Braereth

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Braereth is a collection of three 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.

The modern language is still often written in the classical orthography, though the two dialects that have emerged from it sometimes diverge sharply. The dialect known as Tenibvreth is much more conservative to the original phonology. The Eomentesa dialect, however, has a sound that is much more similar to modern Iberian languages, and a recent spelling reform has served to further distinguish the two.

For the purposes of this text, We will use the classical spelling of the language; where appropriate and necessary, dialectal forms will be shown in double-brackets, e.g. undix [unˈdi] ‘where’, but Tenibvrethubvi⟫ [ˈuvi] or Eomentesaquondè⟫ [kwonˈde]. Specific differences in the phonologies of the two modern dialects are described under Phonology.

Phonology

There are three major dialects of modern Braereth as well as a fourth “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
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]   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
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]   Mid ei̯ eu̯
Approximant w, ʋ     j   Low ae̯ au̯

Tenibvreth Dialect

The Tenibvreth dialect is marked by a weakening and near-complete deletion of final vowels, a strengthened palatal series, and diverse realizations of the lateral series. A large amount of the vocabulary is borrowed from Gothic and some other Germanic influences as well as Slavic.

Consonants Labial Dental Alveolar Palatal Dorsal   Vowels Front Back
Plosive p · b   t · d   k · ɡ High i u
Affricate     ʦ · ʣ ʨ · ʥ   Mid e o
Fricative f · v θ · [ð] s · [z] ɕ · (ʑ) [x] (χ) · Low ä, ə
Nasal m   n ɲ [ŋ] Diphthongs To Front To Back
Lateral   l [ɬ] · ɮ [ʎ]   High ui̯ iu̯
Trill     r [ɾ] [ʀ] Mid   eu̯
Approximant ʋ     j   Low ai̯ au̯

Eomentesa Dialect

Consonants Labial Dental Alveolar Palatal Dorsal   Vowels Front Back
Plosive p · b t̪ · d̪     k · ɡ High i u, uː
Affricate     t͡s · d͡z     Mid e̞, e̞ː
Fricative f · v θ · s · z (ç) ·   Low a
Nasal m     [ŋ] Diphthongs To Front To Back
Lateral         High    
Trill     r [ɾ]     Mid    
  Low au̯

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. Brae. Ten. Eom. Example Classical Tenibvreth Ref. Eomentesa Environment/Notes
a a a a ath ‘to’ [aθ] [aθ] ⟨a⟩ [ aθ]  
ae ae̯ ai̯ e̞ː laectje ‘milk’ [ˈlae̯.cʧe] laectj
[lai̯ʨ]
é léts
[l̪e̞ːts]
 
aou au̯ au̯ a.o̞ saou ‘salt’ [sau̯] [sau̯] ao sao
[ˈsa.o̞]
Only occurs word-finally.
au au̯ au̯ au̯ aubvru ‘tree’ [au̯.bβru] aubvr
[au̯vʀ]
⟨au⟩ aubro
[ˈau̯.bro̞]
 
au au̯ au̯ a.o̞ normau ‘normal’ [norˈmau̯] [norˈmau̯] ao normao
[n̪o̞rˈma.o̞]
/_#
b b b b baclu ‘stick’ [ˈba.klu] bacl
[bakɬ]
⟨b⟩ baclo
[ˈba.kl̪o̞]
 
bl bl bl̪ blancu ‘white’ [ˈblaŋ.ku] blanc
[bɮaŋk]
⟨bl⟩ blanco
[ˈbl̪aŋ.ko̞]
 
bv v b ribveu ‘level’ [riˈbβeu̯] [riˈveu̯] b ribeo
[riˈbe̞.o̞]
Only occurs word-internally.
c k k k cou ‘with’ [kou̯] [ku] ⟨c⟩ co
[ko̞]
 
c c ʨ ts dicere ‘to say’ [diˈce.re] dicer’
[diˈʨer̝]
ts ditser
[diˈtser]
/_{i,e}
c c ʨ s centrau ‘central’ [cenˈtɾau̯] [ʨenˈtɾau̯] s sentrao
[sen̪ˈt̪ɾa.o̞]
/#_{i,e}
cj c ʨ ts radjicja ‘root’ [raˈʤi.ca] [raˈʥiʨa] ts radzitsa
[raˈdzi.tsa]
 
cj c ʨ s cjambiare ‘to change’ [camˈbja.re] cjambiar’
[ʨamˈbjar̝]
s sambiar
[sam.biˈar]
/#_
cl kl kl̪ clubvra ‘snake’ [ˈklu.bβra] [ˈkɬu.vra] ⟨cl⟩ clubra
[ˈkl̪u.bra]
 
ctj ʨ ts fruictju ‘fruit’ [ˈɸrui̯.cʧu] fruictj
[ˈfrui̯ʨ]
ts frútso
[ˈfruː.tso̞]
 
d d dente ‘tooth’ [ˈden.te] dent’
[denʨ]
⟨d⟩ dens
[d̪e̞nts]
 
d ð ð cjaudu ‘hot’ [ˈcau̯.ðu] cjauth
[ˈʨau̯ð]
⟨d⟩ saudo
[ˈsau̯.d̪o̞]
/S_S
dj ʤ ʥ dz codjax ‘head of a poppy’ [koˈʤa] [koˈʥa] dz codzà
[ko̞ˈdza]
 
dj ʤ ʥ z djurnu ‘day’ [ˈʤurnu] djurn
[ʥu(r)ɲ]
z zorno
[ˈzo̞r.n̪o̞]
/#_
e cjanje ‘dog’ [ˈcaɲe] cjanj
[ʨaɲ]
⟨ ⟩ sang
[saŋ]
/_#
e e e estelja ‘star’ [eˈste.ʎa] [eˈste.ɮa] ⟨e⟩ estelia
[eˈste.l̪i.a]
 
ei ei̯ i e̞(ː) deice ‘ten’ [dei̯.ce] dicj
[diʨ]
e~é déts
[d̪e̞ts]
 
eou eu̯ eu̯ e̞.o̞ beou ‘beautiful’ [beu̯] [beu̯] eo beo
[ˈbe̞.o̞]
Only occurs word-finally.
eu eu̯ eu̯ e̞.o seuva ‘forest’ [ˈseu̯.va] [seu̯.va] eo seova
[ˈse̞.o.va]
 
f ɸ f f folja ‘leaf’ [ˈɸo.ʎa] [foɮa] ⟨f⟩ folia
[fo̞.l̪i.a]
 
fl ɸl fl flora ‘flower’ [ɸlo.ra] floura
[fɬu.ra]
⟨fl⟩ flora
[fl̪o̞.ra]
 
g ɡ ɡ ɡ grande ‘big’ [ˈɡran.de] grand’
[ɡranʥ]
⟨g⟩ granz
[ɡrandz]
 
g ɟ ʥ dz tragere ‘to pull’ [traˈʤe.re] tradzer’
[traˈʥer̝]
dz tradzer
[traˈdze̞r]
/_{i,e
g ɟ ʥ z gindrau ‘general’ [ɟinˈdɾau̯] [ʥinˈdɾau̯] z zendrao
[zenˈdɾa.o̞]
/#_{i,e
gj ɟ ʥ dz mengjare ‘to eat’ [meɲˈɟa.re] mengjar’
[meŋ(ɡ)ˈʥar̝]
dz manzar
[manˈdzar]
 
gj ɟ ʥ z gjalu ‘yellow’ [ˈɟa.lu] gjal
[ʥaɮ]
z zialo
[zi.a.l̪o̞]
/#_
gl ɡl ɡɮ ɡl glacja ‘ice’ [ˈɡla.ca] [ˈɡɮa.ʨa] ⟨gl⟩ glatsa
[ˈɡl̪a.tsa]
 
gnj ŋɲ ŋɲ ni ignju ‘fire [iŋ.ɲu] ignj
[iŋɲ]
⟨ni⟩ inio
[i.n̪i.o̞]
 
i i i i iljis ‘they’ [ˈi.ʎis] [ˈi.ɮis] ⟨i⟩ lo
[ˈi.lis]
 
i j j i. iecru ‘liver’ [ˈje.kru] iecr
[jekʀ]
⟨i⟩ iecro
[iˈe̞.kro̞]
/_V (!/u/)
iu ju iu̯ i.u iustu ‘right’ [ˈju.stu] iust
[iu̯st]
⟨iu⟩ iusto
[iˈu.sto̞]
 
l l l lape ‘stone’ [ˈla.pe] lap
[lap]
⟨l⟩ lap
[l̪ap]
 
lj ʎ ɮ l(i) aljis ‘others’ [ˈa.ʎis] [ˈa.ɮis] li alis
[ˈa.l̪is]
 
lj ʎ ʎ li acelju ‘bird’ [aˈce.ʎu] acelj
[aˈʨeʎ]
li atselio
[aˈtse̞.l̪i.o̞]
/_#
m m m m mourire ‘to die’ [mou̯ˈri.re] mourir’
[muˈrir̝]
⟨m⟩ morir
[mo̞ˈrir]
 
n n n n nascere ‘to be born’ [ˈnasce.re] nascer’
[ˈnas.ʨer̝]
⟨n⟩ naser
[ˈn̪a.se̞r]
 
nc ŋk ŋk ŋk ginclu ‘knee’ [ˈɟiŋ.klu] gincl
[ʥiŋkɬ]
⟨nc⟩ zinclo
[ˈziŋ.kl̪o̞]
 
ncj ɲc ŋkʨ nts louncjanu ‘far’ [lou̯ɲˈca.nu] louncjan
[luŋˈkʨan]
ns lonsano
[l̪o̞nˈtsa.n̪o̞]
 
nctj ɲcʃ ŋkʨ nts vinctje ‘twenty’ [ˈβiɲ.ʧe] vinctj
[viŋkʨ]
ns vinse
[ˈvin.tse̞]
 
ng ŋɡ ŋɡ ŋɡ loungu ‘long’ [ˈlou̯ŋ.ɡu] loung
[luŋɡ]
⟨ng⟩ longo
[lo̞ŋ.ɡo̞]
 
ng ɲɟ ŋʥ ndz pungere ‘to stab’ [puɲˈɟe.re] punger’
[puŋ(ɡ)ˈʥer̝]
nz punzer
[punˈdze̞r]
/_{i,e
ngj ɲɟ ŋʥ ndz mengjare ‘to eat’ [meɲˈɟa.re] mengjar’
[meŋ(ɡ)ˈʥar̝]
nz manzar
[manˈdzar]
 
nj ɲ ɲ n(i) anju ‘year’ [ˈa.ɲu] anj
[ˈaɲ]
ni anio
[ˈa.n̪i.o̞]
 
nje ɲe̞ ɲ ŋ seigne ‘slow’ [ˈsei̯ŋ.ɲe] seign’
[siŋɲ]
ng séng
[se̞ːŋ]
/_#
o o o olja ‘olive’ [ˈo.ʎa] [ˈoɮa] ⟨o⟩ olia
[ˈo̞.l̪i.a]
 
ou ou̯ u ouvu ‘egg’ [ˈou̯.vu] ouv
[uv]
o ovo
[ˈo̞.vo̞]
 
p p p p pelju ‘hair’ [ˈpe.ʎu] pelj
[peʎ]
⟨p⟩ pelio
[ˈpe̞.l̪i.o̞]
 
pl pl pl pluvia ‘rain’ [ˈplu.vja] [ˈpɬu.vja] ⟨pl⟩ pluvia
[ˈpl̪u.vi.a]
 
qh x χ ç aqhma ‘life force’ [ˈax.ma] [ˈaχ.ma] ch achma
[ˈaç.ma]
Only in borrowings.
qh x~h χ qheru ‘a kind of deer’ [ˈhe.ru] qher
[χer]
⟨ ⟩ ero
[e̞ˈro̞]
/_{i,e. Only in borrowings.
qu kw ku. quei ‘what’ [kwei̯] qvi
[kʋi]
⟨qu⟩ què
[kuˈe̞]
 
qu kw k ku. equou ‘horse’ [ˈe.kwu] ecu
[ˈe.ku]
⟨qu⟩ equo
[ˈe̞.ku.o̞]
/_{o,u
r r r r ridere ‘to laugh’ [riˈðe.re] rider’
[riˈðer̝]
⟨r⟩ rider
[riˈd̪e̞r]
 
r ɾ ɾ ɾ trei(di)ce ‘thirteen’ [ˈtɾei̯ðice] tric’
[tɾiʨ]
⟨r⟩ tréts
[t̪ɾe̞ːts]
/[+dnt]_
r r r abvere ‘to have’ [aˈbβe.re] abver’
[aˈver̝]
⟨r⟩ aber
[aˈbe̞r]
/_(Vₒ)#
rj r(i) terja ‘earth’ [ˈte.r̝a] [ˈte.r̝a] ri teria
[ˈte̞.ri.a]
 
s s s s secjare ‘to cut’ [seˈca.re] secjar’
[se.ʨar̝]
⟨s⟩ setsar
[se̞.tsar]
 
s z z z espousa ‘wife’ [eˈspou̯.za] [eˈspu.za] z espoza
[e̞ˈspo̞.za]
/V_V
sc sc s escire ‘to know’ [esˈci.re] escir’
[esˈʨir̝]
s esir
[e̞ˈsir]
/_{i,e
scj sc si escjavare ‘to dig’ [es.caˈβa.re] escjavar’
[es.ʨaˈvar̝]
si esiavar
[e̞.si.aˈvar]
 
sj ʃ ɕ s(i) sji ‘yes’ [ʃi] [ɕi] si si
[si]
 
t t t t tutu ‘all’ [ˈtu.tu] tuth
[tuθ]
⟨t⟩ tuto
[ˈt̪u.t̪o̞]
 
th θ θ θ eth ‘and’ [eθ] [eθ] ⟨th⟩ [e̞θ]  
tj ʧ ʨ ts setje ‘seven’ [se.ʧe] setj
[seʨ]
ts sets
[se̞ts]
 
tz ts ts ts tzince ‘five’ [ˈtsiɲ.ce] tzinc’
[tsiŋkʨ]
ts sinse
[ˈsin.tse̞]
/#_
tz dz dz dz pitzitu ‘small’ [piˈdzi.tu] pitzith
[piˈdziθ]
dz pedzito
[pe̞ˈdzi.t̪o̞]
/S_S
u u u u uricla ‘ear’ [uˈri.kla] [uˈri.kɬa] ⟨u⟩ oricla
[o̞ˈri.kl̪a]
 
ui ui̯ ui̯ luictjare ‘to fight’ [lui̯kˈcʃa.re] luictjar’
[lui̯ˈʨar̝]
ú lútsar
[l̪uːˈtsar]
 
v β v v voulere ‘to want’ [vou̯ˈle.re] vouler’
[vuˈler̝]
⟨v⟩ voler
[vo̞ˈle̞r]
 
x (Indicates stress.) iljax ‘there’ [iˈʎa] [iˈɮa] àèìòù alià
[a.l̪iˈa]
Indicates stress.
(Eomentesa reform script uses a grave diacritic.)
z z ʑ z raquazna ‘quiver (of arrows)’ [raˈkwaz.na] raqvazna
[raˈkʋaʑ.na]
⟨z⟩ [ra.kuˈaz.n̪a] Only in borrowing and the digraph ⟨tz⟩.
zj ʒ ʑ z(i) frezjire ‘to lead astray’ [freˈʒi.re] frezjir’
[freˈʑir̝]
zi frezir
[fre̞ˈzir]
In borrowings.

Pronouns

  Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.  
1sg eou meou mei me, m’ I, my, (to) me, me
2sg tu teou tei te, t’ thou, thy, (to) thee, thee
3sg.masc ilj seou lei le, l’ he, his, (to) him, him
3sg.fem ilja lae la, l’ she, her, (to) her, her
3sg.refl - sei se, s’ himself, herself, itself, &c
1pl nous(autris) noustru nous ne, n’ we all, our, (to) us, us
2pl vous(autris) voustru vous ve, v’ you all, your, (to) you, you
3pl.masc iljis louru lour ljis they, their, (to) them, them
3pl.fem iljes ljes

Determiners

Articles

The Definite Article

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

The Indefinite Article

  Sing. Sing. (_V) Plur.
Masculine un
un lape
‘a stone’
n’
n’anju
‘a year’
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-uicjtou⟩ 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 ⟨vins-eth-útso⟩.

tzeiru 0 deice 10 vinctje 20 tzeiru 0
unu 1 unce 11 vinctjeth-un 21 deice 10
dous 2 douce 12 vinctje-dous 22 vinctje 20
treis 3 treice 13 vinctje-treis 23 treinte 30
quatru 4 quarce 14 vinctje-quatru 24 quatrante 40
tzince 5 quince 15 vinctje-tzince 25 quintzante 50
seis 6 seice 16 vinctje-seis 26 sesante 60
setje 7 setece 17 vinctje-setje 27 setante 70
uictjou 8 uictece 18 vinctjeth-uictjou 28 uictante 80
nouve 9 nouce 19 vinctje-nouve 29 nounante 90