Andusoan

Setting
Morlagoan (Morlagonno) is one of the official languages of the United Islands of Morlago (Las Islas Unitas de Mòrlago). It is a partial Romance language that shares some characteristics with Spanish, Italian, and to a lesser extent, French and Portuguese, but has also been influenced by Old Morlagoan, an a priori conlang.

Diphthongs
The five vowels are divided into strong vowels (a, e, o) and weak vowels (i, u). Diphthongs are formed when a strong vowel is followed by a weak vowel (e.g. ai, eu, oi) or the reverse (e.g. ia, ue), or when two weak vowels are together (i.e. iu, ui). When they are desired to be pronounced separately, an grave accent is added to the first vowel (e.g. agua water ['agwa] and fueron they were ['fweron], but geografìa geography [d͡ʒeogɾa'fi.a] and policìa police [poli'ʃi.a). Triphthongs are formed when two weak vowels enclose a strong vowel.

Phonotactics
The basic syllabic structure is C(C)(C)V(C), where C represents consonants, V represents vowels or vowel clusters and letters in parentheses (e.g. (C)) are optional. The following are the phonological rules of Morlagoan:


 * The beginning consonant can be any consonant, except for ñ /ŋ/


 * If the initial consonant is s, b, p, t, d, f, g or c, a second consonant is possible.
 * If it is s, the second consonant must be p or t.
 * If it is b or p, the second consonant must be r or l.
 * If it is t, d, f, c, or g, the second consonant must be r.


 * A third consonant is only available if the first two were either st or sp. St can only be followed by r while sp can be followed by r or l.


 * If the vowel is a triphthong, it cannot be followed by a consonant.


 * Any consonant can end a syllable.

Therefore, the consonant clusters accepted are (s)pr, (s)tr, br, bl, cr, gr or fr. However, it must noted that this only applies to sounds of the same syllable (since the definition of a consonant cluster is disputed). Ducto /dukto/ (past participle of ducire - to lead) is accepted because the cluster /kt/ are not in the same syllable. Therefore, it is actually possible to create a word such as *reglaclotla, which would contain the forbidden clusters of gl, cl and tl, as long as it is pronounced as so: [ɾeg.lak.lot.la]. However, such a word is most likely going to result in [ɾeglaklotla] in fast speech, which is why such a word does not exist.

Pronunciation and Orthography
Morlagoan uses the Latin alphabet, with the addition of ñ and exception and k, making a total of 25 letters. In order they are:

A B C Ch D E F G H I J L M N Ñ O P Q R S T Tz U Ü V W X Y Z a b c ch d e f g h i j l m n ñ o p q r s t tz u ü v w x y z

They are pronounced as follows:

The pronunciation of S
S is the most complicated letter with regards to phonological rules. It can represent three different phonemes: /ʃ/, /s/ and /z/.


 * S can be pronounced as /ʃ/ in the clusters st(r) and sp(r), so st(r) and sp(r) can be pronounced /st(ɾ)/ and /sp(ɾ)/, or /ʃt(ɾ)/ and /ʃp(ɾ)/


 * S is pronounced as /s/ when it is:
 * in a word initial/final position
 * followed by a consonant
 * in the digraph ss
 * intervocalic and following a syllable that does not begin with an affricate or fricative (i.e. does not begin with /s/, /z/, /f/, /v/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /t͡ʃ/, /d͡ʒ/), or contains a rhotic consonant (i.e. contains /r/ or /ɾ/)


 * S is pronounced as /z/ when it is intervocalic and following a syllable that begins with an affricate or fricative (i.e. begins with /s/, /z/, /f/, /v/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /t͡ʃ/, /d͡ʒ/)

So necesare (to need) would be pronounced /neʃezaɾe/, while nesare (to worship) would be pronounced /nesaɾe/. However, the voicing of s varies from dialect to dialect, region to region, even from individual to individual.

Double consonants
Some double consonants have special pronunciation rules.


 * nn turns the preceding vowel into a long vowel (e.g. morlagonno Morlagoan /moɾlago:no/


 * rr is pronounced as a trilled r (i.e. /r/)


 * ss is always pronounced as /s/, regardless of voicing rules (e.g. fessaga to pull /fesaga/


 * tt is pronounced as /tt/, like Italian (e.g. prohitto prohibited /proʔitto/

Other double consonants exist, but solely due to etymological reasons and have no effect on pronunciation.

Gender
All nouns are assigned into one of the two genders in Morlagoan: masculine or feminine. While in some situations it is predictable, such as a bull being masculine and a cow being feminine, the gender of inanimate objects is arbitrary and the gender of each noun must be learnt. A rule of thumb is that nouns ending in -o are usually masculine and those ending in -a are feminine, like in Spanish and Italian.

Number
Nouns are made plural by the following rules:


 * If the noun ends in a vowel (e.g. deo god, mura wall), -s is added to the end (e.g. deo > deos mura > muras).


 * If the noun ends in a consonant other than -l or -c (e.g. mar sea, condisiòn condition), -es is added to the end (e.g. mar > mares, condisiòn > condisiones †).


 * If the noun ends in -c (e.g. pòrec pig), the -c is removed and -ques is added (e.g. pòrec > pòreques).


 * If the noun ends in -l (e.g. nivel level, degree), the -l is removed, -is is added and the vowel before it is accented (e.g. nivel > nivèis). Double i's merge (e.g. sil small wood, bush > *sìis > sìs).

† Note the loss of the diacritic. This will be explained in the Stress section.

Definiteness and Case
Morlagoan has lost the case system which exists in Latin, and nouns do not decline according to definiteness. Instead, articles are added to show definitiveness, and this will be explained below in the Articles section.

Adjectives
Adjectives decline according to the number and gender of the noun that it compliments. The declensions of adjectives (using bono good as an example) are shown in the tables below.

Comparatives
The comparative form of the adjective is formed by adding plu (more) in front of the adjective (e.g. alto high, tall > plu alto higher, taller). The adjective declines as usual according to the rules above (e.g. plu alto/alta/altos/altas). The comparative form of bono (good) and malo (bad) are irregular:
 * bono good > meyor better (meyora/meyores/meyoras)
 * malo bad > peor worse (peora/peores/peoras)

When used to compare two objects, the adjective is usually followed by de (that) (e.g. Lo elefante è plu gran del gato. The elephant is bigger than the cat.). Like in English, the second object can be omitted when the context is clear (e.g. Lo elefante è plu gran. The elephant is bigger.)

However, the comparative can be used with the definite article lo (e.g. Cual è lo meyor? Which is the better one?). Lo morphs according to the rules shown in the Article section. (e.g. Jon è lo plu inteligente de los dos. John is the cleverer one of the two.; Cual mesa debo comprar? Va, cual è la meyor? Which table should I buy? Well, which is the better one?)

Superlatives
The superlative is formed as such:


 * If the adjective ends in a vowel, the last vowel is removed and -ìssimo is added (e.g. masculino masculine, manly > masculinìssimo most masculine, most manly; triste sad > tristìssimo saddest).


 * If the adjective ends in a consonant, -ìssimo is directly added to the word (e.g. dificil difficult > dificilìssimo most difficult).
 * The superlative declines according to the declensions above (e.g. tristìssimo/tristìssima/tristìssimos/tristìssimas)

The superlative form of bono (good) and malo (bad) are irregular:
 * bono good > òptimo best
 * malo bad > pèsimo worst

When used to compare objects, lo (the) usually precedes the adjective, which is followed by de (of) (e.g. Petro è l'òptimo futbolator del mondo, mai Cristiana è la pèsima. Peter is the best footballer in the world, but Christiana is the worst.). Note the gender agreement between Cristiana, la and pèsima.

Prepositions and Conjunctions
Like all other Romance languages, Morlagoan has lost the original case system found in Latin and has turned to using prepositions to show the relationship between words. These are mostly derived from Latin. Many of these form contractions with articles and will be explained in the Articles section.

Most conjunctions are also derived from Latin. E (and) and O (or) are special and will morph under certain conditions.


 * E morphs into I when preceding a word beginning with /e/
 * O morphs into U when preceding a word beginning with /o/

Articles
Articles determines the definiteness of a noun. Like English, there is a definite and indefinite article, each having four forms to represent masculine and feminine, and singular and plural. The definite article is lo, while the indefinite article is un. The following table shows how it morphs according to the gender and number of the noun.

The neuter article O
There is also a neuter article in Morlagoan, o, not to be confused with o (or). This is used in the following situations:


 * Used to mean "the thing" in the phrases o que (the thing that/what - e.g. O que vulòu pro la Natività è... The thing that/What I want for Christmas is...) and o de (the thing of/the matter of - e.g. O de que seo una beza enorma na cità è la vertà. The thing about/The matter about there being a gigantic beast in the city is true.; La gente spe do del goberno. The people know of the problem/matter with the government.).


 * Used with adjectives to create abstract nouns (e.g. Mìa madre me demanda o imposibel. My mother demands the impossible from me.; O bono de vivir nas essurbas è que noi seo muicho tràfico. The good thing about living in the countryside is that there isn't much traffic.). O morphs into u when it precedes a word starting with o- or ho- (e.g. Tottro mondo vulè u òptimo. Everyone wants the best.)


 * Used with infinitives to create a noun (usually translated as the gerund in English) (e.g. O fumar sta prohitto. Smoking is prohibited.; O fayare morlagonno è muicho dificil. Speaking Morlagoan is very difficult.). O morphs to u when preceding an infinitive starting with o- or ho- (e.g. U oìrte me vesa. Listening to you annoys me.)


 * Used with nouns as an honorific (e.g. O senor/senora vulè alco de bebere? Would the fine gentleman/lady like something to drink?). It can be used in conjunction with deteminers (e.g. O isto senor This fine gentleman), adjectives (e.g. O Sua Majestà His/Her Majesty, O suave voce do dama The oh-so sweet voice of the lady) etc.

Contractions
Some forms of the articles contract when they precede certain nouns:


 * Only the singular forms contract.
 * lo contracts to l' when it precedes a noun/adjective starting with o- or ho- (e.g. *lo ojo the eye > l'ojo, *lo hotel the hotel > l'hotel)
 * la contracts to l' when it precedes a noun/adjective starting with a- or ha- (e.g. *la arena the sand, arena > l'arena, *la habità habitat > l'habità)
 * un does not contract
 * una contracts to un' when it precedes a noun starting with a- or ha- (e.g. *una arena an arena > un'arena, *una habità a habitat > un'habità)
 * o does not contract with nouns

Lo(s), la(s) and o also contract with many prepositions and conjunctions:

† colloquial

Contractions can combine where necessary. This will simply be adding the noun or adjective to the presposition-article combination in the case of contractions ending with -l(a) (e.g. al'hotel to the hotel, del'homo of the man, prol'ojo for the eye, pel'arena through the arena/sand). The contractions of en, con and tot contract even further to n'-, con'- and tottr'- to preserve the phonetic value of the contractions (e.g. n'hotel in the hotel, con'agua with the water, tottr'habità the entire/whole habitat). However, the neuter article o cannot form such complex contractions. When preceding a word with the initial sound as its final sound (o-/ho- for do,no, cono and vo; u-/hu- for eu and peu), it does not further contract or morph to u as it normally does.

Verbs
Verbs are conjugated according to aspect, voice, person, number, mood and tense. There are officially five conjugation groups in Morlagoan, three drived from Latin and two from Old Morlagoan, but because the 4th and 5th groups (from Old Morlagoan) have complicated rules which seem to produce two different patterns in each group, they are sometimes split into a total of four groups. For the sake of clarity, we will do that here and name them Groups 4a, 4b, 5a and 5b respectively.

Copula
There are two copulae in Morlagoan: sere and stare. Each have strict rules of application.


 * sere is used for permanent qualities (e.g. nationality, colour, character), general truths (e.g. The Earth is round.), time and with past participles to form to form the passive perfect tenses for verbs in groups 1, 2 and 3 (English - to have been etc.)


 * stare is used for transient qualities (e.g. emotions, state of health), location, certain phrases, with past participles when used as adjectives and with present participles to form the continuous tenses (English - to be -ing)

Compare the following two sentences:

Petro è doreo. Peter is nice (character - permanent).

Petro sta sumagat. Peter is sick (state of health - transient).

The use of one over the other can imply different meanings:

Petro è doreo. Peter is nice (and has always been a nice person).

Petro sta doreo. Peter is (being) nice (only currently).

Impersonal forms
The infinitive has two forms:


 * The literary form (also called the full or formal form) is the original form descended from Latin or Old Morlagoan. All of the examples above are given in this form. As the name implies, nowadays it is only used for literature, formal writing and very formal speaking, e.g. meeting a Head of State, talking to a person you respect very much, praying etc. Traditionally, even less formal situations, such as balls and other upper class activities or talking to an elder, would use this form, but rather recently most of those have switched to the apocopic form (below). It is also worthy to note that while this is the form used in literature, a mixture of both forms can be found in poetry, prose, songs etc., even from hundreds of years ago for reasons such as rhyme, meter etc.


 * The apocopic form (also called the short, abbreviated or informal form) is the form used mostly today for informal written and spoken Morlagoan. It is also the grammatically correct form when clitics are added to the verb (e.g. omocte to desire you). This form is formed by removing the e from -re (Groups 1, 2 and 3 - amare > amar) or changing the -ga ending to -c (Groups 4 and 5 - tenega > tenec).

The past/passive participle is formed more complicatedly in groups 2 and 3:

Group 2:
 * If the stem consists of only a consonant/consonant cluster (e.g. spere to know - stem sp), -uto is added to the stem (spere > sputo). This rule is almost exclusively for the highly irregular verbs, but exceptions exist (e.g. dere to give > duto)


 * If the stem consists of a complete syllable or more (i.e. most verbs - bebere to drink - stem beb), -ito is added to the stem (bebere > bebito). Stems ending in -y (e.g. leyere to read - stem ley) has the y removed and -ito added to that (leyere > leito). Note that the stress is changed in this rule (leyere [le'jeɾe] > leito ['leito]; compare to bebere [be'beɾe] > bebito [be'bito])

Group 3:
 * If the stem ends in n, c, p, f or v (e.g. venire to come - stem ven), -to is added to the stem (venire > vento).


 * If the stem ends in a vowel (e.g. oìre to hear/listen - stem o) -tto is added to the stem (oìre > otto)


 * If any other consonant ends the stem (e.g. prohibire to prohibit/ban), the final consonant is removed and -tto is added to the end (prohibire > prohitto).

The past participle can be used as adjectives with the verb stare. It morphs like a regular -o adjective (Groups 1, 2 and 3) or as a regular -t adjective (Groups 4 and 5).