Svanniskar morphology

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

Strong Declension Patterns

Strong nouns of the following stems are declined as follows:

Masculine a-stems

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

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

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

Masculine i-stems

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

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

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

Masculine u-stems

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

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

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

Neuter a-stems

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

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

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

Neuter r-stems

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

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

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

Feminine u-stems

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

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

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

Weak Declension Patterns

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

Masculine a-stems

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

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

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

Feminine o-stems

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

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

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

Neuter a-stems

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

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

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

Strong Verb Conjugation

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

Present Indicative Conjugation

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

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

Preterite Indicative Conjugation

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

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

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

Present Subjunctive Conjugation

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

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

Preterite Subjunctive Conjugation

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

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

*This form assimilates voicing as the preterite indicative.

Imperative Conjugation

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

Person	Singular	Plural
2nd	-a	-aþ

Present Participle and Gerund

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

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

Weak Verb Conjugation

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

Present Indicative Conjugation

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

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

Preterite Indicative Conjugation

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

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

Present Subjunctive Conjugation

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

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

Preterite Subjunctive Conjugation

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

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

Imperative Conjugation

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

Person	Singular	Plural
2nd	-a	-aþ

Present Participle and Gerund

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

Present Participle	Gerund
-éndon	-énþar

Irregular Verb Conjugation

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

Wésan=

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

Dón

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

Pronominal Morphology

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

First Person Pronoun

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

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

Second Person Pronoun

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

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

Third Person Pronoun

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

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

Sa as Demonstrative

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

Sa as Article

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

Pronoun Use

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

Adjectival Morphology

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

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

The following adjectives never decline weak:

• Past participles
• ǽnar, ǽnu, ǽnam
• Possessive pronouns
• Superlatives in -ístar.

Strong Adjective Pattern

The following are the declension endings for adjectives declining strong.

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

Sample adjective: góðar, góðo, góða (good)

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

Weak Adjective Pattern

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

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

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

Derivation

Some of the most common derivational suffixes in Svannískar:

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

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