Atlantic/Older version

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Atlantic
ondartigor; ra nimba ondartigora
Pronunciation[[ondartiˈɡɔr]
[ra ˈɲimba ondartiˈɡɔra]]
Created byLili21
DateMay 2018
SettingAlt-Earth
EthnicityAtlantics (ondartigorot)
Native speakers66,000,000 (2017)
Indo-European
  • Italic
    • Romance
      • African Romance
        • Atlantic
Official status
Official language in
Atlantic Provinces

Atlantic, also known as Atlantic Latin or Atlantic Romance, natively ondartigor (ra nimba ondartigora) [ondartiˈɡɔr], [ra ˈɲimba ondartiˈɡɔra] is a Romance language spoken in an alternate history version of Earth in the Atlantic Provinces (Ondàrtigot [onˈdartigot]), a country located in the northwestern corner of Africa. The country's name is a remnant of Roman history, when the area - including the Atlas Mountains as its main geographical feature - was divided in the provinces of Numidia, Mauretania Caesariensis, and Mauretania Tingitana.

It has various dialects, usually grouped in two main varieties called Mauritanian (muridoinens [muridɔˈɲens]), the one the standard is based on, and Numidian (numigens [numiˈzens] or [numiˈdzens]); some sources distinguish two further variants, Teneréïc (teneriens [teneˈʒens]) and Senegal Riparian (naia-uruminiens [ˌnæjæ.urumiˈɲens]); these two varieties are greatly influenced by the non-Romance languages they coexist with.

Diachronic development

Atlantic is part of its own branch among Romance languages, but shares many common features with Western Romance languages, notably Catalan.

The typical distinctive feature of Atlantic is its shifting of Vulgar Latin vowels which, while not completely unlike to how it developed in Sicilian, has a unique - and easily noticeable - change in having kept long and short /a/ distinct, with (Vulgar) Latin /aː/ being reflected as /o/. This is easily noted for example in all first conjugation verbs, as COMPROBĀRE > cumpuruò "to like" /kumpurˈwo/ or LV̄DITĀRE > nauuidò "to practice" /nau̯wiˈdo/.

Among mid vowels, the short ones were raised to /i u/ while the long ones remained /e o/, cf. TERRA > tira "land, earth, soil", FOCVM > fug "fire", RATIŌNEM > raçon "reason, cause", TRĒS > cet "three (m/f)".

Long vowels /iː uː/ were diphthongized to /ai̯ au̯/ when in open syllables, while they shortened and merged into /i u/ in other cases: LV̄NAM > rauna "moon", VICĪNVM > uiçain "neighbour; close", MAURĪTĀNIAM > Muridonea "Mauritania", NV̄LLIFICĀRE > nuiifigò "to cancel, revoke". Latin /au̯/ had probably merged with /uː/ before, and shifted back to /au̯/ for the same reason, cf. AVRA > *ūra > aura "gold" (plurale tantum); evidence of the shift to /uː/ is given by words where it was unstressed, such as AVGVSTVM > *uuust > uust /wust/ "August" (archaic, no longer used).
Original /ai̯ oi̯ eu̯/, meanwhile, all merged into */eː/, following the same development mentioned before (cf. AEDICVLAM > *ēdicula > eìguea /eˈiɡuja/ "house"; EVCHARISTIAM > *ēcaristia > *egarisça > egariça "Eucharist"; POENAM > pena "pain").

Short word-final vowels except for /a/ were lost as in Gallo-Romance, but in some words short vowels, usually /i/ or /u/, were later added again in order to break clusters; typically it was inserted into a -Cr cluster (CASTRVM > *castr > càistur "city", cf. CASTRA > caistra "cities") but after a -NC cluster (QVĪNQVE > *quingui > *pimb > pimbi "five"). /-ts/ (> /s/ today in most dialects) and /s/ + stop clusters were not changed, cf. LACTEM > *nasti > nast "milk".

/l/ completely disappeared from the Vulgar Latin dialects that became Atlantic, often by dissimilation to /r/ before other consonants (cf. (PRŌVINCIĀS) ĀTLANTICĀS > *Ordanticot > Ondàrtigot), and usually by turning into /j/ (after back vowels or /a/) or /w/ (after front vowels), cf. CABALLVM > cauài "horse", MĪLLE > miu "thousand".
Word-initially, it most commonly turned into /n/ – cf. LINGVAM > nimba "language" – but if the word contained an onset nasal, then it turned into /r/, as in LV̄NA > rauna "moon". This is the origin of the two sets of definite articles used in Atlantic, with the usual forms being in and na, but with ir and ra being used if the word they attach to has a nasal in its first syllable (cf. na rauna "the moon" but ra nimba "the language"). Originally this only applied to the feminine article, and if the word had a nasal but in coda it didn't apply, but analogy has extended this to all cases (cf. ir ondartigòr "the Atlantic man").
/l/ changed this way also in the FL- initial cluster, where (just as in FR-) the initial /f/ became first an approximant /w/ and then got fully vocalized to /u/, giving ur- or un- in such words, like FLŌREM > */wnor/ > unor /uˈnor/ "flower" or FLV̄MEN > */wrau̯m/ > uraum /uˈrau̯m/ "river". PL- and CR-, however, consistently became pr- and cr-, which means that /l/ got rhotacized there before it got lost in other places (cf. PLVVIAM > pruia "rain", ECCLĒSIAM > **ecclīsam > icraisa "church").
The -LI- cluster became a simple /j/, perhaps earlier */jj/, blocking the diphthongization of a preceding /uː iː/, as seen in the name of the Atlantic Provinces' second largest city, Iuia Uaìnça < IV̄LIAM VALENTIAM.

/l/ was later reintroduced into the language through Arabic loans and later Latin and Greek learned reborrowings – cf. luua "dialect" from Arabic لغة luḡa.

Atlantic palatalized /k ɡ/ as most Western Romance languages did, to /ts dz/; /ts/ also resulted from -TI- and -TR- (but not -STR-) clusters. These were later deaffricated to /s z/ in most dialects, but a few Numidian ones still retain the affricates. See RATIŌNEM > raçon "reason, cause" /raˈtson/ > /raˈson/, TRIA > cia "three (disj.)" /ˈtsi.a/ > /ˈsi.a/, GELĀRE > giuò "to freeze" /dziˈwo/ > /ziˈwo/. -DI- developed differently depending on whether it was followed by a front or by a non-front vowel. Before non-front vowels, the palatal element was lost so that it developed as regular intervocalic /d/ (see below); before front vowels, it palatalized to /dz/ much like -TI- did; cf. NVMIDIAM > *Numida > Numìua "Numidia" /nuˈmiwa/ and NVMIDIĒNSEM > numigens /numiˈdzens/ > /numiˈzens/ "Numidian".
As mentioned before, -S- blocked -TR- from shifting to /ts/; this /s/ was, in this environment, backed to /ʃ/, orthographically denoted by a preceding i, as in CASTRVM > *castr > */ˈkastur/ > càistur "city" /ˈkaʃtur/[1]. In what is one of the most notable sound changes Atlantic underwent, word-final -S was stopped to /t/, as noticeable in many inflectional morphemes (e.g. pluralizing -ĀS, -ŌS, -ĒS > -ot, -ot, -et).

Intervocalic lenition of stops also follows the Western Romance pattern: unvoiced stops become voiced and voiced stops become fricatives, with original /d/ becoming */ð/ > /w/ and original /ɡ/ becoming */ɣ/ > /w/ or */ɣ/ > /j/ according to nearby vowels:

CAPERE > *cabi > cab "to make an effort to understand"
VĪTAM > uaida "life"
CRVCEM > *crugi > carug "cross"
QVOQVE > *pubi > pub "also"
CABALLVM > *caual > cauai "horse"
PEDEM > *piði > piu "foot" /piu̯/
FRIGIDVM > */wriɣiðu/ > */urijið/ > urìu "cold"
MAGVM > */maɣu/ > mau "nomad"[2]

A preceding nasal prevented the consonant from being lenited, while a preceding /r/ or /l/ didn't, e.g. DIEM MARTIS > gimàrdit "Tuesday" (arch.).
/kt/ and /pt/ clusters were resolved by turning the backmost element to /s/, i.e. to /st/ and /ps/ respectively, see LACTEM > nast "milk"; APTVM > aps "ready".

VI- /wi/ was reduced to /j/ if a vowel followed, as e.g. in VIĀTICVM > iòdig "travel".
Sporadic posttonic syncope led to a range of newer clusters, which were often resolved through assimilation. For example, /mn/ assimilated to /nn/ and /nm/ to /mm/, as in FĒMINAM > *fēmna > fenna "woman"; ANIMAM > *anma > amma "person". Most modern dialects have further degeminated them (Senegal Riparian dialects are the main exception, as are a few ones in the Atlas valleys of Numidia), but they are still represented in the orthography. Historical gemination is not represented in a few words where such consonants were likely degeminated early and, in fact, no modern dialect has a geminate consonant - a common word where this happened is punust "tomorrow" < punnust < *pusnust < POST NOCTEM.

Mauritanian palatalization

The so-called Mauritanian palatalization (palataligeoçon muridoinensa) is considered in Atlantic linguistics the main isogloss between Mauritanian and Numidian dialects; this change likely started in the 17th century and was successfully completed in the span of a few generations in the territories of Mauritania. Mauritanian palatalization, both progressive and regressive, was triggered by all instances of /j/, affecting nearby consonants (a very similar change before /i/ happened before and is reflected in all modern Atlantic dialects); the orthography still unambiguously reflects the situation as for a given word, Mauritanian dialects will have a palatalized consonant (not in the phonetic sense of "palatalized") while Numidian dialects will have /j/ and a "regular" consonant.
Mauritanian palatalization resulted in the following changes:

/t d/ > /tʃ dʒ/, cf. fuit "he was" (Mauritanian /futʃ/, Numidian /fui̯t/), nàidur "shore" (Maur. /ˈnadʒur/, Num. /ˈnai̯dur/).
/n/ > /ɲ/, cf. uiçain "neighbour" (Maur. /wiˈsaɲ/, Num. /wiˈ(t)sai̯n/). Historic /ni/ > /ɲi/ is, however, universal across the Atlantic-speaking world and therefore not a part of Mauritanian palatalization; this change is still productive and even found in loanwords.
/r/ > /ʒ/, cf. Uiolarea, capital city of the Atlantic Provinces (Maur. /ujoˈlaʒa/, Num. /ujoˈlarja/). This change also happened, as part of Mauritanian palatalization, before /i/; Numidian still has /r/ before /i/, cf. riduòi "ritual" Maur. /ʒiˈdwoi̯/, Num. /riˈdwoi̯/.
/s/ > /ʃ/, but /s/ from /ts/ was not affected (suggesting that deaffrication likely happened later), cf. fuist "you were" (Maur. /fuʃt/, Num. /fui̯st/), Osea "Asia" (Maur. /ˈoʃa/, Num. /ˈosja/).
/l/ > /ʎ/, cf. sail "flood" (Maur. /saʎ/, Num. /sai̯l/), Iulea, proper name (Maur. /ˈjuʎa/, Num. /ˈjulja/).

Phonology

Consonants

Atlantic's consonant inventory is similar to those of other major Romance languages such as Italian, Catalan, or Portuguese. Mauritanian and Numidian dialects have slightly different inventories, mostly because of Mauritanian palatalization.

→ PoA
↓ Manner
Labial Labiodental Alveolar Alveolo-palatal Palatal Velar
Nasals m m n n ni~in ɲ
Plosives Voiceless p p t t c~q k
Voiced b b d d g g
Affricates Voiceless ç~ci~ce ts1 ti~it2
Voiced gi~ge~ig dz3 di~id2
Fricatives Voiceless f f s(~ç) s si~is ʃ
Voiced s(~g) z ri~ir ʒ2
Laterals l l li~il ʎ2
Trill r r
Approximants u w i j

Table notes:

  1. Only in some mountain Numidian dialects; merged with /s/ in most others.
  2. Mauritanian dialects only.
  3. Only in some mountain Numidian dialects; merged with /z/ in most others.

Palatal consonants, in Mauritanian and Senegal Riparian dialects, are realized as palatalized alveolars before other alveolar consonants, as in paindig "fifteen" /ˈpaɲdiz/ [ˈpanʲdiz] or sançuaint "June" /sanˈswaɲt/ [sanˈswanʲt]. In Numidian and Ténéréïc dialects they never occur before consonants.

Vowels

Atlantic has a common five-vowel system, with [ɛ ɔ] being stressed allophones of /e o/ respectively. Vowel+approximant sequences are analyzed as vowel+consonant, mostly because of their development in Mauritanian dialects. In most dialects, /a/ is fronted to [æ] when adjacent to any palatal or alveolo-palatal consonant (e.g. Naia [ˈnæjæ] (← NĪAM) "Senegal River")

Front Central Back
High i i u u
Mid e e o o
Low a ä

Note that /ä/ is usually transcribed as /a/.

Orthography

Atlantic is written using the Latin alphabet, but with conventions quite different from other Romance languages:

  • i and u may both represent vowels or consonants (v does not exist in the standard Atlantic alphabet); they represent /j/ (actual or historic) and /w/ near vowels, and /i u/ near consonants.
    The sequence /ja/ is written as ea.
  • The sequences /ka ga ku gu ko go/ are, as in most Romance languages, written ca ga cu gu co go; the sequences ce ge ci gi represent /(t)se (d)ze (t)si (d)zi/. The "inverse" value of those letters is represented as follows:
    ça ço çu gea geo geu /(t)sa (t)so (t)su (d)za (d)zo (d)zu/;
    qe qi goe goi /ke ki ge gi/;
    The common word ending -ig represents /i(d)z/.
  • A grave accent is put on any stressed vowel which is not in the last syllable, unless the word ends with a vowel or the plural marker -ot. The ìu and ùi diphthongs are stressed even in the last syllable (to prevent them being mistaken with /ju wi/ respectively), as is any other diphthong if preceded by /w/ or /j/, itself preceded by another consonant (i.e. uaida "life" (Maur. /ˈwadʒa/, Num. /ˈwai̯da/) does not need a stress mark).
    Note that "diphthong" here is defined as a historic and a written diphthong, i.e. including those that resulted in Mauritanian palatalization.

Morphology

Articles

Unlike neighboring Ibero-Romance languages, but like most Gallo-Romance ones, as well as Italian, Atlantic has three series of articles: definite (artìcul determinont), indefinite (artìcul indeterminont), and partitive (artìcul parçoir), the plural forms of the latter doubling as plural indefinite articles.

Class Masculine Sg. Feminine Sg. Plural
Definite articles
(artìculot determinontot)
in*, ir na, ra not, rot
Indefinite articles
(artìculot indeterminontot)
aun auna dinot, dirot
Partitive articles
(artìculot parçoirot)
din*, dir dina, dira

The forms with -r- are used instead of those in -n- if the first syllable of the noun includes a nasal consonant:

in curbur, not curburot, dinot curburot "the body, the bodies, some bodies" but ir nàidur, rot nàidurot, dirot nàidurot "the shore, the shores, some shores"
na uçora, not uçorot, dinot uçorot "the wife, the wives, some wives" but ra nimba, rot nimbot, dirot nimbot "the language, the languages, some languages"

The articles in and din, furthermore, assimilate their consonant to a following /t d s ʃ l/ as (d)it, (d)id, (d)is, (d)is, (d)il:

it test "the roof", id did "the finger", is suc "the market", is siampain "the champagne", il laus "the almond".

Unlike many other Romance languages, articles aren't used before given names:

Fui dadur na unor au Agafì. "I gave Agatha the flower."

Nouns

Atlantic nouns do not decline for case and are only inflected for number.

Grammatical gender is a pervasive feature of Atlantic morphology but, due to the loss of most final vowels, often there is no synchronic rule to determine the gender of the noun directly from its form; some particular word-forming suffixes are however always of the same gender, as for example the always feminine -òdig (< -ĀTICVM; cf. na iòdig "the journey", na curòdig "courage"). Loss of Latin neuter and reassignment of those nouns to other genders often applied in different ways than in other Romance languages, so for example there's feminine ra nom "the name" (< NŌMEN) and na raum "the river" (< FLV̄MEN), and masculine it tìmpur "the time" (< reanalyzed nom/acc stem *temp-or, a regular development in Atlantic, see also in gìnir "the type" < *gen-er, ir nàidur "the shore" < *līt-or, in cùrbur "the body" < *corp-or).
Despite this, some feminine words not ending with -a in Latin were modified in order to end that way, a notable example being na uçora (< *uxōram < VXŌREM) "the wife".

Pluralization patterns

Atlantic has four different pluralization patterns (traditionally still referred to as "declensions" (decrinoçonet) by native grammarians), but for three of them it is not possible to predict which one is used just from the singular form. Only the first and second, however, are productive:

Declension Singular marker Plural marker Scope
First declension
prima decrinoçon
-a -ot Almost all feminine nouns, a few masculines
Second declension
siguna decrinoçon
-∅ Masculine nouns (their majority)
Third declension
tirça decrinoçon
-a Masculine nouns
Fourth declension
porda decrinoçon
-et Masculine and feminine nouns

Their numeration only partially reflects the Latin system: while the first and second Atlantic declensions generally continue the same-numbered Latin ones, the third Atlantic declension is a catch-all for neuters-turned-masculines (all neuters-turned-feminines have been reanalyzed), while the fourth Atlantic declension corresponds to the Latin third. Examples of plurals:

  • The first declension mostly continues Latin first declension feminine nouns:
    CANDĒLAM, CANDĒLĀScandeua, candeuot "candle, candles"
    AQVAM, AQVĀSaba, abot "water, waters"
    Some are Greek neuter nouns in -a which were generalized in the plural to be in *-ās instead of -ta, and shifted to the feminine class:
    BAPTISMA, *baptismās → bapsima, bapsimot "baptism, baptisms"
    LV̄MINA, plural of LV̄MEN, was reanalyzed as a feminine singular noun raumina "light" with the regular plural *lūminās → rauminot "lights"
    Greek masculine nouns in -a still follow this declension (e.g. all -ista-istot), as do the following two masculine exceptions:
    AGRICOLAM, AGRICOLĀSarìguea, arìguiot "farmer, farmers"
    NAVTAM, NAVTĀSnauda, naudot "sailor, sailors"
    Borrowings ending in -a are analyzed as feminine nouns of this declension:
    Arabic برقوقة barqūqahbarcuga, barcugot "plum, plums"
    Ar. ولاية wilāyahuilaea, uilaiot "region, regions"
  • The second declension continues Latin second declension masculine nouns and reanalyzed fourth declension ones (with two exceptions noted below):
    PVERVM, PVERŌSpuir, puirot "boy, boys"
    AGRVM, AGRŌSar, arot "field, fields"
    PORTVM, *portōs → pùrid, pùridot (arch. pùrdot) "port, ports"
    Virtually all borrowings not ending in -a are analyzed as masculine nouns of this declension:
    Berber ⴰⴳⴰⴷⵉⵔ agadiragàdir, agàdirot "castle, castles"
    Arabic سوق sūqsuc, sucot "market, markets"
  • The third declension, as mentioned before, contains all nouns which were originally neuter in Latin, independent of their declension, which were reanalyzed as masculines and therefore kept the -a plural ending. This declension includes all Latin third declension nouns following the TEMPVS, TEMPORA pattern, where the -or- or equivalent marker was reanalyzed as part of the stem even in the form that became the singular:
    AVXILIVM, AVXILIAucì, ucia "aid, aids"
    SAXVM, SAXAsaç, saça "stone, stones"
    PECV̄, PECVApìgu, pìgua "pet, pets"
    *lītor, LĪTORAnàidur, nàidura "shore, shores"
    *pector, PECTORApìstur, pìstura "chest, chests"
  • The fourth declension in Atlantic corresponds to the third one in Latin, and therefore contains both masculine and feminine nouns:
    AMŌREM, AMŌRĒSamor, amoret "love; romantic affair, affairs" (m)
    DVCEM, DVCĒSdug, duget "landlord, landlords" (m)
    LĪMITEM, LĪMITĒSràimid, ràimidet "border, borders" (m)
    FLŌREM, FLŌRĒSunor, unoret "flower, flowers" (f)
    NIVEM, NIVĒSnìu, nìuet "cold; cold day, cold days; snow, snows" (f)
    This declension also includes all neuters (mostly in -EN) which were reanalyzed as feminine:
    FLV̄MEN, FLV̄MINA → *flūm-em, *flūm-ēs → uraum, uraumet "river, rivers" (f)
    FVLMEN, FVLMINA → *fulm-em, *fulm-ēs → fùrim, fùrimet "lightning bolt, lightning bolts" (f)
    All Latin fifth declension nouns were also reanalyzed as feminine nouns of this declension:
    EFFIGIEM, EFFIGIĒSifìu, ifìuet "portrait, portraits" (f)
    DIEM, DIĒSdi, dìet "day, days" (f)
    Two lone feminine nouns of the Latin fourth declension remained feminine and therefore were reanalyzed according to this pattern:
    DOMVM, *domēs → dum, dumet "palace, palaces" (f)
    MANVM, *manēs → man, manet "hand, hands" (f)

The following five nouns are considered irregular, as they do not fit any of the patterns above; however, they were all regular in Latin:

  • NŌMEN, NŌMINAnom, nomina "name, names" (f)
  • MARE, MARIAmar, marea "sea, seas" (f)
  • REM, RĒSri, ret "object, objects" (f)
  • HOMŌ, HOMINĒSom, unnet "man, men" (m)
  • ITER, ITINERAìdir, idìnira "way(s), route(s), passage(s)" (m)

Adjectives

All Atlantic adjectives follow the first declination where feminine and the second one when masculine; they are therefore indistinguishable in the plural:

àrud "tall (m)", arda (f), ardot (pl)
cìur "fast (m)" (< CELEREM), cìura (f), cìurot (pl)
sant "saint (m)", santa (f), santot (pl)
saìr "small (m)" (< Ar. صغير ṣaḡīr), saìra (f), saìrot (pl)

Pronouns

Atlantic personal pronouns still distinguish case: the 1SG and 2SG pronouns have two different forms for the nominative and accusative, while all other ones have a nominative form which doubles as a stressed (tonic) accusative; all pronouns have one or more unstressed (atonic) accusative forms, as well as a dative one. The nominative and accusative forms of 1SG and 2SG derive, actually, from Latin accusative and genitive respectively. The third person pronouns derive their nominative/tonic accusative form from illum, illam, illōs, illās, while the other forms are from the declension of is, ea, eī:

Person Nominative Accusative (tonic) Accusative (atonic) Dative Possessive pronoun/adjective
1SG me mai -im, -m mai mu, mia, miiot
2SG te toi -it, -t tìu tu, tùa, tuuot
3SG masc. ai -ir ii eu
3SG femm aea -a
1PL not -un, -n nouit nùistur, nuistra, nuistrot
2PL but -üi buuit bùistur, buistra, buistrot
3SG aiot -iot eit ior
REFL. se -is, -s sìu su, sia, siiot

The atonic accusative form is regularly used after verbs:

  • cumiu-a "I eat it"
  • su cumeuura "I (m.) will eat it"

It is also used, in all levels of formality (unlike many other Romance languages, which only allow this in very formal speech), after active participles, even when used as adjectives:

  • ir om cumiuenta "the man eating it"
  • ir om cumeuura "the man that will be eating it"

In informal Atlantic, this form is replacing the dative:

  • (standard) do-a tìu "I give it to you"; su dadura(-a) tìu "I (f.) will give (it) to you"
  • (informal) dòt "I give to you" su dadurat "I (f?) will give (it?) to you"

The atonic accusative of the reflexive pronoun is used in order to build the reflexive form for all persons (example verb: èiu-is /ejwiʃ/ "to wash oneself" < *ĒLUERE SĒ):

  • (me) èiuus "I wash myself"
  • (te) èiuitis "you wash yourself"
  • (ai) èiuis "he washes himself"

Similarly, the reflexive possessive is mandatory for third person subjects; however, it is (prescriptively) not used in the first and second (except for, notably, the contemporary dialects of Tingis and far northern Mauritania):

  • ai uii su padir "he sees his own father"
  • ai uii eu padir "he sees his (someone else's)/her father"
  • me uig mu padir "I see my father"; me uig eu padir "I see his/her father"; me uig su padir (TING.) "I see my father"

Prepositions (both merging and free-standing) require the tonic accusative after them:

  • pro "for": pro mai, pro toi, pro ai...
  • e "in": imai, itoi, inai, inaea, inòt, iuòt, inaiot

Demonstratives

There are two distinct series of demonstratives: a proximal and a distal one; however, Numidian has a different formation for the proximal when compared to other dialects. All of them are different from those used in the rest of the Romance-speaking world: the words for "this, these" derive from the locutions ILLVM HĪC, ILLAM HĪC, ILLŌS HĪC (in Mauritanian; in Numidian from HVNC HĪC, HANC HĪC, HŌS HĪC); those for "that, those" from ILLVM IBĪ, ILLAM IBĪ, ILLŌS IBĪ.

This (Maurit.)
nuic
This (Numid.)
ùnci
That
niui
Masc. sg. nuic /nus/ ùnci niui
Femm. sg. naic /nas/ ànci naui
Plural nòisic /ˈnoʃis/ òsi nòisui

Prepositions

List of the most common Atlantic prepositions and their contractions with articles:

+ in*/ir + na/ra + not/rot
ant
IN FRONT OF, BEFORE
àntin/àntir àntina/àntira àntinot/àntirot
au
TO
àdin*/àdir au-na/au-ra aunot/aurot
cir
AROUND
cìrgun*/cìrgun cìrguna cìrgunt
cu
WITH
cun*/cur cuna/cura cunot/curot
di
OF
din*/dir dina/dira dinot/dirot
e (ind, imb[3])
IN
nin*/nir ina/ira inot/irot
intar
IN
trin*/trin trena trenot

FROM
ìçin*/ìçir ìçuna/ìçura ìçunt/içurot
surb
ON
sùpin*/sùpir sunna/supra sunnot/suprot
pro
FOR
pron*/pron pina/pira pinot/pirot
puis
BEHIND, AFTER
pùistin*/pùistir pùisina/pùisira pùisinot/pùisirot

Verbs

Atlantic is particularly conservative in its verbal system in keeping distinct all four conjugations of Latin in all forms except the past subjunctive. However, it did not develop neither a synthetic future nor a synthetic conditional, and it evolved an evidentiality distinction in the past between a witnessed past (analytic, built with the present of "to be" and the present active participle) and a renarrative past (synthetic, continuing the Latin perfect forms).

Table of conjugational endings:

Present indicative
1st conjugation 2nd conjugation 3rd conjugation 4th conjugation
Infinitive -∅ -ài
1SG -∅ -iu /ju/ -∅ -iu /ju/
2SG -ot -et -it
3SG -a -i -∅ -i
1PL -om -em -im -aim
2PL -oç -eç -iç -aiç
3PL -ant -int -unt -iunt /junt/
Imperfect indicative
1st conjugation 2nd conjugation 3rd conjugation 4th conjugation
1SG -oua -eua -iua /iwa/ -ieua /jewa/
2SG -auot -iuot /iwot/ -ieuot /jewot/
3SG -au -iu /iw/ -ieu /jew/
1PL -auom -iuom /iwom/ -ieuom /jewom/
2PL -auoç -iwoç /iwo(t)s/ -ieuoç /jewo(t)s/
3PL -auant -iuant /iwant/ -iuunt /iwunt/ -ieuant /jewant/
Renarrative past
1st conjugation 2nd conjugation 3rd conjugation
(most verbs are irregular)
4th conjugation
1SG -oi -ùi
2SG -oist -ùist -ist
3SG -oit -ùit -ìt
1PL -ouim -ùim -ìm
2PL -ouiç -ùiç -ìç
3PL -àurunt -ùirunt -erunt -ìurunt
Present subjunctive
1st conjugation 2nd conjugation 3rd conjugation 4th conjugation
1SG -∅ -i -a -ea /ja/
2SG -et -iot -ot -iot
3SG -i -ea -a -ea
1PL -em -iòm -òm -iòm
2PL -eç -iòç -òç -iòç
3PL -ent -eant -ant -eant
Past subjunctive
1st conjugation 2nd conjugation 3rd conjugation
(most verbs are irregular)
4th conjugation
1SG -òir -ùir -ìur
2SG -òirit -ùirit -ìurit
3SG -òiri -ùiri -ìuri
1PL -ourìm -uirìm -iurìm /iwˈrim/
2PL -ourìç -uirìç -iurìç /iwˈri(t)s/
3PL -òurint -ùirint -ìurint
Example 1st conjugation verb: capsò "to get" ← CAPTĀRE
Person Indicative Subjunctive
Present Imperfect Past Inferential Past Future Present Past
1SG caps capsoua fui capsont(a) capsoi su capsadur(a) caps capsòir
2SG càpsot capsàuot fuist capsont(a) capsoist es capsadur(a) càpset capsòirit
3SG càpsa capsau fuit capsont(a) capsoit ist capsadur(a) càpsi capsòiri
1PL capsom capsauom fuim capsontot capsòuim sum capsadurot capsem capsourìm
2PL capsoç capsàuoç fuiç capsontot capsòuiç sest capsadurot capseç capsourìç
3PL càpsant capsàuant fùirunt capsontot capsàurunt sunt capsadurot càpsent capsòurint
Active participles capsont capsadur
Passive participles capsod capsand
Example 2nd conjugation verb: muriè "to take" ← MVLGĒRE
Person Indicative Subjunctive
Present Imperfect Past Inferential Past Future Present Past
1SG muriu murieua fui murient(a) muriùi su muisur(a) murii muriùir
2SG mùriet muriìuot fuist murient(a) muriùist es muisur(a) mùriot muriùirit
3SG murii muriìu fuit murient(a) muriùit ist muisur(a) mùrea muriùiri
1PL muriem muriìuom fuim murientot muriùim sum muisurot muriom muriuirìm
2PL murieç muriìuoç fuiç murientot muriùiç sest muisurot murioç muriuirìç
3PL muriint muriìuant fùirunt murientot muriùirunt sunt muisurot mùreant muriùirint
Active participles murient muisur*
Passive participles muis* muriind
Example 3rd conjugation verb: acib "to receive, get" ← ACCIPERE
Person Indicative Subjunctive
Present Imperfect Past Inferential Past Future Present Past
1SG acib acibiua fui acibent(a) acibì su acipsur(a) aciba acibìur
2SG acìbit acibìuot fuist acibent(a) acibist es acipsur(a) acìbot acibìurit
3SG acib acibìu fuit acibent(a) acibit ist acipsur(a) aciba acibìuri
1PL acibim acibìuom fuim acibentot acibìm sum acipsurot acibom acibiurim
2PL acibiç acibìuoç fuiç acibentot acibìç sest acipsurot aciboç acibiuriç
3PL acìbunt acibìuunt fùirunt acibentot acibèrunt sunt acipsurot acìbant acibìurint
Active participles acibent acipsur*
Passive participles acips* acibind
Example 4th conjugation verb: renài "to soften, cool down" ← LĒNĪRE
Person Indicative Subjunctive
Present Imperfect Past Inferential Past Future Present Past
1SG reniu renieua fui renient(a) renì su renidur(a) renea renìur
2SG rènit renièuot fuist renient(a) renist es renidur(a) rèniot renìurit
3SG reni renièu fuit renient(a) renit ist renidur(a) renea renìuri
1PL renaim renièuom fuim renientot renim sum renidurot reniom reniurim
2PL renaiç renièuoç fuiç renientot reniç sest renidurot renioç reniuriç
3PL rèniunt renièuant fùirunt renientot renìurunt sunt renidurot rèneant renìurint
Active participles renient renidur
Passive participles renid renind

Suppletive verbs

To be

As common among Romance languages, "to be" is irregular in Atlantic. Like in Iberian Romance, some forms were taken from the conjugation of SEDEŌ "to sit" (with a new, stative verb *SEDITŌ being developed for that meaning); however, there is only one copulative verb, without the general Iberian distinction between essence and state: siuè /ʃiˈwe/ is used for both. However, there are two forms of the future: the one with the sisur participle (< SESSV̄RVM) is used when the meaning is "to be in a place", while the fudur (< FVTV̄RVM) is used in all other cases, cf.:

Sàmbad i geumiga su sisur imb Urumbi. "On Saturday and Sunday I'll be in Volubilis."
Su fudur auna aistreia[4]! "I will be a star!"
siuè "to be"
Person Indicative Subjunctive
Present Imperfect Past Future Present Past
1SG su ira fui su fudur(a)
su sisur(a)
sim fìur
2SG es irot fuist es fudur(a)
es sisur(a)
siai fìurit
3SG ist irat fuit ist fudur(a)
ist sisur(a)
si fìuri
1PL sum irom fuim sum fudurot
sum sisurot
siaim fiurim
2PL sest iroç fuiç sest fudurot
sest sisurot
siaiç fiuriç
3PL sunt irant fùirunt sunt fudurot
sunt sisurot
sint fìurint
Participles siuent fudur
sisur
To go

The verb "to go" in Atlantic is uoi. The infinitive and both presents (incl. participle) are from VĀDERE; other forms from ĪRE. The 2SG, 1PL, and 2PL forms of the present also underwent contraction; the earliest texts show the expected forms uoiit, uoiim, uoiiç.

uoi "to go"
Person Indicative Subjunctive
Present Imperfect Past Ren. Past Future Present Past
1SG uoi ieua fui uoient(a) iai su idur(a) uoia aiìur
2SG uoit ieuot fuist uoient(a) aist es idur(a) uoiot aiìurit
3SG uoi ieu fuit uoient(a) aiit ist idur(a) uoia aiìuri
1PL uoim ieuom fuim uoientot aiim sum idurot uoiom aiiurim
2PL uoiç ieuoç fuiç uoientot aiiç sest idurot uoioç aiiuriç
3PL uoiunt ieuant fùirunt uoientot aièrunt sunt idurot uòiant aiìurint
Participles uoient idur
To bring

The Atlantic verb for "to bring" is irregular fir, directly inherited from Latin FERRE "to carry":

fir "to bring"
Person Indicative Subjunctive
Present Imperfect Past Ren. Past Future Present Past
1SG fir firiua fui firent(a) tui su nodur(a) fira tuiìur
2SG fìrit firiuot fuist firent(a) tuiist es nodur(a) firot tuiìurit
3SG fir firìu fuit firent(a) tuiit ist nodur(a) fira tuiìuri
1PL firim firìuom fuim firentot tuiim sum nodurot firom tuiiurim
2PL firiç firìuoç fuiç firentot tuiiç sest nodurot firoç tuiiuriç
3PL fìrunt firìuant fùirunt firentot tuièrunt sunt nodurot fìrant tuiìurint
Active participles firent nodur
Active participles nod firind

Derived verbs with the same irregularity:

  • cunfir "to join, unite" (cunfir, fui cunfirent(a), cuntui, cunnodur, cunnod)
  • içfir "to remove" (içfir , fui içfirent(a), istui, içnodur, içnod)
  • porfir "to distribute, offer, give" (porfir, fui porfirent(a), portui, ponnodur, ponnod)
  • ufir "to show" (ufir, fui ufirent(a), upsui; unnodur, unnod)

Numerals

Atlantic cardinal numerals are partially directly inherited from Latin (1-15, 17, and most tens and hundreds) and partially rebuilt on post-Vulgar Latin roots, especially where the numbers would have otherwise become too similar if not identical (as would have been the case with 13 and 16; the apparent irregularity in 7 is also a consequence of this, as *sips would have been too similar to siç). All numerals ending in 2 and 3 (except 12 and 13), as well as all hundreds except for 100, have a distinct form used only in disjunctive counting, derived from the Latin neuter.

0-9
Digit Cardinal
1 (m) aun, (f) auna
2 (m) dut, (f) dot
DISJ. du
3 (m/f) cet
DISJ. cia
4 pàtur
5 pimbi
6 siç
7 saps
8 ust
9 nuu

10-19
Digit Cardinal
10 dig
11 àundig
12 dùuig
13 cìuig
14 pàturuig
15 pàindig
16 sèstig
17 sàpstig
18 ustòndig
19 nìndig

Tens
Digit Cardinal
20 uint
30 cìuint
40 paròuint
50 pimbòuint
60 siçòuint
70 sipsòuint
80 ustòuint
90 nonòuint

Hundreds
Digit Cardinal
100 cint
200 dugint
DISJ. duginta
300 cigint
DISJ. ciginta
400 paturgint
DISJ. paturginta
500 pimbagint
DISJ. pimbaginta
600 sisagint
DISJ. sisaginta
700 sipsingint
DISJ. sipsinginta
800 ustingint
DISJ. ustinginta
900 nongint
DISJ. nonginta
1000 mìu


Vocabulary

Months of the year, days of the week

Month names (rot menset dir an) in Atlantic are, except for the first five, quite different from the standard set used in other Romance languages, even though their origin is often semantically similar (though etymologically different, except for September) to Sardinian.

English Atlantic Origin
January iamboir Latin IANVĀRIVM
February fiuroir Lat. FEBRVĀRIVM
March març Lat. MARTIVM
April arbìu Lat. APRĪLEM, through early dissimilation to *arpīl.
May moi Lat. MĀIVM
June sançuàint Lat. (MĒNSEM) SANCTĪ IOANNĒS
July citurçon Lat. (MĒNSEM) TRĪTV̄RATIŌNIS "month of threshing".[5]
August sunçon Lat. (MĒNSEM) ASSV̄MPTIŌNIS
September cabudain Lat. CAPVT ANNĪ
October nuriçon Lat. (MĒNSEM) NV̄TRĪTIŌNIS, referring to manure
November unniusantor Lat. (MĒNSEM) OMNIVM SANCTŌRVM
December nodoi Lat. (MĒNSEM) NĀTĀLIS

Days of the week (not dìet dina sipsamà) follow the ecclesiastic terminology also used by Portuguese and Galician; note the initial /z/ in the word for Sunday that points to DIEM DOMINICAM > *diðuminga > /zuˈmiɡa/:

English Atlantic
Sunday geumiga
Monday fereasiguna
Tuesday fereatirça
Wednesday fereaporda
Thursday fereapinta
Friday fereasiça
Saturday sàmbad

Holidays

  • New Year's Day: na prima dir an
  • Epiphany: na Epifanea (from Greek)
  • Easter: na Pasca (from Greek)
  • Labour Day: na dii dir nauor
  • St. John's Day: na dii di Sant Iuàn ([santʃuˈan] (Maur.) or [santjuˈan] or ~ Sant Ioànes)
  • Assumption: na Sunçon dina Uìrgean
  • St. Augustine's Day (August 28): na dii di Sant Guistain
  • All Saints Day: na dii di Tod not Santot
  • Immaculate Conception: na dii dina Imaguioda Cunciçon
  • St. Lucy's Day: na dii di Santa Lucia
  • Christmas: ra Nodiudod (← Lat. NĀTĪVITĀTEM)
  • New Year's Eve: na puistrema dir an

Cardinal points and continents

The cardinal points in Atlantic are Arabic borrowings, but their related adjectives are Latin:

  • North: seamal, northern: buriòi
  • East: seàruc, eastern: urintòi
  • South: geanub, southern: oistròi
  • West: àrub, western: uciuintòi

The names for Europe, Africa, and Asia are inherited from the Latin spoken in ancient times; the others are recent borrowings, but with the words for America and Antarctica sculpted after the one for Africa, and the one for Oceania sculpted on the cognate root ogein.

  • Africa: Òfriga – African: òfir (f. òfira, arch. ofra)
  • Europe: Eroba – European: erobens
  • Asia: Osea – Asian: osion or osiòtig
  • North America: Amèriga Burioea – North American: seamal-amerigens /-ameriˈzens/
  • South America: Amèriga Oistroea – South American: geanub-amerigens
  • Oceania: Ogeianea /ozeˈjaɲa/ – Oceanian: ogeianiens /ozejaˈɲens/
  • Antarctica: Antàrtiga – Antarctic: antartigens /antartiˈzens/

Some countries and demonyms

  • the Atlantic Provinces: Ondàrtigot (pl.), Atlantic: ondartigor
    • Mauritania: Muridonea, Mauritanian: muridoinens
    • Numidia: Numiua, Numidian: numigens
  • Catalunya: Catalunea, Catalan: cataluinens
  • Cyrenaica: Cirinega, Cyrenean: cirinegens (of Cyrenaica), cirinè (of ancient Cyrene)
  • France: Gaea, French: gàiig /ˈɡajiz/
  • Greece: Gareça, Greek: gareig /ɡaˈrez/
  • Italy: Idoea, Italian: idoig /iˈdoz/
  • Liguria: Niuurea, Ligurian: niuùistig /niˈwuʃtiz/ (< LIGVSTICVM)
  • Romania: Romania, Romanian: romaniëns
  • Portugal: Nusidonea, Portuguese: nusidoinens
  • Sicily: Siciea, Sicilian: sìgui /ˈʃiɡuj/
  • Spain: Isponea, Spanish: ispoinens
  • Tripolitania: Cibuidonea, Tripolitanian: cibuidoinens
  • Tuscany: Eçurea, Tuscan: eçuisc /eˈ(t)suʃk/

Colours

Of the 11 basic colours in Atlantic, only four of them derive from Latin roots (ĀTRVM > ; LIGNEVM > rin; *AMARELLVM > marìu; CANDIDVM > càndiu); all others are Arabic loanwords.

English Atlantic Prototypical example
Black oç, oça / oçot
Blue arsac, arsaca / arsacot
Brown rin, rinea / riniot
Gray ramadi, ramadea / ramadiot
Green marìu, maria / marìot
Orange ranaing, ranaingea / ranaingiot
Pink uardì, uardia / uardìot
Red qirmis, qirmisea / qirmisiot
Violet nìlac, nìlaca / nìlacot
White càndiu, càndiua / càndiuot
Yellow asfar, asfara / asfarot

Texts

Opening lines from Commentarii de Bello Gallico

Tuta Gaea ist sebaroda e cet pardot, e auna cuïs risiàiuunt not Belgeot, e àidira pard not Acuitanot, apiiodot Qeltot ira nimba sia, et Gaiot ina nuistra. Nòisic tutot sebàrantis cu nimba, moret et leget. Na uraum Garunna sebara not Gaiot içunt Acuitanot, et not uraumet Matruna et Sibana sebàrantiot ìçunt Belgeot.

IPA:
[tuta ˈgæjæ ʃtʃebaˈrɔda e sɛt ˈpardot e au̯na ˈku.iʃ riˈʃæi̯wunt nɔb‿ˈbɛlzot e ˈadʒira ˈpard nɔt‿akwiˈtanot apiˈjɔdot ˈkɛltot ira ˈɲimba ˈʃi.æ eɡ‿ˈɡæjot ina ˈnuʃtra . nɔʃis ˈtutot seˈbarantiʃ ku ˈɲimba ˈmɔret e ˈlɛzet . na uˈrau̯m gaˈruna seˈbara nɔɡ‿ˈɡæjot isunt‿akwiˈtanot e ˈnɔt uˈrau̯met maˈtruna e ʃiˈbana seˈbarantʃot isum‿ˈbɛlzot]

English:
All Gaul is divided into three parts, one of which the Belgae inhabit, the Aquitani another, those who in their own language are called Celts, in ours Gauls, the third. All these differ from each other in language, customs and laws. The river Garonne separates the Gauls from the Aquitani; the Marne and the Seine separate them from the Belgae.

Original Latin:
Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres, quarum unam incolunt Belgae, aliam Aquitani, tertiam qui ipsorum lingua Celtae, nostra Galli appellantur. Hi omnes lingua, institutis, legibus inter se differunt. Gallos ab Aquitanis Garumna flumen, a Belgis Matrona et Sequana dividit.

UDHR Article 1

Tutot umanot naçunt nàiuirot et eboiot e dinidod et diristot. Aiot sunt dodot cu raçon et cucinça et dèuint auè aun adin àidir cu ispàirid di urodindod.

IPA:
[ˈtutot uˈmanot ˈnasunt ˈnai̯wirot et‿eˈbɔjot e diɲiˈdɔd ed‿diˈʒiʃtot . ˈajot sun ˈdɔdot cu raˈsɔn e kuˈsinsa ed‿ˈdɛwint aˈwɛ ˈau̯n adin‿ˈadʒir cu‿i̯ˈʃpaʒid di‿u̯rodinˈdɔd]

Notes

  1. ^ Phonemic /ʃ/, however, only arose because of successive palatalizations, and before /tr/ only because of learned Latin or Greek borrowings, as stratòs /straˈtos/ "army" - cf. EXTRĀNEVM > *istroniu > istroin /iʃˈtroɲ/ "foreign".
  2. ^ Originally "magician, fortune-teller", this term came to identify wandering fortune-tellers.
  3. ^ The form ind is used before any vowel except for vocalic u, where imb is used.
  4. ^ The word aistreia (pl. aistreiot) "star" derives from Lat. STĒLLAM, but the irregular resolution of the initial cluster and the otherwise irregular r point to a contamination with ASTĒR, therefore to a Proto-Atlantic form *astrēlla, or to a diminutive form of the latter (*asterēlla), influenced by the former in having feminine and not masculine gender.
  5. ^ In this and following month names, the genitive ending probably got mistaken as nominative as cases were merging and thus got deleted.