Sis

Introduction

Sis [sis] is a language that basically started from a single sound: I was procrastinating on work and thinking of sounds that I'd never thought to use in a conlang before, and hit on [ʘ↑ʷ] (imitate the sound of a bubble popping).

I then decided I'd try to build a whole language in an hour around that sound. I failed at the hour-long time limit—it ended up taking me three and a half hours, not including time to edit and format this description, which I originally posted on Reddit (there goes the time I had set aside for work, heh). But I really liked the result.

Something else I did for this language was try to resist my instinct to make this language like other conlangs I had done before. My previous conlangs had had lots of voiced fricatives, {no|two|ridiculously many} cases, limited coda consonants, mostly head-final syntax, accusative alignment, and no gender or really any agreement to speak of. So this one's head-initial and ergative, has 5 cases, everything has agreement, voiced fricatives are out, arbitrary coda consonants and gender are in, etc. etc.

Phonology

IPA is identical to orthography unless noted.

Phonotactics

Syllables take the form (C1)V(W)(C2), where W = [w] or [j], C2 cannot be [w] or [j]. [w] is prohibited before or after [u] and [y]; [j] prohibited before or after [i] and [y]. Identical vowels in hiatus and vowels in hiatus with [ɯ] are prohibited within a word. A syllable ending in a click consonant cannot be followed by a syllable starting with a homorganic consonant.

Stress is on final syllable if closed (including final [w]/[j]), on the penultimate syllable if the final syllable is open.

Awkwords generator (doesn't include prohibitions other than constraints on vowels before [w] and [j]):

V=a/e/i/o/u/v/y
W=aw/aj/ej/oj/vj
C=p/t/k/b/d/g/m/n/ng/p'/t'/k'/mp'/nt'/nk'/f/s/lh/w/j/l
F=p/t/k/b/d/g/m/n/ng/p'/t'/k'/mp'/nt'/nk'/f/s/lh/l
T=t/t/t/f/s/lh/w/j/l/m/n/ng////
 (T)[V/V/W](F)((C)[V/V/W](F))

Morphology

Nouns and adjectives

Sis has 3 noun classes, known as sun (characterized by <t>, <e>, <i>, <j>), earth (<p>, <a>, <v>, <w>), and moon (<k>, <o>, <u>, <l>). Among things in the animal kingdom, sun is generally the "most animate" class, used for most humans and animals seen to be intelligent, and moon is the "least animate" class, used for insects and other invertebrates. For non-animal words, noun class has a strong lightness (sun)-darkness (moon) component, although the class of many words is arbitrary. [edit: fixed cut-and-paste error]

Nouns have 4 or 5 cases: absolutive (<t>), genitive (<d>), ergative (<t'>), dative (<n>), and possibly vocative (<nt'>). Whether vocative should be counted as a case rather than a nasal prefix attached to ergative-case nouns is disputed. Adjectives are identical in form when modifying ergative and vocative nouns; however, both a vocative and an ergative can be present in the same sentence.

Declension for stop initial

Declension for vowel initial

Declension for liquid/fricative initial

Declension for nasal initial

Adjectives must start with t, f, s, lh, w, j, l, or a vowel. Possessed nouns are circumfixed with verb conjugation (below) of the possessor.

Verbs

Verb conjugation uses circumfixing. Verbs have past, present (nonpast realis), and subjunctive (irrealis) paradigms.

Historically the sun conjugation was used as an honorific form for people, and earth as a humble form and to address equals and inferiors. This is the source of the most prominent dialectal difference between the two modern varieties of the language: modern Highland Sis uses the sun conjugation for all human subjects unless the subject is explicit and is one of the rare non-sun human words (e.g. popngi, pl. japopngi "uncle/aunt"), whereas Lowland Sis retains the use of the earth conjugation in the first person singular. This difference has become attached to feelings of political tension, with the Lowland speakers considering the Highland speakers rude and uncouth for using the sun conjugation for themselves, while the Highland speakers view demands to use the earth conjugation as a form of subjugation and part of a legacy of historical oppression.

For transitive verbs, verb is first "declined" like an adjective (with the tables in Nouns, above) to agree with the absolutive patient, then circumfixed to agree with the ergative agent. Prefixes ending in a vowel add <ng> before verbs starting with identical vowel, or when one vowel is <v>, to prevent prohibited hiatus.

Transitive verbs must start with one of the sounds allowed for adjectives.

Syntax

Generally head-initial: VSO constituent order, prepositions, nouns before adjectives and relative clauses.

Agreement is mandatory in noun class and number for most open-class words, and person for verbs. Adjectives agree with nouns, intransitive verbs agree with absolutive subject, transitive verbs agree with ergative agent, modals agree with ergative subject, followed by verb in subjunctive (also agrees).

Lexicon

Pronouns

pa what
ti who
where
why
lompa when

Nouns

tin, jetin sun
kul, jokul moon
pam, *japam earth
air
fire
sv, *jasv water

majg, jamajg mother
tak', jetak' father
mama, jemama mom(my)
tata, jetata dad(dy)
sibling
son/daughter
popngi, japopngi uncle/aunt
grandparent

anip, jetanip cat
wonk'ed, jawonk'ed donkey
oawk, jetoawk lion

nek', jenek' face
arm/hand
back
leg/foot

mol, jomol cup
lhit'ilh, jolhit'ilh knife
gun

upp'y, *jokupp'y milk
fruit
vegetable
kusip, jokusip meat

shirt/dress
tip'ojg, jetip'ojg hat
trousers
shoes/socks

palwa, japalwa house
door
room
foj, jafoj floor

iaw, japiaw tree
leaf
grain
flower

ylep', *jetylep' money
paper

adi, jetadi day
kuldi, jokuldi month
oja, japoja year

lhvjp, jalhvjp language, tongue
word
letter

wik, jewik person
mint' friend
leader
sis person belonging to Sis community

emu, jokemu god
ghost

Adjectives

su this
that (near speaker)
vk yon

fy big
small
old (people)
young
old (things)
new
thin
lhulu wide/thick/(fat)

Intransitive verbs

(with dat) enter
(with gen) leave
go
come
run
jump
swim
lhunk' sleep
live
taob die

waw (like gustar) be pleasant/like (with dat)

Transitive verbs

cook
lam eat
somp' drink
grow/raise

et'e cut
hit

wear
fvn take off (clothing)

tej see
ojnt' hear

buy
sell
give
take
nit want

know
waj learn
understand

Modals

un not
vj will
tak can
should
tes need/must

Prepositions

o in/at
on
ik (with gen) from
around/about (topic)
between/among
through
with (com)
jo (with gen) with (instr)

Conjunctions

ne and
or
but
lu so, then

ang if
lom when
ant' because
that/which (introducing relative clause)
y that (introducing subordinate clause)

Example sentences

Ingvj etaob ant' iun ewaw nilh esomp' sv.
[iŋɯj etaob anǀ iun ewaw niɬ esomʘ↑ʷ sɯ]
ing-vj e-taob ant' i-un e-waw nilh e-somp' sv
3SG.S-FUT 3SG.S.SUBJ-die because 3SG.S-not 3SG.S.SUBJ-like DAT\3sg.S 3SG.S.SUBJ-drink water
He's going to die because he doesn't like to drink water.

Lompa fitakej fejetejej jetanip jefy?
[lompa fitakej fejetejej jetanip jefy]
lompa fi-tak-ej fe-jet-ej-ej jet-anip je-fy
when? 1.S-can-S.PL 1.S.SUBJ-S.PL.PAT-see-S.PL S.PL-cat S.PL-big
When can we see the big cats?

Ifojnt' y ilamej jewwik o palwa vk vkusip awonk'ed.
[ifojnǀ y ilamej jewːik o palwa ɯk ɯkusip awoŋǁed]
if-ojnt' y i-lam-ej jew-wik o palwa vk v-kusip a-wonk'ed
1.S.PAST-hear SUB 3.S-eat-S.PL S.PL.ERG-person in house yonder 3SG.E.POSS-meat E.SG.GEN-donkey
I heard that the people in that house eat donkey meat.

Ang sinit sewaj ilhvjpej jeSis, lu sites anis ilhvjp eSis.
[aŋ sinit sewaj iɬɯjpej jesis lu sites anis iɬɯjp esis]
ang si-nit se-waj i-lhvjp-ej je-Sis lu si-tes a-nis i-lhvjp e-Sis
if 2-want 2.SUBJ-learn 3.S.POSS-tongue-S.PL.POSS S.PL.GEN-Sis so 2-need 3.E.POSS-DAT\2sg 3.S.POSS-tongue 3SG.S.GEN-Sis
If you want to learn the Sis language, you need to have a Sis tongue.

Itak fitak' esomp' upp'y unjo omol ne epet'e kusip unjo olhit'ilh.
[itak fitaǁ esomʘ↑ʷ upʘ↑ʷy unjo omol ne epeǀe kusip unjo oɬiǀiɬ]
i-tak fi-tak' e-somp' upp'y unjo o-mol ne e-p-et'e kusip unjo o-lhit'ilh
3.S-can 1.S.POSS-father 3.S.SUBJ-drink milk without M.SG.GEN-cup and 3.S.SUBJ-M.SG.PAT-cut meat without M.SG.GEN-knife
My father can drink milk without a cup and cut meat without a knife.

Audio of the 5 example sentences (MP3, 320K) (so you can hear me wrestle with the clicks)