Nga

Nga [ŋɑ], also splled as Ŋa, is an artistic personal language of Suqi that is heavily based around the compounding of monosyllabic root words to make new lexical items.

Phonology

Syllable Structure

Nga follows a (C)V(V) syllable structure for root words, (C)V(V)(G) for compounded roots, and (C)(C)V(V)(C)(C) structure for affixes. /G/ stands for gemination of the following consonant, which if followed by a vowel becomes [ʔ] instead.

Vowel Harmony

Nga has regressive fronting harmony. Harmony spreads across entire words. Front vowels include /y e ø yi̯ ei̯ øi̯ øy̯ ue̯/ and back vowels include /u ɜ o ui̯ ɤi̯ oi̯ ou̯ uɜ̯/. There are two neutral vowels: /ɑ ai̯/, and three vowels that are transparent in medial and final syllables, but trigger harmony when in an initial syllable: /i/ (triggers front harmony) and /ɔ ɔi̯/ (trigger back harmony). /ɜ uɜ̯/ must be preceded by a harmonically back vowel.

Allophony

/u/ becomes [ᵿ] before /i/ in across a syllable boundary.

Geminated voiced plosives become instead prenasalized voiced plosives.

Grammar

Syntax

The basic word order is VSO.

Morphology

Tense

Past Tense: -ltu/-ltü [-ltu, -lty]

Present Tense: -khai [khai̯]

Future Tense: -myi [-mji]

Irrealis: Ø

• Past Irrealis: oltu- [oltu-]
• Present Irrealis: okhai- [okhai̯-]
• Future Irrealis: omyi- [omji-]

Subject Markers

There are different types of subject markers for different relationships the subject has to the verb or object.

Motile subject: -msu/-msü [-msu, -msy]

Present subject: -ćto/ćtö [-t͡ɕto, -t͡ɕtø]

Identity subject: -ńwai [-ɲwai̯]

Potential subject: -hći [-ht͡ɕi]

Lexicon

Root Words

Corresponding English words in bold are just meant to make visual searching easier.

	IPA	English	Meaning
ku	[ku]	alone	-
pô	[pɔ]	big	-
mi	[mi]	blank	-
ŋe	[ŋe]	clean	-
ńi	[ɲi]	come	-
kei	[kei̯]	cube, square	-
vu	[βu]	down	-
maa	[mɑː]	go	-
qa	[qɑ]	hit	-
mo	[mo]	hold	-
će	[t͡ɕe]	ice	-
qui	[qui̯]	ink	-
go	[ɡo]	land	-
yü	[jy]	light	-
tsu	[t͡su]	lightning	-
ou	[ou̯]	person	-
na	[nɑ]	plant	-
ôi	[ɔi̯]	sea	-
i	[i]	small	-
ŋa	[ŋɑ]	speak	-
ti	[ti]	tall	-
mu	[mu]	together	-
xo	[xo]	wood	-

Compound Words

Compound words are formed with a specific structure to produce a meaning. The first root in a compound connects its meaning to the compound's meaning most literally, and the last root in a compound connects its meaning to the compound's meaning most abstractly.

The meaning of a compound word is not produced systematically, it has a significant degree of arbitrarity. Therefore, if two roots on their own form a compound with one meaning, those same roots in the same order become part of another compound word, they will not incorporate the meaning of their own compound, they will contribute to a new meaning with the other root(s). However, compound words can be compounded to other roots if the boundary between the two has a /G/ interfix. This interfix is the only place /G/ occurs in the language.

Corresponding English words in bold are just meant to make visual searching easier.

Nga					English
Word	Roots			IPA	Word	Roots			Meaning
	1	2	3			1	2	3
kuôi	ku	ôi		[kuɔi̯]	island	alone	sea		-
kuttsui	ku	tsu-i		[kutt͡sʉi]	electron	alone	electric		-
kuyu	ku	yü		[kuju]	light	alone	light		A group of photons following the same trajectory
kuyyui	ku	yü-i		[kujjʉi]	photon	alone	glint		-
miće	mi	će							-
mixö	mi	xo							-
ŋekü	ŋe	ku							-
ŋemi	ŋe	mi							-
pôi	pô	i		[pɔi]	grow	big	small		-
pômu	pô	mu		[pɔmu]	all	big	together		-
pômu'ou	pô-mu	ou		[pɔmuʔou̯]	population	all	person		-
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