Valtamic: Difference between revisions
(Created page with "Category: Indo-European_languagesCategory: Italic languagesCategory: RomanceCategory: LanguagesCategory: ConlangsCategory: A_posteriori {{privatelang}} {{Infobox language |image = Flag of the Republic of Valtamia.png |imagesize = 185px |imagecaption = Flag of the Republic of Valtamia |name = Valtamic |nativename = Äljämhor, Аьляьмхор |pronunciation = ˈæˑʎɛm̥ˌχɔ̞ɾ̥ |states...") |
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|imagecaption = Flag of the Republic of Valtamia | |imagecaption = Flag of the Republic of Valtamia | ||
|name = Valtamic | |name = Valtamic | ||
|nativename = | |nativename = Äljämhar, Аьляьмхар | ||
|pronunciation = | |pronunciation = ˈæˑʎɛm̥ˌχʌɾ̥ | ||
|states = Valtamia | |states = Valtamia | ||
|setting = Alt-History Baltic | |setting = Alt-History Baltic | ||
Line 30: | Line 30: | ||
{{legend|#88C4FE|...as a minority language}} | {{legend|#88C4FE|...as a minority language}} | ||
|notice = IPA | |notice = IPA | ||
|ethnicity = Valtamian | |ethnicity = Valtamian, Livonian | ||
|ancestor = [[w:Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] | |ancestor = [[w:Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] | ||
|ancestor2 = [[w:Italic | |ancestor2 = [[w:Proto-Italic language|Proto-Italic]] | ||
|ancestor3 = Proto-Valtamic | |ancestor3 = Proto-Valtamic | ||
}} | }} | ||
'''Valtamic''' (endonym: '''''äljämhor | '''Valtamic''' (endonym: '''''äljämhor lïcür''''' [ˈæˑʎɛm̥ˌχɔ̞ɾ̥ ˈʎiˑ(t)s̪ʏɾ̥]), also known as '''Livonian''', is an [[w:Italic languages|Italic language]] belonging to the [[w:Indo-European languages|Indo-European language family]]. It is spoken mostly in the Republic of Valtamia, wherein it is recognized as the official language, located within the [[w:Baltic region|Baltic]]. It is also the only continuously surviving member of the Italic language family, as well as being one of the two only non-extinct Italic languages, along with [[w:Latin|Latin]]. | ||
==Classification== | ==Classification== | ||
Valtamic belongs to the [[w:Italic languages|Italic]] branch of the [[w:Indo-European languages|Indo-European language family]], along with [[w:Latin|Latin]] and other extinct languages such as [[w:Faliscan language|Faliscan]], [[w:Oscan language|Oscan]], and [[w:Umbrian language|Umbrian]]. It is not to be mis-classified as a [[w:Romance languages|Romance language]], due to its relation with Latin. | |||
===Comparison with Romance languages=== | ===Comparison with Romance languages=== | ||
Due to Valtamic being the only continuously surviving Italic language, it may be erroneously grouped with the [[w:Romance languages|Romance languages]], which are directly descended from [[w:Vulgar Latin|Vulgar Latin]], as opposed to Valtamic being directly descended from [[w:Proto-Italic language|Proto-Italic]]. Even though, evolutionarily, Valtamic is much older and more conservative than modern Romance languages, its evolutionary path made quite different from even [[w:Classical Latin|Classical Latin]]. | |||
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" | |||
|- style="font-weight:bold;" | |||
! rowspan="2" | English translation | |||
! rowspan="2" | Latin | |||
! colspan="4" | Romance | |||
! rowspan="2" | Valtamic | |||
|- style="font-weight:bold;" | |||
! French | |||
! Italian | |||
! Spanish | |||
! Romanian | |||
|- | |||
| style="font-style:italic;" | one | |||
| ūnus | |||
| un | |||
| colspan="2" | uno | |||
| unu | |||
| {{c|ljar}} | |||
|- | |||
| style="font-style:italic;" | to eat | |||
| edō, mandūcō | |||
| manger | |||
| mangiare | |||
| comer | |||
| mânca | |||
| {{c|ṡëmëco}} | |||
|- | |||
| style="font-style:italic;" | to know | |||
| sciō, sapiō | |||
| savoir | |||
| sapere | |||
| saber | |||
| ști | |||
| rowspan="2" | {{c|hnejo}} | |||
|- | |||
| style="font-style:italic;" | to be familiar with | |||
| cognōscō | |||
| connaître | |||
| conoscere | |||
| conocer | |||
| cunoaște | |||
|- | |||
| style="font-style:italic;" | to hear | |||
| audiō | |||
| entendre | |||
| udire | |||
| oír | |||
| auzi | |||
| {{c|ozjo}} | |||
|- | |||
| style="font-style:italic;" | language | |||
| lingua | |||
| langue | |||
| lingua | |||
| lengua, idioma | |||
| limbă | |||
| {{c|lïcür}}, {{c|tämva}} | |||
|- | |||
| style="font-style:italic;" | cow | |||
| vacca | |||
| vache | |||
| vacca, mucca | |||
| vaca | |||
| vacă | |||
| {{c|aha}} | |||
|- | |||
| style="font-style:italic;" | sheep | |||
| ovis | |||
| mouton | |||
| pecora | |||
| carnero, oveja | |||
| oaie | |||
| {{c|banar}}, {{c|ġüny}} | |||
|- | |||
| style="font-style:italic;" | happy | |||
| laetus, fēlīx | |||
| heureux | |||
| felice | |||
| feliz | |||
| fericit | |||
| {{c|ilür}} | |||
|- | |||
| style="font-style:italic;" | small | |||
| parvus, paulus | |||
| petit | |||
| piccolo | |||
| pequeño | |||
| mic | |||
| {{c|folër}} | |||
|- | |||
| style="font-style:italic;" | all | |||
| omnēs | |||
| tous | |||
| tutto | |||
| todos | |||
| tot | |||
| {{c|mür}} | |||
|} | |||
==History== | ==History== | ||
===Etymology=== | ===Etymology=== | ||
The English [[w:Endonym and exonym|exonym]] ''Valtamic'' is a loan from [[w:Latin|Latin]] ''Vāltamicus'' (''"Valtamic; Livonian"''), with the most likely source being from Proto-Valtamic ''*βältämu'', from ''*βältä'' (''"strange"'') + ''*ämu'' (''"man, human"''), a theorized calque of a Finnic exonym. Nearly all European languages follow with loaning the Latin exonym, such as [[w:German language|German]] ''Waltamisch'', [[w:French language|French]] ''Valtamien'', and [[w:Russian language|Russian]] ''Валтамский'' (''Valtamskij''). | |||
The native [[w:Endonym and exonym|endonym]] ''Äljämhar'' is unrelated to the Latin exonym, instead coming from Proto-Valtamic ''*βärjämu'', from ''*βäre'' (''"foreign"'') + ''*ämu'' (''"man, human"''), + Modern Valtamic ''-har'' (''adjective-nominalizing suffix'') , with unexplained loss of the initial ''*β''. It's also a theorized calque of another Finnic exonym. | |||
===Proto-Valtamic=== | ===Proto-Valtamic=== | ||
Italic tribes are speculated to have begun migrating westwards as early as the 12<sup>th</sup> century BC, initially settling near modern-day [[w:Austria|Austria]]. Due to such an early split, the language of said Italic peoples would retain some archaic features such as the dental fricatives ''*θ'' and ''*ð''. It would not be until the 9<sup>th</sup> century BC that the now-linguistically-diverged Valtamic peoples would further migrate westward and settle near the [[w:Vistula|Vistula]] for another century, then migrating one last time and settling in the [[w:Baltic|Baltic region]]. | |||
Throughout the migratory path of the Valtamic peoples, Proto-Valtamic would have been in contact with languages such as Proto-Celtic, Proto-Germanic, Proto-Baltic, Proto-Slavic, and even Proto-Finnic, which is very apparent through heavy lexical, morphological, and syntactical loans present in Valtamic: | |||
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" | |||
|- | |||
! Modern Valtamic | |||
! Proto-Valtamic | |||
! Etymology | |||
|- | |||
| {{c|vicou}} (''to injure'') | |||
| style="font-style:italic;" | *βicu | |||
| < PG ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/bītaną|*bītaną]]'' | |||
|- | |||
| {{c|väzän}} (''beer'') | |||
| style="font-style:italic;" | *βäzën | |||
| < PG ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/beuzą|*beuzą]]'' | |||
|- | |||
| {{c|wëslez}} (''which'') | |||
| style="font-style:italic;" | *ʍëc(e)lëz | |||
| < PG ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/hwaþeraz|*hwaþeraz]]'' | |||
|- | |||
| {{c|lïcür}} (''language'') | |||
| style="font-style:italic;" | *ľähcɨr | |||
| < PC ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Celtic/yextis|*yextis]]'' | |||
|- | |||
| {{c|mytlujou}} (''to remember'') | |||
| style="font-style:italic;" | *mʉľcu | |||
| < PF ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Finnic/muistadak|*muista-]]'' | |||
|- | |||
| {{c|ġëhrët}} (''snow'') | |||
| style="font-style:italic;" | *ɦëḥrët, *ɦëlḳët | |||
| < PF ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Finnic/valkëda|*valkëda]]'' | |||
|- | |||
| {{c|lyhy}} (''year'') | |||
| style="font-style:italic;" | *lëḳʉ | |||
| < PS ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/rokъ|*rȍkъ]]'' | |||
|- | |||
| {{c|ġëfë}} (''water'') | |||
| style="font-style:italic;" | *ɦëṗë | |||
| < PS ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/vapa|*vapa]]'' | |||
|- | |||
| {{c|rycyrh}} (''glass'') | |||
| style="font-style:italic;" | *rëcɨḥr | |||
| < PS ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/stьklo|*stьklo]]'' | |||
|} | |||
===Modern Valtamic=== | ===Modern Valtamic=== | ||
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===Vowels=== | ===Vowels=== | ||
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" | |||
|+ '''Standardized vowel phonemes of Valtamic''' | |||
|- style="font-weight:bold;" | |||
! rowspan="2" colspan="2" | | |||
! colspan="2" | [[w:Front vowel|Front]] | |||
! rowspan="2" | [[w:Central vowel|Central]] | |||
! colspan="2" | [[w:Back vowel|Back]] | |||
|- style="font-weight:bold;" | |||
! [[w:Roundedness|<small>Unrounded</small>]] | |||
! [[w:Roundedness|<small>Rounded</small>]] | |||
! [[w:Roundedness|<small>Unrounded</small>]] | |||
! [[w:Roundedness|<small>Rounded</small>]] | |||
|- | |||
! colspan="2" style="font-weight:bold;" | [[w:Close vowel|Close]] | |||
| i | |||
| y | |||
| ɨ | |||
| ɯ | |||
| u | |||
|- | |||
! colspan="2" style="font-weight:bold;" | [[w:Mid vowel|Mid]] | |||
| e | |||
| | |||
| | |||
| ɤ | |||
| o (ɔ)<sup>1</sup> | |||
|- | |||
! colspan="2" style="font-weight:bold;" | [[w:Open vowel|Open]] | |||
| æ | |||
| | |||
| | |||
| ɑ | |||
| | |||
|} | |||
* /ɔ/ only exists due to vowel harmony and isn't recognized as phonemic in it's own right. Its pronunciation can range from [ɒ] to [ɔ]. | |||
Phonemically, there exist 10–11 contrasting phones. In practice though, vowels are slightly lengthened [◌ˑ] when stressed and experience slight reduction when unstressed, either lowering or centralizing. | |||
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" | |||
|+ '''Vowel phones of Valtamic''' | |||
! rowspan="3" colspan="2" style="font-weight:bold;" | | |||
! colspan="4" style="font-weight:bold;" | [[w:Front vowel|Front]] | |||
! rowspan="2" colspan="2" style="font-weight:bold;" | [[w:Central vowel|Central]] | |||
! colspan="4" style="font-weight:bold;" | [[w:Back vowel|Back]] | |||
|- | |||
! colspan="2" style="font-weight:bold;" | [[w:Roundedness|<small>Unrounded</small>]] | |||
! colspan="2" style="font-weight:bold;" | [[w:Roundedness|<small>Rounded</small>]] | |||
! colspan="2" style="font-weight:bold;" | [[w:Roundedness|<small>Unrounded</small>]] | |||
! colspan="2" style="font-weight:bold;" | [[w:Roundedness|<small>Rounded</small>]] | |||
|- style="font-weight:bold;" | |||
! <small>Stressed</small> | |||
! <small>Unstressed</small> | |||
! <small>Stressed</small> | |||
! <small>Unstressed</small> | |||
! <small>Stressed</small> | |||
! <small>Unstressed</small> | |||
! <small>Stressed</small> | |||
! <small>Unstressed</small> | |||
! <small>Stressed</small> | |||
! <small>Unstressed</small> | |||
|- | |||
! colspan="2" style="font-weight:bold;" | [[w:Close vowel|Close]] | |||
| [i(ˑ)] | |||
| [ɪ] | |||
| [y(ˑ)] | |||
| [ʏ] | |||
| [ɨ(ˑ)] | |||
| [ᵻ] | |||
| [ɯ(ˑ)] | |||
| [ω] | |||
| [u(ˑ)] | |||
| [ʊ] | |||
|- | |||
! colspan="2" style="font-weight:bold;" | [[w:Mid vowel|Mid]] | |||
| [e̞(ˑ)] | |||
| rowspan="2" | [ɛ] | |||
| colspan="2" | | |||
| colspan="2" | | |||
| [ɤ̞(ˑ)] | |||
| [ɜ] | |||
| [o̞(ˑ)] | |||
| [ɔ] | |||
|- | |||
! colspan="2" style="font-weight:bold;" | [[w:Open vowel|Open]] | |||
| [æ(ˑ)] | |||
| colspan="2" | | |||
| colspan="2" | | |||
| [ɑ̝(ˑ)] | |||
| [ʌ] | |||
| | |||
| [ɔ̞] | |||
|} | |||
* [ᵻ ω] are unused IPA symbols representing near-close [ɪ̈ ɯ̽]. | |||
* Back [ɑ̝(ˑ) ɤ̞(ˑ) o̞(ˑ) ɯ(ˑ) u(ˑ)] [ʌ ɜ ɔ ω ʊ ɔ̞] become central [ä̝(ˑ) ɘ̞(ˑ) ɵ̞(ˑ) ɨ(ˑ) ʉ(ˑ)] [ɐ ɜ ɞ ᵻ ᵿ ɐ] in the presence of a palatal consonant. | |||
* Unstressed [ᵻ] may alternatively be pronounced as central [ə]. | |||
* Stressed [ɤ̞(ˑ)] may alternatively be pronounced as front [ø̞ˑ], even though it messes with the harmony of inflectional endings. | |||
* Unstressed [ɜ] may alternatively be pronounced as central [ə], merged with [ʌ], or (in the case of stressed [ø̞ˑ]) front [œ]. | |||
* Stress-pairs [æ(ˑ) ɛ] [ɑ̝(ˑ) ʌ] may alternatively be pronounced as true open [æ̞(ˑ) ɛ̞] [ɑ(ˑ) ʌ̞]. | |||
===Consonants=== | ===Consonants=== | ||
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" | |||
|+ '''Standardized consonant phonemes of Valtamic''' | |||
|- style="font-weight:bold;" | |||
! colspan="2" style="font-weight:normal;" | | |||
! [[w:Labial consonant|Labial]] | |||
! [[w:Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]] | |||
! [[w:Retroflex consonant|Retroflex]] | |||
! [[w:Palatal consonant|Palatal]] | |||
! [[w:Velar consonant|Velar]] | |||
! [[w:Glottal consonant|Glottal]] | |||
|- | |||
! colspan="2" style="font-weight:bold;" | [[w:Nasal consonant|Nasal]] | |||
| m | |||
| n | |||
| (ɳ) | |||
| ɲ | |||
| (ŋ) | |||
| | |||
|- | |||
! rowspan="2" style="font-weight:bold;" | [[w:Polsive|Polsive]] | |||
! style="font-weight:bold;" | [[w:Voicelessness|<small>Voiceless</small>]] | |||
| p | |||
| t | |||
| | |||
| | |||
| k | |||
| | |||
|- | |||
! style="font-weight:bold;" | [[w:Voice|<small>Voiced</small>]] | |||
| b | |||
| d | |||
| | |||
| | |||
| ɡ | |||
| | |||
|- | |||
! rowspan="2" style="font-weight:bold;" | [[w:Fricative|Fricative]] | |||
! style="font-weight:bold;" | [[w:Voicelessness|<small>Voiceless</small>]] | |||
| f | |||
| θ s | |||
| ʂ | |||
| ɕ | |||
| x | |||
| rowspan="2" | ɦ | |||
|- | |||
! style="font-weight:bold;" | [[w:Voice|<small>Voiced</small>]] | |||
| v | |||
| (z) | |||
| colspan="2" | ʐ ~ ʑ | |||
| | |||
|- | |||
! rowspan="2" style="font-weight:bold;" | [[w:Affricate|Affricate]] | |||
! style="font-weight:bold;" | [[w:Voicelessness|<small>Voiceless</small>]] | |||
| | |||
| t͡s | |||
| colspan="2" | t͡ʂ ~ t͡ɕ | |||
| | |||
| | |||
|- | |||
! style="font-weight:bold;" | [[w:Voice|<small>Voiced</small>]] | |||
| | |||
| (d͡z) | |||
| colspan="2" | (d͡ʐ ~ d͡ʑ) | |||
| | |||
| | |||
|- | |||
! colspan="2" style="font-weight:bold;" | [[w:Trill consonant|Trill]]/[[w:Tap and flap consonants|Tap]] | |||
| | |||
| r | |||
| | |||
| | |||
| | |||
| | |||
|- | |||
! colspan="2" style="font-weight:bold;" | [[w:Lateral consonant|Lateral]] | |||
| | |||
| l | |||
| | |||
| ʎ | |||
| | |||
| | |||
|- | |||
! colspan="2" style="font-weight:bold;" | [[w:Approximant|Non-lateral approximant]] | |||
| | |||
| | |||
| | |||
| j | |||
| w | |||
| | |||
|} | |||
* /m n ɲ r l ʎ/ become devoiced [m̥ n̥ ɲ̊ ɾ̥ l̥ ʎ̥] syllable-finally. | |||
* [ŋ ɳ] are allophones of /n/ near velar and retroflex consonants respectively. | |||
* /t l/ are pronounced as dental [t̪ l̪] while /n d/ as true alveolar [n d]. | |||
* /f v/ are pronounced as approximants [ʋ̊ ʋ]. | |||
* /θ/ only appears in the cluster ⟨tr⟩ /θr/. | |||
* /s/ is pronounced as apical/retracted [s̺] while /t͡s/, like /t/, is pronounced as dental/laminal [t̪͡s̪]. /t͡s/ de-affricates when unstressed and non-initial, giving rise to an apical/laminal distinction [s̺] [s̻] in unstressed syllables, as seen in words like ⟨uhsoucuh⟩ /ˈɯxsut͡sɯx/ [ˈɯˑχs̺ʊˌs̪ωχ]. | |||
* /z/ appears in modern loanwords but is, in practice, in free variation with /ɕ/. | |||
* /x l w/ are pronounced as [χ ɫ w] near back vowels and [x̟ l ɥ] near front vowels. | |||
* /r/ is pronounced as a tap [ɾ] in most dialects. | |||
==Orthographies== | ==Orthographies== | ||
===Latin alphabet=== | ===Latin alphabet=== | ||
Modern Valtamic employs the Latin alphabet, with the added vowel letters ''[[w:Ä|ä]]'', ''[[w:Ë|ë]]'', ''[[w:Ï|ï]]'', ''[[w:Ö|ö]]'', and ''[[w:Ü|ü]]'' and the extra consonant letters ''[[w:Ċ|ċ]]'', ''[[w:Ġ|ġ]]'', ''[[w:Ľ|ľ]]'', ''[[w:Ṅ|ṅ]]'', ''[[w:Ṡ|ṡ]]'', and ''[[w:Ż|ż]]''. Prior to the post-Soviet spelling reform, various polish-adjacent digraphs, such as ''cz'', ''ch'', ''sz'', etc. were used instead. The current orthography employs only three native digraphs, those being ''ou'', ''lj'', and ''nj''. | |||
=== | {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" | ||
|+ '''Vowels''' | |||
|- style="font-weight:bold;" | |||
! rowspan="2" | Grapheme | |||
! colspan="2" | Sound (IPA) | |||
! rowspan="2" | Pre-Soviet spellings | |||
|- style="font-weight:bold;" | |||
! <small>Stressed</small> | |||
! <small>Unstressed</small> | |||
|- | |||
| a | |||
| [ɑ̝(ˑ)] | |||
| [ʌ] | |||
| | |||
|- | |||
| ä | |||
| [æ(ˑ)] | |||
| rowspan="2" | [ɛ] | |||
| a, æ, e, ě | |||
|- | |||
| e | |||
| [e̞(ˑ)] | |||
| | |||
|- | |||
| ë | |||
| [ɤ̞(ˑ)] | |||
| [ɜ] | |||
| ö, ø, œ | |||
|- | |||
| i | |||
| [i(ˑ)] | |||
| [ɪ] | |||
| | |||
|- | |||
| ï | |||
| [ji(ˑ)] | |||
| [jɪ] | |||
| ji | |||
|- | |||
| o | |||
| [o̞(ˑ)] | |||
| [ɔ] ''or'' [ɔ̞] <sup>[a]</sup> | |||
| | |||
|- | |||
| ö | |||
| [y(ˑ)] ~ [e̞(ˑ)] ~ [ɤ̞(ˑ)] <sup>[b]</sup> | |||
| [ʏ] ~ [ɛ] ~ [ɜ] <sup>[b]</sup> | |||
| | |||
|- | |||
| ou | |||
| [u(ˑ)] | |||
| [ʊ] | |||
| u | |||
|- | |||
| u | |||
| [ɯ(ˑ)] | |||
| [ω] | |||
| | |||
|- | |||
| ü | |||
| [y(ˑ)] | |||
| [ʏ] | |||
| ᵫ, y, u | |||
|- | |||
| y | |||
| [ɨ(ˑ)] | |||
| [ᵻ] | |||
| i, u | |||
|} | |||
<sup>[a]</sup> depending on vowel harmony | |||
<sup>[b]</sup> non-native and restricted to loanwords | |||
==== | {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" | ||
|+ '''Consonants''' | |||
|- style="font-weight:bold;" | |||
! Grapheme | |||
! Sound (IPA) | |||
! Pre-Soviet spellings | |||
! Grapheme | |||
! Sound (IPA) | |||
! Pre-Soviet spellings | |||
|- | |||
| b | |||
| [b] | |||
| | |||
| m | |||
| [m] | |||
| | |||
|- | |||
| c | |||
| [t̪͡s̪] | |||
| ts, tz | |||
| n | |||
| [n] | |||
| | |||
|- | |||
| ċ | |||
| [t͡ʂ] ~ [t͡ɕ] | |||
| cz, tsj, tzj | |||
| nj <sup>[d]</sup> | |||
| rowspan="2" | [ɲ] | |||
| | |||
|- | |||
| d | |||
| [d] | |||
| | |||
| ṅ <sup>[d]</sup> | |||
| | |||
|- | |||
| dz <sup>[c]</sup> | |||
| [d͡z] | |||
| | |||
| p | |||
| [p] | |||
| | |||
|- | |||
| dż <sup>[c]</sup> | |||
| [d͡ʐ] ~ [d͡ʑ] | |||
| dzs, dj | |||
| q <sup>[c]</sup> | |||
| [k] | |||
| | |||
|- | |||
| f | |||
| [ʋ̊] | |||
| | |||
| r | |||
| [ɾ] | |||
| | |||
|- | |||
| g | |||
| [ɡ] | |||
| | |||
| s | |||
| [s̺] | |||
| | |||
|- | |||
| ġ | |||
| [ɦ] | |||
| h, gh, vh | |||
| ṡ | |||
| [ʂ] | |||
| sz, sj | |||
|- | |||
| h | |||
| [x] | |||
| ch | |||
| t | |||
| [t̪] | |||
| | |||
|- | |||
| j | |||
| [j] | |||
| | |||
| v | |||
| [ʋ] | |||
| w | |||
|- | |||
| k | |||
| [k] | |||
| | |||
| w | |||
| [w] | |||
| u | |||
|- | |||
| l | |||
| [l̪] | |||
| | |||
| x <sup>[c]</sup> | |||
| [ks̺] | |||
| | |||
|- | |||
| lj <sup>[d]</sup> | |||
| rowspan="2" | [ʎ] | |||
| | |||
| z | |||
| [ɕ] ''or'' [z] <sup>[e]</sup> | |||
| | |||
|- | |||
| ľ <sup>[d]</sup> | |||
| | |||
| ż | |||
| [ʐ] ~ [ʑ] | |||
| zs, zj | |||
|} | |||
<sup>[c]</sup> non-native and restricted to loanwords | |||
<sup>[d]</sup> ''ľ'' and ''ṅ'' are only used word-finally like in ⟨{{c|veľ}}⟩ and ⟨{{c|terleṅ}}⟩. | |||
<sup>[e]</sup> see [[Valtamic#Consonants|phonology]] | |||
===Russian Cyrillic alphabet=== | |||
During Soviet occupation, a Cyrillic orthography was created and is still in use by Valtamic communities in Russia | |||
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" | |||
|+ '''Vowels''' | |||
|- style="font-weight:bold;" | |||
! rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:middle;" | Grapheme | |||
! colspan="2" style="vertical-align:middle;" | Sound (IPA) | |||
! rowspan="2" | Grapheme | |||
! colspan="2" | Sound (IPA) | |||
|- style="font-weight:bold;" | |||
! <small>Stressed</small> | |||
! <small>Unstressed</small> | |||
! <small>Stressed</small> | |||
! <small>Unstressed</small> | |||
|- | |||
| style="vertical-align:middle;" | а | |||
| style="vertical-align:middle;" | [ɑ̝(ˑ)] | |||
| style="vertical-align:middle;" | [ʌ] | |||
| ө | |||
| [ɤ̞(ˑ)] | |||
| [ɜ] | |||
|- | |||
| style="vertical-align:middle;" | ә | |||
| style="vertical-align:middle;" | [æ(ˑ)] | |||
| style="vertical-align:middle;" | [ɛ] | |||
| у | |||
| [ɯ(ˑ)] | |||
| [ω] | |||
|- | |||
| style="vertical-align:middle;" | е | |||
| style="vertical-align:middle;" | [je̞(ˑ)] | |||
| style="vertical-align:middle;" | [jɛ] | |||
| ӱ | |||
| [wɯ(ˑ)] | |||
| [wω] | |||
|- | |||
| ё | |||
| [jɵ̞(ˑ)] | |||
| [jɞ] ''or'' [jɐ] | |||
| ү | |||
| [y(ˑ)] | |||
| [ʏ] | |||
|- | |||
| style="vertical-align:middle;" | и | |||
| style="vertical-align:middle;" | [i(ˑ)] | |||
| style="vertical-align:middle;" | [ɪ] | |||
| ы | |||
| [ɨ(ˑ)] | |||
| [ᵻ] | |||
|- | |||
| style="vertical-align:middle;" | ї | |||
| style="vertical-align:middle;" | [ji(ˑ)] | |||
| style="vertical-align:middle;" | [jɪ] | |||
| э | |||
| [e̞(ˑ)] | |||
| [ɛ] | |||
|- | |||
| style="vertical-align:middle;" | о | |||
| style="vertical-align:middle;" | [o̞(ˑ)] | |||
| style="vertical-align:middle;" | [ɔ] ''or'' [ɔ̞] | |||
| ю | |||
| [jɨ(ˑ)] ''or'' [jʉ(ˑ)] | |||
| [jᵻ] ''or'' [jᵿ] | |||
|- | |||
| style="vertical-align:middle;" | оу | |||
| style="vertical-align:middle;" | [u(ˑ)] | |||
| style="vertical-align:middle;" | [ʊ] | |||
| я | |||
| [jä̝(ˑ)] | |||
| [jɐ] | |||
|} | |||
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" | |||
|+ '''Consonants''' | |||
|- style="font-weight:bold;" | |||
! Grapheme | |||
! Sound (IPA) | |||
! Grapheme | |||
! Sound (IPA) | |||
|- | |||
| б | |||
| [b] | |||
| н | |||
| [n] | |||
|- | |||
| в | |||
| [ʋ] | |||
| нь | |||
| [ɲ] | |||
|- | |||
| г | |||
| [ɡ] | |||
| п | |||
| [p] | |||
|- | |||
| д | |||
| [d] | |||
| р | |||
| [ɾ] | |||
|- | |||
| дз <sup>[a]</sup> | |||
| [d͡z] | |||
| с | |||
| [s̺] | |||
|- | |||
| дж <sup>[a]</sup> | |||
| [d͡ʐ] ~ [d͡ʑ] | |||
| т | |||
| [t̪] | |||
|- | |||
| ж | |||
| [ʐ] ~ [ʑ] | |||
| ў | |||
| [w] | |||
|- | |||
| з | |||
| [ɕ] or [z] <sup>[b]</sup> | |||
| ф | |||
| [ʋ̊] | |||
|- | |||
| һ | |||
| [ɦ] | |||
| х | |||
| [x] | |||
|- | |||
| й | |||
| [j] | |||
| ц | |||
| [t̪͡s̪] | |||
|- | |||
| к | |||
| [k] | |||
| ч | |||
| [t͡ʂ] ~ [t͡ɕ] | |||
|- | |||
| л | |||
| [l̪] | |||
| ш | |||
| [ʂ] | |||
|- | |||
| ль | |||
| [ʎ] | |||
| щ <sup>[a]</sup> | |||
| [ɕ] or [z] <sup>[b]</sup> | |||
|- | |||
| м | |||
| [m] | |||
| | |||
| | |||
|} | |||
<sup>[a]</sup> non-native and restricted to loanwords | |||
<sup>[b]</sup> see [[Valtamic#Consonants|phonology]] | |||
==Grammar== | ==Grammar== | ||
Valtamic is a fusional SVO language, inflecting nouns, adjectives, pronouns, and verbs. Its adjectives, adpositions, and adverbs also go before the head. | |||
===Vowel harmony=== | ===Vowel harmony=== | ||
Valtamic exhibits simple vowel height harmony, with high, middle, and low vowels. It has no neutral vowels, apart from ''ö'', though it is grammatically classified as a middle vowel. | |||
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" | |||
|- | |||
! style="font-weight:bold;" | High | |||
| style="width:20px;" | i | |||
| style="width:20px;" | ü | |||
| style="width:20px;" | y | |||
| style="width:20px;" | u | |||
| style="width:20px;" | ou | |||
|- | |||
! style="font-weight:bold;" | Middle | |||
| colspan="3" | e | |||
| ë | |||
| rowspan="2" | o | |||
|- | |||
! style="font-weight:bold;" | Low | |||
| colspan="3" | ä | |||
| a | |||
|} | |||
Loanwords that do not conform to vowel harmony inflect based on the final vowel of their lemma forms: | |||
*[[Contionary:diktätër|diktät'''ë'''r]] → diktät'''ëṡ''' (''genitive'') | |||
*[[Contionary:maṡyna|maṡyn'''a''']] → maṡyn'''aľ''' (''locative'') | |||
...though with derivational suffixes that delete the final syllable of a lemma, they inflect based on the penultimate vowel instead: | |||
*dikt'''ä'''tër + {{c|-cer}} → diktä'''cär''' → diktä'''cäm''' (''accusative'') | |||
*maṡ'''y'''na + {{c|-elër}} → maṡyn'''ilur''' → maṡyn'''ilunu''' (''essive'') | |||
Affixes also obey vowel harmony, with the general dictionary forms of affixes being the middle harmonic form. | |||
===Nominals=== | ===Nominals=== | ||
Nominals decline for one of 12 cases (''nominative, accusative, genitive, dative, lative, locative, separative, essive, translative, privative, comitative,'' and ''instrumental''), with nouns also declining for 2 numbers (''singular'' and ''plural''). The gender system completely collapsed in Valtamic, except in pronouns. This vacancy led to the innovation of an animacy system, with animate and inanimate nouns. | |||
Nominals decline according to four declension paradigms: '''''type-I''''', '''''type-II''''', '''''type-III''''', and '''''regular paradigms'''''. | |||
====Type-I nominals==== | |||
This paradigm corresponds with the Proto-Italic o-stem & Latin 2<sup>nd</sup> declension. Nominals of this type are characterized as ending with ''-r'', which changes throughout the paradigm. Mono-syllabic nominals of this type are known as ''true type-I'' nominals, since they exhibit vowel height alteration throughout the paradigm. | |||
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" | |||
|+ '''Type-I paradigm''' | |||
|- style="font-weight:bold;" | |||
! rowspan="2" style="font-weight:normal;" | | |||
! colspan="2" | {{c|tlour}}, "day" | |||
! rowspan="2" | {{c|mëkër}}, "great" | |||
|- style="font-weight:bold;" | |||
! Singular | |||
! Plural | |||
|- | |||
! style="height:45px;" "font-weight:bold;" | Nominative | |||
| tlour | |||
| rowspan="2" | tlou<span style="color:purple">n</span> | |||
| mëkër | |||
|- | |||
! style="height:45px;" "font-weight:bold;" | Accusative | |||
| tlou<span style="color:purple">m</span> | |||
| mëkë<span style="color:purple">m</span> | |||
|- | |||
! style="height:45px;" "font-weight:bold;" | Genitive | |||
| tlou<span style="color:purple">ṡ</span> | |||
| tlou<span style="color:purple">m</span> | |||
| mëkë<span style="color:purple">ṡ</span> | |||
|- | |||
! style="height:45px;" "font-weight:bold;" | Dative | |||
| tl<span style="color:purple">ouľ</span> | |||
| tlou<span style="color:purple">l</span> | |||
| mëkë<span style="color:purple">ľ</span> | |||
|- | |||
! style="font-weight:bold;" | Lative<br><span style="color:grey">"into; towards"</span> | |||
| tl<span style="color:purple">ouṅ</span> | |||
| tl<span style="color:purple">ounjuľ</span> | |||
| mëkë<span style="color:purple">ṅ</span> | |||
|- | |||
! style="font-weight:bold;" | Locative<br><span style="color:grey">"in, on, at, by..."</span> | |||
| tl<span style="color:purple">oľ</span> | |||
| tl<span style="color:purple">oljoľ</span> | |||
| mëkë<span style="color:purple">ľ</span> | |||
|- | |||
! style="font-weight:bold;" | Separative<br><span style="color:grey">"out of, away from"</span> | |||
| tlou<span style="color:purple">t</span> | |||
| tlou<span style="color:purple">dul</span> | |||
| mëkë<span style="color:purple">t</span> | |||
|- | |||
! style="font-weight:bold;" | Essive<br><span style="color:grey">as/in a certain state</span> | |||
| tlou<span style="color:purple">nu</span> | |||
| tlou<span style="color:purple">nou</span> | |||
| mëkë<span style="color:purple">në</span> | |||
|- | |||
! style="font-weight:bold;" | Translative<br><span style="color:grey">change of/into a state</span> | |||
| tlo<span style="color:purple">c</span> | |||
| tlo<span style="color:purple">cë</span> | |||
| mëkë<span style="color:purple">c</span> | |||
|- | |||
! style="font-weight:bold;" | Privative<br><span style="color:grey">"without, absence of"</span> | |||
| tl<span style="color:purple">odek</span> | |||
| tl<span style="color:purple">odok</span> | |||
| mëkë<span style="color:purple">dek</span> | |||
|- | |||
! style="font-weight:bold;" | Comitative<br><span style="color:grey">"with, alongside"</span> | |||
| tl<span style="color:purple">onek</span> | |||
| tl<span style="color:purple">onok</span> | |||
| mëkë<span style="color:purple">nek</span> | |||
|- | |||
! style="font-weight:bold;" | Instrumental<br><span style="color:grey">"with, using"</span> | |||
| tlou<span style="color:purple">nouj</span> | |||
| tlou<span style="color:purple">noumi</span> | |||
| mëkë<span style="color:purple">noj</span> | |||
|} | |||
====Type-II nominals==== | |||
This paradigm corresponds with the Proto-Italic ā- & u-stems & Latin 1<sup>st</sup> & 4<sup>th</sup> declensions. Most nominals of this type end with a vowel, which changes throughout the paradigm. There has also been an increase in declining Type-II nominals according to the regular paradigm instead of the type-II paradigm. | |||
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" | |||
|+ '''Type-II paradigm''' | |||
|- style="font-weight:bold;" | |||
! rowspan="2" style="font-weight:normal;" | | |||
! colspan="2" | {{c|ṡynu}}, "automobile" | |||
! rowspan="2" | {{c|cäto}}, "prussian" | |||
|- style="font-weight:bold;" | |||
! Singular | |||
! Plural | |||
|- | |||
! style="height:45px;" "font-weight:bold;" | Nominative | |||
| ṡynu | |||
| ṡynu<span style="color:green">r</span> | |||
| cäto | |||
|- | |||
! style="height:45px;" "font-weight:bold;" | Accusative | |||
| ṡynu<span style="color:green">m</span> | |||
| ṡynu<span style="color:green">n</span> | |||
| cäto<span style="color:green">m</span> | |||
|- | |||
! style="height:45px;" "font-weight:bold;" | Genitive | |||
| ṡynu<span style="color:green">r</span> | |||
| ṡynu<span style="color:green">zum</span> | |||
| cäto<span style="color:green">r</span> | |||
|- | |||
! style="height:45px;" "font-weight:bold;" | Dative | |||
| ṡynu<span style="color:green">ľ</span> | |||
| ṡynu<span style="color:green">l</span> | |||
| cäto<span style="color:green">ľ</span> | |||
|- | |||
! style="font-weight:bold;" | Lative<br><span style="color:grey">"into; towards"</span> | |||
| ṡynu<span style="color:green">ṅ</span> | |||
| ṡynu<span style="color:green">njuľ</span> | |||
| cäto<span style="color:green">ṅ</span> | |||
|- | |||
! style="font-weight:bold;" | Locative<br><span style="color:grey">"in, on, at, by..."</span> | |||
| ṡynu<span style="color:green">ľ</span> | |||
| ṡynu<span style="color:green">ljuľ</span> | |||
| cäto<span style="color:green">ľ</span> | |||
|- | |||
! style="font-weight:bold;" | Separative<br><span style="color:grey">"out of, away from"</span> | |||
| ṡynu<span style="color:green">t</span> | |||
| ṡynu<span style="color:green">dul</span> | |||
| cäto<span style="color:green">t</span> | |||
|- | |||
! style="font-weight:bold;" | Essive<br><span style="color:grey">as/in a certain state</span> | |||
| ṡynu<span style="color:green">nu</span> | |||
| ṡynu<span style="color:green">nou</span> | |||
| cäto<span style="color:green">na</span> | |||
|- | |||
! style="font-weight:bold;" | Translative<br><span style="color:grey">change of/into a state</span> | |||
| ṡynu<span style="color:green">c</span> | |||
| ṡynu<span style="color:green">cu</span> | |||
| cäto<span style="color:green">c</span> | |||
|- | |||
! style="font-weight:bold;" | Privative<br><span style="color:grey">"without, absence of"</span> | |||
| ṡynu<span style="color:green">dik</span> | |||
| ṡynu<span style="color:green">douk</span> | |||
| cäto<span style="color:green">däk</span> | |||
|- | |||
! style="font-weight:bold;" | Comitative<br><span style="color:grey">"with, alongside"</span> | |||
| ṡynu<span style="color:green">nik</span> | |||
| ṡynu<span style="color:green">nouk</span> | |||
| cäto<span style="color:green">näk</span> | |||
|- | |||
! style="font-weight:bold;" | Instrumental<br><span style="color:grey">"with, using"</span> | |||
| ṡynu<span style="color:green">ju</span> | |||
| ṡynu<span style="color:green">ïmi</span> | |||
| cäto<span style="color:green">ja</span> | |||
|} | |||
====Type-III nominals==== | |||
This paradigm corresponds with the Proto-Italic consonant-stems & Latin 3<sup>rd</sup> declension. Most nominals of this type exhibit stem alteration from the nominative singular. | |||
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" | |||
|+ '''Type-III paradigm''' | |||
|- style="font-weight:bold;" | |||
! rowspan="2" style="font-weight:normal;" | | |||
! colspan="2" | {{c|fëcel}}, "father" | |||
! rowspan="2" | {{c|gel}}, "blond(e)" | |||
|- style="font-weight:bold;" | |||
! Singular | |||
! Plural | |||
|- | |||
! style="height:45px;" "font-weight:bold;" | Nominative | |||
| fëcel | |||
| fëtre<span style="color:brown">r</span> | |||
| gel | |||
|- | |||
! style="height:45px;" "font-weight:bold;" | Accusative | |||
| fëtre<span style="color:brown">m</span> | |||
| fëtre<span style="color:brown">n</span> | |||
| gelw<span style="color:brown">ëm</span> | |||
|- | |||
! style="height:45px;" "font-weight:bold;" | Genitive | |||
| fëtre<span style="color:brown">r</span> | |||
| fëtr<span style="color:brown">om</span> | |||
| gelw<span style="color:brown">er</span> | |||
|- | |||
! style="height:45px;" "font-weight:bold;" | Dative | |||
| fëtre<span style="color:brown">ľ</span> | |||
| fëtre<span style="color:brown">ġ</span> / fëtre<span style="color:brown">l</span> <sup>[a]</sup> | |||
| gelw<span style="color:brown">eľ</span> | |||
|- | |||
! style="font-weight:bold;" | Lative<br><span style="color:grey">"into; towards"</span> | |||
| fëtre<span style="color:brown">ṅ</span> | |||
| fëtre<span style="color:brown">njël</span> / fëtre<span style="color:brown">njëľ</span> <sup>[a]</sup> | |||
| gelw<span style="color:brown">eṅ</span> | |||
|- | |||
! style="font-weight:bold;" | Locative<br><span style="color:grey">"in, on, at, by..."</span> | |||
| fëtr<span style="color:brown">e</span> / fëtre<span style="color:brown">ľ</span> <sup>[a]</sup> | |||
| fëtre<span style="color:brown">ljëľ</span> | |||
| gelw<span style="color:brown">e</span> / gelw<span style="color:brown">eľ</span> <sup>[a]</sup> | |||
|- | |||
! style="font-weight:bold;" | Separative<br><span style="color:grey">"out of, away from"</span> | |||
| fëtre<span style="color:brown">t</span> | |||
| fëtre<span style="color:brown">dël</span> | |||
| gelw<span style="color:brown">ët</span> | |||
|- | |||
! style="font-weight:bold;" | Essive<br><span style="color:grey">as/in a certain state</span> | |||
| fëtr<span style="color:brown">ë</span> / fëtre<span style="color:brown">nu</span> <sup>[a]</sup> | |||
| fëtre<span style="color:brown">no</span> | |||
| gelw<span style="color:brown">ë</span> / gelw<span style="color:brown">ënë</span> <sup>[a]</sup> | |||
|- | |||
! style="font-weight:bold;" | Translative<br><span style="color:grey">change of/into a state</span> | |||
| fëtre<span style="color:brown">c</span> | |||
| fëtre<span style="color:brown">cë</span> | |||
| gelw<span style="color:brown">ëc</span> | |||
|- | |||
! style="font-weight:bold;" | Privative<br><span style="color:grey">"without, absence of"</span> | |||
| fëtre<span style="color:brown">dek</span> | |||
| fëtre<span style="color:brown">dok</span> | |||
| gelw<span style="color:brown">ëdek</span> | |||
|- | |||
! style="font-weight:bold;" | Comitative<br><span style="color:grey">"with, alongside"</span> | |||
| fëtre<span style="color:brown">nek</span> | |||
| fëtre<span style="color:brown">nok</span> | |||
| gelw<span style="color:brown">ënek</span> | |||
|- | |||
! style="font-weight:bold;" | Instrumental<br><span style="color:grey">"with, using"</span> | |||
| fëtr<span style="color:brown">om</span> | |||
| fëtr<span style="color:brown">ome</span> / fëtr<span style="color:brown">eme</span> <sup>[a]</sup> | |||
| gelw<span style="color:brown">om</span> | |||
|} | |||
<sup>[a]</sup> Southern Valtamic variants | |||
====Regular nominals==== | |||
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" | |||
|+ '''Regular paradigm''' | |||
|- style="font-weight:bold;" | |||
! rowspan="2" style="font-weight:normal;" | | |||
! colspan="2" | {{c|tämrä}}, "girl" | |||
! rowspan="2" | {{c|ljux}}, "delux" | |||
|- style="font-weight:bold;" | |||
! Singular | |||
! Plural | |||
|- | |||
! style="height:45px;" "font-weight:bold;" | Nominative | |||
| tämrä | |||
| tämrä<span style="color:blue">r</span> | |||
| ljux | |||
|- | |||
! style="height:45px;" "font-weight:bold;" | Accusative | |||
| tämrä<span style="color:blue">m</span> | |||
| tämrä<span style="color:blue">n</span> | |||
| ljux<span style="color:blue">um</span> | |||
|- | |||
! style="height:45px;" "font-weight:bold;" | Genitive | |||
| tämrä<span style="color:blue">r</span> | |||
| tämrä<span style="color:blue">m</span> | |||
| ljux<span style="color:blue">ir</span> | |||
|- | |||
! style="height:45px;" "font-weight:bold;" | Dative | |||
| colspan="2" | tämrä<span style="color:blue">ľ</span> | |||
| ljux<span style="color:blue">iľ</span> | |||
|- | |||
! style="font-weight:bold;" | Lative<br><span style="color:grey">"into; towards"</span> | |||
| tämrä<span style="color:blue">ṅ</span> | |||
| tämrä<span style="color:blue">njal</span> | |||
| ljux<span style="color:blue">iṅ</span> | |||
|- | |||
! style="font-weight:bold;" | Locative<br><span style="color:grey">"in, on, at, by..."</span> | |||
| tämrä<span style="color:blue">ľ</span> | |||
| tämrä<span style="color:blue">ljaľ</span> | |||
| ljux<span style="color:blue">iľ</span> | |||
|- | |||
! style="font-weight:bold;" | Separative<br><span style="color:grey">"out of, away from"</span> | |||
| tämrä<span style="color:blue">t</span> | |||
| tämrä<span style="color:blue">daľ</span> | |||
| ljux<span style="color:blue">ut</span> | |||
|- | |||
! style="font-weight:bold;" | Essive<br><span style="color:grey">as/in a certain state</span> | |||
| tämrä<span style="color:blue">na</span> | |||
| tämrä<span style="color:blue">nano</span> | |||
| ljux<span style="color:blue">unu</span> | |||
|- | |||
! style="font-weight:bold;" | Translative<br><span style="color:grey">change of/into a state</span> | |||
| tämrä<span style="color:blue">c</span> | |||
| tämrä<span style="color:blue">ca</span> | |||
| ljux<span style="color:blue">uc</span> | |||
|- | |||
! style="font-weight:bold;" | Privative<br><span style="color:grey">"without, absence of"</span> | |||
| tämrä<span style="color:blue">däk</span> | |||
| tämrä<span style="color:blue">dok</span> | |||
| ljux<span style="color:blue">udik</span> | |||
|- | |||
! style="font-weight:bold;" | Comitative<br><span style="color:grey">"with, alongside"</span> | |||
| tämrä<span style="color:blue">näk</span> | |||
| tämrä<span style="color:blue">nok</span> | |||
| ljux<span style="color:blue">unik</span> | |||
|- | |||
! style="font-weight:bold;" | Instrumental<br><span style="color:grey">"with, using"</span> | |||
| tämrä<span style="color:blue">jo</span> | |||
| tämrä<span style="color:blue">jämä</span> | |||
| ljux<span style="color:blue">ujou</span> | |||
|} | |||
===Pronouns=== | |||
====Personal pronouns==== | |||
Valtamic personal pronouns decline for the same aforementioned cases except for the essive and translative cases. They also retain the three gender system with some modification (''masculine'', ''feminine'', and ''inanimate/epicene''). | |||
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" | |||
|+ '''Pronouns''' | |||
! rowspan="3" | | |||
! colspan="5" | Singular | |||
! colspan="3" | Plural | |||
|- | |||
! rowspan="2" | 1st | |||
! rowspan="2" | 2nd | |||
! colspan="3" | 3rd | |||
! rowspan="2" | 1st | |||
! rowspan="2" | 2nd | |||
! rowspan="2" style="width:80px;" | 3rd | |||
|- style="text-align:left;" | |||
! masculine | |||
! feminine | |||
! inanimate<br>epicene | |||
|- | |||
! Nominative | |||
| äk | |||
| our | |||
| ü | |||
| o | |||
| ä | |||
| nour | |||
| ġë | |||
| i | |||
|- | |||
! Accusative | |||
| mä | |||
| cän / our <sup>[b]</sup> | |||
| nü | |||
| no | |||
| nä | |||
| ġä / vä <sup>[a]</sup> / nour <sup>[b]</sup> | |||
| cät / ġë <sup>[b]</sup> | |||
| ni | |||
|- | |||
! Genitive | |||
| mäm | |||
| äsäm | |||
| ljäk | |||
| ljäľ | |||
| ljäk | |||
| nasam | |||
| ġëljëm | |||
| üh | |||
|- | |||
! Dative<br>Instrumental | |||
| mäľ | |||
| ġëm | |||
| üm | |||
| äľ | |||
| üm | |||
| nëm | |||
| ġër | |||
| im | |||
|- | |||
! Lative | |||
| rowspan="2" | myluṅ | |||
| cünyṅ | |||
| nüm | |||
| näľ | |||
| nüm | |||
| mäläṅ | |||
| cäljäṅ | |||
| näh | |||
|- | |||
! Locative | |||
| cünyľ | |||
| colspan="3" | änäl | |||
| mäl | |||
| cäľ | |||
| il | |||
|- | |||
! Separative | |||
| mät | |||
| ouľ | |||
| colspan="3" | änäs | |||
| näľ | |||
| cäzä | |||
| is | |||
|- | |||
! Privative | |||
| mynut | |||
| cünyt | |||
| colspan="3" | änäc | |||
| mäc | |||
| cäc | |||
| ic | |||
|- | |||
! Comitative | |||
| myljun | |||
| cünyh | |||
| colspan="3" | änäh | |||
| mänjäh | |||
| cänjäh | |||
| ih | |||
|- | |||
! Reflexive | |||
| märäġ | |||
| äräġ | |||
| colspan="3" | ljäġ | |||
| näräġ | |||
| ġëreġ / ġëṡ <sup>[a]</sup> | |||
| üriġ | |||
|} | |||
<sup>[a]</sup> southern variants | |||
<sup>[b]</sup> insular variants | |||
Due to the collapse of grammatical gender, animate antecedents are instead gendered based on their inherent gender, with the inanimate pronouns also acting as ''[[w:Epicenity|epicene]]'', or ''unisex'', pronouns, used for either an unknown gender, both genders, or a gender other than the previous two. Reflexive pronouns also serve a ''[[w:Disjunctive pronoun|disjunctive]]'' function, very commonly replacing declined pronouns when context is clear. | |||
If the subject argument of a verb beginning with a vowel is a 3<sup>rd</sup> person pronoun, then the word will switch form SVO to VSO in order to avoid a [[w:Vowel hiatus|vowel hiatus]]: | |||
*ü yhülïbun → yhülïbun ü (''"he will draw"'') | |||
*o ut afacam → ut o afacam (''"she was the host"'') | |||
*i uls bïṅ → uls i bïṅ (''"they had survived"'') | |||
====Demonstrative pronouns==== | |||
====Interrogative pronouns==== | |||
====Relative pronouns==== | |||
===Verbs=== | ===Verbs=== | ||
Regular Verbs constitute the vast majority of Valtamic verbs. Verbs generally conjugate for three persons (''1<sup>st</sup>'', ''2<sup>nd</sup>'', and ''3<sup>rd</sup>''), two numbers (''singular'' and ''plural''), three moods (''indicative'', ''subjunctive'', and ''imperative''), two voices (''active'' and ''passive''), three basic tenses (''present'', ''past'', and ''future''), each with two forms, one synthetic (''simple'') and one analytic using an auxiliary copula (''perfect''). | |||
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" | |||
|+ '''Regular verb conjugation''' | |||
! rowspan="2" colspan="2" | Infinitive | |||
! Bare | |||
| colspan="6" | {{c|ruhülou}} ("to dance") | |||
|- | |||
! Auxiliary | |||
| colspan="6" | ruhül<span style="color:blue">iṅ</span> | |||
|- style="text-align:left;" | |||
! rowspan="2" colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | Participle | |||
! style="text-align:center;" | Present | |||
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;" | ruhül<span style="color:blue">inin</span> | |||
|- style="text-align:left;" | |||
! style="text-align:center;" | Past | |||
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;" | ruhül<span style="color:blue">iti</span> | |||
|- | |||
! rowspan="2" colspan="3" | Indicative | |||
! colspan="3" | Singular | |||
! colspan="3" | Plural | |||
|- | |||
! First (äk) | |||
! Second (our) | |||
! Third (ü, ä, o) | |||
! First (nour) | |||
! Second (ġë) | |||
! Third (i) | |||
|- | |||
! rowspan="6" | Active | |||
! rowspan="2" | Present | |||
! Simple | |||
| ruhül<span style="color:purple">ou</span> | |||
| ruhül<span style="color:purple">ur</span> | |||
| ruhül<span style="color:purple">us</span> | |||
| ruhül<span style="color:purple">umur</span> | |||
| ruhül<span style="color:purple">usur</span> | |||
| ruhül<span style="color:purple">uns</span> | |||
|- | |||
! Perfect | |||
| <span style="color:purple">äz</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
| <span style="color:purple">är</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
| <span style="color:purple">äc</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
| <span style="color:purple">äräm</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
| <span style="color:purple">ätlär</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
| <span style="color:purple">räns</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
|- | |||
! rowspan="2" | Past | |||
! Simple | |||
| ruhül<span style="color:purple">im</span> | |||
| ruhül<span style="color:purple">ir</span> | |||
| ruhül<span style="color:purple">it</span> | |||
| ruhül<span style="color:purple">imir</span> | |||
| ruhül<span style="color:purple">isir</span> | |||
| ruhül<span style="color:purple">int</span> | |||
|- | |||
! Perfect | |||
| <span style="color:purple">uľ</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
| colspan="2" | <span style="color:purple">ut</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
| <span style="color:purple">umur</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
| <span style="color:purple">utlir</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
| <span style="color:purple">uls</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
|- | |||
! rowspan="2" | Future | |||
! Simple | |||
| ruhül<span style="color:purple">imbun</span> | |||
| ruhül<span style="color:purple">irbun</span> | |||
| ruhül<span style="color:purple">ibun</span> | |||
| colspan="3" | ruhül<span style="color:purple">isbun</span> | |||
|- | |||
! Perfect | |||
| colspan="2" | <span style="color:purple">hruṡ</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
| <span style="color:purple">hrur</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
| <span style="color:purple">hruṡum</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
| <span style="color:purple">hruṡur</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
| <span style="color:purple">hrubun</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
|- | |||
! rowspan="6" | Passive | |||
! rowspan="2" | Present | |||
! Simple | |||
| ruhül<span style="color:purple">oul</span> | |||
| colspan="2" | ruhül<span style="color:purple">usul</span> | |||
| ruhül<span style="color:purple">umul</span> | |||
| colspan="2" | ruhül<span style="color:purple">unsul</span> | |||
|- | |||
! Perfect | |||
| <span style="color:purple">ultil</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
| colspan="2" | <span style="color:purple">ulcul</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
| <span style="color:purple">ultimul</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
| colspan="2" | <span style="color:purple">ultinsul</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
|- | |||
! rowspan="2" | Past | |||
! Simple | |||
| ruhül<span style="color:purple">il</span> | |||
| ruhül<span style="color:purple">iz</span> | |||
| ruhül<span style="color:purple">isil</span> | |||
| ruhül<span style="color:purple">imil</span> | |||
| ruhül<span style="color:purple">imiṅ</span> | |||
| ruhül<span style="color:purple">insil</span> | |||
|- | |||
! Perfect | |||
| <span style="color:purple">uljil</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
| <span style="color:purple">utliz</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
| <span style="color:purple">utlisil</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
| <span style="color:purple">umil</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
| <span style="color:purple">utlimiṅ</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
| <span style="color:purple">ulsinsil</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
|- | |||
! rowspan="2" | Future | |||
! Simple | |||
| ruhül<span style="color:purple">iblun</span> | |||
| ruhül<span style="color:purple">izblun</span> | |||
| ruhül<span style="color:purple">iblun</span> | |||
| colspan="3" | ruhül<span style="color:purple">irmiṅ</span> | |||
|- | |||
! Perfect | |||
| <span style="color:purple">ultiblun</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
| <span style="color:purple">ultizbun</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
| <span style="color:purple">ultisbun</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
| colspan="3" | <span style="color:purple">ultirmiṅ</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
|- | |||
! rowspan="2" colspan="3" | Subjunctive | |||
! colspan="3" | Singular | |||
! colspan="3" | Plural | |||
|- | |||
! First (äk) | |||
! Second (our) | |||
! Third (ü, ä, o) | |||
! First (nour) | |||
! Second (ġë) | |||
! Third (i) | |||
|- | |||
! rowspan="4" | Active | |||
! rowspan="2" | Present | |||
! Simple | |||
| ruhül<span style="color:green">oum</span> | |||
| ruhül<span style="color:green">us</span> | |||
| ruhül<span style="color:green">ut</span> | |||
| colspan="3" | ruhül<span style="color:green">umut</span> | |||
|- | |||
! Perfect | |||
| <span style="color:green">ramom</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
| <span style="color:green">ramas</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
| <span style="color:green">ramam</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
| colspan="3" | <span style="color:green">ramrat</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
|- | |||
! rowspan="2" | Past | |||
! Simple | |||
| ruhül<span style="color:green">ourum</span> | |||
| ruhül<span style="color:green">irir</span> | |||
| ruhül<span style="color:green">irit</span> | |||
| colspan="3" | ruhül<span style="color:green">urunt</span> | |||
|- | |||
! Perfect | |||
| <span style="color:green">ramrom</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
| <span style="color:green">ramrär</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
| <span style="color:green">ramräm</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
| colspan="3" | <span style="color:green">ramrant</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
|- | |||
! rowspan="4" | Passive | |||
! rowspan="2" | Present | |||
! Simple | |||
| colspan="3" | ruhül<span style="color:green">uṡ</span> | |||
| colspan="3" | ruhül<span style="color:green">ounsur</span> | |||
|- | |||
! Perfect | |||
| colspan="3" | <span style="color:green">ramaṡ</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
| colspan="3" | <span style="color:green">ramonsar</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
|- | |||
! rowspan="2" | Past | |||
! Simple | |||
| ruhül<span style="color:green">ouroul</span> | |||
| ruhül<span style="color:green">iriz</span> | |||
| ruhül<span style="color:green">irisil</span> | |||
| colspan="3" | ruhül<span style="color:green">urunsul</span> | |||
|- | |||
! Perfect | |||
| <span style="color:green">ramrol</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
| <span style="color:green">ramräz</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
| <span style="color:green">ramräsäl</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
| colspan="3" | <span style="color:green">ramransal</span> ruhüliṅ | |||
|- | |||
! rowspan="2" colspan="3" | Imperative | |||
! colspan="3" | Singular | |||
! colspan="3" | Plural | |||
|- | |||
! First (äk) | |||
! Second (our) | |||
! Third (ü, ä, o) | |||
! First (nour) | |||
! Second (ġë) | |||
! Third (i) | |||
|- | |||
! colspan="3" | Active | |||
| — | |||
| ruhül<span style="color:brown">i</span> | |||
| — | |||
| — | |||
| ruhül<span style="color:brown">ic</span> | |||
| — | |||
|- | |||
! colspan="3" | Passive | |||
| — | |||
| ruhül<span style="color:brown">iz</span> | |||
| — | |||
| — | |||
| ruhül<span style="color:brown">imiṅ</span> | |||
| — | |||
|} | |||
Valtamic verbs have two different verbal infinitives: | |||
* the ''bare infinitive'', which acts as the basic non-finite infinitive and dictionary form of a given verb. It can also act as a gerund or verbal noun, being declined using the type-III paradigm with no stem alteration. | |||
* the ''auxiliary infinitive'', which is an indeclinable verbal infinitive used specifically alongside auxiliary verbs. | |||
==Vocabulary== | ==Vocabulary== |
Latest revision as of 13:40, 21 August 2024
This article is private. The author requests that you do not make changes to this project without approval. By all means, please help fix spelling, grammar and organisation problems, thank you. |
Valtamic | |
---|---|
Äljämhar, Аьляьмхар | |
Flag of the Republic of Valtamia | |
Pronunciation | [ˈæˑʎɛm̥ˌχʌɾ̥] |
Created by | Vrianne |
Date | 2024 |
Setting | Alt-History Baltic |
Native to | Valtamia |
Ethnicity | Valtamian, Livonian |
Indo-European
| |
Early forms | Proto-Indo-European
|
Standard form | Standard Valtamic (--)
|
Dialects |
|
Official status | |
Official language in | Valtamia |
Recognised minority language in | |
Map of areas where Vlatamic is spoken
...as a majority language
...as a minority language | |
Valtamic (endonym: äljämhor lïcür [ˈæˑʎɛm̥ˌχɔ̞ɾ̥ ˈʎiˑ(t)s̪ʏɾ̥]), also known as Livonian, is an Italic language belonging to the Indo-European language family. It is spoken mostly in the Republic of Valtamia, wherein it is recognized as the official language, located within the Baltic. It is also the only continuously surviving member of the Italic language family, as well as being one of the two only non-extinct Italic languages, along with Latin.
Classification
Valtamic belongs to the Italic branch of the Indo-European language family, along with Latin and other extinct languages such as Faliscan, Oscan, and Umbrian. It is not to be mis-classified as a Romance language, due to its relation with Latin.
Comparison with Romance languages
Due to Valtamic being the only continuously surviving Italic language, it may be erroneously grouped with the Romance languages, which are directly descended from Vulgar Latin, as opposed to Valtamic being directly descended from Proto-Italic. Even though, evolutionarily, Valtamic is much older and more conservative than modern Romance languages, its evolutionary path made quite different from even Classical Latin.
English translation | Latin | Romance | Valtamic | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
French | Italian | Spanish | Romanian | |||
one | ūnus | un | uno | unu | ljar | |
to eat | edō, mandūcō | manger | mangiare | comer | mânca | ṡëmëco |
to know | sciō, sapiō | savoir | sapere | saber | ști | hnejo |
to be familiar with | cognōscō | connaître | conoscere | conocer | cunoaște | |
to hear | audiō | entendre | udire | oír | auzi | ozjo |
language | lingua | langue | lingua | lengua, idioma | limbă | lïcür, tämva |
cow | vacca | vache | vacca, mucca | vaca | vacă | aha |
sheep | ovis | mouton | pecora | carnero, oveja | oaie | banar, ġüny |
happy | laetus, fēlīx | heureux | felice | feliz | fericit | ilür |
small | parvus, paulus | petit | piccolo | pequeño | mic | folër |
all | omnēs | tous | tutto | todos | tot | mür |
History
Etymology
The English exonym Valtamic is a loan from Latin Vāltamicus ("Valtamic; Livonian"), with the most likely source being from Proto-Valtamic *βältämu, from *βältä ("strange") + *ämu ("man, human"), a theorized calque of a Finnic exonym. Nearly all European languages follow with loaning the Latin exonym, such as German Waltamisch, French Valtamien, and Russian Валтамский (Valtamskij).
The native endonym Äljämhar is unrelated to the Latin exonym, instead coming from Proto-Valtamic *βärjämu, from *βäre ("foreign") + *ämu ("man, human"), + Modern Valtamic -har (adjective-nominalizing suffix) , with unexplained loss of the initial *β. It's also a theorized calque of another Finnic exonym.
Proto-Valtamic
Italic tribes are speculated to have begun migrating westwards as early as the 12th century BC, initially settling near modern-day Austria. Due to such an early split, the language of said Italic peoples would retain some archaic features such as the dental fricatives *θ and *ð. It would not be until the 9th century BC that the now-linguistically-diverged Valtamic peoples would further migrate westward and settle near the Vistula for another century, then migrating one last time and settling in the Baltic region.
Throughout the migratory path of the Valtamic peoples, Proto-Valtamic would have been in contact with languages such as Proto-Celtic, Proto-Germanic, Proto-Baltic, Proto-Slavic, and even Proto-Finnic, which is very apparent through heavy lexical, morphological, and syntactical loans present in Valtamic:
Modern Valtamic | Proto-Valtamic | Etymology |
---|---|---|
vicou (to injure) | *βicu | < PG *bītaną |
väzän (beer) | *βäzën | < PG *beuzą |
wëslez (which) | *ʍëc(e)lëz | < PG *hwaþeraz |
lïcür (language) | *ľähcɨr | < PC *yextis |
mytlujou (to remember) | *mʉľcu | < PF *muista- |
ġëhrët (snow) | *ɦëḥrët, *ɦëlḳët | < PF *valkëda |
lyhy (year) | *lëḳʉ | < PS *rȍkъ |
ġëfë (water) | *ɦëṗë | < PS *vapa |
rycyrh (glass) | *rëcɨḥr | < PS *stьklo |
Modern Valtamic
Phonology
Vowels
Front | Central | Back | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unrounded | Rounded | Unrounded | Rounded | |||
Close | i | y | ɨ | ɯ | u | |
Mid | e | ɤ | o (ɔ)1 | |||
Open | æ | ɑ |
- /ɔ/ only exists due to vowel harmony and isn't recognized as phonemic in it's own right. Its pronunciation can range from [ɒ] to [ɔ].
Phonemically, there exist 10–11 contrasting phones. In practice though, vowels are slightly lengthened [◌ˑ] when stressed and experience slight reduction when unstressed, either lowering or centralizing.
Front | Central | Back | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unrounded | Rounded | Unrounded | Rounded | ||||||||
Stressed | Unstressed | Stressed | Unstressed | Stressed | Unstressed | Stressed | Unstressed | Stressed | Unstressed | ||
Close | [i(ˑ)] | [ɪ] | [y(ˑ)] | [ʏ] | [ɨ(ˑ)] | [ᵻ] | [ɯ(ˑ)] | [ω] | [u(ˑ)] | [ʊ] | |
Mid | [e̞(ˑ)] | [ɛ] | [ɤ̞(ˑ)] | [ɜ] | [o̞(ˑ)] | [ɔ] | |||||
Open | [æ(ˑ)] | [ɑ̝(ˑ)] | [ʌ] | [ɔ̞] |
- [ᵻ ω] are unused IPA symbols representing near-close [ɪ̈ ɯ̽].
- Back [ɑ̝(ˑ) ɤ̞(ˑ) o̞(ˑ) ɯ(ˑ) u(ˑ)] [ʌ ɜ ɔ ω ʊ ɔ̞] become central [ä̝(ˑ) ɘ̞(ˑ) ɵ̞(ˑ) ɨ(ˑ) ʉ(ˑ)] [ɐ ɜ ɞ ᵻ ᵿ ɐ] in the presence of a palatal consonant.
- Unstressed [ᵻ] may alternatively be pronounced as central [ə].
- Stressed [ɤ̞(ˑ)] may alternatively be pronounced as front [ø̞ˑ], even though it messes with the harmony of inflectional endings.
- Unstressed [ɜ] may alternatively be pronounced as central [ə], merged with [ʌ], or (in the case of stressed [ø̞ˑ]) front [œ].
- Stress-pairs [æ(ˑ) ɛ] [ɑ̝(ˑ) ʌ] may alternatively be pronounced as true open [æ̞(ˑ) ɛ̞] [ɑ(ˑ) ʌ̞].
Consonants
Labial | Alveolar | Retroflex | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | m | n | (ɳ) | ɲ | (ŋ) | ||
Polsive | Voiceless | p | t | k | |||
Voiced | b | d | ɡ | ||||
Fricative | Voiceless | f | θ s | ʂ | ɕ | x | ɦ |
Voiced | v | (z) | ʐ ~ ʑ | ||||
Affricate | Voiceless | t͡s | t͡ʂ ~ t͡ɕ | ||||
Voiced | (d͡z) | (d͡ʐ ~ d͡ʑ) | |||||
Trill/Tap | r | ||||||
Lateral | l | ʎ | |||||
Non-lateral approximant | j | w |
- /m n ɲ r l ʎ/ become devoiced [m̥ n̥ ɲ̊ ɾ̥ l̥ ʎ̥] syllable-finally.
- [ŋ ɳ] are allophones of /n/ near velar and retroflex consonants respectively.
- /t l/ are pronounced as dental [t̪ l̪] while /n d/ as true alveolar [n d].
- /f v/ are pronounced as approximants [ʋ̊ ʋ].
- /θ/ only appears in the cluster ⟨tr⟩ /θr/.
- /s/ is pronounced as apical/retracted [s̺] while /t͡s/, like /t/, is pronounced as dental/laminal [t̪͡s̪]. /t͡s/ de-affricates when unstressed and non-initial, giving rise to an apical/laminal distinction [s̺] [s̻] in unstressed syllables, as seen in words like ⟨uhsoucuh⟩ /ˈɯxsut͡sɯx/ [ˈɯˑχs̺ʊˌs̪ωχ].
- /z/ appears in modern loanwords but is, in practice, in free variation with /ɕ/.
- /x l w/ are pronounced as [χ ɫ w] near back vowels and [x̟ l ɥ] near front vowels.
- /r/ is pronounced as a tap [ɾ] in most dialects.
Orthographies
Latin alphabet
Modern Valtamic employs the Latin alphabet, with the added vowel letters ä, ë, ï, ö, and ü and the extra consonant letters ċ, ġ, ľ, ṅ, ṡ, and ż. Prior to the post-Soviet spelling reform, various polish-adjacent digraphs, such as cz, ch, sz, etc. were used instead. The current orthography employs only three native digraphs, those being ou, lj, and nj.
Grapheme | Sound (IPA) | Pre-Soviet spellings | |
---|---|---|---|
Stressed | Unstressed | ||
a | [ɑ̝(ˑ)] | [ʌ] | |
ä | [æ(ˑ)] | [ɛ] | a, æ, e, ě |
e | [e̞(ˑ)] | ||
ë | [ɤ̞(ˑ)] | [ɜ] | ö, ø, œ |
i | [i(ˑ)] | [ɪ] | |
ï | [ji(ˑ)] | [jɪ] | ji |
o | [o̞(ˑ)] | [ɔ] or [ɔ̞] [a] | |
ö | [y(ˑ)] ~ [e̞(ˑ)] ~ [ɤ̞(ˑ)] [b] | [ʏ] ~ [ɛ] ~ [ɜ] [b] | |
ou | [u(ˑ)] | [ʊ] | u |
u | [ɯ(ˑ)] | [ω] | |
ü | [y(ˑ)] | [ʏ] | ᵫ, y, u |
y | [ɨ(ˑ)] | [ᵻ] | i, u |
[a] depending on vowel harmony
[b] non-native and restricted to loanwords
Grapheme | Sound (IPA) | Pre-Soviet spellings | Grapheme | Sound (IPA) | Pre-Soviet spellings |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
b | [b] | m | [m] | ||
c | [t̪͡s̪] | ts, tz | n | [n] | |
ċ | [t͡ʂ] ~ [t͡ɕ] | cz, tsj, tzj | nj [d] | [ɲ] | |
d | [d] | ṅ [d] | |||
dz [c] | [d͡z] | p | [p] | ||
dż [c] | [d͡ʐ] ~ [d͡ʑ] | dzs, dj | q [c] | [k] | |
f | [ʋ̊] | r | [ɾ] | ||
g | [ɡ] | s | [s̺] | ||
ġ | [ɦ] | h, gh, vh | ṡ | [ʂ] | sz, sj |
h | [x] | ch | t | [t̪] | |
j | [j] | v | [ʋ] | w | |
k | [k] | w | [w] | u | |
l | [l̪] | x [c] | [ks̺] | ||
lj [d] | [ʎ] | z | [ɕ] or [z] [e] | ||
ľ [d] | ż | [ʐ] ~ [ʑ] | zs, zj |
[c] non-native and restricted to loanwords
[d] ľ and ṅ are only used word-finally like in ⟨veľ⟩ and ⟨terleṅ⟩.
[e] see phonology
Russian Cyrillic alphabet
During Soviet occupation, a Cyrillic orthography was created and is still in use by Valtamic communities in Russia
Grapheme | Sound (IPA) | Grapheme | Sound (IPA) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Stressed | Unstressed | Stressed | Unstressed | ||
а | [ɑ̝(ˑ)] | [ʌ] | ө | [ɤ̞(ˑ)] | [ɜ] |
ә | [æ(ˑ)] | [ɛ] | у | [ɯ(ˑ)] | [ω] |
е | [je̞(ˑ)] | [jɛ] | ӱ | [wɯ(ˑ)] | [wω] |
ё | [jɵ̞(ˑ)] | [jɞ] or [jɐ] | ү | [y(ˑ)] | [ʏ] |
и | [i(ˑ)] | [ɪ] | ы | [ɨ(ˑ)] | [ᵻ] |
ї | [ji(ˑ)] | [jɪ] | э | [e̞(ˑ)] | [ɛ] |
о | [o̞(ˑ)] | [ɔ] or [ɔ̞] | ю | [jɨ(ˑ)] or [jʉ(ˑ)] | [jᵻ] or [jᵿ] |
оу | [u(ˑ)] | [ʊ] | я | [jä̝(ˑ)] | [jɐ] |
Grapheme | Sound (IPA) | Grapheme | Sound (IPA) |
---|---|---|---|
б | [b] | н | [n] |
в | [ʋ] | нь | [ɲ] |
г | [ɡ] | п | [p] |
д | [d] | р | [ɾ] |
дз [a] | [d͡z] | с | [s̺] |
дж [a] | [d͡ʐ] ~ [d͡ʑ] | т | [t̪] |
ж | [ʐ] ~ [ʑ] | ў | [w] |
з | [ɕ] or [z] [b] | ф | [ʋ̊] |
һ | [ɦ] | х | [x] |
й | [j] | ц | [t̪͡s̪] |
к | [k] | ч | [t͡ʂ] ~ [t͡ɕ] |
л | [l̪] | ш | [ʂ] |
ль | [ʎ] | щ [a] | [ɕ] or [z] [b] |
м | [m] |
[a] non-native and restricted to loanwords
[b] see phonology
Grammar
Valtamic is a fusional SVO language, inflecting nouns, adjectives, pronouns, and verbs. Its adjectives, adpositions, and adverbs also go before the head.
Vowel harmony
Valtamic exhibits simple vowel height harmony, with high, middle, and low vowels. It has no neutral vowels, apart from ö, though it is grammatically classified as a middle vowel.
High | i | ü | y | u | ou |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Middle | e | ë | o | ||
Low | ä | a |
Loanwords that do not conform to vowel harmony inflect based on the final vowel of their lemma forms:
...though with derivational suffixes that delete the final syllable of a lemma, they inflect based on the penultimate vowel instead:
Affixes also obey vowel harmony, with the general dictionary forms of affixes being the middle harmonic form.
Nominals
Nominals decline for one of 12 cases (nominative, accusative, genitive, dative, lative, locative, separative, essive, translative, privative, comitative, and instrumental), with nouns also declining for 2 numbers (singular and plural). The gender system completely collapsed in Valtamic, except in pronouns. This vacancy led to the innovation of an animacy system, with animate and inanimate nouns.
Nominals decline according to four declension paradigms: type-I, type-II, type-III, and regular paradigms.
Type-I nominals
This paradigm corresponds with the Proto-Italic o-stem & Latin 2nd declension. Nominals of this type are characterized as ending with -r, which changes throughout the paradigm. Mono-syllabic nominals of this type are known as true type-I nominals, since they exhibit vowel height alteration throughout the paradigm.
tlour, "day" | mëkër, "great" | ||
---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | ||
Nominative | tlour | tloun | mëkër |
Accusative | tloum | mëkëm | |
Genitive | tlouṡ | tloum | mëkëṡ |
Dative | tlouľ | tloul | mëkëľ |
Lative "into; towards" |
tlouṅ | tlounjuľ | mëkëṅ |
Locative "in, on, at, by..." |
tloľ | tloljoľ | mëkëľ |
Separative "out of, away from" |
tlout | tloudul | mëkët |
Essive as/in a certain state |
tlounu | tlounou | mëkënë |
Translative change of/into a state |
tloc | tlocë | mëkëc |
Privative "without, absence of" |
tlodek | tlodok | mëkëdek |
Comitative "with, alongside" |
tlonek | tlonok | mëkënek |
Instrumental "with, using" |
tlounouj | tlounoumi | mëkënoj |
Type-II nominals
This paradigm corresponds with the Proto-Italic ā- & u-stems & Latin 1st & 4th declensions. Most nominals of this type end with a vowel, which changes throughout the paradigm. There has also been an increase in declining Type-II nominals according to the regular paradigm instead of the type-II paradigm.
ṡynu, "automobile" | cäto, "prussian" | ||
---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | ||
Nominative | ṡynu | ṡynur | cäto |
Accusative | ṡynum | ṡynun | cätom |
Genitive | ṡynur | ṡynuzum | cätor |
Dative | ṡynuľ | ṡynul | cätoľ |
Lative "into; towards" |
ṡynuṅ | ṡynunjuľ | cätoṅ |
Locative "in, on, at, by..." |
ṡynuľ | ṡynuljuľ | cätoľ |
Separative "out of, away from" |
ṡynut | ṡynudul | cätot |
Essive as/in a certain state |
ṡynunu | ṡynunou | cätona |
Translative change of/into a state |
ṡynuc | ṡynucu | cätoc |
Privative "without, absence of" |
ṡynudik | ṡynudouk | cätodäk |
Comitative "with, alongside" |
ṡynunik | ṡynunouk | cätonäk |
Instrumental "with, using" |
ṡynuju | ṡynuïmi | cätoja |
Type-III nominals
This paradigm corresponds with the Proto-Italic consonant-stems & Latin 3rd declension. Most nominals of this type exhibit stem alteration from the nominative singular.
fëcel, "father" | gel, "blond(e)" | ||
---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | ||
Nominative | fëcel | fëtrer | gel |
Accusative | fëtrem | fëtren | gelwëm |
Genitive | fëtrer | fëtrom | gelwer |
Dative | fëtreľ | fëtreġ / fëtrel [a] | gelweľ |
Lative "into; towards" |
fëtreṅ | fëtrenjël / fëtrenjëľ [a] | gelweṅ |
Locative "in, on, at, by..." |
fëtre / fëtreľ [a] | fëtreljëľ | gelwe / gelweľ [a] |
Separative "out of, away from" |
fëtret | fëtredël | gelwët |
Essive as/in a certain state |
fëtrë / fëtrenu [a] | fëtreno | gelwë / gelwënë [a] |
Translative change of/into a state |
fëtrec | fëtrecë | gelwëc |
Privative "without, absence of" |
fëtredek | fëtredok | gelwëdek |
Comitative "with, alongside" |
fëtrenek | fëtrenok | gelwënek |
Instrumental "with, using" |
fëtrom | fëtrome / fëtreme [a] | gelwom |
[a] Southern Valtamic variants
Regular nominals
tämrä, "girl" | ljux, "delux" | ||
---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | ||
Nominative | tämrä | tämrär | ljux |
Accusative | tämräm | tämrän | ljuxum |
Genitive | tämrär | tämräm | ljuxir |
Dative | tämräľ | ljuxiľ | |
Lative "into; towards" |
tämräṅ | tämränjal | ljuxiṅ |
Locative "in, on, at, by..." |
tämräľ | tämräljaľ | ljuxiľ |
Separative "out of, away from" |
tämrät | tämrädaľ | ljuxut |
Essive as/in a certain state |
tämräna | tämränano | ljuxunu |
Translative change of/into a state |
tämräc | tämräca | ljuxuc |
Privative "without, absence of" |
tämrädäk | tämrädok | ljuxudik |
Comitative "with, alongside" |
tämränäk | tämränok | ljuxunik |
Instrumental "with, using" |
tämräjo | tämräjämä | ljuxujou |
Pronouns
Personal pronouns
Valtamic personal pronouns decline for the same aforementioned cases except for the essive and translative cases. They also retain the three gender system with some modification (masculine, feminine, and inanimate/epicene).
Singular | Plural | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st | 2nd | 3rd | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | |||
masculine | feminine | inanimate epicene | ||||||
Nominative | äk | our | ü | o | ä | nour | ġë | i |
Accusative | mä | cän / our [b] | nü | no | nä | ġä / vä [a] / nour [b] | cät / ġë [b] | ni |
Genitive | mäm | äsäm | ljäk | ljäľ | ljäk | nasam | ġëljëm | üh |
Dative Instrumental |
mäľ | ġëm | üm | äľ | üm | nëm | ġër | im |
Lative | myluṅ | cünyṅ | nüm | näľ | nüm | mäläṅ | cäljäṅ | näh |
Locative | cünyľ | änäl | mäl | cäľ | il | |||
Separative | mät | ouľ | änäs | näľ | cäzä | is | ||
Privative | mynut | cünyt | änäc | mäc | cäc | ic | ||
Comitative | myljun | cünyh | änäh | mänjäh | cänjäh | ih | ||
Reflexive | märäġ | äräġ | ljäġ | näräġ | ġëreġ / ġëṡ [a] | üriġ |
[a] southern variants
[b] insular variants
Due to the collapse of grammatical gender, animate antecedents are instead gendered based on their inherent gender, with the inanimate pronouns also acting as epicene, or unisex, pronouns, used for either an unknown gender, both genders, or a gender other than the previous two. Reflexive pronouns also serve a disjunctive function, very commonly replacing declined pronouns when context is clear.
If the subject argument of a verb beginning with a vowel is a 3rd person pronoun, then the word will switch form SVO to VSO in order to avoid a vowel hiatus:
- ü yhülïbun → yhülïbun ü ("he will draw")
- o ut afacam → ut o afacam ("she was the host")
- i uls bïṅ → uls i bïṅ ("they had survived")
Demonstrative pronouns
Interrogative pronouns
Relative pronouns
Verbs
Regular Verbs constitute the vast majority of Valtamic verbs. Verbs generally conjugate for three persons (1st, 2nd, and 3rd), two numbers (singular and plural), three moods (indicative, subjunctive, and imperative), two voices (active and passive), three basic tenses (present, past, and future), each with two forms, one synthetic (simple) and one analytic using an auxiliary copula (perfect).
Infinitive | Bare | ruhülou ("to dance") | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Auxiliary | ruhüliṅ | |||||||
Participle | Present | ruhülinin | ||||||
Past | ruhüliti | |||||||
Indicative | Singular | Plural | ||||||
First (äk) | Second (our) | Third (ü, ä, o) | First (nour) | Second (ġë) | Third (i) | |||
Active | Present | Simple | ruhülou | ruhülur | ruhülus | ruhülumur | ruhülusur | ruhüluns |
Perfect | äz ruhüliṅ | är ruhüliṅ | äc ruhüliṅ | äräm ruhüliṅ | ätlär ruhüliṅ | räns ruhüliṅ | ||
Past | Simple | ruhülim | ruhülir | ruhülit | ruhülimir | ruhülisir | ruhülint | |
Perfect | uľ ruhüliṅ | ut ruhüliṅ | umur ruhüliṅ | utlir ruhüliṅ | uls ruhüliṅ | |||
Future | Simple | ruhülimbun | ruhülirbun | ruhülibun | ruhülisbun | |||
Perfect | hruṡ ruhüliṅ | hrur ruhüliṅ | hruṡum ruhüliṅ | hruṡur ruhüliṅ | hrubun ruhüliṅ | |||
Passive | Present | Simple | ruhüloul | ruhülusul | ruhülumul | ruhülunsul | ||
Perfect | ultil ruhüliṅ | ulcul ruhüliṅ | ultimul ruhüliṅ | ultinsul ruhüliṅ | ||||
Past | Simple | ruhülil | ruhüliz | ruhülisil | ruhülimil | ruhülimiṅ | ruhülinsil | |
Perfect | uljil ruhüliṅ | utliz ruhüliṅ | utlisil ruhüliṅ | umil ruhüliṅ | utlimiṅ ruhüliṅ | ulsinsil ruhüliṅ | ||
Future | Simple | ruhüliblun | ruhülizblun | ruhüliblun | ruhülirmiṅ | |||
Perfect | ultiblun ruhüliṅ | ultizbun ruhüliṅ | ultisbun ruhüliṅ | ultirmiṅ ruhüliṅ | ||||
Subjunctive | Singular | Plural | ||||||
First (äk) | Second (our) | Third (ü, ä, o) | First (nour) | Second (ġë) | Third (i) | |||
Active | Present | Simple | ruhüloum | ruhülus | ruhülut | ruhülumut | ||
Perfect | ramom ruhüliṅ | ramas ruhüliṅ | ramam ruhüliṅ | ramrat ruhüliṅ | ||||
Past | Simple | ruhülourum | ruhülirir | ruhülirit | ruhülurunt | |||
Perfect | ramrom ruhüliṅ | ramrär ruhüliṅ | ramräm ruhüliṅ | ramrant ruhüliṅ | ||||
Passive | Present | Simple | ruhüluṡ | ruhülounsur | ||||
Perfect | ramaṡ ruhüliṅ | ramonsar ruhüliṅ | ||||||
Past | Simple | ruhülouroul | ruhüliriz | ruhülirisil | ruhülurunsul | |||
Perfect | ramrol ruhüliṅ | ramräz ruhüliṅ | ramräsäl ruhüliṅ | ramransal ruhüliṅ | ||||
Imperative | Singular | Plural | ||||||
First (äk) | Second (our) | Third (ü, ä, o) | First (nour) | Second (ġë) | Third (i) | |||
Active | — | ruhüli | — | — | ruhülic | — | ||
Passive | — | ruhüliz | — | — | ruhülimiṅ | — |
Valtamic verbs have two different verbal infinitives:
- the bare infinitive, which acts as the basic non-finite infinitive and dictionary form of a given verb. It can also act as a gerund or verbal noun, being declined using the type-III paradigm with no stem alteration.
- the auxiliary infinitive, which is an indeclinable verbal infinitive used specifically alongside auxiliary verbs.