The Drydic Language: a grammar

The Dryds (Drüds) are the barbarians who have conquered the north of the Rhêghîl valley. They invaded 500 years ago (2345 K^h-ōd), displacing the Udraþ feudal states, establishing their own powerful kingdom (with its own feudal states). Their companions, the Wargs, are mostly settled in the Dryd Kingdom, but a few have their own state to the East of the Salanjan Kingdom. The Arēsæd are now masters of the Steppe (raskalb^hâs in Salanjan), which formerly was part of the Drydic Kingdom. The Drydic Language itself is fairly conservative, and it is close to the Old Udraþ texts of the late Salanjan Empire.

Sounds

Bilabial lab-dnt. Dental alveolar pal.-alv. palatal[1] velar uvular glottal

Stop p b - - - - t d - - k9 ğ k g q - /

Nasal - m - - - - - n - - - - - ŋ

Fricative φ β f v þ ð s z š ž ç - x γ - h[2]

Lateral - - - - - l

Rhotic - - - - - r[3]

Vowels:

y ī u

e o

æ

a å

Proto-Drydic had vowels *ē, *ĕ, *ō, *ŏ, but they collapsed into Western Drydic e, o. This has important morphological consequences. They are still written as long or short by the careful, and by speakers of those dialects which haven’t lost the distinction, however.

Semivowels:

w and j

Morphophonemic variation

The consonant assimilations of Drydic are fairly simple, with only a few points of difficulty. Unless otherwise noted, the alternations are written.

1. /t/ + /l/ > /tsl/

2. /d/ + /l/ > /dzl/

3. Nasal assimilation:

a. /m/ + /k^w/, /g^w/ > /ŋ^w/, written <ŋm>

b. /m/ + /t/, /d/ > /n/

c. /n/ + /p/, /b/ > /m/

d. /ŋ/ + /k^w/, /g^w/ > /ŋ^w/, written <ŋm>

e. /n/ + /k9/, /ğ/ > /ň/ [ŋ^j]

4. a fricative after a nasal usually becomes an affricate: /n/ + /š/ > /nč/, /n/ + /s/ > /nts/, /ŋ/ + /x/ > /ŋkx/

5. CC = /Cù/, except in the case of <-rr-> mentioned in footnote 2 above.

6. voicing assimilation is regressive, namely:

a. tg /dg/

b. gt /kt/ (note: PDU *kt clusters regularly palatalise in Lan, to /č/, while in Standard Drydic the velar assimilates: /kt/ > /tt/; in Šorakeilos, they have been retained as /kt/)

7. /h/ before a voiceless plosive, regardless of articulation, becomes /x/: dehtos /dextos/

8. /h/ in the verbalisation –haunan aspirates the preceding consonant: alt- 'stream' + -haunan > althaunan [alt^haUnan] 'to flow'.

9. Actual realisation of unstressed vowels varies for the vowel. Of course, a pronounciation of the actual vowel is common, and is very acceptable.

a. /y/ without stress results in [u]; /y/ as the second member of a diphthong is realised as [ç];

b. /i/ without stress results in [i]; /i/ as the second member of a diphthong is realised as [j];

c. /ei, e/ without stress result in [‚I];

d. /ε/ without stress results in [ε];

e. /æ/ without stress results in [Œ];

f. /a/ without stress results in [Œ4], or what would be *[a], a central low unrounded vowel;

g. /u/ without stress results in [ü] (high back centralised);

h. /ŭ, o/ without stress result in [U_];

i. /å/ without stress results in [Ï].

Morphology

a-stems

Sg Pl

Nominative -as -ai

Genitive -oi -alū

Ablative -ād -ūros

Dative -ai -ents

Accusative -un -ōs

Locative -ī -nūs

A-stems are usually feminine, and as such can be used as an abstraction suffix; this is a trunicated form of the PDK *-ta-a-s, PDU *-ā-s, Kerinidoi –tauos. Known as the så ĵaβanas, or ‘first group’.

o-stems

Sg Pl

Nom. -os -az

Gen. -ēk -olū

Abl. -ōd -ūros

Dat. -ai -ents

Acc. -em -ōs

Loc. -ī -nūs

The o-stems are typically used to form concrete objects, and are used in many dialects as a crude substitute for the agentive –nas; this has been extended in such dialects as Lan and Western Peninsular as –nos. Known as the kače ĵaβanoi, or ‘second group’.

ī-stems, ē-, l-, ū-stems

Sg Pl

Nom. -s (usually) -ūs (neuters take the l-stem plural: -ūls)

Gen. various _{(see note below)} -lū

Abl. -ūd (u-stems) -ūros

Dat. -ai -ents

Acc. -om -ūs (neuters take the l-stem plural: -ūls)

Loc. -ī -nūs

Mostly used now for nominal forms of adjectives, but is also used, as in the colloquial dialects which have lost the 6^th, as a neuter declension, uo-stems having moved almost wholesale into the o-stems. R-stems and n/m-stems have moved into this declension as well, only retaining the distinct genitives –or and –on, r-stems also having the genitive plural -irrū. Generally called the flū ĵaβanoi, ‘third group’.

The genitive singular is the only case that still distinguishes the different stems consistantly: ī-stems have –io, ē-stems have –eo, l-stems have –iol, and the aforementioned r-stem –or/-irru, and the n/m-stem –on.

uo-stems Neut.

Sg Pl

Nom. -uos -ijār

Gen. -ēk -olū

Abl. -ōd -ūros

Dat. -ai -ents

Acc. -uem -ijār

Loc. -ī -nūs

Used almostly exclusively in the written language, proved to be too similar to the o-stems for their existance to be justified. Pedants frequently use the plural –ijār on nouns which have no historical link to the uo-stems. Known as žēm ĵaβanoi, ‘sixth group’.

Adjectives

Declension 1

Sg Pl

f m n f m n

Nominative -as -os -s -ai -az -ūls

Genitive -oi -ēk -- -alū -olū --

Ablative -ād -ōd -- -ūros -- --

Dative -ai -- -- -ents -- --

Accusative -un -em -m -ōs -as -ūls

Locative -ī -- -- -nūs -- --

Names mostly states, colors, and other concrete adjectives.

Declension 2

Sg Pl

f m n f m n

Nominative -is -is -Ø -ūs -ūs -ūls

Genitive -iol -iēk -iēk -alū -olū --

Ablative -iād -iōd -- -ūros -- --

Dative -iaj -- -- -ents -- --

Accusative -un -em -iu -ūs -ūs -ūls

Locative -īn -- -- -nūs -- --

Used for abstract meanings, mostly philosophical and religious terminology.

Comparatives

-inna- plus the following endings (from *-i:n- + *-na:):

Sg Pl

f m n f m n

Nominative -is -is -Ø -ūs -ūs -ūls

Genitive -iol -iēk -iēk -alū -olū --

Ablative -iād -iōd -- -ūros -- --

Dative -iaj -- -- -ents -- --

Accusative -un -em -iu -ūs -ūs -ūls

Locative -ī -- -- -nūs -- --

Superlatives

-irrēl- plus the following endings:

Sg Pl

f m n f m n

Nominative -as -os -s -ai -az -ūls

Genitive -oi -ēk -- -alū -olū --

Ablative -ād -ōd -- -ūros -- --

Dative -ai -- -- -ents -- --

Accusative -un -em -m -ōs -as -ūls

Locative -ī -- -- -nūs -- --

Pronouns

Sg Pl

1^st Person

Nom. ula nōs

Gen. mon nōlu

Abl. mel nel

Dat. mū nū

Acc. ulem nōs

The Nominative and Accusative first person singular originally had the stem *(m)ala, but the Drydo-Udraþ tribes evidently thought highly of themselves, and changed it to conform with the adjective *ul-a-s 'amazing, perfect' which is shown in Kerinidoi ul- 'great' and Arēsæd-Salor *ul-a-s, 'stupefying, amazing, perfect'.

2^nd Person

Nom. sa kōs

Gen. son kōlu

Abl. sel kel

Dat. sū kū

Acc. sulem kōs

3^rd Person

Sg Pl

f m n f m n

Nom. tas tos tuos tai tuī tuls

Gen. toi ton - talū tolū tolū

Abl. tōd - - tål - -

Dat. tū - - tents - -

Acc. tun tem tulem tōs tēs tulēs

Loc. tī - - tenūs - -

emphatic pronoun ('he himself'):

Sg Pl

f m n f m n

Nom. las los luos lai luī luls

Gen. loi lēk - lalū lolū -

Abl. lād lōd - lål - -

Dat. lai - - lents - -

Acc. lun lem lulem lōs lēs lulēs

Loc. lī - - lenūs - -

Correlative Pronouns

The correlative pronouns are those pronouns that are not personal or emphatic.

(suffix the -el- from the verbal inflection to form “that”; suffix the other evidentiality infixes to form other grades of demonstratives –tī- 'this here', -sī- 'yonder'.

Sg Pl

m/f n m/f n

Nom. or orr orōs orēs

Gen. oror oror olu oralu

Abl. orål orōd orel orål

Dat. orū orī orū orū

Acc. orem orr orēs orēs

Loc. orī orī ornūs ornūs

what?: S P

Nom ĵvẽ ĵvẽ

Gen ĵvẽk ĵvõlu

Abl ĵvõd ĵvũros

Dat ĵvãi ĵvẽnts

Acc ĵvẽm ĵvõs

Loc ĵvĩ ĵvnũs

correlative table:

who this that some no any all -ever

Adj ĵv·as orr orel tt·as kr·as fa-ĵv·as xe-ĵv·as ĵv·asex

Person ĵv·as orr orel tt·as kr·as fa-ĵv·as xe-ĵv·as ĵv·asex

Thing ĵvẽ orẽr orẽl kẽtas kẽras fa-ĵvẽ xe-ĵvẽ ĵvẽx

-the following do not decline-

Time ĵáva orára orála kétas kérãs fa-ĵáva xe-ĵáva ĵávax

Place ĵvĩ orī orelī ttī krī fa-ĵvĩ xe-ĵvī ĵvĩx

Way ĵvõdda orōdda orelōdda ttōdda krōdda fa-ĵvōdda xe-ĵvōdda ĵvōddax

Amount ĵvũ orū orelū ttū krū fa-ĵvū xe-ĵvū ĵvūx

Reason ĵvõgá orogá orelogá ketgá kergá fa-ĵvõgá xe-ĵvõgá ĵvõgáx

The forms of 'where', 'how', 'how much', 'why' are, respectively, Locative, Ablative-Instrumental, pronominal Dative, and pronominal Instrumental cases of the pronouns (fa-ĵvẽ, xe-ĵvẽ, orr, orel, ttas, kras, and ĵvẽx. obviously, some trends can be discerned here: a prefix fa- directly translating into English as 'some-', cf. Latin ali(-quis); xe-, with a collective meaning (cf. Salanjan a-), and, as a suffix, shows up in the series for 'PRON-ever', ĵvasex, ĵvosex, ĵvuosex. The loss of the –e is a regular feature, as the morpheme goes back to a Proto-Šiffaraxtī *khε, which is suspiciously similar, in both form and meaning, to the Locative-Relative *i:kh.

Verbal Conjugation

Levels of evidentiality:

1. -tī- seen by the speaker

2. -el- seen by someone else

3. -sī- not seen, but it is probable

4. -zī- sacrosanct, but not seen by anyone living

Moods:[4]

1.-a-, -e-, -al/el- indicative

2.-å-, -o-, -ol- subjunctive

3./stem/ imperative

Tenses:

Imperfective aspect:

1. Present ---

Dutiam gatulátrs gatulents The demon speaks of darkness.

2.-bV- Imperfect

Dutibam drydos draunai ĵáva… The man was speaking of the throne when…

3.-ĕk- Future

Dutiekai laŋgauents I will speak of legs.

Perfective aspect:

4. –eli- Perfect

Dutieliasu štonai kugūtta We two have spoken of luck without the stone.

Note should be made that the Drydic Perfect in –eli- is, in origin, the exact same type of construction as English I’ve done, French j'ai fait, and Spanish he hecho. Lan still uses this type of construction: dŏkjilis ĕlai, dŏkjilis ĕlao, Drydic dočīeliai, dočīeliao. Old Lan, with intransitive verbs, used dŏkjans as an auxiliary instead of ĕlans, reflecting an earlier stage in the language where the person markers were not used to distinguish transitives from intransitives. Lan Drydic also continues the analytic construction, as dok9ilis ĕlei, dok9ilis eleo.

5. stem reduplication–eli- Pluperfect

K9ek9aïnitielinul kẽtun, deaqōtsun We’d smelled something about the wall.

6. –eliĕk- Future Perfect

Elieliekai elanta čanlun toziaiap I have to have had an idea by Friday(~).

Neutral Aspect

7. stem reduplication: Preterit

Sõn sasoråitō I bound them.

Personal Endings:

Active Passive

Sg D Pl Sg D Pl

1^st -Vi -Vsu -Vnūl -Vir -Vsur -Vnūr

2^nd -Vo -Vtel -Vtos -Vor -Vtelor -k^war

3^rd -Vm -Vmp -Vntē -Vŋkur[5]-Vmpur -Vntūr

Impersonal:

S D P

-sai -tlai -tsai

The impersonal verb agrees in number with the object, which remains in the oblique case it has. This Ergative patterning is very interesting in such a extremely Nominative-Accusative aligned language such as Drydic.

Infinitives:

Active:-an, -ar*; -en†, -er*; -el†

Passive:-am, -air*; -em†, -er*; -ele†

Past infinitive: A: -alan

P: -alem

Past Perfect Infinitive: A: Gerund + -alī.

†The three conjugations diffir in the root vowel of the Indicative personal ending: for the 1st, -a-, 2nd, -e-, 3rd, -al/el-.

*The second forms for the infinitive are the infinitives for the optative mood, which suffixes the infixes and endings directly to the infinitive. The Third Conjugation has no optative mood, and uses the optative forms of dok9an + the Gerund to form the optative. Also, many verbs have an optative in -ī-, the exact same as the Lan, Udraþ, Eastern Drydic, and Highland Udraþ forms. These verbs are noted in the lexicon.

Passive Participle:

1. present stem + -(i)s, -eo

Active Participle:

1. stem + -as, -os, or -uos.

Voice-neutral participle:

1. stem + -(a)þeras, -(o)þeros, -(o)þeruos.

The stem infix order for verbs is fixed, and can be portrayed as this:

/base stem/+/evidentiality/+/mood/+/tense/+/personal ending/(+/clictic/)

Irregular verbs

-nā: be

present

nā

imperfect

-banā

Perfect

-elinā

Future

-nāk

Preterit

-nānā

Texts

The following group is an exerpt from The Kerinid Wars, by Dajolos G^hûl, head of the combined Drydic and Udraþ armies during the Defense is Offence, South Valley, and Victory campaigns. His style is a very ridgid Western Drydic, leaning towards Lan, and absolutely no Udraþ features. Most texts are not this coödinated with the Standard language. He is a great writer, and his works are studied in advanced schools across the Drydic, Udraþ, and Salanjan kingdoms, and even in Uhor, the Kerinidoi capital (as an example of Foreign styles). Dajolos constantly refers to himself in the third person, as that is a mark of humility in Western Drydic and Lan.

Dēgalastslartīeliaŋkur Dajol-os geŋīkōs dīdī

<attack ( caus. pers. Perf. 3^rd sg. Pass) Dajolos (Nom. sg) unit (Acc. pl) fortress (Loc. sg)

dūnuem-ĕn k9oulād-ga.

hill (Acc. sg)-on fire(abl.)-with.>

Dajolos ordered the units to launch an attack at the fortress on the hill with fire. (note that the k9oulād-ga is prnounced as [k^jouladda])

Laŋg^haunsīelibantē kruçiastorūs levaṇ-ṣimanī xeratoriēk

<walk (prob. Plu 3^rd pl) kruçiastor (nom pl) across boundary (loc) empire (gen sg)

attū lantalsībantē orelu-nūl semel-lend^hai

& move (prob I 3^rd pl) that(Abl sg) after across plain (dat sg)

ana-g^wherdiamnnūs.

towards pine trees (Loc pl)>

The kruhiastor walked across the empire's boundary, and then they moved across the open plain to the pine trees.

Garĭk, rēkun okulenun, dūr teranijār Šaolēk

<Sleep(Imp.) little(f. sg.Acc) girl (Acc. sg.) for cares(Nom/Acc.pl) Šaol(gen.sg.)

ēdok9sīantūr ton.

be(neg.prob.3^rd.Pl. pass) thou (gen.sg)>

Sleep, little one, for the cares of the world are not yours.

This sentence has a formation that would be impossible in any Terran Western language, namely a passive form of to be. This is used in most Samerian languages (that have distinct Active and Passive voices retained from Proto-Samerian, even if the forms are different; Illanī is a language that has not retained this construction) to indicate an impersonal construction of sorts. However, this construction is distinct from the actual impersonal constructions, as those are formed with no consistancy across the family. Sometimes the Passive of dok9an can be translated as 'can'.

The following story is from the Memoirs of Audos the Librarian, written around

2573 k^h-ōd.

{Note: the setting for this story is a social call by Audos, a merchant, on Dinor, a scholar.}[Roman punctation conventions have been generally followed here, but Capitals are not used, with only the first word of a phrase-sentence capitalised.]

Audos: 'Vai, sa, Aistīelibeo šan Šiffaraktai? Dur, dočīam sameras polaskōs-al.'

Dinor: 'Čan, dočīai[6] kešaror geŋikas. Lantaltultībei bergōdda, čantōs-en, attū soralartībantē elantēaz polaskī tulinon geŋikai ulem. Apaunelelibantē sainalōs-ot, ĵvẽ dočīantē duraninnen faraltuos raskalem-en, attū foenīkéos faraltiskos gerianerībem mū. ĵáva aistīelibenūl ¼ pamai-ēn, degalastelibanūl ṣrī-dauerādda, orēs kaštīelībentē šræĭggun. Apaunelem dok9artīelibantē ulem sōlu elend^hêm-ot, ĵvẽ dočīelībam kerinidolū xeratoriuos, ēgitem-en bergōs. Φortīantē teiralărī, φoraþerī, teiralăratrī, φoralþerī kēžogostī gatulai-ĕn. Ēvazeþerainā aragōlu raianōs kēbexekeranūs kēfaraþeranūs oγanūs-uē pamēk īn þeronnū raianōs, īn aŋapaunsīantē ožōseus-tōs aŋłantalsīantē laŋgauem laŋgauem-ōt. Jan, klailtīelibai jan keakunan, ĵáva akuntīelibantē durirrēluem brutuem u9irōlu (dočīelibantē døčaz[7]), attū dasadantīaintūr aža žogostan aža sõn kedočīeliai orelorī. Šan čan katatīeliai sorem ana-alasolī pamī kerinidōs-en šræĭggun uhorem-ot, Kerinidōlu ar-araxelem. ttīpas šan čan kattībī šiffaraxtun šræiggbasun-ĕn, lir elīai gačalan tem.

Vaidukxa, xantīem teirōs saōs, baraltīelibanūl aqaudai-ĕn, jan sameroi ṣimanī-en. Ŋauŋtē u9argaz-nā šræiggem-en, šai kēdočīantē čīgån-nō araγorēs. Xantīenūl ĵáva ttūmem-ōt, ðrūainā xedai samerai-en, lantaltīeliantē-nō-en zeimpasai, attū deliantē nū esþerun, domālem, laŋgauhaunem šiffaraktai-ōt. The next day, we set out. Now Sameria is a huge country, one which is much larger than the Rhêghîl valley and the Daralec Desert combined. About three weeks later, we pulled into Šiffarakt. That place is a shit-hole; the Samarians just dump their shit and piss into the streets, and it is amazing the way that people will live. Anyway, I found the Šiffaraxtī archive building, (one of the Wargs, Fonar by name, was accompaning me; we were both trying to get back to Nar-Rhêghîl), and befreinded one of the scholars, Gefrandeil. The scholars in Šiffarakt are powerful, and wealthy, so we did not have to worry about lodgings. Anyway, he took down examples of Drydic, Udraþ, Eastern Drydic, Lan, Arēsæd, and the Zēīn dialects that I know. Linguistics is a major field there, where the ability to speak another language is highly praised. They even had examples from the Indo-European languages of Terras (Earth)! Well, we wanted to get back here, so we stated our farewells, at which time Gefrandeil supplied us with a Fœnikéan ship, a supply ship, and a Keltik man-of-war. He also gave us a large bequest of money to start an Archive library in Nar-Rhêghîl. He said that when he completed his current study, he would move here, too.

Orīnā ðrūos kēsineos šiffaraxtīnai-ĕn, šan elekam xeratueriēk guralun (kēn šai feigīam, aža). Ožnas akunas.'

Audos: 'Ažanā, douros ožnas! Feigao fa-guralun orelōd Archive project-ga-k^we?'

Dinor: 'Help? Ažanā, we need some help! Me and Fonar can't do everything.'

Audos: 'Just let me settle orem šounēr-ĕn oráranā, attū I'll give you all the help you need.'

Dinor: 'Thanks, man! I appreciate this, really.'

Audos: 'No prob, bro! I'm getting a little tired of the shipping business myself.'

Guralun-nā: esōkuŋelekantē kruçīastorēs krūxōs wīrōlū.

‘Be careful: The Kruhīastor are starting to acquire a taste for human flesh.’

Xantīem-mō behekeros, lir kēltīekam-mō; Gačaliĕkem-mō gatulos.

‘The light comes for me, but it will not have me; Darkness will take me.’

The form kēltīekam is, although it seems not to be at first sight, a form of ĕlan.

Alĕlsīntē drydōsaz Šaolēk så ožem attū dūlem.

All the peoples of the Earth had one language and one speech.

Dok9sīam kanātta kēožos anas.

No language without imperfections is perfect.

Kaitasai uīrōs fanuōs, čīgoasai gatulátrēs,

attū folasai dharmun, Nōkuŋai k^haianōdents-en.

To deliver the holy men, to destroy the evil-doers
and to restore righteousness (dharma), I take birth in every age.
(from the Bhagavadgita)

“Lir kēdok9asai kēkaxausenta kēnk^we?” dodūk^weai.

<but be_{neg.impers.sg} ruler_{neg.Acc.Abess} not_? Ask_pret-1sg>

"But can nothing be done against a usurper?" I asked.

Flū xaŋaz Goruālu Eldauents dīōtçuō

Zaŋa Seuŋai K^hazādents kočatants-en tulenēk

Xy kāþanūents laigents čīgoans kāþanūens- kāþanūos mortal man

Så Goruai gatulos gatuldraunem-en

Mordorun-en ĵáva gatulaz šaddīentē

Så xaŋos rēganstō, så xaŋos kubanstō

Så xaŋos bheighaunasaitō attū gatulemen sõn sasoråntō

Mordorun-en ĵáva gatulaz šaddīentē.

Three Rings for the Elven Kings under the sky
Seven for the Dwarf Lords, in their halls of stone
Nine for mortal Men doomed to die
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the land of Mordor where the shadows lie
One Ring to rule them all, one Ring to find them
One Ring to bring them together and in darkness bind them
In the land of Mordor where the shadows lie

English King James version

And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.
Alĕlsīntē drydōsaz Šaolēk så ožem attū dūlem.

And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.
Sånānā,

And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.

And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.

And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.

So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.

Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.

New International Version

Now the whole world had one language and a common speech.
Alĕlsīntē drydōsaz Šaolēk så ožem attū dūlem.
As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.

They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar.

Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth."

But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building.

The LORD said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.

Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other."

So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city.

That is why it was called Babel -- because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

The north wind and the sun were disputing which was the stronger, when a traveller came along wrapped in a warm cloak. They agreed that the one who first succeeded in making the traveller take his cloak off should be considered stronger than the other. Then the north wind blew as hard as he could, but the more he blew the more closely did the traveller fold his cloak around him; and at last the north wind gave up the attempt. Then the sun shone out warmly, and immediately the traveller took off his cloak. And so the north wind was obliged to confess that the sun was the stronger of the two.

"Love is a feeling you feel when you feel you are about to feel a feeling you never felt before. " -- Anonymous

Syntax

Drydic is a heavily inflected language, so word order is not a major issue; however, the unmarked word order tends to be either VSO or VOS. Adverbs may be placed between the main verb and the auxillary.

The coupola of Drydic is a monosyllabic clitic -nā, used not only where English uses there is/are (a better example being Spanish hay), but also as a replacement for dok9an in non-emphatic statements. In an interesting display of Ergativity, it takes an Accusative for its subject in gerundival constructions, with the Gerundive remaining in the Nominative singular: Þualun-nā ‘Þual exists’.

Indirect Statements are oscilating between the Subjunctive mood and the Infinitive, with all the tense distinctions evident in both; some verbs carry a meaning distinction as to whether or not they are followed by an infinitive or a subjunctive, one of these being dok9an: with the infinitive, it means 'it is necessary that…', and with the subjunctive, means 'it is permitted that…'. Examples:

dok9sībam aisen šiffaraktai-ot. 'I had to go to to Šiffarakt.'

dok9sībam aisoi šiffaraktai-ot. 'They let me go to Šiffarakt.'

The Imperative is used for commands, and a Vocative of sorts exists as the bare stem in order to be used with the Imperative. Nominative dependancies are the Subject of the sentence, and the predicate nominative with the coupola dok9an, and its compounds. {{The Genitive expresses possession, the partitive Genitive, and the Agentive Genitive. The Ablative’s uses are: Ablative of opposition; Ablative of Denial (with some of the prepositional verbs); Ablative of Patient; Ablative of accompaniment; and Ablative of Time. Dative: Indirect object of main verb; Dative of Movement to. Accusative: Direct object of the main verb; Accusative of Distance where; Accusative as Subject.

Locative: Locative of movement from; Locative of Movement; Locative of Directional Movement; Loc of Showing.}}

The verbal nouns of Drydic are used in a way which is peculiar to Western Drydic, and has no known parralel in European languages. The Gerund(ive) is used to denote an action that is sequentially related to the main verb in the clause. The Drydic sentence ĵáva eisaisam esos Dajolos domōs-ot 'Dajol ate on his way to the village,' literally 'when he-went eating (ger.) Dajol village-to' illustrates the point very well.

The differences between Drydic, Lan and Udraþ/Eastern Drydic in the verbal noun system are suprising. No concord is present in the meanings of otherwise related forms. The Dryds seem to have no use for a Past or Future participle separate from the Present, but they require two differing verbal noun constructions. It should be noted that colloquial texts use the Gerund for the Present participle, the Participle for the Preterit, and the Gerundive for the Future.

Mood use:

Indicative

The Indicative is the simple mood, used to express direct statements, questions (with -k^we) and general truths:

Dočīai tuluīr. “I am Iron Man.”

Foltīam deaqos laŋgau9ens. “The wall is made of legs.”

Subjunctive

(may) Used when expressing doubt or futurity (in certain works of both poetry and prose, the present subjunctive is used instead of the future indicative, and the two alternate).

The conditional mood is formed by the Perfect Subjunctive, usually with a adverb introducing the clause. If…then clauses use the conditional, rather than the normal subjunctive:

koi ēbomem pamos, šai aisōkuŋelibom lakuerpasos.

<if flow(3^rd sg pres) river (Nom.sg.) then move(Plu.subj.3^rd sg) water (Nom.sg)>

If the river flows, then water moves. (Drydic proverb; basically means, 'if you have lemons, then make lemonade'; a very interestion proverb).

Imperative

Direct Command:

Čeigo, kajaxun deaqem! Die, evil wall!

The Imperative is very common; The Western cultural style of 'politeness' (a word that does not exist in Drydic, Udraþ, or Salanjan) is nonexistent in most Šaolic cultures. No such things as the pseudo-questions ('Will you go with me?' as opposed to 'Come with me!') are used, or indeed even exist, the Imperative being used.

Optative

The Optative mood is used when expressing a wish or desire (the Desiderivative Optative):

kat(t)īai aikem 'I wish that I could get a goat'

It also indicates an event whose happening is unconirfmed, and probably untrue (in apposition to the 3^rd level of evidentiality), e.g.,

farsīantē hartaggai aqautē-ēn 'the Hartaggas live on the cliffs, I tell you!' with the 3^rd evidentiality;

versus

fartīarantē hartaggai aqautē-ēn 'Yeah, the Hartaggai live on the cliffs. (You're full of shit!)' with the Optative.

The Optative also can express time plus quam perfectum, and is used as such in alternation with the Pluperfect which is used as an Aorist in these cases. Examples are:

rĕrēgam geŋikōs. 'He led the units.'

--versus--

1. rēgaram geŋikōs, šai eiaisak9alīam āβālonun-ot. 'He had led the units, and then he sailed to Áválon.'

-or-

2. rēgaram geŋikōs, ĵáva aisak9alaþerun āβālonun-ot.

<lead(opt.3^rd sg) unit (acc.pl) when sail (gerundive[Acc. sg.]) Áválon(Acc.sg.)-to>

The latter two sentences mean the exact same thing; they are mostly equal in use, but the Gerundival is encroaching slightly.

The Optative can also stand in contrast with the subunctive as an aspectual past:present(indicative):future system, in complement to the tense system; this trick is used very often in poetry. Conditional clauses are also formed using Optative mood, the meaning usually slightly differing from the Perfect Subjunctive.

Verbal prefixes:

1. kē- prefix negating the verb:

dočiantē geŋikoi 'they are the units'

kēdočiantē geŋikoi 'they are not the units'

General Affixes:

1. -k^we suffix indicating a question

2. –tē adverbial suffix

Verbal infixes:

1. -ie- : intransitive infix

2. -os-: augmentive

3. –ĭšl8: verbalising affix; is an intransitive suffix in denominative verbs

4. -haunan: verbalising affix; is a transitive suffix in denominative verbs; also produces regular stems for irregular verbs.

5. -ōkuŋ-: inchoative

6. -lăr- causative

7. -lăllăr- remote causative, causative removed, e.g., 'to cause to cause to ____' (from *-lăr-lăr-)

8.

Nominal infixes:

1. –pas-: diminutive

2. –korr, n.: denotes the item that is the instrument of that verb

3. –ōs-: augmentive

4. –u-: adjectiviser

5. –(a)kūs: inhabitant

6. –(a)kūls: country

7. –át-r-s: follower; -ist

8. –át-(s): -ism

9. -á-: abstraction suffix

10. –nas: agentive

11. –lăr-as: product, e.g., čeiguan die, čeigulăras murder (note that čīgålăras is also common)

The verb ĕlan 'to have' uses both the -ar- and -ī- forms for the Optative mood, but they are not synonomous: ĕlar- is used to express mild obligation (should ___), and ĕlī- is used to express full obligation (have to ___).

Dialects

The Lan dialect is the one most heavily influenced by the Lan language. It is basically an extreme version of the Western Standard See also the Lan Grammar.

Western is the official dialect of the Drydic Kingdom, and stands between Lan and Udraþ, though it is a little closer to Lan. Although it is termed Western, it is actually the more easterly of the Drydic dialects; this derives from description in a definitive Salanjan grammatical survey, which compares the Udraþ Dryds (as the modern Eastern Dryds were typically described) to the wild Raskal peoples, because of the massive destruction the Udraþ wrought on the Salanjan Kingdom, and describes the Lan-Dryds as noble, civilised, and more worthy of the designation £uha <čuha> (Western), traditionally placed on only the most awe-striking item in a work, because they were the mortal enemies of the Udraþ (a typical development in tribo-linguistic groups).

The Torasas dialect, spoken in the highly urban Torasas Principality, Nar-Rhêghîl, and the surrounding countryside, is easily the most radical of all Drydo-Udraþ dialects. The Syntax is very different from the Standard, the unmarked word order being SVO. Studies of the colloquial Torasas show a decay of the case system to a bare system, with 5 cases for all nouns: Nominative, Accusative, Ablative (increasingly used as a oblique case, used with all postpositions), Dative (still common, but being encroached upon by –ot with the Accusative), and Genitive. Also, various Standard Drydic forms have phonetically reduced forms:

SD	Torasas	meaning
k9aïnan	Čεñan	'smell'
br8žnxas	břřa (<*břŋas)	'ṣitār'
degalastan	dəgłətsan	'fight'
regil	reγιla	'Rhêghîl'

The dialect of Šorakēlos is one that is influenced by the Salor substratum, with a number of lexemes derived directly from that tounge, as well as a Oblique case, used with inheritied Salor postpositions. It is also a very archaic dialect, retaining kt clusters, e.g., aktū 'and' versus standard Drydic attū 'and'.

Drydic Dialects

Features:

use of Preterit i9an clauses

1. Animals are not to be hunted for sport, and all methods which cause the least amount of pain are to be used, for animals should be treated as we would like each other. All killing's killing is strictly forbidden.

2. The hunt is allowed, but only if for the day's eating, or in preparation for the winter frost.

3. Excepting the king's land, all lands are open for the hunt.

4. On the sixth day of the sixth month, the king shall take to the forest, unless he shall choose another; others hunting on this day shall be shackled and struck in punishment.

Polsttīekantē fēlau βoraçezlaz bebeigaunekamk^we¹ xurtai.

the hunt=Drydic βoraçes-is literally 'kill-time' in PS, *b^hot₂=heit₂.

strike in punishment=Drydic b(h)eig(h)aunan xurtai, 'strike to pain'

βoraçezlaz 'hunt-they_nom.pl' is to be interpreted as other hunters.

¹beigaunan is infinitive because it is part of the same argument as polsten 'be shackled'

fēlau is fēlas 'day' + the old (Drydo-Kerinidoi) essive postposition *-we (Salor -guei, Arēsæd -gwī, Dridic -ê), which is now only productive in time statements and pronominally: Mau kåçun-nā 'There is an ant on me.'

---

[1] the symbols k9 and ğ represent fronted velar stops [k^j] and [g^j], which have developed from earlier palatals [c] and [ï].

[2] the phoneme /h/, once representing a voice-neutral glottal fricative (continuing the PDU articulation), is now either pronounced as [ç] or [x].

[3] the symbol r consists of 2 to 3 different allophones: a trill [r], a flap [R], and a approximant [¨]; while the flap and approximant are historically variants of each other. the full trill /r/ has a separate origin; it occurs in Passive endings, and when a sequence <-Vrr-> [V^¨r] example: burriðan- to cut [bU^¨rIðan] note: the Udraþ form burriђan is an irregular formation; Eastern Drydic has the expected form burriðai.

[4] Note that the formation differences between the Indicative and Subjunctive are reducable to a front:back opposition.

[5] the -ŋkur of the 3^rd person singular passive is an irregular derivitation from Proto-Drydo-Udraþ 3^rd person dual passive *-Vmk^wūz^R. Some dialects, notably those close to Torasas, have a 3^rd sg Passive ending –mur.

[6] from dok9-tī-.

[7] Døč, or Deutsch, are descendants of High Germans who came to Šaol during the (Terran) Migrations. They speak a archaic Alämannic dialect, very similar to the Schweizerdütsch of Wallis Canton, Switzerland.