Continental English
| Language | |
| Spoken in: | Unknown (Europe) |
| Timeline/Universe: | N/A |
| Total speakers: | 1000-3000 |
| Genealogical classification: | Indo-European Germanic |
| Basic word order: | SVO |
| Morphological type: | Isolating/Inflecting |
| Created by: | |
| Jashan A'al | 2005 |
Continental English was a conlang sketch by Jashan A'al. It was designed as a form of english which diverged from standard Modern English around the 1300-1400 CE time period.
Phonology / Orthography
The phonology of the language has been lost. Some reconstruction may be possible from surviving samples.
Noun Morphology
Case has been lost for nouns except for genitive (-es). Pronouns retain nominative, accusative/dative (object case), and genitive. Plurals are formed by addition of -s/-es, as in Middle English. The "-en" endings (ox, oxen; child, children) have been lost, but irregular plurals (foot, feet) remain.
The personal pronouns y ("I") and thu ("you", sg.), for example:
Y ("I")
| Case | Sg. | Pl. |
| Nom. | y [i] | we [wɛ] |
| Obj. | me [mɛ] | us [ʌs] |
| Gen. | myn [min] | ur [ʌr] |
Thu ("you, thou")
| Case | Sg. | Pl. |
| Nom. | thu [θʌ] | ye [jɛ] |
| Obj. | the [θɛ] | yeu [jɛʌ] |
| Gen. | thyn[θin] | yeur [jɛʌr] |
Example Noun Declension:
nam ("name")
| Case | Sg. | Pl. |
| Nom. | nam [nam] | names [naməs] |
| Obj. | nam [nam] | names[naməs] |
| Gen. | names [naməs] | nameses [namzəs] |
stawn ("stone")
| Case | Sg. | Pl. |
| Nom. | stawn [stɔn] | stones [stonəs] |
| Obj. | stawn [stɔn] | stones[stonəs] |
| Gen. | stawnes [stɔnəs] | stoneses [stonzəs] |
Verb Morphology
Continental English retains at least five classes of strong verbs, with the following patterns. While many verbs weakened over time, some weak verbs also became strong by analogy. The chart below shows the vowel gradation for the strong verbs:
| Verb Class | Present | Past | Past Participle |
| I | y | aw | i |
| II | i | æ | u |
| III | e | æ | o |
| IV | e | æ | e |
| V | exact rule unknown |
Examples:
I: shyn > shawn > shin ("shine")
II: fris > fræs > frus ("freeze")
III: stel > stæl > stol ("steal")
IV: sprec > spræc > sprec ("speak")
Sample Passage
Chaucer (original)
The double sorwe of Troilus to tellen,
That was the kyng Priamus sone of Troye,
In lovynge, how his aventures fellen
Fro wo to wele, and after out of joie.
Chawser (Continental English)
The tyuwfald car of Troyilus tu tel,
Thæt wæs the cyng Priyamus of Troy his sun
On lufyng, hu his hap fyaled
Ut wawf tu wel, ond æfter ut frawm glædnes.
