The Language of Youhouian

Natively known as: youhou /ˈjaʊ̯haʊ̯/

...and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind...
thoʊ voʊ hělore thathě lo vanovi thoʊ louʻe lo yasie aʻě tha thesa
Pronunciation: /ðoʊ̯ voʊ̯ ˈhɛlɤɹæ ˈðaðɛ lɤ ˈvanɤvi ðoʊ̯ ˈlaʊ̯ʔæ lɤ ˈjasaɪ̯ ˈaʔɛ ða ˈðæsa/
Youhouian word order: and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind

Spelling & Phonology

Consonant inventory: g h j k l m n s t v ð ŋ ɹ ʃ ʔ ʦ ʧ

↓Manner/Place→ BilabialLabiodentalDentalAlveolarPalato-alveolarPalatalVelarGlottal
Nasalmnŋ
Stoptk gʔ
Affricateʦʧ
Fricativevðsʃh
Approximantɹj
Lateral approximantl

Vowel inventory: a aɪ̯ aʊ̯ i oʊ̯ u æ ɛ ɤ

Diphthongs: aɪ̯ aʊ̯ oʊ̯ ?

FrontBack
Highiu
High-midɤ
Low-midɛ
Near-lowæ
Lowa
Syllable structure: (C)V(C) ?
Stress pattern: Initial — stress is on the first syllable ?
Spelling rules:

PronunciationSpelling
æ e
ɛ ě
ɤ o
aʊ̯ ou
aɪ̯ ie
ɹ r
ð th
j y
ʃ sh
ŋ ng
ʧ ch
ʔ ʻ
̯

Grammar

Main word order: Subject Verb Object (Prepositional phrase). “Mary opened the door with a key” turns into Mary opened the door with a key.
Adjective order: Adjectives are positioned before the noun.
Adposition: prepositions ?

Nouns

Singular If starts with vowel: Prefix ʧ-
Else: Prefix ʧa-
chalotie /ˈʧalɤtaɪ̯/
dog
Plural Prefix aʊ̯-
oulotie /ˈaʊ̯lɤtaɪ̯/
dogs


Articles

Youhouian has no definite article ‘the’, or indefinite article ‘a’.

Pronouns

Nominative Accusative
1st singular ha /ha/
I
se /sæ/
me
2nd singular o /ɤ/
you
nul /nul/
you
3rd singular masc voʊ /voʊ̯/
he, it (masc)
hang /haŋ/
his, it (masc)
3rd singular fem ě /ɛ/
she, it (fem)
lo /lɤ/
her, it (fem)
1st plural chu /ʧu/
we
e /æ/
us
2nd plural ki /ki/
you all
vie /vaɪ̯/
you all
3rd plural veʻ /væʔ/
they
goun /gaʊ̯n/
them


Possessive determiners

Possessive
1st singular ni /ni/
my
2nd singular hen /hæn/
your
3rd singular masc lo /lɤ/
his
3rd singular fem lě /lɛ/
her
1st plural na /na/
our
2nd plural so /sɤ/
your (pl)
3rd plural hoy /hɤj/
their


Verbs

Present Prefix voʊ̯-
voʊchěa /ˈvoʊ̯ʧɛa/
learn
Past Prefix naʊ̯-
nouchěa /ˈnaʊ̯ʧɛa/
learned


Youhouian uses a standalone particle word for future tense:

Future Particle before the verb: iŋ -
ing chěa /iŋ ˈʧɛa/
will learn



Imperfective aspect

The ‘imperfective’ aspect refers to ongoing actions, such as I am learning and habitual actions, such as I learn (something new every day).

Youhouian uses a standalone particle word for imperfective:

Imperfective Particle before the verb: ɹi -
ri chěa /ɹi ˈʧɛa/
learn


Numbers

Youhouian has a base-10 number system:

1 - va
2 - kou
3 - ve
4 - cho
5 - yě
6 - ka
7 - thiga
8 - ie
9 - ki
10 - chi
100 - engou
1000 - letho

Derivational morphology

Adjective → adverb = Suffix -ʔa
Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = Suffix -læ
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = Suffix -ði
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = Suffix -nɛ
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = Suffix -ma
Noun to verb = Suffix -mu
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = Suffix -ʔa
Tending to = Suffix -mu
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = Suffix -ʧɛ
Verb → noun that verb produces (e.g. know → knowledge) = Suffix -ma
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = Suffix -ŋɤ
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = Suffix -ʧa
Diminutive = Suffix -vaʊ̯
Augmentative = Suffix -lɛ

Youhouian - English Dictionary

Key: spelling /pronunciation/ part of speech. definition(s)

adj. adjective | adv. adverb | art. article | conj. conjunction | det. determiner | interj. interjection | n. noun | num. numeral | part. particle | prep. preposition | pron. pronoun | v. verb