Dogrish

Introduction

Distribution of languages on Dogger: the red area is monolingually Dogrish.

Dogrish (Dogrish: Dågrisk; Frisian: Doggersk; Dutch: Doggerlands) is a constructed language created for the purpose of being used in a constructed alternative world where, amongst other relatively minor additions, an island approximately the size of the Benelux exists on the location of the "real world" Dogger Bank.

Within the confines of the constructed universe, Dogrish is one of four languages spoken on the island of Dogger and its much smaller satellite islands, in addition to Dogric Frisian, English and Dutch. It is the most widely spoken language on the island and the official language of the national government, with minority language rights reserved for regional and local government use.

Situation

Dogrish is a North Germanic language belonging to the Insular Nordic sub-branch. As such it is most closely related to Icelandic, Faroese and extinct Norn. Most notable similarities include the preserved case system and the continued usage of the letters ð and þ to represent the voiced and voiceless dentale frictative respectively.

Varieties of Dogrish

Standard Dogrish

There are two officially recognised standard varieties of Dogrish: Formal Dogrish (Dogrish: Formaldågrisk) covers the Central Dogrish dialects around Greywater Lake, Redwater Lake and the Reddow Valley, whilst Valley Dogrish (Dogrish: Dalarnerdågrisk) covers the Valley Dogrish dialects of Twoway, the Giants' Fields, the Two Dales, the Riding of Northern Cliffland and the municipality of Westland.

In practice, the usage of these standard varieties in generally limited to the written word and supraregional interactions, as everyday interactions mostly take place in the local dialect.

Uniquely amongst Germanic languages, Formal Dogrish has preserved six grammatical cases, whereas Valley Dogrish has preserved five. However, it should be noted that of all grammatical aspects of Dogrish, both the number of preserved cases as well as the specific cases being preserved vary considerably between dialects and localities, with some local varieties preserving only the nominative and the genitive in the declension of nouns.

Other differences include the pronunciation of final -ð: whereas Central Dogrish generally realises the final -ð as a voiced alveolar lateral approximant [l], Valley Dogrish realises it as a voiced dental frictative [ð]; and the år-ór merger: whereas Central Dogrish generally realises both å and ó as [o:], Valley Dogrish differentiates between [o:] and [ou̯].

Friso-Dogrish

Friso-Dogrish is the variety of Dogrish spoken in the southeast of Dogger, most notably in the Lochsteads, Idunna's Dunes, the Feurth Valley and the Ridings of Leyland and Southern Cliffland. It is the third most spoken variety of Dogrish and is written using Formal Dogrish.

Friso-Dogrish is characterised for using only four cases: the nominative, the genitive, the dative and the accusative. Whilst Friso-Dogrish differentiates between masculine, feminine and neuter in definite nouns, the masculine and neuter have merged in the declension of indefinite articles.

In terms of phonology, Friso-Dogrish is typified by its realisation of the letter ð as a voiced alveolar tap or flap under all circumstances.

Usage

Despite certain areas of the island being monolingually Frisian, English or Dutch, Dogrish is taught nationwide and understood by almost all inhabitants. In monolingually Frisian, English or Dutch areas of the island, bilingualism between the local language and one of the two standard varieties of Dogrish is the norm. The only exception to this is the urban area of St George's Haven in the northernmost corner of the island, where all signage, education and government communication is done only in English.

Example texts

Dogrish proverbs

Dogrish	English translation	Meaning
Kitlið en drekka, þakið í flammar (Formal Dogrish) Kitlið en drækka, þakið í flammar (Valley Dogrish)	If you tickle a dragon, your roof will catch fire You tickle a dragon, the roof in flames (literally)	Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
Að komma á andensrupp.	To come at the duck's call.	To come right away.
Þrí veller í skógen, mörðrar ert flógen (Formal Dogrish) Þrí veller í skógen, mördrer ært flógen	Three wells in the woods, the killer has fled	To run behind the facts.