Wendlandish

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Wendlandish
lyngra Vinnurlænska
Pronunciation[ˈlʏŋːra ʋinʉɐ̯ˈlænska]
Created byLili21
DateJul 2016
SettingAlt-Earth
Native tothe Wendlands
EthnicityWends/Wendlanders (Vinnurlænsker)
Native speakers1,700,000 (2016)
Indo-European
  • Italic
    • Romance
      • Northern Romance
        • Wendlandish
Official status
Official language in
the Wendlands
Regulated byAcademy of the Wendlandish Language
akademíla ið lyngra Vinnurlænska
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Wendlandish, natively Vinnurlænska or lyngra Vinnurlænska, is a Romance language spoken in an uchronic Earth, in the area of real-world Pomerania. The only member of the Northern Romance branch, Wendlandish has, due to relative and long isolation from the rest of the Romance-speaking world, followed its own path of evolution and has absorbed lots of words, grammatical features, and influence on phonology, from its neighboring languages: most prominently Old Norse, but also Proto-Slavic, Baltic languages, Low German and, more recently, Standard High German and Polish.

Introduction

External history

Wendlandish started as my first "serious" attempt at an a posteriori conlang. I wanted to do a language radically different from other ones in its family, so I decided for this (somewhat unrealistic, I admit) setting: a Romance language spoken in what in the real world is Pomerania (roughly between Schwerin and Gdańsk, up to 50-60 km inland from the coast), with lots of Old Norse, Slavic, Baltic, and Polish influences, totally cut off for ages from other Romance-speaking peoples, and in the end becoming in the 20th century a part of the Soviet Union, something that further characterizes the language.

NOTE: Even if it started out seriously, it later became the closest thing to a jokelang I've done. I actually like Wendlandish and still work on it once in a while, but I tend to add things more because I like them rather than because they would make sense conhistorically.

Internal history

Wendlandish is the official and national language of Wendland — natively Vinnurlond, "the Wendlands" —, officially the Soviet Republic of the Wendlands (repuvlik savjetska Vinnurlandana), a sovereign state in Northern Europe, bordering in the west and south with Germany (Þysklond) and in the south and east with Poland (Sløvjænlond); it has a long coast on the Baltic Sea (mær Vinnurlandana, Sea of the Wendlands), which divides it from Denmark (Danmork) and Sweden (Sværikur).
The capital and largest city, with 980,000 inhabitants, is Vænfjørðin[1]. Other major cities are Þyskarhøjfn (pop. about 75,000) in the west, on the coast opposite the country's largest island, Rygn[2]; and Løgurðurp[3] (pop. about 98,000) in the east; most of the country is rural, with more than 70% of the population being concentrated in and around Vænfjørðin (the second-largest city is actually Praljetarski, just north of Vænfjørðin, with about 160,000 inhabitants).

The population of Wendland, at the last census (2014), amounted to about 1,600,000 people; the total number of native Wendlandish speakers is slightly higher, with at least 100,000 people of Wendlandish origin living in other former Soviet countries and a small community in southern Denmark, mostly descendants of people who escaped from Wendland during Soviet times.



Phonology

Orthography

Wendlandish orthography is phonemic and there is a good overall correspondence between letters and sounds. Uniquely for a Romance language, it does not follow conventions inherited from Latin, taking as models Old Norse and Danish instead.

Letter Aa Bb Dd Ðð Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Kh kh
Sound /a/ /ɑː/ /b/ /d/ /ð/ /e/ /eː/ /f/ /ɣ/ /h/ /ɪ/ /iː/ /j/ /k/ /x/
Letter Ll Mm Nn ng Oo Pp Rr Ss Sj sj Tt Tj tj Ts ts
Sound /l/ /m/ /n/ /ŋ/ /ɔ/ /oː/ /p/ /r/ /s/ /ʃ/ /t/ /tʃ/ /ts/
Letter Þþ Uu Vv Yy Zz Ææ Øø
Sound /θ/ /ʉ/ /uː/ /v/ /ʏ/ /yː/ /z/ /æ/ /æː/ /œ/ /øː/

The digraphs aj, av, ej, ov, and æj represent the diphthongs /aɪ̯ aʊ̯ eɪ̯ ɔʊ̯ ɛɪ̯/ but are not treated as separate letters, unlike digraphs for consonants.

ng does not have an upper-case version as it does not appear at the beginning of words.

hv, hn, hm, hr, hl, and hj all have a silent h in present-day Wendlandish. hj is completely silent in hjints "five" and related words.

Loanwords are usually adapted without exceptions, like e.g. Polish zakład > zakvat "factory", or German Übermensch > ybermensj. Foreign surnames from languages written in the Latin alphabet are usually however kept the same (except for a few personalities whose names are completely adapted, like Kristsafir Kolum (Christopher Columbus) or Jøna ið Ark (Joan of Arc)); names from other languages were formerly romanized into Wendlandish from their pronunciation (e.g. Лермонтов > Ljermantaf), nowadays pure transliterations are preferred (e.g. Горбачёв > Gorbatjov, pronounced either [gɔɐ̯baˈtʃɔʊ̯] or [ˈɣɔɐ̯batʃɔʊ̯]).

Acute accents may be added on all vowels to mark stress; this is in formal writings mandatory word-finally ( is very common because of Greek -τική words such as maþematikǽ "mathematics" or politikǽ "politics") and in some plurisyllabic words ending in -s if the vowel before it is stressed (e.g. granís "frontier, border"). In colloquial writing, this is not usually done.

/j/ is sometimes written i instead of j when morpheme-final before a vowel-initial morpheme, e.g. skoliejtyk "school-", from skoli (school) + -ejtyk (adjectival suffix, < Lat. -āticum).

Cyrillic orthography

There is an unofficial Cyrillic orthography for Wendlandish, mostly based on Russian, which was developed unofficially during Soviet times and is still commonly seen used by Soviet nostalgics. The Wendlandish Cyrillic is basically the Russian alphabet extended with the letters ө ү ѣ ҫ ҙ standing for Latin ø y æ þ ð. The letters ш ч ц stand for the Latin digraphs sj tj ts respectively. Russian words are usually never changed, even if they reflect sounds not distinguished in Wendlandish.

Examples of official Latin script vs. unofficial Cyrillic orthography:

  • The Wendlands are a country in Northern Europe.
Vinnurlond sints un gasudarstva i Nurð ið Øyropa.
Виннурлонд синц ун государство и Нурҙ иҙ Өүропа.
  • Tjervona Vihtørala is a city located near the German border.
Tjervona Vihtørala jatt una sjitæt sje lukatse yst þyskriska granísla.
Червона Вихтөрала ятт уна шитѣт ше лукаце үст ҫүскриска гранисла.

Consonants

Bilabial Labio-dental Dental Alveolar Post-alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m n ŋ
Plosive p b t d k (g)
Fricative f θ ð s z ʃ x ɣ h
Affricate ts
Approximant ʋ (v) j
Trill r
Lateral app. l

/g/ is not a native phoneme of Wendlandish, but some people use it in unassimilated loanwords which originally had it. For example granís "border" is a totally assimilated loanword (from Polish granica) and is pronounced [ɣraˈniːs], while gató "cake (in specific contexts)" (from French gâteau) isn't and may be pronounced [gaˈtoː], but more commonly is [ɣaˈtoː].

Similarly, /v/ is used by some speakers instead of /ʋ/ (and its coda allophone [ʊ̯]) in words of Polish origin, even in "assimilated" loanwords, like javnosj "public" [ˈjɑːvnɔʃ] (from jawność) or tjervon "red" [tʃɛrˈvoːn] (from czerwony) — standard pronunciations being [ˈjɑːʊ̯nɔʃ] and [tʃɛrˈʋoːn]. This does not happen, anyway, with loanwords from any other source.
In standard Wendlandish, [v] otherwise only appears as an allophone of /ʋ/ after /k/ — even if this too only happens in borrowings, usually learned Latin words like kvæstsura "public office" [kvæsˈtsuːra] (reborrowing from quaestūra), kvadrats "square" [kvaˈdrats] (reb. < quadrātum), or inkvizitjona "research group; scientific research; Inquisition" [iŋkviziˈtʃoːna] (reb. < inquīsītiōnem); but also from other sources, including Polish /w/, like zakvat "factory" [ˈzɑːkvat], (< zakład). Note that foreign /gv/ is usually borrowed as /kv/ too, or /ɣ/ before /u/ or /o/ (e.g. the two assimilated loanwords kvjast "star" [ˈkvjast] < Pol. gwiazda; and gosj "nail" [ˈɣoːʃ] < Pol. gwóźdź).

Phonemic /v/ is however much more common than phonemic /g/, even if used by a minority of speakers.

/z/ appears exclusively in Polish and Russian loanwords.

Vowels

Front Near-front Central Back
High iː yː ʉ
Near-high ɪ ʏ
High-mid e eː ø
Mid
Low-mid œ ɔ
Near-low æ æː
Low a ɑː
Diphthongs eɪ̯ ɛɪ̯ aɪ̯ aʊ̯ ɔʊ̯

An unstressed schwa vowel appears in order to break some consonant clusters, like in some first person singular verbs - e.g. øml "I walk" - as well as in all synthetic past 3rd plural forms in -rtn. The realization of this vowel varies regionally: in Vænfjørðin and all other Central dialects it is usually [ə] (e.g. [ˈøməl], fyrtn [ˈfʏɐ̯tən]); it is [ɯ] across the Eastern Wendlands (e.g. [ˈømɯl], [ˈfʏɐ̯tɯn]), while the Western Wendlands are more varied, with notably [u] in areas around Þyskarhøyfn (e.g. [ˈømul], [ˈfʏɐ̯tun]).

Prosody

Stress

Intonation

Phonotactics

Morphophonology

Morphology

Nouns

Wendlandish nouns inflect for definitiveness and number; the definite article is suffixed and changes for gender, being -il for masculine nouns and -la for feminine ones (with l becoming r if there's another l in the stem).
It is not always possible to know what is the gender of the noun; generally nouns in -a are feminine (e.g. margva "carrot", tøla "table") as are many in -e (e.g. førke "girl") but for many other nouns it is not possible to know it from the form, e.g. kan "cane" is feminine but kæn "dog" is masculine; similarly oran (eagle) and agjin (fire) are both masculine while jalin (deer) is feminine. Some nouns may be used in both genders: ælektra (tram/Stadtbahn), for example, is most commonly feminine but is also used as masculine due to its etymology (it is a shortening of ælektratsuk "electric train"; also "train", pojst, is masculine).

The basic pattern is as follows:

Masculine Feminine
Singular Plural Singular Plural
Indefinite pisk "fish" pisker kara "house" karar
Definite piskil piskylir karla karallar

Examples of allomorphy:

pufl (m) (people): pufl (sg. ind.) - puflir (pl. ind.) - puflir (sg. def.) - puflyllir (pl. def.) (see below for the -ir plural)
lynga (f) (language): lynga - lyngar - lyngra - lyngallar

Other special cases:

  • Some masculine nouns in -ur lose the u in declined forms, e.g. kongur (king): kongur - kongler - kongril - kongrylir (note dissimilation of kongr- to kongl- in the plural indefinite);
    • Masculine nouns in -lur further dissimilate the resulting *-lr to -ll, e.g. milur (smile): milur - millir - miller - millyllir;
  • Masculine nouns in change this consonant to d in declined forms, e.g. ølð (ship): ølð - ølder - øldil - øldylir;
    • This change does not happen after -r and -j, e.g. arvejð (work): arvejð - arvejðer - arvejðil - arvejðylir;
  • Some masculine nouns have plural indefinite in -ir, as a result of non-regularized original Latin -ōs. pufl (people) is possibly the most noticeable; a loanword following this pattern is rubil (ruble): rubil - rublir - rublir - rublyllir;
  • Feminine nouns in -æt (< Latin -itate) change this final t into ð in declined forms, e.g. frjæt "truth": frjæt - frjæðir - frjæðla - frjæðillar;
  • As seen in frjæt, feminine nouns ending in a consonant have i as the thematic vowel for plural forms, e.g. forbindasj (-asj < Lat. -ātiō) "connection": forbindasj - forbindasjir - forbindasjla - forbindasjillar.

Some nouns are often used without article, unless it is qualified. This is true for most city names (Vænfjørðin but mudern Vænfjørðinil) and many names of sciences (eterafrøj "meteorology" but eterafrøjla ið vintsisjm søkulir "20th century meteorology").

Adjectives

Wendlandish has two adjectival declensions, one that differentiates between masculine and feminine in the singular, and another one that doesn't:

1st declension 2nd declension
Masculine Feminine Masculine and Feminine
Singular kælt "hot" kælta rjal "hidden"
Plural kælts rjalir

Note that many adjectives of the 1st declension with i change this vowel into u in the feminine, deriving from Latin o, e.g. bin "good": bin (m. sg.) - buna (f. sg.) - bints (pl.). As this example shows, ns becomes nts in all such plurals.

1st declension plurals are always written by adding an s to the masculine singular, but sometimes, in clusters, there are pronunciation changes, as the original last consonant is never pronounced (in a few cases such as -mb it never is even in the singular). Some examples:

muld "new": muld [ˈmul(d)] - mulda [ˈmuːlda] - mulds [ˈmuls]
durf "cool" (colloquial): durf [ˈduɐ̯f] - durfa [ˈduːɐ̯fa] - durfs [ˈduɐ̯s]
lymb "beautiful": lymb [ˈlʏm] - limba [ˈliːmba] - lymbs [ˈlʏms]
savjetsk "Soviet": savjetsk [saˈʋjetsk] - savjetska [saˈʋjetska] - savjetsks [saˈʋjes(k)s]

Most adjectives are of the 1st declension; the 2nd declension ones mostly come from Latin -e adjectives or Middle High German -ik / Danish -ig ones (e.g. jegentsli "true, real"). There are, however, a few oddities, like tjervon (red), of Polish origin, being a 2nd declension adjective.

It should be kept in mind that two color terms have irregular declensions: ruds "brown" - fem. ruda and pl. rudar; orants "orange" - fem. orantja and pl. orantjar.

Comparatives and superlatives

Irregular adjectives

There are eight (or nine) completely irregular adjectives with synthetic comparatives and superlatives, inherited from Latin — the reason for the count of eight or nine is that one of them, irregular from Latin, has been completely displaced in modern Wendlandish in its positive degree only by a Russian borrowing.
All of them also follow irregular declensions (similar to ruds and orants), but the comparative is invariable.

The irregular adjectives are:

Positive Comparative Superlative
bin (buna, bunar) "good" milir "better" øftym (øftma, øftmar[4]) "best"
møl (mala, malar) "bad" pjajir "worse" pjasjym (pjasjima, pjasjimar) "worst"
balsjoj (balsjaja, balsjí) "big, large" møyr "larger" mesjym (mesjima, mesjimar) "largest"
møyn (majna, majnar) "big, large" (obsolete)
pør (parva, parvar) "small" minir "smaller" minym (minima, minimar) "smallest"
sufør (sufra, sufrar) "high, tall, upper" sufjarir "higher, taller" sufrøm (sufrema, sufremar) "highest, tallest, uppermost"
infør (infra, infrar) "short, lower" infjarir "shorter" infym (infima, infimar) "shortest, lowermost"
pistør (pistra, pistrar) "(immediately) next, following" pistjarir "next, following" (farther); "farther" pistrøm (pistrema, pistremar) "last; farthest"
jastør (jastra, jastrar) "external, outside" jastjarir "more external; protruding, farther" jastrøm (jastrema, jastremar) "last; farthest"

More on pistjarir/jastjarir and pistrøm/jastrøm: the forms of pistør are more often used when talking about things and their placement, as in a number - e.g. pistrema pørsjin "last position"; pistrøm køyðik ið sjirtiril "the writer's last book"; pistrema pisjuljæðla "the last chance". The forms of jastør are used when talking about spatial placement - e.g. jastrema kara i vegil "last house in the street". In some cases, both can be used - e.g. jastremar/pistremar persunar ið propkala "the last people of the queue"; some phrases are however mostly idiomatic, so that "last train" and "next train" seem pistjarir and pistrøm cases but the actual terms used are jastjarir pojst(il) and jastrøm pojst(il).

Possessive adjectives

Possessive adjectives are among those that are mostly irregular:

mør (my, mine) tsur (your-sg, yours-sg) ifyr (his, her(s)) nitte (our(s)) vjatte (your-pl, yours-pl) ifovr (their-m, theirs-m) ifjør (their-f, theirs-f)
Masculine Feminine Masculine Feminine Masculine and Feminine Masculine Feminine Masculine Feminine Masculine and Feminine Masculine and Feminine
Singular mør mæj tsur tso ifyr nitte nittra vjatte vjattra ifovr ifjør
Plural mjæ tsy nøtti nitte vjætti vjatte

Ordinal numbers

Ordinals from 1st to 4th are all irregular; all others are made by adding -isjm to the numeral (cognate with French -ième and Italian -esimo among others), and are invariable (e.g. hjints [ˈin(t)s] "five" → hjintsisjm [inˈtsiʃm]; sjek "six" → sjekisjm).

frim (first) sjunður (second) tjars (third) hvæjrð (fourth)
Masculine Feminine Masculine Feminine Masculine Feminine Masculine Feminine
Singular frim sjunður sjonð tjars tjarsja hvæjrð hvæjrta
Plural frim frime sjynð sjunðe tjærs tjarsje hværð hvæjrte

Note that ð is silent in the forms sjonð [ˈʃɔn], sjynð [ˈʃʏn], hvæjrð [ˈʋɛɪ̯ɐ̯], and hværð [ˈʋæɐ̯].

Pronouns and demonstratives

Wendlandish pronouns distinguish three forms — nominative, accusative, and indirect — as relics of the Latin case system, but not all pronouns distinguish all of them. The 3rd person pronouns derive from ipse, ipsa, ipsī, ipsae.

Nominative Accusative Indirect
1sg jag [ˈjaːɣ] maj mi
2sg tsu taj tajv [ˈtaju]
3sg M if ifju ifi
F ifja
1pl novr nøym
2pl vovr vøym
3sg M ifi ifov ifir
F ifjæ ifjar

The two main demonstratives, "this" and "that", derive from locutions like ille hīc and ille illīc. The third demonstrative, "same", derives from īdem. Demonstratives have a neuter invariable form used as a pronoun:

lek (this) lylik (that) ide (the same)
Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter
Singular lek lajk lyk lylik lajlik lyðlik ide jæde ide
Plural lik læk lilik lælik jide jajde

Wendlandish correlatives are the following ones:

Demonstrative Relative Interrogative Indefinite Universal
Person talf hval, hjeð hjalf? ælfeltalf intestalf
Type tal hval? ælfeltal intestal
Thing hvid hvid, hjeð hjid? ælfelhvid int
Quantity, number tit hjeð (hvit) hvit? ælfeltit
Location tiv yv hjyv? ælfeliv intesiv
Manner tølmi hvumi hvumi? ælfelmið intemið
Time tan hvan hvan? ælfeltsu intetsu

Negatives are formed by adding naj before the demonstrative, e.g. naj talf "no one".

"Why" and "because" are both translated as hvofur. Despite the similarity to e.g. Danish hvorfor, it is actually a derivation from Latin quō pro.

Numerals

Wendlandish numerals are mostly inherited from Latin, but there are two notable contaminations from Slavic (in the words for six and eight) and two Germanic borrowings (eleven and twelve). Pronunciation is added for some numbers that have an irregular pronunciation, further worn down from the orthographically represented one.

Digit Cardinal Pronunciation
0 nil
1 un / una
2 dov [ˈdɔʊ̯] or [ˈdoː]
3 sjajr [ˈʃaɪ̯ɐ̯] or [ˈʃæː]
4 hvatsír [ʋɐˈ(t)siː]
5 hjints [ˈin(t)s]
6 sjek
7 seft
8 tom
9 nym
10 dets
11 jælfu
12 tovl
13 sjeðts [ˈʃets] or [ˈʃes]
14 hvatsirðir [ʋaˈsiɐ̯ði]
15 hjindets [ˈindets]
16 sjæðits
17 siþets
18 tøðts [ˈtøts] or [ˈtøs]
19 njænts
20 vints
21 vints-e-un(a)
22 vints-e-dov
30 sjinta
arch. also sjijenta
40 hvasjenta
50 hjinfenta [ˈiɱfenta]
60 sjekænta
70 sjoftæjnta
80 tøjnta
90 nonænta
100 sjønt

Note that all tens are stressed on their first syllable, so [ˈʋaːʃenta], [ˈiɱfenta], [ˈʃeːkænta], [ˈʃɔftɛi̯nta], [ˈtøʏ̯nta], [ˈnɔnænta].

Numbers above 100 are simply compounds but not written together: 101 is sjønt un(a), 102 sjønt dov, etc.

Digit Cardinal Pronunciation
200 dusjænts
300 sjajrsjænts
400 hvasjinjænts
500 hjinjænts
600 sjisjænts
700 sjæftjænts
800 tinjænts
900 nøjnænts
1,000 mild
1,001 mild et un(a)
2,000 dov mia
10,000 dets mia
1,000,000 un mylðan
2,000,000 dov mylðaner
1,000,000,000 un mildjørð [umˈmiltʃøɐ̯ð]
2,000,000,000 dov mildjørðer
1,000,000,000,000 un biðljørð
arch. also bidljørð
1,000,000,000,000,000 un sjiljørð

Verbs

Wendlandish verbs inherit the four conjugations of Latin, but has categorized them in different classes as sound changes greatly modified the original verbs. The four main verb classes are:

  1. -æjr verbs, that is, descendants of the Latin first conjugation, like mæjr "to love" (< amāre) or ømlæjr "to walk" (< ambulāre);
  2. -ajr verbs, descendants of the Latin second conjugation, like viðajr "to see" (< vidēre) or sfajr "to be aware" (< sapēre);
  3. -ir verbs, descendants of the Latin third and fourth conjugations - like hrajðir "to believe" (< crēdere), hnovskir "to know" (< gnōscere), or dirmir "to sleep" (< dormīre), inørnir "to intervene" (< intervenīre). Those which descend from the third conjugation are called the -øjmur group as their first person plural present indicative ends like that (e.g. hriðøjmur "we believe"), while those which descend from the fourth one are the -ymur group (e.g. dirmymur "we sleep").
  4. -ær/-er verbs, which do not descend from Latin but are instead made by a generalization of the pre-Wendlandish -er infinitive suffix added to other roots, like milær "to smile" (< Old Norse smíla). This is the only currently productive conjugation - e.g. forkastsær "to have lunch"; modern colloquial davnloder "to download", sælfijer "to take a selfie", buhojer "to get drunk".

Present indicative

The present indicative usually has two principal stems: a "stressed" stem, used for the singular and third plural, and an "unstressed" one for first and second plural. The infinitive stem is usually the unstressed one, except for -ir verbs of the -øjmur group.

1st (-æjr) 2nd (-ajr) 3rd (-ir (-øjmur)) 3rd (-ir (-ymur)) 4th (-ær) 4th (-er)
ømlæjr "to walk" viðajr "to see" hnovskir "to know" dirmir "to sleep" milær "to smile" rjaser "to cut"
jag øml vajðe hnovsk dørm milæ rjase
tsu ømlar vajðir hnovskir dørmir milær rjaser
if / ifja ømlat vajðit hnovskit dørmit milæt rjaset
novr ømlømur viðøjmur hnuskøjmur dirmymur miløjmur rjasymur
vovr ømlætir viðætir hnuskætir dirmitir milætir rjasitir
ifi / ifjæ ømlints vajðints hnovskunts dørmunts milænts rjasents
(impersonal) ømlitse vajðitse hnovskitse dørmitse milætse rjasetse

Endings are only stressed in the first and second plural forms, except in -er verbs ([ˈrjaːsʏmuɐ̯], [ˈrjaːsitiɐ̯] but [miˈløʏ̯muɐ̯], [miˈlæːtiɐ̯]).

Most third conjugation -øjmur verbs have umlaut in their conjugation, namely:

  • i-umlaut in the second and third person singular:
pjatir (to ask): jag pjat, tsu pjætir, if pjætit
hrajðir (to believe): jag hrajð, tsu hræðir, if hræðit
  • u-umlaut in the third person plural, and also in the first person singular for a few verbs with i in all forms:
pjatir (to ask): jag pjat, ... ifi pjotunts
hrajðir (to believe): jag hrajð, ... ifi hrøyðunts
bivir (to drink): jag byv, tsu bivir, ... ifi byvunts
esjajpir (to begin) has this change in the 1SG and 3PL despite having aj in other forms: jag esjyp, tsu esjajpir, if esjajpit, novr esjipøjmur, vovr esjipætir, ifi esjypunts

Some -æjr verbs have æj in the first person singular and a in all other stressed-stem forms:

mæjr (to love): jag æjm, tsu amar, if amat, novr mømur, vovr mætir, if amints, amatse
kanæjr (to sing): jag kæjnt, tsu kantar, if kantat, novr kanømur, vovr kanætir, if kantints, kantatse.

A few verbs have ej in 1SG and 3PL (and sometimes in 1PL and 2PL too but unstressed) and ø in 2SG and 3SG. This is actually the result of i-umlaut on Latin au (/aʊ̯/ > */eʏ̯/ > /eɪ̯/) and not a kind of u-umlaut. ejðir (to hear) is the prototypical example - note also the etymologically related iniðir (to learn):

ejðir (to hear) < audīre: jag ejð, tsu øðir, if øðit, novr ejðymur, vovr ejðitir, if ejðunts, øðitse
iniðir (to learn) < inaudīre: jag inejð, tsu inøðir, if inøðit, novr iniðymur, vovr iniðitir, if inejðunts, inøðitse
Imperative

The active imperative is always the bare stressed stem, thus in most cases it is identical in form to the first person singular (except for -ajr verbs): øml! "walk!"; vajð! "see!"; pjat! "ask!". Note that the imperative too has the aæj change, thus: æjm! "love!"; kæjnt! "sing!".

The passive imperative is formed by adding se before the active imperative: se æjm! "be loved!"; se hnovsk! "be known!".

Jas is an exception as its imperative is si! (the same form as subjunctive 1sg).

Imperfect indicative

The imperfect indicative is regular, and has slightly different forms for all conjugations. Note that the 3rd -ymur were once distinct from the 3rd -øjmur ones, but the original forms (which often caused umlaut) have been regularized and replaced by the -øjmur forms. The stem is always the unstressed one.

1st (-æjr) 2nd (-ajr) 3rd (-ir) 4th (-ær/-er)
ømlæjr "to walk" viðajr "to see" hnovskir "to know" milær "to smile"
jag ømlæjma viðema hnuskjama milæma
tsu ømlæjmar viðemar hnuskjamar milæmar
if / ifja ømlaft viðaft hnuskjaft milæft
novr ømlømmur viðømmur hnuskjømmur milømmur
vovr ømlæjmet viðemit hnuskjamit milæmet
ifi / ifjæ ømlæjnts viðajnts hnuskjants milæjants
(impersonal) ømlaftse viðaftse hnuskjaftse milæftse

Future

The future tense, in Wendlandish, is formed analytically with the auxiliary verb kap (< Latin capiō) — which is defective and has only its present forms and the past participle — plus the infinitive. The conjugation of kap is: kap - kapir - kaft - køjmur - kapætir - køpunts - kaftse. The past participle is kaft.

Present participle and continuous tenses

The present participle is an important formation in Wendlandish as it is used in forming continuous tenses — a different construction from other Romance languages like e.g. Portuguese estou falando/a falar or French je suis en train de parler.

The Wendlandish present participle is formed by the corresponding Latin accusative — it is however uninflected as gender wasn't distinguished on it in Latin and due to sound changes both the original -ntem and -ntēs forms both came to end in -nts. Note that the gerund did not merge as it underwent umlaut (thus forms in -ønts for all verbs); while unused in modern Wendlandish, it is actually attested in the earliest texts but with a future passive participle meaning.
The present participle is extremely simple to form, by removing the infinitive ending and adding -æjnts for -æjr verbs, -jants for -ajr and -ir verbs, and -nts for -ær verbs[5]:

ømlæjr "to walk" (stem øml-) → ømlæjnts "walking"
viðajr "to see" (stem við-) → viðjants "seeing" (such forms are often pronounced without the /ð/, thus [ʋɪˈjants], [raɪ̯ˈjants] (hrajðjants "believing") and so on)
hnovskir "to know" (hnovsk-) → hnovskjants "knowing"
inørnir "to intervene" (inørn-) → inørnjants "intervening"
milær "to smile" (milæ-) → milænts "smiling"

These forms are used with the corresponding tenses of jas (present or imperfect), while the future is simply made with the kap auxiliary verb (it was once a regular form with the infinitive of jas, but it was later omitted so earlier jag kap jas ømlæjnts "I will be walking" → modern jag kap ømlæjnts (c.f. simple future jag kap ømlæjr "I will walk")):

jag so viðjants "I am seeing", jag jarm viðjants "I was seeing"
tsu jar jants "you are saying", tsu jarar jants "you were saying"
if jatt forkastsænts "he is eating lunch", if jart forkastsænts "he was eating lunch"
novr sørm arvejðænts "we are working", novr jørum arvejðænts "we were working"
vovr jæsts gljandænts "you (pl.) are looking", vovr jærits gljandænts "you (pl.) were looking"
ifi sints hrjæjnts "they are making", ifi jarants hrjæjnts "they were making"

Past, past participle, and perfect tenses

The past in Wendlandish is formed by using the past participle preceded by the auxiliary verb hav (< habeō). Past participles are invariable when used with verbs, but decline when used as adjectives or nouns.
The past participle is formed with the unstressed stems and, generally:

  • for -æjr, verbs by removing the ending and adding -øt (fem.: -ata, pl. -ats)
  • for -ajr and -ir verbs, by removing the ending and adding -yt (fem.: -ita, pl. -its)
  • for -ær and -er verbs, by removing the -(e)r and adding -t, hence -æt/-t (fem.: -æta/-ta, pl. -æts/-ts).

Examples:

ømlæjr "to walk" → ømløt "walked" (ømlata, ømlats)
delajr "to destroy" → delyt "destroyed" (delita, delits)
hnovskir "to know" (unstr. stem hnusk-) → hnuskyt "known" (hnuskita, hnuskits)
ejðir "to hear" → ejðyt "heard" (ejðita, ejðits)
milær "to smile" → milæt "smiled" (milæta, milæts)
rjaser "to cut" → rjast "cut" (rjasta, rjasts)

Some verbs have irregular participles, directly inherited from Latin ones and not remodelled, or further modified by other changes:

viðajr "to see" → vys "seen" (< vīsum; fem.: vira, pl. viss)
inørnir "to intervene" → inørjønts (< interventum; fem.: inørjanta, pl. inørjantss[6])
jaðir "to eat" → øs "eaten" (< ēsum; fem.: era, pl. ess)
fjarir "to carry, bear" → løt "carried" (< lātum; fem. lata, pl. lats)
aðfjarir [ˌaʊ̯ˈfjaːriɐ̯] "to give, bring" → adløt "given" (< adlātum; fem. adlata, pl. adlats)
defjarir "to take" → deløt "taken" (< dēlātum; fem. delata, pl. delats)
vaðir "to go" → vøþt "went" (< analog. *vādītum; fem. vaþta, pl. vaþts)
tenajr "to have" → tytt "had" (< analog. *tenītum; fem. titta, pl. titts)
ljasjir "to read" → løht "read" (< lēctum; fem. lajta, pl. lajts)
idelajsjir "to understand" → ideljøt "understood" (< intellectum; fem. ideljahta, pl. ideljahts)
pisir "to be able to" → puts "that could be done" (< analog. *possutum; fem. pitsa, pl. pitss)
vjal "to want" → vylt "wanted" (< analog. *volītum; fem. vølta, pl. vølts)
ditsir "to say" → føt "said" (< analog. *fātum; fem. fata, pl. fats)
prilufir "to talk" → lukut "talked" (< locūtum; fem. lukuta, pl. lukuts)
eðpiskir "to find" → aðøft "found" (< adeptum; fem. atjafta, pl. atjats)

The past is formed by using the present forms of hav in front of the past participle. Its forms are: hav - hajs - hejt - høymur - hætir - hents - hejtse.
The past perfect is formed with the past forms of hav instead: højm - hømyst - hømyt - hømyr - hømysts - hørtn
The future perfect uses the present forms of hav, followed by kaft (past participle of kap) and the infinitive.

Examples: fjør "I carry" - hav løt "I have carried" - højm løt "I had carried" - hav kaft fjarir "I will have carried"

The renarrative past

The renarrative past is a tense derived by the old Latin perfect (with analogically created forms for formerly deponent verbs), but in Wendlandish it marks evidentiality and can be translated as "I've been told that X" or more generically "[subj] apparently X". Compare these two examples:

If jatt ipist, hvofur if hejt aðøft propka. "He is late because he found a traffic jam." (I know for sure he was stuck in a traffic jam, hence the regular past (hejt aðøft < *habet adeptum))
If jatt ipist, hvofur if eðpiskerit propka. "He is late because, he told me, he found a traffic jam." (I'm just reporting what he told me, without knowing for sure he was stuck in a traffic jam, hence the renarrative past (eðpiskerit < *adipīscerit)).

The renarrative past conjugation is notable for the widespread use of umlaut (often umlaut in the first person singular is the only distinction between it and the present) and for its high irregularities as, most often, Wendlandish kept the Latin irregular stems (cf. kaðir "to fall", if kæðit "he falls", but if kesjiþt "he apparently fell" (< cadere, cadit, cecidit)).

1st (-æjr) 2nd (-ajr) 3rd (-ir) 4th (-ær/-er)
ømlæjr "to walk" viðajr "to see" øðir "to hear" milær "to smile"
jag ømlø vyð øði milø
tsu ømløsti vyðsti[7] øðsti miløsti
if / ifja ømløt vyþt øþt miløt
novr ømlørm vyðyrm øðyrm milørm
vovr ømløstir vyðstir øðstir miløstir
ifi / ifjæ ømlørtn vyðørtn øðørtn milørtn
(impersonal) ømløtse vyþtse øþtse miløtse

Some of the most common irregular renarrative past stems (excluding completely irregular verbs, whose conjugations are found in the next section):

hnovskir "to know", if hnovskit "he knows", if hnøjt (stem hnøj-) "he apparently knew" (< gnōscere, gnōscit, gnōvit)
kaðir "to fall", if kæðit "he falls", if kesjiþt (stem kesjið-) "he apparently fell" (< cadere, cadit, cecidit)
kurir "to run", if kyrit "he runs", if kukyrt (stem kukyr-) "he apparently ran" (< currere, currit, cucurrit)
mirðajr "to bite", if mirðit "he bites", if mumirþt (stem mumirð-) "he apparently bit" (< mordēre, mordet, momordit)
paskir "to feed", if pæskit "he feeds", if pøjt (stem pøj-) "he apparently fed" (< pāscere, pāscit, pāvit)
spindajr "to assure", if spindit "he assures", if spufønts (stem spufønd-) "he apparently assured" (< spondēre, spondet, spopondit)
tangir "to touch, to get to know", if tængit "he touches", if tetajt (stem tetaj-) "he apparently touched" (< tangere, tangit, tetigit)
tekir "to weave", if tikit "he weaves", if tøht (stem tøk-) "he apparently wove" (< texere, texit, texuit)
vinsjir "to win", if vinsjit "he wins", if visjt (stem visj-) "he apparently won" (< vincere, vincit, vīcit)

The verb eðpiskir [eʊ̯ˈpiskiɐ̯] (to find) (< Pre-Wend. *adipīscere) shows a development common to all verbs whose renarrative past was only formed in Pre-Wendlandish because they were deponent in Latin and therefore had no perfect. Unlike what happens in their present, these verbs have some form of -ir throughout their renarrative past: jag eðpiskri, tsu eðpiskersti, if eðpiskerit, novr eðpisklyrm, vovr eðpiskerstir, ifi eðpisklørtn. (As for eðpiskir, in some Western Wendlandish dialects it follows the same conjugation as hnovskir, thus jag eðpi, tsu eðpisjti, if eðpit...).

A few verbs whose stems end in -j assimilate it to s in the second persons, e.g. paskir "to feed", if pøjt "he apparently fed" but tsu pøsjti, vovr pøsjtir.
Verbs with ø (but not øj) in the stem shift it to y in the second persons and to u in the third plural, e.g. tekir "to weave", if tøht "he apparently wove" but tsu tyksti, vovr tykstir, ifi tukørtn.

Irregular verbs

To be (jas)

Like in most Romance languages, jas (to be) is irregular. The present participle is the same as in other Romance languages; the past participle derives from an analogical form *essūtum. It is the only verb to have a synthetic subjunctive (which is used as auxiliary for the subjunctives of all other verbs).

jas (to be) Indicative Subjunctive
Present Imperfect Renarr. Past Past Future Pluperfect Fut. Perfect Present Imperfect
jag so jarm fy hav jøst kap jas højm jøst hav kaft jas si firm
tsu jar jarar fysts hajs jøst kapir jas hømyst jøst hajs kaft jas sis furir
if / ifja jatt jart fyt hejt jøst kaft jas hømyt jøst hejt kaft jas sit firt
novr sørm jørum fyrm højmur jøst køjmur jas hømyr jøst højmur kaft jas syms furøjmur
vovr jæsts jærits fysts hætir jøst kapætir jas hømysts jøst hætir kaft jas sits firæjtir
ifi / ifjæ sints jarants førtn hents jøst køpunts jas hørtn jøst hents kaft jas sints furints
Pres. part. stæjnts
Past part. jøst
To go (vaðir) and other verbs of motion

Wendlandish, uniquely among Romance languages, has a verb for "to go" - vaðir - which is completely derived from vādere except for the synthetic past (which is that of īre):

vaðir (to go) Indicative
Present Imperfect Renarr. Past Past Future Pluperfect Fut. Perfect
jag vøð vaðema y hav vøþt kap vaðir højm vøþt hav kaft vaðir
tsu væðr[8] vaðemar ists hajs vøþt kapir vaðir hømyst vøþt hajs kaft vaðir
if / ifja væþ vaðaft yt hejt vøþt kaft vaðir hømyt vøþt hejt kaft vaðir
novr vaðøjmur vaðømmur yrm højmur vøþt køjmur vaðir hømyr vøþt højmur kaft vaðir
vovr vaðætir vaðemit ists hætir vøþt kapætir vaðir hømysts vøþt hætir kaft vaðir
ifi / ifjæ vønts vaðajnts jer hents vøþt køpunts vaðir hørtn vøþt hents kaft vaðir
Pres. part. vaðjants
Past part. vøþt

More interestingly, Wendlandish has kept a series of motion verbs derived by prefixed forms of Latin īre (plus sufrir derived by an analogically created form *superīre). These may be said to have their own conjugation, and are defined by a non-umlauted stem (used in the infinitive, participles, present 1SG and synthetic past 1SG, 3SG, and 1PL) and an umlauted stem (in all other forms). Here is the conjugation of aðir [aˈðiːɐ] (< adīre) "to come" as example:

aðir (to come) Indicative
Present Imperfect Renarr. Past Past Future Pluperfect Fut. Perfect
jag aðø eðima aðy hav aðyts kap aðir højm aðyts hav kaft aðir
tsu eðír eðimar eðists hajs aðyts kapir aðir hømyst aðyts hajs kaft aðir
if / ifja eðít eðimat aðyt hejt aðyts kaft aðir hømyt aðyts hejt kaft aðir
novr eðøjmur eðimmur aðyrm højmur aðyts køjmur aðir hømyr aðyts højmur kaft aðir
vovr eðitir eðimit eðists hætir aðyts kapætir aðir hømysts aðyts hætir kaft aðir
ifi / ifjæ eðønt eðints eðjer hents aðyts køpunts aðir hørtn aðyts hents kaft aðir
Pres. part. aðjants
Past part. aðyts

The other such verbs are:

  • amir (< abīre) "to leave; get away from" : jag amø, tsu emír ... amjants, amyts
  • ekir (< exīre) "to go out" : jag ekø, tsu ekír ... ekjants, ekyts
  • imir (< obīre) "to reach" : jag imø, tsu ømír ... imjants, imyts
  • inir (< inīre) "to go in" : jag inø, tsu inír ... injants, inyts
  • kir (< coīre) "to join": jag kø, tsu kír ... kujants, kujuts
  • reðir (< redīre) "to get/come back" : jag reðø, tsu reðír ... reðjants, reðyts
  • sufrir (< *superīre) "to go up" : jag sufrø, tsu syfrír ... sufrjants, sufryts
  • sumir (< subīre) "to go down" : jag sumø, tsu symír ... sumjants, sumyts
  • trasir (< trānsīre) "to cross" : jag trasø, tsu tresír ... trasjants, trasyts
To have (tenajr)

Like in Ibero-Romance and most of Southern Italo-Dalmatian, the Wendlandish verb for "to have" is the reflex of Latin tenēre, with habēre existing only as an auxiliary for the past and pluperfect. Note that the present forms presume an earlier, Pre-Wendlandish form *tenn-; the 3PL form shows an additional change *tjanints > tjænts.

tenajr (to have) Indicative
Present Imperfect Renarr. Past Past Future Pluperfect Fut. Perfect
jag tjane[9] tenema tyn hav tytt kap tenajr højm tytt hav kaft tenajr
tsu tjanir tenemar tynsti hajs tytt kapir tenajr hømyst tytt hajs kaft tenajr
if / ifja tjanit tenaft tynts hejt tytt kaft tenajr hømyt tytt hejt kaft tenajr
novr tenøjmur tenømmur tynirm højmur tytt køjmur tenajr hømyr tytt højmur kaft tenajr
vovr tenætir tenemit tynstir hætir tytt kapætir tenajr hømysts tytt hætir kaft tenajr
ifi / ifjæ tjænts tenajnts tunørtn hents tytt køpunts tenajr hørtn tytt hents kaft tenajr
(impersonal) tjanitse tenaftse tyntsse hejtse tytt kaftse tenajr hømytse tytt hejtse kaft tenajr
Pres. part. tenjants
Past part. tytt
To carry, bear (fjarir), to give (aðfjarir), to take (defjarir)

Wendlandish's verb for "to carry, to bear" - fjarir - is a direct descendant of Latin suppletive ferre (the infinitive from the analogical form *ferere). The same paradigm is used by the compound verbs aðfjarir (to give, < *adferere) and defjarir (to take, < *dēferere).

fjarir (to carry) Indicative
Present Imperfect Renarr. Past Past Future Pluperfect Fut. Perfect
jag før ferema tyl hav løt kap fjarir højm løt hav kaft fjarir
tsu fjars feremar tylst hajs løt kapir fjarir hømyst løt hajs kaft fjarir
if / ifja fjart feraft tylt hejt løt kaft fjarir hømyt løt hejt kaft fjarir
novr fjørmur ferømmur tylmur højmur løt køjmur fjarir hømyr løt højmur kaft fjarir
vovr fjærts feremit tylstir hætir løt kapætir fjarir hømysts løt hætir kaft fjarir
ifi / ifjæ fjørts ferajnts tullants hents løt køpunts fjarir hørtn løt hents kaft fjarir
(impersonal) fjartse feraftse tyltse hejtse løt kaftse fjarir hømytse løt hejtse kaft fjarir
Pres. part. ferjants
Past part. løt
To understand (idelajsjir)

The verb "to understand", idelajsjir < intelligere, has different stems and various irregularities as the different stress placements led to various instances of syncope. The former synthetic past 1SG ideljæk < intellexī (cf. the modern renarrative forms from intelleg-) has become fossilized and is the typical interjection for "ok, I understand".

idelajsjir (to understand) Indicative
Present Imperfect Renarr. Past Past Future Pluperfect Fut. Perfect
jag itjøluk idelajsjma ideljæj hav ideljøt kap idelajsjir højm ideljøt hav kaft idelajsjir
tsu itjælsjir idelajsjmar ideljæsjti hajs ideljøt kapir idelajsjir hømyst ideljøt hajs kaft idelajsjir
if / ifja itjælsjit idelsjaft ideljæjt hejt ideljøt kaft idelajsjir hømyt ideljøt hejt kaft idelajsjir
novr idilsjøjmur idelsjømmur ideljøjrm højmur ideljøt køjmur idelajsjir hømyr ideljøt højmur kaft idelajsjir
vovr idilsjætir idelajsjmit ideljæsjtir hætir ideljøt kapætir idelajsjir hømysts ideljøt hætir kaft idelajsjir
ifi / ifjæ itjølsjunt idelsjajnts ideljørtn hents ideljøt køpunts idelajsjir hørtn ideljøt hents kaft idelajsjir
(impersonal) itjælsjitse idelsjaftse ideljæjtse hejtse ideljøt kaftse idelajsjir hømytse ideljøt hejtse kaft idelajsjir
Pres. part. idilsjants
Past part. ideljøt
To be able to (pisir)

The conjugation of Latin posse, due to different evolutions, greatly diverged from that of esse; the imperfect has been analogically rebuilt from the infinitive. "To be able to" is pisir (< Pre-Wendl. *possere):

pisir (to be able to) Indicative
Present Imperfect Renarr. Past Past Future Pluperfect Fut. Perfect
jag pis pisjama pøt hav puts kap pisir højm puts hav kaft pisir
tsu pur pisjamar pytsti hajs puts kapir pisir hømyst puts hajs kaft pisir
if / ifja putt pisjaft pøtt hejt puts kaft pisir hømyt puts hejt kaft pisir
novr pysumur pisjømmur pøtyrm højmur puts køjmur pisir hømyr puts højmur kaft pisir
vovr putæstir pisjamit pytstir hætir puts kapætir pisir hømysts puts hætir kaft pisir
ifi / ifjæ pysunts pisjants putørtn hents puts køpunts pisir hørtn puts hents kaft pisir
(impers.) puttse pisjaftse pøttse hejtse puts køpunts pisir hømytse puts hents kaft pisir
Pres. part. putjants
Past part. puts
To want (vjal)

To want - vjal - is another irregular verb, directly continuing Latin velle:

vjal (to want) Indicative
Present Imperfect Renarr. Past Past Future Pluperfect Fut. Perfect
jag vil vulema vøl hav vylt kap vjal højm vylt hav kaft vjal
tsu vir vulemar vylsti hajs vylt kapir vjal hømyst vylt hajs kaft vjal
if / ifja vilt vulaft vølt hejt vylt kaft vjal hømyt vylt hejt kaft vjal
novr vulmur vulømmur vølyrm højmur vylt køjmur vjal hømyr vylt højmur kaft vjal
vovr vølts vulemit vylstir hætir vylt kapætir vjal hømysts vylt hætir kaft vjal
ifi / ifjæ vults vulajnts vulørtn hents vylt køpunts vjal hørtn vylt hents kaft vjal
(impers.) viltse vulaftse vøltse hejtse vylt kaftse vjal hømytse vylt hejtse kaft vjal
Pres. part. vuljants
Past part. vylt
To say (ditsir) and to talk (prilufir)

Two common irregular verbs are ditsir (to say) and prilufir (to talk). Both of them are suppletive: ditsir mostly comes from Latin dīcere, but the present and the past participle are from the originally deponent defective fārī (completed by analogy), and the present participle jants is from aientem, the present participle of āiō. Prilufir mostly comes from forms of prōloquī, through an analogically rebuilt active paradigm *prōloquere, but the participles are the ones of the unprefixed verb — lusjants and lukut from loquentem and locūtum respectively. Its renarrative past has also been rebuilt analogically by a stem luk- (from loquor).

ditsir (to say) Indicative
Present Imperfect Renarr. Past Past Future Pluperfect Fut. Perfect
jag fir ditjama dik hav føt kap ditsir højm føt hav kaft ditsir
tsu færs ditjamar diksti hajs føt kapir ditsir hømyst føt hajs kaft ditsir
if / ifja førd ditjaft diht hejt føt kaft ditsir hømyt føt hejt kaft ditsir
novr føm ditjømmur dikyrm højmur føt køjmur ditsir hømyr føt højmur kaft ditsir
vovr fæmin ditjamit dikstir hætir føt kapætir ditsir hømysts føt hætir kaft ditsir
ifi / ifjæ førnt ditjants dikørtn hents føt køpunts ditsir hørtn føt hents kaft ditsir
(impers.) førdse ditjaftse dihtse hejtse føt kaftse ditsir hømytse føt hejtse kaft ditsir
Pres. part. jants
Past part. føt
prilufir (to talk) Indicative
Present Imperfect Past Future Pluperfect Fut. Perfect
jag priluf prilusjama lyk hav lukut kap prilufir højm lukut hav kaft prilufir
tsu prilør prilusjamar  lyksti hajs lukut kapir prilufir hømyst lukut hajs kaft prilufir
if / ifja priløft prilusjaft lyht hejt lukut kaft prilufir hømyt lukut hejt kaft prilufir
novr priløfmur prilusjømmur lukyrm højmur lukut køjmur prilufir hømyr lukut højmur kaft prilufir
vovr priløftir prilusjamit lykstir hætir lukut kapætir prilufir hømysts lukut hætir kaft prilufir
ifi / ifjæ prilukunts prilusjants lukørtn hents lukut køpunts prilufir hørtn lukut hents kaft prilufir
(impers.) priløftse prilusjaftse lyhtse hejtse lukut kaftse prilufir hømytse lukut hejtse kaft prilufir
Pres. part. lusjants
Past part. lukut

Prepositions, Conjunctions, Interjections

Wendlandish general prepositions:

  • apsj — without (< Lat. absque)
  • av — by (< ad)
  • fru — to, in order to, for (< pro)
  • — of (< de)
  • ku — with (< cum)
  • re — about (< )

Spatial and temporal prepositions:

  • ek — from (< ex)
  • estar — outside (< extrā)
  • i (j before vowels) — in (< in)
  • intar — between (< inter)
  • jant — in front of, before (< *in ante)
  • kyrg — around (< circum)
  • obav — opposite (< *ob ad)
  • pertants — through (< *per trāns)
  • pist — behind, after (< post)
  • suf — on, over (< super)
  • sov — under (< sub)
  • ultar — beyond (< ultrā)
  • yst — near, close to (< iuxtā)
  • øðusj — until (< adusque)
  • øft — at (< apud)

Conjunctions and interjections:

  • et — and (< et)
  • naj — not; no (< )
  • nisj ... nisj — neither ... nor (< neque ... neque)
  • si — if (< )
  • sið — but (< sed)
  • syt — yes (< sīcut)
  • tak — yes (more colloquial) (< Polish tak)
  • tam — however (< tamen)
  • ylik — instead (< in locō)
  • ørg — so, thus (< ergō)
  • øt — or (< aut)
  • øt ... øt — either ... or (< aut ... aut)

Syntax

Constituent order

Noun phrase

Verb phrase

Sentence phrase

Dependent clauses

Vocabulary

Despite being a Romance language, Wendlandish has a very high number of words of non-Latin origin, particularly from Old Norse and Proto-Slavic as the most ancient borrowings, then in the Middle Ages particularly from Middle Low German (and some words of Baltic origin), then Polish, and most recently Danish, High German, and up until the present day Russian, which was the prestige language in Soviet times and is still particularly high regarded and spoken in the present-day Wendlands. Examples of these borrowings are:

  • from Old Norse: kirkja (church (coexists with ikjesj from Latin ecclēsia)), morgin (breakfast, from morginn "morning"), dravm (dream, < draumr), oran (eagle, < ǫrn), veg (street, < vegr), faur (beautiful, < fag(u)r — coexists with lymb, cognate of e.g. Portuguese lindo), ejra (ear, < eyra), and notably Vinnurlont (< Vindurlǫnd) and the Old Norse genitive Vinnurlandana (< Vindurlandana) which is used as a learned genitive in modern Wendlandish. Vinnurlænsk derives from the same root with an added Latin suffix, thus Pre-Wendlandish *Vindurlandīsco.
  • from Proto-Slavic: jalin (deer, < *elenь), ljað (winter, < *ledъ "ice"), lysøs (salmon, < *lososь), tjað (baby, < *čędo), sjer (gray, < *śěrь), muld (new, < *moldъ "young"), let (year, < *lěto), prætjel (friend, < *prijàteljь), also a few basic verbs like misjlær (to think, < *mysliti), rjaser (to cut, < *rězati), and gljandær (to look, < *ględati).
  • from Middle Low German: fangnits (prison, < vangnisse), gafil (fork, < gaffel), førke (girl,< vroiken), arvejð (work, < arbeide (Latin labor > lamir came to mean "task", while the learned borrowing labor means "oeuvre", "work of art")), forkast (lunch, < vrōkost);
  • from Polish the most notable ones are many colour names, like tjervon (red, < czerwony), sjilon (yellow, < zielony), and probably lilan "purple" from liliowy. Colour names in Wendlandish show many borrowings, like the probably Baltic terms ruds (brown) and gælten (yellow).

It is worth noting that most Polish loans date before the changes in pronunciation of Pol. ó and ł and as such they usually have the values /ɔ/ (or /oː/) and /l/ in Wendlandish, e.g. in gosj /ɣoːʃ/ "nail" < gwóźdź and in mildo /ˈmiːldo/ "soap" < mydło. Some terms were however adopted later and therefore have the "newer" values (e.g. zakvat /ˈzaːkʋat/ "factory" < zakład). The city of Łódź is known as Lotj /ˈloːtʃ/ in Wendlandish.
German words were often used before 1945, with Vænfjørðin having a sizeable German-speaking community; after the end of WW2, however, the Soviet government expelled them to East Germany and in the following years many of them were replaced with either native Wendlandish or Russian equivalents. Notable examples are "court" gerihtsut; "market" martrinak; "car" vagenlada/masjina (pre-1990)/vosjeni; "train" tsukpojst; the honorifics hær and fravtavarisj (still the most common today).

Russian influence and Savjetskalgia

Russian influence in Wendlandish is mostly concentrated in the last century, but there's no doubt that it has tremendously impacted the language, not only in Soviet times but, possibly even more deeply, after the Soviet Union broke up. The early post-Soviet years were marked by a huge decline in the Wendlands and people immediately developed a strong sense of nostalgia for the Golden Age of the Wendlands - the days of the Soviet Union, when the Wendlands were a strategically important and cosmopolite part of the country due to it being its westernmost extent. This sense of nostalgia — called savjetskalgia as a portmanteau of savjetski (Soviet) and nostalgia — is still enormously visible in the prestige that the Russian language, emblem of the Soviet era, has in the Wendlands, probably even more than in Russia itself. Russian loans are entering Wendlandish en masse, often with a more "official" meaning when compared to the native Wendlandish term, and Russian is the preferred language of the Academy of the Wendlandish language in order to coin terms, to the extent that Wendlandish academics have recently coined terms from Russian roots that do not even exist in Russian, like vosjeni "car" (< воженный "driven"; though colloquial Wendlandish uses lada from the car brand) or hadifon for "mobile phone" (from ходить "to walk" and Wend./international telefon). Example of Russian loans into Wendlandish are:

  • political and learned terms, often Soviet-era borrowings: nizavisjmasts (independence, < независимость), plosjats (a large square, mainly for parades, especially May 9 celebrations < площадь), savjet (parliament; Soviet < совет);
  • things used as honorifics when specifically talking about Communism or Soviet concepts: pavjeda (victory, < победа — c.f. May 9 dæj ið pavjedala. Note that native vihtøra was still used in this sense when the city of Tjervona Vihtørala was founded); krasni (red, < красный), pravitjelstva (government (only the Soviet and the Wendlandish ones, but colloquially often used for all), < правительство).
  • many proper names, not just Russian ones like Vætjislaf (Вячеслав), Jyri (Юрий), or Lydmila (Людмила) but also words that have become used as names, like Giroj (герой, "hero"), as far as the "most uniquely Wendlandish name of all", namely Kamoj, a portmanteau of коммунистический герой "Communist hero".
  • various words for things that were not part of everyday Wendlandish life before Soviet times - e.g. plitá (gas/electric stove), haladilnik (fridge), marazilnik (freezer), tilivizar (television), rubil (ruble), kapjek (kopek), hrusjovka (khruščëvka);
  • post-Soviet coinages from Russian roots or hybrid Russian-Wendlandish ones, like the vosjeni and hadifon mentioned previously; viliksjetj (internet, from великая сеть "great net"), patpojst (subway < под (under) and поезд (train)), or elekpisjmó (e-mail, from электронное письмо (electronic letter)).

Days, months, seasons

The days of the week in Wendlandish uniquely show a full retention of the pagan Latin names, due to the late spread of Christianity to the Wendlands. They are also less regular than in other Romance languages because the latter diem part (> dæj, also the normal word for "day") was only retained in the names for Thursday and Sunday - where the named part had become too worn-down - and in the word for Tuesday, possibly in order to avoid a near homonymy with the word for March. The initial /d/ of diem can also still be seen as the last consonant in the words for Monday and Friday.
Saturday is a peculiar development, as instead of expected Sāturni diem, Wendlandish Vulgar Latin developed an adjectival form *satiūrnum (probably influenced by diurnum) which became the current word. Pronunciations are given for irregularly-pronounced ones:

Day Name Shortening Pronunciation
Monday luneð lun
Tuesday mærtsdæj mær [ˈmæːtsdɛɪ̯]
Wednesday mjørkyr mjø
Thursday jøvsdæj jøv [ˈjøːzdɛɪ̯]
Friday vjanirst vja [ˈʋjaːnest]
Saturday stjurn stj
Sunday sølsdæj søl [ˈsølzdɛɪ̯]

Month names are less divergent, but the words for June and July show a remodelling based on the Latin forms instead of expected *yny, *yly. There is an alternative Russian borrowing aktjabir for October, which is however only used in relation to Soviet history and in place names. Note that tomjamur comes from an unattested *octembrem, by analogy with the other -jamur (-ember) months.

Month Name Shortening
January jønær jøn
February fømrær føm
March mærsj mær[10]
April fril fri
May møj møj
June jynj jyn
July jylj jyl
August øgavtt øga
September sjiftjamur sji
October tomjamur tom
November nivjamur niv
December ditjamur dit

Seasons' names are derived from Latin, except for winter which is a Slavic borrowing (from "ice"). Their adjectives are formed with -ejtyk (< Lat. -āticum).

Season Name Adjective
Spring vjar vjarejtyk
Summer jastát jastejtyk
Autumn avtomm avtomejtyk
Winter ljað ljadejtyk

Countries and demonyms

Note that every country ending in -lond is morphologically plural.

Country Capital Adjective/Demonym
the Wendlands Vinnurlond Vænfjørðin vinnurlænsk
Poland Sløvjænlond Varsjuv sløvjænsk
Germany Þysklond Berlin þyskrisk
Denmark Danmork Kaupmanhøjfn dænsk
Sweden Sværikur Stokholmur svæjsk
Norway Norgur Oslo nørgisk
Iceland Islond Rejkarvi isluntsk
Finland Finlond Helsenfors finsk
Italy Itæla Rim[11] itælsk
Soviet Union Savjetska ynin
Ynin ið Repuvlikallar Sosjalistsiks Savjetsks (YRSS)
Maskvá savjetsk
Russia Rusj rusjisk
Belarus Hvitrusj (or Bjelarusj) Minsk hvitrusjisk
Ukraine Ukrajina Kijef ukrajinsk
Moldova Maldavija Kisjinjof maldavisk
Georgia Gruzija Tiflís gruzinsk
Azerbaijan Azirbaitjan Bakú azirbaitjansk
Armenia Armenija Jerevan armjansk
Kazakhstan Kazagstan Astana kazagsk
Kyrgyzstan Kirgizija Frunze(or Bisjkek) kirgisk
Uzbekistan Uzbekistan Tasjkent uzbekisk
Tajikistan Tatjikistan Dusjambe tatjikisk
Turkmenistan Turkmenistan Asjgabat turkmensk
Lithuania Ljetlond Vilnjus ljetsk
Latvia Latlond Riga latsk
Estonia Estlond Rajval estisk

Example texts

The Lord's Prayer

Part nitte, hjeð jatt i sjølir,
svønt sit Tsur nom,
venjants sit Tso kongartyðn,
fahta sit Tso vultjæt,
tælsj i sjølir et tælsj suf tajrla.
Da høð að nøym nittra pan køtjana
et ermit að nøym nøtti divter
tælsj tølmi novr ifov ermitøymur að nøtti divtirer
et naj iduk novr i tetæsjla
sið liver novr av møler.
Tso jatt kongartyðnlа, et pitintsla, et glørala, j int søkler ið søkler.
Amen.

Wendlandish Cyrillic:

Парт нитте, йеҙ ятт и шөлир,
свөнт сит Цур ном,
венянц сит Цо конгартүҙн,
фахта сит Цо вулчѣт,
тѣлш и шөлир ет тѣлш суф тайрла.
Да хөҙ аҙ нөүм ниттра пан көчана
ет ермит аҙ нөүм нөтти дивтер
тѣлш төлми новр ифов ермитөүмур аҙ нөтти дивтирер.
ет най идук новр и тетѣшла
сиҙ ливер новр ав мөлер.
Цо ятт конгартүҙнла, ет питинцла, ет глөрала, й инт сөклер иҙ сөклер.
Амен.

IPA:

[ˈpaɐt ˈnite jeð ˈjat i ˈʃøːliɐ̯
ˈsvønt‿sit ˈtsuːɐ̯ ˈnoːm
veˈnjants‿sit ˈtsoː ˌkɔŋːaɐ̯ˈtʏð(ə)n
ˈfahta sit ˈtsoː vulˈtʃæːt
ˈtælʃ i ˈʃøːliɐ̯ e ˈtælʃ‿ʃuf ˈtaɪ̯ɐ̯la
ˈda ˈhøːð a‿ˈnøʏ̯m ˈnitra ˈpaːn køˈtʃaːna
et‿eɐ̯ˈmiːt a‿ˈnøʏ̯m ˈnøti ˈdiʊ̯teɐ̯
ˈtælʃ ˈtølmi ˈnɔʊ̯ɐ̯ ˈifoʊ̯ eɐ̯miˈtøʏ̯mʊɐ̯ a‿ˈnøti diʊ̯ˈtiːreɐ̯
e ˈnaɪ̯ iˈduːk ˈnɔʊ̯ɐ̯ i teˈtæʃla
sið ˈliːʋeɐ̯ ˈnɔʊ̯ɐ̯ aʊ̯ ˈmøːleɐ̯
ˈtsoː ˈjat ˌkɔŋːaɐ̯ˈtʏðla e‿piˈtintsla e‿ˈɣløːrala, j‿int‿ˈsøkleɐ̯ i‿ˈsøkleɐ̯
ˈaːmen]

UDHR Article 1

Intar humanylir nasjunts i lintaðla et ifalir i dinjaðla et rektylir. Ifi sints dutats ku ratjinla et kisjentjala, et tjænts að æsjir kvøltur j una dusja ið fratrinæt.

Wendlandish Cyrillic:

Интар хуманүлир нашунц и линтаҙла ет ифалир и диняҙла ет ректүлир. Ифи синц дутац ку рачинла ет кишенчала, ет чѣнц аҙ ѣшир квөлтур й уна душа иҙ фратринѣт.

IPA:

[ˈintaɐ̯ ɦuˈmaːnʏlɪɐ̯ ˈnaːʃunt͡s i‿linˈtaðla et‿iˈfaːliɐ̯ i‿diˈnjaːðla e ˈre̞ktʏlɪɐ̯] [ˈiːfɪ ˈsint͡s duˈtaːt͡s ku‿raˈt͡ʃinla e kiˈʃent͡ʃala e ˈtʃænt͡s að‿ˈæːʃiɐ̯ ˈkvøltʉɐ̯ j‿una ˈduːɕa if‿ˈfratrɪnæt]

Other resources

  1. ^ In real world Poland, on the banks of the Dziwna river, partially on the island of Wolin and partially on the mainland.
  2. ^ Real world Rügen.
  3. ^ In real world in northern Szczecinek county, West Pomeranian voivodeship.
  4. ^ The t is etymological and silent.
  5. ^ In these verbs, the -æ- is actually part of the stem
  6. ^ Silent -s, only graphically marking the plural.
  7. ^ ðst is pronounced just [st], with a silent ð.
  8. ^ Silent ð.
  9. ^ Eastern Wendlandish has dialectal tajne which is also commonly heard in Vænfjørðin.
  10. ^ mrs may be used if there's risk of mistaking it for mærtsdæj (Tuesday).
  11. ^ Wendlandish distinguishes Rim — the city of Rome today — from Ruma, referring to Ancient Rome (most commonly the whole civilization)