Valthungian

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Valthungian, the Grey Tongue
Grējutungiška Rasta, So Grējuga Tunga
Pronunciation[ˈgrai̯.juˌtuŋ.giɕ.kɑ ˈrɑs.tɑ, so̞ ˈgrai̯.ju.ɡɑ ˈtuŋ.gɑ]
Created byBenJamin P. Johnson,

creator of:

curator of:

Date2010
SettingEurope, vaguely
Indo-European
  • Germanic
    • East Germanic
      • Griutungi
        • Old Valthungian
          • Middle Valthungian
            • Valthungian, the Grey Tongue
Language codes
CLCRqgt
BRCLgrey

Valthungian is an East Germanic language descended from a language that was probably mutually intelligible with Gothic, though much of its corpus cannot have been inherited from the language of Wulfila. It is likely, however, that the speakers of the ancestor of Valthungian did consider themselves Goths (or Gutai or Gutþiudōs), and that their language was mutually intelligible with other dialects of Gothic. The Valthungian relationship to “Classical Gothic” can be thought of as analogous to the relationship between Modern High German and Old High German – that is, not a direct lineage, but the modern languages are descended from neighboring dialects spoken by people who would likewise have considered themselves to be “Gutisks,” in the case of Valthungian, or “Diotisk” in the case of German.

While Valthungian shares many of the areal changes common to North and West Germanic languages, it is also marked by distinctive changes in palatalisation, which, while similar to those of Old English, are most likely influenced by contact with Romance and Slavic languages. Modern Valthungian can be traced back to Middle Valthungian (spoken from around 1200‒1600ᴀᴅ) through Old Valthungian (800‒1200ᴀᴅ) and ultimately to Griutungi, which would likely have been thought of as a dialect of Gothic (400‒800ᴀᴅ).

The name “Valthungian” comes from the name Valthungi – a Latin term likely derived from a pre-Old Valthungian name *Walþungae – meaning “Forest-dweller,” likely a branch of or related to the Thervingians (idem), though the Valthungian people refer to themselves as Grējutungišk, which is probably from an earlier Griutuggs (the name of an Ostrogothic tribe living along the northern shore of the Black Sea), but which underwent some semantic reanalysis over the generations and came to mean ‘the grey-tongued ones’. In turn, they call their language Grējutungiška Rasta ‘Grey-tonguish Language’ or just So Grējuga Tunga ‘the Grey Tongue’.

Writing System

Alphabet & Pronunciation

Here I give the traditional Valthungian letters followed by the romanisation I use for them in the second row. This romanisation is otherwise used throughout this article.

    IPA Name Name Meaning
Valthungian-aska.png A a [ɑ] aska ‘ash’
Valthungian-aejus.png Ǣ ǣ [e̞ː] ǣjus ‘horse’
Valthungian-breka.png B b [b] breka ‘birch’
Valthungian-giva.png G g [ɡ] giva ‘gift’
Valthungian-djus.png Ǧ ǧ [ʤ] ǧus ‘beast’
Valthungian-dagz.png D d [d] daǧ ‘day’
Valthungian-aedhi.png Ð ð [ð] ǣði ‘mother’
Valthungian-egja.png E e [e̞] eǧa ‘blade’
Valthungian-akuzje.png Ž ž [ʒ] akuže ‘axe’
Valthungian-hagla.png H h [h~x] hagla ‘hail’
Valthungian-thronus.png Þ þ [θ] þronus ‘thorn’
Valthungian-igil.png I i [i] igil ‘hedgehog’
Valthungian-jeer.png J j [j] jēr ‘year’
    IPA Name Name Meaning
Valthungian-kune.png K k [k~kʰ] kune ‘family’
Valthungian-lagus.png L l [l] lagus ‘lake’
Valthungian-matna.png M m [m] matna ‘person’
Valthungian-naoths.png N n [n] nǭþs ‘need’
Valthungian-ore.png O o [o̞] ore ‘riverbank’
Valthungian-predhra.png P p [p~pʰ] preðra ‘chance’
Valthungian-redha.png R r [r] reða ‘earth’
Valthungian-soogila.png S s [s] sōgila ‘sun’
Valthungian-sjuge.png Š š [ʃ] šuge ‘colour ’
Valthungian-tiijus.png T t [t~tʰ] tījus ‘Teu ’
Valthungian-kjus.png Č č [ʧ] čus ‘choice ’
Valthungian-ungula.png U u [u] ungula ‘owl’
Valthungian-ivra.png V v [v] ivra ‘boar’
    IPA Name Name Meaning
Valthungian-faejo.png F f [f] fǣjo ‘cattle’
Valthungian-wynia.png W w [w] wynia ‘joy’
Valthungian-roetja.png Œ œ [ø̞̞] rœča ‘farmer’
Valthungian-ynkja.png Y y [y] ynča ‘ounce’
Valthungian-aosus.png Ǭ ǭ [o̞ː] ǭsus ‘ox’
Non-Alphabetic Variants
Valthungian-aade.png Ā ā [ɑː] āde ‘egg’
Valthungian-eemate.png Ē ē [ɑi̯] ēmate ‘ant’
Valthungian-iis.png Ī ī [iː] īs ‘ice’
Valthungian-oodhla.png Ō ō [ɑu̯] ōðla ‘inheritance’
Valthungian-uurus.png Ū ū [uː] ūrus ‘aurochs’
Valthungian-ooezja.png Œ̄ œ̄ [ø̞ː] œ̄ža ‘fortune’
Valthungian-yyfti.png Ȳ ȳ [yː] ȳfti ‘custom’

Though the seven long vowels of the Non-Alphabetic Variants have individual names, they are not considered part of the standard alphabet or alphabetical order. Instead, each long vowel is considered alphabetically equivalent to its doubled short counterpart. That is, 〈ā〉 is equivalent to 〈aa〉, 〈ē〉 to 〈ee〉, 〈ī〉 to 〈ii〉, and so on. (The long vowels 〈ǣ〉 and 〈ǭ〉 are included in the standard alphabetical order, and do not have short forms, though they are written with macrons in their romanised forms.)

(NB: The Valthungian alphabet, while mainly latin- and cyrillic-based, contains several characters which are not readily representable using the standard Unicode characters. The forms presented throughout this wiki are a romanisation of the letters shown in the table above.)

Orthography

The orthography of Valthungian is quite regular to its phonology; indeed, there are very few exceptions:

  1. The letter 〈n〉 before 〈g〉 or 〈k〉 is realised as a velar nasal [ŋ]. Specifically, 〈ng〉 is [ŋɡ] and 〈nk〉 is [ŋk]. (E.g. drinkna [driŋk.na] ‘to drink’.)
    1. In combinations where 〈ng〉 is followed by another nasal consonant, [ɡ] is elided in speech: 〈ngm〉 is [ŋm] and 〈ngn〉 is [ŋn]. (E.g. gangna [gaŋ.na] ‘to go’; not **[gaŋɡ.na].) In rapid speech this may also occur to the other nasal-stop combinations 〈mbn〉, 〈mbm〉, 〈ndm〉, and 〈ndn〉; sometimes the stop may also become glottal.
  2. In the combinations 〈hw〉 (i.e. 〈hu〉 followed by a vowel), 〈hl〉, and 〈hr〉,〈h〉 is realised as [x].
  3. The combination 〈rju〉 is realised as [rɛu̯] (rather than the expected [rju]). (E.g. frjusna [frɛu̯s.na] ‘to freeze’.)
  4. The diphthong 〈eu〉 is realised as [ɛu̯] (rather than the expected [e̞u̯]). (E.g. sneugna [snɛu̯g.na] ‘to snow’.)
  5. The diphthong 〈œu〉 is realised as [œy̑] (rather than the expected [ø̞u̯]). (E.g. grœunis [ɡrœy̑.nis] ‘green’.)
  6. For some speakers, word-final 〈þs〉 may be realised as [t̪s].
  7. For some speakers, medial 〈tl〉 (usually derived from earlier /ll/) may be realised as [dɮ].
  8. Inexplicably, the letter wynia, while quite regular in and of itself, has a rather irregular romanisation. It is sometimes romanised quite regularly as ⟨w⟩, though in combination with consonants before a vowel (/dw/, /tw/, /þw/, /hw/, /gw/, /kw/, or /sw/), it is romanised as 〈u〉 (i.e. 〈du〉, 〈tu〉, 〈þu〉, 〈hu〉, 〈gu〉,〈ku〉 and 〈su〉.)
    1. This process cannot cross morpheme boundaries, so + wītnaiþwītna, not **iþuītna.

Stress is indicated in the standard orthography with an acute accent only if:

  1. The stress is not on the first syllable.
    1. (By default, stress falls on the primary syllable.)
  2. The stressed vowel is short.
    1. (All unstressed long vowels were reduced to short vowels in the Middle Valthungian period.)
  3. The stressed vowel is not 〈œ〉 or 〈y〉.
    1. (The rounded front vowels can only occur as the result of i-umlaut, which could only arise from a stressed vowel.)

For example, iníla ‘excuse’, akéčim 'even so'; but garǣts ‘correct’ or gavrœčin ‘to handle’.


Orthographic Variants

There are a few regional and stylistic variations in the orthography of Valthungian romanisation.

  • In some areas, rather than indicating non-initial stress by placing an acute diacritic on the stressed vowel, the vowel of the initial unstressed syllable is marked with a grave diacritic. This is not standard anywhere, but is often used in children’s books and language learning tools, as it is a more consistent indicator of stress than the acute, which is not deployed over long vowels or rounded front vowels. It is often used in combination with the acute stress system, and the acute may also be used on otherwise exempt characters. E.g.:
    • ǧukospríngna ‘to leap up’ → ǧùkospringna or ǧùkospríngna
    • gadrynis ‘symphony’ → gàdrynis or gàdrýnis
    • miðlǣði ‘sympathy’ → mìðlǣði or mìðlǣ́ði (sometimes mìðlǽði)
  • ⟨w⟩ may be used in place of word-initial ⟨v⟩ or pre-vocalic ⟨u⟩ to represent /w/ as a more direct transliteration of the letter vynia. There is no logical or efficient reason for this transliteration to be split up the way it is in the standard language: Its existence is purely aesthetic, and many people are not as interested in aesthetics as efficiency.
  • Conversely, there are some who romanise jēr as ⟨i⟩ rather than as ⟨j⟩, likely out of spite towards those who use ⟨w⟩ as above.

Phonology

Vowels

Short Vowels Long Vowels Diphthongs
Front Back Front Back Front Back
Closed i · y
[i · y]
u
[u]
ī · ȳ
[iː · yː]
ū
[uː]
Closed-to-
Mid e · œ
[e̞ · ø̞]
o
[o̞]
ǣ · œ̄
[e̞ː · ø̞ː]
ǭ
[o̞ː]
Mid-to- œu
[œy̑]
eu
[ɛu̯]
Open a
[ɑ]
ā
[ɑː]
Open-to- ē
[ai̯]
ō, au
[au̯]

Consonants

(Pardon the compactified consonant table. I know it doesn't quite all line up “properly,” but it does make more sense this way as regards the Valthungian language. If in doubt, rely on the transcription and not the row or column.)

Labial Dental Alveolar Palatal Dorsal
Plosive p · b
[p~pʰ · b]
t · d
[t̪~t̪ʰ · d̪]
č · ǧ
[ʨ · ʥ]
k · g
[k~kʰ · ɡ]
Nasal · m
[m]
· n
[n̪]
· n[1]
[ŋ]
Fricative f · v
[f · v]
ð · þ
[ð · θ]
s ·
[s]
š · ž
[ɕ · ʑ]
h ·
[h~x]
Approximant · w/u
[w~v]
· l
[l̪]
· r
[r~ɾ]
· j
[j]

Synchronic Changes and Reflexes of Diachronic Changes

Voicing Alternation

This rule is inherited from Proto-Germanic. The rule is not persistent, but the variation in forms still affects the inflections of nouns, verbs, and adjectives in Valthungian, and is readily assimilated into neologisms and borrowings. (A similar v/f alternation rule exists in English, for example in singular knife and plural knives, or the noun strife and the verb strive.) The Gothic version of this rule caused alternation between 〈f〉, used only at the end of a word or before an unvoiced consonant, and 〈b〉 used elsewhere, e.g. giban, ‘to give’, gaf, ‘gave’. Likewise the relationship between 〈þ〉 and〈d〉. There are three main realisations of this rule in Valthungian:

  • v → f
  • ð → þ } at the end of a word, or before an unvoiced consonant.
  • ž → s

The implications of this rule for Valthungian are:

  • 〈f〉 or 〈þ〉 occur before 〈s〉 in the nominative singular of masculine or some feminine strong nouns, e.g. þlǣfs ‘loaf of bread’, but genitive þlǣvis.
  • 〈f〉 or 〈þ〉 occur when word-final in the accusative of masculine or some feminine strong nouns, and the nominative and accusative of neuter strong nouns, e.g. blōþ ‘blood’, but genitive blōðis.
  • 〈f〉 occurs when word-final or before 〈t〉 in the preterit singular and the second person imperative singular of strong verbs, e.g. gaf, gaft, ‘gave’, but infinitive givna.
  • 〈þ〉 also occurs when word-final in the preterit singular and imperative, but is assimilated to 〈s〉 before 〈t〉 in the second person preterit (see Coronal Consonant Assimilation below), e.g. biǧin ‘to bid’ has the first- and third-person preterit baþ but second-person bast.
  • The implications for 〈s〉 and 〈ž〉 can be a little trickier, because this split was not uniform in Gothic, and intervocalic /s/ was not later voiced (as it was in many other Germanic languages, leveling out this particular conundrum), so many words retain 〈s〉 throughout the paradigm. These are noted in the lexicon.

Please note that because this rule is not persistent, there are several words which later developed an intervocalic 〈f〉 or 〈þ〉 from earlier 〈h〉 which is not affected by this rule.

Palatalisation

Palatalisation is another historic rule that is no longer persistent in Valthungian, but has wide-ranging implications for inflections in Valthungian. There are actually several types of palatalisation that occur in Valthungian, but they can all be boiled down into the following rules:

  • Masculine and feminine nouns whose roots end in 〈d〉 or 〈g〉 become palatalised before 〈s〉 in the nominative singular of a-, i-, and u-stems (but not feminine ō-stems). E.g. Griutungi *dags ‘day’, *gards ‘yard’ become daǧ, graǧ. This type of palatalisation only occurs when there was a /dz/ or /gz/ present in the language at some point historically (from Griutungi/Gothic /ds/ or /gs/).
  • A much more common form of palatalisation, however, is that which occurs whenever the ending of a noun, verb, or adjective begins with 〈j〉, e.g. strong masculine ja-stem nouns or adjectives or class 1 weak verbs. In these cases, the following occurs:
    • d or g + j → ǧ
    • t or k + j → č
    • s or h + j → š
    • z + j → ž (Actually, all instances of 〈z〉 eventually became 〈ž〉.)

Palatalisation of the latter type usually goes hand in hand with Umlaut, below.

[b]/[v] Alternation

A less common alternation is that of 〈b〉 and 〈v〉. This occurs in the same environment as the second type of palatalisation (above), but instead of a true palatalisation, instead there is a shift of 〈v〉 to 〈b〉; or, more accurately, some paradigms without an original 〈j〉 are able to shift from 〈b〉 to 〈v〉 when intervocalic, but those with 〈j〉 are blocked from spirantizing.

For example, the adjective drœ̄vis ‘muddy’ (from Griutungi *drōbīs, cf. Gothic drōbeis) has the dative singular form drœ̄bia (from *drōbja).

Umlaut

Umlaut is another of those sound laws that no longer happens actively in the language, but it has become indicative of specific tenses or cases in the language, and may appear analogically in certain words.

  • The accusative singular of strong nouns with palatalisation are not umlauted. All other forms of nouns with palatalisation are umlauted.
  • The past subjunctive of verbs is umlauted except for the 3rd person singular, which never is. In informal speech, this may be umlauted by analogy.
  • Verbs ending in –jan in Gothic have umlaut in the present and imperative. These verbs all end with –in in Valthungian.

Umlaut in Valthungian initiates the following changes in the stressed vowel of a word:

  • a → e - *satjan ‘to set’ → sečin
  • ā → ǣ - *hlahjan ‘to laugh’ → þlǣšin
  • ǭ (Got. 〈áu〉) → œ̄ - *hǭsjan ‘to hear’ → hœ̄šin
  • o (Got. 〈aú〉) → œ - orsjan ‘to thirst’ → þrœšin
  • ō → œu - *hwōtjan ‘to threaten’ → huœučin
  • u → y - *hugjan ‘to think’ → hyǧin
  • ū → ȳ - *hrūkjan ‘to crow’ → þrȳčin

NB: The word “Umlaut” can refer to several different types of vowel change in Germanic languages – i/j-umlaut, u/w-umlaut, and a-umlaut most commonly – but only one type ever occurred in Valthungian: Umlaut here is used to refer specifically to i/j-umlaut, also known as i-umlaut, front umlaut, or i-mutation.

Coronal Consonant Assimilation

This rule has a formidable name, but it is actually common to all Germanic languages. This rule states that whenever a coronal consonant (namely, d, t, or þ) is directly followed by 〈t〉 or 〈st〉, the former consonant 〈s〉. This accounts for the English word best, from earlier betst, from *batest. This applies mainly to second person singular preterit of strong verbs, e.g. ǧutna ‘to pour’ and biǧin ‘to bid’ have a second person preterit of gǭst ‘you poured’ and bast ‘you bade’, rather than the otherwise expected **gǭtt and **baþt.

Blocking of Metathetical Unpacking

Another formidable name, but what this means is that at various times historically, sound changes caused unstressed /a/ to disappear before sonorants (/l/, /r/, /m/, or /n/), turning them into syllabics. This happened at least once before the Gothic era, giving rise to words like *bagms and *aþn, and again before Valthungian, most notably collapsing the infinitive ending -an to -n. Later on, syllabics were “unpacked;” that is, they regained the /a/ that had been lost, but it now appeared after the sonorant instead of before it. For example, Griutungi *brōþar ‘brother’ (Gothic brōþar) and later Old Valthungian brouðar became Middle Valthungian brôðʀ with syllabic /r̩/, and eventually Modern Valthungian brōðra. However, there are a few instances where this unpacking didn’t happen because the restoration of 〈a〉after the sonorant would have rendered the word unpronounceable, in which case the word reverts back to its pre-syllabic state.

The practicality of this rule as it applies to modern Valthungian is that:

  • Dative plural a-stem nouns whose roots end in 〈–m〉 have the ending of 〈–am〉 rather than 〈–ma〉, e.g. vroms ‘worm’ has the dative plural of vromam rather than **vromma.
  • Masculine strong a-stem nouns ending in 〈–n〉 have the the dative plural ending of 〈–am〉 (as above) and the accusative plural ending of 〈–ans〉 rather than 〈–nas〉, e.g. ǭns ‘oven’ has the dative plural of ǭnam and the accusative plural of ǭnans rather than **ǭnma and **ǭnnas.
  • Strong a-stem adjectives ending in 〈–n〉 have a masculine accusative singular of 〈–an〉 rather than 〈–na〉, e.g. ǣnsǣnan, not **ǣnna
  • The third person plural indicative of strong verbs and weak class 3 verbs end in –anþ rather than **–naþ.

Assimilation of [r] and [s]

Historically, this is a sound change that occurred in the transition from Proto-Germanic to Gothic and is no longer persistent, but it has specific reflexes that affect Valthungian paradigms.

The change initially applies to “light”-syllable nouns with stems ending in 〈-s〉 or 〈-r〉 in the masculine and feminine classes that take a final 〈-z〉 in the nominative singular. E.g. PGmc. *weraz, *drusiz → (Post-Germanic Short Unstressed Vowel Deletion) → *werz, *drusz → (Final Obstruent Devoicing) → *wers, *druss → (r/s-Assimilation) → Griutungi wer, drus (cf. Gothic waír /wer/, drus).

Later, beginning around the time of Early Middle Valthungian, this change was expanded analogously to other nouns and adjectives which had “heavy” syllables, and eventually the rule emerged that nouns and adjectives ending in 〈-r〉do not take an (additional) 〈-s〉 in the nominative singular, though they otherwise follow the paradigm of their particular stem. (E.g. *bērsbēr ‘boar’, *stiursčur ‘steer’. One notable example of this phenomenon is the Germanic tersazmentula’ which became *ters in Griutungi, but was then reanalyzed as an exception to the original r-rule (instead of the s-rule that it actually is), and eventually it became ter in Valthungian. It remains, however, an unkind word.)

Affix Anaptyxis

When a prefix ends in the same letter as the root, /a/ is inserted to break up the resulting geminate. /a/ may also be added to avoid awkward consonant clusters. This is just part of a larger change in the general structure of the language in which many unstressed syllables appeared unbidden in Late Middle and Early Modern Valthungian causing the language to be almost entirely iambic. In Modern Valthungian all stressed syllables (primary and secondary) must de separated by an unstressed syllable.

Some of the most frequent are:

  • af+f: Griutungi *affilhanafaflījan ‘to hide away’
  • fer+r: Griutungi *ferrinnanferarítnan ‘to attain’
  • un+n: Griutungi *unnutansunanútans ‘unused; useless’

However, the prefix us- becomes ut-: Griutungi *ussandjanutsenǧin ‘to send out’

Pronouns

Personal Pronouns

The genitive pronouns form the base of the possessive determiners, but the third person non-reflexive genitives are never inflected. The third person singular and plural reflexive pronouns are identical. The non-singular pronouns may also take a reciprocal particle mīsa, roughly equivalent to ‘each other’ or ‘one another.’

  Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
1sg ik mīn mis mik I, my, (to) me, me
2sg þū þīn þis þik thou, thy, (to) thee, thee
3sg.masc is is itma in he, his, (to) him, him
3sg.neu it it it, its, (to) it, it
3sg.fem ižas iža ī, iža she, her, (to) her, her
1du wit unkra unkis unk we two, our, (to) us, us
2du ǧut inkur inkus inko you/ye two, your, (to) you, you
1pl wīs unstra unsis uns we all, our, (to) us, us
2pl jūs ižur ižus you/ye all, your, (to) you, you
3pl.masc īs iža im ins they, their, (to) them, them
3pl.neu ī, iža ī, iža
3pl.fem ižas ižas

Reflexive and Reciprocal Pronouns

The third person reflexive pronouns are inherited from Indo-European. The other pronouns form their reflexives from a compound with the third person form. The accusative and dative for most forms are merged.

  Gen. Dat. Acc.
1sg misīn mišk myself
2sg þisīn þišk thyself
3sg sīn sis sik himself, herself, itself, &c
1du unkra sīn unkišk ourselves
2du inkur sīn inkusk yourselves
1pl unstra sīn unsišk ourselves
2pl ižur sīn ižusk yourselves
3pl sīn sis sik themselves

The reciprocal is formed with the particle mīsa. It does not inflect.

Indefinite Pronouns

The interrogative and negative pronouns can take the adverbial complement hun, which gives them the sense of ‘any’. Additionally, the interrogative pronouns may double as elective pronouns. For example, huat ‘what’ or ‘something’; huat hun ‘anything’.

Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
inter.masc huas huis huatma huan who, whose, to whom, whom
inter.neu huat huat what, &c
inter.fem huō huižas huiža huō who, &c
expl. im - - (im) it, there
gen. guma gumins gumin gumna one, one’s, &c
univ.masc huažuþ huižuþ huatmaþ huanaþ everyone, everyone’s, &c
univ.neu huāþ huāþ everything, everything’s, &c
univ.fem huōþ huižaþ huōþ everyone, everyone’s, &c
neg.masc nījus nījus nījutma nījun noöne, noöne’s, &c
neg.neu nījut nījut nothing, nothing’s, &c

Distributive Pronouns

The distributive pronouns are non-singular pronouns formed when the personal pronouns were fused with the distributive particles huaðru ‘each of two’ and huerižu ‘each of many’. In most forms they have now become inseparable from their root components; e.g. compare the dual genitive second person inkur and distributive huaðrižu, but the distributive pronoun inkuáðrižu. While the distributives as determiners, by definition, take a singular verb, the distributive pronouns take the non-singular verb of their respective pronouns, e.g. Aplas huerižu gatiða itnas ‘Each apple was eaten’, but Īshuerižu gatiðun itna ‘Each of them was eaten’.

Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
1du withuáðruþ unkuáðrižuþ unkuáðratmaþ unkuáðranuþ each of the two of us
2du ǧuthuaðruþ inkuaðrižuþ inkuaðratmaþ inkuaðranuþ each of the two of you
1pl wīshuerižuþ unshuerižuþ unshueritmaþ unshuerinuþ each of us
2pl jūshuerižuþ ižuhuerižuþ ižushueritmaþ ižushuerinuþ each of you
3pl.masc īshuerižuþ ižahuerižuþ imhueritmaþ inshuerinuþ each of them
3pl.neu ižashuerituþ ižashuerituþ each of them
3pl.fem ižahueriþ ižahueriþ each of them

Determiners

Demonstratives

  Proximal (“this”)   Medial (“that”)   Distal (“yonder”)
  Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
masc.sg his his hitma hin þis þatma þan jǣns jǣnis jǣnatma jǣnan
neu.sg hit hit þat þat jǣn jǣn
fem.sg hī, hiža hižas hiža hī, hiža þižas þiža þō jǣna jǣnižas jǣna
masc.pl hīs hiža him hins þǣ þiža þǣm þans jǣniža jǣnam jǣnans
neu.pl hī, hiža hī, hiža þō þō jǣna
fem.pl hižas hižas þōs þōs jǣnas jǣnas

Articles

Valthungian has two definite articles, he and sa, both of which are equivalent to ‘the,’ but may also be translated as ‘this’ and ‘that’, respectively. Where there is a lack of clear proximity-based dichotomy, sa is usually preferred. These are simply unstressed equivalents of the demonstratives his (proximal) and (medial). The distal demonstrative, jǣns, is never used as an article.

  Proximal (“this”)   Medial (“that”)
  Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
masc.sg he*, his† his him he*, hin† sa*, s·† þis þam þa*, þan†
neu.sg he*, hit† he*, hit† þa*, þat† þa*, þat†
fem.sg hi*, hiž·† hižas hiža*, hiž·† hi*, hiž·† so*, s·† þižas þiža*, þiž·† þo*, þ·†
masc.pl his hiža him hins þe þiža þǣm þans
neu.pl hi*, hiž·† hi*, hiž·† þo*, þ·† þo*, þ·†
fem.pl hižas hižas þos þos

* Form used before a consonant. † Form used before a vowel.

There are complex rules around how and when to use the elided forms of the articles. For simplicity’s sake it is broken down into forms used before vowels or consonants, though this doesn’t always apply to all vowels or all consonants. Expect a more detailed article on liaison someday maybe.

There is no indefinite article in Valthungian.

Other Determiners

The determiners are an important word class in Valthungian because they trigger the choice of whether to use a strong or weak adjective in the noun phrase they introduce. Though most adjectives follow their nouns, determiners precede them. A non-exhaustive list follows:

als ‘all’

This determiner is inflectionally a little interesting because it has evolved an insertive /t/ in parts of the inflection due to changes to the geminates in Old Valthungian. When als is used in conjunction with another determiner, it is declined as a weak adjective and has the meaning of ‘entire’ or ‘complete’.

  als ‘all’
  Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
masc.sg als atlis atlatma atlan
neu.sg al al
fem.sg atla atlažis atla
masc.pl atlaža atlam atlans
neu.pl atla
fem.pl atlas atlas

ǣnagis ‘any, whichever’

  ǣnagis ‘any’
  Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
masc.sg ǣnagis ǣnagis ǣnaǧitma ǣnaǧin
neu.sg ǣnage ǣnage
fem.sg ǣnaǧižis ǣnaǧa
masc.pl ǣnaǧa ǣnaǧiža ǣnaǧim ǣnaǧins
neu.pl ǣnaǧa
fem.pl ǣnaǧis ǣnaǧis

‘both’ & þrǣ ‘all three’

Note that only plural forms of these determiners exist, because it is impossible to have both or all three of a singular noun.

  bǣ ‘both’   þrǣ ‘all three’
  Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
masc. beǧa bǣm bans þrǣ þrǣža þrǣm þrans
neu. þrā þrā
fem. bōs bōs þreǧis þreǧis

huaðruþ & hreužiþ ‘each one’

Note that only singular forms exist for each (*ahem*) of these determiners, because what is being discussed is a single noun out of, respectively, two or more than two. The unusual ending is the result of compounding with earlier -uh.

  huaðruþ ‘each (of two)’   hreužiþ ‘each (of many)’
  Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
masc.sg huaðruþ huaðrižuþ huaðratmaþ huaðranaþ hreužiþ hreužitmaþ hreužinaþ
neu.sg hwaðraþ hreužiþ
fem.sg huaðraþ hreužiþ

huaðra & hreužis ‘which’

The dual form (huaðra) only exists in the singular, as there can only be a singular option when choosing between two nouns, but hreužis can be singular (“which one”) or plural (“which ones”).

  huaðra ‘which (of the two)’   hreužis ‘which (of many)’
  Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
masc.sg huaðra huaðris huaðratma huaðran hreužis hreužis hreužitma hreužin
neu.sg huaðra hreužit hreužit
fem.sg huaðražis huaðra hreuža hreužižis hreuža hreuža
masc.pl hreuža hreužiža hreužim hreužins
neu.pl hreuža
fem.pl hreužis hreužis

huǣjus ‘how much, how many’

  huǣjus ‘how much, how many’
  Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
masc.sg huǣjus huǣjugis huǣjugatma huǣjugna
neu.sg huǣjo huǣjo
fem.sg huǣjuga huǣjugažis huǣjuga
masc.pl huǣjugaža huǣjugam huǣjugnas
neu.pl huǣjuga
fem.pl huǣjgas huǣjgas

filus, mǣžums, mǣst, ‘much, many, more, most’

  filus ‘much, many’   mǣžums ‘more’   mǣst ‘most’
  Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
masc.sg filus filus filitma filin mǣžums mǣžumis mǣžumatma mǣžumna mǣst mǣstis mǣstatma mǣstna
neu.sg filo filo mǣžum mǣst
fem.sg filus filia mǣžuma mǣžumažis mǣžuma mǣsta mǣstažis mǣsta
masc.pl filia filiža filim filins mǣžuma mǣžumam mǣžumnas mǣstaža mǣstam mǣstnas
neu.pl filia mǣžuma mǣsta
fem.pl filis filis mǣžumas mǣžumas mǣstas mǣstas

sams ‘the same’

  sams ‘the same’
  Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
masc.sg sams samis samatma samna
neu.sg sam sam
fem.sg sama samažis sama
masc.pl samažis samam samnas
neu.pl sama
fem.pl samas samas

sums ‘some’

  sums ‘some’
  Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
masc.sg sums sumis sumatma sumna
neu.sg sum sum
fem.sg suma sumažis suma
masc.pl sumažis sumam sumnas
neu.pl suma
fem.pl sumas sumas

suǣjus ‘so much, so many’

  suǣjus ‘how much, how many’
  Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
masc.sg suǣjus suǣjugis suǣjugatma suǣjugna
neu.sg suǣjo suǣjo
fem.sg suǣjuga suǣjugažis suǣjuga
masc.pl suǣjugaža suǣjugam suǣjugnas
neu.pl suǣjuga
fem.pl suǣjgas suǣjgas

fǭs, mitnums, faugist, mitnist, ‘few, little, fewer, less, fewest, least’

  fǭs ‘little, few’   mitnums ‘less, fewer’   faugist, mitnist ‘least, fewest’
  Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
masc.sg fǭs faugis faugatma faugna mitnums mitnumis mitnumatma mitnumna faugist faugistis faugistatma faugistna mitnist mitnistis mitnistatma mitnistna
neu.sg mitnum mitnum faugista mitnista
fem.sg fauga faugažis fauga mitnuma mitnumažis mitnuma faugista faugistažis faugista mitnista mitnistažis mitnista
masc.pl faugaža faugam faugnas mitnumaža mitnumam mitnuma faugistaža faugistam faugistnas mitnistaža mistnistam mitnistnas
neu.pl fauga mitnuma faugista mitnista
fem.pl faugas faugas mitnumas mitnumas faugistas faugistas mitnistas mitnistas

And finally all possessive adjectives can be used as determiners. (See below.)

Possessives

All possessives can be used as determiners; when used alone, it is more common to for possessive phrases using a definite article (sa or he) followed by the noun, followed in turn by the possessive declined as a weak adjective. For example, ‘my house’ may be rendered as mīn hūs or þa hūs mīna. The Poss > Noun format is required when the noun is modified by an adjective, e.g. ‘my red house’ is nearly always mīn hūs rǭða.

The third person non-reflexive pronouns do not decline, and they may precede or follow the noun without an article, and any adjective that accompanies the noun phrase is declined as strong.

The possessives are:

mīns, þīns, sīns ‘my, your, his[2]

The singular possessives differ only by the first letter.

  mīns ‘my’   þīns ‘your’   sīns ‘his, her, its (own)’
Strong Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
masc.sg mīns mīnis mīnatma mīnan þīns þīnis þīnatma þīnan sīns þīnis sīnatma sīnan
neu.sg mīn mīn þīn þīn sīn sīn
fem.sg mīna mīnažas mīna þīna þīnažas þīna sīna sīnažas sīna
masc.pl mīnaža mīnam mīnans þīnaža þīnam þīnans sīnaža sīnam sīnans
neu.pl mīna þīna sīna
fem.pl mīnas mīnas þīnas þīnas sīnas sīnas
Weak Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
masc.sg sa … mīna þis … mīnins þam … mīnin þa … mīnan sa … þīna þis … þīnins þam … þīnin þa … þīnan sa … sīna þis … sīnins þam … sīnin þan … sīnan
neu.sg þa … mīna þa … mīna þa … þīna þa … þīna þa … sīna þa … sīna
fem.sg so … mīna þižas … mīnans þiža … mīnan þo … mīna so … þīna þižas … þīnans þiža … þīnan þo … þīna so … sīna þižas … sīnans þiža … sīnan þo … sīna
masc.pl þe … mīnans þiža … mīnaro þem … mīnam þans … mīnans þe … þīnans þiža … þīnaro þem … þīnam þans … þīnans þe … sīnans þiža … sīnaro þem … sīnam þans … sīnans
neu.pl þo … mīna þo … mīna þo … þīna þo … þīna þo … sīna þo … sīna
fem.pl þos … mīnans þos … mīnans þos … þīnans þos … þīnans þos … sīnans þos … sīnans

unkra, unstra ‘both of our, all of our’

  unkra ‘(both of) our’   unstra ‘(all of) our’
Strong Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
masc.sg unkra unkris unkratma unkran unstra unstris unstratma unstran
neu.sg unkra unstra
fem.sg unkražas unkra unstražas unstra
masc.pl unkraža unkram unkrans unstraža unstram unstrans
neu.pl unkra unstra
fem.pl unkras unkras unstras unstras
Weak Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
masc.sg sa … unkra þis … unkrins þam … unkrin þa … unkran sa … unstra þis … unstrins þam … unstrin þa … unstran
neu.sg þa … unkra þa … unkra þa … unstra þa … unstra
fem.sg so … unkra þižas … unkrans þiža … unkran þo … unkran so … unstra þižas … unstrans þiža … unstran þo … unstra
masc.pl þe … unkrans þiža … unkraro þem … unkram þans … unkrans þe … unstrans þiža … unstraro þem … unstram þans … unstrans
neu.pl þo … unkra þo … unkra þo … unstra þo … unstra
fem.pl þos … unkrans þos … unkrans þos … unstrans þos … unstrans

inkur, ižur ‘both of your, all of your’

  inkur ‘(both of) your’   ižur ‘(all of) your’
Strong Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
masc.sg inkur inkuris inkuratma inkurna ižur ižuris ižuratma ižurna
neu.sg inkur ižur
fem.sg inkura inkuražas inkura ižura ižuražas ižura
masc.pl inkuraža inkuram inkurnas ižuraža ižuram ižurnas
neu.pl inkura ižura
fem.pl inkuras inkuras ižuras ižuras
Weak Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
masc.sg sa … inkura þis … inkurins þam … inkurin þa … inkurna sa … ižura þis … ižurins þam … ižurin þa … ižurna
neu.sg þa … inkura þa … inkura þa … ižura þa … ižura
fem.sg so … inkura þižas … inkurans þiža … inkuran þo … inkuran so … ižura þižas … ižurans þiža … ižuran þo … ižuran
masc.pl þe … inkurnas þiža … inkurnaro þem … inkurma þans … inkurnas þe … ižurnas þiža … ižurnaro þem … ižurma þans … ižurnas
neu.pl þo … inkuran þo … inkuran þo … ižuran þo … ižuran
fem.pl þos … inkurans þos … inkurans þos … ižurans þos … ižurans

Indeclinable Possessives

The following possessives do not decline. When the noun they modify is not accompanied by an adjective, they usually follow the noun; if no adjective is present, they precede the noun, and the adjective takes the strong declension.

Numbers

Declinable Numerals

Singular (‘one’)

Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
masc. ǣns ǣnis ǣnatma ǣnan
neu. ǣn(at) ǣn(at)
fem. ǣna ǣnažas ǣna ǣna

Dual (‘two, both’)

Numeral Distributive
Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
masc. tuǣ tuǣǧa tuǣm tuans bǣǧa bǣm bans
neu. tuā tuā
fem. tuōs tuōs bōs bōs

Trial (‘three, all three’)

Numeral Distributive
Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
masc. þrīs þriža þrim þrins þrǣ þrǣža þrǣm þrans
neu. þrī, þriža þrī, þriža þrā þrā
fem. þrīs þrins þreǧis þreǧis

Undeclinable Numerals

# 1# 2# #0 #00 #000 #000
0 nīþun tǣjun (tǣn) tuǣtiǧis -tiǧis tēhund þūsunde -ljǭn
1 (ǣns) ǣnlif tuǣtiǧis ǣns tǣjun ǣn hund ǣna þūsunde miljǭn
2 (tuǣ) tualif tuǣtiǧi tuǣ tuǣtiǧis tuā hunda tuōs þūsunǧis biljǭn
3 (þrīs) þrižatǣn tuǣtiǧi þrīs þrīstiǧis þrī hunda þrīs þūsunǧis þriljǭn
4 fiður (fiðra) fiðratǣn tuǣtiǧi fiður fiðratiǧis fiður hunda fiður þūsunǧis friljǭn
5 fim fimfatǣn tuǣtiǧi fim fimtiǧis fim hunda fim þūsunǧis fimfiljǭn
6 sǣs sǣstatǣn tuǣtiǧi sǣs sǣstiǧis sǣs hunda sǣs þūsunǧis sǣsiljǭn
7 sivun (sivna) sivnatǣn tuǣtiǧi sivun sivnatiǧis sivun hunda sivun þūsunǧis sivniljǭn
8 āta (āt) ātatǣn tuǣtiǧis āta ātatiǧis āta hunda āta þūsunǧis ātatiljǭn
9 njun njunatǣn tuǣtiǧi njun njuntiǧis njun hunda njun þūsunǧis njuniljǭn

The numbers in Valthungian – as in most languages – have gone through more phonological change than other words, and as a result, there are some irregularities. Four numbers have two forms (some of which may be optional). There is also an innovated trial distributive (‘all three’), probably by analogy with the dual ( ‘both’). The number ‘one’, usually alternating with the indefinite article in most languages, is used merely for counting purposes, as an indefinite article is not used in Valthungian.

The number ‘four’ is fiður, where we would normally expect **fidur through regular sound change (specifically, the change of /d/ to /ð/ would normally be blocked by the following /w/ in *fidwōr). There is also a further lenited form of fiðra, which is optional when it stands alone, but standard in compounds. (Gothic also had two versions of ‘four’: fidwōr and a compound form fidur.)

The number ‘seven’ has the expected form of sivun, but also a lenited form of sivna, again, required in compounds but otherwise optional. ‘Eight’ is āta, but may optionally be lenited to āt. (This is a newer innovation, and is not considered to be correct in writing.) Finally ‘ten’ is tǣjun or lenited tǣn, the latter being used exclusively in the “teen” numbers.

For compounding numbers, Griutungi and Gothic separated each of the number’s components with the word jah (‘and’, now ), but Valthungian has dispensed with this and now uses i – possibly a shortened form of – only before the last component. For numbers ending with –tiǧis, a further contraction has become standard, and the new suffix is shortened to –tiǧi, e.g. þrīstiǧi fim ‘thirty-five’. Hund becomes hundi and hunda is also contracted to hund·i, þūsunde to þūsund·i, and þūsunǧis to þūsunǧi. (Note the lack of apostrophic interpunct in -tiǧi, hundi, and þūsunǧi.) No -i- is added before numbers beginning with a vowel, i.e. ǣn- and āta.

Number terms higher than ‘thousand’ are ostensibly borrowed from Latin, though they contain their own Germanic innovations, e.g. þriljǭn ‘trillion’, fiðriljǭn ‘quadrillion’, fimfiljǭn ‘quintillion’, instead of the expected **triljǭn, **kuaðriljǭn, and **kuintiljǭn.

Another note concerning the higher numbers: Valthungian follows the short scale for higher numbers (whereas many European languages currently use the long scale); that is, each new number term is one thousand times larger than the previous term (whereas in the long scale, each new term is one million times larger). This is further confused by the now-standard European “hybrid” model where intermediate terms in the long scale are applied to the “thousands” with the suffix ‘-ard’. The following table is applicable to most modern standards:

N⁰ Numerals Valthungian Short Hybrid Long Metric
10³ 1,000 þūsunde thousand kilo
10⁶ 1,000,000 miljǭn million Mega
10⁹ 1,000,000,000 biljǭn billion milliard thousand million Giga
10¹² 1,000,000,000,000 þriljǭn trillion billion billion Tera
10¹⁵ 1,000,000,000,000,000 fiðriljǭn quadrillion billiard thousand billion Peta
10¹⁸ 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 fimfiljǭn quintillion trillion trillion Exa
10²¹ 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 sǣsiljǭn sextillion trilliard thousand trillion Zetta
10²⁴ 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 sivniljǭn septillion quadrillion quadrillion Yotta
10²⁷ 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 ātatiljǭn octillion quadrilliard thousand quadrillion -
10³⁰ 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 njuniljǭn nonillion quintillion quintillion -

Ordinal Numbers and Other Number Forms

Ordinal numbers are usually formed by adding a dental suffix to the end of a number, though there is some suppletion for the first and second ordinals, and the third is irregular (just as is the case in English). In Proto-Germanic and Gothic, all of the ordinals except for first and second took only the weak declension, but all ordinals now take both strong and weak declensions according to standard rules of adjectives.

The multiplicative numbers arise from a conflation of the word þīfs ‘time, occurrence’ with the genitive singular form of the ordinal number, resulting in a robust albeit historically incorrect derivation system. In Griutungi, the concept of multiple occurrences was expressed simply as a number and the accusative of the word þīhs ‘time, occurrence’: ǣn þīhs ‘once’, tua þīhsa ‘twice’, þrija þīhsa ‘three times’, and so on. Gradually these constructions fused together (Old Valthungian: aenþijhs, tvaþijhsa, þrijþijhsa…) and perhaps based on the more common analogue of ‘twice’, around the time of Early Middle Valthungian they were reanalyzed as a genitive ending affixed to an ordinal (Middle Valthungian: ǣnþis, tuaþis, þriþis…) The forms of the first three multiplicatives aren’t even particularly odd, in terms of language evolution, but that apparent ordinal + genitive construction was then applied analogously to the rest of the numbers, so where we might otherwise expect fim þīfs ‘five times’ to have become fimþis, instead we find the ordinal form fimftis.

Fractions are formed from the archaic genitive plural form of numbers followed by dǣlaro, literally ‘of ___ parts’, e.g. ¾ = þrīs fiðra dǣlaro = ‘three of four parts’. (This is equivalent to the modern German construction of affixing -tel to the end of numbers, e.g. drittel, viertel, zehntel, &c., -tel being a direct cognate to dǣl.) The genitive numbers are a holdover from ancient times, and are rarely used outside of the context of fractions; in fact, most fractions are formed by simply adding a suffix of -a to the end of a number, without any consideration that it might have once been a genitive.

  Ordinal Multiplicative Fractional
(Strong) (Weak)  
1 frumist, frums frumista, fruma first ǣniþis once, one time --
2 anðra second tuaþis twice, two times hlafs, tuǣǧa dǣlaro half
3 þrīǧis þrīǧa third þriþis thrice, three times þriža dǣlaro third
4 fiðraþs fiðraða fourth fiðurþis four times fiðra dǣlaro quarter/fourth
5 fimft fimfta fifth fimftis five times fimfa dǣlaro fifth
6 sǣst sǣsta sixth sǣstis six times sǣsa dǣlaro sixth
7 sivunþs sivunþa seventh sivunþis seven times sivna dǣlaro seventh
8 ātuþs ātuða eighth ātuðis eight times āta dǣlaro eighth
9 njunþs njunþa ninth njunþis nine times njuna dǣlaro ninth
10 tǣjunþs tǣjunþa tenth tǣjunþis ten times tǣjun dǣlaro tenth
11 ǣnlift ǣnlifta eleventh ǣnliftis eleven times ǣnliva dǣlaro eleventh
12 tuālift tuālifta twelfth tuāliftis twelve times tuāliva dǣlaro twelfth
13 þrižatǣnþs þrižatǣnþa thirteenth þrižatǣnþis thirteen times þrižatǣjun dǣlaro thirteenth
20 tuǣtiǧist tuǣtiǧista twentieth tuǣtiǧistis twenty times tuǣtiǧa dǣlaro twentieth
100 hundaþs hundaða hundredth hundaðis a hundred times hunda dǣlaro hundredth
1,000 þūsundiþs þūsundiða thousandth þūsundiðis a thousand times þūsunǧa dǣlaro thousandth
1,000,000 miljǭnþs miljǭnþa millionth miljǭnþis a million times miljǭna dǣlaro millionth

Alternative Numbers

The Gothic number system, modeled after the Greek system (in turn modeled after the Hebrew), which used the letters of the alphabet instead of separate unique characters, continued to be used well into the middle ages (Middle Valthungian), and certain taboo numbers came to be called by their character representation rather than their numeric form. Primarily among these numbers was ‘13’, which was written in Gothic as ·ig·. This also occurred with the numbers ‘113’ (rig), ‘213’ (sig), ‘313’ (tig), ‘413’ (wig), and ‘513’ (fig). (This was not mirrored in the higher numbers of the hundreds, because most of those combinations would have been unpronounceable.)

The number ‘19’ is also sometimes called by the same formulation.

Certain slang terms have also developed out of this system, in reverse, as it were. For example, the homophony of hortative particle with the number 19 gives rise to a nominal form þat njunatǣn referring to a duty or obligation. Similarly, a ‘road’ or ‘highway’ is sometimes referred to as a ‘413’ (fiður-þrižatǣn), written wig (the accusative of wiǧ (‘road’).

A much more recent slang term that has evolved from this system is the use of the number ‘843’ to represent the (unpronounceable) letter combination ·omg·.

A Note on Terminology: “Strong” vs. “Weak”

In most Germanic languages, nouns, verbs, and adjectives tend to be broken into categories considered “strong” and “weak.”

In verbs, these denote two of the many categories into which verbs may be broken, “strong” verbs being those that form the preterit by means of ablaut, and “weak” being those that form the preterit with a suffix containing some manner of dental consonant. There are further classifications of preterit-present, aorist-present, subjunctive-present, and anomalous, and many of them overlap with the simplistic “strong” and “weak” descriptors. (See Verbs for more information.)

This usage is completely unrelated to strong and weak nouns and adjectives, in which “weak” means that the words cling to their determiner endings inherited from Proto-Indo-European, which usually have an /n/ inserted between the root and the ending.

And even though the meaning of strong and weak in nouns and adjectives are historically related, their usage is not: In nouns, like the verbs, this is merely a convenient way of categorising certain types of nouns which take certain endings. In adjectives, however, the use of a strong or weak adjective depends on whether other determiners are present in the same noun phrase; most adjectives have both a strong and a weak declension.

For the purposes of this text, I dispense with the traditional strong and weak categories as relates to nouns and simply relate the various stem classes into which nouns can be classified, based on their inherited Proto-Germanic endings (which include the /n/ infix where applicable). Since these endings can be irregular and each class must be learned by rote anyway, there is no need in the context of the Valthungian language to add this additional arbitrary distinction. I maintain the use of the terms for verbs and adjectives, though, to be honest, their usage with verbs could easily be similarly eschewed; the only area where these distinctions are really functionally important is in the discussion of adjectives.

Nouns

Main article: Valthungian/Nouns

Every noun in Valthungian (and many of the older Germanic languages, as well as modern German and Icelandic) has eight possible forms. These are the singular and plural forms of the nominative (those nouns which comprise the subject of the sentence), genitive (those used to indicate possession or relation), dative (the indirect object), and accusative (the direct object).

Masculine and feminine nouns usually take an ending of –s or –a for the nominative singular, while neuter nouns take no ending. The genitive is almost universally indicated by –is (this is equivalent to the “’s” of the English possessive). The dative usually takes –a. The accusative usually does not take any ending.

In the plural, Masculine and feminine nouns usually take –as as an ending; neuter takes –a. The genitive plural takes –aro, borrowed from Latin. The dative plural takes –am, but in many cases this ending undergoes a process of metathesis, rendering it –ma. Finally, the accusative plural of masculine and feminine nouns is usually –ans, but again may metathesise to –nas; neuter accusative plurals generally take –a.

Most of the actual declensions of nouns are fairly standard – much more standardised, in fact, than Gothic – however, the various phonological rules governing the language create a great deal of variation (See Phonology). It is important to be familiar with the rules set forth in the Phonology section to fully understand some of the otherwise unexpected variants that emerge.

Details about the inflections of individual noun classes and their variants can be found here: Valthungian/Nouns

Verbs

Inversion

A peculiar feature about Valthungian verbs is that every finite verb has a “Standard” and “Inverted” form. This arose historically because of the increasing strictness of the V2 environment, causing shifts in voicing and sandhi between the verb and subject pronoun. Inverted pronouns are generally appended to the inverted verb (with no apostrophes!), and the plural pronouns have particularly different forms which may merge some pronouns (the third person plural forms, for example, are all identical).

Strong Verbs

Strong verbs are those verbs in Germanic which form the preterit and past participles through a process of ablaut; that is, by changing the stressed vowel. This is analogous to those verbs in English such as drive – drove – driven (class I), or drink – drank – drunk (class III). These are traditionally divided into four “Principal Parts”: The first is the base of the infinitive, present participle, present indicative and subjunctive tenses, and the imperatives. The second principal part is used to form the preterit singular. The third is the preterit plural and all of the subjunctive. (This is usually umlauted in the subjunctive.) Finally the fourth principal part is the root of the past participle.

Strong Verbs: Class I (ī – ǣ – i – i)

Class 1 Strong Verb: grīpna ‘seize’
Infinitive   Standard Inverse Standard Inverse
grīpna   Present Indicative Present Subjunctive
1sg. ik grīpa grīpik ik grīpa grīpik
2sg. þū grīpis grīpistu þū grīpas grīpastu
3sg.m. is grīpiþ grīpiðis is grīpa grīpis
Present Participle 3sg.f. sī grīpiþ grīpisi sī grīpa grīpasi
grīpnaþs 3sg.n. it grīpiþ grīpiðit it grīpa grīpit
1du. wit grīpma grīpant wit grīpam grīpant
1pl. wīs grīpma grīpmas wīs grīpam grīpams
2du. ǧut grīpiþ grīpist ǧut grīpaþ grīpast
Past Participle 2pl. jūs grīpiþ grīpiþs jūs grīpaþ grīpaþs
gripnas 3pl.m. īs grīpnaþ grīpnaþs īs grīpan grīpans
3pl.f. ižas grīpnaþ grīpnaþs ižas grīpan grīpans
3pl.n. iža grīpnaþ grīpnaþs iža grīpan grīpans
  Past Indicative Past Subjunctive
Imperative 1sg. ik grǣp grǣpik ik gripia gripik
grīp 2sg. þū grǣft grǣftu þū gripis gripistu
grīpaða 3sg.m. is grǣp grǣpis is gripe gripis
3sg.f. sī grǣp grǣpsi sī gripe gripisi
3sg.n. it grǣp grǣpit it gripe gripit
grīpma 1du. wit gripum gripunt wit gripim gripint
1pl. wīs gripum gripums wīs gripim gripims
grīpiþ 2du. ǧut gripuþ gripust ǧut gripiþ gripist
2pl. jūs gripuþ gripuþs jūs gripiþ gripiþs
grīpnaþa 3pl.m. īs gripun gripuns īs gripin gripins
3pl.f. ižas gripun gripuns ižas gripin gripins
3pl.n. iža gripun gripuns iža gripin gripins

Strong Verbs: Class II (ju – ǭ – u – u)

Because of the shift of the vowel from iu to ju, when a class II verb begins with a consonant that is subject to palatalisation, some unusual patterns may emerge as a result.

Those class II verbs which are descended from ProtoGermanic *-euwaną have a slightly different paradigm, as the medial /w/ undergoes Verschärfung in East Germanic to /ngw/, and the result, with the exception of the past singular, is remarkably similar to class III.

Strong Verbs: Class III (i – a – u – u)

Class III strong verbs are those verbs with /i/ (historically /e/) as the root vowel which is followed by a sonorant (r, l, m, n) and an obstruent (p, t, k, b, d, g, f, þ, s, h), or, rarely, two obstruents (e.g. /hs/, /gd/). Ablaut causes the second principle part to shift to /a/, and the third and fourth to /u/.

In verbs where /r/ is the sonorant in question, the paradigm shifts to /e/ in the first principle part and /o/ in the third (due to the East Germanic Reflex of First Umlaut).

Class 3 Strong Verb: bergna
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
bergna   Present
1sg. berga berga
Present Participle 2sg. bergis bergas
bergnaþs 3sg. bergiþ berga
1pl. bergma bergam
Past Participle 2pl. bergiþ bergaþ
borgnas 3pl. bergnaþ bergan
  Past
Imperative 1sg. barg bœrǧa
berg 2sg. barft bœrgis
bergaða 3sg. barg borge
bergma 1pl. borgum bœrgim
bergiþ 2pl. borguþ bœrgiþ
bergnaþa 3pl. borgun bœrgin

Strong Verbs: Class IV (i – a – ē – u)

Class 4 Strong Verb: kuimna
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
kuimna   Present
1sg. kuima kuima
Present Participle 2sg. kuimis kuimas
kuimnaþs 3sg. kuimiþ kuima
1pl. kuimam kuimam
Past Participle 2pl. kuimiþ kuimaþ
kūmnas 3pl. kuimnaþ kuiman
  Past
Imperative 1sg. kuam kuēmia
kuim 2sg. kuamt kuēmis
kuimaða 3sg. kuam kuēme
kuimam 1pl. kuēmum kuēmim
kuimiþ 2pl. kuēmuþ kuēmiþ
kuimnaþa 3pl. kuēmun kuēmin

In verbs where /r/ is the sonorant in question, the paradigm shifts to /e/ in the first principle part and /o/ in the third (due to the East Germanic Reflex of First Umlaut).

Class 4 Strong Verb: berna
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
berna   Present
1sg. bera bera
Present Participle 2sg. beris beras
bernaþs 3sg. beriþ bera
1pl. berma beram
Past Participle 2pl. beriþ beraþ
bornas 3pl. bernaþ beran
  Past
Imperative 1sg. bar bēria
ber 2sg. bart bēris
beraða 3sg. bar bēre
berma 1pl. bērum bērim
beriþ 2pl. bēruþ bēriþ
bernaþa 3pl. bērun bērin

Strong Verbs: Class V (i – a – ē – i)

Class 5 Strong Verb: kuiðna
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
kuiðna   Present
1sg. kuiða kuiða
Present Participle 2sg. kuiðis kuiðas
kuiðnaþs 3sg. kuiðiþ kuiða
1pl. kuiðma kuiðam
Past Participle 2pl. kuiðiþ kuiðaþ
kuiðnas 3pl. kuiðnaþ kuiðan
  Past
Imperative 1sg. kuaþ kuēþia
kuiþ 2sg. kuast kuēðis
kuiðaða 3sg. kuaþ kuēðe
kuiðam 1pl. kuēðum kuēðim
kuiðiþ 2pl. kuēðuþ kuēðiþ
kuiðnaþa 3pl. kuēðun kuēðin

Strong Verbs: Class VI (a – ō – ō – a)

Class 6 Strong Verb: dragna
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
dragna   Present
1sg. draga draga
Present Participle 2sg. dragis dragas
dragnaþs 3sg. dragiþ draga
1pl. dragma dragam
Past Participle 2pl. dragiþ dragaþ
dragnas 3pl. dragnaþ dragan
  Past
Imperative 1sg. drōg drœuǧa
drag 2sg. drōft drœugis
dragaða 3sg. drōg drœuge
dragma 1pl. drōgum drœugim
dragiþ 2pl. drōguþ drœugiþ
dragnaþa 3pl. drōgun drœugin

Strong Verbs: Class VII (reduplication)

Class 7 Strong Verb: hǣtna
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
hǣtna   Present
1sg. hǣta hǣta
Present Participle 2sg. hǣtis hǣtas
hǣtnaþs 3sg. hǣtiþ hǣta
1pl. hǣtma hǣtam
Past Participle 2pl. hǣtiþ hǣtaþ
hǣtnas 3pl. hǣtnaþ hǣtan
  Past
Imperative 1sg. hehǣt hehǣča
hǣt 2sg. hehǣst hehǣtis
hǣtaða 3sg. hehǣt hehǣte
hǣtma 1pl. hehǣtum hehǣtim
hǣtiþ 2pl. hehǣtuþ hehǣtiþ
hǣtnaþa 3pl. hehǣtun hehǣtin
Class 7 Strong Verb: lētna
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
lētna   Present
1sg. lēta lēta
Present Participle 2sg. lētis lētas
lētnaþs 3sg. lētiþ lēta
1pl. lētma lētam
Past Participle 2pl. lētiþ lētaþ
lētnas 3pl. lētnaþ lētan
  Past
Imperative 1sg. lelōt lelœuča
lēt 2sg. lelōst lelœutis
lētaða 3sg. lelōt lelōte
lētma 1pl. lelōtum lelœutim
lētiþ 2pl. lelōtuþ lelœutiþ
lētnaþa 3pl. lelōtun lelœutin

Weak Verbs

Weak Verbs: Class Ia (-janą)

Class 1 Weak Verb: leǧin
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
leǧin   Present
1sg. leǧa leǧa
Present Participle 2sg. leǧis leǧis
leǧinþs 3sg. leǧiþ leǧa
1pl. leǧim leǧim
Past Participle 2pl. leǧiþ leǧiþ
lagiþs 3pl. leǧinþ leǧin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. lagiða lagiǧa
legi 2sg. lagiðas lagiðis
leǧiða 3sg. lagiða lagiðe
lagim 1pl. lagiðum lagiðim
lagiþ 2pl. lagiðuþ lagiðiþ
laginþa 3pl. lagiðun lagiðin

Weak Verbs: Class Ib (-ijaną)

Class 1 Weak Verb: blenčin
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
blenčin   Present
1sg. blenča blenča
Present Participle 2sg. blenkis blenčis
blenčinþs 3sg. blenkiþ blenča
1pl. blenčim blenčim
Past Participle 2pl. blenkiþ blenčiþ
blankiþs 3pl. blenčinþ blenčin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. blankiða blankiǧa
blenki 2sg. blankiðas blankiðis
blenčiða 3sg. blankiða blankiðe
blenčim 1pl. blankiðum blankiðim
blenčiþ 2pl. blankiðuþ blankiðiþ
blenčinþa 3pl. blankiðun blankiðin

Weak Verbs: Class II (-ōną)

Class 2 Weak Verb: fiškan
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
fiškan   Present
1sg. fiška fiška
Present Participle 2sg. fiškas fiškas
fiškanþs 3sg. fiškaþ fiška
1pl. fiškam fiškam
Past Participle 2pl. fiškaþ fiškaþ
fiškaþs 3pl. fiškanþ fiškan
  Past
Imperative 1sg. fiškaða fiškaǧa
fiška 2sg. fiškaðas fiškaðis
fiškaða 3sg. fiškaða fiškaðe
fiškam 1pl. fiškaðum fiškaðim
fiškaþ 2pl. fiškaðuþ fiškaðiþ
fiškanþa 3pl. fiškaðun fiškaðin

Weak Verbs: Class III (-āną)

Class 3 Weak Verb: ǧukna
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
ǧukna   Present
1sg. ǧuka ǧuka
Present Participle 2sg. ǧukas ǧukas
ǧuknaþs 3sg. ǧukaþ ǧuka
1pl. ǧukma ǧukam
Past Participle 2pl. ǧukaþ ǧukaþ
ǧukaþs 3pl. ǧuknaþ ǧukan
  Past
Imperative 1sg. ǧukaða ǧukaǧa
ǧuka 2sg. ǧukaðas ǧukaðis
ǧukaða 3sg. ǧukaða ǧukaðe
ǧukma 1pl. ǧukaðum ǧukaðim
ǧukaþ 2pl. ǧukaðuþ ǧukaðiþ
ǧuknaþa 3pl. ǧukaðun ǧukaðin

Weak Verbs: Class IV (-naną)

Weak Verbs: Class V (-ną)

Preterit-Present Verbs

Preterit-Present Verb: ǣgna ‘to have’
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
ǣgna   Present
1sg. ǣþ ǣǧa
Present Participle 2sg. ǣft ǣgis
ǣgnaþs 3sg. ǣþ ǣge
1pl. ǣgum ǣgim
Past Participle 2pl. ǣguþ ǣgiþ
ǣft 3pl. ǣgun ǣgin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. ǣfta ǣfča
ǣg 2sg. ǣftas ǣftis
ǣgaða 3sg. ǣfta ǣfte
ǣgum 1pl. ǣftum ǣftim
ǣguþ 2pl. ǣftuþ ǣftiþ
ǣgnaþa 3pl. ǣftun ǣftin
Preterit-Present Verb: dorsna ‘to dare’
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
dorsna   Present
1sg. dars dœrša
Present Participle 2sg. darst dœrsis
dorsnaþs 3sg. dars dorse
1pl. dorsum dœrsim
Past Participle 2pl. dorsuþ dœrsiþ
dorst 3pl. dorsun dœrsin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. dorsta dœrsča
dors 2sg. dorstas dœrstis
dorsaða 3sg. dorsta dorste
dorsum 1pl. dorstum dœrstim
dorsuþ 2pl. dorstuþ dœrstiþ
dorsanþa 3pl. dorstun dœrstin
Preterit-Present Verb: dugna ‘to be beneficial’
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
dugna   Present
1sg. dǭg dyǧa
Present Participle 2sg. dǭft dygis
dugnaþs 3sg. dǭg duge
1pl. dugum dygim
Past Participle 2pl. duguþ dygiþ
dǭts 3pl. dugun dygin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. dǭta dœ̄ča
dǭg 2sg. dǭtas dœ̄tis
dǭgaða 3sg. dǭta dǭte
dugum 1pl. dǭtum dœ̄tim
duguþ 2pl. dǭtuþ dœ̄tiþ
dugunþa 3pl. dǭtun dœ̄tin
Preterit-Present Verb: kutnan ‘to know how, can’
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
kutnan   Present
1sg. kan kynia
Present Participle 2sg. kant kytnis
kutnaþs 3sg. kan kutne
1pl. kutnum kytnim
Past Participle 2pl. kutnuþ kytniþ
kunþs 3pl. kutnun kytnin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. kunþa kynþia
kan 2sg. kunþas kynþis
kanaða 3sg. kunþa kunþe
kutnum 1pl. kunþum kynþim
kutnuþ 2pl. kunþuþ kynþiþ
kutnunþa 3pl. kunþun kynþin
Preterit-Present Verb: lisna ‘to learn’
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
lisna   Present
1sg. lǣs liša
Present Participle 2sg. lǣst lisis
lisnaþs 3sg. lǣs lise
1pl. lisum lisim
Past Participle 2pl. lisuþ lisiþ
list 3pl. lisun lisin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. lista lisča
lǣs 2sg. listas listis
lǣsaða 3sg. lista liste
lisum 1pl. listum listim
lisuþ 2pl. listuþ listiþ
lisunþa 3pl. listun listin
Preterit-Present Verb: magna ‘to be capable, can’
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
magna   Present
1sg. mag meǧa
Present Participle 2sg. māt megis
magnaþs 3sg. mag mage
1pl. magum megim
Past Participle 2pl. maguþ megiþ
māts 3pl. magun megin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. māta mǣča
mag 2sg. mātas mǣtis
magaða 3sg. māta māte
magum 1pl. mātum mǣtim
maguþ 2pl. mātuþ mǣtiþ
magunþa 3pl. mātun mǣtin
Preterit-Present Verb: mōtna ‘to be allowed’
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
mōtna   Present
1sg. mōt mœuča
Present Participle 2sg. mōst mœutis
mōtnaþs 3sg. mōt mōte
1pl. mōtum mœutim
Past Participle 2pl. mōtuþ mœutiþ
mōst 3pl. mōtun mœutin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. mōsta mœusča
mōt 2sg. mōstas mœustis
mōtaða 3sg. mōsta mōste
mōtum 1pl. mōstum mœustim
mōtuþ 2pl. mōstuþ mœustiþ
mōtunþa 3pl. mōstun mœustin
Preterit-Present Verb: munan ‘to remember’
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
munan   Present
1sg. man mynia
Present Participle 2sg. mant mynis
munanþs 3sg. man mune
1pl. munum mynim
Past Participle 2pl. munuþ myniþ
munǧ 3pl. munun mynin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. munda mynǧa
man 2sg. mundas myndi
manaða 3sg. munda munde
munum 1pl. mundum myndim
munuþ 2pl. munduþ myndiþ
mununþa 3pl. mundun myndin
Preterit-Present Verb: nugna ‘to suffice’
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
nugna   Present
1sg. nyǧa
Present Participle 2sg. nāt nygis
nugnaþs 3sg. nuge
1pl. nugum nygim
Past Participle 2pl. nuguþ nygiþ
nǭts 3pl. nugun nygin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. nǭta nœ̄ča
2sg. nǭtas nœ̄tis
naguða 3sg. nǭta nōte
nugum 1pl. nǭtum nœ̄tim
nuguþ 2pl. nǭtuþ nœ̄tiþ
nugunþa 3pl. nǭtun nœ̄tin
Preterit-Present Verb: ōgna ‘to fear’
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
ōgna   Present
1sg. ōg œuǧa
Present Participle 2sg. ōft œugis
ōgnaþs 3sg. ōg ōge
1pl. ōgum œugim
Past Participle 2pl. ōguþ œugiþ
ōft 3pl. ōgun œugin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. ōfta œufča
ōg 2sg. ōftas œufti
ōgaða 3sg. ōfta ōfte
ōgum 1pl. ōftum œuftim
ōguþ 2pl. ōftuþ œuftiþ
ōgunþa 3pl. ōftun œuftin
Preterit-Present Verb: skulna ‘should’
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
skulna   Present
1sg. skal skylia
Present Participle 2sg. skalt skylis
skulnaþs 3sg. skal skule
1pl. skulum skylim
Past Participle 2pl. skuluþ skyliþ
skulǧ 3pl. skulun skylin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. skulða skylǧa
skal 2sg. skulðas skylðis
skalaða 3sg. skulða skulðe
skulum 1pl. skulðum skylðim
skuluþ 2pl. skulðuþ skylðiþ
skulunþa 3pl. skulðun skylðin
Preterit-Present Verb: vitna ‘to know’
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
vitna   Present
1sg. vǣt viča
Present Participle 2sg. vǣst vitis
vitnaþs 3sg. vǣt vite
1pl. vitum vitim
Past Participle 2pl. vituþ vitiþ
vist 3pl. vitun vitin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. vista visča
vǣt 2sg. vistas vistis
vǣtaða 3sg. vista viste
vitum 1pl. vistum vistim
vituþ 2pl. vistuþ vistiþ
vitunþa 3pl. vistun vistin
Preterit-Present Verb: þorvan ‘to need’
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
þorvan   Present
1sg. þarf þœrfia
Present Participle 2sg. þarft þœrvis
þorvanþs 3sg. þarf þorve
1pl. þorvum þœrvim
Past Participle 2pl. þorvuþ þœrviþ
þorft 3pl. þorvun þœrvin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. þorfta þœrfča
þarf 2sg. þorftas þœrftis
þarvaða 3sg. þorfta þorfte
þorvum 1pl. þorftum þœrftim
þorvuþ 2pl. þorftuþ þœrftiþ
þorvunþa 3pl. þorftun þœrftin

Finally, wilin is not actually a preterit-present verb, but a subjunctive-present verb. However, it seems to fit best here amongst its other quasi-anomalous quasi-auxiliary brethren.

Preterit-Present Verb: vilin ‘to want’
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
vilin   Present
1sg. vilia vilia
Present Participle 2sg. vilis vilis
vilinþs 3sg. viliþ vile
1pl. vilim vilim
Past Participle 2pl. viliþ viliþ
viliþs 3pl. vilinþ vilin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. vilða vilǧa
vili 2sg. vilðas vilðis
viliða 3sg. vilða vilðe
vilim 1pl. vilðum vilðim
viliþ 2pl. vilðuþ vilðiþ
vilinþa 3pl. vilðun vilðin

Anomalous Verbs

Dōn is sometimes categorised as a Class VII strong verb, though it does not follow the same reduplication or ablaut patterns of other verbs in this class. Some Germanic philologists also argue that the ancestor of Proto-Germanic dōną actually gave rise to the /d/-reduplication in the past tense of weak and preterit-present verbs.

Class 7 Strong Verb (Anomalous): dōn ‘to do’
Infinitive   Standard Inverse Standard Inverse
dōn   Present Indicative Present Subjunctive
1sg. ik dōm dōmik ik dōga dōgik
2sg. þū dōst dōstu þū dōgas dōgastu
3sg.m. is dōþ dōðis is dōga dōgis
Present Participle 3sg.f. sī dōþ dōsi sī dōga dōgasi
dōnþs 3sg.n. it dōþ dōðit it dōga dōgit
1du. wit dōm dōnt wit dōgam dōgant
1pl. wīs dōm dōms wīs dōgam dōgams
2du. ǧut dōþ dōst ǧut dōgaþ dōgast
Past Participle 2pl. jūs dōþ dōþs jūs dōgaþ dōgaþs
dōns 3pl.m. īs dōnþ dōnþs īs dōgan dōgans
3pl.f. ižas dōnþ dōnþs ižas dōgan dōgans
3pl.n. iža dōnþ dōnþs iža dōgan dōgans
  Past Indicative Past Subjunctive
Imperative 1sg. ik diða diðik ik dēða dēðik
dō, dē 2sg. þū diðas diðastu, distu þū dēðis dēðistu
dōða 3sg.m. is diða diðis is dēðe dēðis
3sg.f. sī diða diðasi sī dēðe dēðisi
3sg.n. it diða diðit it dēðe dēðit
dōm 1du. wit dēðum dēðunt wit dēðim dēðint
1pl. wīs dēðum dēðums wīs dēðim dēðims
dōþ 2du. ǧut dēðuþ dēðust ǧut dēðiþ dēðist
2pl. jūs dēðuþ dēðuþs jūs dēðiþ dēðiþs
dōnþa 3pl.m. īs dēðun dēðuns īs dēðin dēðins
3pl.f. ižas dēðun dēðuns ižas dēðin dēðins
3pl.n. iža dēðun dēðuns iža dēðin dēðins

The present indicative tense of gǣn/gangna has two forms – a short and a long form – as did the non-finite forms (the infinitive and the participles) as well as most of the imperatives. The past tenses show suppletion, and have been replaced by īǧ- from Proto-Germanic *ijj-, the same source as Old English ēode, and ultimately related to the Latin verb ire.

Class 7 Strong Verb (Anomalous): gangna, gǣn ‘to go’
Infinitive   Standard Inverse Standard Inverse
gangna, gǣn   Present Indicative Present Subjunctive
1sg. ik ganga, ik gēm gangik, gǣmik ik ganga gangik
2sg. þū gangis, þū gǣs gangistu, gǣstu þū gangas gangastu
3sg.m. is gangiþ, is gǣþ gangiðis, gǣðis is ganga gangis
Present Participle 3sg.f. sī gangiþ, sī gǣþ gangisi, gǣsi sī ganga gangasi
gangnaþs, gǣnþs 3sg.n. it gangiþ, it gǣþ gangiðit, gǣðit it ganga gangit
1du. wit gangma, wit gǣm gangant, gǣnt wit gangam gangant
1pl. wīs gangma, wīs gǣm gangmas, gǣms wīs gangam gangams
2du. ǧut gangiþ, ǧut gǣþ gangist, gǣst ǧut gangaþ gangast
Past Participle 2pl. jūs gangiþ, jūs gǣþ gangiþs, gǣþs jūs gangaþ gangaþs
gangnas, gǣns 3pl.m. īs gangnaþ gangnaþs īs gangan gangans
3pl.f. ižas gangnaþ gangnaþs ižas gangan gangans
3pl.n. iža gangnaþ gangnaþs iža gangan gangans
  Past Indicative Past Subjunctive
Imperative 1sg. ik īǧa īǧik ik īǧa īǧik
gang, gǣ 2sg. þū īǧis īǧistu þū īǧis īǧistu
gangaða, gǣða 3sg.m. is īǧa īǧis is īǧe īǧis
3sg.f. s·īǧa īǧisi s·īǧe īǧisi
3sg.n. it īǧa īǧit it īǧe īǧit
gangma, gǣm 1du. wit īǧim īǧint wit īǧim īǧint
1pl. wīs īǧim īǧims wīs īǧim īǧims
gangiþ, gǣþ 2du. ǧut īǧiþ īǧist ǧut īǧiþ īǧist
2pl. jūs īǧiþ īǧiþs jūs īǧiþ īǧiþs
gangnaþa, gǣnþa 3pl.m. īs īǧin īǧins īs īǧin īǧins
3pl.f. ižas īǧin īǧins ižas īǧin īǧins
3pl.n. iža īǧin īǧins iža īǧin īǧins

The present indicative tense of stǣn/standna has two forms – a short and a long form – as did the non-finite forms (the infinitive and the participles) as well as most of the imperatives. Though it acts like a Class VI verb in how it ablauts in the past, there is also a parallel form with reduplication, indicating Class VII.


Class 6/7 Strong Verb (Anomalous): standna, stǣn ‘to stand’
Infinitive   Standard Inverse Standard Inverse
standna, stǣn   Present Indicative Present Subjunctive
1sg. ik standa, ik stǣm standik, stǣmik ik standa standik
2sg. þū standis, þū stǣs standistu, stǣstu þū standas standastu
3sg.m. is standiþ, is stǣþ standiðis, stǣðis is standa standis
Present Participle 3sg.f. sī standiþ, sī stǣþ standisi, stǣsi sī standa standasi
standnaþs, stǣnþs 3sg.n. it standiþ, it stǣþ standiðit, stǣðit it standa standit
1du. wit standma, wit stǣm standant, stǣnt wit standam standant
1pl. wīs standma, wīs stǣm standmas, stǣms wīs standam standams
2du. ǧut standiþ, ǧut stǣþ standist, stǣst ǧut standaþ standast
Past Participle 2pl. jūs standiþ, jūs stǣþ standiþs, stǣþs jūs standaþ standaþs
standnas, stǣns 3pl.m. īs standnaþ standnaþs īs standan standans
3pl.f. ižas standnaþ standnaþs ižas standan standans
3pl.n. iža standnaþ standnaþs iža standan standans
  Past Indicative Past Subjunctive
Imperative 1sg. ik (ste)stōþ (ste)stōðik ik stœuða stœuðik
stand, stǣ 2sg. þū (ste)stōst (ste)stōstu þū stœuðis stœuðistu
standaða, stǣða 3sg.m. is (ste)stōþ (ste)stōðis is stōðe stōðis
3sg.f. sī (ste)stōþ (ste)stōsi sī stōðe stōðisi
3sg.n. it (ste)stōþ (ste)stōðit it stōðe stōðit
standma, stǣm 1du. wit (ste)stōðum (ste)stōðunt wit stœuðim stœuðint
1pl. wīs (ste)stōðum (ste)stōðums wīs stœuðim stœuðims
standiþ, stǣþ 2du. ǧut (ste)stōðuþ (ste)stōðust ǧut stœuðiþ stœuðist
2pl. jūs (ste)stōðuþ (ste)stōðuþs jūs stœuðiþ stœuðiþs
standnaþa, stǣnþa 3pl.m. īs (ste)stōðun (ste)stōðuns īs stœuðin stœuðins
3pl.f. ižas (ste)stōðun (ste)stōðuns ižas stœuðin stœuðins
3pl.n. iža (ste)stōðun (ste)stōðuns iža stœuðin stœuðins

Wisna is easily the most heavily suppleted of the Germanic verbs. Aside from the obvious wis- stem, which is completely missing from the present tenses, the present shows two other stems, i- and . The imperative also has an anomalous ī as an alternative for the second person singular, though it is unrelated to the i- stem of the present, and may actually come from Latin ī, imperative form of ire (‘to go’).

Class 5 Strong Verb (Anomalous): wisna ‘to be’
Infinitive   Standard Inverse Standard Inverse
wisna   Present Indicative Present Subjunctive
1sg. ik im imik ik siža sižik
2sg. þū is istu þū sižis sižistu
3sg.m. is ist istis is siža sižis
Present Participle 3sg.f. s·īst isi sī siža sižisi
wisnaþs 3sg.n. it ist istit it siža sižit
1du. wit sižum, wit sīm sižunt, sīnt wit sižim sižint
1pl. wīs sižum, wīs sīm sižums, sīms wīs sižim sižims
2du. ǧut sižuþ, ǧut sīþ sižust, sīst ǧut sižiþ sižist
Past Participle 2pl. jūs sižuþ, jūs sīþ sižuþs, sīþs jūs sižiþ sižiþs
wisnas 3pl.m. īs sinþ sinþs īs sižin sižins
3pl.f. ižas sinþ sinþs ižas sižin sižins
3pl.n. iža sinþ sinþs iža sižin sižins
  Past Indicative Past Subjunctive
Imperative 1sg. ik was wažik, wežik ik wēša wēšik
wis, ī, sī 2sg. þū wast wastu þū wēsis wēsisu
wisaða, imda 3sg.m. is was wažis, wežis is wēse wēsis
3sg.f. sī was wasi, wesi sī wēse wēsisi
3sg.n. it was wažit, wežit it wēse wēsit
sižum, sīm 1du. wit wēsum wēsunt wit wēsim wēsint
1pl. wīs wēsum wēsums wīs wēsim wēsims
sižuþ, sīþ 2du. ǧut wēsuþ wēsust ǧut wēsiþ wēsist
2pl. jūs wēsuþ wēsuþs jūs wēsiþ wēsiþs
sinþa 3pl.m. īs wēsun wēsuns īs wēsin wēsins
3pl.f. ižas wēsun wēsuns ižas wēsin wēsins
3pl.n. iža wēsun wēsuns iža wēsin wēsins

Compound Tenses

Forming the Perfect

In Gothic, there was no explicit perfect or perfective aspect in verbs. In order to express the perfect, sometimes the prefix ga- was added to verbs. Latin had a dedicated perfect inflection in verbs.

In later Germanic and Romance languages, the perfect was formed by combining an auxiliary verb (usually ‘have’ or ‘be’) with a participle. In languages which make the distinction (such as French, German, and Italian), ‘have’ is used with most transitive verbs, while ‘be’ is reserved for intransitive verbs dealing with change of state or motion. Valthungian maintains a similar transitive/intransitive distinction as the aforementioned languages, but the distinction is much broader (purely transitive/intransitive, rather than the various rules, exceptions, and sub-rules that govern “être/sein/essere” verbs), and the difference in the realisation of the two types is much more extreme.

Intransitive verbs are formed in the Romance style by creating a compound of the verb wisna and the past participle.

  • īst lēkare vroðna.
    • ‘She has become a doctor.’
  • Is was hǣma gangna.
    • ‘He had gone home.’

Transitive verbs are formed in the Gothic manner, though the ga- prefix from Gothic has since been grammaticalised and stands on its own as an adverb which is usually placed clause-finally.

  • S·ītmit gaf gā.
    • ‘She had given it to him.’
  • Ik þik sǣjua gā.
    • ‘I have seen you.’

Forming the Future

The future is formed by using the auxiliary genǧin ‘to go’ followed by an infinitive (not unlike future compound constructions with go in multiple European languages).

  • Ik genǧa þo hroþ lūkna.
    • ‘I will lock the door.’
  • Ik ni gangiða nījo ligna þo livran af hǣða hun.
    • ‘I was never going to read that book anyway.’

Forming the Passive

Gothic transitive verbs had a passive form, but this has disappeared from Valthungian. Instead, the passive may be formed using a variety of auxiliary verbs determined by the volition of the agent and the subject (patient). By their very nature, passives need not specify an agent, but an agent can be indicated using the genitive (as we would use ‘by’ in English).

  Patient:
Deliberate
Patient:
Unintentional / Inanimate
Agent:
Deliberate
gečin ‘to cause to get’
lenǧin ‘to cause to succeed’
gitna ‘to get’
þiǧin ‘to receive’
Agent:
Unintentional / Inanimate
þiǧin ‘to receive’
lenǧin ‘to cause to succeed’
 
skīčin ‘to cause to happen’
skeǧin ‘to cause to happen’
verðan ‘to become’

Agent/Patient Deliberate: This tends to refer to things that happen as a result of mutual agreement

  • Ik gatiða forða vork fraglíðiþ.
    • ‘I was paid for the work.’
  • Þǣ ankýmbiðas langiðun þis broðaþjugis ganōguþ.
    • ‘The diners were served by the waiter.’

Agent Deliberate / Patient Unintentional: These auxiliaries are used mainly when the agent is a person and the patient is either an object or a person who is unaware of the agent’s intention or an unwilling participant in the action.

  • Ik gat þis weris slagun.
    • ‘I was hit by the man.’
  • S·wagnas þagiða þiža mœuǧis fariþ.
    • ‘The car was driven by the girl.’

Agent Unintentional / Patient Deliberate: This usually refers to agents (usually inanimate) that are being used by a patient for a specific purpose.

  • Ik þagiða þižas fœ̄ðinis nutriškiþ.
    • ‘I was nourished by the food.’
  • Þū langiðas (þiž·intǣkninis) toðiža miðéndina tugun.
    • ‘You were led to that conclusion (by the evidence).’

Agent/Patient Unintentional or Inanimate: This final group is possibly the most common, and refers to inanimate agent and patient, or when the agent or patient is an unwilling participant in the action. It may refer especially to natural phenomena, e.g. ‘blown down by wind’ or ‘rained on’.

  • Ik skīkiða þis þljuðis angǣsiþ.
    • ‘I was startled by the noise.’
  • Þe lǭvas skagiðun þižas rynins avbrón.
    • ‘The leaves were carried away by the stream.’

Immediacy: Forming the Recent Past and Immediate Future

The adverb straks can be used in conjunction with most tenses as an “immediacy particle.” In the past tenses, this translates roughly to the word ‘just’, as in “I just did that.” In the future, it is most closely translated as ‘about to’.

  • Ik straks āt gā.
    • ‘I had just eaten.’
  • Is straks gangiþ hǣma.
    • ‘He is about to go home.’

NB: Straks is definitely a Germanic word, but cannot be descended from East Germanic. (If it were, we might expect strakis or perhaps straka.) It is likely a more recent borrowing into Middle Valthungian from a West or North Germanic source. Cf. Dutch, Norwegian, and Danish straks, Swedish and Icelandic strax, German stracks, &c.

Forming the Progressive

The progressive tenses are not used often in Valthungian, but they can be a useful way to indicate that something is left unfinished, since the Perfect – originally a perfective indicating completed action – has taken on more of a perfect meaning, including that of a more generalised past tense.

The progressive is formed using the auxiliary verb sitna ‘to sit’ and the preposition ‘by’, followed by the infinitive. (In very formal language, you may encounter sitna bi followed by the dative of the nominalized form of the verb, e.g. ‘I am drawing’ may be rendered as Ik sita bi vrǣtina rather than the expected Ik sita bi vrǣčin.

  • Ū sitistu njužis bi drinkna gā?
    • ‘Have you been drinking again?’
  • Ik sita bi skrīvna þo bisāt mīna. Ranive sitik bi drinkna gā.
    • I’m writing my dissertation. Of course I’ve been drinking.’

Adjectives

In Valthungian, adjectives can be strong or weak (as with adjectives in any Germanic language that declines). The general rule is: If a nouns takes a determiner (article, possessive[3], quantifier, &c), its accompanying adjective is weak; otherwise it is strong.

Predicative adjectives do not decline; they usually take the form of the strong neuter singular regardless of what they modify.

Legend: Predicative · Strong · Weak · Determiner · Non-declining Genitive

When a noun is modified by an adjective alone (with no determiner present), the adjective takes the strong declension.

  • ražna rǭðat ‘a red house’
  • miðus glitnaþs ‘sparkling mead’
  • vituvne frobúðna ‘forbidden knowledge’

When paired with a third person possessive (is, ižas, or iža), an adjective also takes the strong declension:

  • is ražna rǭðat ‘his red house’
  • ižas miðus glitnaþs ‘her sparkling mead’
  • iža vituvne frobúðna ‘their forbidden knowledge’

When one of the above possessives is used without an adjective, they follow the noun.

  • ražna is ‘his house’
  • miðus ižas ‘her mead’
  • vituvne iža ‘their knowledge’

When a determiner is present, the adjective takes a weak declension.

  • hreužitaþ ražna rǭða ‘every red house’
  • mīns miðus glitnaða ‘my sparkling mead’
  • so vituvne frobúðna ‘the forbidden knowledge’

When a possessive is used with an adjective (as in mīns miðus glitnaða, above), the possessive precedes the noun and takes a strong declension while the adjective takes the weak; however, when no adjective is present, a definite article precedes the noun, and the weak-declined possessive follows it.

  • þa ražna mīna ‘my house’
  • sa miðus þīna ‘your mead’
  • so vituvne unstra ‘our knowledge’

When an adjective is used as a predicate, it takes the predicative form (not really a declension, because there is only one).

  • þa ražna mīna ist rǭþ. ‘my house is red’
  • sa miðus þīna ist glitnaþ. ‘your mead is sparkling’
  • so vituvne unstra ist frobúðna. ‘our knowledge is forbidden’

Comparison

To form the comparative, most adjectives replace the usual endings with ‑ums (which declines as an a-stem), though after i‑ and j‑stems, it becomes ‑ims. E.g.:

  • mikils ‘big’ → mikilums ‘bigger’
  • grœunis ‘green’ → grœunims ‘greener’
  • aglus ‘difficult’ → aglums ‘more difficult’

The dative case is used to form comparative clauses by replacing the English preposition than:

  • Is ist þam brōðra sīnin hǭðum. ‘He is taller than his brother.’ (Literally: “He is to-the brother of-himself taller.”)

To form the superlative, most adjectives add ‑ist to the stem.

  • mikils ‘big’ → mikilist ‘biggest’
  • grœunis ‘green’ → grœunist ‘greenest’
  • aglus ‘difficult’ → eglist ‘most difficult’

The genitive case is used to form superlative clauses. The comparative itself is usually accompanied by a definite article:

  • Is ist þiža brœuðro sīnaro sa hǭðist. ‘He is the tallest of his brothers.’ (Literally: “He is of-the brothers of-himself the tallest.”)

Irregular and Suppletive Forms

There are a number of irregular and suppletive forms of adjectives.

  • gōþs ‘good’ → batums ‘better’ → batist ‘best’
  • uvils ‘bad’ → vresums ‘worse’ → vresist ‘worst’
  • līts ‘little’ → mitnums ‘less’ → mitnist ‘least’
  • managis ‘many’ → mǣžums ‘more’ → mǣst ‘most’
  • filus ‘much’ → mǣžums ‘more’ → mǣst ‘most’

Vocabulary

Valthungian Words on Contionary

  1. ^ Before 〈g〉 or 〈k〉.
  2. ^ This is a 3rd person reflexive possessive, used when the noun is possessed by the subject of the clause.
  3. ^ Only when a possessive is used without an article; otherwise the possessive itself is also declined as weak.