Keltsvian

Keltsvian is a conlang that mixes an original grammar with Latin, Germanic and Slavic vocabulary. It is a declined language, but declensions are easy to apply because they work in a simple pattern.

General information
Keltsvian is a language spoken in Keltsvia, it has Latin, Germanic and Slavic influence.

Alphabet
Keltsvian uses officially the Latin alphabet although it also has its equivalent Cyrillic alphabet equivalence, but that alphabet has no official use.

Keltsvian Cyrillic alphabet
а (a), б (b), в (v), г (g), д (d), е (je), ё (jo), з (z), и (i), й (j), к (k), л (l), м (m), н (n), о (o), п (p), р (r), с (s), т (t), у (u), ф (f), х (x), ҳ (h), ц (c), э (e), ю (ju) and я (ja).

Consonants

 * Phonemes /f/, /h/, /l/, /m/, /p/, /s/, /t/, /v/, /x/ and /z/ always correspond with letters f, h, l, m, p, s, v, x and z respectively. Letter v cannot be written as the last letter of a word or before a fricative consonant, in those cases the letter f is used.
 * The phoneme /β/ is pronounced when b is written between vowels. Letter b cannot be written as the final letter of a word, instead we write p.
 * Phonemes /j/ and /w/ always correspond with letters j and w. They are considered “weak vowels”.
 * The phoneme /ð/ is pronounced when d is written between vowels. Letter d cannot be written as the final letter of a word, instead we write t.
 * The phoneme /ŋ/ is pronounced when letter n is written before a glottal consonant, in the rest of cases is pronounced as /n/.
 * The phoneme /g/ is pronounced when letter k is written before a fricative consonant, in the rest of cases is pronounced as /k/.
 * Phonemes /r/ and /ɾ/ are related with letter r. The first one is only used when a word starts with r and when r is written after an alveolar consonant.
 * The phoneme /ɣ/ is pronounced when g is written between vowels. Letter g cannot be written as the final letter of a word, instead we write k.
 * The letter c is represented with the phoneme /ts/.
 * The same consonant cannot be doubled.
 * The digraph sz is pronounced as a "long s" /s:/, it is mainly used in the conditional mood.
 * Only verbs finish with z, with the exception of borrowed words.
 * The following letters are never used in Keltsvian: q and y.

Vowels

 * The five used vowels (a, e, i, o and u) correspond with their IPA forms, like in Spanish, Japanese or Basque.
 * Letters j and w are considered vowels, as explained before.
 * The same vowel cannot be doubled, letter h is used for separate them, like in kohoperatje (Keltsvian for "cooperation").
 * Some letters cannot be written together, like i with j or u with w. For separate them h is also used.

Phonotactics
Consonant clusters are not very strict in Keltsvian, because it is common to see rare combinations if you compare with other languages, for example: mrwe ['mrwe] (law), tlomrawle [tlo'mrawle] (lawyer) or hrone ['hrone] (honor). But is not possible to double the same consonant. There is also a digraph "sz": as in piszine [pi's:ine] (swimming pool).

The only vowel clusters not allowed are to double the same vowel or to write together a soft vowel and its strong vowel counterpart or viceversa. So are not allowed: aa, ee, ii, oo, uu, ij, uw, ji and wu. There are not allowed also the contact of "pure strong vowels" (a, e and o) and "simple strong vowels" (i and u), when they are in contact, "simple strong vowels" become "weak vowels": ai becomes aj, au becomes aw, uo becomes wo...

When two "simple strong vowels" stay in contact, any of them became a "weak vowels" arbitrarily:
 * iu as in siwodnja (today) or juxne (council).
 * ui as in kruhuje (discrimination) or wiboz (to know).

Diphthongs
There are fifteen possible diphthongs in Keltsvian and all of them correspond with their IPA forms: aj, aw, ej, ew, oj, ow, uj, ja, je, jo, ju, wa, we, wi and wo.

Stressed syllables
Stressed syllables follow a strict pattern. All words have as their stressed syllable, the syllable before to any suffix, it can be a declension, gender or number suffix. But when a word has a diphthong, the stressed syllable corresponds with the "strong vowel" of the diphthong. If a word contains more than one diphthong, the stressed syllable is located in the last diphthong unless is the diphthong is part of a suffix. In verbs, the stressed syllable is always the last one.

Basic word order
The basic word order is verb-subject-object (VSO), with the exception of interrogative sentences, in that case is object-subject-verb (OSV).

Example: Legez-Joanu brolce (John reads a book, but literally Reads John a book), Brolce Joanu legeziz? (Is John reading a book?, literally A book John is reading?). *In the example we can read the word brole (book) in its acussative case.

Gender
There are three genders in Keltsvian: masculine, feminine and neutral. Each gender has its suffixes and almost all nouns use a gender suffix. Some words have no gender: colors and almost all toponyms.
 * Masculine suffix (-u): baropu (man), drugu (male friend), kanu (male dog). The suffix -u has to be written -w when it is the "weak vowel" of a diphthong respecting the orthography rules.
 * Feminine suffix (-a): baropa (woman), druga (female friend), kana (female dog).
 * Neutral (-e): barope (human being), druge (friend of unknown/unspecified gender), kane (dog, as an animal specie or with unknown/unspecified gender).
 * Neutral gender is used for "non-living nouns" or "living nouns" with unknown or unspecified gender.
 * Colors use their own suffix, the color suffix (-gal), like in higal (blue) or vugal (green).
 * The majority of toponyms have no gender, no matter that they finish like any gender suffix: like Anglja (England), Kitaj (China), Kanada (Canada) or Egipte (Egypt). But some toponyms have gender as in Gurpekfewtex (United States), Gurpekrolje (United Kingdom) or Gurpekarabjaemiratex (United Arab Emirates); because they use words that originally have gender: fewtex (states), krolje (kingdom) and emirate (emirate).

Number
For writing the plural form of a noun we have to add the plural suffix, -x, after the gender suffix (-a, -e or -u). For example: baropax (women), baropex (human beings), baropux (men).

Adjectives
In this language, adjectives are used like a prefix of the noun. The noun gives us information about gender and number so the adjective does not have any of these suffixes when is added to a noun. For example: The adjective dropped its neutral gender suffix when merged with the noun. We can add more than one adjective to the same noun and the order between adjectives is very important, it could change the meaning. For example: Adjectives can be written without a noun. Then, we have to use the gender and the plural suffixes (the last one only in necessary cases).
 * busbuseke (deep) + freje (sea) = busbusekfreje (deep sea).
 * higal (blue) + busbuseke (deep) + freje (sea) = higalbusbusekfreje (blue deep sea). That means that the color of the deep sea is blue.
 * busbuseke + higal + freje = busbusekhigalfreje (deep blue sea). That means that the blue sea is deep.

Adverbs
The way to create an adverb is to drop the gender and plural suffixes from an adjective and to add the adverb prefix vot-. For example: bujstre (quick) becomes votbujstr (quickly).

Personal pronouns
Personal pronouns are the only existing pronouns in Keltsvian language and they have a simple pattern: the first person starts with sov-, the second person with det- and the third person with kup-. And then we add the gender suffix and the plural suffix, the last one only if it is necessary.

Singular

 * 1st person: sovu (I, masculine), sova (I, feminine) and sove (I, neutral).
 * 2nd person: detu (you, masculine), deta (you, feminine) and dete (you, neutral).
 * 3rd person: kupu (he), kupa (she) and kupe (it).

Plural
Neutral plural pronouns are used also for mixed groups (male and female) and it does not matter their proportion.
 * 1st person: sovux (we, masculine), sovax (we, feminine) and sovex (we, neutral).
 * 2nd person: detux (you, masculine plural), detax (you, feminine plural) and detex (you, neutral plural).
 * 3rd person: kupux (they, masculine), kupax (they, feminine) and kupex (they, neutral).

Grammatical cases
The declension of this language consists in fourteen grammatical cases and only nouns, adjectives and pronouns can be declined.

Nominative
This case indicates the subject of the verb and consists in the bare form of the word. Example: Kwariz-sovex butikxe (We went to the store).

Accusative
This case indicates the direct object of the verb. We just add the morpheme -c- before the gender suffix. In this example, we can read this case in the word televizje (television): Sivez-sovex televizice (We watch the television).

Dative
This case indicates the indirect object of the verb. We just drop the gender suffix. In this example, we can read this case in the word kupa (she): Kwadaz-kupu padarokce kup (He gave her a present).

Ablative case
This case indicates the movement from a place to another or change from a situation from another. We just add the morpheme -tak- before the gender suffix. In this example, we can read this case in the word tome (home): Kwariz-kupu tomtake butixke (He went from home to the store).

Genitive
This case indicates the owner of the following word. We just add the suffix -lur at the end of the word. In this example, we can read this case in the given name Joanu (John): Joanulur brole (John's book).

Causative
This case indicates the cause of the sentence, is the Keltsvian counterpart of the English word because. We just add the morpheme -kas- before the gender suffix. In this example, we can read this case in the word samaljote (airplane): Riz-sovex taret samaljotkase (We are late because of the airplane).

Comitative
This case is equivalent to the English word with. we just add the morpheme -zat- before the gender suffix. In this example, we can read this case in the word tarbe (brother): Kjeriz-sove plajxe tarbzate (I will go the the beach with brother; this is a literal translation).

Instrumental
This case is equivalent to the English word by and it can be also used to explain a method used at the sentence's action, for example, the use of a tool or a language... We just add the morpheme -vaj- before the gender suffix. In this example, we can read this case in the word pajezde (train): Riz-sovex tomxe pajezdvaje (We go to home by train).

Lative
This case indicates the arrival from a place to another or change to a new situation from another. We just add the morpheme -x- before the gender suffix. In this example, we can read this case in the word butike (store): Kwariz-kupu tomtake butixke (He went from home to the store).

Locative
This case indicates an specific place or localization. We just add the morpheme -h- before the gender suffix. In this example, we can read this case in the toponym Kitaj (China): Vudez-kupex Kitajh (They live in China; remember that most of the toponyms have no gender, so there is no gender suffix in that word).

Privative
This case is equivalent to the English word without. We just add the morpheme -bez- before the gender suffix. In this example, we can read this case in the word dete (you, in singular): Njok pwez-sove vudez detbeze (I cannot live without you).

Temative
This case is equivalent to the English word about. We just add the morpheme -rep- before the gender suffix. In this example, we can read this case in the word detu (you, in singular): Labweziz-sove detrepu (I'm talking about you).

Temporary
This case is similar to locative case but it is used for indicate a specific time instead of a specific space. We just add the suffix -t at the end of the word. In this example, we can read this case in the word janwarje (January): Kjesivez-sove sovx janwarjet (We will see each other in January).

Vocative
This case indicates who is the receiver of the sentence's message. Is used for greet or in the imperative verbal mood. We just add the suffix -f at the end of the word. In this example, we can read this case in the given name Joanu (John): Ej, Joanuf! (Hi, John!).

Prepositions
There are six prepositions and they help to build understandable sentences. With prepositions this prepositions is not necessary to decline the affected words. Here is a list with examples:
 * bus: Getuz-sovu bus frekihe (I'm under the sea).
 * kwakje: Kjegetuz-kupe mikrisce kwakje detu e sovu (It will be a secret between you and me).
 * mest: Getuz-sovex-fsa gelecex mest Mrwe (We are all the same in front of the Law).
 * redjuk: Getuz-frekje higalc redjuk sovulur vatu (The sea is blue according to my father).
 * semt: Getuz-sovu semt deta (I'm behind you).
 * tas: Tyson tas Holyfield (Tyson against/versus Holyfield).

Coordinating conjunctions
There are five:
 * ale: Pibiz-kupex ale njok kuriz-kupex (They drink but they do not smoke).
 * e: Pibiz-kupex e kuriz-kupex (They drink and they smoke).
 * njoke: Njok pibiz-kupex njoke kuriz-kupex (They do not drink nor do they smoke).
 * so: Njok kwapibiz-kupex so getuz-kupu siteku (He did not drink so he is thirsty).
 * ut: Kasuj dine, pibiz-kupex ut kuriz-kupex (Every day they drink or they smoke).

Subordinating conjunctions
There are three:
 * fi: Kjegetuz-kupa rada fi ritiz-detu tomxe (She will be happy if you come back to home).
 * kje: Kjeritiz-sovu kje rabote (I will come back after working).
 * kwa: Kwa, ritiz-detu kwagetuz-sovex radex (Before you were back, we were happy).

Verbs
Keltsvian verbs are only conjugated according to the mood and the tense and combining both you can obtain any conjugation. It does not matter the person, the number, the gender...

Moods
There are five grammatical moods:
 * Indicative: uses the suffix -z, as in laz (to sing).
 * Gerund (but in Keltsvian is called "active"): uses the suffix -ziz, as in laziz (singing).
 * Conditional: uses the suffix -sz, as in lasz (would sing).
 * Imperative: shares the same suffix than indicative, is used with the vocative grammatical case and when is written is necessary to use an exclamation mark; for example: Laz-Albertu! (Sing Albert!).
 * Interrogative: uses any of the previous suffixes, but only changes the word order from VSO to OSV.

Tenses
There are three tenses:
 * Present: used in all moods and it does not add any prefix.
 * Past: used in all moods unless imperative and it adds to the verb the prefix kwa-.
 * Future: used in all moods unless imperative and it adds to the verb the prefix kje-.

From 0 to 9
0 (nule), 1 (i), 2 (ihi), 3 (ihihi), 4 (ive), 5 (ve), 6 (vej), 7 (vejhi), 8 (vejhihi) and 9 (ihe).

From 10 to 100
10 (diks), 11 (diks i), 12 (diks ihi), 20 (ihi-diks), 30 (ihihi-diks), 50 (ve-diks) and 100 (sent).

More numbers
1,000 (mil), 5,000 (ve-mil), 10,000 (diks-mil), 100,000 (sent-mil), 1,000,000 (miljon), 1,000,000,000 (miljart) and 1,000,000,000,000 (biljon).

Ordinal numbers
Ordinal numbers can be declined and they work adding the gender suffix and the plural suffix to the cardinal number. For example:
 * Ju/ja/je (first), ihju/ihja/ihje (second), ihihju/ihihja/ihihje (third), vew/vea/vehe (fifth), diks ju/diks ja/diks je (eleventh)...
 * Jex minutex (the first minutes).

Example text
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 1): ''Xroz-baropex-fsa rifekex e geletex prjotekihe e mrwalhex. Aviz-kupex drjace e notrce e oblez trez-kupex nizatex tarbjelur dusihe''(All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood).