Keβag

Keβag is a constructed phantasy language. Some phonetical changes (similar to those as in Celtic languages) are very important in its morphology.

Phonology

Every consonant comes with a lenited and palatalized counterpart. They are basic for declinantion and conjugation:

Alternative Lenited form

dh

fh

gh

kh

lh

mh

th

vh

Lenited form

bh

ð

ɸ

ɣ

x

ł

μ

nh

ph

qh

rh

z

θ

β

Full form

b

d

f

g

k

l

m

n

p

q

r

s

t

v

Palatalized form

b'

d'

f'

ż

c

l'

m'

ň

p'

q'

r'

ş

t'

v'

Vowels are:

• a [a] ← ancient vowel: A
• e [e] ← ancient vowel: E
• i [i] ← ancient vowel: I
• o [o] ← ancient vowel: O
• u [u] ← ancient vowel: U
• ë [ə] ← from reduction of ancient vowels
• ä [æ] ← ancient group: AHE
• ö [ɶ] ← ancient group: OHE
• ü [y] ← ancient group: UHE
• y [ɨ] ← ancient group: IHE

Morphology

The basic word order is VSO - Verb-Subject-Object.

Article

There is both indefinite and definite article

Indefinite article

The indefinite article (English a, an) has a plural form, which traslates the meaning of some.

Masculine
Case	Singular		Plural
	Ancient form	Modern form	Ancient form	Modern form
Nominative	VOM	vë	VE	v'ë
Genitive	VI	v'ë	VOS	ve
Dative	VON	vë	VIA	v'a
Accusative	VIU	v'u	VIO	v'ë

Feminine
Case	Singular		Plural
	Ancient form	Modern form	Ancient form	Modern form
Nominative	VO	vë	VE	v'ë
Genitive	VAS	ve	VOS	ve
Dative	VON	vë	VIA	v'a
Accusative	VIU	v'u	VIO	v'ë

Definite article

Masculine
Case	Singular		Plural
	Ancient form	Modern form	Ancient form	Modern form
Nominative	EN	ë	EMI	en
Genitive	ENI	ë	EMOS	en
Dative	EHO	e	EMIA	eňa
Accusative	EH	ë	EMO	en

Feminine
Case	Singular		Plural
	Ancient form	Modern form	Ancient form	Modern form
Nominative	EN	e	ENI	e
Genitive	ENAS	en	ENOS	enu
Dative	EHA	e	ENIA	eňa
Accusative	ENA	e	ENIO	eň

Noun morphology

• 1st declension - Nouns starting in consonant and ending in consonant - Masculine

vad (son)
			Definite declension		Indefinite declension
	Ancient term		Modern term		Modern term
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Nominative	VADOM	VADE	ë vad	en βad'	vë vad	v'ë βad'
Genitive	VADI	VADOS	ë βad'	enu vad	v'ë βad'	ve vad
Dative	VADON	VADIA	e βad	eňa βad'a	vë vad	v'a βad'a
Accusative	VADIU	VADO	ë vad'u	en βad	v'u βad'u	v'ë βad

• 1st declension - Nouns starting in consonant and ending in vowel - Feminine

vad (daughter)
			Definite declension		Indefinite declension
	Ancient term		Modern term		Modern term
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Nominative	VADO	VADI	e vad	e βad'	vë βad	v'ë βad'
Genitive	VADAS	VADOS	en vad	enu vad	ve vad	ve vad
Dative	VADIO	VADIA	e βad'	eňa βad'a	vë vad'	v'a βad'a
Accusative	VADIU	VADIO	e βad'u	eň βad'	v'u βad'u	v'ë βad'

• 2nd declension - Nouns starting in vowel and ending in consonant - Masculine

eθen (hand)
			Definite declension		Indefinite declension
	Ancient term		Modern term		Modern term
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Nominative	ETENOS	ETENE	ënh eθen	eμ eθeň	vëμ eθen	v'ë eθeň
Genitive	ETENI	ETENOS	ëň eθeň	eμëz eθen	v'ë eθeň	vëz eθen
Dative	ETENON	ETENIA	e-eθen	em'-eθeňa	vënh eθen	v'a eθeňa
Accusative	ETENIU	ETENO	ë-eθeňu	eμ eθen	v'u eθeňu	v'ë eθen

• 2nd declension - Nouns starting in vowel and ending in vowel - Feminine

um (mother)
			Definite declension		Indefinite declension
	Ancient term		Modern term		Modern term
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Nominative	UMO	UMI	enh um	eň um'	v-um	v'ë um'
Genitive	UMAS	UMOS	enhëz um	enhëz um	vëz um	vëz um
Dative	UMIO	UMIA	e-um'	eň-um'a	vënh um'	v'a um'a
Accusative	UMIU	UMIO	enh um'u	eň-um'o	v'u um'u	v'ë um'o

• 3rd declension - Nouns starting in consonant and ending in consonant

Nouns belonging to the 3rd declension are said "neutre". They take masculine articles and adjectives in singular, and feminine articles and adjectives in plural.

da (house)
			Definite declension		Indefinite declension
	Ancient term		Modern term		Modern term
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Nominative	DAK	DAKI	ë da	e ðac	vë da	v'ë ðac
Genitive	DAKI	DAKOS	ë ðac	enu dak	v'ë ðac	ve dak
Dative	DAKON	DAKIA	e ðak	eňa ðaca	vë dak	v'a ðaca
Accusative	DAKIU	DAKIO	ë dacu	eň ðac	v'u ðacu	v'ë ðac

Adjective morphology

Adjectives have a simpler morphology than nouns' one. They decline according their nouns' gender and number. As the position of adjectives is always after their nouns, if they begin in consonant, their first consonant undergoes lenition if required by the ancient last vowel of the noun. If they begin with a vowel the ancient last consonant of the desinence of the nouns could be restored (and lenited).

We have to enlist the entire declension path of nouns and adjective together, to show the changes they both may undergo.

• 1st adjectival declension - Adjectives starting in consonant after a noun ending in consonant (masculine)

bok (new)
	Ancient term		Modern term
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Nominative	VADOM BOKO	VADE BOKE	ë vad bok	en βad' bhoc
Genitive	VADI BOKI	VADOS BOKU	ë βad' bhoc	enu vad boku
Dative	VADON BOKI	VADIA BOKI	e βad boc	eňa βad'a bhoc
Accusative	VADIU BOKU	VADO BOKO	ë vad'u bhoku	en βad bhok

• 1st adjectival declension - Adjectives starting in consonant after a noun ending in vowel (feminine)

bok (new)
	Ancient term		Modern term
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Nominative	VADO BOKO	VADI BOKE	e vad bhok	e βad' bhoc
Genitive	VADAS BOKAS	VADOS BOKU	en vad bok	enu vad boku
Dative	VADIO BOKA	VADIA BOKI	e βad' bhok	eňa βad'a bhoc
Accusative	VADIU BOKA	VADIO BOKO	e βad'u bhok	eň βad' bhok

• 2st adjectival declension - Adjectives starting in vowel after a noun ending in consonant (masculine)

aɣon (old)
	Ancient term		Modern term
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Nominative	VADOM AGONO	VADE AGONE	ë vaðëμ aɣon	en βad' aɣoň
Genitive	VADI AGONI	VADOS AGONU	ë βad' aɣoň	enu vaðëz aɣonu
Dative	VADON AGONI	VADIA AGONI	e βaðënh aɣoň	eňa βad'a aɣoň
Accusative	VADIU AGONU	VADO AGONO	ë vad'u aɣonu	en βad aɣon

• 2nd adjectival declension - Adjectives starting in vowel after a noun ending in vowel (feminine)

aɣon (old)
	Ancient term		Modern term
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Nominative	VADO AGONO	VADI AGONE	e vad aɣon	e βad' aɣoň
Genitive	VADAS AGONAS	VADOS AGONU	en vaðëz aɣon	enu vaðëz aɣonu
Dative	VADIO AGONA	VADIA AGONI	e βad' aɣon	eňa βad'a aɣoň
Accusative	VADIU AGONA	VADIO AGONO	e βad'u aɣon	eň βad' aɣon

• 3rd adjectival declension - Adjective starting in consonant with a noun ending in consonant

bok (new)
	Ancient term		Modern term
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Nominative	DAK BOKO	DAKI BOKE	ë da bok	e ðac bhoc
Genitive	DAKI BOKI	DAKOS BOKU	ë ðac bhoc	enu dak boku
Dative	DAKON BOKI	DAKIA BOKI	e ðak boc	eňa ðaca bhoc
Accusative	DAKIU BOKU	DAKIO BOKO	ë dacu bhoku	eň ðac bhoc

• 3rd adjectival declension - Adjective starting in vowel with a noun ending in consonant

aɣon (old)
	Ancient term		Modern term
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Nominative	DAK AGONO	DAKI AGONE	ë dax aɣon	e ðac aɣoň
Genitive	DAKI AGONI	DAKOS AGONU	ë ðac aɣoň	enu daxëz aɣonu
Dative	DAKON AGONI	DAKIA AGONI	e ðaxënh aɣoň	eňa ðaca aɣoň
Accusative	DAKIU AGONU	DAKIO AGONO	ë dacu aɣonu	eň ðac aɣon

Pronouns

Personal

English	Nominative		Genitive		Dative		Accusative
	Ancient form	Modern form	Ancient form	Modern form	Ancient form	Modern form	Ancient form	Modern form
I	GA	gë	GOS	go	GOSIA	goşë	GAMO	gëm
Thou	DA	dë	DOS	do	DOSIA	doşë	DAMO	dëm
He	LO	le	LU	lë	LUIA	lëjë	LUMO	lëm
She	SO	se	SA	së	SAIA	sëjë	SAMO	sëm
It	NA	në	NES	në	NESIA	nëşë	NAMO	nëm
We	MAN	ma	MANES	man	MANESIA	manheşë	MANEMO	manhëm
You	TEL	t'e	TELOS	t'el	TELOSIA	t'ełëşë	TELOMO	t'ełëm
They	KOD	ke	KODOS	kod	KODOSIA	koðëşë	KODOMO	koðëm

Possessive

English	Ancient form	Modern form	Modern lenited form
My	GOS	go	ɣo
Your (thou)	DOS	do	ðo
His	LU	lë	łë
Her	SA	së	zë
Its	NES	në	nhë
Our	MANES	man	μan
Your	TELOS	tel	θel
Their	KODOS	kod	xod

Possessive pronouns (a genitive form of personal pronouns) come after their nouns and endure lenition, if required. Examples:

• my house: ë da go
• of my house: ë ðac ɣo

• to her daughter: ë βad' zë
• we see their daughter: lo kat e vad'u xod

Interrogative

Case	What?		Who?
	Ancient form	Modern form	Ancient form	Modern form
Nominative	PATO	pat	PAHETOM	pät
Genitive	PATI	pat'	PAHETI	pät'
Dative	PATO	pat	PAHETON	pät
Accusative	PATIU	pat'u	PAHETIU	pät'u

Which: [POHETO]: pöt (declined and treated as an adjective)

Relative

The relative pronoun in pöt [POHETOM], declined as a noun, with the definite article.

Masculine
	Ancient term		Modern term
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Nominative	POHETOM	POHETE	ë pöt	en phöt'
Genitive	POHETI	POHETOS	ë phöt'	enu pöt
Dative	POHETON	POHETIA	e phöt	eňa phöt'a
Accusative	POHETIU	POHETO	ë pöt'u	en phöt

Feminine
	Ancient term		Modern term
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Nominative	POHETO	POHETI	e pöt	e phöt'
Genitive	POHETAS	POHETOS	en pöt	enu pöt
Dative	POHETIO	POHETIA	e phöt'	eňa phöt'a
Accusative	POHETIU	POHETIO	e phöt'u	eň phöt'

Verb morphology

Verbs conjugate according to person, number and aspect. They do not conjugate according to tense.

• 1st conjugation - Verbs starting in consonant

kato (to see)
Person	Imperfective		Perfective
	Ancient form	Modern form	Ancient form	Modern form
I	LA KATE	lë xat'	OLAS KATE	olë kat'
Thou	LEM KATEN	lë kat'	OLEM KATEN	ol kat'
He/She/It	LO KAT	le xa	OLO KATO	ol xat
We	LUV KATOM	lo kat	OLU KATOM	olë xat
You	LUS KATI	lo kat'	OLU KATIS	olë xat'
They	LI KATUN	l'ë xatu	OLI KATUN	ol' xatu

• 2nd conjugation - Verbs starting in vowel

aso (to eat)
Person	Imperfective		Perfective
	Ancient form	Modern form	Ancient form	Modern form
I	LA ASE	l-aş	OLAS ASE	olëz aş
Thou	LEM ASEN	lëμ aş	OLEM ASEN	olëμ aş
He/She/It	LO AS	l-a	OLO ASO	ol-as
We	LUV ASOM	loβ as	OLU ASOM	olë as
You	LUS ASI	loz aş	OLU ASIS	olë aş
They	LI ASUN	l'-asu	OLI ASUN	ol'-asu

The meaning of past is expressed by an adverbial particle, placed after the verb:

• DA → dë (lenited form: ðe)

Negative declensions

Verbs form negative sentences with special negative declensions:

• 1st conjugation - Verbs starting in consonant

kato (to see)
Person	Imperfective		Perfective
	Ancient form	Modern form	Ancient form	Modern form
I	ME LA KATE	μë xat'	ME OLAS KATE	μolë kat'
Thou	ME LEM KATEN	μë kat'	ME OLEM KATEN	μol kat'
He/She/It	ME LO KAT	μe xa	ME OLO KATO	μol xat
We	ME LUV KATOM	mo kat	ME OLU KATOM	μolë xat
You	ME LUS KATI	mo kat'	ME OLU KATIS	μolë xat'
They	ME LI KATUN	m'ë xatu	ME OLI KATUN	μol' xatu

• 2nd conjugation - Verbs starting in vowel

aso (to eat)
Person	Imperfective		Perfective
	Ancient form	Modern form	Ancient form	Modern form
I	ME LA ASE	m-aş	ME OLAS ASE	μolëz aş
Thou	ME LEM ASEN	μëμ aş	ME OLEM ASEN	μolëμ aş
He/She/It	ME LO AS	m-a	ME OLO ASO	μol-as
We	ME LUV ASOM	moβ as	ME OLU ASOM	μolë as
You	ME LUS ASI	moz aş	ME OLU ASIS	μolë aş
They	ME LI ASUN	m'-asu	ME OLI ASUN	μol'-asu

Passive declension

To express a passive form, verbs have a special passive conjugation, normal and negative.

• 1st passive conjugation - Verbs starting in consonant

kato (to see)
	Positive				Negative
Person	Imperfective		Perfective			Imperfective		Perfective
	Ancient form	Modern form	Ancient form	Modern form	Ancient form	Modern form	Ancient form	Modern form
I	LARO KATE	lër kat'	OLASOR KATE	olëzër kat'	ME LARO KATE	μër xat'	ME OLASOR KATE	μozër kat'
Thou	LEMOR KATEN	lemër kat'	OLEMOR KATEN	olëμër kat'	ME LEMOR KATEN	μër kat'	ME OLEMOR KATEN	μolër kat'
He/She/It	LOR KAT	lër ka	OLORO KATO	olër xat	ME LOR KAT	μër ka	ME OLORO KATO	μolor xat
We	LUVOR KATOM	loβër kat	OLURU KATOM	oloru xat	ME LUVOR KATOM	moβër kat	ME OLURU KATOM	μolur xat
You	LUR KATI	lër kat'	OLURU KATIS	oloru xat'	ME LUR KATI	mor kat'	ME OLURU KATIS	μolur xat'
They	LIR KATUN	l'ër xatu	OLIRI KATUN	ol'ër xatu	ME LIR KATUN	m'ër katu	ME OLIRI KATUN	μol'ër xatu

• 2nd passive conjugation - Verbs starting in vowel

aso (to eat)
	Positive				Negative
Person	Imperfective		Perfective			Imperfective		Perfective
	Ancient form	Modern form	Ancient form	Modern form	Ancient form	Modern form	Ancient form	Modern form
I	LARO ASE	larh aş	OLASOR ASE	olëzërh aş	ME LARO ASE	μërh aş	ME OLASOR ASE	μolëzërh aş
Thou	LEMOR ASEN	lëμërh aş	OLEMOR ASEN	olëμërh aş	ME LEMOR ASEN	μëμërh aş	ME OLEMOR ASEN	μolëμërh aş
He/She/It	LOR AS	lërh a	OLORO ASO	olërh as	ME LOR AS	μërh a	ME OLORO ASO	μolërh as
We	LUVOR ASOM	loβërh as	OLURU ASOM	olorh as	ME LUVOR ASOM	moβërh as	ME OLURU ASOM	μolorh as
You	LUR ASI	lorh aş	OLURU ASIS	olorh aş	ME LUR ASI	morh aş	ME OLURU ASIS	μolorh aş
They	LIR ASUN	l'ërh asu	OLIRI ASUN	ol'ërh asu	ME LIR ASUN	m'ërh asu	ME OLIRI ASUN	μol'ërh asu

Imperative

Imperative is build regardless of aspect and usually without the first conjugating particle. As the verb usually come at first in sentences, in positive forms the first consonant of the verbs does not undergo any lenition.

kato (to see)
Person	Positive		Negative
	Ancient form	Modern form	Ancient form	Modern form
I	-	-	-	-
Thou	KATEU	katë	ME KATEU	μë xatë
He/She/It	KATIA	kat'a	ME KATIA	μë xat'a
We	KATOME	katëm	ME KATOME	μë xatëm
You	KATEVI	katëv	ME KATEVI	μë xatëv
They	KATIO	kat'ë	ME KATIO	μë xat'ë

aso (to see)
Person	Positive		Negative
	Ancient form	Modern form	Ancient form	Modern form
I	-	-	-	-
Thou	ASEU	asë	ME ASEU	μ-asë
He/She/It	ASIA	aşa	ME ASIA	μ-aşa
We	ASOME	asëm	ME ASOME	μ-asëm
You	ASEVI	asëv	ME ASEVI	μ-asëv
They	ASIO	aşë	ME ASIO	μ-aşë

kato (to see' - Passive')
Person	Positive		Negative
	Ancient form	Modern form	Ancient form	Modern form
I	-	-	-	-
Thou	ER KATEU	ër katë	MER KATEU	μër katë
He/She/It	ER KATIA	ër kat'a	MER KATIA	μër kat'a
We	ER KATOME	ër katëm	MER KATOME	μër katëm
You	ER KATEVI	ër katëv	MER KATEVI	μër katëv
They	ER KATIO	ër kat'ë	MER KATIO	μër kat'ë

aso (to eat - Passive)
Person	Positive		Negative
	Ancient form	Modern form	Ancient form	Modern form
I	-	-	-	-
Thou	ER ASEU	ërh asë	MER ASEU	μërh asë
He/She/It	ER ASIA	ërh aşa	MER ASIA	μërh aşa
We	ER ASOME	ërh asëm	MER ASOME	μërh asëm
You	ER ASEVI	ërh asëv	MER ASEVI	μërh asëv
They	ER ASIO	ërh aşë	MER ASIO	μërh aşë

Verbal adjective

Verbs build two verbal adjectives, with a perfective sense, and an active and a passive meaning respectively, (similar to past participles).

Active adjective: The desinence -ön [-OHENO] is added to the root of the verb, and the previous consonant is lenited.

• kato [KATO] to see → kat- + -ön [KAT- + -OHENO] → kaθön [KATOHENO], which saw
• aso [ASO] to eat → azön [ASOHENO], which ate

Passive adjective: The desinence -öt [-OHETO] is added to the root of the verb, and the previous consonant is lenited.

• kato [KATO] to see → kat- + -öt [KAT- + -OHETO] → kaθöt [KATOHETO], seen
• aso [ASO] to eat → azöt [ASOHETO], eaten

Sentences

• Did you see my house?: ol kat' dë po ë dacu ɣo?
• My name is Marco: le bhe ë seɸo go Marco
• He was eating your apple: l-a dë e galoňu ðo
• Did you read the book?: olëμ arec dë po ë recu?
• Did they see my new house?: ol' xatu ðë po ë dacu bhoku ɣo?
• What are you writing?: lë tawş po pat'u?
• What are he doing?: le za po pat'u?
• Who were they searching for?: l'-yμavu dë po pät'u?
• I speak Keβag: lë qhal' gë e Keβażu
• Don't you speak Keβag?: μë qal' po e Keβażu?
• They don't speak your language: m'ë qhalu e vörhişu θel
• I'm at my home: lë bheş taɸ ë ðac ɣo
• I'll speak with her father: olë qal' sunh e ɸät së
• Which book do you search for?: lëμ ymav' po recu phöt'u?
• The man, you see, is my father: lë kat' ë pöt'u, le bhe ë kal ë fät go.

The Lord's prayer

Fät man, lë beş ë pöt taɸ ë nheμet'

lo seintsat ë seɸot'u ðo

qeşa e dewönhoxul ðo

ër sat'a ë pełäk do

aże taɸ ë nheμet', aże taɸ ë nhujm'

ovë manheşë ekys ë nałecu ekyşoru μan

cë ...

Vocabulary

• aɣon: old [AGONO]
• areko: to read [ARREKO]
• aso: to eat [ASO]
• beso: to be [BESO]
• bok: new [BOKO]
• da: house, home [DAK]
• eθen: hand [ETENOM]
• fät: father [FAHETOM]
• kato: to see [KATO]
• pat: what [PATO]
• pät: who [PAHETOM]
• peko: to buy [PEKO]
• qalo: to speak [QALO]
• ruk: book [RUKOM]
• satno: to do, to make [SATO]
• seɸo: name, noun [SEFOT]
• tawso: to write [TAUSO]
• um: mother [UMO]
• vad: son [VADOM]; daughter [VADO]
• vörhis: language [VOHERISO]