Xynder/Old Xynder

Yet another descendant language from Natraden. The grammar has remained fairly intact along with the genders (MAS, FEM and NEU) and the phonology has been simplified. This language is the main language of the Netherbelgs.

Phonology
The basic phonology of the language. Every row below is it's own distinct letter excluding digraphs and letters with a circumflex.

Rules

 * TS is always written as C and likewise, TSZ with CZ.
 * Ŝ serves as a way to counteract these rules for syllabic purposes.
 * An example would be Goodbye: Dötŝzelieu. If it weren't for the ŝ it would be written as Döczelieu. This provides the syllabic formation of /dœ.t͡ʃɛ.ljɛw/ were it not for the ŝ providing the formation of /dœʔ͡t.ʃɛ.ljɛw/.
 * The T preceding the Ŝ is pronounced /ʔ͡t/
 * Vowels receive shortened pronunciation in unstressed syllables, or if they precede a consonant cluster.
 * Vowels receive lengthened pronunciation though the vowel sound isn't lengthened if preceding another vowel sound.
 * I proceeding a consonant and preceding a vowel makes the sound /j/
 * ​this is the same for u and /u̯/
 * Non-harmonic consonant clusters imply there is schwa /ɵ/ between them
 * Niho gn : Japan /nihɔ:gɵn/
 * To avoid confusion, certain letters often change their pronunciation slightly:
 * X is pronounced more strongly than Z
 * ​Z is sometimes pronounced /z̥/
 * TX appears in a more word-initial positions and CZ goes anywhere else.
 * Digraphs formed as a result of case infections are not pronounced.
 * Deu Uczeu /dɛu̯ ʔʉt͡ʃɛu̯/
 * Voiced consonants in word-final position become voiceless.
 * If the subject isn't a pronoun, it is common to read the sentence with a comma (short pause) after the subject to avoid confusing the subject as part of a compound word if other nouns proceed it, since nouns don't have a nominative declension.
 * It is incorrect, however, to write the comma.
 * Stress is placed on the penultimate syllable of a word or on the syllable containing the first consonant cluster (in the same syllable) or Ń in the word.
 * If there are no consonant clusters that aren't broken by syllable boundaries, then the stress goes to the syllable containing the first vowel sound without a shortening pronunciation or is lengthened already (e.g. ii (/i/) that ends some words).
 * If none of these conditions are met, the stress goes to the penultimate syllable.
 * This rule doesn't apply if the consonant cluster is in an ultimate syllable that ends with a schwa.
 * Secondary stress may be applied on the second root word in a compound word where primary stress would be applied.
 * Single syllable words that end in e and begin with more than one consonant sound have the e automatically pronounced with an accent.
 * Zne /ˈznɛː/ snow
 * Ce /ˈt͡sɛː/ who
 * Ń is pronounced as /ɑ̃/ when in the syllable nucleus and /ŋ/ elsewhere.
 * The letter is pronounced as the former in when in the nucleus if it is the only vowel in the nucleus. If the letter is preceded by another vowel all the while remaining in the nucleus, then the vowel becomes nasalised.

Case Marking
Case marking is defined with sets of suffixes:

Word Order
The order has remained fairly the same:

Capital and Troderen Dialect

 * 1) (Reflexive Pronoun)
 * 2) Subject
 * 3) Indirect Object
 * 4) Object/Adjective
 * 5) (Auxiliary) Verb
 * 6) Adverb
 * 7) Other Information
 * 8) Separable Part of a Separable Verb
 * 9) Participle
 * 10) Verb/Participle (when auxiliary verb is used)

Netheren Dialect

 * 1) (Reflexive Pronoun)
 * 2) Subject
 * 3) Indirect Object
 * 4) Object/Adjective
 * 5) (Auxiliary) Verb
 * 6) Adverb
 * 7) Verb/Participle (when auxiliary verb is used)
 * 8) Participle
 * 9) Other Information
 * 10) Separable Part of a Separable Verb
 * 11) Participle

Verb Conjugation
All verbs end in el and most are regular. There is one irregular verb and the continuous tense is combined with the simple. There is only one irregular verb and dropping the pronoun is common in informal speech.

To Be
This is the only irregular verb that exists.

Dropping 'E'
E means is and sometimes is omitted. If a noun is used in accusative case alone, the it is is implied:

Telefonaj.

It is a telephone.

You may use the nominative case with it but it is less common than using e

O Telefonaj is less common than Telefonaj e and Telefonaj but is still used.

It is a telephone.

The use of O Telefonaj e is considered to be formal; in fact, no omission occurs in formal writing and speech.

Regular Verbs (to go)
Regular verbs will conjugated as follows:

Negation
To negate a verb you add the prefix Nez-:

'''Nezgater. / Nezketer. / Nezkæten.'''

I didn't go.

'''Nezza! / Nezzen! / Nezsø.'''

I'm not!

Passive Verbs
To make a verb passive you use the past participle with the auxiliary verb to be

'''Sza svarbelt. / Sjen svarbeld. / Kø svarbelet.'''

''I was killed. (I died.)''

Conditional Verbs
Conditional verbs are formed with the auxiliary verb fjötel (to will) and the past participle. The difference between this the using the future tense is that the auxiliary verb is that the auxiliary verb is used in the past tense.

Fjöt gatelt.

I will go.

Fjöter gatelt.

I would go.

Auxiliary Verbs in Future Tense
According to word order, there will be two participles proceeding one another at the end of a sentence.

Fjöt gatelt önelt

I will be gone

Reflexive Verbs
Infinitive reflexive verbs are written as strik...el but conjugate exactly the same as normal verbs (the strik- is removed and is replaced with the use of the reflexive pronouns; the verb is conjugated normally.) However, pronouns get dropped (if they weren't already; also not necessary to drop) and are replaced with reflexive pronouns. Otherwise the subject gets moved.

Za öpne.

He hit himself.

Za  s'Ester öfne. <- note the subject

The restaurant opened (itself.)

S'Ester fjöt striksvarbelt. or Za s'Ester fjöt svarbelt. [+1]

The restaurant will open (itself.)

[+1] This is rarer than the preceding sentence as reflexive pronouns tend to refer to the main verb; the use isn't incorrect, however, and will be understood.

'Polite' You
There is no polite 'you' form. Though simply stating the pronoun is considered polite as subject dropping occurs very often. In writing, one can fully capitalise the pronoun.

Je.

You are (informal)

To je.

You are (formal)

TO je.

You are (polite)

Mismatching Subject Pronouns
A way of omitting the adverb "together" whilst keeping the definition is to make the subject pronoun singular all the while using the plural conjugation. In the Netherbelgs, this evolved as a way of saying "We'll do this as one." and thus came to mean "together".

Jöt ljersz.

We're leaving.

Jê ljersz.

We're leaving together.

Personal Pronouns
The pronouns decline to the same cases in their respective dialects. They are only capitalised in the Capital Dialect.

[+1] This refers to the subject:

Entitii Striks

A thing belonging to the subject.

Pluralisation
Pluralisation differs between the dialects.

Capital Dialect
This makes use the the suffix -(e)sz

Slep (Book) → Slepesz (Books)

Telefon (Telephone) → Telefonesz (Telephones)

Nouns ending in II have the II changed to IE before pluralisation (or any case inflection).

Akademii (Academy) → Akademiesz (Academies)

Netheren Dialect
This dialect utilises the suffix -(i)s

Slep (Book) → Slepis (Books)

Telefon (Telephone) → Telefonis (Telephones)

Nouns ending in EE have the EE changed to E before pluralisation (or any case inflection).

Akademee (Academy) → Akademes (Academies)

Troderen Dialect
The suffix used in this dialect is -(e)r. -er is added regardless of a preceding vowel unless the preceding vowel is E. Nouns with short vowel sounds in the ultimate syllable must have the possible, proceeding, single consonant doubled.

Sjæp (Book) → Sjæpper (Books)

Telefon (Telephone) → Telefoner (Telephones)

Since ER is pronounced /ɐ/, singular words ending in ER still receive the pluralisation ending and ERER is pronounced /eːɐ/

Jezoller (acid; capital: Gjezoller) → Jezollerer (acid(s))

/jɛˈzɒlɐ/ → /jɛzɒˈleːɐ/

Articles
There is no indefinite article but there is a definite article for each gender and other words that behave as articles.

Contractions
There are words such as ecê/a/o which are contractions of et sê/a/o (in/on the). But with contractions, you write:

ec'Eerag

on the Earth

Adjectives
Adjectives always end in e and decline just like nouns. Take the word s'Eer (the Earth) and skeje (blue):

The article is acutally used on it's own when describing a noun:

 Sa skeje Eer.

The blue Earth

A sa skeje j Eer aj e

It is the blue Earth

The article actually contracts when the adjective begins with a vowel:

S'ergede Rojapl

The United Kingdom

Comparative Adjectives
This uses the particle mo placed before the adjective to make it comparative. Translates to "more" in English.

S'Eer mo skeje e.

The Earth is more blue.

Superlative Adjective
This time you actually use the particle momo meaning "more-more" or "most".

S'Eer momo skeje e.

The Earth is the most blue.

Possession
Possession is often shown with declension. To show something possesses another, you put the possessor with the declension after the noun.

Eer Jes

My Earth

Alternatively, one can say of.

Eer w Mak

My Earth

(Earth of Me-DAT)

Or you can string the nouns, however this does not apply to pronouns. So here is daylight written in its three forms.

Dagligt / Ligt w Dagag / Ligt Dagas

Daylight

Derivations
Derivations are formed with affixes depending on the purpose:

Supines
Every clause must be separated with punctuation (excluding the apostrophe); the most common being a comma. The parts of a supine are separated likewise. (This rule also means that conjunctions always follow a comma).

(Jê) so Brumej ueter, Ertaj level.

I used the brush to draw a picture.

[(I) the brush-ACC used, a picture to draw]

The infinitive is used in the second portion of a supine as the first half specifies the condition.

Interrogation
Interrogative verbs gain the prefix Be- and the word order doesn't change as with English. Thus possible responses to open questions involve repeating the verb conjugated properly and using negation when necessary:

Begates?

Did you go?

Gater.

I went [Yes]

Nezgater

I didn't go [No]

A glottal stop (shown with a ') is used when adding the interrogative prefix (or any prefix) to a word beginning with a vowel:

e

is

be'e

isn't

(O) Esteraj bee.

(It) isn't a restuarant

Interrogative Adverbs
These words are placed where the answer would normally go.

What?
This word actually declines like a noun and is treated like one despite bbeing registered as an adjective:

 Co Ekiliberaj beecze?

''What is fun? [Not asking for definition]''

Ekiliber Coj e?

''What is fun? [Asking for definition]''

To Rondusaj beleves et Cog ?

What did you draw a circle on?

On what did you draw a circle?

Others
The other words don't decline, are treated as adverbs [excluding the word order] and replace the answer normally:


 * xzo: where


 * Ê bee xzo?: Where is he?


 * tń: when


 * Ê begate tń?: When is he going?


 * Ce: who


 * Same conditions as Co


 * Ce helbe svarbelt?: Who has died?


 * A Cej bee?: Who is she?


 * To Ceg Kolaj begefs?: To whom are you giving cola?


 * Possessive questions actually don't need a verb (to be):


 * Belotesz  Ces ?: Whose boots are these?


 * lit. Whose boots?


 * Response: Belotesz Jes: They are my boots.


 * ​lit. My boots.


 * There is no word for why but you can phrase it like this:


 * Oj beeczes, de?: Why did you do it?


 * lit. You did it, because?


 * Thus, one can simply answer:


 * Oj eczer, de...[reason]: I did it because...[reason].


 * qi: how


 * The most adverbial, so to speak.


 * Oj beeczes qi?: How did you do it?

Quotation
Quotation is treated as a clause and thus must be pre- and proceeded with some sort of punctuation (excluding the apostrophe); most commonly a colon in this case. There exist different particles to indicate types of quotation.

dar
Pronounced /da:ɹ/, this particle is used to indicate that the preceding words after the last colon are what was said.

A Mak zegne: "Szelieu" dar.

She said "Hello" to me

[She Me-DAT said-3rdSing, "Hello" dar]

nńt
Pronounced /nɑ̃nt/, this particle is used in the same situation as the preceding but is used for referencing names and doesn't use the colon.

Ê Slepaj lekte, "Sê Köl so Slepas" nńt e.

He is reading a book called "The book's name"

[He book-ACC read-3rdSing, "The-MAS name the-NEU book-GEN" nńt is-3rdSing]

This literally means He is reading a book, '(it) is "The book's name".

des
Pronounced /dɛs/, this particle is used to indicate something is being spelled. This is used as the letters of the alphabet are often pronounced the same as some words that hold actual meaning. This particle separates the two.

O skribe: "S-Z-E-L-I-E-U" des.

It is written as H-E-L-L-O

It writes: H-E-L-L-O

[It write-3rdSing, "S-Z-E-L-I-E-U" des.]

The alphabet
To pronounce the alphabet, you take a consonant and add the suffix -e /ə/ and a vowel is pronounced as it appears unless it is E (pronounced Ê). However, one doesn't pronounce accents but specifies the letter as:

Ê - E niep Diakritikag (E with an accent; even though it was pronounced with an accent to begin with)

In some dialects, they use neziep with Ê for E (meaning without; thus Ê without an accent)

Ä - A niep Diakritikag (A with an accent)

Ö - O niep Diakritikag (O with an accent)

Ń - N niep Diakritikag (N with an accent)

Ŝ - S niep Diakritikag (S with an accent)

(X is said /zi/ to differenciate it from Z; likewise with V and W respectively)

Numerical System
Numerics are in base 10.

Cardinal Numbers
Numbers are formed with the genetive declension:

One: Onc

Twenty: Döat

Twenty One: Onc Döatas

There are only every irregularities in the first few numbers.

Ordinal Numbers
This gets complicated. The first number in the sequence is converted into an ordinal number. This is done by removing the capitalisation and either adding an e suffix or replacing the last vowel with e.

12: Tölf

12th: tölfe

Numbers involving the genetive case lose their declension and become a prefix to the initial number:

31: Onc Wcotas

31st: Wcotonce

As a result of making extremely long words, they are often pronounced separately:

111: Onc Deutas Eunteras / Jul Eunteras

111th: Eunterdeutonce* / Eunterjule */ˈyntɛɾdy:tʔˈɒnt͡sə/

Dialects
Although the dialects were made uniform, it wasn't completely effective an thus some dialects linger, especially in rural areas of the Netherbelgs. Though before the reform, the dialects were severely different to the point where they could not be understood or even read by some of the other dialects.

The Dialect of the Capital
Informally referred to as the Dukronen Dialect, this is the official dialect that the capital, state, government and ambassadors use. Any films translated will also use this dialect alongside its words. The local name for the dialect is So Kapitelxyntdialekt (The Capital Xynder Dialect) and is mainly spoken in the centre and east of the Netherbelgs; in the cities Dukrone, Dullen, Euvo and other nearby minor cities or villages. This dialect is also referred to as standard and follows all the specifications, grammar and pronunciation in this article.

The Netheren Dialect
Informally referred to as the Western Dialect, this is the dialect that was/is used to the west of the country. The dialect heavily likes to contract and uses contractions (seen in the local name: S'nedere Dialekt) that aren't understood by some of the other Netherbelgen. The word order also changes in that the infinitive follows an auxiliary verb and participles following those; whereas usually they would come at the end of a clause. Also, quotation particles aren't used at all in this region. Several pronunciation differences are: As for writing differences:
 * U is pronounced as /u/
 * R used to be pronounced /ʁ/ though now remains as the tapped rhotic
 * L is velarised
 * IJ is realised as /ɛɪ̯/
 * E's long pronunciation is /e/
 * G is usually written in the place of Q as G in the dialect is pronounced /χ/
 * CH is also pronounced so
 * There are dialectal words such as Vijfl for waffle as opposed to Wafföel
 * The personal pronouns aren't capitalised and some are written differently.
 * The plural verb conjugation is always the same.
 * Subjects are never dropped.
 * You can additionally contract the definite articles before N, T, L, Z and J.
 * SZ, SZR and CZ are written as SJ, SR and TJ respectively.

The Troderen Dialect
This dialect (So Dialekt Trøder's) is the least understood, modern dialect, in that many sounds are written differently though most sound the same. There are a lot of dialectal words because of this. Accents are written differently too. Ä is written as Æ, Ê as EG, Ń as NG, Ö as Ø and the accented S isn't used. The dialects also seems to resemble the native language Sveg is some areas. Here are the differences
 * Nothing is capitalised apart from words at the beginning of sentences and proper nouns
 * There a lot more dialectal words than the western dialect
 * SZ, SZR and CZ are written as they are in the western dialect
 * The pronunciation is different:
 * Thus many declensions and conjugations are different
 * The case declensions in order:
 * -ig
 * -igk
 * -iss
 * -yg
 * A word-final EG is pronounced /e:/
 * G becomes /u̯/ in the syllable coda
 * Standard words written in this dialect tend to have this G written as a K
 * ER is pronounced /ɐ/
 * AR is pronounced /ɑ:/
 * R is pronounced /ʁ/ and /ɐ̯/ in the syllabic coda
 * IJ is written as IG and is pronounced /aɪ̯/
 * Y is pronounced /y:/
 * AN is written where Ń as a nasal vowel would go
 * R is usually /ʁ/
 * R is usually /ʁ/

Frozen Songs
I tried my best to make them rhyme.