Nerthachian (ˈnerthak)

NATIVELY KNOWN AS: nerthak /ˈnerthak/ ...and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind...
na sy fy i pha xile na ish pha gosh onye lúrl ach
Pronunciation: /na sy fy i pha xiˈle na ish pha gosh oˈnje lúrl akh/
Nerthachian word order: and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face the wind to

Communication is difficult on Abatesh Island due to the loud storms, but the Nerthach devised a language incorporating sounds that help cut through the noise of an animus. Nerthachian is still lyrical, but it contains stronger Z and V sounds in comparison to other Thyselian languages. Despite being considered a broken dialect, this mode of communication is often superior to any other language when combined with facial and body expression, movement, and posture.

Phonology

Consonant inventory: b c d f g h j k l m n p q r s t v w x z

↓Manner/Place→	Bilabial	Labiodental	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Uvular	Glottal
Nasal	m		n
Stop	p b		t d	c	k g	q
Fricative		f v	s z		x		h
Approximant				j
Trill			r
Lateral approximant			l

Co-articulated phonemes

↓Manner/Place→	Labial-velar
Approximant	w

Vowel inventory: a e i í o u ú y

	Front	Back
High	i í y	u ú
High-mid	e	o
Low	a

Morphology

Adjective → adverb = Suffix -a
Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -nt Else: Suffix -ent
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -r Else: Suffix -ir
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -l Else: Suffix -il
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = Prefix a-
Noun to verb = Prefix i-
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix g- Else: Prefix ga-
Tending to = Prefix i-
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = If starts with vowel: Prefix zh- Else: Prefix zhi-
Verb → noun that verb produces (e.g. know → knowledge) = If ends with vowel: Suffix -thra Else: Suffix -ethra
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = Suffix -o
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = Prefix wha-
Diminutive = If ends with vowel: Suffix -nd Else: Suffix -únd
Augmentative = Suffix -a

Syntax

Nouns

	Masculine	Feminine
Singular	No affix zhírthe /zhírtˈhe/ man	No affix lato /laˈto/ woman
Plural	Prefix la- lazhírthe /lazˈhírthe/ men	If starts with vowel: Prefix l- Else: Prefix ly- lylato /lyˈlato/ women

Articles

Definite	thef /thef/ the
Indefinite	hí /hí/ a, some

Uses of definite article that differ from English:

Used for languages: ‘The English’

Pronouns

1st singular	nha /nha/ I, me, mine
2nd singular	vú /vú/ you, yours
3rd singular masc	sy /sy/ he, him, his, it, its
3rd singular fem	tath /tath/ she, her, hers, it, its
1st plural	ny /ny/ we, us, ours
2nd plural	bra /bra/ you all, yours (pl)
3rd plural masc	yhi /jhi/ they (masc), them (masc), theirs (masc)
3rd plural fem	qích /qích/ they (fem), them (fem), theirs (fem)

Possessive determiners

1st singular	no /no/ my
2nd singular	zhe /zhe/ your
3rd singular masc	pha /pha/ his
3rd singular fem	tík /tík/ her
1st plural	bruned /brund/ our
2nd plural	a /a/ your (pl)
3rd plural masc	fí /fí/ their (masc)
3rd plural fem	dash /dash/ their (fem)

Verbs

1st singular	If starts with vowel: Prefix ln- Else: Prefix lne- lnesum /lneˈsum/ (I) learn/learned/will learn
2nd singular	If starts with vowel: Prefix b- Else: Prefix bi- bisum /biˈsum/ (you) learn/learned/will learn
3rd singular masc	If starts with vowel: Prefix g- Else: Prefix gy- gysum /gyˈsum/
3rd singular fem	Prefix y- ysum /yˈsum/
1st plural	Prefix jhi- yhisum /jhiˈsum/ (we) learn/learned/will learn
2nd plural	If starts with vowel: Prefix j- Else: Prefix jo- yosum /joˈsum/ (you all) learn/learned/will learn
3rd plural masc	Prefix i- isum /iˈsum/
3rd plural fem	If starts with vowel: Prefix únj- Else: Prefix únje- únyesum /úˈnjesum/

Imperfective aspect

The ‘imperfective’ aspect refers to ongoing actions, such as I am learning and habitual actions, such as I learn (something new every day).

Nerthachian uses an affix for imperfective:

Imperfective	Prefix lí- lísum /líˈsum/ learns/is learning

Perfect aspect

The perfect aspect in English is exemplified in ‘I have read this book’, which expresses an event that took place before the time spoken but which has an effect on or is in some way still relevant to the present.

Nerthachian uses an affix for the perfect aspect:

Perfect	Prefix i- isum /iˈsum/ have learned

Vocabulary

Numbers

Nerthachian has a base-10 number system:

fú

bún

lar

tachs

tho

thich

Hund.

Thous.

Tenses

Nerthachian uses a standalone particle word for past tense:

Past	Particle before the verb: nosh - nosh sum /nosh sum/ learned

Nerthachian uses a standalone particle word for future tense:

Future	Particle before the verb: bokh - boch sum /bokh sum/ will learn

Structural Markers

Sentence Structure

Main word order: Subject Verb Object (Prepositional phrase).

“Mary opened the door with a key” remains Mary opened the door with a key.

Adjective Order

Adjective order: Adjectives are positioned before the noun.

Adposition: postpositions

Structure & Patterns

Syllable structure: Custom defined

Stress pattern: Second — stress is on the second syllable

Dictionary

3118 Words.

Common Phrases

Nha gash, nha rernyn, tu nha thú nyl lo

I hear, I see, but I do not speak

Layhirth iyrny whe

Questions travel far

Lyzhyly únyethú ser layhirth

Answers make good questions

Common Female Names

Seshaela
Lara
Zelael
Ryndra
Elvesanaza

Qulahyna
Ynaethara
Jhavaz'ranal
Yvari
Maelynd

Common Male Names

Rinzie
Tokazz
K'thelevum
Baelorn
Meil

Kelm
Belora
Qualvir
Senyx
Drosza

Phonetics

Pronunciation	Spelling
kw	qu
kt	cked / _#
k	c / !_{ɪ,i,ɛ,e,s}
oʊ̯C₁	oC₁e / _#
uːC₁	uC₁e / _#
eɪ̯C₁	aC₁e / _#
eɪ̯	ay / _#
eɪ̯	a
ð	th
θ	th
ʍ	wh
ŋg	ng
ŋ{k,c}	nk
ŋ	ng
ʧ	ch
ʃ	sh
ɹ	r
z	s / _#
ju	u / C_
cc	ck
c	k / _#
{t,d}	ed / C_#
aʊ̯	ow / _#
aʊ̯	ou
ʊə̯	ou
ɔɪ̯	oi
ɪə̯	ear
aɪ̯	i
ɪ	y / _#
ɪ	i
ji	yi
j	y
iː	y / _#
yy	yi / _#
y	i / #_#
ʌ	u
iː	ee
oʊ̯	o
ʊ	oo
ɛ	e
ɑ(ː)	a
t	tt / æ_#
l	ll / æ_#
s	ss / æ_#
z	zz / æ_#
æ	a
ʤ	j / #_
ʤ	ge / _#
ʤ	dg
ɜː	ur
ɔː	or
uː	u
quur	quir
eə̯	ere