Fuheko

[Shemtov]

This is a language spoken in an altworld which is policed by a Samurai/Jedi/Naruto-Ninja-like order of law enforcement. Grammatically and phonologically, and somewhat lexically, it is a mixture of Japanese and Finnish, and the world it is set in is inspired both by Japanese (and Chinese) and Finno-Ugric mythology.

/m m: n n: / <m mm n nn >
/p: t t: t͡ɕ t:ɕ k k:/ <pp t tt ch tch k kk >
/ɸ s s: ɕ h/ <f s ss sh h>
/ɾ/<r>
/ʋ j/ <v y>

/i y u/ <i ü u>
/e ø o/ <e ö o>
/æ ɑ/ <ä a>
/i: y: u:/ <ii üü uu>
/e: ø: o:/ <ee öö oo>
/æ: ɑ:/ <ää aa>
/æi ɑi ei ou oi æe ɑe oe øy øi øe ui yi/ <äi ai ei ou oi äe ae oe öü öi öe ui üi>

Phonotactics:
(C)V



The language has Consonant Gradation, which are triggered by certain morphemes.
Strong grade: Weak Grade
pp:f
tt:t
kk:k
mm:m
nn:n
ss:s
f:v
t:r
k:h
m:v
n:r
s:h

It also has front/back harmony, with <i e> being neutral.

The language has the following cases, shown on the noun <Fukkuto>"box"
Nominative: Fukkuto
Topical: Fukkurova
Accusative: Fukkuroka
Dative: Fukkuroha
Genitive: Fukkuronu
Inessive: Fukkutosa
Illative: Fukkutone
Elative: Fukkutota
Adessive: Fukkutonni
Ablative: Fukkutohe
Allative: Fukkutote
Instrumental: Fukkuroni
Abessive: Fukkutonai
Comatative: Fukkutoma

It also has a Topical collective, used when talking about an entire category:
Topical: Fukkurokku
"As for boxes...."

Fuirokku
"As for people...."
(Fuito "Person")

[Frislander]

Japano-Finnish: I love it! You know, fitting in consonant-gradiation into a Japanese-like morphology actually makes a good deal of sense (to me at least): see the Japanese past/perfective which alternates -ta or -tta depending on what consonant the verb root ends with.

[Ælfwine]

Brilliant concept. Reminds me of Judge Dredd...except Japanese!

Say, have you considered doing an altlang on what might be spoken in Doggersland if it never sank into the sea? Just an idea.

[Shemtov]

Verbs have two tenses past and non-past; and has a simple register and a polite register. This post considers the simple register.
Non-Past conjugation of the regular verb "Fuhu" to speak:
1P Sing.: Fuhunnu
1P plr: Fuhumme
2p sing.: Fuhuto
2P plr: Fuhutte
3P sing: Fuhuu
3P Plr: Fuhuva

Past Tense:
1P Sing.: Fuhurinu
1P plr: Fuhurime
2p sing.: Fuhuriro
2P plr: Fuhurite
3P sing: Fuhuri
3P Plr: Fuhuriva

Example sentence:
Ishava ükküsä nafuiroka fuhuri
Isha-va ükkü-sä nafuiro-ka fuhu-ri
Doctor-TOP house_INESS woman-ACC speak-3P.PST
"The doctor spoke to the woman in the house"

[Shemtov]

The polite forms of regular verbs, used when talking to superiors:
1P Sing.: Fuhumanu
1P plr: Fuhumamae
2p sing.: Fuhumaro
2P plr: Fuhumate
3P sing: Fuhumau
3P Plr: Fuhumau

Past Tense:
1P Sing.: Fuhurishinu
1P plr: Fuhurishime
2p sing.: Fuhurishiro
2P plr: Fuhurishire
3P sing: Fuhurishi
3P Plr: Fuhurishu

Example:
Ramuka tävemärö
Rammu-ka täve-mä-rö
meat-ACC eat-POL-1P
"I am eating meat"

Some words show extra shades of politeness form by suppletion.
An example of this is the stem for "to give" "Ata"
When the giver is superior to the speaker the stem "Kure".
When the giver is the speaker him-or-herself, a member of the speaker's family, or a close friend of the speaker, the form is Säshi.
There are other words for this,like the word for "to take": "Otaa" "Suka" "Vötimä", or for "to enjoy" "Nautti" "Tano" "Örevü".

[Shemtov]

The converb is a form of the verb used to convey that the subject (or topic) is doing two actions at the same time. It is formed by taking the root of one verb and adding the suffix -hae, and following it with the conjugated second verb:
Tävehäe nomirinu
"I was eating and drinking."

If the subject and tense are the same in both the protasis and apodeisis of a conditional sentence, the protasis is in the converbal form with the particle to seperating between it and the spodeisis:
Mehiva tävehäe to nomiri
"If the man ate, he drank".

Conditional sentences with different subjects and tenses conjugate both verbs, however, the protasis takes the affix ppa after the conjugated form:
Mehiva täverippä nomii
"If the man ate, he is drinking"

[Shemtov]

The copula has three separate roots; one for the simple register and one for the polite register. 1P, and one for all other polite forms. However, the copula is irregular, having irregular forms in the simple 3P, and polite Present, and being conjugated like a simple register verb in the polite past tense:
Conjugation of the copula:
Simple form:
1P Sing.: Orannu
1P plr: Oramme
2p sing.: Orato
2P plr: Oratte
3P sing: Onu
3P Plr: Oru

Past Tense:
1P Sing.: Orarinu
1P plr: Orarime
2p sing.: Orariro
2P plr: Orarite
3P sing: Ori
3P Plr: Örü

Polite form:
1P Sing.: Tesunu
1P plr: Tesume
2p sing.: Tätö
2P plr: Täte
3P sing: Tää
3P Plr: Ta

Past Tense:
1P Sing.: Tesurinu
1P plr: Tesurime
2p sing.: Tärirö
2P plr: Tärite
3P sing: Täri
3P Plr: Tärivä

[Shemtov]

Adjectives have two categories, Noun-adjectives, which are mostly nouns of physical quality and verb-adjectives, which are mostly of abstract qualities. Note the two major exceptions, <Tai> "big" and "chotto" "small" are verb adjectives, but they have secondary meanings of "important" and "unimportant".This post will show the declensiuon of Noun-adjectives.
Noun-Adjectives inflect for the case of the noun they describe. However, The Inessive, Illative, and Elative all have one conjugation (the Inessive) as do the Adessive, Ablative, and Allative (the Adessive), the Nominative and Topical (Nominative) and the Instrumental and Comatative (Instrumental).
Conjugation of <Musuta> "Black":
Nominative: Musuta
Accusative: Musutaki
Dative: Musutahe
Genitive: Musurannu
Inessive: Musurassa
Adessive: Musurani
Instrumental: Musuramma
Abessive: Musuronnae

[k1234567890y]

looks nice and brilliant, Shemetov! you really got an awesome idea.

[Shemtov]

Noun adjectives form the predicative construction by putting the noun in the comatative case, followed by the adjective and the copula:
Sürämä funa onu
"The heart is red"

Verb Adjectives have a strong differentiation between Attributive and Predicative uses.
In Attributive uses, they take the suffix <yi>:
Taiyi fuu
"Large forest"
In predicative constructions they conjugate for tense, but not for person and number. The present tense form is simply the root followed by the copula:
Fuu tai onu.
"The forest is big"

In the past tense, they take the suffix tta, and don't need the copula, except in polite speech. However, when the copula is used in such a case, it is the present tense 3P sing form:
Fuu taitta
"The forest is big."
Fuu Tatta ta
"the forest is big"

[Shemtov]

Negation of verbs is formed by connecting the converb to the negative verb, which is irregular, and does not change for register:
Conjugation of negative verb:

Non-Past:
1P Sing.: Enu
1P plr: Emme
2p sing.: Etu
2P plr: Ette
3P sing: Ei
3P Plr: Eiva

Past Tense:
1P Sing.: Erinu
1P plr:Erimme
2p sing.: Eritu
2P plr Erite
3P sing: Eiri
3P Plr: Eiriva

Ramuka tävehäe enu
"I don't eat meat"

[Shemtov]

Cardinal Numbers 1-99:
1. Fitö
2. Futa
3. Michu
4. Yö
5. Itu
6. Muchu
7. Nana
8. Yachu
9. Kökönö
10.Töö
11. Tööfitö
12. Tööfüta
13. Töömichü
etc.
20. Futatoo
21. Futatoofito
22.Futatoofuta
23.Futatoomichu
etc.
30. Mitöö
40. Yötöö
50. Itutoo
60. Mutoo
70. Nanatoo
80.Yatoo
90. Kökönötöö
99.Kökönötöökökönö

Cardinal Numbers require Measure Words between them and the nouns they number:
Michu sachu kiruye
three MW epistle
"Three Epistles"

Itutoo ninü fuito
50 MW person
"50 people"

Yö hon yoki
four MW river
"Four rivers"

Tööfütä nenü
12 MW.year
"12 years"

There is a special "measure word" that is in fact an affix, and native grammarians consider to be the "Plural of the Number": -ssa. In numbers that end in -chu, the -chu is replaced by this affix. It functions to represent natural or cultural pairs or sets:

Futassa käshi
"Two pairs of hands"


Yössä kuchu
"Four pairs of shoes"

Nanassa kätänä to tuppi
"Seven swords with their sheaths"

Ordinal numbers are formed by adding -su to the number, though "first" is a unique stem "üküsi". In numbers that end in -chu, the -chu is replaced by this affix. Measure words are not required for ordinals, except in very formal speech:
Misu kätänä
"Third sword"

Yösü vousi
"Fourth year"

Tööfitöösü sachu kiruye
"11th epistle" (formal)

[Wario Toad 32]

Interesting

[Shemtov]

Personal pronouns come in three registers: Simple, Polite, and Honorific.
The Simple and Polite pronouns are often dropped.
The simple pronouns:
1P Sing:
Nominative: minä
Topical: minäva
Accusative: Minutu
Dative: Minuha
Genitive: Minunu
Inessive: minussa
Illative: minuunu
Elative: Minusa
Adessive: Minura
Ablative: Minuru
Allative: Minure
Abessive: Minutta

1P Plural:
Nominative: Me
Topical: Mö
Accusative: Meitätü
Dative: Meitä
Genitive: Meitänü
Inessive: Meissä
Illative: Meihinü
Elative: Meisä
Adessive: Meirä
Ablative: Meirü
Allative: Meire
Abessive: Meittä

2P singular:
Nominative: sinä
Topical: sinäva
Accusative: Sinutu
Dative: Sinuha
Genitive: Sinunu
Inessive: Sinussa
Illative: Sinuunu
Elative: Sinusa
Adessive: Sinura
Ablative: Sinuru
Allative: Sinure
Abessive: Sinutta

2P plural:
Nominative: Te
Topical: Tö
Accusative: Teitätü
Dative: Teitä
Genitive: Teitänü
Inessive: Teissä
Illative: Teihinü
Elative: Teisä
Adessive: Teirä
Ablative: Teirü
Allative: Teire
Abessive: Teittä

3P sing:
Nominative: Hinä
Topical: Hinäva
Accusative: Hinutu
Dative: Hinuha
Genitive: Hinunu
Inessive: Hinussa
Illative: Hinuunu
Elative: Hinusa
Adessive: Hinura
Ablative: Hinuru
Allative: Hinure
Abessive: Hinutta

3P plural:
Nominative: He
Topical: Hö
Accusative: Heitätü
Dative: Heitä
Genitive: Heitänü
Inessive: Heissä
Illative: Heihinü
Elative: Heisä
Adessive: Heirä
Ablative: Heirü
Allative: Heire
Abessive: Heittä

The Polite and Honoric are declined like regular nouns.
The Polite pronouns:
1P Sing: Vatashi
1P PLR: Vatashitachi
2P Sing: Änätä
2P PLR: Änätätächi
3P sing: Kare
3P Plr: Karetachi

The Honorific forms are used in the 1st and 2nd persons for begging or pleading, or in the second and thrid person, to mark a person that wouldn't normally have an audience with the speaker:
1P Sing: Vatakushi
1P PLR: Vatakushikata
2P Sing: Kikänü
2P PLR: Kikänükätä
3P sing: Ano
3P Plr: Anokata

[Shemtov]

Verbs can be nominalized with the suffix ma/mä, which triggers consonant gradation.
Some examples:
Shinü-
"to die"
Sinunu shinümä
"Your death"

Mennä
"to go"
Vatashinu menämä Karevata
"My going out of Kareva"

There are two participles, Non-Past and Past. The non-past suffix is -va/vä. The past is nutu/nütü. They both produce consonant gradation. They are mostly used as the adjective form of the verb:
Hokahuva hisohunu shinümä hidasu ta
Hokaku-va hisoku-nu shinü-mä hidasu ta
capture-PART bandit-GEN die-NOM slow COP
"The captured bandit's death will be slow"

[Shemtov]

The passive is used in 4 ways: To express an unkwohn actor 2. As a colloquial anaphoric first person, and 3. to show the subject is undergoing the action 4. to show an extra level of politeness beyond the polite level of speech.
The regular passive is formed by applying consonant gardation and adding the suffix taanu in the non-past and adding the suffix ttu.
Heitäätäänü kivika
"The stone is thrown"
or "I throw the stone"

Ramu minutu tävettü
"Meat was eaten by me"
or "Sir I have eaten meat, sir!"

[Shemtov]

The conditional is used to express wants and desires.
To form the non-polite conditional, the suffix shi is inserted before the personal/tense endings:
Fuhushinnu
"I wish to speak"

The polite form is the suffix shoo:
Fuhumanushoo
"I wish to speak"

-shoo is also used as a cohortative and may be used that way with non polite verbs:
Fuhunnushoo?
"Shall we speak?"

[Shemtov]

Polar questions are formed with the sentence-final particle ka:
Hokahuva hisohunu shinümä hidasu ta ka?
"Will the captured bandits death be slow?"
WH-Questions are formed by replacing the unknown element with the appropriate question word:
What: Mitä

Who: Kuka

Whom: Mika

To whoɑm: Miha

In where: Misa

On where: Minii

To Where: Mihe

From Where: Mite

With what: Minai




Kuka shinümä hidasu ta

"Who's death will be slow?"




Hokahuva hisohunu mitä hidasu ta

"What belonging to the captured bandit will be slow?

[Shemtov]

The comparitive of noun-asjectives is formed by the suffix -mapi

Musutamapi ükkü

"A blacker house"




The superlative ending is -hinu

Musutahinu ükkü

"The blackest house"




Verb adjectives are compared by the prepartcile Yori:

Yori taiyi fuu

"a Bigger forest"




fuu yori tai onu

"The forest is bigger"




The equivalent superlative is "mottomo"

Mottomo taiyi fuu

"The biggest forest"

[Shemtov]

Comparisions can be made by the word Kuin:
Yori taiyi Karevanu fuu kuin Kanurono fuu onu
"Kareva Forest is bigger then Kanuto forest"