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'''Ardlang''' ([[wikipedia:IPA|/aɾd.laŋg/]]) is a [[constructed language|constructed worldlang]] created by Elia Ansaloni in 2013. Its main features are a regular phonetic inventory, a strict [[Subject-verb-object|Subject-Verb-Object]] sentence order and a vocabulary that aims to defy Eurocentrism without renouncing to widely known translations. While its main inspiration is Lingwa de Planeta, Ardlang has some traits in common with Sambahsa, like the use of proto-languages and a rather wide vocabulary base.
'''Novbasa''' (formerly known as '''Ardlang''') is a [[constructed language|constructed worldlang]] created by Elia Ansaloni in 2013. Its name is composed by the words ''nov'' ("new") and ''basa'' ("language"). Its main features are a regular phonetic inventory, a strict SVO sentence order and a vocabulary that aims to defy Eurocentrism without renouncing to widely known translations. While its main inspiration is Lingwa de Planeta, Novbasa has some traits in common with Sambahsa, like the use of proto-languages and a rather wide vocabulary base.


The main linguistic influences of Ardlang are Indo-European languages, Chinese (from which most of the isolating grammar is derived) and Arabic, but its [[A posteriori (languages)|a posteriori]] vocabulary is built considering many other languages, including Austronesian languages, Altaic languages, Swahili, Basque and Nahuatl. This approach is remarked by Ardlang's motto '''Ab hol dunya, pro hol dunya''' (''From the whole world, for the whole world'').
The main linguistic influences of Novbasa are Indo-European languages, Chinese (from which most of the isolating grammar is derived) and Arabic, but its [[A posteriori (languages)|a posteriori]] vocabulary is built considering many other languages, including Austronesian languages, Altaic languages, Swahili, Basque and Nahuatl. This approach is remarked by Novbasa's motto ''Ab hol dunya, pro hol dunya'' ("From the whole world, for the whole world").


As of 2014, no complete dictionary of Ardlang has been released, but some translations and lexicon are available on the Unilang forum and on this wiki.
As of 2014, [http://novbasa.blogspot.it/p/novbasa-english-dictionary.html a basic dictionary of Novbasa] has been released, and some translations and lexicon are available on the Unilang forum and on this wiki.


==Phonology and orthography==
==Phonology and orthography==
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|align=center| ф
|align=center| ф
|align=center| г
|align=center| г
|align=center| h
|align=center| х
|align=center| и
|align=center| и
|align=center| ж
|align=center| ж
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|align=center| о
|align=center| о
|align=center| п
|align=center| п
|align=center| х
|align=center| ѳ
|align=center| p
|align=center| p
|align=center| c
|align=center| c
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|align=center| f
|align=center| f
|align=center| g
|align=center| g
|align=center| h
|align=center| h/x
|align=center| i
|align=center| i
|align=center| ʒ/ʤ
|align=center| ʒ/ʤ
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|align=center| о/ɔ
|align=center| о/ɔ
|align=center| p
|align=center| p
|align=center| x
|align=center| θ
|align=center| ɾ/r
|align=center| ɾ/r
|align=center| s
|align=center| s
|align=center| t
|align=center| t
|align=center| u
|align=center| u
|align=center| v
|align=center| v/w
|align=center| w
|align=center| y
|align=center| ʃ
|align=center| ʃ
|align=center| j
|align=center| j
|align=center| z
|align=center| z
|}
|}
Note: '''q''' and '''w''' are used only in loanwords and foreign proper nouns.


===Pronunciation===
===Pronunciation===


Some letters can be pronounced in two different ways in order to make the pronunciation easier to the majority of speakers. For example, a Russian or a French speaker would find more natural to pronunce ''j'' as /ʒ/, while an English or an Hindi one would rather choose /ʤ/. Both are equally valid and mutually interchangeable.
Some letters can be pronounced in two different ways in order to make the pronunciation easier to the majority of speakers. For example, a Russian or a French speaker would find more natural to pronunce ''j'' as /ʒ/, while an English or an Hindi one would rather choose /ʤ/. Both are equally valid and mutually interchangeable.
It should be noticed that ''ng'' is always pronounced as /ŋg/ and not as /ŋ/ (as it would be in English or Indonesian). ''N'' is pronunced as /ŋ/ before velar plosives.
It should be noticed that ''ng'' is always pronounced as /ŋg/ and never as /ŋ/ (as it would be in English or Indonesian). ''N'' is pronunced as /ŋ/ before velar plosives.


The stress is always on the penultimate syllable.
The stress is always on the penultimate syllable.


In the diphtongs ''ao'' and ''eo'', "o" is considered a semivowel and the accent never falls on it.
In the diphtongs ''ao'' and ''eo'', "o" is considered a semivowel and the accent never falls on it.
The following rules apply only to the Latin script:
* Diphtongs ''au'' and ''eu'' are always pronounced as /aw/ and /ew/ respectively, while ''ia'', ''ie'', ''io'' and ''iu'' are pronounced as /ja/, /je/, /jo/ and /ju/ only when they are not part of the first syllable. The diphtong ''ai'' is pronounced as /aj/ only when it's not part of the last syllable.
* There cannot be three wovels together. So, for example, ''awal'' ("early"), cannot be written as ''aual''. This also mean that a verb like ''baw'' ("to build") cannot be written as ''bau'' because it would eventually lead to ''bauer'' instead of the correct term ''bawer'' ("builder").


==Grammar==
==Grammar==
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===Nouns===
===Nouns===


Nouns in Ardlang do not change for number or case. Some nouns have a masculine and a feminine form that can be obtained by adding ''o'' or ''a'' to the root.
Nouns in Novbasa do not change for number or case. Some nouns have a masculine and a feminine form that can be obtained by adding the prefix ''man'' or ''fem''.
:''bin'' - son or daughter (gender not specified)
:''tsula'' - fox (gender not specified)
:''bino'' - son
:''man-tsula'' - male fox
:''bina'' - daughter
:''fem-tsula'' - vixen
 
However, a noun ending in ''o'' or ''a'' doesn't necessarily have a specified gender.
:''kiba'' - fang
:''feno'' - appearance


Few nouns have two different versions.
Few nouns have two different versions.
:''patro''/''matra'' - father/mother
:''patro''/''matra'' - father/mother
:''bratro''/''sestra'' - brother/sister
:''brator''/''sestar'' - brother/sister


===Adjectives===
===Adjectives===
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Adjectives always precede the noun they're related to.
Adjectives always precede the noun they're related to.


:''un '''hwan''' dom'' -  a '''yellow''' house
:''un '''hvan''' dom'' -  a '''yellow''' house
:''al '''shao kal''' kat'' - the '''small black''' cat
:''al '''xao kali''' kat'' - the '''small black''' cat


===Adverbs===
===Adverbs===


Adverbs may be identified by adding ''-di'' to an adjective.
Adverbs may be identified by adding ''-di'' to an adjective.
:''garm'' (warm) → ''garm-di'' (warmly)
:''garme'' (warm) → ''garme-di'' (warmly)
The particle is pronunced separately from the root, whose pronunciation is left unchanged.
The particle is pronunced separately from the root, whose pronunciation is left unchanged.


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{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|-
! Ardlang !! English
! Novbasa !! English
|-
|-
| ''me'' || I
| ''me'' || I
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| ''hu''/''ta''/''he'' || he/she/it
| ''hu''/''ta''/''he'' || he/she/it
|-
|-
| ''na'' || we
| ''no'' || we
|-
|-
| ''vo'' || you
| ''vo'' || you
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{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|-
! Ardlang !! English
! Novbasa !! English
|-
|-
| ''mey'' || I, mine
| ''mey'' || I, mine
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| ''huy''/''tay''/''hey'' || his/her, hers/its
| ''huy''/''tay''/''hey'' || his/her, hers/its
|-
|-
| ''nay'' || our, ours
| ''noy'' || our, ours
|-
|-
| ''voy'' || your, yours
| ''voy'' || your, yours
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====Correlatives====
====Correlatives====


Much like Esperanto, Ardlang organizes demonstrative and relative pronouns in a table.
Much like Esperanto, Novbasa organizes demonstrative and relative pronouns in a table.


{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"  
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"  
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!mo–
!mo–
!aon–
!aon–
!omni–
!ve–
!ne–
!ne–
|-
|-
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|''mojen''<br>(someone)
|''mojen''<br>(someone)
|''aonjen''<br>(anyone)
|''aonjen''<br>(anyone)
|''omnijen''<br>(everyone, each one)
|''vejen''<br>(everyone, each one)
|''nejen''<br>(no one)
|''nejen''<br>(no one)
|-
|-
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|''movas''<br>(something)
|''movas''<br>(something)
|''aonvas''<br>(anything)
|''aonvas''<br>(anything)
|''omnivas''<br>(everything)
|''vevas''<br>(everything)
|''nevas''<br>(nothing)
|''nevas''<br>(nothing)
|-
|-
!Time
!Time
!&ndash;ci
!&ndash;vez
|''saci/toci''<br>(this/that time)
|''savez/tovez''<br>(this/that time)
|''moci''<br>(sometime)
|''movez''<br>(sometime)
|''aonci''<br>(anytime)
|''aonvez''<br>(anytime)
|''omnici''<br>(always)
|''vevez''<br>(always)
|''neci''<br>(never)
|''nevez''<br>(never)
|-
|-
!Place
!Place
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|''mostan''<br>(somewhere)
|''mostan''<br>(somewhere)
|''aonstan''<br>(anywhere)
|''aonstan''<br>(anywhere)
|''omnistan''<br>(everywhere)
|''vestan''<br>(everywhere)
|''nestan''<br>(nowhere)
|''nestan''<br>(nowhere)
|-
|-
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|''mokam''<br>(somehow)
|''mokam''<br>(somehow)
|''aonkam''<br>(anyhow, anyway)
|''aonkam''<br>(anyhow, anyway)
|''omnikam''<br>(in every way)
|''vekam''<br>(in every way)
|''nekam''<br>(no way)
|''nekam''<br>(no way)
|-
|-
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|''mokaran''<br>(for some reason)
|''mokaran''<br>(for some reason)
|''aonkaran''<br>(for any reason)
|''aonkaran''<br>(for any reason)
|''omnikaran''<br>(for all reasons)
|''vekaran''<br>(for all reasons)
|''nekaran''<br>(for no reason)
|''nekaran''<br>(for no reason)
|-
|-
!Amount
!Amount
!&ndash;kwant
!&ndash;kvanti
|''sakwant/tokwant''<br>(this/that much)
|''sakvanti/tokvanti''<br>(this/that much)
|''mokwant''<br>(some)
|''mokvanti''<br>(some)
|''aonkwant''<br>(any quantity)
|''aonkvanti''<br>(any quantity)
|''omnikwant''<br>(all of it)
|''vekvanti''<br>(all of it)
|''nekwant''<br>(none)
|''nekvanti''<br>(none)
|}
|}


<charinsert>*</charinsert> Adverbs ''sastan'' and ''tostan'' are rarely used. They are often replaced by the more practical ''je'' ("here") and ''la'' ("there"). Also, ''ayna'' is often used instead of ''omnici''.
<charinsert>*</charinsert> Adverbs ''sastan'' and ''tostan'' are rarely used. They are often replaced by the more practical ''je'' ("here") and ''la'' ("there").


The main difference with Esperanto is that "question" pronouns are not formed this way, and therefore are listed apart.
The main difference with Esperanto is that "question" pronouns are not formed this way, and therefore are listed apart.
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{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|-
! Ardlang !! English
! Novbasa !! English
|-
|-
| ''ki'' || who
| ''ki'' || who
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| ''ko'' || what
| ''ko'' || what
|-
|-
| ''kwan'' || when
| ''kvan'' || when
|-
|-
| ''kwer'' || where
| ''kver'' || where
|-
|-
| ''kwom'' || how
| ''kom'' || how
|-
|-
| ''kwey'' || why
| ''kvey'' || why
|-
|-
| ''kwant'' || how much
| ''kvanti'' || how much
|}
|}


===Verbs===
===Verbs===


Much like in English, verbs in Ardlang change only for mood and tense but not for number and person. Apart from ''es'' ("to be"), all verbs are regular. The subject must always be expressed.
Much like in English, verbs in Novbasa change only for mood and tense but not for number and person. Apart from ''es'' ("to be"), all verbs are regular. The subject must always be expressed.
If the verb ends with a consonant, "a", "o", or "u", the suffixes are simply attached to it. If the verbs ends in "e" or "i", the last vowel must be taken off before adding the suffixes.


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|-
! Tense !! Ardlang !! English
! Tense !! Novbasa !! English
|-
| Infinitive || ''bina'' || to build
|-
| Present || ''me bina'' || I build
|-
|-
| Infinitive || ''baw'' || to build
| Present perfect || ''me ha bina'' || I have built
|-
|-
| Present || ''me baw'' || I build
| Past || ''me li bina'' || I built
|-
|-
| Past perfect || ''me li baw'' || I built
| Past perfect || ''me li ha bina'' || I had built
|-
|-
| Future || ''me sa baw'' || I will build
| Future || ''me yao bina'' || I will build
|-
|-
| Near future || ''me va baw'' || I am going to build
| Near future || ''me vao bina'' || I am going to build
|-
|-
| Conditional || ''me ud baw'' || I would build
| Conditional || ''me ud bina'' || I would build
|-
|-
| Past conditional || ''me ud li baw'' || I would have built
| Past conditional || ''me ud li bina'' || I would have built
|-
|-
| Imperative || ''(ba) baw'' || build!
| Imperative || ''(ba) bina'' || build!
|-
|-
| Present Participle || ''bawint'' || building
| Present Participle || ''ra bina'' || building
|-
|-
| Past Participle || ''bawit'' || built
| Past Participle || ''(ge) bina'' || built
|}
|}


The reflexive is formed by adding ''se-'' before the verb and after eventual particles.
The reflexive is formed by adding ''se'' before the verb and after eventual particles.


The passive is formed by coupling the verb ''es'' with the past participle of the verb.
The passive is formed by coupling the particles with the past participle of the verb. In this case, ''ba'' cannot be dropped.


====Es====
====Es====
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{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|-
! Tense !! Ardlang !! English
! Tense !! Novbasa !! English
|-
|-
| Infinitive || ''es'' || to be
| Infinitive || ''es'' || to be
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| Present || ''me es'' || I am
| Present || ''me es'' || I am
|-
|-
| Past perfect || ''me bu'' || I was
| Present perfect || ''me ha es'' || I have been
|-
| Past || ''me bi'' || I was
|-
| Past pefect || ''me ha bi'' || I had been
|-
|-
| Future || ''me sa es'' || I will be
| Future || ''me yao es'' || I will be
|-
|-
| Near future || ''me va es'' || I am going to be
| Near future || ''me vao es'' || I am going to be
|-
|-
| Conditional || ''me ud es'' || I would be
| Conditional || ''me ud es'' || I would be
|-
|-
| Past conditional || ''me ud bu'' || I would have been
| Past conditional || ''me ud bi'' || I would have been
|-
|-
| Imperative || ''(ba) es'' || be!
| Imperative || ''(ba) es'' || be!
|-
|-
| Present Participle || ''esint'' || being
| Present Participle || ''ra es'' || being
|-
|-
| Past Participle || ''bi'' || been
| Past Participle || ''bu'' || been
|}
|}


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! Number !! Cardinal !! Number !! Cardinal
! Number !! Cardinal !! Number !! Cardinal
|-
|-
| 0 || nul || 11 || dekun
| 0 || ''nul'' || 11 || ''dekun''
|-
|-
| 1 || un || 20 || dudek
| 1 || ''un'' || 20 || ''dudek''
|-
|-
| 2 || du || 21 || dudekun
| 2 || ''du'' || 21 || ''dudekun''
|-
|-
| 3 || san || 30 || sandek
| 3 || ''san'' || 30 || ''sandek''
|-
|-
| 4 || ca || 40 || cadek
| 4 || ''ca'' || 40 || ''cadek''
|-
|-
| 5 || pen || 50 || pendek
| 5 || ''pen'' || 50 || ''pendek''
|-
|-
| 6 || lyu || 100 || bak
| 6 || ''lyu'' || 100 || ''bak''
|-
|-
| 7 || sep || 200 || dubak
| 7 || ''sep'' || 200 || ''dubak''
|-
|-
| 8 || pa || 237 || dubaktrideksep
| 8 || ''pa'' || 237 || ''dubaktrideksep''
|-
|-
| 9 || nav || 1000 || kil
| 9 || ''nav'' || 1000 || ''kil''
|-
|-
| 10 || dek || 2000 || dukil
| 10 || ''dek'' || 2000 || ''dukil''
|}
|}


==Lexicon==
==Lexicon==


''Main article:'' [[Ardlang/Lexicon]]
''Main article:'' [[Novbasa/Lexicon]]


Ardlang lexicon draws from the main language families of the world. The main source are Indo-European languages (around 60% of the current lexicon), but the core of everyday use terms includes many Afro-Asiatic and Sino-Tibetan terms.
Novbasa lexicon draws from the main language families of the world. The main source are Indo-European languages (around 60% of the current lexicon), but the core of everyday use terms includes many Afro-Asiatic and Sino-Tibetan terms.


===Source languages===
===Source languages===


Virtually, any language can be a source for Ardlang. However, due to historical, geographic and/or cultural relevance and to the number of speakers, a restricted number of languages forms the main core. These languages are classified as it follows.
Virtually, any language can be a source for Novbasa. However, due to historical, geographic and/or cultural relevance and to the number of speakers, a restricted number of languages forms the main core. These languages are classified as it follows.


* ''Indo-European'': Latin, Greek, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, English, German, Russian, Sanskrit, Hindi-Urdu, Bengali, Persian
* ''Indo-European'': Latin, Greek, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, English, German, Russian, Sanskrit, Hindi-Urdu, Bengali, Persian
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Minor sources include Nahuatl, Basque, Turkish, Tamil, Telugu, Finnish, Vietnamese, Irish and Armenian.
Minor sources include Nahuatl, Basque, Turkish, Tamil, Telugu, Finnish, Vietnamese, Irish and Armenian.


Ardlang also draws from proto-languages when the root is clear and widespread enough. The most used proto-language is Proto-Indo-European (PIE from now onwards). Few words are derived from Nostratic roots, like ''kerd'' ("heart"), from ''k̕ærd'', or ''nem'' ("to take"), from ''nʲamo''.
Novbasa also draws from proto-languages when the root is clear and widespread enough. The most used proto-language is Proto-Indo-European (PIE from now onwards). Few words are derived from Nostratic roots, like ''kerd'' ("heart"), from ''k̕ærd'', or ''nem'' ("to take"), from ''nʲamo''.


===Selection criteria===
===Selection criteria===
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* ''Familarity'': The main criteria for a word to be chosen is its diffusion.
* ''Familarity'': The main criteria for a word to be chosen is its diffusion.
** Terms used on a worldwide scale have the priority. Examples: ''sport''; ''chay'' (tea) from Chinese 茶 (''chá''); ''muzik'' ("music").
** Terms used on a worldwide scale have the priority. Examples: ''sport''; ''chay'' (tea) from Chinese 茶 (''chá''); ''muzik'' ("music").
** Words borrowed by many languages have a good chance of being chosen. Examples: ''kitab'' (book) from Arabic كتاب‎ (''kitāb'') and borrowed by many languages, including Persian, Hindi, Indonesian, Malay, Hausa and Turkish.
** Words borrowed by many languages have a good chance of being chosen. Example: ''kitab'' (book) from Arabic كتاب‎ (''kitāb'') and borrowed by many languages, including Persian, Hindi, Indonesian, Malay, Hausa and Turkish.
* ''Simplicity'': When possible, the priority goes to words that are short and easy to pronounce.
* ''Simplicity'': When possible, the priority goes to words that are short and easy to pronounce.
* ''Unambiguousness'': Ardlang tries to eliminate the typical ambiguities of natural languages.
* ''Unambiguousness'': Novbasa tries to eliminate the typical ambiguities of natural languages.
**Each word should refer to only one concept. Example: "right" is translated as ''dex'' if referring to the direction, but is translated as ''pravo'' if referring to the legal term.
**Each word should refer to only one concept. Example: "right" is translated as ''deks'' if referring to the direction, but is translated as ''pravo'' if referring to the legal term.
**If an eligible word would be pronounced as another already existing one, it must be discarded.
**If an eligible word would be pronounced as another already existing one, it must be discarded.
*''Diversity'': While searching for easily recognizable words, Ardlang tries to challenge biases like Eurocentrism. Words of everyday use are thus taken from various language families.
*''Diversity'': While searching for easily recognizable words, Novbasa tries to challenge biases like Eurocentrism. Words of everyday use are thus taken from various language families.
*''Relevance'': A language can get the priority if it has a particularly meaningful cultural and/or historical relation with the term. Examples: ''soyuz'' ("union") from Russian, ''adab'' ("good manners") from Arabic, ''fob'' ("fear") from Greek, ''xamrog'' ("shamrock") from Irish, ''tao'' ("way") from Chinese.
*''Relevance'': A language can get the priority if it has a particularly meaningful cultural and/or historical relation with the term. Examples: ''soyuz'' ("union") from Russian, ''adab'' ("good manners") from Arabic, ''fob'' ("fear") from Greek, ''xamrog'' ("shamrock") from Irish, ''tao'' ("way") from Chinese.


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'''Article 1 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights'''
'''Article 1 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights'''


''Omni human janma azad wa ekwal in dignita wa pravo. Le hav ration wa lyanxin wa deb akti un a ali in spirit de hyondita.''
''Omni human janma azad va ekval in dignita va pravo. Le hav ratyon va lyanxin va deb akti naku in spirit de yondita.''


'''Lord's Prayer'''
'''Lord's Prayer'''


''Nay Patro, ke es in akax''<br>
''Noy Patro, ke es in akax''<br>
''Tey nam ba es fait sakre''<br>
''Tuy nam ba ge-fa santi''<br>
''Tey wangwo ba lay, tey vol ba es fait''<br>
''Tuy van-go ba lay''<br>
''Kam in akax, so sur ard''<br>
''Tuy vol ba ge-fa''<br>
''Da hodi a na nay din pan''<br>
''Kam in akax, so sur arda''<br>
''Wa pardon a na nay utan''<br>
''Da hodi a no noy din pan''<br>
''Kam na pardon le na a nay utaner''<br>
''Va pardon a no noy utan''<br>
''Wa ne indukti na in temptati''<br>
''Kam no pardon le a noy utan-jen''<br>
''Lekin azad na ab mal''
''Va ne dukti no in temptati''<br>
''Lekin azad no ab mal''


'''Various quotes'''
==External links==


''Qaos es nur orden intazarint de es desifrit.'' (Chaos is merely order waiting to be deciphered.) ‒ José Saramago
[http://konlangerz.com/conlang/81/Novbasa]Novbasa on KonlangerZ<br>
[http://novbasa.blogspot.it/p/blog-page.html]Novbasa on Blogger


[[Category: A posteriori conlangs]]
[[Category: A posteriori conlangs]]
[[Category: Conlangs]]
[[Category: Conlangs]]

Latest revision as of 04:21, 30 June 2015

Novbasa (formerly known as Ardlang) is a constructed worldlang created by Elia Ansaloni in 2013. Its name is composed by the words nov ("new") and basa ("language"). Its main features are a regular phonetic inventory, a strict SVO sentence order and a vocabulary that aims to defy Eurocentrism without renouncing to widely known translations. While its main inspiration is Lingwa de Planeta, Novbasa has some traits in common with Sambahsa, like the use of proto-languages and a rather wide vocabulary base.

The main linguistic influences of Novbasa are Indo-European languages, Chinese (from which most of the isolating grammar is derived) and Arabic, but its a posteriori vocabulary is built considering many other languages, including Austronesian languages, Altaic languages, Swahili, Basque and Nahuatl. This approach is remarked by Novbasa's motto Ab hol dunya, pro hol dunya ("From the whole world, for the whole world").

As of 2014, a basic dictionary of Novbasa has been released, and some translations and lexicon are available on the Unilang forum and on this wiki.

Phonology and orthography

Alphabet

Latin a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
Cyrillic a б ч д е ф г х и ж к л м н о п ѳ p c т у в ў ш й з
IPA a b ʧ d е/ɛ f g h/x i ʒ/ʤ k l m n о/ɔ p θ ɾ/r s t u v/w y ʃ j z

Note: q and w are used only in loanwords and foreign proper nouns.

Pronunciation

Some letters can be pronounced in two different ways in order to make the pronunciation easier to the majority of speakers. For example, a Russian or a French speaker would find more natural to pronunce j as /ʒ/, while an English or an Hindi one would rather choose /ʤ/. Both are equally valid and mutually interchangeable. It should be noticed that ng is always pronounced as /ŋg/ and never as /ŋ/ (as it would be in English or Indonesian). N is pronunced as /ŋ/ before velar plosives.

The stress is always on the penultimate syllable.

In the diphtongs ao and eo, "o" is considered a semivowel and the accent never falls on it.

Grammar

Generally, the only way to identify a word as a noun, adjective or verb is the context and the position in the phrase. For example, tuk may stand for "poison", "poisonous" or "to poison". However, a name can be identified by the presence of an article.

Articles

There are two determinative articles: al (singular) and i (plural). There is only one indeterminative article: un, which is only singular. Articles are required when it's necessary to clear the status of a noun as singular or plural, or when the noun can't be immediately identified in the phrase.

Nouns

Nouns in Novbasa do not change for number or case. Some nouns have a masculine and a feminine form that can be obtained by adding the prefix man or fem.

tsula - fox (gender not specified)
man-tsula - male fox
fem-tsula - vixen

Few nouns have two different versions.

patro/matra - father/mother
brator/sestar - brother/sister

Adjectives

Adjectives always precede the noun they're related to.

un hvan dom - a yellow house
al xao kali kat - the small black cat

Adverbs

Adverbs may be identified by adding -di to an adjective.

garme (warm) → garme-di (warmly)

The particle is pronunced separately from the root, whose pronunciation is left unchanged.

Pronouns

Personal pronouns

Novbasa English
me I
tu you
hu/ta/he he/she/it
no we
vo you
le they

Possessive adjectives and pronouns are formed by adding y to the personal pronouns.

Novbasa English
mey I, mine
tuy your, yours
huy/tay/hey his/her, hers/its
noy our, ours
voy your, yours
ley their, theirs

Correlatives

Much like Esperanto, Novbasa organizes demonstrative and relative pronouns in a table.

Demonstrative
("This/that") 		Indefinite
("Some") 		Elective
("Any") 		Universal
("Each, every") 		Negative
("No")
sa/to– mo– aon– ve– ne–
Individual –jen sajen/tojen
(this/that one) 		mojen
(someone) 		aonjen
(anyone) 		vejen
(everyone, each one) 		nejen
(no one)
Thing –vas savas/tovas
(this/that) 		movas
(something) 		aonvas
(anything) 		vevas
(everything) 		nevas
(nothing)
Time –vez savez/tovez
(this/that time) 		movez
(sometime) 		aonvez
(anytime) 		vevez
(always) 		nevez
(never)
Place –stan sastan/tostan*
(here/there) 		mostan
(somewhere) 		aonstan
(anywhere) 		vestan
(everywhere) 		nestan
(nowhere)
Manner –kam sakam/tokam
(this/that way) 		mokam
(somehow) 		aonkam
(anyhow, anyway) 		vekam
(in every way) 		nekam
(no way)
Reason –karan sakaran/tokaran
(therefore) 		mokaran
(for some reason) 		aonkaran
(for any reason) 		vekaran
(for all reasons) 		nekaran
(for no reason)
Amount –kvanti sakvanti/tokvanti
(this/that much) 		mokvanti
(some) 		aonkvanti
(any quantity) 		vekvanti
(all of it) 		nekvanti
(none)

* Adverbs sastan and tostan are rarely used. They are often replaced by the more practical je ("here") and la ("there").

The main difference with Esperanto is that "question" pronouns are not formed this way, and therefore are listed apart.

Novbasa English
ki who
ko what
kvan when
kver where
kom how
kvey why
kvanti how much

Verbs

Much like in English, verbs in Novbasa change only for mood and tense but not for number and person. Apart from es ("to be"), all verbs are regular. The subject must always be expressed.

Tense Novbasa English
Infinitive bina to build
Present me bina I build
Present perfect me ha bina I have built
Past me li bina I built
Past perfect me li ha bina I had built
Future me yao bina I will build
Near future me vao bina I am going to build
Conditional me ud bina I would build
Past conditional me ud li bina I would have built
Imperative (ba) bina build!
Present Participle ra bina building
Past Participle (ge) bina built

The reflexive is formed by adding se before the verb and after eventual particles.

The passive is formed by coupling the particles with the past participle of the verb. In this case, ba cannot be dropped.

Es

Es ("to be") is the only irregular verb.

Tense Novbasa English
Infinitive es to be
Present me es I am
Present perfect me ha es I have been
Past me bi I was
Past pefect me ha bi I had been
Future me yao es I will be
Near future me vao es I am going to be
Conditional me ud es I would be
Past conditional me ud bi I would have been
Imperative (ba) es be!
Present Participle ra es being
Past Participle bu been

Numerals

Number Cardinal Number Cardinal
0 nul 11 dekun
1 un 20 dudek
2 du 21 dudekun
3 san 30 sandek
4 ca 40 cadek
5 pen 50 pendek
6 lyu 100 bak
7 sep 200 dubak
8 pa 237 dubaktrideksep
9 nav 1000 kil
10 dek 2000 dukil

Lexicon

Main article: Novbasa/Lexicon

Novbasa lexicon draws from the main language families of the world. The main source are Indo-European languages (around 60% of the current lexicon), but the core of everyday use terms includes many Afro-Asiatic and Sino-Tibetan terms.

Source languages

Virtually, any language can be a source for Novbasa. However, due to historical, geographic and/or cultural relevance and to the number of speakers, a restricted number of languages forms the main core. These languages are classified as it follows.

  • Indo-European: Latin, Greek, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, English, German, Russian, Sanskrit, Hindi-Urdu, Bengali, Persian
  • Sino-Tibetan: Chinese
  • Afro-Asiatic: Arabic
  • Altaic: Japanese, Korean
  • Austronesian: Malay-Indonesian
  • Niger-Congo: Swahili

Minor sources include Nahuatl, Basque, Turkish, Tamil, Telugu, Finnish, Vietnamese, Irish and Armenian.

Novbasa also draws from proto-languages when the root is clear and widespread enough. The most used proto-language is Proto-Indo-European (PIE from now onwards). Few words are derived from Nostratic roots, like kerd ("heart"), from k̕ærd, or nem ("to take"), from nʲamo.

Selection criteria

Although the selection doesn't follow a specific path, some criteria are followed to choose a specific translation among the various languages.

  • Familarity: The main criteria for a word to be chosen is its diffusion.
    • Terms used on a worldwide scale have the priority. Examples: sport; chay (tea) from Chinese 茶 (chá); muzik ("music").
    • Words borrowed by many languages have a good chance of being chosen. Example: kitab (book) from Arabic كتاب‎ (kitāb) and borrowed by many languages, including Persian, Hindi, Indonesian, Malay, Hausa and Turkish.
  • Simplicity: When possible, the priority goes to words that are short and easy to pronounce.
  • Unambiguousness: Novbasa tries to eliminate the typical ambiguities of natural languages.
    • Each word should refer to only one concept. Example: "right" is translated as deks if referring to the direction, but is translated as pravo if referring to the legal term.
    • If an eligible word would be pronounced as another already existing one, it must be discarded.
  • Diversity: While searching for easily recognizable words, Novbasa tries to challenge biases like Eurocentrism. Words of everyday use are thus taken from various language families.
  • Relevance: A language can get the priority if it has a particularly meaningful cultural and/or historical relation with the term. Examples: soyuz ("union") from Russian, adab ("good manners") from Arabic, fob ("fear") from Greek, xamrog ("shamrock") from Irish, tao ("way") from Chinese.

Translations

Sample translations

Article 1 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Omni human janma azad va ekval in dignita va pravo. Le hav ratyon va lyanxin va deb akti naku in spirit de yondita.

Lord's Prayer

Noy Patro, ke es in akax
Tuy nam ba ge-fa santi
Tuy van-go ba lay
Tuy vol ba ge-fa
Kam in akax, so sur arda
Da hodi a no noy din pan
Va pardon a no noy utan
Kam no pardon le a noy utan-jen
Va ne dukti no in temptati
Lekin azad no ab mal

External links

[1]Novbasa on KonlangerZ
[2]Novbasa on Blogger

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