Bearlandic
Background
Bearlandic is one of many languages of the planet which is called Virrolt in Bearlandic. The language belongs to the Berilonian language family, which in its turn is a branch of the Iropo-Antilonian language family.
Phonology
Consonants
| Bilabial | Labio-dental | Alveolar | Post-alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | ||||
| Plosive | p b | t d | k kw | ||||
| Fricative | f v | s z | (ʃ) | (ç) | x ~ ɣ | h | |
| Approximant | ʋ | j | |||||
| Trill | r | ||||||
| Lateral app. | l |
In specific circumstances, some dialects use /ʃ/ and /ç/ instead of /s/ and /x, ɣ/.
Vowels
| Front | Near-front | Central | Near-back | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i y | u | |||
| Near-close | ɪ ʏ | ||||
| Close-mid | e | o | |||
| Mid | ə | ||||
| Open-mid | ɛ œ | ɔ | |||
| Near-open | |||||
| Open | a | ɑ |
Phonotactics
Orthography
Morphology
Nouns
Nouns don't have cases or genders, only numbers. The plural is usually made by adding -s to the end of the word. If it already ends in -s, -enn is added instead. However, a few nouns don't follow these rules and add -er instead, or don't change at all.
Adjectives
The comparative is formed by adding -err to the end of the adjective, while the superlative ends in -iss. If the adjective ends in a vowel, a -t- is inserted between the stem and the ending.
Verbs
Regular verbs
| "walk" | "shoot" | |
|---|---|---|
| Present | lop | sgit |
| Past | lop-ti | sgit-i |
| Perfect | gi-lop-t | gi-sgit |
| Byform | lop-ē | sgit-ē |
| Present participle | lop-nē | sgit-nē |
| Past participle | gi-lop-t-nē | gi-sgit-nē |
Unfortunately, I don't know how the byform is called in English.
Irregular verbs
| "be" | "have" | "eat" | "go" | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | iss | heppt | et | ga |
| Past | wast | haptē | ati | gigti |
| Perfect | giassit | gihapt | giotē | gigisst |
| Byform | zyt, zyti | hypē | ytē | gatē |
| Present participle | zytnē | hepptnē | etnē | gatnē |
| Past participle | - | hassnē | giotnē | - |
Pronouns
| Number | Person | Subject | Object/Reflexive | Possessive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | 1st | ig | mi | miess |
| 2nd | ji | ji | jiess | |
| 3rd masculine | hi | emm, zigg | hiess | |
| 3rd feminine | zē | zy, zigg | zess | |
| 3rd neuter | dē | dē, zigg | dess | |
| Plural | 1st | wi | oss | oss |
| 2nd | jis | jis | jisiss | |
| 3rd | zess | hunn, zy | hʉn |
Articles
There are two articles, the definite article dē and the indefinite article a.
Syntax
Bearlandic normally has a SVO word order, but questions have a VSO order. If there is more than one verb in the sentence, there are two possibilities (the verbs are bold):
- Dē jaggter will sgit dē konin. (The hunter wants to shoot the rabbit.)
- Dē jaggter will dē konin sgitē.
In subordinate clauses there are generally the same two possibilities:
- Ig wet dass dē jaggter sgit dē konin. (I know the hunter shoots the rabbit.)
- Ig wet dass dē jaggter dē konin sgitē.
- Ig wet dass dē jaggter will sgit dē konin. (I know the hunter wants to shoot the rabbit.)
- Ig wet dass dē jaggter dē konin will sgitē.
However, sometimes this would change the meaning:
- Dē jaggter sgit dē konin oss dē iss hiess verking. (The hunter shoots the rabbit if it's his job.)
- Dē jaggter sgit dē konin oss dē hiess verking zyt. (The hunter shoots the rabbit because it's his job.)
Sample
Dē fillgikentnē mann hermakti miess aut enn itig mojj bot nat dē pabrúr oss a stoppig mys dē oss pegging oss a aut zworrt zwart gisgat haptē.
The well-known man repaired my old and quite beautiful boat after a stupid girl's uncle by accident had damaged it with an old black sword.