Nother/Atlantic: Difference between revisions

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==Writing system==
==Writing system==
The Atlantic alphabet is descended from a variety of the [http://www.frath.net/pdf/krmb-alphabet.pdf Kirumb alphabet] (PDF, 117K).
The Atlantic alphabet is descended from a variety of the [http://www.frath.net/pdf/krmb-alphabet.pdf Kirumb alphabet] (PDF, 117K).  As this is not convenient for computer entry, various transliterations exist, the most common being the IPA-influenced one used on this page, and a Windows-character-set-friendly one that is used over email.


==Examples==
==Examples==
*[http://www.quandary.org/~langs/relays/relay9/ring3/atlantic/ Atlantic leg of CONLANG relay 9]
*[http://www.quandary.org/~langs/relays/relay9/ring3/atlantic/ Atlantic leg of CONLANG relay 9]

Revision as of 17:30, 9 August 2004

Atlantic (Ədlantkɛ, /ə̀dlɑnkɛ́/) is an Indo-European language spoken primarily by the demihumans of Atlantia (Ədləntɛ), a Mediterranean island in the Nother happentrack.

Atlantic (Ədlantkɛ)
Spoken in: Atlantia (Ədləntɛ)
Timespan: Modern day
Total speakers:
Genetic
classification:
Indo-European

 Satem
  Hadwan
   Kirumb
    Âdlantki
     Atlantic

Extra information
Author: Muke Tever |

History

Atlantic is the name given to the Âdlantki language after about the late 1500s. The division is largely arbitrary, as the difference between the two stages of the language is not substantial. The largest difference is in the smoothing of original diphthongs; the most noticeable difference is the lowering of final vowels.

Classification and influences

Atlantic is a Hadwan language in the Indo-European family. Besides its inherited lexicon, Atlantic derives borrowed vocabulary for acrolectal terms from Ancient Greek, modern terms from Spanish, and newer technical terms from English.

Geographic distribution

The original homeland of the Atlantic-speakers is Atlantia, though in later years overcrowding of the island led to the formation of substantial communities in nearby countries (Spain, Morocco, and Algeria), and later in the United States and Canada.

Sounds

The Atlantic language has twelve vowels: eight short and four long.

front central back
high i u
close-mid e ee o oo
open-mid ɛ ɛɛ ə ɔ ɔɔ
low a /ɑ/

Consonants are as follows:

nasal m n ŋ
vl stop p t k
vd stop d g
vl fric f θ s ʃ sy /ç/ x
vd fric v b /v/ z ʒ y /ʒ/
sonorant l r /ɾ/ y /j/

H is silent. Y is pronounced as /ʒ/ after a consonant or before /i/ and /u/.

Accentuation consists of a high or low pitch accent on the first mora of a word.

ont /ònt/ "eye"
sɔrrɛ /sɔ́ɾɾə/ "curse"

For historical reasons, most verbs have high pitch.

Grammar

Nouns

Atlantic nouns inflect only for number.

The singular is the unmarked form.

For words ending in , the plural is formed by adding -s, thus -ɛs. For words ending in -e, the plural is formed by removing the -e and adding -ɔs. The plural of all other words is formed by appending -ɔs to the singular.

Exceptions exist, such as words in original long -ee: vee "hand", whose plural is veeos. Words whose -ee is secondary, such as ree "matter, affair", (earlier roye) have a regular plural such as reɔs.

A few words, mainly body parts, have a special dual in -o.

Verbs

Conjugating Atlantic verbs isn't too difficult: the endings are added regularly, with little change. The hard part is in remembering what conjugation a form takes, as well as the different stems each verb has.

The finite forms of the verb belong to one of three different stems: the progressive, the aorist, and the durative.

The progressive refers to an action in progress, and usually translates English plain or progressive verbs, such as enter or are eating. Aorist forms refer to an event as a whole, usually a completed one, and generally translates English past forms, like walked, or forms used in series of verbs: for example, in wants to go, "go" would be translated by the aorist. The durative is mostly falling out of use, except in verbs concerning thoughts and opinions: think, believe, know, want, like are usually represented by duratives in Atlantic.

The conjugations are labelled by characteristic consonants in the first person singular: votic have v, and kappatic have k.

Progressive endings

v / k sg du pl
1st -vɛ
-kɛ
-bdə -(ə)ndə
2nd -rɛ -bɛ
3rd -tɛ -(ə)ŋtɛ
simple sg du pl
1st 0 -bdə -ndə
2nd -r -b
3rd -t -ŋt

Aorist endings

v / k sg du pl
1st -va
-k
-bdə -(ə)ndə
2nd -rɔ -dɔ
3rd -tɔ -(ə)ŋtɔ
simple sg du pl
1st 0 -bdə -ndə
2nd -r -d
3rd -t -ŋt

Vocabulary

Writing system

The Atlantic alphabet is descended from a variety of the Kirumb alphabet (PDF, 117K). As this is not convenient for computer entry, various transliterations exist, the most common being the IPA-influenced one used on this page, and a Windows-character-set-friendly one that is used over email.

Examples