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{{WIP}}
{{Infobox|name=Élbica
{{Infobox|name=Helvica
|pronounce='ɛlbika
|pronounce=/"ElvIk@/
|tu=[[Ill Bethisad]]
|tu=[[Ill Bethisad]]
|species=Human
|species=Human
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|wo=SVO
|wo=SVO
|creator=[[User:Sectori|Sectori]]
|creator=[[User:Sectori|Sectori]]
|date=May 2006}}
|date=July, 2009}}
Elbic is the language of the Principality of Elba, an island off the coast of Tuscany. It is a Central and Southern Italian language, related to Neapolitan and Tuscan Italian. It has two sets of changes to initial consonants, similar to the mutations found in the Celtic consonants: the geminate mutation (also found in [[Wikipedia:Neapolitan|Neapolitan]]), and the soft mutation ([[Wikipedia:Tuscan gorgia|Tuscan Italian]]).
''Nota bene: Elbic has undergone some changes since this page was last updated, especially to nominal morphology but also limited changes to verbal morphology. I'm not sure if/when this page will be up-to-date.''
 
Elbic is the language of the Principality of Elba, an island off the coast of Tuscany. It is a Central and Southern Italian language, although it has been relatively isolated, related to Neapolitan and Tuscan Italian.
 
==Phonology==
Elbic phonology is fairly ordinary for a Romance language.


==Phonotactics/Orthography/Stress==
The Elbic alphabet contains 37 distinct letters. There are 15 vowel letters representing ten sounds. Elbic has the following vowels:
===Vowels===
===Vowels===
<br/>
Elbic has a straightforward seven-vowel system inherited from Vulgar Latin. It also has three diphthongs, two falling and one rising: /jɛ/, /wɔ/, and /ai/.
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">


Line 31: Line 33:
| ||colspan=2| Front ||colspan=2| Near-front ||colspan=2| Central ||colspan=2| Near-back ||colspan=2| Back
| ||colspan=2| Front ||colspan=2| Near-front ||colspan=2| Central ||colspan=2| Near-back ||colspan=2| Back
|-
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High || {{IPA|i}} || || || || || || || || || {{IPA|u}}
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High || i || || || || || || || || || u
|-
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-high || || || {{IPA|ɪ}} || || || || || {{IPA|ʊ}} || ||  
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-high || || || || || || || || || ||  
|-
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High-mid || || || {{IPA|e}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|o}}
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High-mid || || || ê || || || || || || || ô
|-
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Mid || || || || || {{IPA|ə}}
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Mid || || || e || || || || || || || o
|-
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low-mid || || || {{IPA|ɛ}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|ɔ}}
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low-mid || || || || || || || || || ||  
|-
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-low || || ||
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-low || || ||
|-
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low || || || || || {{IPA|a}}
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low || || || || || a
|}
|}
</div>
</div>
Orthographically, these are represented by:
<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">


{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
Orthographically, it should be noted that '''e''' and '''o''' occasionally represent /e/ and /o/; as a general rule, only the first vowel in a word that would receive a circumflex does. The diphthong /jɛ/ is represented orthographically as '''ië''', the diphthong /wɔ/ as '''uo''', and the diphthong /ai/ as '''ai'''.
!colspan=11 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Vowels
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Front ||colspan=2| Near-front ||colspan=2| Central ||colspan=2| Near-back ||colspan=2| Back
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High || í || || || || || || || || || ú
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-high || || || ì || || || || || ù || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| High-mid || || || è || || || || || || || ó
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Mid || || || || || à
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low-mid || || || é || || || || || || || ò
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Near-low || || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Low || || || || || á
|}


</div>
===Consonants===
There are a set of unaccented vowels <a e i o u>. These, when stressed, are pronounced as the acute vowels, when unstressed as the grave vowels.
Elbic has either 22 or 24 consonants, depending on whether the semivowels /w/ and /j/ are treated as allophonic realizations of /i/ and /u/ or as consonants in their own right.


===Consonants===
<br/>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
!colspan=17 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Consonants
!colspan=17 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Consonants
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
| ||colspan=2| Bilabial ||colspan=2| Labiod. ||colspan=2| Dental ||colspan=2| Alveolar ||colspan=2| Post-alv. ||colspan=2| Palatal ||colspan=2| Velar ||colspan=2| Glottal
| ||colspan=2| Bilabial ||colspan=2| Labiod. ||colspan=2| Dental ||colspan=2| Alveolar ||colspan=2| Post-alv. ||colspan=2| Palatal ||colspan=2| Velar ||colspan=2| Labiovelar
|-
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Nasal || || {{IPA|m}} || {{IPA|ɱ}} || || || || || {{IPA|n}} || || || || {{IPA|ɲ}} || ||
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Nasal || || m || || || || || || n || || || || gn || ||
|-
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Plosive || {{IPA|p}} || {{IPA|b}} || || || {{IPA|t}} || {{IPA|d}} || || || || || || || {{IPA|k}} || {{IPA|g}}
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Plosive || p || b || || || t || d || || || || || || || c(h) || g(h) || qu || gu
|-
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Fricative || {{IPA|ɸ}} || {{IPA|β}} || || || {{IPA|θ}} || {{IPA|ð}} || {{IPA|s}} || || {{IPA|ʃ}} || || || || {{IPA|x}} || {{IPA|ɣ}} ||
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Fricative || || || f || v || || || s || || x || g(i) || || || || || ||  
|-
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Affricate || || || || || || {{IPA|dz}} || || || {{IPA|t∫}} || {{IPA|dʒ}} || || {{IPA|kw}}||({{IPA|ks}})||
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Affricate || || || || || ç || z || || || c(i) || || || || ||
|-
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Approximants || ||({{IPA|w}})|| || || || || || || || || ||({{IPA|j}})
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Approximants || ||(u)|| || || || || || || || || ||(i)
|-
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Trill || || || || || || || || {{IPA|r̥}}|| {{IPA|r}}
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Trill || || || || || || || || || r
|-
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Lateral Approximant || || || || || || || || {{IPA|l}} || {{IPA|ʎ}}
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Lateral Approximant || || || || || || || || l || || || || lh
|}
|}
</div>


</div>
Orthographically, '''ch''' and '''gh''' are used for /k/ and /g/ before front vowels, '''c''' and '''g''' before back vowels. '''c''' and '''g''' are used for /tʃ/ and /ʒ/ before front vowels, '''ci''' and '''gi''' before back vowels. All consonants can be geminated, in which case they are written twice, with the following exceptions:
These are represented orthographically by the characters following. However, there are some important notes. /dz/ when adjacent to an unvoiced consonant or initially is [ts]. Double consonants <nn ss>, etc. are pronounced /nn ss/, etc. /t∫/ is [k] before <a o u> in all variations. /dʒ/ is [g] before <a o u> in all variations. There is also an orthographically represented <h>. <h> is non-phonemic, but rather represents /ˈ/, a movement of stress. <h> always precedes a vowel, and moves the stress of the word to that vowel. /kw/ is /k/ before <e i> in all variations. < i u> in diphthongs are pronounced /j w/. /ɲ ʎ/ before <a o u> in all variations are /gn gl/. /∫/ in non-Elbic words (i.e. lone words) is /ks/. /dz/ word-initially is /ts/
* geminated '''lh''' is written '''llh'''
<br/>
* geminated '''ç''' is written '''tç'''
<div style="text-align: center;">
* geminated '''qu''' is written '''cqu'''
* geminated '''gn''' is written '''ggn'''


{| style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1pt solid #c0c0c0;"
Written Elbic utilizes four diacritics:
!colspan=17 style="text-align:center; background: #efefef;"| Consonants
* the circumflex is used to mark the vowels /e/ and /o/ (written '''ê''' and '''ô''')
|- style="vertical-align: center; font-size: x-small; height: 2em"
* the diaeresis is used to mark the diphthong /jɛ/ (written '''ië''')
| ||colspan=2| Bilabial ||colspan=2| Labiod. ||colspan=2| Dental ||colspan=2| Alveolar ||colspan=2| Post-alv. ||colspan=2| Palatal ||colspan=2| Velar ||colspan=2| Glottal
* the acute accent is used to mark irregular stress on a non-final syllable
|-
* the grave accent is used to mark irregular stress on a final syllable
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Nasal || || m || || hm || || || || n || || || || hn || ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Plosive || p || b || || || t || d || || || || || || || ch || gh
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Fricative || hp || hb || || || ht || hd || s || || x || || || || hc(h) || hg(h) ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Affricate || || || || || || z || || || c || g || || qu || (x) ||
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Approximants || ||(u)|| || || || || || || || || ||(i)
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Trill || || || || || || || hr || r
|-
|style="text-align: left; font-size: 95%;"| Lateral Approximant || || || || || || || || l || hl
|}


</div>
Note that an acute or grave takes precedence over the diaeresis (e.g. '''Miéxxicu''' ''Mexico'').


===Stress===
===Stress===
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* When determining the stress of a word, always initially place it on the final syllable.
* When determining the stress of a word, always initially place it on the final syllable.
* If the final phoneme is a vowel, stress moves back one syllable.
* If the final sound is a vowel, stress moves back one syllable.
* If the final syllable ends in a nasal or an approximant, move the stress back one syllable.
* If anywhere in the word there is a vowel with an acute or grave, move the stress to the accented vowel.
* If anywhere in the word there is an <h> preceding a vowel, move the stress to the h-vowel.
* In monosyllabic words, the vowel is generally treated as if it were unstressed.
* In monosyllabic words, the vowel is always treated as if it were stressed.


Thus, Mhexicó, the Elbic name for Mexico, is /mˈɛksɪko/, and Helva, the Elbic name for Elba, is /ˈɛlvə/. No Nápolitanno, or "a Neapolitan", is /no napɔlɪtˈannɔ/.
Thus, '''Miéxxicu''', the Elbic name for Mexico, is /'mjɛʃ:iku/, '''Êlba''', the Elbic name for Elba, is /'elba/, the definite article '''la''' is /la/, and '''nu napoletannu''' ''a Neapolitan'' is /nu napolɛ'tan:u/.


==Nominal Morphology==
==Nominal morphology==
Phew. That's over. Good. Now we can get onto the interesting bit. Nouns in Elbic belong to one of three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter. There are also two numbers: singular and plural. All Elbic nouns end in vowels. The changes applied to vowels to go from singular to plural are as follows:
Nouns in Elbic belong to one of two genders, masculine or feminine. The vast majority of nouns end in a vowel, and all nouns form their plurals by suffixing '''s''':


* -o>-i (in cases where the noun ends in -io, the i becomes -ì); '''gatto'''>'''gatti'''
* '''duomnu''' (lord) —> '''duomnus'''
* -a>-e; '''cossina'''>'''cossine'''
* '''acqua''' (water) —> '''acquas'''
* -u>-e; '''frasu'''>'''frase'''
* '''princêppi''' (prince) —> '''princêppis
* -e>-i; '''traduzione'''>'''traduzioni'''
* '''parti''' (part, section) —> '''partis'''
* -i>-e (very few nouns end in -i); '''spaghetti'''>'''spaghette'''
* '''mannu''' (hand) —> '''mannus'''
* '''zi''' (day) —> '''zis'''


The singular endings can tell you a significant amount about the gender of a noun. Here are some basic guidelines.
Generally speaking, nouns that end in '''u''' are masculine and nouns that end in '''a''' are feminine (although this is not always so: '''mannu''' is feminine, for example). Nouns ending in other vowels might belong to either gender, although there are some observable patterns. For example,


* Most nouns ending in -o are masculine; '''lo gatto'''
* nouns ending in '''ionni''' ('''stazionni''' "station", e.g.) are feminine
* Most nouns ending in -a are feminine; '''la ccossina'''
* nouns ending in '''atti''' ('''universitatti''' "university", e.g.) are feminine
* Most nouns ending in -u are neuter; '''lu ffrasu'''
* nouns ending in '''orri''' ('''amorri''' "love", e.g.) are masculine
* All nouns ending in -zione are feminine; '''la ttraduzione'''
* All nouns ending in -ismo are neuter; '''lu ffaxismo'''
* Nouns ending in -e or -i can be of any gender, and so you just have to memorize them; '''lo cambiatte''', '''lu mmomenti'''


===Articles===
===Articles===
Along with nouns must come articles. Elbic has six definite articles and four indefinite articles. The definite articles are equivalent to English "the" and precede the noun they modify. There are both singular and plural definite articles. The indefinite articles are equivalent to English "a/an" and precede the noun they modify. There are only singular indefinite articles. The definite articles are as follows.
Elbic has two types of articles, definite and indefinite, each of which has five forms. The forms of the definite article are as follows:


* '''lo''': masculine singular; '''lo gatto'''
{|
* '''la''': feminine singular; '''la ccossina'''
! || Masc. || Fem. || Before vowel
* '''lu''': neuter singular; '''lu ffrasu'''
|-
* '''l''': singular (substitutes for '''lo''', '''la''', or '''lu''' before a vowel); '''l'arbollo'''
| '''Sing.''' || lu || la || l'
* '''li''': masculine plural; li gatti
|-
* '''le''': feminine and neuter plural; '''le frase'''
| '''Plur.''' || lus || las || *
|}


The indefinite articles are as follows.
Plural nouns that begin with a vowel use the normal plural forms. For example, '''lu duomnu''' (the lord), '''las mannus''' (the hands), '''l'universitatti''' (the university), '''lus amorris''' (the loves).


* '''no''': masculine singular; '''no gatto'''
The forms of the indefinite article are as follows:
* '''na''': feminine singular: '''na ccossina'''
* '''nu''': neuter singular; '''nu ffrasu'''
* '''n'''': singular (substitutes for no, na, or nu before a vowel); '''n'arbollo'''


===Geminate Mutation===
{|
You may have noticed that some of the nouns changed when articles were placed in front of them. This is the geminate mutation, one of the more unique features of Elbic, shared with Neapolitan. The geminate mutation is a doubling of the initial consonant of a word. It is triggered by the feminine articles and neuter singular articles. Any word following these articles will experience the doubling. However, only certain consonants are doubled. Here is the list. It includes the soft mutation for future reference as well.
! || Masc. || Fem. || Before vowel
|-
| '''Sing.''' || nu || na || n'
|-
| '''Plur.''' || nus || nas || *
|}


  {| border=1
Plural nouns that begin with a vowel use the normal plural forms. The plural indefinite article is equivalent to English "some" or French "des". The definite article contracts with the prepositions '''a''' (at, to, towards), '''da''' (from, of), '''in''' (in, at, on), and '''su''' (around, on).
  ! Initial Consonant || Geminate Form || Soft Form
  |-
  | t  || tth  || ht
  |-
  | d  || ddh  || hd
  |-
  | c  || cch<br>cc' || hc
  |-
  | g  || ggh<br>gg' || hg
  |-
  | s  || ssh  || s
  |-
  | z  || zzh  || z
  |-
  | p  || pph  || hp
  |-
  | b  || bbh  || hb
  |-
  | ch  || cch' || hch
  |-
  | gh  || ggh' || hgh
  |-
  | qu  || cquh  || hcu
  |-
  | n  || nnh  || hn
  |-
  | m  || mmh  || hm
  |-
  | l  || llh  || hl
  |-
  | r  || rrh  || hr
  |-
  | f  || ffh  || hf
  |-
  | v  || vvh  || hv
  |-
  | x  || xxh  || x
  |}


So you can see how the transfer from '''frasu''' to '''lu ffrhasu''' occurs.
====Contraction with ''a''====
{|
! ''a'' || Masc. || Fem. || Before vowel
|-
| '''Sing.''' || allu || alla || all'
|-
| '''Plur.''' || allus || allas || *
|}


* '''cossina''' /kɔssinə/>'''la cchossina''' /la kkɔssinə/
====Contraction with ''da''====
* '''napolitanna''' /nəpɔlɪtannə/>'''la nnhapolitanna''' /la nnapɔlɪtannə/
{|
* '''frasu''' /frasʊ/>'''lu ffrhasu''' /lu ffrasʊ/
! ''da'' || Masc. || Fem. || Before vowel
* '''nome''' /nomɛ/>'''lu nnhome''' /lu nnomɛ/
|-
| '''Sing.''' || dallu || dalla || dall'
|-
| '''Plur.''' || dallus || dallas || *
|}


N.B.: The geminate mutation moves the stress of a word to the geminated syllable. This is noted by placing (or moving) an <h> there. If putting an <h> before the geminated syllable would change the pronunciation of the consonant (e.g. c>cch before <e> or < i>), or the consonant is adigraph (like <ch gh>) ending in <h>, an apostrophe is used instead.
====Contraction with ''in''====
{|
! ''in'' || Masc. || Fem. || Before vowel
|-
| '''Sing.''' || gnellu || gnella || gnell'
|-
| '''Plur.''' || gnellus || gnellas || *
|}


==Verbal Morphology==
====Contraction with ''su''====
Elbic has a great many verbs. All verbs belong to one of four types: -ha, -he, -hi, and irregular. This section will demonstrate the conjugations of verbs from each type.
{|
! ''a'' || Masc. || Fem. || Before vowel
|-
| '''Sing.''' || sullu || sulla || sull'
|-
| '''Plur.''' || sullus || sullas || *
|}


===Subject Pronouns===
==Pronominal morphology==
Before conjugating a verb, it is important to learn Elbic's subject pronouns. There are six personal subject pronouns, corresponding to English "I, you, he, she, we, you (all), and they". In Elbic, they are:
Elbic pronouns, like nouns, distinguish two numbers and between two and five cases. In the third person, there is a masculine-feminine distinction, as well. The cases shown by the pronouns are the following: for the first and second person pronouns, nominative, genitive, and oblique-reflexive cases are distinguished. For the impersonal pronoun '''si''', the nominative and the oblique-reflexive are identical. For the third person pronouns, nominative, accusative, genitive, dative, and reflexive are distinguished, and there exist special disjunctive forms, as well.


  {| border=1
===First person===
  ! Person || Singular || Plural
The first person pronoun declines as follows:
  |-
{|
  | 1P  || io  || noi
! || Sing. || Plur.
  |-
|-
  | 2P  || tu  || voi
| '''Nom.''' || giu || nus
  |-
|-
  | 3Pm || lei  || lori
| '''Gen.''' || miu || nuostru
  |-
|-
  | 3Pf || lui  || lore
| '''O.-R.''' || mi || nui
  |}
|}


Like many European languages, Elbic differentiates between formal and informal pronouns. Similarly to French, Elbic uses the plural second person pronoun, '''voi''', to refer to a person you wish to address formally. In practice, however, this is infrequently used, as the Elbans are a generally relaxed and informal group.
===Second person===
The second person pronoun declines as follows:
{|
! || Sing. || Plur.
|-
| '''Nom.''' || tu || vus
|-
| '''Gen.''' || tiu || vuostru
|-
| '''O.-R.''' || ti || vui
|}


===Verb Conjugation: Simple Tenses===
===Third person===
Elbic verbs are composed of three parts:
The third person pronoun declines as follows:
{|
| || Masc. || || Fem.
|-
! || Sing. || Plur. || Sing. || Plur.
|-
| '''Nom.''' || ell || ells || ella || ellas
|-
| '''Gen.''' || siu || lôrru || siu || larru
|-
| '''Dat.''' || lhi || lhis || lhi || lhis
|-
| '''Acc.''' || lu/l' || lus || la/l' || las
|-
| '''Ref.''' || si || si || si || si
|-
| '''Disj.''' || ellu || ellus || ella || ellas
|}


''stem''+'''h'''+''theme vowel''
==Verbal morphology==
Elbic verbs can be classified into five groups; four of them are distinguished by their infinitive endings while the fifth comprises irregular verbs.


Elbic verbs are conjugated by removing the final -'''h'''-''theme vowel'' from the verb stem and adding a different ending. Note that irregular verbs have stem vowels as regular verbs. For example, '''ésshe''' is an irregular verb, but appears as an -he verb.
* First conjugation infinitives end in '''arri''', e.g. '''parlarri''' ''speak''
* Second conjugation infinitives end in '''erri''', e.g. '''vêderri''' ''see''
* Third conjugation infinitives end in '''ri''', e.g. '''priëndri''' ''take''
* Fourth conjugation infinitives end in '''irri''', e.g. '''finirri''' ''finish''
* Irregular verbs' infinitives look like infinitives for one of the other four conjugations


====First Conjugation Verbs====
There are two important notes about verb conjugation. Some finite endings cause palatalization of the preceding consonant:
Elbic verb conjugations for -ha verbs are conveniently arranged on this table:


{| border=1
{|
| || Present Indicative || Simple Past Indicative || Imperfect Indicative || Future Indicative || Present Subjunctive || Imperfect Subjunctive || Present Conditional
! Normal || Palatalized
|-
| c || x
|-
| ch || c
|-
|-
| 1Ps  || -o || -i || -avo || -*ro || -e || -assa || -*ri
| g || gi
|-
|-
| 2Ps  || -ai || -aste || -avai || -*rai || -ei || -assai || -*rei
| gh || g
|-
|-
| 3Ps  || -a || -ò || -ava || -*ra || -e || -assa || -*ri
| t || ç
|-
|-
| 1Pp  || -ammo || -amo || -avammo || -*remmo || -emmo || -assammo || -*rimmo
| d || z
|-
|-
| 2Pp  || -atte || -asti || -avatte|| -*ratte || -ette || -assatte || -*ritte
| l || lh
|-
|-
| 3Pp  || -anno || -ano || -avanno || -*ranno || -enno || -assanno || -*rinno
| n || gn
|}
|}


The *asterisk indicates that the shown ending is added to the entire verb infinitive, not just to the verb stem. So, the full simple conjugation of '''cántha''', ''to sing''.
Additionally, any verbs, most notably verbs of the third conjugation, whose final stem vowel is short '''e''' or '''o''' will diphthongize when that vowel is stressed to '''ië''' or '''uo'''. Thus, the stem of the third conjugation verb '''priëndri''' is actually *'''prend''', but because the stress falls on the stem vowel, it has diphthongized even in the infinitive.
 
All verbs are conjugated by removing the infinitive ending and adding various suffixes. The conjugation patterns for regular verbs, as well as for the irregular verbs '''esserri''' ''be'' and '''averri''' ''have''. Additionally, it should be noted that many verbs, especially of the second and third conjugations, have irregular preterite stems. For example, '''vêderri''' ''see'' has the preterite stem '''vid''' (e.g. '''vidì''' ''I saw''). The irregular preterite stem is used in both the indicative and the subjunctive.
 
===First conjugation===
The conjugation of first conjugation verbs in '''arri''' is shown below.
 
====Finite forms====
The finite forms of the first conjugation are as follows:


{| border=1
{| border=1
| || Present Indicative || Simple Past Indicative || Imperfect Indicative || Future Indicative || Present Subjunctive || Imperfect Subjunctive || Present Conditional
! || Present Indicative || Preterite Indicative || Imperfect Indicative || Future Indicative || Present Subjunctive || Preterite Subjunctive || Imperative
|-
|-
| 1Ps || cánto || cánti || cántavo || cánthero || cánte || cántassa || cánthari
| 1 sg. || u || ai || abba || arò || i || assi || —
|-
|-
| 2Ps || cántai || cántaste || cántavai || cántharai || cántei || cántassai || cántharei
| 2 sg. || as || asti || abbas || aràs || is || assis || a
|-
|-
| 3Ps || cánta || cántò || cántava || cánthera || cánthare || cántassa || cánthari
| 3 sg. || a || ò || abba || arà || i || assi || —
|-
|-
| 1Pp || cántammo || cántamo || cántavammo || cántharemmo || cántemmo || cántassammo || cántharimmo
| 1 pl. || ammu || ammu || ábbamu || aremmu || immu || ássimu || immu
|-
|-
| 2Pp || cántatte || cántasti || cántavatte|| cántharatte || cántette || cántassatte || cántharitte
| 2 pl. || atti || astis || ábbati || aretti || itti || ássiti || atti
|-
| 3 pl. || an || arrun || abban || aràn || in || assin || —
|}
 
====Non-finite forms====
The non-finite forms of the first conjugation are as follows:
 
{| border=1
| Infinitive || '''arri'''
|-
| Past part. || '''attu'''
|-
|-
| 3Pp  || cántanno || cántano || cántavanno || cántharanno || cántenno || cántassanno || cántharinno
| Present part. || '''anti'''
|}
|}


====Second and Third Conjugation Verbs====
====Sample conjugation====
The conjugation paradigm for -he and -hi verbs is below. If there are two entries in a box, the second is the ending for -hi verbs. A parenthetical -iss- marks third conjugation (-hi) radical-shift verbs.
The finite conjugation of the verb '''cantarri''' ''sing'':


{| border=1
{| border=1
| || Present Indicative || Simple Past Indicative || Imperfect Indicative || Future Indicative || Present Subjunctive || Imperfect Subjunctive || Present Conditional
! || Present Indicative || Preterite Indicative || Imperfect Indicative || Future Indicative || Present Subjunctive || Preterite Subjunctive || Imperative
|-
|-
| 1Ps || -o || -i || -ia || -*ro || -a || -issa || -*ri
| 1 sg. || cantu || cantai || cantabba || cantarò || canti || cantassi || —
|-
|-
| 2Ps || -ei || -iste || -iai || -*rai || -ai || -issai || -*rei
| 2 sg. || cantas || cantasti || cantabbas || cantaràs || cantis || cantassis || canta
|-
|-
| 3Ps || -e || -io || -ia || -*ra || -a || -issa || -*ri
| 3 sg. || canta || cantò || cantabba || cantarà || canti || cantassi || —
|-
|-
| 1Pp || -emmo/(iss)immo || -imo || -iammo || -*remmo || -ammo || -issammo || -*rimmo
| 1 pl. || cantammu || cantammu || cantábbamu || cantaremmu || cantimmu || cantássimu || cantimmu
|-
|-
| 2Pp || -ette/(iss)itte || -isti || -iatte|| -*ratte || -atte || -issatte || -*ritte
| 2 pl. || cantatti || cantastis || cantábbati || cantaretti || cantitti || cantássiti || cantatti
|-
|-
| 3Pp  || -(iss)enno || -ino || -ianno || -*ranno || -anno || -issanno || -*rinno
| 3 pl. || cantan || cantarrun || cantabban || cantaràn || cantin || cantassin || —
|}
|}


And the full conjugation of '''scrivhi''', a regular -hi verb.
And the non-finite forms:


{| border=1
{| border=1
| || Present Indicative || Simple Past Indicative || Imperfect Indicative || Future Indicative || Present Subjunctive || Imperfect Subjunctive || Present Conditional
| Infinitive || '''cantarri'''
|-
|-
| 1Ps  || scrivo || scrivi || scrivia || scrivhiro || scriva || scrivissa || scrivhiri
| Past part. || '''cantattu'''
|-
|-
| 2Ps  || scrivei || scriviste || scriviai || scrivhirai || scrivai || scrivissai || scrivhirei
| Present part. || '''cantanti'''
|}
 
===Second conjugation===
The conjugation of second conjugation verbs in '''erri''' is shown below:
 
====Finite forms====
The finite forms of the second conjugation are as follows:
 
{| border=1
! || Present Indicative || Preterite Indicative || Imperfect Indicative || Future Indicative || Present Subjunctive || Preterite Subjunctive || Imperative
|-
|-
| 3Ps || scrive || scrivio || scrivia || scrivhira || scriva || scrivissa || scrivhiri
| 1 sg. || *u || ì || ebba || erò || *a || essi || —
|-
|-
| 1Pp || scrivimmo || scriviimo || scriviammo || scrivhiremmo || scrivammo || scrivissammo || scrivhirimmo
| 2 sg. || es || isti || ebbas || eràs || *as || essis || i
|-
| 3 sg.  || i || ò || ebba || erà || *a || essi || —
|-
| 1 pl.  || emmu || immu || ébbamu || eremmu || *ammu || éssimu || *ammu
|-
| 2 pl.  || etti || istis || ébbati || eretti || *atti || éssiti || etti
|-
| 3 pl. || *un || *errun || ebban || eràn || *an || essin || —
|}
 
====Non-finite forms====
The non-finite forms of the second conjugation are as follows:
 
{| border=1
| Infinitive || '''erri'''
|-
|-
| 2Pp  || scrivitte || scrivisti || scriviatte|| scrivhiratte || scrivatte || scrivissatte || scrivhiritte
| Past part. || '''ittu'''
|-
|-
| 3Pp  || scrivenno || scrivino || scrivianno || scrivhiranno || scrivanno || scrivissanno || scrivhirinno
| Present part. || '''enti'''
|}
|}


Elbic's radical-changing verbs developed from Latin fourth conjugation verbs, and the specific changes applied come from Elbic mixing with French. Here is the conjugation of '''sentendrhi''', the verb for ''to hear''.
====Sample conjugation====
The finite conjugation of '''vêderri''' ''see'':


{| border=1
{| border=1
| || Present Indicative || Simple Past Indicative || Imperfect Indicative || Future Indicative || Present Subjunctive || Imperfect Subjunctive || Present Conditional
! || Present Indicative || Preterite Indicative || Imperfect Indicative || Future Indicative || Present Subjunctive || Preterite Subjunctive || Imperative
|-
|-
| 1Ps || sentendro || sentendri || sentendria || sentendrhiro || sentendra || sentendrissa || sentendrhiri
| 1 sg. || vêzu || vidì || vêdebba || vêderò || vêza || videssi || —
|-
|-
| 2Ps || sentendrei || sentendriste || sentendriai || sentendrhirai || sentendrai || sentendrissai || sentendrhirei
| 2 sg. || vêdes || vidisti || vêdebbas || vêderàs || vêzas || videssis || vêdi
|-
|-
| 3Ps || sentendre || sentendrio || sentendria || sentendrhira || sentendra || sentendrissa || sentendrhiri
| 3 sg. || vêdi || vidò || vêdebba || vêderà || vêza || videssi || —
|-
|-
| 1Pp || sentendrissimmo || sentendrimo || sentendriammo || sentendrhiremmo || sentendrammo || sentendrissammo || sentendrhirimmo
| 1 pl. || vêdemmu || vidimmu || vêdébbamu || vêderemmu || vêzammu || vidéssimu || vêzammu
|-
|-
| 2Pp || sentendrissitte || sentendristi || sentendriatte|| sentendrhiratte || sentendratte || sentendrissatte || sentendrhiritte
| 2 pl. || vêdetti || vidistis || vêdébbati || vêderetti || vêzatti || vidéssiti || vêdetti
|-
|-
| 3Pp  || sentendrissenno || sentendrino || sentendrianno || sentendrhiranno || sentendranno || sentendrissanno || sentendrhirinno
| 3 pl. || vêzun || vizerrun || vêdebban || vêderàn || vêzan || videssin || —
|}
|}


====Irregular Verbs====
And the non-finite forms; note the irregular past participle:
Elbic has many irregular verbs. Most belong to the second conjugation. Two of the most important are '''ésshe''' and '''avhe'''. '''ésshe''' means "to be", and '''avhe''' "to have". '''Avhe''' also is "to have" in the auxiliary sense, e.g. "I have done this before". '''Ésshe''' is conjugated as follows:


{| border=1
{| border=1
| || Present Indicative || Simple Past Indicative || Imperfect Indicative || Future Indicative || Present Subjunctive || Imperfect Subjunctive || Present Conditional
| Infinitive || '''vêderri'''
|-
| 1Ps  || sonno || fui || ero || shero || sea || fuissa || srhi
|-
| 2Ps  || sei || fuiste || erai || sherai || seai || fuissai || srhei
|-
| 3Ps  || é || fuo || era || shera || sea || fuissa || srhi
|-
| 1Pp  || sammo || fuimo || erammo || sheremmo || seammo || fuissammo || srhimmo
|-
|-
| 2Pp  || satte || fuisti || eratte|| sheratte || seatte || fuissatte || srhitte
| Past part. || '''vistu'''
|-
|-
| 3Pp  || sanno || fuino || eranno || sheranno || seanno || fuissanno || srhinno
| Present part. || '''vêdenti'''
|}
|}


And here is the conjugation of '''avhe''':
===Third conjugation===
The conjugation of third conjugation verbs in '''ri'''.
 
====Finite forms====
The finite forms of the third conjugation are as follows:


{| border=1
{| border=1
| || Present Indicative || Simple Past Indicative || Imperfect Indicative || Future Indicative || Present Subjunctive || Imperfect Subjunctive || Present Conditional
! || Present Indicative || Preterite Indicative || Imperfect Indicative || Future Indicative || Present Subjunctive || Preterite Subjunctive || Imperative
|-
|-
| 1Ps || ho || hi || avevo || avrho || he || hissa || avrhi
| 1 sg. || u || ì || *ebba || rò || a || essi || —
|-
|-
| 2Ps || hai || histe || avevai || avrhai || hei || hissai || avrhei
| 2 sg. || is || isti || *ebbas || ràs || as || essis || i
|-
|-
| 3Ps || ha || hio || aveva || avrha || he || hissa || avrhi
| 3 sg. || i || ò || *ebba || rà || a || essi || —
|-
|-
| 1Pp || hammo || himo || avevammo || avrhemmo || hemmo || hissammo || avrhimmo
| 1 pl. || emmu || immu || *ébbamu || remmu || ammu || éssimu || ammu
|-
|-
| 2Pp || hatte || histi || avevatte|| avrhatte || hette || hissatte || avrhitte
| 2 pl. || etti || istis || *ébbati || retti || atti || éssiti || etti
|-
|-
| 3Pp  || hanno || hino || avevanno || avrhanno || henno || hissanno || avrhinno
| 3 pl. || un || *errun || *ebban || ràn || an || essin || —
|}
|}


Also, the conjugationn of '''andha''', "to go".
====Non-finite forms====
The non-finite forms of the second conjugation are as follows:


{| border=1
{| border=1
| || Present Indicative || Simple Past Indicative || Imperfect Indicative || Future Indicative || Present Subjunctive || Imperfect Subjunctive || Present Conditional
| Infinitive || '''ri'''
|-
|-
| 1Ps  || vo || fui || ivo || vharo || ve || fuissa || vrhi
| Past part. || '''ittu'''
|-
|-
| 2Ps  || vai || fuiste || ivai || vharai || vei || fuissai || vrhei
| Present part. || *'''enti'''
|-
| 3Ps  || va || fuo || iva || vhara || ve || fuissa || vhri
|-
| 1Pp  || andammo || fuimo || ivammo || vharemmo || vemmo || fuissammo || vrhimmo
|-
| 2Pp  || andatte || fuisti || ivatte|| vharatte || vette || fuissatte || vrhitte
|-
| 3Pp  || vanno || fuino || ivanno || vharanno || venno || fuissanno || vrhinno
|}
|}


Finally, the conjugation of '''fha''', "to make; do".
====Sample conjugation====
The finite conjugation of '''piërdri''' ''lose'' (stem '''perd'''):


{| border=1
{| border=1
| || Present Indicative || Simple Past Indicative || Imperfect Indicative || Future Indicative || Present Subjunctive || Imperfect Subjunctive || Present Conditional
! || Present Indicative || Preterite Indicative || Imperfect Indicative || Future Indicative || Present Subjunctive || Preterite Subjunctive || Imperative
|-
|-
| 1Ps || fuo || fi || fia || fharo || fue || fassa || frhi
| 1 sg. || piërdu || perdì || perzebba || perdrò || piërda || perdessi || —
|-
|-
| 2Ps || fuai || faste || fiai || fharai || fuei || fassai || frhei
| 2 sg. || piërdis || perdisti || perzebbas || perdràs || piërdas || perdessis || piërdi
|-
|-
| 3Ps || fua || fò || fia || fhara || fue || fassa || frhi
| 3 sg. || piërdi || perdò || perzebba || perdrà || piërda || perdessi || —
|-
|-
| 1Pp || fuammo || famo || fiammo || frhemmo || fuemmo || fassammo || frhimmo
| 1 pl. || perdemmu || perdimmu || perzébbamu || perdremmu || perdammu || perdéssimu || perdammu
|-
|-
| 2Pp || fuatte || fasti || fiatte|| fharatte || fuette || fassatte || frhitte
| 2 pl. || perdetti || perdistis || perzébbati || perdretti || perdatti || perdéssiti || perdetti
|-
|-
| 3Pp  || fuanno || fano || fianno || fharanno || fuenno || fassanno || frhinno
| 3 pl. || piërdun || perzerrun || perzebban || perdràn || piërdan || perdessin || —
|}
|}


==Verb Conjugation: Compound Tenses==
And the non-finite forms:
Elbic compound tenses are formed by combining a conjugated form of one verb and one of the participles of another. Most are formed with '''avhe''', but the passive and progressive tenses are formed with '''ésshe''' and the periphrastic future is formed with '''andha'''.


===Forming the Participles===
{| border=1
Elbic verbs have three participles. The Latin inflected passive has in Elbic become a passive participle. The Latin past and present participles are retained as well. To form any participle, add certain endings to the end of the '''full infinitive''' of a verb. These endings are:
| Infinitive || '''piërdri'''
|-
| Past part. || '''perdittu'''
|-
| Present part. || '''perzenti'''
|}


* Passive Participle: '''-tto'''
===Fourth conjugation===
* Perfect Participle: '''-tte'''
The conjugation of fourth conjugation verbs in '''irri'''.
* Present Participle: '''-nte'''


===Compound Tenses with Avhe===
====Finite forms====
The tenses formed with '''avhe''' are the perfect tenses. They are formed by placing the various tenses of '''avhe''' before the perfect participle. The various tenses are:
The finite forms of the fourth conjugation are as follows:


* '''Perfect''': present '''avhe'''+perfect participle ('''ho fazhetto''': I have done)
{| border=1
* '''Pluperfect''': imperfect '''avhe'''+perfect participle ('''hia fazhetto''': I had done)
! || Present Indicative || Preterite Indicative || Imperfect Indicative || Future Indicative || Present Subjunctive || Preterite Subjunctive || Imperative
* '''Remote Pluperfect''': simple past '''avhe'''+perfect participle ('''hi fazhetto''': I had done)
|-
* '''Future Perfect''': future '''avhe'''+perfect participle ('''avrho fazhetto''': I will have done)
| 1 sg.  || *u || ì || *ebba || irò || *a || essi || —
* '''Conditional Perfect: conditional '''avhe'''+perfect participle ('''avrhi fazhetto''': I would have done)
|-
| 2 sg.  || is || isti || *ebbas || iràs || *as || essis || i
|-
| 3 sg.  || i || ò || *ebba || irà || *a || essi || —
|-
| 1 pl.  || immu || immu || *ébbamu || iremmu || *ammu || éssimu || *ammu
|-
| 2 pl.  || itti || istis || *ébbati || iretti || *atti || éssiti || itti
|-
| 3 pl. || *un || *errun || *ebban || iràn || *an || essin || —
|}


===Compound Tenses with Ésshe===
====Non-finite forms====
The "tenses" formed with '''ésshe''' are all of the passive voice tenses and the progressive tenses. The passive voice tenses are formed quite simply. The generic passive voice is the '''ésshe'''+the passive participle of a verb.
The non-finite forms of the fourth conjugation are as follows:


* '''É disshitto chè...''': it is said that...
{| border=1
 
| Infinitive || '''irri'''
Note, however, that the passive voice may also be formed in an impersonal manner, using the pronoun '''sè''', ''one''. We'll talk more about this later. There are also two progressive tenses, the present and imperfect progressives. They are formed simply: place the appropriate form of '''ésshe''' before the present participle of the verb.
|-
 
| Past part. || '''ittu'''
* '''Sonno disshinte chè...''': I am saying that...
|-
* '''Erai disshinte chè...''': you were saying that...
| Present part. || *'''enti'''
 
|}
===Compound Tenses with Andha===
'''Andha''' is used in the construction of a periphrastic future tense. To form this tense, place an appropriately conjugated form of '''andha''' before the present participle of the verb.
 
* '''Vo hdisshinte chè...''': I'm going to say that...
* '''Fuiste hdisshinte chè...''': you were going to say that...
 
==Verbal Morphology: Imperatives==
The imperative is used to give commands. There are a number imperatives in Elbic. Firstly, the second person singular, covering the informal '''tu'''. Secondly, the first person plural, covering such constructions as ''let us go'', and agreeing with the pronoun '''noi'''. Finally, the second person plural, covering '''voi''', whether used as a singular or plural pronoun. The imperative forms differ depending on whether the command is affirmative (''do that'') or negative (''don't do that''). In many cases, object pronouns are affixed as clitics to the imperative verbs. In each entry, there is a note of how this is done. Note, finally, that there are a number of irregular imperatives. Where these exist, they will be noted.
 
* The second person singular affirmative ending is the same as the third person singular present indicative ending. When clitic pronouns are attached to this imperative, place an -'''h'''- before the penultimate vowel of the word: '''parla''' ''speak''>'''pharlame''' ''speak to me''. If the imperative begins with a vowel or with '''h''', the final vowel is instead removed from the clitic pronoun and precedes the verb: '''aprende''' ''learn''>'''l'aprende''' ''learn it''.
* The second person singular negative ending is the same as the second person singular present subjunctive ending. When clitic pronouns are attached to this imperative, remove the final -'''i''' from it: '''non parlei''' ''don't speak''>'''non parlemi'''>''don't speak to me''. If the imperative begins with a vowel or with '''h''', the final vowel is instead removed from the clitic pronoun and it precedes the verb: '''non aprendai''' ''don't learn''>'''non l'aprendai''' ''don't learn it''.
* The first person plural affirmative ending is the same as the first person plural present indicative ending. There are no changes when clitic pronouns are attached to this imperative: '''parlammo''' ''let's speak''>'''parlammole''' ''let's speak to him''. If the imperative begins with a vowel or with '''h''', the final vowel is instead removed from the clitic pronoun and precedes the verb: '''aprendemmo''' ''let's learn''>'''l'aprendemmo''' ''let's learn it''.
* The first person plural negative ending is the same as the first person plural present subjunctive ending. There are no changes when clitic pronouns are attached to this imperative: '''non parlemmo''' ''let's not speak''>'''non parlemmole''' ''let's not speak to him''. If the imperative begins with a vowel or with '''h''', the final vowel is instead removed from the clitic pronoun and precedes the verb: '''non aprendammo''' ''let's not learn''>'''non l'aprendammo''' ''let's not learn it''.
* The second person plural/formal affirmative ending is the same as the second person plural present subjunctive ending. There are no changes when clitic pronouns are attached to this imperative: '''parlette''' ''speak''>'''parlettele''' ''speak to him''. If the imperative begins with a vowel or with '''h''', the final vowel is instead removed from the clitic pronoun and precedes the verb: '''aprendatte''' ''learn''>'''l'aprendatte''' ''learn it''.
* The second person plural/formal negative ending is the same as the second person plural present indicative ending. There are no changes when clitic pronouns are attached to this imperative: '''non parlatte''' ''don't speak''>'''non parlattele''' ''don't speak to him''. If the imperative begins with a vowel or with '''h''', the final vowel is instead removed from the clitic pronoun and precedes the verb: '''non aprendette''' ''don't learn''>'''non l'aprendette''' ''don't learn it''.
 
==Tense Clarification: Simple Past==
The simple past is in many ways the most complicated of Elbic's many tenses. This section will attempt to clarify it.
 
===Simple Past vs. Imperfect===
On the surface, these two tenses are similar. Both describe past events. However, there are many differences. The simple past is used to...
 
* ...describe events that occurred at a specific past time, with definite beginnings and ends.
* ...describe events that occurred only once.
* ...describe events in a story.
 
The imperfect is used to...
 
* ...describe events that occurred at an indefinite time, or over a long, undefined period.
* ...describe events that occurred habitually.
* ...form the imperfect progressive.
 
===Simple Past vs. Perfect===
The simple past is even closer to the perfect. In fact, the simple past is often used in place of the perfect. The perfect typically occurs once every paragraph or so and is from then on replaced with the simple past. Usually the perfect is not used more than once or twice every few minutes in colloquial speech, though the simple past is in contrast almost never used, replaced exclusively by the perfect, in formal discussions.
 
===Simple Past vs. Pluperfects===
The simple past and the pluperfects seem similar, but there is an important difference: the pluperfects is used in only one place: when describing events that occurred at a specific time, with definite beginnings and ends (or only occurring once), ''before other events''. The pluperfects are only used where English would use ''had done something'' and similar constructions. The remote pluperfect is especially select: it can only be used when something pluperfect occurred at a distant past time (usually more than a year before the speaking).
 
==The Soft Mutation==
There are two cases where the soft mutation occurs. Every conjugated verb causes the soft mutation in the word following it. This often occurs with the periphrastic future, and in fact is seen in both of the examples above. It also occurs in any case of a conjugated verb followed by another word: '''nechésitha''', '''chirhe''', '''dovhe''', anything.
 
* '''Nechésito hchiamha a mme má''': I need to call my mom.
* '''Chiro hchiamha a mme má''': I want to call my mom.
* '''Dovo hchiamha a mme má''': I should call my mom.
 
This seems an opportune time to mention also that '''a''', ''to'', causes the geminate mutation, and '''de''', ''of'', ''from'', causes the soft mutation.
 
The other time where the soft mutation occurs is adjectives. Adjectives can either precede or follow the noun they modify, with the difference only in emphasis. When adjectives are describing feminine or neuter nouns, one of two things can happen:
 
* The adjective precedes the feminine or neuter noun. If the adjective is singular, the soft mutation occurs on the noun. If the adjective is plural and feminine, the soft mutation occurs on the noun.
* The feminine or neuter noun precedes the adjective. If the noun is singular, the soft mutation occurs on the adjective. If the noun is plural and feminine, the soft mutation occurs on the adjective.


* '''Lu ffrasu hbuonu''': the good sentence
====Sample conjugation====
* '''Na nnova hcossina''': a new kitchen
The finite conjugation of '''finirri''' ''finish'':
* '''Gorde hnapolitanne''': fat Neapolitans (an Elban sterotype)
 
==Adjectives==
Adjectives are words that describe a noun. Adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they modify. There are two types of adjectives: -o-a-u adjectives have six forms; -e adjectives only two. The adjectives inflect as follows:


{| border=1
{| border=1
| || Masculine|| Feminine|| Neuter
! || Present Indicative || Preterite Indicative || Imperfect Indicative || Future Indicative || Present Subjunctive || Preterite Subjunctive || Imperative
|-
|-
| Singular -o-a-u || -o || -a || -u
| 1 sg. || fignu || finì || fignebba || finirò || figna || finessi || —
|-
|-
| Plural -o-a-u || -i || -e || -e
| 2 sg. || finis || finisti || fignebbas || finiràs || fignas || finessis || fini
|-
|-
| Singular -e || -e || -e || -e
| 3 sg. || fini || finò || fignebba || finirà || figna || finessi || —
|-
|-
| Plural -e || -i || -i || -i
| 1 pl. || finimmu || finimmu || fignébbamu || finiremmu || fignammu || finéssimu || fignammu
|-
|-
| 2 pl.  || finitti || finistis || fignébbati || finiretti || fignatti || finéssiti || finitti
|-
| 3 pl. || fignun || fignerrun || fignebban || finiràn || fignan || finessin || —
|}
|}


So "the good sentence" is '''lu ffrasu hbuonu''' (remember the soft mutation!), and "the beautiful kitchens" is '''le bbelle hcossine'''. An adjective always has the endings shown here, regardless of the ending of the noun: '''lo patre buon''o'''''; '''la mmatre hbell''a'''''.
And the non-finite forms:


===Telling the Difference===
{| border=1
-o-a-u adjectives are so named because of the different endings they take in the singular. When reading an unfamiliar adjective, try to determine whether the noun is singular or plural. Based on that, match the noun's gender and number on this table to the ending it has.
| Infinitive || '''finirri'''
 
|-
==The Origin of Mutations==
| Past part. || '''finittu'''
This section describes, briefly, the generally agreed upon origin of the Elbic consonantal mutations.
|-
 
| Present part. || '''fignenti'''
===The Geminate Mutation===
|}
The soft mutation's origin is quite simple. It occurs in two places: after the feminine and neuter articles, and after the preposition '''a'''. The geminate mutation originated in the town dialect of La Mmarina de hMarcianna
 
* The description of the geminate mutation after '''a''' is simple: '''a''' comes from the Latin '''ad'''. The '''-d''', over time, shifted to attach itself to the word after it: '''ad cassa''' > '''a dcassa'''. This extraneous '''d-''' soon shifted to match the initial consonant of the word it was applying to: '''a ccassa'''.
* The progression for the feminine and neuter articles is a bit less straightforward. The Elbic article derives from Latin demonstratives. These gradually shifted in meaning from a classifier ("this sentence") to a definer ("the sentence"). The geminate after the article evolved by a vague analogy to the '''a ccassa''' situation. There were originally two '''l''''s in the Latin demonstratives. When the initial vowel disappeared in those, the now-initial '''l''' moved to be word-final. Gradually, it slipped across to the adjacent word and was assimilated similarly to (though over a longer period of time than) the '''-d''' of '''ad''' (it shifted first to a non-lateral approximant, '''r''', then by analogy with '''ad''' to a voiced plosive, '''d''', then assimilated at in the same manner that the '''-d''' did): '''illa cassa''' > '''lla cassa''' > '''la lcassa''' > '''la rcassa''' > '''la dcassa''' > '''la ccassa'''.
 
Of course, this is mostly speculation, and it may just be a borrowing from Neapolitan: there was a fairly large influx of Neapolitan immigrants to Elba in the mid-16th century.
 
===The Soft Mutation===
The soft mutation is a bit more difficult to rationalize as an Elbic-only developement. Fortunately, it is not. It evolved as a dialectical variation on the pronunciation of initial consonants, similar to the famed "Tuscan gorgia". In Elbic, the soft mutation originally began as a stress movement. But gradually, by way of trade with neighboring Tuscany, it began to soften or change the initial consonant. The reasons for its placement are yet unknown: it probably began as a stress shift in words starting with a consonant after '''de''', and a similar shift in the context of feminine and neuter adjectives, then evolved parallel to the  Tuscan gorgia. The soft mutation was originally a dialectical variation of Portoferraho.
 
===Standardization===
Little observed by the world, the Elbic language was ruthlessly standardized in the mid-17th century, around the time of its emergence as an individual language. The Elban '''Forza Par Independenzia''', a movement for independence from Italy, devised a new spelling system for Elbic, still used to this day, and also standardized both mutations to further differentiate between Elbic and Italian. There was some grumbling, but the Elbans seemed to know that the independence movement would be the second most interesting thing about their island in the future, so they grudgingly, gradually accepted it. In fact, this proved to be for the better, as the FPI instituted a number of public schools where children were taught the FPI-approved standard dialect. Thus, in a mere generation, and about the time that the FPI came to an end, collapsing in on itself, the Elbic langauge was standardized. In the centuries since, there are still few dialects of Elbic, and overall the dialects that there are (most notably a minority group in Tuscany which does not use the geminate mutation) are small enough that they will probably disappear, incorporated into mainstream Italian, within another century or so.
 
==Links==
* [[Elbic Swadesh list]]


[[Category:A posteriori conlangs]][[Category:Conlangs]][[Category:Ill Bethisad]][[Category:Indo-European conlangs]][[Category:Romance conlangs]][[Category:Elbic]]
[[Category:A posteriori conlangs]]
[[Category:Ill Bethisad]]
[[Category:Romance conlangs]]
[[Category:Elbic]]
[[Category: Conlangs]]

Latest revision as of 15:37, 30 October 2012


Élbica
Pronounced: 'ɛlbika
Timeline and Universe: Ill Bethisad
Species: Human
Spoken: Elba
Total speakers: 30,000
Writing system: Latin
Genealogy: Indo-European

 Italic
  Romance
   South-Central Romance
    Central-Southern Italian

     Elbic
Typology
Morphological type: Inflecting
Morphosyntactic alignment: Nominative-Accusative
Basic word order: SVO
Credits
Creator: Sectori
Created: July, 2009

Nota bene: Elbic has undergone some changes since this page was last updated, especially to nominal morphology but also limited changes to verbal morphology. I'm not sure if/when this page will be up-to-date.

Elbic is the language of the Principality of Elba, an island off the coast of Tuscany. It is a Central and Southern Italian language, although it has been relatively isolated, related to Neapolitan and Tuscan Italian.

Phonology

Elbic phonology is fairly ordinary for a Romance language.

Vowels

Elbic has a straightforward seven-vowel system inherited from Vulgar Latin. It also has three diphthongs, two falling and one rising: /jɛ/, /wɔ/, and /ai/.

Vowels
Front Near-front Central Near-back Back
High i u
Near-high
High-mid ê ô
Mid e o
Low-mid
Near-low
Low a

Orthographically, it should be noted that e and o occasionally represent /e/ and /o/; as a general rule, only the first vowel in a word that would receive a circumflex does. The diphthong /jɛ/ is represented orthographically as ië, the diphthong /wɔ/ as uo, and the diphthong /ai/ as ai.

Consonants

Elbic has either 22 or 24 consonants, depending on whether the semivowels /w/ and /j/ are treated as allophonic realizations of /i/ and /u/ or as consonants in their own right.

Consonants
Bilabial Labiod. Dental Alveolar Post-alv. Palatal Velar Labiovelar
Nasal m n gn
Plosive p b t d c(h) g(h) qu gu
Fricative f v s x g(i)
Affricate ç z c(i)
Approximants (u) (i)
Trill r
Lateral Approximant l lh

Orthographically, ch and gh are used for /k/ and /g/ before front vowels, c and g before back vowels. c and g are used for /tʃ/ and /ʒ/ before front vowels, ci and gi before back vowels. All consonants can be geminated, in which case they are written twice, with the following exceptions:

  • geminated lh is written llh
  • geminated ç is written tç
  • geminated qu is written cqu
  • geminated gn is written ggn

Written Elbic utilizes four diacritics:

  • the circumflex is used to mark the vowels /e/ and /o/ (written ê and ô)
  • the diaeresis is used to mark the diphthong /jɛ/ (written ië)
  • the acute accent is used to mark irregular stress on a non-final syllable
  • the grave accent is used to mark irregular stress on a final syllable

Note that an acute or grave takes precedence over the diaeresis (e.g. Miéxxicu Mexico).

Stress

To place the stress of a word, follow these rules in the order they are presented here.

  • When determining the stress of a word, always initially place it on the final syllable.
  • If the final sound is a vowel, stress moves back one syllable.
  • If anywhere in the word there is a vowel with an acute or grave, move the stress to the accented vowel.
  • In monosyllabic words, the vowel is generally treated as if it were unstressed.

Thus, Miéxxicu, the Elbic name for Mexico, is /'mjɛʃ:iku/, Êlba, the Elbic name for Elba, is /'elba/, the definite article la is /la/, and nu napoletannu a Neapolitan is /nu napolɛ'tan:u/.

Nominal morphology

Nouns in Elbic belong to one of two genders, masculine or feminine. The vast majority of nouns end in a vowel, and all nouns form their plurals by suffixing s:

  • duomnu (lord) —> duomnus
  • acqua (water) —> acquas
  • princêppi (prince) —> princêppis
  • parti (part, section) —> partis
  • mannu (hand) —> mannus
  • zi (day) —> zis

Generally speaking, nouns that end in u are masculine and nouns that end in a are feminine (although this is not always so: mannu is feminine, for example). Nouns ending in other vowels might belong to either gender, although there are some observable patterns. For example,

  • nouns ending in ionni (stazionni "station", e.g.) are feminine
  • nouns ending in atti (universitatti "university", e.g.) are feminine
  • nouns ending in orri (amorri "love", e.g.) are masculine

Articles

Elbic has two types of articles, definite and indefinite, each of which has five forms. The forms of the definite article are as follows:

Masc. Fem. Before vowel
Sing. lu la l'
Plur. lus las *

Plural nouns that begin with a vowel use the normal plural forms. For example, lu duomnu (the lord), las mannus (the hands), l'universitatti (the university), lus amorris (the loves).

The forms of the indefinite article are as follows:

Masc. Fem. Before vowel
Sing. nu na n'
Plur. nus nas *

Plural nouns that begin with a vowel use the normal plural forms. The plural indefinite article is equivalent to English "some" or French "des". The definite article contracts with the prepositions a (at, to, towards), da (from, of), in (in, at, on), and su (around, on).

Contraction with a

a Masc. Fem. Before vowel
Sing. allu alla all'
Plur. allus allas *

Contraction with da

da Masc. Fem. Before vowel
Sing. dallu dalla dall'
Plur. dallus dallas *

Contraction with in

in Masc. Fem. Before vowel
Sing. gnellu gnella gnell'
Plur. gnellus gnellas *

Contraction with su

a Masc. Fem. Before vowel
Sing. sullu sulla sull'
Plur. sullus sullas *

Pronominal morphology

Elbic pronouns, like nouns, distinguish two numbers and between two and five cases. In the third person, there is a masculine-feminine distinction, as well. The cases shown by the pronouns are the following: for the first and second person pronouns, nominative, genitive, and oblique-reflexive cases are distinguished. For the impersonal pronoun si, the nominative and the oblique-reflexive are identical. For the third person pronouns, nominative, accusative, genitive, dative, and reflexive are distinguished, and there exist special disjunctive forms, as well.

First person

The first person pronoun declines as follows:

Sing. Plur.
Nom. giu nus
Gen. miu nuostru
O.-R. mi nui

Second person

The second person pronoun declines as follows:

Sing. Plur.
Nom. tu vus
Gen. tiu vuostru
O.-R. ti vui

Third person

The third person pronoun declines as follows:

Masc. Fem.
Sing. Plur. Sing. Plur.
Nom. ell ells ella ellas
Gen. siu lôrru siu larru
Dat. lhi lhis lhi lhis
Acc. lu/l' lus la/l' las
Ref. si si si si
Disj. ellu ellus ella ellas

Verbal morphology

Elbic verbs can be classified into five groups; four of them are distinguished by their infinitive endings while the fifth comprises irregular verbs.

  • First conjugation infinitives end in arri, e.g. parlarri speak
  • Second conjugation infinitives end in erri, e.g. vêderri see
  • Third conjugation infinitives end in ri, e.g. priëndri take
  • Fourth conjugation infinitives end in irri, e.g. finirri finish
  • Irregular verbs' infinitives look like infinitives for one of the other four conjugations

There are two important notes about verb conjugation. Some finite endings cause palatalization of the preceding consonant:

Normal Palatalized
c x
ch c
g gi
gh g
t ç
d z
l lh
n gn

Additionally, any verbs, most notably verbs of the third conjugation, whose final stem vowel is short e or o will diphthongize when that vowel is stressed to ië or uo. Thus, the stem of the third conjugation verb priëndri is actually *prend, but because the stress falls on the stem vowel, it has diphthongized even in the infinitive.

All verbs are conjugated by removing the infinitive ending and adding various suffixes. The conjugation patterns for regular verbs, as well as for the irregular verbs esserri be and averri have. Additionally, it should be noted that many verbs, especially of the second and third conjugations, have irregular preterite stems. For example, vêderri see has the preterite stem vid (e.g. vidì I saw). The irregular preterite stem is used in both the indicative and the subjunctive.

First conjugation

The conjugation of first conjugation verbs in arri is shown below.

Finite forms

The finite forms of the first conjugation are as follows:

Present Indicative Preterite Indicative Imperfect Indicative Future Indicative Present Subjunctive Preterite Subjunctive Imperative
1 sg. u ai abba arò i assi —
2 sg. as asti abbas aràs is assis a
3 sg. a ò abba arà i assi —
1 pl. ammu ammu ábbamu aremmu immu ássimu immu
2 pl. atti astis ábbati aretti itti ássiti atti
3 pl. an arrun abban aràn in assin —

Non-finite forms

The non-finite forms of the first conjugation are as follows:

Infinitive arri
Past part. attu
Present part. anti

Sample conjugation

The finite conjugation of the verb cantarri sing:

Present Indicative Preterite Indicative Imperfect Indicative Future Indicative Present Subjunctive Preterite Subjunctive Imperative
1 sg. cantu cantai cantabba cantarò canti cantassi —
2 sg. cantas cantasti cantabbas cantaràs cantis cantassis canta
3 sg. canta cantò cantabba cantarà canti cantassi —
1 pl. cantammu cantammu cantábbamu cantaremmu cantimmu cantássimu cantimmu
2 pl. cantatti cantastis cantábbati cantaretti cantitti cantássiti cantatti
3 pl. cantan cantarrun cantabban cantaràn cantin cantassin —

And the non-finite forms:

Infinitive cantarri
Past part. cantattu
Present part. cantanti

Second conjugation

The conjugation of second conjugation verbs in erri is shown below:

Finite forms

The finite forms of the second conjugation are as follows:

Present Indicative Preterite Indicative Imperfect Indicative Future Indicative Present Subjunctive Preterite Subjunctive Imperative
1 sg. *u ì ebba erò *a essi —
2 sg. es isti ebbas eràs *as essis i
3 sg. i ò ebba erà *a essi —
1 pl. emmu immu ébbamu eremmu *ammu éssimu *ammu
2 pl. etti istis ébbati eretti *atti éssiti etti
3 pl. *un *errun ebban eràn *an essin —

Non-finite forms

The non-finite forms of the second conjugation are as follows:

Infinitive erri
Past part. ittu
Present part. enti

Sample conjugation

The finite conjugation of vêderri see:

Present Indicative Preterite Indicative Imperfect Indicative Future Indicative Present Subjunctive Preterite Subjunctive Imperative
1 sg. vêzu vidì vêdebba vêderò vêza videssi —
2 sg. vêdes vidisti vêdebbas vêderàs vêzas videssis vêdi
3 sg. vêdi vidò vêdebba vêderà vêza videssi —
1 pl. vêdemmu vidimmu vêdébbamu vêderemmu vêzammu vidéssimu vêzammu
2 pl. vêdetti vidistis vêdébbati vêderetti vêzatti vidéssiti vêdetti
3 pl. vêzun vizerrun vêdebban vêderàn vêzan videssin —

And the non-finite forms; note the irregular past participle:

Infinitive vêderri
Past part. vistu
Present part. vêdenti

Third conjugation

The conjugation of third conjugation verbs in ri.

Finite forms

The finite forms of the third conjugation are as follows:

Present Indicative Preterite Indicative Imperfect Indicative Future Indicative Present Subjunctive Preterite Subjunctive Imperative
1 sg. u ì *ebba rò a essi —
2 sg. is isti *ebbas ràs as essis i
3 sg. i ò *ebba rà a essi —
1 pl. emmu immu *ébbamu remmu ammu éssimu ammu
2 pl. etti istis *ébbati retti atti éssiti etti
3 pl. un *errun *ebban ràn an essin —

Non-finite forms

The non-finite forms of the second conjugation are as follows:

Infinitive ri
Past part. ittu
Present part. *enti

Sample conjugation

The finite conjugation of piërdri lose (stem perd):

Present Indicative Preterite Indicative Imperfect Indicative Future Indicative Present Subjunctive Preterite Subjunctive Imperative
1 sg. piërdu perdì perzebba perdrò piërda perdessi —
2 sg. piërdis perdisti perzebbas perdràs piërdas perdessis piërdi
3 sg. piërdi perdò perzebba perdrà piërda perdessi —
1 pl. perdemmu perdimmu perzébbamu perdremmu perdammu perdéssimu perdammu
2 pl. perdetti perdistis perzébbati perdretti perdatti perdéssiti perdetti
3 pl. piërdun perzerrun perzebban perdràn piërdan perdessin —

And the non-finite forms:

Infinitive piërdri
Past part. perdittu
Present part. perzenti

Fourth conjugation

The conjugation of fourth conjugation verbs in irri.

Finite forms

The finite forms of the fourth conjugation are as follows:

Present Indicative Preterite Indicative Imperfect Indicative Future Indicative Present Subjunctive Preterite Subjunctive Imperative
1 sg. *u ì *ebba irò *a essi —
2 sg. is isti *ebbas iràs *as essis i
3 sg. i ò *ebba irà *a essi —
1 pl. immu immu *ébbamu iremmu *ammu éssimu *ammu
2 pl. itti istis *ébbati iretti *atti éssiti itti
3 pl. *un *errun *ebban iràn *an essin —

Non-finite forms

The non-finite forms of the fourth conjugation are as follows:

Infinitive irri
Past part. ittu
Present part. *enti

Sample conjugation

The finite conjugation of finirri finish:

Present Indicative Preterite Indicative Imperfect Indicative Future Indicative Present Subjunctive Preterite Subjunctive Imperative
1 sg. fignu finì fignebba finirò figna finessi —
2 sg. finis finisti fignebbas finiràs fignas finessis fini
3 sg. fini finò fignebba finirà figna finessi —
1 pl. finimmu finimmu fignébbamu finiremmu fignammu finéssimu fignammu
2 pl. finitti finistis fignébbati finiretti fignatti finéssiti finitti
3 pl. fignun fignerrun fignebban finiràn fignan finessin —

And the non-finite forms:

Infinitive finirri
Past part. finittu
Present part. fignenti
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