pöla /pøla/, B, n: round mountaintop, mountain

There is no singular word for ‘mountain’ in Zhivi. The Zhu make a lot of distinction regarding their shapes and haven’t conceptualised that they are the same thing.

Example

Ia fab bo dez oṁ lu pöla

/ja fab bo dez ɔ̃ lu pøla/

INDEF iron not-SG be.IND:PRS-3sg in DEF mountain

yuṅ /jɔ̃/, B yun, adj: sad, bothered, inconvenienced

The name of this emotion has a larger range in Zhivi. Someone can be sad ‘cause their parents have died, or because they stubbed their toe on a rock.

Example

Ezh tü dek yuṅ pa-zhüzh bi bo sosheb ta

/eʒ ty dek jɔ̃ paʒyʒ bi bo soʃeb ta/

1sg go.IND:PRS be-INF sad.A COMPL=EV 2sg not.SG care.for.SUBJ:PRS-2sg 3sg

“I’m going to be sad if you do not see to him”

Deriation

yuṅtu /jɔ̃tu/, B, n: sadness

yunaṅ /junɑ̃/, B yunan, adj: experiencing Schadenfreude

bükümas /bykymas/, subj. bük, pst. bükod, vint: to scream, to yell

Unlike in other languages where you can yell something, this verb is intransitive. An instrumental phrase may be used to introduce the manner or content of the scream.

A verb used for very frightening screams.

Example

Ezh bo senezh bi bükeb kaṁ

/eʒ bo seneʒ bi bykeb kɑ̃/

1sg not.SG want.SUBJ:PRS-1sg 2sg yell.SUBJ:PRS-2sg here

“I do not want you to yell here”

Derivation

bükazh /bukaʒ/, A, n: screamer; a nocturnal bird

büku /byku/, A, n: scream; bad omen

alübükazh /alybykaʒ/, A, n: prophet, madman (alü- ‘to eat’)

I begin this Lexember with a much needed expansion of Zhivi grammar, the indefinite article/numeral ‘one’.

ia /ia/ or /ja/, B gender iet /iet/ or /jet/:

Num.: one

Det.: a, an

Like in French, this word can be used in counting as in before an indefinite noun. In both case, it inflects for the gender of its noun (A or B). There is no plural form for the article.

In careful speech, the numeral has two syllables; the article is always pronounced with an initial glide.

Example

Ezh alü ia saplazh

/eʒ aly ja saplaʒ/

1s.S eat.PRS-SG one.A spider

Though there is much I ought rather do right now (chief among all my master thesis, due six months ago), I am currently creating a new language for my conworld.

Contrary to what I do for previous languages set in this universe, I will not derivate it from a proto-language. Three reasons: it is an isolate so sister languages are not important, it was a long time since I did such one-shots, and I want to see if diachronical patterns can nevertheless emerge.

Speakers

The Zhu are a troglodyte people whose culture and art borrows heavily from insects. In the plateau where they are found, they live in huge hive-like structure in and on the mountains, reaching in some places very deep in the Earth. Socially, they behave like eusocial insects in that there is no clear hierarchy; people follow those more skilled with the particular task at hand.

Their material culture is rather advanced compared to their agricultural neighbours, whom they lord over and sometimes rob (they would say “tax”) of their harvest and/or able-bodied members.

I’m still working on all that.

Aesthetic

This language is being designed to sound French — such that it could be written with French orthography and be read aloud 100% accurately by a clueless francophone.

For example, the sentence Lu faṅ nimoṅs tü oṁ pük “the polyglot guard goes into the flames” could be written Lou fan nimonce tue on puque [lu|fɑ̃|ni|ˌmɔ̃s|ty|ɔ̃|ˈpyk] and even the stress rules would carry on (in French, the last syllable of sentences and phrases, rather than of a word, is stressed).

A great part of the grammar to this time is influenced by French. That means SVO and head-first, definite and indefinite articles, no inflectional plural for nouns save some exceptions, a working subjunctive (present and past), two genders.

At the same time, there is no inflectional future, no inflectional aspect distinction, adjectives always decline for number, negation involves the subjunctive, plurality is expressed by the lack of article (so that the distinction between definite and indefinite is neutralized there) and the genders have no semantic basis like masc/fem or an/in.

Hopefully we’ll avoid a relexification.

Phonology and orthography

Plosives: p t k b d g

Fricatives: f v s z sh /ʃ/ zh /ʒ/

Nasals: m n

Lateral: l

Glide: y /j/

Oral vowels: a e i o u ö /ø/ ü /y/

In addition, the four nasal vowels /ɑ̃ ɔ̃ ɛ̃ œ̃/ are written before dotted nasal consonants ṅ and ṁ, whose choice depends on etymological reasons (e.g. peṁtu “height” is because “high” is pem). Uṅ/ṁ, iṅ/ṁ and üṅ/ṁ are pronounced /ɔ̃ ɛ̃ œ̃/ like oṅ/ṁ, eṅ/ṁ and öṅ/ṁ; there too the choice between the vowels is etymological.

-zhüzh /ʒyʒ/, clit.: pretty sure, (I) bet you that, may (evidential/possibility)

This is an evidential clitic. As such, it attaches to the first word of a clause, preferably a conjunction, and the verb of the clause is in the subjunctive.

The prononciation given here is ideal. It is far more common to hear [ʒː] or [ʒ].

Example

Sa floṁpal pa-zhüzh sa itis lu fabmami

/sa flɔ̃pal paʒyʒ sa itis lu fabmami/

1pl say.IND:PRS-pl COMPL=EV 1pl isolate.SUBJ:PRS DEF smith

“We’re saying that we may kill the family of the smith”

Etymology

pa /pa/, conj: that

In previous example sentences, there were subordinate sentences without a subordinator: the subjunctive mood on the verb in the dependent clause was enough.

But it is always possible to use an overt subordinator. It is compulsory when the dependent clause precedes the main one, or when it carries an evidential clitic.

Example

Pa u mosiue bo dez shab

/pa u mosiwe bo dez ʃab/

COMPL 2pl sleep.SUBJ:PRS-2pl not.SG be.SUBJ:PRS-3sg good

“That you are sleeping, is not good”

Derivation

baz /baz/, B bazd, adj: red; angry, violent

There are very few color terms in Zhivi. This one double as an emotion term.

Note that “violent” for Zhu is not as much as a character failing as it is in our societies.

Example

Dozhüzhem bol dile bazda

/doʒyʒem bol dile bazda/

inferior not.PL be.SUBJ:PRS-3pl red.A:PL

“Inferiors are not violent”

Derivation

bastu /bastu/, B, n: redness, anger, violence