Ancient Succlythian
Ancient Succlythian, also known as Classical Succlythian, was a language spoken in Succlythia, it had influence on the Fertile Tongue spoken in the Htaevic Empire. It descended from Proto-Meó-Succlythian, which was spoken from some unknown time up until c. 5000 Y. The Succlythian languages branched off from Ancient Meó in approximately the <5100s> Y. It would then undergo numerous innovative sound changes until the 6100s Y, when it split into North and South Succlythian, with the South Succlythian variety being the one that held more prestige and the one described in this article. It remained relatively conservative for the next approximate thousand years. There was no form of writing sensu stricto, although there was an extensive array of glyphs used to convey spiritual concepts of the Herlucc religion that the Succlythians practiced, which were occasionally (but rarely) used as a form of proto-writing in some contexts, mainly as mnemonic devices. They would go on to adopt the Hlunliw logography, influencing it with their own language, which had a position of prestige within the Haki Republic. It contributed much of the technical and religious vocabulary to the Classical Htaevic language. The language described in this article is that of the Succlythian Empire/Haki Republic, a time period lasting from 7000 Y to 7500 Y. The language had a large impact on the language of Classical Htaevic. There are no written records of the language earlier than this period.
Phonology
Consonants
| PULMONIC | Bilabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ||||
| Voiceless stop | p | t | k | q | ||
| Voiced Stop | β | ð | ||||
| Fricative | f | θ | ç | h | ||
| Sibilant | s | |||||
| Liquids | l | j | ||||
| Trill or Tap | r |
Consonants may be geminated, as in Herlucc /herluc:/ (c is /ç/, as a geminate it fortifies to /c:~cç/).
- /q/ derives from earlier /g/ and /ʔ/
- /β/ and /ð/ are written "b" and "d" and become /b/ and /d/ after homorganic nasals
- /ç/ is written "c", /θ/ is written "th", all other values are written the same as their IPA
Vowels
| Vowels | Front | Mid | Back |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i, y | ɯ <ù>, u | |
| Close-mid | e | o | |
| Open-mid | ɛ <è> | ɔ <ò> | |
| Open | a |
Diphthongs: ɛi <èi>, ɔu <òu>, iy <iy>, uɯ <uù>
Grammar
The verb conjugation of the word 'to think' (stem kyb-) is given below, with rough English equivalents given, many do not have an English equivalent construction so may sound unnatural or awkward:
| Indicative | Past | Present | Future | Bare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simple/Perfect | kybèhèh thought | kybèhès think | kybèhèq will think | kybic to think |
| Continuous/Habitual | kybeheh (you) were thinking | kybehes (you) are thinking | kybeheq (you) will be thinking | kybehej (you) be thinking (habitual be) |
NB the bare continuous is equivalent to the habitual be in all moods, the present is used for emphasis on the immediate present or its relevance; most constructions employ the bare forms.
| Subjunctive | Past | Present | Future | Bare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simple/Perfect | kybèhh that (you) thought | kybèhs that (you) think | kybèhq that (you) will think | kybeh that (you) think |
| Continuous/Habitual | kybehh that (you) were thinking | kybehs that (you) are thinking | kybehq that (you) will be thinking | kybec that (you) be thinking |
| Conditional | Past | Present | Future | Bare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simple/Perfect | kybèhòh would have thought | kybèhòs would think | kybèhòq will think | kybihò would think |
| Continuous/Habitual | kybehòh would have been thinking | kybehòs would be thinking | kybehòq will be thinking | kybehòj would be thinking |
| Jussive | Past | Present | Future | Bare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simple/Perfect | kybèh (X) should have thought! | kybès (let X) think! | kybèq (let X) go think! | kyba (let X) think! |
| Continuous/Habitual | kybeh (X) should have been thinking! | kybes (let X) be thinking! | kybeq (let X) go be thinking! | kybaj (let X) be thinking! |
| Desiderative | Past | Present | Future | Bare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simple/Perfect | kybèhyh want to have thought | kybèhys want to think (now) | kybèhyq want to go think | kybihy want to think (in general) |
| Continuous/Habitual | kybehyh want to have been thinking | kybehys want to be thinking (now) | kybehyq want to go be thinking | kybehyj want to be thinking (habitual) |
To convert to first or second person forms, the first 'h' in the verb conjugation is changed to 'k' or 's', respectively e.g. Kybèhòh -> Kybèkòh - "I would have thought". These forms are not mandatory however, the -h- forms can be used with pronouns.
For the jussive, 'k' or 's' is inserted before the ending e.g. Kyba -> Kybka - let's think.
Additionally, -ic changes to -ika/isa, and -ec changes to -ek/es.
Before the verb ending, indirect/direct object infixes can be added.
- h- (1st person indirect object), n- (2nd person indirect object), m- (3rd person or "it" indirect object)
- -k- (1st person object), -n- (2nd person object), -h- (3rd person or "it" object)
When both an indirect object and direct object are present, they combine in strange yet predictable ways.
- h + k -> h
- h + n -> l
- h + h -> hh
- n + k -> nk
- n + n -> nn
- n + h -> l
- m + k -> mp
- m + n -> mn
- m + h -> b
The ancient succlythian verb paradigm can be summed up as:
VERB STEM-(indirect object)-(direct object)-(tense/aspect/mood with optional subject person marking)
Vocabulary
Ancient Succlythian had an octal number system:
| Arabic | Succlythian | Word |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ı | de |
| 2 | ʟ | ser |
| 3 | и | pok |
| 4 | v | klet |
| 5 | ʜ | cep |
| 6 | ∇ | hac |
| 7 | ʌ | ròn |
| 8 | ı- | jòk |