Kyrgyz grammar
Contents
Phonetics
Phonology
Vowels
| Front | Back | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| unrounded | rounded | unrounded | rounded | |
| Close | i | y | ɯ | u |
| Mid | e | ø | o | |
| Open | ɑ | |||
Consonants
| Labial | Dental/ alveolar |
Post- alveolar |
Palatal | Velar/ Uvular | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ/ɴ | ||
| Plosive | p b | t d | k/q g/ʁ | ||
| Affricate | tʃ dʒ | ||||
| Fricative | f v | s z | ʃ | ||
| Lateral | l/ɫ | ||||
| Trill | r | ||||
| Approximant | j |
The consonant phonemes /k/, /g/, and /ŋ/ have uvular realisations ([q], [ɢ], and [ɴ] respectively) in back vowel contexts (before back vowels). In front-vowel environments, /g/ is fricativised between continuants (to [ɣ]), and in back vowel environments both /k/ and /g/ fricativise (to [χ] and [ʁ] respectively). Additionally, the liquid /l/ is realised as a dorsal /ɫ/ in back vowel contexts. Other consonants have slightly different realisations in front- versus back-vowel contexts and when between continuants or not, but these are the clearest examples.
Desonorisation and devoicing
In Kyrgyz, suffixes beginning with /n/ show desonorisation of the /n/ to [d] after consonants (including /j/), and devoicing to [t] after voiceless consonants; e.g. the definite accusative suffix -NI patterns like this: кемени the boat, айды the month, торду the net, колду the hand, таңды the dawn, көздү the eye, башты the head.
Suffixes beginning with /l/ also show desonorisation and devoicing, though only after consonants of equal or lower sonority than /l/, e.g. the plural suffix -LAr patterns like this: кемелер boats, айлар months, торлор nets, колдор hands, таңдар dawns, көздөр eyes, баштар heads. Other /l/-initial suffixes, such as -LA, a denominal verbal suffix, and -LUU, a denominal adjectival suffix, may surface either with /l/ or /d/ after /r/; e.g. тордо-/торло- to net/weave, түрдүү/түрлүү various.
See the section below on case for more examples.
Nominal Morphology
Case
Nouns in Kyrgyz take a number of case endings that change based on vowel harmony and the sort of consonant they follow (see the section on phonology).
| Case | Underlying form | Possible forms | "boat" | "air" | "bucket" | "hand" | "head" | "salt" | "eye" |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | — | кеме | аба | челек | кол | баш | туз | көз | |
| Genitive | -NIn | -нын, -нин, -дын, -дин, -тын, -тин, -нун, -нүн, -дун, -дүн, -тун, -түн | кеменин | абанын | челектин | колдун | баштын | туздун | көздүн |
| Dative | -GA | -га, -ка, -ге, -ке, -го, -ко, -гө, -кө | кемеге | абага | челекке | колго | башка | тузга | көзгө |
| Accusative | -NI | -ны, -ни, -ды, -ди, -ты, -ти, -ну, -нү, -ду, -дү, -ту, -тү | кемени | абаны | челекти | колду | башты | тузду | көздү |
| Locative | -DA | -да, -де, -та, -те, -до, -дө, -то, -тө | кемеде | абада | челекте | колдо | башта | тузда | көздө |
| Ablative | -DAn | -дан, -ден, -тан, -тен, -дон, -дөн, -тон, -төн | кемеден | абадан | челектен | колдон | баштан | туздан | көздөн |
Normally the decision between a velar consonants ([g], [k]) and uvular consonants ([ʀ] and [q]) pronunciation of /г/ and /к/ is based on the backness of the following vowel—i.e. back vowels imply a uvular rendering and front vowels imply a velar rendering—and the vowel in suffixes is decided based on the preceding vowel in the word. However, with the dative suffix in Kyrgyz, the vowel is decided normally, but the decision between velars and uvulars can be decided based on a contacting consonant, for example банк /bank/ 'bank' + GA yields банкка /bankka/, not /bankqa/ as predicted by the following vowel.
Pronouns
Kyrgyz has eight personal pronouns:
| Singular | Plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Kyrgyz (transliteration) | English | Kyrgyz (transliteration) | English |
| Мен (Men) | I | Биз (Biz) | We |
| Сен (Sen) | You (singular informal) | Силер (Siler) | You (plural informal) |
| Сиз (Siz) | You (singular formal) | Сиздер (Sizder) | You (plural formal) |
| Ал (Al) | He/She/It | Алар (Alar) | They |
The declension of the pronouns is outlined in the following chart. Singular pronouns (with the exception of сиз, which used to be plural) exhibit irregularities, while plural pronouns don't. Irregular forms are highlighted in bold.
| Singular | Plural | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd inf | 2nd frm | 3rd | 1sg | 2nd inf | 2nd frm | 3rd | |
| Nom | мен | сен | сиз | ал/ол | биз | силер | сиздер | алар/олор |
| Acc | мени | сени | сизди | аны/ону | бизди | силерди | сиздерди | аларды/олорду |
| Gen | менин | сенин | сиздин | анын/онун | биздин | силердин | сиздердин | алардын/олордун |
| Dat | мага | сага/cаңа | сизге | ага/аңа/ого/оңо | бизге | силерге | сиздерге | аларга/олорго |
| Loc | менде | сенде | сизде | анда/ондо | бизде | силерде | сиздерде | аларда/олордо |
| Abl | менден | сенден | сизден | андан/~анан/ондон | бизден | силерден | сиздерден | алардан/олордон |
In addition to the pronouns, there are several more sets of morphemes dealing with person.
| pronouns | copulas | present tense | possessive endings | past/conditional | imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg | мен | -mIn | -Ăm(In) | -(I)m | -(I)m | -(A)yIN |
| 2nd sg | сен | -sIŋ | -ĂsIŋ | -(I)ŋ | -(I)ŋ | —, -GIn |
| 2nd formal sg | сиз | -sIz | -ĂsIz | -(I)ŋIz | -(I)ŋIz | -GIlA |
| 3rd sg | ал/ол | — | -Ăt | -(s)I(n) | — | -sIn |
| 1st pl | биз | -BIz | -ĂßIz | -(I)BIz | -(I)K | -(A)lI(K) -(A)ylI(K) |
| 2nd pl | силер | -sIŋAr | -ĂsIŋAr | -(I)ŋAr | -(I)ŋAr | -GIlA |
| 2nd formal pl | сиздер | -sIzdAr | -ĂsIzdAr | -(I)ŋIzdAr | -(I)nIzdAr | -GIlA |
| 3rd pl | алар/олор | — | -(I)şAt | -(s)I(n) | -(I)ş- | -sIn, -IşsIn |
Verbal Morphology
Constructions which don't otherwise make sense
Examples of things I'm still trying to figure out
- таанытуу болду
- бир нерсе сурайын деген элем
- бул суроо менен кайрылсам дегем
Third person as participial??
- сабак берет окшойсуң
- билбейт экенмин
- болот турбайбы
- болгон турбайбы
- болот атпайбы
Possessed gerund as participial??
- бергени жатам
- келгени кетти
- Америкага окууганы баргысы келет
Logic of multiple negatives
Morpheme List
-NAKAy
- жакшынакай
- жөнөкөй
- кичинекей
-(I)n
|
|
- "[The middle usage of the reflexive voice.] In these situations, it's as if a movement/action is gathered in its subject
- силки- - to shake (v.t.)
- силкин- - to shake (off) (v.i.)
- ойло- - to think (about, that, on) (v.t.)
- ойлон- - to think (v.i.)
- көр- - to see (v.t.)
- көрүн- - to be visible (v.i.)
- жөлө- - to support from the side (v.t.)
- жөлөн- - to lean with support from the side
- тая- - to support from underneath (v.t.)
- таян- - to lean (on) with support from underneath
- сура- - to ask
- суран- - to request?
- жап- - cover
- жамын- - cover oneself
- жуу- - wash (v.t.)
- жуун- - wash up (onself)
- макта- - praise (v.t.)
- мактан- - brag (about oneself)
- кула-
- кулан-
- сүйлө-
- сүйлөн-
