indefinite/imperfect. After, definite/perfective.

Word order is loose, extremely loose. The only real limit on word order is that the dative must appear directly after either the auxiliary or the participle as it shares the same form as the genitive. It is generally SVO, and that's my recommendation for normal usage.

Auxiliary Inflections

Subject Direct Object Indirect Object
Sing. Plur. Sing. Plur. Sing. Plur.
1st (inclusive) Ø--a Ø--æ Ø--a Ø--i Ø--ta Ø--ta
1st (exclusive) Ø--æ i--Ø Ø--se
2nd Ø--o Ø--o œ--Ø œ--s Ø--do Ø--do
3rd Ø--œ Ø--œ n(a)--s n(a)--Ø Ø--tæ Ø--tæ

Note: the symbol Ø means that this slot is empty - it is not a letter.

Eg. E3ado - I do to you.

Noun cases

Intransitive subject
-na
Transitive subject (Ergative)
-da
Transitive object (Absolutive)
(unmarked)
Dative & Genitive
-te

The language was not intended to be ergative, but it turned into one...

The dative is the only case with a fixed position. It is placed after either the auxiliary or the participle. In any other position it could be mistaken for the genetive.

Declensions

At the moment there are two noun declensions which are provisionally based upon the final letter of the word.

Vowel Consonant
Sing. Plur. Sing. Plur.
1st   -3   -se
2nd -l -la -a -ehl
3rd -n -ze -i

Verbal roots

Roots are formed by removing the an/in suffix from the perfect participle or imperfect participle and any remaining vowels left over.

d-
dœan - be
hl-
hlan - have/intend to (meaning when used as an auxiliary)
tod-
todan - be able to
eron-
eronan - make/become
dian-
dianin - go (used as an alternative to dœan and the future tense particle to express the future tense)
e3-
e3an - do/make

Conjugation of dœan

da I am
do You/Ye are
He/She/They are
dœa I am you / You are me
dœi I am him/her
He/She is you
diat I am for me
diot I am for you
diohl I am for him/her
dai We (inclusive) are
doi We (exclusive) are
dœat We are you/ye (exclusive by nature)

(Partial) Phonology

a as in sad
i as in been
o as in novice
œ as in ignore
æ as in came
e as in hell

Nasal Stop Fricative Lateral Fricative Lateral Approximant Flap
Bilabial Unvoiced
Voiced m
Labiodental Unvoiced f
Voiced
Dental Unvoiced t þ
Voiced d
Alveolar Unvoiced s hl
Voiced n l
Retroflex Unvoiced
Voiced r
Palatoalveolar Unvoiced ß
Voiced 3
Palatal/Velar Unvoiced x
Voiced
Glottal Unvoiced h
Voiced

tß - Affricate of [t] & [ß]

Relative Clauses

Relative clauses preceed the word they modify; as do adjectives.

Misc

Negative particles appear directly before the auxiliary.

Plurals are marked by -hl.

Words of unknown meaning: kasen, seffian, æ3a.


© Keith Gaughan, 1999-2001