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[[Category:Tinarian languages]]
{{privatelang}}
{{privatelang}}
{{construction}}
{{construction}}


{{Infobox language
{{Infobox language
|image            = Natalician_Flag.png
|image            = Natalician_Flag_Updated.png
|imagesize        = 185px
|imagesize        = 185px
|imagecaption      = Flag of the Natalician Republic
|imagecaption      = Flag of the Natalician Republic
|name              = Natalician
|name              = Natalician
|nativename        = Nataledhi
|nativename        = Natal retti
|pronunciation    = na.ta.le.di
|pronunciation    = na.tal re.tːi
|pronunciation_key = IPA for Natalician
|states            = Natalicia; Firenia and the Kontamchian Islands
|states            = Natalicia; Firenia and the Kontamchian Islands
|setting          = Hazerworld
|region            = Central-East Tinaria
|region            = Central-East Tinaria
|speakers          = 32,123,487
|speakers          = 37,123,487
|date              = 2021
|date              = 2021
|created          = 2022
|created          = 2021
|familycolor      = Tinarian
|familycolor      = Tinarian
|fam2              = Kasenian
|fam2              = Kasenian
|fam3              = North Kasenian
|fam3              = Natalo-Kesperic
|fam4              = Natalo-Kesperian
|fam4              = High Kesperic
|fam5              = Old Natalician
|fam5              = Old Natalician
|dia1              = Celician Natalician (''Selis Natal'')
|dia2              = Northern Natalician (''Köpreli Natal'')
|dia3              = Firenic Natalician (''Firen Natal'')
|stand1            = Standard Central Natalician (''Durgum Raskaznol Natal'')
|creator          = User:Hazer
|creator          = User:Hazer
|script1          = Latn
|script1          = Latin
|minority          = Espidon, Nirania, Amarania (Dogostania)
|official          = Natalicia, Firenia, Budernie, Nirania, Kannamie
|minority          = Espidon, Amarania (Dogostania)
|nation            = Natalicia
|agency            = The Natalician Academic Council for Linguistics
|agency            = The Natalician Academic Council for Linguistics
|map              = Natalician_Distr_Map.png
|map              = Natalician_Distr_Map.png
Line 27: Line 36:
|mapcaption        = A map showing the distribution of (native and non-native) speakers of Natalician in Tinaria. Dark blue is native, light blue is secondary language speaker, and cyan is minorities.
|mapcaption        = A map showing the distribution of (native and non-native) speakers of Natalician in Tinaria. Dark blue is native, light blue is secondary language speaker, and cyan is minorities.
|notice            = IPA
|notice            = IPA
|ethnicity        = Natales
|ethnicity        = Natalese
|ancestor          = Old Natalician
}}
}}
'''Natalician''' ({{IPA|/nəˈtɑlɪʃən/ or /ˌnɑteɪˈlɪʃ.ən/}}; [[w:Endonym|endonym]]: ''Nataledhi'' {{IPA|[na.ta.le.di]}} or ''Nataledhi Retti'' {{IPA|/na.ta.le.di re.tːi/}}) is a North Kasenian language mainly spoken in Central East Tinaria, primarily in Natalicia, Firenia and North-East Nirania. Outside of Natalica, it is recognized as an official language in Budernie, Nirania, Kannamie and as a minority language in East Espidon, Natalician communities in Nirania and the Dogostanian community in Eastern Amarania. Natalician is closely related to other North Kasenian languages such as Espidan and Niranian.  
'''Natalician''' ({{IPA|/nəˈtɑlɪʃən/}}; [[w:Endonym|endonym]]: ''Natal'' {{IPA|[na.tal]}} or ''Natal Rettive'' {{IPA|/na.tal re.tːive/}}) is a North Kasenian language predominantly spoken in Central East Tinaria, specifically in Natalicia, Firenia, and North-East Nirania. Beyond Natalicia, it holds official status in Budernie, Nirania, and Kannamie, and is recognized as a minority language in East Espidon and within the Dogostanian community in Eastern Amarania. Natalician shares a close linguistic relationship with other North Kasenian languages, such as Espidan and Niranian.


Modern Natalician gradually developed from Old Natalician, which in turn developed from an extinct unnamed language spoken by the Natalo-Kesperian tribes. Today, Natalician is one of the most important languages in the world, and is the most spoken Kasenian language, both natively and as an additional language. About 65 million people speak Natalician worldwide, 32 of which are natives.
Modern Natalician evolved from Old Natalician, which itself descended from an extinct, unnamed language spoken by the Natalo-Kesperian tribes. Today, Natalician stands as one of the world's most significant languages, boasting the highest number of speakers among the Kasenian languages, both as a native and a second language. Approximately 65 million people worldwide speak Natalician, including 37 million native speakers.


Luthic is an [[w:Inflection|inflected]] [[w:Fusional language|fusional language]], with four [[w:Grammatical case|cases]] for nouns, pronouns, and adjectives (nominative, accusative, genitive, dative); three [[w:Grammatical genders|genders]] (masculine, feminine, neuter); and two [[w:Grammatical number|numbers]] (singular, plural).
Natalician is characterised by its lack of [[w:Grammatical case|grammatical cases]], absence of [[w:Grammatical genders|grammatical genders]], minimal irregularity, and a systematic grammar. Its orthography is straightforward, devoid of digraphs, diphthongs, or similar complexities, making it an accessible language to read and learn.
 
==Classification==
[[File:Romance-lg-classification Luthic.png|thumb|Chart of Romance languages based on structural and comparative criteria, not on socio-functional ones. FP: Franco-Provençal, IR: Istro-Romanian.]]
Luthic is an [[w:Indo-European languages|Indo-European language]] that belongs to the Gotho-Romance group of the Italic languages, however Luthic has great Germanic influence; where the [[w:Germanic languages|Germanic languages]] are traditionally subdivided into three branches: [[w:North Germanic languages|North Germanic]], [[w:East Germanic languages|East Germanic]], and [[w:West Germanic languages|West Germanic]]. The first of these branches survives in modern [[w:Danish language|Danish]], [[w:Swedish language|Swedish]], [[w:Norwegian language|Norwegian]], [[w:Elfdalian language|Elfdalian]], [[w:Faroese language|Faroese]], and [[w:Icelandic language|Icelandic]], all of which are descended from [[w:Old Norse language|Old Norse]]. The East Germanic languages are now extinct, and [[w:Gothic language|Gothic]] is the only language in this branch which survives in written texts; Luthic is the only surviving Indo-European language with extensive East Germanic derived vocabulary. The West Germanic languages, however, have undergone extensive dialectal subdivision and are now represented in modern languages such as [[w:English language|English]], [[w:German language|German]], [[w:Dutch language|Dutch]], [[w:Yiddish language|Yiddish]], [[w:Afrikaans language|Afrikaans]], and others.
 
Among the Romance languages, its classification has always been controversial, for example, it is one of the [[w:Italo-Dalmatian languages|Italo-Dalmatian languages]] and most closely related to [[w:Istriot language|Istriot]] on the one hand and [[w:Tuscan dialect|Tuscan-Italian]] on the other. Some authors include it among the [[w:Gallo-Italic languages|Gallo-Italic languages], and according to others, it is not related to either one. Although both [[w:Ethnologue|Ethnologue]] and [[w:Glottolog|Glottolog]] group Luthic into a new language group, the Gotho-Romance (''opere citato'') family is still somewhat dubious.
 
Luthic has been influenced by [[w:Italian language|Italian]], [[w:Frankish language|Frankish]], [[w:Gothic language|Gothic]] and [[w:Lombardic language|Langobardic]] since its first attestation, the great influence of these languages on the vocabulary and grammar of Modern Luthic is widely acknowledged. Most specialists in [[w:Language contact|language contact]] do consider Luthic to be a [[w:Mixed language|true mixed language]]. Luthic is classified as a Romance langauge because it shares innovations with other Romance languages such as Italian, French and Spanish.


==History==
==History==
The Luthic [[w:Philology|philologist]] Aþalphonso Silva divided the history of Luthic into a period from 500 AD to 1740 to be "Mediaeval Luthic", which he subdivided into “Gothic Luthic” (500–1100), “Mediaeval Luthic” (1100–1600) and “late Mediaeval Luthic” (1600–1740).
The earliest traces of the Natalician language date back to the year 334, featuring a vocabulary and grammar markedly different from its modern descendant. The history of the Natalician language is divided into three distinct periods: '''Classic Natalician''' (334–1203), '''Old Natalician''' (1203–1540), and '''Modern Natalician''' (1540–present). As of 2021, the language is estimated to be 1,687 years old.
 
===Gothic Luthic===
The earliest varieties of a Luthic language, collectively known as ''Gothic Luthic'' or “''Gotho-Luthic'', evolved from the contact of [[w:Vulgar Latin|Latin dialects]] and East Germanic languages. A considerable amount of East Germanic vocabulary was incorporated into Luthic over some five centuries. Approximately 1,200 uncompounded Luthic words are derived from Gothic and ultimately from [[w:Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]]. Of these 1,200, 700 are nouns, 300 are verbs and 200 are adjectives. Luthic has also absorbed many loanwords, most of which were borrowed from West Germanic languages of the [[w:Early Middle Ages|Early Middle Ages]].


Only a few documents in Gothic Luthic have survived – not enough for a complete reconstruction of the language. Most Gothic Luthic-language sources are translations or glosses of other languages (namely, [[w:Koine Greek|Greek]] and [[w:Latin language|Latin]]), so foreign linguistic elements most certainly influenced the texts. Nevertheless, Gothic Luthic was probably very close to Gothic (it is known primarily from the [[w:Codex Argenteus|Codex Argenteus]], a 6th-century copy of a 4th-century [[w:Bible|Bible]] translation, and is the only East Germanic language with a sizeable [[w:Text corpus|text corpus]]). These are the primary sources:
===Classic Natalician===
:* ''Codex Luthicus'' (Ravenna), two parts: 87 leaves
Also known as '''Poetic Natalician''' or the '''Natalo-Kesperian Language''', the earliest traces of this language are found solely in ancient poetry and inscriptions on recovered artifacts. However, the NACL (Natalician Academy of Classical Languages) considers these remnants insufficient to be deemed a complete or valid representation of the spoken Natalo-Kesperian language, largely due to the dominance of illiteracy in the pre-Killistic era and the overly formal nature of the vocabulary used in these writings.
::It contains scattered passages from the New Testament (including parts of the gospels and the Epistles), from the Old Testament (Nehemiah), and some commentaries. The text likely had been somewhat modified by copyists. It was written using the [[w:Gothic alphabet|Gothic alphabet]], an alphabet used for writing the Gothic language. It was developed in the 4th century AD by [[w:Ulfilas|Ulfilas]] (or ''Wulfila''), a Gothic preacher of [[w:Cappadocian Greeks|Cappadocian Greek]] descent, for the purpose of [[w:Gothic Bible|translating the Bible]].
[[File:Luthiks.png|thumb|Detail of the ''Codex Luthicus'', the word ''Luþiks'' is attested, referring to the Luths]]


:* ''Codex Ravennas'' (Ravenna), four parts: 140 leaves
Classic Natalician's vocabulary contains numerous direct elements from the early Proto-North-Kasenian language, which eventually faded during the migratory era. This decline was influenced by cultural clashes and the increasing incorporation of loanwords.
::A [[w:Civil code|Civil code]] enacted under [[w:Theodoric the Great|Theodoric the Great]]. The code covered the [[w:Ostrogothic Kingdom|Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy]], but mainly Ravenna, as Theodoric devoted most of his architectural attention to his capital, Ravenna. Codex Ravennas was also written using the Gothic alphabet. The text likely had been somewhat modified by copyists. Together with four leaves, fragments of Romans 11–15 (a Luthic–Latin diglot).


===Mediaeval Luthic===
Unfortunately, no documents from the Classic Natalician period have survived. Consequently, there is no known evidence detailing the development of the language during this primary era.
In the mediaeval period, Luthic emerged as a separate language from Gothic. The main written language was Latin, and the few Luthic-language texts preserved from this period are written in the Latin alphabet. From the 7th to the 16th centuries, Mediaeval Luthic gradually transformed through language contact with [[w:Italian language|Old Italian]], [[w:Lombardic language|Langobardic]] and [[w:Frankish language|Frankish]]. During the [[w:Carolingian Empire|Carolingian Empire]] (773–774), [[w:Charles Martel|Charles]] conquered the [[w:Lombards|Lombards]] and thus included northern Italy in his sphere of influence. He renewed the [[w:Roman Curia|Vatican]] donation and the promise to the papacy of continued Frankish protection. Frankish was very strong, until [[w:Louis the Pious|Louis’]] eldest surviving son [[w:Lothair I|Lothair I]] became Emperor in name but ''de facto only'' the ruler of the [[w:Middle Francia|Middle Frankish Kingdom]].
[[File:Mediaeval luthic.png|thumb|'''The first sentence is:''' “''Luthica unsara rasda ist, e scolamos defendere unsarǫ raihtǫ di usare la rasda fremente, l’italiano nogca sarat l’unsara rasda fragca, car gli italiani non unse rispetanno.''” '''English translation:''' “Luthic is our language, and we must defend our right to use it freely, Italian will never be our language, as the Italians don’t respect us”]]


===Late Mediaeval Luthic===
===Old Natalician===
{{Quote box |align=right|quoted=true |
{{Quote box |align=right|quoted=true |
|salign=right
|salign=right
|quote=''Fraugiani e Narri hanno rasda fre.'' <br /> “Lords and jesters have free speech.”
|quote=''Reširi ägsös nör på tånåka if kelševi wez̊en fölsi sös.'' <br /> “The people have the right to write and say what they please.”
|source= Giuseppe il Lûthico, proverbs
|source= The first quote from the famous Ulun Cilesli Irkete's 1210 language guide
}}
}}
Following the first Bible translation, the development of Luthic as a [[w:Written language|written language]], as a language of religion, administration, and public discourse accelerated. In the second half of the 17th century, grammarians elaborated grammars of Luthic, first among them Þiudareico Bianchi’s 1657 Latin grammar ''De studio linguæ luthicæ''.


====''De Studio Linguæ Luthicæ''====
''De Studio Linguæ Luthicæ'' (English: On Study of the Luthic Language) often referred to as simply the ''Luthicæ'' ({{IPA|/lʌˈθiˌki, lʌθˈaɪˌki/}}), is a book by Þiudareico Bianchi that expounds Luthic grammar. The Luthicæ is written in Latin and comprises two volumes, and was first published on 9 September 1657.


====Book 1, ''De grammatica''====
With the dawn of the Killistic era, the Natalese tribes gained access to invaluable knowledge, brought by the ascension of their proclaimed king, '''Ribel Zömeri'''. This period marked a significant rise in literacy rates within the nascent and unified Natalese monarchy, which spanned from 1203 to 1834. During this era, the Natalician language saw its first instances of written records and experienced a flourishing of printed works.
Book 1, subtitled ''De grammatica'' (On grammar) concerns fundamental grammar features present in Luthic. It opens a collection of examples and Luthic–Latin diglot lemmata.


====Book 2, ''De orthographia''====
The earliest known book containing written evidence of the Natalician language is titled "Natåltïå kočåculaï orūnza" (Natalician Guide Book). This seminal work was authored and published by the late Ulun Cilesli Irkete in the year 1210. Subsequently, numerous documents have been preserved through generations and are now treasured artifacts housed in the '''Natalician Grand Museum of Literature and Artifacts''' in Celicia.
Book 2, subtitled ''De orthographia'' (On orthography), is an exposition of the many vernacular orthographies Luthic had, and eventual suggestions for a universal orthography.
[[File:De studio linguae luthicae.png|thumb|Remounted cover, at Luthic Community of Ravenna]]


==Geographical distribution==
[[file:Old_natalician_book.png|thumb|A recovered old copy of Prof. Irkete's Old Natalician guide book]]
Luthic is spoken mainly in [[w:Emilia-Romagna|Emilia-Romagna]], Italy, where it is primarily spoken in Ravenna and its adjacent [[w:Municipality|communes]]. Although Luthic is spoken almost exclusively in Emilia-Romagna, it has also been spoken outside of Italy. [[w:Emigration|Luth and general Italian emigrant communities]] (the largest of which are to be found in the [[w:Americas|Americas]]) sometimes employ Luthic as their primary language. The largest concentrations of Luthic speakers are found in the [[w:Province|provinces]] of Ravenna, Ferrara and Bologna ([[w:Metropolitan City of Bologna|Metropolitan City of Bologna]]). The people of Ravenna live in [[w:Diglossia|tetraglossia,]] as Romagnol, Emilian and Italian are spoken in those provinces alongside Luthic.


According to a census by [[w:Italian National Institute of Statistics|ISTAT]] (The Italian National Institute of Statistics), Luthic is spoken by an estimated 250,000 people, however only 149,500 are considered ''de facto'' natives, and approximately 50,000 are monolinguals.
Many historians and literary scholars have debated the relationship between Classic and Old Natalician, with some arguing that they are identical. However, the scarcity of evidence has left these claims unresolved. Scholar '''Iček Friktinäm''' posits: ''"Old Natalician may be the result of the incorporation of new local loanwords, and the diverse dialects might have led to deviations from the Kasenian roots of the standard spoken Natalician of that time."''


===Status===
Old Natalician is characterized by significantly different grammar and vocabulary compared to modern Natalician. The most notable differences include the presence of ''vowel harmony'' and ''grammatical cases''. The language featured four types of vowel harmony and three grammatical cases: '''Nominative''', '''Accusative''', and '''Genitive'''. Additionally, distinct suffixes and verb conjugations highlight the major grammatical differences.
As in most European countries, the minority languages are defined by legislation or constitutional documents and afforded some form of official support. In 1992, the Council of Europe adopted the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages to protect and promote historical regional and minority languages in Europe.


Luthic is regulated by the '''Council for the Luthic Language''' (Luthic: ''Gafaurdo faul·la Rasda Lûthica'' {{IPA|[ɡɐˈfɔɾ.du fɔl‿lɐ ˈʁaz.dɐ ˈlu.tʰi.xɐ]}}) and the '''Luthic Community of Ravenna''' (Luthic: ''Gamainescape Lûthica Ravennai'' {{IPA|[ɡɐˌmɛ.neˈska.fe ˈlu.tʰi.xɐ ʁɐˈvẽ.nɛ]}}). The existence of a regulatory body has removed Luthic, at least in part, from the domain of Standard Italian, its traditional [[w:Abstand and ausbau languages|Dachsprache]], Luthic was considered an Italian dialect like many others until about [[w:World War II|World War II]], but then it underwent [[w:Abstand and ausbau languages|ausbau]].
===Modern Natalician===
[[File:Spoken Luthic Ravenna.png|thumb|Luthic geographical distribution in the commune of Ravenna]]
{{Quote box |align=right|quoted=true |
|salign=right
|quote=''Ťenałr tanakavsai der garla. Ťenałr nameš tanakavsai der ünete.'' <br /> “History is written by the victor. Our history is written by the people.
|source= Zafel Sörät Fortla, founder of the republic
}}


===Luthic regarded as an Italian dialect===
The Natalician language has been continuously evolving since the 15th century with the decline of the monarchy and the rise of '''Goz Hoz''' to power the next few centuries. Trades and exchanges between nations has allowed for a path to new loanwords added to the Natalician lexicon. This evolution continued until the establishment of the Republic in 1845 by '''Zafel Sörät Fortla''', when the "Natalician Academic Council for Linguistics" was created and assumed responsibility for tracking the language's development.
Luthic lexicon is discrepant from those of other Romance languages, since most of the words present in Modern Luthic are ultimately of Germanic origin. The lexical differentiation was a big factor for the creation of an independent regulatory body. There were many attempts to assimilate Luthic into the Italian [[w:Dialect continuum|dialect continuum]], as in recent centuries, the intermediate dialects between the major Romance languages have been moving toward [[w:Language death|extinction]], as their speakers have switched to varieties closer to the more prestigious national standards. That has been most notable in [[w:France|France]], owing to the French government’s [[w:Language policy in France|refusal to recognise minority languages]]. For many decades since Italy’s unification, the attitude of the French government towards the ethnolinguistic minorities was copied by the Italian government. A movement called “Italianised Luthic Movement” (Luthic: ''Movimento Lûthicai Italianegiatai''; Italian: ''Movimento per il Lutico Italianeggiato'') tried to italianase Luthic’s vocabulary and reduce the inherited Germanic vocabulary, in order to assimilate Luthic as an Italian derived language; modern Luthic orthography was affected by this movement.


Almost all of the Romance languages spoken in Italy are native to the area in which they are spoken. Apart from Standard Italian, these languages are often referred to as [[w:Italian dialects|''dialetti'']] “dialects”, both colloquially and in scholarly usage; however, the term may coexist with other labels like “minority languages” or “vernaculars” for some of them. Italian was first declared to be Italy's official language during the [[w:Fascist Italy|Fascist period]], more specifically through the R.D.l., adopted on 15 October 1925, with the name of ''Sull'Obbligo della lingua italiana in tutti gli uffici giudiziari del Regno, salvo le eccezioni stabilite nei trattati internazionali per la città di Fiume''. According to [[w:Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger|UNESCO's Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger]], there are 31 endangered languages in Italy.
==Etymology==
[[File:Lang Status 80-VU.svg|thumb|Luthic is classified as Vulnerable by the [[w:Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger|UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger]]]]
The name Natalicia, the Natalese and the Natalician language, originates from the '''Natala''' tribes of the Natalo-Kesperian community in central east Tinaria. The term derives from the Proto-Kasenian word '''Nåťåla''', meaning "fairness." This evolved into ''Nåsåla'' in Old Natalician and eventually became ''Nasala'' in Modern Natalician.


== Phonology ==
==Geographical Distribution==
{{main|Turkish phonology}}
[[file:Natalician_Distr_Map.png|thumb|Geographical distribution of speakers of the Natalician language in the Natal Koman area]]
{{hatnote|See [[Turkish alphabet]] for a pronunciation guide}}
Natalician is spoken in the Natalician republic, the kingdom of Firenia, the northwestern camps of the Nirenian republic and as a minority language in Espidon and Amarania. The popularity of Natalician has increased following the Natalician Dispora program, resulting in an increase of demand for the language to be taught as a foreign language in most of Tinaria and the other three continents.


=== Consonants ===
An exact global number of Natalician speakers is a matter of difference due to the several varieties of Natalician status as separate "languages" or "dialects" is disputed for political and linguistic reasons, including certain forms of Kasperian and Rufeic Natalician. With the inclusion or exclusion of said varieties, the estimate is approximately 40 million people who speak Natalician as a first language, 5 to 15 million speak it as a second language, and 40 to 50 million as a foreign language. This would imply approximately 85 to 105 million Natalician speakers worldwide.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ Consonant phonemes of Standard Turkish<ref name=zimmerorgun>{{Cite book|last1=Zimmer|first1=Karl|last2=Orgun|first2=Orhan|year=1999|chapter=Turkish|title=Handbook of the International Phonetic Association: A guide to the use of the International Phonetic Alphabet|place=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=0-521-65236-7|pages=154–158|chapter-url=http://www.uta.edu/faculty/cmfitz/swnal/projects/CoLang/courses/Transcription/rosettaproject_tur_phon-2.pdf|access-date=2015-04-12|archive-date=2018-07-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725111322/http://www.uta.edu/faculty/cmfitz/swnal/projects/CoLang/courses/Transcription/rosettaproject_tur_phon-2.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |
! [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! [[Dental consonant|Dental]]/<br>[[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! [[Postalveolar consonant|Post-<br>alveolar]]
! [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
![[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPA link|m}}
| {{IPA link|n̪|n}}
|
|
|
|
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Stop consonant|Stop]]
! {{small|[[voicelessness|voiceless]]}}
| {{IPA link|p}}
| {{IPA link|t̪|t}}
| {{IPA link|t͡ʃ}}
| ({{IPA link|c}})
| {{IPA link|k}}
|
|-
! {{small|[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]}}
| {{IPA link|b}}
| {{IPA link|d̪|d}}
| {{IPA link|d͡ʒ}}
| ({{IPA link|ɟ}})
| {{IPA link|ɡ}}
|
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
! {{small|[[voicelessness|voiceless]]}}
| {{IPA link|f}}
| {{IPA link|s̪|s}}
| {{IPA link|ʃ}}
|
|
|{{IPA link|h}}
|-
! {{small|[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]}}
| rowspan="2" | {{IPA link|v}}
| {{IPA link|z̪|z}}
| {{IPA link|ʒ}}
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
| ({{IPA link|ɫ̪|ɫ}})
| {{IPA link|l̠|l}}
| {{IPA link|j}}
| ({{IPA link|ɰ}})
|
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Tap consonant|Tap]]
|
| {{IPA link|ɾ|ɾ}}
|
|
|
|
|}


At least one source claims Turkish consonants are laryngeally-specified three-way fortis-lenis (aspirated/neutral/voiced) like Armenian.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Petrova |first1=Olga |last2=Plapp |first2=Rosemary |last3=Ringen |first3=Catherine |last4=Szentgyörgyi |first4=Szilárd |date=2006 |title=Voice and aspiration: Evidence from Russian, Hungarian, German, Swedish, and Turkish |url=https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/7a27/5c57dd25134aa7628c46a64ca470cc3a71db.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180908054256/https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/7a27/5c57dd25134aa7628c46a64ca470cc3a71db.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2018-09-08 |journal=The Linguistic Review |language=en |volume=23 |issue=1 |pages=1–35 |doi=10.1515/tlr.2006.001 |s2cid=42712078 |issn=0167-6318}}</ref>
Natalician sociolinguist Mezred Siförtah estimated a number of 150 million Natalician foreign language speakers without clarifying the criteria by which he classified a speaker.


The phoneme that is usually referred to as ''yumuşak g'' ("soft g"), written {{angbr|ğ}} in Turkish [[orthography]], represents a vowel sequence or a rather weak bilabial approximant between rounded vowels, a weak palatal approximant between unrounded front vowels, and a vowel sequence elsewhere. It never occurs at the beginning of a word or a syllable, but always follows a vowel. When word-final or preceding another consonant, it lengthens the preceding vowel.<ref name=zimmerorgun/>
=== Tinaria ===
As of 2024, about 40 million people, or 12% of the Tinarian Union's population, spoke Natalician as their mother tongue, making it the fourth-most widely spoken language on the continent after English, Secaltan and Amaranian, the fourth biggest language in terms of overall speakers, as well as the third most spoken native language.


In native Turkic words, the sounds {{IPA|[c]}}, {{IPA|[ɟ]}}, and {{IPA|[l]}} are in [[complementary distribution]] with {{IPA|[k]}}, {{IPA|[ɡ]}}, and {{IPA|[ɫ]}}; the former set occurs adjacent to front vowels and the latter adjacent to back vowels. The distribution of these [[phoneme]]s is often unpredictable, however, in foreign borrowings and proper nouns. In such words, {{IPA|[c]}}, {{IPA|[ɟ]}}, and {{IPA|[l]}} often occur with back vowels:<ref name=lewis2001/>{{rp|93–4,6}} some [[#Writing system|examples]] are given below.
===Natal Koman===
The area in central east Tinaria where the majority of the population speaks Natalician as a first or second language and has Natalician as a (co-)official language is called the "''Natal Koman'' (Natalician for: 'Natalese World')". Natalician is the official or co-official language of the following countries:
* Natalicia (official)
* Firenia (official)
* The Kontamchian Islands (official)
* Søfrøzkev, Niččišey and Vørkek regions of Nirenia (co-official)
* Province of Trumuyet of Tuggol (co-official)
* The Islands of Kannamay, Binjes and Vurvuda (co-official)


==== Consonant devoicing ====
===Outside the Natal Koman===
{{Main|Final-obstruent devoicing}}
Natalician is a recognised minority language in the following countries:
* Espidon (in the provinces of Zafur and Iktišek)
* East of the Federal Dogostanian Republic in Amarania


Turkish orthography reflects [[final-obstruent devoicing]], a form of [[consonant mutation]] whereby a voiced obstruent, such as {{IPA|/b d dʒ ɡ/}}, is devoiced to {{IPA|[p t tʃ k]}} at the end of a word or before a consonant, but retains its voicing before a vowel. In loan words, the voiced equivalent of ''/k/'' is ''/g/''; in native words, it is ''/ğ/''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.imla.dilimiz.com/TDK/unsuzlerinnitelikleri.HTM|title=Sesler ve ses uyumları "Sounds and Vovel karmony"|access-date=2013-01-13|publisher=[[Turkish Language Association]]|language=tr|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728093237/http://www.imla.dilimiz.com/TDK/unsuzlerinnitelikleri.HTM|archive-date=2012-07-28|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Turkish Consonant Mutation|url=http://turkishbasics.com/grammar/consonant-mutation.php|website=turkishbasics.com|language=EN|access-date=2018-05-02|archive-date=2018-05-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180502213456/http://turkishbasics.com/grammar/consonant-mutation.php|url-status=live}}</ref>
== Phonology ==


{| class="sortable wikitable"
=== Consonants ===
|+ Obstruent devoicing in nouns
|-
!Underlying <br/>consonant
!Devoiced <br/>form
!Underlying <br/>form
!Dictionary form
!Dative case /<br/>1sg present
!Meaning
|-
|b||p||''*kitab''||''kitap''||''kitaba''||book (loan)
|-
|c||ç|| ''*uc'' || ''uç''||''uca''||tip
|-
|d||t||''*bud''||''but''||''buda''||thigh
|-
|g||k||''*reng''||''renk''||''renge''||color (loan)
|-
|ğ||k||''*ekmeğ''||''ekmek''||''ekmeğe''||bread
|}
 
This is analogous to languages such as [[German language|German]] and [[Russian language|Russian]], but in the case of Turkish it only applies, as the above examples demonstrate, to stops and affricates, not to fricatives. The spelling is usually made to match the sound. However, in a few cases, such as ''ad'' 'name' (dative ''ada''), the underlying form is retained in the spelling (cf. ''at'' 'horse', dative ''ata''). Other exceptions are ''od'' 'fire' vs. ''ot'' 'herb', ''sac'' 'sheet metal', ''saç'' 'hair'. Most loanwords, such as ''kitap'' above, are spelled as pronounced, but a few such as ''hac'' 'hajj', ''şad'' 'happy', and ''yad'' 'strange' or 'stranger' also show their underlying forms.{{citation needed|date=July 2014}}
 
Native nouns of two or more syllables that end in ''/k/'' in dictionary form are nearly all ''//ğ//'' in underlying form. However, most verbs and monosyllabic nouns are underlyingly ''//k//''.<ref name=lewis2001/>{{rp|10}}
 
=== Vowels ===
[[File:Turkish vowel chart.svg|thumb|upright=1.13|Vowels of Turkish.<ref name=zimmerorgun/>]]
The vowels of the Turkish language are, in their alphabetical order, {{angbr|a}}, {{angbr|e}}, {{angbr|ı}}, {{angbr|i}}, {{angbr|o}}, {{angbr|ö}}, {{angbr|u}}, {{angbr|ü}}.{{efn|The vowel represented by {{angbr|ı}} is also commonly transcribed as {{angbr IPA|ɨ}} in linguistic literature.}} The Turkish vowel system can be considered as being three-dimensional, where vowels are characterised by how and where they are articulated focusing on three key features: [[Vowel#Backness|front and back]], [[Roundedness|rounded and unrounded]] and [[Vowel#Height|vowel height]].<ref name=":12">{{Cite book|title=Turkish: A Comprehensive Grammar|last1=Goksel|first1=Asli|last2=Kerslake|first2=Celia|publisher=Routledge|year=2005|isbn=0-415-11494-2|pages=24–25}}</ref> Vowels are classified [±back], [±round] and [±high].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Khalilzadeh|first=Amir|date=Winter 2010|title=Vowel Harmony in Turkish|journal=Karadeniz Araştırmaları: Balkan, Kafkas, Doğu Avrupa ve Anadolu İncelemeleri Dergisi|volume=6|issue=24|pages=141–150}}</ref>
 
The only [[diphthong]]s in the language are found in [[loanword]]s and may be categorised as falling diphthongs usually analyzed as a sequence of /j/ and a vowel.<ref name=zimmerorgun/>
 
==== Vowel harmony ====
{{Details|Vowel harmony}}
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; margin-left: 1em"
! rowspan="2" | Turkish Vowel Harmony
! colspan="4" | Front Vowels || colspan="4" | Back Vowels
|-
! colspan="2" | Unrounded || colspan="2" | Rounded || colspan="2" | Unrounded || colspan="2" | Rounded
|-
! Vowel
| style="border-right: 0;" | '''e''' {{IPAslink|e}}
| '''i''' {{IPAslink|i}} || '''ü''' {{IPAslink|y}}
| style="border-left: 0;" | '''ö''' {{IPAslink|ø}} || '''a''' {{IPAslink|a}}
| style="border-left: 0;" | '''ı''' {{IPAslink|ɯ}} || '''u''' {{IPAslink|u}}
| style="border-left: 0;" | '''o''' {{IPAslink|o}}
|- style="text-align: center;"
! Twofold (Backness)
| colspan="4" | '''e''' || colspan="4" | '''a'''
|- style="text-align: center;"
! Fourfold (Backness + Rounding)
| colspan="2" | '''i''' || colspan="2" | '''ü''' || colspan="2" | '''ı''' || colspan="2" | '''u'''
|}
 
<!--NOTICE: Please do not remove/change the following image (File:TurkishRoadSign-WelcomeToEurope Modified.jpg) as it is referred from within the text to illustrate some linguistic concepts-->[[File:TurkishRoadSign-WelcomeToEurope Modified.jpg|thumb|Road sign at the European end of the [[Bosphorus Bridge]] in [[Istanbul]]. (Photo taken during the 28th [[Istanbul Marathon]] in 2006)]]
 
The principle of vowel harmony, which permeates Turkish word-formation and suffixation, is due to the natural human tendency towards economy of muscular effort.<ref name="mundy">{{cite book|last=Mundy|first=C.|title=Turkish Syntax as a System of Qualification.|location=Oxford|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1957|pages=279–305}}</ref> This principle is expressed in Turkish through three rules:
 
# If the first vowel of a word is a back vowel, any subsequent vowel is also a back vowel; if the first is a front vowel, any subsequent vowel is also a front vowel.<ref name="mundy"/>
# If the first vowel is unrounded, so too are subsequent vowels.<ref name="mundy"/>
# If the first vowel is rounded, subsequent vowels are either rounded and close or unrounded and open.<ref name="deny">{{cite book|last=Deny|first=J.|title=Grammaire de la langue turque.|location=Paris|publisher=Éditions E. Leroux|year=1921}}</ref>
 
The second and third rules minimize muscular effort during speech. More specifically, they are related to the phenomenon of labial assimilation:<ref name="gabain">{{cite book|last=von Gabain|first=A.|title=Alttürkische Grammatik|year=1950}}</ref> if the lips are '''rounded''' (a process that requires muscular effort) for the first vowel they may stay rounded for subsequent vowels.<ref name="deny"/> If they are '''unrounded''' for the first vowel, the speaker does not make the additional muscular effort to round them subsequently.<ref name="mundy"/>
 
Grammatical [[affix]]es have "a chameleon-like quality",<ref name=lewis1953>{{cite book|last=Lewis|first=Geoffrey|author-link=Geoffrey Lewis (Turkish scholar)|title=Teach Yourself Turkish|url=https://archive.org/details/teachyourselftur00lewirich|url-access=registration|publisher=English Universities Press|year=1953| isbn=978-0-340-49231-4 }}</ref>{{rp|21}} and obey one of the following patterns of vowel harmony:
* '''twofold (''-e/-a'')''':{{efn|For the terms ''twofold'' and ''fourfold'', as well as the superscript notation, see Lewis (1953), pages 21-22.<ref name=lewis1953/>}} In his more recent works Lewis prefers to omit the superscripts, on the grounds that "there is no need for this once the principle has been grasped" (Lewis [2001]).<ref name=lewis2001/>{{rp|18}} the [[locative case]] suffix, for example, is ''-de'' after front vowels and ''-da'' after back vowels. The notation ''-de''² is a convenient shorthand for this pattern.
* '''fourfold (''-i/-ı/-ü/-u'')''': the [[genitive case]] suffix, for example, is ''-in'' or ''-ın'' after unrounded vowels (front or back respectively); and ''-ün'' or ''-un'' after the corresponding rounded vowels. In this case, the shorthand notation ''-in''<sup>4</sup> is used.
 
Practically, the twofold pattern (also referred to as the e-type vowel harmony) means that in the environment where the vowel in the word stem is formed in the front of the mouth, the suffix will take the e-form, while if it is formed in the back it will take the a-form. The fourfold pattern (also called the i-type) accounts for rounding as well as for front/back.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book|title=Turkish Grammar|last=Underhill|first=Robert|publisher=The MIT Press|year=1976|isbn=0-262-21006-1|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|pages=25}}</ref> The following examples, based on the [[Turkish copula|copula]] ''-dir''<sup>4</sup> ("[it] is"), illustrate the principles of i-type vowel harmony in practice: ''Türkiye'<nowiki/>'''dir''''' ("it is Turkey"),{{efn|In modern Turkish orthography, an apostrophe is used to separate proper names from any suffixes.}} ''kapı'''dır''''' ("it is the door"), but ''gün'''dür''''' ("it is the day"), ''palto'''dur''''' ("it is the coat").<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Husby|first=Olaf|title=Diagnostic use of nonword repetition for detection of language impairment among Turkish speaking minority children in Norway|url=https://www.academia.edu/3029750|journal=Working Papers Department of Language and Communication Studies NTNV|language=en|volume=3/2006|pages=139–149|via=Academia.edu|access-date=2017-07-28|archive-date=2022-10-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221023093307/https://www.academia.edu/3029750|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
===== Exceptions to vowel harmony =====
These are four word-classes that are exceptions to the rules of vowel harmony:
 
# '''Native, non-compound words''', e.g. ''{{lang|tr|dahi}}'' "also", ''{{lang|tr|ela}}'' "light brown", ''{{lang|tr|elma}}'' "apple", ''{{lang|tr|hangi}}'' "which", ''{{lang|tr|hani}}'' "where", ''{{lang|tr|inanmak}}'' "to believe", ''{{lang|tr|kardeş}}'' "sibling", ''{{lang|tr|şişman}}'' "fat", ''{{lang|tr|anne}}'' "mother"
# '''Native compound words''', e.g. ''{{lang|tr|bugün}}'' "today", ''{{lang|tr|dedikodu}}'' "gossip", ''{{lang|tr|haydi}}'' "come on"
# '''Foreign words''', e.g. ''{{lang|tr|ferman}}'' (< Farsi ''{{lang|fa|فرماندهی}}'' "command"), ''{{lang|tr|mikrop}}'' (< French ''{{lang|fr|microbe}}'' "microbe"), ''{{lang|tr|piskopos}}'' (< Greek ''{{lang|el|επίσκοπος}}'' "bishop")
# '''Invariable suffixes:''' '''–daş''' (denoting common attachment to the concept expressed by the noun), '''–yor''' (denoting the present tense in the third person), '''–ane''' (turning adjectives or nouns into adverbs), '''–ken''' (meaning "while being"), '''–leyin''' (meaning "in/at/during"), '''{{lang|tr|–imtırak}}''' (weakening an adjective of color or taste in a way similar to the English suffix –ish as in blueish), '''–ki''' (making a pronoun or adjective out of an adverb or a noun in the locative case), '''–gil''' (meaning "the house or family of"), '''–gen''' (referring to the name of plane figures)
{| class="wikitable" style="margin: auto;"
! scope="col" | Invariable suffix
! scope="col" | Turkish example
! scope="col" | Meaning in English
! scope="col" | Remarks
|-
| '''–daş'''
| ''{{lang|tr|meslektaş}}'' || "colleague"
| From ''{{lang|tr|meslek}}'' "profession."
|-
| '''–yor'''
| ''{{lang|tr|geliyor}}'' || "he/she/it is coming"
| From ''{{lang|tr|gel–}}'' "to come."
|-
| '''–ane'''
| ''{{lang|tr|şahane}}'' || "regal"
| From ''{{lang|tr|şah}},'' "king."
|-
| '''–ken'''
| ''{{lang|tr|uyurken}}'' || "while sleeping"
| From ''{{lang|tr|uyu–}},'' "to sleep."
|-
| '''–leyin'''
| ''{{lang|tr|sabahleyin}}'' || "in the morning"
| From ''{{lang|tr|sabah}},'' "morning."
|-
| '''–imtırak'''
| ''{{lang|tr|ekşimtırak}}'' || "sourish"
| From ''{{lang|tr|ekşi}},'' "sour."
|-
| '''–ki'''
| ''{{lang|tr|ormandaki}}'' || "(that) in the forest"
| From ''{{lang|tr|orman}},'' "forest."
|-
| '''–gil'''
| ''{{lang|tr|annemgiller}}'' || "my mother's family"
| From ''{{lang|tr|annem}},'' "my mother."
|-
| '''–gen'''
| ''{{lang|tr|altıgen}}''  || "hexagon"
| From ''{{lang|tr|altı}},'' "six."
|-
|}
 
The [[#Phonology|road sign in the photograph]] above illustrates several of these features:
* a native compound which does not obey vowel harmony: ''Orta+köy'' ("middle village"—a place name)
* a loanword also violating vowel harmony: ''viyadük'' (< French ''viaduc'' "viaduct")
* the possessive suffix'' -i''<sup>4</sup> harmonizing with the final vowel (and softening the ''k'' by consonant [[alternation (linguistics)|alternation]]): ''viyadüğü''{{citation needed|date=July 2014}}
 
The rules of vowel harmony may vary by regional dialect. The dialect of Turkish spoken in the [[Trabzon]] region of northeastern Turkey follows the reduced vowel harmony of [[Old Anatolian Turkish]], with the additional complication of two missing vowels (ü and ı), thus there is no [[palatal harmony]]. It is likely that ''elün'' meant "your hand" in Old Anatolian. While the 2nd person singular possessive would vary between back and front vowel, -ün or -un, as in ''elün'' for "your hand" and ''kitabun'' for "your book", the lack of ü vowel in the Trabzon dialect means -un would be used in both of these cases — ''elun'' and ''kitabun''.<ref name=turkic>{{Cite book| publisher = Otto Harrassowitz Verlag| isbn = 978-3-447-05212-2| last1 = Boeschoten| first1 = Hendrik| last2 = Johanson| first2 = Lars| last3 = Milani| first3 = Vildan| title = Turkic Languages in Contact| date = 2006}}</ref>
{{expand section|reason=Minor vowel harmony (low rounded vowel placement in first syllable only) not covered.|date=August 2018}}
 
==Orthography==
The basis of Standard Luthic was developed by the popular language spoken by the Ravennese people, whose was highly influenced by Gothic, together with other East Germanic [[w:Stratum (linguistics)|substrate]], such as [[w:Vandalic language|Vandalic]] and [[w:Burgundian language|Burgundian]] and other ancient West Germanic languages, mainly Frankish and Langobardic. Standard Luthic orthography was further influenced by Italian. Increasing mobility of the population and the dissemination of the language through mass media such as radio and television are leading to a gradual standardisation towards a “Standard Luthic” through the process of [[w:Koiné language|koineization]].
 
===Alphabet===
Luthic has a shallow orthography, meaning very regular spelling with an almost one-to-one correspondence between letters and sounds. In linguistic terms, the writing system is close to being a [[w:Phonemic orthography|phonemic orthography]]. The most important of the few exceptions are the following (see below for more details):
 
* The letter c represents the sound /k/ at the end of words and before the letters a, o, and u but represents the sound /t͡ʃ/ before the letters e and i.
* The letter g represents the sound /ɡ/ at the end of words and before the letters a, o, and u but represents the sound /d͡ʒ/ before the letters e and i. It also represents the sound /ŋ/ before c or g.
** /ɡʷ/ only happens before a nasal and is spelled as ggu /ŋɡʷ/, or inherited from Gothic ''-ggw-'' as a regular outcome of [[w:Proto-Germanic language|Germanic]] ''*ww'': 𐍄𐍂𐌹𐌲𐌲𐍅𐍃 [triɡʷːs], ''tregguo'' [ˈtɾɛɡ.ɡʷu].
* The letter r represents the sound /ʁ/ onset or stressed intervocalic, /ɾ/ when intervocalic or nearby another consonant or at the end of words and /ʀ/ if doubled.
* The cluster sc /sk/ before the letters e and i represents the sound /ʃ/, [[w:Gemination|geminate]] if intervocalic.
* The spellings ci and gi before another vowel represent only /t͡ʃ/ or /d͡ʒ/ with no /i/ sound.
* The spelling qu and gu always represent the sounds /k/ and /ɡ/.
* The spelling ġl and ġn represent the palatals /ʎ/ and /ɲ/ retrospectively; always geminate if intervocalic.
 
The Luthic alphabet is considered to consist of 22 letters; j, k, w, x, y are excluded, and often avoided in loanwords, as ''tacċi'' vs ''taxi'', ''cċenophobo'' vs ''xenofobo'', ''geins'' vs ''jeans'', ''Giorque'' vs ''York'', ''Valsar'' vs ''Walsar'':
 
* The [[w:Circumflex|circumflex accent]] is used over vowels to indicate irregular stress.
** The digraphs ⟨ai, au, ei⟩ are used to indicate stressed /ɛ ɔ i/ retrospectively.
** In VCC structures and some Italian borrowings, the digraphs are not found.
* The [[w:Dot (diacritic)|overdot accent]] is used to over ⟨a, o⟩ to indicate coda /a o/.
** The letter o always represents the sound /u/ in coda.
** The overdot is also used over ⟨c, g⟩ to indicate [[w:Palatalization (sound change)|palatalisation]].
* The [[w:Diaeresis (diacritic)|diaeresis accent]] is used to distinguish from a [[w:Digraph (orthography)|digraph]] or a [[w:Diphthong|diphthong]].
* The letter ⟨s⟩ can symbolise voiced or voiceless consonants. ⟨s⟩ symbolises /s/ onset before a vowel, when clustered with a voiceless consonant (⟨p, f, c, q⟩), and when doubled (geminate); it symbolises /z/ when between vowels and when clustered with voiced consonants.
** Similarly, the letter ⟨z⟩ can symbolise voiced or voiceless consonants. ⟨z⟩ symbolises /t͡s/ onset before a vowel, when clustered with a voiceless consonant (⟨p, f, c, q⟩), and when doubled (geminate); it symbolises /d͡z/ when between vowels and when clustered with voiced consonants.
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! Letter !! Name !! Historical name !! [[w:International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] !! [[w:Diacritic|Diacritics]]
|+ '''Standard Luthic Alphabet'''
|-
| [[w:A|A]], a || a [ˈa] || asga [ˈaz.ɡɐ] || /ɐ/ or /a/ || â, ȧ
|-
| [[w:B|B]], b || bi [bi] || bairka [ˈbɛɾ.kɐ] || /b/ or /ʋ/ || —
|-
| [[w:C|C]], c || ci [ˈt͡ʃi] || caunȯ [ˈkɔ.no] || /k/, /t͡ʃ/ or /x/ || ċ
|-
| [[w:D|D]], d || di [ˈdi] ||dago [ˈda.ɣ˕u] || /d/ or /ð̞/ || —
|-
| [[w:E|E]], e || e [ˈɛ] || aiqqo [ˈɛk.kʷu] || /e/ or /ɛ/ || ê
|-
| [[w:F|F]], f || effe [ˈɛf.fe] || faiho [ˈfɛ.hu] || /f/ or /p͡f/ || —
|-
| [[w:G|G]], g || gi [ˈd͡ʒi] || giva [ˈd͡ʒi.vɐ] || /ɡ/, /ɣ˕/ or /ŋ/ || ġ
|-
| [[w:H|H]], h || acca [ˈak.kɐ] || haġlo [ˈhaʎ.ʎu] || /h/ or /ç/ || —
|-
| [[w:I|I]], i || i [ˈi] || eisso [ˈis.su] || /i/ or /j/ || ï
|-
| [[w:L|L]], l || elle [ˈɛl.le] || lago [ˈla.ɣ˕u] || /l/ || —
|-
| [[w:M|M]], m || emme [ˈẽ.me] || manno [ˈmɐ̃.nu] || /m/ || —
|-
| [[w:N|N]], n || enne [ˈẽ.ne] || nauþo [ˈnɔ.θu] || /n/ || —
|-
| [[w:O|O]], o || o [ˈɔ] || oþalȯ [oˈθa.lo] || /o/ or /ɔ/ || ô, ȯ
|-
| [[w:P|P]], p || pi [ˈpi] || pairþa [ˈpɛɾ.t͡θɐ] || /p/ or /f/ || —
|-
| [[w:Q|Q]], q || qoppa [ˈkʷɔp.pɐ] || qairþa [ˈkʷɛɾ.t͡θɐ] || /kʷ/ || —
|-
| [[w:R|R]], r || erre [ɛˈʀe] || raida [ˈʁɛ.ð̞ɐ] || /ʀ/, /ʁ/ or /ɾ/ || —
|-
| [[w:S|S]], s || esse [ɛsˈse] || sauila [ˈsɔj.lɐ] || /s/, /t͡s/ or /z/ || —
|-
| [[w:T|T]], t || ti [ˈti] || teivo [ˈti.vu] || /t/ or /θ/ || —
|-
| [[w:Thorn (letter)|Þ]], þ || eþþe [ˈɛθ.θe] || þaurno [ˈθɔɾ.nu] || /θ/ or /t͡θ/ || —
|-
| [[w:U|U]], u || u [ˈu] || uro [ˈu.ɾu] || /u/ or /w/ || û, ü
|-
| [[w:V|V]], v || vi [ˈvi] || viġna [ˈviɲ.ɲɐ] || /v/ || —
|-
| [[w:Z|Z]], z || zi [ˈt͡si] || zetta [ˈt͡sɛt.tɐ] || /t͡s/ or /d͡z/ || —
|}
[[File:Luthic keyboard.png|thumb|A Luthic computer keyboard layout.]]
 
Luthic has geminate, or double, consonants, which are distinguished by [[w:Length (phonetics)|length]] and intensity. Length is distinctive for all consonants except for /d͡z/, /ʎ/, /ɲ/, which are always geminate when between vowels, and /z/, which is always single. Geminate plosive and affricates are realised as lengthened closures. Geminate fricatives, nasals, and /l/ are realised as lengthened continuants. When triggered by [[w:Tuscan gorgia|Gorgia Toscana]], voiceless fricatives are always constrictive, but voiced fricatives are not very constrictive and often closer to approximants.
 
===Phonology===
There is a maximum of 8 oral vowels, 5 nasal vowels, 2 semivowels and 35 consonants; though some varieties of the language have fewer phonemes. Gothic, Frankish, [[w:Suebi|northern Suebi]], Langobardic, [[w:Lepontic language|Lepontic]] and [[w:Cisalpine Gaulish|Cisalpine Gaulish]] ([[w:Roman Gaul|Roman Gaul]]) influences were highly absorbed into the local Vulgar Latin dialect. An early form of Luthic was already spoken in the Ostrogothic Kingdom during Theodoric’s reign and by the year 600 Luthic had already become the [[w:Vernacular|vernacular]] of Ravenna. Luthic developed in the region of the former Ostrogothic capital of Ravenna, from Late Latin dialects and Vulgar Latin. As Theodoric emerged as the new ruler of Italy, he upheld a Roman legal administration and scholarly culture while promoting a major building program across Italy, his cultural and architectural attention to Ravenna led to a most conserved dialect, resulting in modern Luthic.
 
====Vowels====
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
|+ '''Vowel phonemes of Standard Luthic'''
|-
!rowspan="2"|
!colspan="2"|[[w:Front vowel|Front]]
!colspan="2"|[[w:Central vowel|Central]]
!colspan="2"|[[w:Back vowel|Back]]
|-
!{{small|oral}}
!{{small|nasal}}
!{{small|oral}}
!{{small|nasal}}
!{{small|oral}}
!{{small|nasal}}
|-
![[w:Close vowel|Close]]
|i
|
|
|u
|-
![[w:Close-mid vowel|Close-mid]]
|e
|ẽ
|colspan="2"|
|o
|-
![[w:Open-mid vowel|Open-mid]]
|
|ɐ̃
|
|-
![[w:Open vowel|Open]]
|colspan="2"|
|a
|
|colspan="2"|
|}
 
=====Notes=====
When the mid vowels /ε, ɔ/ precede a nasal, they become close [ẽ] rather than [ε̃] and [õ] rather than [ɔ̃].
[[File:Luthic oral vowels.png|thumb|[[w:Monophthong|Oral monophthongs]] of Standard Luthic]]
 
* /i/ is close front unrounded [i].
* /u/ is close back rounded [u].
* /e/ is close-mid front unrounded [e].
* /o/ is close-mid back rounded [o].
* /ɛ/ has been variously described as mid front unrounded [ɛ̝] and open-mid front unrounded [ɛ].
* /ɔ/ is somewhat fronted open-mid back rounded [ɔ̟].
* /ɐ/ is near-open central unrounded [ɐ].
* /a/ has been variously described as open front unrounded [a] and open central unrounded [ä].
 
====Consonants====
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
|-
|+ Consonant phonemes of Standard Luthic
|+ Consonant phonemes of Standard Natalician
! colspan=2 rowspan=2 |
! colspan=2 rowspan=2 |
! rowspan=2| [[w:Labial consonant|Labial]]
! rowspan=2| [[w:Labial consonant|Labial]]
Line 471: Line 132:
| n
| n
|
|
| ɲ
|  
| ŋ
|  
| (ŋʷ)
|
|
|
|
|
Line 484: Line 145:
|
|
| k
| k
|
|  
|
|
|
|
Line 494: Line 155:
|
|
| ɡ
| ɡ
| ɡʷ
|  
|
|
|
|
Line 503: Line 164:
| s θ
| s θ
| ʃ
| ʃ
| ç
|  
| (x)
|
|  
|  
|
|
Line 511: Line 172:
! {{small|[[w:voice (phonetics)|voiced]]}}
! {{small|[[w:voice (phonetics)|voiced]]}}
| v
| v
| z
| z ð
| ʒ
| ʒ
|
|
Line 520: Line 181:
!rowspan=2| [[w:Affricate consonant|Affricate]]
!rowspan=2| [[w:Affricate consonant|Affricate]]
! {{small|[[w:voicelessness|voiceless]]}}
! {{small|[[w:voicelessness|voiceless]]}}
| (p͡f)
|  
| t͡s (t͡θ)
|  
| t͡ʃ
| t͡ʃ
|
|
Line 531: Line 192:
! {{small|[[w:voicelessness|voiceless]]}}
! {{small|[[w:voicelessness|voiceless]]}}
|
|
| d͡z
|  
| d͡ʒ
| d͡ʒ
|
|
Line 538: Line 199:
|
|
|-
|-
!rowspan=3| [[w:Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
!rowspan=2| [[w:Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
! {{small|[[w:semivowel|semivowel]]}}
! {{small|[[w:semivowel|semivowel]]}}
|
|
Line 552: Line 213:
|
|
| l
| l
|
| ʎ
|colspan=2|
|
|
|
|
|}
# The phoneme /ʒ/ is usually realised as /dʒ/ in many dialects. In the island dialects, it is replaced with /d͡ʒ/ when it occurs word-initially.
# /l/ can undergo delateralisation in most dialects if preceeded by /i/ - for example, ''senil'' ("problem") is pronounced /se.nij/ rather than /se.nil/.
===Vowels===
[[file:Natalician_vh_chart.png|border|600px]]
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ Vowel phonemes of standard Natalician
! rowspan="2" |
! colspan="2" | [[Front vowel|Front]]
! colspan="2" | [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! {{small|unrounded}}
! {{small|rounded}}
! {{small|unrounded}}
! {{small|rounded}}
|-
! [[Close vowel|Close]]
| i
| y
|
| u
|-
|-
! {{small|[[w:Tuscan gorgia|Gorgia Toscana]]}}
! Near-open
| (ʋ)
| æ
| (ð̞)
|  
|  
|  
|  
|  
| (ɣ˕)
|
|
|
|-
|-
! colspan="2" | [[w:Flap consonant|Flap]]
! [[Open vowel|Open]]
|
| e
| ɾ
| œ
|
| a
|
| o
|colspan=2|
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" | [[w:Trill consonant|Trill]]
|
|
|
|
|colspan=2|
|
|}
|}


=====Notes=====


* '''Nasals:'''
The vowels of the Natalician language are, in their alphabetical order, {{angbr|a}}, {{angbr|ä}}, {{angbr|e}}, {{angbr|i}}, {{angbr|o}}, {{angbr|ö}}, {{angbr|u}}, {{angbr|ü}}.
** /n/ is laminal alveolar [].
The Natalician vowel system can be considered as being three-dimensional, where vowels are characterised by how and where they are articulated focusing on three key features: [[Vowel#Backness|front and back]], rounded and unrounded and [[Vowel#Height|vowel height]].
** /ɲ/ is alveolo-palatal, always geminate when intervocalic.
** /ŋ/ has a labio-velar allophone [ŋʷ] before labio-velar plosives.


* '''Plosives:'''
'''NOTE:'''
** /p/, // and /b/ are purely labial.
When the  vowels /i/, /u/ precede or succeed another vowel, they become /j/, /w/ respectively. If both vowels meet one another, only the /i/ will transform into a /j/ while the /u/ remains unchanged.
** /t/, /tʰ/ and /d/ are laminal dentialveolar [t̻, t̻ʰ, d̻].
** /k/ and /ɡ/ are pre-velar [k̟, ɡ̟] before /i, e, ɛ, j/.
** // and /ɡʷ/ are palato-labialised [kᶣ, ɡᶣ] before /i, e, ɛ, j/.


* '''Affricates:'''
==Orthography==
** /p͡f/ is bilabial–labiodental and is only found as a common allophone.
===Alphabet===
** /t͡θ/ is dental and is only found as a common allophone.
Natalician has a straightforward orthography, meaning regular spelling with (almost) no diphthong or digraph or anything of the sort. In linguistic terms, the writing system is a phonemic orthography.
** /t͡s/ and /d͡z/ are dentalised laminal alveolar [t̻͡s̪, d̻͡z̪].
** /t͡ʃ/ and /d͡ʒ/ are strongly labialised palato-alveolar [t͡ʃʷ, d͡ʒʷ].


* '''Fricatives:'''
====Standard Natalician alphabet====
** /f/ and /v/ are labiodental.
[[File:Natalician_qwerty.png|thumb|A Natalician QWERTY computer keyboard layout.]]
** /θ/ is dental.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
** /s/ and /z/ are laminal alveolar [s̻, z̻].
! Letter !! Name !! [[w:International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]
** /ʃ/ is strongly labialised palato-alveolar [ʃʷ].
|+
** /x/ is velar, and only found when triggered by Gorgia Toscana.
|-
** /ʁ/ is uvular, but in anlaut is in free variation with [h].
| [[w:A|Aa]] || a [a] || /a/
** /h/ is glottal, but is in free variation with [x ~ ʁ], /h/ is palatal [ç] nearby /i, e, ɛ, j/.
|-
 
| [[w:Ä|Ää]] || ä [æ] || /æ/
* '''Approximants, flap, trill and laterals:'''
|-
** /ʋ/ is labiodental, and only found when triggered by Gorgia Toscana.
| [[w:B|Bb]] || be [be] || /b/
** /ð̞/ is dental, and only found when triggered by Gorgia Toscana.
|-
** /j/ and /w/ are always geminate when intervocalic.
| [[w:C|Cc]] || ce [d͡ʒe] || /d͡ʒ/
** /ɾ/ is alveolar [ɾ].
|-
** /ɣ˕/ is velar, and only found when triggered by Gorgia Toscana.
| [[w:Č|Čč]]  || če [t͡ʃe] || /t͡ʃ/
** /ʀ/ is uvular [ʀ], but is in free variation with alveolar [r].
|-
** /l/ is laminal alveolar [].
| [[w:D|Dd]] || de [de] || /d/
** /ʎ/ is alveolo-palatal, always geminate when intervocalic.
|-
 
| [[w:Ď|Ďď]] || ďe [ðe] || /ð/
====Historical phonology====
|-
The phonological system of the Luthic language underwent many changes during the period of its existence. These included the palatalisation of velar consonants in many positions and subsequent [[w:Lenition|lenitions]]. A number of phonological processes affected Luthic in the period before the earliest documentation. The processes took place chronologically in roughly the order described below (with uncertainty in ordering as noted).
| [[w:E|Ee]] || e [e] || /ɛ/, /e/
 
|-
=====Vowel system=====
| [[w:F|Ff]] || ef [ɛf] || /f/
The most sonorous elements of the [[w:Syllable|syllable] are [[w:Vowel|vowels]], which occupy the [[w:Nucleus (syllable)|nuclear]] position. They are prototypical [[w:Mora (linguistics)|mora]]-bearing elements, with simple vowels monomoraic, and long vowels bimoraic. Latin vowels occurred with one of five qualities and one of two weights, that is short and long /i e a o u/. At first, weight was realised by means of longer or shorter duration, and any articulatory differences were negligible, with the short:long opposition stable. Subtle articulatory differences eventually grow and lead to the abandonment of length, and reanalysis of vocal contrast is shifted solely to quality rather than both quality and quantity; specifically, the manifestation of weight as length came to include differences in tongue [[w:Vowel height|height]] and tenseness, and quite early on, /ī, ū/ began to differ from /ĭ, ŭ/ articulatorily, as did /ē, ō/ from /ĕ, ŏ/. The long vowels were stable, but the short vowels came to be realised lower and laxer, with the result that /ĭ, ŭ/ opened to [ɪ, ʊ], and /ĕ, ŏ/ opened to [ε, ɔ]. The result is the merger of Latin /ĭ, ŭ/ and /ē, ō/, since their contrast is now realised sufficiently be their distinct vowel quality, which would be easier to articulate and perceive than vowel duration.
|-
[[File:Vowel changes in Luthic.png|thumb|Gotho-Romance vowel changes from Latin.]]
| [[w:G|Gg]] || ge [ɡ] || /g/
 
|-
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
| [[w:H|Hh]] || ha [ha] || /h/, /j/
|-
| [[w:I|Ii]] || i [i] || /i/, /j/
|-
| [[w:J|Jj]] || je [ʒe] || /ʒ/
|-
| [[w:K|Kk]] || ka [ka] || /k/
|-
| [[w:L|Ll]] || el [ɛl] || /l/
|-
| [[w:Ł|Łł]] || girbit el [gir.bit ɛl] || /ː/
|-
| [[w:M|Mm]] || em [ɛm] || /m/
|-
| [[w:N|Nn]] || en [ɛn] || /n/
|-
| [[w:O|Oo]] || o [o] || /o/
|-
| [[w:Ö|Öö]] || ö [œ] || /œ/
|-
| [[w:P|Pp]] || pe [pe] || /p/
|-
| [[w:R|Rr]] || er [ɛr] || /r/
|-
| [[w:Ř|Řř]] || eř [ɛʁ] || /ʁ/
|-
| [[w:S|Ss]] || es [s] || /s/
|-
| [[w:Š|Šš]] || eš [ɛʃ] || /ʃ/
|-
|-
|+ Vowels phoneme in Classical Latin
| [[w:T|Tt]] || te [te] || /t/
!
! [[w:Front vowel|Front]]
! [[w:Central vowel|Central]]
! [[w:Back vowel|Back]]
|-
|-
! [[w:Close vowel|Close]]
| [[w:Ť|Ťť]] || ťe [θe] || /θ/
| i iː ĩː
|
| u uː ũː
|-
|-
! [[w:Mid vowel|Mid]]
| [[w:U|Uu]] || u [u] || /u/
| e eː ẽː
|
| o oː õː
|-
|-
! [[w:Open vowel|Open]]
| [[w:Ü|Üü]] || ü [y] || /y/
|
| ä äː ä̃ː
|
|}
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
|-
|+ Vowels phoneme in Early Spoken Latin
| [[w:V|Vv]] || ve [ve] || /v/
!
! [[w:Front vowel|Front]]
! [[w:Central vowel|Central]]
! [[w:Back vowel|Back]]
|-
|-
! [[w:Close vowel|Close]]
| [[w:W|Ww]] || wa [wa] || /w/
| ɪ iː ĩː
|
| ʊ uː ũː
|-
|-
! [[w:Mid vowel|Mid]]
| [[w:Z|Zz]] || ze [ze] || /z/
| ε eː ẽː
|
| ɔ oː õː
|-
|-
! [[w:Open vowel|Open]]
|
| ä äː ä̃ː
|
|}
|}


Unstressed a resulted in a slightly raised a [ɐ]. In hiatus, unstressed front vowels become /j/, while unstressed back vowels become /w/.
* The letter that is called ''Girbit El'' ("Silent L"), written {{angbr|Ł}} in Natalician orthography, represents vowel lengthening. It never occurs at the beginning of a word or a syllable, always follows a vowel and always preceeds a consonant. The vowel that preceeds it is lengthened.
* The letter {{angbr|H}} in Natalician orthography represents two sounds: The /h/ sound, and the /j/ sound. If the letter {{angbr|H}} is located at the beginning of the (non-compound) word, it takes the /h/ sound, otherwise it takes the /j/ sound. (e.g. ''Hiloh'' /hi.loj/'' "Hello", ''Konah /ko.naj/'' "Beautiful", ''Haz /haz/ "This")


In addition to monophthongs, Luthic has diphthongs, which, however, are both phonemically and phonetically simply combinations of the other vowels. None of the diphthongs are, however, considered to have distinct phonemic status since their constituents do not behave differently from how they occur in isolation, unlike the diphthongs in other languages like English and German. Grammatical tradition distinguishes “falling” from “rising” diphthongs, but since rising diphthongs are composed of one semiconsonantal sound [j] or [w] and one vowel sound, they are not actually diphthongs. The practice of referring to them as “diphthongs” has been criticised by phoneticians like Alareico Villavolfo.
==Grammar==
===Consonant harmony===
Natalician orthography reflects voice sandhi voicing, a form of consonant mutation with two consonants that meet, and the second is voiced and the first is unvoiced. The first unvoiced consonant {{IPA|[p t f ʃ t͡ʃ θ k s]}} is voiced to {{IPA|[b d v ʒ d͡ʒ ð ɡ z]}}, but the orthography remains unchanged.
* ''Kütdüs'' (you drink) realises the /t/ as a /d/ due to the voiced consonant that follows; hence, it becomes /kydː.ys/.
* ''Äzäpzik'' (announcement) realises the /p/ as a /b/; hence, it becomes /æ.zæb.zik/.


=====Absorption of nasals before fricatives=====
'''NOTE:''' The only time a voiced consonant gets devoiced is when the voiced-voiceless pairs meet and the voiced consonant preceeds the voiceless one, resulting in a gemination of the voiceless consonant: ''Lüzševi'' /lyʃː.e.vi/ - ''Özse'' /œsː.e/ - ''Kodtos'' /kotːos/
This is the source of such alterations as modern Standard Luthic fimfe [ˈfĩ.(p͡)fe] “five”, monþo [ˈmõ.(t͡)θu] “mouth” versus Gothic fimf [ˈɸimɸ] “''id.''”, munþs [ˈmunθs] “''id.''” and German fünf [fʏnf] “''id.''”, Mund [mʊnt] “''id.''”.


=====Monophthongization=====
=== Vowel harmony ===
The diphthongs au, ae and oe [au̯, ae̯, oe̯] were monophthongized (smoothed) to [ɔ, ɛ, e] by Gothic influence, as the Germanic diphthongs /ai/ and /au/ appear as digraphs written ⟨ai⟩ and ⟨au⟩ in Gothic. Researchers have disagreed over whether they were still pronounced as diphthongs /ai̯/ and /au̯/ in Ulfilas' time (4th century) or had become long open-mid vowels: /ɛː/ and /ɔː/: ''ains'' [ains] / [ɛːns] “one” (German ''eins'', Icelandic ''einn''), ''augō'' [auɣoː] / [ɔːɣoː] “eye” (German ''Auge'', Icelandic ''auga''). It is most likely that the latter view is correct, as it is indisputable that the digraphs ⟨ai⟩ and ⟨au⟩ represent the sounds /ɛː/ and /ɔː/ in some circumstances (see below), and ⟨aj⟩ and ⟨aw⟩ were available to unambiguously represent the sounds /ai̯/ and /au̯/. The digraph ⟨aw⟩ is in fact used to represent /au/ in foreign words (such as ''Pawlus'' “Paul”), and alternations between ⟨ai⟩/⟨aj⟩ and ⟨au⟩/⟨aw⟩ are scrupulously maintained in paradigms where both variants occur (e.g. ''taujan'' “to do” vs. [[w:Past tense|past tense]] ''tawida'' “did”). Evidence from transcriptions of Gothic names into Latin suggests that the sound change had occurred very recently when Gothic spelling was standardised: Gothic names with Germanic au are rendered with au in Latin until the 4th century and o later on (''Austrogoti'' > ''Ostrogoti'').


=====Palatalisation=====
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; margin-left: 1em"
Early evidence of palatalized pronunciations of /tj kj/ appears as early as the 2nd–3rd centuries AD in the form of spelling mistakes interchanging ⟨ti⟩ and ⟨ci⟩ before a following vowel, as in ⟨tribunitiae⟩ for tribuniciae. This is assumed to reflect the fronting of Latin /k/ in this environment to [c ~ t͡sʲ]. Palatalisation of the velar consonants /k/ and /ɡ/ occurred in certain environments, mostly involving front vowels; additional palatalisation is also found in dental consonants /t/, /d/, /l/ and /n/, however, these are not palatalised in word initial environment.
! rowspan="2" | Natalician Vowel Harmony
! colspan="5" | Front Vowels || colspan="3" | Back Vowels
|-
! colspan="3" | Unrounded || colspan="2" | Rounded || colspan="1" | Unrounded || colspan="2" | Rounded
|-
! Vowel
| style="border-right: 0;" | '''ä''' || '''e''' || '''i''' || '''ö'''
| style="border-left: 0;" | '''ü''' || '''a''' || '''o'''
| style="border-left: 0;" | '''u'''
|- style="text-align: center;"
! Type Ĭ (Backness + Rounding)
| colspan="3" | '''i''' || colspan="2" | '''ü''' || colspan="1" | '''a''' || colspan="2" | '''u'''
|-
! Type Ĕ (Backness)
| colspan="5" | '''e''' || colspan="5" | '''o'''
|- style="text-align: center;"
|}


* Latin ''amīcus'' [äˈmiː.kus̠ ~ äˈmiː.kʊs̠], ''amīcī'' [äˈmiː.kiː] > Luthic ''amico'' [ɐˈmi.xu], ''amici'' [ɐˈmi.t͡ʃi].
====The principle of vowel harmony====
* Gothic ''giba'' [ˈɡiβa] > Luthic ''giva'' [ˈd͡ʒi.vɐ].
* Latin ''ratiō'' [ˈrä.t̪i.oː] > Luthic ''razione'' [ʁɐˈd͡zjo.ne]
* Latin ''fīlius'' [ˈfiː.li.us̠ ~ ˈfiː.lʲi.ʊs̠] > Luthic ''fiġlo'' [ˈfiʎ.ʎu].
* Latin ''līnea'' [ˈliː.ne.ä ~ ˈlʲiː.ne.ä] , ''pugnus'' [ˈpuŋ.nus̠ ~ ˈpʊŋ.nʊs̠], ''ācrimōnia'' [äː.kriˈmoː.ni.ä ~ äː.krɪˈmoː.ni.ä] > Luthic ''liġna'' [ˈliɲ.ɲɐ], ''poġno'' [ˈpoɲ.ɲu], ''acremoġna'' [ɐ.kɾeˈmoɲ.ɲɐ].


Labio-velars remain unpalatalised, except in monosyllabic environment:
# If the first vowel of a word is a back vowel, any subsequent vowel is also a back vowel; if the first is a front vowel, any subsequent vowel is also a front vowel.
# If the first vowel is unrounded, so too are subsequent vowels.


* Latin ''quis'' [kʷis̠ ~ kʷɪs̠] > Luthic ''ce'' [t͡ʃe].
The second and third rules minimize muscular effort during speech. More specifically, they are related to the phenomenon of labial assimilation: If the lips are '''rounded''' (a process that requires muscular effort) for the first vowel they may stay rounded for subsequent vowels. If they are '''unrounded''' for the first vowel, the speaker does not make the additional muscular effort to round them subsequently.
* Gothic ''qiman'' [ˈkʷiman] > Luthic ''qemare'' [kʷeˈma.ɾe ~ kᶣeˈma.ɾe].


=====Lenition=====
Grammatical affixes have "a chameleon-like quality" and obey one of the following patterns of vowel harmony:
The Gotho-Romance family suffered very few lenitions, but in most cases the stops /p t k/ are lenited to /b d ɡ/ if not in onset position, before or after a sonorant or in intervocalic position as a geminate. A similar process happens with /b/ that is lenited to /v/ in the same conditions. The non-geminate rhotic present in Latin is simplified to /ɾ ʁ/. The unstressed labio-velar /kʷ/ delabialises before hard vowels, as in:
* '''Twofold ĕ (''-e/-o'')''': The article, for example, is ''-(v)e'' after front vowels and ''-(v)o'' after back vowels.
* '''Fourfold ĭ (''-i/-a//-u'')''': The verb infinitive suffix, for example, is ''-i'' or ''-a'' after unrounded vowels (front or back respectively); and ''-ü'' or ''-u'' after the corresponding rounded vowels.
* '''Type & 'and'''': The adjectival passive voice suffix, for example, is ''-t&t'', the ''&'' being the same vowel as the previous one.


* Gothic ''ƕan'' [ʍan] > *[kʷɐn] > Luthic ''can'' [kɐn].
Practically, the twofold pattern (usually referred to as the type Ĕ) means that in the environment where the vowel in the word stem is formed in the front of the mouth, the suffix will take the '''e''' form, while if it is formed in the back it will take the '''o''' form. The fourfold pattern (also called the type Ĭ) accounts for rounding as well as for front/back. The type & pattern is the reppetition of the same last vowel.
* Latin ''nunquam'' [ˈnuŋ.kʷä̃ː ~ ˈnʊŋ.kʷä̃ː] > Luthic ''nogca'' [ˈnoŋ.kɐ].
The following examples, based on the verbal noun suffix ''-zĭk'', illustrate the principles of type Ĭ vowel harmony in practice: ''Ährä'''zik''''' ("Swimming"), ''Ok'''zuk''''' ("Knowledge"), ''Ian'''zak''''' ("Eating"), ''Nör'''zük''''' ("Living").
 
==== Exceptions to vowel harmony ====
These are four word-classes that are exceptions to the rules of vowel harmony:


Luthic is further affected by the Gorgia Toscana effect, where every plosive is spirantised (or further approximated if voiced). Plosives, however, are not affected if:
# '''Native, non-compound words''', e.g. ''Ela'' "then", ''Čela'' "drink", ''Ťehozuk'' "discussion"
# '''Native compound words''', e.g. ''Pave'' "for what"
# '''Foreign words''', e.g. many English loanwords such as '''Sertifikäht''' (certificate), '''Hospitol''' (hospital), '''Kompiułter''' (computer)
# '''Invariable prefixes / suffixes:'''


* Geminate.
{| class="wikitable" style="margin: auto;"
* Labialised.
! scope="col" | Invariable prefix or suffix
* Nearby another fricative.
! scope="col" | Natalician example
* Nearby a rhotic, a lateral or nasal.
! scope="col" | Meaning in English
* Stressed and anlaut.
! scope="col" | Remarks
|-
| '''–(v)iš'''
| ''üčiš'' || "exit"
| From ''üč'' "leave"
|-
| '''öz-'''
| ''özhaša'' || "to return"
| From ''haša'' "to come"
|-
| '''gel-'''
| ''gelsincetet'' || "decomposed"
| From ''since'' "compose"
|}


=====Fortition=====
====Note====
In every case, /j/ and /w/ are fortified to /d͡ʒ/ and /v/, except when triggered by hiatus collapse. The Germanic /ð/ and /xʷ ~ hʷ ~ ʍ/ are also fortified to /d/ and /kʷ/ in every position; which can be further lenited to /d͡z/ and /k ~ t͡ʃ/ in the environments given above. The Germanic /h ~ x/ is fortified to /k/ before a rhotic or a lateral, as in:
* A native compound does not obey vowel harmony: ''Ras+cezil'' ("city center"—a place name)
* Loanwords also disobeys vowel harmony: ''Kofi'' ("Coffee")
* Every grammatical prefix disobeys the vowel harmony aswell.


* Gothic ''hlaifs'' [ˈhlɛːɸs] > Luthic ''claifo'' [ˈklɛ.fu].
===Parts of speech===
* Gothic ''hriggs'' [ˈhriŋɡs ~ ˈhriŋks] > Luthic ''creggo'' [ˈkɾeŋ.ɡu].
There are nine '''parts of speech''' (''kurzuk felev'') in Natalician.
#'''[[noun]]''' (''iztin'' "name");
#'''[[pronoun]]''' (''kahuče'' from Amaranian '''kayoûtshéy''', or ''reširnel iztinev'' "personal names");
#'''[[adjective]]''' (''oruvaš'' "quality");
#'''[[verb]]''' (''öhker'' from Amaranian '''eiyiker''', or ''dirzik'' "action");
#'''[[adverb]]''' (''randara'');
#'''[[postposition]]''' (''hasla eř'' "later addition");
#'''[[Grammatical conjunction|conjunction]]''' (''sedlek übeřre'' "sentence link");
#'''[[Grammatical particle|particle]]''' (''meres'');
#'''[[interjection]]''' (''venzik rimizli'' "feeling manifester").


Coda consonants with similar articulations often [[w:Sandhi|sandhi]], triggering a kind of [[w:Syntactic gemination|syntactic gemination]], it also happens with [[w:Oxytone|oxytones]]:
Only nouns and verbs are inflected in Natalician. An adjective can usually be treated as a noun, in which case it can also be inflected. Inflection can give a noun features of a verb such as person and tense. With inflection, a verb can become one of the following:
* '''verbal noun''' (''öhkernel iztin'');
* verbal adjective (''öhkernel oruvaš'');
* '''verbal adverb''' (''öhkernel randara'').
These have peculiarities not shared with other nouns, adjectives or adverbs.
For example, some participles take a ''person'' the way verbs do.
Also, a verbal noun or adverb can take a direct object.


* ''Il catto'' [i‿kˈkat.tu].
There are two standards for listing verbs in dictionaries. Most dictionaries follow the tradition of spelling out the '''infinitive form''' of the verb as the [[headword]] of the entry, but others such as the Zeraltan Natalician-English Dictionary are more technical and spell out the '''stem''' of the verb instead, that is, they spell out a string of letters that is useful for producing all other verb forms through morphological rules. Similar to the latter, this article follows the stem-as-citeword standard.
* ''Ed þû, ce taugis?'' [e‿θˈθu | t͡ʃe ˈtɔ.d͡ʒis?].
* '''Infinitive''': ''oruvu'' ("to read")
* ''La cittâ stâþ sporca'' [lɐ t͡ʃitˈta‿sˈsta‿sˈspoɾ.kɐ].
* '''Stem''': ''oru-'' ("read")


Regarding the absorption of nasals before fricatives, voiceless fricatives are often fortified to affricates after alveolar consonants, such as /n l ɾ/, or general nasals:
In Natalician, the verbal stem is also the second-person singular imperative form. Example:
:''oru-'' (stem meaning "read")
:''Oru!'' ("Read!")


* ''Il monþo'' [i‿mˈmõ.t͡θu].
Many verbs are formed from nouns by addition of ''-še''. For example:
* ''L’inferno'' [l‿ĩˈp͡fɛɾ.nu].
:''mar'' – "structure"
* ''La salsa'' [lɐ ˈsal.t͡sɐ].
:''maršo'' – "build / construct"
* ''L’arsenale'' [l‿ɐɾ.t͡seˈna.le].


=====Deletion=====
Most adjectives can be treated as nouns or pronouns. For example, ''ďen'' can mean "young", "young person", or "the young person being referred to".
In some rare cases, the consonants are fully deleted ([[w:Elision|elision]]), as in the verb ''havere'', akin to Italian ''avere'', which followed a very similar paradigm and evolution:


* 1st person indicative present: Latin ''habeō'', Gothic ''haba'', Luthic ''hô'', Italian ''ho''.
[[Comparison (grammar)|Comparison]] of adjectives is not done by inflecting adjectives or adverbs, but by other means (described [[#Comparison|below]]).
* 2nd person indicative present: Latin ''habēs'', Gothic ''habais'', Luthic ''haïs'', Italian ''hai''.
* 3rd person indicative present: Latin ''habet'', Gothic ''habaiþ'', Luthic ''hâþ'', Italian ''ha''.


Vowels other than /a/ are often syncopated in unstressed word-internal syllables, especially when in contact with liquid consonants:
Adjectives can serve as adverbs, sometimes by means of repetition:  
:''danah'' – "happy"
:''danah danah'' – "happily"


* Latin ''angulus'' [ˈäŋ.ɡu.ɫ̪us̠ ~ ˈäŋ.ɡʊ.ɫ̪ʊs̠] > Luthic ''agglo'' [ˈaŋ.ɡlu].
===Nouns===
* Latin ''speculum'' [ˈs̠pɛ.ku.ɫ̪ũː ~ ˈs̠pɛ.kʊ.ɫ̪ũː] ~ Luthic ''speclȯ'' [ˈspɛ.klo].
* Latin ''avunculus'' [äˈu̯uŋ.ku.ɫ̪us̠ ~ äˈu̯ʊŋ.kʊ.ɫ̪ʊs̠] > Luthic ''avogclo'' [ɐˈvoŋ.klu].


====Phonotactics====
====Inflection====
Luthic allows up to three consonants in syllable-initial position, though there are limitations. The syllable structure of Luthic is (C)(C)(C)(G)V(G)(C)(C). As with English, there exist many words that begin with three consonants. Luthic lacks bimoraic (diphthongs and long vowels), as the so-called diphthongs are composed of one semiconsonantal (glide) sound [j] or [w].
A Natalician noun has no gender.
There are seven regular inflectional affixes in Natalician.


{| class="wikitable"  style="text-align: center;"
{| class="wikitable"
! C₁ !! C₂ !! C₃
|+Inflectional affixes in English
|+ '''Onset'''
!Affix
!Grammatical category
!Mark
!Part of speech
|-
|-
| f v p b t d k ɡ || ɾ || j w
| -(v)ĕv
|Grammatical number|Number
|plural
|nouns
|-
|-
| s || p k || ɾ l
| -'(ĭ)n
|Case
|genitive
|nouns and noun phrases, pronouns
|-
|-
| s || f t || ɾ
| -tĕs
|Aspect
|progressive
|gerunds or participles
|-
|-
| z || b || l
| -t&t
|[[Grammatical tense|Tense]]
|[[Past tense|past]] ([[Simple aspect|simple]])
|[[verb]]s
|-
|-
| z || d ɡ || ɾ
| -(ĕ)m
|[[Degree of comparison]]
|[[comparative]]
|[[adjective]]s and [[adverbs]]
|-
|-
| z || m n v d͡ʒ ɾ l ||
| -mĕ
|[[Degree of comparison]]
|[[superlative]]
|[[adjective]]s and [[adverbs]]
|}
Through its presence or absence, the plural ending shows distinctions of [[Grammatical number|number]].
 
=====Number=====
A noun is made plural by addition of ''-(v)ev'' or ''-(v)ov'' (depending on the vowel harmony). When a numeral is used with a noun, however, the plural suffix is ''not'' used:
:{|
|-
|-
| p b f v k ɡ || ɾ l || —
| ''böšter'' || "table"
|-
|-
| ɡ || n l || —
| ''böšterev'' || "tables"
|-
|-
| pʰ t tʰ kʰ d || ɾ ||
| ''nav böšter'' || "four tables"
|}
 
The plural ending also allows a family (living in one house) to be designated by a single member:
:{|
|-
|-
| θ || v ɾ ||
| ''ičedevev'' || "Ičede and his family / The Ičedes"
|}
 
====Verbal nouns====
 
The '''verbal noun''' is created by the addition of the suffix ''-zĭk'' and the '''root''' of the verb.
:{| class=wikitable
! Verb !! Noun
|-
| ''fas-'' "give" || ''faszak'' "giving / donation"
|-
|-
|kʷ ɡʷ t͡s t͡ʃ d͡ʒ ʃ h ð ʁ ɲ l ʎ || ||
| ''den-'' "let" || ''denzik'' "allowance"
|-
| ''kur-'' "speak" || ''kurzuk'' "speech"
|-
| ''dön-'' "ask" || ''dönzük'' "question"
|}
|}


'''CC'''
The verb ''et-'' "make, do" can be considered as an '''auxiliary verb''', since for example it is often used with verbal nouns borrowed from other languages, such as Arabic:
''kabul et-'' "accept" (''kabul'' "[an] accepting");
''reddet-'' "reject" (''ret'' "[a] rejecting");
''ziyaret et-'' "visit"  (''ziyaret'' "[a] visiting").
Considered as units, these are transitive verbs; but the nouns in them can also, by themselves, take direct objects:
''Antalya'yı ziyaret'' "visit to Antalya".


* /s/ + any voiceless stop or /f/;
What looks like an ablative gerund is usually an adverb; the ending ''-meden'' usually has the sense of "without".  
* /z/ + any voiced stop, /v d͡ʒ m n l ɾ/;
See [[#Adverbs]] below.
* /f v/, or any stop + /ɾ/;
* /f v/, or any stop except /t d/ + /l/;
* /f v s z/, or any stop or nasal + /j w/;
* In Graeco-Roman words origin which are only partially assimilated, other combinations such as /pn/ (e.g. ''pneumatico''), /mn/ (e.g. ''mnemonico''), /tm/ (e.g. ''tmesi''), and /ps/ (e.g. ''pseudo-'') occur.


As an onset, the cluster /s/ + voiceless consonant is inherently unstable. Phonetically, word-internal s+C normally syllabifies as [s.C]. A competing analysis accepts that while the syllabification /s.C/ is accurate historically, modern retreat of i-[[w:Prothesis (linguistics)|prosthesis]] before word initial /s/+C (e.g. ''miþ isforza'' “with effort” has generally given way to ''miþ sforzȧ'') suggests that the structure is now underdetermined, with occurrence of /s.C/ or /.sC/ variable “according to the context and the idiosyncratic behaviour of the speakers.”
An infinitive in the absolute case can be the object of a verb such as ''iste-'' "want":


'''CCC'''
{{interlinear|lang=tr|indent=2
| Kimi eğitime devam etmek, kimi de çalışmak istiyor.
| some-of-them towards-education continuation make some-of-them also work want
| Some want to continue their education, and some want to work"
(''source:'' ''Cumhuriyet Pazar Dergi'', 14 August 2005, p.&nbsp;1.)}}


* /s/ + voiceless stop or /f/ + /ɾ/;
Note here that the compound verb ''devam et-'' "continue, last" does not take a direct object, but is complemented by a dative noun.
* /z/ + voiced stop + /ɾ/;
* /s/ + /p k/ + /l/;
* /z/ + /b/ + /l/;
* /f v/ or any stop + /ɾ/ + /j w/.


{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
Another way to express obligation (besides with ''lâzım'' as in the [[#lazim|earlier example]]) is by means of ''zor'' "trouble, compulsion" and an infinitive:
! V₁ !! V₂ !! V₃
''Gitmek zoru'' "Go compulsion",
|+ '''Nucleus'''
''Gitmek zorundayız'' "We must go".
(''Source:'' same as the last example.)
 
Both an infinitive and a gerund are objects of the postposition ''için'' "for" in the third sentence of the quotation within the following quotation:
 
{{Verse translation|
{{lang|tr|
Tesis yetkilileri,
"Bölge insanları genelde tutucu.
Sahil kesimleri
yola yakın olduğu için
rahat bir şekilde göle giremiyorlar.
Biz de
hem yoldan geçenlerin görüş açısını '''kapatmak'''
hem de erkeklerin rahatsız '''etmemesi''' için
paravan kullanıyoruz"
dedi.
Ancak paravanın aralarından
çocukların karşı tarafı gözetlemeleri
engellenemedi.
}}
|
Facility its-authorities
"District its-people in-general conservative.
Shore its-sections   
to-road near their-being for
comfortable a in-form to-lake they-cannot-enter.
We also
both from-road of-passers sight their-angle '''to-close'''
and men's uncomfortable '''their-not-making''' for
screen we-are-using"
they-said.
But curtain's from-its-gaps
children's other side their-spying
cannot-be-hindered.
|attr1=''Cumhuriyet,'' 9 August 2005, p.&nbsp;1.}}
 
A free translation is:
<blockquote>
The facility authorities said: "The people of this district [namely [[Edremit, Van]]] are generally conservative.  They cannot enter [[Lake Van|the lake]] comfortably, because the shore areas are near the road.  So we are using a screen, both '''to close off''' the view of passersby on the road, and so '''that''' men '''will not cause discomfort.'''"  However, children cannot be prevented from spying on the other side through gaps in the screen.
</blockquote>
 
===Pronouns===
 
{| class=wikitable
|+ Natalician pronouns
|-
! colspan=3 rowspan=2 | !! colspan=2 | personal pronouns
|-
! [[wikt:Appendix:Glossary#subject|subjective]] !! [[wikt:Appendix:Glossary#object|objective]]
|-
|-
| a ɐ e ɛ || i [j] u [w] ||
! rowspan=2 | [[wikt:Appendix:Glossary#first person|first<br>person]] !! colspan=2 | singular
| {{term|nei}} || {{term|in}}
|- valign="top"
! colspan=2 valign="middle" | plural
| {{term|namše}} || {{term|nameš}}
|-
|-
| o ɔ || i [j]||
! rowspan=2 | [[wikt:Appendix:Glossary#second person|second<br>person]] !! colspan=2 | singular
| {{term|on}} || {{term|un}}
|- valign="top"
! colspan=2 valign="middle" | plural
| {{term|daš}} || {{term|daša}}
|-
|-
| i [j] || e o ||
! rowspan=2 | [[wikt:Appendix:Glossary#third person|third<br>person]] !! colspan=2 | singular
| {{term|sü}} || {{term|süs}}
|- valign="top"
! colspan=2 valign="middle" | plural
| {{term|so}} || {{term|soz}}
|}
 
{| class=wikitable
|+ Natalician possessive pronouns
|-
|-
| i [j] || ɐ ɛ ɔ || i [j]
! colspan=3 rowspan=2 | !! colspan=2 | possessive pronouns
|-
|-
| i [j] || u [w] || o
! [[wikt:Appendix:Glossary#subject|possessive determiner]] !! [[wikt:Appendix:Glossary#object|possessive pronoun]]
|-
|-
| u [w] || ɐ ɛ ɔ || i [j]
! rowspan=2 | [[wikt:Appendix:Glossary#first person|first<br>person]] !! colspan=2 | singular
| {{term|in}} || {{term|ini}}
|- valign="top"
! colspan=2 valign="middle" | plural
| {{term|nameš}} || {{term|nameše}}
|-
|-
| u [w] || e o ||
! rowspan=2 | [[wikt:Appendix:Glossary#second person|second<br>person]] !! colspan=2 | singular
| {{term|un}} || {{term|onu}}
|- valign="top"
! colspan=2 valign="middle" | plural
| {{term|daša}} || {{term|dašo}}
|-
|-
| u [w] || i ||
! rowspan=2 | [[wikt:Appendix:Glossary#third person|third<br>person]] !! colspan=2 | singular
| {{term|süs}} || {{term|süzü}}
|- valign="top"
! colspan=2 valign="middle" | plural
| {{term|soz}} || {{term|sozun}}
|}
|}


The nucleus is the only mandatory part of a syllable and must be a vowel or a diphthong. In a falling diphthong the most common second elements are /i̯/ or /u̯/. Combinations of /j w/ with vowels are often labelled diphthongs, allowing for combinations of /j w/ with falling diphthongs to be called triphthongs. One view holds that it is more accurate to label /j w/ as consonants and /jV wV/ as consonant-vowel sequences rather than rising diphthongs. In that interpretation, Luthic has only falling diphthongs (phonemically at least, cf. [[w:Synaeresis|Synaeresis]]) and no triphthongs.
The possessive determiners are the same as the objective personal pronouns. The possessive pronouns always succeed the subject/object.


{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
{| class="wikitable"
! C₁ !! C₂
|+ Examples with ''teyze'' ("maternal aunt")
|+ '''Coda'''
|-
|-
| m n l ɾ || Cₓ
! Example !! Composition !! Translation
|-
|-
| Cₓ ||
| ''ert in'' || ''ert'' "father" + ''in'' "me" || "my father"
|-
| ''ert daša'' || ''ert'' "father" + ''daša'' "you (plural objective)" || "your father"
|-
| ''ertev süs'' || ''ert'' "father" + ''-ev'' (plural suffix) + ''süs'' "him/her (objective)" || "his/her fathers"
|}
|}


Luthic permits a small number of coda consonants. Outside of loanwords, the permitted consonants are:
===Verbs===


* The first element of any geminate.
====Stems of verbs====
* A nasal consonant that is either /n/ (word-finally) or one that is homorganic to a following consonant.
Many stems in the dictionary are indivisible; others consist of endings attached to a root.
* /ɾ/ and /l/.
* /s/ (though not before fricatives).


=====Prosody=====
====Verb-stems from nouns====
Luthic is quasi-[[w:Paroxytone|paroxytonic]], meaning that most words receive stress on their penultimate (second-to-last) syllable. Monosyllabic words tend to lack stress in their only syllable, unless emphasised or accentuated. Enclitic and other unstressed personal pronouns do not affect stress patterns. Some monosyllabic words may have natural stress (even if not emphasised), but it is weaker than those in polysyllabic words.
Many verbs are formed from nouns or adjectives with ''-šĕ'':
:{| class="wikitable"
! Noun !! Verb
|-
| ''ergem'' "negativity" || ''ergem'''še'''-'' "negate"
|-
| ''an'' "one" || ''an'''šo'''-'' "unite"
|-
| ''kel'' "word" || ''kel'''še'''-'' "say"
|}


* ''rasda'' (ʀᴀ-sda ~ ʀᴀs-da) /ˈʁa.zdɐ ~ ˈʁaz.dɐ/;
====Voice====
* ''Italia'' (i-ᴛᴀ-lia) /iˈta.ljɐ];
A verbal root, or a verb-stem in ''-šĕ'', can be lengthened with certain '''extensions'''.  If present, they appear in the following order, and they indicate distinctions of '''voice''':
* ''approssimativamente'' (ap-pros-si-ma-ti-va-ᴍᴇɴ-te) /ɐp.pɾos.si.mɐ.θi.vɐˈmen.te/.
:{|class="wikitable"
|+ Extensions for voice
|-
! Voice !! Ending !! Example
|-
!Reflexive
|''-(ĭ)r'';||kark (wash); karkar ([take a] shower)
|-
!Reciprocal
|''-cĕ'';||dol (send); dolco (exchange)
|-
!Causative
|''-(&)z'';||ian (eat); ianaz (feed)
|-
!Passive
|''-(ĭ)v'';||artan (help); artanav (be helped)
|}
These endings might seem to be ''inflectional'' in the sense of the {{section link||Introduction}} above, but their meanings are not always clear from their particular names, and dictionaries do generally give the resulting forms, so in this sense they are ''constructive'' endings.


Compound words have secondary stress on their penultimate syllable. Some suffixes also maintain the suffixed word secondary stress.
The causative extension makes an intransitive verb transitive, and a transitive verb '''factitive'''. Together, the reciprocal and causative extension make the '''repetitive''' extension ''-cĕz''.
:{| class="wikitable"
! Verb Root/Stem !! New Verb !! Voice
|-
| rowspan=2 | ''dol'' "send"
| ''dolco'' "exchange" || ''-co'' (reciprocal)
|-
| ''doluv'' "be sent" || ''-uv'' (passive)
|-
| rowspan=2 | ''ver'' "Fix (something)"
| ''verir'' "fix oneself" || ''-ir'' (reflexive)
|-
| ''verce'' "correct each other" || ''-ce'' (reciprocal)
|-
| ''fäs'' "die"
| ''fäsäz'' "kill" || ''-äz'' (causative)
|-
|''küt'' "drink"
| ''kütde'' "do not drink" || ''-de'' (negative)
|}


* ''panzar'' + ''campo'' + ''vaġno'' > ''panzarcampovaġno'' (ᴘᴀɴ-zar-ᴄᴀᴍ-po-ᴠᴀ-ġno) /ˌpan.t͡sɐɾˌkam.poˈvaɲ.ɲu/;
===Questions===
* ''broþar'' + ''-scape'' > ''broþarscape'' (ʙʀᴏ-þar-sᴄᴀ-pe) /ˌbɾo.θɐɾˈska.fe/.
The interrogative particle ''a'' precedes the verb in the interrogative form:
:''A hašzar?'' "Are you coming?"
:''A haštaz?'' "Did you come?"


Secondary stress is however often omitted by Italian influence. Tetrasyllabic (and beyond) words may have a very weak secondary stress in the fourth-to-last syllable (i.e. two syllables before the main or primary stress).
===Optative mood===
Usually, in the '''optative''' (''öštüküh''), there is one series of endings to express something wished for:
:{| class="wikitable"
|+ Optative Moods
|-
! Number !! Person !! Ending !! Example !! English Translation
|-
! rowspan=3 | Singular
! 1st
| ''-deriz'' ||''Nörderiz''||"May I live"
|-
! 2nd
| ''-derid'' || ''Nörderid'' ||"May you live"
|-
! 3rd
| ''-deris'' || ''Nörderis''|| "May [her/him/it] live"
|-
! rowspan=3 | Plural
! 1st
| ''-derizis'' || ''Nörderizis'' ||"May we live"
|-
! 2nd
| ''-deridis'' || ''Nörderidis'' ||"May you live"
|-
! 3rd
| ''-derisis''' || ''Nörderisis''||"May they live"
|}


==Research==
===Compound bases===<!-- This section is linked from [[Grammatical mood]] -->
Luthic is a well-studied language, and multiple universities in Italy have departments devoted to Luthic or linguistics with active research projects on the language, mainly in Ravenna, such as the '''Linguistic Circle of Ravenna''' (Luthic: ''Creizzo Rasdavitascapetico Ravennai''; Italian: ''Circolo Linguistico di Ravenna'') at '''Ravenna University''', and there are many dictionaries and technological resources on the language. The language council ''Gafaurdo faul·la Rasda Lûthica'' also publishes research on the language both nationally and internationally. Academic descriptions of the language are published both in Luthic, Italian and English. The most complete grammar is the ''Grammatica ġli Lûthicai Rasdai'' (Grammar of the Luthic Language) by Alessandro Fiscar & Luca Vaġnar, and it is written in Luthic and contains over 800 pages.
[[File:Ravenna University's arms.png|thumb|Ravenna University’s arms]]


Multiple corpora of Luthic language data are available. The ''Luthic Online Dictionary project'' provides a curated corpus of 35,000 words.
*Past tenses:
**'''continuous past:''' ''Entiz hašzai'' or ''Haštazar'' "I was coming";
**'''aorist past:''' ''Entiz haštaz'' "I used to come";
**'''future past:''' ''Entiz hašvaz'' "I was going to come";
**'''necessitative past:''' ''Entiz ekin hašzai'' "I had to come";
**'''conditional past:''' ''Nu ulan haštaz'' "If only I had come."
*Inferential tenses:
**'''continuous inferential:''' ''Enzei hašlozu'' "It seems (they say) I am coming";
**'''future inferential:''' ''Ekin hašlovuz'' "It seems I shall come";
**'''aorist inferential:''' ''Hašlozu'' "It seems I come";
**'''necessitative inferential:''' ''Ekin hašlozu'' "They say I must come."


===History===
=Vocabulary=
The Ravenna School of Linguistics evolved around Giovanni Laggobardi and his developing theory of language in [[w:Structural linguistics|linguistic structuralism]]. Together with Soġnafreþo Rossi he founded the Circle of Linguistics of Ravenna in 1964, a group of linguists based on the model of the [[w:Prague Linguistic Circle|Prague Linguistic Circle]]. From 1970, Ravenna University offered courses in languages and philosophy but the students were unable to finish their studies without going to [[w:Accademia della Crusca|Accademia della Crusca]] for their final examinations.
===Phrasebook===
Natalician common words and phrases useful for learners.


'''Ravenna University Circle of [[w:Phonological Development|Phonological Development]]''' (Luthic: ''Creizzo Sviluppi Phonologici giȧ Accademiȧ Ravennȧ'') was developed in 1990, however very little research has been done on the earliest stages of phonological development in Luthic.
{|
 
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
'''Ravenna University Circle of [[w:Theology|Theology]]''' (Luthic: ''Creizzo Theologiai giȧ Accademiȧ Ravennȧ'') was developed in 2000 in association with the [[w:Ravenna Cathedral|Ravenna Cathedral or Metropolitan Cathedral of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ]] (Luthic: ''Cathedrale metropolitana deï Osstassi Unsari Signori Gesosi Christi''; Italian: ''Cattedrale metropolitana della Risurrezione di Nostro Signore Gesù Cristo; Duomo di Ravenna'').
|
{{Quote box |align=right|quoted=true |
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"  style="text-align: center;"
|salign=right
|+ '''Communication'''
|quote=''Aina lettura essenziale summȧ importanzȧ, inu andarogiugga.'' <br /> “An essential lecture, of the highest importance, without equivalents.
! colspan="3"|Phrasebook 1
|source= Lucia Giamane
|-
}}
! width="33%"|Natalician
 
! width="33%"|English
===The Handbook of Luthic Linguistics, Culture and Religion===
! width="33%"|IPA
In 2012, a collaboration of the Circle of Linguistics, the Circle of Phonological Development and the Circle of Theology resulted in '''The Handbook of Luthic Linguistics, Culture and Religion''' (Luthic: ''Il Handobuoco Rasdavitascapeticai, Colturai e Religioni Luthicai'') initiated in 2005 by Lucia Giamane, designed to illuminate an area of knowledge that encompasses both general linguistics and specialised, philologically oriented linguistics as well as those fields of science that have developed in recent decades from the increasingly extensive research into the diverse phenomena of communicative action.
|-
 
| Hiloh <br> Sohon || Hello || [[IPA for Natalician#Standard_Natalician|[hi.loj]]] <br> [[IPA for Natalician#Standard_Natalician|[so.jon]]]
==Grammar==
|-
Luthic grammar is almost typical of the grammar of Romance languages in general. Cases exist for personal pronouns (nominative, accusative, dative, genitive), and unlike other Romance languages (except Romanian), they also exist for nouns, but are often ignored in common speech, mainly because of the Italian influence, a language who lacks noun cases. There are three basic classes of nouns in Luthic, referred to as genders, masculine, feminine and neuter. Masculine nouns typically end in -o, with plural marked by -i, feminine nouns typically end in -a, with plural marked by -ai, and neuter nouns typically end in -ȯ, with plural marked by -a. A fourth category of nouns is [[w:Marker (linguistics)|unmarked]] for gender, ending in -e in the singular and -i in the plural; a variant of the unmarked declension is found ending in -r in the singular and -i in the plural, it lacks neuter nouns:
| Čikel anda || Good day || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[t͡ʃi.kɛl an.da]]]
 
|-
Examples:
| Čikel sehan || Good morning || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[t͡ʃi.kɛl se.jan]]]
 
|-
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
| Čikel kehan || Good afternoon || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[t͡ʃi.kɛl ke.han]]]
! Definition !! Gender !! Singular nominative !! Plural nominative
|-
| Čikel nuz || Good evening || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[t͡ʃi.kɛl nuz]]]
|-
| Nis iztenirdi? <sup>informal / s</sup> <br >Nis iztenirdis? <sup>formal / pl</sup> || What is your name? || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[nis iz.tɛ.nir.di]]] <br >[[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[nis iz.tɛ.nir.dis]]]
|-
| Iztenirzi [...] || My name is [...] || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[iz.tɛ.nir.zi ⸨...⸩]]]
|-
| Nenbu endei? <sup>informal / s</sup> <br >Nenbu endaus? <sup>formal / pl</sup>|| Where are you from? || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[nɛnbu en.dɛj]]] <br >[[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[nɛnbu en.daws]]]
|-
| Enzei nen [...] || I am from [...] || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[en.zɛj nɛn ⸨...⸩]]]
|-
| Čikel haša || Welcome || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[t͡ʃi.kɛl ha.ʃa]]]
|-
| Adelšetet pa rimcevi! || Pleased to meet you! || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[a.dɛl.ʃɛ.tɛt pa rim.d͡ʒe.vi]]]
|-
| Nis endei? <sup>informal / s</sup> <br >Nis endaus? <sup>formal / pl</sup> || How are you? || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[nis en.dɛj]]] <br >[[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[nis en.daws]]]
|-
| Čikel <br >Denil || Good <br >Bad || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[t͡ʃi.kɛl]]] <br >[[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[de.nil]]]
|-
| Nei teni || Me too || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[nɛj te.ni]]]
|-
| Sunałh || Please || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[su.naːj]]]
|-
| Azlakšov in <sup>informal / s</sup> <br >Azlakšod in <sup>formal / pl</sup> || Excuse me || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[az.lak.ʃo vin]]]<br >[[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[az.lak.ʃod in]]]
|-
| Büder || Thank you || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[by.dɛr]]]
|-
| Del senil <br >Äg dana || No problem <br >You are welcome || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[dɛl se.nil]]]<br >[[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[æg da.na]]]
|-
| Eš gun gelnok || Likewise || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[eʃ gun gel.nok]]]
|-
| A ačan kursui Natal? || Does anyone here speak Natalician? || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[a a.t͡ʃan kur.suj na.tald.ja]]]
|-
|-
| Son || Masculine || Fiġlo || Fiġli
| A kurdui Natal?<sup>informal / s</sup> <br >A kurdus Natal?<sup>formal / pl</sup> || Do you speak Natalician? || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[a kur.duj na.tald.ja]]]
|-
|-
| Flower || Feminine || Bloma || Blomai
| Eha <br >Ada / Mel <br >Kelševsi|| Yes <br >No <br >Maybe || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[e.ja]]] <br >[[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[ada] [mɛl]]] <br >[[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[kɛl.ʃɛv.si]]]
|-
|-
| Fruit || Neuter || Acranȯ || Acrana
| Nis lümekdi kel ha? || How do you pronounce this word? || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[nis ly.mɛg.di kɛl ha]]]
|-
|-
| Love || Masculine || Amore || Amori
| Nis kelševi [...] eš Natal? || How to say [...] in Natalician? || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[nis kɛl.ʃɛ.vi ⸨...⸩ eʃ na.tald.ja]]]
|-
|-
| Art || Feminine || Crafte || Crafti
| Kuzda nen rettivev kursui? || How many languages do you speak? || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[kuz.da nɛn re.tːi.vɛv kur.suj]]]
|-
|-
| Water || Neuter || Vadne || Vadni
| Sunałh, kur kortso || Please, speak slower || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[su.naːj kur kort.so]]]
|-
|-
| King || Masculine || Regġe || Regġi
| Sunałh, özše har || Please, repeat that || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[su.naːj œ.ʃːe har]]]
|-
|-
| Heart || Neuter || Hairtene || Hairteni
| Sunałh, tanak har || Please, write that down || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[su.naːj ta.nak har]]]
|-
| A göndüi? <sup>informal / s</sup> <br >A göndüs? <sup>formal / pl</sup>|| Do you understand? || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[a gœn.dyj]]]<br >[[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[a gœn.dys]]]
|-
|-
| Father || Masculine || Fadar || Fadari
| Gönzüi <br >Gönzüide || I understand <br >I don’t understand || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[gœn.zyj]]] <br >[[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[gœn.zyj.de]]]
|-
|-
| Mother || Feminine || Modar || Modari
| Del konru || No idea || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[dɛl kon.ru]]]
|}
|}
 
|
Declension paradigm in [[w:Formal language|formal]] Standard Luthic:
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="text-align: center;"
 
|+ '''Emergencies'''
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! colspan="3"|Phrasebook 2
|-
! width="33%"|Natalician
! width="33%"|English
! width="33%"|IPA
|-
| Artanzak || Help || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[ar.tan.zak]]]
|-
| Ensei ďehoron || It is an emergency || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[en.sɛj ðe.jo.ron]]]ˈ
|-
|-
! Number
| Kelirte kutzuk ödeke || Call the fire department || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[ke.lir.te kud.zuk œdɛkɛ]]]
! Case
! o-stem <sup>m</sup>
! a-stem <sup>f</sup>
! o-stem <sup>n</sup>
! i-stem <sup>unm</sup>
! r-stem <sup>unm</sup>
|-
|-
!rowspan=4| Singular
| Kelirte polise || Call the police || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[ke.lir.te po.lise]]]
! {{small|nom.}}
| dago
| geva
| hauviþȯ
| crafte
| broþar
|-
|-
! {{small|acc.}}
| Kelirte ämbieläns || Call an ambulance || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[ke.lir.te æmb.jɛ.læns]]]
| dagȯ
|}
| geva
|
| hauviþȯ
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"  style="text-align: center;"
| crafte
|+ '''Farewelling'''
| broþare
! colspan="3"|Phrasebook 3
|-
|-
! {{small|dat.}}
! width="33%"|Natalician
| dagȧ
! width="33%"|English
| gevȧ
! width="33%"|IPA
| hauviþȧ
| crafti
| broþari
|-
|-
! {{small|gen.}}
| Čikel nero || Good night || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[t͡ʃi.kɛl ne.ro]]]
| dagi
| gevai
| hauviþi
| crafti
| broþari
|-
|-
!rowspan=4| Plural
| Una danahso <sup>informal / s</sup> <br >Unad danahso <sup>formal / pl</sup> || Sleep well || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[u.na da.naj.so]]]
! {{small|nom.}}
| dagi
| gevai
| hauviþa
| crafti
| broþari
|-
|-
! {{small|acc.}}
| Etel etel <br >Zlerim || Bye || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[e.tɛl e.tɛl]]] <br >[[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[zle.rim]]]
| dagos
| gevas
| hauviþa
| craftes
| broþares
|-
|-
! {{small|dat.}}
| Ze özrimcevi <br >Özrimcevizis || See you soon || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[ze œz.rim.d͡ʒe.vi]]] <br >[[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[œz.rim.d͡ʒe.vi.zis]]]
| dagom
| gevam
| hauviþom
| craftivo
| broþarivo
|-
|-
! {{small|gen.}}
| Derne iuderenzikev|| Safe travels || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[der.ne ju.de.ren.zik.ɛv]]]
| dagoro
|}
| gevaro
| hauviþoro
| craftem
| broþarem
|}
|}


===Pronouns===
{|
Luthic, like Latin and Gothic, inherited the full set of Indo-European pronouns: personal pronouns (including [[w:Reflexive pronoun|reflexive pronouns]] for each of the three [[w:Grammatical person|grammatical persons]]), possessive pronouns, both simple and compound demonstratives, relative pronouns, interrogatives and indefinite pronouns. Each follows a particular pattern of inflection (partially mirroring the noun declension), much like other Indo-European languages. Although Luthic inherited a paradigm extremely close to Gothic (and Common Germanic), the Italic influence is visible in the genitive and plural formations.
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
 
|
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="text-align: center;"
! PIE !! Latin !! Gothic !! German !! Luthic
|+ '''Food'''
! colspan="3"|Phrasebook 4
|-
|-
| *u̯ei̯ <sup>nom</sup>, *n̥s <sup>acc</sup> || nōs <sup>nom/acc</sup> || weis <sup>nom</sup>, uns <sup>acc</sup> || wir <sup>nom</sup>, uns <sup>acc</sup> || vi <sup>nom</sup>, unse <sup>acc</sup>
! width="33%"|Natalician
|}
! width="33%"|English
 
! width="33%"|IPA
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
|-
|+Personal pronouns of Standard Luthic
| Sunałh, a förkzüi rimzi meniuvo? || Please, could I see the menu? || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[su.naːj a fœrg.zyj rimzi men.ju.vo]]]
! rowspan=2| Number
! rowspan=2| Case
! rowspan=2| 1<sup>st</sup> person
! rowspan=2| 2<sup>st</sup> person
!colspan=3| 3<sup>rd</sup> person
! rowspan=2| reflexive
|-
|-
! {{small|masculine}}
| Sunałh, a äg daša meniu eš Nataldha? || Please, do you have a menu in Luthic? || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[su.naːj a æg daʃa men.ju eʃ na.tald.ja]]]
! {{small|feminine}}
! {{small|neuter}}
|-
|-
!rowspan=4| Singular
| A iantad? || Have you eaten? || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[a jan.tad]]]
! {{small|nom.}}
| ic
| þû
| is
| ia
| ata
| —
|-
|-
! {{small|acc.}}
| Konah änemil || Bon appetit || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[ko.naj æ.ne.mil]]]
| mic
| þuc
| inȯ
| ina
| ata
| sic
|-
|-
! {{small|dat.}}
| Sunałh, lezez in fuzdovo || Please, pass the salt || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[su.naːj le.zez in fuz.do.vo]]]
| mis
| þus
|
|
|
| sis
|-
|-
! {{small|dat.}}
| Im veganu <sup>m sg</sup> <br> Im vegana <sup>f sg</sup> <br> Ismos vegani <sup>m pl</sup> <br> Ismos vegane <sup>f pl</sup> || I am vegan <sup>m sg</sup> <br> I am vegan <sup>f sg</sup> <br> We are vegans <sup>m pl</sup> <br> We are vegans <sup>f pl</sup> || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[im veˈɡa.nu]]] <sup>m sg</sup> <br> [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[im veˈɡa.nɐ]]] <sup>f sg</sup> <br> [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[ˈiz.mos veˈɡa.ni]]] <sup>m pl</sup> <br> [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[ˈiz.mos veˈɡa.ne]]] <sup>f pl</sup>
| meina
| þeina
| eis
| isai
| eis
| seina
|-
|-
!rowspan=4| Singular
| Aggio allergia || I am allergic || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[ˈad.d͡ʒo ɐl.lerˈd͡ʒi.ɐ]]]
! {{small|nom.}}
|}
| vi
|
| gi
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"  style="text-align: center;"
| eis
|+ '''Health'''
| isai
! colspan="3"|Phrasebook 5
| ia
|
|-
|-
! {{small|acc.}}
! width="33%"|Luthic
| unse
! width="33%"|English
| isve
! width="33%"|IPA
| eis
| isas
| ia
| sic
|-
|-
! {{small|dat.}}
| Stais betizu nu? <sup>m sg</sup> <br> Stais betiza nu? <sup>f sg</sup> <br> States betizi nu? <sup>m pl</sup> <br> States betize nu? <sup>f pl</sup> || Are you feeling better? || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[ˈstajs beˈtid.d͡zu nu]]] <sup>m sg</sup> <br> [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[ˈstajs beˈtid.d͡zɐ nu]]] <sup>f sg</sup> <br> [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[ˈsta.tes beˈtid.d͡zi nu]]] <sup>m pl</sup> <br> [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[ˈsta.tes beˈtid.d͡ze nu]]] <sup>f pl</sup>
| unsis
| isvis
| eis
| eis
| eis
| sis
|-
|-
! {{small|gen.}}
| Betizâ preste || Get well soon || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[be.θidˈd͡za.p‿ˈprɛs.te]]]
| unsara
| isvara
| eisôro
| eisâro
| eisôro
| seina
|}
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
|-
|+Possessive pronouns of Standard Luthic
| Curâ <sup>sg</sup> <br> Curate <sup>pl</sup> || Take care of yourself <sup>sg</sup> <br> Take care of yourselves || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[k̠uˈra]]] <sup>sg</sup> <br> [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[k̠uˈra.θe]]] <sup>pl</sup>
! rowspan=2| Number
! rowspan=2| Case
!colspan=3| 1<sup>st</sup> person singular
!colspan=3| 2<sup>st</sup> person singular
!colspan=3| 3<sup>rd</sup> person singular
|-
|-
! {{small|masculine}}
| Veglio ganare al toeletta || I want to go to the toilet || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[vɛʎ.ʎo ɡɐˈna.re ɐl to.ɛˈlɛt.tɐ]]]
! {{small|feminine}}
! {{small|neuter}}
! {{small|masculine}}
! {{small|feminine}}
! {{small|neuter}}
! {{small|masculine}}
! {{small|feminine}}
! {{small|neuter}}
|-
|-
!rowspan=4| Singular
| Þaurvo aeno dottore || I need a doctor || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[ˈθɔr.βo ˈɛ.no dotˈto.re]]]
! {{small|nom.}}
|}
| meino
|
| meina
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"  style="text-align: center;"
| meinȯ
|+ '''Love'''
| þeino
! colspan="3"|Phrasebook 6
| þeina
| þeinȯ
| seino
| seina
| seinȯ
|-
|-
! {{small|acc.}}
! width="33%"|Luthic
| meinȯ
! width="33%"|English
| meina
! width="33%"|IPA
| meinȯ
| þeinȯ
| þeina
| þeinȯ
| seinȯ
| seina
| seinȯ
|-
|-
! {{small|dat.}}
| Köššezi vun || I like you || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[mis ˈpja.t͡ʃis]]]
| meinȧ
| meinȧ
| meinȧ
| þeinȧ
| þeinȧ
| þeinȧ
| seinȧ
| seinȧ
| seinȧ
|-
|-
! {{small|gen.}}
| Neršezi vun || I love you || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[ˈfrɛ.d͡ʒo θux]]]
| meini
| meinai
| meini
| þeini
| þeinai
| þeini
| seini
| seinai
| seini
|-
|-
!rowspan=4| Plural
| Piaceresti salire mis? || Would you like to go out with me? || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[pjɐ.t͡ʃeˈres.ti sɐˈli.re mis]]]
! {{small|nom.}}
| meini
| meinai
| meina
| þeini
| þeinai
| þeina
| seini
| seinai
| seina
|-
|-
! {{small|acc.}}
| Is ciaelibe? || Are you single? || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[is ˈt͡ʃɛ.li.βe]]]
| meinos
| meinas
| meina
| þeinos
| þeinas
| þeina
| seinos
| seinas
| seina
|-
|-
! {{small|dat.}}
| Is coniugatu? || Are you married? || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[is ko.njuˈɡa.θu]]] <sup>m</sup> <br> [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[is ko.njuˈɡa.θɐ]]] <sup>f</sup>
| meinom
| meinam
| meinom
| þeinom
| þeinam
| þeinom
| seinom
| seinam
| seinom
|-
|-
! {{small|gen.}}
| Is scaunu <br> Is scauna || Would you like to marry me? || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[is ˈsk̠ɔ.nu]]] <br> [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[is ˈsk̠ɔ.nɐ]]]
| meinoro
| meinaro
| meinoro
| þeinoro
| þeinaro
| þeinoro
| seinoro
| seinaro
| seinoro
|}
|}
 
|
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="text-align: center;"
|+ '''Travel'''
! colspan="3"|Phrasebook 7
|-
|-
|+Possessive pronouns of Standard Luthic
! width="33%"|Luthic
! rowspan=2| Number
! width="33%"|English
! rowspan=2| Case
! width="33%"|IPA
!colspan=3| 1<sup>st</sup> person singular
!colspan=3| 2<sup>st</sup> person singular
!colspan=3| 3<sup>rd</sup> person singular
|-
|-
! {{small|masculine}}
| Ce arrivo al loftoporto? || How do I get to the airport? || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[t͡ʃe ɐrˈri.βo ɐl ˌlof.toˈpor.to]]]
! {{small|feminine}}
! {{small|neuter}}
! {{small|masculine}}
! {{small|feminine}}
! {{small|neuter}}
! {{small|masculine}}
! {{small|feminine}}
! {{small|neuter}}
|-
|-
!rowspan=4| Singular
| Ce arrivo all’aütostazione? || How do I get to the bus station? || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[t͡ʃe ɐrˈri.βo ɐlˈlɐw.θo.stɐtˈt͡sjo.ne]]]
! {{small|nom.}}
| unsar
| unsara
| unsarȯ
| isvar
| isvara
| isvarȯ
| seino
| seina
| seinȯ
|-
|-
! {{small|acc.}}
| Ce arrivo al ferroviaria || How do I get to the train station? || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[t͡ʃe ɐrˈri.βo ɐl fer.ro.viˈa.rjɐ]]]
| unsare
| unsara
| unsarȯ
| isvare
| isvara
| isvarȯ
| seinȯ
| seina
| seinȯ
|-
|-
! {{small|dat.}}
| Canto þatha costat? || How much does it cost? || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[ˈkan.to θɐ.tɐ ˈk̠os.tɐθ]]]
| unsari
| unsarȧ
| unsarȧ
| isvari
| isvarȧ
| isvarȧ
| seinȧ
| seinȧ
| seinȧ
|-
|-
! {{small|gen.}}
| Stô fralosnatu <sup>m</sup> <br> Stô fralosnata <sup>f</sup> || I am lost || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[ˈsto frɐ.lozˈna.θu]]] <sup>m</sup> <br>  [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[ˈsto frɐ.lozˈna.θɐ]]] <sup>f</sup>
| unsari
| unsarai
| unsari
| isvari
| isvarai
| isvari
| seini
| seinai
| seini
|-
|-
!rowspan=4| Plural
| Begio, al sinistra <br> Begio, al destra || Please, turn left <br> Please, turn right || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[ˈbe.d͡ʒo|ɐl siˈnis.trɐ]]] <br> [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[ˈbe.d͡ʒo|ɐl ˈdes.trɐ]]]
! {{small|nom.}}
| unsari
| unsarai
| unsara
| isvari
| isvarai
| isvara
| seini
| seinai
| seina
|-
|-
! {{small|acc.}}
| Stoppau lo vagnio || Stop the car || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[stopˈpɔ.l‿lo ˈvaɲ.ɲo]]]
| unsares
| unsaras
| unsara
| isvares
| isvaras
| isvara
| seinos
| seinas
| seina
|-
|-
! {{small|dat.}}
| Car puosso begetare aeno hotele? || Where can I find a hotel? || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[kɐr ˈpwɔs.so be.d͡ʒeˈta.re ˈɛ.no oˈtɛ.le]]]
| unsarivo
| unsaram
| unsarom
| isvarivo
| isvaram
| isvarom
| seinom
| seinam
| seinom
|-
|-
! {{small|gen.}}
| Car puosso begetare aena drogheria? || Where can I find a grocery store? || [[IPA for Luthic#Standard_Ravennese_Luthic|[kɐr ˈpwɔs.so be.d͡ʒeˈta.re ˈɛ.nɐ droˈɡe.rjɐ]]]
| unsarem
| unsararo
| unsaroro
| isvarem
| isvararo
| isvaroro
| seinoro
| seinaro
| seinoro
|}
|}
The pronouns unsar, isvar have an irregular declension, being declined like an unmarked adjective in the masculine gender and marked in the other genders. Every possessive pronoun is declined like an o-stem adjective for masculine and neuter gender, while its feminine counterpart is declined as an a-stem adjective
Interrogative and indefinite pronouns are indeclinable by case and number:

Latest revision as of 23:28, 25 September 2025



Natalician
Natal retti
Natalician Flag Updated.png
Flag of the Natalician Republic
Pronunciation[na.tal re.tːi]
Created byHazer
Date2021
SettingHazerworld
Native toNatalicia; Firenia and the Kontamchian Islands
EthnicityNatalese
Native speakers37,123,487 (2021)
Tinarian
  • Kasenian
    • Natalo-Kesperic
      • High Kesperic
        • Old Natalician
          • Natalician
Early form
Old Natalician
Standard form
Standard Central Natalician (Durgum Raskaznol Natal)
Dialects
  • Celician Natalician (Selis Natal)
  • Northern Natalician (Köpreli Natal)
  • Firenic Natalician (Firen Natal)
Official status
Official language in
Natalicia
Recognised minority
language in
Espidon, Amarania (Dogostania)
Regulated byThe Natalician Academic Council for Linguistics
Natalician Distr Map.png
A map showing the distribution of (native and non-native) speakers of Natalician in Tinaria. Dark blue is native, light blue is secondary language speaker, and cyan is minorities.
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.

Natalician (/nəˈtɑlɪʃən/; endonym: Natal [na.tal] or Natal Rettive /na.tal re.tːive/) is a North Kasenian language predominantly spoken in Central East Tinaria, specifically in Natalicia, Firenia, and North-East Nirania. Beyond Natalicia, it holds official status in Budernie, Nirania, and Kannamie, and is recognized as a minority language in East Espidon and within the Dogostanian community in Eastern Amarania. Natalician shares a close linguistic relationship with other North Kasenian languages, such as Espidan and Niranian.

Modern Natalician evolved from Old Natalician, which itself descended from an extinct, unnamed language spoken by the Natalo-Kesperian tribes. Today, Natalician stands as one of the world's most significant languages, boasting the highest number of speakers among the Kasenian languages, both as a native and a second language. Approximately 65 million people worldwide speak Natalician, including 37 million native speakers.

Natalician is characterised by its lack of grammatical cases, absence of grammatical genders, minimal irregularity, and a systematic grammar. Its orthography is straightforward, devoid of digraphs, diphthongs, or similar complexities, making it an accessible language to read and learn.

History

The earliest traces of the Natalician language date back to the year 334, featuring a vocabulary and grammar markedly different from its modern descendant. The history of the Natalician language is divided into three distinct periods: Classic Natalician (334–1203), Old Natalician (1203–1540), and Modern Natalician (1540–present). As of 2021, the language is estimated to be 1,687 years old.

Classic Natalician

Also known as Poetic Natalician or the Natalo-Kesperian Language, the earliest traces of this language are found solely in ancient poetry and inscriptions on recovered artifacts. However, the NACL (Natalician Academy of Classical Languages) considers these remnants insufficient to be deemed a complete or valid representation of the spoken Natalo-Kesperian language, largely due to the dominance of illiteracy in the pre-Killistic era and the overly formal nature of the vocabulary used in these writings.

Classic Natalician's vocabulary contains numerous direct elements from the early Proto-North-Kasenian language, which eventually faded during the migratory era. This decline was influenced by cultural clashes and the increasing incorporation of loanwords.

Unfortunately, no documents from the Classic Natalician period have survived. Consequently, there is no known evidence detailing the development of the language during this primary era.

Old Natalician

Reširi ägsös nör på tånåka if kelševi wez̊en fölsi sös.
“The people have the right to write and say what they please.”

The first quote from the famous Ulun Cilesli Irkete's 1210 language guide


With the dawn of the Killistic era, the Natalese tribes gained access to invaluable knowledge, brought by the ascension of their proclaimed king, Ribel Zömeri. This period marked a significant rise in literacy rates within the nascent and unified Natalese monarchy, which spanned from 1203 to 1834. During this era, the Natalician language saw its first instances of written records and experienced a flourishing of printed works.

The earliest known book containing written evidence of the Natalician language is titled "Natåltïå kočåculaï orūnza" (Natalician Guide Book). This seminal work was authored and published by the late Ulun Cilesli Irkete in the year 1210. Subsequently, numerous documents have been preserved through generations and are now treasured artifacts housed in the Natalician Grand Museum of Literature and Artifacts in Celicia.

A recovered old copy of Prof. Irkete's Old Natalician guide book

Many historians and literary scholars have debated the relationship between Classic and Old Natalician, with some arguing that they are identical. However, the scarcity of evidence has left these claims unresolved. Scholar Iček Friktinäm posits: "Old Natalician may be the result of the incorporation of new local loanwords, and the diverse dialects might have led to deviations from the Kasenian roots of the standard spoken Natalician of that time."

Old Natalician is characterized by significantly different grammar and vocabulary compared to modern Natalician. The most notable differences include the presence of vowel harmony and grammatical cases. The language featured four types of vowel harmony and three grammatical cases: Nominative, Accusative, and Genitive. Additionally, distinct suffixes and verb conjugations highlight the major grammatical differences.

Modern Natalician

Ťenałr tanakavsai der garla. Ťenałr nameš tanakavsai der ünete.
“History is written by the victor. Our history is written by the people.”

Zafel Sörät Fortla, founder of the republic

The Natalician language has been continuously evolving since the 15th century with the decline of the monarchy and the rise of Goz Hoz to power the next few centuries. Trades and exchanges between nations has allowed for a path to new loanwords added to the Natalician lexicon. This evolution continued until the establishment of the Republic in 1845 by Zafel Sörät Fortla, when the "Natalician Academic Council for Linguistics" was created and assumed responsibility for tracking the language's development.

Etymology

The name Natalicia, the Natalese and the Natalician language, originates from the Natala tribes of the Natalo-Kesperian community in central east Tinaria. The term derives from the Proto-Kasenian word Nåťåla, meaning "fairness." This evolved into Nåsåla in Old Natalician and eventually became Nasala in Modern Natalician.

Geographical Distribution

Geographical distribution of speakers of the Natalician language in the Natal Koman area

Natalician is spoken in the Natalician republic, the kingdom of Firenia, the northwestern camps of the Nirenian republic and as a minority language in Espidon and Amarania. The popularity of Natalician has increased following the Natalician Dispora program, resulting in an increase of demand for the language to be taught as a foreign language in most of Tinaria and the other three continents.

An exact global number of Natalician speakers is a matter of difference due to the several varieties of Natalician status as separate "languages" or "dialects" is disputed for political and linguistic reasons, including certain forms of Kasperian and Rufeic Natalician. With the inclusion or exclusion of said varieties, the estimate is approximately 40 million people who speak Natalician as a first language, 5 to 15 million speak it as a second language, and 40 to 50 million as a foreign language. This would imply approximately 85 to 105 million Natalician speakers worldwide.

Natalician sociolinguist Mezred Siförtah estimated a number of 150 million Natalician foreign language speakers without clarifying the criteria by which he classified a speaker.

Tinaria

As of 2024, about 40 million people, or 12% of the Tinarian Union's population, spoke Natalician as their mother tongue, making it the fourth-most widely spoken language on the continent after English, Secaltan and Amaranian, the fourth biggest language in terms of overall speakers, as well as the third most spoken native language.

Natal Koman

The area in central east Tinaria where the majority of the population speaks Natalician as a first or second language and has Natalician as a (co-)official language is called the "Natal Koman (Natalician for: 'Natalese World')". Natalician is the official or co-official language of the following countries:

  • Natalicia (official)
  • Firenia (official)
  • The Kontamchian Islands (official)
  • Søfrøzkev, Niččišey and Vørkek regions of Nirenia (co-official)
  • Province of Trumuyet of Tuggol (co-official)
  • The Islands of Kannamay, Binjes and Vurvuda (co-official)

Outside the Natal Koman

Natalician is a recognised minority language in the following countries:

  • Espidon (in the provinces of Zafur and Iktišek)
  • East of the Federal Dogostanian Republic in Amarania

Phonology

Consonants

Consonant phonemes of Standard Natalician
Labial Dental/
Alveolar
Postalveolar Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal
plain labialized
Nasal m n
Plosive voiceless p t k
voiced b d ɡ
Fricative voiceless f s θ ʃ h
voiced v z ð ʒ ʁ
Affricate voiceless t͡ʃ
voiceless d͡ʒ
Approximant semivowel j w
lateral l
  1. The phoneme /ʒ/ is usually realised as /dʒ/ in many dialects. In the island dialects, it is replaced with /d͡ʒ/ when it occurs word-initially.
  2. /l/ can undergo delateralisation in most dialects if preceeded by /i/ - for example, senil ("problem") is pronounced /se.nij/ rather than /se.nil/.

Vowels

Natalician vh chart.png

Vowel phonemes of standard Natalician
Front Back
unrounded rounded unrounded rounded
Close i y u
Near-open æ
Open e œ a o


The vowels of the Natalician language are, in their alphabetical order, a, ä, e, i, o, ö, u, ü. The Natalician vowel system can be considered as being three-dimensional, where vowels are characterised by how and where they are articulated focusing on three key features: front and back, rounded and unrounded and vowel height.

NOTE: When the vowels /i/, /u/ precede or succeed another vowel, they become /j/, /w/ respectively. If both vowels meet one another, only the /i/ will transform into a /j/ while the /u/ remains unchanged.

Orthography

Alphabet

Natalician has a straightforward orthography, meaning regular spelling with (almost) no diphthong or digraph or anything of the sort. In linguistic terms, the writing system is a phonemic orthography.

Standard Natalician alphabet

A Natalician QWERTY computer keyboard layout.
Letter Name IPA
Aa a [a] /a/
Ää ä [æ] /æ/
Bb be [be] /b/
Cc ce [d͡ʒe] /d͡ʒ/
Čč če [t͡ʃe] /t͡ʃ/
Dd de [de] /d/
Ďď ďe [ðe] /ð/
Ee e [e] /ɛ/, /e/
Ff ef [ɛf] /f/
Gg ge [ɡ] /g/
Hh ha [ha] /h/, /j/
Ii i [i] /i/, /j/
Jj je [ʒe] /ʒ/
Kk ka [ka] /k/
Ll el [ɛl] /l/
Łł girbit el [gir.bit ɛl] /ː/
Mm em [ɛm] /m/
Nn en [ɛn] /n/
Oo o [o] /o/
Öö ö [œ] /œ/
Pp pe [pe] /p/
Rr er [ɛr] /r/
Řř eř [ɛʁ] /ʁ/
Ss es [s] /s/
Šš eš [ɛʃ] /ʃ/
Tt te [te] /t/
Ťť ťe [θe] /θ/
Uu u [u] /u/
Üü ü [y] /y/
Vv ve [ve] /v/
Ww wa [wa] /w/
Zz ze [ze] /z/
  • The letter that is called Girbit El ("Silent L"), written Ł in Natalician orthography, represents vowel lengthening. It never occurs at the beginning of a word or a syllable, always follows a vowel and always preceeds a consonant. The vowel that preceeds it is lengthened.
  • The letter H in Natalician orthography represents two sounds: The /h/ sound, and the /j/ sound. If the letter H is located at the beginning of the (non-compound) word, it takes the /h/ sound, otherwise it takes the /j/ sound. (e.g. Hiloh /hi.loj/ "Hello", Konah /ko.naj/ "Beautiful", Haz /haz/ "This")

Grammar

Consonant harmony

Natalician orthography reflects voice sandhi voicing, a form of consonant mutation with two consonants that meet, and the second is voiced and the first is unvoiced. The first unvoiced consonant [p t f ʃ t͡ʃ θ k s] is voiced to [b d v ʒ d͡ʒ ð ɡ z], but the orthography remains unchanged.

  • Kütdüs (you drink) realises the /t/ as a /d/ due to the voiced consonant that follows; hence, it becomes /kydː.ys/.
  • Äzäpzik (announcement) realises the /p/ as a /b/; hence, it becomes /æ.zæb.zik/.

NOTE: The only time a voiced consonant gets devoiced is when the voiced-voiceless pairs meet and the voiced consonant preceeds the voiceless one, resulting in a gemination of the voiceless consonant: Lüzševi /lyʃː.e.vi/ - Özse /œsː.e/ - Kodtos /kotːos/

Vowel harmony

Natalician Vowel Harmony Front Vowels Back Vowels
Unrounded Rounded Unrounded Rounded
Vowel ä e i ö ü a o u
Type Ĭ (Backness + Rounding) i ü a u
Type Ĕ (Backness) e o

The principle of vowel harmony

  1. If the first vowel of a word is a back vowel, any subsequent vowel is also a back vowel; if the first is a front vowel, any subsequent vowel is also a front vowel.
  2. If the first vowel is unrounded, so too are subsequent vowels.

The second and third rules minimize muscular effort during speech. More specifically, they are related to the phenomenon of labial assimilation: If the lips are rounded (a process that requires muscular effort) for the first vowel they may stay rounded for subsequent vowels. If they are unrounded for the first vowel, the speaker does not make the additional muscular effort to round them subsequently.

Grammatical affixes have "a chameleon-like quality" and obey one of the following patterns of vowel harmony:

  • Twofold ĕ (-e/-o): The article, for example, is -(v)e after front vowels and -(v)o after back vowels.
  • Fourfold ĭ (-i/-a/-ü/-u): The verb infinitive suffix, for example, is -i or -a after unrounded vowels (front or back respectively); and or -u after the corresponding rounded vowels.
  • Type & 'and': The adjectival passive voice suffix, for example, is -t&t, the & being the same vowel as the previous one.

Practically, the twofold pattern (usually referred to as the type Ĕ) means that in the environment where the vowel in the word stem is formed in the front of the mouth, the suffix will take the e form, while if it is formed in the back it will take the o form. The fourfold pattern (also called the type Ĭ) accounts for rounding as well as for front/back. The type & pattern is the reppetition of the same last vowel. The following examples, based on the verbal noun suffix -zĭk, illustrate the principles of type Ĭ vowel harmony in practice: Ähräzik ("Swimming"), Okzuk ("Knowledge"), Ianzak ("Eating"), Nörzük ("Living").

Exceptions to vowel harmony

These are four word-classes that are exceptions to the rules of vowel harmony:

  1. Native, non-compound words, e.g. Ela "then", Čela "drink", Ťehozuk "discussion"
  2. Native compound words, e.g. Pave "for what"
  3. Foreign words, e.g. many English loanwords such as Sertifikäht (certificate), Hospitol (hospital), Kompiułter (computer)
  4. Invariable prefixes / suffixes:
Invariable prefix or suffix Natalician example Meaning in English Remarks
–(v)iš üčiš "exit" From üč "leave"
öz- özhaša "to return" From haša "to come"
gel- gelsincetet "decomposed" From since "compose"

Note

  • A native compound does not obey vowel harmony: Ras+cezil ("city center"—a place name)
  • Loanwords also disobeys vowel harmony: Kofi ("Coffee")
  • Every grammatical prefix disobeys the vowel harmony aswell.

Parts of speech

There are nine parts of speech (kurzuk felev) in Natalician.

  1. noun (iztin "name");
  2. pronoun (kahuče from Amaranian kayoûtshéy, or reširnel iztinev "personal names");
  3. adjective (oruvaš "quality");
  4. verb (öhker from Amaranian eiyiker, or dirzik "action");
  5. adverb (randara);
  6. postposition (hasla eř "later addition");
  7. conjunction (sedlek übeřre "sentence link");
  8. particle (meres);
  9. interjection (venzik rimizli "feeling manifester").

Only nouns and verbs are inflected in Natalician. An adjective can usually be treated as a noun, in which case it can also be inflected. Inflection can give a noun features of a verb such as person and tense. With inflection, a verb can become one of the following:

  • verbal noun (öhkernel iztin);
  • verbal adjective (öhkernel oruvaš);
  • verbal adverb (öhkernel randara).

These have peculiarities not shared with other nouns, adjectives or adverbs. For example, some participles take a person the way verbs do. Also, a verbal noun or adverb can take a direct object.

There are two standards for listing verbs in dictionaries. Most dictionaries follow the tradition of spelling out the infinitive form of the verb as the headword of the entry, but others such as the Zeraltan Natalician-English Dictionary are more technical and spell out the stem of the verb instead, that is, they spell out a string of letters that is useful for producing all other verb forms through morphological rules. Similar to the latter, this article follows the stem-as-citeword standard.

  • Infinitive: oruvu ("to read")
  • Stem: oru- ("read")

In Natalician, the verbal stem is also the second-person singular imperative form. Example:

oru- (stem meaning "read")
Oru! ("Read!")

Many verbs are formed from nouns by addition of -še. For example:

mar – "structure"
maršo – "build / construct"

Most adjectives can be treated as nouns or pronouns. For example, ďen can mean "young", "young person", or "the young person being referred to".

Comparison of adjectives is not done by inflecting adjectives or adverbs, but by other means (described below).

Adjectives can serve as adverbs, sometimes by means of repetition:

danah – "happy"
danah danah – "happily"

Nouns

Inflection

A Natalician noun has no gender. There are seven regular inflectional affixes in Natalician.

Inflectional affixes in English
Affix Grammatical category Mark Part of speech
-(v)ĕv Number plural nouns
-'(ĭ)n Case genitive nouns and noun phrases, pronouns
-tĕs Aspect progressive gerunds or participles
-t&t Tense past (simple) verbs
-(ĕ)m Degree of comparison comparative adjectives and adverbs
-mĕ Degree of comparison superlative adjectives and adverbs

Through its presence or absence, the plural ending shows distinctions of number.

Number

A noun is made plural by addition of -(v)ev or -(v)ov (depending on the vowel harmony). When a numeral is used with a noun, however, the plural suffix is not used:

böšter "table"
böšterev "tables"
nav böšter "four tables"

The plural ending also allows a family (living in one house) to be designated by a single member:

ičedevev "Ičede and his family / The Ičedes"

Verbal nouns

The verbal noun is created by the addition of the suffix -zĭk and the root of the verb.

Verb Noun
fas- "give" faszak "giving / donation"
den- "let" denzik "allowance"
kur- "speak" kurzuk "speech"
dön- "ask" dönzük "question"

The verb et- "make, do" can be considered as an auxiliary verb, since for example it is often used with verbal nouns borrowed from other languages, such as Arabic:

kabul et- "accept" (kabul "[an] accepting");
reddet- "reject" (ret "[a] rejecting");
ziyaret et- "visit"  (ziyaret "[a] visiting").

Considered as units, these are transitive verbs; but the nouns in them can also, by themselves, take direct objects:

Antalya'yı ziyaret "visit to Antalya".

What looks like an ablative gerund is usually an adverb; the ending -meden usually has the sense of "without". See #Adverbs below.

An infinitive in the absolute case can be the object of a verb such as iste- "want":

Kimi

some-of-them

eğitime

towards-education

devam

continuation

etmek,

make

kimi

some-of-them

de

also

çalışmak

work

istiyor.

want

Kimi eğitime devam etmek, kimi de çalışmak istiyor.

some-of-them towards-education continuation make some-of-them also work want

Some want to continue their education, and some want to work" (source: Cumhuriyet Pazar Dergi, 14 August 2005, p. 1.)

Note here that the compound verb devam et- "continue, last" does not take a direct object, but is complemented by a dative noun.

Another way to express obligation (besides with lâzım as in the earlier example) is by means of zor "trouble, compulsion" and an infinitive:

Gitmek zoru "Go compulsion",
Gitmek zorundayız "We must go".

(Source: same as the last example.)

Both an infinitive and a gerund are objects of the postposition için "for" in the third sentence of the quotation within the following quotation:

Template:Verse translation

A free translation is:

The facility authorities said: "The people of this district [namely Edremit, Van] are generally conservative. They cannot enter the lake comfortably, because the shore areas are near the road. So we are using a screen, both to close off the view of passersby on the road, and so that men will not cause discomfort." However, children cannot be prevented from spying on the other side through gaps in the screen.

Pronouns

Natalician pronouns
personal pronouns
subjective objective
first
person
singular nei in
plural namše nameš
second
person
singular on un
plural daš daša
third
person
singular süs
plural so soz
Natalician possessive pronouns
possessive pronouns
possessive determiner possessive pronoun
first
person
singular in ini
plural nameš nameše
second
person
singular un onu
plural daša dašo
third
person
singular süs süzü
plural soz sozun

The possessive determiners are the same as the objective personal pronouns. The possessive pronouns always succeed the subject/object.

Examples with teyze ("maternal aunt")
Example Composition Translation
ert in ert "father" + in "me" "my father"
ert daša ert "father" + daša "you (plural objective)" "your father"
ertev süs ert "father" + -ev (plural suffix) + süs "him/her (objective)" "his/her fathers"

Verbs

Stems of verbs

Many stems in the dictionary are indivisible; others consist of endings attached to a root.

Verb-stems from nouns

Many verbs are formed from nouns or adjectives with -šĕ:

Noun Verb
ergem "negativity" ergemše- "negate"
an "one" anšo- "unite"
kel "word" kelše- "say"

Voice

A verbal root, or a verb-stem in -šĕ, can be lengthened with certain extensions. If present, they appear in the following order, and they indicate distinctions of voice:

Extensions for voice
Voice Ending Example
Reflexive -(ĭ)r; kark (wash); karkar ([take a] shower)
Reciprocal -cĕ; dol (send); dolco (exchange)
Causative -(&)z; ian (eat); ianaz (feed)
Passive -(ĭ)v; artan (help); artanav (be helped)

These endings might seem to be inflectional in the sense of the § Introduction above, but their meanings are not always clear from their particular names, and dictionaries do generally give the resulting forms, so in this sense they are constructive endings.

The causative extension makes an intransitive verb transitive, and a transitive verb factitive. Together, the reciprocal and causative extension make the repetitive extension -cĕz.

Verb Root/Stem New Verb Voice
dol "send" dolco "exchange" -co (reciprocal)
doluv "be sent" -uv (passive)
ver "Fix (something)" verir "fix oneself" -ir (reflexive)
verce "correct each other" -ce (reciprocal)
fäs "die" fäsäz "kill" -äz (causative)
küt "drink" kütde "do not drink" -de (negative)

Questions

The interrogative particle a precedes the verb in the interrogative form:

A hašzar? "Are you coming?"
A haštaz? "Did you come?"

Optative mood

Usually, in the optative (öštüküh), there is one series of endings to express something wished for:

Optative Moods
Number Person Ending Example English Translation
Singular 1st -deriz Nörderiz "May I live"
2nd -derid Nörderid "May you live"
3rd -deris Nörderis "May [her/him/it] live"
Plural 1st -derizis Nörderizis "May we live"
2nd -deridis Nörderidis "May you live"
3rd -derisis' Nörderisis "May they live"

Compound bases

  • Past tenses:
    • continuous past: Entiz hašzai or Haštazar "I was coming";
    • aorist past: Entiz haštaz "I used to come";
    • future past: Entiz hašvaz "I was going to come";
    • necessitative past: Entiz ekin hašzai "I had to come";
    • conditional past: Nu ulan haštaz "If only I had come."
  • Inferential tenses:
    • continuous inferential: Enzei hašlozu "It seems (they say) I am coming";
    • future inferential: Ekin hašlovuz "It seems I shall come";
    • aorist inferential: Hašlozu "It seems I come";
    • necessitative inferential: Ekin hašlozu "They say I must come."

Vocabulary

Phrasebook

Natalician common words and phrases useful for learners.