Talk:Shirerothian language

Phonology & Orthography

Consonants

		Labial		Coronal		Palatal		Velar
Nasal		⟨ m ⟩ / m /		⟨ n ⟩ / n /				⟨ ng ⟩ / ŋ /
Plosive		⟨ p ⟩ / p /	⟨ b ⟩ / b /	⟨ t ⟩ / t /	⟨ d ⟩ / d /			⟨ k ⟩ / k /	⟨ g ⟩ / g /
Affricate						⟨ c ⟩ / tʃ /	⟨ z ⟩ / dʒ /
Fricative	sibilant			⟨ s ⟩ / s /		⟨ x ⟩ / ʃ /
	non-sibilant	⟨ f ⟩ / f /	⟨ v ⟩ / ʋ /	⟨ þ ⟩ / θ /		⟨ hȝ ⟩ / ç /	⟨ ȝ ⟩ / j /	⟨ h ⟩ / h /
Approximant
Trill				⟨ r ⟩ / r /
Lateral Fricative				⟨ ɬ ⟩ / ɬ /	⟨ l ⟩ / l /

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
High	⟨ i ⟩ / i /		⟨ u ⟩ / u /
Mid	⟨ e ⟩ / e /	⟨ â ⟩ / ə /	⟨ o ⟩ / o /
Low	⟨ æ ⟩ / æ /		⟨ a ⟩ / ɑ /

⟨ â ⟩, / ə / is not found in stressed syllables.

U-Mutation

Productive in Præta verbs, u-mutation is an umlaut process that affects the vowels of the stem according to the following pattern:

Normal		⟨ i ⟩ / i /	⟨ u ⟩ / u /		⟨ e ⟩ / e /	⟨ o ⟩ / o /		⟨ æ ⟩ / æ /	⟨ a ⟩ / ɑ /
U-Mutation		⟨ u ⟩ / u /			⟨ o ⟩ / o /	⟨ u ⟩ / u /		⟨ a ⟩ / ɑ /	⟨ o ⟩ / o /

History

• Proto-Praeta [1000 bN-circa 0 bN]: family of spoken forms throughout Brookshire before the establishment of the First Era realm. Concurrent with the Empire of Khaz Modan, whose language was [{{{2}}}] to the variety that would become Old Praeta.
• Old Praeta [circa 0 AN- circa 880 AN]: spoken and written form used by the First Era realm and its successor petty states.
• Middle Praeta [878-1356]: spoken and written form used by the Second Era eastern Benacian states.
• Early New Praeta [1356-1470]: archaic form of New Praeta that sprung out of the assemblage of Kaiser John I's army that was created to invade Elwynn. This form sprung out of the various dialects spoken by the soldiers and officers associated with this army, which in turn was used as a chancery standard for the expanding reach of the Kaiserial state.
• New Praeta [1470-present]: new, revised standard promulgated by Kaiseress Vivantia as part of the reforms that established the form and style of the Imperial Republic

Old Praeta

Old Praeta is a First Era language predominant in Brookshire and along portions of the Red Elwynn. Old Praeta derived from the various dialects that are native to Brookshire and served as the prestige dialect of the Kaiserial Court. Old Praeta continued to be used as the language of record during the early Second Era before the more contemporary vernacular, Middle Praeta, was adopted for writing.

Consonants

	Labial		Dental		Alveolar		Palatal		Velar		Labiovelar
Nasal	⟨ m ⟩ / m /		⟨ n ⟩ / n /						⟨ n (+ k,g) ⟩ / ŋ /
Plosive	⟨ p ⟩ / p /	⟨ b ⟩ / b~β /	⟨ t ⟩ / t /	⟨ d ⟩ / d~ð /				⟨ ddȝ ⟩ / ɟː /	⟨ k ⟩ / k /	⟨ g ⟩ / g~ɣ /	⟨ kw ⟩ / kʷ /	⟨ gw ⟩ / gʷ~ɣʷ /
Fricative	⟨ f ⟩ / f /		⟨ þ ⟩ / θ /		⟨ s ⟩ / s /	⟨ z ⟩ / z /			⟨ h ⟩ / x /		⟨ ƕ ⟩ / hʷ~ʍ /
Approximant					⟨ l ⟩ / l /		⟨ ȝ ⟩ / j /				⟨ ƿ ⟩ / w /
Trill					⟨ r ⟩ / r /

Vowels

	Front		Back
Close	⟨ i ⟩ / i /	⟨ y ⟩ / iː /	⟨ u ⟩ / u /	⟨ w ⟩ / uː /
Mid-Close		⟨ e ⟩ / eː /		⟨ o ⟩ / oː /
Mid-Open		⟨ ai ⟩ / ɛ(ː) /		⟨ au ⟩ / ɔ(ː) /
Low	⟨ a ⟩ / a /
Diphthong	⟨ iu ⟩ / ͜iu /

Old Praeta to Middle Praeta

• Shift in orthography:
  1. loss of ⟨ ƿ ⟩, replaced with ⟨ u ⟩
  2. loss of ⟨ y ⟩ and ⟨ w ⟩, replaced with ⟨ ii ⟩ and ⟨ uu ⟩ respectively
  3. Adoption of diacritic ring to abbreviate ⟨ au ⟩ to ⟨ å ⟩
  4. Adoption of diaresis to abbreviate ⟨ ai ⟩ to ⟨ ä ⟩
  5. Addition of ⟨ ö ⟩, ⟨ ü ⟩ to represent new front-rounded vowels
  6. Addition of ⟨ ɬ ⟩ to represent / hl / cluster
  7. Addition of ⟨ ƀ ⟩, ⟨ ð ⟩, ⟨ ǥ ⟩ to represent new distinct voiced fricatives

• Voiced Labialized Velar Approximant (/w/) disappears from the beginning of a word. Raises a back vowel, rounds a front vowel. Front-roundedness triggers vowel harmony:

ƿyhsa "village" ==> üühsa

ƿitoþs "law, rule, principle" ==> ütöþ

ƿepn "weapon" ==> öpn

ƿair "man, adult male" ==> ör

ƿang "meadow" ==> ång

ƿaurd "word, reason" ==> ord

ƿokrs "rent" ==> ukr

ƿunns "suffering" ==> unn

• Non-Sibilant Fricatives before L ==> /h/, later /hl/ ==> /ɬ/

þlauhs "flight" ==> ɬåh

flodus "river" ==> ɬodŭ

hlwtras "clean" ==> ɬuutra

but slah- "to strike" ==> slah-

• Loss of final -s in Nominative Singular, collapses Nominative/Accusative singular distinction for a-stem, o-stem, i-stem, u-stem, and consonant-stem nouns:

magus (nom s.) "boy, son" ==> magu (nom/acc s.)

baurhs (nom s.) "fortified settlement" ==> bårh (nom/acc s.)

• Labialized Velar Consonants (/kʷ/, /gʷ/, /hʷ/) lose labialization before rounded vowels:

fairƕus "the world, humanity" ==> färhu

qam "I came" ==> kam-

singwa- "to recite" ==> siggo-

• Voiced Plosives become Voiced Fricatives in a consonant cluster with a liquid:

arbaiþs "labor, toil" ==> arƀäþ

bairga "hill" ==> bärǥa

• At end of word, short vowels become reduced, long vowels become short:

flodus "river" ==> ɬodŭ

• Nasal Consonants following plosives denasalize and assimilate to that plosive:

singwa- ==> siggo-

fijands ==> fijadd

Middle Praeta to New Praeta

• syllable stress fixed to initial syllable

• unstressed vowels reduce: short front to / ĭ /, short back to / ŭ /, short open / ă /; long front to / e /, long back to / o /, long open / a /:

MP golliitŭ ==> NP gollet

• Collapse of gender system from 3 to 2: Common/Animate and Neuter/Inanimate
  • Pronoun system completes its collapse into animate and inanimate third person pronoun sets
  • 1st-/2nd-Adjectives now only decline using 1st Declension forms; 3rd-Adjectives reduced in size

• U-Mutation, still productive in verbal morphology. In nouns, 1st Declension nouns with stem ending in / w / undergo u-mutation and shift into the 2nd Declension.

MP. magwъ, magwis "child" => NP. mog, mogos "child"

• Preterit suffix -u- + Preterit personal endings in Middle Præta has become a u-mutation + Preterit personal endings in New Præta.

e.g. MP. hasiwi "I praised" => NP. hosei [hosȝ- + -i] "I praised" versus hasȝa "I praise"

• Verbal morphology collapsed down from multiple conjugations into a single paradigm based on the increasingly productive -a- or weak conjugation.

• Loss of vowel harmony in inflectional and derivational suffixes.

• syncope of reduced vowels in all positions unless it produces illegal clusters; otherwise, all merge to ⟨ e ⟩,/ ə /:

MP arƀäþ "labor, work" ==> arƀăþ ==> NP arveþ (*rvþ not permitted)

• ⟨ ƀ ⟩/ β / ==> ⟨ v ⟩/ v /

MP arƀäþ "labor, work" ==> NP arveþ

• ⟨ ð ⟩/ ð / ==> ⟨ i ⟩/ j / (vanishes if surrounded by open vowels)

MP ða "the" ==> NP ie'

MP prätað "speech, language" ==> NP præta

• ⟨ ǥ ⟩/ ɣ / ==> ⟨ v ⟩/ v /

MP bärǥă "hill" ==> NP bærv

Nominal Morphology

The underlying morphophoneme ъ is realized differently according to different stem endings:

• / j /- + -/ ъ / => / i /
• / w /- + -/ ъ /# => /  /
• / l /- + -/ ъ /# => / e /
• / r /- + -/ ъ /# => / e /
• C/ ъ /C => C/ a /C
• otherwise -/ ъ /# ==> -/  /

1st Declension

Animate and Inanimate Genders. Distinguished by Genitive Singular as -is. If the stem ends in a vowel, the Vocative has the same form as the Nominative and Accusative, and the vowel is dropped in the plural.

	Animate					Inanimate
	Underlying	"Sovereign" kaȝsar-	"Shepherd" ærdȝ-	"speech" præta-		Underlying	"might" alf-	"cliff" nasȝ-
Vocative	-e	kaȝsare	ærdȝe	præta		-ъ	alf	nasi
Nominative	-ъ	kaȝsar	ærdi
Accusative
Genitive	-is	kaȝsaris	ærdeis	prætais		-is	alfis	naseis
Dative	-i	kaȝsari	ærdei	prætai		-i	alfi	nasei
Nominative	-ъs	kaȝsaras	ærdis	prætas	-a	alfa	nasȝa
Accusative
Genitive	-on	kaȝsaron	ærdȝon	præton	-on	alfon	nasȝon
Dative	-ъm	kaȝsaram	ærdim	prætam	-ъm	alfam	nasim

2nd Declension

Animate Genders only. Distinguished by Genitive Singular as -os.

	Animate
	Underlying	"mango" gollet-	"child" mog-
Vocative	-ъ	gollet	mog
Nominative
Accusative
Genitive	-os	golletos	mogos
Dative	-u	golletu	mogu
Nominative	-ъs	golletas	mogas
Accusative
Genitive	-on	golleton	mogon
Dative	-ъm	golletam	mogam

3rd Declension

Animate and Inanimate Genders. Distinguished by Genitive Singular as -in.

	Animate					Inanimate
	Underlying	"worm" maþ-				Underlying	"eye" og-
Vocative	-a	maþa				-a	oga
Nominative
Accusative	-ъn	maþan
Genitive	-in	maþin				-in	ogin
Dative	-in	maþin				-in	ogin
Nominative	-ъn	maþan			-ъn	ogan
Accusative
Genitive	-on	maþon			-on	ogon
Dative	-ъm	maþam			-ъm	ogam

Verbal Morphology

oj- "run"		Ending		Present (-a-)	Imperfect (-ala-)	Subjunctive (-e-)
Imperfective stem	1s	-		oja	ojala	oje
	2s	-s		ojas	ojalas	ojes
	3s	-t		ojat	ojalat	ojet
	1p	-ne		ojane	ojalane	ojene
	2p	-þ		ojaþ	ojalaþ	ojeþ
	3p	-re		ojare	ojalare	ojere
uj- "ran"		Ending	Preterit Tense
Perfective u-mutated stem	1s	-1	uji
	2s	-is	ujis
	3s	-it	ujit
	1p	-imen	ujimen
	2p	-iten	ujiten
	3p	-iren	ujiren
oj- "run!"		Ending	Imperative
Imperative stem	1s	-	-
	2s	-i	oji
	3s	-
	1p	-	-
	2p	-ite	ojite
	3p	-	-
oj- "running"		Ending	Infinitive
Non-Finite 1st Declension		-osa	ojosa
		Ending	Present Participle
		-anȝ-	ojani
		Ending	Preterit Participle
		(u)-az-	ujaz

Tenses and Aspects

Tenses and Aspects in the Subjunctive Mood

Present

1. Subordinate Phrase

Used more broadly than in English, such as instead of most infinitive constructions,

e.g.

ulla pos txite ȝu Præta - "I want to write in Praeta", lit. "I want that I write in Praeta"

ulla pos txitet ȝu Præta - "I want him to write in Praeta", lit. "I want that he write in Praeta"

1. "Should" statements, which may be used as indirect commands or recommendations.

e.g.

Idjene. - "We should go"

Tenses and Aspects in the Imperative Mood

Present

Only productive form in the Imperative Mood. Used to issue commands.

Preterit

Only exists in modern Praeta as a form of "to do", tuisse/tuissete. Used in an infinitive construction or with a nominal in the accusative to mean "have (the action) done" or "finish (the action)".

e.g.

Tuisse takosa. - "Finish eating."

Tuissete se slahtin. - "Finish the battle."

Voice

Passive construction

Lexicon

PP. Proto-Praeta OP. Old Praeta MP. Middle Praeta KM. Khaz Modanian

Word	Etymology	Class	Definition
gollet, -os	OP. gonlyto	n.	mango
hazȝar	OP. "proclaim, shout"	v.	praise, honour
kaȝsar, -is	KM. "august, venerable"	n.	sovereign, paramount ruler kaiser
mog, -os	MP. magwъ	n.	child
præta, -ais	OP. prätüd "to speak"	n.	speech, generic Praeta (when used with a definite article and without qualification)
Xiroþ, -is	OP.	n.	Shireroth

Filler

Word	Etymology	Class	Definition
ærdi, -eis	MP. ??	n.	shepherd

Created solely for the purpose of temporarily filling gaps. To be replaced with real words as soon as practicable.

Useful phrases for the Steward

• Agnȝe, frataki ænwarja(n): " O Agni (fire, spirit of fire), consume everything(everyone)." aka "Burn them all."
• xune basâs zusâs : "we are mere animals"

The Steward's wishlist

• Government offices and titles
  • Xiroþis Kaȝsar - "Shirerithian Sovereign, Kaiser of Shireroth"
• Ranks and Units
• "It is prudent to obey/submit."
• "Do not question the Steward's sanity."
• "It is wrong to suffer in silence for the actions of another."
• "Those who cooperate will be afforded preferential treatment."
• "A prompt confession averts needless suffering."
• "Obedience is the highest virtue."
• "The sons and daughters of this [town/city/county/land] shall be honoured guests of the Imperial Republic."
• "Work redeems the soul."
• "I am the Imperial Mother and above grammar."
• "How many erb is it to the Kalgarrand?"
• "How many Kalgarrands will you pay for a full Ryker of community service workers?"