Nelíc

2012-06-21T15:17:31Z

Celinceithir:

2012-06-02T12:49:53Z

Elithoan Ethnographical Questionnaire

2012-05-19T21:33:54Z

Celinceithir:

= Elithoan Ethnographical Questionnaire =

'''[[Dr. Zahir’s Ethnographical Questionnaire]]''' was compiled by David Zahir to help in the description of [[conculture]]s, and can be found in the files section of the [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/conculture/ Conculture group at Yahoo].

== Preamble ==
This article describes the culture of Elitho, the nation in the north of the island of Tygenoc wherein the [[Celinese]] language originated. The idea of a pan-Elithoan culture and nation is a relatively recent (and, as a result, a controversial) one; the Elithoan Commonwealth has been around for less than a century, prior to which, Celinese Tygenoc was a collection of independent states. As a result, the responses of this questionnaire are intentionally broad, since differences in culture between the Extreme North and Ioðinbêr, or between Chlasc and Perís can be considerable.

__TOC__

== Questions of Place ==

=== Describe the geography of where your society calls home. ===
Elitho is situated on the Northern half of Tygenoc, a large island comparable in size (but not in climate) with Greenland. The myriad isles dotted around Northern and Eastern Tygenoc mostly form part of Elitho too. Divided into thirty-six traditionally independent tystírain (states), Elitho ranges from the mountainous north - replete with fjords - to the forest-dominated centre, to the rolling hills and dales of the borderlands. There are several major cities, and hundreds of smaller towns.

=== Describe the climate your society deals with. How severe are their seasons? ===

In the South, the difference between the seasons is not that great; the summers are balmy but not immensely hot, and the winters are mild, if rainy. In the extreme North, winters can be bitter with numerous blizzards.

=== What kinds of natural disasters has this society gotten used to? ===

The only common natural disaster is floods during the early spring, but engineering has limited the damage they cause.

=== What are the most commonly-grown foods? ===

Pears, apples, potatoes, grains, potatoes.

=== What are the most commonly-eaten meats? ===
Hogget, goat, horse, rabbit and pheasant are the most commonly eaten meats.

=== What foods are considered exotic or expensive? ===
Beef and pork are considered exotic, as is cow’s milk and cheese; milk and cheese are produced by goats in Elitho.

=== What forms of alcohol are common? Rare? ===
The most common forms of alcohol are cider (sydrë), whiskey (hwysgín) and fruit-flavoured witbier (lairulos). Very uncommon is beer with hops; practically unheard of are vodka and gin.

=== Is there usually enough food and water for the population? ===

Certainly. Elitho is a net exporter of food, with an expansive agricultural belt. Most of Elitho's water come from the plentiful lakes and rivers that characterise swathes of the country, with some also coming from ground water and wells.

=== What is this place's most abundant resource? ===

Fruits, vegetables, timber, livestock, hydroelectric power from the sea.

=== What is its most valuable resource? ===

Silver, limestone, vanadium.

=== What resource is it most lacking? ===

Petroleum.

=== How do people travel from one place to another? ===

There are a great many forms of transport in Elitho, with the most common being the train. The Caraiðot Elithoeg (Elithoan Trains) system began with a route between Ioðinbêr and Aír, via Chlasc, some 200 years ago, and thus the railways precede the creation of a single Elithoan state by over a century. One can pretty much get to any town on the railway network, often by just taking two trains; one to the regional exchange (the largest settlement in that area) and one local train.

Riverboats are still very commonly used, particularly in the north - sometimes, a riverboat trip can be quicker than going by train, and more direct. Ships were, for a long time, the standard for travelling long distances, and still are the most common way of travelling from the Elithoan mainland to its many islands, and between islands. However, airships are becoming an increasingly popular means of international and long-distance internal travel; and there are now nearly 40 airship ports dotted around the country.

Inside the towns and cities, there are a number of types of municipal public transport; most common are local trains, trams, metros and trolleybuses, but some towns have cable cars, municipal riverboats and amphibious buses. In terms of private transport, quadracycles and private ships and boats are all common.

=== Are the borders secure? In what way? ===

The border with Beichlë is one of the most secure in Lorech, in part because of attempted Beichlír invasions, in part because of the Beichlë government’s paranoia about defections to Elitho. The borders are guarded night and day on both sides. The border with Jinyero is open due to a customs agreement.

=== How many people live here? ===

Around 70 million people live in Elitho proper.

=== Where in this place to they congregate? ===

That greatly depends. Folk from the countryside often spend part of their weekend in the nearest big city, but often just congregate in the town halls and clubs.

=== What part of this place do they avoid? Why? ===

No part of the country is avoided.

=== What are the most common domesticated animals here? And what are they domesticated for? ===

Goats, sheep and horses are the most common domesticated animals. Goats and sheep provide meat, cheese and milk. Horses are used for riding, agricultural work and for meat. Domesticated fowl provide eggs and meat.

=== What are the most common wild animals? ===
There are hundreds of animal species in Elitho. Red foxes, fallow deer, great bustard, snowy owls, merlin falcons and red pandas are considered typical animals.

=== Which animals are likely to be pets? Which ones won't be? ===

Cats, domesticated rabbits and dogs are by far the most common pets.

== Questions of Time ==

=== How far back does this society's written history go? ===

Written records about history in Celinese varieties go back over a thousand years, with written history in Tygenoc going back over three millenia.

=== How far back do its people believe it goes? ===

They believe that there has been a Celinese society for at least a millenium, and a civilisation in present day Elitho for thousands of years.

=== What is the worst disaster they believe they've faced? ===

Beichlë’s invasion and taking over of the Elithoan Sairstír is considered the nadir of modern Elithoan history; the southernmost tystírain of Elitho were taken over during the Dual Civil War in Jinyero-Esfoth and Elitho, with the local populace not allowed to leave the Beichlír state. The administration of Cothí Mylôn is considered the worst government of United Elitho.

=== What was the best thing that every happened to them? ===

It is difficult to say. Many elements of Elithoan history are very positive, but there is not one single event deemed “the greatest.”

=== What in their past makes them feel ashamed? ===
There is nothing in the history of the United Elithoan commonwealth that provokes shame on the part of its citizens, given that the nation has been dedicated to democracy, justice and equality since its inceptions. However, some citizens from Ioðinbêr regret their actions against Celinese and Jinyer in Western Jinyero, which arguably facilitated the Beichlë occupation of Sairstír.

=== What in their past makes them proud? ===

Many aspects of their history make them proud. Some patriotism revolves around Elithoan success in protecting their country against Beichlë, but most of the time, people are patriotic about Elithoan states having the oldest parliamentary system in the Northern hemisphere; the declaration of essential freedoms; the conservation of the nation’s natural beauty, and, perhaps most of all, the lifelong learning educational system that is the model for many others around Lorech.

=== What are they afraid of happening again? ===

An invasion. Current invasion-related preoccupations no longer focus so much on Beichlë, with whom the federal government has negotiated a difficult peace. The main worry on the minds of the average Elithoan is the Tsi-Circassír conflict. The Circassírain are the closest allies of Elitho, and are considered a sister nation, given that both share similar heritage and a common language. The Tsi (or đhì) are one of the most powerful nations on Lorech, and declared war on Circassio under the pretext that parts of their expansive, archipelago nation are inside the territorial claims of Tsi. Pacifist Elitho have been a mediator in the dispute, and have so far helped avoid the formal breakout of war between the two. If talks fail, then the Elithoans will have to choose between fighting alongside their allies and risking invasion, or sitting back and perhaps letting their kindred nation to be subsumed by Tsi.

=== Who in the past is the greatest hero? The worst villain? ===

There is no national hero, but the great first consuls of years past are revered, particularly Líre Cerwín (architect of a united Elitho) Cairí Bleimonth (writer of the Declaration of Essential Freedoms and creator of the Statutory Minimum of Public Investment) and Yseoc Naiaríth (the First Consul who brought in the lifelong learning system as it remains today.) There is no national villain either, though Mylôn and many commanders of Beichlë are widely despised.

=== Do people think the present better or worse than the past? ===

It is difficult to make a generalisation about a nation wherein attitudes are often polarised, but most believe that the present is better than the past, and that the nation continues to make strides and progress.

=== Do people believe the future will be better or worse than the present or past? ===

It depends whom you talk to.

== Questions of Sex and Family ==

=== How many spouses may a man or woman have? ===

One. Any more than one is against the law, considered an ‘offence against the dignity’ of the monogamous spouse.

=== Who decides on a marriage? ===

Both partners. The traditional requirement was for a couple to spend five years together before they could marry and have children, and to a certain extent, this is still the default practice. Both partners decide to start a promise, which is similar to an engagement, but is legally recognised - it does not have the same legal binding, but endows upon the other partner certain legal rights. Then, after a period of at least two or three years, both partners agree whether to marry or not, at which stage they begin preparations to wed.

=== Can a marriage end in divorce? How? ===

Divorce is allowed, but is a relatively uncommon circumstance given that many long-term unsuitable couples break up in the extended engagement period. If both members of the couple agree to break the marriage, there is no need for legal proceedings. If one partner wants to divorce and the other does not, then a neutral arbiter works out the details of the divorce.

=== Who usually takes custody of children if a marriage ends for some reason? ===

=== How is adultery defined? What (if any) is the punishment? Who decides? ===

=== How are families named?(g) What happens to orphans? ===

=== How are boy and girl children treated differently? ===

=== Are premarital relations allowed? ===

=== How does your society define incest? Rape? How do people react to these? ===

=== What, if anything, is considered a good marriage gift? ===

=== What secret vice is believed to be widely practiced? ===

=== What secret vice actually is practiced? ===

=== What sexual habits are widely believed common among foriegners? ===

=== How do people react to homosexuality? ===

=== How do the genders dress? ===

=== Is prostitution legal? How are prostitutes viewed? Is this accurate? ===

=== What professions or activities are considered masculine? ===

=== What professions or activities are viewed as feminine? ===

=== What inanimate or sexless things are considered male or female? ===

=== What is the biggest sexual taboo? ===

=== Does this society connect the ideas of marriage with love? ===

=== What does this society mean by the word "virgin" and how important it it? ===

== Questions of Manners ==

=== Who speaks first at a formal gathering? ===

=== What kinds of gifts are considered in extremely bad taste? ===

=== How do younger adults address their elders? ===

=== What colors are associated with power? With virtue? With death? ===

=== If two men get into a fight, how is this supposed to be resolved? ===

=== If two women get into a fight, how should that be resolved? ===

=== When is it rude to laugh at something funny? ===

=== What kinds of questions cannot be asked in public? In private? At all? ===

=== How do people demonstrate grief? ===

=== What does this society do with their corpses? ===

=== What kinds of jewelry do people where? And when? ===

=== Who inheirits property? Titles? Position? ===

=== What happens to those suffering from extreme mental illness? ===

=== What are the most popular games? How important are they? ===

=== What parts of the body are routinely covered? ===

=== How private are bodily functions like bathing or defecating? ===

=== How do people react to physical deformity? ===

=== When and how does someone go from child to adult? ===

== Questions of Faith ==

=== Is there a formal clergy? How are they organized? ===

=== What do people believe happens to them after death? How, if at all, can they influence this? ===

=== What happens to those who disagree with the majority on questions of religion? ===

=== Are there any particular places considered special or holy? What are they like? ===

=== What are the most popular rituals or festivals? ===

=== What do people want from the god or gods? How do they try and get it? ===

=== How do their religious practices differ from their neighbours? ===

=== What is the most commonly broken religious rule?(i) What is the least-violated religious rule? ===

=== What factions exist within the dominant religious institutions? How do they compete? ===

=== Are there monastic groups? What do they do and how are they organized? How do you join one? ===

=== How are those who follow different faiths treated? ===

=== What relationship do religious and political leaders have? ===

=== What superstitions are common? What kinds of supernatural ===

events/beings do people fear?

== Questions of Government ==

=== Who decides whether someone has broken a law? How? ===

=== What kinds of punishments are meted out? By whom? Why? ===

=== How are new laws created or old ones changed? ===

=== Is there some form of clemency or pardon? What is involved? ===

=== Who has the right to give orders, and why? ===

=== What titles do various officials have? ===

=== How are the rules different for officials as opposed to the common person? ===

=== How do government officials dress? ===

=== Is the law written down? Who interprets it? ===

=== Once accused, what recourse does someone have? ===

=== Is torture allowed? What kinds? ===

=== How are people executed? ===

=== Who cannot rise to positions of leadership? ===

=== Is bribery allowed? Under what circumstances? ===

=== What makes someone a bad ruler in this society? What can be done about it? ===

=== What are the most common or dangerous forms of criminal? ===

== Questions of War ==

=== Who declares war? ===

=== Who has the power to declare conditions of peace? ===

=== What happens to prisoners taken in battle? ===

=== What form of warfare does this society use? ===

=== Who are the Elite warriors? What distinguishes them? ===

=== How does someone get command of troops? ===

=== Where do the loyalties of military units lie? ===

=== Are there professional soldiers? Do they make up the bulk of the military? ===

=== Has this society ever attacked another? Do they want to? What would make them do so? ===

=== Who are their enemies? Who's winning? ===

=== What do soldiers do when there's no war? ===

== Questions of Education ==

=== Does this society have its own language? Its own writing? ===

=== How common is literacy? How is literacy viewed? ===

=== What form and value are books? ===

=== Who teaches others? How do they teach? ===

=== Who decides who learns to read or write?(f) Who teaches professions, like carpenter or scribe? ===

=== Are foreigners ever brought in to teach new skills? Who does that? ===

=== How do this society's doctors try to treat wounds and sickness? ===

=== Which medical assumtions of this society are wrong? ===

== Questions of Art ==

=== What are the favorite artforms? ===

=== What are the least-favorite? ===

=== How respected are artists? ===

=== Do artists require official or unofficial protection? ===

=== What kinds of trouble are artists in particular likely to find themselves in? ===

=== How might a very successful artist live? ===

=== What forms of theatre does your society have? ===

=== How naturalistic or stylized is your society's art? ===

=== What shapes are most common in your society's arts, like embroidery or architecture? ===

=== Which artforms get the most and least respect? ===

=== What form does censorship take? ===

=== Who may not be an artist? ===

=== What qualities equal "beauty" in this society? ===

=== What makes a man or woman especially beautiful? ===

=== How do people react to tattoos? Piercings? Facial hair? Make-up? ===

== Questions of sex and marriage ==

=== Is sex confined to marriage? ===

=== Or, is it supposed to be? What constitutes aberrant behavior? ===

=== Is there anything about this culture or religion in that culture that specifically addresses sexual conduct? ===

=== Are there laws about it? What about prostitution? ===

=== How old should someone be in your culture to be having sex? ===

=== What is considered too great a difference in age for a couple? ===

=== Do relationships allow multiple partners? ===

=== Should sex be a one-to-one experience? Or are groups allowed? ===

=== And, of course, what about homosexuality? Is it frowned on? Encouraged? ===

== Questions of death and burial ==

=== What is their understanding of death and dying? ===

=== Do they cremate their dead? Or, how are dead bodies disposed of? ===

=== Is the family responsible for the body? ===

=== What part do the priests play? ===

=== Are there cemeteries at all? ===

=== Or, does everyone have a crypt in back with all the relatives in it? ===

=== Do people visit the dead? If so, how often and why? ===

== Questions of suicide ==

=== What do people in this culture think about suicide? ===

=== Is it the greatest sin one can commit? Or is it a sin at all? ===

=== Is it the great and last comfort of a tormented soul? ===

=== Is it worse than murder? ===

== Questions of Law, Justice and Police ==

=== Is there a civilian police force, or is law enforcement the province of the military? ===

=== Is the police force a nationalised one, or are there multiple regional forces? ===

=== How "military" are they? Are they usually/ever armed? ===

=== What is the extent of their authority? Can they shoot you? Can they use magic? Can they torture or otherwise force a confession? Can they use telepathy? ===

=== Are there individuals or groups who are above the law? ===

=== Is there a secret police? ===

=== What is the role of police informants, if any? ===

Elithoan Ethnographical Questionnaire

2012-05-19T08:41:58Z

Celinceithir: Created page with "{{subst:Ethnographical Questionnaire|Elithoan}}"

Celinese

2012-05-18T11:21:46Z

Celinceithir: /* Derivational morphology */

{{infobox|bg=#F2DC77|native=Celínec|in='''National language in:''' Elitho, Circasio, Ifanco, Gwyðach
:'''An official language in:''' Jinyero (Esfoth), Norèscie
:'''A regional language in:''' Beichlë (Sairstír)
:'''A community language in:''' Ochrís, Wyšo, Telairo|tu=Lorech|no=397,531,000 (Celinese languages)|tree=Tygenoci
:Celinese languagese
::South Eastern Celinese
:::'''Standard Celinese''' (Períseg-Ioðinbêreg)|wo=Free, though OVS is the most common in most contexts.|morph=Fusional|ms=Ergative-absolutive|creator=[[User:Celinceithir|A. Ayres]]|date=2002-}}

Celinese languages (several names in Celinese languages) are divergent dialects that form part of a macrolanguage that is the most spoken offshoot of the Tygenoci language family, and one of the major languages of the Northern hemisphere of Lorech. The spoken and written standard (Celinese languages: '''Celínec''', pronounced {{IPA|[ˈkɛlinɛk]}}), a compromise based on the dialects of Perís and Ioðinbêr, is spoken as a first language by almost 400 million people, and understood by a further 950 million second language learners.

Originating as independent languages in the Northern swathes of the large island, Tygenoc, the union of thitherto sovereign states - first under the Lainoê Elíneg and Northern Elitho, then under a united Elithoan commonwealth - precipitated the need to find a compromise dialect to unite these tongues, creating the standard, trans-Elithoan acrolect that is the basis of this article. To this day, Celinese languages - which will be considered on other pages - remain robust in their divergences from the Períseg-Ioðinbêreg norm, but it is rare to find an individual who cannot speak the standard Celinese language. Celinese is spoken in the North of Beichlë - the nation neighbouring Elitho to the south - where native Celinophones outnumber native Beichlophones 6-1; and in the West of Jinyero, or Esfoth - the nation to the South-East. Because of emigration, expansion and the colonisation of uninhabited islands and landmasses, Celinophones can be found in varying numbers across the entirety of Lorech. A language with a proud literary history, more books are published in Celinese than in any other language of the Northern hemisphere. It is the third most commonly learnt second language abroad, and is one of the official languages of the Lorechian Assembly of Sovereign Nations.

==Name==

The naming of the standard Celinese language was a matter of some controversy. Today's standard acrolect, largely derived from the urbane speech of Perís and Ioðinbêr, two of the most prominent cities of the time; the speech of the other major conurbations - the twin cities of Chlasc-Lainoch in the South-West, and Iferðí-Danðí in the North-East - was considered too divergent to be the basis of a pan-Elithoan prestige dialect.

Up to that point, speakers of Celinese languages generally referred to their variety by the name of the tystír where it was spoken. Thus, speech in Perís was invariably referred to as ''perísec'', and despite attempts to declare the language of the Southern Lainoê Elíneg as 'elínec', it was usually called 'ioðinbêric'.

Having commissioned a dictionary and linguistic survey, the first Senate of the Commonwealth of Elitho was determined to refer to the compromise acrolect as Elithoan (Celinese: ''elithoëc''), but were persuaded not to by representatives from Circasio, who were insulted at the idea of their shared language being named after Elitho. Alternatives based on the two languages from which Standard Celinese was principally drawn, such as perðinec and pèrberec, were rejected for being too divisive. The name celínec - derived from ''celín'' (language tongue) and ''-ec'' (a suffix often used to denote language, similar to English -ish or -ese) - was eventually agreed upon. However, most Celinese speakers describe themselves as speakers of their local language first and foremost, and only refer to the prestige dialect as "Celinese".

==Phonology and Orthography==

===Consonants===

{|
|| ||Labial||Bilabial||Dental||Alveolar||Retroflex||Palatal||Velar||Uvular||Glottal
|-
||Voiceless plosives||'''p'''|| || || '''t'''|| || || '''c'''|| || ||
|-
||Voiced plosives|| '''b'''|| || || '''d'''|| || || '''g*'''|| || ||
|-
||Flap|| || || || '''r*'''||
|-
||Voiceless fricatives|| ||'''f*'''||'''th'''||'''s*'''||'''s*'''||'''g*'''|| ||'''ch'''||'''h'''||'''
|-
||Voiced fricatives|| ||'''f*'''||'''ð'''|| ||'''r*'''|| || || || ||
|-
||Approximant||'''w'''|| || || || || ||'''y/i'''||
|-
||Lateral approximant|| || || ||'''l'''||
|}

* <f> is pronounced [f], except intervocally, where it is [v]. In some dialects, it is also pronounced [v] in final position
* <r> is pronounced [ɾ], except in word-final position, where it becomes [ʐ] in Periso-Ioðinbêr Celinese
* <nowiki><s></nowiki> is pronounced [s], except in front of <é> and <í>, where it is instead pronounced [ʂ]
* <g> is pronounced [g], except in word-final position, where it is pronounced [ç]

===Vowels===

{|
|| ||Front|| ||Central|| || ||Back||
|-
||Close||'''[i]''' <í>|| || || || ||'''[u]''' <nowiki><u, ù></nowiki>||
|-
||Near close||'''[ɪ]''' <y>||
|-
||Close-mid||'''[e]''' <é, ê>; '''[ø]''' <nowiki><i></nowiki>|| || || || ||'''[o]''' <ô>||
|-
||Mid|| || ||'''[ə]''' <ə>||
|-
||Open-mid||'''[ɛ]''' <e, è>|| || || || ||'''[ɔ]''' <o, ò>||
|-
||Open||'''[a]''' <a>||
|}

* Acute diacritics appear on e and i to signify a change in vowel quality, namely from [ɛ] and [ø] to [e] and [i]. Syllables with an acute are always stressed: norís [nɔˈɾis], élainig [ˈe.laɪn.øç].

* Circumflex accents – ê and ô - denote a change in vowel quality without a change in stress. Êdithír (parent) is pronounced [e.døθ.ˈiʐ]; ôthím is [oθ.ˈim].

* Unaccented vowels are only stressed if they are in the penultimate syllable of a word with neither an acute nor a grave-accented vowel: thus, alsë would be stressed on the penult [ˈalʂə], but soisé would be stressed on the accented final syllable: [sɔˈʂe].

* Vowels with a grave accent have the same quality as unaccented vowels (e.g. è, ò and ù are pronounced [ɛ], [ɔ] and [u] like e, o and u are), but are stressed: sefodèsg (Swedish) is pronounced [sɛfɔˈdɛsç].

* In other Celinese languages, one can see other diacritics being used. They are nearly always used in a similar way to standard Celinese - e/è comparing with ê and é. Common even in Standard Celinese is the transcription of irregularly stressed [u] as <ú> rather than <ù>. This is an accepted variant for the subjunctive mood, but the Representative Council of the Celinese language dissuades it from being used elsewhere.

===Stress===

On most words, primary stress falls on the penultimate syllable, unless a subsequent syllable is marked with an acute or grave accent. Thus ''tynðeg'' is pronounced [ˈtɪnðɛç], but ''welèc'' and ''mairís'' are both stressed on the last syllable: [wɛˈlɛk] [maɪˈɾis].

When a word is made by attaching a suffix or suffixes to a root, the penult of the ''root'' is stressed. Take the word ''ecosoireg,'' meaning scholastic, which derives from ''ecosí'' ("to study") + ''-oir'' (suffix denoted "place of") + ''-eg'' (one of the regular adjectival endings.) Learners of the language may initially pronounce the word with the stress on the penult, but it would instead be pronounced [ɛˈkɔsɔɪɾɛç], with the stress falling on the penult of the root.

When it comes to compound words that combine two roots, some speakers stress the penult of the first root, some the penult of the last. Consequently, ''drethcybethír'' (taxpayer), which comes from dreth (tax) + cybethí (to pay) + -ír (suffix to denote "person who does action") can be heard to be pronounced as [ˈdɾɛθkɪˌbɛθiʐ] or [ˌdɾɛθkɪˈbɛθiʐ], with the former being more common.

In words of three or more syllables, secondary stress is applied to the syllables two syllables before and/or two syllables after the stressed syllable; thus ''celnoê'' (discussion) is pronounced [ˈkɛlnɔˌjɛ] and ''momeirlairel'' (candlelight) is pronounced [ˈmɔmɛɪʐˌlaɪɾɛl] (or [ˌmɔmɛɪʐˈlaɪɾɛl].

===Epenthesis===

In most Celinese languages, epenthesis has arisen to separate two consecutive vowel sounds at the end of one word and at the very beginning of the subsequent word. Take the words ''mo'' (my) and ''athlë'' (town). When mo directly precedes athlë, either an r- (in Ioðinbêr and much of the South) or a th- (in Perís and most of the North.) The epenthetic r can be pronounced [ɾ] ([mɔ ˈɾaθlə]) or [ʐ] ([mɔ ˈʐaθlə]).

==Morphology==

Celinese is a moderately inflected language. Nouns have not been declined for case since the "Middle Elithoan Celinese" era, but they still decline for number, and for grammatical gender in the plural. Pronouns still retain vestiges of the case system. Adjectives (which double as adverbs) are uninflected, whilst verbs inflect for person, mood and tense.

===Nouns===

The biggest challenge for the learner, with respect to nouns, is pluralising them. There are three standard plural endings, ''-ím'' (for 'masculine' nouns), ''-ot'' (for 'feminine' nouns), and ''-ain'' (for 'neuter' nouns). The gender system is entirely formal and not semantic in the least; without exceptions, the gender of a noun is determined by the last sound in that noun. As a result, ''taðír'' and ''maiðír'', dad and mom, are not masculine and feminine respectively, but neuter, because the vast majority of words ending in -r are neuter. Similarly, ''garys'' (boy) and ''gathal'' (girl) are feminine and masculine respectively, because -s is a feminine word ending and -l is generally a masculine word ending.

====Regular pluralisation pattern====

:{|
|| || || Singular|| || || Plural||
|-
||Masculine|| ||'''lech''' (word)|| || ||'''lech''ím''''' (word''s'')||
|-
||Feminine|| ||'''leið''' (song)|| || ||'''leið''ot''''' (word''s'')||
|-
||Neuter|| ||'''syrthoir''' (home)|| || ||'''syrthoir''ain''''' (home''s'')||
|}

====Other pluralisation patterns====

* Words ending in the unstressed ë - which are invariably feminine - delete the ë and add -ot in the plural. Thus, ''athlë'' [ˈaθ.lə] becomes ''athlot'' [ˈaθ.lɔt]
* The same goes for words ending in e or a - the borrowed atèlie (workshop) becomes ''atèliot'' in the plural.
* Very frequent are words ending in ê, particularly oê. In these words - which are also invariably feminine - the ê changes to a semi-vocalic i in the plural: ''celnoê'' (discussions) [ˈkɛlnɔˌ(j)e] becomes ''celnoiot'' (discussions) [ˈkɛlnɔˌ(j)ɔt].
* Words ending in <o> or <nowiki><u></nowiki>, whether masculine or neuter, take the ending <-m> rather than ''-ím'' or ''-ain''. Wylo (wave) becomes ''wylom'' rather than ''*wyloain''.

====Irregular plurals====

Middle and Late Middle Celinese varieties had hundreds of irregular plurals, and some dialects (particularly those of the rural parts of West Elitho) retain nearly all the irregular plurals. However, when the Perís-Ioðinbêr influenced acrolect was standardised, most of the irregular plurals were replaced with ones following a more regular pattern. E.g. ''mildë'' (friend) was once pluralised as ''milðot'' - [d] to [ð] and [t] to [θ] being a common sound change before plurals. Now, in the standard language, it is the regular 'mildot', but the irregular still remains in many dialects.

Some irregular plurals remained (usually because they were irregular in both Perís and Ioðinbêr acrolects). They can generally be divided into three categories:

* Nouns whose plural is a different '''gender''' to what one would predict from its ending. Two good examples of this would be the word for apple and aspect, ''eflím'' [ɛfˈlim] and elym [ˈɛlɪm] respectively. Despite -m being a consistently masculine noun ending, the former takes a feminine plural, ''eflímot'', and the latter takes a neuter plural, ''elymain.''
* Nouns that are the '''same in the singular and plural forms''' - ''calím'' (climate), originally the pluralised form of ''cal'', is now used for the singular and plural. The same can be said about ''dychlain'' (clothes), which lost its singular form '''dychël'''. Two other key words like this are ''bairím'' (fruit/s) and ''chenosain'' (evil/s).
* Nouns with an '''irregular plural inflection''', such as ''calbys'' (hook) turning to ''ca(u)lsain'' in the plural, ''hidim'' (insect) to ''hiðmain'', ''aðel'' (Elithoan currency) to ''aðail'', ''selmoth'' (second) to ''selmaith'' and talom (space) to ''taloim''.

====Gendered endings====

Though there are sometimes exceptions, the table below gives a general idea of which endings correspond to which genders.

:{|
|| || || Always|| || || Sometimes||
|-
||Masculine|| ||-ch, -f, -g, -c, -u || || ||-l, -m||
|-
||Feminine|| ||-th, -ð, -s, -ë, -e* -a|| || ||-l, -n||
|-
||Neuter|| ||-r, -o -os || || ||-l, -n, -m||
|}

e* refers to <e> and <e> with any diacritic, i.e. <é>, <ê>.

===Pronouns===

There are four sets of independent pronouns in Celinese - ergative, absolutive, dative and possessive. The ergative pronoun is nearly always avoided, except when emphasising or comparing - e.g. ''"Tefy mildeg ðo sà sío ana"'' (you are friendlier than him) or ''"Foí sé ais!"'' (''I'' did it.) Many prepositions combine with pronouns to make inflected prepositions.

The subject uses the ergative, unless it is the subjective of an intransitive verb:

::I lay him down - Lygoí sé (ais).
::I lay down - Lygín mé (literally "they" laid me down.

:{|
|| || ||Ergative|| ||Absolutive|| ||Dative|| ||1 Possessive|| ||2 Possessive||
|-
||1SG|| ||ais|| ||mé|| ||moir|| ||mo|| ||mínn||
|-
||2SG|| ||ana/tú|| ||ané/té|| ||toir|| ||to/ano|| ||tínn||
|-
||3SG|| ||sà|| ||sé|| ||soir|| ||so|| ||sínn||
|-
||1PL|| ||aisot|| ||fair|| ||fyrir|| ||fyr|| ||fínn||
|-
||2PL|| ||anot|| ||anaith|| ||anair|| ||anor|| ||anínn||
|-
||3PL|| ||saiot|| ||seith|| ||syrir|| ||syr|| ||syrínn||
|-
||4|| ||ainh|| ||én|| ||ainor|| ||ànair|| ||ainhínn||
|}

The difference between 1 Possessive, shorthand for pre-modifying possessive, and 2 possessive, shorthand for non-pre-modifying possessive, can be compared to the difference between ''my'' and ''mine'' or ''their'' and ''theirs'':

: ''Sío mo nothín'' - It is my idea.
: ''Nêsío mínn'' - It's not mine.
: ''Mínn sío aitwys'' - Mine is that one.

There is also a set of clipped absolutive pronouns that attach onto the end of a verb. In the two instances in the first person singular where a clipped pronoun can be mistaken for a verbal ending, a hyphen is placed between the verb and the pronoun:

:{|
|| ||'''ending'''|| ||'''example'''|| ||'''translation'''||
|-
||'''1SG'''||-(o)m, --m|| ||daisí-m, daisíom, daisínom|| ||I saw myself; s/he saw me; they saw me||
|-
||'''2SG'''||-(o)th|| ||mairíth, mairímoth|| ||I love you; we love you||
|-
||'''3SG'''||-(o)s, --s|| ||cofí-s, cofíos, cofíotos|| ||I hate him/her; s/he hates him/her; ye hate him/her||
|-
||'''1PL'''||-(o)f|| ||tamíof, tamínof|| ||s/he bit us, they bit us||
|-
||'''2PL'''||-aith|| ||cênoríaith|| ||I know ye||
|-
||'''3PL'''||-eith|| ||nerothímeith|| ||We avoid them||
|-
|}

===Verbs===

The verbal system of Celinese is mixed - some cases (the present and past) and moods (the subjunctive) are inflectional; others (such as the future, conditional and habitual past) are formed using periphrastic constructions. Both inflected tenses and the auxiliary verb in periphrastic tenses are conjugated for person.

====Non-periphrastic tenses and moods====

The following table is an example of ''norí,'' a regular verb, being inflected for person, number and tense:

:{|
|| ||Present|| ||Simple Past|| ||Subjunctive mood||
|-
||1SG||nor'''í'''|| ||nor'''oí'''|| ||nor'''ù'''||
|-
||2SG||nor'''í''s'''''|| ||nor'''oí''s'''''|| ||nor'''ú''s'''''||
|-
||3SG||nor'''í''o'''''|| ||nor'''oí''o'''''|| ||nor'''ú''o'''''||
|-
||1PL||nor'''í''m'''''|| ||nor'''oí''m'''''|| ||nor'''ú''m'''''||
|-
||2PL||nor'''í''ot'''''|| ||nor'''oí''ot'''''|| ||nor'''ú''ot'''''||
|-
||3PL||nor'''í''n'''''|| ||nor'''oí''n'''''|| ||nor'''ú''n'''''||
|}

The current pattern of inflection above applies to nearly every verb, and is a considerable simplification from middle Celinese variants. One first adds -í for the present, -oí for the past and ú for the subjunctive mood to the root, and then add one of five endings (or -ø for the first person singular) to inflect for person and number.

The subjunctive is used as an imperative, as a result of the fact that Old Elithoan Celinese had no way of making demands, only requests (one of the things covered by the subjunctive) such as Old Perisian's chlení þa barùs (I ask that you stop - Modern flyní ðo parús) and Old Iferðisc's no t-Der ðo (in God that).

=====Participle=====

A participle can be made by adding -and to the root verb. Thus tarochí becomes tarochand. Multi-clause sentences often begin with a gerund:

This structure is similar to one commonly seen in English:

::''Pathoiot ethoío'' - s/he knew the consequences.
::''soir rôfoío'' - s/he called him/her
::''Dysand pathoiot ethand, soir rôfoío'' - despite knowing the consequences, s/he called him/her.

The choice of phrase in this example is relatively uncommon in English:

::''Ðrairig foín'' - they were violent.
::''Hyrgyroðot tachoín'' - they were given red cards.
::''Na ðrairig sand, hyrgyroðot tachoín'' - due to being violent (lit. in being violent), they received red cards.

====Periphrastic constructions====

:{|
||Tense||Construction|| ||Example|| ||Translation||
|-
||Future||Present tense of fyðí + INF|| ||Lo r-Aisatho anðí fyðím|| ||We will go to America||
|-
||Conditional||Present tense of weðí + INF|| ||Sé ethí weðís|| ||You would know it||
|-
||Future perfect||Past tense of fyðí + INF|| ||Naint athlí fyðoín|| ||They will have lived there||
|-
||Past conditional||Past tense of weðí + INF|| ||Weðoíot aithrí|| ||You (pl) would have come||
|-
||Present continuous||Present tense of sí + ag + INF|| ||Sío ag ceoní|| ||S/he is speaking||
|-
||Past continuous||Past tense of sí + ag + INF|| ||Foio ag ceoní|| ||S/he was speaking||
|-
||Present habitual||Present tense of tynðí + INF|| ||Sêlmím tarochí tynðí|| ||I usually/tend to play sixes||
|-
||Past habitual||Past tense of tynðí + INF|| ||Sêlmím tarochí tynðoí|| ||I used to play sixes||
|}

Note that the infinitive and the auxiliary verb can precede and follow one another, depending on the stylistic choice of the writer; thus the last sentence could also be phrased as ''tynðoí sêlmím tarochí''. Many of the periphrastic constructions are avoided unless the writer wishes to disambiguate - so, for example, often information that one would expect to be conveyed using such past continuous and past habitual will instead be written using the simple past. However, the future and conditional periphrastic constructions are very commonly used.

Abbreviated forms of the future and conditional, fyð and weð, can be used instead of the full verb, in which case the other verb in the periphrastic phrase conjugates. Thus we will go can be expressed as anðí fyðím or fyð anðím/anðím fyð. "Will be" and "would be" each have a special compound verb, fysí (will be) and wesí (would be).

===Adjectives and Adverbs===

Adjectives are nearly always placed after the noun that they modify, except for in poetry or affected speech. There are a few adjectives, however, that are always placed before the noun, such as ''mereð'', and some which were originally before-only which now can be placed before or after, such as ''ifanc'' and ''gimel'' (young/new and old). Adjectives are not inflected for the gender or number of the noun that they relate to. They are usually formed by taking the root of a verb and adding -eg or -ig: ''teroðí'' (to calm, allay) becomes ''teroðeg'' (calm).

There are very few words that are purely adverbs - things like ''naloith'' (also) and ''ionic'' (enough). In most cases, the adjective is used, unmodified, as an adverb:

::Lyra - beautiful
::Lyra noleiðís - You played (i.e. an instrument) beautifully.

Comparatives and superlatives are not inflectional, but are instead translated by putting a comparative adjective before or after the noun or verb being related to:

::Athlë lyra na r-Elitho - a beautiful town in Elitho
::Athlë tefy lyra - A more beautiful town
::Athlë tont lyra - The most beautiful town
::Athlë thut lyra - A less beautiful town
::Athlë teðo lyra - The least beautiful town

===Prepositions===

Prepositions can sometimes be an area of difficulty for learners, because a great number of them can be inflected. Whilst in English, one would say "with her", in Celinese, the word for with is inflected in circumstances where it is followed by a pronoun in English. Contrast:

:I was with her - ''cêis'' foí (''cêis'' from ''cé'' (with) + ''sé'' (3rd person singular absolutive).
:I was with Syríe - ''cé Syríe foí''.

Some examples of inflected prepositions. Note that the language standardisation process did not manage to resolve the great amount of irregularity in how each preposition is inflected.

:{|
||'''preposition'''|| ||'''mé (me)'''|| ||'''ané/té (you)'''|| ||'''sé (him/her/it)'''|| ||'''ainh (one)'''|| ||'''fyr (us)'''|| ||'''anaith (you plural)'''|| ||'''seith (them)'''||
|-
||'''cé (with)'''|| ||cêim|| ||cêith|| ||cêis|| ||cainh|| ||cêifyr|| ||cêinot|| ||cêisot||
|-
||'''doth (for [recipient])'''|| ||dothym|| ||dothyth|| ||dothys|| ||dothainh|| ||dothyr|| ||dothot|| ||dossot||
|-
||'''fent (without)'''|| ||fentom|| ||fentoth|| ||fentos|| ||fenainh|| ||fenyr|| ||fennot|| ||fensot||
|-
||'''go (from/of)'''|| ||gôm|| ||gôth|| ||gôs|| ||gainh|| ||gôr|| ||goiot|| ||goseith||
|-
||'''na (in)'''|| ||nêm|| ||nêth|| ||nê|| ||nainh|| ||nêr|| ||nêiot|| ||nein||
|}

===Mutations===

Consonant mutation plays a big part in Celinese, and is very commonly triggered. There are two instances of Celinese mutation - initial consonant mutation, triggered by preceding words, and internal consonant mutation, triggered by attaching phonemes such as ''né'' (not, an-) to existing words. Mutation affects nouns, adjectives, pronouns and can even occasionally effect verbs. Whilst languages such as Middle Perisian had a five-way mutation system, the compromise acrolect features just one mutation, a soft mutation whereby unvoiced consonants become voiced, with the exception of <f>, which once was voiced to [v] but is now mutated to [w].

====Mutation table====

:{|
||Consonant|| ||Mutated consonant|| ||Ecliptic form||
|-
||[t]|| ||[d]|| ||t-d||
|-
||[p]|| ||[b]|| ||b-p||
|-
||[k]|| ||[g]|| ||g-c||
|-
||[θ]|| ||[ð]|| ||ð-th||
|-
||[f]|| ||[w]|| ||w-f||
|}

====Initial consonant mutation====

Initial mutation is denoted by attaching the mutated consonant to the original consonant: ''caroig'' (heart) becomes ''mo g-caroig'' (my heart). The original consonant in the ecliptic form is not pronounced, so the example is pronounced [mɔ 'gaɾɔɪç] and not *[mɔg ˈkaɾɔɪç]!

The things that '''always''' trigger initial consonant mutation are:

* The vast majority of prepositional adpositions:

: ''Na '''b-P'''ynðoro'' - In Brazil
: ''Lo '''g-C'''infro anðoí'' - I went to Wales
: ''Cé '''w-f'''yr mildot'' - With our friends
: ''„Och '''g-C'''ompton“'' - Out of Compton

* All possessive pronouns:

: ''Ano '''d-t'''aðír sío'' - Your father is (here)
: ''So '''b-p'''itulchast moir corío'' - His/her stupidity annoys me
: ''Sío dairast fyr '''d-t'''ír'' - Our country is wonderous

Things that '''optionally''' trigger initial mutation (and nearly ''always'' do in the written language) include:

* Adjectives preceding nouns:
: ''Cé gimel '''g-c'''ailúsot'' - With the old custom
: ''Na '''b-p'''oreg '''ð-th'''úl'' - In the small house

* When a number greater than two precedes a noun or adjective. In the most literary speech, two triggers this mutation too:

: ''Sêlm''' w-f'''abolím'' - Six fables
: ''Ðwy '''ð-th'''onsamím'' - Two banquets

====Internal consonant mutation====

Internal consonant mutation is often caused when creating compound words or adding morphemes to the beginning of words. As a rule of thumb, it is words and modifiers that end in vowels that bring about these changes, such as ''cê-'' (with, co-), ''na'' (to), and ''né'' (not, an-). When internal mutation occurs, there is no ecliptic form - instead, the consonant is written like its mutated sound.

:{|
||'''Original word'''|| ||'''Meaning'''|| ||'''Modified word'''|| ||'''Meaning'''||
|-
||''Tinyor''|| ||Sound|| ||''Cê'''d'''inyor''|| ||Connotation||
|-
||''Ceðorí''|| ||Sort|| ||''Cê'''g'''eðorí''|| ||Coordinate||
|-
||''Theilast''|| ||Lucky|| ||''Né'''ð'''eilast''|| ||Unlucky||
|-
||''Trechíreg''|| ||Dependant|| ||''Nê'''d'''rechíreg''|| ||Independent||
|-
||''Pomí''|| ||Breathe|| ||''Na'''b'''omí''|| ||Inhale||
|-
||''Tolí''|| ||Add|| ||''Na'''d'''olí''|| ||Insert||
|-
||''Thut + peth''|| ||Few + thing(s)|| ||''Thu'''b'''eth''|| ||Few things||
|-
||''Taig + plairí''|| ||Self-/auto- + please|| ||''Tai'''b'''lairig''|| ||Self-content||
|}

==Derivational morphology==

The Celinese language relies heavily on affixes to build vocabulary. Since the convergence of Ioðinbêr and Perís forms, the word formation system has become very regular - if certainly not perfectly regular. More times than not, the root of a verb can be used to create an adjective and several noun forms. Compound nouns (and verbs), built from two roots or more, are also frequent.

===Prefixes===

* '''Né-/an-''' : These are two of the most useful prefixes for building your vocabulary. They both are used to negate adjectives and even some verbs and nouns. Some examples with né: ''theilast'' (lucky) turns to ''néðeilast'' (unlucky, unfortunate); ''pontheg'' (certain) changes to ''nébontheg'' (uncertain, unsure);'' édithig'' (caring) to ''nédithig'' (uncaring, callous). There are a few examples where expected internal mutation does not take place, e.g. ''cluthand'' (hearing) > ''nécluthand'' (deaf), rather than négluthand. But these are in the minority. When the stress falls on another syllable, ''né'' turns to ''nê'' - e.g. ''nêthí'' [neˈθiː] (to not know, to be ignorant of).

* Examples with an, which typically does not provoke mutation - ''bereðand'' (respectful, humble) becomes ''anbereðand'' (rude, uncouth); ''alsiast'' (moneyed, rich) to ''analsiast'' (poor, impoverished), and an example with mutation, ''celínír'' (speaker) becomes ''angelínír'' (mute, silent person). There are no set rules that determine which of the two negational prefixes to use; an- is more common in Perís, né- in Chlasc and Ioðinbêr, but some dialects use one form to the complete exclusion of the other. "Nêgelínír" and "anbontheg", whilst not the traditional dictionary forms, are perfectly understood and admittable words.

* '''Chen(o)-''': From the adjective ''chenog'' (bad), the prefix chen can be used in a similar manner as mis- is used in English, used to refer to anything done incorrectly or badly, but is rather more common. Chen does not cause internal mutation. Some examples: ''chengrefír'' (pulp fiction author), ''chenleiðír'' (poetaster - bad poet), ''chenlaiðoê'' (misgovernance, bad leadership), chen(o)ceðorí (mismanage).

* '''ðwy-:''' from the word for two and sometimes written as ''dwy, ðwy-'' is used to translate English words prefixed with bi- or di- (meaning double or half); examples being ''ðwydraigyn'' (bicycle = two wheel), ''ðwygelínast'' (bilingual = two language having), and ''ðwyceilí'' (disect = two cut). It is also used for concepts that are not expressed with a prefix in English; an example being ''ðwyburí'', fold, literally meaning two bend. ''Try-, hyð-'' etc can be used for three, four and so on.

* '''lo-''' : ''Lo-'' (from the word for to) is often used to express causation, though how ''lo-'' forms differ from the original infinitive can be complex. ''Gloðí'' (I compromise, as in I compromise to benefit the other person) becomes ''logloðí'' (I make the other person compromised; compromising them for my benefit.) ''Loloiðí'', from loiðig (loud), makes "to make loud"; ''lorí'' (get on the floor) contrasts with ''lolorí'' (to make someone get on the floor.)

* '''cé:''' ''Cé-'' (from the word for with, written ''cê'' when the stress is marked on another syllable) is one of the most commonly used Celinese prefixes and usually denotes mutuality. Taking an example from lo, whilst ''gloðí'' means that one party compromises for the other's benefit, ''cêgloðí'' means that both parties compromise. ''Cégynolchír'' is a person from the same generation as you (with + descendant = those you descended with); ''cêcaithír'' is someone with whom you work (a colleague), ''cêloithí'' is to place something together (to link), and ''cêsyrí'' is to enjoy (literally with + like).

* '''na:''' (from the word for in, sometimes written as '''no'''), usually creates compound words containing in: ''naðon'' (na + thon, in-food, i.e. things in food), songwriter is ''naleiðír'' (in-song person, i.e. someone who puts things in song), n''aloiðeg'' means unavoidable (literally translating to "in the stars adjective") and ''nadolí'' is to insert (from na + tolí, add). Na always provokes internal mutation.

* '''doir:''' This prefix comes from the preposition for "from one side to another" and often has parallels with trans- or cross- in English. Examples of its use include ''doirgrefí'' (translate = cross-write); ''doirarileg'' (trans-Atlantic), doirbyrí (to cross), and ''transport'' (doirwyðar, across door.)

===Suffixes===

Suffixes are built (unless an exception is noted) by taking a verb, removing its verbal ending (i.e. ''moirí'' would be reduced to ''moir'', ''laiðí'' to ''laið''), then adding the appropriate suffix.

* '''-ír:''' ''-ír'' is used to denote someone or something that carries out the specific verb. Thus, ''moirí'' (fight) becomes ''moirír'' (fighter, soldier) and ''laiðí'' (to sing) becomes ''laiðír'' (one who sings.) This ending can be attached to any verb in Celinese; so ''teisí'' (to prosper or to fare well) becomes ''teisír'' (one who prospers.)

* '''-oê:''' 'oê' is perhaps the common suffix in Celinese. Its use is best illustrated with examples. To bite is ''tamí''. If you want to describe a single action of having bitten someone, one would use ''tamos'', but a bite on your skin or off an animal - semantically speaking 'the after-effect of being bitten' - is ''tamoê''. Likewise, a burn is ''brechoê'' (the after effect of ''brechí'', to burn) and union or solidarity is ''lainoê'' (the after effect of l''ainí'', to unite.) Most, but not all words ending in ''-oê'' correspond precisely to this explanation, because some words that to-day ending in -oê once ended in -aê, a suffix with somewhat of a different meaning.

* '''-air:''' in many ways, ''air'' is a counterpart to ''oê''. Whilst the latter describes the time or state after an action took place, the former describes a time or state during which an action is taken - ''norair'' is night (time of continued darkness), ''mereð-séilair'' is happiness (time of continued "good sun" - i.e. positive feeling) and winter is ''feifrair'' (time of continued frost).

* '''-ast:''' This ending is somewhat similar to ''-ful'', but unlike in English, it is usually attached for verbs, rather than nous. It suggests a full possession of the quality expressed in the verb. Thus, if to pay attention is ''gachtí'', someone or something that is attentive or careful (i.e. characterised by fully paying attention) could be described as ''gachtast''. To care is ''êdithí'' - someone who is caring or considerate (characterised by fully caring) is ''êdithast''.

* '''-eg/ig:''' The standard way to create adjectives, it can be attached to nouns or adjectives. E.g. ''peroðí'' is to lose, ''peroðeg'' is lost; ''brochí'' is to need - ''brocheg'' is needy.

* '''-am:''' Am is used to make intensive adjectives, which often carry a sense of an action or state being 'excessive.' These can be formed by chopping off the -eg/-ig ending and replacing it with am, or sticking am onto the ending of an adjective if it ends in another manner. Thus ''thyreg'' is the Celinese adjective for sweet; ''thryam'' is sickly sweet, saccharine. ''Foireg'' is cold, foiram is freezing or bitter. Am appears as an infix to make 'excessive verbs' too, and to make something even more excessive, one adds -an as well as -am: ''twymaman'' suggests (exaggeratedly) that it is physically impossible to get any hotter than it is now.

* Whilst ''-am'' is often used negatively, it also has a positive connotation: whilst the English "big man" is often used disparagingly and sarcastically in English, its counterpart ''ðywysam'' is very positive, suggesting a generous, amiable person. ''Mildam'' ("big friend") is used to refer to close friends.

* '''-och:''' Och is used for the opposite of -am, as a diminutive that indicates that something is small - e.g. ''thúl'' (house) > ''thúloch'' (small cottage); ''dosnë'' (dog) vs ''dosnoch'' (lap dog); ''twym'' (hot) vs ''twymoch'' (tepid). It can often be used negatively - see the difference between ''poreg athlë'' (small town) and ''athloch'' (little burg). To indicate that something is small but good, one can add ''-ic'' on the end (''athlochic'': quaint little village). To indicate that something is bad, but not small, one adds -am (''athlocham'', hellhole).

==Resources==

* [http://www.celinese.weebly.com Celinese Lessons and resources]

* [http://www.celinese.tumblr.com A Tumblr blog about Celinese]

* [https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cel%C3%ADnot-%C3%88resig/144644508987743 Celínot Èresig (Ayresian languages) on Facebook, mostly featuring Celinese]

* [http://cd.langwiki.info/search/CE The Celinese dictionary]

[[Category:Artlangs]]
[[Category:A priori conlangs]]
[[Category:Conlangs]]

Celinese

2012-05-18T11:12:48Z

Celinceithir:

{{infobox|bg=#F2DC77|native=Celínec|in='''National language in:''' Elitho, Circasio, Ifanco, Gwyðach
:'''An official language in:''' Jinyero (Esfoth), Norèscie
:'''A regional language in:''' Beichlë (Sairstír)
:'''A community language in:''' Ochrís, Wyšo, Telairo|tu=Lorech|no=397,531,000 (Celinese languages)|tree=Tygenoci
:Celinese languagese
::South Eastern Celinese
:::'''Standard Celinese''' (Períseg-Ioðinbêreg)|wo=Free, though OVS is the most common in most contexts.|morph=Fusional|ms=Ergative-absolutive|creator=[[User:Celinceithir|A. Ayres]]|date=2002-}}

Celinese languages (several names in Celinese languages) are divergent dialects that form part of a macrolanguage that is the most spoken offshoot of the Tygenoci language family, and one of the major languages of the Northern hemisphere of Lorech. The spoken and written standard (Celinese languages: '''Celínec''', pronounced {{IPA|[ˈkɛlinɛk]}}), a compromise based on the dialects of Perís and Ioðinbêr, is spoken as a first language by almost 400 million people, and understood by a further 950 million second language learners.

Originating as independent languages in the Northern swathes of the large island, Tygenoc, the union of thitherto sovereign states - first under the Lainoê Elíneg and Northern Elitho, then under a united Elithoan commonwealth - precipitated the need to find a compromise dialect to unite these tongues, creating the standard, trans-Elithoan acrolect that is the basis of this article. To this day, Celinese languages - which will be considered on other pages - remain robust in their divergences from the Períseg-Ioðinbêreg norm, but it is rare to find an individual who cannot speak the standard Celinese language. Celinese is spoken in the North of Beichlë - the nation neighbouring Elitho to the south - where native Celinophones outnumber native Beichlophones 6-1; and in the West of Jinyero, or Esfoth - the nation to the South-East. Because of emigration, expansion and the colonisation of uninhabited islands and landmasses, Celinophones can be found in varying numbers across the entirety of Lorech. A language with a proud literary history, more books are published in Celinese than in any other language of the Northern hemisphere. It is the third most commonly learnt second language abroad, and is one of the official languages of the Lorechian Assembly of Sovereign Nations.

==Name==

The naming of the standard Celinese language was a matter of some controversy. Today's standard acrolect, largely derived from the urbane speech of Perís and Ioðinbêr, two of the most prominent cities of the time; the speech of the other major conurbations - the twin cities of Chlasc-Lainoch in the South-West, and Iferðí-Danðí in the North-East - was considered too divergent to be the basis of a pan-Elithoan prestige dialect.

Up to that point, speakers of Celinese languages generally referred to their variety by the name of the tystír where it was spoken. Thus, speech in Perís was invariably referred to as ''perísec'', and despite attempts to declare the language of the Southern Lainoê Elíneg as 'elínec', it was usually called 'ioðinbêric'.

Having commissioned a dictionary and linguistic survey, the first Senate of the Commonwealth of Elitho was determined to refer to the compromise acrolect as Elithoan (Celinese: ''elithoëc''), but were persuaded not to by representatives from Circasio, who were insulted at the idea of their shared language being named after Elitho. Alternatives based on the two languages from which Standard Celinese was principally drawn, such as perðinec and pèrberec, were rejected for being too divisive. The name celínec - derived from ''celín'' (language tongue) and ''-ec'' (a suffix often used to denote language, similar to English -ish or -ese) - was eventually agreed upon. However, most Celinese speakers describe themselves as speakers of their local language first and foremost, and only refer to the prestige dialect as "Celinese".

==Phonology and Orthography==

===Consonants===

{|
|| ||Labial||Bilabial||Dental||Alveolar||Retroflex||Palatal||Velar||Uvular||Glottal
|-
||Voiceless plosives||'''p'''|| || || '''t'''|| || || '''c'''|| || ||
|-
||Voiced plosives|| '''b'''|| || || '''d'''|| || || '''g*'''|| || ||
|-
||Flap|| || || || '''r*'''||
|-
||Voiceless fricatives|| ||'''f*'''||'''th'''||'''s*'''||'''s*'''||'''g*'''|| ||'''ch'''||'''h'''||'''
|-
||Voiced fricatives|| ||'''f*'''||'''ð'''|| ||'''r*'''|| || || || ||
|-
||Approximant||'''w'''|| || || || || ||'''y/i'''||
|-
||Lateral approximant|| || || ||'''l'''||
|}

* <f> is pronounced [f], except intervocally, where it is [v]. In some dialects, it is also pronounced [v] in final position
* <r> is pronounced [ɾ], except in word-final position, where it becomes [ʐ] in Periso-Ioðinbêr Celinese
* <nowiki><s></nowiki> is pronounced [s], except in front of <é> and <í>, where it is instead pronounced [ʂ]
* <g> is pronounced [g], except in word-final position, where it is pronounced [ç]

===Vowels===

{|
|| ||Front|| ||Central|| || ||Back||
|-
||Close||'''[i]''' <í>|| || || || ||'''[u]''' <nowiki><u, ù></nowiki>||
|-
||Near close||'''[ɪ]''' <y>||
|-
||Close-mid||'''[e]''' <é, ê>; '''[ø]''' <nowiki><i></nowiki>|| || || || ||'''[o]''' <ô>||
|-
||Mid|| || ||'''[ə]''' <ə>||
|-
||Open-mid||'''[ɛ]''' <e, è>|| || || || ||'''[ɔ]''' <o, ò>||
|-
||Open||'''[a]''' <a>||
|}

* Acute diacritics appear on e and i to signify a change in vowel quality, namely from [ɛ] and [ø] to [e] and [i]. Syllables with an acute are always stressed: norís [nɔˈɾis], élainig [ˈe.laɪn.øç].

* Circumflex accents – ê and ô - denote a change in vowel quality without a change in stress. Êdithír (parent) is pronounced [e.døθ.ˈiʐ]; ôthím is [oθ.ˈim].

* Unaccented vowels are only stressed if they are in the penultimate syllable of a word with neither an acute nor a grave-accented vowel: thus, alsë would be stressed on the penult [ˈalʂə], but soisé would be stressed on the accented final syllable: [sɔˈʂe].

* Vowels with a grave accent have the same quality as unaccented vowels (e.g. è, ò and ù are pronounced [ɛ], [ɔ] and [u] like e, o and u are), but are stressed: sefodèsg (Swedish) is pronounced [sɛfɔˈdɛsç].

* In other Celinese languages, one can see other diacritics being used. They are nearly always used in a similar way to standard Celinese - e/è comparing with ê and é. Common even in Standard Celinese is the transcription of irregularly stressed [u] as <ú> rather than <ù>. This is an accepted variant for the subjunctive mood, but the Representative Council of the Celinese language dissuades it from being used elsewhere.

===Stress===

On most words, primary stress falls on the penultimate syllable, unless a subsequent syllable is marked with an acute or grave accent. Thus ''tynðeg'' is pronounced [ˈtɪnðɛç], but ''welèc'' and ''mairís'' are both stressed on the last syllable: [wɛˈlɛk] [maɪˈɾis].

When a word is made by attaching a suffix or suffixes to a root, the penult of the ''root'' is stressed. Take the word ''ecosoireg,'' meaning scholastic, which derives from ''ecosí'' ("to study") + ''-oir'' (suffix denoted "place of") + ''-eg'' (one of the regular adjectival endings.) Learners of the language may initially pronounce the word with the stress on the penult, but it would instead be pronounced [ɛˈkɔsɔɪɾɛç], with the stress falling on the penult of the root.

When it comes to compound words that combine two roots, some speakers stress the penult of the first root, some the penult of the last. Consequently, ''drethcybethír'' (taxpayer), which comes from dreth (tax) + cybethí (to pay) + -ír (suffix to denote "person who does action") can be heard to be pronounced as [ˈdɾɛθkɪˌbɛθiʐ] or [ˌdɾɛθkɪˈbɛθiʐ], with the former being more common.

In words of three or more syllables, secondary stress is applied to the syllables two syllables before and/or two syllables after the stressed syllable; thus ''celnoê'' (discussion) is pronounced [ˈkɛlnɔˌjɛ] and ''momeirlairel'' (candlelight) is pronounced [ˈmɔmɛɪʐˌlaɪɾɛl] (or [ˌmɔmɛɪʐˈlaɪɾɛl].

===Epenthesis===

In most Celinese languages, epenthesis has arisen to separate two consecutive vowel sounds at the end of one word and at the very beginning of the subsequent word. Take the words ''mo'' (my) and ''athlë'' (town). When mo directly precedes athlë, either an r- (in Ioðinbêr and much of the South) or a th- (in Perís and most of the North.) The epenthetic r can be pronounced [ɾ] ([mɔ ˈɾaθlə]) or [ʐ] ([mɔ ˈʐaθlə]).

==Morphology==

Celinese is a moderately inflected language. Nouns have not been declined for case since the "Middle Elithoan Celinese" era, but they still decline for number, and for grammatical gender in the plural. Pronouns still retain vestiges of the case system. Adjectives (which double as adverbs) are uninflected, whilst verbs inflect for person, mood and tense.

===Nouns===

The biggest challenge for the learner, with respect to nouns, is pluralising them. There are three standard plural endings, ''-ím'' (for 'masculine' nouns), ''-ot'' (for 'feminine' nouns), and ''-ain'' (for 'neuter' nouns). The gender system is entirely formal and not semantic in the least; without exceptions, the gender of a noun is determined by the last sound in that noun. As a result, ''taðír'' and ''maiðír'', dad and mom, are not masculine and feminine respectively, but neuter, because the vast majority of words ending in -r are neuter. Similarly, ''garys'' (boy) and ''gathal'' (girl) are feminine and masculine respectively, because -s is a feminine word ending and -l is generally a masculine word ending.

====Regular pluralisation pattern====

:{|
|| || || Singular|| || || Plural||
|-
||Masculine|| ||'''lech''' (word)|| || ||'''lech''ím''''' (word''s'')||
|-
||Feminine|| ||'''leið''' (song)|| || ||'''leið''ot''''' (word''s'')||
|-
||Neuter|| ||'''syrthoir''' (home)|| || ||'''syrthoir''ain''''' (home''s'')||
|}

====Other pluralisation patterns====

* Words ending in the unstressed ë - which are invariably feminine - delete the ë and add -ot in the plural. Thus, ''athlë'' [ˈaθ.lə] becomes ''athlot'' [ˈaθ.lɔt]
* The same goes for words ending in e or a - the borrowed atèlie (workshop) becomes ''atèliot'' in the plural.
* Very frequent are words ending in ê, particularly oê. In these words - which are also invariably feminine - the ê changes to a semi-vocalic i in the plural: ''celnoê'' (discussions) [ˈkɛlnɔˌ(j)e] becomes ''celnoiot'' (discussions) [ˈkɛlnɔˌ(j)ɔt].
* Words ending in <o> or <nowiki><u></nowiki>, whether masculine or neuter, take the ending <-m> rather than ''-ím'' or ''-ain''. Wylo (wave) becomes ''wylom'' rather than ''*wyloain''.

====Irregular plurals====

Middle and Late Middle Celinese varieties had hundreds of irregular plurals, and some dialects (particularly those of the rural parts of West Elitho) retain nearly all the irregular plurals. However, when the Perís-Ioðinbêr influenced acrolect was standardised, most of the irregular plurals were replaced with ones following a more regular pattern. E.g. ''mildë'' (friend) was once pluralised as ''milðot'' - [d] to [ð] and [t] to [θ] being a common sound change before plurals. Now, in the standard language, it is the regular 'mildot', but the irregular still remains in many dialects.

Some irregular plurals remained (usually because they were irregular in both Perís and Ioðinbêr acrolects). They can generally be divided into three categories:

* Nouns whose plural is a different '''gender''' to what one would predict from its ending. Two good examples of this would be the word for apple and aspect, ''eflím'' [ɛfˈlim] and elym [ˈɛlɪm] respectively. Despite -m being a consistently masculine noun ending, the former takes a feminine plural, ''eflímot'', and the latter takes a neuter plural, ''elymain.''
* Nouns that are the '''same in the singular and plural forms''' - ''calím'' (climate), originally the pluralised form of ''cal'', is now used for the singular and plural. The same can be said about ''dychlain'' (clothes), which lost its singular form '''dychël'''. Two other key words like this are ''bairím'' (fruit/s) and ''chenosain'' (evil/s).
* Nouns with an '''irregular plural inflection''', such as ''calbys'' (hook) turning to ''ca(u)lsain'' in the plural, ''hidim'' (insect) to ''hiðmain'', ''aðel'' (Elithoan currency) to ''aðail'', ''selmoth'' (second) to ''selmaith'' and talom (space) to ''taloim''.

====Gendered endings====

Though there are sometimes exceptions, the table below gives a general idea of which endings correspond to which genders.

:{|
|| || || Always|| || || Sometimes||
|-
||Masculine|| ||-ch, -f, -g, -c, -u || || ||-l, -m||
|-
||Feminine|| ||-th, -ð, -s, -ë, -e* -a|| || ||-l, -n||
|-
||Neuter|| ||-r, -o -os || || ||-l, -n, -m||
|}

e* refers to <e> and <e> with any diacritic, i.e. <é>, <ê>.

===Pronouns===

There are four sets of independent pronouns in Celinese - ergative, absolutive, dative and possessive. The ergative pronoun is nearly always avoided, except when emphasising or comparing - e.g. ''"Tefy mildeg ðo sà sío ana"'' (you are friendlier than him) or ''"Foí sé ais!"'' (''I'' did it.) Many prepositions combine with pronouns to make inflected prepositions.

The subject uses the ergative, unless it is the subjective of an intransitive verb:

::I lay him down - Lygoí sé (ais).
::I lay down - Lygín mé (literally "they" laid me down.

:{|
|| || ||Ergative|| ||Absolutive|| ||Dative|| ||1 Possessive|| ||2 Possessive||
|-
||1SG|| ||ais|| ||mé|| ||moir|| ||mo|| ||mínn||
|-
||2SG|| ||ana/tú|| ||ané/té|| ||toir|| ||to/ano|| ||tínn||
|-
||3SG|| ||sà|| ||sé|| ||soir|| ||so|| ||sínn||
|-
||1PL|| ||aisot|| ||fair|| ||fyrir|| ||fyr|| ||fínn||
|-
||2PL|| ||anot|| ||anaith|| ||anair|| ||anor|| ||anínn||
|-
||3PL|| ||saiot|| ||seith|| ||syrir|| ||syr|| ||syrínn||
|-
||4|| ||ainh|| ||én|| ||ainor|| ||ànair|| ||ainhínn||
|}

The difference between 1 Possessive, shorthand for pre-modifying possessive, and 2 possessive, shorthand for non-pre-modifying possessive, can be compared to the difference between ''my'' and ''mine'' or ''their'' and ''theirs'':

: ''Sío mo nothín'' - It is my idea.
: ''Nêsío mínn'' - It's not mine.
: ''Mínn sío aitwys'' - Mine is that one.

There is also a set of clipped absolutive pronouns that attach onto the end of a verb. In the two instances in the first person singular where a clipped pronoun can be mistaken for a verbal ending, a hyphen is placed between the verb and the pronoun:

:{|
|| ||'''ending'''|| ||'''example'''|| ||'''translation'''||
|-
||'''1SG'''||-(o)m, --m|| ||daisí-m, daisíom, daisínom|| ||I saw myself; s/he saw me; they saw me||
|-
||'''2SG'''||-(o)th|| ||mairíth, mairímoth|| ||I love you; we love you||
|-
||'''3SG'''||-(o)s, --s|| ||cofí-s, cofíos, cofíotos|| ||I hate him/her; s/he hates him/her; ye hate him/her||
|-
||'''1PL'''||-(o)f|| ||tamíof, tamínof|| ||s/he bit us, they bit us||
|-
||'''2PL'''||-aith|| ||cênoríaith|| ||I know ye||
|-
||'''3PL'''||-eith|| ||nerothímeith|| ||We avoid them||
|-
|}

===Verbs===

The verbal system of Celinese is mixed - some cases (the present and past) and moods (the subjunctive) are inflectional; others (such as the future, conditional and habitual past) are formed using periphrastic constructions. Both inflected tenses and the auxiliary verb in periphrastic tenses are conjugated for person.

====Non-periphrastic tenses and moods====

The following table is an example of ''norí,'' a regular verb, being inflected for person, number and tense:

:{|
|| ||Present|| ||Simple Past|| ||Subjunctive mood||
|-
||1SG||nor'''í'''|| ||nor'''oí'''|| ||nor'''ù'''||
|-
||2SG||nor'''í''s'''''|| ||nor'''oí''s'''''|| ||nor'''ú''s'''''||
|-
||3SG||nor'''í''o'''''|| ||nor'''oí''o'''''|| ||nor'''ú''o'''''||
|-
||1PL||nor'''í''m'''''|| ||nor'''oí''m'''''|| ||nor'''ú''m'''''||
|-
||2PL||nor'''í''ot'''''|| ||nor'''oí''ot'''''|| ||nor'''ú''ot'''''||
|-
||3PL||nor'''í''n'''''|| ||nor'''oí''n'''''|| ||nor'''ú''n'''''||
|}

The current pattern of inflection above applies to nearly every verb, and is a considerable simplification from middle Celinese variants. One first adds -í for the present, -oí for the past and ú for the subjunctive mood to the root, and then add one of five endings (or -ø for the first person singular) to inflect for person and number.

The subjunctive is used as an imperative, as a result of the fact that Old Elithoan Celinese had no way of making demands, only requests (one of the things covered by the subjunctive) such as Old Perisian's chlení þa barùs (I ask that you stop - Modern flyní ðo parús) and Old Iferðisc's no t-Der ðo (in God that).

=====Participle=====

A participle can be made by adding -and to the root verb. Thus tarochí becomes tarochand. Multi-clause sentences often begin with a gerund:

This structure is similar to one commonly seen in English:

::''Pathoiot ethoío'' - s/he knew the consequences.
::''soir rôfoío'' - s/he called him/her
::''Dysand pathoiot ethand, soir rôfoío'' - despite knowing the consequences, s/he called him/her.

The choice of phrase in this example is relatively uncommon in English:

::''Ðrairig foín'' - they were violent.
::''Hyrgyroðot tachoín'' - they were given red cards.
::''Na ðrairig sand, hyrgyroðot tachoín'' - due to being violent (lit. in being violent), they received red cards.

====Periphrastic constructions====

:{|
||Tense||Construction|| ||Example|| ||Translation||
|-
||Future||Present tense of fyðí + INF|| ||Lo r-Aisatho anðí fyðím|| ||We will go to America||
|-
||Conditional||Present tense of weðí + INF|| ||Sé ethí weðís|| ||You would know it||
|-
||Future perfect||Past tense of fyðí + INF|| ||Naint athlí fyðoín|| ||They will have lived there||
|-
||Past conditional||Past tense of weðí + INF|| ||Weðoíot aithrí|| ||You (pl) would have come||
|-
||Present continuous||Present tense of sí + ag + INF|| ||Sío ag ceoní|| ||S/he is speaking||
|-
||Past continuous||Past tense of sí + ag + INF|| ||Foio ag ceoní|| ||S/he was speaking||
|-
||Present habitual||Present tense of tynðí + INF|| ||Sêlmím tarochí tynðí|| ||I usually/tend to play sixes||
|-
||Past habitual||Past tense of tynðí + INF|| ||Sêlmím tarochí tynðoí|| ||I used to play sixes||
|}

Note that the infinitive and the auxiliary verb can precede and follow one another, depending on the stylistic choice of the writer; thus the last sentence could also be phrased as ''tynðoí sêlmím tarochí''. Many of the periphrastic constructions are avoided unless the writer wishes to disambiguate - so, for example, often information that one would expect to be conveyed using such past continuous and past habitual will instead be written using the simple past. However, the future and conditional periphrastic constructions are very commonly used.

Abbreviated forms of the future and conditional, fyð and weð, can be used instead of the full verb, in which case the other verb in the periphrastic phrase conjugates. Thus we will go can be expressed as anðí fyðím or fyð anðím/anðím fyð. "Will be" and "would be" each have a special compound verb, fysí (will be) and wesí (would be).

===Adjectives and Adverbs===

Adjectives are nearly always placed after the noun that they modify, except for in poetry or affected speech. There are a few adjectives, however, that are always placed before the noun, such as ''mereð'', and some which were originally before-only which now can be placed before or after, such as ''ifanc'' and ''gimel'' (young/new and old). Adjectives are not inflected for the gender or number of the noun that they relate to. They are usually formed by taking the root of a verb and adding -eg or -ig: ''teroðí'' (to calm, allay) becomes ''teroðeg'' (calm).

There are very few words that are purely adverbs - things like ''naloith'' (also) and ''ionic'' (enough). In most cases, the adjective is used, unmodified, as an adverb:

::Lyra - beautiful
::Lyra noleiðís - You played (i.e. an instrument) beautifully.

Comparatives and superlatives are not inflectional, but are instead translated by putting a comparative adjective before or after the noun or verb being related to:

::Athlë lyra na r-Elitho - a beautiful town in Elitho
::Athlë tefy lyra - A more beautiful town
::Athlë tont lyra - The most beautiful town
::Athlë thut lyra - A less beautiful town
::Athlë teðo lyra - The least beautiful town

===Prepositions===

Prepositions can sometimes be an area of difficulty for learners, because a great number of them can be inflected. Whilst in English, one would say "with her", in Celinese, the word for with is inflected in circumstances where it is followed by a pronoun in English. Contrast:

:I was with her - ''cêis'' foí (''cêis'' from ''cé'' (with) + ''sé'' (3rd person singular absolutive).
:I was with Syríe - ''cé Syríe foí''.

Some examples of inflected prepositions. Note that the language standardisation process did not manage to resolve the great amount of irregularity in how each preposition is inflected.

:{|
||'''preposition'''|| ||'''mé (me)'''|| ||'''ané/té (you)'''|| ||'''sé (him/her/it)'''|| ||'''ainh (one)'''|| ||'''fyr (us)'''|| ||'''anaith (you plural)'''|| ||'''seith (them)'''||
|-
||'''cé (with)'''|| ||cêim|| ||cêith|| ||cêis|| ||cainh|| ||cêifyr|| ||cêinot|| ||cêisot||
|-
||'''doth (for [recipient])'''|| ||dothym|| ||dothyth|| ||dothys|| ||dothainh|| ||dothyr|| ||dothot|| ||dossot||
|-
||'''fent (without)'''|| ||fentom|| ||fentoth|| ||fentos|| ||fenainh|| ||fenyr|| ||fennot|| ||fensot||
|-
||'''go (from/of)'''|| ||gôm|| ||gôth|| ||gôs|| ||gainh|| ||gôr|| ||goiot|| ||goseith||
|-
||'''na (in)'''|| ||nêm|| ||nêth|| ||nê|| ||nainh|| ||nêr|| ||nêiot|| ||nein||
|}

===Mutations===

Consonant mutation plays a big part in Celinese, and is very commonly triggered. There are two instances of Celinese mutation - initial consonant mutation, triggered by preceding words, and internal consonant mutation, triggered by attaching phonemes such as ''né'' (not, an-) to existing words. Mutation affects nouns, adjectives, pronouns and can even occasionally effect verbs. Whilst languages such as Middle Perisian had a five-way mutation system, the compromise acrolect features just one mutation, a soft mutation whereby unvoiced consonants become voiced, with the exception of <f>, which once was voiced to [v] but is now mutated to [w].

====Mutation table====

:{|
||Consonant|| ||Mutated consonant|| ||Ecliptic form||
|-
||[t]|| ||[d]|| ||t-d||
|-
||[p]|| ||[b]|| ||b-p||
|-
||[k]|| ||[g]|| ||g-c||
|-
||[θ]|| ||[ð]|| ||ð-th||
|-
||[f]|| ||[w]|| ||w-f||
|}

====Initial consonant mutation====

Initial mutation is denoted by attaching the mutated consonant to the original consonant: ''caroig'' (heart) becomes ''mo g-caroig'' (my heart). The original consonant in the ecliptic form is not pronounced, so the example is pronounced [mɔ 'gaɾɔɪç] and not *[mɔg ˈkaɾɔɪç]!

The things that '''always''' trigger initial consonant mutation are:

* The vast majority of prepositional adpositions:

: ''Na '''b-P'''ynðoro'' - In Brazil
: ''Lo '''g-C'''infro anðoí'' - I went to Wales
: ''Cé '''w-f'''yr mildot'' - With our friends
: ''„Och '''g-C'''ompton“'' - Out of Compton

* All possessive pronouns:

: ''Ano '''d-t'''aðír sío'' - Your father is (here)
: ''So '''b-p'''itulchast moir corío'' - His/her stupidity annoys me
: ''Sío dairast fyr '''d-t'''ír'' - Our country is wonderous

Things that '''optionally''' trigger initial mutation (and nearly ''always'' do in the written language) include:

* Adjectives preceding nouns:
: ''Cé gimel '''g-c'''ailúsot'' - With the old custom
: ''Na '''b-p'''oreg '''ð-th'''úl'' - In the small house

* When a number greater than two precedes a noun or adjective. In the most literary speech, two triggers this mutation too:

: ''Sêlm''' w-f'''abolím'' - Six fables
: ''Ðwy '''ð-th'''onsamím'' - Two banquets

====Internal consonant mutation====

Internal consonant mutation is often caused when creating compound words or adding morphemes to the beginning of words. As a rule of thumb, it is words and modifiers that end in vowels that bring about these changes, such as ''cê-'' (with, co-), ''na'' (to), and ''né'' (not, an-). When internal mutation occurs, there is no ecliptic form - instead, the consonant is written like its mutated sound.

:{|
||'''Original word'''|| ||'''Meaning'''|| ||'''Modified word'''|| ||'''Meaning'''||
|-
||''Tinyor''|| ||Sound|| ||''Cê'''d'''inyor''|| ||Connotation||
|-
||''Ceðorí''|| ||Sort|| ||''Cê'''g'''eðorí''|| ||Coordinate||
|-
||''Theilast''|| ||Lucky|| ||''Né'''ð'''eilast''|| ||Unlucky||
|-
||''Trechíreg''|| ||Dependant|| ||''Nê'''d'''rechíreg''|| ||Independent||
|-
||''Pomí''|| ||Breathe|| ||''Na'''b'''omí''|| ||Inhale||
|-
||''Tolí''|| ||Add|| ||''Na'''d'''olí''|| ||Insert||
|-
||''Thut + peth''|| ||Few + thing(s)|| ||''Thu'''b'''eth''|| ||Few things||
|-
||''Taig + plairí''|| ||Self-/auto- + please|| ||''Tai'''b'''lairig''|| ||Self-content||
|}

==Derivational morphology==

The Celinese language relies heavily on affixes to build vocabulary. Since the convergence of Ioðinbêr and Perís forms, the word formation system has become very regular - if certainly not perfectly regular. More times than not, the root of a verb can be used to create an adjective and several noun forms. Compound nouns (and verbs), built from two roots or more, are also frequent.

===Prefixes===

* '''Né-/an-''' : These are two of the most useful prefixes for building your vocabulary. They both are used to negate adjectives and even some verbs and nouns. Some examples with né: ''theilast'' (lucky) turns to ''néðeilast'' (unlucky, unfortunate); ''pontheg'' (certain) changes to ''nébontheg'' (uncertain, unsure);'' édithig'' (caring) to ''nédithig'' (uncaring, callous). There are a few examples where expected internal mutation does not take place, e.g. ''cluthand'' (hearing) > ''nécluthand'' (deaf), rather than négluthand. But these are in the minority. When the stress falls on another syllable, ''né'' turns to ''nê'' - e.g. ''nêthí'' [neˈθiː] (to not know, to be ignorant of).

* Examples with an, which typically does not provoke mutation - ''bereðand'' (respectful, humble) becomes ''anbereðand'' (rude, uncouth); ''alsiast'' (moneyed, rich) to ''analsiast'' (poor, impoverished), and an example with mutation, ''celínír'' (speaker) becomes ''angelínír'' (mute, silent person). There are no set rules that determine which of the two negational prefixes to use; an- is more common in Perís, né- in Chlasc and Ioðinbêr, but some dialects use one form to the complete exclusion of the other. "Nêgelínír" and "anbontheg", whilst not the traditional dictionary forms, are perfectly understood and admittable words.

* '''Chen(o)-''': From the adjective ''chenog'' (bad), the prefix chen can be used in a similar manner as mis- is used in English, used to refer to anything done incorrectly or badly, but is rather more common. Chen does not cause internal mutation. Some examples: ''chengrefír'' (pulp fiction author), ''chenleiðír'' (poetaster - bad poet), ''chenlaiðoê'' (misgovernance, bad leadership), chen(o)ceðorí (mismanage).

* '''ðwy-:''' from the word for two and sometimes written as ''dwy, ðwy-'' is used to translate English words prefixed with bi- or di- (meaning double or half); examples being ''ðwydraigyn'' (bicycle = two wheel), ''ðwygelínast'' (bilingual = two language having), and ''ðwyceilí'' (disect = two cut). It is also used for concepts that are not expressed with a prefix in English; an example being ''ðwyburí'', fold, literally meaning two bend. ''Try-, hyð-'' etc can be used for three, four and so on.

* '''lo-''' : ''Lo-'' (from the word for to) is often used to express causation, though how ''lo-'' forms differ from the original infinitive can be complex. ''Gloðí'' (I compromise, as in I compromise to benefit the other person) becomes ''logloðí'' (I make the other person compromised; compromising them for my benefit.) ''Loloiðí'', from loiðig (loud), makes "to make loud"; ''lorí'' (get on the floor) contrasts with ''lolorí'' (to make someone get on the floor.)

* '''cé:''' ''Cé-'' (from the word for with, written ''cê'' when the stress is marked on another syllable) is one of the most commonly used Celinese prefixes and usually denotes mutuality. Taking an example from lo, whilst ''gloðí'' means that one party compromises for the other's benefit, ''cêgloðí'' means that both parties compromise. ''Cégynolchír'' is a person from the same generation as you (with + descendant = those you descended with); ''cêcaithír'' is someone with whom you work (a colleague), ''cêloithí'' is to place something together (to link), and ''cêsyrí'' is to enjoy (literally with + like).

* '''na:''' (from the word for in, sometimes written as '''no'''), usually creates compound words containing in: ''naðon'' (na + thon, in-food, i.e. things in food), songwriter is ''naleiðír'' (in-song person, i.e. someone who puts things in song), n''aloiðeg'' means unavoidable (literally translating to "in the stars adjective") and ''nadolí'' is to insert (from na + tolí, add). Na always provokes internal mutation.

* '''doir:''' This prefix comes from the preposition for "from one side to another" and often has parallels with trans- or cross- in English. Examples of its use include ''doirgrefí'' (translate = cross-write); ''doirarileg'' (trans-Atlantic), doirbyrí (to cross), and ''transport'' (doirwyðar, across door.)

==Resources==

* [http://www.celinese.weebly.com Celinese Lessons and resources]

* [http://www.celinese.tumblr.com A Tumblr blog about Celinese]

* [https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cel%C3%ADnot-%C3%88resig/144644508987743 Celínot Èresig (Ayresian languages) on Facebook, mostly featuring Celinese]

* [http://cd.langwiki.info/search/CE The Celinese dictionary]

[[Category:Artlangs]]
[[Category:A priori conlangs]]
[[Category:Conlangs]]

2012-05-15T15:42:25Z

Celinceithir:

Celinese

2012-05-13T18:44:38Z

Celinceithir: /* Periphrastic constructions */

Celinese

2012-05-13T18:43:38Z

Celinceithir: ,

User talk:Ababcock

2012-05-13T18:07:49Z

Celinceithir:

==Relay email==

:Hi there, Amanda!

:That's very odd. I sent a message yesterday to relay at valdyas dot org, indicating my address and my times of availability; did it not come through?

:In any case, my e-mail is phases.lunaires at gmail.com. I am available most days, except for Mondays and Tuesdays; these are my busiest teaching days and I shall have no time on them. All the best! Andy

::Cheers for your response! I will send a message to that address - do I just say that I want to sign up and what my conlang is and such, or is there a specific protocol? All the best &c!

Celinese

2012-05-13T17:21:17Z

Celinceithir: rv