Chelsian
Chelsian (Native: čelsa linga /ˈtɕɛɫsa ˈlʲɪŋɡɐ/, čelsōrų linga /tɕɛɫˈsoːruː ˈlʲɪŋɡɐ/) is a highly conservative Romance language with Baltic influence.
| Chelsian | |
|---|---|
| čelsōrų linga | |
| Pronunciation | [tɕɛɫˈsoːruː ˈlʲɪŋɡɐ] |
| Created by | Shariifka |
Indo-European
| |
Early forms | Classical Latin
|
Introduction
Etymology
From Latin celsus.
Features
Phonological
- Preserves original vowel length and quality.
- Preserved long nasal vowels into its recent history, then merged them with plain long vowels (but they are kept distinct in writing).
- Original velars became alveolar/dental fricatives/affricates before /i/ and postalveolar fricatives/affricates before /e/.
- This is because palatalization before /i/ and before /e/ occurred separately at different times.
- Original labiovelars became plain velars in all positions.
- Innovated hard/soft consonant distinction.
- Glide v- inserted before word-initial o- (long or short).
- Glide j- inserted before word-initial e- and i- (long or short).
- Original au preserved as a diphthong.
- Original ae merged with long e in most cases, but was kept distinct in 1st declension noun inflectional endings (later merged in pronunciation but without palatalization).
- This may have actually been through an intermediate phase -āī rather than descending directly from Classical Latin -ae.
- Original oe merged with long e in all cases.
Grammatical
- Preserves case inflection.
- No articles.
- Modifier precedes noun.
Phonology
Orthography
| Grapheme | Sound (IPA) | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| a | [ɐ] | |
| ā | [äː] | |
| ą | ||
| e | [ɛ ~ e̞] | [ɛ] before hard consonants. [e̞] before soft consonants and word-finally. |
| ē | [æː ~ ɛː ~ eː] | [æː] before hard consonants. [ɛː] before soft consonants. [eː] word-finally. |
| ę | ||
| æ | ||
| i | [ɪ] | /jɪ/ word-initially. |
| ī | [iː] | /jiː/ word-initially. |
| į | ||
| o | [ɔ] | |
| ō | [oː] | |
| ǫ | ||
| u | [ʊ] | |
| ū | [uː] | |
| ų | ||
| y | [ɪ] | Used to represent unpalatalized /ɪ/ and /iː/ in loanwords (especially word-initially). |
| ȳ | [iː] |
| Grapheme | Sound (IPA) | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| ai | [äɪ̯] | |
| au | [ɐʊ̯] | |
| eu | [e̞ʊ̯] |
| Grapheme | Sound (IPA) | |
|---|---|---|
| Hard | Soft | |
| b | b | bʲ |
| c | t̪͡s̪ | t͡sʲ |
| č | t͡ʃ | t͡ɕ |
| ch | x | xʲ |
| d | d̪ | dʲ |
| dz | d̪͡z̪ | d͡zʲ |
| dž | d͡ʒ | d͡ʑ |
| f | f | fʲ |
| g | ɡ | ɡʲ |
| h | ɦ | ɣʲ |
| j | — | j |
| k | k | kʲ |
| l | ɫ | lʲ |
| m | m | mʲ |
| n | n̪ | nʲ |
| p | p | pʲ |
| r | r | rʲ |
| s | s̪ | sʲ |
| š | ʃ | ɕ |
| t | t̪ | tʲ |
| v | ʋ | vʲ |
| z | z̪ | zʲ |
| ž | ʒ | ʑ |
Consonants are always palatalized (soft) before ⟨e, ē, ę, i, ī, į⟩. Before ⟨a, ā, ą, æ, o, ō, ǫ, u, ū, ų⟩, palatalization is denoted by inserting an ⟨i⟩ between the consonant and the vowel.
Uniquely, ⟨j⟩ is always palatalized regardless of position.
Consonants
Vowels
Prosody
Stress
Stress generally follows Classical Latin rules.
Intonation
Phonotactics
Morphophonology
Morphology
Nouns
First declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | -a | -æ |
| genitive | -æ | -ārų |
| dative | -æ | -āvīs |
| accusative | -ą | -ās |
| locative | -ā | -āvīs |
| vocative | -a | -æ |
Second declension
| Case | Singular | Plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| m. | n. | m. | n. | |
| nominative | -(i)us | -(i)ų | -ī | -(i)a |
| genitive | -ī | -(i)ōrų | ||
| dative | -(i)ō | -īs | ||
| accusative | -(i)ų | -(i)ōs | -(i)a | |
| locative | -(i)ō | -īs | ||
| vocative | -e | -(i)ų | -ī | -(i)a |
Third declension
| Case | Singular | Plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| m./f. | n. | m./f. | n. | |
| nominative | (various) | -ēs | -(i)a | |
| genitive | -is | -(i)ų | ||
| dative | -ī | -ivīs | ||
| accusative | -ę | (same as nom.) | -ēs | -(i)a |
| locative | -e | -ivīs | ||
| vocative | (same as nom.) | -ēs | -(i)a | |
Fourth declension
| Case | Singular | Plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| m./f. | n. | m./f. | n. | |
| nominative | -us | -ū | -ūs | -uva |
| genitive | -uvis, -ūs | -uvų, -ų | ||
| dative | -uvī, -ui | -uvīs | ||
| accusative | -ų | -ū | -ūs | -uva |
| locative | -ū | -uvīs | ||
| vocative | -us | -ū | -ūs | -uva |
Fifth declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| m./f. | m./f. | |
| nominative | -ēs | -ēs |
| genitive | -ei | -ērų |
| dative | -ei | -ēvīs |
| accusative | -ę | -ēs |
| locative | -ē | -ēvīs |
| vocative | -ēs | -ēs |
Pronouns
Personal pronouns
Note: The cases have been reordered for convenience, since nominative & accusative forms are often identical as are dative & locative. The vocative has been excluded since it is always identical to the nominative.
| Person | Number | Gender | Nominative | Accusative | Genitive | Dative | Locative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | sg. | all | jehō | mē | mejus, -a, -ų | mivī | |
| pl. | all | nōs | nostrus, -a, -ų | nōvīs | |||
| 2 | sg. | all | tū | tē | tuvus, -a, -ų | tivī | |
| pl. | all | vōs | vostrus, -a, -ų | vōvīs | |||
| 3 | sg. | m. | isse | issų | issījus, -a, -ų | issui | issī |
| f. | issa | issą | issējus, -a, -ų | issei | issæ | ||
| n. | issut | issījus, -a, -ų | issui | issī | |||
| pl. | m. | issī | issōs | issōrus, -a, -ų | issīs | ||
| f. | issæ | issās | issārus, -a, -ų | issāvīs | |||
| n. | issa | issōrus, -a, -ų | issīs | ||||
| Reflexive | all | – | sē | suvus, -a, -ų | sivī | ||
Verbs
Verbs are split into four conjugations that can be identified by their present active infinitive endings:
- 1st conjugation: -āre
- 2nd conjugation: -ēre
- 3rd conjugation: -ere
- 4th conjugation: -īre
Principal parts
The full conjugation of all verbs (except the verb jessere "to be") can be derived from their principal parts.
The principle parts are:
- 1st person singular present indicative - from which the secondary present stem is derived
- Present active infinitive - from which the primary present stem is derived
- 1st person singular preterite - from which the perfect stem is derived
- Passive participle - from which the supine stem is derived
Forms based on the present stem
The present stem is obtained by removing the infinitive ending (-(i)āre, -ēre, -ere, or -īre) from the second principal part and (in the case of the first conjugation) maintaining its hardness/softness.
Many verbs in the second to fourth conjugations have a secondary present stem distinct from the primary present stem. This is obtained by removing -(i)ō from the first principal part and maintaining its hardness/softness.
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present active infinitive | -(i)āre | -ēre | -ere | -īre |
| Present active participle | -(i)ąs, -(i)antis, -(i)antių | -ęs, -entis, -entių¹ | ||
| Obligative passive participle | -(i)andus, -a, -ų | -endus, -a, -ų¹ | ||
Notes:
¹ Uses the secondary present stem (if applicable).
| Person/ number |
Present indicative | Present subjunctive | Imperfect indicative | Imperfect subjunctive | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | |
| 1S | -(i)ō | -(i)ō¹ | -ę | -(i)ą¹ | -(i)āvą | -ēvą¹ | -(i)ārę | -ērę | -erę | -īrę | ||||||
| 2S | -(i)ās | -ēs | -is | -īs | -ēs | -(i)ās¹ | -āvās | -ēvās¹ | -(i)ārēs | -ērēs | -erēs | -īrēs | ||||
| 3S | -(i)at | -et | -it | -it | -et | -(i)at¹ | -āvat | -ēvat¹ | -(i)āret | -ēret | -eret | -īret | ||||
| 1P | -(i)āmus | -ēmus | -imus | -īmus | -ēmus | -(i)āmus¹ | -āvāmus | -ēvāmus¹ | -(i)ārēmus | -ērēmus | -erēmus | -īrēmus | ||||
| 2P | -(i)ātis | -ētis | -itis | -ītis | -ētis | -(i)ātis¹ | -āvātis | -ēvātis¹ | -(i)ārētis | -ērētis | -erētis | -īrētis | ||||
| 3P | -(i)ant | -ent | -(i)unt¹ | -(i)unt¹ | -ent | -(i)ant¹ | -āvant | -ēvant¹ | -(i)ārent | -ērent | -erent | -īrent | ||||
Notes:
¹ Uses the secondary present stem (if applicable).
Forms based on the perfect stem
The perfect stem is obtained by removing -ī from the third principle part.
| Form | Formation |
|---|---|
| Perfect active infinitive | -isse |
| Perfect indicative | Pluperfect indicative | Perfect subjunctive | Pluperfect subjunctive | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1S | -ī | erą | -erį | issę |
| 2S | -istī | erās | -erīs | issēs |
| 3S | -it | erat | -erit | isset |
| 1P | -imus | erāmus | -erīmus | issēmus |
| 2P | -istis | erātis | -erītis | issētis |
| 3P | -ērunt | erant | -erint | issent |
Perfect stems ending in monophthong + -v- can optionally be contracted in certain environments. Note that the stress is always maintained as in the uncontracted form.
| Monophthong preceding -v- | Sequence following -v- | Contraction |
|---|---|---|
| ā | ī | ai |
| ē | ei | |
| u | ui | |
| ī | ī | |
| ā | it | aut |
| ē | eut | |
| ā | i or e (except -it) | ā |
| ē | ē | |
| u | i or e | ū |
| ī | ī |
In regular verbs, the perfect stem can be derived from the present stem in predictable ways:
- 1st conjugation: -āv-
- 2nd conjugation: -uv- (with hard stem-final consonant)
- 3rd conjugation: -uv- (with hard stem-final consonant)
- 4th conjugation: -īv-
The majority of 1st and 4th conjugation verbs are regular, while 2nd and 3rd conjugation verbs (particularly 3rd conjugation) have a higher tendency to have irregular perfect stems.
Irregular perfect stems formations include:
- -ēvi- (for 2nd conjugation verbs).
- Adding -s- after the stem-final consonant (which may cause assimilation).
- Reduplication.
- Vowel lengthening with or without vowel change.
- Dropping nasal infix from present stem.
- No change from present stem.
Forms based on the supine stem
The supine stem is derived from the fourth principle part by removing the ending -us.
| Form | Formation |
|---|---|
| Present passive participle | -us, -a, -ų |
| Obligative active participle | -ūrus, -a, -ų |
For regular verbs, the supine stem is formed from the present stem as follows:
- 1st conjugation: -āt-
- 2nd conjugation: -ūt-
- 3rd conjugation: -ūt-
- 4th conjugation: -īt-
Verbs with an irregular perfect stem generally also have an irregular supine stem.
- If the perfect stem ends in -uv-, the supine stem generally ends in -ūt-.
- If the perfect stem ends in -īv-, the supine stem generally ends in -īt-.
- If the perfect stem ends in -ēv-, the supine stem generally ends in -ēt-.
- Otherwise, the supine stem cannot be predictably derived based on the perfect stem. Possible endings (besides the already mentioned ones) include:
- -t- (possibly with assimilation)
- -s- (possibly with assimilation)
- -it-
Note that some verbs with a regular perfect stem may have an irregular supine stem and vice versa.
Compound tenses
Compound tenses are formed with auxiliary verbs.
| Tense | Formation | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| Future | present tense of īre "to go" + present active infinitive | This can be made into a future-in-past form by instead using the appropriate past tense form of īre. |
| Future perfect | present tense of īre "to go" + perfect active infinitive |
| Form | Formation |
|---|---|
| Future active infinitive | īre + present active infinitive |
| Future perfect active infinitive | īre + perfect active infinitive |
| Future active participle | jęs, -entis + present active infinitive |
Passive
The passive of any active verb form (finite or non-finite) is formed by replacing that verb form with the equivalent form of the verb jessere "to be" followed by the verb's present passive participle. In compound forms, this applies only to the main verbs and not the auxiliary verb.
This does not apply to the obligative active participle, which instead becomes the obligative passive participle.
Obligative
An obligative counterpart can be made from any tense. It is formed from its declarative counterpart by replacing the main verb with the appropriately conjugated form of essere "to be" followed by the active or passive obligative participle.
The verb jessere "to be"
The verb sų, jessere, fuvī, fūtus "to be" is one of the most important verbs, and one of the most irregular. In fact, it is the only verb whose full conjugation cannot be determined based on its principle parts.
The forms based on the perfect and supine stems are formed regularly. However, the forms based on the present stem are formed irregularly.
| Form | |
|---|---|
| Present active infinitive | jessere |
| Present active participle | jessęs, -entis, -entių |
| Obligative passive participle | jessendus, -a, -ų¹ |
| Present indicative | Present subjunctive | Imperfect indicative | Imperfect subjunctive | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1S | sų | sį | jerą | jesserę |
| 2S | jes | sīs | jerās | jesserēs |
| 3S | jest | sit | jerat | jesseret |
| 1P | sumus | sīmus | jerāmu | jesserēmus |
| 2P | sutis | sītis | jerātis | jesserētis |
| 3P | sunt | sint | jerant | jesserent |
Other important irregular verbs
Syntax
Constituent order
Noun phrase
Verb phrase
Sentence phrase
Dependent clauses
Example Texts
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 1)
Tōtī vominēs naščunt līverī jet jekālēs in dinnitāte jet jūrivīs. Sunt dōtātī dē rācōne jet kǫscencæ, jet dēviunt ažere inter sē in frāternitātis spīritī.
[ˈtoːtʲiː ˈʋɔmʲɪnʲæːs ˈnɐʃtʃʊnt ˈlʲiːvʲɛrʲiː jɛt jɛˈkaːlʲæːs jɪn dʲɪnʲːɪˈtaːtʲe̞ jɛt ˈjuːrʲɪvʲiːs ‖ sʊnt doːˈtaːtʲiː dʲeː raːˈtsoːnʲɛ jɛt koːˈstsʲɛnʲtseː | jɛt dʲɛːvʲʊnt ˈɐʑe̞rʲe̞ ˈjɪnʲtʲɛr sʲeː jɪn fraːtʲɛrʲnʲɪˈtaːtʲɪs ˈsʲpʲiːrʲɪtʲiː]