Srekhil Phonology and Prosody
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This public article was written by [Deactivated User], and last updated on 2 Nov 2019, 03:25.
[comments] skhphonologyprosody
3. Srekhil Syntax
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4. Sretsor culture
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The most important distinction for stops is in aspiration, not voicing. The aspiration is much stronger than in, say, English
Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Pharyn. Glottal Nasal m n ⟨ň⟩ ɲ Plosive unasp.unaspirated/tenuis p t k ʔ asp.aspirated ⟨ph⟩ pʰ ⟨th⟩ tʰ ⟨kh⟩ kʰ Affricate ⟨ts⟩ t͡s ⟨č⟩ t͡ʃ Fricative ⟨s ŧ⟩ s θ ⟨š⟩ ʃ ħ h Lateral l ⟨ľ⟩ ʎ Tap/Trill ⟨r⟩ ɾ ~ r Approximant w ⟨y⟩ j
Àbhradoch)The alveolar stops and fricatives (not counting /θ/) are laminal [t̻ t̻ʰ s̻ t̻͡s̻], pronounced with the blade of the tongue against the alveolar ridge and the tip behind the bottom teeth (not the top teeth, as with typical denti-alveolar consonants). The "palatal" (postalveolar) fricatives conversely are apical [ʃ̺ t͡ʃ̺], pronounced with the tip of the tongue. This gives it a retroflex-like quality, and some speakers do pronounce them as [ʂ t͡ʂ]. The other alveolar consonants are dental or denti-alveolar [θ n̪ l̪].
/ɾ/ is often pronounced as a trill [r] word-initially or in the onset of a stressed syllable. Elsewhere it appears as a simple alveolar or postalveolar tap [ɾ].
/ʔ/ only ever appears in a syllable coda, and often will "clip" a syllable by shortening the vowel significantly.
Srekhil's vowel system is a simple 5-vowel /a e i o u/. There is no substantial vowel reduction in unstressed syllables, but /e i o u/ are laxed to [ɛ ɪ ɔ ʊ] before a coda consonant, except for /ɾ/.
Front Back High i ~ ɪ u ~ ʊ Mid e ~ ɛ o ~ ɔ Low a Diphthongs aɪ̯ aɔ̯
ko [ko]There are only two diphthongs, /aɪ̯ aɔ̯/. These cannot occur with any syllable coda, and could theoretically be considered combinations of /a/ + /j/ or /w/ respectively, but their limited distribution suggests that both are individual phonemes.
kom [kɔm]
koʔ [kɔʔ]
kor [koɾ]
še [ʃe]
šem [ʃɛm]
šeʔ [ʃɛʔ]
šeňe [ʃe.ɲe]
C+(r,y,w)+V+(m,n,l,r,ʔ,š)C can consist of any consonant except /ʔ/. As mentioned above, a coda consonant cannot occur with a diphthong. Most onset clusters are allowed, with exceptions listed here:
- /l ʎ ɾ ɲ w j/ + /ɾ/ or /w/
- /l ʎ ɾ n ɲ s ʃ t͡ʃ ħ w j/ + /j/
Word-internal stress is prototypically on the last root of the word. All enclitics and many suffixes are never stressed. These include:
- -tso ("person")
- -ňe ~ -ne (abstract NMZNominaliser
makes other word a noun)
- -ar ~ -al (ADJZAdjectiviser (syntax)
turns word into adjective)
- -ša (NEGNegative (polarity)
not)
- =wa /=wə/ ("and")
- =phra /=pʰɾə/ ("or")
- =tse (PLUPluractionality
multiple instances occur)
Other suffixes not listed (e.g. -kho, -yoš, -ħan) do take stress, as these are analyzable nominal compounds. Note that strings of unstressed suffixes will leave the stress as far back as the antepenult or earlier.
ter "none" /ˈteɾ/
tertso "nobody" /ˈteɾ.t͡so/
tertsowa "and nobody" /ˈteɾ.t͡so.wə/
tertsowatse "and nobody(=PLUPluractionality
multiple instances occur)" /ˈteɾ.t͡so.wə.t͡se/
ħrom "(feel) shame" /ˈħɾɔm/
ħromtsu "useless person" (= 'shame-hand') /ħɾɔmˈt͡su/
ħromtsuwa "and the useless person" /ħɾɔmˈt͡su.wə/
sre "ancestor" /ˈsɾe/
sretso "ancestor-person" /ˈsɾe.t͡so/
sretsor "ancestor-person-ADJZAdjectiviser (syntax)
turns word into adjective" /ˈsɾe.t͡soɾ/
sreľeš "ancestor-body" /sɾeˈʎɛʃ/
sreľešar "ancestor-body-ADJZAdjectiviser (syntax)
turns word into adjective" /sɾeˈʎe.ʃaɾ/
Since most words in Srekhil are only one or two syllables, stress is often not a property of words but of prosodic groups. These usually end up being roughly equivalent to roughly 4-5 words, which, due to the syntax of Srekhil, ends up being 1-2 constituents depending on the length. The end of prosodic groups preferably falls on nouns or verbs, and avoids adjectives/adverbs and grammatical particles; this can extend or shorten groups by a word or two. Each group generally has suprasegmental stress on the last stressed syllable, with minor secondary stress at the start. There is also a tendency to slightly lengthen the primary stressed member of a group.
An oddity of Srekhil prosody is that intonation is typically reversed from many languages. Interrogatives, especially wh-questions, will follow a falling intonation, while declaratives use a rising one. (This can be seen as suprasegmental focus interacting with Srekhil's topic-comment syntax—the semantic and informational focus on interrogatives is typically at the beginning of phrases, with the question particle and topic to establish the context of the question. Declaratives on the other hand use the comment, as the topic is typically already pre-established and can be quickly glossed over. Compare, perhaps, the prevalence of questions in conversational pre-sequences, which often establish the context of the upcoming utterance.)
Ħa
IMPERImpersonal (valency)
Has no arguments
[ ˌħa yo
GENGenitive (case)
possessive
↘︎jo peš
broken
pɛʃ sa
bone
↗︎ˈsa │
│
│ ňe
exist
ˌɲe yaššai
SUBSubject (argument)-SRSubordinator
marks subordinate clause
jaʃ↘︎ʃaɪ̯ ľiʔ
good
ʎɪʔ yiʔ
be
↗︎ˈjɪʔ │
│
│ čwe
CNJVConjunctive (mood)
subordinates or serialises verb
ˌt͡ʃʷe mwiš
be_more_than
↘︎mʷɪʃ peš
broken
pɛʃ koʔtsal
reputation
kɔʔ↗︎ˈˈtsal ‖ ]
“It is better to have a broken bone than a broken reputation.”
Čum
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.MMasculine gender (gender)
masculine or male.FAMFamiliar (respect/formality)
with friends, family, peers
[ ˌt͡ʃʊm yi
3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.MMasculine gender (gender)
masculine or male.FAMFamiliar (respect/formality)
with friends, family, peers
jɪ prai
PROSPProspective (aspect)
going to
↘︎pɾaɪ̯ tra
ride
↗︎ˈtɾa │
│
│ čwe
CNJVConjunctive (mood)
subordinates or serialises verb
ˌt͡ʃʷe la
inside
↘︎la sarħru
entire
saɾˌħɾu lor.
night
↗︎ˈˈloɾ ‖ ]
“We will ride through the night.”
Thye
QInterrogative
question
[ ↗︎ˈtʰʲe tse
2Second person (person)
addressee (you).FAMFamiliar (respect/formality)
with friends, family, peers
↘︎t͡se tsrem
EXPRExperiential (aspect)
action has occurred at least once before
ˌt͡sɾɛm │
│
│ nai
meat
↗︎ˈˈnaɪ̯ yo
GENGenitive (case)
possessive
jo thyam
bear
ˈtʰʲam čwe?
eat
↘︎ˌt͡ʃʷe ‖ ]
“Have you ever had bear meat?”
Thye
QInterrogative
question
[ ↗︎ˈtʰʲe myir
because
↘︎mʲɪɾ pan
what.CLSClause (sytnax)
subject and predicate
ˈˈpan │
│
│ čro
therefore
↗︎ˈt͡ʃɾo mru
cat
muɾ khurwa
dog=and
kʰuɾ.wə načwe
PVPatient trigger (voice)
Austronesian alignment; triggers ERG-ABS=eat
na↘︎ˌt͡ʃʷe ľetse?
2Second person (person)
addressee (you).NNeuter (gender)
neutral or neuter.NTLNeutral (respect/formality)
neither polite nor vulgar; semi-formal=PLUPluractionality
multiple instances occur
ʎe.t͡se ‖ ]
“Why do you eat cats and dogs?”
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