> I've started compiling information for the book. It would be helpful if
> people could send information on their languages to me so I can
incorporate
> it directly into the book instead of putting it together myself (it would
> also help to make errors less likely). The areas I need information on for
> each language are:
>
> 1. a general description of the language and background information

Vaiysi is ergative and has not very strict SVO order (should be called head
fronting: we usually have abs-verb in intransitive and erg.-verb-abs. in
transitive phrases). Adjectives are basically nouns. The copula is fixed
immidiately after nouns and adjectives.

Vaiysi is spoken by a trader's community on the shores of the Merie Sea, a
peninsula in South-Eastern Carmia (that is a subcontinent in my constructed
world).

> 2. basic summary of the phonology

Consonants:
             labial dental velar glottal
plosives p         t         k     q /?/
            b         d         g
fricatives f         s                  h
              v         z
affricate          ch /tS/
nasals     m       n
lateral               l
approximant      r

Vowels:
 short     long
high i  u     iy  ou
mid e  o     ye
low  a       ya

A cool and characteristic thing is the vowel shortening phenomenon: two long
vowels can't stand in two adjacent syllables, and the latter displaces the
former.

Exemple: the root yeg- means 'to go'

yegave
yeg - ave
go 1
I/we go

egyeve
eg - yeve
go past+1
I/we went

> 3. overview of the writing system

Visit my page and take a look: www.geocities.com/mangiat_it/vaiysi.html

Tell me what you think.

> 4. description of the morphology

The language is agglutinating with some inflectional features.
Nouns do inflect for two numbers, singular and plural, and six cases:
absolutive (-0; pl. -eiy), ergative (-l; pl. -el), dative (-am; pl. -mis),
genitive (-ni; pl. -eiyni), locative (various endings: -yau, -yeu, -iyo
and -you; pl: -eiyau) and allative (sing:-d; plur:-ste).
Verbs do inflect for five tenses: present (-a), past (-ye, -iyi), future
(-ouni), anterior (-era) and posterior (-iye); and five persons: first
(-v(e)), second singular/formal (-r), second plural/informal (-rs(e)), third
(-0) and third plural (-z(e)).

> 5. description of the syntax

The language is ergative, head fronting. There is no infinitive, which is
replaced by _vye_ construction when it has a verbal meaning (_vye_ roughly
means _that_. In Vaiysi you can't say 'I want to go': you have to say 'I
want that I go') and by verbal nouns in -oma when it has a nominal function
(as in English '_reading_ a lot helps'). Verbs do agree with absolutive.

> 6. other grammatical information which does not fit into the other
categories
> (e.g., proto-languages)

Vaiysi is a Hyarian language, Northern family, Peninsular branch, Central
group.

> 7. a sample of text in the language, with interlinearization

Something classic, short and neat:

Tel tarmenyau lendouvi qevie... horkyau lendi!

Tel             tarmenyau      lendouvi qevie...
you.ERG    fight.EX.3s    liguistic    death.ABS

horkyau     lendi!
invent.3s    language.ABS

> 8. possibly a short lexicon

Directly from _First Steps in Vaiysi_ wordlist (about 160 words):

English Vaiysi
advance chyado
baby vyeda
be -yeo
beautiful hyeni
begin sanno
believe diyreo
big vyedi
bite melko
break valkeo
breast pourie
breeze eriynni
bring boiyno
burn fozo
call manto
can hozeo
cloud bourma
create diygo
cry nouvo
dark terbi
daughter byae
die menno
divide chareo
divide eirtareo
do teo
dog morie
dream maurto
drink doumo
drink meno
eat gezo
eight foun
exit fummo
eye huie
face nise
father yaba
feel kano
find poudeo
finger yese
fish touve
fish tuveo
fish untireo
fisherman tuvyana
five tyera (tyeraz, tyeraze, tyesse)
flower liysa
follow byanto
foot togo
four mie (mige)
garden gambie
give porto
go yego
good lyaski
grow tyaro
gush yezo
hair miyve
hand kyemma
harvest mopai
have houvo
head ema
help festo
hide luzeo
hip orbyachu
hope hoiro
hour reina
house talu
hull syeda
hundred nim
hunt vyano
jump riko
kill vyankeo
know loumeo
know numo
lady lyarie
laugh tiycho
leave chanto
leg tiyra
let byeso
lie myento
life yeve
little miylini
live evyento
love loudo
man sama (samu)
mare douru
melt lyevo
mix pyeno
mother yemmu
mouth livi
mouth ouze
move pyero
must dounno
name viqrouvi
neck orbie
need kiyvo
nine syad (syade)
nomination viqre
north kouri
nose seve
obey tembio
old omma
one on
part charie
pass gadyego
penis eyana
penis soka
play riyno
play vevo
praise veleo
prepare hodo
push kelto
receive iynteo
recover vinneo
run fiyro
sail iyveo
sail kiyso
sail rumie
say feizo
sea oiye
sell ineo
sell ouso
send loro
set tyaro
seven syem
shine auleo
ship eiyva
short chaiy
shoulder dyanne
shout raugo
show tevo
sing lireo
six dol
sky sile
son kyena
south hyari
star nazi
strike pelto
sun miyre
sunset vaso
swim poullo
take chyeno
take tireo
ten chyen (chyenne)
thousand liyga
three pen (penne)
throw bougeo
throw myaro
tongue vilie
town rina
trunk moure
two koun (koune)
vagina gyanne
village
waist lege
wake toumo
want mailo
well lyaskisu
wind fouze
woman hiru
work desko
work destei
young chouga

> Thanks for your help.

That's nothing. If you want something more, take a look at the complete and
completely revised grammar I'm going to send on the list, a little bit every
day.

Luca