Or, "ayo ha sasaesi ha ewa sio" ("the language of the river people", although they aren't exactly on a river anymore.)
Written | a | i | u | e | o | s | th | sh | f | v | w | m | n | ng | l | h | y | x | ' |
IPA | a | i | u | e~ɛ | o | s, ɕ | θ, ɕ | ʃ | ɸ~β | f~v | w | m~b | n | ŋ~g | l | h~c~x | j | χ | ʔ |
Syllable structure is generally (C)V or rarely (C(w/j))V(n/m).
/iV/ vowel sequences are usually allophones for /jV/.
[si] and [θi] palatalize to [ɕi].
The first initial vowel of a phrase is pronounced with a preceding /h/, to distinguish from accidental glottal stops. These /h/s are not included in plural reduplication.
Sometimes a /h/ is inserted between sequential vowels as well, rather than forming dipthongs. This may more more or less noticable depending on the speaker's accent.
Current version of the writing system can be found here. Since the writing system is not a standard alphabet, I was not as easily able to make a font out of it -- I could not be bothered, so here we are.
It is traditionally written without spaces, so text tends to form a single continuous block. The character : is a sentence full stop. A question mark equivalent can also be seen in this page's sample text at the top of the page, although it is not always written out since hoi marks a question in and of itself.
It can also be written in the Naūkeman alphabet, using sh for θ, g for ŋ, yh for χ, ph for ɸ, p for f, ū for w, and k for ʔ.
yhahaka ūiyen ha ne ha kaman phi uphea sag ela hao ūika hiki nomoelo, ela ai uasho phi manai eon layhao ai ūaho.
xaha'a wiyen ha ne ha 'aman fi ufea sang ela hao wi'a hi'i nomoelo, ela ai uatho fi manai eon laxao ai waho.
*Naūkeman loanword.
**Derived from Naūkeman loanword.
Mostly isolating, with postpositional particles. Copula dropping. Word order partly indicates mode: SOV for declarative or interrogative (with a marker for binary questions), SVO for imperative.
Plurals form by reduplicating first syllable, or first two if the first syllable has a null onset and no coda. Doubled vowels are merged.
For example:
The word for two (xi) is often used as a dual suffix, instead of pluralizing for two things. Nouns given numbers are not pluralized.
Two trees: 'omo xi
Trees (2 or more): 'o'omo
Ewa Sio does not distinguish between future and present tense, only past and non-past. Negatives are made by preceding a verb with /voa/ ("not").
Tense | Form | Usage |
---|---|---|
Past | ai ... | VERBed |
Past Continuous | ngiai ... | was VERBing |
Past Perfect | ai ... hu'e | have VERBed |
Non-Past | - | VERBs, will VERB |
Non-Past Continuous | ngia ... | is VERBing, will be VERBing |
Non-Past Perfect | ... hu'e | has VERBed, will have VERBed |
Person is optionally marked by infixing the 1st ('e), 2nd (si/thai), or 3rd person (nge) pronouns between the first tense word and the verb. When used, pronouns are generally dropped.
ai 'e wo'ao
I went.
Verbs can be modified with adjectives the same way as nouns are. Adjectives are basically always also adverbs.
To modify a noun with a verb, the structure is "ela [VERB] [NOUN]".
Example:
ela asihao ufea
the setting sun
The phrases for "that which VERBS" and "that which is VERBed" are "ela [VERB]" and "ewa [VERB]" respectively. The [ela] and [ewa] are from the archaic nominative and accusative forms of [e] ("one").
To use a verb as a noun by itself (e.g. as a gerund), the verb is followed by either [la] (nominative), [wa] (accusative), or another appropriate particle.
There is also a structure for "[VERB] thing", which is just to reduplicate the entire verb. It is a little less formal, and implies a noun associated with the action, rather than a subject or object of the verb. These sometimes have set meanings that aren't obvious from the verb, though.
sowo (to agree) ⟶ sowo sowo (permission)
elo (to pray) ⟶ elo elo (prayer, request (deferent))
Some uses are irregular - for example:
wo'ao (to go) ⟶ wowo (vehicle)
Requests are made by incorporating the word [sihosi] ("please") somewhere into the sentence. Placement can vary significantly, but the end of the sentence is usually seen as more mature and nicer sounding, whereas the beginning suggests more desperation or need, but can imply an especially humble request.
The word hoi is used both to mean "what" and "who", and to mark a binary question. Since copula dropping and pronoun dropping are both common, tone is also used to distinguish question types. A rising tone on hoi usually marks a binary question, while an open-ended question tends toward flat or falling tone.
hoi metheo?
do (you) understand?
hoi metheo.
what/who do (you) understand? or what/who understands?
At the end of a sentence, it can also indicated a tag question.
metheo hoi?
understand, right?
Historically, Ewa Sio had a mostly free word order with six particles: la (nominative), wa (accusative), ha (genitive), ngo (instrumentative), nga (locative), and me (vocative).
Modern Ewa Sio's word order is more fixed, and it only uses three outside of derivation: ha (genitive), ngo (instrumentative and locative), and me (vocative.)
xaha'a wiyen ha ne ha 'aman fi ufea sang ela hao wi'a hi'i nomoelo, ela ai uatho fi manai eon laxao ai waho.
at-the-time-when needle GEN way GEN wind and sun what one-that is-greater strength PAST-CONT argue, one-that PAST travel and warm cloak wear PAST come
While the direction-of-the-needle (North)'s wind and the sun were arguing who was the greater power, one who traveled and wore a warm cloak came.
ela e ngo ela uatho eon lewo luo, ela hao ai sowo.
one-that first one-that travels cloak remove cause, one-that (is) stronger PAST agree
They agreed the one that first will make the traveler remove the cloak was the greater one.
wiyen ha ne ha 'aman, sathe wi'a ngo, ai o'ehuo o'ehuo...
north wind, all strength INSTR, PAST blow blow...
The North wind, with all (its) strength, blew and blew...
... mila xa noi ai o'ehuo, ela uatho eon noi hiawa ai samo, fi umya iseng iseng, wiyen ha ne ha 'aman ai yayo.
... but as more PAST blow, one-that travels cloak more close PAST fold, and after time time, north wind PAST gave-up
... but as (it) blew more, the traveller folded the cloak more closely, and after much time, the North wind gave up.
sa sa, ufea manai ai ahuo'o, fi ela uatho eon ingi ai lewo.
then, sun warm PAST shine and one-that travels cloak quick PAST remove
Then, the sun shone warm(ly), and quickly the traveler took off the cloak.
sa isim, ufea wiyen ha ne ha 'aman ewa ufea ha wi'a hao sio ai luo.
and so, sun north wind one-that-is sun GEN strength is-greater say PAST cause
And so, the Sun made the North wind say the Sun's strength is greater.
The further western dialect generally pronounces /χ/, /h/, /ʔ/, /ŋ/ and /θ/ more as [ɣ], [x], [k], [g], and [t], respectively, and more consistently pronounce the vowel-separating /h/ before initial phrase-initial vowels.
This dialect also has some vowel gemination, and splits the locative/instrumentative /ŋo/ into locative /go/ and instrumentative /ŋgo/.
Historical inflection-based person marking on verbs is partly retained, with 3rd person verbs using the ending [jo], and 1st/2nd keeping the simplified [o]. Modern pronoun-infix marking is not used for 3rd or 2nd person.
The cluster /wj/ is forbidden and becomes [ɸʷj].
sa sa, uɸea manai ai aɣuokjo, ɸi ela wato eon igi ai leɸʷjo.
Then, the sun shone warm(ly), and quickly the traveler took off the cloak.
The northern dialect, which neighbors the Ukma people, pronounces [θ] as /ɕ/, drops initial [ʔ] and pronounces non-initial [ʔ] as /k/, [ɸ] as merged with /f/~/v/, [ŋ] as /k/~/g/, and [s] as /s/~/z/. It also tends to reduce down dipthongs, and dipthong-initial [e] and [u] merge with [j] and [w] near nasals. Final V[n] sequences also lose their [n] and become nasalized.
za za, ufe manai ai ahwoko, vi ela waɕo yõ iŋi ai lewo.
Then, the sun shone warm(ly), and quickly the traveler took off the cloak.