Thirpal
Sample Text
Ngálathurànha lúkinjiwàlhiri álhangintàrra cíkathalhù múlirralà.
Cíkathalhù pícawungìmapilì wílkamarrìlju.
...
A man travelling across a field encountered a tiger. He fled, the tiger after him.
( Coming to a precipice, he caught hold of the root of a
wild vine and swung himself down over the edge. The tiger sniffed at
him from above. Trembling, the man looked down to where, far below,
another tiger was waiting to eat him. Only the vine sustained him.)
(
Two mice, one white and one black, little by little started to gnaw
away the vine. The man saw a luscious strawberry near him. Grasping
the vine with one hand, he plucked the strawberry with the other. How
sweet it tasted!)
AN = Animate, ERG=Ergative, ABS=Absolutive, PER=Perlative, DIFF.SUBJ=Different Subject,
| ngala.thura | -nha | lukinji | -walhiri | alha | -ngintarra | cikatha | -lhu | muli | -rrala |
| adult.male | ERG.AN | field | PER | walk | WHILE | tiger | ABS.AN | meet | PAST.AN |
| While walking across a field, a man met a tiger. |
| cikatha | -lhu | picawu | -ngima | -pili | wilkama | -rrilju |
| tiger | ABS.AN | chase | BECAUSE.AN | DIFF.SUBJ | run | INCEPT.AN |
| The tiger chased him, so he took off running. |
I. Phonology
I.1 Vowels
| Practical Orthography |
X-Sampa |
|
|
|
I.2 Consonants
| Practical Orthography |
X-SAMPA |
| Bilabial | Dental | Palatal | Retroflex | Velar |
|---|
| Plosive | p | t | c | th | k |
|---|
| Nasal | m | n | nj | nh | ng |
|---|
| Lateral Approximant | | l | lj | lh | |
|---|
| Rhotic | | | d rr | r | |
|---|
| Approximant | w | | y | | |
|---|
|
| Bilabial | Dental | Palatal | Retroflex | Velar |
|---|
| Plosive | p b | t d | c J\ | t` d` | k g |
|---|
| Nasal | m | n | J | n` | N |
|---|
| Lateral Approximant | | l | L | l` | |
|---|
| Rhotic | | | 4 r | r\ | |
|---|
| Approximant | w | | j | | |
|---|
|
The plosives can occur both voiced and voiceless. The voiceless ones tend to occur word-initially or after another
consonant, while the voiced ones are more common in intervocalic contexts.
I.3 Remarks
- The syllable canon is CV(L), where L indicates any consonant except
p,t,k,c,th (i.e. non-plosives).
- Main stress is on the initial syllable with secondary stress every third syllable thereafter.
II. Nominal Morphology
III.1 Case Enclitics
| | Animate | Inanimate |
|---|
| Case | Absolutive | -lhu | -- |
|---|
| Ergative | -nha | -ngalu |
|---|
| Dative | -li | -yali |
|---|
| Perlative (via) | -nhiri | -walhiri |
|---|
| Ablative (from) | -nhipi | -wanhipi |
|---|
| Allative (to) | -nhu | -wanhu |
|---|
| Avoidance | -ljarangi | -rangi |
|---|
III.2 Derivational Morphology
- -thura male (e.g. ngalathura man)
- -ciwi female (e.g. ngalaciwi woman)
III. Verbal Morphology
III.2. Tense/Aspect
| Animate | Inanimate |
|---|
| Past | -rrala | -njila |
|---|
| Inceptive | -rrilju | -njingu |
|---|
| Cessative | -kalha | -njalha |
|---|
III.3. Serial Verbs
| Animate | Inanimate |
|---|
| After | -nginuwa | -ralhuwa |
|---|
| While | -ngintarra | -ralhthuwa |
|---|
| Before | -ngirilha | -ramuwa |
|---|
| Instead of | -nhangitha | -nharatha |
|---|
| Since/Because | -ngima | -raluma |
|---|
| | |
|---|
| (different subject) | -pili | -kili |
|---|
IV. Syntax
Basic SOV word order, but relatively free.
V. Examples
- wípilhu lúkathangìntarra cámirralà.
The small girl drank coffee while she sat. (I.e. The girl sat, drinking coffee.)
VI. Sample Lexicon
- a-
- go
- alha-
- walk (with purpose, going somewhere)
- cami-
- sit
- lukatha-
- drink coffee
- wipi-
- small girl
- thini-
- small boy
- ngala-
- adult person (man/woman)
- lukinji-
- field/meadow/pasture
- muli-
- meet/encounter
- wilkama-
- run wildly/away from something/in fear
- picawu-
- chase after/run behind
- cikatha-
- tiger
Main Conlang Page
Apollo Hogan, Berkeley, California, USA