Jovlish: Difference between revisions

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Tag: Manual revert
Line 810: Line 810:
** /ljə, lɥə, lwə/ > /jɯ, vɯ, vɯ/.
** /ljə, lɥə, lwə/ > /jɯ, vɯ, vɯ/.
* /ɑ, æ/ > /ɔ, ɐ/.
* /ɑ, æ/ > /ɔ, ɐ/.
* /l/ velarizes to /ɫ/
==Orthographies==
==Orthographies==
===Old and Middle Jovlish Latin===
===Old and Middle Jovlish Latin===

Revision as of 01:38, 12 May 2025


Jovlish
Öggeş
Jovlish Flag.png
Flag of the Kingdom of Jovaia
Pronunciation[ˈʒoːvlɛʃ]
Created byVrianne
Date2024
SettingEarth
Native toJovaia
EthnicityJovler
Early forms
Proto-Indo-European
Standard form
Royal Jovlish (Künöggeş (Künöggeş))
Dialects
  • Turkish Jovlish (Türköggeş)
  • Georgian Jovlish (ქორთულეუგგეშ (Kortuleuggeş))
Official status
Official language in
Jovaia
Recognised minority
language in
Regulated byJovlish Royal Academy (Öxkünakademya (Öxkünakademya))
Jovlish Speakers.png
Map of areas where Jovlish is spoken
  ...as a majority language
  ...as a minority language
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.

Jovlish (Öggeş, Öggeş [ˈʔœɡɡɛʃ], formally itÖxsψış, itÖxspsış [ʔɪˈtœks(ː)ˌpsωʃ] or iJóvalsψış, iJóvalspsış [ʔɪˈʒo(ː)vɐlsˌpsωʃ]) is an Anglic Germanic language whose speakers mainly reside in the Pontus region (Jovlish: Pont, Pont [pʰɔ̃ntʰ]) split between the Republic of Türkiye, the Kingdom of Jovaia, and the Republic of Georgia. It is descended from the Old English spoken by the Anglo-Saxon refugees fleeing from the Norman invasion of England to the Black Sea, thus making it related to other Anglic languages such as English and Scots, and to other Anglo-Frisian languages such as the Frisian languages.

Classification

Jovlish is an Indo-European language that belongs to the Anglo-Frisian branch of the West Germanic languages, which in-turn is also a branch of the Germanic languages. It is specifically an Anglic language descending from the West Saxon dialect of Old English.

Anglo-Frisian Cognates with matching definitions
Jovlish English Scots West Frisian
brıh (brıh) brother brither broer
veş (veş) week wouk wike
fód (fód) father faither faar
Jöq (Jöq) Earth Erd Ierde
şīd (şīd) head heid haad
mēqk (mēqk) milk milk molke
reş (reş) right richt rjocht
űvn (űvn) give* gie jaan

History

Old Jovlish (12th–15th century)

By the late 12th and early 13th centuries, the speech of the Anglo-Saxon settlers had diverged noticeably from Old English, forming what is now referred to as Old Jovlish. During this period, extensive contact with the Byzantine Empire led to the incorporation of numerous Greek loanwords, particularly in religious, administrative, and scholarly domains. Additionally, some lexical influences from Adyghe and other nearby languages entered Jovlish, although its core grammatical structure remained largely unchanged from that of Old English.

Middle Jovlish (16th–17th century)

The 16th century marked the transition to Middle Jovlish, characterized by increased linguistic borrowing and grammatical transformation. During this period, Jovlish absorbed a substantial number of loanwords from Ottoman Turkish, Russian, and Classical Persian. These influences were particularly strong in trade, military, and governmental terminology.

One of the most significant grammatical developments in this period was the fusion of pronouns with conjugated verbs, leading to its characteristically un-Germanic verbal paradigm.

Jovlish's orthography remained largely static thus far, leading to a growing divergence between written and spoken forms. As such, words spelled as "mennisćmæn" ("human"), which reflected the Old Jovlish pronunciation /ˈmenniʃˌmæn/ quite accurately, would have been pronounced as /ˈmɛʃmæn/ by Middle Jovlish speakers.

The early 17th century saw the forced migration of many Jovlish-speaking communities due to Russian military campaigns in the Caucasus, which displaced numerous ethnic groups. Many Jovlish speakers were resettled in the Pontic region.

15th-century written form of "Ælfréd óþ" ("Alfred II")

Modern Jovlish (17th century–present)

The 17th century marked the definitive split of Jovlish into two primary dialects:

  • Turkish Jovlish, spoken primarily in modern-day Turkey, especially in former Greek-populated areas along the Black Sea coast.
  • Georgian Jovlish, concentrated in western Georgia.

Following the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire and during the Turkish War of Independence, efforts were made to standardize and preserve the Jovlish language. During this period, a standardized script was created, grammar and pronunciation were codified, and educational and linguistic institutions were established, though these efforts were geographically limited to within the borders of Jovaia.

Despite these efforts, the varieties spoken in Turkey and Georgia remained poorly documented and unstandardized, leading to an ongoing decline in speakers.

Etymology

Throughout their history, Jovlers were referred to by names such as "(east) English", "(west) Saxon", "Dutch", etc. The endonym "öggeş" (öggeş) and its derivatives come from Middle Jovlish "elggisć" /ˈɛu̯ɡɡɛʃ/, a common metathesized form of "egglisć" /ˈɛɡ(ː)lɛʃ/ ("English") which was one of the terms used by Jovlers to refer to themselves colloquially, aside from "seaxisć" /ˈsiɐ̯ksɛʃ/, "éaæ̈lisć" /ˈjɔu̯wælɛʃ/, "teutonisć" /ˈtɛu̯tɔnɛʃ/, and "łormánisć" /ʁɔrˈmɔu̯nɛʃ/. Both "elggisć" and "egglisć" ultimately are from Old English "englisċ", thus making "öggeş" (öggeş, "Jovlish") and "egleş" (egleş, "English") doublets.

The exonym "jovlish" used in English and many other languages such as German "jovalisch", French "jovalais", Arabic "ياولي" (yāwiliyy), Greek "γεβαλικός" (gevalikós), and Russian "ювалский" (juvalskij) all trace to either Modern Jovlish "jóvleş" (jóvleş, "Jovlish (nationally)"), Early Modern Jovlish "*jóvaleş", or Middle Jovlish "éaæ̈lisć" /ˈjɔu̯wælɛʃ/. This endonym eventually fell out of use in favor of "öggeş" (öggeş) linguistically, but it is still used gentilicly such as in "Jóvaya" (Jóvaya, "Jovaia"). It comes from Early Middle Jovlish "éasægglisć" /ˈjɑːstˌæɡɡliʃ/, literally meaning "east english", in reference to their location relative to England and the English.

Phonology

Old Jovlish

Vowels

Front Back
unrounded rounded
Close i iː ⟨í⟩ y yː ⟨ý⟩ u uː ⟨ú⟩
Mid e eː ⟨é⟩ ø ⟨œ⟩ o oː ⟨ó⟩
Open æ æː ⟨ǽ⟩ ɑ ⟨a⟩ ɑː ⟨á⟩
Rising Falling
-yː -u -o -oː -ɑː -ʊ̯ -ɔ̯ -œ̯ -ɐ̯
i- iʊ̯ ⟨(ǵ)eu⟩ iɔ̯ ⟨(ǵ)eo⟩ iœ̯ ⟨(ǵ)eœ⟩ iɐ̯ ⟨(ǵ)ea⟩
iː- iːɔ̯ ⟨(ǵ)éo⟩ iːœ̯ ⟨(ǵ)éy⟩ iːɐ̯ ⟨(ǵ)éa⟩
j- jyː ⟨éy⟩ ju ⟨eu⟩ jø ⟨eœ⟩ jo ⟨eo⟩ joː ⟨éo⟩ jæ ⟨eæ⟩ jɑ ⟨ea⟩ jɑː ⟨éa⟩

Notes:

  • /i y u e ø o/ may have been realized as [ɪ ʏ ʊ ɛ œ ɔ].

Consonants

Labial Dental Alveolar Post-Alveolar Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal
Nasal m n ŋ ⟨ng⟩
Plosive voiceless p t t͡ʃ ⟨ć⟩ k ⟨c⟩
voiced b d d͡ʒ ⟨cǵ⟩ ɡ ⟨g⟩
Fricative voiceless f θ ⟨þ⟩ s ʃ ⟨sć⟩ (ç) x~χ ⟨h⟩ (h)
voiced v ⟨f, ƀ⟩ ð ⟨þ⟩ z ⟨s⟩ (ʝ) ʁ ⟨ǥ, ł, ɍ⟩
Trill r
Approximant l j ⟨ǵ, i, e, é⟩ w ⟨uu⟩

Notes:

  • /ð/ is an allophone of /θ/ when inter-vocalic or clustered with a voiced consonant. The same applies to the voicing pairs /v z/ and /f s/, though /v z/ have since become phonemic.
  • /ç ʝ/ are allophones of /x~χ ʁ/ near /i(ː) y(ː) e(ː) ø/.
  • /h/ is an allophone of /x~χ/ morpheme-initially.

Phonological shifts from Old English

  • Homorganic lengthening and Pre-cluster shortening were carried over from the transition from Old English to Middle English.
  • Geminated /ɡɡ, dd͡ʒ/ lose their gemination.
  • Nasal-plosive sequences become pure nasals morpheme-finally and geminate plosives elsewhere.
    • /mp/ > /m/ morpheme-finally, /pp/ elsewhere.
    • /mb/ > /m/ morpheme-finally, /bb/ elsewhere.
    • /nt/ > /n/ morpheme-finally, /tt/ elsewhere.
    • /nd/ > /n/ morpheme-finally, /dd/ elsewhere.
    • /ŋk/ > /ŋ/ morpheme-finally, /kk/ elsewhere.
    • /ŋɡ/ > /ŋ/ morpheme-finally, /ɡɡ/ elsewhere.
  • /m/ > /n/ morpheme-finally, though some words were unaffected.
  • /kn, kl/ > /kʃn, kʃl/, though not orthographically represented.
  • /wr-/ > /wyrˠ-/ before a syllable containing a front vowel and /wurˠ-/ before a syllable containing a back vowel.
  • Voiceless sonorants become geminate fricatives.
    • /n̥/ > /xx/.
    • /r̥/ > /θθ/.
    • /l̥/ -> /ʃʃ/.
    • /w̥/ -> /ff/.
  • /krV, klV/ > /kVrˠ, kVlˠ/ sporadically and with short vowels only.
  • /ɣ, rˠ, lˠ/ merge into /ʁ/.
  • /æ͜ɑ, e͜o, i͜y/ > /jæ, jø, jø/ word-initially, /jɑ, jo, ju/ word-initially and before either /ʁ/ or a syllable containing a back vowel, and /iɐ̯ iɔ̯ iœ̯/ elsewhere.
    • /e͜o/ > /iœ̯/ before a syllable containing a front vowel.
    • /i͜y/ > /iʊ̯/ before either /ʁ/ or a syllable containing a back vowel.
  • /æ͜ɑː, e͜oː, i͜yː/ > /jɑː, joː, jyː/ word-initially and /iːɐ̯, iːɔ̯, iːœ̯/ elsewhere.
  • /x, ʁ/ palatalize to /ç ʝ/ near front vowels /i(ː), y(ː), e(ː), ø/.
  • Glides after the diphthongs /iɐ̯, iɔ̯, iœ̯, iʊ̯, iːɐ̯, iːɔ̯, iːœ̯/ are dropped.

Middle Jovlish

Vowels

Front Central Back
unrounded rounded
Close iː ⟨ǵi, ii, (ǵ)éo, (ǵ)éy, (ǵ)éa⟩ yː ⟨ǵy, iy, éy, wy⟩ uː ⟨wu⟩
Near-close ɪ ⟨i⟩ ʏ ⟨y⟩ ʊ ⟨u⟩
Close-mid eː ⟨ǵe, ie⟩
Open-mid ɛ ⟨e, i⟩ œ (ə) ɔ ⟨o, u⟩
Near-open ɐ ⟨a⟩
Open æ ɑ ⟨a⟩
Rising Falling
-ɔw -j -w -ʊ̯ -œ̯ -ɐ̯
i- iɐ̯ ⟨(ǵ)ea, (ǵ)eo⟩
y- yɐ̯ ⟨(ǵ)eœ⟩
ɯ- ɯʊ̯ ⟨(ǵ)eu⟩
j- jʊ ⟨eu⟩ jœ ⟨eœ⟩ jɔ ⟨eo⟩ jə ⟨í, é, ǽ⟩ jɔw ⟨éo⟩ jæ ⟨eæ⟩ jɑ ⟨ea⟩
ɥ- ɥə ⟨ý⟩
w- wə ⟨ú, ó, á⟩
ɪ- ɪw ⟨iu⟩
ɛ- ɛj ⟨é⟩ ɛw ⟨eü⟩
ɔ- ɔw ⟨ó, á⟩
ɐ- ɐj ⟨í,ǽ⟩ ɐɥ ⟨ý⟩ ɐw ⟨ú⟩

Consonants

Labial Dental Alveolar Post-Alveolar Palatal Velar Uvular
Nasal m n ŋ ⟨ng⟩
Plosive voiceless p t t͡ʃ ⟨tj⟩ k ⟨c⟩
voiced b d d͡ʒ ⟨cǵ, dj⟩ ɡ ⟨g⟩
Fricative voiceless f θ ⟨þ⟩ s ʃ ⟨sć, ć⟩ ç ⟨h, i⟩ χ ⟨h⟩
voiced v ⟨f, ƀ⟩ ð ⟨þ⟩ z ⟨s⟩ (ʝ) ʁ ⟨ł⟩
Trill r
Approximant l j ⟨ǵ, j, e, é⟩ w ⟨w, l⟩

Notes:

  • although Old Jovlish /t͡ʃ/ merges with /ʃ/, /t͡ʃ/ is re-introduced into Middle Jovlish through laonwords.

Phonological shifts from Old Jovlish

  • /h/-dropping.
  • /x/ fully shifts to /χ/.
  • /t, d/ are dropped after /ʁ/.
  • /l/ > /w/ before consonants.
  • /t͡ʃ/ de-affricates to /ʃ/.
  • Short /i, y, u, e, ø, o/ weaken to /ɪ, ʏ, ʊ, ɛ, œ, ɔ/.
  • /i, u/ > /ɛ, ɔ/ in closed syllables.
  • Long vowel breaking:
    • /iː, eː, æː/ and /uː, oː, ɑː/ merge to /jə/ and /wə/ respectively after alveolar consonants.
    • /yː/ > /ɥə/ after alveolar consonants.
    • /iː, yː, uː, eː, oː, æː, ɑː/ > /ɐi̯, ɐy̯, ɐu̯, ɛi̯, ɔu̯, ɐi̯, ɔu̯/ elsewhere.
  • /ji(ː), je(ː), wu(ː), {w,j}y(ː)/ > /iː, eː, uː, yː/
  • /iːɐ̯, iːɔ̯, iːœ̯/ merge into /iː/
  • /iɔ̯, iœ̯, iʊ̯/ > /iɐ̯, yɐ̯, ɯʊ̯/
    • /iɐ̯, iɔ̯, iœ̯, iʊ̯/ > /çɐ, çɔ, çœ, çʊ/ after plosives and /χ/ (absorbing /χ/ into /ç/), though some instances of /χ/ were unaffected by the latter.

Modern Jovlish

Vowels

Front Central Back
unrounded rounded unrounded rounded
Close ɯː
Near-close ɪ ʏ ω ʊ
Close-mid e(ː) o(ː)
Open-mid ɛ ɛː œ œː ə ɔ ɔː
Near-open ɐ
Open

Notes:

  • /aː/ is realized as true central [äː].
  • vowels before nasal consonants are allophonically nasalized.
  • the distinction between /eː oː/ and other mid vowels is more reliant on quality than length, and thus /eː oː/ are not always lengthened.
  • in the case of consecutive long vowels, the second long vowel is held for a shorter period of time, such as in fēşēver (fēşēver) /ˈfɛːˌʃɛːvər/ [ˈfɛːˌʃɛˑv(ə)ɾ].

Consonants

Labial Alveolar Post-Alveolar Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Plosive voiceless p t t͡ʃ k (ʔ)
voiced b d d͡ʒ ɡ
Fricative voiceless f s ʃ χ
voiced v z ʒ ʁ
Trill r
Approximant ɫ j

Notes:

  • /p t k/ are aspirated [pʰ tʰ kʰ].
  • /r/ is most commonly a tap [ɾ].
  • /ʁ/ is an approximant [ʁ̞].

Phonological shifts from Middle Jovlish

  • /ʊ/ > /ɔ/
  • /w, j/ > /v, ʒ/
  • /ç, ʝ/ > /ʃ, j/
  • /θ, ð/ > /χ, j/
  • /kʃn, kʃl/ > /ʃn, ʃl/
  • Initial geminates lose their gemination.
  • /iʁ, yʁ, uʁ/ > /iː, yː, uː/
  • /ɐi̯, ɐy̯, ɐu̯, ɛi̯, ɔu̯/ lose their semivowel component before /r, ʁ/.
    • /ɐi̯-, ɐy̯-, ɐu̯-/ merge into /ɐ-/.
    • /ɛi̯-/ > /ɛ-/.
    • /ɔu̯-/ > /ɔ-/.
  • /ʁ/ is dropped inter-vocalically.
  • Diphthong smoothing:
    • /iɐ̯, yɐ̯, ɯʊ̯/ > /ɛː, œː, ɯː/.
    • /ɐi̯, ɐy̯, ɐu̯, ɛi̯, ɔu̯/ -> /ɛː, œː, ɔː, eː, oː/.
    • /ɛu̯, ɪu̯/ > /œ, ʏ/.
  • /t, d/ get dropped after /ʃ/.
  • Sequences of alveolar consonant-glide-/ə/ simplify:
    • /njə, nɥə, nwə/ > /ɲɯ, mɲɯ, mɯ/.
    • /tjə, tɥə, twə/ > /t͡ʃɯ, ʃɯ, tɯ/.
    • /djə, dɥə, dwə/ > /ʒɯ, ʒɯ, dɯ/.
    • /sjə, sɥə, swə/ > /ʃɯ/.
    • /zjə, zɥə, zwə/ > /ʒɯ/.
    • /rjə, rɥə, rwə/ > /zɯ, zɯ, rɯ/.
    • /ljə, lɥə, lwə/ > /jɯ, vɯ, vɯ/.
  • /ɑ, æ/ > /ɔ, ɐ/.
  • /l/ velarizes to /ɫ/

Orthographies

Old and Middle Jovlish Latin

The Old Jovlish writing standard was a direct continuation of the Late West Saxon standard used for the writing of Old English in the period prior to the Norman Conquest. Acutes were added and standardized on consonants ⟨ć, cǵ, ǵ, sć⟩ in order to distinguish /t͡ʃ, d͡ʒ, j, ʃ/, and on vowels to mark length. /ʁ/ was spelled etymologically by adding a stroke to ⟨g, r, l⟩, thus /jɑːʁ, çiɔ̯ʁt, jɑʁd/ were spelled ⟨éaǥ, heoɍt, eałd⟩ (< OE ⟨eage, heorte, eald⟩) respectively. Edh ⟨ð⟩ and wynn ⟨ƿ⟩ also fully fell out of use in favor of ⟨þ⟩ and ⟨uu⟩, and word-initial/-final instances of /v/ were spelled as ⟨ƀ⟩.

Spelling was mostly not standardized and left etymological during the Middle Jovlish period. The only two changes seen regularly occurring in Middle Jovlish period were ⟨ł⟩ fully supplanting ⟨ǥ, ɍ⟩ in all instances (⟨éał, heoł, eał⟩) and ⟨t, d⟩ dropping after ⟨ł⟩.

Modern script

handwritten sample of the Jovlish Script

The modern Jovlish script (Jovlish: öxhomhott, öxhomhott), also known as the Jelkyn Script (jöqkünhomhott, jöqkünhomhott) or the Royal Script (künhomhott, künhomhott), was commissioned by Jelkyn Aşşīş II in order to increase literacy and accessibly of the Jovlish language, as part of a wider response to suppression efforts of the Jovlish language outside of Jovaia's borders. It was commisioned a couple decades before the Soviet invasion of Jovaia, and it would persist throughout the duration of Second World War and the Cold War, still seeing official and widespread common use throughout Jovaia. Most of its letters are direct derivations of the common Jovlish Latin lettering convention, or the common lettering style throughout Jovaia. This lettering convention was a collage of multiple different styles and sources, with some being continuations of the Insular Style (such as ⟨T old jovlish 2.png⟩ ← ⟨⟩ and ⟨R old jovlish 2.png⟩ ← ⟨⟩), some being later adaptations (compare the insular-derived ⟨J old jovlish 2.png⟩ ← ⟨⟩ with the later ⟨G old jovlish 2.png⟩ ← ⟨ɢ⟩), and others being influenced by their Greek Script equivalents (such as ⟨B old jovlish 2.png⟩ ← ⟨b, β⟩). This writing style would be the main source for the letters of the new script (⟨b, j, g, r, t, . . .⟩), alongside derivations from Cyrillic (⟨ş⟩ ← ⟨ш⟩) and Greek (⟨ψ⟩ ← ⟨ψ⟩), blends (⟨ŋ⟩ ← ⟨n + g⟩), and artificial, newly-created letters (⟨ı⟩).The wide adoption of the script effectively reformed Jovlish spelling to be much more phonemic.

Letter Name IPA Romanization Origin (Old–Middle Jovlish) Letter Name IPA Romanization Origin (Old–Middle Jovlish)
Aa ā
[ʔäː]
[ɐ] a Jovlish Latin ⟨a⟩ A old jovlish.png Ņņ
[ʔɪɲ]
[ɲ] ņ artificial invention, contrasting ⟨ŋ
Bb
[be(ː)]
[b] b Jovlish Latin ⟨b⟩ B old jovlish.png Ŋŋ
[ʔɐŋ]
[ŋ] ŋ blend of ⟨n⟩ and ⟨g
Vv
[ve(ː)]
[v] v b⟩ with a top stroke Oo ó
[ʔo(ː)]
[ɔ] o Jovlish Latin ⟨o⟩ O old jovlish.png
Kk
[kʰe(ː)]
[kʰ] k Jovlish Latin ⟨c⟩ C old jovlish.png Öö ő
[ʔœː]
[œ] ö Jovlish Latin ⟨œ⟩

Œ old jovlish.png

Çç çé
[t͡ʃe(ː)]
[t͡ʃ] ç artificial invention, likely drawn from Jovlish Latin ⟨ć⟩ Pp
[pe(ː)]
[pʰ] p Jovlish Latin ⟨p⟩ P old jovlish.png
Dd
[de(ː)]
[d] d Jovlish Latin ⟨d⟩ D old jovlish.png Rr
[ɾe(ː)]
[ɾ] r Jovlish Latin ⟨r⟩ R old jovlish.png
Ee é
[ʔe(ː)]
[ɛ] e Jovlish Latin ⟨e⟩ E old jovlish.png Ss
[se(ː)]
[s] s Jovlish Latin ⟨s⟩ S old jovlish.png
Ff
[fe(ː)]
[f] f Jovlish Latin ⟨f⟩ F old jovlish.png Şş şé
[ʃe(ː)]
[ʃ] ş Cyrillic ⟨ш
Jj
[ʒe(ː)]
[ʒ] j Jovlish Latin ⟨ᵹ⟩, a variant of ⟨g⟩ J old jovlish.png Tt
[tʰe(ː)]
[tʰ] t Jovlish Latin ⟨t⟩ T old jovlish.png
Gg
[ɡe(ː)]
[ɡ] g Jovlish Latin ⟨g⟩ G old jovlish.png Cc
[d͡ʒe(ː)]
[d͡ʒ] c blend of ⟨t⟩ and ⟨z
Hh
[χe(ː)]
[χ] h Jovlish Latin ⟨h⟩ H old jovlish.png Uu ū
[ʔuː]
[ʊ] u Jovlish Latin ⟨u⟩ U old jovlish.png
ï
[ʔɯː]
[ω] ı artificial invention Ww
[vuː]
[v] w u⟩ with a breve, likely drawing inspiration from Cyrillic ⟨ў
İi ī
[ʔiː]
[ɪ] i Jovlish Latin ⟨i⟩ I old jovlish.png Xx
[kse(ː)]
[ks] x Jovlish Latin ⟨x⟩ X old jovlish.png
Yy
[jɛː]
[j] y i⟩ with a breve, likely drawing inspiration from Cyrillic ⟨й Üü ű
[ʔyː]
[ʏ] ü Jovlish Latin ⟨y⟩ Y old jovlish.png
Ll
[le(ː)]
[l] l Jovlish Latin ⟨l⟩ L old jovlish.png Zz
[ze(ː)]
[z] z Jovlish Latin ⟨z⟩ Z old jovlish.png
Qq
[ʁ̞e(ː)]
[ʁ̞], [Ø] q Jovlish Latin ⟨ł⟩ Ł old jovlish.png Ξξ ξé
[bze(ː)]
[bz] bz reversed Greek ⟨ψ
Mm
[me(ː)]
[m] m Jovlish Latin ⟨m⟩ M old jovlish.png Ψψ ψé
[pse(ː)]
[ps] ps Greek ⟨ψ
Nn
[ne(ː)]
[n] n Jovlish Latin ⟨n⟩ N old jovlish.png
Letter Name IPA Romanization Letter Name IPA Romanization
Āā loŋ ā
[lɔŋ ʔäː]
[äː] ā Ōō loŋ ó
[lɔŋ ʔo(ː)]
[ɔː] ō
Ēē loŋ é
[lɔŋ ˈʔe(ː)]
[ɛː] ē Óó frenşeş ó
[ˈfɾɛnʃɛʃ ʔo(ː)]
[oː] ó
Éé frenşeş é
[ˈfɾɛnʃɛʃ ˈʔe(ː)]
[e(ː)] é Őő loŋ ő
[lɔŋ ʔœː]
[œː] ő, ȫ
Ïï loŋ ï
[lɔŋ ʔɯː]
[ɯː] ï Ūū loŋ ū
[lɔŋ ʔu]
[uː] ū
Īī loŋ ī
[lɔŋ ʔiː]
[iː] ī Űű loŋ ű
[lɔŋ ʔyː]
[yː] ű, ǖ

Failed proposals

Greek script

During the Old Jovlish period, there were many proposals and attempts at writing Old Jovlish in the Greek script to further bring ties closer between Byzantium and Jovaia, among other reasons. These proposals never picked up significant speed due to the fact that most of them were either tied to bigger movements such as an official conversion to orthodoxy and/or further hellenization of the kingdom or were simply popular with neither the common folk nor the aristocracy.

These proposals were not standardized and differed in representing sounds not present in Byzantine Greek. Sounds such as [t͡ʃ], for example, were represented in a plethora of different ways, which varied by proposal. One common feature across these proposals however is the lack of apparent representation of vowel length, leaving it inferred in a given word.

Vowels
Phoneme Glyph(s)
[i(ː)] ι, ει, η
[y(ː)] υ
[u(ː)] ου
[e(ː)] ε, αι
[ø] οε
[o(ː)] ο, ω
[æ(ː)] αε
[ɑ(ː)] α
[iʊ̯] ευ, εϋ, ιυ, ιϋ
[i(ː)ɔ̯] εο, ιο
[i(ː)œ̯] εοε, ιοε
[i(ː)ɐ̯] εα, ια
Consonants
Phoneme Glyph(s) Phoneme Glyph(s)
[m] μ [θ] θ, ρ[1], ρρ[1]
[n] ν [s] ς
[ŋ] γγ [ʃ] σι, ς, ς́
[pʰ] π [ç, x~χ, h] χ
[tʰ] τ [v] β
[t͡ʃ] τσι, τς, τς́ [ð] δ
[kʰ] κ [z] ζ
[b] μπ, ββ, πβ [ʝ, ʁ] γ, ρ, λ
[d] ντ, δδ, τδ [r] ρ
[d͡ʒ] τζι, τζ, τζ́ [l] λ
[ɡ] γκ, κγ [j] ι
[f] φ [w] ου
  1. only used in loanwords with historical Greek /r̥(ː)/

Cyrillic script

Although diplomatic relations with the Russians were mostly sour, proposals to shift Middle and Early Modern Jovlish into being written in Eastern Cyrillic were nonetheless constantly springing up, well into and after the Soviet invasion of Jovaia. These reforms, although reforming an orthography with much bigger and more common disparities between it and the spoken language, suffered from much of the same pitfalls as the Greek proposals that came before it, such as being tied to pro-russian or pro-russification agendas.

Vowels
Phoneme Glyph(s) Phoneme Glyph(s)
[iː] і, ї, ий [ɔ] о
[yː] ѵ, оуэ, ү [ɐ] а, аэ, ә
[uː] оу [æ] аэ, а, ә
[ɪ] и [ɑ] а, о
[ʏ] ы, уэ [iɐ̯] эа, иа, я
[ʊ] у [yɐ̯] эѵ, эу, эо, иѵ, иу, ю
[eː] ѣ, эй [ɯʊ̯] иу, уу, эу, ю
[ɛ] э [jə] е, ё, ъя, ъе, ъё
[œ] оэ, ө [ɥə] ъѵ, ъоуэ, ъю
[ə] а, э, о [wə] ъу, ъоу
Consonants
Phoneme Glyph(s) Phoneme Glyph(s)
[m] м [θ] ѳ, þ
[n] н [s] с
[ŋ] нг [ʃ] ш
[pʰ] п [ç, χ] х
[tʰ] т [v] в
[t͡ʃ] ч [ð] ѳ, þ
[kʰ] к [z] з
[b] б [ʝ, ʁ] г, л, ԯ, ӆ
[d] д [r] р
[d͡ʒ] (д)ж [l] л, ль
[ɡ] ґ, г [j] й
[f] ф [w] ў, в

Grammar

Syntax

Jovlish exhibits subject–object–verb (SOV) word order by default, though in practice its word order is relatively flexible:

  • in declarative clauses, SOV is by far the most common word order.
    • Mişal sbók Mişal sbók — "Mişal read his book"
  • negation tends to shift the word order to VSO.
    • n Mişal sbókn Mişal sbók — "Mişal did not read his book"
  • interrogative clauses also do the same.
    • Mişal sbók? Mişal sbók? — "did Mişal read his book?"
  • ... though interrogative clauses using SOV is of generally equal distribution.
    • Mişal sbók ?Mişal sbók ? — "did Mişal read his book?"
  • interrogative pronouns are placed clause-initially but do not interfere with verb placement.
    • fat Mişal?fat Mişal? — "what did Mişal read?"
    • fat Mişal ?fat Mişal ? — "what did Mişal read?"

Clitics

Some pronouns, postpositions, and adjectives get affixed onto nouns or verbs.

  • Oblique pronouns suffix onto their relevant verb and follow.
    • düdejodüdejo — "I did that"
    • luvīehluvīeh — "she loves you"
    • zomerzűenzomerzűen — "he may freeze it"
  • Postpositions directly suffix onto nouns.
    • yarsçıtsnoŋyarsçıtsnoŋ — "along the street"
    • űsthohűsthoh — "in a language"
    • üradāremüradārem — "using the radar"
  • In the case of a pronoun being the object of a preposition, the Jovlish Royal Academy prescribes suffixing postpositions onto the pronominal clitics.
    • nbéŋşeheonnbéŋşeheon — "I did not agree to this"
  • ...though most colloquial Jovaian varieties perfer to instead suffix the postposition onto an independent pronoun.
    • nbéŋş hősonnbéŋş hőson — "I did not agree to this"
  • Color adjectives, cardinal adjectives, gentilic/linguistic adjectives, and Old English prefixes that got re-appropriated as adjectives in Jovlish act not as regular adjectives, but as prefixes when not predicative.
    • blakgüqblakgüq — "black gold"
    • JóstöröpşaJóstöröpşa — "Eastern Europe"
    • rossüniversiterossüniversite — "russian universities"
    • sünvüqsünvüq — "private event"

Nominals

Pronouns

Personal pronouns

Jovlish pronouns decline for person, number, and gender. The old accusative and dative forms reduced and merged into enclitics that attach to a given verb. It is also important to note that Jovlish is pro-drop, meaning that its subject pronouns are omitted, and they are only used emphatically or disjunctively.

Singular Plural
1st person 2nd person 3rd person 1st person 2nd person 3rd person
Masculine Feminine
Nominative
(Disjunctive)


et
et



ű
ű
Reflexive māz
māz
hāz
hāz
ens
ens
űs
űs
józ
józ
űz
űz
Standalone genitive me
me
he
he
es
es
er
er
ar
ar
jor
jor
űr
űr
Genitive clitic m-
m-
h-
h-
s-
s-
er-
er-
ar-
ar-
jor-
jor-
űr-
űr-
Oblique clitic -em
-em
-eh
-eh
-en
-en
-ej
-ej
-es
-es
-eh
-eh
-ev
-ev
Demonstrative pronouns

Demonstratives decline similarly to pronouns, except they retain full accusative and dative forms alongside the enclitics.

Proximal demonstratives (this, these)
Singular Plural
Masculine Feminine
Nominative hes
hes
hīs
hīs
hós
hós
Accusative hezn
hezn
Genitive hes
hes
Dative hős
hős
Oblique clitic -ehe
-ehe
-ehi
-ehi
-eho
-eho
Distal demonstratives (that, those)
Singular Plural
Masculine Feminine
Nominative jon
jon
jön
jön
Accusative jön
jön
Genitive jons
jons
jor
jor
jor
jor
Dative jone
jone
jone
jone
Oblique clitic -ejo
-ejo
-ejö
-ejö
Interrogative pronouns

Interrogative pronouns also decline in a similar manner, this time lacking enclitic forms althogether.

"who" "what" "which"
Nominative
fat
fat
feqş
feqş
Accusative fön
fön
Genitive fós
fós
fās
fās
feqşes
feqşes
Dative fón
fón
fāy
fāy
feqşn
feqşn
  • fıd (fıd, "when")
  • fon (fon, "where from, whence")
  • for (for, "where to, whither")
  • (fő, "how")
Articles and Relative Pronouns

Both the definite article i- (i-) and the relative pronoun (hé) are doublets, diverging from Middle Jovlish demonstrative and pronoun "þé", which in-turn is ultimately from Old English "sē, þē". As such ,they both decline in very similar ways.

Middle Jovlish "þé" tended to have two pronunciations: an unstressed /ðɛ/ and a stressed /θɛi̯/. Initially, they were used interchangeably, though, over time, the unstressed pronunciation tended to be favored as the article, while the stressed pronunciation tended to be favored as the pronoun.

Definite article (the)
Singular Plural
Masculine Feminine
Nominative i-, it-[1]
i-, it-
yo-, yot-[1]
yo-, yot-
Accusative
Genitive iz-
iz-
ir-
ir-
yor-
yor-
Dative ü-, üt-[1]
ü-, üt-
yon-
yon-
Relative pronouns (who, whose, which, that)
Singular Plural
Masculine Feminine
Nominative


Accusative
Genitive has
has
har
har
hor
hor
Dative
hón
hón
  1. the forms ending in t are used before vowels

Nouns

Jovlish nouns have lost distinct forms for most of the noun cases and currently decline only for two case groupings: Direct (nominative, accusative) and Oblique (dative, genitive), themselves being only distinguished in the singular. Nouns are grouped into one of four declensions, regardless of gender:

  • 1st declension nouns, oblique by root ablaut or -(e)s (-(e)s), equivalent to Old English a-, i-, ō-, and u-stem nouns.
  • 2nd declension nouns, oblique by -(e)n (-(e)n), equivalent to Old English n-stem nouns.
  • 3rd declension nouns, plural by -re (-re), oblique by -s (-s), equivalent to Old English r- and z-stem nouns.
  • 4th declension nouns, plural and oblique irregular, equivalent to Old English ablauting consonant stem nouns and nouns with irregular forms.
1st Declension
ōn ōn ("dog") köşt köşt ("house")
Singular Plural Singular Plural
Direct ōn
ōn
ōne
ōne
köşt
köşt
köşte
köşte
Oblique őn
őn
köşts
köşts
2nd Declension
veş veş ("week") vón vón ("flag")
Singular Plural Singular Plural
Direct veş
veş
veşe
veşe
vón
vón
vóne
vóne
Oblique veşn
veşn
vónen
vónen
3rd Declension
brıh brıh ("brother") ē ē ("egg")
Singular Plural Singular Plural
Direct brıh
brıh
brıhre
brıhre
ē
ē
ēre
ēre
Oblique brıts
brıts
ēs
ēs
4th Declension
mon mon ("man") jol jol ("beer")
Singular Plural Singular Plural
Direct mon
mon
men
men
jol
jol
jōh
jōh
Oblique men
men
jōh
jōh

Within these classes there exist irregular nouns that decline slightly differently to the other nouns in their respective classes but still follow the general declension guidelines within those classes.

Irregularities
apş apş ("fruit") ɪ Sīl Sīl ("the Sun") ɪ ūjıpş ūjıpş ("apple") ɪ mēh mēh ("girl") ɪᴠ
Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
Direct apş
apş
apşe
apşe
Sīl
Sīl
Sīle
Sīle
ūjıpş
ūjıpş
ūjıpşe
ūjıpşe
mēh
mēh
mēdne
mēdne
Oblique appös
appös
Sűs
Sűs
ūjıψ
ūjıps

Adjectives

The strong-weak distinction common across other Germanic languages was leveled in Jovlish, leaving only one set of endings irrelevant to the presence of an article. Adjectives still retain declension for case, number, and gender however.

Positive declension
şīk şīk ("warm") īş īş ("tall, high") grīt grīt ("big, large")
Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
Masculine Feminine Masculine Feminine Masculine Feminine
Direct şīk
şīk
şīkī
şīkī
şīke
şīke
īş
īş
īşī
īşī
īşe
īşe
grīt
grīt
grītī
grītī
grīte
grīte
Genitive şīx
şīx
şīkre
şīkre
īşes
īşes
īşre
īşre
grīts
grīts
grītre
grītre
Dative şīke
şīke
īşe
īşe
grīte
grīte
müy müy ("stupid") ūqóh ūqóh ("angry") vıç vıç ("few")
Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
Masculine Feminine Masculine Feminine Masculine Feminine
Direct müy
müy
müyī
müyī
müye
müye
ūqóh
ūqóh
ūqóhī
ūqóhī
ūqóhe
ūqóhe
vıç
vıç
vıçī
vıçī
vıçe
vıçe
Genitive müys
müys
müyre
müyre
ūqóts
ūqóts
ūqóhre
ūqóhre
vıçes
vıçes
vıçre
vıçre
Dative müye
müye
ūqóhe
ūqóhe
vıçe
vıçe

Comparatives and superlatives are formed regularly using -(e)r (-(e)r) and -(e)st (-(e)st) respectively, with a large portion also employing umlauting. Irregular forms can arise out of either phonological shifts that obscure the forms or by full suppletion.

Comparative declension
şīk şīk ("warm") īş īş ("tall, high") grīt grīt ("big, large")
Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
Masculine Feminine Masculine Feminine Masculine Feminine
Direct şīker
şīker
şīk
şīk
şīkre
şīkre
īrr
īrr
īrrī
īrrī
īrre
īrre
mór
mór
mórī
mórī
móre
móre
Oblique şīkern
şīkern
şīkernī
şīkernī
īrrn
īrrn
īrrnī
īrrnī
mórn
mórn
mór
mór
müy müy ("stupid") ūqóh ūqóh ("angry") vıç vıç ("few")
Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
Masculine Feminine Masculine Feminine Masculine Feminine
Direct müyr
müyr
müy
müy
müyre
müyre
űqér
űqér
űqé
űqé
űqére
űqére
yıs
yıs
yısī
yısī
yıse
yıse
Oblique müyrn
müyrn
müyrnī
müyrnī
űqérn
űqérn
űqérnī
űqérnī
yısn
yısn
yıs
yıs
Superlative declension
şīk şīk ("warm") īş īş ("tall, high") grīt grīt ("big, large")
Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
Masculine Feminine Masculine Feminine Masculine Feminine
Direct şīxt
şīxt
şīxtī
şīxtī
şīxte
şīxte
īşt
īşt
īş
īş
īşte
īşte
mēst
mēst
mēstī
mēstī
mēste
mēste
Oblique şīxtn
şīxtn
şīxtnī
şīxtnī
īştn
īştn
īştnī
īştnī
mēstn
mēstn
mēst
mēst
müy müy ("stupid") ūqóh ūqóh ("angry") vıç vıç ("few")
Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
Masculine Feminine Masculine Feminine Masculine Feminine
Direct müyst
müyst
müystī
müystī
müyste
müyste
űqést
űqést
űqéstī
űqéstī
űqéste
űqéste
yıst
yıst
yıstī
yıstī
yıste
yıste
Oblique müystn
müystn
müystnī
müystnī
űqéstn
űqéstn
űqéstnī
űqéstnī
yıstn
yıstn
yıst
yıst

Verbs

Jovlish verbs conjugate for person, number, gender, tense, aspect, and mood using simple endings, and for voice using phrasal constructions. A given verb can fall into one of four categories:

Endings

A given weak verb has 9 sets of verbal endings, while a strong verb has 8. Simple verbal endings cover all persons by default, but mainly disambiguate tense (simple past, simple present, simple future), aspect (perfect) for all the aforementioned tenses, and mood (indicative, subjunctive) for some tense-aspect combinations. Apart from the future and perfect sets of endings which were formed from the reduction of verbal phrasal constructions, they were formed from the fusion (and sometimes full dropping) of post-verbal pronouns with the endings inherited from Old English:

  • Primary Endings used for the present indicative of both weak and strong verbs (ʟᴏᴊ ić clýs şvız (şvız))
  • Strong Secondary Endings used for the present subjunctive, the past indicative, and the past subjunctive of strong verbs (ʟᴏᴊ ić sćéaf şīfş (şīfş))
  • Weak Subjunctive Endings used for the present subjunctive of weak verbs (ʟᴏᴊ ić clýsa ić şvızāş (şvızāş))
  • Weak Past Endings used for the past indicative of weak verbs (ʟᴏᴊ ić clýsod ić şvızdeş (şvızdeş))
  • Future Indicative Endings used for the future indicative of both weak and strong verbs (ʟᴍᴊ ić... clýsn þeałf ić şvızēş (şvızēş))
  • Future Subjunctive Endings used for the future subjunctive of both weak and strong verbs (ʟᴍᴊ ić... clýsn þyłfa ić şvızűş (şvızűş))
  • Present Perfect Indicative Endings used for the present perfect indicative of both weak and strong verbs (ʟᴍᴊ ić... clýsod éo ić şvızöş (şvızöş))
  • Present Perfect Subjunctive Endings used for the present perfect subjunctive of both weak and strong verbs (ʟᴍᴊ ić... clýsod béo ić şvızīş (şvızīş))
  • Past Perfect Endings used for the past perfect of both weak and strong verbs (ʟᴍᴊ ić... clýsod hæd ić şvız (şvız))
  • Future Perfect Endings used for the future perfect of both weak and strong verbs (ʟᴍᴊ ić... clýsod þołft ić şvızōç (şvızōç))
Summary table
Corresponding Pronoun Simple Perfect
Primary Strong Secondary Weak Future Present Past Future
Past Subjunctive Indicative Subjunctive Indicative Subjunctive

-(e)ş
-(e)ş
-deş
-deş
-āş
-āş
-ēş
-ēş
-űş
-űş
-öş
-öş
-īş
-īş
-eç
-eç
-ōç
-ōç

-(e)st
-(e)st
-(e)h
-(e)h
-etst
-etst
-āh
-āh
-ēh
-ēh
-űh
-űh
-ösh
-ösh
-īh
-īh
-er
-er
-ōst
-ōst
et
et
-(e)h
-(e)h
-(e)d
-(e)d

-ēf
-ēf

-öh
-öh
-īf
-īf
-eth
-eth
-ōf
-ōf


-dī
-dī
-ēvī
-ēvī
-öhī
-öhī
-īvī
-īvī
-ethī
-ethī
-ōvī
-ōvī


-né
-né
-ūné
-ūné
-űné
-űné
-öhé
-öhé
-īné
-īné
-erné
-erné
-ōné
-ōné

-(e)st
-(e)st
-n
-n
-ūv
-ūv
-űv
-űv
-ösh
-ösh
-īv
-īv
-ern
-ern
-ōn
-ōn
ű
ű

-nö
-nö
-ūnö
-ūnö
-űnö
-űnö
-öhö
-öhö
-īnö
-īnö
-ernö
-ernö
-ōnö
-ōnö

Present

The present tense is used for actions/states happening in the present, future actions/states if context is clear, and atelic verbs. Weak and strong verbs share the indicative and imperative endings, but differ on the subjunctive endings.

Weak verbs
şvızn şvızn ("to close")
Simple Perfect Imperative
Indicative Subjunctive Indicative Subjunctive
Singular şvız
şvız
şvızāş
şvızāş
şvızöş
şvızöş
şvızīş
şvızīş
şvızest
şvızest
şvızāh
şvızāh
şvızösh
şvızösh
şvızīh
şvızīh
şvız
şvız
et şvızh
şvızh
şvızā
şvızā
şvızöh
şvızöh
şvızīf
şvızīf
şvızī
şvızī
şvızöhī
şvızöhī
şvızīvī
şvızīvī
Plural şvızé
şvızé
şvız
şvız
şvızöhé
şvızöhé
şvızīné
şvızīné
şvızest
şvızest
şvızn
şvızn
şvızösh
şvızösh
şvızīn
şvızīn
şvız
şvız
ű şvızö
şvızö
şvız
şvız
şvızöhö
şvızöhö
şvızīnö
şvızīnö
Strong verbs
şővn şővn ("to push")
Simple Perfect Imperative
Indicative Subjunctive Indicative Subjunctive
Singular şőfş
şőfş
şōfş
şōfş
şovöş
şovöş
şovīş
şovīş
şőfst
şőfst
şōfh
şōfh
şovösh
şovösh
şovīh
şovīh
şőf
şőf
et şőfh
şőfh
şōf
şōf
şovöh
şovöh
şovīf
şovīf
şővī
şővī
şōvī
şōvī
şovöhī
şovöhī
şovīvī
şovīvī
Plural şōvé
şōvé
şōv
şōv
şovöhé
şovöhé
şovīné
şovīné
şōfst
şōfst
şōvn
şōvn
şovösh
şovösh
şovīn
şovīn
şōf
şōf
ű şōvö
şōvö
şōv
şōv
şovöhö
şovöhö
şovīnö
şovīnö

Past

The past tense is used for actions/states which happened in the past, regardless of telicity. Weak verbs have dental-infixed endings in the singular, and both weak and strong verbs share the same nasal-infixed endings in the plural. It is of note that weak verbs do not have a distinct past subjunctive from the past indicative and that strong verbs use the same set of endings for the past indicative, present subjunctive, and past subjunctive.

Weak verbs
şvızn şvızn ("to close")
Simple Perfect
Singular şvızdeş
şvızdeş
şvız
şvız
şvızetst
şvızetst
şvızer
şvızer
et şvızd
şvızd
şvızeth
şvızeth
şvız
şvız
şvızethī
şvızethī
Plural şvız
şvız
şvızerné
şvızerné
şvızn
şvızn
şvızern
şvızern
ű şvız
şvız
şvızernö
şvızernö
Strong verbs
şővn şővn ("to push")
Simple Perfect
Indicative Subjunctive
Singular şīfş
şīfş
şufş
şufş
şov
şov
şīfh
şīfh
şufh
şufh
şover
şover
et şīf
şīf
şuf
şuf
şoveth
şoveth
şīvī
şīvī
şuvī
şuvī
şovethī
şovethī
Plural şuv
şuv
şoverné
şoverné
şuvn
şuvn
şovern
şovern
ű şuv
şuv
şovernö
şovernö

Future

The future tense is used for actions/states that will happen in the future, usually being telic.

Weak verbs
şvızn şvızn ("to close")
Simple Perfect
Indicative Subjunctive
Singular şvızēş
şvızēş
şvızűş
şvızűş
şvızōç
şvızōç
şvızēh
şvızēh
şvızűh
şvızűh
şvızōst
şvızōst
et şvızēf
şvızēf
şvızű
şvızű
şvızōf
şvızōf
şvızēvī
şvızēvī
şvızōvī
şvızōvī
Plural şvızūné
şvızūné
şvızűné
şvızűné
şvızōné
şvızōné
şvızūv
şvızūv
şvızűv
şvızűv
şvızōn
şvızōn
ű şvızūnö
şvızūnö
şvızűnö
şvızűnö
şvızōnö
şvızōnö
Strong verbs
şővn şővn ("to push")
Simple Perfect
Indicative Subjunctive
Singular şōvēş
şōvēş
şōvűş
şōvűş
şōvōç
şōvōç
şōvēh
şōvēh
şōvűh
şōvűh
şōvōst
şōvōst
et şōvēf
şōvēf
şōvű
şōvű
şōvōf
şōvōf
şōvēvī
şōvēvī
şōvōvī
şōvōvī
Plural şōvūné
şōvūné
şōvűné
şōvűné
şōvōné
şōvōné
şōvūv
şōvūv
şōvűv
şōvűv
şōvōn
şōvōn
ű şōvūnö
şōvūnö
şōvűnö
şōvűnö
şōvōnö
şōvōnö

Passive

Preterite present verbs

Jovlish preterite-present verbs behave like those of other germanic languages, using strong secondary endings for the present indicative, dental-infixless weak past endings for the past indicative, and weak subjunctive endings for the present subjunctive. Jovlish preterite-presents are completely irregular in regards to the Jovlish verbal system, though there exist some patterns and groupings between these verbs.

Preterite-Present stems
Stem vün vün
("to want")
nün nün
("to not want")
konn konn
("to be familiar with")
onn onn
("to wish")
monn monn
("to think")
münn münn
("to remember")
vótn vótn
("to know")
nótn nótn
("to not know")
Indicative Present singular v-
v-
n-
n-
kon-
kon-
on-
on-
mon-
mon-
mün-
mün-
vót-
vót-
nót-
nót-
Present plural vel-
vel-
nül-
nül-
vit-
vit-
nüt-
nüt-
Past vód-
vód-
nód-
nód-
kōy-
kōy-
ōy-
ōy-
mōy-
mōy-
mőy-
mőy-
ves-
ves-
nüs-
nüs-
Subjunctive present vel-
vel-
nül-
nül-
kon-
kon-
on-
on-
mon-
mon-
mün-
mün-
vit-
vit-
nüt-
nüt-
Future
Perfect kōy-
kōy-
ōy-
ōy-
mōy-
mōy-
mőy-
mőy-
ves-
ves-
nüs-
nüs-
Stem mēn mēn
("can; to fare")
mótn mótn
("may")
şēvn şēvn
("must; should; to owe ")
dērrn dērrn
("to dare")
nēhn nēhn
("to have")
dīşn dīşn
("to function")
óhn óhn
("to own")
vőqn vőqn
("to become")
Indicative Present singular mē-
mē-
mót-
mót-
şēv-
şēv-
dērr-
dērr-
nēh-
nēh-
dīş-
dīş-
óh-
óh-
vőq-
vőq-
Present plural moq-
moq-
şul-
şul-
dürr-
dürr-
nüq-
nüq-
duq-
duq-
oq-
oq-
vūh-
vūh-
Past meş-
meş-
mós-
mós-
şēvd-
şēvd-
dorr-
dorr-
nöş-
nöş-
doht-
doht-
óht-
óht-
vuqd-
vuqd-
Subjunctive present mē-
mē-
mót-
mót-
şül-
şül-
dürr-
dürr-
nüq-
nüq-
dű-
dű-
oq-
oq-
vūh-
vūh-
Future moq-
moq-
şul-
şul-
duq-
duq-
Perfect meş-
meş-
mós-
mós-
şēvd-
şēvd-
dorr-
dorr-
nöş-
nöş-
doht-
doht-
óht-
óht-
vuqd-
vuqd-

Irregular verbs

Vocabulary

Numerals

Swadesh list

Colors

Units of time

Times of Day

Weekdays

Months

Seasons

Countries of Europe

Planets and Major Moons

Sample texts

The Cold Winter is Near

Jovlish Flag.png Jovlish Flag of the United Kingdom (1-2).svg English
İşőjī veçıl bē jahī, smıvbüqén kumēvī.
(İşőjī veçıl bē jahī, smıvbüqén kumēvī.)
The cold winter is near, a snowstorm will come.

Mvēqmī köştdın küm, mfrīn.
(Mvēqmī köştdın küm, mfrīn.)
Come in my warm house, my friend.

Bövküm! segg& koş, huq& drekk.
(Bövküm! seggor koş, huqor drekk.)
Welcome! Come here, sing and dance, eat and drink.

Hīs mplan jahī.
(Hīs mplan jahī.)
That is my plan.

Feh, jol& kōvēqm mēqk obé.
(Feh, jolor kōvēqm mēqk obé.)
We have water, beer, and milk fresh from the cow.

Ó, &şīkī joşt!
(Ó, orşīkī joşt!)
Oh, and warm soup!

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Lord's Prayer

Jovaia Founding Legend

Jovlish Flag.png Jovlish Flag of the United Kingdom (1-2).svg English
YoProtögge ovgöŋbed inohhoh, imüş Űzzıdglöşests Sīvēq, fïqvol vēf&qzētejīççe sencesteaf, Konstontinupolon sīleth.
(YoProtögge ovgöŋbed inohhoh, imüş Űzzıdglöşests Sīvēq, fïqvol vēforqzētejīççe sencesteaf, Konstontinupolon sīleth.)
After the Angles' defeat by the bastard, the Great Sīvēq of Glöşest, with a host of 350 ships, sailed towards constantinople.


Freŋyabe, Eψónyaün, Mawritanyaor Sikilyanoŋ sīleth, hīs lone yononēvröfeov frīénhoh, hfōhorsesenceste zıdernö.
(Freŋyabe, Epsónyaün, Mawritanyaor Sikilyanoŋ sīleth, hīs lone yononēvröfeov frīénhoh, hfōh&sesenceste zıdernö.)
He sailed past France, around Hispania, along Mauretania and Sicily, liberating these lands from indefels as he and his host traveled.


Vīsmehos Konstontinupolon sīleth, &yoyolotre üyöde besloyeth.
(Vīsmehos Konstontinupolon sīleth, oryoyolotre üyöde besloyeth.)
He sailed to constantnople as a hero and defeated the heathen fleets.


Alex Vüzentyaktsor ümüşe Sīvēq-s ilone irÖxinőts yojóstvatece fēşeftt, ifspédleş yoyolotre dzīvn meşā, hō bőö'v.
(Alex Vüzentyaktsor ümüşe Sīvēq-s ilone irÖxinőts yojóstvatece fēşeftt, ifspédleş yoyolotre dzīvn meşā, hō bőö'v.)
Byzantine Emperor Alexius gifted Great Sīvēq the lands on the eastern shores of the Black Sea, if he can succesfully drive out the heathens occupying it.


Orhos, Jóvaya opbüşd vūthī.
(Orhos, Jóvaya opbüşd vūthī.)
And thus, Jovaia was established.