Glommish

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Glommish
þe glómsьk
Pronunciation	[/θˠə ɣɫˠoːmʲsʲk/]
Created by	IlL
Setting	Verse:Lõis
Native speakers	90 million (2015)
Language family	Indo-European Germanic Glommish

Glommish (natively þe glómsьke rarde [θˠə ɣɫˠoːmʲsʲkə ɾˠaːɖə]) is a Germanic language which was historically spoken in parts of Southern Italy and Tunisia but is now mostly spoken by diaspora populations in North America and Brazil. It's classified as West Germanic in-universe, but forms a distinct group from what is called West Germanic in our timeline. Glommish is phonologically the most conservative Germanic language in Lõis and is strikingly similar to our timeline's reconstructed Proto-Germanic. Its speakers are called Gloms (Glóme). Glommish is intended to have a pseudo-Irish and pseudo-Slavic aesthetic.

The majority of today's Glommish speakers are Muslim and also speak English, Portuguese, and Arabic. A minority practice forms of Christianity which were historically common in North Africa.

In-universe German name: Glommisch

Arabic name: al-Ghulūmiyyah

TODO

sources of loans: Latin, Greek, Arabic, English; needs more Arabic loans!

Look at OE/Dutch for more vr- words

Try to express things with Germanic roots, but without calquing

Dutchify the grammar

Simplify some consonant clusters like a few cht's?

Introduce random sound changes in the evolution of Glommish, e.g.

• PWGmc *gardaz -> gerdaz -> żard

Should be a koiné (some "Low Glommish" dialects can have PIE dh/vernerized t -> z which shows up in some words)

Weird vowel mixups (eh2 -> ó instead of á in a few words)

History

A somewhat controversial Simon Stevin-like figure who reformed the language, by essentially creating and promoting his own dialect of Glommish (which eventually turned into modern American Glommish dialects) -- he was a scholar of Germanic philology and invented coinages based on Old English and Old Dutch; he also published a dictionary of the ancient Langobardic language

Orthography

Native script

Glommish today uses an alphabetic writing system inspired by the Arabic script, written from right to left but with a Latin aesthetic. It was devised by Andrie Hóchenhym.

There was a traditional Roman orthography which was historically used in Italy; spelling was very unsystematic and there were sometimes many different glyphs for the same sound (for instance, at least five different glyphs are attested for þ), and vice versa (e.g. final -i mostly denoted both palatalization and -ie, but -ie was sometimes written -ii for disambiguation). In North Africa, the most common writing system for Glommish was the Arabic abjad. Today, the latter is used for ceremonial purposes.

Phonology

Glommish phonology is characterized by retroflexion and pairs of hard (unpalatalized) and soft (palatalized) consonants. Palatalization is as strong as in Russian in the traditional pronunciation of Glommish.

Consonants

		Labial		Dental		Alveolar		Postalveolar	Velar		Glottal
		hard	soft	hard	soft	hard	soft		soft	hard
Nasal		m m	mь mʲ			n n	nь nʲ			ng ŋ
Stop	voiceless	p p	pь pʲ	t t̪			tь tʲ	cz tʃ	kь kʲ	k k	(ʔ)
	voiced	b b	bь bʲ			d d	dь dʲ
Fricative	voiceless	f f	fь fʲ	þ θ~ð	þь θʲ~ðʲ	s s	sь sʲ	sz ʃ	chь, hь ç	ch x	h h
	voiced	v v	vь vʲ			z z	zь zʲ	ż ʒ		g ɣ
Resonant				l ɫ	lь lʲ	r ɾ	rь rʲ		j j

/tʃ, ʒ, ʃ/ are soft alternants of /k, ɣ, x/ in native Glommish. /kʲ, ts, tsʲ/ are mainly found in foreign loans.

Voiceless stops are unaspirated, as in Dutch. (In New York they are aspirated the same way as in American English.)

Orthographical notes:

• The ь is replaced with an i when followed by a vowel (the i is pronounced as palatalization).
• The soft sign ь and the palatalizing i soften every consonant in the cluster that precede it by default. (However, consonants do not soften before cz, ż, sz, and velars k, g, ch do not soften.) The hard sign ъ prevents the softening of consonants to the left of the hard sign.

Notes

• Regressive voicing assimilation occurs in clusters of two or more obstruents, as in Slavic: tiúsdag 'Tuesday' is pronounced as if it were spelled tiúzdag.
• Hard /θ/ is strongly velarized [θˠ~ðˠ]; soft /θʲ/ may be unpalatalized [θ~ð]. The voiced allophones are used when /θʲ/ is not in the onset of a stressed syllable.
• Hard /ɾ/ is generally a velarized retroflex approximant or flap. It retroflexes /n t̪ d s/ that follow it, as in Swedish and Norwegian; when this retroflexion happens, it compensatorily lengthens the preceding vowel.
• Soft /rʲ/ may be [r̝] like Czech ř. The Czech-ř pronunciation predominates in Connecticut and is often known as þe konetekatske żírь 'the Connecticut buzz'.
• For younger speakers of Glommish in New York, the distinction between non-palatalized and palatalized is neutralized in labials and alveolars, except for labials before back vowels where palatalized labials become /Cj/: biar ik [bjaɹ ɪk~bjɛɹ ɪk] 'I carry' vs. bierier þú [bɛɹəɹ ðʊ] 'you carry'. Furthermore, palatalized t d n are pronounced as in Polish ć dź ń, /ʃ ʒ/ are pronoounced as /ʂ ʐ/, and non-palatalized v is pronounced /w/.

Vowels

There are five phonemic vowel qualities with length. y can be considered the non-palatalizing allophone of í.

	Front		Central		Back
	short	long	short	long	short	long
Close	i /ɪ/	í /iː/		(y /ɨi/)	u /ʊ/	ú /uː/
Mid	e /ɛ/	é /eː/	(e [ə])		o /ɔ/	ó /oː/
Open			a /a/			á /ɑː/

Word-initially i and í are pronounced [jɪ] and [jiː].

• Short u lengthens to /u:/ after soft consonants in younger New York Glommish.
• In younger NY Glommish, /a/ is [æ] except after a soft consonant, where it becomes [ɛ] or [jɛ].

Dialects

Different Glommish dialects mainly vary in grammar and vocabulary, and extent of English influence.

• Connecticut Glommish
• New York Glommish
  • Younger New York Glommish (not quite an English accent of Glommish, it underwent its own peculiar changes)
• a Glommish-English creole

Morphology

Nouns

Like German, Glommish has 4 cases (kázuse or fále):

• Nominative (nominatív, forfál)
• Accusative (akuzatív, fanfál)
• Dative (datív, famfál)
• Genitive (żenitív, fizfál)

However, nominative and accusative are only distinguished in pronouns. There are two genders (kundien), masculine (mánlik) and feminine (pienlik); the neuter has merged with the masculine.

• The dative plural always ends in -em.
• The genitive plural always ends in -en.
• For the masculine genitive singular, -es is used if the final consonant is t, d, s, z, þ or their soft counterparts. Otherwise -s is used.
• Nouns with a -n plural are almost always either feminine or -n-stem masculine.

Articles

Glommish uses the indefinite article a and the definite article þe. Due to historical Arabic influence, Glommish uses the definite article the same way Arabic does: nonspecific nouns take the definite article, unlike in English.

• Mir davienь þá amblen 'I like almonds (in general)'
• Ik ví amblen 'I want almonds (specific indefinite plural noun)'
• Ik ví þá amblen 'I want the almonds (specific definite)'

Definite article

case	singular		plural
	m.	f.
nom.	þe	þá	þá
dat.	þem	þier; þím (inanimate, Connecticut dialectal)	þím
gen.	þes	þier	þier

Indefinite article

case	singular
	m.	f.
nom.	an	ne
dat.	nem	ner; nem (inanimate, Connecticut dialectal)
gen.	nes	ner

þiz 'this'

case	singular		plural
	m.	f.
nom.	þiz	þize	þize
dat.	þizem	þizer; þizem (inanimate, Connecticut dialectal)	þizem
gen.	þizes	þizer	þizer

Declined likewise are:

• jín 'that'
• ál 'all'
• ylьk 'one's respective'
• the possessive determiners mín; þín; is; jar; unsier, unsь-; úrer, úr-; jar; sín

Masculine consonant nouns

The genitive plural -n was generalized from masculine n-stem nouns.

vulf (m.) 'wolf'
Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	þe vulf	þá vulfe
Dative	þem vulfie	þím vulfem
Genitive	þes vulfs	þier vulfen

bazь (m.) 'berry'
Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	þe bazь	þá bazie
Dative	þem bazie	þím baziem
Genitive	þes bazies	þier bazien

sun (m.) 'son'
Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	þe sun	þá sunie
Dative	þem sunie	þím suniem
Genitive	þes suns	þier sunien

n-stems

Declined like attributive adjectives. These nouns are masculine, except for nominalized feminine adjectives.

name (m.) 'name'
Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	þe name	þá namen
Dative	þem namenь	þím namem
Genitive	þes namenь	þier namen

Also: andie 'end', ave 'river', biare 'bear', fytie 'wheat', hiarte 'heart', knave 'servant', mage 'throat', óge 'eye', óre 'ear', szúe 'sky', ukse 'ox', yriene 'copper'. [ave can also be declined like a feminine noun.]

Arabic nisba names and some Latin and Greek -ō names become n-stems, like Elь-Ferábí, Elь-Ferábíenь 'Al-Farabi', Niare, Niarenь 'Nero', and Apóle, Apólenь 'Apollo'. Feminine Latin and Greek -ō names use the weak feminine declension instead: Júne, Júne, Júner 'Juno'.

Feminine nouns

This declension type is always feminine in modern Glommish, arising from a mixture of Proto-Germanic ō-stems and weak feminine stems. Nouns with certain suffixes like -eng (deverbal noun) or -hyd (abstract noun) and loanwords that were feminine in the source language also belong in this class.

naze (f.) 'nose'
Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	þá naze	þá nazen
Dative	þier naze	þím nazem
Genitive	þier nazer	þier nazen

miark (f.) 'girl'
Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	þá miark	þá miarken
Dative	þier miark	þím miarkem
Genitive	þier miarker	þier miarken

óre (f.) 'clock'
Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	þá óre	þá óren
Dative	þier óre	þím órem
Genitive	þier órer	þier óren

Note: not to be confused with the masculine n-stem noun þe óre 'ear'.

starcze (f.) 'strength, starch'
Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	þá starcze	þá starczen
Dative	þier starcze	þím starczem
Genitive	þier starczer	þier starczen

útriakneng (f.) 'bottom line, result'
Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	þá útriakneng	þá útriaknengen
Dative	þier útriakneng	þím útriaknengem
Genitive	þier útriaknenger	þier útriaknengen

hond (f.) 'hand'
Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	þá hond	þá hondien
Dative	þier hond	þím hondiem
Genitive	þier hondier	þier hondien

Grab bag

mánsьk (m.) 'human'
Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	þe mánsьk	þá liúdie
Dative	þem mánsьkenь	þím liúdiem
Genitive	þes mánsьkenь	þier liúdien

mán (m.) 'man'
Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	þe mán	þá mánier
Dative	þem mánie	þím mánem
Genitive	þes máns	þier mánen

r-stem: fadier (m.) 'father'
Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	þe fadier	þá fadrie
Dative	þem fadrie	þím fadriem
Genitive	þes fadiers	þier fadrien

Also: bráþier 'brother'.

r-stem: mádier (f.) 'mother'
Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	þá mádier	þá mádrien
Dative	þier mádier	þím mádriem
Genitive	þier mádrier	þier mádrien

Also: sviestier 'sister', duchtier 'daughter'.

Adjectives

Declension

Predicative adjectives use the bare stem. Like all non-Anglic Germanic languages, Glommish preserves the distinction between strong and weak adjectives.

Weak declension for hard-stem adjectives

case	singular	plural
nom.	þe hóche mán þá hóche piane	þá hóchen mánier þá hóchen pianen
dat.	þem hóchenь mánie þier hóchenь piane	þím hóchem mánem þím hóchem pianem
gen.	þes hóchenь máns þier hóchenь pianer	þier hóchen mánen þier hóchen pianen

Strong declension for hard-stem adjectives

case	singular	plural
nom.	an hóche mán ne hóche piane	hóche mánier hóche pianen
dat.	nem hóchem mánie ner hócher piane	hóchem mánem hóchem pianem
gen.	nes/þes hóches máns ner/þier hócher pianer	hócher mánen hócher pianen

Soft-stem adjectives such as skónь 'beautiful' are declined similarly.

Attributive declension for soft-stem adjectives

case	singular	plural
nom.	skónie	skónien
dat.	skónienь	skóniem
gen.	skónienь	skónien

Bare attributive adjectives are sometimes used as nouns.

Degree

The comparative and superlative are formed with the suffixes -ier and -ьst (k, g, ch + -ьst > -czest, -żest, -szest; cz, ż, sz + -ьst > -czest, -żest, -szest; d/t/z/s + -ьst > d/t/z/s + -iest): svát, svátier, svátiest 'sweet, sweeter, sweetest'.

Predicate forms for superlatives are rare: usually þe/þá X-ste is used predicatively. Example: Mín tat isь þe baste = 'My dad is the best'. When used adverbially, superlatives use -ьst.

Other degree words:

svinþ = 'very'

tá = 'too'

jám X als = 'as X as'

X-ier nisь = 'more X than'

þe/þá X-ьste av = 'the most X of'

þe/þá ál-X-ьste or þe/þá X-ьste av álem = 'the most X of all'

miénier X = 'less X'

miénьst X = 'least X'

There are a few irregular adjectives, which are listed in the table below.

Meaning	Positive	Comparative	Superlative
"good"	gád, vial (adv.)	batier	baste
"bad (ill-behaved, evil)"	druk	viszer (expected **virsier)	viszte (expected **virьste)
"much, many"	miczel, micz (not declined)	myr (not declined)	myste
"few, little"	fó (not declined)	miénier (not declined)	miénьste

Fó is used for both count and non-count nouns; Et finsь fó hupie. 'There is little hope.'

Pronouns

Personal

The 2pl úr is also used as a polite 2nd person pronoun.

The neuter pronoun et survives as a dummy pronoun: þídech riagnedie et 'Today it rained'.

case	1sg.	2sg. (familiar)	3sg.		1du.	2du.	1pl.	2pl.	3pl.	reflexive	impersonal	interrogative
			m.	f.
nom.	ik	þú	er	sí	bit	it	bír	úr	sí	-	sum	for
acc.	mik	þik	jan	í	ump	imp	unsь	ú	í	sik	sumen	fan
dat.	mir (pronounced mír)	þir (pronounced þír)	jam	jar; ím (inanimate, Connecticut dialectal)	ump	imp	unsь	ú	ím	sir (pronounced sír)	sume	fam
gen.	mín	þín	jazer	jarer	umpier	impier	unsier	úrer	jarer	sín	sín	fizer

The form bír comes from earlier vír which assimilated to the verb ending -em in inverted constructions: jatem bír 'we eat' < *jatem vír.

The impersonal pronoun sum in the nominative case can be used as the 1st person plural in impersonal speech: Sum gáþ! 'Let's go!' (lit. one goes)

In high register, genitive pronouns can be used as postposed possessive pronouns for indefinite nouns: Ik kánie 'n fríend jazer. 'I know a friend of his.' This is usually Ik kánie 'n fríend av jam.

Possessive pronouns

To form possessive pronouns, "determiner" endings are added to the genitive of the personal pronouns; the stems of unsier and úrer become unsь- and úr- when a suffix is added. The reflexive sín is used to refer to a third person subject in the same clause, while jaz or jar refer to 3rd person subjects other than the subject.

Possessive pronouns in predicative position are the masculine nominative form of the pronoun: Þe siag isь unsier! 'Victory is ours!'

Possessive pronouns

case	singular		plural
	m.	f.
nom.	mín þín sín jaz jar unsier úrer fiz	míne þíne síne jaze jare unsie úre fize	míne þíne síne jaze jare unsie úre fize
dat.	mínem þínem sínem jazem jarem unsiem úrem fizem	míner þíner síner jazer jarer unsier úrer fizer	mínem þínem sínem jazem jarem unsiem úrem fizem
gen.	míns þíns síns jazes jares unsies úres fizes	míner þíner síner jazer jarer unsier úrer fizer	míner þíner síner jazer jarer unsier úrer fizer

Demonstrative

• þiz = this; jín = that
• þat = (anaphoric) that
• for, fan, fam = who; fiz = whose; fat = what
• fanь = when
• fí = how; sá = like this/that, so, thus
• fár = where; hiér = here; þár = there
• fanьs, hienьs, þanьs = from where, from here, from there
• fidier, hidier, þadier = to where, to here, to there
• fár + preposition = where- + preposition; hiér + preposition = here- + preposition; þár + preposition = there- + preposition
• fárup = why
• filьk = which
• salьk = such; like this, that (attributive)
• ylьk = (one's) respective (cognate with English each)
  • Álmán háþ ylьke probliámen. = Everyone has their own problems.
  • Sum skál liáten ú biaren riaknes up úrem ylьkem biedrívengem. = Each of you will be held accountable for your own actions.
• ál = all, every
• byþe, byþem, byþer = both
• álþiéng, álmán = everything, everyone
• kniét, kniétfilьk = some (non-specific); any, arbitrary
  • Furь kniét x, finьs et an y, salьk þat... = 'For any x, there exists a y, such that...'
• kniétfat, kniétfor, kniétfár... = something, someone, somewhere (non-specific); anything, anyone, anywhere [< *ik ne wait hwat 'I don't know what' etc.]
• jeþich = some (specific)
• jeþfat, jeþmán, ... = something, someone (specific)
• nýþiéng, nýmán = nothing, no one
• ynfat, ynmán = (not) anything, anyone

Adpositions

Prepositions taking both the dative and the accusative

When governing the dative, these prepositions indicate location; when governing the accusative they indicate destination.

• afte = after
• án = (high register) on, upon; to, unto
• biefur = before, in front of
• yr = before (temporally)
• at = at, by, next to
  • Ik stande at þier stráte. = I'm on the street.
  • Ik gá at þier stráte. = I walk on the street.
  • Ik gá at þá stráte. = I walk towards the street.
• in = in
  • in þem > im
• siúþen = after
• uvier = over
• up = on
• út = outside of, out of

Prepositions taking the accusative

• furь = for
• gaszt = towards
• sunder = without
• þruch = through
• um = around
• viþ = against

Prepositions taking the dative

• av = off, from
• bí = of, at, in, also used like German bei to indicate 'at someone's place'
• mid (pronounced mi before þ) = with
  • mid þem > mim
• ta = to
  • ta + þem, þier > tam, tar
• úter = except

Prepositions taking the genitive

• atstad = instead of
• saker = because of
• fíler = during

Verbs

Verbs have undergone some simplifications. For example:

• The present subjunctive only survives in 3rd person imperatives.
• The past subjunctive has disappeared as a distinct form except viárie 'were, would be' and żenie 'would'. Modal verbs often use the past form for the past subjunctive.

The standalone negator nie/nié and negative verb forms with n- (from Proto-Germanic *ne) remain in use in poetry:

• ní-, nilien: negative of ví-, vilien (cf. English willy-nilly, from will he, nill he)
• niém, niér, nisь: negative of jém, jér, isь
• niét: negative of vyt

Weak verbs

For the past dental suffix -ti- is added if the stem ends in a voiceless consonant (other than t(i) or d(i)); -edi- is added if the stem ends in a t(i) or d(i) or a hard consonant other than k, g, ch; -di- is added otherwise (lióvedie is pronounced lióvъdie, though). Past participles are similar, with -d or -t.

Hard weak

lióven 'to love'

tense	ik	þú	er/sí	bír	úr	sí
present	lióve	lióver	lióveþ	lióvem	lióveþ	lióvenь
past	lióvedie	lióvedie	lióvedie	lióvediem	lióvedieþ	lióvedienь
imperative	-	lióv! / lióve!	lióve er!	lióvem!	lióveþ!	lióvenь sí!
present participle	lióvend
past participle	gelióved

Other examples: maken 'make', lirnen 'learn'

Soft weak

varmien 'to warm'

tense	ik	þú	er/sí	bír	úr	sí
present indicative	varmie	varmier	varmieþ	varmiem	varmieþ	varmienь
past	varmiedie	varmiedie	varmiedie	varmiediem	varmiedieþ	varmiedienь
imperative	-	varmь! / varmie!	varmie er!	varmiem!	varmieþ!	varmienь sí!
present participle	varmiend
past participle	gevarmied

Other examples: ámlien 'work'; hórien 'hear'; lyrien 'teach'; sażen 'say'; ertalien 'tell, recount'; ránien 'execute, set into motion'; ferránien 'to perform, to commit'; bránien 'burn (transitive)'; lażen 'lay'; vunszen 'wish'

Some verbs with velar/palatal stems, e.g. brinżen, bráchtie, gebrácht 'bring'; bużen, buchtie, gebucht 'buy'; þanczen, þáchtie, geþácht - 'think' form a small subclass of soft stem thematic verbs.

Strong verbs

non-palatalized/palatalized messed up strong verbs a bit.

Strong class 1

bíten 'to bite'

tense	ik	þú	er/sí	bír	úr	sí
present	bíte	bítier	bítieþ	bítem	bíteþ	bítenь
past	bit	bit	bit	bitem	biteþ	bitenь
imperative	-	bítь! / bítie!	bíte er!	bítem!	bíteþ!	bítenь sí!
present participle	bítend
past participle	gebiten

Also: színen, szin, geszinen 'shine', dríven, driv, gedriven 'act', klíven, kliv, gekliven 'stick, cling', smíten, smit, gesmiten 'kill', vríten, vrit, gevriten 'write', vríþen, vriþ, gevriþen 'weave'.

Strong class 2

czúzen 'to choose'

tense	ik	þú	er/sí	bír	úr	sí
present	czúze	czúzier	czúzieþ	czúzem	czúzeþ	czúzenь
past	czór	czór	czór	czórem	czóreþ	czórenь
imperative	-	czúzь! / czúzie!	czúze er!	czúzem!	czúzeþ!	czúzenь sí!
present participle	czúzend
past participle	geczuren

Also: biúden, biód, gebiuden 'offer, bid', biúgen, bióg, gebiugen 'bow', fliúgen, flióg, gefliugen 'fly', fliún, flió, geflióen 'flee, escape', friúzen, friór, gefriuren 'freeze', liúzen, liór, geliuren 'lose'

Strong class 3

binden 'to tie, to bind'

tense	ik	þú	er/sí	bír	úr	sí
present	binde	bindier	bindieþ	bindem	bindeþ	bindenь
past	biand	biand	biand	biandem	biandeþ	biandenь
imperative	-	bindь! / bindie!	binde er!	bindem!	bindeþ!	bindenь sí!
present participle	bindend
past participle	gebiunden

Also: bieżénen, bieżán, bieżónen 'begin'; briénen, brián, gebriónen 'burn (intransitive)'; drinken, driank, gedriunken 'drink'; finden, fiand, gefiunden 'find'; grinden, griand, gegriunden 'grind'; riénen, rián, geriónen 'flow, run'; springen, spriang, gespriungen 'jump, burst, explode'; simben, siamb, gesiumben 'sing'; þrimben, þriamb, geþriumben 'compel'.

Strong class 4

In Glommish, Proto-Germanic class 3b strong verbs have merged with class 4 strong verbs.

biaren 'to carry'

tense	ik	þú	er/sí	bír	úr	sí
present	biare	bierier	bierieþ	biarem	biareþ	biarenь
past	biár	biár	biár	biárem	biárþ	biárenь
imperative	-	bierь! / bierie!	biare er!	biarem!	biareþ!	biarenь sí!
present participle	biarend
past participle	gebiuren

Also: gebiaren, gebiár, gebiuren 'give birth', briaken, briák, gebriuken 'break', niamen, niám, geniumen 'take', piamen, piám, gepiumen 'come', driasken, driásk, gedriusken 'thresh', stiarven, stiárv, gestiurven 'long (for)', sviaren, sviár, gesviuren 'swear', viarpen, viárp, geviurpen 'throw', biangen, biáng, gebiungen 'to fear' spriaken, spriák, gespriuken 'to speak'

Strong class 5

Strong class 5 merges completely with strong class 6. The only difference is the softness of the initial consonant.

żaven 'to give'

tense	ik	þú	er/sí	bír	úr	sí
present	żave	żevier	żevieþ	żavem	żaveþ	żavenь
past	żáv	żáv	żáv	żávem	żáveþ	żávenь
imperative	-	żevь! / żevie!	żave er!	żavem!	żaveþ!	żavenь sí!
present participle	żavend
past participle	geżaven

Also: driapen, driáp, gedriapen 'hit', ferżaten, ferżát, ferżaten 'forget', liazen, liáz, geliazen 'read', jaten, ját, gejaten 'eat'. The verb sión, siáv, gesión 'see' is irregular. There are also the j-present verbs bidien, biád, gebiaden 'beg, pray', lieżen, liág, geliagen 'lie'

Strong class 6

graven 'to dig'

tense	ik	þú	er/sí	bír	úr	sí
present	grave	gravier	gravieþ	gravem	graveþ	gravenь
past	gráv	gráv	gráv	grávem	gráveþ	grávenь
imperative	-	gravь! / gravie!	grave er!	gravem!	graveþ!	gravenь sí!
present participle	gravend
past participle	gegraven

Also: slagen, slág, geslagen 'to beat, to hit', standen, stánd, gestanden 'stand', vaksen, váks, gevaksen 'grow', vasken, vásk, gevasken 'wash'.

Strong class 7

halden, hyld, halden - to hold

fálen, fyl, fálen - to fall

liáten, lít, liáten - to let

sliápen, slíp, sliápen - to sleep

biegrán, biegry, biegrán - to become

Other strongs

ándie 'would like'

tense	ik	þú	er/sí	bír	úr	sí
past subjunctive	-	-	ándie	-	-	ándienь

This defective verb from Proto-Germanic *unnaną 'to grant' is only used in the past subjunctive, for example in construction Mir ándie... 'I would like...'.

Preterite-present verbs

viten 'to know'

viten 'to know'

tense	ik	þú	er/sí	bír	úr	sí
present	vyt	vyt	vyt	vitem	viteþ	vitenь
past	vistie	vistie	vistie	vistiem	vistieþ	vistienь
imperative	-	vyt! / vyte!	vite er!	vitem!	viteþ!	vitenь sí!
present participle	vitend
past participle	gevist

kónen 'can, be able to'

kónen 'can'

tense	ik	þú	er/sí	bír	úr	sí
present	kán	kán	kán	kónem	kóneþ	kónenь
past	kóndie	kóndie	kóndie	kóndiem	kóndieþ	kóndienь

Similarly skólen 'shall' (skóldie 'should'),

þurven 'to have to'

þurven 'to have to'

Tempus	ik	þú	er/sí	bír	úr	sí
present	þarv	þarv	þarv	þurvem	þurveþ	þurvenь
past	þurvdie	þurvdie	þurvdie	þurvdiem	þurvdieþ	þurvdienь

dóren 'dare'

dóren 'dare'

tense	ik	þú	er/sí	bír	úr	sí
present	dóre	dórer	dóreþ	dórem	dóreþ	dórenь
past	durstie	durstie	durstie	durstiem	durstieþ	durstienь

The present has regularized. The past/conditional tense is still irregular from common use:

• Fí durstie þú... = How dare you...
• Ik durstь yncz erbaren þá anfer. = I wouldn't dare reveal the answer.

mogen 'may, have a possibility of'

mogen 'have a possibility of'

tense	ik	þú	er/sí	bír	úr	sí
present	mag	mag	mag	mogem	mogeþ	mogenь
subjunctive	moge	moger	moge	mogem	mogeþ	mogenь
past	mochtie	mochtie	mochtie	mochtiem	mochtieþ	mochtienь

The subjunctive of mogen can be used for wishes like English may:

• Moge unsie usre niamen gevíszt mid tróst = May our family be blessed with security

máten 'be permitted to'

máten 'be permitted to'

tense	ik	þú	er/sí	bír	úr	sí
present	mát	mát	mát	mátem	máteþ	mátenь
past	mástie	mástie	mástie	mástiem	mástieþ	mástienь

vín 'want'

vín 'want'

tense	ik	þú	er/sí	bír	úr	sí
present	ví	ví	ví	vím	víþ	vínь
past	vildie	vildie	vildie	vildiem	vildieþ	vildienь

Other irregular verbs

bión 'be'

bión 'to be'

tense	ik	þú	er/sí	bír	úr	sí
present	jém	jér	isь	sim	siþ	sinь
past	vaz	vast	vaz	viárem	viáreþ	viárenь
past subjunctive	viárie	viárie	viárie	viáriem	viárieþ	viárienь
imperative	-	bió!	bió er!	bióm!	bióþ!	biónь sí!
present participle	biónd
past participle	geviáren

dán 'do'

dán 'to do'

tense	ik	þú	er/sí	bír	úr	sí
present	dá	dár	dáþ	dám	dáþ	dánь
past	dié	diést	dié	diém	diéþ	diénь
imperative	-	dá!	dá er!	dám!	dáþ!	dánь sí!
present participle	dánd
past participle	gedán

gán 'go, (future tense auxiliary)'

gán 'to go, (future tense auxiliary)'

tense	ik	þú	er/sí	bír	úr	sí
present	gá	gár	gáþ	gám	gáþ	gánь
past indicative	żang	żang	żang	żangem	żangeþ	żangenь
past subjunctive1	żenie	żenie	żenie	żeniem	żenieþ	żenienь
imperative	-	gá!	gá er!	gám!	gáþ!	gánь sí!
present participle	gánd
past participle	geżangen

¹ Grammaticalized as a counterfactual marker.

Also: fán, fiang, gefiangen - to get, to obtain

Syntax

Glommish word order is V2 but is more similar to Icelandic than German. German-style SOV is considered poetic.

Fanь ik jém már, ví ik biegrán ne lyriernie.

When I grow up, I want to become a teacher.

(German: Wenn ich groß bin, will ich Lehrerin werden.)

Pronoun objects precede infinitives; nominal objects follow them.

Sí kán fádien þe map. / Sí kán jan fádien.

She can feed the boy. / She can feed him.

(German: Sie kann den Jungen ernähren. / Sie kann ihn ernähren.)

Dative pronouns bind more tightly to ditransitive verbs than accusative pronouns:

Ik [[żave jam] jan]. / Ik kán [jan [jam żaven]]. / Ik kán [[jam żaven] þe kempiúter].

I'm giving it to him. / I can give it to him. / I can give him the computer.

(German: Ich gebe ihn ihm. / Ich kann ihn ihm geben. / Ich kann ihm den Computer geben.)

In modern Glommish, phrasal verbs are always separated, except in derived agent and verbal nouns. Colloquial Glommish does so even in agent and verbal nouns derived with -erь and -eng, using the borrowed English construction VERB-erь/-eng PREP-erь/-eng (cf. English fixer-upper). Only the second suffix takes declension inflection.

húżen út

'to express'

úthúżeng

'expression'

húżeng-úteng

(colloquial) 'expressing'

Negation

The negative particle is yncz (pronounced /ɪnʃ/ or /ənʃ/) and has the same syntax as nicht in German independent clauses.

Drincz þe vater yncz, er isь fúl!

Don't drink the water, it's dirty!

Possession

Usually the genitive is placed after the noun: þá żáve míns fadiers 'my father's gift', but genitive before noun is acceptable too when the noun is definite and animate: míns fadiers żáve.

For "have", in addition to using hán 'to have' like other Germanic languages, one can use an Arabic-influenced construction At mir sinь tvy sunie. "I have two sons."

The construction "et finsь" (there is) can take nominative or accusative objects.

Passive

The passive can be formed by using either piamen 'to come' or niamen 'to take', followed by the past participle of the verb. The two choices of auxiliary are in free variation.

For example, Þe káke piám jaten. or Þe káke niám jaten. means 'The cake was eaten.'

Or, one may use the impersonal pronoun sum as the subject. This is used when the object is behind a preposition and hence the verb cannot be passivized.

Simple tenses

Simple present

The simple present denotes habitual actions or generally true facts, like the English simple present. It can also used for future events.

Ik biange mik av nadrem.

I'm afraid of snakes.

Simple past

The simple past is like the English simple past. Except for common short verbs like bión 'to be', hán 'to have' or gán 'to go', and auxiliaries, it's used mostly in New York Glommish, especially by younger speakers.

Imperative

Exactly what it says on the tin.

Compound tenses

Progressive

Progressive tenses denote ongoing actions. An Irish-like construction is used: the auxiliary bión is used (which carries the tense), and the lexical verb becomes at 'at' + infinitive. In formal Glommish, the direct object of the verb takes the genitive.

• Ik jém at jaten þe apel. "I am eating the apple."
• Þe hund vaz at þróten jan. "The dog was threatening him."
• Ik jém þárat. "I'm doing it; I'm on it."

Perfect

The perfect is used like the English perfect; it uses the auxiliary hán + past participle. In modern Glommish there's a tendency to use the perfect where normative Glommish would use the simple past; this is especially true of Connecticut Glommish.

• Ik há gejaten þe apel. "I have eaten the apple"; in Connecticut Glommish also "I ate the apple"

Clauses

Conjunctions

• end = and
• oþ = or
• nierь = but
• þóch = although
• fanь = when
• þá, als (literary) = when
• ydier... oþ... = either... or...
• niádier... nok... = neither... nor...
• þiersak = because
• þat = that (can be used with moge + infinitive (present) or mochtie + infinitive (past) for purpose clauses)
  • Ik biesmulte et, þat anþere mogen ferstanden. = 'I'm explaining it so that others may understand.'
  • Ik biesmultedie et, þat anþere mochtien ferstanden. = 'I explained it so that others might understand.'
• iv = if (used for conditions that could be true)
• sadь = if (used for counterfactual conditions)
• þánь = then
• nisь = than
• þus = so, thus
• als = as
• viedier X oþ Y = Both X and Y
• sáls = like
• alsá = thus, therefore

Relative clauses

Glommish relative clauses use the relativizer þat, and a resumptive pronoun when the head is in an oblique argument. This resumptive pronoun structure is from Arabic influence.

The þár- words are used for prepositional objects that are inanimates; the personal pronouns are used for animates.

• Þá piane þat ik żáv jar fáde þankedie mir. = 'The woman I gave food to thanked me.' (lit. the woman that I gave her food)
  • Or: Þá piane jar ik żáv fáde þankedie mir.
• þe urd þat ik rián þárav or þe urd þárav ik rián = 'the place I ran from'

Indirect speech

Indirect speech matches the tense of the clause it's embedded in, unlike in German and like in English (due to past Italian influence). Below, the sentences on the left have the same meaning as their corresponding sentences on the right.

Direct speech

Er sażeþ, "Ik há nýn żald."

He says, "I have no money."

Er sażdie, "Ik há nýn żald."

He said, "I have no money."

Er sażeþ, "Ik hádie nýn żald."

He says, "I had no money."

Er sażdie, "Ik hádie nýn żald."

He said, "I have no money."'

Indirect speech

Er sażeþ þat er háþ nýn żald.

He says he doesn't have money.

Er sażdie þat er hádie nýn żald.

He said he didn't have money.

Er sażeþ þat er hádie nýn żald.

He says he didn't have money.

Er sażdie þat er hádie gehád nýn żald.

He said he hadn't had money.

Inverted "if" clause

Like in German.

Exclamatory inversion

Brá, isь aldyrьsk ogel!

Boy, is Old Irish complicated!

Numbers

0-10: nól, yn, tvy, þrí, fiór, finf, siaks, siém, acht, nión, tién /no:l, ɨːn, tvɨː, θʲrʲiː, fʲoːr, fʲɪnf, sʲaks, sʲe:m, axt, nʲoːn, tʲeːn/

11-19: ylьf, tvalьf, þrítién, fiórъtién, finfъtién, siaksъtién, siefъtién, achtién, nióntién /ɨːlʲɪf, tvalʲɪf, θʲrʲiːtʲeːn, fʲoːrtʲeːn, fʲɪnftʲeːn, sʲakstʲeːn, sʲɛftʲeːn, axtʲeːn, nʲoːnʲtʲeːn/

20-90: tvyntich, þrítich, ... achtich, nióntich /tvɨːnʲtʲɪx, etc./

21, 22, ...: yn-án-tvyntich, tvy-án-tvyntich, ...

100: hunderþ /hʊndərθ/

Ordinal numbers are formed with -te or -þe (weak declension): nólþe, yrste, tvyþe, þridie, fiórþe, finfþe, ...

When they do not modify nouns, plural numerals tvy, þrí, fiór, ... have genitive forms tvyer, þríer, fiórer, ..., and dative forms tvym, þríem, fiórem, ....

This is how numerals modify plural nouns:

• Nominative: tvy þinge 'two things'; þá tvy þinge 'the two things'
• Dative: tvy þingem; tvym þingem (formal); þím tvy þingem
• Genitive: tvyer þingen; þier tvy þingen

Vocabulary

A sentence made entirely of Celtic vocabulary (except function words and derivational affixes):

Þe ódiche map isь at ferbytren þe máre ave. = The terrible boy is traversing the big river.

Derivational morphology

• -ъ- is often used in compound words.
• bie-: "be-", forms applicatives
• -bier: '-able'
• -czen (m): diminutive
  • þe kotczen 'kitten' < þe kot 'cat'
• -dám (m): "-dom"
  • kuniengdám = kingdom
  • þe júdendám = Judaism
• end-: 'de-, dis-'
  • endyren: 'dishonor'
• er-: telic
• fer-: "for-"
• fur-: "fore-"
• -fól: "-ful"
  • fóliefól: "complete" < fólie 'fullness; fill'
• ge-: intensifies a verb or derives an adverb; collective nouns
  • A false example: geliór ('galore', from Irish go leor)
• -hyd /-iːd/: -ness, -hood
  • sialvhyd: 'identity'
• -ich: "-y"; forms adjectives of the form '[adj]-[noun]ed'
  • ynóżich: 'one-eyed' < yn 'one' + óge 'eye'
  • kaldhiertich: 'coldhearted'
• -iel: forms nouns
  • þe lapiel: 'spoon'
  • þe katiel: 'kettle'
• -izen: "-ize", from PGmc -isōną
• -elen: "-le", German -eln (frequentative verbs)
• -lóz: "-less"
  • andielóz: 'endless' < þe andie 'end'
• -ling (m): "-ling"
• -lik: "-ly"; forms adjectives from noun
  • dażlik 'daily' < þe dag 'day'
  • vurdlik 'literal' < þe vurd 'word'
• mis-: "mis-"
  • misdiád: "misdeed, misdemeanor"
• -nes (f; pl. -nesen): forms nouns from verbs
• -nie: feminine suffix
  • þá lyriernie 'teacher (female)' < þe lyrierь 'teacher'
  • þá fuksnie 'vixen' < þe fuks 'fox'
• sam-: equi-, con-, together
• -sam: "-some"
  • ynsam 'lonely' < yn 'one'
  • gefiársam 'dangerous' < þá gefiár 'danger'
  • vysam 'woeful' < þe vy 'woe'
• -sk: "-ish"
• -skapie: "-ship", forms collective nouns for groups of people
  • simbskapie = chorus
• tier-: German zer-
• -tórь, -tórnie (from Italian -tore)
  • kompozitórь 'composer'
• tví-: "twi-"
• un-: "un-" (negation or opposite)
  • þá unróe 'unrest, unease'
• ur-
  • þe urdylь 'decision' < dylь 'part'
• -eng/-ieng: forms nouns from verbs
  • þá sriáleng 'radiation' < sriálen 'shine, radiate'
  • þá hytieng 'heating' < hytien 'to heat'
• -eríe = -ery, -erei

Phrasebook

• Czáv! = hello, goodbye
  • Czáv þir! (informal AND to one person)
  • Czáv ú! (formal OR to more than one person)
• Gáde murgen/dag/jévend/nachtь! = 'Good morning/afternoon/evening/night!'
• Vilьpiumen! = 'Welcome!'
• óntú (formal OR to more than one person) / ónþir (informal AND to one person) = 'please' (lit. may it please you/if it pleases you)
• Þank! = 'Thank you!'
• Rió isь mir. = 'I'm sorry.'
• Rió'sь. = 'Sorry.'
• Fí hyteþ úr? = 'What is your name?'
• Ik hyte ... = 'My name is ...'
• Fí isь þín/úrer mád? = 'How are you?' (lit. What is your state?)
• Fanьs piemier þú? / Fanьs piameþ úr? = 'Where are you from?'
• Ik piame av... = 'I'm from ...'
  • Anglandie. = 'England'.
  • Glómsьklandie. = 'Thedeland.'
  • Yrielandie. = 'Ireland.'
  • Kamberlandie. = 'Wales.'
• Sprieczer þú / Spriakeþ úr ... = 'Do you speak ...'
  • ... angelьsk? = '... English?'
  • ... þiúsk? = '... German?'
  • ... niþerlandьsk? = '... Dutch?'
  • ... itálьsk? = '... Italian?'
  • ... griéczk? = '... Greek?'
  • ... árebьsk? = '... Arabic?'
  • ... tamierьsk? = '... Tamil?'
• Já. = 'Yes.'
  • Já, þú mát / úr máteþ. = 'Yes, you may.'
• Ny. = 'No.'
• Ik spriake glómsьk yncz. = 'I can't speak Glómsьk.'
• Mát ik ú þúten? = 'May I address you informally (i.e. using þú)?'
• Isь þat sanþ? = 'Is that true?'
• Mir davieþ/davenь... = 'I like... (a thing)'
• Ik há (person) lióv = 'I like (person)'
• Ándie þir / ú... / Ándienь þir / ú... = 'Would you like...'
• Mir ándie... / mir ándienь... = 'I would like...'
  • Mir ándie 'n glás vatie, óntú. = 'I would like a glass of water, please.'
  • ... 'n dylь bród. 'a slice of bread.'
• Míne hond isь in varmenь vatrie. = My hand is in warm water.
• Mín stiúl isь in míner hond. = My pen is in my hand.
• mín druchen/míne fróje = sir/miss (polite way to address strangers)
• Ik lióve þik. = I love you.
• Mát ik þik kusien? = Can I kiss you?

Names

TODO: P-Celtic, Greek, Hebrew, Latin, and Arabic names; Anglicized Glommish surnames

• Biarhard (m.) ("bear-hard"; ~ Bernard)
• Gardie (f.) (~ Gerðr)
• Gyr- ("spear")
  • Gyrhard (~ Gerhard)
  • Gyrnod (~ Gernot)
  • Gyrъhildь (~ Gerhilde)
• Hazel /hazəɫ/ (f.) ("hazel")
• Hildie /çɪlʲdʲə/, -hildь (f.) (< hildiz "battle")
• Kól (m.) (From a Celtic word for "hazel"; Anglicized as Cole)
• Machtildь (f.) ("mighty in battle"; ~ Matilda, Mechthild)
• Onlyv (m.) (~ Olaf)
• Priten (m.) (~ Brittany)
• Sanþie /ˈsanθʲə/ (f.) ("truth")
• Siag- ("victory")
  • Siagfriuþ, Siaghildь, ...
• Svyn /svɨːn/ (m.) (*swainaz "servant"; ~ Sveinn/Sven)
• Þuner (m.) (*Þunraz)
• Váden /vaːdən/ (m.) (~ Odin)
• Vulf /vʊɫəf/ (m.)
• Ibrym (~ Ibrahim)

Days of the week

• miándag = Monday
• tiúsdag = Tuesday
• vánsdag = Wednesday
• þórsdag = Thursday
• frídag = Friday
• sabsdag = Saturday
• sóndag = Sunday

Elements

Elements are masculine.

• vaterstuf = hydrogen
• heli = helium
• liþi = lithium
• beriuli = Be
• bóre = boron
• kólstuf = carbon
• palьstuf = nitrogen
• súrstuf = oxygen
• fluóri = fluorine
• neë = neon
• natri = sodium
• magnézi = magnesium
• alumini = aluminium
• samedstuf = silicon
• liúchtiestuf = phosphorus
• sviál = sulfur
• chlóri = chlorine
• arge = argon
• yriene = copper
• siulver/silver = silver
• tin = tin
• fítgulþ = platinum
• gulþ = gold
• piksiulver/piksilver = mercury (element)
• bliú = lead

Sample texts

Featured language banner

Þiz rarde vaz ynst gerichtied fur.

This language was once featured.

Þank jazer líkamfólhyder, furvichtlikhyder end ferdavlikhyder geczór sum ta richtien jan fur.

Thanks to its quality (lit. bodyfulness, i.e. concreteness), plausibility (lit. naturalness) and usage features (lit. usefulness), it has been voted as featured.

VENI, VIDI, VICI

Ik piám, ik só, ik siagdie.

I came, I saw, I conquered.

UDHR, Article 1

Álgemynie Útriádeng þier Manьskenriachten

Útgliþ 1

Ále liúdie sinь geburen frí end javen án vurþie end ánriachtem. Sí sinь bieżávd mid ferstandie end riachtkánie end þurvenь biedríven yn gaszt niávьste im andenь bráþierhyder.

[ˈɑːɫə ˈlʲu:dʲɪ sʲɪnʲ ɣəˈbʊɹən fʲɾʲiː ən ˈjavən ɑ:n ˈvuɾʲθʲɪ ən ˈɑ:nrʲæxtəm || sʲiː sʲɪnʲ bʲɪˈʒɑːvd mʲɪt fəˈʂtand ən ˈrʲæxtkɑːnʲɪ | ən ˈθˠʊɹvən bʲɪˈdʲɾʲiːvən iːn ɣaʃt ˈnʲɑːfʲstə jɪn ˈandənʲ θʲɪɹ ˈbrɑːθʲɪɹiːd]

All human beings are free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act toward one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Schleicher's Fable

Þe száp end þá ruse

An száp þat hádie nyn vóle myr siáv ruse: yn at tiúchen an þunge vage, yn at biaren ne máre lost, end yn at snióm biaren an mánsьk. Þe száp sażdie þím rusem: "Þe hiarte isь mir syr, fanь ik sióe an mánsьk at dríven ruse án." Þá ruse sażdienь: "Lusnie, száp, unsь isь þe hiarte syr saker þiz hám bír gesióen: an mánsьk, þe druchtien, makeþ sir varmen klyþe út þier szápen vóle, end þe száp háþ niót vóle myr." Als þe száp hóriedie þiz, flióch er þruch þá miédve.

Gettysburg Address

Achtich-sieven járe isь et, after unsьre fadrie gebarenь án þizem jarþedylie ne niúe þióde, getiúszt in fríhyd, end ervíszt þier belóvneser þat ále liúdie sinь geskafen javen.

Erlkönig

For rídieþ sá lat þruch nachtь end vind?
Et isь þe fadier mid sínem czindie;
Er háþ þe map vial in þem armie,
Er fateþ jan tróstich, er haldieþ jan varm.

Wer reitet so spät durch Nacht und Wind?
Es ist der Vater mit seinem Kind;
Er hat den Knaben wohl in dem Arm,
Er fasst ihn sicher, er hält ihn warm.

Platenь Furьanfer (Plato's Apology)

Fí úr, lió Atiénierie, háþ niumen vichtied án av mínem bievráżeriem, vyt ik yncz; sá bielióvvirczend spriákenь sí, þat ik sialv hadie jénachtь ferżaten for ik viérie. Áltbieachtied hánь sí gesażd tvíls ynfat sanþes.

Súre 1: Þá Erupneng

The syntax and diction used are typical of literary, especially poetic, Glommish.

1. Im namenь þes geniáþichenь, líchtliátichenь Gudes.
2. Ále ráþь Gudie, áler viáldien Druchtnie,
3. þem geniáþichenь, þem líchtliátichenь,
4. þem im dámsdaże uvierriádendenь.
5. Þik ályn bíriem bír, end þik ályn bidiem bír um hulpie.
6. Lydie unsь þe sniále viag,
7. þe viag jíner án í þú geniáþe viz, nié jíner án í þín turn geviurden isь, nieþ þier jérienden.