Tjoc

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Tjoc
Tjoc
Pronunciation[[Help:IPA|'tju:tʃ]]
Created by
Native toKingdom of Angelkinn
Native speakers30 millions (2012)
Official status
Official language in
Kingdom of Angelkinn
Language codes
ISO 639-1tj
ISO 639-2tjo
ISO 639-3tjo
Angelkinn.gif
Kingdom of Angelkinn

General information

Tjoc ['tju:tʃ] is a language spoken in the Ljoskjare af Angelkinn (= Country of Angelkinn), a country that corresponds to Modern England on a parallel timeline, where the United Kingdom doesn't exist. This language has evolved from the Anglo-Saxon with a scarce influence of Latin, while one can appreciate a Scandinavian influence. Thus Tjoc is a Germanic language that is strongly linked to Modern English.

Phonology

Alphabet

Tjoc alphabet uses letters from Latin alphabet and contains 25 characters:

Letters Pronunciation Further informations
a [a] short 'a'
å [o:] long 'a'
b [b] -
c [tʃ] -
d [d] it can be realized as both a dental and an alveolar
e [ɛ] / [e:] it can be 'short' or 'long'; in the ending cluster -es it is not pronounced
f [f] -
g [g] it is always pronunced as in the English word "get"
h [h] the digraph 'hw' is read [kv]
i [i] short 'i'
j [j] it corresponds to y in English you
k [k] -
l [l] -
m [m] -
n [n] -
o [ɔ] / [u:] it can be 'short' or 'long'
p [p] -
r [r] trilled just as in Italian
s [s] always voiceless
t [t] it can be realized as both a dental and an alveolar
u [ø] short 'u'
ů [y:] long 'u'
v [v] -
w [v] it was [w] in Old English, then this sound evolved into [v], but the grapheme <w> remained
y [εi̯:] long 'i'

The letter 'c' had two different sounds in Old English: [tʃ] or [k], but when <k> was generalised to express the sound [k], <c> remained to express the sound [tʃ], as in the Old English word ic, "I".

Consonantal phonemes

Tjoc language has the following consonantic phonemes:

Phonemes Bilabial Labiodental Dental Alveolar Postalveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Stop p b (t̯) (d̯) t d k g
Affricate
Nasal m (ɱ) n (ŋ)
Fricative f v s ʃ h
Approximant r j (w)
Lateral approximant l

In the South the final postvocalic <f> is not pronunced, ex.: stof is read as [stu:], wouf is read as ['vɔu̯], and so on. The [w] phoneme is found as a glide in words like wouen, wolves, that is pronounced as ['vɔu̯wɛn].

Vocalic phonemes

In Tjoc there are the following vowels:

Phonemes Short Long
Front Back Front Back
Closed i - y: u:
Mid-closed ø - e: o:
Mid-open ɛ ɔ - -
Open a - -

The 'a' is realized not precisely in the front of mouth, but in the mid between the front and centre of the mouth.

Vowel length

The short vowels 'a' [a], 'i' [i] and 'u' [ø] have got a long counterpart: 'å' [o:], 'y' [εi̯] and 'ů' [y:]. Also the vowels 'e' and 'o' can be either short or long, but they are written always in one way. Actually there are words that differ in the pronunciation of these vowels, such as vjor, that means both "far", when it is pronounced ['vjɔr], and "four", when it is pronounced ['vju:r]. It is important to know how to pronounce these two vowels, because it allows to distinguish words that are spelled the same. There isn't a law that regulates the length of 'e' and 'o', but, usually, when these two vowels are unstressed, they are always short, wheres if they are stressed, they can be either short or long. If the stressed 'e' or 'o' are followed by one consonant or none at all, then thay are usually pronounced as long, that is [e:] and [u:] respectively. Otherwise they are pronounced short, [ε] and [ɔ] respectively. Of course this doesn't happen regularly, as we have seen for the word vjor ("far"), in which the 'o' is pronounced short. There are, however, clues that can help us, for exemple the comparative of the word is vjorre, it confirms the short pronunciation of the root vowel.

Diphthongs and digraphs

Tjoc has got also twenty diphthongs, that is clusters of two vowels pronounced with a single emission of air. These diphthongs are:

Diphthongs Pronunciation
aj - åj [ai̯] - [o:i̯]
au - åu [au̯] - [o:u̯]
ej [ɛi̯] - [e:i̯]
eu [ɛu̯] - [e:u̯]
ja - jå [ja] - [jo:]
je [jɛ] - [je:]
jo [jɔ] - [ju]
ju - jů [jø] - [jy:]
oj [ɔi̯] - [u:i̯]
ou [ɔu̯]

Also the letter 'y' is pronounced as a diphthong, as we have seen. Tjoc has got two digraphs: <hw>, that is pronounced [kv], and <hj>, that is pronounced [ʃ]. Also the only trigraph, <skj>, is pronounced as [ʃ]. The cluster <sk> maintains the sound [sk] in front of the vowels a, å, o, u and ů, but in front of the vowels e, i, j and y it behaves as a digraph and is pronounced [ʃ].

Stress

The position of stress in this language is quite regular, because it falls on the root and thus there are few rules to observe:

  • In substantives (and in adjectives and adverbs) the stress generally falls on the first syllable, but if they are compound nouns / adjectives, formed by prefix + noun / adjective, the stress falls on the root syllable of the noun / adjective, ex.: varjevels, "forgiveness", is read as [var'jɛvɛls]. In compounds which are formed by noun / adjective + noun / adjective, the various words are read as if they were written separately, ex.: lerstof, "school", is read as ['le:r 'stu(f)];
  • In verbs the stress falls always on the root, even if they are compounds, ex.: iwacan, "to wake up", is read as [ɪ'vatʃan].

Grammar

Nouns, gender and number

Tjoc language has got only two genders: common gender (or uter gender) and neuter gender. The previously masculine and feminine words have merged into the uter gender, whereas neuter words have remained neuter, even if in some cases there has been a gender switch.

Nouns can be both singular (denoting just one object) and plural (denoting more than one object). The formation of plural is not always so simple, because there are four ways to form it:

1) Some uter nouns take -e suffix; 2) some uter nouns take -(e)n suffix; 3) some uter nouns take no suffix, some of these undergo a root vowel change too; 4) neuter nouns take no suffix, that is singular and plural forms are identical.

Generally uter nouns ending in -ing or consonant have the first kind of plural, whereas uter nouns ending in -e have the second kind of plural. Some monosyllabic uter nouns ending in consonant experiment a root vowel modification, but they are just few. Endly some uter words have got two kinds of plural: a regular one (in -e or -en) and an irregular one (with no ending at all or/and a root vowel change). Some nouns with their plural form and meaning

Here is a list of nouns of both genders with their plural form, their gender and their meaning:

Singular Plural Gender Meaning Singular Plural Gender Meaning
stån ståne uter stone vot vet uter foot
lond lond neuter land hjoun hjoune uter sky, heaven
sko skon uter shoe ljot ljot neuter light
lyf lyen uter life språc språcen uter language
djor djor neuter animal bok bek uter book
fryve - uter love wouf wouen uter wolf
frjå frjån uter lord frjåstre frjåstren uter lady
mann menn uter man wyf wyen uter woman
hjort hjort neuter heart håle hålen uter head
stof sten uter place tyd tyd neuter time
merjen merjen neuter morning dag dage uter day
åfning åfninge uter afternoon hwiltyd hwiltyd neuter evening
nyt nyten uter night mone monen uter moon
atelkund atelkunde uter nobleman atlestre atlestren uter noblewoman
trjo trjo neuter tree hann hannen uter hand
skjor skjor neuter star jav javen uter eye
lerend lerend uter teacher frjond frynd uter friend
vjond vynd uter enemy lind lind uter lover
hůnn hůnne uter dog worull worullen uter world

The singular and the plural forms of the nouns ending in '-nd' are generally the same, but the nouns in '-jond' undergo a vowel change from '-jo-' to '-y-'.

The nouns ending in vowel + 'f' lose final 'f' when forming plural.

Formation of feminine

Distinguishing between nouns that indicate a feminine being and those that indicate a masculine being can be very difficult in a language that has a common gender for both masculine and feminine. However distinguishing is not always so difficult as one could think, because Tjoc language has a suffix with that the feminine form of a noun can be formed: -estre (pl. -estren).

Usually this suffix causes no changes in root, but some times it is used with a modified root:

  • frjå - frjåstre;
  • lerend - lerendstre;
  • frjond - fryndstre;
  • vjond - vyndstre;
  • lind - lindstre.

Articles

Two kinds of article exist in Tjoc: indefinite and definite article.

The indefinite article has got no plural form and the singular one is the same for all the genders: an. This article is used to talk about things, facts, beings that are introduces for the first time into the conversation, that is we use the indefinite article to talk about new and not known informations, to talk about undetermined informations.

The definite article is used to talk about well known things, facts, beings instead. These informations are familiar to the speakers, because they are already talking about them, or because they belong to the experiences baggage of the speakers, that is we use the definite article to talk about known informations, to talk about determined informations.

Even if Tjoc has lost nouns inflection, the definite article has three cases, in addition to the plural forms:

Definite article Uter Neuter Plural
Nom. / Acc. se tat te
Gen. tes tes tejr
Dat. tem tem ten

The nominative case refers to the subject of a sentence; the accusative case, that is identical to the nominative, refers to the object of a sentence or to the complements that indicate movement; the genitive case refers to possession and the dative case refers to the addressee or to the complements that indicate state. The plural forms are the same for both uter and neuter gender.

Often it is sufficient to use this inflection to express syntactic functions of the elements of a sentence or a phrase, ex.:

  • Se språc tes mann - The language of the man;
  • Jef het tem frjåstre - Give it to the lady.

Adjectives

The adjectives generally precede the noun to whom they refer, but in some case they follow the noun. In Tjoc the adjectives have two different forms: one for the singular (without ending) and one for the plural (with '-e' ending). Moreover the form ending in '-e' is used for both singular and plural when the nouns to whom the adjective refers is preceded by a determiner, that is a possessive, a demonstrative or the definite article, this form of the adjective is called weak form.

If the substantive is not preceded by a determiner (remember that the indefinite article is not a determiner), than it is used the adjective without ending for the singular and that with '-e' ending for the plural, this form is called strong form.

Adjectives in predicative position, that is after a verb, are never inflected.

Here is a list of adjectives with the two forms:

Strong singular Strong plural / Weak Meaning Strong singular Strong plurale / Weak Meaning
go go (!) good ivel ivele bad
glå glå (!) happy sari sari (!) sad
hjå hjå (!) tall / high skam skame short
sken skene beautiful / goodlooking unfaur unfaure ugly
grjat grjate big / great litel lille (!) little / small
gemel gemle (!) old jong jonge young
strong stronge strong wåk wåke weak
håt håte hot call calle cold
joker jokre (!) terrible njå njå (!) near / close
vjor vjorre far / distant moj moje tired

As it can be seen, adjectives ending with a long vowel or '-i' don't take the '-e' ending in the weak forms and in the plural form. An example of use:

  • An litel katt - A little cat;
  • Se lille katt - The little cat.

Comparative

The higher degree comparative is formed with the suffix '-ar' (some irregular adjectives form it with '-er'). The second term of comparation is introduced by als and is in the same case of the first, ex.:

  • An blosne skenar als an trjo - A flower more beautiful than a tree.

The same degree comparative is formed with the periphrasis så + adjective + hů, ex.:

  • An blosne så sken hů an trjo - A flower as beautiful as a tree.

The lower degree comparative is formed with the periphrasis lass + adjective + als, ex.:

  • An blosne lass sken als an trjo - A flower less beautiful than a tree.
Adjectives with an irregular higher degree comparative

Some adjectives have got an irregular form of higher degree comparative:

Positive Strong comparative Weak comparative Positive Strong comparative Weak comparative
go beter betre ivel wyrs wyrse
litel småler smålre grjat gryter grytre
gemel eller elre jong ynger yngre
hjå hyr hyrre strong strenger strengre
njå nyr nyrre vjor vyr vyrre

Irregular higher degree comparatives are used as normal comparatives, ex.:

  • Tů jart hyr als y (jom) - You are taller than I (am).

Superlative

The superlative degree is formed with the suffix '-ast' (some irregular adjectives form it with '-est'). The relative superlative is the same form of the absolute superlative, but it is preceded by the definite article and is generally followed by a limitation, that is expressed with i + dative case, ex.:

  • Se skenaste blosne i tem worull - The most beautiful flower in the world.
Adjectives with an irregular superlative

The same adjectives that have an irregular higher degree comparative have got also an irregular superlative form:

Positive Strong superlative Weak superlative Positive Strong superlative Weak superlative
go best beste ivel wyst wyste
litel smålst smålste grjat gryst gryste
gemel ellest elste jong yngst yngste
hjå hyst hyste strong strengst strengste
njå nyrst nyrste vjor vyrst vyrste

Numerals

Numerals don't inflect. Here are the numerals from 0 to 100:

Number Cardinal Ordinal Number Cardinal Ordinal
0 naut - 1 ån virst
2 twejn twejd 3 try trid
4 vjor vjort 5 vy vift
6 sys syst 7 sjoun sjount
8 jåt jåtet 9 nejn nejnt
10 ten tent 11 elljoun elljount
12 twelf twelft 13 trjotin trjotint
14 vjortin vjortint 15 viftin viftint
16 systin systint 17 sjountin sjountint
18 jåttin jåttint 19 nejntin nejntint
20 twejnti twejntit 21 twejnti-ån twejnti-virst
22 twejnti-twejn twejnti-twejnt 30 tryti trytit
31 tryti-ån tryti-virst 40 vjorti vjortit
50 vifti viftit 60 systi systit
70 sjounti sjountit 80 jåtti jåttit
90 nejnti nejntit 100 hůdre hůdret

Units are written linked to the tens with a hyphen, while tens and hundreds are written detached, ex.: 195 hůdre nejnti-vy.

From 100 on, numerals are formed with a suffix '-od': 200 twåod, 300 tryod, 400 vjorod, 500 vyod, 600 sysod, 700 sjounod, 800 jåtod, 900 nejnod. This form is the evolution of a former juxtaposition, ex.: try hůd > tryod.

Please note that the numeral 200 is irregular, because an alternative form of 2, that is twå, is used. Also the form for hundred in compounds is irregular: hůd, this form is quite archaic nowadays.

The ordinals of the numbers from 200 to 900 are obtained by substituting the final '-d' for '-t', ex.: 200 twåod > 200th twåot.

A thousand is said tusenn and its ordinal form is tusent. The numbers from 1000 on are expressed with a hypen, ex.: 2000 twejn-tůsenn, 5000 vy-tůsenn, 9000 nejn-tůsenn and so on.

The word for a million is miklenn (< O.E. miclung, "greatness" × Ti. tůsenn) and it behaves as tůsenn.

A thousand million is an tůsenn miklenn. A billion (in the sense of a million million) is biklenn, from the French "bi- + million", that has been substituted for "bi- + miklenn".

Pronouns and kinds of adjectives

Personal pronouns

In Tjoc personal pronouns inflect according the four cases that have been seen for the definite article: nominative, accusative, dative and genitive.

Case 1st person
Singular Plural
Nominative y we
Accusative mec ůs
Dative me ůs
Genitive myn ůr
Case 2nd person
Singular Plural
Nominative je
Accusative tec jou
Dative te jou
Genitive tyn jower
Case 3rd person
Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural
Nominative he skjo [ʃu:] het / hen hy
Accusative hin hir het / hen hy
Dative him hir him / him hem
Genitive his hirs his / his heras

Please note that the dative form of the 2nd person singular, te, is the same as the nominative form of the plural definite article. In a sentence the pronouns in dative case are positioned before of those in accusative case, so prepositions could be omitted, ex.:

  • Jef me het - Give it to me.

When there are a pronoun and a noun, the pronoun always precedes the noun, ex.:

  • Jef het tem frjåstre - Give it to the lady;
  • Jef hir se hůnn - Give her the dog.

In Tjoc the pronouns he and skjo are used only for living beings who are sexually male and female respectively, to talk about objects of neuter gender it is used the pronoun het, whereas to talk about objects of common gender it is used the pronoun hen. The latter is used also to refer to a living being, such as an animal, whose physical gender doesn't matter.

Tjoc has also preserved two ancient 2nd person pronouns which indicate a couple, they are the dual pronouns wit and jit, respectively we two and you two. Even if they are quite old, they are still very used:

Case Wit Jit
Nominative wit jit
Accusative unk ink
Dative unk ink
Genitive unker inker

Nowadays the difference between we and wit and between je and jit is fading and is losing its original number distinction: wit and jit are more and more used to express a higher grade of intimacy and informality, whereas we and je are acquiring a shade of formality and politeness. It is to be said that in the West zone of Angelkinn also the forms ůnk/ynk and ůnker/ynker are found, probably due to a contamination with the plural pronoun we (acc. ůs/gen. ůr) and to a generalisation of the long vowel.

Demonstratives

Demonstratives are formed with the three place adverbs her (here, "near to the speaker"), ter (there, but in Tjoc meaning "near to the listener") and jon (yon, but in Tjoc meaning "far from both speaker and listener"). These pronouns match perfectly the three persons:

Person Adverb Demonstrative Meaning
1st her se / tat ... her this one
2nd ter se / tat ... ter that one (near you)
3rd jon se / tat ... jon that one (over there)

If a noun is inserted between the definite article and the adverb, the demonstrative functions as an adjective, ex.:

  • Se her - This one (here), but Se katt her - This cat (here).

As the place adverbs inflect, even the demonstratives "inflect". In fact the place adverbs take three kind of suffix to show if the indicate state, movement towards or movement from a definite place. So it is possible, with verbs denoting movement or state, to indicate this aspect with the demonstrative:

Relation Her Ter Jon
State tem ... her tem ... ter tem ... jon
Movement from tem ... hens tem ... tens tem ... jons
Movement towards se / tat ... heder se / tat ... teder se / tat ... jonner

This use of the demonstrative allows us not to use prepositions, ex.:

  • Y jom tem hůs her means "I'm in this house" and there's no need to use the preposition i (= in);
  • Y kume tem hůs tens means "I come from that house" without using af (= from);
  • Y gå tat hůs jonner means "I go to that house over there" without using to (= to).

But it is true that these three sentences show a particularly refined language. Colloquially speaking, these sentences become respectively:

  • Y jom i tem hůs her;
  • Y kume af tem hůs ter;
  • Y gå to tat hůs jon.

People tend not to inflect demonstratives (nor place adverbs).

Possessives

Possessives are the same when they're used as both adjectives and pronouns and, while possessive adjectives don't need article before, possessive pronouns need it:

Person Singular Plural
y myn myne
tyn tyne
he / het syn syne
skjo hirs hirs
wit unker unkre
jit inker inkre
we ůr ůre
je jower jowre
hy heras heras

Possessives derive from the genitive of the personal pronouns, except for the 3rd masculine and neuter singular. Hirs and heras only have a single form for both singular and plural. Here are some examples:

  • Myn katt > Se myn - My cat > Mine;
  • Tyn hůnn > Se tyn - Your dog > Yours;
  • Syn wyf > Se syn - His wife > His;
  • Hirs mann > Se hirs - Her man > Hers;
  • Ůr djor > Tat ůr - Our animal > Ours;
  • Jower frjond > Se jower - Your friend > Yours;
  • Heras hjort > Tat heras - Their heart > Theirs.

Plural forms:

  • Myne kattes > Te myne - My cats > Mine;
  • Tyne hůnnes > Te tyne - Your dogs > Yours;
  • Syne wyen > Te syne - His wifes > His;
  • Hirs menn > Te hirs - Her men > Hers;
  • Ůre djor > Te ůre - Our animals > Ours;
  • Jowre frynd > Te jowre - Your friends > Yours;
  • Heras hjort > Te heras - Their hearts > Theirs.

Relatives and 'interro-exclamatories'

Interrogative pronouns, which are used also to make exclamations, function also as relatives:

Case Hwå (who) Hwat (what)
Nominative hwå hwat
Accusative hwan hwat
Dative hwam hwam
Genitive hwas hwas
Instrumental - hwy

Ex.:

  • Hwå is he? - Who is he?
  • Hwat an sken hůnn! - What a beautiful dog!
  • Hwas is se bok her? - Whose is this book?
  • Hwam hafstů isagd het? - Whom have you said it to?
  • Se jon is se wyf hwan y frjove - That there is the woman whom I love.

Instrumental case hwy corresponds perfectly to English "why" (but also to the English "because"!), ex.:

  • Hwy haftů iskån se metning ter? - Why have you made that painting?

Indefinites

Indefinites give us incomplete informations, because they don't define the precise quantity or the identity:

Indefinite Meaning
ålcen someone/anyone
ålcet something/anything
nån nobody
nåt nothing
åwilk each
jall all
oter / o'r other

The indefinite jall and oter have got also a plural form: jallen and oteren/o'ren.

Indefinites can be formed also with the word elles:

  • Elles hwå / elshwå - Someone else;
  • Elles hwat / elshwat - Something else;
  • Te elles - The others.

If these indefinites are used as interrogatives, than elles follows the pronouns:

  • Tjarftů hwat elles? - Do you need something else?
  • Knaut skjo hwan elles? - Does she know someone else?

Adverbs

Usually adverbs in Tjoc are formed by suffixation: many adverbs derive from adjectives, to that the suffix -i is added. Some examples:

  • glå > glå (!) (happy - happily);
  • sari > sari (!) (sad - sadly);
  • grjat > gryti (great - greatly);
  • strong > strengi (strong - strongly);
  • wåk > wåki (weak - weakly).

When an adjective ends with a vowel, than the adverbial ending -i isn't added. In some adjectives this suffix causes a mutation of the root vowel.

Some adverbs have got suppletive forms, ex.: go > jarwe; ivel > lyter.

Adverbs can be positioned wherever we want, but it is necessary to remember these rules:

1) adverbs can be positioned between subject and verb, but if this verb is the verb bjon, then the adverb is positioned after the verb;

2) adverbs can be positioned between auxiliary verbs and the taken verbs.

Place adverbs

As it has been seen in the chapter about demonstratives, some place adverbs - her, ter and jon - inflect to indicate a state, a movement towards or a movement from. Also the adverb hwer, "where", inflects:

Form Hwer Her Ter Jon
State hwer her ter jon
Movement to hweder heder teder jonner
Movement from hwens hens tens jons

The adverb hwer / hweder / hwens can be used also as a relative, ex.:

  • Se stof her is se tůn, hwens y kume - This place is the town where I come from;
  • Kerdit was se tůn, hweder y skolle gån - Cardiff was the town where I had to go to.

The adverb hwer also has the form hwerjen, but it is used only in the expression elles hwerjen, "elsewhere".

When hweder and hwens are used as interrogative adverbs, they can be written separately, ex.:

  • Hwens kimtů? or Hwer kimtů hinnes? - Where do you come from?
  • Hweder gåtů? or Hwer gåtů hider? - Where are you going to?

Other place adverbs are: ålhwer, "somewhere", and nålhwer, "nowhere".

Time adverbs

The adverb hwonne, "when", can be used both as interrogative and relative. Other time adverbs are:

  • - now;
  • tann - then;
  • ivorn - before;
  • eften - after;
  • ålhwon - some times;
  • injakli - usually;
  • jaltyd - always;
  • åfre - ever;
  • nåfre - never;
  • elles tyd / elstyd - another time.

Frequency can be expressed also with numerals and -nes suffix, ex.:

  • ån > ånnes - once;
  • twejn > twejnnes - twice;
  • try > trynes - thrice;
  • vjor > vjornes - four times;
  • vy > vifnes (!) - five times;
  • sys > sysnes - six times...

Expressions such as "Eight times a week" are translated as Jåtnes an wuke.

Manner adverbs

Manner adverbs are created from adjectives with the suffix -i. The interrogative and relative manner adverb is , "how". Some times manner adverbs inflect and have a higher degree comparative and a superlative, ex.:

  • glå - glår - glåst (happily - happilier - happiliest);
  • strengi - strengir - strenglist (strongly - stronglier - strongliest).

Some adverbs have an irregular comparative and superlative form:

  • jarwe - beter - best;
  • lyter - wyrs - wyrst;
  • micel - mår - måst (much - more - most);
  • (an) lit / liten - lass - last (little - less - least).

Both gryti and micel can be used to mean "very", ex.: tů jart gryti / micel sken - You are very beautiful.

Verbs

The verb in Tjoc has got six moods: indicative, subjunctive, conditional, imperative, infinitive and participle; various tenses, such as present, past, future, and aspects represented by "tenses" such as present perfect, past perfect and future perfect.

Tjoc verbs inflect also according to person (1st, 2nd and 3rd) and number (singular and plural, for dual pronouns they are used the plural forms).

Verbs always follow the subject, because Tjoc is a SVO language, that is the subject precedes the verb and the verb precedes the object. In questions or in special constructions, the verb can precede the subject though, and the order becomes VSO.

Present indicative

The present of regular verbs is formed with the suffixes -e for the 1st person singular, -(e)t for the 2nd and the 3rd persons singular, and -a for the three plural persons. To avoid confusion, the subject is always expressed.

Person Lyrne (to learn / to read) Wenne (to live) Lyce (to like)
y lyrne wenne lyce
/ he ljornt went lycet
we / je / hy lyrna wenna lyca

Present indicative is used to express actions that are happening in the moment or around the moment of speaking, to talk about actions that happen habitually, to talk about past actions when telling a story or talking about history to confere more dramatic power to what is being said, to talk about future events that are considered likely or sure, to express universal truths.

The verb lyce functions in a different way than in English, ex.:

  • Tů lycet me - I like you.

The subject of this verb is the person/thing who/which is liked, whereas the person who likes is expressed in the dative case.

Here are some examples:

  • Hwer wentů? - Where do you live?
  • Y lyrne an bok - I study a book;
  • Lycet het te? - Do you like it?
  • Lyce y te? - Do you like me?
  • Y wenne her - I live here;
  • Skjo went jon - She lives over there.

Please note that when the verb precedes the 2nd person singular, the pronouns merges with the verb, ex.: ljornt tů > ljorntů; went tů > wentů, and so on.

Present indicative of irregular verbs

Some verbs are totally irregular, other partially: the most irregular verb of all is bjo, "to be":

Person Bjo
y jom
jart
he is
we / je / hy sinn

Some examples:

  • Hwå jartů? - Who are you?
  • Hwå is he? - Who is he?
  • Y jom an mann - I am a man;
  • Tů jart an wyf - You are a woman;
  • Hy sinn djor - They are animals.
Old verbs in -je

If one observes the conjugation of the verb lyrne, he will see that in the 2nd and the 3rd person singular the root undergoes a vowel change: -y- becomes -jo-. This irregularity is found in all the so called -je verbs, that is verbs that had in Anglo-Saxon a conjugation with -i- in some endings and without it in others (such as the 2nd and the 3rd person singular of present indicative). This -i- has disappeared in the endings, but, before, has changed the root vowel; not all the vowels undergo this change though: only o and u / ů undergo this change and become respectively e and i / y, the diphthong jo becomes y instead.

Here are the verbs lyrne, beheve, "to be necessary", and kinne, "to experience":

Person Lyrne Beheve Kinne
y lyrne beheve kinne
/ he ljornt behoft kunt
we / je / hy lyrna beheva kinna

The answer to this irregularity comes from Old English:

Old English Tjoc Old English Tjoc Old English Tjoc
leornian lyrne behōfian beheve cunnian kinne
leornaþ ljornt behōfaþ behoft cunnaþ kunt
leorni lyrna behōfi beheva cunni kinna

When the root vowel is an 'a', an 'e' or an 'i', this vowel doesn't experience any change, in this case the 'j' appears in the endings of the 1st person singular, of the plurals and of the infinitive, but doesn't in those of the 2nd and the 3rd person singular. An example is the verb hatje, "to hate":

Person Hatje
y hatje
/ he t (< hatt)
we / je / hy hatja
Present of "specialised verbs"

During the evolution from Anglo-Saxon, many verbs specialized their meaning, thus these verbs are called specialized verbs and they are all irregular verbs.

Here is the present indicative of the verbs knåwe and wyte, both "to know", sege and hwete, both "to say", do and skå, both "to do":

Person Knåwe Wyte Sege Hwete Do Skå
y knåwe wåt sege hwete do skå
/ he knaut wåt sagt / såt hwet det skaft
we / je / hy knåwa wyton sega hweta do skå

The verb knåwe means "to know someone", whereas wyte means "to know something". The verbs sege and hwete are almost always interchangeable and mean "to say, to tell", the second is the most used though. Hwete means also "to assert, to argue, to allude", while sege can mean also "to pronounce". The form såt for sagt is mostly found in the spoken language.

Do and skå both mean "to do", but they are different just like to do and to make in English. The verb skå means "to create material things", it is used in such expressions as: skå tat bed, "to make the bed", skå an klåvje, "to make a sandwich", but also skå se såmwys, "to act dumb". Do refers to a mental or immaterial activity, such as do an enhwil, "to do a research", do an skrůting, "to do an exam", but also do an minid, "to make a gesture".

Other specialized verbs are:

Person Åve Wille Mave Kunne Mote
y åg will mag konn mot
/ he åg haft wilt mag konn mot
we / je / hy åvon willa mavon kunnon moton

Both åve and mean "to have", but the former is used to mean "to owe" and indicates a rather material possession, even if it can be used also to indicate an immaterial possession, such as feelings, ideas, and so forth. indicates an immaterial possession, but it is not compulsory and it can indicate also a material possession, such as things, animals, etc. The greatest difference between åve and is that the latter is the only one that can function as auxiliary.

Wille and mave both have the meaning of "to want, to desire", but the former is more peremptory in his meaning and has a nuance of pretension. Mave is closer to the English to wish and is considered more polite. Note the expressions y will tec, "I love you, I hanker after you" (it has a carnal nuance) and y mag tec, "I like you, I heart you".

Kunne and mote are quite differentiated, because the former means "can, to be able to do something", and the latter means "to be allowed to do something, to have the permission to do something".

Two very important specialized verbs are and vare. They both mean "to go", but the first is used when the act of going is done on foot; vare is used when the act of going is done by a mean of transport, such as bike, car, train, and so forth.

Person Vare
y vare
/ he gåt vert
we / je / hy vara

Ex.:

  • Y gå to se lerstof by vet - I go to school on foot;
  • Tů vert to se lerstof by twihwjol - You go to school by bike.

Past indicative

This tense is used to talk about events that happened in the past and that are considered as totally concluded and irrelated to the present. Generally it is used with time adverbs that indicate this irrelation, such as jestrendag, "yesterday", se late wuke / monat / jår, "the last week / month / year", het skaft an wuke / monat / jår, "a week / month / year ago", and so on.

The past indicative of regular verbs is formed with the suffixes -de for the singular persons and -don for the plural ones:

Person Lyrne Wenne Lyce
y / / he ljornde wende lycede
we / je / hy ljorndon wendon lycedon

It is to be observed that regular verbs ending with a vowel and -f, -k, -p, -s, -t modify the desinence -de/-don into -te/-ton, ex.:

  • Y brejte (= I change) > Y brejtte (= I changed).
Past indicative of irregular verbs

The verb bjo has got an irregular past:

Person Bjo
y / / he was
we / je / hy weron

As it can be seen, the three persons singular of past tense have got the same root and the three persons plural have got another one. It is important to keep this in mind, because this is true for all the irregular verbs.

Past of -je verbs

As for the present, the "-je verbs" show a modified vowel root in this tense. While in the present indicative only the 2nd and the 3rd singular person show this change, in the past indicative all the verbal voices show this mutation.

Here are the verbs lyrne, beheve and kinne:

Person Lyrne Beheve Kinne
y / / he ljornde behofte kunde
we / je / hy ljorndon behofton kundon
Past of specialized verbs

All the specialized verbs have an irregular past:

Person Knåwe Wyte Sege Hwete Do Skå
y / / he knjow wisse sagde / såde hwat dide skjof
we / je / hy knjowon wiston sagdon / sådon hwådon didon skowon
Person Åve Wille Mave Kunne Mote
y / / he åte hafte wolle myte kůte moste
we / je / hy åton hafton wollon myton kůton moston
Person Vare
y / / he jode vor
we / je / hy jodon voron
Past of "strong verbs"

The specialized verbs are not the only irregular verbs, because there is another big group of verbs that have always an irregular past. This verbs are called "strong verbs" to be distinguished from the regular verbs, called also "weak verbs", and from the specialized verbs. Many strong verbs have got an irregular 2nd and 3rd person singular of present indicative.

These strong verbs can be divided into seven classes, with these root vowel changes:

Class Infinitive Present 2nd / 3rd p.s. Singular past form Plural past form
I y y å i
II jo / ů y / ů u
V e e a å
VI a e o o
VII vowel vowel e / jo e / jo

In the first column can be seen the root vowel used in infinitive and in present indicative (except for 2nd and 3rd person singular); the second column refers to root vowel of the 2nd and the 3rd person singular of the present indicative; the third column refers to the root vowel of the 1st and 3rd person singular of the past, the fourth to the root vowel of the 2nd person singular and of the plural forms of the past.

Here are some examples of verbs of I, II, V, VI and VII class:

  • I: byte - byt - båt - biton (to bite - you bite - I bit - we bit);
  • II: bjove - byt - bjåg - buvon (to bid - you bid - I bade - we bade);
  • V: jeve - jeft - jaf - jåvon (to give - you give - I gave - we gave);
  • VI: vare - vert - vor - voron (to go - you go - I went - we went);
  • VII: låte - låt - let - leton (to let - you let - I let - we let).

The situation is more complicated for verbs of III and IV class.

The IV class has got the following options:

Subclass Infinitive Present 2nd / 3rd p.s. Singular past form Plural past form
IV a e i e / a e / å
IV b i i a o

The first pattern is chosen with verbs whose root vowel is followed by an 'r' or 'l', the second one is used with verbs whose root vowel is followed by an 'm' or 'n', ex.:

  • bere - birt - ber - beron (to bear - you bear - I bore - we bore);
  • hele - hilt - hal - hålon (to hide - you hide - I hid - we hid);
  • nime - nimt - nam - nomon (to take - you take - I took - we took).

The III class is the most complicated, because there are many patterns and these verbs have to be learnt by heart. However, the most spread patterns are:

Subclass Infinitive Present 2nd / 3rd p.s. Singular past form Plural past form
III a jo y ja u
III b e i ja u
III c i i o u

Ex.:

  • wjorte - wyrt - wjart - wurron (to become - you become - I became - we became);
  • helpe - hilpt - skjalp (!) - hulpon (to help - you help - I helped - we helped);
  • drinke - drinkt - dronk - drunkon (to drink - you drink - I drank - we drank).

The "w-verbs"

As it has been seen, the 1st person singular of the past indicative of the verb bjove is y bjåg (and NOT **y bjåf), whereas the same person of the same tense of the verb jeve is y jaf (and NOT **y jag). This is the particularity of the so called "v-verbs", that is verbs whose roots ends in '-v' in the infinitive form. If that 'v' will turn into an 'f' or into a 'g' depends on the verb itself. This particularity is found not only in the past tense, but also in the 2nd and 3rd persons singular of the present tense. The following example shows the present of the verbs bjove, jeve and syve, "to fall down, to descend":

Person Bjove Jeve Syve
y bjove jeve syve
/ he byt (!) jeft (!) sygt (!)
we / je / hy bjova jeva syva

These verbs show different mutations of 'v': it can disappear (bjove), it can be replaced with 'f' (jeve) or it can be replaced with 'g' (syve). The answer to these phenomenon is once again the Old English:

Old English Tjoc Old English Tjoc Old English Tjoc
bēode bjove giefe jeve sīge syve
bīett byt gieft jeft sīgt sygt
bēodaþ bjova giefaþ jeva sīgaþ syva

As it has been shown, three letters - 'd', 'f', and 'g' - merged into Toc 'v' in intervocalic position, when the conjugation of the verb change this parameter, the letters evolve differently: the 'd' disappears in front of '-t' of the 2nd and the 3rd person singular; the 'f' remains 'f', and the 'g' remains 'g'. Things change again in the past tense:

Old English Tjoc Old English Tjoc Old English Tjoc
bēad bjåg geaf jaf sāg såg
budon buvon gēafon jåvon sigon sivon

While the change 'v' > 'f' has been preserved, the changes 'v' > 'd' and 'v' > 'g' have merged into the only change 'v' > 'g'. Probably this is due to misinterpretation.

Present perfect and participle II

To express an action that has happened in a period of time that is not completely finished, such as hjoe, today, se wuke her, this week, se monat her, this month, tat jår her, this year, and so on, Tjoc uses the present perfect of indicative mood. This tense is used also to talk about happenings that haven't got a precise temporal localization.

The present perfect is formed with the present of either the verb bjo or and the participle II - that corresponds to the past participle - of the main verb. Usually the verb bjo is used with verbs that indicate movement or change, such as vjasse, to grow up, skjorwe, to die, wjorte, to become, brejte, to change, to turn oneself into, and so forth. The verb is used with other verbs instead.

Here is the present perfect of the verbs bjo, lyrne, wenne and lyce:

Person Bjo Lyrne Wenne Lyce
y jom ibjon hå iljornd hå iwend hå ilyced
jart ibjon haft iljornd haft iwend haft ilyced
he is ibjon haft iljornd haft iwend haft ilyced
we / je / hy sinn ibjon hå iljornd hå iwend hå ilyced

In colloquial speaking, the present tense of the auxiliary is often omitted, ex.:

  • Hy hå ifrjod ůs or Hy ifrjod ůs - They have loved us.

This omission cannot be used with other compound tenses such as past perfect or future perfect.

The past participle, called participle II, is formed with a circumfix i--(e)d for the regular verbs. The participle II of the -jan verbs is formed with the same root vowel of the past indicative.

However in the participle II of the compound verbs, the i- prefix is not used, ex.: ůtgå, to go out > ůtgå; onhipa, to come back > onhuped (it is a -je verb).

The participle II can be used also as adjective, in this case it inflects and has got both weak and strong declension. Moreover when it is used as adjective, it loses its i- and takes a be- prefix, ex.:

  • An befrjod wyf - A beloved woman;
  • Se beknåwene mann - The known man.
Participle II of irregular verbs

The irregular verbs form the participle II with the circumfix i--(e)n - as we have just seen for the verb bjo - and undergo a root vowel change. This vowel is almost always different than the one of the past indicative. Once again it can be distinguished among seven classes. Here is a table with the vowel of the infinitive, that of the 2nd / 3rd person singular of present tense, those of the first past form and the second past form, and that of the participle II:

Class Infinitive Present 2nd / 3rd p.s. Singular past form Plural past form Participle II
I y y å i i
II jo / ů y / ů u o
V e e a å e
VI a e o o a
VII vowel vowel e / jo e / jo vowel

The voices that have been analyzed in this scheme form the so called 'paradigm. The paradigm is a list of specific verbal voices that together allow to identify every verb and to form all the other voices of it, it is formed by:

  • 1st voice: the infinitive voice;
  • 2nd voice: the 2nd and 3rd persons singular of the present indicative;
  • 3rd voice: the three persons singular of the past indicative;
  • 4th voice: the three persons plural of the past indicative;
  • 5th voice: the participle II.

It follows a list of the paradigms of verbs of I, II, V, VI, and VII class:

Class 1st voice 2nd voice 3rd voice 4th voice 5th voice
I byte byt båt biton ibiten
II bjove byt bjåg buvon iboven
V jeve jeft jaf jåvon ijeven
VI vare vert vor voron ivarn
VII låte låt let leton ilåten

Please note that the verbs byte and bjove have got the same 2nd person singular form in the present of indicative (byt).

The IV class has got two different options:

Subclass 1st voice 2nd voice 3rd voice 4th voice 5th voice
IV a e i e / a e / å o
IV b i i a o u

Some paradigms of verbs of the IV class:

  • bere - birt - ber - beron - iborn;
  • hele - hilt - hal - hålon - iholn;
  • nime - nimt - nam - nomon - inumn.

The III class is once again the most complicated to schematize, because there are too many subclasses. Here are the most spread:

Subclass 1st voice 2nd voice 3rd voice 4th voice 5th voice
III a jo y ja u o
III b e i ja u o
III c i i o u u

Some examples:

  • wjorte - wyrt - wjart - wurron - iworren;
  • helpe - hilpt - hjalp - hulpon - iholpen;
  • drinke - drinkt - dronk - drunkon - idrunken.

Some paradigms

Here are some paradigms of very important verbs, their auxiliary verb for compound tenses and their meaning:

1st voice 2nd voice 3rd voice 4th voice 5th voice Auxiliary Meaning
haft hafte hafton ihaft to have
bjo jart was weron ibjon bjo to be
do det dide didon idon to do
gåt jode jodon igån bjo to go
vare vert vor voron ivarn bjo to go
frjove frjot frjode frjodon ifrjod to love
sjo set sjå såvon iseven to see
lege legt legde legdon ilegen bjo to lay
mote mot moste moston imoten to be allowed to
kume kimt kom komon ikumn bjo to come
kunne konn kůte kůton ikunnen can
sege sagt sagde / såde sagdon / sådon isagd to say
hwete hwet hwat hwådon ihwen to tell
wyte wåt wisse wiston iwiten to know
knåwe knaut knjow knjowon iknåwen to know
wille wilt wolle wollon iwiln to want to
skule skal skolle skollon iskuln must; to have to
skjorve skyrft skjarf skjurvon iskjorven bjo to die
skå skaft skof skovon iskån to make
ete et at åton ieten to eat
mave mag myte myton imaven to wish

Participle I

The participle I corresponds to the present participle. This form, that is often represented with the -ing form in today English, indicates a subject that does usually the action expressed by the verb or that is doing this action just now. Often with this tense the "agentive" is expressed, so, for example, the English "singer" corresponds to both singer and singend, but the latter is more spread, because the former is considered archaic. This verbal form can be used as a substantive or an adjective, but, as for the participle II used in this way, it inflects like substantives and adjectives. The suffix of present participle is -(e)nd and it can have a plural form (-end / -endes and some irregular with a vowel change + -nd). Here are some:

Infinitive Participle I Meaning
hånd owner, one who has
bjo bjond one who is
do dond doer
gånd goer
vare varend goer
frjove frjovend lover, one who loves
sjo sjond seer, one who sees
lege legend one who lays
lyrne lyrnend learner, reader
mote motend one who is allowed to
kume kumend one who comes
kunne kunnend one who can
sege segend one who says
hwete hwetend one who tells
wyte wytend one who knows
skå skånd maker, one who makes
lere lerend teacher, one who teaches

Some verbs had an older and archaic participle that has become a noun, and these verbs have developed later a regular form for the participle, ex.: frjove > frjond (friend); frjovend (lover, participle). There are also substantives that are a present participle of an obsolete and no more used verb, ex.: vjond, enemy, is a participle of the archaic verb vjove, to hate, that has been substituted with hatje; lind, lover, is a participle of the archaic verb lie (that corresponds to English "to love" and is used only in poetry), to desire "carnally". Participles have usually a zero suffix plural form, however the participles that end in -jond change -jo- with -y-, ex.: lerend > lerend; sjond > synd.

Preterite-present verbs

Some irregular verbs, such as wyte, belong to the group of the so called "preterite-present verbs": these verbs inflect in the present like they would have to to express past tense, still having a present meaning.

Here is the present indicative of some useful preterite-present verbs:

Person Duve (to succeed) Mune (to remember) Turve (to need) Skule (must) Durre (to dare)
y / / he djåg mon tjarf skal djarr
we / je / hy duvon munon turvon skolon durron

The past indicative of these verbs was formed in a regular way (with -de / -te endings), but the evolution of the language has made this regularity difficult to be seen. The paradigms of these verbs:

1st voice 2nd voice 3rd voice 4th voice 5th voice
duve djåg dote doton iduven
mune mon munde mundon imunen
turve tjarf torfte torfton iturven
skule skal skolle skollon iskuln
durre djarr dorste dorston idurn

The auxiliary of the preterite-present verbs is always .

Future

In Tjoc the future is a perifrastic form that is obtained with the present of the verb skule and the infinitive of the verb:

Person Bjo Lyrne Wenne Lyce
y / / he skal bjo skal lyrne skal wenne skal lyce
we / je / hy skolon bjo skolon lyrne skolon wenne skolon lyce

The future of the verb skule is formed with the perifrastic construction: skule + bjo injeved to + infinitive, ex.:

  • Tů skal injeved to do het - You will have to do it.

Very often this construction is avoided and skule is simply used in its present tense:

  • Tů skal do het - You have to do it.

The construction of the future can be used also with an imperative meaning, in this case the verb precedes the subject, ex.:

  • Skaltů do het! - Do it! (Yes, you will do it!).

Past perfect and future perfect

If the same construction of the present perfect is used with the auxiliary inflected to past or future, then two new tenses are formed: the past perfect and the future perfect. The former is used to talk about past happenings that ended before another past happening; the latter is used to talk about future happenings that will end before another future happening, ex.:

  • Y hafte ieten ond y jode ůt - I had eaten and [then] I went out;
  • Hwonne tů skal onhipe, y skal hå ijonded - As you'll return, I will have finished.

Present subjunctive

The present subjunctive is regularly used in Tjoc. Even if this tense is present, it is used to report words said by others or ideas and quotations that aren't of the one who speaks, not only if the principal verb is in the present, but also if the principal verb is in the past. Moreover this tense is used to express exhortation with the 1st person plural and the 3rd person singular and plural (that haven't got an imperative form). Here is the present subjunctive of some verbs:

Person Bjo Lyrne Wenne Lyce
y / / he sy lyrne wenne lyce
we / je / hy synne(n) lyrnen wennen lycen

So in regular verbs this tense is formed with the infinitive form + the endings: -e, -en. It has already been said that the present subjunctive is used to report words said by others, even if this words were said in the past, ex.:

  • He says that Mary loves him - He hwet (at) Mary frjove hin.
  • He said that Mary loved him - He hwat (at) Mary frjove hin.

Irregular verbs have got a regular present subjunctive, except for the irregular verbs with a root vowel u: in this case the u becomes i:

Person Do Kunne Skule
y / / he do kinne skile håbe
we / je / hy don kinnen skilen håben

Past subjunctive

The past tense of subjunctive is used also to quote words, ideas, and so forth, but only if the verb of the subordinate is not in the same tense of the principal verb, and exactly if the action of the verb of the subordinate has happened before of the action expressed by the principal verb, ex.:

  • He says that Mary loved him - He hwet (at) Mary frjode hin.
  • He said that Mary had loved him - He hwat (at) Mary frjode hin.

This tense is used also to express the verb of the subordinate clause in the conditional clause (protasis).

Here is the past subjunctive of some verbs:

Person Bjo Do Skule
y / / he were dide skolle hafte
we / je / hy weren diden skollen haften

The form of the past subjunctive is the same of three persons plural of the past indicative, the singular forms are identical, the plural forms add an -n.

Imperative and exhortation form

The imperative mood has got only the present tense and the 2nd person (both singular and plural), the other persons use the present subjunctive forms instead. The 2nd person singular has got the same form of the present of indicative, but without the ending -t, moreover the verbs with root vowel change a > e, have got the a in the root of the imperative form. The 2nd person plural is the same of the present of indicative, but substitutes the ending 'a' for '(e)t'. Some verbs as bjo have got an irregular imperative form:

Person Bjo Lyrne Wenne Lyce Knåwe Wyte Sege Hwete Do Skå Åve Wille Mave
wes ljorn wenn lyc knåf wit sag hwet do skå åg haf will mag
je west lyrnt went lycet knåft witet segt hwetet dot skåt ågt håbt wilt magt
Person Kunne Mote Duve Mune Turve Skule Durre
kunn mot dug mun turf skul durr
je kunt motet dugt munt tuft skult durt

It can be used also the future of indicative to emphasize orders, compare:

  • Do (tů) het! - Do it!
  • Skaltů don het! - You will do it!

In this case the future is used with the inversion of verb and subject. To be more polite it can be used the construction of the verb skule or of the verb turve. Usually this pattern is used with the 2nd person plural to underline the politeness, but it is often used with the 2nd person singular too:

  • Tů skal do het. / Tů tjarf do het. - You have to do it. / You need to do it.
  • Je skolon do het. / Je turvon do het. - You should do it.

The use of the future of indicative and of the present of subjunctive with the other persons are called exhortation form. Some examples with other persons:

  • Gå we to se lerstof. - Let's go to the school.
  • Ete skjo an klåvje. - She eat a sandwich.

In both these constructions the verb precedes the subject.

Conditional

Even the conditional uses a perifrastic form in Tjoc, it is obtained with the past of the verb skule and the infinitive of the verb:

Person Bjo Lyrne Wenne Lyce
y / / he skolle bjo skolle lyrne skolle wenne skolle lyce
we / je / hy skollon bjo skollon lyrne skollon wenne skollon lyce

The conditional of the verb skule is formed with the perifrastic construction: skule + bjo injeved to + infinitive, ex.:

  • Tů skolle injeved to do het - You should do it.

To give a suggestion this construction can be avoided and substituted for skule + infinitive, in this case the verb precedes the subject:

  • Skolle tů do het! - You should do it!
  • Skollon je do het! - You (pl.) should do it!

Greetings

Here are the main greetings:

  • Hejl's - Hello, it's informal;
  • Go symt / Varjarv - Goodbye, the former is used in formal speech, the latter in informal relations;
  • Go merjen - Good morning, it's used more or less till 10 a.m.;
  • Go dag - Good morning, it's used between 10 a.m. and 02 p.m.;
  • Go åfning - Good afternoon, it's used more or less from 02 p.m. till 06 p.m.;
  • Go hwiltyd - Good evening, it's used between 06 p.m. and 10 p.m.;
  • Go nyt - Good night, it's used after 10 p.m. or in the evening to say goodbye.

Calendar and holidays

Angelkinn is a pagan country, that has developed a synchretic religion with Celtic and Anglo-Saxon elements, even if the Celtic elements are prominent. Tjoc calendar is organised depending on religious beliefs. The year is splitted into 13 monates (= months), each one of 28 days, except the last one, that has got one day more:

Tjoc calendar Our calendar
Blommond 1-28 Nov.
Jola 29 Nov. - 26 Dec.
Snågmond 27 Dec. - 23 Jan.
Solmond 24 Jan. - 20 Feb.
Kremmond 21 Feb. - 20 Mar.
Jormond 21 Mar. - 17 Apr.
Trilkmond 18 Apr. - 15 May
Hågmond 16 May - 12 Jun.
Lyta 13 Jun. - 10 Jul.
Hjemond 11 Jul. - 07 Aug.
Wjogmond 08 Aug. - 04 Sep.
Hålimond 05 Sep. - 02 Oct.
Wintervild 03 Oct. - 31 Oct.

Wintervild is the only month that has got 29 days and, when the year is an oerjår (= leap year), it receives one day more. The year is divided into two jårtyd (= seasons) - Winter, winter, and Sumor, summer. In the past Herfst (= autumn) and Lent (= spring) were considered to be the half of the true season, whose name could indicate both the entire season and the first half of it:

Seasons
Winter Winter (1st half) Lent (2nd half)
Sumor Sumor (1st half) Herfst (2nd half)

Nowadays it is commoner and commoner to consider the year as divided into four seasons with the same relevance.

Even the wuke, the week of Tjoc calendar, contains seven days. The nouns of these days are, obviously, different than those of our week. The Tjoc wuke begins with Monsdag, Monday:

Tjoc wuke Our week Meaning
Monsdag Monday Day of Mone (god of the moon)
Tyfsdag Tuesday Day of Tyv (god of war)
Wojnsdag Wednesday Day of Wojn (god of magic, divination and music)
Tůrsdag Thursday Day of Tůr (god of thunder)
Frysdag Friday Day of Fryo (goddess of love and sex)
Helsdag Saturday Day of Hell (goddess of death and underworld)
Bjårsdag Sunday Day of Bjaller (god of daylight)

In Tjoc calendar there are ten important holidays, that come from the Celtic and Anglo-Saxon pagan festivals (the main ones are in bold):

  • 1st Blommond - Winteråvilm (or Jåranginn) = Winter begin / New Year's day (1st winter festival);
  • 23th or 24th Jola - Wintersoljet = Winter solstice (2nd winter festival);
  • 9th Solmond - Lentåvilm (or Imbell) = Spring begin (1st spring festival);
  • 28th Kremmond or 1st Jormond - Lentsevennyt = Spring Equinox (2nd spring festival);
  • 13th Trilkmond - Sumoråvilmsåven = Summer begin's eve;
  • 14th Trilkmond - Sumoråvilm (or Jårhjalv) = Summer begin (1st summer festival);
  • 8th or 9th Lyta - Sumorsoljet = Summer solstice (2nd summer festival);
  • 22th Hjemond - Herfståvilm (or Wojenskelldag) = Autumn begin (1st autumn festival);
  • 18th or 19th Hålimond - Herfstsevennyt = Autumn Equinox (2nd autumn festival);
  • 29th or 30th Wintervild - Winteråvilmsåven (or Jårjondning) = New Year's eve.

Samples

One of the most famous festive song in Tjoc, is O håli nyt, that corresponds to the English Oh holy night. The Ljoskjare af Angelkinn, however, is a pagan country, as it has been written, so the lyrics of the song don't talk about Jesus, but about Wintersoljet.

O håli nyt,
Te skjor skyna så hådri:
Hen is se nyt hwonn’ se Sunne is iborn.
Lengi svaf tat lond i tem calle Winter,
Hen kimt se Sunne ond kljoft njon se Jort.
An hopsem killning gåt tur se moje worull:
Ur tem dyrkn kimt ut se nywe dag.
KOR: Singt nů mig glåels
O singt ond west jall’n mirje
O godsem nyt, o nyt af håli bir
O godsem nyt, o nyt, o godsem nyt
We wåta ůs i mones sjolvor ljot
Ond åbyva vor se Sun af Ljot kimt.
Tů, Måer, hall ůs i Tyn klippning,
Senn ůs Tyn Birt, hwå kljoft ůre sål’n.
Se Winter is call, te nyten sinn long ond djork,
We måtja se Lent, an nyw hådri anginn.
KOR (x 2)
Oh holy night,
The stars shine so brightly:
It is the night when the Sun is born.
Long slept the land in the cold winter,
It comes the Sun and warms again the Earth.
A thrill of hope goes through the tired world:
From the darkness comes out the new day.
CHORUS: Sing now with joy
O sing and be all joyful
O night divine, o night of holy birth
O night divine, o night, o night divine
We get wet in the silver light of the moon
And wait for the Son of Light coming.
You, Mother, hold us in Your embrace,
Send us Your Child, who warms our souls.
The winter is cold, the nights are long and dark,
We dream the spring, a new bright beginning.
CHORUS (x 2)