Grûbi (ˈgrʏbɪ)

Natively known as: grûbi /ˈgrʏbɪ/

...and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind...
shâ kr̊i o pwodeb ûgr̊é kr̊i ni khyâuz shâ mideb kr̊i ni snig layuz abyabuz
Pronunciation: /ʃɑ kɹɪ o pwodɛb ˈʏgɹø kɹɪ nɪ ˈxjɑʊz ʃɑ ˈmɪdɛb kɹɪ nɪ snɪg ˈlajʊz abjabʊz /
Grûbi word order: and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face the wind to
The common tongue among elfkind, it's unclear whether Grûbi predates all other Elf languages or was deliberately created to be the "common tongue." Considering some of the quirks of the language and how relatively young it is, it's much more likely to be the latter. It seems to have originated from Kr̊anme, the land of elves founded only a couple thousand years ago.

Names in Other Languages

English: Elven
Kùmlur: Dǎztá (Elf-tongue)
Drùkheg: Rosçu (Elf-tongue)

Phonology

Consonant inventory: b d g j k l m n p r s t w x z ɣ ɹ ʃ ʒ

↓Manner/Place→	Bilabial	Alveolar	Palato-alveolar	Palatal	Velar
Nasal	m	n
Stop	p b	t d			k g
Fricative		s z	ʃ ʒ		x ɣ
Approximant		ɹ		j
Trill		r
Lateral approximant		l

Co-articulated phonemes

↓Manner/Place→	Labial-velar
Approximant	w

Vowel inventory: a o ø ɑ ɛ ɪ ʊ ʏ

	Front	Back
Near-high	ɪ ʏ	ʊ
High-mid	ø	o
Low-mid	ɛ
Low	a	ɑ

Syllable structure: Custom defined
Stress pattern: Initial — stress is on the first syllable
Spelling rules:

Pronunciation	Spelling
ɛ	e
ø	é
ɪ	i
ʊ	u
ɑ	â
ʏ	û
j	y
x	kh
ʃ	sh
ʒ	zh
ɣ	g̊
ɹ	r̊

Morphology

Derivational Morphology

Adjectives	Changes
Adjective > adverb	If starts with vowel: Prefix t- Else: Prefix ta-
Adjective > noun (the quality of being [adj])	Prefix kɹɪ- (kr̊i-)
Adjective > verb (to make something [adj])	If starts with vowel: Prefix ʃ- (sh-) Else: Prefix ʃɛ- (she-)

Nouns	Changes
Noun > adjective (having the quality of [noun])	Prefix ø- (é-)
Noun > adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy > economic)	If starts with vowel: Prefix ʃ- (sh-) Else: Prefix ʃɑ- (shâ-)
Noun > verb	Prefix a-

Verbs	Changes
Verb > adjective (result of doing [verb])	Prefix a-
Tending to	Prefix a-
Verb > noun (the act of [verb])	Prefix nø- (né-)
Verb > noun that verb produces (e.g. know > knowledge)	Prefix ø- (é-)
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint > painter)	Prefix ø- (é-)

Misc	Changes
Place of (e.g. wine > winery)	Prefix bʊ- (bu-)
Diminutive (implying smallness)	If starts with vowel: Prefix xj- (khy-) Else: Prefix xjʏ- (khyû-)
Augmentative (reinforcing idea/implying largeness)	If starts with vowel: Prefix xr- (khr-) Else: Prefix xra- (khra-)
Opposite	If ends with vowel: Suffix -s Else: Suffix -os

Special	Changes
Demonym (denoting a native/inhabitant of a particular place)	If ends with vowel: Suffix -x (-kh) Else: Suffix -ax (-akh)
Magical	Prefix øpɹʊw- (épr̊uw-)
Chosen	If starts with vowel: Prefix kl- Else: Prefix klo-
Living	If starts with vowel: Prefix g- Else: Prefix ga-

Syntax

Adposition: postpositions
Word order in Grûbi is very similar to that of English.

Vocabulary

Articles

Grûbi has no definite article ‘the’, or indefinite article ‘a’.

Nouns

In Grûbi, nouns come in two varieties: inanimate or animate. Animate nouns refer to living creatures, while inanimate nouns are everything else. In some cases, an otherwise inanimate noun might be treated as an animate noun, such as when referring to elemental spirits.
There are actually three different kinds of plurality in Grûbi: plural, dual, and paucal. Dual refers specifically to two items, for instance two dogs or two rocks. Paucal refers to an unspecified number of items, like some dogs or some rocks. Plural is the general plural as in English.

	Singular	Plural	Dual	Paucal
Animate	If ends with vowel: Suffix -j Else: Suffix -aj nebdâsay /ˈnɛbdɑsaj/	If ends with vowel: Suffix -w Else: Suffix -ow nebdâsow /ˈnɛbdɑsow/	If ends with vowel: Suffix -ɹ Else: Suffix -øɹ nebdâsér̊ /ˈnɛbdɑsøɹ/	Suffix -ɛm nebdâsem /ˈnɛbdɑsɛm/
Inanimate	Suffix -ʊz lenâr̊uz /ˈlɛnɑɹʊz/	If ends with vowel: Suffix -ɣ Else: Suffix -aɣ lenâr̊ag̊ /ˈlɛnɑɹaɣ/	Suffix -ʊ lenâr̊u /ˈlɛnɑɹʊ/	If ends with vowel: Suffix -ɹ Else: Suffix -aɹ lenâr̊ar̊ /ˈlɛnɑɹaɹ/

Noun Case

Nouns also have five cases:

• Nominative is the doer of a verb, also typically the subject: dog barks.
• Accusative is the direct object of a verb when the verb is done to something: dog bites man.
• Genitive is the possessor of something: dog's tail hits man.
• Dative is the recipient of something: man gives ball to dog.
• Locative is the location of something: man goes to town.

Nominative	No affix nebdâs /ˈnɛbdɑs/ dog (doing the verb)
Accusative	If starts with vowel: Prefix n- Else: Prefix nɪ- ninebdâs /ˈnɪnɛbdɑs/ (verb done to) dog
Genitive	Prefix zlɑ- zlânebdâs /ˈzlɑnɛbdɑs/ dogʼs
Dative	Prefix a- anebdâs /ˈanɛbdɑs/ to (the/a) dog
Locative	Prefix ø- énebdâs /ˈønɛbdɑs/ near/at/by (the/a) dog

Pronouns

Grûbi doesn't separate third person nouns by gender and there's more of a tendency to simply use nouns instead of pronouns.

	Singular	Plural	Dual
1st person	syâ /sjɑ/ I, me, mine	um /ʊm/ we, us, ours	shor̊ /ʃoɹ/ us both
2nd person	zhol /ʒol/ you, yours	pakh /pax/ you all, yours (pl)	e /ɛ/ you two
3rd person	kr̊i /kɹɪ/ he, she, him, her, his, hers, it, its	pr̊ûm /pɹʏm/ they, them, theirs	shma /ʃma/ those two

Numbers

Grûbi has a base-10 number system.

1	gr̊âr̊	11	gr̊âr̊ shâ byé	30	klur̊
2	û	12	ménto	40	ga
3	zdâ	13	épa	50	pr̊â
4	gakh	14	shmuy	60	lerzhir̊
5	shom	15	amde	70	lad
6	to	16	shmib	80	mum
7	né	17	zhég	90	zhatyé
8	maz	18	tyagra	100	gr̊âr̊ tki
9	op	19	god	200	û tki
10	byé	20	zwom	1000	gr̊âr̊ she

Phonetics

Generally speaking, most of the sounds that exist in Grûbi exist in English. But not all of them do. For the sake of explaining the sounds to an English-speaking audience, please refer to the charts below.
For shared consonants:

Grûbi Spelling	IPA Notation	English Equivalent
b	b	but, web, rubble, bubble
g	g	get, bag, gaggle
y	j	yes, yet
k	k	cat, tack
l	l	left
m	m	man, animal, him
n	n	note, ant, pan
p	p	pen, spin, top, apple
s	s	set, list, ice
t	t	ton, butt
w	w	wet
z	z	zoo, quiz, rose
r̊	ɹ	run, very
sh	ʃ	ash, sure, ration
zh	ʒ	vision, treasure

Vowels are a bit trickier. These comparisons are based off of the General American English accent.

Grûbi Spelling	IPA Notation	English Equivalent
â	ɑ	father, palm, bra
e	ɛ	bed, dress
i	ɪ	bid, sit, city, bit, kit
u	ʊ	put, good, foot
o	o	no, go, hope

There are three consonants and three vowels in Grûbi that English generally doesn't share. "Kh" (written in IPA as "x") and "r" (not to be confused with "ɹ" much to the author's chagrin) does appear in Scottish English though, in words like loch and curd. However, "g̊" (IPA "ɣ") doesn't appear in any dialect of English normally. It does appear in Greek though, in words like γόμα (góma).
All three vowels happen to occur in French. "A" (IPA "a") appears in words like aller, sa or âgé. "Û" (IPA "ʏ") appears in words like su or tu. "É" (IPA "ø") appears in words like peu and ceux.

Tenses

Verb conjugations in Grûbi are simple: there are forms for past and present, singular and plural. Future tense looks similar to English in that it uses a particle word in its formation (i.e. "will do").

	Singular	Plural
Past	If the word ends with b, change the b to a d and add -ɛb to the end. If it ends with a vowel, add -dɛb to the end. Otherwise, add -ɛb to the end. g̊leyeb /ˈɣlɛjɛb/ (I/you/he/she/it) learned	If the word ends with ɣ, change the ɣ to a w and add -øɣ to the end. If it ends with a vowel, add -ɣ to the end. Otherwise, add -øɣ to the end. g̊leyég̊ /ˈɣlɛjøɣ/ (we/they) learned
Present	No affix g̊ley /ɣlɛj/ (I/you/he/she/it) learn	If the word ends with ʃ, change the ʃ to a ʒ and add -oʃ to the end. If it ends with a vowel, add -ʃ to the end. Otherwise, add -oʃ to the end. g̊leyosh /ˈɣlɛjoʃ/ (we/they) learn

Future

Particle before the verb: gɪɹ - gir̊ g̊ley /gɪɹ ɣlɛj/ will learn

Grûbi has two irregular verbs for "to be": zrâr which refers to impermanent states (such as being a child or being hungry), and udkhûl, which refers to more permanent states of being (like being tall or short, or where you were born).
There is also the verb tû, which refers specifically to someone's age, but it is not an irregular verb like the other two.

	Singular	Plural
Past	Change the final consonant to an m. zrâm /zrɑm/ (I/you/he/she/it) was/were	Suffix -ɛɣ zrâreg̊ /ˈzrɑrɛɣ/ (we/they) were
Present	No affix zrâr /zrɑr/ (I/you/he/she/it) am/is/are	Suffix -ɛʏ zrâreû /ˈzrɑrɛʏ/ (we/they) are

	Singular	Plural
Past	Change the final consonant to an m. udkhûm /ˈʊdxʏm/ (I/you/he/she/it) was/were	Suffix -ɛɣ udkhûleg̊ /ˈʊdxʏlɛɣ/ (we/they) were
Present	No affix udkhûl /ˈʊdxʏl/ (I/you/he/she/it) am/is/are	Suffix -ɛʏ udkhûleû /ˈʊdxʏˌlɛʏ/ (we/they) are

Grûbi uses standalone particle words to indicate moods:

Indicative	No affix g̊ley /ɣlɛj/ learn
Conditional	Particle before the verb: gɹɛ - gr̊e g̊ley /gɹɛ ɣlɛj/ would learn
Subjunctive	Particle before the verb: o - o g̊ley /o ɣlɛj/ learn
Imperative	Particle before the verb: xrʏs - khrûs g̊ley /xrʏs ɣlɛj/ learn! (command)

Interrogative Clause

Refers to forming questions.
Grûbi uses a standalone particle at the end of sentences to indicate a question:

Interrogative

nâ /nɑ/

Passive Voice

Grûbi uses an affix for passive voice:

Passive

Prefix gwa- gwag̊ley /ˈgwaɣlɛj/ it is learned

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).
Grûbi uses an affix for imperfective:

Imperfective

Prefix ʏ- ûg̊ley /ˈʏɣlɛj/ 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.
Grûbi uses an affix for the perfect aspect:

Perfect

If starts with vowel: Prefix w- Else: Prefix wa- wag̊ley /ˈwaɣlɛj/ have learned

Sentence Structure

Main word order: Subject Verb Object (Prepositional phrase). “Mary opened the door with a key” turns into Mary opened the door with a key.

Adjective Order

Adjective order: Adjectives are positioned before the noun.

Common Phrases

Tyû

hello/goodbye

Khrelar̊ zmû zlo

(a few) flowers from nothing; hope springs eternal

Khwây ni lûsay

child of a whore; son of a bitch

Khrûs nyo nâ swey

go fuck a fire; go to hell/fuck off

Tiwûz wûg kr̊ilâ khro swed nâ néyno

only truth cures guilt

Ékhwâ épr̊uw

child-mage; term for a novice mage

g̊lu kr̊i ar ag kr̊ow

May they go with the elements (aka Rest In Peace)

g̊lu (nûrem swey/tr̊ag̊ krůbow/sag̊ byab/ékku nwé/nûrem nabûs/ési swam/ézné kr̊iog̊) wûg g̊letkhu zhol nâ

May you be greeted by (a gentle flame/calm waters/a warm breeze/solid ground/a gentle spark/bright sun/comfortable darkness) (aka a fond farewell)

Common Unisex Names

Lenâr̊, Khrel, Iz, Téd, Nwes, Esh, Klânkâ, Nwûyka, Tilka, Swe, Eshrel, Ésweb, Swekhrel, Gékh, Pr̊ug, Pr̊ugyu, Pr̊ugya, Lenâr̊esh, Tédyu, Iztéd, Eshtéd, Târyato, Sley, Sapéy, Dwez, Bap, Éway, Mlospa, Zniwwo, Nûgu, Nuna, G̊lim, Sla, Pr̊ayné, Rokhdi, Khyuy, Ré, Swarg̊o, Swus, Leg, Gral, Pranântâkh, Nwapnar, Bommez, Zhis, Gid, Praw, Znoto, Ârré, Stérmi, Zdik, Shog̊, Pâl, Prop, Gr̊ey, Pob, Zhâbûy,, Zhéshmé, Uz, Bad, Zhaw, G̊luw, Mogdebé, Pr̊ékhné, Tr̊éb, Wo, Nukhgé, Pwig, Pig, Shlékzar̊, Dwokh, Shlézgo, Pr̊o, Shel, Syub, Klâs, Nyum, Khripû, Gr̊ûkmew, Omsha, Zlib, Zni, Pûwshi, Shley, Pr̊ebugnûd, Gr̊ash, Nég̊észe, Gak, Zdag, Skâg, Twiw, Tâysom,