Aeranir

Aeranir
coeñar inceris
coeñar aerānir
Pronunciation	[[Help:IPA|[[ˈk̟øː.ɲar ˈɪ̃ŋ̟.k̟ɛ.rɪs̠], [ˈk̟øː.ɲar ɛːˈraː.nɪr]]]]
Created by	Limius
Setting	Avrid
Native to	Telrhamir, Iscaria, Aeranid Empire
Ethnicity	Aeran
Language family	Maro-Ephenian Iscaric Aeranir
Early forms	Proto-Maro-Ephenian Proto-Iscaric Old Aeranir
Official status
Official language in	Aeranid Empire
Recognised minority language in	Iscaria, S'entin, Tevrén
Language codes
ISO 639-3	qco

Aeranir, also known as coeñar aerānir (language of the Aerans), or coeñar inceris (language of the capital), is an Iscaric language in the Maro-Ephenian language group. It was originally spoken by the Aerans, developed in the deserts of Northern Iscaria in the city of Telrhamir, and spread with the expanse of the Aeranid Empire throughout Ephenia, as well as parts of Eubora and Syra. It later developed into the Aeranid languages, such as Dalot, Ilesse, Iscariano, Îredese, S'entigneis, and Tevrés. It is still used throughout Ephenia as a language of theology, science, medicine, literature, and law.

Aeranir had been standardised into Classical Aeranir by the time of the Early Empire, around the second millennia BNIA by the writer and educator Limius. The period before that is generally referred to as Old Aeranir. The language spoken between the 15th and 12th centuries BNIA is generally referred to Late Aeranir. This shift is marked by several grammatical and phonetic shifts. After that period, Aeranir began to splinter off into the various Aeranid languages. A form of Classical Aeranir called New Aeranir or Medieval Aeranir remained in use in official writings even after this period.

Aeranir is a highly inflective and fusional language, with three distinct genders, nine cases, two aspects, four moods, three persons, two or three voices, and two numbers.

History

Periodisation

The Aeranir language is descended from Proto-Iscaric, a theoretical reconstruction, which is in turn descended from Proto-Maro-Ephenian. This makes Aeranir a member of the Maro-Ephenian language family, along with Talothic, Fyrdan, and Marian. Because neither of these two proto-languages are attested in writing, it can be difficult to say when they were spoken, and when one transitioned into the other, but scholars generally agree that there was something that could be called Proto-Iscaric around the end of the 4th millennium BCA.

Proto-Iscaric was spoken by numerous Maro-Ephenian tribes which settled in Iscaria at the end of the 4th millennium. This evolved into numerous attested Iscaric languages, of which the language of the Aerans, who settled the region known as Aes, was but one. The oldest evidence of their language is found dating well after the founding of their most famous city, Telhramir, around 2500 BCA. This phase of the language, from around then to the later years of the Aeranid Kingdom, is known as Old Aeranir (called coeñar accuiha aerānir or aerānir accuiha by Classical and Golden Age sources).

Phonology

Consonants

The following is a table of phonemes in Aeranir. This analysis is based on Classical Aeranir, as it was used during the hight of the Aeranid Empire. The phonology, especially the number of vowel phonemes, varied greatly time, but this is seen as the standard version of the language.

Classical consonant phonemes

	Labial	Coronal		Palatal	Velar		Uvular		Glottal
		central	lateral		plain	labial	plain	labial
Nasal	m	n		ɲ
Stop	p	t			k	kʷ	q	qʷ
Affricate		ts	tɬ
Fricative	f	s							h
Liquid		r	l	j		w			ɦ

Golden age consonant phonemes

		Labial	Coronal		Palatal	Velar		Uvular		Glottal
			central	lateral		plain	labial	plain	labial
Nasal		m	n		ɲ
Stop	aspirated	(pʰ)	(tʰ)			kʰ		qʰ
	plain	p	t			k	kʷ	q	qʷ
	voiced	(b)	(d)			(g)
Affricate	voiceless		ts	tɬ
	voiced		(dz~z)
Fricative		f	s							h
Liquid		ʋ	r	l	j					ɦ

Late consonant phonemes

		Labial	Coronal		Palatal	Velar
			central	lateral		plain	labial
Nasal		m	n		ɲ
Stop	voiceless	p	t		c	k	kʷ
	voiced	b	d		ɟ	g
Affricate			ts	tɬ
Fricative		f	s
Liquid			r	l	j

Notes on consonants

• The clusters /rh/, /nh/, and /lh/ vary greatly between dialects; [rɦ nɦ ɫɦ ~ rg ŋg ɫg ~ ʀː ŋː ʟː].
• The sequence /ks/ is written in the romanisation as x.
• The nasal consonant /n/ assimilates to the place of articulation of the following stop, so that /nk/ or /nqʷ/ for example become /ŋk/ and /ɴʷqʷ/. Before fricatives, /n/ is deleted, and the proceeding vowel is lengthened and nasalised. These processes apply between word boundries as well. Word final /n/ as part of case and personal markers is elided before a word starting with a vowel, fricative, approximate, or before a pausa. It often served as a shibboleth for discerning one's origins or social circles.
• The velar, labio-velar, and labio-uvular consonants /k/, /kʷ/, /q/, and /qʷ/ are palatalised before front vowels and /j/ to [k̟], [kᶣ], [k̠] and [k̠ᶣ] respectively. Futhermore, dental consonants /n/ and /t/ are palatalised before /j/ to [ɲ̟], and [tʲ]. The glottal fricative /h/ is also palatalised to [ç] before high front vowels and /j/. Some dialects also palatalise the postalveolar consonants /s/ and /ts/ to [ɕ] and [tɕ] before front vowels and /j/.
• The labialised consonants /kʷ/, and /qʷ/ are pronounced as truly labialised, rather than a sequence of two consonants, i.e. /kw/, /qw/. The voiced labiovelar stop only occurs after a nasal consonant.
• All consonants, with the exception of /ʋ/, can be geminated between vowels. This is denoted orthographically by doubling of the first letter of the phoneme, i.e. ⟨cc⟩, ⟨ff⟩, ⟨hh⟩, etc. The palatal approximate /j/ is always geminated to [jː] between vowels, but is written with a simple ⟨i⟩. Fricative /hː/ is usually realised as [çː]. In dialects that palatalise /s/ and /ts/, [çː] often becomes [ɕː], merging in some environments with /sː/.
• The lateral approximate /l/ has two allophones in Classical Aeranir; [l] before close front vowels, /j/, and when geminated, and [ɫ] elsewhere.
• The fricative /s/ is often pronounced further back in the mouth, closer to [s̠].
• The phoneme /h/ has two distinct allophones following the nasal /n/. When this cluster occurs natively within a word, /h/ is voiced and velarised to [g]. Nasal /n/ is likewise velarised to [ŋ]. Dialectically, the cluster /ŋg/ may be fortified to [gː] or lenited to [ŋː]. Before front vowels and /j/, these may appear as [ɲʝ], [ŋ˖g˖], [g˖ː], or [ŋ˖ː]. When the cluster /nh/ occurs where /h/ was once word initial, as result of a prefix, the nasal is deleted and the preceding vowel nasalised and lengthened, as with fricatives /s/ and /f/.

Vowels

Vowels in Aeranir underwent the greatest amount of change throughout time. Although the standard is considered to me Classical Aeranir as it was spoken in the 17th and 16th centuries bnia, this should not be seen in the context of a sliding historical spectrum. Below are listed three somewhat representative samples that provide a broad overview of general changes.

Old Aeranir vowel phonemes
(circa 2300bca)

	Front		Central		Back
	short	long	short	long	short	long
Close	i	iː			u	uː
Mid	e	eː			o	oː
Open			a	aː

Classical and Golden Age Aeranir vowel phonemes
(circa 1600bca)

	Front				Central		Back
	plain		rounded
	short	long	short	long	short	long	short	long
Close	ɪ	iː	ʏ	yː			ʊ	uː
Mid-close		eː		øː				oː
Mid-open	ɛ	ɛː					ɔ	ɔː
Open					a	aː

Late Aeranir vowel phonemes
(circa 1200bca)

	Front		Central	Back
	plain	round
Close	i	(y)		u
Mid-close	e	(ø)		o
Mid-open	ɛ			ɔ
Open			a

Notes on vowels

• The short high rounded vowel /ʏ/ is mostly a loan from Dalitian, and is not found in many native words, or words dating back to Old Aeranir. It is usually realised as [ɪ], and is only rounded in educated speech.

Vowel change from PME to Late Aeranir (in stessed initial syllables)

PME	Old	Classical	Late
*u[r₂, r₃, h]i	→ ui /ui̯/	→ y /yː/	→ i /i/
*i[r₂, r₃, h]u	→ iu /iu̯̯/
*ey, *ehi, *ēy, *hey	→ ei /ei̯/	→ ī /iː/
*i[r₂, r₃, h]	→ ī /iː/
*i	→ i /i/	→ i /ɪ/	→ e /e/
*oy, *o[r₂, r₃, h]i, *er₃i, *ōy, *[r₂, r₃, h]oy, *r₃ey	→ oi /oi̯/	→ oe /øː/
*eh, *ē	→ e /eː/	→ e /eː/
*e	→ e /e/	→ e /ɛ/	→ è /ɛ/
*er₂i, *r₂ey	→ ai /ai̯/	→ ae /ɛː/
*ow, *o[r₂, r₃, h]u, *ōw, *[r₂, r₃, h]ow, *r₃ew, *ew, *ehu, *ēw, *hew	→ ou /ou̯̯/	→ ū /uː/	→ u /u/
*u[r₂, r₃, h]	→ ū /uː/
*u	→ u /u/	→ u /ʊ/	→ o /o/
*o[r₂, r₃, h], *ō, *r₃e[r₂, r₃, h], *r₃ē, *er₃	→ o /oː/	→ o /oː/
*o, *r₃e	→ o /o/	→ o /ɔ/	→ ò /ɔ/
*er₂u, *r₂ew	→ au /au̯̯/	→ au /ɔː/
*er₂, *r₂ē	→ ā /aː/	→ ā /aː/	→ a /a/
*[r̥₂, r̥₃, h̥]	→ a /a/	→ a /a/

• Most non-intial short vowels in Proto-Iscairc were reduced to /i/ by the time of Old Aeranir. Many of these were then further reduced in Classical Aeranir (as discussed above), to the vowels represented by diaeresis. These merged in Late Aeranir to a schwa, but this schwa was deleted in many environments. 
• Old Aeranir diphthongs /ei̯/ and /ou̯̯/ may have been realised as hightened pure vowels [eː~e̝ː] and [oː~o̝ː]. Before other vowels, /ei̯/ becomes simple [e] in Classical Aeranir. Likewise, Classical /ɛ/ and /ɔ/ rise to [e] and [o] before another vowel. These were then simplified into glides [j] and [w] in Late Aeranir.
• There are two realisations of high short vowels /ɪ/ and /ʊ/ before another vowel, depending on whether the proceeding syllable it light or heavy. Following a light syllable, the become glides [j] and [w]. Follwing a heavy syllable, an anaptyctic vowel is inserted, becoming [ɪj] and [ʊw]. These vowels are not represented in the orthography.
• Some peripheral dialects of Late Aeranir retained rounded front vowels /y/ and /ø/, while in most, including the speech of Telrhamir, they merged with their plain counterparts /i/ and /e/ respectively.

Stress

Syllable stress in Old Aeranir fell uniformly on the first syllable of a word. However, by the time of Classical Aeranir, stress had shifted to a more complex paradigm, generally falling on the penult (the second to last syllable) or the antipenult (the third to last syllable). Which one was determined by the weight of the penult.

Syllables are divided into one of two categories, or weights. These are light syllables and heavy syllables. A light syllable contains a maximum of one short vowel, alone or proceeded by a consonant or consonant cluster, while a heavy syllable may contain a long vowel, a coda consonant, or both. If the penult of a word is heavy, it is stressed. If not, the antipenult is stressed.

Dialects

Pēcilia Cūvae

The pēcilia cūvae ('Cuvan swing') refers to the particular musical quality of the Aeranir spoken in the Aes city of Cuva (cūva) during the classical and golden age of Aeranid civilisation. It was likened in the earliest records to the pēcilia traecōvus ('talothic swing'), and occasionally referred to as the pōnus traeceus ('talothic voice'). However, by the golden age, Talothic had lost its distinct melodious accent, and the these terms fell out of use. This is believed to be the reason that citizens of Cuva were called traeceolar ('little taloths'), and is the origin of the name of the city Triggiolari, founded as Traeceolar.

Rather than the stress-accent of standard capitoline Aeranir, the speech of Cuva is marked by a distinctive pitch accent. Pitch in Cuva begins low, and then rises until a kernel mora, after which it immediately falls. Placement of the kernel mora generally falls on the third to last mora. However, the way morae are counted is somewhat complex. A short vowel, either proceeded by a consonant or consonant cluster, or bare, counts as one mora, and a long vowel of (spurious) diphthong counts as two. On top of that, coda consonants, rather singletons or clusters, also count as a mora. So, for example, each syllable of the word āctās is three morea; a-a-c.ta-a-s

Pitch accent manifests differently depending on where the kernel falls. Then the kernel falls on a vowel, there is a downstep before it; e.g. āctās: a-a-c.ta-a-s /àák.tààs/ [ǎːk.tàːs].

Syntax

Word order

Aeranir is generally verb-initial in independent clauses, and verb-final in dependant clauses, including non-finite clauses using the infinitive, participle, gerund, etc.. These rules may be violated in poetry, however it is much more common to violate the former than the later.

qurra

read-3SG.C

Rāscānus

Rascanus-NOM.SG

salvan

book-ACC.SG

qurra Rāscānus salvan

read-3SG.C Rascanus-NOM.SG book-ACC.SG

'Rascanus is reading a book'

Rāscānus

Rascanus-NOM.SG

salvan

book-ACC.SG

qurrea

read-SUBJ.3SG.C

Rāscānus salvan qurrea

Rascanus-NOM.SG book-ACC.SG read-SUBJ.3SG.C

'should Rascanus be reading a book...'

sircuīva

tell-PFV.3SG.C

īliō

Ilius-DAT.SG

Rāscānus

Rascanus-NOM.SG

salvan

book-ACC.SG

qurrīhan

read-INF

sircuīva īliō Rāscānus salvan qurrīhan

tell-PFV.3SG.C Ilius-DAT.SG Rascanus-NOM.SG book-ACC.SG read-INF

'Rascanus told Ilius that he was reading a book'

Nominal clitics attach to the end of verbs in independent clauses, and the beginning of verbs in dependant clauses.

tetue

drink-PFV.3SG.E

ne

=2SG

tīn

tea-ACC.SG

tetue ne tīn

drink-PFV.3SG.E =2SG tea-ACC.SG

'You drank the tea'

tīn

tea-NOM.SG

ni

2SG=

tessun

drink-PFV.PTCP-E.NOM.SG

tīn ni tessun

tea-NOM.SG 2SG= drink-PFV.PTCP-E.NOM.SG

'The tea you drank'

Word order is much more free for nouns and noun phrases. Adjectives and genitives may either proceed or follow a noun (e.g. formun cōmus or cōmus formun, both 'the warm house;' umae menter or menter umae, both 'my mother's sibling'), although they adjectives generally follow, whilst genitives generally proceed. Prepositions always proceed their noun, whilst postpositions, which are far less common, always follow.

Due to agreement in gender, case, and number between nouns and adjectives, additional nouns may be inserted between a noun and its adjective without changing the meaning, in what is called hyperbaton:

ȳrē

listen-IMP

arte

person-VOC.SG

tihī

1SG.PRO-DAT

iūre

good-T.VOC.SG

ȳrē arte tihī iūre

listen-IMP person-VOC.SG 1SG.PRO-DAT good-T.VOC.SG

'Listen to me good fellow!'

Nouns

Gender

Aeranir nouns are divided into three genders, all of which are directly inherited from late Proto-Maro-Ephenian. These known as the temporary (t), cyclical (c), and eternal (e) genders. The gender of a noun effects the adjectives and verbs that refer to it.

ēs

COP.3SG.T

ars

wumbo(T)-NOM.SG

raius

small-T.NOM.SG

ēs ars raius

COP.3SG.T wumbo(T)-NOM.SG small-T.NOM.SG

'It's a small wumbo'

sa

COP.3SG.C

tlāna

flower(C)-NOM.SG

raia

small-C.NOM.SG

sa tlāna raia

COP.3SG.C flower(C)-NOM.SG small-C.NOM.SG

'It's a small flower'

sī

COP.3SG.E

nātlun

shell(E)-NOM.SG

raiun

small-E.NOM.SG

sī nātlun raiun

COP.3SG.E shell(E)-NOM.SG small-E.NOM.SG

'It's a small shell'

The gender of most nouns can be easily inferred from its ending. Furthermore, there is often overlap between meaning and gender. Animate living beings and small, breakable objects are often temporary, while abstract concepts, natural processes, or seasonal plants are usually cyclical, and large, durable, inanimate objects are most likely eternal. However, some nouns have no relation to their gender. Personal names are either temporary or cyclical; eternal names are reserved for gods.

Case

Nouns in Aeranir have a series of different forms, called cases of the noun, which have different functions or meanings. For example, the word for 'king' is rēs when subject of a verb, but rēnin when it is the object:

• auhēs rēs 'the king sees (someone)' (nominative case)
• auhēs rēnin '(someone) sees the king' (accusative case)

There are a total of nine cases for most nouns in Aeranir. Outside of the nominative and accusative, they are as the following:

• Vocative: rēne iō!: 'o king!'
• Essive: seū rēnū: 'as this king'
• Instrumental: seōrun rēnerun: 'using this king'
• Genitive: sī rēnis: 'of this king'
• Dative: seō rēnī: 'to/for this king'
• Ablative: seā rēnī: 'from/by this king'
• Locative: sīs rēnīs: 'at/with the king'

Sometimes the same endings, e.g. -ī and -ēs, are used for more than one case. Since the function of a word in Aeranir is shown by ending rather than word order, in theory requor rēnī could mean either 'I return to the king' or 'I return from the king.' In practice, however, such ambiguities are rare.

Uses of the cases

Genitive

The use of the genitive case in subordinate clauses has changed throughout the history of Aeranir, and even within the span of time referred to as 'Golden Age Aeranir,' usage was shifting. In Classical and Golden Age Aeranir the genitive could be used with the active voice to mark the subject of the verb, whilst in the middle voice it marked the object. The later is similar to the use of the genitive as a partitive object in Talothic. Some believe this similarity to be the inherited from Proto-Maro-Ephenian, whilst others claim that it is a case of parallel evolution or mutual influence.

tzilla

cat-NOM.SG

artis

person-GEN.SG

auhita

see-PFV.PTCP-C.NOM.SG

tzilla artis auhita

cat-NOM.SG person-GEN.SG see-PFV.PTCP-C.NOM.SG

'The cat the person saw'

ars

person-NOM.SG

tzillae

cat-GEN.SG

auhitūnus

see-PFV.PTCP-T.NOM.SG

ars tzillae auhitūnus

person-NOM.SG cat-GEN.SG see-PFV.PTCP-T.NOM.SG

'The person who saw the cat'

The use of genitive objects dwindled in later Golden Age and Late Aeranir, being replaced by the accusative case with the active voice, or the ablative case with the middle voice, as in independent clauses. However, it remained used to mark the subject of dependent clauses, and in Late Aeranir even began to replace the nominative case in independent ones.

Ablative

• Ablative of motion implies movement away from or out of an object:

furuis

fall-PFV-T.3SG

pālā

tree-ABL.SG

furuis pālā

fall-PFV-T.3SG tree-ABL.SG

'They fell from the tree'

• Agentive ablative marks the agent by whom the action of a passive verb in performed:

īcēlāre

eat-PFV-PASS-E.3SG

pannun

bread-NOM.SG

Traetiā

Traetius-ABL.SG

cnōtun

last-E.NOM.SG

īcēlāre pannun Traetiā cnōtun

eat-PFV-PASS-E.3SG bread-NOM.SG Traetius-ABL.SG last-E.NOM.SG

'The last of the bread was eaten by Traetius'

Declensions

Class I

Class I noun

		salva c. book, tome
		Singular		Plural
		word	ending	word	ending
Primary prīstūmus	Nominative	salva	-a	salvar	-ar
	Accusative	salvan	-an	salvae	-ae
	Vocative	salva	-a	salvar	-ar
Existential soniāmus	Essive	salvau	-au	salvur	-ur
	Instrumental	salvārun	-ārun	salvōs	-ōs
	Genitive	salvae	-ae	salvābus	-ābus
Directive satūmus	Dative	salvō	-ō	salvāna	-āna
	Ablative	salvā	-ā	salvās	-ās
	Locative	salvīs	-īs	salvā	-ā

Class II

Class II temporary/eternal nouns

		pernus t. storm, chaos				nātlun e. shell, carapace
		Singular		Plural		Singular		Plural
		word	ending	word	ending	word	ending	word	ending
Primary prīstūmus	Nominative	pernus	-us	pernur	-ur	nātlun	-un	nātlunt	-unt
	Accusative	pernun	-un	pernī	-ī
	Vocative	perne	-e	pernur	-ur
Existential soniāmus	Essive	pernū	-ū	pernur	-ur	nātlū	-ū	nātlur	-ur
	Instrumental	pernōrun	-ōrun	pernōs	-ōs	nātlōrun	-ōrun	nātlōs	-ōs
	Genitive	pernī	-ī	pernōvus	-ōvus	nātlī	-ī	nātlōvus	-ōvus
Directive satūmus	Dative	pernō	-ō	pernōna	-ōna	nātlō	-ō	nātlōna	-ōna
	Ablative	pernā	-ā	pernōs	-ōs	nātlā	-ā	nātlōs	-ōs
	Locative	pernīs	-īs	pernā	-ā	nātlīs	-īs	nātlā	-ā

Pronouns

Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns

		First person				Second person				Reflexive
		singular I		plural we		singular you		plural y'all		singular/plural himself/herself/ itself/themselves
		full	clitic	full	clitic	full	clitic	full	clitic	full	clitic
Primary prīstūmus	Nominative	aecū	te	eōs	ī	hanae	ne	rōs	er	cē	ce
	Vocative
	Accusative	tē		eon		nē		ron
Existential soniāmus	Essive	tōs		eor		nōs		rō		cū
	Genitive	tī		īster		nī		rester		cī
Directive satūmus	Dative	tihī		īvīs		nivī		urvīs		civī
	Ablative	tētē		eōvōs		nēnē		rōvōs		cēcē

Third person pronouns

Personal pronouns

		Singular			Plural
		Temporary	Cyclical	Eternal	Temporary	Cyclical	Eternal
Primary prīstūmus	Nominative	us	va	um	ur	var	ūns
	Vocative
	Accusative	um	vam		vī	vae
Existential soniāmus	Essive	ū	vau	ū	ur	vur	ur
	Instrumental	urun	vārun	urun	vēs	vōs	vēs
	Genitive	vis	vae	vis	vus	vāvus	vus
Directive satūmus	Dative	vī	vō	vī	vina	vāna	vina
	Ablative	vit	vā	vit	vēs	vās	vēs
	Locative	vis	vīs	vis	vā	vā	vā

Demonstrative pronouns

Demonstratives underwent a great deal of change during the latest stages of Classical Aeranir, and much of the older forms were preserved in Golden Age Aeranir alongside their newer counterparts. The Classical Aeranir distal and medial demonstratives were formed from the third person pronoun us, va, un plus a suffix. This produced a variety of irregular forms, which were regularised in early Golden Age Aeranir. However, which stem was taken to become the new regular form varied between times, locations, and speakers. Generally, two stems were predominant for each demonstrative; with the medial varying between ust- and unt- and the distal between ūl- and ull-. Eventually, the former of the two became more common, although the latter remained in marginal use, even into the Aeranid languages.

Old demonstrative pronouns

	seus, sea, seun this, this one (proximal)						ustus, usta, untun that of yours (medial)						ūlus, ūla, ūllun that, that one (distal)
	Singular			Plural			Singular			Plural			Singular			Plural
	Temporary	Cyclical	Eternal	Temporary	Cyclical	Eternal	Temporary	Cyclical	Eternal	Temporary	Cyclical	Eternal	Temporary	Cyclical	Eternal	Temporary	Cyclical	Eternal
Nominative	seus	sea	seun	seur	sear	seunt	ustus	usta	untun	urtur	urtar	untunt	ūlus	ūla	ullun	ullur	ullar	ullunt
Accusative	seun	sean		sī	seae		untun	untan		vītī	vītae		ullun	ullan		vīlī	vīlae
Vocative	sē	sea		seur	sear		uste	usta		urtur	urtar		ūle	ūla		ullur	ullar
Essive	seū	seau	seū	seur			ūtū	ūtau	ūtū	urtur			ūlū	ūlau	ūlū	ullur
Instrumental	seōrun	seārun	seōrun	seōs			untōrun	untārun	untōrun	vēstōs			ullōrun	ullārun	ullōrun	vēlōs
Genitive	sī	seae	sī	seōvus	seāvus	seōvus	vistī	vistae	vistī	vustōvus	vustāvus	vustōvus	vīlī	vīlae	vīlī	vūlōvus	vūlāvus	vūlōvus
Dative	seō			seōna	seāna	seōna	vītō			vintōna	vintāna	vintōna	vīlō			villōna	villāna	villōna
Ablative	seā			seōs	seās	seōs	vistā			vēstōs	vēstās	vēstōs	vīlā			vēlōs	vēlās	vēlōs
Locative	sīs			seā			vistīs			vātā			vīlīs			vālā

Even after the new regular demonstratives had been widely adopted, the old ones continued to be used for stylistic purposes, and where considered more proper for official writing, speech, and communication.

In Classical Aeranir, demonstratives could stand for a person or thing, but also a place—there was no distinction between 'this' and 'here.' However, in Golden Age Aeranir, another one of the old stems was generalised to create dedicated locative pronouns vistus, vista, vistun 'there (near you),' and vīlus, vīla, vīlun 'there (far away).' By analogy, the proximal locative demonstrative viseus, visea, viseun 'here' was also created. These were used along side the regular demonstratives to express location.

Possessive pronouns

Possessive pronouns in Aeranir distinguish between many more different types of possession than ordinary nouns, which use only the genitive to mark possession, ownership, association, etc. Pronouns distinguish both alienable and inalienable possession.

Possessive pronouns

	1st person		2nd person		3rd person						reflexive
					proximal		distal		medial
	singular	plural	singular	plural	singular	plural	singular	plural	singular	plural
inalienable	tī te	īster	nī ne	rester	sī se	seōvus	ūlī	ūlōvus	ustī	ustōvus	cī ce
alienable	tuius	eius	nuius	ruius	seius		ūleius		usteius		cuius

Objects of inalienable possession are marked with the genitive of a personal or demonstrative pronoun. These include body parts, kinship and familiarity terms, personal attributes, emotions, or thoughts. These pronouns generally proceed the possessee, although that is not always the case, especially in poety. Singular pronouns tī, nī, cī, sī, ustī, and ūlī may be appear as tei, nei, cei, sei, usti, ūli before words starting with a vowel, and te, ne, ce, se, ust, ūl before words starting with i.

se

this-T.GEN.SG

incus

head-NOM.SG

se incus

this-T.GEN.SG head-NOM.SG

'this one's head'

Alienable possession, including essentially all other categories, is marked via possessive adjectives. These adjective may appear either before or after the possessee, but usually come afterwards. Oftentimes, the different use of alienable/inalienable pronouns may hint at a difference in meaning. The word indus, for example, may mean 'head,' but also 'capital' or 'leader.' With inalienable pronouns, however, it always means 'head,' versus with alienable pronouns, it means 'capital,' or 'leader' because while a head is inalienable, a capital or leader is not. However, this might not always be the case, depending on the possessor and context.

ēs

COP.3SG.T

incus

head-NOM.SG

telūhramir

mesa-ESS.SG=hram-GEN.PL

tuius

mine-T.NOM.SG

ēs incus telūhramir tuius

COP.3SG.T head-NOM.SG mesa-ESS.SG=hram-GEN.PL mine-T.NOM.SG

'My capital is Telhramir'

ēs

COP.3SG.T

ūlae

that_one's-C.GEN.SG

(tlānae

(flower-GEN.SG

aerānihae)

Aeranid-C.GEN.SG)

incus

head-NOM.SG

telūrhamir

mesa-ESS.SG=rham-GEN.PL

ēs ūlae (tlānae aerānihae) incus telūrhamir

COP.3SG.T that_one's-C.GEN.SG (flower-GEN.SG Aeranid-C.GEN.SG) head-NOM.SG mesa-ESS.SG=rham-GEN.PL

'Its (the Aeranid Empire's) capital is Telrhamir'

Adverbs

Adverbs in Aeranir are used to modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs indicating time, manner, or place. Most adjectives are formed from nouns or adjectives, although they can be derived from some verbs, especially stative verbs. There are a variety of different formulation strategies, depending on the class of the noun/adjective/verb.

• formus ("warm" 1st-2nd declension adjective) → formē ("warmly")
• aerās ("an Aeran" 3rd declension noun) → aerāne ("like an Aeran")
• raelis ("a child" 3rd declension i-stem noun) → raeliter ("like a child")
• vȳlēs ("three days from now" 4th declension noun) → vȳlē ("every three days")
• sacus ("a pin" 5th declension noun) → saciter ("sharply, like a pin")

One of the most notable uses of the adverbial form is with verbs like ficitz ("it makes me"), fitz ("I become"), and caitz ("I change into"). Adverbs can be used to denote the result of a change of state in such a clause.

fīx

make.PFV-3SG.T

prīstus

first-NOM.SG

pāliōne

provincial_governor-ADV

Boezymiae

Boezymia-GEN.SG

fīx prīstus pāliōne Boezymiae

make.PFV-3SG.T first-NOM.SG provincial_governor-ADV Boezymia-GEN.SG

'The First Senator made them provincial governor of Boezymia'

sa

COP-3SG.C

Īliō

Ilius-DAT.SG

qūria

power-NOM.SG

tzillē

cat-ADV

cainnī

change_form-GER-GEN

sa Īliō qūria tzillē cainnī

COP-3SG.C Ilius-DAT.SG power-NOM.SG cat-ADV change_form-GER-GEN

'Ilius has the power to turn into a cat'

Verbs

Conjugation

Agreement

The DGA pyramid, originally developed by u/Darkgamma, 2018. The Total Cacophony of Bäladiri Verb Agreement and Argument Assignment.

Verbs in Aeranir are conjugated to agree with the number, the person, and in the third person singular, the gender of the most oblique argument given a word's valency, as defined by the DGA pyramid. Here, S represents the subject of an intransitive verb, such as 'the person' in 'the person laughed.' A represents the agent of a transitive verb (also occasually called the subject), or the person or thing that does the action of the verb, such as 'the child' in 'the child reads the book.' D marks the donor, a special type of agent, who gives something or does a the action of a verb for the benefit of another, such as ‘the senator’ in ‘the senator gave the cat some milk.’ These are collectively called the nominative argument, and are expressed usually with the nominative case, but also occasionally with the genitive case in dependant clauses.

P represents the patient of a transitive verb, or the person or thing towhich the verb is done, also called the direct object, such as ‘the book’ in ‘the child reads the book.’ T represents the theme, or the object that is given to someone or something, such as ‘the milk’ in ‘the senator gave the cat some milk.’ These two roles make up the accusative argument, which is marked with the accusative case. Finally, R represents the recipient, or the person who recieves the theme from the donor, or benefits from the donor's action, with a ditransitive verb, also commonly called the indirect object, such as 'the cat' in 'the senator gave the cate some milk.'

Aeranir verbs conjugate their endings to agree with the most oblique argument in a clause. That means the subject of an intransitive verb (e.g. clautitz; 'I laugh'), the patient of a transitive verb (e.g. auhente; 'I look at you'), or the recipient of a ditransitive verb (e.g. tzavī'r salvae; 'you all gave me the books').

mollī

leak-3SG.E

cōmus

house-NOM.SG

mollī cōmus

leak-3SG.E house-NOM.SG

'The house is leaking'

requis

return-3SG.C

te

=1SG

coptin

hat-ACC.SG

nuiun

2SG.POS.PRO-T.ACC.SG

requis te coptin nuiun

return-3SG.C =1SG hat-ACC.SG 2SG.POS.PRO-T.ACC.SG

'I'm giving back your hat'

imptās

send-POT.3SG.T

ne

=2SG

mu

=INTERR

sōlī

clothing-ACC.PL

nomī

new-IPFV.PTCP-T.ACC.SG

Sētīlī

Setil-DAT.SG

imptās ne mu sōlī nomī Sētīlī

send-POT.3SG.T =2SG =INTERR clothing-ACC.PL new-IPFV.PTCP-T.ACC.SG Setil-DAT.SG

'Can you send Setil the new clothes?'

It should be noted that a verb in the active voice must always have the maximum number of arguments according to its inherent transitivity. This means, for example, that one can never say 'John eats.' Because 'to eat' is transitive, there must be a patient, or direct object, e.g. 'John eats food.' However, there are a number of valancy dropping operations available in Aeranir to allow various arguments to be dropped, which are discussed in the section on voice.

Additional arguments can be expressed with pronominal clitics attached to the end of a verb in independant clauses and to the beginning in dependant ones (e.g.auhente; 'I look at you,' tzāvī'r salvae; 'you all gave me the books'), however these are not considered part of a verbs conjugation, and are optional, especially if the information can be assumed or is known between speakers.

Number of Conjugations

Basic conjugation paradigm

Aspect →	Imperfective				Perfective
Mood → Voice ↓	Indicative	Subjunctive	Desiderative	Potential	Indicative	Subjunctive	Desiderative	Potential
Active	aehatz They love me	aehet They should love me	aehārit They want to love me	aehātatz They can love me	aehāvī They loved me	aehēvī They should have loved me	aehāruī They wanted to love me	aehātāvī They could have loved me
Middle	aehor I love	aeheō I should love	aehārō I want to love	aehātor I can love	aehāvō I loved	aehēvō I should have loved	aehāruō I wanted to love	aehātāvō I could have loved
Passive	aehālō I am loved	aehēlō I should be loved	aehārēlō I want to be loved	aehātālō I can be loved	aehāvēlō I was loved	aehēvēlō I should have been loved	aehāruēlō I wanted to be loved	aehātāvēlō I could have been loved
Causative	aehātitz They let me love them	aehātiat They should let me love them	aehātīrit They want to let me love them	aehāssītatz They can let me love them	aehātīvī They have let me love them	aehātiāvī They should have let me love them	aehātīruī They wanted to let me love them	aehāssītāvī They could have let me love them

Conjugation formation

Conjugation formation

IPFV		A-grade		I-grade		E-grade		Null-grade
		strong	weak	strong	weak	strong	weak	strong	weak
ACT	IND	ROOT-ā-ACT.IPFV		ROOT-ī-ACT.IPFV		ROOT-ē-ACT.IPFV		ROOT-ACT.IPFV
	SUBJ	ROOT-ē-ACT.IPFV		ROOT-iā-ACT.IPFV		ROOT-eā-ACT.IPFV		ROOT-ē-ACT.IPFV
	DES	ROOT-s-ACT.IPFV	ROOT-ār-ACT.IPFV	ROOT-s-ACT.IPFV	ROOT-er/īr-ACT.IPFV	ROOT-s-ACT.IPFV	ROOT-er/īr-ACT.IPFV	ROOT-s-ACT.IPFV	ROOT-er-ACT.IPFV
	POT	ROOT-tā-ACT.IPFV	ROOT-ātā-ACT.IPFV	ROOT-tā-ACT.IPFV	ROOT-itā/ītā-ACT.IPFV	ROOT-tā-ACT.IPFV	ROOT-itā/ītā-ACT.IPFV	ROOT-tā-ACT.IPFV	ROOT-itā-ACT.IPFV
MID	IND	ROOT-ā-MID.IPFV		ROOT-ī-MID.IPFV		ROOT-ē-MID.IPFV		ROOT-MID.IPFV
	SUBJ	ROOT-ē-MID.IPFV		ROOT-iā-MID.IPFV		ROOT-eā-MID.IPFV		ROOT-ē-MID.IPFV
	DES	ROOT-s-MID.IPFV	ROOT-ār-MID.IPFV	ROOT-s-MID.IPFV	ROOT-er/īr-MID.IPFV	ROOT-s-MID.IPFV	ROOT-er/īr-MID.IPFV	ROOT-s-MID.IPFV	ROOT-er-MID.IPFV
	POT	ROOT-tā-MID.IPFV	ROOT-ātā-MID.IPFV	ROOT-tā-MID.IPFV	ROOT-itā/ītā-MID.IPFV	ROOT-tā-MID.IPFV	ROOT-itā/ītā-MID.IPFV	ROOT-tā-MID.IPFV	ROOT-itā-MID.IPFV
PAS	IND	ROOT-ā-PAS.IPFV		ROOT-ī-PAS.IPFV		ROOT-ē-PAS.IPFV		ROOT-PAS.IPFV
	SUBJ	ROOT-ē-PAS.IPFV		ROOT-iā-PAS.IPFV		ROOT-eā-PAS.IPFV		ROOT-ā-PAS.IPFV
	DES	ROOT-s-PAS.IPFV	ROOT-ār-PAS.IPFV	ROOT-s-PAS.IPFV	ROOT-er/īr-PAS.IPFV	ROOT-s-PAS.IPFV	ROOT-er/īr-PAS.IPFV	ROOT-s-PAS.IPFV	ROOT-er-PAS.IPFV
	POT	ROOT-tā-PAS.IPFV	ROOT-ātā-PAS.IPFV	ROOT-tā-PAS.IPFV	ROOT-itā/ītā-PAS.IPFV	ROOT-tā-PAS.IPFV	ROOT-itā/ītā-PAS.IPFV	ROOT-tā-PAS.IPFV	ROOT-itā-PAS.IPFV
CAUS	IND	ROOT-tī-ACT.IPFV	ROOT-ātī-ACT.IPFV	ROOT-tī-ACT.IPFV	ROOT-itī/ītī-ACT.IPFV	ROOT-tī-ACT.IPFV	ROOT-itī/ītī-ACT.IPFV	ROOT-tī-ACT.IPFV	ROOT-itī-ACT.IPFV
	SUBJ	ROOT-tiā-ACT.IPFV	ROOT-ātiā-ACT.IPFV	ROOT-tiā-ACT.IPFV	ROOT-itiā/ītiā-ACT.IPFV	ROOT-tiā-ACT.IPFV	ROOT-itiā/itiā-ACT.IPFV	ROOT-tiā-ACT.IPFV	ROOT-itiā-ACT.IPFV
	DES	ROOT-tier-ACT.IPFV	ROOT-ātier-ACT.IPFV	ROOT-tier-ACT.IPFV	ROOT-itier/ītier-ACT.IPFV	ROOT-tier-ACT.IPFV	ROOT-itier/ītier-ACT.IPFV	ROOT-tier-ACT.IPFV	ROOT-itier-ACT.IPFV
	POT	ROOT-sītā-ACT.IPFV	ROOT-āsītā-ACT.IPFV	ROOT-sītā-ACT.IPFV	ROOT-issītā/īsītā-ACT.IPFV	ROOT-sītā-ACT.IPFV	ROOT-issītā/īsītā-ACT.IPFV	ROOT-sītā-ACT.IPFV	ROOT-issītā-ACT.IPFV
PFV		A-grade		I-grade		E-grade		Null-grade
		strong	weak	strong	weak	strong	weak	strong	weak
ACT	IND	ROOT-ACT.PFV	ROOT-u/āv-ACT.PFV	ROOT-ACT.PFV	ROOT-u/īv-ACT.PFV	ROOT-ACT.PFV	ROOT-u/ēv-ACT.PFV	ROOT-ACT.PFV	ROOT-u-ACT.PFV
	SUBJ	ROOT-ē-ACT.PFV	ROOT-uē/ēv-ACT.PFV	ROOT-ē-ACT.IPFV	ROOT-uē/iāv-ACT.PFV	ROOT-ē-ACT.PFV	ROOT-uē/eāv-ACT.PFV	ROOT-ē-ACT.PFV	ROOT-uē-ACT.PFV
	DES	ROOT-su-ACT.PFV	ROOT-āru-ACT.PFV	ROOT-su-ACT.PFV	ROOT-eru/īru-ACT.PFV	ROOT-s-ACT.PFV	ROOT-eru/īru-ACT.PFV	ROOT-su-ACT.PFV	ROOT-eru-ACT.PFV
	POT	ROOT-tāv-ACT.PFV	ROOT-ātāv-ACT.PFV	ROOT-tāv-ACT.PFV	ROOT-itāv/ītāv-ACT.PFV	ROOT-tāv-ACT.PFV	ROOT-itāv/ītāv-ACT.PFV	ROOT-tāv-ACT.PFV	ROOT-itāv-ACT.PFV
MID	IND	ROOT-MID.PFV	ROOT-u/āv-MID.PFV	ROOT-MID.PFV	ROOT-u/īv-MID.PFV	ROOT-MID.PFV	ROOT-u/ēv-MID.PFV	ROOT-MID.PFV	ROOT-u-MID.PFV
	SUBJ	ROOT-ē-MID.PFV	ROOT-uē/ēv-MID.PFV	ROOT-ē-MID.PFV	ROOT-uē/iā-MID.PFV	ROOT-ē-MID.PFV	ROOT-uē/eā-MID.PFV	ROOT-ē-MID.PFV	ROOT-uē-MID.PFV
	DES	ROOT-su-MID.PFV	ROOT-āru-MID.PFV	ROOT-su-MID.PFV	ROOT-eru/īru-MID.PFV	ROOT-su-MID.PFV	ROOT-eru/īru-MID.PFV	ROOT-su-MID.PFV	ROOT-eru-MID.PFV
	POT	ROOT-tāv-MID.PFV	ROOT-ātāv-MID.PFV	ROOT-tāv-MID.PFV	ROOT-itāv/ītāv-MID.PFV	ROOT-tāv-MID.PFV	ROOT-itāv/ītāv-MID.PFV	ROOT-tāv-MID.PFV	ROOT-itāv-MID.PFV
PAS	IND	ROOT-PAS.PFV	ROOT-u/āv-PAS.PFV	ROOT-PAS.PFV	ROOT-u/īv-PAS.PFV	ROOT-PAS.PFV	ROOT-u/ēv-PAS.PFV	ROOT-PAS.PFV	ROOT-u-PAS.PFV
	SUBJ	ROOT-PAS.PFV	ROOT-uē/ēv-PAS.PFV	ROOT-PAS.PFV	ROOT-uē/iāv-PAS.PFV	ROOT-PAS.PFV	ROOT-uē/eā-PAS.PFV	ROOT-PAS.PFV	ROOT-uē-PAS.PFV
	DES	ROOT-su-PAS.PFV	ROOT-āru-PAS.PFV	ROOT-su-PAS.PFV	ROOT-eru/īru-PAS.PFV	ROOT-su-PAS.PFV	ROOT-eru/īru-PAS.PFV	ROOT-su-PAS.PFV	ROOT-eru-PAS.PFV
	POT	ROOT-tāv-PAS.PFV	ROOT-ātāv-PAS.PFV	ROOT-tāv-PAS.PFV	ROOT-itāv/ītāv-PAS.PFV	ROOT-tāv-PAS.PFV	ROOT-itāv/ītāv-PAS.PFV	ROOT-tāv-PAS.PFV	ROOT-itāv-PAS.PFV
CAUS	IND	ROOT-tīv-ACT.PFV	ROOT-ātīv-ACT.PFV	ROOT-tīv-ACT.PFV	ROOT-itīv/ītīv-ACT.PFV	ROOT-tīv-ACT.PFV	ROOT-itīv/ītīv-ACT.PFV	ROOT-tīv-ACT.PFV	ROOT-itīv-ACT.PFV
	SUBJ	ROOT-tiāv-ACT.PFV	ROOT-ātiāv-ACT.PFV	ROOT-tiāv-ACT.PFV	ROOT-itiāv/ītiāv-ACT.PFV	ROOT-tiāv-ACT.PFV	ROOT-itiāv/itiāv-ACT.PFV	ROOT-tiāv-ACT.PFV	ROOT-itiāv-ACT.PFV
	DES	ROOT-tieru-ACT.PFV	ROOT-ātieru-ACT.PFV	ROOT-tieru-ACT.PFV	ROOT-itieru/ītieru-ACT.PFV	ROOT-tieru-ACT.PFV	ROOT-itieru/ītieru-ACT.PFV	ROOT-tieru-ACT.PFV	ROOT-itieru-ACT.PFV
	POT	ROOT-sītāv-ACT.PFV	ROOT-āsītāv-ACT.PFV	ROOT-sītāv-ACT.PFV	ROOT-issītāv/īsītāv-ACT.PFV	ROOT-sītāv-ACT.PFV	ROOT-issītāv/īsītāv-ACT.PFV	ROOT-sītāv-ACT.PFV	ROOT-issītāv-ACT.PFV

Principle Parts

The verb in Aeranir is primarily made of three parts: root, theme, and ending, with an optional forth category, the suffix, for forming the perfective. The root and theme combine to form the stem. The root carries the semantic content of the word, and can also be conjugated to carry modal imformation. The theme describes how the stem interacts with the ending, and can also be changed, along with the stem and endings, to express a variety of different grammatical meanings. Endings indicate the voice, aspect, person, number, and gender of the most oblique argument in the DGA scheme.

Basic verb endings

			Active		Middle		Passive
			Imperfective	Perfective	Imperfective	Perfective	Imperfective	Perfective
Singular	1st Person		-itz/-it	-ī	-or/-ō	-ō	-ēlō	-ēlō
	2nd Person		-in	-in	-istī	-ist	-ēlāstī	-ēlast
	3rd Person	temporary	-is	-is	-erur	-ere	-ēlārur	-ēlāre
		cyclical	-a	-a	-era		-ēlāra
		eternal	-ī	-e	-erur		-ēlārur
Plural	1st Person		-imus	-ime	-imur	-imur	-ēlāmur	-ēlāme
	2nd Person		-itis	-ite	-itur	-itur	-ēlātur	-ēlāte
	3rd Person		-intz/-int	-int	-intur	-intur	-ēlantur	-ēlante

The way in which a verb will conjugate can be determined from how it forms the following five constructions:

1. the active idicative imperfective first person singular
2. the active imperfective accusative infinitive
3. the active perfective participle
4. the active desiderative imperfective first person singular
5. the active indicative perfective first person singular

These five forms are refered to as a verb's reference forms. They are often shortend to first person singular (1p.sg), accusative infinitive (acc.inf), perfective participle (pfv.ptcp), desiderative first person singular (des.1p.sg), and perfective first person singular (pfv.1p.sg) respectively.

The first two of these reference forms determines a verb's base theme vowel, or what vowel is used in its indicative imperfective forms. There are four main thematic classes; one weak or null class, wherein the ending is applied directly to the stem, and three strong classes, wherein a thematic vowel is inserted between the stem and the ending.

Consonant stem changes

	t-stem	s-stem
-m-	→ -mpt-	→ -s-*
-n-	→ -nt-
-ñ-	→ -ñct-
-p-	→ -pt-	→ -ps-
-t-	→ -ss- → -s-**	→ -ss- → -s-**
-tl-
-tz-
-c-	→ -ct-	→ -x-
-cu-
-q-	→ -qt-	→ -qs-
-qu-
-s-	→ -st-	→ -ss- → -s-**
-r-	→ -st- → -s-** → -rt-††	→ -ss- → -s-** → -rr-††
-l-	→ -s-** → -lt-††	→ -s-** → -ll-††
-v-	→ -ut-‡ → -ct-*†† → -qt-*††	→ -ur-‡ → -x-*†† → -qs-*††
-i-	→ -ct-* → -qt-*††	→ -x-* → -qs-*††
-h-
-V-	→ -Vt-	→ -Vr-

Theme-ending combination

Ending	Theme
	-ā-	-ē-	-ī-
-itz	→ -atz	→ -etz	→ -itz
-is	→ -ās	→ -ēs	→ -īs
-a	→ -a	→ -ea	→ -ia
-ī	→ -ae	→ -ī	→ -ī
-imus	→ -āmus	→ -ēmus	→ -īmus
-or	→ -or	→ -eor	→ -ior
-ēlō	→ -ālō	→ -ēlō	→ -iēlō

The second two determine a verb's t-stem and s-stem. These stem alterations are used for further conjugation, the t-stem forming the active and middle perfective participles, the causative voice, and the potential mood, and the s-stem forming the desiderative. The t- and s-forms often are identical, however meaning is useally further differentiated by thematic vowels, so completely identical forms are rare.

The final form determines how a verb with form the perfective aspect. Generally, there are three main strategies for this: the application of suffix -u- directly after the stem (e.g. oelitz ("I work") → oeluī ("I worked")), the appication of the suffix -v- after a theme vowel (e.g. aehatz ("they love me") → aehāvī ("they loved me")), or no suffix, with lengthening of the root vowel (e.g. lecitz ("I choose") → lēcī ("I chose")). It should be noted that the perfective is always followed by weak endings.

Occassionally, a thematic vowel, weak or strong, may be inserted before the t- or s-stem. This is most common in verbs with a base thematic -ā-, which often functions as a part of the stem (e.g. aehatz → aehātus ("that loved") aehārit ("they want to love me") vs. mavatz ("I wander") → mautus ("that wandered") maurit ("I want to wander)). This may occur with other theme classes, although it should be noted that -ē- is never used, and is always replaced with -ī-.

Aspect

Aeranir verbs have two basic aspects, which express how the verb extends over time. Aspect differs from tense in that it deals with the completion or continuity of an action or state, rather than the absolute timeframe inwhich it took place.  Each aspect may be in any voice and/or mood. Aspect is expressed primarily through endings, and secondarily through the suffix, as discussed above.

Imperfective

The imperfective aspect describes a situation viewed with interior composition. It describes ongoing, habitual, or repeated situations, rather or not they occured in the past, present, or future. The imperfective aspect is considered the most basic, unmarked aspect of a verb. The stem is uninflected, and endings are attached directly to the verb's basic theme vowel.

Pefective

The perfective aspect in Aeranir describes situations viewed with exterior composition, which is to say actions which are completed and viewed as a unified whole, whether thet take place in the past present, or future, although this construction is very rarely used in for the future.

There are a variety of different strategies to form the perfective. Many of them involve the suffix, which takes the form of -v- between vowels and -u- after consonants. All of them take the perfective endings.

• Attachment of the suffix directly to the stem.

mentitz ("they are healing me") → mentuī ("they healed me")

saepitz ("they are cutting me") → saepuī ("they cut me")

• Attachment of the suffix after base thematic vowel.

sircuitz ("they are speaking me") → sircīvī ("they spoke me")

auhetz ("they are looking at me") → auhēvī ("they looked at me")

• No suffix; perfective endings attached directly to the stem, with root vowel lengthening.

iuvatz ("they are writing me") → iūvī ("they wrote me")

vehitz ("they are carrying me") → vēhī ("they carried me")

Mood

Indicative

The indicative mood is the baseline grammatical mood in Aeranir. It is used in declarative statements, to express statements or facts, of what the speaker considers true or known. It is the least marked mood of a verb, taking endings directly to the base theme vowel, stem, or suffix.

Subjunctive

The subjunctive mood (subj) has numerous, but genreally speaking is used to express such nuances as 'would,' 'should,' or 'may.' It can be used to refer to information that the speaker is unsure about, such as hearsay, or for theoretical or hypotherical situations. It is often found in subordinate clauses, annd may be used for conditional statements (e.g. if..., when...).

Subjuntive theme changes

Type		Change	Example
Weak Verbs		-ø- → -ē-	meñitz → meñet
		-ē- → -ā-	meñēlō → meñālō
Strong Verbs	a-stem	-ā- → -ē-	aehatz → aehet aehālō → aehēlō
	i-stem	-ī- → -iā-	sēpitz → sēpiat
		-iē- → -iā-	sēpiēlō → sēpiālō
	e-stem	-ē- → -eā-	cōretz → cōreat cōrēlō → cōreālō

Forming the subjunctive

The subjunctive is formed by shifting a verb's base theme vowel, as described by the table to the left. This shift happens after the stem, but may be either before or after the suffix, depending on whether or not there is a theme vowel before the suffix in the indicative. So the perfective of aehēs ("they should love it") is aehēvis (from indicative aehāvis) but sēpiās ("they should cut it") is sēpuēs (from indicative sēpuis), not **aehāvēs or **sēpēvis. Although these forms are occasionally found in non-standard writing, they are considered incorrect my grammaticians.

The imperfective subjunctive uses the 1st person sungular -it instead of -itz, and -ō instead of -or: pacitz, pacior ("they take me, I take") become paciat, paciō ("they should take me, I should take").

The 1st person subjunctive perfective in verbs that have no theme vowel before the suffix and does not extend the root vowel is identical to the indicative, and the mood must be inferred through conext: saepuī may be either "they cut me" or "They should cut me." The 3rd person active cyclical singulars in verbs with base theme vowels -ī- and -ē- are also identical, e.g. both pacia ("they take it/they should take it"), auhea ("they see it/they should see it").

Uses of the subjunctive

The subjunctive has numerous uses, ranging from what potentially might be true to what the speaker wishes or commands should happen. It is often translated with 'should', 'could', 'would', 'may' and so on, but in certain contexts it is translated as if it were an ordinary indicative verb.

One use of the subjunctive is the speculative subjunction, used when the speaker imagines what potentially may, might, would, or could happen in the present or future or might have happened in the past. Negation for this type uses mū.

auheārur

see-MID.SUBJ.3SG.E

seun

this-E.NOM.SG

oeliun

job-NOM.SG

stērē

hard-ADV

auheārur seun oeliun stērē

see-MID.SUBJ.3SG.E this-E.NOM.SG job-NOM.SG hard-ADV

'This job seems difficult'

moeiea

please-SUBJ.3SG.C

Osculan

Little.Oscus-ACC.SG

tzānū

gift-ESS.SG

salva

book-NOM.SG

moeiea Osculan tzānū salva

please-SUBJ.3SG.C Little.Oscus-ACC.SG gift-ESS.SG book-NOM.SG

'Little Oscus may like a book as a gift'

The subjunctive may also be used as the optative subjunctive, expressing what the speaker wishes may happen, or wishes had happened. These expresses a weaker or more generalised desire, as opposed to the desiderative mood. Negation for this type uses mū.

ciāvis

come-PFV.SUBJ.3SG.T

mū

NEG

seus

this-T.NOM.SG

incerī

capital-DAT.SG

pernus

storm-NOM.SG

ciāvis mū seus incerī pernus

come-PFV.SUBJ.3SG.T NEG this-T.NOM.SG capital-DAT.SG storm-NOM.SG

'If only this storm hadn't come to the capital!'

The jussive subjunctive can be used for commands or suggestions for what should happen. It is less direct and far more common than the imperative. Negation for this type uses mīm.

ven

go-SUBJ.2SG

hānō

temple-DAT.SG

ē

against

vecō

curse-DAT.SG

veniennō

win-GER-DAT

ven hānō ē vecō veniennō

go-SUBJ.2SG temple-DAT.SG against curse-DAT.SG win-GER-DAT

'You should go to the temple to prevail against the curse'

Perhaps the most common use of the subjunctive is the conditional subjunctive. When the subjunctive is used in a subordinate clause (with the verb moving to the final position), it may carry the meaning 'if, when, should, etc..' This can be used both in finite verb forms, and with participles, the former being more popular in Old inscriptions and the later in Classical ones. Negation for this type uses mīm.

Desiderative

The desiderative is used primarily to express wants or desires. While the subjunctive may be used for this as well (see optative subjunctive), the desiderative is considered less abstract or wishful, signalling concrete and actionable wants. It is formed from the s-stem of a verb, with no theme vowel between it and the ending, and using the secondary first person singular and third person plural markers (e.g. -it and -end vs. primary -itz and -entz). Verbs generally follow three patterns to form the s-stem;

• -s- is appended to the root, causing no other alteration to the root.

requitz ("they return me") → reqsit ("they want to return me")

saepitz ("they are cutting me") → saepsit ("they want to cut me")

• -s- is appended after a theme vowel, causing -s- to become -r-.

sircuitz ("they are speaking me") → sircuerit ("they want to speak me")

auhetz ("they are looking at me") → auherit ("they want to look at me")

• -s- is appended to the root, causing some alteration to the root, and perhaps the -s- augment as well.

iuvatz ("they are writing me") → iūrit ("they want to write me")

mentitz ("they are healing me") → mēnsit ("they want to heal me")

Potential

The potential mood indicates that, in the opinion of the speaker, one has the ability or capability to do something. It should not be confused with the subjunctive mood, which may be used to express that something is likely or possible to occur. The potential always deals with ability. It may be formed from the t-stem of a verb, plus the thematic vowel -a- (as opposed to the causative voice, which is formed with the t-stem plus the thematic vowel -i-). Like the desiderative, there are three main paradigms by which the t-stem of a verb is formed;

• -t- is appended to the root, causing no other alteration to the root.

requitz ("they return me") → reqtatz ("they can return me")

saepitz ("they are cutting me") → saebtatz ("they can cut me")

• -t- is appended after a theme vowel.

sircuitz ("they are speaking me") → sircuitatz ("they can speak me")

auhetz ("they are looking at me") → auhitatz ("they can look at me")

• -t- is appended to the root, causing some alteration to the root, and perhaps the -t- augment as well.

iuvatz ("they are writing me") → iūtatz ("they can write me")

mentitz ("they are healing me") → mēnsatz ("they can heal me")

It should be noted that in the causative voice of the potential mood, the first -t- augment often dissimilates to -s/ss-;

• auhititz ("they let me look at it") → **auhitītatz → auhissītatz ("they can let me look at it")
• reqtitz ("they let me return it") → **reqtītatz → reqsītatz ("they can let me return it")

Voice

Middle

The middle voice (also called the mediopassive voice) is in the middle between the active and the passive voices, as the subject often cannot be categorised as either agent or patient but may have elements of both. The middle voice is usually inherently intransitive, and transitive or ditransitive verbs conjugated into the middle voice usually become intransitive themselves. It is formed by attaching the middle verb endings to the root of a verb.

The meaning of a verb in the middle voice often depends on the context of the sentence and the lexical properties of the word itself. In its most basic sense, it may be used simply as a valancy decreasing operation. As transitive verbs require an object in the active voice (because transitive verbs must agree with the object), the middle voice may be used merely to omit an object, to highlight the subject or some other part of the sentence, or to simply make a blanket statement.

• aehatz 'they love me' (active) → aehor 'I love' (middle)
• lecis 'they_i choose them_j' (active) → lecerur 'they_j choose' (middle)

Animacy can play a major role in the meaning of a verb in the middle voice. Verbs with more animate subjects, such as people, animals, gods, etc., may be interpreted as more towards an active meaning, whilst less animate subjects, like inanimate objects or possessions, may be interpreted as more passive in meaning.

auhērur

see-MID.3SG.T

seus

this-T.NOM.SG

ars

wumbo-NOM.SG

(more animate)

 

auhērur seus ars

see-MID.3SG.T this-T.NOM.SG wumbo-NOM.SG

'That wumbo sees'

auhēra

see-MID.3SG.C

sea

this-C.NOM.SG

salva

book-NOM.SG

(less animate)

 

auhēra sea salva

see-MID.3SG.C this-C.NOM.SG book-NOM.SG

'That book is seen'

Sometimes, it may have a reflexive meaning, or the sense of doing something for ones own benefit.

vascit

wash-ACT.1SG

vominis

river-LOC.SG

(active voice)

 

vascit vominis

wash-ACT.1SG river-LOC.SG

'They wash me in a river'

vascor

wash-MID.1SG

vominis

river-LOC.SG

(middle voice)

 

vascor vominis

wash-MID.1SG river-LOC.SG

'I washed (myself) in a river'

hastās

sacrifice-ACT.3SG.T

Oscus

Oscus-NOM.SG

aprun

fish-ACC.SG

(active voice)

 

hastās Oscus aprun

sacrifice-ACT.3SG.T Oscus-NOM.SG fish-ACC.SG

'Oscus sacrificed a fish'

hastārur

sacrifice-MID.3SG.T

Oscus

Oscus-NOM.SG

aprōrun

fish-INSTR.SG

(middle voice)

 

hastārur Oscus aprōrun

sacrifice-MID.3SG.T Oscus-NOM.SG fish-INSTR.SG

'Oscus sacrificed a fish (for their benefit)'

Another important use of the middle voice is the experiential middle voice. When used with sensory verbs the middle voice may be used to differentiate experiential, nonvolitional sensation (see, hear, smell, feel, know, etc.), as opposed to active, volitional sensation (look, listen, sniff, touch, understand, etc.) Often times, the object of the sensory verb will be expressed using an oblique case, usually the ablative.

ȳrēs

hear/listen-ACT.3SG.T

te

=1SG.NOM

ponun

voice-ACC.SG

carīnī

friend-GEN.SG

hellē

happily

(active voice)

 

ȳrēs te ponun carīnī hellē

hear/listen-ACT.3SG.T =1SG.NOM voice-ACC.SG friend-GEN.SG happily

'I like to listen to (my) friend's voice'

ȳreor

hear/listen-MID.1SG

ponā

voice-ABL.SG

carīnī

friend-GEN.SG

hellē

happily

(middle voice)

 

ȳreor ponā carīnī hellē

hear/listen-MID.1SG voice-ABL.SG friend-GEN.SG happily

'I like to hear (my) friend's voice'

The middle voice may also be used with a variety of verbal compliments—usually adverbs—which describe the quality of the subject, or the result of the action. Often times such constructions may be expressed in English as adjective to verb, e.g. 'easy to love'.

qurrera

read-MID.3SG.C

salva

book-NOM.SG

hēs

matters-NOM.SG

collēcta

gather-PFV.PTCP-C.NOM.SG

aplīdiāna

of_Avrid-C.NOM.SG

iūs

well

qurrera salva hēs collēcta aplīdiāna iūs

read-MID.3SG.C book-NOM.SG matters-NOM.SG gather-PFV.PTCP-C.NOM.SG of_Avrid-C.NOM.SG well

'The book "Collected Matters of Avrid" is a good read' (lit. '~reads well')

tetuere

drink-PFV.MID.3SG.E

tīn

tea-NOM.SG

īvīs

1PL.PRO-DAT

lȳrīs

time-LOC.SG

saltīs

pass-PFV.PTCP-T.LOC.SG

ni

2SG=

fictun

make-PFV.PTCP-E.NOM.SG

satun

pour-PFV.PTCP-E.NOM.SG

iūs

well

tetuere tīn īvīs lȳrīs saltīs ni fictun satun iūs

drink-PFV.MID.3SG.E tea-NOM.SG 1PL.PRO-DAT time-LOC.SG pass-PFV.PTCP-T.LOC.SG 2SG= make-PFV.PTCP-E.NOM.SG pour-PFV.PTCP-E.NOM.SG well

'The tea you made us last time was delicious' (lit. '~drank well')

Passive

The passive voice in Aeranir shares many traits with the middle voice, and often times the distinction between the two can be subtle, nuanced, or obscure. The passive was rare in Old Aeranir and even in the Classical period remained unusual, with the middle voice still preferred for passive clauses. It only began to rise in popularity in Late Aeranir. In its most basic form, the grammatical subject (nominative argument) expresses the theme or patient of the main verb – that is, the person or thing that undergoes the action or has its state changed. This is opposed to the active voice, where the nominative argument expresses the agent of a transitive clause or subject of an intransitive one, and the middle voice, which has traits of both.

Uses of the passive

Unlike the middle voice, the passive is not used for verbal complements, and it cannot take the agent of a verb as its subject. It is never used in verbal complements.

teterur

drink-MID.3SG.E

seun

this-E.NOM.SG

tīn

tea-NOM.SG

iūs

well

teterur seun tīn iūs

drink-MID.3SG.E this-E.NOM.SG tea-NOM.SG well

'This tea tastes good' (lit. 'it drinks well')

tetēlārur

drink-PAS.3SG.E

seun

this-E.NOM.SG

tīn

tea-NOM.SG

iūs

well

tetēlārur seun tīn iūs

drink-PAS.3SG.E this-E.NOM.SG tea-NOM.SG well

'This tea is drunk often'

While the agent may be dropped in a passive clause, it may also be included, using the ablative case.

praestrōcuēlāre

rebuild-PFV.PAS.3SG.E

ūlun

yonder-E.NOM.SG

Cavā

Cava-ABL.SG

Īliānā

Ilianus-C.ABL.SG

hānun

temple-NOM.SG

praestrōcuēlāre ūlun Cavā Īliānā hānun

rebuild-PFV.PAS.3SG.E yonder-E.NOM.SG Cava-ABL.SG Ilianus-C.ABL.SG temple-NOM.SG

'This temple was rebuilt by Cava Iliana'

The passive can also be especially with intransitive verbs to form denote an unspecified/generic subject. This structure may is used to make general statements or observations. Negation for this type uses mū.

miquientur

die-MID.3PL.T

miquientur

die-MID.3PL.T

'They are dead/dying.'

miquiēlantur

die-PAS.3PL.T

miquiēlantur

die-PAS.3PL.T

'There are people dead/dying'

mūhera

not.enough-MID.3SG.C

(sea)

(this-C.NOM.SG)

artina

wumbo-DAT.PL

inceris

capital-GEN.SG

alta

water-NOM.SG

mūhera (sea) artina inceris alta

not.enough-MID.3SG.C (this-C.NOM.SG) wumbo-DAT.PL capital-GEN.SG water-NOM.SG

'This is not enough water for the people of the capital'

mūhēlāra

not.enough-PAS.3SG.C

artina

wumbo-DAT.PL

inceris

capital-GEN.SG

alta

water-NOM.SG

mūhēlāra artina inceris alta

not.enough-PAS.3SG.C wumbo-DAT.PL capital-GEN.SG water-NOM.SG

'There is not enough water for the people of the capital'

Similarly, the passive can be used to form the aversive passive, denoting an undesirable event or outcome. The affecting action may happen directly to the subject, or to another person or thing.

cōmerī

home-DAT

requintus

return-IPFV.PTCP-T.NOM.SG

furuēlō

fall-PFV.PAS.1SG

sopere

snow-ABL.SG

cōmerī requintus furuēlō sopere

home-DAT return-IPFV.PTCP-T.NOM.SG fall-PFV.PAS.1SG snow-ABL.SG

'Walking home I got snowed on'

miquīvēlast

die-PFV-PAS.2SG

apiesterā

master-ABL.SG

miquīvēlast apiesterā

die-PFV-PAS.2SG master-ABL.SG

'Your master has died on you' (i.e., died and it negatively affects you)

In some uses of the aversive passive, the subject of the sentence may be difficult to ascertain. For example, the sentence furuī pālā 'I fell from the tree' can be expressed in using the aversive passive, because the action is undesirable. However, the straight aversive passive, furuēlō pālā, is ambiguous; it could mean either 'I fell from the tree' (using the ablative of motion) or 'The tree fell on me' (using the agentive ablative).

In the first interpretation, the first person argument is the semantic subject of the clause, whilst in the second it is the tree. In order to emphasise that the semantic subject and syntactic arguments are the same (i.e. it is I who fell from the tree), the reflexive pronoun cē may be used; e.g. furuī pālā ('I fell from the tree') → furuēlō cē pālā ('I fell from the tree, and it negatively affected me' lit. 'I fell myself from the tree').

Non-finite forms

The infinitive

Aeranir infinitives

	Imperfective			Perfective
	accusative	oblique	meaning	accusative	oblique	meaning
Active	aehāhan -han	aehāre -re	to love (someone)	aehāhī -hī	aehārī -rī	to have loved (someone)
Middle	aehāsse -sse	aehāiēs -iēs	to love	aehāssī -ssī	aehāiērī -iērī	to have loved
Passive	aehātus sinhan PFV.PTCP + sinhan	aehātus fiēs PFV.PTCP + fiēs	to be loved	aehātus fūhī PFV.PTCP + fūhī	aehātus fiērī PFV.PTCP + fiērī	to have been loved
Causative	aehātīhan -tīhan	aehātīre -tīre	to make (someone) love (someone)	aehātīhī -tīhī	aehātīrī -tīrī	to have made (someone) love (someone)

Uses of the infinitive

The infinitive in Aeranir can be used to report indirect speech, hearsay, speculation, or sensation.

pēra

pass-PFV.3SG.C

tihī

1SG.PRO-DAT

incerī

capital-DAT.SG

ni

2SG=

cīhī

come-PFV.INF

pēra tihī incerī ni cīhī

pass-PFV.3SG.C 1SG.PRO-DAT capital-DAT.SG 2SG= come-PFV.INF

'They told me that you'd come to the capital'

ȳrēva

hear-PFV.3SG.C

te

=1SG

Mussā

Mussa-ABL.SG

Limī

Limius-GEN.SG

carīnōvus

friend-GEN.PL

quo

=and

neme

newly

cōmus

home-ACC.SG

strōcēhan

build-INF

ȳrēva te Mussā Limī carīnōvus quo neme cōmus strōcēhan

hear-PFV.3SG.C =1SG Mussa-ABL.SG Limius-GEN.SG friend-GEN.PL =and newly home-ACC.SG build-INF

'I heard from Mussa that Limius and their friends are building a new house'

The gerund

The gerund in Aeranir is a infinite verb form which displays characteristics of both a noun and a verb. It declines for a limited scope of cases (although not for gender nor number), but can take object and adjunct arguments like a verb. It usually has an adverbial/adjectival meaning, and never agrees with the main verb.

Forming the gerund

• Null-grade verbs: ROOT-innū; e.g. tetihan ('to drink') → tetinnū ('whilst drinking').
• A-grade verbs: ROOT-annū; e.g. iuvāhan ('to write') → iuvannū ('whilst writing').
• I-grade verbs: ROOT-iennū; e.g. cītīhan ('to cut') → cītiennū ('whilst cutting').
• E-grade verbs: ROOT-ennū; e.g. aquēhan ('to be open') → aquennū ('whilst open').

Uses of the gerund

The meaning of the gerund changes depending on its case. The essive and locative can be used to indicate temporal action in relation to the main action of a sentence. The essive indicates simultaneous action, i.e. two actions that cooccur. This may be relayed in English via the conjunction 'whilst.'

murran

wall-ACC.SG

travannū

walk-GER.ESS

pērintur

converse.PFV-MID.3PL

pāliō

governor-NOM.SG

mater

senator-NOM.SG

murran travannū pērintur pāliō mater

wall-ACC.SG walk-GER.ESS converse.PFV-MID.3PL governor-NOM.SG senator-NOM.SG

'Whilst they walked along the wall, the governor and senator conversed'

This overlaps with certain uses of the imperfective participle (see § uses of the participle), e.g. murran travantur pērintur pāliō mater is synonymous with the above example. In contrast, the locative gerund is used to show actions beginning at the same time. This may be relayed with English 'when' or 'as.'

pāsillan

fireword-ACC.SG

cītiennīs

cut-GER.LOC

auhēva

see-PFV-C.3SG

sartī

knife-GEN.SG

tūī

mine-T.GEN.SG

cōrēssī

break-PFV.MID.ACC.INF

pāsillan cītiennīs auhēva sartī tūī cōrēssī

fireword-ACC.SG cut-GER.LOC see-PFV-C.3SG knife-GEN.SG mine-T.GEN.SG break-PFV.MID.ACC.INF

'As I (began to) cut the firewood, I saw that my knife was broken'

This differs from usage of the perfective participle, which signals the main action starting at the end of the dependant one, i.e. pāsillan cīsus auhēva sartī tūī cōrēssī 'having cut the firewood I saw that my knife was broken.'

In addition, the essive gerund may be used with the verb rēhan ('to do') in order to express an attempt, goal, or aim. In the perfective aspect, this is usually interpreted as a failed attempt.

rēvō

do-PFV-MID.1SG

salvan

book-ACC.SG

ā

over

vitlās

life-ABL.PL

Īliānōvus

Ilian-GEN.PL

iuvannū

write-GER.ESS

rēvō salvan ā vitlās Īliānōvus iuvannū

do-PFV-MID.1SG book-ACC.SG over life-ABL.PL Ilian-GEN.PL write-GER.ESS

'I tried (but failed) to write a book about the lives of the Ilians.'

The genitive and dative cases of the gerund are used to express aim, goal, or purpose. The genitive gerund marks the purpose or use of a noun, whilst the dative gerund marks the purpose of a verb or action.

pea

grow-C.3SG

cūran

herb-ACC.SG

vecunt

illness-ACC.PL

inceris

head-GEN.SG

moñennī

heal-GER.GEN

pea cūran vecunt inceris moñennī

grow-C.3SG herb-ACC.SG illness-ACC.PL head-GEN.SG heal-GER.GEN

'They grow an herb for healing illnesses of the head'

serue

order-PFV.E.3SG

te

=1SG

Caescārin

Caescar-ACC.SG

mumae

mother-ACC.PL

ūī

their-T.ACC.PL

sihinnō

sate-GER.DAT

pāliōna

post-DAT.PL

serue te Caescārin mumae ūī sihinnō pāliōna

order-PFV.E.3SG =1SG Caescar-ACC.SG mother-ACC.PL their-T.ACC.PL sate-GER.DAT post-DAT.PL

'I ordered Caescar to the boarder to appease their parents'

Furthermore, the dative gerund may be used with the middle voice of the verb rēhan ('to do') in a similar way to the essive, however in this case denoting intent, plans, will, or conjecture.

reor

do-MID.1SG

cartō

dance-DAT.SG

cur

with

Mussiō

Mussius-DAT.SG

vannō

go-GER-DAT

reor cartō cur Mussiō vannō

do-MID.1SG dance-DAT.SG with Mussius-DAT.SG go-GER-DAT

'I intend to go to the dance with Mussius'

reāvere

do-MID.SUBJ.PFV-3SG

seō

this-DAT.SG

scericca

undertaker-NOM.SG

ciennō

come-GER-DAT

reāvere seō scericca ciennō

do-MID.SUBJ.PFV-3SG this-DAT.SG undertaker-NOM.SG come-GER-DAT

'The undertaker should have come here (they planned to do so)'

The ablative and instrumental cases of the gerund can be used to express cause, i.e. 'by doing x,' or 'because x.' The ablative generally marks unintentional or natural causes, whilst the instrumental marks intentional cause.

tlānae

flower-ACC.PL

ustae

that(medial)-C.ACC.PL

quo

=and

peannā

plant-GER-ABL

rēve

do-PFV-E.3SG

cōmus

house-ACC.SG

pūterē

beautiful-ADV

tlānae ustae quo peannā rēve cōmus pūterē

flower-ACC.PL that(medial)-C.ACC.PL =and plant-GER-ABL do-PFV-E.3SG house-ACC.SG beautiful-ADV

'By planting all these flowers you've made the house beautiful'

ustam

that(medial)-C.ACC.SG

prī

before

tētē

1SG-ABL

harēnam

paper-ACC.SG

matrī

senator-DAT.SG

iminnōrun

send-GER-INSTR

restērāvist

assure-PFV-MID.2SG

pāliōnū

governor-ESS.SG

gaeticae

Gaetica-GEN.SG

ustam prī tētē harēnam matrī iminnōrun restērāvist pāliōnū gaeticae

that(medial)-C.ACC.SG before 1SG-ABL paper-ACC.SG senator-DAT.SG send-GER-INSTR assure-PFV-MID.2SG governor-ESS.SG Gaetica-GEN.SG

'By sending the senator that letter before me, you've assured your place as governor of Gaetica'

Semantics

Temporal expressions

The ancient Aerans divided the day from noon to noon into one hundred lammar (sg. lamma) of equal length, roughly 14.4 minutes long. The daytime was divided into sixteen lȳrar (sg. lȳra), and night into four or five volar (sg. vola) depending on the season. Time was kept on a device called a lammāriun, a type of clock. Early lammāriunt only measured lammar, and one had to consult an almanac (lȳrāriun) to determine the length and starting time of each lȳra or vola on a given day.

The verb spurhan ('to hang (trans.)') is used to denote spending or taking time;

spurra

hang-MID.C.3SG

sau

only

īma

one-C.NOM.SG

lamma

lamma-NOM.SG

āmātiō

market-DAT.SG

vannō

go-GER-DAT

spurra sau īma lamma āmātiō vannō

hang-MID.C.3SG only one-C.NOM.SG lamma-NOM.SG market-DAT.SG go-GER-DAT

'It only takes one lamma to get to the market'

qurrintus

read-PTCP-T.NOM.SG

spūrint

hang.PFV-3PL

te

=1SG

volae

vola-ACC.PL

mōrī

three-C.ACC.PL

qurrintus spūrint te volae mōrī

read-PTCP-T.NOM.SG hang.PFV-3PL =1SG vola-ACC.PL three-C.ACC.PL

'I spent three volar reading'

To denote the amount of time spent on an action, without regard for whether or not the activity was completed or reached its end goal (i.e. atelic action) the essive case is used. To signify the amount of time spent or necessary to spend to complete an activity (i.e. telic action) the instrumental case is used.

iūvint

write.PFV-3PL

te

=1SG

harēnae

letter-ACC.SG

īmau

one-C.ESS.SG

lȳrau

lyra-ESS.SG

iūvint te harēnae īmau lȳrau

write.PFV-3PL =1SG letter-ACC.SG one-C.ESS.SG lyra-ESS.SG

'I wrote letters for an hour'

iūva

write.PFV-C.3SG

te

=1SG

harēna

letter-ACC.SG

īmārun

one-C.INSTR.SG

lȳrārun

lyra-INSTR.SG

iūva te harēna īmārun lȳrārun

write.PFV-C.3SG =1SG letter-ACC.SG one-C.INSTR.SG lyra-INSTR.SG

'I wrote the letter in an hour'

Possession

There are a number of different strategies in Aeranir to signify possession. Aeranir lacks a possession verb analogous to English 'to have,' and instead usually signifies possession through different types of existential clauses. For example, the sentence 'I have a friend' can be expressed by the sentence ēs carīnus tihī, which literally means 'there is a friend to me.'

The case of the possessor changes depending its relationship with the possessed:

• Locative case: used for personal possessions that are currently on the person;

ēs

COP-T.3SG

iarius

spear-NOM.SG

taurātīs

soldier-LOC.SG

 

lit. 'at the soldier is a spear'

ēs iarius taurātīs

COP-T.3SG spear-NOM.SG soldier-LOC.SG

'The soldier has a spear (on them)'

• Dative case: used for personal possessions that are not currently on the person, or for affiliation with persons or people;

sintz

COP-T.3PL

iariur

spear-NOM.PL

vulhur

many-T.NOM.PL

taurātiō

soldier-DAT.SG

 

lit. 'to the soldier are many spears'

sintz iariur vulhur taurātiō

COP-T.3PL spear-NOM.PL many-T.NOM.PL soldier-DAT.SG

'The soldier has many spears (at home)'

sintz

COP-T.3PL

menterur

sibling-NOM.PL

tihī

1SG-DAT

octzin

six

 

lit. 'to me are six siblings'

sintz menterur tihī octzin

COP-T.3PL sibling-NOM.PL 1SG-DAT six

'I have six siblings'

• Ablative case: used for parts of a whole, or body parts;

sī

COP-E.3SG

incus

head-NOM.SG

iūrun

good-E.NOM.SG

nēnē

1SG-ABL

 

lit. 'from you is a good head'

sī incus iūrun nēnē

COP-E.3SG head-NOM.SG good-E.NOM.SG 1SG-ABL

'You have a good head (i.e. are smart)'

For metaphorical possession or possession of abstract concepts, such as leadership, power, knowledge, etc., any of these three may be used, for different rhetorical purposes. For example, using the locative implies an immediacy to the possession; that it is in hand, ready to be used. Using the dative implies that the possession is not immediate, but rather something that can be drawn upon, perhaps too vast to 'carry' on one person. This can be more humble or polite than the locative. Using the locative implies that the trait is a fundamental, inalienable, and inherent part of the possessor, rather than something gained or worked for.

Conditionals

Aeranir has a number of ways of expressing conditional sentences, depending on the type of condition, as well as the register of speech. Colloquial or spontaneous speech tends to favour the use of finite dependant clauses for the protasis (conditional clause, as opposed to the apodosis, or consequence), where as practiced or refined speech, or writing, tend to favour non-finite dependant clauses (this represents a general trend in writing to 'nominalise' all but the most central verb in a sentence, and sometimes the central verb too is made non-finite).

sopis

snow-NOM.SG

furea

fall-SUBJ.C.3SG

requeō

return-MID.SUBJ.1SG

cōmerī

home-DAT.SG

(more informal)

 

sopis furea requeō cōmerī

snow-NOM.SG fall-SUBJ.C.3SG return-MID.SUBJ.1SG home-DAT.SG

'If it snows I'm going home'

soperis

snow-GEN.SG

furentīs

fall-SUBJ.PTCP-T.LOC.SG

requeō

return-MID.SUBJ.1SG

cōmerī

home-DAT.SG

(more formal)

 

soperis furentīs requeō cōmerī

snow-GEN.SG fall-SUBJ.PTCP-T.LOC.SG return-MID.SUBJ.1SG home-DAT.SG

'If it snows I'm going home'

When a non-finite clause is used for a conditional, the verb of the protasis usually appears in the locative case (an expression of time-is-space metaphor), unless the two clauses share an argument (e.g. subject, object, etc.) in which case the protasis takes the same case marking as the shared argument.

Conditional sentences in Aeranir are formed purely through juxtaposition—that is, the placing of two clauses side by side, the verb of the protasis moved to clause-final position or put into a non-finite form to mark it as dependant. No conjunctive particles like 'if' or 'when' are required. The protasis takes the subjunctive mood, whilst the mood of the apodosis indicates the certainty of the conclusion. Aspect, meanwhile, can be used to indicate the certainty of the condition. This distinction may be approximated in English by 'if' versus 'when'

Mood and aspect of conditional sentences

	Protasis certain	Protasis uncertain
Apodosis certain	if [perfective aspect] then [indicative mood] e.g. intlae furītīs mollintz tahrer—'when it rains, the shingles will leak'	if [imperfective aspect] then [indicative mood] e.g. intlae furentīs mollintz tahrer—'if it rains, the shingles will leak'
Apodosis uncertain	if [perfective aspect] then [subjunctive mood] e.g. intlae furītīs mollent tahrer—'when it rains, the shingles might leak'	if [imperfective aspect] then [subjunctive mood] e.g. intlae furentīs mollent tahrer—'if it rains, the shingles might leak'

Late Aeranir inovations

Applicative voices

Whilst Classical Aeranir was more permissive of adding additional arguments to a clause, so long as the verb's core transitivity were met. Late Aeranir, however, tended to be more restrictive, and required valency increasing operations to express benefactive, comitative, and locative meanings. These applicative morphemes take the form of verbal prefixes.

Lexicon

Aeranir Lexicon.