| Sky | |
|---|---|
| Xa | |
| Created by | Li Lamkiat |
| Ethnicity | Children of the Light |
| Users | All children |
| Purpose | Constructed language
|
| Sky script, Latin | |
| Official status | |
Official language in | Sky |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
Sky is a fictional constructed language for the game Sky: Children of the Light. Sky is a VOS language.
Source language
editThe bulk of vocabulary in Sky language are proportionally borrowed from the proportion of Sky's player demographics. Most words are modifications of Mandarin, English, Japanese, Malay and Korean words along with some a priori vocabulary. References are taken from Austronesian languages such as Toba Batak, Gilbertese and Seediq concerning morphology and syntax in drastic simplification. Certain syntactic particles are direct loanwords from Seediq.
Phonology
editConsonant
edit| Labial | Coronal1 | Palatal2 | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | |||
| Plosive3 | p b | t d | t͡ʃ d͡ʒ | k | (ʔ)4 |
| Fricative | f v5 | s z6 | ʃ | h~ɦ | |
| Approximant | w7 | ɹ8 | j | ||
| lateral approximant | l |
Phonetic details:
- Coronal consonants can be realized as dental or alveolar.
- Palatal obstruents /t͡ʃ d͡ʒ ʃ/ could be palatalized to [t͡ɕ d͡ʑ ɕ] before /i/.
- The contrast of plosives and affricates can be either based on voicedness [p t t͡ʃ k] [b d d͡ʒ g] or aspiration [pʰ tʰ t͡ʃʰ kʰ] [p t t͡ʃ k]. Voiced contrast is considered the standard.
- Glottal stop is inserted before a vowel onset; not phonemic.
- /f v/ are labiodental.
- Coronal fricatives /s z/ could be palatalized to [ʃ ʒ] or [ɕ ʑ] before /i/.
- /w/ is strictly distinct from /v/.
- The rhotic phoneme /ɹ/ allows a plethora of rhotic allophones; [ɹ] is the standard.
Vowel
edit| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u |
| Mid1 | e | o |
| Open2 | a | |
Phonetic details:
- Middle vowels can range between [e o ~ ɛ ɔ] as free variations.
- Open vowel /a/ can range between [a ~ ɑ].
Stress
editSky language is stress-timed: lengths of each syllable vary in accordance to whether they're stressed. Primary stress is on the first syllable of the word stem, with the secondary stress falling on the penultimate syllable. Semivowels /j w/ as coda are treated as consonants and therefore do not alter moras. Examples:
- Stress on the first syllable: màda, "already"
- Stress on the penultimate syllable: du-xà-haráko, "child who make use of light"
Sky language does not have phonemic distinction between vowel lengths. Their lengths, however, are realized differently according to stress. Stressed vowels last longer; unstressed vowels have corresponding optional allophones:
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| Close | i > [ɪ] | u > [ʊ] |
| Mid | e o a > [ə] | |
| Open | ||
Examples shown as below.
du-xa-[h]ara-ko
do-light-AGT-child
[duˈʃaː.haˌɹaː.ko] ~ [dʊˈʃaː.həˌɹaː.kə]
'child who make use of light'
bi-[y]aka-[y]it
become-red-PFV
[biˈjaːˌkaː.jit] ~ [bɪˈjaːˌkaː.jɪt]
'to have become red'
Monosyllabic content word are obligatorily stressed while function words are left unstressed. That leads to an apparent suprasegmental pattern where content words are intended to be the emphasis in speech flow.
Phonotactics and syllable
editThe basic syllable structure of Sky language is (C1)V(C2ə).
Onset
editOnset allows all consonants /m, n, p, b, t, d, k, g, t͡ʃ, d͡ʒ, f, v, s, z, ʃ, h, w, ɹ, j, l/ and zero consonant with an optionally inserted /ʔ/. While allowed,/ji/ and /wu/ are phonemically identical to /i/ and /u/.
Coda
editCodas are allowed only at the end of a word and an optional schwa is to be inserted. By far, all consonants are allowed like onset, but there might be exceptions. Combinations /ij/ and /uw/ are prohibited.
Syllable Structure
editOverall the syllable structure can be summarized by the simple notation (C1)V(C2ə). Names of the children of the light are exactly disyllabic, trisyllabic or tetrasyllabic with no exception.
| Structure | Sample word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monosyllabic | |||
| V | e | /e/ | yes/no question marker |
| VC2 | ku | /ku/ | me (1sg oblquie) |
| CV | xa | /ʃa/ | light |
| CVC2 | nus | /nus/ | them (3pl oblique) |
| Disyllabic | |||
| VCV | isu | /ˈi.su/ | you (2sg nominative) |
| VCVC2 | Ixut | /iˈʃut/ | (name) |
| CVCV | punu | /ˈpu.nu/ | he/she/it (3sg nominative) |
| CVCVC2 | Koput | /ˈko.put/ | (name) |
| Trisyllabic | |||
| VCVCV | Otilo | /oˈti.lo/ | (name) |
| VCVCVC2 | Emoyod | /ˈeˌmo.jod/ | (name) |
| CVCVCV | Romufo | /ɹoˈmu.fo/ | (name) |
| CVCVCVC2 | Parutup | /ˈpaˌɹu.tup/ | (name) |
| Tetrasyllabic | |||
| VCVCVCV | Icixupe | /iˈt͡ʃiˌʃu.pe/ | (name) |
| VCVCVCVC2 | Akicapo | /ˈa.kiˌt͡ʃa.po/ | (name) |
| CVCVCVCV | Fibefuzi | /ˈfi.beˌfu.zi/ | (name) |
| CVCVCVCVC2 | Lutaxojor | /ˈlu.taˌʃo.d͡ʒoɹ/ | (name) |
Historical sound changes
editThere's very little known about the older forms of the Sky language except for the Elders' names: Tandi (Isle of Dawn), Ayin (Daily Prairie), Teth (Hidden Forest), Alef and Daleth (Valley of Triumph), Samekh (Golden Wasteland), Lamed (Vault of Knowledge). Apart from Tandi, the rest of the Elders were named after Hebrew letters, shown as the chart below. The etymology of Tandi remains a mystery, and it's the only name that violates (C)V(C) combination limit of modern Sky language.
| Picture | Location | Names of Elder | Corresponding Hebrew Letter | IPA in modern Hebrew language | Order in Hebrew Alphabet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Isle of Dawn | Tandi | - | - | - | |
| Daily Prairie | Ayin | ע | [ʕ]
Colloquially [ʔ] or ∅ |
16th | |
| Hidden Forest | Teth | ט | [t] | 9th | |
| Valley of Triumph | Alef | א | [ʔ], ∅ | 1st | |
| Daleth | ד | [d] | 4th | ||
| Golden Wasteland | Samekh | ס | [s] | 15th | |
| Vault of Knowledge | Lamed | ל | [l] | 12th |
Several sounds implied in their names, supposedly the exact pronunciation of Hebrew, are absent in modern Sky language: [ʕ] for Ayin, [χ] for Samekh, phonetic [ʔ] for Alef, and from other Semitic languages [θ] from Teth and Daleth. There's not yet a clue how these sounds evolve to fit into the current inventory. The following tables display several plausible schemes for the sound change.
| "Old Sky" | *ʔ | *ʕ | *χ? | *θ? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| scheme 1:
global fortition |
k | g | k | t |
| *ʔalef > kalef | *ʕajin > gajin | *sameχ > Samek | *teθ > tet
*daleθ > dalet | |
| scheme 2:
global lenition |
∅ | ∅ | h | h |
| *ʔalef > alef | *ʕajin > ajin | *sameχ > Sameh | *teθ > teh
*daleθ > daleh | |
| scheme 3:
before high vowels |
*ʔ > {j w} / _{i u}
*ʔ > {k ∅} elsewhere |
*ʕ > {j w} / _{i u}
*ʕ > {g ∅} elsewhere |
*χ > ʃ / _i
*χ > {k h} elsewhere |
*θ > t͡s > t͡ʃ / _{i u}
*θ > {t h} elsewhere |
| *ʔilef > jilef | *ʕunu > wunu | *χisop > ʃisop | *θiθu > t͡ʃit͡ʃu | |
| scheme 4:
sibilantization |
- | - | see scheme 3 | s |
| *teθ > tes
*daleθ > dales |
Tandi is a peculiar case as modern Sky language does not allow CVCCV within a word. Three possible syllabic analysis are shown below, and their plausible sound changes follow from the second column.
| "Tandi" | CVC.CV /tan.di/ | CV.CCV /ta.ndi/ | CVCC.V /tand.i/ | CV.C.CV /ta.n̩.di/ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| scheme 1:
deletion |
*an > a | - | *and > a | *n̩ > ∅ |
| *tan.di > ta.di | *tand.i > **ta.i > ta.ji | *ta.n̩.di > ta.di | ||
| scheme 2:
coda deletion with vowel mutation |
*an > o / _C | - | *and > o | - |
| *tan.di > to.di | *tand.i > **to.i > to.ji | |||
| scheme 3:
vowel insertion |
*an > anV / _C | *ndV > nVdV | *and.i > a.na.di
(syllables reanalyzed) |
*n̩ > nV / V_
*n̩ > Vn / C_ |
| *tan.di > **tana.di > ta.na.di | *ta.ndi > **ta.nadi > ta.na.di | *tand.i > **tanad.i > ta.na.di | *ta.n̩.di > ta.na.di | |
| scheme 4:
fusion |
- | *ndi > di
*ndi > ni |
*Vnd.V > **Vn.V > V.nV
(syllables reanalyzed) |
- |
| *ta.ndi > ta.di
*ta.ndi > ta.ni |
*tand.i > **tan.i > ta.ni |
Orthography
editThe Sky language alphabet is transcribed to Latin script and consists of the 25 letters that exclude letter Q. The Romanization follows strict one-to-one sound correspondence aside from a limited number of allophones or free variations.
| Upper case | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower case | a | b | c | d | e | f | g | h | i | j | k | l | m | n | o | p | r | s | t | u | v | w | x | y | z |
| IPA | a | b | t͡ʃ | d | e | f | g | h~ɦ | i | d͡ʒ | k | l | m | n | o | p | ɹ | s | t | u | v | w | ʃ | j | z |
Diacritics
editThere are two diacritics in Romanization of Sky language.
- Grave accent: optional, to mark primary stress.
- Acute accent: optional, to mark secondary stress.
- Example: duxàharáko 'child who make use of light'
Morphology
editAuxiliaries
editThere are two sets of auxiliary verbs: aspect and modal.
Aspect auxiliary verbs cannot be inflected (i.e. -(y)it suffix is not applicable) and obligatorily precede modifying verb.
| Aspect | Sky Language | Sample sentence |
|---|---|---|
| preterite | mow | Mow te xa ya punus. |
| They have collected light. | ||
| counterperfective | mada | Mada te xa ya Romufo. |
| Romufo hasn't collected light yet. | ||
| progressive | igi | Igi te xa ka Ixut. |
| Ixut is collecting light now. |
Pronouns
editThe pronominal system is relatively simplistic and systematic. Direct forms are the default form taking place when appropriate particles precede, and oblique for those without particles. There is no gender distinction.
| Person | Number | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| singular | plural | ||||
| 1 | direct | yaku | [pronoun]-s | ||
| oblique | ku | ||||
| 2 | direct | isu | |||
| oblique | su | ||||
| 3 | General | direct | punu | ||
| oblique | nu | ||||
| Demonstrative
pronouns |
Proximal | direct | disa | ||
| oblique | isa | ||||
| Distal | direct | dasa | |||
| oblique | asa | ||||
| Reflexive | zepu=[oblique] | ||||
| Emphatic | isi=[direct] (from copula is) | ||||
Oblique pronouns functions as dative, genitive, locative, etc. when no particle precedes. When following the finite verb, it serves as a clitic to mark the subject of the whole verb phrase; similarly, it builds gerunds in sufficient contexts.
Te xa=nu ka isu.
take light=3sg.OBL NOM 2sg
'You collect their (sg.) light'
Te=ku xa.
take=1sg.OBL light
'I collect light'
Du te-xa=ku ka punu.
do take-light=1sg.OBL NOM 3sg
'They (sg.) collect light for me' (lit. They do my light-taking)
Determiner
editOnly demonstrators are used in Sky language and they follow a simple paradigm. They precede head word and do not inflect.
| Degree | Direct |
|---|---|
| Proximal | dis |
| Distal | das |
Syntax
editWord order
editThe standard word order of Sky language is VOS (verb–object–subject).
Mada
not.yet
te
take
xa
light
ka
NOM
yaku.
1sg
'I haven't collected light'
Morphosyntactic alignment
editSky language is an accusative language; its agent and subject are both indicated with a particle ka, and object is left unmarked.
Copula
editIs is the copula word that does not conjugate or make compound words. It expresses identity, subgroup, state, attributes, existence, and location. However, most of the time the copula is optional and its occurence semantically implies emphasis; i.e. Is ko ka Fihic is semantically identical to Ko ka Fihic but pragmatically the latter sentence puts emphasis on the state of "ko".
Is
COP
ka
NOM
Fihic.
Fihic
'It's Fihic'
Is
COP
ko
child
ka
NOM
Fihic.
Fihic
'Fihic is a child' (or 'Fihic belongs to the category "child"')
Is
COP
te
take
xa
light
ka
NOM
yaku.
1sg
'I'm taking light' (lit. I'm in the state of taking light)
Is
COP
aka
red
ka
NOM
xa.
light
'Light is red'
Is
COP
ti
LOC
pahi
prairie
ka
NOM
yaku.
1sg
'I'm at the prairie' ('the prairie' usually means 'Daily Prairie')
Negation
editTo negate a certain phrase, a negation particle na is placed directly before it. Negation marker displacement is possible when the negated phrase is apparent enough through context. This rule of order also applies to other semantically negating words to negate another phrase.
Na
NEG
te
take
xa
light
ka
NOM
yaku.
1sg
'I don't collect light'
Te
take
na
NEG
xa
light
ka
NOM
yaku.
1sg
'I collect no light'
Te
take
xa
light
na
NEG
ka
NOM
yaku.
1sg
'It is not me that collect light (Somebody else does it/No one does it)'
Te
take
xa
light
ka
NOM
na
NEG
yaku.
1sg
'It is not me that collect light (Someone else does it)'
Note that in (3) and (4) there is a slight semantic difference. In (4), the negation plainly states that the agent of this action is not carried out by yaku. In (3), the whole ka-phrase is negated, aside a duplicated meaning from (3), by extension meaning no one turns out carrying out the action.
Prohibitive is formed by inserting na before the finite verb and drops the ka-phrase. Na could be articulated extralong for emphasis.
Na
NEG
te
take
xa.
light
'Don't collect light!'
Direction
editThere are two sets of directions in the Sky language: body relative directions and Eden-based coordinates.
Body relative directions are a set of geometrical directions based on a speaker's perspective. All of them are derived from body parts of a child. The distinction between left and right is based on the two basic bodily expressions: the hand to hold a butterfly and the hand to wave hand (lv. 1~4).
| English | Sky term | Source word | Original meaing |
|---|---|---|---|
| front | face | ||
| back | back | ||
| up | head | ||
| down | foot | ||
| left | to hold butterfly | ||
| right | to wave hand |
Eden-based coordinates is a geography-based direction linked to the ultimate goal of all children: the Eden. It's a dichotomy that divides into "towards Eden" and "away from Eden". In the circumstances where Eden is not visible "towards Eden" explicitly means "towards the exist that's closer to Eden" and vice versa.
| English | Sky term |
|---|---|
| towards Eden | kuweden |
ku(w)-eden go.to-Eden 'go to Eden' | |
| away from Eden | liyeden |
li(y)-eden leave-Eden 'leave Eden' |