SIGN:Dals Recomendăs sür el Glheþ Talossan

Dals Recomendăs sür el Glheþ Talossan

a compilation of recommendations intended for government work etc – to be replaced by an upcoming Unified Orthography

by La Società per l'Ilesnaziun del Glheþ Naziunal

2020/XLI

NOTE: This document is a work in progress! Missing sections are marked "<TBD>".

Pronunciation

Phonological inventory

Consonants

	bilabial	dental	alveolar	palatal	velar	glottal
nasal	m		n	ɲ	ŋ
plosive	p b		t d		k ɡ
affricate			ʦ	ʧ ʤ
fricative	f v	θ ð	s z	ʃ ʒ ç	x ɣ	h
rhotic			r
approximant				j	w
lateral			ɬ l	ʎ

Vowels

	close	mid	open
front	i ɪ y		u ũ
center	e ø	ə	o
back	æ	a	ɑ

Orthography

consonant(s)	sound	conditions and notes
b	[b]
bh	[v]
c	[k]
	[ʧ]	before ‹e› and ‹i›. If ‹ce› and ‹ci› are followed by vowels, ‹e› and ‹i› are silent; e.g. ceai [ʧai̯]. This does not apply to ‹cei› and ‹ceu›: enceidă [enˈʧei̯ðə]
ch	[k]
c’h	[x]
	[ç]	after ‹i› and ‹ü›, or word-initially before ‹i› and ‹ü›
ç	[s]
d	[d]
	[ð]	between two vowels or flanked by [r] and a vowel
dd	[d]
dh	[ð]
dt	[d]	word-initially
ð	[ð]
f	[f]
fh	[h]
g	[g]
	[ʤ]	in the words ageu(x), legeu(x), regeu(x), regipäts(ilor), viceregeu(x)
gc	[g]	word-initially
gh	[ɣ]
glh	[ʎ]
gnh	[ɲ]
h	[h]
	silent	word-finally or before a consonant
j	[j]
k	[k]	only used in loanwords
l	[l]
	[ð]	optionally word-initially after a vowel
	[ɬ]	before an unvoiced plosive
	[u̯]	word-finally after ‹a›, ‹ä›, ‹å›, ‹e› and ‹i›; optional in the words el(s), àl(s), del(s), dal(s)
	silent	word-finally after ‹o› and ‹u›
lh	[ʎ]
ll	[l]
m	[m]
mb	[m]	word-initially
mh	[v]
n	[n]
	[ŋ]	before [k]
nd	[n]	word-initially
ng	[ŋg]
	[ŋ]	word-finally
nh	[ɲ]
p	[p]
ph	[f]
q	[kj]
qu	[kw]
r	[r]
	[ʃ]	at the end of infinitives and in their plural forms
rh	[ʃ]	in verbal future endings
s	[s]
	[z]	in the endings -osă(s), -ösă(s) and -sour(s); furthermore in -sen after a vowel
sch	[ʃ]
sh	[ʃ]
ss	[s]	alternate spelling for ‹ß›, except in the words fossent, Talossa, qissen, and derivations thereof
ß	[s]
t	[t]
	[u̯]	colloquially in the ending -at(s)
tg	[θ]	alternate spelling for ‹þ›
th	[h]
ts	[ʦ]
	[t]	word-initially
tsch	[ʧ]
tx	[ʒ]
tz	[ʦ]
v	[v]
vf	[v]	word-initially
vh	[w]
w	[w]	only used in loanwords
x	[ks]
	[ʃ]	in the endings -eux and -éux
xh	[ʤ]
y	[j]	only used in loanwords
z	[z]
	[ʦ]	in the root scurz- and the morpheme -ziun-
þ	[θ]

Consonant clusters that are not supposed to be pronounced together are broken up with an interpunct (·), or alternatively an apostrophe (’): s·chitză / s’chitză [ˈskiʦə] (instead of *schitză [ˈʃiʦə]).

vowel(s)	sound	conditions and notes
a	[a]
	[ə]	after a stressed syllable except before a semivowel
ă	[ə]	marks that the word is either feminine or derived from a feminine word. Can alternatively be spelled as ‹â› or ‹a›
ä	[æ]
å	[ɑ]
ae	[ai̯]
e	[e]
	[ə]	after a stressed syllable except before a vowel or semivowel
eu	[ɪu̯]
éu	[e.u]
i	[i]
	[i̯]	before or after a vowel
	silent	in the ending -schti
ii	[i]
ilor	[ələr]	unstressed word-finally
ind	[ant]	in the endings -ind(s) and -ind(ă)mint
	[ənt]	same as above but unstressed
iu	[i̯u]
	[iu̯]	before a vowel, except ‹i›
o	[o]
ö	[ø]
oa	[u̯a]
ou	[u]
u	[u]
	[u̯]	before or after a vowel
ü	[y]
ui	[ui̯]
	[u̯i]	word-initially and after ‹c’h›, ‹g›, ‹q› and ‹s›
un	[ũ]	in the ending -iun
y	several	only used in loanwords; pronunciation depends on language of origin

Analogously to the consonants, vowel clusters that are not supposed to be pronounced together are broken up with an interpunct (·), or alternatively an apostrophe (’): co·aliziun / co’aliziun [ko.aliˈʦi̯ũ] (instead of *coaliziun [ku̯aliˈʦi̯ũ]). Alternatively, if the cluster contains ‹e› or ‹i›, it can be broken up using a trema (¨): Rëuniziun / Re·uniziun / Re’uniziun [re.uniˈʦi̯ũ] (instead of *Reuniziun [rɪu̯niˈʦi̯ũ]).

The names of the letters of the alphabet are as follows:

A a [a], B be [be], C tze [ʦe], D de [de], Ð eð [eð], E e [e], F ef [ef], G ge [ge], H hal [hau̯] or hasch [haʃ], I i [i], J txotă [ˈʒotə], K ka [ka], L ell [el], M em [em], N en [en], O oh [o], P pe [pe], Q cü [ky], R er [er], S es [es], T te [te], U u [u], V ve [ve], W ve Tütsch [ve tyʧ], X üx [yks], Y üpsilon [ˈypsilon], Z tzet [ʦet], Þ þorn [θorn]

The letters Ç tze cediglhă [ʦe ʧeˈðiʎə] or tze caçat [ʦe kaˈsat] and ẞ esetă [eˈsetə] are not considered part of the alphabet and are instead treated as variants of C and S respectively in alphabetical sorting. When used in acronyms, the letter W is often called ve [ve].

Stress

If no syllable has a stress mark, the primary stress of the word falls on the final syllable that has a vowel with an umlaut, trema or ring (ä, å, ë, ï, ö, ü) or which is followed by a consonant, after ignoring the endings -s, -en(s), -ent(s), -er(s), -esch(en), -eu(x), -ic(i) / -ica(s) / -ică(s) after a consonant, -(esch)laiset(s), -lor, -mint(s), -p(h)äts and -sqåb(s) in case it has one of those. If a word ends in an ignored ending followed by -mint(s) (i.e. -ensmint, -ermint, -icămint etc.), both are ignored. In the context of this rule, semivocalic ‹i› and ‹u›, the ‹u› in the digraph ‹ou›, as well as ‹e› following ‹a› are counted as consonants.

Irregular stress is marked with an accute accent (´). If the irregular stress falls on a word-final vowel, it is marked with a grave accent (`). While ‹ë› and ‹ï› lose their diacritic when stressmarked, ‹ä›, ‹å›, ‹ö› and ‹ü› cannot receive a stress mark (see 1.5.).

In words where the stress rule fails to determine stress, it falls on the first syllable: mici [ˈmiʧi], ricăs [ˈrikəs].

Optional final stress in third person singular future forms of verbs is not marked: amarha [aˈmaʃə ~ amaˈʃa], façarha [faˈsaʃə ~ fasaˈʃa]. If final stress is not optional, it is marked as usual: ischà [iˈʃa].

The following words can be optionally stressed on the first syllable: azul [aˈzu ~ ˈazu], acest [aˈʧest ~ ˈaʧəst], vidar [viˈðaʃ ~ ˈviðəʃ], embù [emˈbu ~ ˈembu].

The following monosyllabic words carry a stress mark in order to distinguish them from similar unstressmarked homophones: à, ár, bár, hál, ì, jà, là, lì, pà, pì, schì, sè, új.

Words with unpredictable pronunciations

acestilor [aˈʧeʃʧələr]

attaq [aˈtak]

bidet [biˈðe]

c’e [ʧe]

Cézembre [sei̯ˈzambrə ~ ˈsezəmbrə]

cioveci [ʧoˈvei̯ʧ]

credar [kreˈdaʃ]

da c’horsică [daˈxorsk]

doamnă [ˈdu̯anə]

e-ça qe [ˈeskjə]

fascismeu [faˈʃismɪu̯]

fascistà [faʃisˈta]

Fernaodo [ferˈnau̯ðu]

hi [i]

Hoekskåb [ˈhøkskjɑb]

ir [ˈi.əʃ]

Iraq(i) [iˈrak(i)]

Krakov [ˈkrakuf]

lhor [ðor]

Llimbaziuă [ʎimbaˈziu̯ə]

lo [lu]

Miadhoamnă [maˈðu̯anə]

morgun [ˈmorən]

Mximo [məˈksimo]

n’estás-c’e [nesˈtasə]

noueinçe [nu.ˈei̯ns]

noueinçelaiset [nu.ˈei̯nslai̯sət]

o(s) [u(ʃ)]

policier [poliˈsi̯e]

qareinçe [kaˈrei̯ns]

qareinçelaiset [kaˈrei̯nslai̯sət]

qator [ˈkatər ~ ˈkator]

qatorlaiset [ˈkatərlai̯sət ~ ˈkatorlai̯sət]

quálsevol [ˈkwau̯səvo]

renaixençă [renai̯ˈʃensə]

rönt·gen [ˈrønʧən]

seifdesch [ˈsai̯fdəʃ]

seifdeschlaiset [ˈsai̯fdəʃlai̯sət]

seifeinçe [sai̯ˈfei̯ns]

seifeinçelaiset [sai̯ˈfei̯nslai̯sət]

seifet [ˈsai̯fət]

seifetlaiset [ˈsai̯fətlai̯sət]

seifetziuă [sai̯feˈʦiu̯ə]

seiftéu [sai̯fˈte.u]

seiftéă [ˈsai̯fˈte.ə]

sexeinçe [sekˈsei̯ns]

sexeinçelaiset [sekˈsei̯nslai̯sət]

sieu(x) [ʃu(ʃ)]

sïeu(x) [ˈsi.u(ʃ)]

simeinçe [siˈmei̯ns]

simeinçelaiset [siˈmei̯nslai̯sət]

so [su]

sovindă [soˈvantə] (also sovantă)

tir [ˈti.əʃ]

treinçe [trei̯ns]

treinçelaiset [ˈtrei̯nslai̯sət]

upp [øp]

uppadă [øˈpaðə]

uppdateu [øpˈdatɪu̯]

Uruguay [uruˈwai̯]

vuidesch [ˈvu̯iðəʃ]

vuideschlaiset [ˈvu̯iðəʃlai̯sət]

vuieinçe [vu̯i.ˈei̯ns]

vuieinçelaiset [vu̯i.ˈei̯nslai̯sət]

vuit [vu̯it]

vuitéu [vu̯iˈte.u]

vuitéă [vu̯iˈte.ə]

vuitlaiset [ˈvu̯itlai̯sət]

Zaragoză [θaraˈgoθə]

Words with unpredictable stress

äflec’h [ˈæfləx]

åpnar [ˈɑpnəʃ]

asündeton [aˈsyndəton]

bäcar [ˈbækəʃ]

bisquinc [ˈbiskwiŋk]

bisquinclaiset [ˈbiskwiŋklai̯sət]

cäflec'h [ˈkæfləx]

cläxon [ˈklækson]

complätsar [komˈplæʦəʃ]

crämar [ˈkræməʃ]

crüsalis [ˈkrysəlis]

Cüclades [ˈkykləðəs]

Cüclops [ˈkyklops]

dülspec’ht [ˈdylspəxt]

flügel [ˈflygeu̯]

(foto)sünþesis [(foto)ˈsynθəsis]

fönix [ˈføniks]

füslac’ht [ˈfysləxt]

gültec’h [ˈgyɬtəx]

gümnosperm [ˈgymnospərm]

hüvell [ˈhyvəl]

läxhir [ˈlæʤir]

lümagnhac’ht [ˈlyməɲəxt]

lüstic’h [ˈlystiç]

müchet [ˈmykət]

müschcel [ˈmyʃʧeu̯]

osürac’h [oˈsyrəx]

prüving [ˈpryviŋ]

qator [ˈkatər ~ ˈkator]

qatorlaiset [ˈkatərlai̯sət ~ ˈkatorlai̯sət]

rasüc’htec’h [raˈsyçtəx]

röinar [ˈrøi̯nəʃ]

rücfüring [rykˈfyriŋ]

sändwitsch [ˈsændwiʧ]

säpar [ˈsæpəʃ]

sätin [ˈsætin]

sch’ändå [ˈʃændɑ]

seifet [ˈsai̯fət]

seifetlaiset [ˈsai̯fətlai̯sət]

süsädmin [syˈsædmin]

trümac’h [ˈtryməx]

tüpin [ˈtypin]

undaveint [ˈundəvei̯nt]

undaveintlaiset [ˈundəvei̯ntlai̯sət]

üntrac’ht [ˈyntrəxt]

üpsilon [ˈypsilon]

vrüsanen [ˈvrysənən]

xülofon [ˈksylofon]

zespäts [zesˈpæʦ]

þusund [ˈθusund]

þusundlaiset [ˈθusundlai̯sət]

Nouns

Definite articles

	singular	plural
masculine	el, l’	els
feminine	la, l’	las

	singular		plural
	masculine	feminine	masculine	feminine
à	àl		àls
da	del	dal	dels, dallas	dals, dallas

Elided forms of da double as partitive articles.

Indefinite articles

	singular		plural
masculine	ün	'n	dels	dallas
feminine	ünă		dals

	masculine singular	feminine singular
à	à’iens	à’iensă
c’e [ʧe]	c’e’n [ʧen]
come	com’iens	com’iensă
contra	contr’iens	contr’iensă
da	d’iens	d’iensă
intra	intr’iens	intr’iensă
ja	ja’iens	ja’iensă
per	pr’iens	pr’iensă

Regular pluralisation

• First declension: nouns that lack any characteristic ending receive -s.
  • nouns ending in a stressed vowel receive -ns. If the noun ends in a stressed [a], one can alternatively add -es.
  • the final consonant -l […u̯ ~ (silent)] and the ending -il […iu̯] become i before -s is added.
  • the endings -ar and -an become -ae before -s is added.
  • nouns ending in the sounds [s z ʃ ʒ ʃt ʧ ʤ ʎ ɲ θ] receive -en.
  • Greek nouns ending in -sis change it to -ses.
  • Letters of the Latin or Greek alphabets ending in vowels, solfege tones ending in vowels and the words ca and pru receive -s.
• Second declension: nouns ending in -eu or -éu receive -x.
• Third declension: nouns ending in -äCs or -äCCs, where C stands for any consonant, receive -ilor.
• Fourth declension: nouns ending in -ic, -íc or -ïc […ik] receive -i.
  • nouns ending in -ic […i̯k] can receive either -i or -s.
• Fifth declension: nouns ending in -x, -sc or -scu change it to -schti.

A pluralised noun retains the stress of the singular form, except in the following cases:

• A noun that is stressed on the antepenult and receives -en in the plural moves the stress to the penult in the plural.
• A noun that ends in an unstressed vowel followed by -s moves the stress to the penult in the plural.
• All third declension nouns move the stress to the antepenult in the plural.

For the pluralisation of compound nouns, see 7.2.

Irregular pluralisation

singular	plural
el caciun	els cician
el cióvec	els cioveci [ʧoˈvei̯ʧ]
el garda	els garxhi
la fru	las frulor
el fungu	els funxhi
el luïç	las luïçă
el po	els pocs
la politică	las politicăs, els politici
el viens	els viensas

Usage

Noun gender

There are two noun genders, masculine and feminine.

The gender of a noun is mostly predictable. In general, nouns ending in -ă, stressed [a], -iun or stressed [u] are feminine, while all other nouns are masculine. Notable exceptions are words ending in -istà, which are masculine by default and the word Talossa, which is feminine. Since there are many additional exceptions to the rule above, such as garziun “boy” which is masculine or säp “knowledge” which may be masculine or feminine, the gender of a noun is always listed in the dictionary.

Furthermore, nouns that describe animals, professions, conditions or similar things may deviate from their default gender listed in the dictionary. For example, the noun cadì “judge”, which is masculine by default, can become feminine when the person is feminine. In that case, the noun undergoes the same gender inflections as adjectives when applicable (see 3.3.).

el Meschic’ha “the messiah”

la Meschic’hă “the [female] messiah”

el destinat “the addressee”

la destinadă “the [female] addressee”

The following nouns do not undergo any gender-related changes: acleat, bat, cascacat, cat, ovat, paßerat, pesc, pirat, pocat, soldat, squilat, stat, trinidat, uómbat.

When a feminine-by-default noun changes its gender to masculine, the only change that occurs is that word-final -ă changes to -a, if applicable.

la doctoră “the nurse”

el doctora “the [male] nurse”

When the gender of the animal or person is either unknown or irrelevant, the default gender from the dictionary is used.

Noun number

<TBD>

Noun introduction

Nouns, except proper nouns, Talossa or names of Talossan provinces, require some sort of “introduction word” that precedes it, in form of an article, adjective, preposition, or apposite pronoun.

The most common way of introducing is by using an article, be it definite, indefinite, partitive or the phrase toct i. As a consequence, abstract and uncountable nouns require an article in Talossan even when they do not in English.

toct i pätsilor “all the countries”

la perziun “the person”

dal apă “water”

la vidă “life”

Adjectives that count as valid introduction words are demonstratives (acest, această, acestilor), possessive determiners (va, tu, etc.) and cardinal and indefinite numerals (viens, doua, cadascu, etc.).

ár päts “our country”

această perziun “this person”

cadascu vidă “each life”

Note however that all other categories of adjectives not explicitly mentioned above are not sufficient to introduce a noun.

el noveu bioscop “the new movie”

la qareinçelaiset ediziun “the fortieth edition”

Instead of an article, abstract nouns as well as language names can also be introduced with a preposition, though using a preposition and an article is also correct.

sanc (del) gräts “without mercy”

in (l’)Anglească “in English”

This does not apply to other types of nouns, however.

in el päts “in the country”

sanc la perziun “without the person”

Finally, an apposite personal pronoun can be used to introduce a noun. This form of noun introduction only occurs rarely though.

noi Talossaes “we Talossans”

Adjectives and adverbs

Regular gender inflection

• Adjectives ending in -eu or -éu change them to -ă and -éă respectively in their feminine form.
• Adjectives ending in -ceu […ʧɪu̯] or -cheu […kɪu̯] change them to -ciă […ʧə] and -că […kə] respectively in their feminine form.
• Adjectives ending in -at change it to -adă in their feminine form.
• Adjectives ending in -esc change it to -ească in their feminine form.
• Adjectives ending in -a change it to -ă in their feminine form.
• In all other cases, the masculine and feminine forms are identical.

Regular pluralisation

The pluralisation rules for adjectives are identical to those for nouns (see 2.3.).

Irregular adjective forms

singular		plural
masculine	feminine	masculine	feminine
aucün
acest	această	acestilor [aˈʧeʃʧələr]
acü	acütă	acüns	acütăs
bel	belă	bels	belăs
ben	bună	bens	bunăs
bléu	blúă	bléux	blúăs
cacsa	cacsă	cacsa	cacsă
cadascu
çaobén
embù
Européu	Europeiă	Européux	Europeiăs
fiir		fiis
ingen
negreu	neagră	negreux	neagrăs
nigüt	nigüdă	nigüts	nigüdăs
noveu	nouă	noveux	nouăs
nü	nüdă	nüns	nüdăs
po		pocs
political		politici, politicais
próxim	próximă	próxins	próximăs
prüm	prümă	prüms	prümăs
quálsevol		quáisevois
qetevri
qissen
quist		quisten
timit	timidă	timits	timidăs
toct
vell	veă	vells	veăs
viens	viensă	dels	dals

The adjectives Belxhíc, evanxhelíc, matxentíc, öcümeníc and püblíc shift the stress to the antepenult in the plural.

Comparatives and superlatives

	masculine	feminine
more	pü
most	el pü	la phü

	masculine	feminine
less	mïus
least	el mïus	la mhïus

	masculine	feminine
better	miglhor
best	el miglhor	la m(h)iglhor

	masculine	feminine
worse	pior
worst	el pior	la p(h)ior

Adverbialisation of adjectives

To adverbialise an adjective, add the ending -mint to its feminine form.

Usage

Adjectives usually follow the noun they describe. Exceptions to this are demonstratives (acest, această, acestilor), which always precede the noun (see 2.5.), the adjective steçéu, which always follows it. They also always carry the same number and gender information as the noun they describe.

Short adjectives that describe size, quality or quantity preferably precede the noun they describe. Adjectives that describe figurative rather than literal properties can precede the noun they describe on an optional basis.

The adjectives mismeu and propreu have different meanings depending on whether they precede or follow the noun.

el mismeu cudesch “the same book”

el cudesch mismeu “the book itself”

va propră casă “my own house”

va casă propră “my proper house”

Comparatives and superlatives are formed by placing the corresponding comparative phrase (see 3.4.) directly before the adjective, regardless of whether it precedes or follows the noun. If two articles end up adjacent, one of them is dropped.

el cudesch pü intzereçind “the more interesting book”

el cudesch el pü intzereçind “the most interesting book”

el pü ben cudesch “the better/best book”

With ben “good” and mal “bad”, one can use the irregular comparatives (miglhor, pior) or the regular ones (pü ben, pü mal), but not both together (see 3.4.).

el pü ben cudesch “the better/best book”

el miglhor cudesch “the better/best book”

In comparisons, the English word “than” corresponds to Talossan qe. The phrase “as … as” corresponds to så … come or så … qe.

Éu sint miglhor qe tu. “I am better than you.”

Éu sint så ben come tu. “I am as good as you.”

Éu sint så ben qe tu. “I am as good as you.”

Adjectives can be used as nouns in their own right. Adjectives that are used as nouns are often translated with the word “one” in English.

la bună perziun “the good person”

la bună “the good one”

Pronouns

Personal pronouns

		subject	object	prepositional
				after consonant	after vowel	after på
first person	singular	éu	me, m’	me	mhe	me
	plural	noi		noi, üns	nhoi, üns	noi
second person	singular	tu	te, t’	dtu	thu	tu
	plural	voi			vhoi	voi
third person	singular	o [u]	lo [lu], l’	lo [lu]	lo [ðu]	lo [ðu]
		a	la, l’	eiă		la
		ça	en	ça
	plural	os [uʃ]	lor		lhor [ðor]	lor
		as
		ça
impersonal / reflexive		si	se, s’	so [su]

Possessive forms

Possessive determiners

		singular		plural
		masculine	feminine
first person	singular	va, v’		vaes
	plural	ár, noastra	ár, noastră	ár, noschtri
second person	singular	tu		tuns
	plural	voastra	voastră	voschtri
third person	singular	sieu [ʃu]		sieux [ʃuʃ]
		ça		ça’ns
	plural	lor		lors
impersonal / reflexive		sieu [ʃu]		sieux [ʃuʃ]

Possessive pronoun

		singular		plural
		masculine	feminine	masculine	feminine
first person	singular	el méu	la mhïă	els méux	las mïăs
	plural	el noastra	la noastră	els noschtri	las noschtri
second person	singular	el tu	la thu	els tuns	las tuns
	plural	el voastra	la voastră	els voschtri	las voschtri
third person	singular	el sïeu [ˈsi.u]	la tsïă	els sïeux [ˈsi.uʃ]	las sïăs
		el ça’n	la ça’n	els ça’ns	las ça’ns
	plural	el lor	la lhor [ðor]	els lors	las lors
impersonal / reflexive		el sïeu [ˈsi.u]	la tsïă	els sïeux [ˈsi.uʃ]	las sïăs

Usage

<TBD>

Verbs

Regular verbs

infinitive	amar
present	éu am(éu)	noi ament (amameux)
	tu amás	voi ametz
	o/a/ça ama	os/as/ça ament
past	éu ameveu	noi amevent (amevameux)
	tu amevás	voi amevetz
	o/a/ça ameva	os/as/ça amevent
future	éu amarhéu	noi amarhent (amarhameux)
	tu amarhás	voi amarhetz
	o/a/ça amarha	os/as/ça amarhent
subjunctive	éu amadréu	noi amadrent (amadrameux)
	tu amadrás	voi amadretz
	o/a/ça amadra	os/as/ça amadrent
imperative	¡ama!	¡ametz!
present participle	amind	aminds
past participle	amat, amadă, amescu	amats, amadăs, ameschti
perfect aspect	tir [ˈti.əʃ] + past participle singular
imperfect aspect	estar à + infinitive
prospective aspect	ir [ˈi.əʃ] + infinitive / façar à + infinitive
retrospective aspect	viénar à + infinitive
manitive aspect	viénar da + infinitive
continuative aspect	restar + present participle singular
passive	estar + past participle

Irregular verbs

infinitive	creatar
present	éu creat(éu)	noi creatent (creatameux)
	tu creatás	voi createtz
	o/a/ça creata	os/as/ça creatent
past	éu creavéu	noi creavent (creavameux)
	tu creavás	voi creavetz
	o/a/ça creava	os/as/ça creavent
future	éu creatarhéu	noi creatarhent (creatarhameux)
	tu creatarhás	voi creatarhetz
	o/a/ça creatarha	os/as/ça creatarhent
subjunctive	éu creatadréu	noi creatadrent (creatadrameux)
	tu creatadrás	voi creatadretz
	o/a/ça creatadra	os/as/ça creatadrent
imperative	¡creata!	¡createtz!
present participle	creatind	creatinds
past participle	creat, creadă	creats, creadăs

infinitive	credar [kreˈdaʃ]
present	éu créu	noi credent (credameux)
	tu creas	voi credetz
	o/a/ça crea	os/as/ça credent
past	éu crevéu	noi crevent (crevameux)
	tu crevás	voi crevetz
	o/a/ça creva	os/as/ça crevent
future	éu credarhéu	noi credarhent (credarhameux)
	tu credarhás	voi credarhetz
	o/a/ça credarha	os/as/ça credarhent
subjunctive	éu creadréu	noi creadrent (creadrameux)
	tu creadrás	voi creadretz
	o/a/ça creadra	os/as/ça creadrent
imperative	¡creda!	¡credetz!
present participle	credent	credents
past participle	creut, credescu	creuts, credeschti

infinitive	estar
present	éu sint	noi sint (estameux)
	tu isch	voi estetz
	o/a/ça isch, c’e [ʧe]	os/as/ça sint
past	éu füt, esteveu	noi füvent, estevent (estevameux)
	tu füt, estevás	voi füvent, estevetz
	o/a/ça füt, (c’)esteva	os/as/ça füvent, (c’)estevent
future	éu seréu	noi serent (serameux)
	tu serás	voi seretz
	o/a/ça serà	os/as/ça serent
subjunctive	éu estadréu	noi estadrent (estadrameux)
	tu estadrás	voi estadretz
	o/a/ça (c’)estadra	os/as/ça (c’)estadrent
imperative	¡esta!	¡estetz!
present participle	estind	estinds
past participle	estescu	esteschti

infinitive	façar
present	éu faç(éu)	noi façent (façameux)
	tu façás	voi façetz
	o/a/ça fäts	os/as/ça façent
past	éu façeveu	noi façevent (façevameux)
	tu façevás	voi façevetz
	o/a/ça façeva	os/as/ça façevent
future	éu façarhéu	noi façarhent (façarhameux)
	tu façarhás	voi façarhetz
	o/a/ça façarha	os/as/ça façarhent
subjunctive	éu façadréu	noi façadrent (façadrameux)
	tu façadrás	voi façadretz
	o/a/ça façadra	os/as/ça façadrent
imperative	¡fäts!	¡facetz!
present participle	façind	façinds
past participle	façat, façadă, fäts, facescu	façats, façadăs, fätsilor, faceschi

infinitive	fóstar
present	éu fost	noi fossent (fostameux)
	tu fost	voi fossent
	o/a/ça fost	os/as/ça fossent
past	éu fosteveu	noi fostevent (fostevameux)
	tu fostevás	voi fostevetz
	o/a/ça fosteva	os/as/ça fostevent
future	éu fostarhéu	noi fostarhent (fostarhameux)
	tu fostarhás	voi fostarhetz
	o/a/ça fostarha	os/as/ça fostarhent
subjunctive	éu fostadréu	noi fostadrent (fostadrameux)
	tu fostadrás	voi fostadretz
	o/a/ça fostadra	os/as/ça fostadrent
imperative	¡fosta!	¡fostetz!
present participle	fostind	fostinds
past participle	fostat, fostadă, fostescu	fostats, fostadăs, fosteschti

infinitive	ir [ˈi.əʃ]
present	éu véu	noi viennent (vameux)
	tu vas	voi vetz
	o/a/ça va	os/as/ça viennent
past	éu veneveu	noi venevent (venevameux)
	tu venevás	voi venevetz
	o/a/ça veneva	os/as/ça venevent
future	éu ischéu	noi ischent (ischameux)
	tu ischás	voi ischetz
	o/a/ça ischà	os/as/ça ischent
subjunctive	éu venadréu	noi venadrent (venadrameux)
	tu venadrás	voi venadretz
	o/a/ça venadra	os/as/ça venadrent
imperative	¡va!, ¡iöt!	¡vetz!, ¡iöt!
present participle	viénind, vand	viéninds, vands
past participle	venescu	veneschti

infinitive	moártar
present	éu moar(éu)	noi moarent (mortameux)
	tu mortás	voi mortetz
	o/a/ça moara	os/as/ça moarent
past	éu morteveu	noi mortevent (mortevameux)
	tu mortevás	voi mortevetz
	o/a/ça morteva	os/as/ça mortevent
future	éu moartarhéu	noi moartarhent (moartarhameux)
	tu moartarhás	voi moartarhetz
	o/a/ça moartarha	os/as/ça moartarhent
subjunctive	éu mortadréu	noi mortadrent (mortadrameux)
	tu mortadrás	voi mortdretz
	o/a/ça mortadra	os/as/ça mortadrent
imperative	¡morta!	¡mortetz!
present participle	moarind	moarinds
past participle	moart, mortescu	moarts, morteschti

infinitive	pevar
present	éu put	noi povent (pevameux)
	tu put	voi pevetz
	o/a/ça put	os/as/ça povent
past	éu pognheveu	noi pognhevent (pognhevameux)
	tu pognhevás	voi pognhevetz
	o/a/ça pognheva	os/as/ça pognhevent
future	éu pevarhéu	noi pevarhent (pevarhameux)
	tu pevarhás	voi pevarhetz
	o/a/ça pevarha	os/as/ça pevarhent
subjunctive	éu povadréu	noi povadrent (povadrameux)
	tu povadrás	voi povadretz
	o/a/ça povadra	os/as/ça povadrent
imperative	¡pevetz!	¡pevetz!
present participle	povind	povinds
past participle	pevat, pevadă, pevescu	pevats, pevadăs, peveschti

infinitive	säpar [ˈsæpəʃ]
present	éu säp	noi säpent (säpameux)
	tu säps	voi säpetz
	o/a/ça säp	os/as/ça säpent
past	éu säpeveu	noi säpevent (säpevameux)
	tu säpevás	voi säpevetz
	o/a/ça säpeva	os/as/ça säpevent
future	éu säperéu	noi säperent (säperameux)
	tu säperás	voi säperetz
	o/a/ça säperà	os/as/ça säperent
subjunctive	éu säpadréu	noi säpadrent (säpadrameux)
	tu säpadrás	voi säpadretz
	o/a/ça säpadra	os/as/ça säpadrent
imperative	¡säp!	¡säpetz!
present participle	säpind	säpinds
past participle	säpescu	säpeschti

infinitive	scríuar
present	éu scrïu	noi scrivent (scrivameux)
	tu scriuas	voi scriitz
	o/a/ça scriua	os/as/ça scrivent
past	éu scriveveu	noi scrivevent (scrivevameux)
	tu scrivevás	voi scrivevetz
	o/a/ça scriveva	os/as/ça scrivevent
future	éu scrivarhéu	noi scrivarhent (scrivarhameux)
	tu scrivarhás	voi scrivarhetz
	o/a/ça scrivarha	os/as/ça scrivarhent
subjunctive	éu scrivadréu	noi scrivadrent (scrivadrameux)
	tu scrivadrás	voi scrivadretz
	o/a/ça scrivadra	os/as/ça scrivadrent
imperative	¡scriitz!	¡scriitz!
present participle	scríind	scríinds
past participle	scriut	scriuts

infinitive	star
present	éu stéu	noi stameux
	tu stas	voi stetz
	o/a/ça sta	os/as/ça stint
past	éu steveu	noi stevent (stevameux)
	tu stevás	voi stevetz
	o/a/ça steva	os/as/ça stevent
future	éu starhéu	noi starhent (starhameux)
	tu starhás	voi starhetz
	o/a/ça starha	os/as/ça starhent
subjunctive	éu stadréu	noi stadrent (stadrameux)
	tu stadrás	voi stadretz
	o/a/ça stadra	os/as/ça stadrent
imperative	¡sta!	¡stetz!
present participle	stanind	staninds
past participle	stanescu	staneschti

infinitive	tir [ˈti.əʃ]
present	éu téu	noi tiennent (tenemeux)
	tu tent	voi tenetz
	o/a/ça tent	os/as/ça tiennent
past	éu tignhoveu	noi tignhovent (tignhovameux)
	tu tignhovás	voi tignhovetz
	o/a/ça tignhova	os/as/ça tignhovent
future	éu tischéu	noi tischent (tischameux)
	tu tischás	voi tischetz
	o/a/ça tischa	os/as/ça tischent
subjunctive	éu tenadréu	noi tenadrent (tenadrameux)
	tu tenadrás	voi tenadretz
	o/a/ça tenadra	os/as/ça tenadrent
imperative	¡tent!	¡tischetz!
present participle	tischind	tischinds
past participle	tenescu	teneschti

infinitive	velar
present	éu volt	noi volent (velameux)
	tu volt	voi veletz
	o/a/ça volt	os/as/ça volent
past	éu veleveu	noi velevent (velevameux)
	tu velevás	voi velevetz
	o/a/ça veleva	os/as/ça velevent
future	éu velarhéu	noi velarhent (velarhameux)
	tu velarhás	voi velarhetz
	o/a/ça velarha	os/as/ça velarhent
subjunctive	éu veladréu	noi veladrent (veladrameux)
	tu veladrás	voi veladretz
	o/a/ça veladra	os/as/ça veladrent
imperative	¡volt!	¡volt!
present participle	velind	velinds
past participle	velescu	veleschti

infinitive	vidar
present	éu vïu, videu	noi vident (vidameux)
	tu vïas	voi videtz
	o/a/ça vïa	os/as/ça vident
past	éu videveu	noi videvent (videvameux)
	tu videvás	voi videvetz
	o/a/ça videva	os/as/ça videvent
future	éu vidarhéu	noi vidarhent (vidarhameux)
	tu vidarhás	voi vidarhetz
	o/a/ça vidarha	os/as/ça vidarhent
subjunctive	éu vidadréu	noi vidadrent (vidadrameux)
	tu vidadrás	voi vidadretz
	o/a/ça vidadra	os/as/ça vidadrent
imperative	¡vida!	¡videtz!
present participle	vidind	vidinds
past participle	víut, videscu	víuts, videschti

infinitive	viénar
present	éu viens	noi viennent (vameux)
	tu viens	voi vetz
	o/a/ça vient	os/as/ça viennent
past	éu veneveu	noi venevent (venevameux)
	tu venevás	voi venevetz
	o/a/ça veneva	os/as/ça venevent
future	éu venarhéu	noi venarhent (venarhameux)
	tu venarhás	voi venarhetz
	o/a/ça venarha	os/as/ça venarhent
subjunctive	éu venadréu	noi venadrent (venadrameux)
	tu venadrás	voi venadretz
	o/a/ça venadra	os/as/ça venadrent
imperative	¡vena!	¡venetz!
present participle	venind	veninds
past participle	viénat, viénadă, venescu	viénats, viénadăs, veneschti

infinitive	zirar
present	éu zïu	noi zirent (zirameux)
	tu zïas	voi ziretz
	o/a/ça zïa	os/as/ça zirent
past	éu zireveu	noi zirevent (zirevameux)
	tu zirevás	voi zirevetz
	o/a/ça zireva	os/as/ça zirevent
future	éu zirarhéu	noi zirarhent (zirarhameux)
	tu zirarhás	voi zirarhetz
	o/a/ça zirarha	os/as/ça zirarhent
subjunctive	éu ziradréu	noi ziradrent (ziradrameux)
	tu ziradrás	voi ziradretz
	o/a/ça ziradra	os/as/ça ziradrent
imperative	¡na!, ¡zira!	¡ditz!, ¡ziretz!
present participle	zirind	zirinds
past participle	zirat, ziradă, zirescu	zirats, ziradăs, zireschti

infinitive	zonar
present	éu zon(éu)	noi zonent (zonameux)
	tu zonás	voi zonetz
	o/a/ça zona	os/as/ça zonent
past	éu zoneveu	noi zonevent (zonevameux)
	tu zonevás	voi zonevetz
	o/a/ça zoneva	os/as/ça zonevent
future	éu zonarhéu	noi zonarhent (zonarhameux)
	tu zonarhás	voi zonarhetz
	o/a/ça zonarha	os/as/ça zonarhent
subjunctive	éu zonadréu	noi zonadrent (zonadrameux)
	tu zonadrás	voi zonadretz
	o/a/ça zonadra	os/as/ça zonadrent
imperative	¡da!, ¡zona!	¡da!, ¡zonetz!
present participle	zonind	zoninds
past participle	zonat, zonadă, zonescu	zonats, zonadăs, zoneschti

Verbs in inverted word order

In inverted word order, the verb ending elides with the personal pronoun:

• éu elides with the endings -éu and -eu to -’éu.
• tu elides with the ending -ás and -as to -ás’t and -as’t respectively.
• o [u] and a combine with the ending -a to -a-t-o […aˈtu] and -a-t-a […aˈta] respectively and with -à to to -à-t-o […aˈtu] and -à-t-a […aˈta] respectively.
• In all other cases, the pronoun is hyphenated to the end of the verb without further change.

In any case, the added pronoun receives the stress of the word.

Usage

Verb stem

The verb stem is derived from the infinitive is used to form all other forms of regular verbs. Furthermore, it is used in word derivations (see 7.1.2).

It is formed by removing the -ar ending, e.g. amar “to love” > am-. If the infinitive is stressmarked, it is also removed, e.g. cognhéçar “to know (people)” > cognheç-. However, if the stress mark is not just used to mark irregular stress but also to break up a diphthong, a different set of rules applies: verbs ending in -íar and -úar drop the stress mark without replacement but retain the hiatus in the first person plural and third person singular and plural forms of the present tense and the singular imperative: in these forms, the stem ends in -ï and -ú respectively, e.g. xhúar “to play” > xhúa, xhúent, ¡xhúa!, but xhuetz. In all other cases, the hiatus is kept in the stem and no other change occurs, e.g. aílar “to ail” > aïl-.

Verbs ending in -car and -scar change the ending of their stem to -ch and -s·ch respectively before verb endings beginning with ‹e› or ‹i›, in order to keep the hard C sound [k] intact.

Verbs ending in -ear have an irregularly stressed verb stem in the first and third person plural form of the present tense, e.g. agrear “to agree” > agréent. All other forms use the regular unstressmarked verb stem.

Verbs ending in -icar which are more than two syllables long have an irregularly stressed verb stem in the third person singular form of the present tense and the singular imperative, e.g. identificar “to identify” > identifíca, ¡identifíca!, but cicar “to arrive” > cica, ¡cica!. All other forms use the regular unstressmarked verb stem.

The following verbs have irregular verb stems: ir [ˈi.əʃ] > ven-, moártar > mort-, pevar > pov-, scríuar > scriv-, tir [ˈti.əʃ] > tisch-, viénar > ven-.

Use of the infinitive

Infinitives can be either independent or dependent.

Independent infinitives act like nouns and are usually translated into English as gerunds. What differenciates them from other nouns is that they do not need to be introduced (see 2.5.3), though it is not wrong to do so regardless. All independent infinitives have masculine gender by default.

Menxhar dels fisníci isch ben per sieu uglhen. “Eating carrots is good for one's eyes.”

El menxhar dels fisníci isch ben per sieu uglhen. “Eating carrots is good for one's eyes.”

Dependent infinitives occur when an infinitive acts as the direct object of a conjugated verb. In that case, the main verb and the dependent infinitive are connected with the preposition à.

Si haßa à vidar-en. “You hate to see it.”

If the main verb is amar, fóstar, ir, láßar, pevar, restar, säpar, velar or the colloquial verb-like particle scuda, the preposition à is not used.

Améu lirar dels vells cudeschen. “I love to read old books.”

O scuda travalar pü dürămint. “He should have worked harder.”

For information on how dependent infinitive constructions are negated, see 8.5.

Use of tenses

<TBD>

Use of aspects

<TBD>

Prefixed verbs

<TBD>

Numerals

Cardinal numbers

	units		teens	tens
	masculine	feminine
0	nul		bisquinc [ˈbiskwiŋk]	---
1	viens	viensă	ündesch
2	doua	două	dudesch	vaintsch, veint
3	tres		treidesch	treinçe [trei̯ns]
4	qator [ˈkatər ~ ˈkator]		tordesch	qareinçe [kaˈrei̯ns]
5	simca	simcă	quintesch	simeinçe [siˈmei̯ns]
6	sex		sedesch	sexeinçe [sekˈsei̯ns]
7	seifet [ˈsai̯fət]		seifdesch [ˈsai̯fdəʃ]	seifeinçe [sai̯ˈfei̯ns]
8	vuit [vu̯it]		vuidesch [ˈvu̯iðəʃ]	vuieinçe [vu̯i.ˈei̯ns]
9	noua	nouă	undaveint [ˈundəvei̯nt]	noueinçe [nu.ˈei̯ns]

100: chint

1 000: þusund [ˈθusund], mil (preferred with year numbers)

1 000 000: miglhiun

1 000 000 000: miglhard, þusund [ˈθusund] miglhiun

1 000 000 000 000: biglhiun

1 000 000 000 000 000: biglhard

1 000 000 000 000 000 000: triglhiun

1 000 000 000 000 000 000 000: triglhard

1 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000: quatriglhiun

1 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000: quatriglhard

1 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000: quintiglhiun

1 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000: quintiglhard

1 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000: sexiglhiun

1 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000: sexiglhard …

Ordinal numbers

Ordinals are formed by adding -laiset to the numeral (exception: viens > pirmalaiset). That ending’s abbreviation is -l:t or -:t. Alternate forms for ordinals are as follows:

	units	teens	tens
0	nuléu, -éă	bisquintéu, -éă	---
1	prüm(ă)	ündeschéu, -éă
2	secund	dudeschéu, -éă	vaintschéu/veintéu, -éă
3	tierçéu, -éă	treideschéu, -éă	treinçéu, -éă
4	quartéu, -éă	tordeschéu, -éă	qareinçéu, -éă
5	quintéu, -éă	quinteschéu, -éă	simeinçéu, -éă
6	sextéu, -éă	sedeschéu, -éă	sexeinçéu, -éă
7	seiftéu, -éă [sai̯f…]	seifdeschéu, -éă [sai̯f…]	seifeinçéu, -éă [sai̯f…]
8	vuitéu, -éă [vu̯i…]	vuideschéu, -éă [vu̯i…]	vuieinçéu, -éă [vu̯i…]
9	nonéu, -éă	undaveintéu, -éă	noueinçéu, -éă

Alternate forms for bigger values are formed by adding -éu / -éă directly to the stem.

These forms are abbreviated by the numeral followed by the last consonant of the stem (unless it is sch) and the -éu / -éă ending (sextéu > 6:téu, treideschéu > 13:éu, simeinçéu > 50:çéu), Irregular abbreviations are prüm(ă) > 1:m(ă) and secund > 2:nd. Round multiples of 1000 are abbreviated as the number followed by the -éu / -éă ending (þusundéu > 1000:éu, miglhiunéu > 1000000:éu)

Usage

<TBD>

Dates and times

<TBD>

Lexicon and word derivation

Affixation

It is highly recommended to use regular derivations instead of irregular ones (cunsistar, cunsistent, cunsistençù, incunsistençù instead of qomsistar, cunsistent, qomsistençù / cunvegnhençă, ziscunvenençă; ilegal instead of illegal; etc). This recommendation notwithstanding, irregularly derived words are still considered correct.

Prefixes

anti-: against, opposed to

artsch-: arch, of eminent degree

autu-: auto, self

circüm-: around

cis-: on this side of

contr(a)-: contrary, parallel but opposed

crüpto-: secret

cun-: co-, con-, with (cu- before L, M, N, R; cum- before B, P)

ex-: former, ex

extr(a)-: outside

in-: negation, un-, in-, ir- (i- before L, M, N, R; im- before B, P)

inter-: inter

itra-: intra

mäcro-: large, huge

meta-: beyond, meta-

micro-: tiny, microscopic

mis-: poor quality, erroneous, or wrong action

muti-: multi-, many

noveu-: new, neo-

osprei-: after, post-

pan-: all, pan-

per-: for, pro-

prai-: pre-, ante-, before

psëud(u)-: pseudo

quasi-: somewhat, quasi-

re-: again, anew, re- (ri- before vowels)

retro-: backwards, rear, inverse direction

sanc-: -less, without

sub-: below

super-: above, super

tele-: far, electronic communication

þüper-: excessive, hyper

þüpo-: insufficient, hypo

trans-: across, on the other side of

ultra-: ultra-, beyond, extreme

vice-: vice, assistant, subordinate

zemi-: half, semi, partly

zes-: separation, removal

zis-: complete opposite

Suffixes

Suffixes that begin with a consonant are affixed directly, while suffixes that with a vowel are affixed to the stem:

• If the word ends in a consonant or -éu, the full word is the stem.
• Words ending in a stressed vowel, the stem is formed by adding an -n.
• If the word ends in an unstressed vowel or falling diphthong, the stem is formed by removing it. In case of rising diphthongs, the first segment is kept.
• If the word ends in -ïu, the stem is formed by replacing that ending with -iv.
• The stem of a numeral is the corresponding alternative ordinal without the -éu ending (e.g. simca > quint-).
• If the word stem ends in -c […k], an h is inserted before suffixes beginning with ‹e› or ‹i› to preserve the hard pronunciation. However, this does not apply if the word stem ends in -ic and the suffix in question is -ismeu, -istà or -ità, in which case the -c is softened.
• If the word stem ends in -sc […sk], this ending is replaced with -s·ch before suffixes beginning with ‹e› or ‹i› to preserve the hard pronunciation, except -ismeu, -istà and -ità where the ending is replaced with -sch […ʃ] instead.
• Verb stems are formed as described in section 5.4.1.

-ă: resulting object or resulting action (from verbs)

-adă: product made from; an ongoing action; a stroke or thrust, usually with a cutting or pointed instrument; also the wound left by such a blow; quantity that fills something; quantity determined by the nature of the action

-adeireu: place

-adoiră: machine

-aglhă: group or pile with sense of disorder or ill

-amaintsch: verbal noun expressing or characterised by a single action of the verb

-arac’h: naturally occurring group

-ard: bad person

-arieu: place where a thing is kept; recipient of a transaction (-ee); book, bound collection, printed matter

-atïu: -(at)ive, inclination to, capacity for

-atréu: -in-law (feminine -atréă)

-atréu: having same or similar qualities or appearance

-atsch: bad person, animal, or thing

-atx: object or thing made from or having the quality of; collection, set, with a sense of order

-aval: ability

-aziun: verbal noun of action

-buerg: town, city of, -burg

-cadă: series, row, line

-destreçă: skill

-eir: doer of an action

-ell: young animal

-erïă: business or place of business; goods sold

-erïe: feature of character

-esc: -ish, -like, -esque

-eschar: forms a verb meaning beginning, becoming

-escu: patronymic, son of, -son

-et: small, diminutive (feminine -etă)

-iă: region or place of

-içar: -ize, to make into, transform, render

-ificar: -ify, to cover, supply, or furnish with

-iform: shaped like

-ismeu: -ism, ideology, system

-istà: -ist, partisan or professional

-ità: abstract quality, -ity, -ness

-itis: -itis, inflammation, disease

-ófil: one characterised by -ofilia

-ofiliă: love or interest, often excessive

-ofob: one who fears or hates

-ofobia: fear, hatred

-oiră: article that contains

-olateir: one who worships

-olatriă: worship

-omaniă: insane excitement, madness

-omániäc: one suffering from an -omania

-onçă: abstract quality characterised by an action

-ös: full of, rich in, characterised by, -ous

-osis: disease, disorder

-otecă: place where things are collected and stored

-otic: diseased by an -ósis

-p(h)äts: domain, realm, country

-sqåb: office, legal duties

-üc: charming and small

-üt: -ite, follower or descendant; characterisation by a physical feature

-värts: toward

Numerical suffixes

-aină: collective noun

-et: group of people (feminine -etă)

-föld: -fold

-plet: number of siblings

-plicar: multiplication

Compounding

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Toponyms and ethnonyms

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Sentence structure and forms of use

Allomorphy

Elisions with prepositions

• The words à, c’e [ʧe], come, contra, da, intra, ja and per must elide with the indefinite singular articles (see 2.2.). Furthermore, the third person singular past form of verbs can optionally elide with indefinite singular articles (see 5.1., footnote 4).
• The preposition à becomes àð before a vowel. It elides with acest, această, acestilor [aˈʧeʃʧələr], aicì and dove to à’cest, à’ceastă, à’cestilor [aˈʧeʃʧələr], à’icì and aduve respectively. It must elide with the definite singular articles (see 2.1.).
• The word come becomes com’ before a vowel.
• The preposition da becomes either d’ or dað before a vowel. It elides with dove to daduve. It must elide with the definite singular articles (see 2.1.).
• osprei elides with eiă to ospr’eiă.

Elisions with interrogatives and relatives

• dove elides with (tu) isch and (o [u] / a / ça) isch to dovestás and dovestà respectively. It becomes dov’ before a vowel.
• The pronouns qet and qi elide with isch to qet’st and qi’st respectively.

Miscellaneous allomorphies

• acest can elide with isch to c’e [ʧe] on an optional basis. Similarly, it can optionally become c’ [ʧ] before other forms of the verb estar that start with ‹e›.
• The articles el and la become l’ before a vowel unless the noun they precede denotes a letter of the alphabet (see 2.1.).
• hi [i] elides with isch and sint to ja and j’ont respectively.
• In colloquial speech, the verb form isch can become ’sch after a vowel.
• ja must elide with the indefinite singular articles (see 2.2.).
• The noun ma becomes mha when preceded by the feminine singular definite article or a preposition ending in a vowel.
• The pronouns me, te, lo [lu], la and se become m’, t’, l’, l’, and s’ respectively when preceding a verb beginning with a vowel (see 4.1.).
• The conjunction qe becomes q’ before a vowel.
• The possessive particle sè becomes s’ before a vowel.
• The possessive determiner va becomes v’ before a vowel (see 4.2.), though this rule can optionally be disreguarded for purposes of emphasis.
• In inverted word order, verb ending may elide with personal pronouns (see 5.3.).

Affirmative sentences

Default word order for affirmative sentences is Subject–Verb–Object.

L’aprendeir

SUBJECT

lira

VERB

el cudesch.

OBJECT

L’aprendeir lira el cudesch.

SUBJECT VERB OBJECT

“The learner reads the book.”

If the subject is éu, it is common, though not obligatory, to leave it out. This does not apply to other personal pronouns.

Éu

SUBJECT

liréu

VERB

el cudesch.

OBJECT

Éu liréu el cudesch.

SUBJECT VERB OBJECT

“I read the book.”

Liréu

VERB

el cudesch.

OBJECT

Liréu el cudesch.

VERB OBJECT

“I read the book.”

If the object is a personal pronoun, the word order becomes Subject–Object–Verb.

L’aprendeir

SUBJECT

en

OBJECT

lira.

VERB

L’aprendeir en lira.

SUBJECT OBJECT VERB

“The learner reads it.”

If the object is a personal pronoun but the verb consists of two parts with no preposition between them, it must be placed before the first verb. If the second verb is in the infinitive form, the pronoun can instead be placed before the second verb or attached to it with a hyphen, though placing a pronoun inbetween two verbs is most often avoided in prose.

L’aprendeir

SUBJECT

en

OBJECT

tent

VERB

lirat.

VERB

L’aprendeir en tent lirat.

SUBJECT OBJECT VERB VERB

“The learner has read it.”

L’aprendeir

SUBJECT

en

OBJECT

volt

VERB

lirar.

VERB

L’aprendeir en volt lirar.

SUBJECT OBJECT VERB VERB

“The learner wants to read it.”

L’aprendeir

SUBJECT

volt

VERB

en

OBJECT

lirar.

VERB

L’aprendeir volt en lirar.

SUBJECT VERB OBJECT VERB

“The learner wants to read it.” (rare in prose)

L’aprendeir

SUBJECT

volt

VERB

lirar-en.

VERB-OBJECT

L’aprendeir volt lirar-EN.

SUBJECT VERB VERB-OBJECT

“The learner wants to read it.”

As a special case, if the verb consists of two parts that are connected with the prepositions à or da, the object must be placed either before the first verb or attached to the second with a hyphen.

Si

SUBJECT

en

OBJECT

haßa

VERB

à

PREPOSITION

vidar.

VERB

Si en haßa à vidar.

SUBJECT OBJECT VERB PREPOSITION VERB

“You hate to see it.”

Si

SUBJECT

haßa

VERB

à

PREPOSITION

vidar-en.

VERB-OBJECT

Si haßa à vidar-en.

SUBJECT VERB PREPOSITION VERB-OBJECT

“You hate to see it.”

In quote tags as well as interjections involving a verb of saying, feeling, thinking etc., Subject and Verb are inversed.

«Ça sint inverçats»,

[QUOTE]

scriveva

VERB

l’auþor.

SUBJECT

«Ça sint inverçats», scriveva l’auþor.

[QUOTE] VERB SUBJECT

“«They are inversed», wrote the author.”

El cudesch isch,

[SENTENCE]

pens’éu,

VERB-SUBJECT

‘n po eißuc’h.

[SENTENCE]

El cudesch isch, pens’éu, ‘n po eißuc’h.

[SENTENCE] VERB-SUBJECT [SENTENCE]

“The book is, I think, a bit dry.”

In sentences with a time indication, the time indication can be placed first in the sentence on an optional basis. In that case, Subject and Verb (together with the object if it is a personal pronoun) are inversed.

Demà

TIME

lirarha

VERB

l’aprendeir

SUBJECT

el cudesch.

OBJECT

Demà lirarha l’aprendeir el cudesch.

TIME VERB SUBJECT OBJECT

“Tomorrow the learner will read the book.”

Demà

TIME

en

OBJECT

lirarha

VERB

l’aprendeir.

SUBJECT

Demà en lirarha l’aprendeir.

TIME OBJECT VERB SUBJECT

“Tomorrow the learner will read it.”

The Talossan equivalent of “there is” and “there are” are ja and j’ont respectively. They come first in the sentence, followed by the subject.

Ja’iens

VERB

cudesch.

SUBJECT

Ja’iens cudesch.

VERB SUBJECT

“There is a book.”

J’ont

VERB

dels cudeschen.

SUBJECT

J’ont dels cudeschen.

VERB SUBJECT

“There are books.”

In tenses other than the present, hi [i] followed by the verb estar is used, analogously to English.

Hi

ADVERB

estev’iens

VERB

cudesch.

SUBJECT

Hi estev’iens cudesch.

ADVERB VERB SUBJECT

“There was a book.”

Hi

ADVERB

serà

VERB

ün cudesch.

SUBJECT

Hi serà ün cudesch.

ADVERB VERB SUBJECT

“There will be a book.”

Interrogative sentences

There are three ways of forming yes-no questions out of affirmative ones, ordered from least to most marked:

• through Subject–Verb inversion,

¿Lira

VERB

l’aprendeir

SUBJECT

el cudesch?

OBJECT

¿Lira l’aprendeir el cudesch?

VERB SUBJECT OBJECT

“Does the learner read the book?”

¿En

OBJECT

lira

VERB

l’aprendeir?

SUBJECT

¿En lira l’aprendeir?

OBJECT VERB SUBJECT

“Does the learner read it?”

• through the interrogative particles e-ça qe [ˈeskjə], n’estás-c’e [nesˈtasə], non c’e vräts and oi, whereas the sentence syntax per se stays intact,

¿E-ça qe

PARTICLE

l’aprendeir

SUBJECT

lira

VERB

el cudesch?

OBJECT

¿E-ça qe l’aprendeir lira el cudesch?

PARTICLE SUBJECT VERB OBJECT

“Is it that the learner reads the book?”

L’aprendeir

SUBJECT

lira

VERB

el cudesch,

OBJECT

¿n’estás-c’e?

PARTICLE

L’aprendeir lira el cudesch, ¿n’estás-c’e?

SUBJECT VERB OBJECT PARTICLE

“The learner reads the book, doesn’t he?”

L’aprendeir

SUBJECT

lira

VERB

el cudesch,

OBJECT

¿non c’e vräts?

PARTICLE

L’aprendeir lira el cudesch, ¿non c’e vräts?

SUBJECT VERB OBJECT PARTICLE

“The learner reads the book, isn’t that right?”

L’aprendeir

SUBJECT

lira

VERB

el cudesch,

OBJECT

¿oi?

PARTICLE

L’aprendeir lira el cudesch, ¿oi?

SUBJECT VERB OBJECT PARTICLE

“The learner reads the book, yeah?”

• and through raising intonation alone.

¿L’aprendeir

SUBJECT

lira

VERB

el cudesch?

OBJECT

¿L’aprendeir lira el cudesch?

SUBJECT VERB OBJECT

“The learner reads the book?”

Out of these three, inversion questions are the most neutral. Particle questions are rare, and intonation questions, similar to their English counterparts, carry a sense of doubt, surprise or incredulity. E-ça qe [ˈeskjə] is preferred for sentences that contain the special verbs ja and j’ont as inversion is impossible.

Ja’iens

VERB

cudesch.

SUBJECT

Ja’iens cudesch.

VERB SUBJECT

“There is a book.”

¿E-ça qe

PARTICLE

ja’iens

VERB

cudesch?

SUBJECT

¿E-ça qe ja’iens cudesch?

PARTICLE VERB SUBJECT

“Is there a book?” (lit. “Is it that there is a book?”)

Content questions require an interrogative pronoun (qi, qet or qissen) or adverb which comes first in the sentence. Interrogative pronouns are accompanied by subject–verb inversion. With interrogative adverbs, one can choose between subject–verb inversion and using the particle e-ça qe [ˈeskjə] which then comes second in the sentence.

¿Qi

PRONOUN

lira

VERB

el cudesch?

OBJECT

¿Qi lira el cudesch?

PRONOUN VERB OBJECT

“Who reads the book?”

¿Qet

PRONOUN

lira

VERB

l’aprendeir?

SUBJECT

¿Qet lira l’aprendeir?

PRONOUN VERB SUBJECT

“What does the learner read?”

¿Qissen

PRONOUN

cudesch

OBJECT

isch-ça?

VERB-SUBJECT

¿Qissen cudesch isch-ça?

PRONOUN OBJECT VERB-SUBJECT

“Whose book is it?”

¿Perqet

ADVERB

lira

VERB

l’aprendeir

SUBJECT

el cudesch?

OBJECT

¿Perqet lira l’aprendeir el cudesch?

ADVERB VERB SUBJECT OBJECT

“Why does the learner read the book?”

¿Perqet

ADVERB

e-ça qe

PARTICLE

l’aprendeir

SUBJECT

lira

VERB

el cudesch?

OBJECT

¿Perqet e-ça qe l’aprendeir lira el cudesch?

ADVERB PARTICLE SUBJECT VERB OBJECT

“Why is it that the learner reads the book?”

Imperative sentences

The default word order in imperative sentences is Verb–Subject–Object. The subject is either tu or voi and must be attached to the verb with a hyphen. Having it is always optional.

¡Liretz-tu

VERB-SUBJECT

el cudesch!

OBJECT

¡Liretz-tu el cudesch!

VERB-SUBJECT OBJECT

“Read the book!” (directed at one person)

¡Liretz-voi

VERB-SUBJECT

el cudesch!

OBJECT

¡Liretz-voi el cudesch!

VERB-SUBJECT OBJECT

“Read the book!” (directed at a group)

¡Liretz

VERB

el cudesch!

OBJECT

¡Liretz el cudesch!

VERB OBJECT

“Read the book!”

If the object is a personal pronoun, it comes before the verb. If the subject is left out, it is preferred to attach the object to the verb with a hyphen.

¡En

OBJECT

liretz-tu!

VERB-SUBJECT

¡En liretz-tu!

OBJECT VERB-SUBJECT

“Read it!” (directed at one person)

¡Liretz-en!

VERB-OBJECT

¡Liretz-en!

VERB-OBJECT

“Read it!”

If the subject of the imperative sentence is neither tu nor voi, a completely different sentence structure is employed, which is effectively that of affirmative sentences except that the word qe comes first in the sentence and the verb must be in the subjunctive. All inversion rules for affirmative sentences apply.

Noi

SUBJECT

lirent

VERB

dels cudeschen.

OBJECT

Noi lirent dels cudeschen.

SUBJECT VERB OBJECT

“We read books.”

¡Qe

CONJUNCTION

noi

SUBJECT

liradrent

VERB

dels cudeschen!

OBJECT

¡Qe noi liradrent dels cudeschen!

CONJUNCTION SUBJECT VERB OBJECT

“Let’s read books!” (lit. “That we may read books!”)

Negation

In order to negate a sentence, non is placed before the verb. If the verb and object are inversed, it is placed before the object instead.

L’aprendeir

SUBJECT

non

NEGATION

lira

VERB

el cudesch.

OBJECT

L’aprendeir non lira el cudesch.

SUBJECT NEGATION VERB OBJECT

“The learner doesn’t read the book.”

¿Perqet

SUBJECT

non

NEGATION

en

OBJECT

lira-t-o?

VERB-SUBJECT

¿Perqet non en lira-t-o?

ADVERB NEGATION OBJECT VERB-SUBJECT

“Why doesn’t he read it?”

¡Non

NEGATION

liretz-en!

VERB-OBJECT

¡Non liretz-en!

NEGATION VERB-OBJECT

“Don’t read it!”

Multiple negations in the sentence do not cancel each other out but rather amplify each other. In fact, it is preferred to have as many negations in the sentence as possible.

L’egoistà

SUBJECT

non

NEGATION

partetxarha

VERB

níþil

OBJECT[NEG]

cün neviens.

PREP[NEG]

L’egoistà non partetxarha níþil cün neviens.

SUBJECT NEGATION VERB OBJECT[NEG] PREP[NEG]

“The selfish one won’t share anything with anyone.”

When there are multiple verbs in the sentence, the position of the word non can change the meaning of the sentence. In general, non negates the verb it precedes.

Tu

SUBJECT

non

NEGATION

fost

VERB

lirar-en.

VERB-OBJECT

Tu non fost lirar-en.

SUBJECT NEGATION VERB VERB-OBJECT

“You don’t have to read it.” (lit. “You not must read it”)

Tu

SUBJECT

fost

VERB

non

NEGATION

lirar-en.

VERB-OBJECT

Tu fost non lirar-en.

SUBJECT VERB NEGATION VERB-OBJECT

“You mustn’t read it.” (lit. “You must not read it”)

In a special case, if the two verbs are connected with à, the second verb is negated by changing the preposition to da.

Si

SUBJECT

non

NEGATION

haßa

VERB

à

PREPOSITION

vidar-en.

VERB-OBJECT

Si non haßa à vidar-en.

SUBJECT NEGATION VERB PREPOSITION VERB-OBJECT

“You don’t hate to see it.”

Si

SUBJECT

haßa

VERB

da

PREPOSITION[NEG]

vidar-en.

VERB-OBJECT

Si haßa da vidar-en.

SUBJECT VERB PREPOSITION[NEG] VERB-OBJECT

“You hate to not see it.” (lit. “You hate from seeing it.”)

Answering yes-no questions

The Talossan equivalents of “yes” and “no” when answering a positive yes-no question are üc and non respectively.

¿Lira-t-o el cudesch? “Does he read the book?”

Üc, o en lira. “Yes, he reads it.”

Non, o non en lira. “No, he doesn’t read it.”

When answering a negative yes-no question however, the Talossan equivalent of “yes[, on the contrary]” is schi instead.

¿Non lira-t-o el cudesch? “Doesn’t he read the book?”

Schi, o en lira. “Yes, he reads it.”

Non, o non en lira. “No, he doesn’t read it.”

Relative clauses

The pronoun qi is used to introduce relative clauses pertaining to persons. Unlike English, which has a vestigial who/whom distinction, qi can be either subject, object or part of a prepositional phrase.

L’aprendeir, qi lira el cudesch “The learner who reads the book”

L’aprendeir, qi éu videveu “The learner whom I saw”

L’aprendeir, à qi éu scriveveu “The learner to whom I wrote”

Relative clauses pertaining to inanimates use qi when it is the subject of the clause, qe when it is the object and qet when it is used in a prepositional phrase.

El cudesch, qi en explicta “The book which explains it”

El cudesch, qe l’aprendeir lira “The book which the learner reads”

El cudesch, da qet quotéu “The book from which I quote”

Possessives are introduced with qissen, which is invariable.

L’aprendeir, qissen cudesch isch ‘n po eißuc’h “The learner whose book is a bit dry”

Interrogative pronouns and adverbs can be used to link two sentences together, just like in English.

Éu non säp, qet paßa. “I don’t know what’s going on.”

¿Säps-tu, quand la leitüră comença? “Do you know when the lecture starts?

The Talossan equivalent to English “which” used to link two sentences together is qet.

O amineva sieu traval, qet l’ancumbreva. “He procrastinated his work, which frustrated her.”

The construction “he/she/etc. who” is expressed as either qi qi, which is gender-neutral, or el/la qi depending on gender. The plural form is always els/las qi and thus gender-dependent.

Qi qi non rischcia, non gagnha. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained” (lit. “He/she/etc. who doesn’t venture doesn’t win.”)

El qi’st sanc pec starp voi, q’o xhetadra el prüm cräps àð eiă. “He who is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone at her.”