Atlantic: Difference between revisions

|name          = Rumonian

|nativename    = nimba rumoniha

|pronunciation = {{IPA|[ˈnimba ruˈmɔnixa]}}

|states (state) = TBD

|region        = TBD

|ethnicity    = TBD

|speakers      = TBD

|date          = TBD

|created      = Jan 2019

|setting      = TBD

|nation        = TBD

'''Rumonian''' (natively ''rumonih'' {{IPA|[ruˈmɔnix]}} or ''nimba rumoniha'' {{IPA|[ˈnimba ruˈmɔnixa]}}) is a [[w:Romance language|Romance]] language aesthetically inspired by selected sound changes in various other Romance languages, most notably [[w:Sicilian language|Sicilian]], [[w:Romansh language|Romansh]], [[w:French language|French]], and various dialects of [[w:Lombard language|Lombard]], especially [[w:lmo:Lombard alpin|Alpine ones<small>^(LMO)</small>]]. It also includes some features taken by my now-abandoned former romlang projects, [[Wendlandish]] and [[Atlantic]], as well as some unique features, such as intervocalic voiceless stops leniting to voiceless fricatives instead of voiced stops (like the [[w:Tuscan gorgia|Tuscan gorgia]], but here it's become phonemic).

It aims to be an extremely conservative Romance language in its morphology, with many irregularities directly deriving from Latin, and with little analogical levelling; for example, the different ways to build the perfect are maintained almost without change for nearly every inherited verb except for those in the productive first conjugation. The development of the various synthetic tenses is however almost identical to that of Portuguese, except for the innovative future and conditional which are respectively different and non-existant in Rumonian. It also maintains neuter nouns as distinct from the other two genders.

It is not meant to fit with existing Romance languages in the sense I purposely took as inspirations various features from all over the Romance-speaking world, and therefore does not fit in any subgrouping. Lexically, I chose to stick to Latin and Ancient Greek roots (the latter in more abstract and formal vocabulary, and in a somewhat higher number than in other Romance languages), generally avoiding other foreign words unless attested in some form of Latin or (non-Modern) Greek, or a small number of borrowings from other Romance languages.

The Rumonian vocalic system was formed through an evolution that, while with many common elements with other Romance languages, was unique in having kept long and short {{IPA|/a/}} distinct, the former shifting to {{IPA|/ɑ/}} and later merging with surviving instances of {{IPA|/ɔ/}}. Otherwise, the development of vowels was much like Sicilian, as the table below hints:

! Latin !! Early Rumonian !! Modern Rumonian !! Example !! Cognates

Dialectally, vowel breaking was more widespread. In the North, it remained productive late enough to affect original ''ul'' (see above), but not original ''al'' or even long ''a'' (which remained *ɑ(l) for longer) - as in ''fualmin'' for standard ''folmin''. This usage extended to later loanwords, as in ''arbialg'' "hotel" for standard ''arbelg'' (Medieval Latin <small>HARIBERGUM</small>), or in the given name doublet ''Albert'' and ''Albiart'' (← <small>ALBERTUM</small>). In the North and West, it affected vowels after velars too (see Western ''cuardi'', Northern ''cuari'' for Standard/Eastern ''cordi'' "heart", or both Northern and Western ''cuarnu'' for Std. ''cornu'' (← <small>CORNŪ</small>)) and also vowels before ''n'' as in ''buan'' for Std. ''bon'' "good" (← <small>BONUM</small>). The fact these dialects break vowels before ''n'', but still only when stressed, creates even more stem alternations in the conjugation of some verbs compared to standard Rumonian, such as ''spuandi, spondimu'' for Std. ''spondi, spondimu'' "I declare, we declare" (← <small>SPONDEŌ, SPONDĒMUS</small>).<br/>

The phonemes {{IPA|/ɕ ʎ/}} are only found in some dialects; Standard Rumonian merges them with {{IPA|/ç j/}} respectively. In the dialects where {{IPA|/ɕ/}} is a distinct phoneme, {{IPA|[ç x]}} are in complementary distribution, with the former occurring before front vowels and the latter elsewhere.

In standard Rumonian, voiced stops are allophonically geminated after a stressed vowel, e.g. in ''pubric'' "public" {{IPA|/ˈpubrik/ [ˈpubːrik]}} or ''abidihu'' "I decline" {{IPA|/ˈabidiχu/ [ˈabːidiχu]}}.

* Velar sound + '''i, e''' → '''qu, gu'''; the sequences {{IPA|/χi χe/}} do not exist in Rumonian.

Masculine given names (and a small number of common nouns) in Rumonian have a distinct vocative form. This ending, ''-u'', is not a continuation of the original Latin vocative; instead, it can be explained as a lengthening of the final vowel of original <small>-UM</small> nouns, therefore reconstructing the Pre-Rumonian form as *-ū, which prevented the vowel from being dropped.

Rumonian, unlike other Romance languages, maintained the synthetic forms for comparatives and superlatives, though it still uses the common Romance analytic forms in less formal styles:

Some adjectives exclusively have synthetic forms which are irregular or suppletive. Often, Rumonian replaced the positive grade with a different adjective, similar to other Romance languages (as in <small>PRESSUM, VETULUM, MINŪTUM</small> instead of <small>PROPINQUUM, SENEM, PARVUM</small>), but kept the irregular forms, adding more suppletion.

Rumonian, unlike other Romance languages with a two-way demonstrative distinction, uses the "proximal" form for medial demonstratives, which is hence termed "non-distal":

The Rumonian pronoun system has less forms than Latin does, but is still (clitic system aside) more complex than other Romance languages. A peculiarity, shared with a few languages such as older forms of Italian, is that there is an animacy distinction in the third person pronouns, with animate forms derived from the Latin demonstratives (<small>ILLUM</small>, cf. It. ''egli, ella''), and the inanimate ones derived from the emphatics (<small>IPSUM</small>, cf. It. ''esso, essa'').

* ''Cros daṭur'''-um''' iaris dil cuḍixi?'' "Will you give me the book tomorrow?" (note that Rumonian is secundative!)

* '''groxa''' — thanks to, because of + positive experience (< <small>GRĀTIĀ</small>, with pre-Rumonian shortening of the final vowel)

Verbs generally have six moods: three finite (indicative, subjunctive, imperative) and three non-finite ones (infinitive, participle, gerundive). Unlike other Romance languages, Rumonian did not develop a conditional mood.

Verbs in Rumonian are typically cited with three or four principal parts: the infinitive, the 1sg present indicative, the 1sg past indicative, and the past participle; unlike Latin, but like other Romance languages, the infinitive and not the 1sg present indicative is used as citation form. The 1sg present indicative is mostly needed in cases where the root had a short <small>E</small> in Latin which is stressed (and kept or broken) in the 1sg present indicative form, but unstressed in the infinitive (where it therefore became /i/). An example is the verb ''apilyori'' "to call, to be called" ← <small>APPELLĀRE</small>, whose 1sg present indicative form is ''apialyu'' ← <small>APPELLŌ</small> (cf. ''cinsiri'' "to think" (← <small>CĒNSĒRE</small>) and ''cinsi'' "I think" (← <small>CĒNSEŌ</small>), where this does not happen due to the different original vowel).

All deponent verbs in Rumonian are of the second pattern (unstressed) ''-iri'' verbs.

Rumonian verbs, in addition to the synthetic forms listed above, conjugate using an array of periphrastic forms, here with ''trubori'' "to sing"<ref>Occitan borrowing, replaced inherited ''caniri''.</ref> as an example verb:

Uniquely among Romance languages, Rumonian has "pseudo-passive" forms which use ''aḍipisciri'' (to get, deponent) as an auxiliary verb: they are used with ditransitive verbs, and cast focus on the theme, as Rumonian being secundative means that in true passive forms it's the recipient which becomes subject. However, unlike in true passive forms, the theme is not the subject, and the verb conjugates for the (usually unstated) recipient:

Not having a conditional mood, unlike most other Romance languages, Rumonian uses the indicative or the subjunctive mood in conditional clauses. The if-clause is introduced by ''si'':

Like other Romance languages, in Rumonian references shift in reported speech: the present tense becomes an imperfect; the past becomes pluperfect; the future either remains future or becomes a future-in-the-past, formed with the future participle and the past of ''siḍiri''.