Elbic

Helvica
Pronounced:	/"ElvIk@/
Timeline and Universe:	Ill Bethisad
Species:	Human
Spoken:	Elba
Total speakers:	30,000
Writing system:	Latin
Genealogy:	Indo-European  Italic   Romance    South-Central Romance     Central-Southern Italian      Elbic
Typology
Morphological type:	Inflecting
Morphosyntactic alignment:	Nominative-Accusative
Basic word order:	SVO
Credits
Creator:	Sectori
Created:	May 2006

Elbic is the language of the Principality of Elba, an island off the coast of Tuscany. It is a Central and Southern Italian language, related to Neapolitan and Tuscan Italian. It has two sets of changes to initial consonants, similar to the mutations found in the Celtic consonants: the geminate mutation (also found in Neapolitan), and the soft mutation (Tuscan Italian).

Phonotactics/Orthography/Stress

The Elbic alphabet contains 37 distinct letters. There are 15 vowel letters representing ten sounds. Elbic has the following vowels:

Vowels

Vowels
	Front		Near-front		Central		Near-back		Back
High	i									u
Near-high			ɪ					ʊ
High-mid			e							o
Mid					ə
Low-mid			ɛ							ɔ
Near-low
Low					a

Orthographically, these are represented by:

Vowels
	Front		Near-front		Central		Near-back		Back
High	í									ú
Near-high			ì					ù
High-mid			è							ó
Mid					à
Low-mid			é							ò
Near-low
Low					á

There are a set of unaccented vowels <a e i o u>. These, when stressed, are pronounced as the acute vowels, when unstressed as the grave vowels.

Consonants

Consonants
	Bilabial		Labiod.		Dental		Alveolar		Post-alv.		Palatal		Velar		Glottal
Nasal		m	ɱ					n				ɲ
Plosive	p	b			t	d							k	g
Fricative	ɸ	β			θ	ð	s		ʃ				x	ɣ
Affricate						dz			t∫	dʒ		kw	(ks)
Approximants		(w)										(j)
Trill								r̥	r
Lateral Approximant								l	ʎ

These are represented orthographically by the characters following. However, there are some important notes. /dz/ when adjacent to an unvoiced consonant or initially is [ts]. Double consonants <nn ss>, etc. are pronounced /nn ss/, etc. /t∫/ is [k] before <a o u> in all variations. /dʒ/ is [g] before <a o u> in all variations. There is also an orthographically represented <h>. <h> is non-phonemic, but rather represents /ˈ/, a movement of stress. <h> always precedes a vowel, and moves the stress of the word to that vowel. /kw/ is /k/ before <e i> in all variations. < i u> in diphthongs are pronounced /j w/. /ɲ ʎ/ before <a o u> in all variations are /gn gl/. /∫/ in non-Elbic words (i.e. lone words) is /ks/. /dz/ word-initially is /ts/

Consonants
	Bilabial		Labiod.		Dental		Alveolar		Post-alv.		Palatal		Velar		Glottal
Nasal		m		hm				n				hn
Plosive	p	b			t	d							ch	gh
Fricative	hp	hb			ht	hd	s		x				hc(h)	hg(h)
Affricate						z			c	g		qu	(x)
Approximants		(u)										(i)
Trill							hr	r
Lateral Approximant								l	hl

Stress

To place the stress of a word, follow these rules in the order they are presented here.

• When determining the stress of a word, always initially place it on the final syllable.
• If the final phoneme is a vowel, stress moves back one syllable.
• If the final syllable ends in a nasal or an approximant, move the stress back one syllable.
• If anywhere in the word there is an <h> preceding a vowel, move the stress to the h-vowel.
• In monosyllabic words, the vowel is always treated as if it were stressed.

Thus, Mhexicó, the Elbic name for Mexico, is /mˈɛksɪko/, and Helva, the Elbic name for Elba, is /ˈɛlvə/. No Nápolitanno, or "a Neapolitan", is /no napɔlɪtˈannɔ/.

Nominal Morphology

Phew. That's over. Good. Now we can get onto the interesting bit. Nouns in Elbic belong to one of three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter. There are also two numbers: singular and plural. All Elbic nouns end in vowels. The changes applied to vowels to go from singular to plural are as follows:

• -o>-i (in cases where the noun ends in -io, the i becomes -ì); gatto>gatti
• -a>-e; cossina>cossine
• -u>-e; frasu>frase
• -e>-i; traduzione>traduzioni
• -i>-e (very few nouns end in -i); spaghetti>spaghette

The singular endings can tell you a significant amount about the gender of a noun. Here are some basic guidelines.

• Most nouns ending in -o are masculine; lo gatto
• Most nouns ending in -a are feminine; la ccossina
• Most nouns ending in -u are neuter; lu ffrasu
• All nouns ending in -zione are feminine; la ttraduzione
• All nouns ending in -ismo are neuter; lu ffaxismo
• Nouns ending in -e or -i can be of any gender, and so you just have to memorize them; lo cambiatte, lu mmomenti

Articles

Along with nouns must come articles. Elbic has six definite articles and four indefinite articles. The definite articles are equivalent to English "the" and precede the noun they modify. There are both singular and plural definite articles. The indefinite articles are equivalent to English "a/an" and precede the noun they modify. There are only singular indefinite articles. The definite articles are as follows.

• lo: masculine singular; lo gatto
• la: feminine singular; la ccossina
• lu: neuter singular; lu ffrasu
• l: singular (substitutes for lo, la, or lu before a vowel); l'arbollo
• li: masculine plural; li gatti
• le: feminine and neuter plural; le frase

The indefinite articles are as follows.

• no: masculine singular; no gatto
• na: feminine singular: na ccossina
• nu: neuter singular; nu ffrasu
• n': singular (substitutes for no, na, or nu before a vowel); n'arbollo

Geminate Mutation

You may have noticed that some of the nouns changed when articles were placed in front of them. This is the geminate mutation, one of the more unique features of Elbic, shared with Neapolitan. The geminate mutation is a doubling of the initial consonant of a word. It is triggered by the feminine articles and neuter singular articles. Any word following these articles will experience the doubling. However, only certain consonants are doubled. Here is the list. It includes the soft mutation for future reference as well.

Initial Consonant	Geminate Form	Soft Form
t	tth	ht
d	ddh	hd
c	cch cc'	hc
g	ggh gg'	hg
s	ssh	s
z	zzh	z
p	pph	hp
b	bbh	hb
ch	cch'	hch
gh	ggh'	hgh
qu	cquh	hcu
n	nnh	hn
m	mmh	hm
l	llh	hl
r	rrh	hr
f	ffh	hf
v	vvh	hv
x	xxh	x

So you can see how the transfer from frasu to lu ffrhasu occurs.

• cossina /kɔssinə/>la cchossina /la kkɔssinə/
• napolitanna /nəpɔlɪtannə/>la nnhapolitanna /la nnapɔlɪtannə/
• frasu /frasʊ/>lu ffrhasu /lu ffrasʊ/
• nome /nomɛ/>lu nnhome /lu nnomɛ/

N.B.: The geminate mutation moves the stress of a word to the geminated syllable. This is noted by placing (or moving) an <h> there. If putting an <h> before the geminated syllable would change the pronunciation of the consonant (e.g. c>cch before <e> or < i>), or the consonant is adigraph (like <ch gh>) ending in <h>, an apostrophe is used instead.

Verbal Morphology

Elbic has a great many verbs. All verbs belong to one of four types: -ha, -he, -hi, and irregular. This section will demonstrate the conjugations of verbs from each type.

Subject Pronouns

Before conjugating a verb, it is important to learn Elbic's subject pronouns. There are six personal subject pronouns, corresponding to English "I, you, he, she, we, you (all), and they". In Elbic, they are:

Person	Singular	Plural
1P	io	noi
2P	tu	voi
3Pm	lei	lori
3Pf	lui	lore

Like many European languages, Elbic differentiates between formal and informal pronouns. Similarly to French, Elbic uses the plural second person pronoun, voi, to refer to a person you wish to address formally. In practice, however, this is infrequently used, as the Elbans are a generally relaxed and informal group.

Verb Conjugation: Simple Tenses

Elbic verbs are composed of three parts:

stem+h+theme vowel

Elbic verbs are conjugated by removing the final -h-theme vowel from the verb stem and adding a different ending. Note that irregular verbs have stem vowels as regular verbs. For example, ésshe is an irregular verb, but appears as an -he verb.

First Conjugation Verbs

Elbic verb conjugations for -ha verbs are conveniently arranged on this table:

	Present Indicative	Simple Past Indicative	Imperfect Indicative	Future Indicative	Present Subjunctive	Imperfect Subjunctive	Present Conditional
1Ps	-o	-i	-avo	-*ro	-e	-assa	-*ri
2Ps	-ai	-aste	-avai	-*rai	-ei	-assai	-*rei
3Ps	-a	-ò	-ava	-*ra	-e	-assa	-*ri
1Pp	-ammo	-amo	-avammo	-*remmo	-emmo	-assammo	-*rimmo
2Pp	-atte	-asti	-avatte	-*ratte	-ette	-assatte	-*ritte
3Pp	-anno	-ano	-avanno	-*ranno	-enno	-assanno	-*rinno

The *asterisk indicates that the shown ending is added to the entire verb infinitive, not just to the verb stem. So, the full simple conjugation of cántha, to sing.

	Present Indicative	Simple Past Indicative	Imperfect Indicative	Future Indicative	Present Subjunctive	Imperfect Subjunctive	Present Conditional
1Ps	cánto	cánti	cántavo	cánthero	cánte	cántassa	cánthari
2Ps	cántai	cántaste	cántavai	cántharai	cántei	cántassai	cántharei
3Ps	cánta	cántò	cántava	cánthera	cánthare	cántassa	cánthari
1Pp	cántammo	cántamo	cántavammo	cántharemmo	cántemmo	cántassammo	cántharimmo
2Pp	cántatte	cántasti	cántavatte	cántharatte	cántette	cántassatte	cántharitte
3Pp	cántanno	cántano	cántavanno	cántharanno	cántenno	cántassanno	cántharinno

Second and Third Conjugation Verbs

The conjugation paradigm for -he and -hi verbs is below. If there are two entries in a box, the second is the ending for -hi verbs. A parenthetical -iss- marks third conjugation (-hi) radical-shift verbs.

	Present Indicative	Simple Past Indicative	Imperfect Indicative	Future Indicative	Present Subjunctive	Imperfect Subjunctive	Present Conditional
1Ps	-o	-i	-ia	-*ro	-a	-issa	-*ri
2Ps	-ei	-iste	-iai	-*rai	-ai	-issai	-*rei
3Ps	-e	-io	-ia	-*ra	-a	-issa	-*ri
1Pp	-emmo/(iss)immo	-imo	-iammo	-*remmo	-ammo	-issammo	-*rimmo
2Pp	-ette/(iss)itte	-isti	-iatte	-*ratte	-atte	-issatte	-*ritte
3Pp	-(iss)enno	-ino	-ianno	-*ranno	-anno	-issanno	-*rinno

And the full conjugation of scrivhi, a regular -hi verb.

	Present Indicative	Simple Past Indicative	Imperfect Indicative	Future Indicative	Present Subjunctive	Imperfect Subjunctive	Present Conditional
1Ps	scrivo	scrivi	scrivia	scrivhiro	scriva	scrivissa	scrivhiri
2Ps	scrivei	scriviste	scriviai	scrivhirai	scrivai	scrivissai	scrivhirei
3Ps	scrive	scrivio	scrivia	scrivhira	scriva	scrivissa	scrivhiri
1Pp	scrivimmo	scriviimo	scriviammo	scrivhiremmo	scrivammo	scrivissammo	scrivhirimmo
2Pp	scrivitte	scrivisti	scriviatte	scrivhiratte	scrivatte	scrivissatte	scrivhiritte
3Pp	scrivenno	scrivino	scrivianno	scrivhiranno	scrivanno	scrivissanno	scrivhirinno

Elbic's radical-changing verbs developed from Latin fourth conjugation verbs, and the specific changes applied come from Elbic mixing with French. Here is the conjugation of sentendrhi, the verb for to hear.

	Present Indicative	Simple Past Indicative	Imperfect Indicative	Future Indicative	Present Subjunctive	Imperfect Subjunctive	Present Conditional
1Ps	sentendro	sentendri	sentendria	sentendrhiro	sentendra	sentendrissa	sentendrhiri
2Ps	sentendrei	sentendriste	sentendriai	sentendrhirai	sentendrai	sentendrissai	sentendrhirei
3Ps	sentendre	sentendrio	sentendria	sentendrhira	sentendra	sentendrissa	sentendrhiri
1Pp	sentendrissimmo	sentendrimo	sentendriammo	sentendrhiremmo	sentendrammo	sentendrissammo	sentendrhirimmo
2Pp	sentendrissitte	sentendristi	sentendriatte	sentendrhiratte	sentendratte	sentendrissatte	sentendrhiritte
3Pp	sentendrissenno	sentendrino	sentendrianno	sentendrhiranno	sentendranno	sentendrissanno	sentendrhirinno

Irregular Verbs

Elbic has many irregular verbs. Most belong to the second conjugation. Two of the most important are ésshe and avhe. ésshe means "to be", and avhe "to have". Avhe also is "to have" in the auxiliary sense, e.g. "I have done this before". Ésshe is conjugated as follows:

	Present Indicative	Simple Past Indicative	Imperfect Indicative	Future Indicative	Present Subjunctive	Imperfect Subjunctive	Present Conditional
1Ps	sonno	fui	ero	shero	sea	fuissa	srhi
2Ps	sei	fuiste	erai	sherai	seai	fuissai	srhei
3Ps	é	fuo	era	shera	sea	fuissa	srhi
1Pp	sammo	fuimo	erammo	sheremmo	seammo	fuissammo	srhimmo
2Pp	satte	fuisti	eratte	sheratte	seatte	fuissatte	srhitte
3Pp	sanno	fuino	eranno	sheranno	seanno	fuissanno	srhinno

And here is the conjugation of avhe:

	Present Indicative	Simple Past Indicative	Imperfect Indicative	Future Indicative	Present Subjunctive	Imperfect Subjunctive	Present Conditional
1Ps	ho	hi	avevo	avrho	he	hissa	avrhi
2Ps	hai	histe	avevai	avrhai	hei	hissai	avrhei
3Ps	ha	hio	aveva	avrha	he	hissa	avrhi
1Pp	hammo	himo	avevammo	avrhemmo	hemmo	hissammo	avrhimmo
2Pp	hatte	histi	avevatte	avrhatte	hette	hissatte	avrhitte
3Pp	hanno	hino	avevanno	avrhanno	henno	hissanno	avrhinno

Also, the conjugationn of andha, "to go".

	Present Indicative	Simple Past Indicative	Imperfect Indicative	Future Indicative	Present Subjunctive	Imperfect Subjunctive	Present Conditional
1Ps	vo	fui	ivo	vharo	ve	fuissa	vrhi
2Ps	vai	fuiste	ivai	vharai	vei	fuissai	vrhei
3Ps	va	fuo	iva	vhara	ve	fuissa	vhri
1Pp	andammo	fuimo	ivammo	vharemmo	vemmo	fuissammo	vrhimmo
2Pp	andatte	fuisti	ivatte	vharatte	vette	fuissatte	vrhitte
3Pp	vanno	fuino	ivanno	vharanno	venno	fuissanno	vrhinno

The conjugation of bhe, "to drink".

	Present Indicative	Simple Past Indicative	Imperfect Indicative	Future Indicative	Present Subjunctive	Imperfect Subjunctive	Present Conditional
1Ps	beo	bi	bia	bhero	bea	beissa	brhi
2Ps	bei	beiste	biai	bherai	beai	beissai	brhei
3Ps	bè	beio	bia	bhera	bea	beissa	brhi
1Pp	bemmo	beimo	biammo	bheremmo	beammo	beissammo	brhimmo
2Pp	bette	beisti	biatte	bheratte	beatte	beissatte	brhitte
3Pp	benno	beino	bianno	bheranno	beanno	beissanno	brhinno

The conjugation of dha, "to give".

	Present Indicative	Simple Past Indicative	Imperfect Indicative	Future Indicative	Present Subjunctive	Imperfect Subjunctive	Present Conditional
1Ps	duo	di	dia	dharo	due	dassa	drhi
2Ps	duai	daste	diai	dharai	duei	dassai	drhei
3Ps	dua	dò	dia	dhara	due	dassa	drhi
1Pp	duammo	damo	diammo	dharemmo	duemmo	dassammo	drhimmo
2Pp	duatte	dasti	diatte	dharatte	duette	dassatte	drhitte
3Pp	duanno	dano	dianno	dharanno	duenno	dassanno	drhinno

Finally, the conjugation of fha, "to make; do".

	Present Indicative	Simple Past Indicative	Imperfect Indicative	Future Indicative	Present Subjunctive	Imperfect Subjunctive	Present Conditional
1Ps	fuo	fi	fia	fharo	fue	fassa	frhi
2Ps	fuai	faste	fiai	fharai	fuei	fassai	frhei
3Ps	fua	fò	fia	fhara	fue	fassa	frhi
1Pp	fuammo	famo	fiammo	frhemmo	fuemmo	fassammo	frhimmo
2Pp	fuatte	fasti	fiatte	fharatte	fuette	fassatte	frhitte
3Pp	fuanno	fano	fianno	fharanno	fuenno	fassanno	frhinno

Verb Conjugation: Compound Tenses

Elbic compound tenses are formed by combining a conjugated form of one verb and one of the participles of another. Most are formed with avhe, but the passive and progressive tenses are formed with ésshe and the periphrastic future is formed with andha.

Forming the Participles

Elbic verbs have three participles. The Latin inflected passive has in Elbic become a passive participle. The Latin past and present participles are retained as well. To form any participle, add certain endings to the end of the full infinitive of a verb. These endings are:

• Passive Participle: -tto
• Perfect Participle: -tte
• Present Participle: -nte

Compound Tenses with Avhe

The tenses formed with avhe are the perfect tenses. They are formed by placing the various tenses of avhe before the perfect participle. The various tenses are:

• Perfect: present avhe+perfect participle (ho fazhetto: I have done)
• Pluperfect: imperfect avhe+perfect participle (hia fazhetto: I had done)
• Remote Pluperfect: simple past avhe+perfect participle (hi fazhetto: I had done)
• Future Perfect: future avhe+perfect participle (avrho fazhetto: I will have done)
• Conditional Perfect: conditional avhe+perfect participle (avrhi fazhetto: I would have done)

Compound Tenses with Ésshe

The "tenses" formed with ésshe are all of the passive voice tenses and the progressive tenses. The passive voice tenses are formed quite simply. The generic passive voice is the ésshe+the passive participle of a verb.

• É disshitto chè...: it is said that...

Note, however, that the passive voice may also be formed in an impersonal manner, using the pronoun sè, one. We'll talk more about this later. There are also two progressive tenses, the present and imperfect progressives. They are formed simply: place the appropriate form of ésshe before the present participle of the verb.

• Sonno disshinte chè...: I am saying that...
• Erai disshinte chè...: you were saying that...

Compound Tenses with Andha

Andha is used in the construction of a periphrastic future tense. To form this tense, place an appropriately conjugated form of andha before the present participle of the verb.

• Vo hdisshinte chè...: I'm going to say that...
• Fuiste hdisshinte chè...: you were going to say that...

Verbal Morphology: Imperatives

The imperative is used to give commands. There are a number imperatives in Elbic. Firstly, the second person singular, covering the informal tu. Secondly, the first person plural, covering such constructions as let us go, and agreeing with the pronoun noi. Finally, the second person plural, covering voi, whether used as a singular or plural pronoun. The imperative forms differ depending on whether the command is affirmative (do that) or negative (don't do that). In many cases, object pronouns are affixed as clitics to the imperative verbs. In each entry, there is a note of how this is done. Note, finally, that there are a number of irregular imperatives. Where these exist, they will be noted.

• The second person singular affirmative ending is the same as the third person singular present indicative ending. When clitic pronouns are attached to this imperative, place an -h- before the penultimate vowel of the word: parla speak>pharlame speak to me. If the imperative begins with a vowel or with h, the final vowel is instead removed from the clitic pronoun and precedes the verb: aprende learn>l'aprende learn it.
• The second person singular negative ending is the same as the second person singular present subjunctive ending. When clitic pronouns are attached to this imperative, remove the final -i from it: non parlei don't speak>non parlemi>don't speak to me. If the imperative begins with a vowel or with h, the final vowel is instead removed from the clitic pronoun and it precedes the verb: non aprendai don't learn>non l'aprendai don't learn it.
• The first person plural affirmative ending is the same as the first person plural present indicative ending. There are no changes when clitic pronouns are attached to this imperative: parlammo let's speak>parlammole let's speak to him. If the imperative begins with a vowel or with h, the final vowel is instead removed from the clitic pronoun and precedes the verb: aprendemmo let's learn>l'aprendemmo let's learn it.
• The first person plural negative ending is the same as the first person plural present subjunctive ending. There are no changes when clitic pronouns are attached to this imperative: non parlemmo let's not speak>non parlemmole let's not speak to him. If the imperative begins with a vowel or with h, the final vowel is instead removed from the clitic pronoun and precedes the verb: non aprendammo let's not learn>non l'aprendammo let's not learn it.
• The second person plural/formal affirmative ending is the same as the second person plural present subjunctive ending. There are no changes when clitic pronouns are attached to this imperative: parlette speak>parlettele speak to him. If the imperative begins with a vowel or with h, the final vowel is instead removed from the clitic pronoun and precedes the verb: aprendatte learn>l'aprendatte learn it.
• The second person plural/formal negative ending is the same as the second person plural present indicative ending. There are no changes when clitic pronouns are attached to this imperative: non parlatte don't speak>non parlattele don't speak to him. If the imperative begins with a vowel or with h, the final vowel is instead removed from the clitic pronoun and precedes the verb: non aprendette don't learn>non l'aprendette don't learn it.

Tense Clarification: Simple Past

The simple past is in many ways the most complicated of Elbic's many tenses. This section will attempt to clarify it.

Simple Past vs. Imperfect

On the surface, these two tenses are similar. Both describe past events. However, there are many differences. The simple past is used to...

• ...describe events that occurred at a specific past time, with definite beginnings and ends.
• ...describe events that occurred only once.
• ...describe events in a story.

The imperfect is used to...

• ...describe events that occurred at an indefinite time, or over a long, undefined period.
• ...describe events that occurred habitually.
• ...form the imperfect progressive.

Simple Past vs. Perfect

The simple past is even closer to the perfect. In fact, the simple past is often used in place of the perfect. The perfect typically occurs once every paragraph or so and is from then on replaced with the simple past. Usually the perfect is not used more than once or twice every few minutes in colloquial speech, though the simple past is in contrast almost never used, replaced exclusively by the perfect, in formal discussions.

Simple Past vs. Pluperfects

The simple past and the pluperfects seem similar, but there is an important difference: the pluperfects is used in only one place: when describing events that occurred at a specific time, with definite beginnings and ends (or only occurring once), before other events. The pluperfects are only used where English would use had done something and similar constructions. The remote pluperfect is especially select: it can only be used when something pluperfect occurred at a distant past time (usually more than a year before the speaking).

The Soft Mutation

There are two cases where the soft mutation occurs. Every conjugated verb causes the soft mutation in the word following it. This often occurs with the periphrastic future, and in fact is seen in both of the examples above. It also occurs in any case of a conjugated verb followed by another word: nechésitha, chirhe, dovhe, anything.

• Nechésito hchiamha a mme má: I need to call my mom.
• Chiro hchiamha a mme má: I want to call my mom.
• Dovo hchiamha a mme má: I should call my mom.

This seems an opportune time to mention also that a, to, causes the geminate mutation, and de, of, from, causes the soft mutation.

The other time where the soft mutation occurs is adjectives. Adjectives can either precede or follow the noun they modify, with the difference only in emphasis. When adjectives are describing feminine or neuter nouns, one of two things can happen:

• The adjective precedes the feminine or neuter noun. If the adjective is singular, the soft mutation occurs on the noun. If the adjective is plural and feminine, the soft mutation occurs on the noun.
• The feminine or neuter noun precedes the adjective. If the noun is singular, the soft mutation occurs on the adjective. If the noun is plural and feminine, the soft mutation occurs on the adjective.

• Lu ffrasu hbuonu: the good sentence
• Na nnova hcossina: a new kitchen
• Gorde hnapolitanne: fat Neapolitans (an Elban sterotype)

Adjectives

Adjectives are words that describe a noun. Adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they modify. There are two types of adjectives: -o-a-u adjectives have six forms; -e adjectives only two. The adjectives inflect as follows:

	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Singular -o-a-u	-o	-a	-u
Plural -o-a-u	-i	-e	-e
Singular -e	-e	-e	-e
Plural -e	-i	-i	-i

So "the good sentence" is lu ffrasu hbuonu (remember the soft mutation!), and "the beautiful kitchens" is le bbelle hcossine. An adjective always has the endings shown here, regardless of the ending of the noun: lo patre buono; la mmatre hbella.

Telling the Difference

-o-a-u adjectives are so named because of the different endings they take in the singular. When reading an unfamiliar adjective, try to determine whether the noun is singular or plural. Based on that, match the noun's gender and number on this table to the ending it has.

The Origin of Mutations

This section describes, briefly, the generally agreed upon origin of the Elbic consonantal mutations.

The Geminate Mutation

The soft mutation's origin is quite simple. It occurs in two places: after the feminine and neuter articles, and after the preposition a. The geminate mutation originated in the town dialect of La Mmarina de hMarcianna

• The description of the geminate mutation after a is simple: a comes from the Latin ad. The -d, over time, shifted to attach itself to the word after it: ad cassa > a dcassa. This extraneous d- soon shifted to match the initial consonant of the word it was applying to: a ccassa.
• The progression for the feminine and neuter articles is a bit less straightforward. The Elbic article derives from Latin demonstratives. These gradually shifted in meaning from a classifier ("this sentence") to a definer ("the sentence"). The geminate after the article evolved by a vague analogy to the a ccassa situation. There were originally two l's in the Latin demonstratives. When the initial vowel disappeared in those, the now-initial l moved to be word-final. Gradually, it slipped across to the adjacent word and was assimilated similarly to (though over a longer period of time than) the -d of ad (it shifted first to a non-lateral approximant, r, then by analogy with ad to a voiced plosive, d, then assimilated at in the same manner that the -d did): illa cassa > lla cassa > la lcassa > la rcassa > la dcassa > la ccassa.

Of course, this is mostly speculation, and it may just be a borrowing from Neapolitan: there was a fairly large influx of Neapolitan immigrants to Elba in the mid-16th century.

The Soft Mutation

The soft mutation is a bit more difficult to rationalize as an Elbic-only developement. Fortunately, it is not. It evolved as a dialectical variation on the pronunciation of initial consonants, similar to the famed "Tuscan gorgia". In Elbic, the soft mutation originally began as a stress movement. But gradually, by way of trade with neighboring Tuscany, it began to soften or change the initial consonant. The reasons for its placement are yet unknown: it probably began as a stress shift in words starting with a consonant after de, and a similar shift in the context of feminine and neuter adjectives, then evolved parallel to the Tuscan gorgia. The soft mutation was originally a dialectical variation of Portoferraho.

Standardization

Little observed by the world, the Elbic language was ruthlessly standardized in the mid-17th century, around the time of its emergence as an individual language. The Elban Forza Par Independenzia, a movement for independence from Italy, devised a new spelling system for Elbic, still used to this day, and also standardized both mutations to further differentiate between Elbic and Italian. There was some grumbling, but the Elbans seemed to know that the independence movement would be the second most interesting thing about their island in the future, so they grudgingly, gradually accepted it. In fact, this proved to be for the better, as the FPI instituted a number of public schools where children were taught the FPI-approved standard dialect. Thus, in a mere generation, and about the time that the FPI came to an end, collapsing in on itself, the Elbic langauge was standardized. In the centuries since, there are still few dialects of Elbic, and overall the dialects that there are (most notably a minority group in Tuscany which does not use the geminate mutation) are small enough that they will probably disappear, incorporated into mainstream Italian, within another century or so.

Links

• Elbic Swadesh list