Gender
There're 3 genders in Atinú:
- ABSTRACT: ∅
- ANIMATE: -o (-so if last letter is vowel)
- INANIMATE: -uk (-śuk if last letter is a vowel)
Examples:
ABSTRACT: it (human-like), sakan (fish-like), tomo (house-like)
ANIMATE: ito (human), sakano (fish), tomoso (home)
INANIMATE: ituk (dead human, asocial person), sakanuk (dead fish, stupid), tomośuk (house)
NOTE: abstract forms can be used as metaphors
Plurality
Atinú has three ways of showing how many of something there is:
- SINGULAR: ∅
- PAUCAL (a few of): -lò (-òl if the last letter is a consonant)
- PLURAL: -se (-es if the last letter is a consonant)
Examples:
SINGULAR: ito (human), sakano (fish), tomośuk (house)
PAUCAL: itolò (a few humans), sakanolò (a few fish), tomośukòl (a few houses)
PLURAL: itose (humans), sakanose (fish), tomośukes (houses)
Pronouns
| 1st Person | 2nd Person | Animate 3rd | Inanimate 3rd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | mi | ti | lo | síe |
| Plural | nos | vos | los | síep |
Cases
There're 8 cases:
- NOMINATIVE: ∅
- DATIVE: a- (aq- if first letter is a vowel)
- GENITIVE: -no (-yno if last letter is a consonant)
- ACCUSATIVE: -òf (-lòf if last letter is a vowel)
- INSTRUMENTAL: -da (-oda if last letter is a consonant)
- DIMINUTIVE: -ili (-lili if last letter is i or í)
- AUGMENTATIVE: bá- (báq- if first letter is a vowel)
- VOCATIVE: ó! oi! ei!
Examples:
click to show/hide examples
NOMINATIVE:
| di | ito | śil |
|---|---|---|
| di | it-o | śil |
| art | human-ani | walk |
| the | human | walks |
DATIVE:
| di | ito | śil | ami |
|---|---|---|---|
| di | it-o | śil | a-mi |
| art | human-ani | walk | dat-1sg |
| the | human | walks | towards me |
GENITIVE:
| tomoso | mino |
|---|---|
| tomo-so | mi-no |
| house-ani | 1sg-gen |
| my | home |
ACCUSATIVE:
| di | ito | ajolòf | mi |
|---|---|---|---|
| di | it-o | ajo-lòf | mi |
| art | human-ani | walk-acc | 1sg |
| the | human | comes for | me |
INSTRUMENTAL:
| di | ito | śil | mida |
|---|---|---|---|
| di | it-o | śil | mi-da |
| art | human-ani | walk | 1sg-ins |
| the | human | walks | with me |
DIMINUTIVE:
| di | itolili |
|---|---|
| di | ito-lili |
| art | human-dim |
| the | little human (child) |
AUGMENTATIVE:
| di | báqito |
|---|---|
| di | báq-it-o |
| art | aug-human-ani |
| the | giant |
VOCATIVE:
| ó | ito! |
|---|---|
| ó | it-o |
| voc | human-ani |
| Oh | human! |
Tenses
There're 3 tenses:
- PRESENT: ∅
- PAST: -eþ (-éþ is last letter is e)
- FUTURE: śilus a (going to)
Examples:
click to show/hide examples
PRESENT:
| di | ito | śil |
|---|---|---|
| di | it-o | śil |
| art | human-ani | walk |
| the | human | walks |
PAST:
| di | ito | śileþ |
|---|---|---|
| di | it-o | śil-eþ |
| art | human-ani | walk-pst |
| the | human | walked |
FUTURE:
| di | ito | śilus a | śil |
|---|---|---|---|
| di | it-o | śilus_a | śil |
| art | human-ani | aux | walk |
| the | human | will | walk |
Aspect
Atinú has 3 aspects:
- PERFECTIVE: ∅
- PROGRESSIVE: -us (-ús if last letter is u)
- HABITUAL: ebo- (eboq- if first letter is vowel)
Examples:
click to show/hide examples
PERFECTIVE:
| mi | múk | xanuk |
|---|---|---|
| mi | múk | xanuk |
| 1sg | eat | food |
| I | eat | food |
PROGRESSIVE:
| mi | ben | múkus | xanuk |
|---|---|---|---|
| mi | ben | múk-us | xanuk |
| 1sg | be | eat-prog | food |
| I | am | eating | food |
HABITUAL:
| mi | ebomúk | xanuk |
|---|---|---|
| mi | ebo-múk | xanuk |
| 1sg | hab-eat | food |
| I | regularly eat | food |
Mood
There're 3 moods:
- IMPERATIVE: údo- (údoq- if first letter is vowel)
- SUBJUNCTIVE: ví- (vís- if first letter is vowel)
- INDICATIVE: ∅
Examples:
click to show/hide examples
IMPERATIVE:
| ito, | údomúk! |
|---|---|
| it-o | údo-múk |
| human-ani, | imp-eat |
| human, | eat! |
SUBJUNCTIVE:
| mi | vímúk | xanuk |
|---|---|---|
| mi | ví-múk | xanuk |
| 1sg | subj-eat | food |
| I | wish to eat | food |
INDICATIVE:
| mi | múk | xanuk |
|---|---|---|
| mi | múk | xanuk |
| 1sg | eat | food |
| I | eat | food |
Articles
Atinú has 2 articles:
- THE: di
- A/AN: yn
Syntax
Atinú's syntax is:
- WORD ORDER: SVO
- ADJECTIVE: noun-like
- ADPOSITIONS: prepositions, verb-like
- POSSESSEE > POSSESSOR
- AUX VERB > VERB
Examples:
click to show/hide examples
| di | ito | múk | di | sakanuk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| di | it-o | múk | di | sakan-uk |
| art | human-ani | eat | art | fish-inam |
| the | human | eats | the | fish |
| mi | feí | adi | lili | sakanuk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| mi | feí | a-di | lili | sakan-uk |
| 1sg | look | dat-art | little | fish-inam |
| I | look | at | the little | fish |
| di | sakanuk | ben | en | di | tomoso |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| di | sakan-uk | ben | en | di | tomo-so |
| art | fish-inam | be | in | art | home-ani |
| the | fish | is | in | the | home |
| di | ito | ben | en | tomoso | mino |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| di | it-o | ben | en | tomo-so | mi-no |
| art | human-ani | be | in | home-ani | 1sg-gen |
| the | human | is | in | my | home |
| di | ito | śilus a | jiqy | di | tomoso |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| di | it-o | śilus_a | jiqy | di | tomo-so |
| art | human-ani | aux | leave | art | home-ani |
| the | human | will | leave | the | home |
Valency-Changing Operations
There're 2 valency-changing operations:
- PASSIVE: èrhal (to get)
- CAUSATIVE: dòźi (to cause)
Examples:
click to show/hide examples
| mi | èrhal | feí | di | sakanoda |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| mi | èrhal | feí | di | sakan-o-da |
| 1sg | get | see | art | fish-ani-ins |
| I | am seen | by | the | fish |
| mi | dòźi | di | sakano |
|---|---|---|---|
| mi | dòźi | di | sakan-o |
| 1sg | cause | art | fish-ani |
| I | give life to | the | fish |
Word formation
| Noun | dat- | aug- | baseform | -gnd | -plur | -gen | -dim | -ins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verb | mod- | hab- | baseform | -prg | -acc | -tns | ∅ | ∅ |