endingu

Endingu is a term used in speculative linguistics and constructed languages to describe a system of sentence-ending morphology that encodes grammatical and discourse information at the clause boundary. In this framework, endings are affixed to the final verb or predicate and signal features such as mood, tense, aspect, evidentiality, polarity, and discourse focus. Endingu is often discussed as a theoretical construct to explore how final-marking interacts with word order and information structure.

Etymology and scope: The term endingu was coined in academic discussions and conlang circles to denote this particular pattern of terminal affixation. It is not widely attested in natural languages and is primarily used as a modeling device in discussions of typology and morphosyntax.

Structure and variants: A typical endingu system comprises a core set of endings that encode tense, aspect, and mood, supplemented by a discourse-endingu subset that marks evidentiality, stance, and focal emphasis. Endings are attached to the final verb or predicate, creating a concentrated position for information about time, certainty, and emphasis. Some variants allow optional particles before the final endingu, which can modify the overall discourse effect without changing the core meaning of the endingu itself.

Examples: In a hypothetical conlang, a verb root "luma" might take endingu forms such as luma-endingu for a plain past, and luma-endingu-evid for past tense with evidentiality. A sentence may thus end with a combination of tense, evidential, and focus markings.

Significance: Endingu serves as a useful tool for exploring how end-marking strategies affect discourse signaling, processing load, and typological classification in language design and theoretical linguistics. See also: morphological typology, agglutinative languages, discourse markers.