User:MostlyJustLucy/sandbox
Phonology[edit]
Vowels[edit]
Lengo has 6 vowels.
| Front | Near-Back | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u | |
| Close-Mid | e | o | |
| Open-Mid | ɛ | ||
| Open | ɑ |
Vowel sequences occur commonly for nearly all combinations of these vowels, with the exceptions of /ɑe/ and /uo/. The front open-mid vowel /ɛ/ never occurs in sequence.
Consonants[edit]
Lengo has 15 consonants.
| Bilabial | Labiodental | Dental | Alveolar | Velar | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | p mb | t nd | k ŋg | ||
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | ||
| Trill | r | ||||
| Fricative | v | ð | s | ɣ | |
| Lateral Approximate | l |
Voiced stops are prenasalized. Two instances of regional variation in these phonemes have been observed. These are /v/ becoming /β/, and /ð/ becoming /z/.
Morphology[edit]
Pronominal Systems[edit]
Lengo has five sets of pronominal forms. These are emphatic, subject reference, object, direct possessor, and indirect possessor. These distinguish maximally between four persons (first person inclusive, first person exclusive, second, and third person), and four numbers (singular, plural, dual, and paucal). There is no grammatical gender distinction. Two other uses of these pronominal forms occur - a reflexive pronoun, and a set of interrogative pronouns.[1]
The dual forms are used only to indicate 'two and only two', whilst the plural and paucal forms mean 'two or more' and 'three or more' respectively. First person exclusive excludes the addresse(s).
Emphatic Pronouns[edit]
The emphatic pronoun in Lengo is optional. It is use to emphasize the semantic role of a noun in a clause, and appears as a free morpheme following the verb. [1]
| 1st Inclusive | 1st Exclusive | 2nd | 3rd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | inau | ighoe | igeia | |
| Plural | ighita | ighami | ighami | igeira |
| Dual | i-ko-ghita | i-ko-ghami | i-ko-ghamu | i-ko-ira |
| Paucal | i-tu-ghita | i-tu-ghami | i-tu-ghamu | i-tu-ira |
Example:
(1) ara gito-a t-i m-ara lavi dea-a na kei-gu inau 3PL steal-o:3SG RL-LOC CONJ-3PL take go-o:3SG ART basket-PS:1SG EP:1SG "They stole it and they took it away my basket - mine."
Subject Reference Pronouns[edit]
The subject reference pronoun appears as the first element in a verb phrase.
| 1st Inclusive | 1st Exclusive | 2nd | 3rd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | u | o | e | |
| Plural | a | ami | amu | ara |
| Dual | a-ko | ami-ko | amu-ko | ara-ko |
| Paucal | a-tu | ami-tu | amu-tu | ara-tu |
Example:
(2) i-ko-ghami a P. ami-ko dea i nughu. DU:EP:1EX.PL ART P. 1EX.PL-DU go LOC river "We two, P. and I, we two went to the river."
Object Pronominals[edit]
The object form in Lengo is identified using a set of pronominal suffixes, which index the object arguments on the verb. In instances where a verb takes both a direct and and indirect object, only the indirect object is marked. The plural object form is marked for animate or inanimate objects.[1]
| 1st Inclusive | 1st Exclusive | 2nd | 3rd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | -u | -gho | -a | |
| Plural | -ghita | -ghami | -ghamu | -ra (animate), -i (inanimate) |
| Dual | -ko-ghita | -ko-ghami | -ko-ghamu | -ko-ira |
| Paucal | -tu-ghita | -tu-ghami | -tu-ghamu | -tu-ira |
Example:
(3) ara pitu-u 3PL wait-o:1SG "They await me."
Direct Possessor Proniminals[edit]
The direct possessor form is used for inalienably possessed nouns. It is a suffix on the possessed noun that indicates the possessor. In the case of the dual and paucal forms, number is indicated as a prefix, and the plural suffix is used. [1]
| 1st Inclusive | 1st Exclusive | 2nd | 3rd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | -gu | -mu | -a, -na | |
| Plural | -da | -mami | -mu | -dira |
| Dual | ko- -da | ko- -mami | ko- -miu | ko- -dira |
| Paucal | tu- -da | tu- -mami | tu- -miu | tu- -dira |
The third person singular direct possessor appears in two forms, with '-a' being more prevalent than '-na'.[1]
Example:
(4) na vae-gu ART house-PS:1SG "My house."
Indirect Possessor Pronouns[edit]
The indirect possessor form is used for alienably possessed nouns. It occurs as a free morpheme preceeding the possessed noun. There are two categories distinguished - 'oral consumable' and 'general'. The oral consumable category includes items that are able to be eaten, drunk, or consumed via the mouth, such as tobacco.[1]
| General | Oral Consumable | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Inclusive | 1st Exclusive | 2nd | 3rd | 1st Inclusive | 1st Exclusive | 2nd | 3rd | |
| Singular | ni-gu-a | ni-mo-a | ne | gha-gu-a | gha-mo-a | ghe | ||
| Plural | no-da | ni-mami | ni-miu | no-dira | gha-da | gha-mami | gha-miu | gha-dira |
| Dual | ko-no-da | ko-ni-mami | ko-ni-miu | ko-no-dira | ko-gha-da | ko-gha-mami | ko-gha-miu | ko-gha-dira |
| Paucal | tu-no-da | tu-ni-mami | tu-ni-miu | tu-no-dira | tu-gha-da | tu-gha-mami | tu-gha-miu | tu-gha-dira |
Oral Consumable form:
(5) gha-mu-a na vudi lepa oral.CLF-PS:2SG-O:3SG ART banana ripe "[Here is a] ripe banana for you to eat."
General form:
(6) ne na be O. PS:3SG ART pig O "O's pig."
Reflexive Pronouns[edit]
A reflexive pronoun is composed when a direct possessor suffix is added to the stem 'tibo'. This results in a valency decrease of the verb. [1]
Example:
(7) u toka tibo-gu. 1SG cut REFL-PS:1SG "I cut myself."
Interrogative and Relative Pronouns[edit]
Lengo has two pronouns that have interrogative or relative uses. 'thi' is used if the reference is human, and 'tha' if the reference is non-human.[1]
Relative use:
(8) na tioni ketha a thi ga deni ba k-e mai lau-a pile-a na vanga de ART person different ART REL there DEM FUT IRR-3SG come take-o:3SG little.bit-o:3SG ART food DEM "a different person who is over there will come take a bit of this food."
Interrogative use:
(9) na tha t-o ghoni-a? ART INT RL-3SG do-o:3SG "What are you doing?"