Karduvic Grammar
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An article on the grammar of the Karduvic language
This public article was written by [Deactivated User], and last updated on 18 Apr 2023, 14:31.
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1. Karduvic Grammar
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This article is a work in progress! Check back later in case any changes have occurred.
This article is a work in progress! Check back later in case any changes have occurred.
-This article is generally unfinished, I will add more to it as the language progresses and I figure out more details
Karduvic (Sahar) (Ve Kàrjàvyer) is an Nguperic language descended from 
Proto-Kwang spoken in the countries of 
Karduv and 
Qonklaks. Officially, the language is considered to be a dialect of 
Standard Kwang by the Qonklese Government, however, Karduvic is completely unintelligible from Standard Kwang, and is considered a separate language by the Karduvic Government.Karduvic is generally a head-initial, split-ergative, and analytic language, sharing many features with other Kwang languages.
Alienability and possession
Much like Standard Kwang and Proto-Kwang, Karduvic makes use of alienability in possession. The general order for possession is PRONOUN/NOUN (something) POSSESSIVE PRONOUN. Karduvic uses a different set of pronouns depending on if the "something" is alienable of inalienable.
| Informal, general | Alienable | Alienable |
|---|---|---|
| 1First person (person) speaker, signer, etc; I | Ngeng | Se |
| 2Second person (person) addressee (you) | Di | Ù |
| 3Third person (person) neither speaker nor addressee | Heng | Zi |
Ngà ver òr ngà tyèng ngeng
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument eat FUTFuture (tense)
action occurring after the moment of speech 1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient cassava 1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.ALAlienable (possession)
thing that can be gained or lost.POSSPossessive (case)
owns, has
"I will eat my cassava"
Ngà pet ver òr ngà he se
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument NEGNegative (polarity)
not eat FUTFuture (tense)
action occurring after the moment of speech 1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.ACCAccusative (case)
TRANS direct object; patient sibling 1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.INALInalienable (possesson)
thing that can't be gained or lost.POSSPossessive (case)
owns, has
"I will not eat my sibling"
Classifiers
Karduvic retains classifiers like many other Kwang languages, however, it only utilizes them in plural constructions. Which classifier is used is dependent on the class of the noun. Karduvic has four noun classes, inherited from Proto-Kwang and marked with the numbers 2, 6, 8, and 10. These classifiers are mostly optional though, and are frequently dropped. They are mostly only seen in official documents or when clarification is needed. Karduvic also possesses an archaic classifier used for pronouns, which is no longer used in general speech. Classifiers come after the noun the pluralize.
The classifiers are:
| Class | Classifier |
|---|---|
| 2 | E |
| 6 | Pe |
| 8 | Er |
| 10 | Hè |
| PNPronoun | Seng |
Ngà zē e ngeng yok or jeng lhehòpep
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument friend G2Gender 2 (gender/class).PLPlural (number)
more than one/few.CLClassifier
quantifies and/or replaces nouns 1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.ALAlienable (possession)
thing that can be gained or lost.POSSPossessive (case)
owns, has die PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech in battlefield
"All my friends died in the battlefield"
Dì sur dur ngan Mètik vàk er
2Second person (person)
addressee (you).NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument look_at PROGProgressive (aspect)
be verb-ing long Methic frog G8Gender 8 (gender/class).PLPlural (number)
more than one/few.CLClassifier
quantifies and/or replaces nouns
"You are looking at long Methic frogs"
Cu hè tiyek pèngsor pe zi
eye GXGender 1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I0 (gender/class).PLPlural (number)
more than one/few.CLClassifier
quantifies and/or replaces nouns god G6Gender 6 (gender/class).PLPlural (number)
more than one/few.CLClassifier
quantifies and/or replaces nouns 1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.INALInalienable (possesson)
thing that can't be gained or lost.POSSPossessive (case)
owns, has
"The eyes are god's handles"
Pronouns
Karduvic pronouns have a small number of forms, having a nominative/accusative form, an alienable and inalienable possessive form, and an ergative form. While the number of forms are small, the amount of pronouns is not, as Karduvic has several different pronoun sets depending on the formality of the situation. Throughout the article I have used (and will continue to use) the informal, general forms. I will post a separate article containing all pronoun sets at some point. The Ergative has rapidly begun to fall out of use in standard Karduvic speech, though remains used in Qonklese Karduvic.
| Informal, general | NOMNominative (case) TRANS subject, INTR argument/ACCAccusative (case) TRANS direct object; patient | ALAlienable (possession) thing that can be gained or lost.POSSPossessive (case) owns, has | INALInalienable (possesson) thing that can't be gained or lost.POSSPossessive (case) owns, has | ERGErgative (case) TRANS subject; agent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1First person (person) speaker, signer, etc; I | Ngà | Ngeng | Se | Ngà |
| 2Second person (person) addressee (you) | Dì | Di | Ù | Di |
| 3Third person (person) neither speaker nor addressee | E | Heng | Zing | Hà |
TAM
Karduvic uses grammatical markers to indicate tense, aspect, and mood. The general word order for these constructions are VERB (Aspect/Mood) TENSE. The markers are:
| Tense markers | Present: Not marked | Past: Or | Future: Òr |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aspect markers | Perfect: Lèv* | Habitual: Dvòt | Progressive: Dur |
| Mood markers | Imperative: Òr** | Polite Imperative: Òr vòr*** | Conditional: Vòr |
*Lèv is not used in the present tense, the Present Perfect is instead unmarked
**Òr is actually placed at the beginning of a sentence
***Òr vòr is actually placed at the beginning of a sentence
--insert example sentences here--
Negation
Negation is a fairly simple process. To negate a verb, the particle pet is placed before the verb.
Ngà pet ver dur nga zing
1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.NOMNominative (case)
TRANS subject, INTR argument NEGNegative (polarity)
not eat PROGProgressive (aspect)
be verb-ing delicious thing
"I am not eating deliciousness" ✎ Edit Article ✖ Delete Article
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