Castithan Grammar

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The Castithan language is fusional language lightly inflectional tending towards isolating typology. The language is predominantly head-final with a strict subject-object-verb order. It can inflect for topicality, object, and subject and is mostly a pro-drop language. In combination to these the language uses a set of particles, much like Japanese and other languages, discussed below and verbs are fairly easy to conjugate. The verbs themselves can be either stative or dynamic, an important distinction in the language is made between the two.

Basic Sentence Structure

Word Order: head final

The word order in Castithan is strictly head-final often represented as subject-object-verb or SOV. This means that, unlike English, the head of the sentence will go last. Compare this sentence and its English translation:

Noraka do deta

2ND.PERS PART love

I love you.

Both sentences translate as «I love you», but the Castithan sentence would be literally «(I) you love» with the verb at the end, because that's the head of the sentence. Consequently if you had to explicitly mark the subject you would do it by means of another particle different than do. Hence:

Zwasitsa re pawa do zwasa

cook-DIR SUBJ pow-DIR OBJ cook-PRES

The cook is heating the pow.

However you can change the word order if wanted, as can be done in English, for emphasis such as in the sentence «You, I love». In the case of Castithan the new emphasized word would have to go with the topic marking particle ksa:

Pawa ksa zwasitsa re zwasa

pow-DIR TOP cook-DIR SUBJ cook-PRES

The cook is heating the pow.

Note that particles and inflection will change meanings depending on whether the verb is stative or dynamic. This will be discussed below.

Inflection

There is a base system of inflection in Castithan which applies to all parts of speech, nouns, adjectives, and verbs. The phonological processes that these endings trigger are always the same for all classes of words and all words fall into a class depending on how the stem ends. The three main inflectional classes are as follows:

Inflection	Ending
A Series:	-a
I Series:	-i, -e
U Series:	-u, -o

Depending on the word class (noun, adjective, verb) the different inflections will work differently, and depending on the final consonant of the stem the I and U Series will vary between -e and -i; and -o and -u.

Adjectives

Adjectives seem to be the simplest. All adjectives fall into one of three classes designated by one of the three series, some adjectives may have a common root but change meaning according to the ending depending on the Series class. As of yet we have no example contrasting all three possibilities, but the idea can be grasped from the contrast of two classes:

Class	Meaning
A Series:	gela "right (as opposed to left)"
I Series:	gele "opposing"
U Series:	—

As can be gathered from the above example, the I Series seems to be a little more metaphorical than the A Series. However the data is still too scant to draw any conclusions. Exactly how these classes work is something that has been probably lost to antiquity, so it is unlikely to yield any systematic permutations between classes. Other modern examples from each series are:

Class	Meaning
A Series:	hijivana "wrong", iga “serious”, kwaza “final”, liriha “secret”"
I Series:	gwave "complex", hini “moist”, jihe “huge”, keli “happy”"
U Series:	kwonyo ”new”, kwospu “non-verbal”, loykyulo “orbital”, nyambu “fresh”

Nouns

Nouns seem to be a different thing altogether. In modern Castithan nouns are no longer used on their own but always followed by a postposition or particle, unless they are in apposition. The only way to use a noun by itself would be in the U Series, which is the reason why so many nouns are listed as ending in -o or -u in the Lexicon. Originally these seem to have been three cases of an old case system, but now the only function that has been retained is the vocative. This is how the Series relate to the case system:

Series	Case
A Series:	Direct Case
I Series:	Indirect Case
U Series:	Vocative Case

The cases seem similar to the ones employed in the Austronesian alignment. Philippine languages, such as Tagalog, possess a direct case which, depending on the verb, can be used to mark either the Patient or the Agent of a sentence. This is somewhat reminiscent of Castithan nouns, although the difference here depends on the distinction between stative and dynamic verbs. Based on the similarities with other languages we can think of a basic description of the Castithan cases:

Direct Case: A Series

The Direct Case seems to be used to mark both the object and the subject of a sentence. The distinction between the two will then depend on the particle employed. The Direct Case is used with dynamic verbs only.

Ex.:

Nevitsa re omabawa do yazupsa.

I-DIR SUBJ night-DIR OBJ ruin-PAST

I ruined the night.

Indirect Case: I Series

The Indirect Case seems to be used to mark both the object and the subject of a sentence, but only used with stative verbs.

Ex.:

Nevitshe do omabawe re palupsa.

I-INDIR OBJ night-INDIR SUBJ use-PAST

I used the night.

Vocative Case: U Series

The Vocative Case is used when addressing a noun or as a citation form for nouns.

Ex.:

"Stamo!"

Stama-VOC

Hey, Stahma!"

Some postpositions may require the verb to appear in a specific case, or may have different meanings depending on the case employed. So for example the postposition me will have different meanings depending on what case the noun that it governs is: Ex.:

Series	Sample sentence	Meaning
A Series:	nevitsa me	to me
I Series:	nevitshe me	towards me
U Series:	nevitso me	for me

When used in apposition nouns take the adjectival endings, the most common of these being the U Series, which is more or less a standard possessive, not to be confused with the vocative case. Example:

shigustako yezo

priest-U.SER policy-U.SER

the priest’s policy.

Verbs

The most important distinction in Castithan verbs is between dynamic and stative verbs. Generally speaking a stative verb is one that describes a state of being, this in turn contrasts with dynamic verbs which describe an action or a process that changes over time. In practice, the line may be hard to draw between the two, specially considering further development in the language. Some verbs can even have dynamic and stative versions with subtle differences in meaning. In modern Castithan the class of each verb (whether dynamic or stative) can't be deduced and has to be learnt for each particular verb. In general the Series work in verbs as follows[3]:

Series	Is used...
A Series:	with definite arguments
I Series:	when any argument is indefinite and in questions
U Series:	in subordinate clauses and commands

So, for example we have some sample sentences showing how the Series work for verbs, the first is the A Series used with definite arguments, this is the simplest construction and the most common one:

Noraka do deta.

I love you.

The I Series is used when any argument is indefinite and in questions, so we have:

Shesha ksa miya re yungwili?

Where's the bathroom?

Finally, the U Series will be used in subordinate clauses and commands, such as for example:

Pawa do zwasu!

Cook pow!

Dynamic vs. Stative verbs

As pointed out above, the distinction between dynamic and stative verbs is an important one in Castithan. Dynamic verbs will behave and will require different markings than stative ones. As mentioned in the Nouns section, dynamic verbs need their arguments marked with the Direct Case of the A Series, so in the example:

Nevitsa re omabawa do yazupsa.

I-DIR SUBJ night-DIR OBJ ruin-PAST

I ruined the night.

But stative verbs require all their arguments to be marked with the Indirect Case of the I Series:

Nevitshe do omabawe re palupsa.

I-INDIR OBJ night-INDIR SUBJ use-PAST

I used the night.

It is worth noting that some verbs can be both stative and dynamic, in those cases both systems can apply and the difference in meaning can be a subtle one. Sometimes this happens because of an older usage being lost by modern speakers specially those who were born on Earth:

Alake do Kurístile re deta.

Alak loves Christie.

Alaka re Kurístila do deta.

Alak loves Christie.

In the first example "to love" is used as a stative verb and the arguments are marked with the Indirect Case. On the contrary, in the second example the verb is used as a dynamic verb and for that reason the arguments are marked with the Direct Case. The difference in meaning is very subtle, basically the second version is a more forceful or animated version of the latter, which used to be the original form. Note that the second version would be considered impolite to use in public, but would probably the more commonly used for younger speakers who are unaware of the distinction. The first version then, would be used if they wanted to sound formal or proper, a distinction older Castithan speakers didn't have.

Tenses

These apply to every single conjugation. The Castithan verb has four conjugations for dynamic verbs and four for stative verbs. Both verbs share a Present and a Future, but differ in the other tenses. Dynamic verbs have Present, Past, Future, and Conditional, while stative verbs have: Present, Past, Future and Cessative. Note that the difference is that in dynamic verbs the Past is formed by a -ps- suffix, while this form is the Cessative in stative verbs. Furthermore the dynamic Conditional seems to be a form akin to what is the Past in stative verbs, both seem to be the bare root plus the Series vowel.[3]

Dynamic verbs conjugation

To illustrate the tenses we can use the dynamic verb zhema- "to desire":

PRESENT

• A Series: zhemala
• I Series: zhemali
• U Series: zhemalu

PAST

• A Series: zhemopsa
• I Series: zhemopshe
• U Series: zhemopso

FUTURE

• A Series: zhemonda
• I Series: zhemonje
• U Series: zhemondo

CONDITIONAL

• A Series: zhema
• I Series: zheme
• U Series: zhemo

Stative verbs conjugation

Contrast this with the tenses for the stative verbs like the stative verb hinji- "to know":

PRESENT

• A Series: hinjila
• I Series: hinjili
• U Series: hinjilu

PAST

• A Series: hinja
• I Series: hinje
• U Series: hinjo

FUTURE

• A Series: hinjunda
• I Series: hinjunje
• U Series: hinjundo

CESSATIVE

• A Series: hinjupsa
• I Series: hinjupshe
• U Series: hinjupso

Particles

The Castithan language utilizes a number of particles not unlike Japanese or Korean. In the case of the Castithan language this can be actually thought of as postpositions. A distinction is made between the grammatical particles which don't have a proper meaning other than indicating the function within the sentence, the topic marker, the subject and object markers, and the actual postpositions which have a meaning indicating a position either in space or time and function very similarly to English prepositions but proceeding rather than preceding the noun.

Topic particle ksa

Maybe the most ubiquitous particle in Castithan, this particle is used to mark the topic of a sentence. Pretty much similar to Japanese particle は, although unlike it, it can be used to replace the object particle in a sentence as in the following sentence:

Pawa ksa zwasitsa re zwasa

pow-DIR TOP cook-DIR SUBJ cook-PRES

The cook is heating the pow.

Although its particular meaning is to emphasize or otherwise mark the most important argument in a sentence, which can also be the subject:

Zwasitsa ksa pawa do zwasa

cook-DIR TOP pow-DIR OBJ cook-PRES

The cook is heating the pow.

The topic particle often emphasizes the noun it proceeds, in this case the usage of ksa over the subject particle re would place emphasis on "the cook". Giving the sense of "the cook is heating the pow". Although the particle is also shared in a number of languages, it seems it has a more semantic value in Castithan than Japanese. Another good example is this contraste:

Pawa do kanupsa. “I ate pow.”

Pawa ksa kanupsa. “I ate pow.”

Finally, a sentence can also be chopped after the topic particle leaving out the verb when it can be inferred from context much like Japanese itself:

Furíje fuskivana ksa! Bihalazhwe je!

Nice question! Thank you very much!

Notice how the sentence could probably have been "furíje fuskivana ksa ya!", "it's a nice question" but the verb can be left out for being obvious.

Subject particle re

Another of the most basic Castithan particles, re is the Subject particle. This applies specially for the more common dynamic verb structure, where the re marks the subject in conjunction with the Direct Case. However, it's important to remember that with stative verbs the particle re is used in conjunction with the Indirect Case to mark the object of the sentence. Hence the pair of sentences:

Alaka re Kurístila do deta. (dynamic; marking the subject)

Alak loves Christie.

But:

Alake do Kurístile re deta. (stative; marking the object)

Alak loves Christie.

As the distinction between stative and dynamic verbs is starting to be lost in Earth-spoken Castithan re as a subject particle is becoming the more common usage. Other examples of sentences where re is the subject particle are:

Zwasitsa re pawa do zwasa.

The cook is heating the pow.

Or:

Thyeratsa re kurala do shiranggonda.

The apothecary will stop the river.

Note that the subject in Castithan sentences is prone to be left out, this means the language is pro-drop and leaves this kind of sentences entirely to context. So for example:

Noraka do deta.

(I) love you.

And also in:

Nirizhiwa do yenda.

(I)'m hungry.

The subject is "I" which is completely left out and not explicitly mentioned. Subject is mainly explicitly included when context can be ambiguous:

Pawa do zwasa.

Can mean either "I cook pow" or "He cooks pow" if someone was mentioned already in the conversation.

In these cases the subject will be added:

Zwasitsa re pawa do zwasa.

The cook is cooking the pow.

Object particle do

Together with ksa and re one of the most common Castithan particles. This particle marks the object of a sentence when used with dynamic verbs in conjunction with the Direct Case and the subject of stative verbs when used in conjunction with the Indirect Case. Just like mentioned above the subject can be dropped and it often is:

Noraka do deta.

(I) love you.

Pawa do zwasa.

(I) cook pow.

Very much like particle re this particle can change its meaning when used with stative verbs, where it marks the subject rather than the object as seen above. The same examples can be used to illustrate this usage:

Alaka re Kurístila do deta. (dynamic; marking the object)

Alak loves Christie.

But:

Alake do Kurístile re deta. (stative; marking the subject)

Alak loves Christie.

Or in:

Nevitshe do omabawe re palupsa.

I-INDIR OBJ night-INDIR SUBJ use-PAST

I used the night.

Emphatic particle je

Essentially the emphatic particle is quite straightforward, it adds emphasis to the sentence much tone or the usage of an exclamation mark does in English. The following example illustrates this, compare:

Pawa do kanupsa. “I ate pow.”

With:

Pawa do kanupsa je. “I did eat the pow!”

Furthermore the emphatic particle is often used in exclamations and also to emphasize expressions such as:

Bihalazhwe! “Thank you.”

Bihalazhwe je! “Thank you very much.”

Ablative postposition no

We still know little about this postposition. It seems the main meaning of it is "from", hence the name "ablative". One of the few examples we have comes from the dialogue list for the series:

Yuke Liro no Bandiko Elaho.

Elah Bandik from the Yuke Liro.

Here the postposition is used metaphorically, i.e. not actually showing any movement or locative relation to an actual place, but rather origin. It is hard to determine if this is the only meaning of the postposition or just when it is used together with the U Series due to the scant evidence. It probably behaves similarly to postposition me.

Benefactive postposition me

Together with no this postposition seems to be also locative showing "direction to" or "benefactive". The postposition covers the meaning "to, for, towards" depending on the case used with it as was shown previously in the following chart:

If the noun appears in...	"me" will mean...
A Series:	to
I Series:	wards, in the direction of (but not up to)
U Series:	for

Ex.:

Series	Sample sentence	Meaning
A Series:	nevitsa me	to me
I Series:	nevitshe me	towards me
U Series:	nevitso me	for me

The only actual example from the series is:

Fanevivano me oza.

I respect Castithan Tradition.

It is hard to tell from only this sentence what the usage of me is.

Coordinating particles ki and ka

Both of these particles are coordinators and work like the English conjunction and. On the one hand the particle ki coordinates items within a clause, often used when listing items:

Zwasitsa re pawa ki chikena do zwasa.

The chef heats the pow and chicken.

On the other hand the particle ka coordinates different clauses or sentences, hence this sentence:

Two teams! Alako ki Datako ka Stahmo ki Christie!

Two teams! Alak and Datak and Stahma and Christie!