Pacitalian
| Pacitalian |
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| Genetic classification: Indo-European |
| Spoken language in:
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Pacitalian, semi-conlang and true dialect of Italian native to the republic of Pacitalia. It is identified by the use of apostrophes to connect or mold words, and in some cases its addition of Spanish/Mayan words. However, Pacitalian is different in that although it sounds similar to Italian, its structure and verb tensing is different. Approximately 2 billion people worldwide speak Pacitalian.
Contents
History and General Information on the Language
The differences between Pacitalian and Italian developed simply because of the distance Pacitalia had from its mother country and due to the various influences of the different European cultures in the national boundaries. Because of this, different pronunciations and words developed that had similarities to not only Italian, but Spanish, Romanian and even Latin. Thanks to that fact, Pacitalian has been classified as a branch of Italian, but also one that could fit in the West Iberian or East Romance language families.
These aforementioned differences began to appear in the 1600s as Pacitalia established itself as a semi-independent entity of the Papal Kingdom. Missionaries, whose job it was not only to spread Roman Catholicism around the land but also to spread the so-called "Italiano Puro" as well were actually not properly taught the language by their senior missionaries, hence leading to a few differences, such as verb structure and pronoun.
It is hard to see how such a miscalculation could occur, but it did. Still, this is considered only a minor reason why Pacitalian is visibly different. Into the 1700s, the language grew and spread along with Italian, which had already existed in Pacitalia since before the creation of the TION (see Pacitalia - History). Eventually, more people began to learn it as it followed simpler structures and relaxed rules, and had no silly exceptions to grammar rules that would only confuse speakers to a further degree.
The differed tongue known as Pacitalian was declared an official language in April 1805. On a side note, English was not declared official until 1946. By the early 1900s, it was the principal language taught in schools and was widely used for literature not only in Pacitalia but in surrounding areas influenced directly or indirectly by Pacitalian culture.
Use of Pacitalian Outside Its Homeland
Pacitalian is spoken not only in the nation of Pacitalia, but in three other countries to a rather major degree. The three are Sarzonia, Euroslavia and Yafor 2.
The Incorporated States of Sarzonia
Outside Pacitalia, Sarzonia holds the largest amount of Pacitalian-speaking people. The number is so great that Pacitalian ranks third in the country for language use, behind the official language, English, and the second-place dialect, Spanish. On top of the 65 million Pacitalian expatriates in Sarzonia, 5.6% of native Sarzonians speak at least intermediate level Pacitalian. Children are expected to start learning at least one foreign language in the equivalent of first grade, so they can choose between the two next largest languages, Spanish and Pacitalian.
The United Freedom Forces of Euroslavia
Euroslavia holds almost as many Pacitalian speakers within its borders. Nearly 100 million Euroslavians (including Pacitalian expatriates) know a respectable amount of Pacitalian, enough to be considered fluent or near-fluent.
The Grand Democratic Duchy of Yafor 2
Yafor 2, although small in comparison to Pacitalia, Euroslavia and Sarzonia, holds a very high amount per capita of Pacitalian speakers and Pacitalian expatriates (who number around 28-30 million in this country). In total, there are around 48 million speakers of this language in Yafor 2.
Pronunciation Key
The pronunciation of Pacitalian letters is similar to Italian with slight augmentations.
Vowels
a = ah as in flaw or bra
e = ay as in pay or gray
i = ih as in bit or stick
o = oh as in grow or ode
u = oo as in boot or stew
- For forward accented vowels (á, é, í, ó, ú) simply add volume to your voice (emphasis).
- For back-accented vowels (à, è, ì, ò, ù) draw the syllable out.
Consonants
b = buh
c = ss or cuh
cc = ch
d = duh
f = ef or fuh
g = gh or jih
h = ahn
j = yuh
k = cuh or che
l = luh or il
m = imm
n = inn
p = puh
r = rruh
s = ss
t = tuh
v = vuh
x = shi
y = ee
z = zhi
era = ehda
ra = da
gli = hlee
ci = chee
che = kay
ce = chay
cen = chen
- Note there is no w in the Pacitalian alphabet.
Apostrophisation
Another alternative to molding syllables when you have the two cases above is to bring in an apostrophe to bridge two words. This also makes pronunciation simpler and lowers the risk of a serious tongue-twister accident.
Example: anche io lo sai can be changed to anch'io lo sai
If you pronounce it you will notice it's easier to say the apostrophed version. However, both the unapostrophied and apostrophied versions are acceptable.
Verb Stems To Know
Unlike Spanish and Italian, there are no full verbs. Instead, there are verb stems and they are conjugated by adding a certain letter combination for usage (as seen below). Here are a few of the important ones you will find useful.
to be - se
to have - tem
to do - ac
to see - ver
to read - la
to write - escrib
to love - cuer
to hate - anacuer
to buy - compr
to stay - anze
to go - ze
to return - revol
to arrive - lega
to leave - salp
to drink - bib
to eat - cumer
to watch - miar
to be able to - pod
to know (knowledge) - sap
to know (a person) - conco
to find - encont
to lose (something) - pird
to lose (a game) - pird
to win/earn - gan
to travel - vi
to drive - condu
to bicycle - bici
to ski - eci
to walk - camm
to run - corr
to fall/descend - dest
to climb/ascend - ast
to build - constr
to destroy - deconstr
to hurt - mal
to burn - pez
to be sick - vom
to grow - apr
to pick - attram
to learn - apren
to ask a question - preggi
to answer - rapun
to call (telephone) - veam
to speak - ablat
to use - us
Verb Tenses
There are seven verb tenses: Present (Basic), Past-Repetitive, Past-Singular, Past-Progressive, Present-Progressive, Future and Conditional. Here's a quick look at each.
Remember that there is no conjugation for each personal thought (ie. I eat, you eat), just one conjugation for each tense. This goes for every verb tense.
Verb Tense: Present/Basic
This is the simplest of the verb tenses. When speaking in present tense, all you have to do is add the letter "a" to each verb stem to conjugate it.
Therefore, 'to call' would become veama and 'to grow' would become apra. 'To have' would be tema and 'to eat' would be cumera.
eg. I walk to school. Io camma a la escolara.
Verb Tense: Past-Repetitive
This tense is used for events in the past that happened more than once, like "I used to go to school" or "I used to walk my dog".
In this tense, simply add -ela to every verb stem ending in a consonant. In that case, 'to buy' would become comprela. On verb stems ending in vowels, use -ala. On a verb stem like 'to ask a question', the verb now reads preggiala. On verb stems that already end in an 'a', just add -la, so 'to arrive' becomes legala instead of a weird-looking legaala.
eg. I used to walk to school. Io cammela a la escolara.
Verb Tense: Past-Singular
As it suggests, and based on the information in the last-mentioned tense, you'll probably guess that this tense is used for events in the past that happened only once, for example - "I went to school" or "I walked my dog".
In this tense, add -ai to consonant-ended verb stems. That way, verbs like 'to destroy' will become deconstrai. On vowel-ended stems, add -rai, so that 'to drive' becomes condurai.
eg. I walked to school. Io cammai a la escolara.
Verb Tense: Past-Progressive
This tense is meant for actions, as in "I was walking to school". This tense is always used for English "-ing" verbs.
In this tense, add -ando to verb stems ending in a consonant. 'To construct' becomes constrando. For stems ending in a vowel, add -rado. When you do, a verb stem like 'to travel' becomes virado.
eg. I was walking to school. Io cammando a la escolara.
Verb Tense: Present-Progressive
This tense is meant for actions as they occur in the present, such as "I am walking to school". Again, it's used only for English verb-actions (those words ending in 'ing').
In this tense, add -ema to the consonant-ending verb stems, so that a verb like 'to climb' becomes astema. Add -rema to the vowel-ending ones to create a word out of the stem 'to stay' - anzerema.
eg. I am walking to school. Io cammema a la escolara.
Verb Tense: Future
In this tense, which is things like "I will be walking my dog tomorrow", you simply have to add an 'a' with a 'gravacenta' or what is known as a 'grave' in English. Therefore, your conjugation will look like this: -à.
eg. I will walk to school tomorrow. Io cammà a la escolara mandatto.
Verb Tense: Conditional
In this tense, you are meaning to express what you would do if an event occurred.
Add -aceti to vowel-ended verb stems to express that you, for example "would walk the dog" - Io cammaceti il porzo (Io cammacet'il porzo). On consonant-ended verb stems, add -ceti.
eg. I would walk to school, but I can get a ride. Io cammaceti a la escolara, pera io poda una conduciata.
Pluralisation
Add -mu to the end of a noun. Angels becomes angelicamu instead of angelica and apples become pomamu. When a consonant ends a noun (which is very rare), add -amu instead.
Pronoun Conjugation
This is where conjugation differs within something, instead of on verbs where conjugation is universal in a tense. There are three pronoun types - masculina (masculine), feminena (feminine), and neutralità (neutral/unisex). Obviously, you should use masculine when talking about something of the male sex, feminine when talking about the female sex, and neutral/unisex when the noun/subject has no sexuality.
eg. I(f.) walk to school. Ie camma a la escolara. (yay cahm-mah a lah esh-coh-lah-ra)
- pronounced shay and shaow
Basic Useful Info
State of Being
I am = sono
You are = sero
He/she is = satto
We are = sarea
They are = sononà
eg. I am your(m.) friend. Sono te amicatto., I am your(f.) friend. Sono ti amicatto.
Declarations
It is = C'esta
This is = C'estate
That is = C'estura
These are = C'estammo
Those are = C'estara
eg. This is a delicious dinner. C'estate una cenata delicesa.
Articles
the (m., singular) = il
the (m., plural) = ira
the (f., singular) = la
the (f., plural) = lema
a = uno/una
eg. The apples - Lema pomamu, The bicycles - Ira bizziclomu, The flower - La flora, The dog - Il porzo, A fire - Uno inferno / una inferna.
Questions
what = cuei
where = curta
when = quando
who = cuama
why = poracuai, cuai
because = porsecuera
how = cuave
what is / what are = cueia / cuetta
where is / where are = curtata / curtera
when is / does = quandara / quanderai
when are / do = quandatta / quandettai
who is / are = cuamia / cuatta
how is / does = cuavia / cuavera
how are / do = cuavetà / cuavelurà
eg. When does the next train come? I'm in a hurry. Quanderai il proggimo treni venda? Sono en la fuzzare.
Quantity
All/total = tutto / tutta
None = nunto / nunta
Some = semia / algatta
Important Nouns
Drinks
water - acqua
mineral water - acqua di minerali
juice - giusta (di arance, di poma, di citrazzo)
milk - lattia
cream - crema
coffee - cafe
tea - teata
hot chocolate - lattia calta con ciocolatta (caltecioco)
martini - martini
margarita - margaritta
Fruits and Vegetables
apple - poma
banana - banana
orange - arance
pear - pera
grape - razzo
lemon - limone
lime - lemea
grapefruit - citrazzo
strawberry - fressa
cherry - ciona
blueberry - acquaza
blackberry - norazzo
peach - empecca
nectarine - emectarina
plum - pruna
tomato - tomata
mango - mangiati
pineapple - penapoma
papaya - papaggia
starfruit - estratafruta
pomegranate - pomagranata
passionfruit - pazzatofruta
cactus - cactato
canteloupe - cantelopo
watermelon - melone d'acqua
honeydew - melone di verdi
carrot - carotena
lettuce - brassandora
broccoli - broccoli
cauliflower - califlora
celery - celera
onion - onona
garlic - garlice
potato - pomatera
corn - cernato
pepper - papriccia
asparagus - asparaggia
cabbage - cabbaggio
cucumber - cucumbera
radish - radiccio
Meat and Others
beef - biftano
lamb - lampa
chicken - pollo
pork - porco
ham - carne ampari
bacon - carne porcofati
turkey - turiccia
deer - antele
bear - ursano
sausage - salciccia (di porco, di biftano, di turiccia)
tofu - tofu
eggs - uovomu
Ordering A Meal
soup - zuppa
salad - insalata
main course - corso principali
dessert - desertano
beverage - refrescato
Body Parts
head - cabassa
neck - sotrano
torso - torsati
arm - brazza
leg - subrazza
brain - brano
heart - corazo
lung - lunggi
stomach - stomaccia
eye - ogio
ear - aurala
mouth - boca
nose - narsa
tongue - tungia
sexual organs - organimu sesuale
Travel and Transportation
airplane - aeroplani
airport - aeroporti
flight - volo
taxi - tassi
car - automobo
train - treni
ferry - ferria
subway train - treni subterrano
bicycle - biciano
scooter - scutaro
motorcycle - motocelto
road - via
street - streto
bridge - ponti
highway - autostrada
Hospitality
hotel - otela
motel - motela
pensione - penzione
hostel - ostelia
house - caza
nightly rate - rato dei nocturnamu
pool - piscena
breakfast room - sali di desattuno
Living
bedroom - sali di camia
bathroom - sali di lavra
kitchen - cucena
games room - sali di gieda
garden - giardino
Nature (Flora & Fauna)
tree - arbola
flower - flora
bush - busca
grass - grazo
dog - porzo
cat - gattena
mouse - musa
bear - ursa
antelope - antelera
fish - pesca
snake - serpentina
eagle - aglo
bird - sentiramo
sky - scia
cloud - anaclara
sunrise - sonarisa
sunset - desonarisa
sun - sona
moon - mona
Directions
north - norto
south - sota
east - orienta
west - occidenta
northwest - nortoccide
northeast - nortoria
southwest - sotoccide
southeast - sotoria
Sports
baseball - basaboli
basketball - baschetaboli
football - futaboli
football (American) - futaboli Americano (Canadese)
rugby - ruggibato
hockey - occhia
golf - gulfa
Adjectives & Adverbs
Adjectives
clean - sobato
dirty - anasobato
loud - decibela
quiet - anadecibela
hot - calta
cold - fria
bright - lumino
dark - analumino
soft - sutari
hard - ponto
sharp - scarpi
dull - dugia
round - circuma
square - anacircuma
colourful - vivante
black & white - neutralio
messy - anorganista
neat - organista
transparent - transparenti
opaque - opaccio
difficult - dificilo
easy - facilati
Infinitives: molto (very), non molto (not very)
Adverbs
Add -fama to each adjective to create its adverb form.
eg. sharp becomes scarpifama.
Cardinal Numbers
1 - un
2 - due
3 - tre
4 - quattro
5 - cinque
6 - sei
7 - siepto
8 - octo
9 - novatta
10 - dice
20 - vinte
50 - semicento
100 - cento
250 - quatteromila
500 - semimila
1,000 - mila
10,000 - dicemila
100,000 - centomila
1,000,000 - fanto
1,425,745 - fanto due cento vinte cinque mila siepto cento e quattrando cinque
