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Europaico

2025-05-08T02:54:36Z

Jotadiego: Of course there were further formatting issues

{{Infobox language
|name=Europaico
|nativename=''Europaico, Eɤροпaıкo''
|date=2024
|familycolor= conlang
|fam1=[[Auxiliary language]]
|setting=[[Auxiliary language]]
|posteriori=based on [[w:Romance languages|Romance]], [[w:Germanic languages|Germanic]] and [[w:Slavic languages|Slavic]] languages.
|script=[[w:Latin script|Latin]] Europaico script
}}

''Slavic nouns, Germanic verbs, Romance grammar and not a lot of sense!''

'''Europaico''' (Eɤροпaıкo in its own script, pronounced as /eu̯.ʀoˈpai̯.ko/) is a non-naturalistic ''a posteriori'' conlang based on various European languages meant as a parody to auxlang projects such as Esperanto, Interlingua, Sambhasa or Lingwa de Planeta.

Intrafictionally, the language would have been created and maintained by the ''Alternative International Association for International Auxiliary Languages'' or AIAIAL.

As a 'fake auxlang', it could be considered to be a ''fauxlang''. It could make for a decent artlang, though.

Most of Europaico's features are designed to have a tongue-in-cheek justification explaining why they would make sense for a European auxiliary language (until you actually think about it for more than a couple seconds, that is). Since telling a joke is more fun than explaining it, some of the conlangs features might be presented that way throughout this article.

In addition to a Latin-script orthography, Europaico might be written in its own alphabet, best described as 'an unholy mismatch of Greek, Cyrillic and Roman'.

The conlang was created in March 2024.

== Concept ==

Europaico is a brand new auxiliary language that will finally allow humanity to lift the curse of Babel! Maybe.

Following the long-standing tradition set by such fine language designers such as Esperanto's Zamenhof, Volapük's Schleyer, Europaico only takes the European continent into account. Europaico might nonetheless be advertised as a global language, it's not like it'd be the first one to do so with its creators even managing to keep a straight face.

The European linguistic landscape is dominated by three main linguistic groups: the Romance languages in the west and south, the Germanic languages in the center and north and the Slavic languages in the east. Europaico is meant to be a compromise between these three major groups, borrowing elements from each of them. Greek, as a historically prominent language in the continent that isn't fully accounted for, is taken as a secondary source language to 'fill in the gaps'.

Europaico's grammar is mostly based on that of Romance language, particularly French. Nouns are taken nearly exclusively from Slavic sources, retaining their masculine/feminine/neuter gender distinction. Verbs, meanwhile, are usually sourced from Germanic languages although their conjugation also incorporates Romance and Slavic elements.

== Phonology ==

=== Consonants ===

Europaico has a honest-to-the-powers-that-be relatively simple consonant inventory with few surprises aside from a palatal series (a step up from your 'standard average European' language but still a long shot from the phonemic palatalization affecting most consonants in Slavic languages).

The following table gives the consonants in the Latin script orthography, a phonemic transcription in IPA (between slashes) and the corresponding glyph in Europaico's native alphabet.

{| class="wikitable"
! !! '''Labial''' !! '''Alveolar''' !! '''Post-Alveolar''' !! '''Palatal''' !! '''Velar'''
|-
| '''Nasal''' || '''''m''''' /m/ '''м''' || '''''n''''' /n/ '''ɴ''' || || '''''ň''''' /ɲ/ '''њ''' ||
|-
| '''Unvoiced stop''' || '''''p''''' /p/ '''п''' || '''''t''''' /t/ '''τ''' || || '''''ť''''' /c/ '''ћ''' || '''''c''''' /k/ '''к'''
|-
| '''Voiced stop''' || '''''b''''' /b/ '''б''' || '''''d''''' /d/ '''∂''' || || '''''ď''''' /ɟ/ '''đ''' || '''''g''''' /ɡ/ '''г'''
|-
| '''Unvoiced affricate''' || || '''''c''''' /ts/ '''ц''' || '''''č''''' /tʃ/ '''ч''' || ||
|-
| '''Unvoiced fricative''' || '''''f''''' /f/ '''ф''' || '''''s''''' /s/ '''с''' || '''''š''''' /ʃ/ '''ш''' || || '''''h''''' /x/ '''x'''
|-
| '''Voiced fricative''' || '''''v''''' /v/ '''w''' || '''''z''''' /z/ '''z''' || ( /ʒ/ ) || ||
|-
| '''Glide''' || || || || '''''y''''' /j/ '''ı''' ||
|-
| '''Rhotic''' || || '''''r''''' /ʀ/ '''ρ''' || || ||
|-
| '''Lateral''' || || '''''l''''' /l/ '''ʌ''' || || ||
|}

Palatal and post-alveolar consonants other than /j/ will be referred collectively as 'palatals'. All of these consonants might alternatively be pronounced as a palatalized alveolars (/nʲ/ for ''ň'', /tʲ/ for ''ť'' and so on) if that's easier for the speaker.

The consonant /z/ may alternate freely between an alveolar realization [z] or a post-alveolar one /ʒ/. This explains why words which had a /ʒ/ or /dʒ/ in their source language might enter Europaico with a /z/ instead.

A velar nasal [ŋ] appear as an allophone of /n/ in clusters such as [ŋk] and [ŋɡ]. This consonant sound is not distinguished from /n/ in either orthography.

=== Vowels and diphthongs ===

Europaico is surprisingly benign with its vowel inventory, which at just /a e i o u y/ will only give mild trouble to its users.

Vowels other than /i/ and /u/ might be preceded by the glide /j/, yielding four sequences which could be analyzed as rising diphthongs: /ja/, /je/, /jo/ and /ju/.

In addition to those, Europaico features seven falling diphthongs /ai̯ au̯ ei̯ eu̯ oi̯ ou̯ ui̯/, which might also be pronounced as [aɪ̯ aʊ̯ eɪ̯ eʊ̯ oɪ̯ oʊ̯ uɪ̯].

It might be noted that the /eu̯/ diphthong, featured in Europaico's own name no less, is absent from most major European languages (including German, English, French, most Slavic languages, etc). As a way to ease this problem, speakers are allowed to substitute /eu̯/ for whatever might be their native pronunciation of <eu> (as in their local pronunciation of 'Europe'). This means that possible realizations for Europaico's initial diphthong include [jʊ] (English), [ø] (Dutch, Danish, French), [ɛɵ] (Swedish), [ɛv] (Bulgarian) and [ɔʏ] (German) among others.

Europaico does not contrast between diphthong and hiatus sequences involving the same vowel qualities, a sequence such as /ai/ will always correspond to an /ai̯/ diphthong rather than an /a.i/ hiatus.

=== Vowel reduction ===

Speakers might optionally reduce non-stressed /a e o/ to a schwa. This is not represented in writing and it will generally not be noted in IPA transcriptions in order to preserve the reader's sanity.

=== Phonotactics ===

As most auxlangs, Europaico is very lax with its phonotactics, only requiring the following elements to be met:
* Syllables must have at least one vowel (or diphthong).
* /j/ might only appear before a vowel other than /i/ or /y/.
* Palatal consonants must not be followed by /j/.

This allows for clusters in the source languages to be preserved in Europaico (including the relatively complex ones allowed word-initially in Slavic languages). This, of course, can be marketed as a feature allowing vocabulary to be integrated into the language with as little distortion as possible (or be regarded as an awful decision for an auxlang).

=== Prosodic stress ===

Polysyllabic words bear fixed, predictable prosodic stress determined as follows:
* If the word ends in a consonant other than /n/ or /s/ or in a (falling) diphthong, stress falls on the last syllable.
* Otherwise (words ending in /n/, /s/ or a monophthong), stress falls on the second-to-last syllable.

== Orthographies ==

Europaico may be written either in the Latin alphabet or in its own 'Europaico' script (based on the Latin, Greek and Cyrillic alphabets). Slightly different orthographies are used in each script.

=== Latin-script orthography ===

Europaico's Latin-script orthography is largely based on that of Romance languages, particularly those of French and Catalan. The palatal (and palato-alveolar) consonants /ɲ c ɟ tʃ ʃ/, however, are written using a diacritic known as caron most commonly associated with Czech (where it is known as ''háček''). Carons typically look like an upside-down circumflex accent, as seen in ''č'' and ''ň'', although they adopt a different form closer to that of an apostrophe when applied to ''lowercase'' T and D (<ť ď>). This is not a joke feature from Europaico, it's how that diacritic actually works, for whatever reason. Letters bearing a caron are treated as separate letters for sorting purposes, coming after their non-accented counterparts (thus ''Č'' is regarded as being the fourth letter of Europaico's Latin alphabet, between regular ''C'' and ''D''). The character ''Ü'' (an umlauted U) is used for the vowel /y/ and it is also treated as letter of its own, being sorted between ''U'' and ''V''.

This orthography also uses the character <ç> (C with cedilla) as a way of representing the /ts/ sound in contexts where regular <c> (which can represent that sound before unrounded front vowels) would be pronounced as /k/ instead. Unlike caron-bearing palatals, <ç> is treated as a variant of <c> for collation, rather than as an independent letter.

The letters of Europaico's variant of the Latin alphabet are as follows:

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Letter''' !! '''Value''' !! '''Notes'''
|-
| '''A''', '''a''' || /a/ ||
|-
| '''B''', '''b''' || /b/ ||
|-
| '''C''', '''c''' || /k/, /ts/ || Pronounced /ts/ before ''E'' or ''I'' or as /k/ otherwise. See ''Q'' for the representation of /k/ before ''E'' and ''I'' and ''Ç'' for the representation of /ts/ in other contexts.
|-
| '''Ç''', '''ç''' || /ts/ || Variant of ''C'', used for the /ts/ when not followed by ''E'' or ''I''.
|-
| '''Č''', '''č''' || /tʃ/ ||
|-
| '''D''', '''d''' || /d/ ||
|-
| '''Ď''', '''ď''' || /ɟ/ ||
|-
| '''E''', '''e''' || /e/ ||
|-
| '''F''', '''f''' || /f/ ||
|-
| '''G''', '''g''' || /ɡ/ || The sequences /ɡe/ and /ɡi/ are written with a silent ''U'': <gue>, <gui>.
|-
| '''H''', '''h''' || /x/ ||
|-
| '''I''', '''i''' || /i/, /j/ || Read as /j/ when followed by a vowel (see also ''Y''). Also used to write the diphthongs /ai̯ ei̯ oi̯ ui̯/ (<ai ei oi ui>).
|-
| '''J''', '''j''' || - || Might be used to replace a caron when typing the diacritic is impossible or impractical.
|-
| '''L''', '''l''' || /l/ ||
|-
| '''M''', '''m''' || /m/ ||
|-
| '''N''', '''n''' || /n/ ||
|-
| '''Ň''', '''ň''' || /ɲ/ ||
|-
| '''O''', '''o''' || /o/ ||
|-
| '''P''', '''p''' || /p/ ||
|-
| '''Q''', '''q''' || /k/ || The digraph ''qu'' represents /k/ before the vowels ''E'' and ''I'', replacing ''C''.
|-
| '''R''', '''r''' || /ʀ/ ||
|-
| '''S''', '''s''' || /s/ ||
|-
| '''Š''', '''š''' || /ʃ/ ||
|-
| '''T''', '''t''' || /t/ ||
|-
| '''Ť''', '''ť''' || /c/ ||
|-
| '''U''', '''u''' || /u/ || Silent in the trigraphs ''gue'' /ɡe/, ''gui'' /ɡi/, ''que'' /ke/ and ''qui'' /ki/.
|-
| '''Ü''', '''ü''' || /y/ ||
|-
| '''V''', '''v''' || /v/ ||
|-
| '''Y''', '''y''' || /j/ || Used for /j/ when not preceded by another consonant in the syllable, otherwise ''I'' will be used instead.
|-
| '''Z''', '''z''' || /z~ʒ/ ||
|}

This orthography uses the Western Romance strategy of contrasting a soft ''C'' (read as /ts/ before ''E'' and ''I'') and a hard ''C'' (read as /k/ otherwise), with ''Ç'' being used to force the soft /ts/ pronunciation and the triigraphs ''que'' and ''qui'' for /ke/ and /ki/. Even though ''G'' lacks a soft pronunciation, Europaico also requires the trigraphs ''gue'' and ''gui'' for /ɡe/ and /ɡi/ in order to fit the expectations for a Romance-like orthography (Slavic carons aside).

The Europaico version of the Latin alphabet lacks the letters K, W and X which must be replaced by their closer equivalents in loanwords or proper names, which are also generally adapted to better fit other orthographical conventions. For instance, Kentucky, Washington, Texas and X will be transcribed as ''Quentuqui'' (or ''Quentaqui), ''Vašington'' (or ''Vašinton''), ''Tecsas'' (or ''Tehas'') and ''Ecs'' (or ''Tviter'').

=== The Europaico Alphabet ===

Depending on your taste, the Europaico alphabet might be one of its funniest aspects or one of its most cursed ones. Just as the language (sort of) intends to bridge the gap between major European languages, the script (sort of) attempts to find common ground between the Latin, Cyrillic and Greek alphabets.

One advantage of this approach is that all of the glyphs in the script are already encoded in Unicode as part of their source alphabets, allowing the Europaico script to be used in digital devices with little issue.

As its sources, the Europaico Alphabet is a bicameral script, contrasting uppercase and lowercase letters.

The letters of the script, in its own alphabetic order, are as follows:

{| class="wikitable"
! Europaico !! Name !! Value !! Latin equivalent !! Unicode-compatible look-alike
|-
| '''A''', '''a''' || ''Alfa'' || /a/ || '''a''' || Latin uppercase/lowercase A
|-
| '''B''', '''б''' || ''Beta'' || /b/ || '''b''' || Latin uppercase B, Cyrillic lowercase Be
|-
| '''Г''', '''г''' || ''Gama'' || /ɡ/ || '''g''', '''gu''' || Cyrillic uppercase/lowercase Ge
|-
| '''Δ''', '''∂''' || ''Delta'' || /d/ || '''d''' || Greek uppercase Delta, Partial derivative sign
|-
| '''Đ''', '''đ''' || ''Ďocovič'' || /ɟ/ || '''ď''' || Latin uppercase/lowercase D with stroke
|-
| '''E''', '''e''' || ''Eta'' || /e/ || '''e''' || Latin uppercase/lowercase E
|-
| '''Є''', '''ε''' || ''Yeť'' || /je/ || '''ie''', '''ye''' || Ukrainian Cyrillic uppercase Ye, Greek lowercase Epsilon
|-
| '''Z''', '''z''' || ''Zeta'' || /z/ || '''z''' || Latin uppercase/lowercase Z
|-
| '''I''', '''ı''' || ''Yota'' || /i/, /j/ || '''i''', '''y''' || Latin uppercase I, Turkish Latin lowercase dotless I
|-
| '''K''', '''к''' || ''Capa'' || /k/ || '''c''', '''qu''' || Latin uppercase K, Cyrillic lowercase Ka
|-
| '''Λ''', '''ʌ''' || ''Lamba'' || /l/ || '''l''' || Greek uppercase Lambda, Latin lowercase turned V
|-
| '''M''', '''м''' || ''Mü'' || /m/ || '''m''' || Latin uppercase M, Cyrillic lowercase Em
|-
| '''N''', '''ɴ''' || ''Nu'' || /n/ || '''n''' || Latin uppercase N, Latin small capital N
|-
| '''Њ''', '''њ''' || ''Ňü'' || /ɲ/ || '''ň''' || Serbian Cyrillic uppercase/lowercase Nje
|-
| '''O''', '''o''' || ''O'' || /o/ || '''o''' || Latin uppercase/lowercase O
|-
| '''П''', '''п''' || ''Pe'' || /p/ || '''p''' || Cyrillic uppercase/lowercase Pe
|-
| '''Ρ,''' '''ρ''' || ''Ro'' || /ʀ/ || '''r''' || Greek uppercase/lowercase Rho
|-
| '''С''', '''с''' || ''Se'' || /s/ || '''s''' || Cyrillic uppercase/lowercase Es
|-
| '''Τ''', '''τ''' || ''To'' || /t/ || '''t''' || Greek uppercase/lowercase Tau
|-
| '''Ћ''', '''ћ''' || ''Ťoť'' || /c/ || '''ť''' || Serbian Cyrillic uppercase/lowercase Tshe
|-
| '''Ц''', '''ц''' || ''Ciť'' || /ts/ || '''c''', '''ç''' || Cyrillic uppercase/lowercase Tse
|-
| '''Ч''', '''ч''' || ''Čať'' || /tʃ/ || '''č''' || Cyrillic uppercase/lowercase Che
|-
| '''Ш''', '''ш''' || ''Šo'' || /ʃ/ || '''š''' || Cyrillic uppercase/lowercase Sha
|-
| '''V''', '''ʋ''' || ''Üs'' || /y/ || '''ü''' || Latin uppercase V, Latin lowercase V with hook
|-
| '''ȣ''', '''ɤ''' || ''U'' || /u/ || '''u''' || Latin ''lowercase'' Ou ligature, Latin lowercase "rams horn"
|-
| '''Ф''', '''ф''' || ''Fe'' || /f/ || '''f''' || Cyrillic uppercase/lowercase Ef
|-
| '''X''', '''x''' || ''He'' || /x/ || '''h''' || Latin uppercase/lowercase X
|-
| '''W''', '''w''' || ''Vo'' || /v/ || '''v''' || Latin uppercase/lowercase W
|}

In the Europaico script, the sequences involving a 'palatal' consonant (the ones bearing a caron in the Latin orthography) and the vowel /e/ may be spelled as either the palatal followed by ''Eta'' or as the non-palatal version followed by ''Yeť'':
* ''Ďe'' ~ /ɟe/ can be either '''đe''' or '''∂ε'''.
* ''Ňe'' /ɲe/ can be either '''њe''' or '''ɴε'''.
* ''Ťe'' ~ /ce/ can be either '''ћe''' or '''τε'''.
* ''Če'' ~ /tʃe/ can be either '''чe''' or '''цε'''.
* ''Še'' ~ /ʃe/ can be either '''шe''' or '''сε'''.

Both alternatives might be used indistinctly, a feature which would allow the script to suit each speaker's tastes better and which clearly wouldn't cause any problem down the road like problems with collation or the like.

Other than that, the letter ''Yeť'' is used exclusively for the /je/ diphthong, while ''Yota'' is used to represent the /j/ glide in other diphthongs.

== Grammar ==

=== Nouns ===

Whenever possible, Europaico nouns are taken from Slavic languages, especially Russian, Polish, Czech and Bosnio-Montenegrin. More widespread variants and more conservative forms are preferred, for instance the noun '''''slovo''''', 'word', preserves a /l/ sound that shifted to /w/ in Polish ''słowo'' /ˈswɔ.vɔ/, while Europaico's word for 'wheel' is '''''colo''''', which has cognates in Polish, Czech and Bosnio-Montenegrin among others, rather than a form like ''koleso'' which is restricted to Eastern Slavic languages like Ukrainian and Russian.

Sometimes an Europaico word will not exactly match any of its sources. For instance, the Europaico word for 'wolf' is '''''vulk''''', made as a compromise between various descendants of Proto-Slavic ''*'vьlkъ'', including Russian ''волк'' (volk), Polish ''wilk'', Czech ''vlk'' (with a syllabic L that is not allowed in Europaico) and Bosnio-Montenegrin ''vuk''.

In order to boost recognizability, words are borrowed without the final-consonant devoicing found in Polish and Russian, among others. For instance, the word for bread, written as ''chleb'' in Polish and as ''хлеб'' (''khlyeb'') in Russian but pronounced as /xlɛp/ and /xlʲep/ respectively, is borrowed into Europaico as '''''hlieb''''' pronounced /xljeb/ (it should be noted that the /b/ phoneme is found in other inflectional forms of the Polish and Russian words).

==== Gender ====

Slavic languages generally distinguish between three grammatical genders: feminine, masculine and neuter. This distinction (that doesn't necessarily match the natural/societal concepts of gender and animacy) is carried over into Europaico although in a somewhat simplified way. The gender of a singular noun in Europaico can usually be determined from its ending:

* Nouns ending in ''-o'' or ''-e'' are always '''neuter'''.
* Nouns ending in ''-a'' or in a palatal consonant (''č'', ''ď'', ''ň'', ''ť'' or ''š'') are always '''feminine'''.
* Nouns ending in a non-palatal consonant are always '''masculine'''.

Luckily, the association of ''-a'' to the feminine gender is widespread among Romance languages as well, while Catalan and written French share the tendency of having consonant-final masculine nouns.

Thus, ''hlieb'' (bread) can be recognized as masculine noun while ''colo'' (wheel) is a neuter noun, even though both refer to inanimate naturally genderless objects.

The grammatical gender of nouns ending in a vowel other than neuter ''-o'' and ''-e'' or feminine ''-a'' cannot be determined from its form. Such nouns are rare and can usually be explained as borrowings from other language families such as ''çunami'' from Japanese ''tsunami''. Then the gender of the word depends on how it was usually borrowed into Slavic languages. In this case of ''çunami'', we can find that the Japanese word was borrowed as neuter ''цуна́ми'' (''tsunámi'') in Russian, neuter ''tsunami'' in Polish, feminine ''tsunami'' in Czech and masculine ''cunámi'' in Bosnio-Montenegrin; as a result Europaico ''çunami'' was made neuter gender as the most common option among those four control languages.

Some Slavic languages have at least some form of animacy marking on top of their three-wise gender system, often distinguishing between animate and inanimate masculine nouns in their grammar. This distinction is not found in Europaico.

==== Number ====

For the most part, European languages tend to use two different strategies for marking plural in nouns:
* Western Romance languages and, for whatever odd twist, also English generally form plurals by adding an ''-s'' suffix or ''-es'' suffix to the singular form, as in English ''house'', ''houses'' or the corresponding Spanish ''casa'', ''casas''.
* Southern and Eastern Romance languages (most notably Italian and Romanian) and Slavic languages form their plurals by altering the ending of the singular, as in Italian ''casa'', ''case'' or Bosnio-Montenegrin ''kȕća'', ''kȕće''.

Europaico is all about seeking consensus (aside from when it's not) so, naturally, it adopts both strategies. For instance, feminine nouns such as '''''zena''''' (woman) form their plural by both changing the final ''-a'' to ''-e'' and by adding a final ''-s'': '''''zenes''''' (women, coincidentally the resulting ''-a'' / ''-es'' alternation is also found in Catalan and Asturian).

At least, Europaico plurals are all regular being formed according to the following patterns:

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Gender''' !! '''Singular ending''' !! '''Plural ending''' !! '''Example'''
|-
| Masculine || Non-palatal consonant || '''''-is''''' || ''muz'' (man) →''muzis'' (men)
|-
| Feminine || Final '''''-a''''' || '''''-es''''' || ''zena'' (woman) → ''zenes'' (women)
|-
| Feminine || Palatal consonant || '''''-is''''' || ''noč'' (night) →''nočis'' (nights)
|-
| Neuter || Final '''''-e''''' || '''''-is''''' || ''ďeťe'' (child) →''ďeťis'' (children)
|-
| Neuter || Final '''''-o''''' || '''''-as''''' || ''miesto'' (city) → ''miestas'' (cities)
|-
| (Any) || Other vowels || '''''-s''''' || ''çunami'' (tsunami) → ''çunamis'' (tsunamis)
|}

Gender agreement marking in articles and adjectives does not distinguish between masculine and neuter nouns in the plural, grouping both into a plural 'common' class (generally presenting the suffix ''-is'') contrasting with the plural feminine class (with the ''-es'' prefix). This depends on the inherent lexical gender of the noun rather than its ending, ''nočis'' will still take feminine plural adjectives ending in ''-es'' despite having a final ''-is''.

==== Articles ====

As in (most) Romance languages, Europaico nouns will usually be preceded by an article, be it a definite one (like English ''the'') or an indefinite one (like English ''a'' / ''an'').

As in most European languages, articles agree with their nouns in gender and number.

Definite articles are taken from Romance languages with ''el'' and ''la'' in particular being identical to the corresponding singular masculine and feminine articles in Spanish, giving half a billion ''hispanohablantes'' a hint about what ''el muz'' (the man) might mean.

Most European languages with indefinite articles derive them from their word for the number 'one'. As Europaico derives numerals from Greek, its word for 'one' is ''ena'' (from Modern Greek ''ένα'') which casually happens not to be to different from its Germanic counterparts such as Dutch ''een'', German ''ein'' and Norwegian ''en'' (despite them not actually being cognates with the Greek word). This similarity is exploited in Europaico to create indefinite articles such as ''en'' in ''en muz'' (a man) which are structurally similar to Romance, but phonetically similar to Germanic. (This one feature seems sensible enough that it almost feels out of place in this conlang)

As in English and other Germanic languages, indefinite articles are not used in the plural, thus '(some) men' is rendered as simply ''muzis'' (rather than requiring a plural form of the indefinite article as in Spanish ''unos hombres'').

The resulting articles are as follows:

{| class="wikitable"
! Gender and number !! Definite !! Example !! Indefinite !! Example
|-
| '''Feminine, singular''' || '''''la''''' || ''la zena'' (the woman) || '''''ena''''' || ''ena zena'' (a woman)
|-
| '''Masculine, singular''' || '''''el''''' || ''el muz'' (the man) || '''''en''''' || ''en muz'' (a man)
|-
| '''Neuter, singular''' || '''''lo''''' || ''lo miesto'' (the city) || '''''eno''''' || ''eno miesto'' (a city)
|-
| '''Feminine, plural''' || '''''les''''' || ''les zenes'' (the women) || - || ''zenes'' ([some] women)
|-
| '''Common, plural''' || '''''lis''''' || ''lis muzis'' (the men) || - || ''muzis'' ([some] men)
|}

==== Possessives ====

As with number marking, there are a handful popular strategies for forming possessives in European languages, from simply using a preposition (like English ''of'' and Romance ''de'') to using a variety of suffixes corresponding to grammatical cases, often involving a final ''-s'' in Germanic languages (as in the English clitic '''s'').

Naturally, Europaico picks the best of both worlds (?) and forms possessives by preceding the noun with the preposition ''des'' (replacing the article, if any) and a suffix ''-s'' which, in order to avoid confusion with the final /s/ found in plural endings, must also be marked with an apostrophe like the English ''-'s'' clitic.

The possessive ''-'s'' suffix is applied without any regard to the shape of the previous word. This might yield unusual combinations such as ''des muz's'' (man's) with a /zs/ cluster which, in practice, speakers might end up simplifying to either /z/ or /s/ (even though, strictly speaking, an unreduced /zs/ cluster is prescribed) as well as sequences of multiple /s/ as in ''des muzis's'' (men's) which are not distinguished from a single /s/ (''muzis'' and ''muzis's'' will be pronounced identically as /ˈmu.zis/ or [ˈmu.ʑis]).

Possessives are placed ''after'' the noun they modified. For instance, ''lo ďeťe des zena's'' for "the child of the woman" / "the woman's child" (or '''a'' woman's child', as ''des'' might replace either definite or indefinite articles).

===== Non-canonical genitive case =====

While Europaico was never meant to have an extensive case system like those of most Slavic languages (a feature which would clash with the largely caseless Romance languages and the much more limited cases found in Germanic languages), the idea of preserving the Slavic genitive case at least was considered at various points in the development of the conlang. The results, however, ended up looking too much like a Slavic auxiliary language than a generic (though Euro-biased) auxlang, so these Slavic-like genitives where eventually replaced by the less unwieldy ''des + -'s'' possessives explained above.

Should anyone care for a non-canonical feature in what is already a ''fauxlang'', the resulting inflectional paradigms were something like this:

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Gender''' !! '''Singular ending''' !! `GEN`.`SG` !! `GEN`.`PL` !! Example
|-
| Masculine || Non-palatal consonant || '''''-a''''' || '''''-ov''''' || ''muz'' → '''''muza''''' (man's) ''muzis'' → '''''muzov''''' (men's)
|-
| Feminine || Final '''''-a''''' || '''''-i''''' || -Ø || ''zena'' → '''''zeni''''' (woman's) ''zene'' → '''''zen''''' (women's)
|-
| Feminine || Palatal consonant || '''''-i''''' || '''''-i''''' || ''noč'' → '''''noči''''' (night's) ''nočis'' → '''''noči''''' (nights')
|-
| Neuter || Final '''''-e''''' || '''''-'''('''i''')'''a''''' || '''''-i''''' || ''ďeťe'' → '''''ďeťa''''' (child's) ''ďeťis'' → '''''ďeťi''''' (children's)
|-
| Neuter || Final '''''-o''''' || '''''-a''''' || -Ø || ''miesto'' → '''''miesta''''' (city's) ''miestas'' → '''''miest''''' (cities')
|}

Articles would also be inflected, although genitive forms for all articles weren't really decided before the idea was abandoned.

For an example, 'the nights of the city of the woman's children' would have been rendered as something like ''les nočis leu mista loro ďeťi lei zeni'' rather than canonical Europaico ''les nočis des misto's des ďeťis's des zena's''.

==== Personal names ====

It is recommended that personal names and surnames be adapted to Europaico both in orthography (such as respelling 'Michael' as ''Maiquel'' for ''Maiquel Zacson'' or as ''Mihael'' for ''Mihael Šumaher'') and in morphology - with masculine names and surnames being modified to end in a non-palatal consonant while feminine names must be adapted to end in either ''-a'' or in a palatal consonant.

Of course, names are often an important part of personal identity, so this could be pointed out to be a terrible idea. If you've been paying any attention to this, though, that shouldn't be particularly surprising.

Some recommended strategies for adapting names to include the right ending include:
* For anyone:
* * Look at historical variants or foreign counterparts of the name. For instance, Spanish ''José'' might regain its historical /p/ (preserved in Catalan ''Josep'' and Italian ''Giuseppe'' among others) to become ''Hosep'', while an English ''Elizabeth'' might opt to go instead by ''Isabela'', after the Italian and Latin versions of her name.
* For women:
* * Add ''-a'' or the very Slavic-esque ''-va'' to the end of your name.
* ** For instance ''Mary Sue'' might adapt her name as ''Marija Šuva''.
* * Replace final alveolar letters with their palatal counterparts: ''Karen'' → ''Careň''.
* For men:
* * Dropping final vowels might be an easy option: ''Enrico'' → ''Enric''.
* * Add a very Slavic-like ''-v'', particularly for surnames ending in ''e'' or ''o'': ''Vito Corleone'' → ''Victor Corleonev''.
* * Replace final palatal letters with their alveolar counterparts: ''Ivanovič'' → ''Ivanoviç'' (it turns out that Slavic names don't do all that well either).
* For non-binary people:
* * Isn't there enough invisibilization of non-binary identities already for you to bother with a conlang with mandatory gender marking too? Keep your name of choice, use a neuter ending or do whatever else you want, suit yourself! Sorry in advance for past-tense verbs, though.

==== Placenames ====

Auxlangs tend to use one of two strategies when dealing with toponyms, none of which is without issues.

Perhaps the most common option among modern auxiliary languages is to use the name locals use for the place in their own language. This seems like a very reasonable thing to do (which, of course, precludes Europaico from doing it) although it has a few problems.
* First of all, the resulting names risk having little international recognizability. This can be easily exemplified with Austria and its capital, Vienna. While the Latin-esque names used in English have a good chance of being understood all around the world, the German names ''Österreich'' and ''Wien'' are considerably more obscure, and the need to adapt them to Europaico phonotactics would yield even less recognizable results such as ''*'Estaraič'' and ''*'Vin''.
* The very concept of using the local language presupposes that there ''is'' a local language, bringing a whole lot of complications:
* * For starters, the scheme couldn't apply to uninhabited places like most of Antarctica, deserted islands or the State of Wyoming.
* * Continents and regions comprising linguistically diverse nations will likely have a variety of possible names. For the most extreme example, consider the name given to the planet itself: if there was a language widely accepted enough to be used for naming Earth as a whole, then chances are that we should be using that instead of any auxlang.
* * Last but not least, many nations, provinces and cities are multilingual, often bearing multiple local names. Picking the variant favored by most locals seems like an easy choice but there won't be always a clear 'most used language' (and, even if there currently is one, it would be liable to change over time). Furthermore, the choice of one name over the other could be socially and politically problematic, highlighting regional tensions and stir debates about the colonialism and the repression of minorities.

The second strategy, perhaps more common among earlier auxiliary languages, was to draw most names from a single source, usually an internationally 'prestigious' source such as English, French or Latin. This is the sort of reasoning that would suggest that we do indee pick internationally-recognizable names such as ''*'Austria'' and ''*'Viena'' for Austria and Vienna, where 'internationally-recognizable' means 'names speakers of major Western European languages are likely to have heard'. The colonialism undertones of that are problematic enough to stay away from that idea.

Fortunately, Europaico provides the ultimate solution for this sort of problem: all toponyms will be based on the names used in Czech. The Czech language is already phonetically close to Europaico, so distortions like the one found between German ''Österreich'' and ''*'Esteraič'' would be minimal. This solution completely sidesteps all linguistic and political issues with choosing a single 'local language' for each place and, with the Czech Republic lacking a colonial history, few people would question this choice on the basis of it being overly imperialistic (Slovaks might get a pass at it, but I am not aware of there ever being any Slovak placename which isn't the same in Czech).

Thus, Austria and Vienna, rather than having scarcely recognizable names such as ''*'Estaraič'' and ''*'Vin'' or potentially problematic names such as ''*'Austria'' and ''*'Viena'', will be known in Europaico as ''Racousco'' and ''Videň'', after the Czech names ''Rakousko'' and ''Vídeň'' respectively.

=== Adjectives ===

Adjectives are generally derived from Greek (with a preference for Ancient Greek forms, especially those found as prefixes in Greek-derived technical terminology). For instance, Europaico's word for 'large' is given as ''mego'' from Greek ''μέγας'' (megas).

Europaico Adjectives are required to agree with the corresponding noun in number and gender (although masculine and neuter forms are conflated into a single common gender) with the following endings:

{| class="wikitable"
! !! '''Singular''' !! '''Plural'''
|-
| '''Common''' (masculine or neuter) || '''''-o''''' || '''''-is'''''
|-
| '''Feminine''' || '''''-a''''' || '''''-es'''''
|}

Adjectives are generally placed after the respective noun in Europaico. Thus we'd find ''la zena mega'' for 'the large woman', ''el muz mego'' for 'the large man', ''les zenes megues'' for 'the large women' and ''lis muzis meguis'' for 'the large men'.

==== Adverbs ====

Adverbs in Europaico are typically placed after the verb or adjective they modify.

Europaico adjectives can be turned into adverbs by adding the suffix ''-ment'' to their singular feminine form as in ''megament'' for 'largely, greatly'.

=== Pronouns ===

Europaico pronouns are derived from Romance languages and feature contrasts common in that branch such as a case distinction between nominative and accusative forms and gender contrasts for plural pronouns.

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Person''' !! '''Number''' !! '''Gender''' !! '''Nominative form''' !! '''Accusative form''' !! '''English equivalent'''
|-
| 1st || Sg. || Any || ''Ye'' || ''me'', ''m''' || I, me
|-
| 2nd || Sg. || Any || ''tü'' || ''te'', ''t''' || You (informal)
|-
| 2nd || Sg. || Any || ''Vi'' || ''Vi'' || You (formal)
|-
| 3rd || Sg. || Fem. || ''el'' || ''le'', ''l''' || She, her
|-
| 3rd || Sg. || Masc. || ''ela'' || ''la'' || He, him
|-
| 3rd || Sg. || Neu. || ''elo'' || ''lo'' || It
|-
| 1st || Pl. || Fem. || ''nes'' || ''ens'' || We
|-
| 1st || Pl. || Masc. || ''nis'' || ''nis'' || We
|-
| 1st || Pl. || Neu. || ''nis'' || ''ens'' || We
|-
| 2nd || Pl. || Fem. || ''ves'' || ''vi'' || You (plural), y'all
|-
| 2nd || Pl. || M/N || ''vis'' || ''vi'' || You (plural), y'all
|-
| 3rd || Pl. || Fem. || ''eles'' || ''els'' || They
|-
| 3rd || Pl. || Masc. || ''elis'' || ''lis'' || They
|-
| 3rd || Pl. || Neu. || ''elis'' || ''els'' || They
|}

Notes:
* As in English 'I', the nominative form of the first person pronoun ''Ye'' must always be capitalized.
* Accusative forms such as ''me'' drop the final ''-e'' when followed by a vowel-initial verb.
* A formality distinction is made between informal second person singular ''tü'' (corresponding to Spanish ''tú'', ''vos'', French ''tu'', Italian ''tu'', Russian ''ты'', etc) and formal ''Vi'' (corresponding to Spanish ''usted'', French ''vous'', Italian ''Lei'', Russian ''вы'', etc).
* * As with French ''vous'', or Russian ''вы'', Europaico ''Vi'' takes second person plural verbforms, even though it is used for singular 'you'.
* * As in Italian ''Lei'', the formal pronoun ''Vi'' is capitalized in all cases.

Europaico pronouns ''might'' optionally be dropped when in subject position. This hardly ever results in ambiguity as verbs conjugate to agree with their subject. Still, it is ''preferred'' to keep subject, even if redundant, for additional clarity, with pronoun ellipsis being more of a stylistic choice to avoid repetition.

==== Reflexive pronoun ''si'' ====

Europaico also includes a reflexive pronoun only found in accusative form: ''si'' ([one]self).

In Romance languages, reflexive pronouns are required when the same a third person referent appears as both the subject and the object of a verb as in Spanish ''él '''se''' ve'' (he sees himself), which contrasts wordings using the accusative form of the standard third person pronoun as in ''él '''lo''' ve'', which is interpreted instead as 'he sees ''him'' (a different person)'. Correspondingly, Europaico has ''el '''si''' sei'' for 'he sees himself' and ''el le sei'' for 'he sees him (someone else)'. Making this distinction is mandatory.

Slavic languages such as Russian go one step further in their usage of reflexive pronouns, requiring them whenever the object coincides with the subject, even for first or second person subjects. For instance, Russian would have ''я вижу '''себя''''' (''ya vizhu '''sebya''''') for 'I see myself', using the reflexive accusative pronoun ''себя'' instead of the first person form ''меня'', as in ''он видит '''меня''''' (''on vidit '''menya''''', he sees '''me'''). This contrasts with Romance usage, which restricts the reflexive pronoun to third person sentences, requiring the accusative first person pronoun both in ''yo '''me''' veo'' (I see myself) and in ''él '''me''' ve'' (he sees me). True to its Solomonic wisdom, Europaico allows both wordings to be used in that case: either Slavic-style ''ye si seic'' or Romance-style ''ye mi seic''.

These usages are summed up in the following table:

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Subject''' !! '''Object''' !! '''Usage of ''si''''' !! '''Example''' !! '''Translation'''
|-
| Third person || Third person (same) || Required || ''El si sei'' || He sees himself
|-
| Third person || Third person (other) || Prohibited || ''El le sei'' || He sees him (someone else)
|-
| Other || Same as subject || Optional || ''Ye si seic'' / ''Ye mi sec'' || I see myself.
|-
| Other || Other than the subject || Prohibited || ''Ye li seic'' ''El mi sei'' || I see him. He sees me.
|}

==== Possessive pronouns ====

Each pronoun has an associated possessive which works in a similar way to an adjective, being placed after a noun and requiring agreement markers for the number and gender of the possessed object with the following suffixes:

{| class="wikitable"
! Gender !! '''Singular''' !! '''Plural'''
|-
| Feminine || ''-a'' || ''-es''
|-
| Masculine || - || ''-is''
|-
| Neuter || ''-o'' || ''-is''
|}

For instance, we would have ''el muz min'' for 'my husband', ''la zena mina'' for 'my wife' and ''lo miesto mino'' for 'my city'. Possessive pronouns do not indicate the gender of the possessor thus ''lis ďeťis linis'' could correspond to English 'his children' or 'her children'.

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Pronoun''' !! '''Possessive''' !! '''English equivalent'''
|-
| ''Ye'' || ''min'' || my
|-
| ''tü'' || ''tin'' || your (informal)
|-
| ''Vi'' || ''Vin'' || your (formal)
|-
| ''el'', ''ela'', ''elo'' || ''lin'' || his, her, its
|-
| ''nes'', ''nis'' || ''nin'' || our
|-
| ''ves'', ''vis'' || ''vin'' || your, y'all's
|-
| ''eles'', ''elis'' || ''lor'' || their
|-
| ( ''si'' ) || ''sin'' || one's own
|}

The reflexive possessive ''sin'' is used to indicate possession by the subject, being mandatory when it refers to a third person and optional for the first or second person, much as discussed for accusative ''si''. For example:
* ''El sei lo miesto sino'' ~ He sees his [own] city.
* ''El sei lo miesto lino'' ~ He sees his [someone else's] city.
* ''Ye seic lo miesto mino'' / ''Ye seic lo miesto sino'' ~ I see my city.
* ''Ye seic lo miesto lino'' ~ I see his city.

=== Verbs ===

Europaico verbs are mostly derived from Germanic languages, especially English and German. Their conjugation, however, also incorporates elements from Romance and Slavic languages.

Germanic verbs commonly feature vowel alternations, often known as ''umlaut'', as found in English ''give / gave'' or their German cognates ''geben / gab''. As such a crucial element of Germanic verbs couldn't be left out, Europaico verbs will often feature two distinct stems, such as present-tense ''guiv-'' /ɡiv/ and past tense ''gav-'' /ɡav/ for the verb ''guiven'' (to give). Forms displaying umlaut are actively preferred over forms without alternations, for instance Europaico ''helpen'' (to help) has a past stem ''holp-'' reflecting Middle English ''help / holp / holpen'' instead of modern English regular ''help / helped / helped''.

==== Conjugation ====

Verbs are conjugated for person, number and tense in addition to having an infinitive form, two participles that declines for gender and number and two imperatives. Most Europaico verbs are regular although they still require the speaker to memorize separately their present and past-tense stems.

===== Non-finite forms =====

Infinitives take the present stem and a Germanic-like ''-en'' ending as in ''guiven'' for 'to give'. This form is used to refer to the action as a noun and is required by modal verbs such as ''canen'' (can, to be able to) and in the future-tense construction.

Europaico verbs may inflect for two kinds of participle: an active participle or a passive participle.

Active participles, formed by combining the present stem with the suffix ''-end'' and possibly other suffixes for marking gender and number. These participles operate as nouns or adjectives referencing the subject role of a verb, for instance ''lis guivendis'' translates to 'the ones that give' or 'the givers'. This form of participle isn't used particularly often.

Passive participles, on the other hand, are far more common in the language due to being required for forming non-imperfective past tense constructions. They are formed by combining the past stem with the Slavic-derived suffix ''-el'' as in ''gavel'' for 'given'. Less commonly, passive participles might also be used as adjectives or nouns for referencing the direct object role of their verb, as in ''el muz halpelo'' for 'the helped man, the man that received assistance'.

===== Indicative tenses =====

Europaico contrasts two moods: the indicative which covers most usages and the imperative, used only for issuing commands. This section focuses on the former, which accounts for the bulk of Europaico's verbal morphology, while the next section will cover the much simpler imperatives. Make sure to take time to thank whatever powers may be for Europaico not having a subjunctive mood as well.

Indicative verbs in Europaico might take four different tense-aspect combinations (referred as 'tenses' for simplicity), largely based on French:
- The '''present tense''' (`PRS`) matches English simple present and present continuous, being used for generic statements, habitual actions and events taking place in the present. For instance, ''ye '''singo''''' corresponds to either English 'I '''sing'''' or 'I '''am singing''''.
- The so-called '''imperfect tense''' (following a similar usage in Romance languages), more accurately described as imperfective past (`PST.IPFV`) is used to indicate events in the past that extended over a period of time, either due to it being a habitual, repeated action (as in ''ye '''sangueic''' kate den'' for 'I '''sang''' every day') or to indicate a prolonged activity that might be used to indicate a time frame for other actions (as in ''otan ye '''sangueic''''' for 'while I '''was singing'''').
- Europaico's '''past tense''' (`PST`) covers all other usages related to events in the past, being the most common way to translate English simple past and perfect tenses. The phrase ''ye '''au sanguel''''' covers English 'I '''sang'''' or 'I '''have sung'''' when referring to punctual events in the past.
- Finally, the '''future tense''' (`FUT`) is simply used for future events: ''ye '''guic singuen''''' corresponds to English 'I '''will sing'''' or ''I '''am goint to sing'''''.

As it can be observed from the examples, the '''present''' and '''imperfect''' tenses are formed by adding suffixes to the present and past stems of the verb (which, in the case of ''singuen'', 'to sing', are ''sing-'' and ''sang-'', after English 'sing' and 'sang'). These suffixes change depending on the subject, with verb endings inspired by French and Catalan conjugation [while basing features in Catalan might seem an odd choice for an international language, it can be noted that due to its geographic position and history it sort of bridges the gap between Spanish and French, the two most spoken Romance languages].

For a regular verb such as ''helpen'' (to help, present stem ''help-'', past stem ''holp-'', past auxiliary ''aven''), present ans imperfect forms are formed as follows:

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Subject''' !! '''Present''' (`PRS`) !! '''Imperfect''' (`PST.IPFV`)
|-
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) || ''helpo'' || ''holpeic''
|-
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) || ''helpes'' || ''holpeis''
|-
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) || ''helpe'' || ''holpei''
|-
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) || ''helpens'' || ''holpeyens''
|-
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) || ''helpeť'' || ''holpeyeť''
|-
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) || ''helpen'' || ''holpeyen''
|}

Note that verbs such as ''singuen'' present slight orthographic irregularities in their conjugation due to the sequences /ɡe/ and /ɡi/ requiring a silent ''u'' in the Latin orthography yielding ''singo'' for 'I sing' but ''sing'''u'''es'' for 'you sing' (still pronounced /ˈsin.ɡes/).

By contrast, the past and future tenses are constructed using an auxiliary verb, in a way that should be familiar to speakers of most Western European languages.

The '''past tense''' is formed with an auxiliary verb followed by a passive participle. Most verbs require the auxiliary ''aven'' (to have) which is followed by the base form of the participle (generally ending in ''-el'') as in ''ye '''au sanguel''''' for 'I sang / I have sung'. On the other hand, reflexive verbs, motion verbs and other verbs that relate to a change affecting the subject such as ''groven'' (to grow) require using ''seinen'' (to be) as their auxiliary, which must then be followed by a passive participle agreeing with the subject in gender and number. For instance, a male speaker would say ''ye '''sin forlesel''''' for 'I [have] left', whereas a female speaker would say ''ye '''sin forlesela'''''. This distinction parallels that of French verbs that form their past with ''être'' as their auxiliary followed by participles showing agreement (''Je suis parti'' / ''Je suis partie'') instead of the usual ''avoir'' auxiliary followed by invariable participles (''J'ai chanté''), which means that incorporating this feature to Europaico should make the language even easier to learn for the whole ''Francophonie''.

Only the present tense form of the auxiliaries is used for this purpose (there is no equivalent in Europaico to past perfect or pluperfect constructions such as English 'he had sung' or French ''« il avait chanté »''). With this fact in mind, past tense forms as exemplified with ''helpen'' (to help, past stem ''holp-'', auxiliary ''aven'') and ''comen'' (to come, past stem ''cam-'', auxiliary ''seinen) are as follows:

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Subject''' !! '''''Helpen''''' !! '''''Comen''''' (fem.) !! '''''Comen''''' (masc.) !! '''''Comen''''' (neu.)
|-
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) || ''au holpel'' || ''sin camela'' || ''sin camel'' || ''sin camelo''
|-
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) || ''as holpel'' || ''es camela'' || ''es camel'' || ''es camelo''
|-
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) || ''a holpel'' || ''is camela'' || ''is camel'' || ''is camelo''
|-
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) || ''avens holpel'' || ''sins cameles'' || ''sins camelis'' || ''sins camelis''
|-
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) || ''aveť holpel'' || ''seť cameles'' || ''seť camelis'' || ''seť camelis''
|-
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) || ''an holpel'' || ''sin cameles'' || ''sin camelis'' || ''sin camelis''
|}

Meanwhile, the '''future tense''' is formed with ''guien'' (to go) as an auxiliary verb followed by the infinitive form of the verb. The resulting wording, as in ''ye guic singuen'', matches English 'I am going to sing', Spanish ''"voy a cantar"'' and French ''« je vais chanter »'' among others, making this a fairly sensible for a once. As an example, the future tense forms of ''helpen'' are as follows:

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Subject''' !! '''Future''' (`FUT`)
|-
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) || ''guic helpen''
|-
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) || ''guis helpen''
|-
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) || ''gui helpen''
|-
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) || ''guens helpen''
|-
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) || ''gueť helpen''
|-
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) || ''guen helpen''
|}

In principle, it would be possible to combine the constructions for past and future tenses in order to refer to things that ''were'' going to happen but perhaps didn't (''*'ye au gal helpen'' for 'I was going to help') or things that are will ''have'' happened by a certain point. (''*'ye guic aven holpel''). Whether such constructions would actually be permitted in Europaico is intentionally left ambiguous, although anyone willing to use them probably should also allow pluperfect tenses such as ''*'*'ye au adel holpel'' for 'I had sung' after all. If you'd rather keep things simple, ignoring this whole paragraph (if not the article as a whole) might be a better option.

===== Imperatives =====

Verbs in the imperative are considerably simpler presenting only two forms: a 'singular imperative' issuing a command to a single listener (''tü'', you) and a 'plural imperative' giving and order to multiple listeners (''vis/ves'', you guys, you all, y'all, youse, etc). However, the fact that Europaico uses ''Vi'', a variant of the second person plural pronouns, as a formal second person ''singular'' pronoun, sets things askew as the 'plural imperative' will also be required in this case.

For regular verbs such as ''helpen'', imperatives are formed by combining the present stem with the suffix ''-i'' for singular or ''-iť'' for plural imperatives:

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Subject number''' !! '''Formality''' !! '''Imperative'''
|-
| Singular || Informal || ''helpi''
|-
| Singular || Formal || ''helpiť''
|-
| Plural || Any || ''helpiť''
|}

While not mandatory, subjects are typically omitted in imperative sentences; ''Me helpi!'' would be a more common wording for 'Help me!' than ''Tü me helpi!''. Using a explicit pronoun might be required to resolve ambiguity in cases where it is unclear whether a plural imperative was given to a single person (addressed with formal ''Vi'') within a group or to the group as a whole (second person plural ''vis'' or ''ves'').

Unlike Romance languages where true imperatives are generally restricted to positive commands (compare Spanish imperative mood ''"¡Ayuda!"'' for 'Help!' but subjunctive "''¡No ayudes!''" for 'Don't help!'), Europaico imperatives interact normally with negative markers as in ''Ne helpi niť!'' for 'Don't help!'.

While imperatives can only be formed for second person subjects, constructions about mandatory or suggested actions for other subjects can be expressed using modal verbs such as ''lesen'' (let) or ''musten'' (must):
* ''El muste te helpen!'' - He must help you!
* ''Ens lesens helpen!'' - Let's help!

==== Irregular verbs ====

One of the key reasons someone might opt to adopt an auxiliary constructed language rather than a natlang is that auxlangs typically shy away from irregular verbs in order to be easier to learn. Accordingly, it would be an extremely dubious move for an auxlang to feature irregular verbs.

Europaico features irregular verbs. These verbs can be divided into two classes: semi-vocalic verbs such as ''groven'' (to grow) and ''seyen'' (to see) whose conjugation show clear commonalities characterized by the alternation of a vocalic stem (''grou-'' and ''sei-'') and a consonant stem (''grov-'', ''sey-'') and fully irregular verbs where all patterns should be put into question.

===== Semi-vocalic verbs =====

Verbs in this class generally feature stems which end in a ''v'' or ''y'' (as found in ''groven'' and ''seyen'', respectively) which would result in valid diphthongs (''ai'', ''au'', ''ei'', ''eu'', ''oi'', ''ou'' or ''ui'') should we replace the ''v'' /v/ for an ''u'' /u/ or the ''y'' /j/ for an ''i'' /i/.

The verb ''seyen'' (to see) proves to be a particularly fitting example as it features semi-vocalic stems both in the present tense (''sey-''/''sei-'') and in the past tense (''sav-''/''sau-''), although the latter doesn't affect the paradigm much.

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Infinitive''' !! ''seyen''
|-
| '''Past tense auxiliary''' || ''aven''
|-
| '''Active participle''' || ''seyendo''
|-
| '''Passive participle''' || ''savel''
|-
| '''Imperative''' (''tü'') || ''sei''
|-
| '''Imperative''' (''Vi'') || ''seyeť''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Subject''' !! '''Present''' (`PRS`) !! '''Imperfect''' (`PST.IPFV`) !! '''Past''' (`PST`) !! '''Future '''(`FUT`)
|-
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) || ''seic'' || ''saveic'' || ''au savel'' || ''guic seyen''
|-
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) || ''seis'' || ''saveis'' || ''as savel'' || ''guis seyen''
|-
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) || ''sei'' || ''savei'' || ''a savel'' || ''gui seyen''
|-
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) || ''seyens'' || ''saveyens'' || ''avens savel'' || ''guens seyen''
|-
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) || ''seyeť'' || ''saveyeť'' || ''aveť savel'' || ''gueť seyen''
|-
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) || ''seyen'' || ''saveyen'' || ''an savel'' || ''guen seyen''
|}

Forms for other semi-vocalic verbs can be constructed replacing ''sei-'' and ''sey-'' for the appropriate vocalic and consonant stems for the present, and ''sav-'' for the appropriate past stem, with the sole exception that ''Vi'' imperatives take the suffix ''-iť'' for verbs for stems ending in ''v'' as in ''groviť'' for 'Grow!' (the form ending in ''-eť'' found in ''seyeť'', 'See!', is a result of Europaico's phonotactic restriction disallowing /ji/).

===== Fully irregular verbs =====

Fully irregular verbs include ones used as auxiliaries as ''seinen'' (to be, also marks past tense for reflexive verbs), ''aven'' (to have, also marks past tense for non-reflexive verbs) and ''guien'' (to go, also marks future tense), modal verbs such as ''canen'' (can, to be able) and ''musten'' (must, to have to) and also a few content verbs such as ''esen'' (to eat).

====== ''aven'' (to have, `PST` marker) ======
{| class="wikitable"
! '''Infinitive''' !! ''aven''
|-
| '''Past tense auxiliary''' || ''aven''
|-
| '''Active participle''' || ''abendo''
|-
| '''Passive participle''' || ''adel''
|-
| '''Imperative''' (''tü'') || ''avi''
|-
| '''Imperative''' (''Vi'') || ''aviť''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Subject''' !! '''Present''' (`PRS`) !! '''Imperfect''' (`PST.IPFV`) !! '''Past''' (`PST`) !! '''Future '''(`FUT`)
|-
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) || ''au'' || ''adeic'' || ''au adel'' || ''guic aven''
|-
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) || ''as'' || ''adeis'' || ''as adel'' || ''guis aven''
|-
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) || ''a'' || ''adei'' || ''a adel'' || ''gui aven''
|-
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) || ''avens'' || ''adens'' || ''avens adel'' || ''guens aven''
|-
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) || ''aveť'' || ''adeť'' || ''aveť adel'' || ''gueť aven''
|-
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) || ''an'' || ''aden'' || ''an adel'' || ''guen aven''
|}

====== ''canen'' (can, to be able) ======

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Infinitive''' !! ''canen''
|-
| '''Past tense auxiliary''' || (depends on following verb)
|-
| '''Active participle''' || ''canendo''
|-
| '''Passive participle''' || ''conel''
|-
| '''Imperative''' (''tü'') || ''cani''
|-
| '''Imperative''' (''Vi'') || ''caniť''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Subject''' !! '''Present''' (`PRS`) !! '''Imperfect''' (`PST.IPFV`) !! '''Past''' (`PST`) !! '''Future '''(`FUT`)
|-
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) || ''canc'' || ''coneic'' || ''au conel'' || ''guic seyen''
|-
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) || ''cans'' || ''coneis'' || ''as conel'' || ''guis seyen''
|-
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) || ''can'' || ''conei'' || ''a conel'' || ''gui seyen''
|-
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) || ''canens'' || ''coneyens'' || ''avens conel'' || ''guens seyen''
|-
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) || ''caneť'' || ''coneyeť'' || ''aveť conel'' || ''gueť seyen''
|-
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) || ''canen'' || ''coneyen'' || ''an conel'' || ''guen seyen''
|}

====== ''doen'' (to do) ======

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Infinitive''' !! ''doen''
|-
| '''Past tense auxiliary''' || ''aven''
|-
| '''Active participle''' || ''doendo''
|-
| '''Passive participle''' || ''del''
|-
| '''Imperative''' (''tü'') || ''doi''
|-
| '''Imperative''' (''Vi'') || ''doiť''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Subject''' !! '''Present''' (`PRS`) !! '''Imperfect''' (`PST.IPFV`) !! '''Past''' (`PST`) !! '''Future '''(`FUT`)
|-
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) || ''doc'' || ''deic'' || ''au dnel'' || ''guic doen''
|-
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) || ''does'' || ''deis'' || ''as del'' || ''guis doen''
|-
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) || ''doe'' || ''dei'' || ''a del'' || ''gui doen''
|-
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) || ''doens'' || ''deyens'' || ''avens del'' || ''guens doen''
|-
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) || ''doeť'' || ''deyeť'' || ''aveť del'' || ''gueť doen''
|-
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) || ''doen'' || ''deyen'' || ''an del'' || ''guen doen''
|}

====== ''esen'' (to eat) ======

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Infinitive''' !! ''esen''
|-
| '''Past tense auxiliary''' || ''aven''
|-
| '''Active participle''' || ''esendo''
|-
| '''Passive participle''' || ''atel''
|-
| '''Imperative''' (''tü'') || ''esi''
|-
| '''Imperative''' (''Vi'') || ''esiť''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Subject''' !! '''Present''' (`PRS`) !! '''Imperfect''' (`PST.IPFV`) !! '''Past''' (`PST`) !! '''Future '''(`FUT`)
|-
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) || ''esc'' || ''ateic'' || ''au atel'' || ''guic esen''
|-
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) || ''ets'' || ''ateis'' || ''as atel'' || ''guis esen''
|-
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) || ''et'' || ''atei'' || ''a atel'' || ''gui esen''
|-
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) || ''esens'' || ''ateyens'' || ''avens atel'' || ''guens esen''
|-
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) || ''eseť'' || ''ateyeť'' || ''aveť atel'' || ''gueť esen''
|-
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) || ''esen'' || ''ateyen'' || ''an atel'' || ''guen esen''
|}

====== ''guien'' (to go, to walk, `FUT` marker) ======

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Infinitive''' !! ''guien''
|-
| '''Past tense auxiliary''' || ''seinen''
|-
| '''Active participle''' || ''guendo''
|-
| '''Passive participle''' || ''gal''
|-
| '''Imperative''' (''tü'') || ''gui''
|-
| '''Imperative''' (''Vi'') || ''guiť''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Subject''' !! '''Present''' (`PRS`) !! '''Imperfect''' (`PST.IPFV`) !! '''Past''' (`PST`) !! '''Future '''(`FUT`)
|-
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) || ''guic'' || ''gaic'' || ''sin gal'' || ''guic guien''
|-
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) || ''guis'' || ''gais'' || ''es gal'' || ''guis guien''
|-
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) || ''gui'' || ''gai'' || ''is gal'' || ''gui guien''
|-
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) || ''guens'' || ''gayens'' || ''sins galis'' || ''guens guien''
|-
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) || ''gueť'' || ''gayeť'' || ''seť galis'' || ''gueť guien''
|-
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) || ''guen'' || ''gayen'' || ''sin galis'' || ''guen guien''
|}

====== ''lesen'' (to leave, to let, to allow) ======

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Infinitive''' !! ''lesen''
|-
| '''Past tense auxiliary''' || (depends on following verb)
|-
| '''Active participle''' || ''lesendo''
|-
| '''Passive participle''' || ''lasel''
|-
| '''Imperative''' (''tü'') || ''lesi''
|-
| '''Imperative''' (''Vi'') || ''lesiť''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Subject''' !! '''Present''' (`PRS`) !! '''Imperfect''' (`PST.IPFV`) !! '''Past''' (`PST`) !! '''Future '''(`FUT`)
|-
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) || ''lesc'' || ''laseic'' || ''au lasel'' || ''guic lesen''
|-
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) || ''lets'' || ''laseis'' || ''as lasel'' || ''guis lesen''
|-
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) || ''let'' || ''lasei'' || ''a lasel'' || ''gui lesen''
|-
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) || ''lesens'' || ''laseyens'' || ''avens lasel'' || ''guens lesen''
|-
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) || ''leseť'' || ''laseyeť'' || ''aveť lasel'' || ''gueť lesen''
|-
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) || ''lesen'' || ''laseyen'' || ''an lasel'' || ''guen lesen''
|}

====== ''musten'' (must, to have to) ======

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Infinitive''' !! ''musten''
|-
| '''Past tense auxiliary''' || (depends on following verb)
|-
| '''Active participle''' || ''mustendo''
|-
| '''Passive participle''' || ''mostel''
|-
| '''Imperative''' (''tü'') || -
|-
| '''Imperative''' (''Vi'') || -
|}

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Subject''' !! '''Present''' (`PRS`) !! '''Imperfect''' (`PST.IPFV`) !! '''Past''' (`PST`) !! '''Future '''(`FUT`)
|-
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) || ''musto'' || ''mosteic'' || ''au mosel'' || ''guic musten''
|-
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) || ''musts'' || ''mosteis'' || ''as mosel'' || ''guis musten''
|-
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) || ''must'' || ''mostei'' || ''a mosel'' || ''gui musten''
|-
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) || ''mustens'' || ''mosteyens'' || ''avens mosel'' || ''guens musten''
|-
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) || ''musteť'' || ''mosteyeť'' || ''aveť mosel'' || ''gueť musten''
|-
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) || ''musten'' || ''mosteyen'' || ''an mosel'' || ''guen musten''
|}

====== ''seinen'' (to be, PST marker) ======

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Infinitive''' !! ''seinen''
|-
| '''Past tense auxiliary''' || ''seinen''
|-
| '''Active participle''' || ''sindo''
|-
| '''Passive participle''' || ''bül''
|-
| '''Imperative''' (''tü'') || ''bi''
|-
| '''Imperative''' (''Vi'') || ''biť''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Subject''' !! '''Present''' (`PRS`) !! '''Imperfect''' (`PST.IPFV`) !! '''Past''' (`PST`) !! '''Future '''(`FUT`)
|-
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) || ''sin'' || ''seineic'' || ''sin bül'' || ''guic seinen''
|-
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) || ''es'' || ''seineis'' || ''es bül'' || ''guis seinen''
|-
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) || ''is'' || ''seinei'' || ''is bül'' || ''gui seinen''
|-
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) || ''sins'' || ''seineyens'' || ''sins bülis'' || ''guens seinen''
|-
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) || ''seť'' || ''seineyeť'' || ''seť bülis'' || ''gueť seinen''
|-
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) || ''sin'' || ''seineyen'' || ''sin bülis'' || ''guen seinen''
|}

=== Syntax ===

Europaico's syntax is relatively simple, with no real surprises. As I was able to restrain myself from adding grammatical case to this conlang, Europaico requires an `SVO` word order.

Adjectives and adverbs generally follow the words they modify, although the opposite order is allowed as a stylistic variant, generally as a way to emphasize the descriptor. For instance, 'the big city' will be generally given as ''lo miesto mego'' (literally 'the city big'), although ''lo mego miesto'' ('the big city') is also allowed but much rarer.

Similarly, Europaico allows for pronouns in subject-position to be dropped, but this is a poetic or otherwise stylistic choice not generally found in the standard form of the language. Thus ''Ye te seic'' would be the usual way of translating 'I see you' even though simply saying ''te seic'' would also constitute a valid option.

==== Negatives ====

European languages generally express negation through the inclusion of a negative particle, typically found before the verb (as in Spanish ''no'', Greek ''δεν'' and Polish ''nie'') although some languages place this particle after the verb instead (German ''nicht'', Danish ''ikke'') while French traditionally combines both options, with the particle ''ne'' being required before the verb and ''pas'' after it.

Naturally, Europaico, in its heroic quest to become as accessible as possible to speakers of all its source languages, takes the French approach, with French and Slavic-based ''ne'' being required before the verb and any clitics (such as accusative pronouns) and German-based ''niť'' after the verb. Thus the negative form of ''Ye te helpo'' (I help you) is ''Ye ne te helpo niť'' (I don't help you).

Double negatives are allowed, retaining their negative sense. For instance 'I never help you' will be generally expressed by adding the adverb ''mai'' (never) to the negative wording as given above: ''Ye ne te helpo niť mai'', while the similarly constructed ''Ye ne te guic lesen niť mai'' could be interpreted as "I will never give up on you".

==== Questions ====

Polar questions (those who ask for a yes-no confirmation) may be formed simply by adding the particle ''que'' at the beginning of the sentence. Verb-subject inversion (resulting in a `VSO` word order) is optionally allowed for these questions thus 'Am I helping you?' might be expressed either as ''Que ye te helpo?'' or as ''Que te helpo ye?'' without any change in meaning.

Such questions will generally be answered with particles meaning 'yes' and 'no' which in Europaico are ''ne'' and ''oquei'' respectively, taken from Greek ''ναι'' and ''όχι'' respectively. Learners should take notice that ''ne'' means 'yes', despite it being otherwise identical to the negative particle ''ne''. Similarly, the negative answer ''oquei'' should not be confused with English-derived ''okey'' (OK), which might also be borrowed into the language.

Content questions are formed using interrogative pronouns or adverbs similar to the English wh-words including ''cuo'' (who), ''cue'' (what), ''cuando'' (when), ''cuon'' (where), ''cuomo'' (how) and ''cuare'' (why). Questions formed using these interrogatives do not require the marker ''que''. These content interrogatives might be optionally fronted to the beginning of the sentence or left in their natural place in the sentence, so 'who are you helping?' might be expressed either as ''Cuo tü helpes?'' or as ''Tü helpes cuo?''.

=== Relative clauses ===

Europaico's relative clauses follow the noun they describe (the antecedent) as is the norm among European languages. Their structure, largely modeled off French, varies slightly depending on the role the antecedent has within the relative clause.

When the antecedent works as a subject within the relative clause, it will be introduced with the relative pronoun '''''qui''''' as in ''« lo ďeťe, qui singue »'' for 'the kid that sings'.

As in German, relative clauses tend to adopt a verb-final structure meaning that direct objects such as ''« el hlieb »'' ~ 'the bread' in phrases such as 'the man who eats the bread' will appear before the verb (''el muz, qui el hlieb et'') even though it would usually follow the verb in other contexts (as in ''el muz et el hlieb'' for 'the man eats the bread'). Arguably, this has the advantage of delimiting the relative clause more clearly.

Relative clauses where the antecedent works as a direct object use the relative pronoun '''''que''''' instead. Due to Europaico's verb-final word order for relative clauses, the usage of the correct relative pronoun might be the only element that indicates the role of the antecedent within the relative clause; compare for instance ''« les zenes, '''que''' lis muzis seyen »'' (the women who the men see) and ''« les zenes, '''qui''' lis muzis seyen »'' (the women who see the men).

Clauses where the antecedent takes in a different syntactic role within the relative clause require the pronoun ''qui'' preceded by a preposition such as locative ''na'' (in, at) in the phrase ''lo miesto, '''na qui''' je vono'' (the city '''where''' I live).

Europaico's orthography requires relative phrases to be surrounded by commas as it is also the case in German and Russian orthography among others.

== Numerals ==

Europaico numerals have been designed to facilitate international communication with the same utmost care present in the rest of the language.

In a rare display of goodwill, Europaico's numerals are not inflected for gender nor any other category, although it should be noted that the numeral for 'one' coincides with the feminine form of the indefinite article which ''is'' inflected for number.

Digits are mostly borrowed from Greek, although influences from other languages is also present:

{| class="wikitable"
! Number !! Europaico numeral !! Notes
|-
| '''0''' || ''zero'' || Internationalism.
|-
| '''1''' || ''ena'' || From Greek ''ένα'', also similar to German ''ein''. Identical to the feminine form of the indefinite article ''en/ena/eno''.
|-
| '''2''' || ''düs'' || From the Greek-based prefix ''di-'', its source the Ancient Greek adverb ''δῐ́ς'', Albanian ''dy'' and Romance words such as Spanish ''dos'' and Portuguese ''dois''.
|-
| '''3''' || ''tris'' || From the Greek-based prefix ''tri-'' and words for 'three' in multiple Indo-European languages from Europe.
|-
| '''4''' || ''quear'' || From Manx Gaelic ''kiare'' /kʲeːə(r)/ which somehow resembles cognates such as French ''quatre''. Despite the fact that Romance, Slavic and Germanic words for 'four' ultimately share the same Indo-European root ''*'kʷetwóres'', modern reflexes have diverged so much that one could scarcely find common ground among them. Since Europaico was severely lacking in Celtic representation, a Manx Gaelic word was chosen, an obvious choice obeying to the Isle of Man position between the territories of Goidelic and Brittonic languages.
|-
| '''5''' || ''pinta'' || Mainly from the Greek-based prefix ''penta-'' although also influenced by the ''i'' found in Romance words for 'fifth' such as ''quinta'' (found in Portuguese, Spanish, Catalan and Italian among others).
|-
| '''6''' || ''secsa'' || From the Greek-based prefix ''hexa-'', its Latin counterpart ''sex(a)-'' and many words for 'six' in Indo-European languages including German ''sechs''.
|-
| '''7''' || ''septa'' || A similar derivation to that from ''secsa'', inspired by the prefixes ''hepta-'', ''sept(a)-'' and various words for 'seven' or 'seventh' (such as Spanish ''séptimo'').
|-
| '''8''' || ''octa'' || From the Greek and Latin-based prefixes ''octo-/octa-''. The form with a final ''-a'' was chosen to agree with the previous numerals.
|-
| '''9''' || ''nona'' || From the Latin prefix ''nona-'', keeping the pattern from previous numerals.
|}

Europaico's word for '''10''' is ''deç'', a word inspired both by Romance forms of the numeral (such as Spanish ''diez'', Portuguese ''dez'' and Occitan ''dètz'') and by Slavic cognates such as Czech ''deset'', Ukrainian ''де́сять'' and Macedonian ''де́сет''.

Numerals from '''11''' to '''19''' are regularly formed by adding the suffix ''-nast'' (taken from Slavic sources) to the digit for the units position: ''enanast'', ''düsnast'', ''trisnast'' through ''nonanast''.

Words for multiples of ten from '''20''' to '''90''' are formed by suffixing ''-deç'' to the appropriate digit, from ''düsdeç'' for twenty to ''nonadeç'' for ninety. Unfortunately, this means that French-speakers learning this language will have to do some math to work out that the numeral for ninety is formed as ''nonadeç'' rather than something that would come more naturally to them such as ''*'*'quear-düsdeç-deç''.

On the other hand, in order to make the language more accessible to German and Polish speakers, among others, other numbers below 100 are formed placing the units ''before'' the tens, as in ''quear düsdeç'' for 24 (literally 'four [and] twenty').

All other positions are formed as in English, with the higher positions coming up first, each formed by a digit numeral followed by a SI-based term for the power of ten as in ''ena hecto'' for 100 (literally one hundred) or ''ena quilo düs hecto quear trisdeç'' for 1234 (literally one thousand two hundred four thirty).

Ordinals might be formed adding the suffix ''-ico'' to a number as in ''secsaico'' for 'sixth'.

== Examples ==

=== Sample sentences ===

The following are a set of sample sentences designed to showcase aspects of the Europaico grammar. These are given in the Europaico and Latin alphabets along with an IPA phonemic transcription.

Intransitive, affirmative:

* '''Eɴ мɤz кaı eɴa zeɴa гaεɴ.'''
* '''''En muz cai ena zena gayen.'''''
* /en muz kai̯ ˈe.na ˈze.na ˈɡa.jen/
* ''en muz cai ena zena gayen''
* INDF.SG.M man and INDF.SG.F woman go.IPF.3p
* '''A man and a woman were walking.'''

Transitive, question:

* '''Ke сeεɴ ʌeс zeɴeс ʌıс мɤzıс?'''
* '''''Que seyen les zenes lis muzis?'''''
* /ke ˈse.jen les ˈze.nes lis ˈmu.zis/
* ''que seyen les zen-es lis muz-is''
* INT see.PRS.3p DEF.PL.F woman-PL.F DEF.PL.C man-PL.C
* '''Do the women see the men?'''

Ditransitive, negative:

* '''Є ɴe τ’aɤ гaweʌ ɴıћ eʌ кaмeɴ бaρo.'''
* '''''Ye ne t’au gavel niť el camen baro.'''''
* /je ne tau̯ ɡaˈvel nic el ˈka.men ˈba.ʀo/
* ''ye ne te au gav-el niť el camen bar-o''
* 1s NEG 2.ACC PST.1s give.PST-PTCP NEG DEF.SG.M stone heavy-SG.C
* I didn’t give you the heavy stone.

With relative clauses:

* '''Λa oсoбa, кe τʋ aс сaweʌ, фaɴгe ʌa пτıцa, кı ʌıс ∂ʋс đeћıс мıɴıс a фaɴ∂eʌ.'''
* '''''La osoba, que tü as savel, fangue la ptiça, qui lis düs ďeťis minis a fandel.'''''
* /la oˈso.ba ke ty as saˈvel ˈfaŋ.ɡe la ˈpti.tsa ki lis dys ˈɟe.cis ˈmi,nis a fanˈdel/
* ''la osoba que tü as sav-el fang-e la ptiça''
* DEF.SG.F person REL.OBL 2s PST.2s see.PST-PTCP catch-PRS.3s DEF.SG.F bird
* ''qui lis düs ďeť-is min-is a fand-el''
* REL.NOM DEF.PL.C two child-PL.C 1s.POS-PL.C PST.3s find.PST-PTCP
* '''The person you saw is catching the bird that found my two children.'''

=== Schleicher's Fable ===

Schleicher's Fable is a common sample text used by many of the best and most serious linguists in the world. In order to even things out, we'll use it for Europaico as well.

The text of the fable, in English, is as follows:

* '''The Sheep and the Horses'''
*
* On a hill, sheep that had no wool saw horses, one of them pulling a heavy wagon, one carrying a big load, and one carrying a man quickly.
*
* The sheep said to the horses: "My heart pains me, seeing a man driving horses."
*
* The horses said: "Listen, sheep, our hearts pain us when we see this: a man, the master, makes the wool of the sheep into a warm garment for himself. And the sheep has no wool."
*
* Having heard this, the sheep fled into the plain.

The Europaico translation in the Europaico script is as follows:

* '''Λa Owцa кaı ʌıс Koɴıс'''
*
* Eпı eɴ пaгoρeк, eɴa owцa, кı wɤʌɴa ɴe a∂eı ɴıћ, a сaweʌ кoɴıс: eɴ кoɴ кı τρoкeı eɴ woz бaρo, eɴ кoɴ кı бoρeı eɴa τowaρa мeгa кaı eɴ кoɴ кı бoρeı τaкaмeɴτ eɴ мɤz.
*
* Λa owцa a сaгeʌ пρo кoɴıс: « Λo сeρцe мıɴo мe ∂oe бoʌ сeεɴ∂o eɴ мɤz кı ∂ρıwe кoɴıс ».
*
* Λıс кoɴıс aɴ сaгeʌ: « Owцa, ʌıсτı! Λıс сeρцıс мıɴıс ɴıс ∂oeɴ бoʌ кɤaɴ∂o ɴıс сeεɴс кeсτo: eɴ мɤz, eʌ гoспo∂aρ, weρaɴ∂eρe ʌa wɤʌɴa ∂eс owцa'с ɴa eɴ пʌaшτ τeρмo пρo сı. Kaı ɴɤɴ ʌa owцa ɴ'a ɴıћ wɤʌɴa. »
*
* Λa owцa a xeρeʌ кeсτo кaı ıс фʌoxeʌa ɴa ʌa ρowɴıɴa.

In the Latin alphabet:

* '''La Ovça cai lis Conis'''
*
* Epi en pagorec, ena ovça, qui vulna ne adei niť, a savel conis: en con qui troquei en voz baro, en con qui borei ena tovara mega cai en con qui borei tacament en muz.
*
* La ovça a sagel pro conis: « Lo serce mino me doe bol seyendo en muz qui drive conis ».
*
* Lis conis an sagel: « Ovça, listi! Lis sercis minis nis doen bol cuando nis seyens questo: en muz, el gospodar, verandere la vulna des ovça's na en plašt termo pro si. Cai nun la ovça n'a niť vulna. »
*
* La ovça a herel questo cai is flohela na la rovnina.

Interlinear glosses and phonetic transcriptions are given in the following section.

==== Glosses ====

'''''La Ovça cai lis Conis'''''

/la ˈov.tsa kai̯ lis ˈko.nis/

''la ovça cai lis con-is''

DEF.SG.F sheep and DEF.PL.C horse-PL.C

'''The Sheep and the Horses'''

'''''Epi en pagorec, ena ovça, qui vulna ne adei niť, a savel conis:'''''

/ˈe.pi en pa.ɡoˈʀrek ˈe.na ˈov.tsa ki ˈvul.na ne aˈdei̯ nic a saˈvel ˈko.nis/

''epi en pagorec ena ovça qui vulna ne ad-ei niť''

on INDF.SG.M hill INDF.SG.F sheep REL.NOM wool NEG have.PST-.IPF.3s NEG

''a savel con-is''

PST.3s see.PTCP horse-PL.C

'''On a hill, sheep that had no wool saw horses'''

'''''en con qui troquei en voz baro,'''''

/en kon ki tʀoˈkei̯ en voz ˈba.ʀo/

''en con qui troc-ei en voz bar-o''

INDF.SG.M horse REL.NOM pull.PST-IPF.3s INDF.SG.M cart heavy-SG.C

'''a horse that pulled a heavy wagon'''

'''''en con qui borei ena tovara mega'''''

/en kon ki boˈʀei̯ ˈe.na toˈva.ʀa ˈme.ɡa/

''en con qui bor-ei ena tovara meg-a''

INDF.SG.M horse REL.NOM carry.PST-IPF.3s INDF.SG.F burden big-SG.F

'''a horse that carried a big load'''

'''''cai en con qui borei tacament en muz.'''''

/kai̯ en kon ki boˈʀei̯ ta.kaˈment en muz/

''cai en con qui bor-ei taca-ment en muz''

and INDF.SG.M horse REL.NOM carry.PST-IPF.3s fast-ADV INDF.SG.M man

'''a horse that carried a man quickly.'''

'''''La ovça a sagel pro conis:'''''

/la ˈov.tsa saˈɡel pʀo ˈko.nis/

''la ovça a sag-el pro con-is''

DEF.SG.F sheep PST.3s say-PTCP DAT horse-PL.C

'''The sheep said to the horses:'''

'''''« Lo serce mino me doe bol seyendo en muz qui drive conis ».'''''

/lo ˈseʀ.tse ˈmi.no me ˈdo.e bol seˈjen.do en muz ki ˈdʀi.ve ˈko.nis/

''lo serce min-o me doe bol''

DEF.SG.N heart 1s.POS-SG.N 1s.OBL do.PRS.3s pain

''sey-endo en muz qui driv-e con-is''

see-GER INDF.SG.M man REL.NOM drive-PRS.3s horse-PL.C

'''"My heart pains me, seeing a man driving horses."'''

'''''Lis conis an sagel: « Ovça, listi!'''''

/lis ˈko.nis an saˈɡel ˈov.tsa ˈlis.ti/

''lis con-is an sag-el ovça list-i''

DEF.PL.C horse-PL.C PST.3p say-PTCP sheep listen-IMP

'''The sheep said to the horses: "Sheep, listen!'''

'''''Lis sercis minis nis doen bol cuando nis seyens questo:'''''

/lis ˈseʀ.tsis ˈmi.nis nis ˈdo.en bol kuˈan.do nis seˈjens ˈkes.to/

''lis serc-is min-is nis doen bol''

DEF.PL.C heart-PLC 1s.POS-PL.C 1p.M.OBL do.PRS.3p pain

''cuando nis sey-ens questo''

when 1p.C see-PRS.1p this-SG.C

'''"Our hearts pain us when we see this:'''

'''''en muz, el gospodar, verandere la vulna des ovça's'''''

/en muz el ɡos.poˈdaʀ ve.ʀanˈde.ʀe la ˈvul.na des ˈov.tsas/

''en muz el gospodar verander-e la vulna des ovça-'s''

INDF.SG.M man DEF.SG.M master change-PRS.3s DEF.SG.F wool POS sheep-POS

'''a man, the master, changes the wool of the sheep'''

'''''na en plašt termo pro si.'''''

/na en plaʃt ˈteʀ.mo pʀo si/

''na en plašt term-o pro si''

into INDF.SG.M garment warm-SG.C for REFL

'''into a warm garment for himself.'''

'''''Cai nun la ovça n'a niť vulna. »'''''

/kai̯ nun la ˈov.tsa na nic ˈvul.na/

''cai nun la ovça n'-a niť vulna''

and now DEF.SG.F sheep NEG-have.PRS.3s NEG wool

'''And now the sheep doesn't have wool."'''

'''''La ovça a herel questo cai is flohela na la rovnina.'''''

/la ˈov.tsa a xeˈʀel ˈkes.to kai̯ is floˈxe.la na la ʀovˈni.na/

''la ovça a her-el questo cai is floh-ela''

DEF.SG.F sheep PST.3s hear-PTCP this and PST.3s flee.PST-PTCP.SG.F

''na la rovnina''

into DEF.SG.F plain

'''The sheep heard this and fled into the plain.'''



[[Category:Europaico]]
[[Category:Languages]]
[[Category:Conlangs]]

Europaico

2025-05-08T02:48:14Z

Jotadiego: Hopefully fixed remaining formatting issues

{{Infobox language
|name=Europaico
|nativename=''Europaico, Eɤροпaıкo''
|date=2024
|familycolor= conlang
|fam1=[[Auxiliary language]]
|setting=[[Auxiliary language]]
|posteriori=based on [[w:Romance languages|Romance]], [[w:Germanic languages|Germanic]] and p[w:Slavic languages|Slavic]] languages.
|script=[[w:Latin script|Latin]] Europaico script
}}

''Slavic nouns, Germanic verbs, Romance grammar and not a lot of sense!''

'''Europaico''' (Eɤροпaıкo in its own script, pronounced as /eu̯.ʀoˈpai̯.ko/) is a non-naturalistic ''a posteriori'' conlang based on various European languages meant as a parody to auxlang projects such as Esperanto, Interlingua, Sambhasa or Lingwa de Planeta.

Intrafictionally, the language would have been created and maintained by the ''Alternative International Association for International Auxiliary Languages'' or AIAIAL.

As a 'fake auxlang', it could be considered to be a ''fauxlang''. It could make for a decent artlang, though.

Most of Europaico's features are designed to have a tongue-in-cheek justification explaining why they would make sense for a European auxiliary language (until you actually think about it for more than a couple seconds, that is). Since telling a joke is more fun than explaining it, some of the conlangs features might be presented that way throughout this article.

In addition to a Latin-script orthography, Europaico might be written in its own alphabet, best described as 'an unholy mismatch of Greek, Cyrillic and Roman'.

The conlang was created in March 2024.

== Concept ==

Europaico is a brand new auxiliary language that will finally allow humanity to lift the curse of Babel! Maybe.

Following the long-standing tradition set by such fine language designers such as Esperanto's Zamenhof, Volapük's Schleyer, Europaico only takes the European continent into account. Europaico might nonetheless be advertised as a global language, it's not like it'd be the first one to do so with its creators even managing to keep a straight face.

The European linguistic landscape is dominated by three main linguistic groups: the Romance languages in the west and south, the Germanic languages in the center and north and the Slavic languages in the east. Europaico is meant to be a compromise between these three major groups, borrowing elements from each of them. Greek, as a historically prominent language in the continent that isn't fully accounted for, is taken as a secondary source language to 'fill in the gaps'.

Europaico's grammar is mostly based on that of Romance language, particularly French. Nouns are taken nearly exclusively from Slavic sources, retaining their masculine/feminine/neuter gender distinction. Verbs, meanwhile, are usually sourced from Germanic languages although their conjugation also incorporates Romance and Slavic elements.

== Phonology ==

=== Consonants ===

Europaico has a honest-to-the-powers-that-be relatively simple consonant inventory with few surprises aside from a palatal series (a step up from your 'standard average European' language but still a long shot from the phonemic palatalization affecting most consonants in Slavic languages).

The following table gives the consonants in the Latin script orthography, a phonemic transcription in IPA (between slashes) and the corresponding glyph in Europaico's native alphabet.

{| class="wikitable"
! !! '''Labial''' !! '''Alveolar''' !! '''Post-Alveolar''' !! '''Palatal''' !! '''Velar'''
|-
| '''Nasal''' || '''''m''''' /m/ '''м''' || '''''n''''' /n/ '''ɴ''' || || '''''ň''''' /ɲ/ '''њ''' ||
|-
| '''Unvoiced stop''' || '''''p''''' /p/ '''п''' || '''''t''''' /t/ '''τ''' || || '''''ť''''' /c/ '''ћ''' || '''''c''''' /k/ '''к'''
|-
| '''Voiced stop''' || '''''b''''' /b/ '''б''' || '''''d''''' /d/ '''∂''' || || '''''ď''''' /ɟ/ '''đ''' || '''''g''''' /ɡ/ '''г'''
|-
| '''Unvoiced affricate''' || || '''''c''''' /ts/ '''ц''' || '''''č''''' /tʃ/ '''ч''' || ||
|-
| '''Unvoiced fricative''' || '''''f''''' /f/ '''ф''' || '''''s''''' /s/ '''с''' || '''''š''''' /ʃ/ '''ш''' || || '''''h''''' /x/ '''x'''
|-
| '''Voiced fricative''' || '''''v''''' /v/ '''w''' || '''''z''''' /z/ '''z''' || ( /ʒ/ ) || ||
|-
| '''Glide''' || || || || '''''y''''' /j/ '''ı''' ||
|-
| '''Rhotic''' || || '''''r''''' /ʀ/ '''ρ''' || || ||
|-
| '''Lateral''' || || '''''l''''' /l/ '''ʌ''' || || ||
|}

Palatal and post-alveolar consonants other than /j/ will be referred collectively as 'palatals'. All of these consonants might alternatively be pronounced as a palatalized alveolars (/nʲ/ for ''ň'', /tʲ/ for ''ť'' and so on) if that's easier for the speaker.

The consonant /z/ may alternate freely between an alveolar realization [z] or a post-alveolar one /ʒ/. This explains why words which had a /ʒ/ or /dʒ/ in their source language might enter Europaico with a /z/ instead.

A velar nasal [ŋ] appear as an allophone of /n/ in clusters such as [ŋk] and [ŋɡ]. This consonant sound is not distinguished from /n/ in either orthography.

=== Vowels and diphthongs ===

Europaico is surprisingly benign with its vowel inventory, which at just /a e i o u y/ will only give mild trouble to its users.

Vowels other than /i/ and /u/ might be preceded by the glide /j/, yielding four sequences which could be analyzed as rising diphthongs: /ja/, /je/, /jo/ and /ju/.

In addition to those, Europaico features seven falling diphthongs /ai̯ au̯ ei̯ eu̯ oi̯ ou̯ ui̯/, which might also be pronounced as [aɪ̯ aʊ̯ eɪ̯ eʊ̯ oɪ̯ oʊ̯ uɪ̯].

It might be noted that the /eu̯/ diphthong, featured in Europaico's own name no less, is absent from most major European languages (including German, English, French, most Slavic languages, etc). As a way to ease this problem, speakers are allowed to substitute /eu̯/ for whatever might be their native pronunciation of \<eu\> (as in their local pronunciation of 'Europe'). This means that possible realizations for Europaico's initial diphthong include [jʊ] (English), [ø] (Dutch, Danish, French), [ɛɵ] (Swedish), [ɛv] (Bulgarian) and [\ɔʏ] (German) among others.

Europaico does not contrast between diphthong and hiatus sequences involving the same vowel qualities, a sequence such as /ai/ will always correspond to an /ai̯/ diphthong rather than an /a.i/ hiatus.

=== Vowel reduction ===

Speakers might optionally reduce non-stressed /a e o/ to a schwa. This is not represented in writing and it will generally not be noted in IPA transcriptions in order to preserve the reader's sanity.

=== Phonotactics ===

As most auxlangs, Europaico is very lax with its phonotactics, only requiring the following elements to be met:
* Syllables must have at least one vowel (or diphthong).
* /j/ might only appear before a vowel other than /i/ or /y/.
* Palatal consonants must not be followed by /j/.

This allows for clusters in the source languages to be preserved in Europaico (including the relatively complex ones allowed word-initially in Slavic languages). This, of course, can be marketed as a feature allowing vocabulary to be integrated into the language with as little distortion as possible (or be regarded as an awful decision for an auxlang).

=== Prosodic stress ===

Polysyllabic words bear fixed, predictable prosodic stress determined as follows:
* If the word ends in a consonant other than /n/ or /s/ or in a (falling) diphthong, stress falls on the last syllable.
* Otherwise (words ending in /n/, /s/ or a monophthong), stress falls on the second-to-last syllable.

== Orthographies ==

Europaico may be written either in the Latin alphabet or in its own 'Europaico' script (based on the Latin, Greek and Cyrillic alphabets). Slightly different orthographies are used in each script.

=== Latin-script orthography ===

Europaico's Latin-script orthography is largely based on that of Romance languages, particularly those of French and Catalan. The palatal (and palato-alveolar) consonants /ɲ c ɟ tʃ ʃ/, however, are written using a diacritic known as caron most commonly associated with Czech (where it is known as ''háček''). Carons typically look like an upside-down circumflex accent, as seen in ''č'' and ''ň'', although they adopt a different form closer to that of an apostrophe when applied to ''lowercase'' T and D (\<ť ď\>). This is not a joke feature from Europaico, it's how that diacritic actually works, for whatever reason. Letters bearing a caron are treated as separate letters for sorting purposes, coming after their non-accented counterparts (thus ''Č'' is regarded as being the fourth letter of Europaico's Latin alphabet, between regular ''C'' and ''D''). The character ''Ü'' (an umlauted U) is used for the vowel /y/ and it is also treated as letter of its own, being sorted between ''U'' and ''V''.

This orthography also uses the character \<ç\> (C with cedilla) as a way of representing the /ts/ sound in contexts where regular \<c\> (which can represent that sound before unrounded front vowels) would be pronounced as /k/ instead. Unlike caron-bearing palatals, \<ç\> is treated as a variant of \<c\> for collation, rather than as an independent letter.

The letters of Europaico's variant of the Latin alphabet are as follows:

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Letter''' !! '''Value''' !! '''Notes'''
|-
| '''A''', '''a''' || /a/ ||
|-
| '''B''', '''b''' || /b/ ||
|-
| '''C''', '''c''' || /k/, /ts/ || Pronounced /ts/ before ''E'' or ''I'' or as /k/ otherwise. See ''Q'' for the representation of /k/ before ''E'' and ''I'' and ''Ç'' for the representation of /ts/ in other contexts.
|-
| '''Ç''', '''ç''' || /ts/ || Variant of ''C'', used for the /ts/ when not followed by ''E'' or ''I''.
|-
| '''Č''', '''č''' || /tʃ/ ||
|-
| '''D''', '''d''' || /d/ ||
|-
| '''Ď''', '''ď''' || /ɟ/ ||
|-
| '''E''', '''e''' || /e/ ||
|-
| '''F''', '''f''' || /f/ ||
|-
| '''G''', '''g''' || /ɡ/ || The sequences /ɡe/ and /ɡi/ are written with a silent ''U'': \<gue\>, \<gui\>.
|-
| '''H''', '''h''' || /x/ ||
|-
| '''I''', '''i''' || /i/, /j/ || Read as /j/ when followed by a vowel (see also ''Y''). Also used to write the diphthongs /ai̯ ei̯ oi̯ ui̯/ (\<ai ei oi ui\>).
|-
| '''J''', '''j''' || - || Might be used to replace a caron when typing the diacritic is impossible or impractical.
|-
| '''L''', '''l''' || /l/ ||
|-
| '''M''', '''m''' || /m/ ||
|-
| '''N''', '''n''' || /n/ ||
|-
| '''Ň''', '''ň''' || /ɲ/ ||
|-
| '''O''', '''o''' || /o/ ||
|-
| '''P''', '''p''' || /p/ ||
|-
| '''Q''', '''q''' || /k/ || The digraph ''qu'' represents /k/ before the vowels ''E'' and ''I'', replacing ''C''.
|-
| '''R''', '''r''' || /ʀ/ ||
|-
| '''S''', '''s''' || /s/ ||
|-
| '''Š''', '''š''' || /ʃ/ ||
|-
| '''T''', '''t''' || /t/ ||
|-
| '''Ť''', '''ť''' || /c/ ||
|-
| '''U''', '''u''' || /u/ || Silent in the trigraphs ''gue'' /ɡe/, ''gui'' /ɡi/, ''que'' /ke/ and ''qui'' /ki/.
|-
| '''Ü''', '''ü''' || /y/ ||
|-
| '''V''', '''v''' || /v/ ||
|-
| '''Y''', '''y''' || /j/ || Used for /j/ when not preceded by another consonant in the syllable, otherwise ''I'' will be used instead.
|-
| '''Z''', '''z''' || /z~ʒ/ ||
|}

This orthography uses the Western Romance strategy of contrasting a soft ''C'' (read as /ts/ before ''E'' and ''I'') and a hard ''C'' (read as /k/ otherwise), with ''Ç'' being used to force the soft /ts/ pronunciation and the triigraphs ''que'' and ''qui'' for /ke/ and /ki/. Even though ''G'' lacks a soft pronunciation, Europaico also requires the trigraphs ''gue'' and ''gui'' for /ɡe/ and /ɡi/ in order to fit the expectations for a Romance-like orthography (Slavic carons aside).

The Europaico version of the Latin alphabet lacks the letters K, W and X which must be replaced by their closer equivalents in loanwords or proper names, which are also generally adapted to better fit other orthographical conventions. For instance, Kentucky, Washington, Texas and X will be transcribed as ''Quentuqui'' (or ''Quentaqui), ''Vašington'' (or ''Vašinton''), ''Tecsas'' (or ''Tehas'') and ''Ecs'' (or ''Tviter'').

=== The Europaico Alphabet ===

Depending on your taste, the Europaico alphabet might be one of its funniest aspects or one of its most cursed ones. Just as the language (sort of) intends to bridge the gap between major European languages, the script (sort of) attempts to find common ground between the Latin, Cyrillic and Greek alphabets.

One advantage of this approach is that all of the glyphs in the script are already encoded in Unicode as part of their source alphabets, allowing the Europaico script to be used in digital devices with little issue.

As its sources, the Europaico Alphabet is a bicameral script, contrasting uppercase and lowercase letters.

The letters of the script, in its own alphabetic order, are as follows:

{| class="wikitable"
! Europaico !! Name !! Value !! Latin equivalent !! Unicode-compatible look-alike
|-
| '''A''', '''a''' || ''Alfa'' || /a/ || '''a''' || Latin uppercase/lowercase A
|-
| '''B''', '''б''' || ''Beta'' || /b/ || '''b''' || Latin uppercase B, Cyrillic lowercase Be
|-
| '''Г''', '''г''' || ''Gama'' || /ɡ/ || '''g''', '''gu''' || Cyrillic uppercase/lowercase Ge
|-
| '''Δ''', '''∂''' || ''Delta'' || /d/ || '''d''' || Greek uppercase Delta, Partial derivative sign
|-
| '''Đ''', '''đ''' || ''Ďocovič'' || /ɟ/ || '''ď''' || Latin uppercase/lowercase D with stroke
|-
| '''E''', '''e''' || ''Eta'' || /e/ || '''e''' || Latin uppercase/lowercase E
|-
| '''Є''', '''ε''' || ''Yeť'' || /je/ || '''ie''', '''ye''' || Ukrainian Cyrillic uppercase Ye, Greek lowercase Epsilon
|-
| '''Z''', '''z''' || ''Zeta'' || /z/ || '''z''' || Latin uppercase/lowercase Z
|-
| '''I''', '''ı''' || ''Yota'' || /i/, /j/ || '''i''', '''y''' || Latin uppercase I, Turkish Latin lowercase dotless I
|-
| '''K''', '''к''' || ''Capa'' || /k/ || '''c''', '''qu''' || Latin uppercase K, Cyrillic lowercase Ka
|-
| '''Λ''', '''ʌ''' || ''Lamba'' || /l/ || '''l''' || Greek uppercase Lambda, Latin lowercase turned V
|-
| '''M''', '''м''' || ''Mü'' || /m/ || '''m''' || Latin uppercase M, Cyrillic lowercase Em
|-
| '''N''', '''ɴ''' || ''Nu'' || /n/ || '''n''' || Latin uppercase N, Latin small capital N
|-
| '''Њ''', '''њ''' || ''Ňü'' || /ɲ/ || '''ň''' || Serbian Cyrillic uppercase/lowercase Nje
|-
| '''O''', '''o''' || ''O'' || /o/ || '''o''' || Latin uppercase/lowercase O
|-
| '''П''', '''п''' || ''Pe'' || /p/ || '''p''' || Cyrillic uppercase/lowercase Pe
|-
| '''Ρ,''' '''ρ''' || ''Ro'' || /ʀ/ || '''r''' || Greek uppercase/lowercase Rho
|-
| '''С''', '''с''' || ''Se'' || /s/ || '''s''' || Cyrillic uppercase/lowercase Es
|-
| '''Τ''', '''τ''' || ''To'' || /t/ || '''t''' || Greek uppercase/lowercase Tau
|-
| '''Ћ''', '''ћ''' || ''Ťoť'' || /c/ || '''ť''' || Serbian Cyrillic uppercase/lowercase Tshe
|-
| '''Ц''', '''ц''' || ''Ciť'' || /ts/ || '''c''', '''ç''' || Cyrillic uppercase/lowercase Tse
|-
| '''Ч''', '''ч''' || ''Čať'' || /tʃ/ || '''č''' || Cyrillic uppercase/lowercase Che
|-
| '''Ш''', '''ш''' || ''Šo'' || /ʃ/ || '''š''' || Cyrillic uppercase/lowercase Sha
|-
| '''V''', '''ʋ''' || ''Üs'' || /y/ || '''ü''' || Latin uppercase V, Latin lowercase V with hook
|-
| '''ȣ''', '''ɤ''' || ''U'' || /u/ || '''u''' || Latin ''lowercase'' Ou ligature, Latin lowercase "rams horn"
|-
| '''Ф''', '''ф''' || ''Fe'' || /f/ || '''f''' || Cyrillic uppercase/lowercase Ef
|-
| '''X''', '''x''' || ''He'' || /x/ || '''h''' || Latin uppercase/lowercase X
|-
| '''W''', '''w''' || ''Vo'' || /v/ || '''v''' || Latin uppercase/lowercase W
|}

In the Europaico script, the sequences involving a 'palatal' consonant (the ones bearing a caron in the Latin orthography) and the vowel /e/ may be spelled as either the palatal followed by ''Eta'' or as the non-palatal version followed by ''Yeť'':
* ''Ďe'' ~ /ɟe/ can be either '''đe''' or '''∂ε'''.
* ''Ňe'' /ɲe/ can be either '''њe''' or '''ɴε'''.
* ''Ťe'' ~ /ce/ can be either '''ћe''' or '''τε'''.
* ''Če'' ~ /tʃe/ can be either '''чe''' or '''цε'''.
* ''Še'' ~ /ʃe/ can be either '''шe''' or '''сε'''.

Both alternatives might be used indistinctly, a feature which would allow the script to suit each speaker's tastes better and which clearly wouldn't cause any problem down the road like problems with collation or the like.

Other than that, the letter ''Yeť'' is used exclusively for the /je/ diphthong, while ''Yota'' is used to represent the /j/ glide in other diphthongs.

== Grammar ==

=== Nouns ===

Whenever possible, Europaico nouns are taken from Slavic languages, especially Russian, Polish, Czech and Bosnio-Montenegrin. More widespread variants and more conservative forms are preferred, for instance the noun '''''slovo''''', 'word', preserves a /l/ sound that shifted to /w/ in Polish ''słowo'' /ˈswɔ.vɔ/, while Europaico's word for 'wheel' is '''''colo''''', which has cognates in Polish, Czech and Bosnio-Montenegrin among others, rather than a form like ''koleso'' which is restricted to Eastern Slavic languages like Ukrainian and Russian.

Sometimes an Europaico word will not exactly match any of its sources. For instance, the Europaico word for 'wolf' is '''''vulk''''', made as a compromise between various descendants of Proto-Slavic ''*'vьlkъ'', including Russian ''волк'' (volk), Polish ''wilk'', Czech ''vlk'' (with a syllabic L that is not allowed in Europaico) and Bosnio-Montenegrin ''vuk''.

In order to boost recognizability, words are borrowed without the final-consonant devoicing found in Polish and Russian, among others. For instance, the word for bread, written as ''chleb'' in Polish and as ''хлеб'' (''khlyeb'') in Russian but pronounced as /xlɛp/ and /xlʲep/ respectively, is borrowed into Europaico as '''''hlieb''''' pronounced /xljeb/ (it should be noted that the /b/ phoneme is found in other inflectional forms of the Polish and Russian words).

==== Gender ====

Slavic languages generally distinguish between three grammatical genders: feminine, masculine and neuter. This distinction (that doesn't necessarily match the natural/societal concepts of gender and animacy) is carried over into Europaico although in a somewhat simplified way. The gender of a singular noun in Europaico can usually be determined from its ending:

* Nouns ending in ''-o'' or ''-e'' are always '''neuter'''.
* Nouns ending in ''-a'' or in a palatal consonant (''č'', ''ď'', ''ň'', ''ť'' or ''š'') are always '''feminine'''.
* Nouns ending in a non-palatal consonant are always '''masculine'''.

Luckily, the association of ''-a'' to the feminine gender is widespread among Romance languages as well, while Catalan and written French share the tendency of having consonant-final masculine nouns.

Thus, ''hlieb'' (bread) can be recognized as masculine noun while ''colo'' (wheel) is a neuter noun, even though both refer to inanimate naturally genderless objects.

The grammatical gender of nouns ending in a vowel other than neuter ''-o'' and ''-e'' or feminine ''-a'' cannot be determined from its form. Such nouns are rare and can usually be explained as borrowings from other language families such as ''çunami'' from Japanese ''tsunami''. Then the gender of the word depends on how it was usually borrowed into Slavic languages. In this case of ''çunami'', we can find that the Japanese word was borrowed as neuter ''цуна́ми'' (''tsunámi'') in Russian, neuter ''tsunami'' in Polish, feminine ''tsunami'' in Czech and masculine ''cunámi'' in Bosnio-Montenegrin; as a result Europaico ''çunami'' was made neuter gender as the most common option among those four control languages.

Some Slavic languages have at least some form of animacy marking on top of their three-wise gender system, often distinguishing between animate and inanimate masculine nouns in their grammar. This distinction is not found in Europaico.

==== Number ====

For the most part, European languages tend to use two different strategies for marking plural in nouns:
* Western Romance languages and, for whatever odd twist, also English generally form plurals by adding an ''-s'' suffix or ''-es'' suffix to the singular form, as in English ''house'', ''houses'' or the corresponding Spanish ''casa'', ''casas''.
* Southern and Eastern Romance languages (most notably Italian and Romanian) and Slavic languages form their plurals by altering the ending of the singular, as in Italian ''casa'', ''case'' or Bosnio-Montenegrin ''kȕća'', ''kȕće''.

Europaico is all about seeking consensus (aside from when it's not) so, naturally, it adopts both strategies. For instance, feminine nouns such as '''''zena''''' (woman) form their plural by both changing the final ''-a'' to ''-e'' and by adding a final ''-s'': '''''zenes''''' (women, coincidentally the resulting ''-a'' / ''-es'' alternation is also found in Catalan and Asturian).

At least, Europaico plurals are all regular being formed according to the following patterns:

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Gender''' !! '''Singular ending''' !! '''Plural ending''' !! '''Example'''
|-
| Masculine || Non-palatal consonant || '''''-is''''' || ''muz'' (man) →''muzis'' (men)
|-
| Feminine || Final '''''-a''''' || '''''-es''''' || ''zena'' (woman) → ''zenes'' (women)
|-
| Feminine || Palatal consonant || '''''-is''''' || ''noč'' (night) →''nočis'' (nights)
|-
| Neuter || Final '''''-e''''' || '''''-is''''' || ''ďeťe'' (child) →''ďeťis'' (children)
|-
| Neuter || Final '''''-o''''' || '''''-as''''' || ''miesto'' (city) → ''miestas'' (cities)
|-
| (Any) || Other vowels || '''''-s''''' || ''çunami'' (tsunami) → ''çunamis'' (tsunamis)
|}

Gender agreement marking in articles and adjectives does not distinguish between masculine and neuter nouns in the plural, grouping both into a plural 'common' class (generally presenting the suffix ''-is'') contrasting with the plural feminine class (with the ''-es'' prefix). This depends on the inherent lexical gender of the noun rather than its ending, ''nočis'' will still take feminine plural adjectives ending in ''-es'' despite having a final ''-is''.

==== Articles ====

As in (most) Romance languages, Europaico nouns will usually be preceded by an article, be it a definite one (like English ''the'') or an indefinite one (like English ''a'' / ''an'').

As in most European languages, articles agree with their nouns in gender and number.

Definite articles are taken from Romance languages with ''el'' and ''la'' in particular being identical to the corresponding singular masculine and feminine articles in Spanish, giving half a billion ''hispanohablantes'' a hint about what ''el muz'' (the man) might mean.

Most European languages with indefinite articles derive them from their word for the number 'one'. As Europaico derives numerals from Greek, its word for 'one' is ''ena'' (from Modern Greek ''ένα'') which casually happens not to be to different from its Germanic counterparts such as Dutch ''een'', German ''ein'' and Norwegian ''en'' (despite them not actually being cognates with the Greek word). This similarity is exploited in Europaico to create indefinite articles such as ''en'' in ''en muz'' (a man) which are structurally similar to Romance, but phonetically similar to Germanic. (This one feature seems sensible enough that it almost feels out of place in this conlang)

As in English and other Germanic languages, indefinite articles are not used in the plural, thus '(some) men' is rendered as simply ''muzis'' (rather than requiring a plural form of the indefinite article as in Spanish ''unos hombres'').

The resulting articles are as follows:

{| class="wikitable"
! Gender and number !! Definite !! Example !! Indefinite !! Example
|-
| '''Feminine, singular''' || '''''la''''' || ''la zena'' (the woman) || '''''ena''''' || ''ena zena'' (a woman)
|-
| '''Masculine, singular''' || '''''el''''' || ''el muz'' (the man) || '''''en''''' || ''en muz'' (a man)
|-
| '''Neuter, singular''' || '''''lo''''' || ''lo miesto'' (the city) || '''''eno''''' || ''eno miesto'' (a city)
|-
| '''Feminine, plural''' || '''''les''''' || ''les zenes'' (the women) || - || ''zenes'' ([some] women)
|-
| '''Common, plural''' || '''''lis''''' || ''lis muzis'' (the men) || - || ''muzis'' ([some] men)
|}

==== Possessives ====

As with number marking, there are a handful popular strategies for forming possessives in European languages, from simply using a preposition (like English ''of'' and Romance ''de'') to using a variety of suffixes corresponding to grammatical cases, often involving a final ''-s'' in Germanic languages (as in the English clitic '''s'').

Naturally, Europaico picks the best of both worlds (?) and forms possessives by preceding the noun with the preposition ''des'' (replacing the article, if any) and a suffix ''-s'' which, in order to avoid confusion with the final /s/ found in plural endings, must also be marked with an apostrophe like the English ''-'s'' clitic.

The possessive ''-'s'' suffix is applied without any regard to the shape of the previous word. This might yield unusual combinations such as ''des muz's'' (man's) with a /zs/ cluster which, in practice, speakers might end up simplifying to either /z/ or /s/ (even though, strictly speaking, an unreduced /zs/ cluster is prescribed) as well as sequences of multiple /s/ as in ''des muzis's'' (men's) which are not distinguished from a single /s/ (''muzis'' and ''muzis's'' will be pronounced identically as /ˈmu.zis/ or [ˈmu.ʑis]).

Possessives are placed ''after'' the noun they modified. For instance, ''lo ďeťe des zena's'' for "the child of the woman" / "the woman's child" (or '''a'' woman's child', as ''des'' might replace either definite or indefinite articles).

===== Non-canonical genitive case =====

While Europaico was never meant to have an extensive case system like those of most Slavic languages (a feature which would clash with the largely caseless Romance languages and the much more limited cases found in Germanic languages), the idea of preserving the Slavic genitive case at least was considered at various points in the development of the conlang. The results, however, ended up looking too much like a Slavic auxiliary language than a generic (though Euro-biased) auxlang, so these Slavic-like genitives where eventually replaced by the less unwieldy ''des + -'s'' possessives explained above.

Should anyone care for a non-canonical feature in what is already a ''fauxlang'', the resulting inflectional paradigms were something like this:

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Gender''' !! '''Singular ending''' !! `GEN`.`SG` !! `GEN`.`PL` !! Example
|-
| Masculine || Non-palatal consonant || '''''-a''''' || '''''-ov''''' || ''muz'' → '''''muza''''' (man's) ''muzis'' → '''''muzov''''' (men's)
|-
| Feminine || Final '''''-a''''' || '''''-i''''' || -Ø || ''zena'' → '''''zeni''''' (woman's) ''zene'' → '''''zen''''' (women's)
|-
| Feminine || Palatal consonant || '''''-i''''' || '''''-i''''' || ''noč'' → '''''noči''''' (night's) ''nočis'' → '''''noči''''' (nights')
|-
| Neuter || Final '''''-e''''' || '''''-'''('''i''')'''a''''' || '''''-i''''' || ''ďeťe'' → '''''ďeťa''''' (child's) ''ďeťis'' → '''''ďeťi''''' (children's)
|-
| Neuter || Final '''''-o''''' || '''''-a''''' || -Ø || ''miesto'' → '''''miesta''''' (city's) ''miestas'' → '''''miest''''' (cities')
|}

Articles would also be inflected, although genitive forms for all articles weren't really decided before the idea was abandoned.

For an example, 'the nights of the city of the woman's children' would have been rendered as something like ''les nočis leu mista loro ďeťi lei zeni'' rather than canonical Europaico ''les nočis des misto's des ďeťis's des zena's''.

==== Personal names ====

It is recommended that personal names and surnames be adapted to Europaico both in orthography (such as respelling 'Michael' as ''Maiquel'' for ''Maiquel Zacson'' or as ''Mihael'' for ''Mihael Šumaher'') and in morphology - with masculine names and surnames being modified to end in a non-palatal consonant while feminine names must be adapted to end in either ''-a'' or in a palatal consonant.

Of course, names are often an important part of personal identity, so this could be pointed out to be a terrible idea. If you've been paying any attention to this, though, that shouldn't be particularly surprising.

Some recommended strategies for adapting names to include the right ending include:
* For anyone:
* * Look at historical variants or foreign counterparts of the name. For instance, Spanish ''José'' might regain its historical /p/ (preserved in Catalan ''Josep'' and Italian ''Giuseppe'' among others) to become ''Hosep'', while an English ''Elizabeth'' might opt to go instead by ''Isabela'', after the Italian and Latin versions of her name.
* For women:
* * Add ''-a'' or the very Slavic-esque ''-va'' to the end of your name.
* ** For instance ''Mary Sue'' might adapt her name as ''Marija Šuva''.
* * Replace final alveolar letters with their palatal counterparts: ''Karen'' → ''Careň''.
* For men:
* * Dropping final vowels might be an easy option: ''Enrico'' → ''Enric''.
* * Add a very Slavic-like ''-v'', particularly for surnames ending in ''e'' or ''o'': ''Vito Corleone'' → ''Victor Corleonev''.
* * Replace final palatal letters with their alveolar counterparts: ''Ivanovič'' → ''Ivanoviç'' (it turns out that Slavic names don't do all that well either).
* For non-binary people:
* * Isn't there enough invisibilization of non-binary identities already for you to bother with a conlang with mandatory gender marking too? Keep your name of choice, use a neuter ending or do whatever else you want, suit yourself! Sorry in advance for past-tense verbs, though.

==== Placenames ====

Auxlangs tend to use one of two strategies when dealing with toponyms, none of which is without issues.

Perhaps the most common option among modern auxiliary languages is to use the name locals use for the place in their own language. This seems like a very reasonable thing to do (which, of course, precludes Europaico from doing it) although it has a few problems.
* First of all, the resulting names risk having little international recognizability. This can be easily exemplified with Austria and its capital, Vienna. While the Latin-esque names used in English have a good chance of being understood all around the world, the German names ''Österreich'' and ''Wien'' are considerably more obscure, and the need to adapt them to Europaico phonotactics would yield even less recognizable results such as ''*'Estaraič'' and ''*'Vin''.
* The very concept of using the local language presupposes that there ''is'' a local language, bringing a whole lot of complications:
* * For starters, the scheme couldn't apply to uninhabited places like most of Antarctica, deserted islands or the State of Wyoming.
* * Continents and regions comprising linguistically diverse nations will likely have a variety of possible names. For the most extreme example, consider the name given to the planet itself: if there was a language widely accepted enough to be used for naming Earth as a whole, then chances are that we should be using that instead of any auxlang.
* * Last but not least, many nations, provinces and cities are multilingual, often bearing multiple local names. Picking the variant favored by most locals seems like an easy choice but there won't be always a clear 'most used language' (and, even if there currently is one, it would be liable to change over time). Furthermore, the choice of one name over the other could be socially and politically problematic, highlighting regional tensions and stir debates about the colonialism and the repression of minorities.

The second strategy, perhaps more common among earlier auxiliary languages, was to draw most names from a single source, usually an internationally 'prestigious' source such as English, French or Latin. This is the sort of reasoning that would suggest that we do indee pick internationally-recognizable names such as ''*'Austria'' and ''*'Viena'' for Austria and Vienna, where 'internationally-recognizable' means 'names speakers of major Western European languages are likely to have heard'. The colonialism undertones of that are problematic enough to stay away from that idea.

Fortunately, Europaico provides the ultimate solution for this sort of problem: all toponyms will be based on the names used in Czech. The Czech language is already phonetically close to Europaico, so distortions like the one found between German ''Österreich'' and ''*'Esteraič'' would be minimal. This solution completely sidesteps all linguistic and political issues with choosing a single 'local language' for each place and, with the Czech Republic lacking a colonial history, few people would question this choice on the basis of it being overly imperialistic (Slovaks might get a pass at it, but I am not aware of there ever being any Slovak placename which isn't the same in Czech).

Thus, Austria and Vienna, rather than having scarcely recognizable names such as ''*'Estaraič'' and ''*'Vin'' or potentially problematic names such as ''*'Austria'' and ''*'Viena'', will be known in Europaico as ''Racousco'' and ''Videň'', after the Czech names ''Rakousko'' and ''Vídeň'' respectively.

=== Adjectives ===

Adjectives are generally derived from Greek (with a preference for Ancient Greek forms, especially those found as prefixes in Greek-derived technical terminology). For instance, Europaico's word for 'large' is given as ''mego'' from Greek ''μέγας'' (megas).

Europaico Adjectives are required to agree with the corresponding noun in number and gender (although masculine and neuter forms are conflated into a single common gender) with the following endings:

{| class="wikitable"
! !! '''Singular''' !! '''Plural'''
|-
| '''Common''' (masculine or neuter) || '''''-o''''' || '''''-is'''''
|-
| '''Feminine''' || '''''-a''''' || '''''-es'''''
|}

Adjectives are generally placed after the respective noun in Europaico. Thus we'd find ''la zena mega'' for 'the large woman', ''el muz mego'' for 'the large man', ''les zenes megues'' for 'the large women' and ''lis muzis meguis'' for 'the large men'.

==== Adverbs ====

Adverbs in Europaico are typically placed after the verb or adjective they modify.

Europaico adjectives can be turned into adverbs by adding the suffix ''-ment'' to their singular feminine form as in ''megament'' for 'largely, greatly'.

=== Pronouns ===

Europaico pronouns are derived from Romance languages and feature contrasts common in that branch such as a case distinction between nominative and accusative forms and gender contrasts for plural pronouns.

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Person''' !! '''Number''' !! '''Gender''' !! '''Nominative form''' !! '''Accusative form''' !! '''English equivalent'''
|-
| 1st || Sg. || Any || ''Ye'' || ''me'', ''m''' || I, me
|-
| 2nd || Sg. || Any || ''tü'' || ''te'', ''t''' || You (informal)
|-
| 2nd || Sg. || Any || ''Vi'' || ''Vi'' || You (formal)
|-
| 3rd || Sg. || Fem. || ''el'' || ''le'', ''l''' || She, her
|-
| 3rd || Sg. || Masc. || ''ela'' || ''la'' || He, him
|-
| 3rd || Sg. || Neu. || ''elo'' || ''lo'' || It
|-
| 1st || Pl. || Fem. || ''nes'' || ''ens'' || We
|-
| 1st || Pl. || Masc. || ''nis'' || ''nis'' || We
|-
| 1st || Pl. || Neu. || ''nis'' || ''ens'' || We
|-
| 2nd || Pl. || Fem. || ''ves'' || ''vi'' || You (plural), y'all
|-
| 2nd || Pl. || M/N || ''vis'' || ''vi'' || You (plural), y'all
|-
| 3rd || Pl. || Fem. || ''eles'' || ''els'' || They
|-
| 3rd || Pl. || Masc. || ''elis'' || ''lis'' || They
|-
| 3rd || Pl. || Neu. || ''elis'' || ''els'' || They
|}

Notes:
* As in English 'I', the nominative form of the first person pronoun ''Ye'' must always be capitalized.
* Accusative forms such as ''me'' drop the final ''-e'' when followed by a vowel-initial verb.
* A formality distinction is made between informal second person singular ''tü'' (corresponding to Spanish ''tú'', ''vos'', French ''tu'', Italian ''tu'', Russian ''ты'', etc) and formal ''Vi'' (corresponding to Spanish ''usted'', French ''vous'', Italian ''Lei'', Russian ''вы'', etc).
* * As with French ''vous'', or Russian ''вы'', Europaico ''Vi'' takes second person plural verbforms, even though it is used for singular 'you'.
* * As in Italian ''Lei'', the formal pronoun ''Vi'' is capitalized in all cases.

Europaico pronouns ''might'' optionally be dropped when in subject position. This hardly ever results in ambiguity as verbs conjugate to agree with their subject. Still, it is ''preferred'' to keep subject, even if redundant, for additional clarity, with pronoun ellipsis being more of a stylistic choice to avoid repetition.

==== Reflexive pronoun ''si'' ====

Europaico also includes a reflexive pronoun only found in accusative form: ''si'' ([one]self).

In Romance languages, reflexive pronouns are required when the same a third person referent appears as both the subject and the object of a verb as in Spanish ''él '''se''' ve'' (he sees himself), which contrasts wordings using the accusative form of the standard third person pronoun as in ''él '''lo''' ve'', which is interpreted instead as 'he sees ''him'' (a different person)'. Correspondingly, Europaico has ''el '''si''' sei'' for 'he sees himself' and ''el le sei'' for 'he sees him (someone else)'. Making this distinction is mandatory.

Slavic languages such as Russian go one step further in their usage of reflexive pronouns, requiring them whenever the object coincides with the subject, even for first or second person subjects. For instance, Russian would have ''я вижу '''себя''''' (''ya vizhu '''sebya''''') for 'I see myself', using the reflexive accusative pronoun ''себя'' instead of the first person form ''меня'', as in ''он видит '''меня''''' (''on vidit '''menya''''', he sees '''me'''). This contrasts with Romance usage, which restricts the reflexive pronoun to third person sentences, requiring the accusative first person pronoun both in ''yo '''me''' veo'' (I see myself) and in ''él '''me''' ve'' (he sees me). True to its Solomonic wisdom, Europaico allows both wordings to be used in that case: either Slavic-style ''ye si seic'' or Romance-style ''ye mi seic''.

These usages are summed up in the following table:

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Subject''' !! '''Object''' !! '''Usage of ''si''''' !! '''Example''' !! '''Translation'''
|-
| Third person || Third person (same) || Required || ''El si sei'' || He sees himself
|-
| Third person || Third person (other) || Prohibited || ''El le sei'' || He sees him (someone else)
|-
| Other || Same as subject || Optional || ''Ye si seic'' / ''Ye mi sec'' || I see myself.
|-
| Other || Other than the subject || Prohibited || ''Ye li seic'' ''El mi sei'' || I see him. He sees me.
|}

==== Possessive pronouns ====

Each pronoun has an associated possessive which works in a similar way to an adjective, being placed after a noun and requiring agreement markers for the number and gender of the possessed object with the following suffixes:

{| class="wikitable"
! Gender !! '''Singular''' !! '''Plural'''
|-
| Feminine || ''-a'' || ''-es''
|-
| Masculine || - || ''-is''
|-
| Neuter || ''-o'' || ''-is''
|}

For instance, we would have ''el muz min'' for 'my husband', ''la zena mina'' for 'my wife' and ''lo miesto mino'' for 'my city'. Possessive pronouns do not indicate the gender of the possessor thus ''lis ďeťis linis'' could correspond to English 'his children' or 'her children'.

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Pronoun''' !! '''Possessive''' !! '''English equivalent'''
|-
| ''Ye'' || ''min'' || my
|-
| ''tü'' || ''tin'' || your (informal)
|-
| ''Vi'' || ''Vin'' || your (formal)
|-
| ''el'', ''ela'', ''elo'' || ''lin'' || his, her, its
|-
| ''nes'', ''nis'' || ''nin'' || our
|-
| ''ves'', ''vis'' || ''vin'' || your, y'all's
|-
| ''eles'', ''elis'' || ''lor'' || their
|-
| ( ''si'' ) || ''sin'' || one's own
|}

The reflexive possessive ''sin'' is used to indicate possession by the subject, being mandatory when it refers to a third person and optional for the first or second person, much as discussed for accusative ''si''. For example:
* ''El sei lo miesto sino'' ~ He sees his [own] city.
* ''El sei lo miesto lino'' ~ He sees his [someone else's] city.
* ''Ye seic lo miesto mino'' / ''Ye seic lo miesto sino'' ~ I see my city.
* ''Ye seic lo miesto lino'' ~ I see his city.

=== Verbs ===

Europaico verbs are mostly derived from Germanic languages, especially English and German. Their conjugation, however, also incorporates elements from Romance and Slavic languages.

Germanic verbs commonly feature vowel alternations, often known as ''umlaut'', as found in English ''give / gave'' or their German cognates ''geben / gab''. As such a crucial element of Germanic verbs couldn't be left out, Europaico verbs will often feature two distinct stems, such as present-tense ''guiv-'' /ɡiv/ and past tense ''gav-'' /ɡav/ for the verb ''guiven'' (to give). Forms displaying umlaut are actively preferred over forms without alternations, for instance Europaico ''helpen'' (to help) has a past stem ''holp-'' reflecting Middle English ''help / holp / holpen'' instead of modern English regular ''help / helped / helped''.

==== Conjugation ====

Verbs are conjugated for person, number and tense in addition to having an infinitive form, two participles that declines for gender and number and two imperatives. Most Europaico verbs are regular although they still require the speaker to memorize separately their present and past-tense stems.

===== Non-finite forms =====

Infinitives take the present stem and a Germanic-like ''-en'' ending as in ''guiven'' for 'to give'. This form is used to refer to the action as a noun and is required by modal verbs such as ''canen'' (can, to be able to) and in the future-tense construction.

Europaico verbs may inflect for two kinds of participle: an active participle or a passive participle.

Active participles, formed by combining the present stem with the suffix ''-end'' and possibly other suffixes for marking gender and number. These participles operate as nouns or adjectives referencing the subject role of a verb, for instance ''lis guivendis'' translates to 'the ones that give' or 'the givers'. This form of participle isn't used particularly often.

Passive participles, on the other hand, are far more common in the language due to being required for forming non-imperfective past tense constructions. They are formed by combining the past stem with the Slavic-derived suffix ''-el'' as in ''gavel'' for 'given'. Less commonly, passive participles might also be used as adjectives or nouns for referencing the direct object role of their verb, as in ''el muz halpelo'' for 'the helped man, the man that received assistance'.

===== Indicative tenses =====

Europaico contrasts two moods: the indicative which covers most usages and the imperative, used only for issuing commands. This section focuses on the former, which accounts for the bulk of Europaico's verbal morphology, while the next section will cover the much simpler imperatives. Make sure to take time to thank whatever powers may be for Europaico not having a subjunctive mood as well.

Indicative verbs in Europaico might take four different tense-aspect combinations (referred as 'tenses' for simplicity), largely based on French:
- The '''present tense''' (`PRS`) matches English simple present and present continuous, being used for generic statements, habitual actions and events taking place in the present. For instance, ''ye '''singo''''' corresponds to either English 'I '''sing'''' or 'I '''am singing''''.
- The so-called '''imperfect tense''' (following a similar usage in Romance languages), more accurately described as imperfective past (`PST.IPFV`) is used to indicate events in the past that extended over a period of time, either due to it being a habitual, repeated action (as in ''ye '''sangueic''' kate den'' for 'I '''sang''' every day') or to indicate a prolonged activity that might be used to indicate a time frame for other actions (as in ''otan ye '''sangueic''''' for 'while I '''was singing'''').
- Europaico's '''past tense''' (`PST`) covers all other usages related to events in the past, being the most common way to translate English simple past and perfect tenses. The phrase ''ye '''au sanguel''''' covers English 'I '''sang'''' or 'I '''have sung'''' when referring to punctual events in the past.
- Finally, the '''future tense''' (`FUT`) is simply used for future events: ''ye '''guic singuen''''' corresponds to English 'I '''will sing'''' or ''I '''am goint to sing'''''.

As it can be observed from the examples, the '''present''' and '''imperfect''' tenses are formed by adding suffixes to the present and past stems of the verb (which, in the case of ''singuen'', 'to sing', are ''sing-'' and ''sang-'', after English 'sing' and 'sang'). These suffixes change depending on the subject, with verb endings inspired by French and Catalan conjugation [while basing features in Catalan might seem an odd choice for an international language, it can be noted that due to its geographic position and history it sort of bridges the gap between Spanish and French, the two most spoken Romance languages].

For a regular verb such as ''helpen'' (to help, present stem ''help-'', past stem ''holp-'', past auxiliary ''aven''), present ans imperfect forms are formed as follows:

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Subject''' !! '''Present''' (`PRS`) !! '''Imperfect''' (`PST.IPFV`)
|-
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) || ''helpo'' || ''holpeic''
|-
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) || ''helpes'' || ''holpeis''
|-
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) || ''helpe'' || ''holpei''
|-
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) || ''helpens'' || ''holpeyens''
|-
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) || ''helpeť'' || ''holpeyeť''
|-
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) || ''helpen'' || ''holpeyen''
|}

Note that verbs such as ''singuen'' present slight orthographic irregularities in their conjugation due to the sequences /ɡe/ and /ɡi/ requiring a silent ''u'' in the Latin orthography yielding ''singo'' for 'I sing' but ''sing'''u'''es'' for 'you sing' (still pronounced /ˈsin.ɡes/).

By contrast, the past and future tenses are constructed using an auxiliary verb, in a way that should be familiar to speakers of most Western European languages.

The '''past tense''' is formed with an auxiliary verb followed by a passive participle. Most verbs require the auxiliary ''aven'' (to have) which is followed by the base form of the participle (generally ending in ''-el'') as in ''ye '''au sanguel''''' for 'I sang / I have sung'. On the other hand, reflexive verbs, motion verbs and other verbs that relate to a change affecting the subject such as ''groven'' (to grow) require using ''seinen'' (to be) as their auxiliary, which must then be followed by a passive participle agreeing with the subject in gender and number. For instance, a male speaker would say ''ye '''sin forlesel''''' for 'I [have] left', whereas a female speaker would say ''ye '''sin forlesela'''''. This distinction parallels that of French verbs that form their past with ''être'' as their auxiliary followed by participles showing agreement (''Je suis parti'' / ''Je suis partie'') instead of the usual ''avoir'' auxiliary followed by invariable participles (''J'ai chanté''), which means that incorporating this feature to Europaico should make the language even easier to learn for the whole ''Francophonie''.

Only the present tense form of the auxiliaries is used for this purpose (there is no equivalent in Europaico to past perfect or pluperfect constructions such as English 'he had sung' or French ''« il avait chanté »''). With this fact in mind, past tense forms as exemplified with ''helpen'' (to help, past stem ''holp-'', auxiliary ''aven'') and ''comen'' (to come, past stem ''cam-'', auxiliary ''seinen) are as follows:

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Subject''' !! '''''Helpen''''' !! '''''Comen''''' (fem.) !! '''''Comen''''' (masc.) !! '''''Comen''''' (neu.)
|-
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) || ''au holpel'' || ''sin camela'' || ''sin camel'' || ''sin camelo''
|-
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) || ''as holpel'' || ''es camela'' || ''es camel'' || ''es camelo''
|-
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) || ''a holpel'' || ''is camela'' || ''is camel'' || ''is camelo''
|-
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) || ''avens holpel'' || ''sins cameles'' || ''sins camelis'' || ''sins camelis''
|-
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) || ''aveť holpel'' || ''seť cameles'' || ''seť camelis'' || ''seť camelis''
|-
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) || ''an holpel'' || ''sin cameles'' || ''sin camelis'' || ''sin camelis''
|}

Meanwhile, the '''future tense''' is formed with ''guien'' (to go) as an auxiliary verb followed by the infinitive form of the verb. The resulting wording, as in ''ye guic singuen'', matches English 'I am going to sing', Spanish ''"voy a cantar"'' and French ''« je vais chanter »'' among others, making this a fairly sensible for a once. As an example, the future tense forms of ''helpen'' are as follows:

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Subject''' !! '''Future''' (`FUT`)
|-
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) || ''guic helpen''
|-
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) || ''guis helpen''
|-
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) || ''gui helpen''
|-
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) || ''guens helpen''
|-
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) || ''gueť helpen''
|-
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) || ''guen helpen''
|}

In principle, it would be possible to combine the constructions for past and future tenses in order to refer to things that ''were'' going to happen but perhaps didn't (''*'ye au gal helpen'' for 'I was going to help') or things that are will ''have'' happened by a certain point. (''*'ye guic aven holpel''). Whether such constructions would actually be permitted in Europaico is intentionally left ambiguous, although anyone willing to use them probably should also allow pluperfect tenses such as ''*'*'ye au adel holpel'' for 'I had sung' after all. If you'd rather keep things simple, ignoring this whole paragraph (if not the article as a whole) might be a better option.

===== Imperatives =====

Verbs in the imperative are considerably simpler presenting only two forms: a 'singular imperative' issuing a command to a single listener (''tü'', you) and a 'plural imperative' giving and order to multiple listeners (''vis/ves'', you guys, you all, y'all, youse, etc). However, the fact that Europaico uses ''Vi'', a variant of the second person plural pronouns, as a formal second person ''singular'' pronoun, sets things askew as the 'plural imperative' will also be required in this case.

For regular verbs such as ''helpen'', imperatives are formed by combining the present stem with the suffix ''-i'' for singular or ''-iť'' for plural imperatives:

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Subject number''' !! '''Formality''' !! '''Imperative'''
|-
| Singular || Informal || ''helpi''
|-
| Singular || Formal || ''helpiť''
|-
| Plural || Any || ''helpiť''
|}

While not mandatory, subjects are typically omitted in imperative sentences; ''Me helpi!'' would be a more common wording for 'Help me!' than ''Tü me helpi!''. Using a explicit pronoun might be required to resolve ambiguity in cases where it is unclear whether a plural imperative was given to a single person (addressed with formal ''Vi'') within a group or to the group as a whole (second person plural ''vis'' or ''ves'').

Unlike Romance languages where true imperatives are generally restricted to positive commands (compare Spanish imperative mood ''"¡Ayuda!"'' for 'Help!' but subjunctive "''¡No ayudes!''" for 'Don't help!'), Europaico imperatives interact normally with negative markers as in ''Ne helpi niť!'' for 'Don't help!'.

While imperatives can only be formed for second person subjects, constructions about mandatory or suggested actions for other subjects can be expressed using modal verbs such as ''lesen'' (let) or ''musten'' (must):
* ''El muste te helpen!'' - He must help you!
* ''Ens lesens helpen!'' - Let's help!

==== Irregular verbs ====

One of the key reasons someone might opt to adopt an auxiliary constructed language rather than a natlang is that auxlangs typically shy away from irregular verbs in order to be easier to learn. Accordingly, it would be an extremely dubious move for an auxlang to feature irregular verbs.

Europaico features irregular verbs. These verbs can be divided into two classes: semi-vocalic verbs such as ''groven'' (to grow) and ''seyen'' (to see) whose conjugation show clear commonalities characterized by the alternation of a vocalic stem (''grou-'' and ''sei-'') and a consonant stem (''grov-'', ''sey-'') and fully irregular verbs where all patterns should be put into question.

===== Semi-vocalic verbs =====

Verbs in this class generally feature stems which end in a ''v'' or ''y'' (as found in ''groven'' and ''seyen'', respectively) which would result in valid diphthongs (''ai'', ''au'', ''ei'', ''eu'', ''oi'', ''ou'' or ''ui'') should we replace the ''v'' /v/ for an ''u'' /u/ or the ''y'' /j/ for an ''i'' /i/.

The verb ''seyen'' (to see) proves to be a particularly fitting example as it features semi-vocalic stems both in the present tense (''sey-''/''sei-'') and in the past tense (''sav-''/''sau-''), although the latter doesn't affect the paradigm much.

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Infinitive''' !! ''seyen''
|-
| '''Past tense auxiliary''' || ''aven''
|-
| '''Active participle''' || ''seyendo''
|-
| '''Passive participle''' || ''savel''
|-
| '''Imperative''' (''tü'') || ''sei''
|-
| '''Imperative''' (''Vi'') || ''seyeť''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Subject''' !! '''Present''' (`PRS`) !! '''Imperfect''' (`PST.IPFV`) !! '''Past''' (`PST`) !! '''Future '''(`FUT`)
|-
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) || ''seic'' || ''saveic'' || ''au savel'' || ''guic seyen''
|-
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) || ''seis'' || ''saveis'' || ''as savel'' || ''guis seyen''
|-
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) || ''sei'' || ''savei'' || ''a savel'' || ''gui seyen''
|-
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) || ''seyens'' || ''saveyens'' || ''avens savel'' || ''guens seyen''
|-
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) || ''seyeť'' || ''saveyeť'' || ''aveť savel'' || ''gueť seyen''
|-
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) || ''seyen'' || ''saveyen'' || ''an savel'' || ''guen seyen''
|}

Forms for other semi-vocalic verbs can be constructed replacing ''sei-'' and ''sey-'' for the appropriate vocalic and consonant stems for the present, and ''sav-'' for the appropriate past stem, with the sole exception that ''Vi'' imperatives take the suffix ''-iť'' for verbs for stems ending in ''v'' as in ''groviť'' for 'Grow!' (the form ending in ''-eť'' found in ''seyeť'', 'See!', is a result of Europaico's phonotactic restriction disallowing /ji/).

===== Fully irregular verbs =====

Fully irregular verbs include ones used as auxiliaries as ''seinen'' (to be, also marks past tense for reflexive verbs), ''aven'' (to have, also marks past tense for non-reflexive verbs) and ''guien'' (to go, also marks future tense), modal verbs such as ''canen'' (can, to be able) and ''musten'' (must, to have to) and also a few content verbs such as ''esen'' (to eat).

====== ''aven'' (to have, `PST` marker) ======
{| class="wikitable"
! '''Infinitive''' !! ''aven''
|-
| '''Past tense auxiliary''' || ''aven''
|-
| '''Active participle''' || ''abendo''
|-
| '''Passive participle''' || ''adel''
|-
| '''Imperative''' (''tü'') || ''avi''
|-
| '''Imperative''' (''Vi'') || ''aviť''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Subject''' !! '''Present''' (`PRS`) !! '''Imperfect''' (`PST.IPFV`) !! '''Past''' (`PST`) !! '''Future '''(`FUT`)
|-
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) || ''au'' || ''adeic'' || ''au adel'' || ''guic aven''
|-
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) || ''as'' || ''adeis'' || ''as adel'' || ''guis aven''
|-
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) || ''a'' || ''adei'' || ''a adel'' || ''gui aven''
|-
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) || ''avens'' || ''adens'' || ''avens adel'' || ''guens aven''
|-
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) || ''aveť'' || ''adeť'' || ''aveť adel'' || ''gueť aven''
|-
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) || ''an'' || ''aden'' || ''an adel'' || ''guen aven''
|}

====== ''canen'' (can, to be able) ======

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Infinitive''' !! ''canen''
|-
| '''Past tense auxiliary''' || (depends on following verb)
|-
| '''Active participle''' || ''canendo''
|-
| '''Passive participle''' || ''conel''
|-
| '''Imperative''' (''tü'') || ''cani''
|-
| '''Imperative''' (''Vi'') || ''caniť''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Subject''' !! '''Present''' (`PRS`) !! '''Imperfect''' (`PST.IPFV`) !! '''Past''' (`PST`) !! '''Future '''(`FUT`)
|-
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) || ''canc'' || ''coneic'' || ''au conel'' || ''guic seyen''
|-
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) || ''cans'' || ''coneis'' || ''as conel'' || ''guis seyen''
|-
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) || ''can'' || ''conei'' || ''a conel'' || ''gui seyen''
|-
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) || ''canens'' || ''coneyens'' || ''avens conel'' || ''guens seyen''
|-
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) || ''caneť'' || ''coneyeť'' || ''aveť conel'' || ''gueť seyen''
|-
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) || ''canen'' || ''coneyen'' || ''an conel'' || ''guen seyen''
|}

====== ''doen'' (to do) ======

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Infinitive''' !! ''doen''
|-
| '''Past tense auxiliary''' || ''aven''
|-
| '''Active participle''' || ''doendo''
|-
| '''Passive participle''' || ''del''
|-
| '''Imperative''' (''tü'') || ''doi''
|-
| '''Imperative''' (''Vi'') || ''doiť''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Subject''' !! '''Present''' (`PRS`) !! '''Imperfect''' (`PST.IPFV`) !! '''Past''' (`PST`) !! '''Future '''(`FUT`)
|-
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) || ''doc'' || ''deic'' || ''au dnel'' || ''guic doen''
|-
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) || ''does'' || ''deis'' || ''as del'' || ''guis doen''
|-
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) || ''doe'' || ''dei'' || ''a del'' || ''gui doen''
|-
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) || ''doens'' || ''deyens'' || ''avens del'' || ''guens doen''
|-
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) || ''doeť'' || ''deyeť'' || ''aveť del'' || ''gueť doen''
|-
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) || ''doen'' || ''deyen'' || ''an del'' || ''guen doen''
|}

====== ''esen'' (to eat) ======

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Infinitive''' !! ''esen''
|-
| '''Past tense auxiliary''' || ''aven''
|-
| '''Active participle''' || ''esendo''
|-
| '''Passive participle''' || ''atel''
|-
| '''Imperative''' (''tü'') || ''esi''
|-
| '''Imperative''' (''Vi'') || ''esiť''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Subject''' !! '''Present''' (`PRS`) !! '''Imperfect''' (`PST.IPFV`) !! '''Past''' (`PST`) !! '''Future '''(`FUT`)
|-
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) || ''esc'' || ''ateic'' || ''au atel'' || ''guic esen''
|-
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) || ''ets'' || ''ateis'' || ''as atel'' || ''guis esen''
|-
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) || ''et'' || ''atei'' || ''a atel'' || ''gui esen''
|-
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) || ''esens'' || ''ateyens'' || ''avens atel'' || ''guens esen''
|-
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) || ''eseť'' || ''ateyeť'' || ''aveť atel'' || ''gueť esen''
|-
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) || ''esen'' || ''ateyen'' || ''an atel'' || ''guen esen''
|}

====== ''guien'' (to go, to walk, `FUT` marker) ======

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Infinitive''' !! ''guien''
|-
| '''Past tense auxiliary''' || ''seinen''
|-
| '''Active participle''' || ''guendo''
|-
| '''Passive participle''' || ''gal''
|-
| '''Imperative''' (''tü'') || ''gui''
|-
| '''Imperative''' (''Vi'') || ''guiť''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Subject''' !! '''Present''' (`PRS`) !! '''Imperfect''' (`PST.IPFV`) !! '''Past''' (`PST`) !! '''Future '''(`FUT`)
|-
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) || ''guic'' || ''gaic'' || ''sin gal'' || ''guic guien''
|-
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) || ''guis'' || ''gais'' || ''es gal'' || ''guis guien''
|-
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) || ''gui'' || ''gai'' || ''is gal'' || ''gui guien''
|-
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) || ''guens'' || ''gayens'' || ''sins galis'' || ''guens guien''
|-
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) || ''gueť'' || ''gayeť'' || ''seť galis'' || ''gueť guien''
|-
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) || ''guen'' || ''gayen'' || ''sin galis'' || ''guen guien''
|}

====== ''lesen'' (to leave, to let, to allow) ======

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Infinitive''' !! ''lesen''
|-
| '''Past tense auxiliary''' || (depends on following verb)
|-
| '''Active participle''' || ''lesendo''
|-
| '''Passive participle''' || ''lasel''
|-
| '''Imperative''' (''tü'') || ''lesi''
|-
| '''Imperative''' (''Vi'') || ''lesiť''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Subject''' !! '''Present''' (`PRS`) !! '''Imperfect''' (`PST.IPFV`) !! '''Past''' (`PST`) !! '''Future '''(`FUT`)
|-
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) || ''lesc'' || ''laseic'' || ''au lasel'' || ''guic lesen''
|-
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) || ''lets'' || ''laseis'' || ''as lasel'' || ''guis lesen''
|-
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) || ''let'' || ''lasei'' || ''a lasel'' || ''gui lesen''
|-
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) || ''lesens'' || ''laseyens'' || ''avens lasel'' || ''guens lesen''
|-
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) || ''leseť'' || ''laseyeť'' || ''aveť lasel'' || ''gueť lesen''
|-
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) || ''lesen'' || ''laseyen'' || ''an lasel'' || ''guen lesen''
|}

====== ''musten'' (must, to have to) ======

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Infinitive''' !! ''musten''
|-
| '''Past tense auxiliary''' || (depends on following verb)
|-
| '''Active participle''' || ''mustendo''
|-
| '''Passive participle''' || ''mostel''
|-
| '''Imperative''' (''tü'') || -
|-
| '''Imperative''' (''Vi'') || -
|}

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Subject''' !! '''Present''' (`PRS`) !! '''Imperfect''' (`PST.IPFV`) !! '''Past''' (`PST`) !! '''Future '''(`FUT`)
|-
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) || ''musto'' || ''mosteic'' || ''au mosel'' || ''guic musten''
|-
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) || ''musts'' || ''mosteis'' || ''as mosel'' || ''guis musten''
|-
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) || ''must'' || ''mostei'' || ''a mosel'' || ''gui musten''
|-
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) || ''mustens'' || ''mosteyens'' || ''avens mosel'' || ''guens musten''
|-
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) || ''musteť'' || ''mosteyeť'' || ''aveť mosel'' || ''gueť musten''
|-
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) || ''musten'' || ''mosteyen'' || ''an mosel'' || ''guen musten''
|}

====== ''seinen'' (to be, PST marker) ======

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Infinitive''' !! ''seinen''
|-
| '''Past tense auxiliary''' || ''seinen''
|-
| '''Active participle''' || ''sindo''
|-
| '''Passive participle''' || ''bül''
|-
| '''Imperative''' (''tü'') || ''bi''
|-
| '''Imperative''' (''Vi'') || ''biť''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Subject''' !! '''Present''' (`PRS`) !! '''Imperfect''' (`PST.IPFV`) !! '''Past''' (`PST`) !! '''Future '''(`FUT`)
|-
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) || ''sin'' || ''seineic'' || ''sin bül'' || ''guic seinen''
|-
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) || ''es'' || ''seineis'' || ''es bül'' || ''guis seinen''
|-
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) || ''is'' || ''seinei'' || ''is bül'' || ''gui seinen''
|-
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) || ''sins'' || ''seineyens'' || ''sins bülis'' || ''guens seinen''
|-
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) || ''seť'' || ''seineyeť'' || ''seť bülis'' || ''gueť seinen''
|-
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) || ''sin'' || ''seineyen'' || ''sin bülis'' || ''guen seinen''
|}

=== Syntax ===

Europaico's syntax is relatively simple, with no real surprises. As I was able to restrain myself from adding grammatical case to this conlang, Europaico requires an `SVO` word order.

Adjectives and adverbs generally follow the words they modify, although the opposite order is allowed as a stylistic variant, generally as a way to emphasize the descriptor. For instance, 'the big city' will be generally given as ''lo miesto mego'' (literally 'the city big'), although ''lo mego miesto'' ('the big city') is also allowed but much rarer.

Similarly, Europaico allows for pronouns in subject-position to be dropped, but this is a poetic or otherwise stylistic choice not generally found in the standard form of the language. Thus ''Ye te seic'' would be the usual way of translating 'I see you' even though simply saying ''te seic'' would also constitute a valid option.

==== Negatives ====

European languages generally express negation through the inclusion of a negative particle, typically found before the verb (as in Spanish ''no'', Greek ''δεν'' and Polish ''nie'') although some languages place this particle after the verb instead (German ''nicht'', Danish ''ikke'') while French traditionally combines both options, with the particle ''ne'' being required before the verb and ''pas'' after it.

Naturally, Europaico, in its heroic quest to become as accessible as possible to speakers of all its source languages, takes the French approach, with French and Slavic-based ''ne'' being required before the verb and any clitics (such as accusative pronouns) and German-based ''niť'' after the verb. Thus the negative form of ''Ye te helpo'' (I help you) is ''Ye ne te helpo niť'' (I don't help you).

Double negatives are allowed, retaining their negative sense. For instance 'I never help you' will be generally expressed by adding the adverb ''mai'' (never) to the negative wording as given above: ''Ye ne te helpo niť mai'', while the similarly constructed ''Ye ne te guic lesen niť mai'' could be interpreted as "I will never give up on you".

==== Questions ====

Polar questions (those who ask for a yes-no confirmation) may be formed simply by adding the particle ''que'' at the beginning of the sentence. Verb-subject inversion (resulting in a `VSO` word order) is optionally allowed for these questions thus 'Am I helping you?' might be expressed either as ''Que ye te helpo?'' or as ''Que te helpo ye?'' without any change in meaning.

Such questions will generally be answered with particles meaning 'yes' and 'no' which in Europaico are ''ne'' and ''oquei'' respectively, taken from Greek ''ναι'' and ''όχι'' respectively. Learners should take notice that ''ne'' means 'yes', despite it being otherwise identical to the negative particle ''ne''. Similarly, the negative answer ''oquei'' should not be confused with English-derived ''okey'' (OK), which might also be borrowed into the language.

Content questions are formed using interrogative pronouns or adverbs similar to the English wh-words including ''cuo'' (who), ''cue'' (what), ''cuando'' (when), ''cuon'' (where), ''cuomo'' (how) and ''cuare'' (why). Questions formed using these interrogatives do not require the marker ''que''. These content interrogatives might be optionally fronted to the beginning of the sentence or left in their natural place in the sentence, so 'who are you helping?' might be expressed either as ''Cuo tü helpes?'' or as ''Tü helpes cuo?''.

=== Relative clauses ===

Europaico's relative clauses follow the noun they describe (the antecedent) as is the norm among European languages. Their structure, largely modeled off French, varies slightly depending on the role the antecedent has within the relative clause.

When the antecedent works as a subject within the relative clause, it will be introduced with the relative pronoun '''''qui''''' as in ''« lo ďeťe, qui singue »'' for 'the kid that sings'.

As in German, relative clauses tend to adopt a verb-final structure meaning that direct objects such as ''« el hlieb »'' ~ 'the bread' in phrases such as 'the man who eats the bread' will appear before the verb (''el muz, qui el hlieb et'') even though it would usually follow the verb in other contexts (as in ''el muz et el hlieb'' for 'the man eats the bread'). Arguably, this has the advantage of delimiting the relative clause more clearly.

Relative clauses where the antecedent works as a direct object use the relative pronoun '''''que''''' instead. Due to Europaico's verb-final word order for relative clauses, the usage of the correct relative pronoun might be the only element that indicates the role of the antecedent within the relative clause; compare for instance ''« les zenes, '''que''' lis muzis seyen »'' (the women who the men see) and ''« les zenes, '''qui''' lis muzis seyen »'' (the women who see the men).

Clauses where the antecedent takes in a different syntactic role within the relative clause require the pronoun ''qui'' preceded by a preposition such as locative ''na'' (in, at) in the phrase ''lo miesto, '''na qui''' je vono'' (the city '''where''' I live).

Europaico's orthography requires relative phrases to be surrounded by commas as it is also the case in German and Russian orthography among others.

== Numerals ==

Europaico numerals have been designed to facilitate international communication with the same utmost care present in the rest of the language.

In a rare display of goodwill, Europaico's numerals are not inflected for gender nor any other category, although it should be noted that the numeral for 'one' coincides with the feminine form of the indefinite article which ''is'' inflected for number.

Digits are mostly borrowed from Greek, although influences from other languages is also present:

{| class="wikitable"
! Number !! Europaico numeral !! Notes
|-
| '''0''' || ''zero'' || Internationalism.
|-
| '''1''' || ''ena'' || From Greek ''ένα'', also similar to German ''ein''. Identical to the feminine form of the indefinite article ''en/ena/eno''.
|-
| '''2''' || ''düs'' || From the Greek-based prefix ''di-'', its source the Ancient Greek adverb ''δῐ́ς'', Albanian ''dy'' and Romance words such as Spanish ''dos'' and Portuguese ''dois''.
|-
| '''3''' || ''tris'' || From the Greek-based prefix ''tri-'' and words for 'three' in multiple Indo-European languages from Europe.
|-
| '''4''' || ''quear'' || From Manx Gaelic ''kiare'' /kʲeːə(r)/ which somehow resembles cognates such as French ''quatre''. Despite the fact that Romance, Slavic and Germanic words for 'four' ultimately share the same Indo-European root ''*'kʷetwóres'', modern reflexes have diverged so much that one could scarcely find common ground among them. Since Europaico was severely lacking in Celtic representation, a Manx Gaelic word was chosen, an obvious choice obeying to the Isle of Man position between the territories of Goidelic and Brittonic languages.
|-
| '''5''' || ''pinta'' || Mainly from the Greek-based prefix ''penta-'' although also influenced by the ''i'' found in Romance words for 'fifth' such as ''quinta'' (found in Portuguese, Spanish, Catalan and Italian among others).
|-
| '''6''' || ''secsa'' || From the Greek-based prefix ''hexa-'', its Latin counterpart ''sex(a)-'' and many words for 'six' in Indo-European languages including German ''sechs''.
|-
| '''7''' || ''septa'' || A similar derivation to that from ''secsa'', inspired by the prefixes ''hepta-'', ''sept(a)-'' and various words for 'seven' or 'seventh' (such as Spanish ''séptimo'').
|-
| '''8''' || ''octa'' || From the Greek and Latin-based prefixes ''octo-/octa-''. The form with a final ''-a'' was chosen to agree with the previous numerals.
|-
| '''9''' || ''nona'' || From the Latin prefix ''nona-'', keeping the pattern from previous numerals.
|}

Europaico's word for '''10''' is ''deç'', a word inspired both by Romance forms of the numeral (such as Spanish ''diez'', Portuguese ''dez'' and Occitan ''dètz'') and by Slavic cognates such as Czech ''deset'', Ukrainian ''де́сять'' and Macedonian ''де́сет''.

Numerals from '''11''' to '''19''' are regularly formed by adding the suffix ''-nast'' (taken from Slavic sources) to the digit for the units position: ''enanast'', ''düsnast'', ''trisnast'' through ''nonanast''.

Words for multiples of ten from '''20''' to '''90''' are formed by suffixing ''-deç'' to the appropriate digit, from ''düsdeç'' for twenty to ''nonadeç'' for ninety. Unfortunately, this means that French-speakers learning this language will have to do some math to work out that the numeral for ninety is formed as ''nonadeç'' rather than something that would come more naturally to them such as ''*'*'quear-düsdeç-deç''.

On the other hand, in order to make the language more accessible to German and Polish speakers, among others, other numbers below 100 are formed placing the units ''before'' the tens, as in ''quear düsdeç'' for 24 (literally 'four [and] twenty').

All other positions are formed as in English, with the higher positions coming up first, each formed by a digit numeral followed by a SI-based term for the power of ten as in ''ena hecto'' for 100 (literally one hundred) or ''ena quilo düs hecto quear trisdeç'' for 1234 (literally one thousand two hundred four thirty).

Ordinals might be formed adding the suffix ''-ico'' to a number as in ''secsaico'' for 'sixth'.

== Examples ==

=== Sample sentences ===

The following are a set of sample sentences designed to showcase aspects of the Europaico grammar. These are given in the Europaico and Latin alphabets along with an IPA phonemic transcription.

Intransitive, affirmative:

* '''Eɴ мɤz кaı eɴa zeɴa гaεɴ.'''
* '''''En muz cai ena zena gayen.'''''
* /en muz kai̯ ˈe.na ˈze.na ˈɡa.jen/
* ''en muz cai ena zena gayen''
* INDF.SG.M man and INDF.SG.F woman go.IPF.3p
* '''A man and a woman were walking.'''

Transitive, question:

* '''Ke сeεɴ ʌeс zeɴeс ʌıс мɤzıс?'''
* '''''Que seyen les zenes lis muzis?'''''
* /ke ˈse.jen les ˈze.nes lis ˈmu.zis/
* ''que seyen les zen-es lis muz-is''
* INT see.PRS.3p DEF.PL.F woman-PL.F DEF.PL.C man-PL.C
* '''Do the women see the men?'''

Ditransitive, negative:

* '''Є ɴe τ’aɤ гaweʌ ɴıћ eʌ кaмeɴ бaρo.'''
* '''''Ye ne t’au gavel niť el camen baro.'''''
* /je ne tau̯ ɡaˈvel nic el ˈka.men ˈba.ʀo/
* ''ye ne te au gav-el niť el camen bar-o''
* 1s NEG 2.ACC PST.1s give.PST-PTCP NEG DEF.SG.M stone heavy-SG.C
* I didn’t give you the heavy stone.

With relative clauses:

* '''Λa oсoбa, кe τʋ aс сaweʌ, фaɴгe ʌa пτıцa, кı ʌıс ∂ʋс đeћıс мıɴıс a фaɴ∂eʌ.'''
* '''''La osoba, que tü as savel, fangue la ptiça, qui lis düs ďeťis minis a fandel.'''''
* /la oˈso.ba ke ty as saˈvel ˈfaŋ.ɡe la ˈpti.tsa ki lis dys ˈɟe.cis ˈmi,nis a fanˈdel/
* ''la osoba que tü as sav-el fang-e la ptiça''
* DEF.SG.F person REL.OBL 2s PST.2s see.PST-PTCP catch-PRS.3s DEF.SG.F bird
* ''qui lis düs ďeť-is min-is a fand-el''
* REL.NOM DEF.PL.C two child-PL.C 1s.POS-PL.C PST.3s find.PST-PTCP
* '''The person you saw is catching the bird that found my two children.'''

=== Schleicher's Fable ===

Schleicher's Fable is a common sample text used by many of the best and most serious linguists in the world. In order to even things out, we'll use it for Europaico as well.

The text of the fable, in English, is as follows:

* '''The Sheep and the Horses'''
*
* On a hill, sheep that had no wool saw horses, one of them pulling a heavy wagon, one carrying a big load, and one carrying a man quickly.
*
* The sheep said to the horses: "My heart pains me, seeing a man driving horses."
*
* The horses said: "Listen, sheep, our hearts pain us when we see this: a man, the master, makes the wool of the sheep into a warm garment for himself. And the sheep has no wool."
*
* Having heard this, the sheep fled into the plain.

The Europaico translation in the Europaico script is as follows:

* '''Λa Owцa кaı ʌıс Koɴıс'''
*
* Eпı eɴ пaгoρeк, eɴa owцa, кı wɤʌɴa ɴe a∂eı ɴıћ, a сaweʌ кoɴıс: eɴ кoɴ кı τρoкeı eɴ woz бaρo, eɴ кoɴ кı бoρeı eɴa τowaρa мeгa кaı eɴ кoɴ кı бoρeı τaкaмeɴτ eɴ мɤz.
*
* Λa owцa a сaгeʌ пρo кoɴıс: « Λo сeρцe мıɴo мe ∂oe бoʌ сeεɴ∂o eɴ мɤz кı ∂ρıwe кoɴıс ».
*
* Λıс кoɴıс aɴ сaгeʌ: « Owцa, ʌıсτı! Λıс сeρцıс мıɴıс ɴıс ∂oeɴ бoʌ кɤaɴ∂o ɴıс сeεɴс кeсτo: eɴ мɤz, eʌ гoспo∂aρ, weρaɴ∂eρe ʌa wɤʌɴa ∂eс owцa'с ɴa eɴ пʌaшτ τeρмo пρo сı. Kaı ɴɤɴ ʌa owцa ɴ'a ɴıћ wɤʌɴa. »
*
* Λa owцa a xeρeʌ кeсτo кaı ıс фʌoxeʌa ɴa ʌa ρowɴıɴa.

In the Latin alphabet:

* '''La Ovça cai lis Conis'''
*
* Epi en pagorec, ena ovça, qui vulna ne adei niť, a savel conis: en con qui troquei en voz baro, en con qui borei ena tovara mega cai en con qui borei tacament en muz.
*
* La ovça a sagel pro conis: « Lo serce mino me doe bol seyendo en muz qui drive conis ».
*
* Lis conis an sagel: « Ovça, listi! Lis sercis minis nis doen bol cuando nis seyens questo: en muz, el gospodar, verandere la vulna des ovça's na en plašt termo pro si. Cai nun la ovça n'a niť vulna. »
*
* La ovça a herel questo cai is flohela na la rovnina.

Interlinear glosses and phonetic transcriptions are given in the following section.

==== Glosses ====

'''''La Ovça cai lis Conis'''''

/la ˈov.tsa kai̯ lis ˈko.nis/

''la ovça cai lis con-is''

DEF.SG.F sheep and DEF.PL.C horse-PL.C

'''The Sheep and the Horses'''

'''''Epi en pagorec, ena ovça, qui vulna ne adei niť, a savel conis:'''''

/ˈe.pi en pa.ɡoˈʀrek ˈe.na ˈov.tsa ki ˈvul.na ne aˈdei̯ nic a saˈvel ˈko.nis/

''epi en pagorec ena ovça qui vulna ne ad-ei niť''

on INDF.SG.M hill INDF.SG.F sheep REL.NOM wool NEG have.PST-.IPF.3s NEG

''a savel con-is''

PST.3s see.PTCP horse-PL.C

'''On a hill, sheep that had no wool saw horses'''

'''''en con qui troquei en voz baro,'''''

/en kon ki tʀoˈkei̯ en voz ˈba.ʀo/

''en con qui troc-ei en voz bar-o''

INDF.SG.M horse REL.NOM pull.PST-IPF.3s INDF.SG.M cart heavy-SG.C

'''a horse that pulled a heavy wagon'''

'''''en con qui borei ena tovara mega'''''

/en kon ki boˈʀei̯ ˈe.na toˈva.ʀa ˈme.ɡa/

''en con qui bor-ei ena tovara meg-a''

INDF.SG.M horse REL.NOM carry.PST-IPF.3s INDF.SG.F burden big-SG.F

'''a horse that carried a big load'''

'''''cai en con qui borei tacament en muz.'''''

/kai̯ en kon ki boˈʀei̯ ta.kaˈment en muz/

''cai en con qui bor-ei taca-ment en muz''

and INDF.SG.M horse REL.NOM carry.PST-IPF.3s fast-ADV INDF.SG.M man

'''a horse that carried a man quickly.'''

'''''La ovça a sagel pro conis:'''''

/la ˈov.tsa saˈɡel pʀo ˈko.nis/

''la ovça a sag-el pro con-is''

DEF.SG.F sheep PST.3s say-PTCP DAT horse-PL.C

'''The sheep said to the horses:'''

'''''« Lo serce mino me doe bol seyendo en muz qui drive conis ».'''''

/lo ˈseʀ.tse ˈmi.no me ˈdo.e bol seˈjen.do en muz ki ˈdʀi.ve ˈko.nis/

''lo serce min-o me doe bol''

DEF.SG.N heart 1s.POS-SG.N 1s.OBL do.PRS.3s pain

''sey-endo en muz qui driv-e con-is''

see-GER INDF.SG.M man REL.NOM drive-PRS.3s horse-PL.C

'''"My heart pains me, seeing a man driving horses."'''

'''''Lis conis an sagel: « Ovça, listi!'''''

/lis ˈko.nis an saˈɡel ˈov.tsa ˈlis.ti/

''lis con-is an sag-el ovça list-i''

DEF.PL.C horse-PL.C PST.3p say-PTCP sheep listen-IMP

'''The sheep said to the horses: "Sheep, listen!'''

'''''Lis sercis minis nis doen bol cuando nis seyens questo:'''''

/lis ˈseʀ.tsis ˈmi.nis nis ˈdo.en bol kuˈan.do nis seˈjens ˈkes.to/

''lis serc-is min-is nis doen bol''

DEF.PL.C heart-PLC 1s.POS-PL.C 1p.M.OBL do.PRS.3p pain

''cuando nis sey-ens questo''

when 1p.C see-PRS.1p this-SG.C

'''"Our hearts pain us when we see this:'''

'''''en muz, el gospodar, verandere la vulna des ovça's'''''

/en muz el ɡos.poˈdaʀ ve.ʀanˈde.ʀe la ˈvul.na des ˈov.tsas/

''en muz el gospodar verander-e la vulna des ovça-'s''

INDF.SG.M man DEF.SG.M master change-PRS.3s DEF.SG.F wool POS sheep-POS

'''a man, the master, changes the wool of the sheep'''

'''''na en plašt termo pro si.'''''

/na en plaʃt ˈteʀ.mo pʀo si/

''na en plašt term-o pro si''

into INDF.SG.M garment warm-SG.C for REFL

'''into a warm garment for himself.'''

'''''Cai nun la ovça n'a niť vulna. »'''''

/kai̯ nun la ˈov.tsa na nic ˈvul.na/

''cai nun la ovça n'-a niť vulna''

and now DEF.SG.F sheep NEG-have.PRS.3s NEG wool

'''And now the sheep doesn't have wool."'''

'''''La ovça a herel questo cai is flohela na la rovnina.'''''

/la ˈov.tsa a xeˈʀel ˈkes.to kai̯ is floˈxe.la na la ʀovˈni.na/

''la ovça a her-el questo cai is floh-ela''

DEF.SG.F sheep PST.3s hear-PTCP this and PST.3s flee.PST-PTCP.SG.F

''na la rovnina''

into DEF.SG.F plain

'''The sheep heard this and fled into the plain.'''



[[Category:Europaico]]
[[Category:Languages]]
[[Category:Conlangs]]

Europaico

2025-05-06T04:29:21Z

Jotadiego: Fixed tables and lists up to the verbs part

{{Infobox language
|name=Europaico
|nativename=''Europaico, Eɤροпaıкo''
|date=2024
|familycolor= conlang
|fam1=[[Auxiliary language]]
|setting=[[Auxiliary language]]
|posteriori=based on [[w:Romance languages|Romance]], [[w:Germanic languages|Germanic]] and p[w:Slavic languages|Slavic]] languages.
|script=[[w:Latin script|Latin]] Europaico script
}}

''Slavic nouns, Germanic verbs, Romance grammar and not a lot of sense!''

'''Europaico''' (Eɤροпaıкo in its own script, pronounced as /eu̯.ʀoˈpai̯.ko/) is a non-naturalistic ''a posteriori'' conlang based on various European languages meant as a parody to auxlang projects such as Esperanto, Interlingua, Sambhasa or Lingwa de Planeta.

Intrafictionally, the language would have been created and maintained by the ''Alternative International Association for International Auxiliary Languages'' or AIAIAL.

As a 'fake auxlang', it could be considered to be a ''fauxlang''. It could make for a decent artlang, though.

Most of Europaico's features are designed to have a tongue-in-cheek justification explaining why they would make sense for a European auxiliary language (until you actually think about it for more than a couple seconds, that is). Since telling a joke is more fun than explaining it, some of the conlangs features might be presented that way throughout this article.

In addition to a Latin-script orthography, Europaico might be written in its own alphabet, best described as 'an unholy mismatch of Greek, Cyrillic and Roman'.

The conlang was created in March 2024.

== Concept ==

Europaico is a brand new auxiliary language that will finally allow humanity to lift the curse of Babel! Maybe.

Following the long-standing tradition set by such fine language designers such as Esperanto's Zamenhof, Volapük's Schleyer, Europaico only takes the European continent into account. Europaico might nonetheless be advertised as a global language, it's not like it'd be the first one to do so with its creators even managing to keep a straight face.

The European linguistic landscape is dominated by three main linguistic groups: the Romance languages in the west and south, the Germanic languages in the center and north and the Slavic languages in the east. Europaico is meant to be a compromise between these three major groups, borrowing elements from each of them. Greek, as a historically prominent language in the continent that isn't fully accounted for, is taken as a secondary source language to 'fill in the gaps'.

Europaico's grammar is mostly based on that of Romance language, particularly French. Nouns are taken nearly exclusively from Slavic sources, retaining their masculine/feminine/neuter gender distinction. Verbs, meanwhile, are usually sourced from Germanic languages although their conjugation also incorporates Romance and Slavic elements.

== Phonology ==

=== Consonants ===

Europaico has a honest-to-the-powers-that-be relatively simple consonant inventory with few surprises aside from a palatal series (a step up from your 'standard average European' language but still a long shot from the phonemic palatalization affecting most consonants in Slavic languages).

The following table gives the consonants in the Latin script orthography, a phonemic transcription in IPA (between slashes) and the corresponding glyph in Europaico's native alphabet.

{| class="wikitable"
! !! '''Labial''' !! '''Alveolar''' !! '''Post-Alveolar''' !! '''Palatal''' !! '''Velar'''
|-
| '''Nasal''' || '''''m''''' /m/ '''м''' || '''''n''''' /n/ '''ɴ''' || || '''''ň''''' /ɲ/ '''њ''' ||
|-
| '''Unvoiced stop''' || '''''p''''' /p/ '''п''' || '''''t''''' /t/ '''τ''' || || '''''ť''''' /c/ '''ћ''' || '''''c''''' /k/ '''к'''
|-
| '''Voiced stop''' || '''''b''''' /b/ '''б''' || '''''d''''' /d/ '''∂''' || || '''''ď''''' /ɟ/ '''đ''' || '''''g''''' /ɡ/ '''г'''
|-
| '''Unvoiced affricate''' || || '''''c''''' /ts/ '''ц''' || '''''č''''' /tʃ/ '''ч''' || ||
|-
| '''Unvoiced fricative''' || '''''f''''' /f/ '''ф''' || '''''s''''' /s/ '''с''' || '''''š''''' /ʃ/ '''ш''' || || '''''h''''' /x/ '''x'''
|-
| '''Voiced fricative''' || '''''v''''' /v/ '''w''' || '''''z''''' /z/ '''z''' || ( /ʒ/ ) || ||
|-
| '''Glide''' || || || || '''''y''''' /j/ '''ı''' ||
|-
| '''Rhotic''' || || '''''r''''' /ʀ/ '''ρ''' || || ||
|-
| '''Lateral''' || || '''''l''''' /l/ '''ʌ''' || || ||
|}

Palatal and post-alveolar consonants other than /j/ will be referred collectively as 'palatals'. All of these consonants might alternatively be pronounced as a palatalized alveolars (/nʲ/ for ''ň'', /tʲ/ for ''ť'' and so on) if that's easier for the speaker.

The consonant /z/ may alternate freely between an alveolar realization \[z\] or a post-alveolar one /ʒ/. This explains why words which had a /ʒ/ or /dʒ/ in their source language might enter Europaico with a /z/ instead.

A velar nasal \[ŋ\] appear as an allophone of /n/ in clusters such as \[ŋk\] and \[ŋɡ\]. This consonant sound is not distinguished from /n/ in either orthography.

=== Vowels and diphthongs ===

Europaico is surprisingly benign with its vowel inventory, which at just /a e i o u y/ will only give mild trouble to its users.

Vowels other than /i/ and /u/ might be preceded by the glide /j/, yielding four sequences which could be analyzed as rising diphthongs: /ja/, /je/, /jo/ and /ju/.

In addition to those, Europaico features seven falling diphthongs /ai̯ au̯ ei̯ eu̯ oi̯ ou̯ ui̯/, which might also be pronounced as \[aɪ̯ aʊ̯ eɪ̯ eʊ̯ oɪ̯ oʊ̯ uɪ̯\].

It might be noted that the /eu̯/ diphthong, featured in Europaico's own name no less, is absent from most major European languages (including German, English, French, most Slavic languages, etc). As a way to ease this problem, speakers are allowed to substitute /eu̯/ for whatever might be their native pronunciation of \<eu\> (as in their local pronunciation of 'Europe'). This means that possible realizations for Europaico's initial diphthong include \[jʊ\] (English), \[ø\] (Dutch, Danish, French), \[ɛɵ\] (Swedish), \[ɛv\] (Bulgarian) and \[\ɔʏ\] (German) among others.

Europaico does not contrast between diphthong and hiatus sequences involving the same vowel qualities, a sequence such as /ai/ will always correspond to an /ai̯/ diphthong rather than an /a.i/ hiatus.

=== Vowel reduction ===

Speakers might optionally reduce non-stressed /a e o/ to a schwa. This is not represented in writing and it will generally not be noted in IPA transcriptions in order to preserve the reader's sanity.

=== Phonotactics ===

As most auxlangs, Europaico is very lax with its phonotactics, only requiring the following elements to be met:
* Syllables must have at least one vowel (or diphthong).
* /j/ might only appear before a vowel other than /i/ or /y/.
* Palatal consonants must not be followed by /j/.

This allows for clusters in the source languages to be preserved in Europaico (including the relatively complex ones allowed word-initially in Slavic languages). This, of course, can be marketed as a feature allowing vocabulary to be integrated into the language with as little distortion as possible (or be regarded as an awful decision for an auxlang).

=== Prosodic stress ===

Polysyllabic words bear fixed, predictable prosodic stress determined as follows:
* If the word ends in a consonant other than /n/ or /s/ or in a (falling) diphthong, stress falls on the last syllable.
* Otherwise (words ending in /n/, /s/ or a monophthong), stress falls on the second-to-last syllable.

== Orthographies ==

Europaico may be written either in the Latin alphabet or in its own 'Europaico' script (based on the Latin, Greek and Cyrillic alphabets). Slightly different orthographies are used in each script.

=== Latin-script orthography ===

Europaico's Latin-script orthography is largely based on that of Romance languages, particularly those of French and Catalan. The palatal (and palato-alveolar) consonants /ɲ c ɟ tʃ ʃ/, however, are written using a diacritic known as caron most commonly associated with Czech (where it is known as ''háček''). Carons typically look like an upside-down circumflex accent, as seen in ''č'' and ''ň'', although they adopt a different form closer to that of an apostrophe when applied to ''lowercase'' T and D (\<ť ď\>). This is not a joke feature from Europaico, it's how that diacritic actually works, for whatever reason. Letters bearing a caron are treated as separate letters for sorting purposes, coming after their non-accented counterparts (thus ''Č'' is regarded as being the fourth letter of Europaico's Latin alphabet, between regular ''C'' and ''D''). The character ''Ü'' (an umlauted U) is used for the vowel /y/ and it is also treated as letter of its own, being sorted between ''U'' and ''V''.

This orthography also uses the character \<ç\> (C with cedilla) as a way of representing the /ts/ sound in contexts where regular \<c\> (which can represent that sound before unrounded front vowels) would be pronounced as /k/ instead. Unlike caron-bearing palatals, \<ç\> is treated as a variant of \<c\> for collation, rather than as an independent letter.

The letters of Europaico's variant of the Latin alphabet are as follows:

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Letter''' !! '''Value''' !! '''Notes'''
|-
| '''A''', '''a''' || /a/ ||
|-
| '''B''', '''b''' || /b/ ||
|-
| '''C''', '''c''' || /k/, /ts/ || Pronounced /ts/ before ''E'' or ''I'' or as /k/ otherwise. See ''Q'' for the representation of /k/ before ''E'' and ''I'' and ''Ç'' for the representation of /ts/ in other contexts.
|-
| '''Ç''', '''ç''' || /ts/ || Variant of ''C'', used for the /ts/ when not followed by ''E'' or ''I''.
|-
| '''Č''', '''č''' || /tʃ/ ||
|-
| '''D''', '''d''' || /d/ ||
|-
| '''Ď''', '''ď''' || /ɟ/ ||
|-
| '''E''', '''e''' || /e/ ||
|-
| '''F''', '''f''' || /f/ ||
|-
| '''G''', '''g''' || /ɡ/ || The sequences /ɡe/ and /ɡi/ are written with a silent ''U'': \<gue\>, \<gui\>.
|-
| '''H''', '''h''' || /x/ ||
|-
| '''I''', '''i''' || /i/, /j/ || Read as /j/ when followed by a vowel (see also ''Y''). Also used to write the diphthongs /ai̯ ei̯ oi̯ ui̯/ (\<ai ei oi ui\>).
|-
| '''J''', '''j''' || - || Might be used to replace a caron when typing the diacritic is impossible or impractical.
|-
| '''L''', '''l''' || /l/ ||
|-
| '''M''', '''m''' || /m/ ||
|-
| '''N''', '''n''' || /n/ ||
|-
| '''Ň''', '''ň''' || /ɲ/ ||
|-
| '''O''', '''o''' || /o/ ||
|-
| '''P''', '''p''' || /p/ ||
|-
| '''Q''', '''q''' || /k/ || The digraph ''qu'' represents /k/ before the vowels ''E'' and ''I'', replacing ''C''.
|-
| '''R''', '''r''' || /ʀ/ ||
|-
| '''S''', '''s''' || /s/ ||
|-
| '''Š''', '''š''' || /ʃ/ ||
|-
| '''T''', '''t''' || /t/ ||
|-
| '''Ť''', '''ť''' || /c/ ||
|-
| '''U''', '''u''' || /u/ || Silent in the trigraphs ''gue'' /ɡe/, ''gui'' /ɡi/, ''que'' /ke/ and ''qui'' /ki/.
|-
| '''Ü''', '''ü''' || /y/ ||
|-
| '''V''', '''v''' || /v/ ||
|-
| '''Y''', '''y''' || /j/ || Used for /j/ when not preceded by another consonant in the syllable, otherwise ''I'' will be used instead.
|-
| '''Z''', '''z''' || /z~ʒ/ ||
|}

This orthography uses the Western Romance strategy of contrasting a soft ''C'' (read as /ts/ before ''E'' and ''I'') and a hard ''C'' (read as /k/ otherwise), with ''Ç'' being used to force the soft /ts/ pronunciation and the triigraphs ''que'' and ''qui'' for /ke/ and /ki/. Even though ''G'' lacks a soft pronunciation, Europaico also requires the trigraphs ''gue'' and ''gui'' for /ɡe/ and /ɡi/ in order to fit the expectations for a Romance-like orthography (Slavic carons aside).

The Europaico version of the Latin alphabet lacks the letters K, W and X which must be replaced by their closer equivalents in loanwords or proper names, which are also generally adapted to better fit other orthographical conventions. For instance, Kentucky, Washington, Texas and X will be transcribed as ''Quentuqui'' (or ''Quentaqui), ''Vašington'' (or ''Vašinton''), ''Tecsas'' (or ''Tehas'') and ''Ecs'' (or ''Tviter'').

=== The Europaico Alphabet ===

Depending on your taste, the Europaico alphabet might be one of its funniest aspects or one of its most cursed ones. Just as the language (sort of) intends to bridge the gap between major European languages, the script (sort of) attempts to find common ground between the Latin, Cyrillic and Greek alphabets.

One advantage of this approach is that all of the glyphs in the script are already encoded in Unicode as part of their source alphabets, allowing the Europaico script to be used in digital devices with little issue.

As its sources, the Europaico Alphabet is a bicameral script, contrasting uppercase and lowercase letters.

The letters of the script, in its own alphabetic order, are as follows:

{| class="wikitable"
! Europaico !! Name !! Value !! Latin equivalent !! Unicode-compatible look-alike
|-
| '''A''', '''a''' || ''Alfa'' || /a/ || '''a''' || Latin uppercase/lowercase A
|-
| '''B''', '''б''' || ''Beta'' || /b/ || '''b''' || Latin uppercase B, Cyrillic lowercase Be
|-
| '''Г''', '''г''' || ''Gama'' || /ɡ/ || '''g''', '''gu''' || Cyrillic uppercase/lowercase Ge
|-
| '''Δ''', '''∂''' || ''Delta'' || /d/ || '''d''' || Greek uppercase Delta, Partial derivative sign
|-
| '''Đ''', '''đ''' || ''Ďocovič'' || /ɟ/ || '''ď''' || Latin uppercase/lowercase D with stroke
|-
| '''E''', '''e''' || ''Eta'' || /e/ || '''e''' || Latin uppercase/lowercase E
|-
| '''Є''', '''ε''' || ''Yeť'' || /je/ || '''ie''', '''ye''' || Ukrainian Cyrillic uppercase Ye, Greek lowercase Epsilon
|-
| '''Z''', '''z''' || ''Zeta'' || /z/ || '''z''' || Latin uppercase/lowercase Z
|-
| '''I''', '''ı''' || ''Yota'' || /i/, /j/ || '''i''', '''y''' || Latin uppercase I, Turkish Latin lowercase dotless I
|-
| '''K''', '''к''' || ''Capa'' || /k/ || '''c''', '''qu''' || Latin uppercase K, Cyrillic lowercase Ka
|-
| '''Λ''', '''ʌ''' || ''Lamba'' || /l/ || '''l''' || Greek uppercase Lambda, Latin lowercase turned V
|-
| '''M''', '''м''' || ''Mü'' || /m/ || '''m''' || Latin uppercase M, Cyrillic lowercase Em
|-
| '''N''', '''ɴ''' || ''Nu'' || /n/ || '''n''' || Latin uppercase N, Latin small capital N
|-
| '''Њ''', '''њ''' || ''Ňü'' || /ɲ/ || '''ň''' || Serbian Cyrillic uppercase/lowercase Nje
|-
| '''O''', '''o''' || ''O'' || /o/ || '''o''' || Latin uppercase/lowercase O
|-
| '''П''', '''п''' || ''Pe'' || /p/ || '''p''' || Cyrillic uppercase/lowercase Pe
|-
| '''Ρ,''' '''ρ''' || ''Ro'' || /ʀ/ || '''r''' || Greek uppercase/lowercase Rho
|-
| '''С''', '''с''' || ''Se'' || /s/ || '''s''' || Cyrillic uppercase/lowercase Es
|-
| '''Τ''', '''τ''' || ''To'' || /t/ || '''t''' || Greek uppercase/lowercase Tau
|-
| '''Ћ''', '''ћ''' || ''Ťoť'' || /c/ || '''ť''' || Serbian Cyrillic uppercase/lowercase Tshe
|-
| '''Ц''', '''ц''' || ''Ciť'' || /ts/ || '''c''', '''ç''' || Cyrillic uppercase/lowercase Tse
|-
| '''Ч''', '''ч''' || ''Čať'' || /tʃ/ || '''č''' || Cyrillic uppercase/lowercase Che
|-
| '''Ш''', '''ш''' || ''Šo'' || /ʃ/ || '''š''' || Cyrillic uppercase/lowercase Sha
|-
| '''V''', '''ʋ''' || ''Üs'' || /y/ || '''ü''' || Latin uppercase V, Latin lowercase V with hook
|-
| '''ȣ''', '''ɤ''' || ''U'' || /u/ || '''u''' || Latin ''lowercase'' Ou ligature, Latin lowercase "rams horn"
|-
| '''Ф''', '''ф''' || ''Fe'' || /f/ || '''f''' || Cyrillic uppercase/lowercase Ef
|-
| '''X''', '''x''' || ''He'' || /x/ || '''h''' || Latin uppercase/lowercase X
|-
| '''W''', '''w''' || ''Vo'' || /v/ || '''v''' || Latin uppercase/lowercase W
|}

In the Europaico script, the sequences involving a 'palatal' consonant (the ones bearing a caron in the Latin orthography) and the vowel /e/ may be spelled as either the palatal followed by ''Eta'' or as the non-palatal version followed by ''Yeť'':
* ''Ďe'' ~ /ɟe/ can be either '''đe''' or '''∂ε'''.
* ''Ňe'' /ɲe/ can be either '''њe''' or '''ɴε'''.
* ''Ťe'' ~ /ce/ can be either '''ћe''' or '''τε'''.
* ''Če'' ~ /tʃe/ can be either '''чe''' or '''цε'''.
* ''Še'' ~ /ʃe/ can be either '''шe''' or '''сε'''.

Both alternatives might be used indistinctly, a feature which would allow the script to suit each speaker's tastes better and which clearly wouldn't cause any problem down the road like problems with collation or the like.

Other than that, the letter ''Yeť'' is used exclusively for the /je/ diphthong, while ''Yota'' is used to represent the /j/ glide in other diphthongs.

== Grammar ==

=== Nouns ===

Whenever possible, Europaico nouns are taken from Slavic languages, especially Russian, Polish, Czech and Bosnio-Montenegrin. More widespread variants and more conservative forms are preferred, for instance the noun '''''slovo''''', 'word', preserves a /l/ sound that shifted to /w/ in Polish ''słowo'' /ˈswɔ.vɔ/, while Europaico's word for 'wheel' is '''''colo''''', which has cognates in Polish, Czech and Bosnio-Montenegrin among others, rather than a form like ''koleso'' which is restricted to Eastern Slavic languages like Ukrainian and Russian.

Sometimes an Europaico word will not exactly match any of its sources. For instance, the Europaico word for 'wolf' is '''''vulk''''', made as a compromise between various descendants of Proto-Slavic ''\''vьlkъ'', including Russian ''волк'' (volk), Polish ''wilk'', Czech ''vlk'' (with a syllabic L that is not allowed in Europaico) and Bosnio-Montenegrin ''vuk''.

In order to boost recognizability, words are borrowed without the final-consonant devoicing found in Polish and Russian, among others. For instance, the word for bread, written as ''chleb'' in Polish and as ''хлеб'' (''khlyeb'') in Russian but pronounced as /xlɛp/ and /xlʲep/ respectively, is borrowed into Europaico as '''''hlieb''''' pronounced /xljeb/ (it should be noted that the /b/ phoneme is found in other inflectional forms of the Polish and Russian words).

==== Gender ====

Slavic languages generally distinguish between three grammatical genders: feminine, masculine and neuter. This distinction (that doesn't necessarily match the natural/societal concepts of gender and animacy) is carried over into Europaico although in a somewhat simplified way. The gender of a singular noun in Europaico can usually be determined from its ending:

* Nouns ending in ''-o'' or ''-e'' are always '''neuter'''.
* Nouns ending in ''-a'' or in a palatal consonant (''č'', ''ď'', ''ň'', ''ť'' or ''š'') are always '''feminine'''.
* Nouns ending in a non-palatal consonant are always '''masculine'''.

Luckily, the association of ''-a'' to the feminine gender is widespread among Romance languages as well, while Catalan and written French share the tendency of having consonant-final masculine nouns.

Thus, ''hlieb'' (bread) can be recognized as masculine noun while ''colo'' (wheel) is a neuter noun, even though both refer to inanimate naturally genderless objects.

The grammatical gender of nouns ending in a vowel other than neuter ''-o'' and ''-e'' or feminine ''-a'' cannot be determined from its form. Such nouns are rare and can usually be explained as borrowings from other language families such as ''çunami'' from Japanese ''tsunami''. Then the gender of the word depends on how it was usually borrowed into Slavic languages. In this case of ''çunami'', we can find that the Japanese word was borrowed as neuter ''цуна́ми'' (''tsunámi'') in Russian, neuter ''tsunami'' in Polish, feminine ''tsunami'' in Czech and masculine ''cunámi'' in Bosnio-Montenegrin; as a result Europaico ''çunami'' was made neuter gender as the most common option among those four control language.

Some Slavic languages have at least some form of animacy marking on top of their three-wise gender system, often distinguishing between animate and inanimate masculine nouns in their grammar. This distinction is not found in Europaico.

==== Number ====

For the most part, European languages tend to use two different strategies for marking plural in nouns:
* Western Romance languages and, for whatever odd twist, also English generally form plurals by adding an ''-s'' suffix or ''-es'' suffix to the singular form, as in English ''house'', ''houses'' or the corresponding Spanish ''casa'', ''casas''.
* Southern and Eastern Romance languages (most notably Italian and Romanian) and Slavic languages form their plurals by altering the ending of the singular, as in Italian ''casa'', ''case'' or Bosnio-Montenegrin ''kȕća'', ''kȕće''.

Europaico is all about seeking consensus (aside from when it's not) so, naturally, it adopts both strategies. For instance, feminine nouns such as '''''zena''''' (woman) form their plural by both changing the final ''-a'' to ''-e'' and by adding a final ''-s'': '''''zenes''''' (women, coincidentally the resulting ''-a'' / ''-es'' alternation is also found in Catalan and Asturian).

At least, Europaico plurals are all regular being formed according to the following patterns:

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Gender''' !! '''Singular ending''' !! '''Plural ending''' !! '''Example'''
|-
| Masculine || Non-palatal consonant || '''''-is''''' || ''muz'' (man) →''muzis'' (men)
|-
| Feminine || Final '''''-a''''' || '''''-es''''' || ''zena'' (woman) → ''zenes'' (women)
|-
| Feminine || Palatal consonant || '''''-is''''' || ''noč'' (night) →''nočis'' (nights)
|-
| Neuter || Final '''''-e''''' || '''''-is''''' || ''ďeťe'' (child) →''ďeťis'' (children)
|-
| Neuter || Final '''''-o''''' || '''''-as''''' || ''miesto'' (city) → ''miestas'' (cities)
|-
| (Any) || Other vowels || '''''-s''''' || ''çunami'' (tsunami) → ''çunamis'' (tsunamis)
|}

Gender agreement marking in articles and adjectives does not distinguish between masculine and neuter nouns in the plural, grouping both into a plural 'common' class (generally presenting the suffix ''-is'') contrasting with the plural feminine class (with the ''-es'' prefix). This depends on the inherent lexical gender of the noun rather than its ending, ''nočis'' will still take feminine plural adjectives ending in ''-es'' despite having a final ''-is''.

==== Articles ====

As in (most) Romance languages, Europaico nouns will usually be preceded by an article, be it a definite one (like English ''the'') or an indefinite one (like English ''a'' / ''an'').

As in most European languages, articles agree with their nouns in gender and number.

Definite articles are taken from Romance languages with ''el'' and ''la'' in particular being identical to the corresponding singular masculine and feminine articles in Spanish, giving half a billion ''hispanohablantes'' a hint about what ''el muz'' (the man) might mean.

Most European languages with indefinite articles derive them from their word for the number 'one'. As Europaico derives numerals from Greek, its word for 'one' is ''ena'' (from Modern Greek ''ένα'') which casually happens not to be to different from its Germanic counterparts such as Dutch ''een'', German ''ein'' and Norwegian ''en'' (despite them not actually being cognates with the Greek word). This similarity is exploited in Europaico to create indefinite articles such as ''en'' in ''en muz'' (a man) which are structurally similar to Romance, but phonetically similar to Germanic. (This one feature seems sensible enough that it almost feels out of place in this conlang)

As in English and other Germanic languages, indefinite articles are not used in the plural, thus '(some) men' is rendered as simply ''muzis'' (rather than requiring a plural form of the indefinite article as in Spanish ''unos hombres'').

The resulting articles are as follows:

{| class="wikitable"
! Gender and number !! Definite !! Example !! Indefinite !! Example
|-
| '''Feminine, singular''' || '''''la''''' || ''la zena'' (the woman) || '''''ena''''' || ''ena zena'' (a woman)
|-
| '''Masculine, singular''' || '''''el''''' || ''el muz'' (the man) || '''''en''''' || ''en muz'' (a man)
|-
| '''Neuter, singular''' || '''''lo''''' || ''lo miesto'' (the city) || '''''eno''''' || ''eno miesto'' (a city)
|-
| '''Feminine, plural''' || '''''les''''' || ''les zenes'' (the women) || - || ''zenes'' (\[some\] women)
|-
| '''Common, plural''' || '''''lis''''' || ''lis muzis'' (the men) || - || ''muzis'' (\[some\] men)
|}

==== Possessives ====

As with number marking, there are a handful popular strategies for forming possessives in European languages, from simply using a preposition (like English ''of'' and Romance ''de'') to using a variety of suffixes corresponding to grammatical cases, often involving a final ''-s'' in Germanic languages (as in the English clitic '''s'').

Naturally, Europaico picks the best of both worlds (?) and forms possessives by preceding the noun with the preposition ''des'' (replacing the article, if any) and a suffix ''-s'' which, in order to avoid confusion with the final /s/ found in plural endings, must also be marked with an apostrophe like the English ''-'s'' clitic.

The possessive ''-'s'' suffix is applied without any regard to the shape of the previous word. This might yield unusual combinations such as ''des muz's'' (man's) with a /zs/ cluster which, in practice, speakers might end up simplifying to either /z/ or /s/ (even though, strictly speaking, an unreduced /zs/ cluster is prescribed) as well as sequences of multiple /s/ as in ''des muzis's'' (men's) which are not distinguished from a single /s/ (''muzis'' and ''muzis's'' will be pronounced identically as /ˈmu.zis/ or \[ˈmu.ʑis\]).

Possessives are placed ''after'' the noun they modified. For instance, ''lo ďeťe des zena's'' for "the child of the woman" / "the woman's child" (or '''a'' woman's child', as ''des'' might replace either definite or indefinite articles).

===== Non-canonical genitive case =====

While Europaico was never meant to have an extensive case system like those of most Slavic languages (a feature which would clash with the largely caseless Romance languages and the much more limited cases found in Germanic languages), the idea of preserving the Slavic genitive case at least was considered at various points in the development of the conlang. The results, however, ended up looking too much like a Slavic auxiliary language than a generic (though Euro-biased) auxlang, so these Slavic-like genitives where eventually replaced by the less unwieldy ''des + -'s'' possessives explained above.

Should anyone care for a non-canonical feature in what is already a ''fauxlang'', the resulting inflectional paradigms were something like this:

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Gender''' !! '''Singular ending''' !! `GEN`.`SG` !! `GEN`.`PL` !! Example
|-
| Masculine || Non-palatal consonant || '''''-a''''' || '''''-ov''''' || ''muz'' → '''''muza''''' (man's) ''muzis'' → '''''muzov''''' (men's)
|-
| Feminine || Final '''''-a''''' || '''''-i''''' || -Ø || ''zena'' → '''''zeni''''' (woman's) ''zene'' → '''''zen''''' (women's)
|-
| Feminine || Palatal consonant || '''''-i''''' || '''''-i''''' || ''noč'' → '''''noči''''' (night's) ''nočis'' → '''''noči''''' (nights')
|-
| Neuter || Final '''''-e''''' || '''''-'''('''i''')'''a''''' || '''''-i''''' || ''ďeťe'' → '''''ďeťa''''' (child's) ''ďeťis'' → '''''ďeťi''''' (children's)
|-
| Neuter || Final '''''-o''''' || '''''-a''''' || -Ø || ''miesto'' → '''''miesta''''' (city's) ''miestas'' → '''''miest''''' (cities')
|}

Articles would also be inflected, although genitive forms for all articles weren't really decided before the idea was abandoned.

For an example, 'the nights of the city of the woman's children' would have been rendered as something like ''les nočis leu mista loro ďeťi lei zeni'' rather than canonical Europaico ''les nočis des misto's des ďeťis's des zena's''.

==== Personal names ====

It is recommended that personal names and surnames be adapted to Europaico both in orthography (such as respelling 'Michael' as ''Maiquel'' for ''Maiquel Zacson'' or as ''Mihael'' for ''Mihael Šumaher'') and in morphology - with masculine names and surnames being modified to end in a non-palatal consonant while feminine names must be adapted to end in either ''-a'' or in a palatal consonant.

Of course, names are often an important part of personal identity, so this could be pointed out to be a terrible idea. If you've been paying any attention to this, though, that shouldn't be particularly surprising.

Some recommended strategies for adapting names to include the right ending include:
* For anyone:
** Look at historical variants or foreign counterparts of the name. For instance, Spanish ''José'' might regain its historical /p/ (preserved in Catalan ''Josep'' and Italian ''Giuseppe'' among others) to become ''Hosep'', while an English ''Elizabeth'' might opt to go instead by ''Isabela'', after the Italian and Latin versions of her name.
* For women:
** Add ''-a'' or the very Slavic-esque ''-va'' to the end of your name.
*** For instance ''Mary Sue'' might adapt her name as ''Marija Šuva''.
** Replace final alveolar letters with their palatal counterparts: ''Karen'' → ''Careň''.
* For men:
** Dropping final vowels might be an easy option: ''Enrico'' → ''Enric''.
** Add a very Slavic-like ''-v'', particularly for surnames ending in ''e'' or ''o'': ''Vito Corleone'' → ''Victor Corleonev''.
** Replace final palatal letters with their alveolar counterparts: ''Ivanovič'' → ''Ivanoviç'' (it turns out that Slavic names don't do all that well either).
* For non-binary people:
** Isn't there enough invisibilization of non-binary identities already for you to bother with a conlang with mandatory gender marking too? Keep your name of choice, use a neuter ending or do whatever else you want, suit yourself! Sorry in advance for past-tense verbs, though.

==== Placenames ====

Auxlangs tend to use one of two strategies when dealing with toponyms, none of which is without issues.

Perhaps the most common option among modern auxiliary languages is to use the name locals use for the place in their own language. This seems like a very reasonable thing to do (which, of course, precludes Europaico from doing it) although it has a few problems.
* First of all, the resulting names risk having little international recognizability. This can be easily exemplified with Austria and its capital, Vienna. While the Latin-esque names used in English have a good chance of being understood all around the world, the German names ''Österreich'' and ''Wien'' are considerably more obscure, and the need to adapt them to Europaico phonotactics would yield even less recognizable results such as ''\''Estaraič'' and ''\''Vin''.
* The very concept of using the local language presupposes that there ''is'' a local language, bringing a whole lot of complications:
** For starters, the scheme couldn't apply to uninhabited places like most of Antarctica, deserted islands or the State of Wyoming.
** Continents and regions comprising linguistically diverse nations will likely have a variety of possible names. For the most extreme example, consider the name given to the planet itself: if there was a language widely accepted enough to be used for naming Earth as a whole, then chances are that we should be using that instead of any auxlang.
** Last but not least, many nations, provinces and cities are multilingual, often bearing multiple local names. Picking the variant favored by most locals seems like an easy choice but there won't be always a clear 'most used language' (and, even if there currently is one, it would be liable to change over time). Furthermore, the choice of one name over the other could be socially and politically problematic, highlighting regional tensions and stir debates about the colonialism and the repression of minorities.

The second strategy, perhaps more common among earlier auxiliary languages, was to draw most names from a single source, usually an internationally 'prestigious' source such as English, French or Latin. This is the sort of reasoning that would suggest that we do indee pick internationally-recognizable names such as ''\''Austria'' and ''\''Viena'' for Austria and Vienna, where 'internationally-recognizable' means 'names speakers of major Western European languages are likely to have heard'. The colonialism undertones of that are problematic enough to stay away from that idea.

Fortunately, Europaico provides the ultimate solution for this sort of problem: all toponyms will be based on the names used in Czech. The Czech language is already phonetically close to Europaico, so distortions like the one found between German ''Österreich'' and ''\''Esteraič'' would be minimal. This solution completely sidesteps all linguistic and political issues with choosing a single 'local language' for each place and, with the Czech Republic lacking a colonial history, few people would question this choice on the basis of it being overly imperialistic (Slovaks might get a pass at it, but I am not aware of there ever being any Slovak placename which isn't the same in Czech).

Thus, Austria and Vienna, rather than having scarcely recognizable names such as ''\''Estaraič'' and ''\''Vin'' or potentially problematic names such as ''\''Austria'' and ''\''Viena'', will be known in Europaico as ''Racousco'' and ''Videň'', after the Czech names ''Rakousko'' and ''Vídeň'' respectively.

=== Adjectives ===

Adjectives are generally derived from Greek (with a preference for Ancient Greek forms, especially those found as prefixes in Greek-derived technical terminology). For instance, Europaico's word for 'large' is given as ''mego'' from Greek ''μέγας'' (megas).

Europaico Adjectives are required to agree with the corresponding noun in number and gender (although masculine and neuter forms are conflated into a single common gender) with the following endings:

{| class="wikitable"
! !! '''Singular''' !! '''Plural'''
|-
| '''Common''' (masculine or neuter) || '''''-o''''' || '''''-is'''''
|-
| '''Feminine''' || '''''-a''''' || '''''-es'''''
|}

Adjectives are generally placed after the respective noun in Europaico. Thus we'd find ''la zena mega'' for 'the large woman', ''el muz mego'' for 'the large man', ''les zenes megues'' for 'the large women' and ''lis muzis meguis'' for 'the large men'.

==== Adverbs ====

Adverbs in Europaico are typically placed after the verb or adjective they modify.

Europaico adjectives can be turned into adverbs by adding the suffix ''-ment'' to their singular feminine form as in ''megament'' for 'largely, greatly'.

=== Pronouns ===

Europaico pronouns are derived from Romance languages and feature contrasts common in that branch such as a case distinction between nominative and accusative forms and gender contrasts for plural pronouns.

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Person''' !! '''Number''' !! '''Gender''' !! '''Nominative form''' !! '''Accusative form''' !! '''English equivalent'''
|-
| 1st || Sg. || Any || ''Ye'' || ''me'', ''m''' || I, me
|-
| 2nd || Sg. || Any || ''tü'' || ''te'', ''t''' || You (informal)
|-
| 2nd || Sg. || Any || ''Vi'' || ''Vi'' || You (formal)
|-
| 3rd || Sg. || Fem. || ''el'' || ''le'', ''l''' || She, her
|-
| 3rd || Sg. || Masc. || ''ela'' || ''la'' || He, him
|-
| 3rd || Sg. || Neu. || ''elo'' || ''lo'' || It
|-
| 1st || Pl. || Fem. || ''nes'' || ''ens'' || We
|-
| 1st || Pl. || Masc. || ''nis'' || ''nis'' || We
|-
| 1st || Pl. || Neu. || ''nis'' || ''ens'' || We
|-
| 2nd || Pl. || Fem. || ''ves'' || ''vi'' || You (plural), y'all
|-
| 2nd || Pl. || M/N || ''vis'' || ''vi'' || You (plural), y'all
|-
| 3rd || Pl. || Fem. || ''eles'' || ''els'' || They
|-
| 3rd || Pl. || Masc. || ''elis'' || ''lis'' || They
|-
| 3rd || Pl. || Neu. || ''elis'' || ''els'' || They
|}

Notes:
* As in English 'I', the nominative form of the first person pronoun ''Ye'' must always be capitalized.
* Accusative forms such as ''me'' drop the final ''-e'' when followed by a vowel-initial verb.
* A formality distinction is made between informal second person singular ''tü'' (corresponding to Spanish ''tú'', ''vos'', French ''tu'', Italian ''tu'', Russian ''ты'', etc) and formal ''Vi'' (corresponding to Spanish ''usted'', French ''vous'', Italian ''Lei'', Russian ''вы'', etc).
** As with French ''vous'', or Russian ''вы'', Europaico ''Vi'' takes second person plural verbforms, even though it is used for singular 'you'.
** As in Italian ''Lei'', the formal pronoun ''Vi'' is capitalized in all cases.

Europaico pronouns ''might'' optionally be dropped when in subject position. This hardly ever results in ambiguity as verbs conjugate to agree with their subject. Still, it is ''preferred'' to keep subject, even if redundant, for additional clarity, with pronoun ellipsis being more of a stylistic choice to avoid repetition.

==== Reflexive pronoun ''si'' ====

Europaico also includes a reflexive pronoun only found in accusative form: ''si'' (\[one\]self).

In Romance languages, reflexive pronouns are required when the same a third person referent appears as both the subject and the object of a verb as in Spanish ''él '''se''' ve'' (he sees himself), which contrasts wordings using the accusative form of the standard third person pronoun as in ''él '''lo''' ve'', which is interpreted instead as 'he sees ''him'' (a different person)'. Correspondingly, Europaico has ''el '''si''' sei'' for 'he sees himself' and ''el le sei'' for 'he sees him (someone else)'. Making this distinction is mandatory.

Slavic languages such as Russian go one step further in their usage of reflexive pronouns, requiring them whenever the object coincides with the subject, even for first or second person subjects. For instance, Russian would have ''я вижу '''себя''''' (''ya vizhu '''sebya''''') for 'I see myself', using the reflexive accusative pronoun ''себя'' instead of the first person form ''меня'', as in ''он видит '''меня''''' (''on vidit '''menya''''', he sees '''me'''). This contrasts with Romance usage, which restricts the reflexive pronoun to third person sentences, requiring the accusative first person pronoun both in ''yo '''me''' veo'' (I see myself) and in ''él '''me''' ve'' (he sees me). True to its Solomonic wisdom, Europaico allows both wordings to be used in that case: either Slavic-style ''ye si seic'' or Romance-style ''ye mi seic''.

These usages are summed up in the following table:

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Subject''' !! '''Object''' !! '''Usage of ''si''''' !! '''Example''' !! '''Translation'''
|-
| Third person || Third person (same) || Required || ''El si sei'' || He sees himself
|-
| Third person || Third person (other) || Prohibited || ''El le sei'' || He sees him (someone else)
|-
| Other || Same as subject || Optional || ''Ye si seic'' / ''Ye mi sec'' || I see myself.
|-
| Other || Other than the subject || Prohibited || ''Ye li seic'' ''El mi sei'' || I see him. He sees me.
|}

==== Possessive pronouns ====

Each pronoun has an associated possessive which works in a similar way to an adjective, being placed after a noun and requiring agreement markers for the number and gender of the possessed object with the following suffixes:

{| class="wikitable"
! Gender !! '''Singular''' !! '''Plural'''
|-
| Feminine || ''-a'' || ''-es''
|-
| Masculine || - || ''-is''
|-
| Neuter || ''-o'' || ''-is''
|}

For instance, we would have ''el muz min'' for 'my husband', ''la zena mina'' for 'my wife' and ''lo miesto mino'' for 'my city'. Possessive pronouns do not indicate the gender of the possessor thus ''lis ďeťis linis'' could correspond to English 'his children' or 'her children'.

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Pronoun''' !! '''Possessive''' !! '''English equivalent'''
|-
| ''Ye'' || ''min'' || my
|-
| ''tü'' || ''tin'' || your (informal)
|-
| ''Vi'' || ''Vin'' || your (formal)
|-
| ''el'', ''ela'', ''elo'' || ''lin'' || his, her, its
|-
| ''nes'', ''nis'' || ''nin'' || our
|-
| ''ves'', ''vis'' || ''vin'' || your, y'all's
|-
| ''eles'', ''elis'' || ''lor'' || their
|-
| ( ''si'' ) || ''sin'' || one's own
|}

The reflexive possessive ''sin'' is used to indicate possession by the subject, being mandatory when it refers to a third person and optional for the first or second person, much as discussed for accusative ''si''. For example:
* ''El sei lo miesto sino'' ~ He sees his \[own\] city.
* ''El sei lo miesto lino'' ~ He sees his \[someone else's\] city.
* ''Ye seic lo miesto mino'' / ''Ye seic lo miesto sino'' ~ I see my city.
* ''Ye seic lo miesto lino'' ~ I see his city.

=== Verbs ===

Europaico verbs are mostly derived from Germanic languages, especially English and German. Their conjugation, however, also incorporates elements from Romance and Slavic languages.

Germanic verbs commonly feature vowel alternations, often known as ''umlaut'', as found in English ''give / gave'' or their German cognates ''geben / gab''. As such a crucial element of Germanic verbs couldn't be left out, Europaico verbs will often feature two distinct stems, such as present-tense ''guiv-'' /ɡiv/ and past tense ''gav-'' /ɡav/ for the verb ''guiven'' (to give). Forms displaying umlaut are actively preferred over forms without alternations, for instance Europaico ''helpen'' (to help) has a past stem ''holp-'' reflecting Middle English ''help / holp / holpen'' instead of modern English regular ''help / helped / helped''.

==== Conjugation ====

Verbs are conjugated for person, number and tense in addition to having an infinitive form, two participles that declines for gender and number and two imperatives. Most Europaico verbs are regular although they still require the speaker to memorize separately their present and past-tense stems.

===== Non-finite forms =====

Infinitives take the present stem and a Germanic-like ''-en'' ending as in ''guiven'' for 'to give'. This form is used to refer to the action as a noun and is required by modal verbs such as ''canen'' (can, to be able to) and in the future-tense construction.

Europaico verbs may inflect for two kinds of participle: an active participle or a passive participle.

Active participles, formed by combining the present stem with the suffix ''-end'' and possibly other suffixes for marking gender and number. These participles operate as nouns or adjectives referencing the subject role of a verb, for instance ''lis guivendis'' translates to 'the ones that give' or 'the givers'. This form of participle isn't used particularly often.

Passive participles, on the other hand, are far more common in the language due to being required for forming non-imperfective past tense constructions. They are formed by combining the past stem with the Slavic-derived suffix ''-el'' as in ''gavel'' for 'given'. Less commonly, passive participles might also be used as adjectives or nouns for referencing the direct object role of their verb, as in ''el muz halpelo'' for 'the helped man, the man that received assistance'.

===== Indicative tenses =====

Europaico contrasts two moods: the indicative which covers most usages and the imperative, used only for issuing commands. This section focuses on the former, which accounts for the bulk of Europaico's verbal morphology, while the next section will cover the much simpler imperatives. Make sure to take time to thank whatever powers may be for Europaico not having a subjunctive mood as well.

Indicative verbs in Europaico might take four different tense-aspect combinations (referred as 'tenses' for simplicity), largely based on French:
- The '''present tense''' (`PRS`) matches English simple present and present continuous, being used for generic statements, habitual actions and events taking place in the present. For instance, ''ye '''singo''''' corresponds to either English 'I '''sing'''' or 'I '''am singing''''.
- The so-called '''imperfect tense''' (following a similar usage in Romance languages), more accurately described as imperfective past (`PST.IPFV`) is used to indicate events in the past that extended over a period of time, either due to it being a habitual, repeated action (as in ''ye '''sangueic''' kate den'' for 'I '''sang''' every day') or to indicate a prolonged activity that might be used to indicate a time frame for other actions (as in ''otan ye '''sangueic''''' for 'while I '''was singing'''').
- Europaico's '''past tense''' (`PST`) covers all other usages related to events in the past, being the most common way to translate English simple past and perfect tenses. The phrase ''ye '''au sanguel''''' covers English 'I '''sang'''' or 'I '''have sung'''' when referring to punctual events in the past.
- Finally, the '''future tense''' (`FUT`) is simply used for future events: ''ye '''guic singuen''''' corresponds to English 'I '''will sing'''' or ''I '''am goint to sing'''''.

As it can be observed from the examples, the '''present''' and '''imperfect''' tenses are formed by adding suffixes to the present and past stems of the verb (which, in the case of ''singuen'', 'to sing', are ''sing-'' and ''sang-'', after English 'sing' and 'sang'). These suffixes change depending on the subject, with verb endings inspired by French and Catalan conjugation \[while basing features in Catalan might seem an odd choice for an international language, it can be noted that due to its geographic position and history it sort of bridges the gap between Spanish and French, the two most spoken Romance languages\].

For a regular verb such as ''helpen'' (to help, present stem ''help-'', past stem ''holp-'', past auxiliary ''aven''), present ans imperfect forms are formed as follows:

| '''Subject''' | '''Present''' (`PRS`) | '''Imperfect''' (`PST.IPFV`) |
| --------------------------- | ------------------- | -------------------------- |
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) | ''helpo'' | ''holpeic'' |
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) | ''helpes'' | ''holpeis'' |
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) | ''helpe'' | ''holpei'' |
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) | ''helpens'' | ''holpeyens'' |
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) | ''helpeť'' | ''holpeyeť'' |
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) | ''helpen'' | ''holpeyen'' |

Note that verbs such as ''singuen'' present slight orthographic irregularities in their conjugation due to the sequences /ɡe/ and /ɡi/ requiring a silent ''u'' in the Latin orthography yielding ''singo'' for 'I sing' but ''sing'''u'''es'' for 'you sing' (still pronounced /ˈsin.ɡes/).

By contrast, the past and future tenses are constructed using an auxiliary verb, in a way that should be familiar to speakers of most Western European languages.

The '''past tense''' is formed with an auxiliary verb followed by a passive participle. Most verbs require the auxiliary ''aven'' (to have) which is followed by the base form of the participle (generally ending in ''-el'') as in ''ye '''au sanguel''''' for 'I sang / I have sung'. On the other hand, reflexive verbs, motion verbs and other verbs that relate to a change affecting the subject such as ''groven'' (to grow) require using ''seinen'' (to be) as their auxiliary, which must then be followed by a passive participle agreeing with the subject in gender and number. For instance, a male speaker would say ''ye '''sin forlesel''''' for 'I \[have\] left', whereas a female speaker would say ''ye '''sin forlesela'''''. This distinction parallels that of French verbs that form their past with ''être'' as their auxiliary followed by participles showing agreement (''Je suis parti'' / ''Je suis partie'') instead of the usual ''avoir'' auxiliary followed by invariable participles (''J'ai chanté''), which means that incorporating this feature to Europaico should make the language even easier to learn for the whole ''Francophonie''.

Only the present tense form of the auxiliaries is used for this purpose (there is no equivalent in Europaico to past perfect or pluperfect constructions such as English 'he had sung' or French ''« il avait chanté »''). With this fact in mind, past tense forms as exemplified with ''helpen'' (to help, past stem ''holp-'', auxiliary ''aven'') and ''comen'' (to come, past stem ''cam-'', auxiliary ''seinen) are as follows:

| '''Subject''' | '''''Helpen''''' | '''''Comen''''' (fem.) | '''''Comen''''' (masc.) | '''''Comen''''' (neu.) |
| --------------------------- | -------------- | ------------------ | ------------------- | ------------------ |
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) | ''au holpel'' | ''sin camela'' | ''sin camel'' | ''sin camelo'' |
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) | ''as holpel'' | ''es camela'' | ''es camel'' | ''es camelo'' |
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) | ''a holpel'' | ''is camela'' | ''is camel'' | ''is camelo'' |
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) | ''avens holpel'' | ''sins cameles'' | ''sins camelis'' | ''sins camelis'' |
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) | ''aveť holpel'' | ''seť cameles'' | ''seť camelis'' | ''seť camelis'' |
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) | ''an holpel'' | ''sin cameles'' | ''sin camelis'' | ''sin camelis'' |

Meanwhile, the '''future tense''' is formed with ''guien'' (to go) as an auxiliary verb followed by the infinitive form of the verb. The resulting wording, as in ''ye guic singuen'', matches English 'I am going to sing', Spanish ''"voy a cantar"'' and French ''« je vais chanter »'' among others, making this a fairly sensible for a once. As an example, the future tense forms of ''helpen'' are as follows:

| '''Subject''' | '''Future''' (`FUT`) |
| --------------------------- | ------------------ |
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) | ''guic helpen'' |
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) | ''guis helpen'' |
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) | ''gui helpen'' |
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) | ''guens helpen'' |
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) | ''gueť helpen'' |
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) | ''guen helpen'' |

In principle, it would be possible to combine the constructions for past and future tenses in order to refer to things that ''were'' going to happen but perhaps didn't (''\''ye au gal helpen'' for 'I was going to help') or things that are will ''have'' happened by a certain point. (''\''ye guic aven holpel''). Whether such constructions would actually be permitted in Europaico is intentionally left ambiguous, although anyone willing to use them probably should also allow pluperfect tenses such as ''\''\''ye au adel holpel'' for 'I had sung' after all. If you'd rather keep things simple, ignoring this whole paragraph (if not the article as a whole) might be a better option.

===== Imperatives =====

Verbs in the imperative are considerably simpler presenting only two forms: a 'singular imperative' issuing a command to a single listener (''tü'', you) and a 'plural imperative' giving and order to multiple listeners (''vis/ves'', you guys, you all, y'all, youse, etc). However, the fact that Europaico uses ''Vi'', a variant of the second person plural pronouns, as a formal second person ''singular'' pronoun, sets things askew as the 'plural imperative' will also be required in this case.

For regular verbs such as ''helpen'', imperatives are formed by combining the present stem with the suffix ''-i'' for singular or ''-iť'' for plural imperatives:

| '''Subject number''' | '''Formality''' | '''Imperative''' |
| ------------------ | ------------- | -------------- |
| Singular | Informal | ''helpi'' |
| Singular | Formal | ''helpiť'' |
| Plural | Any | ''helpiť'' |

While not mandatory, subjects are typically omitted in imperative sentences; ''Me helpi!'' would be a more common wording for 'Help me!' than ''Tü me helpi!''. Using a explicit pronoun might be required to resolve ambiguity in cases where it is unclear whether a plural imperative was given to a single person (addressed with formal ''Vi'') within a group or to the group as a whole (second person plural ''vis'' or ''ves'').

Unlike Romance languages where true imperatives are generally restricted to positive commands (compare Spanish imperative mood ''"¡Ayuda!"'' for 'Help!' but subjunctive "''¡No ayudes!''" for 'Don't help!'), Europaico imperatives interact normally with negative markers as in ''Ne helpi niť!'' for 'Don't help!'.

While imperatives can only be formed for second person subjects, constructions about mandatory or suggested actions for other subjects can be expressed using modal verbs such as ''lesen'' (let) or ''musten'' (must):
- ''El muste te helpen!'' - He must help you!
- ''Ens lesens helpen!'' - Let's help!

==== Irregular verbs ====

One of the key reasons someone might opt to adopt an auxiliary constructed language rather than a natlang is that auxlangs typically shy away from irregular verbs in order to be easier to learn. Accordingly, it would be an extremely dubious move for an auxlang to feature irregular verbs.

Europaico features irregular verbs. These verbs can be divided into two classes: semi-vocalic verbs such as ''groven'' (to grow) and ''seyen'' (to see) whose conjugation show clear commonalities characterized by the alternation of a vocalic stem (''grou-'' and ''sei-'') and a consonant stem (''grov-'', ''sey-'') and fully irregular verbs where all patterns should be put into question.

===== Semi-vocalic verbs =====

Verbs in this class generally feature stems which end in a ''v'' or ''y'' (as found in ''groven'' and ''seyen'', respectively) which would result in valid diphthongs (''ai'', ''au'', ''ei'', ''eu'', ''oi'', ''ou'' or ''ui'') should we replace the ''v'' /v/ for an ''u'' /u/ or the ''y'' /j/ for an ''i'' /i/.

The verb ''seyen'' (to see) proves to be a particularly fitting example as it features semi-vocalic stems both in the present tense (''sey-''/''sei-'') and in the past tense (''sav-''/''sau-''), although the latter doesn't affect the paradigm much.

| '''Infinitive''' | ''seyen'' |
| ------------------------ | --------- |
| '''Past tense auxiliary''' | ''aven'' |
| '''Active participle''' | ''seyendo'' |
| '''Passive participle''' | ''savel'' |
| '''Imperative''' (''tü'') | ''sei'' |
| '''Imperative''' (''Vi'') | ''seyeť'' |

| '''Subject''' | '''Present''' (`PRS`) | '''Imperfect''' (`PST.IPFV`) | '''Past''' (`PST`) | '''Future '''(`FUT`) |
| --------------------------- | ------------------- | -------------------------- | ---------------- | ------------------ |
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) | ''seic'' | ''saveic'' | ''au savel'' | ''guic seyen'' |
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) | ''seis'' | ''saveis'' | ''as savel'' | ''guis seyen'' |
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) | ''sei'' | ''savei'' | ''a savel'' | ''gui seyen'' |
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) | ''seyens'' | ''saveyens'' | ''avens savel'' | ''guens seyen'' |
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) | ''seyeť'' | ''saveyeť'' | ''aveť savel'' | ''gueť seyen'' |
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) | ''seyen'' | ''saveyen'' | ''an savel'' | ''guen seyen'' |

Forms for other semi-vocalic verbs can be constructed replacing ''sei-'' and ''sey-'' for the appropriate vocalic and consonant stems for the present, and ''sav-'' for the appropriate past stem, with the sole exception that ''Vi'' imperatives take the suffix ''-iť'' for verbs for stems ending in ''v'' as in ''groviť'' for 'Grow!' (the form ending in ''-eť'' found in ''seyeť'', 'See!', is a result of Europaico's phonotactic restriction disallowing /ji/).

===== Fully irregular verbs =====

Fully irregular verbs include ones used as auxiliaries as ''seinen'' (to be, also marks past tense for reflexive verbs), ''aven'' (to have, also marks past tense for non-reflexive verbs) and ''guien'' (to go, also marks future tense), modal verbs such as ''canen'' (can, to be able) and ''musten'' (must, to have to) and also a few content verbs such as ''esen'' (to eat).

====== ''aven'' (to have, `PST` marker) ======

| '''Infinitive''' | ''aven'' |
| ------------------------ | -------- |
| '''Past tense auxiliary''' | ''aven'' |
| '''Active participle''' | ''abendo'' |
| '''Passive participle''' | ''adel'' |
| '''Imperative''' (''tü'') | ''avi'' |
| '''Imperative''' (''Vi'') | ''aviť'' |

| '''Subject''' | '''Present''' (`PRS`) | '''Imperfect''' (`PST.IPFV`) | '''Past''' (`PST`) | '''Future '''(`FUT`) |
| --------------------------- | ------------------- | -------------------------- | ---------------- | ------------------ |
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) | ''au'' | ''adeic'' | ''au adel'' | ''guic aven'' |
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) | ''as'' | ''adeis'' | ''as adel'' | ''guis aven'' |
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) | ''a'' | ''adei'' | ''a adel'' | ''gui aven'' |
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) | ''avens'' | ''adens'' | ''avens adel'' | ''guens aven'' |
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) | ''aveť'' | ''adeť'' | ''aveť adel'' | ''gueť aven'' |
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) | ''an'' | ''aden'' | ''an adel'' | ''guen aven'' |

====== ''canen'' (can, to be able) ======

| '''Infinitive''' | ''canen'' |
| ------------------------ | --------------------------- |
| '''Past tense auxiliary''' | (depends on following verb) |
| '''Active participle''' | ''canendo'' |
| '''Passive participle''' | ''conel'' |
| '''Imperative''' (''tü'') | ''cani'' |
| '''Imperative''' (''Vi'') | ''caniť'' |

| '''Subject''' | '''Present''' (`PRS`) | '''Imperfect''' (`PST.IPFV`) | '''Past''' (`PST`) | '''Future '''(`FUT`) |
| --------------------------- | ------------------- | -------------------------- | ---------------- | ------------------ |
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) | ''canc'' | ''coneic'' | ''au conel'' | ''guic seyen'' |
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) | ''cans'' | ''coneis'' | ''as conel'' | ''guis seyen'' |
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) | ''can'' | ''conei'' | ''a conel'' | ''gui seyen'' |
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) | ''canens'' | ''coneyens'' | ''avens conel'' | ''guens seyen'' |
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) | ''caneť'' | ''coneyeť'' | ''aveť conel'' | ''gueť seyen'' |
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) | ''canen'' | ''coneyen'' | ''an conel'' | ''guen seyen'' |

====== ''doen'' (to do) ======

| '''Infinitive''' | ''canen'' |
| ------------------------ | -------- |
| '''Past tense auxiliary''' | ''aven'' |
| '''Active participle''' | ''doendo'' |
| '''Passive participle''' | ''del'' |
| '''Imperative''' (''tü'') | ''doi'' |
| '''Imperative''' (''Vi'') | ''doiť'' |

| '''Subject''' | '''Present''' (`PRS`) | '''Imperfect''' (`PST.IPFV`) | '''Past''' (`PST`) | '''Future '''(`FUT`) |
| --------------------------- | ------------------- | -------------------------- | ---------------- | ------------------ |
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) | ''doc'' | ''deic'' | ''au dnel'' | ''guic doen'' |
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) | ''does'' | ''deis'' | ''as del'' | ''guis doen'' |
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) | ''doe'' | ''dei'' | ''a del'' | ''gui doen'' |
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) | ''doens'' | ''deyens'' | ''avens del'' | ''guens doen'' |
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) | ''doeť'' | ''deyeť'' | ''aveť del'' | ''gueť doen'' |
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) | ''doen'' | ''deyen'' | ''an del'' | ''guen doen'' |

====== ''esen'' (to eat) ======

| '''Infinitive''' | ''esen'' |
| ------------------------ | -------- |
| '''Past tense auxiliary''' | ''aven'' |
| '''Active participle''' | ''esendo'' |
| '''Passive participle''' | ''atel'' |
| '''Imperative''' (''tü'') | ''esi'' |
| '''Imperative''' (''Vi'') | ''esiť'' |

| '''Subject''' | '''Present''' (`PRS`) | '''Imperfect''' (`PST.IPFV`) | '''Past''' (`PST`) | '''Future '''(`FUT`) |
| --------------------------- | ------------------- | -------------------------- | ---------------- | ------------------ |
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) | ''esc'' | ''ateic'' | ''au atel'' | ''guic esen'' |
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) | ''ets'' | ''ateis'' | ''as atel'' | ''guis esen'' |
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) | ''et'' | ''atei'' | ''a atel'' | ''gui esen'' |
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) | ''esens'' | ''ateyens'' | ''avens atel'' | ''guens esen'' |
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) | ''eseť'' | ''ateyeť'' | ''aveť atel'' | ''gueť esen'' |
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) | ''esen'' | ''ateyen'' | ''an atel'' | ''guen esen'' |

====== ''guien'' (to go, to walk, `FUT` marker) ======

| '''Infinitive''' | ''canen'' |
| ------------------------ | -------- |
| '''Past tense auxiliary''' | ''seinen'' |
| '''Active participle''' | ''guendo'' |
| '''Passive participle''' | ''gal'' |
| '''Imperative''' (''tü'') | ''gui'' |
| '''Imperative''' (''Vi'') | ''guiť'' |

| '''Subject''' | '''Present''' (`PRS`) | '''Imperfect''' (`PST.IPFV`) | '''Past''' (`PST`) | '''Future '''(`FUT`) |
| --------------------------- | ------------------- | -------------------------- | ---------------- | ------------------ |
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) | ''guic'' | ''gaic'' | ''sin gal'' | ''guic guien'' |
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) | ''guis'' | ''gais'' | ''es gal'' | ''guis guien'' |
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) | ''gui'' | ''gai'' | ''is gal'' | ''gui guien'' |
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) | ''guens'' | ''gayens'' | ''sins galis'' | ''guens guien'' |
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) | ''gueť'' | ''gayeť'' | ''seť galis'' | ''gueť guien'' |
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) | ''guen'' | ''gayen'' | ''sin galis'' | ''guen guien'' |

====== ''lesen'' (to leave, to let, to allow) ======

| '''Infinitive''' | ''lesen'' |
| ------------------------ | --------------------------- |
| '''Past tense auxiliary''' | (depends on following verb) |
| '''Active participle''' | ''lesendo'' |
| '''Passive participle''' | ''lasel'' |
| '''Imperative''' (''tü'') | ''lesi'' |
| '''Imperative''' (''Vi'') | ''lesiť'' |

| '''Subject''' | '''Present''' (`PRS`) | '''Imperfect''' (`PST.IPFV`) | '''Past''' (`PST`) | '''Future '''(`FUT`) |
| --------------------------- | ------------------- | -------------------------- | ---------------- | ------------------ |
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) | ''lesc'' | ''laseic'' | ''au lasel'' | ''guic lesen'' |
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) | ''lets'' | ''laseis'' | ''as lasel'' | ''guis lesen'' |
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) | ''let'' | ''lasei'' | ''a lasel'' | ''gui lesen'' |
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) | ''lesens'' | ''laseyens'' | ''avens lasel'' | ''guens lesen'' |
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) | ''leseť'' | ''laseyeť'' | ''aveť lasel'' | ''gueť lesen'' |
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) | ''lesen'' | ''laseyen'' | ''an lasel'' | ''guen lesen'' |

====== ''musten'' (must, to have to) ======

| '''Infinitive''' | ''musten'' |
| ------------------------ | --------------------------- |
| '''Past tense auxiliary''' | (depends on following verb) |
| '''Active participle''' | ''mustendo'' |
| '''Passive participle''' | ''mostel'' |
| '''Imperative''' (''tü'') | - |
| '''Imperative''' (''Vi'') | - |

| '''Subject''' | '''Present''' (`PRS`) | '''Imperfect''' (`PST.IPFV`) | '''Past''' (`PST`) | '''Future '''(`FUT`) |
| --------------------------- | ------------------- | -------------------------- | ---------------- | ------------------ |
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) | ''musto'' | ''mosteic'' | ''au mosel'' | ''guic musten'' |
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) | ''musts'' | ''mosteis'' | ''as mosel'' | ''guis musten'' |
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) | ''must'' | ''mostei'' | ''a mosel'' | ''gui musten'' |
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) | ''mustens'' | ''mosteyens'' | ''avens mosel'' | ''guens musten'' |
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) | ''musteť'' | ''mosteyeť'' | ''aveť mosel'' | ''gueť musten'' |
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) | ''musten'' | ''mosteyen'' | ''an mosel'' | ''guen musten'' |

====== ''seinen'' (to be, PST marker) ======

| '''Infinitive''' | ''seinen'' |
| ------------------------ | -------- |
| '''Past tense auxiliary''' | ''seinen'' |
| '''Active participle''' | ''sindo'' |
| '''Passive participle''' | ''bül'' |
| '''Imperative''' (''tü'') | ''bi'' |
| '''Imperative''' (''Vi'') | ''biť'' |

| '''Subject''' | '''Present''' (`PRS`) | '''Imperfect''' (`PST.IPFV`) | '''Past''' (`PST`) | '''Future '''(`FUT`) |
| --------------------------- | ------------------- | -------------------------- | ---------------- | ------------------ |
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) | ''sin'' | ''seineic'' | ''sin bül'' | ''guic seinen'' |
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) | ''es'' | ''seineis'' | ''es bül'' | ''guis seinen'' |
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) | ''is'' | ''seinei'' | ''is bül'' | ''gui seinen'' |
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) | ''sins'' | ''seineyens'' | ''sins bülis'' | ''guens seinen'' |
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) | ''seť'' | ''seineyeť'' | ''seť bülis'' | ''gueť seinen'' |
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) | ''sin'' | ''seineyen'' | ''sin bülis'' | ''guen seinen'' |

=== Syntax ===

Europaico's syntax is relatively simple, with no real surprises. As I was able to restrain myself from adding grammatical case to this conlang, Europaico requires an `SVO` word order.

Adjectives and adverbs generally follow the words they modify, although the opposite order is allowed as a stylistic variant, generally as a way to emphasize the descriptor. For instance, 'the big city' will be generally given as ''lo miesto mego'' (literally 'the city big'), although ''lo mego miesto'' ('the big city') is also allowed but much rarer.

Similarly, Europaico allows for pronouns in subject-position to be dropped, but this is a poetic or otherwise stylistic choice not generally found in the standard form of the language. Thus ''Ye te seic'' would be the usual way of translating 'I see you' even though simply saying ''te seic'' would also constitute a valid option.

==== Negatives ====

European languages generally express negation through the inclusion of a negative particle, typically found before the verb (as in Spanish ''no'', Greek ''δεν'' and Polish ''nie'') although some languages place this particle after the verb instead (German ''nicht'', Danish ''ikke'') while French traditionally combines both options, with the particle ''ne'' being required before the verb and ''pas'' after it.

Naturally, Europaico, in its heroic quest to become as accessible as possible to speakers of all its source languages, takes the French approach, with French and Slavic-based ''ne'' being required before the verb and any clitics (such as accusative pronouns) and German-based ''niť'' after the verb. Thus the negative form of ''Ye te helpo'' (I help you) is ''Ye ne te helpo niť'' (I don't help you).

Double negatives are allowed, retaining their negative sense. For instance 'I never help you' will be generally expressed by adding the adverb ''mai'' (never) to the negative wording as given above: ''Ye ne te helpo niť mai'', while the similarly constructed ''Ye ne te guic lesen niť mai'' could be interpreted as "I will never give up on you".

==== Questions ====

Polar questions (those who ask for a yes-no confirmation) may be formed simply by adding the particle ''que'' at the beginning of the sentence. Verb-subject inversion (resulting in a `VSO` word order) is optionally allowed for these questions thus 'Am I helping you?' might be expressed either as ''Que ye te helpo?'' or as ''Que te helpo ye?'' without any change in meaning.

Such questions will generally be answered with particles meaning 'yes' and 'no' which in Europaico are ''ne'' and ''oquei'' respectively, taken from Greek ''ναι'' and ''όχι'' respectively. Learners should take notice that ''ne'' means 'yes', despite it being otherwise identical to the negative particle ''ne''. Similarly, the negative answer ''oquei'' should not be confused with English-derived ''okey'' (OK), which might also be borrowed into the language.

Content questions are formed using interrogative pronouns or adverbs similar to the English wh-words including ''cuo'' (who), ''cue'' (what), ''cuando'' (when), ''cuon'' (where), ''cuomo'' (how) and ''cuare'' (why). Questions formed using these interrogatives do not require the marker ''que''. These content interrogatives might be optionally fronted to the beginning of the sentence or left in their natural place in the sentence, so 'who are you helping?' might be expressed either as ''Cuo tü helpes?'' or as ''Tü helpes cuo?''.

=== Relative clauses ===

Europaico's relative clauses follow the noun they describe (the antecedent) as is the norm among European languages. Their structure, largely modeled off French, varies slightly depending on the role the antecedent has within the relative clause.

When the antecedent works as a subject within the relative clause, it will be introduced with the relative pronoun '''''qui''''' as in ''« lo ďeťe, qui singue »'' for 'the kid that sings'.

As in German, relative clauses tend to adopt a verb-final structure meaning that direct objects such as ''« el hlieb »'' ~ 'the bread' in phrases such as 'the man who eats the bread' will appear before the verb (''el muz, qui el hlieb et'') even though it would usually follow the verb in other contexts (as in ''el muz et el hlieb'' for 'the man eats the bread'). Arguably, this has the advantage of delimiting the relative clause more clearly.

Relative clauses where the antecedent works as a direct object use the relative pronoun '''''que''''' instead. Due to Europaico's verb-final word order for relative clauses, the usage of the correct relative pronoun might be the only element that indicates the role of the antecedent within the relative clause; compare for instance ''« les zenes, '''que''' lis muzis seyen »'' (the women who the men see) and ''« les zenes, '''qui''' lis muzis seyen »'' (the women who see the men).

Clauses where the antecedent takes in a different syntactic role within the relative clause require the pronoun ''qui'' preceded by a preposition such as locative ''na'' (in, at) in the phrase ''lo miesto, '''na qui''' je vono'' (the city '''where''' I live).

Europaico's orthography requires relative phrases to be surrounded by commas as it is also the case in German and Russian orthography among others.

== Numerals ==

Europaico numerals have been designed to facilitate international communication with the same utmost care present in the rest of the language.

In a rare display of goodwill, Europaico's numerals are not inflected for gender nor any other category, although it should be noted that the numeral for 'one' coincides with the feminine form of the indefinite article which ''is'' inflected for number.

Digits are mostly borrowed from Greek, although influences from other languages is also present:

| Number | Europaico numeral | Notes |
| ------ | ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| '''0''' | ''zero'' | Internationalism. |
| '''1''' | ''ena'' | From Greek ''ένα'', also similar to German ''ein''. Identical to the feminine form of the indefinite article ''en/ena/eno''. |
| '''2''' | ''düs'' | From the Greek-based prefix ''di-'', its source the Ancient Greek adverb ''δῐ́ς'', Albanian ''dy'' and Romance words such as Spanish ''dos'' and Portuguese ''dois''. |
| '''3''' | ''tris'' | From the Greek-based prefix ''tri-'' and words for 'three' in multiple Indo-European languages from Europe. |
| '''4''' | ''quear'' | From Manx Gaelic ''kiare'' /kʲeːə(r)/ which somehow resembles cognates such as French ''quatre''. Despite the fact that Romance, Slavic and Germanic words for 'four' ultimately share the same Indo-European root ''\''kʷetwóres'', modern reflexes have diverged so much that one could scarcely find common ground among them. Since Europaico was severely lacking in Celtic representation, a Manx Gaelic word was chosen, an obvious choice obeying to the Isle of Man position between the territories of Goidelic and Brittonic languages. |
| '''5''' | ''pinta'' | Mainly from the Greek-based prefix ''penta-'' although also influenced by the ''i'' found in Romance words for 'fifth' such as ''quinta'' (found in Portuguese, Spanish, Catalan and Italian among others). |
| '''6''' | ''secsa'' | From the Greek-based prefix ''hexa-'', its Latin counterpart ''sex(a)-'' and many words for 'six' in Indo-European languages including German ''sechs''. |
| '''7''' | ''septa'' | A similar derivation to that from ''secsa'', inspired by the prefixes ''hepta-'', ''sept(a)-'' and various words for 'seven' or 'seventh' (such as Spanish ''séptimo''). |
| '''8''' | ''octa'' | From the Greek and Latin-based prefixes ''octo-/octa-''. The form with a final ''-a'' was chosen to agree with the previous numerals. |
| '''9''' | ''nona'' | From the Latin prefix ''nona-'', keeping the pattern from previous numerals. |

Europaico's word for '''10''' is ''deç'', a word inspired both by Romance forms of the numeral (such as Spanish ''diez'', Portuguese ''dez'' and Occitan ''dètz'') and by Slavic cognates such as Czech ''deset'', Ukrainian ''де́сять'' and Macedonian ''де́сет''.

Numerals from '''11''' to '''19''' are regularly formed by adding the suffix ''-nast'' (taken from Slavic sources) to the digit for the units position: ''enanast'', ''düsnast'', ''trisnast'' through ''nonanast''.

Words for multiples of ten from '''20''' to '''90''' are formed by suffixing ''-deç'' to the appropriate digit, from ''düsdeç'' for twenty to ''nonadeç'' for ninety. Unfortunately, this means that French-speakers learning this language will have to do some math to work out that the numeral for ninety is formed as ''nonadeç'' rather than something that would come more naturally to them such as ''\''\''quear-düsdeç-deç''.

On the other hand, in order to make the language more accessible to German and Polish speakers, among others, other numbers below 100 are formed placing the units ''before'' the tens, as in ''quear düsdeç'' for 24 (literally 'four \[and\] twenty').

All other positions are formed as in English, with the higher positions coming up first, each formed by a digit numeral followed by a SI-based term for the power of ten as in ''ena hecto'' for 100 (literally one hundred) or ''ena quilo düs hecto quear trisdeç'' for 1234 (literally one thousand two hundred four thirty).

Ordinals might be formed adding the suffix ''-ico'' to a number as in ''secsaico'' for 'sixth'.

== Examples ==

=== Sample sentences ===

The following are a set of sample sentences designed to showcase aspects of the Europaico grammar. These are given in the Europaico and Latin alphabets along with an IPA phonemic transcription.

> '''Eɴ мɤz кaı eɴa zeɴa гaεɴ.'''
> '''''En muz cai ena zena gayen.'''''
> /en muz kai̯ ˈe.na ˈze.na ˈɡa.jen/
> ''en muz cai ena zena gayen''
> INDF.SG.M man and INDF.SG.F woman go.IPF.3p
> '''A man and a woman were walking.'''

> '''Ke сeεɴ ʌeс zeɴeс ʌıс мɤzıс?'''
> '''''Que seyen les zenes lis muzis?'''''
> /ke ˈse.jen les ˈze.nes lis ˈmu.zis/
> ''que seyen les zen-es lis muz-is''
> INT see.PRS.3p DEF.PL.F woman-PL.F DEF.PL.C man-PL.C
> '''Do the women see the men?'''

> '''Є ɴe τ’aɤ гaweʌ ɴıћ eʌ кaмeɴ бaρo.'''
> '''''Ye ne t’au gavel niť el camen baro.'''''
> /je ne tau̯ ɡaˈvel nic el ˈka.men ˈba.ʀo/
> ''ye ne te au gav-el niť el camen bar-o''
> 1s NEG 2.ACC PST.1s give.PST-PTCP NEG DEF.SG.M stone heavy-SG.C
> I didn’t give you the heavy stone.

> '''Λa oсoбa, кe τʋ aс сaweʌ, фaɴгe ʌa пτıцa, кı ʌıс ∂ʋс đeћıс мıɴıс a фaɴ∂eʌ.'''
> '''''La osoba, que tü as savel, fangue la ptiça, qui lis düs ďeťis minis a fandel.'''''
> /la oˈso.ba ke ty as saˈvel ˈfaŋ.ɡe la ˈpti.tsa ki lis dys ˈɟe.cis ˈmi,nis a fanˈdel/
> ''la osoba que tü as sav-el fang-e la ptiça''
> DEF.SG.F person REL.OBL 2s PST.2s see.PST-PTCP catch-PRS.3s DEF.SG.F bird
> ''qui lis düs ďeť-is min-is a fand-el''
> REL.NOM DEF.PL.C two child-PL.C 1s.POS-PL.C PST.3s find.PST-PTCP
> '''The person you saw is catching the bird that found my two children.'''

=== Schleicher's Fable ===

Schleicher's Fable is a common sample text used by many of the best and most serious linguists in the world. In order to even things out, we'll use it for Europaico as well.

The text of the fable, in English, is as follows:

> '''The Sheep and the Horses'''
>
>On a hill, sheep that had no wool saw horses, one of them pulling a heavy wagon, one carrying a big load, and one carrying a man quickly.
>
>The sheep said to the horses: "My heart pains me, seeing a man driving horses."
>
>The horses said: "Listen, sheep, our hearts pain us when we see this: a man, the master, makes the wool of the sheep into a warm garment for himself. And the sheep has no wool."
>
>Having heard this, the sheep fled into the plain.

The Europaico translation in the Europaico script is as follows:

> '''Λa Owцa кaı ʌıс Koɴıс'''
>
> Eпı eɴ пaгoρeк, eɴa owцa, кı wɤʌɴa ɴe a∂eı ɴıћ, a сaweʌ кoɴıс: eɴ кoɴ кı τρoкeı eɴ woz бaρo, eɴ кoɴ кı бoρeı eɴa τowaρa мeгa кaı eɴ кoɴ кı бoρeı τaкaмeɴτ eɴ мɤz.
>
> Λa owцa a сaгeʌ пρo кoɴıс: « Λo сeρцe мıɴo мe ∂oe бoʌ сeεɴ∂o eɴ мɤz кı ∂ρıwe кoɴıс ».
>
> Λıс кoɴıс aɴ сaгeʌ: « Owцa, ʌıсτı! Λıс сeρцıс мıɴıс ɴıс ∂oeɴ бoʌ кɤaɴ∂o ɴıс сeεɴс кeсτo: eɴ мɤz, eʌ гoспo∂aρ, weρaɴ∂eρe ʌa wɤʌɴa ∂eс owцa'с ɴa eɴ пʌaшτ τeρмo пρo сı. Kaı ɴɤɴ ʌa owцa ɴ'a ɴıћ wɤʌɴa. »
>
> Λa owцa a xeρeʌ кeсτo кaı ıс фʌoxeʌa ɴa ʌa ρowɴıɴa.

In the Latin alphabet:

> '''La Ovça cai lis Conis'''
>
>Epi en pagorec, ena ovça, qui vulna ne adei niť, a savel conis: en con qui troquei en voz baro, en con qui borei ena tovara mega cai en con qui borei tacament en muz.
>
>La ovça a sagel pro conis: « Lo serce mino me doe bol seyendo en muz qui drive conis ».
>
>Lis conis an sagel: « Ovça, listi! Lis sercis minis nis doen bol cuando nis seyens questo: en muz, el gospodar, verandere la vulna des ovça's na en plašt termo pro si. Cai nun la ovça n'a niť vulna. »
>
> La ovça a herel questo cai is flohela na la rovnina.

Interlinear glosses and phonetic transcriptions are given in the following section.

==== Glosses ====

> '''''La Ovça cai lis Conis'''''
> /la ˈov.tsa kai̯ lis ˈko.nis/
> ''la ovça cai lis con-is''
> DEF.SG.F sheep and DEF.PL.C horse-PL.C
> '''The Sheep and the Horses'''

> '''''Epi en pagorec, ena ovça, qui vulna ne adei niť, a savel conis:'''''
> /ˈe.pi en pa.ɡoˈʀrek ˈe.na ˈov.tsa ki ˈvul.na ne aˈdei̯ nic a saˈvel ˈko.nis/
> ''epi en pagorec ena ovça qui vulna ne ad-ei niť''
> on INDF.SG.M hill INDF.SG.F sheep REL.NOM wool NEG have.PST-.IPF.3s NEG
> ''a savel con-is''
> PST.3s see.PTCP horse-PL.C
> '''On a hill, sheep that had no wool saw horses'''

> '''''en con qui troquei en voz baro,'''''
> /en kon ki tʀoˈkei̯ en voz ˈba.ʀo/
> ''en con qui troc-ei en voz bar-o''
> INDF.SG.M horse REL.NOM pull.PST-IPF.3s INDF.SG.M cart heavy-SG.C
> '''a horse that pulled a heavy wagon'''

> '''''en con qui borei ena tovara mega'''''
> /en kon ki boˈʀei̯ ˈe.na toˈva.ʀa ˈme.ɡa/
> ''en con qui bor-ei ena tovara meg-a''
> INDF.SG.M horse REL.NOM carry.PST-IPF.3s INDF.SG.F burden big-SG.F
> '''a horse that carried a big load'''

> '''''cai en con qui borei tacament en muz.'''''
> /kai̯ en kon ki boˈʀei̯ ta.kaˈment en muz/
> ''cai en con qui bor-ei taca-ment en muz''
> and INDF.SG.M horse REL.NOM carry.PST-IPF.3s fast-ADV INDF.SG.M man
> '''a horse that carried a man quickly.'''

> '''''La ovça a sagel pro conis:'''''
> /la ˈov.tsa saˈɡel pʀo ˈko.nis/
> ''la ovça a sag-el pro con-is''
> DEF.SG.F sheep PST.3s say-PTCP DAT horse-PL.C
> '''The sheep said to the horses:'''

> '''''« Lo serce mino me doe bol seyendo en muz qui drive conis ».'''''
> /lo ˈseʀ.tse ˈmi.no me ˈdo.e bol seˈjen.do en muz ki ˈdʀi.ve ˈko.nis/
> ''lo serce min-o me doe bol''
> DEF.SG.N heart 1s.POS-SG.N 1s.OBL do.PRS.3s pain
> ''sey-endo en muz qui driv-e con-is''
> see-GER INDF.SG.M man REL.NOM drive-PRS.3s horse-PL.C
> '''"My heart pains me, seeing a man driving horses."'''

> '''''Lis conis an sagel: « Ovça, listi!'''''
> /lis ˈko.nis an saˈɡel ˈov.tsa ˈlis.ti/
> ''lis con-is an sag-el ovça list-i''
> DEF.PL.C horse-PL.C PST.3p say-PTCP sheep listen-IMP
> '''The sheep said to the horses: "Sheep, listen!'''

> '''''Lis sercis minis nis doen bol cuando nis seyens questo:'''''
> /lis ˈseʀ.tsis ˈmi.nis nis ˈdo.en bol kuˈan.do nis seˈjens ˈkes.to/
> ''lis serc-is min-is nis doen bol''
> DEF.PL.C heart-PLC 1s.POS-PL.C 1p.M.OBL do.PRS.3p pain
> ''cuando nis sey-ens questo''
> when 1p.C see-PRS.1p this-SG.C
> '''"Our hearts pain us when we see this:'''

> '''''en muz, el gospodar, verandere la vulna des ovça's'''''
> /en muz el ɡos.poˈdaʀ ve.ʀanˈde.ʀe la ˈvul.na des ˈov.tsas/
> ''en muz el gospodar verander-e la vulna des ovça-'s''
> INDF.SG.M man DEF.SG.M master change-PRS.3s DEF.SG.F wool POS sheep-POS
> '''a man, the master, changes the wool of the sheep'''

> '''''na en plašt termo pro si.'''''
> /na en plaʃt ˈteʀ.mo pʀo si/
> ''na en plašt term-o pro si''
> into INDF.SG.M garment warm-SG.C for REFL
> '''into a warm garment for himself.'''

> '''''Cai nun la ovça n'a niť vulna. »'''''
> /kai̯ nun la ˈov.tsa na nic ˈvul.na/
> ''cai nun la ovça n'-a niť vulna''
> and now DEF.SG.F sheep NEG-have.PRS.3s NEG wool
> '''And now the sheep doesn't have wool."'''

> '''''La ovça a herel questo cai is flohela na la rovnina.'''''
> /la ˈov.tsa a xeˈʀel ˈkes.to kai̯ is floˈxe.la na la ʀovˈni.na/
> ''la ovça a her-el questo cai is floh-ela''
> DEF.SG.F sheep PST.3s hear-PTCP this and PST.3s flee.PST-PTCP.SG.F
> ''na la rovnina''
> into DEF.SG.F plain
> '''The sheep heard this and fled into the plain.'''



[[Category:Europaico]]
[[Category:Languages]]
[[Category:Conlangs]]

Europaico

2025-05-06T03:31:46Z

Jotadiego: First version; formatting issues with markdown tables still must be fixed

{{Infobox language
|name=Europaico
|nativename=''Europaico, Eɤροпaıкo''
|date=2024
|familycolor= conlang
|fam1=[[Auxiliary language]]
|setting=[[Auxiliary language]]
|posteriori=based on [[w:Romance languages|Romance]], [[w:Germanic languages|Germanic]] and p[w:Slavic languages|Slavic]] languages.
|script=[[w:Latin script|Latin]] Europaico script
}}

''Slavic nouns, Germanic verbs, Romance grammar and not a lot of sense!''

'''Europaico''' (Eɤροпaıкo in its own script, pronounced as /eu̯.ʀoˈpai̯.ko/) is a non-naturalistic ''a posteriori'' conlang based on various European languages meant as a parody to auxlang projects such as Esperanto, Interlingua, Sambhasa or Lingwa de Planeta.

Intrafictionally, the language would have been created and maintained by the ''Alternative International Association for International Auxiliary Languages'' or AIAIAL.

As a 'fake auxlang', it could be considered to be a ''fauxlang''. It could make for a decent artlang, though.

Most of Europaico's features are designed to have a tongue-in-cheek justification explaining why they would make sense for a European auxiliary language (until you actually think about it for more than a couple seconds, that is). Since telling a joke is more fun than explaining it, some of the conlangs features might be presented that way throughout this article.

In addition to a Latin-script orthography, Europaico might be written in its own alphabet, best described as 'an unholy mismatch of Greek, Cyrillic and Roman'.

The conlang was created in March 2024.

== Concept ==

Europaico is a brand new auxiliary language that will finally allow humanity to lift the curse of Babel! Maybe.

Following the long-standing tradition set by such fine language designers such as Esperanto's Zamenhof, Volapük's Schleyer, Europaico only takes the European continent into account. Europaico might nonetheless be advertised as a global language, it's not like it'd be the first one to do so with its creators even managing to keep a straight face.

The European linguistic landscape is dominated by three main linguistic groups: the Romance languages in the west and south, the Germanic languages in the center and north and the Slavic languages in the east. Europaico is meant to be a compromise between these three major groups, borrowing elements from each of them. Greek, as a historically prominent language in the continent that isn't fully accounted for, is taken as a secondary source language to 'fill in the gaps'.

Europaico's grammar is mostly based on that of Romance language, particularly French. Nouns are taken nearly exclusively from Slavic sources, retaining their masculine/feminine/neuter gender distinction. Verbs, meanwhile, are usually sourced from Germanic languages although their conjugation also incorporates Romance and Slavic elements.

== Phonology ==

=== Consonants ===

Europaico has a honest-to-the-powers-that-be relatively simple consonant inventory with few surprises aside from a palatal series (a step up from your 'standard average European' language but still a long shot from the phonemic palatalization affecting most consonants in Slavic languages).

The following table gives the consonants in the Latin script orthography, a phonemic transcription in IPA (between slashes) and the corresponding glyph in Europaico's native alphabet.

| | '''Labial''' | '''Alveolar''' | '''Post-Alveolar''' | '''Palatal''' | '''Velar''' |
| ---------------------- | ----------------- | ------------------ | ------------------ | ----------------- | ----------------- |
| '''Nasal''' | '''''m''''' /m/ '''м''' | '''''n''''' /n/ '''ɴ''' | | '''''ň''''' /ɲ/ '''њ''' | |
| '''Unvoiced stop''' | '''''p''''' /p/ '''п''' | '''''t''''' /t/ '''τ''' | | '''''ť''''' /c/ '''ћ''' | '''''c''''' /k/ '''к''' |
| '''Voiced stop''' | '''''b''''' /b/ '''б''' | '''''d''''' /d/ '''∂''' | | '''''ď''''' /ɟ/ '''đ''' | '''''g''''' /ɡ/ '''г''' |
| '''Unvoiced affricate''' | | '''''c''''' /ts/ '''ц''' | '''''č''''' /tʃ/ '''ч''' | | |
| '''Unvoiced fricative''' | '''''f''''' /f/ '''ф''' | '''''s''''' /s/ '''с''' | '''''š''''' /ʃ/ '''ш''' | | '''''h''''' /x/ '''x''' |
| '''Voiced fricative''' | '''''v''''' /v/ '''w''' | '''''z''''' /z/ '''z''' | ( /ʒ/ ) | | |
| '''Glide''' | | | | '''''y''''' /j/ '''ı''' | |
| '''Rhotic''' | | '''''r''''' /ʀ/ '''ρ''' | | | |
| '''Lateral''' | | '''''l''''' /l/ '''ʌ''' | | | |

Palatal and post-alveolar consonants other than /j/ will be referred collectively as 'palatals'. All of these consonants might alternatively be pronounced as a palatalized alveolars (/nʲ/ for ''ň'', /tʲ/ for ''ť'' and so on) if that's easier for the speaker.

The consonant /z/ may alternate freely between an alveolar realization \[z\] or a post-alveolar one /ʒ/. This explains why words which had a /ʒ/ or /dʒ/ in their source language might enter Europaico with a /z/ instead.

A velar nasal \[ŋ\] appear as an allophone of /n/ in clusters such as \[ŋk\] and \[ŋɡ\]. This consonant sound is not distinguished from /n/ in either orthography.

=== Vowels and diphthongs ===

Europaico is surprisingly benign with its vowel inventory, which at just /a e i o u y/ will only give mild trouble to its users.

Vowels other than /i/ and /u/ might be preceded by the glide /j/, yielding four sequences which could be analyzed as rising diphthongs: /ja/, /je/, /jo/ and /ju/.

In addition to those, Europaico features seven falling diphthongs /ai̯ au̯ ei̯ eu̯ oi̯ ou̯ ui̯/, which might also be pronounced as \[aɪ̯ aʊ̯ eɪ̯ eʊ̯ oɪ̯ oʊ̯ uɪ̯\].

It might be noted that the /eu̯/ diphthong, featured in Europaico's own name no less, is absent from most major European languages (including German, English, French, most Slavic languages, etc). As a way to ease this problem, speakers are allowed to substitute /eu̯/ for whatever might be their native pronunciation of \<eu\> (as in their local pronunciation of 'Europe'). This means that possible realizations for Europaico's initial diphthong include \[jʊ\] (English), \[ø\] (Dutch, Danish, French), \[ɛɵ\] (Swedish), \[ɛv\] (Bulgarian) and \[\ɔʏ\] (German) among others.

Europaico does not contrast between diphthong and hiatus sequences involving the same vowel qualities, a sequence such as /ai/ will always correspond to an /ai̯/ diphthong rather than an /a.i/ hiatus.

=== Vowel reduction ===

Speakers might optionally reduce non-stressed /a e o/ to a schwa. This is not represented in writing and it will generally not be noted in IPA transcriptions in order to preserve the reader's sanity.

=== Phonotactics ===

As most auxlangs, Europaico is very lax with its phonotactics, only requiring the following elements to be met:
- Syllables must have at least one vowel (or diphthong).
- /j/ might only appear before a vowel other than /i/ or /y/.
- Palatal consonants must not be followed by /j/.

This allows for clusters in the source languages to be preserved in Europaico (including the relatively complex ones allowed word-initially in Slavic languages). This, of course, can be marketed as a feature allowing vocabulary to be integrated into the language with as little distortion as possible (or be regarded as an awful decision for an auxlang).

=== Prosodic stress ===

Polysyllabic words bear fixed, predictable prosodic stress determined as follows:
- If the word ends in a consonant other than /n/ or /s/ or in a (falling) diphthong, stress falls on the last syllable.
- Otherwise (words ending in /n/, /s/ or a monophthong), stress falls on the second-to-last syllable.

== Orthographies ==

Europaico may be written either in the Latin alphabet or in its own 'Europaico' script (based on the Latin, Greek and Cyrillic alphabets). Slightly different orthographies are used in each script.

=== Latin-script orthography ===

Europaico's Latin-script orthography is largely based on that of Romance languages, particularly those of French and Catalan. The palatal (and palato-alveolar) consonants /ɲ c ɟ tʃ ʃ/, however, are written using a diacritic known as caron most commonly associated with Czech (where it is known as ''háček''). Carons typically look like an upside-down circumflex accent, as seen in ''č'' and ''ň'', although they adopt a different form closer to that of an apostrophe when applied to ''lowercase'' T and D (\<ť ď\>). This is not a joke feature from Europaico, it's how that diacritic actually works, for whatever reason. Letters bearing a caron are treated as separate letters for sorting purposes, coming after their non-accented counterparts (thus ''Č'' is regarded as being the fourth letter of Europaico's Latin alphabet, between regular ''C'' and ''D''). The character ''Ü'' (an umlauted U) is used for the vowel /y/ and it is also treated as letter of its own, being sorted between ''U'' and ''V''.

This orthography also uses the character \<ç\> (C with cedilla) as a way of representing the /ts/ sound in contexts where regular \<c\> (which can represent that sound before unrounded front vowels) would be pronounced as /k/ instead. Unlike caron-bearing palatals, \<ç\> is treated as a variant of \<c\> for collation, rather than as an independent letter.

The letters of Europaico's variant of the Latin alphabet are as follows:

| '''Letter''' | '''Value''' | '''Notes''' |
| ------------ | --------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| '''A''', '''a''' | /a/ | |
| '''B''', '''b''' | /b/ | |
| '''C''', '''c''' | /k/, /ts/ | Pronounced /ts/ before ''E'' or ''I'' or as /k/ otherwise. See ''Q'' for the representation of /k/ before ''E'' and ''I'' and ''Ç'' for the representation of /ts/ in other contexts. |
| '''Ç''', '''ç''' | /ts/ | Variant of ''C'', used for the /ts/ when not followed by ''E'' or ''I''. |
| '''Č''', '''č''' | /tʃ/ | |
| '''D''', '''d''' | /d/ | |
| '''Ď''', '''ď''' | /ɟ/ | |
| '''E''', '''e''' | /e/ | |
| '''F''', '''f''' | /f/ | |
| '''G''', '''g''' | /ɡ/ | The sequences /ɡe/ and /ɡi/ are written with a silent ''U'': \<gue\>, \<gui\>. |
| '''H''', '''h''' | /x/ | |
| '''I''', '''i''' | /i/, /j/ | Read as /j/ when followed by a vowel (see also ''Y''). Also used to write the diphthongs /ai̯ ei̯ oi̯ ui̯/ (\<ai ei oi ui\>). |
| '''J''', '''j''' | - | Might be used to replace a caron when typing the diacritic is impossible or impractical. |
| '''L''', '''l''' | /l/ | |
| '''M''', '''m''' | /m/ | |
| '''N''', '''n''' | /n/ | |
| '''Ň''', '''ň''' | /ɲ/ | |
| '''O''', '''o''' | /o/ | |
| '''P''', '''p''' | /p/ | |
| '''Q''', '''q''' | /k/ | The digraph ''qu'' represents /k/ before the vowels ''E'' and ''I'', replacing ''C''. |
| '''R''', '''r''' | /ʀ/ | |
| '''S''', '''s''' | /s/ | |
| '''Š''', '''š''' | /ʃ/ | |
| '''T''', '''t''' | /t/ | |
| '''Ť''', '''ť''' | /c/ | |
| '''U''', '''u''' | /u/ | Silent in the trigraphs ''gue'' /ɡe/, ''gui'' /ɡi/, ''que'' /ke/ and ''qui'' /ki/. |
| '''Ü''', '''ü''' | /y/ | |
| '''V''', '''v''' | /v/ | |
| '''Y''', '''y''' | /j/ | Used for /j/ when not preceded by another consonant in the syllable, otherwise ''I'' will be used instead. |
| '''Z''', '''z''' | /z~ʒ/ | |

This orthography uses the Western Romance strategy of contrasting a soft ''C'' (read as /ts/ before ''E'' and ''I'') and a hard ''C'' (read as /k/ otherwise), with ''Ç'' being used to force the soft /ts/ pronunciation and the triigraphs ''que'' and ''qui'' for /ke/ and /ki/. Even though ''G'' lacks a soft pronunciation, Europaico also requires the trigraphs ''gue'' and ''gui'' for /ɡe/ and /ɡi/ in order to fit the expectations for a Romance-like orthography (Slavic carons aside).

The Europaico version of the Latin alphabet lacks the letters K, W and X which must be replaced by their closer equivalents in loanwords or proper names, which are also generally adapted to better fit other orthographical conventions. For instance, Kentucky, Washington, Texas and X will be transcribed as ''Quentuqui'' (or ''Quentaqui), ''Vašington'' (or ''Vašinton''), ''Tecsas'' (or ''Tehas'') and ''Ecs'' (or ''Tviter'').

=== The Europaico Alphabet ===

Depending on your taste, the Europaico alphabet might be one of its funniest aspects or one of its most cursed ones. Just as the language (sort of) intends to bridge the gap between major European languages, the script (sort of) attempts to find common ground between the Latin, Cyrillic and Greek alphabets.

One advantage of this approach is that all of the glyphs in the script are already encoded in Unicode as part of their source alphabets, allowing the Europaico script to be used in digital devices with little issue.

As its sources, the Europaico Alphabet is a bicameral script, contrasting uppercase and lowercase letters.

The letters of the script, in its own alphabetic order, are as follows:

| Europaico | Name | Value | Latin equivalent | Unicode-compatible look-alike |
| ------------ | --------- | -------- | ---------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- |
| '''A''', '''a''' | ''Alfa'' | /a/ | '''a''' | Latin uppercase/lowercase A |
| '''B''', '''б''' | ''Beta'' | /b/ | '''b''' | Latin uppercase B, Cyrillic lowercase Be |
| '''Г''', '''г''' | ''Gama'' | /ɡ/ | '''g''', '''gu''' | Cyrillic uppercase/lowercase Ge |
| '''Δ''', '''∂''' | ''Delta'' | /d/ | '''d''' | Greek uppercase Delta, Partial derivative sign |
| '''Đ''', '''đ''' | ''Ďocovič'' | /ɟ/ | '''ď''' | Latin uppercase/lowercase D with stroke |
| '''E''', '''e''' | ''Eta'' | /e/ | '''e''' | Latin uppercase/lowercase E |
| '''Є''', '''ε''' | ''Yeť'' | /je/ | '''ie''', '''ye''' | Ukrainian Cyrillic uppercase Ye, Greek lowercase Epsilon |
| '''Z''', '''z''' | ''Zeta'' | /z/ | '''z''' | Latin uppercase/lowercase Z |
| '''I''', '''ı''' | ''Yota'' | /i/, /j/ | '''i''', '''y''' | Latin uppercase I, Turkish Latin lowercase dotless I |
| '''K''', '''к''' | ''Capa'' | /k/ | '''c''', '''qu''' | Latin uppercase K, Cyrillic lowercase Ka |
| '''Λ''', '''ʌ''' | ''Lamba'' | /l/ | '''l''' | Greek uppercase Lambda, Latin lowercase turned V |
| '''M''', '''м''' | ''Mü'' | /m/ | '''m''' | Latin uppercase M, Cyrillic lowercase Em |
| '''N''', '''ɴ''' | ''Nu'' | /n/ | '''n''' | Latin uppercase N, Latin small capital N |
| '''Њ''', '''њ''' | ''Ňü'' | /ɲ/ | '''ň''' | Serbian Cyrillic uppercase/lowercase Nje |
| '''O''', '''o''' | ''O'' | /o/ | '''o''' | Latin uppercase/lowercase O |
| '''П''', '''п''' | ''Pe'' | /p/ | '''p''' | Cyrillic uppercase/lowercase Pe |
| '''Ρ,''' '''ρ''' | ''Ro'' | /ʀ/ | '''r''' | Greek uppercase/lowercase Rho |
| '''С''', '''с''' | ''Se'' | /s/ | '''s''' | Cyrillic uppercase/lowercase Es |
| '''Τ''', '''τ''' | ''To'' | /t/ | '''t''' | Greek uppercase/lowercase Tau |
| '''Ћ''', '''ћ''' | ''Ťoť'' | /c/ | '''ť''' | Serbian Cyrillic uppercase/lowercase Tshe |
| '''Ц''', '''ц''' | ''Ciť'' | /ts/ | '''c''', '''ç''' | Cyrillic uppercase/lowercase Tse |
| '''Ч''', '''ч''' | ''Čať'' | /tʃ/ | '''č''' | Cyrillic uppercase/lowercase Che |
| '''Ш''', '''ш''' | ''Šo'' | /ʃ/ | '''š''' | Cyrillic uppercase/lowercase Sha |
| '''V''', '''ʋ''' | ''Üs'' | /y/ | '''ü''' | Latin uppercase V, Latin lowercase V with hook |
| '''ȣ''', '''ɤ''' | ''U'' | /u/ | '''u''' | Latin ''lowercase'' Ou ligature, Latin lowercase "rams horn" |
| '''Ф''', '''ф''' | ''Fe'' | /f/ | '''f''' | Cyrillic uppercase/lowercase Ef |
| '''X''', '''x''' | ''He'' | /x/ | '''h''' | Latin uppercase/lowercase X |
| '''W''', '''w''' | ''Vo'' | /v/ | '''v''' | Latin uppercase/lowercase W |

In the Europaico script, the sequences involving a 'palatal' consonant (the ones bearing a caron in the Latin orthography) and the vowel /e/ may be spelled as either the palatal followed by ''Eta'' or as the non-palatal version followed by ''Yeť'':
- ''Ďe'' ~ /ɟe/ might can be either '''đe''' or '''∂ε'''.
- ''Ňe'' /ɲe/ might can be either '''њe''' or '''ɴε'''.
- ''Ťe'' ~ /ce/ might can be either '''ћe''' or '''τε'''.
- ''Če'' ~ /tʃe/ might can be either '''чe''' or '''цε'''.
- ''Še'' ~ /ʃe/ might can be either '''шe''' or '''сε'''.

Both alternatives might be used indistinctly, a feature which would allow the script to suit each speaker's tastes better and which clearly wouldn't cause any problem down the road like problems with collation or the like.

Other than that, the letter ''Yeť'' is used exclusively for the /je/ diphthong, while ''Yota'' is used to represent the /j/ glide in other diphthongs.

== Grammar ==

=== Nouns ===

Whenever possible, Europaico nouns are taken from Slavic languages, especially Russian, Polish, Czech and Bosnio-Montenegrin. More widespread variants and more conservative forms are preferred, for instance the noun '''''slovo''''', 'word', preserves a /l/ sound that shifted to /w/ in Polish ''słowo'' /ˈswɔ.vɔ/, while Europaico's word for 'wheel' is '''''colo''''', which has cognates in Polish, Czech and Bosnio-Montenegrin among others, rather than a form like ''koleso'' which is restricted to Eastern Slavic languages like Ukrainian and Russian.

Sometimes an Europaico word will not exactly match any of its sources. For instance, the Europaico word for 'wolf' is '''''vulk''''', made as a compromise between various descendants of Proto-Slavic ''\''vьlkъ'', including Russian ''волк'' (volk), Polish ''wilk'', Czech ''vlk'' (with a syllabic L that is not allowed in Europaico) and Bosnio-Montenegrin ''vuk''.

In order to boost recognizability, words are borrowed without the final-consonant devoicing found in Polish and Russian, among others. For instance, the word for bread, written as ''chleb'' in Polish and as ''хлеб'' (''khlyeb'') in Russian but pronounced as /xlɛp/ and /xlʲep/ respectively, is borrowed into Europaico as '''''hlieb''''' pronounced /xljeb/ (it should be noted that the /b/ phoneme is found in other inflectional forms of the Polish and Russian words).

==== Gender ====

Slavic languages generally distinguish between three grammatical genders: feminine, masculine and neuter. This distinction (that doesn't necessarily match the natural/societal concepts of gender and animacy) is carried over into Europaico although in a somewhat simplified way. The gender of a singular noun in Europaico can usually be determined from its ending:

- Nouns ending in ''-o'' or ''-e'' are always '''neuter'''.
- Nouns ending in ''-a'' or in a palatal consonant (''č'', ''ď'', ''ň'', ''ť'' or ''š'') are always '''feminine'''.
- Nouns ending in a non-palatal consonant are always '''masculine'''.

Luckily, the association of ''-a'' to the feminine gender is widespread among Romance languages as well, while Catalan and written French share the tendency of having consonant-final masculine nouns.

Thus, ''hlieb'' (bread) can be recognized as masculine noun while ''colo'' (wheel) is a neuter noun, even though both refer to inanimate naturally genderless objects.

The grammatical gender of nouns ending in a vowel other than neuter ''-o'' and ''-e'' or feminine ''-a'' cannot be determined from its form. Such nouns are rare and can usually be explained as borrowings from other language families such as ''çunami'' from Japanese ''tsunami''. Then the gender of the word depends on how it was usually borrowed into Slavic languages. In this case of ''çunami'', we can find that the Japanese word was borrowed as neuter ''цуна́ми'' (''tsunámi'') in Russian, neuter ''tsunami'' in Polish, feminine ''tsunami'' in Czech and masculine ''cunámi'' in Bosnio-Montenegrin; as a result Europaico ''çunami'' was made neuter gender as the most common option among those four control language.

Some Slavic languages have at least some form of animacy marking on top of their three-wise gender system, often distinguishing between animate and inanimate masculine nouns in their grammar. This distinction is not found in Europaico.

==== Number ====

For the most part, European languages tend to use two different strategies for marking plural in nouns:
- Western Romance languages and, for whatever odd twist, also English generally form plurals by adding an ''-s'' suffix or ''-es'' suffix to the singular form, as in English ''house'', ''houses'' or the corresponding Spanish ''casa'', ''casas''.
- Southern and Eastern Romance languages (most notably Italian and Romanian) and Slavic languages form their plurals by altering the ending of the singular, as in Italian ''casa'', ''case'' or Bosnio-Montenegrin ''kȕća'', ''kȕće''.

Europaico is all about seeking consensus (aside from when it's not) so, naturally, it adopts both strategies. For instance, feminine nouns such as '''''zena''''' (woman) form their plural by both changing the final ''-a'' to ''-e'' and by adding a final ''-s'': '''''zenes''''' (women, coincidentally the resulting ''-a'' / ''-es'' alternation is also found in Catalan and Asturian).

At least, Europaico plurals are all regular being formed according to the following patterns:

| '''Gender''' | '''Singular ending''' | '''Plural ending''' | '''Example''' |
| ---------- | --------------------- | ----------------- | ----------------------------------------- |
| Masculine | Non-palatal consonant | '''''-is''''' | ''muz'' (man) →''muzis'' (men) |
| Feminine | Final '''''-a''''' | '''''-es''''' | ''zena'' (woman) → ''zenes'' (women) |
| Feminine | Palatal consonant | '''''-is''''' | ''noč'' (night) →''nočis'' (nights) |
| Neuter | Final '''''-e''''' | '''''-is''''' | ''ďeťe'' (child) →''ďeťis'' (children) |
| Neuter | Final '''''-o''''' | '''''-as''''' | ''miesto'' (city) → ''miestas'' (cities) |
| (Any) | Other vowels | '''''-s''''' | ''çunami'' (tsunami) → ''çunamis'' (tsunamis) |

Gender agreement marking in articles and adjectives does not distinguish between masculine and neuter nouns in the plural, grouping both into a plural 'common' class (generally presenting the suffix ''-is'') contrasting with the plural feminine class (with the ''-es'' prefix). This depends on the inherent lexical gender of the noun rather than its ending, ''nočis'' will still take feminine plural adjectives ending in ''-es'' despite having a final ''-is''.

==== Articles ====

As in (most) Romance languages, Europaico nouns will usually be preceded by an article, be it a definite one (like English ''the'') or an indefinite one (like English ''a'' / ''an'').

As in most European languages, articles agree with their nouns in gender and number.

Definite articles are taken from Romance languages with ''el'' and ''la'' in particular being identical to the corresponding singular masculine and feminine articles in Spanish, giving half a billion ''hispanohablantes'' a hint about what ''el muz'' (the man) might mean.

Most European languages with indefinite articles derive them from their word for the number 'one'. As Europaico derives numerals from Greek, its word for 'one' is ''ena'' (from Modern Greek ''ένα'') which casually happens not to be to different from its Germanic counterparts such as Dutch ''een'', German ''ein'' and Norwegian ''en'' (despite them not actually being cognates with the Greek word). This similarity is exploited in Europaico to create indefinite articles such as ''en'' in ''en muz'' (a man) which are structurally similar to Romance, but phonetically similar to Germanic. (This one feature seems sensible enough that it almost feels out of place in this conlang)

As in English and other Germanic languages, indefinite articles are not used in the plural, thus '(some) men' is rendered as simply ''muzis'' (rather than requiring a plural form of the indefinite article as in Spanish ''unos hombres'').

The resulting articles are as follows:

| Gender and number | Definite | Example | Indefinite | Example |
| ----------------------- | --------- | ----------------------- | ---------- | ------------------------ |
| '''Feminine, singular''' | '''''la''''' | ''la zena'' (the woman) | '''''ena''''' | ''ena zena'' (a woman) |
| '''Masculine, singular''' | '''''el''''' | ''el muz'' (the man) | '''''en''''' | ''en muz'' (a man) |
| '''Neuter, singular''' | '''''lo''''' | ''lo miesto'' (the city) | '''''eno''''' | ''eno miesto'' (a city) |
| '''Feminine, plural''' | '''''les''''' | ''les zenes'' (the women) | - | ''zenes'' (\[some\] women) |
| '''Common, plural''' | '''''lis''''' | ''lis muzis'' (the men) | - | ''muzis'' (\[some\] men) |

==== Possessives ====

As with number marking, there are a handful popular strategies for forming possessives in European languages, from simply using a preposition (like English ''of'' and Romance ''de'') to using a variety of suffixes corresponding to grammatical cases, often involving a final ''-s'' in Germanic languages (as in the English clitic '''s'').

Naturally, Europaico picks the best of both worlds (?) and forms possessives by preceding the noun with the preposition ''des'' (replacing the article, if any) and a suffix ''-s'' which, in order to avoid confusion with the final /s/ found in plural endings, must also be marked with an apostrophe like the English ''-'s'' clitic.

The possessive ''-'s'' suffix is applied without any regard to the shape of the previous word. This might yield unusual combinations such as ''des muz's'' (man's) with a /zs/ cluster which, in practice, speakers might end up simplifying to either /z/ or /s/ (even though, strictly speaking, an unreduced /zs/ cluster is prescribed) as well as sequences of multiple /s/ as in ''des muzis's'' (men's) which are not distinguished from a single /s/ (''muzis'' and ''muzis's'' will be pronounced identically as /ˈmu.zis/ or \[ˈmu.ʑis\]).

Possessives are placed ''after'' the noun they modified. For instance, ''lo ďeťe des zena's'' for "the child of the woman" / "the woman's child" (or '''a'' woman's child', as ''des'' might replace either definite or indefinite articles).

===== Non-canonical genitive case =====

While Europaico was never meant to have an extensive case system like those of most Slavic languages (a feature which would clash with the largely caseless Romance languages and the much more limited cases found in Germanic languages), the idea of preserving the Slavic genitive case at least was considered at various points in the development of the conlang. The results, however, ended up looking too much like a Slavic auxiliary language than a generic (though Euro-biased) auxlang, so these Slavic-like genitives where eventually replaced by the less unwieldy ''des + -'s'' possessives explained above.

Should anyone care for a non-canonical feature in what is already a ''fauxlang'', the resulting inflectional paradigms were something like this:

| '''Gender''' | '''Singular ending''' | `GEN`.`SG` | `GEN`.`PL` | Example |
| ---------- | --------------------- | ------------------- | ---------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Masculine | Non-palatal consonant | '''''-a''''' | '''''-ov''''' | ''muz'' → '''''muza''''' (man's) ''muzis'' → '''''muzov''''' (men's) |
| Feminine | Final '''''-a''''' | '''''-i''''' | -Ø | ''zena'' → '''''zeni''''' (woman's) ''zene'' → '''''zen''''' (women's) |
| Feminine | Palatal consonant | '''''-i''''' | '''''-i''''' | ''noč'' → '''''noči''''' (night's) ''nočis'' → '''''noči''''' (nights') |
| Neuter | Final '''''-e''''' | '''''-'''('''i''')'''a''''' | '''''-i''''' | ''ďeťe'' → '''''ďeťa''''' (child's) ''ďeťis'' → '''''ďeťi''''' (children's) |
| Neuter | Final '''''-o''''' | '''''-a''''' | -Ø | ''miesto'' → '''''miesta''''' (city's) ''miestas'' → '''''miest''''' (cities') |

Articles would also be inflected, although genitive forms for all articles weren't really decided before the idea was abandoned.

For an example, 'the nights of the city of the woman's children' would have been rendered as something like ''les nočis leu mista loro ďeťi lei zeni'' rather than canonical Europaico ''les nočis des misto's des ďeťis's des zena's''.

==== Personal names ====

It is recommended that personal names and surnames be adapted to Europaico both in orthography (such as respelling 'Michael' as ''Maiquel'' for ''Maiquel Zacson'' or as ''Mihael'' for ''Mihael Šumaher'') and in morphology - with masculine names and surnames being modified to end in a non-palatal consonant while feminine names must be adapted to end in either ''-a'' or in a palatal consonant.

Of course, names are often an important part of personal identity, so this could be pointed out to be a terrible idea. If you've been paying any attention to this, though, that shouldn't be particularly surprising.

Some recommended strategies for adapting names to include the right ending include:
- For anyone:
- Look at historical variants or foreign counterparts of the name. For instance, Spanish ''José'' might regain its historical /p/ (preserved in Catalan ''Josep'' and Italian ''Giuseppe'' among others) to become ''Hosep'', while an English ''Elizabeth'' might opt to go instead by ''Isabela'', after the Italian and Latin versions of her name.
- For women:
- Add ''-a'' or the very Slavic-esque ''-va'' to the end of your name.
- For instance ''Mary Sue'' might adapt her name as ''Marija Šuva''.
- Replace final alveolar letters with their palatal counterparts: ''Karen'' → ''Careň''.
- For men:
- Dropping final vowels might be an easy option: ''Enrico'' → ''Enric''.
- Add a very Slavic-like ''-v'', particularly for surnames ending in ''e'' or ''o'': ''Vito Corleone'' → ''Victor Corleonev''.
- Replace final palatal letters with their alveolar counterparts: ''Ivanovič'' → ''Ivanoviç'' (it turns out that Slavic names don't do all that well either).
- For non-binary people:
- Isn't there enough invisibilization of non-binary identities already for you to bother with a conlang with mandatory gender marking too? Keep your name of choice, use a neuter ending or do whatever else you want, suit yourself! Sorry in advance for past-tense verbs, though.

==== Placenames ====

Auxlangs tend to use one of two strategies when dealing with toponyms, none of which is without issues.

Perhaps the most common option among modern auxiliary languages is to use the name locals use for the place in their own language. This seems like a very reasonable thing to do (which, of course, precludes Europaico from doing it) although it has a few problems.
- First of all, the resulting names risk having little international recognizability. This can be easily exemplified with Austria and its capital, Vienna. While the Latin-esque names used in English have a good chance of being understood all around the world, the German names ''Österreich'' and ''Wien'' are considerably more obscure, and the need to adapt them to Europaico phonotactics would yield even less recognizable results such as ''\''Estaraič'' and ''\''Vin''.
- The very concept of using the local language presupposes that there ''is'' a local language, bringing a whole lot of complications:
- For starters, the scheme couldn't apply to uninhabited places like most of Antarctica, deserted islands or the State of Wyoming.
- Continents and regions comprising linguistically diverse nations will likely have a variety of possible names. For the most extreme example, consider the name given to the planet itself: if there was a language widely accepted enough to be used for naming Earth as a whole, then chances are that we should be using that instead of any auxlang.
- Last but not least, many nations, provinces and cities are multilingual, often bearing multiple local names. Picking the variant favored by most locals seems like an easy choice but there won't be always a clear 'most used language' (and, even if there currently is one, it would be liable to change over time). Furthermore, the choice of one name over the other could be socially and politically problematic, highlighting regional tensions and stir debates about the colonialism and the repression of minorities.

The second strategy, perhaps more common among earlier auxiliary languages, was to draw most names from a single source, usually an internationally 'prestigious' source such as English, French or Latin. This is the sort of reasoning that would suggest that we do indee pick internationally-recognizable names such as ''\''Austria'' and ''\''Viena'' for Austria and Vienna, where 'internationally-recognizable' means 'names speakers of major Western European languages are likely to have heard'. The colonialism undertones of that are problematic enough to stay away from that idea.

Fortunately, Europaico provides the ultimate solution for this sort of problem: all toponyms will be based on the names used in Czech. The Czech language is already phonetically close to Europaico, so distortions like the one found between German ''Österreich'' and ''\''Esteraič'' would be minimal. This solution completely sidesteps all linguistic and political issues with choosing a single 'local language' for each place and, with the Czech Republic lacking a colonial history, few people would question this choice on the basis of it being overly imperialistic (Slovaks might get a pass at it, but I am not aware of there ever being any Slovak placename which isn't the same in Czech).

Thus, Austria and Vienna, rather than having scarcely recognizable names such as ''\''Estaraič'' and ''\''Vin'' or potentially problematic names such as ''\''Austria'' and ''\''Viena'', will be known in Europaico as ''Racousco'' and ''Videň'', after the Czech names ''Rakousko'' and ''Vídeň'' respectively.

=== Adjectives ===

Adjectives are generally derived from Greek (with a preference for Ancient Greek forms, especially those found as prefixes in Greek-derived technical terminology). For instance, Europaico's word for 'large' is given as ''mego'' from Greek ''μέγας'' (megas).

Europaico Adjectives are required to agree with the corresponding noun in number and gender (although masculine and neuter forms are conflated into a single common gender) with the following endings:

| | '''Singular''' | '''Plural''' |
| -------------------------------- | ------------ | ---------- |
| '''Common''' (masculine or neuter) | '''''-o''''' | '''''-is''''' |
| '''Feminine''' | '''''-a''''' | '''''-es''''' |

Adjectives are generally placed after the respective noun in Europaico. Thus we'd find ''la zena mega'' for 'the large woman', ''el muz mego'' for 'the large man', ''les zenes megues'' for 'the large women' and ''lis muzis meguis'' for 'the large men'.

==== Adverbs ====

Adverbs in Europaico are typically placed after the verb or adjective they modify.

Europaico adjectives can be turned into adverbs by adding the suffix ''-ment'' to their singular feminine form as in ''megament'' for 'largely, greatly'.

=== Pronouns ===

Europaico pronouns are derived from Romance languages and feature contrasts common in that branch such as a case distinction between nominative and accusative forms and gender contrasts for plural pronouns.

| '''Person''' | '''Number''' | '''Gender''' | '''Nominative form''' | '''Accusative form''' | '''English equivalent''' |
| ---------- | ---------- | ---------- | ------------------- | ------------------- | ---------------------- |
| 1st | Sg. | Any | ''Ye'' | ''me'', ''m''' | I, me |
| 2nd | Sg. | Any | ''tü'' | ''te'', ''t''' | You (informal) |
| 2nd | Sg. | Any | ''Vi'' | ''Vi'' | You (formal) |
| 3rd | Sg. | Fem. | ''el'' | ''le'', ''l''' | She, her |
| 3rd | Sg. | Masc. | ''ela'' | ''la'' | He, him |
| 3rd | Sg. | Neu. | ''elo'' | ''lo'' | It |
| 1st | Pl. | Fem. | ''nes'' | ''ens'' | We |
| 1st | Pl. | Masc. | ''nis'' | ''nis'' | We |
| 1st | Pl. | Neu. | ''nis'' | ''ens'' | We |
| 2nd | Pl. | Fem. | ''ves'' | ''vi'' | You (plural), y'all |
| 2nd | Pl. | M/N | ''vis'' | ''vi'' | You (plural), y'all |
| 3rd | Pl. | Fem. | ''eles'' | ''els'' | They |
| 3rd | Pl. | Masc. | ''elis'' | ''lis'' | They |
| 3rd | Pl. | Neu. | ''elis'' | ''els'' | They |

Notes:
- As in English 'I', the nominative form of the first person pronoun ''Ye'' must always be capitalized.
- Accusative forms such as ''me'' drop the final ''-e'' when followed by a vowel-initial verb.
- A formality distinction is made between informal second person singular ''tü'' (corresponding to Spanish ''tú'', ''vos'', French ''tu'', Italian ''tu'', Russian ''ты'', etc) and formal ''Vi'' (corresponding to Spanish ''usted'', French ''vous'', Italian ''Lei'', Russian ''вы'', etc).
- As with French ''vous'', or Russian ''вы'', Europaico ''Vi'' takes second person plural verbforms, even though it is used for singular 'you'.
- As in Italian ''Lei'', the formal pronoun ''Vi'' is capitalized in all cases.

Europaico pronouns ''might'' optionally be dropped when in subject position. This hardly ever results in ambiguity as verbs conjugate to agree with their subject. Still, it is ''preferred'' to keep subject, even if redundant, for additional clarity, with pronoun ellipsis being more of a stylistic choice to avoid repetition.

==== Reflexive pronoun ''si'' ====

Europaico also includes a reflexive pronoun only found in accusative form: ''si'' (\[one\]self).

In Romance languages, reflexive pronouns are required when the same a third person referent appears as both the subject and the object of a verb as in Spanish ''él '''se''' ve'' (he sees himself), which contrasts wordings using the accusative form of the standard third person pronoun as in ''él '''lo''' ve'', which is interpreted instead as 'he sees ''him'' (a different person)'. Correspondingly, Europaico has ''el '''si''' sei'' for 'he sees himself' and ''el le sei'' for 'he sees him (someone else)'. Making this distinction is mandatory.

Slavic languages such as Russian go one step further in their usage of reflexive pronouns, requiring them whenever the object coincides with the subject, even for first or second person subjects. For instance, Russian would have ''я вижу '''себя''''' (''ya vizhu '''sebya''''') for 'I see myself', using the reflexive accusative pronoun ''себя'' instead of the first person form ''меня'', as in ''он видит '''меня''''' (''on vidit '''menya''''', he sees '''me'''). This contrasts with Romance usage, which restricts the reflexive pronoun to third person sentences, requiring the accusative first person pronoun both in ''yo '''me''' veo'' (I see myself) and in ''él '''me''' ve'' (he sees me). True to its Solomonic wisdom, Europaico allows both wordings to be used in that case: either Slavic-style ''ye si seic'' or Romance-style ''ye mi seic''.

These usages are summed up in the following table:

| '''Subject''' | '''Object''' | '''Usage of ''si''''' | '''Example''' | '''Translation''' |
| ------------ | ---------------------- | ----------------- | ----------------------------- | -------------------------- |
| Third person | Third person (same) | Required | ''El si sei'' | He sees himself |
| Third person | Third person (other) | Prohibited | ''El le sei'' | He sees him (someone else) |
| Other | Same as subject | Optional | ''Ye si seic'' / ''Ye mi sec'' | I see myself. |
| Other | Other than the subject | Prohibited | ''Ye li seic'' ''El mi sei'' | I see him. He sees me. |

==== Possessive pronouns ====

Each pronoun has an associated possessive which works in a similar way to an adjective, being placed after a noun and requiring agreement markers for the number and gender of the possessed object with the following suffixes:

| Gender | '''Singular''' | '''Plural''' |
| --------- | ------------ | ---------- |
| Feminine | ''-a'' | ''-es'' |
| Masculine | - | ''-is'' |
| Neuter | ''-o'' | ''-is'' |

For instance, we would have ''el muz min'' for 'my husband', ''la zena mina'' for 'my wife' and ''lo miesto mino'' for 'my city'. Possessive pronouns do not indicate the gender of the possessor thus ''lis ďeťis linis'' could correspond to English 'his children' or 'her children'.

| '''Pronoun''' | '''Possessive''' | '''English equivalent''' |
| ------------------ | -------------- | ---------------------- |
| ''Ye'' | ''min'' | my |
| ''tü'' | ''tin'' | your (informal) |
| ''Vi'' | ''Vin'' | your (formal) |
| ''el'', ''ela'', ''elo'' | ''lin'' | his, her, its |
| ''nes'', ''nis'' | ''nin'' | our |
| ''ves'', ''vis'' | ''vin'' | your, y'all's |
| ''eles'', ''elis'' | ''lor'' | their |
| ( ''si'' ) | ''sin'' | one's own |

The reflexive possessive ''sin'' is used to indicate possession by the subject, being mandatory when it refers to a third person and optional for the first or second person, much as discussed for accusative ''si''. For example:
- ''El sei lo miesto sino'' ~ He sees his \[own\] city.
- ''El sei lo miesto lino'' ~ He sees his \[someone else's\] city.
- ''Ye seic lo miesto mino'' / ''Ye seic lo miesto sino'' ~ I see my city.
- ''Ye seic lo miesto lino'' ~ I see his city.

=== Verbs ===

Europaico verbs are mostly derived from Germanic languages, especially English and German. Their conjugation, however, also incorporates elements from Romance and Slavic languages.

Germanic verbs commonly feature vowel alternations, often known as ''umlaut'', as found in English ''give / gave'' or their German cognates ''geben / gab''. As such a crucial element of Germanic verbs couldn't be left out, Europaico verbs will often feature two distinct stems, such as present-tense ''guiv-'' /ɡiv/ and past tense ''gav-'' /ɡav/ for the verb ''guiven'' (to give). Forms displaying umlaut are actively preferred over forms without alternations, for instance Europaico ''helpen'' (to help) has a past stem ''holp-'' reflecting Middle English ''help / holp / holpen'' instead of modern English regular ''help / helped / helped''.

==== Conjugation ====

Verbs are conjugated for person, number and tense in addition to having an infinitive form, two participles that declines for gender and number and two imperatives. Most Europaico verbs are regular although they still require the speaker to memorize separately their present and past-tense stems.

===== Non-finite forms =====

Infinitives take the present stem and a Germanic-like ''-en'' ending as in ''guiven'' for 'to give'. This form is used to refer to the action as a noun and is required by modal verbs such as ''canen'' (can, to be able to) and in the future-tense construction.

Europaico verbs may inflect for two kinds of participle: an active participle or a passive participle.

Active participles, formed by combining the present stem with the suffix ''-end'' and possibly other suffixes for marking gender and number. These participles operate as nouns or adjectives referencing the subject role of a verb, for instance ''lis guivendis'' translates to 'the ones that give' or 'the givers'. This form of participle isn't used particularly often.

Passive participles, on the other hand, are far more common in the language due to being required for forming non-imperfective past tense constructions. They are formed by combining the past stem with the Slavic-derived suffix ''-el'' as in ''gavel'' for 'given'. Less commonly, passive participles might also be used as adjectives or nouns for referencing the direct object role of their verb, as in ''el muz halpelo'' for 'the helped man, the man that received assistance'.

===== Indicative tenses =====

Europaico contrasts two moods: the indicative which covers most usages and the imperative, used only for issuing commands. This section focuses on the former, which accounts for the bulk of Europaico's verbal morphology, while the next section will cover the much simpler imperatives. Make sure to take time to thank whatever powers may be for Europaico not having a subjunctive mood as well.

Indicative verbs in Europaico might take four different tense-aspect combinations (referred as 'tenses' for simplicity), largely based on French:
- The '''present tense''' (`PRS`) matches English simple present and present continuous, being used for generic statements, habitual actions and events taking place in the present. For instance, ''ye '''singo''''' corresponds to either English 'I '''sing'''' or 'I '''am singing''''.
- The so-called '''imperfect tense''' (following a similar usage in Romance languages), more accurately described as imperfective past (`PST.IPFV`) is used to indicate events in the past that extended over a period of time, either due to it being a habitual, repeated action (as in ''ye '''sangueic''' kate den'' for 'I '''sang''' every day') or to indicate a prolonged activity that might be used to indicate a time frame for other actions (as in ''otan ye '''sangueic''''' for 'while I '''was singing'''').
- Europaico's '''past tense''' (`PST`) covers all other usages related to events in the past, being the most common way to translate English simple past and perfect tenses. The phrase ''ye '''au sanguel''''' covers English 'I '''sang'''' or 'I '''have sung'''' when referring to punctual events in the past.
- Finally, the '''future tense''' (`FUT`) is simply used for future events: ''ye '''guic singuen''''' corresponds to English 'I '''will sing'''' or ''I '''am goint to sing'''''.

As it can be observed from the examples, the '''present''' and '''imperfect''' tenses are formed by adding suffixes to the present and past stems of the verb (which, in the case of ''singuen'', 'to sing', are ''sing-'' and ''sang-'', after English 'sing' and 'sang'). These suffixes change depending on the subject, with verb endings inspired by French and Catalan conjugation \[while basing features in Catalan might seem an odd choice for an international language, it can be noted that due to its geographic position and history it sort of bridges the gap between Spanish and French, the two most spoken Romance languages\].

For a regular verb such as ''helpen'' (to help, present stem ''help-'', past stem ''holp-'', past auxiliary ''aven''), present ans imperfect forms are formed as follows:

| '''Subject''' | '''Present''' (`PRS`) | '''Imperfect''' (`PST.IPFV`) |
| --------------------------- | ------------------- | -------------------------- |
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) | ''helpo'' | ''holpeic'' |
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) | ''helpes'' | ''holpeis'' |
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) | ''helpe'' | ''holpei'' |
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) | ''helpens'' | ''holpeyens'' |
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) | ''helpeť'' | ''holpeyeť'' |
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) | ''helpen'' | ''holpeyen'' |

Note that verbs such as ''singuen'' present slight orthographic irregularities in their conjugation due to the sequences /ɡe/ and /ɡi/ requiring a silent ''u'' in the Latin orthography yielding ''singo'' for 'I sing' but ''sing'''u'''es'' for 'you sing' (still pronounced /ˈsin.ɡes/).

By contrast, the past and future tenses are constructed using an auxiliary verb, in a way that should be familiar to speakers of most Western European languages.

The '''past tense''' is formed with an auxiliary verb followed by a passive participle. Most verbs require the auxiliary ''aven'' (to have) which is followed by the base form of the participle (generally ending in ''-el'') as in ''ye '''au sanguel''''' for 'I sang / I have sung'. On the other hand, reflexive verbs, motion verbs and other verbs that relate to a change affecting the subject such as ''groven'' (to grow) require using ''seinen'' (to be) as their auxiliary, which must then be followed by a passive participle agreeing with the subject in gender and number. For instance, a male speaker would say ''ye '''sin forlesel''''' for 'I \[have\] left', whereas a female speaker would say ''ye '''sin forlesela'''''. This distinction parallels that of French verbs that form their past with ''être'' as their auxiliary followed by participles showing agreement (''Je suis parti'' / ''Je suis partie'') instead of the usual ''avoir'' auxiliary followed by invariable participles (''J'ai chanté''), which means that incorporating this feature to Europaico should make the language even easier to learn for the whole ''Francophonie''.

Only the present tense form of the auxiliaries is used for this purpose (there is no equivalent in Europaico to past perfect or pluperfect constructions such as English 'he had sung' or French ''« il avait chanté »''). With this fact in mind, past tense forms as exemplified with ''helpen'' (to help, past stem ''holp-'', auxiliary ''aven'') and ''comen'' (to come, past stem ''cam-'', auxiliary ''seinen) are as follows:

| '''Subject''' | '''''Helpen''''' | '''''Comen''''' (fem.) | '''''Comen''''' (masc.) | '''''Comen''''' (neu.) |
| --------------------------- | -------------- | ------------------ | ------------------- | ------------------ |
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) | ''au holpel'' | ''sin camela'' | ''sin camel'' | ''sin camelo'' |
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) | ''as holpel'' | ''es camela'' | ''es camel'' | ''es camelo'' |
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) | ''a holpel'' | ''is camela'' | ''is camel'' | ''is camelo'' |
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) | ''avens holpel'' | ''sins cameles'' | ''sins camelis'' | ''sins camelis'' |
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) | ''aveť holpel'' | ''seť cameles'' | ''seť camelis'' | ''seť camelis'' |
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) | ''an holpel'' | ''sin cameles'' | ''sin camelis'' | ''sin camelis'' |

Meanwhile, the '''future tense''' is formed with ''guien'' (to go) as an auxiliary verb followed by the infinitive form of the verb. The resulting wording, as in ''ye guic singuen'', matches English 'I am going to sing', Spanish ''"voy a cantar"'' and French ''« je vais chanter »'' among others, making this a fairly sensible for a once. As an example, the future tense forms of ''helpen'' are as follows:

| '''Subject''' | '''Future''' (`FUT`) |
| --------------------------- | ------------------ |
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) | ''guic helpen'' |
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) | ''guis helpen'' |
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) | ''gui helpen'' |
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) | ''guens helpen'' |
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) | ''gueť helpen'' |
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) | ''guen helpen'' |

In principle, it would be possible to combine the constructions for past and future tenses in order to refer to things that ''were'' going to happen but perhaps didn't (''\''ye au gal helpen'' for 'I was going to help') or things that are will ''have'' happened by a certain point. (''\''ye guic aven holpel''). Whether such constructions would actually be permitted in Europaico is intentionally left ambiguous, although anyone willing to use them probably should also allow pluperfect tenses such as ''\''\''ye au adel holpel'' for 'I had sung' after all. If you'd rather keep things simple, ignoring this whole paragraph (if not the article as a whole) might be a better option.

===== Imperatives =====

Verbs in the imperative are considerably simpler presenting only two forms: a 'singular imperative' issuing a command to a single listener (''tü'', you) and a 'plural imperative' giving and order to multiple listeners (''vis/ves'', you guys, you all, y'all, youse, etc). However, the fact that Europaico uses ''Vi'', a variant of the second person plural pronouns, as a formal second person ''singular'' pronoun, sets things askew as the 'plural imperative' will also be required in this case.

For regular verbs such as ''helpen'', imperatives are formed by combining the present stem with the suffix ''-i'' for singular or ''-iť'' for plural imperatives:

| '''Subject number''' | '''Formality''' | '''Imperative''' |
| ------------------ | ------------- | -------------- |
| Singular | Informal | ''helpi'' |
| Singular | Formal | ''helpiť'' |
| Plural | Any | ''helpiť'' |

While not mandatory, subjects are typically omitted in imperative sentences; ''Me helpi!'' would be a more common wording for 'Help me!' than ''Tü me helpi!''. Using a explicit pronoun might be required to resolve ambiguity in cases where it is unclear whether a plural imperative was given to a single person (addressed with formal ''Vi'') within a group or to the group as a whole (second person plural ''vis'' or ''ves'').

Unlike Romance languages where true imperatives are generally restricted to positive commands (compare Spanish imperative mood ''"¡Ayuda!"'' for 'Help!' but subjunctive "''¡No ayudes!''" for 'Don't help!'), Europaico imperatives interact normally with negative markers as in ''Ne helpi niť!'' for 'Don't help!'.

While imperatives can only be formed for second person subjects, constructions about mandatory or suggested actions for other subjects can be expressed using modal verbs such as ''lesen'' (let) or ''musten'' (must):
- ''El muste te helpen!'' - He must help you!
- ''Ens lesens helpen!'' - Let's help!

==== Irregular verbs ====

One of the key reasons someone might opt to adopt an auxiliary constructed language rather than a natlang is that auxlangs typically shy away from irregular verbs in order to be easier to learn. Accordingly, it would be an extremely dubious move for an auxlang to feature irregular verbs.

Europaico features irregular verbs. These verbs can be divided into two classes: semi-vocalic verbs such as ''groven'' (to grow) and ''seyen'' (to see) whose conjugation show clear commonalities characterized by the alternation of a vocalic stem (''grou-'' and ''sei-'') and a consonant stem (''grov-'', ''sey-'') and fully irregular verbs where all patterns should be put into question.

===== Semi-vocalic verbs =====

Verbs in this class generally feature stems which end in a ''v'' or ''y'' (as found in ''groven'' and ''seyen'', respectively) which would result in valid diphthongs (''ai'', ''au'', ''ei'', ''eu'', ''oi'', ''ou'' or ''ui'') should we replace the ''v'' /v/ for an ''u'' /u/ or the ''y'' /j/ for an ''i'' /i/.

The verb ''seyen'' (to see) proves to be a particularly fitting example as it features semi-vocalic stems both in the present tense (''sey-''/''sei-'') and in the past tense (''sav-''/''sau-''), although the latter doesn't affect the paradigm much.

| '''Infinitive''' | ''seyen'' |
| ------------------------ | --------- |
| '''Past tense auxiliary''' | ''aven'' |
| '''Active participle''' | ''seyendo'' |
| '''Passive participle''' | ''savel'' |
| '''Imperative''' (''tü'') | ''sei'' |
| '''Imperative''' (''Vi'') | ''seyeť'' |

| '''Subject''' | '''Present''' (`PRS`) | '''Imperfect''' (`PST.IPFV`) | '''Past''' (`PST`) | '''Future '''(`FUT`) |
| --------------------------- | ------------------- | -------------------------- | ---------------- | ------------------ |
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) | ''seic'' | ''saveic'' | ''au savel'' | ''guic seyen'' |
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) | ''seis'' | ''saveis'' | ''as savel'' | ''guis seyen'' |
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) | ''sei'' | ''savei'' | ''a savel'' | ''gui seyen'' |
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) | ''seyens'' | ''saveyens'' | ''avens savel'' | ''guens seyen'' |
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) | ''seyeť'' | ''saveyeť'' | ''aveť savel'' | ''gueť seyen'' |
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) | ''seyen'' | ''saveyen'' | ''an savel'' | ''guen seyen'' |

Forms for other semi-vocalic verbs can be constructed replacing ''sei-'' and ''sey-'' for the appropriate vocalic and consonant stems for the present, and ''sav-'' for the appropriate past stem, with the sole exception that ''Vi'' imperatives take the suffix ''-iť'' for verbs for stems ending in ''v'' as in ''groviť'' for 'Grow!' (the form ending in ''-eť'' found in ''seyeť'', 'See!', is a result of Europaico's phonotactic restriction disallowing /ji/).

===== Fully irregular verbs =====

Fully irregular verbs include ones used as auxiliaries as ''seinen'' (to be, also marks past tense for reflexive verbs), ''aven'' (to have, also marks past tense for non-reflexive verbs) and ''guien'' (to go, also marks future tense), modal verbs such as ''canen'' (can, to be able) and ''musten'' (must, to have to) and also a few content verbs such as ''esen'' (to eat).

====== ''aven'' (to have, `PST` marker) ======

| '''Infinitive''' | ''aven'' |
| ------------------------ | -------- |
| '''Past tense auxiliary''' | ''aven'' |
| '''Active participle''' | ''abendo'' |
| '''Passive participle''' | ''adel'' |
| '''Imperative''' (''tü'') | ''avi'' |
| '''Imperative''' (''Vi'') | ''aviť'' |

| '''Subject''' | '''Present''' (`PRS`) | '''Imperfect''' (`PST.IPFV`) | '''Past''' (`PST`) | '''Future '''(`FUT`) |
| --------------------------- | ------------------- | -------------------------- | ---------------- | ------------------ |
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) | ''au'' | ''adeic'' | ''au adel'' | ''guic aven'' |
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) | ''as'' | ''adeis'' | ''as adel'' | ''guis aven'' |
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) | ''a'' | ''adei'' | ''a adel'' | ''gui aven'' |
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) | ''avens'' | ''adens'' | ''avens adel'' | ''guens aven'' |
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) | ''aveť'' | ''adeť'' | ''aveť adel'' | ''gueť aven'' |
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) | ''an'' | ''aden'' | ''an adel'' | ''guen aven'' |

====== ''canen'' (can, to be able) ======

| '''Infinitive''' | ''canen'' |
| ------------------------ | --------------------------- |
| '''Past tense auxiliary''' | (depends on following verb) |
| '''Active participle''' | ''canendo'' |
| '''Passive participle''' | ''conel'' |
| '''Imperative''' (''tü'') | ''cani'' |
| '''Imperative''' (''Vi'') | ''caniť'' |

| '''Subject''' | '''Present''' (`PRS`) | '''Imperfect''' (`PST.IPFV`) | '''Past''' (`PST`) | '''Future '''(`FUT`) |
| --------------------------- | ------------------- | -------------------------- | ---------------- | ------------------ |
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) | ''canc'' | ''coneic'' | ''au conel'' | ''guic seyen'' |
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) | ''cans'' | ''coneis'' | ''as conel'' | ''guis seyen'' |
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) | ''can'' | ''conei'' | ''a conel'' | ''gui seyen'' |
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) | ''canens'' | ''coneyens'' | ''avens conel'' | ''guens seyen'' |
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) | ''caneť'' | ''coneyeť'' | ''aveť conel'' | ''gueť seyen'' |
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) | ''canen'' | ''coneyen'' | ''an conel'' | ''guen seyen'' |

====== ''doen'' (to do) ======

| '''Infinitive''' | ''canen'' |
| ------------------------ | -------- |
| '''Past tense auxiliary''' | ''aven'' |
| '''Active participle''' | ''doendo'' |
| '''Passive participle''' | ''del'' |
| '''Imperative''' (''tü'') | ''doi'' |
| '''Imperative''' (''Vi'') | ''doiť'' |

| '''Subject''' | '''Present''' (`PRS`) | '''Imperfect''' (`PST.IPFV`) | '''Past''' (`PST`) | '''Future '''(`FUT`) |
| --------------------------- | ------------------- | -------------------------- | ---------------- | ------------------ |
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) | ''doc'' | ''deic'' | ''au dnel'' | ''guic doen'' |
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) | ''does'' | ''deis'' | ''as del'' | ''guis doen'' |
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) | ''doe'' | ''dei'' | ''a del'' | ''gui doen'' |
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) | ''doens'' | ''deyens'' | ''avens del'' | ''guens doen'' |
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) | ''doeť'' | ''deyeť'' | ''aveť del'' | ''gueť doen'' |
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) | ''doen'' | ''deyen'' | ''an del'' | ''guen doen'' |

====== ''esen'' (to eat) ======

| '''Infinitive''' | ''esen'' |
| ------------------------ | -------- |
| '''Past tense auxiliary''' | ''aven'' |
| '''Active participle''' | ''esendo'' |
| '''Passive participle''' | ''atel'' |
| '''Imperative''' (''tü'') | ''esi'' |
| '''Imperative''' (''Vi'') | ''esiť'' |

| '''Subject''' | '''Present''' (`PRS`) | '''Imperfect''' (`PST.IPFV`) | '''Past''' (`PST`) | '''Future '''(`FUT`) |
| --------------------------- | ------------------- | -------------------------- | ---------------- | ------------------ |
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) | ''esc'' | ''ateic'' | ''au atel'' | ''guic esen'' |
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) | ''ets'' | ''ateis'' | ''as atel'' | ''guis esen'' |
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) | ''et'' | ''atei'' | ''a atel'' | ''gui esen'' |
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) | ''esens'' | ''ateyens'' | ''avens atel'' | ''guens esen'' |
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) | ''eseť'' | ''ateyeť'' | ''aveť atel'' | ''gueť esen'' |
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) | ''esen'' | ''ateyen'' | ''an atel'' | ''guen esen'' |

====== ''guien'' (to go, to walk, `FUT` marker) ======

| '''Infinitive''' | ''canen'' |
| ------------------------ | -------- |
| '''Past tense auxiliary''' | ''seinen'' |
| '''Active participle''' | ''guendo'' |
| '''Passive participle''' | ''gal'' |
| '''Imperative''' (''tü'') | ''gui'' |
| '''Imperative''' (''Vi'') | ''guiť'' |

| '''Subject''' | '''Present''' (`PRS`) | '''Imperfect''' (`PST.IPFV`) | '''Past''' (`PST`) | '''Future '''(`FUT`) |
| --------------------------- | ------------------- | -------------------------- | ---------------- | ------------------ |
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) | ''guic'' | ''gaic'' | ''sin gal'' | ''guic guien'' |
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) | ''guis'' | ''gais'' | ''es gal'' | ''guis guien'' |
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) | ''gui'' | ''gai'' | ''is gal'' | ''gui guien'' |
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) | ''guens'' | ''gayens'' | ''sins galis'' | ''guens guien'' |
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) | ''gueť'' | ''gayeť'' | ''seť galis'' | ''gueť guien'' |
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) | ''guen'' | ''gayen'' | ''sin galis'' | ''guen guien'' |

====== ''lesen'' (to leave, to let, to allow) ======

| '''Infinitive''' | ''lesen'' |
| ------------------------ | --------------------------- |
| '''Past tense auxiliary''' | (depends on following verb) |
| '''Active participle''' | ''lesendo'' |
| '''Passive participle''' | ''lasel'' |
| '''Imperative''' (''tü'') | ''lesi'' |
| '''Imperative''' (''Vi'') | ''lesiť'' |

| '''Subject''' | '''Present''' (`PRS`) | '''Imperfect''' (`PST.IPFV`) | '''Past''' (`PST`) | '''Future '''(`FUT`) |
| --------------------------- | ------------------- | -------------------------- | ---------------- | ------------------ |
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) | ''lesc'' | ''laseic'' | ''au lasel'' | ''guic lesen'' |
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) | ''lets'' | ''laseis'' | ''as lasel'' | ''guis lesen'' |
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) | ''let'' | ''lasei'' | ''a lasel'' | ''gui lesen'' |
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) | ''lesens'' | ''laseyens'' | ''avens lasel'' | ''guens lesen'' |
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) | ''leseť'' | ''laseyeť'' | ''aveť lasel'' | ''gueť lesen'' |
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) | ''lesen'' | ''laseyen'' | ''an lasel'' | ''guen lesen'' |

====== ''musten'' (must, to have to) ======

| '''Infinitive''' | ''musten'' |
| ------------------------ | --------------------------- |
| '''Past tense auxiliary''' | (depends on following verb) |
| '''Active participle''' | ''mustendo'' |
| '''Passive participle''' | ''mostel'' |
| '''Imperative''' (''tü'') | - |
| '''Imperative''' (''Vi'') | - |

| '''Subject''' | '''Present''' (`PRS`) | '''Imperfect''' (`PST.IPFV`) | '''Past''' (`PST`) | '''Future '''(`FUT`) |
| --------------------------- | ------------------- | -------------------------- | ---------------- | ------------------ |
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) | ''musto'' | ''mosteic'' | ''au mosel'' | ''guic musten'' |
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) | ''musts'' | ''mosteis'' | ''as mosel'' | ''guis musten'' |
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) | ''must'' | ''mostei'' | ''a mosel'' | ''gui musten'' |
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) | ''mustens'' | ''mosteyens'' | ''avens mosel'' | ''guens musten'' |
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) | ''musteť'' | ''mosteyeť'' | ''aveť mosel'' | ''gueť musten'' |
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) | ''musten'' | ''mosteyen'' | ''an mosel'' | ''guen musten'' |

====== ''seinen'' (to be, PST marker) ======

| '''Infinitive''' | ''seinen'' |
| ------------------------ | -------- |
| '''Past tense auxiliary''' | ''seinen'' |
| '''Active participle''' | ''sindo'' |
| '''Passive participle''' | ''bül'' |
| '''Imperative''' (''tü'') | ''bi'' |
| '''Imperative''' (''Vi'') | ''biť'' |

| '''Subject''' | '''Present''' (`PRS`) | '''Imperfect''' (`PST.IPFV`) | '''Past''' (`PST`) | '''Future '''(`FUT`) |
| --------------------------- | ------------------- | -------------------------- | ---------------- | ------------------ |
| ''Ye'' (`1s`) | ''sin'' | ''seineic'' | ''sin bül'' | ''guic seinen'' |
| ''Tü'' (`2s`) | ''es'' | ''seineis'' | ''es bül'' | ''guis seinen'' |
| ''El, ela, elo'' (`3s`) | ''is'' | ''seinei'' | ''is bül'' | ''gui seinen'' |
| ''Nis, nes'' (`1p`) | ''sins'' | ''seineyens'' | ''sins bülis'' | ''guens seinen'' |
| ''Vi, vis, ves'' (`2s`, `2p`) | ''seť'' | ''seineyeť'' | ''seť bülis'' | ''gueť seinen'' |
| ''Elis, eles'' (`3p`) | ''sin'' | ''seineyen'' | ''sin bülis'' | ''guen seinen'' |

=== Syntax ===

Europaico's syntax is relatively simple, with no real surprises. As I was able to restrain myself from adding grammatical case to this conlang, Europaico requires an `SVO` word order.

Adjectives and adverbs generally follow the words they modify, although the opposite order is allowed as a stylistic variant, generally as a way to emphasize the descriptor. For instance, 'the big city' will be generally given as ''lo miesto mego'' (literally 'the city big'), although ''lo mego miesto'' ('the big city') is also allowed but much rarer.

Similarly, Europaico allows for pronouns in subject-position to be dropped, but this is a poetic or otherwise stylistic choice not generally found in the standard form of the language. Thus ''Ye te seic'' would be the usual way of translating 'I see you' even though simply saying ''te seic'' would also constitute a valid option.

==== Negatives ====

European languages generally express negation through the inclusion of a negative particle, typically found before the verb (as in Spanish ''no'', Greek ''δεν'' and Polish ''nie'') although some languages place this particle after the verb instead (German ''nicht'', Danish ''ikke'') while French traditionally combines both options, with the particle ''ne'' being required before the verb and ''pas'' after it.

Naturally, Europaico, in its heroic quest to become as accessible as possible to speakers of all its source languages, takes the French approach, with French and Slavic-based ''ne'' being required before the verb and any clitics (such as accusative pronouns) and German-based ''niť'' after the verb. Thus the negative form of ''Ye te helpo'' (I help you) is ''Ye ne te helpo niť'' (I don't help you).

Double negatives are allowed, retaining their negative sense. For instance 'I never help you' will be generally expressed by adding the adverb ''mai'' (never) to the negative wording as given above: ''Ye ne te helpo niť mai'', while the similarly constructed ''Ye ne te guic lesen niť mai'' could be interpreted as "I will never give up on you".

==== Questions ====

Polar questions (those who ask for a yes-no confirmation) may be formed simply by adding the particle ''que'' at the beginning of the sentence. Verb-subject inversion (resulting in a `VSO` word order) is optionally allowed for these questions thus 'Am I helping you?' might be expressed either as ''Que ye te helpo?'' or as ''Que te helpo ye?'' without any change in meaning.

Such questions will generally be answered with particles meaning 'yes' and 'no' which in Europaico are ''ne'' and ''oquei'' respectively, taken from Greek ''ναι'' and ''όχι'' respectively. Learners should take notice that ''ne'' means 'yes', despite it being otherwise identical to the negative particle ''ne''. Similarly, the negative answer ''oquei'' should not be confused with English-derived ''okey'' (OK), which might also be borrowed into the language.

Content questions are formed using interrogative pronouns or adverbs similar to the English wh-words including ''cuo'' (who), ''cue'' (what), ''cuando'' (when), ''cuon'' (where), ''cuomo'' (how) and ''cuare'' (why). Questions formed using these interrogatives do not require the marker ''que''. These content interrogatives might be optionally fronted to the beginning of the sentence or left in their natural place in the sentence, so 'who are you helping?' might be expressed either as ''Cuo tü helpes?'' or as ''Tü helpes cuo?''.

=== Relative clauses ===

Europaico's relative clauses follow the noun they describe (the antecedent) as is the norm among European languages. Their structure, largely modeled off French, varies slightly depending on the role the antecedent has within the relative clause.

When the antecedent works as a subject within the relative clause, it will be introduced with the relative pronoun '''''qui''''' as in ''« lo ďeťe, qui singue »'' for 'the kid that sings'.

As in German, relative clauses tend to adopt a verb-final structure meaning that direct objects such as ''« el hlieb »'' ~ 'the bread' in phrases such as 'the man who eats the bread' will appear before the verb (''el muz, qui el hlieb et'') even though it would usually follow the verb in other contexts (as in ''el muz et el hlieb'' for 'the man eats the bread'). Arguably, this has the advantage of delimiting the relative clause more clearly.

Relative clauses where the antecedent works as a direct object use the relative pronoun '''''que''''' instead. Due to Europaico's verb-final word order for relative clauses, the usage of the correct relative pronoun might be the only element that indicates the role of the antecedent within the relative clause; compare for instance ''« les zenes, '''que''' lis muzis seyen »'' (the women who the men see) and ''« les zenes, '''qui''' lis muzis seyen »'' (the women who see the men).

Clauses where the antecedent takes in a different syntactic role within the relative clause require the pronoun ''qui'' preceded by a preposition such as locative ''na'' (in, at) in the phrase ''lo miesto, '''na qui''' je vono'' (the city '''where''' I live).

Europaico's orthography requires relative phrases to be surrounded by commas as it is also the case in German and Russian orthography among others.

== Numerals ==

Europaico numerals have been designed to facilitate international communication with the same utmost care present in the rest of the language.

In a rare display of goodwill, Europaico's numerals are not inflected for gender nor any other category, although it should be noted that the numeral for 'one' coincides with the feminine form of the indefinite article which ''is'' inflected for number.

Digits are mostly borrowed from Greek, although influences from other languages is also present:

| Number | Europaico numeral | Notes |
| ------ | ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| '''0''' | ''zero'' | Internationalism. |
| '''1''' | ''ena'' | From Greek ''ένα'', also similar to German ''ein''. Identical to the feminine form of the indefinite article ''en/ena/eno''. |
| '''2''' | ''düs'' | From the Greek-based prefix ''di-'', its source the Ancient Greek adverb ''δῐ́ς'', Albanian ''dy'' and Romance words such as Spanish ''dos'' and Portuguese ''dois''. |
| '''3''' | ''tris'' | From the Greek-based prefix ''tri-'' and words for 'three' in multiple Indo-European languages from Europe. |
| '''4''' | ''quear'' | From Manx Gaelic ''kiare'' /kʲeːə(r)/ which somehow resembles cognates such as French ''quatre''. Despite the fact that Romance, Slavic and Germanic words for 'four' ultimately share the same Indo-European root ''\''kʷetwóres'', modern reflexes have diverged so much that one could scarcely find common ground among them. Since Europaico was severely lacking in Celtic representation, a Manx Gaelic word was chosen, an obvious choice obeying to the Isle of Man position between the territories of Goidelic and Brittonic languages. |
| '''5''' | ''pinta'' | Mainly from the Greek-based prefix ''penta-'' although also influenced by the ''i'' found in Romance words for 'fifth' such as ''quinta'' (found in Portuguese, Spanish, Catalan and Italian among others). |
| '''6''' | ''secsa'' | From the Greek-based prefix ''hexa-'', its Latin counterpart ''sex(a)-'' and many words for 'six' in Indo-European languages including German ''sechs''. |
| '''7''' | ''septa'' | A similar derivation to that from ''secsa'', inspired by the prefixes ''hepta-'', ''sept(a)-'' and various words for 'seven' or 'seventh' (such as Spanish ''séptimo''). |
| '''8''' | ''octa'' | From the Greek and Latin-based prefixes ''octo-/octa-''. The form with a final ''-a'' was chosen to agree with the previous numerals. |
| '''9''' | ''nona'' | From the Latin prefix ''nona-'', keeping the pattern from previous numerals. |

Europaico's word for '''10''' is ''deç'', a word inspired both by Romance forms of the numeral (such as Spanish ''diez'', Portuguese ''dez'' and Occitan ''dètz'') and by Slavic cognates such as Czech ''deset'', Ukrainian ''де́сять'' and Macedonian ''де́сет''.

Numerals from '''11''' to '''19''' are regularly formed by adding the suffix ''-nast'' (taken from Slavic sources) to the digit for the units position: ''enanast'', ''düsnast'', ''trisnast'' through ''nonanast''.

Words for multiples of ten from '''20''' to '''90''' are formed by suffixing ''-deç'' to the appropriate digit, from ''düsdeç'' for twenty to ''nonadeç'' for ninety. Unfortunately, this means that French-speakers learning this language will have to do some math to work out that the numeral for ninety is formed as ''nonadeç'' rather than something that would come more naturally to them such as ''\''\''quear-düsdeç-deç''.

On the other hand, in order to make the language more accessible to German and Polish speakers, among others, other numbers below 100 are formed placing the units ''before'' the tens, as in ''quear düsdeç'' for 24 (literally 'four \[and\] twenty').

All other positions are formed as in English, with the higher positions coming up first, each formed by a digit numeral followed by a SI-based term for the power of ten as in ''ena hecto'' for 100 (literally one hundred) or ''ena quilo düs hecto quear trisdeç'' for 1234 (literally one thousand two hundred four thirty).

Ordinals might be formed adding the suffix ''-ico'' to a number as in ''secsaico'' for 'sixth'.

== Examples ==

=== Sample sentences ===

The following are a set of sample sentences designed to showcase aspects of the Europaico grammar. These are given in the Europaico and Latin alphabets along with an IPA phonemic transcription.

> '''Eɴ мɤz кaı eɴa zeɴa гaεɴ.'''
> '''''En muz cai ena zena gayen.'''''
> /en muz kai̯ ˈe.na ˈze.na ˈɡa.jen/
> ''en muz cai ena zena gayen''
> INDF.SG.M man and INDF.SG.F woman go.IPF.3p
> '''A man and a woman were walking.'''

> '''Ke сeεɴ ʌeс zeɴeс ʌıс мɤzıс?'''
> '''''Que seyen les zenes lis muzis?'''''
> /ke ˈse.jen les ˈze.nes lis ˈmu.zis/
> ''que seyen les zen-es lis muz-is''
> INT see.PRS.3p DEF.PL.F woman-PL.F DEF.PL.C man-PL.C
> '''Do the women see the men?'''

> '''Є ɴe τ’aɤ гaweʌ ɴıћ eʌ кaмeɴ бaρo.'''
> '''''Ye ne t’au gavel niť el camen baro.'''''
> /je ne tau̯ ɡaˈvel nic el ˈka.men ˈba.ʀo/
> ''ye ne te au gav-el niť el camen bar-o''
> 1s NEG 2.ACC PST.1s give.PST-PTCP NEG DEF.SG.M stone heavy-SG.C
> I didn’t give you the heavy stone.

> '''Λa oсoбa, кe τʋ aс сaweʌ, фaɴгe ʌa пτıцa, кı ʌıс ∂ʋс đeћıс мıɴıс a фaɴ∂eʌ.'''
> '''''La osoba, que tü as savel, fangue la ptiça, qui lis düs ďeťis minis a fandel.'''''
> /la oˈso.ba ke ty as saˈvel ˈfaŋ.ɡe la ˈpti.tsa ki lis dys ˈɟe.cis ˈmi,nis a fanˈdel/
> ''la osoba que tü as sav-el fang-e la ptiça''
> DEF.SG.F person REL.OBL 2s PST.2s see.PST-PTCP catch-PRS.3s DEF.SG.F bird
> ''qui lis düs ďeť-is min-is a fand-el''
> REL.NOM DEF.PL.C two child-PL.C 1s.POS-PL.C PST.3s find.PST-PTCP
> '''The person you saw is catching the bird that found my two children.'''

=== Schleicher's Fable ===

Schleicher's Fable is a common sample text used by many of the best and most serious linguists in the world. In order to even things out, we'll use it for Europaico as well.

The text of the fable, in English, is as follows:

> '''The Sheep and the Horses'''
>
>On a hill, sheep that had no wool saw horses, one of them pulling a heavy wagon, one carrying a big load, and one carrying a man quickly.
>
>The sheep said to the horses: "My heart pains me, seeing a man driving horses."
>
>The horses said: "Listen, sheep, our hearts pain us when we see this: a man, the master, makes the wool of the sheep into a warm garment for himself. And the sheep has no wool."
>
>Having heard this, the sheep fled into the plain.

The Europaico translation in the Europaico script is as follows:

> '''Λa Owцa кaı ʌıс Koɴıс'''
>
> Eпı eɴ пaгoρeк, eɴa owцa, кı wɤʌɴa ɴe a∂eı ɴıћ, a сaweʌ кoɴıс: eɴ кoɴ кı τρoкeı eɴ woz бaρo, eɴ кoɴ кı бoρeı eɴa τowaρa мeгa кaı eɴ кoɴ кı бoρeı τaкaмeɴτ eɴ мɤz.
>
> Λa owцa a сaгeʌ пρo кoɴıс: « Λo сeρцe мıɴo мe ∂oe бoʌ сeεɴ∂o eɴ мɤz кı ∂ρıwe кoɴıс ».
>
> Λıс кoɴıс aɴ сaгeʌ: « Owцa, ʌıсτı! Λıс сeρцıс мıɴıс ɴıс ∂oeɴ бoʌ кɤaɴ∂o ɴıс сeεɴс кeсτo: eɴ мɤz, eʌ гoспo∂aρ, weρaɴ∂eρe ʌa wɤʌɴa ∂eс owцa'с ɴa eɴ пʌaшτ τeρмo пρo сı. Kaı ɴɤɴ ʌa owцa ɴ'a ɴıћ wɤʌɴa. »
>
> Λa owцa a xeρeʌ кeсτo кaı ıс фʌoxeʌa ɴa ʌa ρowɴıɴa.

In the Latin alphabet:

> '''La Ovça cai lis Conis'''
>
>Epi en pagorec, ena ovça, qui vulna ne adei niť, a savel conis: en con qui troquei en voz baro, en con qui borei ena tovara mega cai en con qui borei tacament en muz.
>
>La ovça a sagel pro conis: « Lo serce mino me doe bol seyendo en muz qui drive conis ».
>
>Lis conis an sagel: « Ovça, listi! Lis sercis minis nis doen bol cuando nis seyens questo: en muz, el gospodar, verandere la vulna des ovça's na en plašt termo pro si. Cai nun la ovça n'a niť vulna. »
>
> La ovça a herel questo cai is flohela na la rovnina.

Interlinear glosses and phonetic transcriptions are given in the following section.

==== Glosses ====

> '''''La Ovça cai lis Conis'''''
> /la ˈov.tsa kai̯ lis ˈko.nis/
> ''la ovça cai lis con-is''
> DEF.SG.F sheep and DEF.PL.C horse-PL.C
> '''The Sheep and the Horses'''

> '''''Epi en pagorec, ena ovça, qui vulna ne adei niť, a savel conis:'''''
> /ˈe.pi en pa.ɡoˈʀrek ˈe.na ˈov.tsa ki ˈvul.na ne aˈdei̯ nic a saˈvel ˈko.nis/
> ''epi en pagorec ena ovça qui vulna ne ad-ei niť''
> on INDF.SG.M hill INDF.SG.F sheep REL.NOM wool NEG have.PST-.IPF.3s NEG
> ''a savel con-is''
> PST.3s see.PTCP horse-PL.C
> '''On a hill, sheep that had no wool saw horses'''

> '''''en con qui troquei en voz baro,'''''
> /en kon ki tʀoˈkei̯ en voz ˈba.ʀo/
> ''en con qui troc-ei en voz bar-o''
> INDF.SG.M horse REL.NOM pull.PST-IPF.3s INDF.SG.M cart heavy-SG.C
> '''a horse that pulled a heavy wagon'''

> '''''en con qui borei ena tovara mega'''''
> /en kon ki boˈʀei̯ ˈe.na toˈva.ʀa ˈme.ɡa/
> ''en con qui bor-ei ena tovara meg-a''
> INDF.SG.M horse REL.NOM carry.PST-IPF.3s INDF.SG.F burden big-SG.F
> '''a horse that carried a big load'''

> '''''cai en con qui borei tacament en muz.'''''
> /kai̯ en kon ki boˈʀei̯ ta.kaˈment en muz/
> ''cai en con qui bor-ei taca-ment en muz''
> and INDF.SG.M horse REL.NOM carry.PST-IPF.3s fast-ADV INDF.SG.M man
> '''a horse that carried a man quickly.'''

> '''''La ovça a sagel pro conis:'''''
> /la ˈov.tsa saˈɡel pʀo ˈko.nis/
> ''la ovça a sag-el pro con-is''
> DEF.SG.F sheep PST.3s say-PTCP DAT horse-PL.C
> '''The sheep said to the horses:'''

> '''''« Lo serce mino me doe bol seyendo en muz qui drive conis ».'''''
> /lo ˈseʀ.tse ˈmi.no me ˈdo.e bol seˈjen.do en muz ki ˈdʀi.ve ˈko.nis/
> ''lo serce min-o me doe bol''
> DEF.SG.N heart 1s.POS-SG.N 1s.OBL do.PRS.3s pain
> ''sey-endo en muz qui driv-e con-is''
> see-GER INDF.SG.M man REL.NOM drive-PRS.3s horse-PL.C
> '''"My heart pains me, seeing a man driving horses."'''

> '''''Lis conis an sagel: « Ovça, listi!'''''
> /lis ˈko.nis an saˈɡel ˈov.tsa ˈlis.ti/
> ''lis con-is an sag-el ovça list-i''
> DEF.PL.C horse-PL.C PST.3p say-PTCP sheep listen-IMP
> '''The sheep said to the horses: "Sheep, listen!'''

> '''''Lis sercis minis nis doen bol cuando nis seyens questo:'''''
> /lis ˈseʀ.tsis ˈmi.nis nis ˈdo.en bol kuˈan.do nis seˈjens ˈkes.to/
> ''lis serc-is min-is nis doen bol''
> DEF.PL.C heart-PLC 1s.POS-PL.C 1p.M.OBL do.PRS.3p pain
> ''cuando nis sey-ens questo''
> when 1p.C see-PRS.1p this-SG.C
> '''"Our hearts pain us when we see this:'''

> '''''en muz, el gospodar, verandere la vulna des ovça's'''''
> /en muz el ɡos.poˈdaʀ ve.ʀanˈde.ʀe la ˈvul.na des ˈov.tsas/
> ''en muz el gospodar verander-e la vulna des ovça-'s''
> INDF.SG.M man DEF.SG.M master change-PRS.3s DEF.SG.F wool POS sheep-POS
> '''a man, the master, changes the wool of the sheep'''

> '''''na en plašt termo pro si.'''''
> /na en plaʃt ˈteʀ.mo pʀo si/
> ''na en plašt term-o pro si''
> into INDF.SG.M garment warm-SG.C for REFL
> '''into a warm garment for himself.'''

> '''''Cai nun la ovça n'a niť vulna. »'''''
> /kai̯ nun la ˈov.tsa na nic ˈvul.na/
> ''cai nun la ovça n'-a niť vulna''
> and now DEF.SG.F sheep NEG-have.PRS.3s NEG wool
> '''And now the sheep doesn't have wool."'''

> '''''La ovça a herel questo cai is flohela na la rovnina.'''''
> /la ˈov.tsa a xeˈʀel ˈkes.to kai̯ is floˈxe.la na la ʀovˈni.na/
> ''la ovça a her-el questo cai is floh-ela''
> DEF.SG.F sheep PST.3s hear-PTCP this and PST.3s flee.PST-PTCP.SG.F
> ''na la rovnina''
> into DEF.SG.F plain
> '''The sheep heard this and fled into the plain.'''



[[Category:Europaico]]
[[Category:Languages]]
[[Category:Conlangs]]

Tinnermockaar

2024-09-22T05:54:28Z

Jotadiego: Sample sentences

{{Infobox language
|name=''ttỳnaamokkəər''
|pronunciation=/ˈtʼɪˀ.naː.mo.kʼɝː/
|familycolor=Isolate
|fam1=Isolate
|script=Tinnermockaar
|created = 2024
|-
|notice=IPA
}}

'''Tinnermockaar''' (natively ''ttỳnaamokkəər'' /ˈtʼɪˀ.naː.mo.kʼɝː/, which translates as 'the language') is an ''a priori'' conlang with an agglutinative grammar where most words are formed either by adding vowel-initial prefixes to CVC root to form a verb or verb-like element or by adding vowel-final suffixes to a root to form a nominal (noun or noun-like element). As a result, most Tinnermockaar words either start with a vowel and end in a consonant or vice-versa.

The language features a somewhat challenging phonology, including ejective stops, a three-way contrast in voicing and glottalized vowels based on Danish stød.

In addition to the Latin script orthography that will be used throughout this article, Tinnermockaar might be written in its own alphabet. The native orthography is moderately phonemic but it includes some etymological contrasts that are no longer observed in the spoken language.

==Phonology==

===Consonants===

The following table shows the consonant inventory for Tinnermockaar. Note that the rows and column in the table may indicate historical realizations that are no longer descriptive of the current realization of the respective consonant, as is the case for palatal 'stops' which have long shifted into affricates.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Tinnermockaar consonants
|-
! !! Labial !! Dental !! Alveolar !! Palatal !! Velar
|-
| '''Ejective stop''' || || '''''tt''''' //t̪ʼ/ || '''''cc''''' /tʼ/ || '''''tts''''' /tsʼ/ || '''''kk''''' /kʼ/
|-
| '''Plain stop''' || '''''p''''' /p/ || '''''t''''' /t̪/ || '''''c''''' /t/ || '''''ts''''' /ts/ || '''''k''''' /k/
|-
| '''Partially voiced stop''' || '''''b''''' /b̥/ || '''''d''''' /d̪̥/ || '''''đ''''' /d̥/ || || '''''g''''' /ɡ̊/
|-
| '''Voiced stop''' || '''''bb''''' /b/|| '''''dd''''' /d̼/ || '''''đđ''''' /d/ || ||
|-
| '''Fortis pre-nasalized stop''' || '''''mp''''' /mp/ || '''''nt''''' /nt̪/ || '''''nc''''' /nt/ || || '''''ńk''''' /ŋk/
|-
| '''Lenis pre-nasalized stop'''|| '''''mb''''' /mb/ || '''''nd''''' /nd̼/ || '''''nđ''''' /nd/ || '''''z''''' /d̥z̥/ || '''''ńg''''' /ŋɡ/
|-
| '''Nasal''' || '''''m''''' /m/ || || '''''n''''' /n/ || || '''''ń''''' /ŋ/
|-
| '''Fricative''' || || '''''s''''' /s̻/ || '''''ś''''' /s̺/ || '''''x''''' /ç/ || '''''h''''' /h/
|-
| '''Approximant''' || || || || '''''j''''' /j/ ||
|-
| '''Lateral''' || || || '''''l''''' /l/ || ||
|}

Notes:
* Alveolar consonants, as well as the affricates ''tts'' and ''ts'' tend to have an apical realization.
* Velar consonants are allophonically uvular when following /u/ or /ʊ/.
* There are no traces of the language ever having an ejective labial stop. It should be noted however that many languages with ejectives also lack /pʼ/ (less acoustically distinctive from its plain counterpart than other ejective plosives), so such a gap is not unexpected.
* Unvoiced stops are very mildly aspirated.
* There is some variation in the VOT (voice onset time) for pre-nasalized stops, ''fortis'' might range from moderate aspiration to ''tenuis'' while ''lenis'' might range from almost ''tenuis'' to fully voiced.
* Pre-nasalized stops in final position might result in the allophonic nasalization of the preceding vowel. For instance, '''''amb''''' /amb/ might be realized as something closer to [ãb̥].
* The phoneme '''''z''''' /d̥z̥/ is listed under the ''lenis'' prenasalized series since it comes from a historical /ɲɟ/, but its current realization is closer to that of a partially voiced counterpart to '''''ts'''''.
* A fully voiced /ɡ/ was dropped except before front vowels, where it turns into /j/ instead.
* An (intrafictionally) earlier form of the language had a palatal series that has mostly shifted to other points of articulation.
** First, its partially voiced and fully voiced stops (presumably /\''ɟ̊/ and /\''ɟ/ ) merged with the corresponding velars /ɡ̊/ and /ɡ/ (before the latter was lost to further sound changes). This change seems to have happened early enough that the distinction is not attested even in the earliest forms of Tinnermockaar writing.
** Then historical /cʼ/ and /c/ shifted into /tsʼ/ and /ts/.
** Historical pre-nasalized /ɲc/ and /ɲɟ/ first experiences a similar shift, turning briefly into /nts/ and /ndz/ before a second shift turned them into pure affricates, with /nts/ merging with /ts/ while /ndz/ became '''''z''''' /d̥z̥/.
** The palatal nasal /ɲ/ turned into /j/. A later change would drop it before front vowels.
* A single coronal nasal '''''n''''' /n/ seems to have developed from a merger between a historical dental /n̪/ and an alveolar /n/. Orthographic evidence (in the native Tinnermockaar script) suggests that the two sounds might have first adopted a complementary distribution before being outright merged in a generally alveolar [n].
* It is unclear whether the language ever had a labial fricative (/f/ or /ɸ/), if it did, it must have long dropped or merged with another consonant (likely '''''h''''').
* The 'dental' fricative '''''s''''' is a laminal /s̻/ while the 'alveolar' '''''ś''''' is an apical /s̺/, with speakers commonly pronounced it as a postalveolar [ʃ], especially in word-final position.
* The 'palatal' fricative '''''x''''' /ç/ often shifts to [x] before back vowels.
* The 'velar' fricative '''''h''''' is realized either as a glottal fricative /h/ or outright dropped (especially between non-high vowels).
* A glottal stop [ʔ] and a rhotic alveolar approximant [ɹ] might occur as allophonic pronunciations for glottalized and rhotacized vowels, respectively.

The native orthography in the Tinnermockaar script still makes some distinctions that are not preserved in the spoken language:
* Distinction between /ts/ from historical /c/ and historical /ɲc/ (transcribed as ''nts'').
* Distinction between /j/ (and null onsets from a historical dropped /j/) from historical /ɲ/ (transcribed as ''ñ'') and historical /ɡ/ (transcribed as ''gg'').
* Two characters that might have once corresponded to a historical dental /n̪/ (sometimes transcribed as ''n̈'') and a historical alveolar /n/ (transcribed as ''n'') now generally present a complementary distribution, with dental ''n̈'' usually being found before back vowels although multiple exceptions to this rule can be found.

===Vowels===

Tinnermockaar has the following vocalic inventory:

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Tinnermockaar vowels
|-
! !! Front !! Central !! Back
|-
| '''High''' || '''''i''''' /i/ || || '''''u''''' /u/
|-
| '''Upper''' || '''''y''''' /ɪ/ || || '''''v''''' /ʊ/
|-
| '''Mid''' || '''''e''''' /e/, [e̞] || || '''''o''''' /o/ [o̞]
|-
| '''Lower''' || || '''''ə''''' /ɜ/ ||
|-
| '''Low''' || || '''''a''''' /a/, [ä] ||
|}

Note that the vowels '''''y''''' and '''''v''''' are considered to be 'front' and 'back' (respectively) despite actually having a more centralized realization.

All vowels can be short or long (indicated by doubling the vowel).

Five diphthongs are allowed, all of them falling: '''''ae''''' /ae̯/, '''''av''''' /aʊ̯/, '''''ey''''' /eɪ̯/, '''''ov''''' /oʊ̯/ and '''''əi''''' /ɜi̯/. No length distinctions are observed on diphthongs.

All diphthongs and all non-high vowels (short or long) might be glotalized, with a realization similar to Danish stød. This is marked with a grave accent diacritic on the (last) letter as in '''''v̀''''' for /ʊˀ/, '''''aà''''' for /aːˀ/ and '''''əì''''' for /ɜi̯ˀ/.

The vowels '''''a''''', '''''e''''', '''''o''''' '''''v''''', '''''y''''' and '''''ə''''' (short or long) and the diphthongs '''''ae''''', '''''av''''' and '''''əi''''' might be rhotacized, marked with an \<r\> after the vowel: '''''ar''''' for /a˞ /, '''''yyr''''' for /ɪ˞ ː/, '''''avr''''' for /aʊ̯˞ /. Since the hook diacritic used in IPA to mark rhoticity is often hard to read if not completely absent in most fonts, these will be notated with a /ɹ̆/ as in /ʊːɹ̆/ for '''''vvr''''' rather than /ʊ˞ː/.

Only a short '''''ə''''' is allowed to be simultaneously rhotacized and glotalized: '''''ə̀r''''' for /ɜˀɹ̆/. Historically, '''''v̀r''''' /ʊˀɹ̆/ was also allowed, although it later merged with '''''ə̀r''''' (the distinction is preserved in the native orthography, though).

Some speakers (particularly those in the peripheries of the language, in contact with non-native speakers who might struggle with rhoticity and glottalization) might pronounce rhotacized vowels as plain vowels followed by a rhotic such as [ɹ] or [ɾ] and pronounce glotalized vowels as plain vowels followed by a glottal stop [ʔ].

===Phonotactics===

Tinnermockaar allows for (C)V(V)(C) syllables, which is to say, an optional onset composed of a single consonant, a mandatory nucleus composed of a vowel or diphthong (possibly bearing glottalization or rhoticity) and an optional coda consonant.

Notice that prenasalized stops and affricates are counted as single consonants and that rhoticity and glottalization are not regarded as adding codae, thus a syllable such as '''''ttsə̀rmp''''''' /tsʼɜˀɹ̆mp/ conforms to the allowed CVC pattern.

Codae are only allowed in word-final position. As a result, consonant clusters are not allowed to occur within a word. Vowel clusters (''ie'' sequences of onset-less syllables) are allowed freely, with a hyphen being used to separate syllables in these cases as in ''enav̀-aakvvr'' ('they heated it').

Ejectives are realized as plain stops in word-final position (such that ''att'' and ''at'' would both be pronounced /at/) while fully voiced stops are realized as partially-voiced ones (''abb'' and ''ab'' would both be pronounced /ab̥/). The original pronunciation surfaces when a suffix is added.

Although no phonotactical rule requires it, the fact that Tinnermockaar morphology often revolves around CVC roots which take ''either'' vowel initial prefixes or vowel final suffixes makes it so a vast majority of Tinnermockaar words either begin in a vowel and end in a consonant (V...C) or vice-versa (C...V). These two possibilities also relate to Tinnermockaar parts of speech, with verbals being overwhelmingly vowel-initial (and consonant-final) whereas nominals tend to be consonant-initial (and vowel-final).

===Suprasegmentals===

The language does not have phonemic tones nor stress. Word tend to be stressed on their first syllable.

==Morphology==

Tinnermockaar constructs most of its words out of roots, sequences which cannot be used as words on their own. A Tinnermockaar root typically has a CVC structure such as ''√ttỳn'' /tʼɪˀ.n/ for 'speaking', although a limited number of roots are composed of a single consonant C, some can only be analyzed as having a CVCVC structure and a considerable number omit one or more consonants, possibly due to the historical loss of certain consonants.

Roots often have verb-like main meanings (as seen previously with ''√ttỳn'', 'speaking') but they might also be mainly noun-like as with the root ''√havp'' 'copper'. Regardless of this, most roots have the potential to be used both in noun-like and verb-like derivations, as evidenced by ''ttỳnaamokkə'' (language, a noun derived from ''√ttỳn'') or ''eerbbihavp'' for 'they are made of copper' (a verb derived from ''√havp'').

It is also relatively common for roots to have different forms or have small 'families' of roots differing only in their vowel or some suprasegmental aspect thereof (such as root pairs differing only in vowel length or glottalization). These differences can mostly be attributed to irregular sound change and seldom show any consistent patterns.

These roots (which can be termed 'primary roots') are often extended into 'secondary roots' by adding a prefix, usually of the form CV-. These prefixes often relate to some vague form of locative meaning such as ''ma-'' roughly corresponding to 'around', transforming the core meaning of the root ''√ńvm'' related to movement to ''√mańvm'' for with meanings of 'roaming' or 'walking around'. It should be noted, however, that the semantic derivation resulting from these affixes can be fairly unpredictable. For instance, applying the same prefix to ''√ttỳn'' (speaking) yields ''√mattỳn'' with a rough meaning of 'fame' (presumably because people around the famous person would speak about them) while applying it to ''√nin'' (to breathe) results in ''√manin'' meaning 'to sneeze' in a rather unclear derivation. These derivational prefixes are remarkably similar to the 'preverbs' found in Indo-European languages (such as the 'for' in 'forgive'), although the resulting meanings of might differ.

Tinnermockaar words are derived through the addition of affixes (prefixes or suffixes) to these roots (be they primary or secondary roots). For the most part, these derivations follow one of two patterns corresponding to a main division in the language: verbals (mostly derived with vowel-initial prefixes) and nominals (exclusively derived with vowel-final suffixes).

'''Note:''' that the morphological classes I refer to as 'verbals' and 'nominals' in Tinnermockaar might not correspond to other usages of those words in linguistics (such as Chomsky's notion of 'nominals'), they are just meant as a convenient term for this conlang in particular.

===Verbals===

Tinnermockaar verbals mostly correspond to verbs describing a past, generic or habitual state; present and future-tense verbs are handled instead through a construction involving an auxiliary verbal a nominal instead. Since Tinnermockaar's equivalents to adjectives are verb-like, they are often handled as verbals as wells.

Verbals usually present the following structure:

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Tinnermockaar 'verbal' structure
|-
! Component !! Optional / Mandatory !! Default (if not explicit)
|-
| Mood marker || Optional || Realis
|-
| Subject/theme agreement || Mandatory || -
|-
| Aspect marker || Optional || Atelic
|-
| Secondary root prefix || Optional || -
|-
| Root || Mandatory || -
|-
| Voice marker || Optional || Active voice
|}

The fact that most (not all though!) mood and agreement markers begin in a vowel and that most roots and all voice markers end in a consonant makes it so that verbals are overwhelmingly vowel-initial and consonant-final. In fact, certain words of dubious classification are considered verbals in Tinnermockaar tradition solely on the basis that they have this phonetic structure, as in the genitive particle ''əl''.

====Mood====

Tinnermockaar verbs might carry a mood prefix for non-realis usages, this is to say, when describing a situation which is (or was) not an actual fact in the present or past. Non-realis moods include:
* '''Interrogative''' (INT, prefix ''kkaah-'') - required for polar questions.
* '''Potential''' (POT, prefix '''''ax-''''') - indicates a possibility (like English 'can' or 'may').
* '''Interrogative-potential''' (INT.POT, prefix '''''àkkaah-''''') - asks bout whether something ''might'' happen (or have happened).
* '''Optative''' (OPT, prefix '''''eyt-''''') - used for wishes, hopes.
* '''Jussive''' (JUS, prefix '''''əcaant-''''') - indicates a mandatory state (like English 'must' or some usages of 'shall').
* '''Irrealis''' (IRR, prefix '''''ind-''''') - other hypothetical situations, conditionals, etc.

For instance

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Mood examples
|-
! Mood !! Example !! Translation
|-
| Realis || ''Enav̀ccəń.''|| They hunted it
|-
| Interrogative || '''''Kkaah'''enav̀ccəń ?'' || Did they hunt it?
|-
| Potential || '''''Ax'''enav̀ccəń.'' || They might have hunted it
|-
| Interrogative-potential || '''''Àkkaah'''enav̀ccəń ?'' || Could they have hunted it?
|-
| Optative || '''''Eyt'''enav̀ccəń !'' || Let's hope they hunted it
|-
| Jussive || '''''Əcaant'''enav̀ccəń.'' || They must (are required to) have hunted it
|-
| Irrealis || '''''Ind'''enav̀ccəń ...'' || (If) they hunted it...
|}

The jussive mood is not to be confused with the imperative (commands issued to the listener), which are formed through a separate construction.

====Subject and theme agreement====

Tinnermockaar has what is known as polypersonal agreement, with transitive verbs (verbs featuring both a subject and an object) being mandatorily marked for both arguments, while intransitive verbs (thus with a single argument, also known as 'subject' in English but referred to as 'theme' in Tinnermockaar) taking a different set of prefixes to mark their one argument. Voice suffixes, as discussed later on, might be used to allow transitive verbs to behave as intransitive ones and vice versa.

Both forms of argument agreement indicate the grammatical person of the argument as well as some other distinctions such as animacy and number for third person referents. The following cases are contrasted:
* First person exclusive (1.EXCL) - usually refers to the speaker (I, me) but it might also be used to refer to 'exclusive we' (the speaker and others, not including the listener).
* First person inclusive (1.INCL) - 'inclusive we', the speaker, the listener and, possibly, others.
* Second person (2) - the listener or listeners (you) and possibly others.
* Animate third person singular (3s.ANIM) - a human (or a being that acts like a human, such as a personified god) other than the speaker and listener; corresponding to English 'he', 'she' or singular 'they'.
* Animate third person plural (3p.ANIM) - more than one person.
* Inanimate third person singular (3s.INAN) - one object/animal or a group of uncountable objects (such as 'the sand'); 'it'.
* Inanimate third person plural (3p.INAN) - more than one distinct objects or animals. Not distinguished from 3s.INAN for transitive subjects.

Further distinctions in number (such as contrasting 1.EXCL as used for singular 'I' or for plural 'we [me and others]') might be made by including an overt pronoun (as discussed within the section for nominals) but that is relatively uncommon.

Definiteness is contrasted for third person inanimate themes, contrasting sentences such as ''enav̀kàccəń'' ('they hunted it', where the animal that was hunted refers to a known individual) and ''eenəkàccəń'' ('they hunted one', where the animal that was some previously undefined individual).

In the following tables, prefixes for each combination are given with the subject being indicated by the column and the theme or direct object by the row. For suffixes whose Tinnermockaar script spelling is not predictable, the appropriate spelling is provided between brackets.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Agreement markers
|-
! Subject (columns): !! None (Intransitive) !! 1.EXCL !! 1.INCL !! 2 !! 3s.ANIM !! 3p.ANIM !! 3.INAN
|-
| '''1.EXCL''' || əńee- || - || - || tsəńỳ-|| ème- || aàmy- || àńav-
|-
| '''1.INCL''' || ańyỳ- || -|| - || -|| èmyỳ- || aàmyỳ- || ə̀rńyỳ-
|-
| '''2''' || iì- || ijee- (iñee-) || - || - || ənce- (aàntse-) || aàtse- (aàntse-) || ə̀rttsə-
|-
| '''3s.ANIM''' || i- || ayńè- || yyrńè- || ətsè- || əmba- || aàmba- || àśe-
|-
| '''3p.ANIM''' || əmà- || əńkà- || yyrnkà- || ətsà- (əntsà-) || əmpeè- || aàmpa- || əśaà- (vśaà-)
|-
| '''3s.INAN.DEF''' || oo- || avńga- || əənga- || ətsə- || ovr- || enav̀- || av̀-
|-
| '''3s.INAN.INDF''' || vr- || əńvr- || əərńvr- || vtsə- || ey- || eenə- || ə̀r- (v̀r-)
|-
| '''3p.INAN.DEF''' || eer- || əńeer- || yrńeer- || ətseer- || ə-eer (əggeer-) || aàńga- || eèr-
|-
| '''3p.INAN.INDF''' || eer- || əńyỳ- || yrńyỳ- || ətsyỳ- || əńka- || aàńka- || eèr-
|}

Bear in mind that the reflexive and reciprocal voices (explained in the ''Voices'' section below) are required for actions where the subject and theme coincide.

=====Citation forms for verbs=====

While in English the citation form of a verb (''ie'' the form usually listed in dictionaries and used to refer to the verb) is the infinitive, the preferred citation form for Tinnermockaar verbs is a verbal with no optional affixes presenting agreement prefixes for third person arguments. These prefixes depend on whether the verb is transitive or intransitive and on whether its expected arguments are more likely to be humans or inanimate objects.

Intransitive verbs which are more likely to have a human theme take the 3s.ANIM prefix '''''i-''''' as in ''iđđun'' (they slept) for 'to sleep'; if the theme is judged more likely to be non-human, the 3s.INAN prefix '''''oo-''''' is used instead as in ''oobbihavp'' (it is made of cooper) for 'to be made of cooper'. Cases where both a human or a non-human theme are possible vary, by they tend towards the former as in ''ideìkvvr'' (they are hot) for 'to be hot', although an inanimate citation form ''oodeìkvvr'' (it is hot) could occasionally be used should the context make it clear it is meant to apply to a non-human.

A similar situation occurs for transitive verbs, which take a prefix corresponding to third person singular arguments whose animacy was determined by their most likely referents although with a clear bias towards preferring animate subjects and inanimate topics. As a result, the citation form of most transitive verbs tends to bear the '''''ey-''''' prefix (animate subject, inanimate theme), even though '''''əmba-''''' (animate subject and theme), '''''ə̀r-''''' (inanimate subject and theme) and, rarely, '''''àśe-''''' (inanimate subject, animate theme) are also possible options:

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Citation forms
|-
! !! Intransitive !! Animate subject !! Inanimate subject
|-
| '''Animate theme''' || ''i-'' || ''əmba-'' || ''àśe-''
|-
| '''Inanimate theme''' || ''oo-'' || ''ey-'' || ''ə̀r-''
|}

====Aspect====

Tinnermockaar contrasts three aspects, indicated though suffixes between the agreement marks and the main stem (root and secondary root prefixes).

By default, verbs take the unmarked '''atelic''' (ATEL) aspect which indicates an event without a specific endpoint. For instance, atelic ''iccəńàk'', 'he hunted', indicates that the action is conceptualized as being a prolonged state (as implied in 'they were out hunting') without a specific goal that would mark its endpoint.

On the other hand, the prefix ''kà'' marks a verb as '''telic''' (TEL), which indicates an action with a defined endpoint. For example, telic ''ikàccəńàk'', which we might also translate as 'he hunted', actually indicates that there was a goal that was accomplished and which marked an endpoint for the action (in the example, the hunter probably chased after one particular game).

There is a commonly used rule of thumb in linguistics for telling apart whether a phrase is telic or atelic: if the action can be given with a time frame (as in ''''''within''' an hour'''), it is telic (the endpoint is pinpointed as being achieved within the timeframe) while an atelic phrase will usually require a time-span instead such as ''''''for''' an hour'''.

Meanwhile the prefix ''zi-'' is used to indicate an '''inchoative''' (INCH) aspect, which marks the beginning of a state. Thus ''iziccəńàk'' corresponds to 'they started hunting'.

====Voice====

Verbals corresponding to transitive verbs might take a suffix to indicate a change in grammatical voice, which is to say, an unexpected behavior in the argument of the transitive verb.

By default, such verbs are found in their active voice which includes a distinct subject and an object. For instance, ''enav̀kàccəń'' ('they hunted it') is marked as having a human third person subject and a definite non-human third person object.

A '''reflexive''' voice marker ''-as'' is required to indicate that the subject and object coincide, that the subject does the action to itself. The resulting verb is only marked for its theme, as in ''ooccəńas'' for 'it hunted itself'.

The '''reciprocal''' or '''mutual''' marker ''-ubbàm'' has a similar usage except that it indicates that individuals within a group do something to each other (but not to themselves). For instance, ''əmàccəńubbàm'' translates to 'they hunted each other'. This would indicate that there were at least two parties, one hunting the other and vice-versa, as opposed to reflexive ''əmàccəńas'' 'they hunted themselves'. Informally, however, it would be relatively common for native Tinnermockaar speakers themselves to use both forms interchangeable, indicating that this distinction is seemingly falling out of use.

For verbals with a distinct subject and object, the '''passive''' and '''antipassive''' voices allow for one of those arguments to be dropped. '''Passive''' ''-it'' converts a transitive verb into a syntactically intransitive one with the original object as its theme as in ''ookàccəńit'' for 'it was hunted', '[someone] hunted it'. Conversely, '''antipassive''' ''-àk'' allows the subject alone to to be marked, also becoming the theme of a syntactically intransitive verb as in ''ikàccəńàk'' for 'they hunted [something]'.

Verbals corresponding to an ''intransitive'' verb might take the '''causative''' marker ''-eeś'' which turns them into a transitive verb where the subject influences the theme to reach the state normally marked by the intransitive verb. For instance, ''oodeìkvvrm'' 'it was hot' might be used to derive ''enav̀deìkvvrmeeś'', 'they made it hot'. It should be noted, however, that many intransitive verbs have a transitive counterpart that will usually be preferred to a causative form; thus to specify an agent responsible for the state of being hot indicated by ''oodeìkvvrm'' a separate transitive verb, ''enav̀-aakvvr'', 'they heated it'.

====The attributive verbal ''an''====

The word ''an'' is a verb-like element with two main uses:
- Acting as a copula verb (like English 'to be') for equaling two nominals, as in 'X is Y'.
- Being used as a particle to introduce relative clauses.

Unlike ordinary Tinnermockaar verbs, ''an'' presents an irregular paradigm. It might only be conjugated for mood (taking the usual mood prefixes) and for argument agreement (through completely irregular forms). Despite the fact that ''an'' takes two arguments when used as a copula verb, its conjugation only references the grammatical person for single argument, without any number or animacy distinctions for the third person:

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Conjugation of ''an''
|-
! Person !! Form of ''an''
|-
| '''1.EXCL''' || ''əńaàn'' (spelled as ''əhanàn'' in Tinnermockaar script)
|-
| '''1.INCL''' || ''amyńan''
|-
| '''2''' || ''tsaan''
|-
| '''3''' || ''an''
|}

In addition to not being permitted to take aspect and voice markers, ''an'' might not appear in present or future tense constructions; its tense is unless a time adverb is added.

See the sections on noun copula and relatives under the ''Syntax'' header for more information.

===Nominals===

Tinnermockaar nominals include nouns, certain verb forms such gerunds used in present-tense constructions as well as adverbs, determiners and, arguably, even pronouns. Tinnermockaar's own (intrafictional) tradition would also include conjunctions and prepositions under this category.

The structure of nominals is not as rigid as that of verbals, but it's often composed of the following elements:

{| class="wikitable"
! Component !! Optional / Mandatory !! Default (if not present)
|-
| '''Secondary root prefix''' || Optional || -
|-
| '''Root''' || Mandatory || -
|-
| '''Derivational suffix''' || Mandatory Multiple suffixes may be used || -
|-
| '''Definiteness marking''' || Optional || Indefinite
|-
| '''Number marking''' || Optional || Singular or collective (depending on the noun)
|-
| '''Case marking''' || Optional || Absolutive
|}

Nominals are typically consonant-initial (as are most roots, primary or secondary) and are very commonly vowel-final although exceptions to this are not uncommon.

The citation form of a nominal is the one without definiteness, number and case markers.

====Derivational suffixes====

Tinnermockaar nominals require at least one derivational suffix to be added to the primary or secondary root. These suffixes typically hint at the intended meaning of the nominal, although some derivations might be unexpected.

The language has a wide array of derivational suffixes including:
* '''-aa''' - a noun denoting an action or an event, as in ''ccəńaa'', 'hunt'.
* '''-avr''' - groups, as in ''bankumbavr'', 'crowd'.
* '''-eemə''' - materials, as in ''havpeemə'', 'copper'.
* '''-eer''' - Animals or plants, as in ''ddebbeer'' for 'bird' (from ''ooddebb'', 'to fly')
* '''-i''' - an animate actor, as in ''ccəńi'', 'hunter'.
* '''-ò''' - a patient of a concluded transitive action, as in ''ccəńò'' (game, prey that has been hunted).
* '''-v''' - a person who is characterized by an intransitive verb as in ''mindv'', 'visitor' (from ''imind'', 'to arrive').

=====Verb nominals: participles and gerunds=====

Certain derivational suffixes are used for nominals related to verbs. This includes two forms dubbed 'participles' used in relative clauses (the active participle ''-yrbba'' and the passive participle ''-àkka'') and a number of gerunds used for present and future tense constructions whose derivational suffixes encode the verb's voice:
* '''-eynər''' - active voice gerund (also used for reciprocal voice).
* '''-eeccər''' - passive voice gerund (also used for reflexive voice).
* '''-aettsər''' - antipassive voice gerund.

Verbal stems might also form nominals using a gerundive suffix '''''-ae''''' which indicates purpose and which might be required to be used along modal verbs.

====Definiteness====

Nominals corresponding to nouns may be made definite by applying the following sound changes on their final vowel:
* Non-glottalized short vowels are lengthened.
* The resulting vowel or diphthong is replaced by a 'rhotic counterpart' when one exists, as shown below:

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Original''' !! '''Definite''' !! '''Original''' !! '''Definite''' !! '''Original''' !! '''Definite''' !! '''Original''' !! '''Definite'''
|-
| ''a'', ''aa'' || '''''əər''''' || ''à'' || '''''ə̀r''''' || ''aà'' || '''''aà''''' || ''ar'', ''aar'' || '''''əər'''''
|-
| ''e, ee'' || '''''yyr''''' || ''è'' || '''''è''''' || ''eè'' || '''''eè''''' || ''er'', ''eer'' || '''''eer'''''
|-
| ''i, ii'' || '''''ii''''' || - || - || - || - || - || -
|-
| ''o, oo'' || '''''vvr''''' || ''ò'' || '''''ə̀r''''' || ''oò'' || '''''oò''''' || ''or'', ''oor'' || '''''oor'''''
|-
| ''u, uu'' || '''''uu''''' || - || - || - || - || - || -
|-
| ''v, vv'' || '''''vvr''''' || ''v̀'' || '''''ə̀r''''' || ''vv̀'' || '''''vv̀''''' || ''vr, vvr'' || '''''vvr'''''
|-
| ''y, yy'' || '''''yyr''''' || ''ỳ'' || '''''ỳ''''' || ''yỳ'' || '''''yỳ''''' || ''yr, yyr'' || '''''yyr'''''
|-
| ''ə, əə'' || '''''əər''''' || ''ə̀'' || '''''ə̀r''''' || ''əə̀'' || '''''əə̀''''' || ''ər, əər'' || '''''əər'''''
|-
| ''ae'' || '''''aer''''' || ''aè'' || '''''aè''''' || - || - || ''aer'' || '''''aer'''''
|-
| ''av'' || '''''avr''''' || ''av̀'' || '''''av̀''''' || - || - || ''avr'' || '''''avr'''''
|-
| ''ey'' || '''''yyr''''' || ''eỳ'' || '''''eỳ''''' || - || - || - || -
|-
| ''ov'' || '''''vvr''''' || ''ov̀'' || '''''ov̀''''' || - || - || - || -
|-
| ''əi'' || '''''əir''''' || ''əì'' || '''''əì''''' || - || - || ''əir'' || '''''əir'''''
|}

====Number====

By default, Tinnermockaar nouns might be either singular (referring to a single object) or collective (referring to a group of non-distinct objects or to an uncountable substance); this is a lexical property that cannot be determined from affixes alone.

For non-collective nouns (singular by default), three additional grammatical numbers can be formed through suffixes:
* '''Partitive''' (suffix ''-dər'') - indicates a group of elements drawn from a larger group.
* '''Paucal''' (suffix ''-bà'') - indicates a small number of elements.
* '''Plural''' (suffix ''-ga'') - indicates a large number of elements.

The distinction between paucal and plural is a fuzzy one, groups below 3 or 4 objects will generally be marked as paucal while groups above 5 or 6 will usually be marked as plural but the paucal vs plural distinction might also reflect a contrast with expectations. For instance, if a mythological creature had 4 eyes, those might be referred in plural to highlight the anomaly, while a garrison of 10 soldiers where several dozen would be expected might be referred to in the paucal. The partitive number, on the other hand, does not distinguish whether the number of elements is high or low, it only focuses on the fact that only some of the elements (in an otherwise unstated group) are relevant.

Plural marking is mandatory, even when a numeral is given.

Collective nouns, meanwhile, may also take the '''partitive''' suffix (''-dər'') to indicate fraction of the collective or substance, or a '''singulative''' (''-ceèt'' if word final, ''-ceè'' if followed by a case suffix) for indicating a single element drawn from the collective (not applicable to substances).

Finally, nouns of either type (but more usually non-collective ones) might take a '''negative''' suffix ''xoòt'' (or ''-xoò'' if followed by a case suffix) indicating a null quantity.

As an example, consider ''ccəńi'' ('hunter'), a countable noun, which might take the following suffixes:

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Number''' !! '''Example''' !! '''Translation'''
|-
| Singular || ''ccəńi'' || a hunter
|-
| Partitive || ''ccəńi'''dər''''' || some of the hunters
|-
| Paucal || ''ccəńi'''bà''''' || some hunters
|-
| Plural || ''ccəńi'''ga''''' || many hunters
|-
| Negative || ''ccəńi'''xoòt''''' || no hunters
|}

Meanwhile, collective nouns might be exemplified by ''bankumbavr'' (crowd) and ''havpeemə'' (copper) as follows:

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Number''''' !! '''Example 1''' !! '''Translation''' !! '''Example 2''' !! '''Translation'''
|-
| Collective || ''bankumbavr'' || a crowd || ''havpeemə'' || (some) copper
|-
| Singulative || ''bankumbavr'''ceèt''''' || a person in the crowd || - || -
|-
| Partitive || ''bankumbavr'''dər''''' || part of the crowd || ''havpeemə'''dər''''' || part of the copper
|-
| Negative || ''bankumbavr'''xoòt''''' || no crowd || ''havpeemə'''xoòt''''' || no copper
|}

====Cases====

Tinnermockaar nouns inflect for three cases: absolutive (unmarked), marked nominative (or 'ergative', suffix ''-cə'') and benefactive (suffix ''-ngeè''). Unlike other suffixes, case markers are separated from the nominal with a hyphen in Latin script orthography, so the benefactive form of ''ccəńi'' will be spelled as ''ccəńi-ngeè'' rather than ''ccəńingeè''.

The ergative case, which perhaps could be better deemed as 'marked nominative' case, is ''optionally'' required for subjects. Its marker, ''-cə'', is generally found in subjects of transitive verbs although it is often left out for subjects occurring in a fronted position (moved to the beginning of the sentence for emphasis).

More unusually, the suffix might ''-cə'' may be occasionally found in intransitive subjects for verbs with which also have an oblique argument and in present-tense constructions (where the primary verb gerund could also be considered to act as an oblique argument to the auxiliary).

Pronouns seldom bear the ''-cə'' marker, regardless of the situation.

The benefactive case marker, ''-ńgeè'', may be used to indicate an argument other than a subject or theme that benefits or has commanded the action. This case is also used for indirect objects in verbs such as ''eynđ'' ('to give').

All other roles are expressed with the unmarked absolutive case, possibly in combination with prepositions such as locative ''byr'' ('in').

====Pronouns====

Pronouns are used sparingly in Tinnermockaar as they are made largely redundant due to the polypersonal agreement in verbs. They will commonly occur for oblique roles that wouldn't be marked otherwise, though.

Since Tinnermockaar pronouns work largely in the same way as nouns, they might be inflected for number, allowing for finer distinctions than the ones shown in verb prefixes. For instance, while first person exclusive markers don't distinguish between singular "I, me" and plural "we ~ me and others", the overt pronoun ''haańà'' can specify the argument as singular, while the addition of number-marking suffixes can yield more precise plural meanings such as ''haańàdər'' (only some of us), ''haańàbà'' (me and a few others), ''haańàga'' (me and many others) and ''haańàxoòt'' (none of us). It should be noted, however, that it's usually more idiomatic for a Tinnermockaar speaker to drop pronouns.

Tinnermockaar personal pronouns are as follows:

{| class="wikitable"
! !! '''Singular''' !! '''(Dual)''' !! '''Paucal''' !! '''Plural''' !! '''Partitive''' !! '''Negative'''
|-
| '''First person exclusive''' (me [and others]) || ''haańa'' || || ''haańabà'' || ''haańaga'' || ''haańadər'' || ''haańàxoòt''
|-
| '''First person inclusive''' (you and me [and others]) || || ''hàmyy'' || ''hàmyybà'' || ''hàmyyga'' || ''hàmyydər'' || ''hàmyyxoòt''
|-
| '''Second person''' (you [and others]) || ''tsidi'' || || ''tsidibà'' || ''tsidiga'' || ''tsididər'' || ''tsidixoòt''
|-
| '''Third person animate''' (he/she/they) || ''hee-i'' || || ''heerbà'' || ''heerga'' || ''heerdər'' || ''heerxoòt''
|-
| '''Third person inanimate''' (it/they) || ''ccy'' || || ''ccybà'' || ''ccyga'' || ''ccydər'' || ''ccyxoòt''
|}

Number marking is largely regular aside from unmarked 'singular' ''hàmyy'' actually referring to two people ('you and me') and the third person animate pronoun using different roots for singular ''hee-i'' (which doesn't accept any number markings) and plural ''*heer'' (which requires a number marker).

Other than that, Tinnermockaar pronouns only differ from nouns in that they hardly ever take the 'ergative' ''-cə'' marker.

==Syntax==

Tinnermockaar is a somewhat typologically ambiguous language. As intransitive and transitive verbs differ considerably in their paradigm (as far as argument marking is concerned), it is hard to unambiguously classify it as having a nominative-accusative or an ergative-absolutive alignment, morphological clues suggest a tendency towards the latter although it can be noted that what could be interpreted as an ergative case marker might occasionally be used for intransitive subjects, a feature more in line with a nominative-accusative language. While this sort of typologically ambiguity is sometimes found in natural languages, it might not be out of line for one to question the naturalisticness of this conlang.

===Word order===

Tinnermockaar has a fairly flexible word order, although sentences default towards verb-initial orders, mainly VSO (verb-subject-object). This might be altered to place emphasis, with SVO word orders highlighting the subject and VOS (or, more rarely, OVS) word orders highlighting subjects (a practice referred to as 'subject fronting' which usually also involves dropping case makers for this argument). Oblique complements such as adverbial phrases or benefactives are typically found at the end of the sentence, although they might be placed directly after the verb for greater emphasis.

Arguments can be dropped, although transitive verbs will be marked for both their arguments unless given in a valency-decreasing voice (reflexive, passive, antipassive). An entire sentence might consist of just a verb, with all its arguments being left implicit.

Verbs might be expressed as a single ''verbal'' (for generic or past-tense statements) or as an auxiliary verbal followed by a ''nominal'' form of the verb (for present or future tense).

Modifiers, including the equivalent to relative phrases, come after the element they modify.

===Present and future tense constructions===

As previously mentioned, by default a Tinnermockaar verb will refer either to an event in the past or to a generic or habitual statement (this two interpretations usually being distinguished by context alone, although time adverbs could be used to lift any resulting ambiguity).

In order to speak of a specific event taking place in the present, the auxiliary verb '''''iś''''' must be used, followed by a gerund of the intended verb, typically ending in ''-eynər''. The auxiliary takes all the markings related to mood, subject/theme agreement and aspect. Voice marking might involve both the auxiliary and the gerund, as shown in the following table:

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Voice''' !! '''Voice marker in the auxiliary''' !! '''Gerund'''
|-
| '''Active''' || None (active as default) || Active (''-eynər'')
|-
| '''Reflexive''' || Reflexive (''-as'') || Passive (''-eeccər'')
|-
| '''Reciprocal''' || Reciprocal (''-ubbàm'') || Active (''-eynər'')
|-
| '''Passive''' || None (marked only in the gerund) || Passive (''-eeccər'')
|-
| '''Antipassive''' || None (marked only in the gerund) || Antipassive (''-aettsər'')
|-
| '''Causative''' || Reciprocal (''-ééś'') || Active (''-eynər'')
|}

For instance, ''eenəccəń'' might be interpreted as 'they hunted' or 'they hunt (regularly)'; adverbs such as ''mimbyr'', 'yesterday' or ''kkaè'', 'often' may be given to further specify one of those interpretations. In order to indicate a current event such as 'they ''are'' hunting', the auxiliary verb construction with ''iś'' will be needed, resulting in ''eenəś ccəńeynər'', with ''iś'' displaying the agreement markers for subject and object while the primary verb is found as an active gerund.

It should be noted that the verb '''''iś''''' is slightly irregular: telic forms are given as ''-kəəs'' instead of the expected ''-kaś''.

Future tense can be expressed through a similar construction using the auxiliary verb '''''imind''''' (which might also be used on its own as a verb meaning 'to arrive') with the difference that the auxiliary must be marked as having an irrealis mood. For instance, we might find ''indeenəmind ccəńeynər'' for 'they will hunt'.

It is worth noticing, however, that many usages which might be covered by a future tense in other languages might be expressed using moods in Tinnermockaar, such as the potential mood to indicate an unrealized possibility or the optative to indicate a desired future state.

===Negatives===

Tinnermockaar utilizes two negation strategies depending on whether the arguments of the verb are included in the sentence.

If either the subject or the object of the verb are present in the sentence (aside from being referenced by verbal prefixes), then negation is most commonly marked by using the negative 'number' suffix on the relevant noun. For instance, the negation of ''əmbaś jaacceynər mpànvvr-cə nacv'' (the man sees a woman) might be given as any of the following:
* ''Əmbaś jaacceynər mpànvvr'''xoò'''-cə nacv'' (negating the subject, literally 'No man sees a woman')
* ''Əmbaś jaacceynər mpànvvr-cə nacv'''xoòt''''' (negating the object, literally 'The man sees no woman')

Colloquially, negating both elements (still keeping a negative meaning) is also an option, although this wording might be perceived as non-standard.
* ''Əmbaś jaacceynər mpànvvr'''xoò'''-cə nacv'''xoòt'''''.

Since the negative marker ''-xoò(t)'' takes the position of number markers, it might get in the way of expressing certain finer distinctions or imply an unwanted degree of totality in the negation. For instance the wording ''əmbaś jaacceynər mpànvvr-cə nacvxoòt'' (~ the man sees no woman) may be taken to imply that that the subject is not seeing any woman so it wouldn't be appropriate to indicate that the man doesn't see ''a'' woman in particular (possibly being able to see others) .

An alternative method involves using the negative particle ''xav'' which must always precede the primary verb of the sentence - before the verbal if there is no auxiliary and between the auxiliary and the gerund otherwise:
* ''Əmbaś '''xav''' jaacceynər mpànvvr-cə nacv'' (negating the verb, literally ''The man doesn't see a woman').

This second strategy is required for verbs lacking a explicit subject or object. It should be noted that using ''xav'' and avoiding explicit pronouns is by far a more common strategy than using explicit pronouns that might take the ''-xoò(t)'' prefix, although the latter option might be occasionally be used for emphasis:
* '''''Xav''' ijeekajaacc'' (I didn't see you, most common wording with negation using ''xav'' and implicit pronouns)
* ''Ijeekajaacc haańà'''xoòt''''' ('''''''I''''' didn't see you, explicit negated first person pronoun for emphasis)
* ''Ijeekajaacc tsidi'''xoòt''''' (I didn't see '''''you''''', explicit negated first person pronoun for emphasis)

If both negation strategies are combined (something seldom found), the result is typically interpreted as a '''positive''':
* ''Əmbaś '''xav''' jaacceynər nacv'''xoòt''' mpànvvr-cə'' (negating the verb and the object, understood as meaning 'No woman isn't seen by the man').

===Interrogatives===

Polar questions (those that can be answered in English with 'yes' or 'no) are formed in the same way as declarative sentences other than requiring the interrogative mood prefix ''kkaah-''. To continue with the prior example, the polar question 'Does the man see the woman?' may be translated as '''''Kkaah'''əmbaś jaacceynər mpànvvr-cə nacv?''.

Other questions, such as the ones formed in English using the 'wh-words' (like 'who' or 'what') generally do '''not''' require the interrogative prefix ''kkaah-''. Interrogative pronouns like ''đvv'' (what, used for inanimates) and ''đey'' (who, used for animates) behave like regular nominals and, unlike personal pronouns, inflect for case a usual. For instance, we might have:
* ''Əmbaś jaacceynər '''đey-cə''' nacv?'' (Who sees a woman?)
* ''Əmbaś jaacceynər mpànvvr-cə '''đey'''?'' (Who does the man see?)

Tinnermockaar does not have a 'wh-fronting' rule like English requiring interrogative pronouns to be moved to the beginning of the sentence, although Tinnermockaar's flexible word order does allows this order, which comes out as somewhat more emphatic. As usual, the ergative marker ''-cə'' is typically omitted for a fronted subject.
* '''''Đey''' əmbaś jaacceynər nacv?'' (Who sees a woman?)

The interrogative mood marker might be combined with an interrogative pronoun in order to make a wh-question about an uncertain event. For instance '''''Kkaah'''əmbaś '''đey-cə''' nacvvr?'' might be translated as 'Does anyone see the woman? If so, who?'. Such combined questions would expect either a negative answer (''Xav əmbaś'' ~ No one does) or the answer to the question word (''Mpànvvr'' ~ the man).

====Yes/no answers====

Polar questions are typically answered by repeating the verb (adjusting argument agreement markers if needed) or the auxilliary, preceded by ''xav'' if negative.

For instance, the expected answers for ''Kkaatsəńỳś jaacceynər?'', 'Do you see me?' will be either ''Ijeeś'' (I do [see you]) or ''Xav ijeeś'' (I do not [see you]).

===Imperatives===

Imperatives (sentences given an order to a second person) are formed using an auxiliary verb (''ittsat'', root ''-ttsat'') and gerunds, in a construction not disimilar from those used for expressing the present and future tense.

Imperatives are generally considered polite for Tinnermockaar speakers, speakers might issue direct commands rather than requiring some workaround construction for politeness like English usually does (compare the blunt sounding ''"Do it!"'' with gentler formulae such as ''"Could you do it?"'' or ''"Would you mind doing it?"'').

Orders where the second person takes the role of a subject (be it of a transitive or intransitive verb) require the active gerund, as in ''Iìttsat mindeynər'' for 'Come!' or ''Ətsèttsat jaacceynər mpànvvr!'' for 'See the man!'.

Imperatives where the second person is required to take the role of a transitive direct object are formed in the same way but using the passive gerund. Note, however, that the auxiliary verb will still be conjugated as a transitive verb in this case. For instance, we might have ''Əncettsat jaacceeccər mpànvvr-cə!'' for 'Be seen by the man!', with the auxiliary taking the prefix ''ənce-'' marking it as a transitive verb with a singular third person animate subject and a second person object.

It should be observed that passive imperatives still represent a command the second person must actively seek to accomplish. The previous example, ''Əncettsat jaacceeccər mpànvvr-cə!'', implies that the listener must to do something to ensure the man sees them, rather than placing responsibility on the man (the latter might indicated instead using a jussive mood construction).

Antipassive gerunds are required for orders with an antipassive meaning. In this case, the auxiliary verb is conjugated as an intransitive verb and does not require the ''-àk'' marker. For instance, ''Iìttsat ccəńaettsər!'' translates to 'Hunt (something)!'.

Negative imperatives are formed by preceding the auxiliary verb with the negative particle ''xav'' (rather than placing it between the auxiliary and the main verb as in present/future-tense constructions). Thus, ''Xav iìttsat ccəńaettsər!'' becomes 'Do not hunt!'.

It is worth remembering that many imperative-like constructions might be formed through verbal mood markers instead, including jussive for indicating a mandatory state (but not one that necessarily requires the second person to take an action towards) and the optative mood for wishes. Compare the following:
* ''Əncettsat jaacceeccər mpànvvr-cə!'' (using a passive imperative) - 'Be seen by the man!' (orders the speaker to ensure that the other person sees them).
* ''Əcaantəncejaacc mpànvvr-cə!'' (using a jussive form of ''əncejaacc'', 'he sees you') - 'The man must see you!' (the requirement is not necessarily the listener's responsibility, pressumably both parties will be required to comply).
* ''Iìttsat ccəńaettsər!'' - 'Hunt something!' (a command, using an imperative construction).
* ''Eytiìccəńàk!'' - 'May you hunt something!' (a wish, using the optative voice).

===Possessives===

Possession is marked with the particle ''əl'' which is placed between the possession and the possessor as in ''havpeeməərdər əl mpànvvr'' for 'some of the copper (''havpeeməərdər'') of the man (''mpànvvr'')' or 'some of the man's copper'.

The same pattern might be used alongside pronouns, such as ''əl tsidi'' for 'your(s)'.

===Noun copula===

Sentences where a noun is equated with another, such as 'X is Y' are typically expressed using the verbal ''an'', whose highly irregular conjugation was showcased earlier on.

Although ''an'' acts as a verb in this construction, it might only take mood and person prefixes (no aspect, voice or tense marking). ''An'' constructions are not necessarily taken to be habitual or past-tense as sentences with bare verbal usually are; its interpretation in regards to tense is usually left to context although time adverbs might be added if necessary.

If ''X'' and ''Y'' are both nouns, the sentence is given as ''an X Y''. For instance, 'the man is a hunter' might be given as ''an mpànvvr ccəńi'' (ATTR man\\DEF hunter) although, depending on the context, the sentence might also be interpreted as 'the man was a hunter' or similar variations.

Pronouns are usually omitted, being marked instead in the conjugation of ''an''. It should be noted, however, that ''an'', nearly all other Tinnermockaar verbs, fails to distinguish number and animacy in the third person. Even though number is unmarked in the verb, it will be marked on the noun that appears as the remaining argument in the copula, so, for instance, the following sentences with ''ccəńiga'', the plural form of ''ccəńi'' (hunter), will necessarily have a plural interpretation:
* ''Əńaàn ccəńiga.'' - We (exclusive) are hunters.
* ''Amyńan ccəńiga.'' - We (inclusive) are hunters.
* ''Tsaan ccəńiga.'' - You all are hunters.
* ''An ccəńiga.'' - They are hunters.

Negatives are formed as usual with the particle ''xav'': as in ''xav əńaàn ccəń'' for 'I am not a hunter'.

Interrogatives also work as usual, with the interrogative mood prefix ''kkaah-'' being required for polar questions.
* ''Kkaahan ccəńiga?'' - Were they hunters?
* ''Tsaan đey?'' - Who are you?

Imperatives for the copula are rare but they might be formed by using ''ittsat'' (usually an auxiliary) on its own:
* ''Iìttsat ccańi!'' - Be a hunter!

===Relative clauses===

The attributive verbal ''an'' is also used for Tinnermockaar's equivalent to relative clauses, sharing the same limitations such as being unable to state tense and aspect. It should be noted that, should the need arise, these limitations can be circumvented by saying the phrases independently. For instance, English 'The man ''who the woman saw'' is hunting' would generally be expressed through a construction that could be roughly interpreted as 'the ''seen-by-the-woman'' man is hunting', which fails to capture explicitly whether the woman is observing him in the present or whether she saw him in the past; should that distinction prove crucial to the discourse speakers might describe the situation through two separate phrases instead: 'The woman saw the man. / He is hunting.'.

Relative constructions where the inner sentence is comprised of a copula between nouns are formed simply by following the antecedent with ''an'' and the nominal to which it is equated: ''mpànvvr an ccəńi'' for 'the man who is a hunter' (or 'who was a hunter').

Otherwise, ''an'' must be followed by a participle. The choice of participle depends on the syntactic role of the antecedent within the relative clause, using active participles (suffix ''-yrbba'') when it appears as a subject or the passive participle (suffix ''-àkka'') when it appears as a direct object (other roles are not supported and require the speaker to use separate clauses instead). Examples include:
* ''mpànvvr an mindyrbba'' - the man who arrived / who is arriving / who is going to arrive
* ''mpànvvr an ccəńyrbba'' - the man who hunted / is hunting / is going to hunt
* ''mpànvvr an ccəńàkka'' - the man who was hunted / is hunted / will be hunted

Other arguments can be introduced to the relative clause using ''əl'' for a subject (as if it was a possessive) or ''ttə'' for a direct object:
* ''mpànvvr an ccəńyrbba ttə ahuulə'' - the man who hunted a wolf
* ''mpànvvr an ccəńàkka əl ahuulə'' - the man who a wolf hunted

Relative clauses are negated by placing ''xav'' before ''an'': ''mpànvvr xav an mindyrbba'' for 'the man who didn't arrive'.

====Alternative relative clause construction====

Modern Tinnermockaar seems to be in the process of developing an alternate construction for relative clauses where the attributive ''an'' is not followed by a participle but by a full verb as in ''mpànvvr an ovrccəń'' for 'the man who hunts it' rather than standard ''mpànvvr an ccəńyrbba'' (~ the hunting man).

This construction, however, is still perceived as non-standard and is often relegated to informal situations.

==Numerals==

Tinnermockaar has a fairly simple base-10 numeration system. Numerals follow the noun to which they apply, which must still bear grammatical number suffixes as usual, as in singular ''mpànv pè'' for 'one man', paucal ''mpànvbà cynə'' for 'three men' and plural ''mpànvga bbov'' for 'eight men'.

There is no numeral for 'zero' as null quantities are expressed through the 'negative' grammatical number instead: ''mpànvxoòt'' for 'no men' or 'zero men'.

Numbers from 1 to 10 are expressed as follows:

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Number''' !! '''Tinnemockaar'''
|-
| '''1''' || ''pè''
|-
| '''2''' || ''ccer''
|-
| '''3''' || ''cynə''
|-
| '''4''' || ''pyyr''
|-
| '''5''' || ''zynə''
|-
| '''6''' || ''bbav''
|-
| '''7''' || ''kkuu''
|-
| '''8''' || ''bbov''
|-
| '''9''' || ''hav''
|-
| '''10''' || ''hati''
|}

Multiples of ten are formed by adding the 'tens' digit after ''hati'' as in ''hati ccer'' (ten-two) for 20. The units can then be stated by adding the conjunction ''aa'' (and) and the appropriate digit, as in ''hati hav aa cynə'' (ten-nine and three) for 93. The same pattern applies to larger numbers with ''attè'' for 'hundreds' and ''gumbə'' for 'thousands'. For example, the number 1234 will be given as ''gumbə aa attè ccer aa hati cynə aa pyyr'', literally 'thousand and hundreds-two and tens-three and four'.

==Tinnermockaar script==

Tinnermockaar's native writing system is an alphabet, written horizontally from left to right. The script has some featural elements. Dried palm leaves are its most common writing medium, often being tied together into books.

Most letters are based on incomplete circular outlines formed by a 'bow' which leaves an opening near the bottom of the glyph for letters corresponding to a consonant or near the top for letters for vowels and diphthongs.

Many glyphs come in pairs consisting a 'soft' character where all elements are written within the bow and a 'hard' character where one or more strokes stretch beyond the bow. Paired soft and hard glyphs generally correspond to phonemes with similar articular, such as unvoiced stops and their ejective counterparts or plain vowels and their glottalized counterparts.

===Consonants===

The Tinnermockaar script includes 36 consonant letters, traditionally listed in the following order:

[[File:Tinnermockaar consonants.png|800px|thumb|center|Tinnermockaar consonants]]

As mentioned within the ''Phonology'' section, the Tinnermockaar script retains a number of distinctions that have been lost in the spoken language, resulting in a slightly non-phonetic orthography. Irregularities to keep in mind include:
* The consonant /ts/ (romanized as '''''ts''''') might be written as either ''Ts'' or ''Nts'' depending on the word's etymology.
* Null onsets corresponding to a historical /ɡ/ are written with an initial ''Gg''.
* The glide /j/ is written as ''Gg'' or as ''Ñ'' depending on etymological considerations.
* The consonant /n/ is written as ''N̈'' before back vowels and in all forms of the attributive ''an'', otherwise /n/ is written as ''N''.
* A small number of words have irregular spellings reflecting earlier pronunciations such as the word ''àtte'' (one hundred) retaining an irregularly lost ''h'' and thus being spelled as ''*hàtte''.

===Vowels===

Each non-rhotic vowel or diphthong is represented by one of the following 38 letters, contrasting length and glottalization (or lack thereof):

[[File:Tinnermockaar vowels.png|800px|thumb|center|Tinnermockaar vowels]]

Rhotic vowels are written as their non-rhotic counterparts with a bar below, as seen in the final character of name ''ttỳnaamokkəər'' (Tinnermockaar, the native name of the language) which can be identified as an ''Əə'' character bearing the rhoticity marker above/

[[File:Tinnermockaar in native script.png|thumb|Example: ''ttỳnaamokkəər'' as written in the Tinnermockaar script]]

As shown in the example, Tinnermockaar letters are often written without any space between one another, although exceptions may be made depending on the shape of the intervening letters (as seen above with the ''N'' and the ''Aa''). It is most common for writers not to conjoin letters belonging to separate words, although this rule is by no means universal.

Aside from a few unpredictable irregular spellings (such as the pronoun ''heergà'', 'they', which is spelled as ''heeñiga'') written vowels match pronunciation with one exception: the glottal rhotic vowel /ɜˀɹ̆/ might be written either as ''ə̀r'' (matching its romanization) or as ''v̀r'', reflecting a historical /ʊˀɹ̆/ pronunciation that has since merged with ''ə̀r''.

===Punctuation===

Tinnermockaar punctuation is rather limited when compared to that used in the Latin script and also considerably more flexible in its usage. It includes the following marks:

[[File:Punctuation marks in Tinnermockaar.png|thumb|Punctuation marks in Tinnermockaar]]

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Punctuation''' !! '''Usage'''
|-
| Dot below || Used to separate words. Optional but fairly common. Often omitted after ''an'' (attributive particle/verb) and ''əl'' (possessive particle).
|-
| Two dots || Described intrafictionally as 'marking the end of an idea', this mark is generally used to separate sentences although some authors might omit it between sentences which share a topic.
|-
| Underline || A small underline under the first character of a word is used as an 'emphasis marker' which might be used for any elements that may be considered as particularly 'important' or worthy of deference within a passage. Personal names referring to others are always marked with this punctuation sign as a way to show respect towards them (regardless of whether their role within the text bears much relevance or not). By contrast, the writer's own name (or that of the patron in whose name a scribe composes a text) never bears this marker as doing so could be seen as inappropriately self-aggrandizing. No special considerations are held for marking pronouns, however.
|-
| End of section || This marker replaces the 'two dots' sign at the end of a group of related sentences. Although particulars about its usage might vary from author to author, it could be thought of as a paragraph separator. The 'end of section' mark implies that the text will be continued (possibly on the a different page).
|-
| End of text || Replaces the 'end of section' mark after the final section of a text.
|}

===Numerals in the Tinnermockaar script===

Numbers in written Tinnermockaar are typically expressed through a set of numerals which, much as our own Arabic numerals (0123456789) employ a positional base-10 notation with larger digits written on the left. This means that Arabic numerals might be converted to and from Tinnermockaar simply by replacing the glyphs for each digits.

[[File:Tinnermockaar numerals.png|500px|thumb|center|Tinnermockaar digits]]

==Sample sentences==

The following are four sample sentences to showcase some aspects of Tinnermockaar's morphology and syntax.

{| class="wikitable"
! Sample sentences:
|-
| (1) ''Əmàmańvm mpànv aa nacv.''
|-
| /ɜ.maˀ.ma.ŋʊm mpaˀ.nʊ aː na.tʊ/
|-
| A man and a woman were walking.
|-
|
|-
| (2) ''Kkaahaàmpakəəs jaacceynər nacvvrga-cə mpànvvrga?''
|-
| /kʼaː.haːˀ.mpa.kɜːs̻ ˈjaː.tʼeɪ̯.nɝ na.tʊːɹ̆.ɡ̊a.tɜ mpaˀ.nʊːɹ̆.ɡ̊a/
|-
| Do the women see the men?
|-
|
|-
| (3) ''Xav avńgakanđ càkə̀r an xaalàkka tsidi-ńgeè.''
|-
| /çaʊ̯ aʊ̯.ŋɡa.kan taˀ.kɝˀ an çaː.laˀ.kʼa tsi.d̪̥i.ŋɡeːˀ/
|-
| I didn’t give you the heavy stone.
|-
|
|-
| (4) ''Śə̀r an jaaccàkka əl tsidi ovrkəəs ccəńeynər ddebbeer an đđa-yrbba ttə tsanabà ccer əl haańa.''
|-
| /s̺ɝˀ an jaː.tʼaˀ.kʼa ɜl tsi.di oʊ̯ɹ̆.kɜːs̻ tʼɜ.ŋeɪ̯.nɝ d̪e.beːɹ̆ an da.ɪɹ̆.ba tʼɜ tsa.na.b̥aˀ tʼɝ ɜl haː.ŋa/
|-
| The person you saw is catching the bird that found my two children.
|}

{| class="wikitable"
! Glosses: !! !! !! !! !!
|-
| ''əmà-mańvm'' || ''mpànv'' || ''aa'' || ''nacv'' || ||
|-
| walk || man || and || woman || ||
|-
| || || || || ||
|-
| ''kkaah-aàmpa-kəəs'' || ''jaacc-eynər'' || ''nacv\:r-ga-cə'' || ''mpànv\:r-ga'' || ||
|-
| INT-3p.ANIM>3p.ANIM-TEL.PRS || see-GER || woman\DEF-PL-NOM || man\DEF-PL || ||
|-
| || || || || ||
|-
| ''xav'' || ''avńga-ka-nđ'' || ''càkò\:r '' || ''an'' || ''xaàlàkka'' || ''tsidi-ńgeè''
|-
| NEG || 1s>3s.INAN.DEF-TEL-give || stone\DEF || ATTR.3 || heavy || 2s-BEN
|-
| || || || || ||
|-
| ''śv̀\:r'' || ''an'' || ''jaacc-àkka'' || ''əl'' || ''tsidi'' || ''ovr-kəəs''
|-
| person\DEF || ATTR || see-PTCP.PAS || POS || 2s || 3s.ANIM>3s.INAN.DEF-TEL.PRS
|-
| ''ccəń-eynər'' || ''ddebbeer\:r'' || ''an'' || ''đđa-yrbba'' || ''ttə'' || ''tsana-bà''
|-
| hunt-GER || bird\DEF || ATTR || find-PTCP.ACT || REL.ACC || child-PAU
|-
| ''ccer'' || ''əl'' || ''haańa'' || || ||
|-
| two || POS || 1s || || ||
|}

In Tinnermockaar script:

[[File:Tinnermockaar sample sentences.png|800px|thumb|center|Sample sentences in Tinnermockaar script]]

[[Category:Tinnermockaar]]
[[Category:Languages]]
[[Category:Conlangs]]

File:Tinnermockaar sample sentences.png

2024-09-22T05:52:40Z

Jotadiego:

Sample sentences from the article on Tinnermockaar rendered in its native writing system

Tinnermockaar

2024-09-22T05:45:51Z

Jotadiego: Tinnermockaar native writing system

{{Infobox language
|name=''ttỳnaamokkəər''
|pronunciation=/ˈtʼɪˀ.naː.mo.kʼɝː/
|familycolor=Isolate
|fam1=Isolate
|script=Tinnermockaar
|created = 2024
|-
|notice=IPA
}}

'''Tinnermockaar''' (natively ''ttỳnaamokkəər'' /ˈtʼɪˀ.naː.mo.kʼɝː/, which translates as 'the language') is an ''a priori'' conlang with an agglutinative grammar where most words are formed either by adding vowel-initial prefixes to CVC root to form a verb or verb-like element or by adding vowel-final suffixes to a root to form a nominal (noun or noun-like element). As a result, most Tinnermockaar words either start with a vowel and end in a consonant or vice-versa.

The language features a somewhat challenging phonology, including ejective stops, a three-way contrast in voicing and glottalized vowels based on Danish stød.

In addition to the Latin script orthography that will be used throughout this article, Tinnermockaar might be written in its own alphabet. The native orthography is moderately phonemic but it includes some etymological contrasts that are no longer observed in the spoken language.

==Phonology==

===Consonants===

The following table shows the consonant inventory for Tinnermockaar. Note that the rows and column in the table may indicate historical realizations that are no longer descriptive of the current realization of the respective consonant, as is the case for palatal 'stops' which have long shifted into affricates.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Tinnermockaar consonants
|-
! !! Labial !! Dental !! Alveolar !! Palatal !! Velar
|-
| '''Ejective stop''' || || '''''tt''''' //t̪ʼ/ || '''''cc''''' /tʼ/ || '''''tts''''' /tsʼ/ || '''''kk''''' /kʼ/
|-
| '''Plain stop''' || '''''p''''' /p/ || '''''t''''' /t̪/ || '''''c''''' /t/ || '''''ts''''' /ts/ || '''''k''''' /k/
|-
| '''Partially voiced stop''' || '''''b''''' /b̥/ || '''''d''''' /d̪̥/ || '''''đ''''' /d̥/ || || '''''g''''' /ɡ̊/
|-
| '''Voiced stop''' || '''''bb''''' /b/|| '''''dd''''' /d̼/ || '''''đđ''''' /d/ || ||
|-
| '''Fortis pre-nasalized stop''' || '''''mp''''' /mp/ || '''''nt''''' /nt̪/ || '''''nc''''' /nt/ || || '''''ńk''''' /ŋk/
|-
| '''Lenis pre-nasalized stop'''|| '''''mb''''' /mb/ || '''''nd''''' /nd̼/ || '''''nđ''''' /nd/ || '''''z''''' /d̥z̥/ || '''''ńg''''' /ŋɡ/
|-
| '''Nasal''' || '''''m''''' /m/ || || '''''n''''' /n/ || || '''''ń''''' /ŋ/
|-
| '''Fricative''' || || '''''s''''' /s̻/ || '''''ś''''' /s̺/ || '''''x''''' /ç/ || '''''h''''' /h/
|-
| '''Approximant''' || || || || '''''j''''' /j/ ||
|-
| '''Lateral''' || || || '''''l''''' /l/ || ||
|}

Notes:
* Alveolar consonants, as well as the affricates ''tts'' and ''ts'' tend to have an apical realization.
* Velar consonants are allophonically uvular when following /u/ or /ʊ/.
* There are no traces of the language ever having an ejective labial stop. It should be noted however that many languages with ejectives also lack /pʼ/ (less acoustically distinctive from its plain counterpart than other ejective plosives), so such a gap is not unexpected.
* Unvoiced stops are very mildly aspirated.
* There is some variation in the VOT (voice onset time) for pre-nasalized stops, ''fortis'' might range from moderate aspiration to ''tenuis'' while ''lenis'' might range from almost ''tenuis'' to fully voiced.
* Pre-nasalized stops in final position might result in the allophonic nasalization of the preceding vowel. For instance, '''''amb''''' /amb/ might be realized as something closer to [ãb̥].
* The phoneme '''''z''''' /d̥z̥/ is listed under the ''lenis'' prenasalized series since it comes from a historical /ɲɟ/, but its current realization is closer to that of a partially voiced counterpart to '''''ts'''''.
* A fully voiced /ɡ/ was dropped except before front vowels, where it turns into /j/ instead.
* An (intrafictionally) earlier form of the language had a palatal series that has mostly shifted to other points of articulation.
** First, its partially voiced and fully voiced stops (presumably /\''ɟ̊/ and /\''ɟ/ ) merged with the corresponding velars /ɡ̊/ and /ɡ/ (before the latter was lost to further sound changes). This change seems to have happened early enough that the distinction is not attested even in the earliest forms of Tinnermockaar writing.
** Then historical /cʼ/ and /c/ shifted into /tsʼ/ and /ts/.
** Historical pre-nasalized /ɲc/ and /ɲɟ/ first experiences a similar shift, turning briefly into /nts/ and /ndz/ before a second shift turned them into pure affricates, with /nts/ merging with /ts/ while /ndz/ became '''''z''''' /d̥z̥/.
** The palatal nasal /ɲ/ turned into /j/. A later change would drop it before front vowels.
* A single coronal nasal '''''n''''' /n/ seems to have developed from a merger between a historical dental /n̪/ and an alveolar /n/. Orthographic evidence (in the native Tinnermockaar script) suggests that the two sounds might have first adopted a complementary distribution before being outright merged in a generally alveolar [n].
* It is unclear whether the language ever had a labial fricative (/f/ or /ɸ/), if it did, it must have long dropped or merged with another consonant (likely '''''h''''').
* The 'dental' fricative '''''s''''' is a laminal /s̻/ while the 'alveolar' '''''ś''''' is an apical /s̺/, with speakers commonly pronounced it as a postalveolar [ʃ], especially in word-final position.
* The 'palatal' fricative '''''x''''' /ç/ often shifts to [x] before back vowels.
* The 'velar' fricative '''''h''''' is realized either as a glottal fricative /h/ or outright dropped (especially between non-high vowels).
* A glottal stop [ʔ] and a rhotic alveolar approximant [ɹ] might occur as allophonic pronunciations for glottalized and rhotacized vowels, respectively.

The native orthography in the Tinnermockaar script still makes some distinctions that are not preserved in the spoken language:
* Distinction between /ts/ from historical /c/ and historical /ɲc/ (transcribed as ''nts'').
* Distinction between /j/ (and null onsets from a historical dropped /j/) from historical /ɲ/ (transcribed as ''ñ'') and historical /ɡ/ (transcribed as ''gg'').
* Two characters that might have once corresponded to a historical dental /n̪/ (sometimes transcribed as ''n̈'') and a historical alveolar /n/ (transcribed as ''n'') now generally present a complementary distribution, with dental ''n̈'' usually being found before back vowels although multiple exceptions to this rule can be found.

===Vowels===

Tinnermockaar has the following vocalic inventory:

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Tinnermockaar vowels
|-
! !! Front !! Central !! Back
|-
| '''High''' || '''''i''''' /i/ || || '''''u''''' /u/
|-
| '''Upper''' || '''''y''''' /ɪ/ || || '''''v''''' /ʊ/
|-
| '''Mid''' || '''''e''''' /e/, [e̞] || || '''''o''''' /o/ [o̞]
|-
| '''Lower''' || || '''''ə''''' /ɜ/ ||
|-
| '''Low''' || || '''''a''''' /a/, [ä] ||
|}

Note that the vowels '''''y''''' and '''''v''''' are considered to be 'front' and 'back' (respectively) despite actually having a more centralized realization.

All vowels can be short or long (indicated by doubling the vowel).

Five diphthongs are allowed, all of them falling: '''''ae''''' /ae̯/, '''''av''''' /aʊ̯/, '''''ey''''' /eɪ̯/, '''''ov''''' /oʊ̯/ and '''''əi''''' /ɜi̯/. No length distinctions are observed on diphthongs.

All diphthongs and all non-high vowels (short or long) might be glotalized, with a realization similar to Danish stød. This is marked with a grave accent diacritic on the (last) letter as in '''''v̀''''' for /ʊˀ/, '''''aà''''' for /aːˀ/ and '''''əì''''' for /ɜi̯ˀ/.

The vowels '''''a''''', '''''e''''', '''''o''''' '''''v''''', '''''y''''' and '''''ə''''' (short or long) and the diphthongs '''''ae''''', '''''av''''' and '''''əi''''' might be rhotacized, marked with an \<r\> after the vowel: '''''ar''''' for /a˞ /, '''''yyr''''' for /ɪ˞ ː/, '''''avr''''' for /aʊ̯˞ /. Since the hook diacritic used in IPA to mark rhoticity is often hard to read if not completely absent in most fonts, these will be notated with a /ɹ̆/ as in /ʊːɹ̆/ for '''''vvr''''' rather than /ʊ˞ː/.

Only a short '''''ə''''' is allowed to be simultaneously rhotacized and glotalized: '''''ə̀r''''' for /ɜˀɹ̆/. Historically, '''''v̀r''''' /ʊˀɹ̆/ was also allowed, although it later merged with '''''ə̀r''''' (the distinction is preserved in the native orthography, though).

Some speakers (particularly those in the peripheries of the language, in contact with non-native speakers who might struggle with rhoticity and glottalization) might pronounce rhotacized vowels as plain vowels followed by a rhotic such as [ɹ] or [ɾ] and pronounce glotalized vowels as plain vowels followed by a glottal stop [ʔ].

===Phonotactics===

Tinnermockaar allows for (C)V(V)(C) syllables, which is to say, an optional onset composed of a single consonant, a mandatory nucleus composed of a vowel or diphthong (possibly bearing glottalization or rhoticity) and an optional coda consonant.

Notice that prenasalized stops and affricates are counted as single consonants and that rhoticity and glottalization are not regarded as adding codae, thus a syllable such as '''''ttsə̀rmp''''''' /tsʼɜˀɹ̆mp/ conforms to the allowed CVC pattern.

Codae are only allowed in word-final position. As a result, consonant clusters are not allowed to occur within a word. Vowel clusters (''ie'' sequences of onset-less syllables) are allowed freely, with a hyphen being used to separate syllables in these cases as in ''enav̀-aakvvr'' ('they heated it').

Ejectives are realized as plain stops in word-final position (such that ''att'' and ''at'' would both be pronounced /at/) while fully voiced stops are realized as partially-voiced ones (''abb'' and ''ab'' would both be pronounced /ab̥/). The original pronunciation surfaces when a suffix is added.

Although no phonotactical rule requires it, the fact that Tinnermockaar morphology often revolves around CVC roots which take ''either'' vowel initial prefixes or vowel final suffixes makes it so a vast majority of Tinnermockaar words either begin in a vowel and end in a consonant (V...C) or vice-versa (C...V). These two possibilities also relate to Tinnermockaar parts of speech, with verbals being overwhelmingly vowel-initial (and consonant-final) whereas nominals tend to be consonant-initial (and vowel-final).

===Suprasegmentals===

The language does not have phonemic tones nor stress. Word tend to be stressed on their first syllable.

==Morphology==

Tinnermockaar constructs most of its words out of roots, sequences which cannot be used as words on their own. A Tinnermockaar root typically has a CVC structure such as ''√ttỳn'' /tʼɪˀ.n/ for 'speaking', although a limited number of roots are composed of a single consonant C, some can only be analyzed as having a CVCVC structure and a considerable number omit one or more consonants, possibly due to the historical loss of certain consonants.

Roots often have verb-like main meanings (as seen previously with ''√ttỳn'', 'speaking') but they might also be mainly noun-like as with the root ''√havp'' 'copper'. Regardless of this, most roots have the potential to be used both in noun-like and verb-like derivations, as evidenced by ''ttỳnaamokkə'' (language, a noun derived from ''√ttỳn'') or ''eerbbihavp'' for 'they are made of copper' (a verb derived from ''√havp'').

It is also relatively common for roots to have different forms or have small 'families' of roots differing only in their vowel or some suprasegmental aspect thereof (such as root pairs differing only in vowel length or glottalization). These differences can mostly be attributed to irregular sound change and seldom show any consistent patterns.

These roots (which can be termed 'primary roots') are often extended into 'secondary roots' by adding a prefix, usually of the form CV-. These prefixes often relate to some vague form of locative meaning such as ''ma-'' roughly corresponding to 'around', transforming the core meaning of the root ''√ńvm'' related to movement to ''√mańvm'' for with meanings of 'roaming' or 'walking around'. It should be noted, however, that the semantic derivation resulting from these affixes can be fairly unpredictable. For instance, applying the same prefix to ''√ttỳn'' (speaking) yields ''√mattỳn'' with a rough meaning of 'fame' (presumably because people around the famous person would speak about them) while applying it to ''√nin'' (to breathe) results in ''√manin'' meaning 'to sneeze' in a rather unclear derivation. These derivational prefixes are remarkably similar to the 'preverbs' found in Indo-European languages (such as the 'for' in 'forgive'), although the resulting meanings of might differ.

Tinnermockaar words are derived through the addition of affixes (prefixes or suffixes) to these roots (be they primary or secondary roots). For the most part, these derivations follow one of two patterns corresponding to a main division in the language: verbals (mostly derived with vowel-initial prefixes) and nominals (exclusively derived with vowel-final suffixes).

'''Note:''' that the morphological classes I refer to as 'verbals' and 'nominals' in Tinnermockaar might not correspond to other usages of those words in linguistics (such as Chomsky's notion of 'nominals'), they are just meant as a convenient term for this conlang in particular.

===Verbals===

Tinnermockaar verbals mostly correspond to verbs describing a past, generic or habitual state; present and future-tense verbs are handled instead through a construction involving an auxiliary verbal a nominal instead. Since Tinnermockaar's equivalents to adjectives are verb-like, they are often handled as verbals as wells.

Verbals usually present the following structure:

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Tinnermockaar 'verbal' structure
|-
! Component !! Optional / Mandatory !! Default (if not explicit)
|-
| Mood marker || Optional || Realis
|-
| Subject/theme agreement || Mandatory || -
|-
| Aspect marker || Optional || Atelic
|-
| Secondary root prefix || Optional || -
|-
| Root || Mandatory || -
|-
| Voice marker || Optional || Active voice
|}

The fact that most (not all though!) mood and agreement markers begin in a vowel and that most roots and all voice markers end in a consonant makes it so that verbals are overwhelmingly vowel-initial and consonant-final. In fact, certain words of dubious classification are considered verbals in Tinnermockaar tradition solely on the basis that they have this phonetic structure, as in the genitive particle ''əl''.

====Mood====

Tinnermockaar verbs might carry a mood prefix for non-realis usages, this is to say, when describing a situation which is (or was) not an actual fact in the present or past. Non-realis moods include:
* '''Interrogative''' (INT, prefix ''kkaah-'') - required for polar questions.
* '''Potential''' (POT, prefix '''''ax-''''') - indicates a possibility (like English 'can' or 'may').
* '''Interrogative-potential''' (INT.POT, prefix '''''àkkaah-''''') - asks bout whether something ''might'' happen (or have happened).
* '''Optative''' (OPT, prefix '''''eyt-''''') - used for wishes, hopes.
* '''Jussive''' (JUS, prefix '''''əcaant-''''') - indicates a mandatory state (like English 'must' or some usages of 'shall').
* '''Irrealis''' (IRR, prefix '''''ind-''''') - other hypothetical situations, conditionals, etc.

For instance

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Mood examples
|-
! Mood !! Example !! Translation
|-
| Realis || ''Enav̀ccəń.''|| They hunted it
|-
| Interrogative || '''''Kkaah'''enav̀ccəń ?'' || Did they hunt it?
|-
| Potential || '''''Ax'''enav̀ccəń.'' || They might have hunted it
|-
| Interrogative-potential || '''''Àkkaah'''enav̀ccəń ?'' || Could they have hunted it?
|-
| Optative || '''''Eyt'''enav̀ccəń !'' || Let's hope they hunted it
|-
| Jussive || '''''Əcaant'''enav̀ccəń.'' || They must (are required to) have hunted it
|-
| Irrealis || '''''Ind'''enav̀ccəń ...'' || (If) they hunted it...
|}

The jussive mood is not to be confused with the imperative (commands issued to the listener), which are formed through a separate construction.

====Subject and theme agreement====

Tinnermockaar has what is known as polypersonal agreement, with transitive verbs (verbs featuring both a subject and an object) being mandatorily marked for both arguments, while intransitive verbs (thus with a single argument, also known as 'subject' in English but referred to as 'theme' in Tinnermockaar) taking a different set of prefixes to mark their one argument. Voice suffixes, as discussed later on, might be used to allow transitive verbs to behave as intransitive ones and vice versa.

Both forms of argument agreement indicate the grammatical person of the argument as well as some other distinctions such as animacy and number for third person referents. The following cases are contrasted:
* First person exclusive (1.EXCL) - usually refers to the speaker (I, me) but it might also be used to refer to 'exclusive we' (the speaker and others, not including the listener).
* First person inclusive (1.INCL) - 'inclusive we', the speaker, the listener and, possibly, others.
* Second person (2) - the listener or listeners (you) and possibly others.
* Animate third person singular (3s.ANIM) - a human (or a being that acts like a human, such as a personified god) other than the speaker and listener; corresponding to English 'he', 'she' or singular 'they'.
* Animate third person plural (3p.ANIM) - more than one person.
* Inanimate third person singular (3s.INAN) - one object/animal or a group of uncountable objects (such as 'the sand'); 'it'.
* Inanimate third person plural (3p.INAN) - more than one distinct objects or animals. Not distinguished from 3s.INAN for transitive subjects.

Further distinctions in number (such as contrasting 1.EXCL as used for singular 'I' or for plural 'we [me and others]') might be made by including an overt pronoun (as discussed within the section for nominals) but that is relatively uncommon.

Definiteness is contrasted for third person inanimate themes, contrasting sentences such as ''enav̀kàccəń'' ('they hunted it', where the animal that was hunted refers to a known individual) and ''eenəkàccəń'' ('they hunted one', where the animal that was some previously undefined individual).

In the following tables, prefixes for each combination are given with the subject being indicated by the column and the theme or direct object by the row. For suffixes whose Tinnermockaar script spelling is not predictable, the appropriate spelling is provided between brackets.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Agreement markers
|-
! Subject (columns): !! None (Intransitive) !! 1.EXCL !! 1.INCL !! 2 !! 3s.ANIM !! 3p.ANIM !! 3.INAN
|-
| '''1.EXCL''' || əńee- || - || - || tsəńỳ-|| ème- || aàmy- || àńav-
|-
| '''1.INCL''' || ańyỳ- || -|| - || -|| èmyỳ- || aàmyỳ- || ə̀rńyỳ-
|-
| '''2''' || iì- || ijee- (iñee-) || - || - || ənce- (aàntse-) || aàtse- (aàntse-) || ə̀rttsə-
|-
| '''3s.ANIM''' || i- || ayńè- || yyrńè- || ətsè- || əmba- || aàmba- || àśe-
|-
| '''3p.ANIM''' || əmà- || əńkà- || yyrnkà- || ətsà- (əntsà-) || əmpeè- || aàmpa- || əśaà- (vśaà-)
|-
| '''3s.INAN.DEF''' || oo- || avńga- || əənga- || ətsə- || ovr- || enav̀- || av̀-
|-
| '''3s.INAN.INDF''' || vr- || əńvr- || əərńvr- || vtsə- || ey- || eenə- || ə̀r- (v̀r-)
|-
| '''3p.INAN.DEF''' || eer- || əńeer- || yrńeer- || ətseer- || ə-eer (əggeer-) || aàńga- || eèr-
|-
| '''3p.INAN.INDF''' || eer- || əńyỳ- || yrńyỳ- || ətsyỳ- || əńka- || aàńka- || eèr-
|}

Bear in mind that the reflexive and reciprocal voices (explained in the ''Voices'' section below) are required for actions where the subject and theme coincide.

=====Citation forms for verbs=====

While in English the citation form of a verb (''ie'' the form usually listed in dictionaries and used to refer to the verb) is the infinitive, the preferred citation form for Tinnermockaar verbs is a verbal with no optional affixes presenting agreement prefixes for third person arguments. These prefixes depend on whether the verb is transitive or intransitive and on whether its expected arguments are more likely to be humans or inanimate objects.

Intransitive verbs which are more likely to have a human theme take the 3s.ANIM prefix '''''i-''''' as in ''iđđun'' (they slept) for 'to sleep'; if the theme is judged more likely to be non-human, the 3s.INAN prefix '''''oo-''''' is used instead as in ''oobbihavp'' (it is made of cooper) for 'to be made of cooper'. Cases where both a human or a non-human theme are possible vary, by they tend towards the former as in ''ideìkvvr'' (they are hot) for 'to be hot', although an inanimate citation form ''oodeìkvvr'' (it is hot) could occasionally be used should the context make it clear it is meant to apply to a non-human.

A similar situation occurs for transitive verbs, which take a prefix corresponding to third person singular arguments whose animacy was determined by their most likely referents although with a clear bias towards preferring animate subjects and inanimate topics. As a result, the citation form of most transitive verbs tends to bear the '''''ey-''''' prefix (animate subject, inanimate theme), even though '''''əmba-''''' (animate subject and theme), '''''ə̀r-''''' (inanimate subject and theme) and, rarely, '''''àśe-''''' (inanimate subject, animate theme) are also possible options:

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Citation forms
|-
! !! Intransitive !! Animate subject !! Inanimate subject
|-
| '''Animate theme''' || ''i-'' || ''əmba-'' || ''àśe-''
|-
| '''Inanimate theme''' || ''oo-'' || ''ey-'' || ''ə̀r-''
|}

====Aspect====

Tinnermockaar contrasts three aspects, indicated though suffixes between the agreement marks and the main stem (root and secondary root prefixes).

By default, verbs take the unmarked '''atelic''' (ATEL) aspect which indicates an event without a specific endpoint. For instance, atelic ''iccəńàk'', 'he hunted', indicates that the action is conceptualized as being a prolonged state (as implied in 'they were out hunting') without a specific goal that would mark its endpoint.

On the other hand, the prefix ''kà'' marks a verb as '''telic''' (TEL), which indicates an action with a defined endpoint. For example, telic ''ikàccəńàk'', which we might also translate as 'he hunted', actually indicates that there was a goal that was accomplished and which marked an endpoint for the action (in the example, the hunter probably chased after one particular game).

There is a commonly used rule of thumb in linguistics for telling apart whether a phrase is telic or atelic: if the action can be given with a time frame (as in ''''''within''' an hour'''), it is telic (the endpoint is pinpointed as being achieved within the timeframe) while an atelic phrase will usually require a time-span instead such as ''''''for''' an hour'''.

Meanwhile the prefix ''zi-'' is used to indicate an '''inchoative''' (INCH) aspect, which marks the beginning of a state. Thus ''iziccəńàk'' corresponds to 'they started hunting'.

====Voice====

Verbals corresponding to transitive verbs might take a suffix to indicate a change in grammatical voice, which is to say, an unexpected behavior in the argument of the transitive verb.

By default, such verbs are found in their active voice which includes a distinct subject and an object. For instance, ''enav̀kàccəń'' ('they hunted it') is marked as having a human third person subject and a definite non-human third person object.

A '''reflexive''' voice marker ''-as'' is required to indicate that the subject and object coincide, that the subject does the action to itself. The resulting verb is only marked for its theme, as in ''ooccəńas'' for 'it hunted itself'.

The '''reciprocal''' or '''mutual''' marker ''-ubbàm'' has a similar usage except that it indicates that individuals within a group do something to each other (but not to themselves). For instance, ''əmàccəńubbàm'' translates to 'they hunted each other'. This would indicate that there were at least two parties, one hunting the other and vice-versa, as opposed to reflexive ''əmàccəńas'' 'they hunted themselves'. Informally, however, it would be relatively common for native Tinnermockaar speakers themselves to use both forms interchangeable, indicating that this distinction is seemingly falling out of use.

For verbals with a distinct subject and object, the '''passive''' and '''antipassive''' voices allow for one of those arguments to be dropped. '''Passive''' ''-it'' converts a transitive verb into a syntactically intransitive one with the original object as its theme as in ''ookàccəńit'' for 'it was hunted', '[someone] hunted it'. Conversely, '''antipassive''' ''-àk'' allows the subject alone to to be marked, also becoming the theme of a syntactically intransitive verb as in ''ikàccəńàk'' for 'they hunted [something]'.

Verbals corresponding to an ''intransitive'' verb might take the '''causative''' marker ''-eeś'' which turns them into a transitive verb where the subject influences the theme to reach the state normally marked by the intransitive verb. For instance, ''oodeìkvvrm'' 'it was hot' might be used to derive ''enav̀deìkvvrmeeś'', 'they made it hot'. It should be noted, however, that many intransitive verbs have a transitive counterpart that will usually be preferred to a causative form; thus to specify an agent responsible for the state of being hot indicated by ''oodeìkvvrm'' a separate transitive verb, ''enav̀-aakvvr'', 'they heated it'.

====The attributive verbal ''an''====

The word ''an'' is a verb-like element with two main uses:
- Acting as a copula verb (like English 'to be') for equaling two nominals, as in 'X is Y'.
- Being used as a particle to introduce relative clauses.

Unlike ordinary Tinnermockaar verbs, ''an'' presents an irregular paradigm. It might only be conjugated for mood (taking the usual mood prefixes) and for argument agreement (through completely irregular forms). Despite the fact that ''an'' takes two arguments when used as a copula verb, its conjugation only references the grammatical person for single argument, without any number or animacy distinctions for the third person:

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Conjugation of ''an''
|-
! Person !! Form of ''an''
|-
| '''1.EXCL''' || ''əńaàn'' (spelled as ''əhanàn'' in Tinnermockaar script)
|-
| '''1.INCL''' || ''amyńan''
|-
| '''2''' || ''tsaan''
|-
| '''3''' || ''an''
|}

In addition to not being permitted to take aspect and voice markers, ''an'' might not appear in present or future tense constructions; its tense is unless a time adverb is added.

See the sections on noun copula and relatives under the ''Syntax'' header for more information.

===Nominals===

Tinnermockaar nominals include nouns, certain verb forms such gerunds used in present-tense constructions as well as adverbs, determiners and, arguably, even pronouns. Tinnermockaar's own (intrafictional) tradition would also include conjunctions and prepositions under this category.

The structure of nominals is not as rigid as that of verbals, but it's often composed of the following elements:

{| class="wikitable"
! Component !! Optional / Mandatory !! Default (if not present)
|-
| '''Secondary root prefix''' || Optional || -
|-
| '''Root''' || Mandatory || -
|-
| '''Derivational suffix''' || Mandatory Multiple suffixes may be used || -
|-
| '''Definiteness marking''' || Optional || Indefinite
|-
| '''Number marking''' || Optional || Singular or collective (depending on the noun)
|-
| '''Case marking''' || Optional || Absolutive
|}

Nominals are typically consonant-initial (as are most roots, primary or secondary) and are very commonly vowel-final although exceptions to this are not uncommon.

The citation form of a nominal is the one without definiteness, number and case markers.

====Derivational suffixes====

Tinnermockaar nominals require at least one derivational suffix to be added to the primary or secondary root. These suffixes typically hint at the intended meaning of the nominal, although some derivations might be unexpected.

The language has a wide array of derivational suffixes including:
* '''-aa''' - a noun denoting an action or an event, as in ''ccəńaa'', 'hunt'.
* '''-avr''' - groups, as in ''bankumbavr'', 'crowd'.
* '''-eemə''' - materials, as in ''havpeemə'', 'copper'.
* '''-eer''' - Animals or plants, as in ''ddebbeer'' for 'bird' (from ''ooddebb'', 'to fly')
* '''-i''' - an animate actor, as in ''ccəńi'', 'hunter'.
* '''-ò''' - a patient of a concluded transitive action, as in ''ccəńò'' (game, prey that has been hunted).
* '''-v''' - a person who is characterized by an intransitive verb as in ''mindv'', 'visitor' (from ''imind'', 'to arrive').

=====Verb nominals: participles and gerunds=====

Certain derivational suffixes are used for nominals related to verbs. This includes two forms dubbed 'participles' used in relative clauses (the active participle ''-yrbba'' and the passive participle ''-àkka'') and a number of gerunds used for present and future tense constructions whose derivational suffixes encode the verb's voice:
* '''-eynər''' - active voice gerund (also used for reciprocal voice).
* '''-eeccər''' - passive voice gerund (also used for reflexive voice).
* '''-aettsər''' - antipassive voice gerund.

Verbal stems might also form nominals using a gerundive suffix '''''-ae''''' which indicates purpose and which might be required to be used along modal verbs.

====Definiteness====

Nominals corresponding to nouns may be made definite by applying the following sound changes on their final vowel:
* Non-glottalized short vowels are lengthened.
* The resulting vowel or diphthong is replaced by a 'rhotic counterpart' when one exists, as shown below:

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Original''' !! '''Definite''' !! '''Original''' !! '''Definite''' !! '''Original''' !! '''Definite''' !! '''Original''' !! '''Definite'''
|-
| ''a'', ''aa'' || '''''əər''''' || ''à'' || '''''ə̀r''''' || ''aà'' || '''''aà''''' || ''ar'', ''aar'' || '''''əər'''''
|-
| ''e, ee'' || '''''yyr''''' || ''è'' || '''''è''''' || ''eè'' || '''''eè''''' || ''er'', ''eer'' || '''''eer'''''
|-
| ''i, ii'' || '''''ii''''' || - || - || - || - || - || -
|-
| ''o, oo'' || '''''vvr''''' || ''ò'' || '''''ə̀r''''' || ''oò'' || '''''oò''''' || ''or'', ''oor'' || '''''oor'''''
|-
| ''u, uu'' || '''''uu''''' || - || - || - || - || - || -
|-
| ''v, vv'' || '''''vvr''''' || ''v̀'' || '''''ə̀r''''' || ''vv̀'' || '''''vv̀''''' || ''vr, vvr'' || '''''vvr'''''
|-
| ''y, yy'' || '''''yyr''''' || ''ỳ'' || '''''ỳ''''' || ''yỳ'' || '''''yỳ''''' || ''yr, yyr'' || '''''yyr'''''
|-
| ''ə, əə'' || '''''əər''''' || ''ə̀'' || '''''ə̀r''''' || ''əə̀'' || '''''əə̀''''' || ''ər, əər'' || '''''əər'''''
|-
| ''ae'' || '''''aer''''' || ''aè'' || '''''aè''''' || - || - || ''aer'' || '''''aer'''''
|-
| ''av'' || '''''avr''''' || ''av̀'' || '''''av̀''''' || - || - || ''avr'' || '''''avr'''''
|-
| ''ey'' || '''''yyr''''' || ''eỳ'' || '''''eỳ''''' || - || - || - || -
|-
| ''ov'' || '''''vvr''''' || ''ov̀'' || '''''ov̀''''' || - || - || - || -
|-
| ''əi'' || '''''əir''''' || ''əì'' || '''''əì''''' || - || - || ''əir'' || '''''əir'''''
|}

====Number====

By default, Tinnermockaar nouns might be either singular (referring to a single object) or collective (referring to a group of non-distinct objects or to an uncountable substance); this is a lexical property that cannot be determined from affixes alone.

For non-collective nouns (singular by default), three additional grammatical numbers can be formed through suffixes:
* '''Partitive''' (suffix ''-dər'') - indicates a group of elements drawn from a larger group.
* '''Paucal''' (suffix ''-bà'') - indicates a small number of elements.
* '''Plural''' (suffix ''-ga'') - indicates a large number of elements.

The distinction between paucal and plural is a fuzzy one, groups below 3 or 4 objects will generally be marked as paucal while groups above 5 or 6 will usually be marked as plural but the paucal vs plural distinction might also reflect a contrast with expectations. For instance, if a mythological creature had 4 eyes, those might be referred in plural to highlight the anomaly, while a garrison of 10 soldiers where several dozen would be expected might be referred to in the paucal. The partitive number, on the other hand, does not distinguish whether the number of elements is high or low, it only focuses on the fact that only some of the elements (in an otherwise unstated group) are relevant.

Plural marking is mandatory, even when a numeral is given.

Collective nouns, meanwhile, may also take the '''partitive''' suffix (''-dər'') to indicate fraction of the collective or substance, or a '''singulative''' (''-ceèt'' if word final, ''-ceè'' if followed by a case suffix) for indicating a single element drawn from the collective (not applicable to substances).

Finally, nouns of either type (but more usually non-collective ones) might take a '''negative''' suffix ''xoòt'' (or ''-xoò'' if followed by a case suffix) indicating a null quantity.

As an example, consider ''ccəńi'' ('hunter'), a countable noun, which might take the following suffixes:

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Number''' !! '''Example''' !! '''Translation'''
|-
| Singular || ''ccəńi'' || a hunter
|-
| Partitive || ''ccəńi'''dər''''' || some of the hunters
|-
| Paucal || ''ccəńi'''bà''''' || some hunters
|-
| Plural || ''ccəńi'''ga''''' || many hunters
|-
| Negative || ''ccəńi'''xoòt''''' || no hunters
|}

Meanwhile, collective nouns might be exemplified by ''bankumbavr'' (crowd) and ''havpeemə'' (copper) as follows:

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Number''''' !! '''Example 1''' !! '''Translation''' !! '''Example 2''' !! '''Translation'''
|-
| Collective || ''bankumbavr'' || a crowd || ''havpeemə'' || (some) copper
|-
| Singulative || ''bankumbavr'''ceèt''''' || a person in the crowd || - || -
|-
| Partitive || ''bankumbavr'''dər''''' || part of the crowd || ''havpeemə'''dər''''' || part of the copper
|-
| Negative || ''bankumbavr'''xoòt''''' || no crowd || ''havpeemə'''xoòt''''' || no copper
|}

====Cases====

Tinnermockaar nouns inflect for three cases: absolutive (unmarked), marked nominative (or 'ergative', suffix ''-cə'') and benefactive (suffix ''-ngeè''). Unlike other suffixes, case markers are separated from the nominal with a hyphen in Latin script orthography, so the benefactive form of ''ccəńi'' will be spelled as ''ccəńi-ngeè'' rather than ''ccəńingeè''.

The ergative case, which perhaps could be better deemed as 'marked nominative' case, is ''optionally'' required for subjects. Its marker, ''-cə'', is generally found in subjects of transitive verbs although it is often left out for subjects occurring in a fronted position (moved to the beginning of the sentence for emphasis).

More unusually, the suffix might ''-cə'' may be occasionally found in intransitive subjects for verbs with which also have an oblique argument and in present-tense constructions (where the primary verb gerund could also be considered to act as an oblique argument to the auxiliary).

Pronouns seldom bear the ''-cə'' marker, regardless of the situation.

The benefactive case marker, ''-ńgeè'', may be used to indicate an argument other than a subject or theme that benefits or has commanded the action. This case is also used for indirect objects in verbs such as ''eynđ'' ('to give').

All other roles are expressed with the unmarked absolutive case, possibly in combination with prepositions such as locative ''byr'' ('in').

====Pronouns====

Pronouns are used sparingly in Tinnermockaar as they are made largely redundant due to the polypersonal agreement in verbs. They will commonly occur for oblique roles that wouldn't be marked otherwise, though.

Since Tinnermockaar pronouns work largely in the same way as nouns, they might be inflected for number, allowing for finer distinctions than the ones shown in verb prefixes. For instance, while first person exclusive markers don't distinguish between singular "I, me" and plural "we ~ me and others", the overt pronoun ''haańà'' can specify the argument as singular, while the addition of number-marking suffixes can yield more precise plural meanings such as ''haańàdər'' (only some of us), ''haańàbà'' (me and a few others), ''haańàga'' (me and many others) and ''haańàxoòt'' (none of us). It should be noted, however, that it's usually more idiomatic for a Tinnermockaar speaker to drop pronouns.

Tinnermockaar personal pronouns are as follows:

{| class="wikitable"
! !! '''Singular''' !! '''(Dual)''' !! '''Paucal''' !! '''Plural''' !! '''Partitive''' !! '''Negative'''
|-
| '''First person exclusive''' (me [and others]) || ''haańa'' || || ''haańabà'' || ''haańaga'' || ''haańadər'' || ''haańàxoòt''
|-
| '''First person inclusive''' (you and me [and others]) || || ''hàmyy'' || ''hàmyybà'' || ''hàmyyga'' || ''hàmyydər'' || ''hàmyyxoòt''
|-
| '''Second person''' (you [and others]) || ''tsidi'' || || ''tsidibà'' || ''tsidiga'' || ''tsididər'' || ''tsidixoòt''
|-
| '''Third person animate''' (he/she/they) || ''hee-i'' || || ''heerbà'' || ''heerga'' || ''heerdər'' || ''heerxoòt''
|-
| '''Third person inanimate''' (it/they) || ''ccy'' || || ''ccybà'' || ''ccyga'' || ''ccydər'' || ''ccyxoòt''
|}

Number marking is largely regular aside from unmarked 'singular' ''hàmyy'' actually referring to two people ('you and me') and the third person animate pronoun using different roots for singular ''hee-i'' (which doesn't accept any number markings) and plural ''*heer'' (which requires a number marker).

Other than that, Tinnermockaar pronouns only differ from nouns in that they hardly ever take the 'ergative' ''-cə'' marker.

==Syntax==

Tinnermockaar is a somewhat typologically ambiguous language. As intransitive and transitive verbs differ considerably in their paradigm (as far as argument marking is concerned), it is hard to unambiguously classify it as having a nominative-accusative or an ergative-absolutive alignment, morphological clues suggest a tendency towards the latter although it can be noted that what could be interpreted as an ergative case marker might occasionally be used for intransitive subjects, a feature more in line with a nominative-accusative language. While this sort of typologically ambiguity is sometimes found in natural languages, it might not be out of line for one to question the naturalisticness of this conlang.

===Word order===

Tinnermockaar has a fairly flexible word order, although sentences default towards verb-initial orders, mainly VSO (verb-subject-object). This might be altered to place emphasis, with SVO word orders highlighting the subject and VOS (or, more rarely, OVS) word orders highlighting subjects (a practice referred to as 'subject fronting' which usually also involves dropping case makers for this argument). Oblique complements such as adverbial phrases or benefactives are typically found at the end of the sentence, although they might be placed directly after the verb for greater emphasis.

Arguments can be dropped, although transitive verbs will be marked for both their arguments unless given in a valency-decreasing voice (reflexive, passive, antipassive). An entire sentence might consist of just a verb, with all its arguments being left implicit.

Verbs might be expressed as a single ''verbal'' (for generic or past-tense statements) or as an auxiliary verbal followed by a ''nominal'' form of the verb (for present or future tense).

Modifiers, including the equivalent to relative phrases, come after the element they modify.

===Present and future tense constructions===

As previously mentioned, by default a Tinnermockaar verb will refer either to an event in the past or to a generic or habitual statement (this two interpretations usually being distinguished by context alone, although time adverbs could be used to lift any resulting ambiguity).

In order to speak of a specific event taking place in the present, the auxiliary verb '''''iś''''' must be used, followed by a gerund of the intended verb, typically ending in ''-eynər''. The auxiliary takes all the markings related to mood, subject/theme agreement and aspect. Voice marking might involve both the auxiliary and the gerund, as shown in the following table:

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Voice''' !! '''Voice marker in the auxiliary''' !! '''Gerund'''
|-
| '''Active''' || None (active as default) || Active (''-eynər'')
|-
| '''Reflexive''' || Reflexive (''-as'') || Passive (''-eeccər'')
|-
| '''Reciprocal''' || Reciprocal (''-ubbàm'') || Active (''-eynər'')
|-
| '''Passive''' || None (marked only in the gerund) || Passive (''-eeccər'')
|-
| '''Antipassive''' || None (marked only in the gerund) || Antipassive (''-aettsər'')
|-
| '''Causative''' || Reciprocal (''-ééś'') || Active (''-eynər'')
|}

For instance, ''eenəccəń'' might be interpreted as 'they hunted' or 'they hunt (regularly)'; adverbs such as ''mimbyr'', 'yesterday' or ''kkaè'', 'often' may be given to further specify one of those interpretations. In order to indicate a current event such as 'they ''are'' hunting', the auxiliary verb construction with ''iś'' will be needed, resulting in ''eenəś ccəńeynər'', with ''iś'' displaying the agreement markers for subject and object while the primary verb is found as an active gerund.

It should be noted that the verb '''''iś''''' is slightly irregular: telic forms are given as ''-kəəs'' instead of the expected ''-kaś''.

Future tense can be expressed through a similar construction using the auxiliary verb '''''imind''''' (which might also be used on its own as a verb meaning 'to arrive') with the difference that the auxiliary must be marked as having an irrealis mood. For instance, we might find ''indeenəmind ccəńeynər'' for 'they will hunt'.

It is worth noticing, however, that many usages which might be covered by a future tense in other languages might be expressed using moods in Tinnermockaar, such as the potential mood to indicate an unrealized possibility or the optative to indicate a desired future state.

===Negatives===

Tinnermockaar utilizes two negation strategies depending on whether the arguments of the verb are included in the sentence.

If either the subject or the object of the verb are present in the sentence (aside from being referenced by verbal prefixes), then negation is most commonly marked by using the negative 'number' suffix on the relevant noun. For instance, the negation of ''əmbaś jaacceynər mpànvvr-cə nacv'' (the man sees a woman) might be given as any of the following:
* ''Əmbaś jaacceynər mpànvvr'''xoò'''-cə nacv'' (negating the subject, literally 'No man sees a woman')
* ''Əmbaś jaacceynər mpànvvr-cə nacv'''xoòt''''' (negating the object, literally 'The man sees no woman')

Colloquially, negating both elements (still keeping a negative meaning) is also an option, although this wording might be perceived as non-standard.
* ''Əmbaś jaacceynər mpànvvr'''xoò'''-cə nacv'''xoòt'''''.

Since the negative marker ''-xoò(t)'' takes the position of number markers, it might get in the way of expressing certain finer distinctions or imply an unwanted degree of totality in the negation. For instance the wording ''əmbaś jaacceynər mpànvvr-cə nacvxoòt'' (~ the man sees no woman) may be taken to imply that that the subject is not seeing any woman so it wouldn't be appropriate to indicate that the man doesn't see ''a'' woman in particular (possibly being able to see others) .

An alternative method involves using the negative particle ''xav'' which must always precede the primary verb of the sentence - before the verbal if there is no auxiliary and between the auxiliary and the gerund otherwise:
* ''Əmbaś '''xav''' jaacceynər mpànvvr-cə nacv'' (negating the verb, literally ''The man doesn't see a woman').

This second strategy is required for verbs lacking a explicit subject or object. It should be noted that using ''xav'' and avoiding explicit pronouns is by far a more common strategy than using explicit pronouns that might take the ''-xoò(t)'' prefix, although the latter option might be occasionally be used for emphasis:
* '''''Xav''' ijeekajaacc'' (I didn't see you, most common wording with negation using ''xav'' and implicit pronouns)
* ''Ijeekajaacc haańà'''xoòt''''' ('''''''I''''' didn't see you, explicit negated first person pronoun for emphasis)
* ''Ijeekajaacc tsidi'''xoòt''''' (I didn't see '''''you''''', explicit negated first person pronoun for emphasis)

If both negation strategies are combined (something seldom found), the result is typically interpreted as a '''positive''':
* ''Əmbaś '''xav''' jaacceynər nacv'''xoòt''' mpànvvr-cə'' (negating the verb and the object, understood as meaning 'No woman isn't seen by the man').

===Interrogatives===

Polar questions (those that can be answered in English with 'yes' or 'no) are formed in the same way as declarative sentences other than requiring the interrogative mood prefix ''kkaah-''. To continue with the prior example, the polar question 'Does the man see the woman?' may be translated as '''''Kkaah'''əmbaś jaacceynər mpànvvr-cə nacv?''.

Other questions, such as the ones formed in English using the 'wh-words' (like 'who' or 'what') generally do '''not''' require the interrogative prefix ''kkaah-''. Interrogative pronouns like ''đvv'' (what, used for inanimates) and ''đey'' (who, used for animates) behave like regular nominals and, unlike personal pronouns, inflect for case a usual. For instance, we might have:
* ''Əmbaś jaacceynər '''đey-cə''' nacv?'' (Who sees a woman?)
* ''Əmbaś jaacceynər mpànvvr-cə '''đey'''?'' (Who does the man see?)

Tinnermockaar does not have a 'wh-fronting' rule like English requiring interrogative pronouns to be moved to the beginning of the sentence, although Tinnermockaar's flexible word order does allows this order, which comes out as somewhat more emphatic. As usual, the ergative marker ''-cə'' is typically omitted for a fronted subject.
* '''''Đey''' əmbaś jaacceynər nacv?'' (Who sees a woman?)

The interrogative mood marker might be combined with an interrogative pronoun in order to make a wh-question about an uncertain event. For instance '''''Kkaah'''əmbaś '''đey-cə''' nacvvr?'' might be translated as 'Does anyone see the woman? If so, who?'. Such combined questions would expect either a negative answer (''Xav əmbaś'' ~ No one does) or the answer to the question word (''Mpànvvr'' ~ the man).

====Yes/no answers====

Polar questions are typically answered by repeating the verb (adjusting argument agreement markers if needed) or the auxilliary, preceded by ''xav'' if negative.

For instance, the expected answers for ''Kkaatsəńỳś jaacceynər?'', 'Do you see me?' will be either ''Ijeeś'' (I do [see you]) or ''Xav ijeeś'' (I do not [see you]).

===Imperatives===

Imperatives (sentences given an order to a second person) are formed using an auxiliary verb (''ittsat'', root ''-ttsat'') and gerunds, in a construction not disimilar from those used for expressing the present and future tense.

Imperatives are generally considered polite for Tinnermockaar speakers, speakers might issue direct commands rather than requiring some workaround construction for politeness like English usually does (compare the blunt sounding ''"Do it!"'' with gentler formulae such as ''"Could you do it?"'' or ''"Would you mind doing it?"'').

Orders where the second person takes the role of a subject (be it of a transitive or intransitive verb) require the active gerund, as in ''Iìttsat mindeynər'' for 'Come!' or ''Ətsèttsat jaacceynər mpànvvr!'' for 'See the man!'.

Imperatives where the second person is required to take the role of a transitive direct object are formed in the same way but using the passive gerund. Note, however, that the auxiliary verb will still be conjugated as a transitive verb in this case. For instance, we might have ''Əncettsat jaacceeccər mpànvvr-cə!'' for 'Be seen by the man!', with the auxiliary taking the prefix ''ənce-'' marking it as a transitive verb with a singular third person animate subject and a second person object.

It should be observed that passive imperatives still represent a command the second person must actively seek to accomplish. The previous example, ''Əncettsat jaacceeccər mpànvvr-cə!'', implies that the listener must to do something to ensure the man sees them, rather than placing responsibility on the man (the latter might indicated instead using a jussive mood construction).

Antipassive gerunds are required for orders with an antipassive meaning. In this case, the auxiliary verb is conjugated as an intransitive verb and does not require the ''-àk'' marker. For instance, ''Iìttsat ccəńaettsər!'' translates to 'Hunt (something)!'.

Negative imperatives are formed by preceding the auxiliary verb with the negative particle ''xav'' (rather than placing it between the auxiliary and the main verb as in present/future-tense constructions). Thus, ''Xav iìttsat ccəńaettsər!'' becomes 'Do not hunt!'.

It is worth remembering that many imperative-like constructions might be formed through verbal mood markers instead, including jussive for indicating a mandatory state (but not one that necessarily requires the second person to take an action towards) and the optative mood for wishes. Compare the following:
* ''Əncettsat jaacceeccər mpànvvr-cə!'' (using a passive imperative) - 'Be seen by the man!' (orders the speaker to ensure that the other person sees them).
* ''Əcaantəncejaacc mpànvvr-cə!'' (using a jussive form of ''əncejaacc'', 'he sees you') - 'The man must see you!' (the requirement is not necessarily the listener's responsibility, pressumably both parties will be required to comply).
* ''Iìttsat ccəńaettsər!'' - 'Hunt something!' (a command, using an imperative construction).
* ''Eytiìccəńàk!'' - 'May you hunt something!' (a wish, using the optative voice).

===Possessives===

Possession is marked with the particle ''əl'' which is placed between the possession and the possessor as in ''havpeeməərdər əl mpànvvr'' for 'some of the copper (''havpeeməərdər'') of the man (''mpànvvr'')' or 'some of the man's copper'.

The same pattern might be used alongside pronouns, such as ''əl tsidi'' for 'your(s)'.

===Noun copula===

Sentences where a noun is equated with another, such as 'X is Y' are typically expressed using the verbal ''an'', whose highly irregular conjugation was showcased earlier on.

Although ''an'' acts as a verb in this construction, it might only take mood and person prefixes (no aspect, voice or tense marking). ''An'' constructions are not necessarily taken to be habitual or past-tense as sentences with bare verbal usually are; its interpretation in regards to tense is usually left to context although time adverbs might be added if necessary.

If ''X'' and ''Y'' are both nouns, the sentence is given as ''an X Y''. For instance, 'the man is a hunter' might be given as ''an mpànvvr ccəńi'' (ATTR man\\DEF hunter) although, depending on the context, the sentence might also be interpreted as 'the man was a hunter' or similar variations.

Pronouns are usually omitted, being marked instead in the conjugation of ''an''. It should be noted, however, that ''an'', nearly all other Tinnermockaar verbs, fails to distinguish number and animacy in the third person. Even though number is unmarked in the verb, it will be marked on the noun that appears as the remaining argument in the copula, so, for instance, the following sentences with ''ccəńiga'', the plural form of ''ccəńi'' (hunter), will necessarily have a plural interpretation:
* ''Əńaàn ccəńiga.'' - We (exclusive) are hunters.
* ''Amyńan ccəńiga.'' - We (inclusive) are hunters.
* ''Tsaan ccəńiga.'' - You all are hunters.
* ''An ccəńiga.'' - They are hunters.

Negatives are formed as usual with the particle ''xav'': as in ''xav əńaàn ccəń'' for 'I am not a hunter'.

Interrogatives also work as usual, with the interrogative mood prefix ''kkaah-'' being required for polar questions.
* ''Kkaahan ccəńiga?'' - Were they hunters?
* ''Tsaan đey?'' - Who are you?

Imperatives for the copula are rare but they might be formed by using ''ittsat'' (usually an auxiliary) on its own:
* ''Iìttsat ccańi!'' - Be a hunter!

===Relative clauses===

The attributive verbal ''an'' is also used for Tinnermockaar's equivalent to relative clauses, sharing the same limitations such as being unable to state tense and aspect. It should be noted that, should the need arise, these limitations can be circumvented by saying the phrases independently. For instance, English 'The man ''who the woman saw'' is hunting' would generally be expressed through a construction that could be roughly interpreted as 'the ''seen-by-the-woman'' man is hunting', which fails to capture explicitly whether the woman is observing him in the present or whether she saw him in the past; should that distinction prove crucial to the discourse speakers might describe the situation through two separate phrases instead: 'The woman saw the man. / He is hunting.'.

Relative constructions where the inner sentence is comprised of a copula between nouns are formed simply by following the antecedent with ''an'' and the nominal to which it is equated: ''mpànvvr an ccəńi'' for 'the man who is a hunter' (or 'who was a hunter').

Otherwise, ''an'' must be followed by a participle. The choice of participle depends on the syntactic role of the antecedent within the relative clause, using active participles (suffix ''-yrbba'') when it appears as a subject or the passive participle (suffix ''-àkka'') when it appears as a direct object (other roles are not supported and require the speaker to use separate clauses instead). Examples include:
* ''mpànvvr an mindyrbba'' - the man who arrived / who is arriving / who is going to arrive
* ''mpànvvr an ccəńyrbba'' - the man who hunted / is hunting / is going to hunt
* ''mpànvvr an ccəńàkka'' - the man who was hunted / is hunted / will be hunted

Other arguments can be introduced to the relative clause using ''əl'' for a subject (as if it was a possessive) or ''ttə'' for a direct object:
* ''mpànvvr an ccəńyrbba ttə ahuulə'' - the man who hunted a wolf
* ''mpànvvr an ccəńàkka əl ahuulə'' - the man who a wolf hunted

Relative clauses are negated by placing ''xav'' before ''an'': ''mpànvvr xav an mindyrbba'' for 'the man who didn't arrive'.

====Alternative relative clause construction====

Modern Tinnermockaar seems to be in the process of developing an alternate construction for relative clauses where the attributive ''an'' is not followed by a participle but by a full verb as in ''mpànvvr an ovrccəń'' for 'the man who hunts it' rather than standard ''mpànvvr an ccəńyrbba'' (~ the hunting man).

This construction, however, is still perceived as non-standard and is often relegated to informal situations.

==Numerals==

Tinnermockaar has a fairly simple base-10 numeration system. Numerals follow the noun to which they apply, which must still bear grammatical number suffixes as usual, as in singular ''mpànv pè'' for 'one man', paucal ''mpànvbà cynə'' for 'three men' and plural ''mpànvga bbov'' for 'eight men'.

There is no numeral for 'zero' as null quantities are expressed through the 'negative' grammatical number instead: ''mpànvxoòt'' for 'no men' or 'zero men'.

Numbers from 1 to 10 are expressed as follows:

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Number''' !! '''Tinnemockaar'''
|-
| '''1''' || ''pè''
|-
| '''2''' || ''ccer''
|-
| '''3''' || ''cynə''
|-
| '''4''' || ''pyyr''
|-
| '''5''' || ''zynə''
|-
| '''6''' || ''bbav''
|-
| '''7''' || ''kkuu''
|-
| '''8''' || ''bbov''
|-
| '''9''' || ''hav''
|-
| '''10''' || ''hati''
|}

Multiples of ten are formed by adding the 'tens' digit after ''hati'' as in ''hati ccer'' (ten-two) for 20. The units can then be stated by adding the conjunction ''aa'' (and) and the appropriate digit, as in ''hati hav aa cynə'' (ten-nine and three) for 93. The same pattern applies to larger numbers with ''attè'' for 'hundreds' and ''gumbə'' for 'thousands'. For example, the number 1234 will be given as ''gumbə aa attè ccer aa hati cynə aa pyyr'', literally 'thousand and hundreds-two and tens-three and four'.

==Tinnermockaar script==

Tinnermockaar's native writing system is an alphabet, written horizontally from left to right. The script has some featural elements. Dried palm leaves are its most common writing medium, often being tied together into books.

Most letters are based on incomplete circular outlines formed by a 'bow' which leaves an opening near the bottom of the glyph for letters corresponding to a consonant or near the top for letters for vowels and diphthongs.

Many glyphs come in pairs consisting a 'soft' character where all elements are written within the bow and a 'hard' character where one or more strokes stretch beyond the bow. Paired soft and hard glyphs generally correspond to phonemes with similar articular, such as unvoiced stops and their ejective counterparts or plain vowels and their glottalized counterparts.

===Consonants===

The Tinnermockaar script includes 36 consonant letters, traditionally listed in the following order:

[[File:Tinnermockaar consonants.png]]

As mentioned within the ''Phonology'' section, the Tinnermockaar script retains a number of distinctions that have been lost in the spoken language, resulting in a slightly non-phonetic orthography. Irregularities to keep in mind include:
* The consonant /ts/ (romanized as '''''ts''''') might be written as either ''Ts'' or ''Nts'' depending on the word's etymology.
* Null onsets corresponding to a historical /ɡ/ are written with an initial ''Gg''.
* The glide /j/ is written as ''Gg'' or as ''Ñ'' depending on etymological considerations.
* The consonant /n/ is written as ''N̈'' before back vowels and in all forms of the attributive ''an'', otherwise /n/ is written as ''N''.
* A small number of words have irregular spellings reflecting earlier pronunciations such as the word ''àtte'' (one hundred) retaining an irregularly lost ''h'' and thus being spelled as ''*hàtte''.

===Vowels===

Each non-rhotic vowel or diphthong is represented by one of the following 38 letters, contrasting length and glottalization (or lack thereof):

[[File:Tinnermockaar vowels.png]]

Rhotic vowels are written as their non-rhotic counterparts with a bar below, as seen in the final character of name ''ttỳnaamokkəər'' (Tinnermockaar, the native name of the language) which can be identified as an ''Əə'' character bearing the rhoticity marker above/

[[File:Tinnermockaar in native script.png|thumb|Example: ''ttỳnaamokkəər'' as written in the Tinnermockaar script]]

As shown in the example, Tinnermockaar letters are often written without any space between one another, although exceptions may be made depending on the shape of the intervening letters (as seen above with the ''N'' and the ''Aa''). It is most common for writers not to conjoin letters belonging to separate words, although this rule is by no means universal.

Aside from a few unpredictable irregular spellings (such as the pronoun ''heergà'', 'they', which is spelled as ''heeñiga'') written vowels match pronunciation with one exception: the glottal rhotic vowel /ɜˀɹ̆/ might be written either as ''ə̀r'' (matching its romanization) or as ''v̀r'', reflecting a historical /ʊˀɹ̆/ pronunciation that has since merged with ''ə̀r''.

===Punctuation===

Tinnermockaar punctuation is rather limited when compared to that used in the Latin script and also considerably more flexible in its usage. It includes the following marks:

[[File:Punctuation marks in Tinnermockaar.png|thumb|Punctuation marks in Tinnermockaar]]

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Punctuation''' !! '''Usage'''
|-
| Dot below || Used to separate words. Optional but fairly common. Often omitted after ''an'' (attributive particle/verb) and ''əl'' (possessive particle).
|-
| Two dots || Described intrafictionally as 'marking the end of an idea', this mark is generally used to separate sentences although some authors might omit it between sentences which share a topic.
|-
| Underline || A small underline under the first character of a word is used as an 'emphasis marker' which might be used for any elements that may be considered as particularly 'important' or worthy of deference within a passage. Personal names referring to others are always marked with this punctuation sign as a way to show respect towards them (regardless of whether their role within the text bears much relevance or not). By contrast, the writer's own name (or that of the patron in whose name a scribe composes a text) never bears this marker as doing so could be seen as inappropriately self-aggrandizing. No special considerations are held for marking pronouns, however.
|-
| End of section || This marker replaces the 'two dots' sign at the end of a group of related sentences. Although particulars about its usage might vary from author to author, it could be thought of as a paragraph separator. The 'end of section' mark implies that the text will be continued (possibly on the a different page).
|-
| End of text || Replaces the 'end of section' mark after the final section of a text.
|}

===Numerals in the Tinnermockaar script===

Numbers in written Tinnermockaar are typically expressed through a set of numerals which, much as our own Arabic numerals (0123456789) employ a positional base-10 notation with larger digits written on the left. This means that Arabic numerals might be converted to and from Tinnermockaar simply by replacing the glyphs for each digits.

[[File:Tinnermockaar numerals.png]]

[[Category:Tinnermockaar]]
[[Category:Languages]]
[[Category:Conlangs]]

File:Tinnermockaar numerals.png

2024-09-22T05:44:37Z

Jotadiego:

Numerals used in Tinnermockaar's native writing

File:Punctuation marks in Tinnermockaar.png

2024-09-22T05:42:20Z

Jotadiego:

Punctuation marks in Tinnermockaar

File:Tinnermockaar in native script.png

2024-09-22T05:39:10Z

Jotadiego:

The native name for Tinnermockaar in the conlang's own native alphabet

File:Tinnermockaar vowels.png

2024-09-22T05:37:55Z

Jotadiego:

Vowels in the Tinnermockaar alphabet

File:Tinnermockaar consonants.png

2024-09-22T05:35:35Z

Jotadiego:

Consonants in the Tinnermockaar alphabet

Tinnermockaar

2024-09-22T05:31:47Z

Jotadiego: Syntax and numerals

{{Infobox language
|name=''ttỳnaamokkəər''
|pronunciation=/ˈtʼɪˀ.naː.mo.kʼɝː/
|familycolor=Isolate
|fam1=Isolate
|script=Tinnermockaar
|created = 2024
|-
|notice=IPA
}}

'''Tinnermockaar''' (natively ''ttỳnaamokkəər'' /ˈtʼɪˀ.naː.mo.kʼɝː/, which translates as 'the language') is an ''a priori'' conlang with an agglutinative grammar where most words are formed either by adding vowel-initial prefixes to CVC root to form a verb or verb-like element or by adding vowel-final suffixes to a root to form a nominal (noun or noun-like element). As a result, most Tinnermockaar words either start with a vowel and end in a consonant or vice-versa.

The language features a somewhat challenging phonology, including ejective stops, a three-way contrast in voicing and glottalized vowels based on Danish stød.

In addition to the Latin script orthography that will be used throughout this article, Tinnermockaar might be written in its own alphabet. The native orthography is moderately phonemic but it includes some etymological contrasts that are no longer observed in the spoken language.

==Phonology==

===Consonants===

The following table shows the consonant inventory for Tinnermockaar. Note that the rows and column in the table may indicate historical realizations that are no longer descriptive of the current realization of the respective consonant, as is the case for palatal 'stops' which have long shifted into affricates.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Tinnermockaar consonants
|-
! !! Labial !! Dental !! Alveolar !! Palatal !! Velar
|-
| '''Ejective stop''' || || '''''tt''''' //t̪ʼ/ || '''''cc''''' /tʼ/ || '''''tts''''' /tsʼ/ || '''''kk''''' /kʼ/
|-
| '''Plain stop''' || '''''p''''' /p/ || '''''t''''' /t̪/ || '''''c''''' /t/ || '''''ts''''' /ts/ || '''''k''''' /k/
|-
| '''Partially voiced stop''' || '''''b''''' /b̥/ || '''''d''''' /d̪̥/ || '''''đ''''' /d̥/ || || '''''g''''' /ɡ̊/
|-
| '''Voiced stop''' || '''''bb''''' /b/|| '''''dd''''' /d̼/ || '''''đđ''''' /d/ || ||
|-
| '''Fortis pre-nasalized stop''' || '''''mp''''' /mp/ || '''''nt''''' /nt̪/ || '''''nc''''' /nt/ || || '''''ńk''''' /ŋk/
|-
| '''Lenis pre-nasalized stop'''|| '''''mb''''' /mb/ || '''''nd''''' /nd̼/ || '''''nđ''''' /nd/ || '''''z''''' /d̥z̥/ || '''''ńg''''' /ŋɡ/
|-
| '''Nasal''' || '''''m''''' /m/ || || '''''n''''' /n/ || || '''''ń''''' /ŋ/
|-
| '''Fricative''' || || '''''s''''' /s̻/ || '''''ś''''' /s̺/ || '''''x''''' /ç/ || '''''h''''' /h/
|-
| '''Approximant''' || || || || '''''j''''' /j/ ||
|-
| '''Lateral''' || || || '''''l''''' /l/ || ||
|}

Notes:
* Alveolar consonants, as well as the affricates ''tts'' and ''ts'' tend to have an apical realization.
* Velar consonants are allophonically uvular when following /u/ or /ʊ/.
* There are no traces of the language ever having an ejective labial stop. It should be noted however that many languages with ejectives also lack /pʼ/ (less acoustically distinctive from its plain counterpart than other ejective plosives), so such a gap is not unexpected.
* Unvoiced stops are very mildly aspirated.
* There is some variation in the VOT (voice onset time) for pre-nasalized stops, ''fortis'' might range from moderate aspiration to ''tenuis'' while ''lenis'' might range from almost ''tenuis'' to fully voiced.
* Pre-nasalized stops in final position might result in the allophonic nasalization of the preceding vowel. For instance, '''''amb''''' /amb/ might be realized as something closer to [ãb̥].
* The phoneme '''''z''''' /d̥z̥/ is listed under the ''lenis'' prenasalized series since it comes from a historical /ɲɟ/, but its current realization is closer to that of a partially voiced counterpart to '''''ts'''''.
* A fully voiced /ɡ/ was dropped except before front vowels, where it turns into /j/ instead.
* An (intrafictionally) earlier form of the language had a palatal series that has mostly shifted to other points of articulation.
** First, its partially voiced and fully voiced stops (presumably /\''ɟ̊/ and /\''ɟ/ ) merged with the corresponding velars /ɡ̊/ and /ɡ/ (before the latter was lost to further sound changes). This change seems to have happened early enough that the distinction is not attested even in the earliest forms of Tinnermockaar writing.
** Then historical /cʼ/ and /c/ shifted into /tsʼ/ and /ts/.
** Historical pre-nasalized /ɲc/ and /ɲɟ/ first experiences a similar shift, turning briefly into /nts/ and /ndz/ before a second shift turned them into pure affricates, with /nts/ merging with /ts/ while /ndz/ became '''''z''''' /d̥z̥/.
** The palatal nasal /ɲ/ turned into /j/. A later change would drop it before front vowels.
* A single coronal nasal '''''n''''' /n/ seems to have developed from a merger between a historical dental /n̪/ and an alveolar /n/. Orthographic evidence (in the native Tinnermockaar script) suggests that the two sounds might have first adopted a complementary distribution before being outright merged in a generally alveolar [n].
* It is unclear whether the language ever had a labial fricative (/f/ or /ɸ/), if it did, it must have long dropped or merged with another consonant (likely '''''h''''').
* The 'dental' fricative '''''s''''' is a laminal /s̻/ while the 'alveolar' '''''ś''''' is an apical /s̺/, with speakers commonly pronounced it as a postalveolar [ʃ], especially in word-final position.
* The 'palatal' fricative '''''x''''' /ç/ often shifts to [x] before back vowels.
* The 'velar' fricative '''''h''''' is realized either as a glottal fricative /h/ or outright dropped (especially between non-high vowels).
* A glottal stop [ʔ] and a rhotic alveolar approximant [ɹ] might occur as allophonic pronunciations for glottalized and rhotacized vowels, respectively.

The native orthography in the Tinnermockaar script still makes some distinctions that are not preserved in the spoken language:
* Distinction between /ts/ from historical /c/ and historical /ɲc/ (transcribed as ''nts'').
* Distinction between /j/ (and null onsets from a historical dropped /j/) from historical /ɲ/ (transcribed as ''ñ'') and historical /ɡ/ (transcribed as ''gg'').
* Two characters that might have once corresponded to a historical dental /n̪/ (sometimes transcribed as ''n̈'') and a historical alveolar /n/ (transcribed as ''n'') now generally present a complementary distribution, with dental ''n̈'' usually being found before back vowels although multiple exceptions to this rule can be found.

===Vowels===

Tinnermockaar has the following vocalic inventory:

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Tinnermockaar vowels
|-
! !! Front !! Central !! Back
|-
| '''High''' || '''''i''''' /i/ || || '''''u''''' /u/
|-
| '''Upper''' || '''''y''''' /ɪ/ || || '''''v''''' /ʊ/
|-
| '''Mid''' || '''''e''''' /e/, [e̞] || || '''''o''''' /o/ [o̞]
|-
| '''Lower''' || || '''''ə''''' /ɜ/ ||
|-
| '''Low''' || || '''''a''''' /a/, [ä] ||
|}

Note that the vowels '''''y''''' and '''''v''''' are considered to be 'front' and 'back' (respectively) despite actually having a more centralized realization.

All vowels can be short or long (indicated by doubling the vowel).

Five diphthongs are allowed, all of them falling: '''''ae''''' /ae̯/, '''''av''''' /aʊ̯/, '''''ey''''' /eɪ̯/, '''''ov''''' /oʊ̯/ and '''''əi''''' /ɜi̯/. No length distinctions are observed on diphthongs.

All diphthongs and all non-high vowels (short or long) might be glotalized, with a realization similar to Danish stød. This is marked with a grave accent diacritic on the (last) letter as in '''''v̀''''' for /ʊˀ/, '''''aà''''' for /aːˀ/ and '''''əì''''' for /ɜi̯ˀ/.

The vowels '''''a''''', '''''e''''', '''''o''''' '''''v''''', '''''y''''' and '''''ə''''' (short or long) and the diphthongs '''''ae''''', '''''av''''' and '''''əi''''' might be rhotacized, marked with an \<r\> after the vowel: '''''ar''''' for /a˞ /, '''''yyr''''' for /ɪ˞ ː/, '''''avr''''' for /aʊ̯˞ /. Since the hook diacritic used in IPA to mark rhoticity is often hard to read if not completely absent in most fonts, these will be notated with a /ɹ̆/ as in /ʊːɹ̆/ for '''''vvr''''' rather than /ʊ˞ː/.

Only a short '''''ə''''' is allowed to be simultaneously rhotacized and glotalized: '''''ə̀r''''' for /ɜˀɹ̆/. Historically, '''''v̀r''''' /ʊˀɹ̆/ was also allowed, although it later merged with '''''ə̀r''''' (the distinction is preserved in the native orthography, though).

Some speakers (particularly those in the peripheries of the language, in contact with non-native speakers who might struggle with rhoticity and glottalization) might pronounce rhotacized vowels as plain vowels followed by a rhotic such as [ɹ] or [ɾ] and pronounce glotalized vowels as plain vowels followed by a glottal stop [ʔ].

===Phonotactics===

Tinnermockaar allows for (C)V(V)(C) syllables, which is to say, an optional onset composed of a single consonant, a mandatory nucleus composed of a vowel or diphthong (possibly bearing glottalization or rhoticity) and an optional coda consonant.

Notice that prenasalized stops and affricates are counted as single consonants and that rhoticity and glottalization are not regarded as adding codae, thus a syllable such as '''''ttsə̀rmp''''''' /tsʼɜˀɹ̆mp/ conforms to the allowed CVC pattern.

Codae are only allowed in word-final position. As a result, consonant clusters are not allowed to occur within a word. Vowel clusters (''ie'' sequences of onset-less syllables) are allowed freely, with a hyphen being used to separate syllables in these cases as in ''enav̀-aakvvr'' ('they heated it').

Ejectives are realized as plain stops in word-final position (such that ''att'' and ''at'' would both be pronounced /at/) while fully voiced stops are realized as partially-voiced ones (''abb'' and ''ab'' would both be pronounced /ab̥/). The original pronunciation surfaces when a suffix is added.

Although no phonotactical rule requires it, the fact that Tinnermockaar morphology often revolves around CVC roots which take ''either'' vowel initial prefixes or vowel final suffixes makes it so a vast majority of Tinnermockaar words either begin in a vowel and end in a consonant (V...C) or vice-versa (C...V). These two possibilities also relate to Tinnermockaar parts of speech, with verbals being overwhelmingly vowel-initial (and consonant-final) whereas nominals tend to be consonant-initial (and vowel-final).

===Suprasegmentals===

The language does not have phonemic tones nor stress. Word tend to be stressed on their first syllable.

==Morphology==

Tinnermockaar constructs most of its words out of roots, sequences which cannot be used as words on their own. A Tinnermockaar root typically has a CVC structure such as ''√ttỳn'' /tʼɪˀ.n/ for 'speaking', although a limited number of roots are composed of a single consonant C, some can only be analyzed as having a CVCVC structure and a considerable number omit one or more consonants, possibly due to the historical loss of certain consonants.

Roots often have verb-like main meanings (as seen previously with ''√ttỳn'', 'speaking') but they might also be mainly noun-like as with the root ''√havp'' 'copper'. Regardless of this, most roots have the potential to be used both in noun-like and verb-like derivations, as evidenced by ''ttỳnaamokkə'' (language, a noun derived from ''√ttỳn'') or ''eerbbihavp'' for 'they are made of copper' (a verb derived from ''√havp'').

It is also relatively common for roots to have different forms or have small 'families' of roots differing only in their vowel or some suprasegmental aspect thereof (such as root pairs differing only in vowel length or glottalization). These differences can mostly be attributed to irregular sound change and seldom show any consistent patterns.

These roots (which can be termed 'primary roots') are often extended into 'secondary roots' by adding a prefix, usually of the form CV-. These prefixes often relate to some vague form of locative meaning such as ''ma-'' roughly corresponding to 'around', transforming the core meaning of the root ''√ńvm'' related to movement to ''√mańvm'' for with meanings of 'roaming' or 'walking around'. It should be noted, however, that the semantic derivation resulting from these affixes can be fairly unpredictable. For instance, applying the same prefix to ''√ttỳn'' (speaking) yields ''√mattỳn'' with a rough meaning of 'fame' (presumably because people around the famous person would speak about them) while applying it to ''√nin'' (to breathe) results in ''√manin'' meaning 'to sneeze' in a rather unclear derivation. These derivational prefixes are remarkably similar to the 'preverbs' found in Indo-European languages (such as the 'for' in 'forgive'), although the resulting meanings of might differ.

Tinnermockaar words are derived through the addition of affixes (prefixes or suffixes) to these roots (be they primary or secondary roots). For the most part, these derivations follow one of two patterns corresponding to a main division in the language: verbals (mostly derived with vowel-initial prefixes) and nominals (exclusively derived with vowel-final suffixes).

'''Note:''' that the morphological classes I refer to as 'verbals' and 'nominals' in Tinnermockaar might not correspond to other usages of those words in linguistics (such as Chomsky's notion of 'nominals'), they are just meant as a convenient term for this conlang in particular.

===Verbals===

Tinnermockaar verbals mostly correspond to verbs describing a past, generic or habitual state; present and future-tense verbs are handled instead through a construction involving an auxiliary verbal a nominal instead. Since Tinnermockaar's equivalents to adjectives are verb-like, they are often handled as verbals as wells.

Verbals usually present the following structure:

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Tinnermockaar 'verbal' structure
|-
! Component !! Optional / Mandatory !! Default (if not explicit)
|-
| Mood marker || Optional || Realis
|-
| Subject/theme agreement || Mandatory || -
|-
| Aspect marker || Optional || Atelic
|-
| Secondary root prefix || Optional || -
|-
| Root || Mandatory || -
|-
| Voice marker || Optional || Active voice
|}

The fact that most (not all though!) mood and agreement markers begin in a vowel and that most roots and all voice markers end in a consonant makes it so that verbals are overwhelmingly vowel-initial and consonant-final. In fact, certain words of dubious classification are considered verbals in Tinnermockaar tradition solely on the basis that they have this phonetic structure, as in the genitive particle ''əl''.

====Mood====

Tinnermockaar verbs might carry a mood prefix for non-realis usages, this is to say, when describing a situation which is (or was) not an actual fact in the present or past. Non-realis moods include:
* '''Interrogative''' (INT, prefix ''kkaah-'') - required for polar questions.
* '''Potential''' (POT, prefix '''''ax-''''') - indicates a possibility (like English 'can' or 'may').
* '''Interrogative-potential''' (INT.POT, prefix '''''àkkaah-''''') - asks bout whether something ''might'' happen (or have happened).
* '''Optative''' (OPT, prefix '''''eyt-''''') - used for wishes, hopes.
* '''Jussive''' (JUS, prefix '''''əcaant-''''') - indicates a mandatory state (like English 'must' or some usages of 'shall').
* '''Irrealis''' (IRR, prefix '''''ind-''''') - other hypothetical situations, conditionals, etc.

For instance

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Mood examples
|-
! Mood !! Example !! Translation
|-
| Realis || ''Enav̀ccəń.''|| They hunted it
|-
| Interrogative || '''''Kkaah'''enav̀ccəń ?'' || Did they hunt it?
|-
| Potential || '''''Ax'''enav̀ccəń.'' || They might have hunted it
|-
| Interrogative-potential || '''''Àkkaah'''enav̀ccəń ?'' || Could they have hunted it?
|-
| Optative || '''''Eyt'''enav̀ccəń !'' || Let's hope they hunted it
|-
| Jussive || '''''Əcaant'''enav̀ccəń.'' || They must (are required to) have hunted it
|-
| Irrealis || '''''Ind'''enav̀ccəń ...'' || (If) they hunted it...
|}

The jussive mood is not to be confused with the imperative (commands issued to the listener), which are formed through a separate construction.

====Subject and theme agreement====

Tinnermockaar has what is known as polypersonal agreement, with transitive verbs (verbs featuring both a subject and an object) being mandatorily marked for both arguments, while intransitive verbs (thus with a single argument, also known as 'subject' in English but referred to as 'theme' in Tinnermockaar) taking a different set of prefixes to mark their one argument. Voice suffixes, as discussed later on, might be used to allow transitive verbs to behave as intransitive ones and vice versa.

Both forms of argument agreement indicate the grammatical person of the argument as well as some other distinctions such as animacy and number for third person referents. The following cases are contrasted:
* First person exclusive (1.EXCL) - usually refers to the speaker (I, me) but it might also be used to refer to 'exclusive we' (the speaker and others, not including the listener).
* First person inclusive (1.INCL) - 'inclusive we', the speaker, the listener and, possibly, others.
* Second person (2) - the listener or listeners (you) and possibly others.
* Animate third person singular (3s.ANIM) - a human (or a being that acts like a human, such as a personified god) other than the speaker and listener; corresponding to English 'he', 'she' or singular 'they'.
* Animate third person plural (3p.ANIM) - more than one person.
* Inanimate third person singular (3s.INAN) - one object/animal or a group of uncountable objects (such as 'the sand'); 'it'.
* Inanimate third person plural (3p.INAN) - more than one distinct objects or animals. Not distinguished from 3s.INAN for transitive subjects.

Further distinctions in number (such as contrasting 1.EXCL as used for singular 'I' or for plural 'we [me and others]') might be made by including an overt pronoun (as discussed within the section for nominals) but that is relatively uncommon.

Definiteness is contrasted for third person inanimate themes, contrasting sentences such as ''enav̀kàccəń'' ('they hunted it', where the animal that was hunted refers to a known individual) and ''eenəkàccəń'' ('they hunted one', where the animal that was some previously undefined individual).

In the following tables, prefixes for each combination are given with the subject being indicated by the column and the theme or direct object by the row. For suffixes whose Tinnermockaar script spelling is not predictable, the appropriate spelling is provided between brackets.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Agreement markers
|-
! Subject (columns): !! None (Intransitive) !! 1.EXCL !! 1.INCL !! 2 !! 3s.ANIM !! 3p.ANIM !! 3.INAN
|-
| '''1.EXCL''' || əńee- || - || - || tsəńỳ-|| ème- || aàmy- || àńav-
|-
| '''1.INCL''' || ańyỳ- || -|| - || -|| èmyỳ- || aàmyỳ- || ə̀rńyỳ-
|-
| '''2''' || iì- || ijee- (iñee-) || - || - || ənce- (aàntse-) || aàtse- (aàntse-) || ə̀rttsə-
|-
| '''3s.ANIM''' || i- || ayńè- || yyrńè- || ətsè- || əmba- || aàmba- || àśe-
|-
| '''3p.ANIM''' || əmà- || əńkà- || yyrnkà- || ətsà- (əntsà-) || əmpeè- || aàmpa- || əśaà- (vśaà-)
|-
| '''3s.INAN.DEF''' || oo- || avńga- || əənga- || ətsə- || ovr- || enav̀- || av̀-
|-
| '''3s.INAN.INDF''' || vr- || əńvr- || əərńvr- || vtsə- || ey- || eenə- || ə̀r- (v̀r-)
|-
| '''3p.INAN.DEF''' || eer- || əńeer- || yrńeer- || ətseer- || ə-eer (əggeer-) || aàńga- || eèr-
|-
| '''3p.INAN.INDF''' || eer- || əńyỳ- || yrńyỳ- || ətsyỳ- || əńka- || aàńka- || eèr-
|}

Bear in mind that the reflexive and reciprocal voices (explained in the ''Voices'' section below) are required for actions where the subject and theme coincide.

=====Citation forms for verbs=====

While in English the citation form of a verb (''ie'' the form usually listed in dictionaries and used to refer to the verb) is the infinitive, the preferred citation form for Tinnermockaar verbs is a verbal with no optional affixes presenting agreement prefixes for third person arguments. These prefixes depend on whether the verb is transitive or intransitive and on whether its expected arguments are more likely to be humans or inanimate objects.

Intransitive verbs which are more likely to have a human theme take the 3s.ANIM prefix '''''i-''''' as in ''iđđun'' (they slept) for 'to sleep'; if the theme is judged more likely to be non-human, the 3s.INAN prefix '''''oo-''''' is used instead as in ''oobbihavp'' (it is made of cooper) for 'to be made of cooper'. Cases where both a human or a non-human theme are possible vary, by they tend towards the former as in ''ideìkvvr'' (they are hot) for 'to be hot', although an inanimate citation form ''oodeìkvvr'' (it is hot) could occasionally be used should the context make it clear it is meant to apply to a non-human.

A similar situation occurs for transitive verbs, which take a prefix corresponding to third person singular arguments whose animacy was determined by their most likely referents although with a clear bias towards preferring animate subjects and inanimate topics. As a result, the citation form of most transitive verbs tends to bear the '''''ey-''''' prefix (animate subject, inanimate theme), even though '''''əmba-''''' (animate subject and theme), '''''ə̀r-''''' (inanimate subject and theme) and, rarely, '''''àśe-''''' (inanimate subject, animate theme) are also possible options:

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Citation forms
|-
! !! Intransitive !! Animate subject !! Inanimate subject
|-
| '''Animate theme''' || ''i-'' || ''əmba-'' || ''àśe-''
|-
| '''Inanimate theme''' || ''oo-'' || ''ey-'' || ''ə̀r-''
|}

====Aspect====

Tinnermockaar contrasts three aspects, indicated though suffixes between the agreement marks and the main stem (root and secondary root prefixes).

By default, verbs take the unmarked '''atelic''' (ATEL) aspect which indicates an event without a specific endpoint. For instance, atelic ''iccəńàk'', 'he hunted', indicates that the action is conceptualized as being a prolonged state (as implied in 'they were out hunting') without a specific goal that would mark its endpoint.

On the other hand, the prefix ''kà'' marks a verb as '''telic''' (TEL), which indicates an action with a defined endpoint. For example, telic ''ikàccəńàk'', which we might also translate as 'he hunted', actually indicates that there was a goal that was accomplished and which marked an endpoint for the action (in the example, the hunter probably chased after one particular game).

There is a commonly used rule of thumb in linguistics for telling apart whether a phrase is telic or atelic: if the action can be given with a time frame (as in ''''''within''' an hour'''), it is telic (the endpoint is pinpointed as being achieved within the timeframe) while an atelic phrase will usually require a time-span instead such as ''''''for''' an hour'''.

Meanwhile the prefix ''zi-'' is used to indicate an '''inchoative''' (INCH) aspect, which marks the beginning of a state. Thus ''iziccəńàk'' corresponds to 'they started hunting'.

====Voice====

Verbals corresponding to transitive verbs might take a suffix to indicate a change in grammatical voice, which is to say, an unexpected behavior in the argument of the transitive verb.

By default, such verbs are found in their active voice which includes a distinct subject and an object. For instance, ''enav̀kàccəń'' ('they hunted it') is marked as having a human third person subject and a definite non-human third person object.

A '''reflexive''' voice marker ''-as'' is required to indicate that the subject and object coincide, that the subject does the action to itself. The resulting verb is only marked for its theme, as in ''ooccəńas'' for 'it hunted itself'.

The '''reciprocal''' or '''mutual''' marker ''-ubbàm'' has a similar usage except that it indicates that individuals within a group do something to each other (but not to themselves). For instance, ''əmàccəńubbàm'' translates to 'they hunted each other'. This would indicate that there were at least two parties, one hunting the other and vice-versa, as opposed to reflexive ''əmàccəńas'' 'they hunted themselves'. Informally, however, it would be relatively common for native Tinnermockaar speakers themselves to use both forms interchangeable, indicating that this distinction is seemingly falling out of use.

For verbals with a distinct subject and object, the '''passive''' and '''antipassive''' voices allow for one of those arguments to be dropped. '''Passive''' ''-it'' converts a transitive verb into a syntactically intransitive one with the original object as its theme as in ''ookàccəńit'' for 'it was hunted', '[someone] hunted it'. Conversely, '''antipassive''' ''-àk'' allows the subject alone to to be marked, also becoming the theme of a syntactically intransitive verb as in ''ikàccəńàk'' for 'they hunted [something]'.

Verbals corresponding to an ''intransitive'' verb might take the '''causative''' marker ''-eeś'' which turns them into a transitive verb where the subject influences the theme to reach the state normally marked by the intransitive verb. For instance, ''oodeìkvvrm'' 'it was hot' might be used to derive ''enav̀deìkvvrmeeś'', 'they made it hot'. It should be noted, however, that many intransitive verbs have a transitive counterpart that will usually be preferred to a causative form; thus to specify an agent responsible for the state of being hot indicated by ''oodeìkvvrm'' a separate transitive verb, ''enav̀-aakvvr'', 'they heated it'.

====The attributive verbal ''an''====

The word ''an'' is a verb-like element with two main uses:
- Acting as a copula verb (like English 'to be') for equaling two nominals, as in 'X is Y'.
- Being used as a particle to introduce relative clauses.

Unlike ordinary Tinnermockaar verbs, ''an'' presents an irregular paradigm. It might only be conjugated for mood (taking the usual mood prefixes) and for argument agreement (through completely irregular forms). Despite the fact that ''an'' takes two arguments when used as a copula verb, its conjugation only references the grammatical person for single argument, without any number or animacy distinctions for the third person:

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Conjugation of ''an''
|-
! Person !! Form of ''an''
|-
| '''1.EXCL''' || ''əńaàn'' (spelled as ''əhanàn'' in Tinnermockaar script)
|-
| '''1.INCL''' || ''amyńan''
|-
| '''2''' || ''tsaan''
|-
| '''3''' || ''an''
|}

In addition to not being permitted to take aspect and voice markers, ''an'' might not appear in present or future tense constructions; its tense is unless a time adverb is added.

See the sections on noun copula and relatives under the ''Syntax'' header for more information.

===Nominals===

Tinnermockaar nominals include nouns, certain verb forms such gerunds used in present-tense constructions as well as adverbs, determiners and, arguably, even pronouns. Tinnermockaar's own (intrafictional) tradition would also include conjunctions and prepositions under this category.

The structure of nominals is not as rigid as that of verbals, but it's often composed of the following elements:

{| class="wikitable"
! Component !! Optional / Mandatory !! Default (if not present)
|-
| '''Secondary root prefix''' || Optional || -
|-
| '''Root''' || Mandatory || -
|-
| '''Derivational suffix''' || Mandatory Multiple suffixes may be used || -
|-
| '''Definiteness marking''' || Optional || Indefinite
|-
| '''Number marking''' || Optional || Singular or collective (depending on the noun)
|-
| '''Case marking''' || Optional || Absolutive
|}

Nominals are typically consonant-initial (as are most roots, primary or secondary) and are very commonly vowel-final although exceptions to this are not uncommon.

The citation form of a nominal is the one without definiteness, number and case markers.

====Derivational suffixes====

Tinnermockaar nominals require at least one derivational suffix to be added to the primary or secondary root. These suffixes typically hint at the intended meaning of the nominal, although some derivations might be unexpected.

The language has a wide array of derivational suffixes including:
* '''-aa''' - a noun denoting an action or an event, as in ''ccəńaa'', 'hunt'.
* '''-avr''' - groups, as in ''bankumbavr'', 'crowd'.
* '''-eemə''' - materials, as in ''havpeemə'', 'copper'.
* '''-eer''' - Animals or plants, as in ''ddebbeer'' for 'bird' (from ''ooddebb'', 'to fly')
* '''-i''' - an animate actor, as in ''ccəńi'', 'hunter'.
* '''-ò''' - a patient of a concluded transitive action, as in ''ccəńò'' (game, prey that has been hunted).
* '''-v''' - a person who is characterized by an intransitive verb as in ''mindv'', 'visitor' (from ''imind'', 'to arrive').

=====Verb nominals: participles and gerunds=====

Certain derivational suffixes are used for nominals related to verbs. This includes two forms dubbed 'participles' used in relative clauses (the active participle ''-yrbba'' and the passive participle ''-àkka'') and a number of gerunds used for present and future tense constructions whose derivational suffixes encode the verb's voice:
* '''-eynər''' - active voice gerund (also used for reciprocal voice).
* '''-eeccər''' - passive voice gerund (also used for reflexive voice).
* '''-aettsər''' - antipassive voice gerund.

Verbal stems might also form nominals using a gerundive suffix '''''-ae''''' which indicates purpose and which might be required to be used along modal verbs.

====Definiteness====

Nominals corresponding to nouns may be made definite by applying the following sound changes on their final vowel:
* Non-glottalized short vowels are lengthened.
* The resulting vowel or diphthong is replaced by a 'rhotic counterpart' when one exists, as shown below:

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Original''' !! '''Definite''' !! '''Original''' !! '''Definite''' !! '''Original''' !! '''Definite''' !! '''Original''' !! '''Definite'''
|-
| ''a'', ''aa'' || '''''əər''''' || ''à'' || '''''ə̀r''''' || ''aà'' || '''''aà''''' || ''ar'', ''aar'' || '''''əər'''''
|-
| ''e, ee'' || '''''yyr''''' || ''è'' || '''''è''''' || ''eè'' || '''''eè''''' || ''er'', ''eer'' || '''''eer'''''
|-
| ''i, ii'' || '''''ii''''' || - || - || - || - || - || -
|-
| ''o, oo'' || '''''vvr''''' || ''ò'' || '''''ə̀r''''' || ''oò'' || '''''oò''''' || ''or'', ''oor'' || '''''oor'''''
|-
| ''u, uu'' || '''''uu''''' || - || - || - || - || - || -
|-
| ''v, vv'' || '''''vvr''''' || ''v̀'' || '''''ə̀r''''' || ''vv̀'' || '''''vv̀''''' || ''vr, vvr'' || '''''vvr'''''
|-
| ''y, yy'' || '''''yyr''''' || ''ỳ'' || '''''ỳ''''' || ''yỳ'' || '''''yỳ''''' || ''yr, yyr'' || '''''yyr'''''
|-
| ''ə, əə'' || '''''əər''''' || ''ə̀'' || '''''ə̀r''''' || ''əə̀'' || '''''əə̀''''' || ''ər, əər'' || '''''əər'''''
|-
| ''ae'' || '''''aer''''' || ''aè'' || '''''aè''''' || - || - || ''aer'' || '''''aer'''''
|-
| ''av'' || '''''avr''''' || ''av̀'' || '''''av̀''''' || - || - || ''avr'' || '''''avr'''''
|-
| ''ey'' || '''''yyr''''' || ''eỳ'' || '''''eỳ''''' || - || - || - || -
|-
| ''ov'' || '''''vvr''''' || ''ov̀'' || '''''ov̀''''' || - || - || - || -
|-
| ''əi'' || '''''əir''''' || ''əì'' || '''''əì''''' || - || - || ''əir'' || '''''əir'''''
|}

====Number====

By default, Tinnermockaar nouns might be either singular (referring to a single object) or collective (referring to a group of non-distinct objects or to an uncountable substance); this is a lexical property that cannot be determined from affixes alone.

For non-collective nouns (singular by default), three additional grammatical numbers can be formed through suffixes:
* '''Partitive''' (suffix ''-dər'') - indicates a group of elements drawn from a larger group.
* '''Paucal''' (suffix ''-bà'') - indicates a small number of elements.
* '''Plural''' (suffix ''-ga'') - indicates a large number of elements.

The distinction between paucal and plural is a fuzzy one, groups below 3 or 4 objects will generally be marked as paucal while groups above 5 or 6 will usually be marked as plural but the paucal vs plural distinction might also reflect a contrast with expectations. For instance, if a mythological creature had 4 eyes, those might be referred in plural to highlight the anomaly, while a garrison of 10 soldiers where several dozen would be expected might be referred to in the paucal. The partitive number, on the other hand, does not distinguish whether the number of elements is high or low, it only focuses on the fact that only some of the elements (in an otherwise unstated group) are relevant.

Plural marking is mandatory, even when a numeral is given.

Collective nouns, meanwhile, may also take the '''partitive''' suffix (''-dər'') to indicate fraction of the collective or substance, or a '''singulative''' (''-ceèt'' if word final, ''-ceè'' if followed by a case suffix) for indicating a single element drawn from the collective (not applicable to substances).

Finally, nouns of either type (but more usually non-collective ones) might take a '''negative''' suffix ''xoòt'' (or ''-xoò'' if followed by a case suffix) indicating a null quantity.

As an example, consider ''ccəńi'' ('hunter'), a countable noun, which might take the following suffixes:

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Number''' !! '''Example''' !! '''Translation'''
|-
| Singular || ''ccəńi'' || a hunter
|-
| Partitive || ''ccəńi'''dər''''' || some of the hunters
|-
| Paucal || ''ccəńi'''bà''''' || some hunters
|-
| Plural || ''ccəńi'''ga''''' || many hunters
|-
| Negative || ''ccəńi'''xoòt''''' || no hunters
|}

Meanwhile, collective nouns might be exemplified by ''bankumbavr'' (crowd) and ''havpeemə'' (copper) as follows:

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Number''''' !! '''Example 1''' !! '''Translation''' !! '''Example 2''' !! '''Translation'''
|-
| Collective || ''bankumbavr'' || a crowd || ''havpeemə'' || (some) copper
|-
| Singulative || ''bankumbavr'''ceèt''''' || a person in the crowd || - || -
|-
| Partitive || ''bankumbavr'''dər''''' || part of the crowd || ''havpeemə'''dər''''' || part of the copper
|-
| Negative || ''bankumbavr'''xoòt''''' || no crowd || ''havpeemə'''xoòt''''' || no copper
|}

====Cases====

Tinnermockaar nouns inflect for three cases: absolutive (unmarked), marked nominative (or 'ergative', suffix ''-cə'') and benefactive (suffix ''-ngeè''). Unlike other suffixes, case markers are separated from the nominal with a hyphen in Latin script orthography, so the benefactive form of ''ccəńi'' will be spelled as ''ccəńi-ngeè'' rather than ''ccəńingeè''.

The ergative case, which perhaps could be better deemed as 'marked nominative' case, is ''optionally'' required for subjects. Its marker, ''-cə'', is generally found in subjects of transitive verbs although it is often left out for subjects occurring in a fronted position (moved to the beginning of the sentence for emphasis).

More unusually, the suffix might ''-cə'' may be occasionally found in intransitive subjects for verbs with which also have an oblique argument and in present-tense constructions (where the primary verb gerund could also be considered to act as an oblique argument to the auxiliary).

Pronouns seldom bear the ''-cə'' marker, regardless of the situation.

The benefactive case marker, ''-ńgeè'', may be used to indicate an argument other than a subject or theme that benefits or has commanded the action. This case is also used for indirect objects in verbs such as ''eynđ'' ('to give').

All other roles are expressed with the unmarked absolutive case, possibly in combination with prepositions such as locative ''byr'' ('in').

====Pronouns====

Pronouns are used sparingly in Tinnermockaar as they are made largely redundant due to the polypersonal agreement in verbs. They will commonly occur for oblique roles that wouldn't be marked otherwise, though.

Since Tinnermockaar pronouns work largely in the same way as nouns, they might be inflected for number, allowing for finer distinctions than the ones shown in verb prefixes. For instance, while first person exclusive markers don't distinguish between singular "I, me" and plural "we ~ me and others", the overt pronoun ''haańà'' can specify the argument as singular, while the addition of number-marking suffixes can yield more precise plural meanings such as ''haańàdər'' (only some of us), ''haańàbà'' (me and a few others), ''haańàga'' (me and many others) and ''haańàxoòt'' (none of us). It should be noted, however, that it's usually more idiomatic for a Tinnermockaar speaker to drop pronouns.

Tinnermockaar personal pronouns are as follows:

{| class="wikitable"
! !! '''Singular''' !! '''(Dual)''' !! '''Paucal''' !! '''Plural''' !! '''Partitive''' !! '''Negative'''
|-
| '''First person exclusive''' (me [and others]) || ''haańa'' || || ''haańabà'' || ''haańaga'' || ''haańadər'' || ''haańàxoòt''
|-
| '''First person inclusive''' (you and me [and others]) || || ''hàmyy'' || ''hàmyybà'' || ''hàmyyga'' || ''hàmyydər'' || ''hàmyyxoòt''
|-
| '''Second person''' (you [and others]) || ''tsidi'' || || ''tsidibà'' || ''tsidiga'' || ''tsididər'' || ''tsidixoòt''
|-
| '''Third person animate''' (he/she/they) || ''hee-i'' || || ''heerbà'' || ''heerga'' || ''heerdər'' || ''heerxoòt''
|-
| '''Third person inanimate''' (it/they) || ''ccy'' || || ''ccybà'' || ''ccyga'' || ''ccydər'' || ''ccyxoòt''
|}

Number marking is largely regular aside from unmarked 'singular' ''hàmyy'' actually referring to two people ('you and me') and the third person animate pronoun using different roots for singular ''hee-i'' (which doesn't accept any number markings) and plural ''*heer'' (which requires a number marker).

Other than that, Tinnermockaar pronouns only differ from nouns in that they hardly ever take the 'ergative' ''-cə'' marker.

==Syntax==

Tinnermockaar is a somewhat typologically ambiguous language. As intransitive and transitive verbs differ considerably in their paradigm (as far as argument marking is concerned), it is hard to unambiguously classify it as having a nominative-accusative or an ergative-absolutive alignment, morphological clues suggest a tendency towards the latter although it can be noted that what could be interpreted as an ergative case marker might occasionally be used for intransitive subjects, a feature more in line with a nominative-accusative language. While this sort of typologically ambiguity is sometimes found in natural languages, it might not be out of line for one to question the naturalisticness of this conlang.

===Word order===

Tinnermockaar has a fairly flexible word order, although sentences default towards verb-initial orders, mainly VSO (verb-subject-object). This might be altered to place emphasis, with SVO word orders highlighting the subject and VOS (or, more rarely, OVS) word orders highlighting subjects (a practice referred to as 'subject fronting' which usually also involves dropping case makers for this argument). Oblique complements such as adverbial phrases or benefactives are typically found at the end of the sentence, although they might be placed directly after the verb for greater emphasis.

Arguments can be dropped, although transitive verbs will be marked for both their arguments unless given in a valency-decreasing voice (reflexive, passive, antipassive). An entire sentence might consist of just a verb, with all its arguments being left implicit.

Verbs might be expressed as a single ''verbal'' (for generic or past-tense statements) or as an auxiliary verbal followed by a ''nominal'' form of the verb (for present or future tense).

Modifiers, including the equivalent to relative phrases, come after the element they modify.

===Present and future tense constructions===

As previously mentioned, by default a Tinnermockaar verb will refer either to an event in the past or to a generic or habitual statement (this two interpretations usually being distinguished by context alone, although time adverbs could be used to lift any resulting ambiguity).

In order to speak of a specific event taking place in the present, the auxiliary verb '''''iś''''' must be used, followed by a gerund of the intended verb, typically ending in ''-eynər''. The auxiliary takes all the markings related to mood, subject/theme agreement and aspect. Voice marking might involve both the auxiliary and the gerund, as shown in the following table:

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Voice''' !! '''Voice marker in the auxiliary''' !! '''Gerund'''
|-
| '''Active''' || None (active as default) || Active (''-eynər'')
|-
| '''Reflexive''' || Reflexive (''-as'') || Passive (''-eeccər'')
|-
| '''Reciprocal''' || Reciprocal (''-ubbàm'') || Active (''-eynər'')
|-
| '''Passive''' || None (marked only in the gerund) || Passive (''-eeccər'')
|-
| '''Antipassive''' || None (marked only in the gerund) || Antipassive (''-aettsər'')
|-
| '''Causative''' || Reciprocal (''-ééś'') || Active (''-eynər'')
|}

For instance, ''eenəccəń'' might be interpreted as 'they hunted' or 'they hunt (regularly)'; adverbs such as ''mimbyr'', 'yesterday' or ''kkaè'', 'often' may be given to further specify one of those interpretations. In order to indicate a current event such as 'they ''are'' hunting', the auxiliary verb construction with ''iś'' will be needed, resulting in ''eenəś ccəńeynər'', with ''iś'' displaying the agreement markers for subject and object while the primary verb is found as an active gerund.

It should be noted that the verb '''''iś''''' is slightly irregular: telic forms are given as ''-kəəs'' instead of the expected ''-kaś''.

Future tense can be expressed through a similar construction using the auxiliary verb '''''imind''''' (which might also be used on its own as a verb meaning 'to arrive') with the difference that the auxiliary must be marked as having an irrealis mood. For instance, we might find ''indeenəmind ccəńeynər'' for 'they will hunt'.

It is worth noticing, however, that many usages which might be covered by a future tense in other languages might be expressed using moods in Tinnermockaar, such as the potential mood to indicate an unrealized possibility or the optative to indicate a desired future state.

===Negatives===

Tinnermockaar utilizes two negation strategies depending on whether the arguments of the verb are included in the sentence.

If either the subject or the object of the verb are present in the sentence (aside from being referenced by verbal prefixes), then negation is most commonly marked by using the negative 'number' suffix on the relevant noun. For instance, the negation of ''əmbaś jaacceynər mpànvvr-cə nacv'' (the man sees a woman) might be given as any of the following:
* ''Əmbaś jaacceynər mpànvvr'''xoò'''-cə nacv'' (negating the subject, literally 'No man sees a woman')
* ''Əmbaś jaacceynər mpànvvr-cə nacv'''xoòt''''' (negating the object, literally 'The man sees no woman')

Colloquially, negating both elements (still keeping a negative meaning) is also an option, although this wording might be perceived as non-standard.
* ''Əmbaś jaacceynər mpànvvr'''xoò'''-cə nacv'''xoòt'''''.

Since the negative marker ''-xoò(t)'' takes the position of number markers, it might get in the way of expressing certain finer distinctions or imply an unwanted degree of totality in the negation. For instance the wording ''əmbaś jaacceynər mpànvvr-cə nacvxoòt'' (~ the man sees no woman) may be taken to imply that that the subject is not seeing any woman so it wouldn't be appropriate to indicate that the man doesn't see ''a'' woman in particular (possibly being able to see others) .

An alternative method involves using the negative particle ''xav'' which must always precede the primary verb of the sentence - before the verbal if there is no auxiliary and between the auxiliary and the gerund otherwise:
* ''Əmbaś '''xav''' jaacceynər mpànvvr-cə nacv'' (negating the verb, literally ''The man doesn't see a woman').

This second strategy is required for verbs lacking a explicit subject or object. It should be noted that using ''xav'' and avoiding explicit pronouns is by far a more common strategy than using explicit pronouns that might take the ''-xoò(t)'' prefix, although the latter option might be occasionally be used for emphasis:
* '''''Xav''' ijeekajaacc'' (I didn't see you, most common wording with negation using ''xav'' and implicit pronouns)
* ''Ijeekajaacc haańà'''xoòt''''' ('''''''I''''' didn't see you, explicit negated first person pronoun for emphasis)
* ''Ijeekajaacc tsidi'''xoòt''''' (I didn't see '''''you''''', explicit negated first person pronoun for emphasis)

If both negation strategies are combined (something seldom found), the result is typically interpreted as a '''positive''':
* ''Əmbaś '''xav''' jaacceynər nacv'''xoòt''' mpànvvr-cə'' (negating the verb and the object, understood as meaning 'No woman isn't seen by the man').

===Interrogatives===

Polar questions (those that can be answered in English with 'yes' or 'no) are formed in the same way as declarative sentences other than requiring the interrogative mood prefix ''kkaah-''. To continue with the prior example, the polar question 'Does the man see the woman?' may be translated as '''''Kkaah'''əmbaś jaacceynər mpànvvr-cə nacv?''.

Other questions, such as the ones formed in English using the 'wh-words' (like 'who' or 'what') generally do '''not''' require the interrogative prefix ''kkaah-''. Interrogative pronouns like ''đvv'' (what, used for inanimates) and ''đey'' (who, used for animates) behave like regular nominals and, unlike personal pronouns, inflect for case a usual. For instance, we might have:
* ''Əmbaś jaacceynər '''đey-cə''' nacv?'' (Who sees a woman?)
* ''Əmbaś jaacceynər mpànvvr-cə '''đey'''?'' (Who does the man see?)

Tinnermockaar does not have a 'wh-fronting' rule like English requiring interrogative pronouns to be moved to the beginning of the sentence, although Tinnermockaar's flexible word order does allows this order, which comes out as somewhat more emphatic. As usual, the ergative marker ''-cə'' is typically omitted for a fronted subject.
* '''''Đey''' əmbaś jaacceynər nacv?'' (Who sees a woman?)

The interrogative mood marker might be combined with an interrogative pronoun in order to make a wh-question about an uncertain event. For instance '''''Kkaah'''əmbaś '''đey-cə''' nacvvr?'' might be translated as 'Does anyone see the woman? If so, who?'. Such combined questions would expect either a negative answer (''Xav əmbaś'' ~ No one does) or the answer to the question word (''Mpànvvr'' ~ the man).

====Yes/no answers====

Polar questions are typically answered by repeating the verb (adjusting argument agreement markers if needed) or the auxilliary, preceded by ''xav'' if negative.

For instance, the expected answers for ''Kkaatsəńỳś jaacceynər?'', 'Do you see me?' will be either ''Ijeeś'' (I do [see you]) or ''Xav ijeeś'' (I do not [see you]).

===Imperatives===

Imperatives (sentences given an order to a second person) are formed using an auxiliary verb (''ittsat'', root ''-ttsat'') and gerunds, in a construction not disimilar from those used for expressing the present and future tense.

Imperatives are generally considered polite for Tinnermockaar speakers, speakers might issue direct commands rather than requiring some workaround construction for politeness like English usually does (compare the blunt sounding ''"Do it!"'' with gentler formulae such as ''"Could you do it?"'' or ''"Would you mind doing it?"'').

Orders where the second person takes the role of a subject (be it of a transitive or intransitive verb) require the active gerund, as in ''Iìttsat mindeynər'' for 'Come!' or ''Ətsèttsat jaacceynər mpànvvr!'' for 'See the man!'.

Imperatives where the second person is required to take the role of a transitive direct object are formed in the same way but using the passive gerund. Note, however, that the auxiliary verb will still be conjugated as a transitive verb in this case. For instance, we might have ''Əncettsat jaacceeccər mpànvvr-cə!'' for 'Be seen by the man!', with the auxiliary taking the prefix ''ənce-'' marking it as a transitive verb with a singular third person animate subject and a second person object.

It should be observed that passive imperatives still represent a command the second person must actively seek to accomplish. The previous example, ''Əncettsat jaacceeccər mpànvvr-cə!'', implies that the listener must to do something to ensure the man sees them, rather than placing responsibility on the man (the latter might indicated instead using a jussive mood construction).

Antipassive gerunds are required for orders with an antipassive meaning. In this case, the auxiliary verb is conjugated as an intransitive verb and does not require the ''-àk'' marker. For instance, ''Iìttsat ccəńaettsər!'' translates to 'Hunt (something)!'.

Negative imperatives are formed by preceding the auxiliary verb with the negative particle ''xav'' (rather than placing it between the auxiliary and the main verb as in present/future-tense constructions). Thus, ''Xav iìttsat ccəńaettsər!'' becomes 'Do not hunt!'.

It is worth remembering that many imperative-like constructions might be formed through verbal mood markers instead, including jussive for indicating a mandatory state (but not one that necessarily requires the second person to take an action towards) and the optative mood for wishes. Compare the following:
* ''Əncettsat jaacceeccər mpànvvr-cə!'' (using a passive imperative) - 'Be seen by the man!' (orders the speaker to ensure that the other person sees them).
* ''Əcaantəncejaacc mpànvvr-cə!'' (using a jussive form of ''əncejaacc'', 'he sees you') - 'The man must see you!' (the requirement is not necessarily the listener's responsibility, pressumably both parties will be required to comply).
* ''Iìttsat ccəńaettsər!'' - 'Hunt something!' (a command, using an imperative construction).
* ''Eytiìccəńàk!'' - 'May you hunt something!' (a wish, using the optative voice).

===Possessives===

Possession is marked with the particle ''əl'' which is placed between the possession and the possessor as in ''havpeeməərdər əl mpànvvr'' for 'some of the copper (''havpeeməərdər'') of the man (''mpànvvr'')' or 'some of the man's copper'.

The same pattern might be used alongside pronouns, such as ''əl tsidi'' for 'your(s)'.

===Noun copula===

Sentences where a noun is equated with another, such as 'X is Y' are typically expressed using the verbal ''an'', whose highly irregular conjugation was showcased earlier on.

Although ''an'' acts as a verb in this construction, it might only take mood and person prefixes (no aspect, voice or tense marking). ''An'' constructions are not necessarily taken to be habitual or past-tense as sentences with bare verbal usually are; its interpretation in regards to tense is usually left to context although time adverbs might be added if necessary.

If ''X'' and ''Y'' are both nouns, the sentence is given as ''an X Y''. For instance, 'the man is a hunter' might be given as ''an mpànvvr ccəńi'' (ATTR man\\DEF hunter) although, depending on the context, the sentence might also be interpreted as 'the man was a hunter' or similar variations.

Pronouns are usually omitted, being marked instead in the conjugation of ''an''. It should be noted, however, that ''an'', nearly all other Tinnermockaar verbs, fails to distinguish number and animacy in the third person. Even though number is unmarked in the verb, it will be marked on the noun that appears as the remaining argument in the copula, so, for instance, the following sentences with ''ccəńiga'', the plural form of ''ccəńi'' (hunter), will necessarily have a plural interpretation:
* ''Əńaàn ccəńiga.'' - We (exclusive) are hunters.
* ''Amyńan ccəńiga.'' - We (inclusive) are hunters.
* ''Tsaan ccəńiga.'' - You all are hunters.
* ''An ccəńiga.'' - They are hunters.

Negatives are formed as usual with the particle ''xav'': as in ''xav əńaàn ccəń'' for 'I am not a hunter'.

Interrogatives also work as usual, with the interrogative mood prefix ''kkaah-'' being required for polar questions.
* ''Kkaahan ccəńiga?'' - Were they hunters?
* ''Tsaan đey?'' - Who are you?

Imperatives for the copula are rare but they might be formed by using ''ittsat'' (usually an auxiliary) on its own:
* ''Iìttsat ccańi!'' - Be a hunter!

===Relative clauses===

The attributive verbal ''an'' is also used for Tinnermockaar's equivalent to relative clauses, sharing the same limitations such as being unable to state tense and aspect. It should be noted that, should the need arise, these limitations can be circumvented by saying the phrases independently. For instance, English 'The man ''who the woman saw'' is hunting' would generally be expressed through a construction that could be roughly interpreted as 'the ''seen-by-the-woman'' man is hunting', which fails to capture explicitly whether the woman is observing him in the present or whether she saw him in the past; should that distinction prove crucial to the discourse speakers might describe the situation through two separate phrases instead: 'The woman saw the man. / He is hunting.'.

Relative constructions where the inner sentence is comprised of a copula between nouns are formed simply by following the antecedent with ''an'' and the nominal to which it is equated: ''mpànvvr an ccəńi'' for 'the man who is a hunter' (or 'who was a hunter').

Otherwise, ''an'' must be followed by a participle. The choice of participle depends on the syntactic role of the antecedent within the relative clause, using active participles (suffix ''-yrbba'') when it appears as a subject or the passive participle (suffix ''-àkka'') when it appears as a direct object (other roles are not supported and require the speaker to use separate clauses instead). Examples include:
* ''mpànvvr an mindyrbba'' - the man who arrived / who is arriving / who is going to arrive
* ''mpànvvr an ccəńyrbba'' - the man who hunted / is hunting / is going to hunt
* ''mpànvvr an ccəńàkka'' - the man who was hunted / is hunted / will be hunted

Other arguments can be introduced to the relative clause using ''əl'' for a subject (as if it was a possessive) or ''ttə'' for a direct object:
* ''mpànvvr an ccəńyrbba ttə ahuulə'' - the man who hunted a wolf
* ''mpànvvr an ccəńàkka əl ahuulə'' - the man who a wolf hunted

Relative clauses are negated by placing ''xav'' before ''an'': ''mpànvvr xav an mindyrbba'' for 'the man who didn't arrive'.

====Alternative relative clause construction====

Modern Tinnermockaar seems to be in the process of developing an alternate construction for relative clauses where the attributive ''an'' is not followed by a participle but by a full verb as in ''mpànvvr an ovrccəń'' for 'the man who hunts it' rather than standard ''mpànvvr an ccəńyrbba'' (~ the hunting man).

This construction, however, is still perceived as non-standard and is often relegated to informal situations.

==Numerals==

Tinnermockaar has a fairly simple base-10 numeration system. Numerals follow the noun to which they apply, which must still bear grammatical number suffixes as usual, as in singular ''mpànv pè'' for 'one man', paucal ''mpànvbà cynə'' for 'three men' and plural ''mpànvga bbov'' for 'eight men'.

There is no numeral for 'zero' as null quantities are expressed through the 'negative' grammatical number instead: ''mpànvxoòt'' for 'no men' or 'zero men'.

Numbers from 1 to 10 are expressed as follows:

{| class="wikitable"
! '''Number''' !! '''Tinnemockaar'''
|-
| '''1''' || ''pè''
|-
| '''2''' || ''ccer''
|-
| '''3''' || ''cynə''
|-
| '''4''' || ''pyyr''
|-
| '''5''' || ''zynə''
|-
| '''6''' || ''bbav''
|-
| '''7''' || ''kkuu''
|-
| '''8''' || ''bbov''
|-
| '''9''' || ''hav''
|-
| '''10''' || ''hati''
|}

Multiples of ten are formed by adding the 'tens' digit after ''hati'' as in ''hati ccer'' (ten-two) for 20. The units can then be stated by adding the conjunction ''aa'' (and) and the appropriate digit, as in ''hati hav aa cynə'' (ten-nine and three) for 93. The same pattern applies to larger numbers with ''attè'' for 'hundreds' and ''gumbə'' for 'thousands'. For example, the number 1234 will be given as ''gumbə aa attè ccer aa hati cynə aa pyyr'', literally 'thousand and hundreds-two and tens-three and four'.

[[Category:Tinnermockaar]]
[[Category:Languages]]
[[Category:Conlangs]]

Tinnermockaar

2024-09-22T05:17:34Z

Jotadiego: Morphology: nominals

Tinnermockaar

2024-09-22T05:07:05Z

Jotadiego: Morphology: verbals

Tinnermockaar

2024-09-22T04:19:20Z

Jotadiego: Intro, phonology

Curtuvan

2024-08-17T06:46:15Z

Jotadiego: Created the article, exporting it from private notes in markdown (some conversion artifacts might remain)

{{Infobox language
|name=''Curtoubís''
|pronunciation=/kuɾ.towˈbis/
|familycolor=Indo-European
|fam1=Proto-Indo-European
|fam2=Latin
|fam3=Romance
|script=[[w:Latin script|Latin]]
|created = 2024
|-
|notice=IPA
}}

'''Curtuvan''' (natively ''Curtoubís'' /kuɾ.towˈbis/, ''curtubés'' in Spanish) is a fictional Romance language that would be spoken as a minority language in southern Spain (near the real-life province of Córdoba). A closely-related variety known as ''Giarbís'' /ʝaɾˈbiʃ/ would be spoken in nearby Portugal (near real-life Algarve).

Curtuvan’s most distinguishing feature lies in the diphthongization of pre-tonic vowels, that is to say, vowels in the syllable preceding a the one with primary prosodic stress. This feature is loosely based on a feature of the Argentinian ''cordobés'' accent. The conlang also differs from most Romance languages in completely dropping word-final proto-Romance ''-a'' and ''-e'' while preserving ''-o'' as ''-a'' instead (masculine ''fiya'', ‘son’, from Latin ''fīlium'' vs feminine ''fiy'', ‘daughter’, from Latin ''fīliam''). The language also features substantial influence from Arabic, much like its real-life counterpart Mozarabic (which would have co-existed with Curtuvan in the latter’s timeline).

Other than that, Curtuvan is generally fairly close to Spanish, with common developments such as the merger of Latin /b/ and /v/ and a lack of phonemic voicing in fricatives, although other aspects of its phonology and morphology show a much closer link to Catalan.

This conlang was created in May 2024.

==Concept==

Curtuvan was inspired by a feature of Argentinian ''cordobés'', a Spanish dialect spoken in the province of Córdoba, Argentina (not to be confused with its many namesakes in Spain and in various other parts of the Spanish-speaking world). Among other things, ''Cordobés'' is unusual for lengthening the vowel that precedes a stressed syllable (a fairly odd feature considering that usually stressed syllables are far more prone to getting lengthened, as it’s indeed often the case in the ''Rioplatense'' dialect found in Argentina’s capital Buenos Aires). As a result, the word “cordobés”, which would be typically transcribed as /koɾ.ð̞oˈβ̞es/ gets pronounced as something like [koɾ.ð̞oːːˈβ̞eh] by ''cordobés'' speakers themselves.

Curtuvan, however, would do something similar with (vulgar) Latin and evolve a language from that. This involved many developments not found at all in Argentinian ''cordobés'' such as the diphthongization of those lengthened vowels. Curtuvan also differs from real-life ''cordobés'' in that this pre-tonic lengthening also affects articles and pre-clitics before a stress-initial word, while Argentinian ''cordobés'' vowel lengthening does not extend beyond word boundaries (at least as far as I know).

The association with the Spanish city of Córdoba (and the historical Emirate of Córdoba) was added as a tongue-in-cheek reference to the homonymous city in Argentina. The addition of heavy Mozarabic-like Arabic influence simply made sense for a language that would have developed in Muslim-held lands until well into the Renaissance.

===Setting===

The conlang would be spoken in an alternate history that is identical to ours aside from the development of Curtuvan as a distinct language in medieval southern Spain (alongside historical Mozarabic) and its survival to modern times.

Curtuvan would have been a minority language since the Reconquista (which led to the unification of Spain and the genocide of its non-Christian peoples). As of the early 21st century, Curtuvan would have a status similar to that of Galician, enjoying some official protections and not risking imminent extinction but still in marked decline.

Curtuvan-speaking communities across the border in Southern Portugal (and their ''Giarbís'' dialect) would barely number in the low thousands, making their variety severely endangered.

Like other minority languages from Spain, Curtuvan wouldn’t have much of a noticeable impact in the Americas.

==Evolution==

=== Early developments ===

The ''cordobés''-style pre-tonic vowel length would have been the first step in the development from a generic early Western Romance variety. For instance, the Latin word for ‘olive’, ''olīva'', pronounced /oˈli.va/ in Vulgar Latin, would become /oːˈli.va/ or, with the /b/~/v/ merger (also present in Castillian/Spanish, although not in various other Romance languages from the Iberian peninsula), '''/oːˈli.bə/''' (note however that Curtuvan /b/ is a true voiced plosive, unlike the approximant /β̞/ found in Spanish).

Other important Spanish-like sound changes occurring early in the language history would include: - Conflation of Western Romance /e/ ~ /ɛ/ and /o/ ~ /ɔ/ into /e/ and /o/ respectively. - Clusters such as the /mn/ found in _*homne(m)_ (Latin ''hominem'') developing into /mbr/: Early Curtavan _*(h)ombre_ (later ''ambra'', cf. Spanish ''hombre'').

Meanwhile, early non-Spanish-like features include: - Universal voicing of initial /p/ to /b/ and occasional voicing of /p/ to /b/ in other positions (likely due to Arabic influence): ''patrem'' becomes ''batra''. - Latin C and G before front vowels initially developed as /tʃ/ and /dʒ/ before being conflated as /tʃ/ (a development shared by Aragonese). Later on, the affricate simplified to /ʃ/ (spelled as <x>) as in ''xenta'' for ‘hundred’ (Latin ''centum'') and ''xent'' for ‘people’ (Latin ''gentem''), except in word-final position where it typically yielded /s/ (spelled as <ç>) as in ''faç'' (‘after’, from Latin ''faciem'', originally meaning ‘towards’). - Lack of diphthongization in the stressed vowel: ''petra'' is inherited as ''beta'' (earlier ''betra'') as opposed to diphthongized Spanish ''piedra''. - Reduction of word final ''-a'' and ''-e'' to schwa which would later be lost (except after certain clusters, as seen before in ''ambra''). - Onset clusters with an /l/ glide (Latin ''pl'', ''cl'', ''bl'', ''gl'', ''fl'') initially developed as /Cʎ/ (palatalizing the /l/ element) before evolving in a variety of ways: - /pl/ as in ''pluviam'' was inherited as /bj/: ''biomb'' /bjom/ (rain). Some non-initial instances might be inherited as /pj/ as in ''cuapiar'' (to improvise verses or music, cf Spanish _copla). - /cl/ as in ''clavem'' was inherited as /ʃ/: ''xamb'' /ʃam/ (key). - /bl/ is variously inherited as /bj/ or /j/: ''blandus'' yields ''yanda'' /ˈjan.da/ (soft), ''blasphemia'' is inherited as ''biafímia'' /bjaˈfi.mja/ (blasphemy, curseword) although the latter might have been influenced by other languages. - /gl/ and /fl/ are inherited as /j/ aside from learned borrowings: ''florem'' yields ''yor'' /joɾ/ (flower, curiously enough a masculine noun as in Latin and Italian but unlike most other Romance languages) but ''globalis'' as ''giobal'' /ɡjoˈbal/ (global, clearly a later borrowing).

Due to the influence of nearby languages (as well as occasional learned borrowings from classical Latin itself), however, a number of exceptions might be found. In particular, Curtuvan contains a number words where Latin C before /e/ or /i/ is inherited as /s/ (spelled <c>) rather than as /ʃ/ as in ''ceiniç'' (‘ash’, cf. Spanish ''ceniza'', Portuguese ''cinza'').

===Vowel changes===
==== Pre-tonic diphthongization ====

Perhaps the most distinguishing feature in the language resulted from the diphthongization of the long vowels preceding stressed syllables, with pre-tonic /a e i o u/ becoming /e̯a i̯a ei̯ u̯a ou̯/ (note that non-syllabic /i/ and /u/ are considered identical to /j/ and /w/ as far as Curtuvan phonology is concerned).

Thus, for instance, the word for ‘olive’ evolved from Early Curtavan /oːˈli.bə/ to /waˈli.bə/.

This led to perduring alternations in the language, as inflectional forms of the same lexeme with variable stress resulted in pairs which showed this pre-tonic diphthongization in different positions (as in ''com'''ia'''nçar'', ‘to begin’ vs ''c'''ua'''mença'', ‘I begin’) or which only presented diphthongization in some forms (''c'''êa'''tar'' for ‘to see’ but unaffected ''c'''a'''ta'' for ‘I see’). As a result, this sound change is both diachronic (affecting the historical evolution of a word) and synchronic (affecting lexical elements situationally within the modern language).

The synchronic aspect of this sound change also lead to speakers having a certain intuition of how vowels should shift depending on the context. This intuition explains the continued applicability of pre-tonic diphthongization in words that entered the language after the diachronic change took place. This is most evident in verbs where the diphthongization pattern might be applied to neologisms without a historical justification as in ''cleicar'' (to click [on a computer]) and ''clica'' (I click), applying the /i/ to /ei̯/ shift to a lexeme derived from the English internationalism ‘click’.

====Other vowel changes====

Not long thereafter, the word-final schwas resulting from early Romance final ''-a'' and ''e'' were lost provided that the result was phonotactically permissible (for reference, a phonotactical system in line with that of Catalan might be assumed for this stage of Curtavan). This sound change occasionally affected schwas in word-final syllables with codae such as the plural marker ''-s''. Thus, the words for ‘olive’ and ‘olives’ at this stage became _*ualib_ /waˈlib/ and _*ualibs_ /waˈlibs/ (the latter possibly showing some degree of assimilation as in [waˈlibz]).

Conversely, other vowels (most commonly derived from an early ''-o'') were reduced to a schwa. As a result, original schwas that couldn’t be dropped due to phonotactical concerns such as the last vowel in ''ambra'' (man, from Latin ''hominem'', _*ombrə_ in earlier Curtuvan) were merged with the earlier ''-o'' found in words such as ''umbra'' (shoulder, from Latin ''humerum'', _*umbro_ in earlier Curtuvan). These schwas were written as <''a''>. A considerably later development (likely motivated by the influence of Spanish, whose vocalic system doesn’t include a distinct schwa vowel) had this phoneme shift to an /a/, just as those preserved all the way from Latin /a/ in stressed positions.

As a result, contrasts in grammatical gender expressed in other Romance languages as masculine ''-o'' vs feminine ''-a'' (as in Spanish ''hijo'' for ‘son’, ''hija'' for daughter) become a contrast between a masculine ''-a'' ending versus a null feminine ending (Curtuvan ''fiya'' for ‘son’, ''fiy'' for ‘daughter’).

Diphthongization does not proceed for vowels that are already part of a diphthong. For instance, the verb for ‘to rain’ is inherited as ''biover'' /bjoˈbeɾ/ (cf. Spanish ''llover'', Portuguese ''chover'') even though a pre-tonic /o/ would generally diphthongize to /wa/.

===Other developments===
==== Palatalization ====

Aside from the previously discussed /Cl/ clusters, instances of Latin /l/ which palatalized to ''ll'' or ''j'' in Spanish and ''lh'' or ''ch'' in Portuguese become <y> /j/, as seen in ''fiya'' for son (cf. Portuguese ''filho'', Spanish ''hijo'').

A later development involved the palatalization of certain '''non-final''' coronal consonants following the vowel /i/ or its diphthongized variant ''ei'' /ej/: - /t/ becomes <ch> /tʃ/: ''Italia'' → _*Eitallə_ → ''Eichay'' /ejˈtʃaj/ (Italy). - /d/ becomes <j>, historically pronounced as /dʒ/ but now variously pronounced as /tʃ/, /ʃ/ or /ʃj/ depending on the region, with the /tʃ/ pronunciation (identical to <ch>) being the standard: ''idea'' → ''eijé'' (idea). - /s/ becomes <x> /ʃ/: _*missionem_ → ''meixon'' (meaning ‘overseas travel’, a semantic shift originally derived from missionaries heading to the Americas).

There exist, however, a fairly large number of words which lack these development, be it due to being borrowings more recently integrated into the language or due to analogy with non-palatalized forms.

====Final -mb====

A relatively late development saw a shift from word-final /b/ to /mb/, which was later simplified to /m/. This shift is responsible for the final form of the Curtuvan word for ‘olive’ (used in the examples above) which is ''ualimb'' /waˈlim/, with ''ualimbs'' /waˈlims/ as its plural form, ‘olives’.

This change also affected a series of’dative/allative’ pronouns which originally ended in ''-b'' such as ''mimb'' (to me), ''timb'' (to you) and ''domb'' (whereto). This series of pronouns represents a shared development with Mozarabic (''mib'' for ‘to me’, ''tib'' for ‘to you’), which might have originated as an analogy from the dative form of the Latin <code>2s</code> pronoun: ''tibi''.

The shift from ''-b'' to ''-mb'' was limited to word-final occurrences (aside from suffixes such as plural ''-s''). As a result, the effect might be present in some words and absent from other closely related ones as its the case for ''ualimb'' (‘olive’, cf. Spanish ''oliva'') and ''ualiba'' (‘olive tree’, cf. Spanish ''olivo'').

====Delabialization of /kw/ to /k/====

Latin <''qu''> /kw/ is inherited as /k/ (written as <qu> before front vowels and as <c> elsewhere) as in ''canda'' (when) from Latin ''quando'', ''catra'' (four) from ''quattuor'', and ''quinta'' (fifth) from ''quintus''.

This differs from the developments found in neighboring Romance languages where /kwa/ was preserved (Spanish ''cuando'', ''cuatro'', Portuguese ''quando'', ''quatro'', Catalan ''quan'', ''quatre''), instead being more akin to French (where ''quatre'', ‘four’, is realized as /katr/).

This sound change does not affect the sequence /kwa/ derived from a historical /ko/ subject to pre-tonic diphthongization as in ''cuamença'' (I begin, from an earlier _*co:menço_).

====Assimilation====

Some consonant clusters are assimilated, sometimes without it being reflected in the orthography (as seen before with the word final /m/ for ''-mb'').

Any word-final combination of <t> and <s> is pronounced as just /s/: ''vist'' /bis/ (a view), ''vists'' /bis/ (many views), ''ceits'' /sejs/ (oils, plural of ''ceit'', /sejt/).

Word final /nks/ (often occurring as the plural of a noun with final /nk/) are realized as /nʃ/.

===Borrowings===

The Curtuvan language would have developed under the Islamic rule of Al-Andalus, the Emirate of Cordoba and other Muslim-held states that ruled most of the Iberian peninsula during the Middle Ages, much like the historical Mozarabic language (which would have existed alongside Curtuvan in the latter’s timeline, rather than being fully replaced). As a result, the language would contain a fairly elevated number of Arabic loanwords, surpassing those found in Spanish, Portuguese and Catalan (although perhaps not as many as the ones found in Mozarabic itself). Unlike Spanish and Portuguese, Arabic loanwords in Curtuvan don’t include the definite article, thus ''as-sukar'' ([the] sugar) gets borrowed as ''sucra'', as opposed to Spanish ''azúcar'' and Portuguese ''açúcar''.

After the Christian takeover led by the kingdoms of Castille and León (who would later join to form Spain), Curtuvan would have lost ground to Spanish, remaining as a regional minority language. Since then, the language would have been exposed to a considerable number of borrowings from Spanish, with occasional loanwords from Catalan, French and English as well as a number of ‘learned’ borrowings from Latin.

==Phonology and orthography==
===Consonants===

Curtuvan’s consonantal inventory is as follows (IPA followed by orthographic representation)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
!
! '''Labial'''
! '''Alveolar'''
! '''Postalveolar'''
! '''Velar'''
|-
| '''Nasal'''
|
| /m/ '''m''', -'''mb'''
| /n/ '''n'''
|
|
|-
| '''Plosive'''
| Unvoiced
| /p/ '''p'''
| /t/ '''t'''
|
| /k/ '''c''', '''qu'''
|-
|
| Voiced
| /b/ '''b''', '''v'''
| /d/ '''d'''
|
| /ɡ/ '''g'''
|-
| '''Affricate'''
|
|
|
| /tʃ/ '''ch''', '''j'''
|
|-
| '''Fricative'''
|
| /f/ '''f'''
| /s/ '''s''', '''c''', '''ç'''
| /ʃ/ '''x'''
|
|-
| '''Glides'''
|
|
|
| /j/ '''y''', '''i'''
| /w/ '''u'''
|-
| '''Rhotic''' (flap)
|
| /ɾ/ '''r'''
|
|
|
|-
| '''Lateral'''
|
| /l/ '''l'''
|
|
|
|}

Notes: - Unvoiced plosives are unaspirated and voiced plosives are true plosives (as opposed to approximants as in Spanish). - The letter <c> is read as /s/ before the letters <e> (but not <ê>) and or as /k/ otherwise. - Word finally, the sequence <mb> is read as just /m/. - Word finally, /(t|d)s(t|d)/ or is simplified to /s/. - The conjunction ''et'' (and) is mostly pronounced as /e/, although the pronunciation /et/ might optionally be used before vowel-initial words. - The letter <j> is used to represent a palatalized /d/ which, depending on the dialect, might be realized as s /tʃ/, /ʃ/ or /ʃj/. - Aspiration of word-final /s/ into [h] is found for some speakers. - Nasals in clusters assimilate to the place of articulation of the second element as usual, /nk/ is realized as [ŋk]. - Word-final <ncs> and <ngs> are read as /nʃ/. - Word-final <(n)fs> is typically read as just /(n)f/ although some speakers might pronounce the final /s/.

A silent etymological <h> is now found exclusively in forms of the auxiliary verb ''haber'' (from Latin ''habeo''), although it used to be much more widespread with words like ''eistória'' (history) once being spelled as ''heistória''.

===Vowels===

Curtuvan has five monophthongs: [ä e̞ i o̞ u] (or, more simply, /a e i o u/) spelled as <a e i o u>.

Diphthongs and triphthongs may be formed by preceding and/or following a monophthong with the glides /j/ (taken as a non-syllabic /i/) and /w/ (a non-syllabic /u/).

In addition to those, a non-syllabic /e/ is allowed as an initial glide in the diphthong /e̯a/, spelled as <ea>. This diphthong occurs nearly exclusively as a mutated form of /a/ in pre-tonic position (when the following syllable carries prosodic stress).

Word final non-syllabic /i/ (or, equivalently, /j/), is typically spelled as <y>.

There is no noticeable vowel reduction for most speakers.

===Phonotactics===

The language features a <code>CCGVGCCC</code> phonotactical structure, although syllables are seldom maximal.

Discounting glides (<code>G</code>, analyzed as part of the nucleus forming diphthongs or triphthongs, as mentioned above), only the clusters /pɾ tɾ kɾ bɾ dɾ ɡɾ fɾ/ are allowed as syllable-initial position. All consonants are allowed syllable-initially, although word-initial /p/ is restricted to later borrowings.

Word-medially, nasals, /s/, /ɾ/ and /l/ are allowed as codae. Word-finally, any single consonant is allowed as a coda (although most instances of final /b/ will have shifted to /m/) in addition to the clusters /mp mps ms nt nk nd ng nf ns nʃ ps ks bs gs sp sk ɾp ɾps ɾt ɾk ɾks ɾd ɾf ɾs ɾʃ ls/.

Violations to this phonotactics are occasionally found in the language due to borrowings, especially in cases where the resulting word would be phonotactically valid in Spanish (which most contemporary Curtuvan speakers would also be able to speak). For instance, the internationalism ‘click’ (with a mouse, on a computer) is typically found as ''clic'', even though /kl/ is not generally found in the language.

===Suprasegmentals and diacritics===

Prosodic stress is phonemic in Curtuvan. Stress position may be marked with diacritics such as acute accents (<á é í ó ú>).

Stress in an unmarked polysyllabic word is determined as follows: - Any word-final <s> is discarded. - If the word ends in a vowel (not including <y>), stress falls on the second-to-last vowel: ''batra'' /ˈba.tɾa/ (father), ''poleicia'' /po.lejˈsi.a/ (police), ''ambras'' /ˈam.bɾas/ (men). - Otherwise, stress falls on the last vowel: ''bersar'' /beɾˈsaɾ/ (to talk), ''Eichay'' /ejˈtʃaj/ (Italy), ''eaxon'' /e̯aˈʃon/ (action).

Any other stress position requires the stressed vowel to be marked with an acute accent: ''cafá'' /kaˈfa/ (coffee), ''curtoubís'' /kuɾ.towˈbis/ (Curtuvan), ''cántan'' /ˈkan.tan/ (they sing).

In addition to acute accents, diaeresis might be used to break diphthongs as in ''gïon'' /ɡiˈon/ (hyphen) while a circumflex accent might be used on the <e> (resulting in <ê>) of an /e̯a/ diphthong to indicate that a preceding < should be read as /k/ (as when preceding an unmutated /a/) rather than /s/. This allows for verb stem C’s to be kept unchanged in conjugation paradigms where /e̯a/ might alternate with /a/ as in ''cêantar'' /ke̯anˈtaɾ/ (to sing) ~ ''cántan'' /ˈkan.tan/ (they sing).

Curtuvan usage of the circumflex to highlight an unusual pronunciation in a preceding consonant is inspired by a historical practice in Spanish where they marked that the sequence <ch> was to be read as /k/, rather than the expected /tʃ/: outdated Spanish ''châracterística'' /ka.ɾak.teˈɾis.ti.ka/ (characteristic) but ''charabón'' /tʃa.ɾaˈbon/ (young ostrich). This diacritic is no longer used as etymological <ch> for /k/ were dropped from the language (with ‘characteristic’ now being spelled more phonetically as ''característica'').

As in neighboring languages (Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, etc), a rising intonation alone might be used to mark a statement as a question.

===Punctuation===

Due to Spanish influence, Curtuvan orthography largely follows European Spanish conventions when it comes to typography and punctuation, including the usage of <code>¿</code> and <code>¡</code> at the beginning of questions and exclamations, respectively.

==Grammar==
===Word order===

As usual for Romance languages, Curtuvan is a nominative-accusative language with an <code>SVO</code> standard word order, although word order is fairly flexible. This is especially the case for pronouns which might optionally ''follow'' the verb when in pronoun position which, in addition to the usual Romance requirement of placing object pronouns ''before'' the verb might even result in <code>OVS</code>-like sentences such as ''Tia cata-yeu'' (literally ''you see-I'') for ‘I see you’.

===Pre-tonic mutation===

Pre-tonic mutation is a widespread phenomenon affecting Curtuvan verbs, pronouns and articles. This involves a historical sound shift where monophthongs (pure vowels) might be replaced by (or ‘mutated into’) diphthongs when occurring immediately before a stressed syllable.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Pure vowel
! Mutated vowel
|-
| a
| ea
|-
| e
| ia
|-
| i
| ei
|-
| o
| ua
|-
| u
| ou
|}

As previously discussed on the ‘Evolution’ section, there are a number of exceptions to this phenomenon, most notably the fact that vowels which already appear in a diphthong are immune to mutation.

====In verbs====

Curtuvan verbs have two stems known as tonic and atonic. Usually, both stems can be derived from an underlying ‘base stem’. As an example, we might consider the verbs ''comiançar'', meaning ‘to begin’, which can be analyzed as having the base stem _*començ-_ and the verb ''cêatar'', meaning ‘to see’, with the base stem _*cat-_.

Tonic stems appear in conjugations where primary stress falls on the last syllable of the stem. Correspondingly, these stems are formed by applying pre-tonic mutation to the second-to-last syllable in the base stem, thus yielding ''cuamenç-'' for _*començ-_ while monosyllabic base stems like _*cat-_ are preserved without change. Tonic stems are required for most present-tense verbforms: ''cuamença'' for ‘I begin’, ''cata'' for ‘I see’.

Atonic stems, on the other hand, are required by verbforms where stress falls on a suffix rather than on the stem itself. These stems show pre-tonic mutation on their last syllable, yielding ''comianç-'' for base _*començ_ and ''cêat-'' for base _*cat-''. Notably, this is the form found in infinitives (marked by the stressed suffixes ''-ar_ or ''-er'') as shown by ''comiançar'' (to begin) and ''cêatar'' (to see).

=====Verbal stems and the conditional mood=====

Conditional conjugations suppose an exception to the aforementioned, as the only inflectional forms with suffixes stressed on their second syllable as in the <code>1s.COND</code> suffix ''-earí'' or ''-eirí''.

As a result, pre-tonic mutation affects the first syllable of the suffix (which would otherwise be ''*-arí'' or ''*-irí'') but, in principle, shouldn’t affect any syllable of the verbal stem. In the case of verbs with polysyllabic stems such as ''comiançar'' (base stem _*començ-'', tonic ''cuamenç-'', atonic ''comianç-''), this would require the usage of the base stem without any mutation whatsoever, resulting in a hypothetical ''*comencearí_.

Due to analogy with other conjugations, however, Curtuvan grammar, makes an exception in this case, requiring the ''tonic'' stem instead yielding verbforms such as ''cuamencearí'' /kwa.men.se̯aˈɾi/, featuring the mutated form of the second-to-last syllable in the base stem despite the fact it does not truly occur in a pre-tonic position. ### In articles and pronouns

Many Curtuvan articles and pronouns can be found in two forms: a ‘base form’ closer to its Latin source and Romance cognates and a ‘mutated form’ affected by a historical diphthongization process.

Mutated forms are found exclusively in a pre-tonic context, which is to say, when followed by a stress-initial word, while base forms are used otherwise (when followed by a word stressed on a non-initial syllable, at the end of a sentence or when used in isolation).

As an example, the singular masculine definite article ''el'' has the mutated form ''ia'' required before stress-initial nouns: ''ia gata'' (/jaˈɡa.ta/, the cat) but ''el cêabala'' (/el.ke̯aˈba.la/, the horse).

===Nouns===

As expected for a Romance language, Curtuvan nouns feature two grammatical genders (feminine and masculine) and two grammatical numbers (singular and plural). While some words (termed ‘gendered words’) show feminine and masculine variants for female and male referents, lexical gender is largely arbitrary, even for words referring to people.

It should be noted that the ending ''-a'', associated to feminine nouns in many Romance languages, is a masculine ending in Curtuvan, while feminine nouns typically have a null ending instead (''ie'', formed by the bare stem). As a result, many Curtuvan words will resemble its Catalan counterparts but with their genders flipped as in Curtuvan ''fiya'' and ''fiy'' for ‘son’ and ‘daughter’ (''fill'' and ''filla'' in Catalan). There are, however, a number of feminine nouns with a final ''-a'' in Curtavan (such as ''beta'', ‘stone’) as well as masculine nouns lacking the usual ending (such as ''el preseident'', ‘the president’).

Nouns are singular by default, with plurals being formed by adding an ''-s'' (or in some instances an ''-as'' to avoid an illegal consonant cluster) as in ''fiyas'' for ‘sons’ and ''fiys'' for ‘daughters’. For nouns with a masculine vs feminine contrast such as ''fiya'' and ''fiy'', the masculine form is typically used as the default for plurals referring to mixed groups, meaning that ''fiyas'' might also refer to ‘children’, including both sons and daughters, although explicitly listing both options as ''fiyas et fiys'' or ''fiys et fiyas'' isn’t too uncommon.

Thus, a typical gendered noun will present the following pattern:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! '''Feminine'''
! '''Masculine'''
|-
| '''Singular'''
| -Ø (''fiy'', daughter)
| '''-a''' (''fiya'', son)
|-
| '''Plural'''
| '''-s''' (''fiys'', daughters)
| '''-as''' (''fiyas'', sons)
|}

Beginning in the 21st century, some speakers might use a gender-neutral ending ''-e''/''-es'' which could be perceived as more appropriate for non-binary persons, although the spread of this innovation would be limited. This allows for words such as ''fiye'' referring to children without referencing their gender, although in practice ''fiye'' would particularly suggest a child with a non-binary gender identity. These usages were almost certainly inspired by a similar practice in Spanish.

===Articles===

Curtuvan features definite and indefinite articles (corresponding to English ‘the’ and ‘a/an’) that come at the start of a noun phrase. They are required to agree with their noun in gender and number, as well as conforming to pre-tonic mutation rules.

Their usage largely follows the same rules as in other Romance languages, particularly Catalan, Spanish and Portuguese.

====Definite articles====

Singular definite articles take different forms depending on the gender of the following noun and whether it carries word-initial stress or not. The plural definite article ''las'', on the other hand, is invariable.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! '''Feminine noun'''
! '''Masculine noun'''
|-
| '''Singular noun''' - Non-initial stress
| '''''la'''''
| '''''el'''''
|-
| '''Singular noun''' - Word-initial stress
| '''''ea'''''
| '''''ia'''''
|-
| '''Plural noun'''
| '''''las'''''
| '''''las'''''
|}

The feminine article ''la'' might be contracted to ''l’'' before a vowel-initial word but this is optional.

=====Definite articles and proper nouns=====

Definite articles are commonly used alongside personal names: a man named Eibram (a common derived from Abraham/Ibrahim) will be referred to as ''el Eibram'' while a woman named Meiria (a local variation of Mary/Maria) will be referred to as ''la Meiria''. Articles are not used in vocative usages (so when calling someone named Eibram, a Curtuvan won’t say ''**¡El Eibram!'' but ''¡Eibram!'').

Toponyms, on the other hand, are seldom said with an article unless the article itself is perceived as being part of the name. Thus Spain will be referred to as ''Eispan'' rather than ''**la Eispan'' while the region of La Mancha will be known as ''la Meanxa''.

====Indefinite articles====

Curtuvan features indefinite articles both in singular (like English ‘a’ and ‘an’) and in plural (roughly like English ‘some’). Unlike definite articles, the indefinite articles ''un'', ''una'' and ''ons'' are unaffected by pre-tonic mutation.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! '''Feminine noun'''
! '''Masculine noun'''
|-
| '''Singular noun'''
| '''''un'''''
| '''''una'''''
|-
| '''Plural noun'''
| '''''ons'''''
| '''''ons'''''
|}

Singular indefinite articles are contracted (or outright elided) after a consonant-final preposition such as ''en'' (in) or ''cun'' (with). After such words, masculine ''una'' contracts to ''’a'' /a/ while feminine ''un'' is completely elided, although this elision is marked orthographically with a bare apostrophe <''’''>. Plural ''ons'' remains unchanged in these contexts. The following table illustrates the resulting forms for the locative preposition ''en'' applied to the feminine noun ''cas'' (house) and the masculine noun ''siafina'' (ship).

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Presposition ''en'''''
! '''''cas'' (house), feminine noun'''
! '''''siafina'' (ship), masculine noun'''
|-
| '''Singular, definite'''
| '''''en''' ea cas'' (in the house)
| '''''en''' el siafina'' (in/on the ship)
|-
| '''Singular, indefinite'''
| '''''en’''' cas'' (in a house)
| '''''en’a''' siafina'' (in/on a ship)
|-
| '''Plural, definite'''
| '''''en''' las casas'' (in the houses)
| '''''en''' las siafinas'' (in/on the ships)
|-
| '''Plural, indefinite'''
| '''''en''' ons casas'' (in [some] houses)
| '''''en''' ons siafinas'' (in/on [some] ships)
|}

=== Demonstratives ===

Curtuvan has proximal and distal determiners which might replace the definite article.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! '''Proximal'''
! '''Distal'''
|-
| '''Singular, feminine'''
| ''ques''
| ''eaquel''
|-
| '''Singular masculine'''
| ''quesa''
| ''eaquel''
|-
| '''Plural'''
| ''quesas''
| ''eaquels''
|}

The distal demonstrative ''eaquel'' is only used when explicitly contrasting two referents, otherwise ''ques(a)'' will be used even in contexts where English would prefer distal ‘that’ to proximal ‘this’.

Demonstratives might also be used on their own as pronouns, roughly translatable as ‘this one’ and ‘that [other] one’.

Although Curtuvan orthography officially never observed a distinction between pronominal and non-pronominal usages for demonstratives, many speakers would mark pronominal demonstratives with an unnecessary acute accent (''qués'', ''quésa'', ''eaquél'') due to the influence of a now-deprecated orthographic rule requiring the same in Spanish (as ''éste'' for ‘this one’, now spelled ''este'').

===Adjectives===

Curtuvan adjectives typically follow nouns with the opposite being rare, even for adjectives such as ‘large’ or ‘new’ that are often pre-nominal in related languages. For the most part, adjectives agree with their nouns in grammatical gender and number, featuring the same endings as gendered nouns, as exemplified here with ''xeiquita'' (small, little).

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! '''Feminine'''
! '''Masculine'''
|-
| '''Singular'''
| -Ø (''ea fiy '''xeiquit''''', the little daughter)
| '''-a''' (''ia fiya '''xeiquita''''', the little son)
|-
| '''Plural'''
| '''-s''' (''las fiys '''xeiquits''''', the little daughters)
| '''-a''' (''las fiyas '''xeiquitas''''', the little sons)
|}

Some adjectives such as ''gran'' (large, big, great) only decline in number; with singular ''gran'', and plural ''grans'' applying to both feminine and masculine nouns.

Adjectives might also be used as predicates, introduced with the copula verb ''eiser''. Predicate adjectives are also required to agree with the referent they describe: ''Las casas son grans'' for ‘The houses are large’.


== Adverbs ==

Curtuvan adverbs tend to follow the adjectives or verbs they modify with the exception of ''muy'' (‘very’, an intensifier for adjectives) and temporal adverbs for verbs such as ''dá'' for ‘already’ (cf. Spanish ''ya'').

Adverbs might be derived from adjectives by adding the suffix ''-(a)ment'' to the feminine singular form of the adjective, as in ''gránament'' for ‘greatly’. This suffix is considered to be non-tonic, with the adjective retaining its original stress placement (although this does generally require adding a diacritic to mark the resulting stress position, as in ''gránament'' vs unmarked ''gran'').

A few adjectives might be used in its masculine singular form without any further affixes when applied as adverbs to verbs (but not to other adjectives), particularly for the adjectives ''saria'' (fast), its synonym ''vialosa'' and ''forta'' (strong). Thus ‘you speak quickly’ might be rendered in Curtuvan as ''Bersas saria'' as well as ''Bersas saríment'' (or, alternatively, ''vialosa'' or ''vialósament'').

===Pronouns===

Curtuvan personal pronouns include a contrast between singular and plural ‘you’ and a gender distinction in singular third person pronouns (''él'' and ''ey'' for ‘he’ and ‘she’, with inanimate objects being referred as either according to their grammatical gender).

Each pronoun has a variety of forms according to their grammatical and phonetic context. A pronoun in subject position or used in isolation will take the nominative form (such as ''yo'' for ‘I’) unless it immediately precedes a verb with word-initial stress (which calls for a pre-tonic nominative form such as ''yeu'') or unless it is placed after the verb, in which case the post-verbal clitic form (such as ''-yeu'') are used. Dative pronominal forms are used for indirect objects and to indicate direction (those ''mimb'' corresponds to both ‘to me’ or ‘towards me’) while the oblique forms are required for direct objects and other syntactical uses. Oblique pronouns will also change to a pre-tonic variant when directly preceding a stress-initial verb.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! '''Nominative'''
! '''Post-verbal'''
! '''Pre-tonic'''
! '''Oblique/Accusative'''
! '''Pre-tonic'''
! '''Dative'''
|-
| '''1s''' (I, me)
| '''''yo'''''
| '''''-yeu'''''
| '''''yeu'''''
| '''''me''''', '''''m’'''''
| '''''mia'''''
| '''''mimb'''''
|-
| '''2s''' (you)
| '''''us'''''
| '''''-us'''''
| '''''vou'''''
| '''''us'''''
| '''''ous'''''
| '''''timb'''''
|-
| '''3s.M''' (he, him)
| '''''él'''''
| '''''-el'''''
| '''''ial'''''
| '''''lá'''''
| '''''leá'''''
| '''''limb'''''
|-
| '''3s.F''' (she)
| '''''ey'''''
| '''''-ey'''''
| '''''ey'''''
| '''''lá'''''
| '''''leá'''''
| '''''limb'''''
|-
| '''1p''' (we, us)
| '''''nós'''''
| '''''-nus'''''
| '''''nós'''''
| '''''nos''''', '''''nós'''''
| '''''nos'''''
| '''''a nós'''''
|-
| '''2p''' (you)
| '''''usas'''''
| '''''-us'''''
| '''''usas'''''
| '''''usas'''''
| '''''usas'''''
| '''''a usas'''''
|-
| '''3p''' (they)
| '''''eis'''''
| '''''-eis'''''
| '''''eis'''''
| '''''lás'''''
| '''''lás'''''
| '''''a eis'''''
|}

Examples: - '''''Yo''' et '''us'''.'' - '''You''' and '''me'''. (pronouns used in isolation, nominative form) - '''''Yo''' cêantamb.'' - '''I''' used to sing. (subject of a verb without word-initial stress) - '''''Yeu''' canta.'' - '''I''' sing. (subject of a verb with word-initial stress, pre-tonic form needed) - '''''Yo''' sempra canta.'' - '''I''' always sing. (subject doesn’t immediately precede the verb) - '''''Canta-yeu'''.'' - '''I''' sing. (post-verbal variant) - ''Canta.'' - I sing. (variant with dropped subject pronoun) - ''Us '''me''' cêatasi.'' - You saw '''me'''. (direct object, not following a initial-stressed verb) - ''Us '''mia''' catas.'' - You see '''me'''. (direct object following a initial-stressed verb) - ''Con '''me'''.'' - With '''me'''. (oblique form used for non-object roles) - ''Us lea das '''mimb'''.'' - You give it '''to me'''. (dative form for an indirect object) - ''Ans-us '''mimb'''.'' - You are walking '''towards me'''. (dative to indicate direction)

Some pronouns are written with acute accents that are only meant to disambiguate between word pairs such as ''él'' (he, a pronoun) and ''el'' (the, a definite article). The first person plural pronoun ''nós/nos'' is written with an accute accent (''nós'') except when used as a direct object. Oblique first person pronoun ''me'' is often contracted to ''m’'' before a vowel; similarly some speakers might also contract ''lá'' to ''l’'' although this remains non-standard and is seldom found in writing.

Curtuvan once displayed a contrast between formal and informal second person pronouns (a feature known as ‘T/V distinction’ in Romance languages), with an informal T variant ''tu'' for informal <code>2s</code> and a formal V variant ''vos/vus/us'' for formal <code>2s</code> and for <code>2p</code> in general. Eventually, only the V variant ''us'' was preserved (with the dative form ''timb'' being a remnant of the original T form) for <code>2s</code>, while a pluralized variant ''usas'' was innovated for <code>2p</code>. Curiously, verb conjugation seemed largely unaffected by these shifts, with <code>2s</code> ''us'' forms retaining the original ''tu'' conjugations while <code>2p</code> forms retain the original ''vos/vus/us'' conjugations.

Elders, customers and other people in a higher social position might be addressed as ''ustá'', a cognate (likely) of the Spanish formal <code>2s</code> pronoun ''usted'', although Curtuvan ''ustá'' is better thought as being merely a term of address like English ‘Sir’ or ‘Madam’ and will be used along the standard second person pronouns (''us'').

====Reflexive pronoun (''se'')====

For third person subjects only, a distinction is observed between oblique arguments matching the subject or not. Whenever the subject and the other argument refer to the same person, the latter must be replaced with a form of the reflexive pronoun ''se''. This pronoun is found as ''se'' or ''sia'' in direct-object position, as ''simb'' in dative as ''si'' in any other role.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! '''Accusative'''
! '''Pre-tonic'''
! '''Oblique'''
! '''Dative'''
|-
| Reflexive pronoun
| '''''se'''''
| '''''sia'''''
| '''''si'''''
| '''''simb'''''
|}

This distinction makes it possible to differentiate between sentences referring to a single third person referent or to multiple as in ''Leá cató-el'' for ‘He saw him (a different person)’ vs ''Sia cató-el'' for ‘He saw himself’.

Historically, certain rural Curtuvan varieties failed to make this distinction although this dialectal feature was always seen as non-standard and is currently close to extinct.

====Reflexive verbs====

Certain Curtuvan verbs require their subject to be marked with a pre-verbal oblique/accusative pronoun as if it was ''also'' a direct object. Since this parallels reflexive constructions (such as ''Mia cata-yeu'' for ‘I see myself’), such verbs are known as ‘reflexive verbs’.

For third person pronouns, this always requires the ''se'' reflexive pronoun.

A small number of Curtuvan verbs are only found as ‘reflexive verbs’, as it’s the case for ''(se) bourlar'' (to laugh at something/someone), one cannot say ''**Burla-el d’eis'' for ‘He laughs at them’ but '''''Sia''' burla-el d’eis''.

A somewhat greater number might be found either as ordinary or reflexive verbs with some difference in meaning. For instance, ''truabar'' means ‘to find’ when used as a non-reflexive verb (''Truabey un cuampen'' translates to ‘I found a friend’, perhaps referring to a game of hide and seek) while reflexive ''(se) truabar'' translates as ‘to meet’ or ‘to run into’ (''Me truabey cun’ cuampen'' ~ ‘I met [with] a friend’).

====Possessives====

Curtuvan pronouns might have two types of possessive forms: possessive determiners and possessive adjectives.

Although there might be idiolectal variations in usage, possessive determiners (when they exist) tend to be preferred over possessive adjectives in everyday speech.

=====Possessive determiners=====

Possessive determiners, comparable to English ‘my’ or ‘your’, are grammatically similar to definite articles: they precede nouns, agree with the possessed noun (although only in number) and might be subject to pre-tonic mutation (only in singular). Nouns described by these determiners are always definite and do not require any additional determiners. Possessive determiners do not exist for all pronouns, only for the first person singular (''mi'', ~ ‘my’), second person singular (historically ''tu'' but now mostly replaced by ''su'') and for third person singular and plural (also ''su''):

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! '''Singular'''
! '''Singular pre-tonic'''
! '''Plural'''
|-
| '''1s.POS''', ‘my’
| ''mi''
| ''mei''
| ''mis'' or ''mes'' (regional variation)
|-
| '''2s.POS''', ‘your’
| ''tu'' (archaic), ''su''
| ''tou'' (archaic), ''sua''
| ''tus'' (archaic), ''sos''
|-
| '''3s.POS''', ‘his/her/its’ '''3p.POS''', ‘their’
| ''su''
| ''sua''
| ''sos''
|}

====== Qualified ''sua'' ======

As noted, the possessive determiner ''su'' might indicate possession by second person or third person referents and thus might prove ambiguous in some contexts. For instance, ''sua batra'' might correspond to English ‘your father’, ‘his father’, ‘her father’ or ‘their father’. This ambiguity may be lifted through the use of construction known as ‘qualified ''sua''’ which follows a syntax closer to that of possessive adjectives.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! '''Qualified ''sua'' form'''
|-
| '''2s.POS''', ‘your’
| ''sua tuy''
|-
| '''3s.F.POS''', ‘her’
| ''sua d’ey''
|-
| '''3s.M.POS''', ‘his’
| ''sua d’él''
|-
| '''3p.POS''', ‘their’
| ''sua d’eis''
|}

Qualified ''sua'' forms always ''follow'' nouns (rather than preceding them) and are invariant. Nouns affected by this construction might optionally take definite or indefinite articles. Thus, ‘her olive’ might be rendered as the ambiguous ''su ualimb'', as ''ualimb sua d’ey'' or as ''la ualimb sua d’ey'', while an indefinite construction ''una ualimb sua d’ey'' might be used to convey a meaning of ‘one of her olives’ or ‘an olive of hers’.

Qualified ''sua'' constructions do not show any agreement, not even in predicate usage; observe the lack of plural marking in ''las casas son sua d’ey'' (the houses are hers).

It could be noted that using ''sua tuy'' is completely equivalent to using the possessive adjective ''tuy'' alone; the usage of one variant or the other is a personal stylistic choice.

=====Possessive adjectives=====

As the name indicates, possessive adjectives are adjectival-like and, as such, they might follow the affected noun or might be used as predicates with the copula verb ''eiser''. Nouns described by a possessive adjective will commonly take definite and indefinite articles as usual, although definite articles might sometimes be dropped for kinship terms (''batra tuy'' for ‘your father’, rather than ''ia batra tuy'') or for locations (''cas miy'' for ‘my house’).

Unlike regular adjectives which are required to agree with their noun both in attributive and predicate usages, possessive adjectives are invariable when applied directly to a noun phrase (attributive) but are required to show agreement when appearing as predicate. For instance, we see the invariable attributive form ''miy'' in ''las ualibas miy'' (my olive trees) but the marked masculine plural form in ''las ualibas son miyas'' (the olive trees are mine).

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! '''Attributive'''
! '''Singular Feminine'''
! '''Singular Masculine'''
! '''Plural feminine'''
! '''Plural masculine'''
|-
| '''1s.POS''', ‘mine’
| miy
| miy
| miya
| miys
| miyas
|-
| '''2s.POS''', ‘yours’
| tuy
| tuy
| tuya
| tuys
| tuyas
|-
| '''1p.PS''', ‘ours’
| nosa
| nosa
| nosa
| nosas
| nosas
|}

Pronouns without a dedicate possessive adjective form might construct an invariable possessive with the possessive case preposition ''da'' (''d’él'' for ‘his’, ''d’ey'' for ‘hers’, ''d’usas'' for ‘yours, of you all’ and ''d’eis'' for ‘theirs’) or use a qualified ''sua'' form.

=====Body parts=====

Curtuvan uses possessives normally for body parts, regardless of whether the possessor appears elsewhere in the sentence. This usage, which matches English, differs from the ‘dative external possessors’ found in other Romance languages where a pronoun referencing the person might be added to the clause while leaving the body part unmarked.

Consider the phrase ‘My head hurts’ (which might apply to you after reading the previous paragraph). In English, the ‘head’ is qualified with the possessive determiner ‘my’. A Spanish speaker, however, would say ''“me duele la cabeza”'', literally “the head hurts to me”, with no possessive marking on ''“la cabeza”'' (the head). Such constructions are common across Romance and various other languages from continental Europe.

Curtuvan would phrase this as ''Fa mal mimb mi cêabeç'', literally “my head hurts to me”, requiring a possessive marker for ''cêabeç'' (head).

===Verbs===

Much like its neighboring Romance relatives, Curtuvan retains a rich verbal morphology with verbs conjugating for person, number, tense, aspect and mood.

One unique element of Curtuvan conjugation is the incorporation of pre-tonic mutation, with some verbforms requiring a tonic stem (stressed on the final syllable of the stem and commonly displaying pre-tonic mutation on its second-to-last syllable if any) and an atonic stem (for verbforms presenting primary stress on verbal suffixes, typically presenting pre-tonic mutation on the last syllable in the stem). For more information on this feature, refer to the section above on pre-tonic mutation.

Most Curtuvan verbs fall under one of two main conjugation classes (‘first’ for verbs with an infinitive ending in ''-ar'' and ‘second’ for ''-er'' verbs), although a significant fraction of verbs feature irregular paradigms.

Conjugation paradigm for regular and selected irregular verbs are given at the end of this section.

====Non-finite forms====

As usual for a Romance language, Curtuvan verbs have three non-finite forms which cannot form verb phrases on their own. These are the infinitive, the gerund and the participle.

=====Infinitives=====

Infinitives are the citation form of each verb and are typically composed of the atonic stem followed by the suffixes ''-ar'' (for first conjugation verbs) or ''-er'' (for second conjugation verbs). As a result, knowledge of the infinitive is enough to guess the whole conjugation paradigm for a regular verb.

Infinitives may be used as a noun phrase (without any determiners) referring to the action denoted by the verb, as in '''''Nuadar''' es una eisporte bona'' (‘Swimming is a good sport’, notice that this usage is covered by the gerund in English) and are commonly required by constructions as ‘to like’ (''Nuadar mia va'', I like to swim) ‘to want’ (''Volga nuadar'', I want to swim) or ‘to learn [how to]’ (''Quera a nuadar.'', I learn to swim).

Infinitives are also required for the most common future-tense construction, formed by the auxiliary ''haber'', the preposition ''a'' and an infinitive (''Hey a biarsar'' ‘I will talk’) and to issue negative commands (''No biarsar'' - ‘Don’t talk’).

=====Gerunds=====

Curtuvan gerunds typically work as adverbial phrases setting a time frame while an action occurs ('''''Eananda''' a Eispan'' ~ ‘(while) going to Spain’) or indicating that the action was accessory to another ('''''Nuadanda''' areivó-el al siafina'', ~ ‘(by) swimming, he arrived to the ship’). Gerunds are typically formed by adding the suffix ''-anda'' to the atonic stem of the verb. Historically, second conjugation verbs (verbs with an infinitive ending in ''-er'') would take the suffix ''inda'' instead, but this distinction has fallen out of use.

Gerunds might also occur in constructions analogous to English past and present continuous, with ''eistar'' as an auxiliary verb. These constructions imply a progressive aspect, compare standard present ''Biarsa-yeu curtoubís'' (I speak Curtuvan ~ I am able to speak in that language) with ''Yesta-yeu biarsanda curtoubís'' (I am speaking in Curtuvan [at the moment]). This construction, however, remains controversial among Curtuvan speakers who might identify it as a Spanish construction applied to Curtuvan elements, preferring to use ‘standard’ Curtuvan tenses instead.

=====Participles=====

In Curtuvan, participles are adjectival forms of a verb, typically constructed by adding the ending ''-ata'' to the atonic form of first conjugation (''-ar'') verbs or ''-ita'' to the atonic form of second conjugation (''-er'') verbs, although a sizable number of Curtuvan verbs have irregular participles. Participles indicate a state of having been affected (as a direct object) by a verb; as a result participles are generally only found in transitive verbs.

Participles function as ordinary adjectives and, as such, agree with nouns in number and gender: inflectional forms of ''desiaxiata'' (‘desired’, participle of ''desiaxiar'', ‘to wish, to desire’) can be found in ''ea cas desiaxiat'' (the desired house) or ''las dïas desiaxiatas'' (the desired days).

The preposition ''da'' might be used to introduce the subject as in ''desiaxiata da me'' for ‘desired by me’.

Barring highly-nonstandard grammatical calques from Spanish, Curtuvan participles are not used in past tense or passive voice constructions.

====Tense====

Finite forms (all verbforms aside from the aforementioned non-finite forms) are conjugated for mood (indicative, conditional, subjunctive and imperative), person and number (agreeing with their subject) and ‘tense’, although this last category also includes certain aspectual distinctions.

In the indicative mood (which could be thought as the default for real events) Curtuvan verbs show distinct forms for 3 tenses known as present, past and imperfect, with a separate future tense being expressed through a construction involving the infinitive and the auxiliary verb ''haber''. Other moods make fewer distinctions as explained in the appropriate sections.

The '''present''' tense (abbreviated as <code>PRS</code>), as the name says, is used for events taking place in the present as well as generic statements (''Eispan '''es''' un país'', ‘Spain is a country’) or habitual actions (''Canta-yeu'' might correspond to either English ‘I sing [habitually]’ or ‘I’m singing [presently]’). Since the only other inflectional tenses in the language correspond to past events, a case could be made that this could be seen as a ‘non-past’ tense, although referring to it as ‘present’ remains the norm per tradition.

Events in the past are expressed through two tenses which differ in aspect, the so called '''past''' tense (perfective) and the somewhat misnamed '''imperfect''' tense (imperfective).

Curtuvan’s '''past''' tense (<code>PST</code>) has a perfective connotation, meaning that it refers to actions viewed as a single event. This is the tense that most commonly corresponds to English simple past and present perfect ('''''Cêantey''''' could be translated into English as either ‘I '''sang'''’ or ‘I '''have sung'''’ depending).

By contrast, the '''imperfect''' tense (<code>IPF</code>, a misnomer according to current linguistic usage) can be described as an imperfective past tense, used for continuous or habitual actions ('''''Cêantamb-yeu''''' ~ ‘I '''used to sing'''’) or to set a time-frame for another event ('''''Cêantamb-yeu''' canda us cêatey'', ‘I '''was singing''' when I saw you’).

Unlike other European languages (including Spanish, Catalan, French), standard Curtuvan doesn’t have a past tense formed using the participle, like English present perfect.

=====Future tense=====

Unlike other Romance languages, Curtuvan lacks a morphological future tense (with it being unclear whether this is a result of early Curtuvan having lost it or if it never developed one in the first place).

Instead, Curtuvan uses a construction which involves the auxiliary verb ''haber'' (typically a cognate of verbs meaning ‘to have’ in Romance languages), the preposition ''a'' and the infinitive. In its most common form, a present tense form of ''haber'' is used such as ''hey'' (‘I have’) in ''Hey a cêantar'' (‘I will sing’).

An imperfect form of ''haber'' might also be used to indicate an aborted future event much like past forms of ‘going to’ in English: ''Imb-yeu a cêantar'' for ‘I was going to sing’.

Pronouns in direct object position might appear either before the infinitive (''Hey a us cêatar'' for ‘I will see you’) or before the auxiliary verb (''Us hey a cêatar''). The former option was once the only alternative in the language and remains the most common, while the latter was likely adopted do to the influence of similar constructions in Spanish. Some speakers might double the direct object in this situation (''Us hey a us cêatar'') but this is generally perceived as an error.

====Subject agreement====

All finite forms must agree with their subject in person (first for the speaker or speaker and others, second for the listener, listeners or the listeners and third for other referents) and number (singular or plural), resulting in six ‘personal’ forms per tense and mood: <code>1s</code> (I, ''yo''), <code>2s</code> (singular you, ''us''), <code>3s</code> (he, she, it or singular they, ''él'' or ''ey''), <code>1p</code> (we, ''nós''), <code>2p</code> (plural you ~ you all, ''usas'') and <code>3p</code> (plural they, ''eis'').

Even though Curtuvan has separate <code>3s</code> pronouns for the feminine and masculine genders (feminine ''ey'', masculine ''él'') this distinction is not observed in verbs.

Some tense and mood combinations do not have unique forms for each person; for instance the indicative imperfect tense has the same form for <code>1s</code>, <code>2s</code> and <code>3s</code>: ''cêantamb'' might correspond to English ‘I was singing’, ‘you were singing’, ‘he was singing’ or ‘she was singing’. These ambiguous verbforms are particularly likely to include post-verbal pronouns (as in ''cêantamb-yeu'' for ‘I was singing’) but, as with all other verbforms, speakers are free to choose between using standalone subjects (''yo cêantamb''), post-verbal pronouns (''cêantamb-yeu'') or no subjects at all (''cêantamb'').

=====Impersonal verbs=====

Certain verbs dubbed as ‘impersonal’ may only occur in third person singular form. This is the case for weather verbs such as ''biover'' (to rain) which lack a real-world referent which could be identified as its subject (''biomb'', ‘it rains’, with English ‘it’ being a so-called ‘dummy pronoun’).

Subject ellipsis (having no pronoun in the sentence to indicate the subject) is ''required'' for impersonal verbs.

===Mood===

Curtuvan verbs have four moods: '''indicative''', '''conditional''', '''subjunctive''' and '''imperative'''.

The '''indicative''' mood (<code>IND</code>, although usually unmarked in transcriptions) can be thought as the default mood. It typically corresponds to real events. Verbs in this mood can appear in any tense: present, past, imperfect or future (using the ''haber'' + infinitive construction), as exemplified below with the verb ''cêantar'' (to sing): - ''Canta-yeu.'' - I sing. - ''Cêantey.'' - I sang. / I have sung. - ''Cêantamb-yeu.'' - I was singing. / I used to sing. - ''Hey a cêantar.'' - I will sing. / I am going to sing.

The '''conditional''' mood (<code>COND</code>) indicates a state or event that ''would'' happen should a certain condition be met. This mood is commonly used in the second part of ‘if’ clauses (If X, then Y). No tense distinctions are observed for this mood. - ''Si us vualgisis, yo cantearí.'' - If you wanted so, I would sing / If you had wanted so, I would have sung.

The '''subjunctive''' mood (<code>SUBJ</code>) works in a similar way as in other Romance languages, which means that its usage is hard to explain even for its own speakers. It generally applies to hypothetical situations such as desires or mental scenarios. Curtuvan allows for subjunctive constructions in the present, past (commonly used for counter-factual hypothetical scenarios) and future. - ''¿Volas ca canti-yeu?'' - Do you want me to sing? - ''¿Besas ca yo canti bian?'' - Do you think that I sing well? - ''Si cêantés, no besearias quesa.'' - If I sang, you wouldn’t think that. - ''Si habés-yeu a cêantar, caliarí ca quiarés.'' - If I were to sing (in the future), I would have to train.

Finally, the '''imperative''' mood (<code>IMP</code>) is used to issue commands. This mood only properly exists for the second person, with <code>2s</code> and <code>2p</code> variants, and is only used for positive commands (telling someone to ''do'' something rather than to ''abstaing'' from doing something). Although only the so-called ‘present imperative’ remains common in use, a future-tense variant based on the ''haber'' + infinitive construction may be used for instructions to be carried out further into the future. - ''¡Cêantá!'' - Sing! (command directed to a single person) - ''¡Cêantaç!'' - Sing! (directed to multiple people) - ''Hay-us a cêantar.'' - You will have to sing.

Negative commands are formed using the negative particle ''no'' followed by the infinitive. This construction doesn’t distinguish between <code>2s</code>, <code>2p</code> or some generic subject and might thus be interpreted as general prohibition. In order to specify to whom the prohibition apples, the speaker could use a vocative call at the start of the sentence or add a post-verbal pronoun clitic on the infinitive (the only scenario where such marking can occur on a non-finite form): - ''No cêantar.'' - Don’t sing. / Singing not allowed. - ''¡Usas, no cêantar!'' - You folks, don’t sing! - ''¡No cêantar-us!'' - You, don’t sing!

====Paradigms====

In this section, the full paradigms (this is to say, the set of all inflectional forms) will be given for two verbs showcasing Curtuvan’s two regular paradigms (the so-called first and second conjugations) as well as a select number of irregular verbs.

When two forms are given for a certain conjugation, both forms are valid although the first one might be somewhat more common.

=====Regular paradigms=====

Regular verbs in Curtuvan are split into two classes: ‘first conjugation’ verbs (which can be identified by their infinitives ending in ''-ar'') and ‘second conjugation’ (whose infinitives end in ''-er'' instead).

Curtuvan proves simpler than other Romance languages in this regard, with Spanish, Portuguese and Catalan having three conjugation classes instead, with classes associated to infinitive endings ''-er'', ''-ir'' and Catalan’s ''-re'' all being conflated in Curtuvan’s second conjugation. Despite this, most verbs fall under the first conjugation class by a very wide margin.

It should be noted that some verbs that conform to regular paradigms in speech might show slight adjustments in orthography. For instance, the <ç> in ''comiançar'' will become a <c> in verbforms such as subjunctive ''cuamenci'' as the otherwise expected ''*cuamençi'' would violate orthographic rules concerning the usage of <ç> and <c>.

In order to conjugate a given verb, the speaker needs to know its tonic and atonic stems, as described earlier in the section on ''pre-tonic mutation''. Each paradigm will be given for a sample verb (namely ''biarsar'', ‘to talk’, for the first conjugation and ''cuamer'', ‘to eat’, for the second), the paradigm for other regular verbs can be obtained by substituting the tonic and atonic stems in the appropriate tables.

'''Note:''' Vowels between brackets as in ''bers(a)'' will be elided as long as phonotactically possible. This means that <code>3s.PRS</code> form of ''biarsar'' will actually be ''bers'', as the final cluster /ɾs/ is allowed while ''leadrar'', a regular first conjugation with tonic stem ''ladr-'', will have a <code>3s.PRS</code> form ''ladra'', as ''*ladr'' is phonotactically invalid.

======First conjugation (''-ar'')======

Exemplified by the verb '''''biarsar''''' (to talk), tonic stem <code>bers-</code>, atonic stem <code>biars-</code>.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! '''Non-finite forms'''
|-
| '''Infinitive'''
| ''biars'''ar'''''
|-
| '''Gerund'''
| ''biars'''anda'''''
|-
| '''Participle'''
| ''biars'''ata''''' (<code>SG.MASC</code>) ''biars'''at''''' (<code>SG.FEM</code>) ''biars'''atas''''' (<code>PL.MASC</code>) ''biars'''ats''''' (<code>PL.FEM</code>)
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Indicative mood'''
! '''Present''' (<code>PRS</code>)
! '''Past''' (<code>PST</code>)
! '''Imperfect''' (<code>IPF</code>)
! '''Future''' (<code>FUT</code>)
|-
| <code>1s</code> (I, ''yo'')
| ''bers'''a'''''
| ''biars'''ey'''''
| ''biars'''amb'''''
| '''''hey a''' biars'''ar'''''
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''bers'''as'''''
| ''biars'''asi'''''
| ''biars'''abas'''''
| '''''has a''' biars'''ar'''''
|-
| <code>3s</code> (he/she/it, ''él''/''ey'')
| ''bers'''(a)'''''
| ''biars'''ó'''''
| ''biars'''amb'''''
| '''''ha a''' biars'''ar'''''
|-
| <code>1p</code> (we, ''nós'')
| ''biars'''ams'''''
| ''biars'''amas'''''
| ''biars'''ábams'''''
| '''''hems a''' biars'''ar'''''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''biars'''eç'''''
| ''biars'''asis'''''
| ''biars'''ábeç'''''
| '''''heiç a''' biars'''ar'''''
|-
| <code>3p</code> (they, ''eis'')
| ''bérs'''an'''''
| ''biars'''áran'''''
| ''biars'''ában'''''
| '''''han a''' biars'''ar'''''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Conditional mood''' (<code>COND</code>)
! (No distinct tenses)
|-
| <code>1s</code> (I, ''yo'')
| ''bers'''earí'''''
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''bers'''earias'''''
|-
| <code>3s</code> (he/she/it, ''él''/''ey'')
| ''bers'''earí'''''
|-
| <code>1p</code> (we, ''nós'')
| ''biars'''earíams'''''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''biars'''earíeç'''''
|-
| <code>3p</code> (they, ''eis'')
| ''bers'''earían'''''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Subjunctive mood''' (<code>SUBJ</code>)
! '''Present''' (<code>PRS</code>)
! '''Past''' (<code>PST</code>)
! '''Future''' (<code>FUT</code>)
|-
| <code>1s</code> (I, ''yo'')
| ''bers'''i'''''
| ''biars'''és'''''
| '''''habés a''' biars'''ar'''''
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''bers'''is'''''
| ''biars'''esis'''''
| '''''habesis a''' biars'''ar'''''
|-
| <code>3s</code> (he/she/it, ''él''/''ey'')
| ''bers'''i'''''
| ''biars'''és'''''
| '''''habés a''' biars'''ar'''''
|-
| <code>1p</code> (we, ''nós'')
| ''biars'''ims'''''
| ''biars'''ésims'''''
| '''''hésims a''' biars'''ar'''''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''biars'''íeç'''''
| ''biars'''éseç'''''
| '''''héseç a''' biars'''ar'''''
|-
| <code>3p</code> (they, ''eis'')
| ''bérs'''en'''''
| ''biars'''ésen'''''
| '''''hésen a''' biars'''ar'''''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Imperative mood''' (<code>IMP</code>)
! '''Present''' (<code>PRS</code>)
! '''Future''' (<code>FUT</code>)
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''biars'''á'''''
| '''''hay a''' biars'''ar'''''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''biars'''aç'''''
| '''''heiç a''' biars'''ar'''''
|-
| Negative (<code>NEG</code>)
| '''''no''' biars'''ar'''''
| -
|}

===== Second conjugation (''-er'') ======

Exemplified by the verb '''''cuamer''''' (to eat), tonic stem <code>com-</code>, atonic stem <code>cuam-</code>.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! '''Non-finite forms'''
|-
| '''Infinitive'''
| ''cuam'''er'''''
|-
| '''Gerund'''
| ''cuam'''inda'''''
|-
| '''Participle'''
| ''cuam'''ita''''' (<code>SG.MASC</code>) ''cuam'''it''''' (<code>SG.FEM</code>) ''cuam'''itas''''' (<code>PL.MASC</code>) ''cuam'''its''''' (<code>PL.FEM</code>)
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Indicative mood'''
! '''Present''' (<code>PRS</code>)
! '''Past''' (<code>PST</code>)
! '''Imperfect''' (<code>IPF</code>)
! '''Future''' (<code>FUT</code>)
|-
| <code>1s</code> (I, ''yo'')
| ''com'''a'''''
| ''cuam'''í'''''
| ''cuam'''ia'''''
| '''''hey a''' cuam'''er'''''
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''com'''as'''''
| ''cuam'''isi'''''
| ''cuam'''ias'''''
| '''''has a''' cuam'''er'''''
|-
| <code>3s</code> (he/she/it, ''él''/''ey'')
| ''com'''(a)'''''
| ''cuam'''ió'''''
| ''cuam'''í''''', ''cuam'''ia'''''
| '''''ha a''' cuam'''er'''''
|-
| <code>1p</code> (we, ''nós'')
| ''cuam'''ims'''''
| ''cuam'''imas'''''
| ''cuam'''íams'''''
| '''''hems a''' cuam'''er'''''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''cuam'''iç'''''
| ''cuam'''isis'''''
| ''cuam'''íeç'''''
| '''''heiç a''' cuam'''er'''''
|-
| <code>3p</code> (they, ''eis'')
| ''com'''an'''''
| ''cuam'''íran'''''
| ''cuam'''ían'''''
| '''''han a''' cuam'''er'''''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Conditional mood''' (<code>COND</code>)
! (No distinct tenses)
|-
| <code>1s</code> (I, ''yo'')
| ''com'''eirí'''''
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''com'''eirias'''''
|-
| <code>3s</code> (he/she/it, ''él''/''ey'')
| ''com'''eirí'''''
|-
| <code>1p</code> (we, ''nós'')
| ''com'''eiríams'''''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''com'''eiríeç'''''
|-
| <code>3p</code> (they, ''eis'')
| ''com'''eirían'''''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Subjunctive mood''' (<code>SUBJ</code>)
! '''Present''' (<code>PRS</code>)
! '''Past''' (<code>PST</code>)
! '''Future''' (<code>FUT</code>)
|-
| <code>1s</code> (I, ''yo'')
| ''com'''(a)'''''
| ''cuam'''ís'''''
| '''''habés a''' cuam'''er'''''
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''com'''as'''''
| ''cuam'''isis'''''
| '''''habesis a''' cuam'''er'''''
|-
| <code>3s</code> (he/she/it, ''él''/''ey'')
| ''com'''a'''''
| ''cuam'''ís'''''
| '''''habés a''' cuam'''er'''''
|-
| <code>1p</code> (we, ''nós'')
| ''cuam'''ams'''''
| ''cuam'''ísims'''''
| '''''hésims a''' cuam'''er'''''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''cuam'''íeç'''''
| ''cuam'''íseç'''''
| '''''héseç a''' cuam'''er'''''
|-
| <code>3p</code> (they, ''eis'')
| ''cóm'''an'''''
| ''cuam'''ísen'''''
| '''''hésen a''' cuam'''er'''''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Imperative mood''' (<code>IMP</code>)
! '''Present''' (<code>PRS</code>)
! '''Future''' (<code>FUT</code>)
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''cuam'''é'''''
| '''''hay a''' cuam'''er'''''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''cuam'''eç'''''
| '''''heiç a''' cuam'''er'''''
|-
| Negative (<code>NEG</code>)
| '''''no''' cuam'''er'''''
| -
|}

===== Irregular paradigms =====

'''Note:''' This is not necessarily an exhaustive list; other irregular verbs might occur in the language.

======''Eiser'' (to be, cf. Spanish ''ser'')======

''Eiser'' is the main copula verb in the language, corresponding to English ‘to be’ and to most usages of Spanish ''“ser”'' and ''“estar”''. As usual for Indoeuropean (and more specifically Romance) copula verbs, ''eiser'' is highly irregular.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! '''Non-finite forms'''
|-
| '''Infinitive'''
| ''eiser''
|-
| '''Gerund'''
| ''sinda''
|-
| '''Participle'''
| ''sita'' (<code>SG.MASC</code>) ''sit'' (<code>SG.FEM</code>) ''sitas'' (<code>PL.MASC</code>) ''sits'' (<code>PL.FEM</code>)
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Indicative mood'''
! '''Present''' (<code>PRS</code>)
! '''Past''' (<code>PST</code>)
! '''Imperfect''' (<code>IPF</code>)
! '''Future''' (<code>FUT</code>)
|-
| <code>1s</code> (I, ''yo'')
| ''soy''
| ''fey''
| ''era''
| ''hey a eiser''
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''ers''
| ''fisi''
| ''eras''
| ''has a eiser''
|-
| <code>3s</code> (he/she/it, ''él''/''ey'')
| ''es''
| ''fiá''
| ''era''
| ''ha a eiser''
|-
| <code>1p</code> (we, ''nós'')
| ''soms''
| ''fims''
| ''érams''
| ''hems a eiser''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''siç''
| ''fisis''
| ''ériç''
| ''heiç a eiser''
|-
| <code>3p</code> (they, ''eis'')
| ''son''
| ''feran''
| ''éran''
| ''han a eiser''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Conditional mood''' (<code>COND</code>)
! (No distinct tenses)
|-
| <code>1s</code> (I, ''yo'')
| ''siarí''
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''siarías''
|-
| <code>3s</code> (he/she/it, ''él''/''ey'')
| ''siarí''
|-
| <code>1p</code> (we, ''nós'')
| ''siaríams''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''siaríeç''
|-
| <code>3p</code> (they, ''eis'')
| ''siarían''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Subjunctive mood''' (<code>SUBJ</code>)
! '''Present''' (<code>PRS</code>)
! '''Past''' (<code>PST</code>)
! '''Future''' (<code>FUT</code>)
|-
| <code>1s</code> (I, ''yo'')
| ''sia''
| ''fesi''
| ''habés a eiser''
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''sias''
| ''fesis''
| ''habesis a eiser''
|-
| <code>3s</code> (he/she/it, ''él''/''ey'')
| ''sia''
| ''fesi''
| ''habés a eiser''
|-
| <code>1p</code> (we, ''nós'')
| ''síams''
| ''fésims''
| ''hésims a eiser''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''síeç''
| ''fésiç''
| ''héseç a eiser''
|-
| <code>3p</code> (they, ''eis'')
| ''sían''
| ''fisen''
| ''hesen a eiser''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Imperative mood''' (<code>IMP</code>)
! '''Present''' (<code>PRS</code>)
! '''Future''' (<code>FUT</code>)
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''sé''
| ''hay a eisir''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''seç''
| ''heiç a eisir''
|-
| Negative (<code>NEG</code>)
| ''no eisir''
| -
|}

====== ''Eistar'' (to be, cf. Spanish ''estar'') ======

In Curtuvan, the verb ''eistar'' is used to indicate position, similar to the English construction ‘there is’. Accordingly, the usage of ''eistar'' is considerably more restricted than that of its cognate ''“estar”'' in Spanish which will typically be rendered in Curtuvan as ''eiser''.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! '''Non-finite forms'''
|-
| '''Infinitive'''
| ''eistar''
|-
| '''Gerund'''
| ''eistanda''
|-
| '''Participle'''
| ''eistata'' (<code>SG.MASC</code>) ''eistat'' (<code>SG.FEM</code>) ''eistatas'' (<code>PL.MASC</code>) ''eistats'' (<code>PL.FEM</code>)
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Indicative mood'''
! '''Present''' (<code>PRS</code>)
! '''Past''' (<code>PST</code>)
! '''Imperfect''' (<code>IPF</code>)
! '''Future''' (<code>FUT</code>)
|-
| <code>1s</code> (I, ''yo'')
| ''eistoy''
| ''eistey''
| ''eistamb''
| ''hey a eistar''
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''eistás''
| ''eistasi''
| ''eistabas''
| ''has a eistar''
|-
| <code>3s</code> (he/she/it, ''él''/''ey'')
| ''eistá''
| ''eistó''
| ''eistamb''
| ''ha a eistar''
|-
| <code>1p</code> (we, ''nós'')
| ''eistams''
| ''eistamas''
| ''eistábams''
| ''hems a eistar''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''eisteç''
| ''eistasis''
| ''eistábeç''
| _heiç a eistar
|-
| <code>3p</code> (they, ''eis'')
| ''eistan''
| ''eistáran''
| ''eistában''
| ''han a eistar''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Conditional mood''' (<code>COND</code>)
! (No distinct tenses)
|-
| <code>1s</code> (I, ''yo'')
| ''istearí''
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''istearias''
|-
| <code>3s</code> (he/she/it, ''él''/''ey'')
| ''istearí''
|-
| <code>1p</code> (we, ''nós'')
| ''istearíams''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''istearíeç''
|-
| <code>3p</code> (they, ''eis'')
| ''istearíen''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Subjunctive mood''' (<code>SUBJ</code>)
! '''Present''' (<code>PRS</code>)
! '''Past''' (<code>PST</code>)
! '''Future''' (<code>FUT</code>)
|-
| <code>1s</code> (I, ''yo'')
| ''eistí''
| ''eistés''
| ''habés a eistar''
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''eistís''
| ''eistésis''
| ''habésis a eistar''
|-
| <code>3s</code> (he/she/it, ''él''/''ey'')
| ''eistí''
| ''eistés''
| ''habés a eistar''
|-
| <code>1p</code> (we, ''nós'')
| ''eistíms''
| ''eistésims''
| ''hésims a eistar''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''eistíeç''
| ''eistéseç''
| ''héseç a eistar''
|-
| <code>3p</code> (they, ''eis'')
| ''eisten''
| ''eistésen''
| ''hésen a eistar''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Imperative mood''' (<code>IMP</code>)
! '''Present''' (<code>PRS</code>)
! '''Future''' (<code>FUT</code>)
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''eistá''
| ''hay a eistar''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''eisteç''
| ''heiç a eistar''
|-
| Negative (<code>NEG</code>)
| ''no eistar''
| -
|}

====== ''Haber'' (auxiliary verb for future tense) ======

Curtuvan ''haber'' is a descendant of Latin ''habeo'', meaning ‘to have’ but, much as in Spanish, this meaning has fallen out of use and the verb is now used almost exclusively as an auxiliary. However, unlike Spanish ''“haber”'' (used for periphrastic tenses related to the past), Curtuvan ''haber'' appears in future tense constructions.

Although this is just a coincidence (at least intrafictionally), in a way Curtuvan ''haber'' could be seen as an opposite to Catalan ''anar'' (to go): Curtuvan ''haber'' is cognate with verbs used for past-tense constructions in other languages (such as Spanish ''han cantado'', ‘they have sung’) but it’s used for future-tense constructions instead (''han a cêantar'', ‘they are going to sing’) while Catalan’s ''anar'' is a cognate of verbs used for future-tense constructions in other languages (such as Spanish ''van a cantar'', ‘they are going to sing’) but it’s used for the past tense Catalan (''van cantar'', ‘they sang’).

The old meaning of ''haber'' (to have, to possess) is preserved in a few fossilized phrases such as ''haber reaçon'' (literally ‘to have reason’) for ‘to be right’. While certain inflectional forms of ''haber'' do not occur when used as an auxiliary verb, these phrases require ''haber'' to have a fully-fledged paradigm (although the rarity of these expressions means that many speakers might be unaware about how to conjugate certain forms).

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! '''Non-finite forms'''
|-
| '''Infinitive'''
| ''haber''
|-
| '''Gerund'''
| ''heabinda''
|-
| '''Participle'''
| ''heabita'' (<code>SG.MASC</code>) ''heabit'' (<code>SG.FEM</code>) ''heabitas'' (<code>PL.MASC</code>) ''heabits'' (<code>PL.FEM</code>)
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Indicative mood'''
! '''Present''' (<code>PRS</code>)
! '''Past''' (<code>PST</code>)
! '''Imperfect''' (<code>IPF</code>)
! '''Future''' (<code>FUT</code>)
|-
| <code>1s</code> (I, ''yo'')
| ''hey''
| ''hiabí''
| ''heabia''
| ''hey a haber''
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''has''
| ''heabisi''
| ''heabias''
| ''has a haber''
|-
| <code>3s</code> (he/she/it, ''él''/''ey'')
| ''ha''
| ''hiabió''
| ''heabí'', ''heabias''
| ''ha a haber''
|-
| <code>1p</code> (we, ''nós'')
| ''hems''
| ''heabimas''
| ''heabíams''
| ''hems a haber''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''heiç''
| ''heabisis''
| ''heabíeç''
| ''heiç a haber''
|-
| <code>3p</code> (they, ''eis'')
| ''han''
| ''heabíran''
| ''heabian''
| ''han a haber''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Conditional mood''' (<code>COND</code>)
! (No distinct tenses)
|-
| <code>1s</code> (I, ''yo'')
| ''heabrí''
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''heabrias''
|-
| <code>3s</code> (he/she/it, ''él''/''ey'')
| ''heabrí''
|-
| <code>1p</code> (we, ''nós'')
| ''heabríams''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''heabríeç''
|-
| <code>3p</code> (they, ''eis'')
| ''heabrían''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Subjunctive mood''' (<code>SUBJ</code>)
! '''Present''' (<code>PRS</code>)
! '''Past''' (<code>PST</code>)
! '''Future''' (<code>FUT</code>)
|-
| <code>1s</code> (I, ''yo'')
| ''hamb''
| ''haibés''
| ''haibés a haber''
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''haibas''
| ''habesis''
| ''habesis a haber''
|-
| <code>3s</code> (he/she/it, ''él''/''ey'')
| ''haimb''
| ''habés''
| ''habés a haber''
|-
| <code>1p</code> (we, ''nós'')
| ''habams''
| ''hésims''
| ''hésims a haber''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''habíe''
| ''héseç''
| ''héseç a haber''
|-
| <code>3p</code> (they, ''eis'')
| ''háiban''
| ''hésen''
| ''hésen a haber''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Imperative mood''' (<code>IMP</code>)
! '''Present''' (<code>PRS</code>)
! '''Future''' (<code>FUT</code>)
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''hay''
| ''hay a haber''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''heiç''
| ''heiç a haber''
|-
| Negative (<code>NEG</code>)
| ''no haber''
| -
|}

====== ''Anar'' / ''var'' (to go, to walk, to like) ======

The Curtuvan verb corresponding to English ‘to go’ is an unusual case of a single verb with two infinitive forms: ''anar'' and ''var''. The verb may be used both for walking without necessarily specifying a direction (''Anamb-yeu'', ‘I was walking’) and for motion in general, not necessarily on foot (''Aney a Austrália'', ‘I went to Australia’).

The infinitive ''anar'' implies ‘walking’, while ''var'' does not, so even though ''“Aney a mei cas”'' could mean either ‘I went to my house’ or ‘I walked to my house’, a distinction is made in the infinitives and in any constructions involving said forms. For instance, ''“Volga anar a mei cas”'' unambiguously indicates that the speaker intends to walk home, while ''“Volga var a mei cas”'' doesn’t have such an implication and may be used if the speaker doesn’t care about how they get home or, for instance, if they intended to drive home or go on public transport.

This distinction is not made in other forms of ''anar'' / ''var'', although this is rarely a problem. In case a speaker needed to disambiguate that they intended to walk somewhere, a somewhat jocular but widely accepted solution is to specify that they mean the ''“anar”'' meaning by adding ''d’anar'' (of ''“anar”'' ): thus ''“Aney d’anar a mei cas”'' unambiguously (and somewhat emphatically) specified that the speaker went home ''on foot'' (perhaps in a context where that wouldn’t be expected, as if they had walked home from very far away).

The verb is also used for a construction indicating affinity like the English verb ‘to like’: X likes Y is expressed in Curtuvan as ‘Y goes [to] X’: - ''Nuadar mia va.'' - I like swimming. - ''Anar va al Eibram'' - Eibram likes walking.

''Anar'' / ''var'' has a highly irregular paradigm, with forms being derived from Latin ''ire'', ''vadere'' and ''ambulare''.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! '''Non-finite forms'''
|-
| '''Infinitive'''
| ''anar'', ''var''
|-
| '''Gerund'''
| ''veanda''
|-
| '''Participle'''
| ''eanata'' (<code>SG.MASC</code>) ''eanat'' (<code>SG.FEM</code>) ''eanatas'' (<code>PL.MASC</code>) ''eanats'' (<code>PL.FEM</code>)
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Indicative mood'''
! '''Present''' (<code>PRS</code>)
! '''Past''' (<code>PST</code>)
! '''Imperfect''' (<code>IPF</code>)
! '''Future''' (<code>FUT</code>)
|-
| <code>1s</code> (I, ''yo'')
| ''vay''
| ''aney''
| ''ibamb''
| ''hey a anar/var''
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''vas''
| ''anasi''
| ''ibas''
| ''has a anar/var''
|-
| <code>3s</code> (he/she/it, ''él''/''ey'')
| ''vas''
| ''anoy''
| ''ibamb''
| ''ha a anar/var''
|-
| <code>1p</code> (we, ''nós'')
| ''anams''
| ''eanamas''
| ''íbams''
| ''hems a anar/var''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''aneç''
| ''anasis''
| ''íbeç''
| ''heiç a anar/var''
|-
| <code>3p</code> (they, ''eis'')
| ''van'', ''ánan''
| ''anáran''
| ''íban''
| ''han a anar/var''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Conditional mood''' (<code>COND</code>)
! (No distinct tenses)
|-
| <code>1s</code> (I, ''yo'')
| ''anearí''
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''anearias''
|-
| <code>3s</code> (he/she/it, ''él''/''ey'')
| ''anearí''
|-
| <code>1p</code> (we, ''nós'')
| ''anearíams''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''anearíeç''
|-
| <code>3p</code> (they, ''eis'')
| ''anearíen''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Subjunctive mood''' (<code>SUBJ</code>)
! '''Present''' (<code>PRS</code>)
! '''Past''' (<code>PST</code>)
! '''Future''' (<code>FUT</code>)
|-
| <code>1s</code> (I, ''yo'')
| ''vey''
| ''anés''
| ''habés a anar/var''
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''vayas''
| ''anésis''
| ''habésis a anar/var''
|-
| <code>3s</code> (he/she/it, ''él''/''ey'')
| ''vaya''
| ''anés''
| ''habés a anar/var''
|-
| <code>1p</code> (we, ''nós'')
| ''veayams''
| ''anésims''
| ''hésims a anar/var''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''veayeç''
| ''anéseç''
| ''héseç a anar/var''
|-
| <code>3p</code> (they, ''eis'')
| ''váyan''
| ''anésen''
| ''hésen a anar/var''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Imperative mood''' (<code>IMP</code>)
! '''Present''' (<code>PRS</code>)
! '''Future''' (<code>FUT</code>)
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''vay''
| ''hay a anar/var''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''veiç''
| ''heiç a anar/var''
|-
| Negative (<code>NEG</code>)
| ''no anar/var''
| -
|}

====== ''Dar'' (to give) ======

The verb ''dar'' is a ditransitive verb, meaning it involves three arguments: a subject (the one giving something to someone), a direct object (the thing that is given to someone) and an indirect object (the one who is given something).

Accusative pronouns before this verb might only be used for the direct object (the thing being given). This contrasts with other Romance languages such as Spanish which allow pre-verbal clitics for both the indirect and direct objects (Spanish ''“Yo te lo doy”'' for ‘I give it to you’). Indirect objects, on the other hand, may only appear as dative pronouns following the verb (and any post-verbal nominative pronoun) or as a noun phrase introduced with the preposition ''a''. Direct and indirect objects may also be omitted from the sentence altogether, as shown in the following examples: - ''Dey el gata a Eibram.'' - I gave the cat to Eibram. - ''Leá dey a Eibram.'' - I gave it to Eibram. - ''Dey limb el gata.'' - I gave the cat to him. - ''Lea dey limb.'' - I gave it to him. - ''Lea dey.'' - I gave it [away]. - ''Dey limb.'' - I gave [something] to him. - ''Dey.'' - I gave [something to someone].

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! '''Non-finite forms'''
|-
| '''Infinitive'''
| ''dar''
|-
| '''Gerund'''
| ''danda''
|-
| '''Participle'''
| ''dota'' (<code>SG.MASC</code>) ''dot'' (<code>SG.FEM</code>) ''dotas'' (<code>PL.MASC</code>) ''dots'' (<code>PL.FEM</code>)
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Indicative mood'''
! '''Present''' (<code>PRS</code>)
! '''Past''' (<code>PST</code>)
! '''Imperfect''' (<code>IPF</code>)
! '''Future''' (<code>FUT</code>)
|-
| <code>1s</code> (I, ''yo'')
| ''do''
| ''dey''
| ''damb''
| ''hey a dar''
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''das''
| ''disi''
| ''dabas''
| ''has a dar''
|-
| <code>3s</code> (he/she/it, ''él''/''ey'')
| ''dá''
| ''dió''
| ''damb''
| ''ha a dar''
|-
| <code>1p</code> (we, ''nós'')
| ''dams''
| ''damas''
| ''dábams''
| ''hems a dar''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''daiç''
| ''disis''
| ''dábeç''
| ''heiç a dar''
|-
| <code>3p</code> (they, ''eis'')
| ''dan''
| ''dáran''
| ''dában''
| ''han a dar''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Conditional mood''' (<code>COND</code>)
! (No distinct tenses)
|-
| <code>1s</code> (I, ''yo'')
| ''dearí''
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''dearias''
|-
| <code>3s</code> (he/she/it, ''él''/''ey'')
| ''dearí''
|-
| <code>1p</code> (we, ''nós'')
| ''dearíams''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''dearíeç''
|-
| <code>3p</code> (they, ''eis'')
| ''dearíen''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Subjunctive mood''' (<code>SUBJ</code>)
! '''Present''' (<code>PRS</code>)
! '''Past''' (<code>PST</code>)
! '''Future''' (<code>FUT</code>)
|-
| <code>1s</code> (I, ''yo'')
| ''desi''
| ''diasés''
| ''habés a dar''
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''desis''
| ''diasesis''
| ''habésis a dar''
|-
| <code>3s</code> (he/she/it, ''él''/''ey'')
| ''desi''
| ''diasés''
| ''habés a dar''
|-
| <code>1p</code> (we, ''nós'')
| ''diasims''
| ''diasésisms''
| ''hésims a dar''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''diasíeç''
| ''diaséseç''
| ''héseç a dar''
|-
| <code>3p</code> (they, ''eis'')
| ''désen''
| ''diaséssen''
| ''hésen a dar''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Imperative mood''' (<code>IMP</code>)
! '''Present''' (<code>PRS</code>)
! '''Future''' (<code>FUT</code>)
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''dá''
| ''hay a dar''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''deç''
| ''heiç a dar''
|-
| Negative (<code>NEG</code>)
| ''no dar''
| -
|}

====== ''Feacer'' (to do, to make) ======

In addition to meaning ‘to do’ or ‘to make’, ''feacer'' appears in many collocations such as ''feacer mal'' for ‘to hurt’.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! '''Non-finite forms'''
|-
| '''Infinitive'''
| ''feacer''
|-
| '''Gerund'''
| ''fiaçanda''
|-
| '''Participle'''
| ''fita'' (<code>SG.MASC</code>) ''fit'' (<code>SG.FEM</code>) ''fitas'' (<code>PL.MASC</code>) ''fits'' (<code>PL.FEM</code>)
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Indicative mood'''
! '''Present''' (<code>PRS</code>)
! '''Past''' (<code>PST</code>)
! '''Imperfect''' (<code>IPF</code>)
! '''Future''' (<code>FUT</code>)
|-
| <code>1s</code> (I, ''yo'')
| ''faç''
| ''fis''
| ''fiacia''
| ''hey a feacer''
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''facis''
| ''fisi''
| ''fiacias''
| ''has a feacer''
|-
| <code>3s</code> (he/she/it, ''él''/''ey'')
| ''fa'', ''faç'' (dialectal)
| ''fisa''
| ''fiací'', ''fiacia''
| ''ha a feacer''
|-
| <code>1p</code> (we, ''nós'')
| ''facems''
| ''feiçamas''
| ''fiacíams''
| ''hems a feacer''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''faceç''
| ''fisis''
| ''fiacíeç''
| ''heiç a feacer''
|-
| <code>3p</code> (they, ''eis'')
| ''fan'', ''facen''
| ''feiçáran''
| ''fiacían''
| ''han a feacer''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Conditional mood''' (<code>COND</code>)
! (No distinct tenses)
|-
| <code>1s</code> (I, ''yo'')
| ''fearí''
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''fearias''
|-
| <code>3s</code> (he/she/it, ''él''/''ey'')
| ''fearí''
|-
| <code>1p</code> (we, ''nós'')
| ''fearíams''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''fearíeç''
|-
| <code>3p</code> (they, ''eis'')
| ''fearíen''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Subjunctive mood''' (<code>SUBJ</code>)
! '''Present''' (<code>PRS</code>)
! '''Past''' (<code>PST</code>)
! '''Future''' (<code>FUT</code>)
|-
| <code>1s</code> (I, ''yo'')
| ''faç'', ''faça''
| ''feicís''
| ''habés a feacer''
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''faças''
| ''feicísis''
| ''habésis a feacer''
|-
| <code>3s</code> (he/she/it, ''él''/''ey'')
| ''faça''
| ''feicís''
| ''habés a feacer''
|-
| <code>1p</code> (we, ''nós'')
| ''façams''
| ''feicísims''
| ''hésims a feacer''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''facíeç''
| ''feicíseç''
| ''héseç a feacer''
|-
| <code>3p</code> (they, ''eis'')
| ''fáçan''
| ''feicísen''
| ''hésen a feacer''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Imperative mood''' (<code>IMP</code>)
! '''Present''' (<code>PRS</code>)
! '''Future''' (<code>FUT</code>)
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''faç'', ''facé''
| ''hay a feacer''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''feç'', ''faceç''
| ''heiç a feacer''
|-
| Negative (<code>NEG</code>)
| ''no feacer''
| -
|-
|
|
|
|}

====== ''Diaxer'' (to say) ======

Not to be confused with ''biarsar'' (to talk, to speak).

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! '''Non-finite forms'''
|-
| '''Infinitive'''
| ''diaxer''
|-
| '''Gerund'''
| ''deixinda''
|-
| '''Participle'''
| ''dita'' (<code>SG.MASC</code>) ''dit'' (<code>SG.FEM</code>) ''ditas'' (<code>PL.MASC</code>) ''dits'' (<code>PL.FEM</code>)
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Indicative mood'''
! '''Present''' (<code>PRS</code>)
! '''Past''' (<code>PST</code>)
! '''Imperfect''' (<code>IPF</code>)
! '''Future''' (<code>FUT</code>)
|-
| <code>1s</code> (I, ''yo'')
| ''dica''
| ''diç''
| ''diaxia''
| ''hey a diaxer''
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''diças''
| ''diaxisi''
| ''diaxias''
| ''has a diaxer''
|-
| <code>3s</code> (he/she/it, ''él''/''ey'')
| ''diç''
| ''diça''
| ''diaxí'', ''diaxia''
| ''ha a diaxer''
|-
| <code>1p</code> (we, ''nós'')
| ''diaxims''
| ''diaximas''
| ''diaxíams''
| ''hems a diaxer''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''diaxiç''
| ''diaxisis''
| ''diaxíeç''
| ''heiç a diaxer''
|-
| <code>3p</code> (they, ''eis'')
| ''díçan''
| ''diaxíran''
| ''diaxían''
| ''han a diaxer''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Conditional mood''' (<code>COND</code>)
! (No distinct tenses)
|-
| <code>1s</code> (I, ''yo'')
| ''diceirí''
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''diceirias''
|-
| <code>3s</code> (he/she/it, ''él''/''ey'')
| ''diceirí''
|-
| <code>1p</code> (we, ''nós'')
| ''diceiríams''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''diceiríeç''
|-
| <code>3p</code> (they, ''eis'')
| ''diceiríen''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Subjunctive mood''' (<code>SUBJ</code>)
! '''Present''' (<code>PRS</code>)
! '''Past''' (<code>PST</code>)
! '''Future''' (<code>FUT</code>)
|-
| <code>1s</code> (I, ''yo'')
| ''dic''
| ''deixís''
| ''habés a diaxer''
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''dixas''
| ''deixísis''
| ''habesis a diaxer''
|-
| <code>3s</code> (he/she/it, ''él''/''ey'')
| ''dixa''
| ''deixís''
| ''habés a diaxer''
|-
| <code>1p</code> (we, ''nós'')
| ''dixams''
| ''deixísims''
| ''hésims a diaxer''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''dixíeç''
| ''deixíseç''
| ''héseç a diaxer''
|-
| <code>3p</code> (they, ''eis'')
| ''díxan''
| ''deixísen''
| ''hésen a diaxer''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Imperative mood''' (<code>IMP</code>)
! '''Present''' (<code>PRS</code>)
! '''Future''' (<code>FUT</code>)
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''diaxé''
| ''hay a diaxer''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''diaxeç''
| ''heiç a diaxer''
|-
| Negative (<code>NEG</code>)
| ''no diaxer''
| -
|}

====== ''Seaber'' (to know) ======

Note that ''seaber'' might also be used for indicating the taste of something (''samb dolç'' for ‘it tastes sweet’) but it is inflected as a regular second conjugation verb in that sense. Curtuvan ''seaber'' differs in this aspect from its close cognate Spanish ''saber'', which uses the same irregular paradigm for both senses.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! '''Non-finite forms'''
|-
| '''Infinitive'''
| ''seaber''
|-
| '''Gerund'''
| ''seabinda''
|-
| '''Participle'''
| ''seabita'' (<code>SG.MASC</code>) ''seabit'' (<code>SG.FEM</code>) ''seabitas'' (<code>PL.MASC</code>) ''seabits'' (<code>PL.FEM</code>)
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Indicative mood'''
! '''Present''' (<code>PRS</code>)
! '''Past''' (<code>PST</code>)
! '''Imperfect''' (<code>IPF</code>)
! '''Future''' (<code>FUT</code>)
|-
| <code>1s</code> (I, ''yo'')
| ''sey''
| ''seabí''
| ''seabia''
| ''hey a seaber''
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''saps''
| ''seabisi''
| ''seabas''
| ''has a seaber''
|-
| <code>3s</code> (he/she/it, ''él''/''ey'')
| ''samb''
| ''seabió''
| ''seabí'', ''seabia''
| ''ha a seaber''
|-
| <code>1p</code> (we, ''nós'')
| ''seabims''
| ''seabimas''
| ''seabíams''
| ''hems a seaber''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''seabiç''
| ''seabisis''
| ''seabíeç''
| ''heiç a seaber''
|-
| <code>3p</code> (they, ''eis'')
| ''sában''
| ''seabíran''
| ''seabían''
| ''han a seaber''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Conditional mood''' (<code>COND</code>)
! (No distinct tenses)
|-
| <code>1s</code> (I, ''yo'')
| ''sabeirí''
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''sabeirias''
|-
| <code>3s</code> (he/she/it, ''él''/''ey'')
| ''sabeirí''
|-
| <code>1p</code> (we, ''nós'')
| ''sabeiríams''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''sabeiríeç''
|-
| <code>3p</code> (they, ''eis'')
| ''sabeirían''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Subjunctive mood''' (<code>SUBJ</code>)
! '''Present''' (<code>PRS</code>)
! '''Past''' (<code>PST</code>)
! '''Future''' (<code>FUT</code>)
|-
| <code>1s</code> (I, ''yo'')
| ''sep''
| ''siapís''
| ''habés a seaber''
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''sepas''
| ''saipisis''
| ''habesis a seaber''
|-
| <code>3s</code> (he/she/it, ''él''/''ey'')
| ''sepa''
| ''siapís''
| ''habés a seaber''
|-
| <code>1p</code> (we, ''nós'')
| ''siapams''
| ''siapísims''
| ''hésims a seaber''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''siapeç''
| ''siapíseç''
| ''héseç a seaber''
|-
| <code>3p</code> (they, ''eis'')
| ''sépan''
| ''siapísen''
| ''hésen a seaber''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Imperative mood''' (<code>IMP</code>)
! '''Present''' (<code>PRS</code>)
! '''Future''' (<code>FUT</code>)
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''seabé''
| ''hay a seaber''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''seabeç''
| ''heiç a seaber''
|-
| Negative (<code>NEG</code>)
| ''no seaber''
| -
|}

====== ''Vualer'' (to want) ======

Many forms of this verb show an unexpected <g> in the stem, a development that may also be seen in its Catalan cognate ''voler''.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! '''Non-finite forms'''
|-
| '''Infinitive'''
| ''vualer''
|-
| '''Gerund'''
| ''vualinda''
|-
| '''Participle'''
| ''vualita'' (<code>SG.MASC</code>) ''vualit'' (<code>SG.FEM</code>) ''vualitas'' (<code>PL.MASC</code>) ''vualits'' (<code>PL.FEM</code>)
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Indicative mood'''
! '''Present''' (<code>PRS</code>)
! '''Past''' (<code>PST</code>)
! '''Imperfect''' (<code>IPF</code>)
! '''Future''' (<code>FUT</code>)
|-
| <code>1s</code> (I, ''yo'')
| ''volga''
| ''vualgí''
| ''vualia''
| ''hey a vualer''
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''volas''
| ''vualgisi''
| ''vualias''
| ''has a vualer''
|-
| <code>3s</code> (he/she/it, ''él''/''ey'')
| ''vol''
| ''vualuió''
| ''vualí'', ''vualia''
| ''ha a vualer''
|-
| <code>1p</code> (we, ''nós'')
| ''volgims''
| ''vualimas''
| ''vualíams''
| ''hems a vualer''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''volgiç''
| ''vualgisis''
| ''vualíeç''
| ''heiç a vualer''
|-
| <code>3p</code> (they, ''eis'')
| ''volan''
| ''vualíran''
| ''vualían''
| ''han a vualer''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Conditional mood''' (<code>COND</code>)
! (No distinct tenses)
|-
| <code>1s</code> (I, ''yo'')
| ''voleirí''
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''voleirias''
|-
| <code>3s</code> (he/she/it, ''él''/''ey'')
| ''voleirí''
|-
| <code>1p</code> (we, ''nós'')
| ''voleiríams''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''voleiríeç''
|-
| <code>3p</code> (they, ''eis'')
| ''voleirían''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Subjunctive mood''' (<code>SUBJ</code>)
! '''Present''' (<code>PRS</code>)
! '''Past''' (<code>PST</code>)
! '''Future''' (<code>FUT</code>)
|-
| <code>1s</code> (I, ''yo'')
| ''vulga''
| ''vualgís''
| ''habés a vualer''
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''vulgas''
| ''vualgisis''
| ''habesis a vualer''
|-
| <code>3s</code> (he/she/it, ''él''/''ey'')
| ''vulga''
| ''vualgís''
| ''habés a vualer''
|-
| <code>1p</code> (we, ''nós'')
| ''voulgams''
| ''vualgísims''
| ''hésims a vualer''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''voulgeç''
| ''vualgíseç''
| ''héseç a vualer''
|-
| <code>3p</code> (they, ''eis'')
| ''vúlgan''
| ''vualgísen''
| ''hésen a vualer''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Imperative mood''' (<code>IMP</code>)
! '''Present''' (<code>PRS</code>)
! '''Future''' (<code>FUT</code>)
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''volé''
| ''hay a vualer''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''voleç''
| ''heiç a vualer''
|-
| Negative (<code>NEG</code>)
| ''no vualer''
| -
|}

====== Verbs with the ''-iaxiar'' ending ======

The suffix ''-iaxiar'', corresponding to Spanish ''-ear'' and Catalan ''-ejar'', is commonly found in verbs derived from nouns as in ''fiestiaxiar'' (to celebrate) from the noun ''fiest'' (celebration, festivity). These verbs could be considered to belong to the first conjugation class although they show some slight irregularities related to the presence of the /j/ glide before the ''-ar'' ending. Their conjugation is illustrated with the verb ''fiestiaxiar'', tonic stem <code>fiestexi-</code>, atonic stem <code>fiestiaxi-</code>.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! '''Non-finite forms'''
|-
| '''Infinitive'''
| ''fiest'''iaxiar'''''
|-
| '''Gerund'''
| ''fiest'''iaxianda'''''
|-
| '''Participle'''
| ''fiest'''iaxiata''''' (<code>SG.MASC</code>) ''fiest'''iaxiat''''' (<code>SG.FEM</code>) ''fiest'''iaxiatas''''' (<code>PL.MASC</code>) ''fiest'''iaxiats''''' (<code>PL.FEM</code>)
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Indicative mood'''
! '''Present''' (<code>PRS</code>)
! '''Past''' (<code>PST</code>)
! '''Imperfect''' (<code>IPF</code>)
! '''Future''' (<code>FUT</code>)
|-
| <code>1s</code> (I, ''yo'')
| ''fiest'''exa'''''
| ''fiest'''iaxey''''',
| ''fiest'''iaxiamb'''''
| '''''hey a''' fiest'''iaxiar'''''
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''fiest'''exas'''''
| ''fiest'''iaxiasi''''',
| ''fiest'''iaxiabas'''''
| '''''has a''' fiest'''iaxiar'''''
|-
| <code>3s</code> (he/she/it, ''él''/''ey'')
| ''fiest'''exi'''''
| ''fiest'''iaxó'''''
| ''fiest'''iaxiamb'''''
| '''''ha a''' fiest'''iaxiar'''''
|-
| <code>1p</code> (we, ''nós'')
| ''fiest'''iaxams'''''
| ''fiest'''iaxiamas'''''
| ''fiest'''iaxiábams'''''
| '''''hems a''' fiest'''iaxiar'''''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''fiest'''iaxieç''''', ''fiest'''iaxiç'''''
| ''fiest'''iaxiasis'''''
| ''fiest'''iaxiábeç'''''
| '''''heiç a''' fiest'''iaxiar'''''
|-
| <code>3p</code> (they, ''eis'')
| ''fiest'''éxan''''',
| ''fiest'''iaxiáran'''''
| ''fiest'''iaxiában'''''
| '''''han a''' fiest'''iaxiar'''''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Conditional mood''' (<code>COND</code>)
! (No distinct tenses)
|-
| <code>1s</code> (I, ''yo'')
| ''fiest'''exiarí''''', ''fiest'''exearí'''''
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''fiest'''exiarias''''', ''fiest'''exearias'''''
|-
| <code>3s</code> (he/she/it, ''él''/''ey'')
| ''fiest'''exiarí''''', ''fiest'''exearí'''''
|-
| <code>1p</code> (we, ''nós'')
| ''fiest'''exiaríams''''', ''fiest'''exearíams'''''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''fiest'''exiaríeç''''', ''fiest'''exearíeç'''''
|-
| <code>3p</code> (they, ''eis'')
| ''fiest'''exiarían''''', ''fiest'''exearían'''''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Subjunctive mood''' (<code>SUBJ</code>)
! '''Present''' (<code>PRS</code>)
! '''Past''' (<code>PST</code>)
! '''Future''' (<code>FUT</code>)
|-
| <code>1s</code> (I, ''yo'')
| ''fiest'''exi'''''
| ''fiest'''iaxés'''''
| '''''habés a''' fiest'''iaxiar'''''
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''fiest'''exis'''''
| ''fiest'''iaxesis'''''
| '''''habesis a''' fiest'''iaxiar'''''
|-
| <code>3s</code> (he/she/it, ''él''/''ey'')
| ''fiest'''exi'''''
| ''fiest'''iaxés'''''
| '''''habés a''' fiest'''iaxiar'''''
|-
| <code>1p</code> (we, ''nós'')
| ''fiest'''iaxims'''''
| ''fiest'''iaxésims'''''
| '''''hésims a''' fiest'''iaxiar'''''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''fiest'''iaxieç'''''
| ''fiest'''iaxéseç'''''
| '''''héseç a''' fiest'''iaxiar'''''
|-
| <code>3p</code> (they, ''eis'')
| ''fiest'''éxen'''''
| ''fiest'''iaxésen'''''
| '''''hésen a''' fiest'''iaxiar'''''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Imperative mood''' (<code>IMP</code>)
! '''Present''' (<code>PRS</code>)
! '''Future''' (<code>FUT</code>)
|-
| <code>2s</code> (you, ''us'')
| ''fiest'''iaxiá'''''
| '''''hay a''' fiest'''iaxiar'''''
|-
| <code>2p</code> (you, ''usas'')
| ''fiest'''iaxiaç'''''
| '''''heiç a''' fiest'''iaxiar'''''
|-
| Negative (<code>NEG</code>)
| '''''no''' fiest'''iaxiar'''''
| -
|}

====== Verbs stems with a final ''-b'' ======

Any verb with a final /b/ in its stem (regardless of whether its spelled with a or a <v>) will change it to <mb> /m/ for verbforms with no suffix, as in ''ruabar'' (to steal) - ''romb'' (he steals) or ''biover'' (to rain) - ''biomb'' (it rains).

===Negative sentences===

Sentences are typically negated by placing the particle ''no'' before the verb and any accusative pronouns (as in ''Yo no ous cata'' for ’I don’t see you).

Sentences might also be negated by other negative words including ''eabad'' (never), ''niaquin'' (nobody) and ''ren'' (nothing). These might appear alongside ''no'' with double negatives still being interpreted as negative (''Niaquin no mia cêató'' still means ‘No one saw me’). The negative particle ''no'' might be optionally omitted when another negative marker appears earlier in the sentence (''Niaquin mia cêató'' for ‘No one saw me’) although keeping the double negative remains a slightly more common option.

===Interrogative sentences (questions)===

Polar (yes-no) questions might be formed simply by pronouncing a sentence with a rising intonation. As in Spanish, this is marked orthographically by opening the sentence with a <¿> sign in addition to placing the usual <?> at the end: - ''Us mia catas.'' - You see me. - ''¿Us mia catas?'' - Do you see me? - ''Us no mia catas.'' - You don’t see me. - ''¿Us no mia catas?'' - Don’t you see me?

For questions involving interrogative words such as ''que'' (what), ''quin'' (who) or ''do'' (where), these words are required to appear at the beginning of the sentence. This could potentially result in ambiguity in sentences where an interrogative pronoun (such as ''quin'', ‘who’) could work either as a subject or an object: ''¿Quin cat?'' could, in principle, mean either ‘Who sees?’ or ‘Who does he see?’. In practice, however, Curtuvan speakers tend to use post-verbal pronouns for questions where the interrogative pronoun is ''not'' the subject. As a result, ''¿Quin cat?'' would overwhelmingly correspond to ‘Who sees?’ while ‘Who does he see?’ would be expressed as ''¿Quin cat-el?'' instead.

===Relative phrases and subclauses===

Relative phrases are introduced with the relative particle ''ca'' (corresponding to English ‘that’ or Spanish ''que'') and, use the gap strategy, meaning that antecedent (the element from the outter sentence referenced within the subclause) is omitted within the relative clause (although Curtuvan’s flexibility in allowing subjects and other arguments to be omitted could occasionally make this ambiguous). When the antecedent is a person or multiple people, ''ca'' might be substituted by ''quin'' (singular) or ''quins''; this is seen as a more formal construction although using ''ca'' in all situations remains common in casual speech.

The usage of relative pronouns for subjects and direct objects (of the embedded clause) presents an analogous problem to that found for interrogative pronouns, as ''el ambra ca cat'' could be interpreted as ‘the man that sees’ or ‘the man that he sees’. As with interrogative sentences, this situation is resolved by (generally) using post-verbal pronouns when the antecedent is not the subject of the relative phrase, leaving ''el ambra ca cat-el'' for ‘the man that he sees’ while ''el ambra ca cat'' would be much more likely to mean ‘the man that sees’.

For roles other than subjects and direct objects (in the relative phrase), prepositions are used before ''ca'', ''quin'' or ''quins'': ''el ambra a quin dey el gata'' ~ ‘the man to whom I gave the cat’, ''las casas en ca eistában'' ~ ‘the houses they were in’.

Content clauses are also introduced with ''ca'': ''Cêatey-yeu ca us no leá disi limb'' for ‘I saw that you didn’t give it to them’.

==The ''Giarbís'' dialect==

A local Curtuvan variety known as ''Giarbís'' /ʝaɾˈbiʃ/ would be native to a territory across the border between Spain and Portugal and would now be spoken as a mildly endangered minority language in southern Portugal, in the Algarve region.

Originally part of the Curtuvan continuum, ''Giarbís'' would have developed some distinctive traits after the establishment of a national border between Portugal and Spain cut it apart from the rest. These traits include: - A general trend towards incorporating loanwords from Portuguese rather than Spanish, including the intensifier ''múitu'' (cf. pt ''muito'', replacing Curtuvan’s ''muy'' which is arguably a borrowing from Spanish) and ''pulísia'' // (from pt ''polícia'', as opposed to Curtuvan’s ''poleicia'', from Spanish ''policía''). - Conflation of /e̯a/ and /ja/ into /ja/. - Simplification of unstressed /wa/ as /u/. - Realization of /ej/ and /ow/ as [eː] and [oː]. - Preserving word final /b/, shifted to /mb/ (and then typically to /m/) in other varieties. - Palatalization of any /t d s n k ɡ/ as /tʃ ʒ ʃ ɲ c ʝ/ when preceded by /i/ or /j/. - Palatalization of / k ɡ/ as /c ʝ/ when followed by /i/ or /j/. - Realization of ''x'' as a retroflex /ʂ/ (contrasting with [ʃ] resulting from palatalized /s/). - Realization of ''j'' as /ʒ/. - Omission of final /ɾ/ in infinitives (often represented with an <h> in writing: ''quiantah'' /cjanˈta/ instead of ''cêantar'' /ke̯an.taɾ/) and occasionally in other words with word-final /ɾ/. Some speakers might also drop word-medial /ɾ/ coadae like saying ''biahson'' /bjaˈson/ instead of standard ''biarson'' /bjaɾˈson/. - Epenthetic /e/ after voiced obstruents in coda position. - Word final /ms/ broken into /mes/. - Development of a formality distinction: second person singular pronoun ''us'' (<code>2s</code>) might take <code>3s</code> conjugation in formal settings, with the usual<code>2s</code> conjugation being used for informal, familiar settings. - Tendency to elide final /a/ or /e/ when followed by another vowel.

Having a very small speaker base (and being generally intelligible with less divergent varieties of Curtuvan), the Giarbís dialect is rarely found in writing, with speakers preferring to write their language in the standard variety instead (if at all) although there exists a custom-made orthography devised (and mostly used) by dialectologists which, among other things, makes uses of the accented letters <ē> and <ō> for [eː] and [oː] and writes down the epenthetic /e/’s.

==Nerdy punctuation details==

* Curtuvan uses English-style quotation marks “like these”, although some speakers might advocate for guillemets as used in European Spanish (without spaces, «like this») instead. In books, dialogue might be introduced with an n-dash (– Like this).
* Aside from informal use in messaging apps and the like, Spanish-style opening and closing question marks and exclamation marks are used, without spaces: ¡Like this!
* Oxford comma is ''not'' used.
* Only proper nouns are capitalized, not including months, days of the week, seasons nor any adjective derived from a proper name such as demonyms.
* As in Spanish, only the first letter of a title is supposed to be capitalized (in addition to any proper nouns). For instance, a film titled ‘The Andalusian Dog’ will become ''Ia gus andalousís'', capitalizing only the article <ia>. As in Spanish, publishers will seldom comply with this rule.
* Western Arabic numerals (the usual kind) are used, with decimal comma and the period as an optional separator for thousands: <1.234,56>.
* Currency marks are typically placed after the number and are separated by a space: <100 €>.
* Ordinals are written by following the number with the ending of the word starting on the last letter of its stem and including inflectional suffixes. For instance ''breima'' (first, in singular masculine form) is written as ''1ma'', its feminine form ''breim'' as ''1m'' and the corresponding plural forms as ''1mas'' (for ''breimas'') and ''1ms'' (for ''breims'').
* Roman numerals are used for regnal numbers (as in ‘Elizabeth II’) and, traditionally, for centuries (''ia sigla XX'' for ‘the 20th century’), although a shift towards writing centuries with Arabic numerals is taking hold (''ia sigla 21'' for ‘the 21st century’).
* Dates are given in the <code>dd/mm/yy</code> or <code>dd/mm/yyyy</code> formats.
* All diacritics are ignored for collation, including treating <ç> as <c>.

==Examples==

===Schleicher’s Fable===

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schleicher%27s_fable Schleicher’s Fable], also known as ''The Sheep and the Horses'' is a common sample text in linguistics, most famously used to showcase reconstructions of Proto-Indoeuropean.

<blockquote>'''La uavey et las cêabalas'''

En’a eadaba, un uavey ca no tianí lan cêató cêabalas: una ca teiramb d’un cêaraç tiaquil, una ca gareicamb una farda gran et una muantata d’una ambra.

La uavey diça a las cêabalas: – Fa mal mimb mei calba cêatanda una ambra qu’areexi cêabalas.

Las cêabalas diaxíran: – ¡Uavey, eismá-us! Fan mal a nós las calbas nosa canda cêatams-nos quesa: una ambra, ia sid, fa simb un cêapot cun ea lan da la uavey. Et la uavey no ten lana.

Uayanda quesa, la uavey fearó par ea cam.
</blockquote>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! IPA and translation:
|-
| '''''La uavey et las cêavalas'''''
|-
| '''/la waˈbej e las k̯eaˈba.las/'''
|-
| '''The Sheep and the Horses'''
|-
|
|-
| ''En’a eadaba, un uavey ca no tianí lan cêató cêabalas:''
|-
| /ˈe.na e̯aˈda.ba un waˈbej ka no tjaˈni lan ke̯aˈto ke̯aˈba.las/
|-
| On a hill, a sheep that didn’t have wool saw horses:
|-
|
|-
| ''una ca teiramb d’un cêaraç tiaquil,''
|-
| /ˈu.na ka tejˈɾam dun ke̯aˈɾas tjaˈkil/
|-
| one that pulled a heavy wagon,
|-
|
|-
| ''una ca gareicamb una farda gran''
|-
| /ˈu.na ka ɡa.ɾejˈkam ˈun.a ˈfaɾ.da ɡɾan/
|-
| one that carried a great burden
|-
|
|-
| ''et una muantata d’una ambra.''
|-
| /e(t) ˈu.na mwanˈta.ta ˈdu.na ˈam.bɾa/
|-
| and one ridden by a man.
|-
|
|-
| ''La uavey diça a las cêabalas:''
|-
| /la waˈbej ˈdi.sa a las ke̯aˈba.las/
|-
| The sheep said to the horses:
|-
|
|-
| ''– Fa mal mimb mei calba''
|-
| /fa mal mim mej ˈkal.ba/
|-
| “My heart hurts
|-
|
|-
| ''cêatanda una ambra qu’areexi cêabalas.''
|-
| /ke̯aˈtan.da ˈu.na ˈam.bɾa ka.ɾeˈe.ʃi ke̯aˈba.las/
|-
| seeing a man that drives horses.”
|-
|
|-
| ''Las cêabalas diaxíran:''
|-
| /las ke̯aˈba.las diˈʃi.ɾan/
|-
| The horses said:
|-
|
|-
| ''– ¡Uavey, eismá-us!''
|-
| /waˈbej ejsˈma.us/
|-
| “Sheep, listen!
|-
|
|-
| ''Fan mal a nós las calbas nosa''
|-
| /fan mal a nos las ˈkal.bas ˈno.sa/
|-
| Our hearts hurt
|-
|
|-
| ''canda cêatams-nos quesa:''
|-
| /ˈkan.da ke̯aˈtams.nos ˈke.sa/
|-
| when we see this:
|-
|
|-
| ''una ambra, ia sid, fa simb un cêapot''
|-
| /una ˈam.bɾa ja sid fa sim un ke̯aˈpot/
|-
| a man, the master, fashions a warm garment
|-
|
|-
| ''cun ea lan da la uavey.''
|-
| /kun e̯a lan da la waˈbej/
|-
| with the wool of the sheep.
|-
|
|-
| ''Et la uavey no ten lana.''
|-
| /e la waˈbej no ten lan/
|-
| And the sheep has no wool.”
|-
|
|-
| ''Uayanda quesa, la uavey fearó par ea cam.''
|-
| /waˈjan.da ˈke.sa la waˈbej fe̯aˈɾo paɾ e̯a kam/
|-
| Hearing that, the sheep fled towards the countryside.
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Glosses:
!
!
!
!
!
|-
| '''''la'''''
| '''''uavey'''''
| '''''et'''''
| '''''las'''''
| '''''cêavala-s'''''
|
|-
| <code>DEF</code>.<code>SG</code>.<code>F</code>
| sheep (<code>F</code>)
| and
| <code>DEF</code>.<code>PL</code>
| horse-<code>PL</code> (<code>M</code>)
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| ''en-’a''
| ''eadaba''
| ''un''
| ''uavey''
| ''ca''
| ''no''
|-
| <code>LOC</code>-<code>INDF</code>.<code>SG</code>.<code>M</code>
| hill (<code>M</code>)
| <code>INDF</code>.<code>SG</code>.<code>F</code>
| sheep
| <code>REL</code>
| <code>NEG</code>
|-
| ''tianí''
| ''lan''
| ''cêató''
| ''cêavala-s''
|
|
|-
| have.<code>3s</code>.<code>IPF</code>
| wool (<code>F</code>)
| see.<code>3s</code>.<code>PST</code>
| horse-<code>PL</code>
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| ''una''
| ''ca''
| ''teiramb''
| ''d’-un''
| ''cêaraç''
| ''tiaquil''-Ø
|-
| one.<code>SG</code>.<code>M</code>
| <code>REL</code>
| pull.<code>3s</code>.<code>IPF</code>
| of-<code>INDF</code>.<code>SG</code>.<code>F</code>
| wagon (<code>F</code>)
| heavy-<code>F</code>
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| ''una''
| ''ca''
| ''gareicamb''
| ''una''
| ''farda''
| ''gran''
|-
| one.<code>SG</code>.<code>M</code>
| <code>REL</code>
| carry.<code>3s</code>.<code>IPF</code>
| <code>INDF</code>.<code>SG</code>.<code>M</code>
| burden
| big
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| ''et''
| ''una''
| ''muantat-a''
| ''d’-una''
| ''ambra''
|
|-
| and
| one.<code>SG</code>.<code>M</code>
| ride.<code>PTCP</code>-<code>SG</code>.<code>M</code>
| of-<code>INDF</code>.<code>SG</code>.<code>M</code>
| man (<code>M</code>)
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| ''la''
| ''uavey''
| ''diça''
| ''a''
| ''las''
| ''cêabala-s''
|-
| <code>DEF</code>.<code>SG</code>.<code>F</code>
| sheep
| say.<code>3s</code>.<code>PST</code>
| to
| <code>DEF</code>.<code>PL</code>
| horse-<code>PL</code>
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| ''fa''
| ''mal''
| ''mimb''
| ''mei''
| ''calba''
|
|-
| do.<code>3s</code>.<code>PRS</code>
| wrong
| <code>1s</code>.<code>DAT</code>
| my
| heart (<code>M</code>)
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| ''cêatanda''
| ''una''
| ''ambra''
| ''qu’''
| ''areexi''
| ''cêabala-s''
|-
| see.<code>GER</code>
| <code>INDF</code>.<code>SG</code>.<code>M</code>
| man
| <code>REL</code>
| drive.<code>3s</code>.<code>PRS</code>
| horse-<code>PL</code>
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| ''las''
| ''cêabala-s''
| ''diaxíran''
|
|
|
|-
| <code>DEF</code>.<code>PL</code>
| horse-<code>PL</code>
| say.<code>3p</code>.<code>PST</code>
|
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| ''uavey''
| ''eismá''-us
|
|
|
|
|-
| sheep
| listen.<code>IMP</code>.<code>2s</code>-<code>2s</code>
|
|
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| ''fan''
| ''mal''
| ''a''
| ''nós''
| ''las''
| ''calba-s''
|-
| do.<code>3p</code>.<code>PRS</code>
| wrong
| to
| <code>1p</code>
| <code>DEF</code>.<code>PL</code>
| heart-<code>PL</code>
|-
| ''nosa''-Ø
| ''canda''
| ''cêatams-nos''
| quesa
|
|
|-
| ours-<code>ATTR</code>
| when
| see.<code>1p</code>.<code>PRS</code>-<code>1p</code>
| this
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| ''una''
| ''ambra''
| ''ia''
| ''sid''
| ''fa''
| ''simb''
|-
| <code>INDF</code>.<code>SG</code>.<code>M</code>
| man
| <code>DEF</code>.<code>SG</code>.<code>M</code>
| master (<code>M</code>)
| do.<code>3s</code>.<code>PRS</code>
| <code>3</code>.<code>REFL</code>.<code>DAT</code>
|-
| ''un''
| ''cêapot''
| ''cun''
| ''ea''
| ''lan''
| ''da''
|-
| <code>INDF</code>.<code>SG</code>.<code>F</code>
| coat (<code>F</code>)
| with
| <code>DEF</code>.<code>SG</code>.<code>F</code>
| wool (<code>F</code>)
| of
|-
| ''la''
| ''uavey''
|
|
|
|
|-
| <code>DEF</code>.<code>SG</code>.<code>F</code>
| sheep
|
|
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| ''et''
| ''la''
| ''uavey''
| ''no''
| ''ten''
| ''lan''
|-
| and
| <code>DEF</code>.<code>SG</code>.<code>F</code>
| sheep
| <code>NEG</code>
| have.<code>3s</code>.<code>PRS</code>
| wool
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| ''uayanda''
| ''quesa''
| ''la''
| ''uavey''
| ''fearó''
| ''par''
|-
| hear.<code>GER</code>
| this
| <code>DEF</code>.<code>SG</code>.<code>F</code>
| sheep
| flee.<code>3s</code>.<code>PST</code>
| towards
|-
| ''ea''
| ''cam''
|
|
|
|
|-
| <code>DEF</code>.<code>SG</code>.<code>F</code>
| countryside
|
|
|
|
|}

==== Giarbís version ====

An adaptation to the ''Giarbís'' dialect. Since grammar is mostly unchanged, separate glosses are not provided.

<blockquote>'''L’uvḗ e las quiavalas'''

En’a culina, un uvḗ ca no tianí lan quiató quiabalas: una ca tērabe d’un quiaraç tiaquil, una ca carējab’ una farda grande e una muntata d’un’ ambra.

L’uvḗ diça a las quiabalas: – A mibe fa mal mē calba quiatand’ un ambra qu’areyexi quiabalas.

Las quiabalas diaxíran: – ¡Uvḗ, yesmá-us! Fan mal a nós las calbas nosas canda quiatames quesa: un’ ambra, ia sije, fa sib’ una quiasaca cun ia lan da l’uvḗ. E l’uvḗ no ten lana.

Uyanda quesa, l’uvḗ fōjó par ia campa.
</blockquote>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! IPA and translation:
|-
| '''''L’uvḗ e las quiavalas'''''
|-
| '''[luˈbeː e las cjaˈba.las]'''
|-
| '''The Sheep and the Horses'''
|-
|
|-
| ''En’a culina, un uvḗ ca no tianí lan quiató quiabalas:''
|-
| [ˈe.na kuˈli.ɲa un uˈbeː ka no tjaˈɲi lan cjaˈto cjaˈba.las]
|-
| On a hill, a sheep that didn’t have wool saw horses:
|-
|
|-
| ''una ca tērabe d’un quiaraç tiaquil,''
|-
| [ˈu.na ka teːˈɾa.be dun cjaˈɾas tjaˈcil]
|-
| one that pulled a heavy wagon,
|-
|
|-
| ''una ca carējab’ una farda grande''
|-
| [ˈu.na ka ka.ɾeːˈʒa ˈbun.a ˈfaɾ.da ˈɡɾan.de]
|-
| one that carried a great burden
|-
|
|-
| ''e una muntata d’un’ ambra.''
|-
| [e ˈu.na munˈta.ta duˈnam.bɾa]
|-
| and one ridden by a man.
|-
|
|-
| ''L’uvḗ diça a las quiabalas:''
|-
| [luˈbeː ˈdi.ʃa a las cjaˈba.las]
|-
| The sheep said to the horses:
|-
|
|-
| ''– A mibe fa mal mē calba''
|-
| [a ˈmi.be fa mal meː ˈkal.ba]
|-
| “My heart hurts
|-
|
|-
| ''quiatand’ un ambra qu’areyexi quiabalas.''
|-
| [ke̯aˈtan ˈdu ˈnam.bɾa ka.ɾeˈje.ʂi cjaˈba.las]
|-
| seeing a man that drives horses.”
|-
|
|-
| ''Las quiabalas diaxíran:''
|-
| [las cjaˈba.las diˈʂi.ɾan]
|-
| The horses said:
|-
|
|-
| ''– ¡Uvḗ, yesmá-us!''
|-
| [uˈbeː jesˈma.us]
|-
| “Sheep, listen!
|-
|
|-
| ''Fan mal a nós las calbas nosas''
|-
| [fan mal a nos las ˈkal.bas ˈno.sas]
|-
| Our hearts hurt
|-
|
|-
| ''canda quiatames quesa:''
|-
| [ˈkan.da cjaˈta.mes ˈke.sa]
|-
| when we see this:
|-
|
|-
| ''un’ ambra, ia sije, fa sib’ una quiasaca''
|-
| [un ˈam.bɾa ja ˈsi.ʒe fa si ˈbu.na cjaˈsa.ka]
|-
| a man, the master, fashions a warm garment
|-
|
|-
| ''cun ia lan da l’uvḗ.''
|-
| [kun ja lan da luˈbeː]
|-
| with the wool of the sheep.
|-
|
|-
| ''E l’uvḗ no ten lana.''
|-
| [e luˈbeː no ten lan]
|-
| And the sheep has no wool.”
|-
|
|-
| ''Uyanda quesa, l’uvḗ fōjó par ia campa.''
|-
| [uˈjan.da ˈke.sa luˈbeː foˈʒo paɾ ja ˈkam.pa]
|-
| Hearing that, the sheep fled towards the countryside.
|}

=== The Tree and the Fruit ===

<blockquote>'''Ia árbara et las fruts'''

Un mouxer cêató fruts en’a árbara. Couyó-ey las fruts et lás miatió en’ ciastey. Lega, una ambra cêató ia árbara. Enmoda qu’ia árbara no tianí fruts, lá teayó-el. Da uacás, la mouxer dió un frut a ia ambra. La frut era dolç. Ia ambra fiá cuantena da lá cuamer. Canda breguntó-el: – ¿Do truabasi ques frut dolç? La mouxer diça bearablas eamars: – En ia árbara ca teayasi.
</blockquote>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! IPA and translation:
|-
| '''''Ia árbara et las fruts'''''
|-
| /ja ˈaɾ.ba.ɾa e las fɾus/
|-
| '''The Tree and the Fruit'''
|-
|
|-
| ''Un mouxer cêató fruts en’a árbara.''
|-
| /un mowˈʃeɾ ke̯aˈto fɾus ˈe.na ˈaɾ.ba.ɾa/
|-
| A woman saw fruits on a tree.
|-
|
|-
| ''Couyó-ey las fruts et lás miatió en’ ciastey.''
|-
| /kowˈjo.ej las fɾus e las mjaˈtjo en sjasˈtej/
|-
| She picked the fruits and put them on a basket.
|-
|
|-
| ''Lega, una ambra cêató ia árbara''.
|-
| /ˈle.ɡa ˈu.na ˈam.bɾa ke̯aˈto ja ˈaɾ.ba.ɾa/
|-
| Later a man saw the tree.
|-
|
|-
| ''Enmoda qu’ia árbara no tianí fruts, lá teayó-el.''
|-
| /eˈmo.da kja ˈaɾ.ba.ɾa no tjaˈni fɾus la te̯aˈjo.el/
|-
| Since the tree had no fruit, he cut it down.
|-
|
|-
| ''Da uacás, la mouxer dió un frut a ia ambra.''
|-
| /da waˈkas la mowˈʃeɾ djo un fɾut a ja ˈam.bɾa/
|-
| At sunset, the woman gave a fruit to the man.
|-
|
|-
| ''La frut era dolç.''
|-
| /la fɾut ˈe.ɾa dols/
|-
| The fruit was sweet.
|-
|
|-
| ''Ia ambra fiá cuantena da lá cuamer.''
|-
| /ja ˈam.bɾa fja kwanˈte.na da la kwaˈmeɾ/
|-
| The man was happy to eat it.
|-
|
|-
| ''Canda bregountó-el:''
|-
| /ˈkan.da bɾe.ɡownˈto.el/
|-
| Then he asked:
|-
|
|-
| ''– ¿Do truabasi ques frut dolç?''
|-
| /do tɾwaˈba.si kes fɾut dols/
|-
| “Where did you find this sweet fruit?”
|-
|
|-
| ''La mouxer diça bearablas eamars.''
|-
| /la mowˈʃeɾ ˈdi.sa be̯aˈɾa.blas e̯aˈmaɾs/
|-
| The woman said bitter words:
|-
|
|-
| ''– En ia árbara ca teayasi.''
|-
| /en ja ˈaɾ.ba.ɾa ka te̯aˈja.si/
|-
| “On the tree that you cut down”
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Glosses:'''
!
!
!
!
!
|-
| ''ia''
| ''árbara''
| ''et''
| ''las''
| ''fruts''
|
|-
| <code>DEF</code>.<code>SG</code>.<code>M</code>
| tree (<code>M</code>)
| and
| <code>DEF</code>.<code>PL</code>
| fruit.<code>PL</code> (<code>F</code>)
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| ''un''
| ''mouxer''
| ''cêató''
| ''fruts''
| ''en-’a''
| ''árbara''
|-
| <code>INDF</code>.<code>SG</code>.<code>F</code>
| woman (<code>F</code>)
| see.<code>3s</code>.<code>PST</code>
| fruit.<code>PL</code>
| <code>LOC</code>-<code>INDF</code>.<code>SG</code>.<code>M</code>
| tree
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| ''couyó-ey''
| ''las''
| ''fruts''
| et
| ''lás''
| ''miatió''
|-
| pick.<code>3s</code>.<code>PST</code>-<code>3s</code>.<code>F</code>
| <code>DEF</code>.<code>PL</code>
| fruit.<code>PL</code>
| and
| <code>3p</code>.<code>ACC</code>
| put.<code>3s</code>.<code>PST</code>
|-
| ''en-’''
| ''ciastey''
|
|
|
|
|-
| <code>LOC</code>-<code>INDF</code>.<code>SG</code>.<code>F</code>
| basket (<code>F</code>)
|
|
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| ''lega''
| ''una''
| ''ambra''
| ''cêató''
| ''ia''
| ''árbara''
|-
| later
| <code>INDF</code>.<code>SG</code>.<code>M</code>
| man (<code>M</code>)
| see.<code>3s</code>.<code>PST</code>
| <code>DEF</code>.<code>SG</code>.<code>M</code>
| tree
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| ''enmoda''
| ''qu’-ia''
| ''árbara''
| ''no''
| ''tianí''
| ''fruts''
|-
| since
| <code>REL</code>-<code>DEF</code>.<code>SG</code>.<code>M</code>
| tree
| <code>NEG</code>
| have.<code>3s</code>.<code>IPF</code>
| fruit.<code>PL</code>
|-
| ''lá''
| ''teayó-el''
|
|
|
|
|-
| <code>3s</code>.<code>ACC</code>
| cut.<code>3s</code>.<code>PST</code>-<code>3s</code>.<code>M</code>
|
|
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| ''da''
| ''uacás''
| ''la''
| ''mouxer''
| ''dió''
| ''un''
|-
| at
| sunset (<code>M</code>)
| <code>DEF</code>.<code>SG</code>.<code>F</code>
| woman
| give.<code>3s</code>.<code>PST</code>
| <code>INDF</code>.<code>SG</code>.<code>F</code>
|-
| ''frut''
| ''a''
| ''ia''
| ''ambra''
|
|
|-
| fruit
| to
| <code>DEF</code>.<code>SG</code>.<code>M</code>
| man
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| ''la''
| ''frut''
| ''era''
| ''dolç''-Ø
|
|
|-
| <code>DEF</code>.<code>SG</code>.<code>F</code>
| fruit
| be.<code>3s</code>.<code>IPF</code>
| sweet-<code>F</code>
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| ''ia''
| ''ambra''
| ''fiá''
| ''cuanten-a''
| ''da''
| ''lá''
|-
| <code>DEF</code>.<code>SG</code>.<code>M</code>
| man
| be.<code>3s</code>.<code>PST</code>
| happy-<code>M</code>
| of
| <code>3s</code>.<code>ACC</code>
|-
| ''cuamer''
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| eat.<code>INF</code>
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| ''canda''
| ''bregountó-el''
| ''do''
| ''truabasi''
| ''ques''-Ø
| ''frut''
|-
| thenn
| ask.<code>3s</code>.<code>PST</code>-<code>3s</code>.<code>M</code>
| where
| find.<code>2s</code>.<code>PST</code>
| this-<code>F</code>
| fruit
|-
| ''dolç''-Ø
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| sweet-<code>F</code>
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| ''la''
| ''mouxer''
| ''diça''
| ''bearabla-s''
| ''eamar-s''
|
|-
| <code>DEF</code>.<code>SG</code>.<code>F</code>
| woman
| say.<code>3s</code>.<code>PST</code>
| word-<code>PL</code>.<code>F</code>
| bitter-<code>PL</code>.<code>F</code>
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| ''en''
| ''ia''
| ''árbara''
| ''ca''
| ''teayasi''
|
|-
| <code>LOC</code>
| <code>DEf</code>.<code>SG</code>.<code>M</code>
| tree
| <code>REL</code>
| cut.<code>2s</code>.<code>PST</code>
|
|}

=== Horace’s Ode 11 ===

Horace’s Ode 11 is a Latin poem about enjoying the present over caring too much for the ever uncertain future, best known for its line about ‘seizing the day’ (''carpe diem'').

<blockquote>'''Oda 11m''' (d’Huarac)

''No bregountar-us (seaber es una biacada) cal fin mimb ut timb'' ''las déusas dáran, Leucónoi, n’et cunsoultar las numbras'' ''da las vats babeilisas. ¿Queamoda ha a meiyoriaxiar ia álam tuy'' ''seaber si Xúpitar dió timb muis eivernas ut sola quesa yarer'' ''qu’iaroy las betas ber ea mar teiren?'' ''Sé saimb, biabé ia vina et restreixé a un luangur curt'' ''las rexas longas tuy. Eancan biarsams, ea vid cun ianvit far.'' ''Couyá ia dïa et crey mínem en el geyada.''
</blockquote>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! IPA and translation:
|-
| '''''Oda 11m''' (d’Huaraç)''
|-
| /ˈo.da ownˈde.ʃim | dwaˈɾas/
|-
| '''Ode 11''' (by Horace)
|-
|
|-
| ''No bregountar-us (seaber es una biacada) cal fin mimb ut timb''
|-
| /no bɾe.ɡownˈtar.us | se̯aˈbeɾ es ˈu.na bjaˈka.da | kal fin mim u tim/
|-
| Do not ask (knowing it is a sin) what end to me or to you
|-
|
|-
| ''las déusas dáran, Leucónoi, n’et cunsoultar las numbras''
|-
| /las ˈdew.sas ˈda.ɾan lewˈko.noj ne kun.sowlˈtaɾ las ˈnum.bɾas/
|-
| the gods have given, Leuconoe, nor seek the numbers
|-
|
|-
| ''da las vats babeilisas. ¿Queamoda ha a meiyoriaxiar ia álam tuy''
|-
| /da las bas ba.bejˈli.sas ke̯aˈmo.da a a mej.jo.ɾjaˈʃjaɾ ja ˈa.lam tuj/
|-
| of the Babylonian soothsayers. How shall alleviate your sorrow
|-
|
|-
| ''seaber si Xúpitar dió timb muis eivernas ut sola quesa yarer''
|-
| /se̯aˈbeɾ si ˈʃu.pi.taɾ djo tim mujs ejˈbeɾ.nas u ˈso.la ˈke.sa jaˈɾeɾ/
|-
| to know if Jupiter has given you many winters or only this last one
|-
|
|-
| ''qu’iaroy las betas ber ea mar teiren?''
|-
| /kjaˈɾoj las ˈbe.tas beɾ e̯a maɾ tejˈɾen/
|-
| which erodes the rocks beyond the Tyrrhenian Sea?
|-
|
|-
| ''Sé saimb, biabé ia vina et restreixé a un luangur curt''
|-
| /se sajm bjaˈbe ja ˈbi.na e ɾes.tɾeiˈʃe a un lwanˈɡuɾ kuɾt/
|-
| Be wise, drink the wine and restrain to a short length
|-
|
|-
| ''las rexas longas tuy. Eancan biarsams, ea vid cun ianvit far.''
|-
| /las ˈɾe.ʃas ˈlon.ɡas tuj | e̯anˈkan bjaɾˈsams e̯a bid kun jamˈbit faɾ/
|-
| your long hopes. While we speak, life enviously flees.
|-
|
|-
| ''Couyá ia dïa et crey mínem en el geyada.''
|-
| /kowˈja ja ˈdi.a e kɾej ˈmi.nem en el ɡeˈja.da/
|-
| Seize the day and believe the least in tomorrow.
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Glosses:
!
!
!
!
!
|-
| ''oda''
| ''oundéxim''-Ø
| ''d’''
| ''Huaraç''
|
|
|-
| ode (<code>F</code>)
| eleventh-<code>F</code>
| of
| Horace
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| ''no''
| ''bregountar-us''
| ''seaber''
| ''es''
| ''una''
| ''biacada''
|-
| <code>NEG</code>
| ask.<code>INF</code>-<code>2s</code>
| know.<code>INF</code>
| be.<code>3s</code>.<code>PRS</code>
| <code>INDF</code>.<code>SG</code>.<code>M</code>
| sin (<code>M</code>)
|-
| ''cal''
| ''fin''
| ''mimb''
| ''ut''
| ''timb''
|
|-
| which
| end (<code>F</code>)
| <code>1s</code>.<code>DAT</code>
| or
| <code>2s</code>.<code>DAT</code>
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| ''las''
| ''déus-as''
| ''dáran''
| ''Leucónoi''
| ''n’et''
| ''cunsoultar''
|-
| <code>DEF</code>.<code>PL</code>
| god-<code>PL</code> (<code>M</code>)
| give.<code>3p</code>.<code>PST</code>
| Leuconoe
| nor
| consult.<code>INF</code>
|-
| ''las''
| ''numbra-s''
| ''da''
| ''las''
| ''babeilis-as''
|
|-
| <code>DEF</code>.<code>PL</code>
| number-<code>PL</code> (<code>M</code>)
| of
| <code>DEF</code>.<code>PL</code>
| Babylonian-<code>PL</code> (<code>M</code>)
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| ''queamoda''
| ''ha_a''
| ''meiyoriaxiar''
| ''ia''
| ''álam''
| ''tuy''
|-
| how
| <code>FUT</code>.<code>3s</code>
| improve.<code>INF</code>
| <code>DEF</code>.<code>SG</code>.<code>M</code>
| pain (<code>M</code>)
| <code>2s</code>.<code>POS</code>
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| ''seaber''
| ''si''
| ''Xúpitar''
| ''dió''
| ''timb''
| ''muis''
|-
| know.<code>INF</code>
| if
| Jupiter
| give.<code>3s</code>.<code>PST</code>
| <code>2s</code>.<code>DAT</code>
| many
|-
| ''eiverna-s''
| ''ut''
| ''sola''
| ''quesa''
| ''yarer''
|
|-
| winter-<code>PL</code> (<code>M</code>)
| or
| only
| this.<code>SG</code>.<code>M</code>
| last
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| ''qu’''
| ''iaroy''
| ''las''
| ''beta-s''
| ''ber''
| ''ea''
|-
| <code>REL</code>
| erode.<code>3s</code>.<code>PRS</code>
| <code>DEF</code>.<code>PL</code>
| stone-<code>PL</code> (<code>F</code>)
| beyond
| <code>DEF</code>.<code>SG</code>.<code>F</code>
|-
| ''mar''
| ''teiren''-Ø
|
|
|
|
|-
| sea (<code>F</code>)
| Tyhrrenian-<code>F</code>
|
|
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| ''sé''
| ''saimb''
| ''biabé''
| ''ia''
| ''vina''
| ''et''
|-
| be.<code>IMP</code>.<code>2s</code>
| wise.<code>F</code>
| drink.<code>IMP</code>.<code>2s</code>
| <code>DEF</code>.<code>SG</code>.<code>M</code>
| wine (<code>M</code>)
| and
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| ''restreixé''
| ''a''
| ''un''
| ''luangur''
| ''curt''-Ø
| ''las''
|-
| restrain.<code>IMP</code>.<code>2s</code>
| to
| <code>INDF</code>.<code>SG</code>.<code>F</code>
| length (<code>F</code>)
| short-<code>F</code>
| <code>DEF</code>.<code>PL</code>
|-
| ''rexa-s''
| ''long-as''
| ''tuy''
|
|
|
|-
| hope-<code>PL</code> (<code>M</code>)
| long-<code>PL</code>.<code>M</code>
| <code>2s</code>.<code>POS</code>
|
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| ''eancan''
| ''biarsams''
| ''ea''
| ''vid''
| ''cun''
| ''ianvit''
|-
| while
| talk.<code>1p</code>.<code>PRS</code>
| <code>DEF</code>.<code>SG</code>.<code>F</code>
| life (<code>F</code>)
| with
| envy (<code>F</code>)
|-
| ''far''
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| escape.<code>3s</code>.<code>PRS</code>
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| ''couyá''
| ''ia''
| ''dïa''
| ''et''
| ''crey''
| ''mínem''
|-
| take.<code>IMP</code>.<code>2s</code>
| <code>DEF</code>.<code>SG</code>.<code>M</code>
| day (<code>M</code>)
| and
| believe.<code>IMP</code>.<code>2s</code>
| least
|-
| ''en''
| ''el''
| ''geyada''
|
|
|
|-
| in
| <code>DEF</code>.<code>SG</code>.<code>M</code>
| tomorrow (<code>M</code>)
|
|
|
|}

=== Other phrases and excerpts ===

==== Sample sentences ====

The following are four sample sentences to showcase some aspects of Curtuvan’s morphology and syntax.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Sample sentences:
|-
| (1) ''Una ambra et un mouxer íban.''
|-
| /ˈu.na ˈam.bɾa et un mowˈʃeɾ ˈi.ban/
|-
| A man and a woman were walking.
|-
|
|-
| (2) ''¿Las mouxers catan las ambras?''
|-
| /↗ las mowˈʃeɾs ˈka.tan las ˈam.bɾas/
|-
| Do the women see the men?
|-
|
|-
| (3) ''No dey timb ea beta tiaquil.''
|-
| /no dej tim e̯a ˈbe.ta tjaˈkil/
|-
| I didn’t give you the heavy stone.
|-
|
|-
| (4) ''La biarson quin cêatasi eistad la uacey ca truabó las dos fiyas miy.''
|-
| /la bjaɾˈson kin ke̯aˈta.si ejsˈtad la waˈsej ka tɾwaˈbo las dos ˈfi.jas mi/
|-
| The person you saw is catching the bird that found my two children.
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Glosses:
!
!
!
!
!
|-
| ''una''
| ''ambra''
| ''et''
| ''un''
| ''mouxer''
| ''íban''
|-
| <code>INDF</code>.<code>SG</code>.<code>M</code>
| man (<code>M</code>)
| and
| <code>INDF</code>.<code>SG</code>.<code>F</code>
| woman (<code>F</code>)
| walk.<code>3p</code>.<code>IPF</code>
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| ''las''
| ''mouxer-s''
| ''catan''
| ''las''
| ''ambra-s''
|
|-
| <code>DEF</code>.<code>PL</code>
| woman-<code>PL</code>
| see.<code>3p</code>.<code>PRS</code>
| <code>DEF</code>.<code>PL</code>
| man-<code>PL</code>
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| ''no''
| ''dey''
| ''timb''
| ''ea''
| ''beta''
| ''tiaquil''-Ø
|-
| <code>NEG</code>
| give.<code>1s</code>.<code>PST</code>
| <code>2s</code>.<code>DAT</code>
| <code>DEF</code>.<code>SG</code>.<code>F</code>
| stone (<code>F</code>)
| heavy-<code>F</code>
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| ''la''
| ''biarsón''
| ''quin''
| ''cêatasi''
| ''eistad''
| ''la''
|-
| <code>DEF</code>.<code>SG</code>.<code>F</code>
| person (<code>F</code>)
| who
| see.<code>2s</code>.<code>PST</code>
| hunt.<code>3s</code>.<code>PRS</code>
| <code>DEF</code>.<code>SG</code>.<code>F</code>
|-
| ''uacey''
| ''ca''
| ''truabó''
| ''las''
| ''dos''
| ''fiya-s''
|-
| bird (<code>F</code>)
| <code>REL</code>
| find.<code>3s</code>.<code>PST</code>
| <code>DEF</code>.<code>PL</code>
| two
| son-<code>PL</code> (<code>M</code>)
|-
| ''miy''
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| <code>1s</code>.<code>POS</code>
|
|
|
|
|
|}

===== Giarbís version =====

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Sample sentences:
|-
| (1) ''Un’ambra e un mōxeh íban.''
|-
| /uˈnam.bɾa e un moːˈʂe ˈi.ban/
|-
| A man and a woman were walking.
|-
|
|-
| (2) ''¿Las mōxehs catan las ambras?''
|-
| /↗ las moːˈʂes ˈka.tan las ˈam.bɾas/
|-
| Do the women see the men?
|-
|
|-
| (3) ''No dey a tibe ia beta tiaquil.''
|-
| /no dej a ˈti.be ja ˈbe.ta tjaˈcil/
|-
| I didn’t give you the heavy stone.
|-
|
|-
| (4) ''La biahson quin quiatasi ēstade l’ucē ca trubó las dos fiyas miyas.''
|-
| /la bjaˈson cin cjaˈta.ʃi eːsˈta.de luˈseː ka tɾuˈbo las dos ˈfi.jas ˈmi.jas/
|-
| The person you saw is catching the bird that found my two children.
|}

==== Other ====

* The opening lines of El Cid (known in Curtuvan as ''ia Sid de Burgas'' or ‘the Cid/master from Burgos’ as ''sid'' remains a common term of address in the language):

<blockquote>'''''En can forta bioranda de sus oxas,''''' 
/eɲˈkan ˈfoɾ.ta bjoˈɾan.da de sus ˈo.ʃas/ While tearing up so much in his eyes,

'''''tuarnamb-el la cêabeç et eistamb-el los cêatanda.''''' /twaɾˈna.mel la ke̯aˈbes et ejsˈta.mel los ke̯aˈtan.da/ 
he turned his head and would see them.
</blockquote>
Cf. the original Old Spanish version (whose wording this translation seems to approach as much as possible): ''De los sos ojos tan fuerte mientre lorando / tornava la cabeça e estava los catando''.

* A paragraph about how this conlang was originally inspired by an interaction with an Argentinian Cordobés Spanish speaker:

In a now-outdated form of the conlang (extrafictionally):

<blockquote>''Eistamb-yeu a Tourin, n’Eichay, canda truabé’m cun’a oc d’Arxiantina. Enmoda ca cumpeartéyams ia fabla, comiançams biarsar. N’ia canta d’él, xara nuaté qu’er corduabés. Ça xiabó’m biasar n’eaquel dialeta et n’eaquel courosa troca cu’la luangur de las vuacals faç un sílamb tónic. Et easin, sens desiaxarla misma, comiançé-yeu enfuarmar ques eijé.''
</blockquote>
In updated Curtuvan:

<blockquote>''Eistamb-yeu a Tourin, n’Eichay, canda me truabey cun’a oc d’Arxiantina. Enmoda ca cumpeartíams ia fabla, comiançams biarsar. N’ia canta sua d’él xara nuatey qu’era corduabís. Quesa me xiabó a biasar n’eaquel dialeta et n’eaquel courosa troca cun la luangur da las vuacals faç un sílamb tónic. Et easin, sens misma lá desiaxiar, comiancey-yeu enfuarmar ques eijé''

/ejsˈtam.jew a towˈrin nejˈtʃaj/ /ˈkan.da me tɾwaˈbej ˈku.na ok ˌdaɾ.ʃjanˈti.na/ /eˈmo.da ka kum.pe̯aɾˈti.ams ja ˈfa.bla/ /ko.mjanˈsams bjaɾˈsaɾ/ /nja ˈkan.ta swaˈdel ˈʃa.ɾa nwaˈtej ˈke.ɾa koɾ.dwaˈbis/ /ˈke.sa me ʃjaˈbo a bjaˈsaɾ ne̯aˈkel djaˈle.ta/ /et ne̯aˈkel kowˈɾo.sa ˈtɾo.ka/ /kun la lwanˈɡuɾ da las bwaˈkals fas un ˈsi.lam ˈto.nik/ /et e̯aˈsin sens ˈmis.ma la de.sjaˈʃjaɾ/ /ko.mjanˈsej.jew en.fwaɾˈmar kes ejˈtʃe/

I was in Turin, Italy, when I came across a guy from Argentina. Since we shared the language, we began to talk. I noticed clearly in his accent that he was from Córdoba. That led me to think about that dialect and that curious thing with vowel length before a stressed syllable. And, like that, without even intending to, I began shaping this idea.
</blockquote>

[[Category:Curtuvan]]
[[Category:Languages]]
[[Category:Conlangs]]

Middle Ru

2020-04-25T03:15:23Z

Jotadiego:

Middle Ru is an a priori language that would have been spoken in the western regions of the fictional island of Rauna during its Middle Period (roughly corresponding to the Middle Ages and the Renaissance). Within its internal history, it belongs to the Ru-Hulam languages native to the Drysian continent, situated west of the Rauna region, half an ocean away.

The Middle Ru language was known natively as ħórwx lå Rgu /ˈχo.ɹʉʃ lɒ ʀu/, "language of the Ru"; the name Ru or Rgu /ʀu/ itself is thought to be related to the first person pronoun or rru /ru/, 'I, me'. Extrafictionally, this is a leftover from the development of Raunan conlangs when they were referred to by their word for the first person pronoun.

<h2 id="Internal_history">Internal history</h2>

<h3 id="Ru_Hulam_period">Ru-Hulam period</h3>

The Middle Ru language can be traced back to Proto Ru-Hulam, a language that would have been spoken in the northeastern regions of Drysia, one of the three major continents in Rauna's planet. In ancient times, the the Ru-Hulam peoples (often referred to simply as 'Hulam') came to be united under a powerful monarchy known as the First Hulam Empire. This nation would came to rule over a sizeable fractionof the continent. In particular, the Hulam conquered and slaved their more populous neighbours to the east, the Qwiyen, and made the Mikken tribes in the north into a client state.

During the heyday of their empire, the Hulam also established ties with other nations, including the Fulao peoples who had formed a similarly prosperous league of city states in Miwep, a small continent south of Drysia. Rivalry between the expansionist Hulam and Fulao peoples led to at least three attempts of invasion, all unsuccessful thanks to the latter's then-unrivaled naval expertise.

Unable to overcome the Fulao's prowess at seafaring, the Hulam empire eventually sought to imitate it. As news about the Fulao discovery and settlement of the Shawi islands in the great eastern ocean reached the Hulam courts, the emperor came to be determined to launch an ambitious effort to reach new lands further east and colonize them. Although the results were disastrous for the most part (with several expeditions wrecking in the high seas and the imperial finances taking a toll for what many viewed as a weak emperor's vanity project), one expedition managed to reach Rauna, a vast island once dominated by a powerful empire which had recently succumbed. These circumstances allowed the Hulam to establish a colony of their own in western Rauna. However, soon thereafter the already weakened Hulam Empire, itself would meet a similar fate, taking a major blow from the Great Qwiyen Revolution, which not only liberated their people from an oppressive rule but would also establish a Qwiyen state that would came to rule the Hulam peoples themselves during much of the following centuries.

As the Hulam empire fell in the Drysian continent, the colonists in Rauna lost all (if not all) contact with their ancestral homeland. Instead, they came to develop a distinct ethnic identity as the Ru. A sizeable number of Qwiyen slaves they had brought alongside them would develop into the Xhuei peoples of southern Rauna.

Although the starting population of each group is still a matter of debate among Raunan historians, it is often considered to have been in the thousands for both groups. Early Ru and Xhuei people, however, were known to have intermarried with the native peoples. Genetic studies confirm that modern Ru and Xhuei peoples are more closely related to other Raunan populations than to their Drysian ancestors, although Y-chromosome haplogroups most commonly found in north-eastern Drysia can still be identified.

<h3 id="Ru_in_Rauna">The Ru in Rauna</h3>

The Ru were one of the first ethnic groups that arrived to the Raunan region after the Ancient Period which is why they are said to be one of the Younger Raunan peoples; contrasting with the Older Raunan ethnicities that had inhabited the island prior to their arrival. Ru peoples mostly occupied territories in western Rauna. They quickly took over many of the western provinces of the ruinous Raunic empire. The Ru also conquered territories that formerly belonged to the Iyau peoples, giving rise to a long-lasting bitter rivalry between the two nations.

During much of the Middle Period the Ru played a major role in the island as the city of Cadarmen became the main trade hub on the island due to its strategic location next to a passage through the Myqyraghar mountain range that divides the Raunan mainland. Control over this strategic point allowed the wealthy lords of Cadarmen to establish an extensive Ru Kingdom which quickly became a major power in the Rauna region.

By the end of the Middle Period, maritime trade (mostly conducted by the Amatl nations in northern Rauna) gained prominence, while the land-based trade routes controlled by the Ru kingdom saw a sharp decline. This would eventually led to an economic and political crisis in the kingdom, with a major rebellion in the mountainous eastern frontier lands. Situations worsened when the Iyau launched a successful military offensive on the western lands of the Ru Kingdom, secretly aided by the Amatl league who sought to weaken their economic rivals.

By the Modern Period, the Middle Ru language had diverged into three varieties: Eastern Ru, Western Ru and the Iyau-Ru language (spoken in territories reconquered by the Iyau, also referred to as 'Lower Iyau').

<h2 id="External_history">External history</h2>

Extrafictionally, Middle Ru was the first Raunan language to be created, back in July 2018. The concept behind the Raunan languages project was to create a series of unrelated languages out of which mixed languages would develop at a later time.

It was decided from the start that Middle Ru would be a typologically unusual and rather harsh-sounding language in order to have it contrast with its neighbours.

Although the concept that the Ru peoples would have arrived to Rauna after its classical period was decided early on, work on the Proto-Ru-Hulam language and Ru history prior to their arrival to the Raunan region only began in 2020. The post-facto development of an ancestor language led to a series of retcons as well as a overhaul of Middle Ru's polypersonal marking.

<h1 id="Phonology">Phonology</h1>

Middle Ru features a rather complex phonology distinguishing 8 vowels and 37 consonants, including multiple trills, uvulars and the pharyngeal fricative /ʕ/. This led speakers of other Middle Raunan languages to describe Ru as 'harsh sounding' or 'guttural'.

<h2>Consonants</h2>

The following table shows Ru's consonant inventory (uppercase and lowercase romanization on the left, IPA phonemic transcriptions on the right):

<table>
<tr>
<th colspan="2"></th>
<th>Labial</th>
<th>Alveolar</th>
<th>Palatal</th>
<th>Velar</th>
<th>Uvular</th>
<th>Laryngeal</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Nasal</th>
<td>M m /m/</td>
<td>N n /n/</td>
<td>Ñ ñ /ɲ/</td>
<td colspan="2">Ŋ ŋ /ŋ/~/ɴ/</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="3">Plosive</th>
<th>Ejective</th>
<td>P' p' /pʼ/</td>
<td>T' t' /tʼ/</td>
<td>C' c' /cʼ/</td>
<td>K' k' /kʼ/ </td>
<td>Q' q' /qʼ/</td>
<td rowspan="2">( ' ) /ʔ/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Unvoiced</th>
<td>P p /p/</td>
<td>T t /t/</td>
<td>C c /c/</td>
<td>K k /k/</td>
<td>Q q /q/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Voiced</th>
<td>B b /b/</td>
<td>D d /d/</td>
<td>Ǵ ǵ /ɟ/</td>
<td>G g /g/</td>
<td>Ğ ğ /ɢ/</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Fricative</th>
<th>Unvoiced</th>
<td>F f /f/</td>
<td>S s /s/</td>
<td>X x /ʃ/</td>
<td>H h /x/</td>
<td>Ħ ħ /χ/</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Voiced</th>
<td></td>
<td>Z z /z/~/dz/</td>
<td>Ž ž /ʒ/</td>
<td>Ɣ ɣ /ɣ/</td>
<td></td>
<td>ʕ ʕ /ʕ/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Approximant</th>
<td></td>
<td>R r /ɹ/</td>
<td>J j /j/</td>
<td>V v /w/</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Trill</th>
<td>Br br /ʙ/</td>
<td>Rr rr /r/</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td>Rg rg /ʀ/</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Lateral</th>
<td></td>
<td>L l /l/</td>
<td>Λ ʎ /ʎ/</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
</table>

Notes:
<ul>
<li>Glottal stops are only written (as an apostrophe) in word-final position. As the language does not allow onset-less syllables, vowels not preceded by a consonant in writing can be assumed to have an unwritten glottal stop as their onset.</li>
<li>Middle Ru had an orthography of its own. The Latin script romanization is extrafictional.</lI>
<li>The nasal <ŋ> is typically velar, but may be pronounced as an uvular [ɴ] word-finally or when next to another uvular consonant. In the romanization, the uppercase glyph that resembles a capital N with a hook (as used for capital ŋ in some Saami languages) is preferred to the alternative that looks like an upscaled lowercase <ŋ> (as typically found in African orthographies, see the Wikipedia article on the letter Eng for more information).</li>
<li>In the romanization, the uppercase form of <ħ> (for /χ/) should properly have the additional bar through the vertical stroke on the left, rather than having the bar cross both vertical strokes as in the Unicode character <Ħ> (used instead due to the lack of support for the proper variant of the glyph).</li>
<li>The voiced phoneme romanized as <z> varied freely between being a true fricative /z/ or an affricate /dz/. The latter realization seems to have prevailed in Cadarmen, the capital of the Ru kingdom.</li>
<li>The ejective plosive /pʼ/ seems to have merged into /p/ except in eastern dialects.</li>
<li>The lateral /l/ may be palatalized to /ʎ/ in some contexts, but this is not reflected in native Middle Ru writing nor in the romanizations.</li>
<li>The sequence /ɹ.g/ is romanized as <r·g>, as <rg> stands for /ʀ/.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Vowels and vowel harmony</h2>

The vocalic inventory of the language consists of eight vowels evenly divided into two harmony classes ('clear' front vowels and 'dark' back vowels).

<table>
<tr>
<th>Clear </th>
<th>Dark</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>I i /i/</td>
<td>U u /u/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Y y /y/</td>
<td>W w /ʉ/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>E e /ø/</td>
<td>O o /o/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>A a /a/</td>
<td>Å å /ɒ/</td>
</tr>
</table>

It should be noted that the vowel transcribed as <e> is actually a rounded /ø/. The vowel /a/ is front vowel [a] rather than central [ä].

All vowels may be reduced to a schwa (/ə/) when they occur far from the primary stress of a word. Typically, this happens for vowels 2 syllables (or more) away from the main stressed syllable of a polysyllabic word. Monosyllabic particles may also have their vowels reduced to a schwa, at least in less formal registers. This kind of vowel reduction is not reflected in writing.

Affixes must agree with the vowel harmony class of the stems they attach to. While a few affixes have distinct and potentially unrelated 'clear' and 'dark' variants, most affixes look follow a certain set of vowel alternations known as 'vowel classes'. Each vowel class (represented as the umlauted vowels <ä ï ö ü ÿ> for the purposes of this dictionary and grammar only) changes to a clear or a dark realization matching the harmony class of the primary stems they are applied to as shown in the following table:

<table>
<tr>
<th>Vowel class</th>
<th>Clear realization</th>
<th>Dark realization</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>ä</th>
<td>A a /a/</td>
<td>Å å /ɒ/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>ï</th>
<td>I i /i/</td>
<td>W w /ʉ/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>ö</th>
<td>E e /ø/</td>
<td>O o /o/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>ü</th>
<td>Y y /y/</td>
<td>W w /ʉ/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>ÿ </th>
<td>I i /i/</td>
<td>U u /u/</td>
</tr>
</table>

For instance, the interrogative prefix is xö- changes to xe- before a clear-harmony stem and as xo- before a dark-harmony stem.

It should be noted that certain vowels correspond to more than one vowel classes: /i/ is the clear-vowel realization of both ï and ü while /ʉ/ is the dark-vowel realization of both ï and ÿ. Because of this, knowing one form of an affix dos not necessarily suffice to know the opposite form.

<h2>Phonotactics</h2>

Middle Ru allows a CV(G)(C) syllabic structure, where C stands for a consonant, V for a vowel and G for any of the three phonemes considered as 'glides': /ɹ j w/. The following restrictions apply:
<ul>
<li>All syllables require an onset consonant; borrowings that would otherwise begin with a vowel are fitted into Middle Ru phonotactics by adding an initial /ʔ/.</li>
<li>The approximants/glides /ɹ j w/ may only occur immediately after a vowel. Thus, they occur word-initially nor following a closed syllable.</li>
<li>Only /ɹ j w/ are allowed as word-medial codae.</li>
<li>The following consonants might appear in a word-final coda: unvoiced stops, nasals, any fricative (including /z/~/dz/), approximants and trills. Codal stops, nasals and fricatives may be preceded by a glide (/ɹ j w/).</li>
<li>Two identical consonants cannot form a cluster. Thus the sequences /ɹ.ɹ/, /j.j/ and /w.w/ are not allowed.</li>
</ul>

Prosodic stress is lexical and non-predictable. Oxytone words (those stressed on the last syllable) are always unmarked for stress. Otherwise, stress may be indicated with an optional diacritic in Middle Ru's native script and with an acute accent in the romanization (<á ǻ é í ó ú ý ẃ>). Vowels more than two syllables away from the stressed syllable in a word are reduced to a schwa.

The stressed syllable of a noun does not vary in its inflection. For example, the word mimy (man) will always be stressed in the y, even when suffixes are added as in the absolutive form mimýaħ. The written accent in forms such as mimýaħ might be absent by mistake in some inflection tables.

Verbs, on the other hand, have a variable stress syllable wholy depending on their suffixes.

<h2>Phonological history</h2>

Middle Ru is supposed to descend from a language known as Proto Ru-Hulam (PRH) which would have been spoken by the ancestors of the Ru people prior to their arrival to Rauna. Extrafictionally, however, Proto Ru-Hulam was actually back-derived from Middle Ru.

A significant share of Middle Ru's vocabulary can be traced back to Proto Ru-Hulam terms. Although in some cases the resemblance is still clearly identifiable, in others the relationship is obfuscated due to sound changes and semantic shifts. This section aims to present the most usual correspondences between Proto Ru-Hulam and Middle Ru, although it should be noted that several exceptions might be found.

One major difference between Proto Ru-Hulam and its Ru descendants in Rauna can be found in its consonantal inventory where most phonemes occur in contrasting pairs of one labialized and one non-labialized consonant such as /nʷ/ vs /n/. It is possible that the non-labialized consonants might have been palatalized to some extent (resulting in a /nʷ/ vs /nʲ/ contrast). This contrast was lost in Middle Ru, although it affected vowel development, with most PRH vowels splitting into rounded and unrounded variants. Thus, where the proto-language might contrast the syllables /ni/ and /nʷi/ by their consonants (non-labialized /n/ and labialized /nʷ/), Middle Ru may inherit such syllables as /ni/ and /nʉ/, with contrasting vowel qualities instead. Middle Ru's vowel harmony is also a later development which may play a role in vowel correspondences. For instance while PRH /nʷi/ would ordinarily yield /nʉ/ in Middle Ru, through vowel harmony the latter might be assimilated to /ny/ in a word dominated by a front vowel (in the 'clear' harmony class).

<h3>Vowels</h3>

For the most part, vowel correspondences are as follows:

<table>
<tr>
<th>Proto Ru-Hulam</th>
<th>Middle Ru </th>
<td colspan="2">Example (Proto-RH to Middle Ru)</td>
<th>Notes</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="2">a /a/</td>
<td>a /a/</td>
<td>ʔaʔxa land </td>
<td>áɣa /ˈa.ɣa/ land</td>
<td>If not labialized. May harmonize to å /ɒ/. </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>å /ɒ/</td>
<td>dʷaf to eat </td>
<td>dåf /dɒ.f/ to eat </td>
<td>Next to labialized consonants. May harmonize to a /a/. </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="2">i /i/</td>
<td>i /i/ </td>
<td>mimú man </td>
<td>mimy /miˈmy/ man </td>
<td>If not labialized. May harmonize to u /u/. </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>w /ʉ/</td>
<td>drʷis western lands </td>
<td>rrws /rʉs/ west </td>
<td>Next to labialized consonants. May harmonize to y /y/. </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="2">o /o/ [o]~[ɤ] (?)</td>
<td>e /ø/</td>
<td>xoʔká wife</td>
<td>xek'a /ʃøˈkʼa/ woman </td>
<td>If not labialized. May harmonize to e /ø/. </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>o /o/</td>
<td>hʷorʷ to speak </td>
<td>ħor /χo.ɹ/ to speak </td>
<td>If labialized. May harmonize to o /o/.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="2">u /ɯ~u/</td>
<td>y /y/</td>
<td>gusʷ you, 2s </td>
<td>ǵy /ɟy/ you, 2s </td>
<td>If not labialized. May harmonize to w /ʉ/.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>u /u/</td>
<td>hʷur to defend </td>
<td>ħur /χu.ɹ/ to own </td>
<td>If labialized. May harmonize to i /i/.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="3">ə /ə~ʌ/</td>
<td>o /o/</td>
<td>bʷəʔt obstacle, hardship </td>
<td>bot' /botʼ/ river </td>
<td>If labialized. May harmonize to e /ø/.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>a /a/</td>
<td>drəʔ to unite </td>
<td>-rra /ra/ and </td>
<td>If not labialized and next to an uvular or glottal. May harmonize to å /ɒ/.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>w /ʉ/</td>
<td>kəñ to build </td>
<td>cwñ /cʉ.ɲ/ to build </td>
<td>Elsewhere. May harmonize to y /y/.</td>
</tr>
</table>

A number of irregular developments are observed, however. For instance the Proto Ru-Hulam word xʷən (tu rule) would have been expected to yield *hon but instead yields Middle Ru hwn (also meaning 'to rule').

<h3>Consonants</h3>

As mentioned before, most Proto Ru-Hulam consonants came in two variants: labialized and non-labialized. This distinction mostly collapsed in Middle Ru other than leaving a mark in vowel qualities. Nontheless, certain consonant pairs evolved differently depending on whether they used to be labialized or not.

Aside from laryngeal /ʔ/ and /ʕ/ (the latter of which seems to have developed out of an earlier uvular [ʁ]), Middle Ru distinguishes five places of articulation: labial, alveolar, palatal, velar and uvular. The latter three series actually arose from two dorsal series (velar vs uvular; Proto Ru-Hulam lacked true palatal consonants), which depending on labialization as shown in the following table.

<table>
<tr>
<th rowspan="4">Proto Ru-Hulam places of articulation + labialization </th>
<th rowspan="4">Middle Ru places of articulation </th>
<th colspan="8">Examples</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" rowspan="2">Nasals</th>
<th colspan="4">Plosives </th>
<th colspan="2" rowspan="2">Fricatives</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Unvoiced</th>
<th colspan="2">Voiced</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>PRH</th>
<th>MR</th>
<th>PRH</th>
<th>MR</th>
<th>PRH</th>
<th>MR</th>
<th>PRH</th>
<th>MR</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Labial, not rounded</th>
<th rowspan="2">Labial </th>
<td>mimú man </td>
<td>mimy man </td>
<td>pəʔñə stone </td>
<td>p'áñe stone </td>
<td>bilʒ fifteen</td>
<td>biz squad </td>
<td>fahʷ to sleep </td>
<td>farğ to sleep </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Labial, rounded</th>
<td>mʷaʔ 3s</td>
<td>ma' 3s </td>
<td>pʷiʔɬ breast milk </td>
<td>p'wl milk </td>
<td>bʷəʔt obstacle </td>
<td>bot' river </td>
<td colspan="2">-</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Coronal, not labialiazed</th>
<th rowspan="2">Alveolar</th>
<td>nosʷ thirst </td>
<td>nes thirst </td>
<td>tuɬ husband </td>
<td>tyl lord </td>
<td>dañ to grow</td>
<td>dañ to stick out</td>
<td>samʷ hand </td>
<td>sam arm </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Coronal, labialized</th>
<td>nʷumʷ knee </td>
<td>num knee</td>
<td>tʷəʔt edge </td>
<td>t'ot' corner </td>
<td>dʷaf to eat </td>
<td>dåf to eat </td>
<td>sʷuyəm seed </td>
<td>sújåm seed </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Velar, not labialized</th>
<th>Palatal</th>
<td>ñus ten </td>
<td>ñy ten </td>
<td>kəñ to build </td>
<td>cwñ to build </td>
<td>gawəm neck </td>
<td>ǵav neck </td>
<td>xoʔká woman </td>
<td>xek'a woman </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Velar, labialized</th>
<th rowspan="2">Velar</th>
<td>ñʷo moon</td>
<td>ŋo moon </td>
<td>kʷoʔr jewellery</td>
<td>k'or gem</td>
<td>gusʷ you </td>
<td>gy you </td>
<td>xʷitʷ to leave </td>
<td>hwt to leave </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Uvular, not labialized</th>
<td colspan="2">-</td>
<td>qoʔt house </td>
<td>k'et house </td>
<td colspan="2">-</td>
<td>howəm commander </td>
<td>hev king </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Uvular, labialized</th>
<th>Uvular </th>
<td colspan="2">-</td>
<td>qʷur fist, punch</td>
<td>qurt hand </td>
<td colspan="2">-</td>
<td>hʷorʷ to speak </td>
<td>ħor to speak </td>
</tr>
</table>

As usual, a number of irregular developments can be found. Instances where non-labialized uvulars are inherited as uvular consonants (rather than as velars as show in the table) are particularly common. It has been proposed that this might be explained by the presence of two early Ru-Hulam dialects among the first colonists in Rauna although this theory has fallen short of consensus among Raunan linguists.

It should be noted that Proto Ru-Hulam didn't seem to contrast labialization (or rounding) for its labial fricative f and had neither uvular nasals nor voiced uvular plosives. Middle Ru's voiced uvular plosive ğ /ɢ/ mostly originated due to irregular developments and borrowing, although it remains one of the least used phonemes in the language.

The Proto Ru-Hulam language lacked ejectives. These developed due to the influence of glottal stops which PRH syllabic structure allowed between a vowel and further consonants (even in coda position). The resulting CVʔC(V) structure would be simplified to CVC(V) in Middle Ru, which did no longer accept non-word-final glottal stop codae, but the glottalic element would cause neighbouring voiceless plosives to turn into ejectives as in pʷiʔɬ where the preceding stop /pʷ/ becomes an ejective p'wl or bʷəʔt where the following /t/ is turned into an ejective instead: bot'. Words were both the preceding and the following consonant were voiceless plosives such as qoʔt or tʷəʔt may either develop an ejective in the first stop (as in k'et) or in both stops (as in t'ot'). Although there seems to be no clear rule governing these developments, it can be noted that roots where both consonants are identical such as tʷəʔt~t'ot' are markedly more prone to have both plosives evolve into ejectives.

Voiced fricatives (aside from /ɮ/, which shall be discussed later) are also an innovation in Middle Ru. They may arise sporadically from their voiceless counterparts (uvular /χ/ in the case of pharyngeal /ʕ/) in the vecinity of other voiced consonants (as in PRH bʷuh, 'to stir', to MR buʕ, 'to mix') or in the same contexts that cause plosives to become ejective (PRH xʷoʕn, 'town', to MR ɣen, both meaning 'town'; PRH ʔaʔxa to MR áɣa, both meaning 'land'). Any instances which could result in a voiced /f/ yield an approximant v /w/ instead: PRH muʕf 'to breathe', MR myv, 'to live'. Evidence indicates that in early Middle Ru (and possibly later in some dialectal pronunciations) these instances of Middle Ru v might have been realized as [v], contrasting with the phoneme /w/ as inherited from other sources (such as Proto Ru-Hulam /w/). The two sounds, however, had been fully merged in the Cadarmeni standard.

Unlike Middle Ru, Proto Ru-Hulam featured two lateral fricatives: voiceless /ɬ/ and voiced /ɮ/ (the latter often transcribed as a non-ligated lʒ for the sake of convenience) in addition to the lateral approximant /l/. Voiceless ɬ commonly merged into /l/, especially in coda-position, but could also yield palatal /ʎ/ near front vowels. For instance, the verb 'to give', ʎu (with an earlier variant ʎi), comes from PRH ɬi.On the other hand, the voiced lateral fricative lʒ would most commonly evolve into z /z/ (PRH kaʔlʒ, 'to slide', to MR c'az, 'to move forward') or ž /ʒ/ if in the vecinity of a front vowel: PRH ʔilʒ, 'to summon', yields the causative prefix ižy- (harmonized to užw- in dark-harmony words). Proto Ru-Hulam laterals did not contrast labialization, atlhough vowels in the vecinity of PRH /l/ will often evolve as if next to a labialized consonant: PRH lam yields MR låm (both meaning silver, with a back rounded å).

Middle Ru's three non-lateral approximants r /ɹ/, j /j/ and v /w/ correspond to Proto Ru-Hulam's approximants r (and rʷ; probably flaps /ɾ/ and /ɾʷ/), y /j/ and w /w/, except for instance of Middle Ru v which evolved as a voiced counterpart to f. Proto Ru-Hulam rhotic approximants contrasted labialization while y and w did not.

Proto Ru-Hulam also allowed syllable-initial clusters composed of a voiced plosive and a rhotic r or rʷ matching its labialization (or lack thereof). These sequences invariably became trills in Middle Ru, with br and brʷ yielding the rare bilabial trill br /ʙ/, dr and drʷ evolving into an alveolar trill rr /r/ and the clusters gr and grʷ becoming an uvular trill rg /ʀ/.

<h1>Grammar</h1>

Middle Ru is a polysynthetic language. It features a split ergative alignment. Its primary word order is VOS, with other arguments coming later. Middle Ru grammar tends to be head-initial .

<h2>Nouns</h2>

Middle Ru nouns may inflect for case, noun class and number. Declension paradigms also depend on the vowel-harmony class of each noun.

<h3>Nominal classes</h3>

The language distinguishes four noun classes. These are similar to genders in European languages, although they are mostly based on animacy. With few exceptions, the nominal class of a noun can normally be deduced from its meaning.

Class I nouns are used for people, deities, groups of people, kinship terms and living things that may not be eaten due to cultural reasons (including dogs, mollusks and arachnids but not most other animals).

Class II nouns might be classified as 'resources'. This includes most animals, edible plants (more on plant classification later), drinking water, fire, the sun, clouds, materials that might be used as fuel (such as firewood), wool and hides. Non-human body parts such as gills and wings also tend to belong to the second class.

Class III nouns mostly correspond to soft or flexible materials. This includes liquids other than drinking water, powders, gasses, (including air), most prepared foods, abstract nouns related to words, speech, memory and thoughts and body parts that are either soft (such as the skin, ears) or that may be moved independently (including hands, arms, lips, eyes).

Class IV nouns mostly include hard materials, most man-made objects (especially buildings, tools and machines) and hard body parts that cannot move independently such as teeth, bones and nails. Shells and eggs are also classified as belonging to class IV.

Plants and fungi belong to the fourth class with the following exceptions:
<ul>
<li>Long grasses, vines and similar plants belong to the third class.</li>
<li>Flowers belong to the third class unless they are edible by humans. In the latter case, they are classified as class II instead.</li>
<li>Fruits, grains, nuts and mushrooms only belong to class IV if they have a hard surface that requires grinding or a similar process for human consumption. Otherwise, they will be class II if edible or class III otherwise.</li>
<li>Seeds belong to the second class if edible and to the fourth class otherwise.</li>
<li>Woods are treated as class II nouns when intended to be used as fuel or as class IV otherwise. The same noun might take affixes for different classes depending on its intended purpose.</li>
</ul>

Middle Ru grammar often treats class I nouns ('animate') differently than nouns from other nominal classes ('inanimate'). For instance, the base form of a class I noun corresponds to the ergative case while the base form of inanimate nouns corresponds to the absolutive case instead.

<h3>Number</h3>

Number marking is optional in Middle Ru; speakers may drop number affixes whenever it is clear from context. This particularly often the case for inanimate nouns (classes II, III and IV).

Animate (class I) nouns are considered to be singular by default. The prefix ö- (this is, e- for clear vowel-harmony class and o- for dark vowel-harmony) is used to form plurals.

For other nouns, a singular/singulative suffix -l is used to explicitly mark a noun as singular. Plural marking with the prefix ö- may also be found in inanimate nouns, although this seems to be have been limited to situations when a singular meaning would otherwise be expected from the context.

The singulative suffix -l may metathesize when applied to a stem with a final stop such as sek (tree, trees), resulting in selk (a tree). Otherwise, consonant-ending stems will take the suffix with an epenthetic -ö- (as in darmárem to darmáremel).

Singulatives are also used to derive nouns for individuals out of intrinsically collective nouns. This is also found in class I nouns (for instance deriving qanal 'family member, relative' from qana, 'family'). The newly derived singulative noun may then take further number affixes such as eqanal for 'family members'.

<table>
<tr>
<th></th>
<th>Harmony class</th>
<th>Base form</th>
<th>Plural</th>
<th>Singulative</th>
<th>Singulative+Plural</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="6"></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="4">Animate noun (class I)</th>
<th rowspan="2">Clear</th>
<th>xek'a</th>
<th>exek'a</th>
<th rowspan="2">N/A</th>
<th rowspan="2">N/A</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>woman</td>
<td>women</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Dark</th>
<th>ħúrwm</th>
<th>oħúrwm</th>
<th rowspan="2">N/A</th>
<th rowspan="2">N/A</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>soldier</td>
<td>soldiers</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="4">Inanimate noun (classes II, III, IV)</th>
<th rowspan="2">Clear</th>
<th>c'áza</th>
<th>ec'áza</th>
<th>c'ázal</th>
<th rowspan="2">N/A</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>valley, valleys</td>
<td>valleys (rare) </td>
<td>a valley</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Dark</th>
<th>ħox</th>
<th>oħox</th>
<th>ħóxol</th>
<th rowspan="2">N/A</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>mountain, mountains</td>
<td>mountains (rare)</td>
<td>a mountain</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" rowspan="2">Collective animate (class I) noun (clear harmony example)</th>
<th>qana</th>
<th>eqana</th>
<th>qanal</th>
<th>eqanal</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>family</td>
<td>families</td>
<td>relative</td>
<td>relatives</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" rowspan="2">Collective inanimate (class IV) noun (clear harmony example)</th>
<th>p'áñe</th>
<th rowspan="2">N/A</th>
<th>p'áñel</th>
<th>ep'áñel</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>stones, stone as a material </td>
<td>a stone </td>
<td>several stones (very rare) </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" rowspan="2">Noun with infixed singulative -l- (clear harmony example)</th>
<th>sek</th>
<th>esek</th>
<th>selk (not *sékel) </th>
<th rowspan="2">N/A</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>tree, trees </td>
<td>trees (rare)</td>
<td>a tree</td>
</tr>
</table>

Collective nouns (independently of their class) are typically treated as being singular for the purposes of verb agreement.

<h3>Case</h3>

Middle Ru nouns are inflected for case. This is done through suffixes for cases related to morphosyntactic alignment (i.e. with whether a noun is the subject, direct object or indirect object of a verb) and through prefixes for other cases such as the possessive and the locative.

<table>
<tr>
<th>Case</th>
<th>Usage </th>
<th>Affixes </th>
<th colspan="2">Example</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Base form (or nominative) </th>
<td>Used when referring to a lexeme. Listing in dictionaries. As a vocative. Second element of a copula. </td>
<td>No affix</td>
<td>Mazávaħ mimy.</td>
<td>Mazáva is a man.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Absolutive</th>
<td rowspan="2">Subjects of intransitive verbs. Objects of transitive verbs. Indirect objects of ditransitive verbs. First element of a copula. </td>
<td>-aħ, -oq (animate nouns) </td>
<td>Myfarğaryls mimýaħ.</td>
<td>The man is sleeping.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>No affix (Inanimate nouns) </td>
<td>Zeviħárga ħox.</td>
<td>I have seen the mountain.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Ergative</th>
<td rowspan="2">Subjects of transitive verbs. Subjects of ditransitive verbs. </td>
<td>No affix (animate nouns) </td>
<td>Zevarñi ħox mimy.</td>
<td>The man sees the mountain. </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>-at, -ås (class II) -ix, -wx (class III) -yh, -uh (class IV) </td>
<td>Bruswlws mimýaħ ħóxuh.</td>
<td>The mountain crushed the man.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Secundative</th>
<td>Direct object of ditransitive verbs. Objects of type-I applicatives.</td>
<td>-t, -et, -wt</td>
<td>Λuwrrå mimýaħ ħóxwt.</td>
<td>I gave the mountain to the man.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Possessive (I)</th>
<td>Most kinds of possession. </td>
<td>la-, lå-</td>
<td>ħox lamimy</td>
<td>the mountain of the man</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Possessive (II)</th>
<td>Specific kinds of inalienable possession.</td>
<td>ha-, hå-</td>
<td>qúrtol hamimy</td>
<td>the man's hand</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Locative</th>
<td>Location: in, at. </td>
<td>by-, bw-</td>
<td>bwħox</td>
<td>at the mountain</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Instrumental</th>
<td>With, using as a tool. Causative agents.</td>
<td>syr-, swr-</td>
<td>swrqurt</td>
<td>with the hands</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Ornative</th>
<td>Having, with.</td>
<td>t'e-, t'o-</td>
<td>xek'a t'emimy</td>
<td>a woman with a man/husband</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Privative</th>
<td>Lacking, without.</td>
<td>myr-, mwr-</td>
<td>xek'a myrmimy</td>
<td>a woman without a man/husband</td>
</tr>
</table>

Case-marking prefixes are often romanized a separate word when preceding a proper noun: as in lå Rgu (of the Ru) instead of *låRgu. This difference is not obseverd in native Ru writing

<h4>Nominative (base form)</h4>

In a few some contexts, Middle Ru uses the base form of a noun (lacing any case affixes; other affixes such as number marking might be used in these contexts). This base form (which may be dubbed a 'nominative') coincides with the ergative form for animate nouns (class I) and with the absolutive case for inanimate nouns (classes II, III and IV).

A relatively unusual feature of Middle Ru is that copulas such as 'X is Y' require the first noun X to be in the absolutive case (marked for animate nouns) but use the base form of the second noun Y. Thus 'the man is a soldier' would translate as mimýaħ ħúrwm (using zero copula, as usual for present tense) but 'the soldier is a man' would be ħúrwmoq mimy; where mimýaħ and ħúrwmoq are the absolutive forms of mimy (man) and ħúrwm (soldier).

<h4>Ergative and absolutive</h4>

Middle Ru mostly follows an ergative-absolutive alignment, meaning that one case (the ergative) is used for the subjects of transitive verbs (those who also have a an object) while a different case (the absolutive) is used for objects of transitive verbs and for the sole argument of intransitive verbs. This means that in the sentences 'the woman sees the bird' (transitive) and 'the man sleeps' (intransitive), the noun 'woman' would take the ergative case while 'bird' and 'man' would take the absolutive case. Intransitive verbs, rather than being thought of as verbs with a subject but no object, may be thought of in Middle Ru as having an absolutive object but no ergative subject instead.

The way these two cases are expressed depends on the nominal class of the noun. Class I nouns are unique in taking a suffix for the absolutive case while no suffixes are added for the ergative. On the other hand, other noun classes (II, III and IV) have and unmarked absolutive case and take different suffixes (depending on their nominal and vowel-harmony classes) for the ergative. This reflects the fact that animate class I nouns are more likely to appear as subjects in transitive sentences and thus remain unmarked in agent roles.

<table>
<tr>
<th colspan="2"></th>
<th>Absolutive</th>
<th>Ergative</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Class I</th>
<th>Clear harmony</th>
<td>-aħ</td>
<td rowspan="2">Unmarked</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Dark harmony</th>
<td>-oq</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Class II</th>
<th>Clear harmony</th>
<td rowspan="2">Unmarked</td>
<td>-at </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Dark harmony</th>
<td>-ås</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Class III</th>
<th>Clear harmony</th>
<td rowspan="2">Unmarked</td>
<td>-ix</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Dark harmony</th>
<td>-wx</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Class IV</th>
<th>Clear harmony</th>
<td rowspan="2">Unmarked</td>
<td>-yh</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Dark harmony</th>
<td>-uh</td>
</tr>
</table>

<h4>Secundative</h4>

Ditransitive verbs (those that, in addition to a subject, have both a direct object and an indirect object) feature a secundative alignment in Middle Ru, meaning that direct objects receive a separate 'secundative' case while indirect objects are marked with the same case as the only object of a monotransitive verb (in this case, with the absolutive case). This is the opposite of what occurs in most European languages where it is the indirect object that is marked with a third case (the dative).

The archetypical example of a ditransitive verb is the verb 'to give' (Middle Ru ʎu), which has a subject (the one that gives something to someone else) that is to be marked with the ergative case, a direct object (the thing given to someone else) that is to be marked with the secundative case and an indirect object (the person that is given the thing) which is marked with the absolutive case.

The secundative case is expressed with a suffix: -t for nouns whose base form ends in a vowel or /l/ (including singulatives), -et for other clear-harmony nouns and -wt for other dark-harmony nouns.

There are other verbs with three arguments, however, which may take different cases. For instance, in causative constructions (X makes Y do something [to Z]), the person X that causes the action to occur (Y does something [to Z]) will be expressed in the instrumental case instead. All four arguments are found in the following example:

Užwʎuwħåls swrħúrwm xek'a mimýaħ p'áñelt.
CAUS-give-PRF-3.ANIM>3.SG.PST INS-soldier woman man-ABS stone-SGV-SEC
The soldier (INS) had the woman (ERG) give the stone (SDT) to the man (ABS).

<h4>Possessives</h4>

Posession is expressed by having a possessive form of a noun follow the possessed noun: p'áñel lamimy for "the man's stone", literally "stone (p'áñel) of the man (lamimy, possessive form of mimy, 'man')".

Middle Ru possessives are generally formed with the prefixes la- and lå-. In some specific contexts, however, a different set of prefixes is used: ha- and hå-. The second set of prefixes are restricted to indicate the posession of body parts and certain relatives: parents, grandparents and other direct ancestors, sons and direct male-line descendants, siblings, uncles on the male line (ie brothers of one's father) and their sons (but not other kinds of cousins). Daughters and descendants other than in a direct-male line may uncommonly be described with a second-type posessive while, conversely, sisters and male-line cousins may be found with first-type possessives albeit rarely. This reflects the traditional Ru views of what relatives were considered to be an inalienable part of one's household, as the patriarchal patrilocal Ru society considered that daughters left their father's household upon marrying, joining her husband's instead. It should be noted, however, that ha-/hå- prefixes seem to have been restricted to blood-relatives; even though a married woman would be considered to have joined her husband's household, only her biological parents would be referred to as being haxek'a (possessive II), while her parents-in-law would always be described as laxek'a (possessive I).

Some words such as qana (family) may be described with either possessive: 'the woman's family' could be qana laxek'a or qana haxek'a, with no semantic difference between the two.

<h4>Locative</h4>

On its own, the locative case (expressed with the prefixes by- or bw-) is restricted to static location in or at a place. Other kinds of locative phrases will use an auxiliary word before the basic locative form of the noun. These preposition-like auxiliary nouns are often locative-case nouns themselves. For instance, 'below' uses the preposition bycym, the locative form of cym 'feet'; 'below the tree' becomes bycym byselk, literally 'at the foot of the tree'.

Locatives that apply to a complete sentence may be found either right after the verb or at the very end of the sentence. Locatives that describe the location of a noun follow the noun phrase they modify. This means that Myfarğaryls mimýaħ bycym byselk may translate either as "the man is sleeping below the tree" or as "the man below the tree is sleeping". The alternative form Myfarğaryls bycym byselk mimýaħ would unambiguously translate as 'the man is sleeping below the tree'.

<h4>Other cases</h4>

There are multiple constructions in Middle Ru that correspond to the English preposition 'with'.

The instrumental case (prefixes syr- and swr-) is used for indicating a tool employed to carry an action. This includes languages: ħorårwk swrħorwx lå Rgu for 'I speak in/using the (Middle) Ru language'. It should be noted, however, than tools may also be incorporated into a verb. The instrumental case is also used to indicate causative agents, as mentioned in the previous section about the dative case.

The ornative case (prefixes t'e- and t'o-) is used to indicate that the modified noun owns or is otherwise in possession or equipped with a thing. It could be "that has". For instance ɣen t'obot' translates as "a town (ɣen) with a river (bot')", a town that has access to a major river. Conversely, the privative case (prefixes myr- and mwr- is used to indicate a lack, 'without': ɣen mwrbot' 'a town without [acces to a major] river', 

In order to express that someone is accompanied by someone or something (rather than being in posession of the object as in the ornative case), the comitative clitic =rrä is used, which covers both the usage of English 'with' and 'and'. Thus, while xek'a t'emimy (woman ORN-man) translates as 'a woman with a man ~ that has a husband', the phrase xek'a mimýrra may be translated both as 'a woman accompanied by a man' or as 'a woman and a man'. The lack of distinction between the comitative usage of 'with' and the conjunction 'and' between nouns is rather common cross-linguistically. The clitic =rrä (-(a)rra or -(å)rrå depending on vowel harmony) may follow either noun and it is always suffixed to the last element of its noun phrase. Thus "the man in the river and the woman in the city" translates as either mimy bwbót'årrå xek'a byɣen or as mymy bwbot' xek'a byɣénarra. Using the clitic on both elements of a conjunction may be done for emphasis: mimy bwbót'årrå xek'a byɣénarra for 'both the man in the river and the woman in the city'. Since the =rrä clitic is not a case marker, it may be used in conjunction with case affixes: for instance in myfarğarmis emimýaħarra exek'áħarra, 'both the men and the women are sleeping', we see the clitic combined with the class I absolutive case endings.

Roles not covered by the aforementioned cases are typically handled through prepostions.

<h2>Pronouns</h2>

<table class="tg">
<tr>
<th class="tg-0pky" colspan="2"></th>
<th class="tg-0pky">Base form </th>
<th class="tg-0pky">Transitive subject </th>
<th class="tg-0pky">Intransitive subject</th>
<th class="tg-0pky">Transitive object</th>
<th class="tg-0pky">Secundative</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0pky" colspan="2">1s, I</th>
<td class="tg-0pky" colspan="3">rru</td>
<td class="tg-0pky">rroq</td>
<td class="tg-0pky">rrwt</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0pky" colspan="2">2s, you</th>
<td class="tg-0pky" colspan="3">ǵy</td>
<td class="tg-0pky">ǵwc</td>
<td class="tg-0pky">ǵyt</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0pky" rowspan="4">3s</th>
<th class="tg-0pky">Class I</th>
<td class="tg-0pky" colspan="2">ma'</td>
<td class="tg-0pky" colspan="2">maaħ</td>
<td class="tg-0pky">majet</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0pky">Class II</th>
<td class="tg-0pky" rowspan="3">ña</td>
<td class="tg-0pky">ñat</td>
<td class="tg-0pky" colspan="2" rowspan="3">ña</td>
<td class="tg-0pky" rowspan="3">ñajet</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0pky">Class III</th>
<td class="tg-0pky">nyajx</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0lax">Class IV</th>
<td class="tg-0lax">nyajh</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0lax" rowspan="2">1p</th>
<th class="tg-0lax">Exclusive we</th>
<td class="tg-0lax" colspan="3">orrus</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">orrusoq</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">orruswt</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0lax">Inclusive we</th>
<td class="tg-0lax" colspan="3">ǵyrgy</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">ǵyrgyc</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">ǵyrget</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0lax" colspan="2">2p, plural you</th>
<td class="tg-0lax" colspan="3">jeǵy</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">jeǵyc</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">jeǵyt </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0lax" rowspan="2">3p</th>
<th class="tg-0lax">Class I</th>
<td class="tg-0lax" colspan="2">ymy</td>
<td class="tg-0lax" colspan="2">ymyjaħ</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">ymyjet</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0lax">Other</th>
<td class="tg-0lax">iñy</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">iñat</td>
<td class="tg-0lax" colspan="2">iñy</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">iñet</td>
</tr>
</table>

Middle Ru pronouns differ from regular nouns in a number of ways. Most prominently, first and second person pronouns have an nominative-accusative alignment rather than the ergative-absolutive found elsewhere in the language. This means that first and second person pronouns that occur as the subject of an intransitive verb will have the same nominative form as subjects of transitive verbs while their objects get a different accusative form. This contrasts with the behaviour found in third person pronouns and regular nouns where intransitive arguments are found in the same absolutive as transitive objects, while it is transitive subjects that get a separate ergative case. 

First person plural pronouns ('we') also contrast clusivity. The exclusive pronoun orrus excludes the listener, being equivalent to "me and others, but not you". Meanwhile, the inclusive pronoun ǵyrgy indicates that the second person is also included, "you and me (and others)".

Singular third person pronouns must agree with the nominal class of their referent. Thus singular animate nouns will be referred to with the class-I pronoun ma' (he, she, singular they) while inanimate nouns will use ña (~ it) instead, with different ergative forms depending on their class (ñat for class-II, nyajx for class-III and nyajh for class-IV). Plural third person pronouns only observe an animacy distinction: class-I animates have ymy while inanimates have iñy, which declines in the same way for classes II, III and IV.

Possessives, locatives, instrumentals and other cases are formed regularly by applying the usual affixes to the base form of each pronoun. Thus we have lårru as an alineable possessive form of 'my', haǵy for inalienable 'your', byña for 'in it', t'eǵyrgy for 'including us' and so on.

It should be noted that Middle Ru is a pro-drop language. Since verbs are marked for their subjects and objects, pronouns are commonly dropped in those positions.

<h2>Verbs</h2>

As a polysynthetic language, Middle Ru features a rather complicated verb conjugation. Fortunately, the system is notoriously regular aside from a few exceptions.

A Middle Ru verb takes a series of affixes (both prefixes and suffixes) in order to indicate several grammatical categories such as voice, aspect, tense as well as person and number agreement both for subjects and objects. All these elements do always appear in the following fixed order:
<ul>
<li>Interrogative prefix</li>
<li>Voice prefix</li>
<li>Verb stem (most basic form of the verb)</li>
<li>Incorporated nouns (mostly tools)</li>
<li>Aspect</li>
<li>Tense, person and number (these categories are fused into a single suffix)</li>
<li>Negative suffix</li>
</ul>

This structure is true for indicative verbs. Other moods will be explained later on.

<h3>Polar questions</h3>

The interrogative prefix xe- / xo- is used to transform a sentence into a polar question (one that may be answered as 'yes' or 'no'). In addition to this, all questions carry a rising intonation.

Myfarğaryls mimýaħ.
The man is sleeping.
Xemyfarğaryls mimýaħ? (read in a rising intonation)
Is the man sleeping?

These kind of questions may be answered by using a positive or negative of the main verb (myfarğaryls, 'is sleeping', for 'yes' or myfarğarylsíma, 'isn't sleeping' for 'no') or, more commonly, by using the positive or negative forms of the verb 'to be', in this case sils (is) for 'yes' and ixýma (is not) for 'no'. In Late Middle Ru, the adverb zw (thus, that way) also became a popular alternative for 'yes'.

<h3>Voice prefixes and valency operations</h3>

Middle Ru verbs may take a prefix that alters their valency (the number of arguments they require).

<h4>Valency-reducing operations</h4>

Transitive verbs ordinarily require a subject and an object. Middle Ru grammar provides mechanisms that allow the speaker to specify only one of these arguments, either for focus or in case the identity of the other argument is unknown or irrelevant.

<h4>Unspecific subjects</h4>

In order to omit the subject, no voice-marking prefixes are required; instead a null subject is expressed by using the pronoun ga which is treated as a class I third person noun for the purposes of verb conjugation. As with any other pronoun (Middle Ru being a pro-drop language), it is possible to drop ga, although speakers may want to include it to in order to unambiguously convey they refer to an unspecific subject rather than to a previously named class I referrent. The pronoun ga could be loosely translated as 'someone', although it might also refer to an inanimate or plural referent.

Compare:
Zevarñi ħox mimy.
The man (subject, mimy) sees the mountain (object, ħox).

to the ga equivalent:
Zevarñi ħox ga
Someone sees the mountain / The mountain is seen.

For ditransitive verbs such as ʎu (to give), this strategy only applies to the indirect object (the one expressed in the absolutive case). Thus, the full phrase

Λuwħåls xek'aħ mimy p'áñelt.
The man (subject, mimy) gave the stone (direct object, p'áñel) to the woman (indirect object, xek'a).

can have its indirect object focused as:
Λuwħåls xek'aħ p'áñelt (ga).
The woman was given a stone (by someone).

In order to promote the direct object p'áñel ('the stone was given [to the woman)'), the type-II applicative voice must be used.

<h4>Antipassive</h4>

All Middle Ru verbs are required to have a primary argument that would take the absoluitve case, even though this argument may be implicit. For transitive verbs, said argument corresponds to the [indirect] object. In order to omit the object and place a focus on the subject, the subject (originally found in the ergative case) must be promoted to the absoluitive role.

The antipassive voice, formed by using the prefix rrav- or rråv, turns a transitive verb into an intransitive verb which takes as its only argument the original subject. As in intransitive verbs, this sole argument must be expressed in the absolutive case, rather than in the ergative case as in the original transitive verb.

For example, the antipassive voice can be used to promote the subject and omit the original object in the following sentence:

Zevarñi ħox mimy.
The man (subject, mimy) sees the mountain (object, ħox).

which becomes:

Rravzevaryls mimýaħ.
The man sees [something].

Notices how the absolutive form mimýaħ is required in the latter sentence. It shoudl also be noted that the ending of the verb changed from -arñi (which indicates that the verb has an animate agent) to -aryls (which doesn't indicate an agent and is thus used for intransitive verbs).

This also applies to ditransitive verbs. In this case, the indirect object (the person to whom something is given) is omitted while the direct object (the thing that is given) may still be kept in the secundative case or dropped as the speaker sees fit.

Λuwħåls xek'aħ mimy p'áñelt.
The man (subject, mimy) gave the stone (direct object, p'áñel) to the woman (indirect object, xek'a).

becomes:
Rråvʎuwlws mimýaħ (p'áñelt).
The man gave (a stone).

<h4>Reflexive</h4>

The reflexive voice (marked with the prefixes my- or mw-) is used to indicate that the subject and object of a transitive verb are the same; that the action is done by 'to oneself'. Reflexive verbs are treated as intransitives grammar-wise:

Myzevaryls mimýaħ.
The man sees himself.

A limited number of verbs such as (my)farğ (to sleep) require a reflexive prefix:

Myfarğaryls mimýaħ.
The man sleeps.

**Farğaryls mimýaħ.
UNGRAMMATICAL

Verbs such as (my)farğ are only found without the reflexive prefix when a different voice mark is used on them. For instance, the causative form of the verb ('to make someone sleep') is ižyfarğ rather than the doubly-marked **ižymyfarğ.

<h4>Causative</h4>

Causatives, formed by using the prefixes ižy- or užw-, are used to express that someone (or something) triggers an action. This voice increases the valency of a verb, as a new argument (the one that causes the action) is added to the original arguments of the verb.

Unusually, the new argument (the causer) is expressed in the instrumental case. However, even though this was the norm for educated speakers following the standard found in the capital during the heyday of the Ru kingdom, evidence suggests that using the ergative case was widespread, especially for originally intransitive verbs. This was also reflected in the polypersonal markings found in verb suffixes: while the standard called for the polypersonal marking to be unaffected by the causative, in practice it was common for speakers to mark the causer as the agent of the verb.

Examples include:

C'azarmis emimýaħ.
The men march forward. (a sentence with an intransitive verb)

Ižyc'azarmis swrħúrwm emimýaħ.
The soldier made the men march forward. (causative; educated standard but uncommon in informal settings; ħúrwm, 'the soldier', is found in the instrumental case and the verb does not mark the causer as its agent)

Ižyc'azarmix emimýaħ ħúrwm.
The soldier made the men march forward. (causative; doesn't follow the standard but was ubiquitous in practice; ħúrwm, 'the soldier', is found in the ergative case and the verb does marks the causer as its agent)

Dåfwmås sujm rríxyat.
The bird ate seeds. (a sentence with a transitive verb)

Užwdåfwmås syrmimy sujm rríxyat.
The man make the bird eat seeds ~ The man fed the bird seeds (causative; educated standard; causer in the instrumental case, verb marks rríxy, 'bird', as its agent)

Užwdåfwmåx sujm rríxyat mimy.
The bird ate seeds ~ The man fed the bird seeds (causative; non-standard; causer in the ergative case, the same as the original subject rríxy, verb marks mimy, 'man', as its agent)

The causative cannot be applied when there is already a voice prefix (with the exception of lexically reflexive verbs such as farğ, 'to sleep', which in this context lose drop reflexive prefix instead). For instance, 'the woman made the man look at himself' couldn't be expressed with the causative voice prefix as 'the man [looked] at himself' would require the reflexive voice prefix. In these contexts, a periphrastic construction with the verb årmå (to cause, to force) may be used instead:

Årmåwħåñ xek'a, myzevilys mimýaħ.
The woman made the man look at himself (literally 'The woman caused (it), the man looked at himself ')

The verb årmå is also the source of a verb suffix -rm which is used for derivations with a causative meaning, as in forming darm (to remind) from da (to remember). This suffix, however, was no longer productive in Middle Ru and is only found in a very limited number of words.

Type-I applicatives may also fullfill a similar role to causatives, although with different nuances.

<h4>Type-I Applicative</h4>

Middle Ru has two applicative voices: prefixes which promote an oblique argument (one that ordinarily isn't the object nor the subject of the verb) to the primary position, the one marked with the absolutive case.

Type-I applicatives (marked with the prefixes ke- and ko-) are used to promote an argument in a benefactive role, this is, a person for whom an action, that benefits from the situation. Unlike causatives, this object does not need to have caused or be otherwise involved in the action, but it will get a benefit from it. For instance the sentence:

Kecavdimax oħúrwmaħ mimy séket.
"The man cut the trees for the soldiers."

does not imply that the soldiers forced or even ordered the man to cut the trees but rather implies that the man did it on his own in order to ease their march. This contrasts with the causative form ižycavdimax swroħúrwm sek mimýaħ (the soldiers made the man cut the trees) where it could be assumed that the soldiers played an active role in having the man cut the tree.

In a type-I applicative, the benefited argument takes the absolutive case, while the argument that hold that position before (the object in a transitive verb or the subject in an intransitive verb) takes the secundative case instead, as seen in séket, the secundative form of sek (trees). The secundative argument may be dropped as in the following example:

Kocwñimax oħúrwmaħ mimy. 
The men built for the soldiers.

This could be short for kocwñimax oħúrwmaħ mimy k'ételt (the soldiers built a house for the soldiers), but puts the focus on the action the men undertook in benefit of the soldiers rather than on the result (what they did build for them).

Type-I applicatives may not be used with ditransitive verbs such as ʎu.

<h4>Type-II Applicative</h4>

Type-II applicatives (formed with the prefixes aj- and oj-) are used to promote a direct object of a a ditransitive verb to the primary absolutive role, originally occupied by the indirect object. Consider the phrase:

Λuwħåls xek'aħ mimy p'áñelt.
The man (subject, mimy) gave the stone (direct object, p'áñel) to the woman (indirect object, xek'a).

As it has been mentioned before, this phrase on its own takes the indirect object (the woman) as its primary argument. This allows a speaker to construct a sentence when only this argument is specified (arguments in brackets are optional):

Λuwħåls xek'aħ [ga] [p'áñelt].
The woman was given [the stone] [by somebody].

In order to do the same with the subject, the antipassive voice is needed, which moves the subject (originally marked in the ergative case) to the primary role:

Rråvʎuwlws mimýaħ [p'áñelt].
The man gave [the stone].

Type-II applicatives allow the speaker to do the same with the direct object (in this case, the object that is given to someone), which is promoted to the primary role and, as such, takes the absolutive case rather than the secundative:

Ojʎuwħañ p'áñel [mimy].
The stone was given [by the man].

<h3>The verb stem</h3>

The stem is the main morpheme that decides the meaning of the verb. A MIddle Ru verbal stem will always occur with at least one suffix although they will be listed on their most basic form in the dictionary..

Verb stems whose romanized forms seem to end in a vowel, such as da (to remember) actually have a glottal coda (unwritten between vowels): /da.ʔ/, as seen in the conjugated form daiħaŋ (I remembered it): /da.ʔiˈχaŋ/. This is still the case when the vowel in the suffix coincides with the last vowel in the stem, as in daarxes (you remember me): /da.ʔaɹˈʃøs/, although a relatively small number of speakers might have contracted these sequences to a bare vowel (yielding */daɹˈʃøs/ for da[a]rxes). It should be noted that contracting /V.ʔV/ to /V/ is a nearly universal phenomenon for nouns (for instance, the ergative form of c'áza is c'azat rather than **c'azaat). The absence of contractions in verbs might be a result of Middle Ru speakers considering the glottal stop as being part of the verb root itself rather than an artifact of the language's phonology as in nominal affixes.

<h3>Incorporated nouns</h3>

Middle Ru grammar allows nouns to be incorporated into verbs although this feature is not used as widely as in other polysynthetic languages.

In order to incorporate a noun into a verb, the base form of the noun (with no number nor case affixes) is added after the verb stem. A connecting affix -ö- (-e- or -o- depending on the vowel harmony class of the incorporated noun) is used except for vowel-initial nouns. For instance, incorporating the vowel-initial noun áɣa (land, dirt) to the verb myjt (to cover) results in forms such as myjtaɣaiħárga (I covered it with dirt ~ I buried it) while incorporating qana (family) to hwn (to rule) yields forms such as hwneqanaarmat (you belong to the ruling dynasty, literally 'you family-rule them'), with an extra e connecting the two words. It should be noted that incorporated nouns might belong to the opposite vowel harmony class as in the latter example (hwn being a dark-class verb while qana is a clear-class noun). In these cases, all suffixes occurring after the noun belong to the same harmony class as the noun. Because of this, we find the clear-harmony affixes -armat in hwneqanaarmat but their dark-harmony counterparts -årmåt when no noun is incorporated to the verb: hwnårmåt (you rule over them).

Incorporated nouns most commonly indicate an instrument or material used to perform an action. For instance, 'the city was built with stone' could be translated as cwñep'añeiħañ ɣen, literally 'they stone-built the city', incorporating p'áñe (stone) into the verb cwñ (to build). This kind of sentences, however, might also be expressed with the instrumental case as in cwñwħåñ ɣen syrp'áñe (literally 'they built the city with-stone') and the latter usage seems to have been favoured in official Cadarmeni documents. Incorporated nouns might also be used to indicate generic direct objects as in qyt'ek'et'aiħañ for 'they harvested rice' (incorporating k'ét'a, 'rice', into the verb qyt', 'to harvested') although this seems to have been limited to a few idiomatic examples.

Additionally, noun incorporation would occasionally yield phrases with an a priori unexpected idiomatic usage. As seen before, hwn (to rule) plus qana (family) yielded a verb that meant ' to belong to the ruling family'. A more systematic example is the usage of qurt (hands) to indicate that an action is done by oneself. For instance cavdoqurtwħåñ sek mimy, literally 'the man hand-cut the trees' will typically imply that the man cut all the trees 'by himself' rather than doing it 'by hand'. Qurt can be incorporated into a verb with a more literal meaning, however: dåfoqurtårmås (incorporating qurt to dåf, 'to eat') would be more likely to be understood as meaning 'I was eating them using my hands (not cutlery)' than 'I was eating them on my own'.

<h3>Aspect</h3>

Although in Middle Ru aspect-marking is fused with tense marking and personal agreement in the final suffix of the verb (aside from the negative suffix), aspect-marking proto-morphemes can be easily identified, even though their form may vary slightly depending on the following tense suffix. In general, it can be identified that the suffixes -ar- and -år- are used for the imperfective aspect, -iħ- and -wħ- are used for the perfective aspect while -iis- and -ujws- are used for the inchoative aspect.

Changes found in those base aspect affixes include:
<ul>
<li>The r (/ɹ/) in the imperfective suffixes is lost before tense+person markers which begin with alveolar trill rr (/r/). Some speakers may also drop that r before the uvular trill rg (/ʀ/) although this seems to have been proscribed in the Cadarmeni standard.</li>
<li>The final ħ of perfective suffixes and the final s of inchoative affixes are dropped before any tense+person marker with an initial vowel.</li>
</ul>

The following table illustrates the various forms aspect affixes may take for each vowel-harmony class under different circumstances.

<table>
<tr>
<th rowspan="3">Aspect</th>
<th rowspan="3">Vowel harmony class </th>
<th colspan="6">Shape of the tense affix</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Vowel initial</th>
<th colspan="2">Rhotic initial</th>
<th colspan="2">Other</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Aspect affix </th>
<th>Example: -aq / -åq (1s.PST)</th>
<th>Aspect affix </th>
<th>Example: -rra / -rrå (1s>3sA.PST)</th>
<th>Aspect affix</th>
<th>Example: -lys / -lws (3sA.PST)</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Imperfective</th>
<th>Clear</th>
<td>-ar-</td>
<td>-araq</td>
<td>-a-</td>
<td>-arra</td>
<td>-ar-</td>
<td>-arlys</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Dark</th>
<td>-år-</td>
<td>-åråq</td>
<td>-å-</td>
<td>-årrå</td>
<td>-år-</td>
<td>-årlws</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Perfective</th>
<th>Clear</th>
<td>-iħ-</td>
<td>-iħaq</td>
<td>-i-</td>
<td>-irra</td>
<td>-i-</td>
<td>-ilys</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Dark</th>
<td>-wħ- </td>
<td>-wħåq</td>
<td>-w-</td>
<td>-wrrå</td>
<td>-w-</td>
<td>-wlws</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Inchoative</th>
<th>Clear</th>
<td>-iis-</td>
<td>-iisaq</td>
<td>-ii-</td>
<td>-iirra</td>
<td>-ii-</td>
<td>-iilys</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Dark</th>
<td>-ujws-</td>
<td>-ujwsáq</td>
<td>-ujw-</td>
<td>-ujwrrå</td>
<td>-ujw-</td>
<td>-ujwlws</td>
</tr>
</table>

<h4>Perfective and imperfective</h4>

The perfective aspect is used to indicate an action that ocurred at a given point in time which may be used as a reference for further actions. On the other hand, the action described by an imperfective verb takes place during a period of time, set in relation to certain reference point which might be the present (for a verb marked as having the non-past tense) or the point in time set by a perfective verb.

In the past-tense, the distinction between perfective and imperfective is verbs is analogous to the one found in Spanish and approximately corresponds to the distinction between simple past and past progressive (or past continuous) in English:

Zevisax.
see-PRFV-1s>2s.PST
I saw you / I've seen you (Spanish perfective past te vi)

Zevarsax.
see-IPFV-1s>2s.PST
I was seeing you, I saw you [during that time] (Spanish imperfective past te veía)

The non-past tense is most commonly found along the imperfective aspect in order to express events that take place at the present:

Zevarsix.
see-IPFV-1s>2s.NPST
I see you, I am seeing you.

Non-past tense-endings are used along perfective affixes in order to indicate an action or event that has not taken place. This covers both sentences concerning the future as well as hypothetical situations.

Zevisix [múnå].
see-PFV-1s>2s.NPST [tomorrow]
I will see you [tomorrow]

Zevisix, kaj zeviħyxet.
see-PFV-1s>2s.NPST therefore see-PFV-2s>1s
If I saw you (hypothetical) then you would see me

It should be noted that the primary meaning of the perfective and imperfective affixes is still a matter of whether the event can be thought as establishing a reference in time (as it is the effect when using a perfective) or extending over a period fixed to an existing reference frame (which might be either the present or a time frame previously referenced through a perfective). Thus, while non-past imperfectives would commonly translate as present-tense verb in English, they might also refer to an event which takes place concurrently with another event in the future, as it's the case for the second verb in this sentence:

Zevisix múnå, sw savarŋi!
see-PFV-1s>2s.NPST tomorrow then regret-IPFV-2s>3sI.NPST
I will see you tomorrow and then you will regret it

<h4>Inchoatives and cessatives</h4>

The affixes -ii(s)- and -ujw(s)- are used to indicate the onset of an action or state; that the action is beginning. This onset might have happened in the past (in which case in inchoactive affix is to be used with a past-tense marker) or in the present or future (for which non-past endings are used):

Cavdiisañ sek mimy.
cut-INCH-3sA>3si.PST tree man
The man began to cut down the trees.

Cavdiiñi sek mimy.
cut-INCH-3sA>3si.NPST tree man
The man begins to cut down the trees.

One particularity of Middle Ru's inchoative affix is that it becomes a cessative (indicating the end of an action) when the verb is marked as negative. Thus, negating the previous examples yields:

Cavdiisañíma sek mimy.
cut-INCH-3sA>3si.PST.NEG tree man
The man stopped cutting down the trees.

Cavdiiñiʎíma sek mimy.
cut-INCH-3sA>3si.NPST-NEG tree man
The man stops cutting down the trees.

In order to truly negate an inchoative (indicating that the event didn't begin, rather than it stopped) the adverb eʎíma (roughly translatable as 'not yet') may be used after the verb. The same can be done for cessatives (ie verbs with the inchoative affix already marked as negative):

Cavdiisañ eʎíma sek mimy.
cut-INCH-3sA>3si.PST.NEG not_yet tree man
The man didn't start cutting down the trees [yet].

Cavdiisañíma eʎíma sek mimy.
cut-INCH-3sA>3si.PST.NEG not_yet tree man
The man didn't stop cutting down the trees [yet].

<h3>Tense and person</h3>

The final mandatory affix in a Middle Ru verb encapsulates information about its tense (in a past vs non-past contrast that was exemplified in the preceding section) and its arguments, potentially including hints at both its subject and its object. These affixes are fusional in nature: although its Proto Ru-Hulam etymology might hint at which phonemes stood for each category and despite the fact that some of those patterns can still be observed to some degree in Middle Ru affixes (while others have eroded past recognizability), these final affixes cannot be broken into separate tense, subject and object markers but form a single unit that might express all three categories. For instance, the suffix -yxet can be considered a single unit marking the verb as having non-past tense, a second person agent role (subject) and a first person singular object role rather than a sequence of marker for each of those categories.

Each tense×person (or TP) affix marks a tense (non-past or past) and a person for the verb's O-role, the one that would take the absolutive case (that is, the subject for an intransitive verb, the object for a transitive verb and the indirect object for a ditransitive verb). A TP affix may also include information about the verb's A-role, which corresponds to the subject in transitive and ditransitive verbs; the argument generally marked with the ergative case in Middle Ru's grammar. Grammatical persons are expressed differently for each role; for instance O-role marking accounts for number while A-role marking doesn't.

Affixes that are not marked for any A-role are used for intransitive verbs, reflexive verbs (marked with the reflexive prefix my- or mw-) as well as for transitive/ditransitive verbs whose A-role corresponds to an ininamiate third person referent ('it', or an inanimate 'they'); as in the following examples, all of which use the affix -aq / -åq, which marks past-tense, the first person singular (I, me) as its O-role and leaves the A-role unmarked:

C'aziħaq.
I marched (intransitive verb; the O-role indicates the subject)

Myzeviħaq.
I saw myself (reflexive verb; the O-role indicates the argument that is simultaneous the object an the subject)

Bruswħåq!
It crushed me! (transitive verb; the O-role indicates the object, the subject is an inanimate third person referent, 'it')

Certain combinations of O-roles and A-roles are not allowed. This occurs whenever the O-role coincides with the A-role or when the A-rule refers to a group that includes the O-role (for instance if the A-role was 'inclusive we' and the O-role was 'I' or 'you').

The affixes, in both its vowel-harmony variants, are as follows:

<table>
<tr>
<th colspan="8">NON-PAST TENSE</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>O-role:</th>
<th>1s, me</th>
<th>2s, you</th>
<th>3s.ANIM</th>
<th>3s.INAN</th>
<th>1p (exclusive)</th>
<th>1p (inclusive)</th>
<th>2p or 3p</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>A-role:</th>
<td colspan="7"></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Unmarked, reflexive or inanimate third person </th>
<td>-yk -wk </td>
<td>-is -us </td>
<td>-yls -wls </td>
<td>-ñi -ñw </td>
<td>-mirri -murru </td>
<td>-ŋyr -ŋwr </td>
<td>-mis -mus </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>1s or 1p.EX </th>
<td>(not used) </td>
<td>-six -sux </td>
<td>-ýrra -ẃrrå</td>
<td rowspan="2">-árgy -ǻrgu</td>
<td colspan="2">-ŋyx -ŋwx </td>
<td rowspan="2">-mik -muk </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>1p.IN </th>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>-rgi -rgu </td>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>(not used)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>2s or 2p</th>
<td>-yxet -wxot </td>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>-ils -uls </td>
<td>-ŋi -ŋu </td>
<td>-miz -muz </td>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>-mit -mut </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>3s.ANIM or 3p.ANIM </th>
<td>-yx -wx </td>
<td>-it -ut </td>
<td>-ylx -wlx</td>
<td>-ñi -ñw </td>
<td>-mírra -múrrå </td>
<td>-ŋyr -ŋwr </td>
<td>-mix -mux </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="8">PAST TENSE</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>O-role:</th>
<th>1s, me</th>
<th>2s, you</th>
<th>3s.ANIM</th>
<th>3s.INAN</th>
<th>1p (exclusive)</th>
<th>1p (inclusive)</th>
<th>2p or 3p</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>A-role:</th>
<td colspan="7"></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Unmarked, reflexive or inanimate third person </th>
<td>-aq -åq </td>
<td>-as -os </td>
<td>-lys -lws </td>
<td>-aŋ -åŋ </td>
<td>-mir -mur </td>
<td>-ŋir -ŋur </td>
<td>-mas -mås </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>1s or 1p.EX</th>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>-sax -såx </td>
<td>-rra -rrå </td>
<td rowspan="2">-árga -ǻrgå</td>
<td colspan="2">-aŋak -åŋåk </td>
<td rowspan="2">-mak -måk </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>1p.IN</th>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>-árxa -ǻrxå </td>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>(not used)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>2s or 2p</th>
<td>-xes -xos </td>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>-ílsy -úlsw </td>
<td>-aŋy -åŋw </td>
<td>-mas -mås </td>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>-mat -måt </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>3s.ANIM or 3p.ANIM </th>
<td>-ax -åx</td>
<td>-at -åt </td>
<td>-als -åls</td>
<td>-añ -åñ </td>
<td>-mir -mur </td>
<td>-ŋir -ŋur </td>
<td>-max -måx </td>
</tr>
</table>

It should be noticed, however, that some of these affixes might appear in a modified when used along the negatives suffix, as it shall be explained in the following section.

<h3>Negatives</h3>

Negative verbs are marked with an additional suffix whose shape depends on the TP affix of the verb. It should be noted that negative constructions alter the semantics of inchoative verbs, as discussed on the previous section about that aspect.

The base form of the negative suffix is -ʎíma for words in the clear vowel-harmondy class and -ʎúmå. This form is used to negate verbs which would otherwise end in a vowel:

Zevarýrra mimýaħ.
I see the man.

Zevaryrraʎíma mimýaħ.
I do not see the man.

Verbs whose TP affix ends in a /k/ or a /q/ lose that final consonant and get modified suffix -ʕíma or -ʕúmå:

Zevimak emimýaħ.
I saw the men.

Zevimaʕíma emimýaħ.
I did not see the men.

Verbs whose TP affix ends in any other consonant get the reduced negative affixes -íma or -ýmå:

Zevarmix.
I see you.

Zevarmixíma.
I do not see you.

<h3>Other verb forms</h3>

While most verbal inflections conform to the previously described sequence of affixes (interrogative-voice-stem-tool-aspect-TP-negative), there is a limited number of inflectional forms that follows a different structure. This is true for imperatives and participles.

<h4>Imperatives</h4>

There exist two ways to issue a command in Middle Ru: using what is known as a true imperative or by using a periphrastic construction known as the humble imperative.

True imperatives are used whenever both speakers have a similar social status or if it is the one issuing the command who has a higher status. These verbs only deviate from the general conjugation structure in the fact the aspect and TP affixes are replaced with the suffixes -avt or -ot for positive commands or -eʎimavt or -oʎumot for negative commands. Contrary to what is typically found in the language, Middle Ru true imperatives could be said to have a nominative-accusative alignment, as the person receiving the imperative is intended the take the subject role both in intransitive and transitive verbs. Commands related to other roles may be issued by using voice affixes as described in the table below. It should be noted that Middle Ru true imperatives are not marked for person and thus independent pronouns are more likely to be necessary.

<table>
<tr>
<th>Voice</th>
<th>Imperative role</th>
<th colspan="2">Example</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Active (default) Intransitive verb </th>
<td>Subject (O-role, absolutive) </td>
<td>C'azavt!</td>
<td>March forward!</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Active (default) Transitive verb </th>
<td>Subject (A-role, ergative) </td>
<td>Zevavt ña!</td>
<td>Look at that!</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Antipassive</th>
<td colspan="3">Not used for true imperatives</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Reflexive </th>
<td>Reflexive argument, (subject and object)</td>
<td>Myzevavt!</td>
<td>Look at yourself!</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Object (O-role, absolutive) </th>
<td>Myevavt hev!</td>
<td>Be seen by the king! ~ Let the king see you!</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Causative</th>
<td>Causative agent </td>
<td>Ižyc'azavt emimy!</td>
<td>Make the men march!</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Type-I applicative </th>
<td colspan="3">Not used for true imperatives</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Type-II applicative </th>
<td colspan="3">Theoretically used for direct objects of ditransitive verbs, but never found in practice. </td>
</tr>
</table>

Humble imperatives, on the other hand, are formed periphrastically by using a regularly-conjugated form of the verb har, 'to ask' followed by the desired action. As the name for this construction suggest, humble imperatives are mostly used in situations where the speaker might have a lower social status than the listener, and thus asks them humbly rather than imposing their command with a true imperative. The verb har will be typically found as hararsix for orders issued to a singular you or hararmik for imperatives issued to a plural you. These verbs would be negated as usual, resulting in hararsixíma and hararmiʕíma for 'I did not ask you [to]'. The following table shows the humble equivalents to the previous examples assuming the command is issued to a single person (otherwise verbs would be conjugated for 2p instead of 2s):

<table>
<tr>
<th colspan="4">Examples</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>True imperative</th>
<th>Humble imperative</th>
<th>Translation</th>
<th>Humble, literally </th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>C'azavt!</td>
<td>Hararsix, c'aziħis.</td>
<td>March forward!</td>
<td>I request you that you march forward.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Zevavt ña!</td>
<td>Hararsix, zeviŋi.</td>
<td>Look at that!</td>
<td>I request you that you look at it.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Myzevavt!</td>
<td>Hararsix, myzeviħis.</td>
<td>Look at yourself!</td>
<td>I request that you look at yourself.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Myevavt hev!</td>
<td>Hararsix, zeviħit hev.</td>
<td>Be seen by the king! ~ Let the king see you!</td>
<td>I request you that the king sees you.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Ižyc'azavt emimy!</td>
<td>Hararsix, ižic'azimis emimiy.</td>
<td>Make the men march!</td>
<td>I request you that the men are made to march.</td>
</tr>
</table>

Imperatives of either kind may be followed by a noun in the instrumental case in order to indicate some authority in whose name the command is issued. This was particularly frequent in edicts, which featured the word syrhev (with the king), in order to indicate that the orderes were issued 'in the name of the king'.

<h4>Participles and relative clauses</h4>

The participle of a Middle Ru verb is used to describe a noun phrase as being the O-role of said verb. In this sense, their behaviour is close to what an English speaker might expect of an adjective (and the Middle Ru equivalents of English adjectives are indeed handled through participles). Middle Ru participles are not marked for time; azéva (the participle of zev, 'to see'), roughly translatable as 'seen', could refer to something that has been "seen", something that is "seen" at the moment or something that is to be "seen" in the future or which would be "seen" during a hypothethical scenario.

Participles follow a drastically different structure than finite (or 'conjugated') Middle Ru verbs, being only marked by voice. The most basic form of participle, corresponding to the default unmarked voice, is constructed by a circumfix: a-(stem)-a for clear-harmony verbs (as in the previously mentioned example azéva, 'seen', from zev, 'to see') or å-(stem)-o (as in åcẃño, 'built', from cuñ, 'to build') for dark-harmony verbs. Unlike other verb forms, participles are stressed on the verb stem itself.

A basic Middle Ru participle corresponds to its O-role, the argument that would be put in absolutive case when following the verb: the subject for intransitive verbs (thus ac'áza, from c'az, 'to march', could be translated as 'marching'), the object for regular transitive verbs (azéva meaning 'seen' rather than 'seeing') and the indirect object for ditransitive verbs (åʎúo meaning 'having received', from ʎu, 'to give'). Participles for other roles can be constructed by replacing the initial a- or å- with a voice prefix. This allows for participles related to a transitive subject using the antipassive voice mark as in rravzéva ('seeing', 'that sees/saw'), reflexive participles such as myzéva ('that sees themself') , causative participles such as ižyzéva ('that makes/made someone to see', also used as a noun meaning "prophet, guru"), type-I aplicatives for benefactive participles such as kezéva ('that had someone see something for its benefit') and type-II applicatives for ditransitive direct objects: ojʎúo ('that was given [to someone]').

Negative participles are preceded by the particle žwm which is also used a noun meaning 'nobody'. Thus žwm azéva transaltes as 'not seen'.

Participles are often used in place where a relative clause would be used in English. For instance, the phrase "the man who marched forward" is expressed in Middle Ru as mimy ac'áza. The participle itself may be followed by arguments (other than it's O-role) as if it was a primary verb: k'et åcẃño mimy (house PTC-build-PTC man) for 'the house built by the man'.

A different structure is required for relative clauses where the described noun phrase occupies a role other than the participle verb's O-role (and thus requires a voice mark like antipassive rrav-/rråv-) with the original O-role being included as part of the relative clause. This is the case in the phrase 'the man that saw the mountain', where the described noun ('the man', mimy) takes the A-role (ergative, subject of transitive zev, 'to see') and the relative predicate includes the original O-role (the object, ħox). This requires a structure where the described noun is followed by the particle a (regardless of the vowel harmony class of any neighbouring words), the original O-role and then the participle with the appropriate participles:

mimy a ħox rravzéva
man REL mountain ANTP-see-PTC
the man that sees/saw the mountain

It should be noted that this kind of structures cannot be used by roles not covered by voice prefixes. For instance, in 'the mountains where the man sleeped', the described noun 'mountains' occupies a locative role in the relative sentence (the man sleeped in the mountains). This kind of constructions can only be translated by expressing the full sentence (for instance, mentioning that the man sleeped in the mountains in a separate sentence before referencing those mountains again).

<h3>The copula verbs</h4>

In English, the copula verb 'to be' fulfills a number of functions, including noun-noun copula (describing one thing as being another, as in "John is a man"), adjective-noun copula (indicating that an adjective apples to a given noun or noun phrase as in "John is tall") and an existential usage (indicating that something exists, often in relation to a location as in "John is in the city"). In Middle Ru, those constructions are handled in different ways.

Noun-noun copula, be it indicating identity ("John is my father", here the two arguments are identified as being the same individual) or membership to a given class ("John is a man"), may be expressed with the copula verb mi, which could be considered to be the closest Middle Ru counterpart to English 'to be'. This kind of expressions, however, are often handled without any verbs (what is known as zero-copula, a common tactic cross-linguistically), simply putting the two phrases one next to the other. The first element in this type of copula must be expressed in the absolutive case, while the second one is used in its base, suffix-less form, as shown in the following examples:

Mazávaħ ata hårru.
Mazáva is my father.

Ataħ hårru Mazáva.
My father is Mazáva.

Mazávaħ mimy.
Mazáva is a man.

The verb mi is only used when one of the two elements is a pronoun (third person pronouns being an exception to this rule), when the speaker wants to indicate a tense/aspect for the relationship that wouldn't be obvious from context (for instance, to indicate that the identity is no longer true) or simply for emphasis. When a form of mi is used, the argument represented by the pronoun is often omitted, but it may be left in the sentence for emphasis.

Mix Mazáva.
I am Mazáva.

Arys Mazávaħ bavba. Bysyn, maaħ mimy.
Mazáva used to be a baby. Now, he is a man.

Sils Mazávaħ mimy.
Mazáva is indeed a man.

Mix rru ata haǵy.
I am your father.

As it is often the case for copula verbs, Middle Ru mi is massively irregular. Fortunately, the number of forms to be memorized is somewhat limited as the verb may only be marked for a single person (instead of featuring polypersonal agreement). It's conjugation takes contrasts aspect (perfective or imperfective; mi cannot be marked for the inchoative/cessative aspect), tense, person for one of its arguments and polarity (affirmative vs negative; the interrogative prefix is also accepted), as shown in the following table:

<table>
<tr>
<th rowspan="3"></th>
<th colspan="4">Affirmative, 'to be'</th>
<th colspan="4">Negative, 'not to be'</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Imperfective</th>
<th colspan="2">Perfective</th>
<th colspan="2">Imperfective</th>
<th colspan="2">Perfective</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Non-past</th>
<th>Past</th>
<th>Non-past</th>
<th>Past</th>
<th>Non-past</th>
<th>Past</th>
<th>Non-past</th>
<th>Past</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>1s, I</th>
<td>mix</td>
<td>amaq</td>
<td>imix</td>
<td>maq</td>
<td>mixýma</td>
<td>amaʕíma</td>
<td>imixíma</td>
<td>maʕíma</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>2s, you</th>
<td>sut</td>
<td>åmos</td>
<td>wsut</td>
<td>mos</td>
<td>mysýma</td>
<td>åmosúmå </td>
<td>wsutúmå</td>
<td>mosúmå</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>3s.ANIM</th>
<td>sils</td>
<td>arys</td>
<td>ysils</td>
<td>ihys</td>
<td>ixýma</td>
<td>arysíma</td>
<td>ysilsíma</td>
<td>ihysíma</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>3s.INAN</th>
<td>eñi</td>
<td>araŋ</td>
<td>ħeñi</td>
<td>ħaŋ</td>
<td>ŋiʎíma</td>
<td>aransíma</td>
<td>ħeñiʎíma</td>
<td>hansíma</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>1p.EX</th>
<td>mirri</td>
<td>amir</td>
<td>imirri</td>
<td>imir</td>
<td>mirxýma</td>
<td>amirsíma</td>
<td>imirriʎíma</td>
<td>imirsíma</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>1p.IN</th>
<td>ŋirri</td>
<td>aŋir</td>
<td>iŋirgi</td>
<td>iŋir</td>
<td>ŋirxýma</td>
<td>aŋirsíma</td>
<td>iŋirgiʎíma</td>
<td>iŋirsíma</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>2p / 3p</th>
<td>mis</td>
<td>amas</td>
<td>imis</td>
<td>imas</td>
<td>misýma</td>
<td>amasíma</td>
<td>imisíma</td>
<td>amasíma</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Imperative</th>
<td colspan="4">mavt</td>
<td colspan="4">meʎimavt</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Participle</th>
<td colspan="4">amia</td>
<td colspan="4">-</td>
</tr>
</table>

Forms of the verb mi are also commonly used as answers for polar questions.

Adjectives behave like verbs in Middle Ru and thus adjective-noun copula does not require an equivalent of the verb 'to be'. For instance, the equivalent to the English adjective 'tall' is ğwn which may also be translated as 'to be tall'. This subject will be covered in more depth in the following section.

Finally, Middle Ru uses the verb se (conjugated regularly in the Cadarmeni standard, although irregular forms such as *sar- for sear- are attested for other dialects) for existential copula. This often corresponds to English 'there is' or 'there are', indicating the presence of an object or person.

Searmis emimýaħ ñy.
There are ten men.

Searlysíma Mazávaħ byɣen .
Mazáva wasn't at the city.

<h3>Adjectives</h3>

In Middle Ru, adjectives do not really exist as a separate word class. Instead, for all purposes they act as a subset of intransitive verbs.

In many cases, the basic form of an adjective, such as axan for 'old, elderly', is better thought of as a verb, in this case meaning 'to be old'. Thus, a predicative phrase such as "the man is old" translates by appending the usual verbal affixes to axan:

Axanaryls mimýaħ
The man is old.

Meanwhile, an attributive usage of the adjective, such as 'old' in the noun phrase 'an old man', is handled by the participle, in this case 'aaxána' (literally 'that is old'):

mimy aaxána
[an] old man, a man that is old

Being functionally identical to verbs, Middle Ru adjectives can take any affix that could apply to verbs. For instance, the causative prefix ižy- may be used to form the verb ižyaxan-, meaning 'to cause [something or somebody] to grow old, to age'.

Comparatives (and superlatives) are expressed through the prefix ñir- or ñwr-, meaning 'to surpass', which may also be applied to any other verb in order to express than an action has been conducted to a higher degree than some reference level. This prefix is not to be confused with a voice mark as it does not modify the valency of the verb. Thus, ñiraxan is not to be understood as transitive 'to be older than [someone]' but as a still-intransitive 'to be older', without making explicit who the person or object is older than, which is left out to context. Examples include:

Ñiraxanarlys mimýaħ.
The man was older / the man was the oldest.

Axanarlys xek'aħ, ñiraxanarly mimýaħ.
The woman was old, the man was older ~ The man was older than the woman.

Zeviħals mimýaħ añiraxána.
She saw an older man.

<h2>Numerals</h2>

Middle Ru uses a base-20 or 'vigesimal' numeration with an auxiliary sub-base of 10. This means that rather than grouping numbers in tens, hundreds and further powers of ten, they use powers of 20. Numbers up to 19 are treated as if they were single-digit numbers although the numerals from 11 to 19 are expressed as 'ten and [one to nine]'. Thus, the number 98, rather than being constructed as 'nine times ten (ninety) and eight' is expressed as tojåt ñy xii 'four times (to) twenty (-jat/-jåt), ten (ñy) and eight (xii)', a wording identical to that used in French « quatre vingt dix huit » or old-fashoned English 'four score and eighteen'. However, while French only uses vigesimal constructions to a limited extent (for numbers between 80 and 99), all Middle Ru numbers from 21 (jat ylárra, literally. 'twenty and one') to 399 (ñysetjat ñy sot, literally 'nineteen-twenties ten nine', where ñyset-, 'nineteen' is itself a variant of ñy sot, 'ten nine') are formed by expressing the number by a multiple of twenty and its reminder. Larger numbers are built using higher powers of 20, such as c'et for 20² = 400, háraŋ for 20³ = 8000, harña for 160 000 and harac'et for 3 200 000. Even higher powers (harahara, haraharña, haraharac'et, haraharahara...) are occassionally attested in texts but do not seem to have had any practical use.

Digits from 1 to 19 and their combining forms for multiples of 20 and 400 are as follows:

<table>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Units</th>
<th colspan="2">Multiples of 20</th>
<th colspan="2">Multiples of 20² = 400</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>1</th>
<td>ýla, ylárra</td>
<th>20</th>
<td>jat, játel</td>
<th>400</th>
<td>c'et, c'étel</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>2</th>
<td>ysy</td>
<th>40</th>
<td>ysyjat</td>
<th>800</th>
<td>ysyc'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>3</th>
<td>ži</td>
<th>60</th>
<td>žijat</td>
<th>1200</th>
<td>žic'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>4</th>
<td>to</td>
<th>80</th>
<td>tojåt</td>
<th>1600</th>
<td>tec'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>5</th>
<td>za</td>
<th>100</th>
<td>zajat</td>
<th>2000</th>
<td>zac'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>6</th>
<td>yza</td>
<th>120</th>
<td>yzajat</td>
<th>2400</th>
<td>yzac'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>7</th>
<td>siri</td>
<th>140</th>
<td>sirijat</td>
<th>2800</th>
<td>siric'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>8</th>
<td>xii</td>
<th>160</th>
<td>xiijat</td>
<th>3200</th>
<td>xiic'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>9</th>
<td>sot</td>
<th>180</th>
<td>sotjåt</td>
<th>3600</th>
<td>setc'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>10</th>
<td>ñy</td>
<th>200</th>
<td>ñyjat</td>
<th>4000</th>
<td>ñyc'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>11</th>
<td>ñy ýla</td>
<th>220</th>
<td>ñylajat</td>
<th>4400</th>
<td>ñylac'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>12</th>
<td>ñy ysy</td>
<th>240</th>
<td>ñysyjat</td>
<th>4800</th>
<td>ñysyc'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>13</th>
<td>ñy ži</td>
<th>260</th>
<td>ñyžijat</td>
<th>5200</th>
<td>ñyžic'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>14</th>
<td>ñy to</td>
<th>280</th>
<td>ñytejat</td>
<th>5600</th>
<td>ñytec'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>15</th>
<td>ñy za</td>
<th>300</th>
<td>ñyzajat</td>
<th>6000</th>
<td>ñyzac'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>16</th>
<td>ñy yza</td>
<th>320</th>
<td>ñyzajat</td>
<th>6400</th>
<td>ñyzac'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>17</th>
<td>ñy siri</td>
<th>340</th>
<td>ñysirijat</td>
<th>6800</th>
<td>ñysiric'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>18</th>
<td>ñy xii</td>
<th>360</th>
<td>ñyxiijat</td>
<th>7200</th>
<td>ñyxiic'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>19</th>
<td>ñy sot</td>
<th>380</th>
<td>ñysetjat</td>
<th>7600</th>
<td>ñysetc'et</td>
</tr>
</table>

The number 'one' is always expressed as ýla, although in combining forms it may also appear as ylárra (literally 'and one', although shifting the stress to the second syllable unlike the more general usage of the affix -rra). The form ylárra is most commonly found after 'round' numbers such as jat (twenty); in a sense ylárra indicates that the value is one more than a number that would be more likely to be expected. The forms játel and c'étel alternate with jat and c'et (respectively) when not followed by any further numerals.

Unlike English, Middle Ru numerals always follow the noun to which they apply: emimy jat for '20 men'.

Ordinals are formed in a relatively unusual way. The first element is described as ac'ála, the participle of c'al, 'to come first'. Other ordinals are formed by using the particle swr and the number of elements that come before, followed by the suffix -(a)rra / -(å)rrå. Thus, 'the second man' becomes mimy swr ýlarra (~ man preceded by one other); 'the tenth mountain' becomes ħóxol swr sótårrå (~ mountain preceded by nine others) and so on.

<h1>The Middle Ru script</h1>

The Middle Ru script, the native writing system for the language, is an abugida where each consonant is represented by a letter while vowels other than /a/ are marked through diacritics above the consonant. Much as in the Brahmic scripts from India, a virama mark is used to supress the inherent /a/ in a consonant in order to mark codae. Thus, the word xek'aħ (absolutive singular form of xek'a, 'woman') would be written with the consonant letter for X plus the E diacritic, the consonant letter for K' (which, on its own is read as k'a), the consonant letter for Ħ with the virama diacritic to indicate that it is to be read as a word-final -ħ rather than as the sequence ħa. The abugida is supposed to be a descendant from the Ancient Hulamic script used for Proto Ru-Hulam.

The glyphs used for Middle Ru consonants have a characteristic shape based on a slightly curved slanted lined over which further strokes are drawn (except for the glottal stop, marked by the slanted line alone). The characters are partially featural. For instance, the glyphs ejectives are clearly derived from the corresponding plain plosives.

[[File:Middle_ru_consonants.png|frameless|center|Middle Ru consonants]]

Vowels other than A are marked with diacritics. Occasionally, the vowel Å and the no-vowel or virama mark might be omitted in a text; although the norm is to include all relevant diacritics.

[[File:Middle_ru_vowels.png|frameless|center|Middle Ru vowels]]

Words are often separated by spaces although this is inconsistent. Some texts (particularly earlier ones) are written with no spaces whatsoever (scripta continua). On the opposite end, some texts also use spaces to separate each affix. Few punctuation marks are used; sentences are typically separated with an apostrophe-like mark.

<h2>Numerals</h2>

Middle Ru script also has its own way of representing numbers. Unique symbols are used for the numbers 1, 4, 5 and 10, which are combined in order to form simple or composite symbols for each digit from 1 to 19. Then unique symbols are used for powers of 20, which are combined with digits in order to form any number.

[[File:Middle_ru_numerals.png|frameless|center|Middle Ru numerals]]

<h1>Sample sentences</h1>

<div style='margin-top: 25px; margin-bottom: 50px; margin-left: 30px'>
[[File:Middle_ru_sample_1.png|frameless|left|Middle Ru sample sentence]]
<h3>C'ymarmas mimýaħ xek'áħarra.</h3>
/cʼy.maɹˈmas mi.myˈʔaχ ʃøˈkʼa.χa.ra/
<table style='border: none; margin-top: 0px;'>
<tr style='border: none;'><td style='border: none; text-align: left;' colspan="4">
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>c'ym-ar-mas</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>mimy-aħ</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>xek'a-aħ</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>=rra</td>
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>walk-IPFV-PST.3p</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>man-ABS</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>woman-ABS</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>=and</td>
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;' colspan='4'>
</td></tr>
</table>
A man and a woman were walking.
</div><div style='margin-top: 25px; margin-bottom: 50px; margin-left: 30px'>

[[File:Middle_ru_sample_2.png|frameless|left|Middle Ru sample sentence]]
<h3>Xezevarmix emimýaħ exek'a?</h3>
/ʃø.zø.waɹˈmiʃ ʔø.mi.myˈʔaχ ʔø.ʃøˈkʼa/
<table style='border: none; margin-top: 0px;'>
<tr style='border: none;'><td style='border: none; text-align: left;' colspan="3">
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>xe-zev-ar-mix</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>e-mimy-aħ</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>e-xek'a</td>
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>INT-see-IPFV-NPST.3p.ANIM>3p</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>PL-man-ABS</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>PL-woman</td>
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;' colspan='3'>
</td></tr>
</table>
Do the women see the men?
</div><div style='margin-top: 25px; margin-bottom: 50px; margin-left: 30px'>

[[File:Middle_ru_sample_3.png|frameless|left|Middle Ru sample sentence]]
<h3>Λuwsåxúmå ǵwc rru p'áñelt.</h3>
/ʎu.ʔʉ.sɒˈʃu.mɒ ɟʉc ru ˈpʼa.ɲølt/
<table style='border: none; margin-top: 0px;'>
<tr style='border: none;'><td style='border: none; text-align: left;' colspan="4">
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>ʎu-w-såx-ʎúmå</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>ǵwc</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>rru</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>p'áñe-l-t</td>
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>give-PRFV-PST.1s>2s</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>2s.ACC</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>1s.NOM</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>stone-SGV-SDTV</td>
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;' colspan='4'>
</td></tr>
</table>
I haven't given you the stone.</div>

[[Category:Middle Ru]]
[[Category:Languages]]
[[Category:Conlangs]]

Efenol

2020-04-16T01:06:43Z

Jotadiego: Some of my notes hint at Efenol being created in 2009 rather than 2010, although I'm still unsure.

{{Infobox language
|name=''Efenol''
|pronunciation=/e.fe.ˈnol/
|familycolor=Indo-European
|fam1=Proto-Indo-European
|fam2=Latin
|fam3=Romance
|fam4=Spanish
|fam5=Old Efenol
|script=[[w:Latin script|Latin]]
|created = 2009
|-
|notice=IPA
}}

'''Efenol''' /e.fe.ˈnol/ is an ''a posteriori'' constructed language descended from modern Spanish. Its phonology was inspired by Sindarin and Celtic languages. Much like those languages, Efenol features consonant and vowel mutation in its morphology. It was created around the year 2009 or 2010.

Efenol is a pluricentric language with a wide range of dialects. ''Southern Efenol'', the earliest variety to split off, is distinct enough to be considered a different language and will not be covered in this article. The western variety, Western Efenol or ''Efenol del'Oth'' (/e.fe.ˈnol de.ˈloθ/) serves as the main standard language.

The name "Efenol" comes from "español", one of the Spanish names for the Spanish language itself.

==About Efenol dialects==

In addition to Western Efenol, the standard dialect where most examples in this article will be drawn from, Efenol features several dialectal varities. The main division affecting Efenol varieties is the split between Southern Efenol (which may be considered a separate language) and the so-called North-Central Efenol, which may also be referred as Efenol proper. This article will mostly deal with North-Central Efenol varieties.

The main dialects of the North-Central Efenol ar:
* '''''Western Efenol''''', the standard variety and the largest Efenol proper dialect by number of speakers.
* '''''Northern Efenol''''', a more conservative variety and the second largest North-Central dialect by number of speakers.
* '''''Eastern Efenol''''', which features vowel reduction and palatalization of velars.
* '''''North-Eastern Efenol''''', which can be seens as a transitional variety between Northern and Eastern Efenol.
* '''''Central Efenol''''', often grouped together with Western Efenol.
* '''''North-Western Efenol''''', closely related to Western Efenol but divergent in a number of ways.
* ''"Hunzad"'', a particularly divergent form of Northern Efenol which features vowel harmony.
* Several "mixed" dialects which combine Western and Central Efenol features with Southern Efenol features.

Extrafictionally, many of these dialects were originally planned as revisions of the Efenol language (whose original form most closely resembles Western Efenol) before being reworked as dialects.

Despite the fact that Western Efenol is the culturally-dominant form of the language and prevails in written material, each variety has its own dialectal orthography, many of which are fundamentally different from the standard orthography used for the Western dialect.

It should also be noted that there is some intradialectal variation as well. Particularly, there are some features which vary between Standard Efenol (based on the Western dialect) and other regional forms of Western Efenol.

==Phonology==

Note: Unless otherwise noted, the content of this section is based on the Western Efenol standard.

===Consonants===
{| class="wikitable"
! style="font-weight:bold; font-style:italic; background-color:#e9eaff; color:#000000;" | Western Efenol
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#e9eaff; color:#000000;" | Labial
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#e9eaff; color:#000000;" | Dental
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#e9eaff; color:#000000;" | Alveolar
! style="font-weight:bold; background-color:#e9eaff;" | Alv.-Pal.
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#e9eaff; color:#000000;" | Palatal
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#e9eaff; color:#000000;" | Velar
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#e9eaff; color:#000000;" | Glottal
|-
| style="font-weight:bold; background-color:#e9eaff; color:#000000;" | Nasals
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff; color:#000000;" | m
| colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff; color:#000000;" | n
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#efefef;" |
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#efefef; color:#000000;" |
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff; color:#000000;" | ŋ
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#efefef; color:#000000;" |
|-
| style="font-weight:bold; background-color:#e9eaff; color:#000000;" | Plosives
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff; color:#000000;" | p b
| colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff; color:#000000;" | t d
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#efefef;" |
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#efefef; color:#000000;" |
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff; color:#000000;" | k g
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#efefef; color:#000000;" |
|-
| style="font-weight:bold; background-color:#e9eaff; color:#000000;" | Fricatives
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff; color:#000000;" | f v
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff; color:#000000;" | θ ð
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff; color:#000000;" | s z
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | (ʃ) (ʒ)
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff; color:#000000;" | (ç)
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff; color:#000000;" | x
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff; color:#000000;" | h
|-
| style="font-weight:bold; background-color:#e9eaff; color:#000000;" | Approximants
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#efefef; color:#000000;" |
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#efefef; color:#000000;" |
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#efefef; color:#000000;" |
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#efefef;" |
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff; color:#000000;" | j
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff; color:#000000;" | w
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#efefef; color:#000000;" |
|-
| style="font-weight:bold; background-color:#e9eaff; color:#000000;" | Flap
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#efefef; color:#000000;" |
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#efefef; color:#000000;" |
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff; color:#000000;" | ɾ
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#efefef;" |
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#efefef; color:#000000;" |
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#efefef; color:#000000;" |
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#efefef; color:#000000;" |
|-
| style="font-weight:bold; background-color:#e9eaff; color:#000000;" | Trills
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#efefef; color:#000000;" |
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#efefef; color:#000000;" |
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff; color:#000000;" | r
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#efefef;" |
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#efefef; color:#000000;" |
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff; color:#000000;" | ʀ
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#efefef; color:#000000;" |
|-
| style="font-weight:bold; background-color:#e9eaff; color:#000000;" | Laterals
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#efefef; color:#000000;" |
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#efefef; color:#000000;" |
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff; color:#000000;" | l
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#efefef;" |
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff; color:#000000;" | ʎ
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff; color:#000000;" | ɫ
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#efefef; color:#000000;" |
|}

Notes:
* '''Affecting all dialects:''':
** As usual, nasal codae assimilate to neighbouring consonants. For instance, all instances of /nf/ become /ɱf/.
** The stops /t/ and /d/ are usually dental although alveolar realizations can also be found. Most Efenol speakers fail to notice any difference between these two pronunciations.
** Other than in Eastern Efenol, voiced stops are truly plosives in all contexts. This contrasts with Spanish where the phonemes often transcribed as /b/, /d/ and /g/ are typically realized as voiced approximants.
** As it was also the case in Spanish, the flap /ɾ/ does not occur in word-initial position.
* '''About ''Western'' Efenol''':
** A glottal stop /ʔ/ only appears as a lenited form of /g/ for some speakers. Most speakers drop it altogether.
** The phoneme /ʃ/ is only found as a palatalized /s/ and may alternate with /sj/. Its voiced version /ʒ/ is marginal and is equivalent to the rare /zj/ sequence.
** In Western and North-Western Efenol word-final /v/ are often realized as [β].
** The phoneme /ç/ may only arise as a rare lenited form of /ʃ/ (where it would corresponds to a /hj/) or as an allophone of a word-final /g/, particularly after an /i/. In the latter case, some Western Efenol speakers may also use [ʝ], [x], [ɣ] or simply [g].
** In Western Efenol, the phoneme /r/ only occurs at the beginning of a lexeme (it may appear in non-word-initial position in compounds or if preclitics or prefixes are involved). Most Western Efenol speakeres fully merge /r/ and /ʀ/ into /ʀ/, regardless of the context. This common merger, however, is not reflected in Standard Efenol.
** All instances of word-final /l/ with a preceding /i/ are palatalized to /ʎ/. This is also true for North-Western Efenol but not for any other Efenol variety. This pronunciation isn't reflected in writing.
** The velarized lateral /ɫ/ is in free variation with the lateral fricatives /ɬ/ and /ɮ/.
* '''About other dialects''':
** Central Efenol is the only major variety to preserve /ɲ/ (Spanish ⟨Ñ⟩) as a distinct phoneme. The sound may still be found in other dialects as an allophone of /n/.
** Northern Efenol does not allow any instances of word-initial /ŋ/. Many speakers will also pronounce word-final /ŋ/ as /ŋg/ (which may also be analyzed as /ng/) or simply /n/ and thus lack [ŋ] as a distinct phoneme. This may also be found for some North-Eastern and Central Efenol speakers.
** Dialects other than Western and North-Western Efenol lack the glottal stop /ʔ/ phoneme.
** In Eastern Efenol voiced stops and voiced fricatives are merged into a single voiced approximant series. Thus, [b] and [v] in other varieties correspond to Eastern Efenol [β̞].
** Eastern Efenol merges the phonemes /s/ and /z/ into /s/. This is also the case for most Central Efenol speakers and a small minority of Western Efenol speakers.
** The phonemes /ʃ/ and /ʒ/ are only found as such in the Western and North-Western dialects.
** The phoneme /ç/ is found in North-Eastern Efenol as a lenited form of /g/ and in Northern and North-Western Efenol as a word-final allophone of /g/ (as in Standard Efenol).
** Eastern Efenol features the phoneme /ʝ/.
** Central Efenol features the phoneme /ɣ/.
** Eastern and North-Eastern Efenol merge /x/ and /h/ into /x/. Meanwhile, some forms of Northern Efenol (most notably ''Hunzad'') merge both phonemes to /h/, although most Northern Efenol speakers keep the distinction.
** A minority of Northern Efenol speakers feature a pharyngeal fricative /ħ/ as a phoneme arising from a lenited /g/ (typically expressed as /x/ in Northern Efenol). This subdialectal feature, once also found in North-Western and some forms of Western Efenol, is sharply falling out of use.
** Eastern, North-Western and most forms of North-Eastern Efenol feature alveolo-palatal affricates /tʃ/ and /dʒ/.
** Northern and North-Eastern Efenol feature an alveolar affricate /ts/.
** Some Eastern and North-Eastern varieties feature a voiceless approximant /ʍ/.
** Unlike Western (and North-Western) Efenol, the alveolar trill /r/ may occur word-medially in other dialects. Only Northern and Central Efenol allow a word-final trill.
** Northern Efenol merges the trills /r/ and /ʀ/ into /r/. This is also found in some forms of Central and North-Eastern Efenol.
** In Northern and Eastern Efenol /ʎ/ is in free variation with /lj/.
** The phoneme /ɫ/ is merged with /l/ in Eastern, North-Eastern and Central Efenol and replaced with /ɬ/ or /ɮ/ (in free variation) in most forms of North-Western Efenol. Northern, some North-Western and a small amount of Central speakers keep the phoneme /ɫ/ unchanged. The ''Hunzad'' Northern Efenol variety replaces /ɫ/ with /gl/, a curious development as Spanish /gl/ is a common source for Efenol /ɫ/.

===Vowels===

While the vowel inventories vary from dialect to dialect, all varieties expand on the pentavocalic Spanish inventory, ranging from 6 to 15 different vowel qualities.

'''Standard Efenol''', based on the most common Western Efenol varieties, distinguishes 8 different vowels:
* A central low vowel, '''[ä]'''. For the sake of convenience (and due to the lack of a contrasting front low vowel), this phoneme is usually transcribed as '''/a/'''.
* Mid-high phonemes /e/ and /o/. Notice that unlike Spanish ⟨e⟩ and ⟨o⟩ which are actually true mid vowels [e̞] and [o̞], Standard Efenol /e/ and /o/ are true mid-high [e] and [o].
* High '''/i/''' and '''/u/''' as in Spanish.
* The rounded front-vowel '''/y/'''.
* Mid-low '''/ɛ/''' and '''/ɔ/'''.

Some Western speakers may merge /e/ and /ɛ/ to /e̞/, /o/ and /ɔ/ to /o̞/ or both; yielding the minimal vowel inventory for any Efenol variety: /a e̞ o̞ i y u/ in comparison to Standard /a ɛ ɔ e o i y u/. Some speakers which preserve the /e/ vs /ɛ/ distinction may realize the latter as /ɜ/.

The '''Central''' dialect merges /o/ and /ɔ/ into /o̞/ and is otherwise identical to the Standard language: /a ɛ e o̞ i y u/.

The '''North-Western''' dialect also merges /o/ and /ɔ/ (although the result is typically still realized as a mid-high [o]) but replaces the vowel /ɛ/ with /ə/ (which also arise from a reduced vowel but may still appear in stressed position). This results in the inventory /a ə e o i y u/.

'''Northern Efenol''' merges Standard Efenol /o/ and /ɔ/ into /o̞/ and has the rounded vowel /ø/ (actually also a mid-vowel [ø̞]) instead of Standard /ɛ/. Thus the Northern vowel inventory is comprised of /a e̞ ø̞ o̞ i y u/.

The defining feature of the ''Hunzad'' variety of Northern Efenol is that it features two vowel harmony classes: 'light' (with front vowels) and 'dark' words (with back vowels). Most vowel phonemes are split into a light and a dark equivalent: Northern /a/~[ä] becomes light [a] or dark [ɒ], /e/ becomes [e] or [ɘ], /ø/ becomes [ɘ] or [ø], /o/ becomes [ʌ] (or [ɘ]) or [o], /i/ becomes [i] or [ɨ]~[ʉ] (in free variation), /y/ becomes [ɨ]~[ʉ] or [y] and /u/ becomes [y] or [u]. This results in a 11-vowel inventory comprised of /a ɒ ʌ e ø ɘ o i y ɨ~ʉ u/.

'''Eastern Efenol''', however, features the largest vowel inventory as it features lax and tense vowel pairs due to vowel reduction. Tense vowels include /ä e ø o i y u/ while their lax equivalents can be /a ɛ œ ɔ ɪ ʏ ʊ/ although nearly all Eastern Efenol varieties merge unstressed /ɛ/ and /œ/ into /ɛ/ while some varieties also merge stressed /e/ and /ø/ into /e/. In addition to those vowels, Eastern Efenol features a schwa /ə/ as an epenthetic vowel. Thus, the vowel inventory is /a ä ɛ (œ) ɔ ə e ø o ɪ ʏ ʊ i y u/ with /œ/ being absent from most forms of Eastern Efenol. '''North-Eastern Efenol''' features the same vowel inventory (and largely with the same variations) but usually omitting the schwa /ə/ except perhaps as a reduced /ä/ in free variation with [a]: /a~ə ä ɛ (œ) ɔ e ø o ɪ ʏ ʊ i y u/.

'''In all dialects vowel length is phonemic''' and independent from stress. In Eastern and North-Eastern dialects long vowels have tense vowel qualities. Thus, a long /iː/ in Standard Efenol would always correspond to an Eastern /iː/ (rather than */ɪː/) even the stress lied elsewhere.

Clusters of short vowels are typically realized as diphthongs.

===Prosody===

Efenol features phonemic lexical stress. Stress typically falls on the last syllable but it is not predictable. Stress is completely independent from vowel length.

A rising intonation is associated to questions (which may be formed by intonation alone, as it is also the case in standard Spanish).

===Orthography===

Despite the fact that Standard Efenol (based on Western Efenol) dominates the written language, each dialect has an orthography of its own.

There are two main families of dialectal orthographies: western-like (based on the Standard, Western orthography) and northern-like (an alternative originally formulated for Northern Efenol). There are major differences between the two: western-like orthographies use a large number of digraphs and for the most part have only one pronunciation for each letter while northernlike orthographies use a reduced number of digraphs but have letters whose pronunciation vary depending on their position within a word.

It should be noted that voiced fricatives like /ð/ are more common in word-medial or word-final position than matching voiced plosives like /d/ while the opposite takes place word-initially: words beginning with /ð/ are near non-existing while words beginning with /d/ are common. Northern-like orthographies take advantage of this fact by re-using one letter representations for initial voiced stops (such as ⟨d⟩ for /d/) and for non-initial fricatives (⟨d⟩ for non-initial /ð/). For example, the Efenol word for 'decided', decendeded from Spanish "decidido", becomes the 10-letter long Western Efenol word "dethidhidh" in a western-like orthography but is mereley 7 letters long in Northern Efenol: "dezidid" despite the word having identical pronunciation in both varieties: /de.θi.ˈðið/. It should be noted that northern-like orthographies often look closer to Spanish while western-like orthographies typically have a more ideosyncratic look.

Both kinds of orthographies are intended to be unambiguous to read although stress isn't marked realiably in all cases. On the other hand, spelling is not fully predictable from pronunciation in either orthography family since some sounds are written differently depending on whether the phoneme is the result of lenition (or another form of consonant mutation) or not. For instance, the words ''ban'' ('they go', from Spanish "van") and ''pban'' ('(made) of bread', from Spanish "de pan") are spelled differently despite both being pronounced /ban/ since the /b/ in the latter is a lenited form of the /p/ in ''pan'' ('bread', from Spanish "pan").

In addition to western-like and northern-like orthographies, ''Hunzad'', a variety of Northern Efenol, has distinct orthography (with little commonalities to either group) devised by linguists who studied the dialect. However that orthography never caught on with Hunzad speakers themselves who'd typically use the usual Northern Efenol orthography instead.

====Common features of western and northern-like orthographies====

Some common features found in both kinds of orthographies include:
* Being based on the Latin alphabet, avoiding (for the most part) unusual pronunciations.
* Marking long vowels with a circumflex accent, e.g. ⟨â⟩ for the long version of ⟨a⟩.
* Using digraphs with the letter ⟨h⟩ as their second element.
* Using the letter ⟨c⟩ for the phoneme /k/ even before /e/ and /i/ (Eastern Efenol's orthography being an exception to this).
* Using ⟨cg⟩, ⟨pb⟩ and ⟨td⟩ to mark lenited 'c', 'p' and 't'.
* Marking stress position through the same strategy: an acute accent is placed over the stressed vowel except when it's on the last syllable of a word or when the vowel already carries a diacritic.

The last point makes it possible to distinguish words like ''madher'' /ma.ˈðeɾ/ (wood) from ''mádher'' /ˈma.ðeɾ/ (mother) although it fails to determine whether a word like ''mîrchël'' (Wednesday) would be /miːɾ.ˈxɛl/ (as expected by a lack of acute accents) or /ˈmiːɾ.xɛl/ (with a missing acute accent over the ⟨î⟩ as it already carries a circumflex accent). Luckily, in the case of ''"mîrchel"'', both pronunciations are valid and synonymous.

====Western-like orthographies====

Western-like orthographies are used for Western Efenol (the basis for Standard Efenol), North-Western Efenol and by some Central Efenol speakers (which may also choose to write in a northern-like orthography).

Key features of western-like orthographies include the usage of digraphs for most fricatives such as ⟨ch⟩ for /x/, ⟨th⟩ for /θ/ and ⟨dh⟩ for /ð/. Except for ⟨r⟩, which is pronounced /r/ word-initially or /ɾ/ otherwise, letters and digraphs retain the same pronunciation regardless of their position within a word.

The following table shows the sound correspondences for letters and digraphs in these orthographies:

{| class="wikitable"
! Letter
! Pronunciation
! Notes
|-
| a
| /a/ [ä]
| Also ⟨á⟩ if stressed and not in the final syllable.
|-
| â
| /aː/ [äː]
|
|-
| b
| /b/
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | bh
| /v/
| Represents a lenited ⟨ b ⟩ /b/.
|-
| /v/
| Word-finally, typically realized as [β] in Western and North-Western Efenol.
|-
| bw
| /v/
| Represents a lenited ⟨pw⟩ /p/ (descended from a Spanish /kw/).
Not used in North-Western Efenol.
|-
| c
| /k/
| Always represents a /k/ sound (other than in digraphs), unlike English or Spanish ⟨c⟩.
|-
| ch
| /x/
|
|-
| chw
| /xw/, /x/
| Represents a mutated ⟨pw⟩ /p/ (descended from a Spanish /kw/).
Not used in North-Western Efenol. The pronunciations /xw/ and /x/ are in free

variation in Western and Central Efenol, with /xw/ being preferred in the former

and /x/ in the latter.
|-
| cg
| /g/
| Represents a lenited ⟨c⟩ /k/ unless the word is preceded by a determiner or possessive,
in that case the /g/ sound is spelled as ⟨g⟩.
|-
| d
| /d/
|
|-
| dh
| /ð/
|
|-
| dj
| /dʒ/
| Only found in North-Western Efenol.
|-
| rowspan="2" | e
| /e/
| Also ⟨é⟩ if stressed and not in the final syllable. Some Western Efenol speakers
realize the phoneme as [e̞] and merge it with /ɛ/.
|-
| /e̯/, /j/
| Non-syllabic pronunciation when next to another vowel. Pronounced as a non-syllabic
/e/ in North-Western Efenol and in some Western Efenol subdialects and as a /j/ or a

non-syllabic /i/ in most Western Efenol varieties (including Standard Efenol) and in

Central Efenol. May be written 'i' in Central Efenol.
|-
| ê
| /eː/
| Some Western Efenol speakers pronounce /eː/ as [e̞ː].
|-
| ë
| /ɛ/, /ə/
| /ɛ/ in Western and Central Efenol (may also be merged with /e/ into [e̞] in the former.
/ə/ in North-Western Efenol.
|-
| f
| /f/
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | g
| /g/
|
|-
| [ç]
| Word-finally in Western and North-Western Efenol. Other pronunciations may also be
found, including [ʝ], [x], [ɣ] or simply [g].
|-
| gh
| /ʔ/, Ø, /ɣ/
| Represents a lenited, lexeme-initial ⟨g⟩ /g/. Pronounced as either a glottal stop or as a
null phoneme (silent) in Western and North-Western Efenol and as a voiced velar

fricative /ɣ/ in Central Efenol.
|-
| h
| /h/
|
|-
| hb
| /b/
| Represents a word-final /b/ descended from a Spanish /mb/ that alternates with the

digraph ⟨mm⟩ /m/. Not used in North-Western Efenol.
|-
| hd
| /d/
| Represents a word-final /d/ descended from a Spanish /nd/ that alternates with the

digraph ⟨nn⟩ /n/. Not used in North-Western Efenol.
|-
| hg
| /g/
| Represents a word-final /g/ descended from a Spanish /ng/ that alternates with the

digraph ⟨ng⟩ /ŋ/ (or ⟨nn⟩ /n/ in Central Efenol). Not used in North-Western Efenol
|-
| rowspan="2" | i
| /i/
| Also ⟨í⟩ if stressed and not in the final syllable.
|-
| /j/
| An alternative to non-syllabic ⟨e⟩ in Central Efenol.
|-
| î
| /iː/
|
|-
| ij
| /yː/
| Orthographic equivalent to ⟨ŷ⟩; preferred for long /y/ in Western and North-Western

Efenol; ⟨ŷ⟩ is preferred in Central Efenol.
|-
| j
| /ʒ/
| Only found in North-Western Efenol.
|-
| rowspan="2" | l
| /l/
|
|-
| /ʎ/
| In Western and North-Western Efenol when word-final and preceded by an /i/.
|-
| lh
| /ʎ/
|
|-
| lw
| /ɫ/, [ɬ], [ɮ]
| All three realizations are found in free variation in Western and North-Western Efenol
while the phoneme is absent from Central Efenol.
|-
| m
| /m/
|
|-
| mh
| /v/
| Represents a lenited ⟨m⟩ /m/
|-
| mm
| /m/
| Used word-finally to represent a former Spanish /mb/.
|-
| n
| /n/
| May assimilate to adjacent consonants.
|-
| nn
| /n/
| Used word-finally to represent a former Spanish /nd/. Central Efenol speakers who
merge /ŋ/ and /n/ may also use ⟨nn⟩ /n/ to represent a former Spanish /ng/.
|-
| ng
| /ŋ/
| Some Central Efenol speakers may merge it with /n/ or, more rarely, with /ɲ/.
|-
| ñ
| /ɲ/
| Only found in Central Efenol.
|-
| o
| /o/
| Also ⟨ó⟩ (not to be confused with ⟨ò⟩) if stressed and not in the final syllable.
Pronounced as a true mid-vowel [o̞] in Central Efenol and in regional varieties of

Western Efenol which merge /o/ and /ɔ/ (it should be noted that, despite featuring such

a merger, North-Western Efenol keeps the upper-mid pronunciation [o]).
|-
| ô
| /oː/
| Mid [o̞ː] in Central Efenol and in Western varieties that merge /o/ and /ɔ/.
|-
| ò
| /ɔ/
| Only found in Western Efenol.
|-
| p
| /p/
|
|-
| pb
| /b/
| Represents a lenited ⟨p⟩ /p/ unless the word is preceded by a determiner or a
possessive, in that case the /b/ sound is spelled ⟨b⟩.
|-
| ph
| /f/
| Represents a mutated ⟨p⟩ /p/.
|-
| pw
| /p/
| Represents a /p/ that descends from a Spanish /kw/. This distinction is relevant in
Western and Central Efenol as ⟨pw⟩ behaves different than ⟨p⟩ under consonant

mutation. In North-Western Efenol /p/ behaves in the same way regardless of its origin

and the digraph ⟨pw⟩ isn't used.
|-
| rowspan="2" | r
| /r/
| Word-initially. Most Western and North-Western Efenol speakers merge /r/ and /ʀ/
into the latter.
|-
| /ɾ/
| Non word-initially.
|-
| rh
| /ʀ/
| Some Central Efenol speakers merge /ʀ/ and /r/ into /r/. Those speakers may replace all
instances of ⟨rh⟩ with ⟨r⟩ (if word-initial) or ⟨rr⟩ (otherwise).
|-
| rr
| /r/
| Only used in Central Efenol for non word-initial /r/.
|-
| s
| /s/
|
|-
| sc
| /ʃ/
| Only used in North-Western Efenol.
|-
| se
| /ʃ/, /sj/
| Preceding a vowel. The phoneme /s/ palatalizes to /ʃ/ in North-Western Efenol and in
most Western varieties while the sequence is just interpreted as /sj/ in Central Efenol or

in other Western Efenol varieties.
|-
| sh
| /h/
| Represents a lenited 's' /s/.
|-
| she
| /ç/
| Represents a lenited ⟨se⟩ /ʃ/; see notes for ⟨se⟩.
|-
| ss
| /z/
| Represents a mutated ⟨S⟩ /s/.
|-
| sse
| /ʒ/
| Represents a mutated ⟨se⟩ /ʃ/; see notes for ⟨se⟩.
|-
| t
| /t/
|
|-
| tc
| /tʃ/, /ʃ/, /s/
| Represents the phoneme /tʃ/ in North-Western Efenol.
In Western Efenol, ⟨tc⟩ is used sparingly and may be pronounced as /ʃ/ or /s/.

In Central Efenol the digraph is replaced with the letter ⟨S⟩ /s/.
|-
| td
| /d/
| Represents a lenited ⟨t⟩ /d/ unless the word is preceded by a determiner or a
possessive, then the /d/ sound is spelled ⟨d⟩.
|-
| th
| /θ/
|
|-
| u
| /u/
| Also ⟨ú⟩ if stressed and not in the final syllable of a word.
|-
| û
| /uː/
|
|-
| v
| /v/
| Replaced with ⟨bh⟩ in word-final position.
|-
| w
| /w/
|
|-
| wh
| /vw/, /v/
| Represents a lenited ⟨w⟩ /w/. Read /vw/ in most forms of Western Efenol and as /v/
in Central Efenol, North-Western Efenol and in other Western Efenol varieties.
|-
| y
| /y/
| Also ⟨ý⟩ if stressed and not in the final syllable of a word (although speakers are
particularly likely not to write the acute accent if the affected vowel is an ⟨y⟩).
|-
| ŷ
| /yː/
| In Western and North-Western Efenol ⟨ŷ⟩ is often replaced with the digraph ⟨ij⟩.
|-
| z
| /z/
| Many Central Efenol speakers merge /s/ and /z/ into /s/. Those speakers may rewrite
words with ⟨z⟩ in Standard Efenol with an ⟨S⟩.
|}

With the exception of Central Efenol's ⟨ñ⟩ (considered a letter on its own, collated between ⟨n⟩ and ⟨o⟩), letters with diacritics and digraphs aren't taken into account for collation purposes.

One noticeable feature of western-like orthographies and of Efenol as a whole is the usage of the interpunct or middle-dot ⟨·⟩. This punctuation mark is used to separate articles from consonant-initial nouns: ''a'' (the, singular feminine definite article) + ''man'' (hand): ''a·mhan'' (the hand). North-Western Efenol also uses an interpunct for plural definite articles before vowel-initial nouns: ''ah'' (the, plural feminine definite article) + ''evich'' (bees): ''ah·evich''. Otherwise, contractions where the second element beings with a vowel are indicated with apostrophes: ''l'' (singular definite article) + ''avech'' (bee): ''l'avech''.

Apostrophes are also used to indicate the attributive/genitive case of nouns (typically expressed through lenition) when the initial consonant of the noun is invariable to lenition. For example, the attributive form of ''falth'' (silver) becomes'' 'falth'' (of silver, made of silver) despite keeping its pronunciation unchanged (compare ''cóver'', 'copper' vs the lenited form ''cgóver'', 'of copper, made of copper').

====Northern-like orthographies====

Northern-like orthographies are used for Northern Efenol, Eastern Efenol, North-Eastern Efenol and by some Central Efenol speakers (which may also choose to write in a western-like orthography). The orthography of the Southern Efenol language (not covered in this article) is also closest to the northern model.

Key features of northern-like orthographies include the usage single letters for some sounds represented as digraphs in western-like orthographies such as ⟨h⟩ for /x/ instead of Western ⟨ch⟩ or ⟨z⟩ for /θ/ instead of Western ⟨th⟩.

Another salient feature of northern-like orthographies is that the letter ⟨d⟩ represents voiced stops word-initially but stands for voiced fricatives in other positions.

The following table shows the sound correspondences for letters and digraphs in these orthographies:

{| class="wikitable"
! Letter
! Pronunciation
! Notes
|-
| a
| /a/ [ä]
| Also ⟨á⟩ if stressed and not in the final syllable. In Eastern and North-Eastern Efenol,
an stressed short ⟨a⟩ will be pronounced as a central [ä] while an unstressed short ⟨a⟩

is reduced to a frontal [a] or, in some North-Eastern varieties, a schwa [ə].
|-
| â
| /aː/ [äː]
|
|-
| b
| /b/
| Represents a bilabial approximant, [β̞], in Eastern Efenol.
|-
| bb
| /b/
| Used in Central Efenol to represent a word-final /b/ descended from a Spanish /mb/,
corresponds to Western -hb.
|-
| bh
| /v/
| Represents a lenited 'b' /b/. Not used in Eastern Efenol.
|-
| c
| /k/, /tʃ/
| In Northern, North-Eastern and Central dialects, ⟨c⟩ always represents a /k/ sound
(other than in digraphs), unlike English or Spanish ⟨c⟩.

In Eastern Efenol, however, the letter ⟨c⟩ represents the phoneme /tʃ/ before front

vowels and /k/ elsewhere. A large number of Eastern speakers prefer to sidestep this

ambiguity by always using the letter ⟨ç⟩ for /tʃ/ and spelling all remaining /k/'s as ⟨k⟩.
|-
| ch
| /x/
| Represents a mutated ⟨c⟩ /k/ (or potentially an Eastern Efenol ⟨k⟩ /k/).
|-
| cg
| /g/, /dʒ/
| As /g/ (or [ɰ] in Eastern Efenol): represents a lenited ⟨c⟩ /k/ unless the word is preceded by
a determiner or possessive, in that case the /g/ sound is spelled as ⟨g⟩.

In Eastern Efenol, a lenited ⟨c⟩ before a front vowel (pronounced /tʃ/) yields /dʒ/ which may

also be spelled as ⟨j⟩. In this dialect, the digraph ⟨cg⟩ when pronounced /dʒ/ cannot be

reduced to ⟨g⟩, even if the word was preceded by a determiner or a possessive.
|-
| ç
| /tʃ/
| Only used in Eastern Efenol (although North-Eastern Efenol may also use it for
Eastern Efenol borrowings).

In Eastern Efenol ⟨ç⟩ may be used either to supplement ⟨c⟩ when /tʃ/ does not

immediately precede a front vowel or as the only representation of /tʃ/, replacing ⟨c⟩.

The digraph ⟨tç⟩ is preferred in word-final position.
|-
| d
| /d/, /ð/
| Represents a voiced stop /d/ in word-initial position and voiced fricative /ð/ elsewhere.

In Eastern Efenol both sounds are merged into a voiced approximant /ð̞/.
|-
| dd
| /d/
| Represents a voiced stop /d/ in non word-initial position. Not used in Eastern Efenol.

Also used in Central Efenol to represent a word-final /d/ descended from a Spanish /nd/,

corresponds to Western -hd.
|-
| dh
| /ð/
| Makes it possible to write words with an initial /ð/. Typically found as a lenited initial ⟨d⟩.
Not used in Eastern Efenol.
|-
| dj
| /dʒ/
| Only found in North-Western Efenol.
|-
| e
| /e/, /ɛ/
| Also ⟨é⟩ when stressed if not in the final syllable of a word. In Northern Efenol, the
phoneme is pronounced as a mid vowel [e̞], in Central Efenol ⟨e⟩ is always an upper-mid

[e] while in Eastern and North-Eastern Efenol the vowel is upper-mid [e] when stressed or

lower-mid [ɛ] when unstressed.
|-
| ê
| /eː/
| Northern Efenol speakers pronounce /eː/ as [e̞ː].
|-
| ë
| /ɛ/
| Only used in Central Efenol.
|-
| f
| /f/
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | g
| /g/
| Word-initially. Pronounced as a voiced-approximant [ɰ] in Eastern Efenol.
|-
| [ç], [x], [g]
| Word-finally, ⟨g⟩ is realized as a [ç] in Northern and North-Eastern Efenol, [x] in Eastern
Efenol and simply as [g] in Central Efenol.
|-
| gg
| /g/
| Used in Central Efenol to represent a word-final /g/ descended from a Spanish /ng/,
corresponds to Western -hg.
|-
| gh
| /ɣ/, /x/, /ç/, /ʝ/
| Represents a lenited, lexeme-initial ⟨g⟩ /g/. Pronounced as a voiced velar fricative /ɣ/ in
Central Efenol; as a voiceless velar fricative [x] in Northern Efenol (with [h] and [ħ] as

regional variants), as a voiceless palatal fricative /ç/ in North-Eastern Efenol and as a voiced

palatal fricative /ʝ/ in Eastern Efenol.
|-
| h
| /x/
| In Northern Efenol some speakers may pronounce ⟨h⟩ as /h/.
|-
| hw
| /x/, /xw/, /ʍ/
| Used in Eastern, Central and certain North-Eastern Efenol varieties to represent a
mutated ⟨pw⟩ or ⟨p⟩ /p/ descended from a Spanish /kw/.

/x/ is the prevailing pronunciation in Central Efenol (where /xw/ can nonetheless also

be found); /xw/ is more commonly found in Eastern Efenol although some speakers

may use /x/ or /ʍ/ instead. Meanwhile, some North-Eastern speakers may use the

phoneme /ʍ/ although ⟨f⟩ /f/ remains the most usual alternative in this dialect group.

Some Eastern Efenol may conflate /kw/-derived /p/ and inherited Spanish /p/ entirely

and use ⟨ph⟩ /f/ instead in case of rhotic or nasal mutation.
|-
| rowspan="2" | i
| /i/
| Also ⟨í⟩ if stressed and not in the final syllable. In Eastern and North-Eastern Efenol the
vowel is pronounced [i] when stressed and [ɪ] otherwise.
|-
| /j/
| When next to another vowel.
|-
| î
| /iː/
|
|-
| j
| /dʒ/
| Only found in Eastern Efenol (or, occasionally, in Eastern Efenol borrowings used by
North-Eastern Efenol speakers). Typically reduced to /ʒ/ in word-final position.
|-
| k
| /k/
| Only used in Eastern Efenol as an alternative to ⟨c⟩ that always represents the /k/
sound.
|-
| kg
| /g/ [ɰ]
| Alternative to ⟨cg⟩ (when pronounced [ɰ]) in Eastern Efenol; not used in any other
dialect (except as a symbol for kilograms).
|-
| kh
| /x/
| Alternative to ⟨ch⟩ in Eastern Efenol; not used in any other dialect.
|-
| l
| /l/
|
|-
| lh
| /ɫ/
| Only used in Northern Efenol and by a small amount of Central speakers who haven't merged
this phoneme with /l/.

The letters may also be read individually as /lx/; an apostrophe may be used to unambiguously

break the digraph.
|-
| li
| /ʎ/, /lj/
| The phoneme /ʎ/ and the sequence /lj/ are in free variation in Northern, North-Eastern and
Eastern Efenol. The phoneme /ʎ/, distinct from /lj/, is represented as ⟨ll⟩ in Central Efenol.
|-
| ll
| /ʎ/
| Only used in Central Efenol.
|-
| m
| /m/
|
|-
| mh
| /v/
| Represents a lenited ⟨m⟩ /m/
|-
| mm
| /m/
| Used word-finally to represent a former Spanish /mb/. Only used in Central Efenol.
|-
| n
| /n/
| May assimilate to adjacent consonants.
|-
| nn
| /n/
| Only used in Central Efenol. Used word-finally to represent a former Spanish /nd/. Central
Efenol speakers who merge /ŋ/ and /n/ may also use ⟨nn⟩ /n/ to represent a former Spanish
/ng/.
|-
| ng
| /ŋ/
| Some Central Efenol speakers may merge it with /n/ or, more rarely, with /ɲ/.

Always read as /ng/ [ŋg] in Northern Efenol.
|-
| ñ
| /ɲ/
| Only found in Central Efenol.
|-
| o
| /o/
| Also ⟨ó⟩ if stressed and not in the final syllable. Pronounced as a true mid-vowel [o̞] in
Central and Northern Efenol and as either [o] or [ɔ] (depending on whether it is stressed or

not, respectively) in the Eastern and North-Eastern dialects.
|-
| ô
| /oː/
| Mid [o̞ː] in Northern and Central Efenol; [oː] in Eastern and North-Eastern Efenol.
|-
| ö
| /ø/
| Not used in Central Efenol. In Northern Efenol, ⟨ö⟩ is pronounced as a mid vowel [ø̞] while
in Eastern and North-Eastern Efenol it is an upper-mid [ø] when stressed and either an [ɛ] or

an [œ] when unstressed (with the former realization being far more common).
|-
| öe
| /øː/, /øi/
| Both pronunciations are in free variation in Northern Efenol; the digraph isn't used in other
dialects.
|-
| ò
| /ɔ/
| Only found in Western Efenol.
|-
| p
| /p/
|
|-
| pb
| /b/
| Represents a lenited ⟨p⟩ /p/ unless the word is preceded by a determiner or a
possessive, in that case the /b/ sound is spelled ⟨b⟩.

Pronounced [β̞] in Eastern Efenol.
|-
| ph
| /f/
| Represents a mutated ⟨p⟩ /p/.
|-
| pv
| /v/
| Represents a lenited ⟨p⟩ or ⟨pw⟩ /p/ that was originally a Spanish ⟨kw⟩.
Using ⟨v⟩ is a permissible (though not as popular) alternative spelling

The digraph isn't used in Eastern Efenol where ⟨b⟩ or ⟨pb⟩ are used instead.
|-
| pw
| /p/
| Represents a /p/ that descends from a Spanish /kw/. Not used in Northern or Eastern
Efenol and rarely used (and optional) in North-Eastern Efenol. The digraph remains

common (although also optional) in Central Efenol.
|-
| rowspan="2" | r
| /r/
| Word-initially
|-
| /ɾ/
| Non word-initially.
|-
| rh
| /ʀ/
| Not used in Northern Efenol. Some Central Efenol speakers merge /ʀ/ and /r/ into /r/. Those
speakers may replace all instances of ⟨rh⟩ /ʀ/ with ⟨r⟩ (if word-initial) or ⟨rr⟩ (otherwise).

The letters may also be read individually as /ɾx/; an apostrophe may be used to unambiguously

break the digraph.
|-
| rr
| /r/
| Only used in Central Efenol for non word-initial /r/.
|-
| s
| /s/
|
|-
| sh
| /h/, /x/
| Represents a lenited ⟨S⟩ /s/. Pronounced /h/ in Northern and Central Efenol and /x/ in
Eastern Efenol; North-Eastern varieties may have either pronunciation although the latter is

slightly more typical.

In Northern and Central Efenol, the digraph ⟨sh⟩ is used for all instances of /h/.
|-
| ss
| /z/
| Not used in Eastern Efenol which merges the phonemes /s/ and /z/ into /s/. Some Central and
North-Eastern Efenol varieties may also have this merger and spell accordingly.
|-
| t
| /t/
|
|-
| tç
| /tʃ/
| Found only in Eastern Efenol as a word-final representation for /tʃ/.
|-
| td
| /d/
| Represents a lenited ⟨t⟩ /d/ unless the word is preceded by a determiner or a
possessive, then the /d/ sound is spelled ⟨d⟩.

Pronounced [ð̞] in Eastern Efenol.
|-
| th
| /θ/
| Represents a mutated ⟨t⟩, /t/.
|-
| ts
| /ts/
| Found only in Northern and North-Eastern Efenol.
|-
| u
| /u/
| Also ⟨ú⟩ if stressed and not in the final syllable of a word. In Eastern and North-Eastern
Efenol, the vowel is pronounced [u] when stressed or [ʊ] otherwise.
|-
| û
| /uː/
|
|-
| v
| /v/
|
|-
| w
| /w/
|
|-
| wh
| /v/
| Represents a lenited ⟨w⟩ /w/.
|-
| y
| /y/
| Also ⟨ý⟩ if stressed and not in the final syllable of a word. In Eastern and North-Eastern
Efenol, the vowel is pronounced [y] when stressed or [ʏ] otherwise.
|-
| ŷ
| /yː/
|
|-
| z
| /θ/
|
|}

Northern-like orthographies have a more limited usage of interpuncts: they aren't used in Northern Efenol and they are only used in other dialects if the article triggers some kind of mutation on the initial syllable of a noun. Thus, in Eastern Efenol, the singular form of 'the hand', which features a lenition, is ''a·mhan'' but its plural form, 'the hands', which does not feature lenition, is ''a mein''.

In addition to being used to mark contractions, in Eastern Efenol apostrophes are also used to indicate epenthetic schwas as in ''kör'n'' /ˈkøɾən/.

Optionally, an apostrophe may also be used to break instances where the letters ⟨r⟩ or ⟨l⟩ occur next to an ⟨h⟩ without forming the digraphs ⟨rh⟩ and ⟨lh⟩. This would distinguish Central Efenol ''marh'' /maʀ/ ('lean, without fat') from ''mar'h'' /maɾx/ ('frame'). The sequence ⟨rh⟩ is unambiguously /ɾx/ in Northern Efenol (as it lacks the ⟨rh⟩ digraph) so it never requires a 'breaking' apostrophe. Similarly, word-final ⟨rh⟩ is unambiguously /ɾx/ in all dialects other than Central Efenol since they don not allow word-final /ʀ/. Similarly, breaking the ⟨lh⟩ digraph is only necessary in Northern Efenol as Central, North-Eastern and Eastern dialects lack the phoneme represented as ⟨lh⟩ sound.

===Mutation===

Efenol makes an extensive use of both vowel mutation (or ablaut) and consonant mutation. These processes occur both diachronically (in the evolution from Spanish to Efenol) and synchronically (within the modern language as part of its grammar). For the most part, the same changes are involved in both cases (dia- and synchronically).

====Vowel mutation====

There are three main types of vowel mutation. Two of them are the result of a now-lost front vowel (either Spanish /i/ or /e/): strong i-ablaut and weak i-ablaut. Synchronically i-ablaut is used for plural forming where strong i-ablaut affects stressed syllables while weak i-ablaut affects the rest; diachronically only only one form of i-ablaut is found, typically affecting a vowel that preceded a a /CjV/ sequence. A third type of vowel mutation from an elided rounded back vowel: u-ablaut.

The following table illustrates the results of these three kinds of synchronic vowel mutation for the most common vowel combinations in Western Efenol. Notice that in this dialect ⟨ë⟩ and ⟨ij⟩ are read as /ɛ/ and /yː/ respectively.

{| class="wikitable"
! style="text-align: center;" | Vowel
! style="text-align: center;" | Strong i-ablaut
! style="text-align: center;" | Weak i-ablaut
! style="text-align: center;" | U-ablaut
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | a
| style="text-align: center;" | ei
| style="text-align: center;" | e
| style="text-align: center;" | ò
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | e
| style="text-align: center;" | î
| style="text-align: center;" | i
| style="text-align: center;" | ë
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | i
| style="text-align: center;" | î
| style="text-align: center;" | i
| style="text-align: center;" | y
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | o
| style="text-align: center;" | ë
| style="text-align: center;" | ë
| style="text-align: center;" | o
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | u
| style="text-align: center;" | ij
| style="text-align: center;" | y
| style="text-align: center;" | u
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | y
| style="text-align: center;" | ij
| style="text-align: center;" | y
| style="text-align: center;" | y
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | ë
| style="text-align: center;" | ëi
| style="text-align: center;" | ë
| style="text-align: center;" | ëu
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | ò
| style="text-align: center;" | oi
| style="text-align: center;" | ay
| style="text-align: center;" | au
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | â
| style="text-align: center;" | ai
| style="text-align: center;" | ai
| style="text-align: center;" | òu
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | ê
| style="text-align: center;" | î
| style="text-align: center;" | î
| style="text-align: center;" | ey
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | î
| style="text-align: center;" | î
| style="text-align: center;" | î
| style="text-align: center;" | ij
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | ô
| style="text-align: center;" | oi
| style="text-align: center;" | oi
| style="text-align: center;" | ou
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | û
| style="text-align: center;" | ij
| style="text-align: center;" | ij
| style="text-align: center;" | û
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | ij
| style="text-align: center;" | ij
| style="text-align: center;" | ij
| style="text-align: center;" | ij
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | ai
| style="text-align: center;" | ai
| style="text-align: center;" | ai
| style="text-align: center;" | ay
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | au
| style="text-align: center;" | ay
| style="text-align: center;" | ay
| style="text-align: center;" | au
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | ei
| style="text-align: center;" | î
| style="text-align: center;" | î
| style="text-align: center;" | ij
|}

Diachronic i-ablaut mostly coincides with modern strong i-ablaut, the main differences being that an i-ablaut /e/ and /u/ yielded short vowels /i/ and /y/ (respectively). It should also be noted that Spanish /we/ (which yields ⟨ë⟩ in Efenol) is i-ablauted to /y/. Meanwhile, diachronic u-ablaut differs on the result of u-ablauted /o/ and /u/ (as well as Spanish /we/) being a long /u/ ⟨û⟩ rather than leaving /o/ and /u/ unchanged as found in synchronic u-ablaut.

Diachronically, i-ablauted /o/ yields different results depending on the source of the mutation: it becomes ⟨oi⟩ if the ablaut comes from the depalatalization of a following consonant (⟨ch⟩ or ⟨ñ⟩) or ⟨ë⟩ if the ablaut comes from a moving /j/ (VCiV ⟩ ViCV):

Examples: moño ⟩ ''*moʲn'' ⟩ ''mën'', noche ⟩ ''*noʲts'' ⟩ ''nét'', historia ⟩ ''ithoir'', ocio ⟩ ''oith''.

Other Efenol dialects follow a similar vowel-mutation table with the following differences:
* The appropriate orthographic conventions are to be used. For instance, long /y/ would be written ⟨ŷ⟩ rather than ⟨ij⟩ in dialects other than Western and North-Western Efenol.
* Northern, North-Eastern and Eastern dialects replace instances of ⟨ë⟩ with ⟨ö⟩.
* Eastern Efenol, North-Eastern Efenol and all varieties without a phonemic contrasts between /o/ and /ɔ/ replace ⟨ò⟩ with ⟨o⟩.
* Strong i-ablauted ⟨ô⟩ yields ⟨öe⟩ in Northern Efenol.
* U-ablauted ⟨ê⟩ yields ⟨eu⟩ in Northern, North-Eastern and Eatern Efenol rather than ⟨ey⟩.
* Northern and North-Eastern Efenol do not allow diphthongs with ⟨y⟩ as a second element, replacing ⟨ay⟩ and with ⟨ai⟩. This is also true for some speakers of Central and Eastern Efenol.
* In North-Western Efenol, the diphthongs ⟨ai⟩, ⟨au⟩, ⟨ey⟩ and ⟨oi⟩ become ⟨ae⟩, ⟨ao⟩, ⟨eo⟩ and ⟨oe⟩. The dipthong ⟨ay⟩ is preserved as such in writing although it's also commonly realies as /ao/ and some speakers may prefer to write it ⟨ao⟩.

====Consonant mutation====

Efenol features three types of consonant mutation: soft mutation (usually referred to as lenition), rhotic mutation (or, perhaps more appropriately, ''liquid'' mutation) and nasal mutation.

As it was also the case for vowel mutation, consonant mutation occurs both diachronically (in the evolution of the language) and synchronically (as a morphophonemic feature of the modern language), usually with identical results. It should be noted, however, that these two processes are reflected differently in writing with the results of synchronic mutation having special spellings. For instance, a rhotic-mutated /p/ yields the phoneme /f/ both diachronically and synchronically but it will be spelled as a regular ⟨f⟩ /f/ in the first case (Spanish carpa ⟩ Efenol ''carf'') but with the dedicate spelling ⟨ph⟩ /f/ in the latter (Efenol ''pan'', 'bread', but ''e·phan'', 'the bread' rather than ''**e·fan''). In the case of lenition, mutated voiceless stops (which become voiced) are only written with the special digraphs ⟨cg⟩, ⟨pb⟩ and ⟨td⟩ if there isn't a preceding article or possessive pronoun.

The following table shows consonant mutation in Western Efenol, including the special spellings used when it occurs synchronically.

{| class="wikitable"
! style="text-align: center;" | Consonant
! style="text-align: center;" | Lenition / Soft Mutation
! style="text-align: center;" | Rhotic/Liquid Mutation
! style="text-align: center;" | Nasal Mutation
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | b /b/
| style="text-align: center;" | bh /v/
| style="text-align: center;" | bh /v/
| style="text-align: center;" | mb /mb/
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | c /k/
| style="text-align: center;" | cg, g /g/
| style="text-align: center;" | ch /x/
| style="text-align: center;" | ch /x/
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | ch /x/
| colspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | No change
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | d /d/
| style="text-align: center;" | dh /ð/
| style="text-align: center;" | dh /ð/
| style="text-align: center;" | nd /nd/
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | f /f/
| colspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | No change
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | g /g/
| style="text-align: center;" | gh /ʔ/ ~ Ø
| style="text-align: center;" | gh /ʔ/ ~ Ø
| style="text-align: center;" | ng /ŋ/
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | h /h/
| colspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | No change
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | l /l/
| colspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | No change
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | lh /ʎ/
| colspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | No change
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | lw /ɫ/
| colspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | No change
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | m /m/
| style="text-align: center;" | mh /v/
| style="text-align: center;" | mh /v/
| style="text-align: center;" | m /m/
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | n /n/
| colspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | No change
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | p /p/
| style="text-align: center;" | pb, b /b/
| style="text-align: center;" | ph /f/
| style="text-align: center;" | ph /f/
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | pw /p/
| style="text-align: center;" | bw /v/
| style="text-align: center;" | chw /xw/
| style="text-align: center;" | chw /xw/
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | r /r/
| colspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | No change
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | rh /ʀ/
| colspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | No change
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | s /s/
| style="text-align: center;" | sh /h/
| style="text-align: center;" | ss /z/
| style="text-align: center;" | ss /z/
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | se /ʃ/
| style="text-align: center;" | she /ç/
| style="text-align: center;" | sse /ʒ/
| style="text-align: center;" | sse /ʒ/
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | t /t/
| style="text-align: center;" | td, d /d/
| style="text-align: center;" | th /θ/
| style="text-align: center;" | th /θ/
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | tc /tʃ/~/ʃ/
| style="text-align: center;" | tdc /dʒ/~/ʃ/
| style="text-align: center;" | tc /tʃ/~/ʃ/
| style="text-align: center;" | tc /tʃ/~/ʃ/
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | th /θ/
| colspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | No change
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | w /w/
| style="text-align: center;" | wh /vw/
| style="text-align: center;" | wh /vw/
| style="text-align: center;" | ngw /ŋgw/
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | z /z/
| colspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | No change
|}

The result of these mutations is mostly consistent through the different dialects. Major differences include:
* The merger of voiced stops and voiced fricatives in Eastern Efenol which results in ⟨d⟩ /d/ staying unaffected under lenition and rhotic mutation.
* Eastern Efenol ⟨ç⟩ /tʃ/ shifting to /dʒ/ (spelled as either ⟨cg⟩ or ⟨j⟩) under soft and nasal mutation and staying unchanged under rhotic mutation.
* Various consonant mergers, such as Eastern and Central Efenol merger of /z/ with /s/.
* Initial /p/ when descended from Spanish /kw/ (spelled ⟨pw⟩ in Standard Efenol) has a different behaviour in other Efenol varieties:
** It behaves (and is spelled) as a regular /p/ in North-Western Efenol (lenited to /b/ and mutated to ⟨ph⟩ /f/ otherwise).
** In Northern Efenol, /kw/-derived /p/ (written as a regular 'p') becomes ⟨ph⟩ /f/ under nasal and rhotic mutation but remains a ⟨pv⟩ /v/ under lenition.
** In Eastern Efenol the pattern is identical as in Standard Efenol but the lack of distinction between /b/ and /v/ makes the distinction irrelevant under lenition.

==Evolution from Spanish==

The following section indicates how Efenol vocabulary can be derived from the corresponding Spanish-language terms. As elsewhere in this article, the content of this section applies to the Western Efenol dialect unless otherwise noted.

===About the base Spanish variety===

All forms of Efenol are based on (and supposedly descended from) the Spanish language as spoken today. The Spanish variety that serves as base for North-Central Efenol (''ie'' excluding the Southern Efenol language) is an unspecified form of European Spanish with the following features:
* Preserving the distinction between phonemes /s/ (spelled ⟨S⟩ in Spanish) and /θ/ (spelled as either ⟨c⟩ or ⟨z⟩). This feature is known as 'distinción' and is found in most of Spain, contrasting with the merger of both sounds into /s/ ('seseo', found in most of the Spanish speaking territories) or the merger of both sounds into /θ/ ('ceceo', found in some regions of Andalusia).
* Preserving the distinction between the phonemess /ʝ/ (spelled ⟨y⟩) and /ʎ/ (spelled ⟨ll⟩). This feature (sometimes referred to as 'lleísmo') is relatively uncommon but can be found in some regions of Spain and South America, contrasting with the far more common merger of both phonemes (a feature known as 'yeísmo'). On the other hand, the Southern Efenol language (not covered in this article) either descends from a variety with yeísmo or adopted a similar merger early on its evolution.

This features suggest that Efenol would probably have originated somewhere in the northern half of Spain. Accordingly, Spanish regionalisms are preferred to Latin American regionalisms although neutral vocabulary found across the Spanish-speaking world is preferred to either.

===Vowels===

====Monophthongs====

As mentioned in the phonology section, Spanish pentavocalic system [ä e̞ i o̞ u] is mostly preserved (and expanded) in Efenol. When not in an unstressed word-final open syllable (where vowels are typically subject to elision) nor affected by ablaut, these five vowels (as monophthongs) evolve in the following way:
* Spanish 'a' [ä] remains as an ⟨a⟩ [ä]. This vowel is usually transcribed as /a/ in phonemic transcriptions despite it remaining a central low vowel (except for Hunzad, where it is indeed fronted to [a] or in Eastern Efenol where the vowel is fronted to [a] in unstressed position and remains central [ä] otherwise).
* Spanish 'e' [e̞] is raised to be a true upper-mid [e], spelled ⟨e⟩. This is true except for Central and Northern Efenol (where it remains as a true mid [e̞]) or in Eastern/North-Eastern Efenol where vowel height varies depending on stress placement.
* Spanish 'i' [i] remains the same.
* Spanish 'o' [o̞] is raised to a true upper-mid [o] except in Northern Efenol where it remains an [o̞] or in Eastern/North-Eastern Efenol where vowel height varies depending on stress placement.
* Spanish 'u' [u] remains the same.

Examples: manzana ⟩ ''manthan'', queso ⟩ ''ces'', mito ⟩ ''mit'', rosa ⟩ ''ros'', mundo ⟩ munn''.

====Diphthongs and hiatus====

Vowel sequences (diphthongs and certain cases of hiatus) evolve in the following way:
* Spanish ⟨ai⟩ becomes ⟨ei⟩: aire ⟩ ''eir''.
* Spanish ⟨ae⟩ becomes a long e, ⟨ê⟩: aeropuerto ⟩ ''êrobërth''.
* Spanish ⟨au⟩ becomes an open o, ⟨ò⟩ /ɔ/ except in Northern Efenol, where it becomes ⟨ou⟩ /ow/ in stressed position or is merged with ⟨o⟩ /o/ otherwise and in North-Western Efenol where it is always merged with ⟨o⟩ /o/: pausa ⟩ ''pòs'' (N: ''pous'', NW: ''pos''), auténtico ⟩ ''òténthig'' (N: ''oténzih'', NW: ''oténthetc'').
* Spanish ⟨ea⟩ becomes a long a, ⟨â⟩: maestro ⟩ ''mêthor''.
* Spanish ⟨ei⟩ becomes a long i, ⟨î⟩: reina ⟩ ''rîn''.
* Spanish ⟨eo⟩ and ⟨eu⟩ becomes ⟨ë⟩ /ɛ/ in Western Efenol: correo ⟩ ''corhë'', euro ⟩ ''ër''.
* Spanish ⟨ia⟩ and Spanish ⟨io⟩ behave differently depending on whether they are in the first syllable of a word or not
** If they are, they remain as /ja/ and /jo/ which, due to an earlier historical development (when they were pronounced [ɪa] and [ɪo]) are represented as ⟨ea⟩ and ⟨eo⟩ in Western Efenol orthography. The /j/ may be lost under some scenarios, such as when following an s as the combination /sj/ becomes /ʃ/. It's also worth noting that an initial s (palatalized to /ʃ/) is added to word initial /ja/ and /jo/ in Western and North-Western Efenol (but not in any other varieties). Examples: piano ⟩ ''pean'', violín ⟩ ''beolin'', hiato ⟩ ''seat'' (but Northern ''iat''), ionizar ⟩ ''seonithar'' (but Northern ''ionizar'').
** If there is a preceding syllable, then 'the yod moves backwards' resulting in an i-ablaut of the preceding vowel while the /a/ or /o/ of the original diphthong evolves as usual. Examples: vegetariano ⟩ ''bechedeiran'' (the ''ei'' arising from an i-ablauted a), nación ⟩ ''neithôn'' (this generalizes to all Spanish words with the -ción suffix, now expressed through i-ablaut and -thôn). There is a small number of exceptions to this rule, such as colombiano ⟩ ''colobean'' and fermión ⟩ ''fermeôn''. Additionally, the Spanish suffix -ción does not trigger i-ablaut in Northern Efenol (nación ⟩ ''nazôn'') while both forms are found in North-Eastern Efenol (thus both ''nazôn'' and ''neizôn'' may be found in the northeast).
* Spanish ⟨ie⟩ becomes a long i, ⟨î⟩. In Western and North-Western Efenol, word-initial /je/ gets a prosthetic /s/. Examples: miedo ⟩ ''mît'', hierro ⟩ ''sîr'' (but Northern ''irr'' or ''îrr'').
* Spanish ⟨iu⟩ becomes an ⟨y⟩ /y/. This vowel is often lengthened if the resulting Efenol word is monosyllabic (the resulting long /y/ is written as ⟨ij⟩ in the Western Efenol orthography). In theory, a word with an initial /ju/ in Spanish would also get a prosthetic /s/ in Western and North-Western Efenol though no such words have been attested. Examples: ciudad ⟩ ''thydhadh'', viudo ⟩ ''bijdh''.
* Spanish ⟨oe⟩ becomes a long e in Western and Central Efenol, ⟨öe⟩ /øː/~/øi/ in Northern Efenol, ⟨oe⟩ /oe/ in North-Western Efenol and varies between ⟨ê⟩ /eː/ and ⟨oi⟩ in Eastern Efenol (in free variation, with the latter being more common in North-Eastern Efenol). Example: coherencia ⟩ ''cêrînth'' (but Northern ''cöerînz'').
* Spanish ⟨oi⟩ remains as ⟨oi⟩ except in Northern Efenol where Spanish /oj/ (but not the hiatus /o.i/) becomes ⟨öe⟩, pronounced as either /øː/ or /øi/. Examples: boina ⟩ ''boin'' (Northern ''böen''), oír ⟩ ''oir'' (also ''oir'' in Northern Efenol, since the word has hiatus in Spanish).
* Much like ⟨ia⟩ and ⟨io⟩, Spanish ⟨ua⟩ and ⟨uo⟩ behave differently depending on whether they occur in the first syllable of a word or not. This does not include the sequences ⟨gua⟩ and ⟨guo⟩ which are interpreted as corresponding to a consonantal /w/ followed by an /a/ or an /o/.
** In the first syllable of a word Spanish ⟨ua⟩ and ⟨uo⟩ evolve to become ⟨a⟩ and ⟨ô⟩. The missing /w/, however, can trigger a change in the preceding consonant. In all North-Central dialects (ie all Efenol varieties other than Southern Efenol) the sequenced ⟨cua⟩ and ⟨cuo⟩ become ⟨pa⟩ and ⟨po⟩. Additionally, in Western and Central Efenol (and for some North-Western speakers as well) some voiceless onsets such as /s/ become voiced. Examples: Juan ⟩ ''Chan'', duodecimal ⟩ ''dôdethimal'', cuatro ⟩ ''páthor'', cuórum ⟩ ''pôrum'', suave ⟩ ''zabh''.
** If there is a preceding syllable, the /w/ is removed and the preceding vowel is u-ablauted (or lengthened if ordinary u-ablaut wouldn't result in a change). The sequence /kw/ in Spanish still evolves to /p/ (or /v/ if lenited). In Western and (most forms of) Central Efenol a preceding /s/ is still voiced to /z/ under this scenario. Examples: aduana ⟩ ''òdan'', virtuoso ⟩ ''byrthô'', acuarela ⟩ ''avarel'', adecuar ⟩ ''adhepar'', casual ⟩ ''còzal'' (alternates with ''còsal'', derived by analogy from ''còs'', cause).
* Spanish ⟨ue⟩ becomes ⟨ë⟩ /ɛ/ in Western Efenol. The sequence ⟨cue⟩, however, becomes /pe/ in the Northern and Western dialects. Examples: puesto ⟩ ''pëth'', cueva ⟩ ''pebh'' (but Eastern ''këb'').
* Spanish ⟨ui⟩ becomes an ⟨y⟩ /y/: buitre ⟩ ''výther''.

The first element of a hiatus in word-final position may be preserved with little change other than compensatory lengthening or, in the case of ⟨eo⟩, a shift to ⟨ë⟩. Examples: rocío ⟩ ''rothî'', paseo ⟩ ''pahë'' (also found as ''pathë'' due to an early confusion with ''*paceo'').

====Elision of word-final vowels====

Word-final unstressed vowels are usually elided in Efenol. Examples: mesa ⟩ ''mes'', escape ⟩ ''echab'', mono ⟩ ''mon''.

Stressed word-final vowels become long vowels: Panamá ⟩ ''Panamâ'', café ⟩ ''cafê'', buró ⟩ ''burô''. This is not true of monosyllables (mostly particles), where vowels remain short: de ⟩ ''de''.

If the elision of an unstressed word-final vowel would result in an illegal consonant cluster in codal final position, the vowel is moved to break the cluster: CCV ⟩ CVC. This is the case for Spanish clusters with an L or an R as a second element (padre ⟩ ''pádher'', cifra ⟩ ''thífar'') except for ⟨gl⟩ and ⟨gr⟩ which evolve into Efenol ⟨lw⟩ /ɫ/ and ⟨rh⟩ /ʀ/ respectively, both of which also result in a u-ablaut of the previous vowel: siglo ⟩ ''sylw'', tigre ⟩ ''*tyrh'' ⟩ ''tijr''.

Other disallowed final clusters include L followed by a voiced sound (esmeralda ⟩ ''emeráladh'', alma ⟩ ''álam'') and, in dialects other than the standard Western Efenol, R followed by a voiced sound: barba ⟩ Western: ''barbh'', Northern: ''bárav''; arma ⟩ Western ''arm'', Northern: ''áram''.

North-Western Efenol, most Central Efenol varieties and a few Western Efenol varieties always break these clusters with the same vowel regardless of the value of the original vowel. North-Western Efenol uses the vowel ⟨ë⟩ /ə/ while Central and non-standard Western Efenol varieties use ⟨a⟩ /a/. Non-standard Western varieties also extend this behavior to the clusters that are preserved in standard Efenol. Examples: arma ⟩ Standard/Western: ''arm'', Central and non-standard Western: ''áram'', North-Western: ''árëm''; padre ⟩ Standard/Western: ''pádher'', Central and non-standard Western: ''pádhar'', North-Western: ''pádhër''; libro ⟩ Standard/Western: ''lívor'', Central and non-standard Western: ''*lívar'' (alternating with ''lívor'' by influence of Standard Efenol), North-Western: ''lívër''.

The clusters ⟨mbr⟩, ⟨ndr⟩ and ⟨ngr⟩ are treated differently. In Western Efenol (and in some forms of Central Efenol) they evolve into ⟨nv_r⟩, ⟨ndh_r⟩ and ⟨nrh_r⟩, with the elided vowel moving before the R: hombre ⟩ ''ónver'', tundra ⟩ ''túndhar'', sangre ⟩ ''sánrher''. Eastern, North-Western and most Central Efenol dialects preserve the /b/, /d/ and /g/ in those clusters unchanged as exemplified by Eastern ''ómber'', ''túndar'' and ''sánger''. Northern and North-Eastern Efenol also follow the 'Eastern' model (except for ⟨mbr⟩, which yields ⟨nv_r⟩ in Northern Efenol) but they also lengthen the preceding vowel in these cases, resulting in Northern ''ônver'', ''tûndar'' and ''sânger'' (often shortened to ''sâng'').

===Consonants===

====The lenition rule====

Spanish voiceless plosives (/k/, /p/ and /t/) in intervocalic position may evolve into two different phonemes in North-Central Efenol: they may be retained as voiceless stops (/k p t/) or become voiced (/g b d/; /ɰ β̝ ð̞/ in Eastern Efenol). This is determined from their context by the 'lenition rule'.

The result depends on the vowels preceding and following the affected plosive according to the following table, where rows indicate the preceding Spanish vowel (or Vi- / Vu- for dipthongs with a final i or u) and columns indicate the following Spanish vowe (or iV / uV for dipthongs with an initial i or u).

{| class="wikitable"
! style="text-align: center; font-style:italic; background-color:#efefef;" | Efenol lenition rule
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#efefef;" | -a
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#efefef;" | -e
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#efefef;" | -i
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#efefef;" | -o
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#efefef;" | -u
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#efefef;" | -iV
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#efefef;" | -uV
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#efefef;" | a-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Voiced
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Voiced
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Voiced
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Voiced
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Voiced
| style="background-color:#ffce93;" |
| style="background-color:#cbcefb;" | Voiced
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#efefef;" | e-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Voiced
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Voiced
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Voiced
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" |
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" |
| style="background-color:#cbcefb;" | Voiced
| style="background-color:#ffce93;" |
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#efefef;" | i-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" |
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" |
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" |
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" |
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" |
| style="background-color:#ffce93;" |
| style="background-color:#ffce93;" |
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#efefef;" | o-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Voiced
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" |
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" |
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Voiced
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Voiced
| style="background-color:#ffce93;" |
| style="background-color:#cbcefb;" | Voiced
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#efefef;" | u-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" |
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" |
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" |
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" |
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" |
| style="background-color:#ffce93;" |
| style="background-color:#cbcefb;" | Voiced
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#efefef;" | Vi-
| style="background-color:#cbcefb;" | Voiced
| style="background-color:#cbcefb;" | Voiced
| style="background-color:#ffce93;" |
| style="background-color:#ffce93;" |
| style="background-color:#ffce93;" |
| style="background-color:#ffce93;" |
| style="background-color:#ffce93;" |
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#efefef;" | Vu-
| style="background-color:#cbcefb;" | Voiced
| style="background-color:#ffce93;" |
| style="background-color:#ffce93;" |
| style="background-color:#cbcefb;" | Voiced
| style="background-color:#cbcefb;" | Voiced
| style="background-color:#ffce93;" |
| style="background-color:#ffce93;" |
|}

One notorious exception is that word-final ⟨-ico⟩ and ⟨-ica⟩ are always inherited as ⟨-ig⟩ rather than ⟨-ic⟩ as expected from this rule.

====Spanish B and V====

As it is the case in all modern Spanish varieties (aside from rare instances of spelling-pronunciation), Efenol treats Spanish ⟨B⟩ and ⟨V⟩ identically.

In word-initial position, a simple ⟨B⟩ (or ⟨V⟩) onset is inherited as ⟨B⟩ /b/. Notice that Efenol ⟨b⟩ stands for an actual voiced plosive [b] rather than an approximant [β̞] as it's typically the case in Spanish. Under Efenol grammar, this /b/ may undergo lenition or rhotic mutation to become ⟨bh⟩ /v/ or nasal mutation to become ⟨mb⟩ /mb/.

Examples: burro ⟩ ''bûr'', vida ⟩ ''bidh'', la vida ⟩ ''a·bhidh'', en vida ⟩ ''mbidh''.

In word-initial position the clusters 'br' and 'bl' are also preserved in Western Efenol. The latter, ⟨bl⟩, is reduced to ⟨v⟩ /v/ in Northern and North-Eastern Efenol, adding a coda ⟨l⟩ to the first syllable unless it already had a coda other than /s/ or /θ/ (this may result in a rhotic mutation of a neighboring plosive).

Examples: brusco ⟩ ''bruch'', bloquear ⟩ ''blogâr'' (Northern: ''vol'hâr''), blusa ⟩ ''blus'' (Nothern ''vuls''), blanco ⟩ ''blanch'' (Northern: ''vanh'').

In intervocalic position, ⟨b⟩ and ⟨v⟩ are lenited to ⟨v⟩ /v/ (notice that Efenol V stands for a true labiodental fricative, unlike Spanish V which is also a bilabial consonant and usually and approximant). In Western and North-Western Efenol alone, any word-final ⟨v⟩ (after vowel elision) changes to ⟨bh⟩, often realized allophonically as [β] although coexisting with [v].

Examples: vivir ⟩ ''bivir'', ábaco ⟩ ''ávag'', lobo ⟩ ''lobh'' (Northern: ''lov'').

The clusters ⟨rb⟩ and ⟨rv⟩ evolve to become Efenol ⟨rv⟩. The aforementioned rule about final ⟨v⟩ shifting to ⟨bh⟩ in Western and North-Western dialects remains in effect in writing, although in the spoken language the [v] pronunciation far prevails over [β]. Notice that any final ⟨rv⟩ cluster will be broken in dialects other than Standard Western Efenol.

Examples: árbol ⟩ ''árvol'', barba ⟩ ''barbh'' (Northern: ''bárav''), arveja ⟩ ''arvech'', ciervo ⟩ ''thîrbh'' (Northern: ''zîrov'').

The clusters ⟨lb⟩ and ⟨lv⟩ are inherited as ⟨lv⟩ except in word-final position (after eliding a final Spanish vowel) where Efenol phonology mandates that the cluster must be broken as mentioned in the evolution of vowels section.

Examples: albañil ⟩ ''alveinil'', alba ⟩ ''álabh'', malvado ⟩ ''malvadh'', calvo ⟩ ''cálobh''.

Non-initial Spanish 'br' and 'bl' clusters are broken by moving the second element to the coda of the same syllable. If the syllable already had a non-fricative coda, an echo vowel is added. This also results in the lenition of the original ⟨b⟩ to ⟨v⟩ /v/. Notice that the sequences ⟨mbr⟩ and ⟨mbl⟩ are treated irregularly in some dialects.

Examples: abrazo ⟩ ''avarth'', abril ⟩ ''*avirl'' ⟩ ''aviril'', cobre ⟩ ''cóver'', hablar ⟩ ''avalar'', tabla ⟩ ''tával'', hombre ⟩ ''ónver'', emblema ⟩ ''envelem''.

In Western Efenol, the Spanish clusters ⟨mb⟩ and ⟨nv⟩ become ⟨b⟩ /b/ in word-medial position and ⟨mm⟩ /m/ in word-final position (after eliding final vowels). The latter alternates with ⟨hb⟩ /b/ in Efenol grammar, particularly in the formation of plurals.

Examples: tambor ⟩ ''tabor'', invierno ⟩ ''ibîron'', bomba ⟩ ''bomm'', bombas ⟩ ''bëhb''.

====Spanish C====

The Spanish letter C can represent three different sounds: a fricative /θ/ (which is merged with /s/ in most Spanish varieties but not in the ancestor of Efenol), a stop /k/ and an affricate /tʃ/ when in the digraph ⟨ch⟩ (which will be covered in the following section).

Before a Spanish E or I, where C is pronounced as a fricative, the phoneme is inherited as a /θ/ sound, spelled ⟨th⟩ in western-like orthographies (including Standard Efenol) and ⟨z⟩ in northern-like orthographies.

Examples: cielo ⟩ ''thîl'' (Northern: ''zîl''), maceta ⟩ ''mathed'' (Northern: ''mazedd'').

The cluster ⟨sc⟩, when pronounced /sθ/, is simplified to /θ/: escena ⟩ ''ethen''.

It should be noted that the Spanish suffix -ción (corresponding to English -tion) always corresponds to ''-thôn'' with an i-ablaut on the preceding vowel (although Northern Efenol consistently omits the i-ablaut for this suffix). It's plural, however, becomes ''-thën'' rather than the expected ''-thoin''.

Elsewhere, Spanish C is pronounced as a /k/. This phoneme evolves in different ways depending on its context. The following notes will assume that the phoneme is not followed by a /w/ (a Spanish 'u' forming a rising dipthong) as /kw/ has a particular behaviour that will be discussed in a subsection of its own.

Word-initially, when not followed by a consonant, Spanish /k/ is retained as /k/, spelled ⟨c⟩ in Efenol varieties other than Eastern Efenol (which may optionally use ⟨k⟩ instead):

Examples: calma ⟩ ''cálam'' (Eastern: ''kálam''), cómo ⟩ ''com'' (Eastern: ''kom''), curva ⟩ ''curbh'' (Eastern: ''kúrav'').

Word-intial ⟨cr⟩ is also retained (optionally spelled as ⟨kr⟩ in Eastern Efenol). Example: cruz ⟩ ''cruth'' (Eastern ''kruz'').

Intervocalic C is normally inherited as either voiceless ⟨c⟩ /k/ or voiced ⟨g⟩ /g/ according to the lenition rule. As mentioned before, Spanish words ending in ⟨-ico⟩ or ⟨-ica⟩ are an exception to this rule as they yield the ending ⟨-ig⟩ rather than the expected ⟨-ig⟩, although the former can still be found in some excaptions such as rico ⟩ ''ric'' and México ⟩ ''Méchic'' (although the latter coexists with ''Méchig''). Derivations of words with '-ico' typically preserve the /g/ or /k/ of the base word: música ⟩ ''músig'' =⟩ musical ⟩ ''musigal'', but México ⟩ ''Méchic'' =⟩ mexicano ⟩ ''mechican''.

Examples: opaco ⟩ ''obag'' (lenition rule indicates that the stop is voiced between a and o), ecología ⟩ ecolochî (lenition rule indicates that the stop isn't voiced between e and o), mítico ⟩ ''mítig'' (contrary to the lenition rule).

The above isn't true if the ⟨c⟩ is brought in contact with an ⟨r⟩ or ⟨l⟩ due to break of a preceding Cr or Cl cluster. In such cases, ⟨c⟩ undergoes rhotic mutation and becomes ⟨ch⟩ /x/.

Examples: república ⟩ *repúbhilca ⟩ ''repúvilch''.

The same behaviour applies to instances of ⟨c⟩ preceded by ⟨l⟩, ⟨n⟩ or ⟨r⟩ and followed by a vowel:

Examples: alcohol ⟩ ''alchôl'', calco ⟩ ''calch'', manco ⟩ ''manch'', arco ⟩ ''arch''.

Non word-initial ⟨crV⟩ (where V represents an arbitrary vowel) and all instances of ⟨clV⟩ are broken becoming ⟨chVr⟩ or ⟨chVl⟩ respectively. Notice that when this happens in the last syllable of a word some Efenol dialects may replace the original vowel (with /a/ in Central Efenol and with /ə/ in Eastern and North-Western Efenol). If the syllable already had a coda other than a fricative, the final ⟨l⟩ or ⟨r⟩ may be deleted.

Examples: ocre ⟩ ''ócher'' (Central: ''óchar''), clave ⟩ ''chalbh'', clima ⟩ ''chílam''.

The cluster ⟨sc⟩, when pronounced /sk/, becomes ⟨ch⟩ /x/:

Examples: mosca ⟩ ''moch'', escape ⟩ ''echab''.

In Eastern Efenol, any resulting /k/ followed by a front vowel (e, i, ö or y) are palatalized to ⟨ç⟩ /tʃ/. This does not affect instances of /k/ which were followed by a /w/ in Spanish (see next subsection).

Examples: coche ⟩ ''*cötc'' ⟩ ''çötç'' /tʃøtʃ/ (cf. Western Efenol ''cët'', /kɛt/); cuerno ⟩ ''*cwörn'' ⟩ ''kör'n''.

This does not affect i-ablauted plural nouns unless they also feature the /tʃ/ sound in it singular form. Some Eastern Efenol speakers, however, may palatalize all instances of /k/ before /y/, including those originated from an i-ablauted /ku/.

Examples: cama ⟩ ''kam'', plural ''keim'' (not ''*çeim''); cuna ⟩ ''kun'', plural ''kŷn'' (for most Eastern Efenol speakers), ''çŷn'' (for a minority of Eastern Efenol speakers).

Spanish C as a non-word-final coda (particularly in the cluster ⟨ct⟩) is elided and lengthens the preceding vowel. Any following consonant is unaffected by lenition. Word-final /k/ (found only in loanwords) is retained as a ⟨c⟩ /k/ except when preceded by an ⟨l⟩, ⟨n⟩ or ⟨r⟩ which mutates the /k/ to /x/ as usual.

Examples: acto ⟩ ''ât'', acceso ⟩ ''âthes'', bistec ⟩ ''bithec'', bloc ⟩ ''volch''.

=====Evolution of /kw/=====

As in the evolution of many other languages, Spanish /kw/ (represented in Spanish orthography by ⟨cu⟩ followed by another vowel) evolves into a labial stop /p/ in Efenol. In most Efenol varieties the resulting /p/ (spelled ⟨pw⟩ in Standard Efenol) behaves different than a regular /p/ under consonant mutation.

Examples: cuatro /ˈkwa.tɾo/ ⟩ ''pwáthor'' /ˈpa.θoɾ/.

One key west/east isogloss across Efenol dialects concerns the evolution of the sequences /kwe/ and /kwi/. Northern, North-Western and Western Efenol (the standard language) apply the /kw/ -⟩ /p/ rule first and have these sequences yield /pe/ and /pi/. However, in Central, Eastern and North-Eastern Efenol the diphthongs /we/ and /wi/ are simplified to /ø/ and /y/ before the rule applies, removing the necessary /w/ to trigger the change.

{| class="wikitable"
!
! Reflex of "cuerno" /ˈkweɾ.no/
! Reflex of "cuidado" /kwi.ˈda.do/
|-
| style="background-color:#cbcefb;" | Western (Standard)
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | pwern /peɾn/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | pwidhadh /pi.ˈðað/
|-
| style="background-color:#cbcefb;" | North-Western
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | pérën /ˈpe.ɾən/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | pidhadh /pi.ˈðað/
or
pidhao /pi.ˈðao/
|-
| style="background-color:#cbcefb;" | Northern
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | péron /ˈpe.ɾon/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | pidad /pi.ˈðað/
|-
| style="background-color:#ffce93;" | North-Eastern
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | cöron /ˈkø.ɾɔn/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | cydad /kʏ.ˈðäð/
|-
| style="background-color:#ffce93;" | Eastern
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | kör'n /ˈkø.ɾən/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | kydad /kʏ.ˈðäð/
or
çydad /tʃʏ.ˈðäð/
|-
| style="background-color:#ffce93;" | Central
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | cëran /ˈkɛ.ɾən/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | cydhau /ky.ðau/
|}

It should be noted that the resulting /kø/ and /ky/ sequences in Eastern Efenol originally did not undergo palatalization as usual for a /k/ preceding a front vowel. However, an icreasing number of Eastern Efenol speakers have indeed shifted even these occurrences of /ky/ to /tʃy/.

Outside word-initial position, these /p/ phonemes evolved in a similar way to other voiceless consonants. When in intervocalic position, the phoneme is lenited to /v/ if affected by the lenition rule (although still considering that the following vowel is a uV dipthong).

Examples: acuarela ⟩ *apwarela ⟩ ''avarel'' (lenition rule indicates that the stop is voiced between a and uV), adecuar ⟩ *adepwar ⟩ ''adhepar'' (lenition rule indicates that the stop is not voiced between e and uV).

Any instances of these /p/ preceded by an ⟨l⟩, ⟨n⟩ or ⟨r⟩ (including diplaced l's and r's from broken clusters) evolved to ⟨chw⟩ /xw/ which was then simplified to ⟨ch⟩ /x/ but affecting the preceding vowel with u-ablaut. The same change can also be found in words wher the original /kw/ is preceded by an /s/.

Examples: circuito ⟩ *cirpwito ⟩ ''thyrchit'', encuentro ⟩ *enpwéntor ⟩ ''ënchénthor'', frecuencia ⟩ *ferpwencia ⟩ ''fërchînth'', escuadra ⟩ ''ëchádhar''.

These words with a medial /kwe/ or /kwi/ in Spanish may often be found in forms like their Western and Northern equivalents (west of the isogloss) in dialects east of the isogloss. This is mostly explained through inter-dialectal influence. Thus, an Eastern Efenol speaker may use the inherited ''zir'hyt'', ''enhönz'r'' and ''fer'höinz' (which resolve /kwe/ and /kwi/ as /kø/and /ky/), the western-like ''zyr'hit'', ''önhénz'r'' and ''för'hînz'' or even clear inter-dialectal borrowings like ''fer'hînz'' from Western Efenol ''fërchînth''.

====Spanish Ch====

As in English 'church', the Spanish digraph ⟨ch⟩ represents a an affricate /tʃ/. This phoneme is mostly lost in Efenol, although it later reemerged in many Efenol varieties (most notably in Eastern Efenol as a palalized Spanish /k/).

In Western and North-Western Efenol, a word-initial Spanish ⟨ch⟩ is inherited as ⟨tc⟩, a combination that may be pronounced as /tʃ/ or /ʃ/. The same word-initial onset is inherited as /tj/ in Northern Efenol and as /sj/ in other varieties.

Examples: choza ⟩ ''tcoth'' (Northern ''tioz'', Eastern ''sioz''), China ⟩ Tcîn (Northern ''Tîn'', Eastern ''Sîn'').

Elsewhere (even when preceded by an ⟨l⟩ or ⟨r⟩), Spanish ⟨ch⟩ triggers i-ablaut on the preceding vowel and becomes one of the following sounds:
* In Western, North-Western and Central Efenol: ⟨t⟩ /t/.
* In Eastern Efenol: /tʃ/ (spelled ⟨tç⟩ word finally or ⟨c⟩~⟨ç⟩ otherwise)
* In Northern and North-Eastern Efenol: ⟨ts⟩ /ts/.

Examples: noche ⟩ ''nët'' (Northern: ''nöts'', Eastern: ''nötç''), ochenta ⟩ ''ëtenth'' (Northern: ''ötsenz'', Eastern: ''öçenz''), marcha ⟩ ''meirt'' (Northern: ''meirts'', Eastern: ''meirç''), colcha ⟩ ''cëlt'' (Northern: ''cölts'', Eastern: ''çöltç'').

Some Western and Central Efenol speakers may replace the resulting 'lt' and 'rt' with ⟨lth⟩ and ⟨rth⟩.

====Spanish D====

In word-initial position, a simple ⟨D⟩ onset is inherited as ⟨D⟩ /d/. Notice that Efenol ⟨d⟩ stands for an actual voiced plosive [d] rather than an approximant [ð̞] as it's typically the case in Spanish. Under Efenol grammar, this /d/ may undergo lenition or rhotic mutation to become ⟨dh⟩ /ð/ or nasal mutation to become ⟨nd⟩ /nd/.

Examples: dama ⟩ ''dam'', la dama ⟩ ''a·dham'', dólares ⟩ ''dëler'', en dólares ⟩ ''ndëler''.

In word-initial position the cluster ⟨dr⟩ is also preserved in Western Efenol.

Examples: dragón ⟩ ''draun'', drama ⟩ ''dram''.

In intervocalic position, ⟨d⟩ is lenited to ⟨dh⟩ /ð/.

Examples: dado ⟩ ''dadh'', duda ⟩ ''dudh''.

The clusters ⟨rd⟩ evolves to become Efenol ⟨rdh⟩. Notice that any final ⟨rdh⟩ cluster will be broken in dialects other than Standard Western Efenol.

Examples: ardilla ⟩ ''ardhîl'' or ''erdhîl'', gordo ⟩ ''gordh'' (Northern ''górod'').

The cluster ⟨ld⟩ is inherited as ⟨ldh⟩ except in word-final position (after eliding a final Spanish vowel) where Efenol phonology mandates that the cluster must be broken as mentioned in the evolution of vowels section.

Examples: maldad ⟩ ''maldhadh'', saldo ⟩ ''sálodh''.

Any occurrence of ⟨dl⟩ is replaced by ⟨rl⟩ /ɾl/.

Non-initial Spanish ⟨dr⟩ clusters are broken by moving the second element to the coda of the same syllable. If the syllable already had a non-fricative coda, an echo vowel is added. This also results in the lenition of the original ⟨d⟩ to ⟨dh⟩ /ð/. Notice that the sequence ⟨ndr⟩ and ⟨mbl⟩ are treated irregularly in some dialects.

Examples: edredón ⟩ ''edherdhon'', madre ⟩ ''mádher'', ladrón ⟩ ''ladhoron'', almendral ⟩ ''alvendharal''.

Exceptionally, the name of the city of Madrid is rendered as ''Madirth'' rather than the expected ''*Madhiridh'' or ''*Madhiridh''.

In Western Efenol, the Spanish cluster ⟨nd⟩ becomes ⟨d⟩ /d/ in word-medial position and ⟨nn⟩ /n/ in word-final position (after eliding final vowels). The latter alternates with ⟨hd⟩ /d/ in Efenol grammar, particularly in the formation of plurals.

Examples: comandante ⟩ ''comadanth'', mundo ⟩ ''munn'', mundos ⟩ ''mijhd''.

=====Spanish participles -ado/-ido=====

In most Efenol varieties (including standard Western Efenol), Spanish participles (which typically end in -ado or -ido) evolve as expected: to -adh or -idh respectively.

Examples: cantado ⟩ ''canthadh'', corrido ⟩ ''corhidh'', partido ⟩ ''parthidh''.

This is not the case in Central, North-Western and in a few non-standard varieties of Western Efenol, however. In Central Efenol, -ado and -ido in participles evolve into ''-au'' and ''-ŷ'' instead. The same applies to non-standard Western Efenol (with the endings ''-au'' and ''-ij'').

Examples: cantado ⟩ ''canthau'', corrido ⟩ ''corrŷ'' (non-standard Western ''corhij''), partido ⟩ ''parthŷ'' (non-standard Western ''parthij'').

In the North-Western dialect both -ado and -ido participles are regularized to ''-ao''.

Examples: cantado ⟩ ''canthao'', corrido ⟩ ''curhao'', partido ⟩ ''parthao''.

There is some variation in these dialects regarding whether nouns ending in -ado/-ada and -ido/-ida should be affected by this development or not. In general, Central Efenol tends to apply the change to nouns ending in -ado (''-au'', cuidado ⟩ ''cydhau'') and -ada (''-â'', parada ⟩ ''parâ'', but nada ⟩ ''nadh'') while the written North-Western norm tends to only use the -ao ending for participles themselves.

====Spanish F====

When not followed by another consonant, Spanish ⟨f⟩ /f/ remains unchanged.

Examples: febrero ⟩ ''feverer'', afeitar ⟩ ''afîdar'', ánfora ⟩ ''ánfor''.

Word-initial ⟨fr⟩ is avoided whenever possible: the cluster is broken (moving the ⟨r⟩ to the coda) as long as this does not result in an illegal coda.

Examples: fruta ⟩ ''furth'', frescura ⟩ ''ferchur'', francés ⟩ ''franthê'' (breaking the cluster would have resulted in ''*farnthe'', with an illegal ⟨rnth⟩ cluster).

The cluster ⟨fl⟩ and non word-initial ⟨fr⟩ are always broken. If moving the ⟨l⟩ or ⟨r⟩ after the vowel would result in an illegal coda this consonants are deleted, often trigger a compensatory lengthening on the vowel.

Examples: África ⟩ ''Áfirch'', zafral ⟩ ''*thafarl'' ⟩ ''thafâl'', flotar ⟩ ''folthar'', flor ⟩ ''*for'r'' ⟩ ''fôr'', afluente ⟩ ''*afëlnth'' ⟩ ''afënth''.

====Spanish G====

The Spanish letter G can represent two different phonemes: a fricative /x/ and a voiced stop (or approximant) /g/~/ɰ/. Additionally, /g/ next to a non-syllabic /u/ is often indistinguishable from [w] and is treated as such in Efenol.

Readers who aren't used to Spanish orthography should bear in mind that the sequences ⟨gue⟩ and ⟨gui⟩ represent /ge/ and /gi/; a diaeresis must be placed over the 'u' to prevent it from being silent: ⟨güe⟩ /gwe/~/we/ and ⟨güi⟩ /gwi/~/wi/.

=====Spanish G as /x/=====

Before a Spanish E or I, where G is pronounced as a fricative, the phoneme is inherited as a /x/ sound, spelled ⟨ch⟩ in western-like orthographies (including Standard Efenol) and ⟨h⟩ in northern-like orthographies.

Examples: generoso ⟩ ''chenerô'' (Northern ''heneros''), ágil ⟩ ''áchil'' (Northern ''áhil'').

=====Spanish G as /gw/=====

The sequences ⟨gua⟩, ⟨güe⟩, ⟨güi⟩ and ⟨guo⟩ are typically inerited as /wa/, /we/, /wi/ and /wo/.

Examples: guante ⟩ ''wanth'', cigüeña ⟩ ''thiwîn'', güisqui (also 'whiskey' or 'whiski') ⟩ ''wîch'' or ''wisci'',

A word final /w/ (after vowel elision) is elided after lengthening and triggering u-ablaut on the preceding vowel.

Examples: antiguo ⟩ ''*anthiw'' ⟩ ''anthij'', desagüe ⟩ ''*dehaw'' ⟩ ''dehòu'', yegua ⟩ ''*sîw'' ⟩ ''sij''.

The word "agua" is an exception to the above rule. It is inherited as ''au'' except in Northern Efenol where it is inherited as ''auz''.

When following as Spanish ⟨n⟩, the resulting ⟨ngu⟩ /ngw/ is inherited as ⟨ng⟩ and inherits u-ablaut on the preceding vowel. The Spanish word 'pingüino' (penguin) is an exception, as the expected result ''pyngin'' is mostly replaced by irregularly-derived ''pingijn''. When the resulting ⟨ng⟩ is word-final (after vowel elision) in a Western Efenol noun, its plural form ends with ⟨hg⟩ /g/ instead.

Examples: lingüística ⟩ ''lyngíthig'', lengua ⟩ ''lëng'', lenguas ⟩ ''lëihg''.

=====Spanish G as /g/=====

In word-initial position, a simple ⟨g⟩ onset is inherited as ⟨g⟩ /g/. Notice that Efenol ⟨g⟩ stands for an actual voiced plosive [g] rather than an approximant [ɰ] as it's typically the case in Spanish. Under Efenol grammar, this /g/ may undergo lenition or rhotic mutation, the result of which is subject to much variation across Efenol dialects, yielding either a glottal stop or a null phoneme in Western Efenol (written ⟨gh⟩ in either case). Under nasal mutation, ⟨g⟩ becomes ⟨ng⟩.

Examples: gato ⟩ ''gad'', el gato ⟩ ''e·ghad'', guerra ⟩ ''gêr'', en guerra ⟩ ''ngêr'' (or ''en gêr'').

Intervocalic /g/ is lost, often resulting in a variety of diphthongs. The sequences /Vge/ and /Vgo/ also result in a change in vowel quality to /Vi/ and /Vu/.

Examples: mago ⟩ ''mau'', a gusto ⟩ ''auth'', aguerrido ⟩ ''airhidh'', agarrar ⟩ ''*aarhar'' ⟩ ''ârhar''.

The sequences ⟨gr⟩ and ⟨rg⟩ are turned into velar trills /ʀ/. In Northern Efenol (as well as some Central Efenol varieties) this phoneme is later merged with the alveolar trill /r/.

Examples: grueso ⟩ ''rhës'' (Northern: ''rös''), gracias ⟩ ''rheith'' (Northern: ''reiz''), mugroso ⟩ ''murhô'' (Northern: ''murros''), órgano ⟩ órhan (Northern: ''órran'').

Word-final /ʀ/ (after vowel elision) is only allowed in Central Efenol (except in varieties which merge the phoneme with /r/, as it's also the case in Northern Efenol). In other dialects (including the western standard) the trill is reduced to an alveolar flap ⟨r⟩ /ɾ/ and the preceding vowel is mutated: lengthened if a back vowel or u-ablauted otherwise.

Examples: magro ⟩ ''*marh'' ⟩ ''mòr'' (Central ''marh'', Northern ''marr''), logro ⟩ ''*lorh'' ⟩ ''lôr'' (Central ''lorh'', Northern ''lorr''), jerga ⟩ ''chër'' (Central ''cherh'', Northern ''herr'').

Similarly, the sequences ⟨gl⟩ and ⟨lg⟩ become ⟨lw⟩ /ɫ/ (as noted in the phonology section, the realization of this phoneme may vary). Most Central Efenol speakers and virtually all Eatern and North-Eastern Efenol speakers merge this phoneme with ⟨l⟩ /l/.

Examples: gloria ⟩ ''lwoir'' (Eastern: ''loir''), alga ⟩ ''alw'' (Eastern ''al'').

In Western Efenol, the Spanish cluster ⟨ng⟩ becomes ⟨g⟩ /g/ in word-medial position and ⟨ng⟩ /ŋ/ in word-final position (after eliding final vowels). The latter alternates with ⟨hg⟩ /g/ in Efenol grammar, particularly in the formation of plurals.

Examples: ángulo ⟩ ''águl'', manga ⟩ ''mang'', mangas ⟩ ''meihg''.

The sequences ⟨ngr⟩ and ⟨ngl⟩ develop irregularly:

Examples: sangre ⟩ ''sánrher'', inglés ⟩ ''inlê''.

====Spanish H====

Spanish H, being silent, leaves no trace in Efenol.

The letter ⟨h⟩ is often found before word-initial dipthongs with /j/ as a first element which in Western and North-Western Efenol are treated the same as having a word-initial ⟨y⟩, getting a prosthetic /ʃ/ or /s/ as a result.

Certain foreign words often spelled with ⟨h⟩ in Spanish may be inherited in Efenol with an /x/: hockey ⟩ ''chóci''.

Even though the word 'hora' (hour) in inherited in all dialects as ''or'', the letter ⟨h⟩ remains a common abbreviation or symbol for 'hour'.

====Spanish J====

The Spanish letter ⟨j⟩, representing the /x/ sound, are inherited as /x/, spelled ⟨ch⟩ in western-like orthographies and ⟨h⟩ in northern-like orthographies.

Examples: juego ⟩ ''chëu'', ajo ⟩ ''ach'', mejor ⟩ ''mechor'', aljibe ⟩ ''alchibh'', forja ⟩ ''forch''.

Any instances of a foreign ⟨j⟩ originally representing a /dʒ/ or /ʒ/ sound are treated as beginning with ⟨y⟩. See the corresponding section for more information.

Examples: jacuzzi ⟩ ''seacijs'', jeans ⟩ ''sîz''.

====Spanish K====

Instances of Spanish K are treated the same as the corresponding regular spellings for /k/: ⟨qu⟩ (before 'e' or 'i') and ⟨c⟩ (elsewhere). See the corresponding sections.

Examples: kilómetro ⟩ ''cilómethor'', Kaliningrado ⟩ ''Calininrhadh'' (or ''Calininrhardh'').

Although the letter 'K' is not used in most Efenol orthographies (Eastern Efenol being the exception), the letter is still used in symbols for metric units (particularlly ''km'' for kilometers and ''kg'' for kilograms which may also be informally abbreviated ''k'', although this latter use is often seen as incorrect).

====Spanish L====

Other than in the digraph ⟨ll⟩ (covered in the next section) and when next to ⟨g⟩, Spanish L is inherited as an /l/ in Efenol.

Examples: león ⟩ ''leôn'', lobo ⟩ ''lobh'', balada ⟩ ''baladh''.

When next to the letter ⟨g⟩, be it in the clusters ⟨gl⟩ or ⟨lg⟩, Spanish L becomes ⟨lw⟩ /ɫ/ as mentioned in the section about Spanish G.

When next to another consonant, L typically triggers rhotic-mutation (hence why it might also be referred to as liquid mutation). Clusters involving ⟨l⟩ as a second element are often broken by moving the ⟨l⟩ to the coda of the syllable; this is further explained in the relevant sections for other consonants (for instance, the section for P for the cluster ⟨pl⟩).

The cluster ⟨sl⟩ is simplfied to ⟨l⟩ unless word-final (after vowel elision), in which case the cluster is broken:

Examples: eslavo ⟩ ''elabh'', isla ⟩ ''ísal'', muslo ⟩ ''músol''.

In Western Efenol alone, instances of a word-final ⟨l⟩ /l/ preceded by an /i/ are pronounced as palatal lateral /ʎ/. This is not reflected in writing (where /ʎ/ is elsewhere found as ⟨lh⟩). Thus ''mil'' (one thousand, from Spanish mil) is phonetically /miʎ/.

=====Special developments=====

The Spanish letter ⟨L⟩ developed irregularly in a limited number of grammatical words.

Most prominently, the Spanish definite articles 'el', 'la', 'los' and 'las' lose the L in all dialects other than Northern Efenol becoming ''e'' (which triggers rhotic mutation, as a side effect of the lost /l/), ''a'' (which triggers lenition) and plural 'o' and 'a' (which do not trigger any kind of consonant mutation). On the other hand, only the original /l/ is preserved in singular definte articles preceding a vowel initial noun: ⟨l'⟩.

Examples: el caso ⟩ ''e·chas'', la casa ⟩ ''a·gas'', los casos ⟩ ''o·ceis'', las casas ⟩ ''a·ceis''.

This does not affect the third-person singular pronoun ⟨él⟩, which is inherited as ''el'' in all Efenol varieties.

Meanwhile, the accusative third-person plural pronoun 'los' becomes ''lho'' by influence of the ⟨ll⟩ in the nominative form 'ellos'.

====Spanish Ll====

The Spanish digraph ⟨ll⟩, pronounced /ʎ/ (and regarded as different from Spanish ⟨y⟩, see the note about the base Spanish variety above) is mostly retained as /ʎ/ although written ⟨lh⟩ instead. In Northern, Eastern and North-Eastern Efenol /ʎ/ (written 'li') is in free variation with /lj/.

Examples: llorar ⟩ ''lhorar'', hallazgo ⟩ ''alháthog''.

In word-final position (after vowel elision), /ʎ/ becomes /l/ and triggers i-ablaut on the preceding vowel. This is not the case in Central Efenol (and in some non-standard Western Efenol varieties) where word-final /ʎ/ remains unchanged. Additionally, some speakers of these varieties use transitional forms where the final /ʎ/ is kept a palatal but the preceding vowel is affected by i-ablaut.

Examples: malla ⟩ ''meil'' (Central ''malh'' or ''meilh''), cepillo ⟩ ''thebîl'' (Central ''thebilh'' or ''thebîlh'').

It should be noted that, due to a later shift, word-final ⟨l⟩ /l/ preceded by an /i/ are pronounced as palatal lateral /ʎ/ in Western Efenol (regardless of whether they originated as such or not). This change, not reflected in writing, makes it so that ''meil'' and ''thebîl'' indeed retain a /ʎ/ sound. This is not true for other dialects, such as Northern ''meil'' and ''zebîl'' realized with alveolar /l/.

====Spanish M====

Spanish M /m/ is usually inherited as such.

Examples: mamá ⟩ ''mamâ'', marco ⟩ ''march'', América ⟩ ''Amérig'', arma ⟩ ''arm'' (but ''áram'' in other Efenol varieties).

Exceptions include:
* When next to a ⟨p⟩, as /p/ is nasal-mutated to /f/ when next to /m/ and the resulting [ɱf] is spelled as ⟨nf⟩: tiempo ⟩ ''tînf''.
* In the sequence ⟨mb⟩ which, as explained under the section about Spanish B, may yield /b/: tambor ⟩ ''tabor''.
* In the cluster ⟨mn⟩, where the /m/ is lost: ''himno'' ⟩ ''in''.
* Next to an ⟨l⟩ (which might have moved from a cluster at the beginning of the previous syllable); only in this case /m/ is mutated to ⟨v⟩ /v/: finalmente ⟩ ''finalventh'', clemencia ⟩ *chelmencia ⟩ ''chelvînth''. This mutation doesn't take place if there is an epenthetic vowel between the L and the M: clima ⟩ *chilma ⟩ ⟩ ''chílam''.

It should be noted that ''-menth'', from the Spanish adverbial suffix '-mente' (similar to English -ly when used to form adverbs), is often added to the Efenol form of the adjective rather than inheriting the adverb directly from Spanish. Thus 'slowly' is not ''*lenthamenth'' as expected from Spanish 'lentamente' but rather ''lenthmenth'', combining ''lenth'' (the expected outcome from Spanish 'lento'~'lenta') and ''-menth''. For adjectives ending in ⟨l⟩ as ''final'', the form ''-venth'' is used instead. This is even the case for adverbs that didn't have a final L in Spanish: 'bellamente' (beautifuly) becomes ''bîlventh'', from 'bella' ⟩ ''bîl'' and the suffix ''-venth''.

The sequences ⟨mn⟩ and ⟨nm⟩ yield their second component: /n/ and /m/ respectively: amnesia ⟩ ''anîs'', himno ⟩ ''in'', inmenso ⟩ ''imez'', inminente ⟩ ''iminenth''.

====Spanish N====

As with M, Spanish N /n/ is mostly inherited as such.

Examples: nieto ⟩ ''nît'', Ana ⟩ ''An'', caimán ⟩ ''caiman''.

Many consonants change due to nasal mutation when next to /n/. In some cases (such as ⟨nd⟩ and ⟨ng⟩) the nasal might be elided. The place of articulation may also assimilate (for instance, /n/ becomes [ŋ] when next to other velars). See the respective sections (such as ''Spanish D'' for ⟨nd⟩) for more information.

Examples: andén ⟩ ''aden'', enjambre ⟩ ''enchánver'', antología ⟩ ''antholochî''.

The sequence ⟨nn⟩ is simplified to a single ⟨n⟩ /n/: innato ⟩ ''inad''.

====Spanish Ñ====

Spanish Ñ, representing the palatal nasal /ɲ/, is only preserved as such in Central Efenol. In all other varieties it becomes /nj/ word-initially (usually spelled ⟨ne⟩ in Western Efenol) and /n/ with an i-ablaut on the preceding vowel instead. Some Central Efenol speakers may conflate word-final Ñ (after vowel elision) with N and apply i-ablaut on the preceding vowel as other Efenol varieties do. A transitional form which uses i-ablaut but retains word final ⟨ñ⟩ /ɲ/ also exists.

Examples: ñandú ⟩ ''neadû'' (Central: ''ñadû''), gnomo ~ ñomo ⟩ ''neom'' (Central: ñom), mañana ⟩ ''meinan'' (Central: ''mañan''), año ⟩ ''ein'' (Central: ''añ', ''eiñ'' or ''ein''), niño ⟩ ''nîn'' (Central: ''niñ'', ''nîñ'' or ''nîn'').

====Spanish P====

Spanish P /p/ evolves in different ways depending on its context.

Word-initially, when not followed by a consonant, Spanish /p/ is retained as 'p' /p/.

Examples: pez ⟩ ''peth'', pelota ⟩ ''pelod''.

Word-intial ⟨pr⟩ is also retained. Example: primo ⟩ ''prim''.

Intervocalic P is normally inherited as either voiceless 'p' /p/ or voiced 'b' /b/ according to the lenition rule.

Examples: opaco ⟩ ''obag'' (lenition rule indicates that the stop is voiced between o and a), equipo ⟩ egip (lenition rule indicates that the stop isn't voiced between i and o).

The above isn't true if the 'p' is brought in contact with an ⟨r⟩ or ⟨l⟩ due to break of a preceding Cr or Cl cluster. In such cases, 'p' undergoes rhotic mutation and becomes /f/.

Examples: increpar ⟩ *incherpar ⟩ ''incherfar''

The same behaviour applies to instances of 'p' preceded by ⟨l⟩, ⟨m⟩ or ⟨r⟩ and followed by a vowel:

Examples: pulpo ⟩ ''pulf'', alpino ⟩ ''alfin'', lámpara ⟩ ''lánfar'', carpa ⟩ ''carf''.

Non word-initial ⟨prV⟩ (where V represents an arbitrary vowel) and all instances of ⟨plV⟩ are broken becoming ⟨fVr⟩ or ⟨fVl⟩ respectively. Notice that when this happens in the last syllable of a word some Efenol dialects may replace the original vowel (with /a/ in Central Efenol and with /ə/ in Eastern and North-Western Efenol). If the syllable already had a coda other than a fricative, the final ⟨l⟩ or ⟨r⟩ may be deleted.

Examples: apreciar ⟩ ''afirthar'', plomo ⟩ ''fólom'', plata ⟩ ''falth'', plan ⟩ ''*faln'' ⟩ ''fân''.

The cluster ⟨sp⟩ also becomes /f/:

Examples: avispa ⟩ ''avif'', especial ⟩ ''efithal''.

Spanish P as a non-word-final coda (particularly in the cluster ⟨pt⟩, when not already simplified to ⟨t⟩ in Spanish as in 'septiembre'~'setiembre') is elided and lengthens the preceding vowel. Any following consonant is unaffected by lenition. This results in a complete merger with the cluster ⟨ct⟩; exceptionally the word 'apto' becomes ''òt'' rather than the expected ''*ât'' to avoid confusion with ''ât'', derived from Spanish 'acto'. Word-final /p/ (found only in loanwords) is retained as a /p/ except when preceded by an ⟨l⟩, ⟨m⟩~⟨n⟩ or ⟨r⟩ which mutates the /p/ to /f/ as usual. The cluster ⟨ps⟩ simplifies to /s/ word-initially.

Examples: rapto ⟩ ''rât'', sinapsis ⟩ ''sinâsis'', psicología ⟩ ''sicolochî'', séptimo ⟩ ''sêtim'', septiembre ⟩ setiembre ⟩ ''sedînver'' (rather than septiembre ⟩ ''sêtînver''), rap ⟩ ''rap''.

====Spanish Q====

Aside from loanwords, Spanish Q only appears in the trigraphs ⟨que⟩ and ⟨qui⟩, pronounced /ke/ and /ki/ respectively (the 'u' being silent). In words from foreign origin, Q may appear in other positions but is also pronounced as /k/. This /k/ phonemes evolve as detailed in the section about Spanish ⟨c⟩ (which represents /k/ before other vowels). The result is typically either /k/, /g/ or /x/.

Examples: queso ⟩ ''ces'', pequeño ⟩ pegîn, moquette ~ moquet ⟩ ''mocet'', ataque ⟩ ''adag'', toque ⟩ ''toc'', tanque ⟩ ''tanch'', alquitrán ⟩ ''alchithân'', arquero ⟩ ''archer'', esquina ⟩ ''echin'', Qatar ~ Catar ⟩ ''Cadar''.

Since native occurences of Spanish Q involve a /k/ followed by a front vowel, its reflex is often ⟨ç⟩ /tʃ/ instead of ⟨c⟩ /k/ in Eastern Efenol:

Examples: quedo ⟩ ''çes'', moquette ~ moquet ⟩ ''moçet''.

As an exception, the words 'qué' and 'que' ('what' and 'that') evolve to ''kê'' and ''ke'' (or ⟨k'⟩) in Eastern Efenol rather than the expected ''çê'' and ''çe''. This is explained as an effort to dissimilate these words from the reflex of 'quien' ('who'): ''çîn''.

====Spanish R====

The Spanish letter R has two pronunciations: an alveolar trill /r/ and an alveolar flap /ɾ/. The former (the trill /r/) is represented by a single ⟨r⟩ word-initially and after the consonants ⟨l⟩ and ⟨n⟩ and as a double R (⟨rr⟩) between vowels. The flap, /ɾ/, doesn't occur in word-initial position (nor after ⟨l⟩ or ⟨n⟩) and is represented as a single ⟨r⟩ elsewhere.

It should be noted that there are some compounds which retain a trilled /r/ in positions where a flap /ɾ/ would be expected. Spanish orthography fails to account for this; compare the 'br' cluster in 'cubra' /ˈku.bɾa/ (with a flap, as expected) vs 'subrayado' /sub.ra.ˈʝa.do/ (with a trill, as in the prefixless word 'rayado' /ra.ˈʝa.do/).

=====Spanish R as a trill (r or rr)=====

During its evolution, Efenol, in addition to preserving the alveolar trill /r/, developed a velar trill /ʀ/ (typically from /g/ being in contact with a rhotic, usually the flap /ɾ/). However, many varieties later merged the resulting alveolar and velar trills at least in some positions.

Word initially, Spanish R is inherited as an alveolar trill ⟨r⟩ /r/. Outside the official standard language, most Western Efenol speakers (as well as nearly all North-Western speakers) merge this sound with the velar rhotic /ʀ/ but this is not reflected in writing. In other dialects (as well as in standard Western Efenol) the trill remains alveolar /r/.

Example: rosa ⟩ ''ros'' (pronounced /ʀos/ by North-Western and many Western speakers and /ros/ by speakers of other Efenol varieties).

Elsewhere, the trill is fully merged with velar ⟨rh⟩ /ʀ/ in Western and North-Western Efenol.

Examples: arrendar ⟩ ''arhedar'' (compare 'agrandar' ⟩ ''arhadar'', showing the merger), Enrique ⟩ ''Enrhig'', alrededor ⟩ ''alrhedhedhor'' (also found as ''alrhôr'').

In other dialects, these instances of /r/ remain an alveolar trill /r/, written ⟨rr⟩.

Examples (in Eastern Efenol): arrendar ⟩ ''arredar'' (compare with 'agrandar' ⟩ ''arhadar'', showing the lack of merger), Enrique ⟩ ''Enrrig'', alrededor ⟩ ''*alrrededor'' ⟩ ''alrrôr''.

In word-final position (after vowel elision) trills are only allowed in Northern and Central Efenol. Elsewhere, /r/ becomes a flap /ɾ/ and the preceding vowel gains compensatory length.

Examples (in Standard/Western Efenol): guerra ⟩ ''*gerr'' ⟩ ''gêr'' (but Central: ''gerr''), burro ⟩ ''*burr'' ⟩ ''bûr'' (but Central: ''burr'').

Uncommon clusters such as the /br/ found in 'subrayado' are reduced to /r/ before evolving as usual: subrayado ⟩ *surrayado ⟩ ''surheisadh'' (but Eastern ''surraijad'').

=====Spanish R as a flap (r)=====

Spanish /ɾ/ remains an alveolar flap (written ⟨r⟩) in most contexts.

Examples: aro ⟩ ''ar'', amar ⟩ ''amar'', orfebrería ⟩ ''orfeverî''.

Clusters involving /ɾ/ and another consonant evolve as explained in the section for the other consonant (for instance, see Spanish D for the evolution of ⟨dr⟩ or ⟨rd⟩).

====Spanish S====

Spanish S /s/ evolves in a number of ways depending on its context.

Word-initially, 'S' is preserved as such. Under Efenol grammar, this /s/ may undergo lenition o become ⟨sh⟩ /h/ or rhotic/nasal mutation to become ⟨ss⟩ /z/.

Examples: burro ⟩ ''bûr'', vida ⟩ ''bidh'', la vida ⟩ ''a·bhidh'', en vida ⟩ ''mbidh''.

Examples: sábana ⟩ ''sávan'', la sábana ⟩ ''a·shaban'', sol ⟩ ''sol'', el sol ⟩ ''e·ssol'', al sol ⟩ *en sol ⟩ ''en sol'' or ''ssol''.

Word-finally ('''after''' vowel elision; corresponding to a word final -sV in Spanish), /s/ is also retained as 's'. Spanish adjectives ending in the suffix '-oso', however, end in ''-ô'' except in Northern Efenol (and transitional forms of Northern-Efenol) which have ''-os'' as expected. Word-final /s/ is also kept in a limited number of monosyllables like 'mes' and 'gas'.

Examples: queso ⟩ ''ces'', grueso ⟩ ''rhës'', mes ⟩ ''mes'', gas ⟩ ''gas'', hermoso ⟩ ''ermô'' (but Northern ''ermos'').

Intervocalic /s/ (other than in word-final position after vowel elision) evolves into /s/, /h/ or Ø depending on stress position:
* If the syllable before the /s/ is stressed, then the /s/ remains an /s/: música ⟩ ''músig''.
* If the syllable after (including) the /s/ is stressed, the /s/ is lenited to an ⟨h⟩ /h/. In Northern and in most forms of North-Eastern Efenol /x/ is used instead, also written ⟨h⟩. Example: limusina ⟩ ''limuhin''.
* If the primary stress of the word does not fall on either the syllable before nor the syllable after the S, the /s/ is lost: visitar /bi.si.ˈtaɾ/ ⟩ ''*biitar'' ⟩ ''bîtar''.

There are several exceptions to these developments. For instance, clear derivations with a different stress placement often develop the /s/ as in the original word: musical ⟩ ''musigal'' (rather than expected ''*muigal'' or ''*muical''). This is also true for verb conjugations: visita (present tense form of 'visitar') ⟩ ''bît'' (as in the infinitive ''bîtar'' rather than the expected ''bihit''). The word ''bihit'' does exist however as a noun (also 'visita' in Spanish). Spanish verbs ending in '-sar' and '-ser', however, do have alternating paradigms: pasar (to pass) ⟩ ''pahar'' but pasa (3s passes) ⟩ ''pas'', toser (to cough) ⟩ ''toher'' but tose (3s coughs) ⟩ ''tos''.

The Spanish 'superlative' suffix '-ísimo' (used as an intensifier rather than an actual superlative) is also affected by an irregular development, yielding ''-îm''. This new suffix can be regularly applied to words with irregular 'superlatives' in Spanish: fuerte ⟩ ''fërth'' ⟩ ''fërthîm'' (rather than fortísimo ⟩ ''*forthîm''), pobre ⟩ ''póver'' ⟩ ''póverîm'' (rather than traditional 'pauperrimo' which is instead inherited as a less-common adjective on its own: ''pòpérhim'' ~ 'lacking quality').

The cluster ⟨ls⟩ develops as ⟨lz⟩ /lz/. In dialects other than Western Efenol, word-final ⟨ls⟩ (after vowel elision) is either broken or replaced with the similar-sounding (and more common) /lθ/. The latter is occasionally also found in Western Efenol as well.

Examples: salsa ⟩ ''salz'' (Central: ''sálaz''), Alsacia ⟩ Alzeith, bolsa ⟩ ''bolz'' (Central: ''bólaz'' or ''bolth'', Eastern ''bolz'' /βolθ/), balsa ⟩ balth (shifted to /balθ/ in all dialects).

The cluster ⟨sl⟩ is simplfied to ⟨l⟩ unless word-final (after vowel elision), in which case the cluster is broken. In the latter case, the first element may be found as either /s/ or /z/; 's' is preferred in Standard Efenol.

Examples: eslavo ⟩ ''elabh'', isla ⟩ ''ísal'' (or ''ízal''), muslo ⟩ ''músol'' (or ''múzol'').

The cluster ⟨sm⟩ may evolve in three different ways:
* If the syllable before ⟨sm⟩ is not stressed, the /s/ is dropped: esmeralda ⟩ ''emeráladh''.
* The suffix '-ismo' (corresponding to English -ism) is typically left as '-îm': atletismo ⟩ ''athledîm'', comunismo ⟩ ''comunîm'', electromagnetismo ⟩ ''elêthormanedîm''.
* Otherwise, ⟨sm⟩ is usually broken after voicing the /z/: smV ⟩ zVm: asma ⟩ ''ázam'', istmo ~ ismo ⟩ ''ízom''.

The cluster ⟨ns⟩ develops to ⟨z⟩ /z/ in Western Efenol, North-Western Efenol and some Central Efenol varieties. Elsewhere, ⟨ns⟩ develops to [nz]. Some words may alteranate a medial /nz/ with /z/ in Western Efenol.

Examples: manso ⟩ ''maz'' (Central ''maz'' or ''manz'', Northern ''mans'' /manz/, Eastern ''mans'' /mans/), insecto ⟩ ''izêt'' or ''inzêt'' (Central ''izêt'' or ''inzêt'', Northern ''insêt'' /in.ˈzeːt/, Eastern ''insêt'' /in.ˈseːt).

The cluseter ⟨sn⟩ is typically conflated witih Spanish ⟨zn⟩ and thus evolves to /θVn/:

Examples: asno ⟩ *azno ⟩ ''áthon'', fresno ⟩ *frezno ⟩ ''férthon''.

The cluster ⟨rs⟩ develops into ⟨rz⟩ /ɾz/.

Examples: persa ⟩ ''perz'', arsenal ⟩ ''arzenal''.

The cluster ⟨sr⟩ simplifies to /s/. The name of 'Sri Lanka', the only word with an initial ⟨sr⟩ in common Spanish usage, becomes ''Sirilanch''.

Example: Israel ⟩ ''Irhêl'', disruptivo ⟩ ''dirhûtibh''.

The clusters /sk/, /sp/ and /st/ turn to fricatives /x/, /f/ and /θ/.

Examples: escuplir ⟩ ''echulfir'', esclavo ⟩ ''echálob'', especial ⟩ ''efithal'', resplandor ⟩ ''refaldor''~''refaldhor'', estorno ⟩ ''ethóron'', maestro ⟩ ''mêthor''.

Other clusters such as the ⟨sb⟩ in 'esbozo' are commonly reduced by eliminating the /s/; this usually prevents the following consonant from undergoing lenition: esbozo ⟩ ''eboth'', lesbianismo ⟩ ''lîbanîm'', rasgar ⟩ ''ragar''.

In Western and Central Efenol (and also for some North-Western Efenol speakers), a Spanish /s/ followed by a non-syllabic /u/~/w/ who would otherwise evolve to /s/ evolves to /z/ instead: suave ⟩ ''zabh''.

=====Special developments=====

Some Spanish affixes involving the letter ⟨S⟩ are subject to irregular developments.

Most prominently, the Spanish plural suffix for nouns ('-s' for most nouns ending in a vowel and '-es' otherwise) is replaced by i-ablaut. This is justified by the following chain of changes:
# The singular form of a Spanish word loses the final vowel (if any): mano ⟩ ''*man''.
# The '-es' ending is applied to the new consonant-ending noun (even though the '-s' suffix might have been used originally): mano ~ manos ⟩ ''*man ~ *manes''.
# The '-es' ending is reduced: mano ~ manos ⟩ ''*man *manɪ''.
# The reduced /i/-like ending triggers apophony (the i-ablaut) before being elided: mano ~ manos ⟩ ''*man ~ *manɪ'' ⟩ ''*man ~ *maʲn'' ⟩ ''man ~ mein''.
# The new pluralization strategy is generalized.

The Spanish antonym-forming prefix 'des-' (correspond to the English prefixes dis- and un-) is inherited as ''de-'' in all contexts unless analyzed as part of the verbal stem. Thus 'desteñir' (to fade, antonym of 'teñir', to dye) becomes ''detînir'' (''de-'' + ''tînir'', the later being the reflex from 'teñir') rather than the expected ''*dethînir''.

Verbs not affected by this rule include 'descargar' ⟩ ''decharhar'' (which was analyzed as a single lexeme rather than des + cargar, which would have yielded ''*decarhar'') or 'despertar' ⟩ ''deferthar'' (whose stem is also monomorphemic in Spanish rather than des + *pertar).

Suffixes (including /s/) with irregular development include:
* Adjectival '-oso' becoming ''-ô'' in dialects other than Northern Efenol: perezoso ⟩ ''perethô'' (Northern : perezos).
* Superlative mark -ísimo and nominal -ismo which become ''-îm'': grandísimo ⟩ ''rhanîm'', liberalismo ⟩ ''liveralîm''.
* The suffix -sión /sjon/ is replaced with the more common -ción /θjon/ by analogy: misión ⟩ *mición ⟩ ''mîthôn'', pasión ⟩ *pación ⟩ ''peithôn''.

====Spanish T====

Spanish T /t/ evolves in different ways depending on its context.

Word-initially, when not followed by a consonant, Spanish /t/ is retained as 't' /t/.

Examples: todo ⟩ ''todh'', tabla ⟩ ''tával''.

Word-intial ⟨tr⟩ is also retained. Example: tren ⟩ ''tren''.

Intervocalic T is normally inherited as either voiceless 't' /t/ or voiced 'd' /d/ according to the lenition rule.

Examples: atorar ⟩ ''adorar'' (lenition rule indicates that the stop is voiced between a and o), hospital ⟩ ofital (lenition rule indicates that the stop isn't voiced between i and a).

The above isn't true if the 't' is brought in contact with an ⟨r⟩ or ⟨l⟩ due to break of a preceding Cr or Cl cluster. In such cases, 't' undergoes rhotic mutation and becomes ⟨th⟩ /θ/.

Examples: plata ⟩ *phalta ⟩ ''falth'', concreto ⟩ *concherto ⟩ ''concherth''.

The same behaviour applies to instances of 't' preceded by ⟨l⟩, ⟨n⟩ or ⟨r⟩ and followed by a vowel:

Examples: alto ⟩ ''alth'', alterar ⟩ ''altherar'', antena ⟩ ''anthen'', carta ⟩ ''carth''.

Non word-initial ⟨trV⟩ (where V represents an arbitrary vowel) is broken becoming ⟨thVr⟩. Notice that when this happens in the last syllable of a word some Efenol dialects may replace the original vowel (with /a/ in Central Efenol and with /ə/ in Eastern and North-Western Efenol). If the syllable already had a coda other than a fricative, the final ⟨r⟩ may be deleted.

Examples: estrusco ⟩ ''ethurch'', otro ⟩ ''óthor'', astral ⟩ ''*atharl'' ⟩ ''athâl''.

The cluster ⟨st⟩ also becomes /θ/:

Examples: hasta ⟩ ''ath'', estadio ⟩ ''etheidh''.

The sequence ⟨tl⟩ (which in European Spanish always occurs across a syllable boundary, /t.l/) becomes ⟨thl⟩ /θl/.

Examples: atlántico ⟩ ''athlánthig'', atleta ⟩ ''athled''.

The clusters ⟨ct⟩ and ⟨pt⟩ simplify to /t/ with compensatory lengthening on the preceding vowel. Exceptionally, 'apto' yields ''òt'' to avoid confusion with acto ⟩ ''ât''.

Examples: rapto ⟩ ''rât'', actor ⟩ ''âtor''.

====Spanish V====

See the section on Spanish B.

====Spanish W====

The letter ⟨W⟩ isn't used natively in Spanish but appears in several borrowings where it is pronounced either as a ⟨v⟩ /b/ (where it evolves the same as any other /b/, see the section on Spanish B) or as /w/ where it evolves the same as the sequence ⟨gu⟩ /gw/~/w/ (see the section 'Spanish G as /gw/').

Examples: web ⟩ ''webh'', Wálter ⟩ ''Walther''.

====Spanish X====

Natively, the Spanish letter ⟨x⟩ has three different pronunciations in standard Spanish: /x/, /s/ and /ks/.

The pronunciation /x/ (identical to a Spanish ⟨J⟩) is only found in a few words, most notably México and Oaxaca. These words evolve as expected for their phonemic respellings 'Méjico' and 'Guajaca': ''Méchic'' and ''Wachag''.

Word-initially, ⟨x⟩ is realized as /s/ (except in the surname 'Ximénez', which may also be pronounced with an initial /x/ as mentioned before). As usual for word-initial /s/, the phoneme is preserved in Efenol:

Examples: xilófono ⟩ ''silófon'', xenofobia ⟩ ''senofoibh'', xerografía ⟩ ''serorhafî''.

Between vowels and word-finally ⟨x⟩ is pronounces as /ks/. In these cases, the /k/ is elided, the preceding vowel is lengthened and the /s/ sound is preserved. In Western and Central Efenol (and also for some North-Western Efenol speakers), a this /ks/ when followed by a non-syllabic /u/~/w/ to ⟨z⟩ /z/ instead.

Examples: axioma ⟩ ''eisom'', anexo ⟩ ''anês'', (tiranosaurio) rex ⟩ ''rês''.

In clusters, the ⟨x⟩ is treated the same as an /s/, much like in usual European Spanish pronunciation.

Examples: texto ⟩ *testo ⟩ ''teth'', extraño ⟩ *estraño ⟩ ''ethéiron'', explicación ⟩ *esplicación ⟩ ''efilcheithôn''.

====Spanish Y====

The Spanish letter Y appears both as a vowel (where it's equivalent to /i/~/j/) and as a consonant.

As a vowel (word-final Y), it evolves the same as 'i'.

Examples: y ⟩ *i ⟩ ''i'', rey ⟩ *rei ⟩ ''rî'', Paraguay ⟩ *Paraguái ⟩ ''Parawai''.

Elsewhere, Spanish Y is treated as a consonant (typically transcribed as /ʝ/), with wide variations on its exact pronunciation. This is also reflected in Efenol, as different dialects handle this phoneme differently.

In Western and North-Western Efenol, consonantal Y is treated as a palatal sibilant /sʲ/ although this palatal quality is resolved by affecting the neighbouring vowels. Word initially, /ʝ/ becomes /sj/~/ʃ/, written ⟨se⟩.

Examples: yate ⟩ ''sead'', yunque ⟩ ''seunch'', yin y yang ⟩ */sʲin i sʲang/ ⟩ ''sîn i seang'', yeso ⟩ ''sîs''.

Elsewhere, /ʝ/ evolves into /s/ and the preceding vowel is i-ablauted.

Examples: mayor ⟩ ''meisor'', ayuntamiento ⟩ ''eisunthamînth'', rayo ⟩ ''reis''.

This also extends to the cluster ⟨ny⟩ /nʝ/, although the resulting /ns/ is often pronounced /nz/. However, it's common for the resulting words to lack the usual i-ablaut.

Examples: enyesar ⟩ ''ensîsar'' (influenced by yeso ⟩ ''sîs''), inyección ⟩ ''insîthôn''.

The following table illustrates the development in other Efenol varieties:

{| class="wikitable"
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Efenol dialect
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Word initial /ʝ/
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Medial /ʝ/
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Final /ʝV/
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Cluster /nʝ/
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Western
| style="text-align: center;" | /sj/ ~ /ʃ/
yunque ⟩ seunch
| style="text-align: center;" | i-ablaut + /s/
mayor ⟩ meisor
| style="text-align: center;" | i-ablaut + /s/
rayo ⟩ reis
| style="text-align: center;" | /ns/~/nz/
inyectar ⟩ insêtar
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | North-Western
| style="text-align: center;" | /sj/ ~ /ʃ/
yunque ⟩ seunch
| style="text-align: center;" | i-ablaut + /s/
mayor ⟩ meisor
| style="text-align: center;" | i-ablaut + /s/
rayo ⟩ reis
| style="text-align: center;" | /nz/
inyectar ⟩ enzetar
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Central
| style="text-align: center;" | /i/~/j/
yunque ⟩ iunch
| style="text-align: center;" | /s/
mayor ⟩ masor
| style="text-align: center;" | i-ablaut + /s/
rayo ⟩ reis
| style="text-align: center;" | /ns/
inyectar ⟩ insêtar
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Eastern
| style="text-align: center;" | i-ablaut + length
yunque ⟩ ŷnh
| style="text-align: center;" | /ʝ/
mayor ⟩ maghor
| style="text-align: center;" | /jʒ/
rayo ⟩ raij
| style="text-align: center;" | /nʝ/
inyectar ⟩ inghêtar
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | North Eastern
| style="text-align: center;" | /ç/
yunque ⟩ ghunh
| style="text-align: center;" | /ç/
mayor ⟩ maghor
| style="text-align: center;" | /jç/
rayo ⟩ raigh
| style="text-align: center;" | /nç/
inyectar ⟩ inghêtar
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Northern
| style="text-align: center;" | /j/
yunque ⟩ iunh
| style="text-align: center;" | /j/
mayor ⟩ maior
| style="text-align: center;" | /j/
rayo ⟩ rai
| style="text-align: center;" | i-ablaut + /n/
inyectar ⟩ înêtar
|}

Other sequences such as ⟨by⟩ are simplified to ⟨y⟩: abyecto ⟩ *ayecto ⟩ Western ''eisêt'', Eastern ''aghêt'', Northern ''aiêt'', etc.

====Spanish Z====

The Spanish letter ⟨z⟩ (in the European Spanish variety that serves as a base for Efenol) is pronounced /θ/ and is preserved as such in Efenol, written ⟨th⟩ in western-like orthographies (including the one used in Standard Efenol) and as ⟨z⟩ in northern-like orthographies.

Examples: zeda (the name for the letter, preferred to 'zeta') ⟩ ''thedh'' (Northern: ''zed''), zorro ⟩ ''thôr'' (Northern: ''zorr''), azafrán ⟩ ''athafân'' (Northern: ''azafân'').

Certain consonant clusters involving Spanish ⟨z⟩ are broken, including word-final ⟨zn⟩ (after vowel elision) and all instances of ⟨zg⟩:

Examples; graznar ⟩ ''rhathnar'', tizne ⟩ ''títhen'', hartazgo ⟩ ''artháthog'', juzgar ⟩ ''chuthagar'' (also simplified to ''chuthâr'').

==Grammar==

Being based on (and intrafictionally descended from) Spanish, Efenol retains much of Spanish grammar. Typical Romance features, such as arbitrary feminine vs masculine gender in nouns and verbs conjugating for person and tense intermix with less usual developments such as nominal plural formation based on ablaut or the usage of lenition to form genitives.

As its the case for the natural languages that inspirated it, Efenol features several irregularities and exceptions. Many irregular Spanish words are simplified and brought into a regular paradigm (for instance, all future tense verbs are regular in Efenol, something that cannot be said of Spanish) but at the same time many verbs which used to be regular in Spanish (such as 'hablar') evolve to be irregular in Efenol.

As in the preceding sections, statements and examples can be assumed to apply to the standard form of the language, Western Efenol, unless otherwise noted.

===Grammar===

====Nouns====

Just as in Spanish, Efenol nouns are divided into two nominal classes or genders: feminine and masculine. While these grammatical genders may correspond to the biological/sociological gender of their referents for some nouns, grammatical gender is mostly arbitrary even for words describing people (for instance, ''perzon'', from Spanish 'persona' and meaning 'a person' is feminine even when describing male individuals). Terms for professions, on the other hand, typically shift genders to agree with their referent: ''pechadhor'' is masculine for a fisherman and feminine for a fisherwoman. In these cases, masculine is used as the default gender, as it is also the case in Spanish.

Whereas grammatical gender can usually be guessed in Spanish nouns looking at their endings (such as -a for feminine nouns and -o for masculine), Efenol nouns, having lost those endings during its evolution, typically show no indication of their grammatical gender. It is often the case that two different Spanish nouns may be conflated into a pair of homophones in Efenol which are distinguished by gender alone. For instance, 'mesa' (table) and 'mes' (month) both yield ''mes'', but the noun is feminine when meaning 'a table' and masculine when meaning 'a month'. Similarly, 'casa' (house) and 'caso' (case, as in a lawsuit) yield feminine and masculine ''cas'' respectively. With little to no exception Efenol nouns retain the same grammatical gender than their Spanish equivalent which, in turn, typically agrees with the respective case in other Romance languages and in Latin.

The main effect of grammatical gender is determining which set of definite articles must be used for each noun. In singular, feminine nouns take the article ''a·'' (derived from Spanish 'la', triggers lenition on the following consonant) while masculine nouns take the article ''e·'' (derived from Spanish 'el', triggers rhotic mutation on the following consonant). Nouns which begin with a vowel sound always use ''l''' as a singular article regardless of gender, although the underlying gender may still show up in other circumstances.

Examples: Es. casa (feminine) ⟩ ''cas'' (house), ''a·gas'' (the house); Es. caso (masculine) ⟩ ''cas'' (case), ''e·chas'' (the case); Es. herencia (feminine) ⟩ ''erînth'' (inheritance), ''l'erînth'' (the inheritance); Es. árbol (masculine) ⟩ ''árvol'' (tree), ''l'árvol'' (the tree); pescador, pescadora (masculine and feminine, respectively) ⟩ ''pechadhor'' (fisherman or fisherwoman), ''e·phechadhor'' (the fisherman), ''a·bechadhor'' (the fisherwoman).

As in Spanish, Efenol nouns also inflect for number: singular or plural. As in other Romance languages, plural marking is mandatory, may be used alongside numerals and plural number is preferred for zero. Singular is considered the base form of a noun while plural is formed through apophony, that is, a change within the sounds of the stem. More specifically, '''the plural form of a noun is formed by applying i-ablaut to its vowels'', strong i-ablaut in the case of a stressed vowel and weak i-ablaut otherwise. This pluralization strategy, although far from usual Romance usage, actually descends from the Spanish plural-marker '-es' as mentioned in the above section about the evolution of Spanish S.

Examples: ''cas'' (house, case) ⟩ ''ceis'' (houses, cases), ''erînth'' (inheritance) ⟩ ''irînth'' (inheritances), ''árvol'' (tree) ⟩ ''éirvël'' (trees), ''pechadhor'' (fisherman or fisherwoman) ⟩ ''pichedhër'' (fishermen~fishers or fisherwomen).

The results of applying i-ablaut can be found in the section titled 'Vowel mutation'. Since i-ablaut works differently depending on whether a vowel is stressed or not nouns that only differ by stress position may become more distinct in plural:

Example: ''sávan'' (bedsheet, from Spanish 'sábana') ⟩ ''seiven'' (bedsheets); ''savan'' (savanna, from Spanish 'sabana') ⟩ ''sevein'' (savannas).

This synchronic i-ablaut does not necessarily affect all the syllables of an Efenol noun. Standard Western Efenol follows the '''''3-syllable rule''''': only the three last syllables of a noun are affected by i-ablaut when forming a plural. Other dialects may apply different rules, such as a '2-syllable rule' found in Central Efenol (and some close non-standard forms of Western Efenol) or the 'all syllables rule'' mostly found in Northern dialects. Since most Efenol words are three syllables long or shorter, the 3-syllable rule has a limited effect.

Examples: ''alvirantháthog'' (admiralty, the office of being an admiral, from Spanish 'almirantazgo') ⟩ ''alvirenthéithëg'' (standard 3-syllable rule plural), ''alviranthéithëg'' (non-standard 2-syllable rule plural; cf. Central: ''alvirantháthag'' ⟩ ''alviranthéitheg''), ''elvirenthéithëg'' (non-standard all syllables plural; cf. Northern: ''alviranzázog'' ⟩ ''elvirenzéizög'').

For some nouns, the plural form coincides with the singular after the ablaut. One such example is ''pî'' (foot, from Spanish 'pie'), whose only vowel remains a long ⟨î⟩ after i-ablaut. The difference in number may be conveyed through differences in definite article (''e·phî'' for 'the foot' but ''o·pî'' for 'the feet') but it may just be ambiguous in other contexts.

Western Efenol (the basis for Standard Efenol) features a limited amount of irregular plurals for nouns ending in ''-mm'', ''-ng'' or ''-nn'' whose finals become ''-hb'', ''-hg'' and ''-hd'' respectively, in addition to going through the usual i-ablaut: ''munn'' (world, from Spanish mundo) ⟩ ''mijhd'' (worlds), ''bomm'' (bomb, from Spanish bomba) ⟩ ''bëhb'' (bombs), ''mang'' (mango) ⟩ ''meihg'' (mangoes).

In addition to inflecting nouns for number, Efenol innovates what might be considered a simple case system, contrasting a nominative case (the base form) with a '''genitive or attributive case'' formed by applying lenition to the first consonant of the noun. This genitive forms corresponds to a now lost Spanish 'de' (a preposition similar in usage to English 'of') that triggered the lenition and which remains as a prefixed ⟨d'⟩ for nouns which start with a vowel. It should be noted that some consonants remain the same after lenition, in that case an apostrophe might be used in writing to indicate that the genitive case was intended.

Example: ''cóver'' (copper.NOM) ⟩ ''cgóver'' (copper.GEN); ''or'' (gold.NOM) ⟩ ''d'or'' (gold.GEN); ''falth'' (silver.NOM)⟩'' 'falth'' (silver.GEN); ''peanith'' (pianist.NOM.SG), ''pêinith'' (pianist.NOM.PL) ⟩ ''pbeanith'' (pianist.GEN.SG), ''pbêinith'' (pianist.GEN.PL).

The usage of this genitive case is limited to the following scenarios:
* For proper nouns only, indicating possession or origin: ''cët Cgárol'' for "Cárol's car", ''a·gabital Pbanamâ'' for "the capital of Panama", ''dipërthith Dhinamarch'' (sportspeople from Denmark). For other nouns, the possessive will be expressed through a determiner.
* For indicating the material of an object: ''anîl d'or'' (golden ring), ''cável cgóver'' (copper wire), ''aburhês pbechadh'' (fishburger, hamburguer made of fish), ''thum mhang'' (mango juice).
* After a quantifier: ''dos líthir bhin'' (two litters of wine), ''u·monthôn pbichedër'' (a lot of fishers).
* When forming compounds, with the genitive noun serving as a descriptor: ''chòl pbeicher'' (a cage of birds ~ a birdcage), ''galerî pbinthyr'' (a gallery of paintings ~ an art gallery), ''minithîr bhivînn'' (ministry for housing), ''cytîl cges'' (knife for cutting cheese), ''aitër tdâthor'' (theatre actors), ''curz bheolochî'' (biology course), ''mein pbeanith'' (pianist-like hands), ''eth animal ehtéiron tîn pic pbad i col cgathor'' (this strange animal has a duck's beak and a beaver's tail).
* With certain prepositions (whose Spanish equivalent also requires "de"): ''therch mhar'' (near the sea or near a sea), ''anth cgënfer'' (before the purchases). In this contexts it is also possible to use articles with genitive marking, which might add clarity (''therch de·mhar'' for near the sea versus ''therch du·mhar'' for near a sea) but the determiner-less form is allowed in all dialects and distinctly preferred in Western Efenol.

It should be noted that lenition may also be found in nouns in other than when marking this genitive case, such as when preceded by certain determiners (such as the feminine singular definite article 'a·' or singular possessive pronouns such as ''mi'' or ''su''). The genitive case forms explained above are not found when the noun is affected by a determiner although the determiners themselves may be made genitive through the same strategy: lenition (''mi'' ~ my ⟩ ''mhi'' ~ of my) and ⟨d'⟩ (''eth'' ~ this, ''d'eth'' ~ of this): ''S'ërîch d'eth elefanth son ma rhan cas'ërîch mhi elefanth'' ~ "The ears of this elephant are bigger than the ears of my elefant".

A limited number of nouns may also be affected by nasal mutation to form adverbs with a roughly locative meaning resulting from an elided ''en'' (in). These are however few in number and aren't found in all Efenol varieties (being completely absent from Northern and North-Eastern dialects). Examples include ''mbidh'' (from ''bidh'', life, roughly meaning 'in life' ~ 'while living') or shortened ''ndeil'' (from ''en dedeil'', 'in detail', detailedly).

====Proper nouns====

Proper nouns, such as personal names, work similarly personal names in English or Spanish. One main difference between proper and common nouns are that the former do not need a determiner in contexts a regular name would.

Like in Spanish, names are written with a capitalized first letter but words derived from names are not. Thus ''Franth'' (France) but ''franthê'' (French); ''Markov'' (Ма́рков, foreign names may keep their original spelling or internationally accepted transcriptions) but ''cedhîn markovean'' (Markov chains). Names (even if foreign) may be affected by lenition to indicate possession: ''cedhîn Mharkov'' (another alternative rendering for 'Markov chain'), ''governadhor Kgansas'' (the governor of Kansas).

Days of the week, months, seasons and religions aren't considered proper nouns for orthographical purposes and aren't capitalized other than at the beginning of a sentence. Languages are capitalized only if their name isn't understood as being a descriptive adjective (such as ''fanthê'', French, seen as describing the language as being from France); capitalized languages include ''Ladîn'' (Latin, as the name is no longer commonly used for Lazio natives anymore), ''Sánchirth'' (Sanskrit) and most constructed languages (such as ''Eferanth'' for 'Esperanto'). In case of doubt, it is permissible to capitalize tha language name. Titles for books, films, and other media are typically capitalized in the first word and in each content word although other styles (such as only capitalizing the first word and any other proper noun) may be used as well: ''L'Ethéiron Cas de·Dhotor Jekyll i e·Shinor Hyde'' or ''L'ethéiron cas de·dhotor Jekyll i e·shinor Hyde'' for "Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde".

Unlike English, surnames are never pluralized in Efenol. A family consisting of several individuals with the surname 'Péreth' wouldn't be referred to as 'o·Pîrith' (the corresponding plural form, 'the Pérethes') but rather as 'o·Péreth' ('the Péreth') or, more commonly, ''a·famîl Péreth'' (the Péreth family).

====Articles and other determiners====

As in Spanish, Efenol differentiates definite and indefinite articles, both singular and plural. Definite articles agree with the gender of the corresponding noun while indefinite articles have lost this distinction.

In Western Efenol, definite articles (corresponding to English 'the' or Spanish 'el', 'la', 'los' and 'las') involve two of the language's signature features: interpuncts (the middle dot ⟨·⟩) and consonant mutation. For nouns with an initial consonant all articles consist of a single vowel separated from the noun itself by an interpunct and, in the case of singular ''"a·"'' and ''"e·"'', the first consonant of the noun is mutated as shown in the consonant mutation table in the 'Mutation' section. Nouns with an initial vowel, on the other hand, are preceded by an ⟨l'⟩ (in singular) or an ⟨s'⟩.

{| class="wikitable"
!
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Singular
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Plural
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | Feminine
| style="text-align: center;" | a·
(triggers lenition)
| style="text-align: center;" | a·
(no consonant mutation)
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | Masculine
| style="text-align: center;" | e·
(triggers rhotic mutation)
| style="text-align: center;" | o·
(no consonant mutation)
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | Before a vowel
| style="text-align: center;" | l'
| style="text-align: center;" | s'
|}

The intervening consonant mutations might be the only way to tell the number of a noun, as seen in the feminine noun ''pîth'' (piece, from Spanish 'pieza'): lenited ''a·bîth'' for singular and non-lenited ''a·pîth'' for plural.

Definite articles vary slightly in other dialects. Most notably, Northern Efenol preserves the Spanish ⟨l⟩ in the articles, yielding feminine ''la'' (with lenition for singular, lenition-less for plural), singular masculine ''el'' (with rhotic mutation) and plural masculine ''lo'' (no lenition). While ⟨l'⟩ is used in all dialects for vowel-initial singular nouns, its plural equivalent becomes ⟨as'⟩ or ⟨os'⟩ in Northern and North-Eastern Efenol (depending on the gender of the noun) while North-Western Efenol has ⟨ah·⟩ and ⟨oh·⟩ instead. There is also a certain orthographic variation concerning the usage of interpuncts: Northern Efenol doesn't use interpuncts at all while Eastern and North-Eastern Efenol (as well as Central Efenol if using the alternate northern-like orthography) only use an interpunct for singular articles which could trigger consonant mutation (even if the mutation does not have an effect in the noun that follows, such as mutation-invariant ⟨f⟩ /f/).

{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" |
! colspan="4" style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Singular
! colspan="4" style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Plural
|-
| colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Feminine
| colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Masculine
| colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Feminine
| colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Masculine
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | Spanish
| style="text-align: center;" | la pieza
| style="text-align: center;" | la oveja
| style="text-align: center;" | el perro
| style="text-align: center;" | el hombre
| style="text-align: center;" | las piezas
| style="text-align: center;" | las ovejas
| style="text-align: center;" | los perros
| style="text-align: center;" | los hombres
|-
| Translation
| style="text-align: center;" | the piece
| style="text-align: center;" | the sheep
| style="text-align: center;" | the dog
| style="text-align: center;" | the man
| style="text-align: center;" | the pieces
| style="text-align: center;" | the sheeps
| style="text-align: center;" | the dogs
| style="text-align: center;" | the men
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | North-Western
| style="text-align: center;" | a·bîth
| style="text-align: center;" | l'ovech
| style="text-align: center;" | e·phêr
| style="text-align: center;" | l'ómber
| style="text-align: center;" | a·pîth
| style="text-align: center;" | ah·ëvîch
| style="text-align: center;" | o·pîr
| style="text-align: center;" | oh·ëmbir
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | Western (Std.)
| style="text-align: center;" | a·bîth
| style="text-align: center;" | l'ovech
| style="text-align: center;" | e·phêr
| style="text-align: center;" | l'ónver
| style="text-align: center;" | a·pîth
| style="text-align: center;" | s'ëvîch
| style="text-align: center;" | o·pîr
| style="text-align: center;" | s'ënvir
|-
| rowspan="2" | '''Central'''
(W and N
orthographies)
| style="text-align: center;" | a·bîth
| style="text-align: center;" | l'ovech
| style="text-align: center;" | e·pherr
| style="text-align: center;" | l'ónver
| style="text-align: center;" | a·pîth
| style="text-align: center;" | s'ëvîch
| style="text-align: center;" | o·pirr
| style="text-align: center;" | s'ënvir
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | a·bîz
| style="text-align: center;" | l'oveh
| style="text-align: center;" | e·pherr
| style="text-align: center;" | l'ónver
| style="text-align: center;" | a pîz
| style="text-align: center;" | s'ëvîh
| style="text-align: center;" | o pirr
| style="text-align: center;" | s'ënvir
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | Eastern
| style="text-align: center;" | a·bîz
| style="text-align: center;" | l'oveh
| style="text-align: center;" | e·phêr
| style="text-align: center;" | l'ómber
| style="text-align: center;" | a pîz
| style="text-align: center;" | s'övîh
| style="text-align: center;" | o pîr
| style="text-align: center;" | s'ömbir
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | North-Eastern
| style="text-align: center;" | a·bîz
| style="text-align: center;" | l'oveh
| style="text-align: center;" | e·phêr
| style="text-align: center;" | l'ônver
| style="text-align: center;" | a pîz
| style="text-align: center;" | as'övîh
| style="text-align: center;" | o pîr
| style="text-align: center;" | os'óinvir
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | Northern
| style="text-align: center;" | la bîz
| style="text-align: center;" | l'oveh
| style="text-align: center;" | e·pherr
| style="text-align: center;" | l'ônver
| style="text-align: center;" | la pîz
| style="text-align: center;" | as'övîh
| style="text-align: center;" | lo pîr
| style="text-align: center;" | os'óinvir
|}

Indefinite articles (corresponding to English 'a' and Spanish 'un', 'una' in singular and roughly to English 'some' and Spanish 'unos', 'unas' in plural) remain the same for nouns of either grammatical gender but their exact form varies depending on the initial sound of the following noun:
* For nouns whose first consonant is either a nasal or a consonant that would be affected by nasal mutation, the singular indefinite article becomes ⟨u·⟩ and triggers nasal mutation: ''munn'' (world) ⟩ ''u·munn'' (a world), ''pan'' (bread) ⟩ ''u·phan'' (a bread).
* For nouns which begin with a vowel or a non-nasal consonant that wouldn't be affected by consonant mutation, the singular indefinite article becomes ⟨un⟩: ''árvol'' (tree) ⟩ ''un árvol'' (a tree), ''rî'' (king) ⟩ ''un rî'' (a king).
* Indefinite plural articles always become ⟨yn⟩ and do not trigger nasal mutation: ''yn mijhd'' (a few worlds), ''yn pein'' (some bread), ''yn éirvël'' (some trees), ''yn rî'' (some kings).

In northern-like orthographies (used in Northern, North-Eastern, and Eastern Efenol and optionally in Central Efenol) the singular indefinite article is always written as ⟨un⟩ as exemplified by Northern ''un mund'' (a world), ''un phan'' (a bread), etc. In these orthographies, initial ⟨mb⟩, ⟨nd⟩ and ⟨ng⟩ is avoided as well: ''un barh'' (a boat, Western: ''u·mbarch''), ''un demoin'' (a demon, Western: ''u·ndemoin''), ''un gad'' (a cat, Western: ''u·ngad'').

Efenol usage of articles lies somewhere in between those of Spanish and English. All three languages mostly agree on when to use definite articles although Spanish also uses definite articles for generalized statements while English doesn't: "Los gatos son animales" or "el gato es [un] animal" (literally 'the cats are animals') for "Cats are animals". Efenol, however, deviates from Spanish usage and dispenses with articles for these general statements: ''"Geid son enimeil."'' (literally 'cats are animals'). However, Efenol usage is closer to Spanish when it comes to abstract nouns: ''l'amor ê bîl'' for "love is beautiful" (literally 'the love is beautiful', cf. Spanish "el amor es bello"). Another Spanish-like usage is found with body parts and articles of clothing (when worn) which are often marked with definite articles rather than a possessive as an English-speaker may expect. The possessor may be expressed in dative case or be left to context:

Examples: ''Me dël a·gaveth'' (my heart aches, literally 'the head hurts to me'), ''Tîn roch a·gar'' (he/she is blushing, literally '(he/she) has the face red'), ''Sòg o·thebeid'' (I take my shoes off, literally '(I) remove the shoes').

Singular indefinite articles remain similar in usage to English 'a'~'an'. The plural indefinite article ''yn'' (closest to English 'some' or 'a few') is mostly optional yet still commonly used for referring to a bunch of previously unadressed objects (it should be noted however that ''yn'' is somewhat less common than its Spanish equivalents 'unos' and 'unas'). Adding indefinite articles is often required to prevent a statement from looking like a generalization: ''Geid son beloth'' (cats are fast)vs ''Yn geid son beloth'' (some cats are fast).

Although nouns immediatly following articles is the norm, it is acceptable to place adjectives between. This is found in poetic usage (''o bîl ëch'' as a variation of ''s'ëch bîl'', 'the beautiful eyes') and with the adjectie ''rhan'' often precedes the noun if meaning ''grand~great'' rather than literally ''big~large'' (''e rhan ónver'' for 'the great man' but ''l'ónver rhan'' for 'the big man' although also valid for the former). In these cases the form of the article is chosen according to the following adjective (observe the change in ''l'ónver'' ⟩ ''e rhan ónver'', ''e·mharidh'' ⟩ ''l'anthij maridh'') and any consonant mutation affects the first consonant in the adjective rather than the noun as usual. In western-like orthographies interpunct is left out if an adjective lies between the article and the noun; in northern-like orthographies (other than in Northern Efenol itself which doesn't use interpuncts) interpuncts are still only used if the article is not 'un' and triggers consonant mutation.

Other than nouns, articles are also used for predicative superlatives (in the English sense, 'the most X'), expressed as 'definite_article + ''ma'' + adjective' (literally 'the most ADJ') or, in the case of 'good' and 'bad', with the irregular comparatives ''mechor'' (better) and ''pëur'' (worse). The word ''ma'' is excempted from the usual consonant mutations, but ''mechor'' and ''pëur'' may still be mutated if preced by singular articles.

Examples: ''e ma rhan'' (the largest; a singular masculine noun), ''a ma beloth'' (the fastest; feminine, ambiguosly singular or plural), ''o pëur'' (the worst ones; plural masculine), ''a mhechor'' (the best, feminine singular as indicated by the presence of lenition).

The genitive form of personal pronouns also works as a determiner: ''mi·'' (my), ''tu·'' (your; belonging to singular you), ''su·'' (belonging to 3s or 3p: his, her, its or their), ''nëthor'' and ''nëthar'' (our) and ''bëthor'' and ''bëthar'' (your, belonging to plural you, y'all, blopt). In Western and Central Efenol ''nëthor''/''nëthar'' and ''bëthor''/''bëthar'' agree with the gender of the noun they apply to (o-forms for masculine, a-forms for feminine and ''usually'' o-forms for mixed or unknown gender); other varieties use the equivalent to ''nëthor'' and ''bëthor'' in all cases. While none of these possessive determiners changes form according to number, '''singular-referent ''mi'', ''tu'' and ''su'' trigger lenition''' while they do not trigger any lenition when applied to plural nouns. Interpunct usage follows the same rules as with articles. Some speakers may add a final /s/ to ''mi'', ''tu'' and ''su'' when followed by a plural noun as long as it begins in a vowel.

Examples: ''mi·gas'' (my house), ''mi·ceis'' (my houses), ''nëthor cas'' (our case), ''nëthar cas'' (our house), ''mi emî'' or ''mis'emî'' (my friends).

Less commonly, possessive determiners may come after the noun, taking the forms ''mhî'' (mine), ''tdî'' (yours), ''nëthor/nëthar'' (ours), ''bëthor/bëthar'' (yours) and ''de'' + third person pronouns (''del'', ''delha'' and ''delho'' for his, hers and theirs). This usage is stereotypically linked to a somewhat archaic vocatives. These words may also be used as adjectives, along with other determiners.

Examples: ''pádher nëthor'' (our father ~ father ours), ''Echytar, ich mhî!'' (Listen, my children!), ''yn emî tdî'' (some friends of yours).

Other determiners include the demonstrative ''eth'' ('this', from Spanish 'este' but also equivalent to Spanish 'ese'), the considerably rarer distal demonstrative ''cel'' ('that one yonder'; most instances of English 'that' would use ''eth'' instead), negative ''nigûn'' (none; always followed by singular nouns), its correlative ''alwun'' ('some~any', also found in the plural form ''elwyn''), ''myt'' (many), ''pog'' (few), ''cadh'' (each) and ''thîrth'' (certain). Notably, ''óthor'' (other, from Spanish 'otro') does not really work as a determiner on its own and it's often used along proper determiners: ''un óthor gad'' (another cat), ''l'óthor geid'' (the other cats). None of the demonstratives mentioned in this paragraph display any gender agreement nor do they trigger any consonant mutation (including ''nigûn'' and ''alwun'', despite their similarity with indefinite article ''u·/un'').

Determiners often form contractions with preposition. Apostrophes separate consonants belonging to prepositions from the demonstratives themselves except for articles where both words are fully merged.
* The genitive preposition ⟨de⟩ contracts to ⟨d'⟩ before vowels, becomes ''del'' and ''des'' (dialectally ''dos'', ''das'') when contracted with ⟨l'⟩ and ⟨s'⟩ and is reflected as lenition otherwise: ''da·gas'' (of the house), ''d'eth lwar'' (of/from this place), ''d'elwyn paî'' (from/of some countries), ''del'etheidh'' (of the stadium), ''mhi amî'' (of my friend),'' 'nëthar chenth'' (of our people).
* The dative preposition ⟨a⟩, used to mark indirect objects, forms contractions with true articles but is otherwise preserved as 'a' (''a eth perzon'' ~ to this person, ''a tu irmein'' ~ to your siblings). Notice that ''a'' + ''e'' only differs from regular feminine singular article ''a'' in triggering rhotic mutation rather than lenition. It should be noted that, unlike Spanish, Efenol never uses ''a'' for direct objects.
{| class="wikitable"
! style="text-align: center;" | Article
! style="text-align: center;" | "A" + article
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | e· (triggers rhotic mutation)
| style="text-align: center;" | a· (triggers rhotic mutation)
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | a· (triggers lenition)
| style="text-align: center;" | â· (triggers lenition)
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | l'
| style="text-align: center;" | al'
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | o·
| style="text-align: center;" | au·
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | a·
| style="text-align: center;" | â·
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | s'
| style="text-align: center;" | as'
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | u· (triggers nasal mutation)
| style="text-align: center;" | nu· (triggers nasal mutation)
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | un
| style="text-align: center;" | nun
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | yn
| style="text-align: center;" | nyn
|}
* The locative preposition ''en'' becomes ⟨n'⟩ before determiners which begin with a vowel; otherwise remains as ''en'' but triggers nasal mutation on the following word: ''na·gas'' (in the house), ''n'eth lwar'' (in this place), ''n'elwyn paî'' (in some countries), ''en chel cas'' (in that house), ''en thu·bheir'' (in your neighbourhood).
* In Western and North-Western Efenol only, ''con'' (with, either associative or instrumental) becomes ⟨ng'⟩ before vowels: ''nga·berzon'' (with the person), ''ng'eth chenth'' (with this people).
* The preposition ''pâr'' (equivalent to English 'for') is informally abbreviated to ⟨p'⟩ in all dialects but this is only considered standard in Central, Northern and North-Eastern Efenol.

In Western Efenol speakers will often use gendered contractions before the genderless articles ⟨l'⟩ and ⟨s'⟩: ''ngo s'emî'' (with the friends, rather than), ''na l'ofithin'' (in the office). This requires speakers to also learn the gender of vowel-initial nouns which wouldn't show up otherwise (the possessives ''nëthor/nëthar/bëthor/bëthar'' being another exception). Most other dialects use ''con s'emî'' or ''en l'ofithin'' (or equivalent wordings) instead.

Efenol lacks an equivalent to the Spanish "ese/esa/esos/esas" demonstrative pronoun series (merged with the "este/esta/estos/estas" series as ''eth'') and the 'neuter pronoun' "lo" which is usually paraphrased with ''cos, cës'' (thing, things): "lo bueno" (the good) ⟩ ''a·gos bën'', ''a·cës bën'' (literally: the good thing, the good things), "lo que siempre quisiste" (that which you always wanted) ⟩ ''a·gos shînfer cerith'' (lit. the thing you always wanted).

====Personal pronouns====

Efenol pronouns are based on the set of informal pronouns found in European Spanish: "yo" (I), "tú" (you, 2s), "él" (he), "ella" (she), "nosotros" (we; 'nosotras' is used if all the referents in the group are grammatically feminine), "vosotros" (plural you, 'vosotras' is used in all addressed people are gramatically feminine) and "ellos" (they, "ellas" if all referents are feminine). Formality distinctions such as the usage of "usted" and "ustedes" is no longer manteined. Gender differences in pronouns (aside from third person singular) are lost in most Efenol varieties. The nominative pronouns in each Efenol dialect are:

{| class="wikitable"
! style="text-align: center;" | Pronouns
! style="text-align: center;" | North-Western
! style="text-align: center;" | Western (std)
! style="text-align: center;" | Central
! style="text-align: center;" | Eastern
! style="text-align: center;" | North-Eastern
! style="text-align: center;" | Northern
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | 1s - I - "yo"
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | seo
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | seo
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | io
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | jo
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | gho
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | io
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | 2s - you - "tú"
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | tu
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | tu
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | tu
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | tû
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | tû
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | tû
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | 3s - he - "él"
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | el
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | el
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | el
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | êl
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | êl
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | êl
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | 3s - she - "ella"
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | lha
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | lha
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | lha
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | lia
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | lia
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | lia
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | 1p - we - "nosotros"
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | nóthor
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | noth, nóthor
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | nóthor
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | noz
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | noz
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | noz
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | 1p - we - "nosotras"
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | nóthar
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | noz, noz'r
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | 2p - you - "vosotros"
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | bóthor
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | both, bóthor
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | both, bóthor
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | boz
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | boz
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | boz
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | 2p - you - "vosotras"
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | both, bóthar
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | boz, boz'r
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | 3p - they - "ellos"
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | lho
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | lho
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | lho
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | lio
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | lio
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | lio
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | 3p - they - "ellas"
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | lho, lha
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | lia
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | lia
|}

''Noth'' and ''nóthor'' are in free variation in Western Efenol; it's not uncommon for speakers to even alternate them. The same can be said for Western ''both'' and ''bóthor'' and Central ''both'' vs the gendered forms ''bóthor'' and ''bóthar''. Some Eastern Efenol speakers observe a distinction between masculine ''noz'' and ''boz'' vs feminine ''noz'r'' and ''boz'r'' but many use ''noz'' and ''boz'' in all cases (using ''noz'r'' and ''boz'r'' for non-masculine referents is not unheard of either although it is considerably rarer). A similar situation is found for third person plural in Central Efenol where some speakers may use ''lha'' for groups of feminine referents while others may use ''lho'' in all cases. Varieties which distinguish 3p.MASC ''lho~lio'' and 3p.FEM ''lha~lia'' merge the latter with the singular feminine 3s pronoun ''lha~lia''.

This nominative case forms are mostly found as the subjects of a verb: ''Seo ávol Efenol'' (I speak Efenol). It should be noted, however, that Efenol is a pro-drop language and speakers are encouraged to drop pronouns if verb conjugation and context are enough for the other part to understand the result: ''Ávol Efenol'' (I speak, the verb conjugation already indicates that the subject must be 1s). Eastern Efenol speakers have a tendency not to drop their pronouns even if context renders them unnecessary. Otherwise, using a nominative pronoun may provide a certain sense of emphasis: ''Seo ávol Efenol'' ~ '''''I''''' speak Efenol (not someone else).

As in most Romance languages, Efenol pronouns retain a more extensive case system than nouns. This includes an accusative case used when the pronoun is the direct object of the sentence. In this case, most gender distinctions are lost but speakers come to distinguish between reflexive third person (if the third-person object coincides with the subject) and regular third person (if the third-person subject does not coincide with the subject).

{| class="wikitable"
! style="text-align: center;" | Accusative pronouns
! style="text-align: center;" | North-Western
! style="text-align: center;" | Western (std)
! style="text-align: center;" | Central
! style="text-align: center;" | Eastern
! style="text-align: center;" | North-Eastern
! style="text-align: center;" | Northern
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | 1s - me - "me"
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | me, m'
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | me, m'
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | me, m'
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | me, m'
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | me, m'
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | me, m'
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | 2s - you - "te"
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | te, t'
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | te, t'
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | te, t'
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | te, t'
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | te, t'
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | te, t'
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | 3s - him - "lo"
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | le, l'
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | lo, l'
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | lo, l'
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | le, l'
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | le, lo, l'
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | lo, l'
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | 3s - her - "la"
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | la, l'
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | lha, lh', l'
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | lha, la, lh', l'
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | le, la, l'
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | la, l'
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | 3s/3p REFL - "se"
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | se, s'
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | se, s'
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | se, s'
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | se, s'
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | se, s'
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | se, s'
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | 1p - us- "nos"
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | noth
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | noth
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | noth, nô
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | noz
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | noz, nô
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | noz, nô
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | 2p - you - "os"
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | bo, b'
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | both
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | ô
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | boz, os
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | os
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | os
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | 3p - them - "los~las"
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | lho, lh'
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | lho, lh'
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | lho, lh'
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | lio, li'
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | lio, li'
| style="text-align: center; font-style:italic;" | lio, lia, li'
|}

As in most other Romance languages, acusative pronouns precede verbs in Efenol rather than coming after them as most direct objects. Forms with an apostrophe are used before vowel-initial verbs ''unless'' they are only one syllable long, in which case the full pronoun may be used for euphony: ''te cijr'' (I'm fond of you) vs ''t'adhor'' (I adore you) but ''te òm'' (I love you). Some forms are in free variation such as ''nô'' and ''noz'' for 'us' in some varieties (''noz'' is increasingly common and displacing ''nô'' in all such varieties). Northern Efenol ''lio'' vs ''lia'' correspond to accusative non-reflexive forms of masculine and feminine third person plural respectively.

Infinitives, gerunds, imperatives and compound verb tenses which include such verbforms (progressive tenses with gerunds, simple future with infinitives), however, require accusative pronouns to follow the verb (optional in Eastern and North-Eastern dialects). These post-verbal accusative pronouns are subject to rhotic mutation if preceded by an -r (as in all infinitives) or an /l/ and nasal-mutation if preceded by a nasal (as in all gerunds other than in Northern Efenol). In all cases, these pronouns are separated from the preceding verb with a hyphen.

Examples: ''dethir-the'' (to tell you), ''thë mirann-lho'' (I am looking at them), ''bë ather-lo'' (I am going to do it), ''Defîrth-te!'' (Wake [yourself] up!).

Efenol pronouns also feature an ''oblique'' form used along prepositions. These oblique forms only differ from the nominative for first person singular (I) and second person singular (you): ''mî'' and ''tî'' respectively. Reflexive may be expressed through ''sî'' or, far more commonly, by a regular third person pronoun (Spanish "para sí" meaning 'for himself', may be reflected as ''pâr sî'' but is more likely to shift to "pâr el"). A large number of Eastern Efenol speakers (as well as a minority of Northern Efenol speakers), however, use the nominative forms for all pronouns along prepositions. Additionally, dialectal Western Efenol, Central Efenol and some forms of Eastern Efenol use ''mij/mŷ'' and ''thij/thŷ'' along with the preposition ''con'' (preserving Spanish 'conmigo' and 'contigo'). It should be noted that prepositions may form contractions with vowel-initial pronouns.

Examples: ''pâr mî'' (for me; Eastern ''pâr jo'' or ''pâr mî''), ''pâr el'' (for him; also contracted to ''p'el''), ''con mî'' (with me, also ''con mij'', Eastern ''con jo'' or ''con mŷ'').

Proper dative pronouns (used for indirect objects) are identical to the corresponding accusative forms except in Northern Efenol (and for some speakers of Central and North-Eastern Efenol) were the third person non-reflexive dative forms become ''le'': Northern ''lo doi'' (I give it) vs ''le doi'' (I give to him); Western ''lo doi'' for both. In case both an accusative and a dative form co-occur on verb then they shall be written in that order (direct object first, then indirect object): ''(tu) lo me dith'' (you say it to me, unlike Spanish 'tú me lo dices'). A combination of two non-reflexive third person pronouns is replaced by the contracted pronoun ''sël'' (from Spanish 'se lo'): ''(tu) sël dith'' (you say it to him/her, Spanish 'tú se lo dices'). '''However''', most speakers use 'improper' dative pronouns formed by the dative particle 'a' and the oblique form of the pronoun (or, for third person pronouns alone, the oblique form on its own, which coincides with the nominative). This is particularly common to avoid a combination multiple pronominal preclitics before a verb: "you say it to me" ⟩ ''(tu) lo me dith'' ⟩ ''(tu) lo dith a mî''; "you say it to him" ⟩ ''(tu) sël dith'' ⟩ ''(tu) lo dith el''. The latter example shows that pronoun-verb order is relevant: in ''el dith'' (he says) ''⟨el⟩'' is unambiguously the subject while in ''dith el'' (you/he/she says to him), ''⟨el⟩'' is necessarily the indirect object.

Efenol pronouns also have possessive forms which were explained in the 'Articles and determiners' section. Attent readers may notice that some post-nominal possessives such as ''mhî'' and ''tdî'' are actually lenition-based genitive-case variants of the corresponding oblique pronouns.

====Other pronouns====

In addition to personal pronouns and its inflections, Efenol features the following pronouns:
* One demonstrative pronoun ''eth'' (this, this one), identical to the demonstrative determiner ''eth''. The distal demonstrative ''cêl'' might also be used as a pronoun but is much rarer.
* Other determiner on their own such as ''nigûn'' (none), ''alwun'' and ''elwyn'' (someone and some), ''todh'' (everyone), etc.
* Relative pronouns:
** ''Ce'' (''ke'' in Eastern Efenol), from Spanish 'que', equivalent to English 'that/which' in relative clauses. Contracted to ⟨c'⟩ before vowels. Examples: ''a perzôn ce bë'' (the person [that] I see), ''a perzôn ce me bë'' (the person that sees me). May sometimes be elided entirely and expressed through lenition, particularly when followed by an adverb: ''a·gos [ce] shînfer dij'' (the thing which I always say).
** ''Cîn'' (''çîn'' in Eastern Efenol), from Spanish 'quien', equivalent to 'who/whom', seen as a more formal replacement to ''ce'' when applied to people: ''a perzôn cîn bë'' (the person whom I see). Also used in genitive form as ''cgîn'' (replacing Spanisih 'cuyo'): ''a perzôn cgîn pàdher ê mi amî'' (the person whose father is my friend). Unlike Spanish,
** ''Don'', ''dhon'', ''com'', ''pwanth'' and ''pwann'', corresponding to Spanish '(a) donde', 'de donde', 'como', 'cuan/cuanto/cuantos' and 'cuando' (where, from where, how, how many/how much and when): ''e·phaî don nathî'' (the country where I was born), ''e·phaî don bë'' (the country where I am going), ''e·phaî dhon bëng'' (the country where I come from), ''a·mhaner com seo l'òth'' (the way [how] ''I'' do it), ''pwann irê a Madhirth'' (when I [shall] go to Madrid), ''gatharâ pwanth darâs el'' (he will spend however much you give him).
* Interrogative pronouns (identical to relative pronouns except for ''cê'' vs ''ce''):
** ''Cê'' (''kê'' in Eastern Efenol), never contracted to ⟨c'⟩: 'what' as in ''Cê dith?'' (What do you say?). Never applies to people (where ''cîn'', 'who', is used instead).
** ''Cîn'' (who), ''cgîn'' (whose), ''don'' (where, where to), ''dhon'' (where from), ''com'' (how), ''pwanth'' (how much, how many), ''pwann'' (when): ''Cîn ê a·berzon ma beloth?'' (Who is the fastest person?), ''Cgîn son eth lheibh?'' (Whose keys are those?), ''Pwann i don serâ a·fîth?'' (When and where will the party be?), ''Dhon bînz i don bas?'' (Where do you come from and where are you going?), ''Com lh'arâs?'' (How will you make them?), ''Pwanth în tînz?'' (How old are you?, literally 'how many years do you have?').
** In Eastern, North-Eastern and Northern Efenol: ''pwal''/''pal'' (plural ''pweil''/''peil'') for 'whose', from Spanish 'cuales'. Merged with 'cê' in Western, North-Western and Central Efenol. Western ''Cê pethîl prefîrz?'' vs Northern ''Peil pezîl prefîrs?'' for 'Which cakes do you prefer?'.

====Adjective and adverbs====

Unlike Spanish, where adjectives agree with their nouns in number and gender, adjectives are invariant in Efenol: ''a·mhanthan delithô'' (the delicious apple, a feminine noun; Spanish "la manzana deliciosa"), ''a·menthein delithô'' (the delicious apples; Spanish "las manzanas deliciosas"), ''e·mhelôn delithô'' (the delicious melon, a masculine noun; Spanish "el melón delicioso"), ''o·miloin delithô'' (the delicious melons; Spanish "los melones deliciosos"). Adjectives typically come after the noun they describe although they precede their nouns in poetic usage or in the case of ''rhan'' when meaning 'grand/great' rather than literally 'large'. The adjective ''anthij'' (old, ancient, antique; not used for elderly people) may also precede its noun.

Examples: ''l'ónver alth'' (the tall man), ''**l'alth ónver'' (the tall man; this wording wouldn't be used in the ordinary language but may occur in poetry), ''l'ónver rhan'' (the large man), ''e rhan ónver'' (the great man), ''Rhîth anthij''~''l'anthij Rhîth'' (Ancient Greece).

Adjectives which would have yielded different forms for feminine and masculine use the form derived from the Spanish masculine: Spanish "macabro"~"macabra" (gruesome) ⟩ ''magávor''~''*magávar'' ⟩ ''magávor''.

With the exception of the adjectives ''bën'' (good, from Spanish "bueno") and ''mal'' (from Spanish "malo"), adjectives form comparatives and English-like superlatives with the word ''ma'' (more, most; from Spanish ''más''; also doubles as meaning 'plus'). Definite articles are needed to form superlatives.

Examples: ''e·chët ê rhan'' (the car is large), ''u·chët rhan'' (a large car), ''e·chët ê ma rhan'' (the car is larger), ''u·chët ma rhan'' (a larger car), ''eth cët ê e ma rhan'' (this car is the largest), ''e·chët ma rhan'' (either 'the larger car' or 'the largest car').

Comparisons use 'ce' (never contracted to ⟨c'⟩): ''e·chët ê ma rhan '''ce''' a·bithilchet'' (the car is larger than the bicyle).

The adjectives ''bën'' and ''mal'' use the irregular comparative forms ''mechor'' and ''pëur'' instead of ''*ma bën'' or ''*ma mal''. Additionally, the irregular comparativse ''meisor'' and ''menor'' may be used for 'larger/greater' and 'smaller/lesser', coexisting with the synthetic forms ''ma rhan'' and ''ma pegîn''.

Examples: ''e·chët ê mechor'' (this car is better), ''e pëur cët'' (the worst car), ''eth cët ê e meisor'' (this car is the largest; equivalent to ''eth cët ê e ma rhan''), ''u·chët menor'' (a smaller car; equivalent to ''u·chët ma pegîn'').

Other historical irregular Spanish comparatives and superlatives may be preserved as adjectives on their own: ''ótim'' (optimal, from Spanish "óptimo", originally a superlative of 'bueno'), ''pòpérhim'' (lacking quality, originally a superlative of Spanish "pobre", poor), ''supiror'' (superior, originally a comparative form of Spanish "alto" ~ high/tall).

The suffix ''-îm'' (from the old Spanish superlative ending '-ísimo') may be used to intensify an adjective: ''rhan'' (large), ''rhanîm'' (very large, huge); ''fërth'' (strong) ⟩ ''fërthîm'' (very strong).

Adjectives can be turned into adverbs by adding the suffix ''-menth'' (or ''-venth'' if the adjective ends in /l/). The adverbial forms of ''bën'' and ''mal'' (good and bad; from Spanish "bueno" an "malo") are ''bîn'' and ''mal'' (from Spanish "bien" y "mal") rather than ''*bënmenth'' and ''*malventh''. Adjectives related to speed are often used as adverbs without any intevening suffix: adjective ''beloth'' (quick) ⟩ adverb ''beloth'' or ''belothmenth'' (quickly). ''Mechor'' and ''pëur'' (better/worse) may also be used as adjectives while ''meisormenth'' and ''menormenth'' are used as adverbs meaning 'mostly' and 'least; in a lesser way'.

Examples: ''El cothin delithômenth'' (he cooks deliciously), ''Fë ahî orichinalventh'' (it was like that originally), ''Avalei lenth'' ~ ''Avalei lenthmenth'' (you speak slowly), ''Chwarê mechor'' (I will play better), ''Son meisormenth erthith'' (they are mostly artists).

Adverbs typically precede adjectives and follow verbs: ''imezmenth felith'' (immensely happy), ''lho camínan lenthmenth'' (they walk slowly). However, it's not rare for adverbs which modify an entire clause to appear at the beginning or at the very end: ''Orichinalventh, mi erman cith ir a Madhirth'' (originally, my brother wanted to go to Madrid), ''Enthar' â·ceis ineferadhmenth'' (they break into the houses unexpectedly).

Other adverbs include:
* ''My'' for 'very' and ''pog'' for 'litle' (these adverbs correspond to the determiners ''myt'', many, and ''pog'', few): ''my bën'' (very good), ''pog beloth'' (not very fast). Exceptionally, ''myt'' replaces ''my'' for modifying ''mechor'' and ''pëur'': ''Eth ê myt mechor'' (This one is much better).
* ''Sôl'' (only): ''Lha sôl com cáren'' (she only eats meat).
* ''Cgî'' and ''lhî'' for 'here' and 'there': ''E·bhin cgî ê myt mechor ce lhî'' (the wine is better here than there).
* ''Ahî'' meaning 'this way, thus': ''N'eth cas cothinam ahî'' (in this house we cook like this).
* ''Therch'', ''lech'' (near, far). May be followed by a genitive noun: ''therch pbarch'' (near the park), ''lech da·tyhdhadh'' (far from the city).
* ''Enthim''~''sóver'' (above), ''devach''~''bach'' (below), ''fénther'' (in front), ''thâr'' (on the back, behind). May be followed by a genitive noun: ''enthim mhes'' (above [the] table), ''bach tdîr'' (below the ground).

====Verbs====

As in most Romance languages, Efenol verbs feature a somewhat complex conjugation scheme which includes inflections for tense, personal agreement with the subject and, to some extent, aspect and mood. Conjugation is mostly fusional (with affixes which indicate several grammatical categories at the same time). Most verbs belong to one of three 'regular' conjugation classes (''-ar'' verbs like ''canthar'', ''-er'' verbs like ''comer'' and ''-ir'' verbs like ''parthir'') but a significant number of verbs feature irregular paradigms.

Key verbs include ''ser'' and ''thar'' (to be; corresponding to Spanish "ser" and "estar" respectively), ''ir'' (to go, also used as an auxiliary verb for future tense), ''ather'' (to do, to make), ''aver'' (an auxiliary verb roughly matching English 'to have') and ''tener'' (to have something). All of these verbs are notoriously irregular.

The dictionary form of verbs is the infinitive which also works as a nominalization of the verb. As in Spanish, infinitive verbs may end in a stressed ''-ar'', ''-er'' or ''-ir'' or, more rarely, the long equivalents ''-âr'', ''-êr'' and ''-îr'' or, in a handful occassions, ''-yr''.

Examples: ''canthar'' (to sing, Spanish "cantar"), ''comer'' (to eat, Spanish "beber"), ''parthir'' (to leave, Spanish "partir"), ''avytâr'' (to boo, Spanish "abuchear"), ''lêr'' (to read, Spanish "leer"), ''sonrhîr'' (to smile, Spanish "sonreír"), ''conthirvyr'' (to contribute, Spanish "contribuir"); ''Me guth lêr'' ('I like reading'; infinitives are used for nominal usages like this rather than the gerund as in English), ''Fërvidh fumar'' ('Smoking not allowed', literally "forbidden to smoke").

The infinitive is one of three non-finite forms, the others being the gerund (typically formed with ''-ann'' or ''-înn'') and participles (featuring a final ''-dh'' except in North-Western and Central Efenol). Many verbs have irregular participles such as ''ather'' (do, make) ⟩ ''ît'' (done, made). All of these forms are used along auxiliary verbs for compound tenses.

The different Efenol dialects feature differences in the number of tenses they include as well as their usage as shown in the following table:

{| class="wikitable"
!
! style="text-align: center;" | North-Western
! style="text-align: center;" | Western (Standard)
! style="text-align: center;" | Central
! style="text-align: center;" | Eastern
! style="text-align: center;" | North-Eastern
! style="text-align: center;" | Northern
|-
| '''Habitual present'''
"I sing (often)"
| style="text-align: center;" | Simple present
''cònth''
| style="text-align: center;" | Simple present
''cònth''
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | Simple present
''conth''
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | Simple present
''kanz''
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | Simple present
''cánzu''
| style="text-align: center;" | Simple present
''canz'' or ''cánzo''
|-
| '''Progressive present'''
"I am singing"
| style="text-align: center;" | Progressive present
''thë cganthan''
| style="text-align: center;" | Progressive present
''thë canthann''
| style="text-align: center;" | Progressive present
''zö canzand''
|-
| '''Present perfect'''
"I have sung"
| rowspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | Compound past
''ê·cganthao''
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | Simple past
''canthê''
| style="text-align: center;" | Simple past
''canthê''
| rowspan="4" style="text-align: center;" | Simple past
''kanzê''
| rowspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | Simple past
''canzê''
| style="text-align: center;" | Compound past
''ê canzad''
|-
| '''Distant past'''
"I sang (back then)"
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | Compound past
''ê·cganthau''
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | Simple past
''canzê''
|-
| '''Near past'''
"I've (just )sang"
| style="text-align: center;" | Compound past
''e·cganthadh''
|-
| '''Imperfective past'''
"I was singing"
| style="text-align: center;" | Progressive past
''thabh canthan''
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | Imperfective past
''canthabh''
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | Simple past
''canthê''
| style="text-align: center;" | Progressive past
''zav canzan''
| style="text-align: center;" | Progressive past
''zav canzand''
|-
| '''Habitual past'''
"I used to sing"
| style="text-align: center;" | Imperfective past
''canthabh''
| style="text-align: center;" | Imperfective past
''kanzav''
| style="text-align: center;" | Imperfective past
''canzav''
| style="text-align: center;" | Simple past
''canzê''
|-
| '''Perfect past'''
"I had sung"
| style="text-align: center;" | Pluperfect
''avî·cganthao''
| style="text-align: center;" | Plup. or S. Past
''avî·cganthadh''
~ ''canthê''
| style="text-align: center;" | Pluperfect
''avî·cganthau''
| style="text-align: center;" | Simple past
''kanzê''
| style="text-align: center;" | Progressive perf.
''zuv canzan''
| style="text-align: center;" | Pluperfect
''û canzad''
|-
| '''Near future'''
"I am going to sing"
| style="text-align: center;" | Compound future
''bë cganthar''
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | Compound future
''bë cganthar''
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | Simple and
compound future

in free variation

''bë cganthar''
~ ''cantharê''
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | Simple future
''kanzarê''
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | Simple future
''canzarê''
| style="text-align: center;" | Compound future
''bö cganzar''
|-
| '''Distant future'''
"I will sing (eventually)"
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | Simple future
''cantharê''
| style="text-align: center;" | Simple future
''canzarê''
|-
| '''Conditional'''
"I would sing (if...)"
| style="text-align: center;" | Conditional
''cantharî''
| style="text-align: center;" | Conditional
''cantharî''
| style="text-align: center;" | Conditional
''kanzarî''
| style="text-align: center;" | Conditional
''canzarî''
| style="text-align: center;" | Conditional
''canzarî''
|-
| '''Imperative - 2s'''
"Sing!"
| style="text-align: center;" | Imperative
''Canth!''
| style="text-align: center;" | Imperative
''Canth!''
| style="text-align: center;" | Imperative
''Canth!''
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | Imperative
''Kanz!''
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | Infinitive
''Canzar!''
| style="text-align: center;" | Imperative
''Canz!''
|-
| '''Imperative - 2p'''
"Sing, all of you!"
| style="text-align: center;" | Infinitive
''Canthar!''
| style="text-align: center;" | Infinitive
''Canthar!''
| style="text-align: center;" | Infinitive
''Canthar!''
| style="text-align: center;" | Imperative plural
''Canzad!''
|-
| '''Negative imperative'''
"Don't sing!" (2s)

"Don't sing!" (2p)
| style="text-align: center;" | Subjunctive
''No canth!''

''No canthî!''
| style="text-align: center;" | Negation of imp.
''No canth!''

''No canthar!''
| style="text-align: center;" | Negative imp.
''No canth!''

''No canth!''
| style="text-align: center;" | Negative imp.
''No kanz!''

''No kanz!''
| style="text-align: center;" | Negative inf.
''No canzar!''

''No canzar!''
| style="text-align: center;" | Negation of imp.
''No canz!''

''No canzad!''
|-
| '''Subjunctive'''
"(if) we sang" vs

indicative "we sing"
| style="text-align: center;" | Subjunctive
''canthem''

vs ''cantham''
| style="text-align: center;" | Same as indicative
''cantham''
| style="text-align: center;" | Same as indicative
''cantham''
| style="text-align: center;" | Same as indicative
''kanzam''
| style="text-align: center;" | Same as indicative
''canzam''
| style="text-align: center;" | Same as indicative
''canzam''
|}

It should be noted that Efenol dialects can be thought as a continuum and thus transitional forms may exist mixing features of two or more varieties. Thus, an Eastern-like dialect may use a Central-like compound past despite such tense not being found in the most common Eastern Efenol varieties.

In the following sub-sections these tenses will be further explained and exemplified. Western Efenol examples will be used for tenses found in the variety.

=====Verb stems and conjugation classes=====

As in Spanish, the stem of an Efenol verb typically coincides with their infinitive form removing the infinitive ending ''-ar'', ''-er'', ''-ir''.

Verbs whose Spanish stem would end in a disallowed Efenol cluster (such "habl-" from "hablar") evolve to form a 'broken' verb class which features a 'broken' stem with an unespecified vowel which varies according to person and tense: "hablar" ⟩ ''avalar'' (to speak), stem "habl-" ⟩ ''av_l'' (with forms like "hablo" ⟩ ''ávol'' and "hablé" ⟩ ''avêl''). This is a source of Efenol irregular verbs which might have been regular in Spanish. Conversely, some Spanish irregular verbs such as the 'inchoative' verbs like "aparecer" (with irregular "aparezco" rather than the expected "*aparezo") become regular in Efenol: ''abarether'', ''abarëth'' (corresponding to "*aparezco" instead of "aparezco" ⟩ ''*abarëch'').

Some sample infinitives, stems, gerunds and participles (the irregularity of some of verbs may not be apparent for these nonfinite forms):

{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" | Conjugation class
! style="text-align: center;" | English
! colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | Spanish
! colspan="4" style="text-align: center;" | Efenol
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | Infinitive
| style="text-align: center;" | Infinitive
| style="text-align: center;" | Stem
| style="text-align: center;" | Infinitive
| style="text-align: center;" | Stem
| style="text-align: center;" | Gerund
| style="text-align: center;" | Participle
|-
| -ar
| style="text-align: center;" | to sing
| style="text-align: center;" | cantar
| style="text-align: center;" | cant-
| style="text-align: center;" | canthar
| style="text-align: center;" | canth-
| style="text-align: center;" | canthann
| style="text-align: center;" | canthadh
|-
| -er
| style="text-align: center;" | to eat
| style="text-align: center;" | comer
| style="text-align: center;" | com-
| style="text-align: center;" | comer
| style="text-align: center;" | com-
| style="text-align: center;" | comînn
| style="text-align: center;" | comidh
|-
| -ir
| style="text-align: center;" | to leave
| style="text-align: center;" | partir
| style="text-align: center;" | part-
| style="text-align: center;" | parthir
| style="text-align: center;" | parth-
| style="text-align: center;" | parthînn
| style="text-align: center;" | parthidh
|-
| -ar, broken
| style="text-align: center;" | to speak
| style="text-align: center;" | hablar
| style="text-align: center;" | habl-
| style="text-align: center;" | avalar
| style="text-align: center;" | av_l
| style="text-align: center;" | avalann
| style="text-align: center;" | avaladh
|-
| -ar, e~ie alternation
| style="text-align: center;" | to think
| style="text-align: center;" | pensar
| style="text-align: center;" | pens-, piens-
| style="text-align: center;" | pezar
| style="text-align: center;" | pez-, pîz-
| style="text-align: center;" | pezann
| style="text-align: center;" | pezadh
|-
| -ar, o~ue alternation
| style="text-align: center;" | to roll
| style="text-align: center;" | rodar
| style="text-align: center;" | rod-, rued-
| style="text-align: center;" | rodhar
| style="text-align: center;" | rodh-, rëdh-
| style="text-align: center;" | rodhann
| style="text-align: center;" | rodhadh
|-
| Irregular: -ear
| style="text-align: center;" | to boo
| style="text-align: center;" | abuchear
| style="text-align: center;" | abuche-
| style="text-align: center;" | avytâr
| style="text-align: center;" | avyt(a)
| style="text-align: center;" | avytânn
| style="text-align: center;" | avytâdh
|-
| Irregular: -eer
| style="text-align: center;" | to read
| style="text-align: center;" | leer
| style="text-align: center;" | le-
| style="text-align: center;" | lêr
| style="text-align: center;" | l(e)
| style="text-align: center;" | lîsînn
| style="text-align: center;" | lîdh
|-
| Irregular: -uir
| style="text-align: center;" | to contribute
| style="text-align: center;" | contribuir
| style="text-align: center;" | contribuy-
| style="text-align: center;" | conthirvyr
| style="text-align: center;" | conthirvys-
| style="text-align: center;" | conthirvijnn
| style="text-align: center;" | conthirvydh
|-
| Irregular: -eír
| style="text-align: center;" | to laugh
| style="text-align: center;" | reír
| style="text-align: center;" | rí-
| style="text-align: center;" | rîr
| style="text-align: center;" | r(i)
| style="text-align: center;" | rînn
| style="text-align: center;" | rîdh
|-
| Irregular: Ser
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | to be
| style="text-align: center;" | ser
| style="text-align: center;" | -
| style="text-align: center;" | ser
| style="text-align: center;" | -
| style="text-align: center;" | sînn
| style="text-align: center;" | sidh
|-
| Irregular: Estar
| style="text-align: center;" | estar
| style="text-align: center;" | est-
| style="text-align: center;" | thar
| style="text-align: center;" | th-
| style="text-align: center;" | thann
| style="text-align: center;" | thadh
|-
| Irregular: Haber
| style="text-align: center;" | to have (aux)
| style="text-align: center;" | haber
| style="text-align: center;" | hab-
| style="text-align: center;" | aver
| style="text-align: center;" | av-
| style="text-align: center;" | avînn
| style="text-align: center;" | avidh
|-
| Irregular: tener
| style="text-align: center;" | to have
| style="text-align: center;" | tener
| style="text-align: center;" | ten-, tien-
| style="text-align: center;" | tener
| style="text-align: center;" | ten-
| style="text-align: center;" | tenînn
| style="text-align: center;" | tenidh
|-
| Irregular: Hacer
| style="text-align: center;" | to do, to make
| style="text-align: center;" | hacer
| style="text-align: center;" | haz-, hag-
| style="text-align: center;" | ather
| style="text-align: center;" | ath-
| style="text-align: center;" | athînn
| style="text-align: center;" | ît
|-
| Irregular: Ir
| style="text-align: center;" | to go
| style="text-align: center;" | ir
| style="text-align: center;" | (i)
| style="text-align: center;" | ir
| style="text-align: center;" | (i)
| style="text-align: center;" | sînn~înn
| style="text-align: center;" | idh
|}

=====Notes on transcription=====

Generalized conjugations use the following symbols:
* '''(ʷ)''': U-ablaut on the stem.
* '''(ʲ)''': I-ablaut on the stem.
* '''Ø''': Null, no ending is added to the stem.
* '''-s''': /s/ or /z/ when forming a valid coda (''ber'' ⟩ ''bes'', ''morir'' ⟩ ''mërz''), Ø otherwise.
* '''V''': a vowel matching the infinitive ending ('a' for ''-ar'' verbs, 'e' for ''-er'' verbs, etc).
* '''ʲV''': I-ablauted V: ''ei'' for ''-ar'' verbs and ''î'' otherwise.

=====Simple present=====

Simple present is the most basic of Efenol tenses. It is found in all Efenol varieties and mostly corresponds to English present tense.

In Western, North-Western and Central Efenol this tense is unique for using synchronous u-ablaut: first person singular (I) present tense is typically expressed by the stem with an u-ablaut on its last vowel: ''canthar'' ⟩ stem ''canth'' ⟩ ''cònth'', ''orhanithar'' ⟩ ''orhanyth''. Broken verbs use the vowel /o/ instead: ''avalar'' ⟩ stem ''av_l'' ⟩ ''ávol''.

Regular endings (exemplified with dialectal variants of ''canthar'') are:
{| class="wikitable"
!
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | North-Western
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Western (Std)
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Central
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Eastern
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | North-Eastern
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Northern
|-
| 1s (I)
| style="text-align: center;" | (ʷ)Ø, cònth
| style="text-align: center;" | (ʷ)Ø, cònth
| style="text-align: center;" | (ʷ)Ø, conth
| style="text-align: center;" | Ø, kanz
| style="text-align: center;" | -u, cánzu
| style="text-align: center;" | Ø or -o, canz, cánzo
|-
| 2s (you)
| style="text-align: center;" | -s, canth
| style="text-align: center;" | -s, canth
| style="text-align: center;" | -s, canth
| style="text-align: center;" | -s, kanz
| style="text-align: center;" | -s or Vs, canz, cánzas
| style="text-align: center;" | -s, canz
|-
| 3s (he/she/it)
| style="text-align: center;" | Ø, canth
| style="text-align: center;" | Ø, canth
| style="text-align: center;" | Ø, canth
| style="text-align: center;" | Ø, kanz
| style="text-align: center;" | Ø, canz
| style="text-align: center;" | Ø, canz
|-
| 1p (we)
| style="text-align: center;" | -Vm, cantham
| style="text-align: center;" | -Vm, cantham
| style="text-align: center;" | -Vm, cantham
| style="text-align: center;" | -Vm, kanzam
| style="text-align: center;" | -Vm, canzam
| style="text-align: center;" | -Vm, canzam
|-
| 2p (you)
| style="text-align: center;" | -ʲV, canthei
| style="text-align: center;" | -ʲV, canthei
| style="text-align: center;" | -ʲV, canthei
| style="text-align: center;" | -Vs, kanzas
| style="text-align: center;" | -V, -ʲV, canza, canzei
| style="text-align: center;" | -ʲV, canzei
|-
| 3p (they)
| style="text-align: center;" | -Vn, -', cánthan, canth'
| style="text-align: center;" | -', -Vn, canth', cánthan
| style="text-align: center;" | -Vn, cánthan
| style="text-align: center;" | -Vn, -', kánzan, kanz'
| style="text-align: center;" | -Vn, cánzan
| style="text-align: center;" | -Vn, cánzan
|}

Examples in Western Efenol:

{| class="wikitable"
! Conjugation class
! style="text-align: center;" | Infinitive
! style="text-align: center;" | 1s
! style="text-align: center;" | 2s
! style="text-align: center;" | 3s
! style="text-align: center;" | 1p
! style="text-align: center;" | 2p
! style="text-align: center;" | 3p
! Translation
|-
| -ar
| style="text-align: center;" | canthar
| style="text-align: center;" | cònth
| style="text-align: center;" | *canths ⟩ canth
| style="text-align: center;" | canth
| style="text-align: center;" | cantham
| style="text-align: center;" | canthei
| style="text-align: center;" | canth', cánthan
| style="text-align: center;" | sings
|-
| -er
| style="text-align: center;" | comer
| style="text-align: center;" | com
| style="text-align: center;" | *coms ⟩ com
| style="text-align: center;" | com
| style="text-align: center;" | comem
| style="text-align: center;" | comî
| style="text-align: center;" | com', cómen
| style="text-align: center;" | eats
|-
| -ir
| style="text-align: center;" | parthir
| style="text-align: center;" | pòrth
| style="text-align: center;" | *parths ⟩ parth
| style="text-align: center;" | parth
| style="text-align: center;" | parthim
| style="text-align: center;" | parthî
| style="text-align: center;" | parth', parthen
| style="text-align: center;" | leaves
|-
| -ar, broken
| style="text-align: center;" | avalar
| style="text-align: center;" | ávol
| style="text-align: center;" | *ávals ⟩ ával
| style="text-align: center;" | ával
| style="text-align: center;" | avalam
| style="text-align: center;" | avalei
| style="text-align: center;" | ával', ávalan
| style="text-align: center;" | speaks
|-
| -ar, e~ie alternation
| style="text-align: center;" | pezar
| style="text-align: center;" | pijz
| style="text-align: center;" | *pîzs⟩ pîs/pîz
| style="text-align: center;" | pîz
| style="text-align: center;" | pezam
| style="text-align: center;" | pezei
| style="text-align: center;" | pîz', pîzan
| style="text-align: center;" | thinks
|-
| -ar, o~ue alternation
| style="text-align: center;" | rodhar
| style="text-align: center;" | rëdh
| style="text-align: center;" | *rëdhs ⟩ rëdh
| style="text-align: center;" | rëdh
| style="text-align: center;" | rodham
| style="text-align: center;" | rodhei
| style="text-align: center;" | rëdh', rëdhan
| style="text-align: center;" | rolls
|-
| Irregular: -ear
| style="text-align: center;" | avytâr
| style="text-align: center;" | avytë
| style="text-align: center;" | avytâs
| style="text-align: center;" | avytâ
| style="text-align: center;" | avytâm
| style="text-align: center;" | avytai
| style="text-align: center;" | avytân
| style="text-align: center;" | boos
|-
| Irregular: -eer
| style="text-align: center;" | lêr
| style="text-align: center;" | lë
| style="text-align: center;" | lês
| style="text-align: center;" | lê
| style="text-align: center;" | lêm
| style="text-align: center;" | lî
| style="text-align: center;" | lên
| style="text-align: center;" | reads
|-
| Irregular: -uir
| style="text-align: center;" | conthirvyr
| style="text-align: center;" | conthirvys
| style="text-align: center;" | conthirvys
| style="text-align: center;" | conthirvys
| style="text-align: center;" | conthirvijm
| style="text-align: center;" | conthirvij
| style="text-align: center;" | conthirvys', conthirvýsen
| style="text-align: center;" | contributes
|-
| Irregular: -eír
| style="text-align: center;" | rîr
| style="text-align: center;" | rij
| style="text-align: center;" | rîs
| style="text-align: center;" | rî
| style="text-align: center;" | rîm
| style="text-align: center;" | rî
| style="text-align: center;" | rîn
| style="text-align: center;" | laughs
|-
| Irregular: Ser
| style="text-align: center;" | ser
| style="text-align: center;" | së
| style="text-align: center;" | erz, er
| style="text-align: center;" | ê
| style="text-align: center;" | som
| style="text-align: center;" | soi
| style="text-align: center;" | son
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | is
|-
| Irregular: Estar
| style="text-align: center;" | thar
| style="text-align: center;" | tham
| style="text-align: center;" | thas
| style="text-align: center;" | eth, tha
| style="text-align: center;" | tham
| style="text-align: center;" | thei, thai
| style="text-align: center;" | than
|-
| Irregular: Haber
| style="text-align: center;" | aver
| style="text-align: center;" | ê (+ lenition)
| style="text-align: center;" | a, as
| style="text-align: center;" | a (+lenition)
| style="text-align: center;" | e (+nasal mut.), em, avem
| style="text-align: center;" | ei, avei
| style="text-align: center;" | a (+nasal mut.), an
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | has
|-
| Irregular: Tener
| style="text-align: center;" | tener
| style="text-align: center;" | tëng
| style="text-align: center;" | tînz, tîz
| style="text-align: center;" | tîn
| style="text-align: center;" | tenem
| style="text-align: center;" | tenî
| style="text-align: center;" | tîn, tîn', tînen
|-
| Irregular: Hacer
| style="text-align: center;" | ather
| style="text-align: center;" | òth
| style="text-align: center;" | *aths ⟩ ath
| style="text-align: center;" | ath
| style="text-align: center;" | athem
| style="text-align: center;" | athî, athei
| style="text-align: center;" | ath', áthen
| style="text-align: center;" | does, makes
|-
| Irregular: Ir
| style="text-align: center;" | ir
| style="text-align: center;" | bë
| style="text-align: center;" | bas
| style="text-align: center;" | ba
| style="text-align: center;" | bam
| style="text-align: center;" | bei
| style="text-align: center;" | ban
| style="text-align: center;" | goes
|}

=====Progressive present=====

Progressive present mostly corresponds in form and usage with English present continuous. This tense is mostly found in Western (Standard) Efenol, North-Western Efenol and Northern Efenol.

The tense is constructed with an auxiliary simple-present form of ''thar'' (progressive 'to be') followed by the infinitive form of the main verb. In North-Western Efenol alone the infinitive is affected by lenition (thus ''thë cganthan'' for 'I am singing' rather than Western ''thë canthann'' and Northern ''zö canzand'').

=====Simple past=====

Simple past is, along with compound past, one of the most commmon forms of expressing past tense in Efenol. It is found (with slightly different rules) in all varieties other than most forms of North-Western Efenol.

Regular endings for simple past vary depending on whether the verb belongs to the ''-ar'' class or the ''-er'' and ''-ir'' verb classes. The endings for ''-ar'' class verbs (exemplified with dialectal variants of ''canthar'') are:
{| class="wikitable"
!
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | North-Western
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Western (Std)
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Central
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Eastern
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | North-Eastern
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Northern
|-
| 1s (I)
| rowspan="6" style="text-align: center;" | N/A
| style="text-align: center;" | -ê, canthê
| style="text-align: center;" | -ê, canthê
| style="text-align: center;" | -ê, kanzê
| style="text-align: center;" | -ê, canzê
| style="text-align: center;" | -ê, canzê
|-
| 2s (you)
| style="text-align: center;" | -ath, canthath
| style="text-align: center;" | -ath, canthath
| style="text-align: center;" | -az, kanzaz
| style="text-align: center;" | -az, canzaz
| style="text-align: center;" | -az, canzaz
|-
| 3s (he/she/it)
| style="text-align: center;" | -ô, canthô
| style="text-align: center;" | -ô, canthô
| style="text-align: center;" | -ô, kanzô
| style="text-align: center;" | -ô, canzô
| style="text-align: center;" | -ô, canzô
|-
| 1p (we)
| style="text-align: center;" | -Vm, cantham
| style="text-align: center;" | -am, -árom, cantham, canthárom
| style="text-align: center;" | -am, kanzam
| style="text-align: center;" | -am, canzam
| style="text-align: center;" | -am, canzam
|-
| 2p (you)
| style="text-align: center;" | -athʲV, cantháthei
| style="text-align: center;" | -athʲV, cantháthei
| style="text-align: center;" | -ázi, kanzázi
| style="text-align: center;" | -ázi, canzázi
| style="text-align: center;" | -azʲV, canzázei
|-
| 3p (they)
| style="text-align: center;" | -áron, cantháron
| style="text-align: center;" | -aron, cantháron
| style="text-align: center;" | -Vr'n, kanzar'n
| style="text-align: center;" | -Vron, canzáron
| style="text-align: center;" | -áron, canzáron
|}

Regular simple past endings for ''-er'' and ''-ir'' class verbs (exemplified with dialectal variants of ''comer'' and ''parthir'') are:
{| class="wikitable"
!
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | North-Western
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Western (Std)
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Central
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Eastern
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | North-Eastern
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Northern
|-
| 1s (I)
| rowspan="6" style="text-align: center;" | N/A
| style="text-align: center;" | -î, comî, parthî
| style="text-align: center;" | -î, comî, parthî
| style="text-align: center;" | -î, comî, parzî
| style="text-align: center;" | -î, comî, parzî
| style="text-align: center;" | -î, comî, parzî
|-
| 2s (you)
| style="text-align: center;" | -ith, comith, parthith
| style="text-align: center;" | -ith, comith, parthith
| style="text-align: center;" | -iz, komiz, parziz
| style="text-align: center;" | -iz, comiz, parziz
| style="text-align: center;" | -iz, comiz, parziz
|-
| 3s (he/she/it)
| style="text-align: center;" | -eô, comeô, partheô
| style="text-align: center;" | -(ʲ)ô, cëmô, peirthô
| style="text-align: center;" | -(ʲ)ô, kömô, peirzô
| style="text-align: center;" | -(ʲ)ô, cömô, peirzô;
-iô, comiô, parziô
| style="text-align: center;" | -iô, comiô, parziô
|-
| 1p (we)
| style="text-align: center;" | -Vm, comem, parthim
| style="text-align: center;" | -im, comim, parzim;
-îrom, comîrom, parzîrom
| style="text-align: center;" | -Vm, komem, parzim;
-im, komim, parzim
| style="text-align: center;" | -Vm, comem, parzim;
-im, comim, parzim
| style="text-align: center;" | -im, comim, parzim
|-
| 2p (you)
| style="text-align: center;" | -îthi comîthi, parthîthi
| style="text-align: center;" | -îthî, comîthî, parthîthî
| style="text-align: center;" | -ízi, komízi, parzízi
| style="text-align: center;" | -ízi, comízi, parzízi
| style="text-align: center;" | -ízî, comízî, parzízî
|-
| 3p (they)
| style="text-align: center;" | -îron, comîron, parthîron
| style="text-align: center;" | -îron, comîron, parthîron
| style="text-align: center;" | -Vr'n, komer'n, parzir'n
| style="text-align: center;" | -Vron, coméron, parzíron
-îron, comîron, parzîron
| style="text-align: center;" | -îron, comîron, parzîron
|}

Notice that Central and Eastern Efenol use i-ablaut to form their third-person singular simple past verbforms. North-Eastern Efenol varieties may use Eastern-like conjugations, Northern-like conjugations or both in free variation.

More examples in Western Efenol:

{| class="wikitable"
! Conjugation class
! style="text-align: center;" | Infinitive
! style="text-align: center;" | 1s
! style="text-align: center;" | 2s
! style="text-align: center;" | 3s
! style="text-align: center;" | 1p
! style="text-align: center;" | 2p
! style="text-align: center;" | 3p
! Translation
|-
| -ar
| style="text-align: center;" | canthar
| style="text-align: center;" | canthê
| style="text-align: center;" | canthath
| style="text-align: center;" | canthô
| style="text-align: center;" | cantham
| style="text-align: center;" | cantháthei
| style="text-align: center;" | cantháron
| style="text-align: center;" | sang
|-
| -er
| style="text-align: center;" | comer
| style="text-align: center;" | comî
| style="text-align: center;" | comith
| style="text-align: center;" | comeô
| style="text-align: center;" | comem
| style="text-align: center;" | comîthi
| style="text-align: center;" | comîron
| style="text-align: center;" | ate
|-
| -ir
| style="text-align: center;" | parthir
| style="text-align: center;" | parthî
| style="text-align: center;" | parthith
| style="text-align: center;" | partheô
| style="text-align: center;" | parthim
| style="text-align: center;" | parthîthi
| style="text-align: center;" | parthîron
| style="text-align: center;" | left
|-
| -ar, broken
| style="text-align: center;" | avalar
| style="text-align: center;" | avêl
| style="text-align: center;" | avalath
| style="text-align: center;" | avôl, avalô
| style="text-align: center;" | avalam
| style="text-align: center;" | avaláthei
| style="text-align: center;" | avaláron
| style="text-align: center;" | spoke
|-
| -ar, e~ie alternation
| style="text-align: center;" | pezar
| style="text-align: center;" | pezê
| style="text-align: center;" | pezath
| style="text-align: center;" | pezô
| style="text-align: center;" | pezam
| style="text-align: center;" | pezáthei
| style="text-align: center;" | pezáron
| style="text-align: center;" | thought
|-
| -ar, o~ue alternation
| style="text-align: center;" | rodhar
| style="text-align: center;" | rodhê
| style="text-align: center;" | rodhath
| style="text-align: center;" | rodhô
| style="text-align: center;" | rodham
| style="text-align: center;" | rodháthei
| style="text-align: center;" | rodháron
| style="text-align: center;" | rolled
|-
| Irregular: -ear
| style="text-align: center;" | avytâr
| style="text-align: center;" | avytê
| style="text-align: center;" | avytâth
| style="text-align: center;" | avytau
| style="text-align: center;" | avytâm
| style="text-align: center;" | avytâthei
| style="text-align: center;" | avytâron
| style="text-align: center;" | booed
|-
| Irregular: -eer
| style="text-align: center;" | lêr
| style="text-align: center;" | lî
| style="text-align: center;" | lîth
| style="text-align: center;" | lijs
| style="text-align: center;" | lîm, lêm
| style="text-align: center;" | lîthi
| style="text-align: center;" | liséron, lisîron
| style="text-align: center;" | read
|-
| Irregular: -uir
| style="text-align: center;" | conthirvyr
| style="text-align: center;" | conthirvij
| style="text-align: center;" | conthirvijth
| style="text-align: center;" | conthirvysô, conthirvijs
| style="text-align: center;" | conthyrvijm
| style="text-align: center;" | conthirvijthei, conthirvýthei
| style="text-align: center;" | conthirvijron, conthirvýron
| style="text-align: center;" | contributed
|-
| Irregular: -eír
| style="text-align: center;" | rîr
| style="text-align: center;" | rî
| style="text-align: center;" | rîth
| style="text-align: center;" | rij, riô
| style="text-align: center;" | rîm
| style="text-align: center;" | rîthi
| style="text-align: center;" | rîron
| style="text-align: center;" | laughed
|-
| Irregular: Ser
| style="text-align: center;" | ser
| style="text-align: center;" | fy, fij
| style="text-align: center;" | fyth, fijth
| style="text-align: center;" | fë
| style="text-align: center;" | fym, fijm
| style="text-align: center;" | fijth, fijthi
| style="text-align: center;" | fëron
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | was
|-
| Irregular: Estar
| style="text-align: center;" | thar
| style="text-align: center;" | thubh
| style="text-align: center;" | thuvith, thijth
| style="text-align: center;" | thubh
| style="text-align: center;" | thuvim, thávam
| style="text-align: center;" | thuvîthi
| style="text-align: center;" | thuvîron
|-
| Irregular: Haber
| style="text-align: center;" | aver
| style="text-align: center;" | ubh
| style="text-align: center;" | uvith
| style="text-align: center;" | ubh
| style="text-align: center;" | uvim
| style="text-align: center;" | uvîthi
| style="text-align: center;" | uvîron
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | had
|-
| Irregular: Tener
| style="text-align: center;" | tener
| style="text-align: center;" | tubh
| style="text-align: center;" | tuvith
| style="text-align: center;" | tubh
| style="text-align: center;" | tuvim
| style="text-align: center;" | tuvîthi
| style="text-align: center;" | tuvîron
|-
| Irregular: Hacer
| style="text-align: center;" | ather
| style="text-align: center;" | ith
| style="text-align: center;" | ithith, thith
| style="text-align: center;" | yth
| style="text-align: center;" | ithim, thim
| style="text-align: center;" | ithîthi, thîthi
| style="text-align: center;" | ithîron, thîron
| style="text-align: center;" | did, made
|-
| Irregular: Ir
| style="text-align: center;" | ir
| style="text-align: center;" | fy, fij
| style="text-align: center;" | fyth, fijth
| style="text-align: center;" | fë
| style="text-align: center;" | fym, fijm
| style="text-align: center;" | fijth, fijthi
| style="text-align: center;" | fëron
| style="text-align: center;" | went
|}

=====Compound past=====

Compound past is, along with simple past, one of the most commmon forms of expressing past tense in Efenol. It is found (with slightly different rules) in dialects other than Eastern Efenol and and most North-Eastern Efenol varieties.

Efenol compound past works has the same structure as English present perfect (although its usage is usually different; see the table on dialectal variation of tenses above). The tense is formed by a conjugated present-tense form of the auxilliary verb ''aver'' (from Spanish "haber", comparable to English 'have') followed by a the participle of the intended verb. Other than in Northern Efenol, the participle may be subject to different consonant mutations depending on the grammatical person.

{| class="wikitable"
!
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | North-Western
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Western (Std)
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Central
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Eastern
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | North-Eastern
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Northern
|-
| 1s (I)
| style="text-align: center;" | ê + lenition
ê·cganthao
| style="text-align: center;" | ê + lenition
e·cganthadh
| style="text-align: center;" | ê + lenition
e·cganthau
| rowspan="6" style="text-align: center;" | No compound past
| rowspan="6" style="text-align: center;" | No compound past
| style="text-align: center;" | ê + no mutation
e canzad
|-
| 2s (you)
| style="text-align: center;" | a + no mutation
a·canthao
| style="text-align: center;" | a + no mutation
a·canthadh
| style="text-align: center;" | a + no mutation
a·canthau
| style="text-align: center;" | as + no mutation
as canzad
|-
| 3s (he/she/it)
| style="text-align: center;" | a + lenition
a·cganthao
| style="text-align: center;" | a + lenition
a·cganthadh
| style="text-align: center;" | a + lenition
a·canthau
| style="text-align: center;" | a + no mutation
a canzad
|-
| 1p (we)
| style="text-align: center;" | em + nasal mutation
e·chanthao
| style="text-align: center;" | e/em + nasal mutation
e·chanthadh
| style="text-align: center;" | em + no mutation
em canthau
| style="text-align: center;" | em + no mutation
em canzad
|-
| 2p (you)
| style="text-align: center;" | ei + lenition
ei·cganthao
| style="text-align: center;" | ei + no mutation
ei·canthadh
| style="text-align: center;" | ei + no mutation
ei·canthau
| style="text-align: center;" | ai + no mutation
ai canzad
|-
| 3p (they)
| style="text-align: center;" | a/an + nasal mutation
a·chanthao
| style="text-align: center;" | a/an + nasal mutation
a·chanthadh
| style="text-align: center;" | a/an + nasal mutation
a·chanthau
| style="text-align: center;" | an + no mutation
an canzad
|}

More examples in Western Efenol (see ''avalar'' for an example of auxiliary ''aver'' before a vowel, which are typically also used before /l/):

{| class="wikitable"
! Conjugation class
! style="text-align: center;" | Infinitive
! style="text-align: center;" | 1s
! style="text-align: center;" | 2s
! style="text-align: center;" | 3s
! style="text-align: center;" | 1p
! style="text-align: center;" | 2p
! style="text-align: center;" | 3p
! Translation
|-
| -ar
| style="text-align: center;" | canthar
| style="text-align: center;" | e·cganthadh
| style="text-align: center;" | a·canthadh
| style="text-align: center;" | a·cganthadh
| style="text-align: center;" | e·chanthadh
| style="text-align: center;" | ei·canthadh
| style="text-align: center;" | a·chanthadh
| style="text-align: center;" | has sung
|-
| -er
| style="text-align: center;" | comer
| style="text-align: center;" | e·cgomidh
| style="text-align: center;" | a·comidh
| style="text-align: center;" | a·cgomidh
| style="text-align: center;" | e·chomidh
| style="text-align: center;" | ei·comidh
| style="text-align: center;" | a·chomidh
| style="text-align: center;" | has eaten
|-
| -ir
| style="text-align: center;" | parthir
| style="text-align: center;" | e·pbarthidh
| style="text-align: center;" | a·parthidh
| style="text-align: center;" | a·pbarthidh
| style="text-align: center;" | e·pharthidh
| style="text-align: center;" | ei·parthidh
| style="text-align: center;" | a·pharthidh
| style="text-align: center;" | has left
|-
| -ar, broken
| style="text-align: center;" | avalar
| style="text-align: center;" | ê avaladh
| style="text-align: center;" | âs avaladh
| style="text-align: center;" | â avaladh
| style="text-align: center;" | em avaladh
| style="text-align: center;" | ei avaladh
| style="text-align: center;" | an avaladh
| style="text-align: center;" | has spoken
|-
| -ar, e~ie alternation
| style="text-align: center;" | pezar
| style="text-align: center;" | e·pbezadh
| style="text-align: center;" | a·pezadh
| style="text-align: center;" | a·pbezadh
| style="text-align: center;" | e·phezadh
| style="text-align: center;" | ei·pezadh
| style="text-align: center;" | a·phezadh
| style="text-align: center;" | has thought
|-
| -ar, o~ue alternation
| style="text-align: center;" | rodhar
| style="text-align: center;" | e·rodhadh
| style="text-align: center;" | a·rodhadh
| style="text-align: center;" | a·rodhadh
| style="text-align: center;" | e·rodhadh, em rodhadh
| style="text-align: center;" | ei·rodhadh
| style="text-align: center;" | a·rodhadh, an rodhadh
| style="text-align: center;" | has rolled
|-
| Irregular: -ear
| style="text-align: center;" | avytâr
| style="text-align: center;" | ê avytâdh
| style="text-align: center;" | âs avytâdh
| style="text-align: center;" | â avytâdh
| style="text-align: center;" | em avytâdh
| style="text-align: center;" | ei avytâdh
| style="text-align: center;" | an avytâdh
| style="text-align: center;" | has booed
|-
| Irregular: -eer
| style="text-align: center;" | lêr
| style="text-align: center;" | ê lîdh, e·lîdh
| style="text-align: center;" | âs lîdh, a·lîdh
| style="text-align: center;" | â lîdh, a·lîdh
| style="text-align: center;" | em lîdh, e·lîdh
| style="text-align: center;" | ei lîdh, ei·lîdh
| style="text-align: center;" | an lîdh, a·lîdh
| style="text-align: center;" | has read
|-
| Irregular: -uir
| style="text-align: center;" | conthirvyr
| style="text-align: center;" | e·cgonthirvydh
| style="text-align: center;" | a·conthirvydh
| style="text-align: center;" | a·cgonthirvydh
| style="text-align: center;" | e·chonthirvydh
| style="text-align: center;" | ei·conthirvydh
| style="text-align: center;" | a·chonthirvydh
| style="text-align: center;" | has contributed
|-
| Irregular: -eír
| style="text-align: center;" | rîr
| style="text-align: center;" | e·rîdh
| style="text-align: center;" | a·rîdh
| style="text-align: center;" | a·rîdh
| style="text-align: center;" | e·rîdh, em rîdh
| style="text-align: center;" | ei·rîdh
| style="text-align: center;" | a·rîdh, an rîdh
| style="text-align: center;" | has laughed
|-
| Irregular: Ser
| style="text-align: center;" | ser
| style="text-align: center;" | e·shidh
| style="text-align: center;" | a·sidh
| style="text-align: center;" | a·shidh
| style="text-align: center;" | e·ssidh
| style="text-align: center;" | ei·sidh
| style="text-align: center;" | a·ssidh
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | has been
|-
| Irregular: Estar
| style="text-align: center;" | thar
| style="text-align: center;" | e·thadh
| style="text-align: center;" | a·thadh
| style="text-align: center;" | a·thadh
| style="text-align: center;" | e·thadh, em thadh
| style="text-align: center;" | ei·thadh
| style="text-align: center;" | a·thadh, an thadh
|-
| Irregular: Haber
| style="text-align: center;" | aver
| style="text-align: center;" | ê avîdh
| style="text-align: center;" | âs avîdh
| style="text-align: center;" | â avîdh
| style="text-align: center;" | em avîdh
| style="text-align: center;" | ei avîdh
| style="text-align: center;" | an avîdh
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | has had
|-
| Irregular: Tener
| style="text-align: center;" | tener
| style="text-align: center;" | e·tdenidh
| style="text-align: center;" | a·tenidh
| style="text-align: center;" | a·tdenidh
| style="text-align: center;" | e·thenidh
| style="text-align: center;" | ei·tenidh
| style="text-align: center;" | a·thenidh
|-
| Irregular: Hacer
| style="text-align: center;" | ather
| style="text-align: center;" | ê ît
| style="text-align: center;" | âs ît
| style="text-align: center;" | â ît
| style="text-align: center;" | em ît
| style="text-align: center;" | ei ît
| style="text-align: center;" | an ît
| style="text-align: center;" | has done/made
|-
| Irregular: Ir
| style="text-align: center;" | ir
| style="text-align: center;" | ê idh
| style="text-align: center;" | âs idh
| style="text-align: center;" | â idh
| style="text-align: center;" | em idh
| style="text-align: center;" | ei idh
| style="text-align: center;" | an idh
| style="text-align: center;" | has gone
|}

=====Imperfective past=====

Imperfective past is very rare in Central and Northern Efenol but relatively common elsewhere.

This tense has markedly different endings for ''-ar'' class verbs and ''-er''/''-ir'' class verbs. The endings for ''-ar'' class verbs (exemplified with dialectal variants of ''canthar'') are:

{| class="wikitable"
!
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | North-Western
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Western (Std)
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Central
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Eastern
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | North-Eastern
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Northern
|-
| 1s (I)
| rowspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | -abh, canthabh
| rowspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | -abh, canthabh
| rowspan="6" style="text-align: center;" | N/A
| rowspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | -av, kanzav
| rowspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | -av, canzav
| rowspan="6" style="text-align: center;" | N/A
|-
| 2s (you)
|-
| 3s (he/she/it)
|-
| 1p (we)
| style="text-align: center;" | -ávam, canthávam
| style="text-align: center;" | -ávam, canthávam
| style="text-align: center;" | -ávam, kanzávam
| style="text-align: center;" | -ávam, kanzávam
|-
| 2p (you)
| style="text-align: center;" | -ávei, canthávei
| style="text-align: center;" | -ávei, canthávei
| style="text-align: center;" | -ava, kanzava
| style="text-align: center;" | -ava, canzava
-avei, canzavei
|-
| 3p (they)
| style="text-align: center;" | -ávan, canthávan
| style="text-align: center;" | -ávan, canthávan;
-abh', canthabh'
| style="text-align: center;" | -ávan, kanzávan
| style="text-align: center;" | -ávan, canzávan
|}

Regular simple past endings for ''-er'' and ''-ir'' class verbs (exemplified with dialectal variants of ''comer'' and ''parthir'') are:

{| class="wikitable"
!
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | North-Western
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Western (Std)
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Central
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Eastern
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | North-Eastern
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Northern
|-
| 1s (I)
| style="text-align: center;" | -î, comî, parthî
| style="text-align: center;" | î, comî, parthî
| rowspan="6" style="text-align: center;" | N/A
| rowspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | -î, komî, parzî
| rowspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | -îv, comîv, parzîv
| rowspan="6" style="text-align: center;" | N/A
|-
| 2s (you)
| style="text-align: center;" | -îs, comîs, parthîs
| style="text-align: center;" | -î, comî, parthî;
-îs, comîs, parthîs
|-
| 3s (he/she/it)
| style="text-align: center;" | -î, comî, parthî
| style="text-align: center;" | î, comî, parthî
|-
| 1p (we)
| style="text-align: center;" | -îm, comîm, parthîm
| style="text-align: center;" | -îm, comîm, parthîm
| style="text-align: center;" | -îm, komîm, parzîm;
-î, komî, parzî
| style="text-align: center;" | -îv, comîv, parzîv;
-îm, comîm, parzîm
|-
| 2p (you)
| style="text-align: center;" | -î, comî, parthî
| style="text-align: center;" | -îi, comîi, parthîi
| style="text-align: center;" | -î, komî, parzî
| style="text-align: center;" | -îv, comîv, parzîv;
-î, comî, parzî
|-
| 3p (they)
| style="text-align: center;" | -în, comîn, parthîn
| style="text-align: center;" | -în, comîn, parthîn
| style="text-align: center;" | -în, komîn, parzîn;
-î, komî, parzî
| style="text-align: center;" | -îv, comîv, parzîv;
-în, comîn, parzîn
|}

More examples in Western Efenol (pay special attention to irregular verbs like ''ser'' and ''thar''):

{| class="wikitable"
! Conjugation class
! style="text-align: center;" | Infinitive
! style="text-align: center;" | 1s
! style="text-align: center;" | 2s
! style="text-align: center;" | 3s
! style="text-align: center;" | 1p
! style="text-align: center;" | 2p
! style="text-align: center;" | 3p
! Translation
|-
| -ar
| style="text-align: center;" | canthar
| style="text-align: center;" | canthabh
| style="text-align: center;" | canthabh
| style="text-align: center;" | canthabh
| style="text-align: center;" | canthávam
| style="text-align: center;" | canthávei
| style="text-align: center;" | canthávan, canthabh'
| style="text-align: center;" | sang
|-
| -er
| style="text-align: center;" | comer
| style="text-align: center;" | comî
| style="text-align: center;" | comî, comîs
| style="text-align: center;" | comî
| style="text-align: center;" | comîm
| style="text-align: center;" | comîi
| style="text-align: center;" | comîn
| style="text-align: center;" | ate
|-
| -ir
| style="text-align: center;" | parthir
| style="text-align: center;" | parhî
| style="text-align: center;" | parthî, parthîs
| style="text-align: center;" | parthî
| style="text-align: center;" | parthîm
| style="text-align: center;" | parthîi
| style="text-align: center;" | parthîn
| style="text-align: center;" | left
|-
| -ar, broken
| style="text-align: center;" | avalar
| style="text-align: center;" | avalabh
| style="text-align: center;" | avalabh
| style="text-align: center;" | avalabh
| style="text-align: center;" | avalávam
| style="text-align: center;" | avalávei
| style="text-align: center;" | avalávan, avalabh'
| style="text-align: center;" | spoke
|-
| -ar, e~ie alternation
| style="text-align: center;" | pezar
| style="text-align: center;" | pezabh
| style="text-align: center;" | pezabh
| style="text-align: center;" | pezabh
| style="text-align: center;" | pezávam
| style="text-align: center;" | pezávei
| style="text-align: center;" | pezávan, pezabh'
| style="text-align: center;" | thought
|-
| -ar, o~ue alternation
| style="text-align: center;" | rodhar
| style="text-align: center;" | rodhabh
| style="text-align: center;" | rodhabh
| style="text-align: center;" | rodhabh
| style="text-align: center;" | rodhávam
| style="text-align: center;" | rodhávei
| style="text-align: center;" | rodhávan, rodhabh'
| style="text-align: center;" | rolled
|-
| Irregular: -ear
| style="text-align: center;" | avytâr
| style="text-align: center;" | avytâbh
| style="text-align: center;" | avytâbh
| style="text-align: center;" | avytâbh
| style="text-align: center;" | avytâvam
| style="text-align: center;" | avytâvei
| style="text-align: center;" | avytâvan, avytâbh'
| style="text-align: center;" | booed
|-
| Irregular: -eer
| style="text-align: center;" | lêr
| style="text-align: center;" | lî, lîa
| style="text-align: center;" | lî, lîs, lîa, lîas
| style="text-align: center;" | lî, lîa
| style="text-align: center;" | lîm, lîam
| style="text-align: center;" | lîi, lîei
| style="text-align: center;" | lîn, lîan
| style="text-align: center;" | read
|-
| Irregular: -uir
| style="text-align: center;" | conthirvyr
| style="text-align: center;" | conthirvij
| style="text-align: center;" | conthirvij, conthirvijs
| style="text-align: center;" | conthirvij
| style="text-align: center;" | conthirvijm
| style="text-align: center;" | conthirviji
| style="text-align: center;" | conthirvijn
| style="text-align: center;" | contributed
|-
| Irregular: -eír
| style="text-align: center;" | rîr
| style="text-align: center;" | rî
| style="text-align: center;" | rî, rîs
| style="text-align: center;" | rî
| style="text-align: center;" | rîm
| style="text-align: center;" | rîi
| style="text-align: center;" | rîn
| style="text-align: center;" | laughed
|-
| Irregular: Ser
| style="text-align: center;" | ser
| style="text-align: center;" | er
| style="text-align: center;" | erz, er
| style="text-align: center;" | er
| style="text-align: center;" | éram
| style="text-align: center;" | érei
| style="text-align: center;" | éran
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | was
|-
| Irregular: Estar
| style="text-align: center;" | thar
| style="text-align: center;" | thabh
| style="text-align: center;" | thabh
| style="text-align: center;" | thabh
| style="text-align: center;" | thávam
| style="text-align: center;" | thávei
| style="text-align: center;" | thávan
|-
| Irregular: Haber
| style="text-align: center;" | aver
| style="text-align: center;" | avî
| style="text-align: center;" | avî, avîs
| style="text-align: center;" | avî
| style="text-align: center;" | avîm
| style="text-align: center;" | avîi, avîei
| style="text-align: center;" | avîn
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | had
|-
| Irregular: Tener
| style="text-align: center;" | tener
| style="text-align: center;" | tenî
| style="text-align: center;" | tenî, tenîs
| style="text-align: center;" | tenî
| style="text-align: center;" | tenîm
| style="text-align: center;" | tenîi
| style="text-align: center;" | tenîn
|-
| Irregular: Hacer
| style="text-align: center;" | ather
| style="text-align: center;" | athî
| style="text-align: center;" | athî, athîs
| style="text-align: center;" | athî
| style="text-align: center;" | athîm
| style="text-align: center;" | athîi
| style="text-align: center;" | athîn
| style="text-align: center;" | did/made
|-
| Irregular: Ir
| style="text-align: center;" | ir
| style="text-align: center;" | ibh
| style="text-align: center;" | ibh
| style="text-align: center;" | ibh
| style="text-align: center;" | ívam
| style="text-align: center;" | ívei
| style="text-align: center;" | ívan
| style="text-align: center;" | went
|}

=====Progressive past=====

Progressive past is typically found in North-Western, Northern and North-Eastern Efenol although it might also be found in other dialects, including non-standard Western varieties.

Much like progressive present, this tense is formed by an auxiliary form of ''thar'' followed by a gerund although, in this case, ''thar'' is conjugated in imperfect past (despite this tense not being used elsewhere in Northern Efenol). The gerund is never affected by any sort of consonant mutation in this tense.

Sample conjugation (exemplified with dialectal variants of ''canthar''):

{| class="wikitable"
!
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | North-Western
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Western (non-standard)
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Central
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Eastern
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | North-Eastern
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Northern
|-
| 1s (I)
| rowspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | thabh canthan
| rowspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | thabh canthann
| rowspan="6" style="text-align: center;" | N/A
| rowspan="6" style="text-align: center;" | N/A
| rowspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | zav canzan
| rowspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | zav canzand
|-
| 2s (you)
|-
| 3s (he/she/it)
|-
| 1p (we)
| style="text-align: center;" | thávam canthan
| style="text-align: center;" | thávam canthann
| style="text-align: center;" | závam canzan
| style="text-align: center;" | závam canzand
|-
| 2p (you)
| style="text-align: center;" | thávei canthan
| style="text-align: center;" | thávei canthann
| style="text-align: center;" | zava canzan;
zavei canzan
| style="text-align: center;" | závei canzand
|-
| 3p (they)
| style="text-align: center;" | thávan canthan
| style="text-align: center;" | thabh' canthann;
thávan canthann
| style="text-align: center;" | závan canzan
| style="text-align: center;" | závan canzand
|}

=====Pluperfect=====

The pluperfect tense is commonly found in North-Western Efenol, Central Efenol and Northern Efenol and less commonly in Western Efenol (where it might be replaced with simple past).

Like compound past, this tense is formed by using the auxiliary verb ''aver'' and the participle for the intended verb. Like in English past perfect, however, the auxiliary is conjugated in a past tense form: imperfective for Western, North-Western and Central Efenol and simple past for Northern Efenol. Other than in the last one, participles are affected by consonant mutations (just as in compound past).

{| class="wikitable"
!
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | North-Western
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Western (Std)
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Central
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Eastern
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | North-Eastern
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Northern
|-
| 1s (I)
| style="text-align: center;" | avî + lenition
avî·cganthao
| style="text-align: center;" | avî + lenition
avî·cganthadh
| style="text-align: center;" | avî + lenition
avî·cganthau
| rowspan="6" style="text-align: center;" | N/A
| rowspan="6" style="text-align: center;" | N/A
| style="text-align: center;" | uv + no lenition
uv canzad
|-
| 2s (you)
| style="text-align: center;" | avî/avîs + no mutation
avî·canthao, avîs canthao
| style="text-align: center;" | avî + no mutation
avî·canthadh
| style="text-align: center;" | avî + no mutation
avî·canthau
| style="text-align: center;" | uviz + no lenition
uviz canzad
|-
| 3s (he/she/it)
| style="text-align: center;" | avî + lenition
avî·cganthao
| style="text-align: center;" | avî + lenition
avî·cganthadh
| style="text-align: center;" | avî + lenition
avî·cganthau
| style="text-align: center;" | uv + no lention
uv canzad
|-
| 1p (we)
| style="text-align: center;" | avî/avîm + nasal mutation
avî·chantao
| style="text-align: center;" | avî/avîm + nasal mutation
avî·chanthadh
| style="text-align: center;" | avîm + no mutation
avîm canthau
| style="text-align: center;" | uvim + no lenition
uvim canzad
|-
| 2p (you)
| style="text-align: center;" | avei + lenition
avei·cganthao
| style="text-align: center;" | avei + no mutation
avei·canthadh
| style="text-align: center;" | avei + no mutation
avei·canthau
| style="text-align: center;" | uvízî + no lenition
uvízî canzad
|-
| 3p (they)
| style="text-align: center;" | avî/avîn + nasal mutation
avî·chantao
| style="text-align: center;" | avî/avîn + nasal mutation
avî·chanthadh
| style="text-align: center;" | avî/avîn + nasal mutation
avî·chanthau
| style="text-align: center;" | uvîron + no lenition
uvîron canzad
|}

=====Progressive perfect=====

The progressive perfect tense is rarely found outside North-Eastern Efenol. It is very similar to progressive past but uses simple past forms for the the auxiliary verb ''thar'' (''zar'') rather than imperfect as in the usual progressive past.

Verbs in this tense are composed of the auxiliary verb (''zuv'', ''zuviz'', ''zuv'', ''zuvim'', ''zuvízi'', ''zuvîron''~''zuvíron'' for 1s, 2s, 3s, 1p, 2p and 3p respectively) followed by the unmutated gerund of the main verb (''zuv canzan'' for "I had sung").

=====Compound future=====

Compound future is the preferred way of constructing future tense in the standard form of the language, Western Efenol. The construction is also used in Northern and North-Western Efenol for near future and is in free variation with simple future in Central Efenol.

In all dialects, this tense is constructed by using a simple present tense form of ''ir'' followed by a lenited infinitive. The construction is analogous to English 'be going to' and descend from Spanish "ir a INF" (the missing "a" being the historical reason why the infinitive undergoes lenition).

{| class="wikitable"
!
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | North-Western
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Western (Std)
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Central
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Eastern
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | North-Eastern
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Northern
|-
| 1s (I)
| style="text-align: center;" | bë cganthar
| style="text-align: center;" | bë cganthar
| style="text-align: center;" | bë cganthar
| rowspan="6" style="text-align: center;" | N/A
| rowspan="6" style="text-align: center;" | N/A
| style="text-align: center;" | bö cganzar
|-
| 2s (you)
| style="text-align: center;" | bas cganthar
| style="text-align: center;" | bas cganthar
| style="text-align: center;" | bas cganthar
| style="text-align: center;" | bas cganzar
|-
| 3s (he/she/it)
| style="text-align: center;" | ba cganthar
| style="text-align: center;" | ba cganthar
| style="text-align: center;" | ba cganthar
| style="text-align: center;" | ba cganzar
|-
| 1p (we)
| style="text-align: center;" | bam cganthar
| style="text-align: center;" | bam cganthar
| style="text-align: center;" | bam cganthar
| style="text-align: center;" | bam cganzar
|-
| 2p (you)
| style="text-align: center;" | bei cganthar
| style="text-align: center;" | bei cganthar
| style="text-align: center;" | bei cganthar
| style="text-align: center;" | bei cganzar
|-
| 3p (they)
| style="text-align: center;" | ban cganthar
| style="text-align: center;" | ban cganthar
| style="text-align: center;" | ban cganthar
| style="text-align: center;" | ban cganzar
|}

=====Simple future=====

Despite not being used in the standard Western Efenol dialect, simple future is a common way to for the future tense in the language, being the only future tense commonly used in Eastern and North-Eastern Efenol and a remote future tense for Northern and North-Western Efenol.

Despite being an inflectional tense, simple future is completely regular even for verbs like ''ser'' and ''thar''. Without exception, simple future verbforms are formed by adding the same suffixes to the infinitive form of a verb. This is even the case for the descendants of verbs with irregular future verbforms in Spanish (such as "salir", whose irregular future conjugations such as "tendré" are regularized to ''*teneré'').

The following table shows the suffixes added to the '''infinitive''' (in contrast to other conjugation tables whose suffixes are to be applied to verb stems).

{| class="wikitable"
!
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | North-Western
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Western (non-standard)
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Central
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Eastern
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | North-Eastern
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Northern
|-
| 1s (I)
| style="text-align: center;" | -ê, cantharê
| style="text-align: center;" | -ê, cantharê
| style="text-align: center;" | -ê, cantharê
| style="text-align: center;" | -ê, kanzarê
| style="text-align: center;" | -ê, canzarê
| style="text-align: center;" | -ê, canzarê
|-
| 2s (you)
| style="text-align: center;" | -âs, cantharâs
| style="text-align: center;" | -âs, cantharâs
| style="text-align: center;" | -âs, cantharâs
| style="text-align: center;" | -âs, kanzarâs
| style="text-align: center;" | -âs, canzarâs
| style="text-align: center;" | -âs, canzarâs
|-
| 3s (he/she/it)
| style="text-align: center;" | -â, cantharâ
| style="text-align: center;" | -â, cantharâ
| style="text-align: center;" | -â, cantharâ
| style="text-align: center;" | -â, kanzarâ
| style="text-align: center;" | -â, canzarâ
| style="text-align: center;" | -â, canzarâ
|-
| 1p (we)
| style="text-align: center;" | -êm, cantharêm
| style="text-align: center;" | -em, cantharem
| style="text-align: center;" | -em, cantharem
| style="text-align: center;" | -êm, kanzarêm
| style="text-align: center;" | -êm, canzarêm
| style="text-align: center;" | -em, canzarem
|-
| 2p (you)
| style="text-align: center;" | -ei, cantherei
| style="text-align: center;" | -ei, cantharei
| style="text-align: center;" | -ei, cantharei
| style="text-align: center;" | -â, kanzarâ
| style="text-align: center;" | -ei, canzarei
| style="text-align: center;" | -ei, canzarei
|-
| 3p (they)
| style="text-align: center;" | -ân, cantharân
| style="text-align: center;" | -ân, cantharân
| style="text-align: center;" | -an, cantharan
| style="text-align: center;" | -ân, kanzarân
| style="text-align: center;" | -ân, canzarân
| style="text-align: center;" | -ân, canzarân
|}

=====Conditional=====

The conditional tense is found in all dialects except North-Western Efenol, where simple future verbforms are used instead.

Much like the simple future tense, all conditional verbforms are regular and are formed by adding the following suffixes to the '''infinitive''':

{| class="wikitable"
!
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | North-Western
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Western (Std)
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Central
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Eastern
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | North-Eastern
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold;" | Northern
|-
| 1s (I)
| style="text-align: center;" | -ê, cantharê
| style="text-align: center;" | -î, cantharî
| style="text-align: center;" | -î, cantharî
| rowspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | -î, kanzarî
| rowspan="6" style="text-align: center;" | -î, canzarî
| rowspan="6" style="text-align: center;" | -î, canzarî
|-
| 2s (you)
| style="text-align: center;" | -âs, cantharâs
| style="text-align: center;" | -î, cantharî,
-îs, cantharîs
| style="text-align: center;" | -îs, cantharîs
|-
| 3s (he/she/it)
| style="text-align: center;" | -â, cantharâ
| style="text-align: center;" | -î, cantharî
| style="text-align: center;" | -î, cantharî
|-
| 1p (we)
| style="text-align: center;" | -êm, cantharêm
| style="text-align: center;" | -îm, cantharîm
| style="text-align: center;" | -îm, cantharîm
| style="text-align: center;" | -îm, kanzarîm,
-î, kanzarî
|-
| 2p (you)
| style="text-align: center;" | -ei, cantherei
| style="text-align: center;" | -îi, cantharîi
| style="text-align: center;" | -îei, cantharîei
| style="text-align: center;" | -î, kanzarî
|-
| 3p (they)
| style="text-align: center;" | -ân, cantharân
| style="text-align: center;" | -în, cantharîn
| style="text-align: center;" | -în, cantharîn
| style="text-align: center;" | -în, kanzarîn,
-î, kanzarî
|}

=====Imperative mood=====

All Efenol varieties distinguish indicative verb usages from the imperative (giving commands). The simplest and most commonly used form of the imperative mood is the second-person singulare imperative, to issue a non-negative command to one listener (singular you). This is formed by using the bare stem (''Canth!'' ~ 'Sing!') except in Northern Efenol where it is far more common to use the infinitive form to issue commands (''Canzar!''). The imperative forms for ''ser'' and ''thar'' become ''sê'' and ''thê''. Additionally, the verb ''ir'' has two imperative forms, the polite ''bê'' ('Go', please go) and the impolite ''bêt'' ('Go away!').

Non-negative orders for groups of people (addressed to a plural you) typically use the infinitive form (''Canthar!'' ~ 'Sing, all of you!'), the exceptions being Eastern Efenol (which also uses the bare-stem imperative in this case, ''Kanz, boz!'') and Northern Efenol (which preserves the Spanish plural imperative which replaces the '-r' from the infinitive with a 'd': ''Canzad!'').

Negative imperatives ('Dont sing!') are identical to positive imperatives but preceded by the negative marker ''no'' '''except''' in North-Western Efenol which uses subjunctive present forms: Western ''No canth!'' and ''No canthar!'' (Don't sing 2s! Don't sing 2p!) but North-Western ''No canth!'' and ''No canthî!'' (cf. Spanish "¡No cantes!" and "¡No cantéis!").

Imperatives issued to a person other than 'you' or 'plural you' are rarer but possible. For suggestions to the first person, the usual construction is ''a'' followed by the unmutated infinitive: ''A canthar!'' ~ 'Let's sing!'. For the third-person, the construction is ''ce'' followed by the appropriate simple present verbform (subjunctinve in North-Western Efenol); subjects (even if in pronoun form) are often said after the verb: ''Ce canth el!'' (Let him sing!), ''Ce cánthan o·centheinth!''(Let the singers sing!; North-Western ''Ce canthen o·centheinth!'', cf. Spanish "¡Qué canten los cantantes!").

In all varieties, adding ''porfavor'' ('please') will make these commands more gentle.

Examples of the mentioned structures:

{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" | Conjugation class
! colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | Western Efenol
! style="text-align: center;" | Northern Efenol
! colspan="4" style="text-align: center;" | North-Western Efenol
! style="text-align: center;" | English
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | Infinitive
| style="text-align: center;" | Singular Imperative
| style="text-align: center;" | Plural imperative
| style="text-align: center;" | Negative singular imperative
| style="text-align: center;" | Negative plural imperative
| 3s imperative
| style="text-align: center;" | 3p imperative
| style="text-align: center;" | Translation
|-
| -ar
| style="text-align: center;" | canthar
| style="text-align: center;" | Canth!
| style="text-align: center;" | Canzad!
| style="text-align: center;" | No canth!
| style="text-align: center;" | No canthî!
| style="text-align: center;" | Ce canth!
| style="text-align: center;" | Ce cánthen!
| style="text-align: center;" | Sing!
|-
| -er
| style="text-align: center;" | comer
| style="text-align: center;" | Com!
| style="text-align: center;" | Comed!
| style="text-align: center;" | No com!
| style="text-align: center;" | No comei!
| style="text-align: center;" | Ce com!
| style="text-align: center;" | Ce cóman!
| style="text-align: center;" | Eat!
|-
| -ir
| style="text-align: center;" | parthir
| style="text-align: center;" | Parth!
| style="text-align: center;" | Parzid!
| style="text-align: center;" | No parth!
| style="text-align: center;" | No parthei!
| style="text-align: center;" | Ce parth!
| style="text-align: center;" | Ce párthan!
| style="text-align: center;" | Leave!
|-
| -ar, broken
| style="text-align: center;" | avalar
| style="text-align: center;" | Ával!
| style="text-align: center;" | Avalad!
| style="text-align: center;" | No ável!
| style="text-align: center;" | No avelî!
| style="text-align: center;" | Ce ável!
| style="text-align: center;" | Ce ávelen!
| style="text-align: center;" | Speak!
|-
| -ar, e~ie alternation
| style="text-align: center;" | pezar
| style="text-align: center;" | Pîz!
| style="text-align: center;" | Pensad!
| style="text-align: center;" | No pînz!
| style="text-align: center;" | No penzî!
| style="text-align: center;" | Ce pînz!
| style="text-align: center;" | Ce pînzen!
| style="text-align: center;" | Think!
|-
| -ar, o~ue alternation
| style="text-align: center;" | rodhar
| style="text-align: center;" | Rëdh!
| style="text-align: center;" | Rodad!
| style="text-align: center;" | No rëdh!
| style="text-align: center;" | No rëdhî!
| style="text-align: center;" | Ce rëdh!
| style="text-align: center;" | Ce rëdhen!
| style="text-align: center;" | Roll!
|-
| Irregular: -ear
| style="text-align: center;" | avytâr
| style="text-align: center;" | Avytâ!
| style="text-align: center;" | Avytsad!
| style="text-align: center;" | No avytês!
| style="text-align: center;" | No avytei!
| style="text-align: center;" | Ce avytê!
| style="text-align: center;" | Ce avytên!
| style="text-align: center;" | Boo!
|-
| Irregular: -eer
| style="text-align: center;" | lêr
| style="text-align: center;" | Lê!
| style="text-align: center;" | Lêd!
| style="text-align: center;" | No lâs!
| style="text-align: center;" | No lai!
| style="text-align: center;" | Ce lâ!
| style="text-align: center;" | Ce lân!
| style="text-align: center;" | Read!
|-
| Irregular: -uir
| style="text-align: center;" | conthirvyr
| style="text-align: center;" | Conthirvij!
| style="text-align: center;" | Conzirvyd!
| style="text-align: center;" | No conthirvys!
| style="text-align: center;" | No conthirvysei!
| style="text-align: center;" | Ce conthirvys!
| style="text-align: center;" | Ce conthirvýsan!
| style="text-align: center;" | Contribute!
|-
| Irregular: -eír
| style="text-align: center;" | rîr
| style="text-align: center;" | Rî!
| style="text-align: center;" | Rîd!
| style="text-align: center;" | No rîs!
| style="text-align: center;" | No rî! / No reai!
| style="text-align: center;" | Ce rî!
| style="text-align: center;" | Ce rîn!
| style="text-align: center;" | Laugh!
|-
| Irregular: Ser
| style="text-align: center;" | ser
| style="text-align: center;" | Sê!
| style="text-align: center;" | Sed!
| style="text-align: center;" | No sâs!
| style="text-align: center;" | No sai!
| style="text-align: center;" | Ce sâ!
| style="text-align: center;" | Ce sân!
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | Be!
|-
| Irregular: Estar
| style="text-align: center;" | thar
| style="text-align: center;" | Thê! / Thâ!
| style="text-align: center;" | Zad!
| style="text-align: center;" | No thês!
| style="text-align: center;" | No thî!
| style="text-align: center;" | Ce thê!
| style="text-align: center;" | Ce thên!
|-
| Irregular: Haber
| style="text-align: center;" | aver
| style="text-align: center;" | *Ê!
| style="text-align: center;" | *Aved!
| style="text-align: center;" | *No eis!
| style="text-align: center;" | *No eisei!
| style="text-align: center;" | Ce eis!
| style="text-align: center;" | Ce éisan!
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | Have!
|-
| Irregular: Tener
| style="text-align: center;" | tener
| style="text-align: center;" | Tên! / Ten!
| style="text-align: center;" | Tened!
| style="text-align: center;" | No teng!
| style="text-align: center;" | No tengei!
| style="text-align: center;" | Ce teng!
| style="text-align: center;" | Ce téngan!
|-
| Irregular: Hacer
| style="text-align: center;" | ather
| style="text-align: center;" | Ath!
| style="text-align: center;" | Azed!
| style="text-align: center;" | No ath! / No âs!
| style="text-align: center;" | No athei! / No ais!
| style="text-align: center;" | Ce ath! / Ce â!
| style="text-align: center;" | Ce áthan! / Ce ân!
| style="text-align: center;" | Do! Make!
|-
| Irregular: Ir
| style="text-align: center;" | ir
| style="text-align: center;" | Bê! / Bêt!
| style="text-align: center;" | Id! / Bed!
| style="text-align: center;" | No beis!
| style="text-align: center;" | No beisei! / No beisî!
| style="text-align: center;" | Ce beis!
| style="text-align: center;" | Ce béisan! / Ce béisen!
| style="text-align: center;" | Go!
|}

=====Subjunctive mood=====

The subjunctive mood is only preserved in the North-Western standard Efenol variety and in a few dialectal varieties elsewhere. Of the speakers that preserve this mood, most only do so for the present tense while a few may also preserve the simple past subjunctinve tense.

Subjunctives usually resemble what the corresponding indicative verbform would look like if an ''-ar'' verb was an ''-er'' verb or, conversely, if an ''-er'' or ''-ir'' verb was an ''-ar'' verb.

The following table shows subjunctive present and past tense forms for various verbs in '''North-Western''' Efenol.

{| class="wikitable"
! Conjugation class
! style="text-align: center;" | Infinitive
! style="text-align: center;" | 1s
! style="text-align: center;" | 2s
! style="text-align: center;" | 3s
! style="text-align: center;" | 1p
! style="text-align: center;" | 2p
! style="text-align: center;" | 3p
! style="text-align: center;" | Translation
|-
| -ar
| style="text-align: center;" | canthar
| style="text-align: center;" | canth
canthas
| style="text-align: center;" | canth
canthas
| style="text-align: center;" | canth
canthas
| style="text-align: center;" | canthem
canthásem
| style="text-align: center;" | canthî
canthásî
| style="text-align: center;" | cánthen
canthásen
| style="text-align: center;" | sing
|-
| -er
| style="text-align: center;" | comer
| style="text-align: center;" | com
comîs
| style="text-align: center;" | com
comîs
| style="text-align: center;" | com
comîs
| style="text-align: center;" | comam
comîsem
| style="text-align: center;" | comei
comîsî
| style="text-align: center;" | cóman
comîsen
| style="text-align: center;" | eat
|-
| -ir
| style="text-align: center;" | parthir
| style="text-align: center;" | parth
parthîs
| style="text-align: center;" | parth
parthîs
| style="text-align: center;" | parth
parthîs
| style="text-align: center;" | partham
parthîsem
| style="text-align: center;" | parthêi
parthîsî
| style="text-align: center;" | párthan
parthîsen
| style="text-align: center;" | leave
|-
| -ar, broken
| style="text-align: center;" | avalar
| style="text-align: center;" | ável
avalas
| style="text-align: center;" | ável
avalas
| style="text-align: center;" | ável
avalas
| style="text-align: center;" | avelem
avalásem
| style="text-align: center;" | avelî
avalásî
| style="text-align: center;" | ávelen
avalásen
| style="text-align: center;" | speak
|-
| -ar, e~ie alternation
| style="text-align: center;" | penzar
| style="text-align: center;" | pînz
penzas
| style="text-align: center;" | pînz
penzas
| style="text-align: center;" | pînz
penzas
| style="text-align: center;" | penzem
penzásem
| style="text-align: center;" | penzî
penzásî
| style="text-align: center;" | pînzen
penzásen
| style="text-align: center;" | think
|-
| -ar, o~ue alternation
| style="text-align: center;" | rodhar
| style="text-align: center;" | rëdh
rodhas
| style="text-align: center;" | rëdh
rodhas
| style="text-align: center;" | rëdh
rodhas
| style="text-align: center;" | rodhem
rodhásem
| style="text-align: center;" | rodhî
rodhásî
| style="text-align: center;" | rëdhen
rodhásen
| style="text-align: center;" | roll
|-
| Irregular: -ear
| style="text-align: center;" | avytcâr
| style="text-align: center;" | avytcê
avytcâs
| style="text-align: center;" | avytcês
avytcâs
| style="text-align: center;" | avytcê
avytcâs
| style="text-align: center;" | avytcêm
avytcâsem
| style="text-align: center;" | avytcei
avytcâsî
| style="text-align: center;" | avytcên
avytcâsen
| style="text-align: center;" | boo
|-
| Irregular: -eer
| style="text-align: center;" | lêr
| style="text-align: center;" | lâ
lises / lês
| style="text-align: center;" | lâs
lises / lês
| style="text-align: center;" | lâ
lises / lês
| style="text-align: center;" | lâm
lisésem / lêsem
| style="text-align: center;" | lai
lisésî / lêsî
| style="text-align: center;" | lân
lisésen / lêsen
| style="text-align: center;" | read
|-
| Irregular: -uir
| style="text-align: center;" | conthirvyr
| style="text-align: center;" | conthirvys
conthirvyses
| style="text-align: center;" | conthirvys
conthirvyses
| style="text-align: center;" | conthirvys
conthirvyses
| style="text-align: center;" | conthirvysam
conthirvysésem
| style="text-align: center;" | conthirvysei
conthirvysésî
| style="text-align: center;" | conthirvýsan
conthirvysésen
| style="text-align: center;" | contribute
|-
| Irregular: -eír
| style="text-align: center;" | rîr
| style="text-align: center;" | rî
rîs
| style="text-align: center;" | rîs
rîs
| style="text-align: center;" | rî
rîs
| style="text-align: center;" | rîm / rîam
rîsem
| style="text-align: center;" | rî / reai
rîsî
| style="text-align: center;" | rîn
rîsen
| style="text-align: center;" | laugh
|-
| Irregular: Ser
| style="text-align: center;" | ser
| style="text-align: center;" | sâ
fër / fës
| style="text-align: center;" | sâs
fërz / fës
| style="text-align: center;" | sâ
fër / fës
| style="text-align: center;" | sâm
fëram / fësem
| style="text-align: center;" | sai
fërei / fësî
| style="text-align: center;" | sân
fëran / fësen
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | be
|-
| Irregular: Estar
| style="text-align: center;" | thar
| style="text-align: center;" | thê
thuvîs
| style="text-align: center;" | thês
thuvîs
| style="text-align: center;" | thê
thuvîs
| style="text-align: center;" | thêm
thuvîsem
| style="text-align: center;" | thî
thuvîsî
| style="text-align: center;" | thên
thuvîsen
|-
| Irregular: Haber
| style="text-align: center;" | aver
| style="text-align: center;" | eis
uvîs
| style="text-align: center;" | eis
uvîs
| style="text-align: center;" | eis
uvîs
| style="text-align: center;" | eisam
uvîsem
| style="text-align: center;" | eisei
uvîsî
| style="text-align: center;" | éisan
uvîsen
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | have
|-
| Irregular: Tener
| style="text-align: center;" | tener
| style="text-align: center;" | teng
tuvîs
| style="text-align: center;" | teng
tuvîs
| style="text-align: center;" | teng
tuvîs
| style="text-align: center;" | tengam
tuvîsem
| style="text-align: center;" | tengei
tuvîsî
| style="text-align: center;" | téngan
tuvîsen
|-
| Irregular: Hacer
| style="text-align: center;" | ather
| style="text-align: center;" | ath / â
ithîs / ithîr
| style="text-align: center;" | ath / âs
ithîs / ithîrz
| style="text-align: center;" | ath / â
ithîs / ithîr
| style="text-align: center;" | atham / âm
ithîsem / ithîram
| style="text-align: center;" | ais / athei
ithîsî / ithîrei
| style="text-align: center;" | áthan / ân
ithîsen / ithîran
| style="text-align: center;" | do / make
|-
| Irregular: Ir
| style="text-align: center;" | ir
| style="text-align: center;" | beis
fës
| style="text-align: center;" | beis
fës
| style="text-align: center;" | beis
fës
| style="text-align: center;" | beisam / beisem
fësem
| style="text-align: center;" | beisei / beisî
fësî
| style="text-align: center;" | béisan / béisen
fësen
| style="text-align: center;" | go
|}

=====Reflexive verbs and passive=====

As in Spanish, many Efenol verbs are reflexive. These verbs are characterized by always having an accusative pronoun affix which matches their subject: ''me'' for 1s, ''te'' for 2s, reflexive ''se'' for 3s and 3p, ''noth'' for 1p and ''both'' for 2p (and the corresponding dialectal variants; post-verbal pronoun forms are used for infinitives, gerunds and compound tenses with these nonfinite verbforms).

This kind of construction appears in the following scenarios:
* True reflexives where the subject and the direct object a transitive verb coincide: ''me bhë'' for 'I see myself'.
* As a passive construction for transitive verbs where the promoted object becomes a third-person reflexive subject: ''Noth cantham a·cînthën'' (We sing the songs) -⟩ ''A·cînthën se cánthan'' (The songs are sung, literally 'the songs sing themselves').
* Some verbs simply require reflexive construcitons by default as they were inherited as such from Spanish. These verbs sometimes come in pairs with a non-reflexive equivalent. For instance, the verb ''dërmir'' (from Spanish "dormir") is used as follows:
** Non-reflexively: as an intransitive verb meaning 'to sleep': ''seo dërm'' (I sleep)
** Non-reflexively: as a transitive verb meaning 'to make someone sleep': ''A·mhádher dërm l'ich'' (The woman has [her] child sleep).
** Reflexively: to fall sleep: ''Me dërmî'' (I fell asleep).

==Dialect overview==

Efenol can be seen as a dialect continuum with six main varieties (aside from the markedly different Southern Efenol): the Western dialect which serves as the basis for Standard Efenol, North-Western Efenol, Central Efenol, Eastern Efenol, North-Eastern Efenol and Northern Efenol.

The purpose of this section is to sum up the most important features which differentiate dialects other than Western Efenol from the standard.

===Western Efenol===

Western Efenol is the main Efenol proper dialect and the basis for Standard Efenol. This dialect has a few peculiarities when compared to the rest such as the usage of gendered contracted prepositions before the gender-neutral articles ⟨l'⟩ and ⟨s'⟩ (''nge l'ónver'' vs ''con l'ónver'') or the shift of word-final /v/ to [β]. It is also the only dialect that realiably contrasts the reflexes of Spanish /o/ and /aw/ as ''o'' /o/ and ''ò'' /ɔ/.

'''Overview:'''
* Phonology:
** Vowels: /a ɛ ɔ e o i y u/ (some non-standard varieties may have inventories as small as /a e̞ o̞ i y u/).
** Broken clusters CRV# yield CVR#: Spanish "tabla", "padre", "otro" ⟩ ''tával'' /ˈta.val/, ''pádher'' /ˈpa.ðeɾ/, ''óthor'' /ˈo.θoɾ/.
** Contrast between voiced plosives /b d g/ and voiced fricatives /v ð/.
** Word-intial /bl/: /bl/, Spanish "blanco" ⟩ ''blanch'' /blaŋx/.
** Final /ɾm/, /ɾb/: not broken, Spanish "arma", "barba" ⟩ ''arm'' /ˈaɾm/, ''barbh'' /ˈbaɾβ/.
** Palatalization: none.
** Word final /g/ pronounced /ç/ (still spelled as ⟨g⟩).
** Lenited 'g' becomes ⟨gh⟩, pronounced as a glottal stop /ʔ/ or silent.
** Spanish /gl/: [ɫ]~[ɬ]~[ɮ].
** Development of /ʝ/: Spanish "yunque", "mayor", "rayo", "inyectar" ⟩ ''seunch'' /ʃuŋx/, ''meisor'' /mei.ˈsoɾ/, ''reis'' /reis/, ''inzêtar'' /in.seː.ˈtaɾ/.
** Spanish /mb/: Spanish "bomba", "bombas", "reembolso", "hombre" ⟩ ''bomm'' /bom/, ''bëhb'' /bɛb/, ''rêbolz'' /reː.ˈbolz/, ''ónver'' /ˈon.veɾ/.
** Spanish /ɲ/: shifts to /n/, Spanish "año" ⟩ ''ein'' /ein/.
** Spanish /kw/ becomes 'pw' /p/, lenited 'bw' /v/, nasal/rhotic mutated 'chw' /xw/.
** Spanish /kwe/ yields /pe/.
** Lateral palatal /ʎ/ merged with /l/ in word-final position but all instances of word-final /l/ after a front vowel become palatal (not reflected in writing): Spanish "llave", "pollo", "mil" ⟩ ''lhabh'' [ʎäβ], ''pëlh'' [pɛl], ''mil'' [miʎ].
** Spanish /tʃ/ yields initial /sj/~/ʃ/~/tʃ/ (spelled ⟨tc⟩) and non-initial /ʲt/: Spanish "China", "noche" ⟩ ''Tcin'' /si(ː)n/~/tʃin/, ''nët'' /nɛt/.
** Rhotic trills: /r/ and /ʀ/ are merged into /ʀ/ for most speakers but the distinction is kept word-initially in the standard language and in writing; neither trill may appear word-finally: Spanish "rueda", "grueso", "arroz", "agresivo", "barro", "magro" ⟩ ''rëdh'' /rɛð/, rhës /ʀɛs/, ''arroth'' /a.ˈroθ/, ''arhehibh'' /a.ʀe.ˈhiv/, ''barr'' /bar/, ''marh'' /maʀ/.
* Grammar:
** Definite articles ''e· a· l' o· a· s'.''
** Pariticiples: ''-adh'' and ''-idh'' for Spanish "-ado" and "-ido".
** Pronouns: pro-drop, 1p ''noth'' (or ''nóthor''), 2p ''both'' (or ''bóthor''), 3p ''lho''.
** Verb tenses:
*** Simple present vs progressive present contrast.
*** Past tense typically expressed through simple past, compound past and imperfect.
*** Only compound future is used.
*** Imperatives ''canth!'' and ''canthar!''
*** Conditional tense preserved.
*** Subjunctive mood lost; indicative forms used instead.
* Other:
** Orthography: western-like.
** Nominal affix -ción: ''-thôn'' with i-ablaut; Spanish "nación" ⟩ ''neithôn'' /nei.ˈθoːn/.
** Adjective affix -oso: ''-ô'', Spanish "hermoso" ⟩ ''ermô'' /eɾ.ˈmoː/.

===North-Western Efenol===

North-Western Efenol is by far the closest dialect to Western Efenol to the point it might be grouped alongside it as a subdialect.

The main three features that tell North-Western Efenol apart are differences in vowel development, palatalization of coronal consonants ''after'' a /i/ and ''-ao'' participles.

'''Vowels had the following differences in development when compared to Standard Efenol:'''
* Merger of Western ⟨o⟩ /o/ and ⟨ò⟩ /ɔ/ into North-Western ⟨o⟩ /o̞/ (a feature also shared with non-standard Western Efenol varieties). The original distinction, however, remains relevant for developments after velars.
* Use of the schwa ⟨ë⟩ /ə/ for 'broken clusters' in nouns and adjectives: Spanish "otro" ⟩ Proto-Efenol ''*othr~*othro'' ⟩ North-Western ''óthër'' (but Western ''óthor'').
* Merger of Western ⟨ë⟩ /ɛ/ with the aformentioned schwa ⟨ë⟩: Western ''nët'' /nɛt/ ⟩ North-Western /nət/; Western ''ënvir'' /ˈɛn.viɾ/ (plural of ''ónver'') ⟩ North-Western ''ënvir'' /ˈən.viɾ/. Notice that this schwa phoneme /ə/ can occur in stresed position.
* The vowels ⟨a⟩ and ⟨e⟩ may be reduced to /ə/ in unstressed position. This is not reflected by writing: ''alanvàr'' /ə.ˈlan.vəɾ/. This is common in North-Western varieties but by no means universal.
* Unstressed /i/ becomes ⟨e⟩ /ə/: Western ''gitâr'' ⟩ North-Western ''getcâr'' /ge.ˈtʃaːɾ/.
* Unstressed long vowels become short: Western ''tênolochî'' (with a non-stressed long ⟨ê⟩) ⟩ North-Western ''tenolochî'' /te.no.lo.ˈxiː/.
* Unstressed /o/ is raised to /u/ after a velar ''except'' when it was originally an /ɔ/: Western ''corathôn'' (dialectally also ''corthôn''), ''chòrî'' ⟩ North-Western ''curthôn'', ''chorî''.
* Diphthongs other than /ei/ have their second component lowered from /i/ to /e/ or from /u/ to /o/: Western ''ithoir'', ''áunig'' ⟩ North-Western ''ethoer'' /e.ˈθoeɾ/, ''áonitc'' /ˈao.nitʃ/.

'''Palalization after historical /i/ (which might have then become /e/~/ə/ in North-Western Efenol):'''
* Western /t/ becomes ⟨tc⟩ /tʃ/: Western ''mítig'' ⟩ North-Western ''mítcetc'' /ˈmi.tʃetʃ/.
* Western /d/ becomes ⟨dj⟩ /dʒ/: Western ''idê''⟩ North-Western ''edjê'' /e.ˈdʒeː/.
* Western /s/ becomes ⟨sc⟩ /ʃ/: Western ''camis'' ⟩ North-Western ''camisc'' /ka.ˈmiʃ/
* The phoneme ⟨tc⟩ /tʃ/ is also found for historical Spanish ⟨ch⟩ /tʃ/ and as a equivalent to Western Efenol word final /k/ or /g/: Western ''Tcin, nët, únig'' ⟩ North-Western ''Tcin'' /tʃin/, ''nëtc'' /nətʃ/, ''únetc'' /ˈu.netʃ/.

'''Participles''': all verb participles which end in "-ado" or "-ido" in Spanish end in ''-ao'' in North-Western Efenol, a generalization of the ''-au'' ending (from Spanish "-ado") found in Central and dialectal Western Efenol: Spanish "cantado" ⟩ North-Western ''canthao'' (Western ''canthadh'' and non-standard ''canthau''), Spanish "querido" ⟩ North-Western ''cerao'' (Western ''ceridh'' and non-standard ''cerij''), Spanish "hecho" (an irregular participle with an -ado or -ido ending) ⟩ North-Western ''îtc'', Western ''ît''.

'''Overview:'''
* Phonology:
** Vowels: /a ə e o i y u/, with various vowel shifts in unstressed position.
** Broken clusters CRV# yield CəR#: Spanish "tabla", "padre", "otro" ⟩ ''távël'' /ˈta.vəl/, ''pádhër'' /ˈpa.ðəɾ/, ''óthër'' /ˈo.θəɾ/.
** Contrast between voiced plosives /b d g/ and voiced fricatives /v ð/.
** Word-intial /bl/: /bl/, Spanish "blanco" ⟩ ''blanch'' /blaŋx/.
** Final /ɾm/, /ɾb/: broken, Spanish "arma", "barba" ⟩ ''árëm'' /ˈa.ɾəm/, ''bárëbh'' /ˈba.ɾəv/.
** Palatalization: coronals /t/, /d/ and /s/ palatalized after /i/.
** Word final /g/ becomes ⟨tc⟩ /tʃ/.
** Lenited 'g', ⟨gh⟩, is silent.
** Spanish /gl/: [ɫ]~[ɬ]~[ɮ].
** Development of /ʝ/: Spanish "yunque", "mayor", "rayo", "inyectar" ⟩ ''seunch'' /ʃuŋx/, ''meisor'' /mei.ˈsoɾ/, ''reis'' /ʀeis/, ''enzetar'' /en.ze.ˈtaɾ/.
** Spanish /mb/: Spanish "bomba", "bombas", "reembolso", "hombre" ⟩ ''bom'' /bom/, ''bëm'' /bəm/, ''rembolz'' /ʀem.ˈbolz/, ''ómbër'' /ˈom.bəɾ/.
** Spanish /ɲ/: shifts to /n/, Spanish "año" ⟩ ''ein'' /ein/.
** Spanish /kw/ becomes 'p' /p/, lenited 'pb' /b/, nasal/rhotic mutated 'ph' /f/.
** Spanish /kwe/ yields /pe/.
** Lateral palatal /ʎ/ found non-finally: Spanish "llave", "pollo", "mil" ⟩ ''lhabh'' [ʎäβ], ''pël'' [pəl], ''mil'' [mil].
** Spanish /tʃ/ yields initial /tʃ/ and non-initial /ʲtʃ/: Spanish "China", "noche" ⟩ ''Tcin'' /tʃin/, ''nëtc'' /nətʃ/.
** Rhotic trills: /r/ and /ʀ/ merged in pronunciation, distinguished in writing word-initially; not allowed in final position: Spanish "rueda", "grueso", "arroz", "agresivo", "barro", "magro" ⟩ ''rëdh'' /ʀəð/, rhës /ʀəs/, ''arhoth'' /a.ˈʀoθ/, ''arhehibh'' /a.ʀe.ˈhiv/, ''bâr'' /baːɾ/, ''mor'' /moɾ/.
* Grammar:
** Definite articles ''e· a· l' o· a· ah· oh·''.
** Pariticiples: ''-ao'' for Spanish "-ado" and "-ido".
** Pronouns: pro-drop, 1p ''nóthor'', 2p ''bóthor'', 3p ''lho''.
** Verb tenses:
*** Simple present vs progressive present contrast.
*** Past tense typically expressed through compound past and imperfective.
*** Near future vs distant future distinction.
*** Imperatives ''canth!'' and ''canthar!''
*** Conditional tense merged with simple future.
*** Subjunctive mood retained.
* Other:
** Orthography: western-like.
** Nominal affix -ción: ''-thôn'' with i-ablaut; Spanish "nación" ⟩ ''neithôn'' /nei.ˈθoːn/.
** Adjective affix -oso: ''-ô'', Spanish "hermoso" ⟩ ''ermô'' /eɾ.ˈmoː/.

===Central Efenol===

Central Efenol is one of the most conservative dialects (preserving word-final trills and the Spanish nasal palatal Ñ). The dialect is closest to Western and Northern Efenol.

One characteristic feature of Central Efenol is its usage of participles ending in ''-au'' and ''-ŷ'' for verbs whose Spanish participles endind in "-ado" and "-ido" respectively. This feature is also found in non-standard Western Efenol varieties and in a more extreme form in North-Western Efenol (where both endings are merged into ''-ao'').

Uniquely for one of the major six Efenol dialects, Central Efenol still has two competing orthographies, a western-like orthography based on that of the Western Efenol and a northern-like orthography mostly modelled after Eastern Efenol's. The former is slightly more popular and is used to illustrate most Central Efenol examples in this article.

'''Overview:'''
* Phonology:
** Vowels: /a ɛ e o̞ i y u/.
** Broken clusters CRV# yield CaR#: Spanish "tabla", "padre", "otro" ⟩ ''tával'' /ˈta.val/, ''pádhar'' /ˈpa.ðaɾ/, ''óthar'' /ˈo.θaɾ/ (also ''óthor'' due to the influence of other Efenol varieties).
** Contrast between voiced plosives /b d g/ and voiced fricatives /v ð ɣ/.
** Word-intial /bl/: /bl/, Spanish "blanco" ⟩ ''blanch'' /blaŋx/.
** Final /ɾm/, /ɾb/: broken, Spanish "arma", "barba" ⟩ ''áram'' /ˈa.ɾam/, ''bárabh'' /ˈba.ɾav/.
** Palatalization: none.
** Word final /g/ stays ⟨g⟩ /g/.
** Lenited 'g' becomes ⟨gh⟩ /ɣ/.
** Spanish /gl/: /l/ for most speakers, some may retain /ɫ/ as in Northern and Western Efenol.
** Development of /ʝ/: Spanish "yunque", "mayor", "rayo", "inyectar" ⟩ ''iunch'' /juŋx/, ''masor'' /ma.ˈsoɾ/, ''reis'' /reis/, ''insêtar'' /in.seː.ˈtaɾ/.
** Spanish /mb/: Spanish "bomba", "bombas", "reembolso", "hombre" ⟩ ''bomm'' /bom/, ''bëhb'' /bɛb/, ''rêbolz'' /reː.ˈbolz/, ''ónvar''~''ónver'' /ˈon.vaɾ/~/ˈon.veɾ/.
** Spanish /ɲ/ is preserved: Spanish "año" ⟩ ''añ''~''eiñ'' /aɲ/~/eiɲ/.
** Spanish /kw/ becomes 'pw' /p/, lenited 'bw' /v/, nasal/rhotic mutated 'chw' /x/~/xw/.
** Spanish /kwe/ yields /kɛ/.
** Lateral palatal /ʎ/ found in any position when etymological: Spanish "llave", "pollo", "mil" ⟩ ''lhabh'' [ʎäβ], ''polh''~''pëlh'' [poʎ]~[pɛʎ], ''mil'' [mil].
** Spanish /tʃ/ yields initial /sj/~/ʃ/ and non-initial /ʲt/: Spanish "China", "noche" ⟩ ''Sîn'' /siːn/, ''nët'' /nɛt/.
** Rhotic trills: /r/ and /ʀ/ are distinguished by most speakers (although some may merge both to alveolar [r]) and both are allowed in final position: Spanish "rueda", "grueso", "arroz", "agresivo", "barro", "magro" ⟩ ''rëdh'' /rɛð/, rhës /ʀɛs/, ''arroth'' /a.ˈroθ/, ''arhehibh'' /a.ʀe.ˈhiv/, ''barr'' /bar/, ''marh'' /maʀ/.
* Grammar:
** Definite articles ''e· a· l' o· a· s'.''
** Pariticiples: ''-au'' and ''-ŷ'' for Spanish "-ado" and "-ido".
** Pronouns: pro-drop, 1p.M ''nóthor'', 1p.F ''nóthar'', 2p.M ''bóthor'', 2p.F ''bóthar'', 3p.M ''lho'', 3p.F ''lho'' or ''lha''.
** Verb tenses:
*** Simple present typically replaces progressive present.
*** Past tense typically expressed through simple past and compound past.
*** Simple future and compound future in free variation.
*** Imperatives ''canth!'' and ''canthar!''
*** Conditional tense preserved.
*** Subjunctive mood lost; indicative forms used instead.
* Other:
** Orthography: western-like or northern-like.
** Nominal affix -ción: ''-thôn'' with i-ablaut; Spanish "nación" ⟩ ''neithôn'' /nei.ˈθoːn/.
** Adjective affix -oso: ''-ô'', Spanish "hermoso" ⟩ ''ermô'' /eɾ.ˈmoː/.

===Eastern Efenol===

Eastern Efenol is the third largest Efenol proper dialect after Western (including Standard Efenol) and Northern Efenol.

The Eastern dialect is characterized by three major features:
* Palatalization of /k/ to /tʃ/ before front-vowels: Spanish "cantar", "quemar" ⟩ ''kanzar'' (non palatalized, Western: canthar), ''çemar'' (palatalized, Western ''cemar'').
* Different qualities for tense vowels (stressed or long) and lax vowels (unstressed and short).
* A merger of the voiced stops /b d/ and the voiced fricatives /v ð/ into the voiced approximants /β̞ ð̞/.

Eastern Efenol speakers may choose to write the phonemes /k/ and /tʃ/ in their dialect as 'k' and 'ç' (respectively) or to follow a historical convention and use ⟨c⟩ for /tʃ/ before front vowels and for /k/ elsewhere (reserving 'k' and 'ç' for the opposite, for words where /k/ appears before a front vowel or /tʃ/ occurs elsewhere respectively). Throughout this article the first style is preferred (writing all /k/ as 'k' and all /tʃ/ as 'ç').

'''Overview:'''
* Phonology:
** Vowels: /a ä ɛ (œ) ɔ ə e ø o ɪ ʏ ʊ i y u/, tense vs lax contrast depending on stress and vowel length.
** Broken clusters CRV# yield CəR#: Spanish "tabla", "padre", "otro" ⟩ ''tav'l'' /ˈtä.βəl/, ''pad'r'' /ˈpä.ðəɾ/, ''oz'r'' /ˈo.θəɾ/.
** No contrast between voiced plosives /b d/ and voiced fricatives /v ð/: merged to /β̞ ð̞/.
** Word-intial /bl/: /bl/, Spanish "blanco" ⟩ ''blanch'' /βläŋx/.
** Final /ɾm/, /ɾb/: broken, Spanish "arma", "barba" ⟩ ''áram'' /ˈä.ɾam/, ''bárav'' /ˈβä.ɾav/.
** Palatalization: voiced velar stop /k/ palatalized before front vowels.
** Word final /g/ pronounced /x/ (still spelled as ⟨g⟩).
** Lenited 'g' becomes ⟨gh⟩ /ʝ/.
** Spanish /gl/: merged with /l/.
** Development of /ʝ/: Spanish "yunque", "mayor", "rayo", "inyectar" ⟩ ''ŷnh'' /yːŋx/, ''maghor'' /ma.ˈʝoɾ/, ''raij'' /räiʒ/, ''inghêtar'' /ɪn.ʝeː.ˈtaɾ/.
** Spanish /mb/: Spanish "bomba", "bombas", "reembolso", "hombre" ⟩ ''bom'' /βom/, ''böb'' /βøβ/, ''rêbols'' /reː.ˈβols/, ''ómber'' /ˈom.βɛɾ/.
** Spanish /ɲ/: shifts to /n/, Spanish "año" ⟩ ''ein'' /ein/.
** Spanish /kw/ becomes 'p' /p/, lenited 'pb' /β/, nasal/rhotic mutated 'hw' /xw/~/x/~/ʍ/.
** Spanish /kwe/ yields /kø/.
** Lateral palatal /ʎ/ in free variation with the cluster /lj/; not found word-finally: Spanish "llave", "pollo", "mil" ⟩ ''liav'' [ʎäβ]~[ljäβ], ''pöl'' [pøl], ''mil'' [mil].
** Spanish /tʃ/ yields initial /sj/ and non-initial /ʲtʃ/ (spelled ⟨tç⟩ word-finall): Spanish "China", "noche" ⟩ ''Sîn'' /siːn/, ''nötç'' /nøtʃ/.
** Rhotic trills: /r/ and /ʀ/ are distinguished but neither is allowed in final position: Spanish "rueda", "grueso", "arroz", "agresivo", "barro", "magro" ⟩ ''röd'' /røð/, rhös /ʀøs/, ''arroz'' /a.ˈroθ/, ''arheshiv'' /a.ʀɛ.ˈhiv/, ''bâr'' /baːɾ/, ''mor'' /moɾ/.
* Grammar:
** Definite articles ''e· a· l' o a s'.''
** Pariticiples: ''-ad'' and ''-id'' for Spanish "-ado" and "-ido".
** Pronouns: usually not dropped (even if clear from context and verbal endings), 1p ''noz'', 2p ''boz'', 3p ''lio''; some speakers may distinguish 1p.M ''noz'' and 2p.M ''boz'' from 1p.F ''noz'r'' and 2p.F ''noz'r''.
** Verb tenses:
*** Simple present typically replaces progressive present.
*** Past tense typically expressed through simple past and imperfective.
*** Only simple future is used.
*** Imperative ''kanz!'' for both 2s and 2p.
*** Conditional tense preserved.
*** Subjunctive mood lost; indicative forms used instead.
* Other:
** Orthography: northern-like.
** Nominal affix -ción: ''-zôn'' with i-ablaut; Spanish "nación" ⟩ ''neizôn'' /nei.ˈθoːn/.
** Adjective affix -oso: ''-ô'', Spanish "hermoso" ⟩ ''ermô'' /ɛɾ.ˈmoː/.

===North-Eastern Efenol===

North-Eastern Efenol is often considered a transitional variety between the Northern and Eastern dialects although it also features some developments not found in either.

The North-Eastern dialect shares Eastern Efenol's distinction between tense vowels (stressed or long) and lax vowels (unstressed and short) but not its palatalization of /k/ before front vowels nor its merger between voiced stops and voiced fricatives.

'''Overview:'''
* Phonology:
** Vowels: /a~ə ä ɛ (œ) ɔ e ø o ɪ ʏ ʊ i y u/, tense vs lax contrast depending on stress and vowel length.
** Broken clusters CRV# yield CVR#: Spanish "tabla", "padre", "otro" ⟩ ''tával'' /ˈtä.vəl/, ''páder'' /ˈpä.ðɛɾ/, ''ózor'' /ˈo.θɔɾ/.
** Contrast between voiced plosives /b d g/ and voiced fricatives /v ð/.
** Word-intial /bl/: /v_l/, Spanish "blanco" ⟩ ''vanh'' /väŋx/.
** Final /ɾm/, /ɾb/: broken, Spanish "arma", "barba" ⟩ ''áram'' /ˈä.ɾəm/, ''bárav'' /ˈbä.ɾəv/.
** Palatalization: none.
** Word final /g/ pronounced /ç/ (still spelled as ⟨g⟩).
** Lenited 'g' becomes ⟨gh⟩ /ç/.
** Spanish /gl/: merged with /l/.
** Development of /ʝ/: Spanish "yunque", "mayor", "rayo", "inyectar" ⟩ ''ghunh'' /çuŋx/, ''maghor'' /mə.ˈçoɾ/, ''raigh'' /räiç/, ''inghêtar'' /ɪn.çeː.ˈtäɾ/.
** Spanish /mb/: Spanish "bomba", "bombas", "reembolso", "hombre" ⟩ ''bom'' /bom/, ''böbb'' /bøb/, ''rêbols'' /reː.ˈbols/, ''ônver'' /ˈoːn.vɛɾ/.
** Spanish /ɲ/: shifts to /n/, Spanish "año" ⟩ ''ein'' /ein/.
** Spanish /kw/ becomes 'p' /p/, lenited 'pv' /v/, nasal/rhotic mutated 'hw' /ʍ/ or 'ph' /f/.
** Spanish /kwe/ yields /kø/.
** Lateral palatal /ʎ/ in free variation with the cluster /lj/; not found word-finally: Spanish "llave", "pollo", "mil" ⟩ ''liav'' [ʎäv]~[ljäv], ''pöl'' [pøl], ''mil'' [mil].
** Spanish /tʃ/ yields initial /sj/ and non-initial /ʲts/: Spanish "China", "noche" ⟩ ''Sîn'' /siːn/, ''nöts'' /nøts/.
** Rhotic trills: /r/ and /ʀ/ are distinguished but neither is allowed in final position: Spanish "rueda", "grueso", "arroz", "agresivo", "barro", "magro" ⟩ ''röd'' /røð/, rhös /ʀøs/, ''arroz'' /ə.ˈroθ/, ''arhehiv'' /ə.ʀɛ.ˈxiv/, ''bâr'' /baːɾ/, ''mor'' /moɾ/.
* Grammar:
** Definite articles ''e· a· l' o a as' os'.''
** Pariticiples: ''-ad'' and ''-id'' for Spanish "-ado" and "-ido".
** Pronouns: pro-drop, 1p ''noz'', 2p ''boz'', 3p.M ''lio'', 3p.F ''lia''.
** Verb tenses:
*** Simple present typically replaces progressive present.
*** Past tense typically expressed through simple past and imperfective.
*** Only simple future is used.
*** Imperative ''canzar!'' for both 2s and 2p.
*** Conditional tense preserved.
*** Subjunctive mood lost; indicative forms used instead.
* Other:
** Orthography: northern-like.
** Nominal affix -ción: ''-zôn'' with i-ablaut; Spanish "nación" ⟩ ''neizôn'' /nei.ˈθoːn/ (Northern Efenol's non ablauted forms such as ''nazôn'' may also be found).
** Adjective affix -oso: ''-ô'' or ''-ôs'', Spanish "hermoso" ⟩ ''ermô'' /ɛɾ.ˈmoː/ or ''ermôs'' /ɛɾ.ˈmoːs/.

===Northern Efenol===

Northern Efenol is the second largest Efenol proper variety, behind Western Efenol.

Northern Efenol can be considered to be one of the most conservative varieties as evidenced by preserving the /l/ in the definite articles ''el, la, lo, la'' (Spanish "el, la, los, las", ''e, a, o, a'' in other Efenol varieties).

'''Overview:'''
* Phonology:
** Vowels: /a e̞ ø̞ o̞ i y u/.
** Broken clusters CRV# yield CVR#: Spanish "tabla", "padre", "otro" ⟩ ''tával'' /ˈta.val/, ''páder'' /ˈpa.ðeɾ/, ''ózor'' /ˈo.θoɾ/.
** Contrast between voiced plosives /b d g/ and voiced fricatives /v ð/.
** Word-intial /bl/: /v_l/, Spanish "blanco" ⟩ ''vanh'' /vaŋx/.
** Final /ɾm/, /ɾb/: broken, Spanish "arma", "barba" ⟩ ''áram'' /ˈa.ɾam/, ''bárav'' /ˈba.ɾav/.
** Palatalization: none.
** Word final /g/ pronounced /ç/ (still spelled as ⟨g⟩).
** Lenited 'g' becomes ⟨gh⟩ /x/ (regionally also realized as [h] or [ħ]).
** Spanish /gl/: ⟨lh⟩ /ɫ/.
** Development of /ʝ/: Spanish "yunque", "mayor", "rayo", "inyectar" ⟩ ''iunh'' /juŋx/, ''maior'' /ma.ˈjoɾ/, ''rai'' /rai/, ''înêtar'' /iː.neː.ˈtaɾ/.
** Spanish /mb/: Spanish "bomba", "bombas", "reembolso", "hombre" ⟩ ''bomb'' /bomb/, ''bömb'' /bømb/, ''rêbols'' /reː.ˈbols/, ''ônver'' /ˈoːn.veɾ/.
** Spanish /ɲ/: shifts to /n/, Spanish "año" ⟩ ''ein'' /ein/.
** Spanish /kw/ becomes 'p' /p/, lenited 'pv' /v/, nasal/rhotic mutated 'ph' /f/.
** Spanish /kwe/ yields /pe/.
** Lateral palatal /ʎ/ in free variation with the cluster /lj/; not found word-finally: Spanish "llave", "pollo", "mil" ⟩ ''liav'' [ʎäv]~[ljäv], ''pöl'' [pøl], ''mil'' [mil].
** Spanish /tʃ/ yields initial /tj/ and non-initial /ʲts/: Spanish "China", "noche" ⟩ ''Tîn'' /tiːn/, ''nöts'' /nøts/.
** Rhotic trills: /r/ and /ʀ/ merged into /r/, which is allowed in final position: Spanish "rueda", "grueso", "arroz", "agresivo", "barro", "magro" ⟩ ''röd'' /røð/, rös /røs/, ''arroz'' /a.ˈroθ/, ''arrehiv'' /a.re.ˈxiv/, ''barr'' /bar/, ''morr''~''marr'' /mor/~/mar/.
* Grammar:
** Definite articles ''el la l' lo la os' as'.''
** Pariticiples: ''-ad'' and ''-id'' for Spanish "-ado" and "-ido".
** Pronouns: pro-drop, 1p ''noz'', 2p ''boz'', 3p.M ''lio'', 3p.F ''lia''.
** Verb tenses:
*** Simple present vs progressive present contrast.
*** Past tense typically expressed through simple past and compound past.
*** Near future vs distant future distinction.
*** Imperatives ''canz!'' and ''canzad!''
*** Conditional tense preserved.
*** Subjunctive mood lost; indicative forms used instead.
* Other:
** Orthography: northern-like.
** Nominal affix -ción: ''-zôn'' '''''without''''' i-ablaut; Spanish "nación" ⟩ ''nazôn'' /na.ˈθoːn/.
** Adjective affix -oso: ''-os'', Spanish "hermoso" ⟩ ''ermos''.

===Hunzad===

''Hunzad'' (literally 'run-together') is a divergent variety of Northern Efenol which developed vowel harmony. All Hunzad words belong to one of two vowel harmony classes determined by their stressed vowel in Northern Efenol: 'light' (for words with a stressed /a/, /e/, or /y/) and 'dark' (for words with a stressed /o/ or /u/). Words with a stressed /ø/ are ambiguous, but most speakers pattern them as 'dark'.

Hunzad has a distinct orthography which reflects the various vowel quality shifts to accommodate to vowel harmony although most Hunzad speakers simply write in the standard Northern Efenol orthography. Since most vowels in the alternate orthography bear diacritics vowel length is expressed by doubling the vowel instead.

The following table shows the main vowel developments:

{| class="wikitable"
! Northern Efenol vowel
! Hunzad class
! In 'light' words
! In 'dark' words
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | a /ä/
| style="text-align: center;" | Light
| style="text-align: center;" | a /a/
| style="text-align: center;" | à /ɒ/
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | e /e/
| style="text-align: center;" | Light
| style="text-align: center;" | e /e/
| style="text-align: center;" | è /ɘ/
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | i /i/
| style="text-align: center;" | Light
| style="text-align: center;" | i /i/
| style="text-align: center;" | y /ɨ/~/ʉ/
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | o /o/
| style="text-align: center;" | Dark
| style="text-align: center;" | ò /ʌ/
| style="text-align: center;" | o /o/
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | ö /ø/
| style="text-align: center;" | Either
| style="text-align: center;" | è /ɘ/
| style="text-align: center;" | ø /ø/
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | u /u/
| style="text-align: center;" | Dark
| style="text-align: center;" | ù /y/
| style="text-align: center;" | u /u/
|-
| style="text-align: center;" | y /y/
| style="text-align: center;" | Light
| style="text-align: center;" | ù /y/ (stressed)
y /ɨ/~/ʉ/ (else)
| style="text-align: center;" | ù /y/ or u /u/
|}

'''Overview:'''
* Phonology:
** Vowels: /a ɒ ʌ e ø ɘ o i y ɨ~ʉ u/, features vowel harmony.
** Broken clusters CRV# yield CVR#: Spanish "tabla", "padre", "otro" ⟩ ''taval'' /ˈta.val/, ''paðer'' /ˈpa.ðeɾ/, ''ozor'' /ˈo.θoɾ/.
** Contrast between voiced plosives /b d g/ and voiced fricatives /v ð/.
** Word-intial /bl/: /v_l/, Spanish "blanco" ⟩ ''vanh'' /vanh/.
** Final /ɾm/, /ɾb/: broken, Spanish "arma", "barba" ⟩ ''aram'' /ˈa.ɾam/, ''barav'' /ˈba.ɾav/.
** Palatalization: none.
** Word final /g/ becomes ⟨h⟩ /h/ (but may be realized as [ç]).
** Lenited 'g', becomes ⟨h⟩ /h/.
** Spanish /gl/: ⟨gl⟩ /gl/.
** Development of /ʝ/: Spanish "yunque", "mayor", "rayo", "inyectar" ⟩ ''ùùnh'' /uːnh/, ''màjor'' /mɒ.ˈjoɾ/, ''rai'' /rai/, ''iineetar'' /iː.neː.ˈtaɾ/.
** Spanish /mb/: Spanish "bomba", "bombas", "reembolso", "hombre" ⟩ ''bom'' /bom/, ''bøm'' /bøm/, ''rèèbol'' /rɘː.ˈbols/, ''oonvèr'' /ˈoːn.vɘɾ/.
** Spanish /ɲ/: shifts to /n/, Spanish "año" ⟩ ''ein'' /ein/.
** Spanish /kw/ becomes 'p' /p/, lenited 'v' /v/, nasal/rhotic mutated 'f' /f/.
** Spanish /kwe/ yields /pe/ (or /pɘ/).
** Lateral palatal /ʎ/ in free variation (but typically replaced) with the cluster /lj/; not found word-finally: Spanish "llave", "pollo", "mil" ⟩ ''ljav'' [ljav], ''pøl'' [pøl], ''mil'' [mil].
** Spanish /tʃ/ yields initial /tj/ and non-initial /ʲts/: Spanish "China", "noche" ⟩ ''Tiin'' /tiːn/, ''nøts'' /nøts/.
** Rhotic trills: /r/ and /ʀ/ merged into /r/, which is allowed in final position: Spanish "rueda", "grueso", "arroz", "agresivo", "barro", "magro" ⟩ ''røð'' /røð/, røs /røs/, ''àrroz'' /ɒ.ˈroθ/, ''arrehiv'' /a.re.ˈxiv/, ''barr'' /bar/, ''morr'' /mor/.
* Grammar:
** Definite articles ''el~èl la~là l~l lò~lo, la~là, as~às òs~os'' (pairs correspond to light and dark words respectively).
** Pariticiples: ''-að/-àð'' and ''-id/-yð'' for Spanish "-ado" and "-ido".
** Pronouns: pro-drop, 1p ''noz'', 2p ''boz'', 3p.M ''ljo'', 3p.F ''lja''.
** Verb tenses:
*** Simple present vs progressive present contrast.
*** Past tense typically expressed through simple past and compound past.
*** Near future vs distant future distinction.
*** Imperatives ''kanz!'' and ''kanzað!''
*** Conditional tense preserved.
*** Subjunctive mood lost; indicative forms used instead.
* Other:
** Orthography: neither northern-like nor western-like (although most speakers would actually use the northern-like Northern Efenol orthography instead).
** Nominal affix -ción: ''-zoon''~''-zòòn'' ''without'' i-ablaut; Spanish "nación" ⟩ ''nàzoon'' /nɒ.ˈθoːn/.
** Adjective affix -oso: ''-os'', Spanish "hermoso" ⟩ ''èrmos''.

===Comparative table===

{| class="wikitable"
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#ffffff;" |
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#ffffff;" | North-Western
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#ffffff;" | Western (Std.)
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#ffffff;" | Central
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#ffffff;" | Eastern
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#ffffff;" | North-Eastern
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#ffffff;" | Northern
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#ffffff;" | Hunzad
|-
| colspan="8" style="text-align: center;" | Phonology
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Evolution of Spanish /we/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffc7;" | ë /ə/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | ë /ɛ/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | ë /ɛ/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffccc9;" | ö /ø/~/œ~ɛ/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffccc9;" | ö /ø/~/œ~ɛ/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | ö /ø/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | ø /ø
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Spanish /aw/ vs /o/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Merged, o /o/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | ò /ɔ/ vs o /o/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Merged, o /o/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Merged o /o/~/ɔ/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Merged o /o/~/ɔ/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Merged o /o/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Merged /o/
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Vowels in general
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffc7;" | Various shifts
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Conservative
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Conservative
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Tense vs lax
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Tense vs lax
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Conservative
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffccc9;" | Vowel harmony
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | CRV# clusters (e.g. "padre")
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | CəR, pádhër
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | CVR, pádher
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffccc9;" | CaR, pádhar
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | CəR, pád'r
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | CVR, páder
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | CVR, páder
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | CVR, páder
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Voiced plosives and fricatives
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Contrast
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Contrast
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Contrast
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Merged
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Contrast
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Contrast
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Contrast
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Word initial clusters like 'bl'
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Retained, bl
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Retained, bl
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Retained, bl
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Retained, bl
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Broken, v_l
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Broken, v_l
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Broken v_l
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Word final clusters like -rm, -rb
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Broken
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Retained
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Broken
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Broken
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Broken
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Broken
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Broken
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Palatalization of consonants
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffccc9;" | Coronals after /i/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | None
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | None
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | /k/ before
front vowels
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | None
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | None
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | None
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Word-final g
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffc7;" | ⟨tc⟩ /tʃ/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | ⟨g⟩ /ç/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffccc9;" | ⟨g⟩ /g/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | ⟨g⟩ /x/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | ⟨g⟩ /ç/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | ⟨g⟩ /ç/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ecf4ff;" | ⟨s⟩ /s/
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Lenited g
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffc7;" | Ø
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | /ʔ/ or Ø
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffccc9;" | /ɣ/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | /ʝ/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | /ç/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ecf4ff;" | /x/~/h/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ecf4ff;" | /h/
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Spanish /gl/, /lg/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | /ɫ/ [ɫ]~[ɬ]~[ɮ]
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | /ɫ/ [ɫ]~[ɬ]~[ɮ]
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Merged with /l/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Merged with /l/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Merged with /l/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffc7;" | /ɫ/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffccc9;" | /gl/
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Spanish #ʝV
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | /sj/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | /sj/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | /j/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffccc9;" | i-ablaut + length
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffc7;" | /ç/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | /j/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | /j/
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Spanish VmbV
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | /mb/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | /b/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | /b/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | /β/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | /b/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | /b/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | /b/
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Word final mb; SG and PL
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | m /m/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | mm /m/ hb /b/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | mm /m/ hb /b/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | m /m/ b /β/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | m /m/ b /β/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffccc9;" | mb /mb/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | m /m/
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Spanish mbrV
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffccc9;" | mb_r
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | nv_r
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | nv_r
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffccc9;" | mβ_r
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | length + nv_r
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | length + nv_r
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | length + nv_r
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Spanish Ñ
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Not preserved
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Not preserved
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Preserved
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Not preserved
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Not preserved
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Not preserved
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Not preserved
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Spanish /kw/, lenited, mutated
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffccc9;" | /p/ /b/ /f/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | /p/ /v/ /xw/~/x/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | /p/ /v/ /x/~/xw/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffccc9;" | /p/ /β/ /xw/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffc7;" | /p/ /v/ /ʍ/~/f/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | /p/ /v/ /f/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | /p/ /v/ /f/
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Spanish /kwe/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | /pe/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | /pe/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | /kɛ/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | /kø/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | /kø/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | /kø/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | /kɘ/~/kø/
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | /ʎ/ vs /lj/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Different
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Different
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Different
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | In free variation
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | In free variation
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | In free variation
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | In free variation
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Word final /ʎ/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | None
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Non-etymological
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffccc9;" | Etymological
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | None
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | None
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | None
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | None
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Initial Spanish /tʃ/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffc7;" | /tʃ/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | /tʃ/~/sj/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffccc9;" | /sj/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffccc9;" | /sj/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffccc9;" | /sj/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | /tj/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | /tj/
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Medial Spanish /tʃ/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffccc9;" | i-ablaut + /tʃ/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | i-ablaut + /t/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | i-ablaut + /t/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffccc9;" | i-ablaut + /tʃ/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | i-ablaut + /ts/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | i-ablaut + /ts/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | i-ablaut + /ts/
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Initial /r/ and /ʀ/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffccc9;" | Merged to /ʀ/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Distinguished (std)
Merged to /ʀ/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Distinguished
Merged to /r/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Distinguished
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Distinguished
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Merged to /r/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Merged to /r/
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Medial /r/ and /ʀ/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Merged to /ʀ/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Merged to /ʀ/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffccc9;" | Distinguished
Merged to /r
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffccc9;" | Distinguished
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffccc9;" | Distinguished
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Merged to /r/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Merged to /r/
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Final /r/ and /ʀ/
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Not allowed
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Not allowed
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Allowed
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Not allowed
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Not allowed
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Allowed
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Allowed
|-
| colspan="8" style="text-align: center;" | Grammar
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Singular definite articles
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | e·, a·, l'
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | e·, a·, l'
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | e·, a·, l'
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | e·, a·, l'
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | e·, a·, l'
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | el, la, l'
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | el~èl la~là l
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Plural definite articles
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffc7;" | o·, a·, oh·, ah·
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | o·, a·, s'
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | o·, a·, s'
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | o, a, s'
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffccc9;" | o, a, os', as'
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | lo, la, los, las
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | lo, la, los, las
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Participles (Spanish -ado/-ido)
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | -ao, -ao
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | -adh, -idh
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffccc9;" | -au, -ŷ
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | -ad, -id
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | -ad, -id
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | -ad, -id
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | -að~àð, -ið~yð
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Pro-drop whenever possible
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Yes
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Yes
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Yes
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | No
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Yes
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Yes
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Yes
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Gender distinction in 1p and 2p
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | No
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | No
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Yes
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffccc9;" | Varies
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | No
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | No
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | No
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Gender distinction in 3p
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | No
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | No
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Yes
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | No
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Yes
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Yes
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Yes
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Progressive present
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Used
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Used
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Not used
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Not used
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Not used
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Used
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Used
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Simple past
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Not used
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Used
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Used
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Used
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Used
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Used
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Used
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Compound past
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Used
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Used
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Used
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Not used
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Not used
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Used
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Used
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Imperfective
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Used
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Used
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Not used
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Used
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Used
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Not used
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Not used
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Simple and compound future
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffccc9;" | Near vs remote
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Only compound
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffc7;" | Free variation
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Only simple
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Only simple
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffccc9;" | Near vs remote
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffccc9;" | Near vs remote
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Conditional
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Not used
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Used
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Used
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Used
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Used
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Used
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Used
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Subjunctive mood
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Preserved
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Lost
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Lost
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Lost
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Lost
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Lost
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Lost
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Singular imperative
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Imperative
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Imperative
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Imperative
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Imperative
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Infinitive
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Imperative
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Imperative
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Plural imperative
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Infinitive
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Infinitive
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Infinitive
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Sg. Imperative
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Infinitive
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffccc9;" | Pl. Imperative
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffccc9;" | Pl. Imperative
|-
| colspan="8" style="text-align: center;" | Other
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Orthography type
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Western-like
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Western-like
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffccc9;" | Both
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Northern-like
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Northern-like
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | Northern-like
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffc7;" | Neither
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Suffix "-ción"
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Triggers ablaut
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Triggers ablaut
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Triggers ablaut
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | Triggers ablaut
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffccc9;" | Either
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | No ablaut
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | No ablaut
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Suffix "-oso"
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | -ô
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | -ô
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | -ô
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffce93;" | -ô
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffccc9;" | -ôs
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | -os
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#cbcefb;" | -os~òs
|}

==Example texts==

===Schleicher's fable===

====In Western Efenol====

:{|
|colspan=9|'''''Nu·cholîn, un ovech ce no tenî lan beô cevîl.'''''
|-
|colspan=9|/nu.xo.ˈliːn u.no.vex ke no te.ˈniː lan bjoː ke.ˈviːʎ/
|-
| ''n-u-colîn'' || ''un'' || ''ovech'' || ''ce'' || ''no'' || ''ten-î'' || ''lan'' || ''b-eô'' || ''caveil(i)''
|-
| {{sc|loc}}-{{sc|indf}}-hill || {{sc|indf}} || sheep || that || {{sc|neg}} || have-{{sc|impf}}.{{sc|3s}} || wool || see-{{sc|pst}}.3s || horse/{{sc|pl}}
|-
|colspan=9|'''On a hill, a sheep that had no wool saw horses.'''
|}

:{|
|colspan=4|'''''Un delho tirabh du·châr pehadh,'''''
|-
|colspan=4|/un ˈde.ʎo ti.ˈɾaβ du.ˈxaːɾ pe.ˈhað/
|-
| ''un delho'' || ''tir-abh'' || ''d-u-câr'' || ''pehadh''
|-
| one {{sc|3p}}.{{sc|gen}} || pull-{{sc|impf}}.{{sc|3s}} || {{sc|gen}}-{{sc|indf}}-wagon || heavy
|-
|colspan=4|'''One of them was pulling a heavy wagon,'''
|}

:{|
|colspan=4|'''''un lhevabh u·chòr rhan,'''''
|-
|colspan=4|/un ʎe.ˈvaβ u.xɔɾ ʀan/
|-
| ''un'' || ''lhev-abh'' || ''u-còr'' || ''rhan''
|-
| one || carry-{{sc|impf}}.{{sc|3s}} || {{sc|indf}}-load || big
|-
|colspan=4|'''one carried a big load,'''
|}

:{|
|colspan=6|'''''i un óthor lhevabh belothmenth un ónver.'''''
|-
|colspan=6|/i un ˈo.θoɾ ʎe.ˈvaβ be.loθ.ˈmenθ un ˈon.veɾ/
|-
| ''i'' || ''un óthor'' || ''lhev-abh'' || ''beloth-menth'' || ''un'' || ''ónver''
|-
| and || another || carry-{{sc|impf}}.{{sc|3s}} || quick-{{sc|adv}} || {{sc|indf}} || man
|-
|colspan=6|'''and another carried a man quickly.'''
|}

:{|
|colspan=3|'''''L'ovech dich au·cevîl:'''''
|-
|colspan=3|/lo.ˈvex dix au.ke.ˈviːʎ/
|-
| ''l'-ovech'' || ''dich'' || ''au-caveil(i)''
|-
| {{sc|def}}-sheep || say.{{sc|pst}}.{{sc|3s}} || {{sc|dat}}.{{sc|def}}.{{sc|pl}}-horse/{{sc|pl}}
|-
|colspan=3|'''The sheep said to the horses:'''
|}

:{|
|colspan=9|'''''«Me dël e·chorathôn pwann bë un ónver arhânn cevîl».'''''
|-
|colspan=9|/me dɛl e.xo.ɾa.ˈθoːn pan bɛ un ˈon.veɾ a.ʀan ke.ˈviːʎ/
|-
| ''me'' || ''dël'' || ''e-corathôn'' || ''pwann'' || ''bë'' || ''un'' || ''ónver'' || ''arha-ann'' || ''caveil(i)''
|-
| {{sc|1s}}.{{sc|acc}} || hurt.{{sc|prs}}.{{sc|3s}} || {{sc|def}}-heart || when || see.{{sc|prs}}.{{sc|1s}} || {{sc|indf}} || man || herd-{{sc|ger}} || horse/{{sc|pl}}
|-
|colspan=9|'''"My heart pains me seeing a man driving horses."'''
|}

:{|
|colspan=2|'''''O·cevîl dichéron:'''''
|-
|colspan=2|/o.ke.ˈviːʎ di.ˈxe.ɾon/
|-
| ''o-caveil(i)'' || ''dichéron''
|-
| {{sc|def}}.{{sc|pl}}-horse/{{sc|pl}} || say.{{sc|pst}}.{{sc|3p}}
|-
|colspan=2|'''The horses said:'''
|}

:{|
|colspan=2|'''''«Echyt, ovech!'''''
|-
|colspan=2|/e.ˈxyt o.ˈvex/
|-
| ''echyt'' || ''sheep''
|-
| listen.{{sc|imp}}.{{sc|sg}} || sheep
|-
|colspan=2|'''"Listen, sheep!'''
|}

:{|
|colspan=7|'''''O·cërethoin dël' a noth pwann bem eth.'''''
|-
|colspan=7|/o.kɛ.ɾe.θoin dɛl a noθ pan bem eθ/
|-
| ''o-corathôn(i)'' || ''dël''' || ''a'' || ''noth'' || ''pwann'' || ''bem'' || ''eth''
|-
| {{sc|def}}.{{sc|pl}}-heart/{{sc|pl}} || hurt.{{sc|prs}}.{{sc|3p}} || {{sc|dat}} || {{sc|1p}}.{{sc|obl}} || when || see.{{sc|prs}}.{{sc|1p}} || this
|-
|colspan=7|'''Our hearts pain us when we see this.'''
|}

:{|
|colspan=11|'''''Un ónver, l'am, ath nga·lan da l'ovech un avijr pâr el.'''''
|-
|colspan=11|/un ˈon.veɾ lam aθ ŋa.ˈlan da lo.ˈvex un a.ˈvyːɾ paːɾ el/
|-
| ''un'' || ''ónver'' || ''l'-am'' || ''ath'' || ''ng-a-lan'' || ''d-a'' || ''l'-ovech'' || ''un'' || ''avijr'' || ''pâr'' || ''el''
|-
| {{sc|indf}} || man || {{sc|def}}-master || makes.{{sc|prs}}.{{sc|3s}} || {{sc|ins}}-{{sc|def}}-wool || {{sc|gen}}-{{sc|def}}.({{sc|fem}}) || {{sc|def}}-sheep({{sc|fem}}) || {{sc|indf}} || warm_garment || for || {{sc|3sM}}
|-
|colspan=11|'''A man, the master, makes the wool of the sheep into a warm garment for himself.'''
|}

:{|
|colspan=6|'''''I òr l'ovech no tîn lan».'''''
|-
|colspan=6|/i ɔr lo.ˈvex no tiːn lan/
|-
| ''i'' || ''òr'' || ''l'-ovech'' || ''no'' || ''tîn'' || ''lan''
|-
| and || now || {{sc|def}}-sheep || {{sc|neg}} || have.{{sc|prs}}.{{sc|3s}} || wool
|-
|colspan=6|'''And now the sheep has no wool."'''
|}

:{|
|colspan=6|'''''Pwan echytô eth, l'ovech s'echabô â·lhenijr.'''''
|-
|colspan=6|/pan e.xy.ˈtoː eθ lo.ˈvex se.xa.ˈboː aː.ʎe.nyːɾ/
|-
| ''pwan'' || ''echyt-ô'' || ''eth'' || ''l'-ovech'' || ''s'-echab-ô'' || ''â-lhanur(i)''
|-
| when || hear-{{sc|pst}}.{{sc|3s}} || this || {{sc|def}}-sheep || {{sc|refl}}-flee-{{sc|pst}}.{{sc|3s}} || {{sc|dat}}.{{sc|def}}.{{sc|pl}}-plain/{{sc|pl}}
|-
|colspan=6|'''Having heard this, the sheep fled to the plains.'''
|}

====In other dialects====

{| class="wikitable"
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#efefef;" | North-Western
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#efefef;" | Northern
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#efefef;" | North-Eastern
! style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#efefef;" | Spanish (for reference)
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Nu·chulîn, un ovech ce no tenî lan a·bhith
cevîl. Un delho terabh du·châr pehao, un

lhevabh u·chor rhan, i un óthër lhevabh

belothmenth un ómbër. L'ovech a·dhîtç

au·cevîl: «Me dël e·churthôn pan bë un

ómbër arhân cevîl». O·cevîl a·ndîtç:

«Echytç, ovech! O·cyrthoin dëlen a noth

pan bem eth. Un ómber, l'am, ath cun

a·lan del'ovech un avijr p'el. I or

l'ovech no tîn lan». Pan a echytçao eth,

l'ovech s'a echabao â·lhenijr.
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Nun cholîn, un oveh ce no tuv lan biô
cevîl. Un delio tirav dun chârr pehad, un

lievav un chorr ran, i un ózor lievav

belozmenz un ônver. L'oveh dih au cevîl:

«Me döl el chorzôn pan böe un ônver

arrând cevîl». O cevîl dihéron: «Ehyts,

oveh! O cörzoin dölen a noz pan bem ez.

Un ônver, l'am, az con a·lan del'oveh

un avyrr pâr el. I n'ez or l'oveh no

tîn lan». Pan ehytsô ez, l'oveh s'ehabô

â·lienŷr.
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Nun cholîn, un oveh ce no tenî lan biô
cevîl. Un delio tirav dun châr pehad, un

lievav un chor rhan, i un ózor lievav

belozmenz un ônver. L'oveh dih au cevîl:

«Me döl e·chorzôn pan bö un ônver

arhân cevîl». O cevîl dezíron: «Ehytsar,

oveh! O cörzoin dölen a noz pan bem ez.

Un ônver, l'am, az con a·lan del'oveh

un avŷr p'el. I nezor l'oveh no tîn lan».

Pan ehytsô ez, l'oveh ehabô â·lienŷr.
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | En una colina, una oveja que no tenía
lana vio unos caballos. Uno de ellos

tiraba de un carro pesado, uno llevaba

una carga grande y otro llevaba veloz a

un hombre. La oveja dijo a los caballos:

"Me duele el corazón cuando veo a un

hombre arreando caballos". Los caballos

dijeron "¡Escucha, oveja! Nos duelen

los corazones cuando vemos esto.

Un hombre, el amo, hace con la lana de

la oveja un abrigo para sí mismo.

Y ahora la oveja no tiene lana".

Cuando escuchó esto, la oveja huyó

a las llanuras.
|-
| style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#efefef;" | Western
| style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#efefef;" | Central
| style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#efefef;" | Eastern
| style="text-align: center; font-weight:bold; background-color:#efefef;" | Hunzad (northern)
|-
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Nu·cholîn, un ovech ce no tenî lan beô
cevîl. Un delho tirabh du·châr pehadh, un

lhevabh u·chòr rhan, i un óthor lhevabh

belothmenth un ónver. L'ovech dich

au·cevîl: «Me dël e·chorathôn pwann bë

un ónver arhânn cevîl». O·cevîl

dichéron: «Echyt, ovech! O·cërethoin

dël' a noth pwann bem eth. Un ónver,

l'am, ath nga·lan da l'ovech un avijr

pâr el. I òr l'ovech no tîn lan».

Pwan echytô eth, l'ovech s'echabô

â·lhenijr.
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Nu·cholîn, un ovech ce no tubh lan beô
ceveilh. Un delho tirô du·charr pehau, un

lhevô u·charh rhan, i un óthor lhevô

belothmenth un ónver. L'ovech dich

au·ceveilh: «Me dël e·chorathôn pwann

bë un ónver arhânn ceveilh».

O·ceveilh a·ndît: «Echyt, ovech!

O·cërethoin dëlen a nóthor pwann bem

eth. Un ónver, l'am, ath con a·lan

del'ovech un avyrh p'el. I n'eth or

l'ovech no tîn lan». Pwan a echytau eth,

l'ovech s'a echabau â·lhenŷr.
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Nun kholîn, un oveh ke no tenî lan biô

kevîl. Un delio tirav dun khâr peshad, un

lievav un khor rhan, i un óz'r lievav

belozmenz un ómber. L'oveh dih au kevîl:

«Me döl e·khorzôn pan bö un ómber

arhân kevîl» O kevîl dezír'n:

«Ehytç, oveh! O körzoin dölen a noz

pan bem ez. Un ónver, l'am, az kon a·lan

del'oveh un avŷr p'el. I or l'oveh no

tîn lan». Pan ehyrçô ez, l'oveh

ehabô â·lienŷr.
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#ffffff;" | Nun hòliin, un òveh ke no tuv lan bjoo
keviil. Un dèljo tirav dùn haarr pehad, un

lievav un horr ran, i un ozor lievav

bèlozmènz un oonvèr. L òveh dih a lò

keviil: «Me døl èl horzoon pan bøø un

oonvèr arraand keviil». Ò keviil diheròn:

«Ehùts, òveh! O kørzoyn dølèn noz pan

bem ez. Un oonvèr, l am, az con a lan

de l òveh un avùrr peel. I nèzor l òveh

no tiin lan». Pan ehùtsòò ez, l òveh

s ehabòò aa lienùùr.
|}

[[Category:Efenol]]
[[Category:Languages]]
[[Category:Romance]]
[[Category:A posteriori]]

Middle Ru

2020-04-14T00:47:24Z

Jotadiego:

Middle Ru is an a priori language that would have been spoken in the western regions of the fictional island of Rauna during its Middle Period (roughly corresponding to the Middle Ages and the Renaissance). Within its internal history, it belongs to the Ru-Hulam languages native to the Drysian continent, situated west of the Rauna region, half an ocean away.

The Middle Ru language was known natively as ħórwx lå Rgu /ˈχo.ɹʉʃ lɒ ʀu/, "language of the Ru"; the name Ru or Rgu /ʀu/ itself is thought to be related to the first person pronoun or rru /ru/, 'I, me'. Extrafictionally, this is a leftover from the development of Raunan conlangs when they were referred to by their word for the first person pronoun.

<h2 id="Internal_history">Internal history</h2>

<h3 id="Ru_Hulam_period">Ru-Hulam period</h3>

The Middle Ru language can be traced back to Proto Ru-Hulam, a language that would have been spoken in the northeastern regions of Drysia, one of the three major continents in Rauna's planet. In ancient times, the the Ru-Hulam peoples (often referred to simply as 'Hulam') came to be united under a powerful monarchy known as the First Hulam Empire. This nation would came to rule over a sizeable fractionof the continent. In particular, the Hulam conquered and slaved their more populous neighbours to the east, the Qwiyen, and made the Mikken tribes in the north into a client state.

During the heyday of their empire, the Hulam also established ties with other nations, including the Fulao peoples who had formed a similarly prosperous league of city states in Miwep, a small continent south of Drysia. Rivalry between the expansionist Hulam and Fulao peoples led to at least three attempts of invasion, all unsuccessful thanks to the latter's then-unrivaled naval expertise.

Unable to overcome the Fulao's prowess at seafaring, the Hulam empire eventually sought to imitate it. As news about the Fulao discovery and settlement of the Shawi islands in the great eastern ocean reached the Hulam courts, the emperor came to be determined to launch an ambitious effort to reach new lands further east and colonize them. Although the results were disastrous for the most part (with several expeditions wrecking in the high seas and the imperial finances taking a toll for what many viewed as a weak emperor's vanity project), one expedition managed to reach Rauna, a vast island once dominated by a powerful empire which had recently succumbed. These circumstances allowed the Hulam to establish a colony of their own in western Rauna. However, soon thereafter the already weakened Hulam Empire, itself would meet a similar fate, taking a major blow from the Great Qwiyen Revolution, which not only liberated their people from an oppressive rule but would also establish a Qwiyen state that would came to rule the Hulam peoples themselves during much of the following centuries.

As the Hulam empire fell in the Drysian continent, the colonists in Rauna lost all (if not all) contact with their ancestral homeland. Instead, they came to develop a distinct ethnic identity as the Ru. A sizeable number of Qwiyen slaves they had brought alongside them would develop into the Xhuei peoples of southern Rauna.

Although the starting population of each group is still a matter of debate among Raunan historians, it is often considered to have been in the thousands for both groups. Early Ru and Xhuei people, however, were known to have intermarried with the native peoples. Genetic studies confirm that modern Ru and Xhuei peoples are more closely related to other Raunan populations than to their Drysian ancestors, although Y-chromosome haplogroups most commonly found in north-eastern Drysia can still be identified.

<h3 id="Ru_in_Rauna">The Ru in Rauna</h3>

The Ru were one of the first ethnic groups that arrived to the Raunan region after the Ancient Period which is why they are said to be one of the Younger Raunan peoples; contrasting with the Older Raunan ethnicities that had inhabited the island prior to their arrival. Ru peoples mostly occupied territories in western Rauna. They quickly took over many of the western provinces of the ruinous Raunic empire. The Ru also conquered territories that formerly belonged to the Iyau peoples, giving rise to a long-lasting bitter rivalry between the two nations.

During much of the Middle Period the Ru played a major role in the island as the city of Cadarmen became the main trade hub on the island due to its strategic location next to a passage through the Myqyraghar mountain range that divides the Raunan mainland. Control over this strategic point allowed the wealthy lords of Cadarmen to establish an extensive Ru Kingdom which quickly became a major power in the Rauna region.

By the end of the Middle Period, maritime trade (mostly conducted by the Amatl nations in northern Rauna) gained prominence, while the land-based trade routes controlled by the Ru kingdom saw a sharp decline. This would eventually led to an economic and political crisis in the kingdom, with a major rebellion in the mountainous eastern frontier lands. Situations worsened when the Iyau launched a successful military offensive on the western lands of the Ru Kingdom, secretly aided by the Amatl league who sought to weaken their economic rivals.

By the Modern Period, the Middle Ru language had diverged into three varieties: Eastern Ru, Western Ru and the Iyau-Ru language (spoken in territories reconquered by the Iyau, also referred to as 'Lower Iyau').

<h2 id="External_history">External history</h2>

Extrafictionally, Middle Ru was the first Raunan language to be created, back in July 2018. The concept behind the Raunan languages project was to create a series of unrelated languages out of which mixed languages would develop at a later time.

It was decided from the start that Middle Ru would be a typologically unusual and rather harsh-sounding language in order to have it contrast with its neighbours.

Although the concept that the Ru peoples would have arrived to Rauna after its classical period was decided early on, work on the Proto-Ru-Hulam language and Ru history prior to their arrival to the Raunan region only began in 2020. The post-facto development of an ancestor language led to a series of retcons as well as a overhaul of Middle Ru's polypersonal marking.

<h1 id="Phonology">Phonology</h1>

Middle Ru features a rather complex phonology distinguishing 8 vowels and 37 consonants, including multiple trills, uvulars and the pharyngeal fricative /ʕ/. This led speakers of other Middle Raunan languages to describe Ru as 'harsh sounding' or 'guttural'.

<h2>Consonants</h2>

The following table shows Ru's consonant inventory (uppercase and lowercase romanization on the left, IPA phonemic transcriptions on the right):

<table>
<tr>
<th colspan="2"></th>
<th>Labial</th>
<th>Alveolar</th>
<th>Palatal</th>
<th>Velar</th>
<th>Uvular</th>
<th>Laryngeal</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Nasal</th>
<td>M m /m/</td>
<td>N n /n/</td>
<td>Ñ ñ /ɲ/</td>
<td colspan="2">Ŋ ŋ /ŋ/~/ɴ/</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="3">Plosive</th>
<th>Ejective</th>
<td>P' p' /pʼ/</td>
<td>T' t' /tʼ/</td>
<td>C' c' /cʼ/</td>
<td>K' k' /kʼ/ </td>
<td>Q' q' /qʼ/</td>
<td rowspan="2">( ' ) /ʔ/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Unvoiced</th>
<td>P p /p/</td>
<td>T t /t/</td>
<td>C c /c/</td>
<td>K k /k/</td>
<td>Q q /q/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Voiced</th>
<td>B b /b/</td>
<td>D d /d/</td>
<td>Ǵ ǵ /ɟ/</td>
<td>G g /g/</td>
<td>Ğ ğ /ɢ/</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Fricative</th>
<th>Unvoiced</th>
<td>F f /f/</td>
<td>S s /s/</td>
<td>X x /ʃ/</td>
<td>H h /x/</td>
<td>Ħ ħ /χ/</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Voiced</th>
<td></td>
<td>Z z /z/~/dz/</td>
<td>Ž ž /ʒ/</td>
<td>Ɣ ɣ /ɣ/</td>
<td></td>
<td>ʕ ʕ /ʕ/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Approximant</th>
<td></td>
<td>R r /ɹ/</td>
<td>J j /j/</td>
<td>V v /w/</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Trill</th>
<td>Br br /ʙ/</td>
<td>Rr rr /r/</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td>Rg rg /ʀ/</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Lateral</th>
<td></td>
<td>L l /l/</td>
<td>Λ ʎ /ʎ/</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
</table>

Notes:
<ul>
<li>Glottal stops are only written (as an apostrophe) in word-final position. As the language does not allow onset-less syllables, vowels not preceded by a consonant in writing can be assumed to have an unwritten glottal stop as their onset.</li>
<li>Middle Ru had an orthography of its own. The Latin script romanization is extrafictional.</lI>
<li>The nasal <ŋ> is typically velar, but may be pronounced as an uvular [ɴ] word-finally or when next to another uvular consonant. In the romanization, the uppercase glyph that resembles a capital N with a hook (as used for capital ŋ in some Saami languages) is preferred to the alternative that looks like an upscaled lowercase <ŋ> (as typically found in African orthographies, see the Wikipedia article on the letter Eng for more information).</li>
<li>In the romanization, the uppercase form of <ħ> (for /χ/) should properly have the additional bar through the vertical stroke on the left, rather than having the bar cross both vertical strokes as in the Unicode character <Ħ> (used instead due to the lack of support for the proper variant of the glyph).</li>
<li>The voiced phoneme romanized as <z> varied freely between being a true fricative /z/ or an affricate /dz/. The latter realization seems to have prevailed in Cadarmen, the capital of the Ru kingdom.</li>
<li>The ejective plosive /pʼ/ seems to have merged into /p/ except in eastern dialects.</li>
<li>The lateral /l/ may be palatalized to /ʎ/ in some contexts, but this is not reflected in native Middle Ru writing nor in the romanizations.</li>
<li>The sequence /ɹ.g/ is romanized as <r·g>, as <rg> stands for /ʀ/.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Vowels and vowel harmony</h2>

The vocalic inventory of the language consists of eight vowels evenly divided into two harmony classes ('clear' front vowels and 'dark' back vowels).

<table>
<tr>
<th>Clear </th>
<th>Dark</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>I i /i/</td>
<td>U u /u/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Y y /y/</td>
<td>W w /ʉ/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>E e /ø/</td>
<td>O o /o/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>A a /a/</td>
<td>Å å /ɒ/</td>
</tr>
</table>

It should be noted that the vowel transcribed as <e> is actually a rounded /ø/. The vowel /a/ is front vowel [a] rather than central [ä].

All vowels may be reduced to a schwa (/ə/) when they occur far from the primary stress of a word. Typically, this happens for vowels 2 syllables (or more) away from the main stressed syllable of a polysyllabic word. Monosyllabic particles may also have their vowels reduced to a schwa, at least in less formal registers. This kind of vowel reduction is not reflected in writing.

Affixes must agree with the vowel harmony class of the stems they attach to. While a few affixes have distinct and potentially unrelated 'clear' and 'dark' variants, most affixes look follow a certain set of vowel alternations known as 'vowel classes'. Each vowel class (represented as the umlauted vowels <ä ï ö ü ÿ> for the purposes of this dictionary and grammar only) changes to a clear or a dark realization matching the harmony class of the primary stems they are applied to as shown in the following table:

<table>
<tr>
<th>Vowel class</th>
<th>Clear realization</th>
<th>Dark realization</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>ä</th>
<td>A a /a/</td>
<td>Å å /ɒ/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>ï</th>
<td>I i /i/</td>
<td>W w /ʉ/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>ö</th>
<td>E e /ø/</td>
<td>O o /o/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>ü</th>
<td>Y y /y/</td>
<td>W w /ʉ/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>ÿ </th>
<td>I i /i/</td>
<td>U u /u/</td>
</tr>
</table>

For instance, the interrogative prefix is xö- changes to xe- before a clear-harmony stem and as xo- before a dark-harmony stem.

It should be noted that certain vowels correspond to more than one vowel classes: /i/ is the clear-vowel realization of both ï and ü while /ʉ/ is the dark-vowel realization of both ï and ÿ. Because of this, knowing one form of an affix dos not necessarily suffice to know the opposite form.

<h2>Phonotactics</h2>

Middle Ru allows a CV(G)(C) syllabic structure, where C stands for a consonant, V for a vowel and G for any of the three phonemes considered as 'glides': /ɹ j w/. The following restrictions apply:
<ul>
<li>All syllables require an onset consonant; borrowings that would otherwise begin with a vowel are fitted into Middle Ru phonotactics by adding an initial /ʔ/.</li>
<li>The approximants/glides /ɹ j w/ may only occur immediately after a vowel. Thus, they occur word-initially nor following a closed syllable.</li>
<li>Only /ɹ j w/ are allowed as word-medial codae.</li>
<li>The following consonants might appear in a word-final coda: unvoiced stops, nasals, any fricative (including /z/~/dz/), approximants and trills. Codal stops, nasals and fricatives may be preceded by a glide (/ɹ j w/).</li>
<li>Two identical consonants cannot form a cluster. Thus the sequences /ɹ.ɹ/, /j.j/ and /w.w/ are not allowed.</li>
</ul>

Prosodic stress is lexical and non-predictable. Oxytone words (those stressed on the last syllable) are always unmarked for stress. Otherwise, stress may be indicated with an optional diacritic in Middle Ru's native script and with an acute accent in the romanization (<á ǻ é í ó ú ý ẃ>). Vowels more than two syllables away from the stressed syllable in a word are reduced to a schwa.

The stressed syllable of a noun does not vary in its inflection. For example, the word mimy (man) will always be stressed in the y, even when suffixes are added as in the absolutive form mimýaħ. The written accent in forms such as mimýaħ might be absent by mistake in some inflection tables.

Verbs, on the other hand, have a variable stress syllable wholy depending on their suffixes.

<h2>Phonological history</h2>

Middle Ru is supposed to descend from a language known as Proto Ru-Hulam (PRH) which would have been spoken by the ancestors of the Ru people prior to their arrival to Rauna. Extrafictionally, however, Proto Ru-Hulam was actually back-derived from Middle Ru.

A significant share of Middle Ru's vocabulary can be traced back to Proto Ru-Hulam terms. Although in some cases the resemblance is still clearly identifiable, in others the relationship is obfuscated due to sound changes and semantic shifts. This section aims to present the most usual correspondences between Proto Ru-Hulam and Middle Ru, although it should be noted that several exceptions might be found.

One major difference between Proto Ru-Hulam and its Ru descendants in Rauna can be found in its consonantal inventory where most phonemes occur in contrasting pairs of one labialized and one non-labialized consonant such as /nʷ/ vs /n/. It is possible that the non-labialized consonants might have been palatalized to some extent (resulting in a /nʷ/ vs /nʲ/ contrast). This contrast was lost in Middle Ru, although it affected vowel development, with most PRH vowels splitting into rounded and unrounded variants. Thus, where the proto-language might contrast the syllables /ni/ and /nʷi/ by their consonants (non-labialized /n/ and labialized /nʷ/), Middle Ru may inherit such syllables as /ni/ and /nʉ/, with contrasting vowel qualities instead. Middle Ru's vowel harmony is also a later development which may play a role in vowel correspondences. For instance while PRH /nʷi/ would ordinarily yield /nʉ/ in Middle Ru, through vowel harmony the latter might be assimilated to /ny/ in a word dominated by a front vowel (in the 'clear' harmony class).

<h3>Vowels</h3>

For the most part, vowel correspondences are as follows:

<table>
<tr>
<th>Proto Ru-Hulam</th>
<th>Middle Ru </th>
<td colspan="2">Example (Proto-RH to Middle Ru)</td>
<th>Notes</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="2">a /a/</td>
<td>a /a/</td>
<td>ʔaʔxa land </td>
<td>áɣa /ˈa.ɣa/ land</td>
<td>If not labialized. May harmonize to å /ɒ/. </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>å /ɒ/</td>
<td>dʷaf to eat </td>
<td>dåf /dɒ.f/ to eat </td>
<td>Next to labialized consonants. May harmonize to a /a/. </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="2">i /i/</td>
<td>i /i/ </td>
<td>mimú man </td>
<td>mimy /miˈmy/ man </td>
<td>If not labialized. May harmonize to u /u/. </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>w /ʉ/</td>
<td>drʷis western lands </td>
<td>rrws /rʉs/ west </td>
<td>Next to labialized consonants. May harmonize to y /y/. </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="2">o /o/ [o]~[ɤ] (?)</td>
<td>e /ø/</td>
<td>xoʔká wife</td>
<td>xek'a /ʃøˈkʼa/ woman </td>
<td>If not labialized. May harmonize to e /ø/. </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>o /o/</td>
<td>hʷorʷ to speak </td>
<td>ħor /χo.ɹ/ to speak </td>
<td>If labialized. May harmonize to o /o/.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="2">u /ɯ~u/</td>
<td>y /y/</td>
<td>gusʷ you, 2s </td>
<td>ǵy /ɟy/ you, 2s </td>
<td>If not labialized. May harmonize to w /ʉ/.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>u /u/</td>
<td>hʷur to defend </td>
<td>ħur /χu.ɹ/ to own </td>
<td>If labialized. May harmonize to i /i/.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="3">ə /ə~ʌ/</td>
<td>o /o/</td>
<td>bʷəʔt obstacle, hardship </td>
<td>bot' /botʼ/ river </td>
<td>If labialized. May harmonize to e /ø/.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>a /a/</td>
<td>drəʔ to unite </td>
<td>-rra /ra/ and </td>
<td>If not labialized and next to an uvular or glottal. May harmonize to å /ɒ/.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>w /ʉ/</td>
<td>kəñ to build </td>
<td>cwñ /cʉ.ɲ/ to build </td>
<td>Elsewhere. May harmonize to y /y/.</td>
</tr>
</table>

A number of irregular developments are observed, however. For instance the Proto Ru-Hulam word xʷən (tu rule) would have been expected to yield *hon but instead yields Middle Ru hwn (also meaning 'to rule').

<h3>Consonants</h3>

As mentioned before, most Proto Ru-Hulam consonants came in two variants: labialized and non-labialized. This distinction mostly collapsed in Middle Ru other than leaving a mark in vowel qualities. Nontheless, certain consonant pairs evolved differently depending on whether they used to be labialized or not.

Aside from laryngeal /ʔ/ and /ʕ/ (the latter of which seems to have developed out of an earlier uvular [ʁ]), Middle Ru distinguishes five places of articulation: labial, alveolar, palatal, velar and uvular. The latter three series actually arose from two dorsal series (velar vs uvular; Proto Ru-Hulam lacked true palatal consonants), which depending on labialization as shown in the following table.

<table>
<tr>
<th rowspan="4">Proto Ru-Hulam places of articulation + labialization </th>
<th rowspan="4">Middle Ru places of articulation </th>
<th colspan="8">Examples</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" rowspan="2">Nasals</th>
<th colspan="4">Plosives </th>
<th colspan="2" rowspan="2">Fricatives</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Unvoiced</th>
<th colspan="2">Voiced</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>PRH</th>
<th>MR</th>
<th>PRH</th>
<th>MR</th>
<th>PRH</th>
<th>MR</th>
<th>PRH</th>
<th>MR</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Labial, not rounded</th>
<th rowspan="2">Labial </th>
<td>mimú man </td>
<td>mimy man </td>
<td>pəʔñə stone </td>
<td>p'áñe stone </td>
<td>bilʒ fifteen</td>
<td>biz squad </td>
<td>fahʷ to sleep </td>
<td>farğ to sleep </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Labial, rounded</th>
<td>mʷaʔ 3s</td>
<td>ma' 3s </td>
<td>pʷiʔɬ breast milk </td>
<td>p'wl milk </td>
<td>bʷəʔt obstacle </td>
<td>bot' river </td>
<td colspan="2">-</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Coronal, not labialiazed</th>
<th rowspan="2">Alveolar</th>
<td>nosʷ thrist </td>
<td>nes thirst </td>
<td>tuɬ husband </td>
<td>tyl lord </td>
<td>dañ to grow</td>
<td>dañ to stick out</td>
<td>samʷ hand </td>
<td>sam arm </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Coronal, labialized</th>
<td>nʷumʷ knee </td>
<td>num knee</td>
<td>tʷəʔt edge </td>
<td>t'ot' corner </td>
<td>dʷaf to eat </td>
<td>dåf to eat </td>
<td>sʷuyəm seed </td>
<td>sújåm seed </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Velar, not labialized</th>
<th>Palatal</th>
<td>ñus ten </td>
<td>ñy ten </td>
<td>kəñ to build </td>
<td>cwñ to build </td>
<td>gawəm neck </td>
<td>ǵav neck </td>
<td>xoʔká woman </td>
<td>xek'a woman </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Velar, labialized</th>
<th rowspan="2">Velar</th>
<td>ñʷo moon</td>
<td>ŋo moon </td>
<td>kʷoʔr jewellery</td>
<td>k'or gem</td>
<td>gusʷ you </td>
<td>gy you </td>
<td>xʷitʷ to leave </td>
<td>hwt to leave </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Uvular, not labialized</th>
<td colspan="2">-</td>
<td>qoʔt house </td>
<td>k'et house </td>
<td colspan="2">-</td>
<td>howəm commander </td>
<td>hev king </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Uvular, labialized</th>
<th>Uvular </th>
<td colspan="2">-</td>
<td>qʷur fist, punch</td>
<td>qurt hand </td>
<td colspan="2">-</td>
<td>hʷorʷ to speak </td>
<td>ħor to speak </td>
</tr>
</table>

As usual, a number of irregular developments can be found. Instances where non-labialized uvulars are inherited as uvular consonants (rather than as velars as show in the table) are particularly common. It has been proposed that this might be explained by the presence of two early Ru-Hulam dialects among the first colonists in Rauna although this theory has fallen short of consensus among Raunan linguists.

It should be noted that Proto Ru-Hulam didn't seem to contrast labialization (or rounding) for its labial fricative f and had neither uvular nasals nor voiced uvular plosives. Middle Ru's voiced uvular plosive ğ /ɢ/ mostly originated due to irregular developments and borrowing, although it remains one of the least used phonemes in the language.

The Proto Ru-Hulam language lacked ejectives. These developed due to the influence of glottal stops which PRH syllabic structure allowed between a vowel and further consonants (even in coda position). The resulting CVʔC(V) structure would be simplified to CVC(V) in Middle Ru, which did no longer accept non-word-final glottal stop codae, but the glottalic element would cause neighbouring voiceless plosives to turn into ejectives as in pʷiʔɬ where the preceding stop /pʷ/ becomes an ejective p'wl or bʷəʔt where the following /t/ is turned into an ejective instead: bot'. Words were both the preceding and the following consonant were voiceless plosives such as qoʔt or tʷəʔt may either develop an ejective in the first stop (as in k'et) or in both stops (as in t'ot'). Although there seems to be no clear rule governing these developments, it can be noted that roots where both consonants are identical such as tʷəʔt~t'ot' are markedly more prone to have both plosives evolve into ejectives.

Voiced fricatives (aside from /ɮ/, which shall be discussed later) are also an innovation in Middle Ru. They may arise sporadically from their voiceless counterparts (uvular /χ/ in the case of pharyngeal /ʕ/) in the vecinity of other voiced consonants (as in PRH bʷuh, 'to stir', to MR buʕ, 'to mix') or in the same contexts that cause plosives to become ejective (PRH xʷoʕn, 'town', to MR ɣen, both meaning 'town'; PRH ʔaʔxa to MR áɣa, both meaning 'land'). Any instances which could result in a voiced /f/ yield an approximant v /w/ instead: PRH muʕf 'to breathe', MR myv, 'to live'. Evidence indicates that in early Middle Ru (and possibly later in some dialectal pronunciations) these instances of Middle Ru v might have been realized as [v], contrasting with the phoneme /w/ as inherited from other sources (such as Proto Ru-Hulam /w/). The two sounds, however, had been fully merged in the Cadarmeni standard.

Unlike Middle Ru, Proto Ru-Hulam featured two lateral fricatives: voiceless /ɬ/ and voiced /ɮ/ (the latter often transcribed as a non-ligated lʒ for the sake of convenience) in addition to the lateral approximant /l/. Voiceless ɬ commonly merged into /l/, especially in coda-position, but could also yield palatal /ʎ/ near front vowels. For instance, the verb 'to give', ʎu (with an earlier variant ʎi), comes from PRH ɬi.On the other hand, the voiced lateral fricative lʒ would most commonly evolve into z /z/ (PRH kaʔlʒ, 'to slide', to MR c'az, 'to move forward') or ž /ʒ/ if in the vecinity of a front vowel: PRH ʔilʒ, 'to summon', yields the causative prefix ižy- (harmonized to užw- in dark-harmony words). Proto Ru-Hulam laterals did not contrast labialization, atlhough vowels in the vecinity of PRH /l/ will often evolve as if next to a labialized consonant: PRH lam yields MR låm (both meaning silver, with a back rounded å).

Middle Ru's three non-lateral approximants r /ɹ/, j /j/ and v /w/ correspond to Proto Ru-Hulam's approximants r (and rʷ; probably flaps /ɾ/ and /ɾʷ/), y /j/ and w /w/, except for instance of Middle Ru v which evolved as a voiced counterpart to f. Proto Ru-Hulam rhotic approximants contrasted labialization while y and w did not.

Proto Ru-Hulam also allowed syllable-initial clusters composed of a voiced plosive and a rhotic r or rʷ matching its labialization (or lack thereof). These sequences invariably became trills in Middle Ru, with br and brʷ yielding the rare bilabial trill br /ʙ/, dr and drʷ evolving into an alveolar trill rr /r/ and the clusters gr and grʷ becoming an uvular trill rg /ʀ/.

<h1>Grammar</h1>

Middle Ru is a polysynthetic language. It features a split ergative alignment. Its primary word order is VOS, with other arguments coming later. Middle Ru grammar tends to be head-initial .

<h2>Nouns</h2>

Middle Ru nouns may inflect for case, noun class and number. Declension paradigms also depend on the vowel-harmony class of each noun.

<h3>Nominal classes</h3>

The language distinguishes four noun classes. These are similar to genders in European languages, although they are mostly based on animacy. With few exceptions, the nominal class of a noun can normally be deduced from its meaning.

Class I nouns are used for people, deities, groups of people, kinship terms and living things that may not be eaten due to cultural reasons (including dogs, mollusks and arachnids but not most other animals).

Class II nouns might be classified as 'resources'. This includes most animals, edible plants (more on plant classification later), drinking water, fire, the sun, clouds, materials that might be used as fuel (such as firewood), wool and hides. Non-human body parts such as gills and wings also tend to belong to the second class.

Class III nouns mostly correspond to soft or flexible materials. This includes liquids other than drinking water, powders, gasses, (including air), most prepared foods, abstract nouns related to words, speech, memory and thoughts and body parts that are either soft (such as the skin, ears) or that may be moved independently (including hands, arms, lips, eyes).

Class IV nouns mostly include hard materials, most man-made objects (especially buildings, tools and machines) and hard body parts that cannot move independently such as teeth, bones and nails. Shells and eggs are also classified as belonging to class IV.

Plants and fungi belong to the fourth class with the following exceptions:
<ul>
<li>Long grasses, vines and similar plants belong to the third class.</li>
<li>Flowers belong to the third class unless they are edible by humans. In the latter case, they are classified as class II instead.</li>
<li>Fruits, grains, nuts and mushrooms only belong to class IV if they have a hard surface that requires grinding or a similar process for human consumption. Otherwise, they will be class II if edible or class III otherwise.</li>
<li>Seeds belong to the second class if edible and to the fourth class otherwise.</li>
<li>Woods are treated as class II nouns when intended to be used as fuel or as class IV otherwise. The same noun might take affixes for different classes depending on its intended purpose.</li>
</ul>

Middle Ru grammar often treats class I nouns ('animate') differently than nouns from other nominal classes ('inanimate'). For instance, the base form of a class I noun corresponds to the ergative case while the base form of inanimate nouns corresponds to the absolutive case instead.

<h3>Number</h3>

Number marking is optional in Middle Ru; speakers may drop number affixes whenever it is clear from context. This particularly often the case for inanimate nouns (classes II, III and IV).

Animate (class I) nouns are considered to be singular by default. The prefix ö- (this is, e- for clear vowel-harmony class and o- for dark vowel-harmony) is used to form plurals.

For other nouns, a singular/singulative suffix -l is used to explicitly mark a noun as singular. Plural marking with the prefix ö- may also be found in inanimate nouns, although this seems to be have been limited to situations when a singular meaning would otherwise be expected from the context.

The singulative suffix -l may metathesize when applied to a stem with a final stop such as sek (tree, trees), resulting in selk (a tree). Otherwise, consonant-ending stems will take the suffix with an epenthetic -ö- (as in darmárem to darmáremel).

Singulatives are also used to derive nouns for individuals out of intrinsically collective nouns. This is also found in class I nouns (for instance deriving qanal 'family member, relative' from qana, 'family'). The newly derived singulative noun may then take further number affixes such as eqanal for 'family members'.

<table>
<tr>
<th></th>
<th>Harmony class</th>
<th>Base form</th>
<th>Plural</th>
<th>Singulative</th>
<th>Singulative+Plural</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="6"></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="4">Animate noun (class I)</th>
<th rowspan="2">Clear</th>
<th>xek'a</th>
<th>exek'a</th>
<th rowspan="2">N/A</th>
<th rowspan="2">N/A</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>woman</td>
<td>women</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Dark</th>
<th>ħúrwm</th>
<th>oħúrwm</th>
<th rowspan="2">N/A</th>
<th rowspan="2">N/A</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>soldier</td>
<td>soldiers</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="4">Inanimate noun (classes II, III, IV)</th>
<th rowspan="2">Clear</th>
<th>c'áza</th>
<th>ec'áza</th>
<th>c'ázal</th>
<th rowspan="2">N/A</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>valley, valleys</td>
<td>valleys (rare) </td>
<td>a valley</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Dark</th>
<th>ħox</th>
<th>oħox</th>
<th>ħóxol</th>
<th rowspan="2">N/A</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>mountain, mountains</td>
<td>mountains (rare)</td>
<td>a mountain</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" rowspan="2">Collective animate (class I) noun (clear harmony example)</th>
<th>qana</th>
<th>eqana</th>
<th>qanal</th>
<th>eqanal</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>family</td>
<td>families</td>
<td>relative</td>
<td>relatives</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" rowspan="2">Collective inanimate (class IV) noun (clear harmony example)</th>
<th>p'áñe</th>
<th rowspan="2">N/A</th>
<th>p'áñel</th>
<th>ep'áñel</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>stones, stone as a material </td>
<td>a stone </td>
<td>several stones (very rare) </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" rowspan="2">Noun with infixed singulative -l- (clear harmony example)</th>
<th>sek</th>
<th>esek</th>
<th>selk (not *sékel) </th>
<th rowspan="2">N/A</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>tree, trees </td>
<td>trees (rare)</td>
<td>a tree</td>
</tr>
</table>

Collective nouns (independently of their class) are typically treated as being singular for the purposes of verb agreement.

<h3>Case</h3>

Middle Ru nouns are inflected for case. This is done through suffixes for cases related to morphosyntactic alignment (i.e. with whether a noun is the subject, direct object or indirect object of a verb) and through prefixes for other cases such as the possessive and the locative.

<table>
<tr>
<th>Case</th>
<th>Usage </th>
<th>Affixes </th>
<th colspan="2">Example</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Base form (or nominative) </th>
<td>Used when referring to a lexeme. Listing in dictionaries. As a vocative. Second element of a copula. </td>
<td>No affix</td>
<td>Mazávaħ mimy.</td>
<td>Mazáva is a man.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Absolutive</th>
<td rowspan="2">Subjects of intransitive verbs. Objects of transitive verbs. Indirect objects of ditransitive verbs. First element of a copula. </td>
<td>-aħ, -oq (animate nouns) </td>
<td>Myfarğaryls mimýaħ.</td>
<td>The man is sleeping.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>No affix (Inanimate nouns) </td>
<td>Zeviħárga ħox.</td>
<td>I have seen the mountain.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Ergative</th>
<td rowspan="2">Subjects of transitive verbs. Subjects of ditransitive verbs. </td>
<td>No affix (animate nouns) </td>
<td>Zevarñi ħox mimy.</td>
<td>The man sees the mountain. </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>-at, -ås (class II) -ix, -wx (class III) -yh, -uh (class IV) </td>
<td>Bruswlws mimýaħ ħóxuh.</td>
<td>The mountain crushed the man.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Secundative</th>
<td>Direct object of ditransitive verbs. Objects of type-I applicatives.</td>
<td>-t, -et, -wt</td>
<td>Λuwrrå mimýaħ ħóxwt.</td>
<td>I gave the mountain to the man.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Possessive (I)</th>
<td>Most kinds of possession. </td>
<td>la-, lå-</td>
<td>ħox lamimy</td>
<td>the mountain of the man</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Possessive (II)</th>
<td>Specific kinds of inalienable possession.</td>
<td>ha-, hå-</td>
<td>qúrtol hamimy</td>
<td>the man's hand</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Locative</th>
<td>Location: in, at. </td>
<td>by-, bw-</td>
<td>bwħox</td>
<td>at the mountain</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Instrumental</th>
<td>With, using as a tool. Causative agents.</td>
<td>syr-, swr-</td>
<td>swrqurt</td>
<td>with the hands</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Ornative</th>
<td>Having, with.</td>
<td>t'e-, t'o-</td>
<td>xek'a t'emimy</td>
<td>a woman with a man/husband</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Privative</th>
<td>Lacking, without.</td>
<td>myr-, mwr-</td>
<td>xek'a myrmimy</td>
<td>a woman without a man/husband</td>
</tr>
</table>

Case-marking prefixes are often romanized a separate word when preceding a proper noun: as in lå Rgu (of the Ru) instead of *låRgu. This difference is not obseverd in native Ru writing

<h4>Nominative (base form)</h4>

In a few some contexts, Middle Ru uses the base form of a noun (lacing any case affixes; other affixes such as number marking might be used in these contexts). This base form (which may be dubbed a 'nominative') coincides with the ergative form for animate nouns (class I) and with the absolutive case for inanimate nouns (classes II, III and IV).

A relatively unusual feature of Middle Ru is that copulas such as 'X is Y' require the first noun X to be in the absolutive case (marked for animate nouns) but use the base form of the second noun Y. Thus 'the man is a soldier' would translate as mimýaħ ħúrwm (using zero copula, as usual for present tense) but 'the soldier is a man' would be ħúrwmoq mimy; where mimýaħ and ħúrwmoq are the absolutive forms of mimy (man) and ħúrwm (soldier).

<h4>Ergative and absolutive</h4>

Middle Ru mostly follows an ergative-absolutive alignment, meaning that one case (the ergative) is used for the subjects of transitive verbs (those who also have a an object) while a different case (the absolutive) is used for objects of transitive verbs and for the sole argument of intransitive verbs. This means that in the sentences 'the woman sees the bird' (transitive) and 'the man sleeps' (intransitive), the noun 'woman' would take the ergative case while 'bird' and 'man' would take the absolutive case. Intransitive verbs, rather than being thought of as verbs with a subject but no object, may be thought of in Middle Ru as having an absolutive object but no ergative subject instead.

The way these two cases are expressed depends on the nominal class of the noun. Class I nouns are unique in taking a suffix for the absolutive case while no suffixes are added for the ergative. On the other hand, other noun classes (II, III and IV) have and unmarked absolutive case and take different suffixes (depending on their nominal and vowel-harmony classes) for the ergative. This reflects the fact that animate class I nouns are more likely to appear as subjects in transitive sentences and thus remain unmarked in agent roles.

<table>
<tr>
<th colspan="2"></th>
<th>Absolutive</th>
<th>Ergative</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Class I</th>
<th>Clear harmony</th>
<td>-aħ</td>
<td rowspan="2">Unmarked</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Dark harmony</th>
<td>-oq</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Class II</th>
<th>Clear harmony</th>
<td rowspan="2">Unmarked</td>
<td>-at </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Dark harmony</th>
<td>-ås</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Class III</th>
<th>Clear harmony</th>
<td rowspan="2">Unmarked</td>
<td>-ix</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Dark harmony</th>
<td>-wx</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Class IV</th>
<th>Clear harmony</th>
<td rowspan="2">Unmarked</td>
<td>-yh</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Dark harmony</th>
<td>-uh</td>
</tr>
</table>

<h4>Secundative</h4>

Ditransitive verbs (those that, in addition to a subject, have both a direct object and an indirect object) feature a secundative alignment in Middle Ru, meaning that direct objects receive a separate 'secundative' case while indirect objects are marked with the same case as the only object of a monotransitive verb (in this case, with the absolutive case). This is the opposite of what occurs in most European languages where it is the indirect object that is marked with a third case (the dative).

The archetypical example of a ditransitive verb is the verb 'to give' (Middle Ru ʎu), which has a subject (the one that gives something to someone else) that is to be marked with the ergative case, a direct object (the thing given to someone else) that is to be marked with the secundative case and an indirect object (the person that is given the thing) which is marked with the absolutive case.

The secundative case is expressed with a suffix: -t for nouns whose base form ends in a vowel or /l/ (including singulatives), -et for other clear-harmony nouns and -wt for other dark-harmony nouns.

There are other verbs with three arguments, however, which may take different cases. For instance, in causative constructions (X makes Y do something [to Z]), the person X that causes the action to occur (Y does something [to Z]) will be expressed in the instrumental case instead. All four arguments are found in the following example:

Užwʎuwħåls swrħúrwm xek'a mimýaħ p'áñelt.
CAUS-give-PRF-3.ANIM>3.SG.PST INS-soldier woman man-ABS stone-SGV-SEC
The soldier (INS) had the woman (ERG) give the stone (SDT) to the man (ABS).

<h4>Possessives</h4>

Posession is expressed by having a possessive form of a noun follow the possessed noun: p'áñel lamimy for "the man's stone", literally "stone (p'áñel) of the man (lamimy, possessive form of mimy, 'man')".

Middle Ru possessives are generally formed with the prefixes la- and lå-. In some specific contexts, however, a different set of prefixes is used: ha- and hå-. The second set of prefixes are restricted to indicate the posession of body parts and certain relatives: parents, grandparents and other direct ancestors, sons and direct male-line descendants, siblings, uncles on the male line (ie brothers of one's father) and their sons (but not other kinds of cousins). Daughters and descendants other than in a direct-male line may uncommonly be described with a second-type posessive while, conversely, sisters and male-line cousins may be found with first-type possessives albeit rarely. This reflects the traditional Ru views of what relatives were considered to be an inalienable part of one's household, as the patriarchal patrilocal Ru society considered that daughters left their father's household upon marrying, joining her husband's instead. It should be noted, however, that ha-/hå- prefixes seem to have been restricted to blood-relatives; even though a married woman would be considered to have joined her husband's household, only her biological parents would be referred to as being haxek'a (possessive II), while her parents-in-law would always be described as laxek'a (possessive I).

Some words such as qana (family) may be described with either possessive: 'the woman's family' could be qana laxek'a or qana haxek'a, with no semantic difference between the two.

<h4>Locative</h4>

On its own, the locative case (expressed with the prefixes by- or bw-) is restricted to static location in or at a place. Other kinds of locative phrases will use an auxiliary word before the basic locative form of the noun. These preposition-like auxiliary nouns are often locative-case nouns themselves. For instance, 'below' uses the preposition bycym, the locative form of cym 'feet'; 'below the tree' becomes bycym byselk, literally 'at the foot of the tree'.

Locatives that apply to a complete sentence may be found either right after the verb or at the very end of the sentence. Locatives that describe the location of a noun follow the noun phrase they modify. This means that Myfarğaryls mimýaħ bycym byselk may translate either as "the man is sleeping below the tree" or as "the man below the tree is sleeping". The alternative form Myfarğaryls bycym byselk mimýaħ would unambiguously translate as 'the man is sleeping below the tree'.

<h4>Other cases</h4>

There are multiple constructions in Middle Ru that correspond to the English preposition 'with'.

The instrumental case (prefixes syr- and swr-) is used for indicating a tool employed to carry an action. This includes languages: ħorårwk swrħorwx lå Rgu for 'I speak in/using the (Middle) Ru language'. It should be noted, however, than tools may also be incorporated into a verb. The instrumental case is also used to indicate causative agents, as mentioned in the previous section about the dative case.

The ornative case (prefixes t'e- and t'o-) is used to indicate that the modified noun owns or is otherwise in possession or equipped with a thing. It could be "that has". For instance ɣen t'obot' translates as "a town (ɣen) with a river (bot')", a town that has access to a major river. Conversely, the privative case (prefixes myr- and mwr- is used to indicate a lack, 'without': ɣen mwrbot' 'a town without [acces to a major] river', 

In order to express that someone is accompanied by someone or something (rather than being in posession of the object as in the ornative case), the comitative clitic =rrä is used, which covers both the usage of English 'with' and 'and'. Thus, while xek'a t'emimy (woman ORN-man) translates as 'a woman with a man ~ that has a husband', the phrase xek'a mimýrra may be translated both as 'a woman accompanied by a man' or as 'a woman and a man'. The lack of distinction between the comitative usage of 'with' and the conjunction 'and' between nouns is rather common cross-linguistically. The clitic =rrä (-(a)rra or -(å)rrå depending on vowel harmony) may follow either noun and it is always suffixed to the last element of its noun phrase. Thus "the man in the river and the woman in the city" translates as either mimy bwbót'årrå xek'a byɣen or as mymy bwbot' xek'a byɣénarra. Using the clitic on both elements of a conjunction may be done for emphasis: mimy bwbót'årrå xek'a byɣénarra for 'both the man in the river and the woman in the city'. Since the =rrä clitic is not a case marker, it may be used in conjunction with case affixes: for instance in myfarğarmis emimýaħarra exek'áħarra, 'both the men and the women are sleeping', we see the clitic combined with the class I absolutive case endings.

Roles not covered by the aforementioned cases are typically handled through prepostions.

<h2>Pronouns</h2>

<table class="tg">
<tr>
<th class="tg-0pky" colspan="2"></th>
<th class="tg-0pky">Base form </th>
<th class="tg-0pky">Transitive subject </th>
<th class="tg-0pky">Intransitive subject</th>
<th class="tg-0pky">Transitive object</th>
<th class="tg-0pky">Secundative</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0pky" colspan="2">1s, I</th>
<td class="tg-0pky" colspan="3">rru</td>
<td class="tg-0pky">rroq</td>
<td class="tg-0pky">rrwt</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0pky" colspan="2">2s, you</th>
<td class="tg-0pky" colspan="3">ǵy</td>
<td class="tg-0pky">ǵwc</td>
<td class="tg-0pky">ǵyt</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0pky" rowspan="4">3s</th>
<th class="tg-0pky">Class I</th>
<td class="tg-0pky" colspan="2">ma'</td>
<td class="tg-0pky" colspan="2">maaħ</td>
<td class="tg-0pky">majet</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0pky">Class II</th>
<td class="tg-0pky" rowspan="3">ña</td>
<td class="tg-0pky">ñat</td>
<td class="tg-0pky" colspan="2" rowspan="3">ña</td>
<td class="tg-0pky" rowspan="3">ñajet</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0pky">Class III</th>
<td class="tg-0pky">nyajx</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0lax">Class IV</th>
<td class="tg-0lax">nyajh</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0lax" rowspan="2">1p</th>
<th class="tg-0lax">Exclusive we</th>
<td class="tg-0lax" colspan="3">orrus</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">orrusoq</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">orruswt</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0lax">Inclusive we</th>
<td class="tg-0lax" colspan="3">ǵyrgy</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">ǵyrgyc</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">ǵyrget</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0lax" colspan="2">2p, plural you</th>
<td class="tg-0lax" colspan="3">jeǵy</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">jeǵyc</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">jeǵyt </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0lax" rowspan="2">3p</th>
<th class="tg-0lax">Class I</th>
<td class="tg-0lax" colspan="2">ymy</td>
<td class="tg-0lax" colspan="2">ymyjaħ</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">ymyjet</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0lax">Other</th>
<td class="tg-0lax">iñy</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">iñat</td>
<td class="tg-0lax" colspan="2">iñy</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">iñet</td>
</tr>
</table>

Middle Ru pronouns differ from regular nouns in a number of ways. Most prominently, first and second person pronouns have an nominative-accusative alignment rather than the ergative-absolutive found elsewhere in the language. This means that first and second person pronouns that occur as the subject of an intransitive verb will have the same nominative form as subjects of transitive verbs while their objects get a different accusative form. This contrasts with the behaviour found in third person pronouns and regular nouns where intransitive arguments are found in the same absolutive as transitive objects, while it is transitive subjects that get a separate ergative case. 

First person plural pronouns ('we') also contrast clusivity. The exclusive pronoun orrus excludes the listener, being equivalent to "me and others, but not you". Meanwhile, the inclusive pronoun ǵyrgy indicates that the second person is also included, "you and me (and others)".

Singular third person pronouns must agree with the nominal class of their referent. Thus singular animate nouns will be referred to with the class-I pronoun ma' (he, she, singular they) while inanimate nouns will use ña (~ it) instead, with different ergative forms depending on their class (ñat for class-II, nyajx for class-III and nyajh for class-IV). Plural third person pronouns only observe an animacy distinction: class-I animates have ymy while inanimates have iñy, which declines in the same way for classes II, III and IV.

Possessives, locatives, instrumentals and other cases are formed regularly by applying the usual affixes to the base form of each pronoun. Thus we have lårru as an alineable possessive form of 'my', haǵy for inalienable 'your', byña for 'in it', t'eǵyrgy for 'including us' and so on.

It should be noted that Middle Ru is a pro-drop language. Since verbs are marked for their subjects and objects, pronouns are commonly dropped in those positions.

<h2>Verbs</h2>

As a polysynthetic language, Middle Ru features a rather complicated verb conjugation. Fortunately, the system is notoriously regular aside from a few exceptions.

A Middle Ru verb takes a series of affixes (both prefixes and suffixes) in order to indicate several grammatical categories such as voice, aspect, tense as well as person and number agreement both for subjects and objects. All these elements do always appear in the following fixed order:
<ul>
<li>Interrogative prefix</li>
<li>Voice prefix</li>
<li>Verb stem (most basic form of the verb)</li>
<li>Incorporated nouns (mostly tools)</li>
<li>Aspect</li>
<li>Tense, person and number (these categories are fused into a single suffix)</li>
<li>Negative suffix</li>
</ul>

This structure is true for indicative verbs. Other moods will be explained later on.

<h3>Polar questions</h3>

The interrogative prefix xe- / xo- is used to transform a sentence into a polar question (one that may be answered as 'yes' or 'no'). In addition to this, all questions carry a rising intonation.

Myfarğaryls mimýaħ.
The man is sleeping.
Xemyfarğaryls mimýaħ? (read in a rising intonation)
Is the man sleeping?

These kind of questions may be answered by using a positive or negative of the main verb (myfarğaryls, 'is sleeping', for 'yes' or myfarğarylsíma, 'isn't sleeping' for 'no') or, more commonly, by using the positive or negative forms of the verb 'to be', in this case sils (is) for 'yes' and ixýma (is not) for 'no'. In Late Middle Ru, the adverb zw (thus, that way) also became a popular alternative for 'yes'.

<h3>Voice prefixes and valency operations</h3>

Middle Ru verbs may take a prefix that alters their valency (the number of arguments they require).

<h4>Valency-reducing operations</h4>

Transitive verbs ordinarily require a subject and an object. Middle Ru grammar provides mechanisms that allow the speaker to specify only one of these arguments, either for focus or in case the identity of the other argument is unknown or irrelevant.

<h4>Unspecific subjects</h4>

In order to omit the subject, no voice-marking prefixes are required; instead a null subject is expressed by using the pronoun ga which is treated as a class I third person noun for the purposes of verb conjugation. As with any other pronoun (Middle Ru being a pro-drop language), it is possible to drop ga, although speakers may want to include it to in order to unambiguously convey they refer to an unspecific subject rather than to a previously named class I referrent. The pronoun ga could be loosely translated as 'someone', although it might also refer to an inanimate or plural referent.

Compare:
Zevarñi ħox mimy.
The man (subject, mimy) sees the mountain (object, ħox).

to the ga equivalent:
Zevarñi ħox ga
Someone sees the mountain / The mountain is seen.

For ditransitive verbs such as ʎu (to give), this strategy only applies to the indirect object (the one expressed in the absolutive case). Thus, the full phrase

Λuwħåls xek'aħ mimy p'áñelt.
The man (subject, mimy) gave the stone (direct object, p'áñel) to the woman (indirect object, xek'a).

can have its indirect object focused as:
Λuwħåls xek'aħ p'áñelt (ga).
The woman was given a stone (by someone).

In order to promote the direct object p'áñel ('the stone was given [to the woman)'), the type-II applicative voice must be used.

<h4>Antipassive</h4>

All Middle Ru verbs are required to have a primary argument that would take the absoluitve case, even though this argument may be implicit. For transitive verbs, said argument corresponds to the [indirect] object. In order to omit the object and place a focus on the subject, the subject (originally found in the ergative case) must be promoted to the absoluitive role.

The antipassive voice, formed by using the prefix rrav- or rråv, turns a transitive verb into an intransitive verb which takes as its only argument the original subject. As in intransitive verbs, this sole argument must be expressed in the absolutive case, rather than in the ergative case as in the original transitive verb.

For example, the antipassive voice can be used to promote the subject and omit the original object in the following sentence:

Zevarñi ħox mimy.
The man (subject, mimy) sees the mountain (object, ħox).

which becomes:

Rravzevaryls mimýaħ.
The man sees [something].

Notices how the absolutive form mimýaħ is required in the latter sentence. It shoudl also be noted that the ending of the verb changed from -arñi (which indicates that the verb has an animate agent) to -aryls (which doesn't indicate an agent and is thus used for intransitive verbs).

This also applies to ditransitive verbs. In this case, the indirect object (the person to whom something is given) is omitted while the direct object (the thing that is given) may still be kept in the secundative case or dropped as the speaker sees fit.

Λuwħåls xek'aħ mimy p'áñelt.
The man (subject, mimy) gave the stone (direct object, p'áñel) to the woman (indirect object, xek'a).

becomes:
Rråvʎuwlws mimýaħ (p'áñelt).
The man gave (a stone).

<h4>Reflexive</h4>

The reflexive voice (marked with the prefixes my- or mw-) is used to indicate that the subject and object of a transitive verb are the same; that the action is done by 'to oneself'. Reflexive verbs are treated as intransitives grammar-wise:

Myzevaryls mimýaħ.
The man sees himself.

A limited number of verbs such as (my)farğ (to sleep) require a reflexive prefix:

Myfarğaryls mimýaħ.
The man sleeps.

**Farğaryls mimýaħ.
UNGRAMMATICAL

Verbs such as (my)farğ are only found without the reflexive prefix when a different voice mark is used on them. For instance, the causative form of the verb ('to make someone sleep') is ižyfarğ rather than the doubly-marked **ižymyfarğ.

<h4>Causative</h4>

Causatives, formed by using the prefixes ižy- or užw-, are used to express that someone (or something) triggers an action. This voice increases the valency of a verb, as a new argument (the one that causes the action) is added to the original arguments of the verb.

Unusually, the new argument (the causer) is expressed in the instrumental case. However, even though this was the norm for educated speakers following the standard found in the capital during the heyday of the Ru kingdom, evidence suggests that using the ergative case was widespread, especially for originally intransitive verbs. This was also reflected in the polypersonal markings found in verb suffixes: while the standard called for the polypersonal marking to be unaffected by the causative, in practice it was common for speakers to mark the causer as the agent of the verb.

Examples include:

C'azarmis emimýaħ.
The men march forward. (a sentence with an intransitive verb)

Ižyc'azarmis swrħúrwm emimýaħ.
The soldier made the men march forward. (causative; educated standard but uncommon in informal settings; ħúrwm, 'the soldier', is found in the instrumental case and the verb does not mark the causer as its agent)

Ižyc'azarmix emimýaħ ħúrwm.
The soldier made the men march forward. (causative; doesn't follow the standard but was ubiquitous in practice; ħúrwm, 'the soldier', is found in the ergative case and the verb does marks the causer as its agent)

Dåfwmås sujm rríxyat.
The bird ate seeds. (a sentence with a transitive verb)

Užwdåfwmås syrmimy sujm rríxyat.
The man make the bird eat seeds ~ The man fed the bird seeds (causative; educated standard; causer in the instrumental case, verb marks rríxy, 'bird', as its agent)

Užwdåfwmåx sujm rríxyat mimy.
The bird ate seeds ~ The man fed the bird seeds (causative; non-standard; causer in the ergative case, the same as the original subject rríxy, verb marks mimy, 'man', as its agent)

The causative cannot be applied when there is already a voice prefix (with the exception of lexically reflexive verbs such as farğ, 'to sleep', which in this context lose drop reflexive prefix instead). For instance, 'the woman made the man look at himself' couldn't be expressed with the causative voice prefix as 'the man [looked] at himself' would require the reflexive voice prefix. In these contexts, a periphrastic construction with the verb årmå (to cause, to force) may be used instead:

Årmåwħåñ xek'a, myzevilys mimýaħ.
The woman made the man look at himself (literally 'The woman caused (it), the man looked at himself ')

The verb årmå is also the source of a verb suffix -rm which is used for derivations with a causative meaning, as in forming darm (to remind) from da (to remember). This suffix, however, was no longer productive in Middle Ru and is only found in a very limited number of words.

Type-I applicatives may also fullfill a similar role to causatives, although with different nuances.

<h4>Type-I Applicative</h4>

Middle Ru has two applicative voices: prefixes which promote an oblique argument (one that ordinarily isn't the object nor the subject of the verb) to the primary position, the one marked with the absolutive case.

Type-I applicatives (marked with the prefixes ke- and ko-) are used to promote an argument in a benefactive role, this is, a person for whom an action, that benefits from the situation. Unlike causatives, this object does not need to have caused or be otherwise involved in the action, but it will get a benefit from it. For instance the sentence:

Kecavdimax oħúrwmaħ mimy séket.
"The man cut the trees for the soldiers."

does not imply that the soldiers forced or even ordered the man to cut the trees but rather implies that the man did it on his own in order to ease their march. This contrasts with the causative form ižycavdimax swroħúrwm sek mimýaħ (the soldiers made the man cut the trees) where it could be assumed that the soldiers played an active role in having the man cut the tree.

In a type-I applicative, the benefited argument takes the absolutive case, while the argument that hold that position before (the object in a transitive verb or the subject in an intransitive verb) takes the secundative case instead, as seen in séket, the secundative form of sek (trees). The secundative argument may be dropped as in the following example:

Kocwñimax oħúrwmaħ mimy. 
The men built for the soldiers.

This could be short for kocwñimax oħúrwmaħ mimy k'ételt (the soldiers built a house for the soldiers), but puts the focus on the action the men undertook in benefit of the soldiers rather than on the result (what they did build for them).

Type-I applicatives may not be used with ditransitive verbs such as ʎu.

<h4>Type-II Applicative</h4>

Type-II applicatives (formed with the prefixes aj- and oj-) are used to promote a direct object of a a ditransitive verb to the primary absolutive role, originally occupied by the indirect object. Consider the phrase:

Λuwħåls xek'aħ mimy p'áñelt.
The man (subject, mimy) gave the stone (direct object, p'áñel) to the woman (indirect object, xek'a).

As it has been mentioned before, this phrase on its own takes the indirect object (the woman) as its primary argument. This allows a speaker to construct a sentence when only this argument is specified (arguments in brackets are optional):

Λuwħåls xek'aħ [ga] [p'áñelt].
The woman was given [the stone] [by somebody].

In order to do the same with the subject, the antipassive voice is needed, which moves the subject (originally marked in the ergative case) to the primary role:

Rråvʎuwlws mimýaħ [p'áñelt].
The man gave [the stone].

Type-II applicatives allow the speaker to do the same with the direct object (in this case, the object that is given to someone), which is promoted to the primary role and, as such, takes the absolutive case rather than the secundative:

Ojʎuwħañ p'áñel [mimy].
The stone was given [by the man].

<h3>The verb stem</h3>

The stem is the main morpheme that decides the meaning of the verb. A MIddle Ru verbal stem will always occur with at least one suffix although they will be listed on their most basic form in the dictionary..

Verb stems whose romanized forms seem to end in a vowel, such as da (to remember) actually have a glottal coda (unwritten between vowels): /da.ʔ/, as seen in the conjugated form daiħaŋ (I remembered it): /da.ʔiˈχaŋ/. This is still the case when the vowel in the suffix coincides with the last vowel in the stem, as in daarxes (you remember me): /da.ʔaɹˈʃøs/, although a relatively small number of speakers might have contracted these sequences to a bare vowel (yielding */daɹˈʃøs/ for da[a]rxes). It should be noted that contracting /V.ʔV/ to /V/ is a nearly universal phenomenon for nouns (for instance, the ergative form of c'áza is c'azat rather than **c'azaat). The absence of contractions in verbs might be a result of Middle Ru speakers considering the glottal stop as being part of the verb root itself rather than an artifact of the language's phonology as in nominal affixes.

<h3>Incorporated nouns</h3>

Middle Ru grammar allows nouns to be incorporated into verbs although this feature is not used as widely as in other polysynthetic languages.

In order to incorporate a noun into a verb, the base form of the noun (with no number nor case affixes) is added after the verb stem. A connecting affix -ö- (-e- or -o- depending on the vowel harmony class of the incorporated noun) is used except for vowel-initial nouns. For instance, incorporating the vowel-initial noun áɣa (land, dirt) to the verb myjt (to cover) results in forms such as myjtaɣaiħárga (I covered it with dirt ~ I buried it) while incorporating qana (family) to hwn (to rule) yields forms such as hwneqanaarmat (you belong to the ruling dynasty, literally 'you family-rule them'), with an extra e connecting the two words. It should be noted that incorporated nouns might belong to the opposite vowel harmony class as in the latter example (hwn being a dark-class verb while qana is a clear-class noun). In these cases, all suffixes occurring after the noun belong to the same harmony class as the noun. Because of this, we find the clear-harmony affixes -armat in hwneqanaarmat but their dark-harmony counterparts -årmåt when no noun is incorporated to the verb: hwnårmåt (you rule over them).

Incorporated nouns most commonly indicate an instrument or material used to perform an action. For instance, 'the city was built with stone' could be translated as cwñep'añeiħañ ɣen, literally 'they stone-built the city', incorporating p'áñe (stone) into the verb cwñ (to build). This kind of sentences, however, might also be expressed with the instrumental case as in cwñwħåñ ɣen syrp'áñe (literally 'they built the city with-stone') and the latter usage seems to have been favoured in official Cadarmeni documents. Incorporated nouns might also be used to indicate generic direct objects as in qyt'ek'et'aiħañ for 'they harvested rice' (incorporating k'ét'a, 'rice', into the verb qyt', 'to harvested') although this seems to have been limited to a few idiomatic examples.

Additionally, noun incorporation would occasionally yield phrases with an a priori unexpected idiomatic usage. As seen before, hwn (to rule) plus qana (family) yielded a verb that meant ' to belong to the ruling family'. A more systematic example is the usage of qurt (hands) to indicate that an action is done by oneself. For instance cavdoqurtwħåñ sek mimy, literally 'the man hand-cut the trees' will typically imply that the man cut all the trees 'by himself' rather than doing it 'by hand'. Qurt can be incorporated into a verb with a more literal meaning, however: dåfoqurtårmås (incorporating qurt to dåf, 'to eat') would be more likely to be understood as meaning 'I was eating them using my hands (not cutlery)' than 'I was eating them on my own'.

<h3>Aspect</h3>

Although in Middle Ru aspect-marking is fused with tense marking and personal agreement in the final suffix of the verb (aside from the negative suffix), aspect-marking proto-morphemes can be easily identified, even though their form may vary slightly depending on the following tense suffix. In general, it can be identified that the suffixes -ar- and -år- are used for the imperfective aspect, -iħ- and -wħ- are used for the perfective aspect while -iis- and -ujws- are used for the inchoative aspect.

Changes found in those base aspect affixes include:
<ul>
<li>The r (/ɹ/) in the imperfective suffixes is lost before tense+person markers which begin with alveolar trill rr (/r/). Some speakers may also drop that r before the uvular trill rg (/ʀ/) although this seems to have been proscribed in the Cadarmeni standard.</li>
<li>The final ħ of perfective suffixes and the final s of inchoative affixes are dropped before any tense+person marker with an initial vowel.</li>
</ul>

The following table illustrates the various forms aspect affixes may take for each vowel-harmony class under different circumstances.

<table>
<tr>
<th rowspan="3">Aspect</th>
<th rowspan="3">Vowel harmony class </th>
<th colspan="6">Shape of the tense affix</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Vowel initial</th>
<th colspan="2">Rhotic initial</th>
<th colspan="2">Other</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Aspect affix </th>
<th>Example: -aq / -åq (1s.PST)</th>
<th>Aspect affix </th>
<th>Example: -rra / -rrå (1s>3sA.PST)</th>
<th>Aspect affix</th>
<th>Example: -lys / -lws (3sA.PST)</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Imperfective</th>
<th>Clear</th>
<td>-ar-</td>
<td>-araq</td>
<td>-a-</td>
<td>-arra</td>
<td>-ar-</td>
<td>-arlys</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Dark</th>
<td>-år-</td>
<td>-åråq</td>
<td>-å-</td>
<td>-årrå</td>
<td>-år-</td>
<td>-årlws</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Perfective</th>
<th>Clear</th>
<td>-iħ-</td>
<td>-iħaq</td>
<td>-i-</td>
<td>-irra</td>
<td>-i-</td>
<td>-ilys</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Dark</th>
<td>-wħ- </td>
<td>-wħåq</td>
<td>-w-</td>
<td>-wrrå</td>
<td>-w-</td>
<td>-wlws</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Inchoative</th>
<th>Clear</th>
<td>-iis-</td>
<td>-iisaq</td>
<td>-ii-</td>
<td>-iirra</td>
<td>-ii-</td>
<td>-iilys</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Dark</th>
<td>-ujws-</td>
<td>-ujwsáq</td>
<td>-ujw-</td>
<td>-ujwrrå</td>
<td>-ujw-</td>
<td>-ujwlws</td>
</tr>
</table>

<h4>Perfective and imperfective</h4>

The perfective aspect is used to indicate an action that ocurred at a given point in time which may be used as a reference for further actions. On the other hand, the action described by an imperfective verb takes place during a period of time, set in relation to certain reference point which might be the present (for a verb marked as having the non-past tense) or the point in time set by a perfective verb.

In the past-tense, the distinction between perfective and imperfective is verbs is analogous to the one found in Spanish and approximately corresponds to the distinction between simple past and past progressive (or past continuous) in English:

Zevisax.
see-PRFV-1s>2s.PST
I saw you / I've seen you (Spanish perfective past te vi)

Zevarsax.
see-IPFV-1s>2s.PST
I was seeing you, I saw you [during that time] (Spanish imperfective past te veía)

The non-past tense is most commonly found along the imperfective aspect in order to express events that take place at the present:

Zevarsix.
see-IPFV-1s>2s.NPST
I see you, I am seeing you.

Non-past tense-endings are used along perfective affixes in order to indicate an action or event that has not taken place. This covers both sentences concerning the future as well as hypothetical situations.

Zevisix [múnå].
see-PFV-1s>2s.NPST [tomorrow]
I will see you [tomorrow]

Zevisix, kaj zeviħyxet.
see-PFV-1s>2s.NPST therefore see-PFV-2s>1s
If I saw you (hypothetical) then you would see me

It should be noted that the primary meaning of the perfective and imperfective affixes is still a matter of whether the event can be thought as establishing a reference in time (as it is the effect when using a perfective) or extending over a period fixed to an existing reference frame (which might be either the present or a time frame previously referenced through a perfective). Thus, while non-past imperfectives would commonly translate as present-tense verb in English, they might also refer to an event which takes place concurrently with another event in the future, as it's the case for the second verb in this sentence:

Zevisix múnå, sw savarŋi!
see-PFV-1s>2s.NPST tomorrow then regret-IPFV-2s>3sI.NPST
I will see you tomorrow and then you will regret it

<h4>Inchoatives and cessatives</h4>

The affixes -ii(s)- and -ujw(s)- are used to indicate the onset of an action or state; that the action is beginning. This onset might have happened in the past (in which case in inchoactive affix is to be used with a past-tense marker) or in the present or future (for which non-past endings are used):

Cavdiisañ sek mimy.
cut-INCH-3sA>3si.PST tree man
The man began to cut down the trees.

Cavdiiñi sek mimy.
cut-INCH-3sA>3si.NPST tree man
The man begins to cut down the trees.

One particularity of Middle Ru's inchoative affix is that it becomes a cessative (indicating the end of an action) when the verb is marked as negative. Thus, negating the previous examples yields:

Cavdiisañíma sek mimy.
cut-INCH-3sA>3si.PST.NEG tree man
The man stopped cutting down the trees.

Cavdiiñiʎíma sek mimy.
cut-INCH-3sA>3si.NPST-NEG tree man
The man stops cutting down the trees.

In order to truly negate an inchoative (indicating that the event didn't begin, rather than it stopped) the adverb eʎíma (roughly translatable as 'not yet') may be used after the verb. The same can be done for cessatives (ie verbs with the inchoative affix already marked as negative):

Cavdiisañ eʎíma sek mimy.
cut-INCH-3sA>3si.PST.NEG not_yet tree man
The man didn't start cutting down the trees [yet].

Cavdiisañíma eʎíma sek mimy.
cut-INCH-3sA>3si.PST.NEG not_yet tree man
The man didn't stop cutting down the trees [yet].

<h3>Tense and person</h3>

The final mandatory affix in a Middle Ru verb encapsulates information about its tense (in a past vs non-past contrast that was exemplified in the preceding section) and its arguments, potentially including hints at both its subject and its object. These affixes are fusional in nature: although its Proto Ru-Hulam etymology might hint at which phonemes stood for each category and despite the fact that some of those patterns can still be observed to some degree in Middle Ru affixes (while others have eroded past recognizability), these final affixes cannot be broken into separate tense, subject and object markers but form a single unit that might express all three categories. For instance, the suffix -yxet can be considered a single unit marking the verb as having non-past tense, a second person agent role (subject) and a first person singular object role rather than a sequence of marker for each of those categories.

Each tense×person (or TP) affix marks a tense (non-past or past) and a person for the verb's O-role, the one that would take the absolutive case (that is, the subject for an intransitive verb, the object for a transitive verb and the indirect object for a ditransitive verb). A TP affix may also include information about the verb's A-role, which corresponds to the subject in transitive and ditransitive verbs; the argument generally marked with the ergative case in Middle Ru's grammar. Grammatical persons are expressed differently for each role; for instance O-role marking accounts for number while A-role marking doesn't.

Affixes that are not marked for any A-role are used for intransitive verbs, reflexive verbs (marked with the reflexive prefix my- or mw-) as well as for transitive/ditransitive verbs whose A-role corresponds to an ininamiate third person referent ('it', or an inanimate 'they'); as in the following examples, all of which use the affix -aq / -åq, which marks past-tense, the first person singular (I, me) as its O-role and leaves the A-role unmarked:

C'aziħaq.
I marched (intransitive verb; the O-role indicates the subject)

Myzeviħaq.
I saw myself (reflexive verb; the O-role indicates the argument that is simultaneous the object an the subject)

Bruswħåq!
It crushed me! (transitive verb; the O-role indicates the object, the subject is an inanimate third person referent, 'it')

Certain combinations of O-roles and A-roles are not allowed. This occurs whenever the O-role coincides with the A-role or when the A-rule refers to a group that includes the O-role (for instance if the A-role was 'inclusive we' and the O-role was 'I' or 'you').

The affixes, in both its vowel-harmony variants, are as follows:

<table>
<tr>
<th colspan="8">NON-PAST TENSE</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>O-role:</th>
<th>1s, me</th>
<th>2s, you</th>
<th>3s.ANIM</th>
<th>3s.INAN</th>
<th>1p (exclusive)</th>
<th>1p (inclusive)</th>
<th>2p or 3p</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>A-role:</th>
<td colspan="7"></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Unmarked, reflexive or inanimate third person </th>
<td>-yk -wk </td>
<td>-is -us </td>
<td>-yls -wls </td>
<td>-ñi -ñw </td>
<td>-mirri -murru </td>
<td>-ŋyr -ŋwr </td>
<td>-mis -mus </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>1s or 1p.EX </th>
<td>(not used) </td>
<td>-six -sux </td>
<td>-ýrra -ẃrrå</td>
<td rowspan="2">-árgy -ǻrgu</td>
<td colspan="2">-ŋyx -ŋwx </td>
<td rowspan="2">-mik -muk </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>1p.IN </th>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>-rgi -rgu </td>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>(not used)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>2s or 2p</th>
<td>-yxet -wxot </td>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>-ils -uls </td>
<td>-ŋi -ŋu </td>
<td>-miz -muz </td>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>-mit -mut </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>3s.ANIM or 3p.ANIM </th>
<td>-yx -wx </td>
<td>-it -ut </td>
<td>-ylx -wlx</td>
<td>-ñi -ñw </td>
<td>-mírra -múrrå </td>
<td>-ŋyr -ŋwr </td>
<td>-mix -mux </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="8">PAST TENSE</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>O-role:</th>
<th>1s, me</th>
<th>2s, you</th>
<th>3s.ANIM</th>
<th>3s.INAN</th>
<th>1p (exclusive)</th>
<th>1p (inclusive)</th>
<th>2p or 3p</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>A-role:</th>
<td colspan="7"></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Unmarked, reflexive or inanimate third person </th>
<td>-aq -åq </td>
<td>-as -os </td>
<td>-lys -lws </td>
<td>-aŋ -åŋ </td>
<td>-mir -mur </td>
<td>-ŋir -ŋur </td>
<td>-mas -mås </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>1s or 1p.EX</th>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>-sax -såx </td>
<td>-rra -rrå </td>
<td rowspan="2">-árga -ǻrgå</td>
<td colspan="2">-aŋak -åŋåk </td>
<td rowspan="2">-mak -måk </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>1p.IN</th>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>-árxa -ǻrxå </td>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>(not used)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>2s or 2p</th>
<td>-xes -xos </td>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>-ílsy -úlsw </td>
<td>-aŋy -åŋw </td>
<td>-mas -mås </td>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>-mat -måt </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>3s.ANIM or 3p.ANIM </th>
<td>-ax -åx</td>
<td>-at -åt </td>
<td>-als -åls</td>
<td>-añ -åñ </td>
<td>-mir -mur </td>
<td>-ŋir -ŋur </td>
<td>-max -måx </td>
</tr>
</table>

It should be noticed, however, that some of these affixes might appear in a modified when used along the negatives suffix, as it shall be explained in the following section.

<h3>Negatives</h3>

Negative verbs are marked with an additional suffix whose shape depends on the TP affix of the verb. It should be noted that negative constructions alter the semantics of inchoative verbs, as discussed on the previous section about that aspect.

The base form of the negative suffix is -ʎíma for words in the clear vowel-harmondy class and -ʎúmå. This form is used to negate verbs which would otherwise end in a vowel:

Zevarýrra mimýaħ.
I see the man.

Zevaryrraʎíma mimýaħ.
I do not see the man.

Verbs whose TP affix ends in a /k/ or a /q/ lose that final consonant and get modified suffix -ʕíma or -ʕúmå:

Zevimak emimýaħ.
I saw the men.

Zevimaʕíma emimýaħ.
I did not see the men.

Verbs whose TP affix ends in any other consonant get the reduced negative affixes -íma or -ýmå:

Zevarmix.
I see you.

Zevarmixíma.
I do not see you.

<h3>Other verb forms</h3>

While most verbal inflections conform to the previously described sequence of affixes (interrogative-voice-stem-tool-aspect-TP-negative), there is a limited number of inflectional forms that follows a different structure. This is true for imperatives and participles.

<h4>Imperatives</h4>

There exist two ways to issue a command in Middle Ru: using what is known as a true imperative or by using a periphrastic construction known as the humble imperative.

True imperatives are used whenever both speakers have a similar social status or if it is the one issuing the command who has a higher status. These verbs only deviate from the general conjugation structure in the fact the aspect and TP affixes are replaced with the suffixes -avt or -ot for positive commands or -eʎimavt or -oʎumot for negative commands. Contrary to what is typically found in the language, Middle Ru true imperatives could be said to have a nominative-accusative alignment, as the person receiving the imperative is intended the take the subject role both in intransitive and transitive verbs. Commands related to other roles may be issued by using voice affixes as described in the table below. It should be noted that Middle Ru true imperatives are not marked for person and thus independent pronouns are more likely to be necessary.

<table>
<tr>
<th>Voice</th>
<th>Imperative role</th>
<th colspan="2">Example</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Active (default) Intransitive verb </th>
<td>Subject (O-role, absolutive) </td>
<td>C'azavt!</td>
<td>March forward!</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Active (default) Transitive verb </th>
<td>Subject (A-role, ergative) </td>
<td>Zevavt ña!</td>
<td>Look at that!</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Antipassive</th>
<td colspan="3">Not used for true imperatives</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Reflexive </th>
<td>Reflexive argument, (subject and object)</td>
<td>Myzevavt!</td>
<td>Look at yourself!</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Object (O-role, absolutive) </th>
<td>Myevavt hev!</td>
<td>Be seen by the king! ~ Let the king see you!</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Causative</th>
<td>Causative agent </td>
<td>Ižyc'azavt emimy!</td>
<td>Make the men march!</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Type-I applicative </th>
<td colspan="3">Not used for true imperatives</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Type-II applicative </th>
<td colspan="3">Theoretically used for direct objects of ditransitive verbs, but never found in practice. </td>
</tr>
</table>

Humble imperatives, on the other hand, are formed periphrastically by using a regularly-conjugated form of the verb har, 'to ask' followed by the desired action. As the name for this construction suggest, humble imperatives are mostly used in situations where the speaker might have a lower social status than the listener, and thus asks them humbly rather than imposing their command with a true imperative. The verb har will be typically found as hararsix for orders issued to a singular you or hararmik for imperatives issued to a plural you. These verbs would be negated as usual, resulting in hararsixíma and hararmiʕíma for 'I did not ask you [to]'. The following table shows the humble equivalents to the previous examples assuming the command is issued to a single person (otherwise verbs would be conjugated for 2p instead of 2s):

<table>
<tr>
<th colspan="4">Examples</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>True imperative</th>
<th>Humble imperative</th>
<th>Translation</th>
<th>Humble, literally </th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>C'azavt!</td>
<td>Hararsix, c'aziħis.</td>
<td>March forward!</td>
<td>I request you that you march forward.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Zevavt ña!</td>
<td>Hararsix, zeviŋi.</td>
<td>Look at that!</td>
<td>I request you that you look at it.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Myzevavt!</td>
<td>Hararsix, myzeviħis.</td>
<td>Look at yourself!</td>
<td>I request that you look at yourself.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Myevavt hev!</td>
<td>Hararsix, zeviħit hev.</td>
<td>Be seen by the king! ~ Let the king see you!</td>
<td>I request you that the king sees you.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Ižyc'azavt emimy!</td>
<td>Hararsix, ižic'azimis emimiy.</td>
<td>Make the men march!</td>
<td>I request you that the men are made to march.</td>
</tr>
</table>

Imperatives of either kind may be followed by a noun in the instrumental case in order to indicate some authority in whose name the command is issued. This was particularly frequent in edicts, which featured the word syrhev (with the king), in order to indicate that the orderes were issued 'in the name of the king'.

<h4>Participles and relative clauses</h4>

The participle of a Middle Ru verb is used to describe a noun phrase as being the O-role of said verb. In this sense, their behaviour is close to what an English speaker might expect of an adjective (and the Middle Ru equivalents of English adjectives are indeed handled through participles). Middle Ru participles are not marked for time; azéva (the participle of zev, 'to see'), roughly translatable as 'seen', could refer to something that has been "seen", something that is "seen" at the moment or something that is to be "seen" in the future or which would be "seen" during a hypothethical scenario.

Participles follow a drastically different structure than finite (or 'conjugated') Middle Ru verbs, being only marked by voice. The most basic form of participle, corresponding to the default unmarked voice, is constructed by a circumfix: a-(stem)-a for clear-harmony verbs (as in the previously mentioned example azéva, 'seen', from zev, 'to see') or å-(stem)-o (as in åcẃño, 'built', from cuñ, 'to build') for dark-harmony verbs. Unlike other verb forms, participles are stressed on the verb stem itself.

A basic Middle Ru participle corresponds to its O-role, the argument that would be put in absolutive case when following the verb: the subject for intransitive verbs (thus ac'áza, from c'az, 'to march', could be translated as 'marching'), the object for regular transitive verbs (azéva meaning 'seen' rather than 'seeing') and the indirect object for ditransitive verbs (åʎúo meaning 'having received', from ʎu, 'to give'). Participles for other roles can be constructed by replacing the initial a- or å- with a voice prefix. This allows for participles related to a transitive subject using the antipassive voice mark as in rravzéva ('seeing', 'that sees/saw'), reflexive participles such as myzéva ('that sees themself') , causative participles such as ižyzéva ('that makes/made someone to see', also used as a noun meaning "prophet, guru"), type-I aplicatives for benefactive participles such as kezéva ('that had someone see something for its benefit') and type-II applicatives for ditransitive direct objects: ojʎúo ('that was given [to someone]').

Negative participles are preceded by the particle žwm which is also used a noun meaning 'nobody'. Thus žwm azéva transaltes as 'not seen'.

Participles are often used in place where a relative clause would be used in English. For instance, the phrase "the man who marched forward" is expressed in Middle Ru as mimy ac'áza. The participle itself may be followed by arguments (other than it's O-role) as if it was a primary verb: k'et åcẃño mimy (house PTC-build-PTC man) for 'the house built by the man'.

A different structure is required for relative clauses where the described noun phrase occupies a role other than the participle verb's O-role (and thus requires a voice mark like antipassive rrav-/rråv-) with the original O-role being included as part of the relative clause. This is the case in the phrase 'the man that saw the mountain', where the described noun ('the man', mimy) takes the A-role (ergative, subject of transitive zev, 'to see') and the relative predicate includes the original O-role (the object, ħox). This requires a structure where the described noun is followed by the particle a (regardless of the vowel harmony class of any neighbouring words), the original O-role and then the participle with the appropriate participles:

mimy a ħox rravzéva
man REL mountain ANTP-see-PTC
the man that sees/saw the mountain

It should be noted that this kind of structures cannot be used by roles not covered by voice prefixes. For instance, in 'the mountains where the man sleeped', the described noun 'mountains' occupies a locative role in the relative sentence (the man sleeped in the mountains). This kind of constructions can only be translated by expressing the full sentence (for instance, mentioning that the man sleeped in the mountains in a separate sentence before referencing those mountains again).

<h3>The copula verbs</h4>

In English, the copula verb 'to be' fulfills a number of functions, including noun-noun copula (describing one thing as being another, as in "John is a man"), adjective-noun copula (indicating that an adjective apples to a given noun or noun phrase as in "John is tall") and an existential usage (indicating that something exists, often in relation to a location as in "John is in the city"). In Middle Ru, those constructions are handled in different ways.

Noun-noun copula, be it indicating identity ("John is my father", here the two arguments are identified as being the same individual) or membership to a given class ("John is a man"), may be expressed with the copula verb mi, which could be considered to be the closest Middle Ru counterpart to English 'to be'. This kind of expressions, however, are often handled without any verbs (what is known as zero-copula, a common tactic cross-linguistically), simply putting the two phrases one next to the other. The first element in this type of copula must be expressed in the absolutive case, while the second one is used in its base, suffix-less form, as shown in the following examples:

Mazávaħ ata hårru.
Mazáva is my father.

Ataħ hårru Mazáva.
My father is Mazáva.

Mazávaħ mimy.
Mazáva is a man.

The verb mi is only used when one of the two elements is a pronoun (third person pronouns being an exception to this rule), when the speaker wants to indicate a tense/aspect for the relationship that wouldn't be obvious from context (for instance, to indicate that the identity is no longer true) or simply for emphasis. When a form of mi is used, the argument represented by the pronoun is often omitted, but it may be left in the sentence for emphasis.

Mix Mazáva.
I am Mazáva.

Arys Mazávaħ bavba. Bysyn, maaħ mimy.
Mazáva used to be a baby. Now, he is a man.

Sils Mazávaħ mimy.
Mazáva is indeed a man.

Mix rru ata haǵy.
I am your father.

As it is often the case for copula verbs, Middle Ru mi is massively irregular. Fortunately, the number of forms to be memorized is somewhat limited as the verb may only be marked for a single person (instead of featuring polypersonal agreement). It's conjugation takes contrasts aspect (perfective or imperfective; mi cannot be marked for the inchoative/cessative aspect), tense, person for one of its arguments and polarity (affirmative vs negative; the interrogative prefix is also accepted), as shown in the following table:

<table>
<tr>
<th rowspan="3"></th>
<th colspan="4">Affirmative, 'to be'</th>
<th colspan="4">Negative, 'not to be'</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Imperfective</th>
<th colspan="2">Perfective</th>
<th colspan="2">Imperfective</th>
<th colspan="2">Perfective</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Non-past</th>
<th>Past</th>
<th>Non-past</th>
<th>Past</th>
<th>Non-past</th>
<th>Past</th>
<th>Non-past</th>
<th>Past</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>1s, I</th>
<td>mix</td>
<td>amaq</td>
<td>imix</td>
<td>maq</td>
<td>mixýma</td>
<td>amaʕíma</td>
<td>imixíma</td>
<td>maʕíma</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>2s, you</th>
<td>sut</td>
<td>åmos</td>
<td>wsut</td>
<td>mos</td>
<td>mysýma</td>
<td>åmosúmå </td>
<td>wsutúmå</td>
<td>mosúmå</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>3s.ANIM</th>
<td>sils</td>
<td>arys</td>
<td>ysils</td>
<td>ihys</td>
<td>ixýma</td>
<td>arysíma</td>
<td>ysilsíma</td>
<td>ihysíma</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>3s.INAN</th>
<td>eñi</td>
<td>araŋ</td>
<td>ħeñi</td>
<td>ħaŋ</td>
<td>ŋiʎíma</td>
<td>aransíma</td>
<td>ħeñiʎíma</td>
<td>hansíma</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>1p.EX</th>
<td>mirri</td>
<td>amir</td>
<td>imirri</td>
<td>imir</td>
<td>mirxýma</td>
<td>amirsíma</td>
<td>imirriʎíma</td>
<td>imirsíma</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>1p.IN</th>
<td>ŋirri</td>
<td>aŋir</td>
<td>iŋirgi</td>
<td>iŋir</td>
<td>ŋirxýma</td>
<td>aŋirsíma</td>
<td>iŋirgiʎíma</td>
<td>iŋirsíma</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>2p / 3p</th>
<td>mis</td>
<td>amas</td>
<td>imis</td>
<td>imas</td>
<td>misýma</td>
<td>amasíma</td>
<td>imisíma</td>
<td>amasíma</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Imperative</th>
<td colspan="4">mavt</td>
<td colspan="4">meʎimavt</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Participle</th>
<td colspan="4">amia</td>
<td colspan="4">-</td>
</tr>
</table>

Forms of the verb mi are also commonly used as answers for polar questions.

Adjectives behave like verbs in Middle Ru and thus adjective-noun copula does not require an equivalent of the verb 'to be'. For instance, the equivalent to the English adjective 'tall' is ğwn which may also be translated as 'to be tall'. This subject will be covered in more depth in the following section.

Finally, Middle Ru uses the verb se (conjugated regularly in the Cadarmeni standard, although irregular forms such as *sar- for sear- are attested for other dialects) for existential copula. This often corresponds to English 'there is' or 'there are', indicating the presence of an object or person.

Searmis emimýaħ ñy.
There are ten men.

Searlysíma Mazávaħ byɣen .
Mazáva wasn't at the city.

<h3>Adjectives</h3>

In Middle Ru, adjectives do not really exist as a separate word class. Instead, for all purposes they act as a subset of intransitive verbs.

In many cases, the basic form of an adjective, such as axan for 'old, elderly', is better thought of as a verb, in this case meaning 'to be old'. Thus, a predicative phrase such as "the man is old" translates by appending the usual verbal affixes to axan:

Axanaryls mimýaħ
The man is old.

Meanwhile, an attributive usage of the adjective, such as 'old' in the noun phrase 'an old man', is handled by the participle, in this case 'aaxána' (literally 'that is old'):

mimy aaxána
[an] old man, a man that is old

Being functionally identical to verbs, Middle Ru adjectives can take any affix that could apply to verbs. For instance, the causative prefix ižy- may be used to form the verb ižyaxan-, meaning 'to cause [something or somebody] to grow old, to age'.

Comparatives (and superlatives) are expressed through the prefix ñir- or ñwr-, meaning 'to surpass', which may also be applied to any other verb in order to express than an action has been conducted to a higher degree than some reference level. This prefix is not to be confused with a voice mark as it does not modify the valency of the verb. Thus, ñiraxan is not to be understood as transitive 'to be older than [someone]' but as a still-intransitive 'to be older', without making explicit who the person or object is older than, which is left out to context. Examples include:

Ñiraxanarlys mimýaħ.
The man was older / the man was the oldest.

Axanarlys xek'aħ, ñiraxanarly mimýaħ.
The woman was old, the man was older ~ The man was older than the woman.

Zeviħals mimýaħ añiraxána.
She saw an older man.

<h2>Numerals</h2>

Middle Ru uses a base-20 or 'vigesimal' numeration with an auxiliary sub-base of 10. This means that rather than grouping numbers in tens, hundreds and further powers of ten, they use powers of 20. Numbers up to 19 are treated as if they were single-digit numbers although the numerals from 11 to 19 are expressed as 'ten and [one to nine]'. Thus, the number 98, rather than being constructed as 'nine times ten (ninety) and eight' is expressed as tojåt ñy xii 'four times (to) twenty (-jat/-jåt), ten (ñy) and eight (xii)', a wording identical to that used in French « quatre vingt dix huit » or old-fashoned English 'four score and eighteen'. However, while French only uses vigesimal constructions to a limited extent (for numbers between 80 and 99), all Middle Ru numbers from 21 (jat ylárra, literally. 'twenty and one') to 399 (ñysetjat ñy sot, literally 'nineteen-twenties ten nine', where ñyset-, 'nineteen' is itself a variant of ñy sot, 'ten nine') are formed by expressing the number by a multiple of twenty and its reminder. Larger numbers are built using higher powers of 20, such as c'et for 20² = 400, háraŋ for 20³ = 8000, harña for 160 000 and harac'et for 3 200 000. Even higher powers (harahara, haraharña, haraharac'et, haraharahara...) are occassionally attested in texts but do not seem to have had any practical use.

Digits from 1 to 19 and their combining forms for multiples of 20 and 400 are as follows:

<table>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Units</th>
<th colspan="2">Multiples of 20</th>
<th colspan="2">Multiples of 20² = 400</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>1</th>
<td>ýla, ylárra</td>
<th>20</th>
<td>jat, játel</td>
<th>400</th>
<td>c'et, c'étel</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>2</th>
<td>ysy</td>
<th>40</th>
<td>ysyjat</td>
<th>800</th>
<td>ysyc'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>3</th>
<td>ži</td>
<th>60</th>
<td>žijat</td>
<th>1200</th>
<td>žic'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>4</th>
<td>to</td>
<th>80</th>
<td>tojåt</td>
<th>1600</th>
<td>tec'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>5</th>
<td>za</td>
<th>100</th>
<td>zajat</td>
<th>2000</th>
<td>zac'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>6</th>
<td>yza</td>
<th>120</th>
<td>yzajat</td>
<th>2400</th>
<td>yzac'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>7</th>
<td>siri</td>
<th>140</th>
<td>sirijat</td>
<th>2800</th>
<td>siric'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>8</th>
<td>xii</td>
<th>160</th>
<td>xiijat</td>
<th>3200</th>
<td>xiic'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>9</th>
<td>sot</td>
<th>180</th>
<td>sotjåt</td>
<th>3600</th>
<td>setc'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>10</th>
<td>ñy</td>
<th>200</th>
<td>ñyjat</td>
<th>4000</th>
<td>ñyc'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>11</th>
<td>ñy ýla</td>
<th>220</th>
<td>ñylajat</td>
<th>4400</th>
<td>ñylac'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>12</th>
<td>ñy ysy</td>
<th>240</th>
<td>ñysyjat</td>
<th>4800</th>
<td>ñysyc'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>13</th>
<td>ñy ži</td>
<th>260</th>
<td>ñyžijat</td>
<th>5200</th>
<td>ñyžic'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>14</th>
<td>ñy to</td>
<th>280</th>
<td>ñytejat</td>
<th>5600</th>
<td>ñytec'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>15</th>
<td>ñy za</td>
<th>300</th>
<td>ñyzajat</td>
<th>6000</th>
<td>ñyzac'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>16</th>
<td>ñy yza</td>
<th>320</th>
<td>ñyzajat</td>
<th>6400</th>
<td>ñyzac'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>17</th>
<td>ñy siri</td>
<th>340</th>
<td>ñysirijat</td>
<th>6800</th>
<td>ñysiric'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>18</th>
<td>ñy xii</td>
<th>360</th>
<td>ñyxiijat</td>
<th>7200</th>
<td>ñyxiic'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>19</th>
<td>ñy sot</td>
<th>380</th>
<td>ñysetjat</td>
<th>7600</th>
<td>ñysetc'et</td>
</tr>
</table>

The number 'one' is always expressed as ýla, although in combining forms it may also appear as ylárra (literally 'and one', although shifting the stress to the second syllable unlike the more general usage of the affix -rra). The form ylárra is most commonly found after 'round' numbers such as jat (twenty); in a sense ylárra indicates that the value is one more than a number that would be more likely to be expected. The forms játel and c'étel alternate with jat and c'et (respectively) when not followed by any further numerals.

Unlike English, Middle Ru numerals always follow the noun to which they apply: emimy jat for '20 men'.

Ordinals are formed in a relatively unusual way. The first element is described as ac'ála, the participle of c'al, 'to come first'. Other ordinals are formed by using the particle swr and the number of elements that come before, followed by the suffix -(a)rra / -(å)rrå. Thus, 'the second man' becomes mimy swr ýlarra (~ man preceded by one other); 'the tenth mountain' becomes ħóxol swr sótårrå (~ mountain preceded by nine others) and so on.

<h1>The Middle Ru script</h1>

The Middle Ru script, the native writing system for the language, is an abugida where each consonant is represented by a letter while vowels other than /a/ are marked through diacritics above the consonant. Much as in the Brahmic scripts from India, a virama mark is used to supress the inherent /a/ in a consonant in order to mark codae. Thus, the word xek'aħ (absolutive singular form of xek'a, 'woman') would be written with the consonant letter for X plus the E diacritic, the consonant letter for K' (which, on its own is read as k'a), the consonant letter for Ħ with the virama diacritic to indicate that it is to be read as a word-final -ħ rather than as the sequence ħa. The abugida is supposed to be a descendant from the Ancient Hulamic script used for Proto Ru-Hulam.

The glyphs used for Middle Ru consonants have a characteristic shape based on a slightly curved slanted lined over which further strokes are drawn (except for the glottal stop, marked by the slanted line alone). The characters are partially featural. For instance, the glyphs ejectives are clearly derived from the corresponding plain plosives.

[[File:Middle_ru_consonants.png|frameless|center|Middle Ru consonants]]

Vowels other than A are marked with diacritics. Occasionally, the vowel Å and the no-vowel or virama mark might be omitted in a text; although the norm is to include all relevant diacritics.

[[File:Middle_ru_vowels.png|frameless|center|Middle Ru vowels]]

Words are often separated by spaces although this is inconsistent. Some texts (particularly earlier ones) are written with no spaces whatsoever (scripta continua). On the opposite end, some texts also use spaces to separate each affix. Few punctuation marks are used; sentences are typically separated with an apostrophe-like mark.

<h2>Numerals</h2>

Middle Ru script also has its own way of representing numbers. Unique symbols are used for the numbers 1, 4, 5 and 10, which are combined in order to form simple or composite symbols for each digit from 1 to 19. Then unique symbols are used for powers of 20, which are combined with digits in order to form any number.

[[File:Middle_ru_numerals.png|frameless|center|Middle Ru numerals]]

<h1>Sample sentences</h1>

<div style='margin-top: 25px; margin-bottom: 50px; margin-left: 30px'>
[[File:Middle_ru_sample_1.png|frameless|left|Middle Ru sample sentence]]
<h3>C'ymarmas mimýaħ xek'áħarra.</h3>
/cʼy.maɹˈmas mi.myˈʔaχ ʃøˈkʼa.χa.ra/
<table style='border: none; margin-top: 0px;'>
<tr style='border: none;'><td style='border: none; text-align: left;' colspan="4">
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>c'ym-ar-mas</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>mimy-aħ</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>xek'a-aħ</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>=rra</td>
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>walk-IPFV-PST.3p</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>man-ABS</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>woman-ABS</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>=and</td>
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;' colspan='4'>
</td></tr>
</table>
A man and a woman were walking.
</div><div style='margin-top: 25px; margin-bottom: 50px; margin-left: 30px'>

[[File:Middle_ru_sample_2.png|frameless|left|Middle Ru sample sentence]]
<h3>Xezevarmix emimýaħ exek'a?</h3>
/ʃø.zø.waɹˈmiʃ ʔø.mi.myˈʔaχ ʔø.ʃøˈkʼa/
<table style='border: none; margin-top: 0px;'>
<tr style='border: none;'><td style='border: none; text-align: left;' colspan="3">
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>xe-zev-ar-mix</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>e-mimy-aħ</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>e-xek'a</td>
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>INT-see-IPFV-NPST.3p.ANIM>3p</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>PL-man-ABS</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>PL-woman</td>
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;' colspan='3'>
</td></tr>
</table>
Do the women see the men?
</div><div style='margin-top: 25px; margin-bottom: 50px; margin-left: 30px'>

[[File:Middle_ru_sample_3.png|frameless|left|Middle Ru sample sentence]]
<h3>Λuwsåxúmå ǵwc rru p'áñelt.</h3>
/ʎu.ʔʉ.sɒˈʃu.mɒ ɟʉc ru ˈpʼa.ɲølt/
<table style='border: none; margin-top: 0px;'>
<tr style='border: none;'><td style='border: none; text-align: left;' colspan="4">
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>ʎu-w-såx-ʎúmå</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>ǵwc</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>rru</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>p'áñe-l-t</td>
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>give-PRFV-PST.1s>2s</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>2s.ACC</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>1s.NOM</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>stone-SGV-SDTV</td>
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;' colspan='4'>
</td></tr>
</table>
I haven't given you the stone.</div>

[[Category:Middle Ru]]
[[Category:Languages]]
[[Category:Conlangs]]

Middle Ru

2020-04-13T22:36:52Z

Jotadiego:

Middle Ru is an a priori language that would have been spoken in the western regions of the fictional island of Rauna during its Middle Period (roughly corresponding to the Middle Ages and the Renaissance). Within its internal history, it belongs to the Ru-Hulam languages native to the Drysian continent, situated west of the Rauna region, half an ocean away.

The Middle Ru language was known natively as ħórwx lå Rgu /ˈχo.ɹʉʃ lɒ ʀu/, "language of the Ru"; the name Ru or Rgu /ʀu/ itself is thought to be related to the first person pronoun or rru /ru/, 'I, me'. Extrafictionally, this is a leftover from the development of Raunan conlangs when they were referred to by their word for the first person pronoun.

<h2 id="Internal_history">Internal history</h2>

<h3 id="Ru_Hulam_period">Ru-Hulam period</h3>

The Middle Ru language can be traced back to Proto Ru-Hulam, a language that would have been spoken in the northeastern regions of Drysia, one of the three major continents in Rauna's planet. In ancient times, the the Ru-Hulam peoples (often referred to simply as 'Hulam') came to be united under a powerful monarchy known as the First Hulam Empire. This nation would came to rule over a sizeable fractionof the continent. In particular, the Hulam conquered and slaved their more populous neighbours to the east, the Qwiyen, and made the Mikken tribes in the north into a client state.

During the heyday of their empire, the Hulam also established ties with other nations, including the Fulao peoples who had formed a similarly prosperous league of city states in Miwep, a small continent south of Drysia. Rivalry between the expansionist Hulam and Fulao peoples led to at least three attempts of invasion, all unsuccessful thanks to the latter's then-unrivaled naval expertise.

Unable to overcome the Fulao's prowess at seafaring, the Hulam empire eventually sought to imitate it. As news about the Fulao discovery and settlement of the Shawi islands in the great eastern ocean reached the Hulam courts, the emperor came to be determined to launch an ambitious effort to reach new lands further east and colonize them. Although the results were disastrous for the most part (with several expeditions wrecking in the high seas and the imperial finances taking a toll for what many viewed as a weak emperor's vanity project), one expedition managed to reach Rauna, a vast island once dominated by a powerful empire which had recently succumbed. These circumstances allowed the Hulam to establish a colony of their own in western Rauna. However, soon thereafter the already weakened Hulam Empire, itself would meet a similar fate, taking a major blow from the Great Qwiyen Revolution, which not only liberated their people from an oppressive rule but would also establish a Qwiyen state that would came to rule the Hulam peoples themselves during much of the following centuries.

As the Hulam empire fell in the Drysian continent, the colonists in Rauna lost all (if not all) contact with their ancestral homeland. Instead, they came to develop a distinct ethnic identity as the Ru. A sizeable number of Qwiyen slaves they had brought alongside them would develop into the Xhuei peoples of southern Rauna.

Although the starting population of each group is still a matter of debate among Raunan historians, it is often considered to have been in the thousands for both groups. Early Ru and Xhuei people, however, were known to have intermarried with the native peoples. Genetic studies confirm that modern Ru and Xhuei peoples are more closely related to other Raunan populations than to their Drysian ancestors, although Y-chromosome haplogroups most commonly found in north-eastern Drysia can still be identified.

<h3 id="Ru_in_Rauna">The Ru in Rauna</h3>

The Ru were one of the first ethnic groups that arrived to the Raunan region after the Ancient Period which is why they are said to be one of the Younger Raunan peoples; contrasting with the Older Raunan ethnicities that had inhabited the island prior to their arrival. Ru peoples mostly occupied territories in western Rauna. They quickly took over many of the western provinces of the ruinous Raunic empire. The Ru also conquered territories that formerly belonged to the Iyau peoples, giving rise to a long-lasting bitter rivalry between the two nations.

During much of the Middle Period the Ru played a major role in the island as the city of Cadarmen became the main trade hub on the island due to its strategic location next to a passage through the Myqyraghar mountain range that divides the Raunan mainland. Control over this strategic point allowed the wealthy lords of Cadarmen to establish an extensive Ru Kingdom which quickly became a major power in the Rauna region.

By the end of the Middle Period, maritime trade (mostly conducted by the Amatl nations in northern Rauna) gained prominence, while the land-based trade routes controlled by the Ru kingdom saw a sharp decline. This would eventually led to an economic and political crisis in the kingdom, with a major rebellion in the mountainous eastern frontier lands. Situations worsened when the Iyau launched a successful military offensive on the western lands of the Ru Kingdom, secretly aided by the Amatl league who sought to weaken their economic rivals.

By the Modern Period, the Middle Ru language had diverged into three varieties: Eastern Ru, Western Ru and the Iyau-Ru language (spoken in territories reconquered by the Iyau, also referred to as 'Lower Iyau').

<h2 id="External_history">External history</h2>

Extrafictionally, Middle Ru was the first Raunan language to be created, back in July 2018. The concept behind the Raunan languages project was to create a series of unrelated languages out of which mixed languages would develop at a later time.

It was decided from the start that Middle Ru would be a typologically unusual and rather harsh-sounding language in order to have it contrast with its neighbours.

Although the concept that the Ru peoples would have arrived to Rauna after its classical period was decided early on, work on the Proto-Ru-Hulam language and Ru history prior to their arrival to the Raunan region only began in 2020. The post-facto development of an ancestor language led to a series of retcons as well as a overhaul of Middle Ru's polypersonal marking.

<h1 id="Phonology">Phonology</h1>

Middle Ru features a rather complex phonology distinguishing 8 vowels and 37 consonants, including multiple trills, uvulars and the pharyngeal fricative /ʕ/. This led speakers of other Middle Raunan languages to describe Ru as 'harsh sounding' or 'guttural'.

<h2>Consonants</h2>

The following table shows Ru's consonant inventory (uppercase and lowercase romanization on the left, IPA phonemic transcriptions on the right):

<table>
<tr>
<th colspan="2"></th>
<th>Labial</th>
<th>Alveolar</th>
<th>Palatal</th>
<th>Velar</th>
<th>Uvular</th>
<th>Laryngeal</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Nasal</th>
<td>M m /m/</td>
<td>N n /n/</td>
<td>Ñ ñ /ɲ/</td>
<td colspan="2">Ŋ ŋ /ŋ/~/ɴ/</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="3">Plosive</th>
<th>Ejective</th>
<td>P' p' /pʼ/</td>
<td>T' t' /tʼ/</td>
<td>C' c' /cʼ/</td>
<td>K' k' /kʼ/ </td>
<td>Q' q' /qʼ/</td>
<td rowspan="2">( ' ) /ʔ/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Unvoiced</th>
<td>P p /p/</td>
<td>T t /t/</td>
<td>C c /c/</td>
<td>K k /k/</td>
<td>Q q /q/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Voiced</th>
<td>B b /b/</td>
<td>D d /d/</td>
<td>Ǵ ǵ /ɟ/</td>
<td>G g /g/</td>
<td>Ğ ğ /ɢ/</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Fricative</th>
<th>Unvoiced</th>
<td>F f /f/</td>
<td>S s /s/</td>
<td>X x /ʃ/</td>
<td>H h /x/</td>
<td>Ħ ħ /χ/</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Voiced</th>
<td></td>
<td>Z z /z/~/dz/</td>
<td>Ž ž /ʒ/</td>
<td>Ɣ ɣ /ɣ/</td>
<td></td>
<td>ʕ ʕ /ʕ/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Approximant</th>
<td></td>
<td>R r /ɹ/</td>
<td>J j /j/</td>
<td>V v /w/</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Trill</th>
<td>Br br /ʙ/</td>
<td>Rr rr /r/</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td>Rg rg /ʀ/</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Lateral</th>
<td></td>
<td>L l /l/</td>
<td>Λ ʎ /ʎ/</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
</table>

Notes:
<ul>
<li>Glottal stops are only written (as an apostrophe) in word-final position. As the language does not allow onset-less syllables, vowels not preceded by a consonant in writing can be assumed to have an unwritten glottal stop as their onset.</li>
<li>Middle Ru had an orthography of its own. The Latin script romanization is extrafictional.</lI>
<li>The nasal <ŋ> is typically velar, but may be pronounced as an uvular [ɴ] word-finally or when next to another uvular consonant. In the romanization, the uppercase glyph that resembles a capital N with a hook (as used for capital ŋ in some Saami languages) is preferred to the alternative that looks like an upscaled lowercase <ŋ> (as typically found in African orthographies, see the Wikipedia article on the letter Eng for more information).</li>
<li>In the romanization, the uppercase form of <ħ> (for /χ/) should properly have the additional bar through the vertical stroke on the left, rather than having the bar cross both vertical strokes as in the Unicode character <Ħ> (used instead due to the lack of support for the proper variant of the glyph).</li>
<li>The voiced phoneme romanized as <z> varied freely between being a true fricative /z/ or an affricate /dz/. The latter realization seems to have prevailed in Cadarmen, the capital of the Ru kingdom.</li>
<li>The ejective plosive /pʼ/ seems to have merged into /p/ except in eastern dialects.</li>
<li>The lateral /l/ may be palatalized to /ʎ/ in some contexts, but this is not reflected in native Middle Ru writing nor in the romanizations.</li>
<li>The sequence /ɹ.g/ is romanized as <r·g>, as <rg> stands for /ʀ/.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Vowels and vowel harmony</h2>

The vocalic inventory of the language consists of eight vowels evenly divided into two harmony classes ('clear' front vowels and 'dark' back vowels).

<table>
<tr>
<th>Clear </th>
<th>Dark</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>I i /i/</td>
<td>U u /u/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Y y /y/</td>
<td>W w /ʉ/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>E e /ø/</td>
<td>O o /o/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>A a /a/</td>
<td>Å å /ɒ/</td>
</tr>
</table>

It should be noted that the vowel transcribed as <e> is actually a rounded /ø/. The vowel /a/ is front vowel [a] rather than central [ä].

All vowels may be reduced to a schwa (/ə/) when they occur far from the primary stress of a word. Typically, this happens for vowels 2 syllables (or more) away from the main stressed syllable of a polysyllabic word. Monosyllabic particles may also have their vowels reduced to a schwa, at least in less formal registers. This kind of vowel reduction is not reflected in writing.

Affixes must agree with the vowel harmony class of the stems they attach to. While a few affixes have distinct and potentially unrelated 'clear' and 'dark' variants, most affixes look follow a certain set of vowel alternations known as 'vowel classes'. Each vowel class (represented as the umlauted vowels <ä ï ö ü ÿ> for the purposes of this dictionary and grammar only) changes to a clear or a dark realization matching the harmony class of the primary stems they are applied to as shown in the following table:

<table>
<tr>
<th>Vowel class</th>
<th>Clear realization</th>
<th>Dark realization</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>ä</th>
<td>A a /a/</td>
<td>Å å /ɒ/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>ï</th>
<td>I i /i/</td>
<td>W w /ʉ/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>ö</th>
<td>E e /ø/</td>
<td>O o /o/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>ü</th>
<td>Y y /y/</td>
<td>W w /ʉ/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>ÿ </th>
<td>I i /i/</td>
<td>U u /u/</td>
</tr>
</table>

For instance, the interrogative prefix is xö- changes to xe- before a clear-harmony stem and as xo- before a dark-harmony stem.

It should be noted that certain vowels correspond to more than one vowel classes: /i/ is the clear-vowel realization of both ï and ü while /ʉ/ is the dark-vowel realization of both ï and ÿ. Because of this, knowing one form of an affix dos not necessarily suffice to know the opposite form.

<h2>Phonotactics</h2>

Middle Ru allows a CV(G)(C) syllabic structure, where C stands for a consonant, V for a vowel and G for any of the three phonemes considered as 'glides': /ɹ j w/. The following restrictions apply:
<ul>
<li>All syllables require an onset consonant; borrowings that would otherwise begin with a vowel are fitted into Middle Ru phonotactics by adding an initial /ʔ/.</li>
<li>The approximants/glides /ɹ j w/ may only occur immediately after a vowel. Thus, they occur word-initially nor following a closed syllable.</li>
<li>Only /ɹ j w/ are allowed as word-medial codae.</li>
<li>The following consonants might appear in a word-final coda: unvoiced stops, nasals, any fricative (including /z/~/dz/), approximants and trills. Codal stops, nasals and fricatives may be preceded by a glide (/ɹ j w/).</li>
<li>Two identical consonants cannot form a cluster. Thus the sequences /ɹ.ɹ/, /j.j/ and /w.w/ are not allowed.</li>
</ul>

Prosodic stress is lexical and non-predictable. Oxytone words (those stressed on the last syllable) are always unmarked for stress. Otherwise, stress may be indicated with an optional diacritic in Middle Ru's native script and with an acute accent in the romanization (<á ǻ é í ó ú ý ẃ>). Vowels more than two syllables away from the stressed syllable in a word are reduced to a schwa.

The stressed syllable of a noun does not vary in its inflection. For example, the word mimy (man) will always be stressed in the y, even when suffixes are added as in the absolutive form mimýaħ. The written accent in forms such as mimýaħ might be absent by mistake in some inflection tables.

Verbs, on the other hand, have a variable stress syllable wholy depending on their suffixes.

<h2>Phonological history</h2>

Middle Ru is supposed to descend from a language known as Proto Ru-Hulam (PRH) which would have been spoken by the ancestors of the Ru people prior to their arrival to Rauna. Extrafictionally, however, Proto Ru-Hulam was actually back-derived from Middle Ru.

A significant share of Middle Ru's vocabulary can be traced back to Proto Ru-Hulam terms. Although in some cases the resemblance is still clearly identifiable, in others the relationship is obfuscated due to sound changes and semantic shifts. This section aims to present the most usual correspondences between Proto Ru-Hulam and Middle Ru, although it should be noted that several exceptions might be found.

One major difference between Proto Ru-Hulam and its Ru descendants in Rauna can be found in its consonantal inventory where most phonemes occur in contrasting pairs of one labialized and one non-labialized consonant such as /nʷ/ vs /n/. It is possible that the non-labialized consonants might have been palatalized to some extent (resulting in a /nʷ/ vs /nʲ/ contrast). This contrast was lost in Middle Ru, although it affected vowel development, with most PRH vowels splitting into rounded and unrounded variants. Thus, where the proto-language might contrast the syllables /ni/ and /nʷi/ by their consonants (non-labialized /n/ and labialized /nʷ/), Middle Ru may inherit such syllables as /ni/ and /nʉ/, with contrasting vowel qualities instead. Middle Ru's vowel harmony is also a later development which may play a role in vowel correspondences. For instance while PRH /nʷi/ would ordinarily yield /nʉ/ in Middle Ru, through vowel harmony the latter might be assimilated to /ny/ in a word dominated by a front vowel (in the 'clear' harmony class).

<h3>Vowels</h3>

For the most part, vowel correspondences are as follows:

<table>
<tr>
<th>Proto Ru-Hulam</th>
<th>Middle Ru </th>
<td colspan="2">Example (Proto-RH to Middle Ru)</td>
<th>Notes</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="2">a /a/</td>
<td>a /a/</td>
<td>ʔaʔxa land </td>
<td>áɣa /ˈa.ɣa/ land</td>
<td>If not labialized. May harmonize to å /ɒ/. </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>å /ɒ/</td>
<td>dʷaf to eat </td>
<td>dåf /dɒ.f/ to eat </td>
<td>Next to labialized consonants. May harmonize to a /a/. </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="2">i /i/</td>
<td>i /i/ </td>
<td>mimú man </td>
<td>mimy /miˈmy/ man </td>
<td>If not labialized. May harmonize to u /u/. </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>w /ʉ/</td>
<td>drʷis western lands </td>
<td>rrws /rʉs/ west </td>
<td>Next to labialized consonants. May harmonize to y /y/. </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="2">o /o/ [o]~[ɤ] (?)</td>
<td>e /ø/</td>
<td>xoʔká wife</td>
<td>xek'a /ʃøˈkʼa/ woman </td>
<td>If not labialized. May harmonize to e /ø/. </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>o /o/</td>
<td>hʷorʷ to speak </td>
<td>ħor /χo.ɹ/ to speak </td>
<td>If labialized. May harmonize to o /o/.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="2">u /ɯ~u/</td>
<td>y /y/</td>
<td>gusʷ you, 2s </td>
<td>ǵy /ɟy/ you, 2s </td>
<td>If not labialized. May harmonize to w /ʉ/.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>u /u/</td>
<td>hʷur to defend </td>
<td>ħur /χu.ɹ/ to own </td>
<td>If labialized. May harmonize to i /i/.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="3">ə /ə~ʌ/</td>
<td>o /o/</td>
<td>bʷəʔt obstacle, hardship </td>
<td>bot' /botʼ/ river </td>
<td>If labialized. May harmonize to e /ø/.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>a /a/</td>
<td>drəʔ to unite </td>
<td>-rra /ra/ and </td>
<td>If not labialized and next to an uvular or glottal. May harmonize to å /ɒ/.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>w /ʉ/</td>
<td>kəñ to build </td>
<td>cwñ /cʉ.ɲ/ to build </td>
<td>Elsewhere. May harmonize to y /y/.</td>
</tr>
</table>

A number of irregular developments are observed, however. For instance the Proto Ru-Hulam word xʷən (tu rule) would have been expected to yield *hon but instead yields Middle Ru hwn (also meaning 'to rule').

<h3>Consonants</h3>

As mentioned before, most Proto Ru-Hulam consonants came in two variants: labialized and non-labialized. This distinction mostly collapsed in Middle Ru other than leaving a mark in vowel qualities. Nontheless, certain consonant pairs evolved differently depending on whether they used to be labialized or not.

Aside from laryngeal /ʔ/ and /ʕ/ (the latter of which seems to have developed out of an earlier uvular [ʁ]), Middle Ru distinguishes five places of articulation: labial, alveolar, palatal, velar and uvular. The latter three series actually arose from two dorsal series (velar vs uvular; Proto Ru-Hulam lacked true palatal consonants), which depending on labialization as shown in the following table.

<table>
<tr>
<th rowspan="4">Proto Ru-Hulam places of articulation + labialization </th>
<th rowspan="4">Middle Ru places of articulation </th>
<th colspan="8">Examples</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" rowspan="2">Nasals</th>
<th colspan="4">Plosives </th>
<th colspan="2" rowspan="2">Fricatives</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Unvoiced</th>
<th colspan="2">Voiced</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>PRH</th>
<th>MR</th>
<th>PRH</th>
<th>MR</th>
<th>PRH</th>
<th>MR</th>
<th>PRH</th>
<th>MR</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Labial, not rounded</th>
<th rowspan="2">Labial </th>
<td>mimú man </td>
<td>mimy man </td>
<td>pəʔñə stone </td>
<td>p'áñe stone </td>
<td>bilʒ fifteen</td>
<td>biz squad </td>
<td>fahʷ to sleep </td>
<td>farğ to sleep </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Labial, rounded</th>
<td>mʷaʔ 3s</td>
<td>ma' 3s </td>
<td>pʷiʔɬ breast milk </td>
<td>p'wl milk </td>
<td>bʷəʔt obstacle </td>
<td>bot' river </td>
<td colspan="2">-</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Coronal, not labialiazed</th>
<th rowspan="2">Alveolar</th>
<td>nosʷ thrist </td>
<td>nes thirst </td>
<td>tuɬ husband </td>
<td>tyl lord </td>
<td>dañ to grow</td>
<td>dañ to stick out</td>
<td>samʷ hand </td>
<td>sam arm </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Coronal, labialized</th>
<td>nʷumʷ knee </td>
<td>num knee</td>
<td>tʷəʔt edge </td>
<td>t'ot' corner </td>
<td>dʷaf to eat </td>
<td>dåf to eat </td>
<td>sʷuyəm seed </td>
<td>sújåm seed </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Velar, not labialized</th>
<th>Palatal</th>
<td>ñus ten </td>
<td>ñy ten </td>
<td>kəñ to build </td>
<td>cwñ to build </td>
<td>gawəm neck </td>
<td>ǵav neck </td>
<td>xoʔká woman </td>
<td>xek'a woman </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Velar, labialized</th>
<th rowspan="2">Velar</th>
<td>ñʷo moon</td>
<td>ŋo moon </td>
<td>kʷoʔr jewellery</td>
<td>k'or gem</td>
<td>gusʷ you </td>
<td>gy you </td>
<td>xʷitʷ to leave </td>
<td>hwt to leave </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Uvular, not labialized</th>
<td colspan="2">-</td>
<td>qoʔt house </td>
<td>k'et house </td>
<td colspan="2">-</td>
<td>howəm commander </td>
<td>hev king </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Uvular, labialized</th>
<th>Uvular </th>
<td colspan="2">-</td>
<td>qʷur fist, punch</td>
<td>qurt hand </td>
<td colspan="2">-</td>
<td>hʷorʷ to speak </td>
<td>ħor to speak </td>
</tr>
</table>

As usual, a number of irregular developments can be found. Instances where non-labialized uvulars are inherited as uvular consonants (rather than as velars as show in the table) are particularly common. It has been proposed that this might be explained by the presence of two early Ru-Hulam dialects among the first colonists in Rauna although this theory has fallen short of consensus among Raunan linguists.

It should be noted that Proto Ru-Hulam didn't seem to contrast labialization (or rounding) for its labial fricative f and had neither uvular nasals nor voiced uvular plosives. Middle Ru's voiced uvular plosive ğ /ɢ/ mostly originated due to irregular developments and borrowing, although it remains one of the least used phonemes in the language.

The Proto Ru-Hulam language lacked ejectives. These developed due to the influence of glottal stops which PRH syllabic structure allowed between a vowel and further consonants (even in coda position). The resulting CVʔC(V) structure would be simplified to CVC(V) in Middle Ru, which did no longer accept non-word-final glottal stop codae, but the glottalic element would cause neighbouring voiceless plosives to turn into ejectives as in pʷiʔɬ where the preceding stop /pʷ/ becomes an ejective p'wl or bʷəʔt where the following /t/ is turned into an ejective instead: bot'. Words were both the preceding and the following consonant were voiceless plosives such as qoʔt or tʷəʔt may either develop an ejective in the first stop (as in k'et) or in both stops (as in t'ot'). Although there seems to be no clear rule governing these developments, it can be noted that roots where both consonants are identical such as tʷəʔt~t'ot' are markedly more prone to have both plosives evolve into ejectives.

Voiced fricatives (aside from /ɮ/, which shall be discussed later) are also an innovation in Middle Ru. They may arise sporadically from their voiceless counterparts (uvular /χ/ in the case of pharyngeal /ʕ/) in the vecinity of other voiced consonants (as in PRH bʷuh, 'to stir', to MR buʕ, 'to mix') or in the same contexts that cause plosives to become ejective (PRH xʷoʕn, 'town', to MR ɣen, both meaning 'town'; PRH ʔaʔxa to MR áɣa, both meaning 'land'). Any instances which could result in a voiced /f/ yield an approximant v /w/ instead: PRH muʕf 'to breathe', MR myv, 'to live'. Evidence indicates that in early Middle Ru (and possibly later in some dialectal pronunciations) these instances of Middle Ru v might have been realized as [v], contrasting with the phoneme /w/ as inherited from other sources (such as Proto Ru-Hulam /w/). The two sounds, however, had been fully merged in the Cadarmeni standard.

Unlike Middle Ru, Proto Ru-Hulam featured two lateral fricatives: voiceless /ɬ/ and voiced /ɮ/ (the latter often transcribed as a non-ligated lʒ for the sake of convenience) in addition to the lateral approximant /l/. Voiceless ɬ commonly merged into /l/, especially in coda-position, but could also yield palatal /ʎ/ near front vowels. For instance, the verb 'to give', ʎu (with an earlier variant ʎi), comes from PRH ɬi.On the other hand, the voiced lateral fricative lʒ would most commonly evolve into z /z/ (PRH kaʔlʒ, 'to slide', to MR c'az, 'to move forward') or ž /ʒ/ if in the vecinity of a front vowel: PRH ʔilʒ, 'to summon', yields the causative prefix ižy- (harmonized to užw- in dark-harmony words). Proto Ru-Hulam laterals did not contrast labialization, atlhough vowels in the vecinity of PRH /l/ will often evolve as if next to a labialized consonant: PRH lam yields MR låm (both meaning silver, with a back rounded å).

Middle Ru's three non-lateral approximants r /ɹ/, j /j/ and v /w/ correspond to Proto Ru-Hulam's approximants r (and rʷ; probably flaps /ɾ/ and /ɾʷ/), y /j/ and w /w/, except for instance of Middle Ru v which evolved as a voiced counterpart to f. Proto Ru-Hulam rhotic approximants contrasted labialization while y and w did not.

Proto Ru-Hulam also allowed syllable-initial clusters composed of a voiced plosive and a rhotic r or rʷ matching its labialization (or lack thereof). These sequences invariably became trills in Middle Ru, with br and brʷ yielding the rare bilabial trill br /ʙ/, dr and drʷ evolving into an alveolar trill rr /r/ and the clusters gr and grʷ becoming an uvular trill rg /ʀ/.

<h1>Grammar</h1>

Middle Ru is a polysynthetic language. It features a split ergative alignment. Its primary word order is VOS, with other arguments coming later. Middle Ru grammar tends to be head-initial .

<h2>Nouns</h2>

Middle Ru nouns may inflect for case, noun class and number. Declension paradigms also depend on the vowel-harmony class of each noun.

<h3>Nominal classes</h3>

The language distinguishes four noun classes. These are similar to genders in European languages, although they are mostly based on animacy. With few exceptions, the nominal class of a noun can normally be deduced from its meaning.

Class I nouns are used for people, deities, groups of people, kinship terms and living things that may not be eaten due to cultural reasons (including dogs, mollusks and arachnids but not most other animals).

Class II nouns might be classified as 'resources'. This includes most animals, edible plants (more on plant classification later), drinking water, fire, the sun, clouds, materials that might be used as fuel (such as firewood), wool and hides. Non-human body parts such as gills and wings also tend to belong to the second class.

Class III nouns mostly correspond to soft or flexible materials. This includes liquids other than drinking water, powders, gasses, (including air), most prepared foods, abstract nouns related to words, speech, memory and thoughts and body parts that are either soft (such as the skin, ears) or that may be moved independently (including hands, arms, lips, eyes).

Class IV nouns mostly include hard materials, most man-made objects (especially buildings, tools and machines) and hard body parts that cannot move independently such as teeth, bones and nails. Shells and eggs are also classified as belonging to class IV.

Plants and fungi belong to the fourth class with the following exceptions:
<ul>
<li>Long grasses, vines and similar plants belong to the third class.</li>
<li>Flowers belong to the third class unless they are edible by humans. In the latter case, they are classified as class II instead.</li>
<li>Fruits, grains, nuts and mushrooms only belong to class IV if they have a hard surface that requires grinding or a similar process for human consumption. Otherwise, they will be class II if edible or class III otherwise.</li>
<li>Seeds belong to the second class if edible and to the fourth class otherwise.</li>
<li>Woods are treated as class II nouns when intended to be used as fuel or as class IV otherwise. The same noun might take affixes for different classes depending on its intended purpose.</li>
</ul>

Middle Ru grammar often treats class I nouns ('animate') differently than nouns from other nominal classes ('inanimate'). For instance, the base form of a class I noun corresponds to the ergative case while the base form of inanimate nouns corresponds to the absolutive case instead.

<h3>Number</h3>

Number marking is optional in Middle Ru; speakers may drop number affixes whenever it is clear from context. This particularly often the case for inanimate nouns (classes II, III and IV).

Animate (class I) nouns are considered to be singular by default. The prefix ö- (this is, e- for clear vowel-harmony class and o- for dark vowel-harmony) is used to form plurals.

For other nouns, a singular/singulative suffix -l is used to explicitly mark a noun as singular. Plural marking with the prefix ö- may also be found in inanimate nouns, although this seems to be have been limited to situations when a singular meaning would otherwise be expected from the context.

The singulative suffix -l may metathesize when applied to a stem with a final stop such as sek (tree, trees), resulting in selk (a tree). Otherwise, consonant-ending stems will take the suffix with an epenthetic -ö- (as in darmárem to darmáremel).

Singulatives are also used to derive nouns for individuals out of intrinsically collective nouns. This is also found in class I nouns (for instance deriving qanal 'family member, relative' from qana, 'family'). The newly derived singulative noun may then take further number affixes such as eqanal for 'family members'.

<table>
<tr>
<th></th>
<th>Harmony class</th>
<th>Base form</th>
<th>Plural</th>
<th>Singulative</th>
<th>Singulative+Plural</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="6"></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="4">Animate noun (class I)</th>
<th rowspan="2">Clear</th>
<th>xek'a</th>
<th>exek'a</th>
<th rowspan="2">N/A</th>
<th rowspan="2">N/A</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>woman</td>
<td>women</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Dark</th>
<th>ħúrwm</th>
<th>oħúrwm</th>
<th rowspan="2">N/A</th>
<th rowspan="2">N/A</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>soldier</td>
<td>soldiers</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="4">Inanimate noun (classes II, III, IV)</th>
<th rowspan="2">Clear</th>
<th>c'áza</th>
<th>ec'áza</th>
<th>c'ázal</th>
<th rowspan="2">N/A</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>valley, valleys</td>
<td>valleys (rare) </td>
<td>a valley</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Dark</th>
<th>ħox</th>
<th>oħox</th>
<th>ħóxol</th>
<th rowspan="2">N/A</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>mountain, mountains</td>
<td>mountains (rare)</td>
<td>a mountain</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" rowspan="2">Collective animate (class I) noun (clear harmony example)</th>
<th>qana</th>
<th>eqana</th>
<th>qanal</th>
<th>eqanal</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>family</td>
<td>families</td>
<td>relative</td>
<td>relatives</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" rowspan="2">Collective inanimate (class IV) noun (clear harmony example)</th>
<th>p'áñe</th>
<th rowspan="2">N/A</th>
<th>p'áñel</th>
<th>ep'áñel</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>stones, stone as a material </td>
<td>a stone </td>
<td>several stones (very rare) </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" rowspan="2">Noun with infixed singulative -l- (clear harmony example)</th>
<th>sek</th>
<th>esek</th>
<th>selk (not *sékel) </th>
<th rowspan="2">N/A</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>tree, trees </td>
<td>trees (rare)</td>
<td>a tree</td>
</tr>
</table>

Collective nouns (independently of their class) are typically treated as being singular for the purposes of verb agreement.

<h3>Case</h3>

Middle Ru nouns are inflected for case. This is done through suffixes for cases related to morphosyntactic alignment (i.e. with whether a noun is the subject, direct object or indirect object of a verb) and through prefixes for other cases such as the possessive and the locative.

<table>
<tr>
<th>Case</th>
<th>Usage </th>
<th>Affixes </th>
<th colspan="2">Example</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Base form (or nominative) </th>
<td>Used when referring to a lexeme. Listing in dictionaries. As a vocative. Second element of a copula. </td>
<td>No affix</td>
<td>Mazávaħ mimy.</td>
<td>Mazáva is a man.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Absolutive</th>
<td rowspan="2">Subjects of intransitive verbs. Objects of transitive verbs. Indirect objects of ditransitive verbs. First element of a copula. </td>
<td>-aħ, -oq (animate nouns) </td>
<td>Myfarğaryls mimýaħ.</td>
<td>The man is sleeping.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>No affix (Inanimate nouns) </td>
<td>Zeviħárga ħox.</td>
<td>I have seen the mountain.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Ergative</th>
<td rowspan="2">Subjects of transitive verbs. Subjects of ditransitive verbs. </td>
<td>No affix (animate nouns) </td>
<td>Zevarñi ħox mimy.</td>
<td>The man sees the mountain. </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>-at, -ås (class II) -ix, -wx (class III) -yh, -uh (class IV) </td>
<td>Bruswlws mimýaħ ħóxuh.</td>
<td>The mountain crushed the man.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Secundative</th>
<td>Direct object of ditransitive verbs. Objects of type-I applicatives.</td>
<td>-t, -et, -wt</td>
<td>Λuwrrå mimýaħ ħóxwt.</td>
<td>I gave the mountain to the man.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Possessive (I)</th>
<td>Most kinds of possession. </td>
<td>la-, lå-</td>
<td>ħox lamimy</td>
<td>the mountain of the man</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Possessive (II)</th>
<td>Specific kinds of inalienable possession.</td>
<td>ha-, hå-</td>
<td>qúrtol hamimy</td>
<td>the man's hand</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Locative</th>
<td>Location: in, at. </td>
<td>by-, bw-</td>
<td>bwħox</td>
<td>at the mountain</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Instrumental</th>
<td>With, using as a tool. Causative agents.</td>
<td>syr-, swr-</td>
<td>swrqurt</td>
<td>with the hands</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Ornative</th>
<td>Having, with.</td>
<td>t'e-, t'o-</td>
<td>xek'a t'emimy</td>
<td>a woman with a man/husband</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Privative</th>
<td>Lacking, without.</td>
<td>myr-, mwr-</td>
<td>xek'a myrmimy</td>
<td>a woman without a man/husband</td>
</tr>
</table>

Case-marking prefixes are often romanized a separate word when preceding a proper noun: as in lå Rgu (of the Ru) instead of *låRgu. This difference is not obseverd in native Ru writing

<h4>Nominative (base form)</h4>

In a few some contexts, Middle Ru uses the base form of a noun (lacing any case affixes; other affixes such as number marking might be used in these contexts). This base form (which may be dubbed a 'nominative') coincides with the ergative form for animate nouns (class I) and with the absolutive case for inanimate nouns (classes II, III and IV).

A relatively unusual feature of Middle Ru is that copulas such as 'X is Y' require the first noun X to be in the absolutive case (marked for animate nouns) but use the base form of the second noun Y. Thus 'the man is a soldier' would translate as mimýaħ ħúrwm (using zero copula, as usual for present tense) but 'the soldier is a man' would be ħúrwmoq mimy; where mimýaħ and ħúrwmoq are the absolutive forms of mimy (man) and ħúrwm (soldier).

<h4>Ergative and absolutive</h4>

Middle Ru mostly follows an ergative-absolutive alignment, meaning that one case (the ergative) is used for the subjects of transitive verbs (those who also have a an object) while a different case (the absolutive) is used for objects of transitive verbs and for the sole argument of intransitive verbs. This means that in the sentences 'the woman sees the bird' (transitive) and 'the man sleeps' (intransitive), the noun 'woman' would take the ergative case while 'bird' and 'man' would take the absolutive case. Intransitive verbs, rather than being thought of as verbs with a subject but no object, may be thought of in Middle Ru as having an absolutive object but no ergative subject instead.

The way these two cases are expressed depends on the nominal class of the noun. Class I nouns are unique in taking a suffix for the absolutive case while no suffixes are added for the ergative. On the other hand, other noun classes (II, III and IV) have and unmarked absolutive case and take different suffixes (depending on their nominal and vowel-harmony classes) for the ergative. This reflects the fact that animate class I nouns are more likely to appear as subjects in transitive sentences and thus remain unmarked in agent roles.

<table>
<tr>
<th colspan="2"></th>
<th>Absolutive</th>
<th>Ergative</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Class I</th>
<th>Clear harmony</th>
<td>-aħ</td>
<td rowspan="2">Unmarked</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Dark harmony</th>
<td>-oq</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Class II</th>
<th>Clear harmony</th>
<td rowspan="2">Unmarked</td>
<td>-at </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Dark harmony</th>
<td>-ås</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Class III</th>
<th>Clear harmony</th>
<td rowspan="2">Unmarked</td>
<td>-ix</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Dark harmony</th>
<td>-wx</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Class IV</th>
<th>Clear harmony</th>
<td rowspan="2">Unmarked</td>
<td>-yh</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Dark harmony</th>
<td>-uh</td>
</tr>
</table>

<h4>Secundative</h4>

Ditransitive verbs (those that, in addition to a subject, have both a direct object and an indirect object) feature a secundative alignment in Middle Ru, meaning that direct objects receive a separate 'secundative' case while indirect objects are marked with the same case as the only object of a monotransitive verb (in this case, with the absolutive case). This is the opposite of what occurs in most European languages where it is the indirect object that is marked with a third case (the dative).

The archetypical example of a ditransitive verb is the verb 'to give' (Middle Ru ʎu), which has a subject (the one that gives something to someone else) that is to be marked with the ergative case, a direct object (the thing given to someone else) that is to be marked with the secundative case and an indirect object (the person that is given the thing) which is marked with the absolutive case.

The secundative case is expressed with a suffix: -t for nouns whose base form ends in a vowel or /l/ (including singulatives), -et for other clear-harmony nouns and -wt for other dark-harmony nouns.

There are other verbs with three arguments, however, which may take different cases. For instance, in causative constructions (X makes Y do something [to Z]), the person X that causes the action to occur (Y does something [to Z]) will be expressed in the instrumental case instead. All four arguments are found in the following example:

Užwʎuwħåls swrħúrwm xek'a mimýaħ p'áñelt.
CAUS-give-PRF-3.ANIM>3.SG.PST INS-soldier woman man-ABS stone-SGV-SEC
The soldier (INS) had the woman (ERG) give the stone (SDT) to the man (ABS).

<h4>Possessives</h4>

Posession is expressed by having a possessive form of a noun follow the possessed noun: p'áñel lamimy for "the man's stone", literally "stone (p'áñel) of the man (lamimy, possessive form of mimy, 'man')".

Middle Ru possessives are generally formed with the prefixes la- and lå-. In some specific contexts, however, a different set of prefixes is used: ha- and hå-. The second set of prefixes are restricted to indicate the posession of body parts and certain relatives: parents, grandparents and other direct ancestors, sons and direct male-line descendants, siblings, uncles on the male line (ie brothers of one's father) and their sons (but not other kinds of cousins). Daughters and descendants other than in a direct-male line may uncommonly be described with a second-type posessive while, conversely, sisters and male-line cousins may be found with first-type possessives albeit rarely. This reflects the traditional Ru views of what relatives were considered to be an inalienable part of one's household, as the patriarchal patrilocal Ru society considered that daughters left their father's household upon marrying, joining her husband's instead. It should be noted, however, that ha-/hå- prefixes seem to have been restricted to blood-relatives; even though a married woman would be considered to have joined her husband's household, only her biological parents would be referred to as being haxek'a (possessive II), while her parents-in-law would always be described as laxek'a (possessive I).

Some words such as qana (family) may be described with either possessive: 'the woman's family' could be qana laxek'a or qana haxek'a, with no semantic difference between the two.

<h4>Locative</h4>

On its own, the locative case (expressed with the prefixes by- or bw-) is restricted to static location in or at a place. Other kinds of locative phrases will use an auxiliary word before the basic locative form of the noun. These preposition-like auxiliary nouns are often locative-case nouns themselves. For instance, 'below' uses the preposition bycym, the locative form of cym 'feet'; 'below the tree' becomes bycym byselk, literally 'at the foot of the tree'.

Locatives that apply to a complete sentence may be found either right after the verb or at the very end of the sentence. Locatives that describe the location of a noun follow the noun phrase they modify. This means that Myfarğaryls mimýaħ bycym byselk may translate either as "the man is sleeping below the tree" or as "the man below the tree is sleeping". The alternative form Myfarğaryls bycym byselk mimýaħ would unambiguously translate as 'the man is sleeping below the tree'.

<h4>Other cases</h4>

There are multiple constructions in Middle Ru that correspond to the English preposition 'with'.

The instrumental case (prefixes syr- and swr-) is used for indicating a tool employed to carry an action. This includes languages: ħorårwk swrħorwx lå Rgu for 'I speak in/using the (Middle) Ru language'. It should be noted, however, than tools may also be incorporated into a verb. The instrumental case is also used to indicate causative agents, as mentioned in the previous section about the dative case.

The ornative case (prefixes t'e- and t'o-) is used to indicate that the modified noun owns or is otherwise in possession or equipped with a thing. It could be "that has". For instance ɣen t'obot' translates as "a town (ɣen) with a river (bot')", a town that has access to a major river. Conversely, the privative case (prefixes myr- and mwr- is used to indicate a lack, 'without': ɣen mwrbot' 'a town without [acces to a major] river', 

In order to express that someone is accompanied by someone or something (rather than being in posession of the object as in the ornative case), the comitative clitic =rrä is used, which covers both the usage of English 'with' and 'and'. Thus, while xek'a t'emimy (woman ORN-man) translates as 'a woman with a man ~ that has a husband', the phrase xek'a mimýrra may be translated both as 'a woman accompanied by a man' or as 'a woman and a man'. The lack of distinction between the comitative usage of 'with' and the conjunction 'and' between nouns is rather common cross-linguistically. The clitic =rrä (-(a)rra or -(å)rrå depending on vowel harmony) may follow either noun and it is always suffixed to the last element of its noun phrase. Thus "the man in the river and the woman in the city" translates as either mimy bwbót'årrå xek'a byɣen or as mymy bwbot' xek'a byɣénarra. Using the clitic on both elements of a conjunction may be done for emphasis: mimy bwbót'årrå xek'a byɣénarra for 'both the man in the river and the woman in the city'. Since the =rrä clitic is not a case marker, it may be used in conjunction with case affixes: for instance in myfarğarmis emimýaħarra exek'áħarra, 'both the men and the women are sleeping', we see the clitic combined with the class I absolutive case endings.

Roles not covered by the aforementioned cases are typically handled through prepostions.

<h2>Pronouns</h2>

<table class="tg">
<tr>
<th class="tg-0pky" colspan="2"></th>
<th class="tg-0pky">Base form </th>
<th class="tg-0pky">Transitive subject </th>
<th class="tg-0pky">Intransitive subject</th>
<th class="tg-0pky">Transitive object</th>
<th class="tg-0pky">Secundative</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0pky" colspan="2">1s, I</th>
<td class="tg-0pky" colspan="3">rru</td>
<td class="tg-0pky">rroq</td>
<td class="tg-0pky">rrwt</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0pky" colspan="2">2s, you</th>
<td class="tg-0pky" colspan="3">ǵy</td>
<td class="tg-0pky">ǵwc</td>
<td class="tg-0pky">ǵyt</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0pky" rowspan="4">3s</th>
<th class="tg-0pky">Class I</th>
<td class="tg-0pky" colspan="2">ma'</td>
<td class="tg-0pky" colspan="2">maaħ</td>
<td class="tg-0pky">majet</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0pky">Class II</th>
<td class="tg-0pky" rowspan="3">ña</td>
<td class="tg-0pky">ñat</td>
<td class="tg-0pky" colspan="2" rowspan="3">ña</td>
<td class="tg-0pky" rowspan="3">ñajet</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0pky">Class III</th>
<td class="tg-0pky">nyajx</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0lax">Class IV</th>
<td class="tg-0lax">nyajh</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0lax" rowspan="2">1p</th>
<th class="tg-0lax">Exclusive we</th>
<td class="tg-0lax" colspan="3">orrus</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">orrusoq</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">orruswt</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0lax">Inclusive we</th>
<td class="tg-0lax" colspan="3">ǵyrgy</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">ǵyrgyc</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">ǵyrget</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0lax" colspan="2">2p, plural you</th>
<td class="tg-0lax" colspan="3">jeǵy</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">jeǵyc</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">jeǵyt </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0lax" rowspan="2">3p</th>
<th class="tg-0lax">Class I</th>
<td class="tg-0lax" colspan="2">ymy</td>
<td class="tg-0lax" colspan="2">ymyjaħ</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">ymyjet</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0lax">Other</th>
<td class="tg-0lax">iñy</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">iñat</td>
<td class="tg-0lax" colspan="2">iñy</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">iñet</td>
</tr>
</table>

Middle Ru pronouns differ from regular nouns in a number of ways. Most prominently, first and second person pronouns have an nominative-accusative alignment rather than the ergative-absolutive found elsewhere in the language. This means that first and second person pronouns that occur as the subject of an intransitive verb will have the same nominative form as subjects of transitive verbs while their objects get a different accusative form. This contrasts with the behaviour found in third person pronouns and regular nouns where intransitive arguments are found in the same absolutive as transitive objects, while it is transitive subjects that get a separate ergative case. 

First person plural pronouns ('we') also contrast clusivity. The exclusive pronoun orrus excludes the listener, being equivalent to "me and others, but not you". Meanwhile, the inclusive pronoun ǵyrgy indicates that the second person is also included, "you and me (and others)".

Singular third person pronouns must agree with the nominal class of their referent. Thus singular animate nouns will be referred to with the class-I pronoun ma' (he, she, singular they) while inanimate nouns will use ña (~ it) instead, with different ergative forms depending on their class (ñat for class-II, nyajx for class-III and nyajh for class-IV). Plural third person pronouns only observe an animacy distinction: class-I animates have ymy while inanimates have iñy, which declines in the same way for classes II, III and IV.

Possessives, locatives, instrumentals and other cases are formed regularly by applying the usual affixes to the base form of each pronoun. Thus we have lårru as an alineable possessive form of 'my', haǵy for inalienable 'your', byña for 'in it', t'eǵyrgy for 'including us' and so on.

It should be noted that Middle Ru is a pro-drop language. Since verbs are marked for their subjects and objects, pronouns are commonly dropped in those positions.

<h2>Verbs</h2>

As a polysynthetic language, Middle Ru features a rather complicated verb conjugation. Fortunately, the system is notoriously regular aside from a few exceptions.

A Middle Ru verb takes a series of affixes (both prefixes and suffixes) in order to indicate several grammatical categories such as voice, aspect, tense as well as person and number agreement both for subjects and objects. All these elements do always appear in the following fixed order:
<ul>
<li>Interrogative prefix</li>
<li>Voice prefix</li>
<li>Verb stem (most basic form of the verb)</li>
<li>Incorporated nouns (mostly tools)</li>
<li>Aspect</li>
<li>Tense, person and number (these categories are fused into a single suffix)</li>
<li>Negative suffix</li>
</ul>

This structure is true for indicative verbs. Other moods will be explained later on.

<h3>Polar questions</h3>

The interrogative prefix xe- / xo- is used to transform a sentence into a polar question (one that may be answered as 'yes' or 'no'). In addition to this, all questions carry a rising intonation.

Myfarğaryls mimýaħ.
The man is sleeping.
Xemyfarğaryls mimýaħ? (read in a rising intonation)
Is the man sleeping?

These kind of questions may be answered by using a positive or negative of the main verb (myfarğaryls, 'is sleeping', for 'yes' or myfarğarylsíma, 'isn't sleeping' for 'no') or, more commonly, by using the positive or negative forms of the verb 'to be', in this case sils (is) for 'yes' and ixýma (is not) for 'no'. In Late Middle Ru, the adverb zw (thus, that way) also became a popular alternative for 'yes'.

<h3>Voice prefixes and valency operations</h3>

Middle Ru verbs may take a prefix that alters their valency (the number of arguments they require).

<h4>Valency-reducing operations</h4>

Transitive verbs ordinarily require a subject and an object. Middle Ru grammar provides mechanisms that allow the speaker to specify only one of these arguments, either for focus or in case the identity of the other argument is unknown or irrelevant.

<h4>Unspecific subjects</h4>

In order to omit the subject, no voice-marking prefixes are required; instead a null subject is expressed by using the pronoun ga which is treated as a class I third person noun for the purposes of verb conjugation. As with any other pronoun (Middle Ru being a pro-drop language), it is possible to drop ga, although speakers may want to include it to in order to unambiguously convey they refer to an unspecific subject rather than to a previously named class I referrent. The pronoun ga could be loosely translated as 'someone', although it might also refer to an inanimate or plural referent.

Compare:
Zevarñi ħox mimy.
The man (subject, mimy) sees the mountain (object, ħox).

to the ga equivalent:
Zevarñi ħox ga
Someone sees the mountain / The mountain is seen.

For ditransitive verbs such as ʎu (to give), this strategy only applies to the indirect object (the one expressed in the absolutive case). Thus, the full phrase

Λuwħåls xek'aħ mimy p'áñelt.
The man (subject, mimy) gave the stone (direct object, p'áñel) to the woman (indirect object, xek'a).

can have its indirect object focused as:
Λuwħåls xek'aħ p'áñelt (ga).
The woman was given a stone (by someone).

In order to promote the direct object p'áñel ('the stone was given [to the woman)'), the type-II applicative voice must be used.

<h4>Antipassive</h4>

All Middle Ru verbs are required to have a primary argument that would take the absoluitve case, even though this argument may be implicit. For transitive verbs, said argument corresponds to the [indirect] object. In order to omit the object and place a focus on the subject, the subject (originally found in the ergative case) must be promoted to the absoluitive role.

The antipassive voice, formed by using the prefix rrav- or rråv, turns a transitive verb into an intransitive verb which takes as its only argument the original subject. As in intransitive verbs, this sole argument must be expressed in the absolutive case, rather than in the ergative case as in the original transitive verb.

For example, the antipassive voice can be used to promote the subject and omit the original object in the following sentence:

Zevarñi ħox mimy.
The man (subject, mimy) sees the mountain (object, ħox).

which becomes:

Rravzevaryls mimýaħ.
The man sees [something].

Notices how the absolutive form mimýaħ is required in the latter sentence. It shoudl also be noted that the ending of the verb changed from -arñi (which indicates that the verb has an animate agent) to -aryls (which doesn't indicate an agent and is thus used for intransitive verbs).

This also applies to ditransitive verbs. In this case, the indirect object (the person to whom something is given) is omitted while the direct object (the thing that is given) may still be kept in the secundative case or dropped as the speaker sees fit.

Λuwħåls xek'aħ mimy p'áñelt.
The man (subject, mimy) gave the stone (direct object, p'áñel) to the woman (indirect object, xek'a).

becomes:
Rråvʎuwlws mimýaħ (p'áñelt).
The man gave (a stone).

<h4>Reflexive</h4>

The reflexive voice (marked with the prefixes my- or mw-) is used to indicate that the subject and object of a transitive verb are the same; that the action is done by 'to oneself'. Reflexive verbs are treated as intransitives grammar-wise:

Myzevaryls mimýaħ.
The man sees himself.

A limited number of verbs such as (my)farğ (to sleep) require a reflexive prefix:

Myfarğaryls mimýaħ.
The man sleeps.

**Farğaryls mimýaħ.
UNGRAMMATICAL

Verbs such as (my)farğ are only found without the reflexive prefix when a different voice mark is used on them. For instance, the causative form of the verb ('to make someone sleep') is ižyfarğ rather than the doubly-marked **ižymyfarğ.

<h4>Causative</h4>

Causatives, formed by using the prefixes ižy- or užw-, are used to express that someone (or something) triggers an action. This voice increases the valency of a verb, as a new argument (the one that causes the action) is added to the original arguments of the verb.

Unusually, the new argument (the causer) is expressed in the instrumental case. However, even though this was the norm for educated speakers following the standard found in the capital during the heyday of the Ru kingdom, evidence suggests that using the ergative case was widespread, especially for originally intransitive verbs. This was also reflected in the polypersonal markings found in verb suffixes: while the standard called for the polypersonal marking to be unaffected by the causative, in practice it was common for speakers to mark the causer as the agent of the verb.

Examples include:

C'azarmis emimýaħ.
The men march forward. (a sentence with an intransitive verb)

Ižyc'azarmis swrħúrwm emimýaħ.
The soldier made the men march forward. (causative; educated standard but uncommon in informal settings; ħúrwm, 'the soldier', is found in the instrumental case and the verb does not mark the causer as its agent)

Ižyc'azarmix emimýaħ ħúrwm.
The soldier made the men march forward. (causative; doesn't follow the standard but was ubiquitous in practice; ħúrwm, 'the soldier', is found in the ergative case and the verb does marks the causer as its agent)

Dåfwmås sujm rríxyat.
The bird ate seeds. (a sentence with a transitive verb)

Užwdåfwmås syrmimy sujm rríxyat.
The man make the bird eat seeds ~ The man fed the bird seeds (causative; educated standard; causer in the instrumental case, verb marks rríxy, 'bird', as its agent)

Užwdåfwmåx sujm rríxyat mimy.
The bird ate seeds ~ The man fed the bird seeds (causative; non-standard; causer in the ergative case, the same as the original subject rríxy, verb marks mimy, 'man', as its agent)

The causative cannot be applied when there is already a voice prefix (with the exception of lexically reflexive verbs such as farğ, 'to sleep', which in this context lose drop reflexive prefix instead). For instance, 'the woman made the man look at himself' couldn't be expressed with the causative voice prefix as 'the man [looked] at himself' would require the reflexive voice prefix. In these contexts, a periphrastic construction with the verb årmå (to cause, to force) may be used instead:

Årmåwħåñ xek'a, myzevilys mimýaħ.
The woman made the man look at himself (literally 'The woman caused (it), the man looked at himself ')

The verb årmå is also the source of a verb suffix -rm which is used for derivations with a causative meaning, as in forming darm (to remind) from da (to remember). This suffix, however, was no longer productive in Middle Ru and is only found in a very limited number of words.

Type-I applicatives may also fullfill a similar role to causatives, although with different nuances.

<h4>Type-I Applicative</h4>

Middle Ru has two applicative voices: prefixes which promote an oblique argument (one that ordinarily isn't the object nor the subject of the verb) to the primary position, the one marked with the absolutive case.

Type-I applicatives (marked with the prefixes ke- and ko-) are used to promote an argument in a benefactive role, this is, a person for whom an action, that benefits from the situation. Unlike causatives, this object does not need to have caused or be otherwise involved in the action, but it will get a benefit from it. For instance the sentence:

Kecavdimax oħúrwmaħ mimy séket.
"The man cut the trees for the soldiers."

does not imply that the soldiers forced or even ordered the man to cut the trees but rather implies that the man did it on his own in order to ease their march. This contrasts with the causative form ižycavdimax swroħúrwm sek mimýaħ (the soldiers made the man cut the trees) where it could be assumed that the soldiers played an active role in having the man cut the tree.

In a type-I applicative, the benefited argument takes the absolutive case, while the argument that hold that position before (the object in a transitive verb or the subject in an intransitive verb) takes the secundative case instead, as seen in séket, the secundative form of sek (trees). The secundative argument may be dropped as in the following example:

Kocwñimax oħúrwmaħ mimy. 
The men built for the soldiers.

This could be short for kocwñimax oħúrwmaħ mimy k'ételt (the soldiers built a house for the soldiers), but puts the focus on the action the men undertook in benefit of the soldiers rather than on the result (what they did build for them).

Type-I applicatives may not be used with ditransitive verbs such as ʎu.

<h4>Type-II Applicative</h4>

Type-II applicatives (formed with the prefixes aj- and oj-) are used to promote a direct object of a a ditransitive verb to the primary absolutive role, originally occupied by the indirect object. Consider the phrase:

Λuwħåls xek'aħ mimy p'áñelt.
The man (subject, mimy) gave the stone (direct object, p'áñel) to the woman (indirect object, xek'a).

As it has been mentioned before, this phrase on its own takes the indirect object (the woman) as its primary argument. This allows a speaker to construct a sentence when only this argument is specified (arguments in brackets are optional):

Λuwħåls xek'aħ [ga] [p'áñelt].
The woman was given [the stone] [by somebody].

In order to do the same with the subject, the antipassive voice is needed, which moves the subject (originally marked in the ergative case) to the primary role:

Rråvʎuwlws mimýaħ [p'áñelt].
The man gave [the stone].

Type-II applicatives allow the speaker to do the same with the direct object (in this case, the object that is given to someone), which is promoted to the primary role and, as such, takes the absolutive case rather than the secundative:

Ojʎuwħañ p'áñel [mimy].
The stone was given [by the man].

<h3>The verb stem</h3>

The stem is the main morpheme that decides the meaning of the verb. A MIddle Ru verbal stem will always occur with at least one suffix although they will be listed on their most basic form in the dictionary..

Verb stems whose romanized forms seem to end in a vowel, such as da (to remember) actually have a glottal coda (unwritten between vowels): /da.ʔ/, as seen in the conjugated form daiħaŋ (I remembered it): /da.ʔiˈχaŋ/. This is still the case when the vowel in the suffix coincides with the last vowel in the stem, as in daarxes (you remember me): /da.ʔaɹˈʃøs/, although a relatively small number of speakers might have contracted these sequences to a bare vowel (yielding */daɹˈʃøs/ for da[a]rxes). It should be noted that contracting /V.ʔV/ to /V/ is a nearly universal phenomenon for nouns (for instance, the ergative form of c'áza is c'azat rather than **c'azaat). The absence of contractions in verbs might be a result of Middle Ru speakers considering the glottal stop as being part of the verb root itself rather than an artifact of the language's phonology as in nominal affixes.

<h3>Incorporated nouns</h3>

Middle Ru grammar allows nouns to be incorporated into verbs although this feature is not used as widely as in other polysynthetic languages.

In order to incorporate a noun into a verb, the base form of the noun (with no number nor case affixes) is added after the verb stem. A connecting affix -ö- (-e- or -o- depending on the vowel harmony class of the incorporated noun) is used except for vowel-initial nouns. For instance, incorporating the vowel-initial noun áɣa (land, dirt) to the verb myjt (to cover) results in forms such as myjtaɣaiħárga (I covered it with dirt ~ I buried it) while incorporating qana (family) to hwn (to rule) yields forms such as hwneqanaarmat (you belong to the ruling dynasty, literally 'you family-rule them'), with an extra e connecting the two words. It should be noted that incorporated nouns might belong to the opposite vowel harmony class as in the latter example (hwn being a dark-class verb while qana is a clear-class noun). In these cases, all suffixes occurring after the noun belong to the same harmony class as the noun. Because of this, we find the clear-harmony affixes -armat in hwneqanaarmat but their dark-harmony counterparts -årmåt when no noun is incorporated to the verb: hwnårmåt (you rule over them).

Incorporated nouns most commonly indicate an instrument or material used to perform an action. For instance, 'the city was built with stone' could be translated as cwñep'añeiħañ ɣen, literally 'they stone-built the city', incorporating p'áñe (stone) into the verb cwñ (to build). This kind of sentences, however, might also be expressed with the instrumental case as in cwñwħåñ ɣen syrp'áñe (literally 'they built the city with-stone') and the latter usage seems to have been favoured in official Cadarmeni documents. Incorporated nouns might also be used to indicate generic direct objects as in qyt'ek'et'aiħañ for 'they harvested rice' (incorporating k'ét'a, 'rice', into the verb qyt', 'to harvested') although this seems to have been limited to a few idiomatic examples.

Additionally, noun incorporation would occasionally yield phrases with an a priori unexpected idiomatic usage. As seen before, hwn (to rule) plus qana (family) yielded a verb that meant ' to belong to the ruling family'. A more systematic example is the usage of qurt (hands) to indicate that an action is done by oneself. For instance cavdoqurtwħåñ sek mimy, literally 'the man hand-cut the trees' will typically imply that the man cut all the trees 'by himself' rather than doing it 'by hand'. Qurt can be incorporated into a verb with a more literal meaning, however: dåfoqurtårmås (incorporating qurt to dåf, 'to eat') would be more likely to be understood as meaning 'I was eating them using my hands (not cutlery)' than 'I was eating them on my own'.

<h3>Aspect</h3>

Although in Middle Ru aspect-marking is fused with tense marking and personal agreement in the final suffix of the verb (aside from the negative suffix), aspect-marking proto-morphemes can be easily identified, even though their form may vary slightly depending on the following tense suffix. In general, it can be identified that the suffixes -ar- and -år- are used for the imperfective aspect, -iħ- and -wħ- are used for the perfective aspect while -iis- and -ujws- are used for the inchoative aspect.

Changes found in those base aspect affixes include:
<ul>
<li>The r (/ɹ/) in the imperfective suffixes is lost before tense+person markers which begin with alveolar trill rr (/r/). Some speakers may also drop that r before the uvular trill rg (/ʀ/) although this seems to have been proscribed in the Cadarmeni standard.</li>
<li>The final ħ of perfective suffixes and the final s of inchoative affixes are dropped before any tense+person marker with an initial vowel.</li>
</ul>

The following table illustrates the various forms aspect affixes may take for each vowel-harmony class under different circumstances.

<table>
<tr>
<th rowspan="3">Aspect</th>
<th rowspan="3">Vowel harmony class </th>
<th colspan="6">Shape of the tense affix</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Vowel initial</th>
<th colspan="2">Rhotic initial</th>
<th colspan="2">Other</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Aspect affix </th>
<th>Example: -aq / -åq (1s.PST)</th>
<th>Aspect affix </th>
<th>Example: -rra / -rrå (1s>3sA.PST)</th>
<th>Aspect affix</th>
<th>Example: -lys / -lws (3sA.PST)</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Imperfective</th>
<th>Clear</th>
<td>-ar-</td>
<td>-araq</td>
<td>-a-</td>
<td>-arra</td>
<td>-ar-</td>
<td>-arlys</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Dark</th>
<td>-år-</td>
<td>-åråq</td>
<td>-å-</td>
<td>-årrå</td>
<td>-år-</td>
<td>-årlws</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Perfective</th>
<th>Clear</th>
<td>-iħ-</td>
<td>-iħaq</td>
<td>-i-</td>
<td>-irra</td>
<td>-i-</td>
<td>-ilys</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Dark</th>
<td>-wħ- </td>
<td>-wħåq</td>
<td>-w-</td>
<td>-wrrå</td>
<td>-w-</td>
<td>-wlws</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Inchoative</th>
<th>Clear</th>
<td>-iis-</td>
<td>-iisaq</td>
<td>-ii-</td>
<td>-iirra</td>
<td>-ii-</td>
<td>-iilys</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Dark</th>
<td>-ujws-</td>
<td>-ujwsáq</td>
<td>-ujw-</td>
<td>-ujwrrå</td>
<td>-ujw-</td>
<td>-ujwlws</td>
</tr>
</table>

<h4>Perfective and imperfective</h4>

The perfective aspect is used to indicate an action that ocurred at a given point in time which may be used as a reference for further actions. On the other hand, the action described by an imperfective verb takes place during a period of time, set in relation to certain reference point which might be the present (for a verb marked as having the non-past tense) or the point in time set by a perfective verb.

In the past-tense, the distinction between perfective and imperfective is verbs is analogous to the one found in Spanish and approximately corresponds to the distinction between simple past and past progressive (or past continuous) in English:

Zevisax.
see-PRFV-1s>2s.PST
I saw you / I've seen you (Spanish perfective past te vi)

Zevarsax.
see-IPFV-1s>2s.PST
I was seeing you, I saw you [during that time] (Spanish imperfective past te veía)

The non-past tense is most commonly found along the imperfective aspect in order to express events that take place at the present:

Zevarsix.
see-IPFV-1s>2s.NPST
I see you, I am seeing you.

Non-past tense-endings are used along perfective affixes in order to indicate an action or event that has not taken place. This covers both sentences concerning the future as well as hypothetical situations.

Zevisix [múnå].
see-PFV-1s>2s.NPST [tomorrow]
I will see you [tomorrow]

Zevisix, kaj zeviħyxet.
see-PFV-1s>2s.NPST therefore see-PFV-2s>1s
If I saw you (hypothetical) then you would see me

It should be noted that the primary meaning of the perfective and imperfective affixes is still a matter of whether the event can be thought as establishing a reference in time (as it is the effect when using a perfective) or extending over a period fixed to an existing reference frame (which might be either the present or a time frame previously referenced through a perfective). Thus, while non-past imperfectives would commonly translate as present-tense verb in English, they might also refer to an event which takes place concurrently with another event in the future, as it's the case for the second verb in this sentence:

Zevisix múnå, sw savarŋi!
see-PFV-1s>2s.NPST tomorrow then regret-IPFV-2s>3sI.NPST
I will see you tomorrow and then you will regret it

<h4>Inchoatives and cessatives</h4>

The affixes -ii(s)- and -ujw(s)- are used to indicate the onset of an action or state; that the action is beginning. This onset might have happened in the past (in which case in inchoactive affix is to be used with a past-tense marker) or in the present or future (for which non-past endings are used):

Cavdiisañ sek mimy.
cut-INCH-3sA>3si.PST tree man
The man began to cut down the trees.

Cavdiiñi sek mimy.
cut-INCH-3sA>3si.NPST tree man
The man begins to cut down the trees.

One particularity of Middle Ru's inchoative affix is that it becomes a cessative (indicating the end of an action) when the verb is marked as negative. Thus, negating the previous examples yields:

Cavdiisañíma sek mimy.
cut-INCH-3sA>3si.PST.NEG tree man
The man stopped cutting down the trees.

Cavdiiñiʎíma sek mimy.
cut-INCH-3sA>3si.NPST-NEG tree man
The man stops cutting down the trees.

In order to truly negate an inchoative (indicating that the event didn't begin, rather than it stopped) the adverb eʎíma (roughly translatable as 'not yet') may be used after the verb. The same can be done for cessatives (ie verbs with the inchoative affix already marked as negative):

Cavdiisañ eʎíma sek mimy.
cut-INCH-3sA>3si.PST.NEG not_yet tree man
The man didn't start cutting down the trees [yet].

Cavdiisañíma eʎíma sek mimy.
cut-INCH-3sA>3si.PST.NEG not_yet tree man
The man didn't stop cutting down the trees [yet].

<h3>Tense and person</h3>

The final mandatory affix in a Middle Ru verb encapsulates information about its tense (in a past vs non-past contrast that was exemplified in the preceding section) and its arguments, potentially including hints at both its subject and its object. These affixes are fusional in nature: although its Proto Ru-Hulam etymology might hint at which phonemes stood for each category and despite the fact that some of those patterns can still be observed to some degree in Middle Ru affixes (while others have eroded past recognizability), these final affixes cannot be broken into separate tense, subject and object markers but form a single unit that might express all three categories. For instance, the suffix -yxet can be considered a single unit marking the verb as having non-past tense, a second person agent role (subject) and a first person singular object role rather than a sequence of marker for each of those categories.

Each tense×person (or TP) affix marks a tense (non-past or past) and a person for the verb's O-role, the one that would take the absolutive case (that is, the subject for an intransitive verb, the object for a transitive verb and the indirect object for a ditransitive verb). A TP affix may also include information about the verb's A-role, which corresponds to the subject in transitive and ditransitive verbs; the argument generally marked with the ergative case in Middle Ru's grammar. Grammatical persons are expressed differently for each role; for instance O-role marking accounts for number while A-role marking doesn't.

Affixes that are not marked for any A-role are used for intransitive verbs, reflexive verbs (marked with the reflexive prefix my- or mw-) as well as for transitive/ditransitive verbs whose A-role corresponds to an ininamiate third person referent ('it', or an inanimate 'they'); as in the following examples, all of which use the affix -aq / -åq, which marks past-tense, the first person singular (I, me) as its O-role and leaves the A-role unmarked:

C'aziħaq.
I marched (intransitive verb; the O-role indicates the subject)

Myzeviħaq.
I saw myself (reflexive verb; the O-role indicates the argument that is simultaneous the object an the subject)

Bruswħåq!
It crushed me! (transitive verb; the O-role indicates the object, the subject is an inanimate third person referent, 'it')

Certain combinations of O-roles and A-roles are not allowed. This occurs whenever the O-role coincides with the A-role or when the A-rule refers to a group that includes the O-role (for instance if the A-role was 'inclusive we' and the O-role was 'I' or 'you').

The affixes, in both its vowel-harmony variants, are as follows:

<table>
<tr>
<th colspan="8">NON-PAST TENSE</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>O-role:</th>
<th>1s, me</th>
<th>2s, you</th>
<th>3s.ANIM</th>
<th>3s.INAN</th>
<th>1p (exclusive)</th>
<th>1p (inclusive)</th>
<th>2p or 3p</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>A-role:</th>
<td colspan="7"></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Unmarked, reflexive or inanimate third person </th>
<td>-yk -wk </td>
<td>-is -us </td>
<td>-yls -wls </td>
<td>-ñi -ñw </td>
<td>-mirri -murru </td>
<td>-ŋyr -ŋwr </td>
<td>-mis -mus </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>1s or 1p.EX </th>
<td>(not used) </td>
<td>-six -sux </td>
<td>-ýrra -ẃrrå</td>
<td rowspan="2">-árgy -ǻrgu</td>
<td colspan="2">-ŋyx -ŋwx </td>
<td rowspan="2">-mik -muk </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>1p.IN </th>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>-rgi -rgu </td>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>(not used)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>2s or 2p</th>
<td>-yxet -wxot </td>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>-ils -uls </td>
<td>-ŋi -ŋu </td>
<td>-miz -muz </td>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>-mit -mut </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>3s.ANIM or 3p.ANIM </th>
<td>-yx -wx </td>
<td>-it -ut </td>
<td>-ylx -wlx</td>
<td>-ñi -ñw </td>
<td>-mírra -múrrå </td>
<td>-ŋyr -ŋwr </td>
<td>-mix -mux </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="8">PAST TENSE</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>O-role:</th>
<th>1s, me</th>
<th>2s, you</th>
<th>3s.ANIM</th>
<th>3s.INAN</th>
<th>1p (exclusive)</th>
<th>1p (inclusive)</th>
<th>2p or 3p</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>A-role:</th>
<td colspan="7"></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Unmarked, reflexive or inanimate third person </th>
<td>-aq -åq </td>
<td>-as -os </td>
<td>-lys -lws </td>
<td>-aŋ -åŋ </td>
<td>-mir -mur </td>
<td>-ŋir -ŋur </td>
<td>-mas -mås </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>1s or 1p.EX</th>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>-sax -såx </td>
<td>-rra -rrå </td>
<td rowspan="2">-árga -ǻrgå</td>
<td colspan="2">-aŋak -åŋåk </td>
<td rowspan="2">-mak -måk </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>1p.IN</th>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>-árxa -ǻrxå </td>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>(not used)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>2s or 2p</th>
<td>-xes -xos </td>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>-ílsy -úlsw </td>
<td>-aŋy -åŋw </td>
<td>-mas -mås </td>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>-mat -måt </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>3s.ANIM or 3p.ANIM </th>
<td>-ax -åx</td>
<td>-at -åt </td>
<td>-als -åls</td>
<td>-añ -åñ </td>
<td>-mir -mur </td>
<td>-ŋir -ŋur </td>
<td>-max -måx </td>
</tr>
</table>

It should be noticed, however, that some of these affixes might appear in a modified when used along the negatives suffix, as it shall be explained in the following section.

<h3>Negatives</h3>

Negative verbs are marked with an additional suffix whose shape depends on the TP affix of the verb. It should be noted that negative constructions alter the semantics of inchoative verbs, as discussed on the previous section about that aspect.

The base form of the negative suffix is -ʎíma for words in the clear vowel-harmondy class and -ʎúmå. This form is used to negate verbs which would otherwise end in a vowel:

Zevarýrra mimýaħ.
I see the man.

Zevaryrraʎíma mimýaħ.
I do not see the man.

Verbs whose TP affix ends in a /k/ or a /q/ lose that final consonant and get modified suffix -ʕíma or -ʕúmå:

Zevimak emimýaħ.
I saw the men.

Zevimaʕíma emimýaħ.
I did not see the men.

Verbs whose TP affix ends in any other consonant get the reduced negative affixes -íma or -ýmå:

Zevarmix.
I see you.

Zevarmixíma.
I do not see you.

<h3>Other verb forms</h3>

While most verbal inflections conform to the previously described sequence of affixes (interrogative-voice-stem-tool-aspect-TP-negative), there is a limited number of inflectional forms that follows a different structure. This is true for imperatives and participles.

<h4>Imperatives</h4>

There exist two ways to issue a command in Middle Ru: using what is known as a true imperative or by using a periphrastic construction known as the humble imperative.

True imperatives are used whenever both speakers have a similar social status or if it is the one issuing the command who has a higher status. These verbs only deviate from the general conjugation structure in the fact the aspect and TP affixes are replaced with the suffixes -avt or -ot for positive commands or -eʎimavt or -oʎumot for negative commands. Contrary to what is typically found in the language, Middle Ru true imperatives could be said to have a nominative-accusative alignment, as the person receiving the imperative is intended the take the subject role both in intransitive and transitive verbs. Commands related to other roles may be issued by using voice affixes as described in the table below. It should be noted that Middle Ru true imperatives are not marked for person and thus independent pronouns are more likely to be necessary.

<table>
<tr>
<th>Voice</th>
<th>Imperative role</th>
<th colspan="2">Example</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Active (default) Intransitive verb </th>
<td>Subject (O-role, absolutive) </td>
<td>C'azavt!</td>
<td>March forward!</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Active (default) Transitive verb </th>
<td>Subject (A-role, ergative) </td>
<td>Zevavt ña!</td>
<td>Look at that!</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Antipassive</th>
<td colspan="3">Not used for true imperatives</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Reflexive </th>
<td>Reflexive argument, (subject and object)</td>
<td>Myzevavt!</td>
<td>Look at yourself!</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Object (O-role, absolutive) </th>
<td>Myevavt hev!</td>
<td>Be seen by the king! ~ Let the king see you!</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Causative</th>
<td>Causative agent </td>
<td>Ižyc'azavt emimy!</td>
<td>Make the men march!</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Type-I applicative </th>
<td colspan="3">Not used for true imperatives</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Type-II applicative </th>
<td colspan="3">Theoretically used for direct objects of ditransitive verbs, but never found in practice. </td>
</tr>
</table>

Humble imperatives, on the other hand, are formed periphrastically by using a regularly-conjugated form of the verb har, 'to ask' followed by the desired action. As the name for this construction suggest, humble imperatives are mostly used in situations where the speaker might have a lower social status than the listener, and thus asks them humbly rather than imposing their command with a true imperative. The verb har will be typically found as hararsix for orders issued to a singular you or hararmik for imperatives issued to a plural you. These verbs would be negated as usual, resulting in hararsixíma and hararmiʕíma for 'I did not ask you [to]'. The following table shows the humble equivalents to the previous examples assuming the command is issued to a single person (otherwise verbs would be conjugated for 2p instead of 2s):

<table>
<tr>
<th colspan="4">Examples</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>True imperative</th>
<th>Humble imperative</th>
<th>Translation</th>
<th>Humble, literally </th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>C'azavt!</td>
<td>Hararsix, c'aziħis.</td>
<td>March forward!</td>
<td>I request you that you march forward.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Zevavt ña!</td>
<td>Hararsix, zeviŋi.</td>
<td>Look at that!</td>
<td>I request you that you look at it.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Myzevavt!</td>
<td>Hararsix, myzeviħis.</td>
<td>Look at yourself!</td>
<td>I request that you look at yourself.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Myevavt hev!</td>
<td>Hararsix, zeviħit hev.</td>
<td>Be seen by the king! ~ Let the king see you!</td>
<td>I request you that the king sees you.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Ižyc'azavt emimy!</td>
<td>Hararsix, ižic'azimis emimiy.</td>
<td>Make the men march!</td>
<td>I request you that the men are made to march.</td>
</tr>
</table>

Imperatives of either kind may be followed by a noun in the instrumental case in order to indicate some authority in whose name the command is issued. This was particularly frequent in edicts, which featured the word syrhev (with the king), in order to indicate that the orderes were issued 'in the name of the king'.

<h4>Participles and relative clauses</h4>

The participle of a Middle Ru verb is used to describe a noun phrase as being the O-role of said verb. In this sense, their behaviour is close to what an English speaker might expect of an adjective (and the Middle Ru equivalents of English adjectives are indeed handled through participles). Middle Ru participles are not marked for time; azéva (the participle of zev, 'to see'), roughly translatable as 'seen', could refer to something that has been "seen", something that is "seen" at the moment or something that is to be "seen" in the future or which would be "seen" during a hypothethical scenario.

Participles follow a drastically different structure than finite (or 'conjugated') Middle Ru verbs, being only marked by voice. The most basic form of participle, corresponding to the default unmarked voice, is constructed by a circumfix: a-(stem)-a for clear-harmony verbs (as in the previously mentioned example azéva, 'seen', from zev, 'to see') or å-(stem)-o (as in åcẃño, 'built', from cuñ, 'to build') for dark-harmony verbs. Unlike other verb forms, participles are stressed on the verb stem itself.

A basic Middle Ru participle corresponds to its O-role, the argument that would be put in absolutive case when following the verb: the subject for intransitive verbs (thus ac'áza, from c'az, 'to march', could be translated as 'marching'), the object for regular transitive verbs (azéva meaning 'seen' rather than 'seeing') and the indirect object for ditransitive verbs (åʎúo meaning 'having received', from ʎu, 'to give'). Participles for other roles can be constructed by replacing the initial a- or å- with a voice prefix. This allows for participles related to a transitive subject using the antipassive voice mark as in rravzéva ('seeing', 'that sees/saw'), reflexive participles such as myzéva ('that sees themself') , causative participles such as ižyzéva ('that makes/made someone to see', also used as a noun meaning "prophet, guru"), type-I aplicatives for benefactive participles such as kezéva ('that had someone see something for its benefit') and type-II applicatives for ditransitive direct objects: ojʎúo ('that was given [to someone]').

Negative participles are preceded by the particle žwm which is also used a noun meaning 'nobody'. Thus žwm azéva transaltes as 'not seen'.

Participles are often used in place where a relative clause would be used in English. For instance, the phrase "the man who marched forward" is expressed in Middle Ru as mimy ac'áza. The participle itself may be followed by arguments (other than it's O-role) as if it was a primary verb: k'et åcẃño mimy (house PTC-build-PTC man) for 'the house built by the man'.

A different structure is required for relative clauses where the described noun phrase occupies a role other than the participle verb's O-role (and thus requires a voice mark like antipassive rrav-/rråv-) with the original O-role being included as part of the relative clause. This is the case in the phrase 'the man that saw the mountain', where the described noun ('the man', mimy) takes the A-role (ergative, subject of transitive zev, 'to see') and the relative predicate includes the original O-role (the object, ħox). This requires a structure where the described noun is followed by the particle a (regardless of the vowel harmony class of any neighbouring words), the original O-role and then the participle with the appropriate participles:

mimy a ħox rravzéva
man REL mountain ANTP-see-PTC
the man that sees/saw the mountain

It should be noted that this kind of structures cannot be used by roles not covered by voice prefixes. For instance, in 'the mountains where the man sleeped', the described noun 'mountains' occupies a locative role in the relative sentence (the man sleeped in the mountains). This kind of constructions can only be translated by expressing the full sentence (for instance, mentioning that the man sleeped in the mountains in a separate sentence before referencing those mountains again).

<h3>The copula verbs</h4>

In English, the copula verb 'to be' fulfills a number of functions, including noun-noun copula (describing one thing as being another, as in "John is a man"), adjective-noun copula (indicating that an adjective apples to a given noun or noun phrase as in "John is tall") and an existential usage (indicating that something exists, often in relation to a location as in "John is in the city"). In Middle Ru, those constructions are handled in different ways.

Noun-noun copula, be it indicating identity ("John is my father", here the two arguments are identified as being the same individual) or membership to a given class ("John is a man"), may be expressed with the copula verb mi, which could be considered to be the closest Middle Ru counterpart to English 'to be'. This kind of expressions, however, are often handled without any verbs (what is known as zero-copula, a common tactic cross-linguistically), simply putting the two phrases one next to the other. The first element in this type of copula must be expressed in the absolutive case, while the second one is used in its base, suffix-less form, as shown in the following examples:

Mazávaħ ata hårru.
Mazáva is my father.

Ataħ hårru Mazáva.
My father is Mazáva.

Mazávaħ mimy.
Mazáva is a man.

The verb mi is only used when one of the two elements is a pronoun (third person pronouns being an exception to this rule), when the speaker wants to indicate a tense/aspect for the relationship that wouldn't be obvious from context (for instance, to indicate that the identity is no longer true) or simply for emphasis. When a form of mi is used, the argument represented by the pronoun is often omitted, but it may be left in the sentence for emphasis.

Mix Mazáva.
I am Mazáva.

Arys Mazávaħ bavba. Bysyn, maaħ mimy.
Mazáva used to be a baby. Now, he is a man.

Sils Mazávaħ mimy.
Mazáva is indeed a man.

Mix rru ata haǵy.
I am your father.

As it is often the case for copula verbs, Middle Ru mi is massively irregular. Fortunately, the number of forms to be memorized is somewhat limited as the verb may only be marked for a single person (instead of featuring polypersonal agreement). It's conjugation takes contrasts aspect (perfective or imperfective; mi cannot be marked for the inchoative/cessative aspect), tense, person for one of its arguments and polarity (affirmative vs negative; the interrogative prefix is also accepted), as shown in the following table:

<table>
<tr>
<th rowspan="3"></th>
<th colspan="4">Affirmative, 'to be'</th>
<th colspan="4">Negative, 'not to be'</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Imperfective</th>
<th colspan="2">Perfective</th>
<th colspan="2">Imperfective</th>
<th colspan="2">Perfective</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Non-past</th>
<th>Past</th>
<th>Non-past</th>
<th>Past</th>
<th>Non-past</th>
<th>Past</th>
<th>Non-past</th>
<th>Past</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>1s, I</th>
<td>mix</td>
<td>amaq</td>
<td>imix</td>
<td>maq</td>
<td>mixýma</td>
<td>amaʕíma</td>
<td>imixíma</td>
<td>maʕíma</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>2s, you</th>
<td>sut</td>
<td>åmos</td>
<td>wsut</td>
<td>mos</td>
<td>mysýma</td>
<td>åmosúmå </td>
<td>wsutúmå</td>
<td>mosúmå</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>3s.ANIM</th>
<td>sils</td>
<td>arys</td>
<td>ysils</td>
<td>ihys</td>
<td>ixýma</td>
<td>arysíma</td>
<td>ysilsíma</td>
<td>ihysíma</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>3s.INAN</th>
<td>eñi</td>
<td>araŋ</td>
<td>ħeñi</td>
<td>ħaŋ</td>
<td>ŋiʎíma</td>
<td>aransíma</td>
<td>ħeñiʎíma</td>
<td>hansíma</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>1p.EX</th>
<td>mirri</td>
<td>amir</td>
<td>imirri</td>
<td>imir</td>
<td>mirxýma</td>
<td>amirsíma</td>
<td>imirriʎíma</td>
<td>imirsíma</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>1p.IN</th>
<td>ŋirri</td>
<td>aŋir</td>
<td>iŋirgi</td>
<td>iŋir</td>
<td>ŋirxýma</td>
<td>aŋirsíma</td>
<td>iŋirgiʎíma</td>
<td>iŋirsíma</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>2p / 3p</th>
<td>mis</td>
<td>amas</td>
<td>imis</td>
<td>imas</td>
<td>misýma</td>
<td>amasíma</td>
<td>imisíma</td>
<td>amasíma</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Imperative</th>
<td colspan="4">mavt</td>
<td colspan="4">meʎimavt</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Participle</th>
<td colspan="4">amia</td>
<td colspan="4">-</td>
</tr>
</table>

Forms of the verb mi are also commonly used as answers for polar questions.

Adjectives behave like verbs in Middle Ru and thus adjective-noun copula does not require an equivalent of the verb 'to be'. For instance, the equivalent to the English adjective 'tall' is ğwn which may also be translated as 'to be tall'. This subject will be covered in more depth in the following section.

Finally, Middle Ru uses the verb se (conjugated regularly in the Cadarmeni standard, although irregular forms such as *sar- for sear- are attested for other dialects) for existential copula. This often corresponds to English 'there is' or 'there are', indicating the presence of an object or person.

Searmis emimýaħ ñy.
There are ten men.

Searlysíma Mazávaħ byɣen .
Mazáva wasn't at the city.

<h3>Adjectives</h3>

In Middle Ru, adjectives do not really exist as a separate word class. Instead, for all purposes they act as a subset of intransitive verbs.

In many cases, the basic form of an adjective, such as axan for 'old, elderly', is better thought of as a verb, in this case meaning 'to be old'. Thus, a predicative phrase such as "the man is old" translates by appending the usual verbal affixes to axan:

Axanaryls mimýaħ
The man is old.

Meanwhile, an attributive usage of the adjective, such as 'old' in the noun phrase 'an old man', is handled by the participle, in this case 'aaxána' (literally 'that is old'):

mimy aaxána
[an] old man, a man that is old

Being functionally identical to verbs, Middle Ru adjectives can take any affix that could apply to verbs. For instance, the causative prefix ižy- may be used to form the verb ižyaxan-, meaning 'to cause [something or somebody] to grow old, to age'.

Comparatives (and superlatives) are expressed through the prefix ñir- or ñwr-, meaning 'to surpass', which may also be applied to any other verb in order to express than an action has been conducted to a higher degree than some reference level. This prefix is not to be confused with a voice mark as it does not modify the valency of the verb. Thus, ñiraxan is not to be understood as transitive 'to be older than [someone]' but as a still-intransitive 'to be older', without making splicit who the person or object is older than, which is left out to context. Examples include:

Ñiraxanarlys mimýaħ.
The man was older / the man was the oldest.

Axanarlys xek'aħ, ñiraxanarly mimýaħ.
The man was older / the man was the oldest.

Zeviħals mimýaħ añiraxána.
She saw an older man.

<h2>Numerals</h2>

Middle Ru uses a base-20 or 'vigesimal' numeration with an auxiliary sub-base of 10. This means that rather than grouping numbers in tens, hundreds and further powers of ten, they use powers of 20. Numbers up to 19 are treated as if they were single-digit numbers although the numerals from 11 to 19 are expressed as 'ten and [one to nine]'. Thus, the number 98, rather than being constructed as 'nine times ten (ninety) and eight' is expressed as tojåt ñy xii 'four times (to) twenty (-jat/-jåt), ten (ñy) and eight (xii)', a wording identical to that used in French « quatre vingt dix huit » or old-fashoned English 'four score and eighteen'. However, while French only uses vigesimal constructions to a limited extent (for numbers between 80 and 99), all Middle Ru numbers from 21 (jat ylárra, literally. 'twenty and one') to 399 (ñysetjat ñy sot, literally 'nineteen-twenties ten nine', where ñyset-, 'nineteen' is itself a variant of ñy sot, 'ten nine') are formed by expressing the number by a multiple of twenty and its reminder. Larger numbers are built using higher powers of 20, such as c'et for 20² = 400, háraŋ for 20³ = 8000, harña for 160 000 and harac'et for 3 200 000. Even higher powers (harahara, haraharña, haraharac'et, haraharahara...) are occassionally attested in texts but do not seem to have had any practical use.

Digits from 1 to 19 and their combining forms for multiples of 20 and 400 are as follows:

<table>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Units</th>
<th colspan="2">Multiples of 20</th>
<th colspan="2">Multiples of 20² = 400</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>1</th>
<td>ýla, ylárra</td>
<th>20</th>
<td>jat, játel</td>
<th>400</th>
<td>c'et, c'étel</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>2</th>
<td>ysy</td>
<th>40</th>
<td>ysyjat</td>
<th>800</th>
<td>ysyc'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>3</th>
<td>ži</td>
<th>60</th>
<td>žijat</td>
<th>1200</th>
<td>žic'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>4</th>
<td>to</td>
<th>80</th>
<td>tojåt</td>
<th>1600</th>
<td>tec'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>5</th>
<td>za</td>
<th>100</th>
<td>zajat</td>
<th>2000</th>
<td>zac'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>6</th>
<td>yza</td>
<th>120</th>
<td>yzajat</td>
<th>2400</th>
<td>yzac'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>7</th>
<td>siri</td>
<th>140</th>
<td>sirijat</td>
<th>2800</th>
<td>siric'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>8</th>
<td>xii</td>
<th>160</th>
<td>xiijat</td>
<th>3200</th>
<td>xiic'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>9</th>
<td>sot</td>
<th>180</th>
<td>sotjåt</td>
<th>3600</th>
<td>setc'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>10</th>
<td>ñy</td>
<th>200</th>
<td>ñyjat</td>
<th>4000</th>
<td>ñyc'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>11</th>
<td>ñy ýla</td>
<th>220</th>
<td>ñylajat</td>
<th>4400</th>
<td>ñylac'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>12</th>
<td>ñy ysy</td>
<th>240</th>
<td>ñysyjat</td>
<th>4800</th>
<td>ñysyc'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>13</th>
<td>ñy ži</td>
<th>260</th>
<td>ñyžijat</td>
<th>5200</th>
<td>ñyžic'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>14</th>
<td>ñy to</td>
<th>280</th>
<td>ñytejat</td>
<th>5600</th>
<td>ñytec'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>15</th>
<td>ñy za</td>
<th>300</th>
<td>ñyzajat</td>
<th>6000</th>
<td>ñyzac'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>16</th>
<td>ñy yza</td>
<th>320</th>
<td>ñyzajat</td>
<th>6400</th>
<td>ñyzac'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>17</th>
<td>ñy siri</td>
<th>340</th>
<td>ñysirijat</td>
<th>6800</th>
<td>ñysiric'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>18</th>
<td>ñy xii</td>
<th>360</th>
<td>ñyxiijat</td>
<th>7200</th>
<td>ñyxiic'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>19</th>
<td>ñy sot</td>
<th>380</th>
<td>ñysetjat</td>
<th>7600</th>
<td>ñysetc'et</td>
</tr>
</table>

The number 'one' is always expressed as ýla, although in combining forms it may also appear as ylárra (literally 'and one', although shifting the stress to the second syllable unlike the more general usage of the affix -rra). The form ylárra is most commonly found after 'round' numbers such as jat (twenty); in a sense ylárra indicates that the value is one more than a number that would be more likely to be expected. The forms játel and c'étel alternate with jat and c'et (respectively) when not followed by any further numerals.

Unlike English, Middle Ru numerals alwayss follow the noun to which they apply: emimy jat for '20 men'.

Ordinals are formed in a relatively unusual way. The first element is described as ac'ála, the participle of c'al, 'to come first'. Other ordinals are formed by using the particle swr and the number of elements that come before, followed by the suffix -(a)rra / -(å)rrå. Thus, 'the second man' becomes mimy swr ýlarra (~ man preceded by one other); 'the tenth mountain' becomes ħóxol swr sótårrå (~ mountain preceded by nine others) and so on.

<h1>The Middle Ru script</h1>

The Middle Ru sscript, the native writing system for the language, is an abugida where each consonant is represented by a letter while vowels other than /a/ are marked through diacritics above the consonant. Much as in the Brahmic scripts from India, a virama mark is used to supress the inherent /a/ in a consonant in order to mark codae. Thus, the word xek'aħ (absolutive singular form of xek'a, 'woman') would be written with the consonant letter for X plus the E diacritic, the consonant letter for K' (which, on its own is read as k'a), the consonant letter for Ħ with the virama diacritic to indicate that it is to be read as a word-final -ħ rather than as the sequence ħa. The abugida is supposed to be a descendant from the Ancient Hulamic script used for Proto Ru-Hulam.

The glyphs used for Middle Ru consonants have a characteristic shape based on a slightly curved slanted lined over which further strokes are drawn (except for the glottal stop, marked by the slanted line alone). The characters are partially featural. For instance, the glyphs ejectives are clearly derived from the corresponding plain plosives.

[[File:Middle_ru_consonants.png|frameless|center|Middle Ru consonants]]

Vowels other than A are marked with diacritics. Occasionally, the vowel Å and the no-vowel or virama mark might be omitted in a text; although the norm is to include all relevant diacritics.

[[File:Middle_ru_vowels.png|frameless|center|Middle Ru vowels]]

Words are often separated by spaces although this is inconsistent. Some texts (particularly earlier ones) are written with no spaces whatsoever (scripta continua). On the opposite end, some texts also use spaces to separate each affix. Few punctuation marks are used; sentences are typically separated with an apostrophe-like mark.

<h2>Numerals</h2>

Middle Ru script also has its own way of representing numbers. Unique symbols are used for the numbers 1, 4, 5 and 10, which are combined in order to form simple or composite symbols for each digit from 1 to 19. Then unique symbols are used for powers of 20, which are combined with digits in order to form any number.

[[File:Middle_ru_numerals.png|frameless|center|Middle Ru numerals]]

<h1>Sample sentences</h1>

<div style='margin-top: 25px; margin-bottom: 50px; margin-left: 30px'>
[[File:Middle_ru_sample_1.png|frameless|left|Middle Ru sample sentence]]
<h3>C'ymarmas mimýaħ xek'áħarra.</h3>
/cʼy.maɹˈmas mi.myˈʔaχ ʃøˈkʼa.χa.ra/
<table style='border: none; margin-top: 0px;'>
<tr style='border: none;'><td style='border: none; text-align: left;' colspan="4">
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>c'ym-ar-mas</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>mimy-aħ</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>xek'a-aħ</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>=rra</td>
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>walk-IPFV-PST.3p</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>man-ABS</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>woman-ABS</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>=and</td>
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;' colspan='4'>
</td></tr>
</table>
A man and a woman were walking.
</div><div style='margin-top: 25px; margin-bottom: 50px; margin-left: 30px'>

[[File:Middle_ru_sample_2.png|frameless|left|Middle Ru sample sentence]]
<h3>Xezevarmix emimýaħ exek'a?</h3>
/ʃø.zø.waɹˈmiʃ ʔø.mi.myˈʔaχ ʔø.ʃøˈkʼa/
<table style='border: none; margin-top: 0px;'>
<tr style='border: none;'><td style='border: none; text-align: left;' colspan="3">
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>xe-zev-ar-mix</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>e-mimy-aħ</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>e-xek'a</td>
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>INT-see-IPFV-NPST.3p.ANIM>3p</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>PL-man-ABS</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>PL-woman</td>
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;' colspan='3'>
</td></tr>
</table>
Do the women see the men?
</div><div style='margin-top: 25px; margin-bottom: 50px; margin-left: 30px'>

[[File:Middle_ru_sample_3.png|frameless|left|Middle Ru sample sentence]]
<h3>Λuwsåxúmå ǵwc rru p'áñelt.</h3>
/ʎu.ʔʉ.sɒˈʃu.mɒ ɟʉc ru ˈpʼa.ɲølt/
<table style='border: none; margin-top: 0px;'>
<tr style='border: none;'><td style='border: none; text-align: left;' colspan="4">
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>ʎu-w-såx-ʎúmå</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>ǵwc</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>rru</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>p'áñe-l-t</td>
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>give-PRFV-PST.1s>2s</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>2s.ACC</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>1s.NOM</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>stone-SGV-SDTV</td>
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;' colspan='4'>
</td></tr>
</table>
I haven't given you the stone.</div>

[[Category:Middle Ru]]
[[Category:Languages]]
[[Category:Conlangs]]

Middle Ru

2020-04-13T20:39:52Z

Jotadiego:

Middle Ru is an a priori language that would have been spoken in the western regions of the fictional island of Rauna during its Middle Period (roughly corresponding to the Middle Ages and the Renaissance). Within its internal history, it belongs to the Ru-Hulam languages native to the Drysian continent, situated west of the Rauna region, half an ocean away.

The Middle Ru language was known natively as ħórwx lå Rgu /ˈχo.ɹʉʃ lɒ ʀu/, "language of the Ru"; the name Ru or Rgu /ʀu/ itself is thought to be related to the first person pronoun or rru /ru/, 'I, me'. Extrafictionally, this is a leftover from the development of Raunan conlangs when they were referred to by their word for the first person pronoun.

<h2 id="Internal_history">Internal history</h2>

<h3 id="Ru_Hulam_period">Ru-Hulam period</h3>

The Middle Ru language can be traced back to Proto Ru-Hulam, a language that would have been spoken in the northeastern regions of Drysia, one of the three major continents in Rauna's planet. In ancient times, the the Ru-Hulam peoples (often referred to simply as 'Hulam') came to be united under a powerful monarchy known as the First Hulam Empire. This nation would came to rule over a sizeable fractionof the continent. In particular, the Hulam conquered and slaved their more populous neighbours to the east, the Qwiyen, and made the Mikken tribes in the north into a client state.

During the heyday of their empire, the Hulam also established ties with other nations, including the Fulao peoples who had formed a similarly prosperous league of city states in Miwep, a small continent south of Drysia. Rivalry between the expansionist Hulam and Fulao peoples led to at least three attempts of invasion, all unsuccessful thanks to the latter's then-unrivaled naval expertise.

Unable to overcome the Fulao's prowess at seafaring, the Hulam empire eventually sought to imitate it. As news about the Fulao discovery and settlement of the Shawi islands in the great eastern ocean reached the Hulam courts, the emperor came to be determined to launch an ambitious effort to reach new lands further east and colonize them. Although the results were disastrous for the most part (with several expeditions wrecking in the high seas and the imperial finances taking a toll for what many viewed as a weak emperor's vanity project), one expedition managed to reach Rauna, a vast island once dominated by a powerful empire which had recently succumbed. These circumstances allowed the Hulam to establish a colony of their own in western Rauna. However, soon thereafter the already weakened Hulam Empire, itself would meet a similar fate, taking a major blow from the Great Qwiyen Revolution, which not only liberated their people from an oppressive rule but would also establish a Qwiyen state that would came to rule the Hulam peoples themselves during much of the following centuries.

As the Hulam empire fell in the Drysian continent, the colonists in Rauna lost all (if not all) contact with their ancestral homeland. Instead, they came to develop a distinct ethnic identity as the Ru. A sizeable number of Qwiyen slaves they had brought alongside them would develop into the Xhuei peoples of southern Rauna.

Although the starting population of each group is still a matter of debate among Raunan historians, it is often considered to have been in the thousands for both groups. Early Ru and Xhuei people, however, were known to have intermarried with the native peoples. Genetic studies confirm that modern Ru and Xhuei peoples are more closely related to other Raunan populations than to their Drysian ancestors, although Y-chromosome haplogroups most commonly found in north-eastern Drysia can still be identified.

<h3 id="Ru_in_Rauna">The Ru in Rauna</h3>

The Ru were one of the first ethnic groups that arrived to the Raunan region after the Ancient Period which is why they are said to be one of the Younger Raunan peoples; contrasting with the Older Raunan ethnicities that had inhabited the island prior to their arrival. Ru peoples mostly occupied territories in western Rauna. They quickly took over many of the western provinces of the ruinous Raunic empire. The Ru also conquered territories that formerly belonged to the Iyau peoples, giving rise to a long-lasting bitter rivalry between the two nations.

During much of the Middle Period the Ru played a major role in the island as the city of Cadarmen became the main trade hub on the island due to its strategic location next to a passage through the Myqyraghar mountain range that divides the Raunan mainland. Control over this strategic point allowed the wealthy lords of Cadarmen to establish an extensive Ru Kingdom which quickly became a major power in the Rauna region.

By the end of the Middle Period, maritime trade (mostly conducted by the Amatl nations in northern Rauna) gained prominence, while the land-based trade routes controlled by the Ru kingdom saw a sharp decline. This would eventually led to an economic and political crisis in the kingdom, with a major rebellion in the mountainous eastern frontier lands. Situations worsened when the Iyau launched a successful military offensive on the western lands of the Ru Kingdom, secretly aided by the Amatl league who sought to weaken their economic rivals.

By the Modern Period, the Middle Ru language had diverged into three varieties: Eastern Ru, Western Ru and the Iyau-Ru language (spoken in territories reconquered by the Iyau, also referred to as 'Lower Iyau').

<h2 id="External_history">External history</h2>

Extrafictionally, Middle Ru was the first Raunan language to be created, back in July 2018. The concept behind the Raunan languages project was to create a series of unrelated languages out of which mixed languages would develop at a later time.

It was decided from the start that Middle Ru would be a typologically unusual and rather harsh-sounding language in order to have it contrast with its neighbours.

Although the concept that the Ru peoples would have arrived to Rauna after its classical period was decided early on, work on the Proto-Ru-Hulam language and Ru history prior to their arrival to the Raunan region only began in 2020. The post-facto development of an ancestor language led to a series of retcons as well as a overhaul of Middle Ru's polypersonal marking.

<h1 id="Phonology">Phonology</h1>

Middle Ru features a rather complex phonology distinguishing 8 vowels and 37 consonants, including multiple trills, uvulars and the pharyngeal fricative /ʕ/. This led speakers of other Middle Raunan languages to describe Ru as 'harsh sounding' or 'guttural'.

<h2>Consonants</h2>

The following table shows Ru's consonant inventory (uppercase and lowercase romanization on the left, IPA phonemic transcriptions on the right):

<table>
<tr>
<th colspan="2"></th>
<th>Labial</th>
<th>Alveolar</th>
<th>Palatal</th>
<th>Velar</th>
<th>Uvular</th>
<th>Laryngeal</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Nasal</th>
<td>M m /m/</td>
<td>N n /n/</td>
<td>Ñ ñ /ɲ/</td>
<td colspan="2">Ŋ ŋ /ŋ/~/ɴ/</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="3">Plosive</th>
<th>Ejective</th>
<td>P' p' /pʼ/</td>
<td>T' t' /tʼ/</td>
<td>C' c' /cʼ/</td>
<td>K' k' /kʼ/ </td>
<td>Q' q' /qʼ/</td>
<td rowspan="2">( ' ) /ʔ/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Unvoiced</th>
<td>P p /p/</td>
<td>T t /t/</td>
<td>C c /c/</td>
<td>K k /k/</td>
<td>Q q /q/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Voiced</th>
<td>B b /b/</td>
<td>D d /d/</td>
<td>Ǵ ǵ /ɟ/</td>
<td>G g /g/</td>
<td>Ğ ğ /ɢ/</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Fricative</th>
<th>Unvoiced</th>
<td>F f /f/</td>
<td>S s /s/</td>
<td>X x /ʃ/</td>
<td>H h /x/</td>
<td>Ħ ħ /χ/</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Voiced</th>
<td></td>
<td>Z z /z/~/dz/</td>
<td>Ž ž /ʒ/</td>
<td>Ɣ ɣ /ɣ/</td>
<td></td>
<td>ʕ ʕ /ʕ/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Approximant</th>
<td></td>
<td>R r /ɹ/</td>
<td>J j /j/</td>
<td>V v /w/</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Trill</th>
<td>Br br /ʙ/</td>
<td>Rr rr /r/</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td>Rg rg /ʀ/</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Lateral</th>
<td></td>
<td>L l /l/</td>
<td>Λ ʎ /ʎ/</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
</table>

Notes:
<ul>
<li>Glottal stops are only written (as an apostrophe) in word-final position. As the language does not allow onset-less syllables, vowels not preceded by a consonant in writing can be assumed to have an unwritten glottal stop as their onset.</li>
<li>Middle Ru had an orthography of its own. The Latin script romanization is extrafictional.</lI>
<li>The nasal <ŋ> is typically velar, but may be pronounced as an uvular [ɴ] word-finally or when next to another uvular consonant. In the romanization, the uppercase glyph that resembles a capital N with a hook (as used for capital ŋ in some Saami languages) is preferred to the alternative that looks like an upscaled lowercase <ŋ> (as typically found in African orthographies, see the Wikipedia article on the letter Eng for more information).</li>
<li>In the romanization, the uppercase form of <ħ> (for /χ/) should properly have the additional bar through the vertical stroke on the left, rather than having the bar cross both vertical strokes as in the Unicode character <Ħ> (used instead due to the lack of support for the proper variant of the glyph).</li>
<li>The voiced phoneme romanized as <z> varied freely between being a true fricative /z/ or an affricate /dz/. The latter realization seems to have prevailed in Cadarmen, the capital of the Ru kingdom.</li>
<li>The ejective plosive /pʼ/ seems to have merged into /p/ except in eastern dialects.</li>
<li>The lateral /l/ may be palatalized to /ʎ/ in some contexts, but this is not reflected in native Middle Ru writing nor in the romanizations.</li>
<li>The sequence /ɹ.g/ is romanized as <r·g>, as <rg> stands for /ʀ/.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Vowels and vowel harmony</h2>

The vocalic inventory of the language consists of eight vowels evenly divided into two harmony classes ('clear' front vowels and 'dark' back vowels).

<table>
<tr>
<th>Clear </th>
<th>Dark</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>I i /i/</td>
<td>U u /u/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Y y /y/</td>
<td>W w /ʉ/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>E e /ø/</td>
<td>O o /o/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>A a /a/</td>
<td>Å å /ɒ/</td>
</tr>
</table>

It should be noted that the vowel transcribed as <e> is actually a rounded /ø/. The vowel /a/ is front vowel [a] rather than central [ä].

All vowels may be reduced to a schwa (/ə/) when they occur far from the primary stress of a word. Typically, this happens for vowels 2 syllables (or more) away from the main stressed syllable of a polysyllabic word. Monosyllabic particles may also have their vowels reduced to a schwa, at least in less formal registers. This kind of vowel reduction is not reflected in writing.

Affixes must agree with the vowel harmony class of the stems they attach to. While a few affixes have distinct and potentially unrelated 'clear' and 'dark' variants, most affixes look follow a certain set of vowel alternations known as 'vowel classes'. Each vowel class (represented as the umlauted vowels <ä ï ö ü ÿ> for the purposes of this dictionary and grammar only) changes to a clear or a dark realization matching the harmony class of the primary stems they are applied to as shown in the following table:

<table>
<tr>
<th>Vowel class</th>
<th>Clear realization</th>
<th>Dark realization</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>ä</th>
<td>A a /a/</td>
<td>Å å /ɒ/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>ï</th>
<td>I i /i/</td>
<td>W w /ʉ/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>ö</th>
<td>E e /ø/</td>
<td>O o /o/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>ü</th>
<td>Y y /y/</td>
<td>W w /ʉ/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>ÿ </th>
<td>I i /i/</td>
<td>U u /u/</td>
</tr>
</table>

For instance, the interrogative prefix is xö- changes to xe- before a clear-harmony stem and as xo- before a dark-harmony stem.

It should be noted that certain vowels correspond to more than one vowel classes: /i/ is the clear-vowel realization of both ï and ü while /ʉ/ is the dark-vowel realization of both ï and ÿ. Because of this, knowing one form of an affix dos not necessarily suffice to know the opposite form.

<h2>Phonotactics</h2>

Middle Ru allows a CV(G)(C) syllabic structure, where C stands for a consonant, V for a vowel and G for any of the three phonemes considered as 'glides': /ɹ j w/. The following restrictions apply:
<ul>
<li>All syllables require an onset consonant; borrowings that would otherwise begin with a vowel are fitted into Middle Ru phonotactics by adding an initial /ʔ/.</li>
<li>The approximants/glides /ɹ j w/ may only occur immediately after a vowel. Thus, they occur word-initially nor following a closed syllable.</li>
<li>Only /ɹ j w/ are allowed as word-medial codae.</li>
<li>The following consonants might appear in a word-final coda: unvoiced stops, nasals, any fricative (including /z/~/dz/), approximants and trills. Codal stops, nasals and fricatives may be preceded by a glide (/ɹ j w/).</li>
<li>Two identical consonants cannot form a cluster. Thus the sequences /ɹ.ɹ/, /j.j/ and /w.w/ are not allowed.</li>
</ul>

Prosodic stress is lexical and non-predictable. Oxytone words (those stressed on the last syllable) are always unmarked for stress. Otherwise, stress may be indicated with an optional diacritic in Middle Ru's native script and with an acute accent in the romanization (<á ǻ é í ó ú ý ẃ>). Vowels more than two syllables away from the stressed syllable in a word are reduced to a schwa.

The stressed syllable of a noun does not vary in its inflection. For example, the word mimy (man) will always be stressed in the y, even when suffixes are added as in the absolutive form mimýaħ. The written accent in forms such as mimýaħ might be absent by mistake in some inflection tables.

Verbs, on the other hand, have a variable stress syllable wholy depending on their suffixes.

<h2>Phonological history</h2>

Middle Ru is supposed to descend from a language known as Proto Ru-Hulam (PRH) which would have been spoken by the ancestors of the Ru people prior to their arrival to Rauna. Extrafictionally, however, Proto Ru-Hulam was actually back-derived from Middle Ru.

A significant share of Middle Ru's vocabulary can be traced back to Proto Ru-Hulam terms. Although in some cases the resemblance is still clearly identifiable, in others the relationship is obfuscated due to sound changes and semantic shifts. This section aims to present the most usual correspondences between Proto Ru-Hulam and Middle Ru, although it should be noted that several exceptions might be found.

One major difference between Proto Ru-Hulam and its Ru descendants in Rauna can be found in its consonantal inventory where most phonemes occur in contrasting pairs of one labialized and one non-labialized consonant such as /nʷ/ vs /n/. It is possible that the non-labialized consonants might have been palatalized to some extent (resulting in a /nʷ/ vs /nʲ/ contrast). This contrast was lost in Middle Ru, although it affected vowel development, with most PRH vowels splitting into rounded and unrounded variants. Thus, where the proto-language might contrast the syllables /ni/ and /nʷi/ by their consonants (non-labialized /n/ and labialized /nʷ/), Middle Ru may inherit such syllables as /ni/ and /nʉ/, with contrasting vowel qualities instead. Middle Ru's vowel harmony is also a later development which may play a role in vowel correspondences. For instance while PRH /nʷi/ would ordinarily yield /nʉ/ in Middle Ru, through vowel harmony the latter might be assimilated to /ny/ in a word dominated by a front vowel (in the 'clear' harmony class).

<h3>Vowels</h3>

For the most part, vowel correspondences are as follows:

<table>
<tr>
<th>Proto Ru-Hulam</th>
<th>Middle Ru </th>
<td colspan="2">Example (Proto-RH to Middle Ru)</td>
<th>Notes</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="2">a /a/</td>
<td>a /a/</td>
<td>ʔaʔxa land </td>
<td>áɣa /ˈa.ɣa/ land</td>
<td>If not labialized. May harmonize to å /ɒ/. </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>å /ɒ/</td>
<td>dʷaf to eat </td>
<td>dåf /dɒ.f/ to eat </td>
<td>Next to labialized consonants. May harmonize to a /a/. </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="2">i /i/</td>
<td>i /i/ </td>
<td>mimú man </td>
<td>mimy /miˈmy/ man </td>
<td>If not labialized. May harmonize to u /u/. </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>w /ʉ/</td>
<td>drʷis western lands </td>
<td>rrws /rʉs/ west </td>
<td>Next to labialized consonants. May harmonize to y /y/. </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="2">o /o/ [o]~[ɤ] (?)</td>
<td>e /ø/</td>
<td>xoʔká wife</td>
<td>xek'a /ʃøˈkʼa/ woman </td>
<td>If not labialized. May harmonize to e /ø/. </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>o /o/</td>
<td>hʷorʷ to speak </td>
<td>ħor /χo.ɹ/ to speak </td>
<td>If labialized. May harmonize to o /o/.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="2">u /ɯ~u/</td>
<td>y /y/</td>
<td>gusʷ you, 2s </td>
<td>ǵy /ɟy/ you, 2s </td>
<td>If not labialized. May harmonize to w /ʉ/.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>u /u/</td>
<td>hʷur to defend </td>
<td>ħur /χu.ɹ/ to own </td>
<td>If labialized. May harmonize to i /i/.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="3">ə /ə~ʌ/</td>
<td>o /o/</td>
<td>bʷəʔt obstacle, hardship </td>
<td>bot' /botʼ/ river </td>
<td>If labialized. May harmonize to e /ø/.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>a /a/</td>
<td>drəʔ to unite </td>
<td>-rra /ra/ and </td>
<td>If not labialized and next to an uvular or glottal. May harmonize to å /ɒ/.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>w /ʉ/</td>
<td>kəñ to build </td>
<td>cwñ /cʉ.ɲ/ to build </td>
<td>Elsewhere. May harmonize to y /y/.</td>
</tr>
</table>

A number of irregular developments are observed, however. For instance the Proto Ru-Hulam word xʷən (tu rule) would have been expected to yield *hon but instead yields Middle Ru hwn (also meaning 'to rule').

<h3>Consonants</h3>

As mentioned before, most Proto Ru-Hulam consonants came in two variants: labialized and non-labialized. This distinction mostly collapsed in Middle Ru other than leaving a mark in vowel qualities. Nontheless, certain consonant pairs evolved differently depending on whether they used to be labialized or not.

Aside from laryngeal /ʔ/ and /ʕ/ (the latter of which seems to have developed out of an earlier uvular [ʁ]), Middle Ru distinguishes five places of articulation: labial, alveolar, palatal, velar and uvular. The latter three series actually arose from two dorsal series (velar vs uvular; Proto Ru-Hulam lacked true palatal consonants), which depending on labialization as shown in the following table.

<table>
<tr>
<th rowspan="4">Proto Ru-Hulam places of articulation + labialization </th>
<th rowspan="4">Middle Ru places of articulation </th>
<th colspan="8">Examples</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" rowspan="2">Nasals</th>
<th colspan="4">Plosives </th>
<th colspan="2" rowspan="2">Fricatives</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Unvoiced</th>
<th colspan="2">Voiced</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>PRH</th>
<th>MR</th>
<th>PRH</th>
<th>MR</th>
<th>PRH</th>
<th>MR</th>
<th>PRH</th>
<th>MR</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Labial, not rounded</th>
<th rowspan="2">Labial </th>
<td>mimú man </td>
<td>mimy man </td>
<td>pəʔñə stone </td>
<td>p'áñe stone </td>
<td>bilʒ fifteen</td>
<td>biz squad </td>
<td>fahʷ to sleep </td>
<td>farğ to sleep </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Labial, rounded</th>
<td>mʷaʔ 3s</td>
<td>ma' 3s </td>
<td>pʷiʔɬ breast milk </td>
<td>p'wl milk </td>
<td>bʷəʔt obstacle </td>
<td>bot' river </td>
<td colspan="2">-</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Coronal, not labialiazed</th>
<th rowspan="2">Alveolar</th>
<td>nosʷ thrist </td>
<td>nes thirst </td>
<td>tuɬ husband </td>
<td>tyl lord </td>
<td>dañ to grow</td>
<td>dañ to stick out</td>
<td>samʷ hand </td>
<td>sam arm </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Coronal, labialized</th>
<td>nʷumʷ knee </td>
<td>num knee</td>
<td>tʷəʔt edge </td>
<td>t'ot' corner </td>
<td>dʷaf to eat </td>
<td>dåf to eat </td>
<td>sʷuyəm seed </td>
<td>sújåm seed </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Velar, not labialized</th>
<th>Palatal</th>
<td>ñus ten </td>
<td>ñy ten </td>
<td>kəñ to build </td>
<td>cwñ to build </td>
<td>gawəm neck </td>
<td>ǵav neck </td>
<td>xoʔká woman </td>
<td>xek'a woman </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Velar, labialized</th>
<th rowspan="2">Velar</th>
<td>ñʷo moon</td>
<td>ŋo moon </td>
<td>kʷoʔr jewellery</td>
<td>k'or gem</td>
<td>gusʷ you </td>
<td>gy you </td>
<td>xʷitʷ to leave </td>
<td>hwt to leave </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Uvular, not labialized</th>
<td colspan="2">-</td>
<td>qoʔt house </td>
<td>k'et house </td>
<td colspan="2">-</td>
<td>howəm commander </td>
<td>hev king </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Uvular, labialized</th>
<th>Uvular </th>
<td colspan="2">-</td>
<td>qʷur fist, punch</td>
<td>qurt hand </td>
<td colspan="2">-</td>
<td>hʷorʷ to speak </td>
<td>ħor to speak </td>
</tr>
</table>

As usual, a number of irregular developments can be found. Instances where non-labialized uvulars are inherited as uvular consonants (rather than as velars as show in the table) are particularly common. It has been proposed that this might be explained by the presence of two early Ru-Hulam dialects among the first colonists in Rauna although this theory has fallen short of consensus among Raunan linguists.

It should be noted that Proto Ru-Hulam didn't seem to contrast labialization (or rounding) for its labial fricative f and had neither uvular nasals nor voiced uvular plosives. Middle Ru's voiced uvular plosive ğ /ɢ/ mostly originated due to irregular developments and borrowing, although it remains one of the least used phonemes in the language.

The Proto Ru-Hulam language lacked ejectives. These developed due to the influence of glottal stops which PRH syllabic structure allowed between a vowel and further consonants (even in coda position). The resulting CVʔC(V) structure would be simplified to CVC(V) in Middle Ru, which did no longer accept non-word-final glottal stop codae, but the glottalic element would cause neighbouring voiceless plosives to turn into ejectives as in pʷiʔɬ where the preceding stop /pʷ/ becomes an ejective p'wl or bʷəʔt where the following /t/ is turned into an ejective instead: bot'. Words were both the preceding and the following consonant were voiceless plosives such as qoʔt or tʷəʔt may either develop an ejective in the first stop (as in k'et) or in both stops (as in t'ot'). Although there seems to be no clear rule governing these developments, it can be noted that roots where both consonants are identical such as tʷəʔt~t'ot' are markedly more prone to have both plosives evolve into ejectives.

Voiced fricatives (aside from /ɮ/, which shall be discussed later) are also an innovation in Middle Ru. They may arise sporadically from their voiceless counterparts (uvular /χ/ in the case of pharyngeal /ʕ/) in the vecinity of other voiced consonants (as in PRH bʷuh, 'to stir', to MR buʕ, 'to mix') or in the same contexts that cause plosives to become ejective (PRH xʷoʕn, 'town', to MR ɣen, both meaning 'town'; PRH ʔaʔxa to MR áɣa, both meaning 'land'). Any instances which could result in a voiced /f/ yield an approximant v /w/ instead: PRH muʕf 'to breathe', MR myv, 'to live'. Evidence indicates that in early Middle Ru (and possibly later in some dialectal pronunciations) these instances of Middle Ru v might have been realized as [v], contrasting with the phoneme /w/ as inherited from other sources (such as Proto Ru-Hulam /w/). The two sounds, however, had been fully merged in the Cadarmeni standard.

Unlike Middle Ru, Proto Ru-Hulam featured two lateral fricatives: voiceless /ɬ/ and voiced /ɮ/ (the latter often transcribed as a non-ligated lʒ for the sake of convenience) in addition to the lateral approximant /l/. Voiceless ɬ commonly merged into /l/, especially in coda-position, but could also yield palatal /ʎ/ near front vowels. For instance, the verb 'to give', ʎu (with an earlier variant ʎi), comes from PRH ɬi.On the other hand, the voiced lateral fricative lʒ would most commonly evolve into z /z/ (PRH kaʔlʒ, 'to slide', to MR c'az, 'to move forward') or ž /ʒ/ if in the vecinity of a front vowel: PRH ʔilʒ, 'to summon', yields the causative prefix ižy- (harmonized to užw- in dark-harmony words). Proto Ru-Hulam laterals did not contrast labialization, atlhough vowels in the vecinity of PRH /l/ will often evolve as if next to a labialized consonant: PRH lam yields MR låm (both meaning silver, with a back rounded å).

Middle Ru's three non-lateral approximants r /ɹ/, j /j/ and v /w/ correspond to Proto Ru-Hulam's approximants r (and rʷ; probably flaps /ɾ/ and /ɾʷ/), y /j/ and w /w/, except for instance of Middle Ru v which evolved as a voiced counterpart to f. Proto Ru-Hulam rhotic approximants contrasted labialization while y and w did not.

Proto Ru-Hulam also allowed syllable-initial clusters composed of a voiced plosive and a rhotic r or rʷ matching its labialization (or lack thereof). These sequences invariably became trills in Middle Ru, with br and brʷ yielding the rare bilabial trill br /ʙ/, dr and drʷ evolving into an alveolar trill rr /r/ and the clusters gr and grʷ becoming an uvular trill rg /ʀ/.

<h1>Grammar</h1>

Middle Ru is a polysynthetic language. It features a split ergative alignment. Its primary word order is VOS, with other arguments coming later. Middle Ru grammar tends to be head-initial .

<h2>Nouns</h2>

Middle Ru nouns may inflect for case, noun class and number. Declension paradigms also depend on the vowel-harmony class of each noun.

<h3>Nominal classes</h3>

The language distinguishes four noun classes. These are similar to genders in European languages, although they are mostly based on animacy. With few exceptions, the nominal class of a noun can normally be deduced from its meaning.

Class I nouns are used for people, deities, groups of people, kinship terms and living things that may not be eaten due to cultural reasons (including dogs, mollusks and arachnids but not most other animals).

Class II nouns might be classified as 'resources'. This includes most animals, edible plants (more on plant classification later), drinking water, fire, the sun, clouds, materials that might be used as fuel (such as firewood), wool and hides. Non-human body parts such as gills and wings also tend to belong to the second class.

Class III nouns mostly correspond to soft or flexible materials. This includes liquids other than drinking water, powders, gasses, (including air), most prepared foods, abstract nouns related to words, speech, memory and thoughts and body parts that are either soft (such as the skin, ears) or that may be moved independently (including hands, arms, lips, eyes).

Class IV nouns mostly include hard materials, most man-made objects (especially buildings, tools and machines) and hard body parts that cannot move independently such as teeth, bones and nails. Shells and eggs are also classified as belonging to class IV.

Plants and fungi belong to the fourth class with the following exceptions:
<ul>
<li>Long grasses, vines and similar plants belong to the third class.</li>
<li>Flowers belong to the third class unless they are edible by humans. In the latter case, they are classified as class II instead.</li>
<li>Fruits, grains, nuts and mushrooms only belong to class IV if they have a hard surface that requires grinding or a similar process for human consumption. Otherwise, they will be class II if edible or class III otherwise.</li>
<li>Seeds belong to the second class if edible and to the fourth class otherwise.</li>
<li>Woods are treated as class II nouns when intended to be used as fuel or as class IV otherwise. The same noun might take affixes for different classes depending on its intended purpose.</li>
</ul>

Middle Ru grammar often treats class I nouns ('animate') differently than nouns from other nominal classes ('inanimate'). For instance, the base form of a class I noun corresponds to the ergative case while the base form of inanimate nouns corresponds to the absolutive case instead.

<h3>Number</h3>

Number marking is optional in Middle Ru; speakers may drop number affixes whenever it is clear from context. This particularly often the case for inanimate nouns (classes II, III and IV).

Animate (class I) nouns are considered to be singular by default. The prefix ö- (this is, e- for clear vowel-harmony class and o- for dark vowel-harmony) is used to form plurals.

For other nouns, a singular/singulative suffix -l is used to explicitly mark a noun as singular. Plural marking with the prefix ö- may also be found in inanimate nouns, although this seems to be have been limited to situations when a singular meaning would otherwise be expected from the context.

The singulative suffix -l may metathesize when applied to a stem with a final stop such as sek (tree, trees), resulting in selk (a tree). Otherwise, consonant-ending stems will take the suffix with an epenthetic -ö- (as in darmárem to darmáremel).

Singulatives are also used to derive nouns for individuals out of intrinsically collective nouns. This is also found in class I nouns (for instance deriving qanal 'family member, relative' from qana, 'family'). The newly derived singulative noun may then take further number affixes such as eqanal for 'family members'.

<table>
<tr>
<th></th>
<th>Harmony class</th>
<th>Base form</th>
<th>Plural</th>
<th>Singulative</th>
<th>Singulative+Plural</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="6"></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="4">Animate noun (class I)</th>
<th rowspan="2">Clear</th>
<th>xek'a</th>
<th>exek'a</th>
<th rowspan="2">N/A</th>
<th rowspan="2">N/A</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>woman</td>
<td>women</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Dark</th>
<th>ħúrwm</th>
<th>oħúrwm</th>
<th rowspan="2">N/A</th>
<th rowspan="2">N/A</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>soldier</td>
<td>soldiers</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="4">Inanimate noun (classes II, III, IV)</th>
<th rowspan="2">Clear</th>
<th>c'áza</th>
<th>ec'áza</th>
<th>c'ázal</th>
<th rowspan="2">N/A</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>valley, valleys</td>
<td>valleys (rare) </td>
<td>a valley</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Dark</th>
<th>ħox</th>
<th>oħox</th>
<th>ħóxol</th>
<th rowspan="2">N/A</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>mountain, mountains</td>
<td>mountains (rare)</td>
<td>a mountain</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" rowspan="2">Collective animate (class I) noun (clear harmony example)</th>
<th>qana</th>
<th>eqana</th>
<th>qanal</th>
<th>eqanal</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>family</td>
<td>families</td>
<td>relative</td>
<td>relatives</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" rowspan="2">Collective inanimate (class IV) noun (clear harmony example)</th>
<th>p'áñe</th>
<th rowspan="2">N/A</th>
<th>p'áñel</th>
<th>ep'áñel</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>stones, stone as a material </td>
<td>a stone </td>
<td>several stones (very rare) </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" rowspan="2">Noun with infixed singulative -l- (clear harmony example)</th>
<th>sek</th>
<th>esek</th>
<th>selk (not *sékel) </th>
<th rowspan="2">N/A</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>tree, trees </td>
<td>trees (rare)</td>
<td>a tree</td>
</tr>
</table>

Collective nouns (independently of their class) are typically treated as being singular for the purposes of verb agreement.

<h3>Case</h3>

Middle Ru nouns are inflected for case. This is done through suffixes for cases related to morphosyntactic alignment (i.e. with whether a noun is the subject, direct object or indirect object of a verb) and through prefixes for other cases such as the possessive and the locative.

<table>
<tr>
<th>Case</th>
<th>Usage </th>
<th>Affixes </th>
<th colspan="2">Example</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Base form (or nominative) </th>
<td>Used when referring to a lexeme. Listing in dictionaries. As a vocative. Second element of a copula. </td>
<td>No affix</td>
<td>Mazávaħ mimy.</td>
<td>Mazáva is a man.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Absolutive</th>
<td rowspan="2">Subjects of intransitive verbs. Objects of transitive verbs. Indirect objects of ditransitive verbs. First element of a copula. </td>
<td>-aħ, -oq (animate nouns) </td>
<td>Myfarğaryls mimýaħ.</td>
<td>The man is sleeping.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>No affix (Inanimate nouns) </td>
<td>Zeviħárga ħox.</td>
<td>I have seen the mountain.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Ergative</th>
<td rowspan="2">Subjects of transitive verbs. Subjects of ditransitive verbs. </td>
<td>No affix (animate nouns) </td>
<td>Zevarñi ħox mimy.</td>
<td>The man sees the mountain. </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>-at, -ås (class II) -ix, -wx (class III) -yh, -uh (class IV) </td>
<td>Bruswlws mimýaħ ħóxuh.</td>
<td>The mountain crushed the man.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Secundative</th>
<td>Direct object of ditransitive verbs. Objects of type-I applicatives.</td>
<td>-t, -et, -wt</td>
<td>Λuwrrå mimýaħ ħóxwt.</td>
<td>I gave the mountain to the man.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Possessive (I)</th>
<td>Most kinds of possession. </td>
<td>la-, lå-</td>
<td>ħox lamimy</td>
<td>the mountain of the man</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Possessive (II)</th>
<td>Specific kinds of inalienable possession.</td>
<td>ha-, hå-</td>
<td>qúrtol hamimy</td>
<td>the man's hand</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Locative</th>
<td>Location: in, at. </td>
<td>by-, bw-</td>
<td>bwħox</td>
<td>at the mountain</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Instrumental</th>
<td>With, using as a tool. Causative agents.</td>
<td>syr-, swr-</td>
<td>swrqurt</td>
<td>with the hands</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Ornative</th>
<td>Having, with.</td>
<td>t'e-, t'o-</td>
<td>xek'a t'emimy</td>
<td>a woman with a man/husband</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Privative</th>
<td>Lacking, without.</td>
<td>myr-, mwr-</td>
<td>xek'a myrmimy</td>
<td>a woman without a man/husband</td>
</tr>
</table>

Case-marking prefixes are often romanized a separate word when preceding a proper noun: as in lå Rgu (of the Ru) instead of *låRgu. This difference is not obseverd in native Ru writing

<h4>Nominative (base form)</h4>

In a few some contexts, Middle Ru uses the base form of a noun (lacing any case affixes; other affixes such as number marking might be used in these contexts). This base form (which may be dubbed a 'nominative') coincides with the ergative form for animate nouns (class I) and with the absolutive case for inanimate nouns (classes II, III and IV).

A relatively unusual feature of Middle Ru is that copulas such as 'X is Y' require the first noun X to be in the absolutive case (marked for animate nouns) but use the base form of the second noun Y. Thus 'the man is a soldier' would translate as mimýaħ ħúrwm (using zero copula, as usual for present tense) but 'the soldier is a man' would be ħúrwmoq mimy; where mimýaħ and ħúrwmoq are the absolutive forms of mimy (man) and ħúrwm (soldier).

<h4>Ergative and absolutive</h4>

Middle Ru mostly follows an ergative-absolutive alignment, meaning that one case (the ergative) is used for the subjects of transitive verbs (those who also have a an object) while a different case (the absolutive) is used for objects of transitive verbs and for the sole argument of intransitive verbs. This means that in the sentences 'the woman sees the bird' (transitive) and 'the man sleeps' (intransitive), the noun 'woman' would take the ergative case while 'bird' and 'man' would take the absolutive case. Intransitive verbs, rather than being thought of as verbs with a subject but no object, may be thought of in Middle Ru as having an absolutive object but no ergative subject instead.

The way these two cases are expressed depends on the nominal class of the noun. Class I nouns are unique in taking a suffix for the absolutive case while no suffixes are added for the ergative. On the other hand, other noun classes (II, III and IV) have and unmarked absolutive case and take different suffixes (depending on their nominal and vowel-harmony classes) for the ergative. This reflects the fact that animate class I nouns are more likely to appear as subjects in transitive sentences and thus remain unmarked in agent roles.

<table>
<tr>
<th colspan="2"></th>
<th>Absolutive</th>
<th>Ergative</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Class I</th>
<th>Clear harmony</th>
<td>-aħ</td>
<td rowspan="2">Unmarked</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Dark harmony</th>
<td>-oq</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Class II</th>
<th>Clear harmony</th>
<td rowspan="2">Unmarked</td>
<td>-at </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Dark harmony</th>
<td>-ås</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Class III</th>
<th>Clear harmony</th>
<td rowspan="2">Unmarked</td>
<td>-ix</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Dark harmony</th>
<td>-wx</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Class IV</th>
<th>Clear harmony</th>
<td rowspan="2">Unmarked</td>
<td>-yh</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Dark harmony</th>
<td>-uh</td>
</tr>
</table>

<h4>Secundative</h4>

Ditransitive verbs (those that, in addition to a subject, have both a direct object and an indirect object) feature a secundative alignment in Middle Ru, meaning that direct objects receive a separate 'secundative' case while indirect objects are marked with the same case as the only object of a monotransitive verb (in this case, with the absolutive case). This is the opposite of what occurs in most European languages where it is the indirect object that is marked with a third case (the dative).

The archetypical example of a ditransitive verb is the verb 'to give' (Middle Ru ʎu), which has a subject (the one that gives something to someone else) that is to be marked with the ergative case, a direct object (the thing given to someone else) that is to be marked with the secundative case and an indirect object (the person that is given the thing) which is marked with the absolutive case.

The secundative case is expressed with a suffix: -t for nouns whose base form ends in a vowel or /l/ (including singulatives), -et for other clear-harmony nouns and -wt for other dark-harmony nouns.

There are other verbs with three arguments, however, which may take different cases. For instance, in causative constructions (X makes Y do something [to Z]), the person X that causes the action to occur (Y does something [to Z]) will be expressed in the instrumental case instead. All four arguments are found in the following example:

Užwʎuwħåls swrħúrwm xek'a mimýaħ p'áñelt.
CAUS-give-PRF-3.ANIM>3.SG.PST INS-soldier woman man-ABS stone-SGV-SEC
The soldier (INS) had the woman (ERG) give the stone (SDT) to the man (ABS).

<h4>Possessives</h4>

Posession is expressed by having a possessive form of a noun follow the possessed noun: p'áñel lamimy for "the man's stone", literally "stone (p'áñel) of the man (lamimy, possessive form of mimy, 'man')".

Middle Ru possessives are generally formed with the prefixes la- and lå-. In some specific contexts, however, a different set of prefixes is used: ha- and hå-. The second set of prefixes are restricted to indicate the posession of body parts and certain relatives: parents, grandparents and other direct ancestors, sons and direct male-line descendants, siblings, uncles on the male line (ie brothers of one's father) and their sons (but not other kinds of cousins). Daughters and descendants other than in a direct-male line may uncommonly be described with a second-type posessive while, conversely, sisters and male-line cousins may be found with first-type possessives albeit rarely. This reflects the traditional Ru views of what relatives were considered to be an inalienable part of one's household, as the patriarchal patrilocal Ru society considered that daughters left their father's household upon marrying, joining her husband's instead. It should be noted, however, that ha-/hå- prefixes seem to have been restricted to blood-relatives; even though a married woman would be considered to have joined her husband's household, only her biological parents would be referred to as being haxek'a (possessive II), while her parents-in-law would always be described as laxek'a (possessive I).

Some words such as qana (family) may be described with either possessive: 'the woman's family' could be qana laxek'a or qana haxek'a, with no semantic difference between the two.

<h4>Locative</h4>

On its own, the locative case (expressed with the prefixes by- or bw-) is restricted to static location in or at a place. Other kinds of locative phrases will use an auxiliary word before the basic locative form of the noun. These preposition-like auxiliary nouns are often locative-case nouns themselves. For instance, 'below' uses the preposition bycym, the locative form of cym 'feet'; 'below the tree' becomes bycym byselk, literally 'at the foot of the tree'.

Locatives that apply to a complete sentence may be found either right after the verb or at the very end of the sentence. Locatives that describe the location of a noun follow the noun phrase they modify. This means that Myfarğaryls mimýaħ bycym byselk may translate either as "the man is sleeping below the tree" or as "the man below the tree is sleeping". The alternative form Myfarğaryls bycym byselk mimýaħ would unambiguously translate as 'the man is sleeping below the tree'.

<h4>Other cases</h4>

There are multiple constructions in Middle Ru that correspond to the English preposition 'with'.

The instrumental case (prefixes syr- and swr-) is used for indicating a tool employed to carry an action. This includes languages: ħorårwk swrħorwx lå Rgu for 'I speak in/using the (Middle) Ru language'. It should be noted, however, than tools may also be incorporated into a verb. The instrumental case is also used to indicate causative agents, as mentioned in the previous section about the dative case.

The ornative case (prefixes t'e- and t'o-) is used to indicate that the modified noun owns or is otherwise in possession or equipped with a thing. It could be "that has". For instance ɣen t'obot' translates as "a town (ɣen) with a river (bot')", a town that has access to a major river. Conversely, the privative case (prefixes myr- and mwr- is used to indicate a lack, 'without': ɣen mwrbot' 'a town without [acces to a major] river', 

In order to express that someone is accompanied by someone or something (rather than being in posession of the object as in the ornative case), the comitative clitic =rrä is used, which covers both the usage of English 'with' and 'and'. Thus, while xek'a t'emimy (woman ORN-man) translates as 'a woman with a man ~ that has a husband', the phrase xek'a mimýrra may be translated both as 'a woman accompanied by a man' or as 'a woman and a man'. The lack of distinction between the comitative usage of 'with' and the conjunction 'and' between nouns is rather common cross-linguistically. The clitic =rrä (-(a)rra or -(å)rrå depending on vowel harmony) may follow either noun and it is always suffixed to the last element of its noun phrase. Thus "the man in the river and the woman in the city" translates as either mimy bwbót'årrå xek'a byɣen or as mymy bwbot' xek'a byɣénarra. Using the clitic on both elements of a conjunction may be done for emphasis: mimy bwbót'årrå xek'a byɣénarra for 'both the man in the river and the woman in the city'. Since the =rrä clitic is not a case marker, it may be used in conjunction with case affixes: for instance in myfarğarmis emimýaħarra exek'áħarra, 'both the men and the women are sleeping', we see the clitic combined with the class I absolutive case endings.

Roles not covered by the aforementioned cases are typically handled through prepostions.

<h2>Pronouns</h2>

<table class="tg">
<tr>
<th class="tg-0pky" colspan="2"></th>
<th class="tg-0pky">Base form </th>
<th class="tg-0pky">Transitive subject </th>
<th class="tg-0pky">Intransitive subject</th>
<th class="tg-0pky">Transitive object</th>
<th class="tg-0pky">Secundative</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0pky" colspan="2">1s, I</th>
<td class="tg-0pky" colspan="3">rru</td>
<td class="tg-0pky">rroq</td>
<td class="tg-0pky">rrwt</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0pky" colspan="2">2s, you</th>
<td class="tg-0pky" colspan="3">ǵy</td>
<td class="tg-0pky">ǵwc</td>
<td class="tg-0pky">ǵyt</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0pky" rowspan="4">3s</th>
<th class="tg-0pky">Class I</th>
<td class="tg-0pky" colspan="2">ma'</td>
<td class="tg-0pky" colspan="2">maaħ</td>
<td class="tg-0pky">majet</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0pky">Class II</th>
<td class="tg-0pky" rowspan="3">ña</td>
<td class="tg-0pky">ñat</td>
<td class="tg-0pky" colspan="2" rowspan="3">ña</td>
<td class="tg-0pky" rowspan="3">ñajet</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0pky">Class III</th>
<td class="tg-0pky">nyajx</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0lax">Class IV</th>
<td class="tg-0lax">nyajh</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0lax" rowspan="2">1p</th>
<th class="tg-0lax">Exclusive we</th>
<td class="tg-0lax" colspan="3">orrus</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">orrusoq</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">orruswt</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0lax">Inclusive we</th>
<td class="tg-0lax" colspan="3">ǵyrgy</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">ǵyrgyc</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">ǵyrget</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0lax" colspan="2">2p, plural you</th>
<td class="tg-0lax" colspan="3">jeǵy</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">jeǵyc</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">jeǵyt </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0lax" rowspan="2">3p</th>
<th class="tg-0lax">Class I</th>
<td class="tg-0lax" colspan="2">ymy</td>
<td class="tg-0lax" colspan="2">ymyjaħ</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">ymyjet</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0lax">Other</th>
<td class="tg-0lax">iñy</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">iñat</td>
<td class="tg-0lax" colspan="2">iñy</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">iñet</td>
</tr>
</table>

Middle Ru pronouns differ from regular nouns in a number of ways. Most prominently, first and second person pronouns have an nominative-accusative alignment rather than the ergative-absolutive found elsewhere in the language. This means that first and second person pronouns that occur as the subject of an intransitive verb will have the same nominative form as subjects of transitive verbs while their objects get a different accusative form. This contrasts with the behaviour found in third person pronouns and regular nouns where intransitive arguments are found in the same absolutive as transitive objects, while it is transitive subjects that get a separate ergative case. 

First person plural pronouns ('we') also contrast clusivity. The exclusive pronoun orrus excludes the listener, being equivalent to "me and others, but not you". Meanwhile, the inclusive pronoun ǵyrgy indicates that the second person is also included, "you and me (and others)".

Singular third person pronouns must agree with the nominal class of their referent. Thus singular animate nouns will be referred to with the class-I pronoun ma' (he, she, singular they) while inanimate nouns will use ña (~ it) instead, with different ergative forms depending on their class (ñat for class-II, nyajx for class-III and nyajh for class-IV). Plural third person pronouns only observe an animacy distinction: class-I animates have ymy while inanimates have iñy, which declines in the same way for classes II, III and IV.

Possessives, locatives, instrumentals and other cases are formed regularly by applying the usual affixes to the base form of each pronoun. Thus we have lårru as an alineable possessive form of 'my', haǵy for inalienable 'your', byña for 'in it', t'eǵyrgy for 'including us' and so on.

It should be noted that Middle Ru is a pro-drop language. Since verbs are marked for their subjects and objects, pronouns are commonly dropped in those positions.

<h2>Verbs</h2>

As a polysynthetic language, Middle Ru features a rather complicated verb conjugation. Fortunately, the system is notoriously regular aside from a few exceptions.

A Middle Ru verb takes a series of affixes (both prefixes and suffixes) in order to indicate several grammatical categories such as voice, aspect, tense as well as person and number agreement both for subjects and objects. All these elements do always appear in the following fixed order:
<ul>
<li>Interrogative prefix</li>
<li>Voice prefix</li>
<li>Verb stem (most basic form of the verb)</li>
<li>Incorporated nouns (mostly tools)</li>
<li>Aspect</li>
<li>Tense, person and number (these categories are fused into a single suffix)</li>
<li>Negative suffix</li>
</ul>

This structure is true for indicative verbs. Other moods will be explained later on.

<h3>Polar questions</h3>

The interrogative prefix xe- / xo- is used to transform a sentence into a polar question (one that may be answered as 'yes' or 'no'). In addition to this, all questions carry a rising intonation.

Myfarğaryls mimýaħ.
The man is sleeping.
Xemyfarğaryls mimýaħ? (read in a rising intonation)
Is the man sleeping?

These kind of questions may be answered by using a positive or negative of the main verb (myfarğaryls, 'is sleeping', for 'yes' or myfarğarylsíma, 'isn't sleeping' for 'no') or, more commonly, by using the positive or negative forms of the verb 'to be', in this case sils (is) for 'yes' and ixýma (is not) for 'no'. In Late Middle Ru, the adverb zw (thus, that way) also became a popular alternative for 'yes'.

<h3>Voice prefixes and valency operations</h3>

Middle Ru verbs may take a prefix that alters their valency (the number of arguments they require).

<h4>Valency-reducing operations</h4>

Transitive verbs ordinarily require a subject and an object. Middle Ru grammar provides mechanisms that allow the speaker to specify only one of these arguments, either for focus or in case the identity of the other argument is unknown or irrelevant.

<h4>Unspecific subjects</h4>

In order to omit the subject, no voice-marking prefixes are required; instead a null subject is expressed by using the pronoun ga which is treated as a class I third person noun for the purposes of verb conjugation. As with any other pronoun (Middle Ru being a pro-drop language), it is possible to drop ga, although speakers may want to include it to in order to unambiguously convey they refer to an unspecific subject rather than to a previously named class I referrent. The pronoun ga could be loosely translated as 'someone', although it might also refer to an inanimate or plural referent.

Compare:
Zevarñi ħox mimy.
The man (subject, mimy) sees the mountain (object, ħox).

to the ga equivalent:
Zevarñi ħox ga
Someone sees the mountain / The mountain is seen.

For ditransitive verbs such as ʎu (to give), this strategy only applies to the indirect object (the one expressed in the absolutive case). Thus, the full phrase

Λuwħåls xek'aħ mimy p'áñelt.
The man (subject, mimy) gave the stone (direct object, p'áñel) to the woman (indirect object, xek'a).

can have its indirect object focused as:
Λuwħåls xek'aħ p'áñelt (ga).
The woman was given a stone (by someone).

In order to promote the direct object p'áñel ('the stone was given [to the woman)'), the type-II applicative voice must be used.

<h4>Antipassive</h4>

All Middle Ru verbs are required to have a primary argument that would take the absoluitve case, even though this argument may be implicit. For transitive verbs, said argument corresponds to the [indirect] object. In order to omit the object and place a focus on the subject, the subject (originally found in the ergative case) must be promoted to the absoluitive role.

The antipassive voice, formed by using the prefix rrav- or rråv, turns a transitive verb into an intransitive verb which takes as its only argument the original subject. As in intransitive verbs, this sole argument must be expressed in the absolutive case, rather than in the ergative case as in the original transitive verb.

For example, the antipassive voice can be used to promote the subject and omit the original object in the following sentence:

Zevarñi ħox mimy.
The man (subject, mimy) sees the mountain (object, ħox).

which becomes:

Rravzevaryls mimýaħ.
The man sees [something].

Notices how the absolutive form mimýaħ is required in the latter sentence. It shoudl also be noted that the ending of the verb changed from -arñi (which indicates that the verb has an animate agent) to -aryls (which doesn't indicate an agent and is thus used for intransitive verbs).

This also applies to ditransitive verbs. In this case, the indirect object (the person to whom something is given) is omitted while the direct object (the thing that is given) may still be kept in the secundative case or dropped as the speaker sees fit.

Λuwħåls xek'aħ mimy p'áñelt.
The man (subject, mimy) gave the stone (direct object, p'áñel) to the woman (indirect object, xek'a).

becomes:
Rråvʎuwlws mimýaħ (p'áñelt).
The man gave (a stone).

<h4>Reflexive</h4>

The reflexive voice (marked with the prefixes my- or mw-) is used to indicate that the subject and object of a transitive verb are the same; that the action is done by 'to oneself'. Reflexive verbs are treated as intransitives grammar-wise:

Myzevaryls mimýaħ.
The man sees himself.

A limited number of verbs such as (my)farğ (to sleep) require a reflexive prefix:

Myfarğaryls mimýaħ.
The man sleeps.

**Farğaryls mimýaħ.
UNGRAMMATICAL

Verbs such as (my)farğ are only found without the reflexive prefix when a different voice mark is used on them. For instance, the causative form of the verb ('to make someone sleep') is ižyfarğ rather than the doubly-marked **ižymyfarğ.

<h4>Causative</h4>

Causatives, formed by using the prefixes ižy- or užw-, are used to express that someone (or something) triggers an action. This voice increases the valency of a verb, as a new argument (the one that causes the action) is added to the original arguments of the verb.

Unusually, the new argument (the causer) is expressed in the instrumental case. However, even though this was the norm for educated speakers following the standard found in the capital during the heyday of the Ru kingdom, evidence suggests that using the ergative case was widespread, especially for originally intransitive verbs. This was also reflected in the polypersonal markings found in verb suffixes: while the standard called for the polypersonal marking to be unaffected by the causative, in practice it was common for speakers to mark the causer as the agent of the verb.

Examples include:

C'azarmis emimýaħ.
The men march forward. (a sentence with an intransitive verb)

Ižyc'azarmis swrħúrwm emimýaħ.
The soldier made the men march forward. (causative; educated standard but uncommon in informal settings; ħúrwm, 'the soldier', is found in the instrumental case and the verb does not mark the causer as its agent)

Ižyc'azarmix emimýaħ ħúrwm.
The soldier made the men march forward. (causative; doesn't follow the standard but was ubiquitous in practice; ħúrwm, 'the soldier', is found in the ergative case and the verb does marks the causer as its agent)

Dåfwmås sujm rríxyat.
The bird ate seeds. (a sentence with a transitive verb)

Užwdåfwmås syrmimy sujm rríxyat.
The man make the bird eat seeds ~ The man fed the bird seeds (causative; educated standard; causer in the instrumental case, verb marks rríxy, 'bird', as its agent)

Užwdåfwmåx sujm rríxyat mimy.
The bird ate seeds ~ The man fed the bird seeds (causative; non-standard; causer in the ergative case, the same as the original subject rríxy, verb marks mimy, 'man', as its agent)

The causative cannot be applied when there is already a voice prefix (with the exception of lexically reflexive verbs such as farğ, 'to sleep', which in this context lose drop reflexive prefix instead). For instance, 'the woman made the man look at himself' couldn't be expressed with the causative voice prefix as 'the man [looked] at himself' would require the reflexive voice prefix. In these contexts, a periphrastic construction with the verb årmå (to cause, to force) may be used instead:

Årmåwħåñ xek'a, myzevilys mimýaħ.
The woman made the man look at himself (literally 'The woman caused (it), the man looked at himself ')

The verb årmå is also the source of a verb suffix -rm which is used for derivations with a causative meaning, as in forming darm (to remind) from da (to remember). This suffix, however, was no longer productive in Middle Ru and is only found in a very limited number of words.

Type-I applicatives may also fullfill a similar role to causatives, although with different nuances.

<h4>Type-I Applicative</h4>

Middle Ru has two applicative voices: prefixes which promote an oblique argument (one that ordinarily isn't the object nor the subject of the verb) to the primary position, the one marked with the absolutive case.

Type-I applicatives (marked with the prefixes ke- and ko-) are used to promote an argument in a benefactive role, this is, a person for whom an action, that benefits from the situation. Unlike causatives, this object does not need to have caused or be otherwise involved in the action, but it will get a benefit from it. For instance the sentence:

Kecavdimax oħúrwmaħ mimy séket.
"The man cut the trees for the soldiers."

does not imply that the soldiers forced or even ordered the man to cut the trees but rather implies that the man did it on his own in order to ease their march. This contrasts with the causative form ižycavdimax swroħúrwm sek mimýaħ (the soldiers made the man cut the trees) where it could be assumed that the soldiers played an active role in having the man cut the tree.

In a type-I applicative, the benefited argument takes the absolutive case, while the argument that hold that position before (the object in a transitive verb or the subject in an intransitive verb) takes the secundative case instead, as seen in séket, the secundative form of sek (trees). The secundative argument may be dropped as in the following example:

Kocwñimax oħúrwmaħ mimy. 
The men built for the soldiers.

This could be short for kocwñimax oħúrwmaħ mimy k'ételt (the soldiers built a house for the soldiers), but puts the focus on the action the men undertook in benefit of the soldiers rather than on the result (what they did build for them).

Type-I applicatives may not be used with ditransitive verbs such as ʎu.

<h4>Type-II Applicative</h4>

Type-II applicatives (formed with the prefixes aj- and oj-) are used to promote a direct object of a a ditransitive verb to the primary absolutive role, originally occupied by the indirect object. Consider the phrase:

Λuwħåls xek'aħ mimy p'áñelt.
The man (subject, mimy) gave the stone (direct object, p'áñel) to the woman (indirect object, xek'a).

As it has been mentioned before, this phrase on its own takes the indirect object (the woman) as its primary argument. This allows a speaker to construct a sentence when only this argument is specified (arguments in brackets are optional):

Λuwħåls xek'aħ [ga] [p'áñelt].
The woman was given [the stone] [by somebody].

In order to do the same with the subject, the antipassive voice is needed, which moves the subject (originally marked in the ergative case) to the primary role:

Rråvʎuwlws mimýaħ [p'áñelt].
The man gave [the stone].

Type-II applicatives allow the speaker to do the same with the direct object (in this case, the object that is given to someone), which is promoted to the primary role and, as such, takes the absolutive case rather than the secundative:

Ojʎuwħañ p'áñel [mimy].
The stone was given [by the man].

<h3>The verb stem</h3>

The stem is the main morpheme that decides the meaning of the verb. A MIddle Ru verbal stem will always occur with at least one suffix although they will be listed on their most basic form in the dictionary..

Verb stems whose romanized forms seem to end in a vowel, such as da (to remember) actually have a glottal coda (unwritten between vowels): /da.ʔ/, as seen in the conjugated form daiħaŋ (I remembered it): /da.ʔiˈχaŋ/. This is still the case when the vowel in the suffix coincides with the last vowel in the stem, as in daarxes (you remember me): /da.ʔaɹˈʃøs/, although a relatively small number of speakers might have contracted these sequences to a bare vowel (yielding */daɹˈʃøs/ for da[a]rxes). It should be noted that contracting /V.ʔV/ to /V/ is a nearly universal phenomenon for nouns (for instance, the ergative form of c'áza is c'azat rather than **c'azaat). The absence of contractions in verbs might be a result of Middle Ru speakers considering the glottal stop as being part of the verb root itself rather than an artifact of the language's phonology as in nominal affixes.

<h3>Incorporated nouns</h3>

Middle Ru grammar allows nouns to be incorporated into verbs although this feature is not used as widely as in other polysynthetic languages.

In order to incorporate a noun into a verb, the base form of the noun (with no number nor case affixes) is added after the verb stem. A connecting affix -ö- (-e- or -o- depending on the vowel harmony class of the incorporated noun) is used except for vowel-initial nouns. For instance, incorporating the vowel-initial noun áɣa (land, dirt) to the verb myjt (to cover) results in forms such as myjtaɣaiħárga (I covered it with dirt ~ I buried it) while incorporating qana (family) to hwn (to rule) yields forms such as hwneqanaarmat (you belong to the ruling dynasty, literally 'you family-rule them'), with an extra e connecting the two words. It should be noted that incorporated nouns might belong to the opposite vowel harmony class as in the latter example (hwn being a dark-class verb while qana is a clear-class noun). In these cases, all suffixes occurring after the noun belong to the same harmony class as the noun. Because of this, we find the clear-harmony affixes -armat in hwneqanaarmat but their dark-harmony counterparts -årmåt when no noun is incorporated to the verb: hwnårmåt (you rule over them).

Incorporated nouns most commonly indicate an instrument or material used to perform an action. For instance, 'the city was built with stone' could be translated as cwñep'añeiħañ ɣen, literally 'they stone-built the city', incorporating p'áñe (stone) into the verb cwñ (to build). This kind of sentences, however, might also be expressed with the instrumental case as in cwñwħåñ ɣen syrp'áñe (literally 'they built the city with-stone') and the latter usage seems to have been favoured in official Cadarmeni documents. Incorporated nouns might also be used to indicate generic direct objects as in qyt'ek'et'aiħañ for 'they harvested rice' (incorporating k'ét'a, 'rice', into the verb qyt', 'to harvested') although this seems to have been limited to a few idiomatic examples.

Additionally, noun incorporation would occasionally yield phrases with an a priori unexpected idiomatic usage. As seen before, hwn (to rule) plus qana (family) yielded a verb that meant ' to belong to the ruling family'. A more systematic example is the usage of qurt (hands) to indicate that an action is done by oneself. For instance cavdoqurtwħåñ sek mimy, literally 'the man hand-cut the trees' will typically imply that the man cut all the trees 'by himself' rather than doing it 'by hand'. Qurt can be incorporated into a verb with a more literal meaning, however: dåfoqurtårmås (incorporating qurt to dåf, 'to eat') would be more likely to be understood as meaning 'I was eating them using my hands (not cutlery)' than 'I was eating them on my own'.

<h3>Aspect</h3>

Although in Middle Ru aspect-marking is fused with tense marking and personal agreement in the final suffix of the verb (aside from the negative suffix), aspect-marking proto-morphemes can be easily identified, even though their form may vary slightly depending on the following tense suffix. In general, it can be identified that the suffixes -ar- and -år- are used for the imperfective aspect, -iħ- and -wħ- are used for the perfective aspect while -iis- and -ujws- are used for the inchoative aspect.

Changes found in those base aspect affixes include:
<ul>
<li>The r (/ɹ/) in the imperfective suffixes is lost before tense+person markers which begin with alveolar trill rr (/r/). Some speakers may also drop that r before the uvular trill rg (/ʀ/) although this seems to have been proscribed in the Cadarmeni standard.</li>
<li>The final ħ of perfective suffixes and the final s of inchoative affixes are dropped before any tense+person marker with an initial vowel.</li>
</ul>

The following table illustrates the various forms aspect affixes may take for each vowel-harmony class under different circumstances.

<table>
<tr>
<th rowspan="3">Aspect</th>
<th rowspan="3">Vowel harmony class </th>
<th colspan="6">Shape of the tense affix</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Vowel initial</th>
<th colspan="2">Rhotic initial</th>
<th colspan="2">Other</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Aspect affix </th>
<th>Example: -aq / -åq (1s.PST)</th>
<th>Aspect affix </th>
<th>Example: -rra / -rrå (1s>3sA.PST)</th>
<th>Aspect affix</th>
<th>Example: -lys / -lws (3sA.PST)</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Imperfective</th>
<th>Clear</th>
<td>-ar-</td>
<td>-araq</td>
<td>-a-</td>
<td>-arra</td>
<td>-ar-</td>
<td>-arlys</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Dark</th>
<td>-år-</td>
<td>-åråq</td>
<td>-å-</td>
<td>-årrå</td>
<td>-år-</td>
<td>-årlws</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Perfective</th>
<th>Clear</th>
<td>-iħ-</td>
<td>-iħaq</td>
<td>-i-</td>
<td>-irra</td>
<td>-i-</td>
<td>-ilys</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Dark</th>
<td>-wħ- </td>
<td>-wħåq</td>
<td>-w-</td>
<td>-wrrå</td>
<td>-w-</td>
<td>-wlws</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Inchoative</th>
<th>Clear</th>
<td>-iis-</td>
<td>-iisaq</td>
<td>-ii-</td>
<td>-iirra</td>
<td>-ii-</td>
<td>-iilys</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Dark</th>
<td>-ujws-</td>
<td>-ujwsáq</td>
<td>-ujw-</td>
<td>-ujwrrå</td>
<td>-ujw-</td>
<td>-ujwlws</td>
</tr>
</table>

<h4>Perfective and imperfective</h4>

The perfective aspect is used to indicate an action that ocurred at a given point in time which may be used as a reference for further actions. On the other hand, the action described by an imperfective verb takes place during a period of time, set in relation to certain reference point which might be the present (for a verb marked as having the non-past tense) or the point in time set by a perfective verb.

In the past-tense, the distinction between perfective and imperfective is verbs is analogous to the one found in Spanish and approximately corresponds to the distinction between simple past and past progressive (or past continuous) in English:

Zevisax.
see-PRFV-1s>2s.PST
I saw you / I've seen you (Spanish perfective past te vi)

Zevarsax.
see-IPFV-1s>2s.PST
I was seeing you, I saw you [during that time] (Spanish imperfective past te veía)

The non-past tense is most commonly found along the imperfective aspect in order to express events that take place at the present:

Zevarsix.
see-IPFV-1s>2s.NPST
I see you, I am seeing you.

Non-past tense-endings are used along perfective affixes in order to indicate an action or event that has not taken place. This covers both sentences concerning the future as well as hypothetical situations.

Zevisix [múnå].
see-PFV-1s>2s.NPST [tomorrow]
I will see you [tomorrow]

Zevisix, kaj zeviħyxet.
see-PFV-1s>2s.NPST therefore see-PFV-2s>1s
If I saw you (hypothetical) then you would see me

It should be noted that the primary meaning of the perfective and imperfective affixes is still a matter of whether the event can be thought as establishing a reference in time (as it is the effect when using a perfective) or extending over a period fixed to an existing reference frame (which might be either the present or a time frame previously referenced through a perfective). Thus, while non-past imperfectives would commonly translate as present-tense verb in English, they might also refer to an event which takes place concurrently with another event in the future, as it's the case for the second verb in this sentence:

Zevisix múnå, sw savarŋi!
see-PFV-1s>2s.NPST tomorrow then regret-IPFV-2s>3sI.NPST
I will see you tomorrow and then you will regret it

<h4>Inchoatives and cessatives</h4>

The affixes -ii(s)- and -ujw(s)- are used to indicate the onset of an action or state; that the action is beginning. This onset might have happened in the past (in which case in inchoactive affix is to be used with a past-tense marker) or in the present or future (for which non-past endings are used):

Cavdiisañ sek mimy.
cut-INCH-3sA>3si.PST tree man
The man began to cut down the trees.

Cavdiiñi sek mimy.
cut-INCH-3sA>3si.NPST tree man
The man begins to cut down the trees.

One particularity of Middle Ru's inchoative affix is that it becomes a cessative (indicating the end of an action) when the verb is marked as negative. Thus, negating the previous examples yields:

Cavdiisañíma sek mimy.
cut-INCH-3sA>3si.PST.NEG tree man
The man stopped cutting down the trees.

Cavdiiñiʎíma sek mimy.
cut-INCH-3sA>3si.NPST-NEG tree man
The man stops cutting down the trees.

In order to truly negate an inchoative (indicating that the event didn't begin, rather than it stopped) the adverb eʎíma (roughly translatable as 'not yet') may be used after the verb. The same can be done for cessatives (ie verbs with the inchoative affix already marked as negative):

Cavdiisañ eʎíma sek mimy.
cut-INCH-3sA>3si.PST.NEG not_yet tree man
The man didn't start cutting down the trees [yet].

Cavdiisañíma eʎíma sek mimy.
cut-INCH-3sA>3si.PST.NEG not_yet tree man
The man didn't stop cutting down the trees [yet].

<h3>Tense and person</h3>

The final mandatory affix in a Middle Ru verb encapsulates information about its tense (in a past vs non-past contrast that was exemplified in the preceding section) and its arguments, potentially including hints at both its subject and its object. These affixes are fusional in nature: although its Proto Ru-Hulam etymology might hint at which phonemes stood for each category and despite the fact that some of those patterns can still be observed to some degree in Middle Ru affixes (while others have eroded past recognizability), these final affixes cannot be broken into separate tense, subject and object markers but form a single unit that might express all three categories. For instance, the suffix -yxet can be considered a single unit marking the verb as having non-past tense, a second person agent role (subject) and a first person singular object role rather than a sequence of marker for each of those categories.

Each tense×person (or TP) affix marks a tense (non-past or past) and a person for the verb's O-role, the one that would take the absolutive case (that is, the subject for an intransitive verb, the object for a transitive verb and the indirect object for a ditransitive verb). A TP affix may also include information about the verb's A-role, which corresponds to the subject in transitive and ditransitive verbs; the argument generally marked with the ergative case in Middle Ru's grammar. Grammatical persons are expressed differently for each role; for instance O-role marking accounts for number while A-role marking doesn't.

Affixes that are not marked for any A-role are used for intransitive verbs, reflexive verbs (marked with the reflexive prefix my- or mw-) as well as for transitive/ditransitive verbs whose A-role corresponds to an ininamiate third person referent ('it', or an inanimate 'they'); as in the following examples, all of which use the affix -aq / -åq, which marks past-tense, the first person singular (I, me) as its O-role and leaves the A-role unmarked:

C'aziħaq.
I marched (intransitive verb; the O-role indicates the subject)

Myzeviħaq.
I saw myself (reflexive verb; the O-role indicates the argument that is simultaneous the object an the subject)

Bruswħåq!
It crushed me! (transitive verb; the O-role indicates the object, the subject is an inanimate third person referent, 'it')

Certain combinations of O-roles and A-roles are not allowed. This occurs whenever the O-role coincides with the A-role or when the A-rule refers to a group that includes the O-role (for instance if the A-role was 'inclusive we' and the O-role was 'I' or 'you').

The affixes, in both its vowel-harmony variants, are as follows:

<table>
<tr>
<th colspan="8">NON-PAST TENSE</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>O-role:</th>
<th>1s, me</th>
<th>2s, you</th>
<th>3s.ANIM</th>
<th>3s.INAN</th>
<th>1p (exclusive)</th>
<th>1p (inclusive)</th>
<th>2p or 3p</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>A-role:</th>
<td colspan="7"></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Unmarked, reflexive or inanimate third person </th>
<td>-yk -wk </td>
<td>-is -us </td>
<td>-yls -wls </td>
<td>-ñi -ñw </td>
<td>-mirri -murru </td>
<td>-ŋyr -ŋwr </td>
<td>-mis -mus </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>1s or 1p.EX </th>
<td>(not used) </td>
<td>-six -sux </td>
<td>-ýrra -ẃrrå</td>
<td rowspan="2">-árgy -ǻrgu</td>
<td colspan="2">-ŋyx -ŋwx </td>
<td rowspan="2">-mik -muk </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>1p.IN </th>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>-rgi -rgu </td>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>(not used)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>2s or 2p</th>
<td>-yxet -wxot </td>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>-ils -uls </td>
<td>-ŋi -ŋu </td>
<td>-miz -muz </td>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>-mit -mut </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>3s.ANIM or 3p.ANIM </th>
<td>-yx -wx </td>
<td>-it -ut </td>
<td>-ylx -wlx</td>
<td>-ñi -ñw </td>
<td>-mírra -múrrå </td>
<td>-ŋyr -ŋwr </td>
<td>-mix -mux </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="8">PAST TENSE</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>O-role:</th>
<th>1s, me</th>
<th>2s, you</th>
<th>3s.ANIM</th>
<th>3s.INAN</th>
<th>1p (exclusive)</th>
<th>1p (inclusive)</th>
<th>2p or 3p</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>A-role:</th>
<td colspan="7"></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Unmarked, reflexive or inanimate third person </th>
<td>-aq -åq </td>
<td>-as -os </td>
<td>-lys -lws </td>
<td>-aŋ -åŋ </td>
<td>-mir -mur </td>
<td>-ŋir -ŋur </td>
<td>-mas -mås </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>1s or 1p.EX</th>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>-sax -såx </td>
<td>-rra -rrå </td>
<td rowspan="2">-árga -ǻrgå</td>
<td colspan="2">-aŋak -åŋåk </td>
<td rowspan="2">-mak -måk </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>1p.IN</th>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>-árxa -ǻrxå </td>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>(not used)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>2s or 2p</th>
<td>-xes -xos </td>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>-ílsy -úlsw </td>
<td>-aŋy -åŋw </td>
<td>-mas -mås </td>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>-mat -måt </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>3s.ANIM or 3p.ANIM </th>
<td>-ax -åx</td>
<td>-at -åt </td>
<td>-als -åls</td>
<td>-añ -åñ </td>
<td>-mir -mur </td>
<td>-ŋir -ŋur </td>
<td>-max -måx </td>
</tr>
</table>

It should be noticed, however, that some of these affixes might appear in a modified when used along the negatives suffix, as it shall be explained in the following section.

<h3>Negatives</h3>

Negative verbs are marked with an additional suffix whose shape depends on the TP affix of the verb. It should be noted that negative constructions alter the semantics of inchoative verbs, as discussed on the previous section about that aspect.

The base form of the negative suffix is -ʎíma for words in the clear vowel-harmondy class and -ʎúmå. This form is used to negate verbs which would otherwise end in a vowel:

Zevarýrra mimýaħ.
I see the man.

Zevaryrraʎíma mimýaħ.
I do not see the man.

Verbs whose TP affix ends in a /k/ or a /q/ lose that final consonant and get modified suffix -ʕíma or -ʕúmå:

Zevimak emimýaħ.
I saw the men.

Zevimaʕíma emimýaħ.
I did not see the men.

Verbs whose TP affix ends in any other consonant get the reduced negative affixes -íma or -ýmå:

Zevarmix.
I see you.

Zevarmixíma.
I do not see you.

<h3>Other verb forms</h3>

While most verbal inflections conform to the previously described sequence of affixes (interrogative-voice-stem-tool-aspect-TP-negative), there is a limited number of inflectional forms that follows a different structure. This is true for imperatives and participles.

<h4>Imperatives</h4>

There exist two ways to issue a command in Middle Ru: using what is known as a true imperative or by using a periphrastic construction known as the humble imperative.

True imperatives are used whenever both speakers have a similar social status or if it is the one issuing the command who has a higher status. These verbs only deviate from the general conjugation structure in the fact the aspect and TP affixes are replaced with the suffixes -avt or -ot for positive commands or -eʎimavt or -oʎumot for negative commands. Contrary to what is typically found in the language, Middle Ru true imperatives could be said to have a nominative-accusative alignment, as the person receiving the imperative is intended the take the subject role both in intransitive and transitive verbs. Commands related to other roles may be issued by using voice affixes as described in the table below. It should be noted that Middle Ru true imperatives are not marked for person and thus independent pronouns are more likely to be necessary.

<table>
<tr>
<th>Voice</th>
<th>Imperative role</th>
<th colspan="2">Example</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Active (default) Intransitive verb </th>
<td>Subject (O-role, absolutive) </td>
<td>C'azavt!</td>
<td>March forward!</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Active (default) Transitive verb </th>
<td>Subject (A-role, ergative) </td>
<td>Zevavt ña!</td>
<td>Look at that!</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Antipassive</th>
<td colspan="3">Not used for true imperatives</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Reflexive </th>
<td>Reflexive argument, (subject and object)</td>
<td>Myzevavt!</td>
<td>Look at yourself!</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Object (O-role, absolutive) </th>
<td>Myevavt hev!</td>
<td>Be seen by the king! ~ Let the king see you!</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Causative</th>
<td>Causative agent </td>
<td>Ižyc'azavt emimy!</td>
<td>Make the men march!</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Type-I applicative </th>
<td colspan="3">Not used for true imperatives</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Type-II applicative </th>
<td colspan="3">Theoretically used for direct objects of ditransitive verbs, but never found in practice. </td>
</tr>
</table>

Humble imperatives, on the other hand, are formed periphrastically by using a regularly-conjugated form of the verb har, 'to ask' followed by the desired action. As the name for this construction suggest, humble imperatives are mostly used in situations where the speaker might have a lower social status than the listener, and thus asks them humbly rather than imposing their command with a true imperative. The verb har will be typically found as hararsix for orders issued to a singular you or hararmik for imperatives issued to a plural you. These verbs would be negated as usual, resulting in hararsixíma and hararmiʕíma for 'I did not ask you [to]'. The following table shows the humble equivalents to the previous examples assuming the command is issued to a single person (otherwise verbs would be conjugated for 2p instead of 2s):

<table>
<tr>
<th colspan="4">Examples</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>True imperative</th>
<th>Humble imperative</th>
<th>Translation</th>
<th>Humble, literally </th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>C'azavt!</td>
<td>Hararsix, c'aziħis.</td>
<td>March forward!</td>
<td>I request you that you march forward.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Zevavt ña!</td>
<td>Hararsix, zeviŋi.</td>
<td>Look at that!</td>
<td>I request you that you look at it.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Myzevavt!</td>
<td>Hararsix, myzeviħis.</td>
<td>Look at yourself!</td>
<td>I request that you look at yourself.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Myevavt hev!</td>
<td>Hararsix, zeviħit hev.</td>
<td>Be seen by the king! ~ Let the king see you!</td>
<td>I request you that the king sees you.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Ižyc'azavt emimy!</td>
<td>Hararsix, ižic'azimis emimiy.</td>
<td>Make the men march!</td>
<td>I request you that the men are made to march.</td>
</tr>
</table>

Imperatives of either kind may be followed by a noun in the instrumental case in order to indicate some authority in whose name the command is issued. This was particularly frequent in edicts, which featured the word syrhev (with the king), in order to indicate that the orderes were issued 'in the name of the king'.

<h4>Participles and relative clauses</h4>

The participle of a Middle Ru verb is used to describe a noun phrase as being the O-role of said verb. In this sense, their behaviour is close to what an English speaker might expect of an adjective (and the Middle Ru equivalents of English adjectives are indeed handled through participles). Middle Ru participles are not marked for time; azéva (the participle of zev, 'to see'), roughly translatable as 'seen', could refer to something that has been "seen", something that is "seen" at the moment or something that is to be "seen" in the future or which would be "seen" during a hypothethical scenario.

Participles follow a drastically different structure than finite (or 'conjugated') Middle Ru verbs, being only marked by voice. The most basic form of participle, corresponding to the default unmarked voice, is constructed by a circumfix: a-(stem)-a for clear-harmony verbs (as in the previously mentioned example azéva, 'seen', from zev, 'to see') or å-(stem)-o (as in åcẃño, 'built', from cuñ, 'to build') for dark-harmony verbs. Unlike other verb forms, participles are stressed on the verb stem itself.

A basic Middle Ru participle corresponds to its O-role, the argument that would be put in absolutive case when following the verb: the subject for intransitive verbs (thus ac'áza, from c'az, 'to march', could be translated as 'marching'), the object for regular transitive verbs (azéva meaning 'seen' rather than 'seeing') and the indirect object for ditransitive verbs (åʎúo meaning 'having received', from ʎu, 'to give'). Participles for other roles can be constructed by replacing the initial a- or å- with a voice prefix. This allows for participles related to a transitive subject using the antipassive voice mark as in rravzéva ('seeing', 'that sees/saw'), reflexive participles such as myzéva ('that sees themself') , causative participles such as ižyzéva ('that makes/made someone to see', also used as a noun meaning "prophet, guru"), type-I aplicatives for benefactive participles such as kezéva ('that had someone see something for its benefit') and type-II applicatives for ditransitive direct objects: ojʎúo ('that was given [to someone]').

Negative participles are preceded by the particle žwm which is also used a noun meaning 'nobody'. Thus žwm azéva transaltes as 'not seen'.

Participles are often used in place where a relative clause would be used in English. For instance, the phrase "the man who marched forward" is expressed in Middle Ru as mimy ac'áza. The participle itself may be followed by arguments (other than it's O-role) as if it was a primary verb: k'et åcẃño mimy (house PTC-build-PTC man) for 'the house built by the man'.

A different structure is required for relative clauses where the described noun phrase occupies a role other than the participle verb's O-role (and thus requires a voice mark like antipassive rrav-/rråv-) with the original O-role being included as part of the relative clause. This is the case in the phrase 'the man that saw the mountain', where the described noun ('the man', mimy) takes the A-role (ergative, subject of transitive zev, 'to see') and the relative predicate includes the original O-role (the object, ħox). This requires a structure where the described noun is followed by the particle a (regardless of the vowel harmony class of any neighbouring words), the original O-role and then the participle with the appropriate participles:

mimy a ħox rravzéva
man REL mountain ANTP-see-PTC
the man that sees/saw the mountain

It should be noted that this kind of structures cannot be used by roles not covered by voice prefixes. For instance, in 'the mountains where the man sleeped', the described noun 'mountains' occupies a locative role in the relative sentence (the man sleeped in the mountains). This kind of constructions can only be translated by expressing the full sentence (for instance, mentioning that the man sleeped in the mountains in a separate sentence before referencing those mountains again).

<h3>The copula verbs</h4>

In English, the copula verb 'to be' fulfills a nubmer of functions, including noun-noun copula (describing one thing as being another, as in "John is a man"), adjective-noun copula (indicating that an adjective apples to a given noun or noun phrase as in "John is tall") and and existential usage (indicating that something exists, often in relation to a location as in "John is in the city"). In Middle Ru, those structures are handled in different ways.

Noun-noun copula, be it indicating identity ("John is my father", here the two arguments are identified as being the same individual) or membership to a given class ("John is a man"), may be expressed with the copula verb mi, which could be considered to be the closest Middle Ru counterpart to English 'to be'. This kind of expressions, however, are often handled without any verbs (what is known as zero-copula, a common tactic cross-linguistically), simply putting the two phrases one next to the other. The first element in this type of copula must be expressed in the absolutive case, while the second one is used in its base, suffix-less form, as shown in the following examples:

Mazávaħ ata hårru.
Mazáva is my father.

Ataħ hårru Mazáva.
My father is Mazáva.

Mazávaħ mimy.
Mazáva is a man.

The verb mi is only used when one of the two elements is a pronoun (third person pronouns being an exception to this rule), when the speaker wants to indicate a tense/aspect for the relationship that wouldn't be obvious from context (for instance, to indicate that the identity is no longer true) or simply for emphasis. When a form of mi is used, the argument represented by the pronoun is often omitted, but it may be left in the sentence for emphasis.

Mix Mazáva.
I am Mazáva.

Arys Mazávaħ bavba. Bysyn, maaħ mimy.
Mazáva used to be a baby. Now, he is a man.

Sils Mazávaħ mimy.
Mazáva is indeed a man.

Mix rru ata haǵy.
I am your father.

As it is often the case for copula verbs, Middle Ru mi is massively irregular. Fortunately, the number of forms to be memorized is somewhat limited as the verb may only be marked for a single person (instead of featuring polypersonal agreement). It's conjugation takes contrasts aspect (perfective or imperfective; mi cannot be marked for the inchoative/cessative aspect), tense, person for one of its arguments and polarity (affirmativs vs negative), as shown in the following table:

<table>
<tr>
<th rowspan="3"></th>
<th colspan="4">Affirmative, 'to be'</th>
<th colspan="4">Negative, 'not to be'</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Imperfective</th>
<th colspan="2">Perfective</th>
<th colspan="2">Imperfective</th>
<th colspan="2">Perfective</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Non-past</th>
<th>Past</th>
<th>Non-past</th>
<th>Past</th>
<th>Non-past</th>
<th>Past</th>
<th>Non-past</th>
<th>Past</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>1s, I</th>
<td>mix</td>
<td>amaq</td>
<td>imix</td>
<td>maq</td>
<td>mixýma</td>
<td>amaʕíma</td>
<td>imixíma</td>
<td>maʕíma</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>2s, you</th>
<td>sut</td>
<td>åmos</td>
<td>wsut</td>
<td>mos</td>
<td>mysýma</td>
<td>åmosúmå </td>
<td>wsutúmå</td>
<td>mosúmå</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>3s.ANIM</th>
<td>sils</td>
<td>arys</td>
<td>ysils</td>
<td>ihys</td>
<td>ixýma</td>
<td>arysíma</td>
<td>ysilsíma</td>
<td>ihysíma</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>3s.INAN</th>
<td>eñi</td>
<td>araŋ</td>
<td>ħeñi</td>
<td>ħaŋ</td>
<td>ŋiʎíma</td>
<td>aransíma</td>
<td>ħeñiʎíma</td>
<td>hansíma</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>1p.EX</th>
<td>mirri</td>
<td>amir</td>
<td>imirri</td>
<td>imir</td>
<td>mirxýma</td>
<td>amirsíma</td>
<td>imirriʎíma</td>
<td>imirsíma</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>1p.IN</th>
<td>ŋirri</td>
<td>aŋir</td>
<td>iŋirgi</td>
<td>iŋir</td>
<td>ŋirxýma</td>
<td>aŋirsíma</td>
<td>iŋirgiʎíma</td>
<td>iŋirsíma</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>2p / 3p</th>
<td>mis</td>
<td>amas</td>
<td>imis</td>
<td>imas</td>
<td>misýma</td>
<td>amasíma</td>
<td>imisíma</td>
<td>amasíma</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Imperative</th>
<td colspan="4">mavt</td>
<td colspan="4">meʎimavt</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Participle</th>
<td colspan="4">amia</td>
<td colspan="4">-</td>
</tr>
</table>

Forms of the verb mi are also commonly used as answers for polar questions.

Adjectives behave like verbs in Middle Ru and thus adjective-noun copula does not require an equivalent of the verb 'to be'. For instance, the equivalent to the English adjective 'tall' is ğwn which may also be translated as 'to be tall'. This subject will be covered in more depth in the following section.

Finally, Middle Ru uses the verb se (conjugated regularly in the Cadarmeni standard, although irregular forms such as *sar- for sear- are attested for other dialects) for existential copula. This often corresponds to English 'there is' or 'there are', indicating the presence of an objecct or person.

Searmis emimýaħ ñy.
There are ten men.

Searlysíma Mazávaħ byɣen .
Mazáva wasn't at the city.

<h3>Adjectives</h3>

In Middle Ru, adjectives do not really exist as a separate word class. Instead, for all purposes they act as a subset of intransitive verbs.

In many cases, the basic form of an adjective, such as axan for 'old, elderly', is better thought of as a verb, in this case meaning 'to be old'. Thus, a predicative phrase such as "the man is old" translates by appending the usual verbal affixes to axan:

Axanaryls mimýaħ
The man is old.

Meanwhile, an attributive usage of the adjective, such as 'old' in the noun phrase 'an old man', is handled by the participle, in this case 'aaxána' (literally 'that is old'):

mimy aaxána
[an] old man, a man that is old

Being functionally identical to verbs, Middle Ru adjectives can take any affix that could apply to verbs. For instance, the causative prefix ižy- may be used to form the verb ižyaxan-, meaning 'to cause [something or somebody] to grow old, to age'.

Comparatives (and superlatives) are expressed through the prefix ñir- or ñwr-, meaning 'to surpass', which may also be applied to any other verb in order to express than an action has been conducted to a higher degree than some reference level. This prefix is not to be confused with a voice mark as it does not modify the valency of the verb. Thus, ñiraxan is not to be understood as transitive 'to be older than [someone]' but as a still-intransitive 'to be older', without making splicit who the person or object is older than, which is left out to context. Examples include:

Ñiraxanarlys mimýaħ.
The man was older / the man was the oldest.

Axanarlys xek'aħ, ñiraxanarly mimýaħ.
The man was older / the man was the oldest.

Zeviħals mimýaħ añiraxána.
She saw an older man.

<h2>Numerals</h2>

Middle Ru uses a base-20 or 'vigesimal' numeration with an auxiliary sub-base of 10. This means that rather than grouping numbers in tens, hundreds and further powers of ten, they use powers of 20. Numbers up to 19 are treated as if they were single-digit numbers although the numerals from 11 to 19 are expressed as 'ten and [one to nine]'. Thus, the number 98, rather than being constructed as 'nine times ten (ninety) and eight' is expressed as tojåt ñy xii 'four times (to) twenty (-jat/-jåt), ten (ñy) and eight (xii)', a wording identical to that used in French « quatre vingt dix huit » or old-fashoned English 'four score and eighteen'. However, while French only uses vigesimal constructions to a limited extent (for numbers between 80 and 99), all Middle Ru numbers from 21 (jat ylárra, literally. 'twenty and one') to 399 (ñysetjat ñy sot, literally 'nineteen-twenties ten nine', where ñyset-, 'nineteen' is itself a variant of ñy sot, 'ten nine') are formed by expressing the number by a multiple of twenty and its reminder. Larger numbers are built using higher powers of 20, such as c'et for 20² = 400, háraŋ for 20³ = 8000, harña for 160 000 and harac'et for 3 200 000. Even higher powers (harahara, haraharña, haraharac'et, haraharahara...) are occassionally attested in texts but do not seem to have had any practical use.

Digits from 1 to 19 and their combining forms for multiples of 20 and 400 are as follows:

<table>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Units</th>
<th colspan="2">Multiples of 20</th>
<th colspan="2">Multiples of 20² = 400</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>1</th>
<td>ýla, ylárra</td>
<th>20</th>
<td>jat, játel</td>
<th>400</th>
<td>c'et, c'étel</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>2</th>
<td>ysy</td>
<th>40</th>
<td>ysyjat</td>
<th>800</th>
<td>ysyc'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>3</th>
<td>ži</td>
<th>60</th>
<td>žijat</td>
<th>1200</th>
<td>žic'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>4</th>
<td>to</td>
<th>80</th>
<td>tojåt</td>
<th>1600</th>
<td>tec'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>5</th>
<td>za</td>
<th>100</th>
<td>zajat</td>
<th>2000</th>
<td>zac'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>6</th>
<td>yza</td>
<th>120</th>
<td>yzajat</td>
<th>2400</th>
<td>yzac'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>7</th>
<td>siri</td>
<th>140</th>
<td>sirijat</td>
<th>2800</th>
<td>siric'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>8</th>
<td>xii</td>
<th>160</th>
<td>xiijat</td>
<th>3200</th>
<td>xiic'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>9</th>
<td>sot</td>
<th>180</th>
<td>sotjåt</td>
<th>3600</th>
<td>setc'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>10</th>
<td>ñy</td>
<th>200</th>
<td>ñyjat</td>
<th>4000</th>
<td>ñyc'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>11</th>
<td>ñy ýla</td>
<th>220</th>
<td>ñylajat</td>
<th>4400</th>
<td>ñylac'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>12</th>
<td>ñy ysy</td>
<th>240</th>
<td>ñysyjat</td>
<th>4800</th>
<td>ñysyc'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>13</th>
<td>ñy ži</td>
<th>260</th>
<td>ñyžijat</td>
<th>5200</th>
<td>ñyžic'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>14</th>
<td>ñy to</td>
<th>280</th>
<td>ñytejat</td>
<th>5600</th>
<td>ñytec'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>15</th>
<td>ñy za</td>
<th>300</th>
<td>ñyzajat</td>
<th>6000</th>
<td>ñyzac'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>16</th>
<td>ñy yza</td>
<th>320</th>
<td>ñyzajat</td>
<th>6400</th>
<td>ñyzac'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>17</th>
<td>ñy siri</td>
<th>340</th>
<td>ñysirijat</td>
<th>6800</th>
<td>ñysiric'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>18</th>
<td>ñy xii</td>
<th>360</th>
<td>ñyxiijat</td>
<th>7200</th>
<td>ñyxiic'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>19</th>
<td>ñy sot</td>
<th>380</th>
<td>ñysetjat</td>
<th>7600</th>
<td>ñysetc'et</td>
</tr>
</table>

The number 'one' is always expressed as ýla, although in combining forms it may also appear as ylárra (literally 'and one', although shifting the stress to the second syllable unlike the more general usage of the affix -rra). The form ylárra is most commonly found after 'round' numbers such as jat (twenty); in a sense ylárra indicates that the value is one more than a number that would be more likely to be expected. The forms játel and c'étel alternate with jat and c'et (respectively) when not followed by any further numerals.

Unlike English, Middle Ru numerals alwayss follow the noun to which they apply: emimy jat for '20 men'.

Ordinals are formed in a relatively unusual way. The first element is described as ac'ála, the participle of c'al, 'to come first'. Other ordinals are formed by using the particle swr and the number of elements that come before, followed by the suffix -(a)rra / -(å)rrå. Thus, 'the second man' becomes mimy swr ýlarra (~ man preceded by one other); 'the tenth mountain' becomes ħóxol swr sótårrå (~ mountain preceded by nine others) and so on.

<h1>The Middle Ru script</h1>

The Middle Ru sscript, the native writing system for the language, is an abugida where each consonant is represented by a letter while vowels other than /a/ are marked through diacritics above the consonant. Much as in the Brahmic scripts from India, a virama mark is used to supress the inherent /a/ in a consonant in order to mark codae. Thus, the word xek'aħ (absolutive singular form of xek'a, 'woman') would be written with the consonant letter for X plus the E diacritic, the consonant letter for K' (which, on its own is read as k'a), the consonant letter for Ħ with the virama diacritic to indicate that it is to be read as a word-final -ħ rather than as the sequence ħa. The abugida is supposed to be a descendant from the Ancient Hulamic script used for Proto Ru-Hulam.

The glyphs used for Middle Ru consonants have a characteristic shape based on a slightly curved slanted lined over which further strokes are drawn (except for the glottal stop, marked by the slanted line alone). The characters are partially featural. For instance, the glyphs ejectives are clearly derived from the corresponding plain plosives.

[[File:Middle_ru_consonants.png|frameless|center|Middle Ru consonants]]

Vowels other than A are marked with diacritics. Occasionally, the vowel Å and the no-vowel or virama mark might be omitted in a text; although the norm is to include all relevant diacritics.

[[File:Middle_ru_vowels.png|frameless|center|Middle Ru vowels]]

Words are often separated by spaces although this is inconsistent. Some texts (particularly earlier ones) are written with no spaces whatsoever (scripta continua). On the opposite end, some texts also use spaces to separate each affix. Few punctuation marks are used; sentences are typically separated with an apostrophe-like mark.

<h2>Numerals</h2>

Middle Ru script also has its own way of representing numbers. Unique symbols are used for the numbers 1, 4, 5 and 10, which are combined in order to form simple or composite symbols for each digit from 1 to 19. Then unique symbols are used for powers of 20, which are combined with digits in order to form any number.

[[File:Middle_ru_numerals.png|frameless|center|Middle Ru numerals]]

<h1>Sample sentences</h1>

<div style='margin-top: 25px; margin-bottom: 50px; margin-left: 30px'>
[[File:Middle_ru_sample_1.png|frameless|left|Middle Ru sample sentence]]
<h3>C'ymarmas mimýaħ xek'áħarra.</h3>
/cʼy.maɹˈmas mi.myˈʔaχ ʃøˈkʼa.χa.ra/
<table style='border: none; margin-top: 0px;'>
<tr style='border: none;'><td style='border: none; text-align: left;' colspan="4">
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>c'ym-ar-mas</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>mimy-aħ</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>xek'a-aħ</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>=rra</td>
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>walk-IPFV-PST.3p</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>man-ABS</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>woman-ABS</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>=and</td>
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;' colspan='4'>
</td></tr>
</table>
A man and a woman were walking.
</div><div style='margin-top: 25px; margin-bottom: 50px; margin-left: 30px'>

[[File:Middle_ru_sample_2.png|frameless|left|Middle Ru sample sentence]]
<h3>Xezevarmix emimýaħ exek'a?</h3>
/ʃø.zø.waɹˈmiʃ ʔø.mi.myˈʔaχ ʔø.ʃøˈkʼa/
<table style='border: none; margin-top: 0px;'>
<tr style='border: none;'><td style='border: none; text-align: left;' colspan="3">
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>xe-zev-ar-mix</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>e-mimy-aħ</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>e-xek'a</td>
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>INT-see-IPFV-NPST.3p.ANIM>3p</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>PL-man-ABS</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>PL-woman</td>
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;' colspan='3'>
</td></tr>
</table>
Do the women see the men?
</div><div style='margin-top: 25px; margin-bottom: 50px; margin-left: 30px'>

[[File:Middle_ru_sample_3.png|frameless|left|Middle Ru sample sentence]]
<h3>Λuwsåxúmå ǵwc rru p'áñelt.</h3>
/ʎu.ʔʉ.sɒˈʃu.mɒ ɟʉc ru ˈpʼa.ɲølt/
<table style='border: none; margin-top: 0px;'>
<tr style='border: none;'><td style='border: none; text-align: left;' colspan="4">
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>ʎu-w-såx-ʎúmå</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>ǵwc</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>rru</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>p'áñe-l-t</td>
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>give-PRFV-PST.1s>2s</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>2s.ACC</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>1s.NOM</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>stone-SGV-SDTV</td>
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;' colspan='4'>
</td></tr>
</table>
I haven't given you the stone.</div>

[[Category:Middle Ru]]
[[Category:Languages]]
[[Category:Conlangs]]

Middle Ru

2020-04-13T00:51:59Z

Jotadiego:

Middle Ru is an a priori language that would have been spoken in the western regions of the fictional island of Rauna during its Middle Period (roughly corresponding to the Middle Ages and the Renaissance). Within its internal history, it belongs to the Ru-Hulam languages native to the Drysian continent, situated west of the Rauna region, half an ocean away.

The Middle Ru language was known natively as ħórwx lå Rgu /ˈχo.ɹʉʃ lɒ ʀu/, "language of the Ru"; the name Ru or Rgu /ʀu/ itself is thought to be related to the first person pronoun or rru /ru/, 'I, me'. Extrafictionally, this is a leftover from the development of Raunan conlangs when they were referred to by their word for the first person pronoun.

<h2 id="Internal_history">Internal history</h2>

<h3 id="Ru_Hulam_period">Ru-Hulam period</h3>

The Middle Ru language can be traced back to Proto Ru-Hulam, a language that would have been spoken in the northeastern regions of Drysia, one of the three major continents in Rauna's planet. In ancient times, the the Ru-Hulam peoples (often referred to simply as 'Hulam') came to be united under a powerful monarchy known as the First Hulam Empire. This nation would came to rule over a sizeable fractionof the continent. In particular, the Hulam conquered and slaved their more populous neighbours to the east, the Qwiyen, and made the Mikken tribes in the north into a client state.

During the heyday of their empire, the Hulam also established ties with other nations, including the Fulao peoples who had formed a similarly prosperous league of city states in Miwep, a small continent south of Drysia. Rivalry between the expansionist Hulam and Fulao peoples led to at least three attempts of invasion, all unsuccessful thanks to the latter's then-unrivaled naval expertise.

Unable to overcome the Fulao's prowess at seafaring, the Hulam empire eventually sought to imitate it. As news about the Fulao discovery and settlement of the Shawi islands in the great eastern ocean reached the Hulam courts, the emperor came to be determined to launch an ambitious effort to reach new lands further east and colonize them. Although the results were disastrous for the most part (with several expeditions wrecking in the high seas and the imperial finances taking a toll for what many viewed as a weak emperor's vanity project), one expedition managed to reach Rauna, a vast island once dominated by a powerful empire which had recently succumbed. These circumstances allowed the Hulam to establish a colony of their own in western Rauna. However, soon thereafter the already weakened Hulam Empire, itself would meet a similar fate, taking a major blow from the Great Qwiyen Revolution, which not only liberated their people from an oppressive rule but would also establish a Qwiyen state that would came to rule the Hulam peoples themselves during much of the following centuries.

As the Hulam empire fell in the Drysian continent, the colonists in Rauna lost all (if not all) contact with their ancestral homeland. Instead, they came to develop a distinct ethnic identity as the Ru. A sizeable number of Qwiyen slaves they had brought alongside them would develop into the Xhuei peoples of southern Rauna.

Although the starting population of each group is still a matter of debate among Raunan historians, it is often considered to have been in the thousands for both groups. Early Ru and Xhuei people, however, were known to have intermarried with the native peoples. Genetic studies confirm that modern Ru and Xhuei peoples are more closely related to other Raunan populations than to their Drysian ancestors, although Y-chromosome haplogroups most commonly found in north-eastern Drysia can still be identified.

<h3 id="Ru_in_Rauna">The Ru in Rauna</h3>

The Ru were one of the first ethnic groups that arrived to the Raunan region after the Ancient Period which is why they are said to be one of the Younger Raunan peoples; contrasting with the Older Raunan ethnicities that had inhabited the island prior to their arrival. Ru peoples mostly occupied territories in western Rauna. They quickly took over many of the western provinces of the ruinous Raunic empire. The Ru also conquered territories that formerly belonged to the Iyau peoples, giving rise to a long-lasting bitter rivalry between the two nations.

During much of the Middle Period the Ru played a major role in the island as the city of Cadarmen became the main trade hub on the island due to its strategic location next to a passage through the Myqyraghar mountain range that divides the Raunan mainland. Control over this strategic point allowed the wealthy lords of Cadarmen to establish an extensive Ru Kingdom which quickly became a major power in the Rauna region.

By the end of the Middle Period, maritime trade (mostly conducted by the Amatl nations in northern Rauna) gained prominence, while the land-based trade routes controlled by the Ru kingdom saw a sharp decline. This would eventually led to an economic and political crisis in the kingdom, with a major rebellion in the mountainous eastern frontier lands. Situations worsened when the Iyau launched a successful military offensive on the western lands of the Ru Kingdom, secretly aided by the Amatl league who sought to weaken their economic rivals.

By the Modern Period, the Middle Ru language had diverged into three varieties: Eastern Ru, Western Ru and the Iyau-Ru language (spoken in territories reconquered by the Iyau, also referred to as 'Lower Iyau').

<h2 id="External_history">External history</h2>

Extrafictionally, Middle Ru was the first Raunan language to be created, back in July 2018. The concept behind the Raunan languages project was to create a series of unrelated languages out of which mixed languages would develop at a later time.

It was decided from the start that Middle Ru would be a typologically unusual and rather harsh-sounding language in order to have it contrast with its neighbours.

Although the concept that the Ru peoples would have arrived to Rauna after its classical period was decided early on, work on the Proto-Ru-Hulam language and Ru history prior to their arrival to the Raunan region only began in 2020. The post-facto development of an ancestor language led to a series of retcons as well as a overhaul of Middle Ru's polypersonal marking.

<h1 id="Phonology">Phonology</h1>

Middle Ru features a rather complex phonology distinguishing 8 vowels and 37 consonants, including multiple trills, uvulars and the pharyngeal fricative /ʕ/. This led speakers of other Middle Raunan languages to describe Ru as 'harsh sounding' or 'guttural'.

<h2>Consonants</h2>

The following table shows Ru's consonant inventory (uppercase and lowercase romanization on the left, IPA phonemic transcriptions on the right):

<table>
<tr>
<th colspan="2"></th>
<th>Labial</th>
<th>Alveolar</th>
<th>Palatal</th>
<th>Velar</th>
<th>Uvular</th>
<th>Laryngeal</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Nasal</th>
<td>M m /m/</td>
<td>N n /n/</td>
<td>Ñ ñ /ɲ/</td>
<td colspan="2">Ŋ ŋ /ŋ/~/ɴ/</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="3">Plosive</th>
<th>Ejective</th>
<td>P' p' /pʼ/</td>
<td>T' t' /tʼ/</td>
<td>C' c' /cʼ/</td>
<td>K' k' /kʼ/ </td>
<td>Q' q' /qʼ/</td>
<td rowspan="2">( ' ) /ʔ/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Unvoiced</th>
<td>P p /p/</td>
<td>T t /t/</td>
<td>C c /c/</td>
<td>K k /k/</td>
<td>Q q /q/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Voiced</th>
<td>B b /b/</td>
<td>D d /d/</td>
<td>Ǵ ǵ /ɟ/</td>
<td>G g /g/</td>
<td>Ğ ğ /ɢ/</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Fricative</th>
<th>Unvoiced</th>
<td>F f /f/</td>
<td>S s /s/</td>
<td>X x /ʃ/</td>
<td>H h /x/</td>
<td>Ħ ħ /χ/</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Voiced</th>
<td></td>
<td>Z z /z/~/dz/</td>
<td>Ž ž /ʒ/</td>
<td>Ɣ ɣ /ɣ/</td>
<td></td>
<td>ʕ ʕ /ʕ/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Approximant</th>
<td></td>
<td>R r /ɹ/</td>
<td>J j /j/</td>
<td>V v /w/</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Trill</th>
<td>Br br /ʙ/</td>
<td>Rr rr /r/</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td>Rg rg /ʀ/</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Lateral</th>
<td></td>
<td>L l /l/</td>
<td>Λ ʎ /ʎ/</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
</table>

Notes:
<ul>
<li>Glottal stops are only written (as an apostrophe) in word-final position. As the language does not allow onset-less syllables, vowels not preceded by a consonant in writing can be assumed to have an unwritten glottal stop as their onset.</li>
<li>Middle Ru had an orthography of its own. The Latin script romanization is extrafictional.</lI>
<li>The nasal <ŋ> is typically velar, but may be pronounced as an uvular [ɴ] word-finally or when next to another uvular consonant. In the romanization, the uppercase glyph that resembles a capital N with a hook (as used for capital ŋ in some Saami languages) is preferred to the alternative that looks like an upscaled lowercase <ŋ> (as typically found in African orthographies, see the Wikipedia article on the letter Eng for more information).</li>
<li>In the romanization, the uppercase form of <ħ> (for /χ/) should properly have the additional bar through the vertical stroke on the left, rather than having the bar cross both vertical strokes as in the Unicode character <Ħ> (used instead due to the lack of support for the proper variant of the glyph).</li>
<li>The voiced phoneme romanized as <z> varied freely between being a true fricative /z/ or an affricate /dz/. The latter realization seems to have prevailed in Cadarmen, the capital of the Ru kingdom.</li>
<li>The ejective plosive /pʼ/ seems to have merged into /p/ except in eastern dialects.</li>
<li>The lateral /l/ may be palatalized to /ʎ/ in some contexts, but this is not reflected in native Middle Ru writing nor in the romanizations.</li>
<li>The sequence /ɹ.g/ is romanized as <r·g>, as <rg> stands for /ʀ/.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Vowels and vowel harmony</h2>

The vocalic inventory of the language consists of eight vowels evenly divided into two harmony classes ('clear' front vowels and 'dark' back vowels).

<table>
<tr>
<th>Clear </th>
<th>Dark</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>I i /i/</td>
<td>U u /u/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Y y /y/</td>
<td>W w /ʉ/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>E e /ø/</td>
<td>O o /o/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>A a /a/</td>
<td>Å å /ɒ/</td>
</tr>
</table>

It should be noted that the vowel transcribed as <e> is actually a rounded /ø/. The vowel /a/ is front vowel [a] rather than central [ä].

All vowels may be reduced to a schwa (/ə/) when they occur far from the primary stress of a word. Typically, this happens for vowels 2 syllables (or more) away from the main stressed syllable of a polysyllabic word. Monosyllabic particles may also have their vowels reduced to a schwa, at least in less formal registers. This kind of vowel reduction is not reflected in writing.

Affixes must agree with the vowel harmony class of the stems they attach to. While a few affixes have distinct and potentially unrelated 'clear' and 'dark' variants, most affixes look follow a certain set of vowel alternations known as 'vowel classes'. Each vowel class (represented as the umlauted vowels <ä ï ö ü ÿ> for the purposes of this dictionary and grammar only) changes to a clear or a dark realization matching the harmony class of the primary stems they are applied to as shown in the following table:

<table>
<tr>
<th>Vowel class</th>
<th>Clear realization</th>
<th>Dark realization</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>ä</th>
<td>A a /a/</td>
<td>Å å /ɒ/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>ï</th>
<td>I i /i/</td>
<td>W w /ʉ/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>ö</th>
<td>E e /ø/</td>
<td>O o /o/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>ü</th>
<td>Y y /y/</td>
<td>W w /ʉ/</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>ÿ </th>
<td>I i /i/</td>
<td>U u /u/</td>
</tr>
</table>

For instance, the interrogative prefix is xö- changes to xe- before a clear-harmony stem and as xo- before a dark-harmony stem.

It should be noted that certain vowels correspond to more than one vowel classes: /i/ is the clear-vowel realization of both ï and ü while /ʉ/ is the dark-vowel realization of both ï and ÿ. Because of this, knowing one form of an affix dos not necessarily suffice to know the opposite form.

<h2>Phonotactics</h2>

Middle Ru allows a CV(G)(C) syllabic structure, where C stands for a consonant, V for a vowel and G for any of the three phonemes considered as 'glides': /ɹ j w/. The following restrictions apply:
<ul>
<li>All syllables require an onset consonant; borrowings that would otherwise begin with a vowel are fitted into Middle Ru phonotactics by adding an initial /ʔ/.</li>
<li>The approximants/glides /ɹ j w/ may only occur immediately after a vowel. Thus, they occur word-initially nor following a closed syllable.</li>
<li>Only /ɹ j w/ are allowed as word-medial codae.</li>
<li>The following consonants might appear in a word-final coda: unvoiced stops, nasals, any fricative (including /z/~/dz/), approximants and trills. Codal stops, nasals and fricatives may be preceded by a glide (/ɹ j w/).</li>
<li>Two identical consonants cannot form a cluster. Thus the sequences /ɹ.ɹ/, /j.j/ and /w.w/ are not allowed.</li>
</ul>

Prosodic stress is lexical and non-predictable. Oxytone words (those stressed on the last syllable) are always unmarked for stress. Otherwise, stress may be indicated with an optional diacritic in Middle Ru's native script and with an acute accent in the romanization (<á ǻ é í ó ú ý ẃ>). Vowels more than two syllables away from the stressed syllable in a word are reduced to a schwa.

The stressed syllable of a noun does not vary in its inflection. For example, the word mimy (man) will always be stressed in the y, even when suffixes are added as in the absolutive form mimýaħ. The written accent in forms such as mimýaħ might be absent by mistake in some inflection tables.

Verbs, on the other hand, have a variable stress syllable wholy depending on their suffixes.

<h2>Phonological history</h2>

Middle Ru is supposed to descend from a language known as Proto Ru-Hulam (PRH) which would have been spoken by the ancestors of the Ru people prior to their arrival to Rauna. Extrafictionally, however, Proto Ru-Hulam was actually back-derived from Middle Ru.

A significant share of Middle Ru's vocabulary can be traced back to Proto Ru-Hulam terms. Although in some cases the resemblance is still clearly identifiable, in others the relationship is obfuscated due to sound changes and semantic shifts. This section aims to present the most usual correspondences between Proto Ru-Hulam and Middle Ru, although it should be noted that several exceptions might be found.

One major difference between Proto Ru-Hulam and its Ru descendants in Rauna can be found in its consonantal inventory where most phonemes occur in contrasting pairs of one labialized and one non-labialized consonant such as /nʷ/ vs /n/. It is possible that the non-labialized consonants might have been palatalized to some extent (resulting in a /nʷ/ vs /nʲ/ contrast). This contrast was lost in Middle Ru, although it affected vowel development, with most PRH vowels splitting into rounded and unrounded variants. Thus, where the proto-language might contrast the syllables /ni/ and /nʷi/ by their consonants (non-labialized /n/ and labialized /nʷ/), Middle Ru may inherit such syllables as /ni/ and /nʉ/, with contrasting vowel qualities instead. Middle Ru's vowel harmony is also a later development which may play a role in vowel correspondences. For instance while PRH /nʷi/ would ordinarily yield /nʉ/ in Middle Ru, through vowel harmony the latter might be assimilated to /ny/ in a word dominated by a front vowel (in the 'clear' harmony class).

<h3>Vowels</h3>

For the most part, vowel correspondences are as follows:

<table>
<tr>
<th>Proto Ru-Hulam</th>
<th>Middle Ru </th>
<td colspan="2">Example (Proto-RH to Middle Ru)</td>
<th>Notes</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="2">a /a/</td>
<td>a /a/</td>
<td>ʔaʔxa land </td>
<td>áɣa /ˈa.ɣa/ land</td>
<td>If not labialized. May harmonize to å /ɒ/. </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>å /ɒ/</td>
<td>dʷaf to eat </td>
<td>dåf /dɒ.f/ to eat </td>
<td>Next to labialized consonants. May harmonize to a /a/. </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="2">i /i/</td>
<td>i /i/ </td>
<td>mimú man </td>
<td>mimy /miˈmy/ man </td>
<td>If not labialized. May harmonize to u /u/. </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>w /ʉ/</td>
<td>drʷis western lands </td>
<td>rrws /rʉs/ west </td>
<td>Next to labialized consonants. May harmonize to y /y/. </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="2">o /o/ [o]~[ɤ] (?)</td>
<td>e /ø/</td>
<td>xoʔká wife</td>
<td>xek'a /ʃøˈkʼa/ woman </td>
<td>If not labialized. May harmonize to e /ø/. </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>o /o/</td>
<td>hʷorʷ to speak </td>
<td>ħor /χo.ɹ/ to speak </td>
<td>If labialized. May harmonize to o /o/.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="2">u /ɯ~u/</td>
<td>y /y/</td>
<td>gusʷ you, 2s </td>
<td>ǵy /ɟy/ you, 2s </td>
<td>If not labialized. May harmonize to w /ʉ/.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>u /u/</td>
<td>hʷur to defend </td>
<td>ħur /χu.ɹ/ to own </td>
<td>If labialized. May harmonize to i /i/.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="3">ə /ə~ʌ/</td>
<td>o /o/</td>
<td>bʷəʔt obstacle, hardship </td>
<td>bot' /botʼ/ river </td>
<td>If labialized. May harmonize to e /ø/.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>a /a/</td>
<td>drəʔ to unite </td>
<td>-rra /ra/ and </td>
<td>If not labialized and next to an uvular or glottal. May harmonize to å /ɒ/.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>w /ʉ/</td>
<td>kəñ to build </td>
<td>cwñ /cʉ.ɲ/ to build </td>
<td>Elsewhere. May harmonize to y /y/.</td>
</tr>
</table>

A number of irregular developments are observed, however. For instance the Proto Ru-Hulam word xʷən (tu rule) would have been expected to yield *hon but instead yields Middle Ru hwn (also meaning 'to rule').

<h3>Consonants</h3>

As mentioned before, most Proto Ru-Hulam consonants came in two variants: labialized and non-labialized. This distinction mostly collapsed in Middle Ru other than leaving a mark in vowel qualities. Nontheless, certain consonant pairs evolved differently depending on whether they used to be labialized or not.

Aside from laryngeal /ʔ/ and /ʕ/ (the latter of which seems to have developed out of an earlier uvular [ʁ]), Middle Ru distinguishes five places of articulation: labial, alveolar, palatal, velar and uvular. The latter three series actually arose from two dorsal series (velar vs uvular; Proto Ru-Hulam lacked true palatal consonants), which depending on labialization as shown in the following table.

<table>
<tr>
<th rowspan="4">Proto Ru-Hulam places of articulation + labialization </th>
<th rowspan="4">Middle Ru places of articulation </th>
<th colspan="8">Examples</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" rowspan="2">Nasals</th>
<th colspan="4">Plosives </th>
<th colspan="2" rowspan="2">Fricatives</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Unvoiced</th>
<th colspan="2">Voiced</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>PRH</th>
<th>MR</th>
<th>PRH</th>
<th>MR</th>
<th>PRH</th>
<th>MR</th>
<th>PRH</th>
<th>MR</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Labial, not rounded</th>
<th rowspan="2">Labial </th>
<td>mimú man </td>
<td>mimy man </td>
<td>pəʔñə stone </td>
<td>p'áñe stone </td>
<td>bilʒ fifteen</td>
<td>biz squad </td>
<td>fahʷ to sleep </td>
<td>farğ to sleep </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Labial, rounded</th>
<td>mʷaʔ 3s</td>
<td>ma' 3s </td>
<td>pʷiʔɬ breast milk </td>
<td>p'wl milk </td>
<td>bʷəʔt obstacle </td>
<td>bot' river </td>
<td colspan="2">-</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Coronal, not labialiazed</th>
<th rowspan="2">Alveolar</th>
<td>nosʷ thrist </td>
<td>nes thirst </td>
<td>tuɬ husband </td>
<td>tyl lord </td>
<td>dañ to grow</td>
<td>dañ to stick out</td>
<td>samʷ hand </td>
<td>sam arm </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Coronal, labialized</th>
<td>nʷumʷ knee </td>
<td>num knee</td>
<td>tʷəʔt edge </td>
<td>t'ot' corner </td>
<td>dʷaf to eat </td>
<td>dåf to eat </td>
<td>sʷuyəm seed </td>
<td>sújåm seed </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Velar, not labialized</th>
<th>Palatal</th>
<td>ñus ten </td>
<td>ñy ten </td>
<td>kəñ to build </td>
<td>cwñ to build </td>
<td>gawəm neck </td>
<td>ǵav neck </td>
<td>xoʔká woman </td>
<td>xek'a woman </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Velar, labialized</th>
<th rowspan="2">Velar</th>
<td>ñʷo moon</td>
<td>ŋo moon </td>
<td>kʷoʔr jewellery</td>
<td>k'or gem</td>
<td>gusʷ you </td>
<td>gy you </td>
<td>xʷitʷ to leave </td>
<td>hwt to leave </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Uvular, not labialized</th>
<td colspan="2">-</td>
<td>qoʔt house </td>
<td>k'et house </td>
<td colspan="2">-</td>
<td>howəm commander </td>
<td>hev king </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Uvular, labialized</th>
<th>Uvular </th>
<td colspan="2">-</td>
<td>qʷur fist, punch</td>
<td>qurt hand </td>
<td colspan="2">-</td>
<td>hʷorʷ to speak </td>
<td>ħor to speak </td>
</tr>
</table>

As usual, a number of irregular developments can be found. Instances where non-labialized uvulars are inherited as uvular consonants (rather than as velars as show in the table) are particularly common. It has been proposed that this might be explained by the presence of two early Ru-Hulam dialects among the first colonists in Rauna although this theory has fallen short of consensus among Raunan linguists.

It should be noted that Proto Ru-Hulam didn't seem to contrast labialization (or rounding) for its labial fricative f and had neither uvular nasals nor voiced uvular plosives. Middle Ru's voiced uvular plosive ğ /ɢ/ mostly originated due to irregular developments and borrowing, although it remains one of the least used phonemes in the language.

The Proto Ru-Hulam language lacked ejectives. These developed due to the influence of glottal stops which PRH syllabic structure allowed between a vowel and further consonants (even in coda position). The resulting CVʔC(V) structure would be simplified to CVC(V) in Middle Ru, which did no longer accept non-word-final glottal stop codae, but the glottalic element would cause neighbouring voiceless plosives to turn into ejectives as in pʷiʔɬ where the preceding stop /pʷ/ becomes an ejective p'wl or bʷəʔt where the following /t/ is turned into an ejective instead: bot'. Words were both the preceding and the following consonant were voiceless plosives such as qoʔt or tʷəʔt may either develop an ejective in the first stop (as in k'et) or in both stops (as in t'ot'). Although there seems to be no clear rule governing these developments, it can be noted that roots where both consonants are identical such as tʷəʔt~t'ot' are markedly more prone to have both plosives evolve into ejectives.

Voiced fricatives (aside from /ɮ/, which shall be discussed later) are also an innovation in Middle Ru. They may arise sporadically from their voiceless counterparts (uvular /χ/ in the case of pharyngeal /ʕ/) in the vecinity of other voiced consonants (as in PRH bʷuh, 'to stir', to MR buʕ, 'to mix') or in the same contexts that cause plosives to become ejective (PRH xʷoʕn, 'town', to MR ɣen, both meaning 'town'; PRH ʔaʔxa to MR áɣa, both meaning 'land'). Any instances which could result in a voiced /f/ yield an approximant v /w/ instead: PRH muʕf 'to breathe', MR myv, 'to live'. Evidence indicates that in early Middle Ru (and possibly later in some dialectal pronunciations) these instances of Middle Ru v might have been realized as [v], contrasting with the phoneme /w/ as inherited from other sources (such as Proto Ru-Hulam /w/). The two sounds, however, had been fully merged in the Cadarmeni standard.

Unlike Middle Ru, Proto Ru-Hulam featured two lateral fricatives: voiceless /ɬ/ and voiced /ɮ/ (the latter often transcribed as a non-ligated lʒ for the sake of convenience) in addition to the lateral approximant /l/. Voiceless ɬ commonly merged into /l/, especially in coda-position, but could also yield palatal /ʎ/ near front vowels. For instance, the verb 'to give', ʎu (with an earlier variant ʎi), comes from PRH ɬi.On the other hand, the voiced lateral fricative lʒ would most commonly evolve into z /z/ (PRH kaʔlʒ, 'to slide', to MR c'az, 'to move forward') or ž /ʒ/ if in the vecinity of a front vowel: PRH ʔilʒ, 'to summon', yields the causative prefix ižy- (harmonized to užw- in dark-harmony words). Proto Ru-Hulam laterals did not contrast labialization, atlhough vowels in the vecinity of PRH /l/ will often evolve as if next to a labialized consonant: PRH lam yields MR låm (both meaning silver, with a back rounded å).

Middle Ru's three non-lateral approximants r /ɹ/, j /j/ and v /w/ correspond to Proto Ru-Hulam's approximants r (and rʷ; probably flaps /ɾ/ and /ɾʷ/), y /j/ and w /w/, except for instance of Middle Ru v which evolved as a voiced counterpart to f. Proto Ru-Hulam rhotic approximants contrasted labialization while y and w did not.

Proto Ru-Hulam also allowed syllable-initial clusters composed of a voiced plosive and a rhotic r or rʷ matching its labialization (or lack thereof). These sequences invariably became trills in Middle Ru, with br and brʷ yielding the rare bilabial trill br /ʙ/, dr and drʷ evolving into an alveolar trill rr /r/ and the clusters gr and grʷ becoming an uvular trill rg /ʀ/.

<h1>Grammar</h1>

Middle Ru is a polysynthetic language. It features a split ergative alignment. Its primary word order is VOS, with other arguments coming later. Middle Ru grammar tends to be head-initial .

<h2>Nouns</h2>

Middle Ru nouns may inflect for case, noun class and number. Declension paradigms also depend on the vowel-harmony class of each noun.

<h3>Nominal classes</h3>

The language distinguishes four noun classes. These are similar to genders in European languages, although they are mostly based on animacy. With few exceptions, the nominal class of a noun can normally be deduced from its meaning.

Class I nouns are used for people, deities, groups of people, kinship terms and living things that may not be eaten due to cultural reasons (including dogs, mollusks and arachnids but not most other animals).

Class II nouns might be classified as 'resources'. This includes most animals, edible plants (more on plant classification later), drinking water, fire, the sun, clouds, materials that might be used as fuel (such as firewood), wool and hides. Non-human body parts such as gills and wings also tend to belong to the second class.

Class III nouns mostly correspond to soft or flexible materials. This includes liquids other than drinking water, powders, gasses, (including air), most prepared foods, abstract nouns related to words, speech, memory and thoughts and body parts that are either soft (such as the skin, ears) or that may be moved independently (including hands, arms, lips, eyes).

Class IV nouns mostly include hard materials, most man-made objects (especially buildings, tools and machines) and hard body parts that cannot move independently such as teeth, bones and nails. Shells and eggs are also classified as belonging to class IV.

Plants and fungi belong to the fourth class with the following exceptions:
<ul>
<li>Long grasses, vines and similar plants belong to the third class.</li>
<li>Flowers belong to the third class unless they are edible by humans. In the latter case, they are classified as class II instead.</li>
<li>Fruits, grains, nuts and mushrooms only belong to class IV if they have a hard surface that requires grinding or a similar process for human consumption. Otherwise, they will be class II if edible or class III otherwise.</li>
<li>Seeds belong to the second class if edible and to the fourth class otherwise.</li>
<li>Woods are treated as class II nouns when intended to be used as fuel or as class IV otherwise. The same noun might take affixes for different classes depending on its intended purpose.</li>
</ul>

Middle Ru grammar often treats class I nouns ('animate') differently than nouns from other nominal classes ('inanimate'). For instance, the base form of a class I noun corresponds to the ergative case while the base form of inanimate nouns corresponds to the absolutive case instead.

<h3>Number</h3>

Number marking is optional in Middle Ru; speakers may drop number affixes whenever it is clear from context. This particularly often the case for inanimate nouns (classes II, III and IV).

Animate (class I) nouns are considered to be singular by default. The prefix ö- (this is, e- for clear vowel-harmony class and o- for dark vowel-harmony) is used to form plurals.

For other nouns, a singular/singulative suffix -l is used to explicitly mark a noun as singular. Plural marking with the prefix ö- may also be found in inanimate nouns, although this seems to be have been limited to situations when a singular meaning would otherwise be expected from the context.

The singulative suffix -l may metathesize when applied to a stem with a final stop such as sek (tree, trees), resulting in selk (a tree). Otherwise, consonant-ending stems will take the suffix with an epenthetic -ö- (as in darmárem to darmáremel).

Singulatives are also used to derive nouns for individuals out of intrinsically collective nouns. This is also found in class I nouns (for instance deriving qanal 'family member, relative' from qana, 'family'). The newly derived singulative noun may then take further number affixes such as eqanal for 'family members'.

<table>
<tr>
<th></th>
<th>Harmony class</th>
<th>Base form</th>
<th>Plural</th>
<th>Singulative</th>
<th>Singulative+Plural</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="6"></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="4">Animate noun (class I)</th>
<th rowspan="2">Clear</th>
<th>xek'a</th>
<th>exek'a</th>
<th rowspan="2">N/A</th>
<th rowspan="2">N/A</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>woman</td>
<td>women</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Dark</th>
<th>ħúrwm</th>
<th>oħúrwm</th>
<th rowspan="2">N/A</th>
<th rowspan="2">N/A</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>soldier</td>
<td>soldiers</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="4">Inanimate noun (classes II, III, IV)</th>
<th rowspan="2">Clear</th>
<th>c'áza</th>
<th>ec'áza</th>
<th>c'ázal</th>
<th rowspan="2">N/A</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>valley, valleys</td>
<td>valleys (rare) </td>
<td>a valley</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Dark</th>
<th>ħox</th>
<th>oħox</th>
<th>ħóxol</th>
<th rowspan="2">N/A</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>mountain, mountains</td>
<td>mountains (rare)</td>
<td>a mountain</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" rowspan="2">Collective animate (class I) noun (clear harmony example)</th>
<th>qana</th>
<th>eqana</th>
<th>qanal</th>
<th>eqanal</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>family</td>
<td>families</td>
<td>relative</td>
<td>relatives</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" rowspan="2">Collective inanimate (class IV) noun (clear harmony example)</th>
<th>p'áñe</th>
<th rowspan="2">N/A</th>
<th>p'áñel</th>
<th>ep'áñel</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>stones, stone as a material </td>
<td>a stone </td>
<td>several stones (very rare) </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" rowspan="2">Noun with infixed singulative -l- (clear harmony example)</th>
<th>sek</th>
<th>esek</th>
<th>selk (not *sékel) </th>
<th rowspan="2">N/A</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>tree, trees </td>
<td>trees (rare)</td>
<td>a tree</td>
</tr>
</table>

Collective nouns (independently of their class) are typically treated as being singular for the purposes of verb agreement.

<h3>Case</h3>

Middle Ru nouns are inflected for case. This is done through suffixes for cases related to morphosyntactic alignment (i.e. with whether a noun is the subject, direct object or indirect object of a verb) and through prefixes for other cases such as the possessive and the locative.

<table>
<tr>
<th>Case</th>
<th>Usage </th>
<th>Affixes </th>
<th colspan="2">Example</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Base form (or nominative) </th>
<td>Used when referring to a lexeme. Listing in dictionaries. As a vocative. Second element of a copula. </td>
<td>No affix</td>
<td>Mazávaħ mimy.</td>
<td>Mazáva is a man.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Absolutive</th>
<td rowspan="2">Subjects of intransitive verbs. Objects of transitive verbs. Indirect objects of ditransitive verbs. First element of a copula. </td>
<td>-aħ, -oq (animate nouns) </td>
<td>Myfarğaryls mimýaħ.</td>
<td>The man is sleeping.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>No affix (Inanimate nouns) </td>
<td>Zeviħárga ħox.</td>
<td>I have seen the mountain.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Ergative</th>
<td rowspan="2">Subjects of transitive verbs. Subjects of ditransitive verbs. </td>
<td>No affix (animate nouns) </td>
<td>Zevarñi ħox mimy.</td>
<td>The man sees the mountain. </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>-at, -ås (class II) -ix, -wx (class III) -yh, -uh (class IV) </td>
<td>Bruswlws mimýaħ ħóxuh.</td>
<td>The mountain crushed the man.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Secundative</th>
<td>Direct object of ditransitive verbs. Objects of type-I applicatives.</td>
<td>-t, -et, -wt</td>
<td>Λuwrrå mimýaħ ħóxwt.</td>
<td>I gave the mountain to the man.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Possessive (I)</th>
<td>Most kinds of possession. </td>
<td>la-, lå-</td>
<td>ħox lamimy</td>
<td>the mountain of the man</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Possessive (II)</th>
<td>Specific kinds of inalienable possession.</td>
<td>ha-, hå-</td>
<td>qúrtol hamimy</td>
<td>the man's hand</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Locative</th>
<td>Location: in, at. </td>
<td>by-, bw-</td>
<td>bwħox</td>
<td>at the mountain</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Instrumental</th>
<td>With, using as a tool. Causative agents.</td>
<td>syr-, swr-</td>
<td>swrqurt</td>
<td>with the hands</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Ornative</th>
<td>Having, with.</td>
<td>t'e-, t'o-</td>
<td>xek'a t'emimy</td>
<td>a woman with a man/husband</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Privative</th>
<td>Lacking, without.</td>
<td>myr-, mwr-</td>
<td>xek'a myrmimy</td>
<td>a woman without a man/husband</td>
</tr>
</table>

Case-marking prefixes are often romanized a separate word when preceding a proper noun: as in lå Rgu (of the Ru) instead of *låRgu. This difference is not obseverd in native Ru writing

<h4>Nominative (base form)</h4>

In a few some contexts, Middle Ru uses the base form of a noun (lacing any case affixes; other affixes such as number marking might be used in these contexts). This base form (which may be dubbed a 'nominative') coincides with the ergative form for animate nouns (class I) and with the absolutive case for inanimate nouns (classes II, III and IV).

A relatively unusual feature of Middle Ru is that copulas such as 'X is Y' require the first noun X to be in the absolutive case (marked for animate nouns) but use the base form of the second noun Y. Thus 'the man is a soldier' would translate as mimýaħ ħúrwm (using zero copula, as usual for present tense) but 'the soldier is a man' would be ħúrwmoq mimy; where mimýaħ and ħúrwmoq are the absolutive forms of mimy (man) and ħúrwm (soldier).

<h4>Ergative and absolutive</h4>

Middle Ru mostly follows an ergative-absolutive alignment, meaning that one case (the ergative) is used for the subjects of transitive verbs (those who also have a an object) while a different case (the absolutive) is used for objects of transitive verbs and for the sole argument of intransitive verbs. This means that in the sentences 'the woman sees the bird' (transitive) and 'the man sleeps' (intransitive), the noun 'woman' would take the ergative case while 'bird' and 'man' would take the absolutive case. Intransitive verbs, rather than being thought of as verbs with a subject but no object, may be thought of in Middle Ru as having an absolutive object but no ergative subject instead.

The way these two cases are expressed depends on the nominal class of the noun. Class I nouns are unique in taking a suffix for the absolutive case while no suffixes are added for the ergative. On the other hand, other noun classes (II, III and IV) have and unmarked absolutive case and take different suffixes (depending on their nominal and vowel-harmony classes) for the ergative. This reflects the fact that animate class I nouns are more likely to appear as subjects in transitive sentences and thus remain unmarked in agent roles.

<table>
<tr>
<th colspan="2"></th>
<th>Absolutive</th>
<th>Ergative</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Class I</th>
<th>Clear harmony</th>
<td>-aħ</td>
<td rowspan="2">Unmarked</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Dark harmony</th>
<td>-oq</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Class II</th>
<th>Clear harmony</th>
<td rowspan="2">Unmarked</td>
<td>-at </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Dark harmony</th>
<td>-ås</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Class III</th>
<th>Clear harmony</th>
<td rowspan="2">Unmarked</td>
<td>-ix</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Dark harmony</th>
<td>-wx</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Class IV</th>
<th>Clear harmony</th>
<td rowspan="2">Unmarked</td>
<td>-yh</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Dark harmony</th>
<td>-uh</td>
</tr>
</table>

<h4>Secundative</h4>

Ditransitive verbs (those that, in addition to a subject, have both a direct object and an indirect object) feature a secundative alignment in Middle Ru, meaning that direct objects receive a separate 'secundative' case while indirect objects are marked with the same case as the only object of a monotransitive verb (in this case, with the absolutive case). This is the opposite of what occurs in most European languages where it is the indirect object that is marked with a third case (the dative).

The archetypical example of a ditransitive verb is the verb 'to give' (Middle Ru ʎu), which has a subject (the one that gives something to someone else) that is to be marked with the ergative case, a direct object (the thing given to someone else) that is to be marked with the secundative case and an indirect object (the person that is given the thing) which is marked with the absolutive case.

The secundative case is expressed with a suffix: -t for nouns whose base form ends in a vowel or /l/ (including singulatives), -et for other clear-harmony nouns and -wt for other dark-harmony nouns.

There are other verbs with three arguments, however, which may take different cases. For instance, in causative constructions (X makes Y do something [to Z]), the person X that causes the action to occur (Y does something [to Z]) will be expressed in the instrumental case instead. All four arguments are found in the following example:

Užwʎuwħåls swrħúrwm xek'a mimýaħ p'áñelt.
CAUS-give-PRF-3.ANIM>3.SG.PST INS-soldier woman man-ABS stone-SGV-SEC
The soldier (INS) had the woman (ERG) give the stone (SDT) to the man (ABS).

<h4>Possessives</h4>

Posession is expressed by having a possessive form of a noun follow the possessed noun: p'áñel lamimy for "the man's stone", literally "stone (p'áñel) of the man (lamimy, possessive form of mimy, 'man')".

Middle Ru possessives are generally formed with the prefixes la- and lå-. In some specific contexts, however, a different set of prefixes is used: ha- and hå-. The second set of prefixes are restricted to indicate the posession of body parts and certain relatives: parents, grandparents and other direct ancestors, sons and direct male-line descendants, siblings, uncles on the male line (ie brothers of one's father) and their sons (but not other kinds of cousins). Daughters and descendants other than in a direct-male line may uncommonly be described with a second-type posessive while, conversely, sisters and male-line cousins may be found with first-type possessives albeit rarely. This reflects the traditional Ru views of what relatives were considered to be an inalienable part of one's household, as the patriarchal patrilocal Ru society considered that daughters left their father's household upon marrying, joining her husband's instead. It should be noted, however, that ha-/hå- prefixes seem to have been restricted to blood-relatives; even though a married woman would be considered to have joined her husband's household, only her biological parents would be referred to as being haxek'a (possessive II), while her parents-in-law would always be described as laxek'a (possessive I).

Some words such as qana (family) may be described with either possessive: 'the woman's family' could be qana laxek'a or qana haxek'a, with no semantic difference between the two.

<h4>Locative</h4>

On its own, the locative case (expressed with the prefixes by- or bw-) is restricted to static location in or at a place. Other kinds of locative phrases will use an auxiliary word before the basic locative form of the noun. These preposition-like auxiliary nouns are often locative-case nouns themselves. For instance, 'below' uses the preposition bycym, the locative form of cym 'feet'; 'below the tree' becomes bycym byselk, literally 'at the foot of the tree'.

Locatives that apply to a complete sentence may be found either right after the verb or at the very end of the sentence. Locatives that describe the location of a noun follow the noun phrase they modify. This means that Myfarğaryls mimýaħ bycym byselk may translate either as "the man is sleeping below the tree" or as "the man below the tree is sleeping". The alternative form Myfarğaryls bycym byselk mimýaħ would unambiguously translate as 'the man is sleeping below the tree'.

<h4>Other cases</h4>

There are multiple constructions in Middle Ru that correspond to the English preposition 'with'.

The instrumental case (prefixes syr- and swr-) is used for indicating a tool employed to carry an action. This includes languages: ħorårwk swrħorwx lå Rgu for 'I speak in/using the (Middle) Ru language'. It should be noted, however, than tools may also be incorporated into a verb. The instrumental case is also used to indicate causative agents, as mentioned in the previous section about the dative case.

The ornative case (prefixes t'e- and t'o-) is used to indicate that the modified noun owns or is otherwise in possession or equipped with a thing. It could be "that has". For instance ɣen t'obot' translates as "a town (ɣen) with a river (bot')", a town that has access to a major river. Conversely, the privative case (prefixes myr- and mwr- is used to indicate a lack, 'without': ɣen mwrbot' 'a town without [acces to a major] river', 

In order to express that someone is accompanied by someone or something (rather than being in posession of the object as in the ornative case), the comitative clitic =rrä is used, which covers both the usage of English 'with' and 'and'. Thus, while xek'a t'emimy (woman ORN-man) translates as 'a woman with a man ~ that has a husband', the phrase xek'a mimýrra may be translated both as 'a woman accompanied by a man' or as 'a woman and a man'. The lack of distinction between the comitative usage of 'with' and the conjunction 'and' between nouns is rather common cross-linguistically. The clitic =rrä (-(a)rra or -(å)rrå depending on vowel harmony) may follow either noun and it is always suffixed to the last element of its noun phrase. Thus "the man in the river and the woman in the city" translates as either mimy bwbót'årrå xek'a byɣen or as mymy bwbot' xek'a byɣénarra. Using the clitic on both elements of a conjunction may be done for emphasis: mimy bwbót'årrå xek'a byɣénarra for 'both the man in the river and the woman in the city'. Since the =rrä clitic is not a case marker, it may be used in conjunction with case affixes: for instance in myfarğarmis emimýaħarra exek'áħarra, 'both the men and the women are sleeping', we see the clitic combined with the class I absolutive case endings.

Roles not covered by the aforementioned cases are typically handled through prepostions.

<h2>Pronouns</h2>

<table class="tg">
<tr>
<th class="tg-0pky" colspan="2"></th>
<th class="tg-0pky">Base form </th>
<th class="tg-0pky">Transitive subject </th>
<th class="tg-0pky">Intransitive subject</th>
<th class="tg-0pky">Transitive object</th>
<th class="tg-0pky">Secundative</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0pky" colspan="2">1s, I</th>
<td class="tg-0pky" colspan="3">rru</td>
<td class="tg-0pky">rroq</td>
<td class="tg-0pky">rrwt</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0pky" colspan="2">2s, you</th>
<td class="tg-0pky" colspan="3">ǵy</td>
<td class="tg-0pky">ǵwc</td>
<td class="tg-0pky">ǵyt</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0pky" rowspan="4">3s</th>
<th class="tg-0pky">Class I</th>
<td class="tg-0pky" colspan="2">ma'</td>
<td class="tg-0pky" colspan="2">maaħ</td>
<td class="tg-0pky">majet</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0pky">Class II</th>
<td class="tg-0pky" rowspan="3">ña</td>
<td class="tg-0pky">ñat</td>
<td class="tg-0pky" colspan="2" rowspan="3">ña</td>
<td class="tg-0pky" rowspan="3">ñajet</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0pky">Class III</th>
<td class="tg-0pky">nyajx</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0lax">Class IV</th>
<td class="tg-0lax">nyajh</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0lax" rowspan="2">1p</th>
<th class="tg-0lax">Exclusive we</th>
<td class="tg-0lax" colspan="3">orrus</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">orrusoq</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">orruswt</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0lax">Inclusive we</th>
<td class="tg-0lax" colspan="3">ǵyrgy</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">ǵyrgyc</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">ǵyrget</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0lax" colspan="2">2p, plural you</th>
<td class="tg-0lax" colspan="3">jeǵy</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">jeǵyc</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">jeǵyt </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0lax" rowspan="2">3p</th>
<th class="tg-0lax">Class I</th>
<td class="tg-0lax" colspan="2">ymy</td>
<td class="tg-0lax" colspan="2">ymyjaħ</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">ymyjet</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0lax">Other</th>
<td class="tg-0lax">iñy</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">iñat</td>
<td class="tg-0lax" colspan="2">iñy</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">iñet</td>
</tr>
</table>

Middle Ru pronouns differ from regular nouns in a number of ways. Most prominently, first and second person pronouns have an nominative-accusative alignment rather than the ergative-absolutive found elsewhere in the language. This means that first and second person pronouns that occur as the subject of an intransitive verb will have the same nominative form as subjects of transitive verbs while their objects get a different accusative form. This contrasts with the behaviour found in third person pronouns and regular nouns where intransitive arguments are found in the same absolutive as transitive objects, while it is transitive subjects that get a separate ergative case. 

First person plural pronouns ('we') also contrast clusivity. The exclusive pronoun orrus excludes the listener, being equivalent to "me and others, but not you". Meanwhile, the inclusive pronoun ǵyrgy indicates that the second person is also included, "you and me (and others)".

Singular third person pronouns must agree with the nominal class of their referent. Thus singular animate nouns will be referred to with the class-I pronoun ma' (he, she, singular they) while inanimate nouns will use ña (~ it) instead, with different ergative forms depending on their class (ñat for class-II, nyajx for class-III and nyajh for class-IV). Plural third person pronouns only observe an animacy distinction: class-I animates have ymy while inanimates have iñy, which declines in the same way for classes II, III and IV.

Possessives, locatives, instrumentals and other cases are formed regularly by applying the usual affixes to the base form of each pronoun. Thus we have lårru as an alineable possessive form of 'my', haǵy for inalienable 'your', byña for 'in it', t'eǵyrgy for 'including us' and so on.

It should be noted that Middle Ru is a pro-drop language. Since verbs are marked for their subjects and objects, pronouns are commonly dropped in those positions.

<h2>Verbs</h2>

As a polysynthetic language, Middle Ru features a rather complicated verb conjugation. Fortunately, the system is notoriously regular aside from a few exceptions.

A Middle Ru verb takes a series of affixes (both prefixes and suffixes) in order to indicate several grammatical categories such as voice, aspect, tense as well as person and number agreement both for subjects and objects. All these elements do always appear in the following fixed order:
<ul>
<li>Interrogative prefix</li>
<li>Voice prefix</li>
<li>Verb stem (most basic form of the verb)</li>
<li>Incorporated nouns (mostly tools)</li>
<li>Aspect</li>
<li>Tense, person and number (these categories are fused into a single suffix)</li>
<li>Negative suffix</li>
</ul>

This structure is true for indicative verbs. Other moods will be explained later on.

<h3>Polar questions</h3>

The interrogative prefix xe- / xo- is used to transform a sentence into a polar question (one that may be answered as 'yes' or 'no'). In addition to this, all questions carry a rising intonation.

Myfarğaryls mimýaħ.
The man is sleeping.
Xemyfarğaryls mimýaħ? (read in a rising intonation)
Is the man sleeping?

These kind of questions may be answered by using a positive or negative of the main verb (myfarğaryls, 'is sleeping', for 'yes' or myfarğarylsíma, 'isn't sleeping' for 'no') or, more commonly, by using the positive or negative forms of the verb 'to be', in this case sils (is) for 'yes' and ixýma (is not) for 'no'. In Late Middle Ru, the adverb zw (thus, that way) also became a popular alternative for 'yes'.

<h3>Voice prefixes and valency operations</h3>

Middle Ru verbs may take a prefix that alters their valency (the number of arguments they require).

<h4>Valency-reducing operations</h4>

Transitive verbs ordinarily require a subject and an object. Middle Ru grammar provides mechanisms that allow the speaker to specify only one of these arguments, either for focus or in case the identity of the other argument is unknown or irrelevant.

<h4>Unspecific subjects</h4>

In order to omit the subject, no voice-marking prefixes are required; instead a null subject is expressed by using the pronoun ga which is treated as a class I third person noun for the purposes of verb conjugation. As with any other pronoun (Middle Ru being a pro-drop language), it is possible to drop ga, although speakers may want to include it to in order to unambiguously convey they refer to an unspecific subject rather than to a previously named class I referrent. The pronoun ga could be loosely translated as 'someone', although it might also refer to an inanimate or plural referent.

Compare:
Zevarñi ħox mimy.
The man (subject, mimy) sees the mountain (object, ħox).

to the ga equivalent:
Zevarñi ħox ga
Someone sees the mountain / The mountain is seen.

For ditransitive verbs such as ʎu (to give), this strategy only applies to the indirect object (the one expressed in the absolutive case). Thus, the full phrase

Λuwħåls xek'aħ mimy p'áñelt.
The man (subject, mimy) gave the stone (direct object, p'áñel) to the woman (indirect object, xek'a).

can have its indirect object focused as:
Λuwħåls xek'aħ p'áñelt (ga).
The woman was given a stone (by someone).

In order to promote the direct object p'áñel ('the stone was given [to the woman)'), the type-II applicative voice must be used.

<h4>Antipassive</h4>

All Middle Ru verbs are required to have a primary argument that would take the absoluitve case, even though this argument may be implicit. For transitive verbs, said argument corresponds to the [indirect] object. In order to omit the object and place a focus on the subject, the subject (originally found in the ergative case) must be promoted to the absoluitive role.

The antipassive voice, formed by using the prefix rrav- or rråv, turns a transitive verb into an intransitive verb which takes as its only argument the original subject. As in intransitive verbs, this sole argument must be expressed in the absolutive case, rather than in the ergative case as in the original transitive verb.

For example, the antipassive voice can be used to promote the subject and omit the original object in the following sentence:

Zevarñi ħox mimy.
The man (subject, mimy) sees the mountain (object, ħox).

which becomes:

Rravzevaryls mimýaħ.
The man sees [something].

Notices how the absolutive form mimýaħ is required in the latter sentence. It shoudl also be noted that the ending of the verb changed from -arñi (which indicates that the verb has an animate agent) to -aryls (which doesn't indicate an agent and is thus used for intransitive verbs).

This also applies to ditransitive verbs. In this case, the indirect object (the person to whom something is given) is omitted while the direct object (the thing that is given) may still be kept in the secundative case or dropped as the speaker sees fit.

Λuwħåls xek'aħ mimy p'áñelt.
The man (subject, mimy) gave the stone (direct object, p'áñel) to the woman (indirect object, xek'a).

becomes:
Rråvʎuwlws mimýaħ (p'áñelt).
The man gave (a stone).

<h4>Reflexive</h4>

The reflexive voice (marked with the prefixes my- or mw-) is used to indicate that the subject and object of a transitive verb are the same; that the action is done by 'to oneself'. Reflexive verbs are treated as intransitives grammar-wise:

Myzevaryls mimýaħ.
The man sees himself.

A limited number of verbs such as (my)farğ (to sleep) require a reflexive prefix:

Myfarğaryls mimýaħ.
The man sleeps.

**Farğaryls mimýaħ.
UNGRAMMATICAL

Verbs such as (my)farğ are only found without the reflexive prefix when a different voice mark is used on them. For instance, the causative form of the verb ('to make someone sleep') is ižyfarğ rather than the doubly-marked **ižymyfarğ.

<h4>Causative</h4>

Causatives, formed by using the prefixes ižy- or užw-, are used to express that someone (or something) triggers an action. This voice increases the valency of a verb, as a new argument (the one that causes the action) is added to the original arguments of the verb.

Unusually, the new argument (the causer) is expressed in the instrumental case. However, even though this was the norm for educated speakers following the standard found in the capital during the heyday of the Ru kingdom, evidence suggests that using the ergative case was widespread, especially for originally intransitive verbs. This was also reflected in the polypersonal markings found in verb suffixes: while the standard called for the polypersonal marking to be unaffected by the causative, in practice it was common for speakers to mark the causer as the agent of the verb.

Examples include:

C'azarmis emimýaħ.
The men march forward. (a sentence with an intransitive verb)

Ižyc'azarmis swrħúrwm emimýaħ.
The soldier made the men march forward. (causative; educated standard but uncommon in informal settings; ħúrwm, 'the soldier', is found in the instrumental case and the verb does not mark the causer as its agent)

Ižyc'azarmix emimýaħ ħúrwm.
The soldier made the men march forward. (causative; doesn't follow the standard but was ubiquitous in practice; ħúrwm, 'the soldier', is found in the ergative case and the verb does marks the causer as its agent)

Dåfwmås sujm rríxyat.
The bird ate seeds. (a sentence with a transitive verb)

Užwdåfwmås syrmimy sujm rríxyat.
The man make the bird eat seeds ~ The man fed the bird seeds (causative; educated standard; causer in the instrumental case, verb marks rríxy, 'bird', as its agent)

Užwdåfwmåx sujm rríxyat mimy.
The bird ate seeds ~ The man fed the bird seeds (causative; non-standard; causer in the ergative case, the same as the original subject rríxy, verb marks mimy, 'man', as its agent)

The causative cannot be applied when there is already a voice prefix (with the exception of lexically reflexive verbs such as farğ, 'to sleep', which in this context lose drop reflexive prefix instead). For instance, 'the woman made the man look at himself' couldn't be expressed with the causative voice prefix as 'the man [looked] at himself' would require the reflexive voice prefix. In these contexts, a periphrastic construction with the verb årmå (to cause, to force) may be used instead:

Årmåwħåñ xek'a, myzevilys mimýaħ.
The woman made the man look at himself (literally 'The woman caused (it), the man looked at himself ')

The verb årmå is also the source of a verb suffix -rm which is used for derivations with a causative meaning, as in forming darm (to remind) from da (to remember). This suffix, however, was no longer productive in Middle Ru and is only found in a very limited number of words.

Type-I applicatives may also fullfill a similar role to causatives, although with different nuances.

<h4>Type-I Applicative</h4>

Middle Ru has two applicative voices: prefixes which promote an oblique argument (one that ordinarily isn't the object nor the subject of the verb) to the primary position, the one marked with the absolutive case.

Type-I applicatives (marked with the prefixes ke- and ko-) are used to promote an argument in a benefactive role, this is, a person for whom an action, that benefits from the situation. Unlike causatives, this object does not need to have caused or be otherwise involved in the action, but it will get a benefit from it. For instance the sentence:

Kecavdimax oħúrwmaħ mimy séket.
"The man cut the trees for the soldiers."

does not imply that the soldiers forced or even ordered the man to cut the trees but rather implies that the man did it on his own in order to ease their march. This contrasts with the causative form ižycavdimax swroħúrwm sek mimýaħ (the soldiers made the man cut the trees) where it could be assumed that the soldiers played an active role in having the man cut the tree.

In a type-I applicative, the benefited argument takes the absolutive case, while the argument that hold that position before (the object in a transitive verb or the subject in an intransitive verb) takes the secundative case instead, as seen in séket, the secundative form of sek (trees). The secundative argument may be dropped as in the following example:

Kocwñimax oħúrwmaħ mimy. 
The men built for the soldiers.

This could be short for kocwñimax oħúrwmaħ mimy k'ételt (the soldiers built a house for the soldiers), but puts the focus on the action the men undertook in benefit of the soldiers rather than on the result (what they did build for them).

Type-I applicatives may not be used with ditransitive verbs such as ʎu.

<h4>Type-II Applicative</h4>

Type-II applicatives (formed with the prefixes aj- and oj-) are used to promote a direct object of a a ditransitive verb to the primary absolutive role, originally occupied by the indirect object. Consider the phrase:

Λuwħåls xek'aħ mimy p'áñelt.
The man (subject, mimy) gave the stone (direct object, p'áñel) to the woman (indirect object, xek'a).

As it has been mentioned before, this phrase on its own takes the indirect object (the woman) as its primary argument. This allows a speaker to construct a sentence when only this argument is specified (arguments in brackets are optional):

Λuwħåls xek'aħ [ga] [p'áñelt].
The woman was given [the stone] [by somebody].

In order to do the same with the subject, the antipassive voice is needed, which moves the subject (originally marked in the ergative case) to the primary role:

Rråvʎuwlws mimýaħ [p'áñelt].
The man gave [the stone].

Type-II applicatives allow the speaker to do the same with the direct object (in this case, the object that is given to someone), which is promoted to the primary role and, as such, takes the absolutive case rather than the secundative:

Ojʎuwħañ p'áñel [mimy].
The stone was given [by the man].

<h3>The verb stem</h3>

The stem is the main morpheme that decides the meaning of the verb. A MIddle Ru verbal stem will always occur with at least one suffix although they will be listed on their most basic form in the dictionary..

Verb stems whose romanized forms seem to end in a vowel, such as da (to remember) actually have a glottal coda (unwritten between vowels): /da.ʔ/, as seen in the conjugated form daiħaŋ (I remembered it): /da.ʔiˈχaŋ/. This is still the case when the vowel in the suffix coincides with the last vowel in the stem, as in daarxes (you remember me): /da.ʔaɹˈʃøs/, although a relatively small number of speakers might have contracted these sequences to a bare vowel (yielding */daɹˈʃøs/ for da[a]rxes). It should be noted that contracting /V.ʔV/ to /V/ is a nearly universal phenomenon for nouns (for instance, the ergative form of c'áza is c'azat rather than **c'azaat). The absence of contractions in verbs might be a result of Middle Ru speakers considering the glottal stop as being part of the verb root itself rather than an artifact of the language's phonology as in nominal affixes.

<h3>Incorporated nouns</h3>

Middle Ru grammar allows nouns to be incorporated into verbs although this feature is not used as widely as in other polysynthetic languages.

In order to incorporate a noun into a verb, the base form of the noun (with no number nor case affixes) is added after the verb stem. A connecting affix -ö- (-e- or -o- depending on the vowel harmony class of the incorporated noun) is used except for vowel-initial nouns. For instance, incorporating the vowel-initial noun áɣa (land, dirt) to the verb myjt (to cover) results in forms such as myjtaɣaiħárga (I covered it with dirt ~ I buried it) while incorporating qana (family) to hwn (to rule) yields forms such as hwneqanaarmat (you belong to the ruling dynasty, literally 'you family-rule them'), with an extra e connecting the two words. It should be noted that incorporated nouns might belong to the opposite vowel harmony class as in the latter example (hwn being a dark-class verb while qana is a clear-class noun). In these cases, all suffixes occurring after the noun belong to the same harmony class as the noun. Because of this, we find the clear-harmony affixes -armat in hwneqanaarmat but their dark-harmony counterparts -årmåt when no noun is incorporated to the verb: hwnårmåt (you rule over them).

Incorporated nouns most commonly indicate an instrument or material used to perform an action. For instance, 'the city was built with stone' could be translated as cwñep'añeiħañ ɣen, literally 'they stone-built the city', incorporating p'áñe (stone) into the verb cwñ (to build). This kind of sentences, however, might also be expressed with the instrumental case as in cwñwħåñ ɣen syrp'áñe (literally 'they built the city with-stone') and the latter usage seems to have been favoured in official Cadarmeni documents. Incorporated nouns might also be used to indicate generic direct objects as in qyt'ek'et'aiħañ for 'they harvested rice' (incorporating k'ét'a, 'rice', into the verb qyt', 'to harvested') although this seems to have been limited to a few idiomatic examples.

Additionally, noun incorporation would occasionally yield phrases with an a priori unexpected idiomatic usage. As seen before, hwn (to rule) plus qana (family) yielded a verb that meant ' to belong to the ruling family'. A more systematic example is the usage of qurt (hands) to indicate that an action is done by oneself. For instance cavdoqurtwħåñ sek mimy, literally 'the man hand-cut the trees' will typically imply that the man cut all the trees 'by himself' rather than doing it 'by hand'. Qurt can be incorporated into a verb with a more literal meaning, however: dåfoqurtårmås (incorporating qurt to dåf, 'to eat') would be more likely to be understood as meaning 'I was eating them using my hands (not cutlery)' than 'I was eating them on my own'.

<h3>Aspect</h3>

Although in Middle Ru aspect-marking is fused with tense marking and personal agreement in the final suffix of the verb (aside from the negative suffix), aspect-marking proto-morphemes can be easily identified, even though their form may vary slightly depending on the following tense suffix. In general, it can be identified that the suffixes -ar- and -år- are used for the imperfective aspect, -iħ- and -wħ- are used for the perfective aspect while -iis- and -ujws- are used for the inchoative aspect.

Changes found in those base aspect affixes include:
<ul>
<li>The r (/ɹ/) in the imperfective suffixes is lost before tense+person markers which begin with alveolar trill rr (/r/). Some speakers may also drop that r before the uvular trill rg (/ʀ/) although this seems to have been proscribed in the Cadarmeni standard.</li>
<li>The final ħ of perfective suffixes and the final s of inchoative affixes are dropped before any tense+person marker with an initial vowel.</li>
</ul>

The following table illustrates the various forms aspect affixes may take for each vowel-harmony class under different circumstances.

<table>
<tr>
<th rowspan="3">Aspect</th>
<th rowspan="3">Vowel harmony class </th>
<th colspan="6">Shape of the tense affix</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Vowel initial</th>
<th colspan="2">Rhotic initial</th>
<th colspan="2">Other</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Aspect affix </th>
<th>Example: -aq / -åq (1s.PST)</th>
<th>Aspect affix </th>
<th>Example: -rra / -rrå (1s>3sA.PST)</th>
<th>Aspect affix</th>
<th>Example: -lys / -lws (3sA.PST)</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Imperfective</th>
<th>Clear</th>
<td>-ar-</td>
<td>-araq</td>
<td>-a-</td>
<td>-arra</td>
<td>-ar-</td>
<td>-arlys</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Dark</th>
<td>-år-</td>
<td>-åråq</td>
<td>-å-</td>
<td>-årrå</td>
<td>-år-</td>
<td>-årlws</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Perfective</th>
<th>Clear</th>
<td>-iħ-</td>
<td>-iħaq</td>
<td>-i-</td>
<td>-irra</td>
<td>-i-</td>
<td>-ilys</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Dark</th>
<td>-wħ- </td>
<td>-wħåq</td>
<td>-w-</td>
<td>-wrrå</td>
<td>-w-</td>
<td>-wlws</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Inchoative</th>
<th>Clear</th>
<td>-iis-</td>
<td>-iisaq</td>
<td>-ii-</td>
<td>-iirra</td>
<td>-ii-</td>
<td>-iilys</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Dark</th>
<td>-ujws-</td>
<td>-ujwsáq</td>
<td>-ujw-</td>
<td>-ujwrrå</td>
<td>-ujw-</td>
<td>-ujwlws</td>
</tr>
</table>

<h4>Perfective and imperfective</h4>

The perfective aspect is used to indicate an action that ocurred at a given point in time which may be used as a reference for further actions. On the other hand, the action described by an imperfective verb takes place during a period of time, set in relation to certain reference point which might be the present (for a verb marked as having the non-past tense) or the point in time set by a perfective verb.

In the past-tense, the distinction between perfective and imperfective is verbs is analogous to the one found in Spanish and approximately corresponds to the distinction between simple past and past progressive (or past continuous) in English:

Zevisax.
see-PRFV-1s>2s.PST
I saw you / I've seen you (Spanish perfective past te vi)

Zevarsax.
see-IPFV-1s>2s.PST
I was seeing you, I saw you [during that time] (Spanish imperfective past te veía)

The non-past tense is most commonly found along the imperfective aspect in order to express events that take place at the present:

Zevarsix.
see-IPFV-1s>2s.NPST
I see you, I am seeing you.

Non-past tense-endings are used along perfective affixes in order to indicate an action or event that has not taken place. This covers both sentences concerning the future as well as hypothetical situations.

Zevisix [múnå].
see-PFV-1s>2s.NPST [tomorrow]
I will see you [tomorrow]

Zevisix, kaj zeviħyxet.
see-PFV-1s>2s.NPST therefore see-PFV-2s>1s
If I saw you (hypothetical) then you would see me

It should be noted that the primary meaning of the perfective and imperfective affixes is still a matter of whether the event can be thought as establishing a reference in time (as it is the effect when using a perfective) or extending over a period fixed to an existing reference frame (which might be either the present or a time frame previously referenced through a perfective). Thus, while non-past imperfectives would commonly translate as present-tense verb in English, they might also refer to an event which takes place concurrently with another event in the future, as it's the case for the second verb in this sentence:

Zevisix múnå, sw savarŋi!
see-PFV-1s>2s.NPST tomorrow then regret-IPFV-2s>3sI.NPST
I will see you tomorrow and then you will regret it

<h4>Inchoatives and cessatives</h4>

The affixes -ii(s)- and -ujw(s)- are used to indicate the onset of an action or state; that the action is beginning. This onset might have happened in the past (in which case in inchoactive affix is to be used with a past-tense marker) or in the present or future (for which non-past endings are used):

Cavdiisañ sek mimy.
cut-INCH-3sA>3si.PST tree man
The man began to cut down the trees.

Cavdiiñi sek mimy.
cut-INCH-3sA>3si.NPST tree man
The man begins to cut down the trees.

One particularity of Middle Ru's inchoative affix is that it becomes a cessative (indicating the end of an action) when the verb is marked as negative. Thus, negating the previous examples yields:

Cavdiisañíma sek mimy.
cut-INCH-3sA>3si.PST.NEG tree man
The man stopped cutting down the trees.

Cavdiiñiʎíma sek mimy.
cut-INCH-3sA>3si.NPST-NEG tree man
The man stops cutting down the trees.

In order to truly negate an inchoative (indicating that the event didn't begin, rather than it stopped) the adverb eʎíma (roughly translatable as 'not yet') may be used after the verb. The same can be done for cessatives (ie verbs with the inchoative affix already marked as negative):

Cavdiisañ eʎíma sek mimy.
cut-INCH-3sA>3si.PST.NEG not_yet tree man
The man didn't start cutting down the trees [yet].

Cavdiisañíma eʎíma sek mimy.
cut-INCH-3sA>3si.PST.NEG not_yet tree man
The man didn't stop cutting down the trees [yet].

<h3>Tense and person</h3>

The final mandatory affix in a Middle Ru verb encapsulates information about its tense (in a past vs non-past contrast that was exemplified in the preceding section) and its arguments, potentially including hints at both its subject and its object. These affixes are fusional in nature: although its Proto Ru-Hulam etymology might hint at which phonemes stood for each category and despite the fact that some of those patterns can still be observed to some degree in Middle Ru affixes (while others have eroded past recognizability), these final affixes cannot be broken into separate tense, subject and object markers but form a single unit that might express all three categories. For instance, the suffix -yxet can be considered a single unit marking the verb as having non-past tense, a second person agent role (subject) and a first person singular object role rather than a sequence of marker for each of those categories.

Each tense×person (or TP) affix marks a tense (non-past or past) and a person for the verb's O-role, the one that would take the absolutive case (that is, the subject for an intransitive verb, the object for a transitive verb and the indirect object for a ditransitive verb). A TP affix may also include information about the verb's A-role, which corresponds to the subject in transitive and ditransitive verbs; the argument generally marked with the ergative case in Middle Ru's grammar. Grammatical persons are expressed differently for each role; for instance O-role marking accounts for number while A-role marking doesn't.

Affixes that are not marked for any A-role are used for intransitive verbs, reflexive verbs (marked with the reflexive prefix my- or mw-) as well as for transitive/ditransitive verbs whose A-role corresponds to an ininamiate third person referent ('it', or an inanimate 'they'); as in the following examples, all of which use the affix -aq / -åq, which marks past-tense, the first person singular (I, me) as its O-role and leaves the A-role unmarked:

C'aziħaq.
I marched (intransitive verb; the O-role indicates the subject)

Myzeviħaq.
I saw myself (reflexive verb; the O-role indicates the argument that is simultaneous the object an the subject)

Bruswħåq!
It crushed me! (transitive verb; the O-role indicates the object, the subject is an inanimate third person referent, 'it')

Certain combinations of O-roles and A-roles are not allowed. This occurs whenever the O-role coincides with the A-role or when the A-rule refers to a group that includes the O-role (for instance if the A-role was 'inclusive we' and the O-role was 'I' or 'you').

The affixes, in both its vowel-harmony variants, are as follows:

<table>
<tr>
<th colspan="8">NON-PAST TENSE</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>O-role:</th>
<th>1s, me</th>
<th>2s, you</th>
<th>3s.ANIM</th>
<th>3s.INAN</th>
<th>1p (exclusive)</th>
<th>1p (inclusive)</th>
<th>2p or 3p</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>A-role:</th>
<td colspan="7"></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Unmarked, reflexive or inanimate third person </th>
<td>-yk -wk </td>
<td>-is -us </td>
<td>-yls -wls </td>
<td>-ñi -ñw </td>
<td>-mirri -murru </td>
<td>-ŋyr -ŋwr </td>
<td>-mis -mus </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>1s or 1p.EX </th>
<td>(not used) </td>
<td>-six -sux </td>
<td>-ýrra -ẃrrå</td>
<td rowspan="2">-árgy -ǻrgu</td>
<td colspan="2">-ŋyx -ŋwx </td>
<td rowspan="2">-mik -muk </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>1p.IN </th>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>-rgi -rgu </td>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>(not used)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>2s or 2p</th>
<td>-yxet -wxot </td>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>-ils -uls </td>
<td>-ŋi -ŋu </td>
<td>-miz -muz </td>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>-mit -mut </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>3s.ANIM or 3p.ANIM </th>
<td>-yx -wx </td>
<td>-it -ut </td>
<td>-ylx -wlx</td>
<td>-ñi -ñw </td>
<td>-mírra -múrrå </td>
<td>-ŋyr -ŋwr </td>
<td>-mix -mux </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="8">PAST TENSE</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>O-role:</th>
<th>1s, me</th>
<th>2s, you</th>
<th>3s.ANIM</th>
<th>3s.INAN</th>
<th>1p (exclusive)</th>
<th>1p (inclusive)</th>
<th>2p or 3p</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>A-role:</th>
<td colspan="7"></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Unmarked, reflexive or inanimate third person </th>
<td>-aq -åq </td>
<td>-as -os </td>
<td>-lys -lws </td>
<td>-aŋ -åŋ </td>
<td>-mir -mur </td>
<td>-ŋir -ŋur </td>
<td>-mas -mås </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>1s or 1p.EX</th>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>-sax -såx </td>
<td>-rra -rrå </td>
<td rowspan="2">-árga -ǻrgå</td>
<td colspan="2">-aŋak -åŋåk </td>
<td rowspan="2">-mak -måk </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>1p.IN</th>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>-árxa -ǻrxå </td>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>(not used)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>2s or 2p</th>
<td>-xes -xos </td>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>-ílsy -úlsw </td>
<td>-aŋy -åŋw </td>
<td>-mas -mås </td>
<td>(not used)</td>
<td>-mat -måt </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>3s.ANIM or 3p.ANIM </th>
<td>-ax -åx</td>
<td>-at -åt </td>
<td>-als -åls</td>
<td>-añ -åñ </td>
<td>-mir -mur </td>
<td>-ŋir -ŋur </td>
<td>-max -måx </td>
</tr>
</table>

It should be noticed, however, that some of these affixes might appear in a modified when used along the negatives suffix, as it shall be explained in the following section.

<h3>Negatives</h3>

Negative verbs are marked with an additional suffix whose shape depends on the TP affix of the verb. It should be noted that negative constructions alter the semantics of inchoative verbs, as discussed on the previous section about that aspect.

The base form of the negative suffix is -ʎíma for words in the clear vowel-harmondy class and -ʎúmå. This form is used to negate verbs which would otherwise end in a vowel:

Zevarýrra mimýaħ.
I see the man.

Zevaryrraʎíma mimýaħ.
I do not see the man.

Verbs whose TP affix ends in a /k/ or a /q/ lose that final consonant and get modified suffix -ʕíma or -ʕúmå:

Zevimak emimýaħ.
I saw the men.

Zevimaʕíma emimýaħ.
I did not see the men.

Verbs whose TP affix ends in any other consonant get the reduced negative affixes -íma or -ýmå:

Zevarmix.
I see you.

Zevarmixíma.
I do not see you.

<h3>Other verb forms</h3>

While most verbal inflections conform to the previously described sequence of affixes (interrogative-voice-stem-tool-aspect-TP-negative), there is a limited number of inflectional forms that follows a different structure. This is true for imperatives and participles.

<h4>Imperatives</h4>

There exist two ways to issue a command in Middle Ru: using what is known as a true imperative or by using a periphrastic construction known as the humble imperative.

True imperatives are used whenever both speakers have a similar social status or if it is the one issuing the command who has a higher status. These verbs only deviate from the general conjugation structure in the fact the aspect and TP affixes are replaced with the suffixes -avt or -ot for positive commands or -eʎimavt or -oʎumot for negative commands. Contrary to what is typically found in the language, Middle Ru true imperatives could be said to have a nominative-accusative alignment, as the person receiving the imperative is intended the take the subject role both in intransitive and transitive verbs. Commands related to other roles may be issued by using voice affixes as described in the table below. It should be noted that Middle Ru true imperatives are not marked for person and thus independent pronouns are more likely to be necessary.

<table>
<tr>
<th>Voice</th>
<th>Imperative role</th>
<th colspan="2">Example</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Active (default) Intransitive verb </th>
<td>Subject (O-role, absolutive) </td>
<td>C'azavt!</td>
<td>March forward!</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Active (default) Transitive verb </th>
<td>Subject (A-role, ergative) </td>
<td>Zevavt ña!</td>
<td>Look at that!</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Antipassive</th>
<td colspan="3">Not used for true imperatives</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Reflexive </th>
<td>Reflexive argument, (subject and object)</td>
<td>Myzevavt!</td>
<td>Look at yourself!</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Object (O-role, absolutive) </th>
<td>Myevavt hev!</td>
<td>Be seen by the king! ~ Let the king see you!</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Causative</th>
<td>Causative agent </td>
<td>Ižyc'azavt emimy!</td>
<td>Make the men march!</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Type-I applicative </th>
<td colspan="3">Not used for true imperatives</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Type-II applicative </th>
<td colspan="3">Theoretically used for direct objects of ditransitive verbs, but never found in practice. </td>
</tr>
</table>

Humble imperatives, on the other hand, are formed periphrastically by using a regularly-conjugated form of the verb har, 'to ask' followed by the desired action. As the name for this construction suggest, humble imperatives are mostly used in situations where the speaker might have a lower social status than the listener, and thus asks them humbly rather than imposing their command with a true imperative. The verb har will be typically found as hararsix for orders issued to a singular you or hararmik for imperatives issued to a plural you. These verbs would be negated as usual, resulting in hararsixíma and hararmiʕíma for 'I did not ask you [to]'. The following table shows the humble equivalents to the previous examples assuming the command is issued to a single person (otherwise verbs would be conjugated for 2p instead of 2s):

<table>
<tr>
<th colspan="4">Examples</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>True imperative</th>
<th>Humble imperative</th>
<th>Translation</th>
<th>Humble, literally </th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>C'azavt!</td>
<td>Hararsix, c'aziħis.</td>
<td>March forward!</td>
<td>I request you that you march forward.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Zevavt ña!</td>
<td>Hararsix, zeviŋi.</td>
<td>Look at that!</td>
<td>I request you that you look at it.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Myzevavt!</td>
<td>Hararsix, myzeviħis.</td>
<td>Look at yourself!</td>
<td>I request that you look at yourself.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Myevavt hev!</td>
<td>Hararsix, zeviħit hev.</td>
<td>Be seen by the king! ~ Let the king see you!</td>
<td>I request you that the king sees you.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Ižyc'azavt emimy!</td>
<td>Hararsix, ižic'azimis emimiy.</td>
<td>Make the men march!</td>
<td>I request you that the men are made to march.</td>
</tr>
</table>

Imperatives of either kind may be followed by a noun in the instrumental case in order to indicate some authority in whose name the command is issued. This was particularly frequent in edicts, which featured the word syrhev (with the king), in order to indicate that the orderes were issued 'in the name of the king'.

<h4>Participles and relative clauses</h4>

The participle of a Middle Ru verb is used to describe a noun phrase as being the O-role of said verb. In this sense, their behaviour is close to what an English speaker might expect of an adjective (and the Middle Ru equivalents of English adjectives are indeed handled through participles). Middle Ru participles are not marked for time; azéva (the participle of zev, 'to see'), roughly translatable as 'seen', could refer to something that has been "seen", something that is "seen" at the moment or something that is to be "seen" in the future or which would be "seen" during a hypothethical scenario.

Participles follow a drastically different structure than finite (or 'conjugated') Middle Ru verbs, being only marked by voice. The most basic form of participle, corresponding to the default unmarked voice, is constructed by a circumfix: a-(stem)-a for clear-harmony verbs (as in the previously mentioned example azéva, 'seen', from zev, 'to see') or å-(stem)-o (as in åcẃño, 'built', from cuñ, 'to build') for dark-harmony verbs. Unlike other verb forms, participles are stressed on the verb stem itself.

A basic Middle Ru participle corresponds to its O-role, the argument that would be put in absolutive case when following the verb: the subject for intransitive verbs (thus ac'áza, from c'az, 'to march', could be translated as 'marching'), the object for regular transitive verbs (azéva meaning 'seen' rather than 'seeing') and the indirect object for ditransitive verbs (åʎúo meaning 'having received', from ʎu, 'to give'). Participles for other roles can be constructed by replacing the initial a- or å- with a voice prefix. This allows for participles related to a transitive subject using the antipassive voice mark as in rravzéva ('seeing', 'that sees/saw'), reflexive participles such as myzéva ('that sees themself') , causative reflexives such as ižyzéva ('that makes/made someone to see', also used as a noun meaning "prophet, guru"), type-I aplicatives for benefactive participles such as kezéva ('that had someone see something for its benefit') and type-II applicatives for ditransitive direct objects: ojʎuo ('that was given [to someone]').

Negative participles are preceded by the particle žwm which is also used a noun meaning 'nobody'. Thus žwm azéva transaltes as 'not seen'.

Participles are often used in place where a relative clause would be used in English. For instance, the phrase "the man who marched forward" is expressed in Middle Ru as mimy ac'áza, 'man ANTP-see-PTC'. The participle itself may be followed by arguments (other than it's O-role) as if it was a primary verb: k'et åcẃño mimy (house PTC-build-PTC man) for 'the house built by the man'.

A different structure is required for relative clauses where the described noun phrase occupies a role other than the participle verb's O-role (and thus requires a voice mark like antipassive rrav-/rråv-) with the original O-role being included as part of the relative clause. This is the case in the phrase 'the man that saw the mountain', where the described noun ('the man', mimy) takes the A-role (ergative, subject of transitive zev, 'to see') and the relative predicate includes the original O-role (the object, ħox). This requires a structure where the described noun is followed by the particle a (regardless of the vowel harmony class of any neighbouring words), the original O-role and then the participle with the appropriate participles:

mimy a ħox rravzéva
man REL mountain ANTP-see-PTC
the man that sees/saw the mountain

It should be noted that this kind of structures cannot be used by roles not covered by voice prefixes. For instance, in 'the mountains where the man sleeped', the described noun 'mountains' occupies a locative role in the relative sentence (the man sleeped in the mountains). This kind of constructions can only be translated by expressing the full sentence (for instance, mentioning that the man sleeped in the mountains in a separate sentence before referencing those mountains again).

<h3>The copula verbs</h4>

In English, the copula verb 'to be' fulfills a nubmer of functions, including noun-noun copula (describing one thing as being another, as in "John is a man"), adjective-noun copula (indicating that an adjective apples to a given noun or noun phrase as in "John is tall") and and existential usage (indicating that something exists, often in relation to a location as in "John is in the city"). In Middle Ru, those structures are handled in different ways.

Noun-noun copula, be it indicating identity ("John is my father", here the two arguments are identified as being the same individual) or membership to a given class ("John is a man"), may be expressed with the copula verb mi, which could be considered to be the closest Middle Ru counterpart to English 'to be'. This kind of expressions, however, are often handled without any verbs (what is known as zero-copula, a common tactic cross-linguistically), simply putting the two phrases one next to the other. The first element in this type of copula must be expressed in the absolutive case, while the second one is used in its base, suffix-less form, as shown in the following examples:

Mazávaħ ata hårru.
Mazáva is my father.

Ataħ hårru Mazáva.
My father is Mazáva.

Mazávaħ mimy.
Mazáva is a man.

The verb mi is only used when one of the two elements is a pronoun (third person pronouns being an exception to this rule), when the speaker wants to indicate a tense/aspect for the relationship that wouldn't be obvious from context (for instance, to indicate that the identity is no longer true) or simply for emphasis. When a form of mi is used, the argument represented by the pronoun is often omitted, but it may be left in the sentence for emphasis.

Mix Mazáva.
I am Mazáva.

Arys Mazávaħ bavba. Bysyn, maaħ mimy.
Mazáva used to be a baby. Now, he is a man.

Sils Mazávaħ mimy.
Mazáva is indeed a man.

Mix rru ata haǵy.
I am your father.

As it is often the case for copula verbs, Middle Ru mi is massively irregular. Fortunately, the number of forms to be memorized is somewhat limited as the verb may only be marked for a single person (instead of featuring polypersonal agreement). It's conjugation takes contrasts aspect (perfective or imperfective; mi cannot be marked for the inchoative/cessative aspect), tense, person for one of its arguments and polarity (affirmativs vs negative), as shown in the following table:

<table>
<tr>
<th rowspan="3"></th>
<th colspan="4">Affirmative, 'to be'</th>
<th colspan="4">Negative, 'not to be'</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Imperfective</th>
<th colspan="2">Perfective</th>
<th colspan="2">Imperfective</th>
<th colspan="2">Perfective</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Non-past</th>
<th>Past</th>
<th>Non-past</th>
<th>Past</th>
<th>Non-past</th>
<th>Past</th>
<th>Non-past</th>
<th>Past</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>1s, I</th>
<td>mix</td>
<td>amaq</td>
<td>imix</td>
<td>maq</td>
<td>mixýma</td>
<td>amaʕíma</td>
<td>imixíma</td>
<td>maʕíma</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>2s, you</th>
<td>sut</td>
<td>åmos</td>
<td>wsut</td>
<td>mos</td>
<td>mysýma</td>
<td>åmosúmå </td>
<td>wsutúmå</td>
<td>mosúmå</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>3s.ANIM</th>
<td>sils</td>
<td>arys</td>
<td>ysils</td>
<td>ihys</td>
<td>ixýma</td>
<td>arysíma</td>
<td>ysilsíma</td>
<td>ihysíma</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>3s.INAN</th>
<td>eñi</td>
<td>araŋ</td>
<td>ħeñi</td>
<td>ħaŋ</td>
<td>ŋiʎíma</td>
<td>aransíma</td>
<td>ħeñiʎíma</td>
<td>hansíma</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>1p.EX</th>
<td>mirri</td>
<td>amir</td>
<td>imirri</td>
<td>imir</td>
<td>mirxýma</td>
<td>amirsíma</td>
<td>imirriʎíma</td>
<td>imirsíma</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>1p.IN</th>
<td>ŋirri</td>
<td>aŋir</td>
<td>iŋirgi</td>
<td>iŋir</td>
<td>ŋirxýma</td>
<td>aŋirsíma</td>
<td>iŋirgiʎíma</td>
<td>iŋirsíma</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>2p / 3p</th>
<td>mis</td>
<td>amas</td>
<td>imis</td>
<td>imas</td>
<td>misýma</td>
<td>amasíma</td>
<td>imisíma</td>
<td>amasíma</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Imperative</th>
<td colspan="4">mavt</td>
<td colspan="4">meʎimavt</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Participle</th>
<td colspan="4">amia</td>
<td colspan="4">-</td>
</tr>
</table>

Forms of the verb mi are also commonly used as answers for polar questions.

Adjectives behave like verbs in Middle Ru and thus adjective-noun copula does not require an equivalent of the verb 'to be'. For instance, the equivalent to the English adjective 'tall' is ğwn which may also be translated as 'to be tall'. This subject will be covered in more depth in the following section.

Finally, Middle Ru uses the verb se (conjugated regularly in the Cadarmeni standard, although irregular forms such as *sar- for sear- are attested for other dialects) for existential copula. This often corresponds to English 'there is' or 'there are', indicating the presence of an objecct or person.

Searmis emimýaħ ñy.
There are ten men.

Searlysíma Mazávaħ byɣen .
Mazáva wasn't at the city.

<h3>Adjectives</h3>

In Middle Ru, adjectives do not really exist as a separate word class. Instead, for all purposes they act as a subset of intransitive verbs.

In many cases, the basic form of an adjective, such as axan for 'old, elderly', is better thought of as a verb, in this case meaning 'to be old'. Thus, a predicative phrase such as "the man is old" translates by appending the usual verbal affixes to axan:

Axanaryls mimýaħ
The man is old.

Meanwhile, an attributive usage of the adjective, such as 'old' in the noun phrase 'an old man', is handled by the participle, in this case 'aaxána' (literally 'that is old'):

mimy aaxána
[an] old man, a man that is old

Being functionally identical to verbs, Middle Ru adjectives can take any affix that could apply to verbs. For instance, the causative prefix ižy- may be used to form the verb ižyaxan-, meaning 'to cause [something or somebody] to grow old, to age'.

Comparatives (and superlatives) are expressed through the prefix ñir- or ñwr-, meaning 'to surpass', which may also be applied to any other verb in order to express than an action has been conducted to a higher degree than some reference level. This prefix is not to be confused with a voice mark as it does not modify the valency of the verb. Thus, ñiraxan is not to be understood as transitive 'to be older than [someone]' but as a still-intransitive 'to be older', without making splicit who the person or object is older than, which is left out to context. Examples include:

Ñiraxanarlys mimýaħ.
The man was older / the man was the oldest.

Axanarlys xek'aħ, ñiraxanarly mimýaħ.
The man was older / the man was the oldest.

Zeviħals mimýaħ añiraxána.
She saw an older man.

<h2>Numerals</h2>

Middle Ru uses a base-20 or 'vigesimal' numeration with an auxiliary sub-base of 10. This means that rather than grouping numbers in tens, hundreds and further powers of ten, they use powers of 20. Numbers up to 19 are treated as if they were single-digit numbers although the numerals from 11 to 19 are expressed as 'ten and [one to nine]'. Thus, the number 98, rather than being constructed as 'nine times ten (ninety) and eight' is expressed as tojåt ñy xii 'four times (to) twenty (-jat/-jåt), ten (ñy) and eight (xii)', a wording identical to that used in French « quatre vingt dix huit » or old-fashoned English 'four score and eighteen'. However, while French only uses vigesimal constructions to a limited extent (for numbers between 80 and 99), all Middle Ru numbers from 21 (jat ylárra, literally. 'twenty and one') to 399 (ñysetjat ñy sot, literally 'nineteen-twenties ten nine', where ñyset-, 'nineteen' is itself a variant of ñy sot, 'ten nine') are formed by expressing the number by a multiple of twenty and its reminder. Larger numbers are built using higher powers of 20, such as c'et for 20² = 400, háraŋ for 20³ = 8000, harña for 160 000 and harac'et for 3 200 000. Even higher powers (harahara, haraharña, haraharac'et, haraharahara...) are occassionally attested in texts but do not seem to have had any practical use.

Digits from 1 to 19 and their combining forms for multiples of 20 and 400 are as follows:

<table>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Units</th>
<th colspan="2">Multiples of 20</th>
<th colspan="2">Multiples of 20² = 400</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>1</th>
<td>ýla, ylárra</td>
<th>20</th>
<td>jat, játel</td>
<th>400</th>
<td>c'et, c'étel</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>2</th>
<td>ysy</td>
<th>40</th>
<td>ysyjat</td>
<th>800</th>
<td>ysyc'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>3</th>
<td>ži</td>
<th>60</th>
<td>žijat</td>
<th>1200</th>
<td>žic'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>4</th>
<td>to</td>
<th>80</th>
<td>tojåt</td>
<th>1600</th>
<td>tec'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>5</th>
<td>za</td>
<th>100</th>
<td>zajat</td>
<th>2000</th>
<td>zac'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>6</th>
<td>yza</td>
<th>120</th>
<td>yzajat</td>
<th>2400</th>
<td>yzac'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>7</th>
<td>siri</td>
<th>140</th>
<td>sirijat</td>
<th>2800</th>
<td>siric'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>8</th>
<td>xii</td>
<th>160</th>
<td>xiijat</td>
<th>3200</th>
<td>xiic'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>9</th>
<td>sot</td>
<th>180</th>
<td>sotjåt</td>
<th>3600</th>
<td>setc'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>10</th>
<td>ñy</td>
<th>200</th>
<td>ñyjat</td>
<th>4000</th>
<td>ñyc'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>11</th>
<td>ñy ýla</td>
<th>220</th>
<td>ñylajat</td>
<th>4400</th>
<td>ñylac'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>12</th>
<td>ñy ysy</td>
<th>240</th>
<td>ñysyjat</td>
<th>4800</th>
<td>ñysyc'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>13</th>
<td>ñy ži</td>
<th>260</th>
<td>ñyžijat</td>
<th>5200</th>
<td>ñyžic'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>14</th>
<td>ñy to</td>
<th>280</th>
<td>ñytejat</td>
<th>5600</th>
<td>ñytec'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>15</th>
<td>ñy za</td>
<th>300</th>
<td>ñyzajat</td>
<th>6000</th>
<td>ñyzac'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>16</th>
<td>ñy yza</td>
<th>320</th>
<td>ñyzajat</td>
<th>6400</th>
<td>ñyzac'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>17</th>
<td>ñy siri</td>
<th>340</th>
<td>ñysirijat</td>
<th>6800</th>
<td>ñysiric'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>18</th>
<td>ñy xii</td>
<th>360</th>
<td>ñyxiijat</td>
<th>7200</th>
<td>ñyxiic'et</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>19</th>
<td>ñy sot</td>
<th>380</th>
<td>ñysetjat</td>
<th>7600</th>
<td>ñysetc'et</td>
</tr>
</table>

The number 'one' is always expressed as ýla, although in combining forms it may also appear as ylárra (literally 'and one', although shifting the stress to the second syllable unlike the more general usage of the affix -rra). The form ylárra is most commonly found after 'round' numbers such as jat (twenty); in a sense ylárra indicates that the value is one more than a number that would be more likely to be expected. The forms játel and c'étel alternate with jat and c'et (respectively) when not followed by any further numerals.

Unlike English, Middle Ru numerals alwayss follow the noun to which they apply: emimy jat for '20 men'.

Ordinals are formed in a relatively unusual way. The first element is described as ac'ála, the participle of c'al, 'to come first'. Other ordinals are formed by using the particle swr and the number of elements that come before, followed by the suffix -(a)rra / -(å)rrå. Thus, 'the second man' becomes mimy swr ýlarra (~ man preceded by one other); 'the tenth mountain' becomes ħóxol swr sótårrå (~ mountain preceded by nine others) and so on.

<h1>The Middle Ru script</h1>

The Middle Ru sscript, the native writing system for the language, is an abugida where each consonant is represented by a letter while vowels other than /a/ are marked through diacritics above the consonant. Much as in the Brahmic scripts from India, a virama mark is used to supress the inherent /a/ in a consonant in order to mark codae. Thus, the word xek'aħ (absolutive singular form of xek'a, 'woman') would be written with the consonant letter for X plus the E diacritic, the consonant letter for K' (which, on its own is read as k'a), the consonant letter for Ħ with the virama diacritic to indicate that it is to be read as a word-final -ħ rather than as the sequence ħa. The abugida is supposed to be a descendant from the Ancient Hulamic script used for Proto Ru-Hulam.

The glyphs used for Middle Ru consonants have a characteristic shape based on a slightly curved slanted lined over which further strokes are drawn (except for the glottal stop, marked by the slanted line alone). The characters are partially featural. For instance, the glyphs ejectives are clearly derived from the corresponding plain plosives.

[[File:Middle_ru_consonants.png|frameless|center|Middle Ru consonants]]

Vowels other than A are marked with diacritics. Occasionally, the vowel Å and the no-vowel or virama mark might be omitted in a text; although the norm is to include all relevant diacritics.

[[File:Middle_ru_vowels.png|frameless|center|Middle Ru vowels]]

Words are often separated by spaces although this is inconsistent. Some texts (particularly earlier ones) are written with no spaces whatsoever (scripta continua). On the opposite end, some texts also use spaces to separate each affix. Few punctuation marks are used; sentences are typically separated with an apostrophe-like mark.

<h2>Numerals</h2>

Middle Ru script also has its own way of representing numbers. Unique symbols are used for the numbers 1, 4, 5 and 10, which are combined in order to form simple or composite symbols for each digit from 1 to 19. Then unique symbols are used for powers of 20, which are combined with digits in order to form any number.

[[File:Middle_ru_numerals.png|frameless|center|Middle Ru numerals]]

<h1>Sample sentences</h1>

<div style='margin-top: 25px; margin-bottom: 50px; margin-left: 30px'>
[[File:Middle_ru_sample_1.png|frameless|left|Middle Ru sample sentence]]
<h3>C'ymarmas mimýaħ xek'áħarra.</h3>
/cʼy.maɹˈmas mi.myˈʔaχ ʃøˈkʼa.χa.ra/
<table style='border: none; margin-top: 0px;'>
<tr style='border: none;'><td style='border: none; text-align: left;' colspan="4">
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>c'ym-ar-mas</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>mimy-aħ</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>xek'a-aħ</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>=rra</td>
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>walk-IPFV-PST.3p</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>man-ABS</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>woman-ABS</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>=and</td>
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;' colspan='4'>
</td></tr>
</table>
A man and a woman were walking.
</div><div style='margin-top: 25px; margin-bottom: 50px; margin-left: 30px'>

[[File:Middle_ru_sample_2.png|frameless|left|Middle Ru sample sentence]]
<h3>Xezevarmix emimýaħ exek'a?</h3>
/ʃø.zø.waɹˈmiʃ ʔø.mi.myˈʔaχ ʔø.ʃøˈkʼa/
<table style='border: none; margin-top: 0px;'>
<tr style='border: none;'><td style='border: none; text-align: left;' colspan="3">
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>xe-zev-ar-mix</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>e-mimy-aħ</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>e-xek'a</td>
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>INT-see-IPFV-NPST.3p.ANIM>3p</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>PL-man-ABS</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>PL-woman</td>
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;' colspan='3'>
</td></tr>
</table>
Do the women see the men?
</div><div style='margin-top: 25px; margin-bottom: 50px; margin-left: 30px'>

[[File:Middle_ru_sample_3.png|frameless|left|Middle Ru sample sentence]]
<h3>Λuwsåxúmå ǵwc rru p'áñelt.</h3>
/ʎu.ʔʉ.sɒˈʃu.mɒ ɟʉc ru ˈpʼa.ɲølt/
<table style='border: none; margin-top: 0px;'>
<tr style='border: none;'><td style='border: none; text-align: left;' colspan="4">
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>ʎu-w-såx-ʎúmå</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>ǵwc</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>rru</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>p'áñe-l-t</td>
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>give-PRFV-PST.1s>2s</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>2s.ACC</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>1s.NOM</td>
<td style='border: none; text-align: left;'>stone-SGV-SDTV</td>
</tr><tr><td style='border: none; text-align: left;' colspan='4'>
</td></tr>
</table>
I haven't given you the stone.</div>

[[Category:Middle Ru]]
[[Category:Languages]]
[[Category:Conlangs]]