Ewa Sio

Or, "ayo ha sasaesi ha ewa sio" ("the language of the river people", although they aren't exactly on a river anymore.)

This web is still being woven. Please don't be surprised if it changes slightly from time to time...

hoi metheo?

Phonemes, Phonetics, and Orthography

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.

Orthography

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.

First translated sentence of The North Wind and the Sun, in Ewa Sio's native writing system.

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.

Vocabulary

Pronouns

he'e
you (formal)
ye
you (informal)
tha'i
I (formal)
si
I (informal, f)
thai
I (informal, m)
uthi
he
esi
she, they (pl)
nge
it, this
ngon
here
ngu
that
ngutha
there
hoi
what, who
eyitha
where

Nouns

asha
light
ayo
river
eon
coat, cloak
fiwa
spear, polearm
he
fire
hin
(smaller) part
isen
time
la'a
existence, state of being
laxoxoamethe
priest, ritual-keeper (from "ela xoxoa metheo", "one who understands the gods")
li
opposite, that which is not (something)
sa'ao
water
samtha
gift, offering
san
who
sango
fish
sifa
peace
ona
earth
ovan
color
men
lake*
ne
(compass) direction
neo
hill
noyamen
ocean** (from noya men, "great lake")
'aman
wind
'imi
sword* (from kibi, "blade") (replaces archaic noya thone)
'omo
tree, plant
'owa
branch, limb (of inanimate thing)
thia
bird
thone
knife, cutting tool
vi
insect, beetle
wi'a
strength, power, energy
wiyen
needle
ufa
sky
ufea
sun
xoa
god, divine spirit
xone
egg
wawa
reason, purpose
wewi
bone, currency
yumi
animal (domestic)

*Naūkeman loanword.
**Derived from Naūkeman loanword.

People and Familial Terms

saesi
person
hiyi(hwa)
baby, little child
ma'a
mother, woman
ye'a
father, man
lili
daughter, girl
yiyi
son, boy
sao
brother (of a boy), sister (of a girl)
moia'a
older sister (of a boy), aunt
yaoa'a
older brother (of a girl), uncle
lioa
younger sister (of a boy), nephew
yioa
younger brother (of a girl), niece
saosao
cousin (same gender, default for plurals)
euli
cousin (opposite gender)
meamea
grandmother (maternal)
maimai
grandmother (paternal)
yoeyoe
grandfather (maternal)
'ai'ai
grandfather (paternal)
yoa'ami
family, clan

Body Parts

fa'ama
body
ayi'in
finger, toe, end, extremity; farthest part
fe
ear
ilun
tooth
'ua
limb (of a person or animate thing)
luxa
head, top(most) part of something
noya
heart, chest, center
suom
foot, bottom(most) part of something
thuhin
tongue
uyame
eye
vima'i
mouth, taste
vua
nose, smell

Directions

(ximi/wiyen/satha ha) ne
north ('the (sword/needle/cold)'s way', or just 'way')
li (wiyen ha) ne
south
ela oseo ufea ha ne
east (lit. 'the rising sun's direction')
ela asihao ufea ha ne
west (lit. 'the falling sun's direction')

Verbs

aeo
to trade
ahuo'o
to shine, to sparkle
amo
to sing
asihao
to fall, to descend
aya'o
to laugh
elo
to pray
hao
to outweight, to be greater than
ilo
to chase, to pursue
ini'ao
to tell, to explain
ino
to love
itheo
to see
laxao
to wear
luo
to make, to cause
metheo
to understand, to know of (trans.); to be wise (intrans.)
mingo
to dwell, to live (somewhere)
nguio
to strike, to attack
nelo
to worry, to be afraid (transitive: about/of ...)
oseo
to rise, to stand up
o'ehuo
to blow (wind); to cry, to howl, to call
samo
to wrap, to fold
sha
to carry, to bear
sheo
to have (a trait)
sho
to search for
sio
to speak, to say
soeo
to stand, to be (somewhere)
sowo
to agree
thuo
to hear
uatho
to journey, to travel
uvao
to go (without), to abandon, to be deprived of
xeo
to learn (of) (trans.), to be a student (intrans.)
xiweo
to resemble, to behave like (trans); to be a copy or fake (intrans.)
waho
to come
wo'ao
to go
yayo
to give up (trying something)

Adjectives, Adverbs, and Prepositions

angai
broken, split, fragmented
avan
good
elaxi
alone, lonely
hawa
small
hiawa
close, tight
hi'i
still (doing something)
hu'e
complete, finished, whole
ingi
quick
fen
any
fion
beautiful
manai
warm
mila
but
myoen
healthy, well, clean
ngia
now
nele
ugly, sour, dirty
noi
more
noya
great, large
omim
near
satha
cold
sathe
all
sixa
far (away)
'ie
around
umya
after, above
voa
not
xa
while, as
xaha'a
at the time of...
xeva
evil

Colors

mi'un
black, dark
ashan
white, light
sem
red
so'o
blue, green

Conjunctions

aya
or
fi
and
isim
so, therefore
mila
but
sa sa
(and) then

Particles

ha
(genitive)
ngo
(intrumentative/locative)
me
(vocative/lative)
hoi
(binary question marker) (used at beginning of sentence)
xin
(follows a verb, indicates passive form)

Greetings, Niceties, etc.

he'e me waho thatha'i
(formal greeting, lit. "You're coming toward us")
ye me waho thathai
(informal version of same)
hoi ye la'a myoen?
How are you? (inf., "are you well?")
waho sifa ngo
(common, more neutral greeting, lit. "come in peace")
wo'ao sifa ngo
(common farewell, lit. "go with peace")
yima'me
thank you
sihosi
please (see grammar notes)

hwa
(diminutive suffix)

Numbers

e
1
xi
2
ve
3
sa
4
an
5
an fi e
6 (lit. "5 and 1")
an fi xi
7
an fi ve
8
an fi sa
9
an xi
10 (lit. "fives" (dual))
an xi fi e
11
an xi fi xi
12
an xi fi ve
13
an xi fi sa
14
anan
15 (lit. "fives" (plural))
anan fi e
16
anan fi xi
17
anan fi ve
18
anan fi sa
19
anan fi an
20
anan fi an fi e
21
anan fi an xi
25
anan xi
30
anan xi fi an
35
anan xi fi an xi
40
anan xi fi anan
45
vyo
60
vyo fi e
61
vyo fi an fi e
66
vyo fi an xi
70
vyo fi anan
75
vyo fi anan xi
90
vyo xi
120
vyovyo
180

'imi
(ordinal number prefix)

Grammar

Overview

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

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:
on·a ⟶ on·on·a
hi·yi ⟶ hi·hi·yi
u·fau·fa·u·fa
a·shaa·sha·sha
e·u·li ⟶ e·u·e·u·li

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

Verb Conjugation

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").

TenseFormUsage
Pastai ...VERBed
Past Continuousngiai ...was VERBing
Past Perfectai ... hu'ehave VERBed
Non-Past-VERBs, will VERB
Non-Past Continuousngia ...is VERBing, will be VERBing
Non-Past Perfect... hu'ehas 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.

Adverbs

Verbs can be modified with adjectives the same way as nouns are. Adjectives are basically always also adverbs.

Using Verbs as Modifiers

To modify a noun with a verb, the structure is "ela [VERB] [NOUN]".

Example:

ela asihao ufea
the setting sun

Verb-Based Nouns

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)

Please...

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.

Questions and Hoi

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?

Historical Grammar

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.)

Translations

The North Wind and the Sun

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.

Other Dialects

West Sio

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.

North Sio

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.

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