Alamanalya

Alphabet
*At the end of the word, when a /k/ sound is made, it is written as ḵ (standard) or kc ''(Eastern). At the beginning of a word, the letter ly is written as İ in the Eastern dialect. The usage of Ṙ ṙ is more common among younger speakers of Eastern Alamanalya.''

There is also one trigraph not included in the alphabet: skj /ɧ/

Vowel Length and Diphthongs
Vowels are often regular length (hence explaining the low amount of words beginning in õ and those containing "u"), but they can be lengthened. Just like in Estonian and Finnish orthography, this is done by writing the vowel twice. For example:

tîḏruke (girl) - /tydru.ke/ vs. tîḏruuke (quilt) - /tydruːke/

mõke (steel) - /mɤke/ vs. mõõke (waterfall) - /mɤːke/

Diphthongs are also quite rare, but do occur at times. Diphthongs with the sound ɪ are usually made with the letter ly rather than i.

Nouns
There are four classes of nouns: those ending in -is (I, or clanaun), those ending in -a, -e, or -ë (II, or clanadî), those ending in -î or -õ (III, or clanathalyar), and those ending in -o, -ou, or -ly (IV, or clanavist). They can be declined into eight cases: nominative (NOM), accusative/dative (AC/D), genitive (GEN), prepositional (PRE), instrumental (INS), comitative (COM), ablative (ABL), and semblative/translative (SE/T). They are also declined by number, either singular, dual, or plural, when no article or other means of disambiguation are attached. When there is an article, the singular form is always used.

See also: /Examples of the Declination of Nouns/ 

Articles
The definite article is attached as a suffix, while the indefinite article is a separate word placed before the noun. If the first letter of the article is a vowel, it is left out when added as a suffix to a noun ending in a vowel. The opposite applies to nouns ending in a consonant.

Pronouns
Personal pronouns are declined into five cases. They are not marked by gender. The genitive pronoun, as a suffix or a separate word after a noun, also is used for possession.

In the chart below, (S) represents the singular form, and (P) represents the plural form.

Verbs
Verbs have two infinitive endings: -ad, and -õd. There are four tenses: present, past, future, and imperative.

There are only two irregular verbs: lyõd "to be", and nad "to have".

Adjectives and Adverbs
Adjectives are attached to the beginning of the noun they describe and often end with consonants (some speakers, especially those of the Eastern dialect, add in a connecting vowel of their choice, often a or ë). They are invariable by case. (i.e. rööd + siga + er becomes röödsigar, the red pig NOM; rööd + siget + er becomes röödsigeter, the red pig ACC). Adjectives also double as adverbs when the suffix -i is attached (i.e. tahy + i becomes tahyi, quickly). For the rare number of adjectives that end with a vowel, the final vowel changes to i (i.e. bloode + i becomes bloodi, lazily).

Conjunctions
There are three main conjunctions: os (and), l'co (but), and q' (or; pronounced /kʼ/). They are not declined.

Interrogatives
There are six interrogative pronouns in Alamanalya: ku (when), min (who), hvär (where), merite (why), hvä (what), hyul(u) (which), and skjölaa (how).

Hyul is written as hyulu or hylu (in the Eastern dialect) when the word following it begins with a vowel, such as in the sentence Hylu dolanis î rebetdolanistîta? (Which store is your favorite?).

Relative Pronouns
These use mostly the same wordset as the interrogatives, with the exceptions of hvär and merite. Hvär is changed to pae. Merite becomes meritë, a word also meaning "because". Another exception is the word ku, which is changed to kuu if the sentence has two or more clauses, such as in ''Kuu Ella ragyam al-qasëlur t-dolanilur, lya kanam tri vaveret. ''(When Ella was walking home from the store, she saw three squirrels.)

Forming Sentences with Participle Verbs
To form a sentence with participle verbs in either the past or present tense, the relative pronoun is used. The conjugations are done as normal. However, the relative pronouns, along with conjunctions, are often combined with personal pronouns. Some example sentences with these contractions:

Tî q'mi mamely inal s̲pellër. - Either you or I will go into the cave.

Ei sabo merita salyam pa-tahyi. - I don't know why she left so quickly.

So ei mäletamaly mini lyo blyuu? - You guys don't remember who I am? (sarcastic tone)

Some example sentences with participle verbs:

''Kuim pokerom de koolil, gyetîgom fazerad õpekeitim. '' - When I returned from school, I started to do my homework.

''Ei sabo hväd saba, l'kozi cabouro qadedi ożot. ''- I don't know what you know, but we need to be open with each other.

Affirmation and Negation
The word for affirmation, igen, is not used to confirm a verb. A verb without any form of negation is considered to be affirmed.

Doubt or a lack of definitivy is expressed by the word ''blyeth. ''This word can be placed in one of four places: at the end of a sentence, before a verb, after a verb, or as a standalone, one-word sentence. The first three function as an adverb (Blyeth mo al dolanilur; mo blyeth al dolanilur; mo al dolanilur blyeth), while the latter functions as a general interjection.

Negation is expressed with the word ''ei. It can be used in the same way as blyeth''.

Prepositions
While some languages, such as Hungarian, use cases as prepositions, Alamanalya uses a more traditional method of using invariable prepositions as separate words before the noun. They are divided into two groups: stable and moving. Some examples of stable prepositions include in (in), nyu (outside), sval (above), and ġiik (below). Examples of moving prepositions include al (to) and de (from).

A stable preposition and a moving preposition can be combined to make other prepositions, such as inal (into), or denyu (from outside). An example of this is in the sentence ''Mi thagom denyu foodplõryelur. ''(I came from outside the restaurant.)

Interjections and Other Emotions Expressed in Written Speech
Some interjections that denote a rhetorical question, sarcasm, or surprise, can be added into written speech. This is common mostly among people of the Eastern and standard Northeastern dialects, although it is spreading quite quickly throughout the Southern dialect.

Examples of this speech include the word pa, which is placed before adjectives and adverbs to emphasize them or change them into expressions (i.e. pa-tahyi, so quickly; Pa bonic!, "How pretty!")

Another example is the word blyuu, which has no direct translation, but rather implies a sarcastic tone or makes a question rhetorical.

Unlike in most languages, all statements in Alamanalya are believed to be fact. If the speaker wants to state an opinion, the word îk (an abbreviation of îkbeno, an obsolete word meaning "I believe") is required to be stated either at the very beginning or very end of the sentence (i.e. Îk bużecerer î joo ei, meritë gar husuqpolatastë. "I believe soda is bad because it has a bad aftertaste" is an opinion, but stating it as Bużecerer î joo ei, meritë gar husuqpolatastë. makes it seem as if it is an accepted or proven fact.)

Titles
Unlike in the Romance and Germanic languages, where a title is placed as a separate word before the sentence, Alamanalya uses suffixes for titles. Take the common surname "Qurtë" (equivalent to "Smith").

Mr. Qurtë - Qurtane

Mrs. Qurtë - Qurtani

Miss Qurtë - Qurtanitë

Dr. Qurtë (Ph.D. or non-medical degree)- Qurtëdoterë

Dr. Qurtë (M.D. or other medical degree) - Qurtëmedi

Prof. Qurtë - Qurtëprofesë

Rev. Qurtë - Qurtëxyevari

Hon. Qurtë - Qurtëxabaaẕii

Pres. Qurtë - Qurtëpresidenta

Coach Qurtë - Qurtëtravado

Sec. Qurtë - Qurtënaṅġapo

etc.

At the Restaurant - A Foodplõryelur


bowl - qipë

chef - garsila

coffee cup - kavas̲ikara

customer - maplyebë

fork - periglou

glass - s̲ikara

host/hostess - garsou

knife - suua

menu - mëguṅi

napkin - jui

pepper - popri

plate - plata

salt - ẕdazdavalya

spoon - botanis

table - mrue

waiter/waitress - garżilyone

wine - vine

wine glass - vines̲ikara

Clothing - Õpetaruu


bathrobe - nöötpatarou/agôapatarou

belt - seruri

boots - agôaxyou

button - ploly

cap - käpë

collar - pivë

hat - fedora

jacket - patarou

jeans - uucethuja

pants - thuja

pocket - ztho

sandals - s̲lyaxyou

shirt - qerytë

shorts - s̲lyathuja

shoelace - caḏexyou

sleeve - kooqa

slippers - nöötxyou

sneakers - sportxyou

socks - ġegyeris

sole (of a shoe) - zbaxyou

suit - rethpelyë

suit jacket - rethpelyëpatarou

suit pants - rethpelyëthuja

tie - nixa

underwear - mastac̲ris

vest - pedaly

zipper - zẽperë

Words not included in the picture:

cotton - żeżis

fleece - lyasiso

summer - s̲lya

winter - donge

wool - j̲eplauë

Example text
I give Maria the pen. - Mi mahyo Mariete zumisa.

Pablo wanted to go to the park, but his mom refused to take him. He cried like a baby. - ''Pablo malidõ mad al hyölur, daly madera-aly gesterõm go balyahyar. Lya jumiredam eto bambinoka.''

Aaron wrote some notes down in his notebook with the black pen, but they looked like a secret code. - Aaron skryibam noto il notolibrisilaly żumisigyena, de je xedikõnim-ko eto sekretvalodanka.