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Carnian grammar: Difference between revisions
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Carnian is not the only Slavic language with articles (others are Bulgarian, Macedonian, and to some extent Sorbian languages), but is the only one with both definite and indefinite articles in preposition. They are inflected by case, gender, and number (except for the indefinite, which is absent in plural). The definite article is consistently used, while the indefinite is in practice often omitted. | Carnian is not the only Slavic language with articles (others are Bulgarian, Macedonian, and to some extent Sorbian languages), but is the only one with both definite and indefinite articles in preposition. They are inflected by case, gender, and number (except for the indefinite, which is absent in plural). The definite article is consistently used, while the indefinite is in practice often omitted. | ||
Both articles undergo shortening in certain contexts, i.e. the feminine and neuter definite ''ta'' and ''to'' become ''t' '' before words starting with ''a''- and ''o''-, respectively (''t'ant'' instead of ''ta ant'' 'the duck'; ''t'oco'' instead of ''to oco'' 'the eye'). Indefinite article preceded by ''je'' (third person singular ''bœt'' 'to be') merges with it into one form (e.g., ''To je jen pies'' becomes ''To jen pies'', 'It's a dog'), although this is restricted to informal speech and is never used in official writings. | |||
'''Indefinite ''jen'' inflection''' | '''Indefinite ''jen'' inflection''' | ||