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==Background==
==Background==
Nṛtrāṇya is a language that I started seriously working on late last year, though as a concept it dates back maybe fifteen or twenty years, and started with the mental question: what would the names of the Æsir be if they had been, in fact, Proto-Indo-European deities who were still worshipped today in India? The concept is simple: to phonologically redesign reconstructed Proto-Germanic as if it were Sanskrit. The motivations are several: first, while the reconstruction of Proto-Germanic (and even more so Proto-Indo-European) is beset by uncertainties, the phonology of Sanskrit is very well known, and is of such a nature as to iron out many dubious points; second, by making a Germanic language that is more Sanskrit-like, it makes structural comparison between Germanic languages and Sanskrit straightforward, avoiding phonological issues; third, it's a somewhat satirical take on the efforts of certain 19th-century popularizers of linguistics to post Sanskrit as the ''Ursprache'' of the Indo-Europeans — or, as the German scholars oddly called them, ''Indogermanen.''  
Nṛtrāṇya is a language that I started seriously working on late last year, though as a concept it dates back maybe fifteen or twenty years (at one time it was formulated under the name ''Toticcha''), and started with the mental question: what would the names of the Æsir be if they had been, in fact, Proto-Indo-European deities who were still worshipped today in India? The concept is simple: to phonologically redesign reconstructed Proto-Germanic as if it were Sanskrit. The motivations are several: first, while the reconstruction of Proto-Germanic (and even more so Proto-Indo-European) is beset by uncertainties, the phonology of Sanskrit is very well known, and is of such a nature as to iron out many dubious points; second, by making a Germanic language that is more Sanskrit-like, it makes structural comparison between Germanic languages and Sanskrit straightforward, avoiding phonological issues; third, it's a somewhat satirical take on the efforts of certain 19th-century popularizers of linguistics to posit Sanskrit as the ''Ursprache'' of the Indo-Europeans — or, as the German scholars oddly called them, ''Indogermanen.''  


Within its imaginary world, "Artā" (sc. ''Earth''), Nṛtrāṇya (''northern (speech)'') is an extinct language spoken around 2500-2700 years before the present by the Nṛtramanvānaḥ (''north-people''), the inhabitants of Nṛtravahaḥ, a large complex of islands situated just below the Arctic circle. It was closely related to languages of the mainland just to the south, and due to the influence of a religious movement originating there, became a liturgical language and language of lore for many people speaking other languages, related and unrelated. The language as described here, however, is of the 'pagan' period immediately before the rise of that movement, when the language was still very unified and spoken almost exclusively in the Nṛtravahaḥ.
Within its imaginary world, "Artā" (sc. ''Earth''), Nṛtrāṇya (''northern (speech)'') is an extinct language spoken around 2500-2700 years before the present by the Nṛtramanvānaḥ (''north-people''), the inhabitants of Nṛtravahaḥ, a large complex of islands situated just below the Arctic circle. It was closely related to languages of the mainland just to the south, and due to the influence of a religious movement originating there, became a liturgical language and language of lore for many people speaking other languages, related and unrelated. The language as described here, however, is of the 'pagan' period immediately before the rise of that movement, when the language was still very unified and spoken almost exclusively in the Nṛtravahaḥ.
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==Phonology==
==Phonology==
The phonological inventory of Nṛtrāṇya is basically identical to that of Sanskrit, as is its phonological history; the major exception is that the consonants /l/ and /r/ were not confused at any point in the development of the language.
The phonological inventory of Nṛtrāṇya is basically identical to that of Sanskrit, as is its phonological history; the major exception is that the consonants /l/ and /r/ were not confused at any point in the development of the language.
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! style="width: 68px; " |Glottal
! style="width: 68px; " |Glottal
|-
|-
! style="" |Nasal
! style="" |Nasal Stop
| m
| m
| n
| n
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| ɲ
| ɲ
| ŋ
| ŋ
|
|-
|-
! style="" |Plosive
! style="" |Oral Stop
| p pʰ b bʱ
| p pʰ b bʱ
| t tʰ d dʱ  
| t tʰ d dʱ  
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|  
|  
|  
|  
|}
|}


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! style="width: 90px; "|
! style="width: 90px; "|
! style="width: 90px; " |Front
! style="width: 90px; " |Front
! style="width: 90px; " |Near-front
! style="width: 90px; " |Central
! style="width: 90px; " |Central
! style="width: 90px; " |Near-back
! style="width: 90px; " |Back
! style="width: 90px; " |Back
|-
|-
! style="" |Close
! style="" |Close
| i iː
|  
|  
|  
| u uː
|
|
|
|-
! style="" |Near-close
|
|
|
|
|
|-
! style="" |Close-mid
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|-
! style="" |Mid
! style="" |Mid
|  
| eː
|  
|
|  
| oː
|
|
|-
! style="" |Open-mid
|
|
|
|
|
|-
! style="" |Near-open
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|-
! style="" |Open
! style="" |Open
|  
|  
|  
| ɐ
|  
| ɑː
|
|
|}
|}
===Phonotactics===
===Phonotactics===
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==Grammar==
==Grammar==
===Morphology===
===Morphology===
Nṛtrāṇya is a complex, inflected language, somewhat less so than Sanskrit but more than most living Germanic languages. Pronouns, adjectives, nouns and verbs use a system of suffixes to show their relationships to other words in the sentence.
====Pronouns====
=====Personal pronouns=====
{| class="wikitable"
| colspan="4" align="center"| First person
|-
|
!singular
!dual
!plural
|-
|nominative
| aja
| vat
| vayaḥ
|-
|accusative
| maja
| rowspan="2"| āvaḥ
| rowspan="2"|  aḥ / asaḥ
|-
|dative
|  māḥ
|-
|genitive
| mena
| āvara
| asara
|}
{| class="wikitable"
| colspan="4" align="center"| Second person
|-
|
!singular
!dual
!plural
|-
|nominative
| tū
| yut
| yūḥ
|-
|accusative
| tvaja
| rowspan="2"| yūvaḥ
| rowspan="2"|  yuṣvaḥ
|-
|dative
|  tvāḥ
|-
|genitive
| tvena
| yūvara
| yuṣvara
|}
{| class="wikitable"
| colspan="8" align="center"| Third person
|-
|
!colspan="3"| singular
!colspan="3"| dual & plural
! reflexive
|-
|
| Fem
| Mas
| Neu
| Fem
| Mas
| Neu
| Com
|-
|nominative
| sī
| iḥ
| rowspan="2"| it
| rowspan="2"| iyāḥ
| ayaḥ
| rowspan="2"| iyā
| —
|-
|accusative
| iyām
| im
| īn
| saja
|-
|dative
| asai
| colspan="2"| asmā
| āmiḥ
| colspan="2"| emiḥ
| sāḥ
|-
|genitive
| asāḥ
| colspan="2"| asa
| āsām
| colspan="2"| eṣām
| sena
|}
=====Demonstrative pronouns=====
{| class="wikitable"
| colspan="7" align="center"| Śi- "this"
|-
|
!colspan="3"| singular
!colspan="3"| dual & plural
|-
|
| Fem
| Mas
| Neu
| Fem
| Mas
| Neu
|-
|nominative
| śī
| śiḥ
| rowspan="2"| śit
| rowspan="2"| śyāḥ
| śayaḥ
| rowspan="2"| śyā
|-
|accusative
| śyām
| śim
| śīn
|-
|dative
| śasai
| colspan="2"| śasmā
| śāmiḥ
| colspan="2"| śemiḥ
|-
|genitive
| śasāḥ
| colspan="2"| śasa
| śāsām
| colspan="2"| śeṣām
|}
{| class="wikitable"
| colspan="7" align="center"| Ta- "that"
|-
|
!colspan="3"| singular
!colspan="3"| dual & plural
|-
|
| Fem
| Mas
| Neu
| Fem
| Mas
| Neu
|-
|nominative
| sā
| sa
| rowspan="2"| tat
| rowspan="2"| tāḥ
| te
| rowspan="2"| tā
|-
|accusative
| tām
| tam
| tān
|-
|dative
| tasai
| colspan="2"| tasmā
| tāmiḥ
| colspan="2"| temiḥ
|-
|genitive
| tasāḥ
| colspan="2"| tasa
| tāsām
| colspan="2"| teṣām
|}
=====Interrogative pronouns=====
{| class="wikitable"
| colspan="7" align="center"| Ka- "what?"
|-
|
!colspan="3"| singular
!colspan="3"| dual & plural
|-
|
| Fem
| Mas
| Neu
| Fem
| Mas
| Neu
|-
|nominative
| kā
| kaḥ
| rowspan="2"| kat
| rowspan="2"| kāḥ
| ke
| rowspan="2"| kā
|-
|accusative
| kām
| kam
| kān
|-
|dative
| casai
| colspan="2"| kasmā
| kāmiḥ
| colspan="2"| kemiḥ
|-
|genitive
| casāḥ
| colspan="2"| casa
| kāsām
| colspan="2"| keṣām
|}
====Nouns====
=====ā-stems=====
{|class="wikitable"
|-
| '''jabhā''' "gift"
! singular
! plural
|-
| Vocative
| rowspan="2"| jabh'''ā'''
| rowspan="3"| jabh'''āḥ'''
|-
| Nominative
|-
| Accusative
| jabh'''ām'''
|-
| Dative
| jabh'''ai'''
| jabh'''āmiḥ'''
|-
| Genitive
| jabh'''āḥ'''
| jabh'''ām'''
|}
=====a-stems=====
{|class="wikitable"
|-
| rowspan="2" | '''stena''' "stone"<br>'''vṛdha''' "word"
! colspan="2"| singular
! colspan="2"| plural
|-
! masculine
! neuter
! masculine
! neuter
|-
| Vocative
| sten'''a'''
| rowspan="3"| vṛdh'''am'''
| rowspan="2"| sten'''āḥ'''
| rowspan="3"| vṛdh'''ā'''
|-
| Nominative
| sten'''aḥ'''
|-
| Accusative
| sten'''am'''
| sten'''ān''' (-'''āṃs''')
|-
| Dative
| sten'''e'''
| vṛdh'''e'''
| sten'''āmiḥ'''
| vṛdh'''āmiḥ'''
|-
| Genitive
| sten'''asa'''
| vṛdh'''asa'''
| sten'''ām'''
| vṛdh'''ām'''
|}
====Verbs====
Nṛtrāṇya verbs inflect for person (1st, 2nd, 3rd), number (singular, plural, or dual — the last only in the 1st and 2nd persons), tense (past and non-past), mood (indicative, subjunctive, and imperative) and voice (active and passive). A number of verbal adjectives and nouns are also made from the verb, notably the present participle (which can also serve as an agent noun) and the past participle, usually with a passive sense.
Verbs are either strong or weak. Strong verbs change both stem and affix in different parts of the paradigm; weak verbs change the affix but leave the stem unchanged. There are four classes of both weak and strong verb; the strong verb classes can be subdivided into various types. The different formations of the strong verb are adequately displayed in the 3rd person singular indicative active, the 3rd sg. perfect active, the 3rd pl. perfect active, and the past participle.
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[[Category:Conlangs]]
[[Category:Languages]]

Latest revision as of 05:36, 11 February 2021



Background

Nṛtrāṇya is a language that I started seriously working on late last year, though as a concept it dates back maybe fifteen or twenty years (at one time it was formulated under the name Toticcha), and started with the mental question: what would the names of the Æsir be if they had been, in fact, Proto-Indo-European deities who were still worshipped today in India? The concept is simple: to phonologically redesign reconstructed Proto-Germanic as if it were Sanskrit. The motivations are several: first, while the reconstruction of Proto-Germanic (and even more so Proto-Indo-European) is beset by uncertainties, the phonology of Sanskrit is very well known, and is of such a nature as to iron out many dubious points; second, by making a Germanic language that is more Sanskrit-like, it makes structural comparison between Germanic languages and Sanskrit straightforward, avoiding phonological issues; third, it's a somewhat satirical take on the efforts of certain 19th-century popularizers of linguistics to posit Sanskrit as the Ursprache of the Indo-Europeans — or, as the German scholars oddly called them, Indogermanen.

Within its imaginary world, "Artā" (sc. Earth), Nṛtrāṇya (northern (speech)) is an extinct language spoken around 2500-2700 years before the present by the Nṛtramanvānaḥ (north-people), the inhabitants of Nṛtravahaḥ, a large complex of islands situated just below the Arctic circle. It was closely related to languages of the mainland just to the south, and due to the influence of a religious movement originating there, became a liturgical language and language of lore for many people speaking other languages, related and unrelated. The language as described here, however, is of the 'pagan' period immediately before the rise of that movement, when the language was still very unified and spoken almost exclusively in the Nṛtravahaḥ.

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Phonology

The phonological inventory of Nṛtrāṇya is basically identical to that of Sanskrit, as is its phonological history; the major exception is that the consonants /l/ and /r/ were not confused at any point in the development of the language.

Consonants

Bilabial Dental Retroflex Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal Stop m n ɳ ɲ ŋ
Oral Stop p pʰ b bʱ t tʰ d dʱ ʈ ʈʰ ɖ ɖʱ k kʰ ɡ ɡʱ
Fricative s ʂ ɕ h ɦ
Affricate ʨ ʨʰ ʥ ʥʱ
Approximant ʋ ɻ j
Lateral fric. l

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close i iː u uː
Mid eː oː
Open ɐ ɑː

Phonotactics

Orthography

Nṛtrāṇya was originally written in an alphabet carved into stone and wood; paper and parchment were not known until very late. It is transcribed in a conventional orthography based on that used for Sanskrit and other Indic languages. The Nṛtrāṇya "runes" were usually written from left to right, but occasionally boustrophedon (with reversals in direction with each line), in which case the asymmetrical characters would have been reversed when writing right-to-left.

Nrtranyarunes.png


Grammar

Morphology

Nṛtrāṇya is a complex, inflected language, somewhat less so than Sanskrit but more than most living Germanic languages. Pronouns, adjectives, nouns and verbs use a system of suffixes to show their relationships to other words in the sentence.

Pronouns

Personal pronouns
First person
singular dual plural
nominative aja vat vayaḥ
accusative maja āvaḥ aḥ / asaḥ
dative māḥ
genitive mena āvara asara
Second person
singular dual plural
nominative tū yut yūḥ
accusative tvaja yūvaḥ yuṣvaḥ
dative tvāḥ
genitive tvena yūvara yuṣvara
Third person
singular dual & plural reflexive
Fem Mas Neu Fem Mas Neu Com
nominative sī iḥ it iyāḥ ayaḥ iyā —
accusative iyām im īn saja
dative asai asmā āmiḥ emiḥ sāḥ
genitive asāḥ asa āsām eṣām sena
Demonstrative pronouns
Śi- "this"
singular dual & plural
Fem Mas Neu Fem Mas Neu
nominative śī śiḥ śit śyāḥ śayaḥ śyā
accusative śyām śim śīn
dative śasai śasmā śāmiḥ śemiḥ
genitive śasāḥ śasa śāsām śeṣām
Ta- "that"
singular dual & plural
Fem Mas Neu Fem Mas Neu
nominative sā sa tat tāḥ te tā
accusative tām tam tān
dative tasai tasmā tāmiḥ temiḥ
genitive tasāḥ tasa tāsām teṣām
Interrogative pronouns
Ka- "what?"
singular dual & plural
Fem Mas Neu Fem Mas Neu
nominative kā kaḥ kat kāḥ ke kā
accusative kām kam kān
dative casai kasmā kāmiḥ kemiḥ
genitive casāḥ casa kāsām keṣām

Nouns

ā-stems
jabhā "gift" singular plural
Vocative jabhā jabhāḥ
Nominative
Accusative jabhām
Dative jabhai jabhāmiḥ
Genitive jabhāḥ jabhām
a-stems
stena "stone"
vṛdha "word" 		singular plural
masculine neuter masculine neuter
Vocative stena vṛdham stenāḥ vṛdhā
Nominative stenaḥ
Accusative stenam stenān (-āṃs)
Dative stene vṛdhe stenāmiḥ vṛdhāmiḥ
Genitive stenasa vṛdhasa stenām vṛdhām

Verbs

Nṛtrāṇya verbs inflect for person (1st, 2nd, 3rd), number (singular, plural, or dual — the last only in the 1st and 2nd persons), tense (past and non-past), mood (indicative, subjunctive, and imperative) and voice (active and passive). A number of verbal adjectives and nouns are also made from the verb, notably the present participle (which can also serve as an agent noun) and the past participle, usually with a passive sense.

Verbs are either strong or weak. Strong verbs change both stem and affix in different parts of the paradigm; weak verbs change the affix but leave the stem unchanged. There are four classes of both weak and strong verb; the strong verb classes can be subdivided into various types. The different formations of the strong verb are adequately displayed in the 3rd person singular indicative active, the 3rd sg. perfect active, the 3rd pl. perfect active, and the past participle.


Syntax

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