This page uses a romanisation to show the Fukhian grammar. For showing pronunciation, CXS (=Conlang X-Sampa) is used.
Please note that some examples in this file reflect the Ancient Fukhian language. Unfortunately, they are not always properly marked.
This was my first constructed language. I started to work at it around 1989, maybe earlier. It has not been modified since around 1994 and although I see some deficiencies today, I do not intend to improve or extend it in a way that would be changing the original design goals. This usually means that I cannot change or even extend it at all.
The Fukhian script is an alphabet that is designed to be written by hand. It has some similarities with the Arabic script, but it is a 'hanging' script like Devanagari.
Writing direction is left-to-right, bottom-to-top.
All Fukhian sequences of letters and digits have to be delimited to both sides by delimiter symbols. There are several sets of delimiters having different functions. In the romanisation, the delimiters are shown parentheses, brackets or braces with optional additional marks like exclamation marks and the like.
Most voiced sounds may be devoiced either explicitly by duplicating the letter, or implicitly by phonetic context.
Phones that occur due to phonological rules, i.e., phones that need a context, are shown in parentheses. The examples are currently taken from English, German, French and Icelandic. I do not have examples for all phones yet.
| Letter | Name | Digit | Phoneme | Phones | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| s | (sel) | 2 | /s/ | [s] | alveolar voiceless fricative | en: lice |
| l | (las) | 1 | /l/ | [l] | alveolar lateral approx., voiced by default | dt: leben |
| e | (elos) | 0 | /e/ | [E] | front open-mid unrounded vowel | dt: wetten |
| i | (ilos) | 4 | /i/ | [I] | front high (lax) unrounded vowel | dt: bitten |
| or | /j/ | [j] | palatal approximant | en: young | ||
| g | (gel) | 8 | /g/ | [g] | velar plosive, voiced by default | en: give |
| n | (nel) | 3 | /n/ | [n] | alveolar nasal, voiced by default | en: name |
| f | (fas) | + | /f/ | [f] | labiodental voiceless fricative | en: find |
| r | (rel) | 9 | /r/ | [r] | alveolar trill, voiced by default | se: röd |
| m | (mas) | 6 | /m/ | [m] | bilabial nasal, voiced by default | en: mouse |
| u | (ulos) | /u/ | [U] | back high (lax) rounded vowel | dt: gucken | |
| or | /w/ | [w] | voiced labial-velar approximant | en: wait | ||
| o | (olos) | E | /o/ | [O] | back open-mid rounded vowel | dt: locken |
| a | (alos) | /a/ | [a_"] ([a] for simplicity) | central open unrounded vowel | dt: lachen | |
| c | (cas) | /S/ | [S] | postalveolar voiceless fricative | en: ship | |
| j | (jel) | /Z/ | [Z] | postalveolar fricative, voiced by default | fr: jeu | |
| d | (das) | 5 | /d/ | [d] | alveolar plosive, voiced by default | en: deep |
| N | (liN) | /N/ | [N] | velar nasal, voiced by default | en: sing | |
| b | (bas) | /b/ | [b] | bilabial plosive, voiced by default | en: bid | |
| h | (has) | 7 | /h/ | [h] | glottal voiceless fricative | en: hope |
| G | (Gel) | - | /G\/ | [G\] | uvular plosive, voiced by default | FIXME |
| x | (xas) | /x/ | [X] | uvular fricative, velar or palatal dep. on context | dt: lachen | |
| z | (zas) | /T/ | [T] | dental voiceless fricative | en: think | |
| y | (ylos) | . | /y/ | [Y] | front high (lax) rounded vowel | dt: lüften |
| Graphemes | Phones | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| bb | [p] | fr: peut |
| bh | [p_h] or [p] (dialectal variants) | en: pause or fr: peut |
| dd | [t] | fr: teatre |
| dh | [t_h] or [t] (dialectal variants) | en: tip or fr: teatre |
| gg | [k] | fr: cas |
| gh | [k_h] or [k] (dialectal variants) | en: can or fr: cas |
| GG | [q] | FIXME |
| Gh | [q_h] or [q] (dialectal variants) | FIXME |
| hh | [?] | dt: -an-ecken |
| ll | [l=] or [l_0] or [l_0=] (dialectal variants) | dt: Säbel or is: hlýtt or FIXME |
| rr | [r=] or [r_0] or [r_0=] (dialectal variants) | FIXME or is: hrafn or ? |
| nn | [n=], [n_0], [n_0=] (dialectal variants) | dt: Latten or is: hnifur or FIXME |
| mm | [m=], [m_0], [m_0=] (dialectal variants) | dt: Lappen or (is: hrafnsins)? or (is: hrafn)? |
| NN | [N=], [N_0], [N_0=] (dialectal variants) | dt: Macken or is: langt or FIXME |
| lG | [l_GG\] (velarised alv. lat. approx. + uvul. vcd. plosive) | FIXME |
| Gl | [G\l_G] | FIXME |
| NG | [N\G\] | FIXME |
| GN | [G\N\] | FIXME |
| (e, i, y) + x | [x] | dt: suchen (some dialects) |
| xx | [C] | dt: ich |
| gxx | [cC] | FIXME (with plosive: is: riki) |
| nxx | [JC] | FIXME |
| ngxx | [JcC] | FIXME (with plosive: is: banki) |
Note 1: The distinction between voiceless and syllabic (and voiceless syllabic) is dialectal in all listed cases.
Note 2: Devoicing occurs in most circumstances: Fukhian prefers devoiced clusters and therefore promotes devoicing from a single voiceless phone to the whole cluster. Dialects that have a preference towards voiced syllabics will not devoice the cluster e.g. in cases like (ammba), but pronounce this [am=ba]. Those that like devoicing more may have [am_0pa] or [am_0=pa]. Other cases work accordingly.
Note 3: The nasals /n/, /m/ and /N/ adjusts themselves to a wide range of articulation positions depending on the phonetic context, namely [n], [m], [J], [N] and [N\]. In the same cluster as fricatives or plosives, they adjusts to their position. Depending on the voice of the cluster, they also devoice or become syllabic or both (depending on dialect).
Note 4: Some consonant clusters are judged impronouncible. Fukhian inserts an epenthetic schwa into these. The precise rules are complex and are currently only documented in the machine readable pronunciation map.
Note 5: Fukhian devoices consonants at the end of words.
Machine Readable Pronunciation Map
| [ | (fluNdiG) | beginning of sentence/phrase |
| < | (fluNdiG) | beginning of emphasised sentence/phrase (*) |
| ( | (soNdiG) | (default) beginning of word (or abbreviation or accronym) |
| { | (soNdiG) | beginning of emphasised word (*) |
| # | (gaxdiG) | beginning of number |
| ` | (buldiG) | beginning of abbreviation or accronym =~ left apostrophy |
| \ | (fursandiG) | opposite of / (**) |
| ] | (fluNzandiG) | end of sentence =~ full stop or question mark |
| > | (fluNzandiG) | end of emphasised sentence/phrase (*) |
| ) | (zandiG) | end of wort, number and abbreviation |
| } | (zandiG) | end of emphasised word (*) |
| ' | (bulzandiG) | end of abbreviation or accronym =~ right apostrophy |
| / | (furdiG) | expectation sign =~ colon (**) |
This is under construction. For more information, have a look at the German description.
Fukhian has two word classes: nouns and adjectives. A former analysis claimed that there were verbs, but this is not really precise. There are endings that constitute a verb phrase, but it the word they are attached is arbitrary and is usually simple the first word of the sentence. Verbs, in that sense, are nouns or adjectives that carry the verbal suffixes. Most nouns that describe actions are listed with a verbal infinitive ending in the lexicon.
Fukhian has quite free word order, but the default is VSO.
Modifiers (adjectives, genitives and relative clauses) follow their head.
All endings will be given a priority to define how strongly they want to be close to the base (a stem or a completed compound). The higher the priority, the closer they are to the base. Note that derivational endings are boundaries for the agglutination process: they constitute new bases.
Fukhian is an agglutinating language which exclusively uses suffixes.
Nouns are inflected for number and case.
Adjectives are inflected for mode, which has two values: predicative or attributive, and for degree.
The designated predicate of a sentence is inflected for voice, tense, mode and person. There infinite endings for participle and infinitive. Modern Fukhian has lost its gerund endings, since it has lost its verbs, so the 'verbal' stem is really a noun that can simply be used as such.
Pronouns can be incorporated into the predicate if they are directly dependent on the predicate, i.e., genitives that modify nouns cannot be incorporated into the predicate. The initial _h_ and the number ending are dropped for incorporation. If phonology dictates an epenthetic schwa, which might be written as _e_, this must not be interpreted as singular.
Example:
(he_ is the pronoun stem. It reduces to a
mere _e_ during incorporation:
| [dzaf + n) + (he + g + l] | -> [dzafnegl] | = I love you. |
| [he + d + l + or + n) + (he + g + x] | -> [hedlornegx] | = I would give it to you. (Note: implicit copula.) |
Passive voice is formed by using the ending _yad_, priority 30.
Fukhian has five perions. The first three are equivalent with those in English. In dependend clause (reported speech) or dependent or reflexive clauses in general (e.g. possessive pronouns), the personal system shifts by two person, so that the 1.ps. becomes the 3rd and so on.
| Function | Ending |
|---|---|
| 1. person | _n_ |
| 2. person | _g_ |
| 3. person | _d_ |
| 4. person | _oG_ |
| 5. person | _in_ |
Tense is relative. The default tense is Equal tense (similar to present and past tense) and the Pre tense (similar to perfect and pluperfect).
| Function | Ending |
|---|---|
| Equal | _ |
| Pre | _uj_ |
| Function | Ending |
|---|---|
| Indicative | _ |
| Conditional | _or_ |
| Subjunctive | _uagx_ |
| Function | Ending |
|---|---|
| Infinitive | _ax_ |
| Partiziple | _ah_ |
There's no 'gerund' or the like; verb stems can directly be used as nouns. E.g. zanax 'to eat', zan 'the eating/meal (event of eating)', zanaG 'food'.
| Function | Ending |
|---|---|
| Singular | _ or _e_ |
| Dual | _a_ |
| Trial | _o_ |
| Plural | _i_ |
Please note that Fukhian has no unspecified number for nouns: the singular ending can be analysed to be an epenthetic vowel, since even if missing, singular is expressed. Only incorporated pronouns lack information about number.
Further note, however, that singular is also used if the number information is taken from other constituents, e.g. explicit numbers. Thus, there is no concord for number.
In the description, typical name of similar case from other languages (e.g. Finnish) are given.
| Function | Ending | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | _ or _r_ | Marks the subject, thus usually the agent, of a sentence. Fukhian is nom/acc, not split-S, so this does not need to be the agent. Subject is the correct name. |
| Essive | _h_ | (formerly Predicative) Marks the predicative noun, the one that is equal or similar. (Compare the Mandarin copula 'shì'.) |
| Vocative | _g_ | Marks the addressed entity in direct speech. |
| Genitive | _N_ | Marks a general modifier. |
| Dative | _x_ | Marks the indirect object: the benefactive, the malefactive, the recipient, the involved. |
| Accusative | _l_ | Marks the direct object: the patient |
| Locative | _f_ | (Adessive, Inessive) Marks the static location: at, in, on, .... |
| Allative | _s_ | (Illative) Marks the direction towards: to, into, onto... |
| Separative | _b_ | (Ablative, Elative) Marks the direction from: from, out of, from over,... |
| Instrumental | _c_ | (Comitative, Postpositive) Marks the instrument, means or accompanying entity. |
The instrumental case is Ancient Fukhian's postpositive that had to be used with all postpositions. It is for this reason that the instrumental is still regarded a case -- in Modern Fukhian, it could instead be analysed to be a postposition specifying the instrument.
Example:
| Ancient: | (mesiced) | = in the houses |
| Modern: | (mesied) | = in the houses |
The cases of place, locative, allative and separative, can be combined with postpositions of place and often of time, also.
Possessives are introduced with the ending _y_ and are then followed by a personal ending.
Example:
| [mesynfed] | = We are/I am in my/our house(s). |
Personal pronouns are formed by using the stem (he_ and attaching a personal ending. This constitutes a noun that you can modify normally, so you can add number and case endings to this.
When a pronoun is incorporated, it looses the information about number.
Fukhian has a copula, (dax). It is always optional.
The copula may occur in sentences that lack a lexical predicate. However, predicate endings may be attached to any noun, so the copula can easily be dropped for that reason. The following list gives an overview and the translation of phrase types that need no predicate or use (dax) in Fukhian.
| Cases in Phrase | Typical Translation | |
|---|---|---|
| X.nominative | There is X. | |
| X.nominative + adjective.predicative | X is ... . | |
| X.nominative + Y.essive | X is a Y. | |
| X.nominative + Y.genitive | X belongs to Y. | |
| X.nominative + Y.dative | X is (destined, meant) for Y. | |
| X.nominative + Y.accusative | X has Y. | |
| X.nominative + Y.accusative + Z.dative | X gives Y to Z. | |
| X.nominative + Y.locative | X is at Y. | |
| X.nominative + Y.allative | X goes to Y. | |
| X.nominative + Y.separative | X comes from Y. |
Fukhian has a quite a large inventory of derivational endings.
