Natively known as: psou˩˥ /psoʊ̯˩˥/
…and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind…
oi˩˥st ou˦ fo˧skä˧ ie˦nspa˦ ie˦nf ie˩˥ ou˦ oi˩˥st o˩˥slâ˧fnou˦s ksâ˧n ksâ˦ ie˩˥ ou˦ a˩˥ â˩˥k
Pronunciation: /ɔɪ̯˩˥st oʊ̯˦ fo˧skɑ˧ aɪ̯˦nspa˦ aɪ̯˦nf aɪ̯˩˥ oʊ̯˦ ɔɪ̯˩˥st o˩˥slɜː˧fnoʊ̯˦s ksɜː˧n ksɜː˦ aɪ̯˩˥ oʊ̯˦ a˩˥ ɜː˩˥k/
Psou˩˥ian word order: and he stood holding hat his and turned his face wet to the wind
Spelling & Phonology
Consonant inventory: f k l n p s t v
| ↓Manner/Place→ | Bilabial | Labiodental | Alveolar | Velar |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | n | |||
| Stop | p | t | k | |
| Fricative | f v | s | ||
| Lateral approximant | l |
Vowel inventory: a aɪ̯ e i o oʊ̯ ø ɑ ɔɪ̯ ɛ ɜː ʊ
Diphthongs: aɪ̯ oʊ̯ ɔɪ̯
Tones: ˦ ˩˥ ˧
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i | ||
| Near-high | ʊ | ||
| High-mid | e ø | o | |
| Low-mid | ɛ | ɜː | |
| Low | a | ɑ |
Syllable structure: (C)(C)(C)V(C)(C)(C)
Stress pattern: No stress
Spelling rules:
| Pronunciation | Spelling |
|---|---|
| aɪ̯ | ie |
| ɔɪ̯ | oi |
| ʊ | u |
| ɑ | ä |
| ɛ | ë |
| ɜː | â |
| Vː | VV |
| ◌̯ |
Grammar
Main word order: Subject Verb Object (Prepositional phrase). “Mary opened the door with a key” turns into Mary opened the door with a key.
Adjective order: Adjectives are positioned after the noun.
Adposition: prepositions
| Past | If starts with vowel: Prefix fl- Else: Prefix flʊ˧- flu˧ka˧k /flʊ˧ka˧k/ learned |
| Present | No affix ka˧k /ka˧k/ learn |
| Future | Prefix ɜː˦- â˦ka˧k /ɜː˦ka˧k/ will learn |
| 1st person | a˧ /a˧/ I, me, mine, we, us, ours |
| 2nd person | ä˧ /ɑ˧/ you, yours, you all, yours (pl) |
| 3rd person | ou˦ /oʊ̯˦/ he, she, him, her, his, hers, it, its, they, them, theirs |
| Definite | pä˩˥ /pɑ˩˥/ the |
| Indefinite | u˧ /ʊ˧/ a/some |
| Definite | ä˦lps /ɑ˦lps/ the |
| Indefinite | vlou˧ /vloʊ̯˧/ a/some |
Numbers
Psou˩˥ian has a base-20 number system:
1 – ou˦
2 – ie˧
3 – e˩˥l
4 – ë˦
5 – i˧lts
6 – ie˦
7 – ø˩˥n
8 – ou˩˥sle˧
9 – lä˦
10 – i˦
11 – a˦knou˦
12 – â˩˥pä˧f
13 – kä˩˥ls
14 – a˦nsfä˩˥k
15 – pi˧k
16 – ë˩˥lk
17 – lu˧stvie˧
18 – toi˩˥lps
19 – ë˩˥ki˧
20 – vâ˧t21 – vâ˧t oi˩˥st ou˦ “twenty and one”
400 – ou˦ u˧ns “one fourhundred”
401 – ou˦ u˧ns ou˦ “one fourhundred one”
800 – ie˧ u˧ns “two fourhundred”
8000 – ou˦ nte˩˥ “one eightthousand”
Derivational morphology
Adjective → adverb = Suffix -ɔɪ̯˩˥
Adjective → noun (the quality of being ) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -f
Else: Suffix -ʊ˦f
Adjective → verb (to make something ) = Suffix -ɑ˩˥lps
Noun → adjective (having the quality of ) = Suffix -a˩˥
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -p
Else: Suffix -a˩˥p
Noun to verb = If ends with vowel: Suffix -sts
Else: Suffix -o˧sts
Verb → adjective (result of doing ) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -n
Else: Suffix -aɪ̯˦n
Tending to = If ends with vowel: Suffix -f
Else: Suffix -ɔɪ̯˩˥f
Verb → noun (the act of ) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -sts
Else: Suffix -o˦sts
Verb → noun that verb produces (e.g. know → knowledge) = Suffix -a˦nv
One who s (e.g. paint → painter) = Prefix ɜː˦-
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = Suffix -i˩˥k
Diminutive = If ends with vowel: Suffix -s
Else: Suffix -ɜː˩˥s
Augmentative = If starts with vowel: Prefix f-
Else: Prefix fi˧-