Aulandic (Aulendsch [aulɛntʃ]) is a naturalistic West Germanic conlang.
Setting[]
...
Phonology[]
Vowels[]
Monophthongs:
| Front |
Central |
Back | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrounded | Rounded | |||||||
| Short | Long | Short | Long | Short | Long | Short | Long | |
| Close | iː | yː | uː | |||||
| Near-close | ɪ | ʏ | ʊ | |||||
| Close-mid | eː | øː | ə | oː | ||||
| Open-mid | ɛ | ɔ | ||||||
| Near-Open | æː | |||||||
| Open | a | ɑː | ||||||
The schwa [ə] occurs only in unstressed syllables.
Diphthongs: /ai au ɔi jæː joː/
Consonants[]
| Bilabial | Labiodental | Dental | Alveolar | Postalveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | ʔ | ||||
| Plosive | p b | t d | k g | |||||
| Fricative | f v | θ ð | s z | ʃ (ʒ) | x ɣ | h | ||
| Approximant | j | w | ||||||
| Rhotic | r | |||||||
| Lateral | l |
The rhotic /r/ is realized more commonly as a tap/flap [ɾ].
Orthography[]
Alphabet[]
The Aulandic alphabet consists of the following 28 letters:
- Capital: A, Ä, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, Ö, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z
- Lowercase: a, ä, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, ö, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z
|
Letter |
Name |
Letter |
Name |
Letter |
Name |
Letter |
Name |
|
A a |
a /ɑː/ |
G g |
ge /geː/ |
N n |
enn /ɛn/ |
T t |
te /teː/ |
|
Ä ä |
ä /æː/ |
H h |
ha /hɑː/ |
O o |
o /oː/ |
U u |
u /uː! |
|
B b |
be /beː/ |
I i |
i /iː/ |
Ö ö |
ö /øː/ |
V v |
vau /vau/ |
|
C c |
ce /tseː/ |
J j |
jott /jɔt/ |
P p |
pe /peː/ |
W w |
we /veː/ |
|
D d |
de /deː/ |
K k |
ka /kɑː/ |
Q q |
ku /kuː/ |
X x |
ix /ɪks/ |
|
E e |
e /eː/ |
L l |
ell /ɛl/ |
R r |
err /ɛr/ |
Y y |
y /yː/ |
|
F f |
eff /ɛf/ |
M m |
emm /ɛm/ |
S s |
ess /ɛs/ |
Z z |
zedd /tsɛt/ |
The letters <ä> and <ö> can be alternatively written as <ae> and <oe>.
Pronunciation[]
Vowels
The vowels <a, e, i, o, u, y> are long in most stressed syllables that end in a single consonant or no consonants. They are short in most syllables that end in two or more consonants excluding suffixes, and in unstressed syllables. Unstressed e is usually mute or schwa [ə].
| Letter | Short | Long | ||
| Pronunciation | Example | Pronunciation | Example | |
| a | /a/ | hand /hant/ "hand" | /ɑ:/ | nam /nɑ:m/ "name" |
| e | /ɛ/ | bedd /bɛt/ "bed" | /e:/ | weg /ve:x/ "way" |
| i | /ɪ/ | wind /vɪnt/ "wind" | /i:/ | win /vi:n/ "wine" |
| o | /ɔ/ | word /vɔrt/ "word" | /oː/ | for /foːr/ "before" |
| u | /ʊ/ | hund /hʊnt/ "dog" | /uː/ | hus /huːs/ "house" |
| y | /ʏ/ | thynn /θʏn/ "thin" | /yː/ | fyr /fyːr/ "fire" |
The vowels <ä> and <ö> are always long, /æː/ and /øː/: äls /æːls/ "eels", wöst /vøːst/ "desert".
The pronunciation of the following digraphs is the same regardless of their position:
| Letter | Pronunciation | Example |
| aa | /ɑː/ | haast /hɑːst/ "haste" |
| ae (ä) | /æː/ | aels /æːls/ "eels" |
| ee | /eː/ | leecht /leːxt/ "light" |
| ie | /iː/ | fiend /fiːnt/ "enemy" |
| oo | /oː/ | hooste /hoːst/ "cough" |
| oe (ö) | /øː/ | woest /vøːst/ "desert" |
| uu | /uː/ | fuust /fuːst/ "fist" |
| iu | /yː/ | friund /fryːnt/ "friend" |
| ea | /jæː/ | hear /hjæːr/ "here" |
| eo | /joː/ | deop /djoːp/ "deep" |
| ei | /ai/ | stein /stain/ "stone" |
| au | /au/ | rauk /rauk/ "smoke" |
| oy | /ɔi/ | hoy /hɔi/ "hay" |
Consonants
Morphophonology[]
Umlaut[]
Final devoicing of voiced stops[]
Voicing of simple fricatives[]
Basic Grammar[]
...
Nouns[]
Plural[]
According to how they form their plurals, Aulandic nouns can be divided in two groups:
1. Nouns with umlaut in plural: This group includes nouns with a, o, u or au as stem vowel; but not all nouns with these stem vowels belong to this group.
- Monosyllabic words take umlaut and the ending -e: hand "hand" - hende "hands", hus "house" - hyse "houses", bok "book" - böke "books", rauk "smoke, vapour" - royke "smokes, vapors". This suffix-e affects the pronunciation of stem-final b, d, g, th and s: voiceless in singular, voiced in plural. Stem-final f becomes v: kalf - kelve
- Polysyllabic words take only umlaut: appel "apple" - eppel "apples", moder "mother" - möder "mothers".
2. Nouns without umlaut in plural:
- If the word ends in b, d, g, th or s, the suffix -e is added: wind - winde, aug - auge
- If the word ends in f, the suffix -e is added and the f changes to v: hleif - hleive
- If the word ends in vowel, m, n, l, r, p, t, k, ff or ch the suffix -s is added: stein "stone" - steins "stones"
Pronouns[]
Personal Pronouns[]
| First person | Second person | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sg. | Du. | Pl. | Sg. | Du. | Pl. | |
| Nom. | ick | witt | wi | thu | jitt | ji |
| Acc. | mi | unk | uss | thi | ink | ju |
| Dat. | mi | unk | uss | thi | ink | ju |
| Gen. | min | unker | usser / urr | thin | inker | jur |
| Third person | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| m. | f. | n. | Pl. | |
| Nom. | he | hiu | itt | hi |
| Acc. | hen | hiu | itt | hi |
| Dat. | emm | err | emm | hum |
| Gen. | ess | err | ess | hir |
[]
Demonstrative Pronouns[]
Distance-neutral demonstrative pronoun
| m. | f. | n. | Pl. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nom. | sa | sa / siu | that | thei |
| Acc. | than | thiu | that | thei |
| Dat. | thamm | therr | thamm | them |
| Gen. | thens | therr / thens | thens | their |
Proximal demonstrative pronoun
| m. | f. | n. | Pl. |
|---|---|---|---|
| thiss | thius | thitt | thise |
Interrogative Pronouns[]
| "who?" | "what?" | |
|---|---|---|
| Nom. | hwa | hwat |
| Acc. | hwan | hwat |
| Dat. | hwemm / hwamm | hwemm / hwamm |
| Gen. | hwess | hwess |
Articles[]
Aulandic has a definite and an indefinite article. Since the indefinite article is identical to the numeral ein ("one"), the definite article is often referred to as se artikel ("the article") in the traditional Aulandic grammar.
Definite Article[]
The definite article can be stressed or unstressed. The stressed form has the function of a distant-neutral demonstrative determiner: thet hus "the house" (unstressed article) - that hus "this/that house" (stressed article).
| Unstressed definite article | Stressed definite article | ||||||||
| masculine | feminine | neuter | plural | masculine | feminine | neuter | plural | ||
| nominative | se [sə] | se | thet [θə] | thae [θe] | sa | sa | that [θat] | thei | |
| accusative | the [θə] | the | thet | thae | tha | tha | that | thei | |
| dative | the | the | the | thae | tha | tha | tha | thei | |
Indefinite Article[]
The singular indefinite article is ein for all genders, identical to the numeral ein ("one"). The word some ("some") can be used as an indefinite plural article.
Adjectives[]
Adjectives that end in consonant take an -e in plural: thet ald hus ‘the old house’ - thae alde hyse ‘the old houses’
but: thet niu hus ‘the new house’ - thae niu hyse ‘the new houses’
Verbs[]
Aulandic verbs are divided in weak and strong verbs. In addition to these two main groups, there is a small group of so-called preterite-present verbs.
Weak verbs[]
Weak verbs form their preterites and passive participles by means of a dental suffix:
The preterite is formed by adding -(e)de to the stem: opene ~ opende, make ~ makde, hate ~ hatede
The passive participle is formed by adding -(e)d to the stem: opene ~ opend, make ~ makd, hate ~ hated
A mute e is inserted before the dental suffix if the verb stem ends in an n, l or r preceded by a long a, e, i, o, u or y: hale [hɑːl] ~ haled [hɑːlt], halede [hɑːld]; dure [duːr] ~ dured [duːrt], durede [duːrd]
An e pronounced [ə] is inserted before the suffix if the verb stem ends in d or t: hate [hɑːt] ~ hated [hɑːtət], hatede [hɑːtəd].
If the suffix -d(e) follows a voiceless consonant, it is pronounced [t]: makd [mɑːkt], hlachde [xlaxt].
Some strong verbs that have a strong passive participle identical to the infinitive have developed in modern Aulandic a weak passive participle: komd "come", sprekd "spoken", fared "gone, moved". These weak forms coexist with the strong forms, but when the passive participle is used as an adjective, only the weak forms are used: Ick haf spreke = Ick haf sprekd "I have spoken" but the sprekde worde "the spoken words".
Strong verbs[]
Strong verbs display vowel gradation or ablaut. There are seven classes of strong verbs. Each class is characterized by a vowel gradation sequence of four elements (vowels or diphthongs). Taking as an example the Class 3a sequence i - a - y - u:
- the first element, i, appears in the infinitive and the present tense: finde "to find", ick find "I find"
- the second element, a, appears in the past indicative: ick fand "I found", wi fande "we found"
- the third element, y, appears in the past subjunctive: ef thu fynde... "if you found..."
- the fourth element, u, appears in the passive participle: ick haf funde "I have found"
Class 1
Ablaut sequence: i (long) - ei - e - e: ride reid rede rede "to ride"
With consonant alternation: snithe sneith snede snede "to cut"
Class 2
Ablaut sequence: eo - au - ö - o (long): beode baud böde bode "to command"
With consonant alternation: teohe tauh töge toge "to pull", keose kaus köre kore "to choose"
- A few verbs of this class have u instead of eo: u (long) - au - o (long): schuve schauf schöve schove (Also: luke, suge, supe)
- These verbs in -w are slightly irregular: bru brau bröwe browe, kewe kau köwe kowe "to chew",
Class 3
With nasals (Class 3a), ablaut sequence: i - a - y - u: binde band bynde bunde "to bind"
With liquids (Class 3b), ablaut sequence: e - a - y - o: helpe halp hylpe holpe "to help"
Class 4
Ablaut sequence: e - a - o (all long): bere bar bore "to bear"
- A special case with o in the infinitive and present tense is kome kwam/kam kome/komd
Class 5
Ablaut sequence: e - a - e (all long): geve gaf geve/gevd "to give"
Class 6
Ablaut sequence: a - o - ö - a (all long): drage drog dröge drage/dragd "to carry"
Class 7
Class 7a: ei - e (long) - e (long) - ei: heite het hete heite/heited "to be called"
Class 7b: au - eo - eo - au: hlaupe hleop hleope hlaupe/hlaupd "to leap"
Class 7c: a - ea - ea - a: halde heald healde halde/halded "to hold"
Class 7d: ä - ea - ea - ä: släpe sleap sleape släpe/släpd "to sleep"
Class 7e: o (long) - eo - eo - o (long): hrope hreop hreope hrope /hropd "to call"
Preterite-present verbs[]
The present tense of these verbs has the form of a strong preterite, with vowel-alternation between singular and plural. A new weak preterite is formed with a dental suffix. The verb welle (and its negative form nelle) has a different origin, but is usually included in this group.
| Infinitive | Present 1/3 sg. | Past indicative | Past subjunctive | Meaning |
| wete | weit | wisse | wisse | know |
| nete | neit | nisse | nisse | do not know |
| eige | eig | eichte | eichte | owe, possess |
| neige | neig | neichte | neichte | do not possess |
| doge | daug | dochte | dychte | be useful |
| unne | ann | unde | ynde | grant |
| kunne | kann | kunde | kynde | be able, can |
| thorve | tharf | thorfte | thyrfte | need |
| dorre | darr | dorde | dyrde | dare |
| schole | schal | scholde | schylde | shall |
| mone | man | munde | mynde | think |
| noge | nag | nochte | nychte | be sufficient |
| mage | mag | machte | mechte | may |
| mote | mot | moste | myste | must |
| welle | will | welde | wilde | want |
| nelle | nill | nelde | nilde | do not want |
Numbers[]
Cardinals
- From 0 to 19: null, ein, twei, thri, feor, fimm, sex, seven, acht, niun, ten, eilf, twelf, thriten, feorten, fiften, sexten, seventen, achtten, niunten
- Decades are formed with the suffix -tig: tweitig, thritig, feortig, fiftig, sextig, seventig, achttig, niuntig
- Hundreds: ein hundred, twei hundred, thri hundred, feor hundred, etc.
- Larger numbers: ein thusend, ten thusend, hundred thusend, ein million (1 000 000), ein milliard (1 000 000 000), ein billion (10^12), ein billiard (10^15), ein trillion (10^18), etc.
Multiplicators can be written together when the following numeral is hundred or thusend: tweithusend thrihundred = twei thusend thri hundred (3300)
Numerals ending in -llion and -lliard take a plural ending: twei millions, thri milliarde
Ordinals
- From 1st to 12th: from, tweid, thridd, feorth, fift, sext, sevend, achteth, niund, tend, eilft, twelft
- Numerals ending in -ten take the suffix -d: thritend, feortend, fimftend, sextend, etc.
- Decades and larger numbers take the suffix -st: tweitigst, hundredst, thusendst, millionst, etc.
Only the last numeral takes the ordinal ending: hundred feortig niund (149th)
Prepositions[]
Syntax[]
Negation[]
Negation is expressed by means of the particles net and ne:
- The particle net, placed after the verb or after the object pronoun, negates the whole sentence: Ick drink net. "I don't drink." Ick sa hiu net. "I didn't see her."
- The particle ne is placed before the negated part of the sentence: Ick drink ne win.
ne + ein > nein: Ick haf nein wordbook. "I don't have any dictionary."
...
Dictionary[]
Numbers[]
| Number | Cardinal | Ordinal | Number | Cardinal | Ordinal | |
| 0 | null | - | 20 | tweitig | tweitigst | |
| 1 | ein | from | 21 | tweitig ein | tweitig from | |
| 2 | twei | tweid | 30 | thritig | thritigst | |
| 3 | thri | thridd | 40 | feortig | feortigst | |
| 4 | feor | feorth | 50 | fiftig | fiftigst | |
| 5 | fimm | fift | 60 | sextig | sextigst | |
| 6 | sex | sext | 70 | seventig | seventigst | |
| 7 | seven | sevend | 80 | achttig | achttigst | |
| 8 | acht | achteth | 90 | niuntig | niuntigst | |
| 9 | niun | niund | 100 | hundred | hundredst | |
| 10 | ten | tend | 200 | twei hundred | twei hundredst | |
| 11 | eilf | eilft | 1000 | thusend | thusendst | |
| 12 | twelf | twelft | 10 000 | ten thusend | ten thusendst | |
| 13 | thriten | thritend | 100 000 | hundred thusend | hundred thusendst | |
| 14 | feorten | feortend | 1000 000 | ein million | millionst | |
| 15 | fiften | fiftend | 10 000 000 | ten millions | ten millionst | |
| 16 | sexten | sextend | 100 000 000 | hundred millions | hundred millionst | |
| 17 | seventen | seventend | 1000 000 000 | ein milliard | milliardst | |
| 18 | achtten | achttend | 1000 000 000 000 | ein billion | billionst | |
| 19 | niunten | niuntend | 1000 000 000 000 000 | ein billiard | billiardst |
...
Example text[]
Fader urr
Fader urr in hemel,
heiligd werthe thin nam,
Thin rik kome,
Thin will sche,
hwo in hemel, swa auk up erth.
Gef uss hiudag urr daglik braud,
End fergef uss urre schulde,
hwo wi auk fergeve urre schuldigers.
Leid uss net in fersöking,
Ak aloys uss af the bal.
Hwand thin iss thet rik, end se macht, end thet wulder, in eiwigheid, amen.
Se North Wind end se Sunn
Se North Wind end se Sunn streide si eins ym hwa was se starker, tho ein wanderer kwam hylld in ein warm mantel. Hi kwame överein that jen se kynde thwinge the mann te legje sin mantel af, schylde werthe ansen als starker thann se anner. Se Northwind blew med all sin kraft, thau hwo meir he blew, thess faster se wanderer hyllde si in sin mantel. Endlik gaf se Northwind sin fersök upp. Thann schein se Sunn warm, end soons legjde se wanderer sin mantel af. Swa moste se Northwind bekenne that se Sunn was se starker fan bei.