Light Sucumian

Light Sucumian vocabulary

Light Sucumian was a Sucumian language spoken in parts of Sucumia from the 27th Century up until the 39th Century. It descends from Proto-Sucumian and therefore is a Sumro-Naukl language and is related to those spoken on mainland Malomanan. It is the ancestor of Red Sucumian, White Sucumian, Silver Sucumian and Yellow Sucumian.

=Name= The name "Light Sucumian" stands in contrast to its sister language "Dark Sucumian". In Light Sucumian these languages were refereed to as Seonsraiss Ulo ("Light Sucumian") and Seonsraiss Hazo ("Dark Sucumian") respectively. These terms were calqued into Old Sumrë as Sukimirė Brigaro and Sukimirė Dӑvo which mean the same. The term is thought to derive from how the Light Sucumian speakers were the fishermen of the island (while the Dark Sucumian speakers hunted sea birds) who would bring torches onto boats at night in order to attract fish to the surface, creating a light and bright spectacle for those on the shore.

=Phonology= Light Sucumian is transcribed using the Nebyetic Phonetic Alphabet.

X-Grade and G-Grade Vowels
The X-grade and G-grade vowels result from the vocalization of Proto-Sucumian *x *ġ (X-grade) and *ġʷ (G-grade) when following vowels. When a G-grade vowel proceeds a consonant it labializes the consonant.


 * 1) When from Proto-Sucumian /o/
 * 2) When from Proto-Sucumian /ɜ/

Phonotactic Restrictions

 * After the palatal plosive /c/, /β/ becomes [w].
 * /t/ can't occur in onset, nor in a cluster with /j/ or /d͡ʒ/. When /t/ is placed into an onset via suffixation it becomes /s/:
 * βalkət- ("useful-") > βalkəse ("useful-")
 * /x/ can only ever occur word initially.
 * When in a coda /r/ becomes [l].
 * The approximant /ʋ/ becomes [u] when word final and when the next word begins in a vowel. Intervocalicaly it is [w].

Phonological history
V1V2V3>V1V3 (mostly just in stems)

a(ː) e(ː)> iː/_{ʂ ʐ}

Vʐ>Vːʂ

ʂ ʐ → ʃ ʒ

u o → ɵ ə

u: oː > u o

ts > s

l > u/_$

l > w/else

l: > l

r > l/_$

n l > ɲ ʎ/_ʝ(ʷ)

a(ː)ʝʷC {e(ː)ʝʷC i(ː)ʝʷC} {ɵ(ː)ʝʷC ə(ː)ʝʷC} {u(ː)ʝʷC o(ː)ʝʷC} ɜ(ː)ʝʷC > øːCʷ yːCʷ ʉːCʷ uːCʷ ɨːCʷ

a(ː)ʝʷ(V) {e(ː)ʝʷ(V) i(ː)ʝʷ(V)} {ɵ(ː)ʝʷ(V) ə(ː)ʝʷ(V)} {u(ː)ʝʷ(V) o(ː)ʝʷ(V)} ɜ(ː)ʝʷV> øː yː ʉː uː ɨː

ʝʷC>ʝCʷ

{aʝV aχ(V)} {aʝːV aχː(V)} {eʝV eχ(V)} {eʝːV eχː(V)} {iʝV iχ(V)} {iʝːV iχː(V)} {ɜʝV ɜχV} {ɜʝːV ɜχːV}> au auː eo eoː iu iuː ɜu ɜuː

{ɵʝV ɵχ(V)} {ɵʝːV ɵχː(V)} {əʝV əχ(V)} > ɵo ɵoː əo əoː

{uʝV uχ(V)} {uʝːV uχː(V)} {oʝV oχ(V)} {oʝːV oχː(V)} > u: u: o: o:

ð → ʋ/V_

ʋ → w/V_V

ʋ > u/V_#V

χ ʝ > j w/C_

j w>i u/C_{C,#}

tð → ts

ck > kk

a: e: > ai ei

ʃieː → ʃjae

ɪ ʊ → i u

ð f(ʷ)>h(ʷ)

(t){ʝ j}>d͡ʒ/not after a front vowel

ɜ>ə

z>s

=Noun Phrase= In Light Sucumian no solid distinction was made between nouns and adjectives, with both inflecting for case and number the same way (albeit with adjectives agreeing to the noun's gender) and with nouns being freely zero-derived from adjectives.

Agreement
Adjectives follow the noun and must agree to the gender of the noun before taking on further case/number suffixes. Agreement to animate nouns is unmarked while agreement to inanimate nouns is marked. Monosyllabic stems do not need to have any suffixes in order to agree but Monosyllabic V stems mark agreement via metathesis of C{F,i,u}# > {F,X}C#. Polysyllabic stems must take on the suffix -o (or -e if the syllable before contains /ə/, or -ɘ̈ if the preceding consonant is /k/). Other adjectives ending in a vowel agree by taking on the X grade form.


 * səli- ("true") > seo səol ("true sense")
 * səl- ("hard") > seo səl ("hard sense")
 * xasra ("heavy") > βalt xasrauu ("heavy weapon")
 * βalkət- ("useful") > βalt βalkəse ("useful weapon")
 * pak- ("green") > βalt pakɘ̈ ("green weapon")

Case
Light Sucumian nouns and adjectives are fusional and inflect for two genders (animate vs inanimate), two numbers (singular and plural) and eight cases (nominative, accusative, genitive, dative, allative I, allative II, elative and ablative).

Nominative
Denotes the subject of the verb.

Accusative
Denotes the direct object of a verb. Also used for expressions of time and distance.

Genitive
Marks possession.

Dative
marks the indirect object of a verb.

Allative I
Marks indirect motion to an object or to nearby an object. Is built from the genitive singular case. Also marks the object of verbs of indirect motion (usually implying a lack of valency by the subject, or implying that the intended action failed):

qʷemnins suuk-šš həβ-∅-nɘ̈

hunter shoot-3S.ANIM.PST wolf.GEN-ALLI

"the hunter shot at the wolf (and didn't hit/kill it)"

Allative II
Marks direct motion to an object. Is built from the genitive singular case. Also marks the object of verbs of motion ("to shoot, to walk to, to thrust, give"):

qʷemnins suuk-šš maw-∅ həβ-∅-nɘ̈l

hunter shoot-3S.ANIM.PST arrow.ACC wolf-GEN-ALLII

"The hunter shot an arrow at the wolf"

Elative
Marks movement out of, off of or down from. Is built from the genitive singular case. Specifically used to refer to movement out/off of structures (or features of the landscape that surround you like a forest or cave) or raised landscape (such as hills, ridges, slopes):

wauu-sut muβoš-a-nul

run-1S.FUT mountain-GEN-ELA

"I will run down from the mountain"

Ablative
Marks movement away from. Is built from the genitive singular case. Specifically used to refer to movement away from locations such as villages or sites but also movement away from an area nearby the object. When attached to a supine it refers movement away from where an action takes place:

wau-ss həβ-∅ k-rak-nɘ̈βm həku-∅

run-1S.PST wolf SUP-kill-ABL goat-ACC

"I ran away from where the wolf killed the goat"

Monosyllabic Stems I
Monosyllabic stems contain only one syllable and are distinguished by syncope of vowels (or shortening of long vowels) occurring after the stressed syllable of the stem.

Monosyllabic Stems II
This group of nouns contains inanimate monosyllables that end in the consonants /l/ or /w/. In this declension the inanimate accusative plural is marked by turning the final /l/ into /rː/, or by alternating the /w/ to /l/.

Monosyllabic Stems III
This declension contains nouns that contain /ə/ or /o/ in the final syllable. In this declension every suffix beginning in /ə/ begins with /e/ instead.

Monosyllabic Stems IV
This declension contains nouns that are a mixture of the above, ending in /əl/ or /əw/. Like MS II nouns the inanimate accusative plural is -rr/-l while every suffix beginning in /ə/ instead begins with /e/.

Monosyllabic Stems V
Stems in this declension stem from metethetic stems in Proto-Sucumian and a trace of this can still be seen by how the final C{F,i,u} sequence becomes {F,X,G}C, where X and G mark the X-grade and G-grade forms of the preceeding vowel in the stem when.

Monosyllabic VI Stem
These stems descend from Proto-Sucumian Monosyllabic I Stems that ended in vowels, or stems that came to end in a X-grade or G-grade vowel.

Monosyllabic VII Stem
These stems end in the consonant /t/ which shifts to /s/ in some cases. In the dative cases the endings are *-se and *-sə rather than *-we and *-wə.

Polysyllabic Stems II
This group of nouns/adjectives contains inanimate polysyllables that end in the consonants /l/ or /w/. In this declension the inanimate accusative plural is marked by turning the final /l/ /w/ to /rː/ /l/ respectively followed by the suffix -ɘ̈.

Polysyllabic Stems III
This declension contains nouns that contain /ə/ or /o/ in the final syllable. In this declension every suffix beginning in /ə/ begins with /e/ instead. This includes adjectives that take on -ə t agree with inanimate nouns.

Polysyllabic Stems IV
This declension contains inanimate nouns that are a mixture of the above, ending in /əl/ or /əw/. Like PS II nouns the inanimate accusative plural is -rr/-l while every suffix beginning in /ə/ instead begins with /e/.

Polysyllabic Stems V
This declension may look and inflect like any of the above but nouns in this declension experience metathesis in the stem where a word final fricative after a consonant flips place with the consonant when inflected.

Polysyllabic Stems VI
Polysyllabic stems are distinguished by their word final /k/, causing the acc.sg/pl animate and gen.sg/pl inanimate to contain the vowel ɘ̈ instead of ə.

Polysyllabic VII Stems
These stems are descended from Proto-Sucumian Polysyllabic I Stems that ended in vowels. The final vowel of each stem becomes the X-Grade vowel when inflected.

Adjective Order
Within a noun phrase, attributive adjectives follow a strict order, ranging from more "animate" adjectives appearing closer to the left edge of the clause than "inanimate adjectives". In this specific context an animate adjective is one that describes qualities like "moving, alive" while inanimate adjectives describe qualities like "unmoving, non-living". There are 4 slots in which in adjective may appear which are:


 * 1) Alive, dead
 * 2) Taking, making a sound, silent
 * 3) Moving, still
 * 4) Emotional
 * 5) Good, bad
 * 6) Colour
 * 7) Else

So for example the phrase masβtare jau hall ul ("good calm and bright buzzard" - lit. "buzzard calm good bright") is correct but *masβtare hall jau ul ("buzzard good calm shining") is ungrammatical.

Comparative
Adjectives are made comparative by placing haβha before the adjective (from Proto-Sucumian *δaβδaβ "more true", the comparative of *δaβ- "true").
 * xeešsawaḱ- ("unreasonable") > haβha xeešsawaḱ- ("more unreasonable")
 * xuau̇- ("at risk") > haβha xuau̇ ("more at risk")
 * βe- ("injured") > haβha βe ("more injured")

Some irregular comparatives are:
 * wɘ̈u̇h- ("big") > haβha wɘ̈u̇hwɘ̈ ("bigger")
 * pak- ("green") > haβha kapkap ("greener")
 * lulšβəm- ("different) > haβha lulošβəma ("more different")

A noun is compared to by using a construction translating to ("X is as Y but Z-er"):

waskhea miiš walstɘ̈ sošβ mau̇ haβha wɘ̈u̇hwɘ̈

bison be.3S squirrel as but COMP big-COMP

"the bison is bigger than the squirrel"

Deriving Adjectives
Adjectives of ability are derived from verbs by attaching the suffix -nas (on monosyllabic stems) or -enas (on polysyllabic stems) to the verb stem. Note that even these adjectives can be zero-derived to become nouns:
 * xiukhəsa ("to die") > xiukhəenas ("able to to die, mortal")
 * wauusa ("to run") > wauuenas ("able to run")
 * xats ("to breathe") > xau̇nas ("able to breathe, alive, creature")

Adjectives to describe that a verb can be performed on an object attach the suffix -enas to the past participle form of the verb:
 * xiukhəsa ("to die") > xiukhəikenas ("killable, prey")
 * wauusa ("to run") > wauuikenas ("runnable, short distance")
 * xats ("to breathe") > xau̇kenas ("breathable")

=Pronouns=

=Verb Phrase=

NEGATIVE VERB

Monosyllabic Stems
FIRST ONE IS BETTER

Monosyllabic II Stems
These stems ends in /l/ or /w/ which cause the first person to be marked by turning the /l/ /w/ to /rː/ /l/ rather than with -s.

Monosyllabic III Stems
These stems end in a fricative or u̇. The infinitive form is distinguished by how /t/ is infixed before the final fricative. The first singular person is marked by geminating the final fricative rather than with -s.

Polysyllabic I Stems
FIRST TABLE IS BETTER

Polysyllabic II Stems
These stems ends in /l/ or /w/ which cause the first person to be marked by turning the final consonant into /rː/ or /l/ respectively rather than with -s.

Polysyllabic III Stems
These stems contain /ə/ in the final syllable of the stem, causing the third person singular suffixes to contain /e/ rather than /ə/. If the stem ends in a vowel then it used the X-grade vowel əo to replace the first vowel of the suffix.

Polysyllabic IV Stems
Polysyllabic IV Stems end in /k/, causing the third person singular suffixes to contain /ɘ̈/ instead of /ə/. If the verb contains /ə/ before the /k/ then it inflects like an IV stem and not a III stem.

Perfect Aspect
The perfect aspect is marked with the suffix *-i (for monosyllabic stems) or *-ia (for polysyllabic stems), or if the stem ends in a vowel it is marked with a X-Grade vowel. There are some verbs which require more explanation due to irregularities caused by Proto-Sucumian sound changes which will be explained below.

When the verb is polysyllabic the suffix is -ia or an X-Grade vowel, causing the verb to inflect as a Polysyllabic I stem:
 * xɘ̈oβiišsa (xɘ̈oβiiš- "to approach") > xɘ̈oβiišiasa ("to have approached")
 * aləksa (alək- "to harass verbally") > aləkiasa ("to have harassed verbally")

When the verb is a Monosyllabic/Polysyllabic II stem then the perfect form resembles the infinitive form, causing the verb to inflect as a Monosyllabic/Polysyllabic I stem:
 * ral (raw- "to run") > ralt ("to have run")
 * ḱəβwərəla (ḱəβwərəw- "to flow") > ḱəβwərəlasa ("to have flowed")

When the verb is monosyllabic the suffix is -i or an X-Grade vowel, causing the verb to inflect as a Monosyllabic III stem:
 * ḱβet (ḱβe- "To scare fish towards the shore") > ḱβeti ("to have scared fish towards the shore")

When the verb is a Monosyllabic III stem and has the shape VC then the first vowel will drop and the suffix *-ia or an X-Grade vowel is attached, causing the verb to inflect as a Monosyllabic I stem:
 * atf (af- "to remove") > fiat ("to have removed")

When the verb is a Monosyllabic III stem and the Proto-Sumro-Naukl forms began in a long vowel, then the final consonant is geminated and inflected as a Monosyllabic III stem:
 * atβ (aβ- "to be adept") > atββ ("to have been adept")

Interrogative Mood
The interrogative mood is formed by placing the prefix *m- onto the verb:
 * həohh ("I make") > mhəohh? ("do I make?")
 * sfiikɘ̈š ("it destroys") > msfiikɘ̈š? ("does it destroy?")

When the stem begins in x then the x becomes i:
 * xɘ̈oβiišsa ("you approach") > miɘ̈oβiišuš? ("do you approach?")

Imperative Mood
The imperative mood is marked with the suffix -i (for monosyllabic stems) or -jɘ̈ (for polysyllabic stems):
 * ḱβet (*ḱβe- "to scare fish towards the shore") > ḱβei ("scare fish towards the shore!")
 * xiukhəsa ("to die") > xiukhəjɘ̈ ("die!")

If a monosyllabic verb stem has the shape VC then the vowel will drop and the suffix -i is applied:
 * atβ (aβ- "to be adept at") > βi ("be adept!")

If the verb is a Monosyllabic II stem then the imperative suffix is -ɘ̈ after the final consonant shifting from /l/ /w/ > /rː/ /l/.
 * ral (raw- "to rise") > ralɘ̈ ("rise!")
 * sual (suaw- "to bob up and down (of air bladders)") > sualɘ̈ ("bob up and down!" - Not said as a literal command to the air bladder but it is believed that saying this aids in hunting seals and whaling)

Speculative Mood
The speculative Mood marks an event that the speaker is unsure about or is expressing it's possibility. Light Sucumian innovated the speculative mood when the Proto-Sucumian particle *ġa for marking uncertainty merged to the verb due to sound changes. When the verb (or most rightward verb ending) ends in a consonant or the long vowels uu/oo the mood is marked with the suffix -ja: həohhn ("I did yesterday") > həohhnja ("I might have done yesterday").

When the verb ends in a vowel then the following vowel changes take place:


 * sunuwauša ("it is aimed") > sunuwaušau ("it might be aimed, is probably aimed")

Middle Voice
The middle voice is used when the subject is the same as the object ("I see myself"), or when the subject is a semantic patient of a transitive verb where the agent is omitted due to being unknown or irrelevant ("the door opens").

həβ hanemoš-wauḱš

wolf understand-MID-3S.ANIM.PST

"the wolf understood itself"

maw sunu-wauša

arrow aim-MID-3S.INAN

"the arrow aims/the arrow is aimed"

The middle voice can also be used derivationally to derive intransitive verbs from transitive verbs:
 * atf ("to remove") > afwausa ("to be removed")
 * weqɘ̈ḱβɘ̈sa ("to hide") > weqɘ̈ḱβɘ̈wausa ("to be hidden, to be out of sight, to be vague")
 * βəǰatsa ("to lactate") > βəǰatwausa ("to have one's nipple sucked")
 * xansḱsa ("to roll") > xansḱwausa ("to be rolled, to be unrolled, to be unthirled")
 * ǰauusa ("to expand, to grow, to spread") > ǰauuwausa ("to swell")
 * pəl ("to hew") > pəuwausa ("to be hewn")

Passive Voice
The passive voice is expressed by combining the past participle of the verb with the verb suukt ("to shoot"). Agents of such verbs are put in the elative case:
 * atf ("to remove") > suukt akf ("to be removed")
 * ǰeit ("to heal") > suukt ǰeik ("to be healed")

βalta suuk-ša xɘ̈oβiiš-ik kul-nul

shelter shoot-3S.INAN approach-PP sea_fog-ELA

"The shelter is being approached by sea fog"

Preverbs
The preverbs of Proto-Sucumian are postpositions that have been placed onto verbs as prefixes to derived new verbs.

*xaβ- (“in”)
The preverb *xaβ- derives verbs that imply motion inwards or towards the referent:
 * ḱəβwərela ("to flow") > xaβḱəβwərela ("to influence")
 * hapəwesa ("to dig") > xaβhapəwesa ("to collapse in on oneself, to faint, to implode")
 * hišrasəsa ("to hold") > xaβhišrasəsa ("to keep secret, to hold one's breath, to need to pee/shit")
 * hupisa ("to swing, to hurl, to wind") > xaβhupisa ("reverberate, to vibrate, to whirl, to wolf down")
 * raits ("to speak") > xaβraits ("to whisper")

Non-finite forms
The infinitive is formed with the suffix *-sa (*həuspesa "to weave"). On monosyllabic verb stems the suffix is merely -t (*hɘ̈kt "to drink"). In metathetic verb stems the /t/ is placed before the final fricative of the verb stem when the stem is monosyllabic (*hə̈uts "to hide"). On verbs ending in /l/ or /w/ the infinitive is marked by turning the final /l/ or /w/ into /rː/ or /l/ and adding -a (added only for polysyllabic stems - *miqʷl "to be able", *cəβwərela "to flow").

The supine is a verbal noun/infinitive used to describe motion and indicates purpose and intention. It is formed with the prefix *k- (*khɘ̈k "to drink"). The supine can be quite irregular when the verb stem begin in a vowel in Proto-Sumro-Naukl. The stress of Proto-Sumro-Naukl and Proto-Sucumian was that it always fell on the first syllable that contained an onset, so stems beginning in vowels wouls stress the second syllable. When Proto-Sucumian lost word initial vowels and dropped vowels (or shortened long vowels) after stressed syllables this caused the supine forms to become irregular. This was due to the supine prefix *k- creating an onset for the initial syllable of such verbs causing stress to fall on the initial syllable rather than the second. As well as shielding the initial vowel from being dropped it also caused different vowels to be dropped due to the shift in stress:

Adjectival participles are formed with the suffix -ɘ̈n or -n on monosyllabic stems. The suffix also acts as an agentive suffix to derive nouns (həuspeun "weaving, weaver", hɘ̈kn "drinking, drinker"). The past participle is formed with -ik or -k on monosyllabic stems and can also be used as a noun that is the result of the action (*həuspeik "woven, blanket", hɘ̈kk "drank").

Deriving Verbs
Quite unlike its mainland relatives, Proto-Sucumian has very little in the way of deriving new verbs via affixes. Instead it relies mostly on compounding to produce new verbs. There are various methods of compounding such as Noun-Verb compounds, Adjective-Verb compounds and Verb-Verb compounds.

Noun-Verb compounds
Noun-Verb compounds denote an action to which the noun is the typical object of. Especially if the noun was derived from a participle then the compound means "to X during Y" but also "to X by doing Y".