Aeranir
| Aeranir | |
|---|---|
| coeñar indëris | |
| coeñar aerānir | |
| Pronunciation | [[Help:IPA|[[ˈcøː.ɲar ˈɪ̃n.dæ.rɪs̠], [ˈcøː.ɲar ɛːˈraː.nɪr]]]] |
| Created by | Limius |
| Setting | Avrid |
| Native to | Telrhamir, Iscaria, the Aeranid Empire |
| Ethnicity | Aeran |
Maro-Ephenian
| |
Early forms | Proto-Maro-Ephenian
|
Aeranir, also known as coeñar aerānir (language of the Aerans), or coeñar indëris (language of the capital), is an Iscaric language in the Maro-Ephenian language group. It was originally spoken by the Aerans, developed in the deserts of Northern Iscaria in the city of Telrhamir, and spread with the expanse of the Aeranid Empire throughout Ephenia, as well as parts of Eubora and Syra. It later developed into the Aeranid languages, such as Dalot, Ilesse, Iscariano, Îredese, S'entigneis, and Tevrés. It is still used throughout Ephenia as a language of theology, science, medicine, literature, and law.
Aeranir had been standardised into Classical Aeranir by the time of the Early Empire, around the second millennia BTC by the writer and educator Limius. The period before that is generally referred to as Old Aeranir. The language spoken between the 15th and 12th centuries BTC is generally referred to Late Aeranir. This shift is marked by several grammatical and phonetic shifts. After that period, Aeranir began to splinter off into the various Aeranid languages. A form of Classical Aeranir called New Aeranir or Medieval Aeranir remained in use in official writings even after this period.
Aeranir is a highly infective and fusional language, with three distinct genders, nine cases, two aspects, four moods, three persons, two or three voices, and two numbers.
History
Old Aeranir
The oldest attested form of Aeranir is Old Aeranir, which was spoken in the kingdom of Telrhamir circa 2300 BTC. It is attested mostly in inscriptions found in and around the Great Desert, and in some early remaining Aeranid literary works. Old Aeranir lacked many of the verb-forms found in Classical Aeranir, such as the potential and causative moods, and the passive voice (which was marginal even in Classical Aeranir). Old Aeranir had an additional declension class, the i-stem declension, which merged with the consonant-stems in Classical Aeranir. Proto-Iscaric diphthongs /ei/ and /ou/, as well as initial /gn/ and non-affricate /ts/ were retained in Old Aeranir, and it is believed that Classical /ɛː ɔː øː yː/ remained diphthongs /ai au oi ui/ (and were thus written ai au oi ui, as opposed to Classical ae au oe ȳ). In general, Old Aeranir lacked much of the vowel diminishing that characterised Classical Aeranir.
Classical Aeranir
A standardised form of the language arouse in the time of the Early Empire, created conciously by the prominent grammarians, writers, and orators of the time. This formed the basis of what was taught in the Telrhamiran axēs system. One of the most prominent of these figures was Limius (who was known in their day as Lēctïca Prīstus Limius Vestil Oscānus Fellëntīmā Motā Soniae) who is credited with first marking diminished vowels in writing.
Phonology
Consonants
| Labial | Coronal | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| dental | lateral | post- alveolar |
plain | labial | plain | labial | |||||
| Nasal | m /m/ |
n /n/ |
ñ /ɲ/ |
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| Stop | voiceless | p /p/ |
t /t̪/ |
c /k/ |
cu /kʷ/ |
q /q/ |
qu /qʷ/ |
||||
| voiced | b /b/ |
d /d̪/ |
g /g/ |
gu /gʷ/ |
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| Affricate | tl /tɬ/ |
ç /ts̠/ |
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| Fricative | f /f/ |
s /s̠/ |
gh /ɣ/ |
h /h/ | |||||||
| Trill | voiceless | rh /r̥/ |
|||||||||
| voiced | r /r/ |
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| Approximate | v /ʋ/ |
l /l/ |
i /j/ |
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Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | rounded | |||
| Close | i • ī /ɪ/ • /iː/ |
y • ȳ /ʏ/ • /yː/ |
ï • ü /ɨ/ • /ʉ/ |
u • ū /ʊ/ • /uː/ |
| Mid-close | ē /eː/ |
oe /øː/ |
ö /ɵ/ |
ō /oː/ |
| Mid-open | e • ae /ɛ/ • /ɛː/ |
o • au /ɔ/ • /ɔː/ | ||
| Open | ë /æ/ |
a • ā /a/ • /aː/ | ||
Verbs
Conjugation
Number of Conjugations
| Aspect → | Imperfective | Perfective | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mood → Voice ↓ |
Indicative | Subjunctive | Optative | Potential | Indicative | Subjunctive | Optative | Potential |
| Active | aedaç They love me |
aedet They should love me |
aedārit They want to love me |
aedātaç They can love me |
aedāvī They loved me |
aedēvī They should have loved me |
aedāruī They wanted to love me |
aedātāvī They could have loved me |
| Middle | aedor I love |
aedeō I should love |
aedārō I want to love |
aedātor I can love |
aedāvō I loved |
aedēvō I should have loved |
aedāruō I wanted to love |
aedātāvō I could have loved |
| Passive | aedālō I am loved |
aedēlō I should be loved |
aedārēlō I want to be loved |
aedātālō I can be loved |
aedāvēlō I was loved |
aedēvēlō I should have been loved |
aedāruēlō I wanted to be loved |
aedātāvēlō I could have been loved |
| Causative | aedātiç They let me love them |
aedātiat They should let me love them |
aedātīrit They want to let me love them |
aedātītaç They can let me love them |
aedātīvī They have let me love them |
aedātiāvī They should have let me love them |
aedātīruī They wanted to let me love them |
aedātītāvī They could have let me love them |
Principle Parts
The verb in Aeranir is primarily made of three parts: stem, theme, and ending, with an optional forth category, the suffix, for forming the perfective. The stem carries the semantic content of the word, and can also be conjugated to carry modal imformation. The theme describes how the stem interacts with the ending, and can also be changed, along with the stem and endings, to express a variety of different grammatical meanings. Endings indicate the voice, aspect, person, number, and gender of the most oblique argument in the DGA scheme.
| Active | Middle | Passive | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imperfective | Perfective | Imperfective | Perfective | Imperfective | Perfective | |||
| Singular | 1st Person | -iç/-it | -ī | -or/-ō | -ō | -ēlō | -ēlō | |
| 2nd Person | -in | -in | -istī | -iste | -ēlāstī | -ēlāste | ||
| 3rd Person | temporary | -is | -is | -ërur | -ëre | -ēlārur | -ēlāre | |
| cyclical | -a | -a | -erra | -ēlārra | ||||
| eternal | -ī | -e | -ërur | -ēlārur | ||||
| Plural | 1st Person | -ïmus | -ïme | -ïmur | -ïmur | -ēlāmur | -ēlāme | |
| 2nd Person | -ïtis | -ïte | -ïtur | -ïtur | -ēlātur | -ēlāte | ||
| 3rd Person | -end | -end | ||||||
The way in which a verb will conjugate can be determined from how it forms the following five constructions:
- the active idicative imperfective first person singular
- the active imperfective accusative infinitive
- the active perfective participle
- the active optative imperfective first person singular
- the active indicative perfective first person singular
These five forms are refered to as a verb's reference forms. They are often shortend to first person singular (1p.sg), accusative infinitive (acc.inf), perfective participle (pfv.ptcp), optative first person singular (opt.1p.sg), and perfective first person singular (pfv.1p.sg) respectively.
The first of these reference forms determines a verb's base thematic class, or what theme vowel is used in its indicative imperfective forms. There are four main thematic classes; one weak or null class, wherein the ending is applied directly to the stem, and three strong classes, wherein a thematic vowel is inserted between the stem and the ending.
| t-stem | s-stem | |
|---|---|---|
| -m- | → -mpt- | → -s-* |
| -n- | → -nt- | |
| -ñ- | ||
| -p- | → -pt- | → -ps- |
| -t- | → -ss- → -s-** |
→ -ss- → -s-** |
| -tl- | ||
| -ç- | ||
| -c- | → -ct- | → -x- |
| -cu- | ||
| -q- | → -qt- | → -qs- |
| -qu- | ||
| -b- | → -pt-* | → -ps-* |
| -d- | → -s-* | → -s-* |
| -g- | → -ct-* | → -x-* → -s-† |
| -s- | → -st- | → -ss- → -s-** |
| -r- | → -st- → -s-** → -rt-†† |
→ -ss- → -s-** → -rr-†† |
| -l- | → -s-** → -lt-†† |
→ -s-** → -ll-†† |
| -v- | → -ut-‡ → -ct-*†† |
→ -ur-‡ → -x-*†† |
| -i- | → -ct-* | → -x-* |
| -gh- | ||
| -V- | → -Vt- | → -Vr- |
| Ending | Theme | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| -ā- | -ē- | -ī- | |
| -iç | → -aç | → -eç | → -iç |
| -is | → -ās | → -ēs | → -īs |
| -a | → -a | → -ea | → -ia |
| -ī | → -ae | → -ī | → -ī |
| -ïmus | → -āmus | → -ēmus | → -īmus |
| -or | → -or | → -eor | → -ior |
| -ēlō | → -ālō | → -ēlō | → -iēlō |
The second two determine a verbs's t-stem and s-stem. These stem alterations are used for further conjugation, the t-stem forming the active and middle perfective participles, the causative voice, and the potential mood, and the s-stem forming the optative. The t- and s-forms often are identical, however meaning is useally further differentiated by thematic vowels, so completely identical forms are rare.
The final form determines how a verb with form the perfective aspect. Generally, there are three main strategies for this: the application of suffix -u- directly after the stem (e.g. oeliç ("I work") → oeluī ("I worked")), the appication of the suffix -v- after a theme vowel (e.g. aedaç ("they love me") → aedāvī ("they loved me")), or no suffix, with lengthening of the root vowel (e.g. legiç ("I choose") → lēgī ("I chose")). It should be noted that the perfective is always followed by weak endings.
Occassionally, a thematic vowel, weak or strong, may be inserted before the t- or s-stem. This is most common in verbs with a base thematic -ā-, which often functions as a part of the stem (e.g. aedaç → aedātus ("that loved") aedārit ("they want to love me") vs. mavaç ("I wander") → mautus ("that wandered") maurit ("I want to wander)). This may occur with other theme classes, although it should be noted that -ē- is never used, and is always replaced with -ī-.
Aspect
Aeranir verbs have two basic aspects, which express how the verb extends over time. Aspect differs from tense in that it deals with the completion or continuity of an action or state, rather than the absolute timeframe inwhich it took place. Each aspect may be in any voice and/or mood. Aspect is expressed primarily through endings, and secondarily through the suffix, as discussed above.
Imperfective
The imperfective aspect describes a situation viewed with interior composition. It describes ongoing, habitual, or repeated situations, rather or not they occured in the past, present, or future. The imperfective aspect is considered the most basic, unmarked aspect of a verb. The stem is uninflected, and endings are attached directly to the verb's basic theme vowel.
- vōnia rhael salvan—The child reads/is reading/was reading/will be reading a book
Pefective
Voice
Indicative
The indicative mood is the baseline grammatical mood in Aeranir. It is used in declarative statements, to express statements or facts, of what the speaker considers true or known. It is the least marked mood of a verb, taking endings directly to the base theme vowel, stem, or suffix.
Indicative
Subjunctive
The subjunctive mood has numerous, but genreally speaking is used to express such nuances as 'would,' 'should,' or 'may.' It can be used to refer to information that the speaker is unsure about, such as hearsay, or for theoretical or hypotherical situations. It is often found in subordinate clauses, annd may be used for conditional statements (e.g. if..., when...).
| Type | Change | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weak Verbs | -ø- → -ē- | mendiç → mendet | |
| -ē- → -ā- | mendēlō → mendālō | ||
| Strong Verbs |
a-stem | -ā- → -ē- | aedaç → aedet aedālō → aedēlō |
| i-stem | -ī- → -iā- | saepiç → saepiat | |
| -iē- → -iā- | saepiēlō → saepiālō | ||
| e-stem | -ē- → -eā- | cōreç → cōreat cōrēlō → cōreālō | |
The subjunctive is formed by shifting a verb's base theme vowel, as described by the table to the left. This shift happens after the stem, but may be either before or after the suffix, depending on whether or not there is a theme vowel before the suffix in the indicative. So the perfective of aedēs ("they should love it") is aedēvis (from indicative aedāvis) but saepiās ("they should cut it") is saepuēs (from indicative saepuis), not **aedāvēs or **saepēvis. Although these forms are occasionally found in non-standard writing, they are considered incorrect my grammaticians.
The imperfective subjunctive uses the 1st person sungular -it instead of -iç, and -ō instead of -or: paciç, pacior ("they take me, I take") become paciat, paciō ("they should take me, I should take").
The 1st person subjunctive perfective in verbs that have no theme vowel before the suffix and does not extend the root vowel is identical to the indicative, and the mood must be inferred through conext: saepuī may be either "they cut me" or "They should cut me."
Optative
Potential
Perfective system
| mendiç "they heal me" |
aedaç "they love me" |
legiç "they choose me" |
cōreç "they torture me" | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| singular | plural | singular | plural | singular | plural | singular | plural | ||
| 1st Person | menduī | menduïme | aedāvī | aedāvïme | lēgī | lēgïme | cōrēvī | cōrēvïme | |
| 2nd Person | menduin | menduïte | aedāvin | aedāvïte | lēgin | lēgïte | cōrēvin | cōrēvïte | |
| 3rd Person | temporary | menduis | menduend | aedāvis | aedāvend | lēgis | lēgend | cōrēvis | cōrēvend |
| cyclical | mendua | aedāva | lēga | cōrēva | |||||
| eternal | mendue | aedāve | lēge | cōrēve | |||||