Carune Lesson 1

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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, 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.

Pronunciation

Vowels

Carune has five vowels:

  • A (alva) /a/
  • E (epcilon) /E/
  • I (iota) /i/ or /j/ in a vowel cluster, so "iota" is pronounced /jota/
  • O (omicron) /o/
  • U (upcilon) /u/

Consonants

It also has 21 consonants, not counting 2 variations on c and g: Stops:

  • B (beta) /b/
  • C (ceta) /k/ before < u >, <a>, or <o>. Before <e> or < i >, ceta is pronounced /tS/
  • D (delta) /d/
  • G (gamma) /g/before < u >, <a>, or <o>. Before <e> or < i >, gamma is pronounced /dZ/
  • P (pai) /p/
  • Qu (quappa) /kw/
  • T (tau) /t/

Fricatives:

  • H (hai) /h/
  • F (fai) /f/
  • S (sigma) /s/
  • V (veta) /v/
  • Z (zeta) /z/

Nasals:

  • M (miu) /m/
  • N (niu) /n/

Liquids:

  • L (landa) /l/
  • R (ro) /r/

Dialog

Ione and Rome are students at a language course, learning Carune in preparation for their trip their over the summer. This is the first day of class and they are meeting outside the classroom. Each knows a little Carune from outside study, so they begin their conversation in Carune.

Carune

  • Ione: Chao! Estuda vusse Carune?
  • Rome: Signa, signa. Mi iamo Rome. Comi si iama?
  • Ione: Mi iamo Ione. Benencontrate.
  • Rome: Iqualamente.
  • Enton il clase comensa.

English

  • Ione: Hi! Do you study Carune?
  • Rome: Yes, yes. My name is Rome. What is your name?
  • Ione: My name is Ione. Good to meet you.
  • Rome: You as well.
  • Then the class begins.

Grammar Notes

This dialogue highlights something extremely important: introducing your self. The verb in Carune to introduce yourself is iamarsi, a reflexive (we'll learn more about reflexive verbs in Lesson 5). Here are some important phrases to know:

  • Chao: hi, hello
  • Mi iamo...: my name is...
  • Comi si iama?: what is your name? (formal)
  • Benencontrate: good to meet you
  • Iqualamente: you as well (response to benencontrate)
  • Enton: then

Nouns

Carune has three genders of noun: masculine (ending in -e), feminine (ending in -a), and neuter (ending in -um). Here are some basic nouns: Masculine: il some-the human il cane-the dog il fele-the cat Feminine: al selva-the jungle al ava-the bird al verba-the verb Neuter: el frasum-the sentence el lugum-the placfe Zergattum-Zergattum, a city in Carune

In case you couldn't guess, il, al, and el are the Carune singular definite articles. Il for masculine nouns, al for feminine nouns, and el for neuter nouns. To make nouns plural, change the ending from -e to -i in masculine nouns, -a to -ae in feminine nouns, and -um to -o in neuter nouns. To make the articles plural, remove the final -l.

Introduction to Verbs

There are five types of verbs in Carune: -a stem (regular -are verbs), -e stem (regular -ere verbs), -i stem (regular -ire verbs), -o stem (so-called "regular" irregular verbs), and irregular verbs. In Lesson One, we will learn to conjugate -a stem verbs in the present indicative tense. First, though, we must learn to use subject pronouns. Carune has nine subject pronouns:

  • Io-I
  • Tu-you (singular, informal), thou
  • Ele-he
  • Ela-she
  • Vusse-you (singular, formal, masculine)
  • Vussa-you (singular, formal, feminine)
  • Noi-we
  • Voi-you (plural)
  • Eli-they (if one male is present or for masculine nouns)
  • Elae-they (if a group is all female or for feminine nouns)

NOTE: Like most romance languages, Carune differentiates between formal and informal forms of the pronoun "you". In order to differentiate, "thou" will be used when translating tu, as "thou" was originally an informal pronoun in English. You will be used to translate vusse/a. When translating voi, y'all will be used.

Verb Conjugation

Now to conjugate our first verb:

  • parlare-to speak
  • Io parlo-I speak
  • Tu parlai-thou speak(est?)
  • Ele/ela parla-he/she speaks
  • Vusse parla-you speak (singular)
  • Noi parlam-we speak
  • Voi parlas-y'all speak
  • Eli parlae-they (masculine) speak
  • Elae parlae-they (feminine) speak

Wasn't that easy? Just take off the stem and add an ending based on the pronoun. For reference:

  • Io: -o
  • Tu: -ai
  • Ele/ela/vusse: -a
  • Noi: -am
  • Voi: -as
  • Eli/elae: -ae

Here are some general words before I give you your practice assignment:

  • a-to. When combined with the definite articles, in contracts to al if singular, and a if plural.
  • com-with
  • per-for
  • sed-but
  • para-in order to, for
  • di-from, of
  • no-not, comes before the verb
  • in-in, on

Exercises

Exercise I

Conjugate each verb below in all forms:

  • 1) Volare-to fly
  • 2) Confezare-to confess
  • 3) Commensare-to commence

Exercise II

Translate from English to Carune:

  • 1) The bird flies to Zergattum.
  • 2) The cat walks with the dog. (HINT: to walk=ambulare)
  • 3) I study Carune (HINT: to study=estudare)
  • 4) The bird flies, but the cat walks.
  • 5) Thou confess(est?).

Excercise III

Translate from Carune to English:

  • 1) Il lezione commensa. (HINT: Il lezione is a cognate)
  • 2) Ele ambula a Zergattum.
  • 3) Elae estudae Carune.
  • 4) Voi ambulas in el lugum
  • 5) El frasum comensa com al verba "confezare."

Exercise IV

Write three sentences using the vocabulary you have learned.

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