Nordaþ language

The Nordaþ language (Nordaþ: Nordaþïsk) is a Germanic language spoken in Terra Matsu, and parts of Kart-Hadašt and Mitsujiya. There are about 4 billion speakers, most of which live in Terra Matsu. Nordaþ is related to Kythish, a language Germanic in origin. These languages borrow from each other sparsely.

Geographic distribution

Nordaþ is spoken primarily in Terra Matsu, in half of Mitsujiya, and in a quarter of Kart-Hadašt. Nordaþ is also spoken on the extreme western edges of Kythe. Säämiki has its own set of Nordaþ dialects within its small territories. In the places that do speak Nordaþ there, most master the standard dialect.

History

Nordaþ arrived with several stranded ships carrying Germanic-speaking peoples. No records exist of the language before it was in its current state at the time. However, Nordaþ soon developed many dialects as the populace began to grow and the people parted, often being separated by deep forests, rivers, and large mountains.

During the formation of the Matsui Empire, literature began to boom. As the Empire encountered the Säämi peoples to the north, the small empire assimilated their concept of vowel harmony. However, only the northern parts of the empire had began to assimilate it. This disunification increased the difficulty in authors' striving to write works that were comprehensible within the majority of the nation. Writers were the sole power in unifying the language as they worked to produce titles understandable in the widest area possible. Most writers of the time adopted vowel harmony, which eventually was fully integrated into every part of the growing land.

As the empire's influence grew, this gradual standardisation became quicker. Children began being educated in the standard dialect and not in their local dialect. Gradually, the dialects of major cities and many regions dissolved, and eventually, so too did the more rural and obscure dialects. As the language unified, the grammar solidified. Nordaþ shifted into a pro-drop language and became more inflectional. The production of the Nordaþ Dictionary marked the first official lingual resource for the language and marked the begining of modern Nordaþ. Before the empire dissolved, a spelling reform was instituted to correct the difference in the spelling system of Nordaþ, which then reflected Late Old Nordaþ, to properly reflect modern Nordaþ. This reform ushered in the completion of the maturity of Nordaþ.

Writing system/Phonology

Nordaþ language
Pronunciation Writing system Grammar Determiners Nouns Cases Affixes Pronouns Adjectives Verbs

Nordaþ is written using a variant of the Latin alphabet, and has a phonemic orthography - pronunciation can be exactly determined from the written language. Nordaþ's alphabet omits a few letters from the Latin alphabet. Accented letters (äëï) are considered separate letters in Nordaþ. Nordaþ's alphabet includes the following:

a ä b d ð e ë f g h i ï j k l m n o p r s š t þ u ü v w y z ž

An extra letter, 'ü', exists only in the diphthong 'aü'. It has the sound value of 'ʊ'.

Additionally, the Nordaþ language can optionally be written in the Cyrillic alphabet to which there is a one-to-one correspondence. However, usage of the Cyrillic alphabet with the language isn't officially sanctioned.

а ӑ б д џ е є ф г х и й ј к л м н о п р с ш т ц у ӳ в ү ў з ж

Stress falls on the penultima in Nordaþ, unless the final syllable or prepenultima has a double vowel. However, words with only one syllable have no stress.

See Nordaþ phonology for a table including Nordaþ's alphabet and IPA equivalents

Grammar

See the main article Nordaþ grammar

Nordaþ is a highly inflected language, with over a hundred verb forms and over thirty noun declensions.

Syntax is largely unbounded, although an idea to be stressed will often be put in the beginning of the sentence.

See also Nordaþ lexicon

Noun Inflection

Nordaþ nouns inflect into:

• One of two numbers: singular, plural
• 49 cases/postpositional attachments

Nordaþ forms left-branching noun compounds, where the first noun modifies the category given by the second. Unlike English, which uses a space between the modifying noun and the second noun, Nordaþ merges the words. Vowel harmony is only recognised within the individual nouns and no changes must be made to the entire compound for harmony. Nordaþ allows for arbitrarily long compounds.

Verb inflection

All Nordaþ verbs are 'weak'. Thus, there are no irregular verbs within the language. Additionally, all verbs inflect:

• By nine pronouns
• Into five moods: Indicative, Conditional, Subjunctive, Passive, and Imperative
• By three aspects: Perfect, imperfect, and progressive

Cognates with English

Nordaþ word	English cognate
ädeese	address
alas	all
baaþ	bath
blasos	blaze
kaltïs	cold
laiþra	ladder
lipäs	lip
netä	net
renes	rain
sunþa	south
watras	water

Name order

Nordaþ uses uses the "eastern" name order, wherein the family name comes before the surname. Unlike many languages, these words are declined regularly - that is to say, the family name is given the appropriate noun suffix, and the surname is given the adjective suffix. Referring to someone by their given name is considered inappropriate unless the person speaking is both talking specifically to the person they are referring to, and even then only if they are close friends (or in any relationship more intimate). In that case, the given name is declined as a noun instead of an adjective.

Examples

• Nordaþan (person): Nordaþvame [noɹ.daθ.ˈva.mɛ]
• Nordaþ (language): Nordaþïsk [noɹ.ˈdaθ.ɪsk]
• hello: halo [ˈha.lo] (used formally and casually)
• hey: haaj [haːj] (used intimately)
• goodbye: näkemi [næ.ˈkɛ.mɪ] (used formal/casual)
• bye: djaa [djaː] (used intimately)
• please: beles [ˈbɛ.lɛs]
• I would like ___, please: Wyle ___, betles [wy.ˈlɛ ___, ˈbɛ.lɛs]
• sorry: lene änsyes [ˈlɛ.nɛ æn.ˈsy.ɛs]
• thank you: danke su-tei [ˈdan.kɛ ˈsu.tɛ.i]
• that/this: þes [θɛs] þäs [θæs]
• how much?: kases taku? [ˈka.sɛs ˈta.ku]
• how much does it cost?: kases taku-tei djyriþe? [ˈka.sɛs ˈta.ku.tɛ.i djy.ˈri.θɛ]
• yes: ja [ja]
• no: nej [ˈnɛj]
• I don't understand: nan alsate [nan al.ˈsa.te]
• where's the bathroom?: vesa lene kas-äeti? [ˈvɛ.sa ˈlɛ.nɛ ˈkas.æ.ɛ.ti]
• juice: sab [sab]
• water: watra [ˈwa.tɾa]
• tea: të [te]
• milk: melk [mɛlk]
• Do you speak English?: þykje Inglïndïsk-tei? [ˈθyk.jɛ in.ˈɡlɪnd.ɪsk.tɛ.i]
• I love you: su-tei libe [ˈsu.te.i ˈli.bɛ]
• I love you (platonic or otherwise): su-tei liepe [ˈsu.te.i li.ˈɛ.pɛ]
• help!: redekäse! [ɾɛ.dɛ.ˈkæ.sɛ]

Numbers

These numbers listed have been declined as nouns in the nominative case. A comma used here is to be considered a decimal point, and a period to be considered a hundreds divider.

• 0: niili [ˈniː.li]
• ,0001: milenþäi [mi.lɛn.ˈθæ.i]
• ,001: daüsneþäi [daʊs.nɛ.ˈθæ.i]
• ,01: hyntþäi [hyn.ˈθæ.i]
• ,1: däksþäi [de.ˈkæːs.θæ.i]
• 1: sëëme [ˈseː.mɛ]
• 2: doi [ˈdo.i]
• 3: tresi [ˈtɾɛ.si]
• 4: käesi [kæ.ˈɛ.si]
• 5: penki [ˈpɛn.ˈki]
• 6: skesi [ˈskɛ.si]
• 7: septi [ˈsɛp.ti]
• 8: okti [ok.ˈti]
• 9: nääsi [ˈnæːsi]
• 10: däksi [ˈdæk.si]
• 11: sëëmeondäksi [seː.mɛ.on.ˈdæk.si]
• 12: doiondäksi [do.i.on.ˈdæk.si]
• 20: doesdäksi [do.ɛs.ˈdæk.si]
• 21: sëëmeondoiesdäksi [seː.mɛ.on.do.i.ɛs.ˈdæk.si]
• 100: hynti [ˈhyn.ti]
• 101: sëëmeonhynti [seː.mɛ.on.ˈhyn.ti]
• 110: däksionhynti [dæk.si.on.ˈhyn.ti]
• 111: sëëmeondäksionhynti [seː.mɛ.on.dæk.si.on.ˈhyn.ti]
• 200: doeshynti [do.ɛs.ˈhyn.ti]
• 1.000: daüsni [ˈdaʊs.ni]
• 10.000: däksesdaüsni [dæk.sɛs.ˈdaʊs.ni]
• 100.000: hyntesdaüsni [hyn.tɛs.ˈdaʊs.ni ]
• 1.000.000: mileni [mi.ˈlɛ.ni]

Translations

Rights during arrest

Mäg ei-pidätäi su-tei ___frymi, alsate su? Su habe þe oïku-tei paveä ja käskä asnaja-tei vivyty-änmi. Si su nan kune laïsä ne palvelu-tei asnaja-isi, ne asnaja estat-isi feber-gebe su-aivi kustanu-änmi, alsate su? Su nan vevoïtes sakä jene-tei, ava se su keuse kivä jene-tei su sake se fe-kane käytä gerektrym-inäni tödit-geki, alsate su?

I am arresting you for ___, do you understand? You have the right to retain and instruct counsel without delay. If you cannot afford the services of a lawyer, a lawyer from the State will be provided for you without charge. Do you understand? You are not obliged to say anything, but if you choose to do so anything you say may be used in court as evidence. Do you understand?