Elodian
| Elodian | |
|---|---|
| ɂelodīru, (la) gulkā ɂelodīrā | |
 | |
| Pronunciation | [ˈguɬkɑː ʔelɔˈdiːraː] |
| Created by | Lili21 |
| Date | Jul 2022 |
| Setting | Alt-Earth |
| Ethnicity | Elodians (ɂelodī) |
| Native speakers | 12,000,000 (2021) |
Indo-European
| |
| Official status | |
Official language in | ʔelodīhūto |
| Regulated by | National Language Academy of ʔelodīhūto Kalēmīa Mellī twā Gulkā twā ʔelodīhūto |
Important note: Elodian is, fundamentally, a rethinking of Lifashian intended as a kind of drop-in replacement in its setting.
Elodian, natively referred to as ɂelodīru or (la) gulkā ɂelodīrā, is an Indo-European language, an isolate inside the family, spoken in an alternate timeline of Earth in the northeastern corner of Asia Minor, i.e. the historical region of Pontus and neighboring areas across the Pontic Alps into the Armenian highlands. It is the official language of the republic of ʔelodīhūto, spoken by the majority of its population. Elodian is the native language of about twelve million people in the world, the majority of which in ʔelodīhūto, with smaller communities in Eastern Turkey, Syria, Iran and Iraq.
Elodian developed on its own, distinctly from other Indo-European languages, although it is definitely closer to the Anatolian languages, particularly the Luwian subgroup, than to other languages in the family, despite sharing some traits with Armenian and Greek. It is particularly noteworthy due to its system of split ergativity, which makes it virtually an ergative-absolutive language (although not syntactically ergative) except with first- and second-person referents, which require a nominative-accusative alignment.
Its vocabulary has a substantial number of inherited roots, but through millennia the language absorbed many loanwords, especially from Persian and Arabic (through the former), and to smaller extents from its neighbours Armenian, the Kartvelian languages and Turkish, as well as from Greek and Russian. Long-term Genoese colonization and reciprocal contacts also introduced many Ligurian loans, as well as forming one of the main ethnic minorities in the country, Elodian Ligurians, which had a marked influence on the culture of coastal urban areas.
It is written in the Elodian alphabet, a bicameral script ultimately related to other ancient scripts of Asia Minor like the Lydian alphabet.
Miscellanea
(This section exists mostly as a placeholder for "interesting things" about the language to justify the existence of this page, until I write the full phonology, morphology, syntax sections.)
Proto-Elodian underwent a change similar to Grimm's Law in Proto-Germanic or even closer to the one in Proto-Armenian; however, it did not affect labiovelars. The most strikingly Elodian correspondence is PIE *t > Elodian l, through an intermediate *ð stage.
The endonym ɂelodi is from PIE *h₁léwdʰis.
Most letters have their IPA values, except c /tʃ/ j /dʒ/ ng /ŋ/, ǝ /ɛ/, ṛ /ɽ~ɻ/, š /ʃ/, o /ɔ/. Long vowels are marked with a macron.
Morphology
Nouns
Elodian nouns decline for six cases: nominative-absolutive, ergative, accusative, dative, equative and locative, with a seventh one, the genitive, still found in some relic uses. Nouns are categorized according to the ending of their citation form (nominative-absolutive singular) and the corresponding oblique form, i.e. the stem to which the case endings are added. The PIE inflection system, overall, has been simplified, although the stem/ending combinations maintain a certain degree of complexity.
| Pattern | Nominative/Absolutive | Oblique | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | |||
| I | -∅ | -∅- | |
| II | -a | -o- | No longer productive |
| III | -ē | -or- | Same as feminine pattern II |
| IV | -i | -i- | Moderately productive (borrowings ending in voiced obstruents) |
| V | -o | -u- | Not productive per se, limited to a few nouns (e.g. hūlo "son", šargo "lion") and the derivational suffix -aždo. |
| Feminine | |||
| I | -ā, -īa | -eh-V, -ā-C (-īeh-V, -īa-C) | -īa nouns are borrowings |
| I-b | -ā | -ǝt- or -at- | Arabic nouns in tāʾ marbūṭah. In contemporary Elodian these nouns generally follow pattern I, except in compounding. |
| II | -ē | -or- | Same as masculine pattern III |
| III | -ī | -ih-V, -ī-C | |
| IV | -ū | -uh-V, -ū-C | No longer productive |
| Neuter | |||
| I | -e | -i- | |
| II | -u | -o- | |
| III | -o | ||
| IV | -mā | -mon- | |
| V | -mo | -mot- | Greek nouns in -μα(τ-) |
| VI | -nē | -ni- | Mostly collectives |
The following table shows the case endings. The ergative and accusative singular forms vary depending on whether the stem ends in a consonant or a vowel (feminine patterns I, III and IV use the prevocalic form here); the locative singular is generally -hu, with -šu depending on the preceding sound (historical RUKI law). In the nominative-absolutive plural -i is for masculine and feminine nouns, while -ā for neuters; -ī is exclusively used for masculine pattern IV. The equative, a distinctive trait of Elodian, is likely an influence from Hurrian or a lost Hurro-Urartian language.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative-absolutive | -- | -i (-ī) / -ā |
| Ergative | -š, -eš | -ex |
| Accusative | -w, -o | -ā |
| Dative | -ē | -(o)bo |
| Equative | -(e)ɂār | -(o)bīṛ |
| Locative | -hu / -šu | -ēšu |
| Genitive (relic) | -ay (masculine) -ē (feminine) -i (neuter) |
-ow |
The predominant use of the genitive today is not syntactical, but merely as a derivational element forming nominal compounds. Its use in marking possession has been completely taken by the particle twe, which declines according to the gender of the possessed noun: twe is the masculine singular form; twā the feminine singular; tō the neuter singular; twī masculine and feminine plural and tā neuter plural.
Articles
The articles in Elodian are lu, la, ot for the singular (m/f/n) and li, lē, lā for the plural. Despite the similarities, the Elodian articles are false cognates of the common Romance ones; on the other hand, they are cognates with the accusative forms of the Ancient Greek article. All inflected forms (except for nominative-absolutive and accusative) are new formations in Elodian, not inherited from PIE.
| Case | Singular | Plural | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative-absolutive | lu, l' | la, leh' | ot, t' | li | lē | lā |
| Ergative | luš | lāš | loš | lūx | layx | lōx |
| Accusative | lu, l' | la, leh' | ot, t' | li | lē | lā |
| Dative | luē | lehē | loē | lubo | lābo | lobo |
| Equative | luɂār | lehār | loɂār | lubīṛ | lābīṛ | lobīṛ |
| Locative | lušu | lāhu | lohu | lūšu | layšu | lōšu |
| Genitive (relic) | lūy | lehē | lōy | lūw | lāw | lōw |
Demonstratives
The two demonstratives used in contemporary Elodian are proximal sī, sīa, sīt and distal nū, nūa, nūt. Except for the nominative-absolutive and accusative forms in both the singular and plural, the others are synchronically formed from the articles and a prefix:
| Case | Singular | Plural | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative-absolutive | sī | sīa | sīt | sēli | sīhe | sīa |
| Ergative | seluš | selāš | seloš | selūx | selayx | selōx |
| Accusative | sī | sīa | sīt | sēli | sīhe | sīa |
| Dative | seluē | selehē | seloē | selubo | selābo | selobo |
| Equative | seluɂār | selehār | seloɂār | selubīṛ | selābīṛ | selobīṛ |
| Locative | selušu | selāhu | selohu | selūšu | selayšu | selōšu |
| Genitive (relic) | selūy | selehē | selōy | selūw | selāw | selōw |
| Case | Singular | Plural | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative-absolutive | nū | nūa | nūt | nōli | nūhe | nūa |
| Ergative | noluš | nolāš | nološ | nolūx | nolayx | nolōx |
| Accusative | nū | nūa | nūt | nōli | nūhe | nūa |
| Dative | noluē | nolehē | noloē | nolubo | nolābo | nolobo |
| Equative | noluɂār | nolehār | noloɂār | nolubīṛ | nolābīṛ | nolobīṛ |
| Locative | nolušu | nolāhu | nolohu | nolūšu | nolayšu | nolōšu |
| Genitive (relic) | nolūy | nolehē | nolōy | nolūw | nolāw | nolōw |
History and vocabulary
Elodian is an isolate among the broader Indo-European family, although many Elodian linguists, in line with common nationalist claims, propose the existence of an Elodian-Anatolian grouping. While this hypothesis is generally refused due to phonetics, non-Elodian linguists still point out that Elodian and the Anatolian languages, particularly the Luwian subgroup, have a set of so-called "shared archaisms" not found in other IE languages: the consonantal reflexes of laryngeals are one (even though Elodian preserves all three laryngeals as consonants in the onset - more consonantal reflexes than all Anatolian languaes), but often cited are the lexical ones, with Elodian roots often having meanings closer to Anatolian than to languages elsewhere in the Indo-European world (e.g. manim "I see, I watch" (< *men(h₂)-mi), cf. Luwian manā-ti), or shared lexical items, particularly with Luwic (e.g. hūrgmā "wheel" < *h₂wérg-mṇ, cf. Hittite ḫūrkis; ɂodwāha "person" < *h₁ṇdʰwéh₂ōs, cf. Hitt. antuwaḫḫaš; siw "and" < *ḱe-?, cf. Lycian B sebe, Carian sb; hūlām "I live", cf. Luwian ḫuit-, Lycian B qid-, Carian qt-; fun "all", cf. Luwian pūna-, Lycian B puna-, Carian pñ-). Many shared lexical items with Anatolian languages are, though, probably borrowings.
While the IE origin of Elodian is today undisputed, it is to be noted that Hurro-Urartian and languages of the Caucasus definitely had a marked influence over Elodian, as shown by the development of split ergativity.
Texts
Schleicher's Fable (La mewsā siw li ɂešuki)
- ʔešuki omanyor 'mīš mewsāš ene mēnā hangolnā lāo. Hǝngeš 'mī orikā longgīkā elēgo; hǝngeš 'ng longt xoštār obǝro, siw hǝngeš 'ng turǝniš obǝro ɂelenge.
- Olā lāš mewsāš lubo ɂešukobo: «Mǝk sǝrteɂuš momš felte gārohezām pota manim 'ngo turǝnišo ene tē ɂešukobo tūxin gāde.»
- Olā lūx ɂešukex lehē mewsehē: «Herɂ, ō mewsā! Dī sǝrteɂux dongox felte gārohezāmo pota sī manmo: 'ng turǝniš, lu foli, lehē hangolnehē twā mewsā mey 'ngo raxto for hiwoē purin gāde. Siw la mewsā mēnā hangolnā lāo.»
- Su hiwoē sī herɂā, la mewsā mey 't fetinino obūko.
- /'ʔeʃuki ɔ'maɲɔr mi:ʃ 'mewsa:ʃ ene 'me:na: 'haŋɔlna: 'la:.ɔ/ /'hɛŋeʃ mi: ɔ'rika: lɔŋ'gi:ka: e'le:gɔ . 'hɛŋeʃ ɔŋ 'lɔŋt xɔʃ'ta:r ɔ'bɛrɔ . si(w) 'hɛŋeʃ ɔŋ tu'rɛniʃ ɔ'bɛrɔ 'ʔeleŋe/
- /ɔ'la: la:ʃ 'mewsa:ʃ lubɔ 'ʔeʃukɔbɔ . mɛk 'sɛrteʔuʃ 'mɔmʃ 'felte ga:rɔhe'za:m 'pɔta 'manim ɔŋɔ tu'rɛniʃɔ ene 'te: 'ʔeʃukɔbɔ 'tu:xin 'ga:de/
- /ɔ'la: lu:x 'ʔeʃukex lehe: 'mewsehe: . 'herʔ . o: 'mewsa: . di: 'sɛrteʔux 'dɔŋɔx 'felte ga:rɔhe'za:mɔ 'pɔta 'si: 'maŋmɔ . ɔŋ tu'rɛniʃ . lu 'fɔli . lehe: 'haŋɔlnehe: twa: 'mewsa: mej ŋɔ 'raxtɔ fɔr hi'wɔ.e: 'purin 'ga:de . si(w) la 'mewsa: 'me:na: 'haŋɔlna: 'la:.ɔ/
- /su hi'wɔ.e: si: 'herʔa: . la 'mewsa: mejt feti'ninɔ ɔ'bu:kɔ/