Novbasa: Difference between revisions

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{{Infobox language
{{Infobox language
|name = Ardlang
|name = Novbasa
|nativename = Ardlang
|nativename = Novbasa
|pronunciation = [aɾdˈlaŋg]
|pronunciation = [nov'basa]
|familycolor = Conlangs
|familycolor = Conlangs
|fam1 = [[w:Conlang|Conlang]]
|fam1 = [[w:Conlang|Conlang]]
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}}
}}


'''Ardlang''' (/aɾdˈlaŋg/) is a [[w:worldlang|worldlang]]. Its main features are a regular phonetic inventory, a SVO sentence order and an ''a posteriori'' vocabulary that aims to defy Eurocentrism without renouncing to widely known translations. This approach is remarked by Ardlang's motto '''Ab hol dunya, pro hol dunya''' (''From the whole world, for the whole world'').
'''Novbasa''' (formerly known as '''Ardlang''') is a [[constructed language|constructed worldlang]] created by Elia Ansaloni in 2013. Its name is composed by the words ''nov'' ("new") and ''basa'' ("language"). Its main features are a regular phonetic inventory, a strict SVO sentence order and a vocabulary that aims to defy Eurocentrism without renouncing to widely known translations. While its main inspiration is Lingwa de Planeta, Novbasa has some traits in common with Sambahsa, like the use of proto-languages and a rather wide vocabulary base.


==Phonology==
The main linguistic influences of Novbasa are Indo-European languages, Chinese (from which most of the isolating grammar is derived) and Arabic, but its [[A posteriori (languages)|a posteriori]] vocabulary is built considering many other languages, including Austronesian languages, Altaic languages, Swahili, Basque and Nahuatl. This approach is remarked by Novbasa's motto ''Ab hol dunya, pro hol dunya'' ("From the whole world, for the whole world").


Ardlang follows the "one sound one letter" principle. Some letters can be pronounced in two different ways in order to make the pronunciation easier to the majority of speakers. For example, a Russian or a French speaker would find more natural to pronounce '''j''' as /ʒ/, while an English or an Hindi one would rather choose /ʤ/. Both are equally valid and mutually interchangeable.
As of 2014, no complete dictionary of Novbasa has been released, but some translations and lexicon are available on the Unilang forum and on this wiki.


===Consonants===
==Phonology and orthography==


{|{{Table/bluetable}} style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"
===Alphabet===
! colspan=2|
 
! Labial
{| class="wikitable"
! Alveolar
! Latin
! Post-<br>alveolar
|align=center| a
! Palatal
|align=center| b
! Velar
|align=center| c
! Labio-<br>velar
|align=center| d
! Glottal
|align=center| e
|align=center| f
|align=center| g
|align=center| h
|align=center| i
|align=center| j
|align=center| k
|align=center| l
|align=center| m
|align=center| n
|align=center| o
|align=center| p
|align=center| q
|align=center| r
|align=center| s
|align=center| t
|align=center| u
|align=center| v
|align=center| w
|align=center| x
|align=center| y
|align=center| z
|-
  ! Cyrillic
|align=center| a
|align=center| б
|align=center| ч
|align=center| д
|align=center| е
|align=center| ф
|align=center| г
|align=center| х
|align=center| и
|align=center| ж
|align=center| к
|align=center| л
|align=center| м
|align=center| н
|align=center| о
|align=center| п
|align=center| ѳ
|align=center| p
|align=center| c
|align=center| т
|align=center| у
|align=center| в
|align=center| ў
|align=center| ш
|align=center| й
|align=center| з
|-
  ! IPA
|align=center| a
|align=center| b
|align=center| ʧ
|align=center| d
|align=center| е/ɛ
|align=center| f
|align=center| g
|align=center| h/x
|align=center| i
|align=center| ʒ/ʤ
|align=center| k
|align=center| l
|align=center| m
|align=center| n
|align=center| о/ɔ
|align=center| p
|align=center| θ
|align=center| ɾ/r
|align=center| s
|align=center| t
|align=center| u
|align=center| v
|align=center| w
|align=center| ʃ
|align=center| j
|align=center| z
|}
 
Note: '''q''' is used only in loanwords and foreign proper nouns.
 
===Pronunciation===
 
Some letters can be pronounced in two different ways in order to make the pronunciation easier to the majority of speakers. For example, a Russian or a French speaker would find more natural to pronunce ''j'' as /ʒ/, while an English or an Hindi one would rather choose /ʤ/. Both are equally valid and mutually interchangeable.
It should be noticed that ''ng'' is always pronounced as /ŋg/ and never as /ŋ/ (as it would be in English or Indonesian). ''N'' is pronunced as /ŋ/ before velar plosives.
 
The stress is always on the penultimate syllable.
 
In the diphtongs ''ao'' and ''eo'', "o" is considered a semivowel and the accent never falls on it.
 
Diphtongs ''au'' and ''eu'' are always pronounced as /aw/ and /ew/ respectively.
 
There cannot be three wovels together. So, for example, ''awal'' ("early"), cannot be written as ''aual''. This also mean that a verb like ''baw'' ("to build") cannot be written as ''bau'' because it would eventually lead to ''bauer'' instead of the correct term ''bawer'' ("builder").
 
==Grammar==
 
Generally, the only way to identify a word as a noun, adjective or verb is the context and the position in the phrase. For example, ''tuk'' may stand for "poison", "poisonous" or "to poison". However, a name can be identified by the presence of an article.
 
===Articles===
 
There are two determinative articles: ''al'' (singular) and ''i'' (plural).
There is only one indeterminative article: ''un'', which is only singular.
Articles are required when it's necessary to clear the status of a noun as singular or plural, or when the noun can't be immediately identified in the phrase.
 
===Nouns===
 
Nouns in Novbasa do not change for number or case. Some nouns have a masculine and a feminine form that can be obtained by adding ''o'' or ''a'' to the root.
:''bin'' - son or daughter (gender not specified)
:''bino'' - son
:''bina'' - daughter
 
However, a noun ending in ''o'' or ''a'' doesn't necessarily have a specified gender.
:''kiba'' - fang
:''feno'' - appearance
 
Few nouns have two different versions.
:''patro''/''matra'' - father/mother
:''bratro''/''sestra'' - brother/sister
 
===Adjectives===
 
Adjectives always precede the noun they're related to.
 
:''un '''hwan''' dom'' -  a '''yellow''' house
:''al '''xao kal''' kat'' - the '''small black''' cat
 
===Adverbs===
 
Adverbs may be identified by adding ''-di'' to an adjective.
:''garm'' (warm) → ''garm-di'' (warmly)
The particle is pronunced separately from the root, whose pronunciation is left unchanged.
 
===Pronouns===
 
====Personal pronouns====
 
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Novbasa !! English
|-
| ''me'' || I
|-
| ''tu'' || you
|-
| ''hu''/''ta''/''he'' || he/she/it
|-
| ''na'' || we
|-
| ''vo'' || you
|-
| ''le'' || they
|}
 
Possessive adjectives and pronouns are formed by adding ''y'' to the personal pronouns.
 
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Novbasa !! English
|-
|-
! colspan=2 | Nasal
| ''mey'' || I, mine
| m || n || || || || ||
|-
|-
! rowspan=2|Stop
| ''tuy'' || your, yours
! <small>voiceless</small>
| p || t || || || k || ||
|-
|-
! <small>voiced</small>
| ''huy''/''tay''/''hey'' || his/her, hers/its
| b || d || || || g || ||
|-
|-
! rowspan=2 |Affricate
| ''nay'' || our, ours
! <small>voiceless</small>
| || t͡s || t͡ʃ || || || ||
|-
|-
! <small>voiced</small>
| ''voy'' || your, yours
| || d͡z || d͡ʒ || || || ||
|-
|-
! rowspan=2 |Fricative
| ''ley'' || their, theirs
! <small>voiceless</small>
| f || s || ʃ || || x || || h
|-
! <small>voiced</small>
| rowspan=2 | v || z || ʒ || || || ||
|-
! colspan=2 |Approximant
| l || || j || || w ||
|-
! colspan=2|Trill
| || r || || || || ||
|}
|}


===Vowels===
====Correlatives====
 
Much like Esperanto, Novbasa organizes demonstrative and relative pronouns in a table.


{|{{Table/bluetable}} style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
| colspan="2" rowspan="2" |
!Demonstrative<br>("This/that")
!Indefinite<br>("Some")
!Elective<br>("Any")
!Universal<br>("Each,&nbsp;every")
!Negative<br>("No")
|-
!sa/to&ndash;
!mo&ndash;
!aon&ndash;
!omni&ndash;
!ne&ndash;
|-
!Individual
!&ndash;jen
|''sajen/tojen''<br>(this/that one)
|''mojen''<br>(someone)
|''aonjen''<br>(anyone)
|''omnijen''<br>(everyone, each one)
|''nejen''<br>(no one)
|-
!Thing
!&ndash;vas
|''savas/tovas''<br>(this/that)
|''movas''<br>(something)
|''aonvas''<br>(anything)
|''omnivas''<br>(everything)
|''nevas''<br>(nothing)
|-
|-
!
!Time
! Front !! Back
!&ndash;vez
|''savez/tovez''<br>(this/that time)
|''movez''<br>(sometime)
|''aonvez''<br>(anytime)
|''omnivez''<br>(always)
|''nevez''<br>(never)
|-
|-
! Close
!Place
| i || u
!&ndash;stan
|''sastan/tostan''*<br>(here/there)
|''mostan''<br>(somewhere)
|''aonstan''<br>(anywhere)
|''omnistan''<br>(everywhere)
|''nestan''<br>(nowhere)
|-
|-
! Close-mid
!Manner
| e || o
!&ndash;kam
|''sakam/tokam''<br>(this/that way)
|''mokam''<br>(somehow)
|''aonkam''<br>(anyhow, anyway)
|''omnikam''<br>(in every way)
|''nekam''<br>(no way)
|-
|-
! Open-mid
!Reason
| ɛ || ɔ
!&ndash;karan
|''sakaran/tokaran''<br>(therefore)
|''mokaran''<br>(for some reason)
|''aonkaran''<br>(for any reason)
|''omnikaran''<br>(for all reasons)
|''nekaran''<br>(for no reason)
|-
|-
! Open
!Amount
|colspan="2"| ä
!&ndash;kwant
|''sakwant/tokwant''<br>(this/that much)
|''mokwant''<br>(some)
|''aonkwant''<br>(any quantity)
|''omnikwant''<br>(all of it)
|''nekwant''<br>(none)
|}
|}


There is no phonemic distinction between long and short vowels. Also, there is no fixed rule about the use of close-mid and open-mid vowels: the choice is up to the speaker.
<charinsert>*</charinsert> Adverbs ''sastan'' and ''tostan'' are rarely used. They are often replaced by the more practical ''je'' ("here") and ''la'' ("there"). Also, ''ayna'' is often used instead of ''omnici''.
 
The main difference with Esperanto is that "question" pronouns are not formed this way, and therefore are listed apart.
 
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Novbasa !! English
|-
| ''ki'' || who
|-
| ''ko'' || what
|-
| ''kwan'' || when
|-
| ''kwer'' || where
|-
| ''kwom'' || how
|-
| ''kwey'' || why
|-
| ''kwant'' || how much
|}


===Alphabet===
===Verbs===


Ardlang alphabet has 26 letters. While its main version is written in the Latin system, Cyrillic characters can be used to with a strict correspondence.
Much like in English, verbs in Novbasa change only for mood and tense but not for number and person. Apart from ''es'' ("to be"), all verbs are regular. The subject must always be expressed.
If the verb ends with a consonant, "a", "o", or "u", the suffixes are simply attached to it. If the verbs ends in "e" or "i", the last vowel must be taken off before adding the suffixes.


{| {{Table/bluetable}} style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"
{| class="wikitable"
!'''Latin script'''
|-
!'''Cyrillic script'''
! Tense !! Novbasa !! English
!'''Pronunciation'''
|-
!'''Further informations'''
| Infinitive || ''baw'' || to build
|-
| Present || ''me baw'' || I build
|-
| Present perfect || ''me ha baw'' || I have built
|-
| Past || ''me li baw'' || I built
|-
| Past perfect || ''me li ha baw'' || I had built
|-
| Future || ''me yao baw'' || I will build
|-
| Near future || ''me va baw'' || I am going to build
|-
| Conditional || ''me ud baw'' || I would build
|-
| Past conditional || ''me ud li baw'' || I would have built
|-
| Imperative || ''(ba) baw'' || build!
|-
| Present Participle || ''bawint'' || building
|-
|-
|a
| Past Participle || ''ge baw'' || built
|a
|}
|[ä]
 
|
The reflexive is formed by adding ''se-'' before the verb and after eventual particles.
 
The passive is formed by coupling the particles with the past participle of the verb. In this case, ''ba'' cannot be dropped.
 
====Es====
 
''Es'' ("to be") is the only irregular verb.
 
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|-
|b
! Tense !! Novbasa !! English
|[b]
| -
|-
|-
|c
| Infinitive || ''es'' || to be
|ч
|[ʧ]
|Always pronounced as in the English ''chess'' even in front of '''a''', '''o''' and '''u'''.
|-
|-
|d
| Present || ''me es'' || I am
|д
|[d]
| -
|-
|-
|e
| Present perfect || ''me ha es'' || I have been
|e
|[ɛ] / [e]
|Generally pronounced as [ɛ] when the stress falls on it, but the two are equivalent.
|-
|-
|f
| Past || ''me bu'' || I was
|ф
|[f]
| -
|-
|-
|g
| Past pefect || ''me ha bu'' || I had been
|г
|[g]
|Always pronounced as in the English ''give'' even in front of '''e''', '''i''' and '''y'''.
|-
|-
|h
| Future || ''me yao es'' || I will be
|x
|[h] / [x]
|Never mute.
|-
|-
|i
| Near future || ''me va es'' || I am going to be
|и
|[i]
|Never pronounced as [j].
|-
|-
|j
| Conditional || ''me ud es'' || I would be
|ж
|[ʒ] / [ʤ]
|Never pronounced as [j].
|-
|-
|k
| Past conditional || ''me ud bu'' || I would have been
|к
|[k]
| -
|-
|-
|l
| Imperative || ''(ba) es'' || be!
|л
|[l]
| -
|-
|-
|m
| Present Participle || ''esint'' || being
|м
|[m]
| -
|-
|-
|n
| Past Participle || ''bi'' || been
|}
|[n] / [ŋ]
 
|Pronunced as [ŋ] before velar plosives. '''ng''' is always pronounced as [ŋg].
===Numerals===
 
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|-
|o
! Number !! Cardinal !! Number !! Cardinal
|o
|[ɔ] / [o]
|
|-
|-
|p
| 0 || ''nul'' || 11 || ''dekun''
|п
|[p]
| -
|-
|-
|q
| 1 || ''un'' || 20 || ''dudek''
|ц
|[ʦ] / [ʣ]
| -
|-
|-
|r
| 2 || ''du'' || 21 || ''dudekun''
|p
|[ɾ] / [r]
| -
|-
|-
|s
| 3 || ''san'' || 30 || ''sandek''
|c
|[s]
|Always voiceless.
|-
|-
|t
| 4 || ''ca'' || 40 || ''cadek''
|т
|[t]
| -
|-
|-
|u
| 5 || ''pen'' || 50 || ''pendek''
|y
|[u]
|Never pronounced as [w].
|-
|-
|v
| 6 || ''lyu'' || 100 || ''bak''
|в
|[v]
| -
|-
|-
|w
| 7 || ''sep'' || 200 || ''dubak''
|ў
|[w]
| -
|-
|-
|x
| 8 || ''pa'' || 237 || ''dubaktrideksep''
|ш
|[ʃ]
| -
|-
|-
|y
| 9 || ''nav'' || 1000 || ''kil''
|й
|[j]
| -
|-
|-
|z
| 10 || ''dek'' || 2000 || ''dukil''
|з
|[z]
|Always voiced.
|}
|}
==Lexicon==
''Main article:'' [[Novbasa/Lexicon]]
Novbasa lexicon draws from the main language families of the world. The main source are Indo-European languages (around 60% of the current lexicon), but the core of everyday use terms includes many Afro-Asiatic and Sino-Tibetan terms.
===Source languages===
Virtually, any language can be a source for Novbasa. However, due to historical, geographic and/or cultural relevance and to the number of speakers, a restricted number of languages forms the main core. These languages are classified as it follows.
* ''Indo-European'': Latin, Greek, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, English, German, Russian, Sanskrit, Hindi-Urdu, Bengali, Persian
* ''Sino-Tibetan'': Chinese
* ''Afro-Asiatic'': Arabic
* ''Altaic'': Japanese, Korean
* ''Austronesian'': Malay-Indonesian
* ''Niger-Congo'': Swahili
Minor sources include Nahuatl, Basque, Turkish, Tamil, Telugu, Finnish, Vietnamese, Irish and Armenian.
Novbasa also draws from proto-languages when the root is clear and widespread enough. The most used proto-language is Proto-Indo-European (PIE from now onwards). Few words are derived from Nostratic roots, like ''kerd'' ("heart"), from ''k̕ærd'', or ''nem'' ("to take"), from ''nʲamo''.
===Selection criteria===
Although the selection doesn't follow a specific path, some criteria are followed to choose a specific translation among the various languages.
* ''Familarity'': The main criteria for a word to be chosen is its diffusion.
** Terms used on a worldwide scale have the priority. Examples: ''sport''; ''chay'' (tea) from Chinese 茶 (''chá''); ''muzik'' ("music").
** Words borrowed by many languages have a good chance of being chosen. Example: ''kitab'' (book) from Arabic كتاب‎ (''kitāb'') and borrowed by many languages, including Persian, Hindi, Indonesian, Malay, Hausa and Turkish.
* ''Simplicity'': When possible, the priority goes to words that are short and easy to pronounce.
* ''Unambiguousness'': Novbasa tries to eliminate the typical ambiguities of natural languages.
**Each word should refer to only one concept. Example: "right" is translated as ''deks'' if referring to the direction, but is translated as ''pravo'' if referring to the legal term.
**If an eligible word would be pronounced as another already existing one, it must be discarded.
*''Diversity'': While searching for easily recognizable words, Novbasa tries to challenge biases like Eurocentrism. Words of everyday use are thus taken from various language families.
*''Relevance'': A language can get the priority if it has a particularly meaningful cultural and/or historical relation with the term. Examples: ''soyuz'' ("union") from Russian, ''adab'' ("good manners") from Arabic, ''fob'' ("fear") from Greek, ''xamrog'' ("shamrock") from Irish, ''tao'' ("way") from Chinese.
==Translations==
===Sample translations===
'''Article 1 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights'''
''Omni human janma azad wa ekwal in dignita wa pravo. Le hav ratyon wa lyanxin wa deb akti naku in spirit de yondita.''
'''Lord's Prayer'''
''Noy Patro, ke es in akax''<br>
''Tuy nam ba ge-fa xen''<br>
''Tuy wan-gwo ba lay''<br>
''Tuy vol ba ge-fa''<br>
''Kam in akax, so sur ard''<br>
''Da hodi a no noy din pan''<br>
''Wa pardon a no noy utan''<br>
''Kam no pardon le a noy utan-jen''<br>
''Wa ne dukti no in temptati''<br>
''Lekin azad no ab mal''
==External links==
[http://konlangerz.com/conlang/81/Novbasa]Novbasa on KonlangerZ
[[Category: A posteriori conlangs]]
[[Category: Conlangs]]


[[Category:Languages]]
[[Category:Languages]]
[[Category:Conlangs]]
[[Category:Conlangs]]