Amafjk language: Difference between revisions
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{{Infobox:Language|LanguageName=Amafjk|NativeLanguage=Amafjk / sataxjx Jmefjk|Speakers=416,000|LanguageFamily=[[w:Language isolate|Language isolate]] (disputed)|WritingSystem=[[Amafjk script]]|OfficialLanguage=[[Matkha]]|3Lettercode=AMA}} | {{Infobox:Language|LanguageName=Amafjk|NativeLanguage=Amafjk / sataxjx Jmefjk|Speakers=416,000|LanguageFamily=[[w:Language isolate|Language isolate]] (disputed)|WritingSystem=[[Amafjk script]]|OfficialLanguage=[[Matkha]]|3Lettercode=AMA}} | ||
'''Amafjk''' (<small>pronunciation: </small>[[w:Help:IPA|/æṽæɸiᵑkˣ/]]; or ''sataxjx Jmefjk'', <small>pronunciation: </small>[[w:Help:IPA|/r̝̊ætˣæx̪͆ix̪͆ iṽeɸiᵑkˣ/]]) is the de facto [[w:Lingua franca|lingua franca]] of [[Matkha]] and the official language of [[Tantj | '''Amafjk''' (<small>pronunciation: </small>[[w:Help:IPA|/æṽæɸiᵑkˣ/]]; or ''sataxjx Jmefjk'', <small>pronunciation: </small>[[w:Help:IPA|/r̝̊ætˣæx̪͆ix̪͆ iṽeɸiᵑkˣ/]]) is the de facto [[w:Lingua franca|lingua franca]] of [[Matkha]] and the official language of [[Tantj Mafjx Province]]. It is spoken natively by 92% of Tantj Mafjx Province and 65% of the [[Scattered Islands Census Area]], and the overwhelming majority of Matkhans are either conversational or fluent in the language. | ||
Amafjk is generally considered to be a [[w:Language isolate|language isolate]], or otherwise part of a tentative microfamily known as [[East Matkhan languages|East Matkhan]] containing itself and (PLACEHOLDER), the latter of which is only attested in toponyms, anthroponyms, and a transcription of a song found in (BOOK PLACEHOLDER). However, recent scholarship has attempted to link the language to the [[Ngyoic languages]] under the [[Macro-Matkhan languages|Macro-Matkhan]] phylum, though this theory remains highly contested. | Amafjk is generally considered to be a [[w:Language isolate|language isolate]], or otherwise part of a tentative microfamily known as [[East Matkhan languages|East Matkhan]] containing itself and (PLACEHOLDER), the latter of which is only attested in toponyms, anthroponyms, and a transcription of a song found in (BOOK PLACEHOLDER). However, recent scholarship has attempted to link the language to the [[Ngyoic languages]] under the [[Macro-Matkhan languages|Macro-Matkhan]] phylum, though this theory remains highly contested. | ||
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In many analyses, Amafjk vowels are said to have secondary phonemic status due to the fact that the vast majority of roots in the language are vowelless before the application of [[w:Transfix|transfixes]], as well as the fact that sentences can have the vowels of their transfixes freely exchanged without changing the meaning, so long as the relations between transfix vowels (i.e. which ones do and do not match) remain unchanged. However, vowels occasionally do appear in roots and have semantically meaningful minimal pairs, such as ''fjm–kx–'' (sp. of fish) and ''fam–kx–'' ([[w:Promontory|promontory]]). | In many analyses, Amafjk vowels are said to have secondary phonemic status due to the fact that the vast majority of roots in the language are vowelless before the application of [[w:Transfix|transfixes]], as well as the fact that sentences can have the vowels of their transfixes freely exchanged without changing the meaning, so long as the relations between transfix vowels (i.e. which ones do and do not match) remain unchanged. However, vowels occasionally do appear in roots and have semantically meaningful minimal pairs, such as ''fjm–kx–'' (sp. of fish) and ''fam–kx–'' ([[w:Promontory|promontory]]). | ||
Amafjk's syllable structure is (C)V(C), with consecutive vowels being prohibited. | |||
=== Allophony === | === Allophony === | ||
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=== Nominals === | === Nominals === | ||
Nominals are typically binodal, with positive-to-negative connections indicating the positive-side nominal modifying the negative-side. This part of speech encompasses the functionalities of both nouns and adjectives in Amafjk, with almost all nominals having both an adjectival and standalone meaning. Usually, these meanings are trivial, with a word meaning "X" as an adjective tending to mean "someone/something which is X" as a noun – for example, as stated above, the root ''s–kk–'' denotes either "four" or "quartet" depending on its context. | Nominals are typically binodal, with positive-to-negative connections indicating the positive-side nominal modifying the negative-side. This part of speech encompasses the functionalities of both nouns and adjectives in Amafjk, with almost all nominals having both an adjectival and standalone meaning. Usually, these meanings are trivial, with a word meaning "X" as an adjective tending to mean "someone/something which is X" as a noun – for example, as stated above, the root ''s–kk–'' denotes either "four" or "quartet" depending on its context. Nonetheless, there are also some lexicalizations such as ''k–mn–'' "gray; seal (i.e. the gray one)" and some apparently irregular correspondences such as ''–ms–'' "glass; crooked". When used to modify a nominal that is itself used adjectivally, it takes on an adverbial meaning of "in an X way". | ||
Some uninodal nominals also exist, which can be either positive or negative. Positive uninodals are typically highly abstract adjectives that do not have a clear meaning for nominal equivalents by virtue of the adjective having different meanings depending on the noun it modifies, such as ''s–x–x'' "cold (of places); holy (of people and things)", as well as various determiners and nominal particles that pattern as adjectives, such as ''t–k'' "of some sort" or the nominal tense marker ''–m'' "-to-be". Negative uninodals are much rarer, consisting of a handful of nouns considered "highly animate", such as kinship terms, pronouns, deities, and a few natural phenomena (such as ''t–ntj'' "wind"). | |||