User:Billyjb/Shelved/Dhannuá

Setting
Dhannuá is classified as a 1.4.1 language following the constructed language classification scheme devised by Richard K. Harrison. That is, it derives a major part of its vocabulary from a pan-(Indo-)European source.

Early History
Descending from a central Proto-Indo-European dialect spoken thousands of years ago Dhannuá is the sole member of the Dhannuá sub-group. Various attempts to classify it as Celtic, Italic or even as a variant of Scythian have proven unsuccessful. Having performed the palatal/plain merger Dhannuá is usually categorised as a Centum language.

In-universe, the oldest example of Early Dhannuá is a scribble on a stone reading DOMAN•SEWANTI•EWENS•REIDANTI•DEPOTES•SEPTAN•KLUSANIAWAD•KAPTOD tentatively interpreted as "The seven lords, riding horses, seek a home/house, Kleusaniawa taken." with Kleusaniawād analysed as the dative form (in an absolutive dative construction) of *Kleus-a-ni-awa, a settlement name. Probably from IE: *ḱlewos-ni-akwa, with ni- being a local place suffix. Carefully translated to something along the lines of "Where the water of fame (is)"

Already the change from -m > -n for the accusative marker is notable, the nasal of *SEPTM realised as /N/ producing -AN, the labiovelars weakening to /w <-> u/, palatal/plain merger and the voicing of the dative -V̄t > -V̄d can be noticed. Fully preserving the -nti ending for the third person plural with any preceding vowel reduced to /a/. The formation of the verbal adjective with -tó seen in KAPTŌD. Still no noticeable rhotacism (kleus, not kleur).

Obviously, Dhannuá was never spoken and is in fact based on experimenting with different sound changes and grammatical innovations from a PIE base based on personal whims.

Changes from Indo-European

 * Regular transformation of the IE labiovelars -> /w/ or /u:/; akwa- > awa


 * Merging of the palatal consonants with the plain ones; ḱlewos/ḱlu -> klewos/klu


 * Word final ṃ-> an


 * Coda position /t/ -> /d/, /dH/


 * Rhotacism of coda sibilants to liquids; /s/, /z/, /s:/ -> /r/


 * h1 + e > /i:/, h1 -> /i/ before e, h2 -> /a/, h3 lengthens the following vowel or appears as /o/ when followed by a consonant -> ¯/o


 * Intervocalic -ng- -> -nn-


 * Intervocalic /n/ between unstressed pairs lengthened to /n:/


 * Loss of several word final vowels, most notably in the third person present plural ending *-nti -> *-nd & the third person singular (*h1s-th1é > *isdhá > isdh)


 * Accented e -> a; h1és-nti > *h1ásnti


 * Vowel metathesis, Sanad's law *h1VsC- > *sVC(*h1ésnti > *h1ásnti > *ásnd > sánad )


 * Imperative formed with -i, -idh


 * Tense innovations, periphrastic construction for perfective past, future and subjunctive.


 * Verbal infinitive formed with -d (cf. Balto-Slavic -ti)


 * PT, KT, TT (from earlier. dt -> tt) -> /s:/ (septan > sessan, *widtó > wissó, *kadta > cassa)


 * *kw, *gw > /w/ (written ú)

Ortography
Aspirated consonants are written as a digraph consisting of the non-aspirated consonant + h.

The acute accent is used to mark long vowels, obligatory in all instances. The letter u with the acute accent over (ú) preceding another vowel is to be read as /w/.

Phonotactics
An aspirated voiced consonant will devoice when followed by a liquid in speech.

Word order
Word order in declarative sentences is predominantly VOS but since words are marked for case, word order is somewhat freer than in English.

In questions, word order is always OVS. Leúkeir sanad sór? - Lights are they?

Pronouns
The personal pronouns in the nominative case are listed in the following table.

Cases
Like many other Indo-European languages Dhannuá inherits a rich amount of conjugations and declensions from Proto-Indo-European. Dhannuá retains the nominative, accusative, dative, genitive cases and the rare instrumental. Grammatical innovations are the essive case and the comitative case (from the old -kwe enclitic particle).

Simplified, the nominative case marker is usually -r, -a, -s, -o (appearing in that order)

(Bʰleh³-os, bʰleh³-m, bʰleh³-os/-as, bʰleh³-ōt), 0-stem derivation from bHel- 

Gloss : Flower, cf. flos, floris, phullon, blomma, blatha

Nominative: Bhlór

Accusative: Bhlónn

Genitive: Bhlóar

Dative: Bhlód

Essive: Bhlóta

Comitative: Bhlórúe

Gloss : Language, cf. teanga, tunga, tongue, lingua, dingua

Nominative : Dhannuá

Accusative : Dhannuánn

Genitive : Dhannuáor

Dative : Dhannuód

Gloss : Apple, cf. apple, äppel-, apfel, eoubol-, ablo-

Nominative : Abhlo

Accusative : Abhlonn

Genitive : Abhloar

Dative' : Abhlód

Copula
The copula derives from the old PIE copula h1es- and inflects accordingly. It's use corresponds mostly to the English copula, e.g. Sei suess sanad - They are six.

1st person (iom, uéi) : ísan, samas

2nd person (dhú, iéh) : íssi, isdi

3rd person (so, sei) : ís/ísdh, sanad

Comparisons with other Indo-European languages.

PGmc: immi, izi, isti, izum, izud, 'sindi'

Latv: esmu, esi, ir, esam, esat, ir

Se-Cr (acc) : jesam, jesi, jeste, jesmo, jeste, jesu

Sa: asmi, asi, ?, ?, ? , ?

La: sum, es, est, sumus, estis, 'sunt'

Dictionary
A T T E R I A Dictionary of English -> Dhannuá

Sentences
English
 * She is with her father.

Translation
 * Ísdh sád adaúe seú

Re-translation à la Google Translate
 * Is to her with father hers

English

Translation

Re-translation à la Google Translate

English
 * I love myself!

Translation
 * Lúbhan me íom

Re-translation à la Google Translate
 * Love me I

English
 * This language was once featured.

Translation
 * ''Bhúi tódh dhannuá uidahta samil.

Re-translation à la Google Translate
 * Was this language seen/known-made once.

Longer texts
Original Text: "Father, what are those lights?" ~ Fabian @ Conlang Mailing list.

English
 * Father, what are those lights?


 * That is the city of the Goyanim. They are a strange people.
 * They light their cities at night, as if the stars weren't sufficient for their needs.
 * They fight and kill eachother, not realising the greater danger beyond their small world.
 * And they do not hunt each other with bows and arrows.
 * No, they have strange devices that kill from far away without arrows.
 * And take care near their strange iron horses they use to travel.
 * They travel faster than any natural beast ought to, and ignore the strength of the bow and arrow.
 * Best if you avoid their cities, my son.
 * Father, what's a city?

Translation
 * Ada, úid sanad sei leúkeir?


 * Ísdh so pell Goyanimor.
 * Sanad sei alióreld leiúdhor.
 * Lúcannad nóssann pelha suir sei, ib ástera ansanad dhóna seid.
 * Henannad ué cadhannad suir sei, anueúannad neica megair sei tero seir lendhór mín.
 * Ué anseúannad suir sei arúi ué aíci.
 * Né, aihannad aliórelda aissa sei so cadhannad abhaú anó aíci.
 * Ué, habhai dhú pekendan áp seir alióreldi eúi arióri ta reidhannad sei.
 * Sei reidhannad aicuir sareld huéro ahdhe ué anúidannad belann arúor ué aícor.
 * Doniss ib anaissi áp seir pelha dhú, súnús amo.
 * Ada, úid ísdh pell?