Theodian language/Old
This article is an archived version of Old Theodian. |
This article needs to be updated. |
Spoken in | The Kingdom of Theodia, Runic Union |
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Total speakers | Unknown |
Type | Engelang |
Grammar at a glance | |
Morphological typology | Agglumentative |
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Morphosyntactic alignment | Direct |
Head direction | Final |
Theodspraughsk (once spelled Theodspraask) is a conlang that is one of the two national languages of the Kingdom of Theodia.
Contents |
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Overview
Þeûdspråxa [θʰeydʷ.ˈspɹ̠ˤʷɫ̩ʷˑsʷ.kɐ] is the first of the two national languages of the Kingdom of Theodia. The name of the language itself means "Nation-Speech" (but interpreted as "People-Speak"), derived from Old English 'Þeod' and 'Spræc'. It is a micronational engelang (a type of constructed language, or 'conlang') that can be mistaken for a Sophalang (Philosophical Language). It draws heavily from languages like Old English, Icelandic, and Modern English. Forerunners of this language are Librax and Joldsk Libraskë. It uses a mixed case runic fuþark designed by Miles Bradley Huff for its written system. It is the preferred language of many Theodians. Its similarity to English in its most basic words is attributable to its high content of Old English words. A native English speaker should be able to get at least a basic idea of the meanings of many of those most common Theodspraughsk words, the ones that most often don't constitute much of the sentence's meaning. The Theodspraughsk equivalents of most English words that were derived from Latin are instead derived from Germanic languages, especially Icelandic. Also, the grammar largely differs from English, as well.
Philosophical goals of Theodspraughsk
We must remember that it is language that shapes our thoughts, not thoughts that shape our language.
— Miles Bradley Huff, creator of Theodspraughsk
It should be noted that, although words relating to and commonly used in war are usually one-syllable words and designed to be spoken quickly, by-and-large, the language itself is not meant to be spoken at too a rapid pace. Rather, it is expected that one will take their time to pronounce each syllable and digest each word. This causes the opposite effect of that of George Orwell's Newspeak, for by speaking at a more relaxed rate, people are forced to actually think about what they are saying. There is no thoughtcrime in Theodia (even though the practise of some religions are banned), and the government encourages its people to think instead of acting impulsively, so that we might avoid repeating bad history. The language is also designed to increase the number of ways one can express oneself; from special disjunctive/intensive pronouns, to the massive number of moods, to the many aspects, to the sheer number of words. When Theodspraughsk is complete, speakers will be capable of expressing thoughts and ideas in ways that they never could with English.
It should also be noted that the main job of language is to organize thoughts and thought processes. This is why Theodspraughsk is what it is; it follows Miles Bradley Huff's theory of language-syntax by being a truly objective language (obsseively head-final), thus emphasizing the details over the big picture - the high fact-finder approach. Such a syntax allows for the maximum potential for success in the civilized world. Also as per Miles's theory, the required OSV word-order forces one to think about others before oneself - a socialist word-order, yes, but it is also the most objective word-order (continuing the theme from above). Although this language decreases its speakers' abilities to perform in combat, the amount by which it increases speakers' abilities to command and to organize is more than enough to offset this shortcoming - the "brains over brawn" apporach. Theodspraughsk is also, by nature, an amazing language for the scientific fields - this due to its high level of objectivity. Going even further and adding a pessimistic outlook to the language would make Theodspraughsk the ideal language for science. Unfortunately for science, this feature is not wanted in this language, but future languages invented by Miles Bradley Huff will be designed with many different themes in mind - a language for maximum success in science, maximum success in battle, mind-controlling (more so than Newspeak), maximum selfishness, and more. (Miles's Theory is copyrighted and he must be contacted before material from this theory of his is republished)
Gender
Another of the goals of Theodspraughsk is to not discriminate against people based upon gender - to remove gender-based linguistic bias. The pronouns for the three genders (neuter, feminine, and masculine) are on a sort of 'gradient', with the masculine ones sounding more aggressive and taking less time to pronounce and the feminine ones sounding softer and taking longer to pronounce. In Spanish, for example, if you have a group of males and females, you would refer to them in the third person with ellos, thus making male greater than female. In English, the word 'Man' is both Masculine and Neuter, whilst 'Woman' is only feminine. When referring to mankind as a whole, one might say 'Men', thus placing men at a higher level of importance. In order to truly create a socially gender-neutral society, or as close to that as is desirable, it is necessary to take out gender biases from the native language of the society. Therefore, Theodspraughsk is neither biased towards or against the Masculine or Feminine gender. Theodspraughsk used to have an inanimate gender, but ıt droppedŋout of common usuage, thus leaving only the 'Animates', or 'Masculine', 'Neuter', and 'Feminine'.
Outside influences on the Development of Theodspraughsk
Modern English and Spanish have both played major roles in the development of the language.
Notable Spanish Influence
One notable area of Spanish influence upon Theodspraughsk is the use of inverted exclamation and question marks for punctuating sentences. Spanish influence has caused the word for Spanish, 'Spanıc', to change into 'Hıspanıc'. The mass-article, 'Las', came from Spanish. Spanish has also influenced the ways some sentences are formed. For example, the English sentence, "Where are you from?" is translated as, "¿Fram hvan lokeȷcıȷ heȷrz tuv?" or, "From where are you?". In Spanish, the same sentence would be translated, "¿De donde eres?" or, "Of/From where are you?". Other, similar influences are also present in the language. One should be able to pick them up whilst listening to Theodians speak.
Notable English influence
Modern English influence is everywhere: from the grammar, to the spellings and meanings of words, to common sayings, and to the way words are arranged in certain sentences. The articles 'Na' and 'Ða' were both derived from English. As previously mentioned, there is a lot of Old English influence in the language. This is even evident in the name of the language and the country's names themselves, with 'Theod' and 'Spraughsk' both being derived from Old English. The diacritic of the 'Kleofan' is Old English for 'To Slice', and functions as a diaeresis. English is also one of the reasons for there not being any case-declining in the language. Modern English has had a tremendous effect upon the pronunciation of the language, especially upon its vowel qualities, which were mostly copied from those of Theodian English (the standard dialect of American English in the Kingdom of Theodia).
Sample Texts
Here are some sample texts:
Transcription
Þeûdspråvxa mûŋ hâþ kȷeldıȷ heȷrz; Hıt mûŋ harw gȷeldêr. Had sprekkêr mûŋ hâþ kȷeldıȷ mûŋ ðêr loekêrz. ¿Sprekkêr Þeûdspråvxa ðêr gânz tuv? Sprekkêr hıt mûŋ ðêr gânz - Huvn wo ða ÞeodıaKûnıȷŋa hâþ þȷåvdaKȷeldıȷn hıt heȷrz. Þeodıa hâþ Kûȷŋa mûŋ ðêr heȷrz; Kûȷŋa Sven Brâd'â'son Scôda mûŋ'â'sılf mûŋ hetêrz. Bıȷ hrundan mûŋ dıd habbêrz - Meȷsıȷ huŋ Mılıȷ - bêt, neûȷ, mı̂þ kûs Mıllıȷ kôpaVêıs nat heȷrz; Tı̂lst ða ȷaela sım harw phasêrz - ðıs hûnntı̂lst gıbôþþıd sım heȷrz.
English translation (literal)
Theodspraughsk me's language is; It me have made. To speak me's language me do like. Speak Theodspraughsk do can thee? Speak it me do can - one of the TheodiaKingdom's NationLanguages it is. Theodia's king me do is; King Swen Brad'sson Schroeder me'sself me is. Two dogs me did have - Macie and Millie - but, now, with us Millie bodily not is; To the Otherworld she have passed - this until reborn she be.
English translation (fluent)
My language is Theodspraughsk; I've made it. I like to speak my language. Can'st thou speak Theodspraughsk? I can speak it - it is a national language of the Kingdom of Theodia. I am the king of Theodia; I am King Swen Bradsson Schroeder. I had two dogs - Macie and Millie - but Millie is no longer with us in body; she has passed on to the Otherworld to be reborn again someday.
Babylon
Here is the beginning of the tower of Babylon: ('Outdated; this is no longer accurate. See the above text)
Transcription
- Ät ön tüȷmp, la dëseıl sprog ınd dëseıl hvöds ȷal las þȷods wö la heım sprekkïð ınd brugïð.
- Äz tı̈l la wvast las þȷods mıgrïð, ın la lı̈nd wö Cınar an pȷoso ʒeȷ fındïð ınd gërïð.
- Tı̈l ʒerte ʒeȷ begın ad sprekkın, “Szügels mıȷ cäl mekık ınd, mı̈þ erk, hartxık.” (In þȷos laodräd...
English Translation (exact)
- At one time, the same language and same words all the people of the world spoke and used.
- As to the east the people migrated, in the land of Shinar a plain they found and settled.
- To each other they began saying, “Bricks we shall make and, with fire, harden. ” (In this region...
National Anthem
Here is the national anthem:
Transcription
- <Currently Being Revised>
English Translation (exact)
- <Currently Unavailable>
Pronunciation
Pronunciations are shown in the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet).
Orthography
Written System
The written system of Theodspraughsk is runic. That means that it is based upon the runic alphabets used by the Norse and Germanic peoples of pre-Christian Europe. One of the primary influencers is the Elder Fuþark, although, in its younger stages (back when it was 43-characters and single-case), its primary influence was the Anglo-Saxon Fuþorc. The current system, referred to as the 'Ruvnıx Fuþark', consists of a mixed-case system, with 29 capital and 29 lowercase runes. Two notable things about this written system is it's use of a dot for a space and its use of a diacritic called a 'Kleofan' (literally, Old English for 'to cleave'. The original spelling was 'Cleofan') for splitting diphthongs (the Theodspraughsk equivalent of the Latin alphabet's diaeresis (which are indistinguishable from an umlaut)). The Runes themselves have become a part of Theodian culture, as is apparent on the monetary unit, where a different rune is displayed in the background of each different type of bill.
- On Monday, the 14th of June, 2010, Theodspraughsk switched over to the version of the Runic Fuþark agreed upon for the Runic Union.
- Theodspraughsk later switched back over to its traditional script (for typing and signing one's name) and also adopted an informal script for handwriting.
- A font approved by the Lingustic Council of Theodia is required in order to for the runes to display properly. Else, the runes will either show up as an undefined character or as an incorrect glyph.
Individual Runes
This is the basic pronunciation-chart. The first two columns show the names of the Runes. "Runic", "Latin", "Cyrillic", and "Greek" denote how to properly transliterate Theodspraughsk into other writing-systems. "Normal/Weak" shows how the runes are usually pronounced. "Weak" applies only to vowels. No weak sound may ever take-place word-finally. "Strong" shows how vowels should be pronounced when they are spelled with either a "J" or a "V" following them. The Circumflex accent is called a "Scewrong" in Theodspraughsk (Schevrong in English (originally from the French word "Chevron")). The Schevrong causes vowel pronunciations to change by a little bit. "Schevrong (Weak)" denotes the usual pronunciation of a Schevronged vowel. "Schevrong (Strong)" denotes a stronger version of a Schevronged vowel (comparable to the previously mentioned Weak/Strong vowel-distinction). "Word-Initial" simply shows how runes are to be pronounced when they appear at the beginnings of words, and "Word-Final" shows how they are to be pronounced when they appear at the ends of words. Blank spaces in the chart indicate that the pronunciation in those particular places are the same as the "Normal/Weak" pronunciation. There is a slash (/) present whenever there is more than one way to pronounce a particular rune. The first pronunciation-option will always be preferred. The pronunciations are shown here in the IPA:
- Please note that this article...
- ...uses the plus diacritic (̟) to increase frontness
- ...uses the minus diacritic (̠) to increase backness
- ...uses the uptack diacritic (̝) to increase closeness
- ...uses the downtack diacritic (̞) to increase openess
- ...may require you to scroll to your right in order to see the entirety of this particular chart.
Name | Nickname | Runic | Latin | Cyrillic | Greek | Normal/Weak | Strong | ^ (Weak) | ^ (Strong) | Word-Initial | Initial | Final | Word-Final |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Feȷhuv | Feȷ | ᚠ/ᚴ | F/f | Ф/ф | Φ/φ | fʰ | |||||||
Urluz | Ur | ᚥ/ᚢ | U/u | У/у | Υ/υ | ᵿ̜ | ʉ | ʏ̫̟ | y̫ | w̟/ʉ | w̟/ʉ | ʉ/w̟ | |
Þorlıȷshâþ | Þov | ᛰ/ᚦ | Þ/þ | Ѳ/ѳ | Θ/θ | θʰ | θ/ð | ||||||
Avnsuz | Avn | ᚫ/ᚨ | A/a | А/а | Α/α | aɐ | aɜ | æ | æɪ̆ | ɐ/aɜ | |||
Vraeðo | Vraeȷ | ᚰ/ᚱ | R/r | Р/р | Ρ/ρ | ɹ̠ˤʷ | |||||||
Kavno | Kav | ᚳ/ᚲ | K/k | К/к | Κ/κ | kʲʰ | ʔkʲ | ||||||
Geȷbo | Geȷ | ᛯ/ᚷ | G/g | Г/г | Γ/γ | gʲ | ʔgʲ | gʲʔ | |||||
Wrodanhâþ | Wrov | ᛆ/ᛩ | W/w | В/в | Β/β | v | |||||||
Hagalhâþ | Haȷ | ᚻ/ᚺ | H/h | Х/х | Χ/χ | h/ɦ | h | ɦ/h | xʲ/x/k͡xʲ | ||||
Nâoðı̂s | Naov | ᛀ/ᚾ | N/n | Н/н | Ν/ν | nʲ | |||||||
Hıȷsål | Hıȷs | ᛙ/ᛁ | I/ı | И/и | Η/η | ɪ | i̠ | ɪ̟ | i | ȷ/i̠/i | |||
Jâorda | Jâov | ᛡ/ᚼ | J/ȷ | Ь/ь | Ι/ι | ȷ | |||||||
Tcâlk | Cäȷ | ᛢ/ᛇ | C/c | Ш/ш | Σσχ/ςχ | ʃʰ | |||||||
Perþo | Peȷ | ᛈ/ᛕ | P/p | П/п | Π/π | p | pʰ | ʔp | |||||
Zıŋma | Zıȷ | ᚮ/ᛊ | Z/z | З/з | Σ/ζ | z | |||||||
Sowruvlhâþ | Sov | ᛪ/ᛋ | S/s | С/с | Σσ/ς | s | |||||||
Tûȷwr'âþ | Tûȷ | ᛠ/ᛏ | T/t | Т/т | Τ/τ | tʲʰ | ʔt/ʔɾ/ʔ | ||||||
Berdkana | Beȷ | ᛔ/ᛒ | B/b | Б/б | Πμ/μπ | b | ʔb | b͡ʔ | |||||
Jeȷhv'âþ | Jeȷ | ᛓ/ᛖ | E/e | Э/э | Ε/ε | ɛɪ̆/ɛ | eı̆/eɪ̆ | ə̟/ɜ̟ | ɜ̟ | eı̆/eɪ̆ | |||
Mânhâþ | Maȷ | ᚡ/ᛗ | M/m | М/м | Μ/μ | m | |||||||
Lâoguvz | Laov | ᚭ/ᛛ | L/l | Л/л | Λ/λ | lʲ/ɫʷ | lʲ | lʲ/ɫʷ/ɾ | ɫʷ/l/ɾ | ɫ͡ʔʷ | |||
Hıŋwr'âþ | Hıȷŋ | ᛥ/ᛝ | Ŋ/ŋ | Ҥ/ҥ | Γν/νγ | ŋʲ/ɲ | ŋʲ | ŋʲ | |||||
Dâghâz | Däȷ | ᛤ/ᛞ | D/d | Д/д | Τν/ντ | dʲ | ʔdʲ/ɾ/ʔ | dʲʔ/ɾ͡ʔ | |||||
Oþıȷla | Oþ | ᛜ/ᛟ | O/o | О/о | Ο/ο | ɞ̝/əɵ | ɵ/əu | œ̫ | ø̫ʏ̫̆ | ||||
Ðeȷta | Ðeȷ | ᚯ/ᚬ | Ð/ð | Ѳв/ѳв | Δ/δ | ð | ð/θ | ||||||
Åxa | Åx | ᚩ/ᚪ | Å/å | Ѡ/ѡ | Ω/ω | ɫ̩ʷ/ɒ̟ | ɜ | ||||||
Hvunȷo | Hvuv | ᛂ/ᚹ | V/v | Ъ/ъ | Ϝ/ϝ | w̟ | |||||||
Ʒûȷldan | Ʒûȷ | ᛑ/ᛐ | Ʒ/ʒ | Ж/ж | Σχ/ζχ | ʒʲ | |||||||
Xrâlıŋhâþ | Xâȷ | ᛦ/ᛣ | X/x | Ѱ/ѱ | Ξ/ξ | s.kʲ | sʰkʲʰ | skʲxʲ |
Notes:
- Nâoðı̂s, Sowruvlhâþ, Zıŋma, Tûȷwr'âþ, Lâoguvz, and Dâghâz are pronounced w:Voiceless dental plosive dentally both directly before and directly after Þorlıȷshâþ and Ðeȷta.
- Although most coronal consonants are laminal, Lâoguvz is pronounced apically in final positions in some dialects.
- Kavno, Geȷbo, are further palatized before Hıȷsål, Jeȷhv'âþ, certain Schevrongs triphthongs, and certain diphtongs).
- Normally palatized consonants may not always be pronounced palatizedly.
- Those consonants before and those after Åxa are never palatized. Velar consonants in these positions may even be uvelarized.
- Consonants are labalized before all rounded vowels and rounded semi-vowels.
- Vowels are nasalized before nasals (Naoðıs, Mannir, and Iŋwvır).
- 'P' and 'T' are unaspirated after 'S'
- 'N', 'T', and 'D' shift to 'Ŋ', 'K', and 'G', respectively, when they directly precede Iŋwvır.
- 'Ŋ' shifts to 'N' after 'S' and 'Z'.
- Other Things Pertaining to the Othography of Theodspraughsk:
- In an instance where one can not type 'Þ', 'Tf' is an acceptable substitution in front positions and 'Ft' in final positions. 'Tforlijs'a^z' 'Tfjaad'
- In an instance where an 'ı' is unavailable, typing 'i' is an acceptable solution.
- In an instance where an 'ȷ' is unavailable, typing 'j' is an acceptable solution.
- In an instance where one can not type 'Ŋ', 'Gn' is an acceptable substitution in front positions and 'Ng' in final positions. 'Hingwr'a^z' 'Gne^it'
- In an instance where one can not type 'Ð', 'Dw' is an acceptable substitution in front positions and 'Wd' in final positions. 'Dwejta' '-wd'
- In an instance where an 'Å' is unavailable, typing 'Aa' is an acceptable solution. 'Aaxa'
- In an instance where one can not type 'Ʒ', 'Zh', 'Jh', '3' and 'Y' are all acceptable substitutions. 'Zhu^jldan', 'Jh^jldan', '3u^jldan', 'Yu^jldan'
- In an instance where an Schevrong is unavailable, typing the letter and then '^' is an acceptable solution. 'Hingwr'a^z'
- In an instance where a Kleofan is unavailable, typing the letter and then ':' is an acceptable solution. 'A:o'
- Certain consonants (all stops/plosives) shift to a free variation between aspirated and ejective voiceless consonants when they are the last sound of the last word of a question. 'P' and 'B' would become either [ʔ͡p̕]] or [[pʰ]], 'T' and 'D' would become either [ʔ͡ť]] or [[tʰ]], and 'K' and 'G' would become [ʔ͡k̕]] or [[kʰ]]. Some people do this at the end of every sentence, and not just in questions.
Stress
Theodspraughsk is a post-lexical stress-accent language. The numbers here correspond to the total number of syllables in a given word. Stressed syllables are usually held slightly longer than unstressed syllables.
- Unstressed
- Stressed-Unstressed
- Unstressed-Stressed-Unstressed
- Unstressed-Stressed-Unstressed-Unstressed
- Unstressed-Stressed-Unstressed-Unstressed-Unstressed
- Unstressed-Stressed-Unstressed-Unstressed-Unstressed-Unstressed
- Unstressed-Stressed-Unstressed-Unstressed-Unstressed-Unstressed-Unstressed
Consonantal Groups
These are important to know, especially in transcriptions of other languages into Theodspraughsk orthography. Many of these's sole purpose is to approximate the pronunciations of the sounds of the original language that words were derived from. For example, Hindi 'भारत' would be transcribed as 'Bharata', Arabic 'الله' would be transcribed as 'Alahh', and Hebrew 'חַשְׁמַל' is transcribed as 'Hhacmal'. The pronunciations of most all of these approximations as well as what they approximate are as follows:
Letters | IPA | Used to Approximate | IPA |
---|---|---|---|
Kh | xʰ/k͡x | ||
Wr | vɹ̠ˤʷ | Ƿẏnn(ƿ)/Ƿunjo(ᚹ) | ʋ |
Hr | hɹ̠ˤʷʱ | ||
Hh | x | Pharyngeal Fricative and Breathy Vowels | ħ |
Hȷ | ç̠ʰ | ||
Hl | hɫʱ/hlʱ/ɫ/l | Voiceless 'L' | l̥ |
Hv | ʍ | ||
Hvr | ʍɻˤʷʱ | ||
Nȷ | ɲ | Ñ/ñ | |
Cȷ | ç | ||
Cl | ʃɫʷ/ʃl | Belted Ł | ɬ |
Pf | p͡ʋ̥ʰ | Voiceless Bilabial Fricative | ɸ |
Sc | ʃ̝̟ʰ | ||
St | sʰt⁼ | ||
Tvr, Rt | tʷʰwɹ̠ˤʷ, ɹ̠ˤʷtʰ | Retroflex Plosives | ʈ |
Tc | t͡ʃ̝̟ʰ | ||
Ts | t͡s | Sharp ß, Greek Ψ | |
Bh | b | Murmured 'B' | b̤ |
Mf | ɱf | ||
Mn | m͡n | ||
Dvr, Rd | dʷʰwɹ̠ˤʷ, ɹ̠ˤʷdʰ | Retroflex Plosives | ɖ |
Dz | d͡z | ||
Dʒ | d̠͡ʒ | ||
Vr | wɻˤʷ | ||
Ʒh | ʒ | Murmured 'Ʒ' | ʒ̤ |
Ʒȷ | ʝ |
Notes:
- 'pf' is pronounced as [[p͡ʋ̥]] or [p͡f] not [[p̪͡f]].
- 'Rd' is commonly pronounced as a rolled 'R' ([r]) in rapid speech
- 'Hvr' is one of the hardest sounds in Theodspraughsk for a non-native English-speaker to pronounce. Just keep trying -- you'll get it eventually!
Vowel-Consonant Groups
These are the three irregularly pronounced vowel-consonant groups
Vowels Ending with 'J' or 'V'
Vowels ending with either 'J' or 'V' are long. This is necessary because not all unstressed vowels are short. Here is a table of how to do this properly:
Letters | Uv | Ûȷ | A | Âȷ | Iȷ | Îȷ | Eȷ | Ê | Ov | Ôȷ | Åv |
---|
Vowels Ending with 'R'
<this needs revising> Theodspraughsk Makes use of rhoticized vowels. This table will explain them all in the IPA:
Letters | Short | Long |
---|---|---|
Ur | u̟ɚ̹ | u̟ˑɝ̹ |
Ür | y̫ɚ̹ | y̫ɝ̹ |
Ar | ɑ̈˞/ɑ̈ɚ | ɑ̈ʊ̜̈ɝ |
Är | æ˞ɚ/æɚ | æᵻɝ |
Ir | ɨɚ | ɨɝ |
Ïr | iɚ | iɝ |
Er | eɪ̆ɚ | eɪ̆ɝ |
Ër | ɚ | ɝ |
Or | ə̹ɚ̹ | ə̹ɝ̹ |
Ör | œ̫ˑɚ̹̆ | ø̫ʏ̫̆ˑɝ̹̆ |
År | ɒ̟˞/ɔ̟˞ | ɒ̟˞ˑ/ɔ̟˞ˑ |
Å̈r | ɒ̟˞/ɔ̟˞ | ɒ̟˞ˑ/ɔ̟˞ˑ |
Vowels Ending with 'H'
'H's are pronounced as either [x] or [k͡x] when they postcede a vowel, even if it isn't at the end of the word. The only exception is when the 'H' is part of a consonant group (like 'Hv' and, especially, 'Hh'). This is from the Old English convention of pronouncing certain 'H's as IPA [x].
Diphthongs and Triphthongs
These are the diphthongs of Theodspraughsk. Several of them are only used in transcriptions of foreign words. All pronunciations are in the IPA. <more on this later>
- *Triphthongs can be formed by appending an unstressed rhoticized "Êr".
Letters | Weak | Letters | Strong | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Other
These are other things that one might see in the orthography that may, or may not, have their own distinct pronunciations. They are as follows:
Character(s) | IPA | Name |
---|---|---|
' | Used in Place of Omitted Letters |
Phonology
<more on all of this later, when I have time to make the charts>
Syllable-Structure
Consonants
Vowels
Diphthongs
Grammar
Grammar is, arguably, the most important part of Theodspraughsk. There are absolutely no noun declensions beyond the pronouns. There are three genders, Feminine (♀), Neuter (⚨), and Masculine (♂).
Gender | Cases | Numbers | Tenses | Persons | Moods | Voices | Aspects | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Verb | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
Nouns | Yes | Yes | ||||||
Adjectives | Yes | |||||||
Numbers | ||||||||
Participles | ||||||||
Adverb | ||||||||
Pronouns | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
Adpositions | ||||||||
Article | Yes | |||||||
Particle |
Word Order
- The word order of the Theodspraughsk indicative is OSV, or Object-Subject-Verb. English is SVO, or Subject-Verb-Object. What this means is that the English sentence of, "We went to the store," would have to be rearranged as, "To the store we went."
- The word order of the inquisitive mood is OVS, Object-Verb-Subject. English simulates an OVS word-order via its linking verbs in questions. The English question, "How are you?", would be already be in the preferred order of words in Theodspraughsk. However, "What do you say?" would be rearranged as "What say you?".
- The word order of the imperative mood is VOS, Verb-Object-Subject. English is VSO, Verb-Subject-Object. However, since the subject is usually omitted in both English and Theodspraughsk, there won't usually appear to be any differance in wording between English and Theodspraughsk imperitves.
- Words in the Dative case (indirect object) directly follow the direct object). Example: "I gave the money to him." -> "The money to him I gave."
- Adjectives always precede the word(s) that they are describing.
- The preferred position of adverbs is before the word(s) that they are affecting. However, they are about as commonly used before and after verbs. They almost always occur before other adverbs, and they always occur before adjectives, never after.
- Voice can change the word order
- Indicitave
Interjection | Vocative | Ablative | Instrumental | Infinitve Verb | Supine Verb | Absoultive | Dative | Ergative | Tense | Mood | Aspect | Verb |
---|
- Inquisitive
Interjection | Vocative | Ablative | Instrumental | Infinitve Verb | Supine Verb | Absoultive | Dative | Tense | Mood | Aspect | Verb | Ergative |
---|
- Imperative
Interjection | Vocative | Ablative | Instrumental | Tense | Mood | Aspect | Verb | Infinitve Verb | Supine Verb | Absoultive | Dative | Ergative |
---|
Nouns
Personal Pronouns
Pronouns have four persons, three genders, two degrees of animacy, and two numbers. Pronouns are only capitalized when they are the beginnings of sentences. The fourth person functions as both an anonymous pronoun and as a dummy pronoun. Directly below here is a chart with the different pronouns:
Pronouns | 1st (Exclusive) | 1st (Inclusive) | 2nd (Informal) | 2nd (Formal) | 3rd ♂ | 3rd ⚨ | 3rd ♀ | 3rd (Inanimate) | 4th |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Mûŋ | Tuv | Tva | Tcıŋ | Scıȷn | Hȷıȷm | Sıt | Lıt | |
Plural | Kvıȷ | Gvıȷ | Pıȷ | Pvıȷ | Dʒıȷŋ | Zʒıȷn | Ʒȷıȷm | Zıt | Hlıts |
Disjunctive/Intensive Pronouns
In English, intensive pronouns are identical to reflexive pronouns, and disjunctive pronouns are identical to objective pronouns. In Theodspraughsk, intensive pronouns are identical to disjunctive pronouns. Reflexive pronouns are "Myself" in the same sense as "Myself" in the sentence "I am washing myself." Disjunctive pronouns are pronouns like the French "Moi" and "Toi" - words that nearly all English-speakers have heard at some stage in their lives. pronouns are "Myself" in the same sense as "Myself" in the sentence "I, myself, prefer this." Here is a chart:
Dis/Int | 1st (Exclusive) | 1st (Inclusive) | 2nd (Informal) | 2nd (Formal) | 3rd ♂ | 3rd ⚨ | 3rd ♀ | 3rd (Inanimate) | 4th |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Mûȷŋk | Tuvt | Tvat | Tcıȷŋk | Scıȷt | Hȷıȷp | Sıȷt | Lıȷt | |
Plural | Kvıȷŋ | Gvıȷŋ | Pıȷk | Pvıȷk | Dʒıȷk | Zʒıȷt | Ʒȷıȷp | Zıȷt | Hlıȷts |
Compound Words
Theodspraughsk is one of those languages in which compound words are very easily formed. When one forms a compound word (We'll use a translation of 'Gardena' from the Old English Epic, Beoƿulf, as an example), one needs to capitalize all but the first of the words that went into the compound word. For example, if we were to take 'Spear' and 'Dane' and make a compound word we would get 'spearDane' (note the capitalization). "Green house effect" would be "greenHouseEffect." Other than that, the same rules of capitalization both in general and for proper nouns apply.
Gerunds
Gerunds end with 'iŋ' in Theodspraughsk.
Prepositions
Verbs
Verbs are the action words of a language, and are an essential piece of all human languages.
Linking Verbs
Static | Dynamic |
---|---|
Heȷr | Beȷr |
Tenses
Non-linking and non-helping verbs in Theodspraughsk have various endings, depending on what their tense is and their positions relative to other. The 'Infinitive' tense is the most basic form of any verb. In English, one would add the preposition, 'To', before them to form the supine. For example, English's 'To Give' becomes 'Ad Geȷêr'. 'Far-past' is used most often when telling stories of the past or when recounting events that happened to you long ago. English's 'Gave' becomes "Tıt Geȷêr". 'Past' is far more common than 'Far-Past', as is used for telling someone things that happened fairly recently. English's 'Gave' becomes 'Dıd Geȷêr'. 'Present' is used for expressing something that you are doing at this very instant, e.g. "He reads the paper". English 'Gives' becomes 'Duv Geȷêr'. 'Future' is used when expressing things that either will happen soon or that you want to happen soon. English's 'Will Give' becomes 'Wı̂l Geȷêr'. 'Far-Future' is used for expressing either things that will happen in the distant future or things that you want to happen in the far future. English's 'Will Give' becomes "Cäl Geȷêr". The 'Gnomic' tense is used to express wisdoms and general truths about the world. And example of a verb in the Gnomic is: 'Ŋos Geȷêr'. Note also that verbs further inflect for number; verbs with singular subjects add the normally 'Universally plural' suffix of 'S', even though they are singular. Plural verbs do not inflect for number.
Tenses | Infinitve | Far-Past | Past | Present | Future | Far-Future | Gnomic |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Suffix | Tıt | Dıd | Duv | Wı̂l | Câl | Ŋos |
Notes:
- When the English infinitive would be preceded by 'To' (the English Supine), Theodspraughsk's would be preceded by "Ad" (the Theodspraughsk Supine, derived from Icelandic).
- Transitive Verbs inflect for number. Transitive Verbs with a Singular Subject end in 'S' (e.g.: "Kaıȷ geȷı̈ns"), whislt Transitive Verbs with a Plural Subject don't have a specific ending (e.g.: "Mıȷ geȷı̈n").
Moods
Moods are of extreme importance in Theodspraughsk. Although this make the language a little bit harder to learn, it allows the user to express far more things than (s)he would be capable of expressing in any other language. (More on this later)
Mood | Modal |
---|---|
Indicative | |
Generic | Dêz *In Gnomic tense* |
Hortative | Pir |
Hypothetical | Kuvf |
Necessitative | Nijd |
Irrealis | Hâd |
Inferential | Fin |
Interrogative | Kvij |
Imprecative | Hîjþ |
Imperative | *Change Verb Suffix into 'it'* |
Conditional | Wud |
> Speculative | Kud |
Permissive | Laov |
Potential | Nel *A literary element; rarely used in colloquial speech* |
Subjunctive | Cud |
Evidentiality | Laon |
> Seeing | Lejm |
> Hearing | Lijn |
> Feeling | Lavn |
> Smell | Hleŋ |
> Taste | Lålm |
> Intuition | Lêin |
> Assumptive | Sâþ |
> Deductive | Mêts |
Mirative | Rif |
Optative | Hovp |
Deliberative | Cîl |
Dubitative | Dub |
Jussive | Plij |
Aspect
These can be difficult to get used to. However, the various aspects in Þeûdspråxa do allow one to express more ideas more easily than they could in English. (More on this later)
Aspect | Prefix | Suffix |
---|---|---|
Perfective | 'r | |
Perfect | Harf- | 'r |
Progressive | *LINK* ê' | 'rendij |
Continuous | *LINK* | 'rendip |
Imperfective | Jûvsta- | 'r |
Inchoative | Sa- | 'r |
Frequentative | ål *CONST* | |
Momentane | ||
Exaggeration | ||
> Intensive | tû/tj' | jût/ût |
> Attenuative | ar | |
Intentional | it | |
Accidental | Â' | ê |
Notes:
- LINK: a linking verb is necessary in this position.
Explanation:
- Perfective: "an action completed" 1
- Perfect: "an aspect that brings attention to the consequences of an action in the past" 1
- Imperfective: "an action that is viewed from a particular viewpoint as ongoing, habitual, repeated, or generally containing internal structure" 2
- Inchoative: the beginning of an action
- Frequentative: "a single action repeated 'around the place' both spatially and temporally" 3
- Momentane: a sudden, or short-lived, event
- Intensive: heightened value, or severity, of a verb
- Attenuative: lessened value, or severity, of a verb
- Intentional: when one intended to do an action (rarely used)
- Accidental: when an action is done accidentally (used when one wants to show that what they did was an accident)
Voice
Theodspraughsk makes use of several grammatical voices.
Passive
The passive voice eliminates the nominative/ergative and promotes the accusative/absolutive to the new subject. A static linking verb is then used, with an verb that was converted into an adjective immediately following the static linking verb. For example, "They were eaten," translates into, "Itıdıc ʒeȷ suvnt."
Static
Dynamic
Impersonal
Antipassive
Causative
The Causative Voice is used when one is causing something to do something (Rise->Raise). There are two different ways to form the causative voice in Theodspraughsk. One way is to use the verb 'Kavzın'; then the objective form of a pronoun or a noun; and, finally, the supine-infinitive form of any given verb. The Theodsprausk causative voice also uses an SVO word order, just like English. For example, the Theodspraughsk sentence, "Kaıȷ kavzık þıȷ ad ıtın wö sa seȷno," means, "I will cause you to eat of some dinner," or, "I will feed you dinner." The other way, which is, on average, much more commonly used than the one mentioned above, is formed by simply adding the suffix 'Ifaı' to any given verb. Hence, "I will feed you dinner," becomes, "Wıa sa seȷno kaıȷ ıtıfaı'k þıȷ."
Reciprocal
Reciprocal | 1st (Exclusive) | 1st (Inclusive) | 2nd (Informal) | 2nd (Formal) | 3rd [♂] | 3rd [⚨] | 3rd [♀] | 3rd (Inanimate) | 4th |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Plurals |
Reflexive
The Reflexive Voice is when one makes use of Reflexive Pronouns. Examples of reflexive pronouns are myself and yourselves. In Theodspraughsk, such pronouns are formed by taking the possessive adjective and adding the suffix 'si' to it, for example: 'Marsi' means 'Myself'. The suffix must also, as in English, match the number of the pronoun. For example: 'Ourselves' would be translated as 'Narsis'. Here is a chart:
Reflexive | 1st (Exclusive) | 1st (Inclusive) | 2nd (Informal) | 2nd (Formal) | 3rd [♂] | 3rd [⚨] | 3rd [♀] | 3rd (Inanimate) | 4th |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | mûŋ hâþSilf | TurdaSilf | TvardaSilf | TcırdaSilf | ScırdaSilf | HȷırdaSilf | SırdaSilf | LırdaSilf | |
Plurals | KûrdanSilfin | GûrdanSilfin | PırdanSilfin | PûrdanSilfin | DʒırdanSilfin | ZʒırdanSilfin | ƷȷırdanSilfin | ZırdanSilfin | HûrdanSilfin |
Adjectives
Adjectives in Theodspraughsk always occur before the word they are describing. Whereas in Spanish, one might have, "Los bolas verdes," (The balls green) in Theodspraughsk, one would have, "Las grönıl båls." (The green balls). All adjectives in Theodspraughsk end with 'L'. However, all adjectives that follow a either a demonstrative pronoun (ðıs/ðät/ðan/ðandër), definite article (ða/ðas), possessive adjective (mar/þar/etc.), possessive noun (noun+'Þeus'), or a noun phrase are considered 'weak' adjectives, and use the suffix 'Il'. All other adjectives are considered 'strong', and end in 'Ul' instead of 'Il'. When the verb stem ends in a vowel, the suffix is always 'Il'.
Possessive Adjectives
Possessive Adjectives, also known as Possessive Determiners, are adjectives that show possession. English's possessives are 'My', 'Your', 'Our', 'Their', etc. In Theodspraughsk, these match the number of the word they are describing. Here is a chart:
Possessives | 1st (Exclusive) | 1st (Inclusive) | 2nd (Informal) | 2nd (Formal) | 3rd [♂] | 3rd [⚨] | 3rd [♀] | 3rd (Inanimate) | 4th |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | mûŋ hâþ | Turda | Tvarda | Tcırda | Scırda | Hȷırda | Sırda | Lırda | |
Plurals | Kûrda | Gûrda | Pırda | Pûrda | Dʒırda | Zʒırda | Ʒȷırda | Zırda | Hûrda |
Nouns as Possessive Adjectives
Nouns can function as possessive adjectives if they are followed by the word 'Hâz'. This is the same concept of English's clitic, 's. If English were to use 'Hâz' instead of its clitic, an English sentence might be "...English hâz clitic..." instead of "...English's clitic...".
Comparative
Superlative adjectives are prefixed by the word 'Mas'.
Superlative
Superlative adjectives are prefixed by the word 'Mos'.
Other
There are many other imprtant things in Theodspraughsk grammar, and those are mentioned and expounded upon in this section.
Adverbs
Adverbs in Theodspraughsk are formed from the addition of the suffix of 'Lri'.
Number
Theodspraughsk has two numbers, as does Modern English: Singular and Plural. There is no suffix dedicated to the denotion of gramatical singularity, but there is a plural suffix: 'S'. It previously had a Paucal, or 'few', number, but this fell out of usage due to English and Spanish influence. The paucal suffix was 'Z', so, should you see this, just pretend it is an 'S'.
Articles
Articles have two numbers: singular and plural. Theodspraughsk used to have Inanimate and Animate Articles for use with its Inanimate and Animate genders. 'On' was the archaic Animate Indefinite Article, and 'Den' was the archaic Inanimate Definite Article. Over time, the definite article changed to 'Do', which then shifted to 'Da', and, finally, 'Ða'. Recently, 'So' changed into to 'Sa' and then into 'La' due to Spanish influence. 'Partative' articles are used for 'w:Mass Noun mass nouns'. English optionally uses 'Some' for this. For example, one might say, "Would you please pass me some toast?" However, not all instances of the word 'Some' in English would translate into Theodspraughsk as 'La'. As a general rule of thumb, type all optional 'Some's into the thing you are going to translate. If removing the word 'Some' from the sentence makes it ungrammatical, then either 'Ans' or 'Das' should be used. If the sentence, however, still makes sense without that particular 'Some', try making the word singular and trying an indefinite article (either 'A' or 'An'). If it is grammatical with an indefinite article, then it is not a mass noun, and 'La' should not be used in the Theodspraughsk translation. If changing it to the singular and adding the indefinite article did make it ungrammatical, then one should use 'La' in their translation.
Articles | Indefinite | Partative | Definite |
---|---|---|---|
Singular | Na | Ða | |
Plural | Nas | Las | Ðas |