Alfinu
| Alfinu | |
|---|---|
| Alfinu | |
| Pronunciation | [[Help:IPA|ˈalfinu]] |
| Created by | – |
| Native speakers | - (2014) |
Early form | Old Alfinu (?)
|
Alfinu is a romance languages spoken in the Alps. It is a rather conservative language since it retains four cases and three genders, unlike most other Romance languages. Its phonology is also rather conservative - the most notable dinstinction is the lack of Romance palatalisations since only the first palatalisation applies (a feature shared with Sardinian) and vowel changes, but there are several peculiar phonological innovations. Another feature shared with Sardinian are the Alfinu definite articles: they are derived from Latin ipse rather than ille as it's the case with other Romance languages.
Background
Phonology
Consonants
| Bilabial | Labio-dental | Alveolar | Post-alveolar | Palatal | Velar | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ||||
| Plosive | p b | t d | k g | |||
| Fricative | f v | s z | (ʃ ʒ)? | |||
| Affricate | t͡s d͡z | t͡ʃ d͡ʒ | ||||
| Approximant | j | w | ||||
| Trill | r | |||||
| Lateral app. | l |
Vowels
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u |
| Close-mid | e | o |
| Open | a |
Phonotactics
Orthography
Grammar
Articles
Alfinu has both definite and indefinite articles. Both are inflected for number and gender, as well as case. The indefinite articles are derived from Latin ūnus and the definite articles are derived from Latin ipse, similar to Sardinian but unlike all other Romance languages. The articles are also often shortened when followed by a word beginning in a vowel. The definite articles also combine with prepositions, similar to the Italian system.
| Definite articles | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case | Singular | Plural | ||||
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative | se | sa | su | si | se | sa |
| Accusative | su | soi | sai | |||
| Genitive | si | sor | sar | sor | ||
| Dative | so | sii | ||||
| Indefinite articles | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case | Singular | Plural | ||||
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative | unu | una | unu | uni | une | una |
| Accusative | unoi | unai | ||||
| Genitive | uni | unor | unar | unor | ||
| Dative | uno | unii | ||||
| Prepositional articles | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preposition | Case | Forms | ||||
| in | dative | niro; nirii | ||||
| accusative | niru, nira; niroi, nirai, nira | |||||
| a | dative | aro; arii | ||||
| accusative | aru, ara; aroi, arai, ara | |||||
| de | genitive | deri; deror, derar | ||||
| dia | genitive | diari; diaror, diarar | ||||
| cu(n) | dative | curo; curii | ||||
| su | dative | suro; surii | ||||
Nouns
Nouns in Alfinu belong to one of the three genders preserved from Latin: masculine, feminine, and neuter. There are also four cases: nominative, accusative, genitive, and dative. Nomiantive and accusative are almost always the same, in both singular and plural. Genitive and dative forms have been generalised and regularised. While the system is fairly conservative compared to other Romance languages, there is a high level of syncretism across all forms.