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Lifashian: Difference between revisions
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Through its history at the crossroads of Europe and Asia and the long contact between languages resulting from the millennia through which the Lifashians were always subjects of foreign powers, the vocabulary of Lifashian has been enriched and shaped by the absorption of plenty of loanwords, which certainly dates back to Lifashian prehistory. The vast majority of loanwords, also, are considered to be fully integrated in the language, helped by the fact that all of them (except some proper nouns) are transcribed into the Lifashian script and are adapted to fit native morphology.<br/>It is also likely that some words in current Lifashian were borrowed from ancient dialects or closely related languages that have not survived, as shown by a few examples of PIE *p in Lifashian.<ref>Word-initial PIE *p generally became Lifashian '''f''' except for a few cases, most of which can be explained by an *r blocking the fricativization (as in many compounds with *per or *peri), the presence of an original cluster (mostly *pl), or recursive assimilation caused by a labiovelar (most notably in ''pembi'' "five", explained through an intermediate form *pénkʷe > **kʷénkʷe which parallels Proto-Italic and Proto-Celtic), but even then there are the clear IE words ''páwé'' "fire" and ''peli'' "under" when the expected outcomes from PIE should have been *fáwé and *feli.</ref> | Through its history at the crossroads of Europe and Asia and the long contact between languages resulting from the millennia through which the Lifashians were always subjects of foreign powers, the vocabulary of Lifashian has been enriched and shaped by the absorption of plenty of loanwords, which certainly dates back to Lifashian prehistory. The vast majority of loanwords, also, are considered to be fully integrated in the language, helped by the fact that all of them (except some proper nouns) are transcribed into the Lifashian script and are adapted to fit native morphology.<br/>It is also likely that some words in current Lifashian were borrowed from ancient dialects or closely related languages that have not survived, as shown by a few examples of PIE *p in Lifashian.<ref>Word-initial PIE *p generally became Lifashian '''f''' except for a few cases, most of which can be explained by an *r blocking the fricativization (as in many compounds with *per or *peri), the presence of an original cluster (mostly *pl), or recursive assimilation caused by a labiovelar (most notably in ''pembi'' "five", explained through an intermediate form *pénkʷe > **kʷénkʷe which parallels Proto-Italic and Proto-Celtic), but even then there are the clear IE words ''páwé'' "fire" and ''peli'' "under" when the expected outcomes from PIE should have been *fáwé and *feli.</ref> | ||
The share of loanwords is not uniform in the Lifashian vocabulary. First of all, the vast majority of borrowed words in any stage of the language are nouns, and the number of borrowed adjectives with no corresponding noun, while not small on its own, is far smaller. Borrowed verbs are a | The share of loanwords is not uniform in the Lifashian vocabulary. First of all, the vast majority of borrowed words in any stage of the language are nouns, and the number of borrowed adjectives with no corresponding noun, while not small on its own, is far smaller. Borrowed verbs are a small number, and nearly all of them are formed through the suffix ''-íy-'' that also served to form verbs from other parts of speech. Borrowed verbs without this suffix are, with only a few exceptions, far earlier borrowings, considered borrowings into Pre-Lifashian rather than Lifashian. Note that in more recent times (from the 18th century onwards), nearly all new verbs that have entered Lifashian are compound verbs, and new compound verbs have also displaced full verbs; the verbal part of compound verbs, which contributes little meaning of its own, is nearly always a native root. | ||
Moreover, loanwords are not evenly distributed in terms of frequency; all function words are native, inherited from Proto-Indo-European, as are many of the most commonly used words, so that the most basic forms of the language contain mostly native roots. However, very basic words are not always native, sometimes due to semantic drift that has caused loanwords to fit into the other meaning. Almost as a counterpoint to basic words being mostly inherited roots, nearly all Lifashians carry given names that are borrowed: most of them from Middle Persian, while Western names are typically borrowed through Medieval Greek or through Ligurian; Islamic theophoric names are borrowed from Arabic. | Moreover, loanwords are not evenly distributed in terms of frequency; all function words are native, inherited from Proto-Indo-European, as are many of the most commonly used words, so that the most basic forms of the language contain mostly native roots. However, very basic words are not always native, sometimes due to semantic drift that has caused loanwords to fit into the other meaning. Almost as a counterpoint to basic words being mostly inherited roots, nearly all Lifashians carry given names that are borrowed: most of them from Middle Persian, while Western names are typically borrowed through Medieval Greek or through Ligurian; Islamic theophoric names are borrowed from Arabic. | ||
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The largest share of loanwords into Lifashian comes from Persian, and they were borrowed from different dialects of Persian at different times in the space of nearly 2000 years. Persian loanwords are found in every semantic field, from many everyday words (seasons, e.g. ''tábestán'' "summer", ''bahár'' "spring"); words related to general urban life (''syahr'' "city", ''meydán'' "square"); knowledge (''námé'' "book"; ''dánesy'' "knowledge"); agriculture (''zardálá'' "apricot"), to more abstract concepts (''firdáws'' "paradise", ''yádi'' "memory, remembrance"). More abstract concepts, ethnonyms, and Islam-related words come from Arabic but in the vast majority of cases they entered Lifashian through Persian, so they are usually considered of Persian origin too; such words include e.g. ''Dár'' "home (used as "homeland" or with a genitive as "country of", cf. ''Dár Lífasyám'' but also ''Dár Hayám'' (Armenia), ''Dár Pársyám'' (Iran, sometimes referring to Greater Iran) and even ''Dár Ondúhám'' (a possible name for Earth, literally "home of the people")", ''táj'' "jewel", ''haylá'' "family", ''akbar(syás)'' "great".<br/> | The largest share of loanwords into Lifashian comes from Persian, and they were borrowed from different dialects of Persian at different times in the space of nearly 2000 years. Persian loanwords are found in every semantic field, from many everyday words (seasons, e.g. ''tábestán'' "summer", ''bahár'' "spring"); words related to general urban life (''syahr'' "city", ''meydán'' "square"); knowledge (''námé'' "book"; ''dánesy'' "knowledge"); agriculture (''zardálá'' "apricot"), to more abstract concepts (''firdáws'' "paradise", ''yádi'' "memory, remembrance"). More abstract concepts, ethnonyms, and Islam-related words come from Arabic but in the vast majority of cases they entered Lifashian through Persian, so they are usually considered of Persian origin too; such words include e.g. ''Dár'' "home (used as "homeland" or with a genitive as "country of", cf. ''Dár Lífasyám'' but also ''Dár Hayám'' (Armenia), ''Dár Pársyám'' (Iran, sometimes referring to Greater Iran) and even ''Dár Ondúhám'' (a possible name for Earth, literally "home of the people")", ''táj'' "jewel", ''haylá'' "family", ''akbar(syás)'' "great".<br/> | ||
Dating back to the first millennium CE are also likely most Armenian loans, which also cover many semantic fields, but more everyday words than Persian loans; they include | Dating back to the first millennium CE are also likely most Armenian loans, which also cover many semantic fields, but more everyday words than Persian loans; they include a few common verbs such as ''gurémi'' "to write" and ''sirémi'' "to like", but also e.g. ''órén'' "rule; law", ''tatum'' "pumpkin", ''tulay'' "boy", ''yo'' "yes", ''hamár'' "number". Also from the early first millennium (around the time of the earliest attestations of Lifashian) are the Aramaic loans, introduced alongside Syriac Christianity and generally limited to that semantic field, such as ''hettá'' "Church; a church", ''násrey'' "Christian", ''mahmolítá'' "baptism", ''sów'' "priest", ''Esyuh Misyihów'' "Jesus Christ"; there are also a few Aramaic loans not strictly related to Christianity, such as ''lap'' "paper". | ||
Greek loanwords belong to two layers: | Greek loanwords belong to two layers: an earlier one with more varied semantic fields (''kawnás'' "blue", ''ninfá'' "woman", ''falem'' "room", ''hors'' "field, area") and a later one, generally used in scientific terms.<br/>During the Middle Ages and Early Modern Era, during Genoese rule, various Ligurian terms entered the Lifashian language: many of these relate to administration or commerce (''paláng'' "money", ''dyugangá'' "customs", ''bitégá'' "shop", ''pázyi'' "government palace"), nautical terms (''rutá'' "route", ''lengtarná'' "lighthouse", ''istíwá'' "hold"), but also a few general words (''jastémá'' "blasphemy", ''lélwá'' "ivy", ''dupostás'' "indigenous", ''mangdili'' "handkerchief") as well as certain foodstuffs, although these were probably introduced later, from the Ligurians settled on the Lifashian coast (''tuki'' "sauce", ''sézyá'' "cherry", ''fyugasá'' "(Genoese) focaccia"). | ||
The most recent substantial layer of loanwords is from Russian, which includes most words that have entered the language in the 20th century. They are mostly modern concepts, such as ''halajilnik'' "fridge", ''milíciyá'' (Militia, police (until 2005)), ''poyist'' "train" (but ''kárbáné'', itself ultimately a loanword from Middle Persian, has been the preferred term since the 1960s, and virtually the only term after independence), ''ciliwizar'' "TV set" (but note the calque ''lúrgiltá'', used for "television" as a medium or technology). However, a very large number of 20th century neologisms, and especially since Lifashian independence in 1991 (which has markedly influenced the language in the following decades due to the increasing Lifashian patriotism, as for the first time the Lifashian state is an independent country not ruled by any foreign power), has been composed of calques, often from Russian, Greek, or internationalisms. Some calques from Greek or internationalisms were already coined during the 19th century, as e.g. ''lámadánesy'' "ecology". Calques or semantic calques include ''syaselman'' (council, committee; coined in the 19th century as a calque of Greek ''συνέδριον''; later acquired the sense of “Soviet” as a semantic calque of Russian ''совет''); ''halhámor'' (update, calqued from French ''ajourner''), ''jámehtuwá'' (socialism); calques or partial calques from English are particularly common in words about computers and IT, such as ''píttorm'' “computer”, ''embentél'' “drive”, ''páwehiksy'' “firewall”, ''rakomíyás'' “digital”; sometimes, the new meanings have been added to preexisting words, as in the case of ''gort'' “file”, previously just “document” (itself one of the dubious Akkadian loans) or ''hesyow'' “account”, previously just “register”. In fact, it is extremely rare for new words to be borrowed, and not calqued or somehow adapted, into Lifashian.<br/>The post-independence preference for calques has also influenced older loanwords, leading to the coining of alternatives to many Greek, Arabic and Russian loanwords, as e.g. ''farbolnam'' for "protest" instead of the Arabic loan ''ehterázi'' or ''jiyálan'' for "fridge" instead of the previously mentioned ''halajilnik''.<br/>Some words introduced in recent years are actually loanwords: for example, the new Lifashian currency introduced in 2002 is the ''zenuíng'', named after the Genovino (Lig. ''zenoín''), an old Genoese coin, and its subdivision is the ''sódi'' (ultimately cognate with Italian ''soldo''); similarly, the Lifashian police reformed in 2005 is named ''dárigán'' after one of the court guard formations of the Sasanian Empire (despite modern Dár Lífasyám itself only being briefly – and negligibly - part of the Sasanian Empire). | The most recent substantial layer of loanwords is from Russian, which includes most words that have entered the language in the 20th century. They are mostly modern concepts, such as ''halajilnik'' "fridge", ''milíciyá'' (Militia, police (until 2005)), ''poyist'' "train" (but ''kárbáné'', itself ultimately a loanword from Middle Persian, has been the preferred term since the 1960s, and virtually the only term after independence), ''ciliwizar'' "TV set" (but note the calque ''lúrgiltá'', used for "television" as a medium or technology). However, a very large number of 20th century neologisms, and especially since Lifashian independence in 1991 (which has markedly influenced the language in the following decades due to the increasing Lifashian patriotism, as for the first time the Lifashian state is an independent country not ruled by any foreign power), has been composed of calques, often from Russian, Greek, or internationalisms. Some calques from Greek or internationalisms were already coined during the 19th century, as e.g. ''lámadánesy'' "ecology". Calques or semantic calques include ''syaselman'' (council, committee; coined in the 19th century as a calque of Greek ''συνέδριον''; later acquired the sense of “Soviet” as a semantic calque of Russian ''совет''); ''halhámor'' (update, calqued from French ''ajourner''), ''jámehtuwá'' (socialism); calques or partial calques from English are particularly common in words about computers and IT, such as ''píttorm'' “computer”, ''embentél'' “drive”, ''páwehiksy'' “firewall”, ''rakomíyás'' “digital”; sometimes, the new meanings have been added to preexisting words, as in the case of ''gort'' “file”, previously just “document” (itself one of the dubious Akkadian loans) or ''hesyow'' “account”, previously just “register”. In fact, it is extremely rare for new words to be borrowed, and not calqued or somehow adapted, into Lifashian.<br/>The post-independence preference for calques has also influenced older loanwords, leading to the coining of alternatives to many Greek, Arabic and Russian loanwords, as e.g. ''farbolnam'' for "protest" instead of the Arabic loan ''ehterázi'' or ''jiyálan'' for "fridge" and ''lúrgilwar'' for "TV set" instead of the previously mentioned ''halajilnik'' and ''ciliwizar''.<br/>Some words introduced in recent years are actually loanwords: for example, the new Lifashian currency introduced in 2002 is the ''zenuíng'', named after the Genovino (Lig. ''zenoín''), an old Genoese coin, and its subdivision is the ''sódi'' (ultimately cognate with Italian ''soldo''); similarly, the Lifashian police reformed in 2005 is named ''dárigán'' after one of the court guard formations of the Sasanian Empire (despite modern Dár Lífasyám itself only being briefly – and negligibly - part of the Sasanian Empire). | ||
===Days and months=== | ===Days and months=== | ||