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Brytho-Hellenic: Difference between revisions
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These two phoenomena have influenced heavily the stress system of Brythohellenic. Nowadays the stress steadily falls on the last but one syllable: this means that in the plural forms of nouns it shifts, ex.: '''thalas''' ['θalas], "sea" > '''thalasas''' [θa'lasas], "seas"; '''ailur''' ['ai̯lur], "cat" > '''ailuroi''' [ai̯'luroi̯], "cats". | These two phoenomena have influenced heavily the stress system of Brythohellenic. Nowadays the stress steadily falls on the last but one syllable: this means that in the plural forms of nouns it shifts, ex.: '''thalas''' ['θalas], "sea" > '''thalasas''' [θa'lasas], "seas"; '''ailur''' ['ai̯lur], "cat" > '''ailuroi''' [ai̯'luroi̯], "cats". | ||
Sometimes the accent falls on the last syllable, above all in some verbal forms. In these cases an acute accent is written on the accented vowel, ex.: '''emén nüi''' [e'men:ui̯], "we are"; '''acú eu''' [a'ku eu̯], "I hear". The written accent can also distinguish two words that are written the same but have | Sometimes the accent falls on the last syllable, above all in some verbal forms. In these cases an acute accent is written on the accented vowel, ex.: '''emén nüi''' [e'men:ui̯], "we are"; '''acú eu''' [a'ku eu̯], "I hear". The written accent can also distinguish two words that are written the same but have different meanings, ex.: '''y''', "than", ≠ '''ý''', "she". | ||
==Grammar== | ==Grammar== | ||
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====Formation of feminine==== | ====Formation of feminine==== | ||
It isn't easy to distinguish between a masculine and a feminine noun, because there is no gender-linked ending. However, when we speak about entities that have | It isn't easy to distinguish between a masculine and a feminine noun, because there is no gender-linked ending. However, when we speak about entities that have a physical gender, such as people and animals, it can be useful to be able to distinguish between masculine and feminine gender. | ||
Mostly the feminine form of such nouns come from the masculine one by adding some suffixes: | Mostly the feminine form of such nouns come from the masculine one by adding some suffixes: | ||
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=====Adjectives with an irregular higher degree comparative===== | =====Adjectives with an irregular higher degree comparative===== | ||
Some adjectives have | Some adjectives have an irregular form of higher degree comparative: | ||
{| {{Table/bluetable}} style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle" | {| {{Table/bluetable}} style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle" | ||
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=====Adjectives with an irregular superlative===== | =====Adjectives with an irregular superlative===== | ||
The same adjectives that have an irregular higher degree comparative have | The same adjectives that have an irregular higher degree comparative have also an irregular superlative form: | ||
{| {{Table/bluetable}} style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle" | {| {{Table/bluetable}} style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle" | ||
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* ''athin > athineus'' (weak - weakly). | * ''athin > athineus'' (weak - weakly). | ||
Some adverbs have | Some adverbs have suppletive forms, ex.: ''ivygh > ei''; ''penyr > faul''. | ||
Adverbs occupy a precise position within the sentence: | Adverbs occupy a precise position within the sentence: | ||
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==Verbs== | ==Verbs== | ||
The verbal system has undergone deep alterations that have strongly simplified it. Neohellenic has only 4 moods: ''indicative'', ''imperative'', ''infinitive'', and ''participle''; the other Ancient Greek moods have been completely lost. This rather evident simplification has modified also the tenses. The modern language has only 4 tenses: ''present'', ''imperfect'', ''perfect'' (that originates from the ancient aorist, actually), and ''future''. This is true for the indicative mood only, the others have | The verbal system has undergone deep alterations that have strongly simplified it. Neohellenic has only 4 moods: ''indicative'', ''imperative'', ''infinitive'', and ''participle''; the other Ancient Greek moods have been completely lost. This rather evident simplification has modified also the tenses. The modern language has only 4 tenses: ''present'', ''imperfect'', ''perfect'' (that originates from the ancient aorist, actually), and ''future''. This is true for the indicative mood only, the others have only two or even one tense. | ||
Moreover the language has lost the dual forms, retaining only 6 verbal persons. | Moreover the language has lost the dual forms, retaining only 6 verbal persons. | ||
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* the verb '''yv eu''' (= ''I am'') is used to say what something is, to indicate identity, to express a permanent state, and to emphasise something, ex.: '''Yv eu enyr''' (= ''I am a man''), '''Y hi adelu evon''' (= ''You are my brother''), '''It ý ivygh''' (= ''She's (a) good (person)''); '''Eté üi, ten filu eu''' (= ''You are the ones whom I love''). | * the verb '''yv eu''' (= ''I am'') is used to say what something is, to indicate identity, to express a permanent state, and to emphasise something, ex.: '''Yv eu enyr''' (= ''I am a man''), '''Y hi adelu evon''' (= ''You are my brother''), '''It ý ivygh''' (= ''She's (a) good (person)''); '''Eté üi, ten filu eu''' (= ''You are the ones whom I love''). | ||
Not all the verbal persons have | Not all the verbal persons have different forms, the third person plural has only one form as it can be seen in the following table: | ||
{| {{Table/bluetable}} style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle" | {| {{Table/bluetable}} style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle" | ||
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Generally the '''present tense''' is used to talk about habitual actions that happen regularly, just as in English: ''Every Friday I '''play''' football with friends''. This tense is also used to talk about facts that are considered true, ex.: ''Water '''boils''' at 100°C'', and also to talk about an action that is happening at the moment of speaking, whereas in English one would rather use the progressive form, which, actually, does exist also in Neohellenic, even if it is rarely used. | Generally the '''present tense''' is used to talk about habitual actions that happen regularly, just as in English: ''Every Friday I '''play''' football with friends''. This tense is also used to talk about facts that are considered true, ex.: ''Water '''boils''' at 100°C'', and also to talk about an action that is happening at the moment of speaking, whereas in English one would rather use the progressive form, which, actually, does exist also in Neohellenic, even if it is rarely used. | ||
In Brytho-Hellenic many important verbs are irregular and they have | In Brytho-Hellenic many important verbs are irregular and they have peculiarities that must be learned and cannot be summed up in tables. | ||
Most verbs though are regular and, of course, all the new coinages are regular. | Most verbs though are regular and, of course, all the new coinages are regular. | ||
As many verbs have | As many verbs have a regular present, but an irregular imperfect or perfect, it is better to talk of '''regular present''' rather than "present of regular verbs". | ||
The regular present can follow two different patterns, known as '''e-pattern''' and '''u-pattern''': these names come from the vowel of the ending of the 1st person plural. The persons of the singular and the 3rd person plural have | The regular present can follow two different patterns, known as '''e-pattern''' and '''u-pattern''': these names come from the vowel of the ending of the 1st person plural. The persons of the singular and the 3rd person plural have always the same endings, only the first two persons of the plural can change and by knowing which pattern the verb belongs to, one can predict the ending of the 1st and the 2nd persons plural. | ||
Let's see the present tense of these six verbs: '''feryn''', "to bring", '''egyn''', "to have", '''lanyn''', "to take", '''syn''', "to live", '''lalyn''', "to speak", and '''filyn''', "to love". | Let's see the present tense of these six verbs: '''feryn''', "to bring", '''egyn''', "to have", '''lanyn''', "to take", '''syn''', "to live", '''lalyn''', "to speak", and '''filyn''', "to love". | ||
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====Present of "contracted verbs"==== | ====Present of "contracted verbs"==== | ||
Many verbs have | Many verbs have an irregular present: unfortunately it isn't possible to establish some patterns, because the difference can lie in the whichever person when not in all of them. Very often the different endings are the result of vowel contractions that took place in antiquity, thus these verbs are called '''contracted verbs'''. | ||
Here it is the present tense of the verbs '''leyn''', "to say, to tell", '''düyn''', "to give", '''poin''', "to do, to make", '''acüyn''', "to listen", and '''oran''', "to see": | Here it is the present tense of the verbs '''leyn''', "to say, to tell", '''düyn''', "to give", '''poin''', "to do, to make", '''acüyn''', "to listen", and '''oran''', "to see": | ||
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The '''imperfect''' is used to talk about habitual actions that happened in the past. English hasn't got a corrispective of this tense: the same form can be obtained using the ''Simple past'' or, even better, the pattern "used to + infinitive": ''I '''used to play''' football with friends every Friday''. This tense is also used to talk about actions that were happening in the past, to underline their duration, whereas in English one would rather use the ''Past Progressive'', which, anyway, exists also in Neohellenic, but, as for the progressive form of the present, it is rarely used. | The '''imperfect''' is used to talk about habitual actions that happened in the past. English hasn't got a corrispective of this tense: the same form can be obtained using the ''Simple past'' or, even better, the pattern "used to + infinitive": ''I '''used to play''' football with friends every Friday''. This tense is also used to talk about actions that were happening in the past, to underline their duration, whereas in English one would rather use the ''Past Progressive'', which, anyway, exists also in Neohellenic, but, as for the progressive form of the present, it is rarely used. | ||
As it has been said, in Brythohellenic many verbs have | As it has been said, in Brythohellenic many verbs have a regular present, but an irregular imperfect, so it is impossible to talk about "regular verbs". However there are some "structural changes" in the formation of this tense that are common and can be analysed. | ||
Let's see the imperfect of six verbs whose present tense has already been observed and of the verb "to be", that has two different forms for this tense too. | Let's see the imperfect of six verbs whose present tense has already been observed and of the verb "to be", that has two different forms for this tense too. | ||
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The imperfect is formed by adding a "tense marker" that is known as "imperfect marker" or "augment" and is represented by an '''e-''' which is added to the verb root as it appears in the present tense. If the root already begins with this vowel, it is substituted for '''y-'''. SOme verbs underwent some changes like syncopes or consonantal modifications. | The imperfect is formed by adding a "tense marker" that is known as "imperfect marker" or "augment" and is represented by an '''e-''' which is added to the verb root as it appears in the present tense. If the root already begins with this vowel, it is substituted for '''y-'''. SOme verbs underwent some changes like syncopes or consonantal modifications. | ||
The e-pattern verbs have | The e-pattern verbs have the following endings: ''-on'', ''-es'', ''-e'', ''-en'', ''-ech'', ''-on''; whereas the u-pattern verbs have the endings: ''-un'', ''-ys'', ''-y'', ''-un'', ''-ych'', ''-un'', which correspond in all persons - except for the 1st singular and the 3rd plural - to the present forms. | ||
====Imperfect of "i-verbs"==== | ====Imperfect of "i-verbs"==== | ||
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====Imperfect of "contracted verbs"==== | ====Imperfect of "contracted verbs"==== | ||
Contracted verbs have generally a rather regular imperfect, in the sense that they have | Contracted verbs have generally a rather regular imperfect, in the sense that they have the augment and the typical imperfect endings: | ||
{| {{Table/bluetable}} style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle" | {| {{Table/bluetable}} style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle" | ||