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Englisc

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Overview

SettingEdit

Englisc is a language based on Old Englisc, carried forward to today. There is a bit of German in it, and some modern English, but it maintains its core language, unlike our language. This language is basically Old English as if it evolved like Modern German.


Basic GrammarEdit

Here is a basic grammar of Englisc:

AlphabetEdit

  • Capital: A, Æ, B, C, D, Ð, E, F, G, Ȝ, H, Ƕ, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, Œ, P, Q, R, S, T, Þ, U, V, W, X, Y, Z
  • Lowercase: a, æ, b, c, d, ð, e, f, g, ȝ, h, ƕ, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, œ, p, q, r, s, t, þ, u, v, w, x, y, z
  • Runic: ᚪ, ᚫ, ᛒ, ᚳ, ᛞ, ᚧ, ᛖ, ᚠ, ᚸ, ᚷ, ᚻ, ᛰ, ᛁ, ᛄ, ᛣ, ᛚ, ᛗ, ᚾ, ᚩ, ᛟ, ᛈ, ᛢ, ᚱ, ᛋ, ᛏ, ᚦ, ᚢ, ᚡ, ᚹ, ᛉ, ᚣ, ᛊ; additionally: ᛥ (st), ᛝ (ng), ᛡ (ia, io), ᛠ (ea), ᛤ (kk), ᛇ (eo)
  • (please download Junicode to view the Runes)
Rune table

Table of Runes for Englisc

The alphabet can also be written with runic characters, and when done in this form, can be written backwards, forwards, boustrephedonically, and vertically up or down, depending on the need of the writer. The Runic letters are arranged alphabetically in their own arrangement, different from Latin form. The V is simply a dotted-F rune. The rune ᛢ stands for QU and KW in any word. The conjunction "and" can also be shortened, especially in writing with Runes, to ⁊.

Runic alphabetical order: f u þ o r c; ȝ w h n i j; eo p x s t b; e m l ng œ d; a æ y ea ia k; kk g kw st ð v; z ƕ

There is also the letter hwair (Ƕ, ƕ) used to write "hwa" and other words beginning with HW, which is ordered after H. This is mostly a written convention to merge the two letters, but some dictionaries will order words beginning with HW as a separate letter, not between HU and HY words.

When writing Englisc, there are some abbreviations you might see, most notably the letter þ with a stroke through the top (Ꝥ ꝥ) which is short for þat.  The second is what is called 'Tironian et', a short version of 'and', written like the number 7, but straight, and descending below the line (⁊).

PronunciationEdit

See: Pronunciation Examples
The letters b, d, g, k, l, m, n, p, t, v, w, x sound like modern English. The Z sounds like 'ts' as in cats in any unstressed syllable, and dz in a stressed syllable. The letter C is always like ch in church. The letter yogh Ȝ is a y-sound like yes in all positions. In foreign loanwords, the letter J indicates the same sound. The letters Þ and Ð sound like think and that, respectively. H at the beginning of a word is like hard; at the end of a word (after a/o/u) like Scottish loch and after front vowels (æ/e/i/œ/y) like German ich. The letter Q is always in the combination qu and is only used in foreign words; the native version is spelled as kw. The letter S is pronounced like sing in all cases except between vowels, when it sounds like zulu. The letter w is always like wire, except in the combination wl or wr when it can sound like victor. The letter yogh, in inflectional endings is replaced with g, such as DæȜ "day" becoming Dage "days". In these cases, the letter G is pronounced like German ach-laut, sounding like "Daa-kheh". In adjective endings, mainly -iȜ, the yogh is replaced with a G before all inflectional endings. This should be pronounced like a regular G, though some dialects would pronounce it as an ich-laut in less formal registers.

  • EI - buy
  • IE - fee
  • EA - may - this is simply a long æ. In words ending in 2 consonants, this digraph is used to indicate a long vowel.
  • IO - like yo


A Æ E I O Œ U Y
short [/a/] [/ɛ/, /æ/] [/ɛ/, /ə/] [/ɪ/] [/ɔ/] [/œ/] [/ʊ/] [/ʏ/]
long [/aː/] [/ɛː/, /eː/] [/eː/] [/iː/] [/oː/] [/øː/] [/uː/] [/yː/]

Notes:

  • Short 'o' in some dialects sounds like o in English 'not' ([/ɒ/]
  • Umlaut of a, æ has two pronunciations: short like Bett and long like air; or short like hat and long like gäbe (stage German pronunciation)
  • The schwa ə 
occurs only in unstressed syllables, for instance in besetten bəˈsɛt:ən
'occupy'. It is often considered a complementary allophone together with ɛ
which cannot occur in unstressed syllables. If a sonorant follows in the syllable coda, the schwa often disappears so that the sonorant becomes syllabic, for instance Kyccen ˈkʰytʃn̩
'kitchen', Esel ˈeːzl̩
'donkey'. Before /r/, this is realized as ɐ
in some varieties, for instance better ˈbɛt:ɐ
'better'.
  • The vowel written either as æ or ea in some cases is pronounced as the long variant of the short /æ/
spelling ai, ei, aȜ, eȜ æȜ au eo io
pronunciation [/aɪ̯/] [/ɛɪ/] [/aʊ̯/] [/eːɔ/] [/i̯o/]

Note:

  • The diphthong 'io' is often pronounced with a slight 'y' sound at the start, so that Biologie sounds like "bjo-lo-gie"

Consonants

  • B - like b in bed.
  • C - like ch in chisel.
  • D - like d in Dog.
  • Ð - like that. It alternates with þ in words such as "werþ" becoming "werðem" in an inflected form
  • F - like f in father. Between vowels, voiced to v
  • G - like g in gold.
  • Ȝ - like y in yes. In the adjective ending iȝ, it is replaced with g in inflected forms. In nouns ending in ȝ it is often replaced with g in plural forms, especially after back vowels.
  • H - like h in hotel.
  • HW - like h and w together, similar to Gothic hwair.
  • J - like y in yes.
  • K - like k in kilogram
  • L - like l in liter
  • M - like m in Mann
  • N - like n in Now
  • P - like p in Post
  • Q - always seen as qu, pronounced as in queen. Native words have kw in place of this combination
  • R - like r in Rose or water (American English). It is always pronounced. More common is the trilled version as in Scottish. Uvular R is found in some dialects.
  • S - like s in since at the beginning and end of syllables. Between vowels it is voiced to z.
  • T - like t in Tiger
  • Þ - like th in think. It alternates with ð
  • V - like v in vase. This occurs only in foreign words
  • W - like w in water
  • X - like ks in Ex
  • Z - like ts in cats. In stressed syllables, sounds like dz

Notes:

  • The letter H can have the pronunciation /h/ at the beginning of a syllable, and /ç/ after front vowels, and /x/ after back vowels.

NounsEdit

See also: Nouns
Nouns have three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter), two numbers (single, plural), and four cases (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative), which are marked with case endings and the use of a definite article.

MasculineEdit

Masculine nouns are nouns which use the article þe and can also describe male beings (Doktor, Baker, Maker, etc.), or words ending in -dom, -els, -had, -ing, -oþ. The gender is arbitrary on things, so the gender does need to be memorized.

_ singular plural
nominative - -e
genitive -(e)s -e
dative -(e) -en
accusative - -e
  • As an example, the word Stan, stone in the singular: Stan, Stanes, Stan, Stan; plural: Stane, Stane, Stanen, Stane

NeuterEdit

Neuter nouns are nouns which use the article þat and can also describe things and children (Cild, Barn, etc.), or words ending in -in, -el, -incel. The gender is arbitrary on things, so the gender does need to be memorized.

_ singular plural
nominative - -e/-er
genitive -(e)s -e/-er
dative -(e) -en/-ern
accusative - -e/-er


  • As an example, the word Barn, child, baby in the singular: Barn, Barnes, Barn, Barn; plural: Barne, Barne, Barnen, Barne

FeminineEdit

Feminine nouns are nouns which use the article þie and can also describe female beings (Doktorin, Bakestre, Makestre, etc.), or words ending in -estre, -in, -nes, -ung. The gender is arbitrary on things, so the gender does need to be memorized.

_ singular plural
nominative - -e/-en
genitive - -e/-en
dative - -en
accusative - -e/-en


  • As an example, the word Ruun, secret in the singular: Ruun; plural: Rune, Rune, Runen, Rune.
  • Feminine nouns that end in an -e in the singular will have en plurals.

PronounsEdit

Pronouns operate like any other language, replacing the nouns already mentioned and indicating the speaker, and one to whom you speak.

Personal PronounsEdit

First personEdit

These are the pronouns including the speaker, that is, I, we two, and we. The following table indicates modern English forms of these pronouns:


_ singular dual plural
nominative I we two we
genitive my our two's our
dative to/for me to/for us two to/for us
accusative me us two us

And now in Niw Englisc:

_ singular dual plural
nominative ic wit wiȝ
genitive mein unker user
dative miȝ unk us
accusative mic unkit usic

Second PersonEdit

The second person is the person to whom you are speaking. It is thou (you), ye two, and ye.

_ singular dual plural
nominative þu ȝit ȝiȝ
genitive þein inker ȝuer
dative þiȝ ink ȝu
accusative þic inkit ȝuic

Third PersonEdit

The third person is whomever you're talking about; it is the person 'over there.'

_ He She It They
nominative he scie it hje
genitive sein her sein hjer
dative him her him hjem
accusative hin scie/sco it hje

Indefinite PronounsEdit

These pronouns indicate someone unknown or unnamed to the speaker or person spoken to. The prefix a- adds the meaning any, æȝ- means each

  • anyone, anything: ahwa, ahwat
  • each/everyone, each/everything (individually): æȝhwa, æȝhwat
  • each/every one, each/every thing (as a group, together): gehwa, gehwat
  • no one, nothing: nehwa, nehwat
  • someone, something: nathwa, nathwat
  • anything: oht
  • nothing: noht

Indefinite Pronouns with Adjective EndingsEdit

These words function like pronouns, but have adjective endings

  • each: æȝhwilc
  • each of two, both (individually); æȝhwæðer
  • both, each of two (as a group, together): gehwæðer
  • each, every, any: gehwilc
  • neither of two: nehwæðer

The most commonly used:

  • ælc: each
  • swilc: such
  • þyslic: such

Not a pronoun, but closely associated:

  • maniȝ: many a
  • Example: Many a student came by the school: maniȝ Student kaam be þer Skole forbiȝ.

Interrogative PronounsEdit

These pronouns are question words, asking information from someone

_ Who? What?
nominative hwa hwat
genitive hwas hwas
dative hwam hwam
accusative hwan hwat
_ Which of two? (m)
nominative hwæðer
genitive hwæðeres
dative hwæðerem
accusative hwæðeren/hwæðer
Which of many?
_ masculine feminine neuter plural
nominative hwilc hwilce hwilc hwilce
genitive hwilces hwilcer hwilces hwilcer
dative hwilcem hwilcer hwilcem hwilcen
accusative hwilcen hwilce hwilc hwilce

It is important to note that hwæðer and hwilc are used with 2 or more than 2 things, respectively.

  • Mid hwæðerem Hemþ scolde ic utgaan? with which shirt (of two) should I go outside?
  • Hwilc Magazin scolde ic bycgen? Which magazine (of many) should I buy?

ArticlesEdit

Definite ArticleEdit

The definite article declines, or changes form, based on the gender of the noun it describes. The article can be masculine, feminine, neuter, or plural. It has cases to agree with the nouns it describes. This word translates the English 'the, that.'

_ masculine feminine neuter plural
nominative þe þie þat þie
genitive þes þer þes þer
dative þem þer þem þen
accusative þen þie þat þie

Indefinite ArticleEdit

This word translates the English 'a, an.' An adjective following this is in the weak form.

_ masculine feminine neuter plural
nominative an ane an nane
genitive anes aner anes naner
dative anem aner anem nanen
accusative anen ane an nane


There is no plural form for 'a, an' but if it means 'single, only' then it can have a plural form, as in 'the only women here' (þie anen Weife hier). If you intend to mean 'one' instead of 'a, an' then you write a double-a, as in 'aan, aanes' et al.

This / These Edit

This word translates the English 'this, these.' An adjective following this is in the weak form. In a stressed form, meaning 'this one here directly in front of me' or 'this one we have been discussing just now' you write 'þies, þiesses' et al.

This / These
_ masculine feminine neuter plural
nominative þis þisse þis þisse
genitive þisses þisser þisses þisser
dative þissem þisser þissem þissen
accusative þissen þisse þis þisse

The same, the very sameEdit

The same
_ masculine feminine neuter plural
nominative þe ilce þieilcen þætilce þieilcen
genitive þesilcen þerilcen þesilcen þerilcen
dative þemilcen þerilcen þemilcen þenilcen
accusative þenilcen þieilcen þætilce þieilcen


The same
_ masculine feminine neuter plural
nominative þe selfe þie selfe þæt selfe þie selfen
genitive þes selfen þer selfen þes selfen þer selfen
dative þem selfen þer selfen þem selfen þen selfen
accusative þen selfen þie selfe þæt selfe þie selfen

AdjectivesEdit

Strong EndingsEdit

Adjectives add endings to tell their function in a sentence. When standing before a noun, they add strong endings.

Strong adjective endings
_ masculine feminine neuter plural
nominative - -e - -e
genitive -es -er -es -er
dative -em -er -em -en
accusative -en -e - -e


  • Example: Stan (m), great Stan (big stone), ȝung Cild (young child), ȝunges Mæȝdens (of a young girl), aldem Mann (to an old person (male or female)), kalde Dage (cold days)

Weak EndingsEdit

Weak endings occur after an article having an ending is placed before a noun. This is before the words þe, þie, þat, mein, þein (et al), an, þis.


Strong adjective endings
_ masculine feminine neuter plural
nominative -e -e -e -en
genitive -en -en -en -en
dative -en -en -en -en
accusative -en -e -e -en
  • Example: þe Stan -> þe grœne Stan; þat Mæȝden -> þat ȝunge Mægden; þie Frowe -> mid þer wlitigen Frowe

ComparisonEdit

For all adjectives, comparison is made adding the suffixes -er and -est. For example:

  • gemæn, gemæner, gemænst- (common, commoner, commonest)
  • dier, dierer, dierst- (dear, dearer, dearest)

Some adjectives have irregular comparative forms, with umlaut. They are all single-syllable, and quite common:

  • ald, ælder, ældest (old)
  • brad, bræder, brædest (broad)
  • ferr, fierrer, fierrst (far)
  • great, grieter, grietst (great, big)
  • ȝung, ȝynger, ȝyngst (young)
  • heah, hieher, hiehst (high)
  • lang, længer, længst (long)
  • scort, scœrter, scœrtst (short)
  • strang, strænger, strængst (strongest)

And a small number of adjectives have a completely different comparative/superlative form than the positive:

  • god, better, betst (good, better, best)
  • lytel, læsse, læst (little, less, least)
  • micel, mære, mæst ((great, much), more, most)
  • yfel, wiers, wierst (evil, worse, worst)

Word-formation: Adjective endingsEdit

To make new adjectives, you can use a set of adjective suffixes to nouns, forming new words:

  • bære - bearing, having; ex: lihtbære light-bearing, hornbære having horns
  • en - made of X; ex: wuden wooden, fellen made of skins, gylden golden
  • ern - in the direction of; ex: norðern, suðern, western, eastern
  • fæst - fast, fixed, firm; ex: arfæst firm in honor, virtuous, ærendfæst fixed in an errand
  • fald - X-fold, X-times; ex: anfald one time; single, twifald two times, double
  • full - full
  • iȝ - having the quality of X (note: the ȝ turns to g before adjective endings)
  • iht - a more emphatic version of iȝ, noting a higher degree of the trait; ex: geþyldiȝ, geþyldiht patient
  • isc - having a trait like X; cildisc - childish
  • lic - X-like
  • læs - X-less; arlæs honorless
  • el - forms adjectives from verbs; spreken -> sprekel talkative, etten -> ettel voracious
  • sum - in an X manner
  • ward - notes position or direction
  • wende - forms adjectives from nouns and other adjectives

VerbsEdit

Verbs are those words describing an action or a state of being. Verbs are either strong or weak, like nouns and adjectives. Strong verbs change their vowel to indicate tense, while weak verbs add a dental suffix (-de, -te) to indicate tense. All verbs conjugate for person, singular/plural, and tense (past/present).

Weak VerbsEdit

A weak verb has the following endings in the present tense, using maken to make, do as an example:

_ sg. pl.
Ic make makeþ
þu makest makeþ
he/scie/it makeþ makeþ
_ sg. pl.
I make, do make, am making we make, do make, are making
thou makest, doest make, art making ye make, do make, are making
he/she/it makes, does make, is making they make, do make, are making

So, the endings for weak and strong verbs are:

  • ic -e
  • þu -(e)st
  • he -(e)þ
  • wiȝ/ȝiȝ/hje -eþ

Just add the endings to the stem (maken is the stem mak- and the infinitive ending -en)

If the verb ends in a d/t, or some consonant cluster that makes it difficult to hear the ending, you keep the e in the 2nd and 3rd person. The plural ending is the same for all persons.

Past tense of weak verbsEdit

Weak verbs form the past tense with either -de or -te. If the word ends in a voiceless consonant, such as k, p, s/z, then it will add -te, otherwise, -de. If the verb ends in some kind of consonant cluster that makes the ending hard to hear, add e between the verb stem and the ending (gelanden -> gelandede).

The following illustrate the past tense endings:

_ sg. pl.
Ic makte makten
þu maktest makten
he/scie/it makte makten
_ sg. pl.
Ic gelandede gelandeden
þu gelandedest gelandeden
he/scie/it gelandede gelandeden

Irregular Weak VerbsEdit

See: Irregular Weak Verbs
There are some weak verbs which, like modern English and German, are irregular. They are equivalent to think, thought, thought.

_ sg. - pl.
Ic þenke wiȝ þenkeþ
þu þenkst ȝiȝ þenkeþ
he/scie/it þenkþ hje þenkeþ

And the past:

_ sg. - pl.
Ic þohte wiȝ þohten
þu þohtest ȝiȝ þohten
he/scie/it þohte hje þohten

Strong VerbsEdit

Strong verbs are those verbs that change the vowel in the stem to indicate the tense, such as 'write, wrote, written' in modern English. It works essentially the same way in Niw Englisc, just that there are a few more strong verbs, and you can place them into 7 broad types to make it easier to predict their forms. Basically, a strong verb will look like this in the present:

_ sg. - pl.
Ic fare wiȝ fareþ
þu færst ȝiȝ fareþ
he/scie/it færþ hje fareþ

And the past:

_ sg. - pl.
Ic for wiȝ foren
þu forst ȝiȝ foren
he/scie/it for hje foren

Like all verbs, the plural is the same ending for all three persons. The ic and he forms are the same, however, in the past tense.

Type 1 -ei/a/iEdit

See: Strong Verbs type 1
The first type of strong verb has a ei vowel in the stem. Verbs like wreiten, streifen, sleiden, and sweifen are all type 1 verbs, and are declined the same way:

Streifen - to strive

_ sg. - pl.
Ic streife wiȝ streifeþ
þu streifst ȝiȝ streifeþ
he/scie/it streifþ hje streifeþ

And the past:

_ sg. - pl.
Ic straf wiȝ strafen
þu strafst ȝiȝ strafen
he/scie/it straf hje strafen

And in the perfect tense with haben to have:

  • ic habe gestriffen, etc.

Please note here that there is a slight change in the stem, doubling the consonant. This is merely to indicate the vowel preceding is short, but it does make some consonants voiceless that would otherwise be voiced (f sound instead of v sound, þ instead of ð, etc.)



Special note on þ/ð - the letter thorn (þ) is the voiceless version of eth (ð), and as such, will alternate with it in certain forms of a verb or other word, depending on how it's used in a sentence. Take here the example of leiðen - to go, sail, travel:


_ sg. - pl.
Ic leiðe wiȝ leiðeþ
þu leiðest/leiþst ȝiȝ leiðeþ
he/scie/it leiðeþ hje leiðeþ

And the past:

_ sg. - pl.
Ic laþ wiȝ laðen
þu laðest ȝiȝ laðen
he/scie/it laþ hje laðen
  • Perfect:
_ sg. - pl.
Ic em geliþþen wiȝ sind geliþþen
þu ert geliþþen ȝiȝ sind geliþþen
he/scie/it is geliþþen hje sind geliþþen

Type 2 ie-o-o Edit

Driegen - to endure

_ sg. - pl.
Ic driege wiȝ driegeþ
þu driegst ȝiȝ driegeþ
he/scie/it driegþ hje driegeþ

And the past:

_ sg. prn - pl. prn
Ic drog droːχ wiȝ drogen droːχən
þu drogst droːχəst ȝiȝ drogen droːχən
he/scie/it drog droːχ hje drogen droːχən
  • Subjunctive II:
_ sg. prn - pl. prn
Ic drœge drøçə wiȝ drœgen drøçən
þu drœgest drøçəst ȝiȝ drœgen drøçən
he/scie/it drœge drøçə hje drœgen drøçə


And in the perfect tense with haben to have:

_ sg. - pl.
Ic habe gedrogen wiȝ habeþ gedrogen
þu hafst gedrogen ȝiȝ habeþ gedrogen
he/scie/it hafþ gedrogen hje habeþ gedrogen

Special Note: verbs whose stems end in yogh ȝ pronounce it like English yes in the present after e/i, but in the past tense, it sounds like 'ch' in the German 'ach' (IPA: x). This is a sound change based in historical linguistics, and needs to be memorized. When the vowel umlauts for the subjunctive, this sound further changes to the German 'ich' sound (IPA: ç).

Example: flieȝen to flee

Subjunctive II:

_ sg. - pl.
Ic flœȝe wiȝ flœȝen
þu flœȝest ȝiȝ flœȝen
he/scie/it flœȝe hje flœȝen

Type 3 - e/i-a-o Edit

See: Strong Verbs type 3
Example: helpen - to help

_ sg. - pl.
Ic helpe wiȝ helpeþ
þu hilpst ȝiȝ helpeþ
he/scie/it hilpþ hje helpeþ

And the past:

_ sg. - pl.
Ic halp wiȝ halpen
þu halpst ȝiȝ halpen
he/scie/it halp hje halpen

Past subjunctive is a little irregular, normally taking æ, but can take the 'u' vowel as an archaism:

_ sg. - pl.
Ic hulpe wiȝ hulpen
þu hulpest ȝiȝ hulpen
he/scie/it hulpe hje hulpen

Perfect:

_ sg. - pl.
Ic habe geholpen wiȝ habeþ geholpen
þu hafst geholpen ȝiȝ habeþ geholpen
he/scie/it hafþ geholpen hje habeþ geholpen

Type 4 - e-a-oEdit

beran to bear

_ sg. - pl.
Ic bere wiȝ bereþ
þu birst ȝiȝ bereþ
he/scie/it birþ hje bereþ

And the past:

_ sg. - pl.
Ic bar wiȝ haren
þu barst ȝiȝ haren
he/scie/it bar hje haren

Type 5 - e-a-eEdit

See: Strong Verbs type 5

These verbs alternate between e-a-e in the tenses:

kweðen - to say

_ sg. - pl.
Ic kweðe wiȝ kweðeþ
þu kwiþst ȝiȝ kweðeþ
he/scie/it kwiþþ hje kweðeþ

And the past:

_ sg. - pl.
Ic kwaþ wiȝ kwaðen
þu kwaþst ȝiȝ kwaðen
he/scie/it kwaþ hje kwaðen

Type 6 -a/o/aEdit

See Strange Verbe Kynn 6

  • faren - to go, travel
_ sg. - pl.
Ic fare wiȝ fareþ
þu færst ȝiȝ fareþ
he/scie/it færþ hje fareþ

And the past:

_ sg. - pl.
Ic for wiȝ foren
þu forst ȝiȝ foren
he/scie/it for hje foren

Type 7 -a/e/aEdit

See Strange Verbe Kynn 7

  • scaden - to separate; scadend-, gescaden
_ sg. - pl.
Ic scade wiȝ scadeþ
þu scædest ȝiȝ scadeþ
he/scie/it scædeþ hje scadeþ

And the past:

_ sg. - pl.
Ic scedd wiȝ scedden
þu sceddest ȝiȝ scedden
he/scie/it scedd hje scedden
  • floken - to clap, strike; flokendi, gefloken
_ sg. - pl.
Ic floke wiȝ flokeþ
þu flœkst ȝiȝ flokeþ
he/scie/it flœkþ hje flokeþ

And the past:

_ sg. - pl.
Ic flekk wiȝ flekken
þu flekkest ȝiȝ flekken
he/scie/it flekk hje flekken
  • bannen - to summon; bannend-, gebannen
_ sg. - pl.
Ic banne wiȝ banneþ
þu bænnest ȝiȝ banneþ
he/scie/it bænneþ hje banneþ

And the past:

_ sg. - pl.
Ic benn wiȝ bennen
þu bennest ȝiȝ bennen
he/scie/it benn hje bennen

Type 7 -irregularEdit

See: Type 7 Irregular Verbs
There are a few type 7 verbs with irregular past tenses, a remnant of the old reduplicated verbs that all Germanic languages had at one point.

  • beaten, beft, gebeaten
  • dræden, drerd, gedræden
  • haaten, heht/hett, gehaten
  • laaken, lelk, gelaaken
  • læten, lert, gelæten
  • ræden, rerd/redd, geræden
  • spaaten, speft, gespaaten

Irregular VerbsEdit

These verbs are very irregular and have such a high frequency, that it's better just to memorize them.

  • don - to do
  • gan - to go
  • haben - to have
  • hycgen - to think
  • libben - to live
  • secgen - to say
  • wesen/been - to be; the only verb to have a distinct future tense form

Modal Verbs / Preterite-Present VerbsEdit

See: Preterite-Present Verbs
Modal verbs in Niw Englisc work similarly to German. They have full conjugations, and some can act alone without another verb to complete their meanings.

  • Modals: durren, kunnen, magen, moten, scullen, þurfen, willen
  • Preterite-Present: agen, benugen, dugen, gemunen, genugen, witten
  • As an example, the verb kunnen which alone means 'to be acquainted with, to know' and with an infinitive 'to be able to, can, know how to'

NumbersEdit

See: Numbers

  • 1-20: an, tweȝn, þrie, fier, feif, six, sefen, aht, neiȝn, tien, endlefen, twelf, þrietien, fiertien, feiftien, sixtien, sefentien, ahttien, neiȝntien, tweȝntiȝ
  • decades: tien, tweȝntiȝ, þrittiȝ, fiertiȝ, feiftiȝ, sixtiȝ, sefentiȝ, ahttiȝ, neiȝntiȝ, hund/hundred, endlefentiȝ (110), twelftiȝ (120)
  • hundreds: hund/hundred, twahund, þriehund, fierhund, feifhund...
  • larger numbers: þusend, tienþusend, hundþusend, Million (10^6), Billion (10^9), Trillion (10^12), Quadrillion (10^15), Quintillion (10^18), et al.

Writing numbers: when writing numbers, like in German, they are written together, with the digits preceding the decades. When writing hundreds, you write hundred when it's an even hundred (100, 200,..., 900), but otherwise, the shortened form is used.

  • 31: anandþrittiȝ
  • 568: feifhundahtandsixtiȝ
  • 9327: neiȝnþusendþriehundsefenandtweȝntiȝ

MathEdit

  • Addition: aan and aan sind tweȝn, aan plus tweȝn makeþ þrie, aan and fier sind feif
  • Subtraction: aan minus aan is null; tweȝntiȝ wane þrie is sefentien
  • Multiplication: þrifeald þrie is neiȝn, feif seiðen feif is feifandtweȝntiȝ
  • Division: tweȝntiȝ gedld þurh feif is fier
  • Fractions: feif fierþlinge (5/4) (formed by the ordinal plus the ending -ling); special fraction: Half (þrie Halfe - 3/2, uses the plural)

PrepositionsEdit

See: Prepositions

GenitiveEdit

  • andlang - alongside
  • hweilen - during
  • inteiden - during (a variant from in Teiden - in times)
  • innerseids - inside of
  • midhelpe - with the help of
  • oferseids - on top of
  • onstede - in place of, instead of
  • to - towards, in the direction of
  • underseids - underneath, on the bottom of
  • utenseids - outside of
  • wiþ - opposite of

DativeEdit

  • buten - besides, except
  • biȝ - by, near
  • mid - with
  • of - from, out of
  • onmang - among
  • oþ - until
  • seiþ - after (a period of time)
  • to - to, at;
  • ut - out of

AccusativeEdit

  • þurh - through
  • wiþ - against (ic fehte wiþ hin I fight with/against him)

Dative/AccusativeEdit

  • in - in, into
  • ofer - over, above; across; (he stændeþ ofer þem Feld he's standing over the field; he geng ofer þen Feld - he went across the field)
  • on - on, onto
  • ongejn - opposite, against, over against, in a direction opposite to; (it hængþ ongejn þem Wall - I'm against the wall; þu gæst ongejn þen Stream - you're walking in a direction opposite the stream)
  • under - under

SyntaxEdit

NounsEdit

All Nouns (substantives) are written with a capital letter, including adjectives acting as nouns. All nouns have gender to them; this is not an indication of natural gender, but it is merely an indicator of how to decline the noun in the sentence.
Nouns can be masculine, feminine, or neuter; they can be singular or plural in number; they have four cases: nominative, genitive, dative, and accusative.

Accusative CaseEdit

This is the case of the direct object of a sentence, and the object of some prepositions. In a sentence such as 'I see the boy' Ic see þen Knafen, the word Knafen is in the accusative case, as indicated by the article þen and the ending n on the noun.

VerbsEdit

Verbs agree in number and person with the subject of the sentence: Ic finde, he findeþ. Verbs also carry tense and mood, as in 'ic fare - I travel' and 'ic for - I traveled.'

A contrary-to-fact statement is in subjunctive mood: ic fœre mid ȝu if ic Geld hæfde - I would travel with you if I had the money. A statement of fact is in the indicative mood: ic fare mid ȝu, forþen ic Geld habe - I travel with you because I do have the money. A command is in the imperative mood, and written with an exclamation point: Finde scie! - Find her! Indirect speech is in present subjunctive: Þe Eðelþeȝn sæȝde, þat he sekk sei - the foreign minister said he is sick (but I cannot verify this).

  • Þie Polizei (Burgward) sæȝde, scie werke, þat Barn to finden - the police said it is working to find the child.

ArticlesEdit

  • The definite article (þe, þie, þat) serves the same function as in German, and the English words "the" and "that".
    • The difference is in how the article is emphasized in speech. Þe Knafe findeþ þat Handy The boy finds the cell-phone versus Þe Knafe findeþ þat Handy The boy finds that cellphone.
  • Direct Articles can merge with prepositions in certain instances, as in modern German.
    • In þem => im
    • To þem => tom
    • To þer => tor

AdjectivesEdit

PrepositionsEdit

  • As in any other Germanic language, prepositions come before a noun, article, and adjective to indicate its relationship with the rest of the sentence: with the young boy, in the blue ocean, etc. [mid þem ȝungen Knapen, in þen bluen Garsecg]
  • The difference between Englisc and other Germanic languages is that in certain instances, the preposition follows the noun it describes. It only occurs in certain set instances, so it's very easy to tell when it would occur.
    • A preposition may follow the pronoun when doing so places the preposition next to a verb: ic him mid gaa I go with him, þu her to geng you went to her

ConjunctionsEdit

CoordinatingEdit

Coordinating conjunctions are the conjunctions that link two complete sentences together. In Englisc, they are: and, ak, oþþe (and, but, or); neither/nor ne...ne eak, nahwæðer...ne; either/or æȝþer...ȝe; both/and ȝe...ȝe; therefore þonn.

  • Ic fand þat Handy and ic kallde hje I found the cellphone and I called them
  • Þu hrepst ak þu þiȝ ne ondrerdst? you screamed but weren't scared?
  • Wit kunneþ int Hus gan oþþe wit kunneþ umtreden we can go into the house or walk around
  • Ic þenke, þonn ic em. I think, therefore I am.

SubordinatingEdit

Subordinating conjunctions are those that link a sentence with a dependent clause that completes the meaning of the independent clause.  They are always preceded with a comma, and the conjugated verb must be the final element of the clause.  The only exception is with modal verb phrases with 3 or more verbs.

  • als - as
  • ærþem before: Greip þeine Kæge ærþem wiȝ þie Dure klyseþ. Grab your keys before we close the door.
  • forþen because: wiȝ habeþ an niwe Auto, forþen wiȝ an Niwe bycgen þorften we have a new car because we needed to buy a new one.
  • nefne unless, except - wiȝ ne kunneþ gaan, nefne þu þeinen Rycgsakk bringst we can't go unless you bring your backpack.
  • nuþat now that
  • oþ until
  • siþþen - since
  • so...als just...as
  • so son - as soon as
  • soþat - so that
  • toþen in order to/that
  • þa - when (at a definite point in time) - þa he his Katte fand, hlog he when he found his cat, he laughed.
  • þeah - although
  • þenden - while - þenden wiȝ þisse Rosen planteþ, gaa tor Scyppen and bring us anen Turl while we plant these roses, go to the shed and bring us a trowel.
  • þann - when (in the future at some indefinite time) - þann þu onkommst, nimm þeine Scohe of when you arrive, take your shoes off.

Simple SentencesEdit

  • The word order in a simple sentence is Subject, Verb, Object
  • If the object is a single pronoun, dative or accusative, you can place it before the verb. Ic hin fand I found him, Wij hjem helpeþ we are helping them.
  • This is a very natural order when there is only a single pronoun object, otherwise, the objects all follow the verb: ic fand þen Knafen in þem Beam I found the boy in the tree

Complex SentencesEdit

Complex sentences are those which contain a main clause and a subordinate clause. Subordinate clauses follow the order: Relative Pronoun + Subject + Object + Verb. The verb is the final unit in the sentence.

Example:

  • I see that she has a phone.
  • Ic see, þat scie an Telefon hafþ

A more complex sentence:

  • I know that she will find her book
  • Ic waat, þat scie here Bok finden wirþ

Another example:

  • He says that his sister has a new cellphone.
  • He sæȝþ, þat seine Swester an niwe Handy habe.

In each case, the verb is the final thing in the subordinate clause.

Here's a more complex example:

  • The brown-haired man knew that he would need to find a new car.
  • Þe brunfaxe Werr wiste, þat he an niwe Auto finden þœrfte.
  • The young girl knew, that her brother would have been seen in the box.
  • Þat ȝonge Mæȝden wiste, þat her Broðer in þer Box wære geseen worden wesen.

QuestionsEdit

There are two ways to form questions - Verb-first, and using a question word. The simplest way to make a question is to put verb first, subject second, and then the rest of the sentence:

  • Þu findest þeine Swester - You find your sister.
  • Findest þu þeine Swester? - Do you find your sister? (taken as are you looking for your sister?)

The second way to ask a question uses a question word to get information, such as hwær/hwider/hwanen (where/to where/from where), hwa/hwat (who/what), hwei/hwy (why?), hwenn? (when), hu (how), to hwon/for hwon (to what end, for what purpose)

  • To hwon gæst þu mid her? - To what end are you going with her?
  • Hwider forst þu ȝesternniht? - Where'd you go last night?

Word Order of ElementsEdit

While sentence order is typically Subject-Conjugated Verb-Object, between the verb and object, that's where you normally place the adverbs of time, manner, then place.

Example:

  • Ic will morgen to Disney faren I want to go to Disney tomorrow. (morgen time: tomorrow; to Disney place: to Disney)
  • Mein Swester snaak ȝesternnaht softe tom Kyccen My sister quietly snuck to the kitchen last night (time: ȝesternnaht, manner: softe, place: tom Kyccen)

Objects typically follow the order of dative object, then accusative object.

normal:

  • "Ic gife meinem Fader þat Geld" (I give my father the money)
  • "Ic gife it him" (I give it to him)
  • "Ic gife him þat Geld" (I give him the money)
  • "Ic gife it meinem Fader " (I give it to my father)
  • "Ic gife þat Geld meinem Fader " (I give the money to my father)

unusual:

  • "Ic gife þat Geld him" (I give the money to him)

very strange (but still correct):

  • "Ic gife him it" (I give him it)
  • "Ic gife meinem Fader it" (I give my father it)

DictionaryEdit

Example textsEdit

  • Genesis 1:23: And þær was Æfen, and þær was Morgen-þe feifte Dæȝ
  • Genesis 1:23 (Run): ᚪᚾᛞ ᚦᚫᚱ ᚹᚪᛋ ᚫᚠᛖᚾ, ᚪᚾᛞ ᚦᚫᚱ ᚹᚪᛋ ᛗᚩᚱᚸᛖᚾ-ᚦᛖ ᚠᛖᛁᚠᛏᛖ ᛞᚫᚷ
  • If man seinen Computer mid Windows 7 aniwe, kyðe man snude seen, hu snell sein Computer been kann. Þie Swifte þisses Bedreifsystems warþ oft im Internet gewritten wesen.
  • Þe Senator hafþ seine Party gewendt. Senator Arlen Spector, þe ærstens in 1966 gecosen wurðe, bodede þat he 2010 als Demokrat rinnen wolde.
  • Headline:
    • "Supersnell US-Jet ne spœwþ bei seinem Testflyht"
    • ᛋᚢᛈᛖᚱᛋᚾᛖᛚᛚ᛬ᚢᛋ᛫ᛄᛖᛏ᛬ᚾᛖ᛬ᛋᛈᛟᚹᚦ᛬ᛒᛖᛁ᛬ᛋᛖᛁᚾᛖᛗ᛬ᛏᛖᛥᚠᛚᚣᚻᛏ

UsesEdit

Englisc is usable in many fields, including science, education, diplomacy, and every day life. If you'd like to use the language and expand it, please help out and put up some texts in the language.

LessonsEdit

AppendicesEdit

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