Phonology
Consonants:
Vowels:
Grammar
Vadanish has basic subject-object-verb word order. Adjectives and adverbs are put before the words they describe but determiners and genitives are put after. Postpositions are added onto nouns as suffixes.
Nouns:
Nouns are inflected with suffixes for five cases: nominative (no ending), accusative (-ᛏᛯᚨ/t̒a), genitive (-ᚺᛟᛰ/hô), dative (-ᚡᛰᚢ/v̀u), and instrumental (-ᛚᚩ/lò). Nouns have three grammatical genders: masculine (ends in a stop or nasal or contains a click but not an implosive), feminine (ends in fricatives, approximants, or rounded vowels), and neuter (ends with an unrounded vowel or contains an implosive). Plural nouns are formed by adding -ᛁ (i) to vowel endings or -ᛟ (o) to consonant endings.
Verbs:
Verb conjugation in Vadanish is fusional and is done with suffixes. The infinite ending for verbs is -ᚩᛈ (òp). To add continuous aspect to a verb, add -ᛟᛰᛒᚧ (ôbð) to the verb after its normal ending (add -ᛒᚧ/bð for 2nd singular future). To make an agent noun, add -ᚠᛖᛁ (fei) to a verb. To make a gerund, add to -ᚩᛈᛰ (òf̀) the infinitive.
Nouns:
Nouns are inflected with suffixes for five cases: nominative (no ending), accusative (-ᛏᛯᚨ/t̒a), genitive (-ᚺᛟᛰ/hô), dative (-ᚡᛰᚢ/v̀u), and instrumental (-ᛚᚩ/lò). Nouns have three grammatical genders: masculine (ends in a stop or nasal or contains a click but not an implosive), feminine (ends in fricatives, approximants, or rounded vowels), and neuter (ends with an unrounded vowel or contains an implosive). Plural nouns are formed by adding -ᛁ (i) to vowel endings or -ᛟ (o) to consonant endings.
Verbs:
Verb conjugation in Vadanish is fusional and is done with suffixes. The infinite ending for verbs is -ᚩᛈ (òp). To add continuous aspect to a verb, add -ᛟᛰᛒᚧ (ôbð) to the verb after its normal ending (add -ᛒᚧ/bð for 2nd singular future). To make an agent noun, add -ᚠᛖᛁ (fei) to a verb. To make a gerund, add to -ᚩᛈᛰ (òf̀) the infinitive.
Present Tense:
Past Tense:
Future Tense:
Adjectives:
Adjectives are inflected for number, gender, and case. Comparative adjectives are not inflected for gender or number and are given the prefix -ᚯᛪ (õḫ). Adverbs are made by replacing the normal prefix with ᛛᛟ- (ło).
Adjectives are inflected for number, gender, and case. Comparative adjectives are not inflected for gender or number and are given the prefix -ᚯᛪ (õḫ). Adverbs are made by replacing the normal prefix with ᛛᛟ- (ło).
Adjectives are inflected for eight cases: nominative, accusative, genitive, dative, locative (-ᚢᛰᛏ/ût), instrumental, ablative (-ᛁᛰᛜ/ìng), and lative (-ᚩᛰᚸ/ŏg̃). All of the cases that are also used for nouns are inflected the same way as nouns.
Vocabulary
About: -ᛞᛉᚨ (dza)
Acacia tree: ᚨᚲᛟᛋᚨ (akoša)
Afternoon: ᚨᚱᛏᛂᚷ (artèg)
Again: ᛎᚩᛰᚲᚨ (žŏka)
Ago: ᚸᚢᛚᚣ (g̃ulĩ)
Also: ᛟᛰᛏᛚᚨᛗ (ôtlam)
And: ᚢᛰ (û)
Answer (noun): ᚠᛰᛏᚨᛜ (f̀tang)
Anti-: ᚷᚩᚷ (gòg)
At: -ᛏᛟᛰ (tô)
Bad: ᚡᛰᛖᛞᛂ (v̀edè)
Be: ᚱᛖᛏᛯᚨ (ret̒a, infinitive), ᚱᛖᛏᛯᚢᛚ (ret̒ul, present), ᚱᛖᛏᛯᚪᛛ (ret̒äł, past), ᚱᛖᛏᛯᛟᛰᛗ (ret̒ôm)
Be able to: ᛪᚯᚾᚩᛈ (ḫõnòp)
Because: ᛒᛯᚨᚷᚩᚷ (ḅagòg)
Behind: -ᛪᚪ (ḫä)
Big: ᛪᚨᚾᚨ (ḫana)
Birthday: ᛉᛟᛏᛇᛏᛂᚷ (zotătèg)
Book: ᛞᛯᚤᚴᛂᛗᛏᛯ (ḍùśèmt̒)
Building: ᚤᛜᛞ (ùngd)
But: ᚡᛰᛂᚾ (v̀èn)
By: -ᛃᛁ (yi)
Call: ᚾᚪᚱᛃᚩᛈ (näryòp)
Car: ᚤᛏᛃᚨᛚ (ùtyal)
Child: ᚠᛃᛁᛰᛚᚨ (fyìla)
Closed: ᚧᚪᛜᚷ (ðängg)
Clothing: ᚴᛒᛂ (śbè)
Come: ᚧᚩᛈ (ðòp)
Common sense: ᛂᛗᚪᚷ (èmäg)
Company: ᛁᚲᛟᛋᛂᛜ (ikošèng)
Conversation: ᚧᚨᛛᚩᛒ (ðałòb)
Acacia tree: ᚨᚲᛟᛋᚨ (akoša)
Afternoon: ᚨᚱᛏᛂᚷ (artèg)
Again: ᛎᚩᛰᚲᚨ (žŏka)
Ago: ᚸᚢᛚᚣ (g̃ulĩ)
Also: ᛟᛰᛏᛚᚨᛗ (ôtlam)
And: ᚢᛰ (û)
Answer (noun): ᚠᛰᛏᚨᛜ (f̀tang)
Anti-: ᚷᚩᚷ (gòg)
At: -ᛏᛟᛰ (tô)
Bad: ᚡᛰᛖᛞᛂ (v̀edè)
Be: ᚱᛖᛏᛯᚨ (ret̒a, infinitive), ᚱᛖᛏᛯᚢᛚ (ret̒ul, present), ᚱᛖᛏᛯᚪᛛ (ret̒äł, past), ᚱᛖᛏᛯᛟᛰᛗ (ret̒ôm)
Be able to: ᛪᚯᚾᚩᛈ (ḫõnòp)
Because: ᛒᛯᚨᚷᚩᚷ (ḅagòg)
Behind: -ᛪᚪ (ḫä)
Big: ᛪᚨᚾᚨ (ḫana)
Birthday: ᛉᛟᛏᛇᛏᛂᚷ (zotătèg)
Book: ᛞᛯᚤᚴᛂᛗᛏᛯ (ḍùśèmt̒)
Building: ᚤᛜᛞ (ùngd)
But: ᚡᛰᛂᚾ (v̀èn)
By: -ᛃᛁ (yi)
Call: ᚾᚪᚱᛃᚩᛈ (näryòp)
Car: ᚤᛏᛃᚨᛚ (ùtyal)
Child: ᚠᛃᛁᛰᛚᚨ (fyìla)
Closed: ᚧᚪᛜᚷ (ðängg)
Clothing: ᚴᛒᛂ (śbè)
Come: ᚧᚩᛈ (ðòp)
Common sense: ᛂᛗᚪᚷ (èmäg)
Company: ᛁᚲᛟᛋᛂᛜ (ikošèng)
Conversation: ᚧᚨᛛᚩᛒ (ðałòb)
Example Text
- Hello: ᚷᛇᚧᚯᛗ (găðõm)
- Goodbye: ᛎᚨᛚᚸᚢ (žalg̃u)
- I do not speak Vadanish: ᛟᚷ᛫ᚡᛰᚨᛞᚪᚾᚡᛰᛟᛰᚾᛟᛏᛯᚨ᛫ᚠᛃᛟᛛᚪᛉ (Og ðă v̀adänv̀ônoṫa fyołäz)
- Do you speak Vadanish?: ᚸᛖ᛫ᛏᚯᛚ᛫ᚡᛰᚨᛞᚪᚾᚡᛰᛟᛰᚾᛟᛏᛯᚨ᛫ᚧᛇ᛫ᚠᛃᛟᛛᛟᚴᛮ (G̃e tõl v̀adänv̀ônoṫa fyołoś)