Some info on Standard (and non-standard) Keranian
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Grammar, syntax and basic morphology
This public article was written by [Deactivated User], and last updated on 4 Jan 2024, 16:19.
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2. Keranian phonology
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Article created in: January 2020another monument of wasted time I have built
The Keranian language (keraniy laze keraniy laze) is a dialect continuum spoken by an ethnic minority inhabiting the borderland of Kasewaya, Nesyania and Tazul, about 3.5 million people overall.
It belongs to the Desanian language family and derives directly from highland dialects of Old Desani, under an influence of unrelated languages such as Nesyanian and Northern Tazuro.
There are several main dialects of Keranian, mutually intelligible with each other, differing by the pronunciation and sources of loanwords within lexicons.
Standard Keranian, natively named thiyani keraniy thiyani keraniy (literally ‘set Keranian’ or ‘fixed Keranian’), presented in this article, is the standardized, classical form of the language, based mainly on the dialect spoken in cities of Zamafri and Salhaganayem.
Overview
Standard Keranian, based on the
Zamafrian Keranian also known as zamavrivakiy zamavrivakiy [zəmavɾevakej], is the literary, most regulated variety of the language. Besides it, two main regional varieties exist. They are quite similar in the terms of syntax and morphology, anyway they differ by the origin of loanwords and some phonological features.
Kasewayan Keranian, native name kaswihiliy kaswihiliy [k͡xaswexelej] is a dialect spoken in central and eastern Kasewaya. It borrowed less Nesyanian words into its lexicon than the southern dialects.
Eastern Keranian, also known as bevaradiy bevaradiy [bvaɾadɪ] (literally ‘lakeside’ or ‘of the lake district’) of northwestern Nesyania is the least prevalent of the main Keranian dialect groups.These are the main dialect groups, but definitely not the only ones. Because many speakers of the Keranian language live in remote, mountainous regions, one could say each town or group of villages uses its own variety of the language – with bigger or lesser differences in phonology and vocabulary.
In the dialects of Nesyania, official publications in Keranian are sometimes written using the Nesyanian orthography.
Keranian nouns have no grammatical gender. Animacy and possession distinctions, which were present in Old Desani, have been lost entirely. Anyway, the nouns are divided into declension classes defined by the sound the noun ends with:
• -C, -CCThere are two numbers (singular and plural; it is also possible to indicate a collective/total number using a circumposition) and six cases: nominative, accusative, dative, genitive, instrumental and essive.
• -ə
• -a, -o
• -i, -e, -Cʲ
• -ow, -aw
Nominal cases
Adding a suffix does not change the stress location. Anyway, it can cause some changes, eg. vowel shifts, depending on the declension class of a noun.
| NOMNominative (case) TRANS subject, INTR argument | ACCAccusative (case) TRANS direct object; patient | DATDative (case) indirect object; recipient, beneficiary, location | GENGenitive (case) possessive | INSTRInstrumental (case) 'with' 'using' | ESSEssive (case) 'as, similar' | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | ||||||
| Plural |
Declension class 1. If a noun is monosyllabic and the only vowel in there is a schwa, it changes to /e/. If it ends with /m n l ɾ x/, the suffix is -ji for singular number and -ci for plural.
gots [g͡ɣot͡s] - gotsez [ˈg͡ɣot͡səs]
vel [vəl] - vilji [ˈveld͡ʑe]
gotset [ˈg͡ɣot͡sət] - gotsets [ˈg͡ɣot͡sət͡s]
vilet [ˈvelət] - vilci [ˈvelt͡ɕe]
Declension class 2. In nouns ending with a schwa, suffixes strenghten it to /a/.
toye [ˈtojə] - toyaz [ˈtojaz]
toyat [ˈtojat] - toyats [ˈtojat͡s]
Declension class 3. Nouns ending with /a/ used to end with /ɑ/ in Old Desani. If a suffix is added to such noun, its ending is strenghtened back to /ɑ/. In nouns ending with /o/ nothing changes.
dika [ˈdeka] - dikáz [ˈdekɑz]
dikát [ˈdekɑt] - dikáts [ˈdekɑt͡s]
Declension class 4. If a noun ends with a palatalized consonant, the palatalization disappears and is replaced by /e/. Otherwise, nothing changes.
stárani [stɑˈɾaɲi] - stáraniz [stɑˈɾaɲiz]
stáranit [stɑˈɾaɲit] - stáranits [stɑˈɾaɲit͡s]
ádir’ [ˈɑdeɾʲ] - ádiriz [ɑˈdeɾez]
ádirit [ɑˈderet] - ádirits [ɑˈderet͡s]
Declension class 5. Word-final /ow/ and /aw/ change to /o/.
akalow [akaˈlow] - akaloz [akaˈloz]Class 5 are abstract nouns, often uncountable.
akalot [akaˈlot] - akalots [akaˈlot͡s]
Usage of the cases
Nominative
This is the default case, marking the subject of a verb.
Rij lirim.Nouns followed by a postposition take the nominative, too.
Rij lirim.
rij
horse liri-m
run-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee
The horse runs/is running.
Nohji jitwem ombi zvimbán.Accusative
Nohji jitwem ombi zvimbán.
noh-ji
pen-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient jitwem
table ombi
from_on zvi-mbán
take-PTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech.PFVPerfective (aspect)
completed action.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee
He/she took a pen from the table.
Marks the direct object of a verb.
Niwind’ets kotikeyna.However, when the verb is negated, the direct object appears in the nominative just like the subject. However, the verb still agrees only with the subject.
Niwind’ets kotikeyna.
niwind’-ets
pancake-PLPlural (number)
more than one/few.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient koti-ke-yna
eat-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I-PROGProgressive (aspect)
be verb-ing
I am eating pancakes.
Tabanet qevlaytsbán.Genitive
Tabanet qevlaytsbán.
taban-et
boy-PLPlural (number)
more than one/few qe-vlay-tsbán
NEGNegative (polarity)
not-see-PTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech.PFVPerfective (aspect)
completed action.1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I
I did not see the boys.
Marks the possessor. It is also the only case in Keranian to be marked with a prefix and not a suffix.
ttaban záqeIf the noun/proper noun denoting the possessor is preceeded by any adjectives describing it, the genitive prefix ignores them all and is still attached only to the noun.
ttaban záqe
t-taban
GENGenitive (case)
possessive-boy záqe
dog
the boy's dog
iś ttaban záqeSome postpositions derived from nouns require a noun to take the genitive case.
iś ttaban záqe
iś
little t-taban
GENGenitive (case)
possessive-boy záqe
dog
the little boy's dog
Wahvay drez nalo qambáto.Dative
Wahvay drez nalo qambáto.
wahvay
red d-rez
GENGenitive (case)
possessive-house nalo
side qam-bá-to
walk-PFVPerfective (aspect)
completed action-IMPImperative (mood)
command.2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you)
Walk past the red house.
Marks the beneficiary/recipient of an action.
Mani Lihayar qwomaz aźimbán.For another use of this case, see Dative constructions.
Mani Lihayar qwomaz aźimbán.
mani
3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee Lihay-ar
PRProper
marks a noun as referring to a unique entity-DATDative (case)
indirect object; recipient, beneficiary, location qwoma-z
letter-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient aźi-mbán
give-PTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech.PFVPerfective (aspect)
completed action.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee
He/she gave a/the letter to Lihay.
Ddi br’itar waniti qeyvayden iya?
Ddi br’itar waniti qeyvayden iya?
ddi
GENGenitive (case)
possessive.2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you) br’it-ar
parents-DATDative (case)
indirect object; recipient, beneficiary, location wani-ti
early-COMPComparative (comparison)
e.g. 'better' qe-yvay-den
NEGNegative (polarity)
not-tell-PTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech.2Second person (person)
addressee (you) iya
why
Why weren't you telling (that) to your parents earlier?
Instrumental
Marks the means by which the subject accomplishes an action.
Anji w’ilev labimina.Essive
Anji w’ilev labimina.
anji
DEMDemonstrative
e.g. this/ that.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient w’il-ev
stick-INSTRInstrumental (case)
'with' 'using' labi-m-ina
hit-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee-PROGProgressive (aspect)
be verb-ing
He/she is hitting it with a stick.
Tolorav vayqár naribár.
Tolorav vayqár naribár.
tolora-v
car-INSTRInstrumental (case)
'with' 'using' vayqár
there nari-bár
go_to-FTFuture tense (tense)
action occurring after the moment of speech.PFVPerfective (aspect)
completed action.1PIFirst person plural inclusive (person)
we (inclusive)
We are going to get there by car.
Denotes a form or role in which the subject is.
Lite stárazmetwo sayjinne.Generally, similarity is marked by a postposition wah or doni, but in informal speech the essive case can be used instead.
Lite stárazmetwo sayjinne.
lite
3PThird person plural (person)
neither speaker nor addressee, they/them stárazme-two
teacher-PLPlural (number)
more than one/few.ESSEssive (case)
'as, similar' sayj-inne
work-FTFuture tense (tense)
action occurring after the moment of speech.3PThird person plural (person)
neither speaker nor addressee, they/them
They will be working as teachers.
Ogarawo sayjim.
Ogarawo sayjim.
ogara-wo
machine-ESSEssive (case)
'as, similar' sayji-m
work-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee
He/she works like a machine.
Personal
| 1First person (person) speaker, signer, etc; I | 2Second person (person) addressee (you) | 3Third person (person) neither speaker nor addressee | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | al [al] | ||
| Plural | wad’e [wadʲɤ] | ||
| Collective | hod’e [χodʲɤ] |
There are separate exclusive and inclusive 1PFirst person plural (person)
we (inclusive or exclusive) pronouns, using wad’e for the former and rate for the latter.
Old Desani had three different 3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee pronouns: animate sentient, animate non-sentient and inanimate. Keranian preserved two of them: mani, which is used especially to refer to people, and more generic al.
Separate possessive pronouns do not exist and personal pronouns with the genitive case marker are used instead.
Pronominal cases
Most personal pronouns have irregular declension.
| 1SFirst person singular (person) speaker, signer, etc.; I | 1PIFirst person plural inclusive (person) we (inclusive) | 1PEFirst person plural exclusive (person) we (exclusive) | 1PIFirst person plural inclusive (person) we (inclusive).COLCollective (number) 'group or mass entity' | 1PEFirst person plural exclusive (person) we (exclusive).COLCollective (number) 'group or mass entity' | 2SSecond person singular (person) addressee (you) | 2PSecond person plural (person) addressee (plural) | 2COSecond person collective (person) you all | 3SThird person singular (person) neither speaker nor addressee | 3PThird person plural (person) neither speaker nor addressee, they/them | 3COThird person collective (person) they all | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACCAccusative (case) TRANS direct object; patient |
|||||||||||
| DATDative (case) indirect object; recipient, beneficiary, location |
|||||||||||
| GENGenitive (case) possessive |
|||||||||||
| INSTRInstrumental (case) 'with' 'using' |
|||||||||||
| ESSEssive (case) 'as, similar' |
Interrogative
There are two basic interrogative pronouns: ya ‘what’ and yi ‘who’. They are put at the end of an interrogative phrase.
Keranian verbs have tense (past, present and future), aspect (perfective, imperfective, progressive, iterative, recurring), person and number. Most verbs also have a past participle form and a root with multiple functions: it can be used as present participle, as a verbal adjective or with modal verbs like ‘to be able’, ‘to have to’ etc.
The infinitive marker is -in, which was absent in Old Desani and early forms of Keranian.
The only irregularity in verb roots is occasional vowel deletion: for example, the verb zvin (‘to take’ or ‘to receive’) in some forms has śiv- instead of zv- as its root. This has been caused by sound changes: it used to be sevi- in Old Desani.
Tense
Each conjugation suffix indicates tense, person and number at the same time.
| 1SFirst person singular (person) speaker, signer, etc.; I | 1PIFirst person plural inclusive (person) we (inclusive) | 1PEFirst person plural exclusive (person) we (exclusive) | 2SSecond person singular (person) addressee (you)/2PSecond person plural (person) addressee (plural) | 3SThird person singular (person) neither speaker nor addressee | 3PThird person plural (person) neither speaker nor addressee, they/them | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | ||||||
| Past | ||||||
| Past perfective | ||||||
| Future | ||||||
| Future perfective |
Aspect
Imperfective aspect is the default and unmarked one, perfective is indicated by designed conjugation suffixes (see above). Perfective aspect can be used only in past and future tense, and not all verbs can be perfective.
It is possible to indicate progressive aspect in present tense by a suffix, -ina, added to the main verb after the person/tense markers.
imiyek ‘I speak’However, usually, adequate adverbs like izda ‘now’ or bibagáni ‘at the moment’ are used.
imikeyna ‘I am speaking (right now)’ or ‘I have been speaking’ (until this moment right now)
There is also a form equivalent to remote past perfective/pluperfect, marked with a suffix -it’.
Bahri rez onirimbán, ar imicenit’.
Bahri rez onirimbán, ar imicenit’.
bahri
before rez
house oniri-mbán
go_out-PTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech.PFVPerfective (aspect)
completed action.1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I ar
3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.DATDative (case)
indirect object; recipient, beneficiary, location imi-cen-it’
speak-PTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech.1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I-REMRemote past (tense)
'a long time ago'.PFVPerfective (aspect)
completed action
Before he left the house, I had spoken to him.
Passive voice
There are two voices, active and passive, the active being the default one. Passive voice is not marked in verb conjugation though, but rather is indicated by the auxiliary nwin (which in itself means ‘to become’) used with past participle form of a verb.
kot’en nwil ‘they are (being) eaten’
kot’ani nwilbán ‘they have been eaten’
Causative forms
Causative verb forms can be derived with infixing b- or bi-, derived from the adposition bi ‘into’.
qatin ‘to be sad’ → qatibin ‘to sadden, to cause sadness’Due to vowel deletion, some verbs have irregular causative forms:
dlin ‘to stand’ → dlibin ‘to put up’
ebdilin ‘to be displayed, to be visible’ → edlibin ‘to display’(*ebdlibin is not possible as /bdl/ is not an allowed cluster)
Copula
The main copula is the verb in. It conjugates for tense and person like other verbs.
| 1SFirst person singular (person) speaker, signer, etc.; I | 1PFirst person plural (person) we (inclusive or exclusive) | 2SSecond person singular (person) addressee (you)/2PSecond person plural (person) addressee (plural) | 3SThird person singular (person) neither speaker nor addressee | 3PThird person plural (person) neither speaker nor addressee, they/them | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | |||||
| Past | |||||
| Future |
In locative copula, the suffix is attached to the postposition. In questions, it is attached to the interrogative pronoun/adverb.
Iredz biyek.Both in formal and informal speech, the copula is very often dropped in present tense.
Iredz biyek.
iredz
room bi-yek
in-COPCopula
used to link the subject of a sentence with a predicate.PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I
I am in a/the room.
Iredz bi yiyem?
Iredz bi yiyem?
iredz
room bi
in yi-yem
who-COPCopula
used to link the subject of a sentence with a predicate.PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee
Who is in the room?
Auxiliary verbs
Auxiliary verbs are used to mark moods and conditionality. They are not conjugated.
• anvi ‘should’They need to be used with a conjugated verb to mark the person and number of the subject.
• tme ‘may, might’
• zwi ‘would’
Anvi rindo.Rarely, they are written jointly with the main verb (e.g. anvirindo).
Anvi rindo.
anvi
SBJVSubjunctive mood (mood)
desired or possible events ri-ndo
go-FTFuture tense (tense)
action occurring after the moment of speech.2Second person (person)
addressee (you)
You should go (soon in the future).
The default adjectival ending is a diphthong, -ay (‘having a quality of’, ‘having something to do with’) or -iy (‘having something to do with’, ‘belonging to’, ‘connected to’).
There is also a number of adjectives ending with -i (derived from verbs or proper nouns), -weh, equivalent to ‘-like’ or ‘similar to’ and -vni ‘made of’, as well as other adjectivizers.
Adjectives themselves cannot be inflected. The adjectival comparison system is simple: the comparative suffix is -ti and superlatives are marked by a prefix, ci-.
In noun phrases, adjectives always preceed the noun. If a noun is used in the genitive case, the prefix "ignores" the adjective(s) describing it and is attached only to the noun.
Moving the adjective so that it succeeds the noun turns the phrase into a predicative clause with dropped copula.
ávaray śimál ‘grey cat’In informal speech standalone adjectives can be treated the same way as nouns, have number and case.
śimál ávaray ‘the cat is grey’
Rodayets razvitsbán.Anyway, generally, adjectives as a part of a noun phrase do not decline at all.
Rodayets razvitsbán.
roday-ets
green-PLPlural (number)
more than one/few.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient razvi-tsbán
choose-PTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech.PFVPerfective (aspect)
completed action.1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I
I chose the green (ones). (some green objects which would be known from the context)
Overview
The most common adverbalizer is -áni.
Some adverbs are identical to adjectives.
Interrogative
Interrogative adverbs were derived from their Old Desani equivalents. They usually contain ya ‘what’. When used, they are put at the end of a question.
| adverb | English meaning |
|---|---|
Other
Adverbs used to modify the meaning of verbs (for example, equivalent to English ‘up’ in ‘set up’) do not exist as standalone words and are used only as prefixes.
rin ‘go’ → agrin ‘go up, ascend’For more information and examples, see Derivational morphology.
qamin ‘walk’ → onqamin ‘walk away’
Keranian, being a strongly head-final language, uses postpositions.
Ihzets rez bi vlaydo.If the copula suffix is used, it is attached to the postposition.
Ihzets rez bi vlaydo.
ihze-ts
child-PLPlural (number)
more than one/few.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient rez
house bi
in vlay-do
see-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.2Second person (person)
addressee (you)
You see (the) children in the house.
Trilat kom be.
Trilat kom be.
trila-t
star-PLPlural (number)
more than one/few kom
sky be
at
[There are] stars in the sky.
Ihzet rez biyle.
Ihzet rez biyle.
ihze-t
child-PLPlural (number)
more than one/few rez
house bi-yle
in-COPCopula
used to link the subject of a sentence with a predicate.PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.3PThird person plural (person)
neither speaker nor addressee, they/them
The children are in the house.
Some verbs (especially those which refer to going somewhere or moving something) are modified with adpositions used as prefixes.
Vaq mirire.Anyway, the spelling of these modifiers is not standardized and sometimes they can be written separately as well.
Vaq mirire.
vaq
city miri-re
go_to-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.1PFirst person plural (person)
we (inclusive or exclusive)
We go to the city.
Alji ley miyihditsbán.
Alji ley miyihditsbán.
alji
3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient ley
river miyihdi-tsbán
throw_into-PTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech.PFVPerfective (aspect)
completed action.1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I
I threw it into a river.
Basic word order in Keranian is SOV, anyway OSV is sometimes used too; changing it is uncommon and happens mostly in poetry.
Subject pronouns are usually dropped, unless there's a need for some emphasis. For example, sayjil means ’they work’, indicating the person and number already, and adding the pronoun - lite sayjil - can give it a slight meaning of ’it is they who work, not someone else’. Leaving the subject pronoun can be used in contrasting clauses as well: al sayjim, v’a ec háyek ’he/she is working but I am sleeping’.
If the object is obvious from the context, it is possible to drop it as well.
Declarative
Simple declarative clauses have the basic word order of SV.
Taban lirim.
Taban lirim.
taban
boy liri-m
run-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee
The boy runs.
Taban lirimbán.
Taban lirimbán.
taban
boy liri-mbán
run-PTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech.PFVPerfective (aspect)
completed action.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee
The boy ran.
Taban ocim liri.
Taban ocim liri.
taban
boy oci-m
want-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee liri
run
The boy wants to run.
Negative
Negation is denoted with a particle qe. Double negative remains negative and though widely used, is not obligatory.
Mayji qe vlayek.Anyway, if the sentence ’I did not see him/her yesterday’ is supposed to mean that the person who is speaking maybe did see him/her indeed, but not yesterday, it is possible to change the word order and negate the adverb instead of the verb:
Mayji qe vlayek.
mayji
3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient qe
NEGNegative (polarity)
not vlay-ek
see-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I
I do not see him/her.
Qizáni diydi mince qe kot’ato.
Qizáni diydi mince qe kot’ato.
qizáni
never diidi
GENGenitive (case)
possessive.2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you) mince
cat qe
NEGNegative (polarity)
not kot’-ato
eat-IMPImperative (mood)
command.2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you)
Never eat your cat.
Lavre mani qe vlaytsbán.
Lavre mani qe vlaytsbán.
lavre
yesterday mani
3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee qe
NEGNegative (polarity)
not vlay-tsbán
see-PTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech.PFVPerfective (aspect)
completed action.1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I
I did not see him/her yesterday.
Mayji klavre vlaytsbán.By moving the negation marker to the direct object, it is possible to construct a sentence meaning ’I saw someone yesterday, but it was not him/her’
Mayji klavre vlaytsbán.
mayji
3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient k-lavre
NEGNegative (polarity)
not-yesterday vlay-tsbán
see-PTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech.PFVPerfective (aspect)
completed action.1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I
Kmani lavre vlaytsbán.
Kmani lavre vlaytsbán.
k-mani
NEGNegative (polarity)
not-3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee lavre
yesterday vlay-tsbán
see-PTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech.PFVPerfective (aspect)
completed action.1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I
Interrogative
Questions are marked by interrogative pronouns/adverbs (see Pronouns and Adverbs) and intonation.
Polar questions are marked by the particle i, anyway in informal speech it can be omitted.
Imperative
The imperative suffix is -(a)to for 2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you) and -(a)te for 2PSecond person plural (person)
addressee (plural) (and more formal 2SSecond person singular (person)
addressee (you)). The word order is the same as in other clauses.
Future conditional
The basic structure of future conditional sentences is isa V1-FT, (nda) V2-FT. Both clauses have the default SOV word order. Isa means ‘if’ and nda translates to ‘then’.
Isa ihze tiy zisbád, jilimme.
Isa ihze tiy zisbád, jilimme.
isa
if ihze
child tiy
with zis-bád
play-FTFuture tense (tense)
action occurring after the moment of speech.PFVPerfective (aspect)
completed action.2Second person (person)
addressee (you) jili-mme
be_happy-FTFuture tense (tense)
action occurring after the moment of speech.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee
If you play with the child, he/she will be happy.
Past conditional
The construction of clauses is similar to that in the future conditional, but the verbs are used in past tense and the modal verb zwi is added.
Zwi isa vayqár ritsbán, mayji zwi wadáytsbán.Zwi can be translated to ‘would’ and it indicates the action could be possible in the past, but is not possible anymore.
Zwi isa vayqár ritsbán, mayji zwi wadáytsbán.
zwi
CONDConditional (mood)
would isa
if vayqár
there ri-tsbán
go-PTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech.PFVPerfective (aspect)
completed action.1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I mayhi
3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient zwi
CONDConditional (mood)
would wadáy-tsbán
PFVPerfective (aspect)
completed action-meet-PTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech.PFVPerfective (aspect)
completed action.1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I
If I went there, I would have met him/her.
Relativizer -ga can be added to a noun or a pronoun:
Rálega ci vlayem bzan tiyme.
Rálega ci vlayem bzan tiyme.
rále-ga
man-RELZRelativiser (derivation) ci
1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient vlay-em
see-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee bzan
hat tiy-me
own-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee
The man who sees me has a/the hat.
Rálegaz vlayek bzan tiyme.
Rálegaz vlayek bzan tiyme.
rále-ga-z
man-RELZRelativiser (derivation)-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient vlay-ek
see-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I bzan
hat tiy-me
own-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee
The man whom I see has a/the hat.
If the head of the clause has a case marker, the relativizer is separated and it can take another case marker.
Tsázaz vlayek gar rále bzanez aźim.Literally it is closer to ‘I see the girl, the one who the man gives a hat to’.
Tsázaz vlayek gar rále bzanez aźim.
tsáza-z
girl-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient vlay-ek
see-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I gar
RELZRelativiser (derivation).DATDative (case)
indirect object; recipient, beneficiary, location rále
man bzan-ez
hat-ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient aźi-m
give-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee
I see the girl the man gives a/the hat to.
Absolute constructions
Verbs in absolute constructions take the impersonal form.
Kom zrayti nwi, miśitsbán on reznirrin.Such construction are used mostly in literary language. In informal speech, they are usually replaced by compound sentences:
Kom zrayti nwi, miśitsbán on reznirrin.
kom
sky zray-ti
dark-COMPComparative (comparison)
e.g. 'better' nwi
become miśi-tsbán
think-PTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech.PFVPerfective (aspect)
completed action.1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I on
about reznirri-n
go_back_home-INFInfinitive (TAM)
non-tensed verb
The sky darkening, I thought about returning home.
Sába kom zrayti nwimen, miśitsbán on reznirrin.
Sába kom zrayti nwimen, miśitsbán on reznirrin.
sába
because kom
sky zray-ti
dark-COMPComparative (comparison)
e.g. 'better' nwi-men
become-PTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee miśi-tsbán
think-PTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech.PFVPerfective (aspect)
completed action.1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I on
about reznirri-n
go_back_home-INFInfinitive (TAM)
non-tensed verb
Because the sky was darkening, I thought about returning home.
Dative constructions
It is possible to create dative constructions with certain verbs in their 3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee form.
Cir lahasaime.Usually such phrases describe states of being, for instance feelings. Occassionally, they can also have a meaning of ‘to X it seems’ or ‘in X's opinion’.
Cir lahasayem.
cir
1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I.DATDative (case)
indirect object; recipient, beneficiary, location lahasay-em
be_cold-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee
I am (feeling) cold. (literally ‘to me it is cold’)
Tabanar qojivim.
Tabanar qojivim.
taban-ar
boy-DATDative (case)
indirect object; recipient, beneficiary, location qojivi-m
be_boring-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee
The boy is bored. (literally ‘to the boy it is boring’)
Overview
Most of Keranian basic vocabulary is of native, Desanian origin. Anyway, there is a significant amount of words of Nesyanian origin.
In certain groups of words, eg. scientific, political or religious terms, words of foreign origin are much more numerous.
As the phonology and morphology of Desanian languages is quite different from, for example, Nesyanian or Tazuro, most of the loanwords were heavily "Desanized". Actually, there are some terms compounded entirely from loanwords, but put together and declined as if they were native Keranian words.
Derivational morphology
Verbs
The meaning of basic verbs can be modified by adding prefixes like on- ‘from, out’, ra- ‘out’, eb- ‘off, away’, among others.
rin ‘to go’In some instances, it changes the meaning completely.
larin ‘to go down, to descend’
onirin ‘to go away, to leave’
ebarin ‘to go out, to leave, to exit’
din ‘to allow’
ondin ‘to forgive’
ebadin ‘to lose, to misplace’
Noun incorporation is used too; usually only the root of a noun is attached. Sometimes it triggers a consonant change in order to simplify a cluster (eg. /mt/ → /nt/, /np/ → /mp/).
qwontirin ‘to send a letter’ (equivalent to qwome ‘letter, message’ + tirin ‘to send’)
tolorjinin ‘to drive a car’ (tolore ‘car’ + jinin ‘to drive, to lead’)
Factitive verbs are created from adjectives by adding the verb ending and a factitive affix, ne-.
osay ‘white’ → niwsayin ‘to whiten’
nalwi ‘long’ → ninalwin ‘to lengthen’
Repeated actions (‘to [verb] once again’, RCURRecurring (aspect)
action reoccurs once (cf. Iterative)) are marked with a prefix wey- or wiy-.
vin ‘to do, to make’ → wiyvin ‘to do once again’Suppletion happens, too, for example rakażin ‘to read’ → wiyvwin ‘to read again’ (vwin being an obsolete word meaning ‘to read’)
wanin ‘to start, to begin’ → weyonin ‘to start once again’
Bahray ackote tozarikwimen, nda vorda alji weyjisarek.
Bahray ackote tozarikwimen, nda vorda alji weyjisarek.
bahray
previous ackote
lunch tozarikwi-men
taste_good-PTPast tense (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee nda
so vorda
today al-ji
3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient wey-jisar-ek
RCURRecurring (aspect)
action reoccurs once (cf. Iterative)-cook-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I
The previous lunch tasted good, so today I'm preparing it [the same dish] once again.
Nouns
When deriving a noun from a verb or an adjective, it is possible to simply remove the verbal/adjectival marker.
The exact meaning of the noun is usually indicated by the nominalizer.
| Nominalizer | Functions | Examples of use |
|---|---|---|
| -e | Multiple meanings. | lave ‘precipitation’ nadohe ‘flag, banner’ |
| -em | Of Nesyanian origin. • person/thing performing the action • thing used to perform the action | bozávem ‘wrongdoer, criminal’ páyem ‘lock’ |
| -aye, -iye | Probably of Nesyanian origin. • state of being something • place for performing the action • qualities | bahtaye ‘group’ ajiye ‘station’ |
| -’ | Related to the present participle marker -i. • person/thing performing the action | ádir’ ‘writer’ ibtár’ ‘mourner’ |
| -qár | Used to mean ‘place, location’. • place for performing the action • place where something can be found | diránqár ‘institute’ boraqár ‘grassland’ |
| -vi | From vin ‘to do, to make’. • someone or something performing an action | waciwvi ‘silencer’ valivi ‘dye’ |
| -tayal’ | From tayalin ‘to worship’. • denotes a person worshipping, adoring or valuing someone or something | totayal’ ‘narcissist’ heltayal’ ‘patriot’ |
| -biri | From brin ‘to give birth to’. Has a quite informal/poetic meaning. • denotes a person who causes something | lalbiri ‘quarrelsome person’ wazalbiri ‘troublemaker’ |
| -tivwe | From tiyvow ‘cause’ • the cause or reason of an action | rihativwe ‘cause of death’ mahertivwe ‘pet peeve, annoying thing’ |
| -an | Of Nesyanian origin. • abstractions • groups • food categories (eg. meat types) | sálamkan ‘kinship group’ goman ‘era’ dogiyan ‘duck meat’ |
| -ow, -aw | • abstractions • qualities | qaylow ‘freedom’ osayaw ‘whiteness’ |
Compounding
Compounding occurs very often in the Keranian language. Many frequently used phrases begin to be written jointly, with no spaces nor hyphens.
As treating several words as one moves the syllable stress location, it usually triggers a chain of sound changes, like vowel deletion.
Reduplication
Reduplication, usually partial, has several functions in Keranian. Sometimes it is not so visible, as the reduplicated part often undergoes consonant change or vowel reduction.
In adverbs (rarely adjectives), it marks intensity.
Śiśi wamodi ik.
Śiśi wamodi ik.
śiśi
a_bit-REDUPReduplication
full or partial reduplication of a word, stem, root, or morpheme wamodi
worried i-k
be-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.1SFirst person singular (person)
speaker, signer, etc.; I
I am a little bit worried.
In verbs, it can either mark intensity (‘to [verb] a lot’) or denote something similar to a habitual/iterative aspect.
Nirtari eviyviyem. Harte alav qojay.
Nirtari eviyviyem. Harte alav qojay.
Nirtari
PRProper
marks a noun as referring to a unique entity eviy-viy-em
REDUPReduplication
full or partial reduplication of a word, stem, root, or morpheme-talk-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee harte
COLCollective (number)
'group or mass entity'.1PEFirst person plural exclusive (person)
we (exclusive) al-av
3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee-INSTRInstrumental (case)
'with' 'using' qojay
tired
Nirtare keeps talking a lot. We are tired of her.
Da ázaśit rez bi lilliril.
Da ázaśit rez bi lilliril.
da
PROXProximal (proximity)
close to speaker ázaśi-t
kid-PLPlural (number)
more than one/few rez
house bi
at lil-liri-l
REDUPReduplication
full or partial reduplication of a word, stem, root, or morpheme-run-PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.3PThird person plural (person)
neither speaker nor addressee, they/them
These kids are running all around and around the house.
In informal speech, reduplication is used more frequently, especially as a method of focus/intensity marking.
if someone is bored and for some reason wants to see some related articles
• the April 2020 LoTM article written by lovely @Hastrica
• this big article about the Keranian conculture, because the language is only a part of it
• a general comparison between Desanian languages
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