Undernederlandsk: Difference between revisions

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[tʰl̩ˀ ˌmɪn:ˈau̯sʈ ˌkʊmˈtʰɪlˀbɒkɐ tʰɪlˀ mɪj].
[tʰl̩ˀ ˌmɪn:ˈau̯sʈ ˌkʊmˈtʰɪlˀbɒkɐ tʰɪlˀ mɪj].


[[Category:Conlangs]]
[[Category:Languages]]
[[Category:North Germanic languages]]
[[Category:North Germanic languages]]

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Undernederlandsk
Undernederlandsk
Pronunciation[[Help:IPA|ˌunˀlˈni:ðlˀlɛ:nsk]]
Created by
Native toThe European Netherlands (Kingdom of the Netherlands); Lower Saxony, Northrhine-Westphalia, Berlin (Germany); Denmark (the Danish Realm).
Native speakersApprox. 35,000 (2012)
Indo-European
Language codes
ISO 639-1un
ISO 639-2unl
ISO 639-3unl

Undernederlandsk is the language spoken by several thousands of people in the provinces of North Holland, South Holland, Utrecht, Gelderland, Overijssel, Drenthe, Frisia and Groningen in the Netherlands as well as the Kreise of Grafschaft Bentheim, Emsland, Leer, Emden and Aurich in Lower Saxony and Steinfurt, Borken and Münster in North Rhine –Westphalia in Germany. There are also considerable amounts of speakers in Berlin, the capital of Germany, and on the Danish island of Fyn. Communities of no major significance exist especially in southern Sweden and the east of the United States.

Undernederlandsk is considered a North Germanic language with West Germanic influences. There are seven local varieties.

History

The first mention of Undernederlandsk comes from the year 1982, when a small group in the town of Enschede in the Netherlands used it as a language amongst each other. At this time the group, later identified as a group of undercover private investigators, called it “Ænsksk”, named after the town itself in its own local Dutch Lower Saxon dialect.

As of yet unknown reasons the usage of the language spread as people took an interest in it, and by 1992 there were instances of people using it in Amsterdam, Groningen and Münster. Migratory patterns and the spread of the language have not been well-documented, but by 2002 it had spread across much of the north and the east of the Netherlands and across the border into Germany.

In 2009 it was discovered by interested linguists that the language had also arrived in several neighbourhoods in Berlin as well as on the Danish island of Fyn.

Usage

The area where Undernederlandsk is spoken. Blue colours denote the different German-Dutch dialects, red denotes the East-German dialect and yellow denotes the Danish dialect.

Undernederlandsk is currently spoken by an estimated 35,000 speakers in the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark. Of these, 27,450 speakers live in the Netherlands, 5,250 in Germany, and 2300 in Denmark. Major Undernederlandsk linguistic areas include the northern suburbs of Enschede (Ænske in Undernederlandsk) and its close-by village of Lonneker (Lönneker), the Amsterdam and The Hague city centres (Amsterdam and Hågen), the village of Bunnik in Utrecht (Bønnek), the villages of Tynaarlo and Haren (Tynærle and Hårne) and the southern neighbourhoods of Leeuwarden (Ljovert) in the Netherlands (Nederland), the cities of Münster and Nordhorn (Mynster and Nordhörnet), the towns of Gronau, Ahaus, Leer and Emden (Grånav, Åhus, Lér and Emden), the villages of Lohne, Getelo, Itterbeck, Sustrum, Walchum, Dersum and Wirdum (Låne, Getelå, Itterbekk, Systrym, Välkym, Dersym and Virðym), the island of Juist (Jyst) and the Berlin neighbourhoods of Steinstücken and Schöneberg (Stenstykker and Sköneberga) in Berlin (Berlin) in Germany (Þyskland), and the villages of Åstrup, Fjællebroen, Bogense, Fælleden, Harritslev, Kræmmerkrog and Kærby (Åstryp, Fjællebron, Bogense, Fælleden, Harritsliv, Kræmmerkrog and Kærby) on Fyn (Fyn), the villages of Kragnæs and Ommel (Krägnæs and Òmmel) on Ærø (Æreija) and the villages of Tullebølle, Klavsebølle and Stengade (Tyllbölle, Klævsebölle and Stengatan) on Langeland (Långaland) in Denmark (Dænemark). It is further spoken by several people in the communities in between these villages, but without any considerable accumulations of speakers. These areas are known as Þynnsprøddedespröggererlanderne (the lands of thinly spread speakers).

In 2012, linguists working in the field of researching Undernederlandsk classified seven dialects, five of which were spoken in the main area of Undernederlandsk usage in the Netherlands and Western Germany.

Regulation

The Undernederlandsk language area is regulated by two institutions: the Parliament of the Undernederlandsk Language (Undernederlandskparlementet), and its subordinate Department of Language Regulation (Sprogensregulationsdépartmentet). The Parliament is a civil institution consisting of 35 elected representatives, five for each dialect. The Parliament serves as a forum for the speakers of Undernederlandsk to discuss matters present within the language and to protect the interests of the Undernederlandsk speakers. The Department regulates matters like spelling and other language-related aspects that apply to the Undernederlandsk language area.

Classification

Undernederlandsk is most often considered a North Germanic language, and thereunder listed as East Scandinavian. It thus belongs under the same classification as Danish, Swedish, Dalecarlian and Gutnish. The language has also been greatly influenced by Dutch, German and, to a lesser extent, Icelandic. Examples of Dutch influence are, for instance, the words øy "onion", [œy̯] and òjevær "stork" ([ˈujˀʋæ:ˀ]) (ui [œy̯] and ooievaar [ˈoi̯əfa:(r)] in Dutch); examples of German influence are, for instance, the words krænk "ill/sick", [kʀæŋk] and kreis "district", [kʀɛy̯s] (krank [kʀɑŋk] and Kreis [kʀai̯s] in German); examples of Icelandic are the words eija "island", [ˈɛy̯j:ɐ] and ást "love", [ˈau̯sʈ] (eyja [ˈɛi̯jɑ] and ást [au̯st] in Icelandic).

Local dialects tend to lean more towards the local language variant. The five Dutch dialects tend to be more influenced towards Lower Saxon, whilst the Berlin dialect leans more towards High German. The Fyn dialect tends to lean a lot more towards Danish, however.

Phonology

Consonants

Bilabial Labio-dental Dental Alveolar Post-alveolar Retroflex Palatal Velar Uvular Pharyngeal Epiglottal Glottal
Nasal m n ŋ
Plosive p b t d ʈ ɖ c ɟ k g q ʔ
Fricative f v θ ð s ʃ ʂ ɕ ɧ ħ* ʜ*
Approximant ʋ j h* ɦ*
Trill r ʀ
Flap or tap ɾ ɽ
Lateral fric. ɬ
Lateral app. l ɭ
  • An asterisk behind a consonant indicates that the usage of the consonant depends on the speaker's dialect.

Vowels

Front Near-front Central Near-back Back
Close i y ʉ u
Near-close ɪ ʏ ʊ
Close-mid e ø o
Mid e̞ ø̞ ə
Open-mid ɛ œ ɔ
Near-open æ ɐ
Open a ɑ ɒ

Phonotactics

Undernederlandsk words can have, in written form, three consonants at most as onset, a maximum of two vowels as nucleus, and a maximum of five consonants as coda. It can thus be described as CCCVVCCCCC (C = consonant, V = vowel). An example of such a word would be stryontskt [ˈstɾyontskt], the neuter adjectival derivative of stryontsk, meaning "nonsensical language".

In the spoken language, however, in practice it is theoretically possible to have as many consonants or as many vowels follow each other up as one prefers, due to the actual pronunciation of words differing significantly from the way they are written. For instance, the sentence "Hun haver gella ögattar" (She has yellow eyes) would be pronounced [ˈɦʊnɦˀlˀjlˌjlˀə], the four words being phonetically merged into one word which could be described as CVCCCCCCCV, which means that seven consonants can follow each other up. Another sentence would be "Ud øy i ò ærer øyringer" (Out of an onion in a bucket come (are) onion rings), which would be pronounced as [ʉl:ˈœy̯iu̯æəˌœy̯ʀɪŋˀl], the six words being phonetically merged into one word which could be described as VCVVVVVVVVCVCC, which means that in this case eight vowels follow each other up.

Orthography

Undernederlandsk uses the Latin alphabet with seven additional letters: Ð, Þ, Ä, Ö, Å, Æ and Ø. Furthermore, the letters C, Q, W and Z are completely omitted, and any names, loanwords etc. are instead altered and if necessary supplied with the letters used in the alphabet.

The alphabet looks as follows:


Aa Bb Dd Ðð Ee Éé Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Óó Òò Pp Rr Ss Tt Þþ Uu Vv Xx Yy Ää Öö Åå Ææ Øø.


The letters do not necessarily have an inherent pronunciation, and indeed it is possible that what is written down as a vowel is pronounced as a consonant, and vice versa.

An example of a vowel being pronounced like a consonant would be the word stadtillstaund "city management", [ˈsta:ˌtʰ:ilˀstɑɳʈ], where /u/ is realized as [r] and therefore is through retroflexion assimilated into [n] and [t], changing them into their retroflex variants [ɳ] and [ʈ]. So even though /u/ is practically not pronounced, it does fulfill the role /r/ otherwise would.

An example of a consonant being pronounced like a vowel would be the word iðegran "yew tree", [ˈiðˀoɾɐn]. Here the /eg/ is pronounced as [o], as the /g/ takes priority over /e/, and the /g/ is pronounced [o].

There are however a few regulations that hold in the spelling. These are reflected in the usage of strong sounds, stærkljydar, and weak sounds, svågljydar.

Strong sounds

A strong sound is a sound that is, no matter the circumstances, represented by the same letter. The letter when used in writing therefore has no other sound it represents other than that sound. It can also never be omitted in speech.

Consonants

Strong consonants, stærkmedknyster, are: /ð/, /f/, /h/, /j/, /k/, /m/ and /þ/.

These letters are pronounced as follows:

  • /ð/ is always pronounced as voiced dental frictative [ð]
  • /f/ is always pronounced as unvoiced labio-dental frictative [f]
  • /h/ is always pronounced as either as voiceless pharyngeal frictative [ħ], voiceless epiglottal frictative [ʜ], as voiceless glottal approximant [h] or as voiced glottal approximant [ɦ]*
  • /j/ is always pronounced as palatal approximant [j]
  • /k/ is always pronounced as voiceless velar plosive [k]
  • /m/ is always pronounced as voiced bilabial nasal [m]
  • /þ/ is always pronounced as voiceless dental frictative [θ].

(*)Pronunciation of /h/ depends on dialect, but is (in general) always consistent within that dialect.

In addition to these, there are also several digraphs and trigraphs that can be considered strong consonants. These stærkmeramedknyster are: /sk/, /skj/, /stj/ and /xh/.

These letters are pronounced as follows:

  • /sk/, /skj/ and /stj/ are always pronounced as voiceless coarticulated velar and palatoalveolar fricative [ɧ]
  • /xh/ is always pronounced as voiceless uvular stop [q]*.

(*)/xh/ only occurs in compound words like fuxholl "fox den", [ˈfʉq:ɔl:].

Vowels

Strong vowels, stærkknyster, are: /á/, /é/, /ò/, /y/, /å/, /æ/ and /ø/.

These letters are pronounced as follows:

  • /á/ is always pronounced as the diphthong [au̯]
  • /é/ is always pronounced as mid-front unrounded vowel [e̞]
  • /ò/ is always pronounced as close back rounded vowel [u]
  • /y/ is always pronounced as close front rounded vowel [y]
  • /å/ is always pronounced as mid-back rounded vowel [o̞]
  • /æ/ is always pronounced as near-open front unrounded vowel [æ]
  • /ø/ is always pronounced as long open front unrounded vowel [a:].

Two strong diphthongs, stærkmeraknyster, exist. These are: /øy/ and /ei/.

These diphthongs are pronounced as follows:

  • /øy/ is always pronounced as [œy̯]
  • /ei/ is always pronounced as [ɛy̯].

Weak sounds

Weak sounds are sounds that can be represented by different letters, or letters that ambiguously represent sounds.

Consonants

Weak consonants, svågmedknyster, exist in several forms:

  • omissible consonants: these are consonants that can be completely omitted in a word, i.e. not pronounced. These are /b/, /d/, /g/, /p/, /r/, /t/ and /v/;
  • consonants with multiple different pronunciations: these are consonants that can represent the same sound that has different pronunciations, i.e. the many ways of pronouncing /r/ (see the R-rule). These are: /d/, /r/ and /s/;
  • consonants that can represent other consonants: these are consonants that represent sounds completely different from their usual conventional representation, i.e. another consonant than the letter officially represents. These are: /d/, /g/, /l/, /n/, /r/, /t/, /v/ and /x/;
  • consonants that represent vowels: these are consonants that represent a vowel sound, i.e. not a consonant. These are /g/, /n/, /r/ and /v/.

Vowels

R-rule

The R-rule, R-reglet, describes how and where /r/ is pronounced.

The rule is as follows:

  • when /r/ appears before [s], [t], [d] and [l], the pronunciation of /r/ is completely omitted and instead the letters are pronounced in their retroflex forms [ʂ], [ʈ], [ɟ] and [ɭ] (the first R-rule)
  • when /r/ appears after /e/, /er/ is pronounced as [lˀ] (the second R-rule)
  • when /r/ appears after a long vowel, thus /é/, /ò/, /å/, /æ/ and /ø/, /r/ is not pronounced at all (the third R-rule)
  • when /r/ is followed be [a], [ɑ], [ɐ] or [ɒ] it is pronounced [ɾ] (the fourth R-rule).

The fourth R-rule takes priority over the third R-rule, which in its turn takes priority over the second R-rule, which in its turn takes priority over the first R-rule. This means that læra, "to learn", is pronounced [ˈlæɾɑ], but lærer, "teacher", is pronounced [ˈlæ:ˀ]. The plural of lærer, lærerer, "teachers", would however be pronounced [ˈlæ:lˀ], since the second /er/ does not directly follow the /ær/ and therefore /ær/ takes no priority over it. The alternative definitive plural, lærererne, "teachers", on its turn would be pronounced [ˈlæ:lˀn̩ə], since here it is a case of the second R-rule taking priority over the first.

Grammar

Nouns

Nouns can be declensed in accordance with three different genders and two numbers. There also exists a case system featuring five grammatical cases (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative and locative), but, with nouns at least, only the nominative and the genitive are still in use.

The morpheme order for Undernederlandsk is:

Noun stem (Plural) (Definite article) (Genitive -s)

Declensions

Nouns can be declensed in accordance with two grammatical numbers: singular and plural. These are further declensed in accordance with the three grammatical genders: masculine, feminine and neuter. There is also a specific set of declensions for words ending on vowels.

First declension: ending consonant (masculine)

Singular Plural
Indefinite fjæll

(a) mountain

fjæller

mountains

Definite fjællen

the mountain

fjællerne

the mountain

The first declension is reserved for masculine nouns ending with a consonant. This declension uses "-en" for definite singular nouns and "-er" for indefinite plural and "-erne" for definite plural nouns.

Second declension: ending consonant (feminine)

Singular Plural
Indefinite kvind

(a) woman

kvinder

women

Definite kvinden

the woman

kvinderna

the women

The second declension is reserved for feminine nouns ending with a consonant. This declension uses "-en" for definite singular nouns and "-er" for indefinite and "-erna" for definite plural nouns.

Third declension: ending consonant (neuter)

Singular Plural
Indefinite land

(a) land/country

lander

lands/countries

Definite landet

the land/country

landerna

the lands/countries

The third declension is reserved for neuter nouns ending with a consonant. This declension uses "-et" for definite singular nouns and "-er" for indefinite and "-erna" for definite plural nouns.

Fourth declension: ending vowel (all genders) (except the vowels "-å", "-o" and "-u")

Singular Plural
Indefinite mose

(a) swamp
flaska
(a) bottle
sky
(a) sky

moser

swamps
flaskar
bottles
skyr
skies

Definite mosen

the swamp
flaskan
the bottle
skyt
the sky

moserne

the swamps
flaskarna
the bottles
skyrna
the skies

The fourth declension is reserved for nouns of all genders ending on vowels that are not "-å", "-o" or "-u". This declension uses "-n" for masculine and feminine and "-t" for neuter definite singular nouns, "-r" for all indefinite plural nouns, "-rne" for masculine definite plural nouns and "-rna" for feminine and neuter definite plural nouns.

Fifth declension: ending vowel (all genders) (vowels "-å", "-o" and "-u")

Singular Plural
Indefinite þrå

(a) rivulet
o
(an) ear
skru
(a) scratch

þråer

rivulets
oer
ears
skruer
scratches

Definite þrån

the rivulet
on
the ear
skrut
the scratch

þråerne

the rivulets
oerna
the ears
skruerna
the scratches

The fifth declension is reserved for nouns of all genders ending on the vowels "-å", "-o" and "-u". The fifth declension is actually a mix of all other declensions, following the fourth declension in the definite singular, but in plural forms following the first, second and third declensions.

Examples

Noun class Singular Plural Meaning
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Masculine dreng
huvud
drengen
huvuden
drenger
huvuder
drengerne
huvuderne

"boy"
"head"

Feminine pig
gård
pigen
gården
piger
gårder
pigerna
gårderna
"girl"
"garden"
Neuter barn
hus
barnet
huset
barner
huser
barnerna
huserna
"child"
"house"
Vowel-end eve
klokka
lyddo*
even
klokkan
lyddot*
ever
klokkar
lyddoer*
everne
klokkarna
lyddoerna*
"century"
"clock"
"song"

(*) Words ending on "-o", "-å" and "-u" retain the "-e-" in the plural forms, but not in the singular definite article.

There are three words that retain exceptional declensions.

Noun class Singular Plural Meaning
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Word hund
og
tóð
hynden
ögat
tóð
hunder
ögar
t
hynderne
ögattar
tiðið

"dog"
"eye"
"tooth"

Genitive

For the genitive, the suffix "-s" is added to the word. If, however, the word already ends on "-s", the suffix is instead rendered as "-sessa". Thus, e.g. "the child's" would be barnets, but "a house's" would be hussessa.

The genitive is the only real non-nominative case in usage in the official version of the Undernederlandsk language, but can be rendered differently in certain dialects, most specifically the Ænsksk and Berlinsk dialects.

Pronouns

Personal

The Undernederlandsk personal pronouns are as follows:

case 1st person 2nd person 3rd person
masculine feminine neuter
singular nom. jag þu han hun þætt
gen. minna þinna hans henner þætts
acc. mig þig honom það
plural nom. vi þu þej
gen. óssa þuar þejra
acc. óss þua þjejr þætta

Personal pronouns distinguish between number and gender in both singular and plural cases.

These personal pronouns normally come, akin to in English, before the verb:

jag kenne AnnaI know Anna.

However, it is also possible to place it behind the verb:

Anna kenne jagAnna know I.

Reflexive

Undernederlandsk uses the reflexive pronoun akin to German sich. This is the only example where Undernederlandsk actively uses the dative case. The nominative case does not exist.

case pronoun
acc. sig
dat. sir
gen. sin

The dative case is used in opposition to being bathed by another, for example:

han þvätter sir og inte på sinna móðerhe washes himself and not by his mother (meaning that his mother does not wash him),

whilst the accusative case is used in opposition to bathing another, for example:"

han þvätter sig og inte sinna móðerhe washes himself and not his mother (meaning he does not wash his mother),

whilst the genitive case is used with certain verbs, like sig þvätta, "to wash", in conjugations:

han þvätter sinhe washes himself.

Possessive

Undernederlandsk possessive pronouns are as follows:

case 1st person 2nd person 3rd person
singular nom. min minna mitt þin þinna þitt sin sinna sitt
gen. mins minnes mitts þins þinnes þitts sins sinnes sitts
acc. minn minna mitt þinn þinna þitt sinn sinna sitt
plural nom. mine mina mit þine þina þit sine sina sit
gen. minnar þinnar sinnar
acc. minne þinne sinne
case 1st person 2nd person 3rd person
singular nom. óss óssa ótt þuin þuinna þuitt þen þenna þett
gen. óss óssa óttes þuin þuinna þuittes þen þenna þetts
acc. óss óssa ótt þuin þuinna þuitt þen þenna þvi
plural nom. ósse óssa ót þuine þuina þuit þejre þejra þit
gen. óssar þuinnar þejrar
acc. ósse óssa þejrre

where the three columns represent the masculine, feminine and neuter grammatical genders respectively. Min means "my", þin means "your" (singular), sin means "his", "her" or "its", óss means "our", þuin means "yours" (plural) and þen means "their".

Demonstrative

Undernederlandsk demonstrative pronouns are as follows:

case "this" "that" "yonder" "the other"
singular nom. þis þissa þitt þæ þæt jön jøn jött andre andra
gen. þisses þissas þitt þæs þæas þætts jönnes jønnes jött andres andras andres
acc. þiss þissa þitt þæt þett jönn jønna jött andre andra
plural nom. þise þisa þitta þætte þætta þette jöne jøna jötta andre andra
gen. þiseres þissar þitter þætteres þætter jönneres jønnar jötter andreres
acc. þise þisa þitta þæte þæta þæte jönne jønna jötte andrere

It is worth mentioning that these declensions according to grammatical cases and genders was not originally intended, however it quickly spread throughout the base of speakers of Undernederlandsk and was the norm by 2000 in all dialects of the language.

Adjectives

Undernederlandsk adjectives are declined according to gender, number, and definiteness of the noun.

Indefinite adjectival declension

When an adjective describes an indefinite singular noun it ends on "-e" if the noun is masculine or neuter; however, it will always end on "-a" in the indefinite plural forms, regardless of gender.

Singular Plural
Masculine store björn, (a) large bear stora björner, large bears
Feminine stora ulv, (a) large wolf stora ulver, large wolves
Neuter store lódjur, (a) large lynx stora lodjurer, large lynxes

Definite adjectival declensions

When an adjective describes a definite noun, it is declined more specifically. Adjectives defining definite masculine nouns end on "-e" for singular but "-er" for plural nouns; those defining definite feminine nouns end on "-a" for singular but "-ar" for plural nouns; finally, adjectives defining definite neuter nouns end on "-(i)t" for singular and "-a" for plural nouns.

Singular Plural
Masculine store björnen, the large bear storer björnerne, the large bears
Feminine stora ulven, the large wolf storar ulverna, the large wolves
Neuter stort lódjuret, the large lynx stora lódjurerna, the large lynxes

Exceptions

In the case that the stem of the adjective ends with the sound that the normal declined form would prescribe to be used in that context, the sound is either completely omitted (e.g. "(an) empty glass" - "le glass" and "the empty glasses" - "ler glasserne") or (an) additional sound(s) are added (e.g. "the white lynx" - "vitit ljóduret).

There are also four adjectives that have separate inherent declensions:

Noun class Singular Plural Meaning
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Masculine grå
höje
döppe
ond
grån
höjn
döpp
önd
grå
höjne
dyppi
ond
grår
höjre
dypper
önd

"grey"
"high"
"deep"
"evil"

Feminine gråa
höja
døpp
ònd
gråna
höjna
döpp
ønd
grå
höj
dypp
ònd
gråra
höjra
dyppar
ønd
"grey"
"high"
"deep"
"evil"
Neuter gråt
höjt
döppt
önt
grået
höjt
döppet
önt
gråta
höjta
dyppte
øndt
grå
höja
dypp
øndta
"grey"
"high"
"deep"
"evil"

Verbs

Undernederlandsk verbs have four moods: indicative, imperative, conditional and subjunctive. As with most inflected languages, the verb governs the case of the subsequent nouns, pronouns and adjectives of a sentence. For example, the word giva, "to give", governs the accusative case:

Jag give honom presentetI give him/her the present

whilst sækka, "to miss", governs the genitive case:

Jag sække þinnaI miss you (literally: I miss of you).

Infinitive

As a rule, all Undernederlandsk infinitives, in written form, end on "-a". This may or may not be the case depending on the dialect and the speaker's preferences, however, in written language it always ends on "-a".

Indicative

Verbs are conjugated in accordance with the grammatical number and pronoun. In general, with the few exceptions of the irregular verbs vesa, hava and sea, the the rule stands that for for the first person singular the verb is conjugated as stem+e; for the second person singular, the verb is conjugated as stem+(a)d; for third person singular and first and second person plural the verb is conjugated as stem+(e)r; finally, for the third person plural the verb is conjugated as stem+(a). Letters between brackets indicate that these are dropped when the stem ends on a vowel, for example in ståa, "to stand", and lya, "to lie".

In the table below, the conjugations for regular verbs, the three irregular verbs, and regular verbs ending on a vowel are given:

Number Singular Plural
Person jag þu han/hun/þætt vi þu (plural) þej
löppa
to walk
löppe löppad löpper löpper löpper löppa
vesa
to be
äre ärad ärer ærer ærer æra
hava
to have
här härad härer hærer hærer hæra
sea
to see
se sad ser ser ser sa
ståa
to stand
ståe ståd står står står stå

Imperative

Imperative verbs are normally formed by stem+t combinations. Imperative verbs can only exist in present and future form, not in the past form. The future form is formed by vyrdt + infinitive. An umlaut exists with certain vowels in the stems, namely: [o] -> [ø], [ɛ] -> [ɪ], [o̞] -> [y] and [o:] -> [œy̯].

Verb Present Future
löppa
to walk
löppt! vyrdt löppa!
vesa
to be
vés! vyrdt vesa!
hava
to have
hævt! vyrdt hava!
holla
to hold
höllt! vyrdt hölla!
nemna
to take
nimnt! vyrdt nimna!
ståa
to stand
sty! vyrdt stya!
lófa
to believe
løyft! vyrdt løyfa!

Conditional

The conditional mood is formed by placing the subjunctive form of skylla, "shall" in front of the infinitive. Thus,

jag skylle sjyngaI will sing

indicates that the subject will sing at some time in the future, whilst

jag skyllo sjyngaI would sing

indicates that the subject will only sing if some or more conditions are met. Compare for example:

jag skylle med honom med gåa till sitt husI will go to his/her home

versus

jag skyllo med honom med gåa till sitt hus allenalig när hun ville mig þärI would go with her to her home only if she wants me to.

Morphology

Syntax

Language samples

A popular sample of the language is the song "Hylende Vilgan", the Undernederlandsk rendition of the English song "O Willow Waly". The text goes as follows:

Undernederlandsk

Hylende Vilgan
Vi lår, minna ást og jag
Under hylende vilgan
Er nu allena jag låe
Og hyle næsta þrén

Sjyngknar "oh hylende vilga"
Till vilgan som hyler med mig
Sjyngknar "oh hylende vilga"
Til minna ást kommer tillbaka till mig

English

The Weeping Willow
We lay, my love and I
Under the weeping willow
But now alone I lie
And weep next to the tree

Singing "oh weeping willow"
To the willow that weeps with me
Singing "oh weeping willow"
Till my love comes back to me

Undernederlandsk IPA

[ˈɦyln̩ˀə ˈʋɪljɐ]
[ʋiˈlo̞:ˀ ˌmin:.ˈau̯sʈojɒg]
[ˈʉnˀɬyln̩ˀə ˈʋɪljɐn]
[lˀˌnʉ.ˈɑl:e:n:ˌjɒg lo̞:]
[oˀˈy:lə ˌnæstɐ ˈθʀe̞n].

[ˈɕyŋknɐɾˌo: ˈɦyln̩ˀə ˈʋɪljɐ]
[tʰɪlˀ ˈʋɪljɐnˌsʊm ˈɦylˀl̩ˌmɪðˀ mɪj]
[ˈɕyŋknɐɾˌo: ˈɦyln̩ˀə ˈʋɪljɐ]
[tʰl̩ˀ ˌmɪn:ˈau̯sʈ ˌkʊmˈtʰɪlˀbɒkɐ tʰɪlˀ mɪj].