Pronouns are really tricky, and I never feel as though I'm satisfied. The problem is compounded by the additional Greek-derived pronouns that I'd like to have in Vulgare so that users would be better able to access Greek if they study the language. First off, before touching pronouns, I think I'll start with possessives because they are simply adjectives. The Greek-derived adjective is the latter of each pair.
Possessive Adjectives:
mea/o, ema/o - my
tua/o, sa/o - your (s)
nostra/o, hemetera/o - our
vestra/o, hymetera/o - your (p)
sua/o - her, his, its, their own
sphetera/o - their (own)
That was the easy part. Now to personal pronouns. Like the nouns that we've derived, each form will be given as a root and a nominative in parentheses. From the root, one can obtain the genitives. However, for the first and second person, the plural will be irregular and must be memorized. The third person pronouns, however, can be entirely regular.
Personal Pronouns
1st person: me (ego) - plural: nos, hemes; plural genitive: nostri, hemum;
2nd person: te (tu) - plural: vos, hymes; plural genitive: vestri, hymum;
3rd person: ea/o (is, id), auta/o
Reflexive Pronouns
1st person: me, emauta/o - plural: nos, hemes autas/os
2nd person: te, seauta/o - plural: vos, hymes autas/os;
3rd person: se, heauta/o
Greek has a definite article, but Latin does not. In Vulgare, nouns that stand alone may be either definite or indefinite. If the definite nature of a noun is not apparent, one can use the Greek-derived definite article. The following are demonstrative pronouns with their nominative forms in perentheses.
Other Pronouns and Articles
Definite Pronoun, The: ta/to (he, ho)
This: hac/hoc (haec, hic), tuta/o (hauta, huto), tade/tode (hede, hode) - declined like ta/o + de.
That: illa/o (ille, illud), ista/o (iste, istud), eceina/o.
The same: eadem/eodem (idem) - declined like ea/o + dem.
Each other, one another: allelas/os.
Indefinite Pronoun, Some, Any: aliqua/o (aliquis, aliquid), tine (tis, ti).
-Self: ipsa/o, auta/o.
Relative Pronoun, Who, That: qua/o (quae, qui, quod), ha/o (he, hos)
Interrogative Pronoun: quo (quis, quid), tine (tis, ti)
Declining the forms above should be regular. The plural of hac/hoc will be has/hos. The genitives will be haec/hic in the singular and harum, horum in the plural. In the case of tade/tode and eadem/eodem, the final m of the genitive plural will become an n due to consonant harmony: tarum + de = tarunde, earum + dem = earundem.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Adjectives
Adjectives should be fairly easy to form, using rules very similar to the way we derive nouns. Irregular adjectives that have genitives ending with -ius will have forms based on their ablative cases. Since we have two genders in Vulgare, adjectives that were originally of the Latin first or second declension will have two forms. Adjectives of the Latin third declension should be invariable. The rules for deriving Greek-based adjectives will be similar. Plurals will be formed by adding an -s. Here are some examples:
Latin gendered adjectives:
alia/o - another; altera/o - the other; bona/o - good; neutra/o - neither; nulla/o - none; sacra/o - sacred; sola/o - alone; tenera/o - tender; tota/o - whole; ulla/o - any; una/o - one; utra/o - which of two?;
Latin non-gendered adjectives:
alacre - lively; audace (audax) - bold; forte - brave; fortiore - braver; meliore - better; pejore - worse; potente (potens) - powerful; vetere (vetus) - old;
Greek gendered adjectives:
adica/o - unjust; agatha/o - good; aloga/o - irrational; caca/o - bad; cala/o - beautiful; chrysa/o - golden; episema/o - remarkable; euxena/o - hospitable; hilea/o - gracious; megala/o (mega) - great; micra/o - little; oliga/o - few; philia/o - friendly; polla/o (poly) - much, many; rhaedia/o - easy; sopha/o - wise;
Greek non-gendered adjectives:
alethe - true; chariente - graceful; euphrone - kindly; hede - sweet; meizone - greater, bigger; pante (pas) - all, every; talane - unhappy;
Latin gendered adjectives:
alia/o - another; altera/o - the other; bona/o - good; neutra/o - neither; nulla/o - none; sacra/o - sacred; sola/o - alone; tenera/o - tender; tota/o - whole; ulla/o - any; una/o - one; utra/o - which of two?;
Latin non-gendered adjectives:
alacre - lively; audace (audax) - bold; forte - brave; fortiore - braver; meliore - better; pejore - worse; potente (potens) - powerful; vetere (vetus) - old;
Greek gendered adjectives:
adica/o - unjust; agatha/o - good; aloga/o - irrational; caca/o - bad; cala/o - beautiful; chrysa/o - golden; episema/o - remarkable; euxena/o - hospitable; hilea/o - gracious; megala/o (mega) - great; micra/o - little; oliga/o - few; philia/o - friendly; polla/o (poly) - much, many; rhaedia/o - easy; sopha/o - wise;
Greek non-gendered adjectives:
alethe - true; chariente - graceful; euphrone - kindly; hede - sweet; meizone - greater, bigger; pante (pas) - all, every; talane - unhappy;
Incorporating Greek verbs
I'd like to bring in Greek verb roots in mass, so that users of Vulgare would be at least familiar with the original Greek vocabulary. The Greek roots will have to be incorporated into the Latin-based grammar that I've described already. For instance, I'd have to chose principle parts for each Greek word, but since Greek has both an aorist tense and a perfect tense, I'm not sure exactly which form to use. I'll muse a little here.
For the verb παύω (I stop), the Vulgare form could be pavo, with the infinitive pavere. The conjugations could be as follows:
Imperfect: pavo, pavis, pavit, pavimus, pavitis, pavent.
Perfect (derived from Greek perfect): pepauci, pepaucis, pepaucit, pepaucimus, pepaucitis, pepaucent.
Perfect (derived from Greek aorist): epausi, epausis, epausit, epausimus, epausitis, epausent.
In the end, the decision of how to derive the Vulgare perfect would depend on which form would be best for the user if she or he decides to explore Greek further. I'll look into whether the aorist is used more commonly than the perfect, and if so, that may be one factor in my decision. Or maybe, users can be given both forms. I don't know yet.
For the verb παύω (I stop), the Vulgare form could be pavo, with the infinitive pavere. The conjugations could be as follows:
Imperfect: pavo, pavis, pavit, pavimus, pavitis, pavent.
Perfect (derived from Greek perfect): pepauci, pepaucis, pepaucit, pepaucimus, pepaucitis, pepaucent.
Perfect (derived from Greek aorist): epausi, epausis, epausit, epausimus, epausitis, epausent.
In the end, the decision of how to derive the Vulgare perfect would depend on which form would be best for the user if she or he decides to explore Greek further. I'll look into whether the aorist is used more commonly than the perfect, and if so, that may be one factor in my decision. Or maybe, users can be given both forms. I don't know yet.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Basic Use of Verbs
As mentioned in a previous post, I'd like Vulgare to conserve conjugations based on person and number as well as a distinction between an imperfect and perfect tense. In this way, users of Vulgare will be familiar with these elements if they try to study Latin or Greek further.
Users will thus have to learn the principle parts of each Latin verb, with some simplifications. These principle parts can be found in any Latin dictionary. The conjugation scheme should be fairly simple and usable for both the imperfect and perfect tenses. Here's the endings that I suggest:
1st person singular: -o/-
2nd person singular: -s
3rd person singular: -t
1st person plural: -mus
2nd person plural: -tis
3rd person plural: -(e)nt
Let's take the Latin verb amo (I love). Its infinitive is amare and its perfect form is given as amavi (I have loved). From this we can get the following conjugations:
Imperfect form
amo - I love
amas - you (s) love
amat - she/he/it loves
amamus - we love
amatis - you (p) love
amant - they love
Perfect form
amavi - I have loved
amavis - you (s) have loved
amavit - she/he/it has loved
amavimus - we have loved
amavitis - you (p) have loved
amavent* - they have loved
*note that the final syllable changes to an -e for vowel harmony.
For the verb moneo (I advise), whose infinitive is monere and perfect form monui, we get the following conjugations. Moneo has a strong -e in its root, so it does not fall out of the 1st person singular conjugation and persists in all other conjugations.
Imperfect: moneo, mones, monet, monemus, monetis, monent.
Perfect: monui, monuis, monuit, monuimus, monuitis, monuent.
For the verb rego (I rule), whose infinitive is regere and perfect form rexi, we get the following conjugations. Note that unlike moneo, rego does not have a strong -e in its root as it falls out in the 1st person singular conjugation. Subsequently, most other imperfect conjugations have the root regi-, with an -i. The only exception to this is the 3rd person plural form regent where the changes to an e due to vowel harmony.
Imperfect: rego, regis, regit, regimus, regitis, regent.
Perfect: rexi, rexis, rexit, reximus, rexitis, rexent.
For the verb capio (I take), whose infinitive is capere and perfect form cepi, we get the following conjugations. Note that capio has a strong i in its root that does not fall out in any imperfect forms. The 3rd person plural form must and -ent for vowel harmony.
Imperfect: capio, capis, capit, capimus, capitis, capient.
Perfect: cepi, cepis, cepit, cepimus, cepitis, cepent.
For the verb audio (I hear), whose infinitive is audire and perfect form audivi, we get the following conjugations:
Imperfect: audio, audis, audit, audimus, auditis, audient.
Perfect: audivi, audivis, audivit, audivimus, audivitis, audivent.
Many verbs that were originally irregular in Latin will be made regular in Vulgare. Take for instance the Latin verb eo (I go) which will become io.
Imperfect: io, is, it, imus, itis, ient.
Perfect: ivi, ivis, ivit, ivimus, ivitis, ivent.
Another example is volo (I want) which will become volo, volere, volui.
Imperfect: volo, volis, volit, volimus, volitis, volent.
Perfect: volui, voluis, voluit, voluimus, voluitis, voluent.
The only irregular verb I would keep would be sum (I am). I think it's important for Vulgare users to be familiar with at least some of the original conjugations of this verb. Its perfect form fui (I was) is completely regular however.
Imperfect: sum, es, est, sumus, estis, sunt.
Perfect: fui, fuis, fuit, fuimus, fuitis, fuent.
Users will thus have to learn the principle parts of each Latin verb, with some simplifications. These principle parts can be found in any Latin dictionary. The conjugation scheme should be fairly simple and usable for both the imperfect and perfect tenses. Here's the endings that I suggest:
1st person singular: -o/-
2nd person singular: -s
3rd person singular: -t
1st person plural: -mus
2nd person plural: -tis
3rd person plural: -(e)nt
Let's take the Latin verb amo (I love). Its infinitive is amare and its perfect form is given as amavi (I have loved). From this we can get the following conjugations:
Imperfect form
amo - I love
amas - you (s) love
amat - she/he/it loves
amamus - we love
amatis - you (p) love
amant - they love
Perfect form
amavi - I have loved
amavis - you (s) have loved
amavit - she/he/it has loved
amavimus - we have loved
amavitis - you (p) have loved
amavent* - they have loved
*note that the final syllable changes to an -e for vowel harmony.
For the verb moneo (I advise), whose infinitive is monere and perfect form monui, we get the following conjugations. Moneo has a strong -e in its root, so it does not fall out of the 1st person singular conjugation and persists in all other conjugations.
Imperfect: moneo, mones, monet, monemus, monetis, monent.
Perfect: monui, monuis, monuit, monuimus, monuitis, monuent.
For the verb rego (I rule), whose infinitive is regere and perfect form rexi, we get the following conjugations. Note that unlike moneo, rego does not have a strong -e in its root as it falls out in the 1st person singular conjugation. Subsequently, most other imperfect conjugations have the root regi-, with an -i. The only exception to this is the 3rd person plural form regent where the changes to an e due to vowel harmony.
Imperfect: rego, regis, regit, regimus, regitis, regent.
Perfect: rexi, rexis, rexit, reximus, rexitis, rexent.
For the verb capio (I take), whose infinitive is capere and perfect form cepi, we get the following conjugations. Note that capio has a strong i in its root that does not fall out in any imperfect forms. The 3rd person plural form must and -ent for vowel harmony.
Imperfect: capio, capis, capit, capimus, capitis, capient.
Perfect: cepi, cepis, cepit, cepimus, cepitis, cepent.
For the verb audio (I hear), whose infinitive is audire and perfect form audivi, we get the following conjugations:
Imperfect: audio, audis, audit, audimus, auditis, audient.
Perfect: audivi, audivis, audivit, audivimus, audivitis, audivent.
Many verbs that were originally irregular in Latin will be made regular in Vulgare. Take for instance the Latin verb eo (I go) which will become io.
Imperfect: io, is, it, imus, itis, ient.
Perfect: ivi, ivis, ivit, ivimus, ivitis, ivent.
Another example is volo (I want) which will become volo, volere, volui.
Imperfect: volo, volis, volit, volimus, volitis, volent.
Perfect: volui, voluis, voluit, voluimus, voluitis, voluent.
The only irregular verb I would keep would be sum (I am). I think it's important for Vulgare users to be familiar with at least some of the original conjugations of this verb. Its perfect form fui (I was) is completely regular however.
Imperfect: sum, es, est, sumus, estis, sunt.
Perfect: fui, fuis, fuit, fuimus, fuitis, fuent.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Noun list
With the rules used in the previous posts. I think I'll start forming a little noun list. Already one sees a little bit of collision between the Latin and Greek vocabulary. For instance, ore can refer to both mouth, derived from the Latin os/oris, or mountain, derived from the Greek oros/orus. But there's no reason why a language can't have homonyms.
Parentheses indicate nominative which may be difficult to decipher directly from the Vulgare root word. We'll assume words ending in -o, -e, -u, are masculine and words ending in -a are feminine unless otherwise stated. The list is made up of words derived from both Latin and Greek. If the Greek origin of the word is not apparent from the spelling, I put a small g after the definition. Very similar Latin and Greek words are placed on the same definition, with the Greek-derived word being the latter form (as in nocte/nycte).
A
acropole - f. citadel, g; adultero - adulterer; aede - f. shame, g; aeone - age, g; aequore - sea; aevo - age; agricola - m. farmer; agro (ager) - field; alvo - f. belly; amne - river; anate - duck; andre (aner) - man, g; animale - animal; anthropo - human; ape - bee; apice (apex) - peak; arce (arx) - f. citadel; arte (ars) - art; arto - bread, g; aste (asty) - city; atomo - f. atom; aure - ear; auturgo - farmer, g; ave - bird; axe, axone - axle;
B
base - f. base, g; basile - king, g; beche (bex) - cough; bello - war; biblio - f. book, g; bove - ox, cow; bure - plow-beam;
C
caede - f. slaughter; calcare - spur; cane/cyne - dog; capite (caput) - head; carbaso - f. flax; carne (caro) - f. flesh; cepo - garden, g; chora - land; clave - key; cleide - key, g; colle - hill; colo - f. distaff; cone - dust, g; corde (cor) - heart; crate - hurdle; crena - fountain, g; crito - judge, g; custode (custos) - guard; cyclo - circle;
D
dea - goddess; dente (dens) - tooth; deo - god; die (dies) - day; diphthongo - f. diphthong; dono - gift; doro - gift, g; dote - dowry; duce (dux) - leader; dulo - slave, g;
E
elpide (elpis) - f. hope, g; epeiro - f. mainland, g; equo - horse; erote (eros) - love, g; ethno - race; etho - custom;
F
fasce - bundle; fonte (fons) - fountain; febre - fever; femore (femur) - thigh; filio - son; fructu - fruit;
G
gea - ground, g; genere/gene - race; genero - son-in-law; gente - tribe; genu - knee; georgo - farmer, g; geronte (geron) - old man, g; gnatho - f. jaw; grammatica - grammar, g; grave? (graus) - f. old woman, g; gynaece (gyne) - f. woman;
H
haemate (haema) - blood, g; hegemone - leader, g; helicia - time of life, g; helo - nail, g; heo - f. dawn, g; heroe - hero, g; hippo - horse, g; hodo - f. way, g; honore - honor; horto - garden; hoste - enemy; huio - son, g; humo - f. ground;
IJ
ichthye - fish; igne - fire; ingenio - talent; itinere (iter) - road; juvene - youth;
L
lago - hare, g; lampade (lampas) - torch, g; lapide (lapis) - stone; leo - people, g; leone, leonte (leon) - lion; lintre - skiff; litho - stone; logo - word, g; lopho - hill;
M
manu - f. hand; mare - sea; matre/metre (mater/meter) - f. mother; melissa - bee, g; mense/mene - month; mente - mind; mero - thigh, g; milite (miles) - soldier; monte (mons) mountain; more - custom; morte - death; musica - music, g;
N
naide (nais) - f. naiad, g; nauta - m. sailor; nave? (naus) - f. ship, g; neanio - young man, g; neo - temple, g; neso - f. island, g; nessa - duck; nio - son, g; nocte/nycte (nox/nyx)- f. night; nomine (nomen) - name; nomo - custom, g; noo (nus) - mind, g; noso - f. disease, g;
O
ochlo - crowd; odonte (odus) - tooth, g; onomate (onoma) - name, g; onyche (onyx) - fingernail; opere (opus) - work; orbe - circle; ore (oros) - mountain, g; ore (os) - mouth; ornithe (ornis) - bird; osse (os) - bone; osteo - bone, g; ote (us) - ear, g; ove - sheep;
P
paede (paes) - boy, g; pane - bread; parte (pars) - part; patre (pater) - father; pede/pode (pes/pus) - foot; pega - fountain, g; peithe - f. persuasion; pelago - sea, g; pelve - basin; pisce - fish; pharmaco - poison; pherna - dowry; phono - slaughter; phylace (phylax) - guard; phylo - tribe; plintho - f. brick; pole - f. city, g; polemio - enemy, g; polemo - war, g; pollice (pollex) - thumb; ponte (pons) - bridge; porta - gate; poste - post; potamo - river, g; principe (princeps) - cheif; psepho - f. pebble, vote; puero (puer) - boy; pulve - dust; puppe - stern; pyla - gate; pyre (pyr) - fire;
R
re (res) - f. thing; rege (rex) - king; remige (remex) - rower; reste - rope; rhetore - speaker; rhetorica - rhetoric; rosa - rose;
S
sangue - blood; sarce - f. flesh, g; secure - axe; sedile - seat; semente - sowing; sene (senex) - old man; sente - brier; servo - servant; site - thirst; socero - fater-in-law; somate (soma) - body, g; sono - sound; sorte - lot; sphaga - slaughter; stratioto - soldier, g; sue (sus) - swine;
T
techna - art; thalassa - sea; thanato - death; thea - goddess; theo - god; thygatere - daughter; tigre - tiger, g; tima - honor, g; torre - brand; triere - f. trireme, g; trude - pole; tusse - f. cough;
UV
ungue - nail; valgo - crowd; vanno - f. winnowing fan; vecte - lever; vertice (vertex) - summit; vespera/hespera - evening; victore - conqueror; vigile (vigil) - fireman; viro (vir) - man;
B
base - f. base, g; basile - king, g; beche (bex) - cough; bello - war; biblio - f. book, g; bove - ox, cow; bure - plow-beam;
C
caede - f. slaughter; calcare - spur; cane/cyne - dog; capite (caput) - head; carbaso - f. flax; carne (caro) - f. flesh; cepo - garden, g; chora - land; clave - key; cleide - key, g; colle - hill; colo - f. distaff; cone - dust, g; corde (cor) - heart; crate - hurdle; crena - fountain, g; crito - judge, g; custode (custos) - guard; cyclo - circle;
D
dea - goddess; dente (dens) - tooth; deo - god; die (dies) - day; diphthongo - f. diphthong; dono - gift; doro - gift, g; dote - dowry; duce (dux) - leader; dulo - slave, g;
E
elpide (elpis) - f. hope, g; epeiro - f. mainland, g; equo - horse; erote (eros) - love, g; ethno - race; etho - custom;
F
fasce - bundle; fonte (fons) - fountain; febre - fever; femore (femur) - thigh; filio - son; fructu - fruit;
G
gea - ground, g; genere/gene - race; genero - son-in-law; gente - tribe; genu - knee; georgo - farmer, g; geronte (geron) - old man, g; gnatho - f. jaw; grammatica - grammar, g; grave? (graus) - f. old woman, g; gynaece (gyne) - f. woman;
H
haemate (haema) - blood, g; hegemone - leader, g; helicia - time of life, g; helo - nail, g; heo - f. dawn, g; heroe - hero, g; hippo - horse, g; hodo - f. way, g; honore - honor; horto - garden; hoste - enemy; huio - son, g; humo - f. ground;
IJ
ichthye - fish; igne - fire; ingenio - talent; itinere (iter) - road; juvene - youth;
L
lago - hare, g; lampade (lampas) - torch, g; lapide (lapis) - stone; leo - people, g; leone, leonte (leon) - lion; lintre - skiff; litho - stone; logo - word, g; lopho - hill;
M
manu - f. hand; mare - sea; matre/metre (mater/meter) - f. mother; melissa - bee, g; mense/mene - month; mente - mind; mero - thigh, g; milite (miles) - soldier; monte (mons) mountain; more - custom; morte - death; musica - music, g;
N
naide (nais) - f. naiad, g; nauta - m. sailor; nave? (naus) - f. ship, g; neanio - young man, g; neo - temple, g; neso - f. island, g; nessa - duck; nio - son, g; nocte/nycte (nox/nyx)- f. night; nomine (nomen) - name; nomo - custom, g; noo (nus) - mind, g; noso - f. disease, g;
O
ochlo - crowd; odonte (odus) - tooth, g; onomate (onoma) - name, g; onyche (onyx) - fingernail; opere (opus) - work; orbe - circle; ore (oros) - mountain, g; ore (os) - mouth; ornithe (ornis) - bird; osse (os) - bone; osteo - bone, g; ote (us) - ear, g; ove - sheep;
P
paede (paes) - boy, g; pane - bread; parte (pars) - part; patre (pater) - father; pede/pode (pes/pus) - foot; pega - fountain, g; peithe - f. persuasion; pelago - sea, g; pelve - basin; pisce - fish; pharmaco - poison; pherna - dowry; phono - slaughter; phylace (phylax) - guard; phylo - tribe; plintho - f. brick; pole - f. city, g; polemio - enemy, g; polemo - war, g; pollice (pollex) - thumb; ponte (pons) - bridge; porta - gate; poste - post; potamo - river, g; principe (princeps) - cheif; psepho - f. pebble, vote; puero (puer) - boy; pulve - dust; puppe - stern; pyla - gate; pyre (pyr) - fire;
R
re (res) - f. thing; rege (rex) - king; remige (remex) - rower; reste - rope; rhetore - speaker; rhetorica - rhetoric; rosa - rose;
S
sangue - blood; sarce - f. flesh, g; secure - axe; sedile - seat; semente - sowing; sene (senex) - old man; sente - brier; servo - servant; site - thirst; socero - fater-in-law; somate (soma) - body, g; sono - sound; sorte - lot; sphaga - slaughter; stratioto - soldier, g; sue (sus) - swine;
T
techna - art; thalassa - sea; thanato - death; thea - goddess; theo - god; thygatere - daughter; tigre - tiger, g; tima - honor, g; torre - brand; triere - f. trireme, g; trude - pole; tusse - f. cough;
UV
ungue - nail; valgo - crowd; vanno - f. winnowing fan; vecte - lever; vertice (vertex) - summit; vespera/hespera - evening; victore - conqueror; vigile (vigil) - fireman; viro (vir) - man;
Z
zoo - animal, g;
zoo - animal, g;
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Forming plurals and genitives of nouns
In order to form plurals, Peano's Latino Sine Flexione added an -s to the end of words. The form that's created often corresponds to the plural accusative or sometimes the plural nominative unless the noun is originally neuter in Latin or Greek.
Plural examples: rosa -> rosas; amico -> amicos; nocte -> noctes; manu -> manus.
The following changes can be used to form the singular genitive corresponding closely to the original Latin: -a -> -ae; -o -> -i; -e -> -is; -u -> -ui; -e (hard as in the short words re or die) -> -ei.
To make the plural genitive, the following changes can be made: -o, -a, or hard -e -> add -rum; -e -> -um; -u -> -uum.
Genitive examples: rosa -> rosae, rosarum; amico -> amici, amicorum; principe -> principis, principum; manu -> manui, manuum; re -> rei, rerum.
Incorporating Greek?
So Peano's Latino Sine Flexione derived its words completely from Latin. I hope to derive a considerable number of words from Greek into this language as well, so that users will have familiarity with a host of Greek terms. The best way to do so is to use the method that the Romans themselved used in incorporating Greek loan-words, but I'm not fully certain of that methodology. Greek, like Latin, has a first, second, and third declension, so maybe the Greek words of a certain class could mirror the Latin words of the same class.
Here's my method of deriving a Greek word into Vulgare. We will use the genetive of each Greek word. Also, the spelling would be based on the classical Latin rendering.
First Declension: if the genetive ends with -ης or -ας, then the Vulgare word would end with -a.
Second Declension: if the genetive ends with -ου or the Attic declension -ω, then the Vulgare word would end in -o.
Third declension: if the genetive ends with -ος, -εως, or the contracted form -ους (from -εος), then the Vulgare ending will be -e.
Examples: tima - honor, f; chora - land, f; logo - word, m; doro - gift, n; somate - body, n; pole - city, f; basile - king, m.
Here's my method of deriving a Greek word into Vulgare. We will use the genetive of each Greek word. Also, the spelling would be based on the classical Latin rendering.
First Declension: if the genetive ends with -ης or -ας, then the Vulgare word would end with -a.
Second Declension: if the genetive ends with -ου or the Attic declension -ω, then the Vulgare word would end in -o.
Third declension: if the genetive ends with -ος, -εως, or the contracted form -ους (from -εος), then the Vulgare ending will be -e.
Examples: tima - honor, f; chora - land, f; logo - word, m; doro - gift, n; somate - body, n; pole - city, f; basile - king, m.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Tool language
So the purpose of Vulgare is to serve as a sort of "tool" language to facilitate a student's learning the Latin and Greek roots of English and other Western languages. I would also like a student of this "tool" language to be able to pick up a text of Latin and try to get by, understanding at least the general gist. I don't think this is feasable with a system completely stripped of grammar, as in Latino Sine Flexione. In my last post, I mentioned that I'd like to be a little more conservative than Giuseppe Peano in simplifying Latin's grammar rules, maintaining some elements of Latin grammar. Those elements are open to discussion, but here's what I'm currently thinking in relation to Peano's Latino Sine Flexione (LSF):
Maintaining some Latin noun cases:
LSF gets rid of all noun cases by using words similar to the Latin ablative case. Here word order and helper prepositions like ad or de are used to indicate other cases. Although I agree with this, we often come across the Latin genetive and nominative in our society, such as in the phrase vox populi which would be rendered into LSF as voce de populo. Since the Latin genitive can easily be derived from the LSF root word by a simple set of rules, I see no reason to fully exclude it from Vulgare grammar. Users should have the option of using the genitive or the preposition de. The Latin nominative is a little more tricky, since it is often an abreviated form of the LSF root word (corde -> cor, nocte -> nox, itinere -> iter). I don't suggest mandating everyone use the specific nominative form in order to communicate, but I think it ought to be taught when learning words so that people have at least some familiarity to the nominative terms they come across.
Maintaining some genders:
LSF removes all grammatical genders and uses the neuter form for adjectives. Since some grammar scheme exists in modern languages such as Spanish, French, and German, I don't think that we have to do away with all gender. Vulgare could possibly keep the masculine and feminine genders and have the neuter merge into the masculine.
Maintaining some verb forms (perfect and imperfect):
When learning the principle parts of Latin verbs, one learns both the imperfect root and the perfect root. These forms can't always be derived from each other (take rego - I rule vs. rexi - I have ruled). All tenses seem to be variations on either of these forms. LSF only uses one verb form, but I believe it would be good for users of Vulgare to be exposed to both forms. This would make Vulgare similar to Arabic which can also be described as having just a perfect and imperfect tense.
Maintaining a basic conjugation scheme:
Six forms of conjugations can be tricky but exist not only in Latin and Greek but also Spanish and French. Users of Vulgare should be aware of these verb endings when trying to get a sense of any Latin phrase. Thus I feel a simple conjugation scheme should be maintained (-o/-, -s, -t, -mus, -tis, -ent).
So a user would learn two forms of each verb: amo (I love) and amavi (I have loved). Using the above conjugation scheme, she would obtain the six conjugations of each form: imperfect (amo, amas, amat, amamus, amatis, amant) and the perfect (amavi, amavis, amavit, amavimus, amavitis, amavent).
Maintaining some Latin noun cases:
LSF gets rid of all noun cases by using words similar to the Latin ablative case. Here word order and helper prepositions like ad or de are used to indicate other cases. Although I agree with this, we often come across the Latin genetive and nominative in our society, such as in the phrase vox populi which would be rendered into LSF as voce de populo. Since the Latin genitive can easily be derived from the LSF root word by a simple set of rules, I see no reason to fully exclude it from Vulgare grammar. Users should have the option of using the genitive or the preposition de. The Latin nominative is a little more tricky, since it is often an abreviated form of the LSF root word (corde -> cor, nocte -> nox, itinere -> iter). I don't suggest mandating everyone use the specific nominative form in order to communicate, but I think it ought to be taught when learning words so that people have at least some familiarity to the nominative terms they come across.
Maintaining some genders:
LSF removes all grammatical genders and uses the neuter form for adjectives. Since some grammar scheme exists in modern languages such as Spanish, French, and German, I don't think that we have to do away with all gender. Vulgare could possibly keep the masculine and feminine genders and have the neuter merge into the masculine.
Maintaining some verb forms (perfect and imperfect):
When learning the principle parts of Latin verbs, one learns both the imperfect root and the perfect root. These forms can't always be derived from each other (take rego - I rule vs. rexi - I have ruled). All tenses seem to be variations on either of these forms. LSF only uses one verb form, but I believe it would be good for users of Vulgare to be exposed to both forms. This would make Vulgare similar to Arabic which can also be described as having just a perfect and imperfect tense.
Maintaining a basic conjugation scheme:
Six forms of conjugations can be tricky but exist not only in Latin and Greek but also Spanish and French. Users of Vulgare should be aware of these verb endings when trying to get a sense of any Latin phrase. Thus I feel a simple conjugation scheme should be maintained (-o/-, -s, -t, -mus, -tis, -ent).
So a user would learn two forms of each verb: amo (I love) and amavi (I have loved). Using the above conjugation scheme, she would obtain the six conjugations of each form: imperfect (amo, amas, amat, amamus, amatis, amant) and the perfect (amavi, amavis, amavit, amavimus, amavitis, amavent).
Statement of Purpose
Conlanging, the art of constructing artificial languages, has been a passion of mine since high school. I wanted to use this blog as some sort of platform on which to collect ideas about a specific project I've been contemplating - an artificial language based heavily on Latin and Greek.
I can't say how much I've benefited from trying to learn Latin and Greek. Latin, the foundational language of Western Europe, pervades much of literature and science. Greek, too, plays a major role in our everyday lives especially through its influence on the Romans. Though Greek vocabulary may be a little more distant for English speakers, we can't minimize the historical importance of Greek and let that slip away from us.
Unfortunately, we've seen a decline in the study of Latin and Greek and the importance our society pays to the two languages. We've come to see the two languages as being extremely difficult, not something one can easily pick up. And as such, I feel so many people maybe missing out on a tremendous benefit to their lives. Some would say that these languages need to be more commonplace and down to earth - vulgar to use the Latin term.
So here's the goal of this blog: to play about with a simplified language with a working name of Vulgare that would introduce busy people to a wealth of Latin and Greek vocabulary. Projects like this have been done before, and one of the best known is Giuseppe Peano's "Latino Sine Flexione," Latin completely stripped of its grammar. Peano's model has had a powerful influence on me and I will use many of his ideas, but I feel that it is important to learn at least some grammar in order to not be completely lost with many of the Latin-based phrases used in everyday speech. Thus Vulgare will be more conservative in its reduction of grammar - the trick is to find that happy medium between usefulness and simplicity.
I can't say how much I've benefited from trying to learn Latin and Greek. Latin, the foundational language of Western Europe, pervades much of literature and science. Greek, too, plays a major role in our everyday lives especially through its influence on the Romans. Though Greek vocabulary may be a little more distant for English speakers, we can't minimize the historical importance of Greek and let that slip away from us.
Unfortunately, we've seen a decline in the study of Latin and Greek and the importance our society pays to the two languages. We've come to see the two languages as being extremely difficult, not something one can easily pick up. And as such, I feel so many people maybe missing out on a tremendous benefit to their lives. Some would say that these languages need to be more commonplace and down to earth - vulgar to use the Latin term.
So here's the goal of this blog: to play about with a simplified language with a working name of Vulgare that would introduce busy people to a wealth of Latin and Greek vocabulary. Projects like this have been done before, and one of the best known is Giuseppe Peano's "Latino Sine Flexione," Latin completely stripped of its grammar. Peano's model has had a powerful influence on me and I will use many of his ideas, but I feel that it is important to learn at least some grammar in order to not be completely lost with many of the Latin-based phrases used in everyday speech. Thus Vulgare will be more conservative in its reduction of grammar - the trick is to find that happy medium between usefulness and simplicity.
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