Archive:Yaharan language

Yaharan
Template:Feyandya
Pronunciation	ˈsɪ̈jɑhɑrɑ
Region	Lower Boroso
Ethnicity	Yaharans
Native speakers	24,000,000 20,000,000 as a second language  (2010)
Language family	Yaharan Greater Yaharan Yaharan
Early forms:	Proto-Yaharan Old Yaharan Imperial Yaharan Ducal Yaharan Yaharan
Dialects	Celebrezstuvan Ciovergian Haran Yervergian Yitsman
Writing system	Feyandya
Official status
Official language in	Confederation of Lower Boroso Template:Country data Upper Yahara Template:Country data Yaxarhayut
CWS code	SIH

Yaharan (IPA: /jəˈhɑːɹɪ̈n/, lingua Jahærana, Ꙗгарьскыи ѩзыкъ; Yaharan: Template:Feyandya /ˈsɪ̈jɑɦɑɹɑ/) is the only living member of the Greater Yaharan languages. Spoken by over eleven million people, it serves as the official language of the Kingdom of Upper Yahara, one of several of the Confederation of Lower Boroso, and one of the two official languages of the Kingdom of Yaxarhayut. Historically, it was the predominant language of the Empire of Yahara, and as a result has heavily influenced the Monyic languages, Trunaomatian, and Heoroman, amongst others.

History

The history of the Yaharan language begins with its separation as Old Yaharan from Greater Yaharan, which likely happened sometime in the third or fourth century in the region that today comprises Upper Yahara. The language developed and took in several Canagamanese loanwords during this time, as well as passing several words to the Canagamanese. During the opening of the eleventh century, the language came under intense contact with Common Yennodor, resulting in the acceleration of certain shifts within the language as well as a simplification of grammar. With the Empire of Yahara, the language evolved into Imperial Yaharan, which became the language of the Empire itself, spreading through that influence from the Yahara all throughout Lower Boroso, displacing several other Yaharan languages in the process such as Haran. Imperial Yaharan began to transition into Ducal Yaharan, the most varied period of the Yaharan language, around the fifteenth century, and by the seventeenth had broken into several distinct standards. The foremost of these, the Western Yitsman and the Celebrezstuvan standards, by the process of unification in the late seventeenth century and the establishment of both Upper Yahara and Yaxarhayut, became the new standards of the Yaharan language. By the turn of the twentieth century, these standards have firmly eclipsed all but the strongest dialects in a process of dialect levelling.

Phonology

Consonants

	Bilabial	Labio-dental	Dental	Alveolar	Post-alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal	m			n			ŋ
Plosive	p b			t d			k g
Fricative		f v	θ	s z	ʃ ʒ		x	ɦ
Slide				s͢ʃ
Affricate				t͡s	t͡ʃ
Liquid	ʍ w			l ɹ r		j

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i y		ɯ u
Mid	ɛ	ɪ̈	o
Open			ɑ

Diphthongs: /ɛɪ̯/, /ɑɪ̯/, /jⁱɑʊ̯/

Orthography

The Yaharan language is written using the Feyandya, its traditional alphabet. Three forms are used for various purposes: the civil version (most commonly used in signage and printing), the written version (used in both print and handwriting), and the religious version (used almost exclusively for ceremonial purposes and in temple recordkeeping). The written version is that which is presented below.

Paired consonants:					Unpaired consonants:
Unvoiced letter:	IPA:	Voiced letter:	IPA:		Letter:	IPA:	Letter:	IPA:
Template:Feyandya p	/p/	b b	/b/		l ,L l	/l/	w ,W w1	/w/
t t	/t/	d d	/d/		y ,Y y	/j/	č č	/t͡ʃ/
k k	/k/	g g	/g/		Vowels:
f	/f/ f2	v v	/v/		Long letter:	IPA:	Short letter:	IPA:
s ,S s	/s/	z z	/z/		A ,a a	/ɛɪ̯/	Ä ,ä ä3	/ɑ/
š š	/ʃ/	ž ž	/ʒ/		O ,o o	/o/	Ö ,ö ö	/o/
x x	/x/	h h	/ɦ/		U ,u u	/u/	Ü ,ü ü	/ɯ/
c c	/s͢ʃ/	þ ,Þ þ	/θ/		I ,i i	/ɑɪ̯/	Í ,í í	/ɪ̈/
n ,N n	/n/	m m	/m/		E ,e e	/i/	Ë ,ë ë	/ɛ/
r r	/ɹ/	ř ř	/r/		Ø ,ø ø4	/jⁱɑʊ̯/	Ÿ ,ÿ ÿ5	/y/
Ligatures:					Obsolete letters:
nt nt	/nt/	nd nd	/nd/		Æ ,æ æ3	/ɑ/	Ï ï	/ɪ̈/
nk nk	/ŋk/	ng ng	/ŋg/		Á ,á á	/Ø/	É ,é é	/Ø/
ď dyä	/dʲɑ/	ḳ stk	/stk/		Required ideograms:
ǒ ös	/os/	As a ligature for the word ös.			Ideogram:		Meaning:
ň níl	/nɪ̈l/	As a ligature for the word níl.			ǽ Æšé		"Ashe"
1. Optional word finally after Template:Feyandya  u, depending on style and region. 2. Sometimes left unwritten word finally, as the letter is not pronounced word finally. 3. Imperial style written Template:Feyandya  æ. 4. Imperial style written Template:Feyandya  öö, Ducal style written Template:Feyandya  yäu or Template:Feyandya  yäw. 5. Imperial style written Template:Feyandya  öy.

Stress

Stress is always word initial, and acts phonetically to distinguish between word segments, as well as holding a grammatical function in distinguishing between the accusative and reflexive functions of reflexive pronouns. In sentences containing strings of more than one monosyllabic word, stress is placed on the foremost monosyllable, and the following monosyllables are said as if they were part of the same word as the original monosyllable up to three words, at which point stress is placed on the next monosyllable.

For example:

Template:Feyandya
Ud	täng	omng,	tyung	dän	nrät	ös	lön.
ˈud‿	tɑŋg‿	omŋg	ˈtʲuŋg‿	dɑn‿	nɹɑt	ˈos‿	lon
at	DEF.FORM.FEM	beginning_of_the_universe	DEF.FORM.MASC	god	of	all
'At the beginning of the universe, there was the god of all.'

Grammar

Word order

Word order in Yaharan is generally SVO, with exceptions for poetic use and a few, significant, constructions. Notably, when using the accusative form of a pronoun, the word order changes to SOV. Adjectives will always precede the noun or verb they describe.

Nouns

Nouns in Yaharan are split into three classes based on the last sound of the word. These classes determine the definite and indefinite articles, and are summarized below:

Class:	Definite article:		Indefinite article:		Last sound of word:
Masculine:	{tëmë} tëmë	{dänß} dän	{šä} šä		{cßdßďßËßgßhßnßOßÖßpßřßsßšßtßþßvßxß} -c, -d, -dyä, -ë, -g, -h, -n, -o, -ö, -p, -ř, -s, -š, -t, -þ, -v, -x
Feminine:		{täng} täng			{AßÄßbßčßeßfßißíßkßlßmßrßußüßwßÿßzßžß} -a, -ä, -b, -č, -e, -f, -i, -í, -k, -l, -m, -r, -u, -ü, -w, -ÿ -z, -ž
Plural:		{þuwß} þuw	{šä} šä	{šuwß} šuw	Ø -ø

Further, nouns decline for the genitive, plural, and genitive plural, again based on final sound.

Last sound of word:	Singular genitive:	Plural:	Plural genitive:
{aßÄßeßëßißíßoßößußüßÿß} -a, -ä, -e, -ë, -i, -í, -o, -ö, -u, -ü, -ÿ	dä -dä	Ø -ø	Øšä -øšä
{cßčßfßsßšßþßvßhwßxßzßžß} -c, -č, -f, -s, -š, -þ, -v, –w, -x, -z, -ž	dä -dä	dø -dø	døšä -døšä
{dßgßkßlßmßnßpßrßřßtßwßøß} -d, -f, -k, -l, -m, -n, -p, -r, -ř, -t, -w, -ø	šø -šø	šä -šä	šøšä -šøšä

Pronouns

Pronouns are distinguished by person, partially by number, and function. Almost all are able to decline to four cases: the intransitive, transitive, reflexive, and genitive.

Personal Pronouns:

	Intransitive:	Transitive:	Reflexive:	Genitive:	English equivalent:
1S	{ësto} ësto	{sít} sít	{ëtS} ëts	{ësta} {ëstä} ësta1, ëstä	"I"
1P	{yënto} yënto	{yën} yën	{utS} uts	{yëntä} yëntä	"we"
2S	{eṡlí} elí	{lít} lít	{ätS} äts	{lítšä} lítšä	"you"
2P	{lítšø} lítšø			{lítšøšä} lítšøšä	"you all"
3SI	{yënto} híst		{ÿtS} ÿts	{hístšä} hístšä	"it"
3SA	{hístä} hístä	{sä} sä	{otS} ots	{hístädä} hístädä	"he/she"
3P	{þanto} þanto	{þan} þan	{ötS} öts	{þantä} þantä	"they"
1. The form {ësta} ësta is used only as an emphatic.

Relative Pronouns:

	Intransitive:	Transitive:	Reflexive:	English equivalent:
INAN	{erø} erø	{røt} røt	{ütS} üts	"which/that"
AN	{nícto} nícto	{níc} níc		"who/which"

The reflexive case, while serving those purposes as well, also functions as an accusative. When used as a reflexive, the pronoun is prefixed to the verb, and when used as an accusative is placed before the verb, but is not prefixed to it.

The transitive/intransitive cases 'hardset' the transitivity of the verb. While verbs have an inherent transitivity, the use of a transitive pronoun on a, say, intransitive verb will set the verb's transitivity to the transitive.

For example, where there is no pronoun, the inherent transitivity of the verb holds:

{tsoni.}

Tsoni.

act-3A.PRES

Tsoni.

act-3A.PRES

'He acts.'

When a pronoun of the same transitivity is employed, it reinforces that transitivity:

{hístä tsoni.}

Hístä

3A.INTR

tsoni.

act-3A.PRES

Hístä tsoni.

3A.INTR act-3A.PRES

'He acts.'

However, when a pronoun of the opposite transitivity is employed, it enforces that transitivity onto the verb:

{sä tsoni.}

Sä

3A.TR

tsoni.

act-3A.PRES

Sä tsoni.

3A.TR act-3A.PRES

'He acts [upon it].'

Likewise, this holds true for relative pronouns, compare:

{ëts nívílänog kätäng erø cäkäyø.}

Ëts

1S.ACC

nívílänog

give-3A.PAST

kätäng

wood

erø

REL.INTR

cäkäyø.

burn-3I.PRES

Ëts nívílänog kätäng erø cäkäyø.

1S.ACC give-3A.PAST wood REL.INTR burn-3I.PRES

'He gave me the wood which is burning.'

{ëts nívílänog kätäng røt cäkäyø.}

Ëts

1S.ACC

nívílänog

give-3A.PAST

kätäng

wood

røt

REL.TR

cäkäyø.

burn-3I.PRES

Ëts nívílänog kätäng røt cäkäyø.

1S.ACC give-3A.PAST wood REL.TR burn-3I.PRES

'He gave me the wood which burns [other things].'

Preverbal Particles

Yaharan preverbal particles are various words which affect the meaning, tone, or content of the question and are bound to the immediate position preceding the verb, while not being prefixed to the verb. This category of word includes question words, and the most common of the preverbal particles are exampled below.

Yaharan:	Meaning:	Example:
Template:Feyandya	Expresses emotion or emphasis.	Template:Feyandya Kä EMPH ÿbëlø'řä want-3SI.PRES-DIST wÿnd! bread Kä ÿbëlø'řä wÿnd! EMPH want-3SI.PRES-DIST bread 'It wants that bread!'
Template:Feyandya	Expresses strong emotion or emphasis.	Template:Feyandya Käluw EMPH ÿbëlø'řä want-3SI.PRES-DIST wÿnd! bread Käluw ÿbëlø'řä wÿnd! EMPH want-3SI.PRES-DIST bread 'It wants that bread!!!'
Template:Feyandya	Negates the verb.	Template:Feyandya Níl NEG ÿbëlø'řä want-3SI.PRES-DIST wÿnd. bread Níl ÿbëlø'řä wÿnd. NEG want-3SI.PRES-DIST bread 'It does not want that bread.'
Template:Feyandya	Forms a question.	Template:Feyandya Ö INTERR ÿbëlø'řä want-3SI.PRES-DIST wÿnd? bread Ö ÿbëlø'řä wÿnd? INTERR want-3SI.PRES-DIST bread 'Does it want that bread?'
Template:Feyandya	Expresses unusuality.	Template:Feyandya Řa NUSIT ÿbëlø'řä want-3SI.PRES-DIST wÿnd! bread Řa ÿbëlø'řä wÿnd! NUSIT want-3SI.PRES-DIST bread 'It wants that bread? [How odd.]'
Template:Feyandya	Expresses certainty or veracity.	Template:Feyandya Žov VER ÿbëlø'řä want-3SI.PRES-DIST wÿnd. bread Žov ÿbëlø'řä wÿnd. VER want-3SI.PRES-DIST bread 'It really does want that bread.'
Interrogatives:
Template:Feyandya	who	Template:Feyandya Hístä 3SA.INTR níct who zërn? be-3SA.PRES Hístä níct zërn? 3SA.INTR who be-3SA.PRES 'Who is he?'
Template:Feyandya	what	Template:Feyandya Hístä 3SA.INTR dzä what hwÿo? do-3SA.PRES Hístä dzä hwÿo? 3SA.INTR what do-3SA.PRES 'What is he doing?'
Template:Feyandya	where	Template:Feyandya Sä 3SA.TR räa where þöro? go_to-3SA.PRES Sä räa þöro? 3SA.TR where go_to-3SA.PRES 'Where is he going?'
Template:Feyandya	when	Template:Feyandya Hístä 3SA.INTR erë when säšäk? wake_up-3SA.FUT Hístä erë säšäk? 3SA.INTR when wake_up-3SA.FUT 'When will he wake up?'
Template:Feyandya	why	Template:Feyandya Sä 3SA.TR värë why hwÿog? do-3SA.PAST Sä värë hwÿog? 3SA.TR why do-3SA.PAST 'Why did he do [that to that]?'
Template:Feyandya	how	Template:Feyandya Lít 2.TR të how äv COND yísnä make-2.PRES wÿnd? bread Lít të äv yísnä wÿnd? 2.TR how COND make-2.PRES bread 'How do you make bread?'

Adjectives and adverbs

Adjectives always preface the word they describe, falling after any determiners also attached to the word. Adverbs do not exist as a separate class in Yaharan, being instead adjectives placed before the verb. When used in sequence to describe a noun, the adjectives are generally glued together with the infix Template:Feyandya, as without the infix they will generally be interpreted as a string of cascading descriptors.

Adjective placement when describing a noun:

Template:Feyandya

Dyälrä

DIST

tädyä

answer

zërn

be-3.PRES

tëmë

DET.NFORM

idëtë

good-SUPL

tädyä.

answer

Dyälrä tädyä zërn tëmë idëtë tädyä.

DIST answer be-3.PRES DET.NFORM good-SUPL answer

'That is the best answer.'

Adjective placement when describing a verb:

Template:Feyandya

Wÿn

bird

xí

loud

sängo

sing-3SA.PRES

är

in

oþär.

tree

Wÿn xí sängo är oþär.

bird loud sing-3SA.PRES in tree

'The bird sings loudly in the tree.'

Use of multiple adjectives:

Cascading descriptors:

Template:Feyandya

Durn

bright

ëløin

blue

wÿn

bird

xí

loud

sängo.

sing-3SA.PRES

Durn ëløin wÿn xí sängo.

bright blue bird loud sing-3SA.PRES

'The bright blue bird sings loudly.'

Noun-describing only:

Template:Feyandya

Dornëløin

big-and-blue

wÿn

bird

xí

loud

sängo.

sing-3SA.PRES

Dornëløin wÿn xí sängo.

big-and-blue bird loud sing-3SA.PRES

'The big, blue bird sings loudly.'

Verbs

Verbs are grouped into three categories: first, second, and third conjugation verbs. They conjugate according to person, number, and three tenses, a few moods, and so forth.

Verb Endings:

Impersonal forms:
	1st:	2nd:	3rd:
Infinitive:	Template:Feyandya	Template:Feyandya	Template:Feyandya
Subjunctive:	Template:Feyandya	Template:Feyandya	Template:Feyandya
Indefinite:	Template:Feyandya	Template:Feyandya	Template:Feyandya
Imperative:	Template:Feyandya	Template:Feyandya	Template:Feyandya
Personal forms:
Present tense:
	1st:	2nd:	3rd:
1S	Template:Feyandya	Template:Feyandya	Template:Feyandya
1P	Template:Feyandya
2	Template:Feyandya	Template:Feyandya	Template:Feyandya
3SA	Template:Feyandya	Template:Feyandya	Template:Feyandya
3SI	Template:Feyandya		Template:Feyandya
3P	Template:Feyandya	Template:Feyandya	Template:Feyandya
Past tense:
1S	Template:Feyandya	Template:Feyandya	Template:Feyandya
1P	Template:Feyandya
2	Template:Feyandya	Template:Feyandya	Template:Feyandya
3SA	Template:Feyandya	Template:Feyandya	Template:Feyandya
3SI	Template:Feyandya		Template:Feyandya
3P	Template:Feyandya	Template:Feyandya	Template:Feyandya
Future tense:
1S	Template:Feyandya
1P
2	Template:Feyandya
3SA	Template:Feyandya
3SI
3P	Template:Feyandya
Moods:
Conditional:	Preface the conjugated verb with Template:Feyandya.
Abilitative:	Preface the conjugated verb with Template:Feyandya.
Potential:	Preface the conjugated verb with Template:Feyandya.

Infinitive

The infinitive is the dictionary form of Yaharan verbs, and is used in a limited set of circumstances grammatically, almost all of them in context with the conjunction Template:Feyandya.