Tjoc: Difference between revisions

|name = Tjoc

|nativename = Tjoc

|states = Kingdom of Angelkinn

|nation = Kingdom of Angelkinn

|date = 2012

|familycolor = Indo-European

|fam2 = [[w:Germanic_languages|Germanic]]

|fam3 = [[w:West_Germanic_languages|West Germanic]]

|map          = Angelkinn.gif

|mapcaption    = Kingdom of Angelkinn

}}

This language has evolved from the Anglo-Saxon with a scarce influence of Latin, while one can appreciate a Scandinavian influence. Thus Tjoc is a Germanic language that is strongly linked to Modern English.

{| {{Table/bluetable}} style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"

|[y:]

|long 'u'

|-

|w

The letter 'c' had two different sounds in Old English: [tʃ] or [k], but when <k> was generalised to express the sound [k], <c> remained to express the sound [tʃ], as in the Old English word ''ic'', "I".

Tjoc language has the following consonantic phonemes:

The [w] phoneme is found as a glide in words like ''wouen'', wolves, that is pronounced as ['vɔu̯wɛn].

In Tjoc there are the following vowels:

|-

!'''Open'''

| -

| -

The 'a' is realized not precisely in the front of mouth, but in the mid between the front and centre of the mouth.

The short vowels 'a' [a], 'i' [i] and 'u' [ø] have got a long counterpart: 'å' [o:], 'y' [εi̯] and 'ů' [y:].

Also the vowels 'e' and 'o' can be either short or long, but they are written always in one way.

Tjoc has got also twenty diphthongs, that is clusters of two vowels pronounced with a single emission of air. These diphthongs are:

|}

The cluster <sk> maintains the sound [sk] in front of the vowels ''a'', ''å'', ''o'', ''u'' and ''ů'', but in front of the vowels ''e'', ''i'', ''j'' and ''y'' it behaves as a digraph and is pronounced [ʃ].

The position of stress in this language is quite regular, because it falls on the root and thus there are few rules to observe:

* In verbs the stress falls always on the root, even if they are compounds, ex.: ''iwacan'', "to wake up", is read as [ɪ'vatʃan].

Tjoc language has got only two genders: common gender (or uter gender) and neuter gender. The previously masculine and feminine words have merged into the uter gender, whereas neuter words have remained neuter, even if in some cases there has been a gender switch.

{| {{Table/bluetable}} style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"

!'''Singular'''

!'''Plural'''

!'''Meaning'''

|-

|ståne

|uter

|stone

|uter

|foot

|-

|lond

|neuter

|land

|uter

|sky, heaven

|-

|skon

|uter

|shoe

|ljot

|neuter

|light

|-

|lyen

|uter

|life

|språcen

|uter

|language

|-

|djor

|neuter

|animal

|bek

|uter

|book

|-

| -

|uter

|love

|-

|frjån

|uter

|lord

|frjåstren

|uter

|lady

|-

|menn

|uter

|man

|wyen

|uter

|woman

|-

|neuter

|heart

|hålen

|uter

|head

|-

|sten

|uter

|place

|tyd

|neuter

|time

|-

|merjen

|neuter

|morning

|dage

|uter

|day

|-

|åfninge

|uter

|afternoon

|hwiltyd

|neuter

|evening

|-

|nyten

|uter

|night

|monen

|uter

|moon

|-

|atelkunde

|uter

|nobleman

|atlestren

|uter

|noblewoman

|-

|trjo

|neuter

|tree

|hannen

|uter

|hand

|-

|skjor

|neuter

|star

|uter

|eye

|-

|lerend

|uter

|teacher

|uter

|friend

|-

|uter

|enemy

|lind

|uter

|lover

|-

|hůnne

|uter

|dog

|}

The nouns ending in vowel + 'f' lose final 'f' when forming plural.

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 Tjoc language has a suffix with that the feminine form of a noun can be formed: -estre (pl. -estren).

* ''lerend'' - ''lerendstre'';

* ''frjond'' - ''fryndstre'';

* ''lind'' - ''lindstre''.

Two kinds of article exist in Tjoc: indefinite and definite article.

* ''Jef het tem frjåstre'' - Give it to the lady.

The adjectives generally precede the noun to whom they refer, but in some case they follow the noun. In Tjoc the adjectives have two different forms: one for the singular (without ending) and one for the plural (with '-e' ending). Moreover the form ending in '-e' is used for both singular and plural when the nouns to whom the adjective refers is preceded by a ''determiner'', that is a possessive, a demonstrative or the definite article, this form of the adjective is called '''weak form'''.

!'''Strong singular'''

!'''Strong plural / Weak'''

!'''Meaning'''

|-

|go (!)

|good

|bad

|-

|glå (!)

|happy

|sari (!)

|sad

|-

|tall / high

|skame

|short

|-

|skene

|beautiful / goodlooking

|ugly

|-

|grjate

|big / great

|lille (!)

|little / small

|-

|gemle (!)

|old

|jonge

|young

|-

|stronge

|strong

|wåke

|weak

|-

|håte

|hot

|calle

|cold

|-

|jokre (!)

|terrible

|njå (!)

|near / close

|-

|far / distant

|}

* ''Se lille katt'' - The little cat.

The higher degree comparative is formed with the suffix '-ar' (some irregular adjectives form it with '-er'). The second term of comparation is introduced by ''als'' and is in the same case of the first, ex.:

* ''An blosne lass sken als an trjo'' - A flower less beautiful than a tree.  

Some adjectives have got an irregular form of higher degree comparative:  

{| {{Table/bluetable}} style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"

!'''Positive'''

!'''Strong comparative'''

!'''Weak comparative'''

|-

|beter

|betre

|wyrs

|wyrse

|-

|småler

|smålre

|gryter

|grytre

|-

|eller

|elre

|ynger

|yngre

|-

|strenger

|strengre

|-

|nyr

|nyrre

|}

Irregular higher degree comparatives are used as normal comparatives, ex.:

The superlative degree is formed with the suffix '-ast' (some irregular adjectives form it with '-est'). The relative superlative is the same form of the absolute superlative, but it is preceded by the definite article and is generally followed by a limitation, that is expressed with ''i + dative case'', ex.:

The same adjectives that have an irregular higher degree comparative have got also an irregular superlative form:

!'''Strong superlative'''

!'''Weak superlative'''

|best

|beste

|wyst

|wyste

|-

|smålst

|smålste

|gryst

|gryste

|-

|ellest

|elste

|yngst

|yngste

|-

|strengst

|strengste

|-

|nyrst

|nyrste

|}

Numerals don't inflect. Here are the numerals from 0 to 100:

{| {{Table/bluetable}} style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"

!'''Number'''

!'''Cardinal'''

!'''Ordinal'''

|-

|naut

| -

|ån

|-

|twejn

|twejd

|try

|trid

|-

|-

|sys

|syst

|sjoun

|sjount

|-

|jåt

|jåtet

|nejn

|nejnt

|-

|ten

|tent

|elljoun

|elljount

|-

|twelf

|twelft

|trjotin

|trjotint

|-

|-

|systin

|systint

|sjountin

|sjountint

|-

|jåttin

|jåttint

|nejntin

|nejntint

|-

|twejnti

|twejntit

|twejnti-ån

|-

|twejnti-twejn

|twejnti-twejnt

|tryti

|trytit

|-

|-

|systi

|systit

|-

|sjounti

|sjountit

|jåtti

|jåttit

|-

|nejnti

|nejntit

|hůdre

|hůdret

|}

Please note that the numeral 200 is irregular, because an alternative form of 2, that is ''twå'', is used. Also the form for hundred in compounds is irregular: ''hůd'', this form is quite archaic nowadays.

The ordinals of the numbers from 200 to 900 are obtained by substituting the final '-d' for '-t', ex.: 200 ''twåod'' > 200th ''twåot''.

The word for a million is ''miklenn'' (< O.E. ''miclung'', "greatness" × Ti. ''tůsenn'') and it behaves as ''tůsenn''.

A thousand million is ''an tůsenn miklenn''. A billion (in the sense of a million million) is ''biklenn'', from the French "bi- + million", that has been substituted for "bi- + miklenn".

In Tjoc personal pronouns inflect according the four cases that have been seen for the definite article: ''nominative'', ''accusative'', ''dative'' and ''genitive''.

|-

!'''Accusative'''

|colspan="2"|ůs

|-

|-

!'''Accusative'''

|colspan="2"|jou

|-

|he

|skjo [ʃu:]

|hy

|-

|hin

|hir

|hy

|-

|him

|hir

|hem

|-

!'''Genitive'''

|his

|heras

|}

* ''Jef het tem frjåstre'' - Give it to the lady;

* ''Jef hir se hůnn'' - Give her the dog.

Tjoc has also preserved two ancient 2nd person pronouns which indicate a couple, they are the '''dual pronouns''' ''wit'' and ''jit'', respectively ''we two'' and ''you two''. Even if they are quite old, they are still very used:

It is to be said that in the West zone of Angelkinn also the forms ''ůnk''/''ynk'' and ''ůnker''/''ynker'' are found, probably due to a contamination with the plural pronoun ''we'' (acc. ''ůs''/gen. ''ůr'') and to a generalisation of the long vowel.

Demonstratives are formed with the three place adverbs ''her'' (here, "near to the speaker"), ''ter'' (there, but in Tjoc meaning "near to the listener") and ''jon'' (yon, but in Tjoc meaning "far from both speaker and listener"). These pronouns match perfectly the three persons:

* ''Y gå tat hůs jonner'' means "I go to that house over there" without using ''to'' (= to).  

* ''Y jom i tem hůs her'';

People tend not to inflect demonstratives (nor place adverbs).

Possessives are the same when they're used as both adjectives and pronouns and, while possessive adjectives don't need article before, possessive pronouns need it:

* ''Ůr djor > Tat ůr'' - Our animal > Ours;

* ''Jower frjond > Se jower'' - Your friend > Yours;

Plural forms:

* ''Ůre djor > Te ůre'' - Our animals > Ours;

* ''Jowre frynd > Te jowre'' - Your friends > Yours;

Interrogative pronouns, which are used also to make exclamations, function also as relatives:

* ''Hwas is se bok her?'' - Whose is this book?

* ''Hwam hafstů isagd het?'' - Whom have you said it to?

Instrumental case ''hwy'' corresponds perfectly to English "why" (but also to the English "because"!), ex.:

* ''Hwy haftů iskån se metning ter?'' - Why have you made that painting?

Indefinites give us incomplete informations, because they don't define the precise quantity or the identity:

* ''Knaut skjo hwan elles?'' - Does she know someone else?

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

When an adjective ends with a vowel, than the adverbial ending ''-i'' isn't added. In some adjectives this suffix causes a mutation of the root vowel.

Adverbs can be positioned wherever we want, but it is necessary to remember these rules:

2) adverbs can be positioned between auxiliary verbs and the taken verbs.

As it has been seen in the chapter about demonstratives, some place adverbs - ''her'', ''ter'' and ''jon'' - inflect to indicate a state, a movement towards or a movement from. Also the adverb ''hwer'', "where", inflects:

Other place adverbs are: ''ålhwer'', "somewhere", and ''nålhwer'', "nowhere".

The adverb ''hwonne'', "when", can be used both as interrogative and relative. Other time adverbs are:

* ''nů'' - now;

* ''tann'' - then;

* ''eften'' - after;

* ''ålhwon'' - some times;

* ''jaltyd'' - always;

* ''åfre'' - ever;

* ''twejn > twejnnes'' - twice;

* ''try > trynes'' - thrice;

* ''sys > sysnes'' - six times...  

Expressions such as "Eight times a week" are translated as ''Jåtnes an wuke''.

Some adverbs have an irregular comparative and superlative form:

* ''(an) lit / liten - lass - last'' (little - less - least).  

The verb in Tjoc has got six moods: indicative, subjunctive, conditional, imperative, infinitive and participle; various tenses, such as present, past, future, and aspects represented by "tenses" such as present perfect, past perfect and future perfect.

Verbs always follow the subject, because Tjoc is a SVO language, that is the subject precedes the verb and the verb precedes the object. In questions or in special constructions, the verb can precede the subject though, and the order becomes VSO.  

The present of regular verbs is formed with the suffixes ''-e'' for the 1st person singular, ''-(e)t'' for the 2nd and the 3rd persons singular, and ''-a'' for the three plural persons. To avoid confusion, the subject is always expressed.

Please note that when the verb precedes the 2nd person singular, the pronouns merges with the verb, ex.: ''ljornt tů'' > ''ljorntů''; ''went tů'' > ''wentů'', and so on.

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

If one observes the conjugation of the verb ''lyrne'', 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 '''-je 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.

{| {{Table/bluetable}} style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"

!'''Person'''

!'''Lyrne'''

!'''Kinne'''

|-

!'''y'''

|lyrne

|kinne

|-

!'''we''' / '''je''' / '''hy'''

|lyrna

|kinna

|}

|l'''y'''rne

!behōf'''i'''an

!cunn'''i'''an

|k'''i'''nne

|l'''y'''rna

!behōf'''i'''aþ

!cunn'''i'''aþ

|k'''i'''nna

The form ''såt'' for ''sagt'' is mostly found in the spoken language.

Other specialized verbs are:

{| {{Table/bluetable}} style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"

!'''Person'''

!'''Hå'''

!'''Wille'''

!'''Kunne'''

!'''Mote'''

|-

!'''we''' / '''je''' / '''hy'''

|hå

|willa

|kunnon

|moton

|}

''Kunne'' and ''mote'' 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".

{| {{Table/bluetable}} style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"

!'''Person'''

!'''Gå'''

|-

!'''y'''

|gå

|-

!'''tů''' / '''he'''

|gåt

|-

!'''we''' / '''je''' / '''hy'''

|gå

|}

Ex.:

This tense is used to talk about events that happened in the past and that are considered as totally concluded and irrelated to the present. Generally it is used with time adverbs that indicate this irrelation, such as ''jestrendag'', "yesterday", ''se late wuke'' / ''monat'' / ''jår'', "the last week / month / year", ''het skaft an wuke'' / ''monat'' / ''jår'', "a week / month / year ago", and so on.

* Y brejte (= I change) > Y brejtte (= I changed).

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

As for the present, the "-je 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.

{| {{Table/bluetable}} style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"

!'''Person'''

!'''Lyrne'''

!'''Kinne'''

|-

{| {{Table/bluetable}} style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"

!'''Person'''

!'''Hå'''

!'''Wille'''

!'''Kunne'''

!'''Mote'''

!'''Person'''

!'''Gå'''

|-

!'''y''' / '''tů''' / '''he'''

|jode

|-

!'''we''' / '''je''' / '''hy'''

|jodon

|}

* ''I: byte - byt - båt - biton'' (to bite - you bite - I bit - we bit);

* ''VII: låte - låt - let - leton'' (to let - you let - I let - we let).  

* ''drinke - drinkt - dronk - drunkon'' (to drink - you drink - I drank - we drank).

{| {{Table/bluetable}} style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"

!'''Person'''

|-

!'''y'''

|-

!'''tů''' / '''he'''

|-

!'''we''' / '''je''' / '''hy'''

|}

{| {{Table/bluetable}} style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"

|-

!'''bēode'''

!'''giefe'''

!'''sīge'''

|-

!'''bīett'''

|-

!'''bēodaþ'''

!'''giefaþ'''

!'''sīgaþ'''

|}

Things change again in the past tense:  

|-

!'''budon'''

!'''gēafon'''

!'''sigon'''

|}

Here is the present perfect of the verbs ''bjo'', ''lyrne'', ''wenne'' and ''lyce'':

* ''Se beknåwene mann'' - The known man.

The irregular verbs form the participle II with the circumfix ''i--(e)n'' - as we have just seen for the verb ''bjo'' - and undergo a root vowel change. This vowel is almost always different than the one of the past indicative. Once again it can be distinguished among seven classes. Here is a table with the vowel of the infinitive, that of the 2nd / 3rd person singular of present tense, those of the first past form and the second past form, and that of the participle II:

|-

!'''II'''

|byt  

|bjåg

|-

!'''V'''

|jeft

|jaf