The Yeh Language
Derivational Operations
Derivational Affixes
Yeh makes use of prefixes and suffixes that combine with existing words to create new ones. There are 10 such derivational affixes in Yeh.
kose-
- Meaning
- One who ___. (Agent nominalizer)
- Variations
- kosey- (when the base begins in e,ë,a,o, or u), kosew- (when the base begins in i)
- Added To
- Verbs
- Forms
- Nouns
Examples:
| Base |
Derived Word |
| ngëh (to say / speak) |
kosengë́h (speaker) |
| trë́no (to walk) |
kosetrë́no (pedestrian, hiker) |
-iro
- Meaning
- The process, state, or result of ___. (Abstract nominalizer)
- Variations
- -ro (when base ends with i) -airo (when base ends in e or a) -oiro (when base ends in o) -yiro (when base ends in another vowel)
- Added To
- Verbs, Adjectives
- Forms
- Nouns
Examples:
| Base |
Derived Word |
| kíme (to sort) |
kimáiro (list) |
| tong (good) |
tóngiro (goodness) |
-mento
- Meaning
- (Ordinal-forming suffix)
- Variations
- None
- Added To
- Numerals
- Forms
- Adjectives
Examples:
| Base |
Derived Word |
| ítse (eleven) |
ítsemento (eleventh) |
san-
- Meaning
- Against ___. Opposite or counterpart of ___.
- Variations
- sany- (when the base begins with ng) sa- (when the base begins with ny)
- Added To
- Nouns, Verbs, and Adjectives
- Forms
- Nouns, Verbs, and Adjectives
Examples:
| Base |
Derived Word |
| okénge (war) |
sánokenge (antiwar) |
| króko (fight) |
sánkroko (retaliate) |
| esánto (understanding gained through experience, wisdom) |
sanesánto (ignorance, worsened through experience, antiwisdom) |
ombot-
- Meaning
- Make ___. Make into ___. Cause to resemble ___. (Causative verb-forming prefix)
- Variations
- ombo- (when base begins with a consonant)
- Added To
- Nouns and Adjectives
- Forms
- Verbs
Examples:
| Base |
Derived Word |
| tswáhna (water) |
ombotswáhna (melt, liquify) |
| kyurói (light / white) |
ombokyurói (brighten) |
| ója (big / large) |
ombotója (enlarge) |
tre-
- Meaning
- Able to be ___. Worthy to be ___. Abundant in ___.
- Variations
- triw- (when base begins with e), trey- (when base begins with i o, or u), trew- (when base begins with a, or ə)
- Added To
- Nouns and Verbs
- Forms
- Adjectives
Examples:
| Base |
Derived Word |
| hwánge (to eat) |
tréhwange (edible) |
| báhna (problem) |
trebáhna (troublesome) |
| tswúmëny (friend) |
tretswumë́ny (good to befriend) |
mejak-
- Meaning
- Place of or for ___.
- Variations
- meja- (when base begins with a consonant)
- Added To
- Verbs, Adjectives, and Nouns
- Forms
- Nouns
Examples:
| Base |
Derived Word |
| ámtra (book) |
mejakámtra (library) |
| tyéfre (to tend to crops, to cultivate) |
mejatyéfre (green house) |
-ih
- Meaning
- A smaller or lesser form of ___. (Diminutive-forming suffix)
- Variations
- -yih (when the base ends in e or i), -wih (when base ends in another vowel)
- Added To
- Verbs, Adjectives, and Nouns
- Forms
- Verbs, Adjectives, and Nouns
Examples:
| Base |
Derived Word |
| pri (river) |
priyíh (stream) |
| kóimo (city) |
koimowíh (small city) |
| báhna (problem) |
bahnawíh (annoyance) |
-ku
- Meaning
- A larger or greater form of ___. (Augmentative) An extreme degree of ___. (Superlative) An excess of ___. A higher level of ___.
- Variations
- None
- Added To
- Verbs, Adjectives, and Nouns
- Forms
- Verbs, Adjectives, and Nouns
Examples:
| Base |
Derived Word |
| hwánge (to eat) |
hwángeku (overeat) |
| tsah (unclean) |
tsáhku (filthy, disgusting) |
| kóimo (city) |
kóimoku (supercity / megalopolis) |
-ngau
- Meaning
- A makeshift replacement of ___. An inferior knockoff of ___.
- Variations
- -au (when the base ends in ng), -nyau (when the base ends in n or ny)
- Added To
- Verbs, Adjectives, and Nouns
- Forms
- Verbs, Adjectives, and Nouns
Examples:
| Base |
Derived Word |
| óiwawa (subject to chance, unpredictable) |
oiwawangáu (pseudorandom) |
| kepón (path, circuit trace) |
keponyáu (bodge wire) |
Affixes and Stess
When certain affixes are added, the stressed syllable remains the same as what it was in the base word. However, some affixes cause the stress of the word to be shifted to another syllable, under certain conditions. Stress shifting affixes include:
When these affixes are added to the base, the Yeh stress rule is reapplied to the resulting word (Stress falls on the right-most heavy syllable, or else, the initial syllable). This can sometimes result in stress shifting to a part of the affix, or it can have no effect.
Affixes and Orthography
Most affixes are realized as one of several phonetic variants, depending on certain conditions. Only some of these variants are reflected in the Yeh writing system. In general, variants that result from Yeh's sound change rules (inserting [j] or [w] between adjacent vowels, coalescence of adjacent nasals) are not distinguished from their canonical form in the writing system, whereas other variants are distinguished.
- kosey- and kosew- are written kose-
- -yiro is written as -iro
- sany- is written as san-
- -yih and -wih are written as -ih
- -nyau is written as the -ngau, and the final nasal of the base is left in tact.
- trey-, and trew- are written as the tre-
- triw- is writen as tri-
This does not apply to the romanization of Yeh, which may distinguish the phonetic variants of these affixes.
Written Example
Note that the consonant [j] in priyih is spoken, but not indicated in written form:
Derivational Reduplication
Coming soon.
Stress Derivation
Coming soon.
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