Fén Ghír: Difference between revisions
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When the initial word ends with a vowel and the second begins with a consonant, the structure remains unchanged. | When the initial word ends with a vowel and the second begins with a consonant, the structure remains unchanged. | ||
{| class="bluetable lightbluebg | {| class="bluetable lightbluebg collapsible collapsed" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:middle; width:200px;" | ||
|+Merging Sandhi | |+Merging Sandhi | ||
! style="text-align:left" width="100"|Initial Word | ! style="text-align:left" width="100"|Initial Word | ||
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|V-CVC | |V-CVC | ||
|} | |} | ||
In the above table, C represents a consonant, V a verb and L represents a lenitioned consonant when possible. Finally, bracketed letters are dropped. | |||
Typical syllabic structure of a Fén word then is; | Typical syllabic structure of a Fén word then is; | ||
(V)-(CV)-(CV)-CVC-(V) | (V)-(CV)-(CV)-CVC-(V) | ||
Lenition in these occurs in non-initial [and occaisionally initial] consonants due to historic merging and thus cannot necessarily be predicted. | |||
Exceptions occur rarely due to independant consonant vowels, where CVC-V-CVC structure can occur. This is rare however. Further exceptions may occur due to common endings such as "én", "on" or "an" which serve more as suffixes and thus do not interfere with syllable structure. | Exceptions occur rarely due to independant consonant vowels, where CVC-V-CVC structure can occur. This is rare however. Further exceptions may occur due to common endings such as "én", "on" or "an" which serve more as suffixes and thus do not interfere with syllable structure. | ||
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===Determiners=== | ===Determiners=== | ||
{| class="bluetable lightbluebg | {| class="bluetable lightbluebg collapsible collapsed" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:middle; width:750px;" | ||
|+Fén Determiners | |+Fén Determiners | ||
! style="text-align:left" width="75"|Proximal Determiner | ! style="text-align:left" width="75"|Proximal Determiner |
Revision as of 19:04, 10 May 2013
"An bhé chuc cún dhér dó gil me dí. Och tel lé gérul del ténan me dí, lú chí lú ba lú lé bhoc del lór me dí cór tol. En gar dí me gon."-Lúdhí Fén Ógil Níradh.
"We take from Iron it's rightful prize. And if we sail to the wide world's end, all know that we'll return from the depths a thousand times. Death cannot keep us."-Old Fén War Song.
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no |
Introduction
This is my first attempt at a conlang, originally conceived as a part of a larger game that never took off. It is the only language from the game that reached anything nearing completion. Inspiration and influence were drawn both from my earliest impression of Irish while falling back on my stronger knowledge of English and French. The grammar was largely completed before I had much experience with linguistic theory or the conlanging community, thus while functional it may be somewhat backwards at times and occaisionally lacks for easy terms to descripe itself.
General information
The language is designed for a conworld and as such aims to be as unique as possible. However as both an early conlang and due to initial worries for aesthetic features as well as content it draws heavily on a few sources;
Irish Gaelic served as the largest inspiration, more obviously in regards to grammatical lenition, Head first and phonology in general. English and French are heavy influences as well due to my stronger knowledge of them.
Some aspects are new, largely aiming towards simplification while remaining unique; the isolating aspect, copula and relative clauses are unique to the language and derived from my desire to keep things as simple and categorical as possible.
Morphemes originally were derived by mixing French, Irish and English words beyond the point of recognition. This was later largely supplanted both with the use of randomized generators and compounds and other mutations derived from these morphemes.
Fén history
Derived from the Galav culture which spread far during the early iron age. The Fén came about as the Galav spread over what would come to be known as Nílíra or the Fén Highlands and eventually spread over the rest of the penisula. The Fén are the only remaining people of the Galav culture that retain complete cultural independance under a High King. They are in turn divided into six petty kingdoms and the northern island colonies, with four major cultural sub-groups and dialects. Culturally, they are adopting the style of their imperial neighbours and loan words along with it.
To do
"Té dégep me gír cur tol fabhen pon éloc léc cíp dó dégep ghír."
"Language is always expanding to meet the needs of an expanding language."
Current Issue: What purpose does accusative serve directly? Having been influenced heavily by Irish, Fén uses "cór", "del", "ce" and "dó" in the same way many languages use accusative. Currently in a lot of cases, it either emulates English or could be made into an adjective in many ways. The Accusative is redundant, it may be wise to elimate another case for the sake of shortening or make Fén into a VSO order.
Also, vocabularly. Always more vocabularly.
Phonology
The following is a rough approximation of Címén Ghír, or "Sacred Fayn" which is used taught and used as a neutral dialect amongst the educated classes;
Consonants
Labial | Alveolar | Post-Alveolar | Velar | Glottal | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | m | n | |||
Stop | p b | t d | k g | ||
Fricative | f v | s | x | h | |
Affricate | ʒ | ɣ | |||
Approximant | w | ||||
Trill | r | ||||
Lateral app. | l |
Vowels
Front | Back | |
---|---|---|
Close | i | u |
Near-Close | ɪ | ʊ |
Close-mid | e | o |
Open-mid | ɛ | |
Open | a a: | ɑ ɑ: |
Alphabet
Consonants | Lenition | Exceptions |
---|---|---|
b | w | v at the end of the word and before i&e. |
c | x | s before i&e. |
d | ʒ | |
f | (silent) | |
g | ɣ | |
l | l | |
m | w | |
n | n | |
p | f | |
r | r | |
t | h |
Vowel | Short | Long |
---|---|---|
A | a | a: |
E | ɛ | e |
I | ɪ | i |
O | ɑ | o |
U | ʊ | u |
Irregularities
The dialect represented here is the formal version of Fén which is resistant to external sandhi and as the dialect from which the written language is derived, most changes are reflected in spelling. However in the case of root words and compounds, it may be seen that fronted vowels vowels are "lengthened" before sonorants; i becomes í, e becomes é. In these cases an accent is usually added ignoring etymological rules.
This rule is also followed in the case of a and á, which are pronounced as ɑ and ɑ: respectively when prior to a sonorant with "a" indistinguishable from "o". This is the only Sandhi which is not recorded as some dialects offer alternate pronunciations which keep "a" distinguishable from "o".
Phonotactics
Compounds in Fén are constructed with strict sandhi rules, which reflect the fundamental phonotactic laws of Fén;
When the initial word ends with a consonant and the second begins with one, the consonant is dropped from the initial word and the consonant in the latter is lenited, if possible.
When the initial word ends with a vowel and the second begins with a vowel, the vowel is dropped from the initial word.
When the initial word ends with a consonant and the second begins with a vowel, the consonant and vowel become a few consonant.
When the initial word ends with a vowel and the second begins with a consonant, the structure remains unchanged.
Initial Word | Latter Word | Final Word |
---|---|---|
CVC | CVC | CV(C)-LVC |
V | V | (V)V |
CVC | V | CV-CV |
V | CVC | V-CVC |
In the above table, C represents a consonant, V a verb and L represents a lenitioned consonant when possible. Finally, bracketed letters are dropped.
Typical syllabic structure of a Fén word then is;
(V)-(CV)-(CV)-CVC-(V)
Lenition in these occurs in non-initial [and occaisionally initial] consonants due to historic merging and thus cannot necessarily be predicted.
Exceptions occur rarely due to independant consonant vowels, where CVC-V-CVC structure can occur. This is rare however. Further exceptions may occur due to common endings such as "én", "on" or "an" which serve more as suffixes and thus do not interfere with syllable structure.
Similarly, there are exceptions outside of these words, typically amongst words who merged prior Pyrittyl-Galavic split. These are sometimes visible due to a lack of internal lenition, though that may occur for other reasons.
Grammar
Pronouns
Pronoun | Fén |
---|---|
1st Sing. | di |
2nd Sing. | re |
3rd Sing. | lo |
1st Pl. [excl.] | dí |
1st Pl. [incl.] | rí |
2nd Pl. | ré |
3rd Pl. | ló |
Determiners
Proximal Determiner | Distal Determiner | Alternative Determiner | Proximal Determiner (Pl) | Distal Determiner (Pl) | Alternative Determiner (Pl) | Interrogative Determiner | Relative Determiner | Interrogative Determiner (Pl) | Relative Determiner (Pl) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ít | Ítá | Ítin | Ítibh | Ítábh | Ítina | At | Ét | Atibh | Étibh |
This | That | This Other Thing | These | Those | These Other Things | What? | Which | What? (pl) | Those things which... |
Ígel | Ígelá | Ígelin | Ígelibh | Ígelábh | Ígelina | Agel | Égal | Agelibh | Égalibh |
This Person | That Person | This Other Person | These People | Those People | These Other People | Who? | Who | Who Are They? | Those Ones Who... |
Bhoci | Bhocá | Bhocin | Bhocibh | Bhocábh | Bhocina | Abéc | Ébéci | Abécibh | Ébécibh |
Now | Then | This Other Time | These Times | Those Times | These Other Times | When? | When | Which Time? | Those Times When... |
Íc | Ícá | Ícin | Ícibh | Ícábh | Ícina | Acá | Écá | Acábh | Écábh |
Here | There | This Other Place | These Places | Those Places | These other places | Where? | Where | Which Places? | Those Places Where... |
Íloc | Ílocá | Ílocin | Ílocábh | Ílocibh | Ílocina | Aloc | Éloc | Alocibh | Élocibh |
This Reason | That Reason | This Other Reason | These Reasons | Those Reasons | These Other Reasons | Why? | The Reason Which | Why? | Those Reasons Which... |
Íd | Ídá | Ídin | Ídábh | Ídibh | Ídina | Ad | Éd | Adibh | Édibh |
This Way | That Way | This Other Way | These Ways | Those Ways | These Other Ways | How? | How | Which Ways? | Those Methods Which... |
In Fén, Determiners double as pronouns if the meaning is of them is made clear. relative pronouns precede relative clauses, as in English. ex. "I will give my word to whoever merits it."
The initial determiner or proximal determiner, fills the role of both "this" and sometimes "the" in English, once established in a conversation the proximal determiner sticks and is used in cases even where "that" would be used in English by the other speaker.
The distal determiner serves to emphasize a contrast, thus would be used in sentances with a proximal determiner or shortly afterwards in order to posit some sort of relationship between the two or simple emphasize them in contrast to each other.
The alternative determiner is used in order to switch the proximal or distal determiner. Where in English this doesn't receive any special emphasis, in Fén the first time the subject which the term "this" refers to in a conversation is changed, an "Alternative Determiner" is used, in order to show as much.
Ígelá and Ígel see much less use than the simpler pronouns, such as "lo" but in written word, they might follow in the sentance after a relative pronoun, though "lo" in that case is also acceptable and more common. Ígel may be used in a sense similar to "on" in French or "one" in English.
Quantifying determiners
Fén Ghír | English |
---|---|
Tol Med (ba) [Noun] | Enough (of) |
Tol (ba)[Noun] | All (of) |
Ró Lú ba [Noun] | Too Much of |
Lú (ba) [Noun] | Many/(Much of) |
Ra (ba) [Noun] | Some (of) |
Éna (ba)[Noun] | Few (of) |
Ró Éna ba [Noun] | Too Few |
Ne Én (ba) [Noun] | None |
It should be noted that these do not cause a noun to pluralize.
On their own, these give an amount of something that one possesses, when a possessive "ba" is inserted then it's a quantity of the total and is used similarly to the difference in English between "A lot" and "A lot of".
There are two import cases that this can precede Cídér and Fabhan.
- If preceding Cídér it is a general statement on how likely something is, literally how much possibility it has. "Éna ba cídér" is "rarely".
- If preceding Fabhan it refers both how long until something occurs and how often something occurs; "(Lé bhé dén dir) Ne Én Fabhan (cur ít)" Means "(This will be done in) No Time" while "(Bhé dén dir) Ne Én ba Fabhen (cur ít)" means "This was never done" or more literally "This is done none of the time".
Verb and noun phrases
Fén language branches leftwards on Verb/Noun Phrases. Adjectives, Adverbs and Possessive precede the Verb/Noun.
Verb phrase
Temporal Auxiliary verbs | Adverbs | Mood Auxiliary verbs | Quantity Adverb | Verb |
---|
+Quantity in this case refers to the number of times an action is performed rather than the number of people performing it; "Hit twice" would be used rather than "Hit two times"
Verbs are modified by the adjectives preceding them and since grammatically an adjective can often be used as a noun and vica versa, the noun in a verb phrase has the first possible consonant aspirated and always precedes either a preposition or if it is a part of a list, a subcoupla.
Verbs are followed by the Subject [Accusative Noun]. In cases where the division is unclear [due to the verb doubling as a temporal adverb for example] is when the preposition "ag" is used to make the Accusative.
Noun phrase
Preposition* | Adjective for Gen. Noun | Genative Noun | Genative Preposition | Adjective | Quantity | Noun | Determiner |
---|
Nouns work in a manner similar to verbs. A particular quality in nouns is that they are either preceded by a preposition, a relative determiner, a subcoupla or the end of the sentance.
Lenition
If a noun or verb is preceded by number, adjectives or an adverb, then lenition occurs in the first consonant.
Sight->Cím
Dark Sight (A Foreboding Vision)->Pél chím.
Very dark sight-> Bér pél chím
Copula
A Sentence may begin with a Copula, this gives the context of whether the sentance is positive, negative or comparative.
Copula | English |
---|---|
An | It is that... |
Ach | Is it that... |
En | It is not that... |
Ech | Is it not that... |
In | If it is (...), then it is(...) |
Ich | Is it that if (...), then (...) |
On | If it is (...), then (...) is not. |
Och | Is it that if it is (...), then (...) is not. |
'An' is often dropped if the speaker feels that the sentences are clearly divided by his tone. Someone speaking fast, with an accent or with a complicated sentence and meaning, will use "An". Writers will use it to create a sense of formality, especially in accounts and reports. Sometimes it will be added in order to emphasize the division or contrast with the between to sentances. In English it might be directly translated as "Yet" or "Though", but it can also be used in a formal list prefacing important items, where "Therefore" or "Thus" could be used.
These serve as basic contrasts and correlatives, In and On are often used to imply causality between two sentances though technically only state the correlation of two clauses. Depending on the truth value of a the first sentance, it can either be a causal "thus" statement or a conditional "if" statment.
Subcopula
Subcopula are for individual causes of negatives or causal statements within verb or noun phrases that do not affect the truth value of the entire sentance.
Subcopula | English |
---|---|
Na | It is that... |
Cha | Is it that... |
Ne | It is not that... |
Che | Is it not that... |
Ni | If it is (...), then it is(...) |
Chi | Is it that if (...), then (...) |
No | If it is (...), then (...) is not. |
Cho | Is it that if it is (...), then (...) is not. |
Grammatical order
Fén syntax is relatively flexible in principle; each noun phrase begins with a preposition and ends with a noun. There is a strong sense of natural order in the language, which is as follows;
Using these terms, the Fén sentance order becomes;
Relative Determiner | Copula | Verb | Direct Object | Indirect Object | Subject | Locative [Clause] | Temporal [Clause] | Causal [Clause] | Perspective [Clause] |
---|
Verbal clauses
Verbs are given tenses in a fashion similar to English; Have, Is or Go precede the verb in various orders to give it a tense.
Tense | Fén | English | Adverb Type |
---|---|---|---|
Present | [Verb] | [Verb] | Temporal |
Present Progressive | Té [Verb] | [Be] [Verb]ing | Temporal |
Simple Past | Bhé [Verb] | [Verb]ed | Temporal |
Past Progressive | Bhé Té [Verb] | Was [Verb]ing | Temporal |
Past Perfect Simple | Bhé Bhé [Verb] | Had [Verb]ed | Temporal |
Past Perfect Progressive | Bhé Bhé Té [Verb] | Had Been [Verb]ing | Temporal |
Present Perfect Simple | Té Bhé [Verb] | Has [Verb]ed | Temporal |
Persent Perfect Progressive | Té Bhé Té [Verb] | Has Been [Verb]ing | Temporal |
Future Simple | Lé [Verb] | Will [Verb] | Temporal |
Future Perfect Simple | Té Lé [Verb] | Is Going To [Verb] | Temporal |
Future Progressive I | Lé Té [Verb] | Will be [Verbing] | Temporal |
Future Simple II | Lé Bhé [Verb] | Will Have [Verb]ed | Temporal |
Futured Progressive II | Lé Bhé Té [Verb] | Will Have Been [Verbing] | Temporal |
Conditional | Med | Would | Mood |
Subjunctive | Tel | May | Mood |
Obligatory | Cún | Must | Mood |
Passive | Dén | Is [Verbed]ed | Voice |
All adverbs not listed here are categorized as "Other". These adverbs make up the majority and do not describe the Mood, Voice or Time of an object.
It shoud also be noted in that Adverbal order is important particularly in terms of mood and voice adverbs;
Where adverbs precede the order of the mood adverb, that mood or voice adverb is affected rather than the verb itself.
Vocative noun phrase
The person who is being addressed usually precedes the rest of the sentance. This is particularly used when addressing to get their attention someone;
"Dóthan, bhoc íc." | |||||||
/do'han, wɑk ic / | |||||||
Dóthan.VOC | bhoc | íc | |||||
Joan | Come | Here | letter.n.sg | -pat.n.sg | pen.m.sg | -m.ins | write/ind.dyn.m.sg |
"Joan, come here." |
It may also be worked into the sentance, preceding the subject, re [thou], ré [you] or dé [we]. This is used to clarify or single out a subject;
"Bhoc íc me Dóthan re?" | |||||||
/Wɑk ic mɛ do'han rɛ/ | |||||||
Bhoc | íc | me- | -Dóthan- | -re | |||
Come | Here | SBJ.Aux- | -Joan.VOC- | -2S | |||
"Come here, Joan." |
Nomative noun phrase
This is the subject or actor in a sentance. It usually comes around the end of a sentance, unless the location or time of the action is being framed.
Nomative nouns are marked with "me".
"Bhé chím lírod me Dim." | |||||||
/ve xim lir'ɑd mɛ dɪm/ | |||||||
bhé- | -chím | lírod | me- | -Dim | |||
PST.Aux- | -V\See | Here | SBJ.Aux- | -Jim.VOC | |||
"Jim saw the ball." |
It should be noted that in "to be" sentances [which use té as the principle verb] there is usually no agent or actor. This is covered in the "té" section.
Accusative noun phrase
Accusative nouns are the direct objects of the sentance, which follow the verbs immediately. They are identified largely by syntax as they follow the verb immediately. There is a vestigal "ag" but this is not used except in rare cases of ambiguity.
Indirect noun phrases
This refers to most cases of indirect objects which usually immediately follow Accusative nouns. In this category are both dative and instrumental. The difference between the two being order alone; Dative follows after Accusative, while Instrumental and Relative will follow after Dative or the relevant noun.
Framing noun phrases
These are similar to a dependant clauses in English, though necessarily not conditional; these frame the place, time and reason why an action happened as well as an original source. It should be noted that if a place is part of the action or only partial, then that place should be either a Accusative/Dative [I went to the field] or relative [I went to the person who was at the field].
- Instrumental phrase; Objects which are used as instruments in order to perform an action.
- Locative phrase; Objects which indicate where the action is taking place.
- Temporal phrase; Objects which indicate when the action is taking place. Closely related to Locative.
- Causal phrase; Objects which indicate for what reason an action is taking place.
- Perspective phrase; Object which is the source of the information.
The above four are markers for dependant clauses which frame the action and thus typically come after the noun. For poetic reasons or reasons of suspence, these may be shifted about just as in English.
Prepositional relations in Fén
Fén | English | Type |
---|---|---|
Me | Nomative | |
Ag | Accusative | |
Nér | Against | Accusative/Dative |
Dó | From | Accusative/Dative |
Del | To | Accusative/Dative |
Debh | Towards | Accusative/Dative |
Rel | Than | Accusative/Dative |
Cun | Like | Accusative/Dative |
Rú | By | Instrumental |
Cór | Under | Accusative/Dative/Locative |
Ce | Over | Accusative/Dative/Locative |
Cu | In[to] | Accusative/Dative/Locative |
Tonúr | Around | Accusative/Dative/Locative |
Núr | Near | Accusative/Dative/Locative/Temporal |
Nédén | Opposite | Locative |
Cóbh | Before | Locative/Temporal |
Cébh | After | Locative/Temporal |
Debh | Until | Locative/Temporal |
Cur | At/During | Locative/Temporal |
Pon | For/Because of | Causal |
Tén+++ | According | Subjective |
"Ce" is also typically used as "about": "They are talking about that" becomes; Té ghír ce ítá me ló.
Debh implies doing something with the aim of one thing but not achieving it or at least where the success is in doubt. This gives it a slightly different application than the English word "Towards"
Cóbh and Cébh imply only position and time, rather than a goal:
"They came after me" becomes "Bhé bhoc debh di me ló" unless one means "They arrived after I did"
The prepositions with multiple types can be determined by either syntax or subject following it:
- Accusative/Locative ambiguity is resolved by whether or not the case precedes the Nomative Noun.
- Locative/Temporal is resolved by whether the action listed is a place or a time.
It is worth noting that the translations here are done with an English subject-object relation in mind rather than the word order one:
A is under B can translate to Té B cór A or Té A ce B. This translation assumes the former in order to avoid switching voices.
Because of the relatively strict word order and preposition use, there is no declension or suffixes to differenciate between adjectives, adverbs, nouns and verbs.
Other prepositions
Ba
Ba is a possessive Marker, which until any other preposition in Fén is preceded the genative case that it creates and further is unique in that it may appear at any point in the syntax relative to other prepositions without altering the meaning of it
Bhé thal del re ba bélém me lo. | |||||||
/ve hal dɛl rɛ ba belem mɛ lo/ | |||||||
Bhé- | -thal | del- | -re- | -ba- | -bélém | me- | -lo |
PST.Aux- | -V\Walk | To- | -2S- | -POSS- | -House | SBJ.Aux- | -3S |
"She went to your house." |
Bhe (ne)
Bhe is like "Ba" remarkable in that it can occur anywhere in syntax. However, the word it marks, unlike Ba, follows it.
Bhé chím lo ébéci lé me lo me ún bhe ginebh. | |||||||||||
/ve xim lɑ ebesi le mɛ un vɛ gɪnev/ | |||||||||||
Bhé- | -chím | lo- | -ébéci- | -lé- | me- | -lo | me- | -ún | bhe- | -ginebh | |
If | -PST.Aux- | -V\See | 3S- | -When.Rel- | -Go- | -SBJ.Aux- | -He | SBJ.Aux- | -Girl | With- | -Flowers |
"The girl with flowers when he left. |
A "ne" preceding the bhe marks it as a negative, and thus should be translated as "without".
"Bhé chím lo ba lé me ún bhe ne ban ghinebh." | |||||||||||||
/ve xim lɑ e'bes'i le mɛ un vɛ nɛ ban ɣɪn'ev/ | |||||||||||||
Bhé- | -chím | lo- | -ébéci- | -lé- | me- | -lo | me- | -ún | bhe- | -ne- | -ban- | -ghinebh | |
If | -PST.Aux- | -V\See | 3S- | -When.Rel- | -Go- | -SBJ.Aux- | -He | SBJ.Aux- | -Girl | With- | -NEG- | -Red- | -N\Flowers |
"The girl without red flowers saw when he left." |
Fén and clauses
In Fén a great deal of focus are put upon various clauses in a sentance. There are three basic types which occur for different reasons;
Primary clauses
These are essentially a full sentance on their own but they may be linked with the above copula. They typically begin with a copula or a verb (in cases where the copula would be dropped) and conclude with the subject. These are essentially sentances on their own and follow typical word order;
Copula | Verb | Object | Indirect Object | Subject |
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I give you the ball.
becomes;
Bél lirod del re me di.
Dependent clauses
In Fén there are two types of dependent clauses which are quite distinct from eachother. One depends upon the initial copula, which often make the rest of the sentance dependant on them. These sorts of sentences involve two full clauses, where the second is dependent on the first;
"On bhé dhir re ba ghóbhar me re, tel lec ra ba délag me re.'' | ||||||||||||||
/ɑn ve ʒir rɛ ba ʒo'war mɛ rɛ, tɛl lɛk ra ba de'lag mɛ rɛ/ | ||||||||||||||
on | bhé- | -dhír | re- | -ba- | -Góbhar | me- | -re | Tel- | -lec | ra- | -ba- | -délag | me- | re |
If | PST.Aux- | -V\Do | You- | -POSS- | -Work | SBJ.Aux- | -2S | SBJV.Aux- | -Drink | Some- | -Of- | -Whiskey | -SBJ.Aux- | 2S |
If you finished your work, you can have some of the whiskey.. |
The other form of dependant clause in Fén is one which rather than describe a distinct action that the first is dependant on, rather describe the context in which the action takes place. These invovles reasons, adding perspective to a statement or giving the time/place a sentance takes place in. These Clauses begin preposition and end either the whole sentance or else with another clause marking another dependant clause:
"On bhé dhir tol ít me di pon re.. | |||||||
/ɑn ve ʒir tɑl it rɛ pɑn rɛ/ | |||||||
on | bhé- | -dhír | tol- | -ít | pon- | -re | |
If | PST.Aux- | -V\Do | All- | -This | For- | -You | |
I did all of this for you. |
Lé lé lúran me di cur cédhina. | |||||||
/le le lur'an mɛ dɪ kʊr se'ʒɪn'a/ | |||||||
lé- | -lé | lúran | me- | -di | cur- | -cédhina | |
If | -FTR.Aux- | -Go | South | SBJ.Aux- | -I | During- | -Winter |
"I'm going to go south during winter." |
"Bhé bhé ghobhár bhe bhen dhénil rel íc me di ce tegír." | |||||||||||
/ve ve ɣo'wa:r vɛ vɛn ʒen'ɪl rɛl ik mɛ dɪ sɛ tɛg'ir/ | |||||||||||
Bhé- | -bhé- | -ghobhár | bhe- | -bhen- | -dhénil | rel- | -íc | me- | -di | ce- | -tegír |
PST.Aux- | -PST.Aux- | -V\Work | With- | -More- | -Weight | Than- | -Here | SBJ.Aux- | -1S | On- | -Farm |
At the farm, we used to work harder than here." |
In some cases there may be multiple dependant clauses;
"Lé chím re me di ce teghír cur cédhina bhoci." | |||||||||||
/le xim rɛ mɛ dɪ sɛ te'ɣir kʊr se'ʒɪn'a wɑsɪ/ | |||||||||||
Bhé- | -bhé- | -ghobhár | bhe- | -bhen- | -dhénil | rel- | -íc | me- | -di | ce- | -tegír |
PST.Aux- | -PST.Aux- | -V\Work | With- | -More- | -Weight | Than- | -Here | SBJ.Aux- | -1S | On- | -Farm |
'"'I will see you this winter at the farm." |
The order in these dependant clauses is usually: Locative-Temporal-Causal-Perspective.
Relative clauses
In Fén relative clauses are rather common and often mark another action within the sentance. These begin with a relative determiner, however there are no strict rules on there ending. Verbally this is usually distinguished by tone, while writers may use commas or expect their readers to understand based off of context. 'ci and 'cibh are gaining popularity as verb and written endings in some faster speaking dialects, but are not yet considered standard in Fén.
"Bhé ralat del elin ét bhé cuc di ba tenír". | |||||||||
/ve ra'lat dɛl ɛ'lɪn et ve kʊk dɪ ba tɛ'nir/ | |||||||||
Bhé- | -ralat | del- | -elin- | -ét | bhé- | -cuc | di- | -ba- | -tenír |
PST.Aux- | -Shout | To- | -Woman- | -Who.Rel | PST.Aux- | -Took | 1S- | -POSS- | -Bread |
"I shouted at the woman who took my bread." |
These relative clauses can sometimes be worked into the shorter form of dependant clauses to express cause which is something rare in English, the result is something like this;
"Bhé lé lodénen me dí pon éloc léc gínemel cípa." | |||||||||||
/ve le dɛl lɑ'den'ɛn mɛ di pɑn e'lɑk lek gin'ɛm'ɛl cip'a/ | |||||||||||
Bhé- | -lé | del | -lodénen | me- | -dí | pon- | -éloc | léc | gínemel- | -chíp- | -a |
PST.Aux- | -Go | To- | -Store | SBJ.Aux- | -3P | For | Get | Fishing- | -N\Needs- | -P | |
"We went to the store to get fishing supplies." |
Although, it could also be expressed with dependant clause using a conditional copula;
"On bhé chíp gínemel chípa me dí, bhé lé del lodénen me dí." | ||||||||||||
/ɑn ve xip gin'ɛm'ɛl xip'a mɛ di, ve le dɛl lɑ'den'ɛn mɛ di/ | ||||||||||||
On | bhé- | -chíp | gínemel- | -chíp- | me- | -dí | bhé- | -lé | del- | -lódénen | me- | -di |
If | PST.Aux- | -V\Need | Fishing- | -N\Supply | SBJ.Aux- | -1P | PST.Aux- | -Go | To- | -Store | SBJ.Aux- | -1P |
"As we needed fishing supplies, we went to the store." |
It is also important to note that perhaps more often than in English, these relatively clauses may build on top of eachother;
"Bhé lé del alon ét bhé lodén gérul del alon ét bhé ghír del di cur bhéghal. me di." | ||||||||||||||||||
/ve le dɛl a'lɑn et lɑ'den ge'rʊl dɛl a'lɑn et gir dɛl dɪ kʊr we'ɣal mɛ dɪ/ | ||||||||||||||||||
Bhé- | -lé | del- | -alon- | -ét | bhé- | -lodén | gérul | del- | -alon- | -ét | bhé- | -ghír | del- | -di | cur- | -bhégal | me- | -di |
PST.Aux- |
-Go | To- | -Man- | -Who.Rel | PST.Aux- | -Sold | Boat | To- | -Man- | -Who.Rel | PST.Aux- | -V\Speaking | To- | -Me | During- | -Yesterday | SBJ.Aux- | -1S |
"I went to the man who sold the boat to the guy who talked to me yesterday." |
Subcoupla follow the relative determiner that starts the clause;
"Tel thé peloc cór alon égal ne bél bér cór ígel ba bénana." | |||||||||||||
/Tɛl he pɛl'ɑk cór alɑn e'gɑl nɛ bel ber cor i'gɛl ba ben'an'a/ | |||||||||||||
Tel- | -thé | peloc | cór- | -alon- | -égal | ne- | -bél | bér | cór- | -ígel- | ba- | -bénan- | -a |
SBJV.Aux- |
-V\Be | Curse- | Over- | -Man- | -Who.Rel | Neg- | -Gives | Good | Over-- | -3S.Det- | -POSS- | -Friend- | -P |
"Let him be cursed who does not do good for his friends"'." |
Other features
Pluralization
- a is added to a verb to pluralize it if it ends in a consonant, if it ends with a vowel, bh (to pronounced as a "v" rather than a "w") is used. If an uncountable quantifier is used before it (Many, Few, Some), it is not pluralized. Noun-Adjective/Verb-Adverb.
Snake->Neren
Snakes->Nerena
Mountain->Nila
Mountains->Nilabh
Diminutive
- -íg can be added to the end of a word to emphasize smallness or cuteness.
- bé- may be used as as a slightly more respectful form amongst friends, essentially meaning "my good..."
"Michael"->"Mikey"
"Mical"->"Micalíg"/"Micíg".
Notable features
Yes/No
The Fén language does not have a term for yes or no but rather will reply with an shortened affirmative or negative, most simply, "Té ít"or a fitting determiner depending on the situation.
"En té ít'"-Negative. "An té ít" -Double Negative [Similar to French "si"]
Té
There is no active noun clauses with the verb Té. Instead an accusative object is either confirmed as existing, compared to another object or positioned around on.
This makes sentances take a rather passive appearance compared to English particularly when it comes to describing qualities, which Fén divide into 3 categories;
Cór
These are more or less for qualitative or transitive facts.
I am happy.
Té lér cór di.
lit. There is happiness over me.
I am French
"Té Fíranic cór di."
lit. There is French over me.
Cu
This case is used strictly for existential cases where the two cannot be separated; one is not an incidental quality but the essence of the Object himself. Usually this is for specific persons or objects followed by a determiner.
I am the one you were talking about.
Té ét bhé gír ce ígel me re cu di.
lit. "You are talking over the one in me."
Ce
Ce is essentially the opposite of Cór and used in both a rare passive sense of Cór for general adjectives as well as describing one as describing one's memories something. Unlike Cór, Ce is often used perceptive verbs, in particular Looking "onto" something would be a close English equivalent.
I remember the sight of the store well.
Té lodénen ba cím ce di.
lit. The store's sight is under me.
Vocabularly
Hello | Bér cór re. |
How are you? | Ach té ét cór re |
I am well. | Té bér cór di |
What is your name? | Té fémoc at cór re |
It is ______ | Té ______ me ít. |
A pleasure to meet you. | Níl bér me én chím ít cór di |
Please... | Och dir bér me re cór di... |
Thank you | Tel thé bér cór re |
You’re welcome | Tel thé lú bér cór re |
Good bye | Gar re me Úlana |
I don’t speak Fayn well | En tel bér ghír fén cór di |
Do you speak (the English) language" | Act tel ghír (Sasana) me re?" |
"Can one of you speak (English)?" | Ach tel ghír (Sasana) me én bhe ré?" |
Additional Pages
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Featured Language
Fén Ghír has not yet been featured but I have translated this banner as practice;
Bér Dén Ghír ba Dénobh |
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Bhél bér cór ghír ítá cur én fabhen
Bhé fhémoc bér me ló cór ít pon éloc bhé ag bér dhén na bécím lemh na lú dhíra me ghír ítá. |
Honoured Conlang Banner |
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We gave honour to this tongue at a time.
We have voted it for because it has a good make, fair appearance and many uses. |