Brithenig
Brithenig was devised by Andrew Smith in about 1996 and thereafter. It is a fictional diachronic language of the Romance family and has about 2500 words in its lexicon. See the link at the end of the article for the grammar and lexicon pages. The following was copied from Langmaker.
One of the best of the fictional languages on the web. Brithenig is the language of an alternate history, Ill Bethisad being the Romance language that might have evolved if Latin speakers had displaced Celtic speakers in Britain. Brithenig has undergone sound changes similar to those of Welsh, and has borrowed from Old Celtic and from Old, Middle and Modern English.
Included in The Traveller's Phrasebook:
In your tour you are approaching the border of a new country. The sign says: BENWENID A GHEMR and in smaller letters underneath: Welcome to Cambria. As Kemr is a member of the Economic Community customs is easily dealt with, but the guidebook is a different matter altogether:
| 1. | Hello | Helo |
| 2. | How are you? (or similar greeting question) | Co es'gw |
| 3. | My name is... | Mew no^n es ... |
| 4. | What is your name? | Ke gos es-sa wstr no^n? |
| 5. | I am lost. | Eo su berdded |
| 6. | Where am I? | K'log su-eo? |
| 7. | Where is... | K'log es-sa... |
| - the bathroom (WC/toilet/human waste collection center)? | - ill ystafl baen? | |
| - my luggage? | - mew fuly? | |
| - the tourist center? | - ill sedd turist? | |
| - the embassy? | - lla ambasciad? | |
| 8. | I'm sorry. | Fal meg. |
| 9. | Please | Se ddeg a'w |
| 10. | Thank you! | Greid! |
| 11. | Help! | Aydath! |
| 12. | I don't speak Brithenig very well. | Eo mharol rhen Brithenig fenisaf. |
| 13. | I don't understand. | Eo nhompruin rhen. |
| 14. | Speak more slowly please. | Parolath bly lentfent, se ddeg a'w. |
| 15. | It was my wife's/husband's idea to come here for vacation! | Sa er buinsad mew briwad wenir ci per ill gweil! (The noun 'priwad' can be masculine or feminine in Brithenig according to which spouse is being referred to, so there is no difference here) |
| 16. | Could you recommend... | Arybarew'gw... |
| - a good restaurant? | - yn rhestawrant bon? | |
| - something good to eat? | - alch gos fon fannuger? | |
| - a good hotel? | - yn hotel bon? | |
| - a good doctor? | - yn meddig bon? | |
| 17. | That was a lovely meal. What was it? | Sa er yn temp di'll gweith bel. Ke gos er-sa? |
| 18. | How much do we owe you... | Cant defen-nu... |
| - for the meal? | - per ill temp di'll gweith? | |
| - for the room? | - per ill ystafl? | |
| - for the things that we broke? | - per llo chos ke nu rumpefan? | |
| 19. | How much did you say it cost again? | Cant dige'gu sa gost ancor? |
| 20. | You are joking, aren't you? | Mellta'gw, si? |
| 21. | I am sorry, I didn't mean to insult you. | Fal meg, eo mhuinsaf rhen affrontar gw. |
| 22. | Our customs are very different from yours. | Nustr ddefad sun ddifferentisaf di wstr hyn. |
| 23. | I don't know anything about local politics, I'm afraid. | Eo sab rhen alch am ill politig llog, eo dif. |
| 24. | Our guide did not tell us that there was a (revolution/war/soccer[football] championship) going on in this country. | Nustr gwidadur nu haddigef ke sa er yn (cluinediwn/wer/gwiadig Rugby) awen in ill paes ci. Ill gwiadig Rugby literally means 'Rugby tour'. Rugby is generically similar to American Football but is played with less protective padding. Rugby-playing nations regullarly tour each other to play national and regional teams. The Chemran do not consider Rugby to be a religion, quite the reverse. |
| 25. | Thank you for your hospitality. We enjoyed our visit very much, but now we must be going home because we have many important things to do there. | Greididd per gwstr benwenid. Nu hinweidafan nustr gwisit mulltisaf, mai hur nu ddefen wenir a lla gas perch nu hafan mullt di llo chos far ffager. |
External link
http://hobbit.griffler.co.nz/introduction.html - Andrew Smith
