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| Alternative names: | Altarisa Nobuzyán Ŝprögg (NOB) |
| Grammar: | |
| word order: | S-O-V-IO |
[FIXME!!]
Setting & History[]
Elder Nobuzyanese is the Ŝara that was writen in the Yelemkin-Paký Basin in the Eastern Lowlands on the planet Jeernervaniaa. As a Ŝara, Elder Nobuzyanese is not a language that was commonly spoken, it was rather written and used as a lingua franca and in religious or offical texts.
Elder Nobuzyanese is a direct descendant of Lekinese. It inherited its grammar but the vocabulary of Elder Nobuzyanese comes from a blend between languages of the Lowlands.
Today, Elder Nobuzyanese is a language that most understand thanks to religious scriptures and thanks to the fact that Elder Nobuzyanese is a language taught in schools.
Pronunciation[]
Consonants[]
Elder Nobuzyanese has the following consonants:
- Nasals
- /m/ as in mother
- /n/ as in nurse
- [ŋ] as in sing (allophone of /n/ before palatal consonants)
- Plosives
- /p/ as in path
- /b/ as in bath
- /t/ as in to
- /d/ as in do
- /k/ as in core
- /ɡ/ as in gore
- Fricatives
- /f/ as in few
- /v/ as in view
- /θ/ as in thing
- /ð/ as in this
- /s/ as in sing
- [z] as in zebra (allophone of /s/ before voiced consonants)
- /ʃ/ as in ship
- [ɕ] as in sjæl (Danish for soul) (allophone of /ʃ/ before unrounded front vowels)
- /ʒ/ as in vision
- /x/ as in loch (Scots for lake)
- /ʁ/ as in rouge (French for red)
- /h/ as in hat
- Affricates
- /ʦ/ as in tsunami/つなみ (Japanese)
- [ʣ] as in mizu/水 (Japanese for water) (allophone of /ʦ/ before voiced consonants)
- /ʧ/ as in cheap
- /ʤ/ as in jump
- [ʨ] as in chijin/知人 (Japanese for acquaintance) (allophone of /ʧ/ before unrounded front vowels)
- Liquids
- /l/ as in leave (not as dark as in English, rather like in Danish)
- /ʀ/ as in Rat (German for rat)
Alongside consonants, Elder Nobuzyanese counts four semi-consonants used to form diphthongs:
- /w/ as in war, corresponds to /u/
- /ə̯/ as part of diphthongs ending in “–ë”.
- /j/ as in yes, corresponds to /i/
- /ɥ/ as in nuit (French for night), corresponds to /y/
Vowels[]
Vowels in Elder Nobuzyanese can be either long, short or nasal. Short vowels can form diphthongs. Elder Nobuzyanese has eleven short vowels and two nasals.
In the examples below, the length of the vowel is not relevant, the example is used to illustrate the vowel's quality.
- Monophthongs
- /i/ as in free
- /y/ as in lune (French)
- /e/ as in beauté (French)
- /ø/ as in købe (Danish)
- /ɛ/ as in bête (French)
- /œ, ə/ as in høne (Danish)
- /a/ as in kat (Danish)
- /u/ as in boot
- /o/ as in réseau (French)
- /ɔ/ as in hot
- /ɑ/ as in start
- Nasals
- /æ̃/ as in lin (French)
- /ɑ̃/ as in maman (French)
Nouns[]
Cases[]
Elder Nobuzyanese has six cases. These are:
- Nominative: The nominative case is used in noun phrases that are subject or subject predicate. (Yul le edèèmar. The man eats.)
- Accusative: The accusative case is used in noun phrases that are the direct object of transitive verbs or after a locative preposition which implies movement. (Yul le bàmmelu edèèmar. The man eats an apple.)
- Dative: The dative case is used in noun phrases that are the indirect subject o f transitive verbs or after non-locative prepositions. (Azim le brevanu an-ŝaraanan vààruë hinor. The girl writes a letter to her father.)
- Instrumental: The instrumental case is used in noun phrases that have an adverbial function in a sentence and which describe by which means the verb's action is realised or how it is realised. (An-ŝaraanam latunë. I write with a pen.)
- Locative: The locative case is used in noun phrases that are the prepositional complement of locative prepositions which do not imply movement. (Rommoni le, wèrim feedi uëlls. The war destroyed everything in the kingdom.)
- Genitive: The genitive case is used in noun phrases that describe a possession relationship.
Genders[]
Elder Nobuzyanese counts four genders and two composites. Gender does not affect nouns, it is however essential when inflecting adjectives. Note that gender is not necesserarily logical. For example, the word vààr means ‘father’ but is a feminine.
The gender of Elder Nobuzyanese are the following:
- Masculine: Generally, nouns that refer to something commonly male or associated with males. (Examples: metals, fire, war, religion)
- Feminine: Generally, nouns that refer to something commonly female or associated with females. (Examples: fluids, water, politics, nations, family)
- Dynamic: Generally, things that are found in nature and which are usually associated with movement.
- Static: Generally, things that are found in nature and which are not usually associated with movement. Also manufactured items.
- Common: Synthetic gender of masculine and feminine.
- Neuter: Synthetic gender of dynamic and static.
Declensions[]
Nouns are inflected according to their pronunciation.
There are five classes:
- Class-1: these nouns end in the following phonemes: /m, n, l, r, æ̃, ɑ̃/.
- Class-2: these nouns end in a stressed front vowel /i, y, e, ø, ɛ, œ, a, ə/ or in an unstressed syllable.
- Class-3: these nouns end in a stressed back vowel /u, o, ɔ, ɑ/.
- Class-4: these nouns end in a plosive /p, b, t, d, k, ɡ/.
- Class-5: these nouns end in a fricative /f, v, θ, ð, s, ʃ, ʒ/ or an affricate /ʦ, ʧ, ʤ/.
| Class | dl. | pl. | ACC | DAT | INS | LOC | GEN | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| sg. | dl. | pl. | |||||||
| Class-1 | –ts | –t | –u | –uë | –ë | –i | –àn | –às | –àm |
| Class-2 | –ŝ | –n | –te | –teŝ | –t | –ti | –tàn | –tàs | –tàm |
| Class-3 | –r | –g | –e | –a | –it | –i | –nàn | –às | –àm |
| Class-4 | –es | –e | –ne | –na | –nit | –ni | –nàn | –nàs | –nàm |
| Class-5 | –et | –en | –u | –uë | –ë | –i | –iàn | –iàs | –iàm |
Note that the singular of Class-3 nouns is inflected as a Class-4.
Word Order[]
Since Elder Nobuzyanese relies on its case, albeit less than in some of its contemporary languages, the order of words within a sentence is more or less free. There is, however, a tendency to prefer a S-DO-V-IO-A order in texts written before the Third Imperial Reform and a S-V-DO-IO-A order after 15590. This change can be explained by the fact that the majority of the Court of the Great Nobuzyanese Empire before 15500 came from the Lowlands and that after Lenn IV, the Court had most of its members from the Shorelands.
Verbs[]
Verbs in Elder Nobuzyanese are classed in five categories. The first three are morphological categories. These are the –AR, –AN and –ON categories. Their name is derived from the ending of their indicative present. They are also sometimes called Class-1, Class-2 and Class-3 verbs. The fourth category is modal verbs, ie. verbs that indicate modality (see below for more about modal verbs). The fifth and last category is counts only one verb: the passive auxiliary renn, renn.
Elder Nobuzyanese has four tenses:
- Present: this tense is used for present actions, ie. actions that are happening in the present. It is also used for punctual actions in the present.
- Past: this tense is used for past actions which have started in the past. These are not necessarily complete. The past tense is commonly used in narration.
- Future: this tense is used for future actions which will happen with certainty.
- Absolute: this tense is generic, ie. it indicates no time frame at all. It is generally used for absolute truths. For example, the sentence The Earth is round is true at all times. The absolute tense would therefore be used. Note that –ON verbs do not distinguish in their inflections between the present and absolute tenses.
Alongside its tenses, Elder Nobuzyanese counts three grammatical aspects:
- Progressive: this aspect is used when the action is in progress within the tense's time frame. The progressive is marked with the prefix an–. Note that there exists verbs which are inherently progressive and those are not marked unless in formal speech which tends to use redundances.
- Perfective: this aspect is used to indicate that the action is complete. The perfective aspect is rarely used and its more common usage is to emphasise the fact that the action is complete. The perfective prefix is na–.
- Iterative: this aspect is used to indicate that the action is repeated. The iterative aspect uses the la– prefix.
Aspects can be combined. For example, the combination of iterative and perfective indicate a past habit. The progressive and perfective aspects cannot be combined.
Elder Nobuzyanese counts four grammatical functions:
- Declarative/Indicative: this function is the default function in a sentence. It is commonly called the indicative as a reference to its mood.
- Interrogative: this function is used in yes/no/maybe questions. When an interrogative pronoun is used to introduce the question, the indicative mood is used.
- Imperative: this function is used to denote an order or a suggestion. The past tense does not exist in the imperative.
- Conditional: this function is actually a grammatical mood. It is used in subclauses that express the conditions necessary for the realisation of the main clause. For example: I would travel if I had money → Mina reseenar, sàn mina ŝààrarme ëlòiso.
Tense & Function Endings[]
| Tense | Declarative | Interrogative | Imperative | Conditional | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | –ar | –an | –on | –ur | –un | –un | –e | –e | –en | –arme | –arme | –orme |
| Past | –i | –i | –it | –ür | –ün | –ün | – | –irme | –irme | –irme | ||
| Future | –arma | –arma | –arma | –urma | –urma | –urma | –ast | –ast | –anast | –arëd | –anëd | –onëd |
| Absolute | –àgà | –à | –on | –u | –u | –un | –eg | –eg | –en | –àgme | –àrne | –orme |
Contractions[]
In simple clauses, the subject personal pronoun can be ommitted if implied. In other cases, it is contracted with the verb. For example: Ŝàllars fèèd Rommonuë le. is the contracted form of Sin ŝàllar fèèd Rommonüe le.
Contraction are formed in the following way:
| Person | Pronoun | Contraction | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | Mina | –m | Fèèdarm |
| 2nd sg. | Sina | –s | Fèèdars |
| 2nd sg. (formal) | Vu | –r | Fèèdarar |
| 3rd sg. | Hina | –t | Fèèdart |
| 1st pl. | Emina | –m+vowel | Fèèdarama |
| 2nd pl. | Ezina | –st+vowel | Fèèdarsta |
| 2nd pl. (formal) | Vur | –n | Fèèdaran |
| 3rd pl. | Ehina | –nt+vowel | Fèèdaranta |
When a contraction results in an impronouncable combination of consonants, an intersitial vowel is inserted between the ending and the contracted pronoun. The vowel is usually the last vowel of the ending. If the insertion of the vowel can result in a misleading ending, a Schwa ë is inserted insert, if still leading to an confusion, any random vowel (usually à) is used instead.
Modal Verbs[]
Modal verbs are special in that they indicate modality. They cannot appear alone, they are in fact always used in conjunction with a lexical verb. The mood and tense markings that the main verb should have had are transferred to the modal auxiliary. All auxiliaries behave like Class-1 verbs.
Modal verbs can only appear in the declarative.
| Verb | English | Meaning | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| màll | may | permission | Hina màllar gòòm. | He may come. |
| ŝàll | shall | obligation | Ŝàllars fèèd Rommonuë le. | [You] shall defend the kingdom. |
| vàll | will | desire | Vàllarm seveen hinoru. | [I] will visit her. |
| kànn | can | ability | Höödne lün ûm kànnur begòòm. | The gods can never come return. |
| ĝànn | should | suggestion | Ĝànnars gòòm. | You should come. |
| lànn | must | duty | Emina lànn berààd ehinu. | We ought to teach them. |
Numbers[]
More details in Numbers in Elder Nobuzyanese.
Elder Nobuzyanese uses a duodecimal system traditionally, but after the Third Imperial Reform, this system was deprecated and replaced by the Shorelandic decimal system which is today to most widespread.
Numbers come in three series: the –as, –in and –em series.
| Num. | Name | Ordinal | Num. | Name | Ordinal | Num. | Name | Ordinal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Attas | Attami | 7 | Süibin | Süibimi | 20 | Bàĉem | Bàĉemi |
| 2 | Ðennas | Ðennami | 8 | Autin | Autimi | 24 | Ràiĉem | Ràiĉemi |
| 3 | Wannas | Wannami | 9 | Nënin | Nënimi | 100 | Hántem | Hántemi |
| 4 | Garras | Garrami | 10 | Sibin | Sibimi | 144 | Bulem | Bulemi |
| 5 | Kiënas | Kiënami | 11 | Alfin | Alfimi | 1000 | Zalem | Zalemi |
| 6 | Ðekkas | Ðekkami | 12 | Tollin | Tollimi | 1728 | Hqaĝem | Hqaĝemi |
Example Text[]
Ëull yult, kin nariiri Hüisrommoni Nobuuðanàn, lèèfàgà frèèls è sàms kim hraatena etino è ŝimruusenuë etino. Belakte uun belèèvèràgà aam nàiklasuë, ëlòinuë, hqòòdne elles haaluë.
All men and women born in the Great Nobuzyanese Empire live free and equal in their rights and their conscience. There shall not be any difference in gender, richness, profession or clan.
Usual Phrases[]
The following phrases are useful if one were to travel in the Great Nobuzyanese Empire:
- Nài “Yes”
- Uu “No”
- Ya “No” (very strong)
- Këwèr beĉáu/yàstbeĉáu kànnàm leen?
- Where can I find a hotel/inn?
- Këwèr edèmrolu kànnàm leen?
- Where can I find a restaurant?
Dictionary[]
| Elder Nobuzyanese |
|
A B Ŝ T M I È G J L Ü N Á Ë K Z O S P Ö R Ĉ Ĝ É Q H F W V U E Þ Y Ð D À Info |