Alska: Difference between revisions

|pronunciation = ['alska]

|region = Scandinavia/The Baltic States

|fam3 = [[w:West_Germanic_languages|East Scandinavian]]

|iso1 = al

|iso3 = als

|script       = [[w:Latin script|Latin script]]

Alska ['alska] is a Western Scandinavian language created for the purposes of enhancing mutual intelligebility across the main scandinavian languages, Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian. Icelandic and Faroese are represented in the orthography and phonology of the language, but most of th main vocabulary is made up of mainland Scandinavian words. It is designed to be mutually intelligible to all Scandinavians without borrowing too heavily from any one language.  

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|corresponds with (ej)/(ei) in Mainland Scandinavia, as well as certain instances of (eg) in Danish  

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|[r]

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|pronounced almost like German 'ü'

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|(ŋ)

|ɕɕ

|r

Additionally, if any consonant directly precedes 'r', that consonant is silent. For example:

|i

|u:/ü:

|ø

|o:

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Almost every vowel has a short and a long version, which changes according to whether there is a double consonant cluster immediately following it or not. Any two of the same consonants following a vowel with make it short, with the exceptions of 'a' and 'u'. For example, 'okk' (and) = 'ɔk.  'ok', while not a word, would be pronounced 'o̞k'.  This does not occur when two different consonants follow a vowel, such as 'ng'.

 

 

Alska has three diphthongs, and one digraph.

'ej' is the most common diphthong, while 'ai' is the least common.  There is no 'ow' sound in  Standard Alska, unlike Standard German.  Some dialects, mostly the northern variants, associate this sound to the letter 'å'.

Stress usually falls on the first syllable of a noun.  Stress falls on every root sylable of a compound word.  Words that do not follow this pattern are usually loanwords, which follow their original pronunciation rules when adopted, although the spelling is often changed to help integrate them into Alska.

Nouns have two genders in Alska, Common and Neuter.  These nouns must always agree with their adjectives gender-wise.   

 

Nouns can come in two numbers, singular and plural.  To make a vowel plural, either the suffix '-er', '-e' or '-ene' is added to the end.  Very few nouns that have a natural fminine gender get the '-e' suffix for their indefinite plural form.  This can cause confusion, since '-er' is also how verbs conjugate for all persons in the present tense.  When a noun is definite, the plural is '-ene'.  When it is not, the plural is '-er'.   

Nouns can be definite or indefinite, and this is decided by the use of an enclitic article.  The common gender has the suffix '-en' to make it definite, the neuter gender has '-et'.  These articles can be separated from their noun.  This transforms them into <i>indefinite</i> articles.    

For example:

 

 

Here is a chart showing a selection of nouns in their indefinite and definite forms, as well as the plurals for each.  

!'''Plural'''

!'''Meaning'''

|manner

|common

|man

|fotene

|common

|foot

|lander

|neuter

|shoe

|ligtene

|neuter

|light

|life

|sprokkene

|common

|language

|tirer

|neuter

|love

|vulfene

|common

|wolf

|lady

|lørdene

|common

|lord

With definite and indefinite nouns come definite (demonstrative) and indefinite articles.  Gender applies to these articles in both the definite and indefinite form.

!'''Definite article'''

!'''Common'''

!'''Plural'''

!'''Nom. / Acc.'''

!'''Dat.'''

|at

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Demonstrative articles are used when

a) referring directly to something or someone. 

b) referring back to the subject of the sentence of something previously mentioned. 

*  For example: <i>Tirer er alltid duf. Det er ikke bestimmer</i> - Animals are always stupid. This is not true.  Here 'det' is referring to the previous mentioned concept of animals being stupid.

c) an adjective precedes the noun it stems from.   

Often the demonstrative article is used instead of the enclitic article in speech because saying 'den strungen mann' is also the same as saying 'strungen mannen'

Personal pronouns change depending on the case they are used in.  (Nominative, Accusative, Dative, or Genitive)  Possessive Pronouns change depending on the gender of the noun they possess.   

|colspan=2|jeg

|colspan="2"|mig

|colspan="2"|minn

|colspan="2"|osser

|colspan="2"|dig

|colspan="2"| -

|colspan="2"| -

|den / det

|disse / disse

|han

|den / det

|disse / disse

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This is one of the only times that defined masculine and feminine category appears in Alska, as it is a case of natural gender.  

There are no genitive forms for 'du', and 'han/hun/det'.  Their corresponding possessives are used instead.   

!'''Plural'''

!'''jeg'''

|dinn

|dinnene

|sinn

|sinnene

!'''hun'''

|osser

|osser

|ier

|ierne

*<i>Mitt hus</i> - My house

*<i>Minn hund</i> - My dog

===Adjectives===

Adjectives come in their root form, and are inflected for gender and number, with the same two endings used for making nouns definite, '-en', and '-et'.  The plural ending is '-ene'  An adjective does not, however, have to be inflected if it comes <i>after</i> the noun it describes.  

Here are some examples:

 

 

The comparative form of adjectives is formed by adding '-ere' to the adjective itself.  The word 'ennd' precedes the noun being compared.

*<i>Den mann er strungere ennd den flyge</i> - The man is stronger than that girl.   

If something is being compared on the same level, 'somm' is used after the adjective.  

If something is being compared as less than something, 'minntre' is used before the adjective, and 'somm' is used before the other noun.

*<i>Den mann er minntre strung somm den flyge</i> - The man is weaker than the woman. (This can also be formed with the adjective weak, or by using 'ikke' before 'minntre', making 'not as strong')

*<i>Det hus er godt</i> - The house is good

*<i>Det hus er bettre</i> - The house is better

*<i>Dette hus er betre ennd det hus</i> - This house is better than that house

!strung

|strungere

|strungest

!godt

|betre

|best

!hog

|højer

|højest

|high

|elt

!kald

|kaldere

|kaldest

|smål

!0

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!1

!2

|tø

|sekunde

!3

!4

|fjyr

|fjyrede

!5

|fimmede

!6

|sexede

!7

|sjø

|sjøede

|attede

|nan

|nanede

|tan

!11

|ellfede

!12

|tolfede

!13

|tretan

|tretanede

|fjyrtanede

!15

|fimmtan

|fimmtanede

!16

|sextan

|sjøtanede

|attjanede

|nantan

|nantanede

|Tjoede

|Tjoen

|Tejoenede

!22

|Tjoitø

|Tjoitøede

!30

|tretede

!31

|treen (tre-en)

|treenede

!40

|fjyrtide

!50

|fimmtide

!60

|sextide

|sjøti

!80

|jåttit

!90

|nanti

|nantide

!100

|hundrede

Note that in some numbers, certain letters are omitted, such as the 'i' in 'tjoen'.

Ordinal numbers are created by adding '-ede' onto the end.  In some cases, just'-de' is added. 

 

Counting is relatively simple in Alska.  To make two digit numbers, one simply puts two numbers together.  Numbers after one hundred work in the same way:

 

 

The word for thousand is '<i>tusennd</i>; it's ordinal form is '<i>tusennede</i>'. Million is '<i>milliard</i>'/'<i>milliarde</i>'

!'''Interrogatives'''

|hvemm

|hvad

|hver

|hvørfer

|hvorden

|nør

Adverbs are never declined or inflected, can be placed before or after the verb.

Here, today is being used adverbially because it shows when I want to run. The reason 'vil' is not conjugated is because it is a modal verb, which do not receive the '-r' suffix.  'lufe' is still in the infinitive because any verb after a modal verb must stay that way.

[[Category:Conlangs]]

|    Our Father in heaven,          ||                  Osser vadr i himmell,

|    Give us this day our daily bread,      ||          giver oss disse dagligen brød,

|    and forgive us our debts,              ||           ok tillgive oss osser skulder,

|    as we also have forgiven our debtors.    ||       hvorden vi har tilgivedde osser skuldmanner.

|   And lead us not into temptation,       ||         ok leder oss ikke i på frissthellse,

|    but deliver us from evil.               ||         men tillever oss fra ande.

 

 

| There once was a man from Japan || Der var en mann fra japan || Der var en mann frå japan || Der vor in maan fra jaapaan

| Whose limericks had not many a fan || Hves limerer ingen mange fanatikker havdde ||  hves limerer inge mange fanatiker havde || Hvis lim'rer ing'n mang' faanaatikker haade

| When asked why he said: || Nør spårgte hvorfer han sagdde: || Nor sporgte hvorfor han sagde: || Nor sporgte hvorfor hin sáde:

| It is because I always try to fit as many syllables into the last line as I possibly can || Det er for jeg altid prøver ett fidde somm mange syllaber i den sisde linje somm jeg mulige kan || Det er forde jæyg alltid prøver i fedde sum mange sylaber i den siste linje sum jæyg mulige kan || Din e forde jeg aaltid prøve å f'd som máng' sillaber i din sisti line som jeg mulg' kaan

*EA:  [dɛ(ɹ) vɔ(ɹ) ɪn ma:n frau ja'ba:n  '''|'''  vi:s lɪm'ɛɹˌ(ɛɹ) ɪŋ'ɛn meɪŋ'ɛ fa:nˌa:'dɪkˌ(ɛɹ) ha:d  '''|'''  nɔ(ɹ) spɔɹ'kt hvɔɹ'fɔ(ɹ) hɪn seɪ(d) '''|'''  dɪn e: fɔɹ'(dɛ) a: a:l'ti:(d) prø'f(ɛ) ɔ: fɛ(t) sɔs meɪŋ'ɛ si:l'aupˌ(ɛɹ) i: dɪn sis'tɪ li:n'ɛ sɔs a: mʉl'kɛ ka:n

|mann

|hemmell

|sju

|ligt