Amafjk language: Difference between revisions

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Stress is on the second mora of the word, or if this would be a coda mora, stress is moved to the first. For this reason, the capped form of "black" ''natat'' is stressed as ''na-tá-t'' but the uncapped form ''nattj'' is stressed as ''ná-t-tj''.

== Morphology ==

The morphology of the Amafjk language is based extensively upon transfixation, with almost all words, accounting for the exception of a handful of particles, being comprised of a discontinuous root intercalated with vowels which indicate syntactic connections. Although the use of a root-and-pattern system is superficially similar to some languages such as [[Tova language|Tova]], an analog for the treatment of vowels has not been demonstrated in any other natural language, aside from possibly the (PLACEHOLDER) language, though this is uncertain due to the lack of attestation.

=== Terminology ===

Due to this idiosyncrasy, technical terminology has been developed for analysis of Amafjk grammar. Vowels which are not part of the root itself but are instead transfixed are referred to as "nodes", and these can be further specified by stating the vowel which is used to indicate them – for instance, a node which is marked using the phoneme /i/ would be known as a J-node. Nodes are further classified based on their polarity, a criterion which indicates which other nodes they are capable of forming connections with. Per common convention, the two nodes of an ordinary binodal word (such as the vast majority of nominals) are used as the benchmark for any other node's polarity: the left node of such a term is considered a positive node, and the right is considered negative. These two terms can be combined, such that one can speak of a "positive E-node".

=== Nodal connections ===

Under ordinary circumstances, any newly-added node will form connections with all nodes which are of the same vowel and opposite polarity. Take, for instance, the sentence fragment ''kaxjt sjkke'', meaning "four clouds". The first word, ''kaxjt'', consists of the root ''k–x–t'' (cloud) with two nodes added: a positive A-node and a negative J-node. The second word, ''sjkke'', consists of the root ''s–kk–'' (four, tetrad, quartet) supplemented with a positive J-node and a negative E-node. When it is added to the sentence, the positive J-node of ''sjkke'' forms a connection with the negative J-node of ''kaxjt'', indicating a syntactic connection. The grammatical significance of these syntactic connections varies based on their directionality as well as the parts of speech of the words which are linked, and in this case, as a nominal-to-nominal connection, the fragment indicates that the positive-side nominal forms an appositive expression to the head nominal on the negative side – i.e., "clouds, a quartet", or translated more idiomatically, "four clouds". Due to the fact that connections can be formed starting from either direction, it is also valid to express this as ''sjkke kaxjt''.

==== Exceptions ====

There are a few mechanisms in Amafjk to prevent the formation of connections in circumstances in which they would normally occur. The most common of these is the cap particle, which causes all previously-constructed nodes of a certain vowel and polarity to become incapable of forming new connections (though it does not apply to nodes that are constructed later, causing this to be one of the handful of circumstances in which word order is significant in Amafjk). The particle which applies to negative nodes is ''f–'', with the targeted vowel being placed in the empty node slot; for positive nodes, ''–n'' is used instead.

For a more temporary solution, there exists a pair of particles ''n–kj'' and ''sen'', which constitute a sort of spoken brackets, and thus another instance in which word order is relevant. Words which are enclosed between these two particles cannot form connections to those which are outside of this enclosure, with the exception of connections that are formed between nodes whose vowel matches the vowel which is inserted into the root ''n–kj''. For example, if the particle ''nakj'' was used, A-nodes of opposite polarities could connect regardless of if one is inside the enclosure while the other is outside, but the same could not be said of nodes of the other three vowels. ''n–kj''-''sen'' pairs can be nested, although this rarely occurs in practice.

@@ Line 183: / Line 183: @@
 Stress is on the second mora of the word, or if this would be a coda mora, stress is moved to the first. For this reason, the capped form of "black" ''natat'' is stressed as ''na-tá-t'' but the uncapped form ''nattj'' is stressed as ''ná-t-tj''.
+== Morphology ==
+The morphology of the Amafjk language is based extensively upon transfixation, with almost all words, accounting for the exception of a handful of particles, being comprised of a discontinuous root intercalated with vowels which indicate syntactic connections. Although the use of a root-and-pattern system is superficially similar to some languages such as [[Tova language|Tova]], an analog for the treatment of vowels has not been demonstrated in any other natural language, aside from possibly the (PLACEHOLDER) language, though this is uncertain due to the lack of attestation.
+=== Terminology ===
+Due to this idiosyncrasy, technical terminology has been developed for analysis of Amafjk grammar. Vowels which are not part of the root itself but are instead transfixed are referred to as "nodes", and these can be further specified by stating the vowel which is used to indicate them – for instance, a node which is marked using the phoneme /i/ would be known as a J-node. Nodes are further classified based on their polarity, a criterion which indicates which other nodes they are capable of forming connections with. Per common convention, the two nodes of an ordinary binodal word (such as the vast majority of nominals) are used as the benchmark for any other node's polarity: the left node of such a term is considered a positive node, and the right is considered negative. These two terms can be combined, such that one can speak of a "positive E-node".
+=== Nodal connections ===
+Under ordinary circumstances, any newly-added node will form connections with all nodes which are of the same vowel and opposite polarity. Take, for instance, the sentence fragment ''kaxjt sjkke'', meaning "four clouds". The first word, ''kaxjt'', consists of the root ''k–x–t'' (cloud) with two nodes added: a positive A-node and a negative J-node. The second word, ''sjkke'', consists of the root ''s–kk–'' (four, tetrad, quartet) supplemented with a positive J-node and a negative E-node. When it is added to the sentence, the positive J-node of ''sjkke'' forms a connection with the negative J-node of ''kaxjt'', indicating a syntactic connection. The grammatical significance of these syntactic connections varies based on their directionality as well as the parts of speech of the words which are linked, and in this case, as a nominal-to-nominal connection, the fragment indicates that the positive-side nominal forms an appositive expression to the head nominal on the negative side – i.e., "clouds, a quartet", or translated more idiomatically, "four clouds". Due to the fact that connections can be formed starting from either direction, it is also valid to express this as ''sjkke kaxjt''.
+==== Exceptions ====
+There are a few mechanisms in Amafjk to prevent the formation of connections in circumstances in which they would normally occur. The most common of these is the cap particle, which causes all previously-constructed nodes of a certain vowel and polarity to become incapable of forming new connections (though it does not apply to nodes that are constructed later, causing this to be one of the handful of circumstances in which word order is significant in Amafjk). The particle which applies to negative nodes is ''f–'', with the targeted vowel being placed in the empty node slot; for positive nodes, ''–n'' is used instead.
+For a more temporary solution, there exists a pair of particles ''n–kj'' and ''sen'', which constitute a sort of spoken brackets, and thus another instance in which word order is relevant. Words which are enclosed between these two particles cannot form connections to those which are outside of this enclosure, with the exception of connections that are formed between nodes whose vowel matches the vowel which is inserted into the root ''n–kj''. For example, if the particle ''nakj'' was used, A-nodes of opposite polarities could connect regardless of if one is inside the enclosure while the other is outside, but the same could not be said of nodes of the other three vowels. ''n–kj''-''sen'' pairs can be nested, although this rarely occurs in practice.