Ufirlandisg
Introduction
Ufirlandisg (/ˈt͡ʃjəwtʲisk/; from PGmc *þiudiskaz) is an alternate history Germanic language inspired by Mandarin and the Pfeunic language Qiāmxdier. It is spoken in the area of real-world France.
Phonology
Orthography
Consonants
| Labial | Dental/Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | pal. | plain | pal. | |||||
| Nasal | m m | mı mʲ | n n̪ | nı nʲ | ||||
| Stop /Affricate |
tenuis | b p | bı pʲ | d t̪, z t̪s | dı tʲ | j tʃ | g k | |
| aspirated | p pʰ | pı pʲʰ | t t̪ʰ | tı tʲʰ | q tʃʰ | k kʰ | ||
| Fricative | f f | fı fʲ | s s | x ʃ | h h | |||
| Approximant | central | w w | yu ɥ | r, rı ɹ | y j | |||
| lateral | l ɫ | lı lʲ | ||||||
Jiudisg has an aspiration distinction in stops; however, the distinction is neutralized in word-final position.
When consonants written with ı is followed by a vowel, the ı is replaced with an i (except with /i/ and /iː/).
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| short | long | short | long | short | long | |
| Close | i /i/, ü /y/ | ī /iː/, ǖ /yː/ | u /u/ | ū /uː/ | ||
| Close-mid | e, (i)e, (yu)e /ə/ | ē /ɤː/ | ||||
| Mid | (i)a, (yu)e, (ü)e, (u)e [ɛ] | (i)ā, (yu)ē, (ü)ē, (u)ē [ɛː] | [ə] | er /ɜː/ | (u)ō /ɔː/ | |
| Open | a /a/ | ā /aː/ | ||||
Diphthongs: ai ao ou iu ar/ār ēr ier īr/ir our/ūr/ur ür/üer/yuer /aj aw əw jəw ɑɚ ɝ jɛɚ ɔɚ ɥœɚ/
In unstressed syllables, the hard vowels a, e correspond to the soft vowels ie/yue/üe/ue, i.
Prosody
Stress
Intonation
Phonotactics
Morphophonology
Morphology
Nouns
Ufirlandisg nouns have 2 numbers and 2 cases, but no grammatical gender. The endings are fairly conservative. However, there has been some conflation between different declension paradigms. The nominative has merged with the accusative, and the dative with the genitive. The genitive is thus also used as a dative: Yak gab se quanar en apel. /jak kap sə ˈtɕɥœnɑɹ ən ˈapʰəɫ/ 'I gave the woman an apple.'
The indefinite article is indeclinable: e is used before consonants and en before vowels. The definite article is likewise always se.
a-stems
Also includes the an-stem nouns (which have regularized their declension).
| a-stem: dal 'valley' | ||
|---|---|---|
| Case | Singular | Plural |
| Nominative | dal | dale |
| Genitive | dale | dalem |
| ja-stem: namen 'name' | ||
|---|---|---|
| Case | Singular | Plural |
| Nominative | namen | namne |
| Genitive | namne | namnem |
| ja-stem: bax 'berry' | ||
|---|---|---|
| Case | Singular | Plural |
| Nominative | bax | baxi |
| Genitive | baxi | baxim |
Vowel stems
This class also includes the former ō-stems and u-stems (whose stems end in a hard consonant) and former i-stems, īn-stems and z-stems (whose stems end in a soft consonant).
| ō-stem: nasa 'nose' | ||
|---|---|---|
| Case | Singular | Plural |
| Nominative | nasa | nasar |
| Genitive | nasar | nasam |
| u-stem: xuda 'custom' | ||
|---|---|---|
| Case | Singular | Plural |
| Nominative | xuda | xudar |
| Genitive | xudar | xudam |
| i-stem: geburjie 'birth' | ||
|---|---|---|
| Case | Singular | Plural |
| Nominative | geburjie | geburjier |
| Genitive | geburjier | geburjiem |
| īn-stem: lanjinie 'length' | ||
|---|---|---|
| Case | Singular | Plural |
| Nominative | lanjinie | lanjinier |
| Genitive | lanjinier | lanjiniem |
| z-stem: lambie 'lamb' | ||
|---|---|---|
| Case | Singular | Plural |
| Nominative | lambie | lambier |
| Genitive | lambier | lambiem |
r-stems
This class includes only these kinship terms: fadier 'father', mādier 'mother', brājier (gen. sg. brāzra) 'brother', dūtier 'daughter', xuextier (gen. sg. xuestra) 'sister'.
| r-stem: fadier 'father' | ||
|---|---|---|
| Case | Singular | Plural |
| Nominative | fadier | fadrar |
| Genitive | fadrar | fadram |
Other irregular nouns
| muon 'man' | ||
|---|---|---|
| Case | Singular | Plural |
| Nominative | muon | manier |
| Genitive | manier | muonam |
Pronouns
| case | 1sg. | 2sg. | 3sg. | 1pl. | 2pl. | 3pl. | reflexive | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 'he' | 'she' | 'it' | |||||||
| nom. | yak | zū | ir | xī | it | yǖr | yūr | yā | - |
| acc. | mik | jik | ina | iya | it | unx | youwe, you | yā | xik |
| dat. | mir | jir | ime | yare | ime | unx | youwe, you | imi | xir |
| gen. | mīn | jīn | yas | yarar | yas | unxier | your | yara | xīn |
Adjectives
Most adjectives take -a (for hard stems) or -ie (for soft stems) if it is definite or plural: cf. se liao watnie 'the lukewarm water' vs. liao watnie 'lukewarm water' vs. se watnie ix liao 'the water is lukewarm'.
The comparative and superlatives are formed by the suffixes -ier and -iesd: suōt, suōtier, suōtiesd 'sweet, sweeter, sweetest'.
There are a few irregular adjectives, which are listed in the table below.
| Meaning | Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|---|
| "good" | gād | batier | basd |
| "bad" | ubiel | yürxier | yürsd |
| "many" | füel | mēr | mēsd |
| "high" | hao | haoyuer | hafsd |
| "near" | niao | niaoyuer | niafsd |
Verbs
The verbal system is the most conservative part of Jiudesg grammar. Verbs have three paradigms: athematic stems, thematic a-stems and thematic i-stems.
Most verbs have three principal parts: the present stem (remove the -n from the infinitive), the past stem and the past participle. The past subjunctive always uses the past participle stem.
Thematic verbs
-an verbs
This is the most productive class of verbs.
| tense | yak | zū | ir/xī/it | yǖr | yūr | yā |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present indicative | maka | makax | makaj | makam | makaz | makanj |
| present subjunctive | maka | makas | maka | makam | makaz | makan |
| past indicative | makadie | makadiesd | makadie | makadiem | makadied | makadien |
| past subjunctive | makadi | makadisd | makadi | makadim | makadid | makadin |
| imperative | - | maka! | - | - | makaz! | - |
| present participle | makand | |||||
| past participle | makad | |||||
Also: liaofan 'love', lirnan 'learn'
-in verbs
| tense | yak | zū | ir/xī/it | yǖr | yūr | yā |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present indicative | rēqi | rēqix | rēqij | rēqim | rēqiz | rēqinj |
| present subjunctive | rēqi | rēqis | rēqi | rēqim | rēqiz | rēqin |
| past indicative | rēqidie | rēqidiesd | rēqidie | rēqidiem | rēqidied | rēqidien |
| past subjunctive | rēqidi | rēqidisd | rēqidi | rēqidim | rēqidid | rēqidin |
| imperative | - | rēqi! | - | - | rēqiz! | - |
| present participle | rēqind | |||||
| past participle | rēqid | |||||
Also: arbēdin 'work'; haorin 'hear'; lērin 'teach'; sajin 'say'; ertalin 'tell, recount'; ranin 'run (transitive), execute, set into motion'
Verbs with a long vowel and dental suffix t in the past tense, e.g. brinjin, brātie, brāt 'bring'; bujin, būtie, būt 'buy'; zanqin, zātie, zāt - 'think' form a small subclass of the -in verbs.
Athematic verbs
Weak
Strong class 1
| tense | yak | zū | ir/xī/it | yǖr | yūr | yā |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present indicative | bīta | bītier | bītiedı | bītem | bītied | bītendı |
| present subjunctive | bīte | bīter | bīte | bītem | bīted | bīten |
| past indicative | bēt | bētsd | bēt | bētam | bētad | bētan |
| past subjunctive | biti | bitisd | biti | bitim | bitid | bitin |
| imperative | - | bīt! | - | - | bītied! | - |
| present participle | bītend | |||||
| past participle | biten | |||||
Also: xjīnen, sgēn, xjinen 'shine', drīfen, drēf, drifen 'drive', klīfen, klēf, klifen 'stick, cling', rīten, rēt, riten 'write'
Strong class 2
| tense | yak | zū | ir/xī/it | yǖr | yūr | yā |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present indicative | qiaosa | qiaoxier | qiaoxiedı | qiaosem | qiaoxied | qiaosendı |
| present subjunctive | qiaose | qiaoser | qiaose | qiaosem | qiaosed | qiaosen |
| past indicative | kaos | kaosd | kaos | kaosam | kaosad | kaosan |
| past subjunctive | kuri | kurisd | kuri | kurim | kurid | kurin |
| imperative | - | qiaos! | - | - | qiaoxied! | - |
| present participle | qiaosend | |||||
| past participle | kuren | |||||
Also: biaoden, baod, buden 'offer, bid', biaogen, baog, bugen 'bow', fliaogen, flaog, flugen 'fly', fliaowen, flao, fluwen 'flee, escape', friaosen, fraos, fruren 'freeze'
Strong class 3
| tense | yak | zū | ir/xī/it | yǖr | yūr | yā |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present indicative | binda | bindier | bindiedı | bindem | bindied | bindendı |
| present subjunctive | binde | binder | binde | bindem | binded | binden |
| past indicative | band | bandsd | band | bandam | bandad | bandan |
| past subjunctive | bundi | bundisd | bundi | bundim | bundid | bundin |
| imperative | - | bind! | - | - | bindied! | - |
| present participle | bindend | |||||
| past participle | bunden | |||||
Also: bieginen, biegan, biegunen 'begin'; drinken, drank, drunken 'drink'; finzen, fanz, funzen 'find'; grinden, grand, grunden 'grind'; rinen, ran, runen 'run'; sbringen, sbrang, sbrungen 'burst, explode'; xingen, sang, sungen 'sing'; yuerpen, warp, wurpen 'throw'; zringen, zrang, zrungen 'press, force, push through'
Strong class 4
In Jiudisg, Proto-Germanic class 3b strong verbs have merged with class 4 strong verbs.
| tense | yak | zū | ir/xī/it | yǖr | yūr | yā |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present indicative | biara | biarier | biariedı | biarem | biaried | biarendı |
| present subjunctive | biare | biarer | biare | biarem | biared | biaren |
| past indicative | bar | barsd | bar | baram | barad | baran |
| past subjunctive | buri | burisd | buri | burim | burid | burin |
| imperative | - | biar! | - | - | biaried! | - |
| present participle | biarend | |||||
| past participle | buren | |||||
Also: briaken, brak, bruken 'break', niamen, nam, numen 'take', quemen, kam, kumen 'come', sbriaken, sbrak, sbruken 'speak', xdialen, sdal, sdulen 'steal', hialpen, halp, hulpen 'help', driasg, drasg, drusgen 'thresh', xdiarf, sdarf, sdurfen 'die'
Strong class 5
| tense | yak | zū | ir/xī/it | yǖr | yūr | yā |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present indicative | jiafa | jiafier | jiafiedı | jiafem | jiafied | jiafendı |
| present subjunctive | jiafe | jiafer | jiafe | jiafem | jiafed | jiafen |
| past indicative | gaf | gafsd | gaf | gafam | gafad | gafan |
| past subjunctive | jiafi | jiafisd | jiafi | jiafim | jiafid | jiafin |
| imperative | - | jiaf! | - | - | jiafied! | - |
| present participle | jiafend | |||||
| past participle | jiafen | |||||
Also: driapen, drap, driapen 'hit, meet', ferjiaten, fergat, ferjiaten 'forget', liasen, las, liaren 'read', xiawen, sao, xiawen 'see'. There are also the j-present verbs bidin, bad, biaden 'beg, pray', lijin, lag, liagen 'lie'
Strong class 6
| tense | yak | zū | ir/xī/it | yǖr | yūr | yā |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present indicative | grafa | grafier | grafiedı | grafem | grafied | grafendı |
| present subjunctive | grafe | grafer | grafe | grafem | grafed | grafen |
| past indicative | grāf | grāfsd | grāf | grāfam | grāfad | grāfan |
| past subjunctive | grafi | grafisd | grafi | grafim | grafid | grafin |
| imperative | - | graf! | - | - | grafied! | - |
| present participle | grafend | |||||
| past participle | grafen | |||||
Also: faren, fār, faren 'spread', slagen, slāg, slagen 'strike', standen, stānd, standen 'stand', wagsen, wāgs, wagsen 'grow', wasgen, wāsg, wasgen 'wash', yaten, yāt, yaten 'eat' (reclassified from class 5)
Strong class 7
hēten, hīt, hīten - to be called
laopen, liaop, liaopen - to leap
sdaoten, xdiaot, xdiaoten - to bump, crash
fān, fādie, fād - to get, to obtain
hald, hiald, hialden - to hold
liāten, līt, liāten - to let
xiān, xiādie, xiād - to sow
Preterite-present verbs
yüten 'to know'
| tense | yak | zū | ir/xī/it | yǖr | yūr | yā |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present indicative | wōt | wōsd | wōt | yütam | yütad | yütan |
| present subjunctive | yüti | yütir | yüti | yütim | yütid | yütin |
| past indicative | yüxdie | yüxdiesd | yüxdie | yüxdiem | yüxdied | yüxdien |
| past subjunctive | yüxdi | yüxdisd | yüxdi | yüxdim | yüxdid | yüxdin |
| imperative | - | yüsd! | - | - | yütad! | - |
| present participle | yütend | |||||
| past participle | yüsd | |||||
kunen 'can'
| tense | yak | zū | ir/xī/it | yǖr | yūr | yā |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present indicative | kan | kansd | kan | kunam | kunad | kunan |
| present subjunctive | kuni | kunir | kuni | kunim | kunid | kunin |
| past indicative | kundie | kundiesd | kundie | kundiem | kundied | kundien |
| past subjunctive | kundi | kundisd | kundi | kundim | kundid | kundin |
Similarly sgulen 'should', zurfen 'must'.
magen 'may'
| tense | yak | zū | ir/xī/it | yǖr | yūr | yā |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present indicative | mag | magsd | mag | magam | magad | magan |
| present subjunctive | magi | magir | magi | magim | magid | magin |
| past indicative | mātie | mātiesd | mātie | mātiem | mātied | mātien |
| past subjunctive | māti | mātisd | māti | mātim | mātid | mātin |
Other irregular verbs
yülen 'want to, will'
| tense | yak | zū | ir/xī/it | yǖr | yūr | yā |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present indicative | yǖ | yǖsd | yǖ | yǖm | yǖd | yǖn |
| present subjunctive | yüli | yülir | yüli | yülim | yülid | yülin |
| past indicative | yüldie | yüldiesd | yüldie | yüldiem | yüldied | yüldien |
| past subjunctive | yüldi | yüldisd | yüldi | yüldim | yüldid | yüldin |
biaon 'be'
| tense | yak | zū | ir/xī/it | yǖr | yūr | yā |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present indicative | im | ir | ix | üram | ürad | üranj |
| present subjunctive | xiye | xiyer | xiye | xiyem | xiyed | xiyen |
| past indicative | was | wasd | was | yuēram | yuērad | yuēran |
| past subjunctive | yuēri | yuērisd | yuēri | yuērim | yuērid | yuērin |
| imperative | - | biao! | - | - | biaod! | - |
| present participle | yuesend | |||||
| past participle | yuēren | |||||
han 'have (auxiliary)'
| tense | yak | zū | ir/xī/it | yǖr | yūr | yā |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present indicative | ha | hax | haj | ham | haz | hanj |
| present subjunctive | hafe | hafis | hafi | hafim | hafiz | hafin |
| past indicative | hadie | hadiesd | hadie | hadiem | hadied | hadien |
| past subjunctive | hadi | hadisd | hadi | hadim | hadid | hadin |
| imperative | - | ha! | - | - | haz! | - |
| present participle | hafind | |||||
| past participle | had | |||||
dān 'do'
| tense | yak | zū | ir/xī/it | yǖr | yūr | yā |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present indicative | dā | dāx | dāj | dām | dāz | dānj |
| present subjunctive | dā | dās | dā | dām | dāz | dān |
| past indicative | diadie | diadiesd | diadie | diadiem | diadied | diadien |
| past subjunctive | diadi | diadisd | diadi | diadim | diadid | diadin |
| imperative | - | dā! | - | - | dāz! | - |
| present participle | dānd | |||||
| past participle | dān | |||||
gān 'go'
| tense | yak | zū | ir/xī/it | yǖr | yūr | yā |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| present indicative | gā | gāx | gāj | gām | gāz | gānj |
| present subjunctive | gā | gās | gā | gām | gāz | gān |
| past indicative | jiang | jiangsd | jiang | jiangam | jiangad | jiangan |
| past subjunctive | jianji | jianjisd | jianji | jianjim | jianjid | jianjin |
| imperative | - | gā! | - | - | gāz! | - |
| present participle | gānd | |||||
| past participle | jiangen | |||||
Derivational morphology
- and-: 'de-, dis-'
- bie-: "be-", forms applicatives
- biekrīten 'complain about' < krīten 'complain'
- bierīten 'describe' < rīten 'write'
- biexingen 'praise' < xingen 'sing'
- -bier: '-able'
- yatebier 'edible' < yaten 'to eat'
- er-: telic
- fer-: "for-"
- ferwundran 'surprise, amaze' < wunder 'wonder, miracle'
- for-: "fore-"
- -ful: "-ful"
- ge-
- gebiaren 'give birth' < biaren 'bear, carry'
- -laos: "-less"
- -lik: "-ly"; forms adjectives from nouns
- wurdlik 'literal' < wurd 'word'
- -nunga: forms nouns from verbs
- hētinunga 'heating' < hētin 'to heat'
- -sam: "-some"
- un-: "un-" (negation or opposite)
- unrāwa 'unrest, unease'
Prepositions
Like in German, prepositions govern certain defined cases and change meaning based on the case of the noun. Prepositions may govern the nominative (accusative for pronouns) or the genitive (dative for pronouns). Ordinals are formed with the suffix -za.
Numbers
- 1: ēn /ɤːn/ (ordinal ērsd)
- 2: tuō /tʰwɔː/ (ordinal anzar)
- 3: zrī /tsɹiː/
- 4: fiur /fʲɔə/
- 5: finf /fʲinf/
- 6: xiags /ʃaks/
- 7: xuef /ʃɥœf/
- 8: āta /ˈaːtʰa/
- 9: niaon /nʲaun/
- 10: tiaon /tʲʰaun/
- 11: ēnlif
- 12: tuōlif
- 13: zrītiun
- 14: fiurtiun
- 15: finftiun
- 16: xiagstiun
- 17: xueftiun
- 18: āttiun
- 19: niaontiun
- 20: tuōntig
- 30: zrītig
- 40: fiurtig
- 50: finftig
- 60: xiagstig
- 70: xueftig
- 80: āttig
- 90: niaontig
- 100: hundrad
- 1000: zūsandı
Syntax
Constituent order
Word order is V2 (also SAuxVO), but is VSO in questions and VO in imperatives:
- Xī ix mīn lērarı.
- She is my teacher.
- Jiasdern jiang yak bujin ubati.
- Yesterday I went to buy fruit.
- Wōsd zū zat ēnq?
- Don't you know that?
- Yat jīn krūtsakar!
- Eat your vegetables!
Verbs are negated with ēnq:
- Yak ferstanda ēnq huat zū sajix.
- I don't understand what you're saying.
Noun phrase
Verb phrase
Sentence phrase
Dependent clauses
Example texts
Phrasebook
- Gād murgen! [kaːt ˈmɔɚkɨn] - Good morning!
- Gād dag! [kaːt tak] - Hello! Good day!
- Gād yuēfend! [kaːt ˈɥœːfɨnd] - Good evening!
- Gād nātie! [kaːt ˈnaːtʲɛ] - Good night!
- Yuelkumen! [ˈɥœɫkumɨn] - Welcome!
- Yak hēta... [jak ˈhɤːtʰa...] - My name is...
- Zanke! [tsaŋkʰə] - Thank you!