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Oscanez: Difference between revisions
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== General == | == General == | ||
Oscanez, or Oscan (<small>English: /</small>ɒs.kə.ˈnez, ˈɒs,kən/ primarily called Oscan in English) [os.ka.ˈnez] is a Romance language | Oscanez, or Oscan (<small>English: /</small>ɒs.kə.ˈnez, ˈɒs,kən/ primarily called Oscan in English) [os.ka.ˈnez] is a Romance language originatin in the destroyed Roman city of Oscanium, from the Vulgar Latin spoken around that region of Spain. It is spoken in the north of Spain, near southern France. It shares several features with the Benasque dialects and High Aragonese, as well as French and Spanish. Oscanez is spoken by around 14,000 people, primarily the older generation. It is a highly endangered language. | ||
Its name, Oscanez, comes from the old city Oscansium ('' | Its name, Oscanez, comes from the old city Oscansium (''Oscanyo'', in Oscanez), in northern Spain. Historically, the inhabitants of the Oscanez speaking region were ancient Iberians, and their language influenced Oscanez. The Oscanses were also influenced by the Arabs in the middle ages, and the French, Portuguese and Spanish in the modern age. | ||
<br /> | <br /> | ||
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|style="text-align:center;"|t | |style="text-align:center;"|t | ||
| | | | ||
|style="text-align:center;"| | |style="text-align:center;"|tʃ | ||
|style="text-align:center;"|k | |style="text-align:center;"|k | ||
|- | |- | ||
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! rowspan="2" |Fricative | ! rowspan="2" |Fricative | ||
!Voiceless Fricative | !Voiceless Fricative | ||
| style="text-align:center;" | | | style="text-align:center;" |ɸ | ||
| | | | ||
| style="text-align:center;" |s | | style="text-align:center;" |s | ||
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*/t/ and /d/ are laminal denti-alveolar, but are called dental for simplicity. | */t/ and /d/ are laminal denti-alveolar, but are called dental for simplicity. | ||
* /tʃ/ is not a common sound in Oscanez, but is found in loanwords, especially deriving from Spanish or English, but it is also an allophone of /ʎ/ at onset position. | * /tʃ/ is not a common sound in Oscanez, but is found in loanwords, especially deriving from Spanish or English, but it is also an allophone of /ʎ/ at onset position. | ||
*/ɸ/ has the allophone [h] when it is after /m/, such as in the word ''triomfo'' [triomho]. /ɸ/ before /i/ or /e/ is preserved. It is in free variation | */ɸ/ has the allophone [h] when it is after /m/, such as in the word ''triomfo'' [triomho]. /ɸ/ before /i/ or /e/ is preserved. It is in free variation otherwise. | ||
*/s/ turns to the allophone [s̪] before dental plosives. | */s/ turns to the allophone [s̪] before dental plosives. | ||
*Unvoiced fricatives become voiced before a voiced plosive or nasal. Unvoiced plosives become fricatives and voice as well. For example, the borrowed word ''atmosfera'' /atmosɸera/ is realized as [aðmosɸera] and is sometimes just dropped [amosɸera]. Ot examples include ''ami'''g'''dala'' or ''a'''d'''ministrajón.'' | *Unvoiced fricatives become voiced before a voiced plosive or nasal. Unvoiced plosives become fricatives and voice as well. For example, the borrowed word ''atmosfera'' /atmosɸera/ is realized as [aðmosɸera] and is sometimes just dropped [amosɸera]. Ot examples include ''ami'''g'''dala'' or ''a'''d'''ministrajón.'' | ||
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|} | |} | ||
There are 5 distinct vowels in Oscanez, but many more allophones for different environments, including nasality and stress. | |||
==== Allophones ==== | ==== Allophones ==== | ||
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Final nasal vowels are pronounced with their consonant in environments when the next syllable begins with a vowel (including a mute ''h''). This process is similar to French liaison and is called such by linguists studying Oscanez. In the grammar it is called ''Yajón'', a cognate of English and French "liaison". | Final nasal vowels are pronounced with their consonant in environments when the next syllable begins with a vowel (including a mute ''h''). This process is similar to French liaison and is called such by linguists studying Oscanez. In the grammar it is called ''Yajón'', a cognate of English and French "liaison". | ||
The conjunctions ''e'' and ''o'' (and and or) become ''ei'' and ''u'' before /e/ and /o/, respectively. | The conjunctions ''e'' and ''o'' ("and" and "or") become ''ei'' and ''u'' before /e/ and /o/, respectively. | ||
==== Diphthongs and Triphthongs ==== | ==== Diphthongs and Triphthongs ==== | ||
Oscanez has nine rising diphthongs, and three falling diphthongs /au/ /ai/ and /ei/. The falling diphthongs include all instances of /j/ or /w/ followed by a vowel. A sequence of /kw/ can be analyzed as [kɥ]. | Oscanez has nine rising diphthongs, and three falling diphthongs /au/ /ai/ and /ei/. The falling diphthongs include all instances of /j/ or /w/ followed by a vowel. A sequence of /kw/ can be analyzed as [kɥ]. If a diphthong is nasalized, the second vowel is nasalized and undergoes the changes that monophthong would. | ||
=== Prosody === | === Prosody === | ||
Oscanez is syllable-timed. All syllables take the same amount of time to produce. | Oscanez is syllable-timed. All syllables take the same amount of time to produce. | ||
Words generally have stress on the final or penultimate syllable. Some words have natural stress on the third syllable but this is not marked. | Words generally have stress on the final or penultimate syllable. Some words have natural stress on the third syllable but this is not marked orthographically. | ||
At the end of a question intonation rises at the first word, and also at the end of the phrase. Otherwise, it is exactly like English. | At the end of a question intonation rises at the first word, and also at the end of the phrase. Otherwise, it is exactly like English. | ||
=== Phonotactics === | === Phonotactics === | ||
Oscanez has a (C)(C)V(C)(C) syllable structure. | Oscanez has a (C)(C)V(C)(C)(C) syllable structure. | ||
* Onset (can be null) | * Onset (can be null) | ||
** First consonant (C<sub>1</sub>): anything except for clusters including nasals or /s/. | ** First consonant (C<sub>1</sub>): anything except for clusters including nasals or /s/. / | ||
** Second consonant (C<sub>2</sub>): rhotic or lateral (if C<sub>1</sub> is a plosive | ** Second consonant (C<sub>2</sub>): rhotic, approximant or lateral (if C<sub>1</sub> is a plosive). The clusters /tl/ and /dl/ are not allowed, and /ʎ/ is not allowed in clusters. | ||
* Nucleus | * Nucleus | ||
** Any vowel or diphthong can be positioned in the nucleus | ** Any vowel or diphthong can be positioned in the nucleus. | ||
* Coda (can be null) | * Coda (can be null) | ||
** First consonant (C<sub>1</sub>): / | ** First consonant (C<sub>1</sub>): /f/ /r/ /s/ /t/ /z/ or null, or /n/ (with ''yajón''). | ||
** Second consonant (C<sub>2</sub>): If there is a C<sub>1</sub>, then C<sub>2</sub> is | ** Second consonant (C<sub>2</sub>): If there is a C<sub>1</sub>, then C<sub>2</sub> is /s/, /t/ or /k/. | ||
*** Third consonant (C<sub3</sub>): /s/ after /ts/ sequence. | |||
Allowed clusters across syllable boundaries include plosives followed by a rhotic, and nasals by their place of articulation plosive (/nk/, but not /mk/). /s/ is followed by unvoiced plosives, but when beginning a word must have a prosthetic /e/ (''escuila'', not ''scuila'') | Allowed clusters across syllable boundaries include plosives followed by a rhotic, and nasals by their place of articulation plosive (/nk/, but not /mk/). /s/ is followed by unvoiced plosives, but when beginning a word must have a prosthetic /e/ (''escuila'', not ''scuila''). In terms of other clusters, a maximum of three consonants can be grouped. If there is a plosive + liquid cluster, a fricative can precede them. Note that these words are generally Latin loanwords into Oscanez. | ||
=== Orthography === | === Orthography === | ||
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|k ~ s | |k ~ s | ||
|d | |d | ||
|e | |e | ||
|ɸ | |ɸ | ||
|g ~ ʒ | |g ~ ʒ | ||
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| | | | ||
|} | |} | ||
At the end of syllables the nasal letter | At the end of syllables the nasal letter shows that the vowel before is nasalized. An example of this is in the word ''formajón'', formation /for.ma.ʒõ/. | ||
Notesː | Notesː | ||
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* <y> is /ʎ/, such as in the world ''muyer.'' | * <y> is /ʎ/, such as in the world ''muyer.'' | ||
* /ɲ/ is represented by <ny>. | * /ɲ/ is represented by <ny>. | ||
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|Polas | |Polas | ||
|} | |} | ||
The personal pronoun ''jo'' can be reduced to ''j'<nowiki/>'' before a vowel. The same is true for the prepositions ''de'' and ''en'', which convert to ''d' '' and ''n' ''respectively. In reflexive verbs (or situations where ''me, te,'' and ''se'' proceed a vowel), ''me, te,'' and ''se'' also lose their vowel (''m'''). | The personal pronoun ''jo'' can be reduced to ''j'<nowiki/>'' before a vowel and null "h". The same is true for the prepositions ''de'' and ''en'', which convert to ''d' '' and ''n' ''respectively. In reflexive verbs (or situations where ''me, te,'' and ''se'' proceed a vowel), ''me, te,'' and ''se'' also lose their vowel (''m'''). The negative ''no'' also becomes ''n' '' in those situations. | ||
= Grammar = | = Grammar = | ||
Oscanez grammar is how the language organizes itself. It is very similar to other Romance languages | Oscanez grammar is how the language organizes itself. It is very similar to other Romance languages | ||
Oscanez is a moderately inflected language. Nouns and most pronouns are inflected for number (singular or plural, though in most nouns the plural is pronounced the same as the singular even if spelled differently); adjectives, for number and gender (masculine or feminine) of their nouns; personal pronouns and a few other pronouns, for person, number, gender, and case; and verbs, for tense, aspect, mood, and the person and number of their subjects. | Oscanez is a moderately inflected language. Nouns and most pronouns are inflected for number (singular or plural, though in most nouns the plural is pronounced the same as the singular even if spelled differently); adjectives, for number and gender (masculine or feminine) of their nouns; personal pronouns and a few other pronouns, for person, number, gender, and case; and verbs, for tense, aspect, mood, and the person and number of their subjects. Many verb affixes are preserved, and new compound tenses are created. | ||
== Nouns == | == Nouns == | ||
The grammar follows the general structure of most Romance languages, differing from Latin in its syntax and loss of grammatical case | The grammar follows the general structure of most Romance languages, differing from Latin in its syntax and loss of grammatical case. | ||
==== Gender==== | ==== Gender==== | ||
Every noun is either masculine or feminine, with the old Latin neuter merging with the masculine. Regarding living things, most nouns correspond with the gender of the living thing described. | Every noun is either masculine or feminine, with the old Latin neuter merging with the masculine. Regarding living things, most nouns correspond with the gender of the living thing described. | ||
Not every noun can have its gender predicted, but there are several general rules. Generally, if a word ends in ''-o, -or, -n | Not every noun can have its gender predicted, but there are several general rules. Generally, if a word ends in ''-o, -or, -n'' it is masculine. Nouns that refer to males such as ''par'' (father) are also masculine. If the word ends in ''-a, -at, -jón, -z'', then it is feminine. Words referring to females are also feminine. | ||
==== Number ==== | ==== Number ==== | ||
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!Maisón | !Maisón | ||
!Paz | !Paz | ||
!Par | |||
|- | |- | ||
!Plural | !Plural | ||
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|Masóns | |Masóns | ||
|Pajes | |Pajes | ||
|Pares | |||
|} | |} | ||
All nouns ending in '''t''' or '''n''' pluralize with a final /s/, creating consonant clusters with /t/. Nouns ending in '''z''' are changed to '''j''' and add '''-es'''. | All nouns ending in '''t''' or '''n''' pluralize with a final /s/, creating consonant clusters with /t/. Nouns ending in '''z''' are changed to '''j''' and add '''-es'''. | ||
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|las | |las | ||
|} | |} | ||
The masculine singular definite article has three acceptable forms. The most common are ''lo'' and ''o'', with ''o'' most common and ''lo'' used with substantive adjectives suggesting generality, or with titles (''lo senyor''). ''Lo'' is also used | The masculine singular definite article has three acceptable forms. The most common are ''lo'' and ''o'', with ''o'' most common and ''lo'' used with substantive adjectives suggesting generality, or with titles (''lo senyor''). ''Lo'' is also used with masculine names where English would have no article. ''La'' has this function for women. | ||
The masculine and feminine singular forms elide to <l’> before null <h> and vowels. For example, the grammatically correct form is “l’abentura” instead of suspected ''*la abentura''. | The masculine and feminine singular forms elide to <l’> before null <h> and vowels. For example, the grammatically correct form is “l’abentura” instead of suspected ''*la abentura''. | ||