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Mergian: Difference between revisions

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==== Declension ====
==== Declension ====
Mergian retained much of the noun declensions of Gothic.
The declensions are organized by the ending they have in their accusative form. Thus, the declensions are
* -s declension
* -e declension
* -a declension
* -o declension
* -n declension
* -ij declension
* -r declension
* Empty declension
There are also slight differences per declension depending on the gender of the noun.
One interesting phenomenon of the declension system is that, verbs and adverbs are sometimes colloquially treated like nouns and are thus declined like ones. This only happens when they are preceded by a preposition. Consider the following examples:
* ''Afar img'''e''', við sig seem ni njef'' - 'After today, we will never see each other again'
In this sentence, ''imga'' 'today' is incorrectly treated like a noun and takes a dative ending. The proper way would have been to adverbalize ''imga'' and give a noun (so, ''imga'' 'today' should have become ''imzjijns dag'' 'today's day')
* ''Inne ubaven'''s''', ufremoddem loggem!'' - 'In having fun, we forgot the clock [lost track of time]'
In this sentence, ''ubaven'' 'to have fun' is incorrectly treated like a noun and takes a genitive ending. The proper way would have been to use a participle (so, ''ubaven'' 'to have fun' should have become ''ubavendai'' 'having fun (pl.)'
===== -s declension =====
The -s declension has contains two sub-declensions. All of its nouns are masculine.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+Main -s declension
|-
!
!Singular
!Plural
|-
!Nominative
| -s
| -o
|-
!Accusative
| -
| -ens
|-
!Genitive
| -e
| -ei
|-
!Dative
| -a
| -em
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+Example with ''lefs'' 'bread'
|-
!
!Singular
!Plural
|-
!Nominative
| ''leps''
| ''lebo''
|-
!Accusative
| ''lef''
| ''lebens''
|-
!Genitive
|''lebe''
|''lebei''
|-
!Dative
|''leba''
|''lebem''
|}
The second declension ends in a -o sound. It is a remnant of the old Gothic nouns ending in -s. The declension is the exact same, except the nominative ends in a ''-o'' and ''-z-'' infix anywhere else.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+Second -a declension
|-
!
!Singular
!Plural
|-
!Nominative
| -o
| -zo
|-
!Accusative
| -o
| -zens
|-
!Genitive
| -ze
| -zei
|-
!Dative
| -za
| -zem
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+Example with ''dzjo'' 'animal'
|-
!
!Singular
!Plural
|-
!Nominative
| ''dzjo''
| ''dzjozo''
|-
!Accusative
| ''dzjo''
| ''dzjozens''
|-
!Genitive
|''dzjoze''
|''dzjozei''
|-
!Dative
|''dzjoza''
|''dzjozem''
|}
There are three exceptions to the second -s declension. They are given below:
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+Exceptional -s declension
|-
!''hjo'' 'worker' <br/>
''tzrjo'' 'piece' <br/>
''snjo'' 'knee'
!Singular
!Plural
|-
!Nominative
| hjo <br/>
tzrjo <br/>
snjo
| þiva <br/>
triva <br/>
kniva
|-
!Accusative
| hjo <br/>
tzrjo <br/>
snjo
| þiva <br/>
triva <br/>
kniva
|-
!Genitive
|þive <br/>
trive <br/>
knive
|þivei <br/>
trivei <br/>
knivei
|-
!Dative
|þiva <br/>
triva <br/>
kniva
|þivem <br/>
trivem <br/>
knivem
|}
===== -e declension =====
The -e declension contains only words ending in -e. 


==== Derivation ====
==== Derivation ====
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|-  
|-  
| VI
| VI
| e
| a
| ou
| ou
| ''skebha'' 'I shave', ''skouf'' 'I shaved' <!--cons+h is silent-->
| ''skebha'' 'I shave', ''skouf'' 'I shaved' <!--cons+h is silent-->
Line 1,051: Line 1,214:


=== Prepositions ===
=== Prepositions ===
Mergian prepositions are typical to European languages. A preposition will have govern a certain case. Most prepositions, which are inherited from Gothic, govern the accusative or dative. Innovated prepositions govern the genitive.
Below is a non-exhaustive list of prepositions.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|+ Prepositions governed by the dative
|-
! English
! Mergian
! Example
|-
| at, in
| að
| að resna <br/> "at home"
|-
| at, on
| an
| an gadau <br/> "on the street"
|-
| after, in front
| afar
| afar ing <br/> "after you"
|-
| out of, from
| o
| o Rume <br/> "from Rome"
|-
| with [comitative]
| miþ
| miþ vledza <br/> "with a police officer"
|-
| before, behind, following
| for
| for valdem <br/> "as per the rules"
|-
| about, around
| bi
| bi egra <br/> "around the field"
|-
| away from, due to
| fram
| languks fram ima <br/> "far from him/her"
|-
| above, over
| uvar
| uvar alma <br/> "above everything"
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|+ Prepositions governed by the accusative
|-
! English
! Mergian
! Example
|-
| into, to
| að
| að rasn <br/> "to home"
|-
| up to, until
| for
| for statzjon <br/> "up until the station"
|-
| with [instrumental], through, by
| þerg
|}


=== Discourse particles ===
=== Discourse particles ===
Line 1,059: Line 1,288:


=== Negation ===
=== Negation ===
Negation in Mergian is done with the negative particle ''ni''. It has two additional forms, ''nin'' and ''nit''. ''Nin'' is a contraction of the Old Mergian ''ni ain'' "not one" and ''nid'' is a contraction of ''ni þed'' "not it". ''Ni'' can be used before any part of speech, but its usage is restricted with nouns and verbs. ''Nin'' is used with nouns and verbs and ''nid'' is used only with verbs or as a standalone word.
For verbs, the negative particle used changes depending on the transitivity of the verb and the presence of compliments.
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+
|-
!
! Intransitive
! Transitive
|-
! Has a direct object
| rowspan=2 | ni
| nin
|-
! Has no object
| nid
|}
''nin'' and ''nid'' should follow the verb and precede the object, but ''ni'' should come before. One exception is that, transitive verbs whose object can be inferred due to common usage do not take ''nit'' when the object is missing.
Consider the examples
* ''Ig veð nit'' "I don't know" (lit. "I know not it")
* ''Ig veð nin risti hisi edde Migea'' "I do not know anyone/a person named Micah" (lit. "I know not one person who is called Micah")
* ''Ig ni rougeage'' "I do not smoke [cigarettes]" (lit. "I do not smoke")


=== Interrogatives ===
=== Interrogatives ===
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