This grammar introduces some of the core elements of the 'Yanşiri language.

'Yanşiri is a language isolate within the Mesoamerican Language Area. It existed far before European contact, but the exact dates are unknown.

'Yanşiri is head-initial, with a standard VSO word order and ergative-absolutive alignment. It is also head-marking, and many of the affixes in 'Yanşiri evolved from an ealier SOV parent.

Phonology

The following section describes the sounds used in 'Yanşiri. A note about romanization: geminates are written by two of the letter (/pː/ = \). Other romanizations which do not follow the IPA are noted in the charts below.

Consonants

There is no voicing distiction. However, most consonants have prenasalized and geminated phonemic variants.

Romanization notes:

• /ʔ/ = <'>
• /ɸ/ = <f>
• /ʃ/ = <ş>
• /ts/ = <c>
• /tʃ/ = <ç>
• /ⁿ/ = <ŋ> before velars, <m> before labials, <n> before other others

Clicks

Like other consonants, there is no voicing distiction in clicks, but nasalization is phonemic.

Vowels

'Yanşiri has three vowels with phonemic length distiction.

The following diphthongs and triphthongs are valid: /ja/ /ju/ /aj/ /uj/ /wa/ /wi/ /aw/ /jaj/ /waw/ /jaw/ /waj/.

Phonotactics

Syllable structure is strictly CV. Any consonant or vowel is permitted medially. Geminate stops cannot appear at word-initially.

Nasalization of a consonant can cause allophonic voicing, and sometimes cause nasalization of the following vowel. This is common for nasalized clicks.

The vowel /i/ is realized as [ɪ] after /!/.

The vowel /u/ can be realized as [o] word-finally.

Morphology

'Yanşiri has three word classes: nouns, verbs, and particles

Nouns and Noun Phrases

'Yanşiri has no grammatical gender. Nouns are not marked for number or case.

New nouns can be formed by noun-noun or verb-noun compounds or by the addition of any of a number of derivational affixes.

Possessive prefixes on the possessed noun agree with the animacy and alienability of the possessed word and the person and number of the possessor.

Modifying Nouns

When modified by another word, the noun takes the attributive (ATTR) prefix 'a-.

'asiitaw xanc̣i

ʔa-siːtaw xanǀi
ATTR-fruit green
'green fruit'

'ampitaw siisuu

ʔa-mpitaw ∅-siːsuː
ATTR-tree PTCP-bear.fruit.IPFV
'the tree (which is) bearing fruit'

Possession

A possessive phrase has the following structure:

prefix-possessed possessor

As stated above, the possessive prefix agrees with both the animacy and alienability of the possessed and with the person and number of the possessor.

Animacy is not marked on the noun and is not necessarily fixed. Inanimate nouns can be treated as animate for rhetorical purposes, such as in folk tales.

Alienability refers to whether the possessed noun is an inherent part of the possessor or not.

Below is the full chart of possessive prefixes followed by examples of the four types.

Full chart of possessive prefixes

Inanimate Alienable Possession

This is used for items generally considered 'owned' by people, such as clothing, food, housing, etc. It is also used for which can be removed easily or naturally from objects, such as leaves and fruit from a tree, or a rock from a hill.

The prefixes are derived from a phrase meaning 'located here' in Proto-'Yanşiri.

p̣umitutaw

p̣umi-tutaw
POS.1S.IA-food

nissumisiitaw mpitaw

nisːumi-siːtaw mpitaw
POS.3S.IA-fruit tree
'the tree's fruit'

Inanimate Inalienable Possession

This form of possession is generally used for body parts and inherent properties such as mass, color, size, etc.

The prefixes are derived from a phrase meaning 'existing here' in Proto-'Yanşiri.

swamaawtaw

swama-awtaw
POS.3P.II-eye
'their eyes'

nissuma-ŋkanşi mpitaw

nisːuma-ŋkanʃi mpitaw
POS.3S.II-size tree
'the tree's size'

Animate Alienable Possession

This type of possession is used for social relationships such as friends and membership in groups, as well as for livestock, pets, and other non-human nouns which might be considered owned.

The prefixes are derived from a phrase meaning 'acting together' in Proto-'Yanşiri.

ḳumitanşi

ǂumi-tanʃi
POS.2S.AA-friend
'your friend'

Animate Inalienable Possession

This type of possession is used for familial relationships.

The prefixes are derived from a phrase meaning 'existing together' in Proto-'Yanşiri.

p̣akwaffaantansaa

ʘakwafːa-antansaː
POS.1PI.AI-parent
'our parents'

nissussuutiia ntuttansaa

nisːusːuː-tiːa ntutːansaː
POS.3S.AI-baby deer
'the deer's baby'

Pronouns

The following table lists the pronouns for 'Yanşiri. The language is heavily pro-drop and verbs are marked with a pronominal prefix, so independent use of the pronouns is relatively rare.

Numbers & Counting

Numerals

'Yanşiri uses a base-16 counting system. The hands are used as place values: right hand = 16⁰, left hand = 16¹.

Proto-'Yanşiri had roots for numbers 1 through 4. These were used to count the bones of the fingers and the fingers themselves, starting with the base of the little finger and moving to the top of the thumb and open hand.

Multiples of 16 are counted on the phalanges of the left hand, followed by the

Number words stack from largest to smallest.

Counting objects requires the attributive prefix on the number followed by the counted object.

'ansansa siitaw

ʔa-nsansa siːtaw
ATTR-two fruit
'two fruits'

'ansansapyuşu intsaa ic̣ansaa

ʔa-nsansapyuşu intsaː iǀansaː
ATTR-thirty-three person
'thirty-three people'

Ordinal

The suffix -ma is added to the end of the final number word to make an ordinal number: intsaama 'first', nsansama 'second', iryuma 'third', etc.

'aic̣ansaa nsansapyuşu intsaama

ʔa-iǀansaː nsansapjuʃu intsaː-ma
ATTR-person thirty-three-ORD
'the thirty-third person'

Multiplicative

The suffix -u is added to the end of the final number word to make a multiplicative number: intsaau 'once', nsansau 'twice', iryuu 'thrice', etc.

Distributive

The suffix -'i is added to the end of the final number word to make a distributive number: intsaa'i 'one each', nsansa'i 'two each', iryu'i 'three each'

'ansansa'i siitaw

ʔa-nsansa-ʔi siːtaw
ATTR-two-DIS fruit
'two fruits each'

Divisional (Fractional?)

The denominators of fractions are marked with the prefix aş. An epenthetic echo vowel (/a/) is added if the number begins with a consonant: aşansansa 'a half', aşiryu 'a third', etc.

'aaşiryu siitaw

ʔa-aʃirju siːtaw
ATTR-DIV-three fruit
'a third of a fruit'

'ansansa 'aaşiryu siitaw

ʔa-nsansa ʔa-aʃirju siːtaw
ATTR-two ATTR-DIV-three fruit
'two-thirds of a fruit'

Verbs

Verbs are marked for aspect and mood, but not for tense. They also use pronominal prefixes which agree with the subject of an intransitive sentence, and with both the agent and patient of transitive sentences.

Stem

At the core of a verb in 'Yanşiri is the stem: a fused root and aspect marker. Four aspects are marked: perfective (PFV), imperfective (IPFV), inchoative (INCH), and cessative (CESS). The perfective aspect is used as the dictionary form. The stem can also function as a participle or gerund would in English.

There are 5 general paradigms for aspects, based on the end of the perfective stem:

1. /faʔa/ (e.g. fafa'a, 'to do')
2. /fːaʔa/ (e.g. ntaffa'a, 'to nod')
3. Click+/aʔa/ (e.g. ntuḳa'a, 'to run')
4. Nasal+/waʔa/ (e.g. ramwa'a, 'to cover (something)')
5. R or L + afaʔa (e.g. kjalafa'a, 'to remember')

Below is the full chart for the paradigms.

The stem also changes for antipassive, causative, and benefactive constructions.

Pronominal Prefixes

A pronominal prefix is attached to the stem which agrees in person and number with the agent and patient of transitive sentences, or the subject of intransitive sentences.

p̣untuḳa'a

ʘu-ntuḳa'a
1S.A-run.PFV
'I run/ran.'

şanissutusuu

ʃanisːu-tusuː
3P.E.3S.A-eat.IPFV
'They were eating it.'

A reciprocal marker -nwi- can be suffixed to the pronominal prefix.

p̣uşşuu'aup̣a'a

ʘuʃːuːʔa-uʘaʔa
1PE.E.1PE.A-hit.PFV
'We hit ourselves'

p̣uşşuu'anwiup̣a'a

ʘuʃːuːʔa-nwi-uʘaʔa
1PE.E.1PE.A-RECIP-hit.PFV
'We hit each other'

Suffix Slots

A variety of optional suffixes can also be attached in slots as shown below:

Pronominal prefix - Stem - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7

p̣untuḳa'amwa

ʘu-ntuǂaʔa-mwa
1S.A-run.PFV-POT
'I can run.'

p̣untuḳa'aşiu

ʘu-ntuǂaʔa-ʃiu
1S.A-run.PFV-DES
'I want to run.'

p̣untuḳa'amwaşiu

ʘu-ntuǂaʔa-mwa-ʃiu
1S.A-run.PFV-POT-DES
'I want to be able to run.'

sanissutunsaxu

sanisːu-tunsa-xu
3S.E.3S.A-eat.CESS-EXP
'He/She/It stopped eating.' (speaker witnessed the event)
'I saw him/her/it stop eating.'

sanissutunsatti

sanisːu-tunsa-tːi
3S.E.3S.A-eat.CESS-INT
'Did he/she/it stop eating?'

sanissutunsaxutti

sanisːu-tunsa-xu-tːi
3S.E.3S.A-eat.CESS-EXP-INT
'Did you see him/her/it stop eating?'

Particles

Particles are a closed set of prepositions in 'Yanşiri, mostly serving as case markers or conjunctions.

Case Markers

Much of the work done by prepositions in English is handled by relational nouns and serial verbs constructions in 'Yanşiri.

Other Particles

Syntax

Basic Sentences

Canonical word order in 'Yanşiri is VSO. However, the language is heavily pro-drop, and as earlier examples have shown, a verb alone can be considered a full sentence.

sanissutusuu

sanisːu-tusuː
3S.E.3S.A-eat.IPFV
'It is eating it.'

Copula constructions are made by prefixing a pronominal prefix to a noun.

nissumuii

nisːu-muiː
3S.A-monkey
'It is a monkey'

swa'asiitaw xanc̣i

swa-ʔa-siːtaw xanǀi
3P.A-ATTR-fruit green
'They are green fruits.'

When the agent and patient are present, they are preceded by the ergative or absolutive particle.

sanissutusuu ŋi muii 'u siitaw

sanisːu-tusuː ŋi muiː ʔu siːtaw
3S.E.3S.A-eat.IPFV ERG monkey ABS fruit
'The monkey is eating the fruit.'

Word order can be changed for emphasis/topicality.

sanissutusuu 'u siitaw ŋi muii

sanisːu-tusuː ʔu siːtaw ŋi muiː
3S.E.3S.A-eat.IPFV ABS fruit ERG monkey
'The monkey is eating the fruit (not something else).'

Relational Nouns

Like other languages in the Mesoamerican Language Area, 'Yanşiri uses body parts as relational nouns, generally to express spatial relationships.

Body parts are used in an inanimate-inalienable possessive construction with the locative particle.

swanşisuu 'u siitaw ma nissumauṭaw ançi'i

swa-nʃisuː ʔu siːtaw ma nisːuma-uṭaw antʃiʔi
3P.A-exist.IPFV ABS fruit LOC POS.3S.II-belly vessel
'The fruits are in the box.'

Relational nouns are also used for some adverbial clauses.

appassutufa'a 'u siitaw ma nissumantac̣aw nisuyufa'a

apːasːu-tufaʔa ʔu siːtaw ma nisːuma-ntac̣aw nisːu-jufaʔa
1S.E.3S.A-eat.PFV ABS fruit LOC POS.3S.II-head 3S.A-fall.PFV
'I ate the fruit after it fell.'

Both 'if' and 'when' use the body part wataw 'arm'. The distinction between 'if' and 'when' is shown by the alienable state of the possessive prefix. For conditions which are not known or fixed, alienable possession is used with wataw 'arm'. For conditions whose outcomes are known or fixed, inalienable possession is used.

nissumyafa'a ma nissumawataw nisuşawfa'a 'u titaw

nisːu-mjafaʔa ma nisːuma-wataw nisːu-ʃawfaʔa 'u titaw
3S.A-lighten.PFV LOC POS.3S.II-arm 3S.A-rise.PFV ABS sun
'It lightens when the sun rises.'

p̣untwafa'a ma nissumiwataw nissuassuu ma 'iŋxanşi

ʘuntwafaʔa ma nisːumi-wataw nisːu-asːuː ma ʔiŋxanʃi
1S.A-swim.PFV LOC POS.3S.IA-arm 3S.A-hot.IPFV LOC tomorrow
'I will swim if it is hot tomorrow.'