Brytho-Hellenic: Difference between revisions
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* the verb '''ru eu''' (= ''I am'') is used to describe something or someone, to express a position, to indicate a temporary state, ex.: '''Ru eu elev''' (= ''I am happy''), '''Rys hi en oic to yun''' (= ''You are in this house''), '''Ryu ý eivan''' (= ''She's angry''); | * the verb '''ru eu''' (= ''I am'') is used to describe something or someone, to express a position, to indicate a temporary state, ex.: '''Ru eu elev''' (= ''I am happy''), '''Rys hi en oic to yun''' (= ''You are in this house''), '''Ryu ý eivan''' (= ''She's angry''); | ||
* the verb '''yv eu''' (= ''I am'') is used to say what something is, to indicate identity, to express a permanent state, and to emphasise something, ex.: '''Yv eu enyr''' (= ''I am a man''), '''Y hi adelu evon''' (= ''You are my brother''), '''It ý ivydh''' (= ''She's (a) good (person)''). | * the verb '''yv eu''' (= ''I am'') is used to say what something is, to indicate identity, to express a permanent state, and to emphasise something, ex.: '''Yv eu enyr''' (= ''I am a man''), '''Y hi adelu evon''' (= ''You are my brother''), '''It ý ivydh''' (= ''She's (a) good (person)''). | ||
Not all the verbal persons have got different forms, the third person plural has got only one form as it can be seen in the following table: | |||
{| {{Table/bluetable}} style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle" | |||
!colspan="3"|'''Possessives''' | |||
|- | |||
!'''Person''' | |||
!'''Singular''' | |||
!'''Plural''' | |||
|- | |||
!'''eu''' | |||
|evon | |||
|evas | |||
|- | |||
!'''hi''' | |||
|hon | |||
|has | |||
|- | |||
!'''o''' / '''ý''' | |||
|dhu | |||
| | |||
|- | |||
!'''nüi''' | |||
|yveron | |||
|yveras | |||
|- | |||
!'''üi''' | |||
|iveron | |||
|iveras | |||
|- | |||
!'''oi''' / '''ai''' | |||
|colspan="2"|dhun | |||
|} | |||
==Vocabulary== | ==Vocabulary== |
Revision as of 11:07, 8 August 2014
This article is private. The author requests that you do not make changes to this project without approval. By all means, please help fix spelling, grammar and organisation problems, thank you. |
Brytho-Hellenic | |
---|---|
Elynic (to cain) | |
Pronunciation | [[Help:IPA|ɛ'li:nik 'tɔ 'kai̯n]] |
Created by | – |
Native to | Elas to Cain |
Native speakers | 52 millions (2012) |
Indo-European
| |
Official status | |
Official language in | Elas to Cain |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-1 | el |
ISO 639-2 | ely |
ISO 639-3 | ely |
New Greece or "Elas to Cain" |
General information
Brytho-Hellenic, Brythohellenic or simply Neohellenic (the native name is Elynic) is a language that is spoken nowadays in a different timeline in a country that corresponds almost exactly to our England and to our Wales. In that timeline the Persians have won the wars against Greece and the Greeks have been forced to emigrate and to flee. Firstly the Greeks find protection in Magna Graecia, but, as the Persians conquer those territories, they shift to Northern Italy, where the Romans withstand the Persian troops. In 389 b.C. Rome is destroyed and both Romans and Greeks flee to Carthage, enemy of the Persian empire. Together they try to attack the Persian fleet, but they are defeated again. In the last days of 382 b.C. an imposing expedition sails away from a harbour on the coast of New Carthage - our Cartagena in Spain. Its mission is to find new territories where they can live in peace and prosperity, far from the Persian threat. In 381 b.C. Conon the Athenian and his Greeks reach our Scilly Islands: they have chosen to sail northward, because they had heard about legends that spoke about a fertile and grassy island in the North. It is the beginning of the New Greece or Elas to Cain (IPA ['ɛlas 'tɔ 'kai̯n]).
Phonology
Alphabet
After the defeat against the Persians almost the entire Greek people fled towards Roman territory: Rome triplicated its population and was greekized. During their living together Greeks and Romans used mainly the Greek language to communicate, whereas the Latin language became a secondary and socially lower language, spoken mainly by common people. Nevertheless - almost incomprehensibly - the Greeks adopted the Latin alphabet, maybe trying to be understood even by the lower social classes. As we are talking about the modern language, we don't consider the first versions of the alphabet that were used in ancient times. The alphabet of Brythohellenic contains 23 letters:
Letters | Pronunciation | Further informations |
---|---|---|
a | [a] | it is an opened central vowel |
b | [b] | - |
c | [k] | it is always pronunced as in the English word cat, even in front of e, i, and y |
ch | [x] | it is pronounced as in the Scottish word loch |
d | [d] | - |
dh | [ð] / [j] / [v] / [ ] | generally it is pronounced as th in the word this; when it occurs between vowels its pronunciation can vary between [j] and [v]: generally it is [j] when the vowel that follows is e, i or y, while it is [v] when the vowel that follows is a, o or u. Some speakers don't pronounce it at all when it comes in patterns a-a, a-o, a-u, o-a, o-o, o-u, u-a, u-o, u-u |
e | [ɛ] / [e] | it can be pronounced either open or closed, this doesn't affect the meaning of words |
f | [f] | - |
g | [g] | it is always pronounced as in the English word gun, even in front of e, i, and y |
h | [h] | - |
i | [i] / [j] | often it forms a diphthong when precedes or follows another vowel |
l | [l] | - |
m | [m] | - |
n | [n] | - |
o | [ɔ] / [o] | it can be either open or closed, but it doesn't affect the meaning |
p | [p] | - |
r | [r] | trilled just as in Italian |
s | [s] | always voiceless |
t | [t] | - |
th | [θ] | as th in the English thin |
u | [u] / [w] | it is pronounced as [u] when it is followed by a consonant; it is pronounced [w] when it is preceded or followed by a vowel |
v | [v] | - |
y | [i:] | it is pronounced like e in the English word see. |
Consonantal phonemes
Brythohellenic has the following consonantic phonemes:
Phonemes | Bilabial | Labiodental | Dental | Alveolar | Postalveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Stop | p b | t d | k g | |||||
Affricate | ||||||||
Nasal | m | (ɱ) | n | (ŋ) | ||||
Fricative | f v | θ ð | s | x | h | |||
Approximant | r̥ r | j | w | |||||
Lateral approximant | l |
Vocalic phonemes
Brythohellenic has the following vowel system:
Phonemes | ||
---|---|---|
Opening | Front | Back |
Closed | i | u |
Mid-closed | e | o |
Mid-open | ɛ | ɔ |
Open | a |
There is also the schwa sound [ǝ]. The natives don't consider it a distinct sound, though, and as it occurs specially at the end of words where it is written an a, they consider it to be a true 'a'!
Diphthongs and digraphs
In Brythohellenic there are 17 diphthongs, that is clusters of two vowels pronounced with a single emission of air. These diphthongs are:
Diphthongs | Pronunciation |
---|---|
ai | [ai̯] |
au | [au̯] |
ei, ey | [ɛi̯] / [ei̯:] |
eu | [ɛu̯] |
ia | [ja] |
ie | [jɛ] / [je] |
io | [jɔ] / [jo] |
iu | [ju] |
oi | [ɔi̯] / [oi̯] |
ua | [wa] |
ue | [wɛ] / [we] |
ui | [wi] |
uo | [wɔ] / [wo] |
uy | [wi:] |
yu | [i:u̯] |
The use of dieresis indicates that the combination of vowels is to be read as a hiatus, f.ex.: süae, lives, is read as ['suai̯], it is thus a two-syllable word. Brythohellenic has got only one digraph: rh [r̥], which is rare enough. The other combinations as ch, dh, and th are considered true letters.
Stress
Ancient Greek has undergone deep changes during its coexistence with Latin and above all with the Brythonic languages. Two main changes have been:
- often the hiatus with 'i' has become a diphthong, ex.: σοφία > *σόφια > hef, "knowledge";
- almost always the last syllable has fallen, ex.: καινός > cain, "new"; θάνατος > thanadh, "death".
These two phoenomena have influenced heavily the stress system of Brythohellenic. Nowadays the stress steadily falls on the last but one syllable: this means that in the plural forms of nouns it shifts, ex.: thalas ['θalas], "sea" > thalasas [θa'lasas], "seas"; ailur ['ai̯lur], "cat" > ailuroi [ai̯'luroi̯], "cats".
Grammar
Nouns, gender and number
Even if Ancient Greek had three genders and three numbers, the system simplified a lot and Modern Elynic has got two genders - masculine and feminine - and two numbers - singular and plural. It is hard to distinguish the gender of a noun, because there are not specific gender-linked endings: mostly nouns end with consonant regardless for the gender. Forming plural is not so complicated, as there are only three plural endings:
- oi, that is typical of masculine nouns;
- ai, that is used with feminine nouns;
- as, less spread and used with both masculine and feminine nouns.
Please note that nowadays the endings oi and ai tend to be replaced with the colloquial e both in writing and speech. The same occurs with the endin as, that is substituted for es. These endings, that come from South-Elas dialects, are less used in the North. There are also some irregularities which have to be learned by heart, ex.: the plural of ith, "fish", is ithuas; the plural of gys, "earth", is gai; the plural of ur, "water", is udhas, and so on. Irregular nouns, however, are few. Here is a list of nouns with plural form:
Singular | Plural | Gender | Meaning | Singular | Plural | Gender | Meaning |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
lidh | lidhoi | masculine | stone | pud | pudas | masculine | foot |
cur | curai | feminine | land | uran | uranoi | masculine | sky, heaven |
cryvid | cryvidas | feminine | shoe | fus | fudhas | masculine | light |
süy | süai | feminine | life | lus | lusai | feminine | language |
thyr | thyras | masculine | animal | bivel | bivloi | masculine | book |
erudh | erudhas | masculine | love | aluvec | aluvecai | masculine | fox |
coiran | coiranoi | masculine | lord | coiren | coiranai | feminine | lady |
enyr | anras | masculine | man | ginys | ginai | feminine | woman |
pir | piroi | masculine | fire | cefel | cefalai | feminine | head |
tov | tovoi | masculine | place | cron | cronoi | masculine | time |
odher | odhroi | masculine | morning | yver | yverai | feminine | day |
dyl | dylai | feminine | afternoon | efer | eferai | feminine | evening |
nith | nithas | feminine | night | hilyn | hilynai | feminine | moon |
celdh | celdhoi | masculine | priest | cildh | celdhai | feminine | priestess |
dennyr | dennyras | masculine | tree | cadh | cadhas | masculine | hand |
etyr | eteras | masculine | star | omadh | omadhas | masculine | eye |
cedhydh | cedhydhas | masculine | teacher | fil | filoi | masculine | friend |
ether | ethroi | masculine | enemy | edhair | edhairoi | masculine | lover |
cïun | cinoi | masculine | dog | com | comoi | masculine | world |
Loan words
As the Greeks reached Great Britain found a completely new world, full of animals and plants they had never seen. Celtic people had highly different customs and beliefs and spoke an unintelligible language. Even if the Greeks considered them to be barbarian, they were the "owners" of the new land, so Greeks had to learn to live together with Brythons and to forget about prejudices like "superiority" or "inferiority". During the coexistence and the mixing with Brythons, the Greeks have adopted some Celtic words:
Original word | Singular | Plural | Gender | Meaning |
---|---|---|---|---|
derwen | daruen | daruenai | feminine | oak |
derwydd | daruidh | daruidhas | masculine | priest, magician, druid |
bryn | bryn | brynai | feminine | hill |
nifwl | nivul | nivuloi | masculine | mist, fog |
llyn | lyn | lynoi | masculine | lake |
gwellt | guell | guellas | feminine | grass |
ofydd | evidh | evidhas | masculine | ovate |
bardos | bard | bardas | masculine | poet |
awen | auen | auenai | feminine | inspiration |
bleydh | bleidh | bleidhas | masculine | wolf |
lowarth | louarth | louarthas | feminine | paradise |
calon | calen | calenai | feminine | heart |
Some words have a counterpart whose meaning has shifted: from the Greek ουάτις, a word mentioned by Strabo and of Proto-Celtic origin (*vatis), comes guedh, "astute person" < "one who can predict the moves of enemies" < "soothsayer". From the same root comes of course the Brythonic word ofydd, that has been taken as loan once the Greeks reached Great Britain. Another example is the word bard, that has substituted the Ancient Greek ἀοιδός, whose descendant, auid, has got the meaning of "artist". Even the word auen has substituted another Greek word, daivon < *δαιμόνος < δαιμόνιον, that now has the meaning of "puck, spirit"; the plural Auenai is also used to mean Musai, plural of Mus < Mοῦσα, "Muse".
Formation of feminine
It isn't easy to distinguish between a masculine and a feminine noun, because there is no gender-linked ending. However, when we speak about entities that have got a physical gender, such as people and animals, it can be useful to be able to distinguish between masculine and feminine gender. Mostly the feminine form of such nouns come from the masculine one by adding some suffixes:
- -er (pl. -(e)rai), mostly added to masculine nouns ending with -ydh and denoting agent, ex.: melbydh (= "singer") > melbydher (plural: melbydhrai);
- -en (pl. -anai), added to many nouns, ex.: ether > ethren (plural: ethranai); fil > filen (plural: filanai);
- -e- (pl. -a-ai), that replaces the ending a + consonant of many masculine nouns, ex.: elaf (= "deer") > elef (plural: elafai); mau (= "sorcerer") > meu (= "witch") (plural: mauai).
Sometimes the feminine form is obtained by changing the last vowel, ex.: celdh > cildh (plural: celdhai).
Articles
Brythohellenic hasn't got indefinite article, to translate phrases like "a cat" or "some women" we have just to omit the article: ailur means both "a cat" and "cat", and ginais means both "some women" and "women". There is only one kind of article, the definite one: this article is used to talk about well known things that are familiar to the speakers, because they have already been talked about, or because they belong to the experiences baggage of the speakers, that is we use the definite article to talk about known informations, to talk about determined informations. The definite article has got one invariable form, to, that is used both for masculine and feminine nouns, for singular and plural nouns: to omyr, "the rain"; to huvadh, "the body"; to lusai, "the languages"; to nysoi, "the islands", and so on.
When a noun is determined, that is preceded by the article or other determiners (such as possessives or demonstratives) and is followed by an adjective - in standard Elynic the adjectives always follow the substantives - the article shifts bewtween noun and adjective, ex.:
- to omyr > omyr to sirin (= "the cold rain", lit. "rain the cold (one)");
- to nysoi > nysoi to eivedhoi (= "the fertile islands", lit. "islands the fertile (ones)").
Even when a noun doesn't need the article - for example proper nouns - it appears between this noun and the possible adjective, ex.:
- Elas (= "Greece") > Elas to Cain (= "New Greece", lit. "Greece the New (one)");¹
- Elyn (= "Helena") > Elyn to plyd calin (= "the most beautiful Helena", lit. "Helena the most beautiful (one)").
¹ Nowadays they tend to use the word Elas to mean Elas to Cain, while the "Old Greece" is known as Elas to Paladh.
Adjectives
Elynic adjectives always follow the noun(s) they are referred to: when the noun is undetermined they simply follow it, but, when the noun is determined, then the definite article, to, or the possessives are put between the noun and the adjective. Usually adjectives' singular form is identical for masculine and feminine, even if there can be exceptions, the plural forms are two, instead: one for masculine, usually ending in -oe, and one for feminine, ending in -ae. Some adjectives:
Singular | Masculine plural | Feminine plural | Meaning | Singular | Masculine plural | Feminine plural | Meaning |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ivydh | ivydhoi | ivydhai | good | penyr | penyroi | penyrai | bad |
elev | elvoi | elvai | happy | lir | liroi | lirai | sad |
egrin | egrinoi | egrinai | tall / high | thaval | thavaloi | thavalai | short |
calin | calinoi | calinai | beautiful / goodlooking | aiger | aigroi | aigrai | ugly |
meal | mealoi | mealai | big / great | migrin | migrinoi | migrinai | little / small |
paladh | paladhoi | paladhai | old | yvic | yvicoi | yvicai | young |
thenar | thenaroi | thenarai | strong | athin | athinoi | athinai | weak |
thervin | thervinoi | thervinai | hot | sirin | sirinoi | sirinai | cold |
fover | foveroi | foverai | terrible | plys | plysoi | plysai | near / close |
tyledhin | tyledhinoi | tyledhinai | far / distant | semyc | semycoi | semycai | tired |
Some usage examples:
- migrin + ailur > ailur migrin (= "(a) little cat");
- meal + to enyr > enyr to meal (= "the big man");
- semyc + coiren evon > coiren evon semyc (= "my tired lady").
Comparative
The higher degree comparative is usually formed with the word va that precedes the adjective to which is referred, the second term is introduced by y ex.:
- Andh va calin y dennyr > A flower more beautiful than a tree.
In the written language it is still used the old form with the suffix -un, ex.:
- Andh caldhun y dennyr > A flower more beautiful than a tree.
The same degree comparative is formed with the periphrasis udhys + adjective + yfer, ex.:
- Andh udhys calin yfer dennyr > A flower as beautiful as a tree,
The lower degree comparative is formed with the periphrasis myon + adjective + y, ex.:
- Andh myon calin y dennyr > A flower less beautiful than a tree.
Adjectives with an irregular higher degree comparative
Some adjectives have got an irregular form of higher degree comparative:
Positive | Comparative | Positive | Comparative |
---|---|---|---|
ivydh | aredhun | penyr | ysun |
calin | caldhun | red (= "easy") | raun |
migrin | medhun | meal | mysun |
polis (= "many/much") | pledhun | aluyn (= "painful/agonizing") | aldhun |
Irregular higher degree comparatives are used as normal comparatives, ex.:
- Ys hi aredhun y eu - You are better than me.
The comparative form is the same for both masculine and feminine nouns, but in the plural the two forms are different: aredhunoi vs. aredhunai.
Superlative
The superlative degree is generally formed with the word plyd, that precedes the adjective to which is referred. The relative superlative is the same form of the absolute superlative, but it takes the definite article and is generally followed by a limitation, that is expressed with en (= "in") / evan (= "of"), ex.:
- Andh to plyd calin en to com - The most beautiful flower in the world.
In the written language it is also used the old superlative with the suffix -yd:
- Andh to calyd evan to com - The most beautiful flower of the world.
Adjectives with an irregular superlative
The same adjectives that have an irregular higher degree comparative have got also an irregular superlative form:
Positive | Comparative | Superlative | Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
ivydh | aredhun | aryd | penyr | ysun | ycyd |
calin | caldhun | calyd | red | raun | rad |
migrin | medhun | elegyd | meal | mysun | meyd |
polis | pledhun | plyd | aluyn | aldhun | aluyd |
Other adjectives form the comparative and the superlative degree regularly, ex.:
Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
---|---|---|
paladh | va paladh / paladhun | plyd paladh / paladhyd |
lir | va lir / lirun | plyd lir / liryd |
egrin | va egrin / egrinun | plyd egrin / egrinyd |
plys | va plys / plysun | plyd plys / plysyd |
The superlative has got only one singular form, in the plural masculine and feminine are different, ex.: aryd > arydoi, arydai.
Numerals
Numerals don't inflect. Here are the numerals from 0 to 100:
Number | Cardinal | Ordinal | Number | Cardinal | Ordinal |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
0 | uden | - | 1 | eis | prudh |
2 | dios | deidher | 3 | trys | tridh |
4 | tethar | tethardh | 5 | pen | pendh |
6 | es | eth | 7 | eft | eidodh |
8 | oth | ovodh | 9 | enag | enadh |
10 | deg | degadh | 11 | enneg | ennegadh |
12 | dydeg | dydegadh | 13 | trydeg | trydegadh |
14 | tethardeg | tethardegadh | 15 | penneg | pennegadh |
16 | edheg | edhegadh | 17 | efteg | eftegadh |
18 | othudeg | othudegadh | 19 | enadeg | enadegadh |
20 | ivain | ivaid | 21 | ivain sin eis | ivaid sin prudh |
22 | ivain sin dios | ivaid sin deidher | 30 | ivain-deg | ivaindegadh |
31 | ivain-deg sin eis | ivaindegadh sin prudh | 40 | dioivain | dioivaid |
50 | dioivain-deg | dioivaindegadh | 60 | trivain | trivaid |
70 | trivain-deg | trivaindegadh | 80 | tetharvain | tetharvaid |
90 | tetharvain-deg | tetharvaindegadh | 100 | egadh | egadhod |
From egadh on, the numbers can be masculine or feminine:
Number | Cardinal | Ordinal | Number | Cardinal | Ordinal |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
200 | diagesioi/ai | diagesiod | 300 | trygesioi/ai | trygesiod |
400 | tethragesioi/ai | tethragesiod | 500 | pennagesioi/ai | pennagesiod |
600 | esagesioi/ai | esagesiod | 700 | eftagesioi/ai | eftagesiod |
800 | othagesioi/ai | othagesiod | 900 | enagesioi/ai | enagesiod |
1000 | hilioi/ai | hiliod | 2000 | diahilioi/ai | diahiliod |
3000 | tryhilioi/ai | tryhiliod | 4000 | tethrahilioi/ai | tethrahiliod |
5000 | pennahilioi/ai | pennahiliod | 6000 | esahilioi/ai | esahiliod |
7000 | eftahilioi/ai | eftahiliod | 8000 | othahilioi/ai | othahiliod |
10000 | mirioi/ai | miriod | 11000 | mirioi/ai sin hilioi/ai | miriod sin hiliod |
20000 | dimirioi/ai | dimiriod | 100000 | egadh-hilioi | egadh-hiliod |
500000 | pennagesioi-hilioi | pennagesioi-hiliod | 1000000 | kryn | krynod |
2000000 | dios krynoi | deidher krynod | 1000000000 | riagryn | riagryd |
Pronouns and kinds of adjectives
Personal pronouns
Brythohellenic personal pronouns have three cases: nominative, accusative, and dative. In Brythohellenic there is no need to indicate subject pronoun before the verb, whereas in English it is compulsory.
Case | 1st person | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | |||
Nominative | eu | nüi | ||
Accusative | me | nüi | ||
Dative | moi | nüin | ||
Case | 2nd person | |||
Singular | Plural | |||
Nominative | hi | üi | ||
Accusative | he | üi | ||
Dative | hoi | üin | ||
Case | 3rd person | |||
Masculine s. | Feminine s. | Masculine pl. | Feminine pl. | |
Nominative | o | ý | oi | ai |
Accusative | ton | tyn | tus | tas |
Dative | tu | ty | tois | tais |
In a sentence the pronouns in dative case are positioned before of those in accusative case, so prepositions can be omitted, ex.:
- Dure moi tyn - Give it to me.
The neuter pronoun it is translated in Brythohellenic with ý. The feminine pronoun ý is written with the accent to be distinguished from the preposition y (= "than"). When there are a pronoun and a noun, the pronoun always precedes the noun, ex.:
- Dure tyn brys to coiren - Give it to the lady;
- Dure ty to cïun - Give her the dog.
Demonstratives
There are two demonstratives: yun (= "this") and ledh (= "that"). The first demonstrative matches perfectly the first person, whereas the second one matches both the second and the third person:
Person | Adverb | Demonstrative | Meaning |
---|---|---|---|
1st | naudh (= here) | yun | this |
2nd | cys (= there) | ledh | that |
3rd |
Demonstratives don't inflect and always follow the nouns they are referred to, and the nouns take also the article, ex.:
- To ailur yun - This cat.
- Ru eu en oic to yun - I'm in this house;
- Bainu eu e hoicoi to ledh - I come from those houses.
Possessives
Possessives can be used both as pronouns and adjectives. When they are used as adjectives, they always follow the noun they refer to.
Possessives | ||
---|---|---|
Person | Singular | Plural |
eu | evon | evas |
hi | hon | has |
o | dhu | |
ý | dhys | |
nüi | yveron | yveras |
üi | iveron | iveras |
oi / ai | dhun |
Here are some examples:
- Ailur evon - My cat;
- Cïun hon - Your dog;
- Ginys dhu - His wife;
- Enyr dhys - Her man;
- Thyr yveron - Our animal;
- Fil iveron - Your friend;
- Calen dhun - Their heart.
Plural:
- Ailuroi evas - My cats;
- Cinoi has - Your dogs;
- Ginai dhu - His wives;
- Anras dhys - Her men;
- Thyras yveras - Our animals;
- Filoi iveras - Your friends;
- Calenai dhun - Their hearts.
Possessives don't allow the use of the article. Third person possessives don't inflect.
Relatives and 'interro-exclamatories'
Interrogative pronouns, which are used also to make exclamations, function also as relatives:
Case | Tis (who) | Ti (what) |
---|---|---|
Nominative | tis | ti |
Accusative | ten | ti |
Dative | ty | ty |
Genitive | tun | tun |
Ex.:
- Tis it o? - Who is he?
- Tis cïun calin! - What a beautiful dog!
- Tun it to bivel yun? - Whose is this book?
- Ty ellas tyn? - Whom have you said it to?
- To ledh it to ginys ten filu - That is the woman whom I love.
Indefinites
Indefinites give us incomplete informations, because they don't define the precise quantity or the identity:
Indefinite | Meaning |
---|---|
udhis | someone/anyone |
edhi | something/anything |
mydys | nobody |
myden | nothing |
olen | each |
pan | all |
edher | other |
ovodh | same, self |
When pan is used as adjective, it has the singular form pas and the plural forms panas for masculine and pasai for feminine. Also edher has got plural: edheroi for masculine and edherai for feminine.
Indefinites can be formed also with the word alen:
- To alenoi/ai - The others;
- Crysys edhi alen? - Do you need something else?
- Gnocy ý udhis alen? - Does she know someone else?
Adverbs
Usually adverbs are formed by suffixation: many adverbs derive from adjectives, to that the suffix -eus is added. Some examples:
- elev > elveus (happy - happily);
- lir > lireus (sad - sadly);
- meal > mealeus (great - greatly);
- thenar > thenareus (strong - strongly);
- athin > athineus (weak - weakly).
Some adverbs have got suppletive forms, ex.: ivydh > ei; penyr > faul.
Adverbs occupy a precise position within the sentence:
- 1) adverbs always follow subject, ex.: ru eu mal elyv (= "I am very happy"), dagruy ý thenareus (= "She cries strongly");
- 2) adverbs always precede adjectives, ex.: ryu o elion lir (= "He's a little sad").
Place adverbs
In Brythohellenic place adverbs naudh and cys inflect to express state or movement to and from. The adverb u, "where", also inflects:
Form | U | Naudh | Cys |
---|---|---|---|
State | u | naudh | cys |
Movement to | oi | naudhes | cyses |
Movement from | üen | naudhen | cysen |
The adverb u has got also a relative function:
- It to yun to peli, üen bainu - This is the town where I come from;
- It to ledh to peli, oi ovylu ergyn - That is the town where I have to go.
Other place adverbs are: alodh, alodhes, alodhen, respectively "elsewhere", "from elsewhere", "(to) elsewhere"; udhovu, "nowhere" and "from nowhere", udhovon, "(to) nowhere"; edhovu "somewhere" and "from somewhere", edhovon, "(to) somewhere".
Time adverbs
The adverb yneg, "when", can be used both as interrogative and relative. Other time adverbs are:
- nin - now;
- enna - then;
- prothen - before;
- ivyn - after;
- dyvodh - some times;
- hinydhen - usually;
- ey - always;
- oseg - ever;
- uvodh - never;
- alodh - another time.
Verbs
The verbal system has undergone deep alterations that have strongly simplified it. Neohellenic has got only 4 moods: indicative, imperative, infinitive, and participle; the other Ancient Greek moods have been completely lost. This rather evident simplification has modified also the tenses. The modern language has got only 4 tenses: present, imperfect, perfect (that originates from the ancient aorist, actually), and future. This is true for the indicative mood only, the others have got only two or even one tense. Moreover the language has lost the dual forms, retaining only 6 verbal persons.
To be
The verb to be is, as in the majority of languages, irregular, but, what distinguishes Brytho-Hellenic is that it has got two different forms of this verb, even if the infinitive form is the same:
- the verb ru eu (= I am) is used to describe something or someone, to express a position, to indicate a temporary state, ex.: Ru eu elev (= I am happy), Rys hi en oic to yun (= You are in this house), Ryu ý eivan (= She's angry);
- the verb yv eu (= I am) is used to say what something is, to indicate identity, to express a permanent state, and to emphasise something, ex.: Yv eu enyr (= I am a man), Y hi adelu evon (= You are my brother), It ý ivydh (= She's (a) good (person)).
Not all the verbal persons have got different forms, the third person plural has got only one form as it can be seen in the following table:
Possessives | ||
---|---|---|
Person | Singular | Plural |
eu | evon | evas |
hi | hon | has |
o / ý | dhu | |
nüi | yveron | yveras |
üi | iveron | iveras |
oi / ai | dhun |
Vocabulary
Colour terms
The colour system of Brythohellenic is particular, because, except white, black and red, colours' names derive from flowers or natural elements. Historians have supposed that as the Greeks of Conon reached Great Britain they used natural elements to estabilish a first contact between their languagage and the language of Celtic people. There are also other colour terms that come from Ancient Greek, such as clur (= "green"), porhir (= "purple-red"), aruirin (= "silver") or hegin (= "bronze-coloured"), but they are old-fashioned nowadays and they are used almost exclusively in literature.
Colour terms | ||
---|---|---|
Source | Brythohellenic | English |
μέλαινα (Ancient Greek) | melain | black |
κελαινός (Ancient Greek); furvus (Latin) | celain; furg | dark, obscure |
λαμπρός (Ancient Greek) | lemyr | light, pale, fair |
lividus (Latin), llwyd (Welsh), disliw (Cornish) | lïuis | grey |
gwyn (Welsh), gwynn (Cornish) | guin | white |
φαλακρός (Ancient Greek) x eglur (Welsh) | faiglur | bright, lucid |
rudhvelyn (Cornish), "orange" | velin | orange |
ἐρυθρός (Ancient Greek), rhudd (Welsh), rudh (Cornish) | ridher | red |
πορφυροῦς (Ancient Greek) | porhir | purple-red |
gwaed (Welsh), "blood" | guaidin | burgundy |
crinllys (Welsh), "violet (flower)" | crilysin | violet, purple |
ινδικόν (Ancient Greek), "that comes from India" | innic | indigo |
χλωρός (Ancient Greek); gwels (Cornish), "grass" | clur; guilsin | green |
ebron (Cornish), "sky" | brenin | light blue, cyan |
θάλασσα (Ancient Greek), "sea" | thalesin | dark blue |
mêl (Welsh), mel (Cornish), "honey" | mylin | yellow |
dur (Cornish), "earth" | dirin | brown |
χρυσός (Ancient Greek), "gold"; owr (Cornish), "gold"; | crisin; eurin | golden |
rosen (Cornish), "rose" | resin | pink |
ἄργυρος (Ancient Greek), "star"; steren (Cornish), "star" | aruirin; ytrin | silver |
χαλκός (Ancient Greek), "bronze"; efydd (Welsh), "bronze" | helgin; yvydhin | bronze-coloured |
Fruit and vegetables
Fruit and vegetables | ||
---|---|---|
Source | Brythohellenic | English |
μῆλον (Ancient Greek), "apple" | myl | red apple |
afal (Welsh), aval (Cornish), "apple" | aval | yellow apple, generic apple |
κυδωνία (Ancient Greek), "quince" | cidun | green apple |
στάλαγμα (Ancient Greek), "drop" | talamadh | grape |
citreum (Latin), "lemon" | cidhyr | lemon |
χρυσοῦν μῆλον (Ancient Greek), "golden apple" | crimyl | orange |
هلو (Persian), "peach" | heulv | peach |
ἐλαία (Ancient Greek), "olive" | eladh | olive |
لیموترش (Persian), "lemon" | lameutyr | lime |
κέρασος (Ancient Greek), "cherry" | ceres | cherry |
ruber (Latin), "bright red" | ryuir | watermelon |
αγγούριον (Ancient Greek), "cucumber" | onuir (pl. onuir-) | cucumber |
انجیر (Persian), "fig" | neiar | fig |
ananas (Tupian or Guaraní) > ananassum (Neolatin), "pineapple" | nanas | pineapple |
sevien (Cornish), syfien (Welsh), "strawberry" | syvyn | strawberry |
νύξ (Ancient Greek), "night" + mwyaren (Welsh), "berry" | nithuirn | blueberry |
du (Welsh), du (Cornish), "black" + mwyaren (Welsh), "berry" | dyuirn | blackberry |
tomatl (Nauhatl) > tomatĭlum (Neolatin), "tomato" | tovydh | tomato |
mahiz (Arawakan) > mahīsum (Neolatin), "maize" | mehys | maize |
موز (Persian), "banana" | meus | banana |
زردآلو (Persian), "apricot" | serdel | apricot |
προυνον (Ancient Greek), "plum" | brun | plum |
قهوة (Arabic) > قهوه (Perisan), "coffee" | heuif | coffee |
茶 (Chinese) > چای (Persian), "tea" | sea (pl. seae) | tea |
xocolatl (Nahuatl) > chocolatĭlum (Neolatin), "chocolate" | cegolydh | cacao (beans) |
باذنجان (Arabic) > بادنجان (Persian), "eggplant" | badynyn | eggplant |
cucurbĭta (Latin), "courgette" | cirvedh | courgette |