General information[]
'Đesniu' (or Thesnian) is a language isolate which originates on the Thesnian Islands. The language developed for centuries in isolation until Goidelic tribes first landed near the port town of Baldawir ushering in a golden era of trade between the two ethnic groups which lasted centuries. There have been many Celtic influences on Thesnian vocabulary - however, many efforts were made during the First Celto-Thesnian War (Mora Cadwa Uđan, or First Great War, in Thesnian) to remove Celtic influences from the language.
Thesnian is a highly agglutinative language. Prepositions are few - instead there is a developed system of suffixes and prefixes which index prepositional meaning. The language is, like English, a SVO language.
Phonology[]
Consonants[]
Bilabial | Labio-dental | Dental | Alveolar | Post-alveolar | Retroflex | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Pharyngeal | Epiglottal | Glottal | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | m | n | ŋ | |||||||||
Plosive | p b | t d | k g | |||||||||
Fricative | ɸ | v | θ ð | s | ʃ | ç | x | |||||
Affricate | y | |||||||||||
Approximant | ||||||||||||
Trill | ||||||||||||
Flap or tap | r | |||||||||||
Lateral fric. | ||||||||||||
Lateral app. | l | |||||||||||
Lateral flap |
Vowels[]
Front | Near-front | Central | Near-back | Back | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Close | i | u | |||
Near-close | ɪ ʏ | ||||
Close-mid | e | o | |||
Mid | |||||
Open-mid | |||||
Near-open | |||||
Open | a |
Alphabet[]
'Aa Bb Cc Dd Đđ (Đð) Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Rr Ss 'Tt 'Þ'þ Uu Úú Vv Ww Yy
NB. 'Sc' dentoes /ʃ/; 'ng' denotes /ŋ/. 'Y' can come to represent either /j/ or /ɪ/ depending on the word. Example: yadaroh (last week) is pronounced /'jadaroç/, whereas, ysađysca (in the town, city) is pronounced /ɪs'aðɪ'ʃa/.
Grammar[]
Verbs[]
All infinitives end in -en. Verbs are conjugated depending on the person which means personal pronouns can be ommitted in the nominative case. In the present tense, you remove -en from the infinitive to give you the stem and then add the following endings:
1st person singular -em plural -emye
2nd person singular -ec plural -esce
3rd person singular -eo plural -eos
To form the past tense (no differentiation between perfect, imperfect or pluperfect), one must simply add -dac to the end of a conjugated verb form [NB: irregular pronunciation in that final 'c' pronounced /x/]:
1st person singular -emdac plural -emyedac
2nd person singular -ecdac plural -escedac
3rd person singular -eodac plural -eosdac
To form the future tense (the idea of intention, whether or not one completes the action), one must add the following endings to the end of verb stem:
1st person singular -emú plural -emyú
2nd person singular -ecú plural -escú
3rd person singular -eyú plural -eosú
There are very few irregularities in terms of verb conjugation. The main one is "to be, to exist" - þion which is conjugated as follows:
present - 'þiom, 'þioc, 'þiot 'þiomye, 'þiosce, 'þiotos
past - 'þiomac, 'þiowac, 'þiođac 'þiomyac, 'þioscac, 'þiotoscac
future - 'þiomú, 'þiocú, 'þiotú 'þiomyú, 'þioscú, 'þiotosú
Nouns[]
Nouns in Đesniu do not bear grammatical genders. Indefinite nouns have no article. Definite nouns are shown by adding prefix - pa-. There are two types of plural - a plural specifically assigned for 2 nouns (dual plural), and another for 3 or more of said noun (multiple plural). The dual plural is formed by adding -(a)rđu to the end of a noun ('a' included if pronunciation is difficult with only 'r', there are rules associated with facilitating pronunciation). The multiple plural is formed by adding -(a)r.
E.g., đanda - letter, a letter pa-đanda - the letter đandar - (some) letters (3 or more) đandarđu - 2 letters (indefinite) pa-đandarđu - the 2 letters
The indefinite forms of the noun are used a lot more frequently that the definite forms. The definite forms are only used for clarity. If, from context, a certain noun is easily identifiable, the indefinite form is used. For example, if you are discussing 'the earth' (era), you will not need to use the definite article as it is clear what you are referring to as there is only one 'earth' - 'the earth has seven continents' would be: Era ygeo riha morinar.
Adjectives[]
Adjectives tend to end in a in Thesnian and come before the noun. Generally, two or more verbs do not follow each other. Instead a longer noun is created with the main adjective coming before the newly formed noun. For example, blue sky = valada inna; clear blue sky = pescca 'valadinna; big dog = mora đedano; big, black dog = mora cirhđedano or cirha morđedano, depending on what is the more important attribute.
Nouns can easily be made adjectives by adding "đa" to the end. For example, winter - yihilda, wintry weather - yihildađa amscyro. Some words will add "yđa" to aid pronunciation, e.g., left (n., adv.) - pulug becomes pulugyđa as an adjective.
Adverbs[]
There is an 'adverbalisation' suffix - "-oh" - which can be added to nouns, verbs and adjectives to create adverbs, the passive and other constructions. They can also bear the meaning "by means of", "by", "through", or "for" and generally come directly after the verb it is describing.
Denominal adverbalisation - normally with nouns relating to time, tools, transport, machines, etc. Examples: hiscar (centuries) becomes hiscaroh (for centuries), auto (car) - autoh (by car),
Vocabulary[]
===
No. | English | Thesnian |
---|---|---|
1 | I | is |
2 | you (singular) | di |
3 | he | — |
4 | we | iyar |
5 | you (plural) | đet |
6 | they | war |
7 | this | þinta |
8 | that | þanta |
9 | here | ar |
10 | there | mađ |
11 | who | ces |
12 | what | cau |
13 | where | canđe |
14 | when | ica |
15 | how | tecau |
16 | not | mil |
17 | all | ascca |
18 | many | multa |
19 | some | — |
20 | few | bega |
21 | other | yae |
22 | one | yih |
23 | two | toh |
24 | three | deh |
25 | four | pah |
26 | five | veh |
27 | big | mora |
28 | long | falla |
29 | wide | duna |
30 | thick | đarđuna |
31 | heavy | bilca |
32 | small | biha |
33 | short | miha |
34 | narrow | milđuna |
35 | thin | marđuna |
36 | woman | mahilda |
37 | man (adult male) | uruha |
38 | man (human being) | — |
39 | child | bihalo |
40 | wife | mahildata |
41 | husband | uruhata |
42 | mother | yisa |
43 | father | tasca |
44 | animal | paulo |
45 | fish | bedeo |
46 | bird | fotura |
47 | dog | đedano |
48 | louse | pascpaþa |
49 | snake | þrioca |
50 | worm | bicrioca |
51 | tree | danada |
52 | forest | handarđo |
53 | stick | biþau |
54 | fruit | meleno |
55 | seed | mascwa |
56 | leaf | þaþua |
57 | root | đarbasco |
58 | bark | riúho |
59 | flower | glauda |
60 | grass | đespia |
61 | rope | yanlo |
62 | skin | pita |
63 | meat | frascio |
64 | blood | teo |
65 | bone | malapla |
66 | fat | — |
67 | egg | ofena |
68 | horn | wanđeo |
69 | tail | mabaruo |
70 | feather | riđda |
71 | hair | sceuar (pl.) |
72 | head | garþ |
73 | ear | þug |
74 | eye | bilt |
75 | nose | mesct |
76 | mouth | yagrir |
77 | tooth | yúl |
78 | tongue | đunga |
79 | fingernail | tagyađum |
80 | foot | mefong |
81 | leg | mef |
82 | knee | mefnuyt |
83 | hand | gilong |
84 | wing | riđ |
85 | belly | tartu |
86 | guts | tartumnar |
87 | neck | heleþ |
88 | back | mađina |
89 | breast | verset |
90 | heart | aucwaþ |
91 | liver | velved |
92 | drink | yúlben |
93 | eat | þaren |
94 | bite | þepen |
95 | suck | þiscen |
96 | spit | đacsen |
97 | vomit | biluen |
98 | blow | weyen |
99 | breathe | iđen |
100 | laugh | haren |
101 | see | mien |
102 | hear | yoren |
103 | know | iđen |
104 | think | đefen |
105 | smell | bifen |
106 | fear | þascuen |
107 | sleep | bescen |
108 | live | eren |
109 | die | kapauen |
110 | kill | masccaupen |
111 | fight | galien |
112 | hunt | vescen |
113 | hit | araten |
114 | cut | gultien |
115 | split | facaren |
116 | stab | blehen |
117 | scratch | búcen |
118 | dig | đewen |
119 | swim | scescen |
120 | fly | — |
121 | walk | hedeten |
122 | come | scen |
123 | lie | — |
124 | sit | þeyen |
125 | stand | steþen |
126 | turn | yelben |
127 | fall | uhþen |
128 | give | pen |
129 | hold | lalen |
130 | squeeze | scisen |
131 | rub | yryren |
132 | wash | loscen |
133 | wipe | iypen |
134 | pull | walen |
135 | push | mywalen |
136 | throw | đecscen |
137 | tie | yisen |
138 | sew | pascyisen |
139 | count | ihđohen |
140 | say | đen |
141 | sing | wilyen |
142 | play | wanen |
143 | float | galieden |
144 | flow | liferen |
145 | freeze | gyrogen |
146 | swell | ueplen |
147 | sun | mahaþa |
148 | moon | ulúþa |
149 | star | haþa |
150 | water | wisca |
151 | rain | vihio |
152 | river | lifa |
153 | lake | loha |
154 | sea | meharo |
155 | salt | scgwalđo |
156 | stone | syvasco |
157 | sand | nataro |
158 | dust | buliđo |
159 | earth | era |
160 | cloud | innaelngnar (pl.) |
161 | fog | elngnar (pl.) |
162 | sky | inna |
163 | wind | tirna |
164 | snow | avarahar (pl.) |
165 | ice | sulo |
166 | smoke | miyaso |
167 | fire | belbia |
168 | ash | — |
169 | burn | n. cyđena, v. cyđenen |
170 | road | puharo |
171 | mountain | sclieva |
172 | red | yarh |
173 | green | lasc |
174 | yellow | yúr |
175 | white | waln |
176 | black | cirh |
177 | night | yueha |
178 | day | scia |
179 | year | tyna |
180 | warm | orba |
181 | cold | lyhiha |
182 | full | ibala |
183 | new | nova |
184 | old | oga |
185 | good | waya |
186 | bad | palaha |
187 | rotten | mivyrygđa |
188 | dirty | yþuda |
189 | straight | bunđa |
190 | round | aumđa |
191 | sharp | bleha |
192 | dull | dinya |
193 | smooth | yrha |
194 | wet | đesnia |
195 | dry | milđesnia |
196 | correct | wahaþaca |
197 | near | ara |
198 | far | mađa |
199 | right | telef |
200 | left | pulug |
201 | at | — |
202 | in | — |
203 | with | -meh |
204 | and | ag |
205 | if | vu |
206 | because | — |
207 | name | — |
=
Suffixes []
-ob - in, on, to (NB: -obob is colloquially used in modern Thesnian to refer to "inside", used mainly for clarity as there is sometimes confusion between meanings of "on, on top of" and "in, inside of")
-ys - possessive, of (NB: 'y' is ommitted with some specific words, e.g. calla - girl, callas - the girl's, of the girl)
-oh - adverbalisation, causative (i.e. making an adjective or verbal form an adverb or showing 'by means of' when used with a noun, pronounced /oç/)
-ut - until, by (time) (NB: "u" replaces any final vowel)
Example text[]
General introduction of this page translated into Thesnian:
Đesniu þiot isoldaþđunga donsciedaþoh Đesniui ilyenarob. Pa-đunga tinscweleodac hiscaroh isolaob túrlinggalut Gudalici scribarys uđani bordbalave Baldawirys, bo hycmaenye solþatsca scydivatys pa-eđnetscribarđuwac bo durenye hiscar. Þiođac multa Geldecsa envlensar Đesniui viaharob, scu multa bađewudor yeodaþeo Morai Cadwareng Uđan, mur hiđaulen Geldecsa envlensar đungayesc.
===Đesniu þiot arđoh-aglutaniva đunga. Ramviahar þiotos bega - aldu þiot tinscweleodaþa sistema aruwirorys ag maswirorys bo indesccenye sawinyú ramviaharys. Đunga þiot SVOa đunga mey Engelsciu.===