Carune
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The Carune flag has six colors: red, yellow, green, blue, white, and orange. Red and yellow represent Spain; Blue, white, and red represent France; Yellow, blue, and red represent Romania; green and red represent Portugal; and red, green, and white represent Italy, the major areas where Romance languages are spoken. Orange represents the sovereign nation of Carune.
Carune is a Romance conlang (Romlang) created by Sectori on the CBB. It will participate in the first CBB Conlang Relay starting on March 2, 2006.
Carune is spoken in a nation which is, in our world, northern Italy, a little part of southern France, and some of Switzerland (which annexed part of Austria in the first World War). This nation depends greatly on tourism, especially skiers (esqiare, unless I implement a q>qu shift, is to ski, sed io no esqio), as well as on mining and animal herding. However, the capital, Torine (Turin), as well as Milane (Milan) and Monze feature large computer industries, and Milane has become a world fashion center. The southern area of the country is also a haven for archaeologists seeking Roman ruins. Grenobela (Grenoble), in what is in our world France, Torine, Zergattum in our Switzerland, and Genova (Genoa), in our Italy have all hosted Olympic games at one time or another.
Phonology/Orthography
Carune has 20 letters in its alphabet.
Vowels: /a E i o u/ Vowel Orthography: <a e i o u> Consonants: /g|dZ s t d v n z m k|tS f b tS r k l/ Consonant Orthography: <gº s t d v n z m c^ f b ch r q l>
- º before /a/, /o/, or /u/, <g> is /g/. Before /e/ or /i/, <g> is /dZ/
- ^ before /a/, /o/, or /u/, <c> is /k/. Before /e/ or /i/, <c> is /tS/
Double consonants are pronounced twice: collere (to color) is /kol'lere/, not /koLere/, /kojere/, or any other variation thereof. Double vowels are pronounced individually: no diphthongs.
Syntax and Stress
Carune is an SVO language, usually, but in interrogative sentences, word order is VSO. Stress falls on the penultimate syllable in words ending in a vowel, and on the ultimate syllable in words ending in a consonant.
Subject Pronouns
Carune's subject pronouns are as follows:
- Io: I
- Tu: you, singular, familiar
- Ele: he
- Ela: she
- Vusse/vussa: you, singular, formal (vusse conjugates as the third person singular, not second person singular)
- Nio: we
- Vo: you, plural
- Eli: they, masculine
- Elae: they, feminine
Verbal Morphology: Indicative Mood Simple Tenses
There are five types of verbs in Carune: -a stem, -e stem, -i stem, -o stem, and irregular. Note, however, that -o stem and irregular verbs appear as -a, -e, and -i stem verbs in their infinitive forms. The three infinitive endings are:
- -are
- -ere
- -ire
To conjugate a regular verb, remove the infinitive ending and add a certain other ending, based on the subject of the sentence.
Present Indicative Conjugation
- The first person singular form always conjugates with an -o.
- The second person singular for -a stem verbs is -ai. For -e and -i stem verbs, -ei. For -o stem verbs, -oi.
- The third person singular form is the stem vowel. In the case of -o stem verbs, a -z is added.
- The first person plural ending is the stem vowel followed by -m.
- The second person plural ending is the stem vowel followed by -s.
- The third person plural ending is the stem vowel followed by -e. In the case of -e stem verbs, the added -e changes to -n.
Preterit Indicative Conjugation
In the preterit, -e and -o stem verbs are treated as -i stem verbs in relation to their stem vowel.
- The first person singular form conjugates with the stem vowel followed by -n.
- The second person singular form conjugates with the stem vowel, followed by -st.
- The third person singular form conjugates with -io.
- The first person plural conjugates as the present indicative first person plural, but ads an -o.
- The second person plural conjugates as the second person singular, but ads -i.
- The third person plural conjugates with the stem vowel followed by -do.
Future Indicative Conjugation
The future tense uses the verb infinitive, minus the final -e, as the stem. It is conjugated as the Preterit Indicative, with the conjugations added to the future stem.
Imperfect Indicative Conjugation
The imperfect tense conjugates as the present indicative, but inserting -(stem vowel)v before the conjugation ending.
Present Conditional Indicative Conjugation
The present conditional tense uses the same stem as the future indicative, and adds the following endings:
- The first person singular ending is -o
- The second person singular ending is -ai
- The third person singular ending is -a
- The first person plural ending is -am
- The second person plural ending is -as
- The third person plural ending is -ae
Past Conditional Indicative Conjugation
The past conditional tense uses the same stem as the future indicative, and adds the following endings:
- The first person singular ending is -iat
- The second person singular ending is -iai
- The third person singular ending is ia
- The first person plural ending is -iam
- The second person plural ending is -ias
- The third person plural ending is -ian
Nominal Morphology: Gender and Number
Nouns in Carune belong to one of three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter. They have two forms: singular, and plural. These forms are determined as follows:
- Masculine: all masculine nouns end in -e in the singular form. To make a masculine noun plural, change -e to -i. For example: il fele-the cat; i feli-the cats.
- Feminine: all feminine nouns end in -a in the singular form. To make a feminine noun plurla, add an -e to the end, after the -a. For example: al ava-the bird; a avae-the birds.
- Neuter: all neuter nouns end in -um in the singular form. To make a neuter noun plural, change -um to -o. For example: el frasum-the sentence; e fraso-the sentences.
Direct Object Pronouns
Direct object pronouns mark the object of a verb (the accusative case, essentially). They come before a conjugated verb or are attached to the future indicative stem of an infinitive verb. For example: Zoi a fazerlo-I am going to do it. Lo is the direct object pronoun, zoi is the conjugated verb, and fazer is the future indicative stem that lo is attached to. This sentence could be rewritten Lo zoi a fazere with no change in meaning. The direct object pronouns are:
- Me: first person singular
- Te: second person singular, informal
- Lo: third person singular, second person singular formal
- Nos: first person plural
- Vos: second person plural
- Los: third person plural
Indirect Object Pronouns
Indirect object pronouns mark the indirect object of a verb (as the dative case). They tell to or for whom an action was done. They come before a conjugated verb or are attached to the future indicative stem of an infinitive verb. For example: Zoi a zarle-I am going to go to it. Le is the indirect object pronoun, zoi is the conjugated verb, and zar is the future indicative stem that le is attached to. This sentence could be rewritten Le zoi a zare with no change in meaning. The indirect object pronouns are:
- Me: first person singular
- Te: second person singular, informal
- Le: third person singular, second person singular formal
- Nos: first person plural
- Vos: second person plural
- Les: third person plural
Prepositional Object Pronouns
These are pronouns that mark the object of a preposition (the locative case). They are most commonly used in conjunction with com-with, para-for, in order to, and a-to. For example: A mi me gusta chantere-It is pleasing to me to sing. A mi is the preposition a and the prepositional object pronoun mi. Gusta is the third person singular form of gustare, to be pleasing. The prepositional object pronouns are:
- Mi: first person singular
- Ti: second person singular, informal
- Se: third person singular, third person plural, second person singular formal
- Nos: first person plural
- Vos: second person plural
Reflexive Verbs/Pronouns
This is the way of saying "I wash myself", "I ask myself", "I call myself", etc. There are two ways of conjugating reflexive verbs. The first makes a reflexive infinitive: to wash onesself, to ask onesself, etc. To form this type of reflexive, add a reflexive pronoun to the future indicative stem:
- Lavermi-to wash myself
- Laverti-to wash yourself
- Laversi-to wash onesself, to wash themselves
- Laverni-to wash ourselves
- Lavervi-to wash yourselves
This type of reflexive must be put after a conjugated verb: Zoi a lavermi-I am going to wash myself. The second type of reflexive is a conjugated reflexive. To from this type of reflexive, place a reflexive pronoun before a conjugated verb:
- Mi lavo-I wash myself
- Ti lavei-you wash yourself
- Si lave-one washes onesself
- Ni lavem-we wash ourselves
- Vi laves-you all wash yourselves
- Si laven-they wash themselves
Verbal Morphology: Imperative Mood
Forming an imperative verb in Carune is very simple. Simply attach an imperative pronoun to a present indicative conjugated verb. For example: Parlaiti Carune!-Speak Carune! The imperative pronouns are as follows:
- Ti-second person singular, informal (attached to second person singular verb)
- Li-second person singular, formal (attached to third person singular verb)
- Ni-first person plural (attached to first person plural verb)
- Vi-second person plural (attached to second person plural verb)
Verbal Morphology: Irregular Verbs
Here are some of the most common irregular verbs in Carune (excluding -o stem verbs), conjugated in all the indicative tenses.
Stare-to be, in relation to transient or changeable things
- Present indicative: stoi, stai, sta, stam, stas, stae
- Preterit Indicative: stan, stast, stio, stamo, stasti, stado
- Future Indicative: staran, starast, stario, staramo, starasti, starado
- Imperfect Indicative: stavoi, stavai, stava, stavam, stavas, stavae
- Present Conditional Indicative: staro, starai, stara, staram, staras, starae
- Past Conditional Indicative: stariat, stariai, staria, stariam, starias, stariae
Sere-to be, in relation to intransient or unchangeable things
- Present Indicative: evo, eves, es, sovom, sovos, sovoe
- Preterit Indicative: fuin, fuist, fuio, fuimo, fuisti, fuido
- Future Indicative: serin, serist, serio, serimo, seristi, serido
- Imperfect Indicative: ero, erist, erit, erim, eristi, erunt
- Present Conditional Indicative: sero, serai, sera, seram, seras, serae
- Past Conditional Indicative: seriat, seriai, seria, seriam, serias, seriae
Zare-to go
- Present Indicative:zoi, zoa, zo, zom, zos, zoe
- Preterit Indicative: fui, fuist, fuio, fuimo, fuisti, fuido
- Future Indicative: zaran, zarast, zario, zaramo, zarasti, zarado
- Imperfect Indicative: zavoi, zavoa, zavo, zavom, zavos, zavoe
- Present Conditional Indicative: zaro, zarai, zara, zaram, zaras, zarae
- Past Conditional Indicative: zariat, zariai, zaria, zariam, zarias, zariae
Dicere-to say, tell
- Present Indicative: dicho, dicei, dice, dicem, dices, dicen
- Preterit Indicative: dicin, dicist, dicio, dicimo, dicisti, dicido
- Future Indicative: dicerin, dicerist, dicerio, dicerimo, diceristi, dicerido
- Imperfect Indicative: dicevo, dicevei, diceve, dicevem, diceves, diceven
- Present Conditional Indicative: dicero, dicerai, dicera, diceram, diceras, dicerae
- Past Conditional Indicative: diceriat, diceriai, diceria, diceriam, dicerias, diceriae
Avere-to have (auxiliary verb, used in some commands: Aveiti cegrat al porta: have the door closed)
- Present Indicative: avo, avei, ai, avem, avec, aven
- Preterit Indicative: avin, avist, avio, avimo, avisti, avido
- Future Indicative: averin, averist, averio, averimo, averisti, averido
- Imperfect Indicative: avvo, avvei, avve, avvem, avvec, avven
- Present Conditional Indicative: avero, averai, avera, averam, averas, averae
- Past Conditional Indicative: averiat, averiai, averia, averiam, averias, averiae
Verbal Morphology: Indicative Mood Compound Tenses
There are three compound tenses in Carune: Pluperfect, Progressive, and Future Perfect. They involve the past and present participles of a verb. To form the present participle of a verb, first remove the infinitive ending. Then, add the stem vowel, followed by -nt. For example:
Zare>zant-to go>going Parlare>parlant-to speak>speaking
The past participle is formed similarly. Remove the infinitive ending and add the stem vowel, followed by -t. For example:
Zare>zat-to go>gone Parlare>parlat-to speak>spoken
Pluperfect Indicative Conjugation
To form the pluperfect tense, take the preterit indicative form of avere, and put the past participle of a verb after it. For example:
Avin zat a Zergattum-I have gone to Zergattum Me avio parlat-He has spoken to me
Present Progressive Indicative Conjugation
To form the progressive tense, take the present indicative form of stare, and put the present participle of a verb after it. For example:
Stoi zant a Zergattum-I am going to Zergattum Me sta parlant-He is speaking to me
Future Perfect Indicative Conjugation
To form the future perfect tense, take the future indicative form of avere, and put the past participle of a verb after it. For example:
Averin zat a Zergattum-I will have gone to Zergattum Me averio parlat-He will have spoken to me
Simple Future Indicative Conjugation
The simple future tense is equivalent to English "I am going to do something". It is formed with this pattern: zare a+infinitive. For example:
- Zoi a zare a Zergattum-I am going to go to Zergattum
- Me zo a parlare-He is going to speak to me
Nominal Morphology: Articles
There are twelve articles in Carune: six definite, and six indefinite. The six definite articles are:
- il-masculine singular
- i-masculine plural
- al-feminine singular
- a-feminine plural
- el-neuter singular
- e-neuter plural
The article comes before the noun it modifies. The six indefinite articles are:
- une-masculine singular
- uni-masculine plural
- una-feminine singular
- unae-feminine plural
- unum-neuter singular
- uno-neuter plural
Adjective Morphology: Gender and Number
Adjectives must agree with the noun they modify in gender and number. Adjectives end in -e in their base form (the masculine singular form) and decline as nouns: -i for masculine plural, -a for feminine singular, -ae for feminine plural, -um for neuter singular, and -o for neuter plural. For example:
- Une fele felice-a happy cat
- Una ava felica-a happy bird
- Unum frasum felicum-a happy sentence
- I feli felici-the happy cats
- A avae felicae-the happy birds
- E fraso felico-the happy sentences
To form an adverb from an adjective, take the feminine singular form of the adjective and add -mente. For example: felicamente-happily; rapidamente-quickly
Verbal Morphology: The Passive Voice
To form the passive voice, use this sentence structure:
[subject]-[stare (conjugated)]-[past participle]-sobre (by)-[agent (prepositional object pronoun if agent is "me", "him", "them", "you", etc.)]
The past participle is formed by removing the infinitive -re ending and adding -t.
Verbal Morphology: Subjunctive Mood Simple Tenses
The subjunctive mood (sometimes referred to as the conjunctive mood) is a grammatical mood of the verb that expresses wishes, commands (in subordinate clauses), emotion, possibility, judgment, necessity and statements that are contrary to fact.[1]
Present Subjunctive Conjugation
This covers such sentences as "if I were to..." and "that may be so..." The present subjunctive loses the first person singular present indicative stem. For example: evo>ev-, dicho>dich-, comprendo>comprend-, lavo>lav-, zoi>z-, etc. In all of the subjunctive tenses, -o stem verbs are treated as if they were not -o stem verbs.
- The first person singular present subjunctive ending is -e for -a stem verbs, and -a for -e and -i stem verbs.
- The second person singular present subjunctive ending is -ei for -a stem verbs, and -ai for -e and -i stem verbs.
- The third person singular present subjunctive ending is -e for -a stem verbs, and -a for -e and -i stem verbs.
- The first person plural present subjunctive ending is -em for -a stem verbs, and -am for -e and -i stem verbs.
- The second person plural present subjunctive ending is -es for -a stem verbs, and -as for -e and -i stem verbs.
- The third person plural present subjunctive ending is -en for -a stem verbs, and -an for -e and -i stem verbs.
Texts
The Tortoise and the Hare
Al tortuga via discretamente e busca comita. Hai une conohe, e es une fazedore di apure, unum peqene, desagradable, traviese. Es multe obstinate, e pues al tortuga desfia al conohe a una raza. Hai une muchedumbre ahi para observirlo al raza. Al tortuga si aposta ventiunu, e il muchedumbre le aposta tamben. Al tortuga realiza qei il conohe pude ganare al media dal raza, sed continua al raza, e il conohe durmi in al cortina. Il conohe si levanta e perdi.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Article 1
Todi somi stae nadat liberi e iquali in dignitate e libeti. Stae donat raisonne e consienze e les deven actare in une espirite di fraternitate.
Langmaker Overview
Language sources
Design principles
Part of the goal of Carune was to have a Romance language without diacritics.
Interest of others
Not many, although it was posted for feedback on the CBB (Conlanger Bulletin Board). Two out of a number of planned lessons in Carune have been so far created, and a dictionary and sample text is in progress.