Chelsian: Difference between revisions

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{| class=wikitable style="text-align:center"
{| class=wikitable style="text-align:center"
|+ Time adverbs - ''Adverbī temporālī''''
|+ Time adverbs - ''Temporālī adverbī''''
! English !! Chelsian
! English !! Chelsian
|-
|-
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| then || ''tų''
| then || ''tų''
|-
|-
| recently, a short time ago || ''nūper''
| recently || ''nūper''
|-
|-
| earlier || ''prius''
| earlier || ''prius''
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| yesterday || ''jerī''
| yesterday || ''jerī''
|-
|-
| last night || ''dēcessente notte''
| last night || ''cessente notte''
|-
|-
| tomorrow || ''crās''
| tomorrow || ''crās''
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| after tomorrow || '' ''
| after tomorrow || '' ''
|-
|-
| this week || '' ''
| this week || ''jistā settimānā''
|-
|-
| last week || '' ''
| last week || ''cessente settimānā''
|-
|-
| next week || '' ''
| next week || ''ventūrā settimānā''
|-
|-
|}
|}

Revision as of 10:46, 28 February 2023

Chelsian (Native: čelsa linga /ˈtɕɛɫsa ˈlʲɪŋɡɐ/, čelsōrų linga /tɕɛɫˈsoːruː ˈlʲɪŋɡɐ/) is a highly conservative Romance language with Baltic influence.

Chelsian
čelsōrų linga
Pronunciation[tɕɛɫˈsoːruː ˈlʲɪŋɡɐ]
Created byShariifka
Early forms
Classical Latin
  • Middle Chelsian

Introduction

Etymology

From Latin celsus.

Features

Phonological

  • Preserves original vowel length and quality.
  • Preserved long nasal vowels into its recent history, then merged them with plain long vowels (but they are kept distinct in writing).
  • Original velars became alveolar/dental fricatives/affricates before /i/ and postalveolar fricatives/affricates before /e/.
    • This is because palatalization before /i/ and before /e/ occurred separately at different times.
  • Original /t/ and /d/ before /j/ became affricates.
  • Original /s/ before /j/ became /ʃ/.
  • Original labiovelars became plain velars in all positions.
  • Innovated hard/soft consonant distinction.
  • Original glide w- (modern h-) inserted before word-initial o- and u- (long or short).
  • Glide j- inserted before word-initial e- and i- (long or short).
  • Original au preserved as a diphthong.
  • Original ae merged with long e in most cases, but was kept distinct in 1st declension noun inflectional endings (later merged in pronunciation but without palatalization).
    • This may have actually been through an intermediate phase -āī rather than descending directly from Classical Latin -ae.
  • Original oe was preserved longer, but eventually merged with e but without palatalization. Initially, it is preceded with h-.
  • Cluster simplification:
    • /ps/ to /s(ː)/
    • /kt/ and /pt/ to /t(ː)/
    • /ks/ to /ʃ(ː)/

Grammatical

  • Preserves case inflection.
  • No articles.
  • Modifier precedes noun.

Phonology

Orthography

Vowels
Grapheme Sound (IPA) Remarks
a [ɐ]
ā [äː]
ą
e [ɛ ~ e̞] [ɛ] before hard consonants. [e̞] before soft consonants and word-finally.
ē [æː ~ ɛː ~ eː] [æː] before hard consonants. [ɛː] before soft consonants. [eː] word-finally.
ę
æ
i [ɪ]
ī [iː]
į
o [ɔ]
ō [oː]
ǫ
u [ʊ]
ū [uː]
ų
y [ɪ] Used to represent non-palatalizing /ɪ/ and /iː/ in loanwords.
ȳ [iː]
Diphthongs
Grapheme Sound (IPA) Remarks
ai [äɪ̯]
au [ɐʊ̯]
ei [ɛɪ̯]
eu [e̞ʊ̯]
oi [ɔɪ̯]
ou [ɔʊ̯]
ui [ʊɪ̯]
Consonants
Grapheme Sound (IPA)
Hard Soft
b b
c t̪͡s̪ t͡sʲ
č t͡ʃ t͡ɕ
ch x
d
dz d̪͡z̪ d͡zʲ
d͡ʒ d͡ʑ
f f
g ɡ ɡʲ
h ɦ; ɣ¹ ɣʲ
j j
k k
l ɫ
m m
n
p p
r r
s
š ʃ ɕ
t
v ʋ
z
ž ʒ ʑ

¹ Adjacent to consonants.

Consonants are always palatalized (soft) before ⟨e, ē, ę, i, ī, į⟩. Before ⟨a, ā, ą, æ, o, ō, ǫ, u, ū, ų⟩, palatalization is denoted by inserting an ⟨i⟩ between the consonant and the vowel.

Uniquely, ⟨j⟩ is always palatalized regardless of position.

Consonants

Vowels

Prosody

Stress

Stress generally follows Classical Latin rules. However, contracted forms retain stress on the same syllable that is stressed in the corresponding uncontracted form, or on the syllable it is absorbed into.

Intonation

Phonotactics

Morphophonology

Morphology

Nouns

Citation form: nom. sg., gen. sg.

First declension

1st declension endings
Case Singular Plural
nominative -(i)a -(i)æ
genitive -(i)æ -(i)ārų
dative -(i)æ -(i)āvīs, -(i)ais
accusative -(i)ą -(i)ās
ablative -(i)ā -(i)āvīs, -(i)ais
vocative -(i)a -(i)æ

Second declension

2nd declension endings
Case Singular Plural
m. n. m. n.
nominative -(i)us -(i)ų -(i)a
genitive -(i)ōrų
dative -(i)ō -īs
accusative -(i)ų -(i)ōs -(i)a
ablative -(i)ō -īs
vocative -e -(i)ų -(i)a

Third declension

3rd declension endings
Case Singular Plural
m./f. n. m./f. n.
nominative (various) -ēs -ia
genitive -is -ių
dative -ivīs, -īs
accusative (same as nom.) -ēs -ia
ablative -e -ivīs, -īs
vocative (same as nom.) -ēs -ia

Fourth declension

4th declension endings
Case Singular Plural
m./f. n. m./f. n.
nominative -(i)us -(i)u -(i)ūs -(i)uva
genitive -(i)uvis, -(i)ūs -(i)uvų, -(i)ų
dative -(i)uvī, -(i)ui -(i)uvīs, -(i)uis
accusative -(i)ų -(i)u -(i)ūs -(i)uva
ablative -(i)ū -(i)uvīs, -(i)uis
vocative -(i)us -(i)u -(i)ūs -(i)uva

Fifth declension

4th declension endings
Case Singular Plural
m./f. m./f.
nominative -ēs -ēs
genitive -ei -ērų
dative -ei -ēvīs, -eis
accusative -ēs
ablative -ēvīs, -eis
vocative -ēs -ēs

Pronouns

Personal pronouns

Notes:

¹ The cases have been reordered for convenience, since nominative & accusative forms are often identical as are dative & ablative. The vocative has been excluded since it is always identical to the nominative except in the 3SM, where it is jisse.

² In addition to undeclined genitives, personal pronouns have declined possessive forms.

Personal pronouns
Person Number Gender Nominative Accusative Genitive Possessive Dative Ablative
1 sg. all jehō mejī, mei mejus, -a, -ų mivī, mī
pl. all nōs nostrī nostrus, -a, -ų nōvīs, nois
2 sg. all tuvī, tui tuvus, -a, -ų tivī, tī
pl. all vōs vostrī vostrus, -a, -ų vōvīs, vois
3 sg. m. jissus jissų jissījus jissījus, -a, -ų jissī jissō
f. jissa jissą jissījus jissījus, -a, -ų jissī jissā
n. jissud jissījus jissījus, -a, -ų jissī jissō
pl. m. jissī jissōs jissōrų jissōrus, -a, -ų jissīs
f. jissæ jissās jissārų jissārus, -a, -ų jissīs
n. jissa jissījus jissōrų, -a, -ų jissīs
Reflexive all suvī, sui suvus, -a, -ų sivī, sī

Demonstrative pronouns

Near demonstrative
Case Singular Plural
m. f. n. m. f. n.
Nominative jistus jista jistud jistī jistæ jista
Genitive jistījus jistōrų jistārų jistōrų
Dative jistī jistīs
Accusative jistų jistą jistud jistōs jistās jista
Ablative jistō jistā jistō jistīs
Vocative jiste jista jistud jistī jistæ jista
Far demonstrative
Case Singular Plural
m. f. n. m. f. n.
Nominative jillus jilla jillud jillī jillæ jilla
Genitive jillījus jillōrų jillārų jillōrų
Dative jillī jillīs
Accusative jillų jillą jillud jillōs jillās jilla
Ablative jillō jillā jillō jillīs
Vocative jille jilla jillud jillī jillæ jilla

Adjectives

First/second declension adjectives

Declined as first/second declension pronouns except in neuter nominative singular.

Citation form: m. nom. sg., f. nom. sg., n. nom. sg. (if plural, use the plural equivalents)

1st/2nd declension adjective endings
Case Singular Plural
m. f. n. m. f. n.
nominative -(i)us -(i)a -(i)ų -(i)æ -(i)a
genitive -ījus -(i)ōrų -(i)ārų -(i)ōrų
dative -īs
accusative -(i)ų -(i)ą -(i)ų -(i)ōs -(i)ās -(i)a
ablative -(i)ō -(i)ā -(i)ō -īs
vocative -e -(i)a -(i)ų -(i)æ -(i)a

Third declension adjectives

Declined as 3rd declension nouns.

Citation form: m./f. nom. sg., n. nom. sg., gen. sg. (if plural, use the plural equivalents)

  • The neuter nominative singular can be omitted if it is identical to the masculine/feminine nominative singular.
3rd declension adjective endings
Case Singular Plural
m./f. n. m./f. n.
nominative (various) (various) -ēs -ia
genitive -is -ių
dative -ivīs, -īs
accusative (same as nom.) -ēs -ia
ablative -e -ivīs, -īs
vocative (same as nom.) -ēs -ia

Numerals

Numerals
Cardinal Ordinal
0 nūllus, -a, -ų nūllēsmus, -a, -ų
1 hūnus, -a, -ų prīmus, -a, -ų
2 duvō, -æ, -ō¹ sekundus, -a, -ų
3 trēs, tria, trių tercus, -a, -ų
4 kattūr kārtus, -a, -ų
5 cīnke kīntus, -a, -ų
6 šeš šeštus, -a, -ų
7 settę settimus, -a, -ų
8 hottō hottāvus, -a, -ų
9 novę nōnus, -a, -ų
10 dečę dečēsmus, -a, -ų
11 hūndcį hūndcimus, -a, -ų
12 dōdcį dōdcimus, -a, -ų
13 tredcį tredcimus, -a, -ų
14 kattūrdcį kattūrdcimus, -a, -ų
15 kīndcį kīndcimus, -a, -ų
16 sēdcį sēdcimus, -a, -ų
17 settendcį settendcimus, -a, -ų
18 hottōdcį hottōdcimus, -a, -ų
19 novendcį novendcimus, -a, -ų
20 vīzintī vīčēsmus, -a, -ų
21 vīzintī hūnus, -a, -ų vīzintī prīmus, -a, -ų
30 trīzintā trīčēsmus, -a, -ų
40 kadrāzintā kadrāčēsmus, -a, -ų
50 cīnkāzintā cīnkāčēsmus, -a, -ų
60 šeššāzintā šeššāčēsmus, -a, -ų
70 settāzintā settāčēsmus, -a, -ų
80 hottōzintā hottōčēsmus, -a, -ų
90 nōnāzintā nōnāčēsmus, -a, -ų
100 čentų, -ī čentēsmus, -a, -ų
200 duvō čenta, duvōrų čentōrų duvō čentēsmus, -a, -ų
1000 mīlle mīllēsmus, -a, -ų
2000 duvō mīllia, duvōrų mīllių duvō mīllēsmus, -a, -ų
10⁶ mīllijō, -ōnis mīllijōnēsmus, -a, -ų
2×10⁶ duvō mīllijōnēs, duvōrų mīllijōnių duvō mīllijōnēsmus, -a, -ų
10⁹ mīllijardus, -ī mīllijardēsmus, -a, -ų
2×10⁹ duvō millijardī, duvōrų millijardōrų duvō mīllijardēsmus, -a, -ų

Notes:

¹ Declined as follows:

Declension of duvō, -æ, -ō "two"
Plural
m. f. pl.
Nominative duvō duvæ duvō
Genitive duvōrų duvārų duvōrų
Dative duvōvīs, duvois duvāvīs, duvais duvōvīs, duvois
Accusative duvōs duvās duvō
Ablative duvōvīs, duvois duvāvīs, duvais duvōvīs, duvois

This declension is shared by ambō, -æ, -ō "both".

Verbs

Verbs are split into four conjugations that can be identified by their present active infinitive endings:

  • 1st conjugation: -(i)āre
  • 2nd conjugation: -ēre
  • 3rd conjugation: -ere
  • 4th conjugation: -īre

Principal parts

The full conjugation of all verbs (except the verb jessere "to be") can be derived from their principal parts.

The principle parts are:

  • 1st person singular present indicative - from which the secondary present stem is derived
  • Present active infinitive - from which the primary present stem is derived
  • 1st person singular perfect indicative - from which the perfect stem is derived
  • Supine - from which the supine stem is derived

Forms based on the present stem

The present stem is obtained by removing the infinitive ending (-(i)āre, -ēre, -ere, or -īre) from the second principal part and (in the case of the first conjugation) maintaining its hardness/softness.

Many verbs in the second to fourth conjugations (and a few verbs in the first conjugation) have a secondary present stem distinct from the primary present stem. This is obtained by removing -(i)ō from the first principal part and maintaining its hardness/softness.

Non-finite forms based on the present stem
1st 2nd 3rd 4th
Present active infinitive -(i)āre -ēre -ere -īre
Present active participle -(i)ąs, -(i)antis -ęs, -entis -ęs, -entis¹
Present passive participle -(i)andus, -a, -ų -endus, -a, -ų -endus, -a, -ų¹
Obligative active participle -(i)antūrus, -a, -ų -entūrus, -a, -ų -entūrus, -a, -ų¹

Notes:

¹ Uses the secondary present stem (if applicable).

Finite tenses based on the present stem
Person/
number
Present indicative Present subjunctive Imperfect indicative Imperfect subjunctive Imperative
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 1st 2nd 3rd 4th
1S -(i)ō¹ ; -(i)ą¹ -(i)ą¹ -(i)āvą -ēvą -ēvą¹ -(i)ārę -ērę -erę -īrę
2S -(i)ās -ēs -is -īs -ēs; -(i)ās¹ -(i)ās¹ -(i)āvās -evās -ēvās¹ -(i)ārēs -ērēs -erēs -īrēs -(i)ā -e
3S -(i)at -et -it -it -et; -(i)at¹ -(i)at¹ -(i)āvat -ēvat -ēvat¹ -(i)āret -ēret -eret -īret
1P -(i)āmus -ēmus -imus -īmus -ēmus; -(i)āmus¹ -(i)āmus¹ -(i)āvāmus -ēvāmus -ēvāmus¹ -(i)ārēmus -ērēmus -erēmus -īrēmus
2P -(i)ātis -ētis -itis -ītis -ētis; -(i)ātis¹ -(i)ātis¹ -(i)āvātis -ēvātis -ēvātis¹ -(i)ārētis -ērētis -erētis -īrētis -(i)āte -ēte -ite -īte
3P -(i)ant -ent -(i)unt¹ -(i)unt¹ -ent; -(i)ant¹ -(i)ant¹ -(i)āvant -ēvant -ēvant¹ -(i)ārent -ērent -erent -īrent

Notes:

¹ Uses the secondary present stem (if applicable). First conjugation verbs with an irregular secondary present stem use alternative present subjunctive endings identical to those of the remaining conjugations.

As indicated in the above tables, the secondary present stem is used in the following cases:

  • All conjugations:
    1. 1S present indicative
    2. Present subjunctive
  • Additional for 3rd and 4th conjugations:
    1. 3P present indicative
  • Additional for 4th conjugation only:
    1. Imperfect tense
    2. Present active participle
    3. Present passive participle
    4. Obligative active participle

Otherwise, the primary present stem is used.

Forms based on the perfect stem

The perfect stem is obtained by removing from the third principle part.

Non-finite forms based on the perfect stem
Form Formation
Perfect active infinitive -isse
Finite forms based on the perfect stem
Perfect indicative Pluperfect indicative Perfect subjunctive Pluperfect subjunctive
1S -erą -erį -issę
2S -istī -erās -erīs -issēs
3S -it -erat -erit -isset
1P -imus -erāmus -erīmus -issēmus
2P -istis -erātis -erītis -issētis
3P -ērunt -erant -erint -issent

Perfect stems ending in monophthong + -v- can optionally be contracted in certain environments. Note that the stress is always maintained as in the uncontracted form.

Optional contractions of perfect-stem forms
Monophthong preceding -v- Sequence following -v- Contraction Remarks
ā ī; stressed i, ē ai Can become ā before a consonant cluster.
e; unstressed i, ē ā or au
o, ō, u, ū au
ē ī; stressed i, ē ei
e; unstressed i, ē ē or eu
o, ō, u, ū eu
ī ē ē
e, i, o, u ī
ō
ū
ō ī; stressed i, ē oi Can become ō before a consonant cluster.
e, o; unstressed i, ē ō or ou
u, ū ou
u, ū ī; stressed i, ē ui Can become ū before a consonant cluster.
e; unstressed i, ē ū
o, u, ū ū
ō ō

These contractions also occur optionally in other environments.

In regular verbs, the perfect stem can be derived from the present stem in predictable ways:

  • 1st conjugation: -āv-
  • 2nd conjugation: -uv- (with hard stem-final consonant)
  • 3rd conjugation: -uv- (with hard stem-final consonant)
  • 4th conjugation: -īv-

The majority of 1st and 4th conjugation verbs are regular, while 2nd and 3rd conjugation verbs (particularly 3rd conjugation) have a higher tendency to have irregular perfect stems.

Irregular perfect stems formations include:

  • -ēv-, -ōv- (for some 2nd and 3rd conjugation verbs).
  • Adding -s- after the stem-final consonant (which may cause assimilation).
  • Replacing -šč- with -v- and lengthening the preceding vowel if short (for 3rd declension verbs with infinitives ending in -ščere and 1S present indicative in -skō).
  • Reduplication.
  • Vowel lengthening with or without vowel change.
  • Dropping nasal infix from present stem.
  • No change from present stem.

Forms based on the supine stem

The supine stem is derived from the fourth principle part by removing the ending .

Non-finite forms based on the supine stem
Form Formation
Supine (acc.), (dat./abl.)
Perfect active participle -ęs, -entis
Perfect passive participle -us, -a, -ų
Obligative passive participle -ūrus, -a, -ų

Additionally, habitual tenses, participles, and infinitives are formed from the supine stem (see below).

For regular verbs, the supine stem is formed from the present stem as follows:

  • 1st conjugation: -āt-
  • 2nd conjugation: -ūt-
  • 3rd conjugation: -ūt-
  • 4th conjugation: -īt-

Verbs with an irregular perfect stem generally also have an irregular supine stem.

  • If the perfect stem ends in a monophthong followed by -v-, the supine stem generally ends in the monophthong (lengthened if short) + -t-.
  • Otherwise, the supine stem cannot be predictably derived based on the perfect stem. Possible endings (besides the already mentioned ones) include:
    • -t- (possibly with assimilation)
    • -s- (possibly with assimilation)
    • -it-

Note that some verbs with a regular perfect stem may have an irregular supine stem and vice versa.

Habitual forms

The habitual is formed by adding -ō, -āre, -āvī, -ātų to the supine stem of a verb. All tenses, participles, and infinitives have a habitual counterpart formed by conjugating the habitual as a first conjugation verb.

The habitual may have an iterative or frequentative meaning in addition to its ordinary habitual meaning.

Compound tenses

Compound tenses are formed with auxiliary verbs.

Compound tenses
Tense Formation Remarks
Future present tense of jīre "to go" + supine (acc.) This can be made into a future-in-past form by instead using the appropriate past tense form of jīre.
Future perfect present tense of jīre "to go" + perfect active infinitive
Compound perfect appropriately conjugated form of avēre "to have" + past participle (acc. neuter, or same gender as direct object) A compound perfect can be formed from any tense.
Compound non-finite forms
Form Formation
Future active infinitive jīre + supine (acc.)
Future perfect active infinitive jīre + perfect active infinitive
Future active participle jęs, -entis + supine (acc.)

Passive

The imperfect passive of any active verb form (finite or non-finite) is formed by replacing that verb form with the equivalent form of the verb jessere "to be" followed by the verb's present passive participle. The perfect passive is formed similarly but using the perfect passive participle.

In compound forms, the above applies only to the main verbs and not the auxiliary verb.

It does not apply to the obligative active participle, which instead becomes the obligative passive participle.

Obligative

An obligative counterpart can be made from any tense. It is formed from its declarative counterpart by replacing the main verb with the appropriately conjugated form of jessere "to be" followed by the active or passive obligative participle.

The verb jessere "to be"

The verb sų, jessere, fuvī, fūtų "to be" is one of the most important verbs, and one of the most irregular. In fact, it is the only verb whose full conjugation cannot be determined based on its principle parts.

The forms based on the perfect and supine stems are formed regularly. However, the forms based on the present stem are formed irregularly.

Non-finite forms based on the present stem
Form
Present active infinitive jessere
Present active participle jessęs, -entis
Present passive participle jessendus, -a, -ų¹
Obligative active participle jessentūrus, -a, -ų
Finite tenses based on the present stem
Present indicative Present subjunctive Imperfect indicative Imperfect subjunctive Imperative
1S jerą jesserę
2S jes sīs jerās jesserēs ¹
3S jest sit jerat jesseret
1P sumus sīmus jerāmu jesserēmus
2P sutis sītis jerātis jesserētis fīte¹
3P sunt sint jerant jesserent

Notes:

¹ These are actually the imperative forms of fīre "to become" (principal parts: fiō, fīre, fīvī, fītų); jessere does not have its own imperative.

Examples of irregular verbs

Irregular forms are underlined.

Note that class 3 has the most irregular verbs.

Some irregular verbs
Principal parts Meaning Remarks
First conjugation
dō, dāre, dedī, dātų to give
stō, stāre, stetī, stātų to be standing, to stay
Second conjugation
aviō, avēre, auvī, avūtų to have While this verb's stem ends in -v- and can contract, it is rare in forms based on the present and supine stems. The perfect stem cannot contract due to the diphthong.
dēvio, dēvēre, deuvī, dēvūtų to owe, have to While this verb's stem ends in -v- and can contract, it is rare in forms based on the present and supine stems. The perfect stem cannot contract due to the diphthong.
dēliō, dēlēre, dēlēvī, dēlētų to destroy, erase, delete
possō, potēre, potuvī, potūtų to be able to
moviō, movēre, mōvī, mōtų to start (something) While this verb's stem ends in -v- and can contract, it is rare in forms based on the present stem.
sediō, sedēre, sēdī, sessų to be seated
Third conjugation
nāskō, nāščere, nāvī, nātų to be born
jedō, jedere, jēdī, jēsų to eat
facō, facere, fēcī, fattų to do, make This verb has an abbreviated 1st conjugation primary present stem (infinitive: fāre) and corresponding supine fātų.
ahō, ažere, jēzī, attų to act, behave
skrīvō, skrīvere, skrīssī, skrīttų to write This verb has an abbreviated 4th conjugation primary present stem (infinitive: skrīre) and corresponding supine skrītų.
jungō, jundžere, jūnšī, jūntų to join
dīkō, dīcere, dīššī, dīttų to say This verb has an abbreviated 4th conjugation primary present stem (infinitive: dīre) and corresponding supine dītų.
vadō, vadere, vāsī, vāsų to go This verb has an abbreviated 1st conjugation primary present stem (infinitive: vāre).
minuvō, minuvere, minūvī, minūtų to reduce, make smaller This verb (and other verbs ending in -uvere) are often contracted in present-stem forms in addition to perfect-stem forms.
struvō, struvere, strūššī, strūttų to build, create This verb and similar can be contracted only in present-stem forms since the perfect stem does not contain -v-.
pōnō, pōnere, posuvī, postų to put
Fourth conjugation
audzō, audīre, audīvī, audītų to hear
veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventų to come

Lexical aspect

While aspect is primarily expressed through verb conjugation (like Romance languages and unlike Balto-Slavic languages), there is a tendency towards certain verbs having inherent aspect. These verbs generally also have causative counterparts.

"Imperfective" and "perfective" can alternatively be referred to as "stative" and "inchoative" respectively.

Some examples of imperfective-perfective-causative counterparts are given below. Note that the counterparts are not necessarily fully synonymous besides aspect, and they may have alternative meanings that are not shared.

Imperfective/perfective/causative sets
Imperfective Perfective Causative Remarks
Principal parts Meaning Principal parts Meaning Principal parts Meaning
sų, jessere, fuvī, fūtų to be fiō, fīre, fīvī, fītų to become facō, facere, fēcī, fattų to make
stō, stāre, stetī, stātų to be standing surhō, suržere, sūršī, sūrtų to stand up, to stop (intr.), to go into a standing position sistō, sistere, sistuvī, sistūtų to make stand, to stop (tr.), to put into a standing position
sedzō, sedēre, sēdī, sessų to be sitting sīdō, sīdere, sēdī, sessų to sit down, to sit up, to go into a sitting position lokō, lokāre, lokāvī, lokātų to set, to put down
jačo, jačēre, jakuvī, jakūtų to be lying dēkumbō, dēkumbere, dēkūvī, dēkūtų to lie down deicō, deicere, dēcī, dēttų to lay down
scō, scīre, scīvī, scītų to know diskō, diščere, didcī, distų; scīskō, scīščere, scīvī, scītų to learn, come to know dočō, dočēre, dokuvī, dottų to teach
aviō, avēre, auvī, avūtų to have, hold teniō, tenēre, tenuvī, tentų to take hold, acquire perviō, pervēre, perūvī, pervūtų to grant
dormiō, dormīre, dormīvī, dormītų to be asleep dormīskō, dormīščere, dormīvī, dormītų to fall asleep Many verbs have inchoatives formed with the suffix -skō, -ščere. Such inchoative verbs often share their third and fourth principal parts with the verb they are derived from.

Note that in perfect tenses and the imperative, imperfective verbs can become almost synonymous with their perfective counterparts - e.g. stetī ≈ sūršī "I stood". However, in certain contexts, their meanings are distinct - e.g. Sūršī jet stetī duvās ōrās. "I stood up and remained standing for two hours."

For some pairs, the imperfective and perfective counterparts have the same perfect and supine forms. In such cases, they are distinguished by context - e.g. Sēdī jet sēdī duvās ōrās. "I sat down and remained sitting for two hours."

In imperfect tenses (i.e. the present indicative, the imperfect indicative and subjunctive), perfective verbs tend to become inchoative in meaning - e.g. suržēvą "I was standing up/stopping" vs. stāvą "I was standing".

If needed, for verbs without lexical aspect, imperfective can be explicitly marked using jessere + present participle, while perfective can be marked with fīre + present participle (if not already marked via compound perfect or other means).

Facere + infinitive is used to form analytical causatives.

Syntax

Constituent order

SVO

Chelsian is pro-drop.

Noun phrase

Modifiers precede the noun they modify.

Verb phrase

Sentence phrase

Dependent clauses

Vocabulary

Time - Tempus

Seasons - Tempestātēs
English Chelsian
spring vēr, -is (n.)
summer jēstās, -tis (f.)
fall autumnus, -ī (m.)
winter jemps, jemis (f.)
Gregorian months - Grēgorī męsēs
English Chelsian
January januvārius, -ī (m.)
February fevruvārius, -ī (m.)
March marcus, -ī (m.)
April aprīlis, -is (m.)
May majjus, -ī (m.)
June jūnius, -ī (m.)
July jūlius, -ī (m.)
August auhustus, -ī (m.)
September settember, -bris (m.)
October hottōver, -vris (m.)
November november, -bris (m.)
December dečember, -bris (m.)
Days of the week - Settimānæ dzēs
English Chelsian
Sunday prīndzēs (m.)
Monday sekundzēs (m.)
Tuesday terdzēs (m.)
Wednesday kārdzēs (m.)
Thursday kīndzēs (m.)
Friday šeddzēs (m.)
Saturday settindzēs (m.)
Parts of the day - Dzei partēs
English Chelsian
day dzēs, dzei (m.)
dawn aurōra, -æ (f.)
morning māne, -is (n.)
noon merīdzēs, -ei (m.)
afternoon sēra, -æ (f.)
evening vesperus, -ī (m.)
dusk krepuslų, -ī (n.)
night nōš, nottis (f.)
midnight medzanōš, -nottis (f.)
Units of time - Temporis ūnitātēs
English Chelsian
second sekundus, -ī (m.)
minute minūtus, -ī (m.)
hour hōra, -æ (f.)
day dzēs, dzei (m.)
week settimāna, -æ (f.)
month męsis, -is (m.)
season tempestās, -tis (f.)
year annus, -ī (m.)


Time adverbs - Temporālī adverbī''
English Chelsian
now
then
recently nūper
earlier prius
soon, shortly brevī
later sicus
always semper
often sēpe
sometimes
rarely rārō
never nunką
ever hunką
still, yet jecannų
already
today hodzē
tonight jistā notte
yesterday jerī
last night cessente notte
tomorrow crās
before yesterday
two nights ago
after tomorrow
this week jistā settimānā
last week cessente settimānā
next week ventūrā settimānā

Colours - Kolōrēs

Colours - Kolōrēs
English Chelsian
white albus, -a, -ų
grey rāvus, -a, -ų
black nihrus, -a, -ų
red rubrus, -a, -ų
orange orandžus, -a, -ų
brown červīnus, -a, -ų
yellow flāvus, -a, -ų
green virdis, -e, -is
blue ciānius, -ia, -ių
pink rosius, -ia, -ių
purple violāčus, -a, -ų
golden aurōsus, -a, -ų

Example Texts

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 1)

Tōtī homnēs nāskunt līverī jet jekālēs jin dinnitāte jet jūrivīs. Sunt dōtātī dē rācōne jet kǫscencæ, jet dēvent ažere jinter sē jin frāternitātis spīritī.

[ˈtoːtʲiː ˈɦɔmʲnʲæːs ˈnäːskʊnt ˈlʲiːvʲɛrʲiː jɛt jɛˈkaːlʲæːs jɪn dʲɪnʲːɪˈtaːtʲe̞ jɛt ˈjuːrʲɪvʲiːs ‖ sʊnt doːˈtaːtʲiː dʲeː raːˈtsoːnʲɛ jɛt koːˈstsʲɛnʲtseː | jɛt ˈdʲɛːvʲe̞nt ˈɐʑe̞rʲe̞ ˈjɪnʲtʲɛr sʲeː jɪn fraːtʲɛrʲnʲɪˈtaːtʲɪs ˈsʲpʲiːrʲɪtʲiː]

Other resources

Swadesh list