Qwbmwdqwg

Foclòir (Lexicon)

Cèḏ-Miḋḋirìje (Proto-Qwbmwdqwg)

Eɯme Miḋḋirìje (Midhirian names)

Zeàl leaṫnaċ fil Miḋḋirìje (This page in Midhirian) (IPA)

Midhirian
el Miḋḋirìje et teanga Miḋḋirìje teangatna
Pronunciation	[ə̟lmɪ̟jːɪ̟'r̻iːjə̟]
Created by	User:IlL
Setting	Verse:Irta/Tricin
Native to	Midhir
Native speakers	1,300,000 (2022)
Language family	Afro-Asiatic Semitic Central Semitic Arabic Midhirian

Midhirian (MEER-iən) is a heavily Hibernized variety of spoken historical Arabic native to the Crackfic Trician island nation of Midhir (natively el Miḋḋir [ə̟lˈmɪ̟jːɪ̟ːɾ̻ʲ]; Irta Irish Tīrı vMīre, after the Old Irish legendary figure Midir), an independent country where it's an official language alongside English. Midhir is located off the continent of Cualand. The native name for the language is el Miḋḋirìje or et teanga Miḋḋirìje, but speakers may simply call the language teangatna [ˈt̪ʰæ̃ːʔʶʌt̪ʶʰn̪ʶʌ] 'our language'.

Midhirian has ___ speakers in Midhir; smaller Midhirian communities can be found in Irta Tricin's Cualand, Andaegor and Bjeheond as well as Irta's Southeast Asia, the British Isles, Eastern Canada, and the West Coast of North America. Its speakers almost always also speak English; Modern Standard Latin, Irish and Nyvierfusiez are also widely understood in Midhir. Midhirians are predominantly Catholic; some are Remonitionists or Muslims. Education in Midhir is conducted in Midhirian and English up to secondary school level, and higher education is taught in English.

Irish loanwords, called clèm Ȝagmìje (from Arabic ʕaǧamiyyah 'foreign' → 'Irish'; Maqam Ajam in Irta comes from Ionian and Mixolydian in Irish music), comprise over half of Midhirian vocabulary. Besides Irish, Midhirian has borrowed from French, Nyvierfusiez and English. Some Irish vocabulary in Midhirian, called Nùa-Ȝagmìje 'neo-Ȝagmìje', are in fact coinages by Midhirians. It's the only Irtan Semitic language that evolved naturally under Celtic influence (Irta Modern Hebrew was revived partly by Celtic speakers and partly by Riphean speakers). Midhirian is somewhat mutually intelligible with many Irta Neo-Arabic languages, and is even intelligible with Irish and Ăn Yidiș in some formal registers.

The main motivation for Midhirian is aesthetic and grammatical similarities between Irish and Arabic, including:

• a kind of "broad/slender" distinction in consonants (emphatic/nonemphatic in Arabic, velarized/palatalized in Irish)
• vowel length
• has at least /a i u a: i: u:/, and diphthongs /ej~aj/ and /ew~aw/
• lack (Arabic) or rarity (Irish) of /p/ in native vocabulary
• many fricative consonant phonemes, including back fricatives /x ɣ h/
• intervocalic /h/ and clusters with /h/
• vowel reduction and syncope in both Maghrebi Arabic and Irish
• weight-sensitive stress in both Munster Irish and Arabic
• suffixes such as /-a:n/, /-i:n/, /-i:/
• VSO word order
• plural of adjectives is /-ə/ in Irish, inanimate plural of adjectives is -ah in Arabic

todo

Some vowel initial masculine nouns in Irish are borrowed with t-/T-

Formalize emphasis spreading

False friends between Midhirian, Irish and Ăn Yidiș

Move to an island near Cualand?

Get more nativized Irish like ecrid, xafejm, rocàmil, rofazzaḇ

History

Midhir was ruled by Muslim Arabs since the 10th century. An Irish clan took control of the islands by the 11th century, and established an Irish-speaking kingdom which lasted until the 17th century when the Irta English Order of ___ took over. Midhir gained independence from the Irta English in 1940.

Midhirian immigrants moved to Cambodia and parts of Thailand as well as parts of North America (e.g. Kansas and Oklahoma).

The Irish vocabulary in Midhirian reflects a fictional Middle Irish dialect which shows features of modern Munster Irish and our timeline's Scottish Gaelic; it was conservative in that broad dh (> Midhirian /zʶ/) was kept distinct from broad gh (> Midhirian /ʁ/). Broad coronals were strongly velarized, and /a:/ was backed to [ɑ:] after broad consonants, explaining why Irish broad s d g were heard as /sˁ tˁ⁼ q⁼/ by the Arabic speakers.

The first surviving text in Midhirian is dated to 1515.

Midhirian is an isolate within Irtan Arabic; it evolved from Proto-Midhirian, a fictional vernacular Arabic variety similar to our old Maghrebi Arabic which had the following features:

• Hamza is lost completely.
• qāf and ṭāʔ are unaspirated, sometimes voiced.
• þāʔ and ðāl are retained.
• ẓāʔ and ḍād are both [zˁ~ðˁ].
• jīm is [ɟ~g].
• The vowel system i a u ī ē ā ū ay aw
• C(+emph)C(-emph)C(+emph) root > C(+emph)C(+emph)C(+emph) root

One Englishism: mā́nduhš Gújjə xuG = 'he doesn't have a prayer for...' (This and "sad" comes from a Midhirianism in Irta English which shows up in Pacific English and a few British dialects but not in Quelftonian English)

Place names

• Doonancole (Dùṉ an Ċoill, Ir. 'fort of the hazel') is a major city; an inhabitant of Dùn an Ċoill is called a Dùnaì in Midhirian.

Figures

• Peadar Budigēgı (Peadar Buddigèg) is an Irish politician.
• Dilen el Bejzàvì: speculative evolution worldbuilder
  • Bejza is an Midhirian town
• Cìara eḏ Dùnaìje: γannèje
• Caoiṁe eḏ Dùnaìje: violinist
• Fzùlì el Aransì
• Γanè Zammèd: President of Midhir
• Ròz̈ìn Nic Canna: Composer

Phonology

Consonants

Midhirian has an almost complete set of pairs of emphatic (leaṫaṉ ['læħ̞ən̪ʶ], Ir. 'broad') and nonemphatic (caoḻ [q̟ʰɪ:l̪ʶ], Ir. 'slender') consonants, formed from both native emphatic consonants (Classical Arabic T D S Z q became /tʶ zʶ sʶ zʶ q/) and the contrast between broad (velarized) and slender (palatalized) consonants in borrowed Irish vocabulary. Irish broad and slender consonants are usually borrowed as emphatic and nonemphatic consonants, respectively. For referring to Midhirian we will use emphatic and broad, and nonemphatic and slender, as synonyms, as well as terms like "broadness spreading" and "slenderization".

Arabic /θ/ and /ð/ become Midhirian /t=/ and /z/.

Consonant phonemes in Midhirian

		Labial		Dental/Alveolar		Postalveolar	Dorsal		Glottal
		plain	uvularized	plain	uvularized		prevelar	preuvular
Nasal		m	mʶ	n̪	n̪ʶ		[ŋ˖]	[ɴ̟]
Stop	aspirated	pʰ	pʶʰ	t̪ʰ	t̪ʶʰ		k̟ʰ	q̟ʰ
	unaspirated	p	pʶ	t̪	t̪ʶ		k̟	q̟~ʔʶ
Continuant	voiceless	f	fʶ	s̪	s̪ʶ	ʃ	x̟	χ˖	h
	voiced	v~β̞	vʶ~wʶ	z̪	z̪ʶ	ʒ	j	ʁ̟
Trill				r	rʶ
Lateral				l	l̪ʶ

• [ŋ̟ ɴ̟] occur as allophones of /n̪ n̪ʶ/ before dorsal stops. For speakers that realize /q/ as a glottal stop, a preceding /nʶ/ is often realized as nasalization and lengthening of the preceding vowel.
• /h/ is never dropped except in some complex clusters, after an aspirate or a fricative. It is usually [h~ɦ], but is [ħ̞] (weakly fricated [ħ]) before or after /ɑ/ or /æ/.
• Aspirated stops (written as voiceless in the orthography) are consistently aspirated; single unaspirated stops may be weakly voiced (as in German and Irish) or completely devoiced (as in Icelandic). Single aspirated stops are also slightly longer than single unaspirated ones. Unaspirated geminate stops are realized as voiceless unaspirated. Geminated and word-final aspirated stops are preglottalized.
• Unaspirated stops are often voiced after voiced sounds (voiced fricatives, rosonants and vowels). However, unaspirated stops are always devoiced after a voiceless or aspirated consonant: nectbw [ˈnɛk̟ʰtʲʰp⁼ü] 'we will write', and when they are geminated: mitcebber [mɪt̻ʲʰ'k̟ʰɛp:ə̟rʲ] 'arrogant'.
• Word-final geminates surface as compensatory lengthening of the preceding vowel (cf. Irish and Hebrew diachronics).
• Emphatic consonants have the feature +RTR (retracted tongue root). Emphatic unaspirated stops tend to be less voiced than their nonemphatic counterparts; /ɢ̟/ is particularly prone to devoicing.
• Preuvular consonants are halfway between velar and uvular for most speakers but are velar or uvular for some speakers; the velar realization is more common for older speakers. /q/ in contemporary urban Midhirian is turning into [ʔʶ] (cf. Maltese and Egyptian Arabic /ʔ/ for older Arabic q), even affecting Irish loans: teanga 'language' and guiḋe 'prayer' are pronounced [ˈt̪ʰænʶʔʶʌ] and [ˈʔʶʊ̠jjə] by the majority of younger speakers. This is often attributed to immigration from other parts of Irta's Arab world bringing the glottal stop reflex of Arabic q.
• /r/ is a lamino-alveolar or dental trill or flap. When palatalized, it is often pronounced as Czech ř or as [ʒ].
• /rʶ/ may be realized as [ɾʶ] or [ɹʷʶ], the latter sounding a lot like a General American English r.
• All non-rhotic, non-postalveolar coronals are lamino-dental.
• Nonemphatic consonants (except /v h/) are allophonically palatalized in pausal position. /tʰ t n l/ become laminal alveolar [t̻ʲʰ t̻ʲ n̻ʲ lʲ] when allophonically palatalized. Allophonic palatalization of nonemphatic consonants also occurs when said consonant is next to a prevelar consonant (one of /k̟ʰ k̟ x̟ j/): e.g. ħacme [ˈħ̞æk̟ʰmʲə̟] 'rule, reign'. This also affects /v/ after a prevelar, e.g. gvèr [k̟vʲe:r] 'about, concerning'.
• Emphatic consonants are less strongly uvularized and more velarized in pausa, for speakers that uvularize emphatics.
• /ʃ ʒ/ are postalveolar and non-labialized.
• /h ʃ/ have emphatic allophones [hʶ s̠ʶ] next to an emphatic consonant.
• /j/ is vocalized to [ɪ] in word-initial position before a consonant.
• /v vʶ/ vocalize to [β̞ ~ẅ wʶ] when not before a vowel.

unasp stop + h > asp stop

asp stop + h > geminated asp stop

Vowels

Midhirian is usually analyzed as having 5 short monophthongs, 5 long monophthongs, and 4 diphthongs (not counting vowel + semivowel sequences) in stressed syllables. Some non-exhaustive common spellings for the vowels are given. Sometimes [æ] and [ɑ] (and their long counterparts) are analyzed as distinct phonemes, however this distinction is marginal.

Qwbmwdqwg stressed vowel phonemes

	Front		Cemtral		Back
	short	long	short	long	short	long
Close	i /ɪ/	ì /iː/			w, u(i), io /ü~ʊ/	ẁ, ù(i) /üː~uː/
Mid	e /ɛ/	è /eː/			(e)o(i) /ɔ/	(e)ò(i) /oː/
Open	ea, ȝa [æ]	eà(i), ȝà [ä:~æː]	/a/	/aː/	a(i) [ɑ]	à(i) [ɑː]

Opening diphthongs: /eɐ oɐ iɐ uɐ/

Example words:

• feg̱g̱èȝ /fəˈʔʶeɐ/ 'mushrooms'
• g̱uħḏa /'ʔʶoɐhtʶə/ ['ʔʶoɐħ̞t̪ʶʌ] 'scarcity'
• lìaṫ /liɐh/ [liɐħ̞] 'gray'
• rùħ /rʶuɐh/ [rʶʊɐħ̞] 'self, soul'

Reduced vowels: /ə ɐ/

a is [æ] after nonemphatics, [ɑ] after emphatics

o is [o] after nonemphatics, [ɔ] after emphatics

i is [ɪ̟] after nonemphatics, [ɪ̈] after emphatics

u is [ü] after nonemphatics, [ʊ] after emphatics

/ɛj ɛv ɛvʶ/ is [ɛ̈j ə̟ẅ ɛ̈wʶ] after nonemphatics, [ɑj ɑẅ ɑwʶ] after emphatics (merging with /aj av avʶ/ after emphatics)

/eɐ oɐ iɐ uɐ/ result from CA (stressed) i u ī ū + pharyngeal consonant; some ia ua also come from Old Irish ía úa

/ɐ/ is similar to stressed /a/ but more centralized, and result from Arabic ʕayn adjacent to an unstressed vowel

/ə/ is

• [ʌ] after an emphatic
• [ə̟] after a nonemphatic and not before an emphatic
• [ə̠~ʌ̟] after a nonemphatic and before an emphatic

3i 3ī 3u 3ū > aj aj aw aw

/C[emphatic]ə/ and unstressed /C[emphatic]ɐ/ merge for younger speakers; the vowel becomes [ɑ~ʌ].

/æ/ is spelled ea or (ȝ/ħ)a; /æ:/ is spelled eà or (ȝ/ħ)à

iù and eò are read /jü:/ and /jo:/

Reduction

Orthographic long vowels (à, eà, è, ì, ò, ù, ẁ) odd-numbered distances away from stress shorten: ħaccèmìn 'rulers' is pronounced as if written ħaccimìn

• ì shortens to /ɪ/
• è/eà/à shorten to /ə/ (-> /ɪ/ between most nonemphatic_nonemphatic)
• ù and ẁ shorten to /u/
• ò shortens to /o/

Stress

Weight-sensitive (inherited from Arabic). A V rime is one mora, VC and V: are two morae, and VCC and V:C are three.

To determine stress, drop the final mora, and assign stress to the last heavy syllable (i.e. with more than 1 mora). In Ȝagmì words, nn ll rr in unstressed syllables may attract stress: fìrinne /fɪˈrɪn:ə/ 'truth'.

Intervocalic Irish ṁ ḃ in an originally unstressed syllable are borrowed as underlying geminate /v(ʶ)/ which also attracts stress: oifigeṁṁail /ɔfɪˈcɛwʶwʶəl/ 'official (sg.)'. Similarly most cases of intervocalic slender ḋ ġ in unstressed syllables become geminate /j/. These geminate semivowels lose gemination and syncope the schwa when a suffix is added: oifigeṁṁala /ɔfɪˈcɛwʶlʶə/ 'official (pl.)'; cf. dajjeb /'tʶajjəp/ 'good (m.sg.)' -> dajjbe /'tʶajpə/ 'good (f.sg. and pl.)'.

Minimal pairs/Things to investigate

Emphatic vs nonemphatic

Common for Irish sg vs pl

• levn (ləwn) 'color'; lòn (LəWN) 'lunch'
• n vs N: nehr 'river', nathair 'snake' (near-minimal pair); rùṉ 'secret', rùin 'secrets'
• r vs R: final CA r becomes R in verbs and r in nouns and adjectives (because of genitive -i)
  • ȝas̱r 'vespers', ȝas̱ṟ 'squeeze.VN'
• f vs F?
• m vs M?
• b vs B?
• p vs P?

Vowels

• [æ] and [ɑ] are distinctive in vowel-initial words and after /h/ (from Arabic a/Irish ea vs Irish a)
• /æ:/ vs /ɒ:/: *ā after emphatic + hamza cluster (e.g. G̱uṟɂeàn)?
• /e:/ vs /æ:/: find an example of *ā vs 3ayn colored *a
• /ɛ/ vs /æ/?

Archiphonemes

• Ē (Classical ā), Ā (Middle Irish á): ē and ā respectively after nonemphatics; both become ō after emphatics and ā after pharyngeals
  • Some analogical leveling happens, though, which collapses some occurrences to invariable /ē ā ō/
• Ə: schwa archiphoneme, i between 2 nonemphatics in a final syllable
• Classical Arabic stressed /a/ becomes:
  • If NOT next to a pharyngeal: /ɑ/ a after emphatic, /æ/ ea before emphatic but after nonemphatic, /ɛ/ e otherwise
  • IF next to a pharyngeal: /ɑ/ after emphatic, /æ/ otherwise

Emphasis spreading

Occurs for affixes that are not marked for emphasis (from originally nonemphatic consonants). A stressed onset being emphatic will result in the corresponding prefixes being emphatic and a stressed coda being emphatic will result in suffixes being emphatic.

(The VN suffix -uċaḋ is an exception since it is marked for emphasis)

Intonation

As Irishy as Maltese intonation is Italian

Orthography

Latin

In Midhir, Midhirian uses a Roman orthography which adopted changes to more faithfully reflect Arabic in the spelling of native vocabulary. Like many orthographies used in Irta, Midhirian orthography is based on the principles of etymological spelling and enabling many-to-one reading, with the latter taking precedence. In Gaelic type for Midhirian, the underline diacritic is rendered as slightly slanted horizontal strokes under the letter.

Midhirians handwrite lowercase i and j without dots.

Emphatics denoted with underline

etymological a/ai/e/i for schwa in Irish loanwords

native vowels are written as palatalizing to be able to use different broadening strategies for Arabic and Irish vocab

• /æ/ is spelled ea or (ȝ/ħ)a; /æ:/ is spelled eà or (ȝ/ħ)à
• /ɑ/ is spelled a (not after pharyngeal); /ɑ:/ is spelled à

o and ò always uvularize a preceding consonant. The corresponding slender spellings are eo and eò.

Alphabet

1. Aa: à
2. Bb: bè
3. Cc: cèf
4. Dd: dèl
5. Ee: è
6. Ff: fè
7. Gg: gìm
8. Ȝȝ: ȝajn
9. Γγ: γajn
10. Hh: hè
11. Ħħ: ħà /hæ:/
12. Xx: xà
13. Ii: ì
14. Jj: jè
15. Ll: lèm
16. Mm: mìm
17. Nn: nẁn
18. Oo: ò
19. Pp: pè
20. Rr: rè
21. Ss: sìn
22. Ɯɯ: ɯìn
23. Tt: tè
24. Ww: ẁ
25. Uu: ù leaṫaṉ
26. Vv: vèv
27. Zz: zejn
28. Grave accent: fada
29. Underline: leaṫnàn
30. Lenition dot on b, c, d, f, g, m, p, s, t: sèiṁeċaḋ

Spelling native consonants

(corresponding to underlying phonemes not realization)

• bā2 = b be bi bw beà bè bì bẁ bej bev
• tā2 = t te ti tw teà tè tì tẁ tej tev
• jīm = g ge gi gw geà gè gì gẁ gej gev
• Hā2 = ħ ħa ħi ħu ħà ħì ħù ħaj ħav
• khā2 = x xa xi xu xà xì xù xaj xav
• dāl, þā2 = d de di dw dè dì dẁ dej dev
• Rā2 = (r, like khā2)
• zāy, ðāl = (z, like bā2)
• sīn = ɯ ɯe ɯi ɯw ɯè ɯì ɯẁ ɯej ɯev
• šīn = s se si sw sè sì sẁ sej sev
• Sād = (s̱, like khā2)
• Dād, Zā2 = (ẕ, like khā2)
• Tā2 = (ḏ, like khā2)
• 3ayn = ȝ ȝa ȝi ȝu ȝà ȝì ȝù ȝaj ȝav
• ghayn = (γ, like khā2)
• fā2 = (f, like bā2)
• qāf = (ǥ, like khā2)
• kāf = (c, like bā2)
• lām = (l, like bā2)
• mīm = (m, like bā2)
• nūn = (n, like bā2)
• hā2 = (h, like bā2)
• wāw = (v, like bā2)
• yā2 = (j, like bā2)

Spelling Irish loans

Similar to our pre-reform Irish orthography, with lenition dots, and grave instead of acute

Irish loans that are inflected using Semitic morphology such as broken plurals are spelled as if native. However, the native plural endings /-e:h/ and /-a:h/ are spelled -èṫ and -àṫ.

Consonants in Irish loans generally have the same value as in "carefully-read Irish", i.e. with no vowel contractions from V[semivowel]V. The values are the closest Midhirian equivalents to the Irish consonants, with broad and slender becoming emphatic and nonemphatic, except:

• broad ḋ = /zʶ/
• nn ll rr actually are geminates. Word-finally they compensatorily lengthen the preceding vowel, just as native word-final geminates do.
• ḃ ṁ as well as slender ḋ ġ may become geminates after an unstressed vowel.

Final broad consonants require the leaṫnàn unless they have a lenition dot.

Examples:

• sgàṫàn [sʶʔʶʌˈħ̞æːnʲ] 'mirror'

Arabic

التَنقة ميورية

Sufi and Trician Midhirians use an adapted Arabic script devised by the Midhirian Sufi writer ___. The orthography uses invented letters and vowel diacritics made from Latin shapes (especially from Gaelic type) and Ogham for Midhirian consonants and vowels that don't exist in Arabic.

Final schwa is written as TM, alif or alif maqSūra (possibly with hamza) depending on the Arabic etymology. In Irish loans:

• feminine noun and plural adjective marker: TM
• In Irish plural noun markers: alif
• Irish passive participles: alif. The /h/ in the -tha/-the allomorph may be written as __ to avoid confusion with native -he (3fs suffix), a case of nonfinal TM.

3ayn is used for diphthongs ending in /ɐ/ in loanwords, e.g. كْلاب ليعهة clèb lìaṫa [k̟ʰlʲeːb lʲiɐħ̞ə] 'gray dogs'

agus̱ written ٦ُ ?

Morphology

Pronouns

• èn(e), int(i), hẁ, hì, aħn(e), intwm, hwm(e); impersonal mir (< mar2 'person')
• object pronouns: ìje, ìc, ìjwh, ìhe, ìne, ìcwm, ìhwm (from 2iyyā-, cognate to Hebrew et < *2iyyōt < *2iyy-āt-, the *-āt- is also found in the kămot- combining form for Heb kămo 'like')
  • object pronouns go to the end of a transitive clause
  • Ritcellim mir fis̱ S̱ìn ìhe 'it (f., for ilɯèn or teanga 'language') was spoken in China / one spoke it in China' vs. Ritcellim mir et teanga fis̱ S̱ìn

Nouns

Noun declension classes

	unmarked	marked feminine singular	sound masculine plural	sound feminine plural	schwa plural
absolute	-	-e or -a	-ìn	-èṫ or -àṫ	-e or -a
construct	generally unchanged	-(e)t or -(a)ṯ	-ì	-èt or -àt	unchanged

"Unmarked" includes unmarked singulars, native broken plurals, and Irish plurals that do not end in -e or -a.

Some unsuffixed nouns have marked constructs:

• CavC → CuC; CevC → CwC; CajC, CejC → CiC (jevm → jwm)

Plurals directly borrowed from Irish do not have marked constructs

nisba nouns (both native and from Irish -(a)iḋ): -(a)ì -(a)ìn (-i -ī́n), f. -(a)ìje -(a)ìjèṫ (-ījə -ijḗh)

In post-independence Midhirian, eḻ-guiḋe guṟi is more common

todo: broken plurals

• eḏ dùile (əD-Dūlə) 'the element'
• ed dèr (əd-dēr) 'the house'
• eṯ ṯifl (əT-Tífil) 'the boy'
• et twffèħa (ət-tuffeahə) 'the apple'
• es̱ s̱ajf (əS-Sajf) 'summer'
  • before broad s̱b, s̱d, s̱g, s̱m, the definite article is eḻ: eḻ s̱maċṯ 'control, authority'
• eɯ ɯene (əs-sénə) 'the year'
• eẕ ẕuhr (əZ-Zúhər) 'noon'
• ez zeȝrùl (əz-zaRū́l) 'the hawthorn'
• eṟ Ranẕàn (əR-RəNZān) 'Lent'
• er rìġ (ər-rī) 'the king'
• eḻ luas̱ (əL-LuaS) 'the speed'
• el levz (əl-ləwz) 'the almond'
• eṉ naṫair (əN-Náhər) 'the snake'
• en nèr (ən-nēr) 'the fire'
• es sems (əš-šemš) 'the sun'
  • before sb, sd, sg, sm the definite article is el
• ež zwhneàl (əž-žuhnā́l) 'the journal'

Before moon letters (consain ǥamrìje, KóNSin Gəmrī́jə), the article is eḻ before emphatic consonants and el before nonemphatic ones (including h and null).

Gender of Irish loan nouns

The following heuristics are useful for guessing the gender of Midhirian inanimate nouns of Irish origin:

1. Singular nouns that have -a/-e in the nominative are always feminine.
   • Example: teanga 'language'
2. Certain classes such as country names and language names are always feminine.
   • Example: eṟ Ḟrainc 'France'
3. Most Irish nouns that take -e or -a in the genitive singular become feminine and are borrowed in their genitive singular forms.
   • Example: creiċe 'booty, prey' (gen. sg. of creach)
4. Most -t and -ṯ nouns become feminine and are borrowed in their nominative singular forms, sometimes with lenition.
   • Example: s̱maċṯ 'control, authority'
5. Most other inanimate Irish nouns become masculine and are borrowed in their nominative singular forms.
   • Example: gnè 'property, feature'

Pluralization

For learned and semi-learned Irish borrowings (mainly for inanimates):

• Most first- and fifth-declension nouns essentially use their Irish plurals
• Nouns ending in -a or -e take a plural in -(a)iḋèṫ, -èṫ, or -àṫ, use the Irish genitive plural form (which is broadened and drops the -a/-e), or use a native broken plural.
• Other nouns that have an -(a)iḋe (modern -(a)í) plural in Irish pluralize in -(a)iḋèṫ
• Other nouns that have no -a or -e use an Irish strong plural: -a, -ta, -ṫa/-ṫe, or -aḋ/-eḋ.
• agentives in -(a)iḋe are borrowed as nisba -(a)ì and are pluralized accordingly: e.g. Crìs̱daì 'Christian (m.)' or Crìs̱daìje (f.), from Críostaiḋe. The plurals are Crìs̱daìn and Crìs̱daìjèṫ.

Nativized Irish loans often use broken plurals: e.g. f̱aẕḇ 'knot' (from foḋb) has plural f̱ẕùḇ or f̱ẕàḇ.

• English loans are often pluralized with -aḋ, the phonologically closest plural marker to English /-z/.

Possessive suffixes

If construct ends in...	slender C	broad C	ȝ or ħ	stressed vowel	schwa
Do the following	append				change schwa to
1sg	-i	-i, -ai for broadened tāʔ marbūṭah or Irish loans	-i	-je	-ejje, -ajje
2sg	-ic	-ac̱	-ac	-c	-èc, -aèc
3sg.m	-wh	-uh	-uh	-h	-èh, -aèh
3sg.f	-he	-ha	-he	-he	-èhe, -aèhe
1pl	-ne	-na	-ne	-ne	-ène, -aène
2pl	-cwm	-cum̱	-cwm	-cwm	-ècwm, -aècwm
3pl	-hwm	-hum̱	-hum	-hwm	-èhwm, -aèhwm

Examples of possessive suffixes on Ȝagmì nouns:

• rùṉ /rʶu:nʶ/ (m.) 'secret', rùnai /rʶu:nʶɪ/ 'my secret', rùṉha /rʶu:nʶhə/ 'her secret'
• rùin /rʶu:n/ 'secrets', rùini /rʶu:nɪ/ 'my secrets', rùinhe /rʶu:nhə/ 'her secrets'
• teanga /tʰanʶʔʶə/ 'language', teangtai /tʰanʶʔʶtʶʰɪ/ 'my language', teangtha /tʰanʶʔʶtʶʰə/ 'her language'
• guiḋe /ʔʶʊjjə/ 'prayer', guiḋti /ʔʶʊjtʰɪ/ 'my prayer', guiḋthe /ʔʊjt:ʰə/ 'her prayer'
• rì /ri:/ 'king', rìje /ri:jə/ 'my king', rìhe /ri:hə/ 'her king'
• cearta /carʶtʶʰə/ 'rights', ceartajje /cərʶ'tʶʰajjə/ 'my rights', ceartaèhe /cərʶ'tʶʰe:hə/ 'her rights'

Adjectives

Adjectives became a separate morphological part of speech from nouns under Irish influence. Adjectives never agree in definiteness, like in Irish but unlike in Arabic.

Most native non-nisba adjectives have the same declension: m. sg. -0, f. sg. -a/e, pl. -a/e. Nisba adjectives decline as -ì, -ìje, -ìje (-i -ī́jə -ī́jə). All adjectives have an -a/-e plural; this comes from Arabic broken plurals taking feminine singular agreement, and spread to all plural adjectives under the influence of Irish plural -a/-e for adjectives.

Most loan adjectives have unmarked feminine singular forms. For Irish loan adjectives, the emphaticness of the plural may differ from the m.sg.: oifigeṁṁail /ɔfɪ'g̟ɛwʶ:əl/ (m. and f.sg), oifigeṁṁala /ɔfɪ'g̟ɛwʶlʶə/ (pl) 'official'.

Color and defect adjectives follow a different declension: eaħmir 'red' has f.sg. and pl. ħamre. Color adjectives from Irish do use the plural form as the feminine singular: celb lìaṫ /cɛlb liɐh/ 'a gray dog', moȝze liaṫa /moɐzə liɐhə/ 'a gray goat'.

Adverbs formed from adjectives use cel-/ceḻ- (moon) or ceC- (sun) followed by the masculine sg. form of the adjective. An alternative construction for adverbs, common in written language, is be treò [ADJ.m.sg] or be sliġe /bəʃliːjə/ [ADJ.f.sg], from be 'instrumental' + Irish treo 'direction'/sliġe 'way'.

In adjectives ending in non-emphatic r in the masculine form, the feminine and plural form takes emphatic R: g̱as̱ìr (GəSī́r) 'short (m.sg.)', g̱as̱ìra (GəSī́Rə) 'short (f.sg. or pl.)'.

Degree:

• veaxra 'a lot' / mejl 'very', eacder 'more', el eacder 'most'
• ftìt 'few, little, not very', eang̱as̱ 'less', el eang̱as̱ 'least'

Verbs

A Midhirian regular verb has five principal parts:

1. past 3sg.m
2. future 3sg.m
3. imperative sg
4. passive participle
5. verbal noun

As in our Neo-Arabic, the passive is formed by using verb stems that have n- or t-.

The tense system of Midhirian resembles that of Scottish Gaelic (with respect to diachronics too). Verbal nouns, inherited from Arabic, are used for Insular Celtic-style tense constructions:

• the present is formed by using fi 'in, at' + verbal noun. This has displaced the Arabic nonpast forms from the present tense, and the inherited Arabic nonpast is now used for the future and subjunctive. (A similar process occurred in Scottish Gaelic, Welsh and Hebrew.)
• the perfect is formed with beȝd 'after' + verbal noun
• Modals still use the nonpast form like in Arabic: Pràinn tgìbw airtcwm! 'You really need to watch out!'

TAMs (for non-stative verbs):

• Present: èn fi cetb 'I write; I am writing', èn fi cetbwh 'I am writing it'
• Present habitual: ncẁn fi cetb 'I usually write'
• Past or conditional: ctebtin 'I wrote'
• Past or conditional imperfect: cwntin fi cetb 'I was writing'
• Future or subjunctive: nectib 'I will write; that I write'
• Recent past: èn beȝd ctib 'I have written'
• Imperative: wctib! 'write!'

TAMs for stative verbs:

• Non-past: nħebb 'I like; I will like'
• Past or conditional: ħabbejtin 'I liked'

negative mè ... s sticks to the first (focused) constituent; the unmarked construction is mè radṁaiġ hẁ s 'he did not admit' for pronoun subjects, but mè radṁaiġ s Sèmas̱ 'Sèmas̱ did not admit' for noun subjects. However, mè radṁaiġ s is used for answering questions.

Work out interactions between subject suffixes + object suffixes + subject pronoun clitics

Stems whose past and imperative stems fall together get the preverb ro-/re-/ri- (pronounced /rə-/ or /rʶə-/ depending on the first consonant; from Middle Irish ro, from the Old Irish perfect preverb) in the past tense, do-/de-/di- if the first consonant in the stem is R/r. Adding the Irish preverb ro to native verbs was at first an affected hyper-Hibernism used by the middle class, and even today some conservative dialects only use rə-/də- in the past tense when the verb is affirmative:

– Eḻ g̱addiɯ Calum̱ eljevm? – Mè g̱addiɯ s. (Standard Eṟ rog̱addiɯ...? Mè rog̱addiɯ s.)

– Did Calum̱ attend Mass today? – He did not.

The prohibitive is formed by using lè + imperative.

For prefix + native verbs, native conjugation works as normal and preverbs and personal prefixes are added before the prefix, e.g. raṫɯemme, jaṫɯemmi, maṫɯemmi, aṫtiɯmìje 'to rename'.

With a plural noun subject, verbs use the 3rd person m.sg. form:

Mè jcẁn s el Jhẁd f icl leaħm ⁊ ħalìb flimcèn.

Jews don't eat meat and milk together.

Inherited 3-consonant verbs

Stem I (cetib)

Stem I verb conjugation: cetib 'he wrote' (Arabic kataba)

→ Person ↓ Tense	1sg	2sg	3sg.m	3sg.f	1pl	2pl	3pl
past; conditional	ctebtin	ctebbint	cetib hẁ	cetbet hì	ctebne	ctebtwm, ctebbintwm	cetbw hwm
future; subjunctive	nectib	tectib	jectib hẁ	tectib hì	nectbw	tectbw	jectbw hwm
imperative	-	wctib!	-	-	-	wctbw!	-
passive participle	mictẁb
verbal noun	cetb

Stem I verb conjugation: seaṟaḇ 'he drank' (Arabic šaraba)

→ Person ↓ Tense	1sg	2sg	3sg.m	3sg.f	1pl	2pl	3pl
past; conditional	sṟaḇṯin	sṟaḇḇint	seaṟaḇ hẁ	seaṟḇaṯ hì	sṟaḇna	sṟaḇtum	seaṟḇu hwm
future; subjunctive	nesṟaḇ	tesṟaḇ	jesṟaḇ hẁ	tesṟaḇ hì	neseṟḇu	teseṟḇu	jeseṟḇu
imperative	-	wsṟaḇ!	-	-	-	wseṟḇu!	-
passive participle	mesṟùḇ
verbal noun	swRB

Stem I verb conjugation, III-y: bene 'he built' (Arabic *banē)

→ Person ↓ Tense	1sg	2sg	3sg.m	3sg.f	1pl	2pl	3pl
past; conditional	bnejtin	bnejtint	bene hẁ	benet hì	bnejne	bnejtwm, bnejtintwm	benev hwm
future; subjunctive	nebni	tebni	jebni hẁ	tebni hì	nebnw	tebnw	jebnw hwm
imperative	-	wbni!	-	-	-	wbnw!	-
passive participle	mibnìj
verbal noun	binje

Stem I verb conjugation, II-w: meàt 'he died' (Proto-Arabic *mawita)

→ Person ↓ Tense	1sg	2sg	3sg.m	3sg.f	1pl	2pl	3pl
past; conditional	mwttin	mwttint	meàt hẁ	meàtet hì	mwtne	mwttwm, mwttintwm	meàtw hwm
future; subjunctive	nmẁt	tmẁt	jmẁt hẁ	tmẁt hì	nmẁtw	tmẁtw	jmẁtw hwm
imperative	-	mẁt!	-	-	-	mẁtw!	-
passive participle	mmẁt
verbal noun	mevt

(One can also use the expression vegid mevt (lit. find/suffer death), in Irta Irish faigh bás is a calque of this)

Stem I verb conjugation, II-y: xèn 'he cheated, betrayed' (Arabic *xayVna)

→ Person ↓ Tense	1sg	2sg	3sg.m	3sg.f	1pl	2pl	3pl
past; conditional	xintin	xinnint	xèn hẁ	xènet hì	xinne	xintwm, xinnintwm	xènw hum
future; subjunctive	nxìn	txìn	jxìn hẁ	txìn hì	nxìnw	txìnw	jxìnw hwm
imperative	-	xìn!	-	-	-	xìnw!	-
passive participle	mxùn
verbal noun	xajn

Stem II (recettib)

Stem II verb conjugation: rogaddiɯ 'he sanctified; he attended Mass' (Arabic qaddasa)

→ Person ↓ Tense	1sg	2sg	3sg.m	3sg.f	1pl	2pl	3pl
past; conditional	rogaddeɯtin	rogaddeɯɯint	rogaddiɯ hẁ	rogaddɯet hì	rogaddeɯne	rogaddeɯ(ɯint)wm	rogaddɯw hwm
future; subjunctive	ngaddiɯ	tgaddiɯ	jgaddiɯ hẁ	tgaddiɯ hì	ngaddɯw	tgaddɯw	jgaddɯw hum
imperative	-	gaddiɯ!	-	-	-	gaddɯw!	-
passive participle	mgaddiɯ
verbal noun	teg̱dìɯ

Stem IV (ectib)

Early loan verbs beginning with a consonant cluster fall into this conjugation (cf. some Modern Hebrew loan verbs like hiklík). Stem IV is no longer productive.

Stem IV verb conjugation: ecrid 'he believed'

→ Person ↓ Tense	1sg	2sg	3sg.m	3sg.f	1pl	2pl	3pl
past; conditional	ecridtin	ecriddint	ecrid hẁ	ecerdet hì	ecridne	ecridtwm, ecriddintwm	ecerdw hwm
future; subjunctive	nicrid	ticrid	jicrid hẁ	ticrid hì	nicerdw	ticerdw	jicerdw hwm
imperative	-	icrid!	-	-	-	icerdw!	-
passive participle	micrid
verbal noun	icrèd

Stem V (ritcettib)

Mediopassive for stem II

The t assimilates before coronal obstruents.

Stem VI (ritcètib)

Mediopassive for cètib

The t assimilates before coronal obstruents.

Stem X verb conjugation: ritvèlid 'he was born'

→ Person ↓ Tense	1sg	2sg	3sg.m	3sg.f	1pl	2pl	3pl
past; conditional	ritvèledtin	ritvèleddint	ritvèlid hẁ	ritvèldet hì	ritvèledne	ritvèled(din)twm	ritvèldw hwm
future; subjunctive	nitvèlid	titvèlid	jitvèlid hẁ	titvèlid hì	nitvèldw	titvèldw	jitvèldw hwm
imperative	-	tvèlid!	-	-	-	tvèldw!	-
passive participle	mitvèlid
verbal noun	tvèlde

Stem VII (rintectib)

used as mediopassive for cetib and ectib

4-consonant roots

usually treated somewhat like loan verbs; they even take r- in the past tense

rəCaCCəC verb conjugation: riteargem 'he translated, interpreted' (Arabic tarjama)

→ Person ↓ Tense	1sg	2sg	3sg.m	3sg.f	1pl	2pl	3pl
past; conditional	ritergemtin	ritergemmint	riteargem hẁ	riteargmit hì	ritergemne	ritergemtwm, ritergemmintwm	riteargmw hwm
future; subjunctive	nteargem	tteargem	jteargem hẁ	tteargem hì	nteargmw	tteargmw	jteargmw hum
imperative	-	teargem!	-	-	-	teargmw!	-
passive participle	mitteargem
verbal noun	teargmiċaḋ

Irish loan verbs

1st-conjugation verbs

These verbs are mostly borrowed in the verbal noun form, with principal parts ro+lenited VN, j+lenited VN, lenited VN+ta/te/ṫa/ṫe, lenited VN. The imperative is usually, but not always, the unlenited VN.

Syncope verbs

These verbs end in /-C1əC2/ in unsuffixed forms. When a suffix beginning with a vowel is added, the schwa is dropped and C2 assimilates in emphasis to C1. If C2 becomes emphatic it spreads its emphasis to the suffix, like in any native verb whose stem ends in an emphatic consonant: roċosain 'he defended', roċos̱naṯ 'she defended'.

Irish loan verb conjugation: diḟreagair 'he answered, responded (synonym of rivègib)'

→ Person ↓ Tense	1sg	2sg	3sg.m	3sg.f	1pl	2pl	3pl
past; conditional	diḟreagairtin	diḟreagairrint	diḟreagair hẁ	diḟreagraṯ hì	diḟreagairne	diḟreagairtwm	diḟreagru hwm
future; subjunctive	nḟreagair	tḟreagair	jḟreagair hẁ	tḟreagair hì	nḟreagru	tḟreagru	jḟreagru hwm
imperative	-	ḟreagair!	-	-	-	ḟreagru!	-
passive participle	ḟreagarṫa
verbal noun	ḟreagairt (f)

Examples:

• roċosain 'to defend'
• riomair 'to travel by water; to diffuse, to disperse'
• riomċair rùħuh 'to behave'
• rinnis 'to narrate'

2nd-conjugation -aiġ verbs

Loan verb paradigm based on loaned Irish -aiġ (from OIr -igidir) verbs (partly fitted to native 3-y verbs, hence the stress shifts and possibly vowel reduction and addition of the R- to past forms from Irish ro and d-/D- if the 1st consonant in the stem is a r/R)

past tense forms are lenited as in Irish, and VN follows that (Irish feminine definite article lenition + analogy to past for d-/t-/s-)

Irish loan verb conjugation: radṁaiġ 'he admitted, confessed'

→ Person ↓ Tense	1sg	2sg	3sg.m	3sg.f	1pl	2pl	3pl
past; conditional	radṁaiġtin	radṁaiġtint	radṁaiġ hẁ	radṁait hì	radṁaiġne	radṁaiġtwm, r'adṁaiġtintwm	radṁav̱ hwm
future; subjunctive	nadṁaiġ	tadṁaiġ	jadṁaiġ hẁ	tadṁaiġ hì	nadṁu	tadṁu	jadṁu hwm
imperative	-	adṁaiġ!	-	-	-	adṁu!	-
passive participle	adṁaiṫe
verbal noun	adṁaċaḋ (f)

Newer loan verbs

Newer loan verbs use the same stress patterns and affixes as regular -aiġ loan verbs from Irish, but have a fixed stem.

Irish loan verb conjugation: rofònaiġ 'he phoned'

→ Person ↓ Tense	1sg	2sg	3sg.m	3sg.f	1pl	2pl	3pl
past; conditional	rofònaiġtin	rofònaiġtint	rofònaiġ hẁ	rofònaiġt hì	rofònaiġne	rofònaiġtwm, rofònaiġtintwm	rofònav̱ hwm
future; subjunctive	nfònaiġ	tfònaiġ	jfònaiġ hẁ	tfònaiġ hì	nfònu	tfònu	jfònu hwm
imperative	-	fònaiġ!	-	-	-	fònu!	-
passive participle	fònaiṫe
verbal noun	fònaċaḋ (f)

Passivizing loan verbs

Loan verbs are made passive by adding (ə)t- to the stem:

raimsiġ 'to attempt' -> rataimsiġ 'to be attempted' (The r- is helpful for parsing the t- here.)

The t assimilates before coronal obstruents.

The verb gàl 'to say'

exhibits suppletion with *sèd < šahida 'to bear witness' (inspired by għid ~ qal in Maltese, ghid looks like hebrew 3ėd but is a false friend)

sedtin, seddint, gàl, gàlit, sedne, sedtwm, gàlw

nessid, tessid, jessid, nessdw, tessdw, jessdw

wssid, wssdw

megùl

gavl

The verb ceàn

The verb ceàn, jcẁn, (no passive part.), cevn/cvèn (from Arabic kāna) is a regular hollow 2-w verb. Unlike in Irish, ceàn covers the senses of both Irish is and Irish bí.

In the present tense,

• the appropriate independent pronoun is used, for predicate nouns, predicative adjectives, and adjuncts
• the particle temm (irregularly from Arabic þamma 'there') is used, for existential statements

The future form of ceàn is also used as a "habitual be". (ncẁn = Scottish Gaelic bidh mi 'I (tend to) be, I will be')

Modals

Both verbs and prepositional phrases are used for modals.

• eas̱ḏaȝ, jeas̱ḏaȝ, --, --, s̱ḏàȝa 'can' (istiTā3a reanalyzed as Form IV)
• rèd, jrìd, --, --, rìde 'to want'
• ȝalèh 'to have to'
• pràinn 'it is urgent that'
• ȝandwh gàḋ 'to need to'

  Ȝandi gàḋ nibtìȝ deg̱ìg̱ ⁊ swccaṟ bès ns̱ajjer cejc min nefɯi. 'I need to buy flour and sugar in order to bake my own cake.'

• ȝandwh ceaḏ 'to be permitted to'

  Ȝandic ceaḏ texfejm zeàl progreamm teaħt eḻ coinġeallaiḋèṫ gèje. 'You may use this program under the following conditions.'

Prepositions

• b(e) 'instrumental': bìje, bìc, bìh, bìhe, bìne, bìcwm, bìhwm
• f(i) 'in, at': fìje, fìc, fìh, fìhe, fìne, fìcwm, fìhwm
• min 'from': minni, minnic/minc (poetic), minnwh, minhe, minne, mincwm, minhwm
• meȝ 'comitative': meȝje /maːjə/, meȝc, meȝuh /maẅh/, meȝhe /mahhə/, meȝne, meȝcwm, meȝhwm /mahhum/
• bejn 'between': bejn(èt)i, bejn(èt)ic, bejn(èt)wh, bejn(èt)he, bejn(èt)ne, bejn(èt)cwm, bejn(èt)hwm
  • bejn X ⁊ Y and bejn X bejn Y are both valid for 'between X and Y'

frè (< Irish fré) = against

frejje, frèc, frèh, frèhe, frène, frècwm, frèhwm

• also ȝal /æl/ = on

fwg̱ = upon, towards, for (< fawq + chuig)

fwg̱i, fwg̱ac̱, fwg̱uh, fwg̱ha /çüqʰə/, fwg̱na, fwg̱cum /çüqʰːʊmˁ/, fwg̱hum /çüːm~çüʔʊmˁ/

gvèr = about

f(i) (< CA fī) is matched to faoi in some verb complements and is in fact fo sometimes; 'in' often uses a different prep gil (from majāl 'domain')

g̱uṟ = 'of, at' (from GuRB 'vicinity'): g̱uṟi, g̱uṟac̱, g̱uṟuh, g̱uṟha, g̱uṟna, g̱uṟcum, g̱uṟhum

ȝand 'to have'

Conjunctions

• agus̱ /'ɛg̟ɪs, əg̟ɪs, g̟ɪs/ 'and', usually written ⁊
• ev 'or'
• eas̱da 'but (however)'
• bzècwllwh 'however'
• γir, xlàf 'but (rather)'
• metli 'when'
• g̱abli 'before'
• veara li 'after'
• ȝalcemm 'although'
• ȝaseàn, ħajd 'because'
• bès (+ future) 'so that, in order that'
• lè (+ future) 'lest'
  • (synonym) fzeȝ + pronominal suffix for the subject of the matrix clause
• veag̱ṯ, veag̱ṯ li 'while'
• jenc 'if (realis)'
• cinc 'if (irrealis)'
• ann-sin /ən'ʃɪn/ 'then'

Numerals

vèħad /veahəd/, nejn, dlède, earḇȝa, xamɯe, ɯitte, ɯeaḇȝa, dmènje, diɯȝa, ȝasra (nejn is due to rebracketing: vèħad, dnejn → vèħad, nejn

attributive forms: vèħad/vèħde, zevg, dlèdit, earḇȝaṯ, xamɯt, ɯittit, ɯeaḇȝaṯ, dmènit, diɯȝat, ȝasraṯ

xamɯt meara (by Irish influence; dated) or xamɯt niɯe '5 women', xamɯt en-niɯe 'the 5 women'

evvil, dèni, dèlid, ràḇaȝ, xàmiɯ, ɯètit, ɯèḇaȝ, dmèni, dèɯeȝ, ȝàser

Ordinals come before nouns, as in Irish: ed dèlid bèb (abbrev. ed .3. bèb) = the third door

Syntax

Irish influence preserved or revived many conservative Semitic features of Midhirian syntax:

• "A el B" ("A B" when B is a proper noun) construction predominant for possessives
• possessive suffixes always productive
• default VSO word order

Sentences with finite verbs are VSO:

Cel eḻ γannèj clùiteaċ nòṉ meȝṯ Taoiseċ.

eat.PST.3SG.M DEF γina_singer famous.SG.M lunch with-DEF Taoiseach

The famous γina singer had a luncheon with the Taoiseach.

The progressive aspect uses verbnouns whose possessors are direct objects.

Less topic-prominent than Arabic so no "anā ismī"

Question particle el (from hal), assimilates to əL/ər/əR before L/r/R

The vocative particle je (j before a vowel) is consistently used (like the Irish vocative). Vocative phrases usually go to the end: 'Cerìm, close the door!' is ʔwγlag̱ el bèb, je Cerìm!

• Is fear é Dónal = Ragil hẁ Doṁnall
• is fear mór/mór an fear é Dónal = ragil cbìr/cbìr eṟ ragil hw Doṁnall
• is é Dónal an Taoiseach olc = Doṁnall hw eṯ Taoiseċ ȝàrr
• (!) tá Dónal mór = Doṁnall hw cbìr
• bhí Dónal ... = ceàn Doṁnall cbìr
• (!) tá úll ann/agam = hemm/ȝandi twffèħ
• (!) Stative verbs are different from Irish: tá mé i mo chodladh = nearg̱ad (stative verbs use the future tense in Midhirian)

Syntax example:

Language	I love reading a lot.	When I went to the library,	I only found this old book.	I wanted to read a book about the history of women in France.
Midhirian	Nħebb èn neag̱ra veaxra.	Metli s̱iltin ȝal el leaḃarlaṉṉ,	mè s̱ibtin s γir zeàl ctèb g̱adìm.	Ridtin neag̱ra ctèb gvèr grejjèt en niɯe fiṟ Ḟrainc.
Maltese	Jien inħobb naqra ħafna.	Meta mort il-librerija,	sibt biss dan il-ktieb il-qadim.	Ridt naqra ktieb dwar il-ġrajja tan-nisa fi Franza.
Arabic	أَنَا أُحِبُّ القِرَاءَةَ كَثِيرًا	عِنْدَمَا ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى المَكْتَبَة	لَمْ أَجِد سِوَى هٰذَا الكِتَابِ القَدِيم	كُنْتُ أُرِيدُ أَنْ أَقْرَأَ كِتَابًا عَن تَارِيخِ المَرأَةِ فِي فَرَنسَا
(Transl. for MSA)	ʔanā ʔuħibbu l-qirāʔata kaþīran.	ʕindamā ðahabtu ʔila l-maktabah,	lam ʔaǧid siwā hāða l-kitābi l-qadīm.	kuntu ʔurīdu an ʔaqraʔa kitāban ʕan tārīxi l-marʔati fī faransā.
Irish (An Caighdeán)	Is maith liomsa léamh go leor.	Nuair a chuaigh mé go dtí an leabharlann,	ní bhfuair mé ach an sean-leabhar seo.	Theastaigh uaim leabhar faoi stair na mban sa Fhrainc a léamh.

Noun phrase

• adnominal demonstratives: zeàl (m), zìl (f), ilel (pl), sìl (what/which X?) (follows sun/moon letter rules like the definite article)
• pronominal demonstratives:
  • proximal: zeà (m), zì (f), ile (pl)
  • distal: zeàc (m), zìc (f), ilèc (pl)
• can use el X hùn lit. 'the X here', el X temm 'the X there' instead
• attributive adjective phrases: "NOUN ADJ1 ADJ2" for 'a ADJ1 and ADJ2 NOUN' (Irish influence)

Vocabulary

• Native: most everyday words (33%), archaic literary vocabulary
• Irish: most formal vocabulary; government, law and source of many new coinages (50%)
• Latin, Romance and Greek: some formal vocabulary, esp. religion (possibly via Irish or English)
  • profèt, profètìn (m) 'prophet'
• English: source of calques, many technology words

Derivation

(e is a stressed vowel which may change to ea; ej may change to aj; ə may be spelled e or a; w may be spelled u; Ē is either è or à; Ā is either eà or à)

• CeCC(ə), CiCC(ə), CwCC(ə): segolates
• meCCəC, meCCCə, miCCəC, miCCCə, mwCCəC, mwCCCə: various inanimate nouns
• CCejjəC, CCejCə: diminutives
• CCwCə, CCwCìje: abstract nouns
• CəCCèC, CĒCəC (less prod.): agentives
• -aire, -airìn: Irish agentive
• -adòir, -adòirìn: Irish agentive
• -Ān (-eàn after ṫ): Irish instrument nouns
• -òg: Irish diminutive
• aṫ-: re-
• neaṁ-: non-, un- (for adjectives; lenites nouns of Irish origin)
• mì-: non-, in- (for nouns; lenites nouns of Irish origin)
  • mì-ħnène (f) 'cruelty, callousness' < ħnène (f) 'compassion'
  • mì-ċòir (f) 'injustice' < còir
• nùa-: neo- (lenites nouns of Irish origin)
• CèCəC, C(ə)CìC, CəCCĀn: adjectives
• -ì, -ìje, -ìje: nisba, used in both Arabic and Irish words; -ìje is used for feminine occupations, e.g. nòtaire 'notary' → nòtairìje 'notary (f.)'
• -ìje: some language names
• -aċt/-eċt, -aċtaiḋèṫ/-eċtaiḋèṫ: most common abstract noun suffix, used on agentives and adjectives; also used on native words

Days of the week

• Sunday: jwm Doṁnaiġ
• Monday: jwm Dnejn
• Tuesday: jwm Dlède
• Wednesday: jwm Eaṟḇȝa
• Thursday: jwm Xamɯe
• Friday: jwm Gimȝa
• Saturday: jwm Ɯebt

abbreviated as "D 2 3 4 5 G Ɯ", e.g. jwm 2

Texts

Todo:

• snippet from some Classical Arabic text
• snippet from some Irish epic
• a hypothetical news report in Modern Irta Midhir

UDHR, Article 1

Ritvèldw el bnèdmìn cwllhe xèlɯe ⁊ coṁionanna f uirrimhwm ⁊ fi ceartaèhwm. Hwme mrabbħa ber rèsùṉ ⁊ beḻ cogaḃḃus̱ ⁊ ȝalèhwm jiomċru rùħhum meȝ silsìn b mèin guṟ eaxva.

/rɪtʰˈveːldʊ əl bnɪdˈmiːn ˈcʰʊlhə ˈχe:lsə ɟɪs qʰəwʶˈnʶanʶ:ə f ˈʊr:ɪmhʊm ɪs fɪ cərʶˈtʶʰe:hʊm | ˈhʊmə ˈmʶrʶapʰ:ɐ bər rəˈsʶu:nʶ ɪs bəlʶ qʰɔˈʔʶawʶ:ʊsʶ əɟɪs ɐˈle:hʊm ˈjʊmʶχrʶʊ ˈrʶuɐhhʊm mɐ ʃɪlˈʃi:n bə me:n ʔʶʊrʶ ˈaχvʶə/

[rɪt̪ʰˈveːl̪d̪ʊ̈ ə̟lbn̪ɪd̪ˈmiːŋ̟ ˈk̟ʰʊ̈lhə ˈχɛːls̪ə̟ g̟ɪs̪ qʰʌwʶˈn̪ʶɑn̪ʶːʌ ˈf‿ʊ̈rːɪmhʊ̈m ˌɛg̟ɪs̪ fɪ k̟ʰərʶˈt̪ʶʰɛːhʊ̈mʲ ‖ hʊ̈mə̟ ˈmʶrʶɑpːʰɐ̟ bərrə̟ˈs̪ʶʊːn̪ʶ ɪs̪ bəl̪ʶqʰʌˈʔɑwwʶʊs̪ʶ əg̟ɪs̪ ɐ̟ˈleːhʊ̈mʲ ˈjʊmʶχrʶʊ ˈrʶʊɐħ̞ħ̞ʊm mɐ̟ ʃɪ̟lʃiːnʲ b‿meːnʲ ʔʶʊrʶ ˈæχwʶʌ]

PST-PASS-give_birth_to-3PL DEF human-PL all.PL free-PL and equal-PL in dignity-3PL.POSS and right-PL-3PL.POSS. 3PL.INDEP enriched-PL INST-DEF reason and INST-DEF conscience and on-3PL behave/3PL.FUT REFL-3PL COM each_other INS mindset POSS sibling.PL.

Our timeline's Tunisian Arabic:

In-nès il-kull muludìn ħurrìn w mitsèwìn fi’l-karàme w’il-ħuqùq. Tagħŧàw għqal w żamìr w lèzim ygħàmlu bgħażhum kìf l-axwa.

Our timeline's Egyptian Arabic:

ʔil-mæddæ ʔil-ʔæwwalaniyyæ ʔil-bæniʔædmīn kulluhum mæwlūdīn ħurrīn wi mitsawwyīn fil-karāma wil-ħuʔūʔ. ʔitwæhæb-luhum ʔil-ʕaʔl wiḍ-ḍamīr wil-mafrūḍ yiʕæmlu baʕḍ bi-rūħ ʔil-ʔuxuwiyyæ.