this is gonna be a long post about a conlang ive constructed, which is a mix of another language ive made. The setting is the ficticuous island of Sabokania, situated between the azores and cabo verde. So here it goes:
INTRODUCTION
the Romaniekeia is a language spoken in the Metorina region. Due to european migrations from the mediterranean in the XVI century the region has experienced a linguistic mix between various romance languages and the local dialect of the warabo. The language borrows characteristics from both mother-languages such as grammar, vocabulary and phonetics.
In the transcription of the language the latinization method will be the one used for ruchi languages.
1- SENTENCE STRUCTURE
Romaniekeia is SVO, like most romance languages.
eg. mea chineo romaniekei tasak l'è a meaas keia
I speak romaniekeia because it's my language
- Personal pronouns
Mea=I/Me
Tea=you
Lia=he/she/it (lia is a gender neutral pronoun)
for the plural form of these pronouns the language borrows from the system of inclusive and exclusive plural common in ruchi languages. In warabo, those are
-BE (includes the listener or any entity as part of the plural)
-BA (excludes the listener or any entity as part of the plural)
so personal pronouns in plural will be:
meabe/meaba
teabe/teaba
liabe/liaba
2- VERB CONJUGATION
Romaniekeia follows verbal conjugation rules from romance languages, thus for every subject of a verb the suffix attached to the core word changes
eg. mea è (verb: to be)
tea ès
lia è
meabe/ba somo
teabe/ba seit
liabe/ba son
the romaniekeia has 8 verbal modes: infinitive, indicative, conditional, causative, desiderative, imperative, passive, gerund
(in RMNK: anfiní, indikatí, kaadisaoní, pariatí, bokatí, amparatí, paisí, jirundo.)
ANFINÍ
(verb)-á
eg. chineá ojopeá namá
verbs that end in "a" (namá, gugá) just put the accent on the last sillable to differentiate the grammatical meaning
nama=food namá=to eat
ININDIKATÍ
the indicative mode has 6 tenses: present, past, future, composed present/past/future
the present tense uses the following suffixes per subject:
-o 1st person sing
-a 2nd person sing
-a 3rd person sing
-amu 1st person sing
-ait 2nd person sing
-an 3rd person sing
when conjugating, the a of the infinitive is removed and replaced by the suffixes accordingly
eg. to talk
mea chineo
tea chineà
lia chineà
meabe/ba chineamu
teabe/ba chineait
liabe/ba chinean
to act
mea akto
tea aktá
lia aktá
meabe/ba aktamu
meabe/ba aktait
liaba/be aktán
for the past tense, it is necessary to attach the past particle -ax at the end of the verb conjugated in the present tense
eg. to buy
mea kompoax
tea kompaax
lia kompaax
meabe/ba kompamuax
teabe/ba kompaitax
liabe/ba kompanax
the x is pronouned like a ch, with the tongue in alveolar position
the future tense is formed with the suffix "ha" at the end of the verb in the present form
eg. to make
(subject is odmitable)
foho
faha
faha
famuha
fait'ha
fanha
COMPOSITE TENSES
all composite tenses use the auxiliary "a" and it conjugates as such
1: o
2: a
3: a
1: amo
2; ait
3: an
when using composite tenses, the tense is expressed in the auxiliary rather than in the verb itself, so the auxiliary will take the "ax" or "ha" particle depending on the tense, while the principal verb will take the infinitive form with -(a)x
eg to sell
o vendax oax vendax oha vendax
a vendax ax vendax aha vendax
a vendax ax vendax aha vendax
amo vendax amoax vendax amoha vendax
ait vendax aitax vendax aitha vendax
an vendax anax vendax anha vendax
note: the 1, 2, 3rd person can take a contracted form
eg. mea o/meabe amo--->m'o/m'amo
tea a/teaba ait--> t'a/t'ait
lia a, liaba an-->l'á, l'an (which also means "there is/there are)
eg. l'á anna fabika abandoní sintoäuta sidà
there's an abandoned factory in the center of the city
l'an skasax i cohoni
they have broken our balls
t'ait chepaax dano?
did you hurt yourself?
KAADISAONÍ
the conditional is expressed by the particle "kasi" and relates to every hypothetical situation. it is added at the end of an indicative verb
eg. kompo-->kompokasí
this works in all tenses
eg. to choose (eljá)
eljokasi, eljoaxkasi, eljohakasí, okasi eljax, oaxkasí eljax, ohakasi eljax
in hypothetical clauses, the tense of the conditional determines the type of possibilty of an event happening
PRESENT: certain outcome, habituary and known things
PAST: impossible outcome, irrealistic scenario, unchangeable fact
FUTURE: uncertain outcome, it may or may not happen but being uncertain it does not affect the possibility of a certain outcome
eg. chamokasí-ka lia meake konteta
if i call him he picks up
mogoaxkasí o monta danaro-eyu-ka pobatá tochiax
if i had all the money in the world i would end poverty
si yugahakasí a yuniva kal matera eljakasi
if you went to university, what course would you take
(in the future clause the verb in the principal clause will be in the conditional form
note: ka is a particle of ruchi languages that signals that in a sentence with more clauses that the one that has it is a dependant clause
PARIATÍ
the causative form (to let someone do x, to make someone do x) is a form that is marked by the particle -pari. It applies to all verbs in every tense without any irregularities
eg. to cook
kosinopari kosinoaxpari
kosinapari kosinaaxpari
kosinapari kosinaaxpari
kosinamopari kosinamoaxpari
kosinaitpari kosinaitaxpari
kosinanpari kosinanaxpari
the subject of the verb is the one who lets someone do or make someone do something
When used with the conditional, the order of the suffixes is X(cond)+(caus)
eg you would let me stay at your place
mea imixiokasipari
you would have loved it
tea axkasipari amax za
BOKATÍ
it expresses the desire for something, works with every other verbal mode. It is formed like this: voá(verb)boká
verb to want (voá): vo, voa, voa, voamo, voait, voan.
eg. mea vo namaboká anna yelao
i want to eat an ice cream
the particle rule puts boká at the end of the verb, so if other modes are added, boka will hold the final position in the structure of the verb, expect for the passive, which is attached to the auxiliary voá
eg. voax chineapariboka pesiamaju k chineaitparisak
i want to say a word especially since I've let you talk
zemu ukavo chankiapariboka
i want to be let alone
AMPARATÍ
formed by adding oo at the end of the verb
only 2nd personal singular and plural admit this form
eg. to sit
asiwaoo
asiwaitoo
to express an order in other subjects you use the form (deb(x)+inf)
eg. lia deba chinea anna kaósa
he's got to do something
eg. liaba deban onshiá a mosica
you have to turn down the music
PAISÍ
the passive mode is made by putting the prefix "uka" before the verb or the auxiliary
eg. ukaamasax (he has been killed)
Franco ukamena (Franco is being beaten up)
a reseta ukanafoaha (the recipe will be changed)
JIRUNDO
the jirundo expresses something that is happening continuosly at the present moment (like the continious tense in english, or the ma particle in saboki). It is made by adding the suffix -and at the end of the verb in infinitive mode.
eg. a busa apasand (the bus passing)
to be conjugated in other tenses, it has to add the auxilary ta, which holds the time tense and the key verb is in jirundo.
eg. mea tax usand a compiuta
with causative, the -pari particle goes after the core verb
eg. lia ta gayandpari liaas nama
she's giving away her food
with conditional and passive the suffixes are attached to the auxiliary verb.
eg. ukata hagand pa doina anwi (passive)
its being built for two years (and its still going)
eg. taxkasi patand ariesäu, i an sentax o memo kiyoriota fior (posias, Franc Bezeur 1699)
if i was walking through the streets, and i didn't smell the same smell of the flower
ARTICLES
there are five articles:
DETERMINATE
o, a, e, i
o, a SINGULAR
e, i PLURAL
the two articles in both categories don't have gender rules, as romaniekei does not have grammatical gender altogether, so typically they would be used in relation to the word it preceedes, eg. assonance
a boteya (the bottle), o hayogi (the fish)
in plural, the articles technically follow the gender rules of european languages, as when pluralized the "i" follows the same pattern as the "o" and "e" does so with "a". That is because originally the articles were gendered and thus "o" and "i" were masculine and "a" and "e" were feminine.
i fiyoba (the sons) e saiteba (the mountains)
INDETERMINATE
anna -used in the same fashion as a, an
anna boteya tax rompax teräu
a bottle was broken on the ground
PARTICLES
as romaniekei is also a ruchi language it uses an array of particles to convey specific meanings
1)äu: adaptation of the -eu particle of warabo (yeu in saboki), static locative (unstatic when the verb of the clause is in gerund, meaning it can describe any movement in one location)
eg. to sidäu (I'm in the city)
atant ta pateand ga fatieäu l'an jen perikosísak
be careful walking through that neighbourhood because there are dangerous people
2)ta: genitive particle, specification
eg. a metorinata sida (the city of metorina)
3) as: possessive particle
eg. meaas gako (my cat)
-
shai: directionality particle, both concrete and abstract (includes relationships between people)
note: this system is different from ruchi languages that have concrete and abstract distinction:
eg SBK: yai (C), ma (A)
WRBK: shai, ma
eg. plajashai olin yugá (the wave goes towards the beach)
mowoax gahija teashai anna regà (i thought about giving a present to you)
note: it is used for reflexive actions
eg. meashai duxo (i take a shower)
eg. teashai ane chepand teaona mau (you're only hurting yourself)
-
í/ní=quality particle, marks a quality adjective, it can also mark an adverb
eg. ohima è beí zawi
but you're beautiful today
when the adjectivized word ends in -i, the latter is accented, but if the word has another vowel the -ni suffix is added
eg. zawi èax sereni ehimamu ax amapasax a yová.
i was happy but then it started raining
-
za/ga: this/that, used contextually to convey if something is close or far from the speaker or the listener
-za: close to the subject, both in time and space, close to speaker
eg. zawi= today, this day
zäu=right here
eg. zasapoäu sapoá caosaba k'an l'á anäu
this store sells thing that you can't find anywhere
-ga: far from the subject, both in time and space, close to the listener
gawi=tomorrow, another day
gäu=over there, in that place
eg. l'á chepanax kemani gakaosa o l'á fax bulandju?
did he really do that or was he joking?
-
ju: modality particle, expresses mode in which an action is performed
eg. musa uxa o marteo, deba batá o chodo atantíju
when you use the hammer, you have to beat the nails carefully
-
sak: reason particle, it explains a reason or a consequence for an action
eg. an ax atantaxsak-ka a bola an poá fubapoxäu
the ball didn't score a goal because you weren't paying attention
mogo mea sosak/mogosak-ka mea so
"i think therefore i am"
the sak particle can be put on any clause in the sentence as long as the action and the consequence are complementary, meaning that the two elements can be both the consequence or the action and if inverted the statement keeps the same meaning. (this works only if sak is suffixed to a verb)
eg. anax yelosak t'ax anfarmax/t'anfarmaxsak anax yelo
9)ke: final marker, marks the purpose of something or what it wants to achieve
eg. zekaosa chepáke-ka debamo harachepá
in order to do this we'll have to put in the effort
-
eyu: inclusion particle, takes every element of a concept and includes all units of it without any exclusion
eg. mon-eyu (the whole world)
-
ka: this particle is a subordinate clause marker and it follows the same rules of subordinate clauses in ruchi languages: it is put when the subordinate clause isn't preceded by the main clause or is not directly in front of the principal clause. The nature of the subordinate clause is determined by the marker before it
eg. drinking alcohol (PR) is not the solution to your problems (DP)=
an è a solusáta teaas ankaosa-ka(DP) gugá alkol (PR)
eg2. cosinandju-ka liashai ukachoapari
he made himself be forgiven by cooking something
eg.3 m'o parax anna shemí l'á meashai chineax (in this case the ka is not necessary because the declarative clause is put after the principal clause
l'á meashai chineax-ka m'o parax anna shemí
translation: he told me i looked like a fool
-
ona/memo: to oneself, reflective action. It is interchangable with shai but ona relates more to oneself. memo literally means "same" but in front of a noun it can mean "oneself"
eg. to ankaponá co-meaona (I'm angry at myself)
teashai debehakasí ankaponá co-tememo (you should be angry at yourself)
13)co-: company, association. (with, through)
co-podè a amixà kaosa-eyu è pobabí.
with the power of frienship everything is possible
- na=quantitative particle, used to enumerate objects
eg. katna pishi (four fish)
the particle na is necessary because numbers are nouns and on their own they cannot determine the state or the quantity of something, so na is a quantifier for the nouns they're enumerating
OTHER PRONOUNS
interrogative pronouns: -tak (what)
-kal (which)
-kant (how much)
other interrogative pronouns are made by adding a particle according to what your pronoun wants to express;
takäu= where
tajù= how
tasak= why, because
tamu= when
také= for what purpose, to what end
tajent=who
-numbers:
1: an 11:ansi 21: vintian
2: doi 12: dosi 22: vindoi
3: che 13: cherixi 23: vintiche
4: kat 14: katorixi 24: vintkat
5: chin/ 15: chinje/ 25: vinchin
san sanke vintsan
6: sè 16: serixi 26: vintsé
7: set 17: tiaxaset 27: vintset
8: ot 18: tiaxot 28: vinxot
9: no 19: tiaxnó 29: vintianó
10: tia 20: vintia 30: chentia
(the numbers after 30 follow the same rules of the numbers after 20)
40: karantia
50: chintia, sankantia
60: setia
70: setetia
80: otatia
90: nontia
100: xint*
1000: miü
10000: tiamiü
100000: xintmiü
1000000: an mion
1000000000: an mirà
*800 is oxint
eg: 627=sexintvintset 1314=miüchexintkatorixi
22892=vindoimiü oxintnondoi
673752=sexintsetentichemiü setxintsankandoi
VOCABULARY
heavily borrows from european languages, most notably from piedmontese, catalan, occitan, genoan, tuscan, sardinian, italian (as aforementioned languages share many cognate words with italian), french, spanish and Portuguese. Many words have been borrowed in this language
eg. sida=city (from portuguese "cidade")
cohoni=(vulg) testicles (from venetian idiot "cojone"
zjaí=(adj) horrible, distasteful (from piedmontese "sgiai")
the language has also a notable presence of warabo vocabulary, more specifically from the eastern warabo dialects.
eg. keia (language) S-WRB: keiyá
EWRB: kéeià
chineá (to speak) S-WRB: xinéaa
EWRB: chiniaa
ojope (work) S-WRB: ojopiye
EWRB: oshope
it's still work in progress