Alska: Difference between revisions

|pronunciation = [als'-ka]

|region = Alsland & Dependencies

|states = Alsland, Grøn-in-Norderøy, Jotunsøy, Dependencies of Jansstass & Ragnargråben

|speakers = 50 million

|date = 2012

|fam3 = [[w:West_Germanic_languages|East Scandinavian]]

|fam4 = [[w:Anglo-Frisian_languages|Alslandic]]

|map          =  

|mapcaption    = Map of the two dependencies of Alsland, Jansstass and Ragnargråben

|iso1 = al

|iso2 = als

|iso3 = als

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

Alska [als'-ka] is a Germanic language originating from the nation of Alsland, a rather large (area-wise) island in the northern sea. Alska is supposed to be somewhat related to the Scandinavian languages, although it's really more of my own take on Scandinavian languages as a whole. It is <i>very</i> closely related to them, to the point of being mutually intelligible in some cases, although it is just as different from them as Swedish is from Danish, or as Norwegian is from Swedish.

!'''Letters'''

|[a:]

|has no short version

| -

| -

|[ɛ] / [e:]

| -

| -

| -

| -

|[ɪ]/[i]

|short 'ɪ', long 'i'

|corresponds to ''y'' in English ''you''

| -

| -

| -

| -

|[o̞]/[o]

| -

| -

|[r]

|can be rolled, tapped, trilled, or pronounced non-rhotically, as in most British English dialects.  (depends on Alskan dialect)

| -

| -

|[ʉ]

|has no short version

|rarely used, usually replaced with 'v'

|pronounced almost like German 'ü'

| -

|ä

|[ɛ]\[e:]

|short/long.  depends on whether 'ä' is by itself, or near a consonant cluster

|(ŋ)

|ʃ

|r

Additionally, if any consonant directly precedes 'r', that consonant is silent. For example:

|i

|u:/ü:

|ø

|o:

| -

| -

Almost every vowel has a short and a long version, which changes according to whether there is a double consonant cluster immediately following it or not. Any two of the same consonants following a vowel with make it short, with the exceptions of 'a' and 'u'. For example, 'ok' (and) = 'o:k.  'okk', while not a word, would be pronounced 'o̞k'.  This does not occur when two different consonants follow a vowel, such as 'ng'.

===Diphthongs===

Alska has three diphthongs, and one digraph.

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

!'''Diphthongs'''

|[i:e]

|-

'ej' is the most common diphthong, while 'ai' is the least common.  There is no 'ow' sound in  Standard Alska, unlike Standard German.  Some dialects, mostly the northern variants, associate this sound to the letter 'å'.

 

 

Nouns have two genders in Alska, Common and Neuter.  These nouns must always agree with their adjectives gender-wise.   

 

Nouns can come in two numbers, singular and plural.  To make a vowel plural, either the suffix '-er', '-e' or '-ene' is added to the end.  Very few nouns that have a natural fminine gender get the '-e' suffix for their indefinite plural form.  This can cause confusion, since '-er' is also how verbs conjugate for all persons in the present tense.  When a noun is definite, the plural is '-ene'.  When it is not, the plural is '-er'.   

Nouns can be definite or indefinite, and this is decided by the use of an enclitic article.  The common gender has the suffix '-en' to make it definite, the neuter gender has '-et'.  These articles can be separated from their noun.  This transforms them into <i>indefinite</i> articles.    

 

For example:  

 

Here is a chart showing a selection of nouns in their indefinite and definite forms, as well as the plurals for each.  

!'''Plural'''

!'''Meaning'''

|manner

|common

|man

|fotene

|common

|foot

|lander

|neuter

|shoe

|ligtene

|neuter

|light

|life

|sprokkene

|common

|language

|tirer

|neuter

|love

|vulfene

|common

|wolf

|lady

|lørdene

|common

|lord

With definite and indefinite nouns come definite (demonstrative) and indefinite articles.  Gender applies to these articles in both the definite and indefinite form.

!'''Definite article'''

!'''Common'''

!'''Plural'''

!'''Nom. / Acc.'''

!'''Dat.'''

|at

| -

Demonstrative articles are used when

a) referring directly to something or someone. 

b) referring back to the subject of the sentence of something previously mentioned. 

*  For example: <i>Tirer er alltid duf. Det er ikke bestimmer</i> - Animals are always stupid. This is not true.  Here 'det' is referring to the previous mentioned concept of animals being stupid.

c) an adjective precedes the noun it stems from.   

Often the demonstrative article is used instead of the enclitic article in speech because saying 'den strungen mann' is also the same as saying 'strungen mannen'

Personal pronouns change depending on the case they are used in.  (Nominative, Accusative, Dative, or Genitive)  Possessive Pronouns change depending on the gender of the noun they possess.   

|colspan=2|jeg

|colspan="2"|mig

|colspan="2"|minn

|colspan="2"|osser

|colspan="2"|dig

|colspan="2"| -

|colspan="2"| -

|den / det

|disse / disse

|han

|den / det

|disse / disse

| -

| -

| -

| -

This is one of the only times that defined masculine and feminine category appears in Alska, as it is a case of natural gender.  

There are no genitive forms for 'du', and 'han/hun/det'.  Their corresponding possessives are used instead.   

!'''Plural'''

!'''jeg'''

|dinn

|dinnene

|sinn

|sinnene

!'''hun'''

|osser

|osser

|ier

|ierne

*<i>Mitt hus</i> - My house

*<i>Minn hund</i> - My dog

===Adjectives===

Adjectives come in their root form, and are inflected for gender and number, with the same two endings used for making nouns definite, '-en', and '-et'.  The plural ending is '-ene'  An adjective does not, however, have to be inflected if it comes <i>after</i> the noun it describes.  

Here are some examples:

 

 

The comparative form of adjectives is formed by adding '-ere' to the adjective itself.  The word 'ennd' precedes the noun being compared.

*<i>Den mann er strungere ennd den flyge</i> - The man is stronger than that girl.   

If something is being compared on the same level, 'somm' is used before and after the adjective.  

If something is being compared as less than something, 'minntre' is used before the adjective, and 'somm' is used before the other noun.

*<i>Den mann er minntre strung somm den flyge</i> - The man is weaker than the woman. (This can also be formed with the adjective weak, or by using 'ikke' before 'minntre', making 'not as strong')

*<i>Det hus er godt</i> - The house is good

*<i>Det hus er bettre</i> - The house is better

*<i>Dette hus er betre ennd det hus</i> - This house is better than that house

!strung

|strungere

|strungest

!godt

|betre

|best

!hog

|højer

|højest

|high

|elt

!kald

|kaldere

|kaldest

|smål

!0

| -

!1

|ein

!2

|tø

|sekunde

!3

!4

|fjyr

|fjyrede

!5

|fimmede

!6

|sexede

!7

|sjø

|sjøede

|attede

|nan

|nanede

|tan

!11

|ellfede

!12

|tolfede

|fjyrtanede

|fimmtan

|fimmtanede

|sextanede

|sjøtan

|sjøtanede

|attjanede

|nantan

|nantanede

|Tjoede

|Tjoen

|Tejoenede

!22

|Tjoitø

|Tjoitøede

!30

|tretede

!31

|treen (tre-en)

|treenede

!40

|fjyrtide

!50

|fimmtide

!60

|sextide

!70

|sjøti

|sjøtide

!80

|jåttit

!90

|nanti

|nantide

!100

|hundrede

Note that in some numbers, certain letters are omitted, such as the 'i' in 'tjoen'.

 

Ordinal numbers are created by adding '-ede' onto the end.  In some cases, just'-de' is added. 

 

Counting is relatively simple in Alska.  To make two digit numbers, one simply puts two numbers together.  Numbers after one hundred work in the same way:

 

The word for thousand is '<i>tusennd</i>; it's ordinal form is '<i>tusennede</i>'. Million is '<i>milliard</i>'/'<i>milliarde</i>'

!'''Interrogatives'''

|hvemm

|hvad

|hver

|hvørfer

|hvorden

|nør

Adverbs are never declined or inflected, can be placed before or after the verb.

Here, today is being used adverbially because it shows when I want to run. The reason 'vil' is not conjugated is because it is a modal verb, which do not receive the '-r' suffix.  'lufe' is still in the infinitive because any verb after a modal verb must stay that way.

[[Category:Conlangs]]

WA:                                                                                                       RG