Verse:Tdūrzů/Knench
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| Modern Canaanite | |
|---|---|
| כﬞנאַאנידﬞ Tdūrzů/Knench | |
| Pronunciation | [/xnaːnið/] |
| Created by | IlL |
| Setting | Lõis |
Afro-Asiatic
| |
Modern Canaanite (Canaanite: כﬞנאַאנידﬞ Xnánið /xnɛ:nið/ or נומא כﬞנאַאן núm Xnán /ni:m xnɛːn/, Togarmite: Xnoniþ) is the sole surviving descendant of Biblical Hebrew, spoken by the Xnánem people in Lõis's Cyprus, Turkey, Armenia and the Levant. Genetic studies show that the Xnánem were originally Celtic speakers who adopted a form of Hebrew. The language preserves quite a few Biblical words and phraseology that fell out of use in Mishnaic Hebrew, though unlike Mishnaic and Israeli Hebrew its grammar was completely restructured to use auxiliaries instead of the older Hebrew tenses.
It's inspired grammatically by Welsh, and aesthetically by Cockney English, Celtic and Khmer.
Numbers: 0-10: afs, ódh (inanimate)/áth (animate), šnay, šluš, arbą, homiš, šeš, šewą, šmun, tešą, ngaxør
11-20: ódh/áth ngaxør, šnay ngaxør, šluš ngaxør, arbą ngaxør, homiš ngaxør, šeš ngaxør, šew ngaxør, hmun ngaxør, tešą ngaxør, ngaxrim
40: stay ngaxrim
60: šluš ngaxrim
...
100: ??
10000: rúø
before: kkorm
History
TODO
- Swadesh list
- bel-, ble- is a common prefix (conflation of ben- and ba3al-)
- biuth or šą še... = when...
- Many adverbs are froma infinitive absolute
- likkori = to die (lit. be called [by God])
- šovuą = week
- mødbár = conference
- נא becomes a focus marker =nø
- question marker a ... [FOCUS]=nø
- Philippi should be weaker: i > e, instead of the TibH i > a (*bint > bett 'daughter'; TibH baṫ)
- Makhin yo ngalekh likkori? = Why did you have to die?
Some sound changes
- non-rhoticity, H-dropping
- ħ > h; *gt, ħt > kht
- dt, tt > st
- -ø (mainly from Biblical Hebrew -ā) becomes silent and lengthens the vowel before it
Phonology
Consonants
/m p b f v n t d θ ð ts s z ʃ ŋ k g x h l w j ɹ~ʋ/ ⟨m p b f v n t d þ ð ts s/x z š η k g x h l w y r⟩
(capital η is И)
Biblical Hebrew /l/ became /w/ in some places, especially before C.
Mutations
Words can undergo initial lenition, as in Irish and Tiberian Hebrew:
p- b- t- d- k- g- > f- v- th- dh- kh- Ø-
Vowels
Tdūrzů/Knench has the largest vowel inventory of any Lõisian Semitic language:
/a e ɪ ɔ ʊ ɛ̃ː iə əɪ äɤ iː ɑ̃ː ɛ̃ː ɪɤ̃ ɔ̃ː æː aw ɛw ɪw ɔw ʊw ɑː(ɹ) ɛː(ɹ) eː(ɹ) oʊ~oː(ɹ) ɜː(ɹ) ə(ɹ)/ = ⟨a e i o u á é í ó ú ą ę į ų aw ew iw ow uw ar er ir or ur ø(r)⟩
The followint is the traditional classification of vowels:
- Shva: ø
- Short vowels: a e i o u
- Long vowels: á é í ó ú
- Nasal vowels: ą ę į ų
- L-colored vowels: aw ew iw ow uw
- R-colored vowels: ar er ir or ur ør
Prosody
Stress
Stress is always penultimate, except with some verbs where the lV- prefix does not have the stress.
Intonation
Phonotactics
Morphophonology
Orthography
Modern Xnánið is written in the Jewish Hebrew square script, in a spelling based on Tiberian Hebrew. (The resulting spelling is not etymological, since Xnánið reflects the original Hebrew consonants differently.) This is because most earlier works in Modern Xnánið were written by Jews, mainly educational materials in Judaism.
Consonants
- /m n ŋ h l w j ɹ~ʋ Ø/ ⟨מ נ ׆ ה ל ו י ר א⟩
- /p b f v t⁼ d tʰ θ ð k⁼ g kʰ x/ ⟨פ ב פﬞ בﬞ ט ד ת ת◌ﬞ דﬞ ק ג כ כﬞ⟩
- /s z ts ʃ/ ⟨ס ז צ ש⟩
Consonant correspondences (by default):
- Hebrew ד > Xnánið ט/ד
- Hebrew ת > Xnánið ת◌ﬞ/דﬞ
- Hebrew ט > Xnánið ת
Vowels
Morphology
Tdūrzů/Knench has lost the verbal inflections and triconsonantal morphology of Biblical Hebrew.
Nouns and adjectives
Nouns inflect for number and definiteness. Adjectives agree with nouns in number.
Tdūrzů/Knench has regularized all plurals to ־ר -ø (from a merger of Druidic Canaanite -īm and -ōδ). It also lost grammatical gender.
Words ending in a nasal vowel or an R-colored vowel add an intrusive R between the final vowel and the plural suffix: פדע pdą 'tree', פדערר pdąrø 'trees'.
Some irregular plurals: בנוס, בלנוס benus, blenus = human
Canaanite has lost the construct state. The only remnant of the construct state is the -th- interfix used in possessive constructions between two nouns that end and begin with a vowel, respectively: e.g.
- hadhør-mittø 'bedroom'
- ngønove-th-anf 'the grapes of wrath'
- nøšomø-th-ahwø 'spirit of brotherhood'
Degree markers:
- Equative: de- = as X as; equally X; X enough
- Excessive: ro- = too (from Celtic)
- Comparative/Superlative: -ðør = more X or most X; comparandum takes פראָדﬞ proð 'than' (from Biblical Hebrew בראותי את *bi-rVʔōtī ʔet 'when I see ACC')
Example: קרוא krú 'big', דגרוא degrú 'as big as'; ראָגרוא rogrú 'too big', קרואדﬞר grúðør 'bigger/biggest'
Verbs
Almost all verbs use only one form, usually the inherited Biblical infinitive construct. The infinitive form may or may not have a prefixed l-, depending on the verb. Even for imperatives: þett lomi hi! = 'Give it to her!' Some verbs instead are derived from other nouns derived from the triconsonantal root rather than the infinitive of a particular verb.
Inflected lexical verbs
There are only five inflected lexical verbs (i.e. verbs with inflected past and future forms):
- ðuð 'to do, to make'
- bu 'to come'
- lakht 'to go'
- kkakht 'to get'
- ðett 'to give'
| → Person | I | thou (m) | thou (f) | he/it | she | we | blotp | they | Non-pronominal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "to do, to make" (past) | si ni, sit i, sit ni | sit to | sit te | so u | sto hi | sin nu | sit tem | su'm | so/sto |
| "to do, to make" (future) | ąs i | tąs to | tąs te | yąs u | tąs hi | nąs nu | tąsu tem | yąsu'm | yąs/tąs |
| "to come" (future) | vul i | tvul to | tvuli te | vul u | tvul hi | nvul nu | tvulu tem | vulu'm | vul/tvul |
| "to come" (past) | bowt i | bowt to | bowt te | bow u | bolø hi | bown nu | bowt tem | bolu'm | bow/bolø |
| "to go" (future) | lekh i | tlekh to | tlekh te | lekh u | tlekh hi | lekh nu | tlekhu tem | lekhu'm | lekh/tlekh |
| "to go" (past) | lakht i | lakht to | lakht te | lakh u | lakhø hi | lakhnø nu | lakht tem | lakhu'm | lakh/lakhø |
| "to get" (future) | kekh i | tkekh to | tkekh te | kekh u | tkekh hi | kekh nu | tkekhu tem | kekhu'm | kekh/tkekh |
| "to get" (past) | kakht i | kakht to | kakht te | kakh u | kakhø hi | kakhnø nu | kakht tem | kakhu'm | kakh/kakhø |
| "to give" (future) | ten i | ten to | tni te | ten u | ten hi | ten nu | tnu tem | tnu'm | ten |
| "to give" (past) | nakht i | nakht to | nakht te | nakh u | nakhø hi | nakhnø nu | nakht tem | nakhu'm | nakh/nakhø |
Non-pronominal forms agree in gender only with a singular subject; the feminine is only used with women and females. With plural nominal subjects the masculine singular form is used.
Regular pa3al verbs
The regular pattern is *liCCuC.
-t verbs
Many of these verbs got the glottally reinforced -tt from -ʔt. The -tt then analogically spread to other verbs.
- lalakht /laˈlaxt/ = to go
- lakkakht /laʔˈkaxt/ = to take
- lasakht /laˈsaxt/ = to go back
- lašaft /laˈʃaft/ = to sit
- lathett /laˈθeʔt/ = to give
- lalast /laˈlast/ = to be born
- lasett /laˈseʔt/ = to carry
- latsett /laˈtseʔt/ = to go out
- lasątt /laˈsãːʔt/ = to travel
- laghątt /laˈɣãːʔt/ = to hit
- ladhątt /laˈðãːʔt/ = to know
- lattątt /laʔˈtãːʔt/ = to plant
Regular nif3al
The regular pattern is *liCoCiC where the first C is not lenited.
Regular pi3el
The regular pattern is *løCaCiC or *løCiCuC where the middle C is not lenited.
Regular hif3il
The regular pattern is *laCCiC, *leCCeC, or *laCCoCø.
Regular hithpa3el
The regular pattern is *lithCaCiC where the middle C is not lenited.
Other verbs
Other verbs come from noun derivation patterns, or from earlier verb + noun collocations.
Any noun can also be verbed by prefixing lø-.
Auxiliaries
Tdūrzů/Knench has an auxiliary verb system similar to Colloquial Welsh. In addition, there is a T-V distinction: the 2nd person plural tem is also used as a polite pronoun.
The non-pronominal present auxiliary re (which may cause lenition depending on dialect) may be omitted in subordinate clauses:
- Re Dovíð ngaw šun = David is about to sleep
- Biuth (re) Dovíð ngaw šun = When David is about to sleep
| → Person | I | thou (m) | thou (f) | he/it | she | we | blotp | they | Non-pronominal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present (re, r' is from רְאֵה *rVʔē 'look!') | i, ni | to | te | u | hi | nu | tem | em | re, r' before V |
| Present emphatic (inflected forms of עוֹד) | ngud i | ngud to | ngud te | nguden u | nguden hi | ngud nu | ngud tem | ngud em | ngud |
| Interrogative (from הַאִם, -nø must be added to the focused word) | am ni, am i | am to | am te | am u | am hi | am nu | am tem | am em | am |
| Past (from perfect of עָשָׂה 'to do') | si ni, sit i, sit ni | sit to | sit te | so u | sto hi | sin nu | sit tem | su'm | so/sto |
| Future/Subjunctive (from imperfect of עָשָׂה 'to do') | ąs i | tąs to | tąs te | yąs u | tąs hi | nąs nu | tąsu tem | yąsu'm | yąs/tąs |
| Passive present (from imperfect of עָבַר 'to pass') | ur ni, ur i | tur to | tri te | yur u | tur hi | nur nu | tru tem | ru'm | yur/tur |
| Passive past (from perfect of עָבַר 'to pass') | var ni, var i, vart i | vart to | vart te | var u | vro hi | varn nu | vart tem | vru'm | var/vro |
| "May" (from imperfect of לָקַח 'to take') | kekh i | tkekh to | tkekh te | kekh u | tkekh hi | kekh nu | tkekhu tem | kekhu'm | kekh/tkekh/kekhu |
| "Do X more" - present (from imperfect of הוֹסִיף 'to add') | usif i | tusif to | tusif te | yusif u | tusif hi | nusif nu | tusif tem | yusifu'm | usift/tusif/yusifu |
| "Do X more" - past (from perfect of הוֹסִיף 'to add') | seft i | seft to | seft te | sif u | sifø hi | sef nu | seft tem | sifu'm | sif/sifu |
| Cautionary (from imperfect of זָמַם 'to scheme') | zum i | tøzum to | tøzum te | zum u | tøzum hi | nøzum nu | tøzmu tem | zmu'm | zum/tøzum/zmu |
| "X well" - present (from imperfect of הֵיטִיב 'to do well') | attev i | tattev to | tattvi te | yattev u | tattev hi | nattev nu | tattev tem | yattevu'm | yattev/tattev/yattevu |
| "X well" - past (from perfect of הֵיטִיב 'to do well') | ettevt i | ettevt to | ettevt te | ettev u | ettivø hi | ettev nu | ettevt tem | ettevu'm | ettev |
Cautionary future
The auxiliary for the cautionary future comes from the Biblical Hebrew verb *zāmam 'to scheme'. It's used to:
- warn the listener of a future event or contingency:
- Zum sąraz tha lovu henø kol ngeth. = 'The storm might come here any moment.'
- Zum tafkestaz mul lith kovuą hettev! = 'The map might not be well-defined! [in a hypothetical math lecture, cautioning against a tacit assumption the audience might make]'
- often used in a threatening manner, for example: Lakh to mul yedhą ma zum i ląsuth lakh to! = 'You have no idea what I'm gonna do to you!'
Object pronouns
Object pronouns are not different from subject pronouns, except kho/khe/khem may be found instead of to/te/tem in some dialects.
Prepositions
Prepositions inflect like in Welsh: for pronominal prepositional objects, usually the preposition is inflected and is followed by the independent pronoun.
example of a Tdūrzů/Knench inflected preposition: lø "for"; bø 'in, at' is inflected similarly
- 1sg: li, li ni
- 2sg.m: lakh to
- 2sg.f: lakh te
- 3sg.m: lomu hu
- 3sg.f: lomi hi
- 1pl. lonu nu
- 2pl. lakhøm tem
- 3pl. lomu'm
Syntax
Constituent order
The order is tense-subject-verb-object.
- R'išaz p'él tapuhaz.
- The man is eating the apple.
- Re béð-u pø de-rul xø liyoðøn.
- His house is as big as a whale.
- Sto hi ða ląsuth halkkbetho hi pø rø-múhør.
- She did her homework too late.
The negative particle mul (from mə'umâ lo 'not anything') comes after the subject pronoun and before the verb.
Faulty accusative
Tdūrzů/Knench has the faulty accusative particle ða (from Biblical Hebrew ʔet ha-). It is not used for all direct objects, but only for constituents that are separated from their heads. Đa may also be used before the verbal noun when using an auxiliary: Hettev hu tha litfus doghem. = She was good at catching fish.
Noun phrase
The definite article is a clitic:
- Singular: -az (after C) or -zu (after V)
- Plural: -iw
Examples:
- hadhør = a room
- hadhraz = the room
- hadhrem = rooms
- hadhriw = the rooms
- hadhør grú = a big room
- hadhør grulaz = the big room (< hah-hadhər hag-gâdhol haz-ze)
- botem grulem = big houses
- botem gruliw = the big houses
There is no construct state, unlike in Biblical Hebrew. Genitives are expressed with concatenation: šem-mawkaz = the king's name.
To say "this X" or "that X", X-az fu and X-az šom (lit. "the X here" and "the X there") are used. To say "this" and "that", you say ze fu and ze šom (where the ze becomes ilø in the plural).
The abstract demonstrative is zuth.
Words for yes and no
- bed (from הבט "look!") = present 'yes'
- ay (from איה "where?") = present 'no'
- ríð (from ראיתי "I saw") = past 'yes'
- lu ðo (from לא עשה, inflected) = past 'no'
- yąð (from יעשה, inflected) = future 'yes'
- lu yąð (inflected) = future 'no'
- aw (from אל "don't!") = imperative 'no'
Verb phrase
Preposition + VN
- re Pam pø laxt = Pam is going, goes
- re Pam ngaw laxt = Pam is about to go
- re Pam hár laxt = Pam has gone
- re Pam hár yið pø laxt = Pam has been going
- re Pam døs laxt = Pam just went
- re Pam plu laxt = Pam hasn't went
Imperatives
- Lakht! = Go! (number neutral)
- Tenu lakht! = Let's go!
Sentence phrase
Complementizer
There is a complementizer mur (from לאמר lēmōr) or eð (from היות *hajōδ) depending on dialect.
Relativizer
Relative clauses use the relativizer a (from אשר *ʔašir). It becomes ar in clauses where re would be used if the clause were a main clause.
Vocabulary
Canaanite has the following vocabulary layers:
- Most of the common words are inherited from Biblical Hebrew, however they often show drastic semantic drift. Example: sngúd 'a lot' comes from סעודה 'feast'.
- Celtic substrates
- Ancient Greek, Old Togarmite and Aramaic loans
- L-Arabic loans
- Modern loans from other Levantine sprachbund languages, such as Togarmite, and Modern Greek
Although it is attested in Biblical Hebrew, the *CăCiCâ verbal noun pattern is not as productive as in Mishnaic Hebrew.
Many words are formed form earlier construct state combinations, and are sometimes unrecognizable:
- ambin 'brick' from אבני בניין *ʔabanē binyan 'building stones'
- søvgom 'carnage, destruction; (slang) a mess' from שפך דם *šapk dam 'spilling of blood'
- ngénøm 'source' from עין מים ʕēn mayim 'spring of water'
- løseppin 'to like' from נשא פני lit. 'lift the face of' meaning 'to favor'
- klalib 'conscience' from קול הלב lit. 'voice of the heart'
- ben- = agentive
- פנאַר pnar 'wolf' comes from pre-Xnánið *בן הר 'son-of mountain'
- beδ- = place noun
- bəd-/pd- = singulative of a collective noun
- פדע pdą = tree, from *batt ya3r 'daughter of forest'
Example texts
UDHR, Article 1
- Kol blenušiw vru'm lalest kø hofšem; hem šowim ngaw kovdaz ke tsrokkuthiw. Vru'm lifkudh bø vinø ke kulaliv, ke re ngalem lalakht ngem šuthif bø nøšomø-th-ahwø.
- all human/PL-DEF.PL.M PASS.PRES-3PL be_born as free-M.PL; 3PL equal-PL on dignity-DEF.SG and right-DEF.F.PL. PASS.PRES-3PL entrust with understanding and conscience, and PRES on-3PL walk with one_another with spirit-EZAFE-brotherhood.
- All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act toward one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Tower of Babel
| Xnánið | Masoretic Hebrew (transl.) |
|---|---|
|
|
Schleicher's Fable
Phrasebook
When three forms are given, the forms are respectively for addressing one male informally, one female informally, and multiple people or formal language.
- Soløm! [ˈsɔləm] = Hello! / Goodbye!
- Ngad bø gorv! [ŋad bəˈgoːv] = See you!
- Ebí to/te/tem! = Welcome! (lit. [God] has brought you)
- imtsøhém to/te/tem = (polite) Please
- also plíz [pləɪz] (from English)
- ngeth tuv [ŋɛθ tuv] = have fun