Thaïj̈

Natively known as: Thaïj̈ /θaɪʒ/

  ...and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind...
j̈em yeïk zaoyum yaï tulchïn tut yeïk j̈em re dhaodub lau tut yeïk dol re>
Pronunciation: /ʒɛm jeɪk ˈzaʊjum jaɪ ˈtulʧɪn tut jeɪk ʒɛm ɹɛ ˈðaʊdub ˈlæu tut jeɪk dʊl ɹɛ/
Thaïj̈ian word order: and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind  

Spelling & Phonology

  Consonant inventory: /b d f g h j k l m n p s t v w z ð ŋ ɹ ʃ ʒ ʤ ʧ θ/

↓Manner/Place→	Bilabial	Labiodental	Dental	Alveolar	Palato-alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Labio-velar	Glottal
Nasal	m			n			ŋ
Stop	p b			t d			k g
Affricate					ʧ ʤ
Fricative		f v	θ ð	s z	ʃ ʒ				h
Approximant				ɹ		j		w
Lateral approximant				l

 

Vowel inventory: /aɪ aʊ eɪ i u æ ɑ ɔɪ ɛ ɪ ʊ ʌ/   Diphthongs: aɪ, aʊ, eɪ, ɔɪ  

	Front	Back
High	i	u
Near-high	ɪ	ʊ
Low-mid	ɛ	ʌ
Near-low	æ
Low		ɑ

 

  Syllable structure: (C)V(C)
Stress pattern: Initial — stress is on the first syllable
Word initial consonants: b, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, s, t, v, w, z, ð, ŋ, ɹ, ʃ, ʒ, ʤ, ʧ, θ
Mid-word consonants[pg]: b, bl, bɹ, d, f, g, gm, h, hw, j, jk, k, kt, kw, l, lʧ, m, n, nf, nl, nt, nv, p, pl, pt, s, sp, t, tg, ts, tw, tʧ, v, vw, w, z, ð, ŋ, ŋh, ɹ, ɹd, ɹk, ɹp, ɹv, ʃ, ʒ, ʤ, ʧ, θ
Word final consonants: b, f, g, k, l, m, n, p, s, t, v, w, ð, ŋ, ʃ, ʒ

Show frequency stats  

Word initial: b*31 d*24 f*20 g*18 h*17 j*16 k*15 l*14 m*13 n*13 ŋ*12 p*12 ɹ*12 s*11 t*11 v*11 w*10 z*10 ʃ*10 ʒ*10 ʧ*10 ʤ*9 θ*9 ð*9
Mid-word: m*31 k*24 j*20 p*18 w*17 n*16 s*15 t*14 b*13 l*13 h*12 g*12 ŋ*12 d*11 f*11 ʧ*11 ʃ*10 z*10 ʤ*10 v*10 ʒ*10 ð*9 θ*9 ɹ*9 nt*24 vw*15 tʧ*13 tw*13 pt*12 pl*11 ts*11 bɹ*11 ɹd*10 ɹk*10 bl*9 kt*9 tg*8 ɹv*8 nf*8 nv*8 kw*8 ɹp*8 sp*8 gm*7 ŋh*7 hw*7 nl*7 lʧ*7 jk*7
Word final: m*31 k*24 p*18 w*17 n*16 s*15 t*14 b*13 l*13 g*12 ŋ*12 f*11 ʃ*10 v*10 ʒ*10 ð*9

  Phonological changes (in order of application):  

• j → ʧ / _V
• iw → uj / _#
• b → w / V_V
• k → Ø / V_V
• j → ʝː / V_V

  Spelling rules:  

Pronunciation	Spelling
aɪ	ie>
aʊ	ou>
eɪ	ay>
j	y>
æ	a>
ð	dh>
ŋ	ng>
ɑ	ä>
ɔɪ	oi>
ɛ	e>
ɪ	ï>
ɹ	r>
ʃ	sh>
ʊ	o>
ʌ	ü>
ʒ	j̈>
ʤ	j>
ʧ	ch>
	>
θ	th>

 

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Grammar

  Main word order: Subject-Verb-Object-Oblique. "Mary opened the door with a key" turns into Mary opened the door with a key.
Adjective order: Adjectives are positioned before the noun.
Adposition: prepositions
 

Noun

Nouns form plural with separate plural word:

Plural

dhɔïs> /ðɔɪs/ plural particle

 

Articles

	Definite	Indefinite
Singular	dï> /dɪ/ the	j̈is> /ʒis/ a
Plural	wɔï> /wɔɪ/ the	bi> /bi/ some

 

Pronouns

1st singular	lej̈> /lɛʒ/ I, me
2nd singular	yaï> /jaɪ/ you
3rd singular	yeïk> /jeɪk/ he, him, she, her, it
1st plural	hü> /hʌ/ we, us
2nd plural	bi> /bi/ you (all)
3rd plural	jü> /ʤʌ/ they, them

 

Possessive determiners

1st singular	vü> /vʌ/ my
2nd singular	ram> /ɹæm/ your
3rd singular	shaf> /ʃæf/
1st plural	um> /um/ our
2nd plural	ash> /æʃ/ your
3rd plural	duk> /duk/ their

 

Verbs

Past tense may be indicated with the word:

Past particle

shal> /ʃæl/ past tense particle

Future

If starts with vowel: Prefix ʌl- Else: Prefix ʌlu- ülubej̈> /ˈʌlubɛʒ/

 

Perfect aspect

Perfect aspect in English is exemplified in ‘I have read this book’,
which expresses an event that took place before the time spoken
but which has an effect on or is in some way still relevant to the present.

In Thaïj̈ian, the perfect is constructed with an affix

Perfect

Prefix kɑ- käbej̈> /ˈkɑbɛʒ/

 

Derivational morphology

Adjective → adverb = If starts with vowel: Prefix ɛf-
Else: Prefix ɛfɑ-
Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix ʒ-
Else: Prefix ʒi-
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = Prefix jaɪ-
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = Prefix mɪ-
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = Prefix waʊ-
Noun → verb (to create [noun]) = Prefix æ-
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix b-
Else: Prefix bɪ-
Verb → adjective (likely to do [verb]) = Prefix vʊ-
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix w-
Else: Prefix waʊ-
Verb → noun that verb physically produces (e.g. build → building) = If starts with vowel: Prefix æk-
Else: Prefix æki-
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = If starts with vowel: Prefix ɑvw-
Else: Prefix ɑvwɑ-
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = Prefix θaɪ-
Diminutive = If starts with vowel: Prefix uts-
Else: Prefix utsʌ-
Augmentative = Prefix ɑ-