Luthic: Difference between revisions

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[[Luthic]] ([[w:Help:IPA|/ˈluːθ.ɪk/]] [[w:Help:Pronunciation respelling key|''LOOTH-ik'']], less often ([[w:Help:IPA|/ˈlʌθ.ɪk/]] [[w:Help:Pronunciation respelling key|''LUTH-ik'']]; also ''Luthish''; [[w:Endonym|endonym:]] ''Lúthica'' [[IPA for Luthic|[ˈluː.ti.kɐ]​]] or ''Rasda Lúthica'' [[IPA for Luthic|[ˈraz.dɐ ˈluː.ti.kɐ]​]]) is an Italic language spoken by the Luths, with significant East Germanic influence. Unlike other Romance languages, such as Portuguese, Spanish, Catalan, Occitan, and French, Luthic preserves a substantial inherited vocabulary from East Germanic, instead of only proper names that survived in historical accounts, and loanwords. About 250,000 people speak Luthic worldwide.

Luthic is an inflected fusional language, with four/five cases for nouns, pronouns (comitative forms), and adjectives (nominative, accusative, genitive, dative); three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter); and three numbers (singular, dual in personal pronouns, and plural).

The ethnonym Luths remains one of the most debated issues in both Germanic and Romance philology. The earliest attestation appears in Greco-Roman authors of the 6th century, who mention the Lūthae (alternatively Lūthī) as one of the new barbaric peoples of Ravenna. This is usually traced back to a Gotho-Luthic lūþiks—although many scholars consider this to be a scribal error, a “correction” of *lūhtiks after influence from Latin lūthicus.

The ethnonym Lūthus appears to derive from the Gothic liuts, meaning “hypocritical” or “dishonest,” likely reflecting the disdain the Greco-Romans felt toward the barbarian kingdom and its plebeian rulers. Among the Luths themselves, however, a folk etymology emerged. They associated the name with Latin lūx, adding the common augmentative suffix -cus/-ticus to form lūcticus. This was later misinterpreted and spirantised by Gothic scribes as *lūhtiks, giving rise to the attested forms lūþiks, lūthicus and Lūthae. This folk etymology may have emerged alongside the Roman use of the term vespertīnī to describe the barbarian peoples living west of Rome—literally “toward the setting sun.” The latter, being a relational adjective to the evening, semantically changed to mean “people of the sunset” or “sunset people,” was subsequently associated with the notion of “light,” further reinforcing the Luths’ own reinterpretation of their ethnonym.

The earliest varieties of Luthic, collectively known as the Gotho-Luthic Continuum (continuo gotholúthico), emerged from sustained contact between Vulgar Latin dialects—those that would later develop into Italo-Romance varieties—and the East Germanic languages. Over the course of roughly five centuries, a significant amount of East Germanic vocabulary was absorbed into Luthic. Comparative linguistic analysis and historical records suggest that approximately 1,200 uncompounded words can be traced back to Gothic, and ultimately to Proto-Indo-European. These borrowings predominantly consist of nouns (~700), verbs (~300), and adjectives (~200), showing how East Germanic influence reached the core lexical categories. In addition, Luthic incorporated numerous loanwords from West Germanic languages during the Early Middle Ages.

Throughout the 19th century, the formalisation of historical linguistics provided new tools for analysing Luthic. Comparative methodologies, inspired by the works of philologists such as Franz Bopp and August Schleicher, were applied to Luthic studies, further refining the understanding of its phonological and morphological shifts. By the early 20th century, Luthic linguistics had matured into a structured academic field, with dedicated university departments, linguistic societies, and journals exploring its diachronic development.

[[File:Luthic Indo-European family.png|thumb|250px|Adapted from Mandrak 2008.]]

The precise classification of Luthic within the Indo-European family has long been contested. While its earliest stages display strong Gothic influence, particularly in phonology and orthography, its vocabulary and syntax reveal deep affinities with Romance, especially the Italo-Dalmatian branch. As a result, Luthic is generally regarded as a transitional language, straddling the boundary between the Gallo-Romance and East Germanic groups.

Nearly all Romance languages spoken in Italy are native to their respective regions. Apart from Standard Italian, these languages are commonly referred to as dialetti (“dialects”), both in colloquial and scholarly contexts, although alternative labels such as “minority languages” or “vernaculars” are also used in certain classifications. Italian was officially declared the national language during the Fascist period, specifically through the R.D.L. decree of 15 October 1925, Sull'Obbligo della lingua italiana in tutti gli uffici giudiziari del Regno, salvo le eccezioni stabilite nei trattati internazionali per la città di Fiume. According to UNESCO’s Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, Italy is currently home to 32 endangered languages.

[[File:Luthic_lexis_1.png|thumb]]

It is generally estimated that Luthic comprises around 260,000 words—or about 380,000 when obsolete forms are included—and roughly 4 million if declined and conjugated variants are taken into account. Nevertheless, 98% of contemporary Luthic usage relies on only 3,600 words. A 2016 study by Lúcia Yamane, based on a corpus of 2,581 words selected according to frequency, semantic richness, and productivity, also incorporates lexical items formed within the Luthic territory. This study provides the following percentages:

Based on the 110-word list provided by the Global Lexicostatistical Database (cf. Starostin 2016a, 2016b, 2019; Kassian, Starostin, Dybo, Chernov 2010); German Swadesh list adapted from Wunderlich 2015. Adapted for the purposes of the Ravenna University project.

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[[File:Ravenna linguistic map.jpg|thumb|“Languages spoken alongside Luthic”]]

Luthic is spoken mainly in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, where it is primarily spoken in Ravenna and its adjacent communes. Although Luthic is spoken almost exclusively in Emilia-Romagna, it has also been spoken outside of Italy. Luth and general Italian emigrant communities (the largest of which are to be found in the Americas) sometimes employ Luthic as their primary language. The largest concentrations of Luthic speakers are found in the provinces of Ravenna, Ferrara and Bologna (Metropolitan City of Bologna). The people of Ravenna live in tetraglossia, as Romagnol, Emilian and Italian are spoken in those provinces alongside Luthic.

Most of the Luths also speak Italian, this is commoner for Luth elders, and most of the Luth elders may speak only Italian because of the influence from the Fascist period, as the Fascist government endorsed a stringent education policy in Italy aiming at eliminating illiteracy, which was a serious problem in Italy at the time, as well as improving the allegiance of Italians to the state. The Fascist government’s first minister of education from 1922 to 1924 Giovanni Gentile recommended that education policy should focus on indoctrination of students into Fascism and to educate youth to respect and be obedient to authority. In 1929, education policy took a major step towards being completely taken over by the agenda of indoctrination.> In that year, the Fascist government took control of the authorization of all textbooks, all secondary school teachers were required to take an oath of loyalty to Fascism and children began to be taught that they owed the same loyalty to Fascism as they did to God. In 1933, all university teachers were required to be members of the National Fascist Party. From the 1930s to 1940s, Italy’s education focused on the history of Italy, displaying Italy as a force of civilization during the Roman era, displaying the rebirth of Italian nationalism and the struggle for Italian independence and unity during the Risorgimento. In the late 1930s, the Fascist government copied Nazi Germany’s education system on the issue of physical fitness and began an agenda that demanded that Italians become physically healthy. Intellectual talent in Italy was rewarded and promoted by the Fascist government through the Royal Academy of Italy which was created in 1926 to promote and coordinate Italy’s intellectual activity.

Luthic phonology is defined by a comparatively simple vocalic system and a consonantal inventory that varies across regional varieties. The standard form, in its most complete form, counts up to eight oral vowels, five nasal vowels, two semivowels, and twenty-six consonants, though certain dialects show a more reduced consonant set alongside an expanded vowel space. Vowels are regularly lowered and retracted before /w/ (e.g. [ë̞, o̞, æ̈, ʌ, ɒ, ɑ]) and raised and fronted before /j/ (e.g. [u, e̟, o̟, ɛ̝, ɐ̝, ɔ̝, ä̝]). In areas under strong Gallo-Italic influence, particularly Lombard and Piedmontese, rounding before /w/ produces additional allophonic series ([ø, o, œ, ɐ͗, ɔ, a͗] → [ø̞̈, o̞, æ̹̈, ɔ, ɒ, ɒ]). These patterns account for the perception of “more vowels and fewer consonants” in some varieties. Historically, this phonological profile crystallised in Ravenna, where Gothic, Frankish, Langobardic, Lepontic, and Cisalpine Gaulish elements were absorbed into the local Vulgar Latin. By the 6th century, Luthic had already become the vernacular of Ravenna, its conservative base providing the foundation for the modern system described below.

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* Within triphthongs, vowel quality is mostly in free variation, except in /jwo/ and /jwɔ/, where the quality is more stable. In regions influenced by Gallo-Italic languages, these clusters in /jw/ may also be reduced to [ɥ].

Luthic allows up to three consonants in syllable-initial position, although there are some restrictions. Its syllable structure can be represented as (C)(C)(C)V(C)(C)(C). As in English, many words begin with three consonants. Luthic lacks true bimoraic vowels; what appear as diphthongs are actually sequences of a semiconsonantal glide [j] or [w] plus a vowel.

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Luthic is quasi-paroxytonic, meaning that most words receive stress on the penultimate syllable. Monosyllabic words generally lack stress unless emphasised or accentuated. Enclitic and other unstressed personal pronouns do not affect stress patterns. Some monosyllabic words may carry natural stress, though it is weaker than the stress found in polysyllabic words.

* broþar + -scape > broþarscape [ˌbroˑ.dɐrˈska.pe].

Luthic has a shallow orthography, meaning that spelling is highly regular and corresponds almost one-to-one with sounds. In linguistic terms, the writing system is close to a phonemic orthography. The most important exceptions are the following:

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This section provides a concise introduction to Luthic grammar, outlining the fundamental features that shape its structure. It is not intended as an exhaustive treatment, but rather as a summary of the most salient aspects of morphology and syntax. Readers without prior knowledge of Luthic may find this overview a useful foundation. Those already familiar with these concepts may consider the section optional, as its purpose is to establish the essentials before addressing the historical and etymological developments of Luthic morphophonology in later chapters.

Nouns inflect for case—ordered as nominative, genitive, dative, and accusative in Luthic grammar—, as well as for number, and are classified into three grammatical genders (masculine, feminine, and neuter). Number is expressed through singular and plural in nouns, while the dual survives only in the personal pronominal system. Luthic nouns are grouped into five main declensional classes:

* Examples: fregiatá “freedom” f, magetá “ability” f.

Adjectives may occur either before or after the noun. The default, unmarked position is postnominal. In prenominal, the adjective can also convey nuances of meaning, such as restrictiveness or contrastive emphasis.

Superlative forms always take a definite article. Furthermore, Luthic adjectives have a weak declension inherited from Gothic, which occurs after a demonstrative or a definite article, and is identical to Classes 1n, 2n and 3n. There are no weak forms equivalent to comparative and superlative. Comparative is also declined like Classes 1n, 2n and 3n.

Pronouns in Luthic form a distinct subsystem of the grammar, preserving both archaisms inherited from Indo-European and introducing unique innovations. They inflect for case, number, and (in most forms) gender. Unlike nouns and adjectives, however, the first- and second-person personal pronouns retain the dual number, which otherwise survives only in this domain. The pronominal system comprises personal, possessive, demonstrative, relative, interrogative, and indefinite forms, each with its own declensional patterns and functions. First and second personal pronouns also have a special comitative form.

The subject pronoun is typically omitted, since distinctive verb conjugations make it redundant. When expressed, subject pronouns carry emphatic force.

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Possessive pronouns in Luthic agree with the possessed noun in gender, number, and case, much like adjectives, and can appear either before or after the noun they modify. Their primary function is to indicate ownership or close association, and in most cases they behave morphologically as regular adjectives. Possessive pronouns lack a weak form.