The Jovian Language


© 2001 by Christian Thalmann <cinga(at)gmx(dot)net>
 

This is an idea for a romlang (romance conlang (yeah, as if we didn't have enough of those already)) that explores a new direction of phonemic evolution, and keeps some grammatical structures from Classical Latin (e.g. cases and absence of required articles).

Being an amateur, I don't have an actual masterplan either, only very general guidelines.  My notations are "English", Latin, Jovian, /phonemic/, [phonetic].  The latter two are written in X-SAMPA.
 
 
 

Phonology

 

Vowels


A vowel is pronounced long when it's stressed and in an open syllable.  Some vowels (e and u) have special pronunciations in final syllables.

Note that a consonant cluster containing a single stop is split before the stop, so padri is syllabized as pa-dri and thus places the a in an open syllable (/"pa:dri/).

Stress lies on the last syllable if it is closed with a consonant, and on the penultimate syllable otherwise.  A final -e counts as a syllable kernel despite being mute.  Example: muodiduende is syllabized as muo-di-duen-de, so the stress falls onto the duen, although it is the last pronounced syllable (/,mu@di"dynd/).

Irregular stress is marked with an acute accent. This happens only in declination IV words and foreign borrowings.
 
 

Vowel Stressed open Stressed closed Elsewhere Final closed Final open
a /a:/ /a/ /@/    
e /e:/ /e/ /e/ /@/ (mute)
i /i:/ /i/ /i/    
o /o:/ /A/ /A/    
u /u:/ /u/ /u/ /@/ /@/

Final e is mute, but influences syllabification.  The ending -u (coming from Latin -us) is pronounced as /@/, but causes Resistance (a type of mutation).

Short e is lowered to [E] before an r.  Example: herva /"hErv@/.
 
 

Diphthong Stressed open Elsewhere Final
ae /aj/ /E/ /e/
oe /Aj/ /a/  
ue /y@/ /y/  
ei /ej/ /e/  
au /aw/ /o/  
ou /ow/ /u/  
iu (rendered y in endings) /y:/ /y/  
io /i@/ /i/ N/A
eo /e@/ /E/ N/A
uo /u@/ /u/ N/A

 
 

Consonants:

The following letters are used for consonants: All other consonant letters sound like their IPA equivalents.

The final letters -d, -b and the s in the endings -is and -ys are usually silent, but can become audible through mutation (Consolidation and Resistance): ed /e/ "and", sub /su/ "under", padris /"padri/ "father's", padrys /"padry/ "to the fathers".
 
 

Mutation:


Mutations occur between prepositions and the following nouns, and between all components of a noun phrase or a verb phrase.  They affect the initial sounds of words.  Mutations are not written, but pronounced.

There are two types of mutation:
 

(1)  Lenition

Lenition occurs on words starting with a consonant when they're preceded by a word ending in a vowel other than mute final -e and final -u.  Lenition softens the initial consonant of the following word.  The voiced stops /g d b/ don't soften if they're followed by /r l/.

Regular initial sounds:    Softened sounds:
/p t k/                    /b d g/
/g d b/                    /h z v/
/f s/                      /v z/

/m/                        /v/
/ts fr/                    /dz br/

Stable clusters:  
/gr dr br/
/gl bl/                                         


Examples:

feima /"fejm@/ "woman"
a feima /a"vejm@/ "a woman"

friza /"fri:z@/ "cold"
auga friza /"awg@"bri:z@/ "cold water (NOM)"

mazer /"ma:z@r/ "mother"
mia mazer /mi"va:z@r/ "my mother"

doemu /"dAjm@/ "master"
o doemu /A"zAjm@/ "o master!"
 

(2)  Condensation

Condensation occurs after nasal consonants.  It causes initial fricatives and liquids to condense into voiced stops, and voices unvoiced stops.  The nasal's point of articulation is thereby assimilated to that stop.

Regular initial sounds:    Condensed sounds:

/p t k/                    /mb nd Ng/
/b d g/                    /mb nd Ng/
/f v/                      /mp m/
/s S ts/                   /ndz ntS ndz/
/h/                        /n/
/r l/                      /ndr mbl/

Examples:

coelun /"kAjl@n/ "sky",
in coelo /iN"gAjlA/ "in the sky"

herva /"hErv@/ "herb"
colleher an raran hervan /kAl"le:h@r @n"dra:r@n"Erv@n/ "to collect a rare herb"

simbel /"simb@l/ "simple"
diger fraesen simblen /"di:g@r"frajz@n"dzimbl@n/ "to speak a simple phrase"

friza /"fri:z@/ "cold"
biver augan frizan /"bi:v@r"awg@m"pri:z@n/ "to drink cold water"

ricta /"riCt@/ "right"
dsiuvare causan rictan /dzy"va:r"kawz@n"driCt@n/ "to help the right cause"

lauzaevel /lo"zajv@l/ "laudable"
faeger rén lauzaeblen /"fajg@r"remblo"zajbl@n/ "to do a laudable thing"
 
 

Sandhi:


Sandhi is effective between all words of a sentence, it is not limited to functionally grouped words as the mutations are.  They affect the final sounds of words.  Like mutation, sandhi is not written, but pronounced.

There are four types of sandhi:
 

(1)  Elision

Elision occurs on words ending in -a when they're followed by a word starting with a vowel.  The /@/ of the a is then eliminated.

Regular final sound:       Elided sound:
/@/                        (mute)

Examples:

auga /"awg@/ "water"
auga umbura /"awgum"bu:r@/ "impure water"
 

(2)  Resistance

Resistance occurs after the endings -is and -ys, in which the -s is mute, as well as after the ending -u, which is usually just pronounced /@/.  Although vowel endings usually cause lenition or elision, the -u "resists" those processes since it stems from a Latin -us ending.  That is also the reason why a /z/ appears before another vowel (where Elision would occur for words ending in -a).  Resistance can distinguish male (-u) and female (-a) words which sounds exactly the same (-/@/) on their own.

Furthermore, the non-mute ending s /s/ undergoes some sandhi too:  It becomes /z/ before vowels, and /S/ before voiceless stops.

Regular initial sounds:   Sounds after -u, -is, -ys:   Sounds after other -s:

(vowel)                   /z/ + (vowel)                /z/ + (vowel)
/t p k/                   /t p k/                      /St Sp Sk/

Examples:

fija /"fi:j@/ "daughter"
fija bella /"fi:j@"vell@/ "beautiful daughter"
tua fija aumbrosa /tu"vi:jom"bro:z@/ "your love-smitten daughter"

fiju /"fi:j@/ "son"
fiju bellu /"fi:j@"bell@/ "beautiful son"
tuu fiju aumbrosu /tu"fi:j@zom"bro:z@/ "your love-smitten son"

padri /"pa:dri/ "to the father"
padris /"pa:dri/ "father's"

dare padri augan /da:r "pa:dri "awg@n/ "to give water to the father"
biver padris augan /"bi:v@r "pa:driz"awg@n/ "to drink the father's water"

huodes /"hu@d@s/ "hats"
huodes padris /"hu@d@S"pa:dri/ "father's hats"
 

(3)  Consolidation

Consolidation occurs after words that end in -d or -b.  Those consonants are usually mute, but become audible before vowels and certain single fricatives and liquids.  If the following word begins with a single stop, that stop is pronounced as a geminate (doubled).

Regular initial sounds:    Sounds after mute -d:    Sounds after mute -b:

/s/                        /dz/                     /dz/
/r l/                      /dr dl/                  /br bl/
/j/                        /gj/                     /gj/
(vowel)                    /d/ + (vowel)            /b/ + (vowel)

Examples:

ed /e/ "and"
paene ed auga /"pajne"dawg@/ "bread and water"
ueda ed morde /"y@de"mArd/ "life and death"
lac ed bueder /"laxeb"by@d@r/ "milk and butter"
bueder ed lac /"by@d@re"dlax/ "butter and milk"
luc ed sonu /"luxe"dzo:n@/ "light and sound"
noeme ed jenner /"nAjme"gjenn@r/ "name and gender"

sub /su/ "under"
sub augae /su"bawge/ "under water"
sub soli /su"dzo:li/ "under the sun"
sub juho /su"gju:A/ "under the yoke"
 

 (4)  Assimilation

Assimilation on words ending in -n if the following word begins with a nasal or a stop.  (Note that this does not include words ending in -ne, despite the fact that the e is silent.)  The -n is simply assimilated to the point of articulation of the following nasal/stop.

Regular following sounds:      Assimilated -n:
/m/                            /m/
/p k/                          /m N/
/b g/                          /m N/

Examples:

Paenen esser /pajn@n ess@r/ "to eat bread"
Oelun biver /Ajl@m bi:v@r/ "to drink oil"
Biostlan mitter /biStl@m mitt@r/ "they want to sing"
 
 
 
 

Vocabulary:


Short stressed e and o sometimes become i and u: noctes -> nuctes /"nuxt@s/, semper -> simber /"simb@r/.

Intervocal consonant clusters tend to become voiced: canto -> cando /"kandA/, monstrare -> montrare /mAn"tra:r/, status -> tsadu /"tsa:d@/; but sanctus -> santu /"sant@/ remains unvoiced because of the vanished c.

The simple initial clusters st, sp and sc become ts, pf and x respectively: stare -> tsare /tsa:r/, spica -> pfiga /"pfi:g@/, scala -> xala/"Sa:l@/.  Medially, st, sp and sc usually stay intact:  istic -> iste /iSt/, vespa -> vispa /"viSp@/, musca -> musca /"muSk@/.  More complex clusters can evolve differently: strata -> trada /"tra:d@/, monstrare -> montrare  /mAn"tra:r/, inscriptus -> incriftu /iN"krift@/.

Two unstressed syllables tend to collapse into one.  The vowel of the dropped syllable can enter the previous one to form a diphthong: generis -> jendris /"jendri/, dominus -> doemu /dAjm@/, carmina -> caerma /"kErm@/.  The following table indicates which diphthong is created when two vowels are merged.  These rules have their exceptions, of course.
 
 

First\Second a e i o u
a a ae ae au au
e eo e or ei ei eo eo
i io io i io y
o uo oe oe o or ou ou
u uo ue ue uo u

The reason why seemingly unintuitive mergings like i + e -> io happen is quite simple.  In early Jovian, the vowels were simply juxtaposed: i + e -> *ie.  This practise created many diphthongs (ia, ie, io) with the exact same phonemic behavior (/i@/ when open and stressed, /i/ otherwise).  Likewise, the groups (oa, ua, uo) and (ea, eo, eu) shared the same phonemic behavior.  Therefore, a spelling reform reduced these diphthong groups to their least common denominators io, uo and eo.

Nouns whose stems end in -r or -l often form irregular nominative singulars where this consonant is syllabified: aurum -> auer /"aw@r/ rather than **aurun /"awr@n/, granulum -> grannul /"grann@l/ rather than **gramblun /"grambl@n/.  This irregular form is mirrored in the -es/-as/-us plurals (auers, grannuls) but not in the other forms (e.g. oblique singular auro, gramblo).

The collapse of an unstressed syllable can create awkward consonant clusters, which are subsequently adapted to Jovian phonology.  For example, stop + nasal combinations change into nasal + stop combinations: machina -> *maicna -> maenca /"mEnk@/.
 
 
 

Declination:

Nouns


Noun declinations are reduced to three types.  Nominative forms can be irregular, but all other cases are built regularly.  The one exception is cases where an irregular nominative form syllabizes a stem consonant (e.g. auer for the stem aur-), the accusative plural (and the nominative plural in case of type III declination) is formed by appending -s to the nominative form rather than -es/-as/-us to the stem: auers rather than aurus.

As in Latin, the nominative and accusative forms are identical for all neutral nouns.  The ablative and dative cases of Latin have merged into a single case, the oblique, whose forms are taken from the classical dative.  Some further leveling has occurred in the second declination, where the genitive singular is now -i to match the first declination form, thereby reducing the ambivalence of the -ae ending. 

The declination IV has evolved from the Latin e-declination, but has come to include some words formerly ending in -eus, -eum and -ea as well.
 

Ia.         doemu "master":                             tauer "bull":

            Singular             Plural                 Singular             Plural
     NOM    doemu /"dAjm@/       doemi /"dAjmi/         tauer /"taw@r/       tauri /"tawri/
     ACC    doemun /"dAjm@n/     doemus /"dAjm@s/       taurun /"tawr@n/     tauers /"taw@rs/
     OBL    doemo /"dAjmA/       doemis /"dAjmi/        tauro /"tawrA/       tauris /"tawri/
     GEN    doemi /"dAjmi/       doemon /"dAjmAn/       tauri /"tawri/       tauron /"tawrAn/
 

Ib.         coelun "sky":                               auer "gold":

            Singular             Plural                 Singular             Plural
     NOM    coelun /"kAjl@n/     coela /"kAjl@/         auer /"aw@r/         aura /"awr@/
     ACC    coelun /"kAjl@n/     coela /"kAjl@/         auer /"aw@r/         aura /"awr@/
     OBL    coelo /"kAjlA/       coelis /"kAjli/        auro /"awrA/         auris /"awri/
     GEN    coeli /"kAjli/       coelon /"kAjlAn/       auri /"awri/         auron /"awrAn/
 

II.         hena "dinner":                              cammer "room":

            Singular             Plural                 Singular             Plural
     NOM    hena /"he:n@/        henae /"he:ne/         cammer /"kamm@r/     cambri /"kambri/
     ACC    henan /"he:n@n/      henas /"he:n@s/        cambran /"kambr@n/   cammers /"kamm@rs/
     OBL    henae /"he:ne/       henis /"he:ni/         cambrae /"kambre/    cambris /"kambri/
     GEN    heni /"he:ni/        henon /"he:nAn/        cambri /"kambri/     cambron /"kambrAn/
 

III.        jenner "gender":                            maere "sea":

            Singular             Plural                 Singular             Plural
     NOM    jenner /"jenn@r/     jendra /"jendr@/       maere /majr/         maera /"majr@/
     ACC    jenner /"jenn@r/     jendra /"jendr@/       maere /majr/         maera /"majr@/
     OBL    jendri /"jendri/     jendrys /"jendry/      maeri /"majri/       maerys /"majry/
     GEN    jendris /"jendri/    jendron /"jendrAn/     maeris /"majris/     maeron /"majrAn/
 

            pazer "father":                             lac "milk":

            Singular             Plural                 Singular             Plural
     NOM    pazer /"pa:D@r/      pazers /"pa:D@rs/      lac /lax/            lacta /"laxt@/
     ACC    padren /"padr@n/     pazers /"pa:D@rs/      lac /lax/            lacta /"laxt@/
     OBL    padri /"padri/       padrys /"padry/        lacti /"laxti/       lactys /"laxty/
     GEN    padris /"padri/      padron /"padrAn/       lactis /"laxti /     lacton /"laxtAn/
  

IV.         "thing":

            Singular             Plural
     NOM    /re/              rés /res/
     ACC    rén /ren/            rés /res/
     OBL    réi /rej/            réis /rej/
     GEN    réi /rej/            réon /"re:An/  

 

Pronouns


There is an optional indefinite article derived from unus, -a, -um.  It's somewhat irregular.  Note how the masculine singular nominative form u /@/ is still distinguishable from the feminine a /@/ by the fact that a softens the following word while u resists.  Also, don't confuse the oblique form no /nA/ with the unrelated word nau /no/ "not, no".
 

       u/a/un "(indefinite article)":

       Singular                               Plural
       m.          f.          n.             m.          f.          n.
NOM    u /@/       a /@/       un /@n/        ni /ni/     nae /ne/    na /n@/
ACC    un /@n/     an /@n/     un /@n/        nus /n@s/   nas /n@s/   na /n@/
OBL    no /nA/     nae /ne/    no /nA/        nis /ni/    nis /ni/    nis /ni/
GEN    ni /ni/     ni /ni/     ni /ni/        non /nAn/   non /nAn/   non /nAn/
 

A definite article is usually not used, the noun alone is assumed to be definite if it has already occurred earlier in the text.  However, one can use the third person personal pronoun in order to emphasize definiteness, e.g. is doemu "he, the man".

Here follow the personal pronouns:
 

       eo/nos "(first person personal pronoun)":

       Singular           Plural

NOM    eo /e@/            nos /nAs/
ACC    me /me/ or /m@/    nos /nAs/
OBL    mic /miC/          noe /nAj/
GEN    mei /mej/          notter /"nAtt@r/

       tu/vos "(second person personal pronoun)":

       Singular           Plural

NOM    tu /tu/            vos /vAs/
ACC    te /te/ or /t@/    vos /vAs/
OBL    tic /tiC/          voe /vAj/
GEN    tue /ty/           votter /"vAtt@r/

       is/ia/id "(third person personal pronoun and definite article)":

       Singular                               Plural
       m.          f.          n.             m.          f.          n.
NOM    is /i/      ja /ja/     id /i/         i /i/       jae /je/    ja /ja/
ACC    en /en/     en /en/     id /i/         eos /Es/    eas /Es/    ja /ja/
OBL    ei /ej/     ei /ej/     ei /ej/        is /i/      is /i/      is /i/
GEN    ys /y/      ys /y/      ys /y/         jon /jAn/   jon /jAn/   jon /jAn/ 

       se "(reflexive personal pronoun)"
       
ACC    se /te/ or /t@/   
OBL    sic /tiC/         
GEN    sue /ty/   


The final consonants in is, id and ys are silent, but subject to the mutations Resistance and Consolidation.  The oblique singular ei often comes out as [e] in speech.

Examples:

doemu /"dAjm@/ "master"
ammur /"amm@r/ "love"
is doemu /i"dAjm@/ "the/this master"
is ammur /i"zamm@r/ "the/this love"

fruendun /"frynd@n/ "wheat"
uenun /"y@n@n/ "wine"
id fruendun /i"frynd@n/ "the/this wheat"
id uenun /i"dy@n@n/ "the/this wine"
 

Another irregularly declined pronoun is the relative/interrogative pronoun:
 

       ci/cae/cod "who, what, which":
      
       Singular                               Plural

       m.          f.          n.             m.          f.          n.
NOM    ci /ki/     cae /ke/    cod /kA/       ci /ki/     cae /ke/    cae /ke/
ACC    cen /ken/   can /kan/   cod /kA/       cos /kAs/   cas /kas/   cae /ke/
OBL    cue /ky/    cue /ky/    cue /ky/       cys /ky/    cys /ky/    cys /ky/
GEN    cys /ky/    cys /ky/    cys /ky/       con /kAn/   con /kAn/   con /kAn/
 
 

The first three possessive pronouns miu, tuu, suu also have some unconventional pronunciations.  Since they are virtually always followed by a noun (phrase) carrying the same inflections for case, gender and number, its pronunciation can be greatly reduced without losing too much information.

While they are spelt as perfectly regular -u/-a/-un adjectives (miu "my", tuu "your", suu "his/her/its/their"), most forms are pronounced like the naked radical (/mi/, /tu/, /su/), except for the forms with a final -n (namely ACC singular and GEN plural), which are pronounced as (/min/, /tun/, /sun/).

However, the mutations exerted upon the following noun phrase are the ones suggested by the unreduced spelt ending, not the pronunciation.

Examples:

Miu frazer /mi"fra:z@r/ "my brother (NOM sg)" (Resistance)
Mio fradri /mi"vra:dri/ "to my brother (DAT sg)" (Lenition)
Mii frazers /mi"vra:z@rs/ "my brothers (NOM pl)" (Lenition)
Mis fradris /mi"fra:dri/ "to my brothers (DAT pl)" (Resistance)
Miun fradren /mim"pra:dr@n/ "my brother (ACC pl)" (Condensation)
Mion fradron /mim"pra:drAn/ "my brothers' (GEN pl)" (Condensation)
 
 
 

Conjugations


Jovian greatly reduces the number of inflected verb forms by dropping many of the Latin tenses and expressing the future tense and the moods with the help of auxiliaries and particles.  Be warned though:  The choice of auxiliaries is rather different from the Vulgar Latin ones.

The ê and î conjugations of Latin collapsed into the I-Conjugation of Jovian, while the consonantic and short-i conjugation of Latin became the Consonantic Conjugation of Jovian.  The short i flavors the verb stem: facio > faego.

The present indicative forms don't hide many surprises.  Only the first person singular in the i-conjugation shows an i-flavored umlauting in the stem as a result of the vanished -e- of Latin, under the condition that the stem vowel be a single vowel (no diphthong) and not i.  Example: tagire, taego from Latin tacêre, taceo.
 

Present

A-Conj.     candare /k@n"da:r/ "to sing":

            Singular                Plural
     1.P    cando    /"kandA/       candame   /k@n"da:m/
     2.P    candas   /"kand@s/      candaese  /k@n"dajs/
     3.P    canda    /"kand@/       candan    /"kand@n/

            Participle: candande  /k@n"dand/

I-Conj.     ozire /A"zi:r/ "to hate"

            Singular                Plural
     1.P    oezo     /"AjzA/        ozime     /A"zi:m/
     2.P    oezes    /"Ajz@s/       ozise     /A"zi:s/
     3.P    oeze     /"Ajz/         oezen     /"Ajz@n/

            Participle: ozinde  /A"zind/

Cons.-Conj. faeger /"fajg@r/ "to make"

            Singular                Plural
     1.P    faego     /"fajgA/      faegim    /"fajgim/
     2.P    faeges    /"fajg@s/     faegis    /"fajgi/
     3.P    faege     /fajg/        faegun    /"fajg@n/

            Participle: faeginde  /fE"gind/
 

The only other inflected tense is the past, derived from the Latin imperfect tense and generalized into an all-purpose past tense.  Note how a past infinitive is introduced in analogy to the other forms, essentially making the past form a regular A-Conjugation verb of its own.  The past participle, however, is often irregular, especially for consonantic verbs (where it is unpredictable as a rule).
 

Past

A-Conj.     candavare /,kand@"va:r/ "to have sung"

            Singular                Plural
     1.P    candavo   /k@n"da:vA/   candavame   /,kand@"va:m/
     2.P    candavas  /k@n"da:v@s/  candavaese  /,kand@"vajs/
     3.P    candava   /k@n"da:v@/   candavan    /k@n"da:v@n/

            Participle: candadu /k@n"da:d@/ "sung"

I-Conj.     ozivare /,Azi"va:r/ "to have hated"

            Singular                Plural
     1.P    ozivo    /A"zi:vA/      ozivame    /,Azi"va:m/
     2.P    ozivas   /A"zi:v@s/     ozivaese   /,Azi"vajs/
     3.P    oziva    /A"zi:v@/      ozivan     /A"zi:v@n/

            Participle: ozidu /o"zi:d@/ "hated"

Cons.-Conj. faegivare /,fEgi"va:r/ "to have made"

            Singular                Plural
     1.P    faegivo   /fE"gi:vA/    faegivame   /,fEgi"va:m/
     2.P    faegivas  /fE"gi:v@s/   faegivaese  /,fEgi"vajs/
     3.P    faegiva   /fE"gi:v@/    faegivan    /fE"gi:v@n/

            Participle: factu /faxt@/ "made"
 

The future tense is built from the auxiliary verb ire immediately followed by the infinitive of the verb.  Ire is derived from the Latin ire "to go", but is now exclusively used as an auxiliary, while vare from Latin vadere now performs that role.

Ire has an irregular present tense, but forms its past tense completely regularly.
 

The future tense auxiliary ire

Present     ire /i:r/ "to be going to..."

            Singular                Plural
     1.P    jo  /jA/                ime  /i:m/
     2.P    is  /is/                ise  /i:z/
     3.P    i   /i/                 ion  /in/

            Participle: inde /ind/

Past        ivare /i"va:r/ "to have been going to..."  (regular conjugation)

            Participle: idu /"i:d@/

Examples:   ime candare /i:m k@n"da:r/ "we will sing"
            is ozire /izA"zi:r/ "you will hate"
            ion faeger /im"pajg@r/ "they will make"
 

The passive voice is built from the auxiliary verb fire "to be made" followed by the past participle of the verb.  Fire is derived from the Latin fieri, which is the passive form of facere "to make".
 

The passive voice auxiliary fire

Present     fire /fi:r/ "to be made..."

            Singular                Plural
     1.P    fo   /fA/               fime  /fi:m/
     2.P    fis  /fis/              fise  /fi:z/
     3.P    fi   /fi/               fion  /fin/

            Participle: finde /find/

Past        fivare /fi"va:r/ "to have been made..."  (regular conjugation)

            Participle: fidu /"fi:d@/

Examples:   na caerma fion candada /n@"gErm@ fiNg@n"da:d@/ "some songs are sung"
            fime ozidi /fi:m A"zi:di/ "we are hated"
            i fire factun /ivi:r "faxt@n/ "it will be made"
 

Likewise, the conditional mood is built from the auxiliary gare "to would" followed by the infinitive of the verb.  Gare is derived from the Latin subjunctive forms of the verb agere (agam, agas, etc.), whose Jovian version ajer acts as the all-purpose verb "to do".  The seemingly unrelated past form aerare comes from the imperfect subjunctive forms of agere (agerem, ageres etc.).
 

The conditional mood auxiliary gare

Present     gare /ga:r/ "to would"

            Singular                Plural
     1.P    gau   /gaw/             game  /ga:m/
     2.P    gas   /gas/             gaese /gajz/
     3.P    ga    /ga/              gan   /gan/

            Participle: gande /gand/

Past        aerare /E"ra:r/ "to would have" (regular conjugation)

            Participle: gadu /"ga:d@/

Examples:   gau candare /gawg@n"da:r/ "I would sing"
            game ozire /ga:m A"zi:r/ "we would hear"
 

The following verbs are irregular but very common and useful.
 

Ere "to be"

Present     ere /e:r/ "to be"

            Singular                Plural
     1.P    sou  /sow/              sume  /su:m/
     2.P    es  /es/                eise  /ejz/
     3.P    ix  /iS/                son   /sAn/

            Participle: sinde /sind/

Past        erare /e"ra:r/ "to have been"  (regular conjugation)

            Participle: sidu /"si:d@/
 

Ajer "to do; to act as ...; to behave"

Present     ajer /"aj@r/ "to do"

            Singular                Plural
     1.P    au    /aw/              aeme  /ajm/
     2.P    aes   /Es/              aese  /ajz/
     3.P    ae    /aj/              aun   /on/

            Participle: aende /End/

Past        aevare /E"va:r/ "to have done"  (regular conjugation)

            Participle: actu /"axt@/
 

Vare "to go"

Present     vare /"va:r/ "to go"

            Singular                Plural
     1.P    vau    /vaw/            vaeme  /vajm/
     2.P    vaes   /vEs/            vaese  /vajz/
     3.P    vae    /vaj/            vaun   /von/

            Participle: vande /vand/

Past        vavare /v@"va:r/ "to have gone"  (regular conjugation)

            Participle: vasu /"va:z@/
 

Haever "to have"

Present     haever /"hajv@r/ "to have"

            Singular                Plural
     1.P    hau    /haw/            haeme   /hajm/
     2.P    haes   /hEs/            haese   /hajz/
     3.P    hae    /haj/            haen    /hEn/

            Participle: haende /hEnd/

Past        haevare /hE"va:r/ "to have had"  (regular conjugation)

            Participle: haedu /"hajd@/
 

Voller "to want"

Present     voller /"voll@r/ "to want"

            Singular                Plural
     1.P    vou    /vow/            voume   /vowm/
     2.P    vis    /vis/            vuelde  /vyld/
     3.P    vul    /vul/            voun    /vun/

            Participle: voulinde /vu"lind/

Past        volivare /vAli"va:r/ "to have wanted"  (regular conjugation)

            Participle: vouldu /"vuld@/
 

© 2001 by Christian Thalmann <cinga(at)gmx(dot)net>