Njûlan
Njûlan /nju:lan/ is a language created solely upon imagination as well as other linguistic roots- that is to say that certain languages have a shared mentality with me. Each word is representation of how the word feels inside my own head, which is why it is not a language that is editable by anyone else. It is also an evolved form of another created language that I had created, which I found to be far too complicated. This simplicity, along with the feel of the language inside your mouth and on your tongue, is the reason for why I found it so fun to create.
The Alphabet
The 25 letters in this language are as follows:
| Letter | Pronunciation |
|---|---|
| A | Like the 'a' in 'scampi' |
| B | Like the 'b' in 'battle' |
| C | Like the 'c' in 'critical' |
| Ç | Like the 'j' in the French 'je' |
| D | Like the 'd' in 'dog' |
| E | Like the 'e' in 'empty' |
| F | Like the 'f' in 'full' |
| G | Like the 'g' in 'garden' |
| H | Like the 'h' in 'heaven' |
| I | Like the 'i' in 'hint' |
| J | Like the 'y' in 'yacht' |
| K | Like the 'c' in 'critical' |
| L | Like the 'l' in 'listen' |
| M | Like the 'm' in 'mother' |
| N | Like the 'n' in 'new' |
| O | Like the 'o' in 'pop' |
| P | Like the 'p' in 'pony' |
| R | Like the Spanish 'r' in 'rocho' |
| S | Like the 's' in 'Sam' |
| T | Like the 't' in 'tango' |
| U | Like the 'u' in 'upstairs' |
| V | Like the 'v' in 'video' |
| W | Like the 'w' in 'window' |
| Z | Like the 'z' in 'zebra' |
The Basic Grammar Points
- Njûlan is based upon the general European sentence structure of Subject + Verb + Object. This order cannot be broken as the subject and objects may get confused. Where other particles- such as time and place- are concerned, these can be placed anywhere depending upon emphasis, importance and sound.
- Verbs do not need to be conjugated in relation to the subject/pronoun. You need only worry about conjugation of verbs in the tense and to also show a change in state/movement. This will be explained in the next chapter.
- Examples of this:
- Pe sjeh Mâtjû. I am Matthew.
- Djon sjeh zêt jâna. John is ten years old.
- Examples of this:
- Circumflexes are found upon vowels that require double the time to pronounce. In the number "zêt", the need for the 'e' sound is double. It is pronounced "zeht". You will notice that some words spell these sounds by adding a "h" after the vowel. These spellings are not interchangeable.
- Plural nouns are made by adding '-na' to the noun.
- Tîp (house) - Tîpna (houses)
- Jên (pen) - Jênna (pens)
Pronouns
- The following is a list of pronouns. You see that to change a pronoun in a plural pronoun (I into we, for example), you follow a slightly altered plural rule of -na plus circumflex to the first vowel.
- To make a singular possessive pronoun, you change the the main vowel into an 'â'. To make a plural possessive pronoun, you change the 'na' into 'nâ'.
| Singular Pronoun | Plural Pronoun | Singular Possessive | Plural Possessive |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pe (I) | Pêna (we) | Pâ (my) | Pênâ (our) |
| Te (you) | Têna (you) | Tâ (your) | Tênâ (your) |
| Çe (he) | Çêna (they) | Çâ (his) | Çênâ (their) |
| Ça (she) | Çâna (they, feminine) | Ça (her) | Çânâ (their, feminine) |
| Çi (it) | Çîna (they, inanimate) | Çî (its) | Çînâ (their, inanimate) |
You will notice that "Ça" did not change for the possessive (her). This is to ensure that no confusion will occur between 'his' and 'her'.
Tenses
Changing of State/Place
Unfortunately, this language isn't without its share of annoying linguistic features. This little feature allows us to make a clearer image of how an action is done. Compare the following phrases:
- Djon sjlah un dâ bed. John sleeps in the bed.
- Djon sjlahano un dâ bed. John falls asleep in the bed.
The addition of '-ano' to the verb makes it clear that the state has changed. In the first example, John is merely sleeping in the bed. In the second example, John has changed from awake to asleep. There is a change of state.
In Tenses
Evidently, this will lead to two tense endings. If we were to use the same examples but put them into the past, the past tense ending will come before the State/Place ending.
- Djon sjlahitan un dâ bed. John slept in the bed.
- Djon sjlahitano un dâ bed. John fell asleep in the bed.
As is clearly seen, since the tense endings already end in 'an', we simply need only to add an extra 'o'.
