Hapšâw'l language
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Hapšâw'l, or Hapshaw'l is the language spoken by most residents of Hapšâw, where it is the main official language, as well as by the Hapšâw'l diaspora, which is concentrated mostly in La Rossa and T'vaqi. Hapšâw'l is believed to be the descendant of an earlier language (sometimes referred to as Proto-Hapšâw'l A) with significant influence by at least one additional language, leading to a large amount of loanwords in it's modern form. Hapšâw'l was first standardized during the reign of Kapahapšâw, and this form, known as Classical Hapšâw'l remains the formal register of the language, used in political or educational settings, as well as written prose or the majority of poetry.
Phonology
Classical Hapšâw'l
Consonants
| Bilabial | Labiodental | Alveolar | Postalveolar | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stop | p b | t d | k g | |||
| Nasal | ɱ | n | ŋ | |||
| Trill | r | ʀ | ||||
| Fricative | f v | s z | ʃ ʒ | h ɦ | ||
| Approximant | ʋ | l | j | ɰ |
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u | |
| Middle | e | ɘ | ʌ ɔ |
| Open | ɑ |
Structure
Hapšâw'l largely adheres to a CV(F) syllabic structure, wherein a consonant is followed by a vowel which can be followed by one of the approximants (/w, j, l, ʋ/), as well as a nasal, which takes on the place of articulation of the consonant succeeding it, but is pronounced as /n/ when at the end of a word and corresponds to /n/ in roots. However a pair consisting of a stop (/p, b, t, d, k, g/) followed by a sibilant (/s, z, ʃ, ʒ/) of matching voice (for example /b/ and /ʒ/) can also be placed at the start of a syllable, without a vowel separating them. The consonants /w, l, n/ can function as syllabic consonants and can form a syllable with no vowel as well as no initial. Stress is almost universally placed on the last syllable.
Modern Spoken Hapšâw'l
Speakers of modern Hapšâw'l are split into two main dialects: Tokšahalnal: spoken in most of the country as well as among the Boatmen and Goyhalnal: spoken by inhabitants of the western coast of Hapšâw, west of the mountain range. Although the dialects are quite different from each other speakers of one usually do not struggle to understand the other.
Consonants
| Tokšahalnal | Goyhalnal | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bilabial | Labiodental | Alveolar | P.alveolar | Velar | Glottal | Bilabial | Labiodental | Alveolar | P.alveolar | Velar | Glottal | ||
| Stop | p b | t d | k g | p b | t d | ||||||||
| Nasal | m[1] | n[5] | ŋ | ɱ | n[6] | (ɲ) | ŋ | ||||||
| Trill | r | r | ʀ | ||||||||||
| Fricative | f v | s z | ʃ ʒ | ɣ[2] | h ɦ | f v | s z[6] | ʃ ʒ | x ɣ[7][8] | [9] | |||
| Affricate | (ts dz)[3] | (tʃ dʒ)[3] | (ts dz)[3][6] | (tʃ dʒ)[3] | |||||||||
| Approximant | w[4][5] | l[5] | j | ɰ | w[4] | l[6] | j | ɰ | |||||
- /ɱ/ in Classical Hapšâw'l.
- /ʀ/ in Classical Hapšâw'l.
- not pronounced as affricates in Classical Hapšâw'l, proscribed in both dialects.
- /ʋ/ in Classical Hapšâw'l.
- syllabic consonants are pronounced as /ɪC/.
- palatalized when next to /i/ or /e/, /l/ is palatalized to /j/. More common among poor speakers and young speakers.
- /k g/ in Classical Hapšâw'l.
- /ɣ/ corresponds to /ɦ/ in Classical Hapšâw'l.
- /h/ is dropped.
Vowels
| Tokšahalnal | Goyhalnal | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Front | Central | Back | Front | Central | Back | ||
| Close | i[1] | ɪ[3] | u | i | ʉ[4] | ||
| Middle | e[2] | ə[3] | ʌ ɔ | e | ɜ[4] ɘ | ɔ | |
| Open | ɑ | a[4] | |||||
- corresponds to both /i/ and /e/ in Classical Hapšâw'l.
- /ɘ/ in Classical Hapšâw'l.
- vowels are reduced to /ɪ/ (if /i/ or /e/) or /ə/ (otherwise) when not in stressed syllable.
- correspond to /u ʌ ɑ/ in Classical Hapšâw'l.
Orthography
The Hapšâw'l language is written in an abugida, with vowels being written as small signs above the consonants. Historically the script was written with no vowels, which were only added in 66 PC, vowels are still often omitted if the writer believes the word to be understandable without them. The Hapšâw'l script is written from left to right, with lines moving from top to bottom. It was traditionally written using reed pens but pencils and metal pens have become common since the calming.
Larosal haĤêvây
Larosal haĤêvây (rendered as Larossal Haxevại in the system) is an alternative orthography for the Hapšâw'l language developed by the DhK, based on the Rossan Script. Unlike the standard orthography it was made with Tokšahalnal Hapšâw'l in mind, reflecting the sound shifts of the dialect. The system has seen limited use among Hapšâw'l republicans, as well as in the Rossan Diaspora, especially among those who were raised in the country. Nevertheless it is used far less than the native Hapšâw'l script, and is used mostly as a symbol of opposition to the current government.
| LhH | Hapšâw'l | IPA value |
|---|---|---|
| a | a | /ɑ/ |
| ạ | â | /ʌ/ |
| b | b | /b/ |
| c | š, k when before s or c | /ʃ/, /k/ |
| ch | k | /k/ |
| d | d | /d/ |
| e | ê | /e/ |
| f | f | /f/ |
| g | ž, g when before s or g | /ʒ/, /g/ |
| gh | g | /g/ |
| h | h | /h/ |
| i | i, e, y | /i/, /j/ |
| l | l | /l/ |
| m | m | /m/ |
| n | n | /n/ |
| ṇ | g̃ | /ŋ/ |
| o | o | /ɔ/ |
| p | p | /p/ |
| r | r | /r/ |
| rh | ř | /ɣ/ |
| s | z, s after p, t, c | /z/, /s/ |
| ss | s | /s/ |
| t | t | /t/ |
| u | u, w | /u/, /w/ |
| ụ | ŵ | /ɰ/ |
| v | v | /v/ |
| x | ĥ | /ɦ/ |
The acute mark (`) is used on vowels to indicate stress that does not fall on the last syllable, for example Řiselan'l would be written as Rhissilànil.
Grammar
Native Hapšâw'l words follow a triconsonantal root structure, substituting different vowels between them to create different tenses of the verb which the root refers to.
| Present | Past Imperfect | Past Perfect | Future | Imperative | Infinitive |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CaCaC | CoCCâ | CiCiC | CêCCê | CaCC | CêCâC |
If a consonant which is not a final is placed at the coda of the syllable the last vowel is repeated (for example the present tense of t-t-t becomes tatata). If the root contains a stop-sibilant pairing the vowel between them is elided (the present tense of t-s-t becomes tsata).
Loaned words can be used as verbs if followed by the dummy root y-k-s.
The agent of the verb is marked by the prefix ši- for first person, l- for second and hen- for third. Hapšâw'l does not distinguish between singular and plural.
Nouns
Nouns are formed by attaching the prefix ho- (for the subject) or ha- (for the object) to the verb. They are typically formed using the infinitive, in which case the prefix may be dropped. Nouns can also be formed using other tenses of the verb, in which case the action of the verb is assumed to have taken place in accordance with the verbs tense (for example hakikši - group is formed from the past perfect form of k-k-š - to join, unite). Nouns are virtually never formed from the Present and Imperative forms of the verb.
Any noun can function as an adjective if placed before a second noun. The prefix ba- forms the comparative while the prefix ksi- forms the superlative. The suffix -l forms genitive nouns and the prefix de- forms instrumentative nouns. The suffix -yi negates both nouns and verbs.
Hapšâw'l has three pronouns: šiw - I, li - you and hen - they.
Numbers
Hapšâw'l uses base-6 numbers. It's named numbers are:
| Name | Value (sexary) | Value (decimal) |
|---|---|---|
| wetsê | 1 | 1 |
| kapa | 2 | 2 |
| paw | 3 | 3 |
| hora | 4 | 4 |
| gil | 5 | 5 |
| řa | 10 | 6 |
| higân | 100 | 36 |
| yone | 10 000 | 1 296 |
| tokŝayone | 100 000 000 | 1 679 616 |
| řotânyone | 10 000 000 000 000 000 | 2 821 109 907 456 |
Numbers placed before the noun are ordinal and express position or rank, numbers placed after the number are cardinal.
Sentence Structure
Hapšâw'l sentences follow a Subject-Verb-Object structure. Yes/no questions are formed by adding the suffix -may to the verb. the particle -la signifies asking for confirmation.