The Ardedan Language

Introduction
Kati, anglicized from kat /k̥at̥/, or also known as saˈkatʼop kʼéˈkai (lit. Forefather Tongue) is the language of the Ardedan people, one among several Isles native people groups of the United Republics of Dormill and Stiura. The language itself evolved from a branch of Proto-Nyssic (or Proto-Alteran) and is presumed to have blended with another, since extinct, Gaeltic language to serve as the basis of phonetically modern Kati. It is also assumed that a daughter branch, ˈbilsu ˈlésan kʼéˈkai, also known as Bar'lson Kati, has evolved into modern Aruian, but tests of the link have returned inconclusive thanks mostly to the corruption of original linguistic sources by Corinthusi Roendavarian, a language that influenced the development of both modern Kati and modern Aruian. However, it is generally accepted that Aruian is a daughter of the Kati language group rather than the Roendavarian language group.

Kati is regarded as a Central Gaeltic language and a member of the wider Gaeltic family. The Republics of Annecy, Ardeda, and Temple consists of the largest population of speakers, totaling within 82-85% of the population of the Republics combined, alongside the surrounding provinces being fluent speakers, nearly all of which speak it as their second language. Throughout the United Republics, the prevalence of the language can be represented as a function of distance from areas where speakers are concentrated, such that people living close to or work in a Kati-speaking Republic tend to speak more Kati.

Kati, alongside Liverian, enjoys federal protections within the United Republics via the Constitution, and is thus regulated through the Kati Language Academy of the Ministry of Culture, enjoying equal standing to the French Academy at Chery.

Spelling & Phonology

Consonant inventory: b̬ d̬ f g̬ h j kʼ k̥ l m̃ ñ p̊ s tʼ t̥ w ɹ

Co-articulated phonemes

Vowel inventory: a e i o u ɔ ɛ

Syllable structure: (C)V(C)
Stress pattern: Penultimate — stress is on the second last syllable
Word initial consonants: b̬ d̬ f g̬ h j kʼ k̥ l m̃ ñ p̊ s tʼ t̥ w ɹ
Mid-word consonants: b̬ d̬ f fh fj fl fɹ g̬ h hj hl j jf jj kʼ k̥ l lh lj ls lw m̃ ñ p̊ s sl ss sw sɹ tʼ t̥ w ws ɹ ɹf
Word final consonants: b̬ d̬ f g̬ kʼ k̥ l m̃ ñ p̊ s tʼ t̥ w ɹ

Phonological changes (in order of application):

• a → ∅ / _u

• o → u / _#

• j → t / _#

• s → h / V_V

• j → ʤ / _#

• e → a / _i

• s → ʃ / _i

• e → i / j_

• j → d / #_

• e → i / _#

• i → j / V_V

Spelling rules:

Main word order: Verb Object (Prepositional phrase) Subject. “Mary opened the door with a key” turns into Opened the door with a key Mary.
Adjective order: Adjectives are positioned before the noun.
Adposition: prepositions

Nouns

Nouns have three cases:

• Nominative is the doer of a verb: dog bites man.

• Accusative is the done-to of a verb: man bites dog.

• Genitive is the possessor of something: dog’s tail hits man.

Articles

Uses of indefinite article that differ from English:

• Not used for non-specific countable nouns: non-specific means ‘I am looking for a (any) girl in a red dress’, whereas specific means ‘I am looking for a (particular) girl in a red dress’

• Not used for non-specific mass (uncountable) nouns: non-specific means ‘Would you like some (any) tea?’ whereas specific means ‘Some tea (a specific amount) fell off the truck’

Pronouns

Possessive determiners

Verbs

Kati uses a standalone particle word for past tense:

Numbers

Kati has a base-10 number system:

1 - hu
2 - uf
3 - ikʼ
4 - sawn
5 - po
6 - ˈpofyé
7 - hen
8 - i
9 - kʼe
10 - ta
11 - tahu “ten-one”
100 - ˈpohaw “hundred”
101 - ˈpohaw ru hu “hundred and one”
200 - uf ˈpohaw
1000 - hik “thousand”

Derivational morphology

Adjective → adverb = Prefix e-
Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix tʼ-
Else: Prefix tʼe-
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix ñ-
Else: Prefix ñi-
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix t̥-
Else: Prefix t̥ɔ-
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = If starts with vowel: Prefix t̥-
Else: Prefix t̥ɔ-
Noun to verb = Prefix b̬u-
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = Prefix i-
Tending to = If starts with vowel: Prefix ñ-
Else: Prefix ñi-
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix kʼ-
Else: Prefix kʼo-
Verb → noun that verb produces (e.g. know → knowledge) = Prefix sa-
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = Prefix i-
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = If starts with vowel: Prefix kʼ-
Else: Prefix kʼe-
Diminutive = If starts with vowel: Prefix p̊-
Else: Prefix p̊ɛ-
Augmentative = If starts with vowel: Prefix w-
Else: Prefix wu-