Scellan/Syntax

A mostly-analytic language, Eevo (Skellan) is topic-prominent and strongly head-initial (with exceptions in poetry).

Topic-prominence

Fundamental to Skellan syntax is its topic-prominence, uniquely among Talman languages. Sentences usually, but not always, use the following word order in main clauses:

topic [preverbs] verb subject ... 

The subject that follows the verb will be a pronoun if the topic is also the subject.

Subordinate clauses, which have no topic of their own, use verb-initial word order.

A direct object pronoun is not needed when it refers to the topic:

A duvwñ mol a tehd.

SPEC.SG teacher thank SPEC.SG child

The child thanks the teacher.

Topic-prominent sentences can have different syntaxes from English:

Berð le ind þyb orð.

palm be 3PL.POSS.PL leaf big

Palms have big leaves. [lit. palms-in-general, their leaves are big]

Exceptions

Sentences that are typically not topic prominent include:

• Weather: Dy tøøh ñwi. = It's raining.
• In general, when a noun is specific and its existence or relevance is new information (e.g. is focused), it is not topicalized. Such a noun will commonly, but not necessarily, be indefinite in English.

Noun phrase

Skellan uses an unusual article system from the perspective of other Talman languages. It has a specific article (like Windermere) but no definite article (unlike Windermere and other Talmic languages), and number is only marked for specific nouns.

• no article for non-specific or collective (number neutral)
• a(ð) for specific singular
• na for specific plural

Singulative and plurative (called "singular" and "plural" below for convenience) refer to one resp. more than one specific instances of the noun. A noun in the collective form refers to "[noun] in general" or "the set of all [noun]". This distinction also applies to abstract nouns (which often use unmarked collectives). A non-specific abstract noun refers to the quality in general, and the singulative and plurative refer to one or more specific instances or manifestations of the abstract noun. For example, the collective fosgu means 'valor (in general)'; the singulative a fosgu means 'a/the valiant deed'; the plurative na fosgu means '(the) valiant deeds'.

Non-specific nouns are referred to with plural pronouns.

Faulty accusative

The faulty accusative particle is ym, which etymologically was a filler word like "um...". It is not a case marker; it comes before a constituent noun phrase X in phrases of the form HEAD Y X, when X is not a prepositional phrase or an adjunct.

A duvwñ mol a tehd ym ob.

SPEC teacher thank SPEC child FA 3SG.M

The child thanks the teacher. (lit. 'The teacher, the child thanks him.')

Room llyn ym þail pdai! (also Room þail pdai llyn, with no ym)

exist DAT-1SG FA milk blue

I have blue milk!

ym is optional when the subject is a pronoun:

A tehd mol o'm a duvwñ.

SPEC child thank 3SG.M FA SPEC teacher

The child thanks the teacher. (lit. 'The child, he thanks the teacher.')

ym is also not used when the constituent that would get the ym contains a content question:

A tehd mol ob (*ym) tua?

SPEC child thank 3SG.M who

Whom does the child thank?

Questions

Polar questions

For polar questions, i.e. yes/no questions, particles are placed at the beginning of the sentence:

• TOPIC sec VERB ...? = as for TOPIC, is it the case that...?
• TOPIC sia VERB ...? = as for TOPIC, is it not the case that...?
• Literary style may use the question particle es, inherited from Tigol.

Like in Early Modern English, there are four possible answers to yes/no questions:

• ec = 'yes' to a positive question; also used to agree with an affirmative statement
• ia = 'no' to a positive question; also used to contradict an affirmative statement
• vwa = 'yes' to a negative question; also used to contradict a negative statement
• ter = 'no' to a negative question: also used to agree with a negative statement

These four words will be glossed as "yea", "nay", "yes", and "no" respectively.

Content questions

As a consequence of topic-first verb-second word order, Skellan is wh-in-situ unlike English:

Iar cain iar taw lly bløgin rreem?

2SG eat.PERF 2SG what for lunch today

What did you have for lunch today?

Negation

The usual negative particle is twm, which is placed before the verb. hob 'don't!' is used for the negative imperative. In literary or poetic language, daw (irrealis) can also be found for the prohibitive.

Negative pronouns

• twm sahn (lit. not a thing) = nothing
• twm lias (lit. not a soul) = no one
• twm tlaw (lit. nowhere) = nowhere
• fuad = never

On double negation

Double negation usually resolves to a positive, since litotes involving negative pronouns are commonly used for emphasis. For example:

Twm sahn a twm roféelin.

NEG thing A NEG change-PRET

Everything changed. (literally 'Nothing did not change.')

Twm ñorn dia tarsíad a twm slawb o gyl ee.

NEG girl in-SPEC school A NEG good 3SG.M from 3SG.F

Every girl in school likes him. ('There's no girl in school that doesn't like him.')

Interrogative

The common question particles (placed at the beginning of the sentence) are:

• sec = interrogative
• sder = negative interrogative

Sder bo croð niañt dyb çuþ?

NEG.INTERR COL human also in-COL animal

Are humans, too, not animals?

The interrogative particle es may be used in archaic Eevo.

Copular sentences

There are two (non-interchangeable!) ways to say 'Noun X is noun Y':

1. Equality is expressed using X (COP) Y (PRON). This asserts that noun phrases X and Y refer to the same thing.

   Ñen a fawl ry ñiþúin awr dy.

   DEM.DIST DET.SG year REL enter-PRET 3PL in

   That was the year in which they entered.

2. Membership is expressed using X COP dyb Y (PRON) (etym. "X is in all Y's"). This asserts "X is-a Y", i.e. "X is in the set of all Y's".

   Socrátes dyb croð (o), croð dyb paryçtá (o). Ceeda Socrátes dyb paryçta (o).

   Socrates is_a human (3SG.M), human is_a mortal (3SG.M). therefore Socrates mortal (3SG.M).

   Socrates is human; humans are mortal. Hence Socrates is mortal.

Example: Sia bo croð niañt dyb çuþ? NEG.INTERR COL human also in-COL animal Are humans, too, not animals?

Noun phrase

Number is marked by a preposed determiner; the determiner is optional for proper nouns.

There is a genitive particle ry, but it is optional.

Determiners can be omitted in elevated language.

Predicates

Eevo has no copula. Instead, the "predicate" or the focused constituent is fronted:

e.g. Dy eell naw ee. = I love her; Ee a (fa) dy eell ren. = It's her that I love

When fronting of a noun occurs, the remaining verb phrase becomes a noun phrase, thus a determiner must be used.

Twm ziráð syrñ bo [toxrorégin] a go þarcǿma að smøøh bo sbenopats.

NEG only new COL evolve-PASS.PART DET PST.IPFV inhabit SG world COL dinosaur

The world of the dinosaurs was not solely occupied by the newly-evolved.

In some tenses (progressive, perfect) the particle fa can be used after the a when fronting.

Dy iant a duvwñ.

The teacher is sleeping.

Duvwñ a (fa) dy iant.

It's the teacher who is sleeping.

Contrasting

Contrastive partial clauses simply treat the contrasting element as the new topic, without necessarily repeating the comment.

Sani dy ell ee Maið, ah Hmorill ia.

S. PROG love 3SG.F M., but H. nay

Sani loves Maið, but Hmorill does not [love him].

Maið dy ell Sani ym o, ah Gelli ia.

M. PROG love S. FA 3SG.M, but G. nay

Sani loves Maið, but she does not love Gelli.

The syntactic role of the contrasting element is clear in both sentences because the comment tells us how the topic behaves syntactically.

"Also" clauses are analogous:

Sani dy ell ee Maið, as Hmorill iañt ec.

S. PROG love 3SG.F M., and H. also yea

Sani loves Maið, and Hmorill does too.

Existence

The verb room is used for existence. For "there is no", twm is used instead of twm room.

Clause types

Time clauses

Balanced time clauses can be formed with the conjunctions tev 'when', ñal 'before', tynd 'after', or hiañ 'while'. Balanced clauses use finite verb forms, hence always mark tense.

Deranked time clauses can be formed by using a preposition, most commonly dy 'when', ñal 'before', and tynd 'after'. The subject of the time clause is marked with a genitive construction, either by the preposition ry or by using a possessive pronoun. Deranked time clauses have no inherent tense.

Ex:

• dy my cri 'when we walk', lit. 'at our walking'
• When there is no possessor the subject is assumed to be an impersonal subject: dy cri 'when one walks'.

Relative clauses

• no relativizer is used when the head is the subject in the relative clause
• ry is used otherwise, possibly with a resumptive pronoun
• resumptive pronouns are optional - hence relative clauses can end in a preposition as in English
  • This came about because the older resumptive pronominal affixes on prepositions elided and the emphatic pronoun remained optional.
  • when oblique, the resumptive pronoun may replace the relativizer, as in Modern Hebrew
• for places, cah 'there' can be used as a resumptive pronoun
• in formal writing, to eliminate ambiguity mes 'this' may be used as a resumptive pronoun
• for relativizing sentences or statements, the relativizer taw 'what' is used

... taw þwmoñéed emb þur na tyþ, ñi þyñém.

what confirm COMP equal SPEC.PL two as desire

...which confirms that the two are equal, as desired.

• Non-restrictive relative clauses are indicated by simple apposition

Mes na dlïah yryñéel ry twm go orr awb sovl ber (awr)! (also ...ber awr twm go orr awb sovl)

this_PRON SPEC.PL event terrible REL NEG IPFV should 1EX hear about (3PL)

These are terrible events that we should not have heard of!

Complement clauses

The complementizer is emb.

Conditional clauses

Gnomic conditionals

Conditional clauses that express a general truth use i + a verb in the present tense in the protasis. The form of i used with copular sentences with a zero copula is il.

I tøøh ñwi, (coþ) gias a cnoo.

if precipitate rain (then) wet SPEC grass

If it rains, (then) the grass is wet.

Also found in literary contexts with the same meaning: Tøøhor a barah, ... lit. 'Let it rain...'

Future conditionals

Clauses describing something conditional on a possible future event use i + future tense:

I tøøht ñwi, faht gias a cnoo.

if precipitate-FUT rain be.FUT wet SPEC grass

If it rains [lit. if it will rain] the grass will be wet.

Tahd a criht fiar, criht naw. (or Tahd iañt criht fiar, criht naw.)

whither SPEC go.FUT 2SG, go.FUT 1SG

Wherever you go, I will go.

Time clauses (when, while, before, after) work similarly to non-counterfactual conditional clauses.

Counterfactual conditionals

Counterfactual suppositions use a different conjunction gab, plus the present tense, and the apodosis uses a verb in the conditional tense:

Gab tøøh a ñwi, liað gias a cnoo.

if_counterfactual precipitate SPEC rain be.COND wet SPEC grass

If it rained, the grass would be wet.

Method clauses

Method clauses ("by X-ing") use the construction nai + VN.

Modal expressions

• ñiwð naw = I want to
• Beð ryn a... = I have to (lit. it is my part to)
  • Colloquially: beðyn, beðes, beðeb, beðee, beðyñ, beðiav, beðeg, beðed, beðer, beðy çar
• Cwllyn a... = I can (< it is open for me to)
  • Conjugation: cwllyn, cwlles, cwlleb, cwllee, cwllyñ, cwlliav, cwlleg, cwlled, cwller, cwlly çar
• Orr llyn a... = I should...
• Dewm ryn a... = I may... (lit. it is my right to)
  • The possessive pronoun can be omitted in casual speech.
• Ulyn naw... = I might... (probabilistic)

Telic verbs

• asliþda = to fake one's way, to cheat one's way < liþda = to cheat
• asmiþgwñ = to seduce successfully < miþgwñ = to seduce

Infinitive absolute

In an infinitive absolute construction, the verb is repeated once before being "conjugated" for TAM. There are two variants of this construction.

The first is used to express the meaning of "indeed" or "it's true that", but often a "but" clause follows.

Fyñg fyñgt ob rree ciab.

die.INF die-FUT 3SG.M day one

It's true that he'll die one day. [lit. it is a dying that he will die]

The second, which has a more literary flavor, is used to emphasize that the fact is true. It uses a fossilized cleft clause particle "a(ð)".

Fohor a joll ñal gwad dy hnwil. Ah fyój a fyójt gwad, as fyój a beðeg!

JUSS SG path before 1PL.IN PRED steep. but triumph A triumph 1PL.IN, and triumph A must-1PL.IN

The path before us may be difficult/steep. But triumph we will, and triumph we must! (lit. "[It is] triumphing that we shall triumph")