User:Bukkia/sandboxIV

Novelatine is a language, spoken by a few thousand people in two remote mountain valleys in Central Italy. Its speakers call their own language Sa lêgwa syar dwar valyô, The language of the two valleys, or simply Sa lêgwa (nob), The/Our language. It is a direct descendent of Latin, and it retained a more conservative grammar, morphology and syntaxis than the other Romance languages. Its lexicon retains many more words directly from Latin than other Romance lexicons.

Apart from its conservatism, the main feature is the presence of two distinct dialects, one for each valleys, with some definite differences.

Phonology

Ortography

Novelatine ortography is partially based on standard Italian ortography, while a large part of it was developped independently.

Letter	IPA pron.	X-Sampa pron.	Note and English or other approximation
A, a	[a]	[a]	as in Scottish or Irish stack
B, b	[b]	[b]	as in back
C, c	1.[k] 2.[ʧ]	1.[k] 2.[tS]	1. before any consonant, the vowels a, o, ô, u, as in kiss 2. before the vowels e, i and the semivowel y, as in chip
D, d	[d]	[d]	as in admit
E, e	1.[ɛ] (stressed) 2.[e] (unstressed) 3.[ə] (final)	1.[E] 2.[e] 3.[@]	1. always in stressed syllables, as in North American English bed 2. always in unstressed syllables (see note), as in British English dress 3. only in the Eastern dialect, in final syllables, as in about
Ê, ê	1.[ɛ◌̃] (stressed) 2.[e◌̃] (unstressed)	1.[E˜] 2.[e˜]	similar to French brin (The two variants follow the same rules of distribution of the letter e)
F, f	[f]	[f]	as in fine
G, g	1.[g] 2.[ʤ]	1.[g] 2.[dZ]	1. before any consonant, the vowels a, o, ô, u, as in gun 2. before the vowels e, i and the semivowel y, as in jump
H, h	[-]	[-]	it has no sound, it is only used with other letters to express other sounds.
I, i	[i]	[i]	as in North American English free
J, j	[-]	[-]	it is not part of the alphabet, it can be found only in loanwords, where it retains its original pronunciation.
K, k	[-]	[-]	it is not part of the alphabet, it can be found only in loanwords, where it retains its original pronunciation.
L, l	1.[l] 2.[ʎ]	1.[l] 2.[L]	1. only the clear L, as in let, never dark L 2. only in the Eastern dialect, when is followed by y (which is soundless), as in Spanish millón or in Italian figlio
M, m	[m]	[m]	as in map
N, n	1.[n] 2.[ŋ] 3.[ɲ]	1.[n] 2.[N] 3.[J]	1. as in nine 2. before k and g (see note), as in sing 3. only in the Eastern dialect, when is followed by y (which is soundless), as in Spanish niño or in Italian bagno or in French agneau
O, o	1.[ɔ] (stressed) 2.[o] (unstressed)	1.[O] 2.[o]	1. always in stressed syllables, as in North American English thought 2. always in unstressed syllables (see note), as in Australian English thought
Ô, ô	1.[ɔ◌̃] (stressed) 2.[o◌̃] (unstressed)	1.[O˜] 2.[o˜]	similar to French bon (The two variants follow the same rules of distribution of the letter o)
P, p	[p]	[p]	as in speed
Q, q	[-]	[-]	it is not part of the alphabet, it can be found only in loanwords, where it retains its original pronunciation.
R, r	[r]	[r]	rolled R, as in Italian terra or in Spanish perro it can also play the role of a vowel, appearing in the end of a word without a vowel.
S, s	1.[s] 2.[z] 3.[ʃ]	1.[s] 2.[z] 3.[S]	1. in initial position, before any voiceless consonant, and in final position, as in salt 2. in intervocalic position, and before every voiced consonant(see note), as in rose 3. only in the Eastern dialect, when is followed by y (which is soundless), as in show
T, t	[t]	[t]	as in tick
U, u	[u]	[u]	as in North American English goose
V, v	[v]	[v]	as in valve
W, w	[w]	[w]	as in weep
X, x	[-]	[-]	it is not part of the alphabet, it can be found only in loanwords, where it retains its original pronunciation.
Y, y	[j]	[j]	as in you
Z, z	1.[ʦ] 2.[ʣ]	1.[ts] 2.[dz]	1. as in German Zehn 2. as in Italian zero (see note for more info about their occurence)

Notes on orthography

• Initial stops b [k], c [k], d [d], g [g], p [p] and t [t] are never aspirated.

• Voiceless intervocalic stops c [k], p [p] and t [t] are never voiced.

• The letter c represents two different sounds. When it is followed by a consonant, or the vowel a, o, ô or u, it represents the consonant [k]:

can [ˈkan]

cô [ko◌̃]

cru [ˈkru]

it represent [k] also when in final position:

loc [ˈlɔk]

it represents the sound [ʧ] when followed by e, i and y:

ciwta [ˈʧiwta]

vyice [ˈvjiʧe]

êwcyô [e◌̃ˈwʧjo◌̃]

if we want c to represent the sound [k] before one of the previous sounds, a mute h is inserted.

alchies [alˈkies]

brachyô [ˈbrakj◌̃o]

• In the Eastern dialect, a final e (IPA: [e]), tends to be pronounced as [ə], (it is said to be reduced), and when it is an e mobile, in -er endings:

lupe W: [ˈlupe] / E: [ˈlupə]

rose W: [ˈrɔze] / E: [ˈrɔzə]

veter W: [ˈvɛter] / E: [ˈvɛtər]

• The letter s represents two different sounds. When it is in initial position followed by a voiceless consonant or by a vowel, inside the word followed or preceded by a consonat, or in final position, it represents the consonant [s]:

saw [ˈsaw]

spwêdye [ˈspwɛ◌̃dje]

serpês [ˈsɛrpe◌̃s]

if it is inside the word between two vowels, or followed by a voiced consonant, also in initial position, it represents the consonant [z]:

rosa [ˈrɔza]

êsula [ˈêzula]

during some morphological processes, a [s] could be added after a velar stop ([t] or [d]): when this occurs, [s] merges with these two consonant forming the affricate consonants [ʦ] and [ʣ] respectively, both represented by z:

root salut- + ending -s → saluz [ˈsaluʦ]

root lyibertad- + ending -s → lyibertaz [ljiberˈtaʣ]

• In the Eastern dialect, when a s (IPA: [s]) is followed by a y, it tends to be pronounced as [ʃ], (it is said to be palatalized), while the y is not pronounced anymore:

syor W: [sjor] / E: [ʃor]

caysyô W: [kajˈsjo◌̃] / E: [kajˈʃo◌̃]

Noun morphology

Novelatine retains the complex system of Latin declensions, but the six cases of Latin language have merged in a three-case system: Nominative, Genitive and Accusative. Nouns are grouped in four declensions, but as phonological changes modified some endings, each declension group has more subgroups.

First declension

The first declension has both feminine and masculine nouns, but no neuter nouns. Most nouns (more than 90%) are feminine, and there is no difference in the endings between both genders. The endings are:

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	-a	-e
Genitive	-e	-arô
Accusative	-ô	-es

• Example: Rosa, rose, feminine

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	rosa	rose
Genitive	rose	rosarô
Accusative	rosô	roses

• Example: Êcola, inhabitant, masculine

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	êcola	êcole
Genitive	êcole	êcolarô
Accusative	êcolô	êcoles

Even if both genders share the same endings, nouns agree with adjectives, articles, pronouns and verbs according the real gender:

• Se bone poeta: the good poet
• Sa rosa pulcra: the beautiful rose

Second declension

The second declension has only masculine and neuter nouns. Each gender forms a different subgroup. There is also a -er subgroup:

Masculine subgroup

The endings for the masculine second declension are:

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	-e	-yi
Genitive	-yi	-erô
Accusative	-ô	-es

• Example: Lupe, wolf

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	lupe	lupyi
Genitive	lupyi	luperô
Accusative	lupô	lupes

If the root already ends with an -y-, the -yi endings become simply -i-:

• Example: Casye, cheese

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	casye	casyi
Genitive	casyi	casyerô
Accusative	casyô	casyes

Neuter subgroup

The endings for the neuter second declension are:

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	-ô	-a
Genitive	-yi	-erô
Accusative	-ô	-a

• Example: Pomô, apple

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	pomô	poma
Genitive	pomyi	pomerô
Accusative	pomô	poma

If the root already ends with an -y-, the -yi ending becomes simply -i-:

• Example: Brachyô, arm

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	brachyô	brachya
Genitive	brachyi	brachyerô
Accusative	brachyô	brachya

-er subgroup

The -er subgroup contains only masculine nouns whose nominative singular form ends with -er. They add the usual second declension endings in other cases, some nouns losing the -e (the mobile -e-), while some other nouns preserve it:

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	-	-yi
Genitive	-yi	-erô
Accusative	-ô	-es

• Example: Ager, field

With mobile -e-
Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	ager	agryi
Genitive	agryi	agrerô
Accusative	agrô	agres

• Example: Pwer, boy

Without mobile -e-
Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	pwer	pweryi
Genitive	pweryi	pwererô
Accusative	pwerô	pweres

Labial subgroup

Some nouns, whose root ends in -w-, change this last consonant in -l- before the -yi endings (singular genitive and nominative masculine plural):

• Example: Mawô, evil

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	mawô	mawa
Genitive	malyi	mawerô
Accusative	mawô	mawa

Third declension

The third declension is the most complex and large noun declension group. There are many subgroup, as many nouns has little differences, even if the declension pattern remains the same.

The basic declension patterns for masculine/feminine and for neuter nouns are:

Masculine/Feminine
Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	-	-s
Genitive	-s	-ô
Accusative	-ê	-es

Neuter
Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	-	-a
Genitive	-s	-ô
Accusative	-	-a

If the root ends with a bilabial stop ([t] or [d]), these consonants merge with the ending -s in z ([ʦ] or [ʣ] respectively), in the genitive singular, and in the masculine and feminine nominative plural:

• Example: Ciwta, city, substantive of the nominative vowel subgroup.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	ciwta	ciwtaz
Genitive	ciwtaz	ciwtadô
Accusative	ciwtadê	ciwtades

If the last consonant of the noun root is -s-, or there are two or more consonants, the singular genitive ending becomes -is, while the plural nominative ending becomes -es:

• Example: Pader, father, substantive with mobile -e-.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	pader	padres
Genitive	padris	padrô
Accusative	padrê	padres

First subgroup

The first subgroup contains nouns whose singular nominative form coincides with their root. They simply add the regular endings.

• Example: Can, dog.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	can	cans
Genitive	cans	canô
Accusative	canê	canes

Second subgroup (Vowel nominative form)

The second subgroup contains nouns whose root is the plural genitive without the -ô ending. The nominative form usually ends with a vowel, as the root's last consonant was lost in this form.

• Example: Du, leader.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	du	ducs
Genitive	ducs	ducô
Accusative	ducê	duces

A small group of nouns lose two consonant in the nominative form, typically a consonant, preceded by w:

• Example: No, night.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	no	nowz
Genitive	nowz	nowtô
Accusative	nowtê	nowtes

Third subgroup (Nasal subgroup)

The second subgroup contains nouns whose root is the plural genitive without the -ô ending. The nominative form usually ends with a nasal vowel, as the root's last consonant -n merged with the previous vowel in this form. The masculine and feminine nouns usually has -ô at the nominative form, while the neuter nouns usually has -ê.

• Example: Opyinyô, opinion, thought.

Masculine/Feminine declension
Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	opyinyô	opyinyons
Genitive	opyinyons	opyinyonô
Accusative	opyinyonê	opyinyones

• Example: Nomê, noun, name.

Neuter declension
Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	nomê	nomina
Genitive	nomins	nominô
Accusative	nomê	nomina

Fourth subgroup (Palatal subgroup)

The fourth group contains nouns whose plural genitive form adds an -y- infix before the usual -ô endings. Neuter nouns in this subgroup add the -y- infix also within the plural nominative and accusative forms.

• Example: Awr, ear.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	awr	awrs
Genitive	awrs	awryô
Accusative	awrê	awres

• Example: Mar, sea.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	mar	marya
Genitive	mars	maryô
Accusative	mar	marya

Fifth subgroup (Labial subgroup)

The fifth group contains nouns whose the root's last consonant -l- becomes an -w in the singular nominative form and in the singular accusative form for neuter nouns. The plural forms add the palatal infix -y- according to the rules of the palatal subgroup.

• Example: Pew, skin.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	pew	pels
Genitive	pels	pelyô
Accusative	pelê	peles

• Example: Animaw, animal.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	animaw	animalya
Genitive	animals	animalyô
Accusative	animaw	animalya

Sixth subgroup (Rhotic subgroup)

The fifth group contains nouns whose the root's last consonant -r- becomes an -s in the singular nominative form and in the singular accusative form for neuter nouns. The plural forms add the palatal infix -y- according to the rules of the palatal subgroup.

• Example: Mus, mouse.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	mus	murs
Genitive	murs	muryô
Accusative	murê	mures

Seventh subgroup (participial subgroup)

The sixth subgroup contains nouns whose conjugation is the same as the past participles. The nominative singular final consonant -s is replaced in all other forms with a -t, which merge with the ending -s in -z, when required. The plural forms follow the palatal subgroup declension pattern.

• Example: Dês, tooth.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	dês	dêz
Genitive	dêz	dêtyô
Accusative	dêtê	dêtes

Irregular subgroup

There are a number of nouns, which have an irregular behavior, even if they follow the usual third declension pattern:

• nom. capo; gen. capiz; acc. capo; pl. nom. capita; pl. gen. capitô pl. acc. capita (head, neuter)
• nom. fwe; gen. fwors; acc. fworê; pl. nom. fwors; pl. gen. fworô; pl. acc. fwores (flower, feminine)
• nom. die; gen. diey; acc. diê; pl. nom. dies; pl. gen. dierô; pl. acc. dies (day, masculine)

Fourth declension

The fourth declension has masculine, feminine and neuter nouns. There are two subgroups the -e subgroup and the -o subgroup.

-e subgroup

The -e subgroup contains both masculine and feminine nouns. Most nouns are masculine (more than 95 %), but the few feminine nouns are very used. These are the endings.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	-e	-os
Genitive	-os	-wô
Accusative	-ô	-es

• Example: Pase, step, masculine

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	pase	pasos
Genitive	pasos	paswô
Accusative	pasô	pases

• Example: Dome, house, home, feminine

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	dome	domos
Genitive	domos	domwô
Accusative	domô	domes

-o subgroup

The -o subgroup contains only neuter nouns. These are the endings.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	-o	-wa
Genitive	-os	-wô
Accusative	-o	-wa

• Example: Geno, knee

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	geno	genwa
Genitive	genos	genwô
Accusative	geno	genwa

Articles, Adjectives and Pronouns

Articles

Novelatine has a definite article, se. The western dialect has an indefinite article, the numeral une, while the eastern dialect usually uses no indefinite article. The article une declines as a normal first class adjective.

Definite article

The definite article se has an irregular declension:

	Singular			Plural
Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	se	sa	sô	syi	se	sa
Genitive	sies	sies	sies	syor	syar	syor
Accusative	sô	sô	sô	ses	ses	sa

The nominative singular masculine and neuter forms usually lose their vowel before another vowel and get an apostrophe, while the nominative neuter singular and all accusative singular forms become son before another vowel:

• S'agricola son agrô si col: the farmer cultivates his own field

In the eastern dialect the nominative plural masculine form, syi, gets shorter too:

• W: Syi agricole ses agres si col - E: Sy'agricole ses agres si col: the farmers cultivate their own fields

In the eastern dialect, especially in most marginal area, all plural forms uses the 'sy- alternative root (pronounced [ʃ]-):

• W: Syi agricole ses agres si col - E: Sy'agricole syes agres si col: the farmers cultivate their own fields

In the northern villages of the western valley, before another vowel the accusative forms and the neuter forms in the singular become som instead of son

• W: S'agricola som agrô si col: the farmer cultivates his own field

The articles usually merge with the preposition ad, because of the normal merging of the sounds [d] + [s] = [ʣ]. As the preposition ad can be followed by the accusative or the genitive case, these are the merged forms:

	Singular			Plural
Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
ad + Genitive	azies	azies	azies	azyor	azyar	azyor
ad + Accusative	azô	azô	azô	azes	azes	aza

Adjectives

Adjectives usually decline according to the gender and the number of the noun they qualify. They are usually placed after their nouns, but sometimes they are found before them.

Adjectives are divided in two class, according to their declension pattern:

1st class

The adjectives in this class decline like I and II declension nouns. They use the I declension endings for feminine nouns, and the II declension endings for masculine and neuter nouns:

• Example: Nove, new

	Singular			Plural
Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	nove	nova	novô	novyi	nove	nova
Genitive	novyi	nove	novyi	noverô	novarô	noverô
Accusative	novô	novô	novô	noves	noves	nova

They follow the same rules of the II declension, as there are adjectives with mobile e or with a palatal infix -y-

• Example: Veter, old, adjective with mobile e

	Singular			Plural
Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	veter	vetra	vetrô	vetryi	vetre	vetra
Genitive	vetryi	vetre	vetryi	vetrerô	vetrarô	vetrerô
Accusative	vetrô	vetrô	vetrô	vetres	vetres	vetra

• Example: Lyiber, free, adjective without mobile e

	Singular			Plural
Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	lyiber	lyibera	lyiberô	lyiberyi	lyibere	lyibera
Genitive	lyiberyi	lyibere	lyiberyi	lyibererô	lyiberarô	lyibererô
Accusative	lyiberô	lyiberô	lyiberô	lyiberes	lyiberes	lyibera

2nd class

The adjectives in this class decline like III declension nouns. They use the normal III declension endings for masculine, feminine and neuter nouns, with the same root. They can belong to anyone of all III declension subgroup, except the first one.

• Example: Brev, short, brief, adjective belonging to the palatal subgroup.

	Singular			Plural
Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	brev	brev	brev	brevs	brevs	brevya
Genitive	brevs	brevs	brevs	brevyô	brevyô	brevyô
Accusative	brevê	brevê	brev	breves	breves	brevya

• Example: Ceweber, famous, adjective belonging to the palatal subgroup with mobile e.

	Singular			Plural
Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	ceweber	ceweber	ceweber	cewebres	cewebres	cewebrya
Genitive	cewebris	cewebris	cewebris	cewebryô	cewebryô	cewebryô
Accusative	cewebrê	cewebrê	ceweber	cewebres	cewebres	cewebrya

• Example: Awda, brave, bold, audacious, adjective belonging to the vowel nominative subgroup (for this group the plural forms are the same ones of the palatal subgroup).

	Singular			Plural
Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	awda	awda	awda	awdacs	awdacs	awdacya
Genitive	awdacs	awdacs	awdacs	awdacyô	awdacyô	awdacyô
Accusative	awdacê	awdacê	awda	awdaces	awdaces	awdacya

• Example: Agiw, nimble, agile, adjective belonging to the labial subgroup.

	Singular			Plural
Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	agiw	agiw	agiw	agils	agils	agilya
Genitive	agils	agils	agils	agilyô	agilyô	agilyô
Accusative	agilê	agilê	agiw	agiles	agiles	agilya

Comparison

There are two ways for creating the various degree of comparison. One is directly retained from the ancient Latin, while the other one is a more recent creation.

The first form of comparison is built by adding some endings to the adjective's root:

• Nove, new, 1st class

Declension of the comparative form
	Singular			Plural
Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	novyer	novyer	novye	novyers	novyers	novyera
Genitive	novyers	novyers	novyers	novyerô	novyerô	novyerô
Accusative	novyerê	novyerê	novye	novyeres	novyeres	novyeres

• Nove, new 1st class

Declension of the superlative form
	Singular			Plural
Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	novisime	novisima	novisimô	novisimyi	novisime	novisima
Genitive	novisimyi	novisime	novisimyi	novisimerô	novisimarô	novisimerô
Accusative	novisimô	novisimô	novisimô	novisimes	novisimes	novisima

• Brev, short, 2st class

Declension of the comparative form
	Singular			Plural
Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	brevyer	brevyer	brevye	brevyers	brevyers	brevyera
Genitive	brevyers	brevyers	brevyers	brevyerô	brevyerô	brevyerô
Accusative	brevyerê	brevyerê	brevye	brevyeres	brevyeres	brevyeres

• Brev, short 2st class

Declension of the superlative form
	Singular			Plural
Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	brevisime	brevisima	brevisimô	brevisimyi	brevisime	novisima
Genitive	brevisimyi	brevisime	brevisimyi	brevisimerô	brevisimarô	brevisimerô
Accusative	brevisimô	brevisimô	brevisimô	brevisimes	brevisimes	brevisima

The second form of comparison is built by using the adverb mags with the normal grade of the adjective. The comparative form is formed by placing mags before the normal declined adjective, while the superlative form is formed with the definite article + mags before the declined adjective.

• bone → mags bone → se mags bone

The second forms are usually used with adjectives with more than three syllables, or with loanwords. This use is, however, not fixed yet. Especially in the Western dialect the use of mags is spreading also with shorter adjectives, while in the Eastern dialect also some longer adjectives use the first forms. In some remote villages of the Western dialect mags is replaced with pwe (from the Latin PLUS).

The comparison endings are usually added to the real root of the adjective, restoring an actually lost consonant:

• agiw → agilyer, agilisime
• awda → awdacyer, awdacisime

In the case of adjectives, whose nominative masculine singular form ends in -er with a mobile e, the superlative ending become -ime and is added directly to the -er ending without losing the -e-:

• veter → vetryer, veterime
• ceweber → cewebryer, ceweberime

Some adjectives have irregular forms for the comparative and superlative grade:

Positive	Comparative	Superlative	English
Grôd	Mayer	Masime	Big, Great

Demonstrative adjectives

There are two demonstrative adjectives: isvi which means that, and ste which means this; both they have an irregular conjugation:

• Isvi, that

	Singular			Plural
Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	isvi	avi	ivi	yivi	evi	avi
Genitive	iesvi	iesvi	iesvi	orôvi	arôvi	orôvi
Accusative	ôvi	ôvi	ivi	esvi	asvi	avi

• Ste, this

	Singular			Plural
Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	ste	sta	sto	styi	ste	sta
Genitive	sties	sties	sties	storô	starô	storô
Accusative	stô	stô	sto	stes	stes	sta

Pronouns

Personal pronouns

The personal pronouns in Novelatine have an irregular declension. Some of them have an alternative root in some cases. In the third persons the pronouns are divided for gender, in singular (as in English) and in plural number.

The most important feature, is the retention of the dative forms, for all personal pronouns:

Person	English	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
1st sing.	I	eo	mey	mi	me
2nd sing.	you (sing.)	tu	tuy	ti	te
3rd sing. f.	he	le	lies	luy	lô
3rd sing. m.	she	la	lies	luy	lô
3rd sing. n.	it	lo	lies	luy	lo
1st plur.	we	nos	nestri	nob	nos
2nd plur.	you (plur.)	vos	vestri	vob	vos
3rd plur. m.	they (m.)	lyi	lyor	lyis	les
3rd plur. f.	they (f.)	le	lyar	lyis	les
3rd plur. n.	they (n.)	la	lyor	lyis	la

The singular accusative masculine and feminine 3rd person form lô becomes lon before a vowel:

• Tu lon ams?: Do you love him/her?

In the northern villages of the western valley, this form becomes lom before a vowel:

• Tu lom ams?: Do you love him/her?

With most prepositions, which usually require the genitive case, dative forms of personal pronouns are used. The only exception is the preposition cô, which has exceptional forms for the first and the second persons:

• eo: mecô (with me)
• tu: tecô (with you sing.)
• nos: nobiscô (with us)
• vos: vobiscô (with you plur.)

The personal pronouns have also replaced the possessive adjectives and pronouns:

The possession is expressed by the dative personal pronouns, placed after the possessed noun:

• Eo son amicô ti vidye: I see your friend

The dative forms do not agree with the possessed noun, only with the gender and the number of the possessor(s).

• Eo son amicô lyis vidye: I see their friend
• Eo ses amices ti vidye: I see your friends

The genitive forms are used instead of the possessive pronouns, or when the adjectives would be used as object in the sentence.

• Ste can mey e: This dog is mine
• Styi cans mey sôt: These dogs are mine

Relative pronoun

The relative pronoun cwi has an irregular declension:

	Singular			Plural
Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	cwi	cwe	cwo	cwi	cwe	cwe
Genitive	chies	chies	chies	cwor	cwar	cwor
Accusative	cwê	cwô	cwo	cwes	cwes	cwe

Indefinite pronouns

• Alcwi: it may mean someone, somebody, something or anyone, anybody, anything. It declines like cwi:

	Singular			Plural
Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	alcwi	alcwe	alcwo	alcwi	alcwe	alcwe
Genitive	alchies	alchies	alchies	alcwor	alcwar	alcwor
Accusative	alcwê	alcwô	alcwo	alcwes	alcwes	alcwe

• Nemê: it may mean no one, nobody, only with humans or other animated beings. It has an irregular declension, only in the singular:

Case	Forms
Nominative	nemê
Genitive	nemins
Accusative	neminê

• Niw: it means nothing, with things or action or statuses. It has an irregular declension, only in the singular:

Case	Forms
Nominative	niw
Genitive	nulriy
Accusative	niw

• Omcwi: it may mean everyone, everybody, everything. It declines like cwi:

	Singular			Plural
Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	omcwi	omcwe	omcwo	omcwi	omcwe	omcwe
Genitive	omchies	omchies	omchies	omcwor	omcwar	omcwor
Accusative	omcwê	omcwô	omcwo	omcwes	omcwes	omcwe

Numbers

These are the Novelatine numbers, with their cardinal and ordinal forms:

Number	Cardinal	Ordinal
1	une	pryime
2	due	secunde
3	W: tre / E: ter	terce
4	W: cwatre / E: cwater	cwarte
5	cwêc	cwête
6	W: sey / E: ses	seste
7	sewtê	sewtime
8	owto	owtave
9	novê	none
10	decê	decime
11	ôdecê	ôdecime
12	dwodecê	dwodecime
13	tredecê	tredecime
14	cwaterdecê	cwaterdecime
15	cwêdecê	cwêdecime
16	W: seydecê / E: sesdecê	W: seydecime / E: sesdecime
17	sewtêdecê	sewtêdecime
18	dwedevyinti	dwedevyigesime
19	ôdevyinti	ôdevyigesime
20	vyinti	vyigesime
21	vyinti une	vyigesime prime
22	vyinti due	vyigesime secunde
30	tryinta	tryintesime
40	cwadryinta	cwadryintesime
50	cwêcyinta	cwêcyintesime
60	sesyinta	sesyintesime
70	sewtyinta	sewtyintesime
80	owtyinta	owtyintesime
90	novyinta	novyintesime
100	cêtô	cêtesime
200	dwecêtyi	dwecêtesime
300	trecêtyi	trecêtesime
400	cwadregêtyi	cwadregêtesime
500	cwêgêtyi	cwêgêtesime
600	sescêtyi	sescêtesime
700	sewtêgêtyi	sewtêgêtesime
800	owtêgêtyi	owtêgêtesime
900	nôgêtyi	nôgêtesime
1000	mil	milesime
2000	due milya	due milesime
1.000.000	milyô	milyonesime
1.000.000.000	milyarde	milyardesime

Declension

Most numbers are indeclinable, while only a few agree with their nouns.

• Une declines like a 1st class adjectives: une, una, unô, etc. It has no plural forms.
• Due has its own declension: m/f/n nominative: due; m/n genitive: dwor, f genitive: dwar; m/f/n accusative: dues
• The multiples of cêtô, like dwecêtyi, trecêtyi, etc., decline like 1st class plural adjectives, even if there are other indeclinable numbers after them: sescêta vyinti cwêc poma: 625 apples; le dwecêtes dues roses imyit: he bought 202 roses
• Milya is the actual plural of mil, but it is indeclinable.
• Milyô and milyarde are nouns (respectively of III and II declension). They decline according to their rule in the sentence and their nouns are in genitive cases: Due milyons ominô: two million people; unô milyonê bawteryerô côtê, it contains one million bacteria

Verbs

Novelatine has a strictly conservative and quite difficult verbal morphology. The complex verbal system of ancient Latin is retained, also with the passive synthetic forms. Nevertheless an analitic new future tense was developed, together with two conditional tenses. An isolated resultative form was also developed.

When verbs are listed, more forms are presented. As exemple, we list the verb amar, to love:

• Amar: infinitive form
• ame: first singular person of the indicative present tense
• amay: first singular person of the indicative perfect tense
• amate: past participle, masculine nominative singular form

The first singular person of the indicative present tense shows the present root, by dropping the -e, -er or -o ending:

• ame → am-e → am- (present root)

The first singular person of the indicative perfect tense shows the perfect root, by dropping the -ay, -yi or -iyi ending:

• amay → am-ay → am- (perfect root)

This is necessary, as almost all irregular verbs have a different perfect root:

• legsyi → legs-yi → legs- (perfect root) / leg- (present root)

The Novelatine verbs have six moods:

• Infinitive, which has 2 tenses: present, past
• Indicative, which has 5 tenses: present, imperfect, perfect, plusquamperfect and future
• Subjunctive, which has 5 tenses: present, imperfect, perfect, plusquamperfect and future
• Conditional, which has 2 tenses: present, past
• Resultative, which has 1 tense: past
• Imperative, which has 1 tense: present

and four adjectival forms:

• Present participle
• Past participle
• Future participle
• Gerundive

Conjugations

Novelatine verbs are divided in four conjugations:

Conjugation	Ending
I	-ar
II	-er (palatal)
III	-er (non palatal)
IV	-yir

The second conjugation uses the same endings of the third conjugation, plus a palatal infix -y, in many forms. For clarity's sake, we don't consider this verbal class as a subgroup of the third conjugation, but as an independent conjugation class, according to the tradition of Latin four conjugations' pattern.

Indicative

Present tense (têpe praysês)

The present tense is formed by adding some endings to the present root of the chosen verb. In the singular second person forms, if the root ends with a bilabial stop ([t] or [d]), these consonants merge with the endings in z ([ʦ] or [ʣ] respectively):

• Spewtar, to watch, to look at → spewz [spɛwʦ], you are watching
• Eseder, to eat → esez [ezeʣ], you are eating

However if the root ends with two consonants (except for -yC-, -wC- and -rC-), the endings become I: -es, II: -yis, III: -is, IV: -yis

These are the endings:

Person	I conj.	II conj.	III conj.	IV conj.
I sing.	ame	monye	lege	finye
II sing.	ams	mons	legs	fins
III sing.	am	mon	leg	fin
I plur.	amem	monyim	legim	finyim
II plur.	amez	monyiz	legiz	finyiz
III plur.	amêt	monyêt	legôt	finyôt

The third singular person usually adds a Ø-ending or zero ending, or it can be said it adds no ending. If the verbal root ends in more than a consonant, this could trigger some changes in the verbal root:

• if the verbal root ends with -cr- or -gr-, the -r- is retained:

• if the verbal root ends with -Cw- or Cy, the -w- or -y- are dropped:

locwer: locwe, locwis, loc, locwim...

côsilyar: côsilye, côsilyes, côsil, côsilyem...

(Note that in this example -y- is retained for the second singular person, as it is part of the root, instead of part of the ending)

In the Estern dialect, since the groups -ly-, -ny- and -sy- are read as the single consonants [ʎ], [ɲ] and [ʃ] respectively, in the third singular person l, n and s are still read as [ʎ], [ɲ] and [ʃ], even if the -y- is dropped:

• côsilyes: W [ko◌̃ˈsiljes] / [ko◌̃ˈsiʎes], côsil: W [ko◌̃ˈsil] / [ko◌̃ˈsiʎ],

Imperfect tense (têpe êperfewtô)

The following endings have to be added to the present root:

Person	I conj.	II conj.	III conj.	IV conj.
I sing.	amavô	monyivô	legyivô	finyivô
II sing.	amavs	monyivs	legyivs	finyivs
III sing.	amav	monyiv	legyiv	finyiv
I plur.	amavem	monyivem	legyivem	finyivem
II plur.	amavez	monyivez	legyivez	finyivez
III plur.	amavêt	monyivêt	legyivêt	finyivêt

In the third conjugation if the verb root ends in -Cw, the endings lose the -y-:

locwer: locwivô, locwivs, locwiv..

Perfect tense (têpe perfewtô)

The perfect tense is formed by adding some endings to the perfect root of the chosen verb. The perfect root usually coincide with the present root, as we can see in the case of most verbs of the first conjugation, but in the other conjugations, especially with irregular verbs, the root is not the same.

These are the usual endings:

Person	I conj.	II conj.	III conj.	IV conj.
I sing.	amay	monyi	legsyi	finiyi
II sing.	amayst	monyust	legsyist	finiyist
III sing.	amaw	monyut	legsyit	finiyit
I plur.	amaym	monyum	legsyim	finiyim
II plur.	amayz	monyuz	legsyiz	finiyiz
III plur.	amayerôt	monyerôt	legsyerôt	finiyerôt

When a verbs belongs to a certain conjugation, it will usually add the conjugation's typical endings. However, some irregular verbs of the first, the second and the fourth conjugation, add the third declension's endings to their irregular perfect root.

• Dar, Ir → dedyi, dedyist, dedyit, dedyim, dedyiz, dedyerôt
• Ryider, IIr → ryisyi, ryisyist, ryisyit, ryisyim, ryisyiz, ryisyerôt
• Capyir, IVr → cepyi, cepyist, cepyit, cepyim, cepyiz, cepyerôt

They will be marked with Ir, IIr and IIIr in the Lexycon section.

Plusquamperfect tense (têpe pwuscwôperfewtô)

The following endings have to be added to the perfect root:

Person	I conj.	II conj.	III conj.	IV conj.
I sing.	amayerô	monyerô	legsyerô	finiyerô
II sing.	amayers	monyers	legsyers	finiyers
III sing.	amayer	monyer	legsyer	finiyer
I plur.	amayerem	monyerem	legsyerem	finiyerem
II plur.	amayerez	monyerez	legsyerez	finiyerez
III plur.	amayerêt	monyerêt	legsyerêt	finiyerêt

Future tense (têpe futurô)

The synthetic future tense of ancient Latin has entirely disappeared, and it was replaced by a new analytic future form.

It is formed with the present forms of the verb aber and the infinite form of the main verb:

• Eo ao caner: I will sing
• Cras azô mar ao vader: Tomorrow I will go to the beach

Subjunctive

Present tense (têpe praysês)

The following endings have to be added to the present root:

Person	I conj.	II conj.	III conj.	IV conj.
I sing.	amê	monyô	legô	finyô
II sing.	amis	monyes	leges	finyes
III sing.	ami	monye	lege	finye
I plur.	amim	monyem	legem	finyem
II plur.	amiz	monyez	legez	finyez
III plur.	amêt	monyôt	legêt	finyêt

Imperfect tense (têpe êperfewtô)

The following endings have to be added to the present root:

Person	I conj.	II conj.	III conj.	IV conj.
I sing.	amarê	monerê	legerê	finyirê
II sing.	amars	moners	legers	finyirs
III sing.	amar	moner	leger	finyir
I plur.	amarem	monerem	legerem	finyirem
II plur.	amarez	monerez	legerez	finyirez
III plur.	amarêt	monerêt	legerêt	finyirêt

Perfect tense (têpe perfewtô)

The following endings have to be added to the perfect root:

Person	I conj.	II conj.	III conj.	IV conj.
I sing.	amayerê	monyerê	legsyerê	finiyerê
II sing.	amayeris	monyeris	legsyeris	finiyeris
III sing.	amayeri	monyeri	legsyeri	finiyeri
I plur.	amayerim	monyerim	legsyerim	finiyerim
II plur.	amayeriz	monyeriz	legsyeriz	finiyeriz
III plur.	amayerêt	monyerêt	legsyerêt	finiyerêt

Plusquamperfect tense (têpe pwuscwôperfewtô)

The following endings have to be added to the perfect root:

Person	I conj.	II conj.	III conj.	IV conj.
I sing.	amaysê	monyisê	legsyisê	finiyisê
II sing.	amaysis	monyisis	legsyisis	finiyisis
III sing.	amaysi	monyisi	legsyisi	finiyisi
I plur.	amaysim	monyisim	legsyisim	finiyisim
II plur.	amaysiz	monyisiz	legsyisiz	finiyisiz
III plur.	amaysêt	monyisêt	legsyisêt	finiyisêt

Future tense (têpe futurô)

It is formed with the subjunctive present forms of the verb aber and the infinite form of the main verb:

• Crede co abyes caner: I believe you will sing
• Crede co cras azô mar abyes vader: I believe that tomorrow you will go to the beach

Conditional

The conditional forms have two tenses, the present and the past tense. It is an analytic mood, formed with the auxiliary verb aver.

The conditional present is formed with the perfect tense forms of the verb aber, plus the infinitive form of the main verb:

• Eo avyi caner: I would sing
• Cras azô mar avyi vader: Tomorrow I would go to the beach

The conditional past is formed with the plusquamperfect tense form of the verb aber, plus the infinitive form of the main verb:

• Eo avyerô caner: I would have sung
• Azô mar avyerô vader: I would have gone to the beach

Resultative

The resultative form is not inherited from Ancient Latin, but it is a later creation, most likely under the influence of the Italian passato prossimo.

It is formed with the present forms of the verb aber and the past participle without the adjectival endings:

• advenyir, to happen → advête → advêt: cwo a advêt?, what has happened? what did just happen?
• facer, to do → fawte → fawt: cwo as fawt?, what have you done? what did you just do?

Its meaning and use are slightly different between the two dialects, but its basic meaning is pointing out the result of an action. In a more linguistically precise definition, it is a perfective past form of the verb.

Impersonal forms

These forms are called impersonal, because they are not conjugated as usual verbs, but they represent special forms, usually considered as adjectival forms.

Gerundive

The gerundive is an adjectival form, which usually means which must be X-ed. It declines like a normal 1st class adjective, thus we will show only the masculine nominative singular form.

I conj.	II conj.	III conj.	IV conj.
amôde	monêde	legêde	finêde

Passive forms

Indicative present tense

The following endings have to be added to the present root:

Person	I conj.	II conj.	III conj.	IV conj.
I sing.	amer	monyer	leger	finyer
II sing.	ameres	monyires	legires	finyires
III sing.	ameter	monyiter	legiter	finyiter
I plur.	amemer	monyimer	legimer	finyimer
II plur.	amemnyi	monyimnyi	legimnyi	finyimny
III plur.	amêter	monyêter	legôter	finyôter

Indicative imperfect tense

The following endings have to be added to the present root:

Person	I conj.	II conj.	III conj.	IV conj.
I sing.	amaver	monyiver	legyiver	finyiver
II sing.	amaveres	monyiveres	legyiveres	finyiveres
III sing.	amaveter	monyiveter	legyiveter	finyiveter
I plur.	amavemer	monyivemer	legyivemer	finyivemer
II plur.	amavemnyi	monyivemnyi	legyivemnyi	finyivemnyi
III plur.	amavêter	monyivêter	legyivêter	finyivêter

Indicative perfect tense

The passive indicative perfect tense is a compound tense, formed with the past participle, which usually agree in number and gender with the subject, and the perfect tense forms of the verb eser, to be:

Person	I conj.	II conj.	III conj.	IV conj.
I sing.	amate, -a, ô	monite, -a, ô	lewte, -a, ô	finyite, -a, ô	fuyi
II sing.	amate, -a, ô	monite, -a, ô	lewte, -a, ô	finyite, -a, ô	fuyist
III sing.	amate, -a, ô	monite, -a, ô	lewte, -a, ô	finyite, -a, ô	fuyit
I plur.	amatyi, -e, a	monityi, -e, a	lewtyi, -e, a	finyityi, -e, a	fuyim
II plur.	amatyi, -e, a	monityi, -e, a	lewtyi, -e, a	finyityi, -e, a	fuyiz
III plur.	amatyi, -e, a	monityi, -e, a	lewtyi, -e, a	finyityi, -e, a	fuyerôt

Indicative plusquamperfect tense

The passive indicative plusquamperfect tense is a compound tense, formed with the past participle, which usually agree in number and gender with the subject, and the plusquamperfect tense forms of the verb eser, to be:

Person	I conj.	II conj.	III conj.	IV conj.
I sing.	amate, -a, ô	monite, -a, ô	lewte, -a, ô	finyite, -a, ô	fuyerô
II sing.	amate, -a, ô	monite, -a, ô	lewte, -a, ô	finyite, -a, ô	fuyers
III sing.	amate, -a, ô	monite, -a, ô	lewte, -a, ô	finyite, -a, ô	fuyer
I plur.	amatyi, -e, a	monityi, -e, a	lewtyi, -e, a	finyityi, -e, a	fuyerem
II plur.	amatyi, -e, a	monityi, -e, a	lewtyi, -e, a	finyityi, -e, a	fuyerez
III plur.	amatyi, -e, a	monityi, -e, a	lewtyi, -e, a	finyityi, -e, a	fuyerêt

Indicative future tense

It is formed with the present forms of the verb aber and the infinite passive form of the main verb:

• Syi documêtyi cras ôt videri: The documents will be seen tomorrow

Subjunctive present tense

The following endings have to be added to the present root:

Person	I conj.	II conj.	III conj.	IV conj.
I sing.	amêr	monyôr	legôr	finyôr
II sing.	amires	monyeres	legeres	finyeres
III sing.	amiter	monyeter	legeter	finyeter
I plur.	amimer	monyemer	legemer	finyemer
II plur.	amimnyi	monyemnyi	legemnyi	finyemnyi
III plur.	amêter	monyôter	legêter	finyêter

Subjunctive imperfect tense

The following endings have to be added to the present root:

Person	I conj.	II conj.	III conj.	IV conj.
I sing.	amarer	monerer	legerer	finyirer
II sing.	amareres	monereres	legereres	finyireres
III sing.	amareter	monereter	legereter	finyireter
I plur.	amaremer	moneremer	legeremer	finyiremer
II plur.	amaremnyi	moneremnyi	legerenyi	finyiremnyi
III plur.	amarêter	monerêter	legerêter	finyirêter

Subjunctive perfect tense

The passive subjunctive perfect tense is a compound tense, formed with the past participle, which usually agree in number and gender with the subject, and the subjunctive perfect tense forms of the verb eser, to be:

Person	I conj.	II conj.	III conj.	IV conj.
I sing.	amate, -a, ô	monite, -a, ô	lewte, -a, ô	finyite, -a, ô	fuyerê
II sing.	amate, -a, ô	monite, -a, ô	lewte, -a, ô	finyite, -a, ô	fuyers
III sing.	amate, -a, ô	monite, -a, ô	lewte, -a, ô	finyite, -a, ô	fuyer
I plur.	amatyi, -e, a	monityi, -e, a	lewtyi, -e, a	finyityi, -e, a	fuyerim
II plur.	amatyi, -e, a	monityi, -e, a	lewtyi, -e, a	finyityi, -e, a	fuyeriz
III plur.	amatyi, -e, a	monityi, -e, a	lewtyi, -e, a	finyityi, -e, a	fuyerêt

Subjunctive plusquamperfect tense

The passive subjunctive plusquamperfect tense is a compound tense, formed with the past participle, which usually agree in number and gender with the subject, and the subjunctive plusquamperfect tense forms of the verb eser, to be:

Person	I conj.	II conj.	III conj.	IV conj.
I sing.	amate, -a, ô	monite, -a, ô	lewte, -a, ô	finyite, -a, ô	fuyisê
II sing.	amate, -a, ô	monite, -a, ô	lewte, -a, ô	finyite, -a, ô	fuyisis
III sing.	amate, -a, ô	monite, -a, ô	lewte, -a, ô	finyite, -a, ô	fuyisi
I plur.	amatyi, -e, a	monityi, -e, a	lewtyi, -e, a	finyityi, -e, a	fuyisim
II plur.	amatyi, -e, a	monityi, -e, a	lewtyi, -e, a	finyityi, -e, a	fuyisiz
III plur.	amatyi, -e, a	monityi, -e, a	lewtyi, -e, a	finyityi, -e, a	fuyisêt

Subjunctive future tense

It is formed with the present subjunctive forms of the verb aber and the infinite passive form of the main verb:

• Crede co syi documêtyi cras abyôt videri: I believe the documents will be seen tomorrow

Conditional present tense

It is formed with the perfect tense forms of the verb aber and the infinite passive form of the main verb:

• Syi documêtyi avyerôt videri: The documents would be seen

Conditional past tense

It is formed with the plusquamperfect tense forms of the verb aber and the infinite passive form of the main verb:

• Syi documêtyi avyerêt videri: The documents would have been seen

Verb eser (to be)

Indicative
Person	Present	Imperfect	Perfect	Pl.perfect
I sing.	sô	erô	fuyi	fuyerô
II sing.	es	ers	fuyist	fuyers
III sing.	e	er	fuyit	fuyer
I plur.	some	erem	fuyim	fuyerem
II plur.	ez	erez	fuyiz	fuyerez
III plur.	sôt	erôt	fuyerôt	fuyerêt

Subjunctive
Person	Present	Imperfect	Perfect	Pl.perfect
I sing.	sê	eserê	fuyerê	fuyisê
II sing.	ses	eseris	fuyers	fuyisis
III sing.	set	eseri	fuyer	fuyisi
I plur.	sem	eserim	fuyerim	fuyisim
II plur.	sez	eseriz	fuyeriz	fuyisiz
III plur.	sêt	eserêt	fuyerêt	fuyisêt

Other compound tenses and moods are formed according to the usual grammar rules.

Other irregular verbs

I conjugation

• dar: do, das, da, dam, daz, dôt
• star: sto, stas, sta, stam, staz, stôt

II conjugation

• aber: ao, as, a, avyim, avyiz, ôt, perf.: aviy, avyust...
• poser: posô, podes, pode, W:posom/E:posome, podez, posôt, imperf.: poderô, poders...; perf.: podiy, podyust..; subj. pres.: posê, poses, pose, posem, posez, posêt; subj. imperf.: poserê, posers...
• tener: tenye, tens, tê, tenyim, tenyiz, W: tenyêt/E: têt
• voler: volye, vols, vut, volyim, volyiz, volyôt

III conjugation

• facer: facye, W: facs/E: fac, W: fac/ E: fa, facim, faciz, facyôt
• noscer: nosce, noscis, nos, noscim, nosciz, noscôt

Syntax

Novelatine has retained a large part of the vast Latin syntax, while has created some new innovations, some of them shared with other Romance languages, while some other under the influence of the surrounding Italian language.

Constituent order

Novelatine is a typical SOV language. It retained the ancient Latin word order, in which the verb usually comes at the end of the sentence. As it still make a large of use of its case, the constituent order can be considered as free, but the position of the various parts of the sentences is ruled by semantic, more than syntactic, rules.

• Marce (subject) Siwvyô (object) vid (verb): Marce sees Siwvya

The position of the indirect object (marked with D) is not compulsorily fixed, like the other parts of the sentence, but it usually tends to respect these rules:

- it usually comes before the direct object (O):

• Marce (S) azô docêtê (D) sô libelô si (O) dedyit: Marce gave the teacher his own book

- if the indirect object is a pronoun, it moves immediately before the verb:

• Marce (S) sô libelô si (O) luy (D) dedyit: Marce gave him his own book

but if the object (or another part) of the sentence is followed by an identical dative possessive pronoun, it moves back before the object:

• Marce (S) luy (D) sô libelô luy (O) dedyit: Marce gave him his book

if the possessive pronoun is different the pronoun remains in the position before the verb:

• Marce (S) sô libelô luy (O) mi (D) dedyit: Marce gave me his book

Negation and question

An entire sentence is negated by inserting nô (non before a vowel), before the conjugated verb:

• Azô mar vasyerôt: They went to the beach → Azô mar nô vasyerôt: They didn't go to the beach
• Eo ses parvoles ti êtêde: I understand your words → Eo ses parvoles ti non êtêde: I don't understand your words

Nominal syntax

Novelatine nouns do decline, i.e. they change themselves (in this case they change their own endings), to show their syntactic role in the sentence.

If a noun has the role of the subject (Marce ôvi pwelô am, Mark loves that girl) it will show a definite ending, different from those used for other roles (Avi pwela Marcô am, That girl loves Mark; Eo sa pwela Marcyi sô, I am the girl of Mark).

Cases

Novelatine has three cases: Nominative, Genitive and Accusative

Nominative

The nominative case has the only but very important role of representing the sentence's subject. As it plays this primary role, it is the form we always find in dictionaries.

Contrary to English, the verb eser (to be) has no direct object, but its possible object is treated like an adjective to the subject, and it is declined in the nominative case:

• Eo se nove docês vob sô: I am your new teacher

Accusative

The accusative case has the primary role of representing the sentence's direct object.

• Sô novô docêtê nô vyidyist?: Didn't you see the new teacher?

It is also used with various prepositions:

• circô: around (indicating motion)
• côtre: against
• ê: in, into (indicating motion)
• être/êfre: among, between (indicating motion)

With the preposition ad it plays two roles:

• the indirect object
• the preposition to, into (indicating motion)

• Azô novô docêtê sô libelô mi dedyi: I gave the new teacher my book/I gave my book to the new teacher.

Genitive

The genitive case has the primary role of representing possession.

• Se lewcyons sies novyi docêz facils sô: The lessons of the new teacher are easy

It is also used with many prepositions:

• circô: around (indicating state)
• cô: with
• ad: in, into (indicating state)
• ê: in, into (indicating state)
• être/êfre: among, between (indicating state)

With the preposition de it plays two roles:

• the preposition from (indicating motion)
• the preposition by (agent of the sentence)

A particular use of the genitive case is the absolute genitive. The absolute genitive is a syntactic construct which consists of a noun or pronoun and either a past participle, a present participle, an adjective, or an appositive noun, all in the genitive.

The genitive absolute indicates the time, condition, or attending circumstances of an action being described in the main sentence. It takes the place of, and translates, many phrases that would require a subordinate clause in English. However, the noun in the genitive case cannot recur in the same sentence, hence the name absolute, which means not related, not linked.

This construction is built with both present and past particles of every verb, even if the past participle of some intransitive verbs cannot be used. The present particle is used when the action is contemporary to the main clause, while the past participle is used when the action is in the past of the main clause:

• Sies sols oryêz, adiyim: We left, when the sun was rising/We left at sunrise

• Syor documêterô vyiserô, avyim decret: After we saw the documents/As we saw the documents/Having seen the documents, we made a decision

Verbal syntax

Novelatine verbs do conjugate, i.e. they change themselves (in this case they change their own endings), to show their agreement with their subject in number and gender, and according to the mood and tense of the action or status they represent.

Indicative

Present

The present tense conveys an action which takes place in the moment during which the sentence is created. In this case it covers also the role of English present progressive:

• Syi pweryi cô syor parêtyô lyis locwôt: The boys talk with their parents/The boys are talking with their parents
• Esede: I am eating/I eat
• Fese sô: I am tired

It also conveys actions which are always present, recurring or continuous:

• Sa Tera circô sô Solê movyiter: The Earth moves around the Sun

Imperfect

The imperfect tense conveys an action which takes place before the moment during which the sentence is created, i.e. in its past; this tense refers to actions during their implementation, or status during their development. In this case it covers also the role of English past progressive:

• Syi pweryi cô syor parêtyô lyis locwivêt: The boys were talking with their parents
• Esedyivô: I was eating/I ate
• Fese erô: I was tired

Perfect

The perfect tense conveys an action which takes place before the moment during which the sentence is created, i.e. in its past; this tense simply refers to past actions without referement to their implementation, or development (instead, it implies that the action had an end). It covers the role of English simple past:

• Syi pweryi cô syor parêtyô lyis locuyerôt: The boys talked with their parents
• Esedyi: I ate
• Fese fuyi: I was tired

Plusquamperfect

The plusquamperfect tense conveys an action which takes place before the moment during which the sentence is created, i.e. in its past; this tense simply refers to actions happened before another past action. It covers the role of English past perfect:

• Syi pweryi cô syor parêtyô lyis locuyerêt: The boys had talked with their parents
• Esedyerô: I had eaten
• Fese fuyerô: I had been tired

Subordinative syntax

Comud

The conjunction comud opens a dependent clause, with the meaning of because, since, as. It is built using all tenses of the subjunctive mood:

• Comud lô nô yuvis, le a decret co.., As you don't help him, he has decided that..
• Comud lô nô nôcwô yuvarers, le decreyit co.., As you never used to help him, he decided that..
• Comud lô nô yuvayeris, le decreyit co.., As you didn't help him, he decided that..
• Comud lô nô yuvayisis, le decreyer co.., As you hadn't helped him, he had decided that..
• Comud lô non abyes yuvar, le a decret co.., As you won't help him, he has decided that..

Perud

The conjunction perud opens a dependent clause, with the meaning of in order to. It is built using only three tenses of the subjunctive mood:

With the imperfect tense, when speaking in the past:

• Lo fecyi, perud lô yuvarê, I did it, in order to help him
• Lo fecyerô, perud lô yuvarê, I had done it, in order to help him
• Lo ao fawt, perud lô yuvarê, I've just done it, in order to help him

With the present tense, when speaking in the present:

• Lo facye, perud lô yuvê, I do it, in order to help him

With the future tense, when speaking in the future:

• Lo ao facer, perud lon abyô yuvar, I'll do it, in order to help him

Lexycon

• Aber, ao, avyi, avute, verb, II, to have (auxiliary)
• Acwa, -arô, noun, f., water
• Adicyô, -yonô, noun, f., departure
• Advenyir, advenye, advinyi, advête, verb, IVr, to happen
• Adyir, adye, adiyi, adite, verb, IV, to leave, to depart
• Ager, agrerô, noun, m., field
• Agiw, -ilyô, adj., II, agile, nimble
• Alcwi, alcwe, alcwo, pron., someone, somebody, something
• Amar, ame, amay, amate, verb, I, to love
• Amica, -carô, noun, f., friend (only female)
• Amice, -cerô, noun, m., friend (only male or mixed)
• Ane, anerô, noun, m., year; cwôtyi anyi ti sôt?, how old are you?
• Animaw, -alyô, noun, n., animal
• Aragnyola, -arô, noun, f., spider
• Awr, -ryô, noun, f., ear
• Awter, -tra, -trô, adj., I, other
• Awtomobiw, -ilyô, noun, f., car
• Animaw, -alyô, noun, n., animal
• Biver, bive, bivyi, bivite, verb, III, to drink
• Bone, -a, -ô, adj., I, good
• Brachyô, -yerô, noun, n., arm
• Brev, -vyô, adj., II, short, brief
• Can, -nô, noun, m., dog
• Cancyô, -yonô, noun, f., song
• Caner, cane, cecinyi, cante, verb, III, to sing
• Capo, -pitô, noun, n., head, mind
• Capyir, capye, cepyi, cawte, verb, IVr, to take, to catch
• Casye, -yerô, noun, m., cheese
• Cawtive, -a, -ô, adj., I, captive, captured, caught; adject. noun., prisoner, captive
• Cayder, cayde, cecyidyi, cayse, verb, III, to cut
• Caysyô, -yonô, noun, f., cut
• Ceweber, -bryô, adj., II, famous, noted
• Ciwta, -tadô, noun, f., city
• Cô, prep., with + GEN.
• Côfin, -nyô, noun, m., border
• Côsilyar, -lye, -lyay, -lyate, verb, I, to advise, to give an advice, to suggest
• Côsilyô, -yerô, noun, n., 1. advice; 2. council
• Cras, adv, tomorrow
• Creder, crede, cridyi, credute, verb, III, to believe
• Cwav, -vyô, noun, f., key
• Cwayrer, cwayre, cwaysyi, cwaysyite, verb, III, to ask (to know something), ad alchies, to ask someone
• Cwomod, adv., how
• Cwôd, adv., when
• Cwôte, -a, -ô, adj., I, how much, how many
• Cyelô, -lerô, noun, n., sky
• Dar, do, dedyi, date, verb, Ir, to give
• Decerner, decerne, decreyi, decrete, verb, III, to decide
• Decrecyô, -yonô, noun, f., decision
• Dês, dêtyô, noun, m., tooth
• Dicer, dice, dicsyi, diwte, verb, III, to say, to tell
• Docer, docye, docyi, dowte, verb, II, to teach
• Docês, -êtyô, noun, m/f., teacher
• Documête, -terô, noun, m., document
• Dome, -mwô, noun, f., house, home
• Du, ducô, noun, m., leader
• Ducer, duce, ducsyi, duwte, verb, III, to lead, to guide
• Ecwesya, -yarô, noun, f., church
• Ed, part., and
• Elewcyô, -yonô, noun, f., election, choice
• Eliger, elige, elecsyi, elewte, verb, III, to elect, to choose
• Emer, eme, imyi, êwte, verb, III, to buy, to purchase
• Eseder, esede, esedyi, eseste, verb, III, to eat
• Eser, sô, fuyi, fute, verb, -, to be
• Ê, part., in + GEN. (state)/ + ACC. (motion)
• Êcola, -larô, noun, m., inhabitant
• Êgredyir, êgredye, êgresyi, êgrese, verb, IVr, to enter
• Êgrese, -wô, noun, m., entry
• Êgwê, -inô, noun, n., groin
• Êsula, -le, noun, f., island
• Êtêder, êtêde, êtêsyi, êtêse, verb, III, to understand
• Êvenyir, êvenye, êvinyi, êvête, verb, IVr, to find, to discover
• Êwcyô, -yonô, noun, f., purchase
• Facer, facye, fecyi, fawte, verb, III, to do, to make
• Faciw, -ilyô, adj., II, easy
• Fese, -a, -ô, adj., I, tired
• Few, felyô, noun, f., cat
• Fewi, -cyô, adj., II, happy
• Fewicita, -tadô, noun, f., happyness
• Fêger, fêge, fêsyi, fiwte, verb, III, to pretend, to feign, to fake
• Finyir, finye, finiyi, finyite, verb, IV, to end, to finish, to cease
• Foce, -cerô, noun, m., fire, flame
• Formose, -a, -ô, adj., I, beautiful
• Flumê, -inô, noun, n., river
• Fwe, fworô, noun, f., flower
• Galice, -cerô, noun, n., French language
• Galice, -a, -ô, adj., I, French; adject. noun, French, syi galicyi, French people
• Galya, -yarô, noun, f., 1. France, 2. Gallia (ancient name, usually with vetra, old)
• Geno, -nwô, noun, n., knee
• Germane, -nerô, noun, n. German man, syi germanyi, German people
• Germanice, -cerô, noun, m., German language
• Germanice, -a, -ô, adj., I, German;
• Germanya, -yarô, noun, f., 1. Germany
• Gês, gêtyô, noun, f., people, folk, population
• Grôd, -dyô, adj., II, great, big
• Gwera, -arô, noun, f., war; ducer gwerô, to go at war (côtre alcwê, against someone); êdicer (sô) gwerô, to declare war
• Ida, adv., so, this way
• Isvi, avi, ivi, adj., that; pron., that one
• Italya, -arô, noun, f., Italy
• Italyane, -nerô, noun, m., Italian language
• Italyane, -a, -ô, adj., I, adj., I, Italian; adject. noun, Italian, syi italyanyi, Italian people
• La, lawtô, noun, n., milk
• Lawdar, lawde, lawday, lawdate, verb, I, 1. to praise; 2. to boast
• Leger, lege, legsyi, lewte, verb, III, to read
• Lewcyô, -yonô, noun, f., lesson
• Lêgwa, -warô, noun, m., 1. tongue; 2. language
• Libelô, -lerô, noun, n., book
• Locwer, locwe, locuyi, locute, verb, III, to speak
• Lude, -derô, noun, m., play, toy
• Luder, lude, lusyi, luse, verb, III, to play (with a toy, football)
• Lupe, -perô, noun, m., wolf
• Lyiber, -era, -erô, adj., I, free
• Lyiberar, -re, -ray, -rate, verb, I, to set free
• Lyiberta, -tadô, noun, f., freedom
• Mader, -drô, noun, f., mother
• Mawe, -a, -ô, adj., I, bad, evil
• Mawô, -erô, noun, n., evil
• Mane, -nwô, noun, f., hand
• Mar, -ryô, noun, n., 1. sea; 2. seaside, beach, azies mars eser, to be at seaside, azô mar vader, to go to the beach
• Meridyô, -yonô, noun, m., south
• Mesime, -a, -ô, adj., I, same
• Mês, mêtyô, noun, f., mind, tought, head
• Mode, -erô, noun, m., manner, mode, way
• Moner, monye, monyi, monite, verb, II, to wart, to inform
• Moryiri, moryer, mortwe fuyi, verb, IV pas, to die
• Mover, movye, movyi, mote, verb, II, to move (transitive); moveri, to move (intransitive)
• Môde, -erô, noun, m., world
• Mus, muryô, noun, f., mouse
• Nav, navyô, noun, f., ship, boat
• Nemê, nemins, pron., nobody
• Niw, nulriy, pron., nothing
• No, nowtô, noun, f., night
• Nomê, -minô, noun, n., noun, name
• Nove, -a, -ô, adj., I, new
• Nô, part., not, no
• Odôtoyatria, noun, f., dentistry
• Odôtoyatrice, -a, -ô, adj., I, relative to dentistry
• Omcwi, omcwe, omcwo, pron., everyone, everybody, everything
• Omuvi, adv., everywhere
• Opyinyô, -yonô, noun, f., opinion, viewpoint
• Oracyô, -yonô, noun, f., pray
• Orar, ore, oray, orate, verb, I, to pray
• Os, orô, noun, n., mouth
• Pader, -drô, noun, m., father
• Parês, -êtyô, noun, m., parent
• Parvola, -larô, noun, f., word
• Pase, -swô, noun, m., step
• Pecar, pece, pecay, pecate, verb, I, to sin
• Pecator, -rô, noun, m., sinner
• Pe, pedô, noun, m., foot
• Peder, pede, pedyi, pedyite, verb, III, to ask (to get something), ad alchies alcwo, to ask someone for something
• Pew, pelyô, noun, f., skin, leather
• Pomô, -merô, noun, n., apple
• Porce, -cerô, noun, m., pork, pig, swine
• Poser, posô, podiy, podute, verb, II, to can, to be able
• Pôs, pôtyô, noun, m., bridge
• Praysidês, -dêtyô, noun, m., president
• Pwela, -lô, noun, f., girl
• Pwene, -a, -ô, adj., I, full + GEN.
• Pwer, -erô, noun, m., boy
• Re, regô, noun, m., king
• Regnô, -erô, noun, n., kingdom; so Regnô Unitô Grônz Britanye ed Irlande Sewtêtryonals, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
• Rosa, -sarô, noun, m., rose
• Rôper, rôpe, rupyi, ruwte, verb, III, to break
• Ryider, ryidye, ryisyi, ryise, verb, IIr, to laugh, to smile
• Saw, salyô, noun, m., salt
• Sawte, -twô, noun, m., jump
• Sawtar, sawte, sawtay, sawtate, verb, I, to jump
• Sawutacyô, -yonô, noun, f., greeting
• Sawutar, sawute, sawutay, sawutate, verb, I, to greet
• Se, sa, sô, article, the
• Sed, part., but
• Scryiber, scryibe, scryipsyi, scryiwte, verb, III, to write
• Serpês, -êtyô, noun, m., snake
• Sewtêtryô, -yonô, noun, m., north
• Sêpre, adv, always
• Siwva, -varô, noun, f., forest, wood
• Sow, solyô, noun, m., sun, the Sun
• Sôwte, -a, -ô, adj., I, saint
• Sôwtificar, -fice, -ficay, -ficate, verb, I, to hollow, to sanctify
• Spewtar, spewte, spewtay, spewtate, verb, I, to look at, to watch
• Star, sto, stetyi, state, verb, Ir, to stay, to stand, to stand up, to be
• Ste, sta, sto, adj., this; pron., this one
• Têpe, -perô, noun, n., 1. time; 2. tense
• Tener, tenye, tinyi, tête, verb, II, to have, to keep, to own
• Tera, -rarô, noun, f., 1. earth, ground; 2. Earth
• Tode, -a, -ô, adj., I, all
• Tur, -ryô, noun, f., tower
• Unyir, unye, uniyi, unite, verb, IV, to unite
• Utyir, utye, utiyi, use, verb, IV, to use, to make use of + GEN.
• Uvi, adv., where
• Vader, vade, vasyi, vase, verb, III, to go
• Venyir, venye, vinyi, vête, verb, IVr, to come
• Verbô, -berô, noun, n., verb
• Veter, -tra, -trô, adj., I, old
• Vidrô, -erô, noun, n., glass (substance)
• Vider, vidye, vyidyi, vyise, verb, IIr, to see
• Vyice, -cerô, noun, m., village
• Vyinô, -nerô, noun, n., wine
• Vyiver, vyive, vyicsyi, vyiwte, verb, III, to live
• Vocar, voce, vocay, vocate, verb, I, to call; cwomod vocers?, What's your name?
• Voler, volye, volyi, volute, verb, II, to want, to desire; volye ud + CONG., I want that...
• Voluwta, -adô, noun, f., will
• Yuvacyô, -yonô, noun, f., help
• Yuvar, yuve, yuvay, yuvate, verb, I, to help

Texts

Lord's prayer

• Pader nob, cwi ê sies cyelyi es,
• sô nomê ti sôwtificeter
• sô regnô ti venye
• sa voluwta ti faceter
• ida ê sies cyelyi, ida ê se tere
• ad nob sô panê cotyidyanô nob da
• ed ad nob sa debita nob dyimiti
• ida nos ad debitores nob dyimitim
• ed nos ê têtacyonê non êduces
• sed nos de sies malyi lyibera.
• amê.

Hail Mary

• Ave Maria, gracye pwena,
• se Domine tecô e
• benediwta êter mulyerô es
• ed benediwte se fruwte sies vêtris ti e, Jesus
• Sôwta Maria, mader Dyi
• or per nob, pecatorô
• nôc ed ê sies ore sies morz nob
• amê

Sound changes from Latin

These are the main sound changes that affected the Late Latin spoken in this area, which later became Novelatine. These sound change laws are usually respected, but sometimes there are other results, mainly because of analogy

Legend: C, any consonant; N, a nasal consonat (n, m); V, any vowel; the sign [:], a long vowel or consonant.

• i: → yi [ji]
• ct → wt
• pt → wt
• ClV → CwV but → ClV if V = u
• C: → C
• tiV → cyV [ʧj]
• CiV → CyV [j], but not if [i] is stressed.
• eNC, iNC → ê [e◌̃]
• aNC, oNC, uNC → ô [o◌̃]
• eN_#, iN_# → ê [e◌̃]
• aN_#, oN_#, uN_# → ô [o◌̃]
• ae_# → e
• ae (stressed or in a syllable before the stressed one) → ay
• us_# → e