Valthungian: Difference between revisions

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[[Category: Languages]]
[[Category:Languages]]
[[Category: Conlangs]]
[[Category:Conlangs]]
[[Category: Artlangs]]
[[Category:Artlangs]]
[[Category: A priori]]
[[Category:A_posteriori]]
[[Category: Baraqesh languages]]
[[Category:Indo-European_languages]]
 
[[Category:Germanic_languages]]
Maltcégj is an a priori, agglutinative, semi-analytic head-initial language created by BenJamin P. Johnson in 2001. It has a strict VSO sentence structure that is modified with large numbers of verbal and nominal particles.
[[Category:East_Germanic_languages]]


{{privatelang}}{{construction}}
{{Infobox language
{{Infobox language
|name = Maltcégj
|name = Valthungian, Grey Tongue
|nativename = Maltcégj
|nativename = Grējutungiška Rasta,<br />Sō Grējuga Tunga
|pronunciation = mɑlˈʧɛɡ͡ʒ
|pronunciation = /ˈgrai̯.juˌtuŋ.giʃ.kɑ  ˈrɑs.tɑ,<br />sau̯ ˈgrai̯.ju.ɡɑ ˈtuŋ.gɑ/
|creator = [[User:Bpnjohnson|BenJamin P. Johnson]],<br />
|creator = [[User:Bpnjohnson|BenJamin P. Johnson]],<br />
<small>creator of:<br />
<small>creator of:<br />
Line 39: Line 40:
</ul>
</ul>
</small>
</small>
|created = 2001
|created = 2010
|setting =  
|setting =  
|familycolor = Conlang
|familycolor = Indo-European
|fam1 = Baraqesh
|fam1 = [[w:Indo-European_languages|Indo-European]]
|scripts = * [[#Alphabet_and_Pronunciation|Maltcégj Alphabet]]
|fam2 = [[w:Germanic_languages|Germanic]]
* [[w:Latin script|Latin script]] (transliteration)
|fam3 = [[w:East_Germanic_languages|East Germanic]]
|brcl = mltj
|fam4 = [[Griutungi]]
|fam5 = [[Old Valthungian]]
|fam6 = [[Middle Valthungian]]
|script = [[Valthungian#Alphabet_.26_Pronunciation|Valthungian Alphabet]]<br />[[w:Latin script|Latin script]] (transliteration)
|iso3 = qgt
|brcl = grey
}}
}}


==Alphabet and Pronunciation==
Valthungian is an [[w:East_Germanic_languages|East Germanic]] language descended from a language that was probably mutually intelligible with [[w:Gothic_language|Gothic]], though much of its corpus cannot have been inherited from the language of [[w:Ulfilas|Wulfila]]. It is likely, however, that the speakers of the ancestor of Valthungian did consider themselves Goths (or Gutai or Gutþiudōs), and that their language was mutually intelligible with other dialects of Gothic. The Valthungian relationship to “Classical Gothic” can be thought of as analogous to the relationship between Modern High German and [[w:Old_High_German|Old High German]] – that is, not a direct lineage, but the modern languages are descended from neighboring dialects spoken by people who would likewise have considered themselves to be “Gutisks,” in the case of Valthungian, or “Diotisk” in the case of German.
 
While Valthungian shares many of the areal changes common to [[w:North_Germanic_languages|North]] and [[w:West_Germanic_languages|West Germanic languages]], it is also marked by distinctive changes in palatalisation, which, while similar to those of Old English, are most likely influenced by contact with Romance and Slavic languages. Modern Valthungian can be traced back to [[Middle Valthungian]] (spoken from around 1200‒1600ᴀᴅ) through [[Old Valthungian]] (800‒1200ᴀᴅ) and ultimately to [[Griutungi]], which would likely have been thought of as a dialect of Gothic (400‒800ᴀᴅ).
 
The name “Valthungian” comes from the name ''Valthungi'' – a Latin term likely derived from a pre-Old Valthungian name *''Walþungae'' – meaning “Forest-dweller,” likely a branch of or related to the [[w:Thervingi|Thervingians]] (''idem''), though the Valthungian people refer to themselves as ''Grējutungišk'', which is probably from an earlier ''[[w:Greuthungi|Griutuggs]]'' (the name of an Ostrogothic tribe living along the northern shore of the Black Sea), but which underwent some semantic reanalysis over the generations and came to mean ‘the grey-tongued ones’. In turn, they call their language ''Grējutungiška Rasta'' ‘Grey-tonguish Language’ or just ''Sō Grējuga Tunga'' ‘the Grey Tongue’.
 
==Writing System==
 
===Alphabet & Pronunciation===
 
Here I give the traditional Valthungian letters followed by the romanisation I use for them in the second row. This romanisation is otherwise used throughout this article.


{| class="wikitable"
{| style="border:0px; background:none;"
|style="vertical-align: text-top"|
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
!'''&nbsp;'''
!'''&nbsp;'''
!'''[[w:International_Phonetic_Alphabet|IPA]]'''
!'''Name'''
!'''Name Meaning'''
|-
|-
| '''a'''
|width=75| [[File:Valthungian-aska.png]]
| '''b'''
|width=75 style="font-size:18pt;"|A a
| '''c'''
|width=50|[ɑ]
| '''d'''
||''[[Contionary:aska|aska]]''
| '''ð'''
|style="text-align:left;"|‘ash’
| '''e'''
| '''f'''
| '''g'''
| '''ǧ'''  
| '''h'''
| '''i'''
|-
|-
| /ɑ/
|width=75| [[File:Valthungian-aejus.png]]
| /b/
|width=75 style="font-size:18pt;"|Ǣ ǣ
| /ʃ/
|width=50|[e̞ː]
| /d/
||''[[Contionary:ǣjus|ǣjus]]''
| /ð/
|style="text-align:left;"|‘horse’
| /ɛ/
| /f/
| /g/
| /γ/
| /h/
| /i/
|-
|-
| '''j'''
|width=75| [[File:Valthungian-breka.png]]
| '''k'''
|width=75 style="font-size:18pt;"|B b
| '''l'''
|width=50|[b]
| '''ɮ'''
||''[[Contionary:breka|breka]]''
| '''ʌ'''
|style="text-align:left;"|‘birch’
| '''m'''
| '''n'''
| '''o'''
| '''ǫ'''  
| '''p'''
| '''r'''
|-
|-
| /ʒ/
|width=75| [[File:Valthungian-giva.png]]
| /k/
|width=75 style="font-size:18pt;"|G g
| /l/
|width=50|[ɡ]
| /ɮ/
||''[[Contionary:giva|giva]]''
| /ɫ̩/
|style="text-align:left;"|‘gift’
| /m/
| /n/
| /o/
| /ɔ/
| /p/
| /ɾ/
|-
|-
| '''ʀ'''
|width=75| [[File:Valthungian-djus.png]]
| '''s'''
|width=75 style="font-size:18pt;"|Ǧ ǧ
| '''t'''
|width=50|[ʤ]
| '''þ'''
||''[[Contionary:ǧus|ǧus]]''
| '''u'''
|style="text-align:left;"|‘beast’
| '''v'''
| '''w'''
| '''x'''
| '''y'''  
| '''ẏ'''
| '''z'''
|-
|-
| /ɹ̩/
|width=75| [[File:Valthungian-dagz.png]]
| /s/
|width=75 style="font-size:18pt;"|D d
| /t/
|width=50|[d]
| /θ/
||''[[Contionary:daǧ|daǧ]]''
| /u/
|style="text-align:left;"|‘day’
| /v/
| /w/
| /x/
| /ɪ/
| /j/
| /z/
|-
|}
 
===Orthography===
 
* Primary stress is indicated in words of more than one syllable with an acute accent over the primary vowel. In diphthongs, the accent is placed on the first vowel.
* Where two vowels appear together but are ''not'' a diphthong, the second vowel is marked with a diæresis if it is a front vowel, or with a single dot if a back vowel (i.e. ï, ÿ, ë, ȧ, ǫ̇, ȯ, u̇), e.g. oï.
**Even if this would not result in a standard diphthong, this convention is still followed any time there are two disyllabic pertingent vowels, e.g. ''[[Contionary: kúluï#Maltcégj|kúluï]]'' ‘all’, ''[[Contionary: itáliȧ#Maltcégj|itáliȧ]]'' ‘Italy’.
**If the second vowel is stressed, however, the first vowel is marked instead, e.g. italiáno → ''[[Contionary: italïáno#Maltcégj| italïáno]]'' ‘Italian’.
**(NB: This stylistic rule is followed rather loosely, and often only applies to the letters 〈ë〉 and 〈ï〉.)
* No capital letters are used.
 
===Native Writing System===
 
Maltcégj is also written using a featural alphabet which treats the vowels as diacritics, and also uses diacritics to describe manner of articulation and consonant clusters. In all there are only seven “letters”; all other phonetic functions are filled by diacritics or modifications of these seven characters. (Actually, there are really only four: the labial, dental, palatal, and glottal forms are just directional variations of the same character, and the rhotic is just a turned lambdic.)
 
The default characters are the voiced continuants. (NB: The default form is used by /h/ because there is no unvoiced equivalent.)
 
{| class="wikitable"
!width=160px| 
!width=100px| Labial
!width=100px| Dental
!width=100px| Coronal
!width=100px| Palatal
!width=100px| Velar
!width=100px| Glottal
!width=300px| Description
|-
|-
!style="text-align: right"| Continuant (Voiced)
|width=75| [[File:Valthungian-aedhi.png]]
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"|[[File:Maltcégj-v.gif]]<br />'''v''' /v/
|width=75 style="font-size:18pt;"|Ð ð
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"|[[File:Maltcégj-ð.gif]]<br />'''ð''' /ð/
|width=50|[ð]
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"|[[File:Maltcégj-z.gif]]<br />'''z''' /z/
||''[[Contionary:ǣði|ǣði]]''
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"|[[File:Maltcégj-j.gif]]<br />'''j''' /ʒ/
|style="text-align:left;"|‘mother’
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"|[[File:Maltcégj-gh.gif]]<br />'''ǧ''' /γ/
|
| These are the default forms of all the obstruents.
|-
|-
!style="text-align: right"| Coninuant (Unvoiced)
|width=75| [[File:Valthungian-egja.png]]
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"|[[File:Maltcégj-f.gif]]<br />'''f''' /f/
|width=75 style="font-size:18pt;"|E e
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"|[[File:Maltcégj-þ.gif]]<br />'''þ''' /θ/
|width=50|[]
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"|[[File:Maltcégj-s.gif]]<br />'''s''' /s/
||''[[Contionary:eǧa|eǧa]]''
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"|[[File:Maltcégj-c.gif]]<br />'''c''' /ʃ/
|style="text-align:left;"|‘blade’
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"|[[File:Maltcégj-x.gif]]<br />'''x''' /x/
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"|[[File:Maltcégj-h.gif]]<br />'''h''' /h/
| For devoicing, an extra stroke is added to the body of the character. (There is not an extra stroke in 〈h〉, because since there is no voiced equivalent, it is simpler to leave it in default form.)
|-
|-
!
|width=75| [[File:Valthungian-akuzje.png]]
!colspan=2| Labial
|width=75 style="font-size:18pt;"|Ž ž
!colspan=2| Alveolar
|width=50|[ʒ]
!colspan=2| Vela
||''[[Contionary:akuže|akuže]]''
|style="text-align:left;"|‘axe’
|-
|-
!style="text-align: right"| Stops
|width=75| [[File:Valthungian-hagla.png]]
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"|[[File:Maltcégj-b.gif]]<br />'''b''' /b/
|width=75 style="font-size:18pt;"|H h
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"|[[File:Maltcégj-p.gif]]<br />'''p''' /p/
|width=50|[h~x]
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"|[[File:Maltcégj-d.gif]]<br />'''d''' /d/
||''[[Contionary:hagla|hagla]]''
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"|[[File:Maltcégj-t.gif]]<br />'''t''' /t/
|style="text-align:left;"|‘hail’
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"|[[File:Maltcégj-g.gif]]<br />'''g''' /g/
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"|[[File:Maltcégj-k.gif]]<br />'''k''' /k/
| Stops are indicated by a diacritic: [[File:Maltcégj-plosive.gif]]
|-
|-
!style="text-align: right"| Nasal
|width=75| [[File:Valthungian-thronus.png]]
|colspan=2 style="font-size:large;text-align:center"|[[File:Maltcégj-m.gif]]<br />'''m''' /m/
|width=75 style="font-size:18pt;"|Þ þ
|colspan=2 style="font-size:large;text-align:center"|[[File:Maltcégj-n.gif]]<br />'''n''' /n/
|width=50|[θ]
|  
||''[[Contionary:þronus|þronus]]''
|
|style="text-align:left;"|‘thorn’
| A different diacritic is used for nasals: [[File:Maltcégj-nasal.gif]]
|-
|-
! &nbsp;
|width=75| [[File:Valthungian-igil.png]]
!colspan=3| Lambdic
|width=75 style="font-size:18pt;"|I i
!colspan=3| Rhotic
|width=50|[i]
||''[[Contionary:igil|igil]]''
|style="text-align:left;"|‘hedgehog’
|-
|-
!style="text-align: right"| Liquids
|width=75| [[File:Valthungian-jeer.png]]
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"|[[File:Maltcégj-l.gif]]<br />'''l''' /l/
|width=75 style="font-size:18pt;"|J j
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"|[[File:Maltcégj-lh.gif]]<br />'''ʌ''' /ɫ̩/
|width=50|[j]
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"|[[File:Maltcégj-l-diac.gif]] diacritic&nbsp;'''l'''
||''[[Contionary:jēr|jēr]]''
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"|[[File:Maltcégj-r.gif]]<br />'''r''' /ɾ/
|style="text-align:left;"|‘year’
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"|[[File:Maltcégj-rh.gif]]<br />'''ʀ''' /ɹ̩/
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"|[[File:Maltcégj-r-diac.gif]] diacritic&nbsp;'''r''' 
| 〈r〉 and 〈l〉 only appear in default form when they stand on their own; whenever either appears as a part of a consonant cluster, they are written as a diacritic.
|}
|}
 
|style="vertical-align: text-top"|
===Phonology===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
====Consonants====
!'''&nbsp;'''
{| class="wikitable"
!'''&nbsp;'''
!width=160px| &nbsp;
!'''[[w:International_Phonetic_Alphabet|IPA]]'''
!width=100px| Labial
!'''Name'''
!width=100px| Dental
!'''Name Meaning'''
!width=100px| Coronal
|-
!width=100px| Palatal
|width=75| [[File:Valthungian-kune.png]]
!width=100px| Velar
|width=75 style="font-size:18pt;"|K k
!width=100px| Glottal
|width=50|[k~kʰ]
||''[[Contionary:kune|kune]]''
|style="text-align:left;"|‘family’
|-
|-
!style="text-align: right"|Plosive
|width=75| [[File:Valthungian-lagus.png]]
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"|p · b
|width=75 style="font-size:18pt;"|L l
|
|width=50|[l]
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"|t · d
||''[[Contionary:lagus|lagus]]''
|
|style="text-align:left;"|‘lake’
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"|k · g
|
|-
|-
!style="text-align: right"|Affricate
|width=75| [[File:Valthungian-matna.png]]
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"|pf · bv
|width=75 style="font-size:18pt;"|M m
|
|width=50|[m]
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"|ts · dz
||''[[Contionary:matna|matna]]''
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"|tc · dj
|style="text-align:left;"|‘person’
|
|
|-
|-
!style="text-align: right"|Fricative
|width=75| [[File:Valthungian-naoths.png]]
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"|f · v
|width=75 style="font-size:18pt;"|N n
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"|þ · ð
|width=50|[n]
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"|s · z
||''[[Contionary:nǭþs|nǭþs]]''
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"|c · j
|style="text-align:left;"|‘need’
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"|x · ǧ
|rowspan=2 style="font-size:large;text-align:center"|h ·
|-
|-
!style="text-align: right"|Approximant
|width=75| [[File:Valthungian-ore.png]]
|
|width=75 style="font-size:18pt;"|O o
|
|width=50|[o̞]
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"| · ʀ<ref>〈ʀ〉 only occurs as a syllabic; it is treated as a vowel.</ref>
||''[[Contionary:ore|ore]]''
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"| · ẏ
|style="text-align:left;"|‘riverbank’
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"| · w
|-
|-
!style="text-align: right"|Nasal
|width=75| [[File:Valthungian-predhra.png]]
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"| · m
|width=75 style="font-size:18pt;"|P p
|
|width=50|[p~pʰ]
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"| · n
||''[[Contionary:preðra|preðra]]''
|
|style="text-align:left;"|‘chance’
|
|
|-
|-
!style="text-align: right"|Tap / Flap
|width=75| [[File:Valthungian-redha.png]]
|
|width=75 style="font-size:18pt;"|R r
|
|width=50|[r]
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"| · r
||''[[Contionary:reða|reða]]''
|
|style="text-align:left;"|‘earth’
|
|
|-
|-
!style="text-align: right"|Lateral Affricate
|width=75| [[File:Valthungian-soogila.png]]
|
|width=75 style="font-size:18pt;"|S s
|
|width=50|[s]
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"|tɮ · dɮ
||''[[Contionary:sōgila|sōgila]]''
|
|style="text-align:left;"|‘sun’
|
|
|-
|-
!style="text-align: right"|Lateral Fricative
|width=75| [[File:Valthungian-sjuge.png]]
|
|width=75 style="font-size:18pt;"|Š š
|
|width=50|[ʃ]
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"| · ɮ
||''[[Contionary:šuge|šuge]]''
|
|style="text-align:left;"|‘colour ’
|
|
|-
|-
!style="text-align: right"|Lateral Approximant
|width=75| [[File:Valthungian-tiijus.png]]
|
|width=75 style="font-size:18pt;"|T t
|
|width=50|[t~tʰ]
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"| · l
||''[[Contionary:tījus|tījus]]''
|
|style="text-align:left;"|‘Teu ’
|style="font-size:large;text-align:center"| · ʌ<ref>〈ʀ〉 only occurs as a syllabic; it is treated as a vowel.</ref>
|
|}
 
=====Stops=====
 
{| class="wikitable"
!colspan=3| Unvoiced
!colspan=3| Voiced
|-
|-
!valign="top"| p
|width=75| [[File:Valthungian-kjus.png]]
|valign="top"| /p/
|width=75 style="font-size:18pt;"|Č č
| as in '''p'''ut<br />[[Contionary: pul#Maltcégj|'''''p'''ul'']] [pʰul] ‘he’
|width=50|[ʧ]
!valign="top"| b
||''[[Contionary:čus|čus]]''
|valign="top"| /b/
|style="text-align:left;"|‘choice ’
| as in '''b'''at<br />[[Contionary: badj#Maltcégj|'''''b'''adj'']] [bʰaʤ] ‘to have’
|-
|-
!valign="top"| t
|width=75| [[File:Valthungian-ungula.png]]
|valign="top"| /t/
|width=75 style="font-size:18pt;"|U u
| as in '''t'''op<br />[[Contionary: talp#Maltcégj|'''''t'''alp'']] [tʰɑlp] ‘head’
|width=50|[u]
!valign="top"| d
||''[[Contionary:ungula|ungula]]''
|valign="top"| /d/
|style="text-align:left;"|‘owl’
| as in '''d'''og<br />[[Contionary: dið#Maltcégj|'''''d'''ið'']] [dʰið] ‘beautiful’
|-
|-
!valign="top"| k
|width=75| [[File:Valthungian-ivra.png]]
|valign="top"| /k/
|width=75 style="font-size:18pt;"|V v
| as in '''k'''eep<br />[[Contionary: kat#Maltcégj|'''''k'''at'']] [kʰɑt] ‘dry’
|width=50|[v]
!valign="top"| g
||''[[Contionary:ivra|ivra]]''
|valign="top"| /g/
|style="text-align:left;"|‘boar’
| as in '''g'''et<br />[[Contionary: gelk#Maltcégj|'''''g'''elk'']] [gʰɛlk] ‘to give’
|}
|}
 
|style="vertical-align: text-top"|
Initial stops have a tendency to be aspirated.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
 
!'''&nbsp;'''
=====Affricates=====
!'''&nbsp;'''
 
!'''[[w:International_Phonetic_Alphabet|IPA]]'''
{| class="wikitable"
!'''Name'''
!colspan=3| Unvoiced
!'''Name Meaning'''
!colspan=3| Voiced
|-
|-
!valign="top"| pf
|width=75| [[File:Valthungian-faejo.png]]
|valign="top"| /p͡f/
|width=75 style="font-size:18pt;"|F f
| as in German '''''Pf'''erd''<br />[[Contionary: pfatɮ#Maltcégj|'''''pf'''atɮ'']] [p͡fɑt͡ɬ] ‘spit’
|width=50|[f]
!valign="top"| bv
||''[[Contionary:fǣjo|fǣjo]]''
|valign="top"| /b͡v/
|style="text-align:left;"|‘cattle’
| as in o'''bv'''ious <br />[[Contionary: bvrac#Maltcégj|'''''bv'''rac'']] [bvɾɑʃ] ‘sparrow’
|-
|-
!valign="top"| ts
|width=75| [[File:Valthungian-wynia.png]]
|valign="top"| /ʦ/
|width=75 style="font-size:18pt;"|W w
| as in ge'''ts'''<br />[[Contionary: frants#Maltcégj|''fran'''ts''''']] [fɾɑnʦ] ‘France’
|width=50|[w]
!valign="top"| dz
||''[[Contionary:wynia|wynia]]''
|valign="top"| /ʣ/
|style="text-align:left;"|‘joy’
| as in a'''dz'''e<br />[[Contionary: xandz#Maltcégj|''xan'''dz''''']] [xɑnʣ] ‘Chinese character’
|-
|-
!valign="top"| tc
|width=75| [[File:Valthungian-roetja.png]]
|valign="top"| /ʧ/
|width=75 style="font-size:18pt;"|Œ œ
| as in '''ch'''ur'''ch'''<br />[[Contionary: tcitsíc#Maltcégj|'''''tc'''itsíc'']] [ʧi’ʦiʃ] ‘to sneeze’
|width=50|[ø̞̞]
!valign="top"| dj
||''[[Contionary:rœča|rœča]]''
|valign="top"| /ʤ/
|style="text-align:left;"|‘farmer’
| as in '''j'''u'''dge'''<br />[[Contionary: djáska#Maltcégj|'''''dj'''áska'']] [‘ʤɑskɑ] ‘cinnamon’
|-
|-
!valign="top"| tɮ
|width=75| [[File:Valthungian-ynkja.png]]
|valign="top"| /ƛ (t͡ɬ)/
|width=75 style="font-size:18pt;"|Y y
| as 〈ll〉 in Icelandic ''a'''ll'''a''<br />[[Contionary: txatɮ#Maltcégj|''txa'''tɮ''''']] [txɑt͡ɬ] ‘slap’
|width=50|[y]
!valign="top"|
||''[[Contionary:ynča|ynča]]''
|valign="top"| /λ (d͡ɮ)/
|style="text-align:left;"|‘ounce’
| as in Xhosa ''in'''dl'''ovu''<br />[[Contionary: ódɮo#Maltcégj|''ó'''dɮ'''o'']] [‘o.d͡ɮo] ‘mouth’
|}
 
There are eight “pure” affricates in Maltcégj, though none are represented by their own unique character.  For more information, see [[#Consonant Clusters|Consonant Clusters]], below.
 
=====Fricatives=====
 
{| class="wikitable"
!colspan=3| Unvoiced
!colspan=3| Voiced
|-
|-
!valign="top"| f
|width=75| [[File:Valthungian-aosus.png]]
|valign="top"| /f/
|width=75 style="font-size:18pt;"|Ǭ ǭ
| as in '''f'''oot<br />[[Contionary: faurx#Maltcégj|'''''f'''aurx'']] [fau̯ɾx] ‘heat’
|width=50|[o̞ː]
!valign="top"| v
||''[[Contionary:ǭsus|ǭsus]]''
|valign="top"| /v/
|style="text-align:left;"|‘ox’
| as in '''v'''ery<br />[[Contionary: víktro#Maltcégj|'''''v'''íktro]] [‘vik.tɾo] ‘tree’
|-
|-
!valign="top"| þ
|colspan=5 style="font-size:14pt;"|'''''Non-Alphabetic Variants'''''
|valign="top"| /θ/
| as 〈th〉 in '''th'''ing<br />[[Contionary: þad#Maltcégj|'''''þ'''ad]] [θɑd] ‘man’
!valign="top"| ð
|valign="top"| /ð/
| as 〈th〉 in '''th'''en<br />[[Contionary: ðak#Maltcégj|'''''ð'''ak]] [ðɑk] ‘to say’
|-
|-
!valign="top"| s
|width=75| [[File:Valthungian-aade.png]]
|valign="top"| /s/
|width=75 style="font-size:18pt;"|Ā ā
| as in '''s'''ing<br />[[Contionary: salméilo#Maltcégj|'''''s'''alméilo'']] [sɑl’mɛi̯.lo] ‘apple’
|width=50|[ɑː]
!valign="top"| z
||''[[Contionary:āde|āde]]''
|valign="top"| /z/
|style="text-align:left;"|‘egg’
| as in '''z'''oo<br />[[Contionary: zendj#Maltcégj|'''''z'''endj'']] [zɛnʤ] ‘paint’
|-
|-
!valign="top"| c
|width=75| [[File:Valthungian-eemate.png]]
|valign="top"| /ʃ/
|width=75 style="font-size:18pt;"|Ē ē
| as 〈sh〉 in '''sh'''oe<br />[[Contionary: cul#Maltcégj|'''''c'''ul'']] [ʃul] ‘prophesy’
|width=50|[ɑi̯]
!valign="top"| j
||''[[Contionary:ēmate|ēmate]]''
|valign="top"| /ʒ/
|style="text-align:left;"|‘ant’
| as in French '''''j'''amais''<br />[[Contionary: jadíȯ#Maltcégj|'''''j'''adíȯ'']] [ʒɑ’di.o] ‘sun’
|-
|-
!valign="top"| x
|width=75| [[File:Valthungian-iis.png]]
|valign="top"| /x/
|width=75 style="font-size:18pt;"|Ī ī
| as 〈ch〉 in German ''Ba'''ch'''''<br />[[Contionary: xac#Maltcégj|'''''x'''ac'']] [xɑʃ] ‘difficult’
|width=50|[iː]
|valign="top"| ǧ
||''[[Contionary:īs|īs]]''
!valign="top"| /γ/
|style="text-align:left;"|‘ice’
| as 〈g〉 in Spanish ''ami'''g'''o''<br />[[Contionary: ǧénba#Maltcégj|'''''ǧ'''énba'']] [‘γɛn.bɑ] ‘apricot’
|-
|-
!valign="top"| h
|width=75| [[File:Valthungian-oodhla.png]]
|valign="top"| /h/
|width=75 style="font-size:18pt;"|Ō ō
| as in '''h'''ello<br />[[Contionary: hanák#Maltcégj|'''''h'''anák'']] [hɑ’nɑk] ‘person, human’
|width=50|[ɑu̯]
|}
||''[[Contionary:ōðla|ōðla]]''
 
|style="text-align:left;"|‘inheritance’
=====Nasals=====
 
{| class="wikitable"
!valign="top"| m
|valign="top"| /m/
| as in '''m'''an<br />[[Contionary: márga#Maltcégj|'''''m'''árga'']] [‘mɑɾ.ga] ‘house’
|-
|-
!valign="top"| n
|width=75| [[File:Valthungian-uurus.png]]
|valign="top"| /n/
|width=75 style="font-size:18pt;"|Ū ū
| as in '''n'''ose<br />[[Contionary: nyj#Maltcégj|'''''n'''yj'']]  [nɪʒ] ‘grain’
|width=50|[]
|}
||''[[Contionary:ūrus|ūrus]]''
 
|style="text-align:left;"|‘aurochs’
NB: There is no realization of a nasal as /ŋ/, even before a velar obstruent. In many cases, an epenthetic 〈e〉 may intervene between 〈n〉 and a velar (e.g. ''[[Contionary: hánek#Maltcégj|hánek]]'' ‘grandfather’, from ''Hank''), but even when it does not, the letters are pronounced independently (e.g. ''[[Contionary: gýnko#Maltcégj|gýnko]]'' /'gɪn.ko/ ‘ginko’, not **/'gɪŋ.ko/).
 
=====Liquids=====
 
{| class="wikitable"
!valign="top"| l
|valign="top"| /l/
| as in '''l'''amb<br />[[Contionary: lexét#Maltcégj|'''''l'''exét'']] [lɛ’xɛt] ‘much, many’
|-
|-
!valign="top"| r
|width=75| [[File:Valthungian-ooezja.png]]
|valign="top"| /ɾ/
|width=75 style="font-size:18pt;"|Œ̄ œ̄
| as in Spanish ''pe'''r'''o''<br />[[Contionary: ráta#Maltcégj|'''''r'''áta]] [‘ɾɑ.tɑ] ‘child’
|width=50|[ø̞ː]
||''[[Contionary:œ̄ža|œ̄ža]]''
|style="text-align:left;"|‘fortune’
|-
|-
!valign="top"| ɮ
|width=75| [[File:Valthungian-yyfti.png]]
|valign="top"| /ɮ,ɬ/<ref>〈ɮ〉 becomes devoiced to /ɬ/ when it occurs adjacent to an unvoiced obstruent (most frequently in the clusters 〈pɮ〉, 〈tɮ〉, and 〈kɮ〉), e.g. [[Contionary: txatɮ#Maltcégj|''txa'''tɮ''''']] [txɑt͡ɬ] ‘slap’.</ref>
|width=75 style="font-size:18pt;"|Ȳ ȳ
| as in Zulu ''in'''dl'''ala<br />[[Contionary: ɮat#Maltcégj|'''''ɮ'''at'']] [ɮɑt] ‘tooth’
|width=50|[]
|-
||''[[Contionary:ȳfti|ȳfti]]''
!valign="top"| ʌ
|style="text-align:left;"|‘custom’
| /ɫ̩/
|}
|rowspan=2|<ref>While technically liquids, 〈ʌ〉 and 〈ʀ〉 never occur non-syllabically, and are better treated as vowels.</ref>
|-
!valign="top"| ʀ
| /ɹ̩/
|}
|}


=====Glides=====
Though the seven long vowels of the Non-Alphabetic Variants have individual names, they are not considered part of the standard alphabet or alphabetical order. Instead, each long vowel is considered alphabetically equivalent to its doubled short counterpart. That is, 〈ā〉 is equivalent to 〈aa〉, 〈ē〉 to 〈ee〉, 〈ī〉 to 〈ii〉, and so on. (The long vowels 〈ǣ〉 and 〈ǭ〉 are included in the standard alphabetical order, and do not have short forms, though they are written with macrons in their romanised forms.)


{| class="wikitable"
(NB: The Valthungian alphabet, while mainly latin- and cyrillic-based, contains several characters which are not readily representable using the standard Unicode characters. The forms presented throughout this wiki are a [[Valthungian#Romanisation|romanisation]] of the letters shown in the table above.)
!valign="top"| w
|valign="top"| /w/
| as in '''w'''ood<br />[[Contionary: wʌf#Maltcégj|'''''w'''ʌf'']] [wɫ̩f] ‘bone’
|-
!valign="top"| ẏ
|valign="top"| /j/
| as 〈y〉 in '''y'''ou<br />[[Contionary: ẏála#Maltcégj|'''''ẏ'''ála'']] [‘jɑ.lɑ] ‘bird’
|}


=====Vowels=====
===Orthography===
The orthography of Valthungian is quite regular to its phonology; indeed, there are very few exceptions:


{| class="wikitable"
# The letter 〈n〉 before 〈g〉 or 〈k〉 is realised as a velar nasal [ŋ]. Specifically, 〈ng〉 is [ŋɡ] and 〈nk〉 is [ŋk]. (E.g. ''drinkna'' [driŋk.na] ‘to drink’.)
!colspan=3| Front
## In combinations where 〈ng〉 is followed by another nasal consonant, [ɡ] is elided in speech: 〈ngm〉 is [ŋm] and 〈ngn〉 is [ŋn]. (E.g. ''gangna'' [gaŋ.na] ‘to go’; not **[gaŋɡ.na].) In rapid speech this may also occur to the other nasal-stop combinations 〈mbn〉, 〈mbm〉, 〈ndm〉, and 〈ndn〉; sometimes the stop may also become glottal.
!colspan=3| Back
# In the combination 〈hw〉 (i.e. 〈hu〉 followed by a vowel), 〈h〉 is realised as [x].
|-
# The combination 〈rju〉 is realised as [rɛu̯] (rather than the expected [rju]). (E.g. ''frjusna'' [frɛu̯s.na] ‘to freeze’.)
!valign="top"| i
# The diphthong 〈eu〉 is realised as [ɛu̯] (rather than the expected [e̞u̯]). (E.g. ''sneugna'' [snɛu̯g.na] ‘to snow’.)
| /i/
# The diphthong 〈œu〉 is realised as [œy̑] (rather than the expected [ø̞u̯]). (E.g. ''grœunis'' [ɡrœy̑.nis] ‘green’.)
| as 〈ee〉 in b'''ee'''t<br />[[Contionary: ílǫx#Maltcégj|'''''í'''lǫx'']] [‘i.lɔx] ‘knee’
# For some speakers, word-final 〈þs〉 may be realised as [t̪s].
!valign="top"| u
# For some speakers, medial 〈tl〉 (usually derived from earlier /ll/) may be realised as [dɮ].
| /u/
# Inexplicably, the letter ''wynia'', while quite regular in and of itself, has a rather irregular romanisation. It is sometimes romanised quite regularly as ⟨w⟩, though in combination with consonants before a vowel (/dw/, /tw/, /þw/, /hw/, /gw/, /kw/, or /sw/), it is romanised as 〈u〉 (i.e. 〈du〉, 〈tu〉, 〈þu〉, 〈hu〉, 〈gu〉,〈ku〉 and 〈su〉.)
| as 〈oo〉 in b'''oo'''t<br />[[Contionary: ucát#Maltcégj|'''''u'''cát'']] [u’ʃɑt] ‘mustard’
## This process cannot cross morpheme boundaries, so '''' + ''wītna'' ''iþwītna'', not **''iþuītna''.
|-
!valign="top"| y
| /ɪ/
| as 〈i〉 in b'''i'''t<br />[[Contionary: ylk#Maltcégj|'''''y'''lk'']] [ɪlk] ‘louse, nit’
!valign="top"| o
| /o/
| as 〈oa〉 in b'''oa'''t<br />[[Contionary: tcok#Maltcégj|''tc'''o'''k'']] [ʧok] ‘to go’
|-
!valign="top"| e
| /ɛ/
| as in b'''e'''t<br />[[Contionary: éjva#Maltcégj|'''''é'''jva'']] [‘ɛʒ.] ‘mouse’
!valign="top"| ǫ
| /ɔ/  
| as 〈ou〉 in b'''ou'''ght<br />[[Contionary: ǫ́bri#Maltcégj|'''''ǫ́'''bri'']] [‘ɔ.bɾi] ‘niece’
|-
|colspan=3|
!valign="top"| a  
| /ɑ/  
|as in f'''a'''ther<br />[[Contionary: adína#Maltcégj|'''''a'''dín'''a''''']] [ɑ’di.nɑ] ‘sister’
|}


=====Syllabic Liquids=====
Stress is indicated in the standard orthography with an acute accent ''only'' if:
# The stress is ''not'' on the first syllable.
## (By default, stress falls on the primary syllable.)
# The stressed vowel is short.
## (All unstressed long vowels were reduced to short vowels in the [[Middle Valthungian]] period.)
# The stressed vowel is not 〈œ〉 or 〈y〉.
## (The rounded front vowels can only occur as the result of i-umlaut, which could only arise from a stressed vowel.)


{| class="wikitable"
For example, ''in'''í'''la '' ‘excuse’, ''ak'''é'''čim'' 'even so'; but ''gar'''ǣ'''ts'' ‘correct’ or ''gav'''œ'''rčin'' ‘to handle’.
!valign="top"| ʌ
|valign="top"| /ɫ̩/
| as 〈le〉 in midd'''le'''<br />[[Contionary: ʌ́lax#Maltcégj|'''''ʌ́'''nax'']] [‘ɫ̩.nɑx] ‘shopping’
|-
!valign="top"| ʀ
|valign="top"| /ɹ̩/
| as 〈er〉 in bett'''er'''<br />[[Contionary: wʀn#Maltcégj|''w'''ʀ'''n'']] [wɹ̩n] ‘(maternal) grandparent’
|}


〈ʌ〉 and 〈ʀ〉 are considered vowels in Maltcégj and never occur non-syllabically. However, they are not subject to the same diacritic rules for other non-diphthongs as other vowels (though they are still marked when stressed).
====Ligatures & Liaisons====
When two vowels come together at word boundaries, the words may form a ligature, particularly if one of the words is a “grammar word,” such as an article, preposition, pronoun, short adjective, conjunction, &c. This is most common with the articles (''sā'' + ''a-'', ''sō'' + ''u-'', etc.) and particles (e.g ''nī'' + ''i-'').


=====Diphthongs=====
* '''Articles'''
** Mandatory:
*** sā, huā, tuā + a-, ā- → s·ā-, hu·ā-, tu·ā-
**** ''sā aplas'' → ''s·āplas'', ‘the apple’
**** ''tuā aðna'' → ''tu’āðna'' ‘two seasons’
*** sō, þō, hō + u-, ō- → s·ō-, þ·ō-, h·ō-
**** ''sō uréča'' → ''s·ōréča'', ‘the persuit’
**** ''sō ōs'' → ''s·ōs'', ‘the ewe’
*** þǣ, tuǣ + e-, ǣ- → þ·ǣ-, tu·ǣ-
**** ''þǣ ǣjus'' → ''þ·ǣjus'' ‘the horses’
**** ''tuǣ elis'' → ''tu·ǣlis'' ‘two others’
*** nī, þrī, hī + i-, ī- → n·ī-, þr·ī-, h·ī-
**** ''nī ist'' → ''n·īst'', ‘isn’t’
**** ''hī īsran'' → ''h·īsran'' ‘this iron’
** Optional:
***sō, þō + V- → su·V-, þu·V-
**** ''sō akuže, su·akuže'' ‘the axe’
**** ''þō ī, þu·ī'' ‘those which’


{| class="wikitable"
===Orthographic Variants===
!colspan=3| Front
There are a few regional and stylistic variations in the orthography of Valthungian romanisation.
!colspan=3| Back
* In some areas, rather than indicating non-initial stress by placing an acute diacritic on the stressed vowel, the vowel of the initial ''unstressed'' syllable is marked with a grave diacritic. This is not standard anywhere, but is often used in children’s books and language learning tools, as it is a more consistent indicator of stress than the acute, which is not deployed over long vowels or rounded front vowels. It is often used in combination with the acute stress system, and the acute may also be used on otherwise exempt characters. E.g.:
|-
** ''ǧupspríngna'' ‘to leap up’ → ''ǧùpspringna'' or ''ǧùpspríngna''
!valign="top"|  ai
** ''gadrynis'' ‘symphony’ → ''gàdrynis'' or ''gàdrýnis''
|valign="top"|  /ɑi̯/
** ''miðlǣði'' ‘sympathy’ → ''mìðlǣði'' or ''mìðlǣ́ði'' (sometimes ''mìðlǽði'')
| as '' in h'''i'''gh<br />[[Contionary: skwai#Maltcégj|''skw'''ai''''']] [skwɑi̯] ‘lemon’
* ⟨w⟩ may be used in place of word-initial ⟨v⟩ or pre-vocalic ⟨u⟩ to represent /w/ as a more direct transliteration of the letter ''vynia''. There is no logical or efficient reason for this transliteration to be split up the way it is in the standard language: Its existence is purely aesthetic, and many people are not as interested in aesthetics as efficiency.
!valign="top"| au
* Conversely, there are some who romanise ''jēr'' as ⟨i⟩ rather than as ⟨j⟩, likely out of spite towards those who use ⟨w⟩ as above.
|valign="top"| /au̯/
| as in German ''H'''au'''s''<br />[[Contionary: mlau#Maltcégj|''ml'''au''''']] [mlau̯] ‘what’
|-
!valign="top"|  ei
|valign="top"|  /ei̯/
| as in w'''ei'''gh<br />[[Contionary: eict#Maltcégj|'''''ei'''ct'']] [ei̯ʃt] ‘game’
!valign="top"|  eu
|valign="top"| /ɛu̯/
| as 〈ew〉 in Welsh '''''ew'''ro''<br />[[Contionary: ðeup#Maltcégj|''ð'''eu'''p'']] [ðɛu̯p] ‘foot’
|-
!valign="top"|  oi
|valign="top"|  /ɔi̯/  
| as in '''oi'''l<br />[[Contionary: moin#Maltcégj|''m'''oi'''n'']] [mɔi̯n] ‘warmth’
|}


==Pronouns==
==Phonology==


{| class="wikitable"
===Vowels===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"
|-
|-
! Person
! width=100px rowspan="2"|
!
! colspan="2"| '''Short Vowels'''
!
! rowspan="5"|
! Notes
! colspan="2"| '''Long Vowels'''
! Reflexive
! width=100px rowspan="2"|
! Reciprocal
! colspan="2"| '''Diphthongs'''
|-
|-
| 1sg
! width=65px| '''Front'''
| ''[[Contionary: jǫg#Maltcégj|jǫg]]''  
! width=65px| '''Back'''
| I
! width=65px| '''Front'''
|
! width=65px| '''Back'''
| ''[[Contionary: jagj#Maltcégj|jagj]]''  
! width=65px| '''Front'''
|style="background-color: #CCCCCC;" rowspan=7| --
! width=65px| '''Back'''
|-
|-
| 2sg
!'''Closed'''
| ''[[Contionary: mélem#Maltcégj|mélem]]''  
|'''i · y'''<br />[i · y]
| you
|'''u'''<br />[u]
|
|'''ī · ȳ'''<br />[iː · yː]
|rowspan=2| ''[[Contionary: madj#Maltcégj|madj]]''
|'''ū'''<br />[]
!'''Closed-to-'''
|
|
|-
|-
| 2sg
!'''Mid'''
| ''[[Contionary: mélminei#Maltcégj|mélminei]]''  
|'''e · œ'''<br />[e̞ · ø̞]
| you
|'''o'''<br />[o̞]
| formal
|'''ǣ · œ̄'''<br />[e̞ː · ø̞ː]
|'''ǭ'''<br />[o̞ː]
!'''Mid-to-'''
|'''œu'''<br />[œy̑]
|'''eu'''<br />[ɛu̯]
|-
|-
| 3sg.f.
!'''Open'''
| ''[[Contionary: pel#Maltcégj|pel]]''
|
| she
|'''a'''<br />[ɑ]
| feminine
|
|rowspan=4| ''[[Contionary: peibj#Maltcégj|peibj]]''
|'''ā'''<br />[ɑː]
!'''Open-to-'''
|'''ē'''<br />[ai̯]
|'''ō''', '''au'''<br />[au̯]
|-
|-
| 3sg.m
|}
| ''[[Contionary: pul#Maltcégj|pul]]''  
 
| he
===Consonants===
| masculine
<small>''(Pardon the compactified consonant table. I know it doesn't quite all line up “properly,” but it does make more sense this way as regards the Valthungian language. If in doubt, rely on the transcription and not the row or column.)''</small>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"
!width=100px|
!width=65px|'''Labial'''
!width=65px|'''Dental'''
!width=65px|'''Alveolar'''
!width=65px|'''Palatal'''
!width=65px|'''Dorsal'''
|-
|-
| 3sg.n
!'''Plosive'''
| ''[[Contionary: paj#Maltcégj|paj]]''  
|'''p · b'''<br />[p~pʰ · b]
| it
|'''t · d'''<br />[t̪~t̪ʰ · d̪]
| inanimate
|
|'''č · ǧ'''<br />[ʧ · ʤ]
|'''k · g'''<br />[k~kʰ · g]
|-
|-
| 3sg
!'''Nasal'''
| ''[[Contionary: pʌ#Maltcégj|pʌ]]''  
|''' · m'''<br />[m]
| “they”
|''' · n'''<br />[n̪]
| general or non-specific
|
|
|''' · n'''<small><sup>1</sup></small><br />[ŋ]
|-
|-
| 1pl
!'''Fricative'''
| ''[[Contionary: jǫ́lmin#Maltcégj|jǫ́lmin]]''  
|'''f · v'''<br />[f · v]
| we
|'''ð · þ'''<br />[ð · θ]
| inclusive
|'''s ·'''<br />[s]
|rowspan=2| ''[[Contionary: jeltc#Maltcégj|jeltc]]''  
|'''š · ž'''<br />[ʃ · ʒ]
|rowspan=2| ''[[Contionary: játci#Maltcégj|játci]]''
|'''h ·'''<br />[h]
|-
|-
| 1pl
!'''Approximant'''
| ''[[Contionary: jalk#Maltcégj|jalk]]''  
|''' · w/u'''<br />[w]
| we
|''' · l'''<br />[]
| general or exclusive
|''' · r'''<br />[r~ɾ]
|-
|''' · j'''<br />[j]
| 2pl
|
| ''[[Contionary: mélem#Maltcégj|mélem]]''
| you
|rowspan=2| ''[[Contionary: madj#Maltcégj|madj]]''  
|rowspan=2| ''[[Contionary: mládji#Maltcégj|mládji]]''
|-
| 2pl
| ''[[Contionary: mélminei#Maltcégj|mélminei]]''  
| you
| formal
|-
| 3pl
| ''[[Contionary: parþ#Maltcégj|parþ]]''
| they
| general
| ''[[Contionary: pyldj#Maltcégj|pyldj]]''  
| ''[[Contionary: píkci#Maltcégj|píkci]]''
|}
|}
<small><sup>1</sup></small>Before 〈g〉 or 〈k〉.<br />


Some of the most basic elements of language, pronouns will take the place of the subject in most sentences. Maltcégj pronoun structure does not differentiate much from that of English with the exception of a formal and informal second person, and the formal is very infrequently used, but there are “optional” pronouns which may offer more clarity. Just remember to use ''[[Contionary: mélminei#Maltcégj|mélminei]]'' when you’re speaking to someone with whom you would use a title in English (e.g. faculty members, judges, business associates, &c). Otherwise, the pronouns above will get you through most situations.
===Synchronic Changes and Reflexes of Diachronic Changes===


{| class="wikitable"
====Voicing Alternation====
|-
! Person
! Notes
! Reflexive
! Reciprocal
|-
| 2pl
| ''[[Contionary: akmélem#Maltcégj|akmélem]]''
| you (all)
|rowspan=2| ''[[Contionary: madj#Maltcégj|madj]]''
|rowspan=2| ''[[Contionary: mládji#Maltcégj|mládji]]''
|-
| 2pl
| ''[[Contionary: akmélminei#Maltcégj|akmélminei]]''
| you (all)
| formal
|-
| 3pl
| ''[[Contionary: akpél#Maltcégj|akpél]]''
| they
| feminine (=[[Contionary: parþ#Maltcégj|parþ]])
|rowspan=4|  ''[[Contionary: pyldj#Maltcégj|pyldj]]''
|rowspan=4| ''[[Contionary: píkci#Maltcégj|píkci]]''
|-
| 3pl
| ''[[Contionary: akpúl#Maltcégj|akpúl]]''
| they
| masculine (=[[Contionary: parþ#Maltcégj|parþ]])
|-
| 3pl
| ''[[Contionary: akpáj#Maltcégj|akpáj]]''
| they
| inanimate (=[[Contionary: parþ#Maltcégj|parþ]])
|-
| 3pl
| ''[[Contionary: akpʌ́#Maltcégj|akpʌ́]]''
| they
| (=[[Contionary: parþ#Maltcégj|parþ]], incorrect)
|-
|}


If you want to be more specific, however, you can use the plural particle ''[[Contionary: ak#Maltcégj|ak]]'' with the singular pronouns (with the exception of ''[[Contionary: jǫg#Maltcégj|jǫg]]'') to make them plural. You can optionally add ''[[Contionary: ak#Maltcégj|ak]]'' to ''[[Contionary: mélem#Maltcégj|mélem]]'' and ''[[Contionary: mélminei#Maltcégj|mélminei]]'' to further explain that you are referring to more than one person. You can also use ''[[Contionary: ak#Maltcégj|ak]]'' with the third person pronouns if you explicitly want to annotate gender. Note, however, that saying ''[[Contionary: akpʌ́#Maltcégj|akpʌ́]]'' is technically incorrect: This should more accurately be ''[[Contionary: parþ#Maltcégj|parþ]]'', but ''[[Contionary: akpʌ́#Maltcégj|akpʌ́]]'' is common in speech, just as saying ''they'' in English is common to refer to a singular person whose gender is unknown or unclear (as in “Someone left their notebook here.”)
This rule is inherited from Proto-Germanic. The rule is not persistent, but the variation in forms still affects the inflections of nouns, verbs, and adjectives in Valthungian, and is readily assimilated into neologisms and borrowings.  (A similar v/f alternation rule exists in English, for example in singular ''knife'' and plural ''knives'', or the noun ''strife'' and the verb ''strive''.) The Gothic version of this rule caused alternation between 〈f〉, used only at the end of a word or before an unvoiced consonant, and 〈b〉 used elsewhere, e.g. ''giban'', ‘to give’, ''gaf'', ‘gave’.  Likewise the relationship between 〈þ〉 and〈d〉. There are three main realisations of this rule in Valthungian:


In case you are unfamiliar with the idea of inclusive and exclusive we, only use ''[[Contionary: jǫ́lmin#Maltcégj|jǫ́lmin]]'' when the person you are addressing is part of the “we” in question, i.e. if you can replace it with “you and I”, or “you and the rest of us”; otherwise, always use ''[[Contionary: jalk#Maltcégj|jalk]]''. (''[[Contionary: jalk#Maltcégj|jalk]]'' can be used in an inclusive or exclusive sense if none is specified; ''[[Contionary: jǫ́lmin#Maltcégj|jǫ́lmin]]'' can only be inclusive.)
*v → f
*ð → þ } at the end of a word, or before an unvoiced consonant.
*ž → s


In fact, pronouns in Maltcégj are even a little simpler than those in English, because there are no cases to decline. Possessives (''my'', ''your'', ''his'', ''our'', &c.) are formed by adding the preposition ''[[Contionary: u-#Maltcégj|u-]]'' to the word being possessed, and the accusative case (''me'', ''him'', ''her'', ''them'', &c.) by adding the postposition ''[[Contionary: -a#Maltcégj|-a]]'' to the pronoun.
The implications of this rule for Valthungian are:


The reflexive pronouns are used when the verb of the sentence is being done ''to'' the subject of the sentence ''by'' the subject of the sentence; that is to say, when we would use the word -self” in English (e.g. myself, yourself, yourselves, themselves, &c.)
*〈f〉 or 〈þ〉 occur before 〈s〉 in the nominative singular of masculine or some feminine strong nouns, e.g. ''þlǣfs'' ‘loaf of bread’, but genitive ''þlǣvis''.
*〈f〉 or 〈þ〉 occur when word-final in the accusative of masculine or some feminine strong nouns, and the nominative and accusative of neuter strong nouns, e.g. ''blōþ'' ‘blood’, but genitive ''blōðis''.
*〈f〉 occurs when word-final or before 〈t〉 in the preterit singular and the second person imperative singular of strong verbs, e.g. ''gaf'', ''gaft'', ‘gave’, but infinitive ''givna''.
*〈þ〉 also occurs when word-final in the preterit singular and imperative, but is assimilated to 〈s〉 before 〈t〉 in the second person preterit (see Coronal Consonant Assimilation below), e.g. ''biǧin'' ‘to bid’ has the first- and third-person preterit ''baþ'' but second-person ''bast''.
*The implications for 〈s〉 and 〈ž〉 can be a little trickier, because this split was not uniform in Gothic, and intervocalic /s/ was not later voiced (as it was in many other Germanic languages, leveling out this particular conundrum), so many words retain 〈s〉 throughout the paradigm. These are noted in the lexicon.


The reciprocal pronouns are similar to the reflexive (and in many languages they are identical), but they apply only to plural subjects when the action of the verb is being done to another member of the same plural group. (In English this is generally translated as “each other.”) Compare, for example:
Please note that because this rule is not persistent, there are several words which later developed an intervocalic 〈f〉 or 〈þ〉 from earlier 〈h〉 which is ''not'' affected by this rule.


''[[Contionary: blai#Maltcégj|blai]][[Contionary: ðak#Maltcégj|ðák]] [[Contionary: parþ#Maltcégj|parþ]] '''[[Contionary: pyldj#Maltcégj|pyldj]]'''''<br />
====Palatalisation====
‘they are talking to themselves’


''[[Contionary: blai#Maltcégj|blai]][[Contionary: ðak#Maltcégj|ðák]] [[Contionary: parþ#Maltcégj|parþ]] '''[[Contionary: píkci#Maltcégj|píkci]]'''''<br />
Palatalisation is another historic rule that is no longer persistent in Valthungian, but has wide-ranging implications for inflections in Valthungian. There are actually several types of palatalisation that occur in Valthungian, but they can all be boiled down into the following rules:
‘they are talking to each other’


==Numbers==
*Masculine and feminine nouns whose roots end in 〈d〉 or 〈g〉 become palatalised before 〈s〉 in the nominative singular of a-, i-, and u-stems (but not feminine ō-stems).  E.g. Griutungi ''*dags'' ‘day’, ''*gards'' ‘yard’ become ''daǧ'', ''garǧ''. This type of palatalisation only occurs when there was a /dz/ or /gz/ present in the language at some point historically (from Griutungi/Gothic /ds/ or /gs/).
*A much more common form of palatalisation, however, is that which occurs whenever the ending of a noun, verb, or adjective begins with 〈j〉, e.g. strong masculine ja-stem nouns or adjectives or class 1 weak verbs. In these cases, the following occurs:
**d or g + j → ǧ
**t or k + j → č
**s or h + j → š
**z + j → ž (Actually, all instances of 〈z〉 eventually became 〈ž〉.)


{| class="wikitable"
Palatalisation of the latter type usually goes hand in hand with Umlaut, below.
|-
| 0
| ''[[Contionary: zo#Maltcégj|zo]]''
| zero
|-
| 1
| ''[[Contionary: am#Maltcégj|am]]''
| one
|-
| 2
| ''[[Contionary: dai#Maltcégj|dai]]''
| two
|-
| 3
| ''[[Contionary: tran#Maltcégj|tran]]''
| three
|-
| 4
| ''[[Contionary: jamp#Maltcégj|jamp]]''
| four
|-
| 5
| ''[[Contionary: frem#Maltcégj|frem]]''
| five
|-
| 6
| ''[[Contionary: cei#Maltcégj|cei]]''
| six
|-
| 7
| ''[[Contionary: dan#Maltcégj|dan]]''
| seven
|-
| 8
| ''[[Contionary: relk#Maltcégj|relk]]''
| eight
|-
| 9
| ''[[Contionary: nein#Maltcégj|nein]]''
| nine
|-
| 10
| ''[[Contionary: seþ#Maltcégj|seþ]]''
| ten
|-
| 20
| ''[[Contionary: daiséþ#Maltcégj|daiséþ]]''
| twenty
|-
| 30
| ''[[Contionary: transéþ#Maltcégj|transéþ]]''
| thirty
|-
| 40
| ''[[Contionary: jampséþ#Maltcégj|jampséþ]]''
| forty
|-
| 50
| ''[[Contionary: fremséþ#Maltcégj|fremséþ]]''
| fifty
|-
| 60
| ''[[Contionary: ceiséþ#Maltcégj|ceiséþ]]''
| sixty
|-
| 70
| ''[[Contionary: danséþ#Maltcégj|danséþ]]''
| seventy
|-
| 80
| ''[[Contionary: relkséþ#Maltcégj|relkséþ]]''
| eighty
|-
| 90
| ''[[Contionary: neinséþ#Maltcégj|neinséþ]]''
| ninety
|-
| 100
| ''[[Contionary: sam#Maltcégj|sam]]''
| hundred
|-
|}


{| class="wikitable"
====[b]/[v] Alternation====
|-
| 100
| ''[[Contionary: sam#Maltcégj|sam]]''
| hundred
|-
| 1,000
| ''[[Contionary: seþ#Maltcégj|seþ]] [[Contionary: sam#Maltcégj|sam]]''
| thousand (=ten hundreds)
|-
| 10,000
| ''[[Contionary: cep#Maltcégj|cep]]''
| ten thousand
|-
| 100,000
| ''[[Contionary: seþ#Maltcégj|seþ]] [[Contionary: cep#Maltcégj|cep]]''
| hundred thousand (=ten ten-thousands)
|-
| 1,000,000
| ''[[Contionary: sam#Maltcégj|sam]] [[Contionary: cep#Maltcégj|cep]]''
| million (=hundred ten-thousands)
|-
| 10,000,000
| ''[[Contionary: seþ#Maltcégj|seþ]] [[Contionary: sam#Maltcégj|sam]] [[Contionary: cep#Maltcégj|cep]]''
| ten million (=ten hundred ten-thousands)
|-
| 100,000,000
| ''[[Contionary: jak#Maltcégj|jak]]''
| hundred million
|-
| 1,000,000,000
| ''[[Contionary: seþ#Maltcégj|seþ]] [[Contionary: jak#Maltcégj|jak]]''
| milliard/billion (=ten hundred-millions)
|-
| 10,000,000,000
| ''[[Contionary: sam#Maltcégj|sam]] [[Contionary: jak#Maltcégj|jak]]''
| ten milliard/billion (=hundred hundred-millions)
|-
| 100,000,000,000
| ''[[Contionary: seþ#Maltcégj|seþ]] [[Contionary: sam#Maltcégj|sam]] [[Contionary: jak#Maltcégj|jak]]''
| hundred milliard/billion (=ten hundred hundred-millions)
|-
| 1,000,000,000,000
| ''[[Contionary: cep#Maltcégj|cep]] [[Contionary: jak#Maltcégj|jak]]''
| billion/trillion (=ten thousand hundred-millions)
|-
| 10,000,000,000,000
| ''[[Contionary: seþ#Maltcégj|seþ]] [[Contionary: cep#Maltcégj|cep]] [[Contionary: jak#Maltcégj|jak]]''
| ten billion/trillion (=ten ten-thousand hundred-millions)
|-
| 100,000,000,000,000
| ''[[Contionary: sam#Maltcégj|sam]] [[Contionary: cep#Maltcégj|cep]] [[Contionary: jak#Maltcégj|jak]]''
| hundred billion/trillion (=hundred ten-thousand hundred-millions)
|-
| 1,000,000,000,000,000
| ''[[Contionary: seþ#Maltcégj|seþ]] [[Contionary: sam#Maltcégj|sam]] [[Contionary: cep#Maltcégj|cep]] [[Contionary: jak#Maltcégj|jak]]''
| billiard/quadrillion (=ten hundred ten-thousand hundred-millions)
|-
| 10,000,000,000,000,000
| ''[[Contionary: gwil#Maltcégj|gwil]]''
| ten billiard/quadrillion
|-
|}


Maltcégj numbers are base-10 (decimal), but they increase incrementally instead of in the more regular groups of three or six.  Therefore, numbers through 999 are enumerated just as they are in English, but the number 1,000 is considered “ten hundred,” or ''[[Contionary: seþ#Maltcégj|seþ]] [[Contionary: sam#Maltcégj|sam]]''. Thereafter, 10,000 is ''[[Contionary: cep#Maltcégj|cep]]'', 100,000 ''[[Contionary: seþ#Maltcégj|seþ]] [[Contionary: cep#Maltcégj|cep]]'' ‘ten ten-thousands’, 1,000,000 is ''[[Contionary: sam#Maltcégj|sam]] [[Contionary: cep#Maltcégj|cep]]'' ‘one hundred ten-thousands’, 10,000,000 is ''[[Contionary: seþ#Maltcégj|seþ]] [[Contionary: sam#Maltcégj|sam]] [[Contionary: cep#Maltcégj|cep]]'' ‘ten hundred ten-thousands’, and 100,000,000 is ''[[Contionary: jak#Maltcégj|jak]]''. The next increment after ''[[Contionary: jak#Maltcégj|jak]]'' is ''[[Contionary: gwil#Maltcégj|gwil]]'', which has a value of ten quadrillion (or ten billiard if you’re from some parts of Europe), followed by ''[[Contionary: ǧan#Maltcégj|ǧan]]'', which is a number large enough that you shouldn’t ever need it unless you’re counting individual atoms, but it’s something like one hundred nonillion (10³²).
A less common alternation is that of 〈b〉 and 〈v〉.  This occurs in the same environment as the second type of palatalisation (above), but instead of a true palatalisation, instead there is a shift of 〈v〉 to 〈b〉; or, more accurately, some paradigms without an original 〈j〉 are able to shift from 〈b〉 to 〈v〉 when intervocalic, but those with 〈j〉 are blocked from spirantizing.  


Compound numbers are spoken as they are written in English, from left to right, (optionally) inserting indicators for tens, hundreds, thousands, &c., so “twenty-nine” is ''[[Contionary: daiséþ#Maltcégj|daiséþ]] [[Contionary: nein#Maltcégj|nein]]'' ‘two tens nine’, while 3,587 is ''[[Contionary: transéþ#Maltcégj|transéþ]] [[Contionary: fremsám#Maltcégj|fremsám]] [[Contionary: relkséþ#Maltcégj|relkséþ]] [[Contionary: dan#Maltcégj|dan]]'' ‘three tens five hundreds eight tens seven, or thirty-five hundred eighty-seven’. Easier still, and less subject to misinterpretation, the numbers can simply be read from left to right, as in ''[[Contionary: tran#Maltcégj|tran]] [[Contionary: frem#Maltcégj|frem]] [[Contionary: relk#Maltcégj|relk]] [[Contionary: dan#Maltcégj|dan]]'' ‘three five eight seven’. These are all correct, just as it’s correct in English to say “three thousand five hundred eighty-seven,” “thirty-five hundred and eighty-seven,” “thirty-five eighty-seven,” or even (somewhat less correctly) “three five eight seven.” 
For example, the adjective ''drœ̄vis'' ‘muddy’ (from Griutungi ''*drōbīs'', cf. Gothic ''drōbeis'') has the dative singular form ''drœ̄bia'' (from ''*drōbja'').


The number “zero” should always be read as ''[[Contionary: zo#Maltcégj|zo]]'', not ''[[Contionary: bleg#Maltcégj|bleg]]'', though the two words are interchangeable in some circumstances. When the last digit is zero, however, it should be read as “''[[Contionary: seþ#Maltcégj|seþ]]'',” or “''[[Contionary: sam#Maltcégj|sam]]''“ if two zeros… It may sound a little strange, but we do the same thing in English. For example, 780 should be read ''[[Contionary: dan#Maltcégj|dan]] [[Contionary: relk#Maltcégj|relk]] [[Contionary: seþ#Maltcégj|seþ]]'' ‘seven eighty’; 7,800, ''[[Contionary: dan#Maltcégj|dan]] [[Contionary: relk#Maltcégj|relk]] [[Contionary: sam#Maltcégj|sam]]'' ‘seventy-eight hundred’; 78,000, ''[[Contionary: dan#Maltcégj|dan]] [[Contionary: relk#Maltcégj|relk]] [[Contionary: seþ#Maltcégj|seþ]] [[Contionary: sam#Maltcégj|sam]]'', ‘seventy-eight thousand, &c.
====Umlaut====


With the exception of the number ‘one’, the particle ''[[Contionary: gji#Maltcégj|gji]]'' indicates ordinality, much like the suffix ''-th'' for numbers 4 – 10 in English. Any number ending in ‘one’ takes the ordinal ''[[Contionary: adám#Maltcégj|adám]]'', just as we say first and second in English rather than ''**oneth'' or ''**twoth''.
Umlaut is another of those sound laws that no longer happens actively in the language, but it has become indicative of specific tenses or cases in the language, and may appear analogically in certain words.  


Maltcégj uses the particle ''[[Contionary: ak#Maltcégj|ak]]'' before a noun to indicate that it is plural, but this particle is not used when a number is presentFor example, ‘book’ is ''[[Contionary: klag#Maltcégj|klag]]'', ‘books’ is ''[[Contionary: aklág#Maltcégj|aklág]]'', but ‘two books’ is ''[[Contionary: klag#Maltcégj|klag]] [[Contionary: dai#Maltcégj|dai]]'' (no ''[[Contionary: ak#Maltcégj|ak]]''). (See '''[[#Nouns|Nouns]]''' for more on the use of the plural.)
*The accusative singular of strong nouns with palatalisation ''are not'' umlautedAll other forms of nouns with palatalisation ''are'' umlauted.
*The past subjunctive of verbs is umlauted except for the 3rd person singular, which never is. In informal speech, this may be umlauted by analogy.
*Verbs ending in ''–jan'' in Gothic have umlaut in the present and imperative. These verbs all end with ''–in'' in Valthungian.


If using decimals in numbers, the word ''[[Contionary: dat#Maltcégj|dat]]'' is used to mean ‘point’ or ‘dot’, though it literally means ‘seed’ or ‘egg’.
Umlaut in Valthungian initiates the following changes in the stressed vowel of a word:


== Articles & Determiners ==
*a → e - ''*s'''a'''tjan'' ‘to set’ → ''s'''e'''čin''
*ā → ǣ - ''*hl'''ah'''jan'' ‘to laugh’ → ''þl'''ǣ'''šin''
*ǭ (''Got''. 〈áu〉) → œ̄ - ''*h'''ǭ'''sjan'' ‘to hear’ → ''h'''œ̄'''šin''
*o (''Got''. 〈aú〉) → œ - ''*þ'''o'''rsjan'' ‘to thirst’ → ''þr'''œ'''šin''
*ō → œu - ''*hw'''ō'''tjan'' ‘to threaten’ → ''hu'''œu'''čin''
*u → y - ''*h'''u'''gjan'' ‘to think’ → ''h'''y'''ǧin''
*ū → ȳ - ''*hr'''ū'''kjan'' ‘to crow’ → ''þr'''ȳ'''čin''


Maltcégj has no definite article, and the indefinite article
NB: The word “Umlaut” can refer to several different types of vowel change in Germanic languages – i/j-umlaut, u/w-umlaut, and a-umlaut most commonly – but only one type ever occurred in Valthungian: Umlaut here is used to refer specifically to i/j-umlaut, also known as i-umlaut, front umlaut, or i-mutation.
''[[Contionary: am#Maltcégj|am]]'' is only used to specifically represent the number ‘one’. Its use of articles in this respect is very similar to Latin or Russian; definiteness is only expressed using the terms
''[[Contionary: úli#Maltcégj|úli]]'' ‘this’,  
''[[Contionary: úla#Maltcégj|úla]]'' ‘that’, and
''[[Contionary: úlot#Maltcégj|úlot]]'', ‘that (other) yonder’ (or, respectively, the proximal, medial, and distal deixes). There are additional deixes which are used úlot for discussing time (see Pro-Forms).


=== Correlatives and Pro-Forms ===
====Coronal Consonant Assimilation====


Most of the pro-forms in Maltcégj stem from combinations of common words, such as ‘this’ + ‘time’, meaning ‘now’, or ‘that’ + ‘thing’ meaning ‘that’. However, it is important to note some historical changes to the language to fully understand how the current forms came to be as they are.
This rule has a formidable name, but it is actually common to all Germanic languages. This rule states that whenever a coronal consonant (namely, d, t, or þ) is directly followed by 〈t〉 or 〈st〉, the former consonant 〈s〉. This accounts for the English word ''best'', from earlier ''betst'', from *''batest''. This applies mainly to second person singular preterit of strong verbs, e.g. ''ǧutna'' ‘to pour’ and ''biǧin'' ‘to bid’ have a second person preterit of ''gǭst'' ‘you poured’ and ''bast'' ‘you bade’, rather than the otherwise expected **''gǭtt'' and **''baþt''.


Maltcégj is a head-initial language, like modern Japanese, but the language family from which it is descended, Baraqesh, was head-final, like most modern Indo-European languages. That is to say that forms like ‘who’ (‘which person’) were originally in the order in which we use them in English today, but eventually reversed in the grammar (‘person which’). However, before this reversal occurred, many forms were contracted, particularly those with
====Blocking of Metathetical Unpacking====
''[[Contionary: mlau#Maltcégj|mlau]]'' ‘what’, so there is a duality of some seemingly unrelated forms. For example, ‘when’ (‘what’ + ‘time’) can be both
''[[Contionary: ðláimlau#Maltcégj|ðláimlau]]'' (literally ‘time-what’) and 
''[[Contionary: mlai#Maltcégj|mlai]]'', a contraction of an earlier
''*mlauðlai''.


The deixes
Another formidable name, but what this means is that at various times historically, sound changes caused unstressed /a/ to disappear before sonorants (/l/, /r/, /m/, or /n/), turning them into syllabics. This happened at least once before the Gothic era, giving rise to words like ''bagms'' and ''aþn'', and again before Valthungian, most notably collapsing the infinitive ''-an'' to ''-n''. Later on, syllabics were “unpacked;” that is, they regained the /a/ that had been lost, but it now appeared after the sonorant instead of before it. For example, Griutungi ''*brōþar'' ‘brother’ (Gothic ''brōþar'') and later Old Valthungian ''brouðar'' became Middle Valthungian ''brôðʀ'' with syllabic /r̩/, and eventually Modern Valthungian ''brōðra''. However, there are a few instances where this unpacking didn’t happen because the restoration of 〈a〉after the sonorant would have rendered the word unpronounceable, in which case the word reverts back to its pre-syllabic state.
''[[Contionary: ja#Maltcégj|ja]]'',
''[[Contionary: la#Maltcégj|la]]'', and  
''[[Contionary: þa#Maltcégj|þa]]'' always precede the noun they modify, even when they are used independently. (For more information on these, see Measurement of Time.)


Still other forms have no relation to the base form, but are listed here for convenience.
The practicality of this rule as it applies to modern Valthungian is that:


The most common correlatives can be found below.
*Dative plural a-stem nouns whose roots end in 〈–m〉 have the ending of 〈–am〉 rather than 〈–ma〉, e.g. ''vroms'' ‘worm’ has the dative plural of ''vromam'' rather than **''vromma''.
*Masculine strong a-stem nouns ending in 〈–n〉 have the the dative plural ending of 〈–am〉 (as above) and the accusative plural ending of 〈–ans〉 rather than 〈–nas〉, e.g. ''ǭns'' ‘oven’ has the dative plural of ''ǭnam'' and the accusative plural of ''ǭnans'' rather than **''ǭnma'' and **''ǭnnas''.
*Strong a-stem adjectives ending in 〈–n〉 have a masculine accusative singular of 〈–an〉 rather than 〈–na〉, e.g. ''ǣns'' → ''ǣnan'', not ''**ǣnna''
*The third person plural indicative of strong verbs and weak class 3 verbs end in ''-anþ'' rather than **''naþ''.


{| class="wikitable"
====Assimilation of [r] and [s]====
|-
!  !! Interrogative !! Relative !! Negative
|-
| Base forms:
| <center>''[[Contionary: mlau#Maltcégj|mlau]]'' (‘what’)</center>
| <center>''[[Contionary: kalk#Maltcégj|kalk]]'' (‘that, which’)</center>
| <center>''[[Contionary: bleg#Maltcégj|bleg]]'' (‘no’)</center>
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: lað#Maltcégj|lað]]''''' (‘person’)
| ''[[Contionary: lað#Maltcégj|lað]] [[Contionary: mlau#Maltcégj|mlau]], [[Contionary: mlað#Maltcégj|mlað]]'' (‘who’)
| ''[[Contionary: klað#Maltcégj|klað]], [[Contionary: kalk#Maltcégj|kalk]]'' (‘who’)
| ''[[Contionary: lað#Maltcégj|lað]] [[Contionary: bleg#Maltcégj|bleg]], [[Contionary: blað#Maltcégj|blað]]'' (‘no one’)
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: lak#Maltcégj|lak]]''''' (‘agent’)
| ''[[Contionary: lak#Maltcégj|lak]] [[Contionary: mlau#Maltcégj|mlau]], [[Contionary: mlak#Maltcégj|mlak]]'' (‘what’)
| ''[[Contionary: klak#Maltcégj|klak]], [[Contionary: kalk#Maltcégj|kalk]]'' (‘that’)
| ''[[Contionary: lak#Maltcégj|lak]] [[Contionary: bleg#Maltcégj|bleg]], [[Contionary: blak#Maltcégj|blak]]'' (‘nothing’)
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: ðrax#Maltcégj|ðrax]]''''' (‘thing’)
| ''[[Contionary: ðrax#Maltcégj|ðrax]] [[Contionary: mlau#Maltcégj|mlau]], [[Contionary: mlax#Maltcégj|mlax]]'' (‘what’)
| ''[[Contionary: klax#Maltcégj|klax]], [[Contionary: kalk#Maltcégj|kalk]]'' (‘which’)
| ''[[Contionary: ðrax#Maltcégj|ðrax]] [[Contionary: bleg#Maltcégj|bleg]], [[Contionary: blax#Maltcégj|blax]]'' (‘nothing’)
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: arán#Maltcégj|arán]]''''' (‘place’)
| ''[[Contionary: arán#Maltcégj|arán]] [[Contionary: mlau#Maltcégj|mlau]], [[Contionary: mlarán#Maltcégj|mlarán]]'' (‘where’)
| ''[[Contionary: klarán#Maltcégj|klarán]]'' (‘where’)
| ''[[Contionary: arán#Maltcégj|arán]] [[Contionary: bleg#Maltcégj|bleg]], [[Contionary: bláran#Maltcégj|bláran]]'' (‘nowhere’)
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: ðlai#Maltcégj|ðlai]]''''' (‘time’)
| ''[[Contionary: ðlai#Maltcégj|ðlai]] [[Contionary: mlau#Maltcégj|mlau]], [[Contionary: mlai#Maltcégj|mlai]]'' (‘when’)
| ''[[Contionary: klai#Maltcégj|klai]]'' (‘when’)
| ''[[Contionary: ðlai#Maltcégj|ðlai]] [[Contionary: bleg#Maltcégj|bleg]], [[Contionary: blai#Maltcégj|blai]]''<ref>While ''[[Contionary: blai#Maltcégj|blai]]'' may still be found in some texts, it is not generally used due to its homophonous relationship with the progressive particle (see [[Contionary: #Verbs|Verbs]]).</ref> (‘never’)
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: kþið#Maltcégj|kþið]]''''' (‘manner’)
| ''[[Contionary: kþið#Maltcégj|kþið]] [[Contionary: mlau#Maltcégj|mlau]], [[Contionary: mlið#Maltcégj|mlið]]'' (‘how’)
| ''[[Contionary: klið#Maltcégj|klið]]'' (‘how’)
| ''[[Contionary: kþið#Maltcégj|kþið]] [[Contionary: bleg#Maltcégj|bleg]], [[Contionary: blið#Maltcégj|blið]]'' (‘no way’)
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: mára#Maltcégj|mára]]''''' (‘quantity’)
| ''[[Contionary: mára#Maltcégj|mára]] [[Contionary: mlau#Maltcégj|mlau]], [[Contionary: mlára#Maltcégj|mlára]]'' (‘how much/many’)
| ''[[Contionary: klára#Maltcégj|klára]]'' (‘how much/many’)
| ''[[Contionary: mára#Maltcégj|mára]] [[Contionary: bleg#Maltcégj|bleg]], [[Contionary: blára#Maltcégj|blára]]'' (‘none’)
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: hímiem#Maltcégj|hímiem]]'''''<ref>The word ''[[Contionary: hímiem#Maltcégj|hímiem]]'' (‘reason’) is no longer used, but lives on in the pro-form contractions, where it is used exclusively over its nominal replacement, ''[[Contionary: frulúþ#Maltcégj|frulúþ]]''.</ref> (‘reason’)
| ''[[Contionary: mlímiem#Maltcégj|mlímiem]]'' (‘why’)
| ''[[Contionary: klímiem#Maltcégj|klímiem]]'' (‘why’)
| ''[[Contionary: blímiem#Maltcégj|blímiem]]'' (‘for no reason’)
|-
!  !! Proximal !! Medial !! Distal
|-
| Base forms:
| <center>''[[Contionary: jála#Maltcégj|jála]], [[Contionary: úli#Maltcégj|úli]]'' (‘this’)</center>
| <center>''[[Contionary: ðóra#Maltcégj|ðóra]], [[Contionary: úla#Maltcégj|úla]]'' (‘that’)</center>
| <center>''[[Contionary: þa#Maltcégj|þa]], [[Contionary: ulót#Maltcégj|ulót]]'' (‘yonder’)</center>
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: lað#Maltcégj|lað]]''''' (‘person’)
| ''[[Contionary: lað#Maltcégj|lað]] [[Contionary: úli#Maltcégj|úli]], [[Contionary: jlað#Maltcégj|jlað]]'' (‘this person’)
| ''[[Contionary: lað#Maltcégj|lað]] [[Contionary: úla#Maltcégj|úla]], [[Contionary: ðrað#Maltcégj|ðrað]]'' (‘that person’)
| ''[[Contionary: lað#Maltcégj|lað]] [[Contionary: ulót#Maltcégj|ulót]], [[Contionary: þlað#Maltcégj|þlað]]'' (‘the other person’)
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: lak#Maltcégj|lak]]''''' (‘agent’)
| ''[[Contionary: lak#Maltcégj|lak]] [[Contionary: úli#Maltcégj|úli]], [[Contionary: jlak#Maltcégj|jlak]]'' (‘this thing’)
| ''[[Contionary: lak#Maltcégj|lak]] [[Contionary: úla#Maltcégj|úla]], [[Contionary: ðrak#Maltcégj|ðrak]]'' (‘that thing’)
| ''[[Contionary: lak#Maltcégj|lak]] [[Contionary: ulót#Maltcégj|ulót]], [[Contionary: þlak#Maltcégj|þlak]]'' (‘the other thing’)
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: ðrax#Maltcégj|ðrax]]''''' (‘thing’)
| ''[[Contionary: ðrax#Maltcégj|ðrax]] [[Contionary: úli#Maltcégj|úli]], [[Contionary: jlax#Maltcégj|jlax]]'' (‘this’)
| ''[[Contionary: ðrax#Maltcégj|ðrax]] [[Contionary: úla#Maltcégj|úla]], [[Contionary: ðrax#Maltcégj|ðrax]]'' (‘that’)
| ''[[Contionary: ðrax#Maltcégj|ðrax]] [[Contionary: ulót#Maltcégj|ulót]], [[Contionary: þlax#Maltcégj|þlax]]'' (‘that (other)’)
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: arán#Maltcégj|arán]]''''' (‘place’)
| ''[[Contionary: jarán#Maltcégj|jarán]], [[Contionary: jlarán#Maltcégj|jlarán]]''<ref>''[[Contionary: jláran#Maltcégj|jláran]]'' is gradually becoming obsolete and has been broadly replaced by ''[[Contionary: járan#Maltcégj|járan]]''.</ref> (‘here’)
| ''[[Contionary: larán#Maltcégj|larán]], [[Contionary: ðrarán#Maltcégj|ðrarán]]'' (‘there’)
| ''[[Contionary: þarán#Maltcégj|þarán]]'' (‘up there, ahead’), '' [[Contionary: þrarán#Maltcégj|þrarán]]'' (‘elsewhere’)
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: ðlai#Maltcégj|ðlai]]''''' (‘time’)
| ''[[Contionary: jaðlai#Maltcégj|jaðlai]], [[Contionary: jlai#Maltcégj|jlai]], [[Contionary: nak#Maltcégj|nak]]'' (‘now’)
| ''[[Contionary: laðlai#Maltcégj|laðlai]], [[Contionary: ðraðlai#Maltcégj|ðraðlai]], [[Contionary: nos#Maltcégj|nos]]'' (‘then’)
| ''[[Contionary: þaðlai#Maltcégj|þaðlai]]'' (‘in the future’), ''[[Contionary: þraðlái#Maltcégj|þraðlái]]'' (‘some other time’)
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: kþið#Maltcégj|kþið]]''''' (‘manner’)
| ''[[Contionary: kþið#Maltcégj|kþið]] [[Contionary: úli#Maltcégj|úli]], [[Contionary: jlið#Maltcégj|jlið]]'' (‘like this’)
| ''[[Contionary: kþið#Maltcégj|kþið]] [[Contionary: úla#Maltcégj|úla]], [[Contionary: ðrið#Maltcégj|ðrið]]'' (‘like that’)
| ''[[Contionary: þkíð#Maltcégj|þkíð]]'' (‘some other way’)
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: mára#Maltcégj|mára]]''''' (‘quantity’)
| ''[[Contionary: mára#Maltcégj|mára]] [[Contionary: úli#Maltcégj|úli]], [[Contionary: márað#Maltcégj|márað]]'' (‘this much’)
| ''[[Contionary: mára#Maltcégj|mára]] [[Contionary: úla#Maltcégj|úla]], [[Contionary: márað#Maltcégj|márað]]'' (‘that much’)
| ''[[Contionary: mára#Maltcégj|mára]] [[Contionary: ulót#Maltcégj|ulót]]'' (‘that other amount’)
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: hímiem#Maltcégj|hímiem]]<ref>The word ''[[Contionary: hímiem#Maltcégj|hímiem]]'' (‘reason’) is no longer used, but lives on in the pro-form contractions, where it is used exclusively over its nominal replacement, ''[[Contionary: frulúþ#Maltcégj|frulúþ]]''.</ref>''''' (‘reason’)
|colspan=2| ''[[Contionary: ðrímiem#Maltcégj|ðrímiem]]'' (‘because’)
| ''[[Contionary: þrímiem#Maltcégj|þrímiem]]'' (‘for that reason’)
|-
|}


== Nouns ==
Historically, this is a sound change that occurred in the transition from Proto-Germanic to Gothic and is no longer persistent, but it has specific reflexes that affect Valthungian paradigms.


Maltcégj nouns are relatively straight-forwardThey do not inflect for case or number. Nouns are always the first word in a noun phrase (that is, they precede adjectives and adpositions), though genitive constructions may be constructed in ways that may seem contrary to this assertion (more on the genitive under [[#Adpositions|Adpositions]]).
The change initially applies to “light”-syllable nouns with stems ending in 〈-s〉 or 〈-r〉 in the masculine and feminine classes that take a final 〈-z〉 in the nominative singularE.g. PGmc. *''weraz'', *''drusiz'' → (Post-Germanic Short Unstressed Vowel Deletion) → *''werz'', *''drusz'' → (Final Obstruent Devoicing) → *''wers'', *''druss'' → (r/s-Assimilation) → Griutungi ''wer'', ''drus'' (cf. Gothic ''waír'' /wer/, ''drus'').


Nouns with two syllables which may double as verbs tend to have initial stress while the verb form has final stress, but this tendency is by no means a rule.
Later, beginning around the time of Early Middle Valthungian, this change was expanded analogously to other nouns and adjectives which had “heavy” syllables, and eventually the rule emerged that nouns and adjectives ending in 〈-r〉 and 〈-s〉 do not take an (additional) 〈-s〉 in the nominative singular, though they otherwise follow the paradigm of their particular stem. (E.g. ''*bērs'' → ''bēr'' ‘boar’, ''*stiur'' → ''sčur'' ‘steer’. One notable example of this phenomenon is the Germanic ''tersaz'' ‘''mentula''’ which became ''*ters'' in Griutungi, but was then reanalyzed as an exception to the original r-rule (instead of the s-rule that it actually is), and eventually it became ''ter'' in Valthungian. It remains, however, an unkind word.)


=== Indicating Plurality ===
====Affix Anaptyxis====


While there is no specific plural form of nouns, there is a plural particle, ''[[Contionary: ak#Maltcégj|ak-]]'', which can be optionally prefixed to the noun stem to specify plurality. ''[[Contionary: ak#Maltcégj|ak-]]'' is never used when a number is present or any other indicator that would already imply a plural.
When a prefix ends in the same letter as the root, /a/ is inserted to break up the resulting geminate. /a/ may also be added to avoid awkward consonant clusters. This is just part of a larger change in the general structure of the language in which many unstressed syllables appeared unbidden in Late Middle and Early Modern Valthungian causing the language to be almost entirely iambic. In Modern Valthungian all stressed syllables (primary and secondary) must de separated by an unstressed syllable.


For example:
Some of the most frequent are:
*af+f: Griutungi ''*affilhan'' → ''af'''a'''fílþna'' ‘to hide away’
*fer+r: Griutungi ''*ferrinnan'' → ''fer'''a'''rítnan'' ‘to attain’
*un+n: Griutungi ''*unnutans'' → ''un'''a'''nútans'' ‘unused; useless’


''[[Contionary: téfʌðu#Maltcégj|téfʌðu]]'' ‘table’<br />
However, the prefix ''us-'' becomes ''ut-'': Griutungi ''*ussandjan'' ''utsenǧin'' ‘to send out’
'''''[[Contionary: ak#Maltcégj|ak]]'''[[Contionary: téfʌðu#Maltcégj|téfʌðu]]'' ‘tables’<br />
''[[Contionary: téfʌðu#Maltcégj|téfʌðu]] [[Contionary: jamp#Maltcégj|jamp]]'' ‘four tables’<br />
''[[Contionary: téfʌðu#Maltcégj|téfʌðu]] [[Contionary: lexét#Maltcégj|lexét]]'' ‘many tables’


== Adpositions ==
==Pronouns==


Adpositions in Maltcégj are generally suffixed to the nouns they modify. They undergo very little inflection (so it is not considered a case system per se), but there is some variation in some nouns which end in vowels, as shown below. (Nouns can only end in the vowels 〈i〉, 〈a〉, 〈ǫ〉, 〈o〉, and 〈u〉. Nouns cannot end in 〈e〉 or 〈y〉. Nouns ending in 〈ʌ〉 take regular consonant endings except before ''-ʌ'' and ''-ʌk'', where the final 〈ʌ〉 of the noun becomes 〈l〉. Nouns ending in 〈ʀ〉 take regular consonant endings except before ''[[Contionary: -ʀ#Maltcégj|-ʀ]]'', which becomes ''-hʀ''. Most changes, however, simply involve adding an epenthetic 〈h〉 before the prefix or adding a diæresis or dot to the vowel of the adposition.
===Personal Pronouns===


{| class="wikitable"
The genitive pronouns form the base of the possessive determiners, but the third person non-reflexive genitives are never inflected. The third person singular and plural reflexive pronouns are identical. The non-singular pronouns may also take a reciprocal particle ''mīsa'', roughly equivalent to ‘each other’ or ‘one another.’
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"
|-
|-
! C#-
!width=100px|  !!width=65px| Nom. !!width=65px| Gen. !!width=65px| Dat. !!width=65px| Acc. !!
! [i]#-
! [a,ǫ]#-
! [o,u]#-
! Example
! Preposition Type
! Eng.  
! Ger.
! Lat.  
! Esp.
! Notes
|-
|-
| '''''-'''''
!1sg
| ''-i- ''
| ik || mīn || mis || mik ||align="left"| ''I, my, (to) me, me''
| ''-a-''
| ''-o- ''
| ''[[ek#Maltcégj|ek]] [[Contionary: klag#Maltcégj|klag]] [[Contionary: gnir#Maltcégj|gnir]].''<br />The book is green.’
| Nominative
| -
| (''Nom.'')  
| (''Nom.'')
| -
| Subject.
|-
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: -a#Maltcégj|a]]'''''
!2sg
| ''-iȧ ''
| þū || þīn || þis || þik ||align="left"| ''thou, thy, (to) thee, thee''
| ''-aha''
| ''-oȧ ''
| ''[[Contionary: dyd#Maltcégj|dyd]][[Contionary: kulóm#Maltcégj|kulóm]] [[Contionary: jǫg#Maltcégj|jǫg]] [[Contionary: klag#Maltcégj|klág]]'''[[Contionary: -a#Maltcégj|a]]'''.''<br />‘I saw '''the book'''.’
| Accusative
| -
| (''Acc.'')  
| (''Acc.'')
| -n
| Direct object.
|-
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: -að#Maltcégj|að]]'''''
!3sg.masc
| ''-iȧð ''
| is ||rowspan=2| is ||rowspan=2| itma || in ||align="left"| ''he, his, (to) him, him''
| ''-ahað''
| ''-oȧð ''
| ‘to the book’
| Dative
| to
| zu (+ ''Dat.'')
| ad
| al
| Indirect object.
|-
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: -ai#Maltcégj|ai]]'''''
!3sg.neu
| ''-iȧi ''
| it || it||align="left"| ''it, its, (to) it, it''
| ''-ahai''
| ''-oȧi ''
| ‘through (the middle of) the book’
| Perlative
| through
| durch (+ ''Acc.'')
| per
|
|
|-
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: -aj#Maltcégj|aj]]'''''
!3sg.fem
| ''-iȧj ''
| sī || ižas || iža || ī, iža ||align="left"| ''she, her, (to) her, her''
| ''-ahaj''
| ''-oȧj ''
| ‘during/throughout the book’
| Temporal Durative
| during
| während (+ ''Gen.'')
|
| dum
|
|-
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: -ala#Maltcégj|ala]]'''''
!3sg.refl
| ''-iȧla ''
| - || sīn || sis || sik ||align="left"| ''himself, herself, itself, &c''
| ''-ahala''
| ''-oȧla ''
| ‘between the books’
| Intrative
| between, among
| zwischen, unter (+ ''Dat.'')
| inter
|
| Automatically implies plural.
|-
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: -am#Maltcégj|alm]]'''''
!1du
| ''-iȧlm ''
| wit || unkar || unkis || unk ||align="left"| ''we two, our, (to) us, us''
| ''-ahalm''
| ''-oȧlm ''
| ‘without the book’
| Abesso-caritive
| without
| ohne (+ ''Acc.'')
| sine
| sen
|
|-
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: -alx#Maltcégj|alx]]'''''
!2du
| ''-iȧlx ''
| ǧut || inkur || inkus || inko ||align="left"| ''you/ye two, your, (to) you, you''
| ''-ahalx''
| ''-oȧlx ''
| ‘on (the side of) the book’
| Adessive
| on
| an (+ ''Dat.'')
|
|
|
|-
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: -ap#Maltcégj|ap]]'''''
!1pl
| ''-iȧp ''
| wīs || unsar || unsis || uns ||align="left"| ''we all, our, (to) us, us''
| ''-ahap''
| ''-oȧp ''
| ‘on (top of) the book’
| Superessive
| on
| auf (+ ''Dat.'')
|
| sur
|
|-
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: -arak#Maltcégj|arak]]'''''
!2pl
| ''-iȧrak ''
| jūs || ižur || ižus || ižus ||align="left"| ''you/ye all, your, (to) you, you''
| ''-aharak''
| ''-oȧrak''
| ‘(leaning) against the book’
| Revertive
| against
| gegen (+ ''Acc.'')
| versus
| kontraux
|
|-
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: -av#Maltcégj|av]]'''''
!3pl.masc
| ''-iȧv ''
| īs ||rowspan=3| iža ||rowspan=3| im || ins ||align="left" rowspan=3| ''they, their, (to) them, them''
| ''-ahav''
| ''-oȧv ''
| ‘after the book’
| Postessive
| following
| folgend, zunächst
| post
| post
|
|-
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: -eð#Maltcégj|eð]]'''''
!3pl.neu
| ''-iëð ''
| ī, iža || ī, iža
| ''-aheð''
| ''-oëð ''
| ‘around the book’
| Circumessive
| around
| um (+ ''Acc.'')
| circum
| cxirkaux
|
|-
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: -eki#Maltcégj|eki]]'''''
!3pl.fem
| ''-iëki ''
| ižas || ižas
| ''-aheki''
| ''-oëki ''
| ‘up to/until the book’
| Allato-terminative
| until
| bis (+ ''Acc.'')
|  
|  
|
|-
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: -eloï#Maltcégj|eloï]]'''''  
!3pl.refl
| ''-iëloï ''  
| - || sīn || sis || sik ||align="left"| ''themselves''
| ''-aheloï''  
|}
| ''-oëloï''
 
| ‘about/concerning the book’
===Indefinite Pronouns===
|
 
| about
The interrogative and negative pronouns can take the adverbial complement ''hun'', which gives them the sense of ‘any’. Additionally, the interrogative pronouns may double as elective pronouns. For example, ''huat'' ‘what’ or ‘something’; ''huat hun'' ‘anything’.
| über (+ ''Dat.'')
 
|
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"
| pri
|
|-
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: -em#Maltcégj|em]]'''''
!width=100px| !!width=65px| Nom. !!width=65px| Gen. !!width=65px| Dat. !!width=70px| Acc. !!
| ''-iëm ''
| ''-ahem''
| ''-oëm ''
| ‘over/above the book’
|
| over
| über (+ ''Dat.'')
| supra
| super
|
|-
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: -ei#Maltcégj|ei]]'''''
!inter.masc
| ''-iëi ''
| huas ||rowspan=2| huis ||rowspan=2| huatma || huan ||align="left"| ''who, whose, to whom, whom''
| ''-ahei''
| ''-oëi ''
| ‘in the book’
| Inessive
| in
| in (+ ''Dat.'')
| in(tra)
| en
|
|-
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: -fra#Maltcégj|fra]]'''''
!inter.neu
| ''-ifra ''
| huat || huat ||align="left"| ''what, &c''
| ''-afra''
| ''-ofra ''
| ‘with books’ (as in ‘strewn’)
|  
| with
| mit (+ ''Dat.'')
|
| kun
|
|-
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: -i#Maltcégj|i]]'''''
!inter.fem
| ''-ihi ''
| huō || huižas || huiža || huō ||align="left"| ''who, &c''
| ''-ahi''
| ''-oï ''
| ‘for the book’
| Benefactive
| for
| für (+ ''Acc.'')
|
| por
|
|-
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: -ið#Maltcégj|ið]]'''''
!gen.
| ''-ihið ''
| guma || gumins || gumin || gumna ||align="left"| ''one, one’s, &c''
| ''-ahið''
| ''-oïð ''
| ‘before/prior to the book’
| Temporal
| before
| bevor (+ ''Dat.'')
| ante
|
|
|-
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: -ij#Maltcégj|ij]]'''''
!univ.masc
| ''-ihij ''
| huažuþ ||rowspan=3| huižuþ ||rowspan=2| huatmaþ || huanaþ ||align="left"| ''everyone, everyone’s, &c''
| ''-ahij''
| ''-oïj ''
| ‘after the books’
| Temporal
| after, according to
| nach (+ ''Dat.'')
| secundum
| laux
|
|-
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: -ili#Maltcégj|ili]]'''''
!univ.neu
| ''-ihili ''
| huāþ || huāþ ||align="left"| ''everything, everything’s, &c''
| ''-ahili''
| ''-oïli''
| ‘next to/beside/near the book’
| Apudessive
| next to
| neben (+ ''Dat.'')
| prope
| apud
|
|-
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: -im#Maltcégj|im]]'''''
!univ.fem
| ''-ihim ''
| huōþ || huižaþ || huōþ ||align="left"| ''everyone, everyone’s, &c''
| ''-ahim''
| ''-oïm ''
| ‘along(side) the books’
| Vialis
| along
| (''Dat.''+) entlang
|
|
|
|-
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: -is#Maltcégj|is]]'''''
!neg.masc
| ''-ihis ''
| nījus ||rowspan=2| nījus ||rowspan=2| nījutma || nījun ||align="left"| ''noöne, noöne’s, &c''
| ''-ahis''
| ''-oïs ''
| ‘instead of the book’
| Excambiative
| instead of
| statt (+ ''Gen.'')
|
| anstataux
|
|-
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: -it#Maltcégj|it]]'''''  
!neg.neu
| ''-ihit ''  
| nījut || nījut ||align="left"| ''nothing, nothing’s, &c''
| ''-ahit''  
|}
| ''-oït ''  
 
| ‘behind the book’
===Distributive Pronouns===
|
 
| behind
The distributive pronouns are non-singular pronouns formed when the personal pronouns were fused with the distributive particles ''huaðru'' ‘each of two’ and ''huerižu'' ‘each of many’. In most forms they have now become inseparable from their root components; e.g. compare the dual genitive second person ''inkur'' and distributive ''huaðrižu'', but the distributive pronoun ''inkuáðrižu''. While the distributives as determiners, by definition, take a singular verb, the distributive pronouns take the non-singular verb of their respective pronouns, e.g. ''Aplas huerižu gatiða itnas'' ‘Each apple was eaten’, but ''Īshuerižu gatiðun itna'' ‘Each of them was eaten’.
| hinter (+ ''Dat.'')
 
| pone, post
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"
| malantaux
|
|-
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: -iþ#Maltcégj|iþ]]'''''
!width=100px| !!width=65px| Nom. !!width=65px| Gen. !!width=65px| Dat. !!width=70px| Acc. !!
| ''-ihiþ ''
| ''-ahiþ''
| ''-oïþ ''
| ‘under the book’
| Subessive
| under
| unter (+ ''Dat.'')
| subter
| sub
|
|-
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: -lef#Maltcégj|lef]]'''''
!1du
| ''-ilef ''
| withuáðruþ || unkuáðrižuþ || unkuáðratmaþ || unkuáðranuþ ||align="left"| ''each of the two of us''
| ''-alef''
| ''-olef ''
| ‘like the books’
| Comparative
| like
| wie (+ ''Nom.'')
|
| kiel
|
|-
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: -ʌ#Maltcégj|ʌ]]'''''
!2du
| ''-il ''
| ǧuthuaðruþ || inkuaðrižuþ || inkuaðratmaþ || inkuaðranuþ ||align="left"| ''each of the two of you''
| ''-al''
| ''-ol ''
| ‘by the book’
| Agentive
| by
| von (+ ''Dat.'')
|
| per
|
|-
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: -ʌk#Maltcégj|ʌk]]'''''
!1pl
| ''-ilk ''
| wīshuerižuþ || unshuerižuþ || unshueritmaþ || unshuerinuþ ||align="left"| ''each of us''
| ''-alk''
| ''-olk ''
| ‘by means of the book’
| Instrumental
| with
| mit (+ ''Dat.'')
| cum
| per
|
|-
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: -o#Maltcégj|o]]'''''
!2pl
| ''-iȯ ''
| jūshuerižuþ || ižuhuerižuþ || ižushueritmaþ || ižushuerinuþ ||align="left"| ''each of you''
| ''-aho''
| ''-oho ''
| ‘from the book’
| Delative
| from
| von (+ ''Dat.'')
|
| de
|
|-
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: -oc#Maltcégj|oc]]'''''
!3pl.masc
| ''-iȯc ''
| īshuerižuþ ||rowspan=3| ižahuerižuþ ||rowspan=3| imhueritmaþ || inshuerinuþ ||align="left"| ''each of them''
| ''-ahoc''
| ''-ohoc ''
| ‘at the time of the book’
| Temporal
| at the time of
| an (+ ''Acc.'')
|
| cxe
|
|-
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: -ok#Maltcégj|ok]]'''''
!3pl.neu
| ''-iȯk ''
| ižashuerituþ || ižashuerituþ ||align="left"| ''each of them''
| ''-ahok''
| ''-ohȯk ''
| ‘with the book’
| Commitative
| with
| mit (+ ''Dat.'')
| simul
| kun
|
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: -ol#Maltcégj|ol]]'''''
| ''-iȯl ''
| ''-ahol''
| ''-ohȯl ''
| ‘except for the book’
| Exclusive
| except for
| außer (+ ''Dat.'')
|
|
|
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: -om#Maltcégj|om]]'''''
| ''-iȯm ''
| ''-ahom''
| ''-ohȯm ''
| ‘in front of the book’
|
| in front of
| vor (+ ''Dat.'')
| prae
| antaux
|
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: -ǫg#Maltcégj|ǫg]]'''''
| ''-iǫ̇g ''
| ''-ahǫg''
| ''-ohǫ̇g ''
| ‘anti-book’
| Contrative
| against, anti
| wider (+ ''Acc.''), -feindlich
| contra
| kontraux
|
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: -ʀ#Maltcégj|ʀ]]'''''  
| ''-ihʀ ''
| ''-ahʀ''
| ''-ohʀ ''
| ‘pro-book’
|
| for, pro
| pro- (+ ''Acc.''), -freundlich
| pro
|
|
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: -ul#Maltcégj|ul]]'''''
| ''-iu̇l ''
| ''-ahul''
| ''-ou̇l ''
| ‘(made) of books’
| Exessive
| made from
| aus (+ ''Dat.'')
| ex
| el
|
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: -ut#Maltcégj|ut]]'''''
| ''-iu̇t ''
| ''-ahut''
| ''-ou̇t ''
| ‘out of the book’
| Elative
| out of
| aus (+ ''Dat.'')
| ex
| el
|
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: -vul#Maltcégj|vul]]'''''
| ''-ivul ''
| ''-avul''
| ''-ovul ''
| ‘because of the book’
| Causal
| because of
| wegen (+ ''Gen.'')
| propter
| pro
|
|-
| '''''[[Contionary: u-#Maltcégj|u]]'''''
| ''uï-''
| ''uȧ-''
| ''uȯ- ''
| ‘-’s book, the book belonging to’
| Possessed
| ‘s, of
| (''Gen.''), von
| (''Gen.'')
| de
|
|-
|-
!3pl.fem
| ižahueriþ || ižahueriþ ||align="left"| ''each of them''
|}
|}


== Adjectives ==
==Numbers==
 
===Declinable Numerals===


Adjectives in Maltcégj generally follow the noun they modify.
====Singular (‘one’)====


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"
|-
|-
| [[Contionary: wíðoc#Maltcégj|wíðoc]]
!width=65px| !!width=65px| Nom. !!width=65px| Gen. !!width=65px| Dat. !!width=65px| Acc.
| [[Contionary: calíc#Maltcégj|calíc]]
|-
|-
| sky
!masc.
| blue
| ǣns ||rowspan=2| ǣnis ||rowspan=2| ǣnatma || ǣnan
|-
|-
|colspan=2| ‘blue sky’
!neu.
| ǣn(at) || ǣn(at)
|-
!fem.
| ǣna || ǣnažas || ǣna || ǣna
|-
|}
|}


However, when an adjective is used as a copula, it may stand on its own as a predicate to ''ek'' (‘to be’), or be treated as a verb in its own right.
====Dual (‘two, both’)====


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"
! !!colspan=4| Numeral !! !! colspan=4| Distributive
|-
|-
| ''[[Contionary: ek#Maltcégj|ek]]''
!width=65px|  !!width=65px| Nom. !!width=65px| Gen. !!width=65px| Dat. !!width=65px| Acc.
| ''[[Contionary: gnída#Maltcégj|gnída]]''
!style="border-top: none;border-bottom: none" width=10px rowspan=4|  
| ''[[Contionary: gnir#Maltcégj|gnir]]''
!width=65px| Nom. !!width=65px| Gen. !!width=65px| Dat. !!width=65px| Acc.
|rowspan=2| (or)
| ''[[Contionary: gnir#Maltcégj|gnir]]''
| ''[[Contionary: gnída#Maltcégj|gnída]]''
|-
|-
| is
! masc.
| grass
| tuǣ ||rowspan=3| tuǣǧa ||rowspan=3| tuǣm || tuans
| green
| bǣ ||rowspan=3| bǣǧa ||rowspan=3| bǣm || bans
| is-green
| grass
|-
|-
|colspan=6| ‘The grass is green.
! neu.
| tuā || tuā
| bā ||
|-
! fem.  
| tuōs || tuōs
| bōs || bōs
|}
|}


=== Comparison, Superference, and Equation ===
====Trial (‘three, all three’) ====


In English there are two distinct ways to create the comparative and superlative when talking about adjectives: By adding the words “more” and “most” to adjectives of Latin derivation, and by adding the suffixes “-er” and “-est” to those of Germanic origin. (Granted, this is a little bit simplified, but that’s the general idea.) Maltcégj only has one word for each of these types of comparative and superlative, but there are a few other ways that we cheat our way around in English. I also include here the equative phrase “as … as” and the negative comparative and superlative “less” and “least.”
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"
 
! !!colspan=4| Numeral !! !! colspan=4| Distributive
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|-
| ''[[Contionary: narán#Maltcégj|narán]]''
!width=65px| !!width=65px| Nom. !!width=65px| Gen. !!width=65px| Dat. !!width=65px| Acc.
| most, -est
!style="border-top: none;border-bottom: none" width=10px rowspan=4|
!width=65px| Nom. !!width=65px| Gen. !!width=65px| Dat. !!width=65px| Acc.
|-
|-
| ''[[Contionary: nan#Maltcégj|nan]]''
! masc.
| more, -er
| þrīs ||rowspan=3| þriža ||rowspan=3| þrim || þrins
| þrǣ ||rowspan=3| þrǣža ||rowspan=3| þrǣm || þrans
|-
|-
| ''[[Contionary: amán#Maltcégj|amán]]''
! neu.
| as…as, as much, equally
| þrī, þriža || þrī, þriža
| þrā || þrā
|-
|-
| ''[[Contionary: pan#Maltcégj|pan]]''
! fem.
| less
| þrīs || þrins
|-
| þreǧis || þreǧis
| ''[[Contionary: palán#Maltcégj|palán]]''
| least
|-
|-
|}
|}


All of these words precede the adjectives they modify, unless the adjective is used explicitly as a verb, and therefore the subject of the sentence. It is not uncommon or incorrect in this case to use ''[[Contionary: ek#Maltcégj|ek]]'' as the verb and to treat the adjective as the object. When comparing the qualities of a specific noun, the postposition ''[[Contionary: að#Maltcégj|að]]'' is used as we would use “than” in English (or “as” when used with ''[[Contionary: amán#Maltcégj|amán]]'').
===Undeclinable Numerals===


When any of these are used in combination with an adjective that begins with /b/ or /p/, the final /n/ changes to /m/, e.g. ''[[Contionary: pan#Maltcégj|pan]]''+''[[Contionary: bjólet#Maltcégj|bjólet]]''=''[[Contionary: pambjólet#Maltcégj|pambjólet]]'' ‘worse’. If the adjective begins with /m/, /n/ is elided entirely, e.g. ''[[Contionary: nan#Maltcégj|nan]]''+''[[Contionary: mot#Maltcégj|mot]]''=''[[Contionary: namót#Maltcégj|namót]]'' ‘emptier’. (See Phonology.)
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"
 
|-
{| class="wikitable"
! !!width=100px| # !!width=100px| 1# !!width=100px| 2# ||width=100px| #0 !!width=100px| #00 !!width=100px| #000 !!width=100px| #000
|-
!  0
| (nǣns) || tǣjun (tǣn) || tuǣtiǧis|| ''-tiǧis''|| ''tēhund'' || ''þūsunde'' || ''-ljǭn''
|-
!  1
| ([[Valthungian#Singular_.28.E2.80.98one.E2.80.99.29|ǣns]]) || ǣnlif || tuǣtiǧis ǣns|| ''tǣjun'' || ǣn hund || ǣna þūsunde || miljǭn
|-
!  2
| ([[Valthungian#Dual_.28.E2.80.98two.2C_both.E2.80.99.29|tuǣ]]) || tualif || tuǣtiǧi tuǣ|| tuǣtiǧis || tuā hunda || tuōs þūsunǧis || biljǭn
|-
!  3
| ([[Valthungian#Trial_.28.E2.80.98three.2C_all_three.E2.80.99.29|þrīs]]) || þrižatǣn || tuǣtiǧi þrīs|| þrīstiǧis || þrī hunda || þrīs þūsunǧis || þriljǭn
|-
|-
! Predicative
! 4
! Verbal
| fiður (fiðra) || fiðratǣn || tuǣtiǧi fiður|| fiðratiǧis || fiður hunda || fiður þūsunǧis || friljǭn
!
|-
|-
| ''[[Contionary: ek#Maltcégj|ek]] [[Contionary: pel#Maltcégj|pel]] [[Contionary: ak#Maltcégj|ak]][[Contionary: adína#Maltcégj|adína]][[Contionary: að#Maltcégj|hað]] [[Contionary: mes#Maltcégj|mes]] [[Contionary: kúluï#Maltcégj|kúluï]] '''[[Contionary: narandíð#Maltcégj|narandíð]]'''''<br /> (is she PL-sister-than her-own all most-beautiful)
!  5
| '''''[[Contionary: dið#Maltcégj|dið]]''' [[Contionary: pel#Maltcégj|pel]] '''[[Contionary: narán#Maltcégj|narán]]''' [[Contionary: ak#Maltcégj|ak]][[Contionary: adína#Maltcégj|adína]][[Contionary: að#Maltcégj|hað]] [[Contionary: mes#Maltcégj|mes]] [[Contionary: kúluï#Maltcégj|kúluï]]''<br /> (is-beautiful she most PL-sister-than her-own all)
| fim || fimfatǣn || tuǣtiǧi fim|| fimtiǧis || fim hunda || fim þūsunǧis || fimfiljǭn
| ‘She is the most beautiful of all her sisters.’
|-
|-
| ''[[Contionary: ek#Maltcégj|ek]] [[Contionary: pul#Maltcégj|pul]] [[Contionary: janád#Maltcégj|janád]] '''[[Contionary: nambjólet#Maltcégj|nambjólet]]'''''<br /> (is he today more-good)
!  6
| '''''[[Contionary: bjólet#Maltcégj|bjólet]]''' [[Contionary: pul#Maltcégj|pul]] [[Contionary: janád#Maltcégj|janád]] '''[[Contionary: nan#Maltcégj|nan]]'''''<br /> (is-good he today more)
| sǣs || sǣstatǣn || tuǣtiǧi sǣs|| sǣstiǧis || sǣs hunda || sǣs þūsunǧis || sǣsiljǭn
| ‘He is better today.’
|-
|-
| ''[[Contionary: ek#Maltcégj|ek]] [[Contionary: paj#Maltcégj|paj]] [[Contionary: wíðoc#Maltcégj|wíðoc]][[Contionary: að#Maltcégj|að]] '''[[Contionary: amán#Maltcégj|aman]][[Contionary: calíc#Maltcégj|calíc]]'''''<br /> (is it sky-as as-much-blue)
!  7
| '''''[[Contionary: calíc#Maltcégj|calíc]]''' [[Contionary: paj#Maltcégj|paj]] '''[[Contionary: amán#Maltcégj|amán]]''' [[Contionary: wíðoc#Maltcégj|wíðoc]][[Contionary: að#Maltcégj|að]]''<br /> (is-blue it as-much as-sky)
| sivun (sivna) || sivnatǣn || tuǣtiǧi sivun|| sivnatiǧis || sivun hunda || sivun þūsunǧis || sivniljǭn
| ‘It’s as blue as the sky.’
|-
|-
| ''[[Contionary: ek#Maltcégj|ek]] [[Contionary: paj#Maltcégj|paj]] [[Contionary: vlág#Maltcégj|vlág]][[Contionary: aran#Maltcégj|aran]][[Contionary: að#Maltcégj|að]] '''[[Contionary: pan#Maltcégj|pan]][[Contionary: xac#Maltcégj|xac]]'''''<br /> (is it school-than less-difficult)
!  8
| '''''[[Contionary: xac#Maltcégj|xac]]''' [[Contionary: paj#Maltcégj|paj]] [[Contionary: vlág#Maltcégj|vlág]][[Contionary: aran#Maltcégj|aran]][[Contionary: að#Maltcégj|að]] '''[[Contionary: pan#Maltcégj|pan]]'''''<br /> (is-difficult it school-than less)
| āta (āt) || ātatǣn || tuǣtiǧis āta|| ātatiǧis || āta hunda || āta þūsunǧis || ātatiljǭn
| It’s less difficult than school.
|-
|-
| ''[[Contionary: ek#Maltcégj|ek]] [[Contionary: klag#Maltcégj|klag]] '''[[Contionary: palambokúra#Maltcégj|palambokúra]]'''''<br /> (is book least-favorite)
!  9
| '''''[[Contionary: bokúra#Maltcégj|bokúra]]''' [[Contionary: klag#Maltcégj|klag]] '''[[Contionary: palán#Maltcégj|palán]]'''''<br /> (is-favorite book least)
| njun || njunatǣn || tuǣtiǧi njun|| njuntiǧis || njun hunda || njun þūsunǧis || njuniljǭn
| It’s (my) least favorite book.
|-
|-
|}
|}


==Verbs==
The numbers in Valthungian – as in most languages – have gone through more phonological change than other words, and as a result, there are some irregularities.  Four numbers have two forms (some of which may be optional). There is also an innovated trial distributive (‘all three’), probably by analogy with the dual (''bǣ'' ‘both’). The number ‘one’, usually alternating with the indefinite article in most languages, is used merely for counting purposes, as an indefinite article is not used in Valthungian.
 
The number ‘four’ is ''fiður'', where we would normally expect **''fidur'' through regular sound change (specifically, the change of /d/ to /ð/ would normally be blocked by the following /w/ in ''*fidwōr''). There is also a further lenited form of ''fiðra'', which is optional when it stands alone, but standard in compounds. (Gothic also had two versions of ‘four’: ''fidwōr'' and a compound form ''fidur''.)
 
The number ‘seven’ has the expected form of ''sivun'', but also a lenited form of ''sivna'', again, required in compounds but otherwise optional. ‘Eight’ is ''āta'', but may optionally be lenited to ''āt''. (This is a newer innovation, and is not considered to be correct in writing.) Finally ‘ten’ is ''tǣjun'' or lenited ''tǣn'', the latter being used exclusively in the “teen” numbers.
 
For compounding numbers, Griutungi and Gothic separated each of the number’s components with the word ''jah'' (‘and’, now ''jā''), but Valthungian has dispensed with this and now uses ''i'' – possibly a shortened form of ''jā'' – only before the last component. For numbers ending with ''–tiǧis'', a further contraction has become standard, and the new suffix is shortened to ''–tiǧi'', e.g. ''þrīstiǧi fim'' ‘thirty-five’. ''Hund'' becomes ''hundi'' and ''hunda'' is also contracted to ''hund·i'', ''þūsunde'' to ''þūsund·i'', and ''þūsunǧis'' to ''þūsunǧi''. (Note the lack of apostrophic interpunct in ''-tiǧi'', ''hundi'', and ''þūsunǧi''.) No ''-i-'' is added before numbers beginning with a vowel, i.e. ''ǣn-'' and ''āta''.


As Maltcégj is a “VSO” language, most sentences begin with a verb. Verbs can only be preceded by conjunctions and particles (most of which are prefixed to the verb).
Number terms higher than ‘thousand’ are ostensibly borrowed from Latin, though they contain their own Germanic innovations, e.g. ''þriljǭn'' ‘trillion’, ''fiðriljǭn'' ‘quadrillion’, ''fimfiljǭn'' ‘quintillion’, instead of the expected **''triljǭn'', **''kuaðriljǭn'', and **''kuintiljǭn''.


There is no inflection on verbs; all tenses, moods, aspects, voices, and modalities are conveyed by particles, which operate much like they do in Mandarin Chinese. (The equivalent Mandarin particles are included in the table below for further clarity.)
Another note concerning the higher numbers: Valthungian follows the ''[[w:Long_and_short_scale|short scale]]'' for higher numbers (whereas many European languages currently use the long scale); that is, each new number term is one thousand times larger than the previous term (whereas in the long scale, each new term is one million times larger). This is further confused by the now-standard European “hybrid” model where intermediate terms in the long scale are applied to the “thousands” with the suffix ‘-ard’. The following table is applicable to most modern standards:


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"
|-
|-
! Particle !! !! TAMV !! E.g.
! N⁰ !! Numerals !!width=100px| Valthungian !!width=130px| Short !!width=130px| Hybrid !!width=130px| Long !!width=100px| Metric
|-
|-
| ''[[Contionary: vrei#Maltcégj|vrei]]''  
!  10³ 
| 吧
|align="right"| 1,000 || þūsunde ||colspan=3 align="center"| thousand || '''k'''''ilo''
| Imperative
| ''[[Contionary: vrei#Maltcégj|vrei]][[Contionary: tcok#Maltcégj|tcók]]!'' Go!
|-
|-
| ''[[Contionary: men-#Maltcégj|men]]''  
!  10⁶ 
| 吧,請
|align="right"| 1,000,000 || miljǭn ||colspan=3 align="center"| million || '''M'''''ega''
| Jussive
| ''[[Contionary: men#Maltcégj|men]][[Contionary: tcok#Maltcégj|tcók]].'' Please go.
|-
|-
| ''[[Contionary: cʌþ#Maltcégj|cʌþ]]''
!  10⁹ 
|
|align="right"| 1,000,000,000  || biljǭn || billion || milliard || thousand million || '''G'''''iga''
| Interrogative
| ''[[Contionary: cʌþ#Maltcégj|cʌþ]] [[Contionary: tcok#Maltcégj|tcok]] [[Contionary: mélem#Maltcégj|mélem]]?''<ref>Unlike other particles, ''[[Contionary: cʌþ#Maltcégj|cʌþ]]'' does not combine with the verb; it stands on its own as an individual word.</ref> Are you going?
|-
|-
| ''[[Contionary: bleg#Maltcégj|bleg]]''
!  10¹²
| 不,沒
|align="right"| 1,000,000,000,000  || þriljǭn || trillion || billion || billion || '''T'''''era''
| Negative
| ''[[Contionary: bleg#Maltcégj|bleg]][[Contionary: tcok#Maltcégj|tcók]] [[Contionary: mélem#Maltcégj|mélem]].'' You’re not going.
|-
|-
| ''[[Contionary: lǫ#Maltcégj|lǫ]]''
!  10¹⁵
| -
|align="right"| 1,000,000,000,000,000  || fiðriljǭn || quadrillion || billiard || thousand billion || '''P'''''eta''
| Subjunctive
| ''[[Contionary: lǫtcég#Maltcégj|lǫtcég]] [[Contionary: kleg#Maltcégj|kleg]] [[Contionary: lǫ#Maltcégj|lǫ]][[Contionary: tcok#Maltcégj|tcók]] [[Contionary: mélem#Maltcégj|mélem]].'' It is important that you go.
|-
|-
| ''[[Contionary: dyd#Maltcégj|dyd]]''
!  10¹⁸
|
|align="right"| 1,000,000,000,000,000,000  || fimfiljǭn || quintillion || trillion || trillion || '''E'''''xa''
| Past
| ''[[Contionary: dyd#Maltcégj|dyd]][[Contionary: tcok#Maltcégj|tcók]] [[Contionary: mélem#Maltcégj|mélem]].'' You went.
|-
|-
| ''[[Contionary: nag#Maltcégj|nag]]''
!  10²¹
|
|align="right"| 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000  || sǣsiljǭn || sextillion || trilliard || thousand trillion || '''Z'''''etta''
| Future
| ''[[Contionary: nag#Maltcégj|nag]][[Contionary: tcok#Maltcégj|tcók]] [[Contionary: mélem#Maltcégj|mélem]].'' You will go.
|-
|-
| ''[[Contionary: dla#Maltcégj|dla]]''  
!  10²⁴
| 就,剛
|align="right"| 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000  || sivniljǭn || septillion || quadrillion || quadrillion || '''Y'''''otta''
| Immediacy
| ''(always combined with other particles – see below)''
|-
|-
| ''[[Contionary: kwarþ#Maltcégj|kwarþ]]''
!  10²⁷
|
|align="right"| 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000  || ātatiljǭn || octillion || quadrilliard || thousand quadrillion || -
| Perfect
| ''[[Contionary: kwarþ#Maltcégj|kwarþ]][[Contionary: tcok#Maltcégj|tcók]] [[Contionary: mélem#Maltcégj|mélem]].'' You have gone.
|-
|-
| ''[[Contionary: blai#Maltcégj|blai]]''
!  10³⁰
| 正在
|align="right"| 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 || njuniljǭn || nonillion || quintillion || quintillion || -
| Progressive
| ''[[Contionary: blai#Maltcégj|blai]][[Contionary: tcok#Maltcégj|tcók]] [[Contionary: mélem#Maltcégj|mélem]].'' You are (in the process of) going.
|-
|-
| ''[[Contionary: kan#Maltcégj|kan]]''  
|}
| 還
 
| Continuative
===Ordinal Numbers and Other Number Forms===
| ''[[Contionary: kan#Maltcégj|kan]][[Contionary: tcok#Maltcégj|tcók]] [[Contionary: mélem#Maltcégj|mélem]].'' You are still going.
 
Ordinal numbers are usually formed by adding a dental suffix to the end of a number, though there is some suppletion for the first and second ordinals, and the third is irregular (just as is the case in English). In Proto-Germanic and Gothic, all of the ordinals except for first and second took only the weak declension, but all ordinals now take both strong and weak declensions according to standard rules of adjectives.
 
The multiplicative numbers arise from a conflation of the word ''þīfs'' ‘time, occurrence’ with the genitive singular form of the ordinal number, resulting in a robust albeit historically incorrect derivation system. In Griutungi, the concept of multiple occurrences was expressed simply as a number and the accusative of the word ''þīhs'' ‘time, occurrence’: ''ǣn þīhs'' ‘once’, ''tua þīhsa'' ‘twice’, ''þrija þīhsa'' ‘three times’, and so on. Gradually these constructions fused together (Old Valthungian: ''aenþijhs'', ''tuaþijhsa'', ''þrijþijhsa''…) and perhaps based on the more common analogue of ‘twice’, around the time of Early Middle Valthungian they were reanalyzed as a genitive ending affixed to an ordinal (Middle Valthungian: ''ǣnþis'', ''tuaþis'', ''þriþis''…) The forms of the first three multiplicatives aren’t even particularly odd, in terms of language evolution, but that apparent ordinal + genitive construction was then applied analogously to the rest of the numbers, so where we might otherwise expect ''fim þīfs'' ‘five times’ to have become ''fimþis'', instead we find the ordinal form ''fimftis''.
 
Fractions are formed from the archaic genitive plural form of numbers followed by ''dǣlaro'', literally ‘of ___ parts’, e.g. ¾ = þrīs fiðra dǣlaro = ‘three of four parts’. (This is equivalent to the modern German construction of affixing ''-tel'' to the end of numbers, e.g. ''drittel'', ''viertel'', ''zehntel'', &c., ''-tel'' being a direct equivalent of ''dǣl-''.) The genitive numbers are a holdover from ancient times, and are rarely used outside of the context of fractions; in fact, most fractions are formed by simply adding a suffix of ''-a'' to the end of a number, without any consideration that it might have once been a genitive.
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"
|-
|-
| ''[[Contionary: gak#Maltcégj|gak]]''
!rowspan=2| &nbsp;
| -
!colspan=3| Ordinal
| Habitual
!colspan=2 rowspan=2| Multiplicative
| ''[[Contionary: gak#Maltcégj|gak]][[Contionary: tcok#Maltcégj|tcók]] [[Contionary: mélem#Maltcégj|mélem]].'' You (often/regularly) go.
!colspan=2 rowspan=2| Fractional
|-
|-
| ''[[Contionary: kla#Maltcégj|kla]]''
! (Strong)
| -
! (Weak)
| Terminative
! &nbsp;
| ''[[Contionary: kla#Maltcégj|kla]][[Contionary: tcok#Maltcégj|tcók]] [[Contionary: mélem#Maltcégj|mélem]].'' You have stopped going.
|-
|-
| ''[[Contionary: guc#Maltcégj|guc]]''
! 1
| -
| frumist, frums
| Inceptive
| frumista, fruma
| ''[[Contionary: guc#Maltcégj|guc]][[Contionary: tcok#Maltcégj|tcók]] [[Contionary: mélem#Maltcégj|mélem]].'' You have started to go.
| first
| ǣniþis
| once, one time
|colspan=2| --
|-
|-
| ''[[Contionary: rak#Maltcégj|rak]]''
! 2
|
|colspan=2| anðra
| Passive
| second
| ''[[Contionary: rak#Maltcégj|rak]][[Contionary: kulóm#Maltcégj|ulóm]] [[Contionary: mélem#Maltcégj|mélem]].'' You are seen.
| tuaþis
| twice, two times
| halbž, tuǣǧa dǣlaro
| half
|-
|-
|}
! 3
 
| þrīǧis
The particles can be used in many combinations to create new tenses, moods, and aspects, but they must always be used in the very specific order above. Some of these combinations have undergone epenthesis, creating seemingly unique particles.  Some examples:
| þrīǧa
 
| third
{| class="wikitable"
| þriþis
| thrice, three times
| þriža dǣlaro
| third
|-
|-
! Particle !!  TAMV !! E.g.
! 4
| fiðraþs
| fiðraða
| fourth
| fiðurþis
| four times
| fiðra dǣlaro
| quarter/fourth
|-
|-
| ''[[Contionary: nakwarþ#Maltcégj|nakwarþ]] ([[Contionary: nag#Maltcégj|nag]] + [[Contionary: kwarþ#Maltcégj|kwarþ]])''
! 5
| Future Perfect
| fimft
| ''[[Contionary: nakwarþ#Maltcégj|nakwarþ]][[Contionary: tcok#Maltcégj|tcók]] [[Contionary: mélem#Maltcégj|mélem]].'' You will have gone.
| fimfta
| fifth
| fimftis
| five times
| fimfa dǣlaro
| fifth
|-
|-
| ''[[Contionary: nagblai#Maltcégj|nagblai]]''
! 6
| Future progressive
| sǣst
| ''[[Contionary: nagblai#Maltcégj|nagblai]][[Contionary: tcok#Maltcégj|tcók]] [[Contionary: mélem#Maltcégj|mélem]].'' You will be going.
| sǣsta
| sixth
| sǣstis
| six times
| sǣsa dǣlaro
| sixth
|-
|-
| ''[[Contionary: naglǫ#Maltcégj|naglǫ]]''
! 7
| Future subjunctive
| sivunþs
| ''[[Contionary: lǫtcég#Maltcégj|lǫtcég]] [[Contionary: kleg#Maltcégj|kleg]] [[Contionary: naglǫ#Maltcégj|naglǫ]][[Contionary: tcok#Maltcégj|tcók]] [[Contionary: mélem#Maltcégj|mélem]].'' It is important that you would go.
| sivunþa
| seventh
| sivunþis
| seven times
| sivna dǣlaro
| seventh
|-
|-
| ''[[Contionary: dydnag#Maltcégj|dydnag]]''
! 8
| Conditional
| ātuþs
| ''[[Contionary: dydnag#Maltcégj|dydnag]][[Contionary: tcok#Maltcégj|tcók]] [[Contionary: mélem#Maltcégj|mélem]].'' You would go.
| ātuða
| eighth
| ātuðis
| eight times
| āta dǣlaro
| eighth
|-
! 9
| njunþs
| njunþa
| ninth
| njunþis
| nine times
| njuna dǣlaro
| ninth
|-
|-
| ''[[Contionary: dygwarþ#Maltcégj|dygwarþ]] ([[Contionary: dyd#Maltcégj|dyd]] + [[Contionary: kwarþ#Maltcégj|kwarþ]])''
! 10
| Pluperfect
| tǣjunþs
| ''[[Contionary: dygwarþ#Maltcégj|dygwarþ]][[Contionary: tcok#Maltcégj|tcók]] [[Contionary: mélem#Maltcégj|mélem]].'' You had gone.
| tǣjunþa
| tenth
| tǣjunþis
| ten times
| tǣjun dǣlaro
| tenth
|-
|-
| ''[[Contionary: dydblai#Maltcégj|dydblai]]''
! 11
| Imperfect
| ǣnlift
| ''[[Contionary: dydblai#Maltcégj|dydblai]][[Contionary: tcok#Maltcégj|tcók]] [[Contionary: mélem#Maltcégj|mélem]].'' You were going.
| ǣnlifta
| eleventh
| ǣnliftis
| eleven times
| ǣnliva dǣlaro
| eleventh
|-
|-
| ''[[Contionary: dydlǫ#Maltcégj|dydlǫ]]''
! 12
| Past subjunctive
| tuālift
| ''[[Contionary: lǫtcég#Maltcégj|lǫtcég]] [[Contionary: kleg#Maltcégj|kleg]] [[Contionary: dydlǫ#Maltcégj|dydlǫ]][[Contionary: tcok#Maltcégj|tcók]] [[Contionary: mélem#Maltcégj|mélem]].'' It was important that you went.
| tuālifta
| twelfth
| tuāliftis
| twelve times
| tuāliva dǣlaro
| twelfth
|-
|-
| ''[[Contionary: dydnakwarþ#Maltcégj|dydnakwarþ]]''
! 13
| Conditional perfect
| þrižatǣnþs
| ''[[Contionary: dydnakwarþ#Maltcégj|dydnakwarþ]][[Contionary: tcok#Maltcégj|tcók]] [[Contionary: mélem#Maltcégj|mélem]].'' You would have gone.
| þrižatǣnþa
| thirteenth
| þrižatǣnþis
| thirteen times
| þrižatǣjun dǣlaro
| thirteenth
|-
|-
| ''[[Contionary: dydla#Maltcégj|dydla]] ([[Contionary: dyd#Maltcégj|dyd]] + [[Contionary: dla#Maltcégj|dla]])''
! 20
| Immediate past
| tuǣtiǧist
| ''[[Contionary: dydla#Maltcégj|dydla]][[Contionary: tcok#Maltcégj|tcók]] [[Contionary: mélem#Maltcégj|mélem]].'' You just went.
| twǣtiǧista
| twentieth
| tuǣtiǧistis
| twenty times
| tuǣtiǧa dǣlaro
| twentieth
|-
|-
| ''[[Contionary: nagdla#Maltcégj|nagdla]]''
! 100
| Immediate future
| hundaþs
| ''[[Contionary: nagdla#Maltcégj|nagdla]][[Contionary: tcok#Maltcégj|tcók]] [[Contionary: mélem#Maltcégj|mélem]].'' You are about to go.
| hundaða
| hundredth
| hundaðis
| a hundred times
| hunda dǣlaro
| hundredth
|-
|-
| ''[[Contionary: dydnagdla#Maltcégj|dydnagdla]]''
! 1,000
| Immediate future II
| þūsundiþs
| ''[[Contionary: dydnagdla#Maltcégj|dydnagdla]][[Contionary: tcok#Maltcégj|tcók]] [[Contionary: mélem#Maltcégj|mélem]].'' You were about to go.
| þūsundiða
| thousandth
| þūsundiðis
| a thousand times
| þūsunǧa dǣlaro
| thousandth
|-
|-
| ''[[Contionary: cleglǫ#Maltcégj|cleglǫ]]''<ref>''[[Contionary: cléglǫ#Maltcégj|cléglǫ]]'' is a contraction of ''[[Contionary: lǫtcég#Maltcégj|lǫtcég]] [[Contionary: kleg#Maltcégj|kleg]] [[Contionary: lǫ#Maltcégj|lǫ]]'' ‘it is important that’.</ref>
! 1,000,000
| Cohortative
| miljǭnþs
| ''[[Contionary: cleglǫ#Maltcégj|cleglǫ]][[Contionary: tcok#Maltcégj|tcók]] [[Contionary: mélem#Maltcégj|mélem]].'' You’d better go.
| miljǭnþa
| millionth
| miljǭnþis
| a million times
| miljǭna dǣlaro
| millionth
|-
|-
|}
|}


There are more, but one step at a time. You can plug many of these together, but be certain to retain the strict order:
===Alternative Numbers===


<center>'''[[Contionary: vrei#Maltcégj|vrei]] – [[Contionary: men#Maltcégj|men]] – [[Contionary: cʌþ#Maltcégj|cʌþ]] – [[Contionary: bleg#Maltcégj|bleg]] – [[Contionary: cleg#Maltcégj|cleg]] – [[Contionary: lǫ#Maltcégj|lǫ]] – [[Contionary: dyd#Maltcégj|dyd]] – [[Contionary: nag#Maltcégj|nag]] – [[Contionary: dla#Maltcégj|dla]] – [[Contionary: kwarþ#Maltcégj|kwarþ]] – [[Contionary: blai#Maltcégj|blai]] – [[Contionary: kan#Maltcégj|kan]] – [[Contionary: gak#Maltcégj|gak]] – [[Contionary: kla#Maltcégj|kla]] – [[Contionary: guc#Maltcégj|guc]] – [[Contionary: rak#Maltcégj|rak]]'''</center>
The Gothic number system, modeled after the Greek system (in turn modeled after the Hebrew), which used the letters of the alphabet instead of separate unique characters, continued to be used well into the middle ages ([[Middle Valthungian]]), and certain taboo numbers came to be called by their character representation rather than their numeric form.  Primarily among these numbers was ‘13’, which was written in Gothic as ''·ig·''.  This also occurred with the numbers ‘113’ (''rig''), ‘213’ (''sig''), ‘313’ (''tig''), ‘413’ (''wig''), and ‘513’ (''fig'').  (This was not mirrored in the higher numbers of the hundreds, because most of those combinations would have been unpronounceable.)


==Adverbs==
The number ‘19’ is also sometimes called ''iþ'' by the same formulation.


Adverbs in Maltcégj normally immediately follow the finite verb. (The exception are adverbial phrases and temporal adverbs, which immediately follow the subject.)
Certain slang terms have also developed out of this system, in reverse, as it were. For example, the homophony of hortative particle ''iþ'' with the number ''19'' gives rise to a nominal form ''þat njunatǣn'' referring to a duty or obligation. Similarly, a ‘road’ or ‘highway’ is sometimes referred to as a ‘413’ (''fiður-þrižatǣn''), written ''wig'' (the accusative of ''wiǧ'' (‘road’).


In order to create adverbs from adjectives, the particle ''[[Contionary: lef#Maltcégj|lef-]]'' is prefixed (much as one would add ''–ly'' in English or ''–ment(e)'' in the Romance languages).
A much more recent slang term that has evolved from this system is the use of the number ‘843’ to represent the (unpronounceable) letter combination ''·omg·''.


===Measurement of Time===
==Articles & Determiners==


As discussed briefly in the section on Correlatives and Pro-Forms, time words can be modified with three particles: '''''[[Contionary: la#Maltcégj|la-]]''''' (‘past’), '''''[[Contionary: ja#Maltcégj|ja-]]''''' (‘present’), or '''''[[Contionary: þa#Maltcégj|þa-]]''''' (‘future’). When combined with a noun that begins with a vowel, the ''a-'' of each prefix is dropped.
Valthungian has two definite articles, '''' and ''his'', both of which are equivalent to ‘the,’ but may also be translated as ‘that’ and ‘this’, respectively. Where there is a lack of clear proximity-based dichotomy, '''' is usually preferred.


''[[Contionary: ja#Maltcégj|ja-]]'' is a contraction of the older (now obsolete) proximal deixis ''[[Contionary: jála#Maltcégj|jála]]'', which is also contracted to ''[[Contionary: jla#Maltcégj|jla-]]'' in some of the other [[Contionary: #Correlatives|Correlatives (see)]].  Similarly, ''[[Contionary: þa#Maltcégj|þa-]]'' is a contraction of the distal deixis ''[[Contionary: þúla#Maltcégj|þúla]]'', which also contracts to ''[[Contionary: þla#Maltcégj|þla-]]'' or ''[[Contionary: þra#Maltcégj|þra-]]''. (The older medial deixis was ''[[Contionary: ðóra#Maltcégj|ðóra]]'', which is unrelated to ''[[Contionary: la#Maltcégj|la-]]'', but still used as contracted ''[[Contionary: ðra#Maltcégj|ðra-]]'' in other Correlatives.)
There is no indefinite article in Valthungian.


Some of the most common constructions are listed below:
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle"
 
{| class="wikitable"
|-
| ''[[Contionary: ðlai#Maltcégj|ðlai]]'' ‘time’
| ''[[Contionary: laðlai#Maltcégj|'''la'''ðlai]]'' ‘then, back then’
| ''[[Contionary: jaðlai#Maltcégj|'''ja'''ðlai]]'' ‘now’
| ''[[Contionary: þaðlai#Maltcégj|'''þa'''ðlai]]'' ‘in the future’
|-
|-
| ''[[Contionary: nad#Maltcégj|nad]]'' ‘day’
!width=100px| !!width=65px| Nom. !!width=65px| Gen. !!width=65px| Dat. !!width=65px| Acc. ||style="border-top: none;border-bottom: none" width=10px rowspan=7| !!width=65px| Nom. !!width=65px| Gen. !!width=65px| Dat. !!width=65px| Acc.
| ''[[Contionary: lanad#Maltcégj|'''la'''nad]]'' ‘yesterday’
| ''[[Contionary: janad#Maltcégj|'''ja'''nad]]'' ‘today’
| ''[[Contionary: þanad#Maltcégj|'''þa'''nad]]'' ‘tomorrow’
|-
|-
| ''[[Contionary: temét#Maltcégj|temét]]'' ‘morning’
!masc.sg
| ''[[Contionary: latemét#Maltcégj|'''la'''temét]]'' ‘yesterday morning’
| sā ||rowspan=2| þis ||rowspan=2| þatma || þan
| ''[[Contionary: jatemét#Maltcégj|'''ja'''temét]]'' ‘this morning’
|his ||rowspan=2| his ||rowspan=2| hitma || hin
| ''[[Contionary: þatemét#Maltcégj|'''þa'''temét]]'' ‘tomorrow morning’
|-
|-
| ''[[Contionary: bará#Maltcégj|bará]]'' ‘afternoon’
!neu.sg 
| ''[[Contionary: labará#Maltcégj|'''la'''bará]]'' ‘yesterday afternoon’
| þat || þat
| ''[[Contionary: jabará#Maltcégj|'''ja'''bará]]'' ‘this afternoon’
| hit || hit
| ''[[Contionary: þabará#Maltcégj|'''þa'''bará]]'' ‘tomorrow afternoon’
|-
|-
!fem.sg 
| ''[[Contionary: ápten#Maltcégj|ápten]]'' ‘evening’
| || þižas || þiža || þō
| ''[[Contionary: lápten#Maltcégj|'''l'''ápten]]'' ‘yesterday evening’
| hiža || hižas || hiža || hī, hiža
| ''[[Contionary: jápten#Maltcégj|'''j'''ápten]]'' ‘this evening’
|-
| ''[[Contionary: þápten#Maltcégj|'''þ'''ápten]]'' ‘tomorrow evening’
!masc.pl
|-
| þǣ ||rowspan=3| þiža ||rowspan=3| þǣm || þans
| ''[[Contionary: beríc#Maltcégj|beríc]]'' ‘night’
| hīs ||rowspan=3| hiža ||rowspan=3| him || hins
| ''[[Contionary: laberíc#Maltcégj|'''la'''beríc]]'' ‘last night’
| ''[[Contionary: jaberíc#Maltcégj|'''ja'''beríc]]'' ‘tonight’
| ''[[Contionary: þaberíc#Maltcégj|'''þa'''beríc]]'' ‘tomorrow night’
|-
| ''[[Contionary: danjád#Maltcégj|danjád]]'' ‘week’
| ''[[Contionary: ladanjád#Maltcégj|'''la'''danjád]]'' ‘last week’
| ''[[Contionary: jadanjád#Maltcégj|'''ja'''danjád]]'' ‘this week’
| ''[[Contionary: þadanjád#Maltcégj|'''þa'''danjád]]'' ‘next week’
|-
| ''[[Contionary: rúma#Maltcégj|rúma]]'' ‘month’
| ''[[Contionary: larúma#Maltcégj|'''la'''rúma]]'' ‘last month’
| ''[[Contionary: jarúma#Maltcégj|'''ja'''rúma]]'' ‘this month’
| ''[[Contionary: þarúma#Maltcégj|'''þa'''rúma]]'' ‘next month’
|-
| ''[[Contionary: avíl#Maltcégj|avíl]]'' ‘year’
| ''[[Contionary: lavíl#Maltcégj|'''l'''avíl]]'' ‘last year’
| ''[[Contionary: javíl#Maltcégj|'''j'''avíl]]'' ‘this year’
| ''[[Contionary: þavíl#Maltcégj|'''þ'''avíl]]'' ‘next year’
|-
|-
!neu.pl 
| þō || þō
| hī, hiža || hī, hiža
|-
!fem.pl 
| þōs || þōs
| hižas || hižas
|-
|}
|}


These prefixes can also be used in with the word ''[[Contionary: ðlai#Maltcégj|ðlai]]'' (above) to form adjectives meaning ‘past’, ‘present’, and ‘future’, respectively, as well as ''[[Contionary: arán#Maltcégj|arán]]'' ‘place’, (which has some specific connotations depending on how it’s used).
==A Note on Terminology: “Strong” vs. “Weak”==
 
In most Germanic languages, nouns, verbs, and adjectives tend to be broken into categories considered “strong” and “weak.”
In verbs, these denote two of the many categories into which verbs may be broken, “strong” verbs being those that form the preterit by means of ablaut, and “weak” being those that form the preterit with a suffix containing some manner of dental consonant. There are further classifications of preterit-present, aorist-present, subjunctive-present, and anomalous, and many of them overlap with the simplistic “strong” and “weak” descriptors. (See [[#Verbs|Verbs]] for more information.)
 
This usage is completely unrelated to strong and weak nouns and adjectives, in which “weak” means that the words cling to their determiner endings inherited from Proto-Indo-European, which usually have an /n/ inserted between the root and the ending.
 
And even though the meaning of strong and weak in nouns and adjectives are historically related, their usage is not: In nouns, like the verbs, this is merely a convenient way of categorising certain types of nouns which take certain endings. In adjectives, however, the use of a strong or weak adjective depends on whether other determiners are present in the same noun phrase; most adjectives have both a strong and a weak declension.
 
For the purposes of this text, I dispense with the traditional strong and weak categories as relates to nouns and simply relate the various stem classes into which nouns can be classified, based on their inherited Proto-Germanic endings (which include the /n/ infix where applicable). Since these endings can be irregular and each class must be learned by rote anyway, there is no need in the context of the Valthungian language to add this additional arbitrary distinction. I maintain the use of the terms for verbs and adjectives, though, to be honest, their usage with verbs could easily be similarly eschewed; the only area  where these distinctions are really functionally important is in the discussion of adjectives.
 
==Nouns==
 
Noun classes differ by suffix vowel class and by gender. They may also differ by glides (/j/ or /w/) suffixed to the stem and/or the presence of infixive /n/. The main classes are those stems in /a/ or /ō/, in /i/, in /u/, or in /n/ (as described below: See A Note on Strong and Weak Nouns). There is also a very small class in /r/ having to do with familial relations. Some former noun classes in Gothic (such as consontant-stem and nd-stem nouns) have been regularised in Valthungian through paradigmatic levelling, and their declensions have been assimilated into other classes.
 
Every noun in Valthungian (and many of the older Germanic languages, as well as modern German and Icelandic) has eight possible forms. These are the singular and plural forms of the nominative (those nouns which comprise the subject of the sentence), genitive (those used to indicate possession or relation), dative (the indirect object), and accusative (the direct object).
 
Masculine and feminine strong nouns usually take an ending of –s for the nominative singular, while neuter nouns take no ending. The genitive is almost universally indicated by –is (this is equivalent to the “ ’s ” of the English possessive). The dative usually takes –a. The accusative usually does not take any ending.
 
In the plural, Masculine and feminine nouns usually take –as as an ending; neuter takes –a. The genitive plural takes –aro, borrowed from Latin. The dative plural takes –am, but in many cases this ending undergoes a process of metathesis, rendering it –ma. Finally, the accusative plural of masculine and feminine nouns is usually –ans, but again may metathesise to –nas; neuter accusative plurals generally take –a.
 
Most of the actual declensions of nouns are fairly standard – much more standardised, in fact, than Gothic – however, the various phonological rules governing the language create a great deal of variation (See Phonology). It is important to be familiar with the rules set forth in the Phonology section of this document in order to fully understand some of the otherwise unexpected variants that emerge.
 
===a-Stems (Masculine & Neuter)===
 
====Pure a-Stems====
{{Template:Valthungian/n.st.m.a|slēp|slēp|sleep}}
 
====ja-Stems====
{{Template:Valthungian/n.st.m.ja|tep|tap|carpet}}
 
====ija-Stems====
{{Template:Valthungian/n.st.m.ija|end|enǧ|and|end}}
 
====wa-Stems====
{{Template:Valthungian/n.st.m.wa|skað|skað|shadow}}
 
====wja-Stems====
{{Template:Valthungian/n.st.m.wja|nǭ|naug|neug|corpse}}
<!--
===ō-Stems (Feminine)===
 
====Pure ō-Stems====
 
====jō-Stems====
 
====ijō-Stems====
 
====wō-Stems====
 
===i-Stems (Masculine & Feminine)===
 
====Pure i-Stems====
 
====wi-Stem====
 
===u-stems (all genders)===


==Sentence Structure==
====Pure u-Stems====


The word order in Maltcégj is very strict. Because all aspects of the language are indicated by particles, there is no need to change the word order.  Sentences are formed using a VSO structure; that is, verb – subject – object.  This is the basis of every sentence, but there can be more to a sentence than just these components.  Other components of a sentence are treated just as rigidly. Every clause will flow in the same order, even if it does not contain all of these elements:
====ju-Stem====


<center>Conjunction – Verbal Particle – Primary Verb – Adverb – Secondary Verb – Subject – Direct Object – Temporal Clause – Spatial Clause – Indirect Object</center>
===r-Stem (Masculine & Feminine)===


Some examples:
===ōn-Stem (all genders)===


''I nicely gave the book to the man at his house this morning.''
====Pure ōn-Stem====


'''I''' [subject] '''nicely''' [adverb, i.e. how the action is taking place] '''gave''' [verb, past tense] '''the book''' [direct object, i.e. what is being given] '''to the man''' [indirect object] '''at his house''' [spatial clause, i.e. where the action is taking place] '''this morning''' [temporal clause, i.e. when the action is taking place].
====jōn-Stem====
 
====wōn-Stem====
 
====wjōn-Stem====
-->
 
==Verbs==
===Strong Verbs===
====Strong Verbs: Class I (ī – ǣ – i – i)====
{{Template:Valthungian/v.st.1p|grī|grǣ|gri}}
 
====Strong Verbs: Class II (ju – ǭ – u – u)====
{{Template:Valthungian/v.st.2p|strju|strǭ|stru|stry}}
 
Because of the shift of the vowel from '''iu''' to '''ju''', when a class II verb begins with a consonant that is subject to palatalisation, some unusual patterns may emerge as a result.
{{Template:Valthungian/v.st.2čugun|}}
 
Those class II verbs which are descended from ProtoGermanic *-euwaną have a slightly different paradigm, as the medial /w/ undergoes Verschärfung in East Germanic to /ngw/, and the result, with the exception of the past singular, is remarkably similar to class III.
{{Template:Valthungian/v.st.2w|bl}}
 
====Strong Verbs: Class III (i – a – u – u)====
 
Class III strong verbs are those verbs with /i/ (historically /e/) as the root vowel which is followed by a sonorant (r, l, m, n) and an obstruent (p, t, k, b, d, g, f, þ, s, h), or, rarely, two obstruents (e.g. /hs/, /gd/). Ablaut causes the second principle part to shift to /a/, and the third and fourth to /u/.
 
{{Template:Valthungian/v.st.3nd|bi|ba|ba|bu|by}}
 
In verbs where /r/ is the sonorant in question, the paradigm shifts to /e/ in the first principle part and /o/ in the third (due to the [[Valthungian/Rules#EGmc_Reflex_of_1st_Umlaut|East Germanic Reflex of First Umlaut]]).
 
{{Template:Valthungian/v.st.3rg|be|ba|ba|bo|bœ}}
 
====Strong Verbs: Class IV (i – a – ē – u)====
{{Template:Valthungian/v.st.4m|kui|kua|kuē|kū}}
 
In verbs where /r/ is the sonorant in question, the paradigm shifts to /e/ in the first principle part and /o/ in the third (due to the [[Valthungian/Rules#EGmc_Reflex_of_1st_Umlaut|East Germanic Reflex of First Umlaut]]).
 
{{Template:Valthungian/v.st.4r|b}}
 
====Strong Verbs: Class V (i – a – ē – i)====
 
{{Template:Valthungian/v.st.5þ|kui|kua|kuē|kui}}
 
====Strong Verbs: Class VI (a – ō – ō – a)====
 
{{Template:Valthungian/v.st.6g|dra|drō|drœu|dra}}
 
====Strong Verbs: Class VII (reduplication)====
{{Template:Valthungian/v.st.7t|hǣ|hehǣ|hehǣ}}
<!--<small>Class VII strong verbs form the past by reduplication; that is, the first letter is repeated, followed by 〈e〉, then followed by the remainder of the verb and the usual strong endings.<br />
Verbs beginning with 〈s〉 followed by a stop (i.e. 〈sp〉, 〈st〉, or 〈sk〉), the first two letters are repeated.<br />
When the stressed vowel is short, it must also be marked with an acute diacritic.</small>-->
 
{{Template:Valthungian/v.st.7t|lē|lelō|lelœu}}
<!--<small>Verbs with 〈ē〉 as the primary vowel may also show ablaut to 〈ō〉 in the past (and subsequently umlaut to 〈œ̄〉 in the past subjunctive).</small>-->
 
===Weak Verbs===
====Weak Verbs: Class Ia (-janą)====
{{Template:Valthungian/v.wk.1ja-pal|leǧ|leg|lag}}
 
====Weak Verbs: Class Ib (-ijaną)====
{{Template:Valthungian/v.wk.1ija-pal|blenč|blenk|blank}}
 
====Weak Verbs: Class II (-ōną)====
{{Template:Valthungian/v.wk.2|fišk}}
 
====Weak Verbs: Class III (-āną)====
{{Template:Valthungian/v.wk.3|ǧuk}}
 
====Weak Verbs: Class IV (-naną)====
====Weak Verbs: Class V (-ną)====
 
===Preterit-Present Verbs===
 
{{Template:Valthungian/v.pp.ǣgna|}}
 
{{Template:Valthungian/v.pp.dorsna|}}
 
{{Template:Valthungian/v.pp.dugna|}}
 
{{Template:Valthungian/v.pp.kutnan|}}
 
{{Template:Valthungian/v.pp.lisna|}}
 
{{Template:Valthungian/v.pp.magna|}}
 
{{Template:Valthungian/v.pp.mōtna|}}
 
{{Template:Valthungian/v.pp.munan|}}
 
{{Template:Valthungian/v.pp.nugna|}}
 
{{Template:Valthungian/v.pp.ōgna|}}
 
{{Template:Valthungian/v.pp.skulna|}}
 
{{Template:Valthungian/v.pp.witna|}}
 
{{Template:Valthungian/v.pp.þorvan|}}
 
Finally, '''wilin''' is not actually a preterit-present verb, but a subjunctive-present verb. However, it seems to fit best here amongst its other quasi-anomalous quasi-auxiliary brethren.
 
{{Template:Valthungian/v.pp.wilin|}}
 
===Anomalous Verbs===
''Dōn'' is sometimes categorised as a Class VII strong verb, though it does not follow the same reduplication or ablaut patterns of other verbs in this class. Some Germanic philologists also argue that the ancestor of Proto-Germanic ''dōną'' actually gave rise to the /d/-reduplication in the past tense of weak and preterit-present verbs.
 
{{Template:Valthungian/v.st.7dōn}}
 
The present indicative tense of ''gǣn/gangna'' has two forms – a short and a long form – as did the non-finite forms (the infinitive and the participles) as well as most of the imperatives. The past tenses show suppletion, and have been replaced by ''īǧ-'' from Proto-Germanic *''ijj-'', the same source as Old English ''ēode'', and ultimately related to the Latin verb ''ire''.
 
{{Template:Valthungian/v.st.7gang}}
 
The present indicative tense of ''stǣn/standna'' has two forms – a short and a long form – as did the non-finite forms (the infinitive and the participles) as well as most of the imperatives. Though it acts like a Class VI verb in how it ablauts in the past, there is also a parallel form with reduplication, indicating Class VII.
 
{{Template:Valthungian/v.st.6stand}}
 
''Visna'' is easily the most heavily suppleted of the Germanic verbs. Aside from the obvious ''vis-'' stem, which is completely missing from the present tenses, the present shows two other stems, ''i-'' and ''sī''. The imperative also has an anomalous ''ī'' as an alternative for the second person singular, though it is unrelated to the ''i-'' stem of the present, and may actually come from Latin ''ī'', imperative form of ''ire'' (‘to go’).
 
{{Template:Valthungian/v.st.5wis}}
 
===Compound Tenses===
====Forming the Perfect====
 
In Gothic, there was no explicit perfect or perfective aspect in verbs. In order to express the perfect, sometimes the prefix ''ga-'' was added to verbs. Latin had a dedicated perfect inflection in verbs.
 
In later Germanic and Romance languages, the perfect was formed by combining an auxiliary verb (usually ‘have’ or ‘be’) with a participle. In languages which make the distinction (such as French, German, and Italian), ‘have’ is used with most transitive verbs, while ‘be’ is reserved for intransitive verbs dealing with change of state or motion. Valthungian maintains a similar transitive/intransitive distinction as the aforementioned languages, but the distinction is much broader (purely transitive/intransitive, rather than the various rules, exceptions, and sub-rules that govern ''“être/sein/essere”'' verbs), and the difference in the realisation of the two types is much more extreme.
 
Intransitive verbs are formed in the Romance style by creating a compound of the verb ''[[Contionary: wisna#Valthungian|visna]]'' and the past participle. (The participle is an adjective, and must be declined to agree with the subject.)
*''S·'''īst''' lēkare '''vorðna'''.''
**‘She has become a doctor.’
*''Is '''vas''' hǣma '''gangnas'''.''
**‘He had gone home.’
 
Transitive verbs are formed in the Gothic manner, though the ''ga-'' prefix from Gothic has since been grammaticalised and stands on its own as an adverb which is usually placed clause-finally.
*''S·ītmit '''gaf gā'''.''
**‘She had given it to him.’
*''Ik þik '''sǣja gā'''.''
**‘I have seen you.
 
====Forming the Future====
 
The future is formed by using the auxiliary ''genǧin'' ‘to go’ followed by an infinitive (not unlike future compound constructions with ''go'' in multiple European languages).
*''Ik '''genǧa''' þō hord '''lūkna'''.''
**‘I '''will lock''' the door.’
*''Ik nī '''gangiða''' nījo þō livran af hǣða hun '''ligna'''.''
**‘I was never '''going to read''' that book anyway.’
 
====Forming the Passive====
 
Gothic transitive verbs had a passive form, but this has disappeared from Valthungian. Instead, the passive may be formed using a variety of auxiliary verbs determined by the volition of the agent and the subject (patient). By their very nature, passives need not specify an agent, but an agent can be indicated using the genitive (as we would use ‘by’ in English).


If you rearrange these into the prescribed word order above, you get:
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|-
|colspan=7| ''I nicely gave the book to the man at his house this morning.''
! &nbsp;
! Patient:<br />Deliberate
! Patient:<br />Unintentional / Inanimate
|-
|-
| gave
! Agent:<br />Deliberate
| nicely
|| ''gečin'' ‘to cause to get’<br />''lenǧin'' ‘to cause to succeed’
| I
|| ''gitna'' ‘to get’<br />''þiǧin'' ‘to receive’
| the book
| this morning
| at his house
| to the man
|-
|-
| ''[[Contionary: dyd#Maltcégj|dyd]]-[[Contionary: gelk#Maltcégj|gélk]]''
! Agent:<br />Unintentional / Inanimate
| ''[[Contionary: lef#Maltcégj|lef]]-[[Contionary: breuð#Maltcégj|breuð]]''  
|| ''þiǧin'' ‘to receive’<br />''lenǧin'' ‘to cause to succeed’<br />&nbsp;
| ''[[Contionary: jǫg#Maltcégj|jǫg]]''  
|| ''skīčin'' ‘to cause to happen’<br />''skeǧin'' ‘to cause to happen’<br />''verðan'' ‘to become’
| ''[[Contionary: klag#Maltcégj|klág]]-[[Contionary: -a#Maltcégj|a]]''  
| ''[[Contionary: ja#Maltcégj|ja]]-[[Contionary: temét#Maltcégj|temét]]''  
| ''[[Contionary: pul#Maltcégj|pul]] [[Contionary: u-#Maltcégj|u]]-[[Contionary: márga#Maltcégj|márga]]-h-[[Contionary: -íli#Maltcégj|íli]]''  
| ''[[Contionary: þad#Maltcégj|þád]]-[[Contionary: -að#Maltcégj|að]]''
|-
| PST-give
| ADV-nice
| 1sg
| book-ACC
| PROX-morning
| he POSS-house-[ligature]-APUD
| man-DAT
|-
|colspan=7| ''[[Contionary: dyd#Maltcégj|dyd]][[Contionary: gelk#Maltcégj|gélk]] [[Contionary: lef#Maltcégj|lef]][[Contionary: breuð#Maltcégj|bréuð]] [[Contionary: jǫg#Maltcégj|jǫg]] [[Contionary: klag#Maltcégj|klága]] [[Contionary: jatemét#Maltcégj|jatemét]] [[Contionary: pul#Maltcégj|pul]] [[Contionary: márga#Maltcégj|umárga]][[Contionary: -íli#Maltcégj|híli]] [[Contionary: þad#Maltcégj|þádað]]''
|}
|}
'''Agent/Patient Deliberate''': This tends to refer to things that happen as a result of mutual agreement
*''Ik '''gatiða''' forðat vork '''fergilðiþs'''.''
**‘I '''was paid''' for the work.’
*Þǣ ankýmbiðas '''langiðun''' þis borðaþjugis '''ganōguða'''.
**‘The diners '''were served''' by the waiter.’
'''Agent Deliberate / Patient Unintentional''': These auxiliaries are used mainly when the agent is a person and the patient is either an object or a person who is unaware of the agent’s intention or an unwilling participant in the action.
*''Ik '''gat''' þis veris '''slaguns'''.''
**‘I '''was hit''' by the man.’
*''Sā vagnas '''þagiða''' þiža mœuǧis '''fariþs'''.''
**‘The car '''was driven''' by the girl.’
'''Agent Unintentional / Patient Deliberate''': This usually refers to agents (usually inanimate) that are being used by a patient for a specific purpose.
*''Ik '''þagiða''' þižas fœ̄ðinis '''nutriškiþs'''.''
**‘I '''was nourished''' by the food.’
*''Þū '''langiðas''' (þiža intǣkninis) toðíža miðéndina '''tuguns'''.''
**‘You '''were led''' to that conclusion (by the evidence).’
'''Agent/Patient Unintentional or Inanimate''': This final group is possibly the most common, and refers to inanimate agent and patient, or when the agent or patient is an unwilling participant in the action. It may refer especially to natural phenomena, e.g. ‘blown down by wind’ or ‘rained on’.
*''Ik '''skīkiða''' þis þljuðis '''angǣsiþs'''.''
**‘I '''was startled''' by the noise.’
*''Þǣ lǭvas '''skagiðun''' þižas rynins '''afbórna'''.''
**‘The leaves '''were carried away''' by the stream.’


You need never deviate from this word order. To make an indicative statement into a question (whereby in English we would reverse the subject and the verb), simply add the particle ''[[Contionary: cʌþ#Maltcégj|cʌþ]]'' before the verb.
====Immediacy: Forming the Recent Past and Immediate Future====


Aside from these sentence elements, there are a few other word order concerns to note:
The adverb ''straks'' can be used in conjunction with most tenses as an “immediacy particle.” In the past tenses, this translates roughly to the word ‘just’, as in “I just did that.” In the future, it is most closely translated as ‘about to’.  
* Adjectives always follow the nouns they modify (as in romance languages).
*''Ik '''straks''' āt gā.''
* Numbers also follow the nouns they modify.
**‘I had '''just''' eaten.
* Adpositions always follow the nouns they modify (except ''[[Contionary: u-#Maltcégj|u-]]'').
*''Is '''straks''' gangiþ hǣma.''
* Phrases are “left-headed,” including numbers, possessives, genitives, adjectives, and others.
**‘He is '''about to''' go home.
* When an adjective is used as the predicate of a sentence, it can be treated as a verb; however, you can also use the verb ''[[Contionary: ek#Maltcégj|ek]]'' (‘to be’).


==Easter Eggs==
''NB: ''Straks'' is definitely a Germanic word, but cannot be descended from East Germanic. (If it were, we might expect ''strakis'' or perhaps ''straka''.) It is likely a more recent borrowing into Middle Valthungian from a West or North Germanic source. Cf. Dutch, Norwegian, and Danish ''straks'', Swedish and Icelandic ''strax'', German ''stracks'', &c.''
 
====Forming the Progressive====
 
The progressive tenses are not used often in Valthungian, but they can be a useful way to indicate that something is left unfinished, since the Perfect – originally a perfective indicating completed action – has taken on more of a perfect meaning, including that of a more generalised past tense.
 
The progressive is formed using the auxiliary verb ''sitna'' ‘to sit’ and the preposition ''bī'' ‘by’, followed by the infinitive. (In very formal language, you may encounter ''sitna bī'' followed by the dative of the nominalized form of the verb, e.g. ‘I am drawing’ may be rendered as ''Ik sita bī vrǣtina'' rather than the expected ''Ik sita bī vrǣčin''.
*''Ū '''sitistu''' njužis '''bī drinkna''' gā?''
**‘Have you '''been drinking''' again?’
*''Ik '''sita bī skrīvna''' þō bisāt mīna. Ranive '''sitik bī drinkna''' gā.''
**‘'''I’m writing''' my dissertation. Of course I’ve '''been drinking'''.’
 
==Adjectives==
In Valthungian, adjectives can be strong or weak (as with adjectives in any Germanic language that declines). The general rule is: If a nouns takes a determiner (article, possessive<ref>Only when a possessive is used without an article; otherwise the possessive itself is also declined as weak.</ref>, quantifier, &c), its accompanying adjective is weak; otherwise it is strong.
 
Predicative adjectives do not decline; they take the form of the strong neuter singular regardless of what they modify.
*<span style="background-color:#FFFF99;">Predicative</span>
*<span style="background-color:#FF99FF;">Strong</span>
*<span style="background-color:#99FFFF;">Weak</span>
 
For example:
*''Sā wer <span style="background-color:#99FFFF;">duala</span> ist <span style="background-color:#FFFF99;">dual</span>.'' ‘The stupid man is stupid.’
*''Sō kuina <span style="background-color:#99FFFF;">duala</span> ist <span style="background-color:#FFFF99;">dual</span>.'' ‘The stupid woman is stupid.’
*''Þat kliþ <span style="background-color:#99FFFF;">duala</span> ist <span style="background-color:#FFFF99;">dual</span>.'' ‘The stupid child is stupid.’
*''Þǣ avnas <span style="background-color:#99FFFF;">dualnas</span> sinþ <span style="background-color:#FFFF99;">dual</span>.'' ‘The stupid husbands are stupid.’
*''Þōs kwēnis <span style="background-color:#99FFFF;">dualans</span> sinþ <span style="background-color:#FFFF99;">dual</span>.'' ‘The stupid wives are stupid.’
*''Þō brana <span style="background-color:#99FFFF;">dualan</span> sinþ <span style="background-color:#FFFF99;">dual</span>.'' ‘The stupid children are stupid.’


Just some fun coincidences, borrowings, and malamanteaux that I’ve collected here:
But strong declension for 3rd person possessives<ref>With the exception of ''sīns'', which declines normally like ''mīns'' and ''þīns'' and takes a weak adjective.</ref>, since they don’t decline!
* '''''[[Contionary: ároc víktro#Maltcégj|ároc víktro]]''''' ‘leaf’ – literally “tree feather.” The word ''[[Contionary: ároc#Maltcégj|ároc]]'' is no longer used in any other context.
*''Ižas brōðra <span style="background-color:#FF99FF;">duals</span> ist <span style="background-color:#FFFF99;">dual</span>.'' ‘Her stupid brother is stupid.
* '''''[[Contionary: bévlo#Maltcégj|bévlo]]''''' ‘particle, grain, atom’ - from Bevlo Particles, cf. IV.
*''Is dǭtra <span style="background-color:#FF99FF;">duala</span> ist <span style="background-color:#FFFF99;">dual</span>.'' ‘His stupid daughter is stupid.
* '''''[[Contionary: bjályt éþryl#Maltcégj|bjályt éþryl]]''''' ‘hyrax, ''Hyracoidea'' species.’ - literally, “rock rabbit.”
*''Iža bran <span style="background-color:#FF99FF;">dualat</span> ist <span style="background-color:#FFFF99;">dual</span>.'' ‘Their stupid child is stupid.
* '''''[[Contionary: bláka ẏála#Maltcégj|bláka ẏála]]''''' ‘feather’ – literally “bird leaf.” The word ''[[Contionary: bláka#Maltcégj|bláka]]'' is no longer used in any other context.
*''Iža synis <span style="background-color:#FF99FF;">duala</span> sinþ <span style="background-color:#FFFF99;">dual</span>.'' ‘Their stupid sons are stupid.
* '''''[[Contionary: dat#Maltcégj|dat]]''''' ‘seed’ – from ‘dot’.
*''Is swistris <span style="background-color:#FF99FF;">dualas</span> sinþ <span style="background-color:#FFFF99;">dual</span>.'' ‘His stupid sisters are stupid.
* '''''[[Contionary: edvín#Maltcégj|edvín]]''''' ‘to rage’ – from Edvin S.
*''Ižas kliða <span style="background-color:#FF99FF;">duala</span> sinþ <span style="background-color:#FFFF99;">dual</span>.'' ‘Her stupid children are stupid.
* '''''[[Contionary: éþryl ulát#Maltcégj|éþryl ulát]]''''' ‘tar, petroleum, asphalt’ - literally, “rock lard.”
* '''''[[Contionary: fýcnet#Maltcégj|fýcnet]]''''' ‘cishet’ - Auto-correct, man...
* '''''[[Contionary: ik vloj#Maltcégj|ik vloj]]''''' ‘chin’ - literally, “face corner.
* '''''[[Contionary: máru kraul#Maltcégj|máru kraul]]''''' ‘artichoke’ - literally, “fingernail flower.
* '''''[[Contionary: méilat#Maltcégj|méilat]]''''' ‘cat, ''Felis domesticus''’ - from Melate T.
* '''''[[Contionary: núton#Maltcégj|núton]]''''' ‘target, goal, aim’ - from ''[[Contionary: núton salméilo#Maltcégj|núton salméilo]]'' ‘Isaac Newton’ - literally, “apple target.
* '''''[[Contionary: salgebúra#Maltcégj|salgebúra]]''''' ‘shock or revulsion over something stupid and offensive’ – a malamanteau of Hebrew ''גבורה'' and S.L.G.B.R. which stands for something else stupid and offensive which I’ll keep to myself.
* '''''[[Contionary: salméilo wʌf akɮát#Maltcégj|salméilo wʌf akɮát]]''''' ‘''bon appétit''’, which is an eggcorn for ''[[Contionary: salméilo#Maltcégj|salméilo]][[Contionary: -ʌ#Maltcégj|l]] [[Contionary: fak#Maltcégj|fak]] [[Contionary: ɮat#Maltcégj|ɮat]]'', ‘may the apple be tempting to the tooth’ but has now become standardized. It literally means ‘bone apple teeth’, itself an English eggcorn for ''bon appétit''.
* '''''[[Contionary: tcápa#Maltcégj|tcápa]]''''' ‘ring, circle’ – Goa’uld ''chappa-ai''. (Originally that meaning was further extended by the postposition ''[[Contionary: -ai#Maltcégj|ai]]'', wherein ''tcápaai'' meant ‘through the ring,’ but this was later broken by a phonological rule which rendered it ''[[Contionary: tcápa#Maltcégj|tcápa]]h[[Contionary: -ai#Maltcégj|ai]]''.
* '''''[[Contionary: tcélo#Maltcégj|tcélo]]''''' ‘lavender, light purple’ - from ''cello'', which is not quite a ''viola'', like how ''violet'' also isn't.
* Most kinship terms are names for members of my direct family or words that describe them. Just a few examples are:
** '''''[[Contionary: adína#Maltcégj|adína]]''''' ‘sister’ - This is the name of my sister, Adina.
** '''''[[Contionary: katír#Maltcégj|katír]]''''' ‘parternal grandparents’ - The plural form, ''[[Contionary: ak#Maltcégj|ak]][[Contionary: katír#Maltcégj|atír]]'' is from my home town’s old High School basketball team, the Halcotteers, which later came to be used locally to refer to any old folks from that town (i.e. from the era when we still had a High School). (The High School was actually in Fleischmanns, not Halcott, but that’s another story.)
** '''''[[Contionary: ǫ́bri#Maltcégj|ǫ́bri]]''''' ‘niece’ – the name of my niece, Aubrey.
** '''''[[Contionary: zadjámindz#Maltcégj|zadjámindz]]''''' ‘great grandparents, mother’s father’s parents’ – Because my Bavarian great-grandparents, Katherine and Heinrich were “ze Germans.”
<br /><br />

Revision as of 19:06, 9 October 2021


Valthungian, Grey Tongue
Grējutungiška Rasta,
Sō Grējuga Tunga
Pronunciation[/ˈgrai̯.juˌtuŋ.giʃ.kɑ ˈrɑs.tɑ,
sau̯ ˈgrai̯.ju.ɡɑ ˈtuŋ.gɑ/]
Created byBenJamin P. Johnson,

creator of:

curator of:

Date2010
Language codes
ISO 639-3qgt
BRCLgrey

Valthungian is an East Germanic language descended from a language that was probably mutually intelligible with Gothic, though much of its corpus cannot have been inherited from the language of Wulfila. It is likely, however, that the speakers of the ancestor of Valthungian did consider themselves Goths (or Gutai or Gutþiudōs), and that their language was mutually intelligible with other dialects of Gothic. The Valthungian relationship to “Classical Gothic” can be thought of as analogous to the relationship between Modern High German and Old High German – that is, not a direct lineage, but the modern languages are descended from neighboring dialects spoken by people who would likewise have considered themselves to be “Gutisks,” in the case of Valthungian, or “Diotisk” in the case of German.

While Valthungian shares many of the areal changes common to North and West Germanic languages, it is also marked by distinctive changes in palatalisation, which, while similar to those of Old English, are most likely influenced by contact with Romance and Slavic languages. Modern Valthungian can be traced back to Middle Valthungian (spoken from around 1200‒1600ᴀᴅ) through Old Valthungian (800‒1200ᴀᴅ) and ultimately to Griutungi, which would likely have been thought of as a dialect of Gothic (400‒800ᴀᴅ).

The name “Valthungian” comes from the name Valthungi – a Latin term likely derived from a pre-Old Valthungian name *Walþungae – meaning “Forest-dweller,” likely a branch of or related to the Thervingians (idem), though the Valthungian people refer to themselves as Grējutungišk, which is probably from an earlier Griutuggs (the name of an Ostrogothic tribe living along the northern shore of the Black Sea), but which underwent some semantic reanalysis over the generations and came to mean ‘the grey-tongued ones’. In turn, they call their language Grējutungiška Rasta ‘Grey-tonguish Language’ or just Sō Grējuga Tunga ‘the Grey Tongue’.

Writing System

Alphabet & Pronunciation

Here I give the traditional Valthungian letters followed by the romanisation I use for them in the second row. This romanisation is otherwise used throughout this article.

    IPA Name Name Meaning
Valthungian-aska.png A a [ɑ] aska ‘ash’
Valthungian-aejus.png Ǣ ǣ [e̞ː] ǣjus ‘horse’
Valthungian-breka.png B b [b] breka ‘birch’
Valthungian-giva.png G g [ɡ] giva ‘gift’
Valthungian-djus.png Ǧ ǧ [ʤ] ǧus ‘beast’
Valthungian-dagz.png D d [d] daǧ ‘day’
Valthungian-aedhi.png Ð ð [ð] ǣði ‘mother’
Valthungian-egja.png E e [e̞] eǧa ‘blade’
Valthungian-akuzje.png Ž ž [ʒ] akuže ‘axe’
Valthungian-hagla.png H h [h~x] hagla ‘hail’
Valthungian-thronus.png Þ þ [θ] þronus ‘thorn’
Valthungian-igil.png I i [i] igil ‘hedgehog’
Valthungian-jeer.png J j [j] jēr ‘year’
    IPA Name Name Meaning
Valthungian-kune.png K k [k~kʰ] kune ‘family’
Valthungian-lagus.png L l [l] lagus ‘lake’
Valthungian-matna.png M m [m] matna ‘person’
Valthungian-naoths.png N n [n] nǭþs ‘need’
Valthungian-ore.png O o [o̞] ore ‘riverbank’
Valthungian-predhra.png P p [p~pʰ] preðra ‘chance’
Valthungian-redha.png R r [r] reða ‘earth’
Valthungian-soogila.png S s [s] sōgila ‘sun’
Valthungian-sjuge.png Š š [ʃ] šuge ‘colour ’
Valthungian-tiijus.png T t [t~tʰ] tījus ‘Teu ’
Valthungian-kjus.png Č č [ʧ] čus ‘choice ’
Valthungian-ungula.png U u [u] ungula ‘owl’
Valthungian-ivra.png V v [v] ivra ‘boar’
    IPA Name Name Meaning
Valthungian-faejo.png F f [f] fǣjo ‘cattle’
Valthungian-wynia.png W w [w] wynia ‘joy’
Valthungian-roetja.png Œ œ [ø̞̞] rœča ‘farmer’
Valthungian-ynkja.png Y y [y] ynča ‘ounce’
Valthungian-aosus.png Ǭ ǭ [o̞ː] ǭsus ‘ox’
Non-Alphabetic Variants
Valthungian-aade.png Ā ā [ɑː] āde ‘egg’
Valthungian-eemate.png Ē ē [ɑi̯] ēmate ‘ant’
Valthungian-iis.png Ī ī [iː] īs ‘ice’
Valthungian-oodhla.png Ō ō [ɑu̯] ōðla ‘inheritance’
Valthungian-uurus.png Ū ū [uː] ūrus ‘aurochs’
Valthungian-ooezja.png Œ̄ œ̄ [ø̞ː] œ̄ža ‘fortune’
Valthungian-yyfti.png Ȳ ȳ [yː] ȳfti ‘custom’

Though the seven long vowels of the Non-Alphabetic Variants have individual names, they are not considered part of the standard alphabet or alphabetical order. Instead, each long vowel is considered alphabetically equivalent to its doubled short counterpart. That is, 〈ā〉 is equivalent to 〈aa〉, 〈ē〉 to 〈ee〉, 〈ī〉 to 〈ii〉, and so on. (The long vowels 〈ǣ〉 and 〈ǭ〉 are included in the standard alphabetical order, and do not have short forms, though they are written with macrons in their romanised forms.)

(NB: The Valthungian alphabet, while mainly latin- and cyrillic-based, contains several characters which are not readily representable using the standard Unicode characters. The forms presented throughout this wiki are a romanisation of the letters shown in the table above.)

Orthography

The orthography of Valthungian is quite regular to its phonology; indeed, there are very few exceptions:

  1. The letter 〈n〉 before 〈g〉 or 〈k〉 is realised as a velar nasal [ŋ]. Specifically, 〈ng〉 is [ŋɡ] and 〈nk〉 is [ŋk]. (E.g. drinkna [driŋk.na] ‘to drink’.)
    1. In combinations where 〈ng〉 is followed by another nasal consonant, [ɡ] is elided in speech: 〈ngm〉 is [ŋm] and 〈ngn〉 is [ŋn]. (E.g. gangna [gaŋ.na] ‘to go’; not **[gaŋɡ.na].) In rapid speech this may also occur to the other nasal-stop combinations 〈mbn〉, 〈mbm〉, 〈ndm〉, and 〈ndn〉; sometimes the stop may also become glottal.
  2. In the combination 〈hw〉 (i.e. 〈hu〉 followed by a vowel), 〈h〉 is realised as [x].
  3. The combination 〈rju〉 is realised as [rɛu̯] (rather than the expected [rju]). (E.g. frjusna [frɛu̯s.na] ‘to freeze’.)
  4. The diphthong 〈eu〉 is realised as [ɛu̯] (rather than the expected [e̞u̯]). (E.g. sneugna [snɛu̯g.na] ‘to snow’.)
  5. The diphthong 〈œu〉 is realised as [œy̑] (rather than the expected [ø̞u̯]). (E.g. grœunis [ɡrœy̑.nis] ‘green’.)
  6. For some speakers, word-final 〈þs〉 may be realised as [t̪s].
  7. For some speakers, medial 〈tl〉 (usually derived from earlier /ll/) may be realised as [dɮ].
  8. Inexplicably, the letter wynia, while quite regular in and of itself, has a rather irregular romanisation. It is sometimes romanised quite regularly as ⟨w⟩, though in combination with consonants before a vowel (/dw/, /tw/, /þw/, /hw/, /gw/, /kw/, or /sw/), it is romanised as 〈u〉 (i.e. 〈du〉, 〈tu〉, 〈þu〉, 〈hu〉, 〈gu〉,〈ku〉 and 〈su〉.)
    1. This process cannot cross morpheme boundaries, so + wītnaiþwītna, not **iþuītna.

Stress is indicated in the standard orthography with an acute accent only if:

  1. The stress is not on the first syllable.
    1. (By default, stress falls on the primary syllable.)
  2. The stressed vowel is short.
    1. (All unstressed long vowels were reduced to short vowels in the Middle Valthungian period.)
  3. The stressed vowel is not 〈œ〉 or 〈y〉.
    1. (The rounded front vowels can only occur as the result of i-umlaut, which could only arise from a stressed vowel.)

For example, iníla ‘excuse’, akéčim 'even so'; but garǣts ‘correct’ or gavœrčin ‘to handle’.

Ligatures & Liaisons

When two vowels come together at word boundaries, the words may form a ligature, particularly if one of the words is a “grammar word,” such as an article, preposition, pronoun, short adjective, conjunction, &c. This is most common with the articles ( + a-, + u-, etc.) and particles (e.g + i-).

  • Articles
    • Mandatory:
      • sā, huā, tuā + a-, ā- → s·ā-, hu·ā-, tu·ā-
        • sā aplass·āplas, ‘the apple’
        • tuā aðnatu’āðna ‘two seasons’
      • sō, þō, hō + u-, ō- → s·ō-, þ·ō-, h·ō-
        • sō uréčas·ōréča, ‘the persuit’
        • sō ōss·ōs, ‘the ewe’
      • þǣ, tuǣ + e-, ǣ- → þ·ǣ-, tu·ǣ-
        • þǣ ǣjusþ·ǣjus ‘the horses’
        • tuǣ elistu·ǣlis ‘two others’
      • nī, þrī, hī + i-, ī- → n·ī-, þr·ī-, h·ī-
        • nī istn·īst, ‘isn’t’
        • hī īsranh·īsran ‘this iron’
    • Optional:
      • sō, þō + V- → su·V-, þu·V-
        • sō akuže, su·akuže ‘the axe’
        • þō ī, þu·ī ‘those which’

Orthographic Variants

There are a few regional and stylistic variations in the orthography of Valthungian romanisation.

  • In some areas, rather than indicating non-initial stress by placing an acute diacritic on the stressed vowel, the vowel of the initial unstressed syllable is marked with a grave diacritic. This is not standard anywhere, but is often used in children’s books and language learning tools, as it is a more consistent indicator of stress than the acute, which is not deployed over long vowels or rounded front vowels. It is often used in combination with the acute stress system, and the acute may also be used on otherwise exempt characters. E.g.:
    • ǧupspríngna ‘to leap up’ → ǧùpspringna or ǧùpspríngna
    • gadrynis ‘symphony’ → gàdrynis or gàdrýnis
    • miðlǣði ‘sympathy’ → mìðlǣði or mìðlǣ́ði (sometimes mìðlǽði)
  • ⟨w⟩ may be used in place of word-initial ⟨v⟩ or pre-vocalic ⟨u⟩ to represent /w/ as a more direct transliteration of the letter vynia. There is no logical or efficient reason for this transliteration to be split up the way it is in the standard language: Its existence is purely aesthetic, and many people are not as interested in aesthetics as efficiency.
  • Conversely, there are some who romanise jēr as ⟨i⟩ rather than as ⟨j⟩, likely out of spite towards those who use ⟨w⟩ as above.

Phonology

Vowels

Short Vowels Long Vowels Diphthongs
Front Back Front Back Front Back
Closed i · y
[i · y]
u
[u]
ī · ȳ
[iː · yː]
ū
[uː]
Closed-to-
Mid e · œ
[e̞ · ø̞]
o
[o̞]
ǣ · œ̄
[e̞ː · ø̞ː]
ǭ
[o̞ː]
Mid-to- œu
[œy̑]
eu
[ɛu̯]
Open a
[ɑ]
ā
[ɑː]
Open-to- ē
[ai̯]
ō, au
[au̯]

Consonants

(Pardon the compactified consonant table. I know it doesn't quite all line up “properly,” but it does make more sense this way as regards the Valthungian language. If in doubt, rely on the transcription and not the row or column.)

Labial Dental Alveolar Palatal Dorsal
Plosive p · b
[p~pʰ · b]
t · d
[t̪~t̪ʰ · d̪]
č · ǧ
[ʧ · ʤ]
k · g
[k~kʰ · g]
Nasal · m
[m]
· n
[n̪]
· n1
[ŋ]
Fricative f · v
[f · v]
ð · þ
[ð · θ]
s ·
[s]
š · ž
[ʃ · ʒ]
h ·
[h]
Approximant · w/u
[w]
· l
[l̪]
· r
[r~ɾ]
· j
[j]

1Before 〈g〉 or 〈k〉.

Synchronic Changes and Reflexes of Diachronic Changes

Voicing Alternation

This rule is inherited from Proto-Germanic. The rule is not persistent, but the variation in forms still affects the inflections of nouns, verbs, and adjectives in Valthungian, and is readily assimilated into neologisms and borrowings. (A similar v/f alternation rule exists in English, for example in singular knife and plural knives, or the noun strife and the verb strive.) The Gothic version of this rule caused alternation between 〈f〉, used only at the end of a word or before an unvoiced consonant, and 〈b〉 used elsewhere, e.g. giban, ‘to give’, gaf, ‘gave’. Likewise the relationship between 〈þ〉 and〈d〉. There are three main realisations of this rule in Valthungian:

  • v → f
  • ð → þ } at the end of a word, or before an unvoiced consonant.
  • ž → s

The implications of this rule for Valthungian are:

  • 〈f〉 or 〈þ〉 occur before 〈s〉 in the nominative singular of masculine or some feminine strong nouns, e.g. þlǣfs ‘loaf of bread’, but genitive þlǣvis.
  • 〈f〉 or 〈þ〉 occur when word-final in the accusative of masculine or some feminine strong nouns, and the nominative and accusative of neuter strong nouns, e.g. blōþ ‘blood’, but genitive blōðis.
  • 〈f〉 occurs when word-final or before 〈t〉 in the preterit singular and the second person imperative singular of strong verbs, e.g. gaf, gaft, ‘gave’, but infinitive givna.
  • 〈þ〉 also occurs when word-final in the preterit singular and imperative, but is assimilated to 〈s〉 before 〈t〉 in the second person preterit (see Coronal Consonant Assimilation below), e.g. biǧin ‘to bid’ has the first- and third-person preterit baþ but second-person bast.
  • The implications for 〈s〉 and 〈ž〉 can be a little trickier, because this split was not uniform in Gothic, and intervocalic /s/ was not later voiced (as it was in many other Germanic languages, leveling out this particular conundrum), so many words retain 〈s〉 throughout the paradigm. These are noted in the lexicon.

Please note that because this rule is not persistent, there are several words which later developed an intervocalic 〈f〉 or 〈þ〉 from earlier 〈h〉 which is not affected by this rule.

Palatalisation

Palatalisation is another historic rule that is no longer persistent in Valthungian, but has wide-ranging implications for inflections in Valthungian. There are actually several types of palatalisation that occur in Valthungian, but they can all be boiled down into the following rules:

  • Masculine and feminine nouns whose roots end in 〈d〉 or 〈g〉 become palatalised before 〈s〉 in the nominative singular of a-, i-, and u-stems (but not feminine ō-stems). E.g. Griutungi *dags ‘day’, *gards ‘yard’ become daǧ, garǧ. This type of palatalisation only occurs when there was a /dz/ or /gz/ present in the language at some point historically (from Griutungi/Gothic /ds/ or /gs/).
  • A much more common form of palatalisation, however, is that which occurs whenever the ending of a noun, verb, or adjective begins with 〈j〉, e.g. strong masculine ja-stem nouns or adjectives or class 1 weak verbs. In these cases, the following occurs:
    • d or g + j → ǧ
    • t or k + j → č
    • s or h + j → š
    • z + j → ž (Actually, all instances of 〈z〉 eventually became 〈ž〉.)

Palatalisation of the latter type usually goes hand in hand with Umlaut, below.

[b]/[v] Alternation

A less common alternation is that of 〈b〉 and 〈v〉. This occurs in the same environment as the second type of palatalisation (above), but instead of a true palatalisation, instead there is a shift of 〈v〉 to 〈b〉; or, more accurately, some paradigms without an original 〈j〉 are able to shift from 〈b〉 to 〈v〉 when intervocalic, but those with 〈j〉 are blocked from spirantizing.

For example, the adjective drœ̄vis ‘muddy’ (from Griutungi *drōbīs, cf. Gothic drōbeis) has the dative singular form drœ̄bia (from *drōbja).

Umlaut

Umlaut is another of those sound laws that no longer happens actively in the language, but it has become indicative of specific tenses or cases in the language, and may appear analogically in certain words.

  • The accusative singular of strong nouns with palatalisation are not umlauted. All other forms of nouns with palatalisation are umlauted.
  • The past subjunctive of verbs is umlauted except for the 3rd person singular, which never is. In informal speech, this may be umlauted by analogy.
  • Verbs ending in –jan in Gothic have umlaut in the present and imperative. These verbs all end with –in in Valthungian.

Umlaut in Valthungian initiates the following changes in the stressed vowel of a word:

  • a → e - *satjan ‘to set’ → sečin
  • ā → ǣ - *hlahjan ‘to laugh’ → þlǣšin
  • ǭ (Got. 〈áu〉) → œ̄ - *hǭsjan ‘to hear’ → hœ̄šin
  • o (Got. 〈aú〉) → œ - orsjan ‘to thirst’ → þrœšin
  • ō → œu - *hwōtjan ‘to threaten’ → huœučin
  • u → y - *hugjan ‘to think’ → hyǧin
  • ū → ȳ - *hrūkjan ‘to crow’ → þrȳčin

NB: The word “Umlaut” can refer to several different types of vowel change in Germanic languages – i/j-umlaut, u/w-umlaut, and a-umlaut most commonly – but only one type ever occurred in Valthungian: Umlaut here is used to refer specifically to i/j-umlaut, also known as i-umlaut, front umlaut, or i-mutation.

Coronal Consonant Assimilation

This rule has a formidable name, but it is actually common to all Germanic languages. This rule states that whenever a coronal consonant (namely, d, t, or þ) is directly followed by 〈t〉 or 〈st〉, the former consonant 〈s〉. This accounts for the English word best, from earlier betst, from *batest. This applies mainly to second person singular preterit of strong verbs, e.g. ǧutna ‘to pour’ and biǧin ‘to bid’ have a second person preterit of gǭst ‘you poured’ and bast ‘you bade’, rather than the otherwise expected **gǭtt and **baþt.

Blocking of Metathetical Unpacking

Another formidable name, but what this means is that at various times historically, sound changes caused unstressed /a/ to disappear before sonorants (/l/, /r/, /m/, or /n/), turning them into syllabics. This happened at least once before the Gothic era, giving rise to words like bagms and aþn, and again before Valthungian, most notably collapsing the infinitive -an to -n. Later on, syllabics were “unpacked;” that is, they regained the /a/ that had been lost, but it now appeared after the sonorant instead of before it. For example, Griutungi *brōþar ‘brother’ (Gothic brōþar) and later Old Valthungian brouðar became Middle Valthungian brôðʀ with syllabic /r̩/, and eventually Modern Valthungian brōðra. However, there are a few instances where this unpacking didn’t happen because the restoration of 〈a〉after the sonorant would have rendered the word unpronounceable, in which case the word reverts back to its pre-syllabic state.

The practicality of this rule as it applies to modern Valthungian is that:

  • Dative plural a-stem nouns whose roots end in 〈–m〉 have the ending of 〈–am〉 rather than 〈–ma〉, e.g. vroms ‘worm’ has the dative plural of vromam rather than **vromma.
  • Masculine strong a-stem nouns ending in 〈–n〉 have the the dative plural ending of 〈–am〉 (as above) and the accusative plural ending of 〈–ans〉 rather than 〈–nas〉, e.g. ǭns ‘oven’ has the dative plural of ǭnam and the accusative plural of ǭnans rather than **ǭnma and **ǭnnas.
  • Strong a-stem adjectives ending in 〈–n〉 have a masculine accusative singular of 〈–an〉 rather than 〈–na〉, e.g. ǣnsǣnan, not **ǣnna
  • The third person plural indicative of strong verbs and weak class 3 verbs end in -anþ rather than **naþ.

Assimilation of [r] and [s]

Historically, this is a sound change that occurred in the transition from Proto-Germanic to Gothic and is no longer persistent, but it has specific reflexes that affect Valthungian paradigms.

The change initially applies to “light”-syllable nouns with stems ending in 〈-s〉 or 〈-r〉 in the masculine and feminine classes that take a final 〈-z〉 in the nominative singular. E.g. PGmc. *weraz, *drusiz → (Post-Germanic Short Unstressed Vowel Deletion) → *werz, *drusz → (Final Obstruent Devoicing) → *wers, *druss → (r/s-Assimilation) → Griutungi wer, drus (cf. Gothic waír /wer/, drus).

Later, beginning around the time of Early Middle Valthungian, this change was expanded analogously to other nouns and adjectives which had “heavy” syllables, and eventually the rule emerged that nouns and adjectives ending in 〈-r〉 and 〈-s〉 do not take an (additional) 〈-s〉 in the nominative singular, though they otherwise follow the paradigm of their particular stem. (E.g. *bērsbēr ‘boar’, *stiursčur ‘steer’. One notable example of this phenomenon is the Germanic tersazmentula’ which became *ters in Griutungi, but was then reanalyzed as an exception to the original r-rule (instead of the s-rule that it actually is), and eventually it became ter in Valthungian. It remains, however, an unkind word.)

Affix Anaptyxis

When a prefix ends in the same letter as the root, /a/ is inserted to break up the resulting geminate. /a/ may also be added to avoid awkward consonant clusters. This is just part of a larger change in the general structure of the language in which many unstressed syllables appeared unbidden in Late Middle and Early Modern Valthungian causing the language to be almost entirely iambic. In Modern Valthungian all stressed syllables (primary and secondary) must de separated by an unstressed syllable.

Some of the most frequent are:

  • af+f: Griutungi *affilhanafafílþna ‘to hide away’
  • fer+r: Griutungi *ferrinnanferarítnan ‘to attain’
  • un+n: Griutungi *unnutansunanútans ‘unused; useless’

However, the prefix us- becomes ut-: Griutungi *ussandjanutsenǧin ‘to send out’

Pronouns

Personal Pronouns

The genitive pronouns form the base of the possessive determiners, but the third person non-reflexive genitives are never inflected. The third person singular and plural reflexive pronouns are identical. The non-singular pronouns may also take a reciprocal particle mīsa, roughly equivalent to ‘each other’ or ‘one another.’

Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
1sg ik mīn mis mik I, my, (to) me, me
2sg þū þīn þis þik thou, thy, (to) thee, thee
3sg.masc is is itma in he, his, (to) him, him
3sg.neu it it it, its, (to) it, it
3sg.fem ižas iža ī, iža she, her, (to) her, her
3sg.refl - sīn sis sik himself, herself, itself, &c
1du wit unkar unkis unk we two, our, (to) us, us
2du ǧut inkur inkus inko you/ye two, your, (to) you, you
1pl wīs unsar unsis uns we all, our, (to) us, us
2pl jūs ižur ižus ižus you/ye all, your, (to) you, you
3pl.masc īs iža im ins they, their, (to) them, them
3pl.neu ī, iža ī, iža
3pl.fem ižas ižas
3pl.refl - sīn sis sik themselves

Indefinite Pronouns

The interrogative and negative pronouns can take the adverbial complement hun, which gives them the sense of ‘any’. Additionally, the interrogative pronouns may double as elective pronouns. For example, huat ‘what’ or ‘something’; huat hun ‘anything’.

Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
inter.masc huas huis huatma huan who, whose, to whom, whom
inter.neu huat huat what, &c
inter.fem huō huižas huiža huō who, &c
gen. guma gumins gumin gumna one, one’s, &c
univ.masc huažuþ huižuþ huatmaþ huanaþ everyone, everyone’s, &c
univ.neu huāþ huāþ everything, everything’s, &c
univ.fem huōþ huižaþ huōþ everyone, everyone’s, &c
neg.masc nījus nījus nījutma nījun noöne, noöne’s, &c
neg.neu nījut nījut nothing, nothing’s, &c

Distributive Pronouns

The distributive pronouns are non-singular pronouns formed when the personal pronouns were fused with the distributive particles huaðru ‘each of two’ and huerižu ‘each of many’. In most forms they have now become inseparable from their root components; e.g. compare the dual genitive second person inkur and distributive huaðrižu, but the distributive pronoun inkuáðrižu. While the distributives as determiners, by definition, take a singular verb, the distributive pronouns take the non-singular verb of their respective pronouns, e.g. Aplas huerižu gatiða itnas ‘Each apple was eaten’, but Īshuerižu gatiðun itna ‘Each of them was eaten’.

Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
1du withuáðruþ unkuáðrižuþ unkuáðratmaþ unkuáðranuþ each of the two of us
2du ǧuthuaðruþ inkuaðrižuþ inkuaðratmaþ inkuaðranuþ each of the two of you
1pl wīshuerižuþ unshuerižuþ unshueritmaþ unshuerinuþ each of us
2pl jūshuerižuþ ižuhuerižuþ ižushueritmaþ ižushuerinuþ each of you
3pl.masc īshuerižuþ ižahuerižuþ imhueritmaþ inshuerinuþ each of them
3pl.neu ižashuerituþ ižashuerituþ each of them
3pl.fem ižahueriþ ižahueriþ each of them

Numbers

Declinable Numerals

Singular (‘one’)

Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
masc. ǣns ǣnis ǣnatma ǣnan
neu. ǣn(at) ǣn(at)
fem. ǣna ǣnažas ǣna ǣna

Dual (‘two, both’)

Numeral Distributive
Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
masc. tuǣ tuǣǧa tuǣm tuans bǣǧa bǣm bans
neu. tuā tuā
fem. tuōs tuōs bōs bōs

Trial (‘three, all three’)

Numeral Distributive
Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
masc. þrīs þriža þrim þrins þrǣ þrǣža þrǣm þrans
neu. þrī, þriža þrī, þriža þrā þrā
fem. þrīs þrins þreǧis þreǧis

Undeclinable Numerals

# 1# 2# #0 #00 #000 #000
0 (nǣns) tǣjun (tǣn) tuǣtiǧis -tiǧis tēhund þūsunde -ljǭn
1 (ǣns) ǣnlif tuǣtiǧis ǣns tǣjun ǣn hund ǣna þūsunde miljǭn
2 (tuǣ) tualif tuǣtiǧi tuǣ tuǣtiǧis tuā hunda tuōs þūsunǧis biljǭn
3 (þrīs) þrižatǣn tuǣtiǧi þrīs þrīstiǧis þrī hunda þrīs þūsunǧis þriljǭn
4 fiður (fiðra) fiðratǣn tuǣtiǧi fiður fiðratiǧis fiður hunda fiður þūsunǧis friljǭn
5 fim fimfatǣn tuǣtiǧi fim fimtiǧis fim hunda fim þūsunǧis fimfiljǭn
6 sǣs sǣstatǣn tuǣtiǧi sǣs sǣstiǧis sǣs hunda sǣs þūsunǧis sǣsiljǭn
7 sivun (sivna) sivnatǣn tuǣtiǧi sivun sivnatiǧis sivun hunda sivun þūsunǧis sivniljǭn
8 āta (āt) ātatǣn tuǣtiǧis āta ātatiǧis āta hunda āta þūsunǧis ātatiljǭn
9 njun njunatǣn tuǣtiǧi njun njuntiǧis njun hunda njun þūsunǧis njuniljǭn

The numbers in Valthungian – as in most languages – have gone through more phonological change than other words, and as a result, there are some irregularities. Four numbers have two forms (some of which may be optional). There is also an innovated trial distributive (‘all three’), probably by analogy with the dual ( ‘both’). The number ‘one’, usually alternating with the indefinite article in most languages, is used merely for counting purposes, as an indefinite article is not used in Valthungian.

The number ‘four’ is fiður, where we would normally expect **fidur through regular sound change (specifically, the change of /d/ to /ð/ would normally be blocked by the following /w/ in *fidwōr). There is also a further lenited form of fiðra, which is optional when it stands alone, but standard in compounds. (Gothic also had two versions of ‘four’: fidwōr and a compound form fidur.)

The number ‘seven’ has the expected form of sivun, but also a lenited form of sivna, again, required in compounds but otherwise optional. ‘Eight’ is āta, but may optionally be lenited to āt. (This is a newer innovation, and is not considered to be correct in writing.) Finally ‘ten’ is tǣjun or lenited tǣn, the latter being used exclusively in the “teen” numbers.

For compounding numbers, Griutungi and Gothic separated each of the number’s components with the word jah (‘and’, now ), but Valthungian has dispensed with this and now uses i – possibly a shortened form of – only before the last component. For numbers ending with –tiǧis, a further contraction has become standard, and the new suffix is shortened to –tiǧi, e.g. þrīstiǧi fim ‘thirty-five’. Hund becomes hundi and hunda is also contracted to hund·i, þūsunde to þūsund·i, and þūsunǧis to þūsunǧi. (Note the lack of apostrophic interpunct in -tiǧi, hundi, and þūsunǧi.) No -i- is added before numbers beginning with a vowel, i.e. ǣn- and āta.

Number terms higher than ‘thousand’ are ostensibly borrowed from Latin, though they contain their own Germanic innovations, e.g. þriljǭn ‘trillion’, fiðriljǭn ‘quadrillion’, fimfiljǭn ‘quintillion’, instead of the expected **triljǭn, **kuaðriljǭn, and **kuintiljǭn.

Another note concerning the higher numbers: Valthungian follows the short scale for higher numbers (whereas many European languages currently use the long scale); that is, each new number term is one thousand times larger than the previous term (whereas in the long scale, each new term is one million times larger). This is further confused by the now-standard European “hybrid” model where intermediate terms in the long scale are applied to the “thousands” with the suffix ‘-ard’. The following table is applicable to most modern standards:

N⁰ Numerals Valthungian Short Hybrid Long Metric
10³ 1,000 þūsunde thousand kilo
10⁶ 1,000,000 miljǭn million Mega
10⁹ 1,000,000,000 biljǭn billion milliard thousand million Giga
10¹² 1,000,000,000,000 þriljǭn trillion billion billion Tera
10¹⁵ 1,000,000,000,000,000 fiðriljǭn quadrillion billiard thousand billion Peta
10¹⁸ 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 fimfiljǭn quintillion trillion trillion Exa
10²¹ 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 sǣsiljǭn sextillion trilliard thousand trillion Zetta
10²⁴ 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 sivniljǭn septillion quadrillion quadrillion Yotta
10²⁷ 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 ātatiljǭn octillion quadrilliard thousand quadrillion -
10³⁰ 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 njuniljǭn nonillion quintillion quintillion -

Ordinal Numbers and Other Number Forms

Ordinal numbers are usually formed by adding a dental suffix to the end of a number, though there is some suppletion for the first and second ordinals, and the third is irregular (just as is the case in English). In Proto-Germanic and Gothic, all of the ordinals except for first and second took only the weak declension, but all ordinals now take both strong and weak declensions according to standard rules of adjectives.

The multiplicative numbers arise from a conflation of the word þīfs ‘time, occurrence’ with the genitive singular form of the ordinal number, resulting in a robust albeit historically incorrect derivation system. In Griutungi, the concept of multiple occurrences was expressed simply as a number and the accusative of the word þīhs ‘time, occurrence’: ǣn þīhs ‘once’, tua þīhsa ‘twice’, þrija þīhsa ‘three times’, and so on. Gradually these constructions fused together (Old Valthungian: aenþijhs, tuaþijhsa, þrijþijhsa…) and perhaps based on the more common analogue of ‘twice’, around the time of Early Middle Valthungian they were reanalyzed as a genitive ending affixed to an ordinal (Middle Valthungian: ǣnþis, tuaþis, þriþis…) The forms of the first three multiplicatives aren’t even particularly odd, in terms of language evolution, but that apparent ordinal + genitive construction was then applied analogously to the rest of the numbers, so where we might otherwise expect fim þīfs ‘five times’ to have become fimþis, instead we find the ordinal form fimftis.

Fractions are formed from the archaic genitive plural form of numbers followed by dǣlaro, literally ‘of ___ parts’, e.g. ¾ = þrīs fiðra dǣlaro = ‘three of four parts’. (This is equivalent to the modern German construction of affixing -tel to the end of numbers, e.g. drittel, viertel, zehntel, &c., -tel being a direct equivalent of dǣl-.) The genitive numbers are a holdover from ancient times, and are rarely used outside of the context of fractions; in fact, most fractions are formed by simply adding a suffix of -a to the end of a number, without any consideration that it might have once been a genitive.

  Ordinal Multiplicative Fractional
(Strong) (Weak)  
1 frumist, frums frumista, fruma first ǣniþis once, one time --
2 anðra second tuaþis twice, two times halbž, tuǣǧa dǣlaro half
3 þrīǧis þrīǧa third þriþis thrice, three times þriža dǣlaro third
4 fiðraþs fiðraða fourth fiðurþis four times fiðra dǣlaro quarter/fourth
5 fimft fimfta fifth fimftis five times fimfa dǣlaro fifth
6 sǣst sǣsta sixth sǣstis six times sǣsa dǣlaro sixth
7 sivunþs sivunþa seventh sivunþis seven times sivna dǣlaro seventh
8 ātuþs ātuða eighth ātuðis eight times āta dǣlaro eighth
9 njunþs njunþa ninth njunþis nine times njuna dǣlaro ninth
10 tǣjunþs tǣjunþa tenth tǣjunþis ten times tǣjun dǣlaro tenth
11 ǣnlift ǣnlifta eleventh ǣnliftis eleven times ǣnliva dǣlaro eleventh
12 tuālift tuālifta twelfth tuāliftis twelve times tuāliva dǣlaro twelfth
13 þrižatǣnþs þrižatǣnþa thirteenth þrižatǣnþis thirteen times þrižatǣjun dǣlaro thirteenth
20 tuǣtiǧist twǣtiǧista twentieth tuǣtiǧistis twenty times tuǣtiǧa dǣlaro twentieth
100 hundaþs hundaða hundredth hundaðis a hundred times hunda dǣlaro hundredth
1,000 þūsundiþs þūsundiða thousandth þūsundiðis a thousand times þūsunǧa dǣlaro thousandth
1,000,000 miljǭnþs miljǭnþa millionth miljǭnþis a million times miljǭna dǣlaro millionth

Alternative Numbers

The Gothic number system, modeled after the Greek system (in turn modeled after the Hebrew), which used the letters of the alphabet instead of separate unique characters, continued to be used well into the middle ages (Middle Valthungian), and certain taboo numbers came to be called by their character representation rather than their numeric form. Primarily among these numbers was ‘13’, which was written in Gothic as ·ig·. This also occurred with the numbers ‘113’ (rig), ‘213’ (sig), ‘313’ (tig), ‘413’ (wig), and ‘513’ (fig). (This was not mirrored in the higher numbers of the hundreds, because most of those combinations would have been unpronounceable.)

The number ‘19’ is also sometimes called by the same formulation.

Certain slang terms have also developed out of this system, in reverse, as it were. For example, the homophony of hortative particle with the number 19 gives rise to a nominal form þat njunatǣn referring to a duty or obligation. Similarly, a ‘road’ or ‘highway’ is sometimes referred to as a ‘413’ (fiður-þrižatǣn), written wig (the accusative of wiǧ (‘road’).

A much more recent slang term that has evolved from this system is the use of the number ‘843’ to represent the (unpronounceable) letter combination ·omg·.

Articles & Determiners

Valthungian has two definite articles, and his, both of which are equivalent to ‘the,’ but may also be translated as ‘that’ and ‘this’, respectively. Where there is a lack of clear proximity-based dichotomy, is usually preferred.

There is no indefinite article in Valthungian.

Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
masc.sg þis þatma þan his his hitma hin
neu.sg þat þat hit hit
fem.sg þižas þiža þō hiža hižas hiža hī, hiža
masc.pl þǣ þiža þǣm þans hīs hiža him hins
neu.pl þō þō hī, hiža hī, hiža
fem.pl þōs þōs hižas hižas

A Note on Terminology: “Strong” vs. “Weak”

In most Germanic languages, nouns, verbs, and adjectives tend to be broken into categories considered “strong” and “weak.”

In verbs, these denote two of the many categories into which verbs may be broken, “strong” verbs being those that form the preterit by means of ablaut, and “weak” being those that form the preterit with a suffix containing some manner of dental consonant. There are further classifications of preterit-present, aorist-present, subjunctive-present, and anomalous, and many of them overlap with the simplistic “strong” and “weak” descriptors. (See Verbs for more information.)

This usage is completely unrelated to strong and weak nouns and adjectives, in which “weak” means that the words cling to their determiner endings inherited from Proto-Indo-European, which usually have an /n/ inserted between the root and the ending.

And even though the meaning of strong and weak in nouns and adjectives are historically related, their usage is not: In nouns, like the verbs, this is merely a convenient way of categorising certain types of nouns which take certain endings. In adjectives, however, the use of a strong or weak adjective depends on whether other determiners are present in the same noun phrase; most adjectives have both a strong and a weak declension.

For the purposes of this text, I dispense with the traditional strong and weak categories as relates to nouns and simply relate the various stem classes into which nouns can be classified, based on their inherited Proto-Germanic endings (which include the /n/ infix where applicable). Since these endings can be irregular and each class must be learned by rote anyway, there is no need in the context of the Valthungian language to add this additional arbitrary distinction. I maintain the use of the terms for verbs and adjectives, though, to be honest, their usage with verbs could easily be similarly eschewed; the only area where these distinctions are really functionally important is in the discussion of adjectives.

Nouns

Noun classes differ by suffix vowel class and by gender. They may also differ by glides (/j/ or /w/) suffixed to the stem and/or the presence of infixive /n/. The main classes are those stems in /a/ or /ō/, in /i/, in /u/, or in /n/ (as described below: See A Note on Strong and Weak Nouns). There is also a very small class in /r/ having to do with familial relations. Some former noun classes in Gothic (such as consontant-stem and nd-stem nouns) have been regularised in Valthungian through paradigmatic levelling, and their declensions have been assimilated into other classes.

Every noun in Valthungian (and many of the older Germanic languages, as well as modern German and Icelandic) has eight possible forms. These are the singular and plural forms of the nominative (those nouns which comprise the subject of the sentence), genitive (those used to indicate possession or relation), dative (the indirect object), and accusative (the direct object).

Masculine and feminine strong nouns usually take an ending of –s for the nominative singular, while neuter nouns take no ending. The genitive is almost universally indicated by –is (this is equivalent to the “ ’s ” of the English possessive). The dative usually takes –a. The accusative usually does not take any ending.

In the plural, Masculine and feminine nouns usually take –as as an ending; neuter takes –a. The genitive plural takes –aro, borrowed from Latin. The dative plural takes –am, but in many cases this ending undergoes a process of metathesis, rendering it –ma. Finally, the accusative plural of masculine and feminine nouns is usually –ans, but again may metathesise to –nas; neuter accusative plurals generally take –a.

Most of the actual declensions of nouns are fairly standard – much more standardised, in fact, than Gothic – however, the various phonological rules governing the language create a great deal of variation (See Phonology). It is important to be familiar with the rules set forth in the Phonology section of this document in order to fully understand some of the otherwise unexpected variants that emerge.

a-Stems (Masculine & Neuter)

Pure a-Stems

Strong Masculine a-Stem Noun: slēps ‘sleep’
n.st.m.a Nominative Genitive Dative Accusative
Singular slēps slēpis slēpa slēp
Plural slēpas slēparo slēpma slēpnas

ja-Stems

Strong Masculine ja-Stem Noun: tapis ‘carpet’
n.st.m.ja Nominative Genitive Dative Accusative
Singular tapis tapis tapia tepe
Plural tapis tapiro tapim tapins

ija-Stems

Strong Masculine ija-Stem Noun: enǧis ‘and’
n.st.m.ija Nominative Genitive Dative Accusative
Singular enǧis enǧis enǧia ende
Plural enǧis enǧiro enǧim enǧins

wa-Stems

Strong Masculine wa-Stem Noun: skaðus ‘skað’
n.st.m.wa Nominative Genitive Dative Accusative
Singular skaðus skaðugis skaðuga skaðo
Plural skaðugas skaðugaro skaðugma skaðugnas

wja-Stems

Template:Valthungian/n.st.m.wja

Verbs

Strong Verbs

Strong Verbs: Class I (ī – ǣ – i – i)

Class 1 Strong Verb: grǣpna ‘grī’
Infinitive   Standard Inverse Standard Inverse
grǣpna   Present Indicative Present Subjunctive
1sg. ik grǣpa grǣpik ik grǣpa grǣpik
2sg. þū grǣpis grǣpistu þū grǣpas grǣpastu
3sg.m. is grǣpiþ grǣpiðis is grǣpa grǣpis
Present Participle 3sg.f. sī grǣpiþ grǣpisi sī grǣpa grǣpasi
grǣpnaþs 3sg.n. it grǣpiþ grǣpiðit it grǣpa grǣpit
1du. wit grǣpma grǣpant wit grǣpam grǣpant
1pl. wīs grǣpma grǣpmas wīs grǣpam grǣpams
2du. ǧut grǣpiþ grǣpist ǧut grǣpaþ grǣpast
Past Participle 2pl. jūs grǣpiþ grǣpiþs jūs grǣpaþ grǣpaþs
{{{5}}}pnas 3pl.m. īs grǣpnaþ grǣpnaþs īs grǣpan grǣpans
3pl.f. ižas grǣpnaþ grǣpnaþs ižas grǣpan grǣpans
3pl.n. iža grǣpnaþ grǣpnaþs iža grǣpan grǣpans
  Past Indicative Past Subjunctive
Imperative 1sg. ik grip gripik ik {{{5}}}pia {{{5}}}pik
grǣp 2sg. þū grift griftu þū {{{5}}}pis {{{5}}}pistu
grǣpaða 3sg.m. is grip gripis is {{{4}}}pe {{{4}}}pis
3sg.f. sī grip gripsi sī {{{4}}}pe {{{4}}}pisi
3sg.n. it grip gripit it {{{4}}}pe {{{4}}}pit
grǣpma 1du. wit {{{4}}}pum {{{4}}}punt wit {{{5}}}pim {{{5}}}pint
1pl. wīs {{{4}}}pum {{{4}}}pums wīs {{{5}}}pim {{{5}}}pims
grǣpiþ 2du. ǧut {{{4}}}puþ {{{4}}}pust ǧut {{{5}}}piþ {{{5}}}pist
2pl. jūs {{{4}}}puþ {{{4}}}puþs jūs {{{5}}}piþ {{{5}}}piþs
grǣpnaþa 3pl.m. īs {{{4}}}pun {{{4}}}puns īs {{{5}}}pin {{{5}}}pins
3pl.f. ižas {{{4}}}pun {{{4}}}puns ižas {{{5}}}pin {{{5}}}pins
3pl.n. iža {{{4}}}pun {{{4}}}puns iža {{{5}}}pin {{{5}}}pins

Strong Verbs: Class II (ju – ǭ – u – u)

Because of the shift of the vowel from iu to ju, when a class II verb begins with a consonant that is subject to palatalisation, some unusual patterns may emerge as a result.

Those class II verbs which are descended from ProtoGermanic *-euwaną have a slightly different paradigm, as the medial /w/ undergoes Verschärfung in East Germanic to /ngw/, and the result, with the exception of the past singular, is remarkably similar to class III.

Strong Verbs: Class III (i – a – u – u)

Class III strong verbs are those verbs with /i/ (historically /e/) as the root vowel which is followed by a sonorant (r, l, m, n) and an obstruent (p, t, k, b, d, g, f, þ, s, h), or, rarely, two obstruents (e.g. /hs/, /gd/). Ablaut causes the second principle part to shift to /a/, and the third and fourth to /u/.

In verbs where /r/ is the sonorant in question, the paradigm shifts to /e/ in the first principle part and /o/ in the third (due to the East Germanic Reflex of First Umlaut).

Class 3 Strong Verb: bergna
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
bergna   Present
1sg. berga berga
Present Participle 2sg. bergis bergas
bergnaþs 3sg. bergiþ berga
1pl. bergma bergam
Past Participle 2pl. bergiþ bergaþ
borgnas 3pl. bergnaþ bergan
  Past
Imperative 1sg. barg bœrǧa
berg 2sg. barft bœrgis
bergaða 3sg. barg borge
bergma 1pl. borgum bœrgim
bergiþ 2pl. borguþ bœrgiþ
bergnaþa 3pl. borgun bœrgin

Strong Verbs: Class IV (i – a – ē – u)

Class 4 Strong Verb: kuimna
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
kuimna   Present
1sg. kuima kuima
Present Participle 2sg. kuimis kuimas
kuimnaþs 3sg. kuimiþ kuima
1pl. kuimam kuimam
Past Participle 2pl. kuimiþ kuimaþ
kūmnas 3pl. kuimnaþ kuiman
  Past
Imperative 1sg. kuam kuēmia
kuim 2sg. kuamt kuēmis
kuimaða 3sg. kuam kuēme
kuimam 1pl. kuēmum kuēmim
kuimiþ 2pl. kuēmuþ kuēmiþ
kuimnaþa 3pl. kuēmun kuēmin

In verbs where /r/ is the sonorant in question, the paradigm shifts to /e/ in the first principle part and /o/ in the third (due to the East Germanic Reflex of First Umlaut).

Class 4 Strong Verb: berna
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
berna   Present
1sg. bera bera
Present Participle 2sg. beris beras
bernaþs 3sg. beriþ bera
1pl. berma beram
Past Participle 2pl. beriþ beraþ
bornas 3pl. bernaþ beran
  Past
Imperative 1sg. bar bēria
ber 2sg. bart bēris
beraða 3sg. bar bēre
berma 1pl. bērum bērim
beriþ 2pl. bēruþ bēriþ
bernaþa 3pl. bērun bērin

Strong Verbs: Class V (i – a – ē – i)

Class 5 Strong Verb: kuiðna
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
kuiðna   Present
1sg. kuiða kuiða
Present Participle 2sg. kuiðis kuiðas
kuiðnaþs 3sg. kuiðiþ kuiða
1pl. kuiðma kuiðam
Past Participle 2pl. kuiðiþ kuiðaþ
kuiðnas 3pl. kuiðnaþ kuiðan
  Past
Imperative 1sg. kuaþ kuēþia
kuiþ 2sg. kuast kuēðis
kuiðaða 3sg. kuaþ kuēðe
kuiðam 1pl. kuēðum kuēðim
kuiðiþ 2pl. kuēðuþ kuēðiþ
kuiðnaþa 3pl. kuēðun kuēðin

Strong Verbs: Class VI (a – ō – ō – a)

Class 6 Strong Verb: dragna
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
dragna   Present
1sg. draga draga
Present Participle 2sg. dragis dragas
dragnaþs 3sg. dragiþ draga
1pl. dragma dragam
Past Participle 2pl. dragiþ dragaþ
dragnas 3pl. dragnaþ dragan
  Past
Imperative 1sg. drōg drœuǧa
drag 2sg. drōft drœugis
dragaða 3sg. drōg drœuge
dragma 1pl. drōgum drœugim
dragiþ 2pl. drōguþ drœugiþ
dragnaþa 3pl. drōgun drœugin

Strong Verbs: Class VII (reduplication)

Class 7 Strong Verb: hǣtna
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
hǣtna   Present
1sg. hǣta hǣta
Present Participle 2sg. hǣtis hǣtas
hǣtnaþs 3sg. hǣtiþ hǣta
1pl. hǣtma hǣtam
Past Participle 2pl. hǣtiþ hǣtaþ
hǣtnas 3pl. hǣtnaþ hǣtan
  Past
Imperative 1sg. hehǣt hehǣča
hǣt 2sg. hehǣst hehǣtis
hǣtaða 3sg. hehǣt hehǣte
hǣtma 1pl. hehǣtum hehǣtim
hǣtiþ 2pl. hehǣtuþ hehǣtiþ
hǣtnaþa 3pl. hehǣtun hehǣtin
Class 7 Strong Verb: lētna
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
lētna   Present
1sg. lēta lēta
Present Participle 2sg. lētis lētas
lētnaþs 3sg. lētiþ lēta
1pl. lētma lētam
Past Participle 2pl. lētiþ lētaþ
lētnas 3pl. lētnaþ lētan
  Past
Imperative 1sg. lelōt lelœuča
lēt 2sg. lelōst lelœutis
lētaða 3sg. lelōt lelōte
lētma 1pl. lelōtum lelœutim
lētiþ 2pl. lelōtuþ lelœutiþ
lētnaþa 3pl. lelōtun lelœutin

Weak Verbs

Weak Verbs: Class Ia (-janą)

Class 1 Weak Verb: leǧin
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
leǧin   Present
1sg. leǧa leǧa
Present Participle 2sg. leǧis leǧis
leǧinþs 3sg. leǧiþ leǧa
1pl. leǧim leǧim
Past Participle 2pl. leǧiþ leǧiþ
lagiþs 3pl. leǧinþ leǧin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. lagiða lagiǧa
legi 2sg. lagiðas lagiðis
leǧiða 3sg. lagiða lagiðe
lagim 1pl. lagiðum lagiðim
lagiþ 2pl. lagiðuþ lagiðiþ
laginþa 3pl. lagiðun lagiðin

Weak Verbs: Class Ib (-ijaną)

Class 1 Weak Verb: blenčin
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
blenčin   Present
1sg. blenča blenča
Present Participle 2sg. blenkis blenčis
blenčinþs 3sg. blenkiþ blenča
1pl. blenčim blenčim
Past Participle 2pl. blenkiþ blenčiþ
blankiþs 3pl. blenčinþ blenčin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. blankiða blankiǧa
blenki 2sg. blankiðas blankiðis
blenčiða 3sg. blankiða blankiðe
blenčim 1pl. blankiðum blankiðim
blenčiþ 2pl. blankiðuþ blankiðiþ
blenčinþa 3pl. blankiðun blankiðin

Weak Verbs: Class II (-ōną)

Class 2 Weak Verb: fiškan
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
fiškan   Present
1sg. fiška fiška
Present Participle 2sg. fiškas fiškas
fiškanþs 3sg. fiškaþ fiška
1pl. fiškam fiškam
Past Participle 2pl. fiškaþ fiškaþ
fiškaþs 3pl. fiškanþ fiškan
  Past
Imperative 1sg. fiškaða fiškaǧa
fiška 2sg. fiškaðas fiškaðis
fiškaða 3sg. fiškaða fiškaðe
fiškam 1pl. fiškaðum fiškaðim
fiškaþ 2pl. fiškaðuþ fiškaðiþ
fiškanþa 3pl. fiškaðun fiškaðin

Weak Verbs: Class III (-āną)

Class 3 Weak Verb: ǧukna
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
ǧukna   Present
1sg. ǧuka ǧuka
Present Participle 2sg. ǧukas ǧukas
ǧuknaþs 3sg. ǧukaþ ǧuka
1pl. ǧukma ǧukam
Past Participle 2pl. ǧukaþ ǧukaþ
ǧukaþs 3pl. ǧuknaþ ǧukan
  Past
Imperative 1sg. ǧukaða ǧukaǧa
ǧuka 2sg. ǧukaðas ǧukaðis
ǧukaða 3sg. ǧukaða ǧukaðe
ǧukma 1pl. ǧukaðum ǧukaðim
ǧukaþ 2pl. ǧukaðuþ ǧukaðiþ
ǧuknaþa 3pl. ǧukaðun ǧukaðin

Weak Verbs: Class IV (-naną)

Weak Verbs: Class V (-ną)

Preterit-Present Verbs

Preterit-Present Verb: ǣgna ‘to have’
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
ǣgna   Present
1sg. ǣþ ǣǧa
Present Participle 2sg. ǣft ǣgis
ǣgnaþs 3sg. ǣþ ǣge
1pl. ǣgum ǣgim
Past Participle 2pl. ǣguþ ǣgiþ
ǣft 3pl. ǣgun ǣgin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. ǣfta ǣfča
ǣg 2sg. ǣftas ǣftis
ǣgaða 3sg. ǣfta ǣfte
ǣgum 1pl. ǣftum ǣftim
ǣguþ 2pl. ǣftuþ ǣftiþ
ǣgnaþa 3pl. ǣftun ǣftin
Preterit-Present Verb: dorsna ‘to dare’
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
dorsna   Present
1sg. dars dœrša
Present Participle 2sg. darst dœrsis
dorsnaþs 3sg. dars dorse
1pl. dorsum dœrsim
Past Participle 2pl. dorsuþ dœrsiþ
dorst 3pl. dorsun dœrsin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. dorsta dœrsča
dors 2sg. dorstas dœrstis
dorsaða 3sg. dorsta dorste
dorsum 1pl. dorstum dœrstim
dorsuþ 2pl. dorstuþ dœrstiþ
dorsanþa 3pl. dorstun dœrstin
Preterit-Present Verb: dugna ‘to be beneficial’
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
dugna   Present
1sg. dǭg dyǧa
Present Participle 2sg. dǭft dygis
dugnaþs 3sg. dǭg duge
1pl. dugum dygim
Past Participle 2pl. duguþ dygiþ
dǭts 3pl. dugun dygin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. dǭta dœ̄ča
dǭg 2sg. dǭtas dœ̄tis
dǭgaða 3sg. dǭta dǭte
dugum 1pl. dǭtum dœ̄tim
duguþ 2pl. dǭtuþ dœ̄tiþ
dugunþa 3pl. dǭtun dœ̄tin
Preterit-Present Verb: kutnan ‘to know how, can’
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
kutnan   Present
1sg. kan kynia
Present Participle 2sg. kant kytnis
kutnaþs 3sg. kan kutne
1pl. kutnum kytnim
Past Participle 2pl. kutnuþ kytniþ
kunþs 3pl. kutnun kytnin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. kunþa kynþia
kan 2sg. kunþas kynþis
kanaða 3sg. kunþa kunþe
kutnum 1pl. kunþum kynþim
kutnuþ 2pl. kunþuþ kynþiþ
kutnunþa 3pl. kunþun kynþin
Preterit-Present Verb: lisna ‘to learn’
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
lisna   Present
1sg. lǣs liša
Present Participle 2sg. lǣst lisis
lisnaþs 3sg. lǣs lise
1pl. lisum lisim
Past Participle 2pl. lisuþ lisiþ
list 3pl. lisun lisin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. lista lisča
lǣs 2sg. listas listis
lǣsaða 3sg. lista liste
lisum 1pl. listum listim
lisuþ 2pl. listuþ listiþ
lisunþa 3pl. listun listin
Preterit-Present Verb: magna ‘to be capable, can’
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
magna   Present
1sg. mag meǧa
Present Participle 2sg. māt megis
magnaþs 3sg. mag mage
1pl. magum megim
Past Participle 2pl. maguþ megiþ
māts 3pl. magun megin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. māta mǣča
mag 2sg. mātas mǣtis
magaða 3sg. māta māte
magum 1pl. mātum mǣtim
maguþ 2pl. mātuþ mǣtiþ
magunþa 3pl. mātun mǣtin
Preterit-Present Verb: mōtna ‘to be allowed’
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
mōtna   Present
1sg. mōt mœuča
Present Participle 2sg. mōst mœutis
mōtnaþs 3sg. mōt mōte
1pl. mōtum mœutim
Past Participle 2pl. mōtuþ mœutiþ
mōst 3pl. mōtun mœutin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. mōsta mœusča
mōt 2sg. mōstas mœustis
mōtaða 3sg. mōsta mōste
mōtum 1pl. mōstum mœustim
mōtuþ 2pl. mōstuþ mœustiþ
mōtunþa 3pl. mōstun mœustin
Preterit-Present Verb: munan ‘to remember’
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
munan   Present
1sg. man mynia
Present Participle 2sg. mant mynis
munanþs 3sg. man mune
1pl. munum mynim
Past Participle 2pl. munuþ myniþ
munǧ 3pl. munun mynin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. munda mynǧa
man 2sg. mundas myndi
manaða 3sg. munda munde
munum 1pl. mundum myndim
munuþ 2pl. munduþ myndiþ
mununþa 3pl. mundun myndin
Preterit-Present Verb: nugna ‘to suffice’
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
nugna   Present
1sg. nyǧa
Present Participle 2sg. nāt nygis
nugnaþs 3sg. nuge
1pl. nugum nygim
Past Participle 2pl. nuguþ nygiþ
nǭts 3pl. nugun nygin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. nǭta nœ̄ča
2sg. nǭtas nœ̄tis
naguða 3sg. nǭta nōte
nugum 1pl. nǭtum nœ̄tim
nuguþ 2pl. nǭtuþ nœ̄tiþ
nugunþa 3pl. nǭtun nœ̄tin
Preterit-Present Verb: ōgna ‘to fear’
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
ōgna   Present
1sg. ōg œuǧa
Present Participle 2sg. ōft œugis
ōgnaþs 3sg. ōg ōge
1pl. ōgum œugim
Past Participle 2pl. ōguþ œugiþ
ōft 3pl. ōgun œugin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. ōfta œufča
ōg 2sg. ōftas œufti
ōgaða 3sg. ōfta ōfte
ōgum 1pl. ōftum œuftim
ōguþ 2pl. ōftuþ œuftiþ
ōgunþa 3pl. ōftun œuftin
Preterit-Present Verb: skulna ‘should’
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
skulna   Present
1sg. skal skylia
Present Participle 2sg. skalt skylis
skulnaþs 3sg. skal skule
1pl. skulum skylim
Past Participle 2pl. skuluþ skyliþ
skulǧ 3pl. skulun skylin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. skulða skylǧa
skal 2sg. skulðas skylðis
skalaða 3sg. skulða skulðe
skulum 1pl. skulðum skylðim
skuluþ 2pl. skulðuþ skylðiþ
skulunþa 3pl. skulðun skylðin
Preterit-Present Verb: vitna ‘to know’
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
vitna   Present
1sg. vǣt viča
Present Participle 2sg. vǣst vitis
vitnaþs 3sg. vǣt vite
1pl. vitum vitim
Past Participle 2pl. vituþ vitiþ
vist 3pl. vitun vitin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. vista visča
vǣt 2sg. vistas vistis
vǣtaða 3sg. vista viste
vitum 1pl. vistum vistim
vituþ 2pl. vistuþ vistiþ
vitunþa 3pl. vistun vistin
Preterit-Present Verb: þorvan ‘to need’
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
þorvan   Present
1sg. þarf þœrfia
Present Participle 2sg. þarft þœrvis
þorvanþs 3sg. þarf þorve
1pl. þorvum þœrvim
Past Participle 2pl. þorvuþ þœrviþ
þorft 3pl. þorvun þœrvin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. þorfta þœrfča
þarf 2sg. þorftas þœrftis
þarvaða 3sg. þorfta þorfte
þorvum 1pl. þorftum þœrftim
þorvuþ 2pl. þorftuþ þœrftiþ
þorvunþa 3pl. þorftun þœrftin

Finally, wilin is not actually a preterit-present verb, but a subjunctive-present verb. However, it seems to fit best here amongst its other quasi-anomalous quasi-auxiliary brethren.

Preterit-Present Verb: vilin ‘to want’
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
vilin   Present
1sg. vilia vilia
Present Participle 2sg. vilis vilis
vilinþs 3sg. viliþ vile
1pl. vilim vilim
Past Participle 2pl. viliþ viliþ
viliþs 3pl. vilinþ vilin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. vilða vilǧa
vili 2sg. vilðas vilðis
viliða 3sg. vilða vilðe
vilim 1pl. vilðum vilðim
viliþ 2pl. vilðuþ vilðiþ
vilinþa 3pl. vilðun vilðin

Anomalous Verbs

Dōn is sometimes categorised as a Class VII strong verb, though it does not follow the same reduplication or ablaut patterns of other verbs in this class. Some Germanic philologists also argue that the ancestor of Proto-Germanic dōną actually gave rise to the /d/-reduplication in the past tense of weak and preterit-present verbs.

Class 7 Strong Verb (Anomalous): dōn ‘to do’
Infinitive   Standard Inverse Standard Inverse
dōn   Present Indicative Present Subjunctive
1sg. ik dōm dōmik ik dōga dōgik
2sg. þū dōst dōstu þū dōgas dōgastu
3sg.m. is dōþ dōðis is dōga dōgis
Present Participle 3sg.f. sī dōþ dōsi sī dōga dōgasi
dōnþs 3sg.n. it dōþ dōðit it dōga dōgit
1du. wit dōm dōnt wit dōgam dōgant
1pl. wīs dōm dōms wīs dōgam dōgams
2du. ǧut dōþ dōst ǧut dōgaþ dōgast
Past Participle 2pl. jūs dōþ dōþs jūs dōgaþ dōgaþs
dōns 3pl.m. īs dōnþ dōnþs īs dōgan dōgans
3pl.f. ižas dōnþ dōnþs ižas dōgan dōgans
3pl.n. iža dōnþ dōnþs iža dōgan dōgans
  Past Indicative Past Subjunctive
Imperative 1sg. ik diða diðik ik dēða dēðik
dō, dē 2sg. þū diðas diðastu, distu þū dēðis dēðistu
dōða 3sg.m. is diða diðis is dēðe dēðis
3sg.f. sī diða diðasi sī dēðe dēðisi
3sg.n. it diða diðit it dēðe dēðit
dōm 1du. wit dēðum dēðunt wit dēðim dēðint
1pl. wīs dēðum dēðums wīs dēðim dēðims
dōþ 2du. ǧut dēðuþ dēðust ǧut dēðiþ dēðist
2pl. jūs dēðuþ dēðuþs jūs dēðiþ dēðiþs
dōnþa 3pl.m. īs dēðun dēðuns īs dēðin dēðins
3pl.f. ižas dēðun dēðuns ižas dēðin dēðins
3pl.n. iža dēðun dēðuns iža dēðin dēðins

The present indicative tense of gǣn/gangna has two forms – a short and a long form – as did the non-finite forms (the infinitive and the participles) as well as most of the imperatives. The past tenses show suppletion, and have been replaced by īǧ- from Proto-Germanic *ijj-, the same source as Old English ēode, and ultimately related to the Latin verb ire.

Class 7 Strong Verb (Anomalous): gangna, gǣn ‘to go’
Infinitive   Standard Inverse Standard Inverse
gangna, gǣn   Present Indicative Present Subjunctive
1sg. ik ganga, ik gēm gangik, gǣmik ik ganga gangik
2sg. þū gangis, þū gǣs gangistu, gǣstu þū gangas gangastu
3sg.m. is gangiþ, is gǣþ gangiðis, gǣðis is ganga gangis
Present Participle 3sg.f. sī gangiþ, sī gǣþ gangisi, gǣsi sī ganga gangasi
gangnaþs, gǣnþs 3sg.n. it gangiþ, it gǣþ gangiðit, gǣðit it ganga gangit
1du. wit gangma, wit gǣm gangant, gǣnt wit gangam gangant
1pl. wīs gangma, wīs gǣm gangmas, gǣms wīs gangam gangams
2du. ǧut gangiþ, ǧut gǣþ gangist, gǣst ǧut gangaþ gangast
Past Participle 2pl. jūs gangiþ, jūs gǣþ gangiþs, gǣþs jūs gangaþ gangaþs
gangnas, gǣns 3pl.m. īs gangnaþ gangnaþs īs gangan gangans
3pl.f. ižas gangnaþ gangnaþs ižas gangan gangans
3pl.n. iža gangnaþ gangnaþs iža gangan gangans
  Past Indicative Past Subjunctive
Imperative 1sg. ik īǧa īǧik ik īǧa īǧik
gang, gǣ 2sg. þū īǧis īǧistu þū īǧis īǧistu
gangaða, gǣða 3sg.m. is īǧa īǧis is īǧe īǧis
3sg.f. s·īǧa īǧisi s·īǧe īǧisi
3sg.n. it īǧa īǧit it īǧe īǧit
gangma, gǣm 1du. wit īǧim īǧint wit īǧim īǧint
1pl. wīs īǧim īǧims wīs īǧim īǧims
gangiþ, gǣþ 2du. ǧut īǧiþ īǧist ǧut īǧiþ īǧist
2pl. jūs īǧiþ īǧiþs jūs īǧiþ īǧiþs
gangnaþa, gǣnþa 3pl.m. īs īǧin īǧins īs īǧin īǧins
3pl.f. ižas īǧin īǧins ižas īǧin īǧins
3pl.n. iža īǧin īǧins iža īǧin īǧins

The present indicative tense of stǣn/standna has two forms – a short and a long form – as did the non-finite forms (the infinitive and the participles) as well as most of the imperatives. Though it acts like a Class VI verb in how it ablauts in the past, there is also a parallel form with reduplication, indicating Class VII.


Class 6/7 Strong Verb (Anomalous): standna, stǣn ‘to stand’
Infinitive   Standard Inverse Standard Inverse
standna, stǣn   Present Indicative Present Subjunctive
1sg. ik standa, ik stǣm standik, stǣmik ik standa standik
2sg. þū standis, þū stǣs standistu, stǣstu þū standas standastu
3sg.m. is standiþ, is stǣþ standiðis, stǣðis is standa standis
Present Participle 3sg.f. sī standiþ, sī stǣþ standisi, stǣsi sī standa standasi
standnaþs, stǣnþs 3sg.n. it standiþ, it stǣþ standiðit, stǣðit it standa standit
1du. wit standma, wit stǣm standant, stǣnt wit standam standant
1pl. wīs standma, wīs stǣm standmas, stǣms wīs standam standams
2du. ǧut standiþ, ǧut stǣþ standist, stǣst ǧut standaþ standast
Past Participle 2pl. jūs standiþ, jūs stǣþ standiþs, stǣþs jūs standaþ standaþs
standnas, stǣns 3pl.m. īs standnaþ standnaþs īs standan standans
3pl.f. ižas standnaþ standnaþs ižas standan standans
3pl.n. iža standnaþ standnaþs iža standan standans
  Past Indicative Past Subjunctive
Imperative 1sg. ik (ste)stōþ (ste)stōðik ik stœuða stœuðik
stand, stǣ 2sg. þū (ste)stōst (ste)stōstu þū stœuðis stœuðistu
standaða, stǣða 3sg.m. is (ste)stōþ (ste)stōðis is stōðe stōðis
3sg.f. sī (ste)stōþ (ste)stōsi sī stōðe stōðisi
3sg.n. it (ste)stōþ (ste)stōðit it stōðe stōðit
standma, stǣm 1du. wit (ste)stōðum (ste)stōðunt wit stœuðim stœuðint
1pl. wīs (ste)stōðum (ste)stōðums wīs stœuðim stœuðims
standiþ, stǣþ 2du. ǧut (ste)stōðuþ (ste)stōðust ǧut stœuðiþ stœuðist
2pl. jūs (ste)stōðuþ (ste)stōðuþs jūs stœuðiþ stœuðiþs
standnaþa, stǣnþa 3pl.m. īs (ste)stōðun (ste)stōðuns īs stœuðin stœuðins
3pl.f. ižas (ste)stōðun (ste)stōðuns ižas stœuðin stœuðins
3pl.n. iža (ste)stōðun (ste)stōðuns iža stœuðin stœuðins

Visna is easily the most heavily suppleted of the Germanic verbs. Aside from the obvious vis- stem, which is completely missing from the present tenses, the present shows two other stems, i- and . The imperative also has an anomalous ī as an alternative for the second person singular, though it is unrelated to the i- stem of the present, and may actually come from Latin ī, imperative form of ire (‘to go’).

Class 5 Strong Verb (Anomalous): wisna ‘to be’
Infinitive   Standard Inverse Standard Inverse
wisna   Present Indicative Present Subjunctive
1sg. ik im imik ik siža sižik
2sg. þū is istu þū sižis sižistu
3sg.m. is ist istis is siža sižis
Present Participle 3sg.f. s·īst isi sī siža sižisi
wisnaþs 3sg.n. it ist istit it siža sižit
1du. wit sižum, wit sīm sižunt, sīnt wit sižim sižint
1pl. wīs sižum, wīs sīm sižums, sīms wīs sižim sižims
2du. ǧut sižuþ, ǧut sīþ sižust, sīst ǧut sižiþ sižist
Past Participle 2pl. jūs sižuþ, jūs sīþ sižuþs, sīþs jūs sižiþ sižiþs
wisnas 3pl.m. īs sinþ sinþs īs sižin sižins
3pl.f. ižas sinþ sinþs ižas sižin sižins
3pl.n. iža sinþ sinþs iža sižin sižins
  Past Indicative Past Subjunctive
Imperative 1sg. ik was wažik, wežik ik wēša wēšik
wis, ī, sī 2sg. þū wast wastu þū wēsis wēsisu
wisaða, imda 3sg.m. is was wažis, wežis is wēse wēsis
3sg.f. sī was wasi, wesi sī wēse wēsisi
3sg.n. it was wažit, wežit it wēse wēsit
sižum, sīm 1du. wit wēsum wēsunt wit wēsim wēsint
1pl. wīs wēsum wēsums wīs wēsim wēsims
sižuþ, sīþ 2du. ǧut wēsuþ wēsust ǧut wēsiþ wēsist
2pl. jūs wēsuþ wēsuþs jūs wēsiþ wēsiþs
sinþa 3pl.m. īs wēsun wēsuns īs wēsin wēsins
3pl.f. ižas wēsun wēsuns ižas wēsin wēsins
3pl.n. iža wēsun wēsuns iža wēsin wēsins

Compound Tenses

Forming the Perfect

In Gothic, there was no explicit perfect or perfective aspect in verbs. In order to express the perfect, sometimes the prefix ga- was added to verbs. Latin had a dedicated perfect inflection in verbs.

In later Germanic and Romance languages, the perfect was formed by combining an auxiliary verb (usually ‘have’ or ‘be’) with a participle. In languages which make the distinction (such as French, German, and Italian), ‘have’ is used with most transitive verbs, while ‘be’ is reserved for intransitive verbs dealing with change of state or motion. Valthungian maintains a similar transitive/intransitive distinction as the aforementioned languages, but the distinction is much broader (purely transitive/intransitive, rather than the various rules, exceptions, and sub-rules that govern “être/sein/essere” verbs), and the difference in the realisation of the two types is much more extreme.

Intransitive verbs are formed in the Romance style by creating a compound of the verb visna and the past participle. (The participle is an adjective, and must be declined to agree with the subject.)

  • īst lēkare vorðna.
    • ‘She has become a doctor.’
  • Is vas hǣma gangnas.
    • ‘He had gone home.’

Transitive verbs are formed in the Gothic manner, though the ga- prefix from Gothic has since been grammaticalised and stands on its own as an adverb which is usually placed clause-finally.

  • S·ītmit gaf gā.
    • ‘She had given it to him.’
  • Ik þik sǣja gā.
    • ‘I have seen you.’

Forming the Future

The future is formed by using the auxiliary genǧin ‘to go’ followed by an infinitive (not unlike future compound constructions with go in multiple European languages).

  • Ik genǧa þō hord lūkna.
    • ‘I will lock the door.’
  • Ik nī gangiða nījo þō livran af hǣða hun ligna.
    • ‘I was never going to read that book anyway.’

Forming the Passive

Gothic transitive verbs had a passive form, but this has disappeared from Valthungian. Instead, the passive may be formed using a variety of auxiliary verbs determined by the volition of the agent and the subject (patient). By their very nature, passives need not specify an agent, but an agent can be indicated using the genitive (as we would use ‘by’ in English).

  Patient:
Deliberate
Patient:
Unintentional / Inanimate
Agent:
Deliberate
gečin ‘to cause to get’
lenǧin ‘to cause to succeed’
gitna ‘to get’
þiǧin ‘to receive’
Agent:
Unintentional / Inanimate
þiǧin ‘to receive’
lenǧin ‘to cause to succeed’
 
skīčin ‘to cause to happen’
skeǧin ‘to cause to happen’
verðan ‘to become’

Agent/Patient Deliberate: This tends to refer to things that happen as a result of mutual agreement

  • Ik gatiða forðat vork fergilðiþs.
    • ‘I was paid for the work.’
  • Þǣ ankýmbiðas langiðun þis borðaþjugis ganōguða.
    • ‘The diners were served by the waiter.’

Agent Deliberate / Patient Unintentional: These auxiliaries are used mainly when the agent is a person and the patient is either an object or a person who is unaware of the agent’s intention or an unwilling participant in the action.

  • Ik gat þis veris slaguns.
    • ‘I was hit by the man.’
  • Sā vagnas þagiða þiža mœuǧis fariþs.
    • ‘The car was driven by the girl.’

Agent Unintentional / Patient Deliberate: This usually refers to agents (usually inanimate) that are being used by a patient for a specific purpose.

  • Ik þagiða þižas fœ̄ðinis nutriškiþs.
    • ‘I was nourished by the food.’
  • Þū langiðas (þiža intǣkninis) toðíža miðéndina tuguns.
    • ‘You were led to that conclusion (by the evidence).’

Agent/Patient Unintentional or Inanimate: This final group is possibly the most common, and refers to inanimate agent and patient, or when the agent or patient is an unwilling participant in the action. It may refer especially to natural phenomena, e.g. ‘blown down by wind’ or ‘rained on’.

  • Ik skīkiða þis þljuðis angǣsiþs.
    • ‘I was startled by the noise.’
  • Þǣ lǭvas skagiðun þižas rynins afbórna.
    • ‘The leaves were carried away by the stream.’

Immediacy: Forming the Recent Past and Immediate Future

The adverb straks can be used in conjunction with most tenses as an “immediacy particle.” In the past tenses, this translates roughly to the word ‘just’, as in “I just did that.” In the future, it is most closely translated as ‘about to’.

  • Ik straks āt gā.
    • ‘I had just eaten.’
  • Is straks gangiþ hǣma.
    • ‘He is about to go home.’

NB: Straks is definitely a Germanic word, but cannot be descended from East Germanic. (If it were, we might expect strakis or perhaps straka.) It is likely a more recent borrowing into Middle Valthungian from a West or North Germanic source. Cf. Dutch, Norwegian, and Danish straks, Swedish and Icelandic strax, German stracks, &c.

Forming the Progressive

The progressive tenses are not used often in Valthungian, but they can be a useful way to indicate that something is left unfinished, since the Perfect – originally a perfective indicating completed action – has taken on more of a perfect meaning, including that of a more generalised past tense.

The progressive is formed using the auxiliary verb sitna ‘to sit’ and the preposition ‘by’, followed by the infinitive. (In very formal language, you may encounter sitna bī followed by the dative of the nominalized form of the verb, e.g. ‘I am drawing’ may be rendered as Ik sita bī vrǣtina rather than the expected Ik sita bī vrǣčin.

  • Ū sitistu njužis bī drinkna gā?
    • ‘Have you been drinking again?’
  • Ik sita bī skrīvna þō bisāt mīna. Ranive sitik bī drinkna gā.
    • I’m writing my dissertation. Of course I’ve been drinking.’

Adjectives

In Valthungian, adjectives can be strong or weak (as with adjectives in any Germanic language that declines). The general rule is: If a nouns takes a determiner (article, possessive[1], quantifier, &c), its accompanying adjective is weak; otherwise it is strong.

Predicative adjectives do not decline; they take the form of the strong neuter singular regardless of what they modify.

  • Predicative
  • Strong
  • Weak

For example:

  • Sā wer duala ist dual. ‘The stupid man is stupid.’
  • Sō kuina duala ist dual. ‘The stupid woman is stupid.’
  • Þat kliþ duala ist dual. ‘The stupid child is stupid.’
  • Þǣ avnas dualnas sinþ dual. ‘The stupid husbands are stupid.’
  • Þōs kwēnis dualans sinþ dual. ‘The stupid wives are stupid.’
  • Þō brana dualan sinþ dual. ‘The stupid children are stupid.’

But strong declension for 3rd person possessives[2], since they don’t decline!

  • Ižas brōðra duals ist dual. ‘Her stupid brother is stupid.’
  • Is dǭtra duala ist dual. ‘His stupid daughter is stupid.’
  • Iža bran dualat ist dual. ‘Their stupid child is stupid.’
  • Iža synis duala sinþ dual. ‘Their stupid sons are stupid.’
  • Is swistris dualas sinþ dual. ‘His stupid sisters are stupid.’
  • Ižas kliða duala sinþ dual. ‘Her stupid children are stupid.’
  1. ^ Only when a possessive is used without an article; otherwise the possessive itself is also declined as weak.
  2. ^ With the exception of sīns, which declines normally like mīns and þīns and takes a weak adjective.