Sdanniskar morphology

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Sdannískar is a heavily inflecting language. Nouns inflect for five cases in two numbers, subdivided into the characteristic Germanic "strong" and "weak classes". Verbs conjugate for three persons and two numbers in two tenses and three moods. Like other Germanic languages, Sdannískar has a number of classes of "strong" verbs (those with internal ablaut) similar to those of German, for example. Adjectives have both "strong" and "weak" declensions also, and have a total of sixty inflections (though some of these are the same, e.g. the weak feminine nominative and instrumental singulars).

Strong Declension Patterns

Strong nouns of the following stems are declined as follows:

Masculine a-stems

Case Singular Plural
Nom -ar -os
Gen -er -om
Dat -a -am
Acc -a -an
Ins *-i -am

The instrumental singular form causes i-umlaut (see above). Sample noun: wólfar, wólfer, sa (m., wolf)

Case Singular Plural
Nom wólf-ar wólf-os
Gen wólf-er wólf-om
Dat wólf-a wólf-am
Acc wólf-a wólf-an
Ins wǿlf-i wólf-am

Masculine i-stems

Case Singular Plural
Nom *-ir *-ir
Gen *-isa -ejon
Dat -e *-i
Acc *-in *-in
Ins *-i *-i

Each form marked with an asterix causes i-umlaut. Sample noun: wýrmir, wýrmisa, sa (m., worm)

Case Singular Plural
Nom wýrm-ir wýrm-ir
Gen wýrm-isa wúrm-ejon
Dat wúrm-e wýrm-i
Acc wýrm-in wýrm-in
Ins wýrm-i wýrm-i

Masculine u-stems

Case Singular Plural
Nom -u *-iwir
Gen -ør -uwon
Dat *-ymir
Acc -un -un
Ins *-ymir

Each form marked with an asterix causes i-umlaut. Sample noun: gávlu, gávlør, sa (m., gable)

Case Singular Plural
Nom gávl-u gǽvliwir
Gen gávl-ør gávl-uwon
Dat gávl-æ gǽvl-ymir
Acc gávl-un gávl-un
Ins gávl-æ gǽvl-ymir

Neuter a-stems

Case Singular Plural
Nom -am -u
Gen -er -om
Dat -a -am
Acc -am -u
Ins *-i -am

The instrumental singular form causes i-umlaut. Sample noun: hósam, hóser, þat (n., house)

Case Singular Plural
Nom hós-am hós-u
Gen hós-er hós-om
Dat hós-a hós-am
Acc hós-am hós-u
Ins hǿs-i hós-am

Neuter r-stems

Case Singular Plural
Nom -ar -aru
Gen -ares -arom
Dat -ara -aram
Acc -ar -aru
Ins -ara -aram

Sample Noun: gǽtar, gǽtares, þat (n., goat)

Case Singular Plural
Nom gǽt-ar gǽt-aru
Gen gǽt-ares gǽt-arom
Dat gǽt-ara gǽt-aram
Acc gǽt-ar gǽt-aru
Ins gǽt-ara gǽt-aram

Feminine u-stems

Case Singular Plural
Nom -u -or
Gen -or -om
Dat -u -om
Acc -o -on
Ins -u -om

Sample noun: hándu, hándor, so (f., hand)

Case Singular Plural
Nom hánd-u hánd-or
Gen hánd-or hánd-om
Dat hánd-u hánd-om
Acc hánd-o hánd-on
Ins hánd-u hánd-om

Weak Declension Patterns

Weak nouns of the following declension patterns are declined as follows:

Masculine a-stems

Case Singular Plural
Nom -ar
Gen -er -æno
Dat -esma -æmir
Acc -ano -an
Ins -o -æmir

Sample noun: Gúþar, Gúþer, sa (m., Goth, a member of the East Germanic tribe)

Case Singular Plural
Nom Gúþ-ar Gúþ-æ
Gen Gúþ-er Gúþ-æno
Dat Gúþ-esma Gúþ-æmir
Acc Gúþ-ano Gúþ-an
Ins Gúþo Gúþ-æmir

Feminine o-stems

Case Singular Plural
Nom -o -or
Gen -esor -æro
Dat -æmir
Acc -o -or
Ins -æmir

Sample noun: dǿro, dǿresor, so (f., door)

Case Singular Plural
Nom dǿr-o dǿr-or
Gen dǿr-esor dǿr-æro
Dat dǿr-æ dǿr-æmir
Acc dǿr-o dǿr-or
Ins dǿr-æ dǿr-æmir

Neuter a-stems

Case Singular Plural
Nom -a -o
Gen -er -æro
Dat -esma -æmir
Acc -a -o
Ins -o -æmir

Sample noun: hǽrta, hǽrter, þat (n., heart)

Case Singular Plural
Nom hǽrt-a hǽrt-o
Gen hǽrt-er hǽrt-æro
Dat hǽrt-esma hǽrt-æmir
Acc hǽrt-a hǽrt-o
Ins hǽrt-o hǽrt-æmir

Strong Verb Conjugation

Strong verbs have three sets of present indicative conjugation endings depending on their infinitive ending, but otherwise share the same endings for each tense.

Present Indicative Conjugation

The present indicative is derived from first principal part. The present indicative conjugation of regular strong verbs is as follows:

-an verbs -en verbs -on verbs
Person Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
1st -u -am -u -am -u -om
2nd -ar -aþ -ær -æþ -or -oþ
3rd -aþ -and -æþ -and -oþ -ond

Preterite Indicative Conjugation

The singular forms of the preterite indicative are derived from the second principal part and the plural forms from the third. The preterite indicative conjugation of all regular strong verbs is as follows:

Person Singular Plural
1st -(-) -um
2nd *-t -uþ
3rd -(-) -un

*The stem of a verb assimilates voicing to that second person singular ending, e.g. *hǽvt > hǽft.

Present Subjunctive Conjugation

The present subjunctive of strong verbs is derived from the first principal part. The preterite indicative conjugation of all regular strong verbs is as follows:

Person Singular Plural
1st -æm
2nd -ær -æþ
3rd -æþ -ænd

Preterite Subjunctive Conjugation

The preterite subjunctive of strong verbs is derived from the third principal parts. The preterite subjunctive conjugation of all regular strong verbs is as follows:

Person Singular Plural
1st -(-) -um
2nd *-t -uþ
3rd -(-) -un

*This form assimilates voicing as the preterite indicative.

Imperative Conjugation

The imperative of strong verbs has only two forms: second person singular and second person plural. It is derived from the first principal part. The imperative conjugation of all regular strong verbs is as follows:

Person Singular Plural
2nd -a -aþ

Present Participle and Gerund

The present participle declines as a normal weak adjective, and the gerund as a strong masculine a-stem noun. They are derived by suffixing the following to the first principle part:

Present Participle Gerund
-an -en -on -an -en -on
-ándon -ǽndon -óndon -ánþar -ǽnþar -ónþar

Weak Verb Conjugation

Weak verbs, which typically, though not always, end in -an, share the same endings for every tense. Regular weak verbs also have invariable stems.

Present Indicative Conjugation

The present indicative conjugation of all regular weak verbs is as follows:

Person Singular Plural
1st -e -em
2nd -er -eþ
3rd -eþ -end

Preterite Indicative Conjugation

The preterite indicative conjugation of all regular weak verbs is as follows:

Person Singular Plural
1st -ed -edum
2nd -ett -eduþ
3rd -ed -edun

Present Subjunctive Conjugation

The present subjunctive conjugation of all regular weak verbs is as follows:

Person Singular Plural
1st -i -im
2nd -ir -iþ
3rd -iþ -ind

Preterite Subjunctive Conjugation

The preterite subjunctive conjugation of all regular weak verbs is as follows:

Person Singular Plural
1st -id -idum
2nd -itt -iduþ
3rd -id -idun

Imperative Conjugation

The imperative conjugation of all regular weak verbs is as follows:

Person Singular Plural
2nd -a -aþ

Present Participle and Gerund

The present participle ( which declines as a regular weak adjective) and the gerund (which declines as a strong masculine a-stem noun) are derived by suffixing the following:

Present Participle Gerund
-éndon -énþar

Irregular Verb Conjugation

The most common irregular verbs in Svannískar are wésan "to be" and dón "to do". Their paradigms are as follows.

Wésan

Indicative Subjunctive Imperative
Present Preterite Present Preterite Imperative
1Ps ím wás ým wór (-)
2Ps ís wást ýs wórt
3Ps íst wás ýst wór (-)
1Pp ésumes wórum ésymes wórum (-)
2Pp ésuþ wóruþ ésyþ wóruþ býþ
3Pp sínd wórun sýnd wórun (-)

Dón

Indicative Subjunctive Imperative
Present Preterite Present Preterite Imperative
1Ps díde dǿ dýde (-)
2Ps dós dídes dǿs dýdes
3Ps dóst dídeþ dǿst dýdeþ (-)
1Pp dóm dídem dǿm dýdem (-)
2Pp dóþ dídeþ dǿþ dýdeþ dóþ
3Pp dónd dídend dǿnd dýdend (-)

Háven

Indicative Subjunctive Imperative
Present Preterite Present Preterite Imperative
1Ps hávu hád hávæ hǽd (-)
2Ps hávæs hátt hávæs hǽtt háva
3Ps hávæþ hád hávæþ hǽd (-)
1Pp hávam hádum hávæm hǽdum (-)
2Pp hávæþ háduþ hávæþ hǽduþ hávaþ
3Pp hávand hádun hávænd hǽdun (-)

Pronominal Morphology

Svannískar has three personal (or inanimate) pronouns, all of which have irregular non-nomiantive forms, though they do often follow patterns in these. However, only the third person pronoun sa has instrumental case forms.

First Person Pronoun

The first person pronoun stands for the person(s) speaking. It is declined as follows:

Case Singular Plural
Nom ik wir
Gen min únser
Dat me uns
Acc mik uns

Second Person Pronoun

The second person pronoun stands for the person(s) being addressed by the speaker. It is declined as follows:

Case Singular Plural
Nom þu jur
Gen þin ýwer
Dat þe yw
Acc þik yw

Third Person Pronoun

The third person pronoun stands for a person or thing spoken of by the speaker. Sa and its forms describe nouns masculine in gender, so and its forms things feminine, and þat and its forms things neuter.

Masculine Feminine Neuter
Case Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
Nom sa þæ so þor þat þo
Gen þes þéro þéror þǽro þes þéro
Dat þésmo þǽmir þéræ þǽmir þésmo þǽmir
Acc þen þan þo þor þat þo
Ins þy þǽmir þéræ þǽmir þy þǽmir

Sa as Demonstrative

Technically speaking, sa, so, þat is a demonstrative adjective/pronoun, equivalent to English "this", "that", or "yon". It is a cognate to Old English se, Gothic sa.

Sa as Article

Sa, ever useful, has yet another use as the definite article. Sa and its forms may be used prior to a noun to ascribe definiteness to it the cat, the dog, and so on.

Pronoun Use

Like French or English, pronouns in Svannískar are always be used, though this is by convention rather than necessity. In some particularly ancient texts, however, the pronouns are dropped, based on the assumption that the reader would be able to differentiate the verb forms (which one might suppose would be true today, but it remains convention to use pronouns nonetheless).

Adjectival Morphology

Adjectives in Svannískar decline just as nouns or pronouns do. However, rather than being divided into classes of weak or strong adjectives the way nouns are, adjectives sometimes decline weak, sometimes strong. Adjectives decline weak if:

  • ...they follow sa used as an article.
  • ...they are a numeric adjective (except ǽnar, "one").
  • ...they are the second (or third, fourth, etc.) adjective in a noun phrase.
  • ...they are a present participle.
  • ...they follow a conjugated verb.
  • ...they are a comparative ending in -íron

The following adjectives never decline weak:

  • Past participles
  • ǽnar, ǽno, ǽna
  • Possessive pronouns
  • Superlatives in -ístar.

Strong Adjective Pattern

The following are the declension endings for adjectives declining strong.

Masculine Feminine Neuter
Case Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
Nom -ar -o -or -a -o
Gen -er -æro -ero -æro -er -æro
Dat -esma -æmir -æmir -esma -æmir
Acc -ano -an -o -or -a -o
Ins -o -æmir -æmir -esma -æmir

Sample adjective: góðar, góðo, góða (good)

Masculine Feminine Neuter
Case Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
Nom góð-ar góð-æ góð-o góð-or góð-a góð-o
Gen góð-er góð-æro góð-ero góð-æro góð-er góð-æro
Dat góð-esma góð-æmir góð-æ góð-æmir góð-esma góð-æmir
Acc góð-ano góð-an góð-o góð-or góð-a góð-o
Ins góð-o góð-æmir góð-æ góð-æmir góð-esma góð-æmir

Weak Adjective Pattern

Masculine Feminine Neuter
Case Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
Nom -on -an -on -on -o -onu
Gen *-in -anam -on -onam *-in -onom
Dat *-in -num -on -um *-in -um
Acc -anu -anun -onu -onu -o -onu
Ins *-in -num -on -um *-in -um

Forms marked with asterixes cause i-umlaut. Sample adjective: góðar, góðo, góða (good)

Masculine Feminine Neuter
Case Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
Nom góð-on góð-an góð-on góð-on góð-o góð-onu
Gen gǿð-in góð-anam góð-on góð-onam gǿð-in góð-onom
Dat gǿð-in góð-num góð-on góð-um gǿð-in góð-um
Acc góð-anu góð-anun góð-onu góð-onu góð-o góð-onu
Ins gǿð-in góð-num góð-on góð-um gǿð-in góð-um

Derivation

Some of the most common derivational suffixes in Svannískar:

  • -dómar: -dom, denotes state or area (kyningdómar--kingdom)
  • -árir: -er, denotes agent (havárir--possessor)
  • -íron: -er, comparative of adjectives (brehtíron--brighter)
  • -ístar: -est, superlative of adjectives (brehtístar--brightest)
  • -fálðar: -fold, denotes multiplicity; forms collective nouns (kyningfálðar--kings (on the whole))
  • -hǽdu: -hood, denotes state (kyninghǽdu--kingship)
  • -ískar: -ish, -ic, denotes a language (Islandískar--Icelandic)
  • -lǿsar: -less, denotes a lack (kyninglǿsar--kingless)
  • -líkar: -like, denotes similarity (kyninglíkar--kingly, regal)
  • -skápar: -ship, denotes state (kyningskápar--kingship)
  • -súmar: -some, vague intensive (of adjectives)
  • -tíġo: -ty, denotes state; vague intensive
  • -áġar: -y, denotes similarity
  • -le: -ly, denotes manner (of verb, applied to an adjective)