Skundavisk

Shoundavish
Skundavisk
Flag of Shoundafland.jpg
Flag of Shoundafland
Pronunciation[ʃʊndaβɪʃ]
Created byMohamed Kaseb
Date2008
SettingAlt-history Europe, Northern Germany
Native toShoundafland
Early form
Proto-West-Germanic
Dialects
  • Western Shoundavish
  • Eastern Shoundavish

Skundavisk (sh.: /ʃʊndaβɪʃ/), also known by its anglicized name Shoundavish, is a Germanic constructed language created by Mohamed Kaseb. Designed as a West Germanic language, it has been developed from the Old Saxon dialects spoken in what is now Schleswig and Holstein in the early Middle Ages, and is thus closely related to English, Dutch, Low Saxon, the Frisian languages and (High) German. Shoundavish also underwent a slight North Germanic influence due to contacts with the Nordic countries, which is reflected by the presence of Scandinavian loanwords in its vocabulary, especially from Old Norse and Early Modern Danish. Consequently, despite being a West Germanic language, Shoundavish shares some similarities with Danish, Swedish and Norwegian, especially in phonology and vocabulary.

Shoundavish didn't take part in the High German consonant shift, and is overall one of the most conservative Germanic languages regarding the consonants. Because of its preservation of the sounds /θ/, /ð/ and /w/, along with a large common vocabulary, Shoundavish is one of the closest languages to English. However, both languages underwent very different vowel shifts over time, which makes them sound quite different. Besides, while English borrowed many words from the Romance languages (especially French), the Shoundavish vocabulary remained mostly Germanic, and very few words were borrowed from non-Germanic sources. Therefore, words like "biology" or "litterature" are built using Germanic roots instead of Latin or Greek ones. While being very conservative in its phonology and lexicon, Shoundavish didn't preserve the complex grammar of Proto-Germanic, and the medieval case system has been reduced to scattered remnants in the modern language.

Development

The earliest developments of Shoundavish started in 2008, but at this stage, the language was only a rough mix of Dutch and Scandinavian. In 2016, Shoundavish was refounded completely, and a full set of sound shifts were defined to yield consistent word derivation from Proto-Germanic to Modern Shoundavish. The language started being promoted on Facebook inside constructed language communities through language lessons, translated texts and memes in late 2017, and a page dedicated to Shoundavish was created in May 2019 [1] . As of 2023, the page has more than 800 followers.

Classification and dialects

Shoundavish belongs to the West Germanic branch of the Germanic languages. It bears many similarities with the Anglo-Frisian, Low Saxon and Low Franconian languages, which include English, Frisian, Low German and Dutch among others.

There are two main dialects of Shoundavish: Western Shoundavish and Eastern Shoundavish. These main dialectal groups are further divided into subdialects that differ in grammar, phonology, vocabulary and syntax, but are still mutually intelligible to a great extent. The written standard is based on the dialect of Kijl, a Western Shoundavish variety, and, inside the Shoundavish conworld, is supposed to be understood everywhere in the country. However, outside the region of Kijl, standard Shoundavish is rarely spoken, and the dialects are still widely used, unlike what happened in most West European countries. The dialect of Sweren, an Eastern Shoundavish variety, is also used as an informal written standard in the Eastern part of Shoundafland.

Fictional history

The name Shoundavish comes from an old Germanic compound name: *skunduz habai, litterally "fast way to the sea" (the word *habai is the genitive of *haba and is related to English "haven"), referring to the original homeland of the Shoundaves between the North and the Baltic Seas. The earliest stage of the language is Old Shoundavish, which emerged in the 6th century from North Sea Germanic dialects, near the original homeland of the Angles, the Saxons and the Frisians. At that time the language was, like the other early Germanic languages, highly inflected. The original four cases of Proto-Germanic were all preserved, but were quite simplified. Old Shoundavish was divided into two main dialects, Old West Shoundavish and Old East Shoundavish, which both had their own written conventions.

By the 12th century the language had evolved significantly and was entering the Middle Shoundavish period, during which many vowels in unstressed syllables were reduced (ex. Old Shoundavish daga, sunno, friunds, drivan > Middle Shoundavish dag, sunne, friend, driven). The Middle Shoundavish vocabulary is quite close to that of Modern Shoundavish, but the pronunciation was different and the adjectives and articles were still inflected, like in Modern German. Middle Shoundavish wasn't a unified language, but rather a dialectal continuum, with the varieties of the five main Hanseatic cities (Flensburg, Kijl, Hamburg, Lyvig and Sweren) serving as loose written standards. The varieties of Kijl and Sweren also served as lingua francas inside the Hanseatic league, and had a huge impact on the Scandinavian languages (Danish, Swedish and Norwegian), whose modern vocabulary contains around 30% of Shoundavish loanwords, either Western Shoundavish (Kijlisk) or Eastern Shoundavish (Swerenisk). By the 15th century, the dialects of Shoundavish had diverged quite a lot from each other, and each dialect developed its own distinct pholonogial and grammatical characteristics.

The 16th century saw a drastic simplification of the grammar, all the cases disappeared (except the very formal genitive case which survived in the written language) and the use of the subjunctive mood declined. Several vowels shifted during this period, especially the long vowels which split into diphthongs or were significantly modified (ex. Middle Shoundavish driven /dri:βən/, hus /hu:s/, stan /sta:n/ > Modern Shoundavish drijven /drɪjβən/, hous /hows/, stån /sto:n/). Since Sleswijk was under Danish rule during this time, Shoundavish borrowed a few words from Danish, and adopted a Scandinavian-looking orthography using the letters å, æ, ø and y. Since then, the language didn't undergo any significant change, therefore the 17th century texts almost don't differ with actual texts in style, grammar and vocabulary.

While the other Germanic languages were adopting many new scientific and technical words, which were coined from Latin and Greek roots, Shoundavish coined its own scientific vocabulary using Germanic roots. For example, words like biology, physics or gene are translated as lijfkunde, byrdkunde and erfþe (literally "life-knowledge", "nature-knowledge" and "heritage" with a "-þe" suffix related to English "-th"). It is therefore possible to write a Shoundavish text dealing with science or technology without any loanword from Latin or Greek, as it is the case in Icelandic.

Phonology

Consonants

Overall, Shoundavish has been designed as a substantially conservative language regarding the consonants. Beside not being affected by the High German consonant shift, the conlang didn't undergo the/w/ > /v/ and /θ/ > /d/ shifts, unlike most Continental West Germanic languages like Dutch and German, which makes it closer to English in this aspect. Shoundavish also has preserved the bilabial consonants /ɸ/ and /β/, though, in the fictional world where the language exists, it is a distinct Kijlisk feature. Most other varieties have shifted /ɸ/ to /f/, and /β/ to either /v/ or /b/. Another distinct feature is the palatalisation of /k/ and /g/ to /c/ and /ɟ/, respectively, before front vowels.

bilabial dental alveolar post-alveolar palatal velar uvular glottal
nasal m n ŋ
plosive p b t d c ɟ k g ʔ
fricative ɸ β θ ð s ʃ x χ
approximant l ɫ j w ʍ
trill r

Vowels

The Shoundavish vowels have undergone slightly more shifts than the consonants. Similarly to what happened in English, Dutch and German but in to a smaller extent, the long vowels /i:/, /u:/ and /y:/ have shifted to diphtongs /ɪj/ (spelled ij), /oʊ/ (spelled ou) and /øj/ (spelled øj), respectively. The other major vowel shift is the backing of /a:/ to /o:/ (spelled å)

front central back
near-close ɪ ʏ ʊ
close-mid e ø
mid ɘ
open-mid ɛ œ ɔ
near-open æ ɐ
open a ɑ

Grammar

Articles

The old Germanic case system has been drastically reduced, and only the genitive case has survived, while all other forms have merged into a common case. While Shoundavish still distinguishes the three genders of Proto-Germanic, the reduction of unstressed syllables has made them barely distinct. Consequently, there is no distinction anymore between the masculine and feminine genders in the case of definite nouns, and between the masculine and neuter genders in the case of indefinite nouns. The surviving genitive case still distinguishes masculine/neuter and feminine forms.

Article inflection
definite
number and gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter all genders
common ðe ðe ðet ðe
genitive ðes ðer ðes ðer
indefinite
number and gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter all genders
common een eene een -
genitive eenes eener eenes -

Nouns

While nouns can be either masculine, feminine or neuter, the gender distinction is chiefly reflected in the determiners and vestigial adjective endings, not on the nouns themselves. An exception is the genitive case marker -s, which is only appended to masculine and neuter nouns:

ðe hund = the dog > ðes hunds = of the dog

ðe mous = the mouse > ðer mous = of the mouse

ðe skåp = the sheep > ðes skåps = of the sheep

An important remnant of the old Germanic noun class system is the way plurals are formed. Consequently, Shoundavish has five main plural markers, depending on which Germanic class the noun comes from. Some of these classes contain nouns of only one gender, while others contain nouns of all three genders.

Noun classes
Plural pattern Gender Example
-(e)s masculine hund > hunds
-r feminine sake - saker
i-umlaut + -e all genders foot - føte
-n all genders sterne - sternen
-ere neuter kind - kindere

Verbs

As in most Germanic languages, Shoundavish only has two simple tenses, the present and the preterite. All the other tenses (present perfect, future, continuous present, etc) are formed with an auxillary verb combined with the infinitive, the present or the past participle. The way the past is formed from the present root depends on the conjugation pattern in which the verb lies. There are five main conjugation patterns in Shoundavish : strong, weak, mixed, modal and irregular. Shoundavish also distinguishes three moods : indicative, subjunctive and imperative.

Strong verbs

Strong verbs are characterized by the shift of the main vowel to distinguish the present and the past roots, as in English sing-sang-sung. The seven strong verb classes of Proto-Germanic have been preserved and still follow predictable patterns.

▷ Class 1 strong verbs

skijnen
infinitive skijnen
present participle skijnend
past participle geskinen
auxiliary haven
indicative subjunctive
present ik skijne wi skijnen ik skijne wi skijnen
ðou skinst ji skijnt ðou skinst ji skijnt
hi, si, hit skint si, Si skijnen hi, si, hit skijne si, Si skijnen
preterite ik skeen wi skeenen ik skeene wi skeenen
ðou skeenst ji skeent ðou skeenest ji skeenet
hi, si, hit skeen si, Si skeenen hi, si, hit skeene si, Si skeenen
imperative skijn skijnt (ji)

▷ Class 2 strong verbs

fleugen
infinitive fleugen
present participle fleugend
past participle geflogen
auxiliary haven
indicative subjunctive
present ik fleuge wi fleugen ik fleuge wi fleugen
ðou fliegst ji fleugt ðou fliegst ji fleugt
hi, si, hit fliegt si, Si fleugen hi, si, hit fleuge si, Si fleugen
preterite ik floog wi floogen ik fløge wi fløgen
ðou floogst ji floogt ðou fløgest ji fløget
hi, si, hit floog si, Si floogen hi, si, hit fløge si, Si fløgen
imperative fleug fleugt (ji)

▷ Class 3 strong verbs

singen
infinitive singen
present participle singend
past participle gesungen
auxiliary haven
indicative subjunctive
present ik singe wi singen ik singe wi singen
ðou singst ji singt ðou singst ji singt
hi, si, hit singt si, Si singen hi, si, hit singe si, Si singen
preterite ik sang wi sangen ik sænge wi sængen
ðou sangst ji sangt ðou sængest ji sænget
hi, si, hit sang si, Si sangen hi, si, hit sænge si, Si sængen
imperative sing singt (ji)

▷ Class 4 strong verbs

spreken
infinitive spreken
present participle sprekend
past participle gesproken
auxiliary haven
indicative subjunctive
present ik spreke wi spreken ik spreke wi spreken
ðou sprikst ji sprekt ðou sprikst ji sprekt
hi, si, hit sprikt si, Si spreken hi, si, hit spreke si, Si spreken
preterite ik sprak wi spraken ik spræke wi spræken
ðou sprakst ji sprakt ðou sprækest ji spræket
hi, si, hit sprak si, Si spraken hi, si, hit spræke si, Si spræken
imperative sprek sprekt (ji)

▷ Class 5 strong verbs

lesen
infinitive lesen
present participle lesend
past participle gelesen
auxiliary haven
indicative subjunctive
present ik lese wi lesen ik lese wi lesen
ðou lisst ji lest ðou lisst ji lest
hi, si, hit list si, Si lesen hi, si, hit lese si, Si lesen
preterite ik las wi lasen ik læse wi læsen
ðou lasst ji last ðou læsest ji læset
hi, si, hit las si, Si lasen hi, si, hit læse si, Si læsen
imperative les lest (ji)

▷ Class 6 strong verbs

wasken
infinitive wasken
present participle waskend
past participle gewasken
auxiliary haven
indicative subjunctive
present ik waske wi wasken ik waske wi wasken
ðou wæskest ji waskt ðou wæskest ji waskt
hi, si, hit wæskt si, Si wasken hi, si, hit waske si, Si wasken
preterite ik woosk wi woosken ik wøske wi wøsken
ðou wooskest ji wooskt ðou wøskest ji wøsket
hi, si, hit woosk si, Si woosken hi, si, hit wøske si, Si wøsken
imperative wask waskt (ji)

▷ Class 7 strong verbs

slåpen
infinitive slåpen
present participle slåpend
past participle geslåpen
auxiliary haven
indicative subjunctive
present ik slåpe wi slåpen ik slåpe wi slåpen
ðou slæpst ji slåpt ðou slæpst ji slåpt
hi, si, hit slæpt si, Si slåpen hi, si, hit slåpe si, Si slåpen
preterite ik slep wi slepen ik slepe wi slepen
ðou slepst ji slept ðou slepest ji slepet
hi, si, hit slep si, Si slepen hi, si, hit slepe si, Si slepen
imperative slåp slåpt (ji)

Weak verbs

Weak verbs are characterized by the addition of a dental suffix to indicate the past tense, as in English want-wanted.

maken
infinitive maken
present participle makend
past participle gemakt
auxiliary haven
indicative subjunctive
present ik make wi maken ik make wi maken
ðou makst ji makt ðou makst ji makt
hi, si, hit makt si, Si maken hi, si, hit make si, Si maken
preterite ik makte wi makten ik makte wi makten
ðou maktest ji maktet ðou maktest ji maktet
hi, si, hit makte si, Si makten hi, si, hit makten si, Si makten
imperative mak makt (ji)

Mixed verbs

Mixed verbs are characterized by the combination of a vowel shift and the addition of a dental suffix to indicate the past tense, as in English feel-felt. In some cases, consonant shifts may also happen, as in English think-thought.

▷ Mixed verbs without consonant shift

følen
infinitive følen
present participle følend
past participle gefolt
auxiliary haven
indicative subjunctive
present ik føle wi følen ik føle wi følen
ðou følst ji følt ðou følst ji følt
hi, si, hit følt si, Si følen hi, si, hit føle si, Si følen
preterite ik folte wi folten ik følte wi følten
ðou foltest ji foltet ðou føltest ji føltet
hi, si, hit folte si, Si folten hi, si, hit følte si, Si følten
imperative føl følt (ji)

▷ Mixed verbs with consonant shift

þenken
infinitive þenken
present participle þenkend
past participle geþaght
auxiliary haven
indicative subjunctive
present ik þenke wi þenken ik þenke wi þenken
ðou þenkst ji þenkt ðou þenkst ji þenkt
hi, si, hit þenkt si, Si þenken hi, si, hit þenke si, Si þenken
preterite ik þaghte wi þaghten ik þæghte wi þæghten
ðou þaghtest ji þaghtet ðou þæghtest ji þæghtet
hi, si, hit þaghte si, Si þaghten hi, si, hit þæghte si, Si þæghten
imperative þenk þenkt (ji)

Modal verbs

Modal verbs are descended from the older preterite-present verbs of Proto-Germanic, like English can or may. They are characterized by a present conjugation pattern similar to the past conjugation of strong verbs. As in most Germanic languages, they express modality (will, probability, obligation etc) and can be used as auxillary, notably to form the future tense (like English will and shall).

kunnen
infinitive kunnen
present participle kunnend
past participle gekond
auxiliary haven
indicative subjunctive
present ik kann wi kunnen ik kunne wi kunnen
ðou kant ji kunnt ðou kunnst ji kunnt
hi, si, hit kann si, Si kunnen hi, si, hit kunne si, Si kunnen
preterite ik konde wi konden ik kynde wi kynden
ðou kondest ji kondet ðou kyndest ji kyndet
hi, si, hit konde si, Si konden hi, si, hit kynde si, Si kynden
imperative kunn kunnt (ji)

Irregular verbs

Irregular verbs are verbs that follow their own conjugation pattern. As in most other Germanic languages, this class contains the most frequent verbs, like have, be, go or do, and often involve suppletion.

wesen
infinitive wesen
present participle wesend
past participle gewesen
auxiliary wesen
indicative subjunctive
present ik im wi sind ik sij wi sijn
ðou er ji sijd ðou sijst ji sijd
hi, si, hit is si, Si sind hi, si, hit sij si, Si sijn
preterite ik was wi weren ik wære wi wæren
ðou wast ji wert ðou wærest ji wæret
hi, si, hit was si, Si weren hi, si, hit wære si, Si wæren
imperative sij sijd (ji)
haven
infinitive haven
present participle havend
past participle gehad
auxiliary haven
indicative subjunctive
present ik have wi haven ik have wi haven
ðou hast ji haft ðou hafst ji haft
hi, si, hit hat si, Si haven hi, si, hit have si, Si haven
preterite ik hadde wi hadden ik hædde wi hædden
ðou haddest ji haddet ðou hæddest ji hæddet
hi, si, hit hadde si, Si hadden hi, si, hit hædden si, Si hædden
imperative haf haft (ji)
gån
infinitive gån
present participle gåend/gånd
past participle gegån
auxiliary wesen
indicative subjunctive
present ik gå wi gån ik gå wi gån
ðou gåst ji gåt ðou gåst ji gåt
hi, si, hit gåt si, Si gån hi, si, hit gå si, Si gån
preterite ik ging wi gingen ik ginge wi gingen
ðou gingst ji gingt ðou gingest ji ginget
hi, si, hit ging si, Si gingen hi, si, hit ginge si, Si gingen
imperative gåt (ji)
doon
infinitive doon
present participle dooend/doond
past participle gedoon
auxiliary haven
indicative subjunctive
present ik doo wi doon ik doo wi doon
ðou dost ji dot ðou dost ji dot
hi, si, hit dot si, Si doon hi, si, hit doo si, Si doon
preterite ik deed wi deeden ik deede wi deeden
ðou deedst ji deedet ðou deedest ji deedet
hi, si, hit deed si, Si deeden hi, si, hit deede si, Si deeden
imperative doo doot (ji)
beun
infinitive beun
present participle wesend
past participle gewesen or wesen
auxiliary wesen
indicative subjunctive
present ik biem wi beun ik bij wi bijn
ðou biest ji beut ðou bijst ji bijt
hi, si, hit biet si, Si beun hi, si, hit bij si, Si bijn
preterite ik was wi weren ik wære wi wæren
ðou wast ji wert ðou wærest ji wæret
hi, si, hit was si, Si weren hi, si, hit wære si, Si wæren
imperative
stån
infinitive stån
present participle ståend/stånd
past participle gestån
auxiliary wesen
indicative subjunctive
present ik stå wi stån ik stå wi stån
ðou ståst ji ståt ðou ståst ji ståt
hi, si, hit ståt si, Si stån hi, si, hit stå si, Si stån
preterite ik stood wi stooden ik støde wi støden
ðou stoodst ji stoodet ðou stødest ji stødet
hi, si, hit stood si, Si stooden hi, si, hit støde si, Si støden
imperative stå ståt (ji)

Adjectives

Attribute adjectives agree with nouns in gender, number, case and definiteness. While this formulation suggests that adjectives work as in Proto-Germanic, the older inflection system has been heavily eroded by the reduction of unstress vowels, and many of these distinctions are vestigial. Predicative adjectives are on the other hand invariable. The inflection marks of the adjectives are given by the following table. Strong declension correspond to indefinite nouns, while weak declension correspond to definite nouns.

Adjective inflection
number and gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter all genders
predicative hi is groot si is groot hit is groot si sind groot
strong declension common groot groote groot groote
genitive grootes grooter grootes grooter
weak declension common groote groote groote grooten
genitive grooten grooten grooten grooten

Pronouns

The following table lists the Shoundavish personal pronouns.

Pronoun inflection
number and gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter all genders
1st person nominative ik wi
accusative mig uns
genitive mijn unser
dative mir uns
2nd person nominative ðou ji
accusative ðig jyw
genitive ðijn jer
dative ðir jyw
3rd person nominative hi si hit si
accusative hin hee hit hir
genitive his her his her
dative him her him him
reflexive nominative
accusative sig
genitive sijn
dative sir

Vocabulary

Comparison with other Germanic languages

As a West Germanic language with slight North Germanic influences, Shoundavish shares numerous cognates with the other Germanic laguages. The following table compares cognates in several different Germanic languages and Shoundavish. In some cases, the meanings may not be identical in each language.

Vocabulary comparison
Shoundavish English West Frisian Dutch Low German[2] German Icelandic Norwegian
(Nynorsk)
Swedish Danish Reconstructed
Proto-Germanic
[3]
appel apple apel appel Appel Apfel epli eple äpple æble *ap(u)laz
kunnen can kinne kunnen känen können kunna kunne, kunna kunna kunne *kunnanan
doghter daughter dochter dochter Dochter Tochter dóttir dotter dotter datter *đuχtēr
dood dead dea dood dod tot dauður daud död død *đauđaz
deup deep djip diep deip tief djúpur djup djup dyb *đeupaz
ðat that dat dat dat das það det det det *þat
erþe earth ierde aarde Ird Erde jörð jord jord jord *erþō
ej egg[4] aei, aai ei Ei Ei egg egg ägg æg *ajjaz
fisk fish fisk vis Fisch Fisch fiskur fisk fisk fisk *fiskaz
gån go gean gaan gahn gehen ganga gå(nga) gå (gange) *ȝanȝanan
good good goed goed gaud gut góð(ur) god god god *ȝōđaz
høren hear hearre horen hüren hören heyra høyra, høyre höra høre *χauzjanan,
*χausjanan
eik I ik ik ick ich ég eg jag jeg *eka
liven live libje leven lewen leben lifa leva leva leve *liƀēnan
naght night nacht nacht Nacht Nacht nótt natt natt nat *naχtz
een one ien één ein, en eins einn ein en en *ainaz
rygg ridge rêch rug Rügg(en) Rücken hryggur rygg rygg ryg *χruȝjaz
sitten sit sitte zitten sitten sitzen sitja sitja, sitta sitta sidde *setjanan
søken seek sykje zoeken säuken suchen sækja søkja söka søge *sōkjanan
tryw true trou trouw tru treu tryggur trygg trygg tryg *trewwaz
twee two twa twee twei zwei, zwo tveir, tvær, tvö to[5] två, tu to *twō(u)
þank thank (noun) tank dank Dank Dank þökk takk tack tak *þankaz
uns us ús ons uns uns oss oss oss os *uns-
weg way wei weg Weg Weg vegur veg väg vej weȝaz
hwijt white wyt wit witt weiß hvítur kvit vit hvid *χwītaz
word word wurd woord Wurd Wort orð ord ord ord *wurđan
jår year jier jaar Johr Jahr ár år år år *jēran

Loanwords

Unlike most other Germanic languages, Shoundavish deliberately avoids Latin and Greek loanwords, and relies mostly on Germanic roots to create new vocabulary. Consequently, most Shoundavish words are of Germanic origin, either inherited directly from Proto-West Germanic or borrowed from North Germanic languages (most often Old Norse and Early Modern Danish). The following table lists examples of Latin or Greek loanwords in English and German, which are translated using Germanic roots in Shoundavish.

English German Shoundavish Etymology
biology Biologie lijfkunde lijf life + kunde knowledge
electricity Elektrizität rafmaght raf amber + maght power
subjunctive subjunktiv anføgend anføgen to append, join
study studieren frøden PGm *frōdijaną

The non-Germanic loanwords present in Shoundavish can be divided in two main categories :

● Loanwords dating back from the Proto-Germanic era and attested in most other Germanic languages, e. g., mylle (mill, from Latin molīnum), buter (butter, from Ancient Greek βούτῡρον (boútūron)), ijren (iron, from Proto-Celtic *īsarnom).

● Loanwords created specially for Shoundavish and fitted to Shoundavish phonology, e. g., kroktel (crocodile, from Latin crocodilus), faver (paper, from Ancient Greek πάπυρος (pápuros)), wijr (virus, from Latin vīrus).

The phonological fitting process depends on the era when the word was borrowed. Consequently, for words borrowed during the Pre-Germanic times, Grimm's law applies, as can be seen on faver. For later loanwords, only unstressed vowel reduction and some further shifts are applied to yield natural-sounding Shoundavish words, as in kroktel and wijr. More information about Shoundavish vocabulary can be found on the Contionary website [6] .

Sample text

The following text is a translation of Grimms' tale The Fox and the Geese.

Ðe foks kamm eens up eene weeðe, hwar eene herde skøner fetter gænse satt, ðan laghte hi and sagde "ik komme als geroopen, ji sittet winig bij elkanðeren, so kann ik eene after ðe anðere freten." Ðe gænse kakelden af skrekk, sprangen up, fengen an te jåmeren and klæglijk um here lijve te bidden. Meden ðe foks wolde over neets høren and sagde "ðar is nee genåðe, ji mootet sterven."

Endlijk took eene sijn gante mood and sagde "skullen wi armen gænse unser junge friske lijf ðan ðough laten, so skenk uns eene eenigste gunst and orloof uns nogh een gebed, ðarmid sterven wi neet in synde : ðarafter willen wi uns in eene reewe stellen, ðarmid kant ðou eewe ðe fettste outsøken."

"Ja," sagde ðe foks "ðet is fornømstig, and is een froom wynsk: bedet, ik will so lange wachten." So feng ðe erste een reght lang gebed an, jet eewe "gak! gak!" and als si ðough neet uphålden wolde, wachtete ðe tweede neet, til ðet kerd an her kamm, sunderen feng ook an "gak! gak!" Ðe þridde and fierþe folgden hir, and sån kakelden si alle tegader.

And hwann si mid ðet gebed over sind, skall ðet mærken wijder ortåld beun, si beden jeðough gantertijd nogh eewe forþ.

English translation :

The fox once came to a meadow in which was a flock of fine fat geese, on which he smiled and said, "I come in the nick of time, you are sitting together quite beautifully, so that I can eat you up one after the other." The geese cackled with terror, sprang up, and began to wail and beg piteously for their lives. But the fox would listen to nothing, and said, "There is no mercy to be had! You must die." At length one of them took heart and said, "If we poor geese are to yield up our vigorous young lives, show us the only possible favour and allow us one more prayer, that we may not die in our sins, and then we will place ourselves in a row, so that you can always pick yourself out the fattest." - "Yes," said the fox, "that is reasonable, and a pious request. Pray away, I will wait till you are done." Then the first began a good long prayer, for ever saying, "Ga! Ga!" and as she would make no end, the second did not wait until her turn came, but began also, "Ga! Ga!" The third and fourth followed her, and soon they were all cackling together.

When they have done praying, the story shall be continued further, but at present they are still praying without stopping."

References

  1. ^ Mohamed Kaseb (2019). "The Facebook page of Shoundavish". https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083003658565. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
  2. ^ Low German forms are Mecklenburgish and follow the dictionary of Reuter, Fritz (1905)
  3. ^ Forms follow Orel 2003. þ represents IPA [θ], χ IPA [x], ȝ IPA [γ], đ IPA [ð], and ƀ IPA [β].
  4. ^ The English word is a loan from Old Norse.
  5. ^ Dialectally tvo, två, tvei (m), tvæ (f), tvau (n).
  6. ^ Mohamed Kaseb (2018). "Shoundavish words on the Contionary website". https://linguifex.com/wiki/Category:Skundavisk_words. Retrieved 2023-05-03.