View source for Fourth Linguifex Relay/Wiobian


<poem>
''ei enswälzel! dullel meis!''
''mie engünfel Gungs Gungs Sneis!''
''tang lind mause bückne mungel,''
''Wiote Duzes duoɟ niens Kliten,''
''ionem' ƕind Benußes zungel;''
''Kuobs mes pepen, Ƕeiges miten.''
</poem>

==Glossed==

<poem>
''ei enswälzel! dullel meis!''
<small>O hearken-2PL.IMP hear-2PL.IMP now</small>

''mie engünfel Gungs Gungs Sneis!''
<small>this-ACC consider-2PL hour-DAT hour-DAT life-DAT</small>

''tang lind mause bückne mungel,''
<small>Indeed 2PL.NOM hither stationed-PRED come/PRES-2PL</small>

''Wiote Duzes duoɟ niens Kliten,''
<small>heaven-GEN grace-DAT PERF CORELATIVE-PL-DAT accomodation_as_guest-PL-ACC</small>

''ionemen ƕind Benußes zungel;''
<small>just-like 1PL.NOM judge-VERBAL_NOUN-DAT act-2PL</small>

''Kuobs mes pepen, Ƕeiges miten.''
<small>poor-DAT this-DAT give_charitably-1PL-IMP neighbor-DAT give-1PL-IMP</small>
</poem>

==Notes==
In Wiobian, all nouns are capitalized. However, words beginning a sentence need not be capitalized.
===Typology===
The language is SVO (with more variation in poetry), and prepositions are preferred to postpositions. However, nominal modifiers precede the modified noun.

===Nouns===
In Classical Wiobian, nouns have a singular-plural distinction and are inflected in 5 cases:
*Nominative: subject
*Accusative: direct object, some adverbial expressions
*Dative: indirect object, some adverbial expressions
*Genitive: it's your bog-standard genitive case
*Predicative: predicate

{| class="bluetable lightbluebg collapsible " style=" text-align: center;"
! colspan="3" | Wiobian declension
|-
! style="width: 90px;" | Case 
! style="width: 90px;" | Singular 
!  style="width: 150px;" | Plural
|-
! Nominative
| ''-''Ø || [PLURAL STEM]''-''Ø
|-
! Accusative
| ''-e'' || [PLURAL STEM]''-n''
|-
! Genitive
| ''-''Ø || [PLURAL STEM]''-e''
|-
! Dative
| ''-s'' || [PLURAL STEM]''-ns''
|- 
! Predicative
| ''-e'' || [PLURAL STEM]''-''Ø
|}

===Adjectives===
Adjectives may take the same case endings as nouns or, more commonly, take no ending. Adjectives in the predicative position, however, must have the predicative ending.

===Verbs===
Verbs have stem forms for present, past and verbal noun which are not always distinct. They are often additionally marked by auxiliary words to disambiguate the tense, since many forms are very similar.
====Inflection====
In Classical Wiobian, the verb is also inflected for person.

The superscript <sup>U</sup> denotes umlaut of stems of "athematic" verbs.

{| class="bluetable lightbluebg " style="width: 350px; text-align: center;"
|-
!colspan="3" | Imperative endings
|-
!style="width: 50px; "|
!style="width: 100px; "|Singular
!style="width: 100px; "|Plural
|-
!|1
|''-''
|[PRESENT]''-n''
|-
!|2
|[PRESENT]''-(t)''
|[PRESENT]''-l''
|}


{| class="bluetable lightbluebg " style="width: 350px; text-align: center;"
|-
!colspan="3" | Present tense endings
|-
!style="width: 50px; "|
!style="width: 100px; "|Singular
!style="width: 100px; "|Plural
|-
!|1
|[PRESENT]''<sup>U</sup>-n''
|[PRESENT]''-m(e)''
|-
!|2
|[PRESENT]''-e''
|[PRESENT]''-l''
|-
!|3.animate
|[PRESENT]''-n''
|rowspan="2"|[PRESENT]''<sup>U</sup>-e''
|-
!|3.inanimate
|[PRESENT]''<sup>U</sup>-s''
|}


{| class="bluetable lightbluebg " style="width: 350px; text-align: center;"
|-
!colspan="3" | Past tense endings
|-
!style="width: 50px; "|
!style="width: 100px; "|Singular
!style="width: 100px; "|Plural
|-
!|1
|[PAST]''-n''
|[PAST]''-m(e)''
|-
!|2
|[PAST]''-e''
|[PAST]''-l''
|-
!|3.animate
|[PAST]''-n''
|[PAST]''<sup>U</sup>-e''
|-
!|3.inanimate
|colspan="2"|[PAST]''-''Ø
|}

===Syntactic constructions===
====Relative clauses====
Relative clauses are internally headed: The head is the first constituent of the relative clause, and an anaphoric "co-relative pronoun" ''nie'' occurs after the relative clause that refers back to the head.

====Perfect tense====
The auxiliary construction for perfect tense is: ''duoɟ'' + SUBJECT in the DATIVE case + VERB in VERBAL NOUN form in the ACCUSATIVE + ADDITIONAL ARGUMENTS in whatever case the verbal argument is supposed to take.

[[Category:Fourth Linguifex Relay]][[Category:Wiobian relay texts]]