Tjoc: Difference between revisions

|pronunciation = ['tjutʃ]

|region = Europe

|iso1 = tj

|iso2 = tjo

|script        = [[w:Latin script|Latin script]]

=General informations=

'''Tjoc''' ['tjutʃ] is a language spoken in the ''Ljoshare af Angelkinn'' (= Country of Angelkinn), a country that corresponds to Modern England on a parallel timeline, where the United Kingdom doesn't exist.

=Phonology=

==Alphabet==

Tjoc alphabet uses letters from Latin alphabet and contains 24 characters:

|in the plural cluster -es it is not pronounced

| -

==Consonantic phonemes==

==Vocalic phonemes==

|a

===Vowel length===

Only the vowels 'e' and 'o' can be either short or long, but they are written always in one way. The pronunciation of these two vowels, however, seems not to be more relevant in the language.

Actually there are words that differ in the pronunciation of these vowels, such as ''wjor'', that means both "far", when it is pronounced ['vjɔr], and "four", when it is pronounced ['vju:r]. It is important to know when to pronounce 'o' as [ɔ] and when to pronounce it as [u:], because it allows to distinguish words that are spelled the same. Anyway in the present language the context has become more important than the correct pronunciation of 'e' and 'o', even because in many dialects, the long vowels and the short vowels have merged.

==Diphthongs and digraphs==

Also the letter 'y' is pronounced as a diphthong, as we have seen. Tjoc has got a digraph: <hw>, that is pronounced [kv].

==Stress==

* In substantives (and in adjectives and adverbs) the stress generally falls on the first syllable, but if they are compound nouns / adjectives, formed by prefix + noun / adjective, the stress falls on the root syllable of the noun / adjective, ex.: ''warjewels'', "forgiveness", is read as [var'jɛvɛls]. In compounds which are formed by noun / adjective + noun / adjective, the various words are read as if they were written separately, ex.: ''lerstof'', "school", is read as ['le:r 'stu(f)];

=Grammar=

==Nouns, gender and number==

1) Some uter nouns take -es suffix, the 'e' in this suffix is generally not pronounced;

Generally uter nouns ending in -ing or consonant have the first kind of plural, whereas uter nouns ending in -e have the second kind of plural. Some monosyllabic uter nouns ending in consonant experiment a root vowel modification, but they are just few. Endly some uter words have got two kinds of plural: a regular one (in -es or -en) and an irregular one (with no ending at all or/and a root vowel change).

|stån

|stånes

|wet

|lond

|skjounes

|sko

|ljot

|lyf

|språc

|djor

|bok

|frjå

|frjåstre

|mann

|wyf

|skjort

|håle

|stof

|tyd

|merjen

|dag

|dages

|åfning

|åfninges

|hwiltyd

|nyt

|mone

|atelkund

|atelkundes

|atlestre

|trjo

|hann

|skjor

|jawen

|frjond

|frjondes / frynd

|wjondes / wynd

|lyndes / lynd

|hůnn

|hůnnes

The nouns ending in '-nd' are present participles and have two kinds of plural:

 

* zero plural, that is quite literary.

 

Though the nouns in '-ȝond' have got both an '-es' plural and a zero plural with a vowel change from '-jo-' to '-y-'. In this case the second form is the most spread.

===Formation of feminine===

Distinguishing between nouns that indicate a feminine being and those that indicate a masculine being can be very difficult in a language that has a common gender for both masculine and feminine. However distinguishing is not always so difficult as one could think, because Tȝoch language has a suffix with that the feminine form of a noun can be formed: -estre (pl. -estren).

* ''wjond'' - ''wyndstre'';

* ''lynd'' - ''lyndstre''.

==Articles==

==Adjectives==

|goje

|iwele

|glåje

|sari

|skjå

|skam

|sken

|unfawer

|grjat

|litel

|gemel

|jong

|strong

|wåk

|håt

|call

|joker

|njå

|njå

|wjorre

As it can be seen, adjectives ending with '-i' or with a long vowel don't take the '-e' ending in the weak forms and in the plural form.

===Comparative===

====Adjectives with an irregular higher degree comparative====

|litel

|grjat

|gemel

|skyrre

|-

|strong

|njå

|wyr

|wyrre

* ''Tů jart skyr als y (jom)'' - You are taller than I (am).

===Superlative===

* ''Se skenast blosne i tem werl'' - The most beautiful flower in the world.

====Adjectives with an irregular superlative====

|litel

|grjat

|gemel

|skyste

|-

|strong

|njå

|wyrst

|wyrste

===Numerals===

|0

|1

|wirst

|2

|3

|4

|wjor

|wjort

|6

|7

|8

|9

|10

|11

|12

|13

|14

|wjortin

|wjortint

|16

|17

|18

|19

|20

|21

|twejnti-wirst

|22

|30

|wjorti

|-

|wifti

|wiftit

|60

|70

|80

|90

|100

Units are written linked to the tens with a hyphen, while tens and hundreds are written detached, ex.: 195 ''hůdre nejnti-wy''.

From 100 on, numerals are formed with a suffix '-od': 200 ''twåod'', 300 ''tryod'', 400 ''wjorod'', 500 ''wyod'', 600 ''sysod'', 700 ''sjounod'', 800 ''jåtod'', 900 ''nejnod''. This form is the evolution of a former juxtaposition, ex.: ''try hůd > tryod''.

A thousand is said ''tusenn'' and its ordinal form is ''tusent''. The numbers from 1000 on are expressed with a hypen, ex.: 2000 ''twejn-tůsenn'', 5000 ''wy-tůsenn'', 9000 ''nejn-tůsenn'' and so on.

==Pronouns and kinds of adjectives==

===Personal pronouns===

|colspan="2"|mek

|colspan="2"|tek

|skjo [ʃu]

|het

|het

|him

|skjos [ʃu:s]

|his

===Demonstratives===

But it is true that these three sentences show a particularly refined language, colloquially speaking, these sentences become respectively:

===Possessives===

===Relatives and 'interro-exclamatories'===

* ''Se jon is se wyf hwan y frjowe'' - That there is the woman whom I love.

===Indefinites===

==Adverbs==

Usually adverbs in Tjoc are formed by suffixation: many adverbs derive from adjectives, to that the suffix ''-lic'' is added. Some examples:

* ''glåj > glåjlic'' (happy - happily);

* ''sari > sarilic'' (sad - sadly);

* ''grjat > gr'''y'''llic'' (great - greatly);

* ''strong > str'''e'''nglic'' (strong - strongly);

* ''wåk > wåklic'' (weak - weakly).  

Some adverbs have got suppletive forms, ex.: ''goj > jarwe''; ''iwel > lyter''.

===Place adverbs===

===Time adverbs===

* ''iworn'' - before;

* ''injaklic'' - usually;

* ''wjor > wjornes'' - four times;

* ''wy > wifnes'' (!) - five times;

===Manner adverbs===

Manner adverbs are created from adjectives with the suffix ''-lic''. The interrogative and relative manner adverb is ''hů'', "how". Some times manner adverbs inflect and have a higher degree comparative and a superlative, ex.:

* ''glåjlic - glåjlicar - glåjlicast'' (happily - happilier - happiliest);

* ''strenglic - strenglicar - strenglicast'' (strongly - stronglier - strongliest).  

Both ''gryllic'' and ''micel'' can be used to mean "very", ex.: ''tů jart gryllic'' / ''micel sken'' - You are very beautiful.

==Verbs==

===Present indicative===

!'''Lyrnan''' (to learn / to read)

!'''Wennan''' (to live)

!'''Lycan''' (to like)

The verb ''lycan'' functions in a different way than in English, ex.:

====Present indicative of irregular verbs====

Some verbs are totally irregular, other partially: the most irregular verb of all is ''bjon'', "to be":

!'''Bjon'''

=====Old verbs in ''-jan''=====

If one observes the conjugation of the verb ''lyrnan'', he will see that in the 2nd and the 3rd person singular the root undergoes a vowel change: ''-y-'' becomes ''-jo-''. This irregularity is found in all the so called '''-jan verbs''', that is verbs that had in Anglo-Saxon a conjugation with ''-i-'' in some endings and without it in others (such as the 2nd and the 3rd person singular of present indicative). This ''-i-'' has disappeared in the endings, but, before, has changed the root vowel; not all the vowels undergo this change though: only ''o'' and ''u'' / ''ů'' undergo this change and become respectively ''e'' and ''i'' / ''y'', the diphthong ''jo'' becomes ''y'' instead.

Here are the verbs ''lyrnan'', ''behewan'', "to be necessary", and ''kinnan'', "to experience":

!'''Lyrnan'''

!'''Behewan'''

!'''Kinnan'''

|behewe

|behewa

|l'''y'''rnan

|beh'''e'''wan

|k'''i'''nnan

|beh'''e'''wa

When the root vowel is an 'a', an 'e' or an 'i', this vowel doesn't experience any change, in this case the 'j' appears in the endings of the 1st person singular, of the plurals and of the infinitive, but doesn't in those of the 2nd and the 3rd person singular. An example is the verb ''hatjan'', "to hate":

!'''Hatjan'''

Here is the present indicative of the verbs ''knåwan'' and ''wytan'', both "to know", ''segan'' and ''hwetan'', both "to say", ''don'' and ''skån'', both "to do":

!'''Knåwan'''

!'''Wytan'''

!'''Segan'''

!'''Hwetan'''

!'''Don'''

!'''Skån'''

The verb ''knåwan'' means "to know someone", whereas ''wytan'' means "to know something". The verbs ''segan'' and ''hwetan'' are almost always interchangeable and mean "to say, to tell", the second is the most used though. ''Hwetan'' means also "to assert, to argue, to allude", while ''segan'' can mean also "to pronounce".

''Don'' and ''skån'' both mean "to do", but they are different just like to do and to make in English. The verb ''skån'' means "to create material things", it is used in such expressions as: ''skån tat bed'', "to make the bed", ''skån an klåwje'', "to make a sandwich", but also ''skån se såmwys'', "to act dumb". ''Don'' refers to a mental or immaterial activity, such as ''don an enhwil'', "to do a research", ''don an skrůting'', "to do an exam", but also ''don an minid'', "to make a gesture".

!'''Åwan'''

!'''Håban'''

!'''Willan'''

!'''Mawan'''

!'''Kunnan'''

!'''Motan'''

|håbe

|åwon

|håba

|mawon

Both ''åwan'' and ''håban'' mean "to have", but the former is used to mean "to owe" and indicates a rather material possession, even if it can be used also to indicate an immaterial possession, such as feelings, ideas, and so forth. Moreover ''åwan'' cannot ever be used as auxiliary verb. ''Håban'' indicates an immaterial possession, but it is not compulsory and it can indicate also a material possession, such as things, animals, etc. The greatest difference between ''åwan'' and ''håban'' is that the latter is the only one that can function as auxiliary.

''Willan'' and ''mawan'' both have the meaning of "to want, to desire", but the former is more peremptory in his meaning and has a nuance of pretension. ''Mawan'' is closer to the English to wish and is considered more polite. Note the expressions ''y will tek'', "I love you, I hanker after you" (it has a carnal nuance) and ''y mag tek'', "I like you, I heart you".

''Kunnan'' and ''motan'' are quite differentiated, because the former means "can, to be able to do something", and the latter means "to be allowed to do something, to have the permission to do something".

Two very important specialized verbs are ''gån'' and ''waran''. They both mean "to go", but the first is used when the act of going is done on foot; ''waran'' is used when the act of going is done by a mean of transport, such as bike, car, train, and so forth.

!'''Gån'''

!'''Waran'''

|ware

|wert

|wara

* ''Y gå to se lerstof by wet'' - I go to school on foot;

* ''Tů wert to se lerstof by twihwjol'' - You go to school by bike.

===Past indicative===

!'''Lyrnan'''

!'''Wennan'''

!'''Lycan'''

====Past indicative of irregular verbs====

The verb ''bjon'' has got an irregular past:

!'''Bjon'''

=====Past of ''-jan verbs''=====

As for the present, the "-jan verbs" show a modified vowel root in this tense. While in the present indicative only the 2nd and the 3rd singular person show this change, in the past indicative all the verbal voices show this mutation.

Here are the verbs ''lyrnan'', ''behewan'' and ''kinnan'':