Difference between revisions of "Noterelenda"

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'''Noterelenda''' is one of the four official languages of [[Bedistan]], though it is more widely spoken in the former Bedistani colony of [[Tingitana]].  It is a constructed language, drawing influences from the other three Bedistani languages (English, Spanish, and classical Greek).
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'''Noterelenda''' is one of the four official languages of [[Bedistan]], though it is more widely spoken in the former Bedistani colony of [[Tingitana]].  It is a constructed language, drawing influences from the other three Bedistani languages (English, Spanish, and a very small amount of classical Greek).
  
 
==Basic Grammar==
 
==Basic Grammar==
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In addition, there was originally a letter '''c'''.  Very recently, this letter has been deprecated in favor of '''k''', as the two have identical sounds.  The letter c is no longer recognized as being an official part of the Noterelenda alphabet.
 
In addition, there was originally a letter '''c'''.  Very recently, this letter has been deprecated in favor of '''k''', as the two have identical sounds.  The letter c is no longer recognized as being an official part of the Noterelenda alphabet.
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===Pronunciation===
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Unless otherwise specified, the stress of any polysyllabic word falls on the penultimate syllable (qi'''da'''di, kon'''si'''ke).  A written acute accent mark indicates that the stress instead falls on the syllable over which it is written (jevar'''é''').  An apostrophe (') indicates a slightly more pronounced break between syllables.  It is typically used when there is an awkward transition in sounds (Arjenibrúk'ta).  Note that for purposes of stress, any prefixes or suffixes set off by apostrophes are not considered to be part of the word; hence the written accent over the u.
  
 
==Non-verbs==
 
==Non-verbs==

Revision as of 20:59, 21 October 2004

Noterelenda is one of the four official languages of Bedistan, though it is more widely spoken in the former Bedistani colony of Tingitana. It is a constructed language, drawing influences from the other three Bedistani languages (English, Spanish, and a very small amount of classical Greek).

Basic Grammar

Noterelenda uses a simple subject-verb-object (SVO) form, like English. Modifiers are always placed before nouns, and words have no gender.

Sample sentence: Ge tal da senia. (I went to the store.)

Alphabet and Pronunciation

The Noterelenda alphabet has undergone a few changes in its short history. The present alphabet consists of 23 letters, each of which has a single sound:

  • a - odd
  • b - boy
  • d - duck
  • e - egg
  • f - for
  • g - gate
  • i - evil
  • j - house
  • k - kite
  • l - lock
  • m - mouse
  • n - noon
  • o - ode
  • p - pick
  • q - check
  • r - room
  • s - stay
  • t - tape
  • u - room
  • v - voice
  • w - wash
  • y - yo-yo
  • z - zoo

Archaic letters

The letter q has not always existed in its present form. Originally, the /ch/ sound was represented by the letter combination "ch". The extra letter h was later dropped and the /ch/ sound was represented by a cedilla added under the c (ç). Rushed writing styles common to Noterelenda speakers eventually resulted in the morphing of this letter into a g-like entity, and eventually the stroke was reversed in direction to help in differentiation, producing today's modern letter q.

In addition, there was originally a letter c. Very recently, this letter has been deprecated in favor of k, as the two have identical sounds. The letter c is no longer recognized as being an official part of the Noterelenda alphabet.

Pronunciation

Unless otherwise specified, the stress of any polysyllabic word falls on the penultimate syllable (qidadi, konsike). A written acute accent mark indicates that the stress instead falls on the syllable over which it is written (jevaré). An apostrophe (') indicates a slightly more pronounced break between syllables. It is typically used when there is an awkward transition in sounds (Arjenibrúk'ta). Note that for purposes of stress, any prefixes or suffixes set off by apostrophes are not considered to be part of the word; hence the written accent over the u.

Non-verbs

There is little structure to Noterelenda words that are not verbs (i.e. nouns, adjectives, adverbs, etc.). Nouns usually end in either o or a, but there is no gender and there are many exceptions. Many adjectives follow this same pattern.

Transformations

To change a noun into an adjective, add the suffix -or. Thus, prente (person) becomes prentor (personal - note the final e is dropped).

To change an adjective into an adverb, add the suffix -lere. Thus, sosiál (social) becomes sosialere (socially - note the double l is reduced to a single l). The -lere suffix is basically equivalent to the English -ly.

By applying these two rules together, you can change a noun into an adverb. Thus, the noun rido (river) becomes the adverb ridorlere (like a river, as applied to a verb).

Given the name of a nation, city, or other place, the suffix -ta can be added to denote something as being from that place or to make that place an adjective form. Thus, Lontórika (Lontorica) becomes Lontorikata (Lontorican).

The rule for forming the diminutive form of a noun is slightly more complicated. If the noun ends in a vowel, drop that vowel, add -it, and then replace the removed vowel at the end. Thus, caba (cow) becomes cabita, and qidadi (city) becomes qidaditi. If the noun ends in a consonant, insert the -it- just before the last vowel in the word. Thus, kenal (claw) becomes kenital and agadór (waterfall) becomes agaditór.

To form the comparative of an adjective, add ta'- to the front, and to from the superlative, add te'-. Thus, konsike (holy) becomes ta'konsike (holier) and te'konsike (holiest).

Verbs

All Noterelenda verbs in their infinitive forms end in -ar. Each verb takes a total of 34 forms: six in each of the five simple indicative tenses, a past participle, a present participle, an infinitive, and an imperative form.

Type A tenses

To conjugate a verb to the present, preterit, or imperfect tense, the ending -ar is dropped and a suffix is added depending on the person:

Present

  • 1st person singular: -o
  • 2nd person singular: -as
  • 3rd person singular: -a
  • 1st person plural: -ad
  • 2nd person plural: -is
  • 3rd person plural: -an

Preterit

  • 1st person singular: -e
  • 2nd person singular: -es
  • 3rd person singular: -u
  • 1st person plural: -ago
  • 2nd person plural: -os
  • 3rd person plural: -un

Imperfect

  • 1st person singular: -io
  • 2nd person singular: -ias
  • 3rd person singular: -ia
  • 1st person plural: -igo
  • 2nd person plural: -igos
  • 3rd person plural: -ian

Type B tenses

To conjugate a verb to the future or conditional tense, no letters are dropped and a suffix is added depending on the person:

Future

  • 1st person singular: -é
  • 2nd person singular: -és
  • 3rd person singular: -á
  • 1st person plural: -ád
  • 2nd person plural: -ís
  • 3rd person plural: -án

Conditional

  • 1st person singular: -ío
  • 2nd person singular: -ías
  • 3rd person singular: -ía
  • 1st person plural: -ígo
  • 2nd person plural: -ígos
  • 3rd person plural: -ían

Type C (progressive) tenses

To form the past, present, or future progressive tense of a verb, conjugate the verb benar to the imperfect, present, or future respectively and follow it with the present participle of the action verb.

To form the present participle, remove the -ar ending and add -abo.

Type D (compound) tenses

There are four compound tenses: the present perfect, past perfect, future perfect, and conditional perfect. To from these, conjugate the verb jevar to the present, imperfect, future or conditional tense respectively and follow it with the past participle of the action verb.

To form the past participle, remove the -ar ending and add -ibo.

Type E (imperative) tense

There is only one imperative form for each verb. If the verb's infintive form has multiple syllables, the imperative is formed by simply removing the -ar ending. If the verb's infinitive form has just one syllable, the imperative is formed by removing the -ar ending and adding -ab.

Vocabulary

(coming soon)