Talk:Præta

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

• 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 refers to the earliest consistently-written form of the Praeta Language, which is associated with the First Age of Shireroth, beginning with Raynor Me'Jiliad. Old Praeta emerges from the cluster of dialects spoken throughout Brookshire during the Khaz Modan Period.

Old Praeta became the predominant language of Brookshire and portions of the Red Elwynn as the First Age continued. It remained in use as a language of record during the early Second Era, before the more contemporary vernacular, called Middle Praeta, was adopted.

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 /	⟨ kƿ ⟩ / kʷ /	⟨ gƿ ⟩ / gʷ~ɣʷ /
Fricative	⟨ f ⟩ / f /		⟨ þ ⟩ / θ /		⟨ s ⟩ / s /	⟨ z ⟩ / z /			⟨ h ⟩ / x /		⟨ hƿ ⟩ / 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. ⟨ y ⟩ to ⟨ ie ⟩,⟨ i ⟩
  2. ⟨ w ⟩ to ⟨ uo ⟩,⟨ u ⟩
  3. ⟨ au ⟩ to ⟨ å ⟩,⟨ o ⟩
  4. ⟨ ai ⟩ to ⟨ ea ⟩,⟨ e ⟩
  5. New ⟨ ɵ ⟩, ⟨ ʉ ⟩ for front-rounded vowels
  6. New ⟨ ɬ ⟩ for / hl / cluster
  7. New ⟨ ƀ ⟩, ⟨ ð ⟩, ⟨ ǥ ⟩ for new distinct voiced fricatives

• Vowel breaking in stressed syllables:
  1. OP. / ɛ / > LOP. / ɛə̯ / > EMP. / e̯æ / > LMP. / jæ /
  2. OP. / i: / > LOP. / iə̯ / > EMP./ i̯e / > LMP. / je /
  3. OP. / u: / > LOP. / uə̯ / > EMP / uɵ̯ / > LMP. / uʏ̯ /

• Voiced Labialized Velar Approximant ⟨ ƿ ⟩ / w / reinterpreted as non-syllabic close back rounded vowel ⟨ u ⟩ / u̯ /. Labiovelar consonants ⟨ kƿ ⟩, ⟨ gƿ ⟩, ⟨ hƿ ⟩ reinterpreted as sequences of Cu̯:
  1. u̯ + vowel assimilate, creating front-rounded vowels and shifting back vowels upwards. This triggers front-round vowel harmony throughout the word:

  OP. ⟨ ƿyhs ⟩ / wi:hsa / "village" > MP. ⟨ üeh ⟩ / uɵ̯h /

  OP. ⟨ ƿitoþs ⟩ / wito:θs / "law, rule, principle" > MP. ⟨ ʉtɵþ ⟩ / ytø:θ /

  OP. ⟨ ƿepn ⟩ / we:pn̩ / "weapon" > MP. ⟨ ɵpn ⟩ / ø:pn̩ /

  OP. ⟨ ƿair ⟩ / wɛr / "man, adult male" > MP. ⟨ ɵar ⟩

  OP. ⟨ ƿang ⟩ / waŋ / "meadow" > MP. ⟨ ång ⟩ / ɔŋ /

  OP. ⟨ ƿaurd ⟩ / ɔrd / "word, reason" > MP. ⟨ ord ⟩ / ord /

  OP. ⟨ ƿokrs ⟩ / wokrs / "rent" > MP. ⟨ ukr ⟩ / ukr̩ /

  OP. ⟨ ƿunns ⟩ / wunns / "suffering" > MP. ⟨ unn ⟩ / unn /

  OP. ⟨ fairhƿus ⟩ "the world, humanity" > MP. ⟨ färhu ⟩

  OP. ⟨ aihƿs ⟩,⟨ aiƕins ⟩ "horse","mare" > MP. ⟨ eahu ⟩⟨ marh ⟩, ⟨ eahʉn ⟩

  OP. ⟨ kƿam- ⟩ "came" > MP. ⟨ kåm- ⟩

  OP. ⟨ singƿa- ⟩ "recite" > MP. ⟨ siggo- ⟩

• Debuccalization of non-sibilant fricatives before / l /, eventually becomes voiceless lateral fricative
  1. OP. / θl / > MP. / hl / > ENP. / ɬ /

     OP. ⟨ þlauhs ⟩ "flight" > MP. ⟨ łåh ⟩ / hlɔh /

  2. OP. / fl / > MP. / hl / > ENP. / ɬ /

     OP. ⟨ flodus ⟩ / flo:dus / "river" > MP. ⟨ łodu ⟩ / hlo:du̯ /

  3. OP. / hl / > MP. / hl / > ENP. / ɬ /

     OP. ⟨ hlwtras ⟩ "clean" > MP. ⟨ łuotra ⟩ / hluɵ̯tra /

  4. But OP. / sl / > MP. / sl /

     ⟨ slah- ⟩ "to strike" > MP. ⟨ slah- ⟩

• Loss of final -s in Nominative Singular. Merger of Nominative and Accusative singular forms for masculine nouns. Feminine and Neuter nouns already lack this distinction.

  OP. ⟨ magus, -aus ⟩ (nom s.) "boy, son" > MP. ⟨ magu ⟩ / magu̯ / (nom/acc s.)

  OP. ⟨ baurhs, -s ⟩ (nom s.) "fortified settlement" > MP. ⟨ bårh ⟩ (nom/acc s.) "town"

  OP. ⟨ haþus ⟩ (nom s.) > MP. ⟨ haþu ⟩ "quarrel, disagreement"

  OP. ⟨ slahta ⟩ (nom/acc s.) "act of striking" > MP. ⟨ slahta ⟩ (nom/acc s.) "fight, battle"

• ⟨ sk ⟩ / sk / cluster shifts to ⟨ sh ⟩ / sx~sχ /

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

OP. ⟨ arbaiþs ⟩ "labor, toil" > MP. ⟨ arƀeþ ⟩

OP. ⟨ bairga ⟩ "hill" > MP. ⟨ bearǥa ⟩

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

flodus "river" ==> ɬodŭ

• Unstressed mid-open vowels / ɛ /, / ɔ / become short mid-close, / e /, / o /
• stressed mid-open vowels / ɛ /, / ɔ / rose to become short mid-close, / e /, / o / before R

OP. ⟨ hairdys ⟩ "herdsman" > MP. ⟨ herdie ⟩ > NP. ⟨ Hirz ⟩

• Voiced consonants at word end assimilate to preceding nasal consonant:

OP. ⟨ fijands, -is ⟩ "enemy" > MP. ⟨ fiænn ⟩ "opponent"

• velar nasal-plosive cluster nkj shifts to nh

OP. ⟨ þankj- ⟩ > ⟨ þanh- ⟩ > MP. ⟨ þahh- ⟩

• Nasal Consonants assimilate to following consonant:

OP. ⟨ singwa- ⟩ > MP. ⟨ siggo- ⟩

OP. ⟨ gonlyta, -os ⟩ "mango" > MP. ⟨ gollietu ⟩

Middle Praeta

Middle Praeta is a collective term for the spoken and written dialects that had descended from Old Praeta by the beginning of the Second Era. Old Praeta continued to be used as the language of record until Kaiser Timothy II, who chose to adopt a court language that better reflected the language of the time. This took place after the disruptive reigns of Kaiser Matthew I, which began as a coup against the Ly'Technomaezj, and of Kaiser Edwin I, a foreign-born ruler of the Machiavelli bloodline.

Middle Praeta continued to be used as the language of record until the close of the Second Age, though from the reign of Kaiser Iago II, court records begin to show intrusion from Early New Praeta until ENP became the standard language for the army under Kaiser John I.

Consonants

	Labial		Dental		Alveolar		Palatal		Velar
Nasal	⟨ m ⟩ / m /		⟨ n ⟩ / n /
Plosive	⟨ p ⟩ / p /	⟨ b ⟩ / b /	⟨ t ⟩ / t /	⟨ d ⟩ / d /				⟨ dʒ ⟩ / d͡ʒ /	⟨ k ⟩ / k /	⟨ g ⟩ / g /
Fricative	⟨ f ⟩ / f /	⟨ ƀ ⟩ / β /	⟨ þ ⟩ / θ /	⟨ ð ⟩ / ð /	⟨ s ⟩ / s /	⟨ z ⟩ / z /			⟨ h ⟩ / x /	⟨ ǥ ⟩ / ɣ /
Approximant	⟨ u ⟩ / w /				⟨ ɬ ⟩ / hl~l̥ /	⟨ l ⟩ / l /	⟨ ʒ ⟩ / j /
Trill					⟨ r ⟩ / r /

Vowels

Front Back Close ⟨ i ⟩ / i / ⟨ ʉ ⟩ / y / ⟨ u ⟩ / u / Mid ⟨ e ⟩ / e / ⟨ ɵ ⟩ / ø / ⟨ o ⟩ / o / Low ⟨ a ⟩ / a / ⟨ å ⟩ / ɔ~ɑ /

Opening Closing Close ⟨ ie ⟩ / i̯e / ⟨ ue ⟩ / yɵ̯ / ⟨ uo ⟩ / uɵ̯ / ⟨ iu ⟩ / i̯u / Mid ⟨ ea ⟩ / e̯æ / ⟨ ɵa ⟩ / ø̯a /

/ yɵ̯ / and / uɵ̯ / merged into / uʏ̯ / by Late Middle Praeta, written ⟨ ui ⟩
/ ø̯a / merged with / o̯a / by Mid Middle Praeta

Middle Praeta to New Praeta

• 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

• Consolidations of various diphthongs:

MP. / i̯e / > ENP. / je /

MP. / yɵ̯ / > ENP. / uʏ̯ / > NP. / uɪ̯ /

MP. / uɵ̯ / > ENP. / uʏ̯ / > NP. / uɪ̯ /

MP. / e̯æ / > ENP. / jæ /

MP. / ø̯a / > LMP. / o̯ɑ / > NP. / wɑ /

MP. / i̯u / > ENP. / jo /

• short mid-close vowels / e /, / ø /, / o / raise to close / i /, / ʉ /, / u / before R
• short near-open vowel / æ /, / ɑ / raise to mid / e /, / o / before R

• Unstressed vowels at the end of words are dropped:

MP. ⟨ hassa ⟩ / has:ə / "group, maniple" > NP. ⟨ Haß ⟩ / has: / "maniple, group"

• U-Mutation completes, shifts front-rounded stressed vowels to back-rounded, drops rounding in unstressed vowels.

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

MP. ⟨ ɵahʉn ⟩ > NP. ⟨  iohin ⟩ "mare, female horse"

• 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"

• 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

• ⟨ sh ⟩ / sx~sχ / cluster simplifies to ⟨ s ⟩ / s /

MP. ⟨ atsh ⟩ / atsx / "unit of agriculturally productive land, equivalent to ~1010 square meters" > NP. ⟨ Aß ⟩ / as: / "aß, unit of volume equivalent to ~ 7 1⁄4 bushels"

• Verbal morphology collapsed down from multiple conjugations into a single paradigm based on the increasingly productive -a- or weak conjugation. Old strong conjugation persists in some vowels as irregular verbs.

• Yod-Coalescence:

ENP. / þj / > NP. / ʃ /

ENP. / tj / > NP. / tʃ /

ENP. / dj / > NP. / dʒ /

ENP. / sj / > NP. / ʃ /

ENP. / kj / > NP. / tʃ /

ENP. / gj / > NP. / dʒ /

• Yod-Drop in the syllable onset:

MP. ⟨ preatîð ⟩ > ENP. / prjætɪ̈ð / > NP. ⟨ Prætâ ⟩

MP. ⟨ bearǥâ ⟩ > / bjervə / > NP. ⟨ Berv ⟩

MP. ⟨ ean ⟩ > ENP. / jæn / > NP. ⟨ æn ⟩

• Consolidation/Loss of Voiced Fricatives, / β /, / ð /, / ɣ /, / w /:

MP. ⟨ arƀeþ ⟩ > NP. ⟨ Arveþ ⟩ (/ β / > / v / everywhere)

MP. ⟨ preatîð ⟩ > NP. ⟨ Prætâ ⟩ (/ ð / vanishes intervocalically)

MP. ⟨ kaðsar ⟩ > NP. ⟨ Kaïsar ⟩ (/ ð / > ⟨ ï ⟩ in clusters)

MP. ⟨ bearǥâ ⟩ NP. ⟨ Berv ⟩ (/ ɣ / > / v / in syllable onset)

MP. ⟨ þeǥn ⟩ > NP. ⟨ Þeïn ⟩ (/ ɣ / > ⟨ ï ⟩ in syllable coda)

MP. ⟨ ɵar ⟩ > NP. ⟨ Var ⟩ (/ w / > / v / everywhere)

Verbal Morphology

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."

Lexicon

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

Word	Etymology	Class	Definition
hazȝar	OP. "proclaim, shout"	v.	praise, honour

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?"