Burdulan language
Phonology
Consonants
Initial mutation
In Burdulan, initial consonants may undergo mutation when they occur after other words. There are five different mutated forms, denoted "0", "h", "n", "*" and "t". "0" is the null mutation, and is identical to the lemma form. "h" represents aspirate mutation, "n" the nasal mutation, "*" the lenis mutation, and "t" the geminate mutation.
The following table lists the various mutated forms:
| 0 | h | n | * | t |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ∅ | /h/ | /n/ | ∅ | /d/ |
| /p/ | /f/ | /b/ | /b/ | /p/ |
| /b/ | /v/ | /m/ | /v/ | /b/ |
| /m/ | /m/ | /m/ | /m/ | /mb/ |
| /f/ | /f/ | /v/ | /h/ | /pf/ |
| /v/ | /v/ | /v/ | /v/ | /bv/ |
| /t/ | /θ/ | /d/ | /d/ | /t/ |
| /d/ | /ð/ | /n/ | /ð/ | /d/ |
| /n/ | /n/ | /n/ | /n/ | /nd/ |
| /s/ | /s/ | /z/ | /h/ | /ts/ |
| /z/ | /z/ | /z/ | /z/ | /dz/ |
| /ɾ/ | /h/ | /ɾ/ | /ɾ/ | /r/ |
| /l/ | /ɬ/ | /l/ | /l/ | /l/ |
| /ɕ/ | /ɕ/ | /ʑ/ | /h/ | /tɕ/ |
| /ʑ/ | /ʑ/ | /ʑ/ | /ʑ/ | /dʑ/ |
| /k/ | /x/ | /g/ | /g/ | /k/ |
| /g/ | /ɣ/ | /ŋ/ | /ɣ/ | /g/ |
| /kʷ/ | /ʍ/ | /gʷ/ | /gʷ/ | /kʷ/ |
Affricates and sequences of /s/ plus a stop do not mutate. /gʷ/ is not listed in the above table because it never occurs word-initially.
A word-final /ɾ/ following a consonant (as with third conjugation infinitives) is not usually pronounced. However, if this /ɾ/ occurs before a word beginning with a vowel, this causes the following word to be pronounced with an initial /ɾ/ (note that this is not marked in the orthography). Note that this type of word-final /ɾ/ never induces any other kind of mutation; often an /e/ is inserted after the /ɾ/ if an inflectional ending results in an aspirate, nasal or geminate mutation, whereas an inflectional ending containing a lenis mutation is converted into a null mutation. Word-final -rr is treated as if it were /ɾ/ followed by /ɾ/, instead of the usual interpretation (which would be a trilled /r/); however, if the following word normally begins with a vowel, it instead begins with a trilled /r/.
Grammar
Nouns
Because of the complete elimination of endings, case and number are often only marked via metaphony and mutation (only the genitive and dative plural retain their endings), and all nouns must be accompanied by an article.
First declension (agw, water, feminine):
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | la agw-* a | le h'agw-h a |
| Vocative | o agw-* a | o agw-h a |
| Accusative | la n'agw-n a | le h'agw-h a |
| Genitive | il h'agw-h | lar n'agwar-n a |
| Dative | il agw-* | lav h'agwav-h a |
The a indicates forms where a-metaphony is expected.
Second declension (ann, year, masculine)
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | el ann-h | li enn-* i |
| Vocative | o ann-* | o enn-* i |
| Accusative | ol n'onn-n u | lo h'ann-h |
| Genitive | il h'enn-h i | lor n'annor-n |
| Dative | il ann-* | lov h'annov-h |
The i indicates forms where i-metaphony is expected, likewise for u with regard to u-metaphony.
Second declension (uv, egg, neuter)
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ol d'uv-n u | le ov-* a |
| Vocative | o uv-n u | o ov-* a |
| Accusative | ol d'uv-n u | le ov-* a |
| Genitive | il h'œv-h i | lor n'ovor-n |
| Dative | il ov-* | lov h'ovov-h |
Note that if /o/ can undergo u-metaphony, it cannot undergo a-metaphony, and vice versa. The same applies to /e/ with regard to i-metaphony and a-metaphony.
Third declension (om, man, masculine)
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | el om-* | li omen-h |
| Vocative | o om-* | o omen-h |
| Accusative | ol n'omen-n | lo h'omen-h |
| Genitive | il h'omen-h | lor n'omener-n |
| Dative | il omin-* i | lov h'omenev-h |
For all third declension nouns, the nominative/vocative singular (and for neuter nouns, the accusative singular) are irregular.
Pronouns
Personal pronouns:
| First | Second | Refl. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sing. | Pl. | Sing. | Pl. | ||
| Nominative | eo-* | nu-h | tu-* | vu-h | |
| Accusative | me-* | ny-h | te-* | vy-h | se-* |
| Genitive | mia-* | nostr | tua-* | vostr | sua-* |
| Dative | mi-* | nœv-h | tiv-* | vœv-h | siv-* |
The third person pronouns are identical to the corresponding definite articles.
Articles
The definite article is declined as follows:
| Singular | Plural | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case | Masc. | Fem. | Neu. | Masc. | Fem. | Neu. |
| Nominative | el-* | la-* | ol-t | li-* | le-h | le-* |
| Vocative | o-* | |||||
| Accusative | ol-n | la-n | ol-t | lo-h | le-h | le-* |
| Genitive | li-h | lor-n | lar-n | lor-n | ||
| Dative | li-* | lov-h | lav-h | lov-h | ||
The vocative particle o is not a true definite article, but it may or may not accompany vocative nouns and noun phrases. Vocatives cannot be marked for definiteness.
The indefinite article, un (which is also the numeral for "one"), is declined as follows:
| Case | Masc. | Fem. | Neu. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | un-h | on-* | un-n |
| Accusative | un-n | on-n | un-n |
| Genitive | yn-h | ||
| Dative | yn-* | ||
There are no dedicated plural forms of the indefinite article. Instead, the plural forms of the partitive article are used.
The partitive article is declined as follows:
| Singular | Plural | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case | Masc. | Fem. | Neu. | Masc. | Fem. | Neu. |
| Nominative | del-* | della-* | dol-t | delli-* | delle-h | delle-* |
| Accusative | dol-n | della-n | dol-t | dello-h | delle-h | delle-* |
| Genitive | delli-h | dellor-n | dellar-n | dellor-n | ||
| Dative | delli-* | dellov-h | dellav-h | dellov-h | ||
Verbs
Unlike in most other Nodaimese Romance languages, Burdulan requires subject pronouns to be given for the first and second persons. This is due to the complete erosion of endings.
There are four different conjugational classes of verbs, which can be identified by their infinitive endings:
- The first conjugation consists of verbs ending in -ar.
- The second conjugation consists of verbs ending in -er.
- The third conjugation consists of verbs ending in -r.
- The fourth conjugation consists of verbs ending in -ir.
There are several regular sets of endings for verbs, which can be split into two categories: the present and the preterite categories. The present category also has primary, secondary and imperative forms for certain person-number combinations (only the first-person singular has separate primary forms, and only the second-person singular and plural and the first-person plural have separate imperative forms). There is also a special "future" category, but only one set of endings represents it, and it is only found in the third conjugation in the standard language.
Sets of endings:
| Singular | Plural | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First | Second | Third | First | Second | Third | ||||||
| Pr. | Sec. | Sec. | Imp. | Sec. | Imp. | Sec. | Imp. | ||||
| Present | 1 | -∅-* | -∅-n | -∅-h | -∅-* | -∅-t | -am-h | -am-* | -at-h | -at-* | -an-t |
| 2 | -∅-* | -∅-n | -∅-h | -∅-* | -∅-t | -em-h | -em-* | -et-h | -et-* | -en-t | |
| 3 | -∅-* | -∅-n | -∅-h | -∅-* | -∅-t | -m-h | -m-* | -t-h | -t-* | -on-t | |
| 4 | -∅-* | -∅-n | -∅-h | -∅-* | -∅-t | -im-h | -im-* | -it-h | -it-* | -ion-t | |
| 5 | -∅-n | -∅-h | -∅-t | -iam-h | -iat-h | -ian-t | |||||
| Preterite | 1 | -ai-* | -est-* | -au-t | -aim-h | -est-h | -airon-t | ||||
| 2 | -y-* | -yst-* | -y-t | -ym-h | -yst-h | -yron-t | |||||
| 3 | -i-* | -ist-* | -i-t | -em-h | -est-h | -eron-t | |||||
| Future | -re-* | -ra-h | -ra-t | -ervem-h | -ervet-h | -erven-t | |||||
In general, the different sets of present endings are only distinguished in the plural. Note that set 5 only has secondary forms, as it is only found in the subjunctive.
The following sets are considered "regular" for each conjugation:
| First | Second | Third | Fourth | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pres. Ind. | Pres. 1 (pr.) | Pres. 2 (pr.) | Pres. 3 (pr.) | Pres. 4 (pr.) |
| Fut. Ind. | Pres. 3 (pr.) | Pres. 3 (pr.) | Future | Pres. 3 (pr.) |
| Pst. Ind. | Pret. 1 | Pret. 2 | Irregular | Pret. 3 |
| Pres. Subj. | Pres. 2 (sec.) | Pres. 5 (sec.) | Pres. 1 (sec.) | Pres. 5 (sec.) |
The imperfect indicative always uses the secondary first present endings, the conditional always uses the primary second present endings, and the past subjunctive always uses the secondary second present endings. The imperative uses the imperative versions of the corresponding present indicative endings. The third conjugation past indicative does not have a "regular" set of endings; one must memorise the corresponding principal part for third conjugation verbs.
First conjugation
Conjugation of amar
| Singular | Plural | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First | Second | Third | First | Second | Third | ||
| Indicative | Present | am-* eo am-* |
am-h tu am-h |
am-t | amam-h nu h'amam-h |
amat-h vu h'amat-h |
aman-t |
| Imperfect | amav-n eo amav-n |
amav-h tu amav-h |
amav-t | amavam-h nu h'amavam-h |
amavat-h vu h'amavat-h |
amavan-t | |
| Past | amai-* eo amai-* |
amest-* tu amest-* |
amau-t | amaim-h nu h'amaim-h |
amest-h vu h'amest-h |
amairon-t | |
| Future | amar-* eo amar-* |
amar-h tu amar-h |
amar-t | amarm-h nu h'amarm-h |
amart-h vu h'amart-h |
amaron-t | |
| Conditional | amer-* eo amer-* |
amer-h tu amer-h |
amer-t | amerem-h nu h'amerem-h |
ameret-h vu h'ameret-h |
ameren-t | |
| Subjunctive | Present | am-n eo am-n |
am-h tu am-h |
am-t | amem-h nu h'amem-h |
amet-h vu h'amet-h |
amen-t |
| Past | ames-n eo ames-n |
ames-h tu ames-h |
ames-t | amesem-h nu h'amesem-h |
ameset-h vu h'ameset-h |
amesen-t | |
| Imperative | am-* | amam-* | amat-* | ||||
| Infinitive | amar-* | ||||||
| Present participle | aman-h | ||||||
| Past participle | amad-h | ||||||
| Gerund | amon-n (aman-) | ||||||
The first conjugation is by far the most productive class of verbs in Burdulan. It is also completely regular, with only one principal part (the infinitive); all other conjugational classes have at least two principal parts. Every single verb with a polysyllabic root whose infinitive ends in -ar belongs in this conjugation (verbs with monosyllabic roots, such as star and dar, are almost invariably irregular).
Second conjugation
Conjugation of tener
| Singular | Plural | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First | Second | Third | First | Second | Third | ||
| Indicative | Present | ten-* eo den-* |
ten-h tu den-h |
ten-t | tenem-h nu thenem-h |
tenet-h vu thenet-h |
tenen-t |
| Imperfect | tenev-n eo denev-n |
tenev-h tu denev-h |
tenev-t | tenevam-h nu thenevam-h |
tenevat-h vu thenevat-h |
tenevan-t | |
| Past | teny-* eo deny-* |
tenyst-* tu denyst-* |
teny-t | tenym-h nu thenym-h |
tenyst-h vu thenyst-h |
tenyron-t | |
| Future | tener-* eo dener-* |
tener-h tu dener-h |
tener-t | tenerm-h nu thenerm-h |
tenert-h vu thenert-h |
teneron-t | |
| Conditional | tenyr-* eo denyr-* |
tenyr-h tu denyr-h |
tenyr-t | tenyrem-h nu thenyrem-h |
tenyret-h vu thenyret-h |
tenyren-t | |
| Subjunctive | Present | ten-n eo den-n |
ten-h tu den-h |
ten-t | teniam-h nu theniam-h |
teniat-h vu theniat-h |
tenian-t |
| Past | tenys-n eo denys-n |
tenys-h tu denys-h |
tenys-t | tenysem-h nu thenysem-h |
tenyset-h vu thenyset-h |
tenysen-t | |
| Imperative | ten-* | tenem-* | tenet-* | ||||
| Infinitive | tener-* | ||||||
| Present participle | tenen-h | ||||||
| Past participle | tent-h | ||||||
| Gerund | tenœn-n (tenen-) | ||||||
Unlike with first conjugation verbs, all other verbs may have irregular past participles and/or preterite stems.
Third conjugation
Conjugation of korr
| Singular | Plural | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First | Second | Third | First | Second | Third | ||
| Indicative | Present | kor-* eo gor-* |
kor-h tu gor-h |
kor-t | korm-h nu khorm-h |
kort-h vu khort-h |
korron-t |
| Imperfect | korrev-n eo gorrev-n |
korrev-h tu gorrev-h |
korrev-t | korrevam-h nu khorrevam-h |
korrevat-h vu khorrevat-h |
korrevan-t | |
| Past | korri-* eo gorri-* |
korrist-* tu gorrist-* |
korri-t | korrem-h nu khorrem-h |
korrest-h vu khorrest-h |
korreron-t | |
| Future | korre-* eo gorre-* |
korra-h tu gorra-h |
korra-t | korrervem-h nu khorrervem-h |
korrervet-h vu khorrervet-h |
korrerven-t | |
| Conditional | korrer-* eo gorrer-* |
korrer-h tu gorrer-h |
korrer-t | korrerem-h nu khorrerem-h |
korreret-h vu khorreret-h |
korreren-t | |
| Subjunctive | Present | kor-n eo gor-n |
kor-h tu gor-h |
kor-t | korram-h nu khorram-h |
korrat-h vu khorrat-h |
korran-t |
| Past | korres-n eo gorres-n |
korres-h tu gorres-h |
korres-t | korresem-h nu khorresem-h |
korreset-h vu khorreset-h |
korresen-t | |
| Imperative | kor-* | korm-* | kort-* | ||||
| Infinitive | korr | ||||||
| Present participle | korn-h | ||||||
| Past participle | kort-h | ||||||
| Gerund | korn-n (korn-) | ||||||
Technically, the root of korr is korr-; however, Burdulan phonotactics forbid a word from ending with a trill, and forbid trills in consonant clusters.
Note that the future forms of the third conjugation differ from the other conjugational classes; to avoid confusion with the present and past, the future was reinforced by forms of aver, which have sinced been reduced. In some dialects, these reinforced forms have been generalised into the second and fourth conjugations.
Fourth conjugation
Conjugation of finir
| Singular | Plural | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First | Second | Third | First | Second | Third | ||
| Indicative | Present | fin-* eo hin-* |
fin-h tu hin-h |
fin-t | finim-h nu finim-h |
finit-h vu finit-h |
finion-t |
| Imperfect | finev-n eo hinev-n |
finev-h tu hinev-h |
finev-t | finevam-h nu finevam-h |
finevat-h vu finevat-h |
finevan-t | |
| Past | fini-* eo hini-* |
finist-* tu hinist-* |
fini-t | finem-h nu finaim-h |
finest-h vu finest-h |
fineron-t | |
| Future | finir-* eo hinir-* |
finir-h tu hinir-h |
finir-t | finirm-h nu finirm-h |
finirt-h vu finirt-h |
finiron-t | |
| Conditional | finer-* eo hiner-* |
finer-h tu hiner-h |
finer-t | finerem-h nu finerem-h |
fineret-h vu fineret-h |
fineren-t | |
| Subjunctive | Present | fin-n eo hin-n |
fin-h tu hin-h |
fin-t | finiam-h nu finiam-h |
finiat-h vu finiat-h |
finian-t |
| Past | fines-n eo hines-n |
fines-h tu hines-h |
fines-t | finesem-h nu finesem-h |
fineset-h vu fineset-h |
finesen-t | |
| Imperative | fin-* | finim-* | finit-* | ||||
| Infinitive | finir-* | ||||||
| Present participle | finen-h | ||||||
| Past participle | finid-h | ||||||
| Gerund | finœn-n (finen-) | ||||||
Irregular verbs
Conjugation of esr
| Singular | Plural | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First | Second | Third | First | Second | Third | ||
| Indicative | Present | su-n eo hu-n |
eh-h tu eh-h |
es-t | som-h nu som-h |
est-h vu h'est-h |
son-t |
| Imperfect | ar-n eo ar-n |
ar-h tu ar-h |
ar-t | aram-h nu h'aram-h |
arat-h vu h'arat-h |
aran-t | |
| Past | fy-* eo hy-* |
fyst-* tu hyst-* |
fy-t | fym-h nu fym-h |
fyst-h vu fyst-h |
fyron-t | |
| Future | er-* eo er-* |
er-h tu er-h |
er-t | erm-h nu h'erm-h |
ert-h vu h'ert-h |
eron-t | |
| Conditional | fyr-* eo hyr-* |
fyr-h tu hyr-h |
fyr-t | fyrem-h nu fyrem-h |
fyret-h vu fyret-h |
fyren-t | |
| Subjunctive | Present | si-n eo hi-n |
si-h tu hi-h |
si-t | siam-h nu siam-h |
siat-h vu siat-h |
sian-t |
| Past | fys-n eo hys-n |
fys-h tu hys-h |
fys-t | fysem-h nu fysem-h |
fyset-h vu fyset-h |
fysen-t | |
| Imperative | eh-h | som-* | est-* | ||||
| Infinitive | esr | ||||||
| Present participle | sen-h | ||||||
| Past participle | œsud-h | ||||||
| Gerund | sœn-n (sen-) | ||||||
Conjugation of star
| Singular | Plural | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First | Second | Third | First | Second | Third | ||
| Indicative | Present | sto-* eo sto-* |
sta-h tu sta-h |
sta-t | stam-h nu stam-h |
stat-h vu stat-h |
stan-t |
| Imperfect | stav-n eo stav-n |
stav-h tu stav-h |
stav-t | stavam-h nu stavam-h |
stavat-h vu stavat-h |
stavan-t | |
| Past | stedi-* eo stedi-* |
stedist-* tu stedist-* |
stedi-t | stedem-h nu stedem-h |
stedest-h vu stedest-h |
stederon-t | |
| Future | star-* eo star-* |
star-h tu star-h |
star-t | starm-h nu starm-h |
start-h vu start-h |
staron-t | |
| Conditional | steder-* eo steder-* |
steder-h tu steder-h |
steder-t | stederem-h nu stederem-h |
stederet-h vu stederet-h |
stederen-t | |
| Subjunctive | Present | ste-n eo ste-n |
ste-h tu ste-h |
ste-t | stem-h nu stem-h |
stet-h vu stet-h |
sten-t |
| Past | stedes-n eo stedes-n |
stedes-h tu stedes-h |
stedes-t | stedesem-h nu stedesem-h |
stedeset-h vu stedeset-h |
stedesen-t | |
| Imperative | sta-* | stam-* | stat-* | ||||
| Infinitive | star-* | ||||||
| Present participle | stan-h | ||||||
| Past participle | stad-h | ||||||
| Gerund | ston-n (stan-) | ||||||
Conjugation of aver
| Singular | Plural | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First | Second | Third | First | Second | Third | ||
| Indicative | Present | ai-* eo ai-* |
ah-h tu ah-h |
av-t | vem-h nu vem-h |
vet-h vu vet-h |
en-t |
| Imperfect | avev-n eo avev-n |
avev-h tu avev-h |
avev-t | avevam-h nu h'avevam-h |
avevat-h vu h'avevat-h |
avevan-t | |
| Past | avy-* eo avy-* |
avyst-* tu avyst-* |
avy-t | avym-h nu h'avym-h |
avyst-h vu h'avyst-h |
avyron-t | |
| Future | ver-* eo ver-* |
ver-h tu ver-h |
ver-t | verm-h nu verm-h |
vert-h vu vert-h |
veron-t | |
| Conditional | avyr-* eo avyr-* |
avyr-h tu avyr-h |
avyr-t | avyrem-h nu h'avyrem-h |
avyret-h vu h'avyret-h |
avyren-t | |
| Subjunctive | Present | vi-n eo vi-n |
vi-h tu vi-h |
vi-t | viam-h nu viam-h |
viat-h vu viat-h |
vian-t |
| Past | avys-n eo avys-n |
avys-h tu avys-h |
avys-t | avysem-h nu h'avysem-h |
avyset-h vu h'avyset-h |
avysen-t | |
| Imperative | av-* | vem-* | vet-* | ||||
| Infinitive | aver-* | ||||||
| Present participle | aven-h | ||||||
| Past participle | aved-h | ||||||
| Gerund | avœn-n (aven-) | ||||||