User:Neuekatze/Shodi
Šodī is a constructed language (conlang) I came up with a while ago. It's not meant to be taken too seriously
Phonology
the letters are:
bčdḑfghjklļmnňñprsštţvwxzž
aeıouäëïöü
ḑ [ð]
ļ [ɬ]
ň [ŋ]
ñ [ɲ]
ţ [θ]
ı [i]
ä [æ]
ë [ə]
ï [ɯ]
ü [y]
The syllable structure is (C)(C)V(C). A monosyllabic root or the last syllable of a root can only be (C)(C)V, since the last (C) is utilized for grammar reasons.
Tones
Initially, I wanted to minimize the number of tones, but then I thought: "fuck it, it's not like anyone's actually going to speak this language, whether it has 1 tone or 16 tones." So, I decided to add 16 distinct tones to Šodī.
or 
– predicates a˥˦˧
– 1st argument of predicate a˦˥
– 2nd argument of predicate a˥˦˥
or 
– 3rd argument of predicate a˧˧˧
– adverb (start) a˦˥˦
– adjective a˩˥
– relative clause start a˥˩˥
– content clause start a˧˦˧
– relative clause end ã˥˩˥
– content clause end ã˧˦˧
– adverb end ã˦˥˦
– part of the root that isnt the first syllable a˥
– compounded root a˩
– context start a˧˨˧
– context end ã˧˨˧
– interjection a˨˩˥
– particle a˥˩
To combine multiple tones in a syllable, a glottal stop (ʔ) is used as a separator. For instance, if the syllable "a" requires both the and tones, you would split it like this: [aʔa], with each part carrying its respective tone. ([a˥˦˥ʔã˦˥˦])
The vowel with multiple diacritics is either written as ę̌ or ęě depending on preference.
Grammar
Šodī sentences follow this structure:
predicate (arguments) (illocutionary markers)
Adverbs and interjections can be placed almost anywhere in a sentence, except after the illocutionary markers.
Predicates in Šodī can have anywhere from 0 to 4 arguments. Here's an example predicate:
ža: x1 is talking to x2 about x3.
In many other languages, like Toaq or Lojban, the sentence "I talk to you about food" would typically follow a strict word order, like this:
ža me you food
Because the argument numbers are determined by word order, you're limited to this fixed structure.
However, in Šodī, the argument roles are marked by tone, which means the word order can be flexible. All of the following are valid ways to express "I talk to you about food": (assume the english words are šodīan words)
ža mé yǒu fo̊od
ža fo̊od mé yǒu
fo̊od mé ža yǒu
fo̊od mé yǒu ža
In each case, the tones mark which argument is which, so you're free to rearrange the words without losing meaning.
Adverbs
The start of an adverb is marked with and the end of its arguments is marked with .
ža bé sǒ ko̊m tâ wę̌
talk me\1 you\2 food\3-some at\adv house\Eadv\1
The verb is assumed to take up the x1 slot of the adverb.
If the adverb is one word:
When it's at the very start, it gets only.
When it's at the very end, it gets only.
When it's in the middle of the sentence, it gets both.
Context
The start of a context clause is marked with and the end of it is marked with . Its meaning is comparable to the toki pona word la.
ge᪴lē ye bé
future\Econ eat me\1