D'ni (language)
From MYSTlore
D'ni evolved from the Ronay language after they split with the Terahnee from Garternay.
As the dialects of D'ni proper and of Terahnee are mutually intelligible[1], neither has changed significantly in the ten thousand years since their separation. The connection with the Art may have been a strong conservative factor in their evolution.
This language was taught to and used by the relyimah slaves of the Terahnee, who after the great plague far outnumbered native speakers, with a population of over 2 billion[2] in 9469 DE (1814 AD).
After the Fall of D'ni, D'ni-speaking communities were scattered among several Ages until they were reunited by Atrus and transplanted to Releeshahn, with a population of over 1,800[3] in 9469 DE (1814 AD).
See D'ni script for the D'ni alphabet and its transliteration into Roman letters.
Contents |
[edit] Phonemes
| Consonants | Bilabial | Labiodental | Dental | Alveolar | Postalveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosives | p b | t d | k g | ʔ | ||||
| Nasals | m | n | ||||||
| Flaps | ɾ | |||||||
| Fricatives | f v | θ ð | s z | ʃ | x | h | ||
| Affricates | ts͡ | tʃ dʒ | ||||||
| Approximants | w | j | w | |||||
| Laterals | l |
| Vowels | Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u | ||
| ɪ | ||||
| eɪ | o | |||
| Mid | ə | |||
| ɛ | ʌ | |||
| æ | ||||
| Open | ɑ | |||
Diphthongs: /ɑɪ/, /oɪ/, /eɪ/
An epenthetic segment (/ʔ/ between vowels and /ə/ between consonants) is often inserted in a difficult vowel hiatus or consonant cluster.
[edit] Morphology
[edit] Nouns
The structure of a noun is: (definiteness)-stem-(plural)-(possession)
The conjunction gah ("and") and prepositions can also be prefixed to a noun, with the vowel (prepositions are monosyllabic) being replaced with an apostrophe or sometimes deleted altogether, depending on the phonotactics.
Definiteness and indefiniteness are indicated with the prefixes re- and erth- respectively.
Plural number is indicated with the suffix -tee.
The possessive preposition okh can be suffixed to the end of a noun. There are also a number of suffixes for pronominal possession:
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| First person | -oy | -ot |
| Second person | -om | |
| Third person | -on | -os |
[edit] Verbs
The structure of a verb is:
time-aspect-stem-actor-(imperative)
The temporal prefixes are 0- for present, ko- for past, and bo- for future.
Aspectual prefixes:
| Simple | Progressive | |
|---|---|---|
| Simple | 0- | do- |
| Perfect | le- | dol- |
The infinitive form of the verb is prefixed with b'-
Person/number suffixes:
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| First person | -0 | -et |
| Second person | -em | -tee |
| Third person | -en | -eet |
The imperative suffix is -ah.
[edit] Derivational Suffixes
There are a number of derivational suffixes.
-ets forms an adjective from a noun -tahv forms a noun from a verb -tahn forms a personal noun from a verb -ahl forms an participle from a verb -(e)th forms a noun from an adjective -(e)sh forms an adverb from an adjective.
[edit] Syntax
D'ni is a largely head-initial language. The basic word order is subject-verb-object. Adjectives follow nouns and adverbs follow verb.
There are auxiliary verbs such as voohee "can, could" that express modality. These follow the main verb.
[edit] Pronouns
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| First person | zoo | set |
| Second person | shem | shemtee |
| Third person | tah (impersonal) | eest |
[edit] OOC History
The D'ni language is in reality developed, for the most part, by RAWA. It borrows grammar elements from and has a few words resembling those in languages including English, Hebraic and Sumerian.
[edit] Links
- The D'ni Student
- Domahreh's D'ni Grammar
- Kh'reestrefah's D'ni Dictionary
- D'ni Linguistic Fellowship
- D'ni wikibook
References
- ↑ Book of D'ni, Part IV, hardcover edition p.148
- ↑ Book of D'ni, Part VII, hardcover edition p.267
- ↑ Book of D'ni, Part III, hardcover edition p.95
