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Brithenig sometimes accents words with a circumflex, called a '''teithith''', or ''little roof''. Although the accent is always pronounced as 'long', more often than not it appears to be purely grammatical, for example, '''la''' and '''lâ'''. | Brithenig sometimes accents words with a circumflex, called a '''teithith''', or ''little roof''. Although the accent is always pronounced as 'long', more often than not it appears to be purely grammatical, for example, '''la''' and '''lâ'''. | ||
==Grammar== | |||
===Noun=== | |||
There are two genders in Brithenig: masculine and feminine. Unlike English where objects can be neuter, all nouns in Brithenig are recognised as being of one gender or the other. The gender of a noun is indicated by the form of the definite article which precedes it: '''ill''' (masculine); '''lla''' (feminine). | |||
In some dialects the articles, including the plural form, '''llo''' are pronounced as if they were written as '''L''' instead of '''LL'''. While this is not discouraged, it is regarded by native speakers as a foreign or colonial feature and not an indigenous feature. Some dialects, notably the Kernow dialect found in the southern provinces of Cambria, do not have this sound at all. | |||
The masculine article elides with prepositions that end with a consonant: | |||
:'''a''' ''to, at'' + '''ill''' → '''a'll''' | |||
:'''di''' ''of, from'' + '''ill''' → '''di'll''' | |||
:'''gwo''' ''under, below, beneath'' + '''ill''' → '''gwo'll''' | |||
Four features distinguish feminine nouns from masculine nouns: | |||
1. The initial consonant of the noun undergoes mutation after the feminine article, or after a possessive pronoun. The following prepositions are known to cause softening: | |||
:'''di''', ''of, from'' | |||
:'''gwo''', ''under, below, beneath'' | |||
* The conjunctions '''e''', '''and''', and '''o''', '''or''' both cause softening to following nouns | |||
* Before these parts of speech, '''ll''' and '''rh''' do not do so before the article. | |||
* The definate articles are exceptional and do not mutate. | |||
* The prepositions '''tra''', ''through'' and '''a''', ''to, at'' cause spirant mutation rather than softening. | |||
* Prepositions are pronounced in spoken Brithenig as though they were softened, although the written language does not reflect this: | |||
::'''di''' is pronounced as '''ddi''' | |||
::'''gwo''' is pronounced as '''wo''' | |||
::'''tra''' is pronounced as '''dra''' | |||
2. Adjectives following a feminine noun always undergo soft mutation. | |||
3. The demonstrative pronoun 'that' is '''o''' masculine nouns and '''a''' for feminine nouns. The demonstrative pronoun '''yst''', 'this', is the same for nouns of both genders. The plural forms are '''ogyn''' and '''agyn''' for 'those' and '''ystyn''' for 'these' | |||
'''O''' and '''a''' are not used as articles before nouns in modern Brithenig. For that the adverbs '''ci''', 'here', and '''llâ''', 'there', are added to the definate noun phrase. For example, 'this man' and 'that man' become '''ill of ci''' and '''ill hof llâ'''. | |||
4. Feminine nouns are referred to as '''sa''', 'she', masculine nouns as '''ys''', 'he'. | |||
==== Number ==== | |||
In Brithenig the plural ending has become silent and is no longer written. To indicate when a noun is plural the article changes from '''ill''' and '''lla''' to the plural form, '''llo'''. The plural article also causes spirant mutation: | |||
:'''ill of''' 'the man' -> '''llo h-ôn''' 'the men' | |||
'''ill of''' and '''llo h-ôn''' is one of the few cases in Brithenig where the singular and plural forms of the same noun are different. | |||
:'''lla gas''' 'the house' -> '''llo chas''' 'the houses' | |||
Among some speakers it seems that '''llo''' is loosing is definite quality and it is interpreted only as a plural marker. How, or if, they mark the definite plural noun has not been recorded. | |||
Plural nouns after possessive pronouns also take the spirant mutation. | |||
:'''gwstr gas''', ''your house'' | |||
:'''gwstr chas''', ''your houses'' | |||
:'''llo wstr chas''', ''your houses'', is also common and grammatically acceptable. | |||
Some words have special plurals created by changing from masculine to feminine gender: | |||
:'''ill bordd''', ''hut'', '''lla fordd''', ''huts'' | |||
:'''ill busc''', ''wood'', '''lla fusc''', ''woods'' | |||
:'''ill breich''', ''arm'', '''lla freich''', ''arms'' | |||
:'''ill cil''', ''eyebrow'', '''lla gil''', ''eyebrows'' | |||
:'''ill corn''', ''horn'', '''lla gorn''', ''horns'' | |||
:'''ill ew''', ''egg'', '''lla ew''', ''eggs'' | |||
:'''ill genygl''', ''knee'', '''lla enygl''', ''knees'' | |||
:'''ill llafr''', ''lip'', '''lla llafr''', ''lips'' | |||
:'''ill os''', ''bone'', '''lla os''', ''bones'' | |||
:'''ill rham''', ''branch'', '''lla rham''', ''branches'' | |||
==Vocabulary== | ==Vocabulary== | ||