# Zheshoi
Zheshoi (_ʒeßoı_{as=i lang=art-Latn-x-qjx} /ʑɪɕɵɪ/) is a language in
the Jastu⹀Fizonal language family, derived from
[][:Languages/PreZheshoi].
## phonology
### syllable structure
The basic Zheshoi syllable is C(w)(ʀ)(y)V(ı)(C).
This is analyzed as follows:8--:
- An initial consonant
- Zero or more medials (_w_{as=i lang=art-Latn-x-qjz},
_ʀ_{as=i lang=art-Latn-x-qjz}, or _y_{as=i lang=art-Latn-x-qjz},
in that order)
- A vowel (V) or diphthong (Vı)
- Optionally, a final consonant
Details regarding the consonants, medials, and finals are given in the
following sections.
### consonants
Broadly, the basic consonants in Zheshoi fall into one of five
series:8--:
| Name | Base | Devoiced | Alternate | Devoiced Alternate |
|:---------|:------:|:--------:|:---------:|:------------------:|
| V⹀Series | v /β/ | p /p/ | m /m/ | |
| D⹀Series | d /d/ | t /t/ | z /z/ | s /s/ |
| J⹀Series | j /d͡ʑ/ | ꜭ /t͡ɕ/ | ʒ /ʑ/ | ß /ɕ/ |
| G⹀Series | g /ɡ/ | k /k/ | n /n/ | |
| Ɂ⹀Series | ɂ /ʔ/ | h /h/ | ƣ /ʕ/ | x /χ/ |
Note that /n/ is equated with the allophonic /ŋ/ for this
categorization, and the nasal alternates have no devoiced forms.
All consonants are valid in both the initial and final position with
two broad exceptions:8--:
- /ʔ/ and /h/ are not permitted as final consonants
- /g/ and /k/ are allophonic with /ʕ/ and /χ/ in the final position.
For simplicity, such consonants are traditionally analysed as
G⹀series, leaving Ɂ⹀series consonants forbidden across the board.
/n/ and /m/ were allophonic in the final position Pre⹀Zheshoi, but
aren¦t in Zheshoi proper.
### medials
There are three kinds of medial in Zheshoi, all of which may appear in
a single syllable:8--:
- _w_{as=i lang=art-Latn-x-qjz} phonemically indicates /w/, but this
may be realized a variety of ways∶8--∶
- /ʔw/ reduces to [w] and /hw/ is realized as [ʍ].
- When followed by another medial, the preceding and following
consonants are labialized and the [w] is dropped, so that /gwƦ/
becomes [ɡʷrʷ], /twƦ/ becomes [tʷɫʷ], and /mwy/ becomes
[mɥ].
- Otherwise, the [w] is pronounced.
- _ʀ_{as=i lang=art-Latn-x-qjz} is realized as [l] (rounded: [ɫʷ])
after D⹀ or J⹀series consonants and [ɾ] (rounded: [rʷ]) otherwise.
- _y_{as=i lang=art-Latn-x-qjz} is realized as [j] (rounded: [ɥ]).
Any preceding /ʔ/ or /h/ is dropped.
### vowels
Zheshoi words exhibit vowel harmony, and accordingly are grouped into
three classes (or polarities): positive, neutral, and negative.
These correspond to open, mid, and close vowel heights, respectively,
altho due to shifts over time some of the neutral vowels have wound
up more close than the negatives.
Within each polarity, there are rounded (+U) and unrounded vowels.
Additionally, each rounded or unrounded vowel can be iotized (+I),
which usually results in a diphthong with /ɪ/, or rhoticized (+R),
which adds R⹀colouring.
The one exception is that there is no neutral vowel which is both
rounded and iotized.
| Polarity | ∅ | +U | +I | +U +I | +R | +U +R |
|:---------|:-----:|:------:|:-------:|:-------:|:-------:|:--------:|
| Positive | a /æ/ | ȣ /ɔ/ | aı /aɪ/ | ȣı /ɔɪ/ | aꝛ /ɑ˞/ | ȣꝛ /ɔ˞/ |
| Neutral | ə /ə/ | u /u/ | i /i/ | | əꝛ /ʌ˞/ | uꝛ /ʊ˞/ |
| Negative | e /ɪ/ | o /o/ | eı /eɪ/ | oı /ɵɪ/ | eꝛ /eɚ/ | oꝛ /oʊ˞/ |
In addition to the above, Zheshoi features a syllabic /ɫ̩/, which
functions like a neutral vowel with the following restrictions: it
may not be preceded by a medial, and it may not be followed by a
final consonant.
It is called “lambda”, and written __{as=i lang=art-Latn-x-qjz}.
## morphology
(This information is just copied from some documentation I found on my
computer and may not be entirely accurate yet.
[][@:Lady]{.sig})
### morphological word classes
Zheshoi has three main categories of words which may serve as a
morphological stem: articles, nominals, and verbals.
_Nominals_{as=dfn} correspond roughly to English nouns, and
_verbals_{as=dfn} correspond roughly to English verbs;
_articles_{as=dfn} are a somewhat unique word class whose role lies
somewhere between that of English articles and determiners
(_the_{as=i}, _a_{as=i}, some…) and that of a pronoun.
In addition to these three categories of word, Zheshoi also features a
number of other morphemes, including inflections, determiners, and
adpositions.
These morphemes are represented through affixes or clitics, attached to
article, nominal, or verbal stems.
### article morphology
#### lexical stem
```=html
```
Articles are used to mark grammatical, as well as some lexical,
features for the associated (possibly hypothetical) nominal lexeme.
As pro⹀forms referring to a nominal antecedent, they cannot have a
lexical root, and consequently their lexical stem is always null.
#### derived stem
```=html
```
Although articles do not have a lexical root, they do mark a number of
lexical properties, which can conventionally be thought of as
_succeeding_ the null lexical stem.
These properties are: amount, as a numeral or quantifier, and location.
None of these properties are required, and the inflected stem of an
article may be null.
Numerals are not a distinct word class in Zheshoi, but are instead
morphologically marked on articles.
This differs from the gramatical feature of _number_ (also marked on
articles, but through inflection rather than derivation), which
simply categorizes words as singular or plural.
Numeral morphemes are akin to English cardinal numbers (_one_{as=i},
_two_{as=i}, _three_{as=i}, ⁊·c), and as these morphemes may
(hypothetically) be infinitely large, their structure can be quite
complex.
#### inflected stem
```=html
```
The grammatical properties encoded by articles are definiteness,
plurality, and irreality (negation or interrogativity).
Together, these properties define the _specificity_{as=dfn} of the
article.
Although Zheshoi requires the specificity of nominals to be defined, it
does not require them to be marked in all cases, and the resulting
inflected stem may be null.
### nominal morphology
#### lexical stem
```=html
```
The nominal lexical stem consists of a single root.
#### derived stem
```=html
```
The lexical properties which are marked on nominals include intensity,
as either augmentative or diminuitive, and class⹀change, through
verbalizers and nominalizers.
Augmentatives and diminuitives are marked via reduplicative prefixes,
and so are italicized in the diagram above.
Nominalization is required for lexical stems which are verbal in
nature; in addition, a nominal lexical stem may be verbalized and
then nominalized again.
#### inflected stem
```=html
```
Nominals are not themselves inflected; instead, their associated
article is.
### verbal morphology
#### lexical stem
```=html
```
The verbal lexical stem consists of a single root.
#### derived stem
```=html
```
Verbals may be lexically marked for aspect and control.
(This analysis of aspect as “lexical”, and not “grammatical”, is a
morphological argument, not a syntactic one.)
The marking of aspect is split between a possible reduplicative prefix
(indicating habitual or “developmental” aspects) and a possible
perfective suffix.
#### inflected stem
```=html
```
Zheshoi verbals are heavily inflected, marking mood, tense, and
specificity—the latter of which must agree with the article of the
verbal’s subject.
Each modal suffix can indicate two possible moods; which is intended is
signalled by the presence or absence of an additional (deontic) modal
prefix.
## future
The following are potential future directions for the language:8--:
- Loss of simultaneous support for all three medials in every syllable.
Loss of phonemic labialization with a corresponding split of
_ʀ_{as=i lang=art-Latn-x-qjz} into potentially as many options as
/l/, /ɫ/ (which may merge with the syllabic equivalent), /ɾ/,
and /r/; and of _y_{as=i lang=art-Latn-x-qjz} into /j/ and /ɥ/.
- Rhoticization makes a good candidate for evolving into a tonal
system.
- The rounded vowels are a good candidate for a merger.