Seńru
seńra is a constructed language intended to be expressive, enjoyable to use, and simple to learn. its grammar is somewhat unique and may require some adjustment, but it is designed to be exceptionally consistent and flexible.
writing and pronunciation
seńra is simple to pronounce, and it has a regular writing system. tables follow of each phoneme (sound) in the language and the letter used to write it.
| letter | IPA | guide |
|---|---|---|
| p | /p/ | like spin |
| t | /t/ | like stop |
| k | /k/ | like skirt |
| b | /b/ | like bat |
| d | /d/ | like dog |
| g | /g/ | like go |
| s | /s/ | like see |
| z | /z/ | like zoo |
| ts | /ts/ | like cats |
| sh | /ʃ/ | like ship |
| j | /ʒ/ | like measure |
| h | /h/ | like hat |
| w | /w/ | like we |
| r | /ɾ/ | like spanish pero |
| y | /j/ | like yes |
| m | /m/ | like man |
| n | /n/ | like net |
| ń | /ŋ/ | like sing |
| letter | IPA | guide |
|---|---|---|
| a | /a/ | like father |
| e | /e/ | like they |
| i | /i/ | like see |
| o | /o/ | like go |
| u | /u/ | like boot |
the pronunciation guides are not to be taken too seriously. there is a lot of variation in how these english words are pronounced, especially with the vowels.
one particular difference between english and seńra (and many other languages in the world) is that the plosives (like, p, t, or k) in english are often pronounced with what is called aspiration. if you say the word *cat* and hold your hand in front of your face, you may feel a burst of air. the word skirt has a similar sound, but if you hold your hand to your mouth, it won't feel the same way. this is because in the word skirt, the sound is not aspirated. one should try to pronounce the plosives in seńra like this.
another particularity is that the vowels in seńra are "pure" vowels. the vowels in the words go and they are often pronounced as diphthongs, meaning that they start out as one vowel and end at another. one should try to pronounce a single, unchanging vowel.
the consonants p, t, k, s, and sh may be geminated. this simply means that they pronounced for longer. this is written by repeating the consonant (p -> pp). geminated sh is written as ssh.
pronouns
| pronoun | kind | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ka | first person singular | I, me |
| ki | first person plural | we, us |
| ta | second person singular | you |
| ti | second person plural | y'all, youse |
| na | third person singular | she, he, they (singular), her, him, them, it |
| ni | third person plural | they, them |
| ro | reflexive | myself, yourself, ourselves, yourselves, itself, themselves |
| ru | demonstrative | this, that, these, those |
| toshu | interrogative | who, what |
pronouns are the simplest kind of word in seńra. they are not inflected, with the exception of toshu and ru. they may act as the subject or object of a verb.
ru is specifically a pronoun. it is not an article, like the, and it is used in the sense of this is good, or I like that. however, it may be inflected into ri and act similarly to an article by means of being a modifier, to be used in the sense of this dog, or that house.
sentence structure
seńra has one main part of speech, content word, which acts as a verb, but it is used anywhere a noun, adjective, or adverb would be. it is inflected with different suffixes to do different tasks.
| regular | infinitive | imperative | adverbial | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -u | ||||
| intransitive | -i | -ui | -e | -iń |
| transitive | -a | -ua | -ea | -ań |
the word order of a sentence is verb, then object, then subject. the subject of a verb is who is doing or being it, and the object of a verb is what it is being done to.
when a content word is intransitive, it is followed by a subject but no object. when a content word is transitive, it is followed by an object, then a subject.
when a content word is infinitive, it is being used as a subject or object. otherwise, it is being used as a verb.
the imperative form is used for commands. the intransitive imperative form has no explicit subject because the subject is whoever you're talking to. the transitive imperative form has only an explicit object.
tti ka
eat-INTRANS 1s"I'm eating"
verbs are independent of tense, so this could also mean "I've eaten" or "I will eat". the time that something occurs may be specified with other words when it is relevant.
tta kinu ka
eat-TRANS plant-INF 1s"I'm eating a plant"
ttea kinu
eat-IMP.TRANS plant-INF"eat a plant"
seńra does not have a word for "be" or "is". instead, seńra expresses states of being in the same manner as actions. rather than to say "the house is blue", one says "the house blues" (reki tomu). it's not that "you are a person"— instead, "you person" (ssha ta).
rezi ttu
good-INTRANS eat-INF"eating is good"
kini ka
plant-INTRANS 1s"I am a plant"
the subject and object of a verb can be the subject of other verbs (called modifiers), which act much like adjectives. the grammar is the same as if it were its own sentence, just inside a larger sentence.
tta rezi kinu ka
eat-TRANS good-INTRANS plant-INF 1s"I'm eating a good plant"
batsa kua zegatsi seku sshu ka
find-TRANS have-TRANS fuchsia-INTRANS hair-INF person-INF 1s"I'm looking for the person with fuchsia hair"
infinitives can have a subject and object via their transitive/intransitive forms.
kuhama mati mitui ta hadua zarui ta ta
reveal-TRANS bad-INTRANS think-INF.INTRANS 2s advocate-INF.TRANS leader-INF.INTRANS 2s 2s`"your presidential campaign has revealed poor thinking on your part"
verbs can themselves be the subject of adverbs, which use the adverbial form.
dońmiń mazi ka
fast-INTRANS.ADV move-INTRANS 1s"I walk quickly"
hikań ońyi temu suti ka
use-TRANS.ADV many-INTRANS word-INF talk-INTRANS 1s"I talk using a lot of words"
all additional suffixes of a content word occur after the suffixes described above.
content word suffixes
suffixes are added to the end of content words to perform various grammatical functions.
mood
despite being irrespective of tense, seńra verbs they are either of a realis or irrealis mood. verbs are normally realis. irrealis verbs are suffixed with -tese.
the irrealis mood is used for anything that hasn't happened, isn't happening, and isn't guaranteed to happen.
kamiń erań kimu mazitese apiu
possible-INTRANS.ADV toward-TRANS.ADV flower-inf move-TRANS-IRR bee-INF"the bee might go onto the flower"
derivations
| suffix | name | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| -so | negative | not; the content word is negated |
| -kko | passive | the subject and object of the verb are swapped |
| -domo | comparative | -er, more |
| -ppo | excessive | too [much] |
derivations change the meaning of the content word in some way.
tsurińppo bedikko ka
often-INTRANS.ADV-TOO need-INTRANS 1s"I'm relied on too often"
tsekkaso ońyippo rittu ka
buy-TRANS-NEG many-INTRANS-TOO dress-INF 1s"I didn't buy too many dresses"
coordinators
| coordinator | meaning |
|---|---|
| -mo | and |
| -go | or |
coordinators are another kind of suffix which can be added to a content word. typically, a verb can have one subject and one object, and a subject can have one verb/modifier/adverb. however, multiple content words can occupy these positions using coordinating suffixes.
ya ya ka oku dayu ppudumo
in-TRANS in-TRANS 1s mouth-INF tooth-INF tongue-INF-AND"there are teeth and a tongue in my mouth"
conjunctions
conjunctions are a part of speech other than pronouns or content words. conjunctions join together entire sentences, rather than just subjects or objects.
| conjunction | meaning |
|---|---|
| imo | and |
| igo | or |
| iti | because |
| koń | so/and thus |
| iso | yet/but |
| emo | if ... then |
końra renu ka, emo reziń gańki ka
see-TRANS animal-INF 1s THEN good-INTRANS.ADV feel-INTRANS 1s"if I see an animal, I feel good"
questions
the suffix -to on the verb of a sentence indicates a yes or no question.
eńsato goju ta?
enjoy-TRANS-Q bean-INF 2s"do you like beans?"
the interrogative pronoun toshu performs the functions of wh- words, like who, what, where, when, or why. it replaces what is being asked about; it is like a blank space to be filled. unlike the other pronouns, it is inflected like a normal content word.
tta goju toshu?
eat-TRANS bean-INF WH-INF`"who ate the beans?"
tosha goju ta?
WH-TRANS bean-INF 2s"what are you doing to the beans?"
ya toshu goju?
in-TRANS WH-INF bean-INF"where are the beans?"
prepositions
prepositions in seńra are not a separate class of words. they are used and inflected like any other word, usually transitively.
| word | meaning |
|---|---|
| yu | in, on, at |
| ju | during, while |
| eru | to, toward |
| reu | due to, because of |
| hiku | via, using |
| roku | about |
dońmiń jańmo neru erańmo ta mazi ka
fast-INTRANS.ADV during-TRANS.ADV-AND night toward-TRANS.ADV-AND 2s move-INTRANS 1s"I am quickly heading toward you in the night"
numbers
| 0 | zeru |
| 1 | tsu |
| 2 | bu |
| 3 | wu |
| 4 | kku |
| 5 | gu |
| 6 | shu |
| 7 | raku |
| 8 | mu |
| 9 | jiu |
| 10 | deku |
| 100 | hoku |
| 1000 | dehu |
| 10000 | yohu |
| 100000 | deyohu |
| 1000000 | iyaru |
there are words for each of the 1s place, as well as powers of 10. to express place value, the number for that place is modified by its place value. the digits are coordinated together with -mo, such that for instance, 13, is deku wumo, "ten and three".
shi dehu kki hokumo mi dekumo jiumo
three-INTRANS thousand-INF four-INTRANS hundred-INF-AND eight-INTRANS ten-INF-AND nine-INF-AND"three thousand four hundred eighty nine"
prosody
a major element of speech is its rhythms and intonation.
a unit of time in speech is known as a mora. each mora is pronounced the same amount of time. a single mora in seńra is:
- a syllable with no consonant or a non-geminated consonant
- the geminated consonant at the start of a syllable
- ń
here is a sentence, with each mora split on ..
tse.k.ka.so. o.ń.yi.p.po. ri.t.tu. ka
t.te.a. ki.nu
ko.ń.ra. re.nu. ka. e.mo. re.zi.ń. ga.ń.ki. ka
the pitch of a sentence generally starts high and then falls low. the pitch of each word in a sentence does the same. questions do also have falling pitch, but they end at a higher pitch than normal. the cadence of the pitch should be that of the morae.
the most important thing is just to try to speak naturally and fluidly. the words should flow into each other. if the prosody is not exactly correct, this will not prevent understanding.
creating and adapting words
words in seńra have been created in a certain way. most words in seńra are a priori, which means that they don't come from any existing words from any language. this is preferred unless it's more appropriate, in such cases as the names of people and places (which in both cases should be that which those people call themselves).
when words are incorporated into seńra, they are made to conform to the following phonemic rules:
- a word may not have two consonants in a row, unless one of those consonants is ń.
- ń must only ever come immediately after a vowel.
additionally, words must be made to conform to the grammatical structure of content words, with the infinitive form ending in -u.
the lexicon of the language is expected to grow and evolve in an open manner. the seńra dictionary (ikiusu) is implemented as a page on this wiki and is open to contributions.