Alska/Dialects: Difference between revisions

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'''This page is no longer "canon" with my re-working of Alska.  I'm going to leave it as it is, but it does not necessarily reflect on Alska as it currently stands'''
==Dialect Classification==
==Dialect Classification==


Alska has six primary dialects.  Four of these form a continuum across the main island of Alsland; the fifth and sixth dialects are not related to each other, but are easily recognizable as Alska.   
Alska has six primary dialects.  Four of these form a continuum across the main island of Alsland; the fifth and sixth dialects are not related to each other, but are easily recognizable as Alska.   


On Alsland Proper, there are four dialect regions:  East, West, North, and South.  Southern Alsla is the standard, and Northern Alska is the farthest from it.  The two colonial dialects are even further, but are not spoken on the main island.  These regions in turn have their own dialects, but they are far too small to be recognized by non-speakers as such.   
On Alsland Proper, there are four dialect regions:  East, West, North, and South.  Southern Alsla is the standard, and Eastern Alska is the farthest from it.  The two colonial dialects are even further, but are not spoken on the main island.  These regions in turn have their own dialects, but they are far too small to be recognized by non-speakers as such.   




===Sydalska===
===Sydalska===


<url=http://linguifex.com/index.php?title=Alska>Southern Alslandic<url> - Will fix later
[[Alska|Southern Alska]] is the standard language for all government documents and is taught in schools as a mandatory language in Alsland. Its dominance is in part due to the area it is natively spoken in, which is much more temperate than the West, East, or NorthThis allowed for a larger population of native speakers, and the largest city in the South of Alsland, Syderhamn, is the country's main port and center of trade.


===Nordalska===
===Nordalska===


Northern Alska is one of the least spoken of all the dialects, and is the farthest away from Southern Alska on the dialect continuumMajor differences include pronunciation, spelling, and small grammar changes.
Northern Alska is one of the least spoken of all the dialects, and while it looks somewhat similar to Standard Alska in its orthography, the pronunciation is quite differentMany times, native speakers of SA have a hard time understanding Northern Alska, and they describe it as if 'one is speaking with marbles in their mouth.'  On the other hand, speakers of Eastern Alska can understand Northern Alska the best, follows by Western Alska speakers.  


====Phonology====  
====Phonology====  
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|-
|-
|o
|o
|[ò]/[o̞]
|[ɔ]/[o̞]
| -
| -
|-
|-
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|-
|-
|s
|s
|[s]
|[s]/[ʃ]
| -
| -
|-
|-
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|-
|-
|u
|u
|[u:]
|[ʉ]
|has no short version
|has no short version
|-
|-
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|[øy]
|[øy]
| -  
| -  
|-
-
|}
|}


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|-
|-
|Alsland
|Alsland
|[alʃ'lɑ:nt]
|[alʃ'leɪnt]
|[als'la:nd]
|[als'la:nd]
|alsland
|alsland
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|-
|-
|ett Vere
|ett Vere
|[et vɛrɛ]
|[ɛt vɛrɛ]
|i Ve
|i Ve
|[i: ve:]
|[i: ve:]
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|}
|}


====Grammar====
===Grammar===


Grammar is largely the same in Northern Alska as it is in Standard Alska, with a few execptions.
Grammar is largely the same in Northern Alska as it is in Standard Alska, with a few execptions.
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Notice the spelling change from 'y' to 'øy' to accommodate the missing [y:] phoneme in NA.
Notice the spelling change from 'y' to 'øy' to accommodate the missing [y:] phoneme in NA.


====Verbs====


The formation of past tense endings also changes in NA.  Words that have an '-r' ending in the past tense in Standard Alska have a '-kk' ending in Northern Alska:
The formation of past tense endings also changes in NA.  Words that have an '-r' ending in the past tense in Standard Alska have a '-kk' ending in Northern Alska:
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This change applies only to '-r' words and the other past tense suffixes are the same in Northern Alska as they are in Southern Aslka.
This change applies only to '-r' words and the other past tense suffixes are the same in Northern Alska as they are in Southern Aslka.
====Definite/Indefinite Articles====
The definite and indefinite articles are different in Northern Alska than they are in Southern Alska.  The neuter indefinite article changes from <i>et</i> to <i>ey</i>, but the common articles stay the same. 
{| {{Table/bluetable}} style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"
!'''Definite article'''
!'''Common'''
!'''Neuter'''
!'''Plural'''
!'''Indefinite Article'''
!'''Common'''
!'''Neuter'''
!'''Plural'''
|-
!'''Nom. / Acc.'''
|den
|dey
|denne/deye
!'''Nom./Acc.'''
|en
|ey
| -
|-
!'''Dat.'''
|dan
|day
|danne/daye
!'''Dat.'''
|an
|ay
| -
|}
This also changes the enclitic article ending for the Neuter Gender:  Neuter nouns now end in <i>'-ey'</i> instead of <i>'-et'</i>


====Personal Pronouns====
====Personal Pronouns====
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*<i>på</i> to <i>po</i> ([pɔ] - [pɔ])
*<i>på</i> to <i>po</i> ([pɔ] - [pɔ])
*<i>ok</i> to <i>o</i> ([o̞] - [ɔ])
*<i>ok</i> to <i>o</i> ([o̞] - [ɔ])
*<i>ikke</i> to <i>ikje</i> ([ɪg'gɛ] - [i:ʃ'je:])  There is a sort of glider-j inserted between [ʃ] and [e:], but it is not full realized.
*<i>ikke</i> to <i>ikje</i> ([ɪg'gɛ] - [i:ʃ'])  Normally, the digraph <i>kj</i> is pronounced [ʃ], but in this instance the [j] is realized as well.  
*<i>fra</i> to <i>frå</i> ([fra:] - [frau])
*<i>somm</i> to <i>sum</i> ([sɔm] - [sʉm])
*<i>fra</i> to <i>frå</i> ([fra:] - [fʁau])
*<i>din</i> to <i>dæyn</i> ([dɪn] - [dein])
*<i>din</i> to <i>dæyn</i> ([dɪn] - [dein])
*<i>er</i> to <i>e</i> ([er] - [e])  <i>ett Vere</i> changes to <i>i Ve</i> in Northern Alska, and the conjugation for all persons in present tense is simply <i>e</i> in NA.   
*<i>er</i> to <i>e</i> ([er] - [e])  <i>ett Vere</i> changes to <i>i Ve</i> in Northern Alska, and the conjugation for all persons in present tense is simply <i>e</i> in NA.   
*<i>giver</i> to <i>giv</i> ([gɪv'ɛr] - [gi:v]).  The command form of a verb in SA is the exact same as it's present tense conjugation, but in NA the command form is simply the infinitive without the <i>e</i> attached to it.  This also appears with the verbs <i>ett lede</i>, <i>ett tillgive,</i> and <i>ett tilleve</i> (SA versions).
*<i>giver</i> to <i>giv</i> ([gɪv'ɛr] - [gi:v]).  The command form of a verb in SA is the exact same as it's present tense conjugation, but in NA the command form is simply the infinitive without the <i>e</i> attached to it.  This also appears with the verbs <i>ett lede</i>, <i>ett tillgive,</i> ''ett vere,'' and <i>ett tilleve</i> (SA versions).
 
===Østalska (Ustalsj')===
 
Eastern Alska, called Østalska in Standard, and Ustalsj' [ʉsd'a:lʃɛ] natively, is the dialect furthest from Standard Alska.  It is somewhat similar to Northern Alska in phonology, which is why speakers of those two dialects can understand each other better than speakers of the other dialects.  However, the orthography differs quite drastically from the straightforward spellings of Standard and Northern Alska. 
 
====Phonology====
 
{| {{Table/bluetable}} style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"
!'''Letters'''
!'''Pronunciation'''
!'''Further information'''
|-
|a
|[au]
| -
|-
|aa
|[a:]
| can be long or short
|-
|[eɪ]
| pronounced like 'long a' in English
|-
|b
|[b]
| -
|-
|d
|[d]/[ð]
|pronounced [d] at the beginning or end of a word, [ð] elsewhere
|-
|e
|[e:]
| -
|-
|f
|[f]
| -
|-
|g
|[g]
| -
|-
|h
|[h]
| -
|-
|i
|[ɪ]/[i:]/[ɛ]
| [ɛ] in some cases, most notably ''ikke''
|-
|j
|[j]
|corresponds to ''y'' in English ''you''
|-
|k
|[k]
| -
|-
|l
|[l]
| -
|-
|ll
|[tl]
| -
|-
|m
|[m]
| -
|-
|n
|[n]
| -
|-
|o
|[ɔ]/[o:] ([o̞:])
| [o̞:] is similar to English b'''oo'''k
|-
|p
|[p]
| -
|-
|r
|[ɹ]
|
|-
|s
|[s]/[ʃ]
| -
|-
|t
|[t]
| -
|-
|u
|[ʉ]
|has no short version
|-
|v
|[f]
| -
|-
|y
|[aj]
| -
|-
|[ɔ]
| -
|-
|[ø]
| -
|-
|'
|[ɛ]
| -
|-
|}
 
Eastern Alska (EA) has 27 letters in its alphabet, including <i>aa</i>, which stands for the phone [a:], and ''á'', which stands for [eɪ].  (The letter <i>a</i> in EA is pronounced [au])
 
There are several letters that do not  produce the sound one would expect.  Since EA does not have any sort of recognized diphthongs, the letters <i>a</i> and <i>y</i> stand for [au] and [aj] respectively.  (These sounds are represented by diphthongs in other dialects)
 
The ''apostrof'' (<i>'</i>) is counted as a full letter in Eastern Alska, and is pronounced [ɛ].  This can be confusing to non-native speakers of EA because words that would normally have a short 'e' are instead spelled with an apostrophe.  This also happens in the definite/indefinite articles.
 
The same voiced-unvoiced consonant switch occurs in Eastern Alska as it does in Northern Alska, but to a lesser degree.
 
One notable phonetic shift in Eastern Alska is the placement of ''sj'' in words that normally contain ''kj'' in Standard
 
*''Alsj' '' [al'ʃɛ] (EA) - ''Alska'' [als'ka] (SA) - Alska
*''Mensjer'' [mɛnʃ(ɹ)] (EA) - ''Mennsker'' [mɛn'skɛr] (SA) - People
 
====Apostrof====
 
The Apostrophe (') represents the phone [ɛ], and is used only when the sound is to be fully realized.  The apostrohpe is used to counteract the dropping of word-final, unstressed syllables in Eastern Alska.  It is also used in stressed syllables because the letter ''e'' only represents the phone [e:].  If ''e'', or any other vowel is found in an unstressed syllable (usually at the end of a word), it is dropped from speech.  However, if ' is in the final syllable, it is still unstressed, but the [ɛ] is pronounced. 
 
This is shown in the tables below.
 
====Pronunciation Differences/Spelling Differences====
Here is a table with many confusing examples of the EA orthography:
 
{| {{Table/bluetable}} style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"
!'''Spelling (SA)'''
!'''Pronunciation (SA)
!'''Spelling (EA)'''
!'''Pronunciation (EA)'''
!'''Meaning'''
|-
|Ja
|[ja]
|Ja
|[jau]
|yes
|-
|Nej
|[naj]
|Ny
|[naj]
|no
|-
|ett Vere
|[ɛt vɛrɛ]
|å V'r
|[ɔ vɛ(ɹ)]
|to be
|-
|Alsland
|[a:ls'land]
|Aalsl'n
|[a:ls'lɛ(n)]
|alsland
|-
|Flyge
|[fly:'gɛ]
|Fluk'
|[flʉ'kɛ]
|girl, woman
|-
|Vadr
|[va:r]
|Vaa'r
|[fa'ɛ(ɹ)]
|father
|-
|Hej
|[hei]
|Hy
|[hei]
|hello
|-
|ett Kyke
|[ɛt ky:'kɛ]
|å Kug
|[ɔ kʉ(g)]
|to cook
|-
|}
 
There are also certain 'core words' in Alska that are pronounced so differently from EA to SA that they are hard to distinguish:
 
{| {{Table/bluetable}} style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"
!'''Spelling (SA)'''
!'''Pronunciation (SA)
!'''Pronunciation (EA)'''
!'''Meaning'''
|-
|Jeg
|[jaj]
|[a:]/[ja]
|I
|-
|Ikke
|[ɪg'gɛ]
|[ɛk]
|not
|-
|}
 
''Jeg'' is either pronounced [a:] or [ja:] depending on how far east you are.  The word-final ''g'' is never realized, nor is the [aj] sound of the Standard Word. 
 
While the letter 'e' normally stands for the phone [e:], it is often dropped from speech altogether when it is in an unstressed syllable in EA.  If the unstressed ''e'' is to be pronounced, it is represented with the letter <i>'</i>:
 
 
*''ikke'' [ɛk] - ''ing'n'' [ɪŋ'ɛn]
 
This means that the past tense of many verbs have the entire past-tense suffix dropped from speech: ''havede'' is pronounced [ha:v(ð)], and ''kykte'' is pronounced [ki:k(t)].  The parentheses indicate that the consonant can be realized, but never fully. There is an incredible reduction of word-final consonants in Eastern Alska:
 
{| {{Table/bluetable}} style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"
!'''Spelling (SA)'''
!'''Pronunciation (SA)
!'''Spelling (EA)'''
!'''Pronunciation (EA)'''
!'''Meaning'''
|-
|Snakker
|[snak'kɛr]
|Snákk'r
|[ʃneɪk'ɛ(ɹ)]
|to talk (present tense conjugation)
|-
|For
|[fo̞r]
|For
|[få]
|for
|-
|Hemmell
|[hɛm'mɛl]
|h'mmel
|[hɛm'(l)]
|heaven, sky
|-
|}
 
====Grammar====
 
The grammar in EA is very different from SA.  The largest differences comes from the distinction between three genders (''kån'') instead of only two.  Eastern Alska has a Masculine, Feminine, and Neuter gender, each with its own enclitic article and definite article:
 
SA on the left, EA on the right
 
{| {{Table/bluetable}} style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"
!rowspan="2"|'''Gender'''
!colspan="4"|'''Enclitic Article'''
|-
!colspan="2"|'''Standard Alska'''
!colspan="2"|'''Eastern Alska'''
|-
!'''Masculine'''
|colspan=2|en
|colspan="2"|in
|-
!'''Feminine'''
|colspan="2"| -
|colspan="2"|ijn
|-
!'''Neuter'''
|colspan="2"|et
|colspan="2"|et
|-
|}
 
This also causes the possessive pronouns to switch to a three-gender system:
 
 
{| {{Table/bluetable}} style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"
!rowspan="2"|'''Gender'''
!colspan="4"|'''Possessive Pronoun'''
|-
!colspan="2"|'''Standard Alska'''
!colspan="2"|'''Eastern Alska'''
|-
!'''Masculine'''
|colspan=2|minn [mɪn]
|colspan="2"|myne [mein]
|-
!'''Feminine'''
|colspan="2"| -
|colspan="2"|mijn [mi:n]
|-
!'''Neuter'''
|colspan="2"|mitt [mɪt]
|colspan="2"|mytt [meit]
|-
|}
 
 
Adjectives are also inflected for three genders instead of two:
 
*''Din sp'dd'''i''' hustir [dɪn spɛð hʉs'ti:(ɹ)]'' - the excited pet (While ''hus'' is neuter, the gender of a compound word is always taken from the final noun in the compound.  In this case, ''tir(in)'' is masculine.  ''Din'' is the masculine definite article, and is not to be confused with the SA ''din'', which is the second person possessive pronoun.  It's counterparts in EA are dine, dijn, and ditt)
 
*''Dij smuk'''jijn''' fluk' [di: smʉk'ji:(jn) flʉkɛ]'' - the pretty girl
 
*''Det redd'''t''' hus [de: ɹe:ðd hʉs]'' - the red house
 
====Verbs====
 
Verbs are made with an ''å'' in the infinitive form, but do not have any special ending on the actual verb, such as SA's way of adding an ''e'' onto verbs. 
 
*''å Kug'' - to Cook (EA)
*''ett Kyk'''e''' '' - to Cook (SA)
 
Additionally, the conjugation, while still universal in the present tense, is an ''-e'' instead of ''-er''.  This can be confusing in speech because final-syllable vowels are always dropped unless the syllable contains ' , and the adding of an ''e'' does not change the pronunciation of a verb from the infinitive.  This also changes the form of 'to be' form ''er'' to ''e''.
 
{| {{Table/bluetable}} style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"
!'''Verb (EA)'''
!'''Present'''
!'''IPA'''
!'''Meaning'''
!'''Verb (SA)'''
!'''Present'''
!'''IPA'''
!'''Meaning'''
|-
!'''å Skriv'''
|skrive
|[skɹi:'f]
|to write
!'''ett Skrive'''
|skriver
|[skri:'vɛr]
|to write
|-
!'''å Kug'''
|kuge
|[kʉg]
|to cook
!'''ett Kyke'''
|kyker
|[kʉg'ɛr]
|to cook
|-
!'''å Løb'''
|løbe
|[løp]
|to run
!'''ett Lufe'''
|lufer
|[lʉf'ɛr
|to run
|-
!'''å Find'''
|find
|[fɪn(ð)]
|to find
!'''ett Finne'''
|finner
|[fɪn'nɛr]
|to find
|-
!'''å Bord'''
|borde
|[bɔɹ(ð)]
|to eat
!'''ett Spise'''
|spiser
|[spi:'sɛr]
|to eat
|-
!'''å Gå'''
|Gåe
|[gɔ]
|to go
!'''ett Gå'''
|går
|[gɔr]
|to go
|}
 
*''Hin skrive over for å kug'' - he writes about cooking (EA)  [hɪn  skɹi:f  o:'fɛ  få  å  kʉg]
*''Han skriver over for ett kyke'' - he writes about cooking (SA)  [han  skri:'vɛr  o:'vɛr  fo:r  ɛt  ky:kɛ]
 
[[Category:Languages]][[Category:Languages]][[Category:Conlang dialects]][[Category:Alska]]