Alvésin
Alvésin | ||||||||||
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Alvésin is a language spoken in southeastern Antrium, specifically in the province of Alvés-Navlan. It is also spoken in South Antrium, one of two official languages there. It is based off of English and French. Many place names in Antrium and almost all of the names of Antrian people are in Alvésin.
Contents
History
Not much is known about the history of Alvésin, because most of the older writings have been destroyed or lost. It is assumed to have originated in what is now Antrium, but no one is sure when the language was created.
It is known that the Alvési tribe have spoken it for many years. They conquered the neighboring Navlanis in a very long and brutal war, and spread the language to them.
It was not widely taught in most of American Federalist, and was reduced to under 50,000 speakers at one time. Schools in western American Federalist started teaching it in 2001, 4 years before the foundation of Antrium, and it has gained many speakers since then.
In 2002, The Orītan R. Révané Dictionary of Alvésin was written, which set spelling standards that were very unclear prior to its publishing. Since then, many people in Antrium have learned the language. It is now the third official language of Antrium.
In 2006, De Akademī do Alvésin was established, which now regulates the language. They can add new words to the language when needed. They completely changed the number system, after many complaints about extremely long words when speaking about large numbers.
Speakers
In the most recent Antrium census, it was estimated that about 3,500,000 Antrians know at least an upper high school level of Alvésin. It is spoken mainly in the provinces of Alvés-Navlan and Soréto, where the government requires schools to teach Alvésin, but it is spreading quickly throughout Antrium.
In 2006, the Antrian government approved a plan to give bonuses to schools that teach Alvésin. This is expected to raise the number of schools teaching the language. It is estimated that over 22 million Antrians will know at least a basic knowledge of Alvésin by 2007.
The South Antrian government made Alvésin one of their two official languages when it was founded in 2006. This is expected to increase the number of speakers.
Pronunciation
Alphabet
The Alvésin alphabet consists of 26 letters (9 vowels, 17 consonants) and is very similar to the English alphabet. Some of the accented letters are borrowed from French, and some accents are unique to the language. The letters c, q, x, and y are not included.
Alvésin is easier to learn to spell than most other languages, because it does not use silent letters. All words are spelled as they sound. All letters only make one sound, so there is no confusion in pronunciation.
a à b d e é f g h i ī j k l m n o p r s t u ū v w z
Note: The Alvésin alphabet used to include the letter ñ, but in the most recent edition of the Orītan R. Révané Dictionary, the letter was removed due to its rare usage. Ñ has been replaced with nīū, which sounds very similar.
Alvésin Letter | Pronunciation (using ASCII Phonetic Alphabet) |
a | @ as in English cat or black |
à | a: or o as in English father or rock |
b | b as in English bad or banana |
d | d as in English did or dark |
e | e as in English bed or met |
é | ei as in English say or eight, or French étape |
f | f as in English find or if |
g | g as in English give or flag |
h | h as in English how or hill |
i | i as in English hit or sitting |
ī | i: as in English see or heat |
j | Z as in English pleasure or French je or juin |
k | k as in English cat or back |
l | l as in English leg or little |
m | m as in English man or lamp |
n | n as in English no or nine |
o | Ou as in English go or road |
p | p as in English pot or place |
r | r as in English red or angry |
s | s as in English scare or sun |
t | t as in English too or tea |
u | u: as in English blue or food |
ū | u or .. as in English put or cinema |
v | v as in English five or valley |
w | w as in English wet or French l'ouest |
z | z as in English zoo or lazy |
Digraphs
kh = tS as in English check or church
aw = au as in English out or now
àī = ai as in English eye or five
īū = j as in English yes or yellow
th = th as in English both or thought
sh = S as in English she or crash
Grammar
Pronouns
English Pronoun | Alvésin Pronoun | Alvésin Possessive Pronoun |
I | Jà | Jàn |
You | To | Ton |
He/She/It | Hé/Hà/Ho | Hén/Hàn/Hon |
We | Nos | Nosī |
You all (or French vous) | Tos | Tosī |
They | Vos | Vosī |
Verb Conjugation
All verbs in Alvésin end in -īr or -ér. To conjugate an -īr or -ér verb, you simply remove the īr or ér and put in the appropriate verb ending from the chart below.
Note: only the first verb in the sentence needs to be conjugated.
Pronoun | Verb ending for -īr verbs | Verb ending for -ér verbs |
Jà | -īs | -és |
To | -īt | -et |
Hé/Hà/Ho | -īm | -em |
Nos | -īràs | -éràs |
Tos | -īrez | -érez |
Vos | -īrīt | -érīt |
The pronoun and conjugated verb are connected by a hyphen if there are no words between them. (example: "I want to go" is Jà-desīs galér, and "I don't want to go" is Jà no desīs galér)
The pronoun comes before the verb unless it is a question, in which case the verb would come before the pronoun. (example: "I want to go" is Jà-desīs galér, and "I want to go?" is Desīs-jà galér?)
Verb Forms
To make a verb negative, add no before the verb (example: "I do not walk" is Jà no vàlkés)
To make a verb past tense, add an -àn to the end of the verb ending (example: "I ate" is Jà mànjīsàn)
To make a verb future tense, add -étà before the verb (example: "I will make" is Jà-étà màkés)
To make a command, use the to form of the verb when addressing one person (example: "Look!" is "Vàtkhket!") and use the tos form of the verb when addressing multiple people. (example: "Look!" is "Vàtkhkérez!")
Some Common Verbs
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Vocabulary
Basic Words And Phrases
English | Alvésin |
hello | élo |
goodbye | avàr |
please | àplez |
thank you | érsīs-to |
sorry | serīj |
How are you? | Wà felīt-to? |
I am feeling well/feeling OK/not feeling well | Jà felīs béo/felīs àr līn/no felīs béo |
this/that/those/there/then | sel/set/ses/seplàs/setem |
which/what/where/when/who/why/how/how many | kel/wà/vér/à wà tem/hu/vor wà/īelé/īelékàn |
I am from Sivaris, in Antrium. | Jà-hérīs do Sīvàrīs, on Antrīūm. |
yes, no, maybe | wī, no, pelīm-étīr |
OK, I agree | ako, jà-grītīs |
I need help, Help! | Jà-rékwīs de asistàns, Asistàn! |
Do you speak Alvésin? | Férīt-to spàkīr Alvésīn? |
Yes, I speak Alvésin. | Wī, jà-spàkīs Alvésīn. |
What is your name? | Kel nom avīt-to? |
My name is Ràtéraj. | Jà-avīs de nom Ràtéraj. |
How old are you? | Īelékàn anas avīt-to? |
I am forty-seven years old. | Jà-avīs des fotàn-vet anas. |
How much does it cost? | Wà ho-kustīm? |
It costs 9 verinos and 16 cents. | Ho-kustīm nàv verīnos ér tàn-sīks sentīs. (Ho-kustīm nàv tàn-sīx.) |
Numbers
Note: The Alvésin number system was revised by De Akademī do Alvésin because of extremely long words. They couldn't fix the problem for extremely large numbers, but they decided that there was a need for words like "hundred" instead of "ten tens." The revised edition is as follows.
# | Word | # | Word | # | Word |
1 | un | 21 | tutàn-un | 400 | forun |
2 | tu | 30 | tértàn | 500 | sanrun |
3 | tér | 40 | fortàn | 600 | sīkrun |
4 | for | 50 | santàn | 700 | vetrun |
5 | san | 60 | sīktàn | 800 | àlrun |
6 | sīks | 70 | vetàn | 900 | nàvrun |
7 | vet | 80 | àltàn | 1,000 | nàk |
8 | àl | 90 | nàvtàn | 2,000 | tunàk |
9 | nàv | 100 | run | 3,000 | térnàk |
10 | tàn | 101 | runun | 4,000 | fornàk |
11 | tànun | 102 | runtu | 5,000 | sanàk |
12 | tàntu | 110 | runtàn | 10,000 | tànàk |
13 | tàntér | 111 | runtànun | 100,000 | runu |
14 | tànfor | 200 | turun | 1,000,000 | tunu |
20 | tutàn | 300 | térun | 1,000,000,000 | ténu |
3,561,203,662 | térténu-sarunsīktànuntunu-turuntérnàk-sīkrunsīktàntu | ||||
7,112,964,341 | veténu-runtàntutunu-nàvrunsīktanfornàk-térunfortànun |
To make ordinal numbers: Add "-īl" to the end of the number.
Examples: 1st - unīl, 24th - tutànforīl
To make fractions: Say the number, then "àn" (and), then the number of portions, then the ordinal number for the portion.
Examples: 1 1/2 - un àn un tuīl, 2 3/4 - tu àn tér forīls
To make decimals: Say the number, then "pwan" (point), then the number in the decimal.
Examples: 1.38 - un pwan tértànàl, 16.71 - tànsīks pwan vetànun
Time and Date
English | Alvésin |
What time is it? | Wà étim-ho de tem? |
It is four twenty-six PM. | Ho-étīm de tem for tutàn-sīx on de aftramīdī. |
morning, afternoon, night | de matàī, de aftramīdī, de nuī |
What is today's date? | Wà étim-ho de dàt do seljor? |
Today is Monday, May 22nd, 2006. | Seljor étim jormàn, de tutàn-tuīl màntemàī, tutoréo-sīks. |
yesterday, today, tomorrow | préjor, seljor, nekjor |
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday | jorsol, jormàn, jortur, jorwé, jorthu, jorfrī, jorsat |
January, February, March, April, May, June | màntejàl, màntefré, màntemàr, màntepur, màntemàī, màntevér |
July, August, September, October, November, December | màntejul, màntehàz, màntantrīen, màntelev, màntenon, màntehol |
Weather
English | Alvésin |
What is the weather like today? | Wà étim-ho de konītīs seljor? |
It is cloudy, with a chance of rain. | De konītīs étim klotīv, ek de khàn do pur. |
rain, ice, snow, sleet, hail, freezing rain | pur, īz, īzvàlkrūs, īzdros, īzkhàls, pur-īzīv |
sunny, cloudy, stormy, raining, snowing | sunīv, klotīv, stormīv, purīv, īzvàlīv |
freezing, cold, cool, warm, hot | fré-mortīv, frézīv, avrīv, julīv, hàziv |
It is 30 degrees today. | De konītīs étīm tétàn dégrés seljor. |
Places and Directions
English | Alvésin |
Where is the restroom? | Vér étīm-ho de bantep? |
grocery store, bank, church, park, school, hospital | awtonos-marché, verinīk, rélījīk, pàrk, édukīk, helànīk |
mall, city hall, police station, fire station, post office | sàntré-màrché, govérnīr-sīté, stàsīn-polīs, stàsīn-férgrū, postalīk |
restaurant, house, airport, bus stop, stadium | awtonorīk, mésàn, érport, aret do bus, stadem |
I need directions, How far is it to ____? | Jà-rékwīs des lokīrs, Wà destéo étīm-ho de ______? |
meters, kilometers | metàrs, tometàrs | turn left, turn right, go straight, stop | tulīt lev, tulīt rīt, galet foràrd, àret |
IDU Country Names
English | Alvésin Country Name | Alvésin Adjective (plural) |
Antrium/The Grand Democracy of Antrium | Antrīūm/De Gràn Démokràj do Antrīūm | Antrīen(s) | Baranxtu | Bàrànktu | Bàrànktīj(às) |
Ceorana | Sīorànū | Sīorànen(s) |
Domnonia | Dàmnonīū | Dàmnonīen(s) |
Fonzoland | Fànzotero | Fànzoternīj(às) |
Groot Gouda | Grot-Gawdū | Gawdīen(s) |
Grosseschnauzer | Gros-Shnawzūr | Shnawzerīj(às) |
Hiel | Hīel | Hīelīen(s) |
Jonquiere-Tadoussac | Jonkwīér-Tūdusak | Jonkwīér-Tūdusakīj(às) |
Keeslandia | Kīzlandīū | Kīzlandīen(s) |
Malabra | Mūlabrū | Mūlabrīen(s) |
Mikitivity | Mikitivitī | Mikitivīten(s) |
Sober Thought | Thàréràn Sobrū | Sobrīen(s) |
South Antrium/The Christian Republic of South Antrium | Antrīūm Sorét/De Républīk Krīstīen do Antrīūm Sorét | Antrīūm-Sorétīj(às) |
Xtraordinary Gentlemen | Ekstrordinérī Gentūlmūn | Ekstrordinérīj(às) |
International Democratic Union | Intūrnasīonel Unīàn Démokrajīk | Intūrnasīonel-Unīàn-Démokrajīken(s) (Īudéen[s]) |
Language Names
English Name | Alvésin Name | Alvésin Adjective |
Alvésin | Alvésīn | Alvéskīr | Baranxeï | Bàrànké | Bàrànkīr |
Chicoutim | Khīkutīm | Khīkutkīr |
Dutch | Nédūrlàn | Nédūrlàkīr |
English | Ànglé | Ànglikīr |
French | Frànsé | Frànsikīr |
German | Doīkh | Doīkhkīr |
Poirih | Poītik | Poītikīr |
Spanish | Spànīol | Spànikīr |