Norþimris: Difference between revisions

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====The 'Long' Vowels====
====The 'Long' Vowels and Diphthongs====
The distribution of Norþimris long vowels and diphthongs is complicated. In general there is a tendency to pronounce historically long vowels as diphthongs in most environments.
 
{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="bluetable lightbluebg" style="text-align:center;"
! style="width: 100px; "|Dipthong
! style="width: 100px;" |Spellings
! style="width: 400px;" |Comments
|-
| /æː/
| ''iy''
|
|-
| /eə/
| ''ea''
|
|-
| /ei̯/
| ''ey''
|
|-
| (/i̯a/)
| ''ea''
| an allophone of /eə/ in initial position
|-
| /iə/
| ''ee, eu''
|
|-
| /ii̯/
| ''ei''
|
|-
| (/ɪu̯/)
| ''eu''
| dialectally
|-
| /oː/
| ''au, oo''
|
|-
| (/oə/)
| ''oo''
| an occasional allophone of /oː/ dialectally
|-
| /ɔu̯/
| ''ou''
|
|-
| /ʊu̯/
| ''uy''
|
|}
 
===Stress===
===Stress===
Primary stress is usually on the first syllable of a word (e.g. ''ápel, átermot, héfenlie''). The prefixes ''a-, be-'' and ''fer-'' do not usually bear stress, so the following element takes it (e.g. ''ahínt, fersétand'').  
Primary stress is usually on the first syllable of a word (e.g. ''ápel, átermot, héfenlie''). The prefixes ''a-, be-'' and ''fer-'' do not usually bear stress, so the following element takes it (e.g. ''ahínt, fersétand'').  
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|-
|-
| '''Þt Dreet Beid''' <br> Uur Faðer at is in hefen <br> Halud siy ðiy neam <br> Ðiy cinric becum <br> Ðiy wil wurð deon <br> On erd auṡ in hefen <br> Gie uss uur deylie leaff todey <br> An fergie uss uur scilds <br> Auṡ wie fergie uur scildiers <br> Leid not uss til costing <br> Auh free uss frea il <br> Þiyn is 't cinric an 't meyn an 't wuuder, for-ea <br> Amen
| '''Þt Dreet Beid''' <br> Uur Faðer at is in hefen <br> Halud siy ðiy neam <br> Ðiy cinric becum <br> Ðiy wil wurð deon <br> On erd auṡ in hefen <br> Gie uss uur deylie leaff todey <br> An fergie uss uur scilds <br> Auṡ wie fergie uur scildiers <br> Leid not uss til costing <br> Auh free uss frea il <br> Þiyn is 't cinric an 't meyn an 't wuuder, for-ea <br> Amen
| Our father who is in heaven <br> Hallowed be thy name <br> Thy kingdom come <br> Thy will be done <br> On earth as it is in heaven <br> Give us this day our daily bread <br> And forgive us our sins <br> As we forgive those who sin against us <br> Lead us not into temptation <br> But deliver us from evil <br> Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever <br> Amen
| '''The Lord's Prayer''' <br> Our father who is in heaven <br> Hallowed be thy name <br> Thy kingdom come <br> Thy will be done <br> On earth as it is in heaven <br> Give us this day our daily bread <br> And forgive us our sins <br> As we forgive those who sin against us <br> Lead us not into temptation <br> But deliver us from evil <br> Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever <br> Amen
|}
 
===The Night's Watch Pledge===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width: 500px;" | Norþimris !! style="width: 500px;" | English
|-
| ''''''T Neit Ward Eaþ'''''<br /> ''Neit gaðers an nuu agins miy ward.''<br /> ''Hit sal not end oð miy deeþ.''<br /> ''Ic sal tac nea wiyff, haud nea lands, faðer nea barns.''<br /> ''Ic sal beer nea bey an adel nea reuþ.''<br /> ''Ic sal leef an dey at miy stau.''<br /> ''Ic is 't sord in 't mirc. Ic is 't weacer on 't waus.''<br /> ''Ic is 't scheild at wards 't riycs o men.''<br /> ''Ic wed miy liyff an miyn ear til 't Neit Ward, þruh ðiss neit an ilc neit heðen.''
| '''The Night's Watch Pledge'''<br /> Night gathers, and now my watch begins.<br /> It shall not end until my death.<br /> I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children.<br /> I shall wear no crowns and win no glory.<br /> I shall live and die at my post.<br /> I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls.<br /> I am the shield that guards the realms of men.<br /> I pledge my life and honour to the Night's Watch, for this night and all the nights to come.<br />
|}
|}


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[[Category:Conlangs]] [[Category:A posteriori]] [[Category:Germanic languages]] [[Category:Languages]] [[Category:West Germanic languages]]
[[Category:Languages]] [[Category:A posteriori]] [[Category:Germanic languages]] [[Category:Languages]] [[Category:West Germanic languages]]

Revision as of 19:42, 6 August 2017



Norþimris
Norþimris
Pronunciation[[Help:IPA|nɔɹˈθɪmɾɪs]]
Created byNeil Whalley
Native toNorþimer
Native speakers13 million (2011)
Early forms
Official status
Official language in
Norþimer

Norþimris [nɔɹˈθɪmrɪs] (also Northimris or Northumbrian in English) is a Germanic language spoken by the people of Norþimer, one of the four states of Great Britain alongside Scotland, England and Wales. Physically situated between Scotland and England, Norþimris shares much in common with Scots and English, all of which descend from Old English, and may be seen as part of a dialect continuum with those two languages. However, unlike its neighbours, Norþimris has very little influence from French and retains a much stronger Anglo-Norse vocabulary.

History

Internal

Norþimris has its origins in the Northumbrian dialect of Old English, once spoken across central Britain between the River Humber and the Firth of Forth. Though already somewhat distinct from the dialects of Old English spoken further south due to the heavy Norse influence and the substantial reduction in inflexions, it would be the political changes of the late 11th century that ensured Norþimer developed as a language different from its neighbours to the north and south. Following the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William the Conqueror (Wilem Bastard) was faced with strong opposition to his rule, not least from the fiercely independent Anglo-Norse nobles of the north. Despite repeated attempts to subdue them William was never able to conquer the north and, as the Normans consolidated their hold over southern England, the old earldom of Northumbria developed into a self-governing rebel state, eventually declaring itself an independent kingdom in AD 1100.

The period c.1100-1600 is called Early Norþimris. At the start of this period the language was really indistinguishable from the Anglian dialects of late Old and early Middle English, but as English (and Scots) became increasingly influenced by French and Medieval Latin the differences increased. During this period, Norþimris lost most of its remaining inflexions and underwent important phonological changes culminating in the Great Vowel Shift. As a language of government, law and literature it became increasingly flexible and sophisticated.

Modern Norþimris is said to begin c.1600 when the Protestant Reformation and the Renaissance encouraged efforts to standardise and describe the language, and simultaneously increased borrowing from Classical and Romance sources. During this period Norþimris became the language of religion alongside government and literature, and from the late 18th century it increasingly became a 'popular' language with written forms more representative of the spoken language. The spelling system of Þoruuff Þorsteynsun, published in 1877, was adopted as the official written form in 1884 and has remained in use ever since.

External

Norþimris is an a posteriori language based on Northumbrian Old English and Northern Middle English and influenced by the various modern dialects of northern England as well as Scots (and to some degree Dutch). It was developed as an answer to the hypothetical question "What would English sound like if William the Conqueror had never conquered the north?". Since French and Latin have so heavily influenced English vocabulary, grammar and orthography, I expected the result to be considerably different from Modern English. However, Modern English has also been heavily influenced by northern forms with many of the innovations of Middle and Early Modern English originating in the north (e.g. spread of plural -s, spread of 3rd person verb -s, use of they, them, their', use of hers, yours etc.).

Phonology

Dialects

There is a great deal of dialect variation across Norþimer, but there are generally considered to be four main dialects:

  • Southern, which is the closest to a 'standard' dialect, found in Yorucschir
  • Northern, extending north from Weer Ey (River Wear) to the Scottish border
  • Western, the dialect west of the moors
  • South-western, the dialect of the Þreeplands, sometimes called Þreeplandris

Consonants

The consonant inventory of Norþimris is very similar to that of English and has changed little since the Old English period.

Bilabial Labio-dental Dental Alveolar Post-alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m n ŋ
Plosive p     b t     d k     g
Fricative f     v θ     ð s     z ʃ       h      
Affricate t͡ʃ     d͡ʒ
Approximant ʍ     w (ɹ) j
Flap or tap ɾ
Lateral app. l

Notes:

  • /ɹ/ is an allophone of /ɾ/ found before consonants.

Vowels

The Norþimris vowel system is probably best understood as consisting of 6 short vowels, 7 historically 'long' vowels (which are more commonly pronounced as diphthongs) and 4 true diphthongs.

Short Vowels

The short vowels are shown in the table below. They include the reduced vowel /ə/, which may be an allophonic variant of any other short vowel in an unstressed syllable.

Front Central Back
Close
Near-close ɪ ʊ
Close-mid
Mid ə
Open-mid ɛ
Near-open
Open a ɒ

The 'Long' Vowels and Diphthongs

The distribution of Norþimris long vowels and diphthongs is complicated. In general there is a tendency to pronounce historically long vowels as diphthongs in most environments.

Dipthong Spellings Comments
/æː/ iy
/eə/ ea
/ei̯/ ey
(/i̯a/) ea an allophone of /eə/ in initial position
/iə/ ee, eu
/ii̯/ ei
(/ɪu̯/) eu dialectally
/oː/ au, oo
(/oə/) oo an occasional allophone of /oː/ dialectally
/ɔu̯/ ou
/ʊu̯/ uy

Stress

Primary stress is usually on the first syllable of a word (e.g. ápel, átermot, héfenlie). The prefixes a-, be- and fer- do not usually bear stress, so the following element takes it (e.g. ahínt, fersétand).

Orthography

Norþimris is written with a Latin alphabet consisting of the following letters:

a b c d ð e f g h i l m n o p r s t þ u w x y z

The letters j, k, q and v do not occur, except in unassimilated borrowings. The letters ð (called ) and þ (þorn) are retained from the runic alphabet.

The orthography is almost entirely phonemic, except notably in the case of s, the pronunciation of which is not always predictable in final position. The following table gives all the relevant values of the letters and digraphs.

Graph IPA Comments
a /a/
au /oː/
/a/ before word-final h
b /b/
c /k/
ch /t͡ʃ/
cg /d͡ʒ/ traditionally not permitted to occur word initially, but now used in borrowings such as cgin 'engine'
d /d/ word-final nd tends to become /nt/ or /nː/ (e.g. Ingland /ɪŋlənː/)
ð /ð/
e /ɛ/
ea /eə/
/ja/ often word initially or after initial /h/ (e.g. ean 'one' /jan/, heam /hjam/)
ee /iə/
ei /ij/
eu /iə/ /ɪu̯/ in areas bordering Scotland
ey /ei̯/
f /f/ initially or before a voiceless plosive
/v/ medially and finally
ff /f/
g /g/
h /h/ initially
/f/ finally following u
i /ɪ/
ie /ɪ/ word-finally in unstressed syllables, notably the endings -ie, -lie (e.g. nouhtie 'poor').
iy /æː/
l /l/
m /m/
n /n/
ng /ŋ/
o /ɒ/
oo /oː/
ou /ɔu̯/
/ʊ/ before word-final h
p /p/
r /ɾ/ before a vowel
/ɹ/ before a consonant
s /s/ initially, adjacent to a voiceless consonant and sometimes finally after a vowel
/z/ between vowels or adjacent to a voiced sound, sometimes finally after a vowel
sc /sk/
sch /ʃ/
ss /s/ only occurs following short vowels
t /t/
þ /θ/
u /ʊ/
/ə/ in final, unstressed syllables
uu /ʊw/
w /w/
hw /ʍ/ in some dialects, tending to become /h/ before round vowels and /w/ elsewhere
x /ks/
z /t͡s/ rare, used mostly in borrowed words


Notes:

  • the pronunciation of <s> is not always predictable from its environment. In this article, voiceless /s/ will be written <> where confusion may arise (e.g. huyṡ 'house', riyṡ 'rice').

Grammar

Articles

The indefinite article is identical to English: a before a consonant and an before a vowel (e.g. a man, an apel).

The definite article is 't in all cases (e.g. 't man, 't apel).

Nouns

Nouns have no grammatical gender and case is limited to the genitive.

Plurals

The plural of most nouns ends in -s, or -is after a sibilant (e.g. apels, huysis).

A few nouns have a rare plural in -(e)n or -er:

  • ein 'eyes', ousen 'oxen', sceun 'shoes'
  • lamer 'lambs', caufer 'calves' (sg. cauff), souter 'sheep', childer 'children' (no sg.).

There is also a small number of nouns with a change of vowel in the plural:

  • man 'man' → men, wiman 'woman' → wimen, hand 'hand' → hend
  • teuþ 'tooth' → teiþ, feut 'foot' → feit, geuṡ 'goose' → geiṡ
  • muyṡ 'mouse' → miys, cuy 'cow' → ciy, luyṡ 'louse' → liyṡ.

Genitive

The genitive has two forms:

  • the dependent genitive is used directly before a noun or noun phrase and is unmarked (e.g. 't man huyṡ 'the man's house', his faðer sun 'his father's son').
  • the independent genitive usually occurs as the complement in a copular construction and is marked with -s (-is after a sibilant; e.g. 't huyṡ is Cetels 'the house is Cetel's', ðat 's his faðers 'that's his fathers').

Adjectives

Adjectives precede the noun they qualify and are generally immutable, regardless of number or case (e.g. a micel hund 'a big dog', 't hwiyt deors 'the white doors').

All regular adjectives may form a comparative with the addition of -er and a superlative with -est (e.g. aud 'old' → auder, audest, healie 'holy' → healier, healiest).

Positive Comparative Superlative
bad il wer, werṡ werst
good geud, weel beter best
large micel mear, mea meast
small litel, liyl less leest.
near nar narmer narmest

The alternative endings -mer and -mest are also sometimes added colloquially to other adjectives, creating forms such as betermer, betermest.

The comparative adjective is frequently used with an 'than' (e.g. Cetel 's greeter an Micel 'Cetel's bigger than Michael'). An equative structure can be created with the adverbs auṡ ... auṡ or swea ... auṡ and the positive adjective (e.g. auṡ hwiyt auṡ snea 'as white as snow', swea stil auṡ a muyṡ 'as quiet as mouse').

Numerals

Cardinal Ordinal
1 ean first
2 twea anar
3 þrei þird
4 four ferd
5 fiyf fift
6 sex sext
7 sefen sefend
8 auht auhted
9 niyn niynd
10 tein tend
11 elefen eleft
12 twelf twelft
13 þretein þreteind
14 fourtein fourteind
15 fiftein fifteind
20 twentie twentiand
21 ean an twentie ean an twentiand
30 þritie þritiand
40 fourtie fourtiand
50 fiftie fiftiand
100 hunreþ hunreþt
1000 þuysan þuysand
1,000,000 milyoon milyoond

Pronouns

Personal

Subject Object
Unstressed Stressed Unstressed Stressed
1sg i ic mi mei
2sg ðu, -tu ðuy ði ðei
3sg m. hi hei him
3sg f. su scheu her
3sg n. hit
1pl wi wei us uys
2pl yi yei yu yuy
3pl ðey ðam

Several of the personal pronouns have different stressed and unstressed forms. The stressed forms are only used in speech and writing when particular emphasis is put on the pronoun, such as when they occur independently (e.g. ic leuf him 'I love him', hwea didd ðat? Yuy 'who did that? You') . Elsewhere, the unstressed forms are used (e.g. hi wuns in Yoruc 'he lives in York').

Notes:

  • the 2nd person singular -tu is an enclitic form used with interrogative verbs (e.g. censtu Cetel? 'do you know Cetel?').
  • the 3rd person singular forms him, her and hit are pronounced without the h in unstressed position, but this is not expressed in writing.
  • as in English, hi/hei are used for male humans, su/scheu for females and hit for inanimate objects.
  • Norþimris maintains a T/V distinction, in which 2nd person plural yei etc. can be used as formal 'you' when addressing a single person. Its use is generally more restricted than in many European languages, only used in particularly formal situations and not necessarily expected when speaking to elders or strangers.
  • there is an informal use of us/uus in place of mi/mie (e.g. gie us hit 'give me it').

The genitive pronouns have dependent and independent forms, used like the nominal equivalents.

Dependent Independent
1sg miy(n) miyn
2sg ðiy(n) ðiyn
3sg m. his
3sg f. her hers
3sg n. his  
1pl uyr uyrs
2pl your yours
3pl ðer ðers

There is no independent form for the 3rd person neuter.

Reflexive pronouns are formed with -(s)seln, irregularly pronounced /sɛl/ or /sɛn/ according to dialect, which is added to the object pronouns (e.g. misseln 'myself', herṡeln 'herself'). These pronouns are more emphatic than their English counterparts and the object pronouns are preferred when the sense of reflexiveness is already implied (e.g. i sau mi in 't schewer 'I saw myself in the mirror').

Demonstrative

The demonstrative pronouns are:

  • ðiss 'this' and ðir 'these', used for objects close at hand or abstracts metaphorically so;
  • ðat 'that' and ðea 'those', used for objects or abstracts at a distance or out of sight;
  • yon 'that, those', used only for objects in sight but at a distance.

These may be employed as demonstrative adjectives, preceding the noun (e.g. ðat wiyff 'that woman', yon fel 'that mountain').

Interrogative

The interrogatives are:

  • pronouns: hwea 'who', hwat 'what', hwilc 'which', referring to things already mentioned or implied, hweðer 'which of two';
  • adjectives: hwilc 'what, which', hweaṡ 'whose';
  • adverbs: hwiy 'why', huy 'how', hwear 'where', hwan 'when'.

Verbs

Regular Verbs

Norþimris has only two conjugated tenses: the present and the past. Beyond this, a number of moods, tenses and voices are created using auxiliary verbs and modals.

Present Tense

All regular verbs follow the same pattern in the present tense, given below with leuf 'love':

Sg Pl
1 leuf leuf
2 leufs
3

Whenever the present tense verb is separated from its pronoun or is used with a noun, the -s form is used throughout (e.g. ic, your cining, beeds yu 'I, your king, command you', 't men sings 'the men sing').

Past Tense

In the past tense, regular verbs may be divided into strong and weak conjugations, the former conjugating by a vowel change, the latter by the addition of a suffix. There are no distinctions of person in the past tense.

Following the typical Germanic classification, there are 7 classes of strong verb, each with different changes in the past tense and the past participle:

Class Present Past Past Participle
1 biyt beat biten
2 beid bead boden
3a cerf carf corfen
3b sing sang sungen
4 beer bar boren
5 eet eat eten
6 fear feur faren
7 nau niw naun
grou griw groun
faud feld fauden

Weak verbs form their past tense with a dental suffix, the form of which depends on the stem:

  • stems ending in -l, -m, -n, -nd or a voiceless consonant take -t (e.g. smelt 'smelled', fiyct 'fidgetted', lamt 'beat');
  • stems ending in -d or -t take -it (e.g. liltit 'hummed', bratit 'curdled, breedit 'stretched');
  • other stems take -d (e.g. bleðerd 'talked loudly', ligd 'lay', hiysd 'hoisted').

A number of verbs in <ei> may undergo shortening in the past. Those in eid, eit take an additional -d or -t (e.g. bleidbledd, meitmett, sleipslept/sleept). The following weak verbs are irregular in the past: teech 'show, explain' → taut, seic 'seek' → sout, þenc 'think' → þout, wurc 'work' → wrout, reec 'reach' → rout, lach 'catch' → laut, rec 'pay attention to' → rout, dou 'be of use' → dout, reic 'smell' → 'reyt.

Imperative

The imperative of regular verbs is identical to the stem (e.g. leuf mi 'love me', eet ðiy meet 'eat your food').

Participles

The present participle of all verbs is formed with -and (e.g. leufand 'loving', singand 'singing').

The past participle of most weak verbs is identical to the past tense form (e.g. leufd 'loved', ligd 'laid'). The strong verbs form a past participle with -(e)n and a change of vowel, as shown in the table above but a number of weak verbs ending in -d, -t also form their past participle in -en (e.g. breeden 'stretched', leaden 'loaded').

Irregular Verbs

A number of irregular verbs occur in Norþimris, the most important of which is bei 'be':

Sg Pl Participle
Present is, 's ar, 'r beiand
Past wer bein
Imperative bei

The contracted forms 's and 'r are very common in all but the most formal writing and stand alone in the sentence (e.g. 't man 's singand 'the man's singing').

Other irregular verbs are:

Present Past Present Ptc Past Ptc
do deu didd deund deun
have hea, has hadd heand hadd
go gang/gea gangd gangand gean
gan gand ganand
give gei gaf geind gein
make mac mead macand mead
take tac teac tacand tean

Each of the present forms takes -s in the 2nd and 3rd person singular, but hea has the separate form has.

Periphrastic Tenses

The majority of tenses in Norþimris are form periphrastically.

Tense Structure Example
Present Continuous present of bei + present participle i 's singand I am singing
Past Continuous past of bei + present participle i wer singand I was singing
Perfect present of hea + past participle i hea sungen I have sung
present of bei + past participle i 's faun I have fallen
Pluperfect past of hea + past particple i hadd sungen I had sung
past of bei + past participle i wer faun I had fallen
Future auxiliary sal + stem i sal sing I will sing

In the perfect and pluperfect, bei is used with unaccusative verbs, i.e. verbs in which the subject is not the agent but the patient of the verb (e.g. 't snea 's mouten 'the snow has melted').

Derivation

Prefixes

Prefix Use Example
au- all-, pan-, omni- augeud 'omnibenevolent'
be- makes intrans. verbs trans. beþink 'consider'
ean- one, mono-, uni-, sole, only eanreed 'unanimous, resolute'
ed- re-, again, edgrou 'regrow'
eer- early, ancient, primary eerdey 'ancient times'
em- even, equal, co- emlang 'of equal length'
feur- fore-, before, pro-, pre- feurgang 'precede'
forþ-, for- forward, pro- forgang 'proceed, progress'
heed- head, chief, main heedcirc 'cathedral'
hey- high, arch-, main heystreet 'highstreet, main road'
lees- false, pseudo- leesneam 'pseudonym'
miṡ- bad, wrong, fault misdeu 'do wrongly'
un- un-, in- uncuyþ 'unknown, strange'

Suffixes

Suffix Use Example
Adjectives & Adverbs
-en made of, like a material gouden 'golden', eacen 'oaken'
-ffast stuck, firm, secure cragffast 'stuck on a crag'
-ffaud multiplicative þreiffaud 'threefold', meniffaud 'numerous'
-ffuy full of sacffuy 'quarrelsome', earffuy 'compassionate'
-ie general adj. ending dewie 'dewy', pretie 'cunning, sly'
-iṡ of, pertaining to (particularly with countries etc.) Scotis 'Scottish', foucis 'popular'
-leṡ deprivative neamleṡ 'nameless', frendleṡ 'friendless'
-lie like, pertaining to hefenlie 'heavenly', sumerlie 'summerlike'
-ṡum characterised by, having; -able angṡum 'irritating', leufṡum 'lovable'
-wiyṡ like in manner reitwiyṡ 'just', neidwiyṡ 'necessary'
Nouns
-craft skill, occupation develcraft 'Satanism', taucraft 'arithmetic'
-dem i. domain, jurisdiction
ii. condition, state
ciningdem 'kingdom'
wisdem 'wisdom'
-en feminine giden 'goddess', fixen 'vixen'
-er i. male agent
ii. instrument
iii. inhabitant of
leufer 'lover'
scewer 'mirror'
Yorucer 'inhabitant of York'
-ffuy measurement of handffuy 'handful'
-head abstract, condition, quality; office, rank preesthead 'priesthood', woruldhead 'secular world'
-ing verbal nouns geting 'conception'
-iṡ languages Engliṡ 'English', Ebriṡ 'Hebrew'
-leyc condition, state reifleyc 'robbery'
-ling diminutive (often pejorative) recling 'runt', manling 'little man'
-man agent, person freeman, pleuman 'ploughman'
-neṡ abstract state, quality geudneṡ 'goodness', micelneṡ 'largeness, abundance'
-reden condition, state sibreden 'relationship', cinreden 'kin'
-ric office, dominion cinric 'kingdom', biscopric 'bishopric'
-schip condition, state manschip 'humanity'
-ster female agent spinster 'spinner'
-ṡum a group of sexṡum 'group of six'
-uc diminutive paduc 'toad', hilluc 'hillock'
-wiyff female agent, woman huyṡwiyff 'housewife'
Verbs
-el frequentative hancel 'tangle'
-en causative, to make or become hwiyten 'make white'

Compounds

Syntax

The basic word order of Norþimris is Subject-Verb-Object:

  • i leuf ði 'I love you'
  • Cetel sang 't sang 'Cetel sang the song
  • Maria leers Frencis 'Maria teaches French'

Unlike some other Germanic languages, Norþimris prefers to keep auxiliary and lexical verbs together:

  • Cetel 's singand 't sang 'Cetel is singing the song'
  • ðu hadd seen him 'you had seen him'

A direct object follows an indirect object, unless both are personal pronouns, in which case the direct object comes first:

  • hi gaf Ascil 't beuc 'he gave Askil the book'
  • hi gaf hit him 'he gave it to him'

Adverbial expressions are not in a fixed position and generally come at the beginning or end of the sentence:

  • yestren, gangd i til 't seichuyṡ 'yesterday, I went to the hospital'
  • i gangd til 't seichuyṡ yestren 'I went to the hospital yesterday'

Adverbs of manner are placed close to the words to which they relate:

  • su leyct wel 't geamen / su leyct 't geamen wel 'she played the game well'
  • wi ran snel heam / wi ran heam snel 'we ran home fast'

When an adverbial or other element is placed before the verb, the subject is moved to come after the auxiliary verb:

  • in a circ wer ðey wedit 'in a church they were married'
  • tomorn, sal i gang til 't sceul 'tomorrow I will go to school'

The relative pronoun is at:

  • 't wiyff at i leuf 'the woman who I love'
  • a barn at cens au 'a child that knows everything'

Sample Texts

The Lord's Prayer

Norþimris English
Þt Dreet Beid
Uur Faðer at is in hefen
Halud siy ðiy neam
Ðiy cinric becum
Ðiy wil wurð deon
On erd auṡ in hefen
Gie uss uur deylie leaff todey
An fergie uss uur scilds
Auṡ wie fergie uur scildiers
Leid not uss til costing
Auh free uss frea il
Þiyn is 't cinric an 't meyn an 't wuuder, for-ea
Amen
The Lord's Prayer
Our father who is in heaven
Hallowed be thy name
Thy kingdom come
Thy will be done
On earth as it is in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our sins
As we forgive those who sin against us
Lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil
Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever
Amen

The Night's Watch Pledge

Norþimris English
'T Neit Ward Eaþ
Neit gaðers an nuu agins miy ward.
Hit sal not end oð miy deeþ.
Ic sal tac nea wiyff, haud nea lands, faðer nea barns.
Ic sal beer nea bey an adel nea reuþ.
Ic sal leef an dey at miy stau.
Ic is 't sord in 't mirc. Ic is 't weacer on 't waus.
Ic is 't scheild at wards 't riycs o men.
Ic wed miy liyff an miyn ear til 't Neit Ward, þruh ðiss neit an ilc neit heðen.
The Night's Watch Pledge
Night gathers, and now my watch begins.
It shall not end until my death.
I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children.
I shall wear no crowns and win no glory.
I shall live and die at my post.
I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls.
I am the shield that guards the realms of men.
I pledge my life and honour to the Night's Watch, for this night and all the nights to come.

Useful Phrases

English Norþimris
Greetings ~ Heylsings
Welcome Wilcum
Hello Halo
Hey
Good morning Geud morn
Good afternoon Geud ourneun
Good evening Geud ein
Good night Geud neit
Goodbye Geud dey (fml)
Fearwel (fml)
Siðie (inf)
How are you? Huy 'stu? (inf)
Aureit? (inf)
Huy 'r yi? (fml)
Fine thanks, and you? Wel, þank yu, an yei? (fml)
Aureit
What's your name? Hwat heatstu?
Hwat heat yi? (fml)
My name is Ascil I heat Ascil
Where are you from? Hwear 'stu frea? (inf)
Hwear ar yi frea?
I'm from Durham I 's frea Dunhoum
The Basics ~ 'T Stounlies
Yes Ey, aie
Yea
No Ney
Nea
Please Gin yi wil
Thank you Þank yu (fml)
Ta (inf)
Þanks
Feel þanks 'many thanks'
You're welcome Wilcum
Sorry Searie
Excuse me Ferleit mei
Et cetera ~ An Swea Forþ
Good luck Hap til ði (inf)
Hap til yu
Cheers! Washeyl
Bon Appetit! Meis yu wel
Bon voyage! Fearwel
I love you I leuf ði
Get well soon Sceut betering
Happy Birthday Eedie Birddey
Merry Christmas Glad Yuyl
Happy New Year Eedie Niw Yeer

Vocabulary

Vocabulary Page

Personal Names

Personal names are generally of Germanic origin, inherited from Old English and Old Norse, or have been borrowed at various periods from the Christian tradition.

Masculine Names

Norþimris Name English Equivalent Alternate forms Notes
Aleff Olaf
Ander Andrew Andreas (Bib.), Anda
Arcel
Arnuyff
Ascel
Aumund
Becan
Cuþbret Cuthbert Cubret, Cuda
Douffin Dolfin
Eyner
Eyric Eric
Fleuc
Gamel
Godfriþ Godfrey, Geoffrey
Gospatric Gospatrick
Haudan Halfdan Haufdan
Maþe Matthew Mateus (Bib.), Mata
Oswaud Oswald
Peeter Peter Petrus (Bib.), Peet
Rafen Raven
Rancel
Roscel
Rouff Rolf, Ralph
Yacob James, Jacob Yacobus (Bib.), Yaca
Yon John Yohanes (Bib.), Yona
Zacarie Zachary Zacarias (Bib.), Zaca