Introduction
Nui (/'nu.i/ NU-ee) is the basis of formal liturgy, literacy, and is spoken as a lingua franca across Yui by the Nanui; arising out of contact between them and an immigrant Esperanto-speaking population makes attributable to Esperanto the majority of Nui vocabulary and grammar with a local substrate of $ereal nonetheless responsible for some trace influence.
Phonology
Consonants total 16 altogether, and almost all are pronounced the same way in every environment; with exception of /d/, which is pronounced as a tap unless immediately following another consonant.
| Labial | Dental | Alveolar | Postalveolar | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ||
| Plosive | b | t d | c ɟ | |
| Affricate | ts | |||
| Fricative | f v | ð | s z | ʃ ʒ |
| Liquid | (ɾ) | l | ||
Vowels are pronounced the same in all environments.
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u | |
| Mid | e | ə | o |
| Open | a |
Romanisation
/ʃ/ may be romanised as <x>, /ɟ/ as <g> and /ʒ/ as <j>. Word-initially and before another vowel, /i/ and /u/ may be respectively romanised as <y> and <w>. If necessary, /ə/ may be romanised as <2>, though <ə> is preferred.
Morphology
Nouns decline into 2 cases, formed by suffixing to a given content word root -ui (ergative case) or -ən (absolutive case). Plurality is indicated by duplicating the whole noun.
Verbs are indicated as either finite (-ə indicative or -u subjunctive) or infinitive (-an active or -i passive). Infinitive verb suffixes also shift the otherwise regularly penultimate word-level stress to be word-final, onto the suffix itself.
Past and Present tense are commonly, respectively indicated using the irregular auxiliary verbs avə/avu/van/vi (to have) and e/esu/san/si (to be)
Personal pronouns decline into 4 cases: ergative and absolutive (like common nouns), an associative case, and a 3rd person reflexive pronoun.
| 1st Person | 2nd Person | 3rd Person | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ergative | mi | vi | ʒi |
| Absolutive | mən | vən | ʒən |
| Reflexive | sən | ||
| Associative | mien | vien | ʒien |
The associative case is used in formations such as "me and…", "you and…", "them and…"
Adjectives are uninflected. For poetry or emphasis, adjectives can occur within a noun phrase either before or after the head noun.
Adverbs are formed with the -i suffix.
Articles, which precede the nouns they classify, change form depending on whether the next vowel in the sentence is a back vowel (thus definite u and indefinite nu) or isn't a back vowel (thus definite a and indefinite na). Moreover, definite articles are able to form contractions with some common prepositions:
| u | a | |
|---|---|---|
| i (to/at) | yu | ya |
| di (of/from) | du | da |
| bi (with/by) | bu | ba |
| in (in/on) | un | an |
Correlatives are common nouns, adjectives, and adverbs that pattern with each other and not with other words:
| Noun | Adjective | Adverb (quantity) | Adverb (method) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ʃu what | ʃə which/whose | ʃəm when/how much | ʃəl why/how |
| tsu this/that | tsə such a | tsəm then/this much | tsəl therefore/thus |
| ʒu something | ʒə some | ʒəm sometime/a few | ʒəl somehow |