III. Further Reading

            A. Familial Terms

            Tracing lines of ancestry is important to Ánhrushites, and so Gomain has a wide array of kinship terms and derivational affixes modifying them. The basic terms are as follows:

            Any of these terms that is not already feminine by default (i.e. the majority) can be feminized by prefixing eis-, as with all other nouns; thus one’s aunt is called eistaiv, a female cousin is eisŕdz, etc.

            Aside from the independent terms listed above, in-laws can be named by adding the suffix –olk, although this is generally not done beyond one’s ŕdzolká or spouses of once-removed relatives (those in either the immediately previous or next generations) except by pedants. As such, one may speak of one’s taivolk or eivolk but not one’s ródraivolk. In-laws of more distant relations are instead named with the following noun éshábôl, “by marriage”.

            Relatives obtained through remarriage are names with the suffix –úzh, regardless of the degree of kinship: eivúzh “stepmother”; eisshivúzh “stepdaughter”. For siblings or cousins who are only related through one ancestor rather than two, the suffix –uech is added: dházhuech “half-brother”.

            Distinction between maternal and paternal relatives is achieved with the respective prefixes ou- and ­ei-: ouroud “father’s father”; eieistaiv “mother’s sister”.

            Relatives more than two generations distant in either direction are named with the prefix ród-, which always precedes the feminine prefix if it is present but follows the maternal or paternal prefixes: ródeisjiv “great-granddaughter”; ouródeisroud “paternal great-grandmother”. In practice, this prefix can only be duplicated up to three times; beyond that, generations are numbered: eiroud faish “maternal great-great-great-great-great-grandfather”.

            It is common practice to only apply a maximum of three affixes to the basic terms, not counting reduplications of ród-. Thus a word such as oueistaivuech “paternal half-aunt” is at the limit of acceptability; something like eiródródeisoudúzh would be both unacceptable and ridiculous. As such, there are limits on how far the Gomain kinship system can be extended. Neither independent nor derived terms for some relations, such as third cousin, exist, in which case it is common to apply the diminutive suffix to express these more distant relations.

            B. Time and the Calendar

            The day

            The Ánhrushite day is divided into 24 hours; on equinoxes, then, there are 12 day hours and 12 night hours. Traditionally, the day is considered to begin at dawn; however, since it has been recognized that the time from one sunrise to the next is not fixed, the official beginning of each day has been set to the approximate time of sunrise on the equinoxes, which equates to about 6:00 AM. People typically count the absolute number of hours from this point when expressing the time:

            ¿Yúyús ófúnim hwekájil? “What time is it?”

            Dekáj óseingŕe. “It’s sunrise.”

            Dekáj ówangkráhá zí. “It’s zero.” [6:00 AM]

            Dekáj ówangkrá oi. “It’s one.” [7:00 AM]

            Dekáj ówangkráhá yúl. “It’s nine.” [3:00 PM]

            To use smaller numbers, time can also be counted from noon, in which case the number of hours is followed by lárénín, the adjectival form of “noon”. Night hours can be similarly counted relative to sunset (actually twelve hours after sunrise, or 6:00 PM), with the following adjective yíhwaiín.

            For more precise times, one can say the number of zhoihá or minutes, of which there are 72 to the hour. It is also common to use fairly simple fractions of hours – up to a sixth – instead of minutes. For even greater precision, one can specify the exact oun^e, or second, of which there are 72 per minute. In speech, it is common to omit the units entirely; the order in which they are spoken is invariably hour-minute-second:

            ung ís ou ungwó ís ŕwó “two hours, thirty minutes and 36 seconds” [8:25:30 AM]

            fai ís zí ís ungwó yíhwaiín “five hours and 24 seconds at night” [11:00:20 PM]

            shou ís ouch “eight hours and a quarter” [2:15 PM]

            shou hwég ouch “eight hours less a quarter” [1:45 PM]

            shou ís ungk “eight hours and a half” [2:30 PM]

            ŕ ís lá lárénín “three hours and 12 minutes in the afternoon” [3:10 PM]

            ŕ hwég lá lárénín “three houre less 12 minutes in the afternoon” [2:50 PM]

or         ung ís faiwó lárénín “two hours and 60 minutes in the afternoon” [2:50 PM]

            The standard and oft-used method for abbreviating time expressions mirrors their verbal shortening. Instead of ís, however, the semicolon is used to separate the numbers of hours, minutes, and seconds. Also, after the full time number, if the reference point for the time is not sunrise, the abbreviations Ln and Yn are used for lárénín and yíhwaiín, respectively. Thus the first of the above examples would be written 2;24;30, while the last would be 2;50 Ln, taking the difference between decimal and duodecimal into account.

            The week

            Before this time, one may specify the day of the week. The Ánhrushite week contains seven days, which have the following names:

            kólómbrang “family day”

            seindrang “sun day”

            zairang “dream day”

            bordhrang “moon day”

            woilshrang “pay day”

            moirang “buy day”

            yárang “Yahweh day”

            It is common for Ánhrushites to work five days, with all of yárang off to attend Yavite synagogue services, along with moirang afternoon and kólómbrang morning, respectively to go to markets and spend time with family members. In practice, however, modern Ánhrushites go to the store whenever necessary (though moirang afternoon is still the busiest time of the week for markets).

            The year

            After the weekday and time comes the day of the month, along with the month itself, with the year number at the end. The current year is 5367 HwÁ, an abbreviation referring to the years since the incorporation of Ánhrush City. The year is divided into twelve months; the year begins about one month after the summer solstice, when the desert temperatures have reached their maximum. Here, then, are the month names, together with their lengths and meanings.

 One year on Askath contains 427 days in this calendar, although the actual tropical year is slightly shorter. Every four years, except those divisible by 32, a day is removed from Chánterraskou to keep the calendar in line with the tropical year. For further accuracy, this day is also removed in years divisible by 576. Even so, the year is about 7.5 seconds too long, although this discrepancy is so small that it will take many millennia before an additional correction is needed. Most of the month names are descriptive of the weather in Ánhrush-province during those months; the others are named for important events that occur then.

Additional Expressions

Descriptions of age use the verb páloi “see” in the perfect where English uses “be”:

¿Yúyús óhwoká hwepálouzh? “How old are you?”

Depálouzh óhwoká láshou. “I’m 20 years old.”

Depáloudh óhwoká láyúl nér úyárang úskáj. “I’ll be 21 next Sunday.”

Repáloung óhwoká láhŕ súr. “We were 15 then.”

The duration since something is expressed with nág “do” used impersonally:

nág órangá ówung “two days ago”

C. Weather

Talking about the current weather involves the impersonal use of the verb áfú “go”. It can also be used of past or expected future weather when the appropriate tense is used. Similarly, the verb choing “make” can be used impersonally to discuss what the weather is becoming.

Vintaitárungkéi gepraikhweing ló ádh óseingín ózhólákh, kám áfú ówŕhónín.

The news announcer said it would be sunny today, but it’s cloudy.

Yúyá hwevódlíyil ló áfú ówŕhónín? Choikh óseingín óseflúwóg.

Why do you care that it’s cloudy? It will get sunny soon enough.

Certain verbs also relate to the weather, such as lúth “rain”. Such verbs are also always impersonal.

As with any other adjectives, temperature words are used as predicates after vé “be” when they are attributed to anything but the weather, when they are bound by the above rules.

Ráshídhak ring; hwevé ódhíg ís vain^e mevé ódhásh.

Please, come here; you’re cold and the fire is hot.

D. Conventional Expressions

While the following expressions are quite standardized, some slight innovation is permissible. When a second-person pronoun is part of an expression, these examples use the inferior, which is normal for situations where two people have recently met; the only exception is in an initial greeting, where the honorific is invariably used. As a general rule, it is also used when speaking to people in a formal or ritual setting, as well as to superiors. Similarly, the humble and familiar pronouns are more common in casual or relaxed settings and among friends. Conversion to the pejorative and intimate pronouns is straightforward.

Pál. Kroish oiksh. Wólerán oiksh. Üthung oiksh Rang oiksh. Ráshnoiktí.

Hello. Good morning. Good afternoon. Good evening. Good day. Welcome.

¿Yúná ráshíyil cho? ¿Yúná hwenágil? ¿Yúhól mevéhil ótárung?

How’s it going? How do you do? What’s new?

Oiktí. Nénggí. Nénggí ná. Oikshógdí, ís choi?

Well. Badly. Not badly. Well enough, and you?

Detólóvén _____. Ógírkín góndódhí cho. Poi éhumblé. Yúhól denádhil poi cho?

My name is _____. Pleased to meet you. At your service. What can I do for you?

Shai. Üng. Veilk. Sim cho ná.

Yes. No. Perhaps. None of your business.

Égírkét. Dedhöx cho. Dhöxeléd. Lundúvdhak zoi. Defroi.

Please. Thank you. My thanks. Pardon me. I’m sorry.

Yáháv. Kháfú. Wí deduenpáloidh. Hwebálsuzhúdhak.

Bye. Farewell. Until next time. Be blessed.

E. Dialects and Registers

While the dialect described in this grammar is the standard form of Gomain and that which is spoken in Ánhrush City and its surroundings, as well as by the national government and media, there are plenty of other dialects of the language throughout the Republic. Furthermore, the different socioeconomic classes have their own, distinctive ways of speaking. These esoteric dialects have persisted, despite the spread of the standard dialect through media and improved education. The following map should prove useful in placing the dialects described in this section.

            E1. Dialects

Zarinnin

Zarinnin is spoken in the western highlands and the Krudhin Coast to the west of the highlands. It is one of the oldest surviving dialects of Gomain, and as such, it is the most phonologically different from the Ánhrush dialect.

• Word-initial ng has been retained (ngá “not”)

• O and á have merged into a single vowel, written as á

• Unstressed tense vowels are laxed

• The clusters ty and dy have been retained (tyángŕ “refuse”)

• É is pronounced [e] in open syllables

• Kh is pronounced [ç] before front vowels and [x] before back vowels

• The Ánhrushite affricates [pf bv kx] have become [p b k] instead of [f v x]

• The medial clusters rl and lr have been retained

• Ŕ is an approximant instead of a trill

• The first vowel of the falling diphthongs is lowered (thus they are [αj αw εj j])

A claimed additional survival from Old Gomain is the use of different pronouns in the dative case; these are simply the accusative pronouns with we- affixed at their beginnings (except for the 3^rd singular feminine pronoun, which is wésh). However, most linguists believe it to be an innovation in mimicry of the original dative pronouns.

Roishín

Speakers of Roishín, the dialect of the central and eastern Desert of Amanha, are often considered rustics because of their mainly rural lifestyle. It is uncommon in the few cities of the region, where people instead speak Ánhrush Gomain.

• Gh [γ] has been retained between vowels

• Ch and j have merged with sh and zh, respectively

• H has been lost

• Final alveolar and velar palatalized stops have further palatalized to postalveolar affricates

• É is pronounced [e] in open syllables

• Kh is pronounced [ç] before front vowels and [x] before back vowels

• The Ánhrushite affricates [pf bv kx] have become [p b k] instead of [f v x]

While Ánhrush places quantifiers before their head nouns, Roishín places them immediately after the noun. It has thus become more consistently head-initial.

Gilreishi

Despite the fact that it is spoken in the heavily-populated Gilrei River valley, Gilreishi has resisted many of the changes that occurred in Ánhrush. In addition, it has retained several features from late Ánhrushite.

• Gh [γ] has been retained between vowels

• Word-initial ng has been retained

• Unstressed tense vowels are laxed

• The clusters ty and dy have been retained

• É is pronounced [e] in open syllables

• The Ánhrushite affricates [pf bv kx] have become [p b k] instead of [f v x]

• The medial clusters rl and lr have been retained

• Ŕ is an approximant

Speakers of Gilreishi are noteworthy for being able to drop the complementizer ló, unlike the other dialects.

Zathókín

Zathókín is the dialect of the plains that contain the lower Leikrush valley and the quaint Kólkháná region. Like neighboring Gilreishi, Zathókín is a conservative dialect, a point of pride for its speakers.

• Gh [γ] has been retained between vowels

• Word-initial ng has been retained

• O and á have merged into a single vowel

• The clusters ty and dy have been retained

• É is pronounced [e] in open syllables

• The Ánhrushite affricates [pf bv kx] have become [p b k] instead of [f v x]

• Ŕ is an approximant

• The first vowel of the falling diphthongs is lowered (thus they are [αj αw εj j])

A distinct feature of Zathókín is its lack of the indefinite article; it therefore has no articles at all.

Egain

Inhabitants of the provinces of Yŕáná and Waklár, along the north coast, speak a dialect known as Egain, or Northern. While less different from Ánhrush than other dialects, it contains a few innovations, especially in its phonology.

• Unstressed vowels are reduced to schwa

• O and á have merged into a single vowel

• The clusters ty and dy have been retained

• H has been lost

• Kh is pronounced [ç] before front vowels and [x] before back vowels

• The first vowel of the falling diphthongs is lowered

Egain has eliminated the genitive suffixes of the standard language, denoting possession only with ám.

Káwáshen

Some consider Káwáshen a transition zone between Gomain and its sister language, Hagen. While it shares some features with that language, it is still fairly similar to standard Gomain.

• The dental and alveolar fricatives have merged to s and z

• Unstressed vowels are reduced to schwa

• O and á have merged into a single vowel

• H has been lost

• Kh is pronounced [ç] before front vowels and [x] before back vowels

• The first vowel of the falling diphthongs is raised (thus they are [æj æw ej uj])

• Stops are unaspirated

• The diphthongs yú and yu are falling diphthongs [iw ɪw]

In addition to the standard verb subject agreement, Káwáshen requires the use of subject pronouns. This is one of the features it shares with Hagen.

Árgôllain

Árgôllain, spoken in the south of the Gomain-speaking area, is sometimes incorrectly called a creole between Gomain and the Árgôllan language that was originally spoken where this dialect is now spoken. This confusion is mainly due to a few similarities it shares with Árgôllan, mainly in its syntax.

• Word-initial ng has been retained

• Ch and j have merged with sh and zh, respectively

• Final alveolar and velar palatalized stops have further palatalized to postalveolar affricates

• É is pronounced [e] in open syllables

• The Ánhrushite affricates [pf bv kx] have been retained

• The medial clusters rl and lr have been retained

• Ŕ is an approximant

• Stops are unaspirated

The influence of Árgôllan can be seen in this dialect’s use of SOV word order in most sentences, as well as in its cliticization of those prepositions of place which begin with a consonant. This latter development came about under the influence of Árgôllan’s extensive case system.

Chákhánín

The southeastern dialect, Chákhánín, is one of the more innovative dialects. It also contains some holdovers from the time of Classical Ánhrushite, including one from the original language of the region.

• The dental and alveolar fricatives have merged to s and z

• Intervocalic consonants are voiced

• Final alveolar and velar palatalized stops have further palatalized to postalveolar affricates

• É is pronounced [e] in open syllables

• The Ánhrushite affricates [pf bv kx] have been retained

• The first vowel of the falling diphthongs is raised (thus they are [æj æw ej uj])

• Stops are unaspirated

• The diphthongs yú and yu are falling diphthongs [iw ɪw]

Chákhánín is most notable for its penultimate stress pattern, inherited from the Chakhani language of millennia ago – a major departure from the standard language and even the other dialects. Also, Chákhánín inverts the usual time-manner-place order of adjunct noun phrases, instead using place-manner-time order.

Árdélannin

The dialect with the fewest speakers, Árdélannin is widely considered a backwoods, rustic dialect. It shares some features with its neighbor dialects, Árgôllain and Chákhánín, and is influenced by the Ardelanni language to its south.

• The dental and alveolar fricatives have merged to s and z

• Unstressed tense vowels are laxed

• Intervocalic consonants are voiced

• Final alveolar and velar palatalized stops have further palatalized to postalveolar affricates

• É is pronounced [e] in open syllables

• The Ánhrushite affricates [pf bv kx] have been retained

• Stops are unaspirated

• The diphthongs yú and yu are falling diphthongs

Like Árgôllain, Árdélannin has SOV word order. Also, it has the adjunct noun phrase order place-manner-time, like Chákhánín.

Sóldhlér

Sóldhlér is the dialect of the east, and as its name implies, it is mostly spoken in the Great Forest. It contains several innovations, perhaps more than any other dialect.

• The dental and alveolar fricatives have merged to s and z

• Ch and j have merged with sh and zh, respectively

• Intervocalic consonants are voiced

• H has been lost

• Kh is pronounced [ç] before front vowels and [x] before back vowels

• The first vowel of the falling diphthongs is raised

• The diphthongs yú and yu are fallsing diphthongs

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