Braereth

Braereth is a collection of four fairly mutually intelligible dialects. Classical Braereth was a Western Romance language spoken in pockets of mountainous areas from the Alps to the Carpathians until the mid-sixteenth century.

For the purposes of this text, we will mainly use the classical spelling of the language (italicized where applicable, e.g. ginte ‘people’); single brackets around words are indicative of the Eomentesa spelling reform (e.g. ⟨jint⟩ ‘people’). Double-brackets indicate Tenibvreth “slang” spellings (e.g. ⟪gint’⟫ ‘people’. Finally, words rendered in the Merineth dialect are enclosed in curved angle brackets (e.g. ⧼zints⧽ ‘people’), which is not a traditional linguistic distinction, but is indicative of the tails of merfolk. Specific differences in the phonologies of the modern dialects are described under Phonology.

Braereth Main Page ● Tenibvreth Dialect ● Eomentesa Dialect ● Merineth Dialect

Braereth Lexicon (arranged alphabetically) ● Braereth Word Hoard ● Braereth Phrasebook

Braereth Categories ● Braereth extra-grammatical categories

External ● A Braereth Grammar

Phonology

There are three major dialects of modern Braereth as well as an “archetypal” form which is official, but no one actually speaks. The archetypal form is based on Classical Braereth, which has a reconstructed phonology that differs slightly from the archetype particularly in the realization of the palatals and the lack of certain hypercorrections.

Archetypal Braereth

Consonants	Labial	Dental	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar		Vowels	Front	Back
Plosive	p · b	t · d			k · ɡ		High	i	u
Affricate	· b͡v		ʦ · ʣ	ʧ · ʤ			Mid	e̞	o̞
Fricative	f · v	θ · [ð]	s · [(z)]	ʃ · (ʒ)	(x) ·		Low	ä
Nasal	m	n		ɲ	[ŋ]		Diphthongs	To Front	To Back
Lateral		l		ʎ			High	ui̯	iu̯
Trill			r [ɾ]	r̝			Mid	ei̯	eu̯
Approximant	w			j			Low	ai̯	au̯

* Characters in square brackets are allophones; they are not phonemic.
* Characters in parentheses only occur in borrowings.

Classical Braereth (Reconstructed)

Consonants	Labial	Dental	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar		Vowels	Front	Back
Plosive	p · b	t · d		cç · ɟʝ	k · ɡ		High	i	u
Affricate	· b͡β		ʦ · ʣ	ʨ · ʥ			Mid	e̞	o̞
Fricative	ɸ · β	θ · [ð]	s · [(z)]	ɕ · (ʑ)	(x~h) ·		Low	a
Nasal	m	n		ɲ	[ŋ]		Diphthongs	To Front	To Back
Lateral		l		ʎ			High	ui̯	iu̯ , ou̯
Trill			r [ɾ]	r̝			Mid	ei̯	eu̯
Approximant	w, ʋ			j			Low	ae̯	au̯

Tenibvreth Dialect

Main article: Tenibvreth (dialect)

The Tenibvreth dialect is marked by a weakening and near-total deletion of final unstressed vowels, a strengthened palatal series, and diverse realizations of the lateral series. A larger amount of the vocabulary is borrowed from Gothic, other Germanic influences, and Slavic languages. For the most part, Tenibvreth is written as standard Braereth, though many words are slightly abbreviated or modified to reflect current pronunciation: mainly omitting the final vowel. When the final vowel is ⟨e⟩ or when the final consonant is palatalized, an apostrophe (⟨’⟩) is used. The exception to this is infinitives of verbs, which always eliminate the final ⟨e⟩ leaving a palatalized ⟨r⟩, but an apostrophe is not used.

Eomentesa Dialect

Main article: Eomentesa (dialect)

The Eomentesa dialect is notable for its lowered (“true”) mid vowels and almost complete loss of the palatal series to unpacking. It has a small number of borrowings from Celtic sources not shared with the other dialects. Some speakers still use the Classical orthography, but a recent spelling reform has been adopted by most speakers of the Eomentesa dialect, and many words bear little resemblance to their Braereth forebears (e.g. tzeiru ‘zero’ becomes Eomentesa sero.

Merineth Dialect

Main article: Merineth (dialect)

The Merineth dialect is the furthest removed of the dialects from Classical Braereth. It has no palatal sounds whatsoever, and contains a number of liquids that appear seemingly spontaneously around certain clusters. Consonant clusters are all but eliminated, and diphthongs are broken up by an insertive ⟨l⟩ or ⟨r⟩. There is a merging of voiced and unvoiced consonants, as well as fortition of certain fricatives into stops. The vowels ⟨e⟩and ⟨o⟩ do not exist in Merineth, and are usually raised to ⟨i⟩ and ⟨u⟩, respectively, or sometimes lowered to ⟨a⟩. The Merineth do not have a formal written language, and usually use the Classical spelling, though some have adopted the Eomentesa spelling reform, as it is a little closer than Classican Braereth to how Merineth is actually pronounced, though there are still vast differences.

Orthographic and Phonemic Mapping

While all dialects of Braereth may be written in the classical orthography, there is also a reform spelling of Eomentesa, presented here in double-brackets (⟪ ⟫) in the Eom. column where the spelling differs from the traditional. Tenibvreth is written in the classical orthography, though final vowels are often elided, and certain folk spellings have become common where pronunciation has changed, e.g. ⟪floura⟫ for flora, or substituting ⟨qv⟩ for ⟨qu⟩ (ecquilju → ⟪ecqvilj⟫) or ⟨i⟩ for ⟨ei⟩ (treice → ⟪tric’⟫). When final vowels are dropped, final ⟨e⟩ will often become ⟨’⟩ to indicate palatalization (grande → ⟪grand’⟫), and sometimes final ⟨tu⟩ will be changed to ⟨th⟩ (tutu → ⟪tuth⟫).

Orth.	Phn.	Example	Official	Classical	Tenibvreth	Merineth	Eomentesa	Environment/Notes
a	/a/	ath ‘to’	/aθ/	[aθ]	[aθ]	[aθ]	[æt’]
ae	/ai̯/	laectje ‘milk’	/ˈlai̯k.ʧe/	[ˈlae̯c.ʨe]	⟪laect’⟫ [lai̯kɕ]	⟪létx⟫ [le̞ːʧ]	⟪larits⟫ [laˈrits]	In Merolinian, /l/ is inserted between the vowels of earlier diphthongs. If /l/ is already present in an adjacent syllable, /r/ is inserted instead. If both /l/ and /r/ are present, things get weird.
aou	/au̯/	saou ‘salt’	/sau̯/	[sau̯]	[sau̯]	⟪salu⟫ [ˈsæ.lu]	⟪sao⟫ [sa.o̞]	Only occurs word-finally in stressed monosyllabic words. See additional notes at ⟨ae⟩.
au	/au̯/	aubvru ‘tree’	/ˈau̯.vru/	[ˈau̯.bβru]	⟪aubvr⟫ [au̯vʀ]	⟪alubru⟫ [ˈæ.lu.bru]	⟪auvro⟫ [ˈau.vro̞]	See notes at ⟨ae⟩.
b	/b/	baclu ‘stick’	/ˈbak.lu/	[ˈbak.lu]	⟪bacl⟫ [bakɬ]	⟪paclu⟫ [ˈpæk.lu]	⟪baclo⟫ [ˈba.klo̞]
bv	/bv/	ribveu ‘level’	/riˈveu̯/	[ri.bβeu̯]	[riˈveu̯]	⟪ribelu⟫ [riˈbe.lu]	⟪reveo⟫ [re̞ˈve̞.o̞]	Only occurs word-internally.
c	/k/	couru ‘heart’	/ˈku.ru/	[ˈkou̯.ru]	⟪cour⟫ [kuʀ]	[ˈky.ru]	⟪coro⟫ [ˈko̞.ro̞]
	/ʧ/	dicere ‘to say’	/diˈʧe.re/	[diˈcçe.re]	⟪dicer⟫ [diˈʨer̝]	⟪titsel⟫ [tiˈʦel]	⟪ditxer⟫ [diˈʧe̞r]	/_{i,e
cj	/ʧ/	radjicja ‘root’	/raˈʤi.ʧa/	[raˈʥi.cça]	[raˈʥi.ʨə]	⟪radzitsa⟫ [ræˈʣi.ʦa]	⟪radjitxa⟫ [raˈʤi.ʧa]
ctj	/kʧ/	fruictju ‘fruit’	/ˈfrui̯k.ʧu/	[ˈfrui̯c.ʨu]	⟪fruict’⟫ [frui̯kɕ]	⟪prútsu⟫ [ˈpruː.ʦu]	⟪frútxo⟫ [fruːʧo̞]
d	/d/	dente ‘tooth’	/ˈden.te/	[ˈden.te]	⟪dent’⟫ [denʨ]	⟪tents⟫ [tenʦ]	⟪dent⟫ [de̞nt]
	/ð/	cjaudu ‘hot’	/ˈʧau̯.ðu/	[ˈcçau̯.ðu]	⟪cjaud⟫ [ʨau̯ð]	⟪salutu⟫ [ˈsæ.lu.tu]	⟪xaudo⟫ [ʃau̯.ðo̞]	/S_S
dj	/ʤ/	codjax ‘poppy’	/koˈʤa/	[koˈʥa]	[koˈʥa]	⟪codzà⟫ [koˈʣæ]	⟪codjà⟫ [ko̞ˈʤa]
e	/e/	estelja ‘star’	/eˈste.ʎa/	[eˈste.ʎa]	[eˈste.ɮə]	⟪estrelia⟫ [eˈstɾe.li.a]	⟪estelia⟫ [e̞ˈste̞.li.a]
ei	/ei̯/	deice ‘ten’	/ˈdei̯.ʧe/	[ˈdei̯.cçe]	⟪deic’⟫ [diʨ]	⟪tírts⟫ [tiːrʦ]	⟪détx⟫ [de̞ːʧ]
eou	/eu̯/	beou ‘beautiful’	/ˈbeu̯/	[beu̯]	[beu̯]	⟪pelu⟫ [ˈpe.lu]	⟪beo⟫ [ˈbe̞.o̞]	Only occurs word-finally in unstressed monosyllabic words.
eu	/eu̯/	seuva ‘forest’	/ˈseu̯.va/	[ˈseu̯.va]	[ˈseu̯və]	⟪seluba⟫ [ˈse.lu.ba]	[ˈse̞u̯.va]
f	/f/	folja ‘leaf’	/ˈfo.ʎa/	[ˈfo.ʎa]	[ˈfo.ɮə]	⟪polia⟫ [ˈpo.li.a]	⟪folia⟫ [ˈfo̞.li.a]
g	/ɡ/	grostu ‘thick’	/ˈɡro.stu/	[ˈɡro.stu]	⟪grost⟫ [ˈɡrost]	⟪crostu⟫ [ˈkro.stu]	⟪grosto⟫ [ˈɡro̞s.to̞]
	/ʤ/	tragere ‘to pull’	/tɾaˈʤe.re/	[tɾaˈɟʝe.re]	⟪trager⟫ [tɾaˈʥer̝]	⟪tradzel⟫ [tɾaˈʣel]	⟪tradjer⟫ [tɾaˈʤe̞r]	/_{i,e
gj	/ʤ/	obligjare ‘to compel’	/o.bliˈʤa.re/	[o.bliˈɟʝa.re]	⟪obligjar⟫ [o.bliˈʥar̝]	⟪oplidzal⟫ [o.pliˈʣal]	⟪oblidjar⟫ [o̞b.liˈʤar]
gn	/ŋn/	magnu ‘great’	/ˈmaŋ.nu/	[ˈmaŋ.nu]	⟪magn⟫ [maŋn]	⟪manclu⟫ [ˈmæŋ.klu]	⟪mangano⟫ [ˈmaŋ.ɡa.no̞]
gnj	/ŋɲ/	ignju ‘fire	/ˈiŋ.ɲu/	[ˈiŋ.ɲu]	⟪ign’⟫ [iŋɲ]	⟪incliu⟫ [ˈiŋ.kli.u]	⟪inio⟫ [ˈi.ni.o̞]
i	/i/	iljis ‘they’	/ˈi.ʎis/	[ˈi.ʎis]	[ˈi.ɮis]	⟪ilis⟫ [ˈi.lis]	⟪ilis⟫ [ˈi.lis]
	/j/	iecru ‘liver’	/ˈje.kru/	[ˈje.kru]	⟪iecr⟫ [jekʀ]	[iˈe.kru]	⟪iecro⟫ [iˈe̞.kro̞]	/_V (!_/u/)
iu	/iu̯/	fluviu ‘river’	/ˈflu.viw/	[ˈflu.viu̯]	[ˈfɬu.viu̯]	⟪plubiu⟫ [ˈply.bi.u]	⟪fluvio⟫ [ˈflu.vi.o̞]
l	/l/	lape ‘stone’	/ˈla.pe/	[ˈla.pe]	⟪lap’⟫ [lap]	⟪lap⟫ [læp]	⟪lap⟫ [lap]
lj	/ʎ/	aljis ‘others’	/ˈa.ʎis/	[ˈa.ʎis]	[ˈa.ɮis]	⟪alis⟫ [ˈæ.lis]	⟪alis⟫ [ˈa.lis]
m	/m/	mourire ‘to die’	/muˈri.re/	[muˈri.re]	⟪mourir⟫ [muˈrir̝]	⟪muril⟫ [myˈril]	⟪morir⟫ [mo̞ˈrir]
n	/n/	nascere ‘to be born’	/nasˈʧe.re/	[nasˈcçe.re]	⟪nascer⟫ [nasˈʨer̝]	⟪nastsel⟫ [næsˈʦel]	⟪naxer⟫ [naˈʃe̞r]
nc	/ŋk/	ginclu ‘knee’	/ˈʤiŋ.klu/	[ˈɟʝiŋ.klu]	⟪gincl⟫ [ʥiŋkɬ]	⟪zinclu⟫ [ˈziŋ.klu]	⟪jinclo⟫ [ˈʒiŋ.klo̞]
ng	/ŋɡ/	loungu ‘long’	/ˈluŋ.ɡu/	[ˈluŋ.ɡu]	⟪loung⟫ [luŋɡ]	⟪luncu⟫ [ˈlyŋ.ku]	⟪longo⟫ [ˈlo̞ŋ.ɡo̞]
	/nʤ/	pungere ‘to stab’	/punˈʤe.re/	[punˈɟʝe.re]	⟪punger⟫ [puŋ.ɡʑer̝]	⟪pundzel⟫ [pynˈʣel]	⟪pundjer⟫ [punˈʤe̞r]	/_{i,e
ngj	/nʤ/	mengjare ‘to eat’	/meɲˈʤa.re/	[meɲˈɟʝa.re]	⟪mengjar⟫ [meŋˈɡʑar̝]	⟪mendzal⟫ [menˈʣal]	⟪mandjar⟫ [manˈʤar]
nj	/ɲ/	anju ‘year’	/ˈa.ɲu/	[ˈa.ɲu]	⟪an’⟫ [aɲ]	⟪aniu⟫ [ˈæ.ni.u]	⟪anio⟫ [ˈa.ni.o̞]
o	/o/	olja ‘oil’	/ˈo.ʎa/	[ˈo.ʎa]	[ˈo.ʎə]	⟪olia⟫ [ˈo.li.a]	⟪olia⟫ [ˈo̞.li.a]
ou	/ou̯/	ouvu ‘egg’	/ˈu.vu/	[ˈu.vu]	⟪ouv⟫ [uv]	⟪ubu⟫ [ˈy.bu]	⟪ovo⟫ [ˈo̞.vo̞]
p	/p/	pelju ‘hair’	/ˈpe.ʎu/	[ˈpe.ʎu]	⟪pel’⟫ [peʎ]	⟪peliu⟫ [ˈpe.li.u]	⟪pelio⟫ [ˈpe̞.li.o̞]
qh	/x/	aqhma ‘life force’	/ˈax.ma/	[ˈax.ma]	[ˈaχ.mə]	[ˈæʀ.ma]	⟪ahma⟫ [ˈaç.ma]	Only in borrowings.
	/x/	qheru ‘deer’	/ˈxe.ru/	[ˈxe.ru]	⟪qher⟫ [χeʀ]	[ˈχe.ru]	⟪ero⟫ [ˈe̞.ro̞]	/_{i,e. Only in borrowings.
qu	/kw/	quei ‘what’	/kwei̯/	[kwei̯]	⟪qvei⟫ [kʋi]	⟪qui⟫ [ˈku.i]	⟪cue⟫ [ˈku.e̞]
	/kw/	equou ‘horse’	/ˈe.kwu/	[ˈe.kwu]	⟪ecu⟫ [ˈe.ku]	⟪ecú⟫ [ˈe.kuː]	⟪ecuo⟫ [ˈe̞.ku.o̞]	/_{u
r	/r/	ridere ‘to laugh’	/riˈde.re/	[riˈde.re]	⟪rider⟫ [riˈðer̝]	⟪ritel⟫ [riˈtel]	⟪rider⟫ [riˈðe̞r]
rj	/r̝/	terja ‘earth’	/ˈte.r̝a/	[ˈte.r̝a]	[ˈte.r̝ə]	⟪teria⟫ [ˈte.ri.a]	⟪teria⟫ [ˈte̞.ri.a]
s	/s/	secjare ‘to cut’	/seˈʧa.re/	[seˈcça.re]	⟪secjar⟫ [seˈʨar̝]	⟪setsal⟫ [seˈʦal]	⟪setxar⟫ [se̞ˈʧar]
	/s/	espousa ‘wife’	/eˈspu.za/	[eˈspu.za]	[eˈspu.zə]	⟪espuza⟫ [eˈspy.za]	⟪espuza⟫ [e̞ˈspu.za]	/V_V
sj	/ʃ/	sji ‘yes’	/ˈʃi/	[ˈɕi]	[ɕi]	⟪si⟫ [si]	⟪xi⟫ [ʃi]
t	/t/	tutu ‘all’	/ˈtu.tu/	[ˈtu.tu]	⟪tuth⟫ [tuθ]	[ˈty.tu]	⟪tuto⟫ [ˈtu.to̞]
th	/θ/	eth ‘and’	/eθ/	[eθ]	[eθ]	⟪et’⟫ [et’]	[e̞θ]
tj	/ʧ/	setje ‘seven’	/ˈse.ʧe/	[ˈse.ʨe]	⟪set’⟫ [seʨ]	⟪sets⟫ [seʦ]	⟪setx⟫ [se̞ʧ]
tz	/ʦ/	tzince ‘five’	/ˈʦin.ʧe/	[ˈʦiɲ.cçe]	⟪tzinc’⟫ [ʦinʨ]	⟪sints⟫ [sinʦ]	⟪sintx⟫ [sinʧ]	/#_
	/ʣ/	pitzitu ‘small’	/piˈʣi.tu/	[piˈʣi.tu]	⟪pitzith⟫ [piˈʣiθ]	⟪pidzitu⟫ [piˈʣi.tu]	⟪pedzito⟫ [pe̞ˈʣi.to̞]	/S_S (!/n/_)
u	/u/	unce ‘eleven’	/ˈun.ʧe/	[ˈuɲ.cçe]	⟪unc’⟫ [unʨ]	⟪unts⟫ [ynʦ]	⟪untx⟫ [unʧ]
ui	/uj/	luictjare ‘to fight’	/lujkˈʧa.re/	[lui̯kˈʨa.re]	⟪luictjar⟫ [lui̯kˈɕar̝]	⟪lútsal⟫ [luːˈʦal]	⟪lútxar⟫ [luːˈʧar]
v	/v/	voulere ‘to want’	/vuˈle.re/	[vou̯ˈle.re]	⟪vuler⟫ [vuˈler̝]	⟪burel⟫ [buˈrel]	⟪voler⟫ [vo̞ˈle̞r]
x	/ˈ/	iljax ‘there’	/iˈʎa/	[iˈʎa]	[iˈɮa]	⟪alià⟫ [a.liˈa]	⟪alià⟫ [a.liˈa]	Indicates unexpected stress. (Eomentesa reform script uses a grave diacritic.)
z	/z/	quazina ‘quiver (of arrows)’	/ˈkwa.zi.na/	[ˈkwa.zi.na]	⟪qvazina⟫ [ˈkʋa.ʑnə]	[kuˈa.zi.na]	⟪cuazina⟫ [kuˈa.zi.na]	Only in borrowings and the digraph ⟨tz⟩.
zj	/ʒ/	frezjire ‘to deceive'	/freˈʒi.re/	[freˈʑi.re]	⟪frezjir⟫ [freˈʑir̝]	⟪prezil⟫ [preˈzil]	⟪frejir⟫ [fre̞ˈʒir]	Only in borrowings.

Pronouns

	Nominative (subject)	Genitive (possessive)	Dative (indirect object)	Accusative (direct object)
1sg	eou I	meu* my	mei (to) me	me, m’** me
2sg	tu you, thou	teu* your, thy	tei (to) you, to thee	te, t’** you, thee
3sg.masc	ilju he	seu* his, her	lei (to) him	le, l’** him
3sg.fem	ilja she		lae (to) her	la, l’** her
3sg.refl	-		sei (to) himself, to herself	se, s’** himself, herself
1pl	nous(autris) we	noustru* our	nous (to) us	ne, n’** us
2pl	vous(autris) you (all)	voustru* your	vous (to) you (all)	ve, v’** you (all)
3pl.masc	iljis they	louru* their	lour (to) them	ljis them
3pl.fem	iljes they			ljes them

* Declines for gender and number (click for additional forms).
** Form used before a vowel.

Determiners

Articles

The Definite Article

	Sing.	Sing. (_V)	Plur.
Masculine	lu lu lapide ‘the stone’	l’ l’acelju ‘the bird’	lis lis viris ‘the men’
Feminine	la la mage ‘the witch’	l’ l’estelja ‘the star’	les les muljeres ‘the women’

The Indefinite Article

	Sing.	Sing. (_V)	Plur.
Masculine	un un lapide ‘a stone’	n’ n’acelju ‘a bird’	unis unis viris ‘some men’
Feminine	una una mage ‘a witch’	n’ n’estelja ‘a star’	unes unes muljeres ‘some women’

Numerals

The “teen” numbers (11-19) are highly irregular. In Classical Braereth, these all ended with ‑dice, which in the modern languages has been contracted to ‑ce.

While ⟨vinctjeth-uictjou⟩ is the literary standard, none of the dialects actually uses this form: Classical Braereth used an older form ⟨vinctje-eth-uictjou⟩ where the conjunction had not been assimilated into the first element; Tenibvreth does not retain the –th of the conjunction because uictjou begins with a consonant sound (it is sometimes written as ⟨vinctje-victjou⟩); Eomentesa’s reform orthography spells it as ⟨vintx-eth-útxo⟩.

tzeiru	0		deice	(archaic)	10	vinctje	20	tzeiru	0
unu	1		unce	undice	11	vinctjeth-un	21	deice	10
dous	2		douce	doudice	12	vinctje-dous	22	vinctje	20
treis	3		treice	treidice	13	vinctje-treis	23	treinctje	30
quatru	4		quarce	quardice	14	vinctje-quatru	24	quarante	40
tzince	5		quince	quindice	15	vinctje-tzince	25	quintzante	50
seis	6		seice	seidice	16	vinctje-seis	26	sesante	60
setje	7		setece	setedice	17	vinctje-setje	27	setante	70
uictjou	8		uictoce	uictodice	18	vinctjeth-uictjou	28	uictante	80
nouve	9		nouce	nouvedice	19	vinctje-nouve	29	nounante	90

Adjectives

Adjectives agree in gender and number with the nouns they modify.

An unusual development in Braereth, compared to other Romance languages, is the development of participles to have a gendered adjectival form (which is normal) as well as a non-gendered form used exlusively with compound verbs (which is not).

For example, facere ‘to do’ has the past participle faectje ‘done’, used in verb phrases such as L’aou faectje, ‘I have done it’, but Mis deveris soun faectjis, ‘My chores are done’, (with a masculine plural ending). Almost without exception, the uninflected form ends in –e, while the inflected forms take the standard masculine, feminine, singular, and plural endings –u, –a, –is, and –es.