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I've been redoing an old conlang sketch. The classical form is supposed to be isolating, but it keeps trying to develop morphology, which is OK for the colloquial version. I restarted it on a Wednesday, so I'm calling it Wezdi.
It's VOS with the secondary (direct) object preceding the primary (indirect) object. Definition and identity clauses are complement - subject. Focusing can use particles, fronting, or both. A fronted phrase acts like the complement of a definition or identity clause. A separate clause is used for topics.
Aspect and mood markers precede the verb and absolute tense markers follow it. The mood of a complement clause isn't usually marked since it's implied by the auxiliary. Reflexive and inversion markers also follow the verb, and probably the deleted object markers.
Number is singular, plural, and extended plural, the last probably having restricted use. Number markers follow the noun or pronoun. Inalienable possession is distinguished from alienable possession and is expressed by placing the possessor immediately after the possessum noun.
There's no agreement, although 3rd person and interrogative pronouns distinguish animate from inanimate. The same-object pronouns and the deleted object markers originally distinguished gender but now indicate argument slots (of the current clause in the latter case and of the main clause in the former case).
The colloquial morphology comes from (A) the fusing of personal pronouns and number markers into single syllables, and (B) the development of certain words ending in pure vowels into clitics. In a few cases, the vowel of an enclitic is dropped. The verb "to have" develops this way from an alienable possession marker followed by an inverse marker. The forms of at least some words hints at no longer productive word forming processes.
It's VOS with the secondary (direct) object preceding the primary (indirect) object. Definition and identity clauses are complement - subject. Focusing can use particles, fronting, or both. A fronted phrase acts like the complement of a definition or identity clause. A separate clause is used for topics.
Aspect and mood markers precede the verb and absolute tense markers follow it. The mood of a complement clause isn't usually marked since it's implied by the auxiliary. Reflexive and inversion markers also follow the verb, and probably the deleted object markers.
Number is singular, plural, and extended plural, the last probably having restricted use. Number markers follow the noun or pronoun. Inalienable possession is distinguished from alienable possession and is expressed by placing the possessor immediately after the possessum noun.
There's no agreement, although 3rd person and interrogative pronouns distinguish animate from inanimate. The same-object pronouns and the deleted object markers originally distinguished gender but now indicate argument slots (of the current clause in the latter case and of the main clause in the former case).
The colloquial morphology comes from (A) the fusing of personal pronouns and number markers into single syllables, and (B) the development of certain words ending in pure vowels into clitics. In a few cases, the vowel of an enclitic is dropped. The verb "to have" develops this way from an alienable possession marker followed by an inverse marker. The forms of at least some words hints at no longer productive word forming processes.
