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.
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 | |
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 | |
-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 | |
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 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 | |
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: Animaw, animal.
| Case | Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | animaw | animalya | |
| Genitive | animals | animalyô | |
| Accusative | animaw | animalya | |
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
Lexycon
- Amar, ame, amay, amate, verb, I, to love
- Can, -nô, noun, n., dog
- Ciwta, -tadô, noun, f., city
- Creder, crede, cridyi, credute, verb, III, to believe
- Cyelô, -lerô, noun, n., sky
- Eser, sô, fuyi, fute, verb, -, to be
- Êtêder, êtêde, êtêsyi, êtêse, verb, III, to understand
- Êgwê, -winô, noun, n., groin
- Libelô, -lerô, noun, n., book
- Locwer, locwe, locuyi, locute, verb, III, to speak
- Meridyô, -yonô, noun, m., south
- Nomê, -minô, noun, n., noun, name
- Pomô, -merô, noun, n., apple
- Rosa, -sarô, noun, m., rose
- Sewtêtryô, -yonô, noun, m., north
- Sôwte, -a, -ô, adj., I, saint
- Vader, vade, vadyi, vadute, verb, III, to go
- Venyir, venye, vinyi, vête, verb, IV, to come
