Day 1: Island: "âfumbâ"

âfumbâ: island, land, earth

• [ˈⁿtsi.ku ˈᵑgʷele ˈsama tɕa ki ʔəˈɸuᵐbə ᵑki]
• Nsiku ngwele sama cha ki âfumbâ nki.
• nsiku N=wele sama cha ki âfumbâ N=ki
• bird ATTR=many dwell at this island ATTR=this
• Many birds live on this island.

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Day 2: Islet: "chikâfumbâ"

chikâfumbâ: islet, holm, skerry, rock (in the sea), uninhabited small island

This is just last day's word with the diminutive prefix che(k)-/chi(k)-. The allomorphs are due to vowel harmony and historical sound changes that turned all syllables into CV.

• che- for consonant-initial words with low/-ATR vowels a, e, o
• chi- for consonant-initial words with high/+ATR vowel â [ə], i, u
• chek- for vowel-initial words with low/-ATR vowels
• chik- for vowel-initial words with high/+ATR vowel

Most words are consonant-initial. My plan is for the historical k coda to disappear leaving a high tone, but I haven't finished the tone system yet.

Example

• [ˌtɕikəˈɸuᵐbə ˌʔunuˈkiɾʑu ˈʔix̞ʷi ˌⁿtsi.ku ˈⁿtsi.ku ˈkaka ˈtɕax̞a]
• Chikâfumbâ unukirhu, ihwi nsiku-nsiku kaka chaha.
• chik-âfumbâ unukirhu ihwi nsiku~nsiku kaka cha=HA
• DIM-island be_white because bird~PL poo.PFV on=3SG.IN
• The islet is white because the birds pooed on it.

The rh can be pronounced as the Czech fricative trill "ř" [r̝], as a flap with fricative release [ɾʑ] or as a voiced alveolo-palatal fricative [ʑ].

When s is prenazalised to ns, it's pronounced with an affricate [ⁿts].

Adjectives function as (static) verbs. When used predicatively they go where the a verb would normally go in a clause. When used attributively they are prefixed with the attributive particle/genitive preposition/relativizer n- and are indistinguishable from relative clauses.

Kwanyani nouns are not marked for gender or case, but may optionally be marked as plural using full reduplication.

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Day 3: Lightouse: "watekwa renya"

New Words

• tekwa: n. streetlight, watchfire, fire for light
• chetekwa: n. flashlight, lamp, torch
• watekwa: n. floodlight, signal fire, beacon
• renya: v. attract, invite, beckon
• watekwa renya: n. lighthouse

Example

• [ˌox̞eˈx̞eʎa waˈtekʷa ˈreɲa ko ˈkeᵑgo ˈᵐpaᵑka]
• Ohehelya watekwa renya ko kengo mpanka.
• UH-he~helya WA-tekwa Ø=renya ko kengo N=panka
• NV-IPFV~shine AUG-fire ATTR=beckon to overside ATTR=sea
• There's a lighthouse shining out over the sea.

Grammar

• The wa-/wâ- prefix is the augmentative.
• Before r and nasals, the attributive clitic n- disappears.
• The u(h)-/o(h)- "neutral voice" verbal prefix is a difficult one to explain. It causes the word order to change from SVO to VSO, it marks that the subject is indefinite, and is used to introduce a new subject. Basically it turns "the X Y-s" to "there's an X Y-ing".
• Kwanyani has few prepositions, but many "compound preposition". Instead of saying "onto something", you say "to the overside of something".

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Day 4: Sound: "hwingâ"

New Words

• kele: n. side
• rawe: a. second, other
• kelerawe: n. other side, opposite side
• hwingâ: n. sound, strait

Example

• [ˈbaⁿtse ˌaᵑkʷeˈkʷeⁿda ˈtekʷa ⁿtɕa ˌkeleˈrawe ˈᵑxʷiᵑgə]
• Banse ankwekwenda tekwa ncha kelerawe nhwingâ.
• banse AN-kwe~kwenda tekwa N=cha kelerawe N=hwingâ
• now AV-IPFV~kwenda light ATTR=on otherside GEN=sound
• Now I'm seeing the lights on the other side of the sound.

Grammar

• The subject may be dropped if it matches the subject of a previous sentence or it's clear from context in a new discourse.
• The an-/ân- prefix indicates transitivity, active voice, and definiteness of the subject/agent.
• Imperfective aspect is indicated with reduplication of the first syllable of the verb stem (for regular verbs). Some verbs have different stems (suppletion) for the perfective and imperfective aspects (or will have, because I haven't work on that yet).
• The attributive clitic n- signifies that the preposition phrase "on the other side of the sound" describes the location of the noun (where the lights are), not the action (where the seeing happens).

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Day 5: Shore with Dunes: "tunyu lâ fundâ"

New Words

• tunyu: n. beach, shore, riverbank
• fundâ: n. dune

Example

• [ˈʔejo ʔaˈᵑgʷesa saˈᵑkoⁿdʑa moˈtoka ˈⁿtuɲu lə nəˈⁿtɕəkə tɕa ˈɸuⁿdə]
• Eyo angwesa sankonja motoka ntunyu lâ nânchâkâ cha fundâ.
• eyo AN-wesa S=AN-konja motoka N=tunyu lâ nânchâkâ cha fundâ
• 3SG.AN AV-say COMPL=AV-drive.PFV car ATTR=beach with nunchuk at dune
• He said that he drove a beach buggy with nunchucks on the dunes.

Grammar

• Third person pronouns distinguish number and animacy, but not gender or case.
• The complementizer ("that") appears as an s- before vowels and causes a devoicing/fritivization (like Grimm's Law) on initial consonants.
• For subordinate clauses the active voice prefix an-/ân- also indicates that the subordinate clause subject is the same as the main clause subject. To mark that the subordinate clause has a "different he", the "neutral voice" / "different subject" prefix oh-/uh- is used instead (along with a switch from SVO to VSO word order).

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Day 6: Cape: "koke nâfumbâ"

New Words

• koke: n
  • Anatomy: head
  • Geography: cape, headland (also koke nâfumbâ)

Example

• [ˈkudu ko waˈtekʷa ˈreɲa ⁿtɕa ˈkoke ˈⁿtoᵑge lə ˈsidu ko niˈsəli ˈᵑxiⁿtə]
• Kudu ko watekwa renya ncha Koke Ntonge lâ sidu ko nisâli nhintâ.
• kudu ko wa-tekwa Ø-renya N=cha Koke N=Tonge lâ sidu ko nisâli N=hintâ
• drive.IMP to AUG-fire ATTR=beckon ATTR=on cape ATTR=Tonge and walk.IMP to cabin ATTR=1PL.EXCL
• Drive to the lighthouse on Cape Tonge and walk to our cabin.

Grammar

The imperative uses the irrealis stem of the verb. The realis stem is most often formed from the irrealis stem by some combination of prenasalizing and palatalizing the second consant of the CVC root, as well as lowering the root vowel. The realis stem usually ends in the vowel -a and the irrealis stem in -u. As an example, the irrealis stem of to drive is kudu and the realis
stem is konja.

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Day 7: Isthmus: "bungu (nâfumbâ)"

New Words

• bungu: n.
  • Anatomy: neck
  • Geography: isthmus, neck of land (explicitly the geographic sense: bungu nâfumbâ)

Example

• [ˈkomo keˈkoⁿdʑa lə ˈwelo tɕa ˈkugi ˈᵐbuᵑgu ko ʔiˈkuru ˈᵐbunə ⁿtɕa ˌkeleˈrawe ˈʔix̞ʷi ˈnaⁿdʑa ˈkoɲe gaˈlase]
• Komo kekonja lâ welo cha kugi mbungu ko ikuru mbunâ ncha kelerawe, ihwi nanja konye galase.
• komo ke~konja lâ welo cha kugi N=bungu ko ikuru N=bunâ N=cha kelerawe ihwi nanja H=gonye galase
• 1SG IPFV~fare with bike on road GEN=isthmus to house GEN=coffee ATTR=on otherside because want.STAT COMPL=eat.PFV ice_cream
• I was cyling on the isthmus road to the café on the other side, because I wanted to eat ice cream.

Grammar

• The verbal complement of nanja to want is not an infinitive, but a subordinate clause with a finite verb, like in Modern Greek.
• Stative verbs do not have a distinction between perfective and imperfective aspect and always use the unmarked "perfective" form, even though they theoretically could be considered more imperfective in meaning.

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Day 8: River: "bilunu"

New Words

• bilunu: n. river, stream, current
• naha: n. city

Example

• [tɕa ˈbemo ᵐbiˈlunu ʔoˈsex̞ʷa ˈnax̞a ˈᵑgʷawa]
• Cha bemo mbilunu osehwa naha ngwawa.
• cha bemo N=bilunu UH-ehwa naha N=wawa
• in separation GEN=river NV-exist city ATTR=great
• Between the rivers lies a great city.

Grammar

• An adverbial may be moved to the very beginning of the sentence (before the subject, if it precedes the verb) to turn it into a "frame setter", which introduces the setting of the sentence in time or space. (Learn more about frame setters in Conlangery episode 153 on Information Structure with Aidan Aannestad, at 44:00.)

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Day 9: River Mouth: "bumu (mbilunu)"

New Words

• bumu: n mouth, lip, opening, river mouth
• bumu mbilunu: n river mouth (more explicitly the geographic sense)

I couldn't come up with an interesting example today. :-)

But I'll share something about word building. It was not my plan to make up a conculture for the conlang, but I have spent some time thinking about where this conlang would belong geographically. I've drawn influence from Bantu and Austronesian languages, so I've started to imagine something like "What if there were another Madagascar (but smaller)?". Some granite (non-volcanic) island in the Indian Ocean, similar to the Mahé island of the Seychelles, maybe?

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Day 10: Tributary: "bilunu ndoga"

New Words

• loga: n. help, aid, auxiliary, supplement
• bilunu ndoga: n. tributary
• benda: v. to flow
• lâ kugi n-: prep. through, via

Example

• [biˈlunu ˈⁿtsewe ᵑkʷa ˈloga ᵑko biˈlunu ˈᵑgote ˈbeⁿda lə ˈkugi ˈnax̞a ⁿtəˈⁿdimu aˈlenⁿtso]
• Bilunu nSewe, nkwa loga nko bilunu nGote, benda lâ kugi naha ntândimu, Alenso.
• bilunu N=Sewe N=kwa loga N=ko bilunu N=Gote benda lâ kugi N=naha N=tandi=MU Alenso
• river GEN=Sewe REL=be tributary ATTR=to river GEN=Gote flow by way GEN=city GEN=home=1SG Alenso
• The Sewe River, which is a tributary of the Gote River, flows through my hometown, Alenso.

Grammar

When non-obstruent consonants are prenasalized, they mutate like this:

• nasal and prenasalized consonants remain unchanged
• r and rh remain unchanged (the nasal disappears)
• l fortifies into nd
• ly and y nasalize into ny
• w fortifies into ngw

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Day 11: River Delta: "jekwembo mbumu"

New Words

• embo: n. corner
• jiku: num. three
• jekwembo: n. triangle
• jekwembo mbumu: n. river delta
• gega: n. mud, clay, silt

Example

• [biˈlunu ˌʔaⁿteˈtoma dʑeˈkʷeᵐbo ˈᵐbumu lə ˈgega]
• Bilunu antetoma jekwembo mbumu lâ gega.
• bilunu AN-te~toma jekwembo N=bumu lâ gega
• river AV-IPFV~cover triangle GEN=river_mouth with silt
• The river covers the delta with silt.

Grammar

The imperfective stem of the verb is used for actions occurring habitually and for general truths.

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Day 12: Lake: "gwânshâ"

New Words

gwânshâ: n. lake

Example

• [ˈbaⁿtse siˈrumə heˈheʎa tɕa ˈbuᵑgu ˌᵑkebeˈbamo ˈgʷəⁿɕə ˈⁿtsiʎə lə ˈkumu ɲaˈmeᵐbe]
• Banse sirumâ hehelya cha bungu, nkebebamo gwânshâ nSilyâ lâ kumu nyamembe.
• banse sirumâ he~helya cha bungu N=KI-be~bamo gwânshâ N=Silyâ lâ kumu N=lyamembe
• now sun IPFV~shine on isthmus REL=PV-IPFV~embrace lake GEN=Silyâ with arm ATTR=blue
• Now the sun is shining on the istmus, which Lake Silyâ embraces with blue arms.

A translation of a line from the song "Slåttervisa", performed by the acapella group Viba Femba (you can find it on Spotify and YouTube).

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Day 13: Tarn: "kwere"

New Words

• kwere: n. tarn, mountain lake, pond
• belya v. bathe, spend time in water for leisurely pleasure, to swim (when not going anywheree)

Example

• [kiˈrumu ˈbeʎa tɕa ˈkʷere lə kʷiˈkʷəx̞ə ˈʔuwə ku ˈxʷələ ᵑku]
• Kirumu belya cha kwere, lâ kwikwâhâ uwâ ku hwâlâ nku.
• kirumu belya cha kwere lâ kwikwâ=HA uwâ ku hwâlâ N=ku
• 3PL.AN swim in tarn and water=3SG.IN be_warm that day ATTR=that
• They swam in a tarn, and its water was warm that day.

Grammar

The personal pronouns of Kwanyani distinguishes between first person exclusive and inclusive. First exclusive, second, and third persons pronouns have singular and plural forms. The first person inclusive have dual and plural forms, and this is the only part of the grammar where the dual shows up. The table of pronoun forms becomes more regular if one thinks of minimal vs augmented (instead of singular vs plural) for four persons: 1, 1+2, 2, and 3.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_number#Minimal,_unit_augmented,_and_augmented

Minimal personal pronouns (independent and clitic forms):

• 1SG: komo, =MU
• 1DU.INCL: yumbâ, =MBA
• 2SG: wende, =NDE
• 3SG.AN: eyo, =YO
• 3SG.IN: oha, =HA

Augmented personal pronouns (independent forms only):

• 1PL.EXCL: hintâ
• 1PL.INCL: binsi
• 2PL: dulu
• 3PL.AN: kirumu
• 3PL.IN: asahe

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Day 14: Lowland: "âfumbâ ndesa"

New Words

• desa: n. underside, low
• cha desa n-: prep. under
• âfumbâ ndesa: n. lowland, (capitalized) the Netherlands

Example

• [ˈkomo ʔaˈnaⁿdʑa ˈkoⁿdʑa lə ˈwelo tɕa ʔəˈɸuᵐbə ˈⁿdesa]
• Komo ananja konja lâ welo cha Âfumbâ nDesa.
• komo AN-naja konja lâ welo cha Âfumbâ N=Desa
• 1SG AV-want fare with bike in land GEN=low
• I want to cycle in the Netherlands.

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Day 15: Highland: "âfumbâ nkengo"

New Words

• kengo: n. overside, height
• cha kengo n-: prep. over
• âfumbâ nkengo: n. highland

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Day 16: Ridge: "kâtu nteme"

New Words

• kâtu: n. ridge; Anatomy: back; Geography: montain ridge
• teme: n. mountain
• kâtu nteme: n mountain ridge (more explicitly the geographic sense)

Flag

A while ago I played with https://flag-creator.com/ and made a flag for the fictitious island where Kwanyani is spoken.

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Day 17: Bay, Gulf: "jumâ ntunyu"

New Words

• jumâ: n.
• hollow, hole, pocket
• lap, bosom, embrace, arms
• den, (hollow of a) bird's nest
• bay, gulf

Example

• [ˈrawe ˈɲaᵑga ʔaˈnaⁿdʑa ˈʍəɲu tɕa ˈdʑumə ˈmama kiˈrumu]
• Rawe nyanga ananja hwânyu cha jumâ mama nkirumu.
• rawe nyanga AN-nanja H-wânyu cha jumâ N=mama N=kirumu
• two child AV-want COMPL=sit in lap GEN=mom GEN=3PL.AN
• The two children wanted to sit in their mother's lap.

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Day 18: Beach: "tunyu ndânku"

New Words

• dânku: n. sand
• kâtu ndânku: n. sandbank, (partially) submerged ridge of sand
• tunyu ndânku: n. beach, sandy shore, sandy riverbank

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Day 19: Sea, Ocean: "halacha, panka"

New Words

• halacha: n. sea (from where you can see the coast)
• panka: n. ocean, sea (from where you can't see the coast)
• sindâ: n. breadth, extent from side to side
• lâ sindâ n-: prep. across (the breadth)

Example

• [kiˈrumu ˈkoⁿdʑa lə ˈsində ˈᵐpaᵑka we ʔəˈɸuᵐbə ˈneka ko ʔəˈɸuᵐbə ˈrawe]
• Kirumu konja lâ sindâ mpanka we âfumbâ neka ko âfumbâ rawe.
• kirumu konja lâ sindâ N=panka we âfumbâ N=eka ko âfumbâ N=rawea
• 3PL.AN fare across width GEN=ocean from island ATTR=first to island ATTR=other
• They travelled across the ocean from the one island to the other island.

Grammar

The meanings of the preposition lâ include:

• Comitative: in company with (someone)
• Istrumental: using (something)
• Perlative: through, across, along [new meaning from today]

Lâ is also the conjuction "and".

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