Language scratchpad/Romlang scratchpad

This page contains a language under construction.

Sound changes
The sound changes common to all Romance languages are the following:
 * Unconditional loss of /h/
 * Loss of /n/ before a voiceless fricative (with compensatory lengthening of the preceding vowel)
 * Loss of unstressed word-final /m/ (this may have caused compensatory lengthening)

The outcome of vowels is as follows:

The differences between */ɛ/ and */e/, and */ɔ/ and */o/, are neutralised in unstressed syllables. The Classical Latin diphthong /eu̯/ did not survive in Vulgar Latin.

Stressed vowels in open syllables and final syllables with a single consonant coda are lengthened. Unstressed vowels before hiatus become semivowels (I am not sure about */a/, though).

Vulgar Latin to Proto-West Romance

 * /w/ → /β/ (does not affect labiovelars)
 * /j/ → [ʝ] → [ɟ]
 * /z/ → [ʑ] → [ɟ]
 * Where /s/ is followed by a consonant, /e/ is inserted before the /s/.
 * /k/ → [kʲ] → [c] before front vowels
 * /g/ → [gʲ] → [ɟ] before front vowels
 * /sk/ → [skʲ] → [çc] before front vowels
 * [c, ɟ] → /t͡ʃ, d͡ʒ/
 * [çc] → /ʃt͡ʃ/ (this had different outcomes depending on the outcome of /t͡ʃ/; if the latter became /t͡s/ → /s/, then the result is /sː/, otherwise the result is /ʃː/)
 * /kʷ/ → /k/ before back vowels
 * /kʷ/ → [kᶣ] before front vowels (except *cinque "five" and related terms)
 * /l/ → [ɫ] before a consonant
 * /b, d, g/ → /β, ð, ɣ/ between vowels and between a vowel and /r/
 * /p, t, k/ → /b, d, g/ (also affects /kʷ/ and [kᶣ]) between vowels and between a vowel and /r/
 * Degemination of voiceless stops (reintroducing short /p, t, k/) between vowels and between a vowel and /r/
 * Geminate voiced stops become a nasal + stop sequence
 * /pl/ → /bl/ between vowels
 * /tl/ → /kl/ between vowels
 * /kl, gl/ → /ʎː/ between vowels
 * /ŋn/ → /ɲː/
 * /n(d)j/ → /ɲː/
 * /lj/ → /ʎː/
 * /rj/ → /rʲː/?
 * /sj/ → /sʲː/
 * /tj/ → /t͡sʲː/
 * /dj/ → [d͡zʲː] → /d͡ʒ/
 * [kᶣ, gᶣ] → /k, g/
 * /pt, ps/ → /tː, sː/
 * /k/ → /j/ before /t/ and /s/
 * /d͡ʒ/ → /j/ between vowels
 * /d/ is lost word-finally

Numbers in Proto-West Romance: Notes on orthography:
 * Grave accent represents open-mid vowels; both it and the acute represent stress.
 * &lt;c&gt; represents /t͡ʃ/ before front vowels, /k/ otherwise (the former is also represented by &lt;č&gt;).
 * &lt;h&gt; represents /ɣ/.
 * &lt;g&gt; represents /d͡ʒ/ before front vowels, /g/ otherwise (the former is also represented by &lt;j&gt;).

I presume three declensional classes in Proto-West Romance; I am a bit unsure about the existence of the genitive and dative cases (here I assume they existed based on their existence in pronouns).

First declension:

Second declension:

Third declension:

The third declension may have irregular nominative singular forms (e.g. *òmo "man", stem *òmen-).

The pronominal declension had genitive singulars ending in *-(j)os (the *-(j)- indicates palatalisation of the stem) and dative singulars ending in *-i or *-wi; the definite article ancestors *elle and *epse, along with the demonstrative *este, had irregular masculine nominative singular forms.

First conjugation:

Second conjugation:

Copula: The copula is the only verb I know that retains the Latin future. Evidence of its existence is found in Old French (iert "one will be") and in Spanish (the form eres "you (singular) are", which replaced the expected *es).

Post-West Romance developments
Non-final unstressed vowels (not including diphthongs) occurring directly after stressed syllables are unconditionally lost, while for non-initial syllables directly before a stressed syllable only /a/ (becoming /e/) and diphthongs are preserved.

Nouns
First declension:

Second declension masculine:

Second declension neuter:

Third declension common:

Third declension neuter:

Personal pronouns
Only the personal pronouns have special instrumental forms (which may be reinforced with the preposition kon).

Third person:

The reduced forms above also act as the definite article.

Demonstrative pronouns

 * Proximal: eit
 * Medial: es
 * Distal: akell

Interrogative and relative pronouns
Interrogative:

Relative:

Adjectives
First and second declension:

Third declension:

Comparative:

Some adjectives have irregular derived forms:

Cardinal numerals
The reduced form acts as the indefinite article.

Verbs
First conjugation (e.g. amar "to love"):

Endings:

With the exception of dar ("to give", 3s ind. past deiot) and eitar ("to stand", 3s ind. past eitediot), all first conjugation verbs have past forms in -ai-/-o-. All regular first conjugation verbs have only one principal part (past tense -ai-/-o-, past participle -adu).

Second conjugation (e.g. tenir "to hold"):

By principal part:
 * 1: Plain
 * 2: Stressed
 * 3: Stressed + palatalised
 * 4: Palatalised

Third conjugation (e.g. čir "to move away from, to yield"):

By principal part:
 * 1: Stressed
 * 2: Plain

Fourth conjugation (e.g. venir "to come"):

By principal part:
 * 1: Plain
 * 2: Stressed
 * 3: Stressed + palatalised
 * 4: Palatalised

For the second, third and fourth conjugations, the past tense and past participle form separate principal parts. There are three possible past tense conjugations, of which one is exclusive to the first conjugation and alar ("to go").

First conjugation:

Second conjugation:

Third conjugation:

If an ending beginning with -v- directly follows a consonant, then it morphs into -u-. If an ending beginning with -r- (but not the infinitive -r, which is generally pronounced with an epenthetic vowel after a consonant) directly follows a consonant, then it may undergo the following developments:

Irregular verbs
Copula (eitr):

Existential (fir):

The existential and the copula share the same past tense forms.

To have (avir):

To go (alar):

To be able (pudir):

To want (vulir):

Related to the above verb are the imperative forms nuli and nulid (which form a defective paradigm), which are used to form polite prohibitives (just as the imperatives of vulir are used to form polite imperatives).

To do (far):

Vocabulary

 * /Swadesh list


 * /Vocabulary/Science/Chemistry/Chemical elements

Numerals
All noun-like cardinals (one thousand and higher) are neuter.

Examples
/Syntax tests