Naeng/Classical

Classical Windermere
Created by	IlL, Praimhín
Setting	Verse:Tricin
Language family	Lakovic Ashanic Classical Windermere

Classical Windermere (native name: brits Dămè /brits dəˈmeə/; Skellan: a brits Dymée Yfẃr /ə prits təˈmɛi əˈfur/ or /ə prits təˈme əˈfur/ 'Noble Windermere') was a standardized variety of Windermere spoken in the Imperial Windermere territories (Wen Dămè), based on the language of Windermere texts from ca. fT 0-500. A classical language of Talma, it lent many words to other Talman languages. A related language Tseezh was used in other parts of the Windermere Empire, and as a result Windermere borrowed many Tseezh words.

Phonology

Consonants

		Labial	Dental	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal		m /m/	n /n/			ng /ŋ/
Plosive	voiced	b /b~β/	d /d~ð/			g /g~ɣ/
	voiceless	p /p⁼/	t /t⁼/			c /k⁼/	' /ʔ/
Affricate			ts /ts̪/	tł /ts̺~ʈʂ/
Fricative	spirant	f /f/	th /θ/			ch /x/
	nonspirant		s /s̪/	ł /s̺~ʂ/	ș /ʃ/		h /h/
Resonant		w /w/	r /r/	l /l~ɫ~ɭ/	y /j/

The glottal stop is not transcribed word-initially.

Vowels

Classical Windermere had breathy voiced vowels à è ì ò ù ǜ /aʱ eʱ iʱ oʱ uʱ yʱ/ which became ä ea ie oa ua üe in Middle Windermere.

Classical Windermere had more vowel contrasts in preinitial syllables: it had two reduced vowels, ă /ə/ and i /ɪ/, which merged to ă in Modern Windermere. This contrast is retained in Pradiul as palatalization.

Morphophonology

Sandhi

Classical Windermere had a complex sandhi system (somewhere between Biblical Hebrew and Sanskrit) which is no longer productive in Modern Windermere; most notably it affected plurals and verb forms, making them less predictable.

• fth, fch > -pt-, -pc-
• th + fric → fric + t
  • ths → st, as in sèf 'go' → *thsèf → stèf 'to drive' (Modern binsteaf 'energy', sămteaf 'to energize')
  • thf → ft, e.g. tăfi 'laugh' → *tithfi → tifti 'to mock' (Classical and Modern Wdm. tăfi, tifti)
  • thch → cht e.g. Proto-Windermere àrθχa → răchta 'to die'
  • thł, thș → łt, șt
• ch + f, s, th, ł, ș → chw, ??? ??? ??? ??? ???
• s + f, th, ch → sp, st, sc
• rC, lC > Cr, Cl
• ps pn png → sp fn fng
• tp thp tsp kp chp → tw thw tsw cw chw; Proto-Windermere breathy vowel + tp tsp kp > dw tsw gw
• tsc cts tsp pts sts ts > sc sc sp sp st st

Initial Consonant	Final Consonant
	f	p	b	m	th	t	d	n	ch	c	g	ng	s	ts	ł	tł	ș	h	'	l	r	w	y
f	f	p	sp	fn	ft	ft	ft	fn	pc	pc	pc	fng	ps	fts	pł	ftł	pș	f	f'	fl	fr	fw	fy
p
b
m
th
t
d
n
ch
g
c
ng
s
ts
ł
tł
ș
h
'
l
r
w
y

Grassmann's law

Grassmann's law was productive in Classical Windermere: when there were two spirant consonants before a stressed vowel in a word, the first was despirantized. e.g. *chăfol > căfol 'to turn'.

Morphology

Nouns

Classical Windermere had many irregular plurals due to the effects of sandhi.

Examples:

Regular plurals:

• cnul 'leaf' > nălcnul 'leaves'

Sandhi plurals:

• drong 'kernel' > tăngrădong 'kernels'

Suppletive plurals:

• croth 'person' > hingüs 'people'

Verbs

Trigger infixes and certain aspects had become derivational in Classical Windermere, but not other aspects or tenses.

Pronouns

Pronouns were similar to later Windermere, but with feminine plural pronouns.

• 1sg: rì
• 2sg: łen (m), łes (f)
• 3sg: in (m), is (f)
• 1pl exclusive: tsa
• 1pl inclusive: ăbang
• 2pl: łinam (m), łisam (f)
• 3pl: inam (m), isam (f)

Derivation

(Anything else?)

• *th- (causative; denominal verbs)
• pi- (agentive; triggers voicing of following voiceless stops p t c to b d g)
  • da (know) -> pida 'sage' (Medieval păda, Modern pda)
  • tüth (to grasp) -> pidüth 'meaning, intention'
• ha- (passive)

Classical Windermere also used breathy voice ablaut to denote tools: snar (capture) -> snàr (trap, snare) which survives in Modern Windermere as snär.

Sample texts

"The Round Table", from the Imthumăytil

Doan ngith, dur id tach chàth mi mogor lăythèth. Embìts Pida Brăwìd: "Mè ra łănam dunse?" Mi-ăngnung căchtàth nătha, emrătsal dòn: "Mǜșrüch te-stiw: tsin tach mognas, șrüch te-stiw thràf, șrüch te-chlòs chustiliw..." Łop embìts Păda Brăwìd: "Łop embìts Pida Brăwìd: "Ǎna mè ra mòch, srǜ hădèn do croth nătha?" Emcă'aw id chàth ifăyfay, "Op călu, Pida: șa-bang tsor pădìch palèc, sach făbèng păchwădìch nătha ya-croth nătha fi!"

Gloss

Doan ngith, dur id tach chàth mi mogor lăythèth. Embìts Pida Brăwìd: "Mè ra łănam dunse?"

one time, sit NOM six child in circle VN.discuss. PFV-ask Master B.: "many what 2PL here?"

Once, six children were in a round table. Master Brăwìd asked them: "How many of you are here?"

Mi-ăngnung căchtàth nătha, emrătsal dòn: "Mǜșrüch te-stiw: tsin tach mognas, șrüch te-stiw thràf, șrüch te-chlòs chustiliw..."

in-PROG-count PL-child other PFV-call one: 63 because six individual, 15 pair, 20 group_of_3

While the others were still counting, one child replied: "Sixty-three: 6 individuals, 15 teams of two, 20 teams of 3, ..."

Łop embìts Pida Brăwìd: "Ǎna mè ra mòch, srǜ hădèn do croth nătha?"

then PFV-ask Master B.: "then many what be_at, if enter one person other"

Now Master Brăwìd asked: "Well then, how many people will be there if another person enters?"

Emcă'aw id chàth ifăyfay, "Op călu, Pida: șa-bang tsor pădìch palèc, sach făbèng păchwădìch nătha ya-croth nătha fi!"

PFV-answer NOM child nonchalantly "here, clear Master to-us all team previous, as_well_as <REFL>form PL-team other with-person other that"

The child nonchalantly responded: "It is plain, Master: here we have all of the old teams, as well as another set of teams with the new person!"