Neishan

The Neishan language (Neyejïn) is the primary language of the Addites, and the official language of the country Atann. It has developed from tribal Addite dialects spoken in the region of modern day Atann. The origins of the word “Neishan” is somewhat unknown, but many historians speculate that it is the Romanised version of the name of the first tribe that European explorers found on the island of Atann.

History
Neishan is an interesting language, as it utilizes a completely unique vocabulary (with the exception of a few imported words) but its grammar and syntax has morphed to match those of an Indo-European romance language as the region was once a colonial power of Spain. This is a very interesting phenomenon often studied in linguistics classes.

During the 1800’s, when Spain controlled Atann, there were many attempts to eradicate Neishan, but they were mostly unsuccessful. Spanish was made the official language, and speaking Neishan was banned in public places; however, it was still spoken by a majority of the people and was used as a vernacular. The most extreme of these attempts was in 1862, when the provisional governor of Atann Ricardo Miguel Zapatero ordered troops to march up and down the streets of all major cities, shooting anybody they heard speaking Neishan. This act only angered the oppressed Addites further and helped spark the revolutions of 1864-66.

Although Spain’s attempts at destroying Neishan were unsuccessful, Spanish did influence the grammar of Neishan very heavily. Before the colonization period, there were very loose grammar rules which varied widely from region to region and town to town. However, after Spain unified the Island of Atann, all of the different regions and tribes were forced together into one state. This was not a big political problem, as there was little tension between the different Addite tribes.

However, the looseness and variation in grammar rules made day-to-day communication more difficult as the Addites were forced together. Since all Addites were required to learn Spanish, slowly they began to use Spanish as a basis for a unified grammar as there was little coherence originally. The grammar of the Spanish language was a lot more established and strong than that of Neishan, so it eventually carried over into Neishan.

In 1875, after Atann had been independent from Spain for nine years, the “Akadhä’ Petäÿyï dä-Neyejïn” (Regulatory Academy of the Neishan Language) was founded and cleared up any slight ambiguity in the grammar rules at the time. It continues to regulate the language and set standards today. The Neishan language has changed very little since the Academy was formed.

Writing Systems
For the most part, Neishan uses an adapted version of the Roman alphabet. However, an older, more traditional phonetic alphabet still exists but is not used as much. Students in Atann are required to learn both alphabets; however, foreign students studying Neishan are not always required learn it in introductory classes.

There are two main variations of the Neishan alphabet in use today: the Modern Standard Neishan and the Modern Script Neishan. One is more of a simple, print type while the other is more elegant and has serifs. There can be many subtle variations in the alphabet; many writers of Neishan develop a much customized version of the Modern Script system comparable to cursive signatures. Also, capitalization was never existed in older versions of the Neishan alphabet, so when it is used today a dot is placed somewhere around the letter to signify capitalization. There are generally accepted conventions for where to place this dot on a certain character, and the location can differ between script or standard types; however, ultimately this location is arbitrary as these standard conventions are not official. However, before the existence of these alphabets, there were 3 more or less unified writing systems: Proto-Neishan (which was a non-phonetic character system not understood by modern scholars), Archaic Neishan, and Middle Standard Neishan.

Archaic Neishan was developed by a team of scholars between the 5th and 3rd centuries BC. At this time, the different tribes of Atann were under a loose confederation, and it is believed that two scholars from each tribe were sent to a council to determine a grammatical standard and develop an easier system of writing, which became Archaic Neishan (then called something that can be translated to “Mouth-shape writing”). It seems as if these scholars had an advanced knowledge of phonetics, seeing as sounds that are formed similarly have similar patterns and appearance. One of the first things written in this system is a description of what these scholars did, still surviving to some degree on broken stone tablets.

This writing system remained the standard convention for over a thousand years, with regional variations. Around the 6th or 7th century AD, Atann was unified under one militaristic king, Ätanni (incidentally, he is for whom the island is named). He drafted scholars to make a completely uniform and simpler alphabet, which we know as Middle Standard Neishan.

When Spain first took control of Atann in the 17th c., a proto-Romanized Neishan alphabet was devised which the people were forced to use. During this time, the Latin alphabet had much influences on the now changing Middle Standard Alphabet which was no longer official.

However, when Spain was trying to eliminate the alphabet, the little Neishan that was written in defiance usually used this odd mixture of Latin and Middle Standard. Thus, when Spain was overthrown in Atann, two alphabets were widely used. When the Academy was formed, it made two official, uniform variations of the Latin-influenced traditional alphabet and called them Modern Standard Neishan and Modern Script Neishan. They stated that both the traditional alphabets and the Romanisation were official and were both seen commonly throughout Atann, on signs, in books, etc. Which alphabet one used was considered a stylistic choice; some preferred the look of the Roman, some preferred the traditional Neishan.

However, eventually the Roman alphabet won over in frequency of use as it is more widely used throughout the world. Laws and other official documents, however, were always and are still written in both, and the Modern Neishan Alphabet is still an important symbol of the culture and language of Atann.

Punctuation
Neishan did not have any punctuation before the introduction of Spanish influences; therefore, punctuation in Neishan is the same as standard Peninsular Spanish conventions. In both the Romanised and traditional writing systems, the following punctuation is used:
 * {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"

!Name !English use !Neishan use 1For Dialogue, Neishan uses dashes instead of quotation marks, as in Spanish.
 * Dialogue
 * " " or ' '
 * – –1
 * Primary Quotation marks
 * Secondary Quotation marks
 * Question mark
 * Exclamation mark
 * }
 * Secondary Quotation marks
 * Question mark
 * Exclamation mark
 * }
 * Question mark
 * Exclamation mark
 * }
 * Exclamation mark
 * }
 * Exclamation mark
 * }
 * }
 * }

The remaining punctuation is just as in English.

Phonology
Vowels:


 * {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"

!Romanisation

!IPA
 * a
 * a


 * [a]
 * e
 * [e]
 * i
 * [i]
 * o
 * [o]
 * u
 * [u]
 * ÿ
 * [ø]
 * ä
 * [æ]
 * ï
 * [ɨ]
 * }
 * ä
 * [æ]
 * ï
 * [ɨ]
 * }
 * [ɨ]
 * }

Consonants:
 * {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"

!Romanisation

!IPA
 * b
 * [b]
 * d
 * [d]
 * dh
 * [dh] at the end of a word or before a consonant, [dʁ] before a vowel
 * f
 * [f]
 * g
 * [g]
 * h
 * [x]
 * j
 * [ʃ]
 * k
 * [k]
 * l
 * [l]
 * m
 * [m]
 * n
 * [n]
 * p
 * [p]
 * r
 * [ʁ]
 * t
 * [t] unless at the end of a word, where it's aspirated [th]
 * v
 * [v]
 * w
 * [w]
 * y
 * [ʒ]
 * z
 * [z]
 * }
 * r
 * [ʁ]
 * t
 * [t] unless at the end of a word, where it's aspirated [th]
 * v
 * [v]
 * w
 * [w]
 * y
 * [ʒ]
 * z
 * [z]
 * }
 * [ʒ]
 * z
 * [z]
 * }
 * }

Phonotactics
only the fricatives (i.e. j, y, z, f, v, h,) will blend with other consonants; however, affricatives (e.g. 'tj' representing /tʃ/) are rare. Any diphthong is possible, but long vowels (double vowels) cannot be in a diphthong (e.g. 'aai' is impossible).

Accents
The Pronunciation above is a central Neishan accent, the most common and what most foreign students learn; however, there are variations. In the North consonants are more heavily aspirated and vowels are more rounded. Thicker Northern accents will pronounce some consonants such as z and t with the tongue further forward, making a z more like the th in that (IPA /ð/) and d, dh, and t are pronounced a little further forward and sustained a bit longer, with the dh actually being articulated on the bottom of the upper teeth. Southern Neishan accents will generally soften the aspiration on consonants but exaggerate long vowels. They also usually voice the f making it essentially a /v/. Another aspect of the Southern accent is that they soften up the rounded vowels, making them less distinguishable from their unrounded counterparts.

Syllables and Stress
Syllable patterns: V; CV; CVC A consonant, unless immediately followed by another consonant that is not blended, starts a new syllable. Only fricatives (i.e. j, y, z, f, v, h,) will blend.

Double vowels = long sound – long vowels are relatively uncommon in Neishan

Stress: (/ indicates primary stress, | secondary, – none)

One syllable: /

Two: /-

Three: -/-

Four: –/––

Five: –|–/–

Six: –/––|–

Seven: -|–/––|

Eight: –/––|––|

Nine: -|–/––|––

Ten: –/––|––|––

Etc.

Verb Tenses
An un-conjugated verb can act as a gerund, infinitive, supine, or participle. There are generally considered to be 3 basic tenses: Past, Present, and Future, as well as 3 compound sets of tenses: Perfects, Progressives, and Subjunctives/conditionals.

Verbs are not conjugated differently according to voice. In order to convey the passive voice without an agent, e.g. English: "Neishan is spoken." or Spanish (from which it derives): "Se habla Neishan.", one would use the third person singular conjugation for the respective tense and not state a subject.

Conjugation guide:

Singular Plural

Present Tense
Refers to affirmative actions that happen in the present (e.g. “I swim on Mondays”); for negative actions see Subjunctive/Conditional Tenses.

Take the verb, and add the following endings:

If the verb ends in a vowel, at a z before the ending

Example verb – Pÿt (to pwn)

Example verb 2 – Koÿ (to be)

Past Tense
Refers to past completed affirmative actions (see Subjunctive/Conditional Tenses and Progressive Tenses.)

Take the present tense form of the verb, and add “pï” at the end

Example verb – Pÿt (to pwn)

Example verb 2 – Koÿ (to be)

Future Tense
Used for future events about which the speaker feels strongly that they will occur (see Subjuntive/Conditional Tenses).

Take the present tense form of the verb, and add “za” at the end

Example verb – Pÿt (to pwn)

Example verb 2 – Koÿ (to be)

Perfect Tenses
Same as use in English, unless the subjunctive must be used (see Subjunctive/Conditional Tenses).

Take the helping verb “Jer” and conjugate it to either the past, present, or future and attack it to the end of the verb. No difference between verbs ending in vowels or consonants.

Example verb for present – Pÿt (to pwn)

Example verb for past – Pÿt (to pwn)

Example verb for future – Pÿt (to pwn)

Progressive Tenses
Same as use in English, unless the subjunctive must be used (see Subjunctive/Conditional Tenses).

Take the helping verb “ko” and conjugate it to either the past, present, or future and attack it to the end of the verb. No difference between verbs ending in vowels or consonants.

Example verb for present – Pÿt (to pwn)

Example verb for past* – Pÿt (to pwn)
 * It can also refer to an action that occurred in the past but is still occurring today; in this case, one would conjugate it for past tense progressive and then at the word “zÿldaj” which means roughly “to today”

Example verb for future – Pÿt (to pwn)

Subjunctives/Conditional Tenses
Subjunctives/Conditional Tenses

Note on the name: Usually called the subjunctive tenses, but can also be cited as the conditional tenses (seeing as it is used in conditional statements)

This set of compound tenses is a little trickier.

It is always used in both clauses of a “bledh” conditional statement which only exist in the past and present. The three structures of a conditional statement include:

Bledh (if) past sub. bledhi (then) ''past sub. ''(if I did X, then Y would have happened)

Bledh (if) past sub. bledhi (then) present sub. (if I did X, then Y would happen)

Bledh (if) present sub. bledhi (then) present sub. (if I do X, then Y happens/will happen)

Order is important: the “bledh” clause must always come first

The subjunctives are usually used for actions to come unless they are specifically guaranteed or the speaker wants to put an emphasis that the action will occur; in that case, use the singular, perfect, or progressive future.

They are also used for saying that something did not happen (e.g. “I did not go to the store” would be subjunctive)

There is no such thing as a perfect or progressive subjunctive tense, just conjugate it like anything else (e.g. for saying “I was not walking” you would just use normal past progressive)

To conjugate the subjunctive, take the helping verb “tïdhä” and conjugate it like the other compound tenses:

Example verb for present – Pÿt (to pwn)

Example verb for past – Pÿt (to pwn)

Example verb for future – Pÿt (to pwn)

Pronouns
Subject or direct object (Nominative or accusative):

Object of a preposition (prepositional)

Possessive:

Demonstrative:
 * Tadh – close to speaker singular, “this”
 * Tudh – Close to speaker plural, “these”
 * Tadha – Far from speaker singular, “that”
 * Tudha – Far from speaker plural, “those”

Relative Pronouns:
 * Kaa – that, which, who, whom (the person who did it, the book that I read)
 * Loka – where, or referring to a concept (the school where I attended, the values that they held)

General Sentence Structure
Noun phrases: Adjectives are always attached to the end of nouns. If the noun ends with a consonant and the adjective begins with one, an apostrophe is added and the consonants are pronounced independently but in rapid succession, unless the sounds are both stops, in which case only the latter is pronounced and the words are phonetically merged. Same with vowels. In the case of multiple adjectives describing one word, the adjectives are separated by apostrophes and placed in any order (except articles must always be first).

Examples:
 * big (reu) house (Yÿta): Jïtareu
 * ugly (ÿdhau) house: Yÿta’ÿdhau
 * big man (lozvät): lozvät’reu
 * the (tä) big house: Yÿtatä’reu

Verb Phrases: Adverbs are attached to the beginnings of verbs but hyphenated
 * Example: I pwn awesomely: azvïyä-pÿtÿ

If adverbs are modifying adjectives, then the adjective is placed after the noun which it modifies separated by an apostrophe and the adverb is attached with a hyphen.
 * Example: bright red paint: kelkÿ’luita-mewon

Sentence Structure and Nominative and Accusative cases: Simple subjects of a verb are always placed immediately after the verb
 * Example: Adham pwns: pÿta Adham

Direct objects/predicate nominatives/predicate adjectives are placed after the complete subject, separated by a comma
 * Examples: Adham pwns Bili: pÿta Adham, Bili

Note: when pronounced, there is no pause at the comma, and the comma is often omitted in informal writing

Clauses are always separated by a semicolon, with a conjunction optional. If a conjunction is used, then the semi-colon is attacked to the front of it; otherwise, it is attached to the end of the last word in the first clause Examples:
 * Adham pwns Bili but Bili pwns you: pÿta Adham, Bili ;zvï pÿta Bili, äti
 * Adham pwns Bili; Bili pwns you: pÿta Adham, Bili; pÿta Bili, äti

For question sentences, you construct the entire sentence, and then place the question word at the end separated by commas. Question words are always capitalised.
 * Example: What is your (f) name?: Koÿzä ädhij’yeedh, Dhomena?

Other Phrases and Cases
Prepositional: The preposition is placed first, and then the noun (w/ any modifiers attached) is placed afterword and hyphenated. It is placed after the word/phrase that it modifies.

Prepositional phrases are also used for the dative case (indirect objects) and the genitive case (possession, i.e. instead of saying "John's book" Neishan uses the structure "The book of John")

Examples:
 * By the man: zät-lozvät’tä
 * Under the ugly house: gäka-yÿtatä’ÿdhau
 * I threw you the ball: Taazÿpï, gahi zÿla-äti. (lit. translates to ‘I threw the ball to you’)

Appositive: Appositive phrases are placed directly after the noun to which they refer and are placed in brackets
 * Example: Adham, a man,…: Adham [lozvät’ta]…

Relative clause: Placed after the noun phrase which it modifies, placed in brackets, with the relative pronoun placed first (or as the direct object if a subject and a verb are present).

Examples:
 * Adham, who pwns, is awesome: Koÿza Adham [kaa pÿta], azvï.
 * Adham, a man who pwns, is awesome: Koÿza Adham [pÿta lozvät’ta, kaa], azvï.

NOTE: in informal situations the relative pronoun is often omitted in speech (but rarely in writing). This is VERY INFORMAL and not grammatically correct per se.

Examples:
 * “Adham, who pwns, is awesome” is spoken as: Koÿza Adham [pÿta], azvï.
 * “Adham, a man who pwns, is awesome” is spoken as: Koÿza Adham [pÿta lozvät’ta], azvï.

Vocative case: The vocative case (to whom the idea of sentence is directed, e.g. "John, please go over there.") is handled by placing the addressee at the beginning of the sentence and followed by a colon.

Counting
Neishan uses Arabic numerals, even with non-latin script. The old form of numerals is archaeic and not advised by the Regulatory Academy of the Neishan Language.

e.g.

55 – Kakanookaka

156 – Nakakanooyetsa

782 – Nonalïnoowa

1028 – Too-wanoolï

3471 – Motoo-pÿna-nonooni

4,347,284,163 – Wabïja-monapÿnoonomïja-wanalïnoopÿtoo-nayetsanoomo