Natraden



Natraden is an agglunative, engineered language that I somewhat developed when bored one night and it grew from there. Though others may not agree, I'm quite satisfied with the way it turned out. You could say this language is semi-germanic. The flag below is me trying to design one in 5 minutes; and another I actually thought about. I have tried to put a lot of logic into the grammar as well as deriving words from other languages. I only intend to use it by myself though am more than happy to share it. Enjoy!

Learn at Memrise ! (I recommend you revise the grammar first)



Welcome!
'''Etxëlōdiw! Iw sæte dat Uj forwāte ggiwzi. Uj Equilibrioj Lerk gehapten obrigo.'''

'Welcome! I see that you continued. Anyway, have fun learning!'

''Welcome! I see that you forward gone. [You] fun learning have anyway.''

Alphabet and Phonetics
This is where the nightmare begins. Along with the full english alphabet, Natraden contains 19 other accented letters. Some will make sense, others not so much. Aspiration does not matter.

Phonetic Rules

 * When a W terminates a word, it makes the IPA sound f
 * ​Anaglipw (Anaglyph) /anaglipf/
 * This doesn't apply to some words
 * Iwen (We) /ifɛn/
 * If the root word ends in w
 * ​Anaglipwex (Anaglyphs) /anaglipfɛks/
 * ​When R proceeds an unaccented vowel in the same syllable, it makes the IPA sound w
 * ​Ar (She) /aw/
 * Wur (Who) /vuɒ/
 * Ińlandere (English) /iŋlandɛɾɛ/    <-- Wrong
 * When Y proceeds a vowel, weird things can happen:
 * AY /ɛä/
 * EY /ɛä/
 * IY /iä/
 * OY /wä/
 * UY /uä/
 * S makes an /s/ sound when at the end of a root word
 * Æ makes an /ɛ/ sound when in the first syllable
 * Ī becomes ii at the end of a word.
 * Energii (Energy)
 * Energīj (Energy-ACC)
 * J creates a /ä/ sound when preceded by any form of i in the same syllable.

Case Marking
Word order in Natraden is Subject-Object-Verb. Therefore, we need a way to distinguish between the subject and object, especially in sitations where there is only the object (passive verbs).

There are 6 cases in Natraden. Nominative, Accusative, Dative, Genetive, Vocative and Instrumental.

In this example, we will be using the word for World: Planeta.

External Marking
Any Quotations or anything of the such also have to be marked. This is done differently. The quotation (in quotation marks) is proceeded by the corresponding marker. The marker, however, acts like a particle and as it is a single letter, is pronounced like it would in the alphabet (sound + e for consonants, just the sound for vowels)

Er "Uj hor beokte?"j cpeki.

He said "How are you?"

This also applies to anything taken and pronounced exactly like English:

Post-Processingj permite.

Allows Post-Processing.

J in the above examples are pronounced /jɛ/

Word Order
SOV is just a summarisation of the entire word order. Any nouns basically come before the verb unless the noun is preceded by a preposition. The entire worder is as follows, anything in square brackets are optional:
 * 1) Subject
 * 2) Object
 * 3) Indirect Object
 * 4) Instrument
 * 5) [Auxiliary] Verb
 * 6) Adverb
 * 7) Preposition [+ Indirect Object]
 * 8) Time
 * 9) Seperable Part of Seperable Verb
 * 10) Participle
 * 11) Infinitive (if Auxiliary verb is used)

Verb Conjugation
Verbs don't conjugate like in other langauges, and also unlike other languages, every verb is regular (excluding the structural form of to be and to have, which derive from germanic). All verbs end in llé and are required to be replaced in order to conjuagte. If the mood of the verb is changed, llé is replaced with en (doesn't apply to interrogative; normal conjugation occurs) and the corresponding prefix is added. To make a verb negative, you add the suffix -nz after conjugating (okte => oktenz). Please note participles go at the end of a sentence. C stands for normal conjugation,

To Be
There are two forms of to be, normally referred to as the Auxiliary Form and the Structural Form. The first one is self explanatory, the Auxiliary form is always regular and is only used to form the progressive tense, alongside the participle. The Structural form is used in proper sentence structuring (hence the name) such as He is some guy.

Structural Conjugation of the word oktllé (to be) is below, irregularities underlined :

To Have
To Have has two forms, the same as to be (refer to the above). The only difference is that the Auxiliary form is used with the perfect tense, rather than the progressive.

Structural Conjugation of the word hårllé (to have) is below, irregularities underlined :

Normal Verbs
Conjugation of the word cpekllé (to speak) is below:

Seperable Verb
Conjugation of the word etlādllé (to download) is below, note that the seperable parts always go at the end of the sentence (refer to word order ):

Negative
Making a verb negative means adding nz directly after the verb. This means it goes before anything after the verb.

Iw giwzi nz erlere.

I didn't go earlier.

Auxiliary Verbs
Negative auxiliary verbs often use nz as a suffix or use it to replace the last few letters.

Refer to Natraden Auxiliary Verbs

Imperative Mood
The imperative mood is applicable to all persons. You would use the applicable pronoun in the nominative case however:

First Person Singular
Often used when talking to yourself. Otherwise it isn't very common. At least it's a way to distinguish whether a person is talking to themselves or you, so there's that.

Iw geadepen et!

Come on! (When you're talking to yourself)

This sometimes can be used on buttons. For example, when you press a button Go! in the game, it can be written as Gegiwzen! or in less frequent situations, Iw gegiwzen!. This derives from the perspective that buttons in a game are telling a game to do something, though the button is part of the game itself; pressing the button will causes the game to tell itself to do something. This isn't as common without the pronoun but it can be used.

First Person Plural
This is hard to express in English. It uses will with an emphasis. For example, compare the following:

Iwen giwzi erlerenz.

We will go later.

Iwen gegiwzen et 3 Lamafragmentx.

We will go on the count of three.

Normal future tense is very casual. Emphasise it and it's almost a command. Must can be substituted however.

Second Person
This can't get any more obvious. The direct order to the person(s) you are speaking to.

Uj(en) Icj geetxaren!

Make it!

Third Person
This, like the first person plural, uses the translation will.

Er(en) gegiwzen wor Iw Er(en)j cpeke i giwzllé!

He/They will go when I tell him/them (to go)!

Passive
Passive in other languages use a completely different verb. In English we use the verb is; in German, werden. In Natraden, no verb changes are made. The only difference is the subject because the object.

Plajtolex j håri etlāden

Games were downloaded

Someone had downloaded games

Reflexive
The reflexive voice isn't very common though it still can be utilised. This makes use of pronouns of self: There is only ever the nominative case used in this voice, apart from anything proceeding the verb of course:
 * Men - Myself
 * Tre - Yourself
 * Ce - His-/Her-/Itself
 * Nes - Ourselves
 * Vot - Yourselves
 * Les - Themselves

Men Iw sæti

I saw myself

Auxiliary Verbs
Auxliary verbs are the same as other languages, with some extras. Proper auxiliary verbs refer to all the auxiliary verbs exluding the normal verbs with auxiliary forms. All auxliliary verbs have an infinitive though only for lexicon reasons and don't serve a meaning in deep grammar. All proper auxiliary verbs can  only be conjugated with either an e or nothing. Any non-present conjugations end in te. They also replace the main verb in a sentence leaving the the verb being replaced to move to the end.

Kanllé/Mallé

 * Expresses possibility and permission
 * Conjugation is kan/mae
 * English equivalent is can/may
 * Iw kan sætllé!
 * I can see!
 * Negative is kannz/manz
 * ​English equivalent is can't/might not
 * Iw Icj manz etxarllé.
 * I might not do it.
 * Non-present conjugation is kante/mate
 * English equivalent is could/might
 * Iw mate plajllé
 * ​I might play.

Mådllé

 * Expresses obligation
 * Conjugation is måde
 * English equivalent is must
 * Wz, Er måde!
 * ​No, he must!
 * Negative is månz
 * ​English equivalent is mustn't
 * Er månz, ira zegle Gropwj Råems okte.
 * He musn't, or it's back to square one.
 * Non-present conjugation is mådte
 * English equivalent is must've
 * Ar Icj mådte extarllé!
 * ​She must've done it!

Soltllé

 * Expresses imperativity and speculation
 * Conjugation is sole
 * English equivalent is shall
 * Uj sole ggiwzllé.
 * You shall go.
 * Negative is solnz
 * ​English equivalent is shan't
 * Ic solnz lamada etxarllé.
 * ​It shan't happen now.
 * Non-present conjugation is solte
 * English equivalent is should('ve)
 * Iw solte få Iceńk plajllé.
 * ​I should've played for them.

Lorllé

 * Expresses pleasure
 * Conjugation is lore
 * English equivalent is like to
 * Iw lore danzllé.
 * ​I like to dance.
 * Negative is lornz
 * ​English equivalent is don't like to
 * Iw lornz danzllé. (:P)
 * I don't like to dance,
 * Non-present conjugation is lorte
 * English equivalent is used to*
 * Iw Icj lorte lårllé.
 * ​I use to like it.
 * Though not showing pleasure, it is a way to display that you used to do something.

Lamenllé

 * Expresses the ability to do something on the basis that you aren't occupied
 * Conjugation is lamene
 * ​English equivalent is have time (for)
 * Jz, Iw lamene
 * ​Sure, I have time.
 * Negative is lamenz
 * ​English equivalent is don't have time (for)
 * Ar lamenz danzllé.
 * ​She doesn't have time to dance.
 * Non-present conjugation is lamente
 * ​English equivalent is did/will have time (for)
 * Pjēgō, Iw lamentenz hœt.
 * Sorry, I won't have time today.

Personal Pronouns
Personal Pronouns follow ordinary case marking

Noun Pluralisation
To make a noun plural, you add the suffix (e)x. If the word ends in n, the n becomes a ńx. If ti already ends in ń, then you just add x. Words ending in t also only add an x (tx).

Adjectives
Adjectives are always a suffix (they are pronounced seperately, however) to a noun and never agree, this means a noun cannot be decribed more than once. Inflexions must happen first, however. This becomes a problem in genetive case. Adjectives that derive directly from other languages are suffixed with a hyphen separating them:

Ōto-lower-end (Lower-end car)

Comparative
Comparative adjectives are used for comparison. Here, every letter from the first vowel of the last syllable onward is ommited, the suffix ere replacing them:

Grōcec => Grōcere

Mitgæt => Mitgere

Super => Supere

Superlative
This type of adjective is used in comparison though in more of an 'outruling' situation. The same omission rules apply here, though the suffix is erect:

Grōcec => Grōcerect

Mitgæt => Mitgerect

Super => Superect

Two Nouns
To show something is possessed by another, it depends on how many are in the chain. If there are only two nouns, like in My Father, then the order is as follows:

Potre Iws [Father I-GEN]

Same rules still apply in different cases, accusative for example:

Potrej Iws [Father-ACC I-GEN]

More than Two Nouns
This is where problems occur, because certain restrictions have to take place. If there is more than two nouns, the nouns are stringed, like in My Father's Car:

Iwspotresōto [I-GEN-Father-GEN-Car]

Cases again still apply:

Iwspotresōtoj [I-GEN-Father-GEN-Car-ACC]

Adjectives
Since the words are stringed, none of the nouns before the last can be described. Only the last noun can have an adjective attached to it. My Father's red Car:

Iwspotresōtořń [I-GEN-Father-GEN-Car-Red]

It is because of this that the longest word is unknown.

Genders
There are 3 genders in Natraden after the gender revamp. These are Masculine, Feminine and Neuter. The genders are not biological in any sense. There are some rules to strictly determine which gender a noun belongs to:
 * /Time/ is feminine
 * Human Beings and their Titles are masculine
 * Whether a woman or man, the gender is masculine.
 * Any noun with the suffix -nac is feminine
 * This overrides all the other rules
 * Any noun with the suffix -tol is neuter
 * This overrides  all  the other rules
 * Numbers and Measurements are feminine
 * Weather is neuter
 * Science is masculine
 * Science can be anything from the word Science itself and really long, hard to pronounce chemical names to the /Periodic Table/.
 * Biology: including body parts and human processes.
 * Chemistry: chemicals, elements and so forth.
 * Physics: forces, types of energy and the universe.
 * Animals are masculine
 * Basically, if it's animate, isn't technology and isn't a human, it counts.
 * Technology is neuter
 * Borrowed Words are neuter
 * Whether they are spelled exactly the same or adapted to Natraden, this still applies.
 * This overrides all the other rules excluding the suffix rules.
 * Clothing is masculine
 * Locations are feminine
 * This includes words like up and left.
 * Emotions are feminine
 * Food and Drink are masculine
 * Musical Instruments are neuter
 * Religion is feminine
 * This applies to everything affiliated with them; including their gods and their texts.

Articles
There are four types of articles in Natraden, Definite, Indefinite, Partitive and Negative; each differenciating with gender:

Supines
Supines are almost literal in Natraden. They are technically one phrase after another, this is almost the equivalent of saying that the first verb occurs for the second.

Uj bewåre dīses Lińkj i œffnllé?

Do you want to open this link?

[You Interrogative-want this link to open?]

Here the supine is open, which requires you to want it in order for it to happen.

Contractions
There are few contractions in Natraden:

I'kte
I'kte is the contracted form of Iw okte (I am). Because of word order, it cannot use the accusative case*. This is only used in progressive tense.

I'kte ggiwzere (I am going).

Using it in normal sentence
Though highly arthaic, I'kte could be used with the accusative form.

Ujj i'kte (I am thou)

Ih'
Contracted form of Ihl (feminine 'a'). Used before words beginning with a vowel.

Ih'ordirnac (A difficulty)

Verbs
The conjugation of the verb can be replaced with the apostrophe so long as the tense is specified. This is heavily informal.

Iw æc' erlere (I ate earlier)

Ar hår'nz hœt æcen (She hasn't eaten today)

Simple Verb
Very little is changed when asking a question. The word order is kept the same. The only noticeable differences are probably the interrogative words, change in pronoun and the question mark at the end.

When a question is asked, the verb changes to its interrogative mood: conjugated as normal with the prefix be-. We'll use the same example as above:

Uj bewåre dīses Lińkj i œffnllé?

Do you want to open this link?

If it wasn't a question, the verb would remain the same:

Uj wåre dīses Lińkj i œffnllé.

You want to open this link.

Participles
If a participle is used, normal procedures happen. Have you eaten?:

Uj behåre æcen?

The prefix is added to the verb to have, however.

Separable Verbs
Again, normal conjugation applies. The prefix is added after the verb is separated: Did you download it?

Uj Icj belādi et?

Interrogative Words
It's words like these that can determine whether a sentence is interrogative or not, as they can't be used in an ordinary sentence. Each of these words can replace where the answer would go in the reply phrase. Warlam beokte? means, what time is it, or more literally, (it) is what time?. ''Uj wur beokte? means Who are you? or You are who?''. The replying phrase would change the pronoun and replace the interrogative word with the answer. The respective answers for the preceding to questions are:
 * Where
 * Wer
 * Where to
 * Weri
 * What
 * War
 * Nothing*
 * What for
 * Wåf
 * When
 * Wor
 * Warlam (What time)
 * Who
 * Wur
 * Why
 * Wir
 * How
 * Hor
 * How Much
 * Horиom
 * 12:30 okte
 * Warlam is replaced with the time
 * The verb is back to its normal conjugated form
 * Iw Bobj okte
 * The pronoun is changed from You to I
 * Wur is replaced with the name
 * The verb is restored to its conjugated form
 * Sometimes, if the question has 'what' in it, it can be omitted. Iwen Lektūrexj behabe? can either mean Do we have lessons? or What lesson do we have?. The second one would be the preferred meaning since the first definition is normally used with a point in time, like today.

Numerical System
The numbers in Natraden are decimal and therefore the highest digit is 9.

Cardinal
The numbers are normal until 10. Then on, the numbers are ordered. 95, for example, is written as:

Five-w Ninety; the w derives from the word for of.
 * [+1] Contains two syllables which can be distinguished as [Pen-j'w] or [Pe-niw]. EIther is acceptable though the first is more preferred. Can also be written as Peиw to avoid confusion.

Example Number: 3.687.121.698
 * [+2] Can be written as Onzw Data and Dūsw Data respectively, though it's like saying Firteen and Secoteen in English.
 * [+3] Only used with measurements:
 * 1mia. Luźjarex
 * 1m Lightyears

Aščw Nantaw Čiztiw, Dakilow Dūtakilow Dantikilow, Cepmilnacw Aštamilnacw Čiztimilnacw, Wzobilnac.

(Above is the reason why random numbers should be abolished)

Marking
As you may see in other languages, there are special markings to help read large strings of numbers.

Digit Grouping
In English we use a comma: 1,356. In Natraden, a dot is utilised: 1.356.

Decimal Mark
Alot of languages either use a comma (,) or point (.). In Natraden we use `; called Flek.

1.356`123

Čiztow Pentaw Wzontiw, Dakilo, Flek Onz Dūs Wzo.

Ordinal
These numbers are technically just the cardinal numbers with (e)k as a prefix, ere for numbers ending in 1.

Some may differ from this layout however. Anything in italics are different in certain ways. Example Number: 3.687.121.698ᴷ

Okw* Nantaw Čiztiw, Dakilow Dūtakilow* Dantikilow, Cepmilnacw Aštamilnacw* Čiztimilnacw, Wzobilnac*.

Note how only the number that is truly ordinal (the 8ᴷ in this example) is the only one that changes. Numbers like Dūtakilow have not changed to Dopkilow.

Dates & Time
How do you write dates? It's pretty weird. For instance, the century is hidden in there somewhere. You write it like the following:

Mondai, zåglr 7ᴷ Janums, 21ᴱᴿᴱ Jar 14.

Monday, the 7th of January 2014.

Monday, the January's 7th, Year 14 of the 21st Century.

BC
To use BC, one says x years before 0

10.000 Jarex ÿevo 0.

10,000 BC (10,000 Years before 0)

Layout
Mostly the same as the UK with the frequent addition of the century.

DD/MM/YY(/CC)

07/01/14(/21)

Time
Time is written like decimals:

7`15 Kws.: Quarter-Past Seven in the Morning

7`15 Tks.: Quarter-Past Seven in the Afternoon

In speech one would say Ceptāre Flek Onz Penjw Lama  Krzwos meaning Seven point One-Five time morning. Replace Krzwos with Trokts for the afternoon. Lama can be omitted.

Money
Money (suprise, suprise!) also uses the Flek. Qrōnen is normally used with money if the currency doesn't need to be specified. Qrōnen is neuter (so is all currency) and translates to Common Currency. This is written with a Ɋ.

Ɋ5`50

Penjw Qrōnen Flek Penjw Nillo

Qrōnen cannot be pluralised.

Currencies
Currencies are all neuter and follow standard pluralisation only when nominal. Most currencies are directly imported from English, pronounced according to Natraden: The following are the only exceptions:
 * Euro
 * Dollar
 * Rupē (Phonetic Rules force double Es into a lengthened one at the end of a word)
 * Peso
 * Pound Sterling: Pent [Ctrēllen]
 * Yen: Jen
 * Krone: Qrōne

Translated Texts
Time Measurements

Lord's Prayer
Potrey Iwens

All Roads lead to Rome
Iž Rom Ÿåxjmultē kan hårllé.

A Room can have many doors.

Back to Square One
Zegle Gropw Råems.

The tree's seed.