Elatine
Super terra integre esseba solo une lingua et une modo de parolare - nove lingua de Europa ex vetere lingua de Roma Eterne
Elatine (<ex- + latinus ’out of Latin’, /ɪˈlætaɪ̯n/ or /ɪˈlætɪn/) is an auxiliary language based on Latin (especially Late Latin and to a lesser extent Proto-Romance, Vulgar Latin and modern Romance languages). It’s created by a Finnish translator and language aficionado Atmano.
Elatine es Latine per homines modernes qui es interessates in linguas antiques sed illes es nimis pigres/occupates/bones ad inventare pretextos per apprender le.
PRINCÍPIOS DE ELATINE
1. Nouns are based on the Latin singular ablative form. For plural add -s (-es after a consonant). Unadapted loanwords can be used as such. They are pluralized as Elatine nouns.
2. Adjectives and adverbs are based on the Latin singular ablative form. If the form does not end in -e, the final vowel is replaced by -e (adjectives ends in e)- if this results in -ie, the -e is dropped (adjective ends in i). Pluralization and unadapted loanwords as above.
3. Verbs come from the Latin infinitive form with the -re/-ri endings merged to -re. Their present participle is formed by adding -nte (-ente after -i), past tense with -ba, and past participle with -te (e>i before this suffix).
4. Pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions and other grammatical markers are specified in this manual. The rest of the vocabulary can be derived from any good Latin dictionary.
5. Words stress is placed on the penultimate syllable unless otherwise marked with an acute accent (´).
6. Words are spelled as in Latin with preference given to Late Latin forms. Ae/oe are simplified to e. Consonantal u/i are spelled as v/j between vowels and word-initially.
7. The word order is SVO. As a rule of thumb, adjectives, determiners and possessives precede the noun but placing adjectives after the noun is also an option.
8. Vocabulary is drawn mainly from (Late) Latin but Vulgar Latin and Proto-Romance words are used as well (pecunia/denario for ’money’, bello/guerra ’war’). Modern loanwords from other languages can be used (adapted saldo ’balance’, socolate ’chocolate’, or unadapted sandwich, internet ’idem’) as well as Neologism (interrete ’internet’). Sometimes it makes sense to use a more recognizable word instead of the more common classical Latin word (i/re > i ’goes’ replaced by vade/re > vade ’goes’).
9. Pronunciation follows classical Latin with the following exceptions: 1) The mergers: th>t, ch>c, ph>f, ae>e, oe>e, y>i. V is pronounced /v/; ti is pronounced /tsj/ when followed by a vowel and not preceded by s. Phonemic vowel/consonant length is not preserved – stressed vowels can be somewhat longer than unstressed vowels.
Phonology
Consonants
There are 14-17 consonants depending on the speaker. As /h/ is usually silent and /w/ is a marginal phoneme found in a couple of loanwords the standard phonology includes 15 distinct consonant phonemes:
| Bilabial | Labio- dental |
Alveolar | Post- alveolar |
Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ||||||||||||
| Plosive | p | b | t | d | k | ɡ | ||||||||
| Fricative | f | v | s | z | (h) | |||||||||
| Trill | r | |||||||||||||
| Approximant | (w) | l | j | |||||||||||
The following consonants are spelled identically to their IPA values: m /m/, n /n/, p /p/, b /b/, t /t/, d /d/, g /g/, f /f/, v /v/, s /s/, z /z/, h /h/, r /r/, w /w/, l /l/, j /j/. The only exception being c that stands for /k/.
The consonant clusters /kw/ and /gw/ are spelled qu and gu. These clusters only occur before vowels.
In words of Greek origin /f/ can be spelled as ph, /k/ as ch and /t/ as th.
The letter h is usually silent /Ø/; w and z which are only found in loanwords can be merged with /v/ and /s/.
The letter combination ti is pronounced /tsj/ when preceded by a sound other than /s/ and followed by a vowel, e.g. initiare /ini’tsjare/ ’to begin, to initiate’.
Vowels
There are 5 vowel phonemes:
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u |
| Mid | e | o |
| Open | a | |
The vowels are spelled like their IPA counterparts a /a/, e /e/, i /i/, o /o/, u /u/.
In words of Greek origin /i/ can be spelled as y. The Latin diphthongs au /aw/, eu /ew/, ei /ej/ and ui /uj/ can be pronounced as diphthongs or as two consecutive vowels.
It is recommended that the Latin diphthongs ae and oe be simplified to e as in Late Latin.
Stress
Stress in Elatine words falls on the penultimate syllable. Irregular stress is marked with an acute accent (´).
Morphology
Nouns
Nouns are usually used in the Latin ablative singular form. To make a plural the suffix -s is added (or -es if the noun ends in a consonant). Most Elatine nouns end in a vowel.
| -A | -E | -I | -O | -U | -C | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | auricula | hospitale | horari | theatro | manu | bus |
| Plural | auriculas | hospitales | horaris | theatros | manus | buses |
| Meaning | ear | hospital | clock | theater | hand | bus |
Elatine uses articles much more sparingly than Romance languages. When the speaker needs or wants to mark definiteness the following articles are used:
| Indefinite | Translation | Definite | Translation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | une cane | a dog | le cane | the dog |
| Plural | (unes) canes | (some) dogs | les canes | the dogs |
| Uncountable | de aqua | some water | N/A | N/A |
For uncountable nouns ’some’ is translated with the word de ’of’.
Adjectives & Adverbs
Most adjectives and adverbs derived from adjectives end in -e or -i. Adjectives that end in -i come from Latin -arius, -torius.. id. adjectives whose Latin ablative singular masculine form ends -iō) – when a regularly derived adjective would end in -ie, the e is dropped. Adjectives in -e/-i are pluralized by suffixing -s to it. Other adjectives are indeclinable.
| *-us | *-is | *-ius | -C | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | bone | felice | militari | gratis |
| Plural | bones | felices | militaris | gratis |
| Meaning | good | happy | military | free (of charge) |
Adverbs
The singular form of and adjective can be used as an adverb. These are often close to or identical to Latin adverbial forms. e.g. Ille canta bone. S/He sings well.; Equo corre rapide. [The] horse runs fast.
Other Latin adverbs often stay as they are: hodie today, nunc now, sic so, thus, yes etc.
Comparison of Adjectives and Adverbs
bone good, well
plus bone better
maxime bone (the) best
minus bone less good, less well
minime bone (the) least good, (the) least well
Verbs
All verbs follow the pattern given here for amare to love:
| Form | Suffix | Variation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Root | ama | -Ø | - |
| Infinitive | amare | re | - |
| Present Participle | amante | -nte | -ente after -i (fini/re > fini/ente) |
| Past Participle | amate | -te | if preceded by e - The e becomes i (prende/re > prend/i/te) |
| Past Tense | amaba | -ba | - |
Root: Serves as the present tense and imperative mood form. Ego veni ad domo. I come home. / I’m coming home. Veni! Come!
Infinitive: Used as the infinitive (esp. after another verb) but also as a verbal noun. Ego vole venire. I want to come., unificare de poteres [the] unification of powers,
Present Participle: mainly used as an adjective. aves volantes flying birds
Past Participle: used as an adjective or to form compound past forms with habe/habeba. vestimentos lavates washed clothes Ego habe lavate mis vestimentos. I (have) washed my clothes. Ego habeba lavate mis vestimentos. I had washed my clothes.
Past Tense: Serves as a simple past tense form. It can be used as the writer sees fit or replaced by the compound form (habe + past participle). Its meaning is typically imperfective. Ille habitaba in Roma. S/he lived in Rome. Nos studiaba insimul. We studied together.
Negation: The adverb non not is used for negation. It goes before the verb or verbs. Ego non habe lavate illes. I haven’t washed them. Vos non veni? Are you all not coming?
Compound Verb Forms
| Pattern | Form | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Future | va ad +infinitive | va ad amare | will love |
| Continuous | sta ad +infinitive | sta ad amare | is loving |
| Perfect | habe +past participle | habe amate | (has) loved |
| Pluperfect | habeba +past participle | habeba amate | had loved |
| Conditional | habuisse +infinitive | habuisse amare | would love |
| Past Conditional | habuisse +past participle | habuisse amate | would have loved |
The only exception is the verb essere to be – the root of this verb is esse but the present/imperative form is shortened to es. The full form esse can be used as a present subjunctive form, e.g. Ego spero que tu esse in domo. ’I wish you were at home.’.
The construction There is/are is expressed with the copula essere: Es autovehiculo in (le) strata. There is a car on the street. Non es cibo in cucina. There is no food in the kitchen.
Pronouns
| Subject | Object | Possessive | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sg 1 | ego I | mi me | mi, mis my |
| Sg 2 | tu you | ti you | tu, tus your |
| Sg 3 | ille it that | ille/le it | su, sus its |
| Reflexive | - | se (one)self | su, sus one’s |
| Pl 1 | nos we | nos us | nostre, nostres our |
| Pl 2 | vos y’all | vos y’all | vostre, vostres y’all’s |
| Pl 3 | illes they, those | illes/les them | su, sus their |
- Ille and illes correspond to ”he, she, it, that” and ”they, those” in English. There is optional gender marking in 3rd person: illo, illo/lo, su,-s ’he, him, his’ and illa, illa/la, su, sus ’she, her, her’. these can be pluralized (illos, los / illas, las).
- Ille and illes can be shortened to le and les when unstressed. The full forms are always used after prepositions.
- se is the reflexive pronoun in the 3rd person, in other persons the object pronoun is used: Illes se lava manus. ’They wash their hands.’ Ego mi lava manus. ’I wash my hands.’
- When a possessive pronoun (instead of an adjective, e.g. mi toalla ’my towel’) is needed the construction ad +object pronoun is used instead. E.g. Ille es tu toalla? Non, iste es ad mi. ’Is that your towel? No, this is mine.’
Demonstrative Pronouns
| Singular | Plural | Translation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proximal | iste | istes | this, these |
| Distal | ille | illes | that, those |
Intensive Pronoun
Intensive Pronoun conveys the meaning of ”self” or ”the very one” for emphasis. It’s ipse in singular and ipses in plural: Ego ipse le habe facito. ’I did it myself.’, Illes ipses se habe persuadite. ’They convinced themselves.’, Ego le vole ipse nunc. ’I want it right now/this very moment.’
Interrogatives & Related Words
Que what; (relative) what, which, that; (indefinite) aliquo something, nulla, nihil nothing, nulla no (+noun), toto everything
Qui who, whom /kwi/; (relative) who, whom; (indefinite) aliqui someone, nemo, necune no one, omnes everyone (pl.)
Cui whose /kuj/; (relative) whose
Utre who, which (of two); (relative) whoever, whichever (of two); (indefinite) either (of two), one or the other; neutre neither
Quale/s what kinf od; (adjective) tale/s such, that kind of
Ubi where; ibi there; istic here; alicubi somewhere; ubique everywhere; nulla parte nowhere
Quando when; tunc then; nunc now; aliquando sometime; semper always; nunqua never
altre other, sole sole, only, tote whole, all, cata each, every
Useful Little Words
Prepositions
ad to, into, onto Sic se vade ad asteres in in, at, on In vino veritate de from, of de facto cum with cum grano de sale sine without sine labore non vade pane in bucca per for, thought, per, in order to per mare per terra re about, regarding, with reference to supra, infra, juxta, retro, ante, post, ex, intra, extra, inter…
Conjunctions
| Conjunction | Translation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| aut | or | nunc aut nunqua now or never |
| cum | since, because | Cum ille es tante obstinate, probabile ille habuisse recusare. Since s/he’s so stubborn s/he’d probably decline. |
| dum | while | Dum Seniore se relaxa, ego sta ad sclavizare me in cucina. While you, Sir, are relaxing, I’m slaving away in the kitchen. |
| et | and | pane et circos bread and circuses |
| etsi | although, though, even if, yet | etsi ego mori, ego va ad amare ti even if I die I will love you |
| interim | in the meantime, meanwhile | |
| per que | because | Ego le habe facite per que ego voleba. I did it becaused I wanted to. |
| quando | when | Dice me quando tu es prompte. Tell me when you are ready. |
| quare | as, since, because, for | Ego habe aperito mi umbrella quare ploveba. I opened my umbrella because it was raining. |
| sed | but | non per schola sed per vita not for school but for life |
| si | if | si tu vole pace, prepara guerra if you want peace, prepare for war |
| tunc | then, so, therefor | Es care tunc ego non pote le comparare. It’s expensive so I can’t buy it. |
| usque | until | Exspecta usque ego adveni ad domo. Wait until I get home. |
Amounts
minime minimally, only a little, the least (amount of), minimally
pauce a little, a bit, a tad
modice modestly, somewhat, moderately, a little
bastante quite, somewhat, sufficiently
vere truely, verily, very
maxime (the) most, very, mostly, very much, maximally
extreme extremely
Numerals
Cardinal Ordinal (-esime) 0 nulla (zero) 1 une 1. unesime (prime) 2 duo 2. duesime (secunde) 3 tres 3. tresime (tértie /’tertsje/) 4 quattre 4. quattresime 5 cinque 5. cinquesime 6 sex 6. sexesime 7 septe 7. septesime 8 octo 8. octesime 9 nove 9. novesime 10 dece 10. decesime 11 dece-une 11. dece-unesime 12 dece-duo 13 dece-tres 14 dece-quattuor 15 dece-cinque 16 dece-sex 17 dece-septe 18 dece-octo 19 dece-nove 20 viginti (duo-dece) 20. duo-decesime / vigintesime 30 tres-dece 40 quattuor-dece 50 cinque-dece 60 sex-dece 70 septe-dece 80 octo-dece 90 nove-dece 100 cento 100. centesime 1000 mille 1000. millesime 1 000 000 millione 1 000 000. millionesime 1 000 000 000 milliardo 1 000 000 000.milliardesime
1973 mille nove-cento septe-dece (et) tres
Instead of the ordinal numbers a cardinal number can function as an ordinal number when it follows a noun, e.g. quarte die = die quattuor ’fourth day’. To express how many times something takes place use the word vice ’time, instance’, e.g. une vice, duo vices, tres vices ’once, twice, three times’
Common Phrases & Interjections
| Elatine | English |
|---|---|
| ad Deo | goodbye, adieu |
| bonevenite | welcome |
| Deo grátias | Thank God |
| ecce | 1) Look! 2) here you are, here/there [it is], voilà |
| fute te | fuck you, fuck off |
| grátias | thank you |
| heja | 1)come on! 2) you don’t say |
| per favore | please |
| Quomodo vos/tu sta? Bone, grátias. | How are you? I’m fine, thanks. (formal or plural/informal) |
| salve | hello, hi, greetings, bye |
| sic/non | yes/no |
| vai | woe, alas |
Sample Texts
Vento de Nord et Sole
Vento de Nord et Sole disputaba une die re quale de illes esseba plus forte, quando illes videba une viatore qui veniba in ante velate in mantello.
Illes concordaba que quale qui prime habuisse succedere ad fortiare viatore ad levare su mantello vadeba ad essere considerate maxime forte.
Tunc Vento de Nord initiaba sufflare cum tote su fortia; sed, plus ille sufflaba, plus viatore se serraba in mantello; tanto que in fine Vento de Nord debeba abandonare su tentativa.
Tunc Sole initiaba lucere tanto calde que viatore immediate levaba su mantello. Et sic Vento de Nord debeba recognoscere que Sole esseba plus forte que ille.
