Rasafa
From Langmaker
Rasafa is a constructed language by Joseph Staleknight.
Contents |
Influences
German, Dutch, Yiddish, Greek, Latin, Italian, French, Korean, Swahili, Turkish, Sasxsek
Phonology and Orthography
There are 22 consonants, 13 vowels, and 11 polyphthongs:
| Phoneme (X-Sampa) | p | t | k | b | d | g | p_h | t_h | k_h | m | n | f | s | x | v | z | G | W | r | j | l | h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orthography | P | T | C | B | D | G | Ph | Th | Ch | M | N | F | S | X | V | Z | Q | W | R | J | L | H |
| Phoneme (X-Sampa) | a | O | e | E | i | I | o | V | u | U | y | 2 | @ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orthography | Aa | A | Ee | E | Ii | I | Oo | O | Uu | U | Yy | Y | X |
| Phoneme (X-Sampa) | { | aI | aU | oI | eI | 2y | uI | uO | eU | iU | waI | {: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orthography | Ae | Ai | Au | Oi | Ei | Oy | Ui | Ua | Eu | Iu | Uai | Aee |
Stress and Tone
Stress always falls on monosyllabic words. For polysyllabic words, stress falls generally on the penultimate syllable for simple words (eg. nouns and verbs), and on the third-to-last syllable for compound words (eg. noun + adjective, verb + adverb)
There are five basic tones and two compound ones:
- Declarative: _M -> _L
- Interrogative: _M -> _T
- Exclamatory: _T -> _M
- Presubjunctive: _M -> _H
- Postsubjunctive: _H -> _M
- Ironic declarative: _L -> _B
- Ironic interrogative: _L -> _M
Grammar
Nouns and Articles
Nouns are declined by number, gender, case, and class as follows:
| Singular | I Masc. | I Fem. | I Neut. | II Masc. | II Fem. | II Neut. | III Masc. | III Fem. | III Neut. | IV Masc. | IV Fem. | IV Neut. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | -o | -a | -u | -i | -e | -y | -ua | -uai | -ua | -xl | -xn | -xr |
| Genitive | -oi | -ai | -ui | -is | -es | -ys | -ual | -uail | -ual | -xli | -xni | -xri |
| Dative | -oi | -ai | -ui | -il | -el | -yl | -ual | -uail | -ual | -xli | -xni | -xri |
| Accusative | -om | -am | -um | -il | -el | -yl | -ui | -u | -ui | -xle | -xne | -xre |
| Ablative | -oo | -aa | -uu | -ii | -ee | -yy | -uaa | -uaii | -uaa | -xld | -xnd | -xrd |
| Vocative | -o | -a | -u | -i | -e | -y | -ua | -uai | -ua | -xlt | -xnt | -xrt |
| Plural | I Masc. | I Fem. | I Neut. | II Masc. | II Fem. | II Neut. | III Masc. | III Fem. | III Neut. | IV Masc. | IV Fem. | IV Neut. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | -oi | -ai | -ui | -in | -en | -yn | -uar | -uair | -uar | -xla | -xna | -xra |
| Genitive | -orm | -arm | -urm | -ins | -ens | -yns | -uam | -uaim | -uam | -xlai | -xnai | -xrai |
| Dative | -os | -as | -us | -ini | -ene | -yny | -uars | -uairs | -uars | -xlai | -xnai | -xrai |
| Accusative | -ois | -ais | -uis | -ini | -ene | -yny | -uis | -us | -uis | -xlae | -xnae | -xrae |
| Ablative | -os | -as | -us | -iin | -een | -yyn | -uaar | -uaiir | -uaar | -xlad | -xnad | -xrad |
| Vocative | -oi | -ai | -ui | -in | -en | -yn | -uar | -uair | -uar | -xlat | -xnat | -xrat |
There is an extra class (V) that combines the nominative and accusative of class I; the dative, ablative and genitive of class II; and the vocative of class III. Thankfully, it is seldom used.
Articles are formed by the endings. For definite articles, just add h-.
Verbs
Verbs are declined by tense, number, person, and class as follows:
| Present Simple | I Singular | I Plural | II Singular | II Plural | III Singular | III Plural | IV Singular | IV Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Person | -o | -amus | -o | -emus | -i | -in | -x | -xn |
| 2nd Person | -as | -atis | -es | -etis | -ist | -it | -xst | -xt |
| 3rd Person | -at | -ant | -et | -ent | -it | -in | -xt | -xn |
| Past Simple | I Singular | I Plural | II Singular | II Plural | III Singular | III Plural | IV Singular | IV Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Person | -abai | -abmus | -ebai | -ebmus | -ite | -itin | -xte | -xtxn |
| 2nd Person | -abiis | -abtis | -ebiis | -ebtis | -itest | -itit | -xtest | -xtxt |
| 3rd Person | -abii | -abant | -ebii | -ebent | -ite | -itin | -xte | -xtxn |
| Future Simple | I Singular | I Plural | II Singular | II Plural | III Singular | III Plural | IV Singular | IV Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Person | -apo | -apomi | -epo | -epomi | -avir | -avirn | -avxr | -avxrn |
| 2nd Person | -apos | -apoti | -epos | -epoti | -avirst | -avirt | -avxrst | -avxrt |
| 3rd Person | -apot | -apont | -epot | -epont | -avir | -avirn | -avxr | -avxrn |
| Imperative | I | II | III | IV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | -a | -e | -- | -- |
| Plural | -ata | -ete | -t | -t |
| Formal (Singular and Plural) | -are | -ere | -in | -xn |
| Infinitive/Participle | I | II | III | IV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -are | -ere | -in | -xn |
Like the nouns, the verbs also have a fifth class that combines the first person of Class I, the second person and imperative of Class II, the third person of Class III, and the infinitive of Class IV. Thankfully, it is only used for the modal verbs.
There are also two auxillary verbs that follow their own rules:
| jare (Passive auxillary - to be) | Pres. Sing. | Pres. Plur. | Past Sing. | Past Plur. | Fut. Sing | Fut. Plur. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Person | sx | jamis | rau | ramis | salu | salmis |
| 2nd Person | sai | jatis | rui | ratis | sali | saltis |
| 3rd Person | ist | suunt | ra | rant | sal | salant |
| avin (Active auxillary - to have) | Pres. Sing. | Pres. Plur. | Past Sing. | Past Plur. | Fut. Sing | Fut. Plur. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Person | avo | aben | azo | aden | aqo | agen |
| 2nd Person | abis | avat | adis | azat | agis | aqat |
| 3rd Person | abit | aben | adit | aden | agit | agen |
These auxillaries are used along with the infinitive of the desired word (at the end) to form the three Perfect tenses (Perfect Simple, Pluperfect, and Future Perfect).
Joiners
If a noun and a verb of different classes are used in the same sentence, then these particles, "joiners", must be used in said sentence. They may be placed anywhere in it.
| Speech Part/Class | I Noun | II Noun | III Noun | IV Noun | V Noun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I Verb | thet | mas | jun | co | |
| II Verb | wal | kiim | zu | get | |
| III Verb | ar | xl | liit | kad | |
| IV Verb | phun | wad | min | mee | |
| V Verb | arc | chal | sun | sip |
Numbers
| English | Rasafa | English | Rasafa | English | Rasafa | English | Rasafa | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | nolle | 10 | dest | 20 | duzek | 100 | chandra | |||
| 1 | enna | 11 | leevin | 21 | duzek-enna | 101 | chandra-enna | |||
| 2 | dawa | 12 | zolf | 24 | duzek-cuaphor | 120 | chandra-duzek | |||
| 3 | tree | 13 | destree | 30 | trezek | 200 | duchandra | |||
| 4 | cuaphor | 14 | descuaphor | 40 | cuaphek | 1000 | tilla | |||
| 5 | syng | 15 | dessyng | 50 | synzek | 1000000 | tiltilla | |||
| 6 | ses | 16 | dessis | 60 | sizek | 1000000000 | trella | |||
| 7 | seth | 17 | desseth | 70 | sethek | 10^21 | sethella | |||
| 8 | aqda | 18 | destaqda | 80 | aqdek | 10^100 (googol) | gogil | |||
| 9 | nui | 19 | desnui | 90 | nuizek | 10^(10^100) (googlplex) | gogilis |
Ordinals are denoted by -eth.
| English | Rasafa |
|---|---|
| infinity | nistent |
| last | -ent- |
Pronouns
| Nominative/Vocative | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Person | Ii | novx |
| 2nd Person | du | vur |
| 3rd Person Masculine | el | els |
| 3rd Person Feminine | sii | sii |
| 3rd Person Neuter | ed | eds |
| Genitive/Dative | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Person | mii | usa |
| 2nd Person | du | voir |
| 3rd Person Masculine | im | ims |
| 3rd Person Feminine | irs | irs |
| 3rd Person Neuter | id | ids |
| Accusative/Ablative | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Person | me | nun |
| 2nd Person | suu | vin |
| 3rd Person Masculine | en | ens |
| 3rd Person Feminine | er | ers |
| 3rd Person Neuter | es | ets |
For the 3rd Person Plural forms, the masculine is for a group of masculine and/not neuter nouns, the feminine for a group of feminine and/not neuter nouns, and the neuter for a group of neuter and/or a mix of feminine and masculine nouns. And/not means "the first, or both, choices, but not the second only."
Modifiers
Adjectives are attached to the ends of noun stems, and take their endings. Adverbs (independent of prepositions) do the same for verbs. Adverbial phrases (dependent on prepositions) only let the preposition join onto the verb. Numbers may count as adjectives for collective nouns.
Prepositions: A Special Note
Prepositions that deal with place begin with the prefix de-. Those dealing with time begin with je-. Both prefixes are dropped in adverbial phrases.
Word Order
In the simple case, it is:
Subject-Object-Verb
However, a more specific description would be:
Vocative(Genitive),-Joiner-Nominative(Genitive)-Ablative(Genitive)-Accusative(Genitive)-Dative(Genitive)-Verb.
Relative clauses are indicated by substitiutuing them for one of the noun cases, and ending with a relative-clause-word.
Negation
For nouns and pronouns, the negation particle is nist-. For verbs, -nonna. And for modifiers, -un-.
Glossary
The glossary would be too big to put here, so I have made it a separate page, which can be accessed here.
