Overview[]
Saksies is a Germanic conlang closely related to the modern Germanic languages, Dutch, German, Afrikaans, Luxembourgish and has a lot in common with the English language as well.
Saksies has a fair amount of French loanwords.
Grammar[]
The Saksies grammar is relatively simple compared with German or Dutch and resembles more the modern English or Afrikaans grammar.
Phonology[]
The Saksies vowel system consists of 12 vowel sounds: 8 simple vowels a, e, è, ë, i, ie, o, u; 4 diphthongs: au, ei, éi and y. The vowels a, e, o and u can be either long or short.'
The Saksies consonant inventory consists of 20 sounds of which [x] has no graphem of its own but is marked by ch or g and [ʦ] can be written either as z or tz (z is used after consonants, tz after vowels, the sound occurs usually only word-finally).
S is pronounced [z] word-initially and between vowels. Word-finally, b, d and g are pronounced [p], [t] and [x].
Vowels[]
| Letter | Sound | Example | Corresponding Sound in Other Germanic Languages |
| A a | [ɑ] | mann | De. /a/ Mann – Nd. /a/ man – En. /æ/ man |
|
a/aa |
[a:] | maan |
De. /a:/ fahrt – Nd. /a:/ maan – En. /u:/ moon |
| Au au | [æʊ] | haus | De. /aʊ/ Haus – Nd. /ɶʏ/ huis – En. /aʊ/ house |
| E e | [ɛ] | welch | De. /ɛ/ welch(e) – Nd. /ɛ/ welk – En. /ɪ/ which |
| e/ee | [e:] | leen | De. /e:/ lehn – Nd. /e:/ leen – En. /i:/ lean |
| [ə] | lepel | De. /ə/ Löffel – Nd. /ə/ lepel – En. /ə/ apple | |
| Ë ë | [ə] | wëll | De. /ɪ/ Will – Nd. /ɪ/ wil – En. /ɪ/ will |
| È è | [æ] | fèder | De. /ɛ/ Väter – Nd. /ɛ/ vet – En. /ɛ/ feather |
| Ei ei | [æɪ] | wein | De. /aɪ/ wein – Nd. /ɛɪ/ wyn – En. /ʌɪ/ wine |
| Éi éi | [ei] | éir | De. /oʏ/ euer - Nd. /ju/ ju(llie) - En. /jʉ:/ you |
| I i | [ɪ] | fillen | De. /ʏ/ füllen – Nd. /ʏ/ vullen – En. /ɪ/ fill |
| Ie ie | [i] | sien | De. /i:/ viel – Nd. /i:/ sien – En. /i:/ see |
| O o | [o] | kommen | De. /o/ kommen – Nd. /o/ kom – En. /ʌ/ come |
| o/oo | [o:] | rood | De. /o:/ root – Nd. /o:/ rood – En. /u:/ toon |
| U u | [ʊ] | nuss | De. /u/ Nuß – Nd. /ʊ/ boek – En. /ʌ/ nut |
| u/uu | [ʉ:~y:] | ku | De. /u:/ Kuh – Nd. /y:/ ku – En. /ʌʊ/ cow |
| Y y | [aɪ] | ny | De. /oʏ/ neu – Nd. /iu/ nieuw – En. /jʉ:/ new |
Consonants[]
| Letter | Sound | Example | Corresponding Sounds in Other Germanic Languages |
| b | [b]* | baken | De. /b/ baken – Nd. /b/ baken – En. /b/ bake |
| ch | [ʃ] | ech | De. /ç/ ich – Nd. /k/ ik – En. /-/ I after front vowels |
| [x] | dachte | De. /x/ dachte – Nd. /x/ dachte – En. /-/ thought after back vowels | |
| d | [d]* | dinn | De. /d/ dünn – Nd. /d/ dun – En. /θ/ thin |
| f | [f] | fallen | De. /f/ fallen – Nd. /f/ fallen – En. /f/ fall |
| g | [g]* | ginn | De. /g/ geben – Nd. /χ/ geven – En. /g/ give |
| h | [h] | hunn | De. /h/ haben – Nd. /h/ heven – En. /h/ have |
| j | [j] | joor | De. /j/ Jahr – Nd. /j/ jaar – En. /j/ year |
| k | [k] | kaud | De. /k/ kalt – Nd. /k/ koud – En. /k/ cold |
| l | [l] | laud | De. /l/ laut – Nd. /l/ luid – En. /l/ loud |
| m | [m] | meer | De. /m/ mehr – Nd. /m/ meer – En. /m/ more |
| n | [n] | naam | De. /n/ Name – Nd. /n/ naam – En. /n/ name |
| p | [p] | pill | De. /p/ Pille – Nd. /p/ pil – En. /p/ pill |
| r | [r] | rest | De. /ʀ/ Rest – Nd. /r/ rest – En. /ɹ/ rest |
| s | [s] | sinn | De. /s/ vest – Nd. /s/ vest – En. /s/ vest |
| [z] | seven | De. /z/ sieben – Nd. /s/ seven – En. /s/ seven | |
| sch | [ʃ] | scheinen | De. /ʃ/ scheinen – Nd. /ʃ/ schijnen – En. /ʃ/ shine |
| t | [t] | toll | De. /ʦ/ Zoll – Nd. /t/ tol – En. /t/ toll |
| v | [f] | gaven | De. /b/ gaben – Nd. /f/ gaven – En. /v/ gave |
| w | [ʋ] | wasser | De. /ʋ/ Wasser – Nd. /ʋ/ water – En. /w/ water |
| z | [ʦ] | schwarz | De. /ʦ/ schwarz – Nd. /t/ swart – En. /t/ net |
- The presented pronunciation of ch and z/tz is the standard, dialectal variation is great. Often they are simplified to [ʃ] and [t].
- R [r] is often realised as the uvular trill [ʀ].
- French words are mostly spelt and pronounced as in French. Nevertheless, they are usually declined as indigenous words:
Ech gonn changéiren de billeten. (I go change the tickets.) [ɛʃ gon: ʃãnʒeirən də bije:ən]
Nouns[]
There are no genders in Saksies. The indefinite article is e /ə/ (emphatic form: een /e:n/ and the definite article is de /də/ (emphatic form: die /di:/).
When the proceeding word begins with a vowel an -n is inserted at the end of the article e > en /ən/, de > den /dən/. This may be ignored in colloquial usage.
Plural is formed by adding the suffix -(e)n /(ə)n/.
| e man | de man | mannen | de mannen | man | short vowel |
| e maan | de maan | manen | de manen | moon | long final vowel |
|
e frau |
de frau | frauen | de frauen | woman | ends in a long vowel |
| e kopie | de kopie | kopie(ë)n | de kopie(ë)n | copy | ends in -ie |
| e lepel | de lepel | lepeln | de lepeln | spoon | ends in -/ə/C |
| e bute | de bute | buten | de buten | hill | ends in -/ə/ |
| en aap | den aap | apen | den apen | ape | begins with a vowel |
Irregular Plurals
| Singular | Plural | Translation |
| brudder | bridder | brother |
| buch | bicher | book |
| dag | deen | day |
| fader | fèder | father |
| fuss | fissen | foot |
| kënd | kënder | child |
| mudder | midder | mother |
| suster | sister | sister |
Articles[]
Articles were historically inflected. The genitive lives on in some names and fixed expression but less so in everyday language e.g. champion der wereld 'world champion'.
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural | ||||
| Nom | een | de | eene | de | een | de | de |
| Gen | eenes | des | eener | der | eenes | des |
der |
Diminutive[]
The diminutives are formed by adding the suffix -lien.
mannlien 'the little man'
susterlien 'beloved sister, little sister'
hundlien 'the little dog, puppy'
dei handlienen 'your little hands'
Adjectives & Adverbs[]
There is a number of real adverbs, any adjective in indefinite form can be used as an adverb. Adjectives have two forms: indefinite and definite.
| Indefinite | After indefinite particles and articles |
E jong mann A young man Geen jong man No young man |
| Predicative Use |
De mann is jong. The man is young. De mannen sinn jong. The men are young. | |
| Definite | After definite particles and articles |
De jonge man The young man Die jonge man That/The young man |
| Always before a plural noun |
Jonge mannen Young men De jonge mannen The young men | |
| Substantive Use | De jonge was daar. The young (one) was there. |
Derived Adjectives[]
Heemesche Suffiksen
| Suffix | Example | Translation |
| -baar | ferwend/baar | usable |
| -eg | zefall/eg | occasional |
| -en | gaud/en | golden |
| -ereg | schlëck/ereg | muddy |
| -erlei | feif/erlei | five kinds of |
| -esch | kom/esch | strange |
| -fach | feif/fach | five-fold(ed) |
| -frei | fett/frei | fatfree |
| -haft | mangel/haft | lacking |
| -lech | lacher/lech | ridiculous |
| -loos | kënder/loos | childless |
| -masseg | regel/masseg | regular |
| -saam | lang/saam | slow |
Fremde Suffiksen
| Suffix | Example | Translation |
| -able [a:blə] | accept/able | acceptable |
| -alesch | musiek/alesch | musical |
| -ant [ã:(t)] | toler/ant | tolerant |
| -aire [æ:r] | revolution/aire | revolutionary |
| -sque [sk] | grote/sque | grotesque |
| -istique [istik] | caractér/istique | characteristic |
| -ive [iv] | product/ive | prudictive |
| -eux[ø(z)] | muscul/eux | muscular |
| -uel [el:] | intellect/uel | intellectual |
Degrees of Comparision[]
| Degree | Indefinite | Definite | Translation |
| Positive | jong | de jonge | young |
| Comparative | jonger | de jongere | younger |
| Superlative | jongst | de jongste | youngst |
Note the spelling!
Heet > heter > (de) heetst(e) hot, hotter (the) hottest
Flakk > flakker > (de) flakst(e) flat, flatter, (the) flattest
Note!
The adjective gudd is declined irregularly:
gudd > besser > best
Numbers[]
| Cardinal numbers | |||||||
| 1 | een | 1st | eerst | 11 | elf | 11th | elfste |
| 2 | twee | 2nd | tweede | 12 | twelf | 12th | twelfste |
| 3 | drie | 3rd | derde | 13 | dertien | 13th | dertiente |
| 4 | fier | 4th | fierte | 14 | fiertien | 14th | fiertiente |
| 5 | feif | 5th | feifte | 15 | feiftien | 15th | feiftiente |
| 6 | seks | 6th | sekste | 16 | sekstien | 16th | sekstiente |
| 7 | seven | 7th | sevente | 17 | seventien | 17th | seventiente |
| 8 | acht | 8th | achte | 18 | achtien | 18th | achtiente |
| 9 | nyn | 9th | nynte | 19 | nyntien | 19th | nyntiente |
| 10 | tien | 10th | tiente | 20 | twënteg | 20th | twëntegste |
| 30 | derteg | 30th | dertegste | 31 | eenenderteg | 31st | eenendertegste |
| 40 | fierteg | 40th | fiertegste | 42 | tweeënfierteg | 42th | tweeënfiertegste |
| 50 | feifteg | 50th | feiftegste | 53 | drieënfyfteg | 53th | drieënfyftegste |
| 60 | seksteg | 60th | sekstegste | 64 | fierenseksteg | 64th | fierensekstegste |
| 70 | seventeg | 70th | seventegste | 75 | feifenseventeg | 75th | feifenseventegste |
| 80 | achteg | 80th | achtegste | 86 | seksenachteg | 86th | seksenachtegste |
| 90 | nynteg | 90th | nyntegste | 99 | nynennynteg | 99th | nynennyntegste |
| 100 | honnerd | 100th | honnerdste | 101 | honnerd een | 101st | honnerd eerst |
Pronouns[]
Personal Pronouns[]
| Person | Subject | Direct Object | Indirect Object | Poss.
Indep. |
| Sg 1st | ech | mech | mer | mei/n meine |
| Sg 2nd | du | dech | der | dei/n deine |
| Sg 3rd masc | hien | hien | hiem | sei/n seine |
| Sg 3rd neut | et | et | et | sei/n seine |
| Sg 3rd fem | sie | sie | haar | haar hare |
| Pl 1st | méi(r) | ons | ons | ons onse |
| Pl 2nd | ier | éich | éir | ier iere |
| Pl 3rd | hin | hin | hin | hinnen |
The forms mein, dein and sein are used when the proceeding word begins with a vowel e.g. mein auto.
Interrogatives[]
| Nom | Wer | Who |
| ObjDir | Wen | Whom |
| ObjInd | Wem | To whom |
| Poss | Wessen | Whose |
| Obj | Wat | What |
| Obj2 | Wat for e(n) | What kind of |
| ObjDis | Welch/e | Which |
| Time | Wenn | When |
| Place | Weer | Where |
| Manner | Wie | How |
| Reason | Wéi | Why |
Wer bëstu? Who are you?
Wen so du in de Staad? Whom did you see in the city?
Wem gaaf du de bicher? To whom did you give the books?
Wessen velo is dies? Whose bicycle is this?
Wat is dei naam? What is your name?
Wat for e haus wëllen ier kopen? What kind of a house do you want to buy?
Welche teidskriften lees du? Which magazines do you read?
Wenn komm du weer bei ons? When will you come and visit us again?
Weer sinn ier? Where are you?
Wie aud bëstu? How old are you?
Wéi bëstu net gekommen? Why didn't you come?
Words Derived from Proto-Germanic *se/þe, *hwa and *he
| *Se/*Þe | *Hwa | *He | ||
| Nominative | m | de | wer | hien |
| n | de | wat | et | |
| f/pl | sie, die, de | |||
|
Dative |
m/n | wem | hiem | |
| f | haar | |||
| pl | hinnen | |||
|
Genitive |
m/n | des | wessen | |
| f/pl | der | |||
| Demonstrative | dies, -e | |||
| Adverbial/Nominal | so, dus | weil | ||
| Relative | solch, -e | welch, -e | elch, -e | |
| Dual | weder | |||
| Locative | deer | weer | hier | |
| Instrumental | wie, wéi | |||
| Temporal/Conjunctive | denn | wenn |
Verbs[]
Infinite Verb Forms[]
| Inifinitive |
Present Participle |
Past Participle | Translation |
| bellen | bellend | gebellt | to ring |
| bekommen | bekommend | bekommt | to get (pref.) |
| dragen | dragend | gedraagt | to drag |
| jagen | jagend | gejaagt | to hunt |
| aus/denken | ausdenkend | ausgedenkt | to figure out (mpre.) |
| werken | werkend | gewerkt | to work |
| hunn | warend | gesinn | to be (irr.) |
| ginn | gevend | geginn | to give (irr.) |
| gonn | goënd | gegonn | to go (irr.) |
| konnen | konnend | gekonnen | can (irr.) |
| sinn | warend | gesinn | to be (irr.) |
pref. = prefixed verb, doesn't get ge- prefix in Past Participle
mpre. = moving prefix, note the position of prefix -ge- irr. = irregular or strong verb
The Infinitive ends in -en (except for a few irregular verbs in -[n]n). It may be used as a substantive e.g. Werken is hard. 'It's hard to work.'
The Present Participle' is derived from the infinitive stem with the suffix -end. It is usually used as an adjective and declined accordingly e.g. Ech so e jagend wolf. 'I saw a hunting wolf. The Past Participle' is used to form perfect and pluperfect tenses and as an adjective e.g. Ech hunn de hele dag gewerkt. 'I have worked all day long.', De gejaagte dier. 'The hunted animal.
Finite Verb Forms[]
The first one is the singular form e.g. ech bell 'I ring' and the second one is used for plural méi bellen 'we ring'.
| Inifinitive |
Present Tense |
Past Tense | Translation |
| bellen | bell/en | bellte/n | to ring |
| bekommen | bekomm/en | bekamm/en (irr.) | to get (pref.) |
| dragen | draag / dragen | draagte/n | to drag |
| jagen | jaag /jagen | jaagte/n | to hunt |
| aus/denken | denk/en aus | denkte/n aus | to figure out (mpre.) |
| werken | werk/en | werkte/n | to work |
| hunn | irr. see below | hatte/n | to be (irr.) |
| ginn | irr. see below | gaaf / gaven | to give (irr.) |
| gonn | irr. see below | ging/en | to go (irr.) |
| konnen | kann / konnen | konnte/n | can (irr.) |
| sinn | irr. see below | waar / waren | to be (irr.) |
In brief, the present tense for regular verbs in singular is formed by removing the infinitive ending -en. The plural form is identical with the infinitive. E.g. Ech/Du/Hien werk but: méi/ier/hin werken.
Spelling is adjusted in order to keep the long vowels long and the short ones short e.g. dragen [dra:gən] 'to drag/to carry': Ech draag [dra:x], méi dragen [dra:gən].
Endings -s (Singular 2nd person) and -t (singular 3rd person) may occur in dialects (ech werk, du werks, hien werkt, méi/ier/hin werken).
To form the regular past tense, the suffix -te (or -ten in plural) is added to the present tense singular form e.g. Ech werkte/draagte 'I worked/carried', Méi werkten/draagten 'We worked/carried' .
Only 4 verbs have personal inflection apart from singular/plural distinction in Present Tense:
| sinn to be | hunn to have | ginn to give | gonn to go | |
| Ech | bën | hunn | ginn | gonn |
| Du | bës (bëstu?) | hees (hestu?) | gees (gestu?) | gaas (gastu?) |
| Hien/Sie/Et | is | heet | geet | gaat |
| Méi/Ier/Hin | sinn | hunn | ginn | gonn |
Strong Verbs[]
Strong verbs have 3 main groups:
I ei-ie-ie Group: beissen - biessen - gebiessen to bite
II ie-o-o Group: fliegen - floog - geflogen 'to fly'
III ë-a-u Group: begënnen - begann/en - begunnen 'to begin'
IV The 4th Group includes 16 irregular verbs that do not fall into any of the preceding groups e.g. mogen (maag/mogen) - mochte/n - gemogen 'to like'
Group I Verbs:
Most of the verbs with -ei-.
Group II Verbs:
biegen to bend bieden to offer ferlieren to lose fliegen to fly flieën to flee fliessen to flow geniessen to enjoy giessen to pour
riechen to smell schiefen to shove schiessen to shoot schliessen to close sieën to see spriesen to sprout
Group II Verbs:
begënnen to begin bërsten to burst bënden to bind drënken to drink ferschwënden to disappear fënden to find gelëngen to succeed
gewënnen to win klëngen to sound rëngen to ring rënnen to run schwëmmen to swim sëngen to sing sënken to sink sprëngen to jump
Group IV Verbs:
| Infinitive | Past | Past Participle | Translation | |
| 1. | ginn | gaaf/gaven | geginn | to give |
| 2. | gonn | gang/en | gegonn | to go |
| 3. | hunn | hatte/n | gehunn | to have |
| 4. | sinn | waar/waren | gesinn | to be |
| 5. | bitten | batt/en | gebetten | to ask |
| 6. | essen | ass/en | gegessen | to eat |
| 7. | fangen | fangte/n (fing/en) | gefangen | to catch |
| 8. | fallen | fallte/n (fell/en) | gefallen | to fall |
| 9. | fergessen | fergass/en | fergessen | to forget |
| 10. | liegen | laag/lagen | gelegen | to lie |
| 11. | sissen | sass/en | gesessen | to sit |
| 12. | werden | word/en | geworden | to become |
| 13. | durfen | see below | gedurfen | to be allowed |
| 14. | konnen | see below | gekonnen | can |
| 15. | mogen | see below | gemogen | to like |
| 16. | staan | stand/en | gestanden | to stand |
Modal Verbs[]
| Infitinive | Present | Past | Subjunctive | Translation |
| durfen | darf/durfen | durfte/n | dirfte/n | to be permitted, may |
| konnen | kann/konnen | konnte/n | kënnte/n | can, to be able to |
| mogen | maag/mogen | mochte/n | mëchte/n | to like, would like |
| mussen | muss/en | musste/n | misste/n | must, to have to |
| wëllen | wëll/en | wëllte/n | wëllte/n | to want to |
| sollen | soll/en | sollte/n | sollte/n | shall, should |
Also gonn 'to go, going to' and bleiven 'to stay, to keep' can be treated as modal verbs.
Negative[]
The negation net (also: na, niet) is used with verbs e.g. Ech wëll net kommen. I don't want to come.
Prepositions[]
| Preposition | Space | Time | Other |
| an | near, close to, by | ||
| aus | out of, from | material | |
| aussen | outside | ||
| ausser | besides, except | ||
| bei | by | ||
| bës | until, up to (end point) | ||
| door | through | ||
| for | before, in front of | ago, before | for |
| hinder | behind | ||
| in | in | year, month | |
| innen | inside, within | ||
| mët | with | ||
| na | close to, near | ||
| nach | after | according to | |
| neven | beside, next to | ||
| om | around | ||
| onder | under, amongst, below, beneath | ||
| op | on, upon, at, at public places e.g. op schule | hour, day, date | reason |
| over | over, across, above | topic | |
| sonder | without | ||
| statt | instead of | ||
| tegen | against | approx. time | |
| tissen | between | ||
| trotz | in spite of, despite | ||
| van | of (possessive) | ||
| ze | to (destination) | ||
| warend | during | ||
| wegen | because of |
Word Origins[]
Indigenous Germanic Words: ech, werken, denken, hand, kopp...
Loanwords from French: velo, merci, trois-pièce, ménage, parfum, flânéiren, amuséiren...
Loanwords from German:
Loanwords from English: schéiven, schéiken, méilen...