Ufirlandisg
Introduction
Ufirlandisg (Ufirlandisg: ziūdisg māl /ˈt͡ʃuːtʲisk ˈmaːɫ/; from PGmc *þiudiskaz) is an alternate history Germanic language partly inspired by Mandarin and Russian. It is spoken in the area of real-world France.
Phonology
Orthography
Consonants
| Labial | Dental/Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | pal. | plain | pal. | |||||
| Nasal | m m | ḿ mʲ | n n̪ | ń nʲ | ||||
| Stop /Affricate |
tenuis | b p | b́ pʲ | d t̪, z t̪s | d́ tʲ | ź, ǵ tʃ | g k | |
| aspirated | p pʰ | ṕ pʲʰ | t t̪ʰ | t́ tʲʰ | ć tʃʰ | c kʰ | ||
| Fricative | f f | f́ fʲ | s s | ś ʃ | h h | |||
| Approximant | central | w w | wi ɥ | r r | ŕ rʲ | j j | ||
| lateral | l ɫ | ĺ lʲ | ||||||
Ufirlandisg has an aspiration distinction in stops; however, the distinction is neutralized in word-final position.
When consonants written with an acute accent is followed by a vowel, the acute accent is replaced with an i (except with /i/ and /iː/).
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| short | long | short | long | short | long | |
| Close | i /i/, ü /y/ | ī /iː/, ǖ /yː/ | u /u/ | ū /uː/ | ||
| Close-mid | e, (i)e, (yu)e /ə/ | ē /ɤː/ | ||||
| Mid | (i)a, (yu)e, (ü)e, (u)e [ɛ] | (i)ā, (yu)ē, (ü)ē, (u)ē [ɛː] | [ə] | (u)ō /ɔː/ | ||
| Open | a /a/ | ā /aː/ | ||||
Diphthongs: ai iau iu /aj aw jəw/
In unstressed syllables, the hard vowels a, e correspond to the soft vowels ie/yue/üe/ue, i.
Prosody
Stress
Intonation
Phonotactics
Morphophonology
Morphology
Nouns
Ufirlandisg nouns have 2 numbers and 2 cases, but no grammatical gender. The endings are fairly conservative. However, there has been some conflation between different declension paradigms. The nominative has merged with the accusative, and the dative with the genitive. The genitive is thus also used as a dative: jac gaf se cüenar en apel. /jac kaf sə ˈtɕɥœnɑɹ ən ˈapʰəɫ/ 'I gave the woman an apple.'
The indefinite article is indeclinable: e is used before consonants and en before vowels. The definite article is likewise always se.
a-stems
Also includes the an-stem nouns (which have regularized their declension).
| a-stem: dal 'valley' | ||
|---|---|---|
| Case | Singular | Plural |
| Nominative | dal | dale |
| Genitive | dale | dalem |
| a-stem: namen 'name' | ||
|---|---|---|
| Case | Singular | Plural |
| Nominative | namen | namne |
| Genitive | namne | namnem |
| ja-stem: baś 'berry' | ||
|---|---|---|
| Case | Singular | Plural |
| Nominative | baś | basi |
| Genitive | basi | basim |
Vowel stems
This class also includes the former ō-stems and u-stems (whose stems end in a hard consonant) and former i-stems, īn-stems and z-stems (whose stems end in a soft consonant).
| ō-stem: nasa 'nose' | ||
|---|---|---|
| Case | Singular | Plural |
| Nominative | nasa | nasar |
| Genitive | nasar | nasam |
| u-stem: süda 'custom' | ||
|---|---|---|
| Case | Singular | Plural |
| Nominative | süda | südar |
| Genitive | südar | südam |
| i-stem: geburzie 'birth' | ||
|---|---|---|
| Case | Singular | Plural |
| Nominative | geburzie | geburzier |
| Genitive | geburzier | geburziem |
| īn-stem: langinie 'length' | ||
|---|---|---|
| Case | Singular | Plural |
| Nominative | langinie | langinier |
| Genitive | langinier | langiniem |
| z-stem: lambie 'lamb' | ||
|---|---|---|
| Case | Singular | Plural |
| Nominative | lambie | lambier |
| Genitive | lambier | lambiem |
r-stems
This class includes only these kinship terms: fadier 'father', mādier 'mother', brāzier 'brother', dūtier 'daughter', süesdier 'sister'.
| r-stem: fadier 'father' | ||
|---|---|---|
| Case | Singular | Plural |
| Nominative | fadier | fadrar |
| Genitive | fadrar | fadram |
Other irregular nouns
| muon 'man' | ||
|---|---|---|
| Case | Singular | Plural |
| Nominative | muon | manier |
| Genitive | manier | muonam |
Pronouns
| case | 1sg. | 2sg. | 3sg. | 1pl. | 2pl. | 3pl. | reflexive | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 'he' | 'she' | 'it' | |||||||
| nom. | jac | zū | ir | sī | it | wīr | jūr | jā | - |
| acc. | mik | zik | ina | ija | it | unś | jou | jā | sik |
| dat. | mir | zir | ime | jare | ime | unś | jou | imi | sir |
| gen. | mīn | zīn | jas | jarar | jas | unsier | jour | jara | sīn |
Adjectives
Most adjectives take -a (for hard stems) or -ie (for soft stems) if it is definite or plural: cf. se liau watnie 'the lukewarm water' vs. liau watnie 'lukewarm water' vs. se watnie iś liau 'the water is lukewarm'.
The comparative and superlatives are formed by the suffixes -ier and -sd: suōt, suōtier, suōtsd 'sweet, sweeter, sweetest'.
There are a few irregular adjectives, which are listed in the table below.
| Meaning | Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|---|
| "good" | gād | batier | basd |
| "bad" | ubiel | wirsier | wirsd |
| "many" | füel | mēr | mēsd |
| "high" | hau | hawier | hafsd |
| "near" | niau | niawier | niafsd |
Verbs
The verbal system is the most conservative part of Ziūdisg grammar. Verbs have three paradigms: athematic stems, thematic a-stems and thematic i-stems.
Most verbs have three principal parts: the present stem (remove the -n from the infinitive), the past stem and the past participle. The past subjunctive always uses the past participle stem.
Thematic verbs
-an verbs
This is the most productive class of verbs.
| tense | jac | zū | ir/sī/it | wīr | jūr | jā |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present indicative | maka | makaś | makaź | makam | makaz | makanź |
| present subjunctive | maka | makas | maka | makam | makaz | makan |
| past indicative | makadie | makadiesd | makadie | makadiem | makadied | makadien |
| past subjunctive | makadi | makadisd | makadi | makadim | makadid | makadin |
| imperative | - | maka! | - | - | makaz! | - |
| present participle | makand | |||||
| past participle | makad | |||||
Also: liaufan 'love', lirnan 'learn'
-in verbs
| tense | jac | zū | ir/sī/it | wīr | jūr | jā |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present indicative | rēci | rēciś | rēciź | rēcim | rēciz | rēcinź |
| present subjunctive | rēci | rēcis | rēci | rēcim | rēciz | rēcin |
| past indicative | rēcidie | rēcidiesd | rēcidie | rēcidiem | rēcidied | rēcidien |
| past subjunctive | rēcidi | rēcidisd | rēcidi | rēcidim | rēcidid | rēcidin |
| imperative | - | rēci! | - | - | rēciz! | - |
| present participle | rēcind | |||||
| past participle | rēcid | |||||
Also: arbēdin 'work'; haurin 'hear'; lērin 'teach'; sagin 'say'; ertalin 'tell, recount'; ranin 'run (transitive), execute, set into motion'
Verbs with a long vowel and dental suffix t in the past tense, e.g. bringin, brātie, brāt 'bring'; bugin, būtie, būt 'buy'; zancin, zātie, zāt - 'think' form a small subclass of the -in verbs.
Athematic verbs
Weak
Strong class 1
| tense | jac | zū | ir/sī/it | wīr | jūr | jā |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present indicative | bīta | bītier | bītied́ | bītem | bītied | bītend́ |
| present subjunctive | bīte | bīter | bīte | bītem | bīted | bīten |
| past indicative | bēt | bētsd | bēt | bētam | bētad | bētan |
| past subjunctive | biti | bitisd | biti | bitim | bitid | bitin |
| imperative | - | bīt! | - | - | bītied! | - |
| present participle | bītend | |||||
| past participle | biten | |||||
Also: śgīnen, sgēn, śginen 'shine', drīfen, drēf, drifen 'drive', clīfen, clēf, clifen 'stick, cling', rīten, rēt, riten 'write'
Strong class 2
| tense | jac | zū | ir/sī/it | wīr | jūr | jā |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present indicative | ciausa | ciausier | ciausied́ | ciausem | ciausied | ciausend́ |
| present subjunctive | ciause | ciauser | ciause | ciausem | ciaused | ciausen |
| past indicative | caus | causd | caus | causam | causad | causan |
| past subjunctive | curi | curisd | curi | curim | curid | curin |
| imperative | - | ciaus! | - | - | ciausied! | - |
| present participle | ciausend | |||||
| past participle | curen | |||||
Also: biauden, baud, buden 'offer, bid', biaugen, baug, bugen 'bow', fliaugen, flaug, flugen 'fly', fliawen, flau, fluwen 'flee, escape', friausen, fraus, fruren 'freeze'
Strong class 3
| tense | jac | zū | ir/sī/it | wīr | jūr | jā |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present indicative | binda | bindier | bindied́ | bindem | bindied | bindend́ |
| present subjunctive | binde | binder | binde | bindem | binded | binden |
| past indicative | band | bandsd | band | bandam | bandad | bandan |
| past subjunctive | bundi | bundisd | bundi | bundim | bundid | bundin |
| imperative | - | bind! | - | - | bindied! | - |
| present participle | bindend | |||||
| past participle | bunden | |||||
Also: bieginen, biegan, biegunen 'begin'; drincen, dranc, druncen 'drink'; finzen, fanz, funzen 'find'; grinden, grand, grunden 'grind'; rinen, ran, runen 'run'; sbringen, sbrang, sbrungen 'burst, explode'; singen, sang, sungen 'sing'; wierpen, warp, wurpen 'throw'; zringen, zrang, zrungen 'press, force, push through'
Strong class 4
In Jiudisg, Proto-Germanic class 3b strong verbs have merged with class 4 strong verbs.
| tense | jac | zū | ir/sī/it | wīr | jūr | jā |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present indicative | biara | biarier | biaried́ | biarem | biaried | biarend́ |
| present subjunctive | biare | biarer | biare | biarem | biared | biaren |
| past indicative | bar | barsd | bar | baram | barad | baran |
| past subjunctive | buri | burisd | buri | burim | burid | burin |
| imperative | - | biar! | - | - | biaried! | - |
| present participle | biarend | |||||
| past participle | buren | |||||
Also: briaken, brak, bruken 'break', niamen, nam, numen 'take', cüemen, kam, kumen 'come', sbriaken, sbrak, sbruken 'speak', śdialen, sdal, sdulen 'steal', hialpen, halp, hulpen 'help', driasg, drasg, drusgen 'thresh', śdiarf, sdarf, sdurfen 'die'
Strong class 5
| tense | jac | zū | ir/sī/it | wīr | jūr | jā |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present indicative | giafa | giafier | giafied́ | giafem | giafied | giafend́ |
| present subjunctive | giafe | giafer | giafe | giafem | giafed | giafen |
| past indicative | gaf | gafsd | gaf | gafam | gafad | gafan |
| past subjunctive | giafi | giafisd | giafi | giafim | giafid | giafin |
| imperative | - | giaf! | - | - | giafied! | - |
| present participle | giafend | |||||
| past participle | giafen | |||||
Also: driapen, drap, driapen 'hit, meet', fergiaten, fergat, fergiaten 'forget', liasen, las, liaren 'read', siawen, saw, siawen 'see'. There are also the j-present verbs bidin, bad, biaden 'beg, pray', ligin, lag, liagen 'lie'
Strong class 6
| tense | jac | zū | ir/sī/it | wīr | jūr | jā |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present indicative | grafa | grafier | grafied́ | grafem | grafied | grafend́ |
| present subjunctive | grafe | grafer | grafe | grafem | grafed | grafen |
| past indicative | grāf | grāfsd | grāf | grāfam | grāfad | grāfan |
| past subjunctive | grafi | grafisd | grafi | grafim | grafid | grafin |
| imperative | - | graf! | - | - | grafied! | - |
| present participle | grafend | |||||
| past participle | grafen | |||||
Also: faren, fār, faren 'spread', slagen, slāg, slagen 'strike', sdanden, sdānd, sdanden 'stand', wagsen, wāgs, wagsen 'grow', wasgen, wāsg, wasgen 'wash', jaten, jāt, jaten 'eat' (reclassified from class 5)
Strong class 7
hēten, hīt, hīten - to be called
laupen, liaup, liaupen - to leap
sdauten, śdiaut, śdiauten - to bump, crash
fān, fādie, fād - to get, to obtain (regularized)
hald, hiald, hialden - to hold
liāten, līt, liāten - to let
siān, siādie, siād - to sow (regularized)
Preterite-present verbs
witen 'to know'
| tense | jac | zū | ir/sī/it | wīr | jūr | jā |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present indicative | wōt | wōsd | wōt | witam | witad | witan |
| present subjunctive | witi | witir | witi | witim | witid | witin |
| past indicative | wiśdie | wiśdiesd | wiśdie | wiśdiem | wiśdied | wiśdien |
| past subjunctive | wiśdi | wiśdisd | wiśdi | wiśdim | wiśdid | wiśdin |
| imperative | - | wit! | - | - | witad! | - |
| present participle | witend | |||||
| past participle | wisd | |||||
cunen 'can'
| tense | jac | zū | ir/sī/it | wīr | jūr | jā |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present indicative | can | cansd | can | cunam | cunad | cunan |
| present subjunctive | cuni | cunir | cuni | cunim | cunid | cunin |
| past indicative | cundie | cundiesd | cundie | cundiem | cundied | cundien |
| past subjunctive | cundi | cundisd | cundi | cundim | cundid | cundin |
Similarly sgulen 'should', zurfen 'must'.
magen 'may'
| tense | jac | zū | ir/sī/it | wīr | jūr | jā |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present indicative | mag | magsd | mag | magam | magad | magan |
| present subjunctive | magi | magir | magi | magim | magid | magin |
| past indicative | mātie | mātiesd | mātie | mātiem | mātied | mātien |
| past subjunctive | māti | mātisd | māti | mātim | mātid | mātin |
Other irregular verbs
wilen 'want to, will'
| tense | jac | zū | ir/sī/it | wīr | jūr | jā |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present indicative | wī | wīsd | wī | wīm | wīd | wīn |
| present subjunctive | wili | wilir | wili | wilim | wilid | wilin |
| past indicative | wildie | wildiesd | wildie | wildiem | wildied | wildien |
| past subjunctive | wildi | wildisd | wildi | wildim | wildid | wildin |
biaun 'be'
| tense | jac | zū | ir/sī/it | wīr | jūr | jā |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present indicative | im | ir | iś | wiram | wirad | wiranź |
| present subjunctive | sije | sijer | sije | sijem | sijed | sijen |
| past indicative | was | wasd | was | wiēram | wiērad | wiēran |
| past subjunctive | wiēri | wiērisd | wiēri | wiērim | wiērid | wiērin |
| imperative | - | biau! | - | - | biaud! | - |
| present participle | wiesend | |||||
| past participle | wiēren | |||||
han 'have (auxiliary)'
| tense | jac | zū | ir/sī/it | wīr | jūr | jā |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present indicative | ha | haś | haź | ham | haz | hanź |
| present subjunctive | hafe | hafis | hafi | hafim | hafiz | hafin |
| past indicative | hadie | hadiesd | hadie | hadiem | hadied | hadien |
| past subjunctive | hadi | hadisd | hadi | hadim | hadid | hadin |
| imperative | - | ha! | - | - | haz! | - |
| present participle | hafind | |||||
| past participle | had | |||||
dān 'do'
| tense | jac | zū | ir/sī/it | wīr | jūr | jā |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present indicative | dā | dāś | dāź | dām | dāz | dānź |
| present subjunctive | dā | dās | dā | dām | dāz | dān |
| past indicative | diadie | diadiesd | diadie | diadiem | diadied | diadien |
| past subjunctive | diadi | diadisd | diadi | diadim | diadid | diadin |
| imperative | - | dā! | - | - | dāz! | - |
| present participle | dānd | |||||
| past participle | dān | |||||
gān 'go'
| tense | jac | zū | ir/sī/it | wīr | jūr | jā |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present indicative | gā | gāś | gāź | gām | gāz | gānź |
| present subjunctive | gā | gās | gā | gām | gāz | gān |
| past indicative | giang | giangsd | giang | giangam | giangad | giangan |
| past subjunctive | giangi | giangisd | giangi | giangim | giangid | giangin |
| imperative | - | gā! | - | - | gāz! | - |
| present participle | gānd | |||||
| past participle | giangen | |||||
Derivational morphology
- and-: 'de-, dis-'
- bie-: "be-", forms applicatives
- biecrīten 'complain about' < crīten 'complain'
- bierīten 'describe' < rīten 'write'
- biesingen 'praise' < singen 'sing'
- -bier: '-able'
- jatebier 'edible' < jaten 'to eat'
- er-: telic
- fer-: "for-"
- ferwundran 'surprise, amaze' < wunder 'wonder, miracle'
- for-: "fore-"
- -ful: "-ful"
- ge-
- gebiaren 'give birth' < biaren 'bear, carry'
- -hēd: -ness, -hood
- -ig: forms adjectives from nouns
- -laus: "-less"
- -lik: "-ly"; forms adjectives from nouns
- wurdlik 'literal' < wurd 'word'
- mis-: "mis-"
- -nes: forms nouns from verbs
- -sam: "-some"
- un-: "un-" (negation or opposite)
- unrāwa 'unrest, unease'
- -unga: forms nouns from verbs
- hētiunga 'heating' < hētin 'to heat'
Prepositions
Like in German, prepositions govern certain defined cases and change meaning based on the case of the noun. Prepositions may govern the nominative (accusative for pronouns) or the genitive (dative for pronouns). Ordinals are formed with the suffix -za.
Numbers
- 1: ēn /ɤːn/ (ordinal ērsd)
- 2: tuō /tʰwɔː/ (ordinal anzier)
- 3: zrī /tsrʲiː/
- 4: fiur /fʲʊr/
- 5: finf /fʲinf/
- 6: siags /ʃaks/
- 7: süef /ʃɥœf/
- 8: āta /ˈaːtʰa/
- 9: niaun /nʲaun/
- 10: tiaun /tʲʰaun/
- 11: ēnlif
- 12: tuōlif
- 13: zrītiun
- 14: fiurtiun
- 15: finftiun
- 16: siagstiun
- 17: süeftiun
- 18: āttiun
- 19: niauntiun
- 20: tuōntig
- 30: zrītig
- 40: fiurtig
- 50: finftig
- 60: siagstig
- 70: süeftig
- 80: āttig
- 90: niauntig
- 100: hundrad
- 1000: zūsand́
Syntax
Constituent order
Word order is V2 (also SAuxVO), but is VSO in questions and VO in imperatives:
- sī iś mīn lēraŕ.
- She is my teacher.
- Giasdern giang jac bugin ubati.
- Yesterday I went to buy fruit.
- Wōsd zū zat ēnć?
- Don't you know that?
- Jat zīn krūtsakar!
- Eat your vegetables!
Verbs are negated with ēnć:
- jac fersdanda ēnć huat zū sagiś.
- I don't understand what you're saying.
Noun phrase
Verb phrase
Sentence phrase
Dependent clauses
Example texts
Phrasebook
- Gād murgen! [kaːt ˈmʊrkɨn] - Good morning!
- Gād dag! [kaːt tak] - Hello! Good day!
- Gād üēfend! [kaːt ˈɥœːfɨnt] - Good evening!
- Gād nātie! [kaːt ˈnaːtʰʲɛ] - Good night!
- Wielkumen! [ˈɥœɫkʰʊmɨn] - Welcome!
- Jac hēta... [jac ˈhɤːtʰa...] - My name is...
- Zanke! [tsaŋkʰə] - Thank you!
- Mir/Unś iś rǖ. [mʲɪr/ʊnʃ ɪʃ rʲyː] - I'm/We're sorry.
- Jac sbriaka ēnć Ufirlandisg. - I don't speak Ufirlandisg.