Verse:Irta/Music
Witcanese is a Quihum language phonologically inspired by Quechua.
Phonology
Consonants
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m /m/ | n /n/ | [ŋ] | [ɴ] | |||
| Plosive | tenuis | p /p/ | t /t/ | k /k/ | q /q/ | ' /ʔ/ | |
| voiced | b /b/ | d /d/ | g /g/ | ġ /ɢ/ | |||
| aspirated | ph /pʰ/ | th /tʰ/ | kh /kʰ/ | qh /qʰ/ | |||
| Fricative | s /s/ | sh /ʃ/ | h /h/ | ||||
| Affricate | tenuis | ts /ts/ | c /tʃ/ | ||||
| voiced | dz /dz/ | j /dʒ/ | |||||
| aspirated | tsh /tsʰ/ | ch /tʃʰ/ | |||||
| Approximant | l /l/ | y /j/ | u /w/ | ||||
Vowels
Phonation
Grammar
Nouns
| Noun Declension | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number→ Case↓ |
Singular | Plural | ||
| Absolutive | -0 | -y, -i | ||
| Ergative | -ih | -yih | ||
| Dative | -ap | -yap | ||
| Locative | -him | -ihim, -yhim | ||
| Ablative | -chay | -ichay, -ychay | ||
| Comitative | -yã | -iyã, -yã | ||
| Instrumental | -run | -irun, -yrun | ||
| Essive | -hòg | -ihòg, -yhòg | ||
| Genitive | -t- (see Genitive declension) | |||
Verbs
Verbs in Witcanese have no tense or aspect inflection; instead, there is evidentiality and mood which can do double duty as certain tenses The irrealis is the default, unmarked mood/evidentiality, serving the role of the infinitive or the future in other languages.
| Witcanese mood/evidentiality affixes | |
|---|---|
| irrealis | -Ø |
| witness | -chè |
| emphatic | -kòd |
| jurative | -tèmuh |
| quotative | -sha |
| mirative | -quh |
| hearsay | -ot |
| inferential | -eq |
| assumptive | -rwè |
| optative | -mes |
| imperative | -wõ |
| potential | -hiw |
| desiderative | -pãs |
| admonitive | -ay |
| permissive | -hyè |
- Phátu nukuchè...
- When did I last see it... (lit. When it was_located-I saw...)
The mirative marks new information that the speaker is witnessing. It often corresponds to present tense. In narratives it is used to exhort the listener for attention.
- Qayòlih milám hugaquh.
- Hey, the demon's chasing the dog!/Behold, the demon chased the dog.
The quotative is used for information from third-party sources deemed to be authoritative. As such it is the evidential most often encountered in narratives.
- Qayòlih milám hugasha.
- The demon chased the dog. (narrative)
The admonitive is used in prohibitions and warnings, and for negative purpose clauses.
- Phi qhashãsay
- Do not wander around
- ha ãpè mòsipay
- lest this be forgotten
Witcanese makes use of verbal affixes, instead of intonation (like English) or word order (as in some European languages and Celtic/Hebrew/Talsmic), in order to focus a constituent.
| Focus prefixes | |
|---|---|
| absolutive | ne- |
| ergative | hin- |
| beneficiary | mac- |
| instrument | qo- |
| location | ya- |
| source | hòt- |
| goal | up- |
| time | al- |
Verbs can also have a pluractional form (suffix -itcu), which is mandatory with the antipassive voice.