Gemendic

Gemendic (/dʒəˈmɛndɪk/, native: gemendesc /ʒemenˈdesk/) is an East Germanic language.

Gemendic
rasta gemendesca
Pronunciation[ˈräst̪ä ʒemen̪ˈd̪eskä]
Created byShariifka
Early forms
Old Gemendic
  • Middle Gemendic

Introduction

Gemendic is an East Germanic language with Western Germanic and Romance influence.

Phonology

Orthography

Latin orthography

Alphabet
Letter Name IPA
A a a [ä]
B b be [be]
C c ce [t͡ʃe]
Ç ç çe [se]
D d de [d̪e]
E e e [e]
F f efe [ˈefe]
G g ge [ʒe]
H h haca [ˈxäkä]
I i i [i]
Letter Name IPA
J j jota [ˈʒot̪ä]
K k ka [kä]
L l ele [ˈele]
Ll ll elle [ˈeʎe]
M m eme [ˈeme]
N n ene [ˈene]
Nn nn enne [ˈeɲe]
O o o [o]
P p pe [pe]
Q q cu [ku]
Letter Name IPA
R r erre [ˈere]
S s esse [ˈese]
T t te [t̪e]
U u u [u]
V v ve [ve]
W w doble-ve [ˈd̪oβle ve]
X x exe [ˈeʃe]
Y y i grega [i ˈɡreɣa]
Z z zeta [ˈzet̪ä]
Consonants
Consonants
Letter Context IPA Examples Remarks
b word-initial after a pause, or after ⟨m⟩ or ⟨n⟩ [b] bad "bed"; lambes "lamb"
elsewhere (i.e. after a vowel, even across a word boundary, or after any consonant other than ⟨m⟩ or ⟨n⟩) [β̞] pebre "pepper"
utterance-final after ⟨m⟩ or ⟨n⟩ [p] domb "mute"
utterance-final otherwise [ɸ̞] scab "form, condition"
c before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩ [tʃ] cenno "cheek, jaw"
elsewhere else [k] cara "care, concern"
before voiced consonants [ɣ̞] anécdota "anecdote"
in the cluster ⟨ct⟩ [ɣ̞] or [k] actual "current"
ch everywhere [tʃ] chosen "to choose"
ç everywhere [s] or [θ] (depending on the dialect) naçón "nation"
d word-initial after a pause, or after ⟨l⟩ or ⟨n⟩ [d̪] doitre "daughter"; hando "hand"
elsewhere [ð̞] boda "benefit, use"
utterance-final after ⟨l⟩ or ⟨n⟩ [t̪] cald "cold"
utterance-final otherwise [θ̞] bad "bed"
f everywhere [f] fada "fence"
g before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩ [ʒ] gèst "ghost, spirit"
not before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩, and either word-initial after a pause, or after ⟨n⟩ [ɡ] gannen "to go"; senga "(I) sing"
not before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩, and not in the above contexts [ɣ˕] agre "field"
utterance-final after ⟨n⟩ [k] sang "song"
utterance-final otherwise [x̞] rig "king"
gu before ⟨a⟩ or ⟨o⟩, and either word-initial after a pause, or after ⟨n⟩ [ɡw] lenguage "language"
before ⟨a⟩ or ⟨o⟩, and not in the above contexts [ɣ̞w] Paraguay "Paraguay"
before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩, and either word-initial after a pause, or after ⟨n⟩ [ɡ] guitarra "guitar"; senguen "to sing"
before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩, and not in the above contexts [ɣ̞] bagueta "baguette"
before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩, and either word-initial after a pause, or after ⟨n⟩ [ɡw] ángüeda "distress"
before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩, and not in the above contexts [ɣ̞w] següey "Segway"
h everywhere [x] or [h] or [ħ] or ∅ hando "hand" Some speakers do not pronounce ⟨h⟩ at all or only pronounce it in foreign words.
everywhere (rare) Ø honest "honest" Occurs in loanwords where the letter is silent in the original language. May be pronounced /x/ as a spelling pronunciation.
j everywhere [ʒ] ja "yes, (positive emphasis)"
utterance-final [ʃ] haj "Hajj"
k rare; only occurs in a few loanwords and sensational spellings [k] kilogram "kilogram" Can generally be replaced with c or qu.
l everywhere [l] lag "lake"
ll everywhere [ʎ] all "all"
l•l everywhere [lː] il•logical "illogical"
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] nad "net"
before other consonants [m]; [ɱ]; [n]; [n̪]; [ɲ]; [ŋ] anguo "narrow, distressing" Assimilates to the following consonant’s place of articulation.
word-finally [n] or [ŋ] (depending on the dialect) con "family, tribe"
nn everywhere [ɲ] cenno "cheek, jaw"
n•n everywhere [nː] in•novaçón "innovation"
p everywhere [p] pèda "shirt"
in the consonant cluster ⟨pt⟩ [β̞] or [ɸ̞] baptista "baptist"
q everywhere [k] Qátar "Qatar" In loanwords.
qu before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩ [k] quen "woman"
elsewhere [kw] quart "quarter"
only occurs before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩ [kw] qüestón "question"
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] xèro "sword"
rr only occurs between vowels [r] carro "cart"
s word-initial, morpheme initial, before a voiceless consonant, or utterance-final [s] sono "son"
everywhere else [z] mesa "table"
ss only occurs between vowels [s] passon "to pass"
sc before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩ [ʃ] sceldo "shield"
elsewhere else [sk] scura "tornado, windstorm"
t everywhere [t̪] tu "you"
before voiced consonants [ð̞] atmósfera "atmosphere"
v everywhere [v] vend "wind"
w in loanwords [v] wolfram "tungsten"
x everywhere [ʃ] oxa "ox"
in loanwords [ks] examen "exam" In words of Latin or Greek origin; may be replaced with ⟨cs⟩ or ⟨s⟩ (with the associated pronunciation change).
y everywhere except when acting as a vowel [j] yac "yak"
z utterance-final or before a voiceless consonant [s] or [θ] (depending on the dialect) alcaduz "bucket"
everywhere else [z] or [ð] (depending on the dialect) dioza "beast"
Vowels
Monophthong Vowels
Letter IPA Examples Remarks
a, á [ä] gat "cat", sultán "sulta"
è [ɛ] gèst "ghost, spirit" Always stressed.
e, é [e] mesa "table"
i, í [i] rig "king", fría "free (f.)"
o, ó [o] ora "hour, time", qüestón "question"
ò [o] òra "ear" Always stressed.
u [u] scura "windstorm", atún "tuna"
Vowel letters in diphthongs
Letter IPA Examples Remarks
In rising diphthongs
i ⟨i⟩ before a vowel [j] dioza "beast"
u ⟨u⟩ before a vowel (but silent in ⟨qu⟩ and ⟨gu⟩ before an ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩) [w] hua "what"
ü ⟨ü⟩ before a vowel (only used in ⟨qü⟩ and ⟨gü⟩ before an ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩) [w] qüestón "question"
y ⟨y⟩ after a vowel [j] ley "law" Almost always word-final.
u ⟨u⟩ after a vowel [w] autobús "bus"

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⟩.
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 accent, that vowel is stressed.
  • If there is no vowel with an 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.
    • Final -y shifts the stress to the final syllable.

Consonants

Vowels

Prosody

Stress

Intonation

Phonotactics

Morphophonology

Morphology

Articles

Definite Article

Gemendic definite article
Singular Plural
Masculine de, d' (before vowels) des
Feminine da, d' (before a) dos

Notes:

  1. The definite article precedes the noun it modifies.

Indefinite Article

Gemendic indefinite article
Singular Plural
Masculine èn ènes
Feminine èna ènos

Pronouns

Personal pronouns

Gemendic personal pronouns
Person, Number, Formality, Gender Independent Clitic
Subject Object Reflexive Object Possessive Direct object Reflexive DO Indirect object Reflexive IO Possessive
1st Singular e mi min/mines, mina/minos me, m'1 mes me(n)2/mes, ma(n)2/mos
Plural Masculine vos; vosandres vostre/vostres, vostra/vostros vos
Feminine vos; vosandros
2nd Singular Informal tu ti tin/tines, tina/tinos te, t'1 tes te(n)2/tes, ta(n)2/tos
Formal Masculine jeste si sin/sines, sina/sinos ne, n'1 nes se, s'1 ses se(n)2/ses, sa(n)2/sos
Feminine na, n'3
Plural Informal Masculine jes; jesandres jestre/jestres, jestra/jestros jes
Feminine jes; jesandros
Formal Masculine jestes si sin/sines, sina/sinos nes nes se, s'1 ses se(n)2/ses, sa(n)2/sos
Feminine nos
3rd Singular Masculine es ne, n'1
Feminine essa na, n'3
Plural Masculine esses nes
Feminine essos nos
Impersonal man ne, n'1

Notes:

1 Preverbal before vowel.

2 -n is appended to the singular clitic possessives when the following word begins in a vowel.

3 Preverbal before a.

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

Nouns

Number

Singular nouns are pluralized with the ending -s (after a vowel) or -es (after a consonant).

Nouns ending in -a form their plural in -es (if masculine) or -os (if feminine) instead of the expected *-as.

Adjectives

Agreement

Adjectives usually end in a consonant, -e, or -o in the masculine singular. They generally form their feminine in -a, masculine plural in -es, and feminine plural in -os.

Adjectives ending in a stressed -o or -e do not drop it when other endings are added. For example, go "good" becomes goa in the feminine singular.

Adjectives whose masculine singular ends in -a form their feminine in -o and plural in -es (masculine) and -os (feminine).

Comparatives

The comparative of an adjective is formed by placing mès "more" or menns "less" before the adjective for positive and negative comparatives respectively.

Some adjectives have irregular comparatives. These include:

  • go "good" → baiza, yossa "better"
  • oble "bad" → versa "worse"
  • mane "much, many" → mèza, maneza "more"
  • "few, little" → mennza, foza "less, fewer"
  • megle "big, great" → mèza "bigger, greater"
  • ligle "small, little" → mennza "smaller"
  • jong "young" → joza "younger"
  • sene "old" → alza "older"

The superlative is formed by placing the definite article before the corresponding comparative.

Absolute Superlatives

The absolute superlative is formed with the suffix -est. Alternatively, it can be formed by placing mèst "very much" before the adjective. The negative counterpart can be formed by placing mennst "hardly" before the adjective

Some adjectives have irregular absolute superlatives. These include:

  • go "good" → baist, yost "very good"
  • oble "bad" → verst "very bad"
  • mane "much, many" → mèst, manest "very much, very many"
  • "few, little" → mennst, fost "very few, very little"
  • melle "big, great" → mèst "very big, very great"
  • lille "small, little" → mennst "very small"
  • jong "young" → jost "very young"
  • sene "old" → alst "very old"

Adverbs

Derivation from adjectives

Adverbs are usually derived from adjectives by adding -o to the stem.

Some adverbs are irregular. These include:

  • go "good" → vèla "well"
  • mane "much, many"; melle "big, great" → felo "much, greatly, very"

Comparative and Superlative

Comparative, superlatives, and absolute superlatives of adverbs are formed analytically in the same way for adverbs as they are for adjectives.

Some adverbs have irregular comparatives/superlatives and absolute superlatives. These include:

  • vèla "well" → bais, yos "better"; baist, yost "very well"
  • oblo "badly" → vers "worse"; verst "very badly"
  • mello "greatly, very" → mès "greater, more"; mèst "very greatly, very much"
  • lillo "to a small extent" → menns "less"; mennst "to a very small extent, hardly"

Numerals

Gemendic numerals
Cardinal Ordinal Fractional
0 zero zeroda
1 èn, èna fromesta
2 tues, tuos tueda halve
3 tris terza terz
4 fedro fedroda quart; fedrod
5 fif finta fint
6 seis sèsta sèst
7 seven sevenda sevend
8 eito eitoda eitod
9 nion nionda niond
10 tèn tènda tènd
11 èlf elveda elved
12 tualf tualveda tualved
13 terden terdenda terdend
14 fedorden fedordenda fedordend
15 finten fintenda fintend
16 sesten sestenda sestend
17 sevenden sevendenda sevendend
18 eitoden eitodenda eitodend
19 nionden niondenda niondend
20 tuestes tuestesta tuestest
21 tuestes-èn(a) tuestes-fromesta tuestes-fromest
30 tristes tristesta tristest
40 fedortes fedortesta fedortest
50 fintes fintesta fintest
60 sèstes sestesta sestest
70 seventes seventesta seventest
80 eitotes eitotesta eitotest
90 niontes niontesta niontest
100 hond honsta honst
200 tues-hondes tues-honsta tues-honst
1000 tusende tusensta tusenst
2000 tuos-tusendes tuos-tusensta tuos-tusenst
10⁶ millón millonsta millonst
2×10⁶ tuos-millones tuos-millonsta tuos-millonst
10⁹ millard millarsta millarst
10¹² billón billonsta billonst

Verbs

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

Non-finite forms

Non-finite forms of regular verbs
Form -en verbs -on verbs
Infinitive -en -on
Past participle¹ -ed/-edes, -eda/-edos -od/-odes, -oda/-odos
Present participle (Gerundive) -end -ond

Notes:

¹ Verbs with regular pasts form their past participle in this way. Verbs with irregular pasts form their past participle in one of two ways:

  • With the past stem, or
  • With the ending -en-.

Simple tenses

Simple tenses (regular -en verbs)
Person/
Number
Present ind. Present subj. Imperfect ind. Imperfect subj. Future Conditional Imperative
1S -a -o -eda -edo -ené -enía
2S -es -es -edes -edes -enás -eníes -e
3S -e -e -eda -ede -ená -enía
1P -emos -emos -édemos -édemos -enemos -eníemos
2P -éis -éis -édeis -édeis -enéis -eníeis -ed
3P -en -en -éden -éden -enán -eníen
Simple indicative tenses (regular -on verbs)
Person/
Number
Present ind. Present subj. Imperfect ind. Imperfect subj. Future Conditional Imperative
1S -o -o -oda -odo -oné -onía
2S -os -os -odes -odes -onás -oníes -o
3S -o -o -oda -ode -oná -onía
1P -omos -omos -ódemos -ódemos -onemos -oníemos
2P -óis -óis -ódeis -ódeis -onéis -oníeis -od
3P -on -on -oden -oden -onán -oníen

Compound tenses

Compound tenses are formed with the verb haven "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: haven + past participle
    • Pluperfect participle: past participle of haven + past participle
    • Perfect gerundive: gerundive of haven + past participle
  • Indicative:
    • Present perfect: present of haven + past participle
    • Pluperfect: imperfect of haven + past participle
    • Future perfect: future of haven + past participle
    • Conditional perfect: conditional of haven + past participle
  • Subjunctive:
    • Perfect subjunctive: present subjunctive of haven + past participle
    • Pluperfect subjunctive: imperfect subjunctive of haven + past participle
    • Future perfect subjunctive: future subjunctive of haven + past participle

Passive

Formed with the appropriate conjugation of vesen "to be" with the appropriately declined form of the past participle.

Irregular verbs

  • Verbs that have an irregular imperfect stem use that stem in the imperfect indicative and subjunctive instead of the expected -ed-/-od- suffix. The endings added to the past stem remain the same (i.e. -a, -es,... in the indicative and -o, -es,... in the subjunctive).
  • Verbs that have an irregular imperfect stem may form their past participle in one of two ways depending on how the imperfect stem is derived:
    • If the imperfect is derived from the present stem via a dental suffix (-t-, -d-, or -s-): The past participle is identical to the imperfect stem.
    • If the imperfect is derived from the present stem via a vowel change or otherwise formed without a dental suffix: The past participle is formed from the present stem with the suffix -en-.
    • A few verbs may not follow the above pattern.
  • Some verbs have an irregular future stem (i.e. a stem other than the infinitive), usually derived by contraction. In this case, the endings normally added to the infinitive in the future and conditional tenses are instead added to the irregular stem.
  • Some verbs have a vowel change in the stem conditioned by stress. Most often, this alternation is between -è- and -e-, or -ò- and -o- (the first of each set occurring when stressed, and the second when unstressed).
  • Some verbs whose stem end in -c- or -g- maintain their spelling in all forms with the associated pronunciation changes. Others maintain their pronunciation in all forms with the associated spelling changes.

Some important irregular verbs

The verb vesen "to be"
Non-finite forms of vesen "to be"
Infinitive vesen
Past participle vesen/vésenes, vésena/vésenos
Present participle (Gerundive) vesend
Simple tenses of vesen "to be"
Person/
Number
Present ind. Present subj. Imperfect ind. Imperfect subj. Future Conditional Imperative
1S ben sío vesa veso verré verría
2S bes síes veses veses verrás verríes ves
3S es síe vesa vese verrá verría
1P semos siemos vésemos vésemos verremos verrríemos
2P seis sieis véseis véseis verréis verríeis vesed
3P sen síen vesen vesen verrán verríen
The verb haven "to have"
Non-finite forms of haven "to have"
Infinitive haven
Past participle hed/hedes, heda/hedos
Present participle (Gerundive) hend
Simple tenses of haven "to have"
Person/
Number
Present ind. Present subj. Imperfect ind. Imperfect subj. Future Conditional Imperative
1S he havo heda hedo hané hanía
2S has haves hedes hedes hanás haníes ha
3S ha have heda hede haná hanía
1P havemos havemos hédemos hédemos hanemos haníemos
2P havéis havéis hedeis hedeis hanéis haníeis haved
3P han haven heden heden hanán haníen
The verb están "to be"
Non-finite forms of están "to be"
Infinitive están
Past participle estod/estodes, estoda/estodos
Present participle (Gerundive) estand
Simple tenses of están "to be"
Person/
Number
Present ind. Present subj. Imperfect ind. Imperfect subj. Future Conditional Imperative
1S esté estó estoda estodo estané estanía
2S estás estés estodes estodes estanás estaníes está
3S está esté estoda estode estaná estanía
1P estamos estemos estódemos estódemos estanemos estaníemos
2P estáis estéis estodeis estodeis estanéis estaníeis estad
3P están estén estoden estoden estanán estaníen
The verb gannen "to go"
Non-finite forms of gannen "to go"
Infinitive gannen
Past participle gannen/gánnenes, gánnena/gánnenos
Present participle (Gerundive) gannend
Simple tenses of gannen "to go"
Person/
Number
Present ind. Present subj. Imperfect ind. Imperfect subj. Future Conditional Imperative
1S gue ganno eça eço gané ganía
2S gas gannes eçes eçes ganás ganíes ga
3S ga ganne eça eçe ganá ganía
1P gannemos gannemos éçemos éçemos ganemos ganíemos
2P gannéis gannéis eçeis eçeis ganéis ganíeis ganned
3P gan gannen eçen eçen ganán ganíen

Syntax

Constituent order

Noun phrase

Verb phrase

Sentence phrase

Dependent clauses

Example texts

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 1)

Alles des vésenes manesques se boren fríes o sambres en vèrde o reites. Esses están scencedes me freça o mevest, o esses escolen se gedrán en èn gèst fan brodrenesse.

IPA: /ˈaʎes ðes ˈvezenes maˈneskes se ˈβoɾen ˈfri.es o ˈsambɾes en ˈvɛɾðe o ˈreites ‖ ˈeses eˈstan ʃenˈtʃeðes me ˈfɾesa o meˈvest | o ˈeses eˈskolen se ʒeˈðɾan en ɛn ʒɛst fan broðɾeˈnese/

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