Thussaf Grammar PHONEMES (in IPA) y, , , e, a, , , (syllabic), p, b, f, v, m, , t, d, , , n, l, , , s, z, , j, g, , , , k, h PHONETICS Front-rounded vowels retain their roundness in a root when occurring

g alone or with /y/, // or /u/. In other cases they lose their rounding. Examples: /by/ -ceive/cept, /il/ city, /nfy/ year, /esa/ stone. Front-rounded vowels retain their roundness in words made up of multiple morphemes regardless of individual stems. Examples: /emj/ to war, /esan/ onto the stone. MORPHOLOGY There is no grammatical gender. Pronouns Nominative pronouns: 1s: /srr/ 2s: /s/ 3s: /ku/ 1p: /jub/ 2p: /oil/ 3p: /m/

These decline as other nouns do; see below. Demonstratives/interrogatives this/that/what: here/there/where: then/when: who: how: /om/ /al/ /ut/ /rr/ /ato/

These can take interrogative markers at the beginning, and/or a distance marker, at the beginning following an interrogative marker. interrogative marker: distance marker: /d/ /o/

There are no articles, but /om/ is often used somewhat like an indefinite article. Word Formation Verbs Roots can end with a consonant or a vowel. A root serves as a noun, and a root with a vowel added at the end forms a verb infinitive. The verb suffix vowel is added according to the following rules:

To a root ending in a consonant, the tonic vowel is added. Exception: when // is tonic, /i/ is added. Examples: /fo/ drain(age) > /foo/ to drain, // whistle > / i/ to whistle. To a root ending in // or syllabic /l/, the final liquid becomes non-syllabic and the tonic vowel is added. To a root ending in /y/-/i/, the /i/ becomes a /j/ and the tonic vowel is added, or // if /rr/ is tonic. In a multisyllabic root ending in /u/, the /u/ is replaced by // (which becomes // when following /d/ or /g/) and the tonic vowel is added at the end. Exceptions are treated below. Examples: /im/ shake > /imy/ to shake, /afi/ cut > /afja/ to cut, /hi/ hurt/damage > /hj/ to hurt/damage, /l/ heat > /li/ to heat (to be hot is phrased to have heat for an object and to heat for weather), /jagu/ light > /jaa/ to light/illuminate.* To a root ending in a vowel, verb suffixes (usually transitive) are assigned thus: Tonic vowel (not the final unless the only) /a/ //-/e/ /y/-/ i/, // /o/ /u/ Suffix /ho/ /ha/ /h/ /hu/ /hy/

Examples: /u/ breath > /uhy/ to breathe, /ja/ crack > /jaho/ to crack, /vy/ bend > /vyh/ to bend, /peda/ waking > /pedaha/ to wake. In many dialects the /h/ in the verb suffix is not pronounced or has become a /j/: /pedaja/ to wake. As a rule, infinitives formed in this way from a root ending in a vowel are transitive, and many of them have no intransitive form. Examples: /uo/ kick > / uohy/ to kick, /la/ mark > /laho/ to mark. Many verbs formed from a root ending in de-syllabicizing sounds are also transitive. See examples above. Roots ending in consonants forming intransitive verbs need affixes to form transitive verbs. There are many roots ending in vowels that are never made into verbs. Examples: /hasa/ daughter, /myhy/ body, /moo/ bone, /po/ egg. Also, roots used only as prepositions often end in vowels. Examples: /ke/ after, /jy/ beside. Other roots for concrete objects that are less commonly made into verbs also often end in vowels. Examples: /vi/ fire, /vpu/ branch. These are not used as verbs in standard speech but are common in colloquial dialects, particularly among the aupsha subculture. Some roots (notably colors) have two variants ending in different vowels. One produces an intransitive verb/adjective (and/or passive verb), the other a transitive (and/or dynamic) verb. Examples: /jagu/ light > /jaga/ to shine, /jaa/ to light/illuminate, [1] /una/ death > /unu/ to be dead, /unahy/ to die.[2] Colors: /mapu/ red, /mapa/ to be red, /mapuho/ to make red. /poska/ yellow/gold, /posko/ to be yellow, /poskahu/ to make yellow. /nka/ green, /nki/ to be green, /nkah/ to make green.

/hau/ blue, /haa/ to be blue, /hauho/ to make blue. /sio/ black, /syy/ to be black, /sioh/ to blacken. /ola/ white, /olo/ to be white, /olahu/ to whiten. but: /z/ grey /lap/ brown The noun roots are used in compound words and personal or place names, often with any final vowel dropped: /silo/ blackrock (lava), /mapaz/ red-earth, /ia/ law-rule, /on/ cougar, /lenut/ school. Verb Conjugation Verbs are conjugated with the morphemes joined in the following order: infinitive+mood+perfective+tense+person+number The default mood is indicative, the default tense present, and the default number singular. Therefore an indicative present tense singular verb will have no morphemes in any of these slots and will be shorter than, for example, an imperative future plural verb: /fooa/ I drain/ am draining (the beans), /foolrrvkstrul/ You all drain (the beans when they've finished soaking). For a past participle, only the perfective marker is added, plus the plural if appropriate: /foovkl . . . / drained (beans). Past participles and verbs can serve as adjectives, and in this role they immediately follow the noun they modify. When used as predicates then they precede the subject noun: /aka rrjny/ poisonous leaf, /rrjny aka/ the leaf is poisonous. When past participles and verbs serve as adjectives, they receive declensions as nouns do. In such cases the entire verb is treated as a stem (with the plural added only as part of the noun declension): /yr . . . foovkafl/ water from the drained (beans), see below. Mood markers: Subjunctive: Conditional: Imperative: Perfective marker: Tense markers: Future: Past: /st/, /sut/ /o/ /j/ /o/ /lrr/ /vk/

Person markers: First: Second: Third: Plural marker: /a/ /ru/ /ny/ /l/

The plural marker is used for verbs (including verbs acting as adjectives) and nouns. Noun Declension stem+augmentative/diminuitive+case+number Augmentative marker: Diminuitive marker: /krrm/ /os/

Case markers Accusative: Dative: Genitive: Instrumental: Essive-modal: Translative: Causal-final: Illative: Sublative: Allative: Inessive: Superessive: Adessive: Elative: /t/ /fs/ /af/ /sf/ /mrr/ /y/ /v/ /o/ /nrr/ /u/ /o/ /ru/ /m/, /my/ /n/, /ny/ /ylya st srr/ I see you.

Delative: Ablative: Terminative: Formal: Temporal:

/y/ /u/ /k/ /ob/ /taj/

Case markers may also be applied to roots to form verb stems: SYNTAX The word order for declarative sentences is: Verb Direct Object Indirect Object Subject Postposition For interrogative sentences: Subject Verb Direct Object Indirect Object Postposition

[1] Compare Fssagh /eg/ light > /ege/ to shine, /egu/ to light; /sir/ black, /sii/ to be black, /sia/ to blacken. [2] This similarity to Kashkese grammar, which systematically renders static and dynamic verbs by root inflection, has been noted by Thussaf scholars and used by some to argue for the factuality of Thussic myths which tell of a trans-oceanic migration of the Thussic ancestors. However it should be noted that there are no discernible cognate sets between Kashkese and Thussic morphemes.