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Revision as of 05:56, 1 July 2022

Essanian (/ɪˈseɪniən/, native: xanhán /ʃaˈɲan/) is an Iberian Romance language descended from Mozarabic.

Essanian
La lengua xanhana
لَلَِانْغُوَه شَنَّانَه
Pronunciation[la ˈleŋgwa ʃaˈɲana]
Created byShariifka
Early forms

Introduction

Etymology

The endonym xanhán is derived from the place name Xanha, from Latin Hispānia.

The English name Essanian is derived from Medieval Latin Essanianus, a Latinization of Middle Essanian exanyán.

Features

Phonological

  • Initial I-, DI- (before vowels), G- (before front vowels) become /dʒ ~ ʒ/.
    • Shared with Catalan and Portuguese.
    • E.g. IUVENE(M) > joven /ˈdʒoven/ "young" (Catalan jove, Portuguese jovem vs. Spanish joven, Asturian xoven, Galician xove, Aragonese choven)
  • Intervocalic -I-, -DI- become /j/.
    • Differs from Catalan and (sometimes) Galician/Portuguese.
    • E.g. MAIORE(M) > mayor /maˈjor/ "bigger" (Spanish, Asturian mayor, Galician/Portuguese maior vs Catalan major).
HODIE > wey /wej/ "today" (Spanish hoy, Asturian, Aragonese güe, Catalan vui vs Portuguese hoje, Galician hoxe).
  • Diphthongization of stressed Ŏ & Ĕ to /we/ and /je/.
    • Shared with Aragonese, Astur-Leonese, Spanish (except before yod),Catalan (only before yod).
    • E.g. PŎNTE(M) > puent /pwen/ (Spanish, Asturian puente vs Catalan pont, Galician/Portuguese ponte)
ŎCTO > weito /ˈwejto/ "eight" (Aragonese ueit(o), obsolete Asturian uecho, Catalan vuit vs Spanish ocho, Galician/Portuguese oito)
FĔRRU(M) > fierru /ˈfjeru/ "iron" (Spanish hierro, Aragonese fierro, Asturian fierru vs Galician/Portuguese, Catalan ferro)
  • Preservation of initial F-.
    • Differs from Spanish and some varieties of Astur-Leonese.
    • E.g. FĔRRU(M) > fierru /ˈfjeru/ "iron" (Galician/Portuguese, Catalan ferro, Aragonese fierro vs Spanish hierro)
  • Preservation of initial L-.
    • Differs from Astur-Leonese and Catalan.
    • E.g. LUNA(M) > luna /ˈluna/ (Spanish, Aragonese luna, Portuguese lua vs Catalan, Asturian lluna)
  • Preservation of initial N-.
    • Differs from some varieties of Astur-Leonese.
    • E.g. *NARICE(M) > narich /naˈɾitʃ/ "nose" (Spanish, Galician/Portuguese, Aragonese nariz, Catalan nariu vs Asturian ñariz)
  • Preservation of intervocalic -L- and -N-.
    • Differs from Galician/Portuguese.
    • E.g. LUNA(M) > luna /ˈluna/ "moon" (Spanish, Aragonese luna, Catalan, Asturian lluna vs Portuguese lua, Galician lúa)
COLŌRE(M) > color /koˈloɾ/ "colour" (Spanish, Aragonese, Catalan color vs Galician/Portuguese cor)
  • Monophthongization of falling diphthongs.
    • Shared with Spanish, Catalan, and some varieties of Astur-Leonese.
    • E.g. AURU(M) > or /oɾ/ "gold" (Spanish, Aragonese oro, Asturian oru, Cataln or vs Galician/Portuguese, Mirandese ouro)
E(G)O > yo /jo/ "I" (Spanish, Aragonese, Asturian yo, Catalan jo vs Galician/Portuguese eu, Mirandese/Leonese you)
  • -LT- (after U) and -CT- become /jt/ after stressed vowels and /tʃ/ after unstressed vowels.
    • The outcome after unstressed vowels is shared with Spanish and some varieties of Astur-Leonese, while the outcome after stressed vowels is shared with the remaining Iberian Romance languages (except Catalan in the case of -LT-).
    • E.g. MULTU(M) > muit /mujt/ "much, many" (Galician moito, Portuguese muito vs Spanish mucho, Asturian munchu, Catalan molt)
LACTŪCA > lechuca /leˈtʃuka/ "lettuce" (Spanish lechuga, Asturian llechuga vs Galician/Portuguese leituga, Catalan lletuga)
  • Palatalization of -LI-, -C'L-, -T'L-, -G'L- to /ʎ/.
    • Differs from Spanish and some varieties of Astur-Leonese.
    • E.g. ŎCULU(M) > welh /weʎ/ "eye" (Portuguese olho, Galician ollo, Aragonese güello, Catalan ull, Mirandese uolho vs Spanish ojo, Asturian güeyu, Leonese güechu)
  • Palatalization of -LL- to /ʎ/.
    • Differs from Galician/Portuguese.
    • E.g. ILLA > elha /ˈeʎa/ "she" (Spanish, Aragonese, Asturian, Catalan ella, Mirandese eilha vs Galician/Portuguese ela)
  • Palatalization of -NN- to /ɲ/.
    • Differs from Galician/Portuguese.
    • E.g. ANNU(M) > anh /aɲ/ "year" (Catalan any, Spanish, Aragonese año, Mirandese anho, Asturian añu vs Galician/Portuguese ano)
  • -M'N- becomes /m/.
    • Differs from Spanish.
    • E.g. HOMINE(M) > weme /ˈweme/ "man" (Catalan, Asturian, Galician home, Portuguese homem vs Spanish, Aragonese hombre)
NOMEN > nueme /ˈnweme/ "name" (Galician/Portuguese nome, Catalan, Aragonese nom, Asturian ñome vs Spanish nombre)
  • Palatalization of -X-, -PS-, -SC- (the latter before front vowels) to /ʃ/.
    • Differs from Spanish.
    • E.g. COXA > cuexa /ˈkweʃa/ "thigh" (Catalan, Aragonese cuixa, Galician/Portuguese coxa, Mirandese coixa vs Spanish cuja)
  • Preservation of initial CL-, FL-, PL-.
    • Shared with Catalan and Aragonese.
    • E.g. CLAMARE > clamar /klaˈmaɾ/ "to call" (Catalan, Aragonese clamar vs Spanish, Asturian llamar, Galician/Portuguese chamar
  • Preservation of intervocalic -T-, -P-, -C-.
    • Shared with some Aragonese dialects.
    • E.g. *SAPĒRE > saper /saˈpeɾ/ "to know" (Central Aragonese saper vs Catalan, Spanish, Galician/Portuguese, Asturian saber)
  • Insertion of (or, in some cases, preservation of) /j/ before or after a front vowel to avoid hiatus.
    • Shared with Aragonese and some varieties of Astur-Leonese.
    • E.g. CADERE > cayer /kaˈjeɾ/ "to fall" (Asturian, Aragonese cayer vs Spanish, Galician caer, Portuguese cair)
  • Dropping of final -U(M) in many environments.
    • Shared with Catalan.
    • E.g. CATTU(M) > gat /ɡat/ "cat" (Catalan gat vs Asturian gatu, Spanish, Galician/Portuguese gato)
  • Preservation of non-dropped final -U(M) as /u/.
    • Shared with Astur-Leonese and Portuguese (though it is likely a secondary development in the latter).
    • E.g. FĔRRU(M) > fierru /ˈfjeru/ "iron" (Asturian fierru vs Spanish hierro, Aragonese fierro, Catalan ferro)
  • Dropping of final -E(M) in many environments.
    • Shared with Aragonese, Catalan, and (to some extent) Spanish.
    • E.g. GRANDE(M) > grand /ɡɾan/ "big" (Aragonese gran vs Spanish, Aragonese, Galician/Portuguese grande)
  • Preservation of voiced fricatives/affricates.
    • Shared with Catalan, Portuguese, and Mirandese.
    • E.g. UNDECI(M) > onge /ˈondʒe/ "eleven" (Catalan, Portuguese, Mirandese onze vs Aragonese, Asturian, Spanish once)
  • Preservation of the distinction between /b/ and /v/.
    • Shared with some varieties of Catalan and most varieties of Portuguese.
    • E.g. HABĒRE > aver /aˈveɾ/ "to have" (Portuguese, Catalan haver vs Spanish, Asturian, Aragonese, Galician haber)
  • The following features are unique to Essanian among the Iberian Romance languages:
    • -ST- becomes /θ/ - e.g. CŎSTA(M) > cueça /ˈkweθa/ "slope" (Spanish cuesta).
    • -STR- becomes /ð/ - e.g. STRATA(M) > zata "street" (Portuguese estrada)
    • -SC- (non-palatalized) and -SP- become /ʃ/ - e.g. SPATULA(M) > xalha /ˈʃaʎa/ "shoulder" (Catalan espatlla); SCHOLA(M) > xuela /ˈʃwela/ "school" (Spanish escuela).
    • Palatalization of C (before front vowels) and -TI- (before vowels) to /tʃ/ - e.g. RATIŌNE(M) > rachón /raˈtʃon/ "reason" (Spanish razón).
    • Insertion of /w/ before or after a rounded vowel to avoid hiatus - e.g. TUA(M) > tuwa /ˈtuwa/ "your" (Portuguese tua).
    • Preservation of W- in loanwords - e g. WARDARE > wardar /waɾˈdaɾ/ "to guard" (Aragonese guardar).

Morphological

  • Pronouns and adjectives form a neuter in -o
    • Shared with Asturian.
  • Words ending in -a form their plural in -es.
    • Shared with Asturian and Catalan.
  • Words ending in -u form their plural in -os.
    • Shared with Asturian.
  • Most masculine words ending in a consonant form their plural in -os.
    • Shared (to a limited extent) with Catalan.
  • Final -TIS in second person plural verbs became /θ/.
    • Shared with Aragonese.
  • -B- in imperfect preserved as /v/ in all verb classes.
    • Shared with Aragonese, which preserves it as /β/.

Phonology

Orthography

Latin orthography

Alphabet
Letter Name IPA
A a a [ä]
B b be [be̞]
C c ce [t͡ʃe̞]
Ç ç çe [θe̞]
D d de [d̪e̞]
E e e [e̞]
F f efe [ˈe̞fe̞]
G g ge [d͡ʒe̞]
Gh gh ghen [ʕe̞n]
H h haca [ˈhäkä]
Letter Name IPA
I i i [i]
J j jota [ˈd͡ʒo̞t̪ä]
K k ka [kä]
L l ele [ˈe̞le̞]
Lh lh elhe [ˈe̞ʎe̞]
M m eme [ˈe̞me̞]
N n ene [ˈe̞ne̞]
Nh nh enhe [ˈe̞ɲe̞]
O o o [o̞]
P p pe [pe̞]
Letter Name IPA
Q q cu [ku]
R r erre [ˈe̞re̞]
S s esse [ˈe̞se̞]
T t te [t̪e̞]
U u u [u]
V v ve [ve̞]
W w we [we̞]
X x exe [ˈe̞ʃe̞]
Y y ye [je̞]
Z z zeta [ˈðe̞t̪ä]
Consonants
Consonants
Letter Context IPA Examples Remarks
b word-initial after a pause, or after ⟨m⟩ or ⟨n⟩ [b] buen "good"; ambos "both"
elsewhere (i.e. after a vowel, even across a word boundary, or after any consonant other than ⟨m⟩ or ⟨n⟩) [β̞] sobre "over"
utterance-final [p] or [ɸ̞] ob "where"
c before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩ [tʃ] or [ʃ] (depending on the dialect) ceto "early; in the morning"
elsewhere [k] canta "song"
before voiced consonants [ɣ̞] anécdota "anecdote"
in the cluster ⟨ct⟩ [ɣ̞] or [x̞] actual "current"
ch everywhere [tʃ] or [ʃ] (depending on the dialect) xuchar "to listen"
ç everywhere [θ], [s], or [tʃ] (depending on the dialect) cueça "slope"
d word-initial after a pause, or after ⟨l⟩ or ⟨n⟩ [d̪] dar "to give"; caldu "hot"
after ⟨n⟩ word-finally Ø mond "world"
elsewhere [ð̞] modos "ways, modes"
utterance-final [t̪] or [θ̞] mod "way, mode"
f everywhere [f] formica "ant"
g before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩ not before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩, and either word-initial after a pause, or after ⟨n⟩ [dʒ] germán "brother"
before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩, and not in the above contexts [ʒ] viage "journey"
not before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩, and either word-initial after a pause, or after ⟨n⟩ [ɡ] gat "cat"
not before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩, and not in the above contexts [ɣ˕] suegru "father-in-law"
utterance-final [k] or [x̞] zigzag "zigzag" In loanwords.
gh everywhere [ʕ] ghada "tradition, custom" In Arabic loanwords
gu before ⟨a⟩ or ⟨o⟩, and either word-initial after a pause, or after ⟨n⟩ [ɡw] lengua "tongue, language"
before ⟨a⟩ or ⟨o⟩, and not in the above contexts [ɣ̞w] Paraguay "Paraguay" In loanwords.
before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩, and either word-initial after a pause, or after ⟨n⟩ [ɡ] guitarra "guitar"
before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩, and not in the above contexts [ɣ̞] magues "witches, female Zoroastrians"
before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩, and either word-initial after a pause, or after ⟨n⟩ [ɡw] lengües "tongues, languages"
before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩, and not in the above contexts [ɣ̞w] següey "Segway" In loanwords.
h everywhere [h] or [ħ] or [x] horru "free" Generally occurs in loanwords.
everywhere (rare) Ø honestu "honest" Occurs in loanwords where the letter is silent in the original language. May be pronounced [h] as a spelling pronunciation.
j either word-initial after a pause, or after ⟨n⟩ [dʒ] ja "already"
elsewhere [ʒ] viajar "to travel"
utterance-final [tʃ] or [ʃ] alhaj "Hajj" In loanwords.
k rare; only occurs in a few loanwords and sensational spellings [k] kilogramu "kilogram" Can generally be replaced with c or qu.
l everywhere [l] lengua "tongue, language"
lh everywhere [ʎ] vielh "old"
m everywhere except word-finally [m] mesa "table"
word-final [n] or [ŋ] (depending on the dialect) Adam "Adam"
n everywhere but before other consonants and word-finally [n] manes "hands"
before other consonants [m]; [ɱ]; [n]; [n̪]; [ɲ]; [ŋ] lengua "tongue, language" Assimilates to the following consonant’s place of articulation.
word-finally [n] or [ŋ] (depending on the dialect) man "hand"
nh everywhere [ɲ] suenh "sleep, dream"
p everywhere [p] padre "father"
in the consonant cluster ⟨pt⟩ [β̞] or [ɸ̞] aptu "apt"
q everywhere [k] Qátar "Qatar" In loanwords.
qu before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩ [k] que "what"
elsewhere [kw] quatro "four"
only occurs before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩ [kw] aqües "waters"
r word-initial, morpheme-initial,

or after ⟨l⟩, ⟨n⟩, ⟨s⟩, or ⟨z⟩; in emphatic speech may also be used instead of [ɾ] in syllable-final (especially before ⟨l⟩, ⟨m⟩, ⟨n⟩, ⟨s⟩, ⟨t⟩, or ⟨d⟩) and word-final positions (before pause or consonant-initial words only)

[r] rat "rat"
elsewhere [ɾ] plorar "to cry"
rr only occurs between vowels [r] carru "car"
s word-initial, morpheme initial, before a voiceless consonant, or utterance-final [s] salá "prayer"
everywhere else [z] mesa "table"
ss only occurs between vowels [s] passar "to pass"
t everywhere [t̪] tu "you"
before voiced consonants [ð̞] atmósfera "atmosphere"
after ⟨n⟩ word-finally Ø vient "wind"
v everywhere [v] vient "wind"
w everywhere [w] welh "eye"
x everywhere [ʃ] xuchar "to listen"
between vowels and word-finally [ks] toxina "toxin" In words of Latin or Greek origin; may be replaced with ⟨cs⟩ or ⟨s⟩ (with the associated pronunciation change).
before a consonant [ks] or [s] textu "text" In loanwords; may be replaced with ⟨s⟩ (and pronounced accordingly).
in the prefix ex- [z]; [s] before a plosive examen "exam"
y everywhere except when acting as a vowel [j] yerva "grass"
z utterance-final or before a voiceless consonant [θ] or [s] (depending on the dialect) arroz "rice"
everywhere else [ð] or [z] (depending on the dialect) zagal "boy"
Vowels
Monophthong Vowels
Letter IPA Examples Remarks
a [ä] gat "cat"
e [e̞] mesa "table"
i [i] felich "happy"
y y "and" Rare. Only commonly used as a vowel in the conjunction y and the homonymous adverbial pronoun.
o [o̞] ora "hour, time"
u [u] amicu "friend"
Vowel letters in diphthongs
Letter IPA Examples Remarks
In rising diphthongs
i ⟨i⟩ before a vowel [j] bien "well"; viage "journey"
u ⟨u⟩ before a vowel (but silent in ⟨qu⟩ and ⟨gu⟩ before an ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩) [w] cueça "slope"; quatro "four"
ü ⟨ü⟩ before a vowel (only used in ⟨qü⟩ and ⟨gü⟩ before an ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩) [w] lengües "tongues, languages"
In falling diphthongs
i ⟨i⟩ after a vowel [j] feit "made"
y ⟨y⟩ after a vowel [j] rey "king" Almost always word-final. ⟨-iy⟩ is pronounced [i].
u ⟨u⟩ after a vowel [w] autobús "bus"
w ⟨w⟩ after a vowel [w] ochaw "eighth (fraction)" Almost always word-final. ⟨-uw⟩ is pronounced [w].

Notes:

  1. ⟨iu⟩ and ⟨ui⟩ are ambiguous, since they may either be used for rising diphthongs (/ju/ and /wi/ respectively) or falling diphthongs (/iw/ and /uj/ respectively). In most cases, they represent rising diphthongs unless followed by ⟨t⟩. ⟨iw⟩ and ⟨uy⟩ always represent falling diphthongs.
  2. When a vowel (almost always ⟨e⟩) is both preceded and followed by a glide, a triphthong is formed - e.g. nueit, nueu, buey.
Stress

Stress in a word can be determined from the way it is written via the following rules:

  • If there is any vowel with an acute accent, that vowel is stressed.
  • If there is no vowel with an acute accent:
    • The penultimate vowel is stressed if the word ends in a vowel, vowel + -n, or vowel + -s.
    • The ultimate vowel is stressed if the word ends in any consonant other than -n or -s.
  • Note that:
    • Diphthongs are always treated as one syllable.
    • iV and uV (where V represents any vowel other than i or u) are treated as diphthongs, and therefore count as one syllable.
      • The exception to this is if the i or u has an accent. However, this is rare since words that would have íV and úV are usually written as iyV and uwV.
    • Final -y and -w are treated as consonants, and they shift the stress to the final syllable.

Consonants

Vowels

Prosody

Stress

Primary stress may occur in any of the last three syllables of a word.

Intonation

Phonotactics

Morphophonology

Phonological history

  • Final vowel dropping:
    • -u and -e dropped after post-vocalic ç, d, l, lh, n, nh, r, s, ss, t, z.
    • -e but not -u dropped after post-vocalic c(h), t, x, y, nd, nt.
    • -u but not -e dropped after post-vocalic w.
    • Sometimes vowels are dropped irregularly.

Morphology

Articles

Definite Article

Essanian definite article
Singular Plural
Masculine el, l' (before vowels), 'l (after vowels) los
Feminine la, l' (before a) les
Neuter lo, l' (before vowels)

Notes:

  1. The definite article precedes the noun it modifies.
  2. The neuter definite article is generally used with nominalized neuter adjectives or relative clauses that have an abstract/inanimate referent - e.g. lo bueno "the good/that which is good"; lo que pienso "what I think/that which I think".

Indefinite Article

Essanian indefinite article
Singular Plural
Masculine un unos
Feminine una unes
Neuter uno

Pronouns

Personal pronouns

Essanian personal pronouns
Person, Number, Formality, Gender Independent Clitic
Subject Object Reflexive Object Possessive Direct object Indirect object Reflexive Possessive
1st Singular yo mi miyu/miyos, miya/miyes, miyo me, m'1 mo(n)2/mos, ma(n)2/mes, mo(n)2
Plural Masculine nós; nosotros nues/nuesos, nuesa/nueses, nueso nos
Feminine nós; nosotres
2nd Singular Informal tu ti tuw/tuwos, tuwa/tuwes, tuwo te, t'1 to(n)2/tos, ta(n)2/tes, to(n)2
Formal Masculine vucé suw/suwos, suwa/suwes, suwo lu, l'1, -l3 lhi se, s'1 so(n)2/sos, sa(n)2/ses, so(n)2
Feminine la, l'4
Plural Informal Masculine vós; vosotros vues/vuesos, vuesa/vueses, vueso vos
Feminine vós; vosotres
Formal Masculine vucés lor/loros, lora/lores, loro los lhis se, s'1, -sen5
Feminine les
3rd Singular Masculine elh suw/suwos, suwa/suwes, suwo lu, l'1, -l3 lhi, lh'1 se, s'1 so(n)2/sos, sa(n)2/ses, so(n)2
Feminine elha la, l'4
Neuter elho lo, l'1
Plural Masculine elhos lor/loros, lora/lores, loro los lhis se, s'1, -sen5
Feminine elhes les
Impersonal wemo suw/suwos, suwa/suwes, suwo lo, l'1 lhi, lh'1 se, s'1 so(n)2/sos, sa(n)2/ses, so(n)2

Notes:

1 Preverbal before vowel.

2 -n is appended to the singular clitic possessives when the following word begins in a vowel. Also note that in more archaic forms of Essanian, a glide may be added after the initial consonant of the clitic possessives in both the singular and plural. This glide is -i- in the first person and -u- in the second and third persons.

3 Post-verbal after vowel.

4 Preverbal before a.

5 Post-verbal after non-finite form (infinitive, participles, etc.).

Note that post-verbal clitic pronouns are always separated from the verb with a hyphen.

The neuter gender is used to refer to abstract ideas, infinitives, que clauses, inanimate interrogatives and indefinites, and similar.

When a verb has multiple clitic object pronouns, they combine in the following order: reflexive OP + indirect OP + direct OP + adverbial OP (see below).

Adverbial object pronouns

The following adverbial clitic object pronouns are used:

  • y, b' (pre-verbal before vowels), -y (post-verbal) = equivalent to French y
  • en, n' (pre-verbal before vowels), -ne (post-verbal) = equivalent to French en

Note that when post-verbal, the clitic pronouns are separated from the verb with a hyphen.

When both adverbial object pronouns are used at once, they combine as en b' preverbally before vowels and n'y otherwise.

Nouns

Gender

Nouns may be masculine or feminine. Unlike adjectives and pronouns, nouns cannot have neuter gender.

Number

Nouns may be singular or plural. Nouns may also be used in the dual, which is borrowed from Arabic.

Regular plurals

Nouns are pluralized based on their ending and gender as follows:

Plural of nouns based on ending and gender
Ending Gender Plural Dual Remarks
Consonant most M -os -én An exception are nouns ending in -nt that do not refer to people. Such nouns are masculine in gender but take -es in the plural.
F; some M -es -én In addition to feminine nouns, masculine inanimate nouns ending in -nt take -es in the plural.
-a M/F -es -atén Most words ending in -a are feminine.
-u; -o M/F -os -én Most words ending in -u are masculine. Nouns ending in unstressed -o are rare.
-e; -i M/F -es -én Nouns ending in unstressed -i are rare.
Stressed vowel M/F -s -tén These endings are added after the final vowel, which is left unchanged.
Irregular plurals

Some words, mostly of Arabic origin, take a plural in -ín (masculine) or -(w)at (feminine). There are also some broken plurals.

For example:

  • mumin "believer (m.)" → muminín "believers"
  • múmina "believer (f.)" → muminat "believers (f.)"
  • salá "prayer" → salawat "prayers"
  • sultán "sultan" → salatín "sultans"

Adjectives

Endings

Adjectives take the following endings:

Essanian adjective declension
Type Singular Plural
Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine
1 -u or consonant -a -o -os -es
2 -e -e -e -es -es
3 Stressed vowel Same as masc. Same as masc. -s -s

The neuter gender in adjectives is used for agreement with infinitives, neuter pronouns, impersonal pronouns, or que phrases. It can also be used as an adverb.

Comparatives and Superlatives

The comparative of adjectives ("more ___") is formed by placing plus "more" or menos "less" before the adjective for the positive and negative comparatives respectively.

The following adjectives have irregular positive comparatives:

  • buen "good" → melhor "better"
  • mal "bad" → peyor "worse"
  • muit "much, many" → plus "more"
  • pocu "little, few" → menos "less, fewer"
  • joven "young", cicu "small" → menor "younger, smaller"
  • vielh "old", grand "large" → mayor "older, larger"

The last four (joven, cicu, vielh, grand) can alternatively use regular comparatives.

The superlative ("most _____") is formed by placing the definite article before the corresponding comparative.

Absolute Superlative

In addition to the regular superlative, there is an absolute superlative formed with the suffix -íssimu (declined as a regular adjective). It means "very ______" or "extremely _______".

There are some irregular absolute superlatives. In all cases, the regular forms may also be used.

  • buen "good" -> óptimu "very good, optimal"
  • mal "bad" -> péssimu "very bad"
  • grand "large" -> máximu "very large"
  • cicu "small" -> mínimu "very small"
  • altu "high" -> supremu "very high"
  • baxu "low" -> ínfimu "very low"

Adverbs

Derivation from adjectives

Adverbs are commonly derived from adjectives by one of the following methods:

  • The neuter form of the adjective - e.g. puro "purely"
  • The feminine form of the adjective suffixed with -ment - purament "purely"

When adverbs formed with the suffix -ment are appended to each other, -ment is dropped from all but the last adverb.

Irregular adverbs

The following adverbs are not regularly derived from their corresponding adjectives:

  • buen "good" → bien "well"
  • mal "bad" → mal "badly"

Comparative

The comparative of adverbs is formed in the same way as adjectives: by placing plus "more" or menos "less" before the adverb.

The following adverbs have irregular comparative forms:

  • bien "well" → melhor "better"
  • mal "badly" → peyor "worse"
  • muito "a lot" → plus "more"
  • poco "a little" → menos "less"

Numerals

Essanian numerals
Cardinal Ordinal Fractional
0 zero zerén
1 un, una, uno primer
2 dos, duwes second meyu
3 tres tercer tierchu
4 quatro quartu quartu
5 cinco quint quint
6 seis sieç sieç
7 siet setén setaw
8 weito océn ochaw
9 nueu novén novaw
10 diech decén dechaw
11 onge ongén onjaw
12 doge dogén dojaw
13 trege tregén trejaw
14 quatorge quatorgén quatorjaw
15 quinge quingén quinjas
16 sege segén sejas
17 deci-siet deci-setén deci-setaw
18 deci-weito deci-océn deci-ochaw
19 deci-nueu deci-novén deci-novaw
20 vint vintén vintaw
21 vinti-ún vinti-unén vinti-unaw
30 trenta trentén trentaw
40 quaranta quarantén quarantaw
50 cinquanta cinquantén cinquantas
60 sexanta sexantén sexantaw
70 setanta setantén setantaw
80 ochanta ochantén ochantaw
90 novanta novantén novantaw
100 cient centén centaw
200 dos-cientos dos-centén dos-centaw
1000 mil milén milaw
2000 dos-mil dos-milén dos-milaw
10⁶ milhón milhonén milhonaw
2×10⁶ duwes-milhones duwes-milhonén duwes-milionaw
10⁹ milhardu milhardén milhardaw
10¹² bilhón bilhonén bilhonaw

Verbs

Tenses and moods

Verbs conjugate in the following tenses and moods:

  • Indicative mood (el mod indicativu):
    • Simple tenses (tiempos simples):
      • Simple present (el present simple)
      • Preterite (el passat perfeit)
      • Imperfect (el passat imperfeit)
      • Simple future (el futur simple)
      • Simple conditional (el condichonal simple)
      • Simple pluperfect (el plus-que-perfeit simple)
    • Compound tenses (tiempos compueços):
      • Present perfect (el passat compueç)
      • Compound pluperfect (el plus-que-perfeit compueç)
      • Future perfect (el futur compueç)
      • Conditional perfect (el condichonal compueç)
  • Subjunctive mood (el mod subjuntivu)
    • Simple tenses (tiempos simples):
      • Present subjunctive (el present del subjuntivu)
      • Imperfect subjunctive (el imperfeit del subjuntivu)
      • Future subjunctive (el futur del subjuntivu)
    • Compound tenses (tiempos compueços):
      • Perfect subjunctive (el passat compueç del subjuntivu)
      • Pluperfect subjunctive (el plus-que-perfeit compueç del subjuntivu)
      • Future perfect subjunctive (el futur compueç del subjuntivu)
  • Imperative mood (el mod imperativu)
    • Affirmative imperative (l'imperativu afirmativu)
    • Negative imperative (l'imperativu negativu)
  • Non-finite forms (les formes nominales):
    • Infinitive (l'infinitivu)
    • Participle (el participiu')
    • Gerund (el gerundiu)

For convenience, each tense/mood combination will be referred to in this article as a "tense".

Verb classes

There are three verb classes:

  • First conjugation/-ar verbs (la conjugachón primera)
  • Second conjugation/-er verbs (la conjugachón seconda)
  • Third conjugation/-ir verbs (la conjugachón tercera)

There are irregular verbs in each class.

Verb conjugation

Note that second person polite forms always take third person verb conjugations

Non-finite forms
Non-finite forms of regular verbs
Form -ar verbs -er verbs -ir verbs
Infinitive -ar -er -ir
Participle -at/-atos, -ata/-ates, -ato -it/-itos, -ita/-ites, -ito¹
Gerundive -ando -endo -indo

Notes:

¹ -er verbs may form their past participle in -ut instead of -it (this is considered archaic). Additionally, many -er and -ir verbs have irregular past participles (which often are also considered archaic).

Simple tenses (indicative)
Simple indicative tenses (regular -ar verbs)
Person/
Number
Present Imperfect Preterite Future Conditional Pluperfect
1S -o -ava -aré -areva -era
2S -es -aves -és -arás -areves -eres
3S -a -ava -ará -areva -era
1P -án -aven -én -arén -areven -eren
2P -az -ávez -ez -arez -arévez -érez
3P -en -aven -ón -arán -areven -eren
Simple indicative tenses (regular -er verbs)
Person/
Number
Present Imperfect Preterite Future Conditional Pluperfect
1S -o -eva -eré -ereva -iera
2S -es -eves -iés -erás -ereves -ieres
3S -(e)¹ -eva -ió -erá -ereva -iera
1P -én -even -ién -erén -ereven -ieren
2P -ez -évez -iez -erez -erévez -iérez
3P -en -even -ión -erán -ereven -ieren
Simple indicative tenses (regular -ir verbs)
Person/
Number
Present Imperfect Preterite Future Conditional Pluperfect
1S -o -iva -iré -ireva -iera
2S -es -ives -iés -irás -ireves -ieres
3S -(e)¹ -iva -ió -irá -ireva -iera
1P -ín -iven -ién -irén -ireven -ieren
2P -iz -ívez -iez -irez -irévez -iérez
3P -en -iven -ión -irán -ireven -ieren

Notes:

¹ The final -e in the 3S present of -er and -ir verbs is dropped after certain consonants.

² When an ending begins in a rising diphthong (-i- + vowel), -i- is dropped after palatal consonants and merges with a preceding -w- to form -y-.

Simple tenses (subjunctive)
Simple subjunctive tenses (regular -ar verbs)
Person/
Number
Present Imperfect Future
1S -e -esse -ere
2S -as -essas -eras
3S -e -esse -ere
1P -én -essan -eran
2P -ez -éssaz -éraz
3P -an -essan -eran
Simple subjunctive tenses (regular -er and -ir verbs)
Person/
Number
Present Imperfect Future
1S -a -iesse -iere
2S -as -iessas -ieras
3S -a -iesse -iere
1P -án -iessan -ieran
2P -az -iéssaz -iéraz
3P -an -iessan -ieran
Imperative
  • Affirmative:
    • 2S: Same as 3S present indicative.
    • 2P: Same as infinitive, with final -r replaced with -t.
    • Other persons: Same as corresponding present subjunctive.
  • Negative: Same as corresponding present subjunctive.
Compound tenses

Compound tenses are formed with the verb aver "to have" followed by the past participle. They differ from each other according to the tense of the auxiliary verb.

  • Non-finite forms:
    • Perfect infinitive: aver + participle
    • Perfect participle: participle of aver + participle
    • Perfect gerundive: avendo + participle
  • Indicative:
    • Present perfect: present of aver + participle
    • Compound pluperfect: imperfect of aver + participle
    • Future perfect: future of aver + participle
    • Conditional perfect: conditional of aver + participle
  • Subjunctive:
    • Perfect subjunctive: present subjunctive of aver + participle
    • Pluperfect subjunctive: imperfect subjunctive of aver + participle
    • Future perfect subjunctive: future subjunctive of aver + participle
Periphrastic tenses

In addition to the usual simple and compound tenses, there are additional periphrastic tenses formed with auxiliary verbs. These can themselves take any simple or compound tense.

Passive

Formed with the appropriate conjugation of ser with the appropriately declined form of the past participle.

It can also be used as a pseudopassive, especially with intransitive verbs. In this case, the participle is always in the neuter.

Irregular verbs

General notes
  • Stem-changing verbs have predictable sound changes when the stem is stressed. Common varieties include:
    • -o- > -ue-
    • -e- > -ie-
    • -ch- > -it-
  • Many verbs have an irregular 1S present indicative form. When this occurs, this irregular stem is also used to form the present subjunctive. In the case of stem-changing verbs, stem vowel changes still apply.
  • The future may have an irregular stem before -r- (usually formed by contraction). This happens especially often with -er verbs. The conditional always has the same stem as the future.
  • The preterite may have an irregular stem, in which case the endings are as below (with a few exceptions):
Person/Number Preterite ending
1S -i
2S -es
3S -o
1P -én
2P -ez
3P -ón
The pluperfect indicative, imperfect subjunctive, and future subjunctive stems are always formed by removing -n from the 1P preterite indicative and adding the appropriate endings starting from the consonant.
  • Regular verbs whose stems end in -c-, -g-, -qu-, -gu-, -qü-, -gü-, -ch- have spelling changes in order to maintain the same pronunciation in front of front and back vowels, as per the table below:
Phoneme Before front vowels Before back vowels Remarks
/k/ qu c
/tʃ/ c ch Becomes -ch when word-final.
/ɡ ~ ɣ/ gu g
/dʒ ~ ʒ/ g j This spelling change does not apply if the infinitive is spelled with -j-, in which case this spelling is maintained.
/kw/ qu
/ɡw ~ ɣw/ gu
Note that many verbs ending in -cer, -cir irregularly maintain their spelling in the 1S present indicative with the corresponding pronunciation change.
The verb ser "to be"

The verb ser "to be" is highly irregular.

Non-finite forms of the verb ser "to be"
Infinitive ser
Participle sit/sitos, sita/sites, sito;

sut/sutos, suta/sutes, suto¹

Gerundive sendo

¹ Archaic

Indicative tenses of the verb ser "to be"
Person/
Number
Present Imperfect Preterite Future Conditional Pluperfect
1S so yera fui seré sereva fuera
2S yes yeres fues serás sereves fueres
3S ye yera fue será sereva fuera
1P son yeren fuen serén sereven fueren
2P soz yérez fuez serez serévez fuérez
3P son yeren fuen serán sereven fueren
Non-indicative tenses of the verb ser "to be"
Person/
Number
Present subj. Imperfect subj. Future subj. Imperative aff.
1S siya fuesse fuere
2S siyas fuessas fueras
3S siya fuesse fuere siya
1P siyán fuessan fueran siyán
2P siyaz fuéssaz fuéraz set
3P siyan fuessan fueran siyan
The verb aver "to be"

The verb aver "to have" is an important irregular verb.

Non-finite forms of the verb aver "to have"
Infinitive aver
Participle avit/avitos, avita/avites, avito;

avut/avutos, avuta/avutes, avuto¹

Gerundive avendo
Indicative tenses of the verb aver "to have"
Person/
Number
Present Imperfect Preterite² Future Conditional Pluperfect²
1S e eva ovi avré avreva overa
2S as eves oves avrás avreves overes
3S a eva ovo avrá avreva overa
1P avén even ovén avrén avreven overen
2P avez évez ovez avrez avrévez ovérez
3P an even ovón avrán avreven overen
Non-indicative tenses of the verb aver "to have"
Person/
Number
Present subj. Imperfect subj.² Future subj.² Imperative aff.
1S aya ovesse overe
2S ayas ovessas overas a
3S aya ovesse overe aya
1P ayán ovessan overan ayán
2P ayaz ovéssaz ovéraz avet
3P ayan ovessan overan ayan

Notes:

¹ Participles in -ut- are considered archaic.

² The irregular preterite is shown here. A regular preterite (aví, aviés, etc.) can alternatively be used, in which case the pluperfect indicative, imperfect subjunctive, and future subjunctive likewise become regular.

The verb andar "to go"
Non-finite forms of the verb andar "to go"
Infinitive andar
Participle andat/andatos, andata/andates, andato
Gerundive andando
Simple indicative tenses of the verb andar "to go"
Person/
Number
Present Imperfect Preterite Future Conditional Pluperfect
1S vo andava andé iré ireva andera
2S vas andaves andés irás ireves anderes
3S va andava andó irá ireva andera
1P andán andaven andén irén ireven anderen
2P andaz andávez andez irez irévez andérez
3P van andaven andón irán ireven anderen
Simple subjunctive tenses of the verb andar "to go"
Person/
Number
Present Imperfect³ Future³
1S vaya andesse andere
2S vayas andessas anderas
3S vaya andesse andere
1P vayán andessan anderan
2P vayaz andéssaz andéraz
3P vayan andessan anderan

Syntax

Constituent order

Noun phrase

Verb phrase

Sentence phrase

Dependent clauses

Example texts

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 1)

La Declarachón Universala de los Dreitos Umanos (Artícul 1)

Totos los seros umanos naxen horros ed equalos en dinitá y dreitos. Son dotatos de rachón y conxencha, y deven comportar-sen los unos colos otros en ruhu de germantá.

توتس لس سارس أمانس نشن حرس ءاد ءاكوالس ءان دنتاه إي دريتس. سون دتاتس دا رچون إي كنشنچه، إي داڤن كمپرتارسن لس أونس كلس أترس ءان روح دا جرمانتاه

/ˈtotos los ˈseɾos uˈmanos ˈnaʃen ˈhoros ed eˈkwalos en diniˈta i ˈdreitos ‖ son doˈtatos de raˈt͡ʃon i konˈʃent͡ʃa | i ˈdeven kompoɾˈtaɾsen los ˈunos ˈkolos ˈotɾos en ˈruhu de d͡ʒeɾmanˈta/

Other resources

Notes