Valthungian: Difference between revisions

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{{Infobox language

|name = Valthungian, Grey Tongue

|nativename = Grējutungiška Rasta, Sō Grējuga Tunga

|nativename = Grējutungiška Rasta, So Grējuga Tunga

|pronunciation = /ˈgrai̯.juˌtuŋ.giʃ.kɑ ˈrɑs.tɑ, ~~sau̯~~ ˈgrai̯.ju.ɡɑ ˈtuŋ.gɑ/

|pronunciation = /ˈgrai̯.juˌtuŋ.giʃ.kɑ ˈrɑs.tɑ, so̞ ˈgrai̯.ju.ɡɑ ˈtuŋ.gɑ/

|creator = [[User:Bpnjohnson|BenJamin P. Johnson]],

creator of:

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|setting =

|familycolor = Indo-European

|fam1 = [[w:Indo-European_languages|Indo-European]]

|fam1 = [[wiki:Indo-European_languages|Indo-European]]

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

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

|fam3 = [[w:East_Germanic_languages|East Germanic]]

|fam3 = [[wiki:East_Germanic_languages|East Germanic]]

|fam4 = [[Griutungi]]

|fam5 = [[Old Valthungian]]

|fam6 = [[Middle Valthungian]]

|script = [[Valthungian#Alphabet_.26_Pronunciation|Valthungian Alphabet]] [[w:Latin script|Latin script]] (transliteration)

|script = [[Valthungian#Alphabet_.26_Pronunciation|Valthungian Alphabet]] [[wiki:Latin script|Latin script]] (transliteration)

|iso3 = qgt

|brcl = grey

}}

Valthungian is an [[w:East_Germanic_languages|East Germanic]] language descended from a language that was probably mutually intelligible with [[w:Gothic_language|Gothic]], though much of its corpus cannot have been inherited from the language of [[w:Ulfilas|Wulfila]]. It is likely, however, that the speakers of the ancestor of Valthungian did consider themselves Goths (or Gutai or Gutþiudōs), and that their language was mutually intelligible with other dialects of Gothic. The Valthungian relationship to “Classical Gothic” can be thought of as analogous to the relationship between Modern High German and [[w:Old_High_German|Old High German]] – that is, not a direct lineage, but the modern languages are descended from neighboring dialects spoken by people who would likewise have considered themselves to be “Gutisks,” in the case of Valthungian, or “Diotisk” in the case of German.

Valthungian is an [[wiki:East_Germanic_languages|East Germanic]] language descended from a language that was probably mutually intelligible with [[wiki:Gothic_language|Gothic]], though much of its corpus cannot have been inherited from the language of [[wiki:Ulfilas|Wulfila]]. It is likely, however, that the speakers of the ancestor of Valthungian did consider themselves Goths (or Gutai or Gutþiudōs), and that their language was mutually intelligible with other dialects of Gothic. The Valthungian relationship to “Classical Gothic” can be thought of as analogous to the relationship between Modern High German and [[wiki:Old_High_German|Old High German]] – that is, not a direct lineage, but the modern languages are descended from neighboring dialects spoken by people who would likewise have considered themselves to be “Gutisks,” in the case of Valthungian, or “Diotisk” in the case of German.

While Valthungian shares many of the areal changes common to [[w:North_Germanic_languages|North]] and [[w:West_Germanic_languages|West Germanic languages]], it is also marked by distinctive changes in palatalisation, which, while similar to those of Old English, are most likely influenced by contact with Romance and Slavic languages. Modern Valthungian can be traced back to [[Middle Valthungian]] (spoken from around 1200‒1600ᴀᴅ) through [[Old Valthungian]] (800‒1200ᴀᴅ) and ultimately to [[Griutungi]], which would likely have been thought of as a dialect of Gothic (400‒800ᴀᴅ).

While Valthungian shares many of the areal changes common to [[wiki:North_Germanic_languages|North]] and [[wiki:West_Germanic_languages|West Germanic languages]], it is also marked by distinctive changes in palatalisation, which, while similar to those of Old English, are most likely influenced by contact with Romance and Slavic languages. Modern Valthungian can be traced back to [[Middle Valthungian]] (spoken from around 1200‒1600ᴀᴅ) through [[Old Valthungian]] (800‒1200ᴀᴅ) and ultimately to [[Griutungi]], which would likely have been thought of as a dialect of Gothic (400‒800ᴀᴅ).

The name “Valthungian” comes from the name ''Valthungi'' – a Latin term likely derived from a pre-Old Valthungian name *''Walþungae'' – meaning “Forest-dweller,” likely a branch of or related to the [[w:Thervingi|Thervingians]] (''idem''), though the Valthungian people refer to themselves as ''Grējutungišk'', which is probably from an earlier ''[[w:Greuthungi|Griutuggs]]'' (the name of an Ostrogothic tribe living along the northern shore of the Black Sea), but which underwent some semantic reanalysis over the generations and came to mean ‘the grey-tongued ones’. In turn, they call their language ''Grējutungiška Rasta'' ‘Grey-tonguish Language’ or just ''Sō Grējuga Tunga'' ‘the Grey Tongue’.

The name “Valthungian” comes from the name ''Valthungi'' – a Latin term likely derived from a pre-Old Valthungian name *''Walþungae'' – meaning “Forest-dweller,” likely a branch of or related to the [[wiki:Thervingi|Thervingians]] (''idem''), though the Valthungian people refer to themselves as ''Grējutungišk'', which is probably from an earlier ''[[wiki:Greuthungi|Griutuggs]]'' (the name of an Ostrogothic tribe living along the northern shore of the Black Sea), but which underwent some semantic reanalysis over the generations and came to mean ‘the grey-tongued ones’. In turn, they call their language ''Grējutungiška Rasta'' ‘Grey-tonguish Language’ or just ''So Grējuga Tunga'' ‘the Grey Tongue’.

==Writing System==

===Alphabet & Pronunciation===

Here I give the traditional Valthungian letters followed by the romanisation I use for them in the second row. This romanisation is otherwise used throughout this article.

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!''' '''

!'''[[w:International_Phonetic_Alphabet|IPA]]'''

!'''[[wiki:International_Phonetic_Alphabet|IPA]]'''

!'''Name'''

!'''Name Meaning'''

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!''' '''

!'''[[w:International_Phonetic_Alphabet|IPA]]'''

!'''[[wiki:International_Phonetic_Alphabet|IPA]]'''

!'''Name'''

!'''Name Meaning'''

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!''' '''

!'''[[w:International_Phonetic_Alphabet|IPA]]'''

!'''[[wiki:International_Phonetic_Alphabet|IPA]]'''

!'''Name'''

!'''Name Meaning'''

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## (The rounded front vowels can only occur as the result of i-umlaut, which could only arise from a stressed vowel.)

For example, ''in'''í'''la '' ‘excuse’, ''ak'''é'''čim'' 'even so'; but ''gar'''ǣ'''ts'' ‘correct’ or ''~~gav~~'''œ'''~~rčin~~'' ‘to handle’.

For example, ''in'''í'''la '' ‘excuse’, ''ak'''é'''čim'' 'even so'; but ''gar'''ǣ'''ts'' ‘correct’ or ''gavr'''œ'''čin'' ‘to handle’.

====Ligatures & Liaisons====

<!--====Ligatures & Liaisons====

When two vowels come together at word boundaries, the words may form a ligature, particularly if one of the words is a “grammar word,” such as an article, preposition, pronoun, short adjective, conjunction, &c. This is most common with the articles (''sā'' + ''a-'', ''sō'' + ''u-'', etc.) and particles (e.g ''nī'' + ''i-'').

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**** ''sō akuže, su·akuže'' ‘the axe’

**** ''þō ī, þu·ī'' ‘those which’

-->

===Orthographic Variants===

There are a few regional and stylistic variations in the orthography of Valthungian romanisation.

* In some areas, rather than indicating non-initial stress by placing an acute diacritic on the stressed vowel, the vowel of the initial ''unstressed'' syllable is marked with a grave diacritic. This is not standard anywhere, but is often used in children’s books and language learning tools, as it is a more consistent indicator of stress than the acute, which is not deployed over long vowels or rounded front vowels. It is often used in combination with the acute stress system, and the acute may also be used on otherwise exempt characters. E.g.:

** ''~~ǧupspríngna~~'' ‘to leap up’ → ''~~ǧùpspringna~~'' or ''~~ǧùpspríngna~~''

** ''ǧukospríngna'' ‘to leap up’ → ''ǧùkospringna'' or ''ǧùkospríngna''

** ''gadrynis'' ‘symphony’ → ''gàdrynis'' or ''gàdrýnis''

** ''miðlǣði'' ‘sympathy’ → ''mìðlǣði'' or ''mìðlǣ́ði'' (sometimes ''mìðlǽði'')

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==Phonology==

===Vowels===

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"

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===Consonants===

~~~~''(Pardon the compactified consonant table. I know it doesn't quite all line up “properly,” but it does make more sense this way as regards the Valthungian language. If in doubt, rely on the transcription and not the row or column.)''~~~~

''(Pardon the compactified consonant table. I know it doesn't quite all line up “properly,” but it does make more sense this way as regards the Valthungian language. If in doubt, rely on the transcription and not the row or column.)''

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"

!width=100px|

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|'''t · d''' [t̪~t̪ʰ · d̪]

|

|'''č · ǧ''' [ʧ · ʤ]

|'''č · ǧ''' [ʨ · ʥ]

|'''k · g''' [k~kʰ · g]

|'''k · g''' [k~kʰ · ɡ]

|-

!'''Nasal'''

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|

|''' · n'''<~~small>1</sup~~></~~small~~> [ŋ]

|''' · n'''<ref>Before 〈g〉 or 〈k〉.</ref> [ŋ]

|-

!'''Fricative'''

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|'''ð · þ''' [ð · θ]

|'''s ·''' [s]

|'''š · ž''' [ʃ · ʒ]

|'''š · ž''' [ɕ · ʑ]

|'''h ·''' [h]

|-

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|

|}

~~1Before 〈g〉 or 〈k〉. ~~

===Synchronic Changes and Reflexes of Diachronic Changes===

====Voicing Alternation====

This rule is inherited from Proto-Germanic. The rule is not persistent, but the variation in forms still affects the inflections of nouns, verbs, and adjectives in Valthungian, and is readily assimilated into neologisms and borrowings. (A similar v/f alternation rule exists in English, for example in singular ''knife'' and plural ''knives'', or the noun ''strife'' and the verb ''strive''.) The Gothic version of this rule caused alternation between 〈f〉, used only at the end of a word or before an unvoiced consonant, and 〈b〉 used elsewhere, e.g. ''giban'', ‘to give’, ''gaf'', ‘gave’. Likewise the relationship between 〈þ〉 and〈d〉. There are three main realisations of this rule in Valthungian:

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====Palatalisation====

Palatalisation is another historic rule that is no longer persistent in Valthungian, but has wide-ranging implications for inflections in Valthungian. There are actually several types of palatalisation that occur in Valthungian, but they can all be boiled down into the following rules:

*Masculine and feminine nouns whose roots end in 〈d〉 or 〈g〉 become palatalised before 〈s〉 in the nominative singular of a-, i-, and u-stems (but not feminine ō-stems). E.g. Griutungi ''*dags'' ‘day’, ''*gards'' ‘yard’ become ''daǧ'', ''~~garǧ~~''. This type of palatalisation only occurs when there was a /dz/ or /gz/ present in the language at some point historically (from Griutungi/Gothic /ds/ or /gs/).

*Masculine and feminine nouns whose roots end in 〈d〉 or 〈g〉 become palatalised before 〈s〉 in the nominative singular of a-, i-, and u-stems (but not feminine ō-stems). E.g. Griutungi ''*dags'' ‘day’, ''*gards'' ‘yard’ become ''daǧ'', ''graǧ''. This type of palatalisation only occurs when there was a /dz/ or /gz/ present in the language at some point historically (from Griutungi/Gothic /ds/ or /gs/).

*A much more common form of palatalisation, however, is that which occurs whenever the ending of a noun, verb, or adjective begins with 〈j〉, e.g. strong masculine ja-stem nouns or adjectives or class 1 weak verbs. In these cases, the following occurs:

**d or g + j → ǧ

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====[b]/[v] Alternation====

A less common alternation is that of 〈b〉 and 〈v〉. This occurs in the same environment as the second type of palatalisation (above), but instead of a true palatalisation, instead there is a shift of 〈v〉 to 〈b〉; or, more accurately, some paradigms without an original 〈j〉 are able to shift from 〈b〉 to 〈v〉 when intervocalic, but those with 〈j〉 are blocked from spirantizing.

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====Umlaut====

Umlaut is another of those sound laws that no longer happens actively in the language, but it has become indicative of specific tenses or cases in the language, and may appear analogically in certain words.

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====Coronal Consonant Assimilation====

This rule has a formidable name, but it is actually common to all Germanic languages. This rule states that whenever a coronal consonant (namely, d, t, or þ) is directly followed by 〈t〉 or 〈st〉, the former consonant 〈s〉. This accounts for the English word ''best'', from earlier ''betst'', from *''batest''. This applies mainly to second person singular preterit of strong verbs, e.g. ''ǧutna'' ‘to pour’ and ''biǧin'' ‘to bid’ have a second person preterit of ''gǭst'' ‘you poured’ and ''bast'' ‘you bade’, rather than the otherwise expected **''gǭtt'' and **''baþt''.

====Blocking of Metathetical Unpacking====

Another formidable name, but what this means is that at various times historically, sound changes caused unstressed /a/ to disappear before sonorants (/l/, /r/, /m/, or /n/), turning them into syllabics. This happened at least once before the Gothic era, giving rise to words like *''bagms'' and *''aþn'', and again before Valthungian, most notably collapsing the infinitive ending ''-an'' to ''-n''. Later on, syllabics were “unpacked;” that is, they regained the /a/ that had been lost, but it now appeared after the sonorant instead of before it. For example, Griutungi *''brōþar'' ‘brother’ (Gothic ''brōþar'') and later Old Valthungian ''brouðar'' became Middle Valthungian ''brôðʀ'' with syllabic /r̩/, and eventually Modern Valthungian ''brōðra''. However, there are a few instances where this unpacking didn’t happen because the restoration of 〈a〉after the sonorant would have rendered the word unpronounceable, in which case the word reverts back to its pre-syllabic state.

Another formidable name, but what this means is that at various times historically, sound changes caused unstressed /a/ to disappear before sonorants (/l/, /r/, /m/, or /n/), turning them into syllabics. This happened at least once before the Gothic era, giving rise to words like ''bagms'' and ''aþn'', and again before Valthungian, most notably collapsing the infinitive ''-an'' to ''-n''. Later on, syllabics were “unpacked;” that is, they regained the /a/ that had been lost, but it now appeared after the sonorant instead of before it. For example, Griutungi ''*brōþar'' ‘brother’ (Gothic ''brōþar'') and later Old Valthungian ''brouðar'' became Middle Valthungian ''brôðʀ'' with syllabic /r̩/, and eventually Modern Valthungian ''brōðra''. However, there are a few instances where this unpacking didn’t happen because the restoration of 〈a〉after the sonorant would have rendered the word unpronounceable, in which case the word reverts back to its pre-syllabic state.

The practicality of this rule as it applies to modern Valthungian is that:

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*Masculine strong a-stem nouns ending in 〈–n〉 have the the dative plural ending of 〈–am〉 (as above) and the accusative plural ending of 〈–ans〉 rather than 〈–nas〉, e.g. ''ǭns'' ‘oven’ has the dative plural of ''ǭnam'' and the accusative plural of ''ǭnans'' rather than **''ǭnma'' and **''ǭnnas''.

*Strong a-stem adjectives ending in 〈–n〉 have a masculine accusative singular of 〈–an〉 rather than 〈–na〉, e.g. ''ǣns'' → ''ǣnan'', not ''**ǣnna''

*The third person plural indicative of strong verbs and weak class 3 verbs end in ''~~-anþ~~'' rather than **''~~naþ~~''.

*The third person plural indicative of strong verbs and weak class 3 verbs end in ''–anþ'' rather than **''–naþ''.

====Assimilation of [r] and [s]====

Historically, this is a sound change that occurred in the transition from Proto-Germanic to Gothic and is no longer persistent, but it has specific reflexes that affect Valthungian paradigms.

The change initially applies to “light”-syllable nouns with stems ending in 〈-s〉 or 〈-r〉 in the masculine and feminine classes that take a final 〈-z〉 in the nominative singular. E.g. PGmc. *''weraz'', *''drusiz'' → (Post-Germanic Short Unstressed Vowel Deletion) → *''werz'', *''drusz'' → (Final Obstruent Devoicing) → *''wers'', *''druss'' → (r/s-Assimilation) → Griutungi ''wer'', ''drus'' (cf. Gothic ''waír'' /wer/, ''drus'').

Later, beginning around the time of Early Middle Valthungian, this change was expanded analogously to other nouns and adjectives which had “heavy” syllables, and eventually the rule emerged that nouns and adjectives ending in 〈-~~r〉 and 〈-s〉 do~~ not take an (additional) 〈-s〉 in the nominative singular, though they otherwise follow the paradigm of their particular stem. (E.g. ''*bērs'' → ''bēr'' ‘boar’, ''*stiur'' → ''sčur'' ‘steer’. One notable example of this phenomenon is the Germanic ''tersaz'' ‘''mentula''’ which became ''*ters'' in Griutungi, but was then reanalyzed as an exception to the original r-rule (instead of the s-rule that it actually is), and eventually it became ''ter'' in Valthungian. It remains, however, an unkind word.)

Later, beginning around the time of Early Middle Valthungian, this change was expanded analogously to other nouns and adjectives which had “heavy” syllables, and eventually the rule emerged that nouns and adjectives ending in 〈-r〉do not take an (additional) 〈-s〉 in the nominative singular, though they otherwise follow the paradigm of their particular stem. (E.g. ''*bērs'' → ''bēr'' ‘boar’, ''*stiur'' → ''sčur'' ‘steer’. One notable example of this phenomenon is the Germanic ''tersaz'' ‘''mentula''’ which became ''*ters'' in Griutungi, but was then reanalyzed as an exception to the original r-rule (instead of the s-rule that it actually is), and eventually it became ''ter'' in Valthungian. It remains, however, an unkind word.)

====Affix Anaptyxis====

When a prefix ends in the same letter as the root, /a/ is inserted to break up the resulting geminate. /a/ may also be added to avoid awkward consonant clusters. This is just part of a larger change in the general structure of the language in which many unstressed syllables appeared unbidden in Late Middle and Early Modern Valthungian causing the language to be almost entirely iambic. In Modern Valthungian all stressed syllables (primary and secondary) must de separated by an unstressed syllable.

Some of the most frequent are:

*af+f: Griutungi ''*affilhan'' → ''af'''a'''~~fílþna~~'' ‘to hide away’

*af+f: Griutungi ''*affilhan'' → ''af'''a'''flījan'' ‘to hide away’

*fer+r: Griutungi ''*ferrinnan'' → ''fer'''a'''rítnan'' ‘to attain’

*un+n: Griutungi ''*unnutans'' → ''un'''a'''nútans'' ‘unused; useless’

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==Pronouns==

===Personal Pronouns===

The genitive pronouns form the base of the possessive determiners, but the third person non-reflexive genitives are never inflected. The third person singular and plural reflexive pronouns are identical. The non-singular pronouns may also take a reciprocal particle ''mīsa'', roughly equivalent to ‘each other’ or ‘one another.’

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===Reflexive and Reciprocal Pronouns===

The third person reflexive pronouns are inherited from Indo-European. The other pronouns form their reflexives from a compound with the third person form. The accusative and dative for most forms are merged.

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===Indefinite Pronouns===

The interrogative and negative pronouns can take the adverbial complement ''hun'', which gives them the sense of ‘any’. Additionally, the interrogative pronouns may double as elective pronouns. For example, ''huat'' ‘what’ or ‘something’; ''huat hun'' ‘anything’.

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===Distributive Pronouns===

The distributive pronouns are non-singular pronouns formed when the personal pronouns were fused with the distributive particles ''huaðru'' ‘each of two’ and ''huerižu'' ‘each of many’. In most forms they have now become inseparable from their root components; e.g. compare the dual genitive second person ''inkur'' and distributive ''huaðrižu'', but the distributive pronoun ''inkuáðrižu''. While the distributives as determiners, by definition, take a singular verb, the distributive pronouns take the non-singular verb of their respective pronouns, e.g. ''Aplas huerižu gatiða itnas'' ‘Each apple was eaten’, but ''Īshuerižu gatiðun itna'' ‘Each of them was eaten’.

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|-

|}

<nowiki>*</nowiki> Form used before a consonant.~~ ~~

<nowiki>*</nowiki> Form used before a consonant. † Form used before a vowel.

† Form used before a vowel.

There are complex rules around how and when to use the elided forms of the articles. For simplicity’s sake it is broken down into forms used before vowels or consonants, though this doesn’t always apply to all vowels or all consonants. Expect a more detailed article on liaison someday maybe.

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==Numbers==

===Declinable Numerals===

====Singular (‘one’)====

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"

|-

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====Dual (‘two, both’)====

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"

! !!colspan=4| Numeral !! !! colspan=4| Distributive

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====Trial (‘three, all three’) ====

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"

! !!colspan=4| Numeral !! !! colspan=4| Distributive

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===Undeclinable Numerals===

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"

|-

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Number terms higher than ‘thousand’ are ostensibly borrowed from Latin, though they contain their own Germanic innovations, e.g. ''þriljǭn'' ‘trillion’, ''fiðriljǭn'' ‘quadrillion’, ''fimfiljǭn'' ‘quintillion’, instead of the expected **''triljǭn'', **''kuaðriljǭn'', and **''kuintiljǭn''.

Another note concerning the higher numbers: Valthungian follows the ''[[w:Long_and_short_scale|short scale]]'' for higher numbers (whereas many European languages currently use the long scale); that is, each new number term is one thousand times larger than the previous term (whereas in the long scale, each new term is one million times larger). This is further confused by the now-standard European “hybrid” model where intermediate terms in the long scale are applied to the “thousands” with the suffix ‘-ard’. The following table is applicable to most modern standards:

Another note concerning the higher numbers: Valthungian follows the ''[[wiki:Long_and_short_scale|short scale]]'' for higher numbers (whereas many European languages currently use the long scale); that is, each new number term is one thousand times larger than the previous term (whereas in the long scale, each new term is one million times larger). This is further confused by the now-standard European “hybrid” model where intermediate terms in the long scale are applied to the “thousands” with the suffix ‘-ard’. The following table is applicable to most modern standards:

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"

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===Ordinal Numbers and Other Number Forms===

Ordinal numbers are usually formed by adding a dental suffix to the end of a number, though there is some suppletion for the first and second ordinals, and the third is irregular (just as is the case in English). In Proto-Germanic and Gothic, all of the ordinals except for first and second took only the weak declension, but all ordinals now take both strong and weak declensions according to standard rules of adjectives.

The multiplicative numbers arise from a conflation of the word ''þīfs'' ‘time, occurrence’ with the genitive singular form of the ordinal number, resulting in a robust albeit historically incorrect derivation system. In Griutungi, the concept of multiple occurrences was expressed simply as a number and the accusative of the word ''þīhs'' ‘time, occurrence’: ''ǣn þīhs'' ‘once’, ''tua þīhsa'' ‘twice’, ''þrija þīhsa'' ‘three times’, and so on. Gradually these constructions fused together (Old Valthungian: ''aenþijhs'', ''~~tuaþijhsa~~'', ''þrijþijhsa''…) and perhaps based on the more common analogue of ‘twice’, around the time of Early Middle Valthungian they were reanalyzed as a genitive ending affixed to an ordinal (Middle Valthungian: ''ǣnþis'', ''tuaþis'', ''þriþis''…) The forms of the first three multiplicatives aren’t even particularly odd, in terms of language evolution, but that apparent ordinal + genitive construction was then applied analogously to the rest of the numbers, so where we might otherwise expect ''fim þīfs'' ‘five times’ to have become ''fimþis'', instead we find the ordinal form ''fimftis''.

The multiplicative numbers arise from a conflation of the word ''þīfs'' ‘time, occurrence’ with the genitive singular form of the ordinal number, resulting in a robust albeit historically incorrect derivation system. In Griutungi, the concept of multiple occurrences was expressed simply as a number and the accusative of the word ''þīhs'' ‘time, occurrence’: ''ǣn þīhs'' ‘once’, ''tua þīhsa'' ‘twice’, ''þrija þīhsa'' ‘three times’, and so on. Gradually these constructions fused together (Old Valthungian: ''aenþijhs'', ''tvaþijhsa'', ''þrijþijhsa''…) and perhaps based on the more common analogue of ‘twice’, around the time of Early Middle Valthungian they were reanalyzed as a genitive ending affixed to an ordinal (Middle Valthungian: ''ǣnþis'', ''tuaþis'', ''þriþis''…) The forms of the first three multiplicatives aren’t even particularly odd, in terms of language evolution, but that apparent ordinal + genitive construction was then applied analogously to the rest of the numbers, so where we might otherwise expect ''fim þīfs'' ‘five times’ to have become ''fimþis'', instead we find the ordinal form ''fimftis''.

Fractions are formed from the archaic genitive plural form of numbers followed by ''dǣlaro'', literally ‘of ___ parts’, e.g. ¾ = þrīs fiðra dǣlaro = ‘three of four parts’. (This is equivalent to the modern German construction of affixing ''-tel'' to the end of numbers, e.g. ''drittel'', ''viertel'', ''zehntel'', &c., ''-tel'' being a direct ~~equivalent of~~ ''dǣl-''.) The genitive numbers are a holdover from ancient times, and are rarely used outside of the context of fractions; in fact, most fractions are formed by simply adding a suffix of ''-a'' to the end of a number, without any consideration that it might have once been a genitive.

Fractions are formed from the archaic genitive plural form of numbers followed by ''dǣlaro'', literally ‘of ___ parts’, e.g. ¾ = þrīs fiðra dǣlaro = ‘three of four parts’. (This is equivalent to the modern German construction of affixing ''-tel'' to the end of numbers, e.g. ''drittel'', ''viertel'', ''zehntel'', &c., ''-tel'' being a direct cognate to ''dǣl''.) The genitive numbers are a holdover from ancient times, and are rarely used outside of the context of fractions; in fact, most fractions are formed by simply adding a suffix of ''-a'' to the end of a number, without any consideration that it might have once been a genitive.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"

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| tuaþis

| twice, two times

| ~~halbž~~, tuǣǧa dǣlaro

| hlafs, tuǣǧa dǣlaro

| half

|-

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! 20

| tuǣtiǧist

| ~~twǣtiǧista~~

| tuǣtiǧista

| twentieth

| tuǣtiǧistis

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===Alternative Numbers===

The Gothic number system, modeled after the Greek system (in turn modeled after the Hebrew), which used the letters of the alphabet instead of separate unique characters, continued to be used well into the middle ages ([[Middle Valthungian]]), and certain taboo numbers came to be called by their character representation rather than their numeric form. Primarily among these numbers was ‘13’, which was written in Gothic as ''·ig·''. This also occurred with the numbers ‘113’ (''rig''), ‘213’ (''sig''), ‘313’ (''tig''), ‘413’ (''wig''), and ‘513’ (''fig''). (This was not mirrored in the higher numbers of the hundreds, because most of those combinations would have been unpronounceable.)

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==A Note on Terminology: “Strong” vs. “Weak”==

In most Germanic languages, nouns, verbs, and adjectives tend to be broken into categories considered “strong” and “weak.”

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==Nouns==

Noun classes differ by suffix vowel and by gender. They may also differ by glides (/j/ or /w/) suffixed to the stem and/or the presence of infixive /n/. The main classes are those stems in /a/ or /ō/, in /i/, in /u/, or in /n/ (as described below: See [[#A_Note_on_Terminology:_.E2.80.9CStrong.E2.80.9D_vs._.E2.80.9CWeak.E2.80.9D|“Strong” vs. “Weak”]]). There is also a small class of nouns in /r/ having to do with familial relations. Some former noun classes in Gothic (such as consontant-stem and nd-stem nouns) have been regularised in Valthungian through paradigmatic levelling, and their declensions have been assimilated into other classes.

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There are some minor variations, more of which are detailed in [[Valthungian/a-Stem Nouns|Valthungian a-Stem Nouns]].

====ja-Stems====

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====ija-Stems====

The ija-stems are a variation of the ja-stems, but these follow stems with long vowels or multiple consonants or syllables before the ending. (This is the modern Valthungian reflex of something called [[w:Siever's Law#Sievers's_law_in_Germanic|Siever’s Law]].) The main difference between ja-stems and ija-stems in Modern Valthungian is that there is no palatalisation in the nominative and genitive singular, though there is still umlaut. (This same pattern occurs in the class 1 weak verbs.) More details at [[Valthungian/a-Stem Nouns#ija-Stems|Valthungian a-Stem Nouns]].

The ija-stems are a variation of the ja-stems, but these follow stems with long vowels or multiple consonants or syllables before the ending. (This is the modern Valthungian reflex of something called [[wiki:Siever's Law#Sievers's_law_in_Germanic|Siever’s Law]].) The main difference between ja-stems and ija-stems in Modern Valthungian is that there is no palatalisation in the nominative and genitive singular, though there is still umlaut. (This same pattern occurs in the class 1 weak verbs.) More details at [[Valthungian/a-Stem Nouns#ija-Stems|Valthungian a-Stem Nouns]].

====wa-Stems====

The wa-stems nouns have –w– after the stem instead of –j–, and they tend to be a lot less dramatic than the j-stems because there is no palatalisation or umlaut or Siever’s Law to worry about. They are, however, plagued by another rule called [[w:Holtzmann's Law|Holtzmann’s Law]] – or an extension of it, anyway – which causes an unexpected –g– to pop up in a few of the declensions. More details at [[Valthungian/a-Stem Nouns#wa-Stems|Valthungian a-Stem Nouns]].

The wa-stems nouns have –w– after the stem instead of –j–, and they tend to be a lot less dramatic than the j-stems because there is no palatalisation or umlaut or Siever’s Law to worry about. They are, however, plagued by another rule called [[wiki:Holtzmann's Law|Holtzmann’s Law]] – or an extension of it, anyway – which causes an unexpected –g– to pop up in a few of the declensions. More details at [[Valthungian/a-Stem Nouns#wa-Stems|Valthungian a-Stem Nouns]].

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====ijō-Stems====

The ijō-stems are a bit weird, mainly because the nominative singular seems to have collapsed in Proto-Germanic into a single -i (more of [[w:Siever's Law|Siever’s]] shenanigans), leaving a modern reflex of a simple -e following an unumlauted, unpalatalised stem. Otherwise, the ijō-stems are indistinguishable from the jō-stems in modern Valthungian.

The ijō-stems are a bit weird, mainly because the nominative singular seems to have collapsed in Proto-Germanic into a single -i (more of [[wiki:Siever's Law|Siever’s]] shenanigans), leaving a modern reflex of a simple -e following an unumlauted, unpalatalised stem. Otherwise, the ijō-stems are indistinguishable from the jō-stems in modern Valthungian.

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''~~Visna~~'' is easily the most heavily suppleted of the Germanic verbs. Aside from the obvious ''~~vis~~-'' stem, which is completely missing from the present tenses, the present shows two other stems, ''i-'' and ''sī''. The imperative also has an anomalous ''ī'' as an alternative for the second person singular, though it is unrelated to the ''i-'' stem of the present, and may actually come from Latin ''ī'', imperative form of ''ire'' (‘to go’).

''Wisna'' is easily the most heavily suppleted of the Germanic verbs. Aside from the obvious ''wis-'' stem, which is completely missing from the present tenses, the present shows two other stems, ''i-'' and ''sī''. The imperative also has an anomalous ''ī'' as an alternative for the second person singular, though it is unrelated to the ''i-'' stem of the present, and may actually come from Latin ''ī'', imperative form of ''ire'' (‘to go’).

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===Compound Tenses===

====Forming the Perfect====

In Gothic, there was no explicit perfect or perfective aspect in verbs. In order to express the perfect, sometimes the prefix ''ga-'' was added to verbs. Latin had a dedicated perfect inflection in verbs.

In later Germanic and Romance languages, the perfect was formed by combining an auxiliary verb (usually ‘have’ or ‘be’) with a participle. In languages which make the distinction (such as French, German, and Italian), ‘have’ is used with most transitive verbs, while ‘be’ is reserved for intransitive verbs dealing with change of state or motion. Valthungian maintains a similar transitive/intransitive distinction as the aforementioned languages, but the distinction is much broader (purely transitive/intransitive, rather than the various rules, exceptions, and sub-rules that govern ''“être/sein/essere”'' verbs), and the difference in the realisation of the two types is much more extreme.

Intransitive verbs are formed in the Romance style by creating a compound of the verb ''[[Contionary: wisna#Valthungian|~~visna~~]]'' and the past participle. ~~(The participle is an adjective, and must be declined to agree with the subject.)~~

Intransitive verbs are formed in the Romance style by creating a compound of the verb ''[[Contionary: wisna#Valthungian|wisna]]'' and the past participle.

*''S·'''īst''' lēkare '''~~vorðna~~'''.''

*''S·'''īst''' lēkare '''vroðna'''.''

**‘She has become a doctor.’

*''Is '''~~vas~~''' hǣma '''~~gangnas~~'''.''

*''Is '''was''' hǣma '''gangna'''.''

**‘He had gone home.’

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*''S·ītmit '''gaf gā'''.''

**‘She had given it to him.’

*''Ik þik '''~~sǣja~~ gā'''.''

*''Ik þik '''sǣjua gā'''.''

**‘I have seen you.’

====Forming the Future====

The future is formed by using the auxiliary ''genǧin'' ‘to go’ followed by an infinitive (not unlike future compound constructions with ''go'' in multiple European languages).

*''Ik '''genǧa''' ~~þō hord~~ '''lūkna'''.''

*''Ik '''genǧa''' þo hroþ '''lūkna'''.''

**‘I '''will lock''' the door.’

*''Ik nī '''gangiða''' nījo ~~þō livran af hǣða hun~~ '''ligna'''.''

*''Ik ni '''gangiða''' nījo '''ligna''' þo livran af hǣða hun.''

**‘I was never '''going to read''' that book anyway.’

====Forming the Passive====

Gothic transitive verbs had a passive form, but this has disappeared from Valthungian. Instead, the passive may be formed using a variety of auxiliary verbs determined by the volition of the agent and the subject (patient). By their very nature, passives need not specify an agent, but an agent can be indicated using the genitive (as we would use ‘by’ in English).

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|}

'''Agent/Patient Deliberate''': This tends to refer to things that happen as a result of mutual agreement

*''Ik '''gatiða''' ~~forðat~~ vork '''~~fergilðiþs~~'''.''

*''Ik '''gatiða''' forða vork '''fraglíðiþ'''.''

**‘I '''was paid''' for the work.’

*Þǣ ankýmbiðas '''langiðun''' þis ~~borðaþjugis~~ '''~~ganōguða~~'''.

*Þǣ ankýmbiðas '''langiðun''' þis broðaþjugis '''ganōguþ'''.

**‘The diners '''were served''' by the waiter.’

'''Agent Deliberate / Patient Unintentional''': These auxiliaries are used mainly when the agent is a person and the patient is either an object or a person who is unaware of the agent’s intention or an unwilling participant in the action.

*''Ik '''gat''' þis ~~veris~~ '''~~slaguns~~'''.''

*''Ik '''gat''' þis weris '''slagun'''.''

**‘I '''was hit''' by the man.’

*''~~Sā vagnas~~ '''þagiða''' þiža mœuǧis '''~~fariþs~~'''.''

*''S·wagnas '''þagiða''' þiža mœuǧis '''fariþ'''.''

**‘The car '''was driven''' by the girl.’

'''Agent Unintentional / Patient Deliberate''': This usually refers to agents (usually inanimate) that are being used by a patient for a specific purpose.

*''Ik '''þagiða''' þižas fœ̄ðinis '''~~nutriškiþs~~'''.''

*''Ik '''þagiða''' þižas fœ̄ðinis '''nutriškiþ'''.''

**‘I '''was nourished''' by the food.’

*''Þū '''langiðas''' (~~þiža intǣkninis~~) ~~toðíža~~ miðéndina '''~~tuguns~~'''.''

*''Þū '''langiðas''' (þiž·intǣkninis) toðiža miðéndina '''tugun'''.''

**‘You '''were led''' to that conclusion (by the evidence).’

'''Agent/Patient Unintentional or Inanimate''': This final group is possibly the most common, and refers to inanimate agent and patient, or when the agent or patient is an unwilling participant in the action. It may refer especially to natural phenomena, e.g. ‘blown down by wind’ or ‘rained on’.

*''Ik '''skīkiða''' þis þljuðis '''~~angǣsiþs~~'''.''

*''Ik '''skīkiða''' þis þljuðis '''angǣsiþ'''.''

**‘I '''was startled''' by the noise.’

*''Þǣ lǭvas '''skagiðun''' þižas rynins '''~~afbórna~~'''.''

*''Þe lǭvas '''skagiðun''' þižas rynins '''avbrón'''.''

**‘The leaves '''were carried away''' by the stream.’

====Immediacy: Forming the Recent Past and Immediate Future====

The adverb ''straks'' can be used in conjunction with most tenses as an “immediacy particle.” In the past tenses, this translates roughly to the word ‘just’, as in “I just did that.” In the future, it is most closely translated as ‘about to’.

*''Ik '''straks''' āt gā.''

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====Forming the Progressive====

The progressive tenses are not used often in Valthungian, but they can be a useful way to indicate that something is left unfinished, since the Perfect – originally a perfective indicating completed action – has taken on more of a perfect meaning, including that of a more generalised past tense.

The progressive is formed using the auxiliary verb ''sitna'' ‘to sit’ and the preposition ''bī'' ‘by’, followed by the infinitive. (In very formal language, you may encounter ''sitna bī'' followed by the dative of the nominalized form of the verb, e.g. ‘I am drawing’ may be rendered as ''Ik sita bī vrǣtina'' rather than the expected ''Ik sita bī vrǣčin''.

The progressive is formed using the auxiliary verb ''sitna'' ‘to sit’ and the preposition ''bī'' ‘by’, followed by the infinitive. (In very formal language, you may encounter ''sitna bi'' followed by the dative of the nominalized form of the verb, e.g. ‘I am drawing’ may be rendered as ''Ik sita bi vrǣtina'' rather than the expected ''Ik sita bi vrǣčin''.

*''Ū '''sitistu''' njužis '''bī drinkna''' gā?''

*''Ū '''sitistu''' njužis '''bi drinkna''' gā?''

**‘Have you '''been drinking''' again?’

*''Ik '''sita bī skrīvna''' þō bisāt mīna. Ranive '''sitik bī drinkna''' gā.''

*''Ik '''sita bi skrīvna''' þo bisāt mīna. Ranive '''sitik bi drinkna''' gā.''

**‘'''I’m writing''' my dissertation. Of course I’ve '''been drinking'''.’

==Adjectives==

In Valthungian, adjectives can be strong or weak (as with adjectives in any Germanic language that declines). The general rule is: If a nouns takes a determiner (article, possessive<ref>Only when a possessive is used without an article; otherwise the possessive itself is also declined as weak.</ref>, quantifier, &c), its accompanying adjective is weak; otherwise it is strong.

In Valthungian, adjectives can be strong or weak (as with adjectives in any Germanic language that declines). The general rule is: If a nouns takes a [[#Determiners|determiner]] (article, possessive<ref>Only when a possessive is used without an article; otherwise the possessive itself is also declined as weak.</ref>, quantifier, &c), its accompanying adjective is weak; otherwise it is strong.

Predicative adjectives do not decline; they take the form of the strong neuter singular regardless of what they modify.

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For example:

*''~~Sā wer~~ duala ist dual.'' ‘The stupid man is stupid.’

*''S·wer duala ist dual.'' ‘The stupid man is stupid.’

*''Sō kuina duala ist dual.'' ‘The stupid woman is stupid.’

*''So kuina duala ist dual.'' ‘The stupid woman is stupid.’

*''~~Þat~~ kliþ duala ist dual.'' ‘The stupid child is stupid.’

*''Þa kliþ duala ist dual.'' ‘The stupid child is stupid.’

*''~~Þǣ avnas~~ dualnas sinþ dual.'' ‘The stupid husbands are stupid.’

*''Þ·avnas dualnas sinþ dual.'' ‘The stupid husbands are stupid.’

*''~~Þōs~~ kwēnis dualans sinþ dual.'' ‘The stupid wives are stupid.’

*''Þos kwēnis dualans sinþ dual.'' ‘The stupid wives are stupid.’

*''Þō brana dualan sinþ dual.'' ‘The stupid children are stupid.’

*''Þo brana dualan sinþ dual.'' ‘The stupid children are stupid.’

But strong declension for 3rd person possessives<ref>With the exception of ''sīns'', which declines normally like ''mīns'' and ''þīns'' and takes a weak adjective.</ref>, since they don’t decline!

Valthungian: Difference between revisions

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